St Benedict's News - Trinity Term 2021

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ST BENEDICT’S

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TRIN ITY TE R M 2021

Sports Days – pages 27–28

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HEADMASTERS’ INTRODUCTIONS Dear Parents. Trinity term has seen a very welcome, if limited, return to normality for our young people; once again they have been able to enjoy competitive sports fixtures against other schools, take part in DofE expeditions and CCF exercises, Geography field trips and a host of other activities. There has been an impressive number of musical performances – at our Summer Concert and at the annual Music Festival – and four Drama productions. We have celebrated each year-group’s achievements with a series of separate Prize Giving ceremonies and came together for Mass for the first time in 15 months on St Benedict’s Day. The term finished with a wide-ranging Activities Week. With my best wishes for a happy, restorative summer,ar to you and your families,

Andrew Johnson Headmaster

St Benedict’s named as one of the UK’s best value private schools Once again, the Daily Telegraph has included St Benedict’s on their annual list of the UK’s ‘best value’ private schools, offering “an excellent education for a significantly lower price.” Academically, the 12 selected schools – which include only two from London – compare favourably with their more expensive counterparts while offering an impressive range of co-curricular and sporting opportunities.

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Dear Parents,

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The second half of this academic year appears to have disappeared in the blink of an eye. The Trinity term has had very enjoyable moments, despite the challenges, and this edition of St Benedict’s News will give you a flavour of the terrific activities that the pupils have been engaged in since the start of term. The Junior School and Nursery has been as busy as ever, with a Victorian Day; workshops about the Ancient Greeks; a History Study Day; a French-themed Day for Form 1; a picnic in a local park for Pre-Prep 1; the Sports Days; a fabulous presentation by The Aviation Project; and the wonderful production of Alice in Wonderland. I hope that you and your family and friends enjoy a beautiful summer. With best wishes,

Rob Simmons Junior School Headmaster

Bart, St Benedict’s therapy dog Bart, a very friendly Grand Basset Griffon Vendéen, returned to the chaplaincy centre this term to help soothe exam nerves and provide canine calm – for pupils and staff alike.


Form 3 Prize Giving Upper 5th Prize Giving

PRIZE GIVING Our students’ many achievements were celebrated at Prize Giving ceremonies this term, which for the first time took place in year-groups because of Covid-19 social distancing measures. The Upper 6th Prize Giving – always poignant as it is the final occasion at which they are all together – took place on Monday 21st June. The Headmaster praised their resilience, determination and support for one another throughout the pandemic, wished them every success in the future and encouraged them to stay in touch with St Benedict’s.

The U6 prizes were presented by Abbot Dominic

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Sixth Form Jazz group plays Ain’t No Sunshine (Withers)

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SUMMER CONCERT 2021 Soloists, choirs and ensembles performed a wide range of music at the Summer Concert, which was live-streamed this year.

Lower 4th Strings perform Pavane from Warlock’s Capriol Suite

The Summer Concert is traditionally a platform for the talents of the Upper 6th leavers, who give their final musical performance at St Benedict’s. Stephanie Maalouf sang When he sees me by Sara Bareilles; Thomas Curtis played Ernest Bloch’s Prayer

ST BENEDICT’S NEWS

on ‘cello; Oscar Jones played the 3rd movement of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata and Finley Carty-Howe sang Empty tables at empty chairs from Les Misérables and That’s life by Kay and Gordon.

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Stephanie Maalouf sings When he sees me by Sara Bareilles

At the end of the concert, the Sixth Form leavers thanked the Director of Music (who has taught many of them for the past 12 years), all the music teachers and the Music Administrators for all their support and encouragement over the years.

Rhodri Darwent sings Fear no more the heat o’ the sun (Finzi)


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MUSIC FESTIVAL 2021 Undiminished by the pandemic, the St Benedict’s Music Festival involved over 230 solo entries from pupils in all year-groups, adjudicated by Nicholas Chalmers, artistic director of Nevill Holt Opera.

