College life december

Headmaster's Welcome

"In just one term brown grass has turned into green grass and now, as I write, into white grass. Meanwhile the temperature has dropped from high twenties to minus two. It’s a long old term, the Michaelmas Term, but what a joyful one it has been We still seem to be in a touching post-Covid atmosphere in which we are enjoying being back at school; appreciate the company of others and want to make the most of all of the school time and opportunities which were denied to us for the best part of two years. And that has made for a very happy school over the last three months I hope you enjoy reading all about it in this latest online edition of College Life. Happy Christmas to one and all."

Headmaster's Book

Students that have produced outstanding work or have had a remarkable personal achievement are recognised by being selected to sign the Headmaster's Book. Congratulations to the following students for signing the Headmaster's Book during this first half term

Sport

Elements Rugby

The Elements have had a fine rugby season which ended with the squad winning the Under 12 Rugby Festival Plate at the end of the season. The students have learned all of the core skills in rugby, and have the makings of a fine side They won numerous fixtures this season Highlights were against New Hall, Ely, Bishop‘s Stortford and Wellingborough School. The side have played some excellent attacking rugby, with some brilliant pieces of rugby. In defence, the team have been disciplined and developed their work rate, anticipation and line speed Well done to all the player who have represented Elements this term

Rudiments Rugby

An excellent season. The students have progressed to 13-a side and have now learned new positions including the role of the number 8 The side began the season with a list of injuries, but despite this showed signs of excellent rugby and discipline against strong opposition The side won numerous fixtures, including victories against New Hall, King’s Ely and Wellingborough There have been some wonderful solo efforts and tries scored by students Next season, the side move to 15 -a-side and all members of the squad will have a valuable part to play. Well done.

Grammar Rugby

The Grammar students had a tough season this year They were hit with several injuries in the side which meant students had to learn new positions as they progressed into 15 a side rugby The team have learned their positions and continue to understand the importance of teamwork and decision making in rugby. The side put in some brilliant performances and effort against strong opposition this year. Highlights were against Woodlands, Ely and St George’s.

Syntax Rugby

The syntax side battled through the rugby term, with lack of availability and injuries a constant thorn in their side, they found it difficult to compete with their opposition and on occasions often running out of steam late in matches. They had a number of encouraging performances and improved as a team showing great resilience to bounce back from a heavy defeat against King's Ely early in the term The highlight was a victory against Woodlands school which was an incredibly entertaining game that went down to the final play with Woodlands on the attack, a great defensive stand secure the victory for St Edmund's

Senior Rugby

The side have been captained brilliantly by Joseph B A joy to train and full of personality The season began very well with an excellent performance away at Bishop’s Stortford College. The side have worked tirelessly to improve their performance at the set piece. The scrum has been dominant in fixtures as well as a deceptive line out. The students scored several tries of high quality this term and have given all opposition excellent matches The side had brilliant cup matches and narrow losses against Culford School and Hitchin Boys’ School

Mr Cunnah, Head of Boys' Games and Challoner Housemaster

Sport

This term has been no less hectic than any other, especially given the delays with our resurfacing of the astro We thank all the girls during this period, who adapted brilliantly to having games lessons off-site. It was lovely to hear such positive feedback from Broxbourne Hockey Club and how much they enjoyed having the students onsite

In our fixture programme, despite the cancellations at the start of the term and recently due to the weather the girls have played over 60 fixtures. Alongside our fixture programme, the girls represented the College in six different cup competitions, which has been excellent to witness These fixtures allow our teams to experience different opposition to our fixture programme thus developing the sporting experience of all involved It is safe to say that regardless of the result our students represent the College with zeal.

