Old Birkfeldian Newsletter Summer 2022
Message from the Principal St Joseph’s College is back in full swing post pandemic and as you know, our Summer Term brings with it a plethora of traditional events, many of which will hold fond memories for you, no doubt. Our annual Arts Festival this year took ‘Our Beautiful World’ as its theme; which fittingly coincided with a range of eco initiatives across the College. We were delighted to have a number of Old Birfeldians taking part in the Festival, including artist Leo Bignell, photographer Nick Ilott and singer Aimee Iris. The Sixth Form Ball and Year 11 Prom took place as GCSEs and A-level examinations drew to a close. We are looking forward to very positive results from both cohorts in August. It gives us enormous pleasure to welcome alumni back to the College and to find out how their higher education studies and careers are progressing. On Page 7 you will read about three such visitors, OBs Flo Richmond, Nat Abery and Zoe Asbury, whose stories and advice have inspired and assisted current students. OBs Nick Ilott, Aimee Butcher and Leo Bignell generously returned to St Joseph’s to add their magic to our Arts Festival, and Joe & Ella Hartley Mackenzie joined us for the Finale, when Joe sang.
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It is equally wonderful to see St Jo’s alumni in the local and national media – in this OB publication you can read about George Ridgway’s amazing discovery of Roman treasure. I used George’s marvellous achievement in a recent assembly about ‘Success’ with pupils from Years 3-13 and I could equally have highlighted his sister, Lucy Ridgway OB, now a young doctor. As I write, we still have three sports days and three prize-givings to look forward to before the summer break, during which we will again celebrate our wonderful students’ wide and varied achievements. In the new academic year we look forward to seeing many OBs back on campus at key events, including the • National Schools Rugby Festival (15 and 16 October) • Carol Service (12 December) Wishing you a fantastic summer Mrs Danielle Clarke Principal
College Roundup So many trips and visits have taken place over recent weeks – cultural, academic and adventurous. Students who have been much more confined to home ground than usual have relished the return to the normal - and very full - St Joseph’s programme of extra-curricular visits. To cite just three, 40 students took a bite out of the Big Apple and soaked up the spirit of New York, 50 toured the First World War battlefields of Belgium and France, bringing a sad but fascinating period of history to life, and our Year 5 and 6 Prep girls and boys enjoyed an action-packed week at Condover Hall Activity Centre in Shropshire.
the most avid listeners when students from the year below took part in Hustings and pitched for leadership positions within the College.
Among the staff accompanying the Battlefields trip was John Atkinson OB, our Transport Manager, and an ex-serviceman, as too was Mark Harris, our Head Caretaker.
Summer at St Jo’s resounds not just to the sound of leather on willow, but to music, music, music. The College musical – Grease - was postponed until the very end of the Lent Term and into the Easter holiday, getting us all into a summer mood. Towards the very end of term we held our Arts Festival, with its junk percussion workshop, dance tutorials, Summer Concert, ‘Stars in their Eyes’ show, and all-comers’ Finale. Our Junior girls and boys performed wonders with the songs and puns of Rock Bottom.
Of course, the curriculum must be covered and our students have been working diligently in class, with the most senior also revising hard at home for public examinations. We have had celebratory events for Year 11, on reaching such a milestone in their education journey, and for our Upper Sixth. The U6 students – now Old Birkfeldians themselves – were among
Congratulations to the entire new senior prefect team and good luck for the year ahead. Particular congratulations to our new Head Boy and Head Girl and their deputies: Santos Ledesma, Amelie Clarke, Will Stace and Carys Smith.