Junior Section Cup (F3, L4 & U4) Rory Johnston (L4) Romanza (from Clarinet Sonata 2nd Mvt) Poulenc

The winners of each heat then competed in the Finalists’ Concert in May, which this year was live-streamed from the Cloisters. The adjudicator was Andrea Haines, a member of the vocal ensemble VOCES8.

WINNERS Flohouse Cup Alex Crown (L6) Bassoon Concerto in Bb, Op 96 (1st Mvt) Mozart Senior Section Cup (Sixth Form) Theo Zachariou (Voice: L6) This is the moment (from Jekyll & Hyde) Frank Wildhorn and Leslie Bricusse Intermediate Section Cup (L5 & U5) Seb Zecevic (Drumkit: L5) Caravan (from Whiplash) Juan Tizol arr Duke Ellington

Music Exam Results Congratulations to all St Benedict’s musicians on achieving some excellent results in their ABRSM and Trinity exams this term– particularly to Helena Ramsden in Upper 4th, who was awarded Distinctions in both Grade 8 Piano and Grade 8 Violin; to Rory Johnston in Lower 4th, for his Distinctions in Grade 7 Clarinet and Piano, and to Jake Toyton in Form 3, who achieved Distinctions in Grade 7 Piano and Grade 5 Clarinet. Well done!

ST BENEDICT’S NEWS

As ever, a range of extremely impressive performances – on piano, woodwind, strings, percussion, guitar and voice – provided a wonderful evening’s music. In summing up the students’ inspiring musicianship, Andrea Haines said: “Congratulations to everybody. I know that you have done a huge amount of hard work. This year hasn’t been easy, I appreciate, and it’s daunting standing up and performing to an invisible, live audience as well. I have been really impressed by your bravery, your passion and your commitment to it.”

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DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S EXPEDITIONS

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Over 120 pupils were out in the Chilterns in June, completing their Bronze practice and qualifying expeditions, and Silver expeditions took place in the Cotswolds in May. The Lower 6th did their Gold practice expedition on Dartmoor, in glorious weather; we wish them luck for their qualifying expedition in the Brecon Beacons in July.

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DARTMOOR


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CHILTERNS

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Helikon Centre talks

OP & Lower 6th University sessions This term the Lower 6th had a series of mentoring sessions from Old Priorians (alumni) currently studying at university, to support them as they begin to prepare their UCAS applications. Some of our youngest OPs gave invaluable insight and advice, talking directly to the Lower 6th and answering questions, via Microsoft Teams about their chosen courses and universities.

Mark Haviland, VP of the Marine Conservation Society, on Marine Biology and the Blue Economy.

Patrick Millner (Actuary): Using Maths to problem-solve in the real world.

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Dr Peter Jaye, Senior A&E Consultant at Guys Hospital, on his work, Covid, post-Covid future and the challenges facing the NHS.

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Ziggy Lubkowski: A Tale of Three Bridges, The Life of a Civil Engineer.

Students heard what it was like to study a wide range of courses at degree level, including English, History, Politics, Medical Sciences, Economics, Physics and Engineering, Psychology, Geography, Maths and Computer Science. OPs described life at their chosen universities – from Manchester, Nottingham and Durham, to Exeter, Bristol and Oxford.


St Benedict’s Pupils Win National VE Day Poster Competition

about the events of WW2 and their historical significance. The Trust was founded in 1994 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Normandy campaign.

Two St Benedict’s pupils in Form 1 have won First and Third prize in the National VE Day Poster Competition 2021, run by the Spirit of Normandy Trust.

First Prize was won by Mihiro Hosotani, with Evie Domoradzki winning Third Prize in the KS2 age group. The winners were chosen by veterans themselves, who were helped to view the posters online by their carers. This year there was a record number of entries for the competition.

remember the veterans and what they have done for us.” The Spirit of Normandy Trust was founded for the welfare of veterans and their dependants, and to help educate people of all ages

I think it is very important to remember the veterans and what they have done for us.

