Old Birkfeldian Lent 2018
Dear Old Birkfeldians I hope this Newsletter finds you well. We have had a very busy and productive Lent Term – highlights of which are included in the College’s most recent Newsletter, which you can find on our website at www.stjos.co.uk. As ever, the annual musical was a real treat for students and parents. This year’s show, 'School of Rock', played to packed audiences over three nights at DanceEast in Ipswich. The production showcased students’ musical, singing and acting prowess and was thoroughly enjoyed by audience members of all ages. The College continues to grow and develop, with the former Library now converted into The ARC – a dedicated space for assemblies and gatherings with a capacity of just over 200. The Library has been moved next door into what was the old Sixth Form common room area. With regards to our Chapel, we continue to seek a cost effective sustainable solution. The Governors will provide an
From the Editor The Lent Term has certainly flown by. This term I have really enjoyed working with Owen McGinn, our archivist and sacristan, who has been sharing many tales and old photos with me. Mr McGinn has been at St Jo’s for 51 years! We have copies of The Oak Hill 1937-1996 book available; please feel free to pop into the College to collect your copy. On Mother’s Day I enjoyed chatting with my stepfather Richard Johnson, who attended the College in 1953. Before coming to St Jo’s he was a pupil at Martlesham County Primary. Richard remembers Mr Gordon, Brother Peter France, Brother Michael, who was in charge of rugby, Brother Ralf, another of the sports teachers, Brother Laurence, who taught him music, the Brother Director, who was headmaster, Brother Oscar, and Mr Plant the Groundsman, who had two sons at the school, Ivan and Steven Plant. The Chapel was built during Richard’s time, but before this he remembers a white prefabricated wooden Chapel. Richard would either bike from Martlesham or get the bus
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update on the issue before the end of this school year. In the interim, we continue to gather as whole community in the Sports Hall for key services, assemblies and events. As ever, the College says good-bye to a number of staff at the end of an academic term. A special mention this time goes to Mrs Drake, Head of English, who is retiring after 14 years’ service at St Joseph’s. We wish her a long and happy retirement. I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the work of Mr Newman, Governor, and Mr McGinn, College Sacristan, who have been working on and through the College’s archives this past term. We very much look forward to seeing Old Birkfeldians at various College events this summer, including: • Cricket and Cocktails, Friday 22 June Old Boys v 1st XI Boys T20 Cricket match • St Joseph’s College Summer Ball, Saturday 30 June at The Cookhouse Suffolk Food Hall
Finally, on behalf of St Joseph’s, I want to thank all Old Birkfeldians for their continued support. This includes those OBs who have given well received and much appreciated talks to our Sixth Formers, and those who attended and supported our Careers Fair and Sponsorship Business Evening last term. Please continue to share your news, successes and achievements with Mrs Lucy Bolton, the College’s Alumni Co-ordinator at l.bolton@stjos.co.uk
Mrs Danielle Clarke Principal
to and from school. At break time Richard used to hire out his bike and quickly spend the money he made at the tuck shop.
Ipswich. Tickets can be found on Eventbrite www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/st-josephs-collegesummer-ball-tickets-42041216410.
Every morning, Richard remembers, involved gathering outside Birkfield House for assembly followed by the Hail Mary. Richard’s parents sent him to St Joseph’s because of the farming influences it had back then. Richard described how today’s rugby fields used to be full of livestock.
Finally, thank you to those of you who came to our Careers Fair and Business Sponsorship Evening. Your support is always very much appreciated. OB Bridie Rowe, who is on our front page, now runs her own business, The Children's Theatre Company, which is based in Ipswich. Bridie kindly attended our Careers Fair and was a Birkfeld speaker to our Sixth Formers.
Richard played in the cricket team and often won the cross country for his house, Campion House. Richard has fond memories of St Jo’s and remembers leaving on his 15th birthday to go and pluck turkeys! He went on to become a very successful pig farmer and had his own 5-star holiday letting business at Iken Barns, Woodbridge. My children also enjoyed hearing Richard's stories.
