The Suttonian
Vol. 37 No.10 2015
The Suttonian
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Contributors SVPS
Amelie Coy
First Form
Nicole Avery Daisy Hills Patrick Mullen Maisie Rixon
Second Form
Tarik Abed Luke Bernicchi Elizabeth Cavell Pescha Cordell Erin Densham Tom Gray Hugh Harman Anna Harrison Sebastiaan Lijesen Estelle McInerney Gabby Romano Lara Savage Max Savage Jack Stanton-Gleaves Charlotte Wooldridge
Third Form
Gibby Capaldi Archie Crouch Melissa Dawson Kathryn Douglas Lars Eastman Imogen Forknall Sam Grindlay Nina Harman Katie Harrison Ella Hughes Georgie Mancais Pam Papa-Adams Asher Regal John Rodger Francis Romano Tom Saltmarsh Emily Smith Olivia Smith Verity Streek Tiggy Teare Kate Woodford
Fourth Form
Ellie Agu Benson Francesca Ash Archie Averill Angus Barclay Maddie Chivers William Dransfield Olivia Ferris William Harrison Finlay Heine Emelia Hollingsworth Rehannah Houghton-Judge Tom Lazarides Eliza Lewis Anya Livtchack Bethan Miles Tom Millington Olufunmilola Owolabi Page 2
Gracie Rigby Lauren Robinson Ken Shizhao Charles Sparrow Isabelle Stevens Faber Swaine Dan Teare Cat Veasey Sophie Watson Ella Williams Fynley Young
Fifth Form
Jordan Abey Abbie Butfoy Edward Cardoza Charles Court Will Edwards Jessica Grindlay Cameron Knight Max Rossiter
Lower Sixth Form Henry Bonny Jessica Bennett
Tom Brunt Lily Chivers Joshua Craven Jordan Davis Adam Dawkins Amber Delaney Emil Evans Graham Falconer Millie Gaston Daniel Harebottle Katie Latter Tom Lennard Hannah Morris Freddie Nelson Verity Newman Tom Percival Saskia Roestenburg Harrison Sharpe James Turner Emily Vernon Lucas Williams Qingyu Zhang
The Suttonian Ollie Ridge Lucy Roud Jack Salmons Candela Segura Maya Summers Guy Thomas Bethany Webb Angus Weir Toby Wilkinson Nick Wright
Old Suttonians, Parents and Staff Graham Alderman Kay Andersen Andrew Bee Lucy Burden Christine Carter Don Clarke Tim Cope Gwyn Davies Sophie de Castro Claire Fordham Luis Fuentes Bruce Grindlay Stephen Head Simon Hiscocks Louise Hollingsworth David Holmes Phil Horley Mark Howell Helen Knott Julie Manning Kathryn Maple Glen Millbery Naomi Moore William Moore David Pickard Guy Pullen Zoe Radford Sally Rose Lowri Turner Vince Wells Annie Wilkinson Hannah Wood Adrian Wyles
Upper Sixth Form Michael Adebiyi Oliver Aucamp Anna Baker Vicki Barnden Emma Baxter Tim Cain Ryan Cen Luca Chiappini Lydia Davies Charlie Gellett Cam Grabowski Flo Grief Emily Mason Tori Morris Sam Noss Kathryn Parsons Nicole Payne Georgia Poplett Ciara Reddy
Vol. 37 No.10 2015
Cover photograph by Naomi Moore
Thank you...
I
would like to express my profound and sincere thanks to all the pupils, staff, parents, Old Suttonians and friends who have contributed articles, photographs, artwork and creative writing to this edition of The Suttonian and indeed to all of the Suttonian magazines that I have edited over the past ten years.You have made my work a joy and a pleasure. As always, there are people I would like to especially give heartfelt thanks to in this, my last Suttonian as editor. These include: Christine Carter, David Pickard, Mel Horley, Craig Worcester, Joe Hill, Helen Knott, Lowri Turner, Sarah O’ Connell and Wendy Rogers. This magazine is full of superb photographs, many of which were taken by Don Clarke. I would also like to thank Jordan Davis both for the use of his fantastic pictures and for his sheer enthusiasm for photographic assignments. Other fantastic photographers whose work is featured throughout this magazine are Glen Millbery, Naomi Moore and Qingyu Zhang. As this magazine is about young people and mostly written by young people, we have resisted the urge to correct and edit too much, and leave you to enjoy the pieces written by your children in their own words. Floreat Suttona
Sarah Easter
Qingyu Zhang Lower Sixth The Suttonian
Contents 5
Introduction by the Headmaster
Trips and Expeditions 6 India 8 Nepal 12 Ypres 16 Berlin 22 Switzerland 27 New York 45 Dungeness 48 Iceland 50 Afon Brefi Valley 52 The Isle Of Wight 53 Gold Duke of Edinburgh expedition 54 Spanish Exchange 55 French Exchange 57 Junior French Trip 76 Adventure Training 80 RAF visit to the USA 82 CCF Annual Camp 83 Canadian Army Cadet Exchange
The Suttonian
is the magazine of Sutton Valence School, a co-educational day and boarding, preparatory and senior school for pupils from 3-18 years, in Kent.
Sutton Valence School North Street, Sutton Valence, Kent, ME17 3HL Headmaster Mr. Bruce Grindlay Website www.svs.org.uk Email enquiries@svs.org.uk Phone 01622 845200 Edited and designed by Sarah Easter easters@svs.org.uk Picture Editor
Jordan Davis Lower Sixth
Archivist David Pickard pickardd@svs.org.uk Sports team photos by Bentley Photgraphic Tel: 01206 395888 Additonal professional photographs David Lee, Panaround Printed and bound by The Lavenham Press 01787 247436
The Suttonian
Academic 18 A study in Politics 23 The Gothic Imagination 24 The Idealised Woman: a literary creation 26 Drama 35 Dance 36 Music 40 Art and Photography 46 Media 60 Maths Challenges 61 Design and Technology Co-Curricular 17 Model United Nations 17 Oxford Union Debating 21 Sutton Valence Mock Election 59 Third Form Portfolio The CCF 63 Contingent Commander’s Report 64 Centenary Celebration 65 The Welbeck Challenge 66 Lord Lieutenant’s Award 69 Rolling Thunder 70 CADSAM 72 Marksmanship Training 74 Bisley 84
Games reports
108 Speech Day 114 Notes from the Archives 116 The School Chaplaincy 118 Valete Page 3
The Suttonian
Introduction and welcome by Bruce Grindlay, Headmaster
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The Suttonian
“There is a double object in school training; first, training the life; secondly, training the intellect and the body… The first can only be done indirectly; for formation of character and a right spirit is only in a very slight degree capable of being made a matter of imported knowledge. Pupils become brave, and hardy, and true, not by being told to be so, but by being nurtured in a brave, and hardy, and true way, surrounded with objects likely to excite these feelings. In a school…it is of the utmost importance that the whole government and machinery should in its minutest particulars do this by perfect truth and perfect freedom.”
Thus wrote Edward Thring, Fellow of King’s College, Cambridge and Headmaster of Uppingham School, in his seminal 1864 work: Education and School. Thring’s educational theories very much defined the curriculum and, more importantly, the co-curriculum of many British independent schools at the end of the Nineteenth Century and they certainly form the backbone of our provision at Sutton Valence. Our four journeys (academic, community, leadership and service and co-curricular) spring from Thring’s philosophy and certainly help us to turn out well-educated and well-rounded young people. Of course our priority must be to ensure that every pupil leaves us having achieved the best they can and learnt that effort and personal responsibility are vital for future success, but it is the vast carousel of things that happen out of the classroom, so well documented in this publication, that make a Sutton Valence pupil such a confident and socially-equipped young individual. These days it is not always easy to fit all we wish to achieve and provide into our normal routine. I am sure that the irony is not lost on any of us that the government on the one hand says it wants to mirror the wonderful provision of the independent sector for all educational establishments, yet on the other hand it strangles, through the sheer weight of assessment forced upon our pupils, the means and time to achieve it. However, through the sheer determination, dedication and enthusiasm of the staff and pupils here at Sutton Valence we do still boast an amazing array of activities, sports and trips despite the amount required of every pupil in their public examinations. I am very proud of all that we achieve and I am delighted that this publication serves as a record of this and as a testament to all current, future and Old Suttonians of what we have accomplished this academic year. As ever, I must thank Ms Sarah Easter for editing The Suttonian and for producing a magazine of such quality and high standards, aptly reflecting the ethos and education we cherish here at Sutton Valence and one of which Edward Thring would certainly approve. Bruce Grindlay
The Suttonian
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Baffling, exotic, beautiful and challenging
India
Fourth Form girls Lauren Robinson, Isabelle Stevens, Maddie Chivers, Olivia Ferris, Bethan Miles, Gracie Rigby, Faber Swain, Ella Williams, Cat Veasey and Fynley Young share their experience of visiting India as guests of the Neerja Modi School in Jaipur.
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welve hours after leaving London we touched down in New Delhi, a world away from where we had started. The first thing that hit us was the heat, but gradually we discovered so much more about this fascinating country. Over the next few days we began to understand the contrast between the extreme wealth and extreme poverty that is found throughout India. Some of the hotels we stayed in and shops that we visited were luxurious, but we saw little children begging for food, people living on the streets and in mud huts covered in plastic bags, and there were large numbers of stray pigs, dogs and cows wandering unattended in the roads. In the bus, we felt separated from the noise and dirt of the streets but we could not ignore it. You cannot begin to imagine India’s poverty until you see it for yourself. We were carried by elephants up to the Amber Fort in Jaipur, walked bare-foot to the temple at Pushkar, watched the sunset at Ranthambore National Park and spotted a leopard in the twilight. We haggled for bargains in the markets, rode camels across the desert and swam in marble swimming pools whilst staying in exotic hotels. During our last few days we visited the Red Fort and the Taj Mahal in Agra and visited Ghandi’s memorial and India Gate in Delhi. However, this was far more than a sight-seeing holiday. On our first morning in Jaipur we visited our hosts, the Neerja Modi School. The school is separated into two parts. After being given a guided tour of the more privileged set of buildings and seeing lessons being taught that were in many ways similar to those in English primary schools, we visited a long open barn in which over two hundred children sat bare-foot on a thin mat that covered a concrete floor. The girls made us feel really welcome and we enjoyed talking to them. Most of us taught a lesson and the girls gave us a demonstration in mehndi henna hand-painting. Every time we saw them over the course of the two weeks they were always really excited to see us and we were surprised by their enthusiasm and friendliness. For many of us, this became the highlight of our trip as we felt we had made a small difference to their lives: thank you to all those who bought cakes in the refectory and sponsored a uniform, we were able to present the Nishay girls with enough material to make over 300 uniforms and the money to buy ten laptops. They were really needed and appreciated. Two years ago most of us signed up for this trip because we all wanted to go on holiday together, but in the end we realised that this was the experience of a lifetime. We wish to thank the Neerja Modi School for hosting us, a big thank you to Sanjeev our tour guide, who took such good care of us, and Mrs Andersen for organising the trip. It was amazing.
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T
he Nepal trip was a complete success. Some of the sights we saw were exquisite, and having Nepalese translators in the form of Major Prem and Sangharsha Gurung was always helpful. But I think if you asked any members of the group about their favourite moments, a James Smith quote would make it into every one of their stories. The trek, the visit to Major Prem’s home village, and the river rafting and national park experience formed the three main parts of the trips. However, there were many other events sandwiched in between which are definitely worth mentioning. Our first experience of local Nepalese lifestyle and behaviour, on arrival at the airport in Kathmandu, was unique. After we landed and reclaimed our luggage, we were directed towards a set of minibuses for our first experience of Nepalese driving. No driving licence is required in Nepal, which was clearly evident! There were traffic lights that everybody ignored, cars overtaking cars which were overtaking cars and cows walking through the streets. Plus if our driver never left more than a 3mm gap between him and the car in front… I became quickly accustomed to looking out of the side window, because every time I looked out the front windscreen, my life flashed before me. The first stop was Pokhara, a city just outside the Annapurna range where we had a five day trek planned. Our ultimate goal was Poon Hill which, standing at 3210m above sea level, offers first class views of all the mountains in the Annapurna range, such as the fishtail mountain, which was visible from everywhere on our trek and by far the most iconic mountain in the vicinity. To quote James Smith, on the trek “we walked a bit”. On the first day we couldn’t have had better conditions; the sun was out and everybody was excited. We set off, with the trail being not as difficult as we had been led to believe. During the first half of day one we had a relatively gentle introduction to trekking. However, after lunch we found ourselves greeted with thousands of steps… steep ones.
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Nepal Charles Court Fifth Form
After many hours of climbing, we reached our teahouse for the night. We settled down into our rooms fairly quickly because, most surprisingly, we had Wi-Fi. The second day we split into separate groups… The fast group, (or “The Tigers,” as Major Prem called us), and the normal group. The plan was that The Tigers would charge up the mountain, then come back down and repeat part of the trek with the other group. However, when those of us who were the Tigers reached the top, we decided to recharge with a hot chocolate, and chill. Sorry guys… At the start of the day three we saw some interesting wildlife. Major Prem managed to spot a baboon, then we were told to move to the side of the road and keep still. A wild buffalo wanted to pass through. More steps and we soon reached the third teahouse. We were excited and hopeful that the weather would hold up for us to witness the sunrise on Poon Hill. The fourth day began at 5.00am. We were met with a magical snow scene – about four inches of snow had fallen overnight. Mr Millbery and Major Prem did a quick risk assessment and, although we knew we would not see much, decided we should go to the top of Poon Hill. In the darkness we followed like sheep to make the 300m climb to the top of Poon Hill. The darkness slowly turned to light but the snow cloud blocked out the view of the sunrise. We returned, cold and wet, to the Mountain View Hotel (they might like to change the name) and hot chocolate. The next few days were spent descending, and admiring the views the Annapurna range had to offer and, naturally, enjoying the odd snowball fight.
The Suttonian
A main event was visiting Major Prem’s village. This meant a treacherous journey on “the death road” with sheer drops either side… however it was worth it! We were greeted by a host of young Nepalese children, who were thrilled that we had arrived with chocolate. We spent the afternoon in the Nepalese secondary school where Major Prem was educated, and we played rugby, volleyball and badminton with the students. They put on a showcase of traditional Nepalese dances, and then came the news that we were expected to reciprocate. We produced a rendition of “Away to Rio” by a depleted barbershop quartet, Oliver Aucamp and myself, and a performance of the Macarena, truly a very British tradition. The evening celebrations involved an everlasting dance which we all joined in.
The Suttonian
I am pleased to report that my talent for traditional dancing was highly commended. There is so much more I want to say since we experienced so many things: riding elephants, cable cars, river rafting, seeing mountain high monkey temples and visiting Buddha’s birthplace. We also experienced going viral with sickness and diarrhea! There are some people who need to be thanked by all of us who had the privilege to visit Nepal. Firstly, our parents, for paying for us! What an amazing adventure! But our biggest thanks must go to Mr. Millbery, Mrs. Kitchen, and Major Prem, for organising the whole thing and looking after us on the actual trip. You were brilliant!
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‘The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others’ Mahatma Gandhi
C
ommunity and care is one of the core elements of our ethos at the School and so I am very proud to be the co-ordinator for the Community Service Programme which is designed to allow our children the chance to experience what it feels like to put others above themselves and to care for others in our community. It allows our privileged children to gain an understanding and insight into the lives of those whose experiences are very different from their own. It is run to allow our pupils to help others and, in doing so, grow in understanding and empathy themselves. As the quotation at the top of this article states: it is only in helping others that we really get to know who we are. It builds character and develops virtues and it brings rewards and opportunities in so many ways, to so many people; it is a pleasure to be a part of. This year the programme has run with the help of a dedicated team of staff which has comprised Ms. Heurtevent, Miss Pritchard, Mrs. de Castro and Mrs. Westlake and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their support. The sports department in School also is supportive of the programme; a few dedicated Sixth Formers help to coach students in the lower years throughout the year.
Three Peaks Challenge E
ight members of staff volunteered to give up the best part of a week of their Summer holidays and their own money in accommodation and food to complete the Three Peaks Challenge, in aid of the School’s Nepal Fund. They all showed tremendous spirit and determination throughout, as well as great dedication in helping to raise funds from many different sources for this worthwhile cause. The pictures highlight the difficult conditions that they faced. Every mountain was covered in fog, with large snow fields on Ben Nevis, torrential rain on Scafell and 50mph winds at the top of Snowdon. They completed Ben Nevis in four hours 40 minutes, before travelling overnight to Scafell Pike for a 4 am start and completed that in three hours 50 minutes, but arrived at Snowdon a little behind schedule, needing to get up and down in three hours 30 minutes. They made the summit in two hours and scrambled down in one hour 25 minutes, which included running the last three kilometres to cross the finish line within the time. Amazingly, they completed the challenge in 23 hours and 55 minutes. One of the most physically demanding things that many of them had ever done, it took its toll on all involved. Mike James fell ill as they approached Scafell Pike and needed to retire (his completion of Ben Nevis the evening before was outstanding), whilst the knees of Emily Davies and Andy Bee finally gave out on reaching the summit of Snowdon (which was some feat, given that they were suffering before starting that mountain). This left Prem Ale, Zoe Radford, Melissa Halleron and David Sansom to make the final descent of Snowdon. Finally, Gwyn Davies was wonderful as the dedicated driver who had to undertake the long drives to each mountain and made much-welcomed cups of tea on the team’s arrival at the minibus after each mountain. The team were buoyed by messages of goodwill before and throughout the challenge, as well as the many generous donations. They raised over £5,000, which exceeded all expectations.
The Community Service Programme involves the Lower Sixth Form students only. They go out each Wednesday afternoon to their respective activities and work for approximately two hours helping others at the various placements. They have, once again, been a credit to the School in terms of their attitude, loyalty and commitment to the activities. As volunteers, they have provided useful services to the local and wider community. The Old School House Nursery, Sutton Valence Primary School, Sutton Valence Preparatory School, Coxheath Primary and Sutton Valence Care Home for the Elderly, amongst others have, once again, been extremely complimentary about the commitment and initiative of our students. The students who have been a part of the programme this year reflect, with fondness, on their time in placement and some have chosen to extend their time in voluntary work over the summer and into next year as a direct result of their experiences. I do hope that, in the forthcoming academic year, the programme can continue to be as positive an experience for students and placements as it has been this year. Mrs Mary Hall has been overseeing the programme for many years now and, as she leaves the School to enjoy her well-earned retirement, I would like to take this opportunity to thank her for her excellent guidance, support and instruction over the years.
Lucy Burden Page 10
The Suttonian
Charities and The Sponsored Walk Gywn Davies ON FRIDAY 22ND MAY STUDENTS, STAFF AND PARENTS ENJOYED THE BEAUTIFUL KENT COUNTRYSIDE AS THEY MADE THEIR WAY AROUND THE FIVE MILE ROUTE.
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eaching staff once again gave their time to guide and marshal the walk. The day was perfect with glorious blue skies and lush green fields, most pupils made it round the course in a relaxing three hours. Some, however, felt that the afternoon needed a bit more energy and a race was set up between Mr Wyles and Mr Cottrell. The route took both runners just 57 minutes, with Mr Cottrell winning by a narrow margin. A number of intrepid student runners were inspired by Mr Wyles and Mr Cottrell to run the course. Students successfully raised over £1750 and the monies were split between two charities, one local, the other international: St Mary’s Church, Sutton Valence, will be using some of the money to update the church making it more useful for the local community and the Pahar Trust will receive the balance of funds for rebuilding Shree Tamang Kharka Higher Secondary School which the School has pledged to raise £58,000 to rebuild.
At time of writing, with other events the School has already raised in excess of £36,600 towards this total. Please contact the School if you would like to donate to this very worthy cause. The Suttonian
Fundraising for Nepal Raising the profile through PSHE
A
s part of our PSHE sessions in the School we studied the effects of the recent earthquake in Nepal to try to better understand the effects on the county and its community. As we have pupils at the School from Nepal we feel that it is part of our extended community and, as one of the School’s ‘Journeys’ is Community, it is right that we focus our fundraising attempts on this cause. During PSHE time, pupils were shown slides and video clips of the country both before and after the disaster and were taught about the catastrophic consequences on the community. Specifically, they were shown pictures of the school there which was devastated by the earthquake and given details about what we, as a School and community, are going to try to do to help; that is, to re-build the school in Nepal. Although this is a massive undertaking, the fundraising has gone well to date and the pupils, during their PSHE sessions, discussed potential fundraising activities and these were passed through to the Headmaster for consideration. Once again, I am in awe of the generosity, empathy and compassion that our pupil body shows for charitable cases such as this. LJB Page 11
YPRES
must rank in the annals of this school as a most sad and distressing location. The four major battles and the several other localised offensives that took place in its vicinity during the period 191418 accounted for the deaths of no less than nine of the forty two old pupils to be killed in the war. More than one hundred others fought here at some time or another, sometimes with distinctive bravery, but always under great threat from the German positions which completely overlooked the town and the area between it and their positions on the ridges that form a semi-circle to the north, east and south east. The weather during these four years was not clement. The flat and low-lying area was rarely dry. Careless soldiers could easily drown in the mud-filled shell craters that bestrew the plain and if one were ‘merely’ wounded there was a double jeopardy; not only might the effects of the injury kill a man but open wounds were so easily infected from the soil contaminated by the richly fertilised earth. EC Liptrott was killed in this area, when the two great armies clashed for the first time (19 October-22 November, 1914) in the ‘race for the sea’. The conclusion of these battles saw the establishment of the trench system that would remain throughout the whole war. The second ‘battle of Ypres‘(22 April – 25 May 1915) saw the deaths of three OS, two of whom had earlier emigrated to Canada; REB Denny and HG Baker and another, TR Higgin who had just begun a career as a commercial traveller living in Catford. All these boys were killed in the period that the Canadians and British troops were thrown into the four-mile wide breach in the line caused by the confusion sown in the French part of it by the use of poisoned gas.
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The third battle of Ypres, commonly referred to as Passchendaele (3 July -10 November 1917) accounted for four more of our lads. N Cruddas, who came to join the allied forces from S Africa; GF Trenow MC, killed near the Menin Road; WDC Cooper, killed in an exchange of artillery and RC Richardson, recently arrived from battles in Egypt. Then, towards the end of the War, perhaps as a final desperate push (which so nearly succeeded) the German advance of 9 April – 29 April 1918 accounted for the death of VC Lowry, who had inhabited the area in 1915 as a private, but who had been commissioned and returned for a second round of duty, this time with the Machine Gun Corps.
We will remember them, and it is in that remembrance, for them and for the countless others who sacrificed themselves in the fight against oppression, that we visit the places of battle and the cemeteries where the fallen can be found and the museums and the exhibitions, erected to illustrate the horrors, lest we fail to learn from history.
Lest We Forget, the School has its own
memorial to its OS who fell, in St George’s Chapel, in Ypres. This is a focus for our attendance in the future, a truly inspiring, calm and quiet haven in which to sit and contemplate. The memorial was dedicated on 18th September 2014, the one hundredth anniversary of the first OS to be killed in WW1.
David Pickard Archivist
The Suttonian
Words
Millie Gaston Lower Sixth Photographs
Ciara Reddy Upper Sixth Qingyu Zhang Lower Sixth Don Clarke
Wilfred John Chambers 2nd Lieut.E.Surrey Regt. Killed August 18th 1916
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We will remember them...
s a good number of Sutton Valence’s community gathered in the dark early hours of the morning, a feeling of anticipation hung in the air, in prospect of what lay ahead of us. After around three hours we arrived in Belgium and travelled to the historic town of Ypres.
After having finally taken in the experiences of the morning, the Chamber Choir moved to a small chapel in the centre of Ypres to prepare for the first service of the day. After performing three war related songs, the entire chapel sat in silence as we listened to the roll call of Suttonians who had made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
Throughout the day we had the opportunity to experience the moving sights that the town had to offer. One of these the World War One Memorial Museum. A guided tour around the museum allowed us to grasp the tragic events that occurred in the town, and gave us an insight into the war that had affected so many people.
Other groups visited Talbot House, known affectionately by the soldiers of WW1 as ‘Toc H’, where soldiers spent time resting and relaxing before their next duty in the trenches and where the soldiers distracted themselves with cabaret acts, plays and songs. The most poignant aspect of the house lay in the notes the soldiers left for each other, men desperately trying to contact family or friends who were fighting on the front and who might also pass through the house. Some of us also visited the grave of Valentine Joe Studwick, a 15 year old soldier who was killed in action. Joe’s death has since become a symbol of the lunacy of the First World War and the shameful use of such young boys at the Front.
However I suspect for most of us it was not until the visit to Tyne Cot Cemetery when the actual scale and tragedy of the war became truly tangible. The sight of the endless rows of white crosses reaching to the horizon rendered us truly speechless. The realisation that this was only one of thousands of memorial graveyards around the world further added to the overwhelming experience. Langemarck, a cemetery for German soldiers, provided a stark contrast. The innocuous looking flower bed by the entrance is actually a mass grave for 24,000 unidentified soldiers, buried with very little dignity, despite enduring the same dreadful end as their British counterparts. The tiny cemetery contains the bodies of 44,000 German soldiers while the expansive Tyne Cot cemetery remembers just 12,000.
The Suttonian
In the later afternoon we headed into the centre of Ypres to the impressive Menin Gate Memorial, where we were astounded to find a crowd of over 2,000 people from all ages and walks of life, joining together to pay their respects. As the Chamber Choir sang, and finally as the Last Post sounded and the wreaths were laid, everyone felt profoundly moved and humbled.
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SUTTON VALENCE PUPILS WERE SURPRISED TO FIND A WORLD WAR 1 TRENCH IN THE LIBRARY COMPLETE WITH BARBED WIRE, SANDBAGS, RATS AND COCKROACHES (NOT REAL OF COURSE). The librarians put together a display to commemorate the centenary of The Great War and especially the Old Suttonians who gave their lives. Next to the trench there was a wall of remembrance with a nameplate for each Old Suttonian who died in the war and their age at date of death. Pupils were intrigued by the trench and encouraged to borrow one of the many books we have on display portraying the war in both fact and fiction.
Christine Carter With extended thanks to all the Art Department, the pupils created their own ceramic poppies to mirror the Tower of London exhibition back in November. There were a total of over 1000 poppies to represent everyone in our School community.
Thoughts on Four Legs
Lara Savage Second Form
Every day begins the same way.
Wake up, stretch, then beg to go outside. As if they think I could do my ‘business’ inside. Honestly, I’m no animal. It’s then the rush to get ready.You would have thought by now they’d get the idea: wake up earlier! Instead, they continuously forget me and slam the front door in my face without a glance behind them. Just a perfunctory sign of disrespect. As I’m left alone all day. Sometimes, I wish I could slam that darn door in their faces. Maybe then they’d notice me... They’d have to. Wouldn’t they?
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Don Clarke
Books and Bubbles on World Book Day Christine Carter Librarian Thursday 6th March 2015 was World Book Day and the First and Second Form pupils welcomed Emma Thomson, children’s author, illustrator and brand creator to the Library. Emma spoke engagingly to the children about the educational route to becoming an illustrator and author and the seven step process of creating a book for publication. Emma has had her illustrations used for brand ranges by both Marks and Spencer and Boots so some of the children were familiar with her characters. The children were then encouraged to create a ten page narrative together for which Emma did all the illustrations. Their ideas were both creative and curious but they found bringing it all together to make a child’s story such good fun. The questions and answer session at the end was enthusiastic and vibrant which was a testament to how much the pupils had enjoyed Emma’s talk. As we like to celebrate in style in the Library, we invited Emma to cut the specially made World Book Day cake which was eagerly shared between the children and washed down with a cup of lemonade. On leaving, the children were able to choose a new book from the display to take with them and keep as a memento of World Book Day 2015.
The Suttonian
The Piteous Dead You can pity the dead till dead twice over But nothing will make us forget We will remember their sacrifice And we won’t live in regret. As soldiers stare up into the night sky They look at the pale drifting snow Which looks as scared as the petrified soldiers Who live and fight in woe. There’s a boy in the war like all the others Whose wife is waiting at home Who hopes for a husband of innocent nature But knows she is now alone. There’s a new nurse stationed at the Somme Whose mind has been filled with horrific sights Of mangled men and their shattered hope Who only wanted to keep up the fight. A father is grieving in London For his three young, brave sons The first of wounds, the second blind And the youngest, a bullet shot from a snipers gun. Why should we pity the dead, they should pity us Their suffering has stopped, ours continues forevermore We will remember them always We won’t forget the First World War.
Don Clarke
The Suttonian
Asher Regal Third Form Page 15
“And I know one thing more - that the Europe of the future cannot exist without commemorating all those, regardless of their nationality, who were killed at that time with complete contempt and hate, who were tortured to death, starved, gassed, incinerated and hanged ….”
Andrzej Szczypiorski
Berlin
Emil Evans and Adam Dawkins
Lower Sixth
O
Photographs by Adam Dawkins and Lucas Williams
Lower Sixth
n 13th of February, 12 brave Lower Sixth and Fifth Form Suttonians, accompanied by the ever able and enthusiastic Mr Plowden and Mrs Sunde, landed in former East Berlin to begin an odyssey that would test our physical and emotional stamina.
Having established our base in a local hostel, we decided that the über efficient public transport would be the best way around the city. Luckily Sebastian Habersack and Chris Youngman served as translators when the system broke down, and we were able to walk to the majestic Reichstag, and the sombre holocaust memorial, either side of the famous Brandenburg Gate. Having sampled the world famous “Currywurst” amongst other delicacies, we were admitted into the Reichstag itself, with some stunning views from the top of the German parliament. The next day we took to the streets in force, first visiting Berlin’s Jewish heritage museum, and afterwards Checkpoint Charlie. We learned the history of the Berlin Wall, including some of the creative, albeit desperate methods, that some used to reach West Berlin, such as hiding in suitcases or the engine spaces of modified cars. Afterwards, we went to the museum of East Berlin itself, where we experienced what life was like in the communist bloc. That evening, we once again used public transport and arrived with military precision at the Ku Damm, Berlin’s answer to the Champs-Élysées. In the backdrop the majestic Kaiser Wilhelm memorial church, left partly ruined as a memorial to the war, we indulged ourselves, buying furry hats, leather gloves and designer fedoras. Sunday was the most poignant day of the trip, in which we went to Sachsenhausen, the concentration camp that housed all the victims of the Nazi government from the North of Germany, including political prisoners, delinquents and Jews. A walking tour took us around the vast grounds, in which up to 42,000 people were kept. Horrific as it was, perhaps the most chilling aspect of the camp was that the Soviets had reopened the camp known as ‘Special Camp Number 7’ for their own purposes when they occupied Berlin at the end of the Second World War. Despite all of this, we ended the trip on a high, going to a ‘Blue Man’ concert that evening. With that, Berlin 2015 came to an end. We came back to Gatwick having enjoyed ourselves, but also thinking deeply about what we saw, and the momentous events that have transpired in Germany throughout the last century.
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The Suttonian
The Suttonian
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Qingyu Zhang Lower Sixth Form
Annika Reich Lower Sixth Form Page 18
The Suttonian
Model United Nations Michael Adebiyi Upper Sixth
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his year we hosted the annual gathering of the United Westminster Schools for the Model United Nations. This meant that we did not have to be in school before dawn and did not have to commute up to London during the always traffic-jammed rush hour.
It must be said that in previous years, we had weeks to prepare during a Thursday activity slot, and although most of this time was spent meandering and not actually preparing, we did however finalise our resolutions during the usual two hour commutes. This was not the case this year, as the majority of our team of 20 had not written, practised or finalised their resolution until the day before, me included. This in some way cast doubt on the possibility on continuing the success from last year. Patrice Veasey and I were the victors of last year’s event, and the pressure was on to repeat this triumph. It became very evident to us that Mrs MitchellNanson had decided that she would assign us the hardest topic and most controversial issues to debate; the freedom of speech. ‘Newbies’ Gianluca Chiappini and his colleague Charlie Ellis were meanwhile given the easiest topic: ‘Fighting Terrorism’. Finally as the day arrived to debate, we all felt the weight of pressure on our shoulders, because we had all worked hard the night before to produce outstanding resolutions. We soon realised how disrupted the day would become when some other schools arrived late, and we fully understood the frustration that is caused, as we have annually never yet turned up to the event on time. The event, well-co-ordinated by Mrs Mitchell-Nanson, ran smoothly, with each committee run by individual teachers. From reports from several of our pupils, the committee stages were tense, and, as described by Emil Evans, many of the delegates seemingly had his ‘blood on their hands’. It appeared that many of the delegates had been very carefully selected by their individual schools for this particular event. I have no doubt that Queen Anne’s School had purposely put their most argumentative pupil to face Sutton Valence School’s most argumentative pupil: me. Most people will know that neither Patrice or I would usually lose a debate, so history was made as we did in fact lose during the committee stage. Although we had received the most signatures, and, through charm and persuasion, the most support, almost every delegate who had signed in support of our resolution then vetoed it. There was a mass ‘gang up’ on us which meant that there was absolutely no way for us to even gather support as we had once done in previous years. It was a stressful hour, and we were more than happy that lunch was to follow soon after. Although Patrice and I had sworn to not help Gianluca and Charlie in the General Assembly, we remembered how betrayed we had felt in the previous year by our own school. We went against our principles to help them see victory when their resolution was put forward for debate. With a loaded arsenal of arguments in support of the resolution, we entered the final stage more than confident. To be honest we all expected a fiery showdown between the representatives of opposing countries, it was however the complete opposite. Half the room were in support of Gianluca and Charlie’s resolution, while the other half were against. In turn Patrice and I demolished opposing arguments, even on a few occasions, speaking out of turn and without permission. This demonstrated our passion for the argument and our loathing of the opposition. This resulted in an SVS triumph once more, with their resolution being passed and voted the best of the competition. Special thanks must go to Emil Evans who received an award for his debating skills, to the teachers who helped in the background to help deliver a successful day and most importantly to Mrs Mitchell-Nanson who alongside Mrs Hall organised a well organised and smooth event.
The Suttonian
Oxford Union Debating Competition
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our Sixth Form pupils took part in the SE Regional Round of the Oxford Union Debating Competition at Cranbrook School. Up against stiff competition from other independent and grammar schools and colleges, including on one occasion against each other, they put up strong arguments and enjoyed rebutting the opposition, making some truly excellent points. The motions, for which they were only allowed fifteen minutes preparation time with no electronic support, were: 1. Performance enhancing drugs should now be allowed in competitive sport, and, 2. Candidate lists for parliament should have equal numbers of men and women. It is an excellent activity to take part in and the level of academic discussion, ordered argument and rebuttal is exceptional. Thank you very much indeed to the two teams for taking part and entering into the spirit of the competition so well. They were: Emil Evans with Vicky Barnden and Patrice Veasey with Luca Chiappini and thank you also to Mrs Porter and Mrs Kane for their support on the evening. It was also fantastic that our visiting exchange teacher from Chile, Mr Felipe Ramos, was able to attend to see how debating takes place here. Interestingly, it is similar in style. They were treated to a lovely supper afterwards. If any other pupils would be interested in entering this competition or similar in the future please do get in touch with Mrs Ball. Mr A Wyles Academic Deputy Head
Senior Kingdon Society Emily Vernon Lower Sixth
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n September Peter and Michelle Owens spoke to us about the work they do as part of Amnesty International. They explained why their organisation is committed to the abolition of the death penalty around the world and it was certainly insightful to hear such a passionate viewpoint against capital punishment. In January we were then truly privileged to listen to the harrowing story of Camilla Carr, a woman who was abducted from the Children’s Centre she was volunteering at in Grozny, Chechnya and then held captive for 14 months. She and her partner James, who later became her husband, were kept in a cell four metres by three, with only a tiny drain for ventilation. Carr was raped regularly over a six-week period by one kidnapper, whilst James was threatened with a knife at his throat and beaten. She explained how they survived their horrendous experience and how, quite remarkably she no longer holds any bitterness towards her captors. It was both humbling and thought-provoking to have the opportunity to meet someone who has had the strength and courage to survive such an ordeal. Page 19
A Study in Politics
Francis Romano Third Form
What is Politics and Why Does it Matter? The Lifeblood of our Society
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olitics could be described as a snake, wriggling its way into respectable institutions such as the police, corrupting it with a slew of red tape and bureaucracy. People fail to realise that politics conceived these institutions and served them, modernising when modernising was perceived as required and bringing them into line. However, politics is not just a mechanism that creates and tends other things. Politics is everything from tax to law; everything you touch will have been and will continue to be affected by politics. Hence, politics is a vital part of our lives. Our current form of government, a constitutional monarchy, is one created through years of hard graft. A constitutional monarchy is a system where the monarch is the head of state and the PM is Head of Government. Our constitution is unwritten, instead being conventions, statutes and other things such as EU law. Although this sounds rather messy and disorganised, it is a system adopted by many other countries because it is very flexible. Rather than creating an ‘amendment” as the Americans do when they need to change their constitution, we need only to introduce a statute. However this makes it fluid and hard to study; it is known as the ‘Westminster System’. The media and politics have a love-hate relationship. Although having free media is an integral part of a free state, often the media frustrates the Establishment (“The Establishment” being a catch-all term for Government and Whitehall) by serving too closely a populist view, which can often complicate debates about, for example, rising taxes or other things that directly influence the majority of people’s lives. Newspapers, although increasingly being replaced with the internet, free news sites and social media, still serve as a shining example of the free press, for better or worse. From The Daily Mail to The Telegraph to The Sun, all the major newspapers have some sort of political leaning - The Mail is (far) right and the Guardian is (far) left. Page 20
The history of the world is often mired in blood and always in politics. This can particularly be seen in the events leading up to the two World Wars and the subsequent formation of the UN and the EU. As countries became ever more connected, numerous countries decided that they would benefit from being closer together. Europe, America, parts of Asia and the then British Empire all had various treaties that tied them to other countries. These were linked in such a complicated way that it resulted in a single event plunging a large part of the world into war: that event was the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. When the First World War finished, both sides desired that a conflict of that scale would never happen again, so an official group known as the League of Nations (LoN) was formed, dedicated to preserving World Peace. It was the very first group of its kind and, as such, was doomed to failure. Three decades later and without funds or forces of its own, it broke apart into two groups, The Allies and The Axis. The Allies were composed of The British Empire, France and Poland and later included the Commonwealth, America, Russia and others. The Allies were a counter to the Axis, which was formed as a result of the Anti-Comintern Pact, an anti-Communist agreement. This composed of Germany, Italy and Japan as its main powers. Again they marched to war and fought to a bitter conclusion.Vast swathes of Europe, Asia and Africa was destroyed in the process. As humanity rose from the rubble, another peace-keeping group was created, despite the previous one’s obvious failure. The resulting UN was a far better group than the LoN as it was far more autonomous. The EU was formed in the 1950s, and so the groundwork for our current groups in this world were laid, including the Commonwealth of Nations, the Council of Europe, the G7, the G8, the G20, NATO, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) altogether. Britain’s position in the world is remarkable, given that it is such a small island. Britain is ranked 4th-6th in terms of Military Expenditure and is a great power.
“It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.” Winston Churchill Democracy & Ideology, the forms of Governance We are lucky to live in a country which respects our right to individuality while still being able to rely on the state for help. This is because of our form of Governance and the benefits it entails. But to get to the root of our affluence, we need to look at Political Ideologies. Politics is often described in terms of left wing or right wing.You can imagine it as a line with left wing on the left side and right wing on the right. As the line progresses towards the left, the imaginary states that adopt these ideologies have more and more equal people, until you reach the far left, which is described as Communism. The other side believes in social hierarchies and injustices as inevitable parts of being human. Instead of attempting to repress them, they accept them. However, when you reach the far right, the hierarchies and injustices are imposed onto the population in systems such as Fascism. The right wing and left wing have evolved to become the “the party of order” and “the party of movement” respectively. This system of classification is rather inaccurate; however it is accurate enough for the process of basic classification of ideologies. Communism is on the far left of the line. In its most perfect form, it is a system where everyone is equal and works towards the same goal, never seeking to be better than anyone else. Notable examples of communism are the USSR and China. (People often quote North Korea as a communist state; however its practices lend itself more to a form of quasi-fascism). Communism has a few major flaws though. People naturally aspire to be better than other people. This is obviously a highly ingrained part of humanity and indeed nature. This natural urge to compete can be repressed, however this repressing would have to be delivered by the state, and would require someone to be in charge of other people, which is anticommunistic in nature and defeats the entire point.
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“One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.” Socialism is not as far left as Communism, as it advocates state ownership of everything, apart from the people themselves, rather than Communism in which the state owns everything and the state is everything. This means Socialism can circumvent the main problems of Communism, in that it can actually repress whatever it wants to, as a hierarchy does exist, but only through the state, so it can control that hierarchy. However, the main flaw of this is simply that people are uncomfortable with having the state control everything about their lives (see George Orwell’s 1984), given that their leaders are basically just a group of corruptible humans, like any other group of humans. Liberalism is a political ideology advocating freedoms and individuality. Although Liberals call for equality, they also support the free market. The free market obviously favours hierarchies and inequalities, so most liberals gloss over the equality bit. They dislike tradition, and replace it in favour of progress and in liberal media; tradition is often portrayed as inhibiting progress. One of the main problems with Liberalism is its tendency to be attractive to students. Having just discovered the existence of politics, they decide to either support socialism and then complain about the “1%” (by which they mean the richest proportion of society) or they have extremely Liberal views. They go on to complain about free speech being inhibited and use their “political views” to act self-righteously while excusing themselves for their rants because of “individuality”. This can portray Liberalism in a negative light, and despite there being many liberals who haven’t just joined a university or are not walking stereotypes, the media’s perception of Liberalism is as naive and incompatible with the real world. This is not far from the truth however.
“Anyone still here for an un-biased view of politics is on the wrong planet entirely.” The Suttonian
Conservatism is the favoured political view for middle England as it is the system of stability. Conservatives prefer slow change to rapid expansion with volatility. Its other two qualities are what cements it as “realistism”, concrete and grounded in reality, while accepting human flaws. They argue that Liberalism is too stuck into blue-sky thinking, almost accepting that the best-case scenario is the scenario that will happen. Conservatism focuses on the right now, not the post-revolution world. Conservatives are likely to support the status quo, be slow to adapt, and generally favour the free market. The general Conservative is your typical middle aged to elderly affluent person, wanting to keep his money, who would be threatened by socialism and is also scared of liberalism because of their unrealistic view of the real world. Another example of a stereotypical Conservative is the American “Soccer Mom” who inhabits suburbia. Her type, generally found in the internet’s large collections of liberals, serve to highlight the disadvantages of Conservatism. They are largely ignorant of the world around them, and instead are most concerned with their own life and their direct bubble of influence. They mostly ignore large events in the world although they may donate money to charity for, say, an earthquake relief effort. Of course, goodwill plays a part but they are largely influenced by their friends and their desire to set a good example for their children. They are likely to fall into traps regarding technology; including believing everything they see on the internet. A case in point is the recent and completely wrong “vaccines cause autism” school of thought circulating the soccer moms’ favourite social network - Facebook (although giving honourable mention to the “mums’ social network” itself, the smorgasbord of kitsch and vintage, Pinterest). The idea that certain vaccines caused autism was in fact quickly refuted by other similar sites such as mumsnet.com. This particular stereotype is most interesting because of what it shows us about other people’s perspective of conservatism. I am a conservative and so are most Middle Englanders, however, in order to judge conservatism objectively, an outside perspective needs to be observed.
Plato
Fascism is the most right wing type of ideology. Fascists are Nationalists, antiliberals and anti-socialists and promote inequality. It is Conservatism taken past its logical limits, leading to militarism and xenophobia. There are many more types of political ideologies contained within these basic ones, including: Romantic Conservatives A type of Conservative who pays particular attention to keeping nature untouched. One-Nation Conservatives Conservatives who think that aristocracy, with the common good motivating them, as the only group fit to govern, then to give that group unlimited power. Liberal Conservatives They promote a smaller state, less intervention and are essentially New Labour. Anarchism They believe that there should be no state at all. Nihilism They want to build up the state then destroy it over and over. New Liberalism They are liberals who think about positive freedom over negative freedom. Positive freedom is basically the state deciding what freedom is by imposing limits. This is because New Liberals believe that the state knows the individual better than the individual knows himself, so to be truly free, the person must be free of themselves, which can only be achieved by the state telling people how to do everything. Negative freedom is just having no limits. Neoliberalism Liberalism similar to New Labour, but with a return to classic Liberal thinking, most championed by Thatcherism.
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Issues of Today This next part will serve to define the arguments and things most relevant for any person living in this country now, starting with the issue of legitimacy of the state. Legitimacy You may have heard that the police and crime commissioner elections were woefully underattended. Although enough people turned out for it to be valid, it raised a question again about the state of representative democracy (where the people elect representatives that best serve their interests). If few people are voting and many of those are voting “blind” where their vote is based, not on policies or ideologies, but on what their father voted for or according to the first party propaganda that comes though the post, this would lead you to think that the only reason a particular party won was due to laziness, apathy and uninformed voting. You may, therefore, contest their claim to the seat, hence the crisis of legitimacy. If all the seats are won this way, then this is not a democracy anymore. In an ideal world, voters would be motivated only by policy and trust. As this world does not exist, we have to resort to the next best thing, convincing the voters to actually vote AND, attempt to educate them, which is what the parties attempt to do. However, as can be expected, the parties only project their views of the events. Despite this apparent education monopoly other sources do exist, mainly in book form. The reach of the independent sources, excluding the main media sources (which are always skewed towards one wing or another) is very small and only appeals to a very small demographic. Although the government often is the one attempting to get people to vote, in the UK most political news comes either from the Murdoch empire, Broadsheets, Tabloids, BBC or ITV. This lack of cohesion on getting people to vote, combined with the current relationship between the government and the media, has led to a conflict of interests. Populism UKIP is the current Populist Party. Populism is essentially exploiting the main flaw of democracy, the fact that many people are gullible, uninformed and self-serving. Therefore, come voting day, they will vote for the party that says that it appeals to their interests the most. This is the basis of a populist party - putting the masses first, and all the minorities in the dust. The interesting thing about UKIP and the British public is how cynical we are and how UKIP exploited that, combined with our inherent gullibility. UKIP’s party line is that it is anti-establishment and antiimmigration. Anti-establishment works for UKIP as we are cynical of the establishment and gullible enough to believe that they are anti-establishment. Nothing UKIP has said is about being anti-establishment; they added that to the party line simply because they have no one in the House of Commons. Page 22
Their Anti-immigration stance is popular because most people are not immigrants in Britain. Therefore UKIP can demonise the minority, using the gullibility of people to legitimise this and make the people believe it is in their best interest to cap immigration. The Middle East Another big problem with the world at the moment is located just above Africa - The Middle East. The two most prominent things about the Middle East are unfortunately war and unethical dealings. War plagues almost the entirety of the Middle East. Almost always the wars are over religion, in particular the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda unless it is Israel in a border dispute with Hamas, or Iraq getting at Iran’s throat again. Often the sides are not very well marked, for example during the Syrian Civil War. The popular conception was that The Rebels were freedom fighters fighting against a corrupt government. So the West should give arms and help The Rebels. The biggest problem was that a lot of The Rebels were affiliated with Al-Qaeda, IS or other extremist groups. If The Rebels did win, then a corrupt government would have been overthrown and been replaced with not only a stronghold for IS but the question remains, would the resulting government be any good? Even if democracy was instilled, who would the public vote for? We don’t understand just what level of extremism exists in those countries. If the general populous hates the west (which a lot of people do, for good reason) then they are going to vote in an anti-western extremist, likely to make our standing even worse. The barbarity would still exist, just with a different man. Whippings and stoning are barbaric, but there are virtually no protests against them. End result, everything is the same but millions have been killed or displaced and our standing has been diminished. Like it or not Qatar, Dubai, Saudi Arabia and by extension other places in the United Arab Emirates, all have lucrative business dealings with us (Qatar funded 90% of the Shard) despite whipping women who show skin in public. We can’t afford to lose the Oil Barons and the moral pains that come with it are not going to go away either.
