Principal's 11-18 Newsletter - December 2022

Year 10-12 The Addams Family

Prize-giving ceremony

A word from the Principal

Richard Girvan

As the end of term draws near, Schools tend to become a hub of increasing activity, taking ever more of the reserves of energy of students, staff and parents.

As the light dwindles and the temperature drops it may seem somewhat counterintuitive that we build up to the end of the autumn term with concerts, theatrical performances, carol services, even a staff pantomime, all at a time when students in Year 13 are working hard to prepare university applications and, together with Year 11 students, getting ready for mock exams early in the spring term.

Yet I would argue that the commitment, hard work and energy required in creating and performing at these communal events is repaid many times over for both the participants and the audiences. Indeed, over my years working in education, I have come to recognise that the communal activities of the ritual year are essential for nourishing our spirits and warding off the unhealthy self-absorption and lethargy that might otherwise proliferate in the cold and dark winter months.

In particular, musical and theatrical events provide consolation, inspiration and contrast to the academic challenges that our students are facing and the administrative burdens placed on staff and parents.

We convened for one such event in November, as we welcomed the Year 11 class of 2021-22 together with their form tutors and their parents, to a prize-giving ceremony, combined with handing over their GCSE certificates, recently received from the examination boards. In the Senior School hall, festooned with beautiful flower arrangements (thanks to our hugely talented new colleague, Mr Patel), the audience was entertained as members of the sports department and senior staff announced prize winners; there was a wonderful musical interlude from Ryan and Dalia, who performed in stunning duet, Dream a little Dream

During the short address I gave at the event, I sought to congratulate the students, to express our pride in their collective achievement and to offer thanks and good wishes as they take the next steps in their education. In doing so, I spoke about how it is axiomatic of human life that we can all expect difficult times, and that it is a human imperative to learn to persevere, to develop your own resilience, and to overcome adversity and challenge. At the same time, I was also reminded that, to sustain ourselves and each other as we do so, it is essential that we also remember to set the difficult things in life to one side from time to time, and take the time to be with one another; to enjoy the benefit to our individual, and collective spirits, of being together and enjoying one another’s company.

Richard Girvan Principal

Richard Girvan

The Stephen Perse community came together to raise a fantastic £22,957 in our Big Give Christmas Challenge 2022. This generous sum will support bursary places at our family of schools in Cambridge and Saffron Walden for young people displaced by conflict, especially the war in Ukraine.

Students, staff, families and friends together raised £13,957 in online gifts, gift aid and at events, releasing £9,000 in matching fund pledges. A big thank you to all our online donors whose gifts released the matched funding pot and to our supporters who committed the matched funding in partnership with our Big Give anonymous champion. Everyone came together to create a better present and future for young people displaced by conflict.

Students and staff organised all kinds of events and awareness raising activities to encourage giving during the challenge week. This began with the cast and crew of the Addams Family reminding us all that the challenge would come hot on the heels of their tremendous production and included the cast and crews of the staff panto, directed by our talented Sixth Form directors, and our delightful Nativity participants at the nurseries, Junior School and Dame Bradbury’s.

Our Year 11 Charity and Marketing committees helped to produce the campaign video, which showcased why this work is important to us all as a community and worked tirelessly with Sixth Form colleagues to entertain us all with the Big Give Family Quiz.

“We are delighted to have taken part in The Big Give Christmas Challenge again. We believe that every young person has potential, but that some lack the opportunities, or guidance, to develop and maximise that potential. The Foundation’s bursary programmes will help to address some of these inequalities.

Within this context, we recognise the part that we can play in responding to humanitarian crises, such as the war in Ukraine, by offering school places to a number of young people seeking international protection, where we are satisfied that we can meet their needs. This has the potential to transform lives and allows our community to contribute to the national effort to provide education, stability and pastoral care at a time of enormous challenge in the lives of so many young people. Thanks to everyone whose generosity this Christmas enables us to continue the charitable work we all feel so passionately about."

Richard Girvan Principal of the Stephen Perse Foundation

"

When we look at what is happening in Ukraine right now, we see kids attending lessons in subways on laptops. So, for Viktor to be attending lessons in person, in a safe environment, in a welcoming community is absolutely massive…Viktor is just one case, there are an awful lot of children in similar circumstances - these bursaries can make an absolutely transformative difference to the lives of these kids, not just Viktor, but lots and lots of children. On behalf of Viktor, myself, both our family and Viktor’s family, an absolutely massive thank you for your generosity, it’s made a fantastic difference to Viktor’s life. These bursaries are making big, big differences."

Guardian of

Anton

the first Ukrainian student to join Stephen Perse

Remembrance Assembly

Friday 11 November 2022 was a special day for us as a Foundation. For the first time, the Senior School and the Sixth Form came together for an assembly in the Sports Hall to collectively remember those affected by war.

