ST BENEDICT’S SCHOOL
THE PRIORIAN
BENEDICT’S SCHOOL a
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ACA D E M IC YE A R 2018 – 2 019
aling •
London •
W5 2ES
• V 020 8862 2010
M headmaster@stbenedicts.org.uk
F St Benedicts School, Ealing •
L stbenedicts
Issue no. 147
Contents
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................... 1 ART .................................................................................................................... 2 MUSIC ............................................................................................................. 6 DRAMA ........................................................................................................... 8 HISTORY ...................................................................................................... 10 ENGLISH ...................................................................................................... 14 THE POWER OF DETERMINATION IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY ......................................................... 16 ALUMNI ........................................................................................................ 17 LANGUAGES ............................................................................................. 18 ACADEMIC RESULTS 2018 ............................................................... 22 UNIVERSITY DESTINATIONS 2018 ............................................. 23 SPORTS CAPTAINS ............................................................................... 24 CCF .................................................................................................................. 26 DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S AWARD ................................................. 29 EPQ ................................................................................................................. 30 SOCIOLOGY/U6 LEAVERS ................................................................ 31 CLASSICS ..................................................................................................... 32 TRIPS OVERSEAS 2018 –19 ............................................................... 33 VOLUNTEERING & MENTORING .................................................. 34 CAREERS ...................................................................................................... 36 RELIGIOUS STUDIES ............................................................................ 37 POLITICS ..................................................................................................... 38 LIBRARY ....................................................................................................... 42 DANCE SHOW 2019 ............................................................................. 45 GEOGRAPHY ............................................................................................ 46 COMPUTER SCIENCE .......................................................................... 47 SCIENCE ...................................................................................................... 48 THE JUNIOR SCHOOL ........................................................................ 50
NURSERY ............................................................................................. 50
MUSIC ................................................................................................... 51
PP1 .......................................................................................................... 52
PP2 .......................................................................................................... 53
PP3 .......................................................................................................... 54
LIBRARY ............................................................................................... 55
LOWER PREP .................................................................................... 56
UPPER PREP ...................................................................................... 58
ART ......................................................................................................... 60
HOBBIES .............................................................................................. 61
FORM 1 ................................................................................................ 62
FORM 2 ................................................................................................ 64
TRIPS ..................................................................................................... 66
SCHOOL CHALLENGE QUEST .............................................. 69
STAFF LISTS .............................................................................................. 70
Year Group Key Nursery PP1 PP2 PP3 Lower Prep Upper Prep Form 1 Form 2 Form 3 Lower 4th Upper 4th Lower 5th Upper 5th Lower 6th Upper 6th
Nursery Reception Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 11 Year 12 Year 13
Welcome to this year’s edition of The Priorian. I hope you will agree that it is an engaging and impressive collection of work produced by pupils throughout the school. The many good things in this edition exemplify the main threads which run through the education we offer, from the Junior School to the Sixth Form. Firstly, the independent learning and intellectual curiosity we encourage is clear from the breadth of pupils’ research projects and presentations. For example, you can read direct accounts of trench warfare, Soviet invasion and life on the home front in World War II, discovered by our pupils in their family archives. We nurture imagination and creativity, which is evident in the artwork and creative writing in these pages, and in reviews of Les Misérables and the stunning St John’s Smith Square concert. The resilience and teamwork we foster shine through in the vivid accounts of DofE and CCF expeditions, and outward bound activities in the Lake District. All manner of unforgettable experiences enrich pupils’ learning at every stage, such as trips to Washington DC, Rome, Berlin and Normandy, as well as talks from a range of inspiring visiting speakers. The value of these opportunities is clear from the reports which are written on their return. Finally, St Benedict’s is grounded in kindness and compassion; in an awareness of our obligation to serve others. You can read about our mentoring programme, and about a Sixth Form student’s insight into helping the homeless. The Priorian is a celebration of the many gifts and talents of St Benedict’s pupils. It is also testimony to the excellent support, guidance and encouragement they receive from our inspirational staff.
Andrew Johnson Headmaster
Editors: Miss E. Wallace, Miss C. Shah and Mrs D. Johnson Front cover: Dance Show 2019 – page 45
THE PRIORIAN
Welcome
INTRODUCTION
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ST BENEDICT’S
ART
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Opposite: Top – Emily Baynes (U6) Bottom row – Sam Symes (U6)
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This page: Sam Symes (U6)
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Opposite: Top – Savanah Navazesh-Verze (U5) Flowers (L to R) – Aimee Hatch (F3); Charlotte Garner (F3); Tara Davies (F3); Alice Moore (F3) Bottom left – Elizaveta Nedostupenko (U6) Chairs (L to R) – Natalia McFadzean (U4); Connie Bright (U4) Bottom right – Aidan Gibbons (U6)
Right: Theodore Thompson (U5); Bethan Yates (L6)
THE PRIORIAN
Above: Chloe Oduah (U5)
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MUSIC Mozart Concert Review Sunday 31st March saw members of the choir and school orchestra perform in St John Smith’s Square to celebrate one of history’s finest composers: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Such a prestigious venue gave the students a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate their musicianship to the wider public as well as for the audience to listen to some truly outstanding pieces of music. The grandiose concert hall was matched by the school orchestra’s excellent performance of symphony No. 35 (the ‘Haffner’ symphony). Originally starting life as a serenade in honour of the prominent Haffner family of Salzburg, Mozart composed this symphony at the height of his career in Vienna. As such, he was immensely busy with other commissions – he described “being up to my eyeballs in work”– as well as organising his house for himself and his new wife Constanze. As a result, this symphony was essentially written off-hand as a sort of pet-project, Mozart writing it in his down-time after a long day of composition. We know that the premiere of the performance in March 1783 was a huge success. Each movement of the symphony was performed in sections throughout the concert, interspersed with several concert arias as well as an improvised fugue because “the Emperor was present” – as I’m sure we can all relate to.
ST BENEDICT’S
The school orchestra brilliantly conveyed the symphony that managed to garner a royal audience. Rather than simply reciting the notes on the page or blasting out your part to make sure that Mum in the fourth row can indeed hear you, a clear attention to the musicality of this piece was given by everyone. Many subtle aspects of the symphony, such as the call-and-response style alternating melody between the oboe and bassoon (which would have been lost in many performances by school orchestras) were delicately conveyed with intricate precision, which not only attested to Mozart’s genius as an orchestral composer, but also made the performance many times more enjoyable.
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Following on from that grand introduction an equally mesmerising performance of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A Major was performed by Valentina Elner-Kupcha (L6). The piece was originally composed in October 1791 – merely two months before Mozart’s death – for his long-time friend Herr Anton Stadler, a brilliant clarinettist. While the 1st and 3rd movements are relatively standard of Mozart’s writing, with long complex runs and rapid jumps in pitch, the second movement provides an extreme change in dynamic (pun intended) from the rather technically intense 1st movement. By this point in his life, Mozart was completely bedridden and his disease was so extensive that he drifted in and out of consciousness constantly. We know from various letters sent by Mozart that he was afraid of death and leaving behind those he loved. He had intended to compose many more works and this fearful anger is reflected in some of his works around this time (such as his Requiem). The beautiful melody and orchestration of this movement seems to convey a new Mozart, one who is willing to accept death and all its tranquility.
Of the few adjectives to describe the brilliance of Valentina’s performance, ‘astounding’ is about all I can muster, and I can safely say that I speak for all those in attendance. Of the many concerts I have attended, I can think of few times when an audience has been so captivated by a performance. Haydn symphonies have failed to do what Valentina managed to achieve with this Clarinet Concerto. From the stunned silence of the audience – due to the technical brilliance of the 1st and 3rd movements – to the awe at the beauty of the 2nd movement, the amazement of the audience was almost palpable. Valentina’s technical expertise as well as her intensely intimate and delicate performance left a lasting impression on everyone. When all was finished, we were left speechless and this performance truly did blur the lines between ‘professional musician’ and ‘student’. And finally, we come to the performance of Mozart’s Requiem by the Concert Choir. Contrary to what Peter Shaffer would
In July 1791, Mozart received a commission for a requiem from an envoy who wore an all-black costume (as seen in Amadeus) and insisted upon anonymity. We now know that the envoy was from a Count Walsegg, an amateur flautist and cellist who sought undeserved lasting fame by claiming authorship of compositions he bought from famous composers. Despite being anything but devout, Mozart needed the work and so began the composition. However, he would not live to see its completion, dying of rheumatic fever halfway through composition of the Lacrimosa. It makes the movement all the more emotional knowing that those were the last notes he ever composed. The job of completing it then fell to his pupil Franz Xaver Süssmayr who took it upon himself to try to complete it in the style of Mozart rather than his own compositional style. This explains, then, why there is so little new material after Lacrimosa rather than frequent repetitions and pure transcriptions of the material composed by Mozart found later in the piece. When it was performed, and despite having sung it through countless times in rehearsal, the genius of this piece still had an effect on me, especially with the accompaniment by the professional orchestra. The brilliant performance provided a necessary and reflective conclusion to this wonderful concert. Some passages in the piece are very challenging and it was great to hear the handling of these difficult phrases with a strong sense of professionalism from even the youngest choristers.
Jack Edis (U6)
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have you believe, the genesis of this composition was not out of Mozart’s fear of a disguised and jealous Antonio Salieri; however the true reason is equally dubious.
So, what to say in conclusion. Well I think there isn’t very much I can say but that it was a truly outstanding performance and great opportunity for families and students alike to be able to listen and perform in such a prestigious venue. Our thanks must go to Mr Eastwood for his inspiring direction and also to the professional orchestra for making all the students feel that they were involved in something really special.
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DRAMA Les Misérables St Benedict’s once again put on a stunning performance, this year selecting the classic musical, Les Misérables. The audience was immersed in postrevolutionary nineteenth century France from the outset, as Harry Lubkowski fantastically embodied Jean Valjean’s distress at the thought of life as an outcast. This was juxtaposed with Jack Leonard playing Javert, who displayed callous indifference towards Valjean.
ST BENEDICT’S
The audience followed Valjean’s struggles, where only the Bishop of Digne treats him well: the Bishop, sensitively played by Jack Edis, shows generosity in saving Valjean when he is found to have stolen church silver. Cora Doherty was fantastic in her role as Fantine; performing her heartfelt solo I dreamed a dream, she conveyed the struggles of life for a mother of an illegitimate child, outcast into prostitution and dismissed on the demand of the factory workers (who gave an excellent performance). The audience watched her suffer hardships in order to save her daughter, Cosette; Cora showed Fantine’s decline, eventually having to join the prostitutes where she was sold by a pimp (well performed by Edward Moss) to a prospective customer (played skillfully by Finn Keelan).
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Both Louis Clow and Greta Azzopardi were extremely entertaining in their roles of Monsieur and Madame Thénardier, with their playful personas and deceitful characters. Their skill in changing their personalities rapidly, from their unforgiving nature towards little Cosette (wonderfully played by Natalia McFadzean) to their pretence of caring for her in order to gain money, was very amusing for the audience; their gaudy costumes were incredibly eye-catching and epitomised their characters.
Katie Gibson sang outstandingly well, able to hit some of the highest notes in the musical as part of her role as Enjolras, Leader of the Revolutionaries. After hearing the news that General Lamarque, the only man left in government who displayed any concern for the poor, had died, the Revolutionaries (which included much of the cast) conveyed their distress about their lives without him extremely powerfully. Amidst the unrest in the city, the Thénardiers’ daughter, Eponine (who was played brilliantly by Alice Gedye) arranges for the man she loves, Marius Pontmercy (played fantastically by Finley Carty-Howe) and her childhood friend, Cosette (wonderfully played by Zoe Rutherford) to meet, as they had fallen in love with each other. They harmonised beautifully together, especially in A heart full of love, where Marius and Cosette meet and declare their love for each other, while Eponine wishes that Marius loved her instead; Eponine related her struggle well while singing her solo, On my own. After Marius and Cosette’s meeting, the whole cast joined together to sing One day more which highlighted the cast’s talents, featuring different characters with solos within the song. Jean Valjean then intercepted a letter from Marius to Cosette that Eponine was instructed to deliver; Eponine then returned to the barricade where she died in Marius’ arms singing the duet A little fall of rain which was very poignant. Jean Valjean then arrived at the barricade praying that Marius would survive. The Revolutionaries are all killed the following day in an emotional scene. This contrasted with Thénardier’s robbing of the rebels’ corpses in his solo Dog eats dog, showing his indifference to their deaths. Valjean again showed his compassion, begging Javert to allow him to take Marius to hospital. After continuously searching for Valjean, having vowed to do so in his fantastic solo, Stars, Jack Leonard demonstrated Javert’s inner struggle in accepting that Valjean can change, leading Javert to kill himself after singing his final solo extremely well. Finley Carty-Howe expressed Marius’ lament for the death of his friends in his solo, Empty chairs and empty tables, which he sang fantastically. Valjean revealed his past to Marius and insisted that he must leave. At Marius and Cosette’s wedding, the Thénardiers’ deceitful personas were well expressed while attempting to blackmail Marius. At the wedding, Marius realised that it was Valjean who rescued him from the barricade. Valjean’s death was a very poignant scene which featured many of the main characters in the penultimate song Valjean’s Death. The musical drew to a close with a dazzling performance of the final song from the whole cast. The quality of the performance was testimony to the time and effort put in by all of the students, which allowed the production to exceed all expectations of a school performance. Isabelle Dove (U6)
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HISTORY The Berlin Trip
As soon as we arrived, we headed for the Olympic Stadium where we learnt about the historic architecture and basis for Hitler’s propaganda campaign. The stadium and pools were fascinating as, although some parts were refurbished, it still provided an insight into Nazi Germany and how Goebbels wanted to present a regimented and structured nation to the world. There was something of a chilling atmosphere knowing we were potentially walking the same route which Hitler had taken in 1936, but this was offset a little by the knowledge that there was to be a Beyoncé concert later that week, something we thought was a little incongruous.
ST BENEDICT’S
That night, after unpacking at the hostel, we took a detour to a football fan zone and eagerly watched England play Sweden in the Quarter Final of the World Cup. Although not part of the planned itinerary, it became one of the highlights of the trip with England winning 2–0 and ‘Football’s coming home’ being sung again and again (even if not always tunefully)!
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The next day we visited Sachsenhausen Concentration camp. It was both harrowing and moving at the same time, and was an extremely powerful evocation of the horrors of history – something I’m sure none of us will forget. To see it at first hand was difficult, but also necessary to ensure we learn from the experience and will hopefully encourage our generation to work tirelessly to prevent such an atrocity from ever occurring again.
Over the next few days we visited a variety of museums, expanding our learning on topics both covered in the History GCSE syllabus and also in other periods of history as, for example, in the Pergamon museum, where we wandered through a reconstruction of ‘Babylon’. During the evenings we also ventured out into the heart of Berlin to savour a little of the atmosphere, eat delicious pretzels, and enjoy some recreational activities such as bowling. Personally, some of my favourite parts of the trip included the Stasi Prison, Checkpoint Charlie and The Wannsee Villa. The Stasi Prison had an eerie atmosphere, both frightening and fascinating. We were shown both the older part of the jail which they called the ‘Submarine’ (due to it being located underground) and also the psychologically damaging ‘modern’ part of the prison where no prisoner was ever allowed to interact with or see another human who was not an officer or interrogator. It was truly captivating as we ventured deeper into areas such as the ‘rubber room’ – a pitch black and soundproof space in which an inmate would be locked for periods of time. It was almost unfathomable to understand such a cruel and manipulative system. Our understanding of the Cold War was encouraged further as we visited Check Point Charlie. The museum told stories of those attempting to escape from East Germany run by the Soviets, to the West, governed by Allied powers. The Wannsee Villa was for me personally both a provocative and troubling experience. It was where some of the highest powers in Nazi Germany concluded that the ‘Final Solution’ was necessary. As we entered the villa, it dawned on me that we were standing in a room where, less than 80 years ago, people had decided the fate of over 6 million Jews. In my opinion, it was one of the most distressing museums I have ever visited.
During our final few days, which were packed full of interesting trips, we also spent time at the Berlin Zoo, the Kaiser Wilhelm Kirche, the Brandenburg Gate, and we also went up to Potsdam where we wandered through Schloss Cecilienhof. Before our flight, we also visited the East Side Gallery where some remaining parts of the Berlin Wall still stood. A massive thank you to Mr Thain and all the teachers who helped to make the trip so enjoyable and informative. We all had the most amazing time and are extremely grateful to the school and teachers for organising the trip. Emily Rawlings (U5)
BERLIN
Last summer a group of Upper 5th pupils were fortunate enough to travel to Berlin on a history trip, accompanied by Mr Thain, Mr Walton, Ms Mackenzie and Mr Wijnberg. It was not only extremely thought-provoking but also very enjoyable and furthered an interest and appreciation in both modern history and the effects that certain events have had upon the world which we live in today.
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THE PRIORIAN
HISTORY PROJECTS My great-grandmother worked in factories in London, particularly the South-East part of London. I know this because my grandma helped me salvage parts of her diary from the war, which depicts an accurate, candid account of what the war was like. Many parts of the diary were damaged by a house flood some time ago, but they managed to save some of it. Her job was to button uniforms for soldiers going to war. Her main goal in working was to provide for her child, my grandfather, John Rimmer. This is a picture of my great-grandmother (centre) with some of her colleagues in World War II.
Dear Mary, Just a few lines to let you know that I am alright, hoping you are the same…At the present time we are in dugouts. The weather is simply awful, raining day after day and especially night after night…To tell you the truth, while writing this letter I am wet through to the skin and not a dry thing for a change. We have got our winter fur coats and gum boots, the latter cause more curses than you can imagine, for instance last night I was sent off to select dugouts for our platoon, which is number 37. It was pitch dark, no light allowed and in a strange place, well honestly, I fell over at least 20 times got smothered in mud from head to feet and on the top of that wet through for it rained in torrents. On a round of inspection this morning to see if all were ‘comfortable’ I was ‘blinded’ up hill and down dale, ‘Sergeant this’ and Sergeant that’. How can you expect men to live in this, and then to put a dampener on the lot, was the language from occupiers who unfortunately were in a residence that fell in during the night? They took shelter under a tree from 0200 after looking for me for half an hour or so, but they could not find me, for the only thing that would shift me, after settling down, if I may call it that, would be a ‘Jack Johnson’ and then I would have no option.
This picture is of my greatgrandfather before departing to fight in World War II. His name is Christian (or Chris as they called him) Rimmer. He joined the war aged just 20, as his wife Ruth was giving birth to their first son, my grandfather, Peter Rimmer. Chris was a soft man inside despite his eagerness to help his country and had, as my grandfather describes, a “soft tone that could calm anyone in times of conflict”. He went from Private, to Lance Corporal, to Corporal which was remarkable in the span of three years serving with no past experience. My grandfather states “he was a natural born leader”.
While in the trenches last week John* and I were up to our knees in water and got our gum boots half full. The line is a bit quiet lately and only now and again do we get a shelling, but one does get used to it. That, to give you an idea, is like sitting at Paddington and hearing the engines screech. After our stretch this time I shall be looking forward for a short leave for I have been here nearly three months now and we stand a good chance. I can’t wait until this is over and I can see your face again. Well, I must conclude now… Yours sincerely, Albert McHale
ST BENEDICT’S
My great-great-grandfather in World War I There is not much information about my great-greatgrandfather in World War I, but I managed to talk to my great-great-auntie, Una, who is 95 and recovered a letter from my great-great-grandfather to his wife Mary:
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*John was a friend of my great-great-grandfather and sadly died in 1917 after Albert in 1916.