They are currently in government and are claiming responsibility for the current positive economic climate. Labour Labour started later than any of the other parties that have ever held government and originally it represented the working classes. Unfortunately, their policies are a bit unclear at the moment as they are trying to redefine themselves as “classical labour, but without the extremism of classical labour, while not straying too far into the middle territory to lose the working class vote, while still trying to get the traditional middle classes”. Under Gordon Brown and Tony Blair, Labour policy moved closer to Conservatives policy, so they were voted in government and, for example, cut ties with the unions. It ended with a very un-conservative crash in 2008. Labour has a reputation for economic incapability. UKIP UKIP as stated above are populist and not very moral in general. At the moment, they are attempting to rebrand themselves, just like Labour. However, the UKIP rebranding is even more far reaching than the Labour one, as UKIP have not only changed policies but created new ones. UKIP are decidedly right-wing. Liberal Democrats Lib-Dems are brave when they need to be, they stood heroically against UKIPs demands to leave the EU. This was ineffective as it brought the Lib Dems popularity right down to rock bottom while changing no-one’s opinion or voting habits, nevertheless their heroism was something the other parties could only dream of doing. The Lib Dems are popular with students - perhaps lured by the word “liberal”, although they don’t have many firm policies as anything they say is subjected to flip-flopping much akin to a dying fish. They do (actually don’t) maybe do (?) support the bedroom tax, although one thing they will always stand firm on is student…. never mind.
The Main Parties
Conclusion
The Conservatives, Labour, UKIP and the Liberal Democrats represent a wide range of interests and opinion, despite most of their leaders being from the same public school and university.
Politics is the beating heart of our everyday lives and affects everything everyone does - not just London. Politics is a normal part of any civilisation and is vital to its survival. Politics is intertwined with everything we do or have and can be thought of as the art of the compromise. But despite the need and inherent desire for politics, we still hate our politicians and refuse to engage with them. However, in the words of Bernard Crick: “Politics is not a necessary evil, it is a realistic good.” Perhaps, then, the only thing we need for a better society is for more people to be involved in politics.
Conservatives The Conservatives are essentially fighting for the status quo. They oppose radical change as change always brings chaos, although the more cynical among us would say that this is so they can keep their own bank balance at a high level. Lead by David Cameron with main members including George Osbourne and William Hague, this does not look like a very diverse set as they were all educated in Oxford.
The Suttonian
Annika Reich Lower Sixth
Sutton Valence
Mock election Sam Grindlay Third Form
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n recognition of the 2015 general election, Sutton Valence held its own mock election in the Lent Term, giving all students the chance to vote. There were four parties each represented by a candidate and a campaign manager from the First Form up to the Fourth Form. In the course of two hustings the four candidates told the voters their policies and how they would benefit the country. With excellent questions from the floor, Green Party candidate, Jacob Baldwin, concluded that quantitative easing would solve his party’s economic flaws. The UKIP candidate, Max Harrison, put up a good fight with difficult questions from both the floor and especially the Labour candidate, Francis Romano. Mr Romano also gave Conservative candidate, Sam Grindlay, some excellently-worded and extremely difficult questions. All four parties gave impressive speeches with the help of their respective team. UKIP’s Harry Macleod, the Green Party’s Edward Curling, Labour’s Cameron Evans, and the Conservative’s Nina Harman and Isabella Hughes all helped draft and correct the candidates’ speeches as well as asking pertinent questions during the hustings. The polling happened on 5th May and the papers were counted and verified by the Maths sets and teachers. The Conservative Party won the mock election with an amazing 47.5% of the vote with close runner-up, UKIP, getting 32%. After a very convincing set of speeches, Labour’s Francis Romano only received 5.5% of the vote with Jacob Baldwin’s Green Party getting 15%. The mock election was an extremely enjoyable and educational experience for all involved and could not have happened without the help of Mr Farrell.
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Junior Kingdon Society Nina Harman Third Form
WHAT DO WE ALL HAVE 206 OF? WHAT HAPPENS TO AN ANIMAL AFTER TESTING?
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hese were questions that were answered in Junior Kingdon this year when we were visited by two very different professionals Mr Abed and Sarah Reed. We were first visited by Mr Abed in October and he explained Orthopaedic procedures. Did you know that the collar bone is the bone most commonly broken among children? We received a very interesting talk from Mr Abed who works at the William Harvey hospital as an Orthopaedic surgeon. He explained to us the delicate procedures he has to perform on children and about the different types of implants and replacements he has to use in his daily work. He then took us to the table where he had laid out some of this specialist equipment and we spent a long time guessing what each item was used for and then attempting to perform procedures on each other but I doubt that we are ready to replace a damaged hip any time soon.
Then in May Mrs Reed visited us providing an alternative view on animal testing in the world of medicine. This was an eye opening experience indeed as, because of her background in the testing world, she talked us through the realities and hard statistics, whilst also opened up our minds to consider the facts we are presented with by antitesting groups. Several points I learnt from the evening were that each animal however big or small, has to be monitored every 24 hours and that animal testing is one of the last procedures that a new drug or product is put through before being released. I found a video of a man suffering from Parkinsons and the influence that his animal tested pace maker had had on his lifestyle very moving. I found the evening very thought provoking and certainly have a wider perspective and have been encouraged to rethink my views on the issue.
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Switzerland Katie Latter and Harrison Sharpe Lower Sixth
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n the 6th July 2015 thirteen pupils and two teachers left Sutton Valence School heading to London Gatwick, Switzerland bound. We arrived in Geneva and were all immediately hit with how hot it was; no one was expecting the sudden heat wave. Once we got through customs and collected our baggage we met our tour guide who directed us onto the public tram that took us to the youth hostel where we were staying.
Thanks to the work of the WHO, polio has almost been eradicated in the entire world. Since 1988 there has been a 98% drop in the amount of polio cases and their aim is to have eradicated polio worldwide by 2018. We were all in awe of the work that the WHO do. The next day we visited the United Nations (UN). Here we were given a tour of the buildings. We were shown the Council Chamber which is the second largest conference room in the world. This is where all the UN countries come together to discuss global issues. We were also shown many other large conference rooms and told some interesting facts such as there are 1700 doors in total. The UN’s budget is $2.7 billion a year. Each member country pays a certain percentage of this depending on their GDP and this is a great amount of money that goes towards solving some if the major global issues in the world.
Once we had checked into the youth hostel our tour guide took us on a tour of Geneva. Firstly we took a boat ride across Geneva Lake, which gave us an amazing view of the famous fountain. Once we arrived on the other side of the lake we walked up through the ‘Old Town’ of Geneva; this was very interesting, and it gave us an insight into the history of the city. Our tour guide then lead us through the ‘Central Park’ of Geneva, it was filled with statues and busts of significant figures.We then made our way into the ‘New Town’ of Geneva and after stopping for many photo opportunities we arrived back at our youth hostel for a good night’s rest before setting off for a busy day the next morning.
After visiting the UN we walked, literally, across the road to the Red Cross. The Red Cross aim to limit damage caused by war and disaster. They help by providing aid for the wounded, helping civilians, setting up hospitals and supplying resources. The government and the UN do not fund the Red Cross: they are a charity but are well supported by the UN. We all had great respect for the work that the Red Cross do.
The morning of day two in Geneva we set off with our tour guide to the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees). Here we learnt about how they work in conflicted areas helping asylum seekers. We also learnt about the differences between Refugees, Asylum Seekers and stateless people. The UNHCR are not funded by the United Nations, they have a budget of around $2 billion a year. We were all amazed by the work that the UNHCR do to help people in conflicted areas make a better life. After our visit to the UNHCR we made our way to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
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The WHO focus around four main areas: health security, health systems, healthy living of all ages and diseases and infection. The WHO are funded by the Government and by volunteer work. The WHO do amazing work.
After another restful night’s sleep we set off to CERN. CERN is the European Organization for Nuclear Research and it is used to investigate many aspects of particle physics. CERN is home to the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator, The Large Hadron Collider (LHC). It consists of a 27-kilometre ring of superconducting magnets with a number of accelerating structures to boost the energy of the particles along the way. It was very exciting for all of us to see and learn all about the particle physics research and gain an understanding into what they do at CERN.
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John Rodger Third Form We left CERN and headed to the Global Fund. The Global mission is to invest the world’s money in order to defeat three particular diseases which are Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The reason that the Global Fund only focuses on these three diseases is because they are all preventable yet there are still people dying from them. The Global Fund was founded by the UN, however they are not part of them as they want to do things differently: they wanted partnerships. The Global Fund have 20 seats on their board, these seats are made up of volunteers who have knowledge or experience in the three areas they focus on. The Global fund was created in 2002. In 2000 6 million people died from Aids, Tuberculosis or Malaria, this number has dropped by 40% as of 2012. We were all very impressed with the work that the Global Fund do and the impact they make. After our visit to the Global Fund we said goodbye to our tour guide and got onto a bus heading to Leysin; here we were going to do some trekking. After a long journey slowly climbing up the mountains we arrived at our hotel which had spectacular views. After another good night’s sleep we were ready to trek. We took a train that led us into a lovely little original Swiss village at the bottom of a valley. We spent the day with a very experienced guide trekking through the Alps, enjoying stunning views. When we reached the top point of our trek, the hard work was definitly worth it. We were astonished by the views. Once we had made our way back down we had a relaxing evening, including a swim and lovely dinner with more spectacular views. On our last day we took a cable car ride to the top of Leysin Alps. The views from the top were again stunning and we all felt privileged to experience them. It was a wonderful way to spend the last day of an extraordinary trip.We all felt it was too soon to say goodbye to such a wonderful country. A massive thank you must go to Mrs MitchellNanson and Dr Hiscocks for organising and running such an amazing trip.
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Olivia Richards Fifth Form
Intermediate Kingdon Society Francesca Ash Fourth Form
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n this year’s Kingdon society we firstly had a talk from Ian Keeble on “The Birth of the Cartoon.” This talk took us back in time, back to some of the earliest cartoons. The relevance of the cartoons to their time period was explained and we learnt how they were received by the societies at the time. We saw examples of the work of modern cartoon artists which had been influenced by the cartoon artists of the past, making for an overall interesting and informative talk. We also had a talk from Simon Watt on “Are we superheroes? The genetics of DNA.” In this talk we learnt that we all have our own mutations, just like superheroes do. Although many go un-noticed, we all have various mutations in our DNA, giving all of us our unique qualities. We learnt how DNA carries information and how all of our mutations are stored in our genetic information. We were taught how different genetic codes are identified and how we can use these for methods such as gene therapy. This was an entertaining and humorous, but also educational talk. Page 25
GEORGIA POPLETT Upper Sixth
The idealised woman: a literary creation
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recurring stereotype which can be found throughout fiction is the concept of the idealised woman; the epitome of a feminine ideal characterised chiefly by the qualities of purity, silence and submission. She is personified by Ovid’s Pygmalion’s statue and other works of fiction might appear to endorse but in fact demonstrate the subversion of this image. For example, parallels between Thomas Hardy’s Pure Woman, Tess, and his own relationship with his wife, Emma, exposes the tension between appearance and reality. It could also be questioned whether the concept of a perfect feminine model is a gendered tension. Can the idealised woman which literature gives us, again and again, ever materialise into reality, or is she a distortion? Feminist reimaginings of classic texts such as Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad emphasise how the idealised woman is no more than a projection of male fantasy, a concept which could equally be applied to Ovid’s poetry, especially his Metamorphoses, in which the tale of Pygmalion appears. ‘Sick of the vices [of] the female sex’ , Pygmalion created ‘an image of perfect feminine beauty’. The only trait attributed to Pygmalion’s ‘ivory statue’ is ‘modesty’; beyond that, she is only ‘a semblance of body’. This blatant and crude objectification is a grotesque image of woman reduced to ‘idol’, clumsily decorated by ‘clothes…rings [and] necklaces’. Pygmalion falls in love with and even desires his own creation (in much a similar manner as Hardy and his Tess, which will be discussed further on). Throughout the poem, the statue is represented using the pronoun ‘it’, which highlights the dehumanisation of women but simultaneously reiterates that the idealised woman is a disillusion. There have been several reworkings of Ovid’s Pygmalion, notably Carol Ann Duffy’s Pygmalion’s Bride, in which the narrative is under the direction of the marble statue created by the sculptor Pygmalion. The idealised woman, whom the sculpture symbolises, is ‘like ivory’, stressing her purity and vulnerability. When she ‘change[s] tack [and] grew warm, like candle wax, /kissed back’, she adopts a kind of autonomous independence which succeeds in repelling her male lover. This is compatible with Wolf’s observation (from The Beauty Myth) that: ‘The attraction [of pornography] is that it is not a woman, but a two-dimensional womanshaped blank. Page 26
The appeal of the material is not the fantasy that the model will come to life; it is precisely that she will not, ever. Her coming to life would ruin the vision. It is not about life.’ Duffy’s Bride vocalises the silent statue, the symbol of femininity from Ovid, giving her a voice of her own. The two interpretations are so radically different that it prompts the subject of to what extent the writer’s gender affects the text’s perception of the idealised woman. Another potent example of the idealised woman is Thomas Hardy’s beloved Tess from his epic Tess of the D’Urbevilles; the cautionary and political tale of a naïve milkmaid’s vulnerability. (Before publication, Hardy added the inscription, ‘A Pure Woman’ , which caused much controversy, but highlights how Tess was deliberately constructed as a version of the idealised woman.) We meet the character of Tess Durbeyfield when she participates in a May Day ritual to celebrate the arrival of spring, a symbol of fertility. Tess herself is intractably linked with the concept of spring as her name translates from the Greek as ‘the harvester’. However, there is some ambiguity about this; is she the harvester or the harvested? Arguably, Tess is the latter. Another word for harvest is ‘reap’, with connotations of a violation which prefigure her rape. The horror of this is exacerbated by Hardy’s emphasis on Tess’ virginity: ‘this beautiful feminine tissue, sensitive as gossamer, and practically blank as snow’. The word, ‘snow’, clashes with the springtime to which Tess by definition belongs, enhancing the fatality of Alec d’Urbeville’s actions against her person. Moreover, it reinforces the fragility of Tess’ body, which is befitting of a lady. It also serves to link her with nature, which is another facet of Hardy’s idealised woman. She comes from ‘an engirdled and secluded region’, connoting a womb, which is reiterated by its description as a ‘fertile and sheltered tract of country’; Tess, clearly, belongs to the bower, the landscape of femininity, often interrelated with nature. This can be explored further in Keats’ potent poem, ‘To Fanny’: ‘Be like an April day, Smiling and cold and gay, A temperate lily, temperate as fair, Then Heaven, there will be A warmer June for me.’
The inclusion of terms such as, ‘April’ and ‘lily’ emphasise the synonymy between the ideal woman and nature itself. Hardy wrote, ‘A field-man is a personality afield; a field-woman is a portion of the field.’ This reiterates the concept that Tess, as ‘a portion of the field’, is reaped and harvested by the men in her patriarchal society but that, like the field, she subjects to it unresistingly. This is a key part of Tess’ character: her reticence. Throughout the novel, Angel Clare personifies Tess as ‘contiguous womanhood…a fresh and virginal daughter of Nature [who represents] a whole sex condensed into one typical form’. When this idealised view is disillusioned on their wedding night, Hardy employs counter blazon as ‘her mouth had…the aspect of a round little hole’, again associating the open mouth and Tess’ sudden, impassioned speech with her past sexual ‘immorality’. Clare also demonstrates how Tess is everywoman as he calls her ‘Artemis, Demeter, and other fanciful names’ from Greek mythology all related to the harvest and fertility, as Tess is herself. ‘She was yawning…She had stretched one arm up [and] her face was flushed with sleep’. Unlike Pygmalion’s statue, Tess is earthier, detailed in this very human description of her as she wakes up one morning. Hardy can never allow Tess to become mistress of her own destiny (seen by the fact that her rape is ‘a coarse pattern [her body] was doomed to receive’). Her mistakes are a result of her failure to, ‘spiritually… recognise [her own body] as hers – allowing it to drift, like a corpse upon the current’. Her excruciating passivity throughout the novel is upheld by Hardy as the ideal of womanhood, ‘modest [and] expressive’ without speech. Tess is a symbol of sacrifice; it could even be said that she is a Christ-figure, as the icon of the lamb (signifying innocence) connects them both. The novel ends with her death: ‘the President of the Immortals…had ended his sport with Tess’, which connotes a martyrdom. This is emphasized by the phrase, ‘I think you are lying on an altar.’ This illustrates how, despite her earthiness and vibrancy, she is still a statue figure, and on her pedestal she remains. Hardy’s creation of Tess is, however, fundamentally holographic; throughout the novel one feels that she is unintentionally the representation rather than the reality.
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Amber Delaney Lower Sixth She is a plaything for the entertainment of her patriarchal society, a fragile and beautiful white hart, bled by those who hunt her. The hart is of course a common symbol of courtly love. This is even prefigured at the very beginning of the novel; her birthplace is the site of ‘the killing…of a beautiful white hart’. Hardy’s construct of Tess as the ‘Pure Woman’ does not, in fact, resemble any kind of woman other than the one living inside Hardy’s imagination. Hardy’s own relationship with his wife Emma opens up further unnerving parallels to the characterisation of Tess. If she was his earlier conceptualisation of the idealised woman, then it can be assumed that Emma is his refinement of it. He paints a romantic picture of her in Beeny Cliff which portrays their relationship and marriage after Emma’s death: ‘The woman riding high above with bright hair flapping free…whom I loved so.’ Arguably, this is the image of his wife which Hardy retained throughout both their lives even though the reality had diminished. Of his courtship with Emma, Hardy wrote that she inspired, ‘magic in my eyes’. This connects the idealised woman in literature with the theme of the spiritual. It is a theme explored in Ovid’s Pygmalion, as the idealised paradigm of femininity is realised through divine intervention (the goddess Aphrodite effectively brings his statue to ‘life’). However, an implication of this is that, in the same fashion as true sorcery is no more than a fairytale, so too is the idealised woman. The Hardys quarrelled bitterly, even though conflict is so masculine a quality, and both were ‘not agreeable’ to each other.
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Although their ‘misalliance’ of a marriage together was strained (Hardy’s companion, Florence Dugdale, wrote that, ‘They don’t get on together at all’), after her death Hardy could conveniently forget the ‘absurd, inconsequent, huffy, rambling old lady’ who had been his late wife and instead polish the romanticised image of the ‘girlish form’ she used to be. Emma becomes unattainable through death and thus becomes fiction. In his Poems of 1912-1913, written and after Emma’s death, Hardy expresses the effect of death on the self. It is less about her own feelings than his, resonating how the idealised woman is a creation of man’s and not a universal paradigm. Could this post-mortem altar signify that death purifies women? Emma’s memento mori outshone her true self; she became a beacon of womanhood, which she never had been in life or in her marriage. Hardy acknowledges this in his poem, The Voice, when he accepts that Emma is ‘now you are not as you were’ and the memory of her ‘call[s] to me’. She is ‘a voiceless ghost’, a sentimental image like the blurred view through a distorting lens. Crucially, Emma expressed her own emotions in a manuscript entitled, What I Think of My Husband, which Hardy discovered in her attic bedroom and burnt after reading. The potent voice of the real Emma was promptly quelled, as it highlighted her alienation from her husband and demonstrates how the phantom he desperately chases in his Poems is but a projection of his own dream, the contemporary of his Tess. Hardy was more in love with the idea of his wife than the woman herself.
The idealised woman, then, is largely a fantasy of a patriarchal society. She appears predominantly in more classical texts (such as Ovid’s Metamorphoses or Homer’s Odyssey) as a paragon of femininity which is subverted by more modern texts such as Duffy’s Pygmalion’s Bride. The illusion of this paradigm is not always obvious, however; Hardy’s unconscious comparison between his Pure Woman Tess and his wife emphasise the disparity between the idealised woman and reality, although his work is not a satire of this archetype but an embracement of it. The gender of the writer may also be significant. Texts in which the idealised woman appears not as a caricature but as an idol are generally the brainchild of male writers, such as Homer, Ovid and Hardy. Equally, the female Duffy has satirised this paradigm to her own advantage. Could it be that the idealised woman was born from the heterosexual compulsion to subjugate the object of desire? These texts typify the development of the idealised woman from antiquity through to modernism, allowing us to question and reject the reality of the idealised woman. Its representatives are hyperbolic, fictitious characters who often subvert it through the machination of its key properties (purity, silence and submission). Essentially, the idealised woman is a symbol of female subjugation through the ages which could not survive within the confines of realism.
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‘AND IT MADE ME CHANGE MY MIND…’ GCSE English Language creative writing assignment: Give an account of an experience which made you change the way you thought about something.
Jessica Grindlay Fifth Form
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hroughout life, there are a variety of difficult, troublesome and taxing decisions one has to make. They often come when one is not expecting them, and usually the best thing to do is to stick to your decision. I have been met by many complex and life-changing decisions. I find these situations intense and fear-inducing as I am not a decisive person. Have I chosen the right thing? Is this decision the best one for everyone? Was the other option better. I constantly find myself asking questions like these. But there has been one time which I remember, as my heart skips a beat and the tears begin to prick my eyes with particular pain. A time I backed down in the face of fear and confusion. It haunts me at night, the complexity and seemingly unfathomable situation. I wish I had never been faced with that decision. I wish I had held my ground a bit more. I wish I had never entered Starbucks. As I’m sure most of you know, upon entering Starbucks (where I have now decided the devil resides), you are greeted with the comforting smell of oversweetened coffee and the pleasurable view of squashy armchairs and an array of aesthetically pleasingly arranged sandwiches. You walk to the counter in a daze, feeling as if you have just entered a sugar-coated dreamworld. You feel as if you have reached a utopian paradise away from the cold, harsh blizzard raging outside where you can quench your thirst, satisfy your appetite and warm your hands. Since that time, I have learnt that they lure you in, with their false promises of happiness and ambience of calm. Similar to a helpless mouse after some cheese you fall on your instincts into what appears to be a safe haven where you are subsequently emotionally pummelled and drained, like a mouse in a trap. By the time I reached the counter, on my first expedition into the realms of this American-coffee-house hell I was suitably calm and relaxed. I had chosen my simple order of a cappuccino and a cinnamon bun. I presented my order with a firm and unwavering voice, and a smile. I was not prepared for the abundance of questions that was then thrown at me, a torrent of seemingly never-ending, seemingly life-changing questions that was about to hit me, similar to the tsunami wave that hit Japan in 2011. And I was the Fukushima reactor, ready to explode. ‘Is that a regular cappuccino?’ the overly-smiley Barbie doll behind the counter asked me. I replied with an affirmative, getting my debit card out, now ready to pay. How naïve. ‘Do you want any shots in that?’ she then asked. I firmly replied ‘No’. She asked again, just to be sure. Again I replied in the negative. And that was the moment she turned. She turned from a smiley, made-up girl into a horrific, scary, shouting-questions-at-me, not-taking-no-for-an-answer, petrifying creature. I was being met by a wall of unanswerable, apparently unavoidable and crucial questions. ‘Is that a caramel shot you want?’ ‘Do you want chocolate on top?’ ‘Do you want it hot or cold?’ (Cold?!? Cold coffee?!?) ‘Do you want a discounted eco-friendly reusable cup, as part of our save the world one cappuccino at a time scheme?’ ‘Do you want a loyalty card?’ (What, for the next time I stoop to the pits of hell?) ‘Do you want a super espresso blast?’ (As if anyone truly knows what that is!). I listened agawp as this woman screamed questions at me, breaking the still inner peace the ambience had previously instilled in me. It was as if I had been dragged from my tropical inner-peace retreat in Thailand into the middle of the crossfire of war. I was lost for words. I was ready to burst into tears. But I gathered the last fragments of my shattered being together and I replied with my simple order. ‘All I want is a regular cappuccino and a cinnamon bun.’ The girl smiled her sickly smile, took my card (along with my confidence, character and care for coffee), and went to the counter. I was proud of myself. I had done it. I had made it through, and had stuck to my decision. But then she asked: ‘Are you sure you want a cinnamon bun and not a chocolate one?’ I walked out of that misleading brothel of despair, clutching my cappuccino for dear life. And it wasn’t a ‘mocha-chocca, caramel, great-tea-infused, espresso enhanced, coffee-bean-massaged, crappucino in an eco-friendly cup.’ It was just a cappuccino. And next to it, I held a brown paper bag, the contents of which haunt me to this very day. For I had changed my mind. Inside was a chocolate bun. Page 28
Terror and Wonder: The Gothic Imagination Tim Cain Upper Sixth
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n January the A2 English Literature students were fortunate enough to visit London, accompanied by Dr Grindlay and Mr Davenport, for an exhibition of the Gothic. The Gothic genre is central to our examination unit and a day such as this is designed to increase our understanding of the historical and cultural context of the set texts that we are studying in class. Our first stop was the British Library where the exhibition: Terror and Wonder: The Gothic Imagination, had been put on for the general public, and we (with an accompanying expert guide) were taken on a journey through the Gothic genre in all its grandeur, longevity and power. Some of us were amazed to discover that Nick Park’s Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were Rabbit (2005) is actually Gothic! This workshop style of exhibition meant that research into a particular aspect of the Gothic, familiar and relevant to our coursework texts, was required from each of us. It was then time for us all to move to St Pancras International Train Station to take in the Gothic architecture and enjoy some lunch. This was followed by a visit up the road to St Pancras Old Church and Graveyard; a famous area full of literary history, as we would soon discover. We were met here by the very kind and knowledgeable church warden who led us on a Gothic tour. As well as many other interesting facts we heard that Charles Dickens was so affected by the graveyard that he made it the location for a particularly gruesome and Gothic scene in his novel ‘A Tale of Two Cities’, and that Mary WollstencraftGodwin and Percy Shelley used this place to secretly meet romantically at the grave of her mother. The real star of this show though was the ‘Hardy Tree’ – a chilling area of the graveyard which reminded everyone of its link to the great writer Thomas Hardy. Thank you to Dr Grindlay and Mr Davenport for organising the day, which was greatly enjoyed by all.
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A COUPLE OF REVIEWS FROM THE 2015 /16 SEASON OF
THEATREGOERS
EVERY NOW AND THEN A SELECT GROUP OF TEACHERS AND SIXTH FORM STUDENTS TAKE A LITERARY PILGRIMAGE TO THE THEATRE. These theatres are usually either in London or Canterbury, though the plays themselves vary greatly; ranging from Shakespeare to Shaw to Stoppard. Now, I will not try to deceive anybody and claim all the plays we watched were brilliant. Personally, I found Arthur Miller’s The Crucible unbearable, as it consisted of two and a half hours of psychological torment and screaming which finally culminated in several deaths, the motives for which remain unclear. However, the quality of this play was an exception to the rule, as all the other plays were highly entertaining. My personal favourite of these was Bernard Shaw’s Man and Superman; a slightly confusing philosophical play which featured Ralph Fiennes as a wealthy anarchist who desperately tries to escape marriage, but who is ultimately ensnared by the manipulative but charming Ann. So, don’t be put off by Arthur Miller, Mrs Porter is always looking for new recruits and anyone is welcome. Theatregoers provides a chance to see some entertaining plays and also an excuse not to do any work for an evening. Verity Newman Lower Sixth
The Crucible One Man Two Guvnors Henry IV part I and II Woman in Black Man and Superman Shakespeare in Love
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heatregoers is run by Mrs Porter along with the help of Mrs Carter and Dr Grindlay. It gives Sixth Formers a fantastic platform to engage and immerse themselves on a regular basis in the diverse world of theatre. It also complements the A level Drama and English Literature courses perfectly, giving pupils the opportunity to compare their academic knowledge with the performance they are watching. This element of interlinking was highlighted for me when we watched the most popular Theatregoers play of the year, the side splitting One Man Two Guvnors at The Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury. This gave me the chance to view the play on which my English coursework is based in a new light, giving me ideas which the text doesn’t provide whilst still uncontrollably laughing and enjoying the performance. On another occasion at The Marlowe we also viewed Shakespeare’s Henry IV Part I and II, a two part play performed by the RSC. Mrs Porter took great delight in telling us half way on the journey to the theatre that the performance was nearly eight hours long! The faces of panic didn’t last long, however, when supper at Zizzi’s was offered in between the two plays, much to everyone’s relief. Surprisingly the eight hours flew by as we watched in awe the incredible acting, especially Hannah who to this day believes that she made special eye contact with the actor Sam Marks who played Poins as we were sitting in the front row of the stalls. Throughout this year we have also watched several plays in London with star casts such as Ralph Fiennes in Man and Superman, the petrifying Women in Black which left many of us terrified of our own shadows and The Crucible which contained incredible scenes using physical theatre. The atmospheric sound effects used portrayed perfectly the possessed nature of the characters and the dark nature of the plot giving us the capability to be completely immersed within the narrative.
Ellie Agu Benson Fourth Form
Lauren Robinson Fourth Form
Eliza Lewis Fourth Form
The setting of London to watch these plays gave us an authentic taste of London theatre life, with Mrs Porter’s geographical knowledge also allowing us to see a lot of London at night, sometimes even the same part more than once. With this said we always managed to get a train home, quite often one of the last ones, with Mrs Porter’s dulcet tones announcing “you may now get on the train”. The hour long trip home was always fun with lively discussion and a chance to reflect upon the plays we had seen. Saskia Roestenburg Lower Sixth
Ellie Agu Benson Fourth Form Page 29
Drama
DRAMA TRIP to the film set of
‘THE CARER’ Eliza Lewis Fourth Form
3,2,1 Action!
The GCSE drama class were thrilled to have the
chance to experience a real feature film set.
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nce we arrived we were straight into the midst of it all as only round the corner the camera was rolling. My mother, Charlotte Wontner, is the producer of this film, ‘The Carer’, so we were lucky enough to personally have a tour of the location and meet all the crew involved in the process. The trip started off with having a look at the script and a brief overview of the story of the film. Following this we were able to meet and talk to the production team and learn about how films in general are built up. After this my mother took us around the whole location and showed us where some scenes were filmed and how the art department transform the rooms to match the script. It was a very exciting experience being on a film set and seeing what goes on behind the cameras, especially as we were able to watch the likes of Brian Cox doing what he does best. Thank you to everyone who made it happen as I, along with the whole of my class, thoroughly enjoyed it.
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The Importance of Being Earnest
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n 12th September a coach of GCSE Drama students made their way to London to see a group of very famous and professional actors pretending to be amateurs! Lucy Bailey’s production added dialogue which placed the well-known story inside yet another play. Not only did we witness the utmost importance of being Earnest but we were also guided through the rehearsal process and this was perhaps the most comedic element of the show. This was a fantastic opportunity for students who have studied the play in English, to see it come alive on stage. While it was not the most exciting production I have ever seen, it most certainly captured the characters and left the audience in fits of giggles as we saw the drama unfold.
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New York
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number of our Drama Scholars and LAMDA students started off their Half Term with a very exciting trip to New York. We arrived at School at 4am on Friday morning and from that point on we had four days of actionpacked, fun-filled days that will most certainly be an experience that we will remember for the rest of our lives.
As soon as we arrived, we clambered onto a bus and on the way into the city we were able to appreciate the amazing view that is New York’s sky line. We later appreciated it even more when we made our way up the Empire State Building, where the view was simply breath taking. Then we had our first experience of Times Square, which is perhaps one of the busiest and most vibrant places I have ever been. It was memorial weekend and therefore the streets were filled with music and events that kept us entertained on our long walks.
“ action-packed, fun-filled days” Physical Theatre Workshop with Jen Manderson We welcomed back Jen Manderson this year to carry out a physical theatre workshop with our Sixth Form Drama students. Jen helped the students to develop their physical movement and think about different ways of communicating ideas. This was an excellent workshop that gave students the opportunity to put some of the work that they had seen on stage in Lord of the Flies in Canterbury the week before into action on our own stage in The Baughan Theatre.
After a fantastic first day, I was unsure that it could get any better, however, I could not have been more wrong. Day two was simply amazing. We made our way to a Drama Studio, by passing Grand Central Station, for a Les Miserables workshop. Here we worked with members of the cast and learnt a number of the songs from the show. This was followed by a question and answer session which was inspiring for our students and allowed them to understand what they have to do to make it in the musical theatre industry. This was followed by an afternoon in Central Park and in the evening we had the “Broadway Experience” and saw Les Miserables, complete with the actors that we worked with earlier in the day. A very different experience to the West End, much like a cinema, but overall a fantastic show. It was also on this day that I had a look at the pedometer and realised we had in fact walked ten miles in one day: no wonder everyone was ready for bed on our return to the hotel. On day three we travelled via boat to The Statue of Liberty which provided lots of good photo opportunities. The general consensus was that The Statue of Liberty was not as big as we had imagined, but still incredibly impressive. Day four consisted of a tour of Madison Square Gardens and we were able to experience this grand centre of entertainment where many of the greatest artists and sports men and women have performed. On top of all of this we also managed to fit in a good few hours of shopping, which most certainly pleased the students; I would say that 80% of the trip returned with a new pair of trainers! The trip was incredible and we were so proud of the way in which the students conducted themselves: they were fantastic representatives of Sutton Valence School and we are most certainly looking forward to organising another trip in the future. Claire Fordham
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Changeling Theatre
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o aid us in our understanding of the Shakespearean language in Romeo and Juliet we invited in Lizzie Kent from The Changeling Theatre Company, who had recently put on their own adaptation of the play. The whole afternoon was an eyeopening experience for the students as they translated the text into modern-day English and began to understand exactly what they were saying to each other. The experience was one that benefitted the students hugely and we all had a great time learning about the complexity of the characters in the play.
Romeo and Juliet and Cutting Edge Theatre
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n Wednesday 1st October a group of GCSE and A Level Drama students had the opportunity to see a production of Romeo and Juliet at The Gulbunkien Theatre at Kent University. This was a great chance for those involved in the School play to see their characters come alive on stage. This adaptation was injected with some interesting and at times rather strange street dancing but the actor playing Mercutio was outstanding and William Moore definitely took inspiration from their very angry Capulet. Following our visit to see the show on the Wednesday rehearsals continued on the Thursday and we were very lucky to have had a stage fighter from Cutting Edge Theatre visit us to teach our cast how to make the fighting scenes in the play look realistic. This was a great experience for all involved and by the end of the session the cast were capable of carrying out a sequence of fight movements that looked believable for an audience.
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Romeo and Juliet Bethany Webb Upper Sixth
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utton Valence tackled yet another Shakespeare play: Romeo and Juliet. Debatably the most influential Shakespeare play in modern culture, especially where love is concerned, the immensity of the project put forward by Miss Fordham and Miss Davies seemed impossible initially.
Our efforts to do the play justice paid off when we heard comments such as “That is the best performance of Romeo and Juliet I have ever seen” and “You brought a tear to my eye”. Such comments meant a lot to the cast and made us realise just how epic a feat our production was. It was decided to set this interpretation in a modern school setting, putting the warring Capulets and Montagues on different sports teams. In an athletic and explosive opening Mrs Mathews choreographed a cheerleaders’ dance. This drew upon the talents of many members of the School and so ensured lots of pupils were given the opportunity to be involved. Similarly a thank you must go to Chessie King who choreographed the Capulet’s ball, helping to give the play a modern and fun feel. Luca Chiappini was our lovesick Romeo and his moving performance undoubtedly revealed his secret soft side.
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Francesca Tidd, with whom I shared the role of Juliet, wowed as a conflicted and confused young girl required to grow-up, fittingly in her final performance at Sutton Valence. Other leaving Upper Sixth cast members included Mia van Diepen, masterfully depicting the authoritative and meddling Friar Lawrence; Georgia Poplett who impressively brought Benvolio’s character to the forefront of the story; Emma Baxter playing an exuberant and lavish Lady Capulet, and William Moore who channelled a dominating and animated Lord Capulet. Other key cast members were Sasha van Diepen who produced an outstanding performance as Mercutio, Will Grabowski’s accusative Tybalt and the fun-loving Nurse, a role which was shared by Saskia Roestenburg and Eve Barclay. With the entire production lasting over two and a half hours, the tricky dialogue and convoluted plot initially made rehearsals difficult for the cast. Miss Fordham and Miss Davies must be praised for their remarkable skill as directors. Staying extremely patient and calm through months of rehearsals, they provided us with the motivation to push through and give the best performances we could. I know I will not be alone in saying that Romeo and Juliet was one of the most rewarding experiences in my career at Sutton Valence School, and it will surely not be forgotten.
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Find Me Jordan Abey Fifth Form
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he play Find Me starred Sebastian Shaddick, Charles Court, Jordan Abey, Ollie Dillon, Charlotte Bendkowski and Zoya Khan. All are amazing actors and delivered 100% of their ability in both the examination and showcase. The performance is about a young individual with schizophrenia disorder, and how his problem affects those he loves. Dramatic lighting strongly suggested the dark atmosphere of this piece of drama and was controlled by the very talented Matt Jones.
Jordan Abey and Oli Dillon played the part of Vincent Taylor, both portraying different sides of his personality. Oli played the sadistic counterpart of his personality whilst Jordan played the side of Vincent that is lost and misinterpreted.Vincent suffers from severe schizophrenia and split personality disorder which causes his family to fall apart, all because of him. Sebastian Shaddick acted as the role of Mark,Vincent’s brother. All Mark wants was a normal life but unfortunately for him Vincent ruins that aspiration. Mark cannot bring his friends round or revise for his exams… all because of his brother,Vincent. Zoya Khan’s role in the play was as the Waitress and the Doctor. The Waitress is harassed by Vincent in a scene which consists of him running around a restaurant and getting up to no good. The Doctor is given the very challenging task of diagnosing Vincent’s problem and assigning to him to an establishment that can contain him. Charlotte Bendkowski played the part of Vincent’s mother, Jean. She is the less lenient of the two parents and also blames herself for all the trouble that Vincent has caused and has been through. Charles Court acted in the role of Edward Taylor,Vincent’s father. He is more understanding of Vincent and does not see him as a burden, but as his son. Contrary to Jean, Edward defends Vincent in every situation and would never do anything to hurt his son.
Propeller
Kathryn Parsons Upper Sixth
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hen A Midsummer Night’s Dream was first performed in 1605 at The Theatre, the Elizabethans did not go to watch the show, rather they went to listen and thus the focus was on the brilliance and complexity of the language as opposed to visual image.
Girls Like That Saskia Roestenburg Lower Sixth
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n the 19th of March we performed the play Girls Like That, by Evan Placey, which, along with coursework, nerve rackingly determines our AS results.
When all five of us AS drama students approached the performance element of the course we decided that we wanted to perform a piece that a modern audience could relate to. Girls Like That provided this. Through this play we embodied five girls as they grew up together from primary to secondary school and the typical elements of life that come with this such as playground tiffs and excluding friends, to the pinnacle problem of teenage cyberbullying. The climax of the play is the death of Scarlett, the girl that was targeted because she had sent a nude photograph of herself via text. As there were no written characters we had to embody the characteristics of our roles within the monologue structure of the text throughout the development process of the play. This was quite a challenge which we overcame using rehearsal techniques such as hot seating. This is when you answer questions within character. Using this process Ellys Perry morphed into the “American one”, Eve Barclay was a convincing “Ditsy one”, Bronte King became a born “Leader” and Bea Williams her “Follower”, whilst I was the “Northern one”. This diversity of characters added a certain dynamic to the play which, along with Felix Eyers’ amazing lighting skills which replicated moods and age throughout the performance, gave the audience a unique visual experience. Although anxiety was rife on the night, the performance went without a hitch with much laughter from the audience. Even the Examiner’s amusement was evident when we came on stage to the sound of “Uptown Funk”, dressed ridiculously in head bands and basketball shorts. This interaction from the audience motivated us to try and perform to our best abilities. All that remains now is the gruelling wait until results day when we will all find out our fate.
Fingers crossed.
On the 5th of November 2014 I saw the all male theatre company Propellers’ interpretation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream under the direction of Edward Hall. This interpretation managed to incorporate the key themes and plot associated with the play yet adapted it for a modern day, focusing on key visual elements but without losing sight of the original performance conditions. Moreover, the play was shrunk to a one-hour pocket-sized version. An aspect most enlightening was the way by which Edward Hall encapsulated the magic associated with the green world and focused on key themes of child play and gothic eeriness. The interpretation was perfect for our Unit Four studies in Drama and provided us with lots of examples to write about.
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Retribution
The Upper Sixth’s devised production Retribution, based around the laws relating to gun crime in America, was developed through intensive research, practical exploration and weeks of rehearsals. Following the story of a teenage boy as he tries to deal with the challenges that life throws at him, he ultimately commits a most horrific crime. Some say he was attention seeking, others say he was mentally unhinged, however everyone asks the same question:
Why is it so easy for a teenage boy to get hold of a gun in America?
Lord of the Flies Luca Chiappini Upper Sixth
W
e went to watch an all-dance version of Lord of the Flies at the Marlowe Theatre.
This was very beneficial to us as within our devised performance we wanted to include some physical theatre. The performance was most interesting. We saw great lifts, counter balance and solo ballet scenes.
My favourite part of the entire performance was seeing the physicality of the cast: there was a huge amount of raw energy and emotional intensity. We were also able to adopt some ideas for our own devised work. In the performance we saw the boys surround Piggy and throw an object around him “much like piggy in the middle” outlining his isolation from the rest of the group; this was a powerful visual images that we later adopted. An eye opening experience, teaching us new styles of theatre to explore.
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Grease Claire Fordham
Grease was the word
LAMDA showcase Nina Harman Third Form
The LAMDA showcase was an evening of solo performances and duologues.
T
he evening was started off by Ella Hughes and Nina Harman performing a comedy piece named Bus Stop. After a few laughs Evie Barclay took to the stage with a chilling monologue, an excerpt from The Women of Lockerbie, where a tortured mother agonises over the disappearance of her son. Eliza Lewis and Lolly Robinson then took to the stage as Hilary and Laura from The Woman who Cooked Her Husband and discussed what to do with the dead body of their murdered husband. Emma Simpson performed a monologue, from Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf and Sam Grindlay and Tom Cavell built up the tension with a scene from The Woman in Black. The evening ended with a hilarious devised piece from Asher Regal, Alex Webb, Francis Romano and Gibby Capaldi. The piece entailed all the boys training up Asher for a date with a girl that he had met the previous night. All in all it was an enjoyable night of drama to start the school year.
The First and Second Form Drama Scholars had the opportunity to learn some skills in clowning. The Baughan Theatre was filled with spinning plates, juggling balls, flower sticks and many over exaggerated reactions that convinced audiences that they were being hit, stamped on and thrown on the floor, slapstick comedy at its best. A fantastic workshop led by Tom Karts that fully engaged the students and taught them a lot of new drama skills that they could take forward in the future.
for the Juniors at Sutton Valence School this year performing the hit musical to packed houses on both nights. The performance was professional and slick with an accompanying band and young actors of the highest quality. Stellar performances from Nina Harman, Samuel Grindlay, Finn Swaine, Isabella Hughes and Alex Webb earned the cast resounding applause. Grease is renowned for its catchy songs and dances and the work of Mrs Mathews and Mr Soman was outstanding helping the students to produce work of the very highest quality. With at least six rehearsals a week for two terms, the cast certainly had their work cut out, but they rose to the challenge and their hard work and commitment paid off. Drama teacher and director Miss Davies said, “The pupils worked tirelessly over the past two terms to develop their characters, perfect their dance moves and sing their hearts out and I am very impressed with the show that they produced.” Big numbers such as Greased Lightning had the audience singing along and many wished for an encore; Sophie Baxter’s song Freddie My Love was also awarded rave reviews and huge applause, she certainly is a star in the making. The chorus members must also be congratulated, the First and Second Form were especially impressive in Shaking at the High School Hop and they opened the play brilliantly with an enthusiastic rendition of Dead Skunk on the Highway! Every year we say how fortunate we are to work with such talented pupils and this production showed off the depth of talent we having moving up through the school; it makes for a very exciting future indeed.
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The Stanislavski Experience Both Lower Sixth Theatre Studies students and Drama Scholars had the opportunity to study with Nick O’Brien from The Stanislavski Experience. He led students through a number of exercises which encouraged them to find truth on stage, making sure that they always act with a purpose. The Lower Sixth students had the opportunity to develop their characters for their up and coming practical examination and the Drama Scholars learnt about the invisible rays that should exist between actors when on stage. This was a fantastic experience for all involved and students developed their understanding of this style of theatre significantly.
It was a successful year for Max and Katie Harrison who won new titles including: ‘English Ballroom Champions 2014’; ‘English Open 10 Dance Champions 2015’ and ‘South Coast Ballroom Champions 2015’. Max and Katie travel the world performing and one of this year’s highlights was dancing for Her Majesty the Queen. The pair’s profile has been raised through a number of public engagements, including Leeds Castle Classical Concert. Lowri Turner
Drama Scholars in rehearsal
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Dance Show Olufunmilola Owolabi Fourth Form
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he parents were welcomed outside the Baughan Theatre with delicious refreshments to kick off an eventful evening. As the parents found their seats the nerves in the changing rooms gradually increased. The opening act was the First Form students who did an impressive performance of the famous ‘uptown funk’. Over the evening we had many more incredible performances by different year groups with a huge range of dance styles. There was an extraordinary performance from two incredible Second Form students who showed off their tap dancing skills. We also had invited two professional ballroom dancers to the dance show and they performed a brilliant ‘cha cha’. The many hectic rehearsals by the students had paid off as there was a great deal of positive feedback from the audience after the show. However, it was Mrs. Mathews who really made the dance show a huge success, due to her unique and amazing choreography. Thank you and well done to everyone who participated in the wonderful dance show.