Forms 1 and 2 have been learning about the Second World War this year in their “We’ll meet again” topic. Mihiro and Evie had worked on their posters over lockdown at home in the spring, when their lessons were online. Mihiro said; “I was really pleased when I heard that I had won first prize. I think it is very important to

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VE Poster Competition winners, Mihiro and Evie

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HISTORY DAY In celebration of History, Thursday 29th April was dedicated to thinking about historic events and the people behind them. Everyone dressed up as a historical character and created brilliant posters for a competition. The children also discovered that History Day itself was the anniversary of several significant events: 1429 Joan of Arc led French troops to victory over the English at Orleans during the Hundred Years’ War 1884 Oxford University agreed to admit female students to examinations 1935 ‘cats eyes’ (invented by Percy Shaw) were inserted into British roads 1945 the US Army liberated 31,601 people from Dachau Nazi concentration camp

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2011 the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton took place at Westminster Abbey

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FRENCH DAY Children in Form 1 enjoyed a celebration of French culture, to enrich and support their language learning. After a delicious breakfast of croissants, Science lessons focused on Louis Pasteur and his discovery of vaccination. They then learned about the French artist, Georges Braque, and created their very own Cubist selfportraits. This was followed by French cookery, kindly led by one of our parents, Monsieur Parmentier, who taught the children how to make traditional French ‘Quatre Quarts’ cakes. After a game of Boules and Petanque at playtime, everyone went to the senior school ICT suite to have a go at making French comic strips. All in all, French Day was a brilliant way to learn about the French culture and language!

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Box Hill has many unique species of bats, butterflies and orchids, as well as box trees. It is a National Trust site visited by many people, which makes it an ideal place to measure human impact. We used many different methods to collect both qualitative and quantitative data, such as bipolar surveys/scales, a transect line, and field sketches, systematic, random and stratified sampling.

Geographers explore Box Hill ecosystems and the River Thames St Benedict’s geographers have been delighted to see the return of field trips this term. Upper 4th students travelled to Box Hill to look at ecosystems and Lower 4th explored all aspects of the River Thames.

Our findings showed that humans have impacted Box Hill by eroding the ground and affecting the number of species in certain areas. Box Hill needs careful management to ensure that some areas remain unaffected by human activity. Alice Moore (U4)

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BOX HILL

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RIVER THAMES

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BAYONET

POINT

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Cadets took part in two weekend training exercises at Army Training Centre Pirbright in May and June: Bayonet Strike and Bayonet Point.

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CCF BAYONET

STRIKE

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ACTIVITIES WEEK The last week of term was devoted to a wide range of creative academic and co-curricular activities for all year groups. Form 3 explored philosophy with a group of visiting professional philosophers, met people from different walks of life on Citizenship Day, visited the National Science Museum and raised funds for Lepra, a UK charity that supports the fight against Leprosy across the world. Ethics and Enterprise workshop

The Lower 4th took part in creativity and collaborative problem-solving workshops, had CCF and DofE induction days, and a careers session. The Upper 4th completed their DofE Bronze expeditions or did CCF leadership activities, had a day of music with Bassistry, learned about navigating digital media and visited the National Science Museum. Lower 5th GCSE Music students developed their performance, composition and improvisation skills with Bassistry, and also attended digital media and creative thinking/problem-solving workshops. CCF cadets had an on-site extended training exercise and Computer Science students enjoyed a virtual tour of Bletchley Park.

ST BENEDICT’S NEWS

CCF problem-solving and teamwork

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Philosophy class

Lower 6th students engaged in a ‘Question Time’ event, putting their questions to Rupa Huq, Labour MP for Ealing Central & Acton; Alexander Stafford, Conservative MP for Rother Valley; Shabnam Nasimi, Political and social campaigner and women’s rights activist; Marijn van de Geer, Extinction Rebellion leader and Green Party candidate for GLA; and Mark Machado, Production Director, 11-29 Media and BBC broadcaster. In addition, there was an ‘Ethics and Enterprise’ workshop, and a Geography field trip to Devon. Students also worked on their ‘Symposium’ research projects on a topic outside their A level courses and started preparation for UCAS applications. Finally, the newly appointed Senior Decans (prefects) undertook mental health first aid training. Bassistry music-making

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A busy, productive week to round off the academic year!