Ben Rimmer (U4)
“How can you expect men to live in this, and then to put a dampener on the lot, was the language from occupiers who unfortunately were in a residence that fell in during the night? They took shelter under a tree from 0200 after looking for me for half an hour or so, but they could not find me, for the only thing that would shift me, after settling down, if I may call it that, would be a ‘Jack Johnson’ and then I would have no option.” A ‘Jack Johnson’ was the British nickname used to describe the impact of a German heavy artillery shell
on 15th August, Japan was defeated and surrendered. The Soviets and Chinese terminated Japanese control of Manchuria; no longer the peaceful life for the Japanese. A few days after Japan’s surrender, the Soviets began to invade the towns, abducting children and young women. The servants at my grandfather’s house disappeared as soon as Japan was lost, stealing articles of value.
The life they had in Manchuria was luxurious and they owned a large house with servants. His mother collected many jewels. However, some emigrants, especially farmers, were compelled to have poor, painful, scanty lives. The capital, called Shinkyo, was divided into two parts: one for Chinese, the other for Japanese. Japanese people looked down on Chinese people, and even the children threw stones at the Chinese. On 9th August 1945, the Soviet invasion of Manchuria caused the military conflict within the Second World War known as the Soviet-Japanese War. In Manchuria, people’s lives suddenly changed terribly, and the military situation got worse and worse. In addition to this, Japan had suffered two atomic bombs, on 6th and 9th August by the USA, and soon
Home Front With her husband, Henry, away at war and with a very young baby, Rose Davis moved back to her home town of Aldershot to live with her mother and sister. In those days most women didn’t work once they were married and were even less likely to once they had children. However, with her mother there to look after Felicity, she was keen to go out to work. Women were needed to do the jobs that men had left behind. The first job she had was as a postwoman. It was difficult and upsetting because she had to hand over sad news about loved ones. Also she wasn’t getting any letters herself. For two years she received no post from Henry, although she was in the right place because she sorted her own missing letters in one large batch, which arrived from India, months late. Henry’s letters had got stuck in India.
My grandfather said to me when he was alive that “I would not be here if I took the ship which we tried to get first.” That large repatriation ship had sunk. A huge number of people could not get a ship to Japan, and lots of people were killed or died from starvation and poor treatment in the concentration camps. Some parents sold their children to the Chinese to live, and approximately 2,800 Japanese orphans were left in China. In addition to the orphans, many Japanese women were left; most of them married Chinese men and became known as ‘stranded war wives’. Saho Matsushito (U4)
Rose was involved in Civil Defence, attending large meetings where people were given different jobs. Rose and her sister were chosen to carry messages because they could run fast. We know from certificates
that she took a course in air raid precautions in 1938. Some of Rose’s work got physically demanding. She worked on the Southern Railway, although for this she got extra cheese rations. Rose’s first aid certificate dates this to 1944. She worked in a women’s ‘gang’ led by a retired ‘ganger’. My Granny handed down the story that 6 women filled half a million sand bags. It must have been an extremely hard time for Rose living with hardships, rationing and the fear of war. One of her brothers was in a prison camp.Henry and Rose, however were the lucky ones. They had 13 living siblings between them and none were killed. Alodie Aldridge (U4)
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My grandfather on my mother’s side was born in 1939 as a fourth child of six siblings. Later, his family moved to Manchuria because of his father’s (my great grandfather’s) job. While most men were forced to join the army, his father’s job was teaching Japanese to the Manchurian children.
My great-grandmother detected danger; she took the children and the jewels and hurried to the repatriation ship to escape from the Soviets. But the ship was already full and there was no space for them. They searched for other available ships and finally found a smaller one by giving away some of her jewels. On the way to Japan, Chinese and Soviets tried to prevent them from escaping from Manchuria. But my great-grandmother surrendered the last jewel and at long last, they managed to come back to Japan.
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ENGLISH CREATIVE WRITING COMPETITION DYSTOPIA
GOTHIC HORROR
It was desolate, grim, with the surface of the road smouldering from what can only be described as a fearsome tornado of fire, thought to be sent by the terrifying tribe from the partnering city. They were called the Malacians, and they had inhabited our neighbouring patch of land for the last one hundred years and we had been enemies for as long. They were reproducing at a rapid speed and needed to expand their homeland. A long torso, strength in the legs and fatigue-resistance enabled them to run fast in their packs. As they charged the city the ground vibrated and their cackling shrieks echoed throughout the city.
The Shadow Killers
ST BENEDICT’S
Unlike other invasions, the Malacians had heightened their ability to wipe out entire communities using the force of a fireball to destroy our native land. We arrived from the south and the smell of burning flesh reached us before anything else; a feeling of helplessness and humiliation sank into our stomachs. We were a family full of courage and bravery but this was a new level of conflict and battle. Were we prepared for what we were about to see?
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The smoke hung in the sky like a blanket of doom, shaping its way into demonlike figures hovering over the dead. Our fellow citizens were frozen by heat in their position of helplessness. How could they do this? What had been was unbearable to think about. What we needed to do to reclaim our land had to be our focus; to take back what was rightfully ours, dampen the smouldering city and put our fellow men and women to rest. My feet were burning through the soles of my shoes and the burning rubber masked the smell of my friends, burnt to the bone and everywhere you looked. I heard a SHRIEK and the ground began to shake. Our plan was about to unfold. Toby King (L4) – Winner
The black van crept through the backstreets of Paris, its shadowed windows gleaming in the evil light. Abandoned buildings whizzed past, fizzing with fear; windows shattered unveiling the derelict stomachs of the ancient brickwork. People scuttled away as the menacing lights of the van searched the unpleasant road. Michael Williams’ company had recruited him in Paris though he would have gladly stayed in his usual, boring schedule. Michael’s company’s logo gleamed on the outside of the van: a lime leopard with its jaws open. Underneath it read: “We will hunt you.” The message was short, sharp and unappealing, a perfect way to describe Michael’s employers. He looked out of his window, his hands shivering as he turned the steering wheel. Every emotion was running through his head now, but fear laced it all. As silence twisted around the moving vehicle, smoke could be smelt, shaking up his senses. Quickly glancing at the wing mirrors Michael could see the extensive road trailing behind him. The van was gloomy, accompanying the world around him as if darkness had inhaled him. Michael’s hand uncontrollably flicked the switch which sent a blasting tune releasing him of stress and bathing him in relief, soothing him to the core. The van hurried on. Half an hour had passed and there was still no sign of who Michael was looking for. Suddenly a tall figure appeared walking down the street in the other direction. He wore a long purple cloak which curled round his legs like snakes. A broad bowler hat perched on his head full of black mischievous hair. His shadow didn’t perfectly corollate with his stick-like body. His hands moved sluggishly holding a long gleaming object. Michael took a deep, nervous breath. He looked normal, but Michael knew what he really was. Felix Kloetgen (F3) – Winner
L–R: Helena Ramsden (F3); Alice Gould (U4); Toby King (L4); Ravi Gupta (F3); Felix Kloetgen (F3); Tyler Offiah (L4)
DARKSIDE
THE PRIORIAN
Tom Becker’s book Darkside unleashed huge amounts of creativity from Form 3.
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The power of determination in the face of adversity Emily Rawlings (U5)
We all face challenges in our lives. Each and every person will have obstacles to climb and decisions to make. Although some individuals are born into more privileged circumstances, the one thing the human race has in common are the struggles which each individual experiences, both small and big. Different experiences, yes, but as a society, we are interdependent, reliant on each other to succeed. Therefore, when we hear such inspirational stories, we tend to question our own levels of perseverance. I’m sure some of us struggle to have the confidence to believe we can make a change. We doubt, we procrastinate, we day dream, and then we hear these inspiring stories again…
one of the children was shot and killed. After the tragedy his beautiful music ceased, and his piano was destroyed, forcing him to flee to Germany. Now, he plays his song for the young girl Zainab, the girl who was murdered, as he explores the calamity of the events and how the war left the innocent in great danger. As he continues to make a new life for himself, we are inspired by the experience he shared. Despite our own individual struggles, we are infinitely more fortunate than people like Eid or Aeham Ahmad and, I believe, we must strive to adopt some of the courage and hope that they exude and try to make a change for those who do not have the platform to do so.
“A year ago, I couldn’t swim” said Eid Aljazairli candidly to the camera. A 24-year-old Syrian refugee, he is now training to compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. In 2016, whilst crossing the Mediterranean to reach Europe, Eid nearly drowned as the motor on his boat completely cut out. It failed to restart. He was convinced he was going to die, that this was the end. Yet, he survived and made it to London where he moved in with a British couple. Inspired by Michael Phelps and never wanting to be in such a vulnerable, precarious situation again, he visited a local pool and set about teaching himself how to swim. Each morning, he would make the short journey to the pool. Each morning he persevered, copying a squad that would train in the early mornings beside him. When a coach noticed this, he called Eid over and questioned why he was copying the team. Once Eid explained his inspiring story, he was invited to train with them.
Once again these staggering and thought-provoking stories perhaps leave questions in our own minds of how determined and strong willed we actually are. Can we really make a difference in this world? Can we show courage in the face of adversity? The answer is that we can, in both small and big ways. A number of Old Priorians who left St Benedict’s in 2012 are raising funds for Teenage Cancer Trust in memory of Andre Abramian. They embarked on their challenges in April starting with the Marathon des Sables (a 251 km race across the Sahara Desert), as well as the Vichy Ironman (a long distance, high intensity triathlon race). Following this, they will attempt to swim the English Channel, and finish by rowing 3000 miles across the Atlantic. This is truly an inspiring story of ordinary people, like you and me, showing great courage and determination to make a difference.
“If the passion is inside, just give it 100%, and no matter what, never stop.”
ST BENEDICT’S
Although Eid evidently has an astounding story, his statement resonates with us all. If he had never persevered to get to that pool, would he be where he is now? If the coach had not offered him lessons, would he be training for Olympic glory? If that couple had not taken him in, nurtured and cared for him, would he have a future? We can question our luck and fate, but to disregard this and continue to strive for success even when the odds are piled against you is the epitome of determination.
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We can take further inspiration from a man known as ‘The Pianist of Yarmouk’, or Aeham Ahmad, who grew up in the suburbs of Damascus. Walking down the war-torn streets of Yarmouk, Ahmad took refuge in music as he brought joy and comfort to the streets of his decimated and almost desolate town. Without fear for his own life, he played the piano for the children, the elderly or anyone who would listen in order to evoke the tiniest ounce of hope in their lives. But one day, whilst playing for a group of young vulnerable, innocent girls,
Each individual has different experiences. But each individual also has the ability to make changes in society. We all have the capacity to persevere, to be determined and to continue to strive for success when the obstacle standing in our way seems immovable. Despite the difficulties of this confusing, complicated world, the greatest attribute we possess is to be determined in the face of adversity. Without a doubt, it is this strength and positive outlook on life that enables a path for success.
ALUMNI: DORABROS
James: Never was life more carefree or simple as in my days at St Benedict’s. I could count my worries on one hand and have a thumb and finger to spare. I was surrounded by great friends and truly inspirational teachers. I left for the University of Edinburgh in September 2012 knowing that the experiences I had had, and relationships I made, would last a lifetime. Lirim: No matter what we all did, whether we went travelling, started work or went off to university, we would always come back to Ealing and catch up over a pint or two. I was always itching to come back home and see everybody but no one from my university seemed to share this emotion with me. I don’t know whether this was because of the countless rugby games and training sessions I shared with the guys, or whether it was the class pranks we did together. The one thing I can say for sure is that it was definitely St Benedict’s that formed these bonds. It’s because of St Benedict’s
James, Rufus, Charlie and Lirim
that I have friendships that will last a lifetime. I’d like to say a big thank you to the school for providing me with some of the greatest years of my life. James: Others are less fortunate. We were devastated by the loss of Andre Abramian, who died of cancer while we were pupils at St Benedict’s. His memory was a big factor in our decision to make a difference in the world. Cancer has affected everyone; whether directly or indirectly, it has taken from us all. Every day, seven British teenagers are diagnosed with cancer. Their life changes from one of GCSEs and first team selection to one of hospitals and restriction. There is, however, an organisation ensuring that these youngsters are not alone. The Teenage Cancer Trust is the only charity dedicated to helping young people between the ages of 13 and 24 in the United Kingdom, providing specialist care in NHS hospitals across the country for teenagers battling cancer.
Lirim, Charlie, Rufus (a friend from university) and I aim to raise £100,000 for the Teenage Cancer Trust in 2019/2020. St Benedict’s taught us to dream big and gave us the confidence that we could take on anything. In order to achieve our fundraising goal, we will undertake the following challenges: • Run the Marathon des Sables – a 251 km footrace across the Sahara • Swim the English Channel as a relay • Complete the Vichy Ironman triathlon • Row the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge – a 3000 nautical mile unsupported race across the Atlantic • Cycle from Rome to London The year has taken meticulous planning, trust in each other and a huge amount of support from those around us. We have decided to take on these challenges to support teenagers battling cancer, which is much tougher than the Sahara or the Atlantic. Our team is called the Dorabros, named after the Dorado fish. More information can be found on our website and on our Facebook page. www.dorabros.com @dorabros
THE PRIORIAN
Three Old Priorians who left St Benedict’s in 2012 – James Deehan, Charlie Crane and Lirim Gula – are raising funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust.
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LANGUAGES Exploring attitudes to Modern Languages The Modern Languages Department held a set of interviews with students ranging from L5 to U6 to get some insight into why they think languages are so important in our world today. Here is the transcript from our L6 and U6 linguists: Mrs Brooks: What do you think about language learning? Ben: Language is very interesting. I think my heritage also helps me with other languages such as French and Spanish which I’m studying at A level. Mrs Brooks: Right, so you speak Italian as well? So quadrilingual? Ben: Yes. Mrs Brooks: Excellent – and we have quite a few more double linguists at A level. You study French and German, rather than French and Spanish. Why those two languages in particular? Charlie: Well, I think that German is a good language for business, on the economic side, and French, just because of its proximity to England and the links between the two countries – and because they are both nice countries too! Mrs Brooks: And what is your third A level? Charlie: Economics.
ST BENEDICT’S
Mrs Brooks: So you mentioned with German the link with Economics. And do you think that that’s helped a bit?
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Charlie: Well, yes. There are lots of case studies which are shown in Germany because it’s the fourth biggest economy in the world. So these case studies often overlap, in terms of content, between the two courses and the contents of the text books and wider reading.
Mrs Brooks: Right. And does anyone else here study Economics or Business alongside languages? Tahlia: Yes, I think the combination of languages and Business works really well. I felt that to study languages and business at university would make me so much more employable because there are not enough people in the UK with good Modern Languages skills so it’s almost like a Unique Selling Point. It helps so much with communication in Business. Mrs Brooks: You mentioned language skills. This is something investigated by the Government about ten years ago and the research showed that we have a severe shortage of language skills in the UK. Do you think that we’re not very good at languages? Marcorius: Definitely! Europeans are actually very international and the UK doesn’t feel so, in terms of language ability. Most would speak at least a basic level of another language, if not two or three, but often in primary schools in the UK, Modern Languages is taught at a very basic level and very few go on to become fluent in another language. The common perception of the UK is that everyone is a ‘gentleman’, but perhaps that isn’t true! Mrs Brooks: Do you mean in terms of respect for another person’s language? Marcorius: Well, there’s an old joke: What do you call a person who speaks three languages? Trilingual. What do you call a person who speaks two languages? Bilingual.
And what do you call a person who speaks just one language? English! Basically, when an English person goes out of their way to speak another language and to try to understand the culture of another person, that person is always really impressed and you do better with the locals! Mrs Brooks: Well, yes. I have certainly experienced that, living abroad for certain periods of time, and I’m sure many of you have or will. Speaking another language is not necessarily expected of a British person, which seems a shame. I hate to mention the word, but do you think that Brexit will have an effect on language learning in the UK? Christian: I actually think that Brexit, on the whole, should actually make people see the need to speak another language. I’m from Brazil and the situation there is just totally different. It’s expected that you learn another language well. It’s an essential skill. Dr Ennis: That would be good. In a sense, perhaps you don’t want everyone acquiring this skill as you are so unique in the UK when you have good language skills and therefore very employable! Why have two people to negotiate a deal when one could do the job? I’m sure attitudes in Brazil or Italy and other countries are very different. Can you think of ways of encouraging pupils to continue with a Modern Language? Nationwide, it is not a popular choice, which is perhaps shocking in the current climate. Should it be treated as a core subject as it is in many other countries? Christian: Well, I think it’s smart to create a relationship with other countries at the moment. Our language skills are not as strong as in Brazil, for example, so I think it is important to create a mind-set more open to languages. I think that schools should actually ‘force’ pupils to learn at least one other language, even in England, with English being more widely spoken than many other languages. It is so important to learn about other cultures and how people live in other societies.
Ben: Well, I’m not sure the Government can force this. It should be down to people’s own choices – but also their own initiative! Charlotte: I think that it should be both. I think that the Government should have something in place so that people learn a language much earlier but, also, it’s a question of changing mind-sets. I think that some students do not choose a language at A level, or even at GCSE, because of the fear of failure. It’s perhaps considered a very difficult subject at GCSE. You have to be able to speak it and understand it, instead of just
learning it like in another subject. I think that it is more because it is a skill so it is not acquired in the same way as knowledge. But it’s still possible and gives you such an advantage. Laurice: Sometimes people who don’t feel the need to learn another language can appear quite closed-minded, relying on others to learn more about their culture and perhaps believing that it is worth more than other cultures. But when you have another language or two or three, it opens up a whole world you knew nothing about before. We live in a big city with people from all over the world and the UK is a very diverse country so it is important to be more open to communicating with others perhaps in a language other than English.
is about people working together. Language learning is not just for the sake of a holiday, although that’s very useful! Mrs Brooks: Do you see yourself using languages at university – or in your future employment? Maximilien: Well, at university, having a year abroad in Industry is so important. It’s a chance to really improve your second or third language and you should really use it to your advantage. There are so many who could use what language skills they have and sometimes don’t, but I really see the advantage of having that skill. Mrs Brooks: And in ten years’ time? ALL: Definitely!
Mrs Brooks: So to dispel the old idea “Everyone speaks English, so there’s no need to learn another language!” Laurice: Yes. I think that if other people have made an effort to learn your language, then they deserve the same respect back. Living in a society
Mrs Brooks: That’s great, as often you hear people say, “Well, I learnt French at school and I can’t remember a word of it! That’s a shame as obviously job prospects are greatly enhanced when you have this skill. So, well done, good luck and keep going! Thank you.
THE PRIORIAN
Mrs Brooks: I agree that understanding of other cultures is so important. In the UK, we tend to just teach very basic vocabulary in primary schools – colours, pets etc, whereas in France and Germany pupils may already be putting together paragraphs of writing and be able to give their opinions orally, really beginning to use the subject as the tool of communication that it is – a way of connecting with others. Do you think it should come from the Government?