Lucy Bolton Events and Alumni Coordinator
Coming right up to date, our Head of Cricket, Mr Tyler, has introduced Cricket Week here at the College. Josh Davy OB and I are organising an Old Birkfeldian Cricket and Cocktails event. This will be on 22 June at 5.00pm. Please pop along. On the 30 June we also have our Summer Ball which is being held at The Cookhouse,
My mother Christine and Richard
Igniting the Fuse Our inaugural Mission Impossible Day proved an empowering experience for our Year 6 pupils and external guests as they face the big transition to Senior School. The girls and boys were challenged to carry out a range of exciting mental and physical tasks, which they did to the satisfaction of their ‘controls’, Mr Fletcher and Mrs Button. At the end of the day it was Mission Accomplished! One of the rooms utilised for the day was The Arc – a multi-purpose space formerly housing the College Library. The Library is now in the former Sixth Form area, which also houses two classrooms and a café area. The Library is also the venue for Senior Prep.
News from the Prep School
School of Rock Justifiably taking its place in the proud list of annual College musicals was ‘School of Rock’, which packed the theatre at DanceEast for a sell-out three night (plus matinee) run. Centre stage throughout was Sixth Former Aimee Butcher, with an assured performance as a down-on-her-luck rocker masquerading as a supply teacher at an uptight private school. Her grungy, lovable rock chick persona was ably counterbalanced by the apparently conventional Principal, played by Head Girl Charley Hewitt. 'School of Rock' perfectly showcased the abundance of musical talent at St Joseph’s – in fact the school has more potential rock stars than Horace Green itself.
St Joseph’s College Adds Value We are delighted by our position in the Department for Education’s latest School Performance League tables for A-level. The College has been described as ‘Above Average’ for student progress at A-level and amongst the top 15% of A-level providers in the country for value added. Mr Cinnamond, Vice Principal – Academic, explained, ‘Briefly put, this means that in 2017 our A-level learners achieved over and above what would be expected. The Department for Educations measures how well each student performs against what they had achieved at GCSE, it then calculates how well students have done against students with a similar prior attainment across the country. Our score of 0.21 means that we are one of the top schools in Suffolk for the progress our students make in Sixth Form.’
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Paula Robinson
Cathy Madden
The youngest of the Madden girls, I left St Joseph’s in 1986 and like my sisters went into healthcare, training to be a Registered Nurse in Norwich and qualifying in 1990.
I attended St Joseph's from 1975-1977 and studied Physics, Chemistry and Biology at A Level. I remember it being quite a transition from an all girls' convent to a Sixth Form at a boys’ school ...it was certainly fun! And science lessons were a lot more boisterous.
This versatile qualification has enabled me to work across the public, private and voluntary sector and I have enjoyed working in several specialities, including gynaecology, district nursing, sexual and reproductive health. When asked about the highlights of my career, there are too many to mention but working abroad in the Falkland Islands and Uganda feature heavily in the provision of unique experiences. I’m currently settled in Derbyshire and take full advantage of the beautiful countryside to walk my two dogs when not working.
I remember Brother Terence as being particularly kind, allowing plenty of practice at dissection to help get the A-level grades needed......all those dogfish and rats! And the friendships endured ... I still see Bev (Hine now Bond) and Sarah (Jewel now Todd) regularly. Thanks to Brother Terence I got a place to do Medicine at Leeds and have worked in the NHS ever since, largely as a GP in Chesterfield where my three children have gone through their own schooling and find it hard to believe I was ever young enough to get drunk on cider at a school disco....little do they know!
What They Did Next Angela Madden I studied at St Joseph’s in 1976-78 taking A-level Biology, Chemistry and Physics. My older sister, Catherine, was one year ahead of me and my younger sister, Paula, started six years after I left. Arriving at a boys’ school was a challenging novelty for me but my memories, overall, are that is was exciting and hard work but great fun. My diaries from the time include lots about boys, hockey and what I had to eat. Only the following pages are a few extracts with the most toe-curling parts edited.
