Edition 53 December 2012
SUTTON VIEWS The Voice of Sutton Valence School
Prep School Music-making Macbeth
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Shakespeare for Kidz
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CCF Page 16
At the end of October we were treated to a wonderful evening of music at our Autumn Concert in the Bates Hall. We heard strings, brass, guitar, flute, Senior Choir and a unique take on The Owl and the Pussycat by Years 4 and 5! Continued on page 2
Information A member of the United Westminster Schools’ Foundation Registered Charity No. 309267 Founded in 1576 by William Lambe
Sutton Views December 2012
For information about Sutton Valence School or to request a prospectus, please contact:
• the Admissions Office at Sutton Valence on 01622 845206 or email enquiries@svs.org.uk • Sutton Valence Preparatory School on 01622 842117 or email enquiries@svprep.svs.org.uk
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Continued from front page Our week of music had in fact started with a terrific performance on the harp from expupil Tamara Young in Monday’s assembly. She is preparing for a major competition in Israel at the end of November. Tamara then fielded many, very good questions on the instrument, put to her by our children.
Sport Hockey Sutton Valence girls make the double!
Fabulous 11+ and Scholarship Results! Many congratulations to our Year 6 children for an outstanding set of results this year. We did exceptionally well in the 11+ (27 out of 31 passed) and several have scores likely to be high enough for Kent's most selective grammars. Also, in the recent scholarship assessments to the Senior School, the number and breadth of the awards, in addition to the four Continuation Scholarships, across Music (6), Drama (2), Sport (6) and Art (1) is something to be celebrated!
Following their success as winners of the John Taylor SE U18 Cup, for the second year running, Sutton Valence’s U18 Indoor Hockey Squad have completed the double by winning the County U18 Championship. In a hesitant first match the team drew against Kent College, Pembury, but went on to win handsomely against Kent College, Canterbury and King’s Canterbury (the reigning champions). Top scorer was Anna Baker, celebrating her second year with England U16s, ably supported by goals from Georgie Porter, Emma Baxter and captain Amy Baxter. Finishing with seven points, they topped King’s Canterbury by one point. Said David Mathews (Head of Hockey and ex-GB international), “These are very exciting times for Sutton Valence hockey. We have a fantastic squad of girls who are prepared to
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work hard in training and then put their skills and strategies into practice on the pitch with
Netball Congratulations to our U16 netball team who have sailed through to the County Netball finals. The girls finished in top place and were the only undefeated team winning ten matches including games against Sevenoaks School, Invicta Grammar and
Disabled Gymnastic Gold Over the weekend of 18th November, Lauren Lethbridge, Lower Sixth, travelled to Newcastle to take part in the British Championships. She had a very successful day, becoming British Champion in Women's
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great commitment. them.�
I am very proud of
Newstead Woods. We were also the top scoring team with 133 goals and only conceded 18! Squad list: Anna Baker, Vicki Barden, Emma Baxter, Hannah Davies, Lydia Davies, Betsy Nally, Lucy Rumgay, Mia van Diepen and Sasha van Diepen.
Artistic Disability Gymnastics in her first year at this senior age group and achieving a clean sweep of gold medals on all four pieces of apparatus.
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Sutton Valence 1st XV ranked top ten in the country Our 1st XV were recently overjoyed to learn this week to learn that they are ranked seventh in the country within the Schools’ Rugby 1st XV Performance League 2012-13. Under the leadership of Phil Smith, Director of Rugby and the captaincy of Ed Bower (Upper Sixth) the side has had a fantastic start to the season, winning seven of their first eight games. They are averaging over 30 points a game and with a rock-solid defence they have only conceded 53 points so far. Winger, Jordon Parker (Lower Sixth), and fly half George Poland (Lower Sixth) are leading the try scoring with seven and six tries respectively.
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They successfully notched up their twelfth consecutive home victory on Saturday with an impressive 28 - 0 win over Worth School. Phil Smith said, “Our position as seventh in the country and the highest Kent school team in the top 10 is simply fantastic. As a squad we have all worked hard together in training and this achievement is richly deserved. I am very proud of them all, as is the School.” It has certainly been a busy time for rugby both at home and away. It is always nice to see individuals flourish and the School is particularly pleased that 1st XV Captain Ed Bower and fly-half George Poland have both been selected for the Kent U18 squad. Having attended both U16 trials, it is also a pleasure to see captain Gregor Roberts and Charlie Rigby progress through two trials, with one more to go.