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German is the language of one of the most important and influential countries in the world, and is an extremely enjoyable language to learn. I first decided to study German in Lower 4th, as it is what my mother had studied at university, and my brother had taken for A level, so I had a connection to the language previously. Both the nature of the language and the culture that surrounds it captivated me, with the existence of words such as Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz, meaning ‘the law concerning the delegation of duties for the supervision of cattle marking and the labelling of beef’, showing the unique and quirky aspects of German. I decided to take my study of German a step further by choosing it as an A level, primarily because having a foreign language as a skill is one that will benefit me greatly. With Germany being the fourth largest economy in the world, and the home of many major companies, having this skill will definitely open new doors in the future. Obviously, in relation to Brexit, having this connection to the EU’s most widely spoken native language is a positive. However, regardless of Brexit, the opportunities that having German will give me was a major factor in making the decision. The fact that German blends so well with my other A levels (Geography and Politics, for example), in the vein of studying global cultures and systems, was also a contributor.
ST BENEDICT’S
Personally, I think one of the best opportunities that the school offers, as well as one of the highlights of studying German, is the annual exchange to Meschede and the Gymnasium der Benediktiner. I was lucky enough to take part in the exchange with my German partner, Felix, two years in a row, in Upper 4th and Lower 5th, and the two weeks spent in Germany were particularly amazing. Not only was it an incredible opportunity to test my German in real-life family and school environments, but the memories and life-long friendships I have made were definitely the pre-eminent parts of the experience. This summer, I will be taking a trip to Freiburg – another opportunity for me to practise my skills.
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Although I am not currently looking to study German at university, I fully intend to retain and improve my knowledge of German for the rest of my life. The German A level course has also been fascinating. Unlike at GCSE, we begin to learn about the rich history and culture of German-speaking countries in detail, from the rise and fall of East Germany and the Berlin wall, to looking at sustainable environmental approaches in Germany. We also study one film and one piece of literature, and are able to present a research presentation on any topic to do with the country/language. The book that I am studying is Der Besuch der Alten Dame, which many German students got the opportunity to perform over two nights in 2017 – another highlight of my experience in the department. I have chosen to complete research on the differences between impacts of the German language on German-speaking areas in Namibia and Texas. The course has, and will continue to be, engaging and informative, especially with the enthusiasm of the supportive German department staff at St Benedict’s. Evan Hobson (L6)
RindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufRindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz gabenübertragungsgesetz
Why study German?
giving their partner a warm welcome. Back home, we sat down to English sausages, quite different to ‘die Würste’. Sunday We had lots of fun playing mini-golf at Westfield and had lunch at Five Guys, which Luca seemed to enjoy. Later, we walked along the Thames, noting the different bridges and areas of London along the way.
GERMAN EXCHANGE 2019 Saturday We arrived at Meschede station at around 7pm after an 8-hour train journey from St Pancras. I was introduced to Mattis and we immediately got on really well, talking about our favourite football teams and interests. We had a barbeque and gathered around the fire to toast Stockbrot (a traditional German bread), which was actually more difficult than it looked. Sunday After breakfast of bacon and eggs – Mattis’ favourite – we went to a water park. Mattis told me that this was a famous water park as it had so many different types of slides, and, trust me, it didn’t disappoint. We had a great time. Monday Our first day at the German school. I went to every class with Mattis and I have to say it was a significantly different experience compared to our school in England. As the school started so early (7.30 am) it was also quite nice to be able to finish early too. After school we went to Mattis’ friend’s birthday party where we learnt some dances that German teenagers do, which was great fun. Tuesday Today was the day of the big football match. The final score was a comfortable 16-4 victory to St Benedict’s. That night we ate pretzels for dinner and chilled out.
Wednesday Today we went to the city of Brilon. After an interesting presentation from the Mayor about the history of the city we then went on a nature walk where we learnt about the Kyrill Storm that struck the Gauerland in 2007. Thursday We had fun helping the German students with their speaking skills. After school we went to a dancing class, which was great fun, but we English students were a bit behind. Friday After the farewell Mass of the exchange there was a barbeque with leckere Würste und Brötchen, followed by the final party in the village of Berge. Saturday Time for Mattis and me to say ‘auf Wiedersehen’ until next March. I really enjoyed my time in Germany and was sad to leave. I can’t wait for March when Mattis comes to spend a week with my family.
Tuesday After thoroughly enjoying a meal at Nando’s, we all started on the bowling that entertained us for hours, until 10 pm when we all went back to our houses. Wednesday We went on a trip to Westminster Abbey. After a short video and a mock coronation of Billy Bradley we got an interesting tour. Then we took the tube to Covent Garden where we had lunch and free time, before meeting to watch the Lion King. It was Luca’s first musical and he said afterwards how much he enjoyed it. Thursday St Benedict’s Day. I was helping with my form’s activity so I left Luca with his friends to partake in separate activities; they seemed to be quite content with the sweets and exciting events taking place. After school we went cycling along the river, and further into London.
Ryan Garvie (L5)
Meschede to Ealing Saturday I was reunited with Luca at Ealing Broadway. For many, this was the first time meeting their partners and, as expected, many were anxious to see who they would be sharing their home with for the week. However, I’m glad to say that only happy faces could be found and everyone seemed to be
Friday This was the last day of their stay and they spent most of it in London, visiting tourist attractions and taking many photos. Saturday For me and a few others this was a final goodbye. I greatly enjoyed my time in Germany and hope Luca enjoyed his time here just as much. Felix Mac-Fall (L5)
THE PRIORIAN
Ealing to Meschede
Monday The first day of English school for our partners. Luca commented that his lessons in Germany were more relaxed, whereas ours were more structured. At 1.30 pm we gathered for the big football match. Despite the devastating loss for the exchange team of 9-2, we all had lots of fun, on field or spectating.
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ACADEMIC RESULTS 2018 Our best ever GCSE results Up 20%
66% of
since 2016
pupils achieved grades 9–7
Up 12% since 2017
(A*–A)
ST BENEDICT’S
Best A level results in 5 years
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74%
42%
of pupils achieved
A*–A
Up 5% since 2017
of pupils achieved
A*–B
UNIVERSITY DESTINATIONS 2018 Business and Politics Economics International Management and Modern Languages – Spanish Politics and International Relations. Law Psychology Political Science and International Relations Philosophy Archaeology and Anthropology Business Management (Year in Industry) (4 years) Games Design Biomedical Science Medicine – MBChB Standard entry (5 years) English English Sociology French Law Economics/Philosophy Business Management with a Professional Placement Year Law Modern History and Politics (Integrated) Politics/Spanish (4 years) Financial Mathematics Business Management French/Spanish (4 years) Mathematics English and Media History Psychology Economics and Finance with Industrial Experience Biomedical Science Geography (Science) Strength and Conditioning (With Foundation Year) Management with a Year in Industry Mathematics with a foundation year (4 years) Geography English Literature and Theatre Studies Economics Business Management Avionic Systems Economics Mathematics with Finance Economics Computer Science Business Management Joint Honours Psychology and Nutrition Law Pharmaceutical Sciences (with a Year in Industry) Economics American Studies and History Law History of Art Archaeology and Geography Marketing Philosophy and Theology Marine Biology Architecture Television and Broadcasting Digital Music with Foundation Year in Popular Music Production Computer Science with Industrial Experience Biochemistry Politics and International Relations Music International Relations Law History Materials Science with Nuclear Engineering Nursing Child Branch BN Economics Politics and Economics Geography German and Russian (year abroad) Biochemistry Medicine Sports Coaching Science with Foundation Year
Surrey Surrey Surrey Surrey Surrey Sussex Sussex Sussex Trinity St David’s UCL UCL Warwick Warwick Warwick Warwick Westminster
Electronic Engineering with Nanotechnology Accounting and Finance Economics and Finance with Foundation Year Mathematics Economics Business, Management and Economics (with a foundation year) Business and Management Studies (with a prof. placement year) Geography International Hotel Management Engineering (Mechanical) History with a European Language (4 years) Mathematics, Operational Research, Statistics and Economics (MORSE) Philosophy Mathematics Computer Science Law
Year in industry A year with Proctor and Gamble
63%
of pupils achieved their first choice
Overseas universities University of Guelph, Canada University of Leiden University of Amsterdam University of Waterloo, USA University of Drexel, USA
Business Political Science Psychology Business Economics
14% achieved their second choice 11% went into clearing 8% chose an alternative pathway – e.g. gap years, year in industry 4% chose to study overseas
THE PRIORIAN
Aston Bath Bath Bath Birkbeck Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham Bournemouth Brighton Bristol Bristol Bristol Bristol Bristol Brunel Cardiff Cardiff Cardiff Cardiff Cardiff Cardiff Cardiff Cardiff Cardiff Cardiff Metropolitan Durham Edinburgh Exeter Exeter Exeter Hartpury Kent Kent Leeds Leeds Liverpool Liverpool Liverpool Loughborough Newcastle Newcastle Newcastle Newcastle Newcastle Newcastle Nottingham Nottingham Nottingham Nottingham Nottingham Nottingham Nottingham Trent Oxford Portsmouth Portsmouth Portsmouth Portsmouth (Solent) Queen Mary, Univ. of London Reading Reading Royal Holloway Royal Holloway Royal Holloway Royal Holloway Sheffield Southampton Southampton Southampton Southampton St Andrew’s St Andrew’s St Andrew’s St Mary’s Twickenham
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SPORTS CAPTAINS Captain of Rugby, Tomek Tsang
rugby club. The game was very tight and we were 9 points down with 5 minutes to go. Tries from Thomas Goode and Kimen Nyam in the last 5 minutes gave us the win in the most dramatic circumstances. The two wins against Shiplake and Mill Hill showed the mental strength of the team. In late February, our 7s season began with a pre-season camp at Wellington in which we learnt a lot against some very skilled opposition. We then went on to have disappointing tournaments at Surrey and Hampton. We managed to bounce back at Middlesex sevens which was hosted at home. We went on to win the plate, the first time the school had won anything at this tournament in 10 years, beating Mill Hill in the semi-final and Sevic College in the final.
ST BENEDICT’S
The 2019/20 rugby season has been an extremely enjoyable and successful season. It started with a fantastic tour to the west coast of USA and Canada. We had a tough game against the state side British Columbia, losing narrowly. We then went on to have two wins against the Washington state side and Cowichan Rugby Club. The tour also had many off the pitch highlights: we went whale watching in Victoria Island and we stayed with families. The tour kick-started our season allowing us to sharpen up our rugby skills but also, more importantly, to bond as a group really well, joining two year-groups together.
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The 15s season was an extremely successful one. We managed wins over large rugby schools such as RGS High Wycombe (30-10) and New Hall (48-0). However, two highlights of the season have to be wins against Shiplake College (30-29) and Mill Hill (24-22). We beat Mill Hill in round 2 of the NatWest competition with fullback Emilio Uribe scoring in the final play and then converting from the corner to snatch the win away from Mill Hill. Shiplake invited us to their annual Friday Night Lights game at Henley
I am extremely proud to captain an amazing 1st XV in which we achieved huge amounts this season, after having a very challenging previous season. The boys have shown enormous commitment and we have become a very tight group. Great credit has to be given to the vice captains Daniel Moore and Thomas Goode, and to the coaches Mr Coles, Mr Higgins and Mr Stringer who have given large amounts of effort in maximising our performance. As we move towards the 2019 cricket season we find ourselves preparing in the Sports Hall throughout the winter. This can be hard at times when all you want to do is play cricket outside in the sunshine but it’s a necessity to make sure we’re best prepared for the season. Last year we had an up and down season with some good wins against The Emeriti, Old Priorians, John Hampden Grammar School, Highgate and Latymer. Things will change again with some players moving on but I am confident with the new and existing players in the school’s 1st XI squad we will have a successful season. For the first time we will also have two players moving up from the Under 15s team to be part of the 1st XI: Jared Braddock and George Curtis-Raleigh.
Captain of Cricket, Tomek Tsang
Both players have proved through their school cricket careers that they’re very good players and warrant their position in the team. So as we see the rugby season coming almost to a close I look forward to exchanging my rugby boots for a cricket bat in my last year at St Benedict’s. Good luck to everyone who will play this year.
Captain of Hockey, Cora Doherty
I would like to start by thanking everyone involved in senior hockey this season and throughout our time at St Benedict’s. It has been my honour to captain such a great group of girls, who
We started the year with pre-season training in Maidenhead, where we bonded as a team and learnt how to play together rather than just individuals. This stood us in good stead for the rest of the season, enabling us to beat really good teams such as Mill Hill. I think the best game of the season was our last game against Gordon’s; despite drawing 1-1, we had lost 12-0 to them the year before which I think best demonstrates how far we have all come, and how much effort we have put into matches and training throughout the season. I think this hockey season reflects how sport in general at St Benedict’s has massively improved for girls, with more intense training sessions, more opportunities and higher levels of commitment from the girls. The Sports Department has put increasing effort and support into girls’ hockey over recent years. Overall, it has been a pleasure to play with every single person in the first team this year and I wish St Benedict’s an even better season next year.
Captain of Fencing, Fernanda Da Silva
My experience as captain over the past two years has been an exciting one. Before I joined the school, I was invited to fence at the senior training sessions on Tuesdays by the head of fencing, Mr Sadiq. The depth of the school’s fencing programme made St Benedict’s my first choice for Sixth Form when I applied in 2016. I became Fencing Captain in January 2017, and having to adapt to the responsibilities of being captain as well as to a new environment was a challenge. Making sure people knew about and turned up to fixtures was the hardest part because I found myself often running around a school I didn’t know very well chasing after people! This job soon became easier as I created a group chat to unite everyone and, of course, my teammates help me out whenever they can (Amy Vaughan has been particularly helpful this year). Our team gets along very well and we always support each other during competitions and matches, giving tips where we can. The fencing teams are a tight-knit group and always support each other both on and off the piste. Our fencing teams have all done well this year, particularly the U18A, U15A and U13B teams who rarely lose a match. We are currently the Junior Public Schools Champions, the London Quadrangular Champions, have five fencers qualified to the national championships and have medalled at the British School Team Championships. The epée teams have been increasingly refining themselves this year and won their most recent match against Whitgift School, a tough opponent. The sabre squad is now able to field B teams and has qualified two fencers to the nationals. The team has its fair share of fun and jokes and the banter between the three fencing weapons is ever present but I always feel respected as captain. I’ll be leaving for university next year and I hope to continue fencing while I am there. I look forward to coming back to fence next year’s U18As as an OP in the annual OP vs U18A fixture. I hope the team have enjoyed having me as captain as much as I have enjoyed the role.
Captain of Netball, May Nielson
Being selected as 1st VII captain was both a privilege and an honour and I was so excited, given past experiences with the team, to lead them through the season. Although at first the prospect of being in charge of a squad of ten girls was a little daunting, I soon realised that we were going to work as a unit and my priority as captain need not be team cohesion as that was naturally there already. Throughout our season we experienced many ups and downs; at the beginning we worked on knowing each other’s strengths and weaknesses and how best to play ‘our game’. We have come together and pushed through many boundaries in order to win games that we didn’t think we could. A particular highlight was winning by a huge 23-0 against Highgate School, giving us massive amounts of confidence for the remaining fixtures. The whole squad worked so hard in matches; of particular note is our unbreakable defense of Mfonobong Bassey and Wairimu Guede, who make it almost impossible for many shooters to break down our defensive strength. Not forgetting our amazing vice-captain Francesca Povinelli, who defied the odds at our match against Godolphin and Latymer School, shooting incredibly well, leading the way to a 22-15 victory with the help of Issy Pye and Annabel Samols. Overall, we have played extremely well as a team with only a few losses throughout the season. We are all incredibly proud of our performances in each game and will really miss playing together as a team.
THE PRIORIAN
have managed to make our last season a season to remember.
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CCF
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SSM Louis Miles (U6) reviews the year.
Here’s what some had to say about their experiences:
This year has been incredibly eventful in the CCF, with a massive intake of new recruits in Teeling Troop, a thriving Wilding and Casey Troop, and one of the largest and most committed teams of NCOs the CCF has seen in recent years.
Casey Troop (Upper 5th) have indicated a bright future for CCF as they have learnt vital leadership skills through their method of instruction training, enabling these junior NCOs to be able to effectively transition into a teaching role next academic year, and lead the future of the CCF. Speaking of leadership, there were two prestigious leadership cadres which St Benedicts CCF cadets attended in the Lent Term. Members of Casey Troop impressed at the JNCO cadre, with LCpl Green achieving best cadet on the course. I attended the national Cadet Leadership Course run by LONDIST. This included forty cadets from the ranks of Corporal to Sergeant Major, travelling from as far as Belfast; all were put through 7 days of arduous leadership training. On arrival I was put into 1 Section 3 platoon, as we conducted leadership theory training, which we would then put into practice over the next week in scenarios from casualty evacuations to platoon attacks. On the first day we knew nothing about each other, but that would all change by the end of the course, making friends that have lasted way beyond the course. Overall I gained skills that have enabled me to lead the CCF in a
We were privileged to be able to demonstrate our CCF’s ability at multiple competitions in the Lent Term. These included the CADSAAM shooting competition in which a team of four provided a solid performance, although they didn’t bring home any silver. Unlike the Elworthy Trophy at RAF Northolt, where a strong team of eight competed in 10 stands, including command tasks and physical fitness tests, coming an overall second place, winning multiple individual stands. In November exercise Cold Steel took place, where Teeling Troop spent the weekend undergoing weapon handling training on the L98A2 GP weapon system, to enable them to be able to operate a rifle in the field in Ex Bronze Tiger.
“The camp was not easy but it was challenging and that is what made it good because it pushed us to persist through the rain, cold and wind and helped the new recruits put the tactics learnt on Monday sessions into action.” The NCO team has worked incredibly hard alongside staff this year to allow us to achieve all the above. Here’s what some SNCOs had to say about this year’s experiences: “The last year of cadets was no doubt the best year. Being so experienced allowed me to partake in many interesting things. Notably being part of the Elworthy team and competing against different cadet contingents really allowed me to bond with my fellow cadets and gave me the opportunity to test my abilities. This year has also developed my public speaking and leadership skills; commanding a section and teaching recruits has taught me invaluable skills that will always stay with me, and they have also increased my confidence massively. Overall this year has definitely been the best.”
In the last week of February, the St Benedict’s School CCF went on a field weekend to Longmoor training camp in Hampshire.
The purpose of the weekend was to develop and refine field craft skills, including overnight stay in the field, military exercises, night-time exercises, sentry duties and the joy of rations! The camp took place in two phases. The first phase, Ex Silver Lion, was for the senior cadets who left on Friday morning for a two-night-stay. The second phase, Ex Bronze Tiger, was for the new recruits who arrived on Saturday morning for a one-night-stay. For the new recruits, this was their first time away in the field with the cadet force – and the weekend promised to offer some fun challenges. Field camps are meant to be a tough challenge, but they always provide the opportunity to develop stamina and personal resilience, as well as an opportunity to practise the skills necessary to be a successful cadet.
“The CCF has been an incredibly useful tool in furthering my confidence and leadership skills. It has given me the opportunity to lead and teach my section which are very valuable skills I can carry forward to later life. Moreover, the camps have been a refreshing break from school work. They are a time in which I can focus on myself and what I have to do throughout the CCF camp. The extra work being an IC of a section during the CCF camps gave me important experience in managing my time effectively and dealing with workload under pressure.”
THE PRIORIAN
The Lower 5ths in Wilding Troop have been building on their basic map and compass skills, providing themselves with the key knowledge to enable them to continue their CCF careers further.
much more effective manner, both in a barracks scenario, and on exercise in the field.