Since half term, the highlights in the hockey calendar have included a 5-2 win for the U12A team against Brentwood School Excellent defending from Suzie R and Ava P built a platform to attack from, with Some quick counter-attacking from Alice P and Frankie S lead to the team putting 5 goals past the opposition. The U12B had a superb game against Queenswood and despite losing 2-3, this match demonstrated how far the team had come over the season. All players fully understood their roles within the team and continuously stuck to the task The U13A had an impressive 3-1 victory over Saffron Walden County High School, which saw the girls demonstrating their strength in all positions

Sadly, the U13A team run in the independent school's hockey cup came to end in the 3rd round as they lost out to St John’s School. Nevertheless, a run in the competition that all girls should be pleased with. The U13B secured a 4-0 win against Queenswood, which was a game that displayed true Edmundian values The 1st XI had a thrilling end-to-end game against Highgate, which ended 3-3 Excellent short corner routines allowed the team to move the ball past the Highgate defensive to find the backboard on two separate occasions

In the independent school netball plate competition, the U13A team got off to winning ways as they travelled to Farnborough Hill School Despite a long journey, the girls started strong and only continued to build on this as they secured a convincing victory 41-13 This game was a credit to all players with everyone having a positive contribution to the end result However, the U15A team narrowly missed out in round 1 to Forest School as they were pipped to the post by 5 goals A great battle and end-to-end game of netball.

Similarly, in the county plate netball competition, the U13A team secured a round 2 win over Sandringham School by 11 goals Tillie H and Amber B combined well in the shooting circle while at the other end of the court Myla K and Amelia R kept the opposition at bay with Zara F linking the play at the centre splendidly Best of luck in the next round of both competitions next term.

In the football County Cup, the U16s played Robert Barclay Academy in round 2 It was a 2-1 victory for the side, with two goals from Natasha Savva After this exciting fixture, it was onto round 2 against John Warner School Before the deadlock could be broken John Warner had hit the crossbar and the post, which seem to be the spur St Edmund’s needed as they took the lead 1-0 just before halftime. In the second half, the girls continued to build upon this performance to secure a 3-0 victory. We are excited to see whom you draw in the Quarter-Finals and wish you the best of luck for your next match.

Thank you all for such a positive term and we look forward to seeing you all on the netball courts when we return in January

Mrs Robinson, Head of Girls' Games and Pole Housemistress

Herts Golf Schools Championships

A won the Hertfordshire Schools Team Championship beating 26 other schools. This means they will go on to represent Hertfordshire and St Edmund’s College and Prep at the Regional finals. Not only was our success as a team, but Marcus was the tournament winner, with an impressive score of 48 points.

CCF

It has been a busy last half term for the CCF, particularly for our senior cadets In addition to normal training on a Tuesday and Thursday, they have played a leading part in organising the College remembrance day commemorations, attending a weekend of Method of Instruction training to learn basic instructional techniques and joining staff for the annual CCF formal mess dinner

Special mention and congratulations must also go to Joseph Y who was promoted to Cadet RSM There are only a very few students across the country who achieve this level and it is just recognition for his commitment and the leadership he has shown to the Contingent

We are so proud to announce that our golf team consisting of Ava G, Ronnie S and Marcus

International Universities Talk

On Tuesday 6th December, we had the pleasure of welcoming Mark Huntington from ‘A Star Future’ and Valeria Pinti from Bocconi University in Milan The students were given detailed information and guidance on how to apply to international universities The benefits of developing cultural intelligence were highlighted as employers are increasingly seeking people who have studied in more than one country, particularly for careers in Business and Economics Bocconi are one of the top universities in the world for Economics, and offer a range of degrees in English, including a programme that allows students to study in Hong Kong and the USA for two years of their degree.

This session will be followed up with guidance on how to apply to UK universities through UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) later this year. Students can apply through UCAS to up to five UK universities and in addition apply to as many international universities as they desire, thereby increasing their options, particularly for highly competitive courses such as Medicine and Law

Music

St Edmund’ s Celebrations

St Edmund’s Day was celebrated in style. The Schola Cantorum sang Ralph Vaughan Williams’ amazing ‘Let all the World in Every Corner Sing’ with brass accompaniment from students This is the year of Vaughan Williams’ 150th Anniversary and so it was great to include this important figure of British Music. Colin Mawby was an important figure of British Music, particularly Catholic Church Music and his superb setting of Psalm 150 ‘Praise Him with the Sound of Trumpets’ as well as his beautiful setting of Psalm 23 were sung beautifully in the service. Additionally, the newly written ‘St Edmund’s Mass’ which has been composed for the College by Mr Woodhall, the Director of Music was sung for the first time on St Edmund’s Day and again on St Edmund’s Sunday. It was great to celebrate with many Old Edmundians’ as well as current pupils, staff and parents