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Prep School Orchard Run The annual Orchard Run took place in October. It was a thoroughly successful event involving more than 300 children and eight primary schools. The route of the course had to be altered a little due to so much rain causing unusually muddy conditions, but this did not affect the quality of the event or, indeed, the children's performances. Our own children from Years 3-6 did us proud and for the second year running won the trophy.
Hockey Tournament Success! Our U10A team had a superb start back to hockey this half term, taking home the winners' medals from the Holmewood House Tournament. After a slow start, drawing against Ardingly 1-1, the girls went from strength to strength, beating both the host team (3-0) and DCPS (4-0), to be crowned overall winners of the competition.
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Kayak Peter Bannister became U18 National Kayak Champion, in September. He came away from the competition with 2 Gold, 2 Silver and one Bronze medal. In addition, he came second in National Marathon, K2, which involves competing over a total of 13 miles; running, whilst carrying his kayak, and then paddling. And all of this was after he had been an Olympic Torch bearer, running through nearby Hollingbourne. A busy summer indeed.
Three Day Eventing
Golf
After eight rides, competing individually and as part of a team, Sasha Erander, Upper Sixth, has been chosen with her horse, River Song II, to represent the South East in Under 18 Three Day Eventing.
Alex Hastings-Pollard, who has only been playing for three years, has become the youngest club champion at the Weald of Kent Golf Club.
Fencing Well done to Charlie Gellett of the Fifth Form, who was selected to represent Great Britain at the Meylan Eurosabre Cadet Fencing competition in France.
Race Walking Guy Thomas was selected to represent Kent Schools Athletics Team at the ESAA Race Walk Championships.
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Chapel Choir Trip to Germany
During October half-term the Chapel Choir visited Germany for a series of concerts and services. After an early start, the coach reached the Hotel Weinstock at Linz am Rhein in the late afternoon. The hotel was in a beautiful location, overlooking the famous river. On our first day we visited the Lindt chocolate factory which was followed by evensong and a concert at the English Church in Cologne. The Reverend Andrew Sillis said, "The choir were really impressive and the congregation very appreciative of both the worship at evensong and the recital afterwards. If ever you are passing our way again, we'd love to work with you for a concert, evensong or mass." Monday saw the choir performing a short concert in the awe-inspiring building of Cologne Cathedral, the third largest church in the world, where there is a nine second echo. Time was then allowed to explore the
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city with many pupils taking the chance to ascend the tower, a mere 446 steps up. This was followed by a trip to Bonn to visit Beethoven’s birthplace. On our final day we visited Aachen and had a tour of Charlemagne’s stunning, golden, private chapel, now known as Aachen Cathedral. Another short coach drive saw us at the magnificent church at Wurselen. The choir rehearsed in the large church before tea, provided by Wurselen Gymnasium (the local school), and a joint concert with the school's choir. Overall, the whole trip was a great experience for everyone. Performing well in such large spaces before an unknown audience boosts the choir’s confidence and elevates their performance levels. Mr P Horley Director of Music
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‘Something wicked this way comes’ ‘Compelling’, ‘atmospheric’, ‘dark and powerfully emotional’ were some of the words of praise used by the audience at the performances of the senior production of ‘The Scottish Play’ this half term. With cast drawn from Third Form to Upper Sixth, there was universal commendation for the high standard of acting, but most particularly for the ‘almost West End’ standard of performances of Henry Farmer, as Macbeth, and of Eve Galpin and Georgia Poplett (on alternate nights) as his Lady. Andrew Brook, Head of Drama, said, “Macbeth is a proper play. Teachers are encouraged to ‘stretch’, ‘challenge’ and ‘differentiate’ which leaves one feeling a little daunted. Shakespeare, we discovered, has already done much of the work for us and those of the cast that put the most in, got the most out. A truism, but worth repeating. Some students were totally professional in their approach, which was quite awe-inspiring. The text of this play is jaw-droppingly brilliant. I had to cut away to make it a size we could approach but, hopefully, I retained everyone’s favourite lines and aimed to create something that stands up as a piece of theatre. I am proud and delighted that the students’ hard work has been rewarded by such critical acclaim.”