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Treasure Trove! ‘We do not follow maps to buried treasure, and X never, ever marks the spot.’ Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade In fact, St Joseph’s answer to Indiana Jones, detectorist George Ridgway OB used satellite images of land formations to trace Roman roads and meticulous calculations to find the spot and uncover what is believed to be the largest precious metal hoard discovered in Britain, dating from the reign of the Emperor Claudius I. There beneath a Suffolk field he unearthed two Roman brooches and 748 Roman and Iron Age gold and silver coins, just as his hero, Dr Indiana Jones, located antiquities of surpassing importance. Since leaving St Joseph’s College in 2008, Mr Ridgway went on to study Sport and Exercise Science at university before joining the family butchery business. His side-line as an adventurer is nothing new. He caught the treasure hunting bug as a very young boy and began dressing as his hero, Dr Jones. He taught himself the skill of whip cracking and is frequently accompanied by his black lab, Indy. He was given his first metal detector at the age of 13, a present from Grandma.
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Speaking to a local newspaper after the find became known, Mr Ridgway said, ‘It was unbelievable really because I actually grew up next to a Roman road. I have always been passionate about Roman history.’ ‘Finding one coin was unbelievable and then I just had handfuls of silver denarii. I remember holding them in my hand and thinking: “I have done it. I have achieved my childhood dream. I’ve found a Roman hoard.”’ ‘It was amazing – adrenaline was surging through my body.’ The find has been declared treasure and has been catalogued by the British Museum, whose, curator of Iron Age and Roman coin hoards, Dr Eleanor Ghey, reported, ‘I would say that it is the currently the largest precious metal hoard found in Britain that dates from the reign of Claudius I (AD41-54). ‘It is unusual because it combines Iron Age coins of Cunobelin (who ruled in the North Thames area and had a power base at Colchester) with Roman coinage. Most other mixed hoards found in East Anglia usually combine Roman coins with the local East Anglian Iron Age coins from Norfolk and Suffolk (which are associated with the Iceni, the tribe of Boudicca).’ Mr Ridgway said he had visited the British Museum as a boy and had dreamt of finding treasure. Now he had done it and added to the pool of knowledge about Roman times. The coins are thought to be valued at tens of thousands of pounds, which Mr Ridgway will share in a 50-50 split with the unnamed landowner. Colchester + Ipswich Museums are expected to acquire the collection. The story is recounted in an episode of Channel 4’s Great British History Hunters - https://www.channel4.com/programmes/ great-british-history-hunters/on-demand/71996-004
Young Indy – Mr Ridgway as a single-minded small boy.
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Overland to Prague by Minibus Who remembers the 1996 Sixth Form overland trip to Prague? The happy campers are pictured set for the return, with a good deal of sight-seeing, plates of sausage and sauerkraut and the occasional local beer under their belt. Biology teacher, Mr Philip Twist, organised the wonderful expedition. Catherine Tierney OB, then Gray, said the trip was unforgettable, with two distinct groups forming: one in search of all things cultural and the others just revelling in the freedom and feeling so very grown up! Thanks to Catherine for snapshots of a dinner and three friends, Annabelle Ryan, Paul Bailey and Louise… surname not recalled.
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The account of the trip in the school magazine recorded, ‘ Eight hundred miles in a minibus across Europe could not be described as relaxing, but everybody coped well with the cramped conditions and heat.’ The report confirms Catherine’s memories: ‘A natural division in the group became apparent. The ‘slobs’ were content to live up to their name by soaking up the surroundings and culture from the comfort of their individually reserved cafe seats. The ‘train-spotters’ on the other hand, in an effort to cram in all the sights of Prague, showered early and left before the slobs had finished their daily pedicure.’
Council Business The day before the Prep School Council members visited the Mayor’s Parlour in Ipswich as guests of Coun John Cook, they were given a fascinating talk on the work of Ipswich Borough Council’s Property Department by Mr Stuart McDonald OB, the town’s Head of Property. Mr McDonald, who is the brother of Year 5 teacher Mrs Clare Gardiner OB, began his presentation with a photograph of himself in his Prep School uniform. He went on to talk about his role and the children were inspired to think about urban regeneration and appropriate new uses for existing buildings. Mr McDonald went on to study at the senior school before gaining a degree in Real Estate Management at Nottingham Trent University. St Jo’s already had a family connection for Stuart and Clare, as their father, Mr Alexander McDonald OB attended the school before them. The family connection continues with Clare's sons, Archie and Noah, who are currently in Year 6 and Year 4 at the Prep School.