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Music Phil Horley Director of Music
A
t the end of this year I will be celebrating an anniversary, twenty-five years as organist and as a teacher of music at Sutton Valence School.
Many things have changed, many things have remained the same. We used to have a full chapel service four mornings a week plus every Sunday. We only had two violin pupils and every member of staff (yes including me) had to teach sport twice a week. The orchestra was about fifteen pupils strong, performing arrangements of works by Mozart and Dittorsdorf - but enough reminiscing! The autumn term is always the busiest term and we started off with a performance on foreign fields. The Chamber Choir was sent along with part of the senior school to Ypres to remember the very first Old Suttonian killed in the First World War. They performed at the St George’s Chapel where a plaque was unveiled, before singing several anthems at the Menim Gate. The Choir also visited several cemeteries and museums, which brought home the scale of the death and destruction of the War. The Autumn Concert is the first large-scale concert presenting all the major ensembles. The concert was divided into two halves, the first in Chapel and the second in Groves Hall. The more “classical” first half saw the Chapel Choir, Senior Strings, Chamber Choir and the Chamber Orchestra perform works by composers ranging from Copland to Tavener and Mozart to Finzi. After promenading to the Music School, visitors were serenaded by the Band, a piano trio, the Barbershop and the Training Orchestra which was reinforced by pupils from the Prep School.
At Sutton Valence Prep School we have been delighted to welcome a new Director of Music, Mrs Geering, and one of the new ideas was a joint concert, given in Bates Hall in March. A large audience heard the best of what both Schools could offer. We tried to have as many joint groups as possible; very difficult considering the distance between both sites and timetabling problems. The Joint Brass group started with a great fanfare, followed by the training orchestra with a variation on Star Wars, various choirs and ensembles ending with the joint choir of over one hundred pupils performing Zadok the Priest by Handel, accompanied by the senior String Ensemble. The final concert just before Easter was the Singing Soiree, moved from its traditional place to March. Here Mrs Field’s pupils show off their talents and end with a large choral work. This time it was an arrangement of World War One songs which carried on from the very first concert of the year described above, and a poem by Asher Regal. It was very moving and a large cheque was sent to the British Legion. The Summer Term began with the Foundation Concert at the beautiful Hawksmoor Church in Spitalfields. Each of the Foundation Schools presented an ensemble to showcase their talents. As all the other schools had worked with the accapella group Voces 8, they presented vocal ensembles. But we were different and presented the Senior String Orchestra performing the Romance in Eb by Gerald Finzi with the soloist being Ioana Pupaza. It was a stunning performance by all concerned and showed just how much string playing has progressed here, especially if you refer back to the first paragraph.
Every term we run a series of informal concerts for pupils of the same age to perform solo. This gives them an opportunity to play in front of friends in a less-intimidating atmosphere than formal concerts. Whether it is rehearsing for an exam or just for pleasure, all pupils whatever the standard or instrument are encouraged to perform. The more they do, the easier it becomes. Just before music exams we also run a session one lunchtime just for the exam candidates, which pupils have found very useful.
The final large-scale event was the Summer Concert which nearly did not happen. The Senior Strings had built the repertoire around Ioana Pupaza who has won a violin scholarship to the Royal Welsh College of Music. It was planned she would do solos by Finzi, Summer by Vivaldi and lead the strings in an Andante by Sibelius. Unfortunately, almost the day before we got the message that she had been rushed to hospital with appendicitis. The good news is she is now fully recovered, the bad news was there were no strings in the concert. However the Chapel Choir once again rose to the occasion with various soloists being shanghaied by us and the concert was a success.
The carol service for me introduces the start of the Christmas season. It is a fantastic service led by Mr Davies and the Chapel Choir under the direction of Mr Soman. This year the choice of anthems worked very well and I personally think this was one of the best carol services the Choir has performed. Quite amazing when we only have about six hours to rehearse it.
Even as I write this there are rehearsals for Grease, future concerts to plan, Speech Day music to be arranged and paperwork to complete for the forthcoming Rome Trip. There will be also be another trip to the Menim Gate and then it will be Christmas again.
In February we took the senior members of the Chapel Choir to sing Evensong at Southwark Cathedral. For those who know the Headcorn to Charing Cross railway line, Southwark Cathedral is the large church on the right just after you leave London Bridge. Evensong is a beautiful service which few people outside an Anglican up-bringing know about. It has canticles (sung responses), sung Psalms, a Magnificat, Nunc Dimitus and an anthem. This was the first cathedral evensong performed by the Choir for several years and they rose to the occasion, especially in the anthem Greater Love by John Ireland. I must admit I also enjoyed myself thoroughly on the large four manual Lewis and Co organ.
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My thanks as ever to all the staff in the Music Department, the visiting music staff, the secretaries, the cleaners and everyone associated with the Department. My special thanks to Mr Holmes and Mr Soman for all the work they put in, but also for being friends. And finally to all the pupils who make the Music Department such a special place. A big “Thank You”.
The Suttonian
Foundation concert
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SVS and SVPS Joint Concert Phil Horley
T
Joint Programme SVS and SVPS Brass Group Directed by Mrs P Fisher Battle Hymn of the Republic Trad. American SVS and SVPS Training Orchestra Directed by Mr P Horley Star Wars John Williams arr P. Horley
he Prep School and the Senior School joined forces to present a Joint Concert in Bates Hall. This was the first joint concert in about 15 years; indeed Mr Carter, who now teaches Rugby was in Year 1 at the Prep School in the last Joint Concert.
SVS Chamber Choir Directed by Mr B Grindlay Seal Lullaby Eric Whitacre Autumn Leaves Jospeh Kosma arr. Andrew Carter I Got Rhythm Gershwin arr. Christopher Clapham
From about 3:30 till 5ish Mr Webster was employed in a continuous shuttle between the two sites, bringing over 80 pupils in preparation for the rehearsal. Slightly hampered by various netball matches and a geography field trip occurring at the same time, the rehearsal went very quickly: as well as music-making, time had to be spent on the logistics of moving over one hundred pupils between three performance areas.
SVPS Senior Strings Directed by Mr D Holmes Tom,Tom,Tomahawk S. Nelson Air Handel
Then a quick bite – my thanks to the three Prefects who supervised and cleared up the mess – then the concert. The programme is shown on the right. Rather than pick out individual items I would just like to say every ensemble performed magnificently and I was very proud of them all. The parents were truly impressed by the standard achieved. My thanks go to all the pupils and staff involved especially Mr and Mrs Holmes, Mr Soman and Mrs Fisher. A big thank you must go to Sarah Geering and the Prep School staff who helped, and for inviting and hosting us on the day. Plans are already underway for the next concert!
Sutton Valence School Trio William Moore, Ioana Pupaza and Wendy Hoppeova Allegro, Trio Sonata No 5 Haydn SVS Senior Choir Directed by Mrs A Holmes Ave Verum G. Burgon SVS Chamber Orchestra Directed by Mr Horley The Toy Symphony: Movements 1 and 3 L. Mozart SVPS Chamber Choir Directed by Mrs S Geering Lead Me Lord Samuel Wesley (solos Josie Cooper, Rosie Williamson, Joe Savage and Alex Tolhurst) Together As One Albrecht and Althouse SVS Senior Strings Directed by Mr D Holmes Andante Festivo Sibelius SVPS Senior Choir Directed by Mrs S Geering Pop Idol Alan Simmons Chariot’s Comin’ Trad. arr. Don Besig SVS and SVPS Combined Choir Directed by Mr Soman Zadox the Priest Handel
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Southwark Cathedral Evensong
William Moore
I
n February the senior members of the Chapel Choir and Chamber Choir travelled to London to Southwark Cathedral to perform Evensong.
Southwark Cathedral claims to be the oldest cathedral in London and it is where William Shakespeare used to worship. His brother is buried in the cathedral. Another famous connection is that it is where John Harvard was baptised, before he emigrated to America to found a “place of learning”. Evensong is a sung version of Evening Prayer, which is a liturgy in use in the Anglican Communion and celebrated in the late afternoon or evening. It is roughly the equivalent of Vespers in the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran churches, although it was originally formed by combining the monastic offices of Vespers and Compline. The Choirs processed in to the organ playing Bridge’s Adagio in E, then Mr. Soman conducted service: The Preces and Responses in D by Clucas, Psalm 119 v 33-56 sung to a chant composed by headmaster, The Magnificat and Nunc Dimitis in C by Stanford, The anthem Greater Love by John Ireland, Hymn 393: Lead us Heavenly Father, Lead us; Tuba Tune by Norman Cocker.
Singing Soirée
Sophie Watson Fourth Form
O
n the evening of 23rd of March 2015 the annual Singing Soirée was held in Groves Hall. It was a lovely occasion and as always the standard of performances from the pupils was phenomenal. In the first half all of Mrs Fields’ pupils did a solo performance. Everyone sang incredibly with a wide variety of genre being performed. In the second half of the evening all the pupils united together to sing a medley of songs from the First World War. The scene was set by Asher Regal who had written a poem called The Piteous Dead which really moved the audience. Asher Regal’s Great Grandfather, Harry Cecil Pritchett, served in the First World War as gunner serving in the Royal Field Artillery, R.F.A.As and in recognition of his World War 1 service he was the recipient of the 1914 Star with Mons Bar, The British War Medal 19141918 and The Allied Victory Medal 1914-1918. Asher wore these medals as part of his costume for the second half. The first verse of the song was sung by a pupil and then the audience participated in the choruses of each song which included Goodbye, Dolly Gray and Keep the Home Fires Burning. The evening was a great success. Special mentions must go to Mrs Mount who played the piano and to Mr Soman. Lastly more importantly a special mention must go to Mr and Mrs Field, because without them the Singing Soirée would not have been possible. It was the 24th annual Singing Soirée this year and I am looking forward to many more years of them.
The Suttonian
All the music was beautifully accompanied by Mr Horley on the famous Lewis organ. This was an amazing opportunity for everyone to perform in a famous and extraordinary building and I hope this will become a regular experience.
Violin Masterclass Anya Livtchack Fourth Form
O
n Friday 13th March a selection of pupils from the First to Sixth Form, including Ioana Pupaza who has gained a scholarship to study violin at RWCMD, performed in a violin masterclass to Professor Nicholas Miller.
Professor Miller, who teaches at the Royal Academy of Music, spent the day listening to a variety of pieces of all levels, providing invaluable advice, both musically and technically. String playing is flourishing at Sutton Valence, and Professor Miller’s classes provide us with added incentive to work harder. Professor Miller’s visits have become a highlight of the year, and our thanks go to Mr Horley for providing piano accompaniment and to Mr Holmes for arranging the day.
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A Letter from Kathryn Maple Winner of the Sunday Times Watercolour Competition 2014 WOW! HAS EIGHT YEARS REALLY PASSED SINCE I LEFT SUTTON VALENCE SCHOOL?!
I
am still very much in touch with people from my year group: Susannah Townsend, our hockey star, Jessica Fermor, amazing architect, Gabriella Roberts, working in nutrition for a leading company and Charlotte Gill, juggling her life-long hobby, writing (https://catherinecgill.wordpress.com/), with her career as an online editor - and many others working away in the City. A very strong and fun year group! I was never particularly academic and loved sport, an enthusiastic, but not brilliant player. SV finds your strengths and I found a particular interest in the Art Department. I look back now and think just how lucky I was to have all that space (Studio rent in London is horrendous) and freedom to really experiment with materials and approaches to different projects. Keeping sketchbooks up-to-date and problem solving within them has stayed with me throughout the years. In many ways, they are visual diaries. I can definitely see some truth in what David Hockney said: “Drawing helps you to put your thoughts in order. It can make you think in different ways.” I have just looked back through them and found a rather wacky artist that I had forgotten about, Hundertwasser- mind blowing use of colour and I’d love to live his dreams! There never seemed to be too many restrictions at SV and I was allowed the freedom to work on a variety of different scales. I now prefer to work big and some of my current paintings are 200cm+ in size. Perhaps tackling such sizes early on helped me to dive straight into what sometimes appears like a very terrifying white canvas.
Foundation course: Art Institute, Bournemouth. Fine Art Printmaking Degree course, Brighton University, 1st Artist in residence, Muse Gallery, Portabello Road Post Grad Course. The Royal Drawing School, Shoreditch. Won the Sunday Times Watercolour competition 2014.
Kathryn Maple (left) Charlotte Gill (middle) and Clara Shephard painting on the Art Department trip to Cornwall 2007.
The trips with the Art Department were always a lot of fun - and inspiring! I remember high above some rocks in Zennor, Cornwall, drawing choppy waves, and countless trips to galleries in London. I now bite myself when I miss once-in-a-lifetime shows! We really are spoilt with choice in London.Victoria and Miro, The Dulwich Picture House and Timothy Taylor Gallery are a few of my favourites. I hope there is enough space in this article to give a huge thank you to Miss Easter and Mr Gorman who really pushed my artistic adventure from the start. I still meet up with Miss Easter and she comes along to my exhibitions with the same love and energy she gave in my Sutton Valence days. Most importantly it was fantastic to be taught by Art teachers that still paint and draw! This sounds crazy, but a lot don’t.
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Kathryn Maple ARTIST STATEMENT
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andscape has been the predominant focus of my work. My childhood was spent in the country - long walks, climbing trees and falling out of them! Moving to London after university to study a postgraduate course at The Royal Drawing School was a complete contrast, with its concrete and energy. I try to act as a hidden observer, using shape and line to paint those parts of the city where nature has been left to flourish and encroach on our concrete metropolis.
Ken Shizhao Fourth Form
New experiences are always the foundation for the progression of my work. Recently I was lucky enough to spend over four months in India, teaching and travelling - a residency supported by The RDS alumni programme. This was certainly a life that I had never imagined, let alone experienced, until I set foot off the plane in Delhi airport. It was a sensory explosion- honks of horns, smells of burning litter, dazzling colours of the saris and hundreds – HUNDREDS - of voices.
The Natural History Museum Eliza Lewis
Fourth FormForm
I am at present trying to capture the varying sights and sounds I experienced, from the base of the Himalayas to the calm backwaters of Kerala and the teaming cities of Varanasi, Delhi and Mumbai, continuing to bring my love of the natural world and how it contrasts and blends with the man-made. Leaving behind the pleasant muted greens of a London park, I am now focusing on the acidity and strength of a palette of such contrasts. Palm trees and banana plants tower over and cascade like waterfalls. The tumbling of all the fauna against the verticals of shack rooftops and telephone wires provides a challenging break from my London canvasses. I have always been interested in interior/exterior places and parts of India really feel like a green house waiting to explode. I found it very refreshing to be more direct and responsive to the ever changing environment and I am using countless sketches and photos to build up a kaleidoscope of imagery to project the theatre of life that is India. Trying to keep up this momentum in my studio, I am moving from painting to painting, building them up in layers, but still trying to keep clarity within the mark making. It was endlessly intriguing to see how space was assembled and occupied: a few slices of timber, piles of stone and you have a house. These small spaces, however cramped and crowded, were visually amazing - it made me more aware of how important space is in my own work. I am endeavouring to capture the smaller details of Indian daily life rather than the undeniable impressive temples and cities – present or ruined.
The Suttonian
Faber Swaine Fourth Form
W
ater water everywhere but not a drop to drink… Fourth Form artists took a trip up to the famous Natural History Museum. We spent the day photographing and drawing things we found that were connected with our coursework themes of “Water” and “Little and Large”. We sketched whales, sea horses, jellyfish, squid and crocodiles, to name a few. Some of the exhibits were painted, others stuffed, some framed and some modelled. I especially enjoyed drawing from the 3D exhibits such as the giant blue whale. It was a very interesting day out and incredibly useful for the development of our art work.
Eliza Lewis Fourth Form Page 45
Abbie Butfoy Fifth Form
Nick Wright Upper Sixth
Ryan Cen Upper Sixth
Nick Wright Upper Sixth
Freddie Nelson Lower Sixth Page 46
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Ryan Cen Upper Sixth
Flo Grief Upper Sixth
“Creativity has become a passion and necessity, because the truth is that I can’t imagine life without art.” Lucy Roud Upper Sixth
Ciara Reddy Upper Sixth The Suttonian
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Lucy Roud Upper Sixth
Qingyu Zhang Lower Sixth
Candela Segura Upper Sixth Page 48
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Dungeness Jordan Davis Lower Sixth
I’M SURE THIS MAGAZINE IS FILLED WITH TRIPS TO ALL SORTS OF INTERESTING AND UNUSUAL PLACES. But I
didn’t go on any of these.
I
went to Dungeness, which by comparison, is a bit rubbish. But rubbish in a good way, especially if you do photography. In fact it’s full of rubbish, from the litter partially buried under stones, to the disused nuclear power station and the rotten old fishing boats. This made it the ‘perfect location’ to go on a photography trip as it meant that there were some ‘very interesting photographical opportunities’. Hmm. This included the rusty, disused railway line, the various rotten old sheds and the lighthouses, and the harsh landscape itself. Someone has also established a small art gallery in their own shed which has some surreal features such as all of the paintbrushes that they used to make the art, which have been painted themselves and then stuck into the ground outside. An Airstream caravan also lays forlornly at the side of the road nearby, weathered and decayed by decades of disuse. This is all then sharply juxtaposed with the gargantuan nuclear power station (which scared me half to death when I first clapped eyes on it) and the couple of newly constructed homes which stick out of the shingle on the beach. So there you have it, rubbish can be interesting. Sort of. Don Clarke
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Qingyu Zhang Lower Sixth Page 49
MEDIA Saskia Roestenburg Lower Sixth
M
EDIA STUDIES IS A HUGELY CREATIVE SUBJECT WHICH ALLOWS AND ENCOURAGES YOUR IMAGINATION TO FLOW IN ANY DIRECTION YOU WISH.
As Mrs Ball tells us, there are minimal restrictions within the coursework aspect of the subject. This was evident in the AS work this year which ranged from documentaries to an electronically drawn storyboard which replicated the visual accuracy of cartoon and animation posters sold today. However I think some pupils took Mrs Ball’s directive to write with an open mind slightly too literally when Graham Falconer’s “Fifty Shades of Graham” appeared on her desk! Despite this the diversity of the artefacts produced by all pupils (especially Graham’s rewritten coursework, which in the end was fantastic) were all of an extraordinary standard with many hitting the top grade criteria. In order to keep each coursework piece as authentic as possible we compared our work at every step of its creation to pre-existing artefacts. Along with this we also used the professional Adobe Photoshop programme which was completely new and daunting to many of us. However, after many lessons with Mrs Ball and the help of Lucas Williams (genius) we all got to grips with it, even Evie and I who struggle at times to find the computer’s “on” button. It was with this huge perseverance that everyone was able to submit a piece of work of which they should be immensely proud.
James Turner Lower Sixth
Tim Cain Upper Sixth
Graham Falconer Lower Sixth
Sam Noss Upper Sixth Page 50
Tom Percival Lower Sixth The Suttonian
Tori Morris Upper Sixth
Luca Chiappini Upper Sixth
Henry Bonny Lower Sixth
Maya Summers Upper Sixth
Tom Percival Lower Sixth
Tom Lennard Lower Sixth
Nick Wright Upper Sixth The Suttonian
Emily Mason Upper Sixth
Jordan Davis Lower Sixth Page 51
Iceland
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Cam Grabowski Upper Sixth Form
A
t the unearthly hour of 7.00am on Saturday 18th October 2014, thirty-two A Level Geography students arrived in the quad, alongside Mr. Westlake, Mr. Vanvuuren, Miss Halleron and, at the helm, Miss Moore.
An hour’s coach journey to Gatwick airport, followed by a three hour flight to Keflavik and a short coach journey brought us to Iceland’s most popular tourist attraction: the Blue Lagoon. The Lagoon has an average temperature of thirty to forty degrees centigrade and is rich in natural minerals such as silica and blue green algae. As geographers, naturally, the rock composition was all that was on our minds. Once inside the changing rooms, we attempted to place our belongings in the lockers provided; this would prove harder than anticipated as the Icelandics had in fact fitted the most complicated locking system in the world, involving electronic locking screens and wristbands that locked any locker in the vicinity but your own. However, a long time later, we finally made our way into the lagoon. It is famous for the cleansing effect it has on the skin of those who test the warm waters and people are drawn from all over the world to feel the effects of the natural springs, with the exception of Alex Kidd, who maintains his skin was actually made worse. After eventually unlocking the lockers, we boarded the coach and made our way into Reykjavik to the Hotel Hafnarfjordur, where we would be staying that night.
Photographs Naomi Moore
On our first morning in Iceland we woke to cloudy skies and cold temperatures, but having lived in England for our whole lives no one was too concerned. The coach collected us at 9:am from the hotel and we made our way to the glacier tongue of Solheimajokull, witnessing some beautiful Icelandic scenery as we drove. We arrived at the base of Solheimajokull, where we were due to meet our guides for the morning, and were each issued with helmets, crampons and ice axes. Once we had hiked up to the glacier itself we watched a demonstration on how to attach the crampons and carry the ice axes safely. On the glacier, we saw the impacts of glaciation and geographical formations, including huge crevasses and ridges. One of our guides was asked what it would be like to fall down one of these crevasses and his reply was to “imagine falling to the ground from the spire atop a cathedral into an ice bath with two broken legs and the lights switched off,” which, as you can imagine, made us feel safer than ever. Later in the day, we made our way to the volcanic beaches near the small coastal town of Vik. We walked along the black sands battling against strong winds and visited the sea stacks, which looked remarkably like the Giant’s Causeway. Over the next two days, we visited Skogafoss, Seljalandsfoss and Gullfoss, three of the most impressive waterfalls in Iceland. On arriving at Gulfoss we walked up to the viewing platform only to find that the path was in fact an ice-covered mud slide and the platform itself was simply an outcrop of rock, which was also covered in a layer of ice.
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However, the views from the platform were truly mesmerising and were well worth our efforts at getting up there. We then visited a horse farm for a one hour trek on the famous Icelandic horse, which proved to be rather eventful. Despite the skin-numbing temperatures, gale-force winds, and being something many of us had never tried before, most found it a pleasant surprise. In true English-people-abroad style, regardless of the fact we had all been given their Icelandic names, most of us decided to rename our horses with names we could actually pronounce. On the penultimate night of the trip, a group of the more optimistic and trusting of us decided to go on a hunt for the evasive Northern Lights, with Miss Moore leading the expedition. Needless to say, our hour-long hunt ended up taking us down to the harbour and seeing little more than a vague white line in the sky, though Miss Moore still insists, “from a geographical point of view” it was not a waste of time. Amongst the last places we visited on our trip were the geyser and the national park. The geyser is one of the three natural wonders on the Golden Circle route and shoots hot water 30m into the air every few minutes. And if you stand too close to the geyser when it erupts, the result is a lot of screaming and getting drenched, as Emma Baxter will happily tell you. We also visited an earthquake simulator machine, which was…interesting. Having screamed very loudly for the duration of the simulation, stepping out into a crowd of children from another school was a pretty embarrassing way of discovering the room was far from soundproof. The national park was a fascinating place to visit as it was the first time any of us had stood with each foot on different continental plates, one on the North American plate and another on the Eurasian plate. In the National Park we were shown some of the shooting locations for Game of Thrones by our guide Helgi, who also had a strange fixation on trolls. The paths around the national park were particularly thick with snow, which led to a classic boys versus girls snowball fight, some taking it far more seriously than others (mentioning no names Tim Cain). We spent our last morning in Iceland in the capital, Reykjavik, visiting the shops and trying to keep out of the rain. After a few hours in the capital, we set off for Keflavik airport, in order to catch our flight home. Our five days in Iceland had gone far too fast and it was hard to believe we were already headed back to England. I think all of us took home an endless number of great memories from one of the most remarkable countries I have ever had the pleasure of visiting. On behalf of all of the students who were fortunate enough to go on the trip, I would like to thank Mr van Vuuren, Mr Westlake, Miss Halleron and especially Miss Moore for all the time and effort they put into making it such a successful and enjoyable trip.
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A2 Residential Field Trip to the
Afon Brefi Valley Andrew Bee
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emote from modern technology and far from a mobile phone reception no fewer than 35 Geographers spent 48 hours getting cosy with nature. For the boys and myself it was camping on the floodplain of the River Teifi whilst the girls, Miss Moore and the admirable Mr Sansom spent their nights in a Youth Hostel high upon the Cambrian plateau.
“I’m just off to pay the farmer” Mr Bee
This trip was an investigation into whether a small stream (the Afon Brefi) conformed to all of the laws of Bradshaw’s Model. Undertaking forensic data collection, this large crew of trained geomorphologists measured the Brefi’s channel variables as though stumbling across a crime scene. Discharge, width, depth, channel roughness, velocity, hydraulic radius and gradient all conformed to expectations, yet bed load size threw a distinct spanner in the works. Why should it be that there was no distinct change in bed load size from sites 2 to 10? As every GCSE geographer will tell you, the expectations were for attrition and corrosion to decrease the bed load size yet there was no significant change. Thankfully I was on hand to inform the students of considerable solifluction that had transformed the West to East running valley into a curious asymmetric pattern. The ubac slope was damper, cooler, prone to more saturated regolith and this would have caused the flow of soil and bedrock fragments to flow haphazardly into the channel, especially where the outside bends of the meanders eroded into the solifluction deposits. Of course it is not just work, work, work. The students had to make their own barbecues in the evening and cook fresh meat from the local butcher. Jack Bonner stole himself some quiet moments around dawn to catch and eat a couple of handsome sized wild brown trout. Amber Delaney appeared to enjoy getting stuck into the fresh deposits around the camp site and George Birrell executed great maturity around the camp fires. Being the only member of staff on a field with 28 teenage boys for three nights might seem like purgatory, yet sometimes one simply needs to go with the flow.
“My favourite moment of the trip: Mr Bee accidentally driving the minibus over a chicken but leaving it alive. Mr Sansom attempting to run over it to put it out of its misery. Failing again. Miss Moore not managing to stomach running over it a third time so sending Abdullah to kill it. Before he arrived, it was already in chicken heaven.” Page 54
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Fifth Form Geography Field Day Will Edwards Fifth Form
ONE VERY SPECIAL DAY IN SEPTEMBER SAW A GROUP OF TALENTED GCSE GEOGRAPHERS TAKE TO THE NORTH KENT COAST TO GATHER MATERIAL FOR THEIR CONTROLLED ASSESSMENT.
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t was an occasion one could only describe as inspiring. The students investigated various hypotheses relating to sea defences of Beltinge, exciting stuff!
The English weather showed respect to the geographers giving us a brilliant blue sky day with plenty of sunshine and no showers. However, to the disapproval of Adedotun Owolabi, “the weather was good, but not quite African”. Ade’s disappointment did not end there. Upon the realisation that he was collecting wave height data and would therefore be stepping into the North Sea, his face took on an expression of utmost horror and close refusal. Both he and the metre ruler took the plunge when he was instructed to “get in or get an E.” The investigation required countless methods to be tested in just one day, from interviewing members of the public, to measuring the angle of the beach berms creating by last Christmas’s fierce storms. Quadrats, gradometers, clinometers…all were used for the first time, giving students a crash course in field equipment use and there was some extremely hectic ruler usage involved. Eline and Sangharsha tackled the cliff drainage pipes whilst Hugo and I measured vegetation cover. Nick roamed the streets of Beltinge in order to scan the properties for sale and establish whether the threat of sea level rise has caused a dip in the market. Meanwhile Matt and James became our resident ornithologists; armed with binoculars and a bird identification guide there was no stopping them. Ella and Zoya diligently collected data set after data set providing a brilliant set of secondary results which later proved invaluable. The day saw plenty of geography, providing crucial data for our GCSE and the geographers all have high hopes since the adventures of Beltinge. (Ade is still recovering).
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ISLE OF WIGHT
BIOLOGY TRIP Zoe Radford
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he A Level Biologists set off for a fourday field course on the beautiful Isle of Wight at the end of the Summer Term.
Throughout the week they used a variety of hands-on biological sampling techniques and statistical analysis to investigate the diverse range of ecosystems and interesting species which inhabit there. This provided them with a good insight into studying biology outside of the laboratory, in-situ and allowed them to develop the techniques that they will learn about in the coming academic year in their Ecology module.
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GOLD DUKE OF EDINBURGH
EXPEDITION
Jessica Bennett Lower Sixth
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hirty-one pupils and four teachers set off from Sutton Valence for a six-hour mini bus ride to the Lake District in order to complete the Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award. We were welcomed to the campsite and our first night of dry camping. We hit the fish and chip shops of Keswick and eventually managed to get enough food for everyone. Then followed a day of kit checking and organising our equipment before starting our expedition on the 21st July. That evening we went out for dinner at Great Langdale, where we also celebrated Guy and Patrick’s birthday. Unfortunately the good weather didn’t last long as it started raining as soon as we got off the bus to begin our expedition. Ollie and Greg led the way as we carried our 15kg rucksacks in the torrential rain with cold wet feet. It was good to get the tents up, but not so good putting on cold damp clothes in the morning. The weather gradually brightened up which allowed us to enjoy the fantastic scenery as we headed up Scarfell Pike on the third day. The toughest part was having to scramble up loose rock in order to reach the summit, but the effort was well worth it when we were rewarded with stunning views across the Lake District. After a challenging four days and three nights we were rewarded with a sense of great satisfaction from having completed the expedition. We had helped each other through the ups and the downs and we all finished as a team. That evening we enjoyed a pizza and spent a final night at Dalebottom before heading back to Kent.
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A walk on the wild side Fiona Porter & Christine Carter
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s the coach purred along the road towards Smarden, the Lower Sixth were in a sunny mood as they began their last week of Summer Term with a visit to the Wildlife Heritage Foundation Big Cat Sanctuary at Smarden. They were very privileged to be given a private tour which showcased the conservation work that takes place there and got within a whisker of the most amazing big cats - white lions, tigers, cheetahs and leopards. They saw keepers hand feeding cheetahs and a huge male lion who enjoyed a tummy rub! A “posh picnic” was enjoyed in the grounds and before we left a cheque was presented to the Foundation for the money which the pupils raised from the Sixth Form Charity Ball. On Tuesday and Thursday it was down to business and the task of registering pupils for UCAS began. Pupils were taken through the complex application process by Mrs Porter and Mrs Carter, ably assisted by other members of staff. Pupils also had talks in the Theatre on Taking a Gap Year, Writing CVs, Interview Skills and Flat Sharing – all valuable insights and information for what is to come when they leave School next year. Pupils were able to have one-to-one guidance from staff regarding their university choices and writing their personal statement. The University of Sussex was our destination on Wednesday and despite Operation Stack and other traffic problems, we managed to arrive dead on time for the excellent programme arranged just for us. Pupils were encouraged to feel like university students for the day and were met by student ambassadors and led to a lecture theatre to be given an introduction to student life. This was followed by a campus tour, lunch at the student café and more very informative lectures on vital topics such as how to choose a university, student finance, the application process and writing personal statements. This was a very busy but highly productive week which provided a balance between having some end of term fun and getting the UCAS applications well under way. Page 57
SPANISH Exchange Posters by Candela Segura Upper Sixth
Eliza Lewis Fourth Form
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EN SUTTON VALENCE STUDENTS FLEW OFF TO JEREZ ON THE 7TH OF APRIL TO REUNITE WITH OUR EXCHANGE PUPILS, AS THEY HAD ALREADY HAD THE DELIGHT OF VISITING ENGLAND.
We were staying in a lovely little town called El Puerto De Santa Maria, which is on the south coast of Spain. Days were spent visiting monumental cities, like Seville and Cadiz; and trying lots of new foods, like churros, which turned out to be the favourite, and seafood. Señor Fuentes had organized for us to visit a watchtower, which enabled us to see a camera obscura of the whole of Cadiz, which was truly breathtaking. We were also able to enter a bull ring, at our own risk, which Señor Fuentes had never even been able to do. Another highlight was being able to take a bike ride along the beach in the sun; this made us feel very native to the area. The Spanish students and teachers were so kind and considerate and I, along with everyone else on the exchange, will definitely be taking a visit back to the beautiful town and to see our amazing Spanish friends. I highly recommend this exchange as it helps you make new and meaningful friendships and to experience a whole other lifestyle.
Tom Brunt Lower Sixth FIVE CHILEAN EXCHANGE STUDENTS ARRIVED IN FEBRUARY FROM ‘THE GRANGE’, AN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL LOCATED IN SANTIAGO, THE CAPITAL CITY OF CHILE.
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he students settled into their new homes for the following three weeks with remarkable ease, demonstrating impressive use of the English language. The students joined our Lower Sixth pupils to study their chosen subjects. At the weekends the host families, the parents of the Brunts, Ellys Perry and Max Pelvang, set up some day trips for the pupils, including going to sporting events and visiting iconic British landmarks. After their three weeks of studying at Sutton Valence the pupils went to London for a further week, before flying back to enjoy the rest of their Summer holiday. We really enjoyed having them and would like to give a huge vote of thanks to all the staff involved in setting it up, particularly Mr. Fuentes and Mrs. Hall. We are greatly looking forward to our return trip to Chile during the October Half Term.
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French Exchange Sophie Watson Fourth Form
DURING THE FIRST WEEK OF THE EASTER HOLIDAY TEN FOURTH FORMERS AND THREE SIXTH FORMERS TOOK PART IN THE FRENCH EXCHANGE TO A SMALL TOWN ABOUT 40 MINUTES FROM PARIS CALLED SENLIS.
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e travelled to Paris by Eurostar and arrived in Senlis on Thursday 26th March in the afternoon. We were all very nervous while we waited for our exchange partners to finish their lessons but everyone was very warm and welcoming. We didn’t have to wait long to meet our families and we had to say good bye to each other and go home for the evening with our exchange partners. The first night was pretty scary and having to speak French was a challenge but we all survived and were happy to meet up again the following morning. We spent the next day at the school, Collège Anne-Marie Javouhey. During the day our French skills were put to the test. In the centre of Senlis there was a market and our families had created a shopping list of items we needed to buy for the evening’s dinner. We had to ask for them all in French as no one at the market spoke English. We all agreed that this was a hard challenge, but we all improved our food vocabulary tremendously. After our hard work we were rewarded with a pancake in the centre of the town. In the afternoon some of us went to English lessons where we gave a presentation about SVS. At the weekend we spent time with our families and grew to know them better. Some families took us bowling and some went to Paris. Some of us were even taken to Euro Disney. My family in particular took me to their holiday home in Sens. Julia, my exchange student, is into horses and rides every weekend. I went to her riding stables and was lucky enough to prep and ride one of the horses. On Monday we visited Paris and started the day by climbing to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. We then walked all the way down the Champs Elysées to the Place de la Concorde, managing some shopping on the way! We then took the metro to Montmartre where some of us had our portraits painted and we visited the Sacré Coeur. The day was enjoyed by all despite the awful weather. On Tuesday, everyone spent the morning at the school and we realised how lucky we are with the food at SVS. The lunch was not exactly gourmet French cuisine! Later in the afternoon we did a quiz about the town but it poured with rain and somehow we all seemed to end up in McDonalds, don’t ask! We did all have to order in French and enjoyed ‘Le big mac et frites’. On Wednesday, we visited the nearby Chateau de Chantilly. The castle was incredible. We had a guide who spoke in English about the history of the castle itself. Later on we visited the Musée du Cheval which is a living horse museum. This is also in Chantilly and is dedicated to equine art and culture. In the stables there were many horses including a very delightful donkey. On Thursday morning we were in school again and our hosts had designed a game where we had to guess what the riddles in the hobbit meant in English. We were spilt into groups with three French students and one English student. Let’s just conclude that this was very confusing and half the time no-one knew what was happening. We left Senlis just before lunchtime and we were all sad to go because we had all had such a lovely experience. However, we are looking forward to welcoming them to England in June! Everyone had an extraordinary time, and a big thank must go to Mrs De Castro for making this experience possible and to Miss Halleron and Mrs Callaway.
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All Spanish students in the First and Second Form spent the first part of Languages Day exploring the Spanish cultural Icon that is “The Osborne Bull”. They put their artistic juices to use by creating their own interpretation of this internationally known design. The chosen technique was collage which produced a wide range of fun and brilliantly inspired designs. In the afternoon we headed to Warmlake Dancing Academy for a Latin American ballroom workshop. Some of our First and Second Formers changed into suitably sparkly outfits and everyone had a ball learning the basic Salsa steps. The team at WDA was fantastic and commented on how much “raw talent” came down to visit them from Sutton Valence. Overall, it was a day to remember and the Hispanic theme resonated throughout. !Viva la vida! Luis Fuentes
Languages Enrichment Day Sophie de Castro
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s part of the Languages Enrichment day the First and Second Form French groups went to Café Rouge in Maidstone where they learned how to make their own croque monsieur in the traditional French way. Everyone prepared a croque monsieur, waited for it to cook under the grill and then thoroughly enjoyed eating it! The pupils were taught the French for all the ingredients and were given a worksheet with vocabulary activities to complete and lots of stickers. We were all sent home with a goodie bag of Café Rouge treats. It was an enjoyable trip and the food was delicious. For the second part of the day the pupils worked on producing a French magazine all about the First World War in France. Each group worked on a different aspect of the War and the magazine they produced was very impressive and covers a range of topics from First World War propaganda to wartime fashion and food.
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Junior French Trip
Lara Savage, Tarik Abed and Tom Gray Second Form Day 1
Our journey started off at Ashford International, where it took a very grand 45 minutes for everyone to arrive. We then boarded the train and began our twohour journey, which was full of intellectual conversation and no sweets at all (at least that’s what the teachers thought!) When we arrived, we rushed down to ‘Le Metro’ and began the route to our luxury hotel. There was a quick turn around and we headed out again for our first adventure into… Paris! We arrived at Les Bateaux Mouches to set sail down the river Seine. We saw our first glimpse of the famous landmarks of Paris whilst being showered in French rain. The Eiffel Tower truly is a magnificent monument and it is only until you are up close that you get the idea of its sheer scale and size.
Day 2
We woke up early and headed for a gourmet French breakfast before rushing out for another day of sight-seeing. We all got into the feel of France, dancing to an accordion player on Pont de Arts as we headed to the Latin Quarter. We spent mid-day down the Champs Élysées, enjoying French cuisine, visiting the Disney shop and playing on Paris’s finest attraction… The Citröen shop slide!
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We visited the Arc de Triomphe and Notre Dame before heading to the Sacré-Cœur. We then wandered through the Montmartre village and had caricatures drawn before attempting a bit of French modelling. As we were in France we had a two-three hour French lesson to show-off our perfect pronunciation!
Day 3
On the last day we packed our bags and headed for our last trip around Paris. We saw the Mona Lisa, which was surprisingly small, and then headed to Tour Montparnasse which is the highest point in Paris for a last gaze at the City. The day ended with a light shopping trip and chocolate waffles. The trip home was a depressing thought and with great remorse we boarded the Eurostar home. We were greeted by our families at the train station and waved ‘au revoir’ to our Parisian experience. We had a fantastic time, and our thanks go to Madame Heurtevent and Mr Cottrell for their help and organisation on such a memorable trip. Page 61
First Form
Junior Leadership Naomi Moore
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ivalries were soon created, and allegiances swiftly formed when the entire First Form were divided into their leadership groups of Mandela, King, Churchill and Grylls. Competition was fierce between the groups in the first few weeks as tents were silently put up, compass directions were mastered, and six figure grid references were tackled. The first foray out into the wild Kentish countryside saw some interesting navigational decisions and, as a Geographer, I did begin to despair slightly. However, kilometre by kilometre, the pupils’ confidence grew, as did my hope in the future Geography students of SVS. Once they had conquered the language of cartographics, we set about learning the history and application of codes, such as Morse code, semaphore and substitution code. This culminated in an exciting coded treasure hunt around School; one of my favourite moments has to be Archie Yorke and James Yeabsley standing on one side of Prefect’s Lawn, frantically spelling out in semaphore ‘Let it go’ from Disney’s Frozen, whilst being engulfed in a swirling blizzard themselves. This, evidently, is the hardy spirit which epitomises Junior Leadership. This same backbone was seen in the final week of the Summer Term as pupils braved equally demanding climatic conditions, however this time it was sun and not snow. Led by the formidable Miss Gray, the pupils trekked through the countryside in their tribes, completing various challenges before arriving safely back at BM base camp just in time to cook supper on their trangias. Although they had previously constructed a perfect tripod shelter out of branches, a canvas roof was preferred on this occasion, and I am told that all involved had a peaceful night. This year has seen a year of pupils stepping out of their comfort zones and taking on new challenges, both mental and physical.
BEAR GRYLLS, STEP ASIDE.
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Second Form
Junior Leadership Naomi Moore
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ne of the fundamental aims of the Junior Leadership course is to enable pupils to turn their focus away from the School bubble and out towards the wider communityand they did in style starting with the transformation of the SVPS Millennium Garden. Although they were plagued by wasps and a forest of brambles, nothing would deter them from their task, not even the fact that the gloves that I had given them were in fact for age 3-6 years old. This green fingered streak continued and later in the year they continued the excellent work started by the First Form. At the stroke of 4 o’clock, a small army could regularly be seen heading over to the local church with an arsenal of rakes, hoes, secateurs, and the aforementioned gloves. They rose to the challenge of clearing the graveyard and before long a number of graves were uncovered from the depths of undergrowth, graves which even the church wardens were unaware of. It is our intention next year to make Christmas wreaths for each of these graves. However the real highlight of the year was the event ‘From Italy with love’, a pub quiz and Italian meal which rose £1,224 for the charity Teens Unite Fighting Cancer. I have never been prouder of the Second Form than that night; seeing the fruit of their labour was truly moving. The Swaine brothers were exceptional and provided an excellent atmosphere to sell the Italian products. The final week of the Junior Leadership course saw the Second Form set off to the Rempstone Bush Craft camp in Dorset which really was the perfect end to the year. Whether it was Jack Lewis catching three mackerel in swift succession, Estelle McInerney’s onesie and snowman slippers, or Ben Kyd jumping off the highest rock into the open sea, every moment was filled with laughter.
I sincerely hope that the Junior Leadership cohort of 2015 will carry these lessons forward, remembering that the best leaders do not drag from the front, but walk alongside those at the back. The Suttonian
Third Form Portfolio Tiggy Teare Third Form
Photography is the one thing that I love to do the most, so I took the opportunity to explore the subject in a bit more depth for my Third Form Portfolio. The making of this portfolio encouraged me to research my favourite photographers, visit exhibitions and try new techniques. I am also hoping to do photography for A-level, so I wanted to develop my skills and gain more knowledge on the subject. Consequently making the portfolio was something I really enjoyed doing over the holidays. I decided I would include chapters that explored different aspects of photography, as well as my own pictures. I wanted to explain how I first became interested in photography and to write about my favourite photographers and the camera I was using. I visited London on several occasions to go to various photography exhibitions, which I also talked about in my portfolio. I was really pleased with my finished portfolio. I put a lot of work into it, and it paid off. I received a Headmaster’s copy prize. I hope I have given people a deeper insight into photography and inspired people to try it.
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RESULTS OF THE SENIOR MATHS CHALLENGE NOVEMBER 2014
RESULTS OF THE INTERMEDIATE MATHS CHALLENGE FEBRUARY 2015
Gold and Best in School Yi Zhang
Best in School and Gold Jessica Grindlay Gold Adam Carroll
Gold Emil Evans Lian Hongjia Silver Michael Adebiyi Charles Gellett Yiu Hong Wong Xi Chen Lina-Marie Zeigler Bronze Zhuoran Cen Mia van Diepen Franca Ennerst Yujing Liu Joshua Brown Sushantraj Gurung Qingyu Zhang Emily Vernon Katie McKeating
RESULTS OF THE JUNIOR UK MATHS CHALLENGE APRIL 2015 Best in School and Gold Finn Swaine Silver Jack Lewis Matthew Teare Noah Swaine Elizabeth Drummond Oliver Laird Toby Dickinson Joseph McDermott Tarik Abed Amelia Kirk-Brown Annabel Mansfield
Silver Charles Court James Collins Charlie Pratten Sabin Gurung Alex McDermott Thomas Aiken Archie Averill Francis Romano Thomas Saltmarsh Bronze Kevin Ho George Boret Joshua Aucamp Grace Mortley George Deptford Tom Lazarides Emelia Browning Alex Schuller William Edwards Shizhao Zhou Annabel Blake Sam Grindlay Ben Stuart Nina Harman Oliver Smither Jamie Oliver Michael Law Emily Smith Lola Owolabi William Dransfield Jack Hayes Eleanor Agu Benson
Bronze Louis Ridge Katie Lang Max Savage Sebastian Lijesen Daisy Fenton Lara Savage William Catling Awishma Gurung Jack Stanton Gleaves Libby Cavell Marianna Mason Josh Houry Alex Duckett
Boisches. YOUNG ENTERPRISE AT SUTTON VALENCE SCHOOL
Daniel Harebottle Lower Sixth
Managing Director
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oung Enterprise is the United Kingdom’s largest business and enterprise education charity. Sutton Valence School has been taking part in Young Enterprise for many years now, and this year, we decided to make it a success.
At the start of the year, we had to come up with a company name and product, or products. We came up with the name ‘Boisches.’. We then gathered ideas and thoughts about a product, coming to a final decision to make Boisches. Sweets. We were all very passionate about the idea and were keen to get started. After these two decisions were collectively made, we had to assign roles to people in the company. There were many roles including managers of finance, production, sales and more, which were all delegated to different members. Once roles were decided we started the production and marketing process. We started designing and producing early in the year and managed to sell our sweets from mid-September to December, and made multiple attempts to sell as much as possible. Five of us from the company went to Chatham Dockside in an attempt to sell our Boisches. Sweets, however it didn’t go too well as the majority of the people were not in our target audience range. We also tried to sell at our local farm shop and post office, but neither of these was a success. We concluded that our prices were too high and our profit margins were actually too low, due to high production costs. When we came back in December, we embraced our faults and used them as a learning experience, to create a new and improved Boisches. product. One which we knew was high in demand and would bring in some revenue. We only had a little time left to make a profit. So we all decided to put in the effort and do it properly until the end. We came up with the idea of Boisches. Bracelets. These were high-end bracelets, made from black and grey Swarovski beads, gold plated beads and silver plated charms. Within a week we had made our first bracelet and we continued to make them for two more weeks. We then sold our bracelets from mid-January till March making about 35 sales, which might not sound like a lot but it was a big achievement and brought in more money and profit than we ever made from the sweets.