CCF
Following a very successful Summer Camp, fifty new recruits joined Teeling Troop in September. Throughout the year they have eagerly undergone their basic training, including: drill, military knowledge, weapon handling training, marksmanship, map and compass, and introductions to field craft and tactics, earning their berets. The outstanding efforts of the Teeling Troop NCOs, running the lessons of the recruits, have been encouraging to see, setting the standards high for future NCOs of the contingent.
“One of my favourite bits was the night patrol because it was exciting not knowing what was about to happen and it was cool trying to find our way back in the dark.”
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CCF Summer Camp 2018 The St Benedict’s Combined Cadet Force went to Wathgill in Yorkshire for their annual summer training camp. A varied programme was delivered by excellent staff from 4 (Infantry) Brigade Cadet Training Team (CTT). The programme included adventurous training, team building and leadership training, as well as instruction on training in built up areas (TIBUA) and the Mercury cadet radio system. In total 39 cadets took part in the week’s activities. Here, cadets report on the week.
ST BENEDICT’S
Sunday and Monday: Patrolling, recce, platoon harbour, platoon attack – Cdt O’Sullivan (U5) The Platoon attack was undeniably fun; however, it was quite tiring. The first phase was preparing for the attack itself. This included: waking up early in the morning, preparing our equipment and planning the attack phase, using the environment around us. The planning was quite detailed and it gave us a good understanding of how to carry out the next phase. Once the planning phase was out of the way, our platoon commander (Sgt Miles) began to split us into three sections; this meant that the plan came to life as we realised what every section had to do to overcome the enemy positions. For example section one was tasked with covering fire in the first attack, while section two assaulted and section three saved ammo for the second enemy encounter, then the roles rotated for every position, giving every cadet different opportunities to learn and encounter new things on the field.
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Tuesday: Adventurous training and team building – L/Cpl Kelly (L6) The first half of the day started with various challenges involving high platforms, leaps of faith, rickety towers of crates and the infamous Jacob’s ladder. The instructors were firm but supportive, and I felt that their reassurance allowed us to face even the most daunting challenge. We completed the challenges along with St. Columba’s School cadets, and we had plenty of competition. In the end though, the day was fantastic, far exceeding my initial expectations. I came away feeling that I had achieved something and learned from my experiences. I would be all too happy to face the challenge again.
Tuesday: Live Firing – Cpl Ziprin (L5) Next, we moved onto the live firing ranges and so to get our grouping we fired five rounds each at the 100m and 200m marker. Then, with the rest of our rounds we practised our ‘watch and shoot’ drills which is where the target figures fall down every four seconds. In my group we had a few cadets who had never shot live rounds before so it was very exciting for them and at the end I think everyone was quite happy with their results. Thursday: Obstacle Course – Sgt Nyam (U6) The obstacle course was very interesting and challenging. It consisted of two walls to climb (one 6 foot and one 10 foot), walking across logs which were balanced over ditches and also monkey bars. We were taught beforehand how to get over each obstacle and how to help others. Most people were able to get over the first wall, which was 6ft high. However only a few managed to get over the 10ft wall: most people had to be pushed up this wall because it was too high to jump and cling onto the top. The monkey bars were also too high for some people and so we had to lift them up. The obstacle course was an enjoyable experience and I hope to do something like this again in the future.
Friday: Leadership and Signals – Cdt McDonald (L5) Sgt Andy Pennock, an expert in his field of communication within the armed forces, led our CCF in an informative and interactive lesson concerning radios and their multiple uses in the context of battle. His humour and emphatic teaching style allowed every cadet to quickly pick up the art of clear conversation and appropriate handling of the equipment while regaling us with stories of his awe-inspiring and actionfilled life with the army. Command tasks throughout the day developed our already forming teamwork and leadership skills – in particular, I enjoyed using radios to send runners out around camp to collect messages.
DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S AWARD
For our Bronze qualifying expedition we started off really well; there were slight debates within the team on which way to go but surprisingly we were one of the first groups to make it to the campsite. Just like the practice, we were all extremely worn out as we set up the tents and made dinner. This time we all joined the teachers to watch the England football match – the highlight of the day! (It was the World Cup so there were exceptions made that evening so we could cheer for our team.) We all had the evening to relax and prepare for the next day. The day began really well, as we started fairly swiftly and were ahead of most of the groups; then we got lost. Really lost. Rest assured, we were able to make it back onto the map, until we got lost again. In some miraculous and odd way we found the train station. Of course, we came last but we were relieved nevertheless. Not that it was a race (we are constantly reminded of that), but there was definitely some friendly competition going on. We made it onto the train safely, some of us in our flip-flops because we could not stand to walk anymore in our
walking boots in the heat of the ‘new’ British summer. Completing my Bronze was not too bad so I thought, why not do the Silver award? The practice expedition date came along during October half-term. Silver requires two nights of camping and three days of walking. We got the coach from school at 7am in the rain, wishing it would stop. To our dismay, this did not happen and the whole day was rainy. We got to the campsite and the respective groups were assigned teachers for the first day. We got Mr Thomas – a volunteer parent who was going to help us if we got lost. This time we did not get lost and were the first group back at the campsite (in the rain). It was decided that half of the group would get changed while the other half would get started on the tents, then we would switch the responsibilities. I admit I’m not the most experienced camper in the world so when I decided to help put up all the tents before changing, I did not think of the repercussions. As a result of my poor decision, I become very ill. At that point, I was in tears and was prepared to give up the entire idea of carrying on the journey the next day. I was grateful to have the support of my spectacular group and wonderful teachers. I had to take a hot shower and went to bed, cuddled up in the tent. In total I spent about 15 hours in my tent, missing
out on all of the exciting things that happened in the evening. My team looked after me, cooked for me and kept me warm. The teachers were checking on me constantly making sure I did not turn into an icicle. Before the expedition, we had allocated certain responsibilities to different people: for example, one person was in charge of buying cereal bars for the whole group. During the night, badgers came into the porch of the tent and took our 45 cereal bars! Because of the rain we left our tents up to dry and hoped the rain would stop. Thankfully it did, and when we got back to the campsite we offloaded the bags and headed straight to the shower rooms to keep warm and dry all the clothes that were still wet. To reduce the chance of me being ill for 2 nights in a row I was sent straight to my tent and that was where we all sat and played card games until after dinner. In the morning we made breakfast and loaded up the coach, went back to school and parted ways. In the end, my DofE expedition was very interesting to say the least and I cannot wait for our final in June. Kira Depal (U5)
THE PRIORIAN
I started my DofE experience in Lower 5th. For our Bronze practice expedition we started at High Wycombe and ended in a campsite called Chiltern Retreat. Although at first I was a little nervous about what was to come on the day, with help from Mr Sadiq and Ms Wallace we eventually made it to the campsite, despite getting a little lost at times. It was a really exciting yet exhausting first day and Ms Lee made sure we went to sleep at 10pm sharp! (We were thankful the next day.) The next day we cooked breakfast, packed up our tents and got ready to leave. The day was a lot more stressful because we had to walk in the woods by ourselves without any supervision from the teachers. That day was the closest distance I have ever been to a sheep, and the first time I have ever walked into a tree branch. Tired and worn out, we were the last group to make it to the station but were happy to go home to our beds that evening!
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THE EXTENDED PROJECT QUALIFICATION (EPQ) Abstracts from three EPQ written reports...
To what extent was the Battle of the Somme worth the loss of lives, from the British perspective?
To what extent are man-made issues the main influential factors towards the bee decline?
Angelica Lawson (L5)
Ben Walker (L5)
Over time, some people find that events that took place over 100 years ago are easy to forget, and should be allowed to be forgotten. However, this should not be the case. This event has, arguably, hugely influenced our world today. Some people argue that without it, the Central Powers may have been victorious in the First World War.
The focus of my research was to raise awareness for, and ultimaltely discover, the main reason for the rapid decline in the bee population. This emerging catastrophe can be seen all over the world, and one of the main places is North America. I hope to raise awareness for this seemingly unspoken issue in today’s agricultural society, as it has the greatest effect on them, and to come to a satisfying conclusion on what the main factor behind the decline is. I largely used secondary research and data to collect information on the main factors, such as insecticides. I also used a handful of primary resources to compare the effects of the factors, to come to a well-rounded conclusion on whether man-made issues are the main influential factors in the bees’ decline.
This topic interested me because I have seen a lot of controversy about the Battle of the Somme, expecially as its centenary took place quite recently in 2016. There were many news articles at the time about the horrors that took place. However, only a small number of articles included information on the positive outcomes from this event, and instead focused on the horror of the Somme. This made me think about whether the Somme truly was the disaster that most people think it was, or if views are based only on the casualties and loss of lives, overlooking the advances made for Britain.
To what extent are mathematical concepts discovered rather than invented?
ST BENEDICT’S
Max Lubowiecki (U6)
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This conundrum, which began two-and-a-half millennia ago, remains relevant today as it continues in social media and academic circles. One academic recently purported that the rate of progress in mathematics could be greatly advanced through its resolution. In my report I critically analysed secondary sources and endeavoured to ascertain the origins of four famous mathematical concepts: Fermat’s Last Theorem, the Fibonacci Sequence, Prime Numbers, and the Riemann Hypothesis. I gathered primary data through a survey of current academics in the fields of mathematics and physics. I then triangulated all my research in order to determine whether commonly held beliefs about each group’s philosophical standpoint produced the expected answer to the topic question. My findings were surprising and I concluded that, at this point in time, the overall evidence supports the ‘discovered’ argument somewhat more than the ‘invented’. Nevertheless, the progress of the debate is likely to alter as even more complex concepts are tackled and propel this debate forward.
SOCIOLOGY Why males commit more crime than females Megan Griffiths (U6) One reason put forward by sociologists as to why males commit more crime than females is due to their contrasting gender-role socialisation. In childhood, boys tend to be encouraged to be tough and aggressive through toys, clothes and the activities in which they participate. In contrast, girls are taught to be polite and caring. This socialisation is more likely to lead to boys committing violent crimes later in life, whereas girls are taught to conform to rules and are, therefore, less likely to deviate as adults. This polarisation in socialisation links to Parsons’ view on the gender roles in the nuclear family; he argues that the men have an instrumental role of breadwinner while women have an expressive role centred around the home and their children. Therefore, young girls have access to an adult
role model whereas boys do not. This may result in their rejection of feminine modes of behaviour such as being gentle and showing emotion. Boys may seek to distance themselves from this by being aggressive and anti-social, which can lead to deviance. Cohen, and the New Right, argue that boys from lone-parent families are more likely to turn to gangs to seek a male role model and as a source of masculine identity: status is gained through crime. Another theory about why men commit more crime than women is due to the concept of masculinity. Messerschmidt argues that normative masculinity is accomplished, as opposed to being natural. Normative masculinity involves the idea of being a ‘real’ man which has connotations of being physically strong, a breadwinner and not showing emotion; these dominant ideas are
known as ‘hegemonic masculinity’. Messerschmidt argues that men constantly have to work at constructing their masculinity – using the resources at their disposal. This could result in some men using crime in order to accomplish it. White middle-class youths have to subordinate themselves to teachers to gain educational status, so achieve ‘accommodating masculinity’ in school. However, outside of school they may drink and vandalise in order to achieve hegemonic masculinity. This contrasts with black and working-class youths who might have few expectations of a good job and, so, use gang membership and violence to express masculinity. Middleclass men may also use crime – but in their case it is more likely to be ‘whitecollar’ crime. This theory explains why men from different backgrounds commit different types of crime.
Hyder Abdul Karim William Adams Doyin Akinfe Max Appleby James Ayson-Parrish Greta Azzopardi James Ball Eddie Bannister Mfonobong Bassey Conor Baxter Emily Baynes Angelina Bayney William Bignell Molly Bish Tom Blackler Dacre Bradley Benjamin Caplin Alexander Catterall William Coutts Fernanda Da Silva Phoebe Daly-Jones Tom D’Arcy Jules Dehon
Frederick DempseyBrown Cora Doherty Isabelle Dove Alex Dupuy Cerys Edwards Coel Ellis Mishka Fibbens Srishti Garg Aidan Gibbons Luis Gomez Rose Thomas Goode Charlie Gray James Green Genevieve Greenall Megan Griffiths Dominic Grzegorzek Adam Gurdikyan Alexander Holmes Olivia Howell Katie Hughes Darcie Hunter Jules James
Lukasz Jonas Finn Keelan Gabriel Kerr Benedict King Andrei Kirov Tahlia Klein Thomas Knight Chloe Ladwa Shenute Lee Tsz Chun Jack Leonard Alberto LlinaresPerales Oscar Llinares-Perales Louis Lota Max Lubowiecki Lucian Mac-Fall Ryan McPartlin Louis Miles Conor Moon Samuel Moon Daniel Moore Edward Moss Liam Munro
Iman Naini Elizaveta Nedostupenko May Nielsen Hugo Norman Kimen Nyam Oisin O’Cleirigh Fiachra O’Rourke Edward Page Issey Pastor Maximilien Payne Grace Perrotta Christian PiresClements Sam Porter-Thomas Romain Potier Francesca Povinelli Charlie Pyne Ted Raine Jamie Raine Audrey Reber Henry Ritchie James Rollason
Matteo Russo Annabel Samols Joey Sandu Hutchinson Freddie Saward Daniel Schofield Laurice Semaan Umar Sheik Paulina Sienniak Thierry Smies Thomas Smith Claudia Stefanczyk Sam Symes Amy Taylor Vavara Theodorou Tomek Tsang Emilio Uribe Harry van Dinter Oliver Walsh Molly Williams James Young
THE PRIORIAN
U6 LEAVERS
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ST BENEDICT’S
CLASSICS
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Classics Trip to Rome and the Bay of Naples The second day started with a quick breakfast, then it was off to see the BIG one, a visit to the largest amphitheatre in Rome, the Colosseum. This, for me, was the highlight of the trip. The Colosseum is a large imposing structure in the centre of the city. It was constructed under the reign of Emperor Vespasian in AD 72 and was completed in AD 80 by his successor Titus. It is estimated that these Colosseums held up to 80,000 spectators who often assembled to see the gladiators fight. The sheer size and scale of the Colosseum was breath-taking. Rome, the capital of Italy, is one of the most important cities of the ancient world. This world-famous historical city has left important imprints on global culture where ancient ruins like the Forum and the Colosseum provide a reminder of the size of the Roman Empire. Since my first Latin and Classical History classes at St Benedict’s, the ancient world has become a source of constant fascination for me. When I was selected to visit Rome and the Bay of Naples as a member of the Classical Society, my excitement levels were elevated to say the least.
At 5.00am on October 13th, 47 future historians met at Heathrow Airport, eager to depart on the 3-hour magical journey to see, touch and feel living history in Italy. On arrival in Rome, the warm air was a welcome change from the chilly conditions in London. Our first visit was to the local market where the scent of freshly made pizzas filled the square. After settling into the hotel with my room-mates, Adam and Asad, we chatted excitedly about the places we would be exploring.
Over the next few days, we visited lots of other important sites, including the Abbey at Monte Cassino, Pompeii, Stabiae, Heraculaneum, Vesuvius, the temples of Mithras in Ostia and Naples Archaeological Museum. Although there was a lot of walking and queuing to enter museums, I would say that this was an exciting trip, especially as I was able to enjoy the experience with some of my school friends. I would recommend this trip, as being able to experience history first hand is the best. Sebastian Brown (L4)
TRIPS OVERSEAS 2018 –19
June 2019: French Trip (F1) Normandy, France
FRANCE Feb 2019: Annual Ski Trip (F1–L5) Sestriere, Italy
April 2019: Annual Lourdes Pilgrimage (L6) Lourdes, France
GERMANY
July 2018: History Trip (L5) Berlin, Germany
May 2019: Annual Molveno Trip (L4) Trentino, Italy
I TA LY
Oct 2018: Classics Trip (U4–U5) Rome and the Bay of Naples, Italy
USA
October 2018: Government & Politics Trip (Sixth Form) New York and D.C., USA
THE PRIORIAN
Oct 2018: Annual German Exchange (L5/U5) Meschede, Germany
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VOLUNTEERING & MENTORING The St Vincent de Paul Society tackles poverty in all its forms through the provision of practical assistance to those in need. In November, some members of the Sixth Form SVP took part in volunteering at Ealing Soup Kitchen. This very worthy project helps to feed those less fortunate in our community through providing freshly cooked, hot meals. All the food and ingredients are donated, with the majority coming from the Felix Project. Throughout our three hours at the Ealing Soup Kitchen, we took part in a number of tasks, starting with laying the tables with cutlery and plates of bread and cheese. We helped to cook the two main meals which we later served to the visitors at the soup kitchen. The meals we prepared were beef stew and leek and potato soup. We also served a variety of cakes and ice cream for dessert. The soup kitchen ran from 2.00 pm until 5.00 pm, but before leaving we boxed up the remaining stew and soup and gave it to people to take away with them, along with fruit, bread, yogurt and other food items. Despite being hard and busy work, the time went very quickly as we were always occupied in the tasks we were completing. From preparing the ingredients, laying the tables, asking people which option of main meal they would like, cooking, serving and washing up, there was never a dull moment.
ST BENEDICT’S
It was great to be able to give back to our community through volunteering, and I found it a very valuable experience as we saw that our actions were making a difference, benefiting local people. I’m sure we will all return to volunteer there again as this is such a commendable and worthwhile project.
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Charlotte McCann (L6)
Mentoring Peer mentoring at St Benedict’s has gone from strength to strength in recent years. We now have over 40 sixth formers assisting pupils across the school, and many more willing volunteers ready to help as required. Secondary school is full of challenges, such as the transition from primary to secondary, preparing for assessment, friendships, or simply trying to work out how to manage your time. Our sixth formers are perfectly placed to be able to provide the younger members of our school community with the necessary support to help them achieve in all areas of school life. The mentors show the dedication, respect and compassion that we have come to expect from pupils at St Benedict’s, and I feel privileged to work with them.
This has helped me to develop my social skills and ability to communicate with the younger year groups. It also gives me a sense of pride as I am helping others. The mentees benefit greatly from this as they gradually start to adapt to their new school life. Isabella Pye (L6): When I was asked to mentor someone in the year below me I took the chance straight away. Being able to help someone flourish, both academically and in other areas of school life, is very rewarding. Paulina Sienniak (U6): I think mentoring is a great way to talk to other people in the school and help them get the best experience of St Benedict’s as possible. It’s surprising how quickly mentoring becomes a thing that you look forward to during the week because you do become friends with your mentee. I’m so glad I took part!
Ms Sorohan (Head of Classics and Mentoring co-ordinator)
Oscar Teeman (L6): Why do I want to take part in mentoring? It gives me and others the chance to help younger pupils with their school life. Lots of pupils come into secondary school and become confused as it’s such a step up from primary school. They need guidance when they first start with things such as lockers, books and finding their way round the school. Helping these pupils allows me to fulfil my duty of mentoring.
Kira Depal (U5): I wanted to be a mentor because I have always been a person who wants to help others to become comfortable and happy. In addition I had a mentor when I was in the middle school and I found it very helpful, so I wanted to do the same. Genevieve Greenall (U6): I wanted to become a mentor because it can be tough coming to a new, bigger school and I wanted to make their transition easier even if it was by seeing a friendly face in the halls. Evan Hobson (L6): I understood the importance of having guidance throughout my GCSEs and wanted to do the same for someone else.
