THE SUTTONIAN
SUTTON VALENCE SCHOOL
ACADEMIC YEAR 2022 / 2023
SUTTONIAN: EDITOR’S NOTE
Sutton Valence School
Headmaster: Mr J Thomas
Editor: Miss SJ Adams
Website: www.svs.org.uk
Phone: 01622 842 117
Email: svsenquiries@svs.org.uk
Instagram: @suttonvalenceschool
Twitter: @svs_news
Facebook: Sutton Valence School
YouTube: youtube.com/suttonvalenceschool
Editorial Note
Sometimes a School is more than just a School - not only a place to learn the things you need to study as part of the curriculum, but to learn about yourself. Sutton Valence School is one such place. Encouraging creativity in the arts, success on the sports pitch, developing strong leaders through CCF training and the joy of musical accomplishment, SVS is rich in opportunities to develop and grow in a warm community environment.
It has been my task to capture just some of this vibrant School life in the newly returned Suttonian magazine. After a period of absence, we’re thrilled to see this historic publication restored, in order to document the 22/23 academic year. As resident photographer, reporter and now editor for School activities, I have witnessed first hand the breadth of skills and achievements that are showcased daily - now featured here for you to remember for years to come.
Despite this being a hefty volume, no single issue can encompass all that takes place here - for ongoing updates on your child’s education and extra-curricular programme, don’t forget to open our weekly email newsletter, delivered each Friday, and follow us on social media.
From our Sutton Valence family to yours, welcome back to The Suttonian.
Sarah-Jane Adams
Marketing and Communications Manager for Sutton Valence School and Sutton Valence Prep School adamss@svs.org.uk
CONTENTS
The Suttonian 22/23
Headmaster’s Letter .................... page 2
The Juniors .................... page 4-15
Leadership .................... page 16-31
Academic .................... page 32-61
Drama .................... page 62-71
Music .................... page 72-81
Art and Design .................... page 82-97
Sport .................... page 98-139
Community .................... page 140-145
Wellbeing .................... page 146-147
Events .................... page 148-157
Sixth Form .................... page 158-177
Faculty .................... page 178-181
© Copyright Sutton Valence School 2023 www.svs.org.uk
SUTTONIAN: HEADMASTER
MR JAMES THOMAS
We are such a busy School with so much going on so often, that it is important every now and then to take a moment or two to sit down and reflect. This edition of The Suttonian enables us all to do just that and I hope you enjoy the many articles, images and memories from so many different spheres of life here.
At the moment the School finds itself in a very strong position, despite the challenging times for the independent school sector. This is due to the combination of highly motivated students, wonderfully supportive parents and brilliantly inspiring and committed staff on a gorgeous site. This blend creates an atmosphere and framework in which students can thrive as individuals, and in groups and teams.
Each week in the Junior and Headmaster’s assemblies, we gather together and celebrate the many achievements of each week and we look forward to the future opportunities on the horizion. We do our best to share as much as we can in the weekly newsletters too, hence this volume is so thick – there is so much to applaud and reflect upon.
I often remind the Senior School community that we are part of a wider institution that is greater than just those of us on this site. The Nursery, Pre-Prep and Prep Schools in Chart Sutton, as well as the HIK-SVS campus in Tianjin make up the SVS family, which itself is part of the wider United Westminster and Greycoat Foundation of Schools. This group mentality can give us strength and confidence in our provision and underlines the point that the values and excellence of Sutton Valence School spread much further than just this ridge here overlooking the Weald.
That said, systems, structures and buildings only tell a part of the story. The key to all this is very special indeed – the people. I thoroughly enjoy interactions with all the different corners of our community – the students, parents, colleagues, Old Suttonians, Governors and the many friends of the School. We are indeed a very broad church and that is another of our strengths.
You will see in the many images and in the numerous articles here that it is the people who make the stories, embrace the challenges and opportunities, and enable us to be so proud of this very special institution.
The School year culminates in the celebration of Speech Day in July. We have changed the format somewhat so that now it is for the most part student-led. The students perform, give speeches, share reflections and give thanks. That is how I believe it should be. While of course we provide the framework for them to excel here, it is their story to tell and their School to enjoy and celebrate.
I very much hope that you will enjoy reading this edition and I am most grateful to everyone who contributed to it, most notably to SarahJane Adams who masterminded the project.
Let’s now look forward to the next year and aim to create even more special memories in this most special institution.
Floreat Suttona!
IMAGE: SARAH-JANE ADAMS
SUTTONIAN: THE JUNIORS
As ever, it has been another full on, exciting, invigorating, exhausting and happy year in the Juniors. We have enjoyed having the largest number of pupils in this part of the School since 1576 and for the first time in many years, the ratio of boys and girls has just about been 50:50. We were sad to see the departure of Mr Laraman and Mr Rushforth last July, but we welcomed Mr Dawling into the Junior’s fold, with Mr Alexander becoming a Junior tutor in his own right in Lambe’s House.
A large number of activities have taken place this year. In October the First Form enjoyed an excellent trip to the Royal Dockyard in Chatham which they thoroughly enjoyed, especially the visit to HMS Cavalier and the ice cream which the Head of Juniors treated them to at the end of the day! The pumpkin carving competition was another rip-roaring success with some extraordinary, weird and wonderful creations being made.
In November the Juniors designed a Christmas display for the village hairdressers, which was well received by members of public. Many of the children also enjoyed planting hyacinths on Prefects’ Lawn. This followed the beautiful display of daffodils created by students when raising money for Sepsis Research last year.
In December we had a brilliant Junior Christmas
disco party with a lot of money being raised for a school in Nepal. The quality of dancing was remarkable and the children had a wonderful evening. The Christmas Quiz, which was superbly organised by Lauren Harris and Elspeth Head, was absolutely brilliant - it really has become one of the highlights of each year.
January saw the annual Tug of War Competition. As ever this was fiercely competitive, and congratulations must go to the Clothworkers’ team who came out on top. All power to their elbow!
We were delighted to welcome Mr Dick Moore as a guest speaker, who addressed the Junior boys about how to develop long and lasting friendships. The quirky annual Pancake Race was won by Holdgate this year and in the Baton race Clothworkers’ sped their way to victory, with Holdgate taking second place.
As ever the Juniors rose to the occasion when raising over £500 for the JacktheLad charity when purchasing Easter chicks which had been knitted by Mrs Ros Dines, who worked at Sutton Valence School for over fifty years.
The resurrected Penguin Race took place in the Summer Term and what an extraordinary event it was! Founders swam the most lengths to win the Penguin Cup, but perhaps the highlight was
MR R CARR Head of Juniors
when the Head of Juniors appeared dressed as a penguin and then proceeded to jump into the pool, to be quite rightly splashed by over eighty enthusiastic competitors. It should also be pointed out that Holdgate won the Spirit of the Race prize for embracing the occasion so enthusiastically.
A blustery Sports Day at the end of the term was keenly competitive, with Founders coming out on top. The two star athletes who received trophies were Jacob McGeachy of the First Form and Isabel Gowing of the Second Form.
I am delighted to report the magnificent fashion in which the Juniors embraced the Eco Club this year and in particular their support for the Eco Swap Shop, which they organised with Mrs Fairest.
The year culminated in an excellent ‘LWOST’, with the Second Form’s trip to Dorset and the First Form’s Junior leadership activities, which included camping out for the night under very soggy conditions!
Sadly, Mrs Gosden and Mrs Harris will be leaving us as tutors in September. They have been quite brilliant over a number of years and have always done all they could for the girls and boys in their care. We wish them all the very best in their new roles and thank them warmly for all they have done for the Juniors. They will be missed hugely.
Lights, Camera, Action!
It was showtime for students in the Second Form who embarked on a stop motion project in the Summer Term with Miss Young. The budding young filmmakers were given the opportunity to explore a variety of stop motion productions, from homemade clips using Lego to large scale films by Aardman Animations.
Feeling inspired, the creative minds were tasked with planning a storyboard alongside their team which they would then bring to life over a series of lessons. The year group created an array of projects, from Wallace and Gromit inspired work with Play-Doh, to detailed plots portrayed in Lego. With the premiere of the films occurring in class over the remaining lessons, the students were excited to share their amazing productions with their peers.
Show of Strength at Tug of War
Juniors were nearly at the end of their rope as the New Year saw the return of the annual Tug of War, held in the Sports Hall and officiated by members of staff and the Head of Juniors, Mr Carr.
Competing as Houses, tactics and strength combined to create a fun event of much shouting and hilarity.
Eventually it was Clothworkers’ who were victorious, proving that they were knot to be beaten!
Juniors Flip Out at Pancake Race
The annual Pancake Race returned to the Sports Hall on February 21st, seeing the Juniors compete to flip the most pancakes as part of a House relay. Extra prizes were awarded for more stylish and experimental techniques, with efforts seeing pancakes thrown high into the air, under one leg, and backwards, with various dance moves thrown in for good measure.
Jack Miles, Jude Reeve (First Form), Theo Bird and Harry Heyworth (Second Form) battered their rivals to win best pancake flip for their Houses. Holdgate House were the overall winners of the race.
IMAGE: SARAH-JANE ADAMS
Juniors Turn Over a New Leaf With Speech Day Planting
Green-fingered gardening volunteers from the First and Second Forms were out early one morning in spring to plant up new bedding schemes on Prefects’ Lawn with the help of the School’s horticultural experts. The display was designed to come into flower ready for Speech Day in July, when the area acts as an event space for graduating students and visiting family members.
First Form Remembrance Project Almshouse Day Room Upgrade
During Junior Leadership sessions, pupils in the First Form were working on a project looking at the significance of Remembrance in today’s society.
They each made a patch with a Remembrance design, which were combined and turned into a poignant wall hanging.
The Juniors were delighted and surprised when returning from the first Half Term break to discover that their two Almshouse Day Rooms had been refurbished. The rooms have been completely redecorated and refurnished with colourful orange and grey sofas and chairs. The Almshouses are the oldest buildings in the School, having been built on the instructions of William Lambe way back in the sixteenth century. They housed six of the poorest families in the village in six one-up, one-down dwellings. They were replaced by the six ‘new’ Almshouses which were built in 1888 and which stand next to the village green.
A PARTY FIT FOR A KING!
Juniors celebrated the Coronation in delicious fashion in May, with their own tea party on the Bursar’s Lawn - homemade cakes and juices were patriotically served by peers in the sunshine as our younger pupils enjoyed a crowning moment for an historic occasion.
IMAGES: SARAH-JANE ADAMS
JUNIORS GET INTO A FLAP AT PENGUIN RACE!
In the traditional annual Penguin Race, Juniors made a splash by competing in a frenzied swimming relay for their Houses. The winning House is determined by the most lengths completed by each team within a fifteen minute session.
In a new addition to the watery fun, established by Mr Thomas last year, Head of Juniors Mr Carr found himself not only dressed like a penguin, but being pulled into the pool!
Congratulations to Holgate House for achieving the greatest number of lengths within 15 minutes, for which they earnt a large cuddly penguin toy! Founder’s House was the runner-up and received an award for House spirit, presented with the penguin statue.
IMAGES: SARAH-JANE ADAMS
KEEP YOUR BEAK OUT!
Mr Carr takes over from Mr Thomas as the penguin mascot.
JUNIOR GRADUATION
Juniors ready to grow at graduation - the Second Form marked their move up into the main body of the School at the Junior Graduation Ceremony. Watched by family members and the First Form, each pupil received a book from the Head of Juniors, Mr Carr, and the Headmaster.
IMAGES:
MOVING ON UP
Families joined together to celebrate progression to the Third Form.