Neat as a pin, Mr Stuart McDonald as a boy.
Wise Words to Students From Those Who've Trodden the Career Path Before Them Flo Richmond OB spoke to Sixth Formers about the hugely successful apprentice accounting roles she has undertaken since leaving St Joseph's. Fully qualified, ambitious and successful, Flo talked about one of the commendable alternative career options available to those who perhaps feel that full-time university is not right for them. One of our Upper Sixth students has already applied to the firm Flo trained with since the visit. We were touched by Flo's tribute to the brilliant foundations for the future she received at the College. We believe that is still very much the case across the board and particularly in our wonderful Sixth Form! It was a pleasure to welcome so many Year 10 families to the campus for our Futures Evening. Useful advice was shared about GCSEs, Sixth Form and the exciting events ahead. We were especially proud to welcome back former Head Boy Nat Abery, now a qualified accountant, who studied at York University before pursuing a career with Deloitte. Nat gave the young people present some very sound and motivational guidance. There was great advice, too, from Zoe Asbury OB, who excelled at St Joseph’s, achieving an A and three A* grades at A–level. Zoe then took up a prestigious apprenticeship with Unilever. 7
Stone Carver John Green OB A look back at one of the College’s most illustrious artists. The funeral service for stone carver and conservator John Alfred Green was held at All Saints Church, Sproughton, near Ipswich, close to where he lived and worked. His coffin was carried on the sidecar of a Harley Davidson, a fitting hearse for the keen motorcyclist he had been. John, who died in 2017, was born in 1932 and lived much of his life in Washbrook, Suffolk. Educated at St Joseph's College, he went on to serve a five-year apprenticeship with a stonemason before studying for his design diploma in sculpture at Ipswich School of Art in the early 1950s. A master mason,he later studied at the Royal College of Art (1954-1957), achieving a first-class Diploma for stone carving and a Silver Medal for lettercutting.
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In 1968 John was one of the founders of the Orton Trust, a training centre in Northamptonshire famous for its long weekend courses for stone workers. He taught carving and lettering there until 2004. Many of his former pupils gathered at his funeral, including painter and sculptor Paul Bruce, who gave a valediction. Another student who had become a friend, Graham Jay, cut the inscription on the tombstone to John’s specification: name, dates of birth and death, and the simple explanation: Sculptor, Letter cutter, Teacher, to be added to the reverse of a memorial he made to mark the grave of his wife. A number of the carvers, letter cutters, masons and conservators taught by John went on to become highly celebrated exponents of their crafts.
John assisted Sir Jacob Epstein, one of the most celebrated sculptors of the 20th century, in the late 1950s. During his career he taught part-time at Ipswich School of Art, was Senior Tutor at the Orton Trust and Director of Monument Conservation at Croydon College of Art & Design. His largest sculpture commissions included works for churches at Bushey, Poole, Welwyn Garden City, Kuching Cathedral in Sarawak, Borneo, Ipswich Civic Centre and Witham Shopping Centre. He also held solo exhibitions. He was survived by his daughter, Samantha. In his eulogy, Paul Bruce spoke of John as first a schoolboy hero, then a tutor and finally a lifelong friend. He said, ‘During the mid-1950s, when John was studying at the Royal College of Art, he met Sir Jacob Epstein… John assisted Sir Jacob in 1956 on a large carving for the Trades Union Congress building in London as a memorial depicting trade unionists killed in both of the world wars. ‘This sculpture was carved in nabresina stone. John always claimed that this was the hardest piece of stone he had ever worked with. As it is not appropriate for me to swear in church, those of you who knew John might well imagine him introducing a few different words as well as ‘hard’ to describe this piece of stone!’ Mr Bruce outlined John’s herculean task of carving a 15-foot figure of Christ from ten pieces of portland stone for a Hertfordshire church ‘I'm sure any of the Renaissance sculptors would have been happy to have put their name to it.’ - and his use of the then innovative material fibreglass for a sculpture designed for the tropics. ‘His ability to carve was outstanding and it was a great privilege and pleasure for any student to have studied under him… he was a humorous and wonderful person and a truly talented craftsman. He would tell people (and I quote) "If I cut myself I would bleed stone dust.”’