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Alongside our two main products we also ran a Boisches Tuck Shop in both boys’ boarding houses, which brought in a relatively constant supply of money from September to December, but the revenue from this wasn’t very high. We also ran a School football tournament at lunchtime. This was very successful.
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All in all Boisches and Young Enterprise was a brilliant learning experience for all of us and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. We will take our newfound business sense with us for the rest of our lives.
Edward Cardoza Fifth Form Page 64
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3D CAD/CAM and 3D Printing @SVS Katie Latter
Lower Sixth
What is CAD/CAM? 3D CAD (Computer Aided Design) and CAM (Computer Aided Manufacture) are becoming increasingly important in Design and Technology. 3D CAD is a way of designing a product in three dimensions on computer software; the designs can be rendered, tested and altered to produce a perfect digital model of the product. 3D CAM is a way of creating a prototype (or finished product) of the digital model created. There are many different CAM processes including laser cutting, CNC routing, CNC milling and 3D Printing. How does 3D printing work? 3D Printing is the latest development in rapid prototyping. 3D printing is a process of making three-dimensional solid objects from a digital file. A 3D printer works similarly to a conventional printer. It works by taking a digital 3D image and building a plastic model of the image along an X, Y and Z-axis by dropping small amounts of molten plastic that is fed through a heated nozzle onto a bed and cooled immediately to make a solid, this process continues and the model will build upwards. CAD@SVS At Sutton Valence, our DT department teaches the use of 3D CAD designing from First Form upwards; the students design many different products from UFOs in the Juniors to detailed scooters in the Seniors, this provides all the students with a very good understanding of how to use CAD. 3Dprinting@SVS This year the department bought our own 3D printer; a Makerbot Replicator. This will allow all the students to experiment with 3D rapid prototyping to create a range of different products for many different purposes, such as small components for projects or moulds for designs. The new 3D printer opens a range of opportunities. Personal Experience My own personal experience with 3D printers started during the manufacture of my AS project – a golf grip for arthritis suffers. I needed to create a mould in order to pour in silicone to create the grip, however I did not know the best way to do this. I had designed the grip on 3D CAD and so I thought why not 3D print the CAD and then create a mould from it, so that’s what I did. I contacted an external company, sent through my digital model and they 3D printed it for me. I successfully used the 3D print to create a mould and ultimately my grip. I was so fascinated by 3D printing that I purchased a 3D printer for myself. Since then I have been designing and printing a range of different products, from phone cases to working whistles to prototypes of products I wish to make. 3D printing has opened up a world of designing that seems almost limitless.
THE FUTURE OF
DESIGN IS IN OUR
Katie Latter, Lower Sixth
DT DEPARTMENT TODAY The Suttonian
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The CCF
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Contingent Commander’s Report Lt Col A. Wilkinson
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s I write this report looking out on Centuary Range at Bisley, I realise what an honour it is to be the Contingent Commander of Sutton Valence CCF. To receive the superb support of the Governors, the Headmaster and parents - I am looking forward to their delicious afternoon tea tomorrow - allows the CCF to go from strength to strength. My grateful thanks go to my dedicated team of Officers, talented NCOs and enthusiastic cadets who all give willingly of their time not only during the term but also during the holidays. This level of expertise, leadership and commitment impressed Captain Welbourne during our biennial inspection. In fact the 17th October 2014 was also the Celebration of our Centenary, a day I will remember for a very long time: a wonderful Chapel Service arranged by Mr Gwyn Davies, the Address given by Rev Mandy Reynolds, Armed Forces Chaplain, the amazing Anthem Zadok the Priest sung by the Chapel Choir and the congregation singing Eternal Father strong to save (Tri-Service Version) brought tears to my eyes. Following on from this the quad was the site of an impressive display by 36 Engineer Regt and the Ceremonial Weapons Drill by CCF cadets from all three Services with a perfectly timed flypast by Melissa Saggers, OS. An address given by Captain Welbourne, a whole CCF photograph and the afternoon drew to a close. Time for a quick change before the spectacular ‘Beat the Retreat’ on Prefects Lawn, a moving rendition by a lone piper on Westminster balcony as the light began to fade. A delicious dinner provided by John Devine, a time to catch up with our honoured guests, Officers and Cadets from the past and friends before the day drew to a close. The reports that follow show the wide range of opportunities offered to cadets in all three Sections. These opportunities allow the cadets to gain in self-confidence, develop teamwork and leadership skills and to serve the wider community. I hope the RAF cadets enjoy America and Guy Thomas (Staff Cadet) and Tom Millington enjoy their six weeks in Canada. I thank Gregor Roberts (Head of Corps) and his senior NCOs for making this a year to remember.
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Centenary Celebration Bethany Webb Upper Sixth
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e were told ahead of our biennial inspection that “this will be a special one”. Why? It just so happened to fall on the same day as the 100th anniversary of Sutton Valence’s Combined Cadet Force. Yes that is 1-0-0 years, as staggering and unbelievable as it may seem. First formed in 1914, we celebrated the formation of our CCF on 17th of October 2014, particularly special as it was twinned with the CCF’s important Biennial Inspection. Inspecting Officer Commander Turnbull RN observed and evaluated SVS’ proud CCF, followed by an impressive showcase of ceremonial drill performed by an Honour Guard comprising of cadets from each section and a range of year groups. Some would say this was the highlight of the day as we can prove that Sutton Valence’s Cadet Force has undoubtedly sustained its discipline and class. We were also proud to invite the Band of the Royal Engineers to perform alongside our cadets, who later reprised their performance at a poignant Beating the Retreat on Prefect’s Lawn at sundown. Following this, a black tie dinner was held in the Refectory, bringing together past and present members of the CCF alike to celebrate our tremendous accomplishment. Not many students can say they have participated in an achievement like this, so everybody involved should feel special and rather proud that our tradition has been kept alive for 100 years. Here’s to another 100!
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The Welbeck Challenge Charles Sparrow Fourth Form
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he CCF selected eight cadets from the Fourth Form to participate in the Welbeck Defence College Leadership Challenge. There would be 15 other CCF and ACF teams at the competition and we would be battling against them, this would be the first time the school have ever sent a team to this competition. On Friday 20th March we departed at 16:30 hours for the four-hour drive to Welbeck. Fortunately we had a break for a burger and chips. Our team consisted of: Charles Sparrow (Captain), Edward Mazumdar (second-in-command), Theo Bogucki, Lawrence Eastman, Tim Anthony, Will Dransfield, Tom Costin and Alex McDermott. Once we had arrived at the College we unloaded our mini-bus and were guided to our campsite by one of the students, where we put up our eight man tent; this was a long and testing task as we arrived in the dark. Our first night’s sleep in the tent was not the most comfortable as it was freezing cold, even Major Prem found it cold. The next morning we woke with high spirits, had breakfast and were looking forward to our first look at the other competitors. Our first challenge was simple: to build a rocket car. We met the team from Bloodhound; they are trying to design a car go over 1000 mph! We were all amazed by this. We were split into two teams. My group produced a great, original and innovative design, while the other group’s was a more traditional design. However when it came to the actual contest my group’s car went the third furthest. Unfortunately the other group’s design exploded during the test and all the other teams laughed. It was not the only one to do this. The next challenge was a penalty shootout; luckily for us we did have some footballers on our team and we scored as many points as we could. Then we had an indoor computerised clay shooting competition, which, with the School’s previous experience of shooting with the L98A2 Cadet GP gave us an advantage and so we did quite well in this challenge. Lawrence hit all his clays which won him a small prize at the next KFC that we passed.
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Unfortunately we were one second behind the fastest group and, although the team were happy with our result, we were given a “You could have been better” by Major Prem. We soon learnt that for Major Prem being second is being the first loser!”
After this we had the Military Physical, this was incredibly hard and really tested our endurance and made even the fittest of us want to just stop; we were pushed to our limits and I personally felt as if I was about to faint. It was so tiring. Then another tough challenge: we had to build a craft to transport the team across a pool using only two canoes which were covered on the top so we could not put ourselves in the canoe. After several unsuccessful attempts we finally made it past the shark to the end and completed the task. Next a test on the history of the ACF and CCF which luckily we had a little help with: thank you Major Prem. After this we had a Towers of Hanoi challenge. At the end of a long day this tested both our minds and our teamwork. We did not manage to complete this challenge but were told that we remained very positive throughout it, even if we were all restraining ourselves from biting each other’s heads off. After this we had dinner and a social event, but many people were either too tired or too shy to mix with other groups. However, our fearless leader Charlie immediately started talking to a group of people and eventually came away with a girl’s telephone number, much to the amusement of the rest of the group. The next morning we woke early after another restless night’s sleep as most of us had cramped up in the night: the cold weather did not help with the morale of the team. Then it was breakfast, then we had to pack up our kit and the tent and load the minibus.
In the next challenge our team leadership skills were tested. The task was to jack up a Land Rover, take off the wheel, run it twice round the jeep and then screw it back on followed by a 100 metre sprint pushing the jeep to a coned area. Unfortunately we were one second behind the fastest group and although the team were happy with our result we soon were given a “You could have been better” by Major Prem. We soon learnt that for Major Prem being second is being the first loser!
Our first stand was to go over the confidence course and then our final activity was orienteering around the whole of the campus. We split into two teams, fast and slow. The slow group had to get the closest points around the campus, figure out the riddles and then put electronic keys in to slots whilst the fast group did the same but took the points farthest away. Challenge over.
With this conversation still fresh in our minds we set out for the medical situation. Welbeck set this situation up very well and it seemed quite realistic. Admittedly we did not do as well as we had hoped but we were told that we were the best team to keep the victims distracted. Alex also had to be taken to the Medical Centre as the casualty who was in shock fell on his knee.
It was time for lunch and then a final parade for all the teams. Laurence Eastman was awarded the best shot and although we came 6th in the competition it was a brilliant result for our first time and hopefully we will be invited back next year to compete. With thanks to Mrs Wilkinson and Major Prem who both had to endure the cold nights with us and the Welbeck Defence College for hosting us.
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The
ARMY Glen Millbery
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his was another hectic year with the cadets once again involved in many different activities as well as the biennial inspection and 100th year of the CCF in October.
Lord-Lieutenant’s Award Glen Millbery
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er Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant’s Certificates for Meritorious Service were instituted in order to afford public recognition to those members of the Reserve and Cadet Forces whose efforts are not recognised in the Honours Lists and thus ranks second to the Queen’s Honours Lists. This year the Lord-Lieutenant, Viscount De L’Isle recognised the efforts and commitment of Lt Col Anne Wilkinson to Sutton Valence School CCF by awarding her with a Meritorious Service Certificate. At the same event, Cadet Company Sergeant Major Oliver Aucamp was given Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant’s Cadet of the Year Award. This award marks the achievement of outstanding service by an individual to their Cadet movement. Each year the Lord-Lieutenant appoints a number of cadets from the Combined Cadet Force to support him on official engagements during the year they are appointed. Oliver Aucamp is of only four CCF Cadets recognised this year with this award, given to him in recognition of his contribution over the last five years and commitment to the CCF and to its cadets.
The Signals Troop had a successful year with a new crop of signallers ready to take up the banner. We entered the national signals competition- Rolling Thunder- and once again proved that we have strength with S/Sgt Guy Thomas winning the trophy as the best cadet signaller in the country. The senior Infantry cadets also once again proved themselves up to the challenge – two cadets attended the toughest CCF course in the country: the Cadet Leadership at Frimley. They all did extremely well and their course reports show that we are very well placed to once again have outstanding role models and leadership in the Army section at Sutton Valence. Whilst including the military skills of fieldcraft, signalling and weapons handling, cadets in the Army section also developed leadership skills, map and compass and camping skills and self discipline. I am also pleased to announce that in spite of strong opposition, we retained the March and Shoot trophy, once again proving that we are, as the Army motto says, The Best. We were also delighted that WOII Aucamp was recognised for his leadership by being appointed Lord Lieutenant’s Cadet.
NCO Dinner Lt. Col. A. Wilkinson
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wonderful evening with the Headmaster, guests and Officers was held to thank the NCOs for all they have contributed to the CCF. Following excellent speeches by Jack Salmon, Michael Adebiyi, Tom Bennett and Head of Corps Gregor Roberts, a presentation was made to Flt Lt Kay Andersen in recognition of all she has contributed to the RAF Section for almost 20 years. She joined the Section under Wing Commander Piper and became Head of Section when he became Contingent Commander. Flt Lt Andersen was always organised and efficient, but her greatest attribute was that she wanted the cadets in her care to achieve their potential: gliding scholarships, flying scholarships, Band Camp, MOI, Lord Lieutenant Cadets just a few of their achievements. Cadets past and present have much to thank her for. Page 70
The current Upper Sixth NCOs did a magnificent job, in particular RSM Roberts, RSM Bennett and WOII Aucamp. I thank them for all the hard work they put in over the year. My thanks also go to the staff who gave of their time and expertise.
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Junior Field Day Oliver Aucamp Upper Sixth
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he Junior Field day was a much anticipated event by the new Third Form cadets, who were excited to get involved with their first weekend of CCF activities. St Martin’s Plain was the destination and the groups of tri service cadets leapt straight into the action. Activities included rations induction, orienteering, signals, drill, weapons handling and camp craft, all of which were met with enthusiasm and the cadets’ full attention. After dinner there was the overnight exercise, this involved leopard crawling towards a pill box in true military silence, and avoiding the clutches of the ever present Sixth Form NCO patrols. Happy, tired cadets were soon asleep ready for an early start next day. The new cadets gained valuable understanding of the skills they will need in the CCF, developed their teamwork and took away some great memories from the thoroughly enjoyable 24 hours.
Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award Presentations at St James’s Palace Louise Hollingsworth n March 11th four Old Suttonians: Dominic Murray, Taj Dogra, Phoebe Fryer and Alex Hollingsworth, went up to St James’s Palace to receive their Gold Duke of Edinburgh Awards.
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Taj’s father did us proud as he had. The Duke’s presence is impressive and his knowledge and legendary humour was seen in abundance.
The Duke of Edinburgh came through chatting and whilst talking with the awardees he was also keen to know if any parents had completed their Gold Award!
To their delight they found out that not only was the Duke attending the event but their ‘Special Dignitary’ was David Walliams. He spoke with the awardees for about thirty minutes answering questions.
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I was struck not only his personality but also by his respect for them. He was impressed by their stories, and their commitment that achieving the Gold Award takes – he spoke of how this determination would stand to benefit them in the future as they forged their own paths in life. He did throw a few witty quips about Simon Cowell into the mix! It was a wonderful occasion and a very special day for all. Page 71
A Christmas Truce Football Match Lt Col A Wilkinson
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s part of the School’s commemoration of WW1, the CCF held a football match on a cold, sunny December afternoon which sought to mirror that purportedly played by the British and German troops during Christmas of 1914. The teams were made up by the Army on one side and the Navy and RAF on the other. As the two teams stood opposite each other, the Choir sang Silent Night in both English and German, then the teams shook hands and the matches began. Congratulations to the Army who won both matches and many thanks to Mr V Wells and Mr H Wells for refereeing. The afternoon finished with a very moving prayer by Mr Davies, Lay Chaplain: Heavenly Father, each year we celebrate the birth of your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ; the Prince of Peace. This year we remember that 100 years ago, despite the unimaginable horror that surrounded them, soldiers remembered the angel’s song of ‘Peace on earth and goodwill to all men’. We pray for those men, who reminded us that as human beings we are not born to war, and that the Prince of Peace still works in this world by the spirit of holiness, through men like them. Blessed are the peacemakers said the Lord. We dedicate this football match to the memory of those peacemakers a century ago. We do this through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
The Night Walk
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n 13th February five staff and 16 students gathered to walk from Great Chart to Sutton Valence – 24Km, starting at 6pm in the evening. The weather forecast was for torrential rain and as a result three members of staff opted to stay at home (you know who you are). Fifth Formers Charles Court and Nick Payne recall what it was like to be out at midnight on Friday 13th… A dedicated group of 16 pupils left for Ashford after School to participate in a charity walk for “Blind Veterans UK.” The objective was to complete a 25 kilometre walk under the night sky… The darkness symbolising what it would be like to be blind, giving us a feel of the difficulties that these veterans encounter every day. The walk took us through Grafty Green, Egerton, and Pluckley (the most haunted village in the UK… an unnerving thought on Friday the 13th…) Also participating in the walk were Mr and Mrs Horley, Miss Clement-Walker, Mr Worcester and Major Prem. Page 72
Along the walk there were several pit stops, where we were all glad to see the faces of Mr Millbery and Mrs Wilkinson, and even more importantly, the collection of drinks and snacks they had brought with them. As expected, the old-timers stormed through the walk, having completed it before and the team of experienced Sixth Formers arrived back not long after midnight. The team of newbie Fifth Formers valiantly attempted to find their way on their own, but ended up back with the teachers and the Fourth Form, where they found a certain security. They ended up a good 15 minutes behind their guides, trundling in at around 3 o’clock, somewhat less pleased with their work than the Sixth Formers, who by then were smugly munching on the by then cold pizza. By then we only had one thought on our minds… and that was sleep. Over £200 was raised for Blind Veterans UK.
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Rolling Thunder Guy Thomas Upper Sixth
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olling Thunder is a cadet signalling and general military skills competition held annually, comprised of various stands, each stand testing a different aspect of a team’s signals knowledge. This year’s team comprised of relative veterans, Oliver Aucamp, and myself, Guy Thomas, and three cadets who would debut: William Dransfield, Thomas Costin, and Charlie Sparrow. What they lacked in experience, they made up for in energy and enthusiasm. Our first stand was the communications centre, an exercise designed to test a team’s cohesiveness and leadership - with information containing grid references coming in from two locations, which had to be plotted on a map, and then sent on; all this whilst trying to work in a low light environment made it a difficult task. However, for us the cohesiveness was there, and, after an initial panic, we performed well under the high stress conditions. We then moved on to the voice procedure stand, which tested our security, accuracy and discipline when speaking on the radio as well as a cadet’s ability to find errors in transmissions. The stand was made up of two parts: the first being analysis of messages- trying to find errors in prerecorded messages; the second: encoding a message, and sending it ourselves. The first part was incredibly difficult for all, due to a rather chaotic, and seemingly never ending burst of transmitting, however the team did not let this put them off, and we had a much better part two, with all messages being sent in the time scale, some perhaps more rushed than others. Our next stand was a somewhat more practical stand - the line and field telephone and cable stand. This year we were tasked with constructing a mixed cable crossing using a tree and a purpose built pole. Although not used to this mixed form of crossing, the team adapted well to fully construct the crossing, even if a telephone link could not be established. Our knowledge of historical signals and ability to interpret information was tested on our fourth stand of the day. Taking turns, one member of the team had to transmit a message using either Morse (visual and audio), semaphore, or a signal based on Napoleonic telegraph towers. There was a further drawback- the receiving party could only communicate to the sender using a Morse code key, again adding a level of difficulty.
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As always the team showed how they could adapt to the situation, and we managed to exchange a good number of messages in the time limit. The ADS - Adult Directing Staff - of each stand are selected from across the country, and this year it was SV’s own Major Millbery who planned the stand based on the long range radio known by the succinct title the PRC 320. Here we were assessed on our knowledge of the radios functions, capabilities, and operating, as well as our ability to construct a mast correctly, and quickly. Again the teamwork and communication, as well as the knowledge of equipment shone through. The Cube is not only a hit ITV show, but is also a stand on Rolling Thunder, this year testing a team’s ability to encode, decode and assemble and set the frequency of radios with blindfolds and ear defence this surely was then a test of how well we knew our radios- much shouting and clicking later, we were able to assemble the sets, and set nearly all of them, to what I hope was the right frequency. The decoding part required us to decode various messages in various cyphers, and the encoding part was slightly more complicated. We believed that we simply had to design a code and navigate a maze, but instead we were told that the main aim of the task was to design a code that would not be cracked- it was here we learnt that both Tom Costin and I need to improve our knowledge of mammals. The team relaxed in the evening, knowing we had put maximum effort into the competition, enjoying the general knowledge quiz and the disco. The final results placed us eighth in this national competition, something the entire team should be proud of. I was honoured to be presented with the Howell Trophy for the Best Signaller. However it is very easy to lead a strong team and Oliver Aucamp deserves a personal mention as he demonstrated one of the top leadership qualities: the ability to be a team member, and he was a hugely helpful and reliable second in command with invaluable experience. I was immensely proud of the team as a whole, and I believe that the Signals are in great place for the future. Finally I wish to thank Major Prem for driving the team down to Blandford, and Lieutenant Colonel Wilkinson for her support at the competition both emotionally and nutritionally. Page 73
CADSAM Charlie Gellett Upper Sixth
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n Friday 27th September 2014, one of the youngest shooting teams ever assembled embarked to Pirbright military base to participate in the CADSAM, South East Regional Shooting Competition. The A-team consisted of Charlie Gellett (captain), Tom Bennett, Ben Murray, and Harriet Aburn and the B-team consisted of Tom Percival, Ben Mortley, Charlie Sparrow and Laura Horley. Alex McDermott also attended and performed superbly in a combined schools’ team. Both teams had slightly different schedules for the three shoots- Gallery, ETR and Snaps- on the Saturday; however, the teams still managed to support each other and perform very well in all shoots, with none of the five first time shooters showing any signs that they were not up to the challenge. As a reward for a great day’s shooting the team completed another long-running tradition of Saturday night bowling. The team had a great time with the first game being won by Captain Charlie Gellett, and the second game won by a highly-competitive Major Prem.
Luck was not on our side in the Falling Plate Competition on Sunday, however at the prize giving the team picked up a total of 17 medals, three each for the A-team who came third in the Gallery shoot and who were the third best CCF and third best overall team, and one each for the B-team who were third in the ETR shoot and tenth overall. The weekend was a great success for such a young team and bodes very well for the future of Sutton Valence shooting.
TEAMWORK and LEADERSHIP Olivia Smith Third Form
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HE 25 MEMBERS OF THE THIRD FORM WHO HAD COMPLETED THEIR BRONZE PRACTICE EXPEDITION FOR THEIR DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARD ON THE LAKE DISTRICT TRIP, ENJOYED TWO LEADERSHIP DAYS ON 22ND AND 23RD OF JUNE.
I can safely say that most of us were glad to have completed the expedition already in the sunny Lake District when we arrived at School, along with the rain, and said goodbye to the rest of our year group! However the sun soon made an appearance and Major Prem assisted us to lead the group in a Ceremonial Weapons Drill in preparation for a display in front of Mrs Hall. Also during the two days, we used our teamwork and leadership skills to build a communication tower and bridge out of paper. We revised our map and compass skills and had a talk and workshop from a Polar explorer on the importance of team work to achieve success. Overall many new skills were picked up during the activities and all of us had a great time!
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Year 5 CCF Experience Amelie Coy 5D A very busy Friday! After our House Swimming Gala we headed off to the Senior School for a delicious lunch, which we all enjoyed, especially the chicken curry. We then ran enthusiastically up to the sports field to be split into four groups for the different activities. First of all, my group went to the Shooting Range where we had to shoot at a target of five dots, like a die, with an air rifle. I didn’t score any points but I didn’t mind. Next, we put on helmets and went to try out the Confidence Course. It was hard but I managed to do most of it. The third session was Drill. We learnt to stand at attention, stand at ease, turn at the halt, do an about turn, march, halt and call orders. Finally our group was divided again. First Libby and I were doing flag messages, semaphore. We were the quickest. Then I paired up with Jemma for the ‘Trust Game’. One of us had a blindfold on and the other one was directing them to the right coloured balls. It was a great afternoon; thank you to all the staff and pupils in the CCF.
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Ben Mortley with L81 A2 Target Rifle
Winner of the Annie Wilkinson Challenge Cup
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e already have an enviable reputation in the South East and nationally as one of the schools to beat when we fire the cadet GP rifle but we seem to have difficulty achieving anywhere near the same level of success when it comes to target rifle shooting.
To improve our status the CCF arranged a five-day live firing marksmanship coaching package to take place at Easter at both the Bisley and Pirbright ranges in Surrey.
Lt Renee Monaghan
As you will appreciate this was our first venture into this type of outing so we were all very excited at the prospect. As well as shooting all day on the ranges we were given lectures by the coaches in the evening covering topics such as elevation, fall of shot, windage and the theory of grouping. We also had the opportunity to have use of the Scatt electronic shooter training system in order to further improve aiming and accuracy. There were also supposed to be opportunities for social activities such as cinema and bowling, but as it turned out, we were far too busy for any of that.
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Only ten lucky cadets were chosen to accompany our resident qualified instructors Mr Horley and Mr Westlake and our matriarch Mrs Wilkinson on this intrepid adventure. They had secured the services of several other coaches who joined us throughout the week including Stuart Young - a Palma shot who toured Canada and the USA last year as part of the Great Britain Shooting team; he really helped us get to grips with the tricky business of reading the wind. Lt Renee Monaghan who is the chief coach of Royal Canadian Army Cadet Shooting Lt Tom Rylands Team and a world class marksman in her own right who was invaluable in her assessments of the shooters breathing and trigger control. We also had the services of Squadron Leader Peter Turner, who is the Bisley Imperial schools’ match director. He taught us a more efficient way of holding the GP and a more effective method of aiming it. To complete the team this year we had the Great Britain U25 Shooting Team’s chief coach, Tom Rylands who joined us for two days. With this wealth of talent he was able to ensure that everyone he coached improved their shooting.
It was particularly encouraging to see all the boys supporting one another and gaining from the wealth of experience available from the world class coaches we had the great good fortune to work with.”
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Accommodation was at Bunhill Lodge within the camp at Bisley only 100 yards from their main range, so every morning we rolled across to the Army Rifles Club opposite to get the first of our three square meals of the day, then it was off to the ranges to practice target shooting. Over the four days at Bisley we fired 60 rounds per cadet per day, which may not sound very impressive, but amounts to twice as many rounds as a cadet would be expected to fire in a full day’s competition. To provide a little variety over the week we also visited the army electronic range at Pirbright to practice firing 5.56 with the assault rifle at distances up to 400 metres. The ten of us practised every Bisley competition shoot and followed this up with every CADSAM competition shoot. Then Mr Horley made us do it all again in the afternoon, although he blamed it all on Mr Westlake for miscounting the number of rounds we had left that needed to be expended. I particularly enjoyed firing from the fire trench for the first time. From first shot down the range at 08:30 until ceasefire at 16:30 we expended nearly 2000 rounds. This was an historic day’s shooting. We shall all have fond memories of the week and as captain of the shooting team, seeing all the other members of the team, from Third Form to Sixth Form, improving as the week went on was enormously satisfying. It was particularly encouraging to see all the boys supporting one another and gaining from the wealth of experience available from the world class coaches we had the great good fortune to work with. For my money the highlight of the week was shooting at 900 yards whilst being coached by Tom Rylands (who it fortuitously turned out is also a member of the World Champion Long Distance Shooting Team). At that distance every mistake you make is magnified and there is little or no margin for error. To add to the difficulty the ammunition we use is only really accurate up to 800 yards as after that distance the bullet stops traveling supersonically, causing it to tumble through the air - making accuracy all but impossible. Even when you know all this, helping each other to produce decent scores was extremely gratifying.
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Easter Live Firing Marksmanship Training Charlie Gellett Captain of the Shooting Team
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Shooting at 900 yardshere’s the target
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BISLEY
Charles Gellett Upper Sixth Form
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fter a week of intense training the Sutton Valence Shooting Team departed for the annual Schools’ Meeting at Bisley in the first week of the Summer Holidays. While the magnitude of the success is not as great as it has been in recent years, the future of the team has seldom ever looked so bright. This was a brutally tough year of competition to the extent that a perfect score (50/50) from the Captain in one of the shoots was only good enough for 3rd place. With that in mind the young team is to be applauded for producing some seriously competitive shoots which saw us successively defend one of our trophies and miss out on three others by just two points overall. The team pushed itself much harder this year and devoted more hours to training and the results were there to be seen: they performed admirably in a year when schools such as Tonbridge and Sevenoaks went home empty handed. It is an exciting time for the shooting team.
From Phil Horley I would like to add a huge thank you to Charles for all his help over the last year. He has been by far the best captain we have had, regularly turning up to all shooting events, from those for the lower years to competitions. He has always been unstinting in his time helping with paperwork and encouraging the younger pupils.
SERGISSON TROPHY
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he annual Sergisson Trophy is shot on the first Saturday of May every year and is a competition between the School’s shooting team, the Staff, the Parents and the OS. It is held on the School shooting range and uses the club’s .22 rifles at a distance of 25 yards. This year despite the cloudy skies a record number of shooters turned up and it was good to see many parents having a go and firing for the first time. This year the Shooting team were determined to regain the trophy from the OS which they achieved with an average of 80 compared to the OS’s 78.6. The staff achieved their target of not coming last and managed a respectable 3rd place leaving the parents to bring up the rear. During the shooting everyone enjoyed the barbecue cooked by Major Prem ably assisted by Mr Millbery. Special thanks to Mrs Kitchen for being the RCO. Page 78
To summarise the day, here is a letter we received from OS Mr Keith Clements: What a fantastic day. Right from the word go, I was impressed. Was it the sight of a cracking BBQ (and Bordeaux) after a comparatively long journey to the School? Was it the melée of happy parents, Staff, pupils, OS? Whichever, it was for me and my wife, a memorable day. Please thank the many helpers who made it work; especially the firing point crew who certainly had their hands full. Also those pupils who presumably had to forego part of an exeat? In the words of Wallace and Gromit, it was a grand day out. Many thanks to all. Sincerely, Keith Clement
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Junior Range Day Melissa Dawson Third Form
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n a brave move, Sutton Valence School took the Third Form cadets to Hythe shooting range. There was plenty to do. The activities consisted of archery, shooting and there was even an indoor shooting simulator. We were given the opportunity to shoot two types of cadet rifle. At the beginning everyone was a bit anxious but once we began we loved it. We even participated in a shooting competition. We were split into two teams and each had a set of targets. The winning team was the one which proved itself capable of the most accurate shooting overall. Luckily my team won because we had shooting star Phoebe Aucamp. It is safe to say all of the cadets had a very enjoyable day and learnt a number of new skills which built on our gun awareness training at School.
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Adventure Training Imogen Forknall and Emily Smith Third Form
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n the 4th of April we all gathered at school ready for our long journey up to the scenic Lake District. We took four minibuses (Mrs Wilky’s had a flat tyre before we started) a trailer and a van. We had a fun ride up with everyone excited to be there and some funny moments when someone asked if they were going to speak English there and if we needed a passport! On the second day of our trip we jumped straight into things and spent a whole day trekking through the beautiful Lake District hills with some stunning views and snow on the top of the fells. On day three although we were tired from our long walk the day before, we were all really excited to go and try out canoeing.
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It turned out to be great fun, with some people picking it up faster than others but the highlight had to be Harry Yorke falling into the lake, as he tried to push someone else in! We then went rock climbing which we all had a try at and really enjoyed. On the fourth day we had a more relaxing time after our previous action packed days as we all planned and prepared our routes for the DofE practice expedition and made sure we knew how far we had to go to reach each point to minimise the possibility of getting lost! We practised putting up tents, sorting out our food and packing our rucksacks. The next two days were dedicated to our practice DofE. We were dropped off at our starting point for the long trek to our campsite.
The Suttonian
It was a cold night in the campsite inside our little tents but it was a great experience and we’re sure we can speak for everyone when we say sleep was definitely minimised that night. We rose early in the morning and cooked our breakfasts, took down the tents and prepared to set off for our second day. Everyone was shattered and seeing the minibus at the end of our walk was the best feeling all week! On our last day of activities we were all aching but ready for the day ahead. We were going ghyll scrambling which was so much fun and a new experience for almost everyone. The water was freezing and we couldn’t feel our toes by the end but we all wanted to carry on! Mountain biking was great although Imogen Forknall managed to steer her bike off a bridge into a muddy swamp and completely covered herself in mud which made everyone laugh! All week the sun had shone but Saturday morning we woke to snow on the hills. Overall we all had a great time and it was a great experience and really helped us with our teamwork skills. It was definitely hard but we have some great memories that have come out of it and it is a trip we won’t forget. Many thanks to the staff for making it possible and to Old Suttonians Ellie Sagrott, Sam Durkin and Oliver Bateman for all their help and advice.
The Suttonian
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The RAF Michael Adebiyi
“Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” Malcom X
THE COMBINED CADET FORCE HAS SHAPED THE FUTURES OF PAST AND PRESENT CADETS AND HAS HAD AN IMMENSE IMPACT ON WHO I HAVE BECOME TODAY.
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y first term as Head of Section could not have been more hectic; it was packed with events, courses, inspections and parades. The officers and Senior NCOs had a clear vision for the RAF for the upcoming year, and that was an improvement in every aspect of the section; this included such things as drill, uniform and our general organisation. Our first task was preparing the RAF Hut for a deep change of aesthetics that involved completely clearing out the old posters, books, equipment and revamping the walls with new images of currents cadets and aircrafts all in preparation of the biennial inspection and the Centenary. This was a huge day for the CCF and the RAF had a substantial input into making it a day to never forget. We ran a successful mock operation known as “Pilot Down” where each flight had to locate and rescue a pilot. It was clear that the Air Cadets proved their vast knowledge of First Aid, map and compass skills. We had an enormous part in the successful Guard of Honour display where two-fifths of the cadets were RAF Cadets. During the Half Term Flt Lt Cope, Flt Lt Kitchen, FS Gellett and I all attended the South East Area NCO Cadre at RAF Wittering as staff, while Harrison Sharpe, Edward Simmonds, Praag Dogra, Adam Carroll and Maxwell Harrison attended as cadets. This course is renowned for shaping cadets into the leaders of the future, through rigorous testing in areas such as fitness, leadership in a command task setting and the ability to teach. With six days of my constant nagging they all passed the course, with Maxwell Harrison being awarded the most improved Junior Cadet. We then took part in the Remembrance Sunday Parade, where all three sections were present to pay their respect for those who fought in the Great War and wars after, shaping the way the world, our country and Sutton Valence is today. It is to these people we have the greatest respect and admiration and thank them for giving us the freedom that we often take for granted today. However the biggest milestone in the RAF this year was our participation in the Air Squadron Trophy. As always the competition ran in the first weekend in February, which for most within the section was a stressful period.
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After a couple of difficult weeks planning and preparing for the competition, the day came to compete against the other sections in the south central and south east area, but due to flu three of our team members were not able to join us, meaning we had to compete with a reduced team. The day went far better than expected, as we performed excellently in our command task and most importantly in the drill performance, which had only been fully practised five minutes before we had to perform it. To our amazement we came 11th out of 17 RAF Sections in the South Central and South East. It then came to Lent Half Term, where the South East Area Cadre was being held at RAF Henlow. Flt Cope and I attended as staff again and Praag Dogra, Adam Carroll, Brandon Bishop, Joshua Craven and Shaad Dogra all as cadets. The setting of this base was very different from the last, as many lessons happened within the same building. I must admit that it was a difficult time for the staff cadets on this course as there were only three of us managing the welfare and development of 30 cadets. It was an experience to remember. Joshua Craven must be congratulated on receiving the most improved Senior Cadet on the course. The final event of the year for the RAF Section was our Inter-Flight Competition, which was run over two CCF sessions. It was a truly inspiring event that brought to life many of our cadets’ hidden skills and knowledge. All three Flights known as Harrier, Spitfire and Typhoon competed in all six elements: First Aid, Command Task, Aircraft Recognition, RAF Knowledge, Shooting and Drill. The conclusion of the event resulted in Spitfire Flight winning, led by Cpl Brandon Bishop. The year was a very successful year for the RAF thanks to the Officers and the dedicated NCO team. I must thank Flt Lt Anderson for over two decades of service to the RAF and the CCF. Her ability to transform cadets like me into leaders was one of the many things that the CCF will miss, and her efforts to help the section to develop and continue to flourish is one of the main reasons why she will be missed. Head of Section: Cadet Warrant Officer Michael Adebiyi Second in Command: Flight Sergeant Charlie Gellett
The Suttonian
Summer Adventure to a Secret Nuclear Bunker Katie Harrison and Ella Hughes Third Form On Monday 29th of June the RAF went off for an exciting and adventurous two day trip to Kelvendon Hatch to the secret nuclear bunker.
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n day one we left the School and after an hour’s journey we were handed over to Rope Runners. We started our adventure with the high rope climbing which many of us embraced with open and slightly nervous minds. There were three levels and lots of people attempted the highest level. Every course ended with a zip wire and there was also an extra-large one which everyone attempted. The courses were physically demanding and challenging but were lots of fun. After racing each other on the courses we unfortunately had to leave the ropes behind us and swing into something new. We were then split into two groups and headed in separate directions. One group went off to do archery, while the other shot air rifles. The groups then swapped around so that we didn’t miss out on any of the experiences. The air rifles were a lot harder to shoot in most of our opinions but we did our best and ended up with some excellent results as a group. We then stayed in our groups and went water zorbing while the other group went orienteering. With the zorbing we went in twos and tried to run into each other. After a few pairs had gone we figured out that the best way was to crawl. We were all very disappointed when the crew started pulling us back in and letting the air out of the zorb ball. We then followed this with orienteering. We had to look at the map and find the letters in our group however we only found nine of the letters out of 13, but the other team had much greater success finding 12 of the letters.
Year 4 were hosted by the RAF Section which began when they all stood very smartly to attention on parade.
In the evening we all dressed up nicely and headed to the cinema and to get some food. The movie was a success and all of us clambered into the minibus exhausted and before we knew it we were back to the bunker where we would be spending the night. We had three separate areas: one for the teachers, one for the girls and one for the boys. This however meant that a few of us felt scared because we had been told, not by the teachers but by fellow students, that the bunker was haunted. The following day we woke to a bright and beautiful day which… we couldn’t actually see, because the bunker was underground. We had a relaxing breakfast and then started the activities again. First off, we headed for the assault course which was more challenging than it looked. We were first given a tour of the assault course and then we were timed doing it individually and then split into two groups again and did it as a group and timed when the last person crossed the line. We then left the bright sunshine and went into the forest where there was a bit of shade. In there we did five team-building activities in our two groups. The adventure for us was alas over and we were heading back to School. I am sure the teachers were pleased though because we were all exhausted so we slept on the way back. On behalf of the RAF cadets we would all like to thank all the staff which made this adventure possible and would like to thank them for taking us.
The NCOs were very impressed with the Year 4 pupils who were complimented on their enthusiasm throughout the afternoon. There were very good examples of teamwork from the three groups throughout the activities.
The Suttonian
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RAF visit to the USA
Joshua Craven Lower Sixth Form
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n Sunday 28th June four RAF cadets had an early start, as we were forced out into the cold at 2am to wait for an hour for jolly old Mr Cope who had a not so jolly Mr Horley in tow. The trip started off brilliantly when we lost Charterhouse School. After eventually finding them, Mr Horley dropped us off at Heathrow before leaving to get a bit more sleep. We then proceeded to nearly miss our flight, while Ed Simmonds tweeted Heathrow and Aer Lingus to explain our delay. Even after our early start and near miss we had to spend three hours waiting for two people from Campbell College after which we headed into the depths of Dublin airport to try and find US Preclearance, who took our finger prints and iris scans. Arriving in the USA, we picked up the minibus for the trip, which was promptly named “the passion wagon” and began the three-hour trip from the airport towards Langley Air Force Base. We stopped off for an evening meal at a fast food breakfast joint called IHop, which, considering it was late evening by this point, was a bit mistimed. We completed the final hop towards Langley Air Force Base and decided to get a good night’s sleep before the early start the next day. The next three days were filled with activities such as visits to their excellent virtual range, dog section and assault course, all accompanied by the sound of the F22 Raptor flying above out heads. We visited the nearby Fort Eustis Army Base and Norfolk Naval Base. Then we jumped in the “passion wagon” for another long journey to Quantico Marine Corps Base. While there, we were given access to a couple of simulators used to train the US marines, both of which were huge fun for Lawrence Mair due to availability of the 50 calibre machine guns. The simulator experience was also fun for Ed Simmonds who drove a US Marine Corps Hummer while Lawrence sat up on top with his scope trained on anything that moved, ready to unleash a hail of fire from the 50 calibre. We spent two days on the base and then the trip turned more civilian as it was coming up to the 4th July. It was very difficult to restrain ourselves from yelling out that “the British were back”. We paid a visit to the Arlington Cemetery, which was very moving for everyone involved due to the scale of it all. The next day was the 4th of July parade through the heart of Washington D.C. This was an incredible sight to behold because of the sheer amount of people involved. It lasted about an hour, after which we walked down to the White House and then around towards the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. This day culminated with spectacular fireworks. Sadly the following day was our final full day in the USA. The day started with a church service, which was enjoyable as it was so different. The rest of the day was spent visiting a water park, the only downside being that we had to say goodbye to Adam Carroll who was flying back early. We soon found out this was a major theme park of which the water park was just a small portion. I think that this was probably one of the most fun days of all. Next day we had a blast at the Udzvar-Hazy Museum (don’t ask me how to pronounce it) which had everything from a retired space shuttle to the R2-D2 post box. This sadly ended our time in America so we returned to IAD, jumped on a plane back to Dublin and then those not from Ireland (all two of us) had a lovely five hours in Dublin Airport, feeling incredibly tired but at least we knew we were on the home straight. After a one-hour flight it was great to be home and to be able to sleep to our hearts’ content. Many great memories were created and I will remember them for years to come.
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The Suttonian
The
RAF
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his year was an exciting year in the RAF section; all of the new Third Form entrants passed their part one examination early into their career, looking at topics such as Drill and the history of the RAF Section – which was no joke despite being founded on April Fools’ Day in 1918. The clear focus of the first Half Term was the Centenary celebrations, culminating in a simulated pilot down operation and evacuation and a flypast from an ex Sutton Valence RAF cadet. We are lucky to be in the position we are, especially as many Wednesday afternoons, when the weather allows, can be spent outside, even more so when we get a flypast from two of the most instrumental airframes of the past – the Hurricane and Spitfire – it is still a challenge for cadets to tell the difference between the two. The sound of the Merlin engines still bring a sense of pride to anyone involved in the RAF section. Whilst this was going on overhead, the RAF Section decided to see what it was like to be in the Army and started to look for an old field gun, allegedly moved from Chapel lawn to a resting place in the Japanese Garden, however the immense skills of the cadets only led to us finding an old piece of corrugated metal. Cadets in the section enjoyed a day of flying (for the first time in years due to grounded aircraft) as well as the opportunity to hone their weapons skills on a cold Field Day in March. The end of the year saw us travelling to the “secret” nuclear bunker in Essex (I am not allowed to tell you more than this due to secrecy, although if you are ever travelling down the A128…..) and of course the six cadets enjoying being hosted by the United States Air Force in Washington for ten days – both of which was a fantastic experience for all involved. Achievements this year were numerous, many of our cadets attended and passed the Southern Area Leadership CADRE, of particular mention Maxwell Harrison (gaining Most Improved for the Junior CADRE in October 2014) and Joshua Craven (gaining Most Improved for the Senior CADRE in February 2015). Charlie Gellett and Michael Adebiyi were both given the role of Staff Cadet, helping those attending the course reach the required standard, Michael being given the role of Senior Staff Cadet for February 2015. Finally it leaves me this year to thank all those involved in the running of the RAF Section, to the senior Non Comissioned Officers, of particular note are Flight Sergeant Gellett and Cadet Warrant Officer Adebiyi who were instrumental in the progress of cadets and the running of the section. Finally to the Officers – Flt Lt Kitchen, and Flg Off Westlake whose experience knows no bounds. It requires a new sentence to mention Flt Lt Andersen who leaves the section this year after 24 years service, her achievements too many to list. I hope she enjoys retirement from the military and would like to wish her all the best for the future. Tim Cope
The Suttonian
The Navy Hannah Wood
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he Third Formers started this year with a combined field day that helped to integrate all the Third Formers into the CCF. Regardless of the section, all cadets started their basic training in shooting, communication and even making the best out of ration packs. The October Field Day saw the Navy hosting the biennial celebrations. The Navy section ran a circus of activities including command tasks, signals and lifesaving. Commander Evans, the inspecting officer, was particularly impressed with the high quality of our drill. During the Michaelmas and Easter terms the Third and Fourth Formers trained for their Survive and Swim lifesaving qualification and worked towards their first promotion to Able Seaman. The Fifth Formers focused on learning leadership skills, preparing them for their roles as NCOs next year. The Summer Term is always the best term for the Navy section as we are able to get out on the water. This year we took the cadets to Rye Watersports where they have been either working towards their RYA Level 1 or improving on the skills that they already have. This year we have been fortunate to have three heads of Navy, and I would like to thank Beth Webb, Ben Webb and Jack Salmons for all of their help and support, along with our new member of staff Lieutenant Hammersley.
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CCF Annual Camp July 2015
William Dransfield Fourth Form THIS YEAR’S CAMP WAS HELD IN PENALLY TRAINING CAMP, TENBY, SOUTH WALES AND WE WERE HOSTED BY SOLDIERS FROM THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF WALES.