SUTTONIAN: LEADERSHIP
Leadership activities form a large part of our aim to create well-rounded pupils, encompassing the Combined Cadet Force, instilling discipline as they progress through the ranks, and programmes such as the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme.
It is students’ involvement in such opportunities that present the chance to face challenges otuside of the classroom - our gold standard DofE groups faced a trip to the Lake District in August, whilst the silver cohort undertook expeditions in the May Half Term holiday. These outdoor experiences encourage resilience, a love and respect for nature, and forging friendships and team building skills.
The DofE programme has produced stong results for the 22/23 year, with more bronze awards being completed by the Third Form than ever before, rather than in the Fourth Form.
The Combined Cadet Force continues to motivate participants to become dependable leaders and inspirational role models for younger pupilswe have been impressed by the caliber of NCOs who have risen through the NCO Leadership Programme. These Sixth Formers have delivered excellent lessons in order to teach junior members and have led by example on all fronts.
An example of the positive attitudes built in
difficult circumstances came during the Third Form CCF Induction Camp right at the start of the year, back in September. The weather was a washout, but the NCOs rallied the younger troops and cared for their charges admirably. Despite the disastrous conditions, the elder students demonstrated how they meant to continue the year, with determinaton and real leadership.
It has been a year of superb shooting results, with a number of team wins and individual successes, such as taking home the 11SFA BDE Target Rifle Competition title.
The Junior Leadership team have also been playing an active part in the School community, raising funds for charity, supporting the local area and planning events around the King’s Coronation, as well as being helpful in acting as waiters and waitresses at the Old Suttonian Foundation Quiz Night.
Throughout all of these actvities, Sutton Valence School hopes to prepare students not just for examinations, but for the world of work and the realities of life beyond the School gate - and we are incredibly proud of the strides they make towards becoming the leaders of the future.
MR D SANSOM Assistant Head
Bomb Disposal is a Blast!
The RAF Cadets in the Fourth Form were given the exciting opportunity to take part in a virtual reality bomb disposal exercise.
The Cadets had to work as a team to instruct the Bomb Disposal Officer using the VR headset on how to diffuse the device, following a complex user manual.
All of the Cadets thoroughly enjoyed the experience and were able to neutralise devices at varying levels of difficulty. It is so exciting that advances in technology are bringing new and innovative ways for Cadets to develop their leadership skills.
CCF Digs Deep on Trench Visit
In the Lent Term, the Fourth Form CCF have embarked on a series of personal development courses and visits that have helped to develop skills or knowledge of military history. Over the course of eight weeks, they attended a two week First Aid course and a two week rock climbing and bouldering course to develop first responder skills, and adventure training experiences. Across the final two weeks, visits were also made to the Centre for Military Archaeology in Detling to explore their First World War trenches experience, as well as the Royal Engineers Museum in Chatham to learn more about this local, historic regiment. The Cadets have engaged extremely well in all activities and represented the School in fine fashion, which drew praise from staff running these various courses and experiences.
DRIU CCF NAVY TRIP
On Tuesday 31st of January, the Navy section took a trip to the Damage Repair Instructional Unit (DRIU) in Portsmouth. James Ellaway (Lower Sixth) writes about this experience below.
“In January, the Navy section had to test its teamwork skills at the Damage Repair Instructional Unit. This was part of our CCF trip to Portsmouth that embarked on the day prior. For those who do not know, the DRIU is a sinking ship simulator which requires the occupants to stop leaks using nothing but a hammer and some wood.
Although the conditions were not what we had hoped for, with broken hydraulics on the DRIU itself and the water temperature being an unfavourable nine degrees, the Cadets got stuck into the exercise, with all of them enjoying their short time in the DRIU.
On top of this, the Cadets and I indulged in some firefighting, whilst using thermal imaging cameras to spot where the fire was and, with the use of fire extinguishers, water and foam, we were able to distinguish the fire.
Overall, the trip was enjoyed by everyone, so a big thank you to both Lieutenant Wood and Second Lieutenant Davies for organising this trip.”
11SFA BDE RIFLE COMPETITION
It started with 21,000 Cadets. This was narrowed down to 20 Cadets in five teams representing the CCF and ACF – to compete to be the South East Target Rifle Champions.
On Sunday 14th May, the team of four, Angus Brown, Harry Mewett, James Gardner and Callum Davis, gathered at School at 05:45 hours to travel to Moody Down Range (just outside Winchester).
Good weather conditions and a positive attitude were the order of the day. The team engaged in a quick practice at 300m before the competition began.
The first shoot at 300m saw James Gardner shooting an excellent 33.2. The team moved back to 500m where it was Callum Davies who came out on top scoring 35.5, followed by an outstanding team effort at 600m, with Callum once again leading from the front with 46.4.
There were twelve possible prizes we could win and we were, through the excellent shooting of the team, awarded the following:
Individual prizes for the best shot in the competition at each distance:
300m: 3rd place, Callum Davis, 2nd place, Angus Brown, 1st place, James Gardner
500m: 2nd place, James Gardner, 1st place, Callum Davis
600m: 2nd place, James Gardner, 1st place, Callum Davis
In the individual standings, the best shot in the South East of England with the target rifle (by one point from his teammate) is James Gardner. In the team standings, we retained the trophy from last year as Best CCF and Overall Champions.
Well done to the team of four for some excellent shooting and good preparation for the National Championships at Bisley in the summer. Thanks also to SSgt Mo and Lt Horley for giving up their weekend to assist the team.
SUMMER CAMP
On the 9th of July 2023, nine SVS Cadets embarked on a trip to Nesscliff training camp and stayed for five days with other participating Combined Cadet Forces.
On the first day, we were welcomed and shown to our accommodation. In preparation for the days ahead we completed our weapons handling test.
On the second day, we were deployed to the main training area where we performed multiple activities ranging from making harbours to blank firing and other useful tactics such as ambushes and defensive training.
On the third day we were tested on what we learnt on the previous day. This was important to us as we were assessed on our strategic knowledge and how well we could perform in the missions. A special mention must go to WO2 Bennett who, with the two other NCOs, helped us to rack up points that went towards the camp leaderboard.
The fourth day consisted of a rotation of activities such as DCCT, archery tag and laser shotgun. All the Cadets enjoyed the activities but what stood out the most on that day was the gun run - we spent the afternoon practising and submitting times. At the end of the day, SVS qualified to the semi finals.
On the final day we partook in the finals of the gun run and the result was nail-bitingly close, with SVS placing 2nd, two seconds behind the other contingent. We must thank members of Baxter College, Denstone College and Headington College who assisted us in the gun run competition.
At the final parade, awards were given out. Flt Sgt Duckworth collected our plate for being runners up for the gun run. We were very pleased to earn this award.
All of the Cadets thoroughly enjoyed Nesscliff training camp as a whole, especially when we were cleaning our rifles, where we learnt to not hate Ssgt Thapa for inspecting our rifles so effectively! We must thank Capt. Sagrott, Lt Col Millbery and Ssgt Thapa for giving us the opportunity to attend this camp, it was certainly an unforgettable experience.
By Logan Mortimer-Cooper (Third Form)
100 Years of Royal British Legion Sutton Valence
We were delighted to attend the Royal British Legion Sutton Valence and District Branch 100th Anniversary Dinner, held at the Weald of Kent on Tuesday 16th of May. The Senior Cadets of the CCF (RSM Hedger, RSM Aylett, WO Ellaway, FS Duckworth, WO2 Farrell and bugler Harry Heyworth) took part in a flag raising and Last Post ceremony. A new 100th anniversary pendant replaced the 75 year one on the RBL Banner. As the official Standard Bearers of the Royal British Legion Sutton Valence and District Branch, it is an honour and a privilege to attend these events.
Headcorn CCF Trip Pupils at the Palace
Fourth Form RAF Cadets went down to Headcorn Airfield to see the Lashenden Museum based there. It has a wide variety of artefacts from the Second World War, including a unique German missile plane and many interesting uniforms, letters, bombs and weaponsthere were even original photos of pilots with their planes. The museum was very interesting and everyone enjoyed the experience, especially the cafe that we visited afterwards! The cafe is the only original building still standing from the war. It was where the Spitfire and Hurricane pilots spent time waiting to be called to action. By Angus Brown (Fourth Form)
Olly Murch and Isaac Forknall, both Upper Sixth, have visited Buckingham Palace this year to celebrate achieving their Gold Duke of Edinburgh Awards.
Suited and booted and enjoying a garden party fit for royalty, the boys heard Prince Edward give a speech to congratulate the students who had reached this standard.
Rising Through the Ranks
Braving the snow showers, SVS Cadets gathered around Prefects’ Lawn to witness Mr Millbery’s promotion from Major to Lieutenant Colonel, the highest rank available in the CCF. Mr Thomas, Headmaster, was present to award Mr Millbery with his new rank slides to denote the change: “The CCF at Sutton Valence School applauded Lieutenant Colonel Glen Millbery, following 20 years of outstanding services to the Combined Cadet Force. Many of the current students look up to him, and students who have already been through the School will have very fond memories of him. He is an inspirational leader, with the highest standards and the greatest level of care for his own profession and the young people he oversees in the CCF.”
Shooting Stars in Hythe
Third Form Cadets and Lower Sixth NCOs ventured to Hythe Ranges for their annual shooting day in April. The weather was good, although a little windy and the sun was shining.
The activities involved archery, trying the Army’s large video training system (DCCT), two short ranges (firing the A2 and target rifle) and a long range – 100m shooting the A2. The day was the culmination of weeks of learning about weapon safety and passing a weapons handling test.
Navy and Army Field Days
The Navy section of the CCF travelled down to Portsmouth, where they took part in activities such as kayaking, sailing, rock climbing and laser TAG, sleeping overnight at Fort Purbrook. On the trip were members of the Third and Fourth Forms, and Lower Sixth.
The Senior Army field day consisted of a shooting day at Hythe Ranges, before moving to Mereworth Woods so that the Cadets could practise their field craft. Each platoon conducted a night ambush and platoon attacks the next morning to try and eliminate enemy forces.their first opportunity to take on a leadership role. The Officers were very impressed with the Cadets’ engagement and hope that they learnt
HONOUR GUARD
The CCF stood to attention for an honour guard in March, held on Chapel Lawn, ahead of the final parade. The School welcomed Commander Barker RN as a guest to oversee the biennial inspection, who stayed on to present accolades during the parade itself.
Commander Barker RN has spent over 25 years as an Air Engineer Officer in the Royal Navy.
IMAGES: SARAH-JANE ADAMS
RAF FIELD DAY: RAF ODIHAM
THOMAS DOLAN (UPPER SIXTH)
Wednesday 19th and Thursday 20th of October saw the CCF embark on their field days, with the RAF section visiting RAF Odiham, the home of British Chinooks. Thomas Dolan reports on the experience.
The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is one of the most famous and recognisable helicopters ever built, with its distinctive noise and double rotor, and because of a most distinguished service with numerous nations and in many conflicts over the last 60 years.
Flight Sergeant Howard “Howie” was our tour guide, and he took the section round the hanger to see a host of the RAF’s mixed models of Chinooks, sparing no expense in describing the grim details of service, the MOD’s budget, and the inner workings of the helicopter.
The Chinook is a heavy lift and support aircraft, tasked with carrying everything from troops around the battlefield, to supplies, vehicles, and even lifting downed helicopters (and sometimes planes) from their crash sites.
However, the RAF’s compliment, as Howie described, were hardly brand new. Except for recent arrivals to No 7 Squadron, who support the Special Forces (the SBS and SAS), most of the Chinooks on base were modified birds from as early as the Vietnam War.