The assembly was expertly led by the Sixth Form History Society who have been working hard over the past few months to collate the vast amount of information that was kindly shared by our parent community so the students could build an assembly that focused on the contribution of those directly linked to the Foundation. Some families requested that their children read the stories of their relatives themselves in the assembly, while others preferred to have their stories read by our History Society members. What a privilege to read through the numerous stories of heroism and it was hugely poignant to have our students hear such personal stories from the families of their fellow students.

On behalf of the History Department and History Society, we extend our grateful thanks to all those who shared their precious stories with us. All the stories will be made available to our students to read.

Natalie Stanley Head of History & Politics

Year 10 Trip

University of East Anglia - Productivity East

In the summer term Year 10 Design Engineering ventured out on an exploratory trip to the University of East Anglia in Norwich where they visited the Sainsbury Centre, on the UEA campus, and the engineering department: Productivity East.

GCSE 3D Design students used the opportunity to gather inspiration from the Rhythm and Geometry Exhibition at the Sainsbury Centre. This display was drawn from the Sainsbury Centre collection, Rhythm and Geometry: Constructivist Art in Britain since 1951, it celebrated the abstract and constructed art made and exhibited in Britain since 1951 and consisted of approximately 120 objects across sculpture, reliefs, mobiles, painting, drawing and printmaking. Students also got to explore other exhibits within the collections in the rest of the museum.

GCSE Design & Technology students got the opportunity to explore the UEA campus and took an interactive tour around the engineering department. Students were able to learn about the Productivity East innovative projects and get hands on with equipment. Some of the highlights included seeing 3D scanners in actiontaking 3D maps of their faces and then transferring this data into files which could be 3D printed or 3D milled. Students also got to use their own device to connect via Bluetooth to small robots and play a game of four way football - directing the robots to capture the ball and drive towards the goals.

Modern Languages Department Update

Year 11 Eastern Region MFL Debating Competition

On a rainy evening in November, six Stephen Perse Year 11 students took part in a keenly fought debating competition at King’s Ely. It was clear that our students were taking it seriously by their conscientious preparation for the event at lunchtimes and at after school clubs as well as on the train to Ely on the way to the competition. After a warm welcome from our hosts at King’s Ely, with a spread of pizzas and cookies, they got down to business debating such topics as ‘in order to protect the environment, we have to limit foreign travel’; ‘social media is negatively affecting young people’s free time’ or ‘you have to go to university to get a good job’ in German and Spanish.

It was inspiring and exhilarating to watch our Hispanists and Germanists battle it out with teams from Haileybury and King’s Ely. We were so proud of all the students who definitely came out of their comfort zone and rose to the challenge. The judges praised our students for their excellent level and spontaneous use of language. Spanish students Ella and Caitlin came first in the Spanish debates and Dorrian and Batu were runners up in the German debate, with Annabel and Juliette coming in third. Huge congratulations to all participants for being such excellent ambassadors for our school.

European Day of Languages

We celebrated the European Day of Languages this year with a guest speaker from Cambridge University, Sebastián Bianchi.

Sebastián shared in a whole school assembly the many advantages of being able to speak different languages and the links possible across disciplines, such as engineering. He led a seminar afterwards with the Year 12 Hispanists.

During the day there were language workshops led by a group of Year 10s. The language stations in the Senior School library included Turkish, Hebrew, Chinese and Modern Greek. It was fabulous to see the Year 10s sharing the modern languages they speak at home with the younger students.

Pupils Read French Literature in Concours d'éloquence

We had a great night at King’s Ely, our five students were amazing! They competed successfully against schools such as Culford, Leys, King’s Ely, Swavesey, and Soham. The Alliance Française were very impressed with the high standard of all entries. Our Year 7 student was fantastic, she started the competition with 'Le Petit Nicolas' and did really well.

All the Key Stage 4 entrants were given a free day GCSE revision course at the Alliance Française. We are thrilled to say that both our Year 13 students, Amogh and Leon won the gold and silver prizes with their reading from ‘Boule de suif’ by Guy de Maupassant. They each won a free DELF exam entry which is worth £120 per person. We are really proud of all of our students. Here is a quote (originally written in French) from Year 13 student Amogh.

“In the first week of October, a group of students from the Stephen Perse participated in a French concours d’éloquence held at King’s Ely and organised by the Alliance Française in Cambridge. This competition was an opportunity for us to challenge ourselves by presenting a piece of French Literature to a large crowd, where we were judged for our ability to adhere to the rules and nuances of French tone and

pronunciation. I chose to present an extract from ‘Boule de Suif’ written by the famous French author Guy de Maupassant.

I found this competition enriching in terms of interacting with a large number of people with whom I shared a common love of the French language and French culture. It was an opportunity to improve my own French pronunciation through my own oratorical presentation, and it was also an opportunity to learn from the way in which a huge range of literary works were presented by people from across the East Anglia region. It was incredible!