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e arrived at School on Saturday morning at 7.30am to prepare equipment. There were 11 cadets and three officers. We arrived at Penally at 1500 that afternoon and went to our accommodation. That evening we went into Tenby, which is a nice seaside town. We were partnered for the week with cadets from a Welsh school called St Bridge’s. On the Sunday we had a watermanship activity which consisted of building a raft and racing it across a lake against another group from St Bridge’s. We built our raft the fastest, thanks to help from Major Prem, and then we were able to row the fastest across the lake. We then played a game of raft rugby and thanks to Laurence Eastman’s quick thinking (swimming out to collect the ball), we won this too. It had been a successful day! That evening, we met some cadets from Canada who we played cards with and who gave us some maple syrup that we enjoyed for breakfast the next morning. On the Monday we had a range day. We were shooting at targets of up to 200 metres away. However, due to poor weather, we were the only group to shoot that day. All of our cadets passed the shooting challenge and Ashley Evans earned a marksman award. Luckily the weather cleared, and that evening we all went clay pigeon shooting and also did some archery. The next day was also very wet but we were back on the lake in the morning on kayaks so it did not stop any activities. We were divided into two groups, red and blue. We played murder ball and kayak polo which was great fun. That afternoon we were supposed to go rock climbing, but unfortunately it was rained off as the rocks became too slippery. Instead we had a drill lesson out on the parade square. On the Wednesday and Thursday we had our field exercise. We set up a harbour area, cooked our rations, and everyone took turns on sentry duty. We then performed tasks as a platoon. We prepared an ambush site and then later that evening sprung the ambush on our opponents. We then went back to our harbour area and finally went to sleep in bashas. We woke up early the next morning, and underwent some quick training to prepare for a section attack on an enemy position. We patrolled down to the beach where the attack was going to take place and began patrolling along the sandy road before we were ambushed. We put into practice the drills we had learnt that morning, with one section providing fire support as the other section flanked, and then cleared the position. We then marched back to the airfield to our bus arriving back at camp. On Thursday afternoon we went back into Tenby, where we bought fudge, fish and chips and ice cream. That evening we played football and volleyball with St. Bridge’s. We left on the Friday morning. It was a great week enjoyed by all. Thanks to the CTT Wales and Lieutenant-Colonel Wilkinson, Major Prem and Major Millbery.
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The Suttonian
Canadian Army Cadet Exchange Tom Millington
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was delighted and somewhat overwhelmed to find out that I had been successful in my application to be a part of the Canadian Army Cadet Exchange 2015 and I was actually going to Canada. On 2nd July I set off to Frimley Park in Camberley where I met the other cadets. We sat in a room and introduced ourselves. We were all quite excited but apprehensive; we were starting on a journey and were going to spend the next six weeks together.
Fourth Form
“We all have a reserve, an extra 10% within us all that we don’t always use- sometimes we don’t realise it is there, but it is: never give up...”
We came back from our expedition to a warm welcome, with the rest of the companies there to meet us with a band of pipes playing. It was so nice to have a hot shower and a bed that had a mattress. There was just enough time to unpack and repack ready for our solo experience, 24 hours on our own. We had trained for it and I had already thought about how I would spend my time: build a basha (shelter) eat and sleep. I won a prize for my basha and was ‘ rewarded’, along with 20 other cadets, to a day on the army assault course. I know that you are thinking ‘That was the prize?’ but it was a fantastic experience. It was challenging but it was one of many challenges that I took on and conquered.
We arrived in Canada and settled into our barracks. I was part of the Bravo Company on the Argonauts leadership course and one of twelve cadets from the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. In my Platoon there were 20 Cadets, four from the UK and the rest were Canadian. There were several platoons with probably around 160 cadets in total. We had two weeks of training and courses before we embarked on our 18 day expedition which was broken down into five-day blocks with rest days in between. We had a fitness test which involved sit ups, chin ups, push ups and a bleep test. I reached gold standard. We started our expedition with hiking. We packed our rucksacks and each carried our own tent and supplies. It rained every day during our hike and there were lots of mosquitos but I was armed with my jungle formula repellent spray and a mosquito net! Every night we waited for the tide before we could cross the river and then we made camp beside it in the forest. We lit a fire and had our ration packs. It was mountainous in places and hard work but the scenery was amazing. We were allowed to fish in the river and eat what we caught, so thank goodness for the ration packs. Every day one of us would be selected to be the group leader during which time we had to look after the welfare (hydration, sun cream) of our team and also ensure that we all successfully completed the goals set for us that day (map reading). I really enjoyed my turn and in fact I lead my team twice. It was not just about achieving goals but I really felt we were one world, one great team, so it was important to me that I made sure my team were motivated and focused and that each and every one of them achieved the goals set. With the hiking stage completed we had a rest day before the start of the next phase which was canoeing.
The Suttonian
With the end in sight we started the kayaking part of the expedition; the kayak was a lot faster than a canoe. It was so peaceful apart from us jumping in the river to cool off at the end of the day. Our ration packs were nutritional but I was starting to miss home cooking and the barrack’s canteen but after a day’s activities I did look forward to my favourite ration pack of chicken egg noodles followed by a chocolate pudding.
The time really went so quickly and we were now in our last week. We managed to fit in some sightseeing and visited Prince Edward Island. On the way there we saw the Confederation Bridge which at eight miles long is the longest in the world. We went to the theatre to see Anne of Green Gables, took a water bus and went to a high rope park which included zip wiring.
I was with the instructor in the front of the canoe and it was very exciting as we went through the rapids into still water. We saw lots of wildlife and more stunning scenery. The sun came out and they gave a level five heat warning, as it was over 30 degrees, but as we were on the water it was really nice to be able to dive into it to cool off. I managed to take some great photos and used my underwater camera to take videos. With two of the three parts of the expedition successfully completed it was time for a much needed rest; they did not need to tell us twice to go to sleep at night after all the day’s activities. We slept really well even in our sleeping bags.
It was time to say thank you and goodbye. I met some amazing people in Canada; they looked after us and made us feel really welcome. We all started as individuals, as strangers, but we ended up supporting each other through our challenges, our lows and our highs, we became a great team celebrating and sharing our successes; people who I now call friends, I will not forget this life changing experience. I was given an amazing opportunity and I believe I embraced every moment of it. I had a fantastic summer. I learnt so much about myself and developed my leadership style. We all have a reserve, an extra 10% within us all that we don’t always use, sometimes we don’t realise it is there, but it is: never give up, with the right attitude you can achieve. It was Henry Ford who said “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t - you’re right.” Page 87
rugby 1st XV Rugby
Toby Wilkinson Upper Sixth Played: 13, Won: 6, Drew: 1, Lost: 6
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t is astonishing how a season of six wins and one draw from thirteen fixtures could feel like a season with far more victories. As a squad we travelled the width and breadth of South East England claiming high scoring victories against tough oppositions in Sevenoaks, St Lawrence, Duke of York’s, and King’s Rochester. It was, however, the match that took place on 20th of September 2014 that will long be remembered as a special day for the Sutton Valence 1st XV rugby team. A squad of only 16 players, a Head Coach and a faithful Water Boy travelled to the highly prestigious Eastbourne College, united by one common goal - the scalps of our strongest opponents of the season. Needless to say selfless acts of courage and Suttonian valour shone through on this day (Tom Mitchell even attempted a chip and chase that surprisingly worked!). An emphatic victory of 29-0 saw the team produce the performance of the season. This outstanding result highlighted the fantastic team spirit and determination to play for each other that has been evident all season. Wingers Tim Cain and Ollie Williams battled on for the top try scoring record, only for Tim to win nine tries to eight. The fact that both wingers scored so many tries this season is a reflection of the fast, expansive and exciting rugby which the team played. This would not have been possible without strong performances up front from Gregor Roberts, James Turner, Charlie Ellis and Emil Evans, aided by the distribution skills of Jack Mortley and player of the season Tom Lennard. It’s been a fantastic season; tremendous thanks go to Mr Howell and everyone who played for or supported the squad. Captain: Toby Wilkinson, George Holmes, Lewis Croke, Emil Evans, Charlie Ellis, Robert Miles, James Turner, Nicholas Wright, Thomas Mitchell, Samuel Noss, Guy Backhouse, Patrick Backhouse, Jack Mortley, Toby Wilkinson, Stuart Boltman, Timothy Cain, Oliver Williams, Angus Weir, Tom Agu-Benson, Tom Lennard, Henry Sparrow. Page 88
1st XV Rugby
2nd XV Rugby
Oliver Aucamp Upper Sixth Won: 3, Lost: 5, Drew: 1
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he class of 2014/15 2nd XV had an eventful season, enjoying both the triumphs of victory, the despair of defeat, as well as the mixed emotion of a rather bizarre 7-7 stalemate against Coopers’ Coburn. The season commenced in fine fashion with a convincing victory over our Duke of York foe 43-5. Strong possession and a flowing backs game, coupled with a display of raw power from our eager forwards enabled try after try. However, victory was unfortunately followed by defeat with two mixed performances at Caterham School and Eastbourne College. However, in typical 2nd team style, the team bounced back from a rout over rivals Sevenoaks in a 38-14 thrilling victory, in which special mention must go to our back line, with Alex Kidd achieving length in the pitch runs. This victory was followed unfortunately by a string of defeats and the previously mentioned bizarre 7-7 draw against Coopers’ Coburn. Even though the team had near 80% possession and spent the entire second half camped within the opposition’s 22, the victory could not be converted. With the final game of the season looming the team brought their finest hour. It was an emotional day for many of the leaving Upper Sixth Formers who realised this match against Colfe’s would be their last in their Sutton Valence careers. The team played with undoubted passion, highlighted by the flying Brandon Bishop, who with tackle after tackle after tackle putting his body on the line, caused their fly half to enter a state of panic every time he was near. The final try of the game was met with huge celebration, bundling the somewhat emotional Cameron Grabowski, who must also be congratulated, along with Alex Kidd, for being top try scorers on four tries each. The commitment of the team in many ways can be summed up by the injury list: Rory Sommerville: fractured eye socket and concussion; Chris Youngman: concussion; Jezz: shoulder injury and pulled hamstring; Abdullah Adil: ligament damage;
Sushant Gurung: back strain; Josh Craven: back strain; Tom Agu Benson: week long dead leg, and let us not forget the injury prone Ollie Taylor who received a new injury every other game. There are some clear highlights of the season worth mentioning. These include Alex Kidd turning out for a school fixture for the first time in nearly three years. Cameron the ‘drain rat’ Grabowski returning to his favoured right wing after weeks absent at university visits to bombard his way down the wing in typically slippery fashion and score two cracking tries in the process. Callum Waterman’s ‘horrific’ injury, so bad the Coopers’ Coburn game had to be delayed temporarily to allow a car pitch side, it was so ‘horrific’ in fact he was seen at a party just hours later. An honourable mention must also go to Tom Agu-Benson, who game after game put in bone shuddering hit after hit, audible from a great distance. Several have claimed the try of the season but none in such convincing fashion as Rory Sommerville, who found himself on the ball in an adopted wide and unfamiliar position straying from his rucking duties. With 20 metres to the line he still had some work to do. However in his own words he ‘decked’ two Duke of York players ‘wrecking’ them completely before diving across the line. I would like to thank both the whole team, and Mr Farrell and Mr Carr for a great season. Captain: Oliver Aucamp Oliver Taylor, Dan Cliffton, Sushant Gurung, Josh Craven, Rory Sommerville, Chris Youngman, Thomas Bennett, Connor O’Shea, Callum Waterman, Abdullah Adil, Praghat Rana, Harrison Sharpe, Brandon Bishop, Guy Backhouse, Patrick Backhouse, Thomas Agu-Benson, Asbin Ghale, Cameron Grabowski, Alex Kidd, Patrice Veasey, Jeremy Budd, Charlie Avril, Felix Eyers.
The Suttonian
3rd XV Rugby
Under 15 A Rugby
Under 15 B Rugby
Played: 6, Won: 1, Lost: 5
Played: 14, Won: 11, Lost: 3
Played: 9, Won: 4, Lost: 4, Drew: 1
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Tom Brunt Lower Sixth
his year’s Third XV had much to live up to after the infamous successes of the 2013 season. Managed by Mr Cope, we had high ambitions at the start of our first game against Duke of Yorks. We started strongly, winning by a margin of 21 points. This strong start gave us false hope for the remainder of the season, with the rest of the games ending in defeat. This can mainly be put down to some of our key players being promoted to the second team. I would like to thank Mr Cope for training and managing the team, dedicating many hours of his free time to developing individuals and the team as a whole. We would also like to thank Mr Alderman for organising the fixtures and all the parents and siblings who gave up their Saturday afternoons to watch us play through high wind and rain. Captain: Tom Brunt Tom Brunt, Ben Webb, Charles Court, Praag Dogra, Charlie Gellet, Henry Zhang, Owen Rixon, Toby Page, Felix Eyers, Michael Adebiyi, Tom Percival, Will Edwards, Harvey Truman, Ben Murray, Charlie Pratton, Harrison Sharpe, Pragaat Rana, Tom Bennett, Oliver Smither.
Dan Teare Fourth Form
he boys played with belief throughout the season, beating strong sides such as Eastbourne, Caterham and Worth along the way. Given the strength of the squad and the name we had made for ourselves the previous year, there was an element of expectation that hung over us from peers and coaches alike but this only made us more determined to play high-quality rugby, with a level of discipline that was previously unseen. The team was led by Dan Teare, who was able to impart his club and county experience to the rest of team, and was ably supported by the forwards backbone of Henry Overy, Callum Traynor and Guy Kennedy- all selflessly putting their bodies on the line in the contact area, proving to be too strong for opposition on the majority of occasions. The backs were underpinned by the likes of Alex Thorogood, so accurate in his place-kicking and instrumental to the victory over Eastbourne, Ben Mortley with his bone-crunching tackles, and Max Denniff with his dangerous counter-attacking running. A fantastic season by all, who should all be congratulated individually, and our thanks go to Messrs Cottrell and Howell for their time, experience and patience in their coaching. Captain: Dan Teare
Under 16 A Rugby Max Rossiter Fifth Form
Ross Sinclair, Henry Overy, Archie Averill, Louis Reginer, Will Harrison, Callum Traynor, Dan Teare (c), Guy Kennedy, Tom Millington, Alex Thorogood, Alex Bulic, Jonty Martin, Ben Mortley, Jack Howe, Max Denniff, Felix Whitley, Charlie Page, Laurence Eastman, Matt Webb.
Gywn Davies
he U15Bs had an encouraging season even though it had a bad start. The season opened in Caterham and after only 10 minutes one of our best players, Jack Hayes, sustained a nasty knee injury which put him out for the rest of the season. Despite this the team rallied well and came back a bit before finally going down to defeat. We often played well but didn’t manage to get the pattern completely right and came up just short on a number of occasions. Ironically, one of our best performances came during a heavy defeat by King’s Rochester, who had a very strong team. We defended well throughout, putting together some good phases of rugby and even managed to score the last try, but by then the game was gone. However, we did manage to finish on a high with a resounding win at Colfe’s when everything actually clicked into place, 41-13. Captain: Connor Cook
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Parents watched the 16 stone prop tear down the wing to attempt (and nearly succeed) in dinking the ball delicately over the opposition’s head.” Under 16A Rugby
Played: 11, Won: 3, Lost: 7, Cancelled: 1
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he season was full of fun and frustration but I believe it was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone, even Mr van Vuuren.
The start to the season did not go as we had hoped and the team took a while to warm up. However after a few defeats we were up and running and, even in the tougher fixtures, we played extremely well. Towards the end of the season we began to really enjoy returning to School on Monday mornings with news of victories such as the 51-12 against Buckswood. The most memorable game of the season had to be the Colfe’s game. It was great to finish off the season with a 38-7 win. Special mentions have to go to Ed Simmonds for filling in for Josh Aucamp brilliantly and James Croke for his outstanding performances. The highlight of the season had to be a chip kick from Ade which was much appreciated on the touchline, as parents watched the 16 stone prop tear down the wing to attempt (and nearly succeed) in dinking the ball delicately over the opposition’s head. Captain: Max Rossiter Josh Aucamp, Ed Simmonds, Charles Court, Callum O’shea, Ben Murray, James Croke, Jamie Drewe, Sabin Gurung, James Bevan Thomas, Cameron Knight, Elliot Aiken, Jacob Wilkinson, Hugo Loxton Barnard (Captain), Patrick Beech, George Deptford, Adedotun Owolabi, Ollie Smither, Max Rossiter (Captain).
The Suttonian
Page 89
Under 14 A Rugby Archie Crouch Third Form Played: 9, Won: 4, Lost: 4, Drew: 1
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he boys had a great season, going out to every match with the determination to win and their heads held high. There was some exceptional play in the back line from Barnaby, Felix, William and Edward who attacked well throughout every game. We gelled well as a team with attack being strong every game. At the start of the season when the game became very tense, the defense crumbled. This improved after some intense training sessions and soon after that the defense were back on form. Half way through the season Jenkins joined our team, which improved our game and made a big impact on our overall performance for the rest of the season. Well done everyone for a strong all round performance which was especially evident in the fantastic win against Reigate Grammar. Captain Archie: Crouch Gabrio Capaldi, Miles Stockman, Fergus Fowle, Hussain Farrag, Lars Eastman, Harry O Rawe, Alistair Gooding, Richard Soyer, Jenkins Kiwanuka, Harry Yorke, Archie Crouch, Edward Ervine, William Dickinson, Ben Purvis, Sean McKeating, Felix Dont, Jamie Oliver.
U14A Rugby
Under 14 B Rugby
Under 13 A Rugby
Played: 8, Won: 2, Lost: 6
Played: 9, Won: 5, Lost: 3, Drew: 1 PF= 219 PA= 139 PD= 80 Win Ratio= 61%
Tom Saltmarsh Third Form
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veryone was looking forward to the season and this was evident in our training. There were several memorable moments which included Jamie attempting to score on the 5m line which was the funniest thing of the entire season. The first half against Sevenoaks was probably our best half of the season but the second half was a disaster and we lost the game. Coopers Coborn was the first time we utilised our skills with success and there were a number of outstanding performances. Jamie scored four tries and Leon and Isaac scored their first ever tries in rugby, to make our first win. This was arguably our closest game of the season, on a wet and miserable day. Our new found determination then led us to victory against St Lawrence. As the weeks went on, Finlay and Jack made some important tackles, Leon was in the tries but we then lost against Worth. We had a good season which was unfairly reflected in our results. On behalf of the team I thank Mr Sansom for his belief in us and constant encouragement, and the parents for coming along to watch us and support us whatever the conditions and even at away matches. Captain: Tom Saltmarsh, Josh Scott, Harry Mitchell, Alex Bartleett, Jacob Baldwin, Sam Bennett, Hussain Farrag, Henry Jones, Ed Curling, Jack Mcnamara, George Cook, Finlay Heine, Tom Cavell, Billy Ellis, Jamie Oliver, Joe Agu Benson, Leon Schimellschmit, Isaac Owolabi, Sam Grindlay, Oliver Dent, Antonio Malluzzo-Fisher.
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Luke Bernicchi Second Form
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he U13A rugby side did exceptionally well and proved their talent in both training and games.
We had more wins than losses. I was always happy with the way we played and I didn’t mind if we lost; the performance from the team was great and the passion was always there. At the beginning of the season the team had a lot of room for improvement but the more the season progressed, the better the whole team played and the more games we won. We could not have done so well without the support from our coach Mr Davenport and the Head of Rugby, Mr Howell; they supported us when we needed it most and kept us motivated until the whistle was blown for the end of each game. In training we stayed focused and did what we had to do in the session. We played touch near the beginning of the season because the ground was hard for contact but later on we played contact and we learned how to tackle so our defence line is good. Overall the season was a success and everyone was fantastic and had every right to be in that U13A team. Captain: Luke Bernicchi Luke Bernicchi, Jack Lewis, Archie Yorke, Eddie Wheble, Louis Ridge, Mac Young, Toby Nottage, John Wilson, William Saltmarsh, Jack StantonGleaves, Joseph McInerney, Jamie Warmen, Finn Swaine, Matthew Teare, Max Savage.
Under 12/13 B Rugby Rugby Colts Sebastiaan Lijesen Second Form Played: 12, Won: 10, Lost: 2
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he Michaelmas Term was a memorable and successful one for the under 12/13 Bs. At the beginning of the term the ground was too hard so we could not have the practice we needed. However we still carried on with our matches enthusiastically. There were some fantastic tries scored with some great running, tackling and team play. Overall, our matches were very successful but also there were some close defeats. We managed to pull out a satisfying victory 47-3 against Vinehall even though the ground was as muddy and wet as a swamp, but in another match we unfortunately lost 17-12 to Reigate. In both of these matches we showed dedication in our tackles and spectacular running and passing with the ball. Sammy Blakely and Oliver Laird did some brilliant passing between each other. In fact every player in the Bs is amazing in their own position and without them we would not have achieved what we did. I would like to say thank you to Mrs Mitchell and Mr Carter who turned us into a team. We could not have won so many matches without them. Captain: Sebastiaan Lijesen Seb Lijesen, Bishesh Bhandari, Toby Dickenson, Noah Swaine, Tarik Abed, Morgan Barwick, Luca Capaldi, Alex Duckett, Theo Nelson, James Yeabsley, Joseph Lenehan, Myles Simmons, Joseph McDermott, Patrick Mullen, Elliot Gooding, Louis Hillier, Oliver Laird, Sammy Blakely, Finley Sprent, Ewen Barr, Alfie Collins-Smith.
The Suttonian
Rugby Sevens Mr Howell Head of Rugby
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he Lent Term saw our teams enter a multitude of Rugby Sevens competitions, this allowing our players the opportunity to harness their skills in the shorter format of the game. The SVS 1st XII rugby squad entered three tournaments including the Reigate Grammar School Charity sevens, Kent Under 18s sevens, and the Rosslyn Park National sevens. At Reigate the team came runners up in the Bowl Competition beating some top schools in Hampton School and Reed’s School along the way. At the Kent Under 18s sevens the team had excellent wins against Dartford Grammar, Maidstone Grammar, and Colfe’s School, before losing narrowly in the Plate semi-final to Cranbrook 21-19. The boys had the pleasure of working with current England Sevens star John Brake during the tournament. John passed on tips and lent his support to the SV squad throughout the day. At the Rosslyn Park Sevens the boys suffered narrow defeats to the prestigious Kirkham Grammar School and to Welsh giants Llandovery College, before beating Tiffin School 39-0, and St Mounts Sheffield 12-7. All boys who represented the School in these tournaments played with the valour and spirit that underpinned the senior rugby squad as a whole throughout the year. Special mentions for Tom AguBenson, Nick Wright and Toby Wilkinson who were outstanding in all games that they played. The Under 16s entered the Queen Elizabeth Barnet sevens, the Kent Under 16 sevens (hosted by SV) and the Rosslyn Park National sevens. The team fought hard in all games with Max Rossiter and Hugo Loxton-Barnard as top performers. The Under 15s entered the Kent Under 15 sevens where they reached the semi-final after beating Colfe’s School and Dartford Grammar, eventually losing narrowly to Judd School. The team also travelled to the prestigious Surrey Under 15 sevens where they outmuscled a number of top schools including Wimbledon College, St George’s Weybridge and St Paul’s on the way to losing narrowly in the Quarter Final to Dulwich College. The team showed their enormous potential in both tournaments and the top players were Dan Teare, Aleksander Bulic and Alex Thorogood. The Under 14s entered the Kent Under 14 sevens where they reached the Quarter Finals after comfortably beating a good Sevenoaks team in the group stages. The top performers for the team were Jenkins Kiwanuka and Archie Crouch.
United Westminster Schools Foundation Athletics
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his competition is the annual athletics meet between all the schools in the United Westminster Foundation. After we successfully hosted the event last year, it was the turn of Emanuel School at the Battersea Millennium Athletics stadium. As usual the students were keen to compete and for some it was their first proper athletics meet. Despite not having as much preparation time as we would have liked there were some superb individual performances.
Hugh Harman came 1st and Elliot Gooding came second in the junior boys high jump. Mac Young achieved an excellent win in the hurdles event. High jump Intermediate boys saw Felix Dont first and Sean McKeating second. In discus Harry O’Rawe first threw a mammoth 25.43m.
Below are a few highlights of the day although we are still awaiting an official complete set of results and times for the track events to be forwarded:
In the intermediate shot Jenkins Kiwanuka 11.54m and Guy Kennedy 11.51m gave us another 1st and 2nd place. Not bad at all as Jenkins was a last minute replacement as well as carrying a slight injury.
Maisie Rixon achieved a new Personal Best in the 200m and came second in long jump with a distance of 4.18m.
The intermediate girls relay team comprising of Verity Smith, Pamela Papa-Adams, Kathryn Douglas and Isabelle Turner came second
Amelie Rossiter came third in 1500m with a time of 5.54.64 and Tom Gray displayed fantastic stamina in 5.14.78 and came second
The afternoon was finished off in spectacular style with the intermediate relay where Max Denniff, Edward Ervine, Tom Millington and Alex Thorogood smashed the opposition and won by a clear 50m.
Amelie Rossiter and Annabel Mansfield achieved joint second high jump. Isabelle Turner was determined and focused during her 300m event coming second In the long jump for Junior boys Finn Swaine and Jack Lewis came first and second respectively. In the intermediate long jump Alex Thorogood came first with a distance of 5.20m.
Despite all these stunning performances we still did not do quite enough to secure the trophies; however Max Denniff did win the Intermediate Overall Best Boy Athlete Cup. It was a fantastic day and the pupils displayed a superb team spirit. Well done to all that took part.
The potential shown by all SVS teams is hugely encouraging and gives us extremely solid foundations upon which to build for the future. Congratulations to all boys involved.
The Suttonian
Page 91
hockey 1st XI Hockey
Emma Baxter Upper Sixth Won: 7, Lost: 4, Drew: 1, Goals for: 28, Goals against: 22 Matches including tournaments: Won: 24, Lost: 10, Drew: 5 Goals for: 91, Goals against: 35 Tournaments: • John Taylor Regional Indoor: Third • County Indoor: Third • Semi Finalists in the Country Outdoor • Semi Finalists in the Plumptre Tournament. • St George’s sixes tournament at Weybridge; second in plate. Sixth overall out of 36 teams in the South of England.
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he girls’ 1st hockey team had a cracking season with an incredibly strong side. Some of the highlights were improving our win rate from the previous year from 58% to 64%. Another highlight was coming 3rd in all of our four tournaments and 2nd in the plate competition of the U18 St. George’s sixes tournament at Weybridge, out of 36 top schools in the South of England. We beat some huge hockey schools along the way: Sevenoaks 3-2, Cranleigh 2-0, Wellington College 3-2, Mill Hill 6-0, Kingston Grammar School 2-1 and Tormead 3-0 to name but a handful. Despite the fact that Anna Baker only played in 10% of our matches this term, she still managed to be our top goal scorer this season, so I congratulate her for that. Our last game of the season against Duke Of York’s ended on a high, where Hannah Morris stormed up the pitch from defence, and smashed the ball past the goalie with Vicki Barnden making some beautiful passes and leads. We won 1-0. Some of us will be leaving after this year so special mentions must go to Mia Van Diepen keeping us strong in defence, Kathryn Parsons saving tremendous goals as our debut goalie, Hannah Davies powering up the wings in midfield, and Anna Baker and Vicki Barnden setting up and scoring the goals in attack. Well done to all the girls, who always played splendidly, we wish you luck for next year. Lastly I would like to thank our two coaches Mr Mathews and Adnan Zakir, and all the parents for their support and their coaching tips, bringing us to triumph many times. Captain: Emma Baxter, Hannah Davies , Kathryn Parsons,Vicki Barnden, Mia Van Diepen, Anna Baker, Hannah Morris, Chloe Evans, Lousia West, Katie Latter, Annika Reich, Georgie Ridge, Millie Gaston, Charlotte Perceval, Olivia Richards.
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1st XI Hockey
2nd XI Hockey
Lydia Davies Upper Sixth Won: 0, Lost: 6, Drew: 2 Goals for: 1, Goals against: 27
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t was not the most successful hockey season for the 2nd XI. The girls should be commended for their effort but with six losses and two draws over the whole season, unfortunately we did not achieve the results we deserved. Nonetheless the team spirit definitely made up for the losses! This year there were not many girls to choose from and so on some weeks it was very hard to field the same team. However, despite our losses, we were still determined and aimed to get a least one goal. Our miracle came in the match against Ashford. It was a hard fought game and we were able to come away with a 1-1 draw. However, the girls definitely improved over the season, especially defensively. It was a pleasure to captain the 2nd XI hockey team and I would like to thank all the girls for their commitment week in week out. I would also like to thank Mr Kennedy who coached, mentored, umpired and put up with us throughout the season. I would like to wish all the girls the best of luck next season. Thank you also to the Upper Sixth girls Fran Tidd, Kathryn Parsons, and Mimi Ozoadibe for playing so well in their final season. Captain: Lydia Davies Mary Ozoadibe, Fran Tidd, Kathryn Parsons, Lily Chivers, Evie Barclay, Sasha Van Dipen, Steph Weir, Annabelle Blake, Lina Ziegler, Naomi Klink, Imogen Catchpole, Jess Bennett, Molly Alexander, Sophia Dunne, Emily Finch, Emily Vernon, Phoebe Dawson, Amelia Kent.
Under 15 A Hockey Rehannah Houghton-Judge
Fourth Form
Won: 8, Lost: 6
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he year had many ups and down, but we improved throughout the term. We had a number of high scoring wins, such as the match against St. Edmund’s, where Verity Smith, using her skill and pace, dribbled through their back line and secured a 10-0 win. Another mention must go to Lauren Robinson who improved tremendously throughout the year and in the midfield, using her strength to get past many players. We ended the term with six straight wins. The last match was against King’s Rochester. SVS went out strong and wanted to win. Straight away we had the leg up and took advantage of it. Emelia Hollingsworth taking a short corner and putting it into the bottom left corner was the highlight of the match, with the whole team coming together and congratulating her. I must say a huge thank you to Ms Hallett who was always behind us and wanting us to do our best. Well done to all the team and let us do even better next year! Captain: Rehannah Houghton-Judge, Charlotte Percival, Fynley Young, Emelia Hollingsworth, Naomi Lijesen, Ella Williams, Eliza Lewis, Grace Mortley, Jemma Stuart, Lauren Robinson, Millie Bonny,Verity Smith, Grace Mortley, Isabelle Turner.
The Suttonian
Under 14 A Hockey
Under 14 B Hockey
Under 13 B Hockey
Played: 7 matches and 2 tournaments Won: 10, Lost: 3, Drew: 1
Won: 4, Lost: 3, Drew: 1
Played: 9, Won: 4, Lost: 4, Drew: 1
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Emily Smith Third Form
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he season was an extremely exciting one for the U14 A team with some new players being a very welcome addition and significantly strengthening our team. We therefore approached the new season keenly and felt ready to tackle the tough matches we knew were ahead of us. We had some great wins in the season but the highlight of our season has to be undoubtedly the Kent County Tournament where, following a series of hard-fought games, we ended up in the final, and won a place in the regional finals in Bedford on 11th November, representing Kent. During the first round of the Kent County Tournament, we managed to win all our matches in what was a tough group and without conceding a single goal. This then led us through into the quarter-final against Tonbridge Grammar School. It was a close match and we fought hard throughout, finally scoring with a goal by Anna Harrison from a last minute short corner.
Kathryn Douglas Third Form
he girls had a very good season. In training we all focused on working better as a team and practising our skills. Our defence were strong, being able to block the ball and hit with a hard pass back to the mids. The mids and wings worked well together to bring the ball up the pitch to score goals. Overall it was a successful season. Captain: Kathryn Douglas Emily Bottle, Ava Deighton-Smyth, Georgia Best, Emily Hall, Tiggy Teare, Isabella Hughes, India Fowle, Katie Swift, Grace Mitchell, Emily Baldwin.
Pescha Cordell Second Form
e had a great season with great play from all the team. Throughout the games we saw our hockey improve and we worked together better as a team. Our first few matches were tough. We were so happy after we drew against Dulwich Prep School which is a very hard opposition. We then won against Marlborough House 2-0. Sadly we lost 1-0 against Lingfield. The next week we won against Vinehall 2-0. We had two smashing games to end the season, with two 10-0 wins against Duke of York's Military School and Worth. Captain: Pescha Cordell Grace Mitchell, Gabriella Howarth, Daisy Hills, Pippa Dow, Lara Savage, Sophie Lee, Izzie Eyers and Anabelle Mansfield.
In the semi-final, we came up against Kent College, Canterbury, last year’s U13 County Champions. With some great goals from Verity Streek and Anna Harrison we found ourselves through to the final against Sevenoaks. Having played seven matches in the tournament against some big hockey schools, this was always going to be a tough final. We worked hard throughout the match but unfortunately conceded the first and only goal of the tournament against us. Although the end score was 1-0 to Sevenoaks we were delighted by how far we had progressed in the tournament and we were happy to have conceded just one goal to such a strong side. We felt the tournament result reflected how far we had progressed as a team which was due in no small part to the excellent coaching we had received throughout the season. We had an amazing season and would like to thank Mr Wells, Ms McConnachie, Adnan Zakir and of course Mr Mathews for being great coaches and helping us achieve all we did over the season. Well done to everyone who played in the team throughout the season and thank you to all the parents and supporters who took the time to come and watch us play and cheer us on. Captain: Emily Smith Imogen Forknall, Katie Harrison, Phoebe Aucamp, Melissa Dawson, Sophie Baxter,Verity Streek, Georgie Mancais, Kate Woodford (top goal scorer), India Fowle, Kathryn Douglas, Pamela Papa-Adams and Nina Harman (all Third Form); Anna Harrison, Charlotte Wooldridge and Daisy Fenton (all Second Form) and Maisie Rixon (First Form).
The Suttonian
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Photographs by David Lee, Panaround
Under 13 A Hockey
Under 13 C Hockey
Under 13 D Hockey
Won: 7, Lost: 3, Drew: 4
Won: 4, Lost: 3, Drew: 3
Played: 7, Lost: 7
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Anna Harrison Second Form
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t was a very impressive and successful hockey season for the U13 A team. We had a very strong team of hard working, talented girls. We had some great wins and I want to congratulate all of the girls on their great success. We managed to win half of our games overall which was a fantastic result. We had a very strong team with the fearless Flo Watkinson in goal, and a solid, hardworking defence thanks to Anna Harrison, Katie Lang, Amelie Rossiter and Elizabeth Cavell. We also had Daisy Fenton, Maisie Rixon and Sophie Lee flying down the wings and Charlotte Wooldridge, Gabriella Romano and Pescha Cordell scoring the winning goals. I would like to thank Mrs Rose and Mr Mathews for coaching us and taking us to all of the matches. Lastly I would like to give a huge vote of thanks to all of the parents who came to support us: and we could not have done it without you. Captain: Anna Harrison Flo Watkinson, Katie Lang, Amelie Rossiter, Elizabeth Cavell, Maisie Rixon, Daisy Fenton, Pescha Cordell, Sophie Lee, Charlotte Wooldridge, Gabriella Romano.
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Daisy Hills First Form
verall it was a brilliant season for the U13C team. Although we lost against Holmewood House, Dulwich Prep and Wellesley House, we still played some great hockey. Highlights included the 3-1 win against Vinehall and the 3-0 win against St. Ronan’s. We also did really well to hold Sevenoaks to a 3-3 draw. We had a good set up and we all worked really well together. I played on the right wing, Katie Swift on the left wing and Lara Savage/Gabriella Howarth were centre forward and centre mid. Erin Densham and Grace Mitchell were our midfielders, and Isabelle Eyers, Pippa Dow and Amie Stuart were in defence. Last but not least, Lizzie Drummond was our goal keeper. I was lucky enough to be the top goal scorer of the season, followed closely by Katie Swift, but this was thanks to the great team work and support from mid field and defence. I would like to say thank you to Miss Manning, who kept us going with her positive comments and enthusiasm throughout the season. Captain: Daisy Hills Katie Swift, Lara Savage, Lizzie Drummond, Gabriella Howarth, Isabelle Eyers, Erin Densham, Amie Stuart, Pippa Dow and Grace Mitchell.
Estelle McInerney Second Form
he Under 13 Ds had a tough season. We played against some strong teams but this did not dampen our spirits. Our team consisted of some complete beginners which gave some of our more experienced players a chance to teach key skills and game expectation. Some of our matches were really close. During one of our matches we were two players down including a goal keeper. However, thanks to Nicole Avery and Amie Stuart’s strong defence, we were able to save several goals. One memorable moment was Erin Densham’s goal whilst playing against Holmewood House. As a team we closed the opposition down, gained possession of the ball and Anisha Thapa-Magar passed the ball into the D. Erin received the ball and took the opportunity to score. As a team we learnt to be more aware of our positions on the pitch. We improved in our tackling and passing of the ball. I would like to thank all of the Under 13 Ds for their hard work. Captain: Estelle McInerney Nicole Avery, Emily Baldwin, Erin Densham, Amelia Kirk-Brown, Cameron Lamont-Brown, Mariana Mason , Estelle McInerney, Amie Stuart, Anisha Thapa Magar.
The Suttonian
1st XI Hockey
Ollie Ridge Upper Sixth Played:17,Won: 9, Lost: 5, Drew: 2, Goals For: 47 Goals Against :24 Semi-Finalists of the Frank Mason Cup Quarter-Finalists of the Kent Cup Block fixture results Played:8, Won: 5, Lost: 2, Drew: 1, GF: 20 GA: 7
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or many of us this was our last season playing for Sutton Valence, and it was certainly successful. Our first match was against Felsted and even though we lost 1 – 3, our first performance was very encouraging. We then played against a very strong St Lawrence College side and won 2-0. Then when we played Eltham College Max Denniff scored the only hat trick of the season, helping us win 6 – 1 and allowing us to qualify for the Quarter-Finals of the Kent Cup. Our young team continued to grow which was vital as we were to play a strong Eastbourne side. This highly anticipated fixture didn’t fail to impress, as Tim Cain made some outstanding saves. Consequently we only conceded one goal, and scored two. This victory was colossal for us as we knew the Frank Mason Tournament was just around the corner. At the start of the Tournament we started slowly against Tonbridge, losing 0 – 3. The boys weren’t down for long as we beat Sir Roger Manwood 2 – 0 with an unbelievable goal from Sam Noss. Borden GS was our last group stage match which resulted in a 3 – 0 win, leaving us second in the group and playing Kent College in the Quarter-Finals. Due to the snow on the pitch and the weather the game went straight to penalty flicks. Jamie, Joseph, Stuart and Tom all scored and a save from Tim meant we were playing King’s Canterbury in the SemiFinal. We dominated the match and had numerous chances but failure to score left both sides 0 – 0 at full time, meaning it went to penalty flicks. We unfortunately lost it, but King’s then went on to win the final. Once again we were playing King’s in the Kent Cup Semi-Final; we unfortunately lost 2 -3 but dominated sixty minutes of the match before Kings snatched the win with two goals in the last ten minutes. Even with Stuart Boltman scoring one of the best goals of the season we failed to win. St Edmund’s was a match in which a courageous Sam risked his life to stop them from scoring, which ended up with him being airlifted from the School grounds. Due to this incident the match slowed down finishing as a 1 – 1 draw. We were all relieved to see Sam back in school after Half Term. For the third time of the season we played King’s. We started well scoring an early goal but that wasn’t enough as King’s showed off their international talent as they slotted two goals past us. This loss didn’t put us down as we beat our local rivals Cranbrook 4 – 0 with a sensational goal from the skipper. Again we took this win forward to draw 1 – 1 against an unbeaten Ardingly side. The final block fixture of the season was against Duke of York’s. Winning 8 – 0 was a great feeling, and it was a fitting finish as all the leavers scored, with Nick scoring a penalty flick in the dying seconds on the game. We then played the Old Suttonians on the Sunday and after an incredible game of fast paced hockey lost 6-4. The staff then tried to beat us on the Wednesday and came up short by four goals after we outran and out-played them, winning 6-2. It was great to play the staff and an event that the School should play every year. All of the team thoroughly enjoyed it. This season was a pleasure for me to captain and summed up what great School hockey careers many of us have had. I would like to say a massive thank you to Mr Mathews who has spent so many hours with us all, to Adnan who sacrificed his Saturday afternoons and to Mr Ridge who umpired a number of our matches. Captain: Ollie Ridge Sam Noss, Nick Wright, Tom Mitchell, Asbin Ghale, Tim Cain (ViceCaptain), Ollie Aucamp, Angus Weir, Tom Lennard, Joe Deveson, Stuart Boltman, Henry Spain-Warner, Max Streek, Jamie Drew and Max Denniff.
The Suttonian
1st XI Hockey
2nd XI Hockey
Angus Weir Captain Upper Sixth Played: 8, Won: 4, Drew: 2, Lost: 2 Goals for: 31, Goals against: 14
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t is safe to say that the boys 2nd XI hockey team had a successful season. New time 2nd XI head coach, Mr Carr, can be a very pleased man with the time and effort the boys put into this year. The side showed great commitment and the team spirit was excellent throughout the season. The term started with a hard fought match away against the big hockey school, Felsted. After conceding two early goals, the battling 2nd XI clawed back, leaving the score two all for a large part of the game until a dubious penalty flick was awarded to the home side which they duly put away, leaving the score 3-2 to Felsted. Being the first match of the season, the boys were not disheartened by the result and looked forward to getting the first win under our belts the week after against Eltham College. However this win would have to wait. Some poor defence early on in the match led to Eltham scoring a very sloppy goal. However we did manage to get a goal back very quickly. The match became a stalemate for the rest of the first half. Despite pressing hard for the winner we had to settle for a hard earned 1-1 draw. Our first win of the season came a week later against St Edmund’s, and in some style. The boys played some unbelievable hockey. Granted St Edmund’s were clearly not a potent hockey school, but our boys were ruthless in attack with Mr Carr losing track of the number of goals we scored. He eventually settled for somewhere around 11! King’s Canterbury was our next match at home. Being a big sporting school and the fact that our First XI had already lost three times against them earlier in the season, meant that the boys knew this would be a tough match. One goal apiece left the score 1-1 all at half time, but this became 2-1 to SV after some great attacking play. Despite strong pressure from King’s in the final ten minutes, they could not break through our rock solid defence, leaving the score as it stood. A great win! Our local derby came up next against Cranbrook. The boys all knew this was going to be a tough match but we were determined to get one up on our rivals. However this was not the case. Two easy goals scored by Cranbrook as a result of poor defending provided an uphill struggle for us early on in the match. Their lead was cut to one at half time through an amazingly worked goal and a second was shortly added early in the second half. From this the team grew in confidence but we just could not find the back board despite sustained pressure. The final score being a 2-2 draw. Our final two games were against Ardingly and Duke of York’s. After being riddled by injury, it was expected that the match against Ardingly was going to be fairly one way. However the boys showed great courage and determination throughout the match. The final score being 5-1 to the opposition. The match against Duke of York’s was a different story. More ruthless attacking play and some wonder goals scored by second former Louis Ridge saw the 2nd XI win 8-0, in amazing style. We rounded things off in fine style as we beat the Old Suttonians 4-2 in a well contested game. They just could not cope with our searing pace! It has been great to captain this year’s 2nd XI hockey team, but it could not have been such a successful season without the time, effort and patience put in by our superb head coach Mr Carr and for this we thank him. Captain: Angus Weir Patrick Backhouse, Guy Backhouse, Tom Percival, Tom Brunt, Praghat Rana, Henry SpainWarner, Max Streek, Jack Mortley, James Bevan-Thomas, Charles Court, George Deptford, Sabin Gurung, Tom Agu-Benson Page 95
3rd XI Hockey
Under 16 A Hockey
Under 15 A Hockey
Played: 6, Won: 1, Lost: 5, Drawn: 0
Played:3, Won: 2, Lost: 1
Won: 7, Lost: 1
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Michael Adebiyi and Jack Salmons Upper Sixth
he season was more successful than the previous one, ending a drought of two years. It has been said that a change in management often leads to better results; this is a fundamental philosophy in football that worked for the likes of Crystal Palace Football Club, who during our season of hockey changed their manager to the great Alan Pardew. Likewise, the senior members of the 3rd XI demanded a change in coach, and as a result of our demands, we were given Mr Cope and the Jose Mourinho of coaches: Mr Carter. Under this new leadership, we had a bad run of games, losing five games in a row. Despite the losses the team remained focused and positive during training, continually remembering the dream of one day winning a game. However on the 21st of March, we made our way to the far south east of Kent, Dover, to play our final game of the season. Before the game Michael Adebiyi delivered one of the most inspirational speeches of all time, surpassing the likes of Martin Luther King Jr and Winston Churchill. With the fear of God, we literally, saw, came and conquered. Hitting balls left, right and centre into the Duke of York’s goal. We dominated, leaving scars of defeat on the players as well as their coaches. This victory of 7-1 thus ended the two year drought. Captains: Jack Salmons, Felix Eyers and Michael Adebiyi Harrison Woods, Adedotun Olowabi, Sabin Gurung, James Bevan-Thomas, Angus McVarish, James Croke, Harry Brunt, Edward Simmonds, Charles Court, Will Edwards, Brandon Bishop, Callum O’Shea.
Cameron Knight Fifth Form
he under 16s did not play many matches this year, but despite this we still managed to enjoy a successful season.
After receiving a bye in the first round of the cup our first match was away, against Kent College. On paper this looked like a tough match but we started well, passing the ball quickly and accurately which led to an early breakthrough. From then on we controlled the game and went on to win 5-0. Next, we had Finals Day at Tonbridge School. We played Langley Park in the semi-final, starting poorly and ending up 4-0 down by half time. However with Mr van Vuuren and Mr Carter giving us an inspirational team talk, we started the second half strongly, scoring early. Then George Gaston and Alex Thorogood scored two great solo goals either side of two goals from the opposition. So the final score ended up as 6-3 to Simon Langton. This meant we went into the third place play off where we faced Tonbridge. In the first half we passed the ball forward quickly, with Sabin Gurung beating three players down the right, passing to James Bevan-Thomas who tapped in. We then scored twice, making the lead 3-0 just before half time. The opposition secured two late goals, which left us under pressure, but Henry Ovary made some good saves to ensure we won 3-2 and finished in third place. Well done to all the guys, and thanks to our two great coaches Mr van Vuuren and Mr Carter. Cameron Knight (C), Henry Ovary (GK), Matthew Webb, Will Harrison, Angus McVarish, Ben Mortley, James Croke, Alex Thorogood, George Deptford, Tom Millington, James Bevan-Thomas, George Gaston, Sabin Gurung.
Under 15 B Hockey Angus Barclay Fourth Form Played 5, Won 2, Draw 1, Lost 2
William Harrison Fourth Form
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fter a successful previous season with an 85% percent win rate and winning the Kent County Tournament, we knew from an early stage that we were expected to do great things this season. We had new coaches Mr Carter and Mr van Vuuren, and a strong side. With intense training in our first week back after Christmas we were ready for our first match against a strong rival team of Felsted. We started slowly with an early goal conceded, however we came away with a five goal win, with our centre forward George Gaston starting off the season with a handful of goals, together with Jack Fenton’s sneaky tip ins. This trend carried on through the season with the odd wonder goal by Alex Thorogood and Thomas Millington as the dynamic duo, who also controlled the middle, applying waves of constant pressure on the tired opposition, and distributing with precision to our wingers, Jack Fenton, Henry King and Tom Aiken. Meanwhile Max Denniff took on whole teams with his speed and skill, setting up and scoring a handful of goals. If the ball ever broke into our half, which it barely ever did, the brick wall consisting of Ben Mortley, Mathew Webb, Joe Pallet, William Harrison and Laurence Eastman made perfectly timed tackles to dismantle the attacking force. Our goalie Henry Overy barely had to make any saves, however, when he did, he would leave the side line spectators in awe due to his breathtaking saves. Over all we had a very successful season with only two losses, and an unlucky tournament. There are high hopes for an even more successful season next year. Special thanks to Mr Carter and Mr van Vuuren for helping us achieve what we did this season. Henry Overy, William Harrison, Ben Mortley, Ben Webb, Laurence Eastman, Tom Millington, Alex Thorogood, Tom Lazarides, George Gaston, Jack Fenton, Henry King, Alex Schuller, Tom Aiken, Joe Pallett.