One aircraft, which had only just retired, known as “Bravo-November”, was the sole surviving helicopter from the sinking of the Atlantic Conveyor during the Falklands Conflict of 1982, which infamously saw the destruction of nearly all of Britain’s helicopters deployed to the islands.
Most of the Chinooks were old, but were modified and maintained, allowing them to stay on well past their proverbial sell-by date. Modifications included an advanced autopilot named George, a nickname originating from WWII, in which pilots nicknamed their early autopilot systems in reference to the aircrafts’ official owner, King George VI.
They also included defence systems, from infrared-distracting flares to radar obscuring
chaff, explained by Howie in the context of dodging Taliban missiles in Afghanistan, with one Chinook having taken a direct hit and survived, whilst carrying Afghan government officials. The section of rotor blade with the hole in it, was on display in the squadron bar.
When on board a Chinook in the hanger, Howie explained the layout of the large aircraft, describing operations with the large hook, capable of lifting at least several tons, from other helicopters, to ground vehicles, to Harrier jump jets.
The Flight Sergeant spoke fondly of the camaraderie of the crew and the RAF, in the face of sometimes lacking equipment, and the apparent refusal of the MOD to spend adequately.
Following lunch, and witnessing an engine test of a Chinook, the section was taken to the armoury, to get hands on with the small arms carried by the crew and soldiers, and the Chinook’s own weapons.
The armoury showed off their L85A2 rifles, which as Cadets we were familiar with, but also the Glock 17 sidearm and the FN MAG (L7A2) GPMG. Some older weapons, in the form of an L1A1 SLR, which served the British Army from the 1950s to the 1990s, two examples of Soviet AK-47s, and an AKM were also handed over for us to look at.
The Chinooks in British service are armed with a mounted M60 machine gun, on the rear door, dating back to Vietnam.
The highlight however, was getting up close and dry firing an M134 Minigun. This 20kg behemoth can churn out some 3000 rounds per minute (50 rounds per second) thanks to its battery powered rotating barrels. Unlike in the movies, this weapon cannot be handheld, and instead is bolted to a window on one side of the helicopter, and a door on the opposing side, giving the Chinook a 360° coverage of defensive firepower, with the M60 covering behind. Even without the bullets firing, the minigun was unimaginably loud.
The day rounded off with another talk from
Howie on survival training in the Chinook force. Maritime survival was given emphasis, and Cadet Warrant Officer Callum Davis (Upper Sixth), along with one of the Fourth Form Cadets, Harry Mewitt, dressed in the bright orange gear before inflating their lifejackets.
After trying some survival food rations, the entire section was then bundled into a life raft meant for 10 people, though Howie claimed that 38 Cadets had once got in, but for us 16 was plenty too many.
The actual survival training, to be refreshed every three years, involved being dunked upside down in a swimming pool in a replica shell of a Chinook and then being expected to escape after being rocked about and disorientated. Despite not sounding like the most enjoyable way to spend an afternoon, with Howie adding, “They don’t tell you that at the Careers Office”, it did not stop the Flight Sergeant speaking highly of his time with the RAF, some 13 years so far.
With what had been a very interesting and insightful day at RAF Odiham, we headed home, with much food for thought and a wealth of new knowledge of both life in the RAF, and the operations of one of its most important aircraft; the Chinook.
Image: SVS staff
THIRD FORM OUT IN THE WILD!
As they prepared to embark on an expedition for their Duke of Edinburgh Award programme, Third Form Cadets participated in workshops designed to help them survive the great outdoors. Lower Sixth NCOs and members of staff presented techniques and information on activities such as putting up (and taking down!) a tent, cooking on outdoor equipment, first aid, packing kit and country code.
IMAGES: SARAH-JANE ADAMS
FINAL PARADE
The end of the Lent Term saw our Combined Cadet Force showcase their might with their final parade on Prefects’ Lawn, with the Biennial Inspection attended by Commander Barker RN and the handing over of leadership roles from the Upper Sixth NCOs to their Lower Sixth counterparts. The occasion also marked the last act in post of CCF stalwart Major Prem Ale.
Major Prem joined us in 2011 from the Queen’s Gurkha Engineers. His exceptional knowledge, instruction technique and personality have motivated and inspired Cadets for the last 12 years. He has been involved in trips to Brunei, Malaysia and Nepal as well as annual visits to the Lake District and on summer camp. We wish him well in his retirement on the golf course.
IMAGES: SARAH-JANE ADAMS
STANDING TO ATTENTION
Cadets received their new roles for the year ahead.
SUTTONIAN: ACADEMIC
It has been extremely pleasing to see that our students continue to achieve excellent results, after the return to 2019 grading. Two exciting and engaging Kingdon Lectures were held - in October, Simon Parker, British travel writer and broadcast journalist gave an inspiring talk, A Reporter’s Adventures in over 100 Countries. The second was given by Dr Paul Morland. As the UK’s leading demographer, his lecture, entitled How Population has Shaped the Past, is Shaping the Present, and will Shape the Future, focused on the greatest of global problems and challenges.
A Level and GCSE Results
Sutton Valence School is delighted to announce another excellent set of A Level results. In 2023, 61 per cent of all grades achieved by our students were A* to B. Once again, 100 per cent of our students who completed the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) passed with grades A* to C, with 48 per cent achieving A* to A grades. The EPQ is an independent research qualification which is held in high regard by both universities and employers, ensuring that students’ UCAS applications are additionally impressive.
Amongst the very good results, there were numerous exceptional performances - Annie Moore achieved two A*s and two As and is going to read Geography. Katie Moore also achieved two A*s and two As and will be heading to Exeter to read International Relations. Scarlett
Washington achieved four A grades and will be reading Medicine at Lancaster. It is very important to note that for many of our A Level pupils, this was the first time they had taken external examinations following the Teacher Assessed Grades of their GCSE year.
Following the successes at A Level, the following week the GCSE results were released. Almost 44 per cent of GCSEs were graded 9 to 7, and this year’s performance was even more impressive given the return to pre-pandemic grading. The percentage of grades 8 and 9 gained by students at the School increased from 2019 (the last year of external examinations) with over 27 per cent of our GCSE grades awarded at the very highest level. Of the 101 students in the year group, 27 per cent of students achieved four or more grades 8 or 9 (formerly A* grade). There were a great number of outstanding achievements to celebrate amongst this year’s GCSE cohort and, as ever, there were some exceptional individual performances. These include Daisy Dallamore (eight grade 9s and two grade 8s), James Lloyd Jones and Katherine Slipper with ten grades 8 and 9. Rhys Harmer, Elizabeth Myers and Florence Wood achieved nine GCSEs graded 8 or 9.
Having returned to School to embark on GCSE courses after lockdowns, for all our students, this was a hard two years of work. The effort invested by our students along with the excellent teaching provided by our teachers has resulted in this very pleasing level of achievement.
MRS B BALL Academic Deputy Head
Intermediate Maths Challenge
The IMC (Intermediate Maths Challenge) ran on Wednesday 1st of February, with nearly 90 pupils participating across the Third, Fourth and Fifth Forms.
This year saw a bumper number of pupils gaining Bronze, Silver and Gold awards. Special mention must go to Charlie Wu who came out ‘Best in Year’ in the Third Form, Kevin Wang who was named ‘Best in Year’ in the Fourth Form and James Lloyd Jones of the Fifth Form who received ‘Best in Year’ and ‘Best in School’. Silver and Gold award winners received their certificates from the Headmaster in Chapel.
Professor Murray Biggs of Yale
We welcomed Professor Murray Biggs, of Yale University, to the English Department in March to give a talk on revenge in Renaissance drama to pupils studying English Literature A Level. He gave a fascinating overview of the role of revenge and the core ingredients of revenge drama of the period, and then linked them to the three texts that the pupils are studying across the two year groups. Professor Biggs was born in Kent, and although he has worked in the USA for most of his life, he still has family here, and his greatnephew recently left Sutton Valence School. The pupils were very appreciative of his expertise on the topic, and his offer to come to the School to share his enthusiasm. The choicest of his words of wisdom were no doubt quoted in exam answers on Shakespeare, as pupils must refer to critics as part of the assessment!
SPEAKING CONTEST
In February, a number of students travelled to St. Edmund’s School, Canterbury for the second round of the ESU Churchill Public Speaking Competition.
Two teams competed: Faisal Junaid, Sienna Lear-Gill and Erin McGregor (all Fifth Form) made up one team and Angus Brown, Grace Manning-Greene (both Fourth Form) and Musa Sarfraz (Fifth Form), made up the other. Simone Rai (Fourth Form) was a reserve.
First up was Faisal, discussing whether patriotism damages international relations. Faisal expressed himself clearly and confidently, drawing on examples from the war in Ukraine and the Kashmir conflict. Furthermore, he demonstrated his wider knowledge of the topic by competently answering questions from the Kent College questioner and the audience.
Next up was the speaker from St. Edmund’s School, who was discussing the harmful effects of social media. Erin acted as Chair, with Sienna as the questioner.
It was then time for Grace’s speech and her topic was classical and pop music. As well as explaining why pop stars are so highly paid, Grace discussed the various benefits of listening to both classical and pop music. The Chair and questioner from St. Edmunds’ School then worked with Grace to help her explore the topic further.
Finally, it was time for the speaker from Kent College who was talking about the current waiting times in the NHS.
The team from Kent College got through to the next round, but all of the Sutton Valence School students should be commended for their excellent performance and enthusiasm for the competition.
History Trip to Poland
6 History students took a wintery trip to the city of Krakówin Poland, starting with a tour of the Jewish Quarter, taking in synagogues and the Schindler’s List factory, and learning about what life was like for the local Jewish population under Nazi occupation. The group then took in the wider history of the city by visiting the salt mines, a product that made the area wealthy for hundreds of years. The next day they made the snowy drive to Auschwitz and Birkenau, viewing the exhibitions housing the legacy of those who lost their lives at Auschwitz through the rooms of shoes, hair and suitcases that were stripped from the victims on their arrival. The mood was lightened with a trip to a Christmas market, and visiting medieval parts of the area.
A Winning Visit to Olympic Park
STEM students from the Fourth Form enjoyed time exploring the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park during July, focusing on the many unique designs in the area, as it has developed since the Olympics in 2012.
The tour included the skyline views from the top of the Orbit and a ride on the world’s tallest and longest tunnel slide. Pupils then took a guided tour of the London Stadium, looking at how it has been transformed from the time of the Olympic games to the home of West Ham United and the venue for major concerts and events.
Going Coastal with Margate Trip
Lower Sixth Geography students ventured to the North Kent coast in June to conduct some data collection.
On the first day, the enquiry centred around human geography as the pupils wanted to investigate how Margate has changed through the years, and which of the settlement morphology models it most closely replicates.
Day two saw the pupils travel to Reculver and Botany Bay to compare the characteristics of both beaches. Back at School, the pupils then used their sediment analysis and beach profile data to create dispersion graphs and beach transects of each site.
Let’s Bake a Pi
In Mathematics, Second Form students have been looking at the area and circumference of a circle and the formulas – pi x radius squared and pi x diameter. They were having some trouble remembering these formulas and so they took a trip to St Margaret’s House to use the kitchen and make cookie pie!
Students were given parts of the ingredients and recipe in exchange for correct answers to questions on circles and despite a slight mishap with tbsp vs tsp, all students thoroughly enjoyed this task and can now tell Mrs Bridger the formula for area and circumference!