We were fortunate enough to secure the first and second prizes in the Key Stage 5 category, a proud moment for us and for Stephen Perse. As a result of this, we have been invited to participate in the DELF exam in the summer, which will be another great learning experience."

Les Trois Mousquetaires Year 7

On Monday 21 November, our Year 7 French groups took part in a French workshop called ‘Les Trois Mousquetaires’. It was delivered in French and in English by the Freshwater Theatre Company. This educational and interactive drama workshop was a marvellous opportunity to bring the French curriculum to life! It provided a valuable learning experience to our students, allowing them to express themselves creatively in French. Here is a quote from one of our Year 7 students who is sharing his thoughts on Le théâtre en français!

"I really enjoyed the play and liked that the students could get involved with the action.

I thought Rachel gave very clear French words for us to say, not too hard but really told a strong story. Overall, I think the play was great and I would recommend it to all French learners."

Alex - Year 7

Year 7 - Year 9 Chinese Calligraphy Club Update

Yang Laoshi has been impressed with the members of the Chinese Calligraphy Club this term. The students have enjoyed writing on red banners, trying traditional Chinese painting, making red lanterns, and even producing some poppies for Remembrance Day.

Tag der Deutschen Einheit

Year 13 Germanists celebrated the German Day of Unity, with Brezeln.

French play ‘No Exit’ at the ADC Theatre Cambridge

Some of our Year 13 students went to see the French play ‘No Exit’ by Jean-Paul Sartre at the ADC Theatre in Cambridge and they really enjoyed it. 'NoExit' follows three people who find out hell is a room full of nothing but each other. The following review is written by Year 13 student Marc.

The play ‘Huis Clos’ or ’No Exit’ by Jean-Paul Sartre was an intriguing play. It captures Sartre's existentialism in a really engaging plot and is superbly done. It certainly made me think about his beliefs, which advanced my personal worldview. The piece features three characters who are locked in a room with no mirrors. Throughout the play, it becomes clear what Sartre's is attempting to convey. ‘L'enfer, c'est les autres’ or ‘hell is other people’ is a quote that still resonates with me, implying that you can tell who you are by how other people perceive you. But, in Sartre's opinion, it is necessary to break free from this dependency because other people might make you feel weak or fragile.

Overall, I highly recommend this play since it is performed in an unconventional manner, with a strange love triangle amongst the characters making it exciting to see while also giving you a lot to think about in terms of how society works nowadays.

Celebrating Día de los Muertos

On the 1 and 2 November the Spanish speaking community celebrates the Day of the Dead or Día de los Muertos. It is a celebration of life and death. While the holiday originated in Mexico, it is celebrated all over Latin America with colourful calaveras (skulls) and calacas (skeletons). The Spanish department celebrated this tradition with several events: a crafty workshop on how to make papel picado (perforated or pecked paper); Minecraft in Spanish; and a movie screening of El libro de la Vida (The Book of Life).

"I was able to put all of my A Level knowledge to very good use, and took part in conversations ranging from my favourite book, to French politics."

French Work Experience by Georgia

As a French A Level student at the Sixth Form, we are often told that in order to really gain a true understanding of the language and the culture of France, we need to actually visit the place.

Sitting in a classroom and learning grammar structures and vocabulary is of course essential, but without that real cultural immersion, it is impossible to know what being fluent in French means. I’ve been to France dozens of times on holidays, and even the school French exchange in Year 9, but I’ve never really been on my own. Even when I've been with my family, I’ve always relied on my French-speaking mother to do most of the talking, and so haven’t really had much practice speaking in French to French people. Therefore, I decided to go to France completely on my own and stay with a French family in order to be fully immersed. I found them via a website which is specifically designed for young people wanting to stay with a family in another country. As all ‘hosts’ have to go through various checks and tests to ensure their identities, and since you have to be over 18 to sign up, it is a trustworthy option for those wanting to do a language immersion without spending too much money.

I got in touch with a young family living in the Jura Mountains, right near the border with Switzerland, who invited me to stay and help look after their children (ages 4 and 18 months) for the week of half term. I was initially worried I might get bored, as they said they lived in a remote and rural area, but found that when I got there, there was plenty to do! I spent most of the morning helping and playing with the children, and then usually went on a walk in the beautiful surrounding area during naptime. The thing I found hardest was following conversations between the French adults I met. While the children usually

used simple vocabulary, it was much harder to understand the more complex words used by the adults, and they also tended to speak quicker. One of my host family’s friends spoke so fast that even other French people couldn't understand her most of the time! At the end of the day, I usually needed an early night after a day of following conversations all in French - my brain soon got very tired!