Despite the cancellation of our first match, we kicked off the season with a great 2-1 away victory against Eastbourne College, who have a strong pedigree in all sports. This buoyed our confidence, and we went on to draw our second match 1-1 against Eltham College which, in everyone’s view, was perhaps the coldest sporting fixture that there has ever been. This fantastic start to the season continued throughout the term and included an amazing 3-1 win against our local rivals Cranbrook School. Unfortunately due to conditions and logistical issues we had a few more cancellations throughout the season which hampered the team’s rhythm, but the unit was collectively impressive in demonstrating a true team spirit. Special mentions must go to Archie Averill and Jonty Watson for working well in the midfield, and to Tim Anthony for his skilful runs up the wing and consistent passes into the D. Jack Delaney and Dan Teare stood tall as defensive forces to all attackers and showed great resilience in their efforts. I would like to say a special thank you to Mr. Cottrell from the team for his time and patience this season and for his encouragement during our tough games. Callum Traynor, Dan Teare, Laurence Eastman, Tom Aiken, Jack Delaney, Harry McLeod, Alex Hill, Jack Howe , Angus Barclay, Will Bryant, Felix Whiteley, Jonty Watson, Archie Averill, Tim Anthony.
Under 15A Hockey Page 96
The Suttonian
Under 14 A Hockey Lars Eastman Third Form Played: 5, Won: 3, Lost: 2
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e started the season playing Felsted and had an unfortunate loss. In the first Half Term we did not have many matches and went into the County Cup a little unprepared. In the semi-finals we lost to Tonbridge 5-2 but it was an unlucky score. After that we went on to play Eltham College in the third place play off, who we had lost to earlier in the year. In the first half we were down 2-0 and came back to win 6-2. After the County Cup we played better hockey for the rest of the season. When we played Cranbrook we won 3-0 and then in final game of the season against Duke of York’s, we won 5-0. Well done to Harry O’Rawe for the most goals this year; Felix Dont and Sean McKeating for great defending and Jenkins for coming up from the B team to become a key A team player. Harry O’Rawe, Edward Ervine, Miles Stockman, Felix Dont, Sean McKeating, Joe Agu-Benson, Alistair Gooding, Barnaby Loxton-Barnard, Archie Crouch, Jenkins Kiwanuka, Lars Eastman.
Under 14 B Hockey Gibby Capaldi Third Form
Played: 6, Won: 3, Lost: 2, Drew: 1
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he under 14B team had a successful season overall. Towards the beginning of the season, with many of our matches cancelled, we were able to come out of the first half of the season with a 100% win rate. However, although we gave a good fight, we lost our first match after half term 2-1 against Caterham. Luckily we had our superhero, Hussein Farrag, who saved us from total embarrassment by scoring a goal. Nevertheless we didn’t give up. With our next match cancelled we had another week of much needed training. We drew 1-1 against Eltham. This was all thanks to the man of the match, Fergus Fowle. His incredible defending on the left, stopped them from scoring more goals. Then something we didn’t expect happened. We won 6-0 against King’s. It even turned out that we did better than the A team. Man of the match was shared in this game between William Dickinson, Tom Saltmarsh and Ben Purvis. Ben was the only player in the B team this season to achieve a hat trick. We then beat Cranbrook 3-0. Unfortunately after another cancellation our last match was lost 10-0 which was a disappointing end to the season. However, the squad developed a great deal over the season, showing great determination, team spirit and skill throughout. Gibby Capaldi, Captain. Sam Bennett, Henry Jones, Josh Scott, Richard Sawyer, Fergus Fowle, Alex Bartleet, Thomas Cavell, Gabrio Capaldi, William Dickinson, Thomas Saltmarsh, Jack McNama, Cameron Evans, Finlay Heine, Hussein Farag, Harry Yorke, Ben Purvis.
The Suttonian
Under 13 A Hockey Max Savage Second Form
Played: 27, Won: 23, Lost: 3, Drawn: 1 Goals For: 115, Goals Against: 17 Win 88% 4.25 goals per game.
At the end of the Sutton Valence season Louis Ridge scored an outstanding 86 goals with some fantastic assists and all the other players in the team showed their individuality and created goals. The captain did quite well in the middle of the pitch too. Special mention must go to Sebastiaan Lijesen who was the best super sub in defence.
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In total we only lost one game out of all our block fixtures, even though some of them came down to the last minute of the game. Everyone definitely gained in ability and did everything they had to do to win, even if there were some injuries and soreness along the way.
We finished with the semi-finals of the Regionals and only lost to National Champions, Whitgift. We also finished runners up in the Barrow Hills, John Maylam Regional Tournament of 36 teams. We have had some amazing individual achievements, with Louis Ridge, Oliver Laird and Finn Swain all getting into the Kent teams at U13 and U14 level.
I hope that next year the under 13 A team is just as strong and successful, and I wish them all the very best and hope that they can get some revenge on the couple of teams that we lost to.
he under thirteen boys had a great season. We started by winning the Kent Cup against Langley Park in the final, shortly followed by coming runners up in the Dulwich County tournament.
Our team was exceptional, with many important saves by Finn Swaine in goal and some great defending by Alex Duckett and Sammy Blakely. We were also very impressive in the attack with Louis Hillier, Sam Allison, Ollie Laird and Louis Ridge.
Thank you so much to Mr Wells and Mr Mathews for their hours of coaching and useful advice, without them none of this success would have been possible. Finn Swaine (GK), Max Savage (Captain), Sebastiaan Lijesen, Oliver Laird, Louis Ridge, Sammy Blakeley, Alex Duckett, Louis Hillier, Sam Allison.
Under 13 B Hockey Hugh Harman Second Form Played: 7, Won: 4:, Lost: 2, Drew: 1
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he season started well. We beat Homewood House School, but unfortunately then lost to St Lawrence College. During the season we had some great goals from Elliot Gooding, Joseph Leneham and me.
We then went on to Counties where we played very well with great saves from Theo Nelson, and solid defending from Jack Stanton-Gleaves and Noah Swaine. Unfortunately we were knocked out at the plate stage of the tournament, making us the runners up. Thanks go to Mr. Mathews for helping us and for driving us to East Grinstead. The other teams we played were St Edmund’s Canterbury (3-0 won),Vinehall (2-2), Marlborough House (4-3 won) and Ashford School (6-0 won). Page 97
netball
Ist Team Netball
Leavers netball match
Leavers Netball Match
1st VII Netball
The boys put up a good fight in the annual Upper Sixth girls versus boys netball match. After a strong start from the boys with 6ft 7” Henry Sparrow in defence and sharp shooter Tom Mitchell in attack the game was goal for goal. However the girls were too strong and stormed ahead to win 9-2. The boys were very skilful this year, as well as very glamorous! KM
Lydia Davies Upper Sixth Played: 11, Won: 8, Lost: 3
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nce again the 1st VII had a great season and put on some great performances against some big schools such as King’s Canterbury where we stormed the court and came out victorious, winning 44-23, and also Emmanuel, winning with a tremendous score of 52-30. We started the term well coming away with a close win of 33-28 against St John’s and another marginal victory of 39-2 against Duke of York’s Royal Military School. Throughout the season, we also took part in various tournaments and managed to win in the plate final of the Birley’s U18 tournament which was a great victory for the team. I would like to congratulate all the members of the team who all put on good performances throughout the season. Emily, Sasha and Mia were all strong in defence and helped us not to concede too many goals throughout the season. Vicki, Emma and Millie also worked tirelessly well in centre court and fed the ball well to both myself and Georgie in the shooting circle where we successfully managed to put up shot after shot. All the girls must be commended on a truly successful season. Thank you also to Miss McConnachie who has made my final season truly amazing. All the best to the future of netball at SV! Lydia Davies, Hannah Davies, Mia van Diepen, Victoria Barnden, Millie Gaston, Emily Finch, Georgie Ridge, Sasha van Diepen, Anna Baker. Page 98
2nd VII Netball
3rd VII Netball
Played: 12, Won: 8, Lost: 4
Played: 7, Won: 3, Lost: 4
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Hannah Morris Lower Sixth
ith eight wins and only four losses this netball season was a very strong one for the 2nd VII team. There were many tense and tiring moments within games which tested our strength as a team but we powered through and became an even stronger unit. This year we were fortunate enough to play against 1st team opponents such as Bethany, Duke of York’s Royal Military School and King’s Rochester and beat them with high scores giving us all a boost in our confidence and ability. We had fantastic shooting from Evie Barclay and Fran Tidd throughout all of the games and great defence from Stephanie Weir, Ella Proctor and Hannah Morris. All the girls should be proud of our achievements and I look forward to next netball season where hopefully we can go out and win even more matches. Captain: Hannah Morris Chloe Evans, Hannah Morris, Stephanie Weir, Ella Proctor, Francesca Tidd, Jess Bennet, Evie Barclay, Olivia Richards.
Lily Chivers Lower Sixth
his season was challenging for the 3rd team. We played many tough schools and played a lot of matches against their seconds as they had been unable to field a third team. Being a mixture of Lower Sixth and Fifth Form we were able to develop good team skills and a great team spirit throughout the season. From the beginning of the season through to the end the team made big improvements with our best results being against Ashford School and Duke of York. The most improved player was awarded to Imogen Catchople and Player of the Season was awarded to Molly Alexander. Many thanks must go to our coach Mrs Wilkinson who has supported us this season. Captain: Lily Chivers. Lily received the Coach’s Award: she was a super captain always ensuring the players knew where they should be and when with the correct equipment. AW Imogen Catchpole, Molly Alexander, Emily Vernon, Stephanie Weir, Ella Capaldi, Amber Delaney, Francesca Wheble, Annabelle Blake, Phoebe Dawson.
The Suttonian
Under 15 A Netball
Under 15 B Netball
Under 14 A Netball
Played: 16, Won: 9, Lost: 4, Drew: 3
Won: 8, Lost: 3, Drew: 1
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Played: 8, Won: 3, Lost: 5 he U14A netball team had a very enjoyable but challenging season. Many of our players were not as strong as usual due to injuries.
Emelia Hollingsworth Fourth Form
he U15A netball team had a very successful season. Our most tense games were against King’s Canterbury where the result was 23-23 and Cranbrook which was 21-21. Each goal meant so much to each team and we had great support. Throughout the season our team had a few changes, but Naomi, Rehannah, Issy and Lauren played very well in defence, stopping the opposing teams from scoring many goals. Eliza and Millie fed the ball down well into the circle to give Fyn and I the opportunity to shoot the goals. Throughout the season, we scored 206 goals which we were very impressed with. The highlight of our season was the Benenden Tournament. A fantastic day, we played six twentyminute matches, winning against Cranbrook(11-8), Kent College Canterbury (13-10), Walthamstow Hall (15-8) and Claremont (21-4); we drew against King’s (13-13) and only lost 1 game overall against Benenden (15-8). We came 2nd in the Tournament and were very proud of our silver medals! A big thank you must go to Mrs Pankhurst for being our coach and helping us get through an incredible and tough season! Captain: Emelia Hollingsworth Millie Bonny, Eliza Lewis, Isabel Stevens, Lauren Robinson, Naomi Lijisen, Rehannah HoughtonJudge, Fyn Young, Jemma Stuart.
Lauren Robinson Fourth Form
he U15B team’s netball season was very successful, despite the vast amount of changes to the squad. Many of our players were strong enough to drift from our team to represent the A team. Our first game was against King’s Canterbury where we won 23-10, with only a few training sessions and a long year without shooting, Lily Crampton and Beth Miles managed to rapidly score goals. On Tuesday the 10th of February we made an appearance at Bethany School where we put forward a mixture of B team players with a few of the C team players playing up, helping us out. The game started well with our strongest side out, and by quarter time we were five goals up. After our strong start at half time we swapped players and positions. Slowly Bethany began to fight back and our defence felt the pressure and started making silly mistakes. By the final quarter we were 10-10, so we put our best squad forward and performed to our best ability and managed to deliver a win of 25-10 with great shooting from Hattie Aburn. Another great win was against our big rivals Cranbrook. We knew it would be tough but achievable; we marched onto the court with ambition to win. The game began and our performance was better than ever, with outstanding playing from all of the squad especially from Catherine Veasey, ending up with a 23-17 win. Captain: Lauren Robinson Verity Smith, Beth Miles, Catherine Veasey, Izzy turner, Hatty Cage, Lily Crampton, Jemma Stuart.
Surrey Storm Netball Trip Imogen Forknall and Emily Smith Third Form On Saturday 7th March we headed to the Copper Box Arena for the Surrey Storm v Hertfordshire Maverick’s Superleague netball match. We went to our seats and then had our faces painted with the Surrey Storm colours. It was a close game the whole way through but Surrey Storm managed to win by beating their rivals Mavericks 55-42 in front of a record breaking crowd of 6,033 people. After the match we were lucky enough to meet the players and have photos taken with them. I am sure we can speak on behalf of everyone when we say we all had an amazing time.
The Suttonian
Georgie Mancais Third Form
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Although we played some tough matches and lost against some strong teams, we always came off the court pleased no matter what the score was. If we had lost we were determined to practise what we did wrong and correct it. Some of our toughest matches were against Lancing College and Christ’s Hospital where we lost, but they were close games. Our defence this year was very strong, with Phoebe Aucamp,Verity Streek and Sophie Baxter working well together and stopping the opposition making goals before sending the ball up the court to me and Emily Smith and on to our talented shooters Kate Woodford at GA, and Imy Forknell and Ella Hughes at GS. As a team we worked very well together and most of the time we concentrated in our games lessons, trying to learn all the tactics we could and picking up defensive techniques to apply if the opposition was strong. Well done to Kate Woodford for getting the player of the match for most of our games, a very wellearned title. Also, thank you so much to our coaches Mrs Rose and Miss McConnachie for teaching us new skills and to all the parents who supported us. Captain: Georgie Mancais Emily Smith WA, Kate Woodfoord GA, Sophie Baxter GD, Phoebe Aucamp WD,Verity Streek GK, Imy Forknell, Ella Hughes GS.
U15 Benenden Winners
Georgie Mancais U14A Netball
Page 99
Under 13 A Netball
Charlotte picked for Kent Netball Academy
Played: 11, Won: 8, Lost: 3
Congratulations to Charlotte Wooldridge who has been selected for the U14 Kent Netball Academy.
Charlotte Wooldridge Second Form
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ur season started well with a convincing 23-4 win over King’s Rochester with accurate shooting from Anna Harrison and Annabel Mansfield. However, Holmewood House was a much closer game, which we won 17-16; this was due to a great team effort.
Charlotte displayed impressive performances throughout three gruelling rounds of trials. This is the first step on the England Netball Development Pathway and aims to give players the quality individual coaching support they need to become an elite athlete.
The rain meant we played our next match indoors and managed a great win against Junior King’s with great midfield play by Gabby Romano and Daisy Fenton. We then had a tough game against Sevenoaks, which we lost 12-37; however Gabby Howarth was great in defence. We lost our next two games against Marlborough House and DCPS, despite great defensive effort by Katie Lang. In the county tournament, we won all five of our first round games; we beat Bennett Memorial in the next round but lost in the quarter finals against tournament winners Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Girls. We finished in the top eight of 54 schools. We then won our remaining three games against Maidstone Girls Grammar School, Rosehill and Christ’s Hospital. Well done team for a great performance all season with a record of 219 goals scored! Captain: Charlotte Wooldridge Annabel Mansfield, Anna Harrison, Gabby Romano, Daisy Fenton, Katie Lang, Gabriella Howarth.
Under 14 B Netball Tiggy Teare Third Form Played: 8, Won: 1, Lost: 7
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ur team was a bit of a mix-match, switching and swapping players from the usual team, sometimes due to injuries, other times simply to see new faces. Nethertheless, we had a brilliant season. Imogen Forknall and I quickly became known as the ‘Dynamic Duo’ in attack; joined by the strong defence of Pamela Papa Adams and Georgia Best as GK and GD. We only just lost our first match against Duke of York’s Royal Military School with a score of 8-11. However, we learnt our strengths and weaknesses as a team, including discovering our interesting ‘fling-passes’ that we all seemed to be capable of using as a final resort to prevent a ball falling off-court. We quickly found that we were at a disadvantage when playing bigger schools with more girls to choose from, usually resulting in playing a team far stronger than us. However, this never discouraged us. Despite long drives and cold weather, the team never failed to put their best foot forward and fight as hard as we could from beginning to end of every match. As we drew to our final match against Worth, on another windy day after a fairly unsuccessful season, the match didn’t seem any different from the rest. However, after the last of many of my ‘inspirational talks’, spirits ran high; so high in fact, we managed to pull off a huge win with our best score ever, 20-5. This showed how much we as a team had improved. Talk about ending on a high note! Overall, even though the season wasn’t as successful as we hoped it would be, I am really proud of everyone who played in the team, for keeping their heads high and spirit up. And of course we would all like to say a huge thank you to Miss Clement-Walker for being such a fantastic coach and making the season so enjoyable. I am delighted that such a memorable netball season was my first at SVS. Captain: Tiggy Teare Imogen Forknall, Melissa Dawson, Kathryn Douglas, India Fowle, Pamela Papa-Adams, Georgia Best, Ava Deighton-Smythe, Nina Harman, Emily Bottle, Page 100
Under 13 A Netball
Under 13 B Netball
Under 13 C Netball
Played: 10, Won: 3, Lost: 7
Played:12, Won: 2, Lost:10, Drew: 0, Tournments:1
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We would all like to thank Mrs Rose for inspiring us throughout the term and for helping us improve so much. Well done!
Well done to all the girls.
Elizabeth Cavell Second Form
he U13B Netball team had a progressive season, improving as the term went on. We ended up losing seven matches and winning three. However, this does not reflect the effort every member of the team put in. Elizabeth Drummond racked up five Player of the Match awards out of our ten matches, and Pescha Cordell and Amelie Rossiter participated in an U13A County Tournament. Also Amie Stuart played a great few matches for the team. Many other players did exceptionally well this season.
Captain: Elizabeth Cavell Amie Stuart, Daisy Hills, Maisie Rixon, Amelie Rossiter, Pescha Cordell, Elizabeth Drumond, Lara Savage, Gabriella Howarth, Isabella Eyers.
Erin Densham Second Form
his was our first time ever playing together as a team and for some our first ever experience of netball. We ended up unfortunately losing most of our matches, but over the netball season we all improved tremendously. We played in the Benenden Tournament where we played six matches. We started with a match against Highworth but unfortunately we lost a close match 1-0, then won against Marlborough House 2-0. We lost the next three matches with close scores. We finished the tournament with a good win against Colfes 2-0.
Captain: Erin Densham Cami Lamont-Brown, Katie Swift, Daisy Hills, Florence Watkinson, Sophie Lee, Anisha Thapa Manger.
The Suttonian
Under 15 A Rounders Rehannah Houghton-Judge Fourth Form Played: 6, Won: 4, Lost: 2 Cranbrook tournament results: Played: 5, Won: 5
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verall it was a brilliant season for the U15 rounders team. We had a lot of competition, especially with King’s Canterbury who we faced three times. The first match SVS won 19-11 but the second match we let it slip from our grasp and lost 6-9.5. At the Cranbrook tournament we faced them once again in the decider as to which team would win the tournament and become the victorious team. After a tough match SVS came out on top by winning 5-2. This meant we won all our matches at that tournament making us the U15 rounders league champions! This is an achievement we were all proud of. Hatty Cage had an amazing season bowling balls at fast paces which are very hard to hit, along with only giving away a few no balls. Altogether we scored 96.5 rounders throughout the season. All this was down to our tremendous coach Mrs Rose who has been taking us for many years now. It will be sad to lose her as a coach and trainer and on behalf of the team, thank you Mrs Rose for all your help in the past years. Captain: Rehannah Houghton-Judge Verity Smith, Lily Crampton, Hatty Cage, Georgia Nicholls, Lauren Robinson, Fynley Young, Jemma Stuart, Isabelle Turner.
Under 14 Rounders Olivia Smith Third Form
Played: 8 (including 2 tournaments) Won: 1, Lost: 7
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he Under 14 A team played some extremely tough matches against Sevenoaks, Benenden, King’s Canterbury and Epsom Collage.
The improvement made by the team over the season was incredible. Games sessions and matches helped us to develop crucial bonds between players on backstop and first base or bowler and fourth base, allowing us to play as a team. Our communication and positions on the pitch improved as a result of this, and we found a new drive to win. All of us were keen to try out different positions and by the end of the season we had all found our preferred places. Our batting also improved greatly. It was a real success when we found a hole in Benenden C team’s fielding. Tiggy Teare and Nina Harman used this to their advantage and collectively scored seven rounders. There were occasions where our opposition stumped out the majority of our players, meaning every hit was vital and we had to move very quickly in between the bases. India Fowle was particularly good at this during the match against King’s Canterbury. Our coach, Miss Gray, must be thanked for motivating us to have a "wow moment" in each match, this being a great catch or throw, bat or sprint from post to post. So whether we won or lost we can all be proud of our performances and everyone girl in the team should be proud of this season. Kathryn Douglas, Olivia Smith, Emily Hall, Nina Harman, Emily Bottle , Georgia Best, Tiggy Teare, Phoebe Sharp, Melissa Dawson, India Fowle, Isabella Hughes, Pamela Papa-Adams.
Under 13 D Rounders Nicole Avery First Form
Played: 6, Won: 2, Lost: 2, Drew: 2
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ur term of rounders started off with a high. We played against MGGS and won both matches with scores of 13-11 and 18-12. After that we went a bit downhill as we lost to Marlborough House, but it was a close match. Our next match was against Duke of York’s and we stepped up our game and drew. Travelling to Benenden we knew it was going to be tough as they were a hard team to play, but we drew with a score of 8.5-8.5. For our last match of the season we played Benenden again and sadly lost, but the E’s won their match. Thank you to all the staff for teaching us rounders and we hope to win some more matches next year! Captain: Nicole Avery Emily Baldwin, Cami Lamont-Brown, Muhing Okhrabu, Katie Swift, Sophie Lee, Nicole Avery, Flo Watkinson, Pippa Dow, Marianna Mason, Charlotte Gilman, Amelia Kirk-Brown.
The Suttonian
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During the last week of the Summer Term, GCSE PE students were luckily enough to have a tour and workshop at Twickenham. Pupils learnt about the GPS tracking system players and coaches use as well as fitness components important for Rugby. They also had the chance to look around the England dressing room and gain an understanding as to what it is like for the players on match days.
Acting on very wise words from Miss McConnachie and Mrs Rose, we managed to whack the rounders ball with omph and style”
Under 13 Rounders Gabby Romano Second Form Played: 8, Won: 2, Lost: 3, Drew: 3
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verall the U13As endured a challenging but enjoyable season and we all improved our skills on the pitch. Acting on some wise words from both Miss McConnachie and Mrs Rose, we managed to whack the rounders ball with more omph and style, not to mention our wonderful combination of bowler to backstop and then straight to first, which was a winner almost every time. We played best in our first match against Maidstone Girls’ Grammar School which resulted in 13-11 1/2 to us. There was some brilliant play from Anna Harrison as bowler and although there was an excellent captain in the opposition we still managed to come out on top. This boosted our confidence for the next match against Marlborough House- a tough team to beat- and despite our efforts the score resulted in a loss to SV. The next was against Duke Of York’s- a tight game which ended in a draw. Lastly, we played Benenden, a match in which we all knew that we would have to work extremely hard to come out on top. Although we played the bowler-backstop-first card multiple times, we still couldn’t quite beat them and the final score was 8 1/2- 8 1/2 - an irritating draw! On the 10th of June, we went to the Benenden School tournament and we had the addition of the tennis players so we were hoping for good results. Our first match was against Roedean School which we drew 4 1/2- 4 1/2. We weren’t convinced about the score, as we thought that we had won. Later on we also found out that they had changed their batting order which is against the rules. Our next match which was against Benenden B, and we came back determined to achieve a much needed win. Soon after we were told that we were through to the next round, which we were all elated about. Miss McConnachie then told us to work our socks off and put our thinking caps on as we were up next against Benenden A (our old rivals). We gave it our all but the match resulted in a loss to us. We then played Mayfield which was an extremely tight game. The score resulted in 6- 5 1/2 to them which we were all disappointed about. Well done to all the team and thank you to Miss McConachie and Miss Rose for coaching and supporting us. Captain: Gabby Romano (Captain) Anna Harrison, Daisy Fenton, Katie Lang, Pescha Cordell, Lizzie Drummond, Annabel Mansfield, Gabby Howarth, Estelle McInerney and Charlotte Wooldridge. Page 101
CRICKET SCORES 2015
1st XI Cricket Vince Wells
Played: 15, Won: 5, Lost: 4, Drew: 6 young 1st XI which only regularly included three Upper Sixth boys performed very well this season, with victories against Colfes, Judd (20/20 Comp), Sevenoaks, Worth and the touring side Crawford College (S.A.) The boys are now starting to understand the different formats of cricket and battled hard for draws against the MCC, Old Suttonians, The Forty Club, Band of Brothers and the Headmaster’s XI.
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The team was led by Abdullah Adil, who I know found this role challenging. Captaincy can be a tough job at any time but even more so with an inexperienced side. Although this did have an effect on his own personal batting performances it will have helped him to develop more as an individual and hopefully next year with this experience behind him, Abdullah will be back to his best with the bat. The leading run scorer this year was newcomer Ryan Jones scoring 451 at 32.21. Ryan worked extremely hard on his game during the long winter months and it was so pleasing to see his development. He was very consistent throughout the season, although the only thing missing was a score above fifty. Hopefully he can improve on this area next year and score many more runs for the team.
Thursday 23rd April (Declaration game) The Forty Club 184-4 dec Will Edwards 2-60 SVS 174-7 Sam Noss 54, Tom Lennard 45, Joe Deveson 25. Match drawn Saturday 25th April (35 overs match) Colfes 83 all out Stuart Boltman 3-9, Alex Woodford 2-13 SVS 84-2 Ryan Jones 34 not out, James Bevan-Thomas 26 SVS won by 8 wickets. Sunday 26th April National 20/20 Judd 97-6 Ollie Ridge 2-11 SVS 98-2 Abdullah Adil 42*, Sam Noss 36* SVS won by 8 wickets (Game reduced to 15 overs per side) Thursday 7th May (Declaration game) MCC 239-7 dec Ollie Ridge 2-11 SVS 178-7 Joe Deveson 37 not out, Abdullah Adil 36, Ryan Jones 22 Match Drawn Saturday 9th May (35 overs) Sevenoaks 151-5 Sam Noss 2-24 SVS 152-4 Tom Lennard 54, Ryan Jones 49 SVS won by 6 wickets
Closely behind was Stuart Boltman. Following a disastrous first half to the season Stuart came to life in the last three weeks, scoring 333 runs at 37.00 which included a brilliant 105* against the Band of Brothers.
Saturday 16th May (30 overs) Worth 118 Ollie Ridge 3-20, Will Edwards 2-25 SVS 122-3 Ryan Jones 49, James Bevan-Thomas 29* SVS won by 7 wickets
On the bowling front the team performed very well with Captain Abdullah Adil taking 17 wickets at 27.29 and being superbly supported by our trio of spinners Ollie Ridge 13 at 21.62, Will Edwards 12 at 26.00 and Alex Woodford 13 at 32.69. The spinners played a major part in our success this year and with Fourth Former Tom Lazarides also performing well at the end of the season, things are looking bright in this area for the future.
Thursday 21st May (35 overs) Tenterden 204-6 Will Edwards 2-30, Abdullah Adil 2-47 SVS 180-9 Michael Chaloner 41, Nick Wright 39, Ryan Jones 35 SVS lost by 24 runs
A special mention must also go to Fifth Former Jamie Drewe who performed superbly behind the stumps as well as showing much promise with the bat. Also James Bevan-Thomas batting in the difficult number 3 position and scoring 234 runs in his first season and Elliot Aitken, whose cricket was limited this year but he showed a great deal of promise in the few games that he played at the end of the season. With most of the 1st XI available next year and a good crop of players in the years below fighting for places, 2016 should be an exciting season. Hopefully the batters can build on some positive starts and go on to make more match winning scores beyond fifty. This year we say goodbye to three regular 1st XI players in Ollie Ridge, Sam Noss and Nick Wright as well as the 2nd XI Captain Michael Chaloner, who could count himself unlucky not to have played more regularly for the team. I wish all our leavers the best of luck for the future and hopefully we will see them next season at the OS fixture. A big thank you must go to all the age group coaches and especially to Harrison Wells, Neil Cox and Ali Carter who gave their time helping to develop these boys over the year. Also our groundsman Ian Avery and his team, John Devine and his catering staff, umpires Philip Higgins and Andy Cox. Finally a big thank you also to our scorers, Edward Curling and the veteran Dan Hammond. Batsman of the season: Bowler of the season: Coach’s player of the season:
Stuart Boltman. Ollie Ridge. Ryan Jones.
Abdullah Adil (Capt.), Stuart Boltman, Tom Lennard, Oliver Ridge, Ryan Jones, Alex Woodford, Sam Noss, Michael Chaloner, Nick Wright, Joe Deveson, Jamie Drewe, James Bevan-Thomas, Elliot Aitken, Will Edwards, Tom Lazarides, Ed Curling and Dan Hammond (Scorers.) Page 102
Saturday 6th June (35 overs) Duke of Yorks 147-7 A. Adil 2-14, Suart Boltman 2-15, Will Edwards 2-40 SVS 137 Ryan Jones 43, Jamie Drewe 25* SVS lost by 10 runs Saturday 13th June (35 overs) SVS 187-7 Tom Lennard 58, Ryan Jones 22, Stuart Boltman 20* Judd 188-9 Alex Woodford 3-26, Joe Deveson 2-35, Ollie Ridge 2-40 SVS lost by 1 wicket Saturday 20th June (Declaration game) Kings Canterbury 244-5 dec Abdullah Adil 2-60 SVS 136-3 Ryan Jones 48, Abdullah Adil 34*, Tom Lennard 20. Draw match abandoned due to rain. Sunday 21st June (Declaration game) OS 238-9 Ollie Ridge 3-18, James Bevan-Thomas 3-36 SVS 211-9 Stuart Boltman 77, Nick Wright 29 Match drawn Saturday 27th June (20/20) SVS 162-8 Cranbrook 163-2 SVS lost by 8 wickets
Nick Wright 34, Ryan Jones 33.
Sunday 27th June (Declaration game) Band of Brothers 264-6 Abdullah Adil 3-93 SVS 241-7 Stuart Boltman 105, J. Bevan-Thomas 47, Tom Lazarides 22 Match Drawn Monday 28th June (50 overs) SVS 264-7 Stuart Boltman 79, Joe Deveson 51, Ryan Jones 46 Crawford College 236 Tom Lazarides 3-46 SVS won by 28 runs Thursday 2nd July (Declaration game) Headmaster’s XI 200-7 dec Elliot Aitken 2-35 SVS 186-7 Elliot Aitken 36*, Tom Lazarides 27* Match Drawn
The Suttonian
Second XI Cricket
Second XI Cricket
Stephen Head
Played: 6, Won: 3, Lost: 3
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hat started off as a very promising season turned into a bit of a mixed bag half way through, with some players coming in and out of the team at various occasions due to the pressure of the summer exams. We began the season with a good win away to Sevenoaks, with an excellent display of bowling setting up a good team performance. Amazingly all catches were held which put a considerable amount of pressure on the opposing team, and they were unable to mount a good score. With the bat in hand, Josh Aucamp showed that he would be a force to be reckoned with throughout the season with some lusty blows, and Tom Mitchell showed the others just how effective good bowling could be. The team managed to follow this up with a strong performance away to Worth, even though we had to press gang some members into the team. It was clear at this point that we were beginning to develop a strong team personality. Once again we bowled well, restricting the opposition to a below par score, and the batsmen were given a considerable amount of time against some wayward bowling to score the required runs. This was followed up with a comprehensive victory against a weak Duke of York’s side, which set us up nicely for our confrontation with Claremont’s 1st XV. Unfortunately, despite some late hitting in our innings, we just did not have enough runs on the board to defend adequately when fielding and so we fell to our first defeat of the season. This proved to be something of a watershed moment as some of the more senior players left the School following their exams, and we had the chance to blood some of the more junior members of the team. Our last two games of the season were against Judd School and the King’s School Canterbury. Both of these sides had strong players and proved to be just a step too far in terms of successful fixtures. In these last two games Elliot Aiken bowled well and with some real venom at times, and Michael Chaloner really stepped up to the plate to lead by example as a captain, scoring a considerable number of runs and bowling with intelligence and accuracy. In all there were some very good performances throughout the season, but we at times just lacked that final bit of quality needed to make sure that we competed well in all games. It bodes well for next season that the bulk of the team will still be with us, and another year older and wiser should mean that we will do better against all opposition. Captain: Michael Chaloner Joshua Aucamp, Tom Mitchell, Jack Mortley, Jeremy Budd, Hugo Loxton-Barnard, Eliot Aiken, Charles Court, Cameron Knight, Tom Agu Benson, Oliver Smither.
The Suttonian
Under 15 A Cricket Tom Lazarides Fourth Form Played: 14, Won: 12, Lost: 2
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he U15As enjoyed a great season beating teams such as Sevenoaks and King’s Canterbury comprehensively in the process. We started the season off with a tight win against Colfes with good bowling, although we knew we gave away too many runs due to extras and we made a shaky start with the bat using our top order quickly. We looked like we were fighting a losing battle until Ben Morley steadied things with 33 runs; he was well supported by Tim Anthony and we managed to scrape over the line. Knowing things must improve we then enjoyed a nearly unbeaten season, losing only two matches. The stand out match had to be against Sevenoaks, where we bowled them all out for around 50 runs after Tom Aiken took three wickets for no runs off his five overs (just after saving us in the cup with a 4 wicket haul) and a great bowling display all round. We were able to knock the runs off quickly with Max Denniff once again batting well after hitting a half century the week before. Against King’s Canterbury we again bowled very well and had a low score to chase, although knowing this pitch favoured bowling we knew we had to be cautious.
Under 15 B Cricket Archie Averill Fourth Form Played: 5, Won: 4, Lost: 1
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he season was very good for our team and we had a good start to it. We had a very impressive start beating Sevenoaks, which we won by nine wickets, with Archie Averill gaining three wickets. The next match was against Bethany; we won convincingly by 41 runs with Gaston achieving 36 runs, and Law gaining 36 runs. Duke of York’s was next, who we beat by eight wickets. Next we lost our first, and only, match against Judd School, a very strong side, with Mortley getting a good 46 not out; we lost due to poor fielding and lack of concentration in the field.
Matthew Webb hit a quick fire 45 not out and we chased the score down quickly with many overs in hand. In addition to this we had a brilliant cup run, falling at the Quarter Final stage to Skinners; this was, I think everyone would agree, the worst we played all season. Our disappointment was made worse when we found out our opponents in the Semi-Final would have been King’s Canterbury. Other than this one game, which we feel was an anomaly, we had an amazing season with stand-out performer Max Deniff ending on an average of 40. Matt Webb also bowled well all season and came in to great form towards the end with the bat hitting 45 and 50 not out in the final two games. Tom Aiken with his consistent bowling took many wickets for the team keeping us in games singlehandedly with an outstanding economy rate. Ben Morley, Dan Teare and Tom Lazarides also bowled well taking many wickets between them. Other mentions have to go to Laurence Eastman for his swift 48* against Worth, winning that match by six wickets. A huge thank you must go to Mr Mathews for his belief in us, his coaching and tactical genius and to Mr Wells who stepped in when the golf team were in action. Thomas Lazarides (Captain), Max Deniff, Laurence Eastman, Tom Aiken, Matthew Webb, Dan Teare, Tom Millington, Will Harrison, Ben Morley, Michael Law, Felix Whiteley and Finley Plugge. Our next and final game was against King’s Canterbury. We had a good victory with Mortley achieving 20 runs and I gained 25 runs, with Whiteley getting three wickets in four overs, only giving away a total of three runs. Ben Mortley definitely deserved player of the season, doing very well at both bowling and batting, and also in the field. I would like to say a massive thank you to Mr Carter for being an excellent coach. Captain: Archie Averill Archie Averill, Ben Mortley, Alex Hill, Alex Thorogood, Henry Overy, Jack Fenton, Dan O’Brien, Callum Traynor, Henry King, Louis Fulford, Max Stanton-Gleaves, George Gaston, Felix Whiteley.
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Under 14 A Cricket Lars Eastman Third Form
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hroughout the season we only lost three matches. We had some highscoring runs-scorers in the likes of Barney Loxton-Barnard, Tom Saltmarsh and me, Lars Eastman. We had some good bowling from Harry O’Rawe, Harry Mitchell, William Dickson. Felix Dont was a superb wicket keeper. Stand out matches were against COLFES and King’s Canterbury with some great play from all of the team. Captain: Lars Eastman Harry O’Rawe, Harry Mitchell, William Dickson, Felix Dont, Barney Loxton-Barnard, Tom Saltmarsh, Camron Evans, Alistair Gooding, Archie Crouch, Joey Ferguson, William Saltmarsh, Edward Ervine.
Under 14 B Cricket Finlay Heine Third Form Played: 5, Won: 1, Lost: 4
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was very privileged to be the captain of the Under 14 B team. At the start of the season the team displayed a lot of strength and promise during the practice sessions in the nets. We began the season very positively with a win over COLFES. The game showed our strength in fielding, bowling and batting. We came away with 153 for 6 and bowled COLFES all out for 45. Later on in the season we played Worth and we bowled first. Worth achieved 137 for 6 and we were all out for 93. There was some disappointing fielding where we gave away too many extras. This appeared to become the theme for the season. This proved costly in the final game against King’s Canterbury where the difference between the two sides was the extras we gave away.
Under 13 A Cricket
Under 13 B Cricket
Played: 9, Won: 4, Lost: 5, Abandoned (rain): 2
Played: 8, Won: 3, Lost: 5
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Jack Stanton-Gleaves Second Form
he under 13A cricket team didn’t get off to a great start this season with a loss in each of the first three games. However there were some good individual performances with Jack Stanton-Gleaves scoring a 72 and some good bowling from Luke Bernicchi and Max Savage. There were though some notable wins later in the season over Worth School, St. Michael’s, Otford (where Luke Bernicchi scored a match winning 51 not out) and the Judd School. The three highest scores were 72, 66 not out, and 51not out. Max Savage had a very consistent season with the bat, scoring in excess of 30 runs in no fewer than four innings for the team. Will Saltmarsh had a rough start to the term with three zeros and a one, but after having some time in the nets he changed his batting and hit four scores of more than 40 runs with some powerful displays of hitting. Without a doubt the best and most effective bowler was Elliot Gooding. His consistency and reliability was highly impressive from a First Form pupil. Mentions should also go to James Yeabsley who bowled effectively with some good pace, Luke Bernicchi’s spin bowling created some problems for oppositions and Will Saltmarsh also bowled with craft and accuracy. The fielding wasn’t too great to start with but once Mr Wells and Mr Davenport made the wise decision to bring new, dynamic players into the team, we rarely had a bad fielding game. The best fielders were Finn Swaine, Joe McDermott (who kept wicket with great courage and skill), Louis Ridge and Max Savage. Captain: Jack Stanton-Gleaves
Patrick Mullen First Form
he Under 13B season of Cricket was an eventful one. It saw some extremely exciting encounters and the team demonstrated excellent team spirit, sportsmanship, and camaraderie in all matches. One of our first home games was against Worth School. Sutton Valence won the toss and selected to bowl first. Noah Swaine bowled superbly well, taking three quick wickets and restricting them to 75 runs. The two opening batters Oliver Laird and Patrick Mullen went in to bat and focus was high. SV successfully chased down the target and won the game by ten wickets, with Patrick Mullen scoring 26 not out and Oliver Laird Laird 22 not out. A good start to the new season. The highlight of the season came against Junior King’s Canterbury away. SV batted first getting a mediocre 72. Junior King’s had taken a number of high profile scalps in the run up to this game and were expected to easily surpass this total. SV bowled and fielded heroically with Mack Young, Sam Allison and Patrick Mullen bowling with vigour and accuracy. Junior King’s were bowled out for 72 giving SV an excellent three run win. A huge thank you goes to Mr Howell for coaching and driving the team on, the parents who came to support, and to each and every team member who tried their hardest. Captain: Patrick Mullen Oliver Laird, Finley Sprent, Ewen Barr, Noah Swaine, Jack Lewis, Sam Allison, Theodore Nelson, Edward Wheble, Archie Yorke, Matthew Teare, Mack Young, Bishesh Bhandari, Awishma Gurung.
Joe McDermott (WK), Max Savage, Morgan Barwick, Luke Bernicchi, Finn Swaine, Louis Ridge, Elliot Gooding, Hugh Harman, James Yeabsley,
We ended the season having played five games, winning one and losing four. I feel the results throughout the season did not reflect on our overall performances as a team and there is plenty to look forward to in the years to come. A special mention goes to Tom Saltmarsh for an excellent 82 runs in his debut for the school and a very rapid promotion to the A team. Alex Bartleet and Antonio Malluzo-Fisher bowled consistently throughout the season helped from behind the stumps by Miles Stockman who rarely let a ball through. This has been a thoroughly enjoyable team to captain though the season was short and thanks should go to Mr Alderman for looking after us each weekend. Captain: Finlay Heine Miles Stockman, Joe Ferguson, Sam Grindlay, Joe Agu-Benson, Hussein Farrag, Alex Bartleet, Jack McNama, Gabrio Capaldi, Harris Tunks, Alex Webb, Finlay Heine, Antonio Maluzzo-Fisher, Adam Moore, Harry Yorke.
Under14B Cricket Page 104
The Suttonian
Under13 B Cricket
Boys’ 1st VI Tennis Cameron Grabowski Upper Sixth
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he boys’ tennis season, although short, was an improvement on last year, resulting in two wins and two losses. Throughout the season, various players from all age groups and varying abilities represented the School in order to cope with issues of availability and injury. Players this season ranged from Louis Ridge, in the Second Form, to Harry O’Rawe, in the Third Form, right through to Sixth Form players including Max Streek, Ollie Aucamp, Henry Sparrow, me and Ollie Ridge – when Mr Wells could spare him.
Richie Richardson Under 11 Tournament
Mark Benson Under 10 Six a side Tournament
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Vince Wells
BIG THANK YOU MUST GO TO THE SVS GROUND STAFF, WHO FOLLOWING HEAVY RAIN THE DAY BEFORE AND ON THE MORNING OF THE TOURNAMENT, STILL MANAGED TO GET THE GROUND FIT AND READY FOR THE DAY’S PLAY. This year’s U11 six-a-side tournament was very well supported with 14 teams taking part, with both Solefield and Hazelwood entering for the first time. Unfortunately, a late drop out meant that we had two groups of four and two groups of three. After some competitive group games St Michael’s, Rose Hill, Hilden Grange, Saint Ronan’s, Kent College, Marlborough House, SVPS and Dulwich all progressed through to the quarter final stages. After some more tense games we were now ready for the semi-finals. The first match was St Michael’s v Hilden Grange. Hilden Grange, batting first, managed a below par 38, which St Michael’s comfortably passed with more than an over to spare. In the other semi-final, SVPS and Dulwich tied a very exciting game with SVPS progressing through to the final on losing fewer wickets. In the final, SVPS batted first and were restricted to 44-4 in their five overs. This was due to some fine all round bowling and fielding by the St Michael’s team. In reply, despite a fighting effort from SVPS the St Michael’s side reached 48-3 with ten balls to spare, making them worthy winners of this year’s tournament. Participating teams: St Michael’s, Rose Hill, Hilden Grange, Saint Ronan’s’, Kent College, Marlborough House, SVPS, Dulwich, Holmewood House, Solefield, Yardley Court, Hazelwood, Bedes and Ashford.
The Suttonian
Vince Wells
his year’s event was once again well supported with 10 teams entering. The teams were split into two groups of five with the top two progressing through to the semifinal stage. Once again the standard this year was high and most of the games were extremely close. Group one saw St Michael’s progress as group winners, unbeaten in their four games. The runners-up spot was very close with Rose Hill just edging ahead of Holmewood House by a single point. Group two was also fiercely contested with New Beacon finishing top on run rate ahead of Wellesley House. This meant that the semi-final stage saw St Michael’s play Wellesley House and New Beacon against Rose Hill. Once again these games were well contested with Rose Hill eventually winning against New Beacon and St Michael’s winning a place in the final off the last ball of the game against Wellesley House. The final was another exciting game. Some good batting and some wayward bowling from St Michael’s helped Rose Hill reach 81-0 in their allotted overs. In reply St Michaels were behind the run rate at the early stages but some powerful hitting once again meant that the final came down to the last ball of the game. Needing three to win, the ball was hit powerfully out to the leg side boundary only for a Rose Hill fielder to pull off a brilliant stop which resulted in them being crowned the 2015 winners. Participating teams: Holmewood House, Ashford Prep, St Michael’s, SVPS, Rose Hill, Bedes,Yardley Court, Wellesley House, New Beacon, Saint Ronans.
Our first match of the season was away to Kent College Canterbury in which we suffered a 6-3 loss. Lawrence Eastman played with Harry O’Rawe, Lars Eastman with Alex Gurtovoi and I was paired with Ollie Aucamp. Despite our loss, Mr Cope highlighted several positives and the team’s first match together proved to be a good basis from which to prepare for our forthcoming matches. We followed this up with a solid 4-1 win against St. Edmund’s, having waited nearly an hour for the opposition to arrive, despite the fact they were playing at home. Ollie Ridge – borrowed from Mr Wells for the afternoon – partnered up with Ollie Aucamp, while I played with Henry Sparrow and Harry O’Rawe once again produced some great results, partnering Alex Gurtovoi. Our first win made the team’s second journey to Canterbury in three days worth the hours cooped up inside the minibus more bearable – as much for Mr Cope’s sanity as the team’s pride. The penultimate match of the season was, unfortunately, a resounding loss to Cranbrook School, with Ollie Ridge making a return, again partnering Ollie Aucamp. Their solitary win proved to be the only win of the day for Sutton Valence as we suffered an 8-1 loss. However, our last match, against Bethany School, saw the tables turn resulting in an 8-1 win for Sutton Valence. Harry O’Rawe and Lawrence Eastman played impressive tennis once again to secure their wins. This, combined with Ollie Aucamp’s consistently strong serving throughout the match, resulted in a decisive win to mark the season’s end for the boys. I would like to thank all those who represented the school in tennis this year, despite additional commitments to cricket for many members of the team. On behalf of the team I would also like to thank Mr. Cope for all of the time and effort he put into the Boys’ Tennis team throughout the Summer Term.
