Student Prefects

Head Boy & Head Girl 2018/19

Reflections on my year as Head Boy

If I had to describe what it was like being Head Boy, the first word that springs to mind is rewarding and I would encourage everyone to strive to become a prefect. I was never the most academically gifted and I had my fair share of detentions over the years, so if I could do it so can you. Before applying I saw two main benefits of becoming a prefect: (1) I would be given a platform and access to the senior leadership team where I could discuss ideas and implement change for the benefit of students at the college. And (2) the prefect role would add great value to my personal statement and CV. After completing the 2018-19 academic year as Head Boy I can confidently say these benefits and many more came to fruition.

My strongest memory as Head Boy would have to be the speeches. I spoke at open days, on life in Rhetoric, what it was like as prefect, and my personal favourite, at prize giving. All the public speaking helped to develop my confidence and ability to convey a clear message to an audience and these skills would help me a lot in later life. Another great experience was having to organise and host the Talent Show with the Head Girl during charity week. It took a lot of creativity recruiting all the candidates and promoting the event to fit into a 1 hour period 7 slot. However, it was worth it and I would argue it was the most packed the Douai Hall has ever been. Interestingly, I also distinctly remember giving several tours to visitors and alumni which I found quite enjoyable as I often heard several stories of what the college used to be like and I love to meet new people.

Reflecting on my post-Rhetoric life I would say my experiences at the college, especially those relating to being a prefect shaped my future. As a prefect you essentially have a role of responsibility and therefore, you develop your ‘soft skills’ like teamwork and communication. This is because throughout your tenure you will be faced with challenges where you will need to find a quick and efficient solution. For example, a student may drop out of an inter-house competition the day of an event and you will have to go about finding an appropriate replacement. In time, this role of responsibility will craft you into someone who is dependable and in turn, someone who is more desirable in the workplace.

From my personal experience I attended several banking and finance related assessment centres in Rhetoric 2 and about 8 out of 10 times the candidates who I thought were very good also happened to be prefects. Coincidence? I think not! Ultimately, I think that there are so many advantages of becoming a prefect and I would definitely recommend striving and apply for the position.

Feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn if you have any questions on what it is like as a prefect.

Taymen Sargusingh - Head Boy 2018-19

Reflections on my year as Head Girl

Being Head Girl at St Edmund’s was such a privilege and something that I will always be proud of. Like all Old Edmundians, St Ed’s holds a special place in my heart and no matter where life may lead me, the memories and friendships I made during my time there will always stay with me.

I think what made my year as Head Girl so memorable was the fact that Taymen and I were the leading Prefects during the 450th anniversary celebrations. I will never forget the trip to Douai and all its chaos (still to this day I cannot believe anyone ever suggested a whole school day trip to France!). Luckily for me, as part of schola and orchestra, I had been there for a few days prior to the celebration and got to enjoy the hospitality of the place where the school was founded all those years ago. The thing that still makes me laugh and that always gets brought up in conversations about the 450th is how during the last hymn, schola’s numbers rapidly decreased as members were called out to board the waiting coaches so that we didn’t miss the ferry home! By the last verse only a core minority of us were left to belt out the final chorus!

As Head Girl, one of the main responsibilities was to meet guests of the College whether this was during the 450th celebrations, an open day, formal dinner, or High Mass. Each one of these occasions was very unique however, I loved meeting and speaking with different members of the College community. On St Edmund’s Sunday, I was fortunate enough to help Mr Cartwright give a tour of the Prep School to Old Edmundians who had studied there over sixty years ago. Hearing their stories about what the College and Prep used to be like was fascinating and I thoroughly enjoyed sharing my own stories, comparing both our school days!

Although the role of Head Girl is such a vast one, I think the highlight for me was giving my speech at the Prize Giving Ceremony at the end of the year. Since being in Elements, I had always looked up to the two Prefects standing up in their bright red sashes and thought “I hope that’s me one day”. It was always my favourite bit of the ceremony as I loved listening to the stories of their time at St Ed’s and all the jokes that inevitably came along with it. When it came to my turn to write a speech, I really struggled to condense everything I wanted to say into a few minutes! There were so many stories to tell and so many people to thank that it was impossible to fit everything in! I started looking through old photos and school books I had kept over the years and it really hit me exactly how much I had actually achieved during my time there. By this, I don’t mean just academic achievements, but the person I had grown into.