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Shakespeare for Kidz Year 5 and 6 children at the Prep School have also been working on Macbeth. They took part in a workshop run by Shakespeare 4 Kidz. They all took part in group scenes and it was amazing to see how quickly some picked up their lines and became immersed in their characters. Within a few hours the parents were treated to a great show with some outstanding performances, some quite unexpected! “In our drama lessons we have been studying Macbeth, but nothing can bring it to life as much performing it. The benefit of having Shakespeare 4 Kidz come into school is that they have the expertise in getting the best out the children in a short space of time and of course, have the added appeal of being experienced actors. The children were immediately captivated and, surprisingly, some children who wouldn’t normally volunteer for lead roles were given an opportunity to have a go and exceeded all expectations!”, added Mrs Sally Barr, Head of English and Drama.
CADSAM Congratulations must go to the Sutton Valence School shooting team for once again destroying the competition at the annual CADSAM shooting meet for the South East of England. Two teams of four competitors were entered and overall the team won forty three medals (with twelve silver and eight golds), two shields and one trophy for winning three out of five competitions. This secured them overall second best CCF team and second best team in the entirety of the competition. Cadet Latham achieved the renowned position of Champion Shot, with the best individual scores in the competition. Finally, the team smashed all other competitors to come both first and second in the most prestigious competition, the Falling Plate, with an all Sutton Valence final. A great list of results for a fantastic team - well done boys! Alex Allsebrook Upper Sixth Form
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Sutton Valence Blue
School life: Academic, Co-Curriculuar and Community Involvement. Awards are given out termly for those who achieve qualifying levels of Blue Points through the Junior, Middle and Sixth Form years. The ultimate accolade goes to pupils who have reached the top award twice in their School career. We are delighted that Sophie McGannan, Head Girl, and Alex Allsebrook (Upper Sixth) have now been awarded this top level and received their splendid, new, Sutton Valence Blue Gowns in Headmaster’s Assembly in the second half of term.
One of my whole-School responsibilities is to oversee the ‘Sutton Valence Blue’ rewards scheme. This involves pupils accumulating Blue Points across the three key areas of
The gowns, which have been made especially for us by Ede and Ravenscroft, the Academic Robemakers, were purchased using money raised by the Annual Fund, and so we thank all of you for your contribution to this. Mr A Wyles Assistant Head: Sixth Form
Prep School Guy Competition
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The Chicago Exchange 2012 Written by Verity Newman and Philippa Bromley who visited Morgan Park Academy in Chicago from 7th October – 5th November 2012. When most people think of America, they think of skyscrapers, excess and strange accents. Some people may think these are stereotypes and are incorrect. However we beg to differ as we have witnessed these things and we must announce that they are all completely true. Their highways are amazingly wide, their houses have four floors and an average shopping mall is three times the size of Bluewater. Everything is on a grand scale. Our first day at an American High School can be summed up in two words: typically American. Morgan Park Academy, the school we attended, seemed like a standard American high school. The main building had 3 floors. The rooms were small with little desks. The corridors were locker – lined and endlessly long with room numbers up to 320, and of course, we both got lost on countless occasions. Classes were good, but Science was really demanding. Students and teachers alike constantly complimented us on our accents and fired questions about England. They have found an expensive solution to the bag weight problem. Instead of using text books and exercise books they use Ipads. Teachers do demonstrations on Ipads, students view their textbooks on Ipads and paper and pens are rare things that are considered time consuming and unnecessary. Some of you might think this is a good thing, but we are not so sure. During the last week of our stay, we joined in
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with the Heifer residential trip. This ‘village’ was about a four hour journey from Chicago. Within this village there were a number of houses showcasing different cultures from around the world. All represented regions where life is a struggle. There were African houses, South American slums and Thai huts, just to name a few. We were taken around the site and told about each individual house and their living conditions. In our groups, we had to trade food with other ‘countries’, cook our own food and then sleep in basic conditions. The food was very simple, with potatoes, carrots, water, etc. Even though many went hungry that night, it was an extremely worthwhile experience to encounter the lives that some people do have to tolerate in the world. We enjoyed our month long stay in Chicago very much. Our hosts were amazing and they took us out every weekend. The weeks were good, but the weekends were better as they included a lot of excitements, such as a trip to a cheesecake factory, visits to downtown Chicago where the skyscrapers are found, a haunted house, a theme park, a live concert and many restaurants. Pupils from all years in the school were really welcoming. We both made very good friends that we will stay in touch with for a long time. We were made to feel really at home. For four weeks we had a taste of the American life: we liked it. It was one of the best experiences we have ever had. Our advice to all pupils is to take the opportunity to participate in the Chicago exchange next October. It will be offered to those in the Fourth Form next year. You will have so much fun that you will never miss home and it will open your mind to a whole new experience of life. The downside was that the weeks went too quickly.