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senior tennis Kathryn Parsons Captain of Tennis
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t was a mixed season for senior tennis this year, with some tough fixtures and some thriving successes. We played a total of nine fixtures and the girls should be congratulated for their hard work and commitment throughout the season. Three of our fixtures were cancelled by the opposition with the excuse that they couldn’t get enough players out, particularly at 2nd team level. It was a difficult start with mock examinations and the stresses of AS and A2s and our first game against CLFS saw a loss as did our second game against St. Edmund’s in Canterbury. It should however be pointed out that the score was not a fair reflection on how well the girls played tennis, with Emma Baxter and Georgie Ridge winning all their sets for five of the games. The 2nds did very well to come away with a 5-4 victory against St. Edmund’s with Emelia Hollingsworth and Eliza Lewis playing up from the U15s and winning all their matches. We were then able to demonstrate our team improvements as further matches against Kent College saw a close tie (against a team which consisted of two nationally ranked players!) and then Cranbrook where we took home a win (Emma Baxter and Georgie Ridge winning against all pairs). We had some injuries too, especially Katie Latter and Lydia Davies, and yet despite this they still represented the school and they should be held in high esteem as a consequence. Moreover, the changing of pairs managed not to throw our squad too much, with the temporary pairing of Maya and myself seeing a win against Ardingly, and an overall win to SV at 7-2.
Exceptional mention should be awarded to Georgie Ridge once again, as due to circumstances, had to play single tennis against Epsom College, and despite becoming exhausted, managed to beat six different players each time. This is as well as Chloe Evans the following week – both should be applauded for their efforts and successes. Our final game was due to be against King’s Canterbury the day of Speech Day. However, after hearing of our demolition of Ardingly, were too scared to put out a senior team to play us, so technically a win by forfeit! Special thanks must go to Alex, our coach, and Miss Hallett, who both persevered with us for the entirety of the season. We have some rising tennis stars both in the Lower Sixth and lower years within the school and the future certainly looks bright for tennis at Sutton Valence, and it saddens me that I shall no longer be able to see this nor represent the School but I wish everybody the best in the future.
1st Pair: 2nd Pair: 3rd Pair:
Emma Baxter and Georgie Ridge Kathryn Parsons and Anna Baker Maya Summers and Lydia Davies/ Katie Latter
2nds: Chloe Evans, Katie Latter, Rachel McKeating, Louisa West, Ashley Evans, Molly Alexander, Katie Leydon.
Under 15 Tennis
Melie Hollingsworth Fourth Form Played: 8, Won: 1, Lost: 7
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he U15 squad had an eventful season. We had an amazing tennis coach called Alex who significantly improved our serves, forehands and backhands throughout the season. He was really encouraging to all of us, improving our confidence and this definitely transformed our play on the court. We played some tough teams including Cranbrook and Sevenoaks and we tried our best. Despite not winning we had some very close and competitive games and sets. Playing challenging opposition made us work harder which improved our own play as we picked up skills from other teams. The A team was strong and won lots of individual games despite not winning overall. The B team was enthusiastic, and had great spirit and played their best. Overall, we all improved our skills and we are ready for next season. I would like to say a huge thank you to Miss Hallett and Alex Brown for coaching us and Miss Halleron for supporting us on Saturdays. Well done everyone! A Team: Melie Hollingsworth (C), Eliza Lewis, Millie Bonny, Ella Williams, Grace Mortley, Faber Swaine B Team: Ellie Agu Benson, Sophie Watson, Caitlin Allison, Naomi Lijesen, Laura Horley, Lola Olowabi
Sports Day
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The Suttonian
Under 14 Tennis Kate Woodford
Under 13 Tennis Lara Savage Second Form
Under 12 tennis Maisie Rixon First Form
Played: 5, Won: 3, Lost: 2
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he U14s had another great season. We were lucky enough to gain two great players to our team: Georgie Mancais and Verity Streek. We had some great wins against Epsom College with the As winning 7-2 and the Bs winning 8-1. The highlight of the season was getting to the quarter finals of the Kent knock out but we were unfortunately knocked out by Sevenoaks, who are a very strong side, so unsurprisingly we lost the majority of those matches, although some were very close. Emily Smith and Phoebe Aucamp completed the As, as the third pair, with some impressive tennis and obvious improvement in their skills and tactical play. The Bs consisted of Imogen Forknall and Grenade Desurmont, along with a collection of excellent junior pupils who stepped up to the mark. All of their skills had improved massively from last year and there was more consistent play which proved to be a real advantage. Sophie Baxter and I had another great season, winning many matches, and having some close and tough losses. Georgie Mancais rightfully received the award for most improved which was very much deserved as her first tennis season at SVS was a great one. Our thanks go to Alex, the external tennis coach, for teaching us some new doubles skills and techniques that improved all our game play. On behalf of the team we would all like to say thank you to Miss Clement-Walker for making our season so enjoyable and positive! A Team: Sophie Baxter and Kate Woodford Georgie Mancais and Verity Streek Emily Smith and Phoebe Aucamp B Team: Grenade Desurmont and Imogen Forknall Gabriella Howarth and Lara Savage
The Suttonian
T
he U13 girls’ tennis season was very exciting! We took part in many competitions and a large number of friendly matches, which not only helped us improve our tennis skills but also brought us together as a team. Overall, I think I can speak for the entire squad in saying that it was a pretty successful season. Our first match was against City of London Freeman’s School, where we got off to a brilliant start. Although the weather was miserable, we did not let that dampen our spirits, and we headed on to court with our heads held high. I am not going to lie (and I’m pretty sure the girls would agree with me when I say this), it was a tough game. For a long time, the winner was unclear but we didn’t give up and the final score was a very close 5-4. This was our first win of the season and a very encouraging end to a long day. Despite a couple of losses against Junior King’s, we never gave up hope and with perseverance we managed a great victory, 4-2, against Benenden B, along with Kent College Canterbury, 3-1. We had some challenging final matches to end the season, but although the final scores against Marlborough House and Kent College Pembury were not great, we played some tremendous tennis. Throughout the season, we enjoyed the coaching and our tennis and doubles team play definitely improved. It was an ace season for us all! Charlotte Wooldridge, Annabel Mansfield, Gabriella Howarth, Anna Harrison, Katie Lang, Daisy Fenton, Amelie Rossiter, Lara Savage.
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any of us had never picked up a tennis racquet until we came to SVS, so for a number of us tennis was going to be a challenge. Considering these circumstances I think that our results were very positive. Our first match was against CLFS and this we knew would definitely be our toughest. Trying to keep our heads high we walked onto the court. All of the teams played well especially the C team of Daisy Hills and Mariana Mason. The final result was 9-0 to CLFS. The next match we played was against Ashford. With a lot more training and help from Alex Brown the tennis coach we were very excited to play. The A team consisting of Sophie Lee and Maisie Rixon unfortunately lost their match with a score of 4-2 to Ashford. The B team, consisting of Charlotte Guilman and Muhing Okrabu, played really well but sadly lost 3-1. With our final match cancelled due to weather this was our last game of the season. All of the team improved so much over the term and without the help of Alex the coach, Miss Hallett and Miss Manning we would never have been able to even hold a tennis racquet. I can’t wait until next season to hopefully gain many wins and to improve our skills. Maisie Rixon, Daisy Hills, Sophie Lee, Mariana Mason, Amelia Kirk Brown, Charlotte Guilman, Muhing Okrabu, Pippa Dow, Flo Watkinson, Katie Swift.
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Founder’s House Nicole Payne and Guy Thomas Upper Sixth Heads of House
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hat a busy year it was for Founder’s. We had more interhouse events than ever, alongside all of the main house competitions. We began the year with the Founder’s Bake Off comprising of two parts; the signature bake and the cake decoration challenge. With Mr Farrell starring as our own Paul Hollywood, Miss Hallett’s tutor group were eventually crowned the Star Bakers. On the last day of the Christmas Term, Ms Easter gave the house newspaper and tape and each tutor group were tasked with dressing/creating a Christmassy costume to be modelled by a member of their tutor group, with much hilarity for all. Our general knowledge has been tested this year through introduction of the termly inter-tutor group quizzes, with topics ranging from sport to great works of literature. The points gained through this were added to our tutor group totals along with any gained from the various other interhouse competitions. Back in September, the Fifth and Sixth Formers travelled to Ypres as part of the Centenary commemorations of the First World War marking the death of the First Suttonian. We visited various landmarks around the area including both British and German cemeteries and even paid a visit to Talbot House. Here we saw a short film about the history and role that the house played in restoring the spirits of the men. Our day finished with the evening service at the Menin Gate where several members of Founder’s sang in the choir. As with previous years we have endeavoured to raise more money for charity. This year we raised funds for Demelza House and LUNA Children’s Charity. As per usual we had a mufti day and then something different… the Superhero Run! One bright and breezy Saturday morning, the Founder’s Superheroes gathered at the athletics track and ran laps raising money through sponsorship per lap run. We also held a Boot camp for parents with Sixth Former putting our willing victims through their paces one Saturday morning. We raised £1,600 in total, a real achievement. Congratulations to all members of Founder’s for your effort and participation in all of the events and competitions this year along with your contribution to the house totals through your hard work earning blue points. The Heads of House dinner was a wonderful celebration to end our time as Heads of House and we would like to say a massive thank you to Ms Easter for being such an outstanding and generous Housemistress throughout the year.
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The winning baton race teams are traditionally presented with a prize by the youngest member of our community, and this year it was the turn of young William Westlake.
Lambe’s House Michael Adebiyi Upper Sixth Head of House
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t was Warren Bennis who said “Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.”
This year, under a new leadership, the three Heads of House and three Deputies sat down to discuss where we wanted to see Lambe’s House at the end of the year. We all unanimously had the same vision for Lambe’s: to build a foundation where as a house we can improve our competition participation. It was clear from Sports Day last year that when as a house we come together as one team, we can achieve much more than in previous years. With this new vision in mind, we competed in the first event of the year; BM Challenge. By carefully selecting individuals to compete in this event, as a house we came in third place, even though there had been some confusion with the result of some of the challenges. The fact that we had not come last really started to encourage more members of the house to participate more. As a house we all became more motivated and determined to win more events and to show the other houses that we are a force to be reckoned with. The next competition was House Debating and we were all ready to fight for this wellneeded win. I cannot pretend to say that I am not happy that we came second, but I am however gutted, because Lucy Roud and Florence Watkinson, who debated for the first time, put so much time into preparing their arguments. As always the annual House Singing competition is one that Lambe’s have always been unlucky in and it must be said, it was one of the few events I certainly was not looking forward to.
Despite the excuses the heads of house, Mr Hammersley, Mr Soman and Ms Burden met around the decision table to finalise what song we would choose to sing. Suggestions such as Toploader’s Dancing in the Moonlight and even my favourite song ABC by the Jackson Five were dismissed. So as a house we agreed on KC & The Sunshine Band’s Give It Up. With only three scheduled practices, I personally did not feel particularly confident in the song choice, but as a Head of House my job was not to cast doubt on an already made decision but to motivate people. It is common to warm up your voice before you sing, we however chanted ‘Oggy Oggy Oggy’, which to our surprise got everyone ‘pumping’ for the event. We were chosen to perform second after Clothworker’s, and were as usual not motivated enough to do our best. With a shaky start we grew more confident, all singing to our best abilities and all in time. The surprising integration of the voices of the members of the house, stunned the audience and most importantly the judge. With me making my debut as a conductor we walked to victory beating Founder’s House by one point. As the heads and deputies of the house leave this year, we hope that whoever will follow on will build on the success of this year and continue to show the likes of Holdgate House that we are a force to be reckoned with. Heads of House: Megan Purvis, Robert Miles and Michael Adebiyi Deputy Heads of House: Francesca Tidd, Lucy Roud and Patrice Veasey
The Suttonian
Clothworkers’ House Andy Bee
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ur dungeon in Lambe’s has been changed into some storage space and so we are to move over the Summer Holidays to the Cornwallis Building. If truth be told, our dayroom was scantily used and usually only when winter came about and the north wind chilled us to the bones. Then the dayroom, with all its brooding magnificence, proved the warmest place in the entire community. We move to Cornwallis to share the building with our other three houses, in blissful harmony so that we can embrace the rest of the school with our never-say-die ethos.
The Baton Race
Highlights this year include the House Quiz contest, which we won, Emil Evans showcasing his debating skills, the arrival of Digby Platt-Higgins, the re-emergence of Georgia Nicholls, the honeymoon period of Holly Thompson-Frost and coming of age of Angus Barclay.
Holdgate House Anna Baker, Vicki Barnden and Lydia Davies Upper Sixth
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fter another successful and surprising win last year, we were more determined than ever to have another go at winning again this year. We started off the Michaelmas Term with our annual pink and purple mufti day to raise money for breast and testicular cancer. This year, we also introduced the ‘gift for you’ campaign where pink and purple tulips could be purchased and a message to go with them. The tulips were then planted outside Cornwallis building to be enjoyed by all. This campaign proved successful and along with the mufti day and various bake sales, we managed to raise an impressive £1241.60. As everyone came back to School after the long Christmas holiday and a refreshing break Holdgate knew that we had to win a few competitions to get back to the top of the leader board after being placed last by our failure in the Christmas Quiz. This was not helped by another loss in the House Instrumental Competition. The orchestral group, which consisted of the Davies twins, Georgia Poplett, Freddy Parker and Vicki Barnden playing ‘Rather Be’ by Clean Bandit was unfortunately not a match for the tough opposition. However, after a few extra points were added to the board after a good result at the Junior pancake race, we realised we could have a chance. Throughout the Lent Term our strong debating teams took on the other houses, and keeping up tradition, we wiped the floor winning against every other house. Although Lambe’s were tough opposition they could not put up a fight against Charlie Ellis. Special mentions must also go to Edward Curling and Freddy Parker who put in some great performances. However, we still had some points to make up but the last few weeks of the term were outstanding.
The Suttonian
After winning the House Netball with help from some of the boys from Westminster, including 6ft 7 Henry Sparrow and George Holmes as well as winning the penny race by a mile we nervously awaited the results in the last Headmaster’s assembly of term. Amazingly, Holdgate had proved our strength from being positioned last at the end of the Christmas Term we were now top of the leader board! The house competitions in the summer term brought the House Singing. This was a title Holdgate was entering with every intention to defend. Having been undecided on our song all term it was finally confirmed our House song would be “Viva la Vida” by Coldplay. This has been typical of Holdgate in this competition and were hoping our last minute new song choice would pay off for us again this year. Despite our little preparation, three days in fact, Holdgate took to the stage in Chapel ready to give it our all, violins, cellos and a piano in support. We did the best we could, but unfortunately we were only able to get third place having been criticized for being so loud and shouting rather than singing. I suppose we did the best we could with the voices we had, most of which are boys boarders! We played to our strengths in Sports Day, hoping to claim back some valuable points to maintain the House Cup for the fourth successive time. Unfortunately this was not to be and congratulations to Clothworkers’.
It would be impossible to refer individually to everyone in the House in such a short space. Our singing in chapel is the finest, well certainly the loudest, in the School. We remain hearty, generous with our time to the School community, and the cradle of future Heads of School. We say a good-bye to Mr Bob Carr, who is to become the Head of Juniors, after four outstanding years as tutor. His PSHE sessions will be sorely missed, for Bob could enliven even the most prescriptive of topics. Miss Pritchard has won hearts and minds in her role as Senior Tutor, really bringing the house together in unison, and although her choice for the house song contest (Barbara Anne by the Beach Boys) placed us third equal out of four, so popular is this school mistress no-one seemed to mind. Heads of house, Ben Webb and Lily Barclay slotted into their roles in superb manner, always willing to drive the house forwards. The senior house rugby players performed heroically against much stronger opposition. To see Jonathan Fullick throw his body into the path of a big 1st XV second row forward, was to see courage and tenacity in their most elevated format. Mathew Jones, Joshua Aucamp and the Wilkinson brothers refused to take a back step all afternoon and although the results did not come our way, it was ultimately through lack of substitutes. We grew from our infant stage hidden in a dungeon deep down in Lambe’s. It was felt our blend of dynamism and spirit was required to enliven the Cornwallis Building, to show the rest of the school who we are and what we are about. Well Cornwallis, here we come! Page 109
Sutton House
Candela Segura Upper Sixth Head of House
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he 2014-2015 school year was fantastic, full of activities that the family of girls in Sutton organised and enjoyed.
As the year started we had the opportunity to enjoy a great day out at Thorpe Park, with roller coasters, good weather and good company. It was the perfect chance for all of us to get to know each other and have a good time. In November, the Boarders´Got Talent event was once again a successful occasion, showcasing a diverse range of talents from both the boys’ and girls’ boarding houses. The audience was entertained by an array of performances ranging from music to comedy. Highlights of the night were a stunning flamenco performance by Candela Segura and Ines Arroniz. By contrast a large group of girls then wowed the judges with their hip hop routine to Crazy In Love by Beyonce. The fun didn´t stop there: George Holmes and George Birrell, from Westminster, treated the crowds to a rendition of the famous movie Titanic, whilst the boys from Margaret´s conveyed a powerful message about bullying in the form of a song. Lydia Zhang sang beautifully making the judges decision a difficult one when it came to deciding the overall winner, which eventually went to the Sutton girls for their hip hop dance routine. December arrived and we went on our annual trip to Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland in London. There we enjoyed different attractions such as roller coasters, ice skating and Christmas shopping in Oxford Street. The trip was the perfect time to see London full of Christmas decorations and lights. During the last week of term, we celebrated the Christmas season once again with a delicious dinner in the refectory together with the boys. The warm environment and the Christmas games and presents that were waiting for us in the boarding house made the night a very pleasant one. The next event was the trip to London to watch The Lion King at Lyceum Theatre on Wellington Street. We were all looking forward to watching the evening performance, having seen the renowned Disney cartoon multiple times beforehand. Once the lights dimmed, the performance kicked off with a rousing rendition of Ah Zabenya, belted out by the wildly dressed Rafiki- complete with indigo face paint and a spiky headdress. We were transported into the wild African savannah in all its heat, accompanied by amazing costumes and a feast of music and dance. The convincing atmosphere made you almost forget you were watching actors instead of witnessing a literal animal kingdom, singing praise about the new-born lion king in ‘the circle of life’. Although the plot was predictable, it still took our breath away. A huge thanks to Mrs Mathews for arranging this trip, I think we are all anticipating next year’s performance! A large number of Sutton girls participated in the dance show. Fynley Young was one of the stars of the night, dancing in four different choreographies in a wide range of styles; also a group of Sutton girls shone on stage to Beyoncé´s Crazy in Love. As the School year came to its end we organised a dinner in the boarding house to say goodbye to the leavers. We all met in the common room and enjoyed the food and some music. In laugher and with some tears we shared some of our best memories of the 2014-2015 School year.
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Westminster House Angus Weir Upper Sixth Head of House
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t was a very lively year in Westminster House with an array of new boarders becoming part of the intrepid Westminster family. Academically the house averages in both class and prep effort were consistently high throughout the three terms. The many social events set up by the houses provided entertainment and relaxation between all the hard work all the boys put into their studies. For the second year running, the now acclaimed Westminster Fright Night was another huge success. All the Sixth Form put an incredible amount of effort into making this year an equally horrifying and enjoyable night as the previous one. Various sporting socials provided the necessary ‘release of steam’ for the boys, with a furiously hardfought football match against the old enemy - St. Margaret’s. With the year drawing to a close, the whole boarding community came together to enjoy a barbecue and a relaxing game of rounders, which was played on the fields of Lower. The Westminster machine would not run at all without our vital matron Debbie so a huge thank you to her, along with our housemaster, Mr Gorman and the house tutors - Miss McConnachie, Mr van Vurren, Mr Westlake and Mr James. They have all been fantastic this year in looking after the boys and we could not thank them enough.
The Suttonian
Beresford House Sally Rose
B E R E S F
ake-Off: The Great British Bake Off saw us gathered around the television and then inspired to create our own masterpieces at the weekends. veryone enjoyed the strawberries from our vegi-table, thanks to the gardeners for that. est and relaxation came in the form of long walks, craft days, bowling, shopping and cinema trips.
ach boarder had a role of responsibility.
taircase – with the help of Miss Clement- Walker, we designed and decorated the staircase in the basement to look like a giant book shelf.
ive-a-side football - The long summer evening allowed us time to have numerous five-a-side football matches in the garden. Not too many balls were lost over the hedge.
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Running Club News
The Glow Night Run
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Julie Manning
ine Third Form girls took part in the 5km Rainbow Run in support of the Heart of Kent Hospice. As we ran around a warm, sunny Mote Park, we had paint thrown at us at various points to make us look like a rainbow! Well done to all of the girls who took part: Emily Smith, Phoebe Aucamp, Sophie Baxter, India Fowle,Verity Streek, Katie Harrison, Pamela Papa-Adams, Tiggy Teare and Kate Woodford. A special mention must go to Katie Harrison who came third overall in this event (just behind two Royal Marines!) Thank you to all of the parents who supported us and Mrs Baxter who ran with us.
Verity Streek and Pam Papa-Adams Third Form
he SVS Girls’ Running Club took part in a 5km charity night run in Mote Park. We were running to raise money for chYps, a charity supporting children with life changing illnesses. First of all, we covered our faces in neon paint and dressed in luminous clothes! It was really good fun as there was an official warm up and a couple of us (India and Verity) volunteered to lead it. Then, we were off…after two laps of the lake, we had completed the course. Congratulations must go to all of our runners: Emily Smith, Olivia Smith, Kate Woodford, India Fowle, Phoebe Aucamp, Laura Horley,Verity Streek and Pam Papa-Adams, many of whom completed the course in less than thirty minutes! Also a big thank you to the staff: Mrs Horley, Miss Clement-Walker and Miss Manning, and our parents for coming to support us.
ur themed nights continued, with a Christmas extravaganza, even the fridge dressed up.
edecorated bedrooms made the house even cosier, the new curtains look good too. elightful boarders filled the house with fun, laughter and good spirits.
St.Margaret’s House Jack Salmons Upper Sixth Head of House
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ith our new housemaster and head of boarding Mr Head coming into the house it took everybody a couple of weeks to settle in. However, his approach to the boarding community was soon recognised and adhered to. Throughout the year there were many boarding house socials between the three houses run by St Margaret’s, including football, rounders and basketball. Competition was fierce, particularly between us and what our former housemaster, Mr Webster, called “the dark side” i.e. Westminster House. In the first term we took a trip to Thorpe Park where we were given time to enjoy the rides and temporarily take our mind off our studies.
The Suttonian
Some of our other events included a Horror Movie Night which took place in the theatre producing a few screams, and not always from the people you would expect! One of the highlights of the year in the boarding houses was an eagerly awaited clash between England and Wales in the Six Nations. Preparations took place within St Margaret’s house including the placement of England flags everywhere possible to the dismay of Mr Davies and his son Cameron who were supporting Wales. The match was watched by around 100 students and teachers in the house and, as well as food provided by the catering staff, we all had the chance to experience the delights of Mr Davies’ prestigious Welsh Dragon curry.
However as my last year at Sutton Valence comes towards an end it is time for me to say a thank you to all the house prefects, especially Michael Adebiyi, who has helped me organise many of events and handle the everyday jobs within the house. I would also like to say a thank from me as well as on behalf of all of us in the house to Mr Head, our housemaster, and to our wonderful house matron Bev, both of whom managed to put up with all of us throughout the year. Page 111
speech day
Guest Speaker Margaret Mountford
First Form Prizes
Second Form Prizes
Third Form Prizes
Fourth Form Prizes
Academic Excellence Award Mariana Mason
Academic Excellence Award Lara Savage
Academic Excellence Award Francis Romano
Academic Excellence Award Eleanor Agu Benson
Achievement Awards Tarik Abed Ewen Barr Daisy Hills
Achievement Awards Anna Harrison Katie Lang Noah Swaine
Effort Awards Nicole Avery Alexander Duckett Josh Houry
Effort Awards Pescha Cordell Erin Densham Anisha Thapa Magar
Achievement Awards Edward Curling Emily Hall Nina Harman Olivia Smith Tiggy Teare Alexander Webb
Achievement Awards Francesca Ash JieJie Chen Olivia Ferris Naomi Lijesen Anya Livtchak Grace Mortley
Most Improved Thomas Poplett Thomas Wilkins
Most Improved Benjamin Kyd Sebastiaan Lijesen
Effort Awards Samuel Harris Katie Harrison Henry Jones Emily Smith
Effort Awards Aleksandr Gurtovoi Marco Hu Ariane Meyding Sophie Watson
All Round Contribution Awards Maisie Rixon McKellen Young
All Round Contribution Awards Elizabeth Drummond Finn Swaine
All Round Contribution Awards Phoebe Aucamp Archie Crouch Georgie Mancais Asher Regal
All Round Contribution Awards Laurence Eastman William Harrison Rehannah Houghton-Judge Charlotte Percival
The Junior Macdonald Prize (Current Affairs) Theodore Nelson
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The Macdonald Prize (Current Affairs) Samuel Grindlay
The Suttonian
Fifth Form Prizes Academic Excellence Award Jessica Grindlay Achievement Awards Emelia Browning James Collins Sam Gray Sabin Gurung Sangharsha Gurung Nicholas Payne Effort Awards Annabelle Blake Ruby Deighton-Smythe Zoya Khan Emma Simpson All Round Contribution Awards Jamie Drewe William Grabowski Matthew Jones Amelia Kent Olivia Richards The Coles Prize (all round contribution to School life) Charles Court
Lower Sixth Form Prizes Chemistry Prize Yiu Hong Wong Kitchener Prize (Mathematics) Qingyu Zhang Geography Prize Amelia Gaston Biology Prize Katherine McKeating
Further Mathematics Prize Xi Chen
Photography Prize Ciara Reddy
Media Studies Prize Lucas Williams
Angell Prize (Mathematics) Candela Segura
Academic PE Prize Tom Lennard
Geography Prize Charlie Ellis
Theatre Studies Prize Saskia Roestenburg
Bossom Prize (Chapel Reading) Cameron Grabowski
Religious Studies Prize Saskia Roestenburg Psychology Prize Frederick Parker History Prize Emil Evans French Prize Vendula Hoppeova Photography Prize Bronte King Effort Awards Verity Newman Francesca Wheble ICT Prize Francesca Wheble
Academic PE Prize Oliver Ridge Economics and Business Prize Patrice Veasey Grizelle Prize (History) Patrice Veasey
Spanish Prize Georgia Poplett
OSA Prize (all round contribution to School life) Hannah Morris
Biology Prize Oliver Aucamp
Religious Studies Prize Anna Baker
Physics Prize Thomas Brunt
Joyce Drayson Art Prize Zhuoran Cen
Economics and Business Studies Prize Jack Bonner
Design Technology Prize Nicole Payne
The Suttonian
Theatre Studies Prize Kathryn Parsons
Maberly Prize for Achievement Philippa Bromley
Spanish Prize Thomas Brunt
Music Prize Sasha van Diepen
Music Prize Ioana Pupaza
Bloxam Prize (English) Georgia Poplett
Upper Sixth Form Prizes
Art Prize Freddie Nelson
Fry Prize (ICT) Ioana Pupaza
All Round Contribution Awards Guy Backhouse Patrick Backhouse
English Prize Emily Vernon
Design Technology Prize Katie Latter
Further Mathematics Prize Yi Zhang
Psychology Prize Bethany Webb Wheeler Prize (French) Lydia Davies Media Studies Prize Maya Summers Wood Prize (Physics) Hannah Davies
Headmaster’s Prizes Oliver Aucamp Timothy Cain Mia van Diepen Winstanley Prize (Chemistry) Mia van Diepen Amy Lovegrove Prize (outstanding female achievement in Sport) Emma Baxter Edward Craven Prize (outstanding male achievement in Sport) Samuel Noss All Round Contribution Awards Lily Barclay Rory Sommerville Henry Sparrow Angus Weir Oliver Williams Robert Miles
Clothworkers’ Prize (all round contribution to School life) Toby Wilkinson Ricketts Prize (all round contribution to School life) Nicholas Wright The Marjorie Popay Prize for Educational Achievement Gregor Roberts CCF Sword of Honour Guy Thomas Richard Horn Prize (outstanding all round performance in Drama and Music) Francesca Tidd The Froud Innovation Prize Thomas Bennett The WBP Aspinall Prize (outstanding originality of thought and action) Charles Gellett Headmaster’s Special Achievement Prize Victoria Barnden The Spirit of the House Competition Cup Michael Adebiyi Gold Duke of Edinburgh Awards Nicole Payne Lydia Davies Michael Chaloner George Holmes Emma Baxter Guy Thomas Thomas Bennett Charles Gellett Victoria Barnden
Sutton Valence School Blue The following pupils have been awarded Blue gowns, which is the ultimate accolade for all-round contribution to our community: Laura Horley Naomi Lijesen Grace Mortley Charlotte Percival Georgie Ridge Page 113
Headmaster’s Copy Prize winners for outstanding work Art Zhuoran Cen Upper Sixth Form Florence-Mai Grief Upper Sixth Form Ciara Reddy Upper Sixth Form Lucy Roud Upper Sixth Form Shizhao Zhou Fourth Form
Design Technology Katie Latter
Lower Sixth Form
Drama Bethany Webb
Upper Sixth Form
English Georgia Poplett Mia van Diepen Sasha van Diepen Emily Vernon
Upper Sixth Form Upper Sixth Form Lower Sixth Form Lower Sixth Form
Extended Project Qualification Charles Gellett Upper Sixth Form Nicole Payne Upper Sixth Form Georgia Poplett Upper Sixth Form Mia van Diepen Upper Sixth Form Bethany Webb Upper Sixth Form
Film Studies Saskia Roestenburg
Lower Sixth Form
Geography Patrice Veasey
Upper Sixth Form
Learning Support Oliver Rutman
Fifth Form
Media Studies Gianluca Chiappini Lucas Williams
Upper Sixth Form Lower Sixth Form
Music Felix Eyers Sasha van Diepen
Upper Sixth Form Lower Sixth Form
Politics Maxwell Harrison
Fourth Form
Portfolio Work Imogen Forknall Emily Hall Tiggy Teare
Third Form Third Form Third Form
Psychology Lydia Davies Mary Ozoadibe Frederick Parker Bethany Webb
Upper Sixth Form Upper Sixth Form Lower Sixth Form Upper Sixth Form
Religious Studies Cameron Grabowski
Upper Sixth Form
Scholarship Project Francis Romano
Third Form
Theatre Studies Kathryn Parsons Page 114
Upper Sixth Form
Scholarships and Exhibitions Awarded Tarik Abed Sam Allison Nicole Avery Emily Baldwin Ewen Barr Luca Capaldi William Chambers Tobias Dickinson Phillipa Dow Alexander Duckett Charlotte Gilman Elliot Gooding Daisy Hills Louis Hillier Cameron Lamont-Brown Sophie Lee Joseph McDermott Grace Mitchell Theo Nelson Thomas Poplett Jack Price Maisie Rixon Thomas Wilkins Mckellen Young Alexander Bartleet Samuel Bennett Georgia Best William Dickinson Felix Dont Samuel Grindlay Nina Harman Katie Harrison Isabelle Hughes Henry Jones Barnaby Loxton-Barnard Georgia Mancais Asher Regal Richard Sawyer Thomas Saltmarsh Verity Streek Tiggy Teare Kate Woodford Angus Michie Thomas Brunt Xi Chen Amber Delaney Vendula Hoppeova Katherine Leyden Yujin Liu Freddie Nelson James Owen Ella Proctor Saskia Roestenburg James Turner Francesca Wheble Anna Harrison Imogen Forknall Emily Smith Max Harrison Gracie Rigby Adam Carrol James Collins Abdullah Adil Jack Bonner Henry Bonny Katherine McKeating
Academic Scholarship Sport Exhibition (Hon) Art Exhibition Music & Drama Exhibitions Hon Academic Scholarship Sport Exhibition Academic Scholarship Continuation Scholarship Art Exhibition Academic Exhibition Drama Scholarship Continuation Scholarship Academic Exhibition & Drama Exhibition Sports’ Scholarship Drama Scholarship Continuation Scholarship Sport Scholarship (Hon) Sport Scholarship Academic Exhibition Academic Exhibition Music Scholarship Sport Scholarship Academic Scholarship Sport Scholarshp Music Exhibition DT Exhibition Art Scholarship Sport Exhibition Sports’ Exhibition Academic & Music Scholarship (Hon) Academic, Art & Drama Scholarships Sport Scholarship (Hon) Drama Exhibition Art Scholarship Sport Scholarshp Sport Scholarshp Drama Scholarship DT Scholarship Sports’ Exhibition Sport Scholarshp Academic Scholarship Sport Scholarship Drama Exhibition Academic & Music Scholarship Westminster Scholarship Art Scholarship HMC Scholar Minor Music Exhibition Westminster Scholarship Academic Exhibition & Art Scholarship Art Scholarship Sport Scholarship Drama Scholarship Sports’ Scholarship Westminster Scholarship Academic Scholarship DT Scholarship Sport Scholarship (Hon) Drama Scholarship Art Exhibition Academic Scholarship Academic Scholarship Sport Scholarshp & All-Rounder Academic Exhibition DT Scholarship Academic Scholarship
The Suttonian
Look to the Future Christine Carter Head of Careers
S
tudents received a taste of the future as over 40 professions gathered together on Saturday 14th March for Sutton Valence School’s 2015 Careers Convention. Over 400 students attended the event which aimed to give students an insight into a broad range of careers and give them the opportunity to talk face to face with those working across different fields. Students enthusiastically met with accountants, analysts, engineers, biomedical scientists, photographers, the armed forces, the police, osteopaths, doctors, solicitors, barristers, biologists, university professors, marketing executives, chartered surveyors, property developers, software engineers, the hospitality industry and radiographers amongst others. Christine Carter, Head of Careers, believes that this event gives students the very valuable opportunity of talking to people who each have a very different experience of working life. She believes that the convention is good for inspiring students and giving them an idea of what they are ultimately working towards and tips on how best to succeed in their careers. Young people now start thinking about their careers early on and it is important that they conduct thorough research when making such important life decisions. The careers convention is a fun and informative way of expanding students’ ideas of what they could do in later life. The more advice students seek and receive the more informed and confident their choice will be.
Junior Prefects Elizabeth Cavell Pescha Cordell Elizabeth Drummond Daisy Fenton Tom Gray Anna Harrison Gabriella Howarth Katie Lang Jack Lewis Estelle McInerney Sam Mostowfi Louis Ridge Gabriella Romano Jack Stanton-Gleaves Amie Stuart Jamie Warman
Captain of Boys’ Hockey: Oliver Ridge
Head of Army: Thomas Bennett
Captain of Girls’ Netball: Lydia Davies
Head of Chapel Choir: Bethany Webb
Head of CCF: Head of Senior Strings: Gregor Roberts Ioana Pupuza Captain of Shooting: Charles Gellett
Head of Chamber Orchestra: Jessica Grindlay
Head of Navy: Head of Chamber Choir: Bethany Webb Georgia Poplett Head of RAF: Heads of Band: Michael Adebeyi Laura Horley and Daniel Clifton
Elizabeth Elbe Fifth Form The Suttonian
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Mr Pullen togther with pupils Mariana Mason and Harvey Sladden from his Gardening Club activity, attended an award ceremony in Faversham to receive certificates and a plaque, which is displayed in a prominent position within the School gardens.
Award-winning School Gardens Helen Knott
O
ver the past four years, Guy Pullen, Head Gardener, has worked with his team to strike a balance between creating formal gardens that befit the stature of a school such as Sutton Valence and the wish to create an environment that encourages wildlife and is ecologically sound. Winning a Silver award at their first attempt in the Kent Wildlife Trust’s ‘Garden Award Scheme’ this year has seen their efforts across the whole site recognised. “To win a Silver in our first year is very rewarding, said Guy. “The judging criteria are quite wide-ranging, but in most areas we either meet them, or are significantly down the road to meeting them. For example, we have a wide range of pollinating flowers for insects, nest boxes (with insect houses as the next stage), undisturbed areas for small mammals and we are working towards full organic practice. We have spotted hedgehogs, foxes and sparrow hawks on site, so there must be food here for them, which shows that we are providing the right habitats.” In addition to the main gardens, the School’s Wildlife Site, including a pond and meadow developed over a number of years, at various stages has involved Lower Sixth students involved in Community Service – both to originally establish the pond and site in general and to maintain it over the years. It not only provides an area to attract wildlife such as newts, wild flowers, a host of insects and birds, but also provides an outdoor classroom, which has been visited by many Biology classes as part of their studies of the more ecological topics that feature on the schemes of work.
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The Suttonian
Guy Pullen
Head Gardener
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mong the many good reasons for being a school gardener, inspiring the students has to be near the top. I suspect that most of the students of SVS don’t realise that their view of the world is being subtly shaped by their surroundings, but there is plenty of evidence to suggest that is exactly what is happening. Children raised in a beautiful environment will take that inspiration into all areas of their lives, becoming confidant, successful adults – easy! Well, maybe… This year we created a more direct way to inspire the students through the wonders of a vegetable patch. There is nothing more satisfying than eating something that you have grown from seed and nurtured through life. Home grown fruits famously taste better than anything that you can buy in the shops and even when they don’t, the warm glow of satisfaction covers up for the inadequacies of flavour and flaccidity of bite. Vegetable gardening can be simple, but the school environment throws up plenty of challenges. Many of the best edible crops are ready for harvest through the summer holidays, so easy wins like peas and runner beans have to be grown at the peripheries of their growing seasons giving them a greater margin for failure. It is unfortunate too that the best time to sow many crops is at the end of March and the beginning of April, which is known around these parts as the Easter Holidays. I guess these holidays originate from a more agrarian time, when school children were needed on the farm, but that doesn’t help us, so we sow and harvest early and late. Another challenge is to persuade the children that not all dirt is bad and that food you’ve harvested yourself moments ago is ‘fresh’. As a nation it seems we’ve come to accept the bagged salads, washed in chlorine and flown twice around the world, but a tomato just plucked from the bush and still warm from the sun must be distrusted. But it’s not all bad! The location of our vegetable garden is perfect – it is nestled into the building on the south end of Westminster House (come and have a look). It receives sun all day; the heat from which is absorbed by the building and then radiated back out during the night to keep the chill off our babies. And we have had some successes! Runner beans have grown strongly and there were enough left by the end of the holidays for the students to try. Tomatoes have fruited and were delicious. Radishes have been as successful as ever and have divided opinion amongst those who tried them. Pak Choi and Rocket have grown like weeds and carrots and purple sprouting broccoli are still in the ground, waiting for their autumn and winter harvest. The greatest success however has been the potatoes. We planted two varieties; a ‘first early’ called Red Duke of York that was ready for harvest at the end of the summer term and a ‘main crop’ variety called ‘Desiree’ that we dug in early September. Try as they might, the students who helped to dig the potatoes couldn’t disguise their enjoyment as large red tubers emerged from the mud. It is a special thing and I still find it slightly magical when I pull away the wilted, yellowing foliage of the potato plant and unearth real potatoes. The vegetable patch of 2015 was a good start and we’ve learnt a lot about what best to grow and how best to grow it. Over the winter we will add manure and compost to improve the thin soil and we’ll remove some more of the old hedges to open up the site. I hope this will be the start of something that will inspire and educate for years to come.
The Suttonian
Page 117
Notes from the Archives
The Clothworkers’ term of care David Pickard Archivist
THESE FIRST YEARS OF THE SECOND MILLENNIA AD ARE GENERALLY CONSIDERED TO BE A ‘GOOD TIME’ FOR THE SCHOOL; its reputation is strong
and growing, its numbers are at an all-time high and its interaction with the community that surrounds it is relatively harmonious. The history, however, has been a chequered one and these notes are aimed at describing and explaining the School’s undulating fortunes and identifying the roles of the more important ‘players’ in the evolving drama during the time (1576-1910) that the Clothworkers oversaw our governance.
Page 118 by Jordan Davis, Lower Sixth Photograph
The School in 1710 The present alms-houses can be seen on the left. The school house occupies what is now the fives court and part of Lambe’s quadrangle. The headmaster’s house, on the right, occupies the other half.
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ccording to the reports of the visitations by the Clothworkers’ Company, with the exception of one ‘golden period’ between 1691 and 1698, the best the School could be said to be achieving between its foundation in 1576 and its ‘re-birth’ in 1840 was that it bumped along in the bottom half of the then hierarchy of schools. Their reports are biased, however, because they are only interested in the progress of the Foundation Scholars, village children obtaining free places at the school, paid for out of the legacy of William Lambe (and the kindness of the Clothworkers). Our founder, whom no-one can say was not a well-meaning and charitable man, died almost as soon as he had arranged that the newly opened School be cared for by the Clothworkers’ Company as its custodians on his death. No-one pursues a good idea more thoroughly than the originator of the idea, and William Lambe’s death took away all the impetus that he may have generated had he remained in place to oversee the development of his dream. Not only that, but he had not thought through his request of the Clothworkers’ care. He provided them only with sufficient funds to cover the costs of an annual inspection of the School to determine that work was carried out properly. The 17th century was a turbulent time, both in matters of religion and politics and collecting the rents of property and lands bequeathed to them by Lambe proved almost impossible for the Clothworkers. Out of their own funds did they have to make this man’s dreams come true. Theirs was the not inconsiderable cost of upkeep, the cost of educating the ‘scholars’ and, in the first instance, the cost of providing a house for the Headmaster, since Lambe’s benevolence had not included one. Inflation made certain that very quickly even the money provided for the annual inspection could not be met from Lambe’s fund.
The Suttonian
The picture below shows the School after a major refurbishment in 1840. The main school building was demolished and a new one further back from the road replaced it.
If being saddled with the financial burden of caring for a School that was several hours travelling distance by the very fastest form of transport from their HQ in Mincing Lane was not enough, the Clothworkers soon faced parental rebellion. The yeoman farmers and the local tradespeople were much more concerned that their children learned the basics of commerce than the rudiments of Latin and Greek. Indeed they took the Governors to court to try to force the headmaster to teach subjects other than the classics. They may have been receiving free or heavily subsidised education, but it was the wrong education for their offspring. Village children were educated free according to Lambe’s legacy. Each headmaster had the right to add to the numbers in the School pupils of his own, fee paying and seeking admission to Oxbridge. It was when the headmaster failed to achieve a balance between these two different needs that problems arose. The Clothworkers were not interested in reporting his success with the academic pupils but could be scathing in their criticism of the treatment to those needy village children awarded scholarships to the School. The crucial role determining the success of the School was that of the Master. Some ran a parish, or more than one, as well as a School. Some were indolent, some were rumoured to be distracted by riotous living and some died at a young age after beginning well. One, Richard Forster (1691 to 1698), was exceptionally good and inspirational, even to those of lowly ambition; it was in his time that we were endowed with two Scholarships to Oxford University. One, Joseph Hardy, ‘reigned’ from 1746 to 1786, and so complacent did he become that the inspectors at the end of his tenure declared that the school was nowhere near to achieving the aims of its founder. He had bowed to parental pressure, and he taught no more than the basic requirements of reading, writing and arithmetic. He did not even bother obtaining his own private pupils. The annual inspections had become rarer and rarer as funds dried up so neglect was not spotted as it ought to have been. Headmaster John Ismay (1790 to 1816) was one of several headmasters who found it difficult to run two schools in one.
The Suttonian
In about 1860 further additions were made to the School buildings as the drawing below illustrates. The top picture is a representation of the 1840 situation and the bottom picture shows that the School building was enlarged and the Headmaster’s house next door re-configured and added into the school building. Later on in the 19th century a wing was added to the west of the School building and contains what is now the library. Thus, in the declining years of their governance of the School, the Clothworkers’ Company made sure that their ‘inheritance’ from William Lambe was in good heart.
He began well. The report of 1795 heaps praise on his efforts but by 1801 they report ‘…the School was conducted in a very different manner than they were led to expect from the 1795 report. The boys (Foundationers – village boys) had been examined in the required subjects and the results reflected no credit on the Master.’ At the same time boys were leaving the School having received a classical education. Ismay had been neglecting the Foundationers in favour of his own pupils, nearly fifty strong, thirty of whom were boarders in his house or elsewhere in the village. These pupils, of course, provided him with his bread and butter. His income for teaching the village boys was negligible by comparison. To his credit, he responded well to the report of 1801 and when he died in 1816 his valediction informed us that ‘for over 26 years presided over the Clothworkers’ School in this place with great credit to himself and much benefit to the neighbourhood’.
The Clothworkers’ Company persevered with their task. Indeed, they determined to right the wrongs of preceding centuries, when in 1840 they tightened the rules of inspection, and redefined the demands of the curriculum. They re-established the School, after having closed it for a couple of years to give it a thorough rebuilding and refurbishment, and further developments were made in the 1860s. Ever since that time, although the gradient has never been smooth, the school has climbed up through the ranks to its present elevated position. When the Clothworkers transferred the governance of the School to the United Westminster Foundation its reputation, under the leadership of George Bennett, was strong, both academically and in sporting prowess. The annual visit of the Clothworkers on Speech Day was a major event and successive Masters of the company donated prizes to encourage academic excellence. The work of building the School’s reputation was begun in 1840 by Cecil Goodchild, whose charisma and energy re-invigorated confidence in the school and increased recruitment.