‘Question Time’

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Lower 5th production: ‘The Crucible’ by Arthur Miller

DRAMA Upper 6th A Level Drama and Theatre Text in Performance: ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’ by Mark Haddon

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Lower 6th A Level Drama and Theatre Devised Performance: ‘Is Graffiti Art?’ (Based on Steven Berkoff’s ‘Metamorphosis’)

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SCIENCE FAIR 2021

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Lower 4th scientists presented their fascinating projects this term, after devising and conducting experiments in biology, chemistry and physics lessons.

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St Benedict’s artwork at the National Gallery! Artwork by children at St Benedict’s Junior School has been selected for the National Gallery’s ‘Take One Picture’ exhibition this summer. Inspired by Paolo Uccello’s 15th century painting, The Battle of San Romano, the exhibition features Form 2’s magnificent ‘War Horse’ sculpture made of aluminium plate (a collaborative project involving the entire year-group) and Upper Prep’s medieval helmet decorations. The exhibition is in the Sunley Room until 12th September and admission is free.

WARHORSE ST BENEDICT’S JUNIOR SCHOOL, LONDON 10–11 YEAR OLDS

Our inspiration came from the horses in the painting. We drew Uccello’s horses and practised showing their proportions and positions. We also looked at other famous paintings and sculptures of horses, including George Stubbs’ Whistlejacket and Andy Scott’s Kelpies. The children loved the idea of making our own horses sculpture, so we practiced by making miniature models with paper and straws before moving on to our final piece. We made the structure using wire and covered it with aluminium plates that we hammered, burned and tarnished to look like the armour in the painting.

‘Making the horse was really fun and it took a lot of time and effort. I am very happy with the finished result and how it looks.’ Daniel, aged 10

Christos Markou, Head of Art, Design and Technology

RENAISSANCE HELMET DECORATIONS

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ST BENEDICT’S JUNIOR SCHOOL, LONDON 8–9 YEAR OLDS

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Year 4’s favourite part of the painting was the armour. They researched different types of armour and thought about the identities of the soldiers who wore them. They also learned about the varous styles of decorative plumes that would have been worn in Renaissance Italy. To begin the making, they drew their own designs inspiredby the painting and their research, before creating initial models out of coloured paper. The final pieces had to be stable and strong, as well as colourful and eye-catching. Christos Markou, Head of Art, Design and Technology

‘We painted our helmets and used many materials like feathers, pipe cleaners and coloured paper.’ Reyansh, aged 8


WONDERLAND WORKSHOP PP2 and PP3 had a wonderful time taking part in an ‘Alice in Wonderland’ drama workshop, run by Freshwater Theatre. Having read the book the children enjoyed getting to know the characters even better through drama.

Children in Form 2 took us to Lewis Carroll’s colourful, topsy-turvy world with their performance of ‘Alice in Wonderland’, their brilliant singing, acting and dancing bringing the year to a vibrant close.

ST BENEDICT’S NEWS

ALICE IN WONDERLAND

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Post A Level & GCSE Assessment Programme St Benedict’s GCSE and A level candidates had a 2-week programme of activities and seminars following the completion of their assessments in June. The Upper 6th looked into ‘Navigating Digital Media’, discussing why truth matters, mis-, dis- and mal-information and algorithms used by social media platforms. They then explored ‘Understanding Creative Learning and Working’ and took part in an off-site walking tour of statues.

ST BENEDICT’S NEWS

The Upper 5th attended A level subject introductory sessions, and took part in a ‘Leadership, Task Management and Skills Training’ course run by the St Benedict’s CCF. This consisted of a carousel of activities such as problemsolving, first aid, learning to coach practical skills and air-rifle marksmanship. It was followed by a Careers Day, for which two alumni returned to St Benedict’s to offer invaluable advice and guidance: Kellee Ashlee (OP 05), HR Business Partner at Total Jobs, talked to them about ‘What makes a great CV’ and Andrew Lavelle (OP 08), founder of Talent Pool, coached them in good interview technique. There were also sessions on how to find a job, networking, social media, volunteering, work experience, how to behave and present in a professional environment and producing an action plan. Finally, paralympian fencer Dimitri Coutya (OP 16) gave a talk on ‘The Art of Bouncing Back’ describing how you can learn from mistakes and set-backs, and talking about his preparations for the Tokyo Paralympics.