THE PRIORIAN
Ella Marron (L6): The role of being a mentor at school involves supporting pupils who are having, for example, difficulties with settling in, academic work, organisational skills or problems with friendships. I originally wanted to become a mentor to help those who were struggling at school and knew that I would gain a personal sense of satisfaction from knowing that I’ve helped someone. As well as giving mentees advice, mentoring gives younger students an opportunity to talk to fellow pupils about issues, which may be easier than talking to an adult or teacher. Mentoring has improved my communication and personal skills as well as developing leadership and management qualities.
Valentina Elner-Kupcha (L6): Every pupil learns in a different way and responds in varying degrees to certain revision methods. What I wanted to do was to synthesise the many techniques I’d learnt over the years from my fabulous teachers and pass this on to my mentee. I think talking to an older pupil and pinpointing areas to improve in is a very effective way to learn and excel.
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CAREERS Careers where people like me can be happy and successful: Professor Averil Macdonald
ST BENEDICT’S
Though giving her third talk of the day, Professor Averil Macdonald’s ‘Mothers and Daughters’ presentation did not disappoint, providing an enlightening, thought-provoking presentation on the science and structure of how people find careers that they become happy and successful in. As a female role-model and scientist, who has a plethora of academic achievements and a wide range of knowledge in STEM based subjects, Professor Macdonald focused on girls and their potential for and increasing need in the world of science today. Having said that she was “horrified to discover that the percentage of physics students that are female (in the UK) has remained stubbornly at 20%” since she was a student, Professor Macdonald now gives talks appealing to the younger women of society to consider science as a great possibility for a future career.
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Explaining the purpose of ‘People like me’ (the campaign by Wise aimed at helping girls to find great careers in science, technology and engineering) constituted Professor Macdonald’s presentation to the mothers and daughters of St Benedict’s and three other local schools (St Augustine’s, Sacred Heart Hammersmith and Cardinal Wiseman). Everyone was given a ‘People like me’ questionnaire with one purpose: to highlight each of our individual characteristics and provide an insight into which careers these would be particularly beneficial in. Though reminding us that these were not strict instructions on which career we should pursue, Professor Macdonald showed the questionnaire’s ability to produce an accurate answer to what type of career each of us would thrive in and suit our natural traits. The questionnaire was composed of 44 different personality traits, and each mother and daughter ticked off 12–15 adjectives which most applied to them. Each column was labelled with mysteriously ambiguous letters (such as
‘En’, ‘D’ or ‘Su’), and those with the most ticks indicated the categories most suited to each individual. An answer booklet provided us with an explanation of each character type: Explorer, Invstigator, Developer, Service Provider, Regulator, Entrepreneur, Communicator, Trainer, Persuader, Supported, Manager and Policy Maker, and the various careers connected with each. Creating a quick, simple and efficient way of effectively providing a young person with the career paths that would be likely to suit them, this questionnaire provided a fascinating insight and guidance into the jobs that lie ahead for each of us. For example, one could have scored particularly high in ‘Investigator’ showing them to have logical, collaborative minds that like to collect information and work in teams, piecing ideas together; as a result they would have been shown the possibility of successful jobs as psychologists, analytics officers, technicians and more. On the other hand, someone else could have scored highly in ‘Communicator’, revealing their skills with words and people, and their ability to explain and simplify messages for an audience; this would have highlighted their potential careers as website designers, festival directors, science journalists or translators. Therefore, the answers of this questionnaire were able to provide relevant and engaging information for everyone in the room, regardless of their interests and characteristics. Personally, though I am a Lower 6th student who has a good idea of what I want to do at university, the presentation still opened my eyes to the wide range of careers that I could possibly consider as back-ups, or careers that I could pursue in the future. Moreover, it broadened the possibilities of careers that many girls would never have thought about looking into, allowing each of us to leave the hall with a greater sense of confidence, belief and clarity in the futures that lie ahead of us. Attending the talk with me, my mother remarked on how greatly the answers provided us with “valuable guidance and support, especially for those students who are unsure about which A levels or university courses to pick.” What’s more, I have every confidence that many girls attending the talk will now consider a future in the jobs surrounding science, technology and engineering, allowing for a more integrated and diverse range of people in such important jobs. Cleo Byrne (L6)
RELIGIOUS STUDIES Is hell empty or crowded? A summary of the thought of Bishop Robert Barron Irene Llinares Perales (L6)
The Catholic doctrine of hell is one of the most disputed and most controversial issues: how can an all-loving God condemn people to eternal suffering? How can a finite sin require an infinite punishment? At a glance, the Bible itself would seem to support the existence of hell. In fact, Jesus himself is the biblical figure that speaks most about hell – the parables of The Sheep and The Goats, or Lazarus and the Poor Man all seem to support the notion of a hell of eternal suffering, with fires and ‘gnashing of teeth’. Rob Bell (a former American pastor) follows Origen’s argument and refutes this notion completely, stating that everyone will eventually be saved, even the demons, as God’s love is so great that it will save everyone in the end. This teaching is called apokatastasis – from the Greek word meaning restoration. Despite what we do, the love of God is so all encompassing that it will save us in the end. He argues that a finite crime – even if it is against an infinite being – cannot possibly warrant an infinite punishment. Therefore, there could be people in hell but this would only be temporary, as they would eventually be saved.
Hell, Gehenna, the fires of suffering, Dante’s descriptions – these are all metaphors we give to hell to make it seem tangible, whereas hell in reality – or so Bishop Robert Barron argues – is a state of deep loneliness that comes from having rejected the divine love. As C S Lewis puts it, “the door to hell is locked from the inside”. In other words, it is not the imposition of a punishment by a vengeful God, rather a state of self-imposed pain that comes from rejecting God’s love in freedom. In his book, The Great Divorce, Lewis presents hell as a state where people alienate themselves from each other, living hundreds of miles away from each other to avoid interaction, so self-obsessed that they are drawn into themselves and eventually shrivel and disappear. But are there any people actually in hell? The Church has never declared that there is anyone in hell, and it prays and can reasonably hope for the salvation of all. In the end, we simply don’t know; rather we live in hope.
To an Augustinian or St Thomas Aquinas, the Fall (from the garden of Eden) has created a massa damnata – a damned mass that is humanity. In his greatness, God then chose a select few called the elect that will go to heaven. There is nothing you can do in your life to change this: if you are part of the elect, you will go to heaven no matter what; if not, then you – like most of the human race – will spend eternity suffering in hell. Aquinas even goes so far as to say that part of the eternal happiness in heaven is watching the suffering of those in hell, experiencing God’s justice. Needless to say, the Augustinian and Thomistic view is a very pessimistic and depressing one. Hans Urs Von Balthasar – a Swiss theologian – carried on the Origen school of thought, with a slight but crucial deviation. He claimed that there is a reasonable hope that all will be saved. His position is a retreat from apokatastasis, leaving hell as a possibility, albeit a remote one. Von Balthasar does this by arguing that God’s dramatic act of love – sending his Son to the limits of God-forsakenness (Hades after his death) so as to bring the whole world back from sin and death – is illustrative both of the divine desire for universal salvation, and an incarnational rescue plan to effect it. We don’t know that all will be saved, however, since human freedom can still resist God’s love, which is why we have to be open still to the possibility of hell. Hell, however, not as we traditionally see it. 37
POLITICS Politics Trip to New York & Washington DC 2018 Day 1: Friday 12th October Having arrived at New York JFK in the afternoon, American border control meant it was a considerable time later that we got a coach through New York to our hotel. In the evening, we walked across the road from our hotel and were straight into the famous Madison Square Garden arena to watch a New York Knicks vs Brooklyn Nets basketball friendly. The American sports experience was incredible, especially with such a close match and a last second half court shot in the second quarter to boast of. This was a fantastic way to start our trip in the USA! Lucian Mac-Fall (U6)
Day 2: Saturday 13th October Our second day in New York was particularly captivating. Our trip to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum was quite a harrowing experience; it is truly hard to put into words how moving the displays were. As we moved through the museum, each piece of art or audio recording was more shocking than the last. Looking at the colossal pieces of building debris and the masses of tribute artwork from the families who lost loved ones really put into perspective the colossal effect 9/11 had – not just to the USA, but the whole world.
ST BENEDICT’S
Afterwards, we went on a civil rights walking tour in Harlem. We were intrigued to learn in more detail about a subject we have only lightly touched
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on in our history lessons. Our tour guide, Neal Shoemaker, gave us a real insight into what it was like to be born and raised in Harlem, and he even led us to the locations of famous speeches from the likes of Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Towards the end of the day, we visited the Empire State Building. The view from the 80th floor was beautiful – since we had gone in the evening, the sun was shining through the windows with a luscious golden glow. However, it was even more breath-taking once we moved up to the Observatory on the 86th floor. Here, there were no windows to shield the view. You can see other famous buildings such as the Chrysler building, or One World Trade Center. Carla Boulter (L6)
Day 3: Sunday 14th October We left New York early, heading to Washington. On our way we stopped off in Philadelphia to visit Independence Hall where both the US Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution were debated and adopted. We also visited the original US Supreme Court which served as the home of the United States’ highest court between 1791–1800 and still retained many period features. The Old Court was very small and intimate which made for an interesting comparison with the current Supreme Court we later looked at in Washington. We also enjoyed sampling the famous Sonny’s cheesesteaks and burgers which went down well!
After arriving in Washington, we took part in a general knowledge quiz where we all submitted questions which stimulated many debates! This gave us all a chance to refine and improve our negotiation skills which we utilized over the following days. Isabella Pye (L6)
Day 4: Monday 15th October On our first full day in Washington DC, we began a very busy day with a visit to the Supreme Court where we listened to a lecture on the history and running of the court in the room where hearings take place. It was a fantastic opportunity to gain an insight into one of the most powerful courts in the world. After a lunch break in the Foggy Bottom area of DC (where Lucian Mac-Fall won an invigorating chess match against a local) we headed over to the State Department. This was a brilliant chance to ask questions to diplomats within the State Department, a chance not afforded to many. These discussions produced debates ranging from Brexit to climate change. Following this, we spent the rest of the afternoon visiting the world-renowned memorials such as the Lincoln memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. memorial and Vietnam and Korean War memorials. In the evening, a night time coach tour followed a visit to the famous Ben’s Chili Bowl which has previously been visited by the likes of Barack Obama, Bruno Mars and Kevin Hart. Tom Knight (U6)
Once back in the city centre, we were given a couple of hours of free time. Some of us hired electric scooters, an enjoyable way to get around, and a
few of us rode around the monuments and the reflecting pool. Another typical American dinner of burger and chips at Harry’s Diner followed, before we all met back up at Ford’s Theatre, the theatre Lincoln was assassinated in, to watch a play called Born Yesterday. This was enjoyable and well performed and a nice way to finish our final full day in Washington. Tom D’Arcy (U6)
Day 6: Wednesday 17th October Our morning in Washington DC was spent interacting with the influential National Right to Life pressure group. Upon meeting our speaker, we quickly learned that the group not only focuses on the Pro-Life movement and the
fundamental rights of an unborn child; it also acts as an advocate for other groups in society: the elderly, the displaced, military veterans, the injured and many more. It’s possible that the group is widely known for their stance on abortion, as well as the backlash they receive for it, thus eclipsing their various other achievements. During the session we learnt about the role the group plays in the US political system such as their lobbying of members of Congress and during Supreme Court confirmation hearings. Overall, the meeting was riveting and gave us much to think about. After a photo outside the White House we enjoyed a couple of hours of free time before heading to the airport for our night flight back to the UK. Doyin Akinfe (U6)
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Day 5: Tuesday 16th October After breakfast, we walked up to Capitol Hill for a tour of Congress. It began with an overly-dramatic, Americanised version of the history of US democracy in a short film, followed by an enlightening tour of Congress itself, complete with over 150 statues and a notable painting inside the dome of the building depicting George Washington as a god-like figure. We also visited both the House of Representatives and the Senate and looked round from the seated gallery. I and a few others then went for lunch at Chipotle in the grand Union Station before we re-joined the group to take the metro across the Potomac River to the home of the US Military, the Pentagon. Security here was tight, but once we were in, we were given a tour by a private in the US Army, who was dressed in full regalia. The tour gave us a perspective of not only the size of the building, with its endless corridors, but also how vast the Department of Defence is. An aspect of this tour was the memorial to the September 11 attacks – a peaceful room dedicated to the 125 Pentagon workers who died as well as the 59 who were on-board the plane.
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POLITICS: INTERVIEW
ST BENEDICT’S
Ted Traeger and Isabella Pye (L6) talked to Rupa Huq, Labour Member of Parliament for Ealing Central and Acton
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Ted: What’s your advice to those who wish to get into politics?
Ted: What would you say has been your greatest achievement in your time as an MP?
Rupa: You should first join a political party. I would strongly
Rupa: I’ve achieved some legislative change. In my first
recommend the Labour Party, but I understand other options are available! Politics as a career is not a route I personally followed as I wasn’t elected until the age of 43. I had a career as an academic and I used to be a sociologist at Kingston University. However it is possible to go entirely through the political route. In the 2015 election we had three leaders – Ed Miliband, David Cameron and Nick Clegg – who had all made their way through being backroom boys in the head office of the party, then become MPs and then become leader. But I think it’s good to have expertise from different fields and to have done other things. Also, you may not make it as a politician as there’s so much chance and hazard. So I would say, have another career and do politics on the side.
year as an MP there was a government plan to take feminism off the A level Politics curriculum; I probed the education minister and this was reversed. Also, a constituent had written to me about her A level Music course: out of the 70 composers she was studying, guess how many of them were women? Zero! So she made an online petition. At PMQs I asked David Cameron if he would congratulate 16 year-old Jessie for her online petition and added, “Can he tell us if is he a feminist?” (At the time there was a t shirt which said ‘This is what a feminist looks like’. All the other party leaders were wearing it except for him.) He said, “I must congratulate the honourable lady and her constituent for their excellent work” – which was good because I was able to write a press release headed ‘Conservative prime minister praises Labour MP’ – and added, “If feminism means equality for women then I must be a feminist because women make up a third of my cabinet.” Which is not 50-50! Anyway, after that they re-wrote the music syllabus to include a whole range of composers, including women. So that was a little bit of difference I made. But you can have victories for individual constituents as well.
Isabella: Did you do Politics at university? Rupa: No. I did Social and Political Science for a year at Cambridge and then I changed subject and did two years of Law. You don’t have to do a degree in Politics; it can be learned on the job as well.
A Syrian refugee came to my advice surgery because she was worried about her status. She was a third year PhD student but because there is an asset freeze on money coming in and out of Syria her fees had been unpaid. They were about to curtail her student status and send her back to a war zone. By asking questions in parliament I got her status reversed and she can now stay. So it goes from helping individual people, and really changing their lives, to the big picture.
Ted: What do you think we can do to inspire people to vote?
Isabella: Some of us have noticed that Jeremy Corbyn doesn’t feature in any of your campaign photos. Do you think it’s important to have your party leader prominent within your campaigns? Rupa: At my first election in 2015 he didn’t feature because he wasn’t leader, and none of the leaders at that time stayed: Cameron, Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband were all gone within moments of the election.
Rupa: I think focusing on issues is the best way of
At the second one, in 2017, I can probably find you photos of me with Jeremy Corbyn, but in this country we vote for the candidate and not the leader.
encouraging people to vote, especially as a poll this week shows that politicians are the least trusted people in the country! If people don’t like politicians then issues, such as climate change, can get people excited.
Isabella: Beyond Brexit, what do you think are the most pressing non-Brexit related policy areas at the moment that are really important?
But actually some politicians do inspire: who would have thought that Jeremy Corbyn’s name would be chanted at Glastonbury?
Isabella: Several members of your party have left Labour to join the Independent Group. Do you agree with what they’ve done, particularly at this time of political turmoil as we edge closer towards the Brexit departure date? Rupa: I really regret what they’ve done. They’re all people I know and like and respect, and I can understand their reasoning but I think they have come to the wrong conclusion. (In fact, it’s the Tory party that’s doing so well at self-destructing, with an unprecedented number of ministerial resignations over Brexit.) I don’t think we should be deflected by our own internal squabbling, as the real enemy is a hard Brexit and Theresa May, so they’ve taken their eye off the ball. I hope they’ll come back.
Rupa: Housing is the biggest one. This afternoon I’ll be doing an advice surgery and pretty much everyone who comes through the door will have some kind of housing issue, be it over-crowding – social housing with maybe six people in two rooms – or planning permission stuff. Tony Blair said “Education, education, education”. I think it’s “Housing, housing, housing.” Young people can’t afford to get on the housing ladder because it’s so astronomical. The other one is Universal Credit, the benefit reform where six different things are rolled into one. There are so many errors, and if one benefit is left out the whole lot goes; people are being made homeless because of it. That needs addressing. (March 1st 2019)
Isabella: Following on from this, should Jeremy Corbyn’s failure to address anti-Semitism in the Labour Party disqualify him from becoming the next prime minister? Rupa: The Labour Party has been the greatest mover of
I think basically we have a divided country post-Brexit and all forms of racism have been legitimised. I’ve been the victim of racist attacks; they happen a lot on social media and I don’t even bat an eyelid, but a suspicious package was sent to my office recently which required a bomb disposal unit.
THE PRIORIAN
anti-racist legislation this country has ever known so it’s very disappointing that this anti-Semitism issue has dragged on and they’ve acted slowly on it. But these things are moving; for example there was an MP who made questionable remarks this week – irresponsible, fell below the standards you’d expect of an MP – and he was suspended very quickly. The number of people doing this who are actually Labour Party members is actually very small – 0.01%.
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LIBRARY: BOOK CLUBS
UPPER SCHOOL BOOK CLUB Photo, left to right: James, Zach, Caitlin, Catriona
Books read 2018–2019 Only Ever Yours by Louise O’Neill The Woman in Black by Susan Hill Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson Twisted by Neal Shusterman
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Name: Zach Hymans (L5) Why did you decide to join book club? A friend invited me to join. What do you most enjoy about coming to book club? Discussing with friends a book that we have all read. Which book have you most enjoyed reading at book club? Only Ever Yours by Louise O’Neill. What do you think the benefits of reading are? It widens your vocabulary.
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Name: Catriona Edwards (L5) Why did you decide to join book club? I love reading and I also enjoy discussing books. What do you most enjoy about coming to book club? Reading books that I would not normally read. Which book have you most enjoyed reading at book club? Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins What do you think the benefits of reading are? It Improves my vocabulary. Name: James Hunter (L5) Why did you decide to join book
club? Reading is one of my favourite hobbies and I wanted to share my opinions about books with people who also love reading. What do you most enjoy about coming to book club? It’s great to have a range of opinions on books and to think about books from different angles. Which book have you most enjoyed reading at book club? Only Ever Yours by Louise O’Neill. Which book would you like next in book club? We are the ants by Shaun David Hutchinson. What do you think the benefits of reading are? Improves analytical skills, which helps across many subjects and also it’s a great form of escapism. Name: Caitlin MacGregor (L5) Why did you decide to join book club? I attended the Middle School book club and was eager to continue. What do you most enjoy about coming to book club? It’s interesting to discuss different books in depth and have new books that I wouldn’t have heard recommended. Which book have you most enjoyed reading at book club? Only Ever Yours by Louise O’Neill – a dystopian novel about women being designed and trained for men. Which book would you like next in book club? Maybe a classic. What do you think the benefits of reading are? It broadens our minds to new books and genres and it is good to de-stress and improve our English.