Since heading off to The University of Edinburgh to read Maths, I’ve continued to enhance the leadership skills I learnt from being Head Girl by joining lots of societies and holding positions on different society committees. Many of the societies I have joined at university have been a direct cause of my great experiences at St Eds. This year I have been the Chorus Manager for the Music Society, Secretary for the Maths Society, Assistant Musical Director and Creator of a brand new musical and Producer for a series of radio plays! St Ed’s definitely taught me to take every opportunity that comes your way and join in as much as possible! I am also hoping to spend a year studying Maths at The University of Salamanca, Spain next year (Covid permitting) which has followed on from my love of Spanish whilst at school.

I hope now as an alumnus of the school, I can continue to maintain the wonderful relationship with Stella Maris Colegio which allowed me to spend a summer in Madrid working at the school and which was quite possibly the first step towards the journey I am headed on.

example. It was never just about the prestige, the red sash or your name written in the Prefects Book but instead the opportunity to inspire and encourage the younger Edmundians to reach their full potential and have confidence in themselves whilst doing so.

I am grateful that as Head Girl I was able to give back to the College community and inspire others just as previous Head Girls had inspired me.

Fionnuala Marshall - Head Girl 2018-19

Top18 (2018/19)

Head Boy: Taymen Sargusingh Head Girl: Fionnuala Marshall Deputy Head Boys: Oliver Carr, Teddy Sumsion Deputy Head Girls: Alexia Boyd-Carpenter, Freya Burke

Head of Boys’ Boarding: Henry Wang Head of Girls’ Boarding: Nioka Gordon

Challoner House Captains: Chibuchi Amadi-Livingstone, Thomasina Cass Douglass House Captains: Michael Dietel, Ella Taylor Pole House Captains: Claudia Brooker, Oliver Corley Poynter House Captains: Alexander Holden, Remmi Page Talbot House Captains: Emily Connor, Antony Nlewedum

Head Boy & Head Girl 2019/20

Head Girl

Looking back on my experience as Head Girl, I can definitely say that it wasn’t exactly what I expected! Having been at St Edmund’s since the age of 4, I was understandably quite upset that my final year came to such an abrupt end; I felt a slight sense of underachievement in not sitting the exams that I had worked so hard to prepare for. However, after spending many weeks in lockdown, I soon realised that living through the COVID pandemic had only made me appreciate my Edmundian experiences that much more. The more I reflected, the more I focused on what we did achieve, rather than what we did not. Despite the premature end to Rhetoric, I ended the year with so many wonderful memories, including our work promoting Mental Health Awareness, Anti-Bullying Week assemblies, Charity Week fundraising. I also felt very blessed to be part of an amazing Prefect team who all played their part in leading the student body. Oh, and yes, and I also got over not doing exams rather quickly!

Rhetoric II was an intense year for me, dominated by medical applications and interviews, but I still managed to find plenty of time for socialising (which I definitely took for granted!) and enjoying breaks away from my studies to play in Netball tournaments. I am especially grateful for the fact that we did not miss the National Finals the weekend before lockdown began; I had one last chance to play with my amazing netball team. Life in school may have been paused, but the teachers and their enthusiasm most certainly were not. Although exams were cancelled, we still had opportunities to further our learning through Zoom lessons, and improve our wellbeing through tutorials; these were especially invaluable during the strange, scary and most definitely surreal time in lockdown. Mr Powell ran a series of postRhetoric ‘preparing for university’ interactive Zoom sessions, ranging from how to cope with university stress to managing budgets and loans - all which were very helpful. Leo Carr and I were also offered the opportunity to talk to Syntax students, again over Zoom, to give them an insight into Rhetoric life. I am thankful to Mrs Marrinan for all her help in preparing us for these sessions.