Fourth Form STEM Trip Picks Up Steam
Fourth Form STEM pupils enjoyed a very different day with a trip back in time to see how the principles of science and design shaped history. They enjoyed a visit to the Tenterden Railway Museum followed by a steam train ride to Bodiam. After marvelling at the impressive castle structure and picnicking in the beautiful grounds, they returned by steam power to Tenterden.
Getting Lost in a Good Book Computer Says Yes
For World Book Day, Juniors had the pleasure of Mrs Ball reading to the First Form in their weekly reading session, from the book Uncle Montague’s Tales of Terror by Chris Priestley.
A short story about a small devil shaped statue with scary powers was read beautifully by the Academic Deputy Head, with each character given its own voice, which made the story very vivid and exciting for the young listeners!
Our Fourth Form Computing group took part in the Bebras Computing Challenge. This challenge introduces computational thinking to students and is organised in over 50 countries. This is designed to get students all over the world excited about computing as each participant answers questions that focus on computational and logical thinking. Of the ten students that participated, we gained three Distinctions, two Merits and one Gold. The Gold student, Kaiwen Wang, having been placed in the top ten per cent of entries, was invited to take part in the Oxford University Computing Challenge.
A NUMBERS GAME AT JUNIOR MATHS CHALLENGE!
All things numerical took prime position as Sutton Valence School hosted ten other schools in its annual Mathematics Challenge contest.
For the under 12 competition, in which Sutton Valence Prep School took part, the winners were Hilden Grange, racking up an impressive 90 points.
Lower Sixth A Level Mathematics students were also involved, acting as adjudicators to check submitted solutions against the correct answers, and tallying up the overall scores.
In the Under 13 segment, Junior Kings Canterbury were victorious, having reached 75 points, with the SVS team coming in third place with a score of 65.
Despite no trophies this time, everything added up to a positive experience for our Junior mathematicians!
IMAGES: SARAH-JANE ADAMS
ENGLISH FIRST CERTIFICATE
The international students at Sutton Valence School choose to study with us for a variety of reasons, but they come predominantly to improve their English language skills.
In November 2022, 18 international students from the Third Form to the Lower Sixth sat the Cambridge English First Certificate examination. The results came out in January and we heard that all of the students passed the examination.
Friederike Stula (Fifth Form) says: “The Cambridge First Certificate examination shows you how good your English is and which areas you still need to improve, for example, reading. It is also really important later in life when you are applying for a job to show your level of English.”
IMAGE:
TAKING PRIDE IN SCIENCE
Third Form chemists have been creating the colours of Pride Month with the ‘fizzing rainbow’ experiment!
Universal Indicator Solution is added to hydrochloric acid and first poured into the tube; next sodium carbonate is added which is an alkali. The reaction we see is the alkali neutralising the acid and the indicator changes colour as the pH of the solution changes.
A LEVEL RESULTS DAY
On August 17 students were celebrating some excellent A Level examination results with staff and parents. Following a challenging few years of study owing to many events beyond their control, the cohort of 2023 achieved stellar results in their examinations and have earned places at a laudable range of destinations for future study. Indeed, almost 90 per cent of students have secured places at their first or second choice university and over 30 per cent of grades were at A or A* level.
The Headmaster, James Thomas, comments: “We are very proud of this wonderful group of young people. The atmosphere here at the School this morning was lovely and really showed our community feel with students, parents and staff all reflecting on the great achievements of this year group. It’s especially important to remember the challenges that they have faced, making these results even more impressive. While many have achieved the very top grades available, it is equally important to applaud those who have benefitted from the added value of attending Sutton Valence School, where individual and personal progress and development are key aspects of our provision. As well as their great academic results, they have also excelled outside the classroom and have shown themselves to be great citizens ready for the world. We wish them all the very best in the future and really hope that they will all stay in touch with this special School.”
IMAGES: SARAH-JANE ADAMS
Blue Gowns and Heads of School
Sixth Form students lead from the front as six exemplary pupils are selected throughout the School year to become Heads of School for a term. Pictured above: Blue gown recipients Saffie Roberts, Imogen Robinson, Grace ManningGreene, Simone Rai and Angus Brown, all Fourth Form First below: Blue gown recipients Archie Burden, Harry Mewett and William Chadwick, Fourth Form Second below: Olivia Chadwick and Daniel Booth, Heads of School for the Summer Term Third below: Ethan Wynne and Grace Bartleet, Heads of School for the Lent Term Fourth below: Katie Moore and James Pepler, Heads of School for the Michaelmas Term
Economics is a Rollercoaster for Lower Sixth
Lower Sixth Business Studies and Economics pupils had the incredible opportunity to delve into the impacts of economic fluctuations through an immersive trip to Alton Towers. Students explored the intricate relationship between economic factors and the leisure industry, looking into interesting topics such as marketing strategies employed by the theme park and associated businesses. Additionally, they researched key exam subjects including financial decision making, motivation, and leadership. This excursion provided a unique chance for students to witness first-hand how the theories they learn in the classroom translate into real life business practices.
You’re Hired!
Budding Lower Sixth entrepreneurs braved the rain at the Young Enterprise Trade Fair, setting up stall at Whitefriars, Canterbury.
The Young Enterprise team, known as Verenity Industries, then went on to attend the Young Enterprise Company of the Year finals for Kent, held at the University of Kent Business School, also in Canterbury. Pupils were required to host a trade show stand showcasing their products, submit a written report about their business, be interviewed by judges from the world of business, and present to the panel of judges and other teams in a lecture theatre. The team won the prize for the Best Marketing for any of the teams entering the competition from the Kent area!
An Enterprising Way to Make Sales
Sales opportunities are everywhere for our business-minded Lower Sixth Young Enterprise students! Charles Stanley sold a number of scented candles by targeting staff on behalf of Verenity Industriesincluding the Headmaster!
Candles were available in sandalwood, lavender and apple and cinnamon. The business also created Scrabble initial cufflinks, and sustainable water bottles.
HEAD OF SCHOOL: JAMES PEPLER
MICHAELMAS TERM SPEECH
Good afternoon School, I hope you have had a good first few weeks and that you have settled in well. I would like to start by saying how privileged I am to have been given this role as Head of School for this term and I would also like to congratulate Katie, who I look forward to working alongside.
As the nation looks back at the amazing life of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, we have to come to terms with what the future now holds and look ahead to the reign of His Majesty King Charles III. With this in mind, I realise that it is important to reflect upon and appreciate all that we have, in order to help us to manage the uncertainties that the future can bring. Whilst preparing to leave the safety and security of Sutton Valence School and plan for the future, I find myself, (as many of us are), looking back on my time at SVS and appreciating more than ever, all that it has to offer.
There are many things that I have learnt whilst being here since the Third Form, but I would like to talk about two of these today. Firstly, make the most of the opportunities that you are offered, and secondly, appreciate all that you have.
As I reflect on my time here, I have learnt that it is important to make the most of all the opportunities that the School provides. It is often down to you to make the first and sometimes bold step and to grasp these chances, with determination and positivity. Do not be afraid to get involved and do try out new things.
Secondly, always appreciate what you have. It is all too easy to take for granted the environment we are in and all the School has to offer. The guidance and knowledge that is conveyed to us certainly helps us to become the best version of ourselves. Make the most of it.
I still have nine months or so left at SVS but, as I look back, I can safely say that I have enjoyed every minute of it – even the lockdowns! Establishing friendships and making the most of all that this great School has to offer, (whether it be on the sports field, in the music hall or in academic lessons), has equipped me to cope with the uncertainties that the future
can bring.
It must also be said that whilst it can be useful to look back, it is important not to dwell on the past and to become too nostalgic. Instead, it is important to use those memories to realise the progress you have made. Whilst reflecting on the past, it is important to look ahead to the future.
So – as I look back, what advice would I give to my 13 year old self?
1) Make the most of the opportunities that you are offered.
2) Don’t be afraid of what the future might bring.
3) Appreciate all that you have.
As Dr Seuss writes – “Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment, until it becomes a memory.” So, as I approach the last few terms here at Sutton Valence School, it is important to remember that maintaining the balance of looking back at the past and looking forward to the future, is key. It is important to try not to get too nostalgic and the future must not be feared.
As is traditional, I would like to end my speech with a quote. It is Albert Einstein who sums this up perfectly, “Life is like a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”
Thank you for listening.
HEAD OF SCHOOL: KATIE MOORE
MICHAELMAS TERM SPEECH
Good afternoon School, I hope that you all had an enjoyable and restful summer holiday and that you are looking forward to the new School year. Firstly, I would like to express my excitement at taking on this role, as it is an amazing opportunity, for which I am grateful. I would also like to congratulate James; I hope we will do a great job together as your Heads of School.
I am sure you can imagine that standing up here, in front of the whole School, is an intimidating thing to do, especially since we are now back to a pre-Covid normality, with the Chapel buzzing with all year groups and houses present in one place. My response to how I can deliver this speech successfully is a matter of self-confidence.
Confidence is not something that can be taught, but it is something that is developed internally. It can be defined as the belief in oneself and one’s abilities. Many of us struggle with confidence. In an age of social media, it can be difficult not to compare ourselves with other people and their ‘perfect’ lives. We might lack self-confidence, for example in public speaking, in meeting new people, in performing on the sports field, or in doubting our own abilities to succeed.
I imagine there are people sitting in the Chapel here today, who are not feeling their most confident right now. You might be a newcomer to the School, still finding your feet, or maybe you are too used to relaxing at home or with friends for the past six weeks and might find the beginning of a new School year overwhelming.
One of the biggest lessons I have learned over the past few years is that I must not care so much about what other people think of me. Of course, this is much easier said than done. I used to have little self-confidence and I cared way too much about everyone’s opinion. I used to be very quiet and never accepted any challenges outside of my comfort zone for fear of being judged. I have grown in confidence over the years, I have started caring less about everybody’s opinion of me and I began to only care about the opinions of those who I admire and whose opinions I have come to value.
The words of an anonymous writer captures this message so well. They said, “Confidence is not walking into a room thinking you are better than everyone, it is walking in and not having to compare yourself to anyone at all.”
Confidence allows you to trust in your own abilities, qualities, and judgement. Everyone can gain confidence, but it takes time and effort. You should surround yourselves with positive people. You should step outside your comfort zone and take advantage of opportunities on offer, even if they might seem scary. Sutton Valence School is a great place for this, as we have a close community with supportive teachers and pupils. Outside the classroom there is a wide range of opportunities on offer. Whether it is representing the School on the sports pitch, in a music concert, in one the school’s drama productions, on one of the many CCF trips, or taking part in academic challenges such as debating, there are so many extra-curricular activities the School has to offer.
A final point I would like to make, is to appreciate your time at the School, because it goes so quickly. Even if you are not enjoying a specific period of your School life, whether it be exam season, a challenging academic term or friendship drama, please make the most of these days, because once they are gone you will miss them. I speak from experience because my journey from Third Form to Upper Sixth has gone so quickly. I am extremely grateful for all I have accomplished at this School, and I look forward to embracing all that is on offer to me in my final year.
As is tradition, I will end my speech with a quote, with the wise words of our late monarch Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, “I believe that young or old, we have as much to look forward to with confidence and hope as we have to look back on with pride.”
Thank you for listening.
HEAD OF SCHOOL: GRACE BARTLEET
LENT TERM SPEECH
Ihope you have all had an enjoyable Christmas, though it seems a long time ago now, and a well-deserved rest. I cannot believe I am up here speaking to you all today, sharing my experiences at SVS, but here we are. Before we begin though, I would like to take a moment to thank those in the Senior Management Team and Mr Thomas for allowing me to have this privilege. This is a position that only a few of us are fortunate enough to achieve, and it has certainly not yet hit me that I am one of the lucky few. Also, a huge congratulations to Ethan; though it may be difficult for him to balance the 1st XV Rugby Vase team and this responsibility, I am sure we can all agree he thoroughly deserves the role.