I think that overall, the experience made me appreciate how much I take it for granted living in the country of my mother tongue, and never having to think before forming a sentence. I was able to put all of my A Level knowledge to very good use, and took part in conversations ranging from my favourite book, to French politics to childhood to travel, which are things I may not have had an opportunity to discuss in my French class back in the UK. Generally, even if I couldn’t remember specific words or tenses, it was not too much of a problem as my host family knew what I was trying to say! My only major slip-up happened in the airport on the way back, when I accidentally bought a meal containing peanuts, which I am allergic to - always make sure you know the words for the foods you are allergic to in the language you are learning! Apart from this, I felt that the trip was a big success in that my confidence in speaking and listening to French really improved. It can feel like a massive leap to do such a complete immersion as I did, but it is fully worth it!

Keio Yokohama Elementary School

We hosted colleagues from one of our partner schools, Keio Yokohama Elementary School, in September. We discussed and shared teaching ideas. A couple of our Japanese scholars were able to try out their Japanese and are looking forward to going to Japan next February. Needless to say, our Stephen Perse Foundation teddy bear has already made it to Keio!

Japanese Visitors

Library Update

National Poetry DayLewis Buxton Creative Poetry Workshop

To celebrate National Poetry Day, we were lucky enough to host poet-extraordinaire Lewis Buxton who visited the Senior School on Thursday 13 October, and kept our students in Year 7 and Year 8 busy and entertained throughout the day with his magical gift of poetry!

Students felt that Lewis’ poems ‘were thoughtful’ in their composition and loved the way in which he ‘engaged with the audience and caught their attention’ from one poem to the next.

Throughout his entire performance in the Senior School hall, in which Lewis masterfully kept the full attention of his audience captive in the palm of his hand, Lewis delivered a range of poems to students across Year 7 and Year 8. From reciting a series of sonnets articulating the distant memories of childhood youth and love, to a series of melodic free verse poems full of wit and energy, Lewis peppered his poetry with thoughtful commentary on the myriad of issues that affect our students throughout their daily school lives.

Followed by a short break in the Senior School Library, where Lewis was inundated with questions by students curious about his poems, Lewis then taught a series of workshops to all students in Year 8 where they learnt the techniques of crafting poems, in addition to learning about the importance of characterisation and style in poetry.

The Year 8s responded enthusiastically to the workshop that Lewis had specially curated for them with many of our students who attended the workshops commenting that Lewis had confidently ‘taught me how to express myself’ through different ways in writing poetry, and how positive they felt about National Poetry Day. A testimonial from one student who expressed that: “At first, I thought it was going to be a bit boring, but Lewis completely changed my view on poetry… and he was so funny, and made poetry amazing…” clearly articulated the enormity of the positive impact that Lewis’ poetry had on our students!

It has been a long time since we have hosted a library event in the Senior School so inviting Lewis Buxton to help us celebrate National Poetry Day felt very special and unique and was, for us, the perfect occasion to kick start a new era in the role and importance of libraries here at the Senior School.

Art Department Update

Figure Drawing Workshops

A local artist and teacher Clio led a series of figure drawing workshops which were open to all Year 10-13 GCSE and A Level students as well as the Year 9-13 Art Scholars.

The workshops ran during the first half of the term for three Monday sessions from 4.30pm - 5.30pm and a two hour session on a Saturday morning and it was incredible to see the productivity, energy and engagement during these sessions.

It enabled the 16 participants to work with a range of media capturing the figure with varied exercises and timings. The Art Scholars were able to come together and extend their drawing skills.

Later this term the A Level students will be able to gain experience with life drawing to extend their drawing skills and develop their drawing folios.

Art success

Arts Society Sixth Form Art Exhibition

Lily R from last year’s Year 13 Art A Level had work selected for the Arts Society Sixth Form Art Exhibition, held at the Michaelhouse cafe for a two week period in October 2022, organised by The Arts Society Cantab and Granta. The Cambridge Drawing Society awarded a Highly Commended for Lily’s Internal External artwork submission. The artwork had been part of a series of preparatory studies for her Internal External coursework component. It was a composition based on the Mill Road footbridge. She used Photoshop to digitally manipulate and experiment with composition using her own photography.

Lily received a certificate and prize for her Highly Commended. Congratulations to Lily on her success.

Judges Comment

"(Lily) made playful use of an interesting and colourful local landmark. The interlocking of the repeated elements is clever and combines with the dynamic composition to move the subject into abstraction."

Year 7 and Year 8 Art Trips

Cambridge is our Campus

It’s been great to get out and about again on some Art trips with Year 7 going to the Botanic Garden and Year 8 on a walk around Cambridge. A lovely reminder of how lucky we are to have such wonderful visual resources on our doorstep.

Year 7 are basing their project this year on Natural Forms with a photography trip to the beautiful Cambridge University Botanic Garden to inspire their work.

A thoroughly enjoyable trip which resulted in some fantastic photographs! The trip went far too quickly with quotes such as “this is the best art lesson ever” and “I wish we could stay all day”.

Year 8’s project this year is based on structures within architecture with a walk around our beautiful city to photograph buildings. From the strong rhythmic brick buttresses and finer stone columns of the facade of the Cambridge Judge Business School to the ornate late perpendicular gothic architecture of King's College, there is an abundance of inspiration!