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SPORT

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ATHLETICS As well as fixtures against local schools, St Benedict’s athletes have competed in events further afield. Here are some of the highlights.

Felix Mac-Fall

Lord Wandsworth School: 12th June Rory Johnston (L4) won the U15 100m (11.83s), 200m (25.67s), Long Jump (4.25m) and was also in the winning relay team with Marco Murru, Taichi Taketsume (both L4) and Elio Nutt (U4) (53.36s). Felix Shakespeare (L4) 1st in the U15 Discus (19.57m) Ben Ziprin (L6) 1st in the Senior Discus (25m) Felix Mac-Fall (L6) 1st in the Senior Javelin (30.19m) Elio Nutt (U4) 1st in the U15 Javelin (19.81m) Jasper Pearson (L5) 1st in the Inter Boys’ 100m (11.80s) Millfield: 18th June Kara Larkam (L4) 1st in the U15 Girls’ 800m and 1500m (2:35.3s and 5:38.1s) Serafina Chew-Siegal (U4) 1st in the 300m (45.5s) Gabby Giles (L4) 2nd in the 300m (48.7s) Sophie Harrison (U4) 1st in U15 Girls’ Javelin (17.76m) Brianna John-Etiko (U4) 1st in U15 Girls’ Discus (16.35m) Nessi Asima (L5) 2nd in U17 Girls’ 100m (13.4s) Fran Newbold (L5) 1st in the 300m and 800m (46.9s and 2:42.3s) Owen Keenlyside (F3) 1st in 200m (27.2s) and 2nd in the U14 100m (13.1s) Charlie Ferguson (F3) 1st in U14 800m (2:48.5s) Elio Nutt (U4) 2nd in the Javelin (29.27m) Felix Shakespeare (L4) 1st and Gabriel Suarez (U4) 2nd in U15 Discus (23.40m and 21.50m respectively) Sam Manufor (L5) 1st and Jasper Pearson (L5) 2nd in U17 100m (12.2s and 12.4s respectively) Jenom Nyam (U5) won the U17 Boys’ 400m (57s) Cameron Hughes (U5) 1st and Sam Manufor (L5) 2nd in the Triple Jump (11.47m and 10.65m respectively) Nessi Asima

The Junior School girls have had an enjoyable athletics season, taking part in field events including javelin, shotput, long jump and speed ladders, as well as sprints and long distance events on the track. There was an enjoyable fixture with local rivals St Augustine’s, with great wins in Form 1 from Eva Pangrazi (600m), Sophia Georghiades (75m), Sara Krunic (Javelin), Lois Hand (150m) and Lara Kowalski (150m) to name just a few. In Form 2, Iona Keenlyside ran a blistering 600m to take first place by a distance, and St Benedict’s also took the lion’s share of wins in the relay events.

English Schools Athletics, Lee Valley: 21st June Serafina Chew Siegal (U4) 1st in 300m (45.6s) Brianna John-Etiko (U4) 2nd in Discus (19.89m) Charlotte Gardiner (L4) 2nd in 100m (13.7s) Mika Stojsavljevic (F3) 2nd in 1500m (5:38.6s) Rory Johnston (L4) 1st in 300m (39.4s) Owen Keenlyside (F3) 2nd in 100m (12.72s) Marlborough College Athletics: 26th June The L5 girls’ team – Polly Burns, Nessi Asima, Ayodenu Dosumu, Fran Newbold, Arielle Ofori-Koree, and Eliza Ridout – came 1st in their age-group overall. The relay team – Gabriella Giles (L4), Serafina Chew-Siegal (U4), Charlotte Gardiner (L4), and Brianna John-Etiko (U4) – finished in 2nd place overall, with an impressive 54.6s. Polly Burns won the Senior Long Jump with a 4.73m jump. Cathal Sheehan and Alex Gribbon (L6) won both of their 100m and 200m races.