MIDDLE SCHOOL BOOK CLUB Photo, left to right: Effie, Lily, Helena, Kit, Max and Ben
Name: Lily Thornton (F3) Why did you join book club? I really enjoy reading. What do you most enjoy about coming to book club? The discussion about books we read. Which book have you most enjoyed reading at book club? Scythe by Neal Shusterman. What do you think the benefits of reading are? It increases your vocabulary and it is fun. Name: Benjamin Dovey (U4) Why did you join book club? I like reading books and discussing them. What do you most enjoy about coming to book club? The biscuits! And discussing books. Which book have you most enjoyed reading at book club? I really enjoyed reading After the Fire by Will Hill, which we read last year, or Scythe by Neal Shusterman. What do you think the benefits of reading are? I learn new things through reading books on topics I don’t know anything about.
Name: Helena Ramsden (F3) Why did you join book club? I decided to join book club because I enjoy reading and it looked as if it would be a lot of fun. What do you most enjoy about book club? I enjoy reading and discussing good books. Which book have you most enjoyed reading at book club? I most enjoyed reading Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. Which book would you like next in book club? The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. What do you think the benefits of reading are? There are too many to count! Name: Effie Webb (F3) Why did you decide to join book club? I enjoy reading and like to hear other people’s opinions and book suggestions. What do you most enjoy about coming to book club? Discussing books with other people. Which book have you most enjoyed reading at book club? Scythe by Neal Shusterman. Which book would you like next in book club? Ruby Redfort by Lauren Child. What do you think the benefits of reading are? It’s fun, you learn new facts.
Name: Kit Wheldon (L4) Why did you decide to join book club? I joined because I was interested in the books that are read in Middle School Book Club. What do you most enjoy about coming to book club? The reading! Which book have you most enjoyed reading at book club? Scythe by Neal Shusterman. Which book would you like next in book club? The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. Name: Max Bercow (U4) Why did you decide to join book club? I wanted to read widely. What do you most enjoy about coming to book club? I enjoy discussing books. Which book have you most enjoyed reading at book club? Scythe by Neal Shusterman. Which book would you like next in book club? A Bernard Cornwell book. What do you think the benefits of reading are? It makes you smarter.
THE PRIORIAN
Books read 2018–2019 Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie Scythe by Neal Shusterman Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard The 2019 Carnegie Shortlist Short Ghost Stories, including The Signalman by Charles Dickens and The Red Room by H.G. Wells
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LIBRARY: BOOK REVIEWS
The Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
This spectacular book features two races: those with red blood and those with silver blood. The Silvers are considered superior to the Reds, who very much live in juxtaposition with their cruel slave-drivers, living in the lap of luxury. However, one girl, Mare Barrow, is about to break that tradition... and be crowned the first ever ‘Red Queen’.
The Girl on the Train tells a subtle yet incredibly powerful story of a downtrodden woman called Rachel with an unhealthy obsession with her ex-husband and alcohol. The story begins to unfold when she sees something shocking in the house of a couple, whom she has never met but feels she knows so well, and she is finally given the chance to be a part of their life.
I very much enjoyed this book and found it incredibly relatable; both in personal and societal terms. I think it very much reflects modern society in the many unconscious societal prejudices we all have. For example, the class system, sexism, racism and all other excuses for discrimination. Leading on from this, it also reflects our own personal viewpoints because society firmly divides us into categories by which it judges us regardless of our true personality, which is very similar to the biases described so realistically in the book.
ST BENEDICT’S
I think this book is also carrying an underlying message: that the judgements of society are very often both unjustified and false. For example, at the beginning of the book, it is evident that Mare Barrow has a very black-and-white viewpoint that all Silvers are cruel, cold and ruthless. However, as she slowly begins to assimilate into their society, she realises that not all Silvers, even those born to inherit the throne, are all inherently evil. It is at that point that she realises that between the black-and-white which was her life, there were so many shades of grey.
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The book is told from the perspective of the three main female characters, which offers unique additions and viewpoints to the plot. Hawkins cleverly tells the story so that the time lines of the three diary entries eventually knit together and coincide at the end. She also portrays a powerful message about the lies and secrets that bind people and relationships together and shows how we can never truly know somebody, even those closest to us. The characters in this book have an incredible amount of depth to them and are constantly developed as the plot unwinds; I was kept guessing right up until the end about who the real enemy of this story was as clearly none of them was completely innocent. The Girl on the Train tells a realistic and relevant story about love, divorce and betrayal. Not only can commuters, who everyday get a glimpse into a stranger’s life, relate to the story, but also anyone who has found themselves in a similar situation as portrayed in the book.
The characters, in particular, I found interesting. Any can betray anyone, was one underlying message throughout the book, and I found it all too true. Small alterations of the truth all led up to the ultimate betrayal: that of Mare’s betrothed, Maven.
Rachel’s alcoholism also seems to be a key theme in the book and it remains a key idea in every part of the story. Like Rachel, many of us do things that we regret and often feel like we can never change the way that we are. However, in the end, Rachel conquers her addiction and provides hope for anyone else to overcome their own vices.
Overall, I absolutely loved this book and I especially enjoyed the links and implications between Mare’s world and society, and ours. I would give this book 10 out of 10, and would recommend it to anybody.
The Girl on the Train is unlike any book I have ever read and is one of those rare books that you want to devour in one sitting yet also don’t want it to end. This book is an extraordinary piece of literature that everyone should read.
Helena Ramsden (F3)
James Hunter (L5)
THE PRIORIAN
DANCE SHOW 2019
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GEOGRAPHY Freiburg, Germany and Curitiba, Brazil: two sustainable cities In Freiburg sustainability has taken many forms. The creation of pedestrian zones started in 1973 and today large parts of the city centre are designated as pedestrian zones. As well as this the former tram system was converted into a modern city-rail system that connects almost all major city districts and 65% of people live in the catchment area of a tram stop. The creation of the Breisgau-S-Bahn allows for good and fast rail transport connections between the city and the outer regions. Furthermore, there has been large creation of bike paths: in 1970 there were almost none and today there is a 500 km network of bike lanes. On top of this there are 9000 parking sites in the city, links to the local public transport and the bicycle city map. All of this has resulted in a levelling off of motorisation and CO2 emissions per capita from transport in Freiburg. Also,
ST BENEDICT’S
FREIBURG
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the number of trips by bicycle in the city has tripled, transit ridership has doubled, and the share of daily trips by car has decreased from 38% to 32%. Freiburg also has a combined 68% share of trips by public transport, cycling and walking. This has been reflected in Freiburg’s air pollution levels, which meet WHO guidelines for small particulate concentrations. This is an example of an extremely successful sustainable development. There are very low emissions which show there is little use of unsustainable methods of transport that use fossil fuels like cars. Also, there is a lower risk to children who are more susceptible to disease or illness from small particulate concentrations. However, in 2007 32% of trips in Freiburg were by car, higher than cycling (27%), walking (23%) and public transport (18%). This suggests that Freiburg’s sustainable development is still incomplete. Another example of successful sustainable development in cities is in Curitiba in Brazil. In 1974 the world’s first bus rapid transit (BRT) system was developed. This was used by 85% of people in the city and saw 1,100 buses make 12,500 trips daily serving more than 1.3million passengers. This caused a reduction of about 27million auto trips per year, annually saving about 27million litres of fuel and 28% of BRT riders previously travelled by car. This is a major contributing factor as to why Curitiba uses 30% less fuel per capita compared to 8 other Brazilian cities of its size. Furthermore, the ability to travel in Curitiba is cheap as Curitibanos spend only around 10% of their income on travel. These measures have been successful in Curitiba and have made it into a more sustainable city, as it uses 30% less fuel per capita compared to other Brazilian cities of its size. Furthermore, the affordable cost of travel like the BRT, only costing locals 10% of their
CURITIBA
salaries, shows that younger people who may not earn as much as older people can afford to use it. However, only 28% of BRT riders using the BRT previously travelled by car. This suggests that there wasn’t a huge demand for the BRT due to emissions but more due to the inefficiency of the former public transport. Overall, both Freiburg and Curitiba are examples of sustainable cities. Both have been very successful, Freiburg’s air pollution levels meet the WHO’s guidelines for small particulate concentrations and Curitiba uses 30% less fuel per capita than 8 other Brazilian cities of its size. However, Freiburg’s development is incomplete and Curitiba’s BRT may not have actually been implemented to cut down emissions but to speed up the public transport network. Despite this, both have successfully developed into sustainable cities. Freiburg now has a 500 km network of bike lanes and in Curitiba 85% of people use the BRT. Liam Munro (U6)
COMPUTER SCIENCE From a British Informatics Olympiad Final (The British Informatics Olympiad is the national computing competition for schools and colleges).
Coloured Routes Alex Will (L6)
THE PROBLEM A group of towns is connected by a rail network. To help travel around the network some routes have been given colours; each station has one ‘red’ route leaving it, and one ‘blue’ route. Routes have an associated direction, so a route from A to B does not necessarily mean there is a corresponding route from B to A. You are trying to give directions to a friend, so that you can meet them at a station of your choosing. Unfortunately you do not know which station your friend will start from, and due to their identical layouts they cannot be distinguished. To direct your friend, you need to give them a sequence of coloured routes to take, so that they will finish at your chosen station irrespective of where they start.
sequence of coloured routes. To make life simple for your friend, you should return the shortest route possible. The first line of your input will be an integer 2 ≤ x ≤ 16, specifying how many towns are connected in the network. There will then follow x lines of two integers; the first integer on the ith of these lines is the destination of the red route from town i, and the second the destination of the blue route. Towns are numbered from 1 to x. You should output the length of the shortest possible route sequence, followed by an example sequence, using r and b to denote the two types of route, and the town your friend will finish in. If there is no possible route sequence you should just output ‘Impossible’.
Due to limitations on the rail tickets and the placement of barriers, it is not enough that they pass through this station before the end of the sequence.
THE SOLUTION Background A brute force method can be applied to this problem. Initially, the length of a route can be chosen as two steps (according to the problem above). There are 2n combinations of routes for two steps. i.e. r,r or r,b or b,r or b,b. If r,r steps are followed from each city in turn, then the destination city can be noted and compared. If the final destination in both cases is the same then we have a solution. If not, then we move on to the next combination of routes which would be r,b and a similar check can be made. If there are no solutions for n=2, then we can increase the number of routes to 3 and repeat the method and go on incrementing the number of routes until we find a solution.
Solutions can be found here:
Write a program which reads in details of the rail network, and returns a
Sample Output
5 (Number of cities) 2 3 (from City 1) 4 3 (from City 2) 4 5 (from City 3) 5 1 (from City 4) 1 2 (from City 5)
6 (6 step route) rbrrbb (route steps) 3 (destination city)
For Sample Input Left number is red route destination from city i Right number is blue route destination from city i
1
2
3
4 5
THE PRIORIAN
Sample Input
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SCIENCE ‘Please Don’t Buy an Electric Car!’ A Case for Hydrogen Fuel Professor Averil Macdonald OBE gave a controversial lecture at St Benedict’s in which she aimed to dispel the myth that electricity was the answer to all our fossil fuel and carbon footprint problems by focusing on the impracticalities of electric cars in the UK.
ST BENEDICT’S
However, the lecture wasn’t all doom and gloom – there is an answer. There has been for some time. Hydrogen. Hydrogen gas can be used to fuel our cars, producing pure water as a pollutant. It can be produced using excess energy from wind
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For the first time in a long time I left the lecture feeling somewhat hopeful about the future of renewable resources in the UK, although Professor Macdonald suggested that it would be an uphill battle to persuade car companies to abandon the profits of electric cars and focus instead on hydrogen fuelled cars; but at the very least, there is a battle to fight. We are not doomed to watch as the generations before us destroy our planet in the name of a high profit margin, because we can do something about it. I don’t think anyone who attended this lecture will be buying an electric car any time soon, and I will certainly be warning my friends and family of the dangers and misconceptions surrounding them. Overall, Professor MacDonald’s lecture was extremely enlightening for me, and very persuasive, as I previously supported the rising popularity of electric cars. I recommend anyone interested in the topic to do some research around her field of study, and to do your own research into the benefits of replacing fossil fuels with hydrogen gas instead of electricity. Kate Tracy (L6)
H2
I thought Professor MacDonald’s most compelling argument was that the National Grid just isn’t equipped to transport the level of electricity needed to convert all of our heating, cooking and transportation needs from fossil fuels to electricity. The maximum amount of energy that can be supplied to the whole country by the National Grid is 60 gigawatts, but the added strain of charging electric cars, if around half the population had them, would require at least 40 gigawatts. Beyond this, most people believe the electricity is ‘greener’ than using natural gas and crude oil, but while some of the UK’s electricity comes from renewable resources (like wind power), the majority of it still come from fossil fuel power stations. Professor Macdonald also believes that renewable resources, such as wind power, are not the answer: to have enough wind-power to power the whole country, we would need 60,000 wind turbines, a goal that isn’t realistic in the near future. She mentioned a ‘Super Grid’ spanning countries, and trading different types of renewable energy as a possible answer, but this would be a hugely expensive project, as our cables would have to be replaced by cables that can travel greater distance, and hold more electricity.
power, effectively storing the energy until we need it or by splitting methane into carbon and hydrogen, which would have the added bonus of being able to use carbon for bricks. Furthermore, the UK is in a unique position to switch to hydrogen gas for heating and cooking: natural gas pipes run across the country, which can easily be replaced by hydrogen gas.
SCIENCE FAIR Lower 4th pupils presented their science projects at the annual Science Fair, and explained their hypotheses, experiments and conclusions to visiting children from local junior schools. The winners:
1ST PRIZE Evie De Abaitiua-Hind and Katie Newman
Wibbly wobbly jelly
2ND PRIZE
3RD PRIZE
Christine Roth, Tessa Swarbrick and Lola Petrovic
Harry Amador and Kit Wheldon
Baby you’re soaking!
Barrel ballistics
We wanted to find out how much water different brands of nappy would hold. We used coloured liquid to make the absorbency more visible and found that Pampers held the most water: 950ml – 1 litre.
Will a barrel make a Nerf bullet go further? The results of our experiment show that Nerf guns without a barrel, or with a shorter barrel, perform better than the ones with a blaster. This is because the Nerf blasters do not have enough energy to propel the Nerf dart: they are just a cosmetic item.
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The pineapple jelly set the least because of the enzyme bromelain it contains. The jelly which set the most was the orange one. Our prediction was that the strawberry one would set the best because it is a very popular flavour of jelly, whereas melon, pineapple and orange are not as popular. Our research shows that the different enzymes in fruit effect the structure of gelatine.
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THE JUNIOR SCHOOL: NURSERY
Number work
Zoo Lab’s visit Nursery Nativity
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MUSIC
The Spring Concert In March we had the Spring Concert. The theme was the 1970s and included performances from all of the ensembles in the Junior School. The concert commenced with songs from the ‘70s film, Bugsy Malone. Well known songs from the film are Fat Sam’s Grand Slam and Bad Guy’s. Schola Choir and School Choir also sang songs by John Lennon and from the musical Joseph and his Technicolour Dreamcoat.
Junior School Carol Service 2018 On the 12th of December 2018, Lower Prep to Form 2 performed at the Junior School Carol Service. There was a buzz of excitement in the air while the parents, families and friends took their seats in in the Abbey. We were very excited and nervous as we gathered by the Baptismal Font waiting for the service to begin.
The highlights for me were the performance of The First Noel to the music of Pachelbel’s ‘Canon in D’ and I was especially proud to be selected to sing the solo for Once in Royal David’s City. At the end of the concert, our families and friends gave us huge applause and our night set the scene for a wonderful Christmas. Liam Tregea
The concert culminated in everyone singing the ‘70s classic Superstition, the Beatles’ famous Let it Be and a fitting finale of Thank you for the music by ABBA. of
We hope the audience enjoyed the concert as much as the pupils enjoyed performing it! Jake Bowden
THE PRIORIAN
The recital opened with the traditional carol and solo of Once in Royal David’s City and we made our procession to our places at the front of the church. The service continued with a mixed selection Christmas carols and specially chosen readings from the Nativity Story read by pupils from Lower Prep to Form 2. The singers were supported by violinists from the Senior School and the percussion group accompanied by the Abbey organ.
There was a variety of pieces from the ensembles, from Waterloo by ABBA to Ain’t no mountain high enough by Marvin Gaye and a superb performance from the string group of the James Bond theme and Live and Let Die.
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PP1 When I grow up...
Numeracy: learning about money
ST BENEDICT’S
The Nativity
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PP2
ICT – riverbank reflection picture
Fire and Ice In PP2 we have been learning all about Fire and Ice. We learnt about people who live in the Arctic, known as Inuit people, about their way of life and how they build perfect igloos. We had a go at making our own igloos using ice cubes and a tiny bit of salt to help stick the cubes together.
English In our English lessons we have been working on identifying the features of letters. We then investigated persuasive writing and wrote our own letters to Mr Simmons. We wanted to persuade him to let us go on a trip to the ARCTIC!
THE PRIORIAN
Chinese Lanterns We learnt about the celebrations and traditions that take place on Chinese New Year. We then learnt how to write our names in Chinese symbols and made paper lanterns.
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PP3
The Great Fire of London We made models of houses from 1666 and then we set them alight to see how the fire spread so quickly.
ST BENEDICT’S
In ICT we used the Paint Program to create artwork of the Great Fire of London.
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The Nativity In December, PP3 performed their Nativity The Inn-Spectors, at school and at St David’s Residential Home.
We made our own quills to write with. It was difficult to form the letters and write with the paint, but we wanted to get an idea of what it might have been like for Samuel Pepys when he wrote his diary.
LIBRARY
News and Views from the Junior School Library Meet our Library Monitors. Jake Bowden, Mark OlczakMajcherczyk, Nicolae Doicin and Isabel Murphy “like reading, like taking out books, like helping others and love the feeling of being around books.”
A good number describe the Library as “a place to relax and read”, as “fun”, with “lots of interesting books“ and “a wide variety to choose from.” “You can get to see some books you have never seen before.” Many “like choosing and taking out books.” “I can take a book I do not have at home.” “The Library helps me learn more about books.” “It helps with writing”. Library lessons are seen as useful because “I learn new things about the Library and the world.” “I can learn new life skills.” “You learn how to find facts.” “We improve our vocabulary.” “I get to listen to other people’s ideas.” Lessons “build my creative skills” and “help your imagination grow”. “I like reading books as a class, like Cloud Busting.” “We can read
and have fun (plus talk about Brexit!).” “I like the discussions we have.” “About everything.” Some highlight study skills: “The Dewey Decimal classification scheme has helped me find books in other libraries.” “We practise useful skills like note taking.” “How to record my work.” How to “make information organised.” “We learn about presentation of our work e.g. spider diagram.” “I learnt how to make notes quicker.” “I am now working on shorthand.” (Own abbreviations.) “I like how we look at further things on our topic here.” Lessons can include storytime. Pupils “love sitting on the beanbags”, “listening” and “relaxing” as the stories “keep us entertained”, are “interesting”, and “sometimes give you ideas for your own writing”. Storytime is also “a time to think, and use imagination.” “I love storytime because we all have fun listening to different adventures.” “You go into a dream.” “I like the stories and how Mrs Sweetman asks questions at the end and makes us think deeply.” “I like the stories because they lead to nice discussion.” The stories “expand my imagination and make life more fun.” “I like it as when someone reads out loud, reading comes to life.”