Dr Steve Carden

Returning to the school for a second time, Steve Carden (a parent of a previous student and current Year 10 student) came to discuss his career journey to date, and explain to students what life as a business consultant is like.

Steve began by discussing the types of project’s that P.A. Consulting engage with, and what it is like to be a technology focused consultant.

Steve led students along a path that then focused on explaining how he ended up as a consultant, informing the audience of the subjects he studied at school, and his further education journey. By the reaction of the audience, most striking for students was the discussion of how Steve followed his passion for computing, and how as a Partner he had to adapt to an environment that was heavily client focused, and adopt a customer facing role to generate new business.

Steve passed around physical solutions that P.A. Consulting had developed for clients, giving the audience the opportunity to touch, feel, and explore 3D printed objects. One of which was an electronic ‘piggy-bank’ that although impressed the students, was not taken forward by the client Steve worked with. Students were surprised, with Steve responding by explaining that life as a consultant can often end in a ‘failure’, and that in fact, that is ok!

If you

Year 10 & Year 11 students as part of their Inspire & Guide programme, please contact Dr Allison Curry

Head of Guidance acu@stephenperse.com

would be interested in sharing your career and academic journey with

Cabaret

This year’s Sixth Form Cabaret was coordinated by our fabulous Drama Assistant Rebecca Jones along with Sixth Form students Zoë, Claire, Joe and Katie.

The Senior School Hall was completely transformed into a glittering, red and gold cabaret venue with candles on tables and festoon lights and chandelier lamps illuminating the stage. The dress code was ‘The Roaring Twenties’ and we were absolutely delighted that so many audience members chose to dress up for the occasion!

The line up for this year’s cabaret was wonderfully eclectic and hugely talented: the audience, seated at tables sipping mocktails, were treated to a wide variety of acts including dance routines, songs, classical guitar and live bands. The event raised more than £400 for the Cambridge Refugee Resettlement Campaign.

Book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa and orchestrations by Larry Hochman

The Addams Family

Our biennial musical offers a fabulous opportunity for collaboration between the music and drama departments.

This term’s production of ‘The Addams Family’ featured a live band and a cast of 32 students from Years 10-12.

Helene Barrell directed, assisted by Rebecca Jones, whilst Matthew Rudd took on the role of Musical Director. Choreography was by regular contributor Karen Revill of The Maple Dance Academy. Charlotte Cooper was our lighting designer and sound engineer, with expert assistance from Jamie Tripp.

This production presented us with enormous scope for creativity behind the scenes and a large number of staff and students were involved in the process of creating the onstage world of The Addams Family. The set, props and costumes were all made especially for this production during Sixth Form theatre backstage and tech enrichment classes, with additional assistance from the design and engineering department, drama department staff and from Senior School Backstage Club and classes. A large number of wedding dresses and other white or cream items of clothing were recycled, adapted and distressed to create costumes for the Ancestors and Dancestors; instruments of torture were devised and assembled; gravestones were carved and painted to appear aged and weathered; additional items were sourced to add elements of surprise, such as the glowing

moons and the coffin with a trapdoor for Thing to emerge through. Finally, makeup was designed and applied by a team of Year 11-13 students.

The Addams Family played to full houses for three stunning performances. The extremely talented cast worked unbelievably hard throughout the term to achieve an exceptional standard of performance.

Ms Barrell would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the performers and musicians; we would also like to say a special thank you to the student technical and backstage crew, many of whom are in Year 13 and for whom this will be the last big show that they work on before leaving Stephen Perse.

Inspire and Guide

Venice van Someren Alumna and Professional Actor

On 18 November we were delighted to welcome alumna Venice van Someren to give an insightful and inspiring talk about her career as a professional actor. Venice is passionate about the environment and is a keen activist: where possible she chooses to participate in performance work that explores environmental issues and recently appeared in two short films highlighting issues surrounding climate change. During her talk she gave an insight into the day-to-day life of an actor and spoke about the importance of adaptability for anyone choosing a career in the creatives, giving the example of how she had been forced to take the initiative during lockdown to build a home recording studio so that she could continue to work as a voice artist.

Theatre visit to see Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of)

On 16 November we took a large group of drama students and scholars from Years 10-13 to see this hilarious production Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) at the Cambridge Arts Theatre.

Direct from its triumph in the West End, where it won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy, Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) is a unique and audacious retelling of Jane Austen’s most iconic love story. Men, money and microphones are fought over in this irreverent but affectionate adaptation where the stakes couldn’t be higher when it comes to romance.

The performance was an absolute masterclass in multi-roling, high comedy and slapstick. Both staff and students were thoroughly entertained!

Wellbeing & Mental Health Talk and Parents & Staff Webinar

On Friday 7 October students from across Years 11-18 attended a wellbeing and mental health talk led by our guest speaker Dick Moore.