Henry Milligan carried on the good work with strict Victorian values and he was followed by the aloof, but caring and compassionate James Kingdon. The school was too small in numbers, and organised differently, so it could never call itself a ‘public school’ as could Uppingham for example, but the values were the same and the academic performance was strong, such that he was invited to join the Headmasters’ Conference in 1871, only two years after its formation. George Bennett took over a ‘going concern’ and applied his considerable skill to make things even better. Indeed, the period from 1883 to the early 1900s are seen as a ‘golden age’ in the history of the School. Boys that were taught here during that time achieved later fame in politics, the forces, on the sporting fields, in academia, as clergymen and pioneering educationalists. However, the time of the Clothworkers was coming to a close. The last half of the 19th century was a time of agricultural recession. Sutton Valence had missed the opportunity to be joined to the railway network. The location of its buildings on the crest of a ridge meant an unceasing need for costly repair and maintenance. The advancing technology in the Industrial Revolution was tempting the Clothworkers to invest their finances in universities and industry rather than ‘basic’ education. These are factors that might have led to the rapid decline of the School and this was only averted by the constant goodwill of the Clothworkers who, in 1910, arranged the transfer of governance to the United Westminster Foundation, sweetening the deal with financial assistance and the co-operation of Sir Edmund Filmer with the gift of land on which the top part of the present school is built. Page 119
ARTHUR PAUL PEDRICK (1918-1976) (1935 M) THE SCHOOL’S MOST ECCENTRIC OLD BOY?
David Pickard
TODAY’S WORLD OF EVER AMAZING AND RAPIDLY DEVELOPING TECHNOLOGY CONSTANTLY AMAZES THOSE OF US WHO LIVED A MUCH MORE SIMPLE LIFE ONLY A COUPLE OF DECADES AGO.
One OS, however, was no stranger to mind-boggling inventions; he even took to proposing a few himself.
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n 1966, Arthur Paul Pedrick proposed that he could irrigate virtually all of the central desert area of Australia with the equivalent of 30 inches water per annum. The water would be provided by the arrival, through a tube, of large snow balls originating from Antarctica. His patent application for this idea is based on the facts that central Antarctica is a plateau at about 9000 feet and that gravity alone would allow the balls to transport through the tube to the Antarctic shore and under the sea (itself a very cold body of water for most of the distance between Antarctica and Australia) Somehow the spin of the earth about its axis would help speed the progress of the balls. He envisaged (and was supported by mathematical equations) that the balls would reach speed of over 500mph. As an ‘insurance’ against failure he further proposed that pumps, driven by the wind, located in the Southern Ocean would remove air from the tube thus lowering the pressure and keep the balls moving. That Australians have an increasingly tenuous hold on the periphery of their lands and suffer increasing desertification and forest fire is testimony to the apathy that greeted Pedrick’s discovery of a way to utilise the land much more fully than before! Pedrick was no fool, and even he had no illusions that his very workable (in theory) idea would be adopted. He made this proposal to illustrate that the world was moving very rapidly towards a situation where population increase demanded a very large increase in food supply, and unless we began to think of ways to achieve this mankind’s survival would be threatened, but also in all of his patent applications he craved publicity for his strongly held view that the inefficiency of the patents system was in itself a threat to the speed of development of innovation. Page 120
Pedrick had worked for the Patents Office for several years before becoming disillusioned. After leaving in 1961, he bombarded the Office with a great number of weird and whacky patents, all of which had sufficient theoretical Pedrick merit that they had to be pursued was a very by the Office. In the world of shy man inventors and of scientists seeking and I have been unable to find a patents for their ideas he is seen as photograph of him in maturity. This a folk hero and anti-establishment is probably him, at school in 1933. character, embarrassing the ‘authorities’. Submitting the extraordinary large number of patents that he did cost him a lot of money, and he was not a wealthy man. After leaving the Patent Office he had managed to find work operating a printing machine for the Britax engineering company in Chichester for £6.00 a week. He was over-qualified for the job, being B.Sc. AGCL DIC (Aero) AIMechE. He was a visionary, too. According to Nils Stevnsborg, writing in the ‘World Patent Information’ magazine, 2011, “The ideas in his patents were often an expression of being way ahead of his time: re-designed sailing ships…energy generation by the combustion of household waste, flat screen televisions, off-shore wind powered electricity generators, air-bags for automobiles, near-space supersonic aircraft and ‘doubledecker’ commercial aircraft…3-D television and much more. His idea of a vacuum underground subway has recently been taken up by a team of Swiss engineers and tunnelling experts.” What made his patent applications so special, however, was the great length of commentary within the body of the text on the current affairs that had stimulated his thinking. Often, a single event would seem to make him file a patent with an ingenious solution to the issue at hand.
If we do not know exactly what Pedrick looked like, we do have a picture of ‘Ginger’ as drawn by Pedrick to help illustrate one of his patent applications.
For example, the showing of the film. ‘Towering Inferno’ caused him to invent a curtain system that would envelop a highrise building in the case of fire and prevent the ingress of oxygen and help reduce the flames. As he outlined his thinking he always acknowledged the significant contribution of Ginger, his pet cat, in helping him to develop his ideas. Perhaps it was the cat who encouraged him to invent a golf club that prevented both hooking and slicing – a club whose invention produced a welcome vote of approval from Henry Longhurst, doyen of golfing commentators in the middle part of the last century. Longhurst also approved of the metal mesh that was contained within the ball which allowed it to be found by a handheld metal detector carried in the golf bag. Pedrick’s patents provide a delightful, informative and amusing read for the technologically gifted and his name is regularly brought out whenever an alleged dysfunction of the patent system is being discussed. In this respect he achieved his aims. But the legacy of his ‘genius’ is strong. They are frequently used in providing the basis for rejection, and sometimes acceptance of modern-day applications. He recently, 2010, ‘appeared’ in an episode of Wallace and Gromit’s World of Inventions, broadcast by the BBC. …And how much more might he be (in) famous if one of his patents had actually been adopted by the world community ‘ the 1,000 Megaton Earth-orbital peace-keeping bomb’. (with grateful thanks to the work of Nils Stevnsborg, whose enthusiasm to perpetuate the memory of Pedrick stimulated this memoir)
The Suttonian
THE SCHOOL CHAPEL David Pickard Archivist
H
eadmaster, the Rev. WW Holdgate, on appointment in 1910, advocated the need for a School Chapel but his idea only came to fruition in 1929. The ‘authorities’ took a lot more persuading than our local community. The foundation stone was laid down on 29th June 1928 by Baron Cornwallis of Linton, and the building completed, then dedicated by Archbishop Lang on 19th July 1929. Holdgate himself had overseen the construction, acting as ‘clerk of works’. It is said that his language was totally unchristian when he discovered that the centre line was one brick out and the symmetry of the building thus ruined. He remained proud of the The Chapel in 1929 shortly after its dedication. innovative design of the Chapel. The ferrous concrete ribs were built first and later brickwork filled the spaces between; the roof is supported by these framing pillars and not by the walls. He also ensured that the Chapel would be lit by electricity. Early in 1929 a gas engine was used to generate electrical power to light up main block (before that time the School was gas-lit) and an extension was laid to connect the Chapel to the system. Unfortunately, the output of power was not sufficient to light up both the School and the Chapel. There was usually a mad scramble to switch off all the lights in main block when a Chapel service was about to begin. For the first fifty years of its life it changed very little. The cross that adorned the roof was removed in the 1930s, and about the same time an organ was purchased and installed. A growth in pupil numbers led to the building of side aisles in 1967 and in 1971 the vestibule was enlarged and the entrance porch altered. Tradition and continuity were the themes. The important furniture: the altar, altar rails, font lectern etc., provided by the hands of the woodwork master, Jack Richards, remained; the interior decoration, with the east wall dominated by a long drape, was plain and simple – only each wall had a war memorial fixed, and with the passage of time plaques began to appear, dedicated to ex masters and others who had served the community well.
Gywn Davies
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n September the School made a visit to the World War One memorial in Ypres and a service was held in Saint George’s Chapel to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the loss of the first Old Suttonian in battle. A plaque to his memory was dedicated in the Chapel and the School Chamber Choir sang at an emotional Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate Memorial. This was a particularly poignant moment and it will live long in the memory of those that attended. The Christmas Carol Concert was a highlight, as it always is. The festive season truly comes alive in the candlelit Chapel augmented by the beautiful singing of the Chapel Choir. In March Bishop Trevor, the Bishop of Dover, visited the School Chapel and confirmed six pupils into the Christian faith: Emily Baldwin, Dan O’Brien, Henry Overy, Finley Plugge, Lara Savage and Archie Wooff. As well as the pupils, Mr Wells was also confirmed with Mrs Wells and their son Harrison baptised.
However, it seems that the original date on which the ceremony was to have taken place, postponed because of the Archbishop attending the opening of a new term at Parliament, coincided with the anniversary of the visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. For some the postponement was fortuitous in a ‘boys’ school’. Others claimed that William Lambe was closely associated with St James (he had bought St James’ Chapel in the time of the reformation and had priests say mass there for the rest of his life) One legend about the life of St James is that he was being martyred, stoned to death, when a ‘fuller’ (clothworker) taking pity on his suffering, took a club and killed him outright to save further agony. This legend being difficult to substantiate and the co-incidence of the 29th June and the end of the Summer Term swung the argument in favour of St Peter. The association with St Peter gave the School the opportunity to change the east wall as well and we have been blessed with its inspirational message until the present; now replaced with the original simplicity and dignity of a drape on that wall.
The interior of the Chapel as it originally was.
1979 saw the fiftieth anniversary of the Chapel’s dedication and provided the opportunity for significant change. It was now that the Chapel was re-dedicated (somewhat controversially) to St Peter, and the East Wall covered with a mural and etched glass depicting incidents in the life of the ‘rock’ of the Church. The choice of St Peter as the one after whom the Chapel is called seems irrefutable since the dedication day in 1929 was in June on his ‘saint’s day’.
The Suttonian
Chapel
For 85 years the Chapel has been at the centre of life in this School. With a relaxation of the rules towards the end of the last century it has also been the place for christenings, weddings and funerals of old pupils and other friends of the School. It has been used as a community place of worship and a place where institutions linked with the School can come to worship. It is a haven of peace and a really strong symbol of the values we The East Wall of the all stand for. Chapel shortly after Long may that its re-design, in 1983. continue. Page 121
Oliver Aucamp Head of School Michaelmas Term
Clothworkers’, 2000, Academic Scholarship; Prefect, Biology and Headmaster’s Prizes, 1st team Football, 1st XI Hockey, 2nd XV Rugby (Captain, Half Colours), 1st team Tennis,Rugby Fives; Choir, Sixth Form Choir, Guitar Group, Barbershop Choir, Grade 5 Singing, Cologne Cathedral 2012, Performed with Voces 8, Westminster Abbey 2012; LAMDA Group Grade 3 Distinction; CCF: Head of Juniors, CSM (WO11), Silver and Bronze Duke of Edinburgh. Michael Adebiyi Lambe’s, 2009, St Margaret’s, The Spirit of the House Competition Cup, Head of House, Prefect; Captain 3rd XI Hockey, 2nd XV Rugby; Macbeth, We Will Rock You, Romeo and Juliet; CCF: Head of RAF, Cadet Warrant Officer, Bronze Duke of Edinburgh, Model United Nations. Thomas Bailey Lambe’s, 2011, St Margaret’s; Boarding House Prefect, 2nd team Football, CCF: Corporal; Gold Duke of Edinburgh. Anna Baker Holdgate, 2006, Sports Scholarship; Religious Studies, Maths, History, Geography prizes; Head of House, Prefect, School Council; County Golf and Vice-Captain Senior Team (Colours); England U16 Hockey and 1st team (Colours), Netball 1st team (Colours), Senior Team Rounders (Colours) , Captain 1st XV Rugby, 1st team Tennis (Half Colours); CCF Sergeant; Gold Duke of Edinburgh; Blue Gown. Lily Barclay Clothworkers’, 2008; Academic and Drama Scholarships; All Round Contribution Award, Head of House, Prefect; Jazz Band, Grade 4 Singing, Jazz Supper & concerts (lead vocalist), Music concerts, Sixth Form concerts, Tenor Horn and Drums; Lamda Grade 8 (Gold); Community service; Silver Duke of Edinburgh. Victoria Barnden Holdgate, 2008, Academic, Music and Sport Scholarships; Headmaster’s Special Achievement Prize, Head of House, Prefect; 1st XI Hockey – (Colours), 1st team Netball - Half Colours, Senior Team Rounders; Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra, performances at St John’s Smith Square and Spitalfields; CCF: Head of Juniors, CSM (WO11), Gold Duke of Edinburgh. Annabel Beechey Holdgate, 2013; Head of House, Young Enterprise. Page 122
Tim Cain Head of School Summer Term
Mia van Diepen Head of School Lent Term
Founder’s, 2008, Academic, Music, Art & Drama Scholarships; EPQ Copy Prize; Winstanley and Headmaster’s Prizes, Prefect; 1st XI Hockey (Colours), 1st team Netball (Colours); Choir, Sixth Form & chamber Choir, Grade 8 singing, Voces 8, Westminster Abbey & school concerts; UWS Art Show; Godspell, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, We Will Rock You, Macbeth, Romeo & Juliet, Gold LAMDA; CCF: Cadet; Community Service; Bronze Duke of Edinburgh, Model United Nations.
Emma Baxter Founder’s, 2009, Music and Sport Scholarships; Amy Lovegrove Prize; Prefect; Regional Hockey and Captain of 1st XI Hockey (Colours), 1st team Netball (Colours), 1st team Tennis (Colours), U18 Girls’ Rugby 7s; Choir, Sixth Form Choir, Singing Soiree, Grade 6 piano, Grade 8 singing, Chamber choir; Productions: Sweet Charity, Macbeth, We Will Rock you, Romeo and Juliet; CCF: Sergeant, Gold Duke of Edinburgh. Tom Bennett Founder’s, 2008, DT Scholarship; The Froud Innovation Prize, 2nd XV Rugby, CCF: Senior Team Shooting (Colours), Head of Army, RSM (WO1), Gold Duke of Edinburgh, Model United Nations. Zhuoran Cen Lambe’s, 2013, St Margaret’s; Art Prize, Prefect; Senior Team Swimming, Community Service: Maths support; Gold Duke of Edinburgh. Michael Chaloner Holdgate, 2010, Westminster; Boarding House Prefect; Regional & 1st XI Cricket (Half Colours), 2nd team Football, CCF: Corporal, Gold Duke of Edinburgh. Gianluca Chiappini Founder’s, 2008, Drama Scholarship; Head of House; 2nd XI Cricket, 2nd team Football, 2nd XV Rugby; Productions: Romeo and Juliet (Romeo); Bronze Lamda, Model United Nations. Barnaby Clarke Lambes, 2007; 3rd XV Rugby; Geography trip to Iceland; CCF: Bronze Duke of Edinburgh. Lewis Croke Founder’s, 2011; 1st XV Rugby (Full Colours), U15B Hockey; CCF: Lance Corporal, Bronze Duke of Edinburgh.
Holdgate, 2000, Westminster; Head of School, House Prefect, Prefect; Headmaster’s Prize, 1st team Football, County Hockey and Vice-Captain 1st XI Hockey (Colours), Hockey, 1st XV Rugby (Colours); Tenor Horn (grade 1), Drums (grade 1), CCF: Cadet,Community Service; J unior Hockey Coach, Gold and Bronze Duke of Edinburgh.
Hannah Davies Holdgate, 2008, Academic, Music & Sport Scholarships; Physics prize, Head of House, Prefect; 1st XI Hockey (Colours), 1st team Netball (Colours) Captain 1st team Tennis (Half Colours); Choir, Strings, CCF: Cadet; Community Service, Silver Duke of Edinburgh. Lydia Davies Holdgate, 2008, Music & Sport Scholarships: Head of House, Prefect, French Prize, Captain 2nd XI Hockey (Colours), Captain 1st team Netball (Colours), 1st team Tennis (Half Colours); Strings, Christs Church Spitalfields; Cello Grade 6, CCF: Cadet; Community service; Gold, Silver and Bronze Duke of Edinburgh; Charities Committee. Charlie Ellis Holdgate, 2008, Westminster, Academic Scholarship; Boarding Prefect, Geography Prize,1st team Football,Vice-Captain 1st XV Rugby (Colours); CCF: Corporal, Bronze Duke of Edinburgh. Felix Eyers Lambe’s, 2013, St Margaret’s, Head of House; 3rd XI Cricket, 3rd XI Hockey, 3rd XV Rugby; Chamber Orchestra; CCF: Corporal. Harry Fern Holdgate, 2008; Charity Work, helicopter private pilot licence. William Ford Founder’s, 2013; CCF: Cpl, Silver Duke of Edinburgh. Charles Gellett Founder’s, 2010, Academic Scholarship; The WBP Aspinall Prize, Prefect, Captain Senior Team Fencing (Colours), 1st team Football, 3rd XV Rugby, Captain Senior Team Shooting (Colours), CCF: Flight Sergeant, Gold Duke of Edinburgh. Jack Moody Holdgate, 2013, Community Service.
Asbin Ghale Lambe’s, 2008, St Margaret’s; Head of House; UK Fencing, 2nd team Football, UK and 1st XI Hockey (Colours), UK and 2nd XV Rugby (Half Colours), Rugby Fives, Lamda; CCF: Lance Corporal, Gold Duke of Edinburgh; Dance. Cameron Grabowski Lambe’s, 2008, Academic Scholarship; History and Bossom Prizes; Prefect; 2nd team Football, 2nd XV Rugby, 1st team Tennis; CCF: Corporal; Silver Duke of Edinburgh. Florence-Mai Grief Founder’s, 2010, Art Scholarship; UWS Art Exhibition; Community Service, Silver Duke of Edinburgh. George Holmes Holdgate,2008, Westminster; House Prefect; 1st XV Rugby; LAMDA Distinction, CCF: NCO; Community Service, Gold Duke of Edinburgh. Ryan Malluzzo-Fisher Clothworkers’, 2010, Sports Scholarship; Head of House, Captain 1st team Football. Emily Mason Lambe’s, 2008, Music Scholarship; Strings, A Midsummer Night’s Dream; CCF: Leading Rate, Bronze Duke of Edinburgh; Dance. Robert Miles Lambe’s, 2011, Academic & Sport Scholarships; Head of House, Prefect; 2nd XI Cricket, 1st team Football, 1st XV Rugby (Colours); Bronze Duke of Edinburgh, Model United Nations. Tom Mitchell Founder’s, 2008, Sports Scholarship; Senior Team Athletics, 2nd XI Cricket (colours), 1st XI Hockey (Colours),Vice-Captain 1st XV Rugby (Colours); CCF: Cadet; Junior Rugby coach, Bronze Duke of Edinburgh. Victoria Morris Founder’s, 2010; Productions: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 5 Kinds of Silence & Retribution.
The Suttonian
Valete
Michael Adebiyi
Thomas Bailey
Anna Baker
Lily Barclay
Victoria Barnden
Emma Baxter
Annabel Beechey
Tom Bennett
Zhuoran Cen
Michael Chaloner
Gianluca Chiappini
Barnaby Clarke
Lewis Croke
Hannah Davies
Lydia Davies
Charlie Ellis
Felix Eyers
Harry Fern
William Ford
Charles Gellett
Asbin Ghale
Cameron Grabowski
Florence-Mai Grief
George Holmes
Ryan Malluzzo-Fisher
Emily Mason
Robert Miles
Tom Mitchell
Jack Moody
Victoria Morris
The Suttonian
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Jack Mortley Holdgate, 2010, Sports Scholarship; 1st XI Cricket (Half Colours), 1st team Football, 1st XI Hockey (Half Colours), 1st XV,Rugby (Colours), Senior Team Shooting, Community Service. Samuel Noss Holdgate, 2008, Westminster, Sports Scholar, Edward Craven Prize, House prefect, 1st XV Rugby, 1st XI Hockey, 1st XI Cricket. Connor O’Shea Lambe’s, 2010, St Margaret’s, 1st team Football, 2nd XV Rugby; Inspector Smith (Constable), Leading Rate, Bronze Duke of Edinburgh, Model United Nations. Mary-Magdalene Ozoadibe Clothworkers’, 2013, Sutton, Psychology prize, Boarding House Prefect; 2nd XI Hockey, 2nd team Netball, Senior Team Rounders, Community Service, Bronze Duke of Edinburgh. Kathryn Parsons Clothworkers’, 2010, Sutton, Drama & Sport Scholarships; Theatre Studies Prize, House Prefect, Boarding House Prefect, Prefect; 1st XI Hockey (Colours), Captain of Senior Team Swimming (Half Colours), 2nd team Tennis (Half Colours); Productions: Macbeth, LAMDA Distinction at Grade 8; CCF: Cadet, Silve Duke of Edinburgh. Nicole Payne Founder’s, 2013, Head of House; Design Technology Prize, Yearbook Committee, Night Walk for Blind Veterans, Bus Prefect, Community Service, Gold Duke of Edinburgh. Justin Phillips Lambe’s, 2010, 1st team Football, Captain of Senior Team & County; 2nd XI Hockey; Grade 8 piano with merit; Lighting designer, Community Service, Bronze Duke of Edinburgh. Georgia Poplett Holdgate, 2008, Academic, Music & Drama Scholarships; Bloxam and Spanish Prizes, Extended Project; Prefect; Head of Chamber Choir, Choir, 6th form Choir, Girl’s Choir, Singing Grade 8, Piano; Productions: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Sweet Charity, Macbeth, We Will Rock You, Romeo and Juliet, Bronze LAMDA; Community Service, Bronze Duke of Edinburgh, Big Magazine, Model United Nations,Yearbook Committee. Ioana Pupaza Clothworkers’, 2013, Sutton, Scholarships: Academic & Music; Fry and Music Prizes, Prefect; Leader of the String and Chamber Orchestras, Choir, 6th form Choir, Girl’s Choir, Orchestra, Sixth Form concerts, school concerts, assemblies & open morning, Professor N. Miller masterclasses; Model United Nations. Page 124
Megan Purvis Lambe’s, 2007, Head of House; CCF: Cadet, Community Service, Bronze Duke of Edinburgh. Ciara Reddy Founder’s, 2013, Art Scholarship; Art, Photography and Media prizes, Foundation Art Show; Community Service. Ollie Ridge Founder’s, 2008, Sport Scholarship, Academic PE Prize, Prefect; 1st XI Cricket (Colours), Regional Hockey & Captain of 1st XI Hockey (Colours), County tennis & Captain of 1st team Tennis (Colours). Gregor Roberts Lambe’s, 2010, St Margarets, The Marjorie Popay Prize,Vice-Captain of 1st XV Rugby (Colours), Regional & Scottish Exiles swimming & Captain of Senior Team Swimming (Colours); Head of CCF, RSM (WO1), Silver Duke of Edinburgh. Lucy Roud Lambe’s, 2010, Art Scholarship; Deputy Head of House, Silver Duke of Edinburgh, Photography. Jack Salmons Lambe’s, 2014, St Margarets, Head of House; Captain of 3rd XI Hockey; CCF: Leading Rate, Silver Duke of Edinburgh. James Scott Holdgate, 2008, Westminster, House Prefect; 2nd team Football; Equestrian centre. Candela Segura Clothworker’s, 2013, Sutton; Head of House, Boarding House Prefect, Prefect, Mathematics Prize. Rory Sommerville Clothworkers’, 2010, Music Scholarship, All Round Contribution Award, Prefect; 2nd team Football, 2nd XV Rugby (Half Colours), 1st team Tennis; Choir, Chamber Orchestra, Jazz Band, Orchestra, Strings, Cologne trip, Paris trip, St John’s Smith Square, Grade 7 Double Bass, Grade 8 singing, Grade 4 singing;CCF: Corporal, Silver Duke of Edinburgh. Henry Sparrow Holdgate, 2013, Westminster, All Round Contribution Award, Boarding House Prefect, Prefect; 2nd team Football, 1st XV Rugby (Colours); CCF: L/Cpl. Maya Summers Clothworkers’, 2008; Media studies Prize, Netball (Half Colours), Tennis (Colours); Singing Soiree, Charles Saatchi gallery website; CCF: Cadet; Community Service, Bronze Duke of Edinburgh,Year Book Committee.
Guy Thomas Founder’s, 2008,Head of House, Prefect, CCF Sword of Honour, Head of Stores; UK Athletics, County Cricket, 3rd XV Rugby, Senior Team Shooting, England U20 Race Walking; 6th form Choir, Grade 5 Singing; Productions: Sweet Charity, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Puck), Romeo and Juliet (Gregory), CCF: Head of Signals, (WO11), Gold, Silver & Bronze Duke of Edinburgh, Model United Nations. Francesca Tidd Lambe’s, 2008, Academic & Drama Scholarships; Richard Horn Prize, Deputy Head of House, Prefect, 2nd XI Hockey (Half Colours), 2nd team Netball; Choir, Grade 7 singing; Productions: Romeo and Juliet, We WIll Rock You, Sweet Charity, Macbeth, Bronze LAMDA (distinction); Community Service, Bronze Duke of Edinburgh. Patrice Veasey Lambe’s, 2011, Academic Scholarship, Economics and Business and Grizelle Prizes, Deputy Head of House, Prefect; 1st team Football, 2nd XV Rugby;Young Enterprise, Model United Nations. Bethany Webb Founder’s, 2008, Academic, Music & Drama Scholarships; Psychology Prize, Prefect; Choir, Sixth Form Choir, Head of Chapel Choir; Productions: Romeo & Juliet (Juliet), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Hermia), LAMDA Gold medal with distinction; CCF: Head of Navy, Petty Officer, Silver Duke of Edinburgh; Big Magazine; Model United Nations; Dance. Benjamin Webb Clothworkers’, 2010, Head of House, 2nd team Football, 3rd XV Rugby; CCF: Head of Navy, Petty Officer. Angus Weir Holdgate, 2008, Westminster, All Round Contribution Award, Head of House, Boarding House Prefect; 2nd XI Cricket, Captain of 2nd XI Hockey (Half Colours), 1st XV Rugby (Colours), Senior Team Shooting (Half Colours), Rugby 7s: CCF: Corporal, Junior rugby coaching, Bronze Duke of Edinburgh. Oliver Williams Founder’s, 2013, Academic & Sport Scholarships, All Round Contribution Award, Prefect; 1st XV Rugby (Colours), Fastest 100m & 200m runner in the School, Work experience. Toby Wilkinson Clothworkers’, 2008, Clothworkers’ Prize, Prefect, Senior Team Athletics, 2nd XI Hockey, Captain of 1st XV Rugby (Colours), Senior Team Swimming (Colours), 2nd team Tennis, Rugby 7s: LAMDA merit, Gold, Silver & Bronze Duke of Edinburgh.
Nicholas Wright Holdgate, 2008, Westminster, Sport Scholarship; Ricketts Prize, Boarding House Prefect, Prefect; 1st XI Cricket (Colours), 1st XI, Hockey (Colours), 1st XV,Rugby (Colours), Senior Team Swimming (Colours); CCF: Corporal, Bronze Duke of Edinburgh. Yi Zhang Clothworkers’, 2013, Sutton, House Prefect; Further Mathematics Prize, UK Mathematics Challenge Gold Award 2014, Silver 2013, 2nd 2014 Regional Final of UKMT FMSP Senior Team Maths Challenge. Prefects: Michael Adebiyi Oliver Aucamp Anna Baker Lily Barclay Victoria Barnden Emma Baxter Timothy Cain Ryan Cen Hannah Davies Lydia Davies Charlie Ellis Charles Gellett Cameron Grabowski Robert Miles Kathryn Parsons Georgia Poplett Ioana Pupaza Oliver Ridge Gregor Roberts Candela Segura Iglesias Rory Sommerville Henry Sparrow Guy Thomas Francesca Tidd Mia van Diepen Patrice Veasey Bethany Webb Toby Wilkinson Oliver Williams Nicholas Wright Heads of House: Clothworkers’: Lily Barclay, Benjamin Webb Founder’s: Nicole Payne, Guy Thomas, Gianluca Chiappini, Lewis Croke, Ciara Reddy Holdgate: Anna Baker,Victoria Barnden, Timothy Cain, Lydia Davies Lambe’s: Michael Adebeyi, Robert Miles, Megan Purvis, Lucy Roud, Francesca Tidd, Patrice Veasey St Margaret’s: Felix Eyers, Asbin Ghale, Jack Salmons Westminster: Angus Weir Sutton: Candela Segura Iglesias, Hannah Morris
The Suttonian
Jack Mortley
Samuel Noss
Connor O’Shea
Mary-Magdalene Ozoadibe
Kathryn Parsons
Nicole Payne
Justin Phillips
Georgia Poplett
Ioana Pupaza
Megan Purvis
Ciara Reddy
Ollie Ridge
Gregor Roberts
Lucy Roud
Jack Salmons
James Scott
Candela Segura
Rory Sommerville
Henry Sparrow
Maya Summers
Guy Thomas
Francesca Tidd
Patrice Veasey
Benjamin Webb
Bethany Webb
Angus Weir
Toby Wilkinson
Oliver Williams
Nicholas Wright
Yi Zhang
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The red carpet was rolled out for one Saturday evening in April for the arrival of over 190 very glamorous guests to a sparkling Oscars themed charity ball. The Sixth Form students, teachers and guests were greeted with a glass of bubbly to the strains of Frank Sinatra and live saxophone music. The chatter and excitement rose as the guests mingled and queued to have their photographs taken by Don Clarke as a memento of the glittering occasion. The refectory was unrecognisable, lined with a sophisticated black and white themed marquee as hundreds of star lights twinkled from the ceiling. The whole event was planned and executed by the Student Ball Committee, led by Tim Cain. They organised everything, from the stylish flower arrangements and the Hollywood clapper boards decorating the tables, to the delicious three course dinner menu served by John Devine and his staff. Oscar statues were awarded to the Best Dressed and, although competition was fierce, the eventual winners were Oliver Ridge and Naomi Klink, who collected their awards to a standing ovation. The evening went so quickly with a fund raising raffle and disco to finish. Carriages arrived at 11 pm to whisk away the guests. The serious business of the night was the charitable aspect, and the committee managed to raise over ÂŁ2000 for the Motor Neurone Disease Association, with a small proportion of the raffle going to fund the local Smarden based charity The Wildlife Heritage Foundation. A big thank you to everyone who supported this fabulous charity event.
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Adrian Wyles
A
Mary Hall
M
ary Hall has been associated with both the Sutton Valence Senior and Preparatory Schools for 22 years having begun in 1993, teaching French on a part-time basis at, as it was then known, Underhill. Since then she has undertaken a myriad of roles: teaching Geography, RS and French for us as well as being a Head of Department, a Head of Year, House Tutor, PSHE Co-ordinator and latterly, of course, our Director of Co-Curricular Activities, Child Protection Officer and Educational Visits Co-ordinator. In 2009, following the departure of Joe Davies (Headmaster) and Richard Maloney (Deputy Headmaster), Mary was appointed Acting Deputy Head and did everything possible to help me, as a wet-behind-the-ears Headmaster in a first year which included a full Ofsted and ISI inspection! I will always be grateful to Mary for her kind support, her quick thinking and her valued wisdom, especially in masterminding the inspection process. In 2010, alongside her other roles, Mary was made Assistant Head and proved to be an excellent and truly professional member of the Senior Management Team. Mary was always someone who could absolutely be relied on and who set the highest standards and expectations for herself, the pupils and the staff. Professional to a fault, utterly reliable, cultured, totally organised and, whilst standing for no nonsense and a proponent of tough love, she was incredibly sensitive and caring. She touched the lives of hundreds of children and their lives will be the better for it. Mary was utterly dedicated, turning out at all hours to see off, or welcome home pupils from trips of a lifetime, or making those difficult phone calls but always helping those involved find a way forward. The well-being, happiness and security of every child was always at the centre of the decisions Mary made and with these as guiding principles, it is fair to say that she was an impressive educationalist. It has been a genuine delight to work with Mary over the last six years; she has been a first-class colleague and a friend. She will be sorely missed. Bruce Grindlay Page 128
drian Wyles joined Sutton Valence in 2008 to be our Head of Sixth Form. He quickly established the role and brought order to Cornwallis. By the time he left the Sixth Form to take up his well-deserved role as Academic Deputy Head, the Sixth Form’s A Level results were the best in history, improving year on year under his kind and balanced stewardship. His greatest strengths lay in his relationship with the pupils and the care he gave to the Sixth Form, especially with their UCAS applications. His door was always open. Once he was promoted to Academic Deputy Head he introduced the Sutton Valence Blue, with ultimate accolade of pupils being awarded the Blue Gown. This is a reflection of his philosophy: to always celebrate the success and achievement of each individual, and balance that with high expectations. This was no more firmly evident than in his first passion as a Geography teacher, a role that he always prioritised despite the many other demands on his time. Adrian Wyles brought an infectious optimism to the Geography Department and the knowledge of a fine all-round Geographer. His results spoke volumes for his quality as a front-line teacher for all abilities, including aiding a number of our pupils to achieve success through Oxbridge. Adrian had a strong interest in all aspects of School life. He could regularly be found on the touch line on a Saturday afternoon and he always supported the School Drama productions and Music. He initiated the very successful and talented Barber Shop as well as ensuring an annual presence at the Oxbridge debating competition. He regularly took Chapel Services during his time, and these were always characterised by a strong pupil involvement and a warm and hopeful Christian message. With all this success in his professional life Adrian also found time to be a strong family man. In the last October Half Term he went hill walking in the Lake District with his eighteen year old son and managed to keep up! Perhaps that is due to all the jogging he has done in training for the half marathons he has completed, having raised significant amounts of money for research into multiple sclerosis. It has been a genuine delight to work with Adrian, a sentiment I know all the staff who have worked alongside him share. He has been a first class colleague and he will be sorely missed. Adrian is leaving us to become Headmaster of The Oratory School where I know he will make an excellent Headmaster. Our warmest wishes go with Adrian, Dee and Chris as they move from Kent to Oxfordshire. Kay Andersen
The Suttonian
Roy Webster
R
oy began his teaching career at Sandbach School, Cheshire, where he spent 17 years as Director of Sport and teacher of Maths. He then headed south and enjoyed a further seven years as a Maths teacher and Housemaster at Vinehall School in East Sussex and three years at Swadelands. Roy was appointed to teach Maths at Sutton Valence in 2001. During his time here he has been heavily involved in all areas of school life, notably Head of Year for Fourth and Fifth Form and Tennis/ Squash coaching. He ran various tennis teams for a number of years and was a member of the Chapel Choir. He led the tenor line with unrelenting enthusiasm, occasionally impersonating Barry Gibb by doubling the soprano part. His loyalty and dedicated approach to this group was appreciated by all members of the Music Department. However, Roy will be best remembered as Housemaster of St Margaret’s, where he spent seven successful years. The Roy and Kathy “team” set about creating a home from home for the boarders, something they achieved and more. From highly organised events such as Fright Night, to impromptu summer Barbecues life was rarely dull. Nothing was too much trouble for Roy and the boys often mentioned his willingness to go the extra mile. A good example being his Saturday afternoon bus run to Morrison’s, time he gave happily whether on duty or not. Roy’s love of Christmas should be mentioned. This did nothing for the School’s electricity bill, however, with lights of all colours adorning both the interior and exterior of the Boarding House! Roy only had one rule and that was respect. Respect for others in all aspects of life. Roy has been a popular member of staff and has always been quick to offer support and guidance. He will be sorely missed by pupils and colleagues alike and we all wish him many happy years of retirement. No doubt he will be trying to get his golf handicap into double figures and avoid being known as the Lawrence of Arabia of Lamberhurst. David Holmes
The Suttonian
David Kennedy
D
avid Kennedy joined Sutton Valence not long after returning to the UK from a spell of teaching abroad, in both Germany and Kenya. He brought with him a wealth of experience and a clear passion for his subject. This was back in September 2003 and he has been enthusing about Biology ever since. David is a keen conservationist and ecologist; during his time here he was at the forefront of developing the wildlife garden behind the new science block. He encouraged pupils to take an interest in the natural world around them, ran the Wildlife Club for the Juniors and supervised conservation work as part of the Community Service Programme. Keen to get Biology out of the classroom and into the natural environment David, organised the successful Field Trips to the Isle of Wight as part of the A Level Biology course as well as the GCSE visits to the Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve. In September 2007 David took on the role of Head of Biology; there are no half measures with David and he carried out the role of Head of Biology with the same dedication and commitment he put into his teaching. I found him to be a very supportive colleague within the Science Faculty and valued his advice and contributions. Ever the professional, David was keen to extend his knowledge and improve practice and was the driving force behind the Hurst Group Science meeting that was held at the school not long after he took over as Head of Biology. Despite the impressive academic tribute I’ve just paid him it would be unfair to focus solely on his commitment to Biology and Science. He is a keen sportsman, particularly hockey where he both played and umpired and tennis. During his time here David coached numerous hockey teams, both boys and girls and across all age groups; there are many pupils who have benefitted from his advice and input. Always willing to go the extra mile he did just that in 2004 and accompanied the Senior Girls’ team on their hockey tour of Barcelona. However, keen to focus on his hockey umpiring at an more demanding and expert level David decided that it was time to move on and left Sutton Valence at the end of the Michaelmas 2014 Term. I am sure I am not alone in thinking that his enthusiasm and devotion to all of his roles within the school will be missed. Simon Hiscocks
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Phoebe Cunningham
N
Alastair Carter
W
hat can I say about Alastair Carter? A thoroughly decent young man and a product of this fine establishment.
Alastair has been associated with Sutton Valence School for over 10 years as a pupil, an Old Suttonian and now as a PGCE student. Following a Sports Science degree at Coventry University Alastair was driven to follow his vocation, teaching. He completed a period of work experience/GAP work at our own Prep School before he moved on to the Senior School; committing himself to the one year PGCE course via the University of Buckingham. He has worked hard this year and developed into an outstanding young teacher. He is a calm practitioner who takes things in his stride and always has the best interests of the children at heart. As a colleague he has been the consummate professional, supportive and prepared to help out wherever needed for the common cause. We shall miss his infectious good humour and camaraderie. We wish him all the very best in his first full time teaching position at Roedean School in Sussex where he goes to teach Physical Education, academic and curriculum, as well as heading up Roedean’s developing hockey programme. Graham Alderman
ot long after leaving Sutton Valence as a pupil, and moreover as Head Girl, Phoebe Cunningham returned to the School, but this time on the other side of the desk. Having studied Natural Sciences for three years at Nottingham University, and achieving a First Class Degree with Honours, Phoebe came back to Sutton Valence with a plethora of knowledge and an undeniable passion for the subject. The school could not have found a more suitable candidate for the Biology role. From her first day back in September, Phoebe has breathed new life into the Biology Department; her lessons are dynamic and engaging, and the students always leave the classroom feeling inspired by her teaching. But it is not just the pupils that have flourished in her presence, Phoebe is a valued member of the greater Sutton Valence community and everyone will agree that she has been an absolute pleasure to work alongside. Being the vivacious and spirited person that she is, Phoebe left Sutton Valence at the end of the Summer 2015 Term. She is set to travel across South America and explore the different countries and cultures that prevail there. I wish her all the best with her adventure. Phoebe’s unbelievable enthusiasm and devotion to all of her roles within the School and the people’s lives that she has touched means that she will be hugely missed. Zoe Radford
Jordan Davis Lower Sixth
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GOVERNORS AND STAFF September 2014-15 Visitor: The Lord Archbishop of Canterbury Foundation: United Westminster Schools Director/Clerk: R W Blackwell MA Governing Body: B F W Baughan (Chairman) Major General D Burden CB CBE The Very Rev Dr J R Hall BA HonDD Hon DDTheol FRSA A J Hutchinson MA (Cantab) T D Page Mrs D Perry MA DMS FRSA Mrs G Swaine BSc(Hons) MEd D W Taylor MA Lady Vallance JP MA MSc PhD FRSA FCGI M Walker PhD MA FRSA E L Watts OBE BA FRSA
Headmaster: B C W Grindlay MA (Cantab) MusB FRCO (CHM) Deputy Headmaster: J J Farrell MA (Cantab) (History) Academic Deputy Head: A J Wyles BSc London MEd OU FRGS (Geography) Bursar: S R Fowle Director of Studies: D E Clarke BSc CBiol MSB Bristol (Biology) Director of Co-Curricular Activities: Mrs M T Hall BEd Southampton (Designated Child Protection Lead)
Academic Staff G N Alderman BEd Avery Hill College (Director of Sport) **Mrs K L Andersen CertEd Elizabeth Gaskell College (Head of Home Economics, Director of Professional Development) Mrs R C Ball BA University of Wales (Lampeter) (Head of Media Studies) **A R Bee BSc Manchester (Head of Geography) Dr M Brown BSc University of Kent (Physics, Chemistry, Astronomy) **Miss L J Burden BA Anglia, BSc OU Dip Hyp (Psychology, Community Service) R H Carr BA St. Johns College Durham (History, Games) (Prep School Liaison) Miss E J Clement-Walker MSc, BA Loughborough (DT and Art) T P Cope MEng Loughborough (Maths) R F D Cottrell BA Southampton (MFL) Miss P H M Cunningham BSc Nottingham (Science) C M Davenport BA Keele (Head of English) Miss E R Davies BA Coventry (Drama) G A Davies BA University of Wales (Lampeter) (Religious Studies) Mrs S H de Castro Franco BA University of Manchester (Head of French) **Ms S V Easter BA Exeter (Art, Editor of The Suttonian magazine) Miss C Fordham BA Exeter (Acting Head of Drama) L Fuentes Olea BA University of Granada (Head of MFL) *P N Gorman BA Edinburgh (Head of Art)
The Suttonian
Mrs S Gorman BEd University of Alcada de Henares (Madrid) (MFL) Mrs F M Gosden BA Rhodes University (English) Miss L Gray BA Bangor (Religious Studies) Dr E J Grindlay MA Cantab (English) Miss M A Halleron BSc Leeds (Head of Physics) Miss P L Hallett BA Brighton (Head of Academic PE and Girls’ Games) A P Hammersley BSc York (Biology) G Harris BA Kings College, London (Mathematics) Mrs E Head MA Dundee (English) *S J Head MSc Bristol (Chemistry and Head of Boarding) Mrs H E Heurtevent BA University of Caen, DEUG I and II Université Catholique, Angers (French) Dr S P Hiscocks BSc CChem MRSC Essex, MA King’s College London (Head of Science and Chemistry) D W Holmes LRAM Professional Certificate Royal Academy of Music (Head of Strings) P J Horley BA ARCO ALCM College of Ripon and York St John (Director of Music) M D Howell BSc University College Worcester (Geography and Head of Rugby) Mrs S Hurst MA Dundee (SEN) M B James MEd Macquire University Sydney, Grad Dip Ec (New England University, Australia) (Business Studies and Economics) Mrs A M Kane BA Canterbury Christ Church (Head of Learning Support) D J J Keep MA Greenwich, BEd Avery Hill College (Head of DT, Head of Navy) Mrs C J Kitchen BEng Bradford, MSc Birmingham BSc OU (Head of Mathematics, Asst.D of E) Miss J A Manning BA University of Kent, PG Cert Dyslexia and Literacy York (SEN) *Mrs A Mathews BA Sports Science and Art (Dance) D R Mathews BSc Brunel (Academic PE, Games i/c Hockey) Miss K J McConnachie BSc Birmingham (Games i/c Netball, ICT) G J Millbery BA University of Wales Lampeter (Director of ICT, D of E Co-ordinator) Mrs L A Mitchell-Nanson BSc University of Kent (Mathematics, Head of Academic Scholars) Miss N E Moore BA Exeter (Geography, Junior Leadership Co-ordinator) A J F Penfold BA Surrey (Head of Religious Studies) R W J Plowden MA University of Wales, BA Newcastle (History) Mrs F H Porter BA Leeds, MA in Education Christ Church Canterbury (English, Head of Sixth Form) Miss S Pritchard BA Greenwich (Business Studies) Miss Z Radford BSc Swansea (Head of Biology) *Mrs S Rose BEd Bishop Otter College (Assistant Head of the Juniors, English, Games) **D R Sansom BSc University College of Wales, Swansea (Head of the Juniors, Geography) J D Soman BA Oxford (Assistant Director of Music) Mrs A J Sunde BA Sheffield (Head of History) J L van Vuuren Port Elizabeth Technikon and University of South Africa (Games) A P Webster MA Oxford (Head of ESL) K R Webster MEd Crewe and Alsager College (Mathematics) Mr V Wells (i/c Cricket, Games) Mrs C Westlake BA Sussex (English) C J Westlake BSc Glamorgan (Mathematics) Mrs A F F Wilkinson Cert Ed Calder College Liverpool (Home Economics, CO CCF) Mrs H M Wood MSc BSc Hull (Chemistry)
Boarding Support Staff House-keeper – Beresford House Mrs L. Butler Matron – Sutton House Mrs E Agu Benson Matron – Westminster House Ms D Aiston Matron – St Margaret’s House Mrs B Spencer
Visiting Staff Mrs A Bartle BMus (Trombone) Mrs C Basden GRSM(Hons) DipRCM (Clarinet) F Bowles (Cello) Mrs M Dutton BA (Cello) Mrs E Field ARAM, GRSM, LRAM, ARCM (Vocal studies) Mrs P Fisher GRSM ARCM (Brass) Miss A Gent (Flute) Mrs A Holmes BA(Hons) (Piano/Vocal) A Keeping ARAM, LRAM (Guitar) Mrs C Mount GRSM, LRAM, DipRAM (Piano) J Selby BA(Hons) (Drums) J Summerfield BM (Hons),GGSM, LRAM (Double Bass) A Shepherd (Jazz Piano) Mrs R Ollearenshaw (Latin teacher)
Administrative and Teaching Support Staff Assistant Bursar Estates Bursar Headmaster’s PA
Mrs D Van Leeuwen Mrs J Vicary Mrs S O’Connell Development Manager Mrs H Knott Marketing Officer Miss L Turner Development Assistant Miss R Riggs Archivist Mr D Pickard Admissions Officer Mrs K Webster School Secretary Mrs W Rogers Bursar’s PA Mrs A Carr Fees Administrator Mrs J Holderness Examinations Officer Mrs E Eastwood Administration Assistant Mrs J Watson Database Manager Mrs M Horley Network Engineer C Worcester Network Technician J Hill Librarian Mrs C Carter Assistant Librarian Mrs D Black Sports Facilities Admin J van Vuuren School Medical Adviser Dr M Heber School Nurse Mrs A McDermott Assistant School Nurse Mrs L Schembri Catering Manager J Devine CCF Adjutant P Ale Clerk of Works R Copeland Head Gardener G Pullen Head Groundsman I Avery French Assistant Mrs F Callaway Science Technicians Mrs D Horsley (Biology) Mrs L Cheeseman (Biology) Mrs S Sprent (Chemistry) Mrs J Gibbons (Physics) Art Technician J Allen DT Technician C Fletcher Production Technician D Beeken
*denotes Boarding Housemaster/Housemistress **denotes Day Housemaster/Housemistress Page 131
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