So today, I would like to share my experiences throughout my five years here and show the importance of being an individual, not afraid to follow your own path. I arrived in Third Form, shaking like a leaf, but knowing that all would be fine thanks to my two older brothers, both at SVS at my time of arrival. They assured me that the atmosphere here would be unexpected, and they were not wrong.
My very first encounter has firmly stuck with me since entering the glass doors of Reception for that first time; Mr Jones, walking me from the Quad to Clothworkers’ dayroom. We made polite conversation, as you would expect, and then he said to me, “I have heard you are the best Bartleet.” Well, to say I was lost for words is an understatement. I suppose you could say I have learnt from my brothers’ mistakes, and perhaps have lived up to that title.
Ironically, many people only know one of my brothers - it depends on the person which sibling they may have encountered. I have to deliberate in conversation about which one is being referred to. The elder of the two, Alex, strived in all areas of School, besides those in a classroom. Whereas Oli remained very much under the radar, only being detected by those who put in the effort. To put it simply, I have not taken either of their approaches, but I have chosen to devote time and effort into aspects I know I will cherish in years to come.
One of these is music. Those involved will agree that it is a circle you become entirely immersed in. We claim it is never too late to start, and if that is the case then I encourage
you to give it a go. It really was a full circle moment when a month or two ago, me and a few others in the Music Department travelled to Clothworkers’ Hall in London to perform for the members there. The School was originally founded by a member of the Clothworkers’ company, William Lambe, so it was hugely daunting, yet so rewarding. Personally, looking at the painting of William Lambe with Sutton Valence in the background, the overwhelming feeling was pride. The comments we received after we played were heart-warming, and it proved to me how the society of SVS goes so much further than we realise.
My brothers have most certainly influenced my time here. First and foremost, they prevented me from taking Physics A Level… my parents were weary from the numerous harsh talks at parents’ evenings, after both brothers had fallen behind in the subject, so I was strongly advised against it. But more importantly, they gave me copious amounts of advice. It may not surprise you to hear that being their little sister, I did not listen to a word, but instead, stubbornly proceeded to mould my own journey and memories.
For one, neither of them took sport seriously, whereas I could not imagine my life without it. Back in Third Form, I did not even make the A team for hockey, battling against another Grace who was supposedly better than I was. Now, I can proudly say that I have been in the 1st team for the last two years, playing alongside some incredible individuals and solidifying friendships in the process. It is easier said than done, but I would encourage you to enjoy that time in your week outside of a classroom, even if sport may not be ‘your thing’.
Take my brother Oli’s method: he would stand in defence with his closest friends and laugh around, hoping that the ball would stay up the other end of the pitch. Whether it be rugby, football or hockey, they relied on the stars of the team to make up for their lack of ability. It did not take him long to decide sport was not his forte, but he had a laugh in the process, which is a different yet equally important approach to take towards sport.
In my family’s time at the School, there have been many changes, mostly due to the
pandemic and a change of Headmaster. One thing though that has not been altered is our sense of togetherness. In my opinion, much of this comes from within our houses and tutor groups. When describing this fact to prospective parents and students on open days, it is difficult for them to understand the benefit of mixed age tutor groups without experiencing it themselves. I feel I have landed on my feet in that sense; in a tutor group full of contrasting individuals, yet somehow we all communicate and joke together most mornings. Singing happy birthday to one another, even if that was over Zoom for a certain period of time, and supporting each other in any way possible, has been hugely comforting in times of worry. If you are ever in doubt about a situation and do not know whom to turn to, remember someone in your tutor group has experienced the same difficulty. So if you feel able, ask another member for advice, or you can always turn to a Prefect – I promise they are less intimidating than they look.
Our choices at School can influence our future. I was reminded of this at a Parents’ Evening last year, when a teacher mentioned how my role in the CCF had aided my journey. I was astonished. That particular teacher had taken the time to notice my dedication and enjoyment in the Army section. She then went on to tell me how useful the experiences could be in my career. I had certainly never thought of it like that but I suppose she was right. At first, the years of discipline may seem tedious, but as you gain skill, respect and therefore authority, the process seems to click into action. As it transpires, I am the only girl in my year to have continued CCF, and so, I have been very tempted before to leave. So I suppose this is my story of perseverance, to never give up on something even if at first it makes you feel vulnerable. I have now learnt that through the CCF, I have made the most unique friendships that would never have surfaced if it were not for Wednesday afternoons. Not only with fellow pupils, but with staff members too. You must cooperate to aid one another, and you soon realise the distinct roles that we all have to play. The CCF would not function without all of the members involved, which is why it symbolises the unity of SVS so well.
As you have probably gathered by now, I am the third and final Bartleet child to come here. Having been competing with my brothers the whole way through, trying to beat their achievements and feeling the sibling rivalry the whole time, I wanted to share their responses when they heard I had been made Head of School. They both said on the phone, in the same proud yet irritated manner, “you have really out done us this time”. Though it was never a true competition, it does feel great to outshine them on this occasion.
As is tradition I will end with a quote. Finding this was strangely the most difficult part of writing this speech, so I turned to a female of inspiration, Maya Angelou, a civil rights activist promoting the power of knowledge. She said: “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
HEAD OF SCHOOL: ETHAN WYNNE
LENT TERM SPEECH
Ihope that you have all had a good Christmas break, and that you are wellrested for the term ahead. Firstly, I would like to address how honoured I am to have been given the role of Head of School, and also to express how grateful I am to be in this position. I would like to congratulate Grace for being appointed as Head Girl, and I am looking forward to working alongside her. Her speech set a very high standard, so bear with me as I try my best.
As we enter a new year, and I approach my final full term at Sutton Valence School, I have taken some time to reflect on what School life has offered me, the countless lessons I have learned from my experiences at School, and the challenges I have faced and overcome. However, it is important to reflect on all of these memories with gratitude and appreciate how lucky I have been to be given so many opportunities, and to have been surrounded by such an amazing community.
I could not have imagined thinking seven years ago, when I was just starting First Form, that I would be standing here, speaking to all of you. I don’t think anyone else did either. Nor my brother, who when I told him, asked if there was some sort of a mixup.
My time at the School has graced me with two important lessons that I would like to share with you today. The first is perseverance.
Perseverance is our persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delays in achieving success. Persevering towards your goals can be challenging and can even come with failure. However, at the end of one’s goal, the reward pays off highly. My goals have always been set high at the School, and something that I have learnt is that perseverance is the main driver for success. If you stop, you will never get where you aim to be.
The second is failure. Failure for me was often associated with not only letting down everyone else but letting myself down. From losing endless rugby matches as a Junior, to losing at Twickenham in the National Vase Final, I have been through every ounce of defeat. Although the Vase final was a tough loss, I believe it changed the lads’ perception
on failure, and especially shifted my mindset towards feeling more grateful and taking pride in my progress. With that said, what I have learnt from failure is that it is only temporary, and we must learn from it. Overcoming failure is one of the greatest accomplishments.
In the approach to my final weeks here at SVS, looking back I can say that I have loved every aspect of School life. From performing in drama productions to playing an exceptionally high standard of rugby, I have utilised every opportunity I have been offered, for which I am most thankful . So, one thing I would urge you all, whether in the First Form or Upper Sixth, is to always put a foot forward out of your comfort zone. Ex-Navy SEAL, David Goggins, puts this simply…
“Denial is the ultimate comfort zone.”
How can you say you do not want to do something or think you can’t do it if you haven’t even tried it yet? So I say take the risk, and pursue every opportunity, because when you leave (whenever that may be) and enter the real world, you do not want to regret not pursuing everything this School has to offer. Eliminate regret, then you can leave the past in the past - stop letting it rule your mind and destroy your future.
So, what have I learnt in the seven years I have been here? A principle that I have adopted through my time here, was to live in the moment. It is important to be aware and mindful of what is happening at this very moment.
Whether that is inside the classroom, or out on the hockey pitch, enjoying every aspect of School life is precious and shouldn’t be taken for granted. Blink, and it may all be over.
So, as I will not be here for much longer, I wanted to pass on these lessons to you, in the hope that you will carry these through your journey at SVS and create your own legacy. Something that one day, you will look back on with pride.
As tradition goes, I would like to end my speech with a quote by Winston Churchill: “Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
HEAD OF SCHOOL: DANIEL BOOTH
SUMMER TERM SPEECH
Good afternoon School, I hope you all had a wonderful Easter. I want to start by thanking Mr Farrell and Mr Thomas, and the School, for giving me the opportunity to be Head of School. I also want to congratulate Chadwick on becoming Head Girl, and I look forward to working with her in the future, especially as she has done so much for the School community.
I would like to talk to you about how, if you use your time correctly in this School, you can achieve unimaginable things. I want to begin by talking about everything that Sutton Valence School provides that can help you to figure out the path you want to walk in life. There will be a few people listening who know exactly what career path they want to take and what jobs they want to achieve, and to those people, I encourage you to talk to the many people in the School who can help you to achieve that. Whether it is the careers team or your Head of House, I assure you that this School will help you in every way it can, to advise you and aid you in achieving your dreams. There will also be many, and possibly the majority, who will have no idea what they want to do. Some may not even have thought about where they want to go in life – I can assure those people that they are not alone. I myself am also part of this group.
What I can advise to people is to make the most of what this School provides, and try a little bit of everything. Try art, sciences and sport, possibly something you’ve never even thought of like music, design, photography. Maybe even join the CCF or the shooting team. Use this approach, and I can guarantee that by the time you are finished at this School, you will have found something you are passionate about. Once you have found what you are passionate about, the only limits are the limits you give yourself.
What Sutton Valence School does so well is support its students in every and any endeavour they may have. As long as you as a student are willing to put in the work, be willing to persevere after failure, and most importantly, ask for help when you need it, then I assure you, you will succeed in your goals, whatever they may be, and I have absolutely no doubt, that this School, and the
people in it, will help you get to where you want to be in the future.
A common feature in previous Head of School speeches is that everyone has their defining moment that changed them and helped them to overcome something. When writing this speech, I found it very difficult to find my moment. I thought about many options, including my time spent in the music block performing in concerts, or on the sports field playing rugby. Whilst all of these are part of me, none of them stood out as defining. I realise now that the moment that is defining for me, is this moment, this speech.
For those of you that aren’t aware, I am not a naturally confident person – I have always been introverted to say the least, and always preferred the thought of being alone to putting myself out there. However, I see this moment, standing here speaking to you as what is hopefully the beginning of change, and I hope you can see me, engaging in a task that is uncomfortable for me, and that it encourages you to do the same, in whatever sense that may be.
As is tradition, I will finish with a quote. The quote comes from US Track and Field gold medallist, Wilma Rudolph. As a child, she suffered many hardships, such as childhood Polio, even to the extent that for a brief time, she was completely paralysed. She contracted scarlet fever and double pneumonia multiple times during her infancy, and doctors told her she would never walk again. Throughout all of this, this remarkable woman never failed to recognise her potential, and strived to achieve it. The quote reads, “Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion. The potential for greatness lies within all of us.”
Thank you for listening.
HEAD OF SCHOOL: OLIVIA CHADWICK
SUMMER TERM SPEECH
Good afternoon School, I hope you have all had an enjoyable and restful Easter break, after what was a very busy Lent Term. When I joined in Second Form, I did not expect to be standing here today talking to you all, let alone being one of the Heads of School.