For Year 7 to 9 the talk was entitled ‘Life is a Rollercoaster’ and for Year 10 & 11 it was called ‘Coping with Storms’. Year 12 and 13 heard a slightly different version of the ‘Coping with Storms’ talk.

The sessions were tailored to the ages of the audience and were aimed at helping children express their feelings, respond appropriately, and prevent small problems from snowballing into bigger ones. Following these sessions with pupils, Dick Moore presented to parents in a webinar, attended by over 100 parents, entitled ‘And How High Can They Fly With Broken Wings’

Dick Moore has wide experience of young people and has a passionate interest in adolescent development and emotional wellbeing.

Sport Update

It’s been another busy term for sport at the Senior School and Sixth Form. The students have all been in fine form and have had some great successes along the way. The dark nights closing in has not dampened their desire to train and improve their skills at clubs which remain well attended.

Football

We have had a packed term of football with many fixtures across all age groups. Congratulations to the U12A boys, U12B boys and U16 boys for progressing in their respective ESFA National Cups and the U13 boys for progressing in their ISFA National Cup. It was also great to see the resumption of our annual fixture against Iqra Academy for the U13 girls, which was a huge success. Our U15 girls are currently preparing for their first game of the season in the ISFA National Cup and we have a very busy last few weeks of term with our U16 boys playing in the Peterborough School futsal tournament, our block of fixtures against Kimbolton on Saturday 3 December and one of the highlights of the year, House Football.

Tennis

Huge congratulations to Sophie in Year 9 who got to the final of the Europe Junior International Tennis tournament in the U14 age group, held in Liverpool recently. She and her partner had four matches in total, winning the first three in straight sets then just losing the final in a match tiebreak. A fantastic achievement.

ESAA Cross Country Cup Competition 2022

Four teams competed at the ESAA Cross Country Cup Competition at Abington playing fields on the 4 November. All teams performed well, in extremely difficult and challenging course conditions.

Most notable individual performances went to Arjumand (Year 8) who came 5th overall and to Sophie J (Year 9) and Imogen T (Year 8) who both finished in 12th place. Congratulations to all.

HockeyThis term has seen a lot of hockey matches for the girls along with an indoor tournament for the boys. Our U12 girls have settled into school sport well and produced numerous great results with a notable one being four wins from four in a recent match for the U12A-D teams. The U12A's performed well at the county tournament finishing 3rd out of eight.

Our U13's have continued to develop from last year and are producing some outstanding hockey. A number of players have stepped up to play for the U14's on occasions as well which bodes well for the future. Our U14's have made steady progress in switching from 7 to 11-a-side hockey and have started to gel as a team.

Our U15's have continued to go from strength to strength with their 11-a-side hockey and are now performing with consistency. The U16's are still competing in the England Hockey Tier 2 Hockey Plate competition with one more win ensuring they will secure a Quarter Final Spot.

The U18's have worked well as a young side and put in some outstanding performances. On top of all of the outdoor hockey, the boys U16's have played in the U16 County Indoor Tournament where they put up a valiant effort against a strong Perse side.

The U16 and U18 girls have also had their indoor county tournaments. The U16 girls ended the day with a 5-1 win in their last match which secured their runners up position. The U18's had a very young side and demonstrated a huge amount of fight against tough opposition. Two closely fought games unfortunately went against us but the girls can be proud of their efforts.

Year 7 girls also had their House Hockey matches which were played in great spirits. The winners were Sutherland after a closely fought match in the final against Cattley.

County Cricket Trials success

Congratulations to the many students who have been selected to play for their County cricket squads. It is fantastic to have so many students in the County system.

Netball

We have had a busy time with netball this term, with U19 winning the County Schools Tournament and both U14 and U16 runners up and qualifying for regionals in January. We have also seen our U13, U15 and U19 teams taking part in the Sisters in Sport Cup competition, with all teams successfully through to the third round. Our netball continues to go from strength to strength and we have a huge number of students who are now successfully part of the performance pathway outside of school.

Huge congratulations to Juliette (Year 11) who has been selected for the U17 Mavericks Player Development Squad and to Orla (Year 11), Eva (Year 10) and Bea (Year 9) who have just been selected for the U18 Mavericks Futures Cambridge. A fantastic achievement.

BasketballWell done to our Sixth Form basketball team who recently won a game against The Leys. In a closely fought contest the scores were level 35-35 at the end of the fourth quarter. After two minutes of overtime Stephen Perse eventually ran out as winners 43-37. Well done to those students involved. The team is really benefiting from the input of coach Tayo from ARU and are looking forward to two more fixtures against St Andrew’s and Abbey College.

National Schools Equestrian Association Dressage Championships

Congratulations go to Amelia H and her horse My Noble Valentine who qualified for the NSEA Dressage Championships, on Monday 24 October at Keysoe Equestrian Centre, Beds. Schools from around the country were represented, as riders were selected through a series of tough qualifying events.