THE PRIORIAN
Pupils like to come to the Library for a variety of reasons. Some mention the atmosphere. “It is like a different world where I calm down from the other world.” “I like that I am in a safe place.” “It is a fun place to interact with other people.” “What I like about the Library is having a few minutes peace and quiet.” “It gives me time to stop and think and relax!” “It gives you a chance to explore a different world in books.”
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LOWER PREP Little Giraffe
The Lion
Little giraffe’s neck is
Lion is small but very clever,
as
when he goes home,
long
he makes clothes out of leather.
as
Lion never lets his horrendously funny friends down,
a
So off he goes down the road,
sunflower.
hoping to find a comb.
He walks with his slender legs,
Lion likes to watch T.V.
which looks like it has a bun at the bottom end!
He never leaves the room until
He gobbles, smacks, chomps and chews,
his brother Jack
as he eats the fresh green leaves.
calls him a meany.
and sometimes goes itch! Itch!
Then he goes to sleep all weary.
if he gets fleas.
Good night! He shouts to his mummy.
Sometimes he even hogs the hedgehogs! because he likes to walk in the hedges. And that’s the end of my little giraffe poem. Yeah!
ST BENEDICT’S
Eric Zhang
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Maths Week workshop
Suri Virdi
Time travelling to Ancient Egypt I was flying on the back of this magnificent, fluffy eagle named Horus. As I flew on his back it was so cold that I couldn’t feel my legs. It felt like my pyjamas were being sucked into a vacuum cleaner. Suddenly, I plucked up the courage to look down, and I saw a huge luminous ball which I thought was planet earth. After that, Horus jerked and we started to descend. Then we went forward again, and when we did, I felt like I had shrunk. Why is this happening? I am being lead to Ka? Am I time-travelling? I trembled with fear when I turned around because Horus started to beat his huge, feathery wings as we soared back to earth. Next thing I knew…we were in Ancient Egypt.
When Mary returned, the pharaoh asked, “Do you have what I sent you to get?” Mary quietly replied “Yes I do sir”. Mary then showed the pharaoh the unusual box and it was the book of spells that pharaoh wanted. The pharaoh desperately opened the book to make sure he wasn’t being fooled by Mary. The pharaoh soon left contented, back to the village. When Mary returned home her village friends and family welcomed her back from the long journey. That night there was a wonderful party and celebration, with music and a ‘welcome home’ banner, as well as all sorts of amazing things. That night as Mary slept, a faint glow came from her pocket… Anna Kluemper
Egyptian Cartouche
Mia Sonahee-Winter
Mary Anne’s Egyptian Adventure A long time ago, in the time of Ancient Egypt, there lived a little girl called Mary Anne. She loved living in a little village but there was one thing Mary Anne didn’t like and that was the hot, humid heat shining upon her every day and night. Such a happy, excited girl she was, everybody liked her. The village cared for her and gave her food and water. On the horizon of the desert stood numerous large, old Pyramids that Mary Anne liked.
As evening approached Mary got tired and stopped to have a little munch on something. Later on she made a small tent made out of twigs, leaves and mud. She settled in her tent and looked around to make sure she would not get hurt or robbed by anyone. Mary woke up early to keep on her long journey to find this mysterious object full of enchanting spells. Determined, excited, thrilled Mary packed her things to go on her way again. A few hours later Mary came to the temple she was searching for and slowly crept in. Then Mary came to a secret door and turned the handle slowly, pushed the door and went in. Soon Mary turned on the lights and found a small box which shone a magnificent light. Mary quietly picked up the book full of spells and opened it carefully so she wouldn’t damage it or cause harm. Pleased, overjoyed, delighted Mary put the book back inside the chest and closed it tight, carrying it back to the pharaoh in the dazzling heat.
THE PRIORIAN
One day, Mary Anne had just come home when a scroll had been left by her house. She took the scroll, opened it up and read it. It said, “You must go on a journey to find a chest and it will contain a book, but it is no ordinary book. It is full of spells so be careful on your journey from the Pharaoh”. Mary thought, why was she chosen and not someone else? So she packed her bag with water and food for her long, weary journey.
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UPPER PREP The gateway to death! Georgia woke up to a black sky staring down at her. Confused she lifted her head and looked at her brown legs. There was a dirty grey towel wrapped tightly around them. She blinked a long blink, just to make sure she wasn’t in a dream, and then as she sat up her back felt crooked and all the muscles in her body felt old and stiff. “Where am I, and who am I?” Her cracked voice faded as she said it. She reached her hand out to find that she was stuck in a rusty silver cage hanging by a copper chain. She knew where she was and she needed to get out of there. She was in the Deep Wood, the place where all the skeletons and ghosts live. They would try to kill anyone who might overpower them. But Georgia didn’t know why they had chosen her exactly, she wasn’t important and she definitely couldn’t overpower them! There was no time to think, she needed to escape. Her legs kicked ferociously against the metal railings and in a split second she had broken through. She pushed the steel bars further apart until she could just manage to slip through and escape. As soon as she was out she started to run further into the heart of the Deep Wood. A shiver ran down her spine telling her she wasn’t escaping. She was entering... Oh no! She had found herself standing centimetres away from the leader of all the ghosts and skeletons. He was called SKULL!
ST BENEDICT’S
“Well, well, well.“ His voice sounded like a hissing viper. “Fallen into our trap, hey?“ He was so close to her pale face that she could almost feel his breath swirl around her like black vapour.
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They were closing in on her. “There’s no way to escape now.“ SKULL’s smile seemed to get worse every second. But before anyone could grab her legs, Georgia was gone! Georgia just watched from the trees above: “What do you mean you lost her, you fools!“ SKULL’s face turned red in fury. Georgia giggled to herself and
ran off into the trees until she was out of sight. SKULL ordered his pack of hyenas: “Get them!” he demanded, his voice low and guarded. The hyenas obeyed. Their teeth like pieces of shattered glass awaited Georgia as they crept into the horizon. Sweat trickled down Georgia’s forehead. She ran on and on but the forest never seemed to end. After hours of running Georgia approached two black gates with the words Your gateway to death burned into them. She ran through them and slowly the leaves and bushes on the forest floor started to clear and form a track. Suddenly a pain struck Georgia’s heart and the world started to spin. Then frighteningly, Georgia dropped onto her knees. In every breath she took she seemed to swallow in more fear! Suddenly a wave of death crossed her struggling body. She was DEAD!!! Iona Keenlyside
Albert and Jack, a tale of two brothers Here they stood by their mother’s grave remembering her, only 6 years old and 12 years old, Albert Port and Jack Port. Jack knew he was going to bring Albert up. Albert knew he had a hard life ahead of him. Dad was already dead. Two Ports left. Fourteen years later at Tangmere airfield. A group of pilots were back in the officer’s mess all laughing and joking about the Germans being destroyed by the British. But one was setting the scene, Albert Port – once again being the joker and the heroic dare devil, comedian like, happy squadron leader. Albert’s reputation as a pilot had grown in the past few years. He was a fighter, a leader, a role model. But people loved him the most because he was a good guy, he was a funny person and had a heart of gold. Albert knew there was something missing from the RAF though. Jack, his brother, who had been his guide and role model since
his mother’s death. They had been separated when the war started because Albert had become a pilot, against Jack’s wishes. It felt like their bond had almost been smashed until today… “Boys”, shouted a voice across the room, “we have new recruits.” It was Sergeant Head. He was a mean man, Albert hated him. “Port, I want you to file them into their squadrons, they know their numbers. Good day.” Albert loved this job, he loved the new boys. He remembered how nervous he was on his first day. “Right, I want 246 here, 247 here, 248 here and 249 here.” Once the men were in their squadrons he called over their squadron leaders. Albert took his squadron and then it happened. He knew that face, that messy black hair and blue eyes. One of the men was Jack his brother! “Jack!” Jack’s jaw hung open. They sprinted towards each other but were interrupted by the sound of a bell – DING DONG DING DONG. The Germans were attacking. Everybody was speeding to their Spitfires. Up, up and away they went soaring into the air, into the unknown, into the German raids. The Luftwaffe were upon them with their ferocious Messerschmitts. Albert was leading the formation with Jack on his right. Albert commanded “dive” and the formation elegantly swept into battle. Bang, crackle, aargh. Feeling nervous and excited, pilots flew through the smoky air. Out of his window Albert saw a Messerschmitt chasing down his brother. The bullet had been fired, Jack’s plane was going down, spiralling down like a spinning top. Albert dived after it. It was too late, Jack was dead. The boy who had brought him up, the man that Albert loved the most, his most precious possession was dead. Stanley Watts
Setting the Scene As I euphorically crept through the hectic, humid jungle, I felt as if I was entering an animal packed airport. I could spy out of the corner of my eye beautiful, prominent parrots scattered across the luscious array of large, chartreuse trees. Just as I was about to reach a tranquil, calm stream I could feel droplets of dew dancing on my aching shoulders. Ear piercing bangs from the thunder speared my ears. Suddenly the scent of ambrosial flowers crept into my nose and eventually got carried away by the strong breeze. Jay Whitely
Science – melting chocolate
Egyptians workshop
THE PRIORIAN
Using Minecraft to build Pyramids and the Sphinx
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THE JUNIOR SCHOOL: ART
Alongside: Form 2 – Victorian inspired collage work
Above: PP2 – portraits Alongside: Lower Prep – African dress; Upper Prep – relief work inspired by African masks
ST BENEDICT’S
Bottom (l to r): PP2 – work after Claude Monet; PP2 – work after Paul Klee
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HOBBIES
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FORM 1 The Lonely Man of Ealing
To be a cat
There once lived a man, all by himself, in a small house in Ealing. He had very short, white hair, and was very skinny, with freckles all over his face and hands. He almost always wore a white t-shirt that was quite dirty, and old boots with worn-out laces. He would keep to himself, rarely speaking to anyone in the neighbourhood, not even to the postman on the very off-chance when he actually got something through the mail. The outside of his house was covered in vines and moss. The back garden was a wild forest of thick and tall weeds, with some vegetables growing scattered here and there. The old man did not seem to care for the condition of his garden, or his house. But from time to time he would go out into the garden and collect the odd carrot or potato, with a grim look on his face.
“Conner!” shouted a vexated voice, breaking the silence. “Y-yes sir?” he stuttered in a panic. An unexpected scream was thrown back at his timorous face. “Do I look like a sir to you!” (Good one, he thought to himself. You scream in front of the whole class and now you mistake Mrs Clover for a man!) In that instant he was so shaken he hadn’t time to acknowledge the current events and he didn’t even want to imagine the stories his callous classmates would tell of this moment.
On the ground floor of his uncared for house there was a living room with a small wooden table and a couple of chairs, a rocking chair with a greenish pillow placed in front of an old TV set, and a pile of old books with pages yellowed by the passing of time. In the small kitchen, next to the living room, there were a few plates, knives and forks, and a gas stove where the old man would boil water to make tea every evening, soon after the sun had set. A creaky, wooden staircase led to the floor upstairs, where his bedroom was, and a bathroom so small he would barely fit in. Nothing decorated the walls, not a painting or a photograph, absolutely nothing. It was as if the old man did not think that there was something about this world worth hanging on his walls to see, admire, or remember. Every evening, when no one watched or cared, the old man would boil some water in a pot, make tea, and sit down in his rocking chair. He would pull a photograph from a chest of drawers next to it, the only photograph in the house. He would hold the photograph in front of him and start talking to it. He told the photograph about all the things he did during the day, like walking out into the wild garden and collecting the odd vegetable, or feeding the cat from next door with leftovers, or having a long conversation with a curious robin, or how successful or frustrated he was while trying to solve a crossword. And then he would go silent. Tears would moisten his weary eyes. The young man in the photograph never answered back. He wore an army uniform, held a rifle in his hands and smiled, as if life was his forever. He was the old man’s only son, lost in a war, in a desert, in another country, far, far away.
ST BENEDICT’S
Konstantinos-Nikiforos Zarkadakis
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As Conner was slumping home, his head still in excruciating pain from the orchestra of laughing at school, he saw a cat lying in the window next door to his house. It just lay there with no predicaments, no malicious 12 year-olds surrounding him with desolation, nothing. He wished it was him. He carried on soon after, meandering back to his antique house, and staggered prudently over the gargantuan sea of clutter which his Dad was reluctant to clear after his parents’ divorce. Letters from his Mum seemed so frequent before but soon the prodigious number of letters came only once a month, then once every six months, then once a year, then only on his birthday, then never. However, Conner still checked every day, only to find the taxes that Dad was too deprived to pay. His Dad was still sprawling on the couch when Conner took a squint at his phone and remembered it was his birthday! (Great birthday huh? Nice your father remembered, he muttered to himself.) It seemed a reason to detonate his father over this but at this point he was just too enervated to put up with another fight today. The next day Mrs Clover ogled him like a hawk yet today was nothing different than the customary day – nothing eccentric. Conner walked home with the same throbbing headache, this time from Mr Muckrey’s commotion. On his way home the same cat idled on the windowsill and again all Conner wanted was… to be a cat. Conner spun around in shock: “If you dare to choose you dare to lose!” He sprinted off in fear, into his room and dived to his bed and soon fell asleep. When Conner woke his blanket felt somehow heavier, and anaemic fur tickled him from all around. He finally managed to stagger out of bed (landing on his hands and knees) and saw something he thought he would never see before. Dumbfounded he crawled down the stairs and pushed his hands (paws) against the door and walked to find the cat on the windowsill but didn’t realise the man behind him scooping him up and shoving him into a truck along with many other emaciated cats before it bumped of. He knew where it was taking him but didn’t want to imagine it. Conner could see the cats’ house and heard it whisper, “To be a cat.” The others watched as Conner’s fur became flesh. Susannah O’Sullivan
Making cathedrals in Minecraft
Making elephant toothpaste and slime with the Sixth Form!
Travel & Treason topic – Tudor banquet
THE PRIORIAN
We’ll meet again topic
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FORM 2 The Book Wanderer In a sparse, dingy bedroom, (with only books for company) an intelligent boy with brown hair and dazzling hazel eyes sat reading a book he was completely engrossed in. “He crept up behind him in the desolate room with a deranged look, getting his sword ready, when suddenly the man turned and parried…” Suddenly, there was a sucking sound like a vortex and a force that threw the boy forwards. When he dared to open his eyes, he was standing next to a man. The boy looked down to see he had a sword in his hand. “Where did I go?” asked the boy, bewildered. Moments ago, he had been reading peacefully. “Start fighting for Napoleon’s legacy!” ordered the man.
ST BENEDICT’S
He realised where he was; he’d been reading Les Misérables and was on the barricades. The boy turned around, swerving and dodging and parried a soldier’s sword. He hit the soldier in the side, who crumbled. “You’re a good fighter” said the man as he ran into the street shouting a war cry. The boy was full of pride. He looked around and realised he was in a library; it was bizarre as it had modern books alongside great classics. He saw one and felt extremely excited. If he could jump into books…. That’s amazing! He touched the book and felt the same extraordinary feeling.
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Quick as light he shouted, “Stupefy” and “Petrificus Totalus” and “Expelliarmus”. The wizard was stunned, knocked backward and the wand flew out of his hand. The boy looked at his wand as people cheered! The atmosphere was jovial and convivial. It was 11 and ¾ inches, dragon heartstring, fir wood with unyielding flexibility. The boy glanced
up at Hogwarts Castle – how could he possibly be in a Harry Potter book? The castle was a glimmering, beautiful building with mesmerising towers and perpetual turrets. His classes were Charms; he learnt the leg-binding curse and Transfiguration where he turned into a dog! He loved being a wizard but he knew he couldn’t stay here forever. During a potions lesson, he sneaked out and found the library. He was surprised to see that the books were just the same as in his room. This time he picked up Percy Jackson and immediately felt that lurching sensation. He was at Camp Half-Blood and was a son of Poseidon. Summoning the sea, the boy could control the whole ocean, making a wave lift him into the air. He could see the whole of Camp HalfBlood, the cabins and the amphitheatre and the Oracle. The boy also practised with his sword and bow and arrow and knocked the sword out of anyone who challenged him. The sense of jubilation was enormous but he realised it was getting late! Reluctantly, he closed his eyes and wished himself back into his bedroom and out of the amazing world of books. He smiled as he reappeared on his bed and couldn’t wait for another tantalising adventure to begin. Ben Rawlings
The girl who was made out of paper Hi, my name is Rose and my whole life was one big disaster. You see, I was born made of paper and this is my life story. My mum took me gently and put me on her lap. She slowly stroked my head, then “Ow!” she yelped. I gave her a papercut. I didn’t mean to, I can’t help being made of paper. And then she saw the first sentence. It said, ‘I gave my mum a papercut!’ it said
it right on my arm. That would be a nuisance if I wore a t-shirt because everyone would see. The first five years of my life were easy. I never went outside because my mum was scared what people would do to me. They could write on me or even tear me. But when I turned five, I started going to school. All the children wanted to cut me, tear me and scribble all over me. They also made fun of me because I didn’t eat or go to the toilet. But as I gradually grew older, I began to get used to how my life was. When I was in my third year of high school, I met someone. Her name was Amy and we became best friends. She liked reading a lot and thought it was cool that I was made of paper. Over time the other kids got used to me and became my friends. At break time I entertained them by turning into a paper airplane and flying across the playground. My life turned out not to be so bad after all. Until my final years of high school… I was walking home with Amy and saw my fingertips turn yellow and it began to spread across my body. I was scared and panicked. What was happening to me? Amy rushed me home and my mum put me into bed. I figured out what was happening to me. I was getting ill. So, I just lay there. In the night when everyone was asleep, I was still lying there motionless, staring at my hands, watching them get more and more yellow by the minute. My eyes closed and I could no longer feel my body. When my mum woke up, she called to see if I was okay, but I gave no answer. She rushed in, pulled back my covers and saw that I was no longer papergirl. I had turned into a book and the book was my life story. My mum opened it and began to read, as tears dropped one by one onto the pages. I knew that my mum and Amy would never forget me… Emmy Podhorski
Science: Insulation experiment We’ll meet again topic
THE PRIORIAN
Hillary’s Heights topic
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JUNIOR SCHOOL TRIPS Form 1 Trip to France 2018 The Journey – Lettie Stevenson Everyone loves a morning when they get up early, don’t they? Either way, Form 1 got up early, ready for the week ahead: the French Trip! It was a Monday morning in June when we boarded the double-decker coach ready for the journey. It seemed like days before we arrived in Portsmouth but, sadly, that wasn’t even halfway. Seasick? Homesick? Forget it! The French trip is all about fun! This was just the beginning. We were bored on the ferry but all ferries are boring.
Omaha suffered the worst casualties. Many drowned getting out of the landing craft as they had 60 kilograms of equipment on their backs. The Germans planted obstacles on the beach to prevent the Americans from getting up the beach. If you look at the beach from the cliffs you can see how easy it would have been to gun down the American soldiers.
WOOHOO! We arrived! We were ready for the big adventure. We boarded the big coach and we were in France for the first time. When we arrived at the château everyone’s face lit up. We were here!
The American Cemetery is where over 10,000 service men and four women are buried. It was raining while we were there but we walked around looking at the graves. We were amazed at how big and beautiful it is.