Before I start I would just like to thank Mr Thomas and the Senior Management Team for giving me this opportunity. And also a huge congratulations to Dan, I look forward to working with him this term.
My journey at Sutton Valance School started when I tagged along to an open day, when my parents were looking at options for my brother. I was so impressed with the School and the opportunities that they offered, especially the sport and CCF, that I was keen to join as soon as possible, as I knew this school would be the right one for me.
One of the main aspects that I have learnt throughout my years here at Sutton Valence School is to be myself and this is what I want to talk about today. As you can see, I am not your typical girl, but it’s 2023, what is your typical girl? To some people this could be someone with long hair and wearing a skirt, but as you can see, I am standing up here as Head Girl, with short hair, wearing a suit and love being a goalkeeper, whether it’s in football or hockey. I would encourage you all to be yourself and do things that interest you, regardless of other people’s opinions.
Whilst Covid was a very challenging period of time, it did give me the opportunity to express myself. This was the time when I cut my hair, and I am happy to say that for me it was the best thing I did, as it enabled me to be myself and not feel like I had to look like everybody else. As Covid made us all work from home it meant that we could wear what we wanted, so when I knew that School was re-opening, I wanted to make a change to the School uniform so that girls had the opportunity to wear trousers.
It was a very long process, with countless meetings with Mrs Rose and Mr Sealy and going to multiple shops to try find some trousers that I thought would be suitable with the current uniform. Eventually we found a
pair that ticked all the boxes that we were looking for. I was extremely happy when I saw that the 2021 uniform list included girls’ trousers. I really felt like I had made a change to the School, and that other girls didn’t have to worry about wearing the skirt as they could express themselves wearing the trousers. If there is something you care or are passionate about, don’t give up no matter how long it takes, as the benefits in the end will be worth it.
We are all lucky enough that this School’s environment is the right environment where we can all be ourselves, and this is something that myself and many others are grateful for. There are two main areas within the School that I feel stand out personally to me. These are the sports department and the CCF. Both have motivated and pushed me to be the best version of myself, even on CCF trips where it has been pouring down with rain or after a heavy loss in a sports fixture. So a massive thank you to all the staff in these areas. School offers lots of opportunities whether it’s sports, music or academics, it doesn’t matter what it is, just focus on yourself and take all the opportunities that come to you.
As you can, tell being yourself is important for me, and sometimes it’s not easy and it does take time, but regardless of other people’s opinions it is the best thing you can do. I can honestly say that this School has shaped me into the person I am today and has helped me to build the resilience and courage that a younger version of myself would not have thought was possible. So a massive thank you needs to go to my friends and family and those in the School community who have helped me and been there for me, throughout my years at Sutton Valence School.
As is tradition, I will end with a quote. Mary Earps, the England and Manchester United goalkeeper, said when she was collecting her FIFA Award for being the 2022 Best Goalkeeper of the Year, “be unapologetically yourself.”
Thank you for listening.
Prefects:
Back row: S Washington, L Beaumont, L Yorke, M Reeves, S Savage, O Oyerinde, J Russell, D Odling, E Evans
Second row: J Payne-Cook, M Sands, T Zhong, I Forknall, T Dolan, J Fawell, A Smith, A Moore, E Goodwin
Front row: M Wright, T Butler, K Moore, E Wynne, Mr J Thomas, G Bartleet, J Pepler, H Slipper, R Price
FINAL ASSEMBLY
July 7 brought the final Chapel assembly of the School year, with the presentation of numerous accolades, such as blue gowns, School ties and prizes by the Headmaster - including the lifting of the Baughan House Competition Cup, this year adorned in yellow for winners Founder’s House.
BIOLOGY STUDENTS SHORE TO DO WELL
On Monday May 22nd, A Level Biology students participated in a field studies course at Camber Sands, where they conducted various random and stratified sampling techniques to measure the biodiversity of the sand dune ecosystem successfully. The students collected essential raw data on species and habitat diversity, which they later analysed in the laboratory. They created detailed scientific drawings of the identified plant specimens and presented their data in graphs, including kite diagrams.
This allowed them to draw advanced conclusions about the patterns of succession occurring in the ecosystem. They also utilised mathematical and statistical analysis, such as Simpson’s Index of Diversity, to compare species richness and evenness across the sampled habitats.
Iceland STEM Trip
February 2023
Over Half Term, a group of Sixth Form students took a STEM trip to Iceland with a busy itinerary of visits and activities. Thomas Dolan, Upper Sixth, has written some reflections on the trip.
“Upon arriving in Iceland at Keflavik on Sunday, and then checking into our hotel in Reykjavik, we changed into winter gear and walking boots and went on a night walk through the rather rainy streets of the city, with a backdrop of coastal wind and phenomenal shadowy mountains. A wild country surrounding a modern city was not a contrast that was lost on us, but it was the almighty height of Hallgrimskirkja that became our stop for the evening. The Lutheran Church stands at 74.5 metres tall, the tallest building in Reykjavik, and was designed in 1936 with inspiration from the trap rocks, mountains and glaciers of Iceland.
Thoroughly adjusted to the wet and cold, and with Reykjavik suitably admired, Monday saw a visit to the beach, though it was rather too windy to sunbathe. Instead, samples of sea life were collected and returned to the lab, where a series of talks were given at the Suderness
Science Centre, built into an old fishery. With most of the work on the migration of birds, and an exhibit on French explorer Jean Baptiste Charcot and his ship Pourquoi Pas? (Why Not?) which crashed and sank in 1936, the science centre was an exciting first stop on the Icelandic journey.
Following the science centre and a healthy dose of packed lunch, it was time to visit the world famous Blue Lagoon. Originally built using the natural pool formed by wastewater of the nearby Geothermal Power Plant, the Blue Lagoon spa pumps natural geothermal water from two kilometres underground to the surface pool, resulting in a water temperature of 38 degrees celcius, a stark contrast to the almost freezing air surrounding the pool.
Monday concluded with a return to the hotel, but not before a few people decided to spend a little too long in the lagoon! After dinner, we enjoyed relaxing with cards and board games – although some in the group were a little over competitive when it came to playing Uno! We now realised we were going to need plenty of sleep to get through the busy Iceland itinerary.”
SUTTONIAN: DRAMA
As the Director of Drama, I am delighted to present the year in review for our lively and thriving Drama Department. The past year has been filled with remarkable accomplishments and outstanding performances, showcasing the immense talent and dedication of our students.
One of the highlights of the year was our impressive Senior Production of Shakespeare’s timeless masterpiece, The Winter’s Tale. The production captivated audiences with its powerful performances and brought the magic of Shakespeare to life on our stage. The commitment and enthusiasm shown by our students was truly commendable, and their hard work paid off in creating a dynamic, memorable and engaging production.
Additionally, our Junior Production of Annie in the Summer Term was a resounding success. The production sold out completely, a testament to the talent and dedication of our young actors and actresses. Their energy and enthusiasm were infectious, leaving the audience spellbound. We are incredibly proud of their growth and confidence throughout the process, and we were delighted to witness the overwhelming support from the School community.
Furthermore, I am thrilled to announce that our students have achieved the highest LAMDA awards in the School’s recent history. Their commitment to developing their acting skills, combined with
the exceptional guidance provided by our teachers, has resulted in this remarkable success.
Another area where the Drama Department has excelled is in examination performance standards. Our students have consistently demonstrated resilience and adaptability, resulting in outstanding results. Their commitment to their craft and their willingness to push their boundaries has been truly inspiring, and we are confident that their achievements will continue to rise in the coming years.
It is important to acknowledge the unwavering support and dedication of our Drama Department staff. Their commitment to nurturing our students’ talent, their tireless efforts in rehearsals and classes, and their passion for the subject have been instrumental in our success. Their guidance and mentorship have not only helped our students develop their skills but have also instilled in them a love for acting that will endure beyond their time at Sutton Valence School.
In conclusion, I am thrilled to report that the Drama Department at Sutton Valence School has had an exceptional year, filled with remarkable achievements and memorable performances. I extend my heartfelt congratulations to all the students, teachers, and staff involved in our productions and accomplishments this year. With the solid foundation we have built, I am excited to see the Drama Department continue to thrive in the years to come.
MR B FEWSON Director of Drama
JUNIOR PRODUCTION
This year’s Junior production was a walk down Easy Street for performers from the First, Second and Third Form, as they completed a sellout run of popular musical, Annie! Darcey Bird, Third Form, took the title role.
You’ve seen the show on stage, now see it on screen! Enjoy highlights from our sellout Junior Production of Annie, and hear from the cast, in our promo video at youtu.be/iahn4zEQ61Q
NAUGHTY OR NICE? Miss Hannigan keeps the orphans in check!
SENIOR PRODUCTION
The Baughan Theatre was transformed into the London of Charles Dickens, as well as the Deep South of the USA, for the Shakespearian epic, The Winter’s Tale. The Senior cast excelled in portraying this tale of jealousy, redemption, power and honour.
SUTTONIAN: MUSIC
It has been another harmonious year in the Music Department, with an extensive programme of tuition, examinations, masterclasses and performances.
The winter season was particularly eventful - our Christmas Carol Concert had only been underway for a few minutes, when Mr Farrell arrived to the Chapel to send everyone home - it had snowed deeply, and treacherously, in the short while that we had been performing.
Another festive highlight was the visit to the Clothworkers’ Hall in London to perform at the Clothworkers’ Christmas dinner, taking a small String ensemble and vocalist Christine Mazuryk. The School’s founder, William Lambe, became a member of the Clothworkers’ Guild in 1568.
A second and highly memorable trip was that of the Chapel Choir to sing at the Menin Gate, in Ypres. The daily ceremony of remembrance is alway a moving experience, and the School was honoured to have been invited to be a part of it.
During the year we welcomed Professor Miller on two occasions, holding violin masterclasses for pupils from all year groups to better their technique and learn from a maestro. These sessions were particularly helpful for those students who were preparing for grade examinations on this instrument.
As ever, there have been numerous opportunities for our musicians to share their talents with the School community, and a wider audience, with informal concerts taking place in October, February and March, alongside our two Advent concerts. We also came together to mark the departure of our Upper Sixth with the Leavers’ Concert taking place before Speech Day in July, with some leavers taking to the stage watched by family members, supported by students from other year groups.
Perhaps our biggest musical offering came in the form of our Music Department showcase concert in May, featuring the Chapel Choir, Senior Strings group, the School Orchestra, Chamber Choir, Girls’ Choir and the Clothworkers’ Ensemble Band. A particular highlight was the Bach Concerto in A, with three different violinists playing the solos.
Lower Sixth students were also pleased to see Hans Zimmer live at the O2, for which we offer a big thank you to Mr Edwards.
And another thank you goes to all of our dedicated music staff, both in house and visiting, and to our gifted young students, who continue to bring the joy of music to us all.
MR PHIL HORLEY Director of Music
Singing the Praises of Ypres Choir Trip
Mr Horley, Director of Music, led the SVS Chapel Choir in the honour of travelling to Ypres in March. The group were invited to participate in the moving daily ceremony of Remembrance at the Menin Gate, alongside the playing of the Last Post.
Also accompanied by Mr Farrell and Mr Sansom, the group visited the German Cemetery at Langemark and the Tyne Cot Cemetery near Passchendaele. The moving performance was live streamed via Facebook, and can be watched back online.
Wind Band at Prep School
Mr Horley and the SVS Wind Band had an engaged audience when they performed for Sutton Valence Prep School children during an assembly. It was a return trip for some, who came to Sutton Valence School having been a pupil at the Prep.