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Model United Nations Conference
We are delighted to announce that Sutton Valence School are 2012 MUN champions, held between all the United Westminster Schools Foundation members. Matthew Newman and Katie Vernon (both Lower Sixth) who represented Costa Rica, put forward the winning resolution on ‘Protecting human rights while countering terrorists’. Connor O'Shea (Third Form) and Robert
Miles (Fifth Form), Katie Bush and Belinda Blasdale (both Upper Sixth), Michael Kingsley-Nyinah and Michael Adebiyi (both Fifth Form) all lobbied successfully to have their resolutions debated in the committee stages. Michael Adebiyi was awarded an outstanding delegate prize. Congratulations to the team who worked very hard in the preparation stages and are deserving of their success.
Two ‘Highly Commended’ entries in UWS Essay Competition During last summer term, Fifth Form pupils were given the opportunity to enter the United Westminster Schools Essay Competition.
All of our pupils came in the top half of the entries, but three were in the top eight that were sent to a professor of English at St Hugh’s College, Oxford to be judged.
Six pupils took up the challenge, writing on diverse topics from ‘Is Behaviour Instinct or Learnt?’ to ‘Can religion survive in a secular society?’, or even ‘Should a parent be culpable for the crimes of their children when they are under the age of 10?’
Elizabeth Copping and Susannah Bee (Lower Sixth) were both awarded ‘Highly Commended’ prizes and will have their essays published in a book, along with the other top prize winners.
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The Case for the Prosecution On Friday, 28 September, the Baughan Theatre went silent to hear the words of justice. Two young ladies, Donna Bellar, acted by Damola Owolabi (Lower Sixth), and Gladys Pugh (played by Mr Farrell, Deputy Head) were said to have had a fight over a man and Ms Bellar was accused of head butting Ms Pugh. A number of witnesses, Tim Cain (Fifth Form) and Harry Marsh (Upper Sixth), were brought to the stand by our Court Usher, Harrison Sharpe (Fourth Form), to give the evidence and everybody present went silent to hear those famous words: “I promise to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but truth”. The jury of twelve Sutton Valence School students was then supposed to reach the verdict. The prosecution barristers, Michael Adebiyi (Fifth Form) and Michael Kingsley-Nyinah (Fifth Form) were trying really hard to get all the possible evidence to send the defendant to prison. However, the defence team, Crispin Thompson (Lower Sixth) and I successfully defended our client, who was found not guilty by the jury. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mrs Eleanor Laws (parent) who made this event possible and who kindly offered to lend us the wigs and clothes that are actually worn at the Crown Court.
Senior School Music is flourishing During October half-term Anya Livtchak (Second Form) entered a Music Festival in Baloton in Hungary for orchestral players. The competition was open to performers under the age of 20, with approximately 120 entries, in various disciplines, from around Europe including Russia. Anya was the only English pupil. The judging panel, which included an international violinist, awarded Anya the overall prize for best musician for her violin performances of Ravel’s Concerto in A minor and Spanish Dance by Mozkowski. Congratulations also go to Annie Pullar (Upper Sixth) who has been invited to become Leader, Second Violins in the Kent Youth Orchestra and to William Moore (Lower Sixth) who, following competitive auditions, has been invited to join the Kent Youth Wind Orchestra for this season.