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1977
Thursday 3 March 1977 Got our new physics book “Nelkon & Parker” yesterday. Paid for it today £6.20 faint. Did yonks of work in study = good Ang. Nice lunch: Scotch eggs and apple pie yum yum. Ran to chapel as Bro Ives wanted to take our photo for Murder [in the Cathedral] programme! Grief my hair was complete and utter wreck! Saturday 5 Arsenal 1 Ipswich 4. That’s more like it. Wednesday 9 Rehearsal from 1.30 to 3.50 so missed hockey again grrr. But it is progressing well. D is fantastic. Mr Kearney said we will be having a [chemistry] test on Friday 18th instead of physics as we are missing Tuesday’s lesson to do the final dress rehearsal of Murder – and there will be murder too as we will be tired out after Thursday and not feel like any work! Friday 11 Back on the dogfish in biology. After school full dress rehearsal of Murder. I got dressed up in my long white dress with red hood, it made me feel like Clara from the Nutcracker Suite in her nightdress! All costumes were splendid – yep really great, boys wearing tights are a scream! I said my words without a tremble, stutter or forget – pride especially as it was in front of a number of boarders watching! Bro Aidan drove us to the Cattle Market afterwards in time for 6.30 bus. Sunday 12 Mass – did hardly any homework! Thursday 17 First night of Murder. D is suffering terribly and has not slept well or eaten all day – he has not got an understudy either! Tea. Make up. Into costume. 7.00, 7.10, 7.20, 7.25 on stage girls [Greek chorus] – National Anthem. 7.30 we begin “Murder”. My part [two lines], tremble, was ok. D was fantastico-manificantatus it was the best performance we have ever done – and applause like sweet music. Then change and off to refs. for super salad and chocolate gateau washed down with cider, yummy. A great day. Friday 18 Another superb performance especially the killing! Saturday 19 Went and collected CD (from Wimpy) and CS and took them to school for Saturday performance. Another grrreat performance ... Afterwards meal, yum yum. Everybody else was going to the Harlequin so Cath and I drove in the mini taking TB, PD and GB. Went in. Also there DL and JW still in his Devil make up! Funny looks esp from bar man. Decide to go but mini won’t start so G tells us what to do in car while he and other boarders push us down the hill. Car eventually started … [but it soon conked out again and we eventually had to phone Dad and he drove over from Felixstowe to rescue us]. Monday 21 Congrats all round = the order of the day. Laughs about Saturday. Feel a bit deflated – no rehearsals or ever saying those lines again sob, it was a great play really touching in parts. Bro Alan said hard work is the best thing for getting over deflation. I believe he is right.
What happened next? After A levels, I studied Nutrition at Surrey and then worked as a dietitian in the NHS, fell into research and gained a PhD from UCL. I’m still working in academia and, yes, science and food are still part of that!
Left to right: Angela, Jane (our mum), Helen (Cath’s daughter), Paula and Cath.
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Mark Piper Memories of St Jo’s After leaving the Sixth Form in 1986 I went straight into training at the the British School of Osteopathy in London to train over four years to become an osteopath. Working in London for two years gave me the foundation to come back to Ipswich in 1992 and form the partnership Gilmour Piper. Based in Fonnereau Rd, it has developed into one of the largest multidisciplinary medical practices in the country. Alongside this I have worked as a teacher and examiner across Europe in my profession and have for the last 18 years been part of the medical team at Ipswich Town Football Club My overriding memories of St Jo’s are the friendships formed and the pastoral care it delivered. I was proud of the enviable reputation of the rugby team at the time, winning national 7s and 15s tournaments with the likes of Marcel Pusey (when he wasn’t playing music) and Peter Jordan beating off the likes of Martin Offiah, who at the time represented Woolverstone Hall. Memorable teachers included Paddy Lennon, Quentin Richardson and, of course, the Brothers, who taught as well. I now live in Harkstead on the river and love returning and seeing friends at the Festival each year and seeing the school go from strength to strength.