Amelia was placed first in her section (Preliminary), then the scores from all four sections (Introductory, another Preliminary and a Novice) were combined and the top eight riders overall were placed. It was a nerve-wracking wait while the remainder of the competitors rode their test. Across all four sections

Amelia achieved the highest score and was awarded the NSEA Dressage Champion! A huge achievement, well done Amelia.

Please look out for the new clubs timetable for next term as the boys begin their hockey season and the girls their netball season.

Enrichment Big Rock Indoor Climbing Trip

On Tuesday 15 November the Outdoor Education team took 15 Senior School students to Big Rock Climbing Centre in Milton Keynes. This was a first for our school and was clearly well received by the students. The focus of the visit was to expand students' learning, and take their climbing experience from a bouldering wall to a roped environment. Allowing them to step out of their comfort zone and challenge themselves on new routes. All students progressed well and, by the end of the session, had the confidence to climb in ‘the pit’ which offered climbs of up to 11m!

Climbing offers a unique opportunity for students from all walks of life and year groups, to come together and share in a collective experience. On this trip it was fantastic to see students from Year 10 and Year 11 climbing with students from our Sixth Form, and vice versa.

Students received tuition from the school's highly experienced climbing instructors, Russell McAlinden (Head of Outdoor Education) and Matt Cowley (Outdoor Education Instructor).

Senior School

Sports Awards

Winners 2021-22

It was lovely to see so many of last year’s Year 11 cohort return to receive their sports awards.It was a wonderful evening where we were able to thank all who attended the many sports clubs, training and fixtures during their time at Stephen Perse. Their commitment, hard work and support of each other really paid off and this was evident in the many successes we had at matches and at tournaments. A full list of the awards can be seen on the following pages with a note from their teachers.

Hockey

Excellence in Girls Hockey

Izzy W

Izzy is very modest in her ability. She strengthens any team in which she plays for and can play in a number of different positions. Her understanding of the game is outstanding and she is able to control and create team attacks with instinctive passing and awareness.

Progress in Girls Hockey

Lara C

Lara has a bright and bubbly personality and has always turned up to training sessions and matches with a huge smile on her face. Her willingness to improve upon both technical and tactical skills has been amazing to see.

Excellence in Boys Hockey Oliver N

Olly has progressed well over his time at the school. He has always been willing to stay after sessions to work on technical skills to improve his game. His commitment to win has also motivated the team and he has always led on the pitch, especially with his 1-1 elimination skills.

Progress in Boys Hockey Barney G

Barney has been extremely committed to boys hockey within the school. He always works hard in training and matches and has been willing to take on board feedback to improve upon his individual skills. He has now become a prominent figure up front and is a threat in the D.

Netball

Excellence in Netball

Caitlin W

Caitlin shone at a very young age. Determined, focused and hard-working, it was no surprise she became the obvious choice of captain to lead her team. Unassuming, quiet, yet confident, this athlete led her team to two county school victories and on both occasions led her team to regionals. She has also played up a year at the world school games and at county schools.

Progress in Netball

Olivia G

Olivia has been an absolute pleasure to watch over the years. Starting off very inexperienced, this hard working athlete strived to work her way up through the teams over the years to secure a place in the A team. Her journey has been a strong example of how hard work pays off.

Football Excellence in Football

Freddie P

Freddie is somebody who combines outstanding technical ability with a bravery that belies his stature. He developed the ability to use his body to protect the ball which made him a far more effective player. He is adept with both feet, can beat a defender and his passing ability is superb. We wanted to save him as our main contributor in attack but he was also always willing to work defensively. He was also consistently our top scorer from the number 10 position.

Progress in Football

Felix H

Felix could always be relied upon to defend superbly and was able to contribute effectively in attack with his good passing ability. He has worked so hard and made excellent progress over the last couple of years.

Cricket

Excellence in Girls Cricket

Sirisha

G

Sirisha is an outstanding player for her age. She has a great attitude, works incredibly hard on her batting and is technically a very correct player. She enjoys a challenge and has taken part in boys matches representing the schools 1st XI last season. She has already represented Cambridgeshire at U16 and U18 level and plays at the highest level of club cricket in the Women’s East East Anglian Premier Cricket League. Recently, she was selected in the Sunrisers Emerging Player Programme which includes the best talent from across London and the East.

Progress in Girls Cricket

Electra

R

Electra has always had an excellent attitude and a willingness to listen and improve. She never hesitated from simply ‘having a go’ and always did it with a smile on her face. Her progression has been so pleasing.

Excellence in Boys Cricket Dylan B

Dylan is very committed and works hard on all aspects of his game. He possesses excellent knowledge and has a very good understanding of what to do tactically on the pitch. In matches he is an effective batsman with the ability to make big scores and he is an accomplished and accurate swing bowler; he continues to develop his game by playing men's club cricket and was selected to represent Cambridgeshire at U16 level which is a reward for all the hard work he puts in.