I would also like to thank Mr Cairns Nelson who kindly acted as the Judge, giving the evening a real atmosphere. Last but not least, I would like to thank Mrs Sunde and Mrs Hall who organised the evening, creating a very strong team of future potential lawyers. Bearing in mind we only had a day to prepare our speech, the trial was very convincing and enjoyable for us, as well as the audience. Pavlina Skodova Upper Sixth Form 14
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Value Added, not just statistics In September I walked beside Prefects’ Lawn and saw the final few house martins preparing to leave the School for their long journey back to Africa; they gather on the roof of Westminster House to warm their bodies in the early morning sun. For me, their arrival in April always heralds the start of the Summer Term and the exam season; their departure signals the end of summer and a time of reflection when we look back at our pupils’ GCSE and A level results. Whilst we are pleased that our exam statistics this year have been pushed even higher, much more important is the pupils’ success in gaining the university places of their choice. This term all UCAS applications have been sent and the vast majority of the Upper Sixth have either received at least one offer or have been invited to interview. Four pupils have received all five offers. I don’t want to repeat the statistics here, but will simply include a graph, produced by the University of Durham, which summarises the success of our Upper Sixth in a single image. The chart shows that our pupils gained significant value in the Sixth Form over and above what they might have been expected to achieve; it also shows a healthy upward trend over the past several years. I’m sure that many of you will have been following the recent announcements by Michael Gove, the Education Secretary; his proposed changes to the GCSE examinations are likely to have farreaching consequences.
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My concern is for pupils in our First Form as they will be the first cohort faced with these changes; whatever the outcome of Gove’s proposals, I hope that matters are settled quickly so that we can begin to plan ahead. There have been many alterations to GCSEs in recent years, what we need now is a period of stability so that we know what is coming and can get really good at teaching our pupils without constant change. There is something reassuring about knowing what to expect; I look forward to the return of our house martins next year, they at least are constant. Don Clarke Assistant Head: Academic
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CCF Congratulations to James Aburn who, over a very successful half-term, completed his Flying Scholarship. He flew solo, which meant he could receive his wings. James also attended an award ceremony where he received his badge and certificate from the Lord Lieutenant who had selected James as one of his Cadets for the year.
to Charles Gellett and Michael Adebiyi who passed their MOI course at RAF Manston.
Congratulations also go to Tom Bennett, Gregor Roberts and Hannah Davies who passed their signals course at Blandford and
Reflections on my first term I have tried to teach children on a regular basis over the many years I have been involved in education. It is important to take risks with learning, as sometimes only by doing this do we break through barriers and become stronger and better as a result. Moving to my new position in September 2012 as Head of the Preparatory School, inevitably that was going to involve significant change not for just me, but also my family. I found myself having to ‘walk the talk’, to be prepared to throw the balls in the air and start afresh in a new environment. It was a calculated and informed risk, I admit! I had known Sutton Valence Prep and Senior Schools for many years, as my previous incarnation had been at The Schools at Somerhill, near Tonbridge. Also, as one who has been inspecting schools for more than a decade, I have learnt what to look for when time is limited; one develops quite sensitive antennae.
delighted to say. This is a first-rate school, a fabulous and strong community, very loyal to its own and extremely caring. There is a good mix of ability, certainly many very capable children indeed, as clever as you’ll find anywhere (this year, for example, 27 out of the 31 who sat passed the 11+, before parental appeal stage), yet also those who do not find work so easy, and many in between. The real strength of this school is how well it caters for all of them. This is an exciting time to have taken the helm at such a remarkable and unique school and my family and I have so enjoyed this first term. What a privilege it is to work with youngsters and with like-minded families who want the best they can possibly give their children and have them emerging as well-adjusted, capable and confident young adults in the making.
Everything I felt and established during those visits and interviews back in February has turned out to be very well-founded, I’m
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Compiled and edited by Helen Knott, Development Manager
Malcolm Gough Head of the Prep School
Sutton Views