ST BENEDICT’S NEWS

Alex Gribbon

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NETBALL

Marti Barbieri (F3), Ivy Melton, Lizzy Doherty and Anya Rimmer (all L4)

Following her season with the Saracens Mavericks Futures academy, Francesca Newbold (L5) has been selected for the U15s Saracens Mavericks Long Squad, which is now training in preparation for the School Games National Finals at Loughborough University this summer. Congratulation to Emma Thacker (U6) who has been representing the U21s London Pulse squad in the England Netball National performance league this season. Emma and her team finished top of the group stages and head to the gold medal match in July.

Fran Newbold

Congratulation to Anya Rimmer, Ivy Melton, Lizzy Doherty (all L4) and Marti Barbieri (F3) who have been selected for the London Youth Games U14s Ealing Long Squad. These girls will be training weekly throughout the summer before the competition in August.

TENNIS During Trinity term, U4 girls and boys were able to participate in the Road to Wimbledon tournament inter-competition. It was great to get all the students involved competing against one and another. Isabelle Morley and Marco Murru, both in L4, won the competition and are now one step closer to playing on Wimbledon turf. Both will be playing in the County Finals in July. We wish them the best of luck!

The girls competed in the LTA Youth Schools Middlesex 2021. It was great to see the selected players excel in their performance. Both F3 and L4 teams came 2nd place in their group; U4 and L5 teams came 2nd and 3rd. We are looking forward to Tennis next year and cannot wait to continue to compete against other schools and hopefully enter more competitions.

Ones to watch Mika Stojsavljevic (F3) has been chosen again for the National Player Pathway. As a top 10 ranked UK tennis player, Mika is regularly playing national tennis events and is starting to play junior international events through the next year. Kaya Stojsavljevic (LP) plays for Middlesex County. She is the strongest player for her age in the county and one of the best in the country.

ST BENEDICT’S NEWS

Tom Hill (F1) has also been chosen for the National Player Pathway, which will open training and competition opportunities for him.

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Nicolas Gonzalez Valenzuela (F1) competes in regional tennis events and is included in the U11 County Squad.

Lower 4th girls, playing their League match

Luca Leoni (UP) plays in the U9 category and is involved in Middlesex County Training.


SPORTS DAY 2021 The sun shone on Perivale Track for the biggest sports event of the year – the St Benedict’s House Athletics Championships.

ST BENEDICT’S NEWS

Everyone enjoyed a fantastic day of athletics and in the end the House Cup was won by Gervase.

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JUNIOR SCHOOL SPORTS DAY Thankfully, the weather held out for the Junior School Sports Day, which allowed our pupils to display some wonderful sporting prowess over 64 different house races and events. In a close finish, Bede were crowned champions, with Fisher pipping Gregory to second place, and More coming in fourth. All pupils made the school proud with their efforts and excellent sporting conduct; a special mention goes to Jay Whitely for winning the Form 2 Victor Ludorum and to Iona Keenlyside who claimed the Victrix Ludorum.

NURSERY AND PRE-PREP SPORTS DAY

ST BENEDICT’S NEWS

Children in St Benedict’s Nursery and Pre-Prep department took part in a wide-ranging schedule of races and field events, helped and encouraged by older pupils at the Junior School.

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CRICKET U13 A’s win Middlesex County Cup Final! The St Benedict’s U13A XI beat Queen Elizabeth School, Barnet, in the Middlesex County Cup Final by 58 runs on June 28th. The U13 A’s scored 151 runs for 6 wickets off 25 overs while QEB were ‘all out’ in 19.5 overs for 93 runs. There were notable performances from bowlers Alec Whitty, who took 2 wickets for 27 runs in 5 overs, and Daniel Morcos, who took 2 wickets for 23 runs in 2.5 overs. The ‘man of the match’ performer was Thomas Kottler who scored 116 runs off 90 balls with the bat and took 5 wickets for 12 runs in 5 overs. All teams have had a successful season, and the following players have received colours for cricket: Nick Lewis and Harry Hancock (U12); Thomas Kottler and Alec Whitty (U13); Alexander Le Bouedec, George Toynton, Oliver Boas and Jack McCarthy (U14), and Ned Watts and Freddie Finnegan (U15), all of whom have received colours for cricket.