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Do You Remember? Owen McGinn Just over half a century ago, Owen McGinn started working at the College as our Sacristan, taking over from Brother Cuthman. He attended Mass every Sunday without fail; one of his earliest memories is of the large canary aviary, which was situated outside the Chapel. Br Benit used to look after all the birds. This year Mr McGinn has been helping sort through our archive room. There isn’t much that he does not know about the history of the school. Mr McGinn and his family have been a massive part of St Joseph’s College and still are. We are all very grateful for the years he has spent looking after the Chapel. Last year we enjoyed celebrating his 80th birthday. Thank you, Owen, for all the time you have given the College.
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Meet Our New Vice Principal Mr Fergus Wilson Vice Principal Pastoral and Boarding It was difficult to ignore the impact of change whilst growing up in Newcastle in the ‘80s. Mine closures and privatisation dominated local headlines, whilst outside the North East AIDS had been discovered, the Challenger Space shuttle exploded, a hole in the ozone was detected, the Chernobyl meltdown shook the world and ‘Thriller’ was on the ghetto blaster. As a youngster I was most interested in maths and science; biology was logical and fascinating. I enjoyed acting in school shows and played county rugby. These themes continued at Loretto School, a full boarding school near Edinburgh. I soon discovered the way to build relationships and enjoy life was by being busy and fully involved. I was lucky to play some of the best golf courses in Scotland, travel the world in a pipe band and laugh until my sides ached. As I moved through the school I enjoyed leadership opportunities: helping younger students in the house, rugby team and CCF. I even ran even a juggling and circus skills activity.
My memory is that students actively ran clubs and societies, managed aspects of the school and covered for absent teachers. On reflection it seems rather odd and alien to the teaching profession I entered. Before taking up a place to read Zoology at Manchester University, I headed to Wanganui Collegiate School in New Zealand as a gap student. I was introduced to the life of teaching there through three people who have become lifelong friends. I spend much of my time playing touch rugby, coaching athletics and picking up random tasks. A highlight was taking the Maori Club to the National Speech Competition (representing your school and your Whanau – family – at a speech competition was a higher accolade than playing rugby for the first XV!) In the holidays, living on a shoe string, I roved throughout the South Pacific. My time at university was spent playing rugby league and studying obscure aspects of animal biology. After a dissertation on insect navigation and creating a teaching package about evolution, I took up a place at Cambridge University and gained my PGCE in Secondary Science. I headed to Cranleigh School and became fully involved in
boarding, rugby coaching (including leading a 1XV tour to NZ), headed up the school and district athletics and led the Advanced Infantry of the CCF. Through training for and completing the 125-mile Devizes to Westminster kayak marathon, my wife and I were introduced to the West Country. After the birth of our daughter we took up a housemastership at Milton Abbey School in Dorset. The School was set to undergo radical change in its boarding provision. On leaving Milton Abbey after a stint as Head of Boarding, I was proud to have helped institute leading boarding provision and an outstanding whole school activities programme. During our time in Dorset I also became an ISI compliance inspector. Our move to Suffolk has been wonderful and I have felt very at home at St Joseph’s. The students and staff have been extremely welcoming and I find the College’s values and mine are well aligned. I look forward to getting to know the pupils and parents of the College better.
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The new changing room block looks rather impressive with many of our OBs’ match shirts up on display.
We have received the Michael Davey Cup back from the engraver. Well done to the Over 23s on winning the OB rugby match in October!
Tickets now on Sale for the Summer Ball Don't forget to put our Cricket and Cocktails event in your diary, 22 June 5:00pm
Please contact obs@stjos.co.uk if you would like to feature in the next edition