As lockdown continued and the academic year drew to a close, I do think one of the most bizarre parts of my entire Rhetoric II pandemic experience was recording my Head Girl Prize-Giving speech in the Chapel, and watching it online with my family in my living room –quite the change of scenery from the Butler Hall in front of hundreds of people! I am still grateful that, despite everything, I still could commemorate the end of an era with some words of thanks and had the chance to reflect on so many amazing memories at a place I can proudly call my second home.

Nada Tadros, Head Girl 2019-20

Head Boy

In my end of year Head Boy speech, recorded in the Chapel in the final weeks of the Trinity term, I reflected on the importance and various meanings of community. As I write this, not even one year on, over twenty million people have had the vaccine and we are approaching what seems to be the end of the pandemic. The theme of community remains as important as ever.

My time as Head Boy was far from orthodox. That said, I will remember the opportunity to be part of the Prefect team and work with a unique and talented group of Rhetoric II students very fondly. Not only did we forge strong relationships in the little time we had,

but we gained invaluable leadership experience as representatives of the student body. The year 20192020 certainly had its fair share of change and although my tenure was cut short, it is important to take some positives from the remote learning experience, and making time for both introspective and extrospective reflection was certainly one of them. What leaps out as most poignant from my experience of the college is not revision, exams or the curriculum more generally. Rather, what I will remember is classroom debates, team projects, trips to India and New York, College productions, sporting triumphs and St Edmund’s Day extravaganzas. Above all, I will remember the individual people and the communities I was part of during my time at the college.

On a personal level, moving on the next phase of academic life after school has – as you may have surmised – been challenging to say the least. Faced with so much unfamiliarity, having to connect with new people and assimilate into new communities with social distancing and COVID regulations in place, believe me when I say that A-Levels feel like a long and distant past. If my experience as Head Boy has taught me anything, however, it is to expect the unexpected, to be adaptable and to embrace change in all of its manifestations.

The school year 2019-2020, will be remembered as a period of great change both within the college as well as within the wider world. St Edmund’s College saw not only a generation of new leaders in the student body, but amongst the staff as well. Having showcased resilience, adaptability and the ability to deal with unprecedented disruptions as well as having such a strong historical foundation in place, I am confident that the new generation of Edmundians will lead the college with fortitude and confidence into the exciting and unchartered territory of a post-COVID world. Having now become an official ‘Old-Edmundian’, I look forward to hearing of your achievements and progress in the future.

Oliver Martin – Head Boy 2019-20

When preparing my Prize-Giving Head Boy speech, I came across this postcard, which shows the old Allen Hall refectory, and was sent by a student at the College on Sunday 9th August 1942. It reads:

“Dear Pam, I have had a lovely time at St Edmund’s. I don’t think I’ve ever concentrated for such a long period as I did last week. I have been sleeping in a dormitory with twenty other girls, some from Hull, and Tunbridge Wells, and the rest from Walsall. It is nice and quiet here as there are no air raids. Together we have had simply lovely lessons and the country round the college is very beautiful.”

Despite being written in the midst of the Second World War, a crisis with global ramifications somewhat comparable to the current COVID-19 pandemic, this postcard typifies exactly the kind of optimism and sense of place that the St Edmund’s community elicits in all its students. It demonstrates that the community spirit that has endured for the last 452 years is unique and resilient and I hope that the St Edmund’s community will continue to impact student’s lives in the same way in years to come.

Top18 (2019/20)

Head Boy: Oliver Martin Head Girl: Nada Tadros Deputy Head Boys: Leo Carr, Max Davies Deputy Head Girls: Lara Chick, Beth Gardner

Head of Boys’ Boarding: Chikoye Kasolo Head of Girls’ Boarding: Olya Linkina

Challoner House Captains: Kathleen Barrett, Freddie Roberts Douglass House Captains: Edward Hartley, Mairead Sheehy Pole House Captains: Imogen Burton, Max Cooper Poynter House Captains: William Roberts, Elizabeth Sherlock Talbot House Captains: Dominic Negri, Emma Scott