Progress in Boys Cricket

David T

David has really improved his game over the past couple of seasons. He is a real student of the game and has worked hard on the technical aspects and consistency of his bowling. He also enjoys fielding which is a rare trait in a young cricketer adding value to any team he plays for. Last year he was selected as a squad player for the Cambridgeshire U16s and he is becoming a regular choice at his clubs first team.

Contribution Awards

Contribution to School Sport

Sirisha G

Sirisha has played in the A team for all of our major sports, and she has done this with total commitment. Whenever she has represented the school she has been a supportive team mate and her improvement over the course of Senior School has been outstanding. This athlete has also played at an exceptionally high standard, representing the school at County and Regional tournaments.

Contribution to Girls Senior School Teams

Daisy G

Daisy has always committed to training and has always been willing to attend any fixture when asked, even at short notice. Her hard working personality ensured that she progressed impressively over her school years and this was particularly noticeable with her performances in her last school year.

Contribution to Boys Senior School Teams

David T

David has shown fantastic commitment and dedication during his years at Stephen Perse. He has regularly represented the school in A teams for cricket and hockey. He is very coachable and takes on board any advice that is given to him. His dedication to attend training sessions has paid off in improving his technical ability and game awareness in both his major sports and he continues to develop his leadership qualities.

Elite (International) Sports Joint winners

Lucy S

Lucy is a truly talented sportswoman. She battled back from an awful injury at a vital time in her footballing development to represent her country for the England Independent Schools team within two years. She is an inspiration to the next generation of very talented female footballers in our younger years.

Caitlin W

Caitlin is a remarkable young athlete who has demonstrated amazing talent. She is extremely coachable and is always open to trying new ideas and positions. It has been exciting to watch her route through the netball pathway and now witness her playing for the Ireland U17 squad.

Sports Personalities of the Year

Connie T

Connie has given her best throughout her time at the school. She has been consistent in her dedication to improving and to achieving the high standards that she has reached. She is supportive to all who play with her, and is always cheerful in her approach. She has represented the school across many sports. She has also represented Bury Performance Centre which is part of the England Hockey pathway. She has been a County and Regional level Track and Field, and cross country athlete and she has also represented the school in Regional Netball tournaments playing for the team above her own age group. She is so modest about these achievements and has been a pleasure to teach.

Isaac M

Isaac has had his fair share of injuries over the last couple of years but his talent is unquestionable and has been since he joined the school as a young, enthusiastic and extremely energetic individual. His achievements are impressive and they only touch the surface of what is truly possible by this incredible athlete. This year he came 2nd at the U17 National Cross Country Championships. He has the 11th all-time fastest 1500m track time at U13 level. He is the current U17 Cambridgeshire Cross Country Champion. The County and District Schools Cross Country Champion and he was part of the U17 National Cross Country Relay team who were crowned champions in 2021. This athlete has a wealth of talent and he is only at the beginning of his journey; he has a very promising future in his sport.

Christmas at Saffron Hall

Thursday 1 December, 7.30pm

Lemn Sissay: My Name is Why

An unmissable evening with poet playwright, memoirist, performer and broadcaster Lemn Sissay where he will read from his Sunday Times bestselling memoir.

Saturday 3 December, 7.30pm

Cory Band

The mighty Cory Band - nine times National Champions and seven times European Champions - bring their spine-tingling, blockbuster brass sound from the Welsh Valleys to Saffron Hall. Big

Thursday 8 December, 6pm

Essex Youth OrchestraThe Snowman

Essex Music Service is delighted to present Raymond Briggs’ The Snowman accompanied by the talented young musicians of Essex Youth Orchestra.

Family

Saturday 10 December, 7.30pm

Tenebrae at Christmas

Tenebrae’s festive concert at Saffron Hall will set the scene for Christmas in an uplifting and inspiring programme to include seasonal favourites such as Britten’s glorious Ceremony of Carols

Sunday 11 December, 4pm

Glenn Miller Orchestra: In the mood for Christmas

The Glenn Miller Orchestra offers audiences of all ages the chance to discover the big band era of the 1940s, in this festive concert.

Free shuttle bus service

Friday 16 December, 7.30pm

Jess Gillam Ensemble at Christmas

The young saxophonist and Saffron Hall regular is joined by her regular ensemble to perform a lively programme of Christmas classics.

Contemprorary

22-29 December, multiple performance times

Robin Hood

Hit the bullseye this Christmas as pantomime returns to Saffron Hall with Robin Hood - the Greatest Pantomime Adventure, sure to be a festive treat filled to the brim with audience participation, hilarious comedy, dazzling dance routines and spectacular sets.

Monday 2 January, 4pm

BBC Concert Orchestra: A New Year’s Celebration

Join the BBC Concert Orchestra for a sparkling New Year’s concert to round off the festive period with a programme of Viennese exuberance and elegance.

Big band & swing Book now + Book now + Theatre Free shuttle bus

Classical