John Green teaching at the Orton Trust in the early 1990s. His student is Antonia Hockton, now a celebrated artist and stone conservator. https://antoniahockton.co.uk/
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Netball Festival Takes Its Place Beside Illustrious Forbear The inaugural St Joseph’s College Netball Festival had some big shoes to follow in our renowned annual Rugby Festival, but the groundwork has been laid. We welcomed six teams for what turned out to be a truly wonderful day, with beautiful weather and the added bonus of ex-New Zealand player Jo Trip among those attending. Our first team started the day well, but injuries and how the order of play fell for us meant a long break followed by two games back-to-back, which proved crucial to our outcomes. In the Plate competition St Joseph's College showed true grit and determination, displaying exactly the kind of netball we favour and deservedly winning the final. Two of the teams in our group for the first part of the day, Norwich School and Brighton College, ended up battling it out in the Cup final in their third meeting of the day, with Brighton winning the Cup. The day was a real success, including providing a wonderful opportunity for our Upper Sixth girls to represent the College for a final time. A huge well done to all who contributed. Wilf Kemsley OB and William Stace (L6), newly appointed Deputy Head Boy, did a fine job in the commentary box. If it’s summer, the annual St Joseph’s College Rugby Festival can’t be far behind. Do you love rugby? Come and watch the very best of the country's up and coming players when they meet on the pitch on 15 and 16 October. The Old Birkfeldian fixtures will take place as usual the previous evening. The Festival is recognised as the pinnacle of 15s schoolboy rugby and this year’s contenders so far will be Brighton College, Wellington College, QEGS Wakefield, Denstone College, RGS Newcastle, Dulwich College, Kirkham Grammar School, Hurstpierpoint College, Whitchurch High School, Royal Grammar School High Wycombe, Millfield School, Strathallan School, Hampton School, Millfield and, of course, St Jo’s! 10
For VIP tickets go to https://bit.ly/3IjMuSD Keep in touch with the latest Festival news via the Facebook event https://www.facebook.com/ events/464776165453563?ref=newsfeed And to whet your appetite further, take a look at the highlights videos https://festival.stjos.co.uk/festivalhighlight-videos/
Root and Branch Improvement to College’s Biodiversity Promised Biology teacher Mr John Rowland walked the walk to more than match his talking the talk on biodiversity and improvements to the arboriculture of our campus, with a marathon run on the first day of the Jubilee bank holiday weekend. ‘It took me four days to feel sort of normal again after the big 70-kilometre run. Having burned 10,000 calories on the day, I was mainly eating for three days to regain my energy levels. I did manage to go out for a run on the following Tuesday and felt pretty good - so I can now get straight back into training for an even bigger run! ‘We managed to raise over £600 to go towards buying the 70 trees we want to plant in the school grounds. It is a lot of money and we are very grateful to everyone who contributed. The money will make a big difference to increasing biodiversity around the College. It is enough to pay for a small orchard of heritage fruit trees which we will plant in the Autumn term when the ground is not so dry as it is now.’ He added. ‘We will also look to do some more fundraising events so we can buy the rest of the trees and plants we need to
Celebrating in Style The Jubilee was marked throughout the College with an assembly looking at the unwavering service of the Queen, a wonderful street party and hat competition at the Prep School and a traditional afternoon tea in the grounds of Boarding. 11
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Senior and Sixth Form Open Day Saturday 17 September 2022 Senior School – Friday Snapshot 30 September 2022 7 October 2022 4 November 2022 Prep School – Friday Snapshot 11 November 2022 2 December 2022 To register please visit stjos.co.uk or email admissions@stjos.co.uk
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