Le Château – Lily Hussein We had a great dinner at the château. My room is wonderful with bunk beds. The staff are really kind. Outside, there is a heated swimming pool and beautiful grounds.
The Bayeux Tapestry – Taylor Brown I was so excited when I woke up this morning as I knew I was going to see the historic Bayeux Tapestry. We walked through a park and finally got to the building which holds the mystical tapestry. We entered, queued for a minute and picked up our audio guides. When we finally saw the tapestry my brain nearly exploded! How could somebody make that? It must have taken years. By the end, I felt emotional. I don’t really know why but I thought the tapestry was amazing.
The Goat Farm – Emmy Podhorski Today we went to a goat farm. There were a lot of goats and some of us got to feed them. I felt really happy. Some of the goats escaped. It was very funny. There were some rabbits too and we looked at them through their cage. Afterwards, we watched a video which explained how goat’s cheese is made. Then we tried different types of cheese. They were very tasty. We were allowed to buy some different cheeses which was amazing! The American Cemetery – Jake Bowden In World War II much of France was occupied and the Allies had one last chance to fight back. On D-Day, Operation Overload was launched.
ST BENEDICT’S
Calais was the expected place for the attack as it is closest to England. Hitler was so convinced that he sent
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reinforcements to protect that region. On 6th June, 1944, the Allies stormed five beaches in Normandy: Sword, Gold, Juno, Utah and Omaha.
The Dairy Farm – Sarah Akerele Yummmmm! Going to the dairy farm where they make the best ice cream in the whole of Normandy was just the most fabulous thing in the world! We jumped off the coach and met our guide, Sébastien. He only spoke French so Mrs Stimpfig had to translate. Our guided tour was about to begin. Our first stop was the calves in their cages. They were all so cute, especially the little one that was born yesterday afternoon. Then we saw the young females. They were adorable and gentle. Some of the cows were pregnant and were getting ready to have their babies. There were 150 cows in total and two bulls. Sébastien then explained how the ice cream is made. We then went to the shop to have an ice cream. I chose chocolate and vanilla but there were lots of different flavours. So if you ever need ice cream, go to Normandy, because the ice cream at La Haizerie tastes like heaven. Activities at Le Château – George Majcherczyk-Olczak This morning, the château staff organised some really fun and uplifting activities for us. My favourite was the ‘blind trail’ which was really funny with lots of laughs. We were blindfolded with blacked-out swimming goggles and we had to avoid tyres and work our way through tunnels, ditches, muddy puddles and cobwebs. Don’t judge until you’ve tried it. It was really good fun!
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Team building in the Lake District 2018 Form 2 went on an adventurous trip to the Lake District in June, for five days of canoeing, gorge-walking, climbing and cooking over a camp stove.
“I never thought I’d get through the tunnels. As scary as it was, I’m so glad I did it.”
ST BENEDICT’S
“I enjoyed the gorge-walking the most. Using ropes to climb up the rocks with the water coming down was so much fun. I’d never normally get to do things like this.”
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“Climbing that mountain was AMAZING! All of us falling over in the high winds was hilarious too, but we learnt so much from the whole experience.”
SCHOOL CHALLENGE QUEST
THE PRIORIAN
Animal conservation, electric cars, Victorian medicine and Banksy are just a few of the topics enthusiastically researched and presented by pupils from Lower Prep to Form 2 this year.
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STAFF LISTS HEADMASTER
Mr A Johnson
SENIOR EXECUTIVE TEAM
Mr L Ramsden Deputy Head Ms F Allen Deputy Head (Academic) Mrs C Bedwin Bursar & Clerk to Governors Dom Alexander Bevan, OSB Senior Chaplain Mr R Simmons Junior School Headmaster Mrs T Scott Junior School Deputy Head
LEADERSHIP TEAM AND SENIOR STAFF
Mr J Foley Assistant Head: Pupil Welfare Mr D Thomas Senior Master Mr S Scicinski Director of Academic Challenge Mr C Wilks Director of Teaching & Learning Mr A Heald Director of Sixth Form Mr A Rees Academic Manager Mrs M Dryden Head of Human Resources Mr R Ferrett Estates Director Mrs T George Development Director Ms L Pepper Registrar Miss C Shah Marketing Director Mr C Smith Director of ICT
SUPPORT STAFF Mrs R Wynne Miss L Busher Mrs T Boyle Miss A Dodd Ms M McCarthy Mrs A-L Armstrong Mrs S Trowbridge Mr R Baker Mr N Cave Mrs A de Berg Mrs A McKenna Mr J White Mrs K Mythen Mrs M McPartlin Mr S Parmar Mrs A Barreto Mrs H Shah Mrs A Dayeh Mrs D Johnson Mrs A Stringer Miss E Wallace Ms A L Crespo Mrs J Henshaw Mrs A Rodericks Mrs J Wallace Mrs A Yue Mr J Kelly Ms M Lee
Headmaster’s PA Bursar’s PA Data and SIMS Manager School Office Manager Senior School Receptionist Senior School Receptionist Deputy Heads’ Projects Assistant Old Priorian Association Catering Manager Sixth Form Administrator PE and Games Administrator Head Groundsman Music Administrator Music Administrator Facilities & Lettings Manager Estates & Minibus Service Officer Parent Ledger Accounts Finance Controller PR and Marketing Officer Human Resources Officer Librarian, EPQ Level 3 Lead Supervisor Assistant Librarian Assistant Librarian Assistant Librarian Examinations Officer School Nurse School Marshall DofE’s Award Administrator
ST BENEDICT’S
ACADEMIC AND PASTORAL STAFF
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Ms J Adams Modern Languages Mr S Atkinson Rugby Coach Miss J Bacon English Miss P Bartholomew Chemistry Dr A Bates Physics Mr A Billinge Mathematics, CCF Ms J Bleau Chemistry Mr B Boon Hockey Coach and Sports Assistant Mr C Bowles Physics, Director of Science, Head of Physics Mrs L Brooks Head of Modern Languages Ms N Burns Art, Design and Technology, Second in Department Miss N Buttigieg Computing Miss H Caldwell Head of Biology Mr M Cattaway Head of Tennis Mr W Clarke Learning Support Assistant, EPQ Level 2 Lead Supervisor
Mr S Codrington Biology, Director of Gifted and Mr R Mushiso Games Coach, Housemaster of Gervase Talented, Head of Academic PE Miss P Nettleton Mathematics Mr J Coles Director of Rugby Mr K Newell Head of Cricket Mrs M Comins Learning Support Assistant, Mrs N Nicholls Head of History Economics and Business Studies Mr J Nijhar Head of Hockey Ms G Comyn Head of Sociology, Mrs K Norris Careers Officer Housemistress of Roberts Mrs S Obhrai Modern Languages, Ms T Correia Modern Languages, Learning Support Assistant Upper 4th Division Head Mrs D O’Connor Head of Chemistry Mrs C Crean Learning Support Assistant Mr B O’Hara Hockey Coach, Duke of (Mathematics) Edinburgh’s Award Dr R Curtis Head of Computer Science Miss A Palmer Head of Netball Mrs V Dale Learning Support Assistant Mrs J Pan-Latimer Chemistry Miss A Davis Modern Languages, Miss L Pask English, Second in Department Head of German Mrs H Passmore Mathematics Mr M Donegan Theology and RE, Mrs I Payne Modern Languages Housemaster of Pickering Mr R Pereira Head of Art, Design and Mr A Droney Geography Technology Miss G Dunlea Deputy Director of Sixth Form Mr P Podgorski ADT Technician Miss L Eades History Ms K Ravenscroft Head of Drama Mr C Eastwood Director of Music Mr D Rees-Williams Modern Languages, Mr J Edgar Theology and Religious PGCE Student Education, Lay Chaplain Dr D Robb Head of Mathematics Mr S El Akioui Modern Languages Miss L Rouse Geography Dr T Ennis Modern Languages, Senior Miss E Rowlands Hockey Coach French Teacher Mr H Sadiq Head of Fencing, CCF SSI Miss C Ferrario Geography, Educational Visits Mrs T Salisbury Head of Academic Music Coordinator Mr K Sarrafan-Chaharsoughi Physics Mr M Foley Classics, Lower 5th Division Head Mrs K Sheddick Mathematics, PGCE Student Mr C Gasiorek Mathematics, Middle Manager Mr I Simpson Head of Economics & Pastoral Business Mrs R Gbadmosi History Miss K Smith Geography Dr J Greenhough English, Head of EPQ, Centre Mrs S Smith SENCO Coordinator for EPQ Level 3 Ms S-J Sorohan Head of Classics Mr K Grodzicki ADT Technician Mr B Spivey Physics Technician Mrs E Hansell English Dom Thomas Stapleford, OSB Chaplain Mr W Harding Rugby Coach Mr M Stringer Head of Strength & Conditioning Dr H Harper English and Athletic Development Mrs A Hayes Biology Mrs I Szymanska Chemistry Technician Mr Z Higgins Director of Sport Mr M Thain History, Second in Department, Mr C Hodgson English, PGCE Student Housemaster of Barlow Mrs S Hopgood Head of Careers Mr S Victory Economics and Business Studies Mrs G Hullis Classics Mrs C Wall Biology, Upper 5th Division Head Mr S Hullis Classics, Director of Initial Mr E Walls Head of Theology and Teacher Training, Contingent Religious Education Commander CCF Mr P Walton Head of Geography Miss S Hutchinson Music Miss E Wardle Netball Coach Mrs P Jarvis Mathematics Ms A Watson Hockey Coach Mrs N Jolly Music Miss K Watson Geography Mr M Joyce Head of Government and Mr M Watts English, Literacy Coordinator Politics Mr A Wijnberg History, Head of e-Learning, Mr J Joyce Rugby Coach Centre Coordinator for Mr S Jukes Head of JS Boys’ PE and EPQ Levels 1 and 2 Rugby Coach Mr O Williamson Mathematics, Key Stage 5 Ms J Kelly Biology Technician Mathematics Coordinator Miss L Kennett Head of English Mrs A Yates Head of JS PE and Games Miss R Kestenbaum Head of Dance Mrs W Yuen Yip Mathematics Mrs A Lewer English Mrs E Lewis EAL Teacher Miss K Linton Art, Design and Technology VISITING MUSIC STAFF Ms A Loaiza-Palacio School Counsellor Mr M Chaundy Singing Mrs E Maidment Chemistry Ms G Di Laccio Singing Mrs S Malik Mathematics, Second in Ms O Duque Oboe and piano Department Mr J Ellwood Brass Mrs S Marais Biology Mr M Fletcher Drumkit and percussion Mr P McAleenan English, Drama Miss K French ’Cello Mrs I McCahearty Spanish Language Assistant Mr B Gale Drumkit and percussion Mr P McCarthy Economics and Business Studies, Miss C George Woodwind Third Form Division Head Ms E Jackson Violin and viola Mr D McKeown Theology and RE, Lower 4th Mr P Jaekel Piano Division Head Mr J Janik Piano Dr S McLaughlin Theology and RE Mr R Leach Piano Mr P McWillams Theology and RE, Second in Mr R MacManus Violin Department Mrs F Meakins Harp Mr M Mendes Art, Design and Technology, Mr P Michael Bass guitar and piano 3D Product Design Mr S O’Regan Flute Mr J Murray Games Coach Mr J Preiss Guitar Ms R Mushaike Mathematics Mrs A Rayner Singing
Guitar Clarinet Guitar Guitar Singing Singing Piano
GOVERNORS
Mr J Berger Chair of Governors Mr M Ainslie Mrs M Boyle Mrs M Doyle Dr P Hopley Mr P Keyte Dom Ambrose McCambridge, OSB Mr P Murphy-O’Connor Mr S Patterson Mrs E Pilgrim Mr B Taylor Dom Dominic Taylor, OSB Ms S Vale Mr J Walsh Mr J Watson
JUNIOR SCHOOL HEADMASTER Mr R Simmons
SENIOR EXECUTIVE TEAM
Mrs T Scott Junior School Deputy Head Mrs C Bedwin Bursar Mr L Ramsden SS Deputy Headmaster Ms F Allen SS Deputy Head (Academic) Dom Alexander Bevan, OSB SS Senior Chaplain
LEADERSHIP TEAM AND SENIOR STAFF Miss L T Powell
Assistant Head, Designated Safeguarding Lead & Head of Key Stage 2 Mrs M Edwards Head of Early Years Found. Stage & Designated Safeguarding Lead Miss E Brown Head of Key Stage 1 Dom Alexander Bevan, OSB Chaplain
SUPPORT STAFF Miss L Hodge Mrs E Taylor Mrs E Murru Ms J Kelly Mrs M Lawry Mrs K Aston Mrs B Everett
FORM TUTORS Form 2 Mrs E Kottler Miss L Powell Mrs R Nwaka Form 1 Miss K Halpin Mrs F Rutherford Mrs C Lewis Upper Prep Mr J Laffey Miss A Albert Lower Prep Miss E Keenan Mrs L David
2M 2P 2S 1M 1P 1S UPP UPM LPP LPM
Headmaster’s PA Receptionist Office Administrator Afternoon Receptionist School Welfare Officer SBJS Assessment & SIMS Administrator Junior School Registrar Pre-Prep 3 Miss E Brown PP3G Mrs J Loveless PP3Y Pre-Prep 2 Ms M Valdres PP2G (maternity cover) Miss M Indra PP2Y Pre-Prep 1 Mrs M Edwards PP1G Mrs D Petrovic PP1Y Nursery Department Mrs M Edwards Head of Early Years Foundation Stage Mrs A Mullally Head of Nursery
SCHOOL OFFICIALS Head Boy: Head Girl: Deputy Head Boy: Deputy Head Girl:
Lucian Mac-Fall Cerys Edwards Thomas Goode Paulina Sienniak
Senior Decans: Mfon Bassey Emily Baynes Isabelle Dove Alex Dupuy Mishka Fibbens Darcie Hunter Benedict King
Tahlia Klein Louis Lota Conor Moon Edward Page Audrey Reber Sam Symes James Young
President of School Council:
Jonah Hunt
House Captains: Barlow: Gervase: Pickering: Roberts:
Isabelle Dove and James Young Greta Azzopardi and Thomas Goode Dominic Grzegorzek and Tahlia Klein Eddie Bannister and Varvara Theodorou
ACADEMIC AND PASTORAL STAFF
Miss A Albert Ms C Belizario de Meyer Ms A Bhatti Mrs A Brown Mrs E Campbell Mr J Coles Mrs C Connolly Mrs F Cox Mrs L David Miss A Derliunaite Mr D Field Mrs T Fletcher Miss K Halpin Mrs V Halpin Mrs C Hernaman Mr Z Higgins Miss J Hopgood Mr J Joyce Mr S Jukes Mrs M Keogh Ms R Kestenbaum Mrs B Krok-Paszkowska Mrs S Larkam Mrs J Loveless Mrs J Mallinson Mr C Markou Mrs C Matkov Mrs M McNelis Mrs S Munro Mrs J Murphy Mr R Mushiso Mrs S Nee Mr K Newell Mr J Nijhar Mrs R Nwaka Miss A Palmer Mrs T Rebello Miss M Reid Mrs F Rutherford Mr H Sadiq Mrs C Scott Ms L Sharp Mrs P Sheehan Mrs S Stevenson Mrs C Stimpfig Mrs C Sweetman Mrs S Whiteman Mrs D Yallop Mrs A Yates Ms J Zaradna
Head of Geography After School Club Assistant Learning Support Teacher EYFS Practitioner ADT Assistant Head of Rugby Teaching Assistant Teaching Assistant Head of PSHE EYFS Practitioner Head of Junior School Music Teaching Assistant Head of Mathematics Teaching Assistant After School Club Assistant Director of Sport After School Club Assistant Sports Coach Head of Boys’ Games/PE Teaching Assistant Head of Dance Art Assistant/Teaching Assistant Swimming Coach Head of History After School Club Assistant Head of Art Learning Support Teacher Head of Learning Support Learning Support Teacher Learning Support Teacher & After School Club Assistant Sports Coach EYFS Practitioner Head of Cricket Head of Hockey Head of Religious Education Head of Netball After School Club Assistant/ Lunchtime Assistant EYFS Practitioner Head of English Head of Fencing Learning Support Teacher SBJS School Counsellor Teaching Assistant Head of ICT Head of French Head of SBJS Library Head of Science EYFS Practitioner & After School Club Co-ordinator JS Head of Games/PE EYFS Assistant
Decans:
William Adams Greta Azzopardi James Ball Eddie Bannister Phoebe Daly-Jones Tom D’Arcy Jules Dehon Cora Doherty Luis Gomez Rose Genevieve Greenall Megan Griffiths Dominic Grzegorzek
SCHOOL CAPTAINS Captain of Boys’ Athletics: Captain of Girls’ Athletics: Captain of Cricket: Captain of Fencing: Captain of Girls’ Hockey: Captain of Boys’ Hockey: Captain of Netball: Captain of Rugby: Leader of the School Orchestra: Master of Ceremonies:
Adam Gurdikyan Olivia Howell Thomas Knight Ryan McPartlin Louis Miles Daniel Moore Oisin O’Cleirigh Francesca Povinelli Charlie Pyne Daniel Schofield Emilio Uribe
Cathal Sheehan Daisy Burns Tomek Tsang Fernanda Da Silva Cora Doherty Conor Moon May Nielsen Tomek Tsang Henry Saunders Oscar Llinares-Perales
SCHOOL OFFICIALS Head Boy: Head Girl: Deputy Head Boy: Deputy Head Girl:
Luke Crown Iris Whiteley Alfie Shilling Lettie Stevenson
Prefects: Emily Bignell, Annabel Reiss and Declan Tierney House Captains: Bede: Henry Newman and Hannah Dormann Fisher: Phaedon Markou and Kara Larkam Gregory: Thomas Kottler and Lily Hussein More: Jake Bridge and Isabel Hay Library Monitors: Nicolae Doicin, Isabel Murphy and Mark Majcherczyk-Olczak Art Ambassadors: Theo Tompkins and Theo Bigland English Ambassadors: Benedict Rawlings, Zachary Philpot, Sebastian Dayeh and Rory Johnston History Ambassadors: Adam Bartlett, Kamran Campbell-Barr and Marco Murru ICT Ambassadors: Luka Tompkins, Ava Niesiolowski, Zachary Bowden and Derry Wixted Geography Ambassadors: Pablo Branley, William Curd and Hugh Stark Maths Ambassadors: Ashton Wallace and Maria Scott Music Ambassadors: Liam Tregea and Jake Bowden Pre-Prep Ambassadors: Cobey Davies, Sarah Akerele, Tobias Hall, Emmy Podhorski, Daniel Morcos, Solomon Cohen and Ranveer Singh RE Ambassadors: James Bussey and Maya Semaan Science Ambassadors: Lydia Ramsden, Tommy Suckley, Freddie Lumsden and Christopher Kirkwood Mass Leaders: Mark Majcherczyk-Olczak and Taylor Brown School Council Chairs: Orlando Akuffo, Shraddha Roshan and Noah Tapson Mini Vinnie President: George Majcherczyk-Olczak Housemistresses/masters: Bede: Mrs S Stevenson Fisher: Mrs R Nwaka Gregory: Mr J Laffey More: Mrs A Yates
THE PRIORIAN
Mr C Regert Mrs J Sapsard Mr A Scheuerer Mr E Stewart Mr L Taliotis Mr M Waldren Mrs N Yeghiazarian
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ST BENEDICT’S SCHOOL a
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