The U11s, ably led by Stan Watts, have produced some strong performances, most notably against Westminster Under, where Harry Tallboy and Oscar Hickman starred. They have shown some real depth in their cricket, and this year-group shows some good strength going into the senior school.

U10A Cricket team

The U10s have had limited opportunity to play, only managing matches against St John’s Northwood and KCS Wimbledon due to the weather, but they show some real potential, and Alex Bishop has been strong with both bat and ball. The U9s, led by Christo Kopoi, began their St Benedict’s cricket journey with a tough trip away to Shrewsbury House. They also enjoyed matches against Hampton Prep and Westminster Under.

ST BENEDICT’S NEWS

Junior School Cricket The Junior School boys have made a successful return to the sporting calendar. It has been a long time for them since they last represented the school, and for some, it has been their first opportunity to represent the school.

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2021

ST BENEDICT’S DAY St Benedict’s Day, celebrated on 1st July this year, provides an opportunity to focus on our mission and ethos as a Benedictine school.

The day began with a series of wellbeing activities, in the wake of a difficult year affected by Covid-19. Pupils focused on qualities such as gratitude, trust, confidence and kindness. The whole school then celebrated mass together for the first time in 18 months. Live-streamed to everyone except Upper 4th and Lower 5th, who attended in the Abbey, it was celebrated by Fr Michael Holman SJ.

ST BENEDICT’S NEWS

After lunch the fundraising began for this year’s chosen charities: The Felix Project, UNICEF (La Soufriere Disaster Relief) and The Donne Foundation: Women in Music. Face painting, milkshakes, karaoke, penalty shoot-out, popcorn, raffles, waffles, and lots more, took place in form group bubbles.

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NEWS DEVELOPMENT & ALUMNI RELATIONS

It is hard to believe another academic year is drawing to a close – where has the time gone!

Annual Parental and OPA Golf Day A great day was enjoyed by our Parents and Old Priorians at our annual Golf Day at Ealing Golf Club.

As always, I would like to take this opportunity to convey my sincere thanks to our Parental and Old Priorian community for your tremendous support. My sincere thanks also to our wonderful SPF team for their generous support throughout the year.

If you would like to join us next time please save the date: Friday 10th June 2022.

Dear Parents,

Our Annual Fund projects – the installation of floodlights and the refurbishment of our much loved drama studio – are now underway. These important school projects will have a hugely beneficial impact on all of our current students and I look forward to welcoming you to our forthcoming events in the new academic year to showcase the completed projects. We have been absolutely delighted with the response from our Upper 6th Parents to our annual Sixth Form Leavers’ Bursary Appeal and I am can confirm that we will be in a position to offer a 50% bursary place for a student to attend the Sixth Form in September. It is always a bittersweet moment when we say goodbye to our Upper 6th students but we look forward to staying in touch and supporting them as Old Priorians via our alumni platform, St Benedict’s Connect. Should you wish at any time to make a contribution to our Bursary fund please see the link here: https://annualfund.stbenedicts.org.uk/pages/home-2217 Finally, I would like to wish all our families a happy and peaceful summer break. Best wishes,hes,

St Benedict’s Sports Festival 2021 Friday 10th September St Benedict’s Sports Fields, Perivale OPA Dinner 2021 Friday 24th September St Benedict’s School St Benedict’s Fireworks Evening Friday 22nd October St Benedict’s Sports Fields, Perivale

ST BENEDICT’S NEWS

Tara George Development & Alumni Relations Director

Forthcoming Events SPF BBQ 2021 *Rescheduled, Sat 4th September St Benedict’s Sports Fields, Perivale

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