Michaelmas Concert

It was wonderful to hear the orchestra play for the first time this term at the Michaelmas Concert. They gave a superb rendition of Sibelius’ mighty ‘Finlandia’ as well as a witty and charming performance of Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto in Eb. This year the concert took place at the beautiful St. Mary’s Church in nearby Standon and the audience were also treated to numbers from the Jazz Band, Schola Cantorum and l l d duets from our Rhetoricians

Music

LCM and ABRSM exam success

This month many of our vocal and instrumental students took LCM and ABRSM exams The students received some outstanding results, and all involved should be extremely proud of their hard work and achievements .

Congratulations to Amelia James who took part in the Hounslow Festival of Music,

Speech

and Dance and won the Religious Solo section

Jersey Tour

30 members of Schola Cantorum flew to Jersey in October half term This was a wonderful trip full of music and fun. The choir sang superbly in a number of concerts as well as for Mass at St Saviours’ Parish Church

Some members of the Jazz band and several soloists from within the group also performed in the concerts which included an open air performance at Mont Orgueil Castle. Pupils also visited Jersey Zoo, the War Tunnels, had a day at the Beach, a visit from a story-teller and a Karaoke Party on the last night. Wonderful friendships have been formed and the already excellent singing from the choirs was boosted by this time together.

Hertford Recital

A selection of our music scholars presented a recital as part of the lunch time concert series at All Saints, Hertford on Wednesday 9th November Alice K, Lenny S and Thomas H delighted the audience with a selection of pieces from their violin diploma, piano Grade 8 and saxophone diploma respectively.

Jazz Band Social

Our Jazz Band are sounding wonderful! They’ve grown in number dramatically under the fabulous direction of Mr McNiff and Mr Webster After an excellent performance at the Firework display members of the Jazz Band and their parents enjoyed a social lunch at the Pizza Express Jazz Club in London It was a inspiration for all to see s ch fantastic mus

Religious Life

We began our preparations for St Edmund’s day by singing O Beate mi Edmunde in the 3 days leading up to the feast of St Edmund. It was lovely to see all the students gathered in one place to recognise our patron saint and reflect on his virtues Students made great efforts with their Latin and certainly by the end of the 3 days everyone had perfected the chorus

On the Feast of St Edmund, we welcomed Canon Alexander Sherbrooke as our celebrant and preacher. His sermon was very thought-provoking and there was something in it for students of all ages. The choir were in great voice and sang a Mass setting written by Mr Woodhall especially for the College At the end of the Mass the relic of St Edmund was taken around the Chapel and the students were blessed Canon Sherbrooke also brought his dog with him which caused great interest The dog spent Mass in the Boarding office enjoying lots of fuss

On Sunday 20th we welcomed back a number of Old Edmundians. Mass was celebrated by Fr Peter and once again his sermon helped us to reflect on St Edmund After Mass and speeches; there was a delicious lunch and a time to catch up with old friends In November the Catholic Church especially focuses on those who have died Students were invited to write the names of the deceased on pieces of paper and these names were put on a box on the altar so those named would be remembered in all our Masses.

23rd November was Red Wednesday, an opportunity to come together with Christians Christian Persecution and commit to fighting against it. The caption this year was “Brea PowerPoint about Christian persecution and then a film made by Ellis which included in topic Students then completed a megaphone writing a message and committing to speak up against persecution, On Friday 25th there was a voluntary Mass for students wishing to go to Mass on behalf of someone who couldn’t because of persecution

Religious Life

In December we held our annual party for the senior citizens We had about 150 guests who were given afternoon tea and entertained by students before singing together some much-loved Christmas carols. Presents were distributed by Frather Christmas and thanks to the generosity of our students and parents all visitors received a Christmas gift.

Remembrance Day

On the Feast of the Immaculate Conception Bishop Paul Mcaleenan visited the College and we had a whole school Mass The College has a number of staff and Rhetoric students who are Ministers of Holy Communion and the Bishop commissioned them to assist Father Peter for the next 12 months.

Christmas Fun!