The group ably demonstrated the variety of both their instruments and repertoire and we very much hope that some of our Prep School pupils will be inspired to follow in their footsteps and take up lessons on wind and brass instruments themselves. Equally inspiring was a performance by one of the group on the Japanese Shamisen, an instrument seldom seen here in the UK!
MUSIC EXAMS
On Monday 20th of March, the Music Department hosted the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music examinations. These exams happen three times a year and are often used to show progress in the chosen instrument. Depending on marks, you can either achieve a pass, a merit of if you gain over 85 per cent, a distinction. They consist of three or four pieces, scales, sight reading and aural tests. To achieve good marks, regular, everyday practice for up to an hour is essential. The higher exams also have UCAS points attached.
Sophie Browning (Lower Sixth) and Grace Bartleet (Upper Sixth) passed their Grade 8 examinations (the highest possible grade) with a distinction and a merit respectively. They both showed huge commitment to their work (Grace regularly turned up at 7:30am to practice), especially on the technical aspects such as scales and aural. Mrs Holmes spent lots of time with them working on the latter and also practising their pieces. Both girls also played in front of Professor Nicholas Miller during a masterclass to get even more advice. Their teacher, Mr Holmes, commented that “both girls show a huge amount of commitment and discipline to achieve these results which are totally deserved. They are a credit to the Music Department and an example to the younger pupils.”
Sophie Browning (Lower Sixth) Grade 8 Violin, Distinction
Grace Bartleet (Upper Sixth) Grade 8 Violin, Merit
Lydia Alexander (Third Form) Grade 5 Singing, Merit
Toni Tishe (Third Form) Grade 5 Violin, Merit
Dominic Powell (Second Form) Grade 4 Singing, Merit
Imogen Robinson (Fourth Form) Grade 4 Piano, Pass
Harriet Plummer (Second Form) Grade 2 Piano, Merit
Christmas at Clothworkers’ Hall
Afestive treat, the Senior Strings performed at the Clothworkers’ Hall, London to Guild members during their Christmas dinner. They started with Bach’s Aria from the 3rd Orchestral Suite which the School heard in assembly the week before. Christine Mazuryk (Lower Sixth) then joined in to sing Handel’s Lascia ch’io pianga (Let Me Weep). Finally, the Strings performed the complete Vivaldi’s Concerto in E minor. Participants: Sophie Browning (Leader), Mark Edwards, Haydn Fletcher, Jana Kvapilova, Christine Mazuryk, Joshua Robinson (all Lower Sixth), Grace Bartleet, Amalie Ondrova and James Pepler (all Upper Sixth).
Pulling Strings for Violin Masterclass Soloist Lights Up Aylesford Priory
Music was in the air as we welcomed renowned violinist Professor Nicholas Miller for a day of masterclasses. Professor Miller is an orchestral musician, founding member of the Pirasti Piano trio and a Professor of violin and Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music London. He studied at the Royal Academy, the University of Yale and the Julliard School in New York. In 1990 he taught at the Yehudi Menuhin School before moving to the Royal Academy of Music. He has performed throughout Britain, Europe and the United States, including at the Purcell Room, Wigmore Hall, St. John’s Smith Square, London and Alice Tully Hall, New York. He also happens to have taught our Head of Strings, Mr Holmes, even though he looks too young!
On Sunday December 4th 2022, Aylesford Priory held the annual Light Up a Life Carol Service for the Heart of Kent Hospice. The service allowed reflection on the loss of life, yet the transformation of a person into a precious and eternal memory. During the evening, Phoebe Connell, Lower Sixth, led the congregation into Once in Royal David’s City with a solo of the first verse. The carol was accompanied by East Peckham Silver Band, who added a wonderful brass accompaniment. The Maidstone Singers also featured in the service, as well as the West Malling Community Choir. Various readings allowed the congregation to remember those they would be without at Christmas, and lights were distributed to be held in memory of a loved one.
Chamber Choir:
Back row: F Powell, S Washington, R Parsons, G Godfrey
Second row: S Browning, P Connell, J Pepler, T Butler, J Gillett, M Russell
Front row: Mr P Horley, C Mazuryk, G Bartleet, D Dallamore, E Goodwin, J Kvapilova, Mrs A Holmes
LEAVERS’ CONCERT
Visitors to Speech Day 2023 not only had the event itself to look forward to, but were given the opportunity to head to the School Chapel earlier in the morning to enjoy listening to a Leavers’ Concert. Mr Horley put together a wonderful programme of vocal and instrumental performances that included some Upper Sixth leavers themselves, as well as support from members of the Lower Sixth and other musicians from the student body.
IMAGES: JOHNATHAN LOCKWOOD
MUSIC TO THEIR EARS Family members made a keen audience for our musicians.
Orchestra:
Back row: E Skinner, X Ball, G Manning- Greene, G Bartleet, W Dickinson, C Brown, C Fletcher
Third row: Mr D Holmes, A Fletcher, E Smith, J Gillett, O Tishe, A Ondrova, H Heyworth, Mr P Horley
Second row: E Davis, L Alexander, J Robinson, H Fletcher, M Edwards, J Kvapilova, S Browning, T Butler
Front row: D Powell, E Creed, P Connell, J Pepler, T Handley, D Booth, T Corti
SUTTONIAN: ART & DESIGN
As the academic year drew to a close, we were thrilled to reflect on the remarkable journey of our GCSE and A Level Art and Photography students. The annual end of year exhibition showcased an impressive display of creativity, experimentation and tenacity.
In their GCSE and A Level projects, students were encouraged to explore their personal interests and passions, resulting in a wide array of subject matter and mediums on display. From atmospheric paintings and thoughtprovoking photoshoots to intricately crafted printmaking and fashion-based pieces, every artwork embodied the student’s unique voice and perspective.
The results were such that 60 per cent of A Level Art students achieved an A* pass, with 80 per cent achieving an A grade or better.
In Photography, 88 per cent of our A Level students achieved an A grade or better, with 25 per cent achieving an A*.
At GCSE, 63 per cent of our Art students achieved an 8-9 pass (A*) with 79 per cent achieving a 7-9 pass. (A grade or above.)
In Photography, this was 48 per cent grade 8-9 (A*) and 74% 7-9 (grade A or above.)
These results were exceptional and are testament
to the huge amounts of time and effort all our students invested in their coursework projects, given the continued postponement of the examination component.
Beyond the final pieces, the end of year exhibition highlighted the students’ growth as individuals and artists. It was evident that they had invested countless hours and dedication into extending their creative ideas and refining their imagery. Furthermore, the positive response from visitors and the broader community demonstrated the impact these young artists and photographers have had on those who engaged with their work. This year Miss Peart-Price initiated the production and sale of greeting cards featuring some of our GCSE and A Level artists, with a substantial number of cards sold raising funds to support the charity CRY.
A number of stimulating trips were organised throughout the year, including an A Level Photography photoshoot at Dungeness, along with a visit to Nick Veasey’s studio to undertake X-ray photography, and a Sixth Form Art ‘Street Art’ tour with expert Dave Stuart. A neon life drawing workshop took place with Sixth Form artists, Art scholars, and photographers in Gulland Hall, and the Fourth Form went on an Art trip to the Lucian Freud exhibition at the Tate Britain. Fourth Formers also attended the Art and Photography trip to the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in London.
MR M THOMPSON Director of Art
Face Off with Headmaster
First Form students from 1S had the opportunity to meet with the Headmaster towards the end of the Summer Term and present their diversity self-portraits, which they had completed as part of their Art lessons.
The Headmaster was genuinely impressed by the progress they had made since he last visited their class. He commended the students for their skilful use of shadows and highlights, which added depth and nuance to their portraits.
London Art Trip
July saw the Art department take Fourth Form GCSE Art and Photography students to London, where they had the opportunity to visit the remarkable Summer Show at the Royal Academy and the National Portrait Gallery.
The visit proved to be highly valuable as it provided students with inspiration for their ongoing projects. Students were actively involved in sketching and capturing photographs to gather primary research for their work. The trip offered a rich immersive experience that further fuelled their artistic endeavours.
GALLERY TRIP
On Tuesday 17th of January, Fourth Form GSCE Art students went on a trip to London. Here are some of the students’ thoughts on the trip:
“We went to Tate Britain, where we saw numerous works from the likes of Hew Locke and Henry Moore, as well as going to the National Gallery to see the Lucian Freud exhibition. We studied a range of styles and techniques throughout the day. Also, despite some heavy traffic, we still managed to have enough time to make some observational sketches of artworks of our choice at both the Tate and the exhibition. It was a very enjoyable and interesting day, which developed our knowledge and skills.” Grace Manning-Greene (Fourth Form)
“Personally, this was one of my first exhibitions, therefore I found the gallery’s pieces perfectly spotlighted the artistry of past and present painters. One of my favourite frames of the day was the Sancta Lilias,1874 by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. The reason why I love this specific one is that the complementary palette highlights the beauty of the figure. I was truly captivated by the precision and blending.” Simone Rai (Fourth Form)
“I think my favourite piece of art was seeing the Ophelia work, that piece was breathtaking and inspirational. The detail and the colours were stunning and captivating.” Francesca Arduino (Fourth Form)
Shining A Light On Neon Drawing
November saw GCSE and A Level Art students being invited to participate in a morning of vibrant, artistic fun. Students that are focusing on the figure, form and atmospheric light for their personal projects took part in a neon life drawing and photography class. Neon Naked is an immersive UV experience that creates a colourful twist on a traditional idea. Moving away from the perfectionist teachings of traditional life drawing, they tried out several different image-making techniques using reactive art materials to draw the colourful life model. The atmosphere in Gulland Hall was very relaxed with music playing in the background, whilst students were busy drawing the model. The life drawing class was created and taught by the then fashion designer and now artist Jylle Navarro.
Pets Make Prints for First Form
First Form Art students have been working on their new project theme ‘Pets and Predators,’ learning the hand printing technique, dry point, with the help of our Art Technician, Mr Allen.
Dry point printing is an intaglio printmaking method that involves scratching an image into a piece of plastic, copper, or zinc with a sharp pointed, needled tool. The lines create a blur that holds ink, meaning that the print reveals the drawing. When the design is completed on the plate, you are ready to print using ink!
They printed designs inspired by their pets, which included horses, cats and dogs, or predators such as lions, zebras, and cheetahs. Well done students for your fantastic work, you created some intricate prints.
Fourth Form Are Snap Happy On Trip
On 27th of January, our Fourth Form Photography students took a trip to London. “I visited Canary Wharf and Brick Lane as part of the Fourth Form Photography trip and both areas were amazing. We went to these two specific areas of London for inspiration for our new photography project ‘Spaces and Places’. Since both are completely different from each other and have beautiful architecture, they are the perfect places for photoshoots. Whilst in Brick Lane, we photographed battered-down doors, buildings, gates, a church, and walls covered in graffiti. Whereas in Canary Wharf, we photographed more modern aspects like railways, trains, buses and tall skyscrapers. Personally, I would love to go back to both areas.” Francesca Arduino (Fourth Form)
Third Form Go Wild With Lino Print
Third Form Art students in 3Z, 3B, and 3L have been creating lino print designs inspired by their topic ‘Endangered Species’. The print designs include animals such as Javan rhinos, mountain gorillas, African forest elephants, hawksbill turtles and snow leopards.
Linocut is a printmaking technique that students explore during their Lower School Art lessons and develop in Upper School. A design is cut into the linoleum surface with a sharp knife using a V-shaped chisel, or gouge, with the raised (uncarved) areas representing a reversal of the parts to show printed. The linoleum sheet is inked with a roller, and then impressed onto paper or fabric. The printing can be achieved by hand or with a printing press.
ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION
Exhibition is a Snap for Photography and Art Department - the work of talented GCSE and A Level Art and Photography students was showcased at the summer exhibition in Gulland Hall. The team was thrilled to receive overwhelmingly positive feedback from attendees, highlighting the quality of work produced.
Grace Manning-Greene, Simone Rai, Mathilda Featherstone, and Olivia Bruce-Lockhart assisted Miss Peart-Price in selling the GCSE and A Level Art greeting cards produced for the occasion. Their help was instrumental with a substantial number of cards sold, supporting the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young. (CRY)
IMAGES: JOHNATHAN LOCKWOOD
DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY EXHIBITION
In the world of design, innovation knows no limit. It thrives in the hearts and minds of young and talented individuals who are constantly pushing the boundaries of creativity. This year’s Design Exhibition, featuring the remarkable projects of budding designers, proved to be a testament to this truth. The event was nothing short of a triumph, showcasing the creativity and potential of the students.
The sheer diversity of projects on display ranged from usercentric product design to thought-provoking conceptual design. The projects were not only aesthetically appealing but deeply thoughtful, addressing contemporary issues and pushing the boundaries of design thinking.
Technology played a pivotal role in many of the projects, highlighting the integration of digital tools into the design process, while 3D printing and computer-aided design (CAD) brought intricate designs to life. These technological advancements were essential tools in realising the students’ visions.
The Design Exhibition has left us with a sense of excitement and hope for the future of design. The passion, creativity, and dedication of the students showcased at the event served as a reminder that the world of design is constantly evolving, driven by the fresh perspectives and boundless imaginations of young visionaries. As we look ahead to the future, we can’t help but be inspired by the incredible work displayed at this year’s event, and we eagerly anticipate what these talented individuals will bring to the world of design in the years to come.
Mr S Kirk, Head of Design and Technology
IMAGES: JOHNATHAN LOCKWOOD
DT Visit to Clock House Farm
During the Easter holidays, our Design and Technology Scholars and Ambassadors were welcomed to Clock House Farm by Managing Director and Old Suttonian Oli Pascall (2008 C). Personally guided around different sites, the group experienced broad aspects of a working farm. Students were educated on the science behind selecting, caring for, analysing, and monitoring crops, and the biological alternatives to pesticides and insecticides. After this, they were welcomed to Linton Growing to see nursery and strawberry production with autonomous robotics in action, with fleets of robots maintaining the crop and collating valuable data from their sensors whilst pacing the fields.
Making Design Accessible
Second Form pupils have been developing their understanding of what ‘inclusive design’ is and exploring the importance of designing products to be used by a range of different people and abilities. Pupils undertook an empathetic modelling task, a method that simulates some of the everyday challenges that people with reduced physical abilities experience, from a first person perspective. Students simulated a range of different user issues, including those with arthritis and blindness. Pupils went on to be tasked with redesigning an everyday handheld object to be inclusive and ergonomic so that it aids a specific user group of their choice.
Pupils Go Wild for Bug Houses
Our First Form students have been busy designing and creating a range of bug houses during their afternoon Design and Technology activity in the Lent Term.
Shortly after our return from Easter, the handcrafted bug houses were purposefully positioned around the community, within the village, on the School site, and across the road, within the grounds of Sutton Valence Primary School, to help local insect life.
GCSE AND A LEVEL ARTWORK
Our talented Sixth Form and Fifth Form students impressed again this year, with a stunning array of A Level and GCSE submissions. Wherever possible, the School displays such artwork around the site for the enjoyment of pupils, staff and visitors, particularly in the Headmaster’s building.
A LEVEL: Constance Linsley
A LEVEL: Elizabeth Averill
GCSE: Jonathan Vowell
A LEVEL: Millie Wright
A LEVEL: Isabella Bailey
GCSE: Matilda Featherstone
A LEVEL: Jemma Payne-Cook
GCSE: Katherine Slipper
GCSE: Emily Slipper
GCSE: Olivia Bruce-Lockhart
GCSE: Raphael Shaddick
GCSE: Charlotte Codd
GCSE: Freddy Deans
SUTTONIAN: SPORT
It has been another thrilling year of sport at Sutton Valence School, an area for which we are rightly revered. Each child has the opportunity to fulfil their potential, whether they are destined to play for their country, or are just looking to stay active and have fun with their teammates.
A huge achievement in which the whole School can rightly celebrate is the success of the Girls’ Under 16 Hockey team, who triumphed at the National Tier 2 Finals of the Notts Sport Girls’ Schools’ Championship. They were supported by a crowd full of fellow students, and have served as an inspiration to not only our sport lovers, but every pupil who strives to achieve excellence.
Our School teams across a number of sporting disciplines have excelled this year, with a large number of students also participating in external teams and competitions. We are always pleased that the love of sport we instill encourages players to actively seek out teams and matches in their own time to continue their involvement and increase their skills.
Students also belong to a multitude of teams outside of School, playing for their local areas for fun, or the more serious task of representing their county, or even country. Dedicating themselves to sport in their own time builds determination and discipline, as well as the forging of real life
skills as they encounter the battle of competition, and the building of friendships, and rivalries, outside of the School bubble.
One time that the whole School comes together to celebrate sport is, of course, the annual summer Sports Day. 2023 may have been grey and blustery, but that didn’t stop two of our talented girls from breaking School records in the Intermediate Girls’ Javelin, and Junior Girls’ 400m. Founder’s House won the competition overall to lift the trophy. This year’s Sports Day was the subject of a fast paced promotional video, which I hope you’ve had a chance to watch at youtube. com/suttonvalenceschool
Our students also regularly get the opportunity to flex their sporting muscles against the athletic stars of years previous, when Old Suttonians return to take on our current teams in areas such as netball, football and hockey. The victory is always particularly sweet when it comes over former pupils, and the sense of competition is always strong. (On both sides!)
With everyone at Sutton Valence School being so immersed in sport, the 2022-2023 year was another period of ups and downs and highs and lows, and I continue to be so proud of the strength, energy and willingness to persevere that is demonstrated by all age groups and abilities.
MR M HOWELL Director of Sport
Leaders of the Future
February saw the presentation of certificates to members of the Upper Sixth Sports Leaders, who gained their Sports Leaders UK Level 3 Award in Higher Sports Leadership. The Sports Leaders Level 3 Award is a nationally recognised qualification that involves our Senior students learning the theory behind leadership, communication and teamwork, with a focus on how to become a good sports coach. They put the theory learnt into practice by working with our Junior pupils on the pitches and courts. The Sports Leaders Level 3 course also gives pupils the opportunity to run tournaments and events and assist the Sports Department in running the Junior sports programme on Wednesday afternoons. Senior students learn about managing risk and how to work as a team whilst at the same time becoming role models to their junior colleagues.
Sharp Shooters
Callum Davis and Daniel Wild (Upper Sixth) were selected for Team GB at the age of just 17, and helped the squad win the International DREW Small Bore Rifle Competition, beating USA with a score of 5755. The competition invites entries to select ten top small bore shooters from Great Britain, USA, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. It is shot in the prone position outdoors, at the longer distance of 50m. This means that the ability to judge the wind conditions and impact on each shot taken is critical.
Daniel and Callum also made significant contributions to the overall success of GB, both submitting scores in the top five for the squad. Given their age, both Daniel and Callum will be entering the trials for the 2023 GB team.
SPORTS DINNER
At the annual Senior Sports Dinner, held in the Refectory, the following awards for success in sport throughout the year were announced:
Senior Netball 1st VII Most Improved: Lizzie Myers, Coaches’ Player: Lulu Pankhurst, Players’ Player: Louisa Lynch
2nd VII Most Improved: Charlotte Wellings, Coaches’ Player: Katie Moore, Players’ Player: Lilly Ashcroft
3rd VII Most Improved: Edith McNair, Coaches’ Player: Holly Walsh, Players’ Player: Liv Petersen
Shooting Senior Shooting Captains 2023 James Gardener and Callum Davis
Senior Girls’ Hockey 1st XI Most Improved: Florence Wood, Coaches’ Player: Scarlett Washington, Players’ Player: Grace Bartleet
2nd XI Most Improved: Darcy Hanna, Coaches’ Player: Millie Sands, Players’ Player: Olivia Chadwick
Senior Boys’ Hockey 1st XI Most Improved: Callum Baker, Coaches’ Player: Charlie Wood, Players’ Player: James Pepler
2nd XI Most Improved: Sam Wilding, Coaches’ Player: Max Cook, Players’ Player: Alfie Miles
Senior Rugby 1st XV Most Improved: Sam Knighton, Coaches’ Player: Ethan Wynne & Alfie Jarrett, Players’ Player: Henry Keith
2nd XV Most Improved: Adam Smith, Coaches’ Player: Edward Evans, Players’ Player: Sam Laird
Golf Contest Fore the Best
The SVS Golf Team embarked on a thrilling golf tournament alongside King’s Canterbury, Tonbridge, and Sevenoaks School in the Summer Term, pitting our skills against the formidable Grey High School, a renowned private school on tour from South Africa. This was an epic marathon scratch matchplay competition held at the prestigious Littlestone Championship Golf Course. With a total of 32 students ready to take on the challenge, Grey High School arrived with a powerhouse team of 16 players, boasting handicaps ranging from +3 to 12. Despite the ultimate outcome not being in our favour, the battle on the greens was exhilarating. A special mention must go to Max Brown (Fifth Form), whose debut performance ended in triumph with a remarkable win of 4 and 3.
U13 Girls’ Cricket Indoor Triumph
On Thursday 23rd of February the U13 Girls’ Cricket team travelled to Ursuline College to participate in the U13 Girls’ 8s Indoor Cricket Tournament. The results were: SVS vs Alleyens: Alleyens 48 for four wickets and SVS 49 in six overs (SVS won by four wickets), SVS vs Dover: Dover 22 for seven wickets and SVS 38 in 3 overs for one wicket (SVS won by seven wickets) and SVS vs Kent College: Kent 56 for six wickets and SVS 68 for two wickets (SVS won by six wickets). The girls won all three games.
Some excellent batting performances were seen from Ella Barr, Matilda Foreman, Lydia Head (all Second Form) and Charlotte Slaughter (Second Form) had very good hands behind the stumps, letting only three byes through the whole tournament and getting the top amount of stumpings.
Students Put Through Paces in Lab
GCSE PE pupils were tested to the limits by their trip to the high tech facilities in the Sports Lab at Canterbury Christ Church University in July.
Students were given an informative talk from a Sports Nutritionist who has worked with Real Madrid, before becoming the subjects of various experiments, such as testing their lung function and VO2 maximum capacity. They also carried out some field testing of fitness components.
Rugby Sevens Tournament
During the Lent Term, the Rugby Sevens squads descended on the Rosslyn Park National Sevens tournaments in South West London. The Under 18 squad started the week by winning their group, beating The Cathedral School, Llandaff, the Skinners School and The King’s School, Gloucester before losing in the elimination round to Malvern College. The Under 14 team drew with Trinity School, Croydon before beating Boxhill School and Grey Court School. Unfortunately, the team finished second in their group due to a points difference and did not progress any further in the tournament. The Under 16 team lost to Eastbourne College and Trinity School, Croydon before pulling off the performance of the day, beating group leaders Ysgol Gyfun Bro Myrddin. It was a thrilling way to end three days of Rugby Sevens.
Athletics Meet is a Runaway Success
On June 16th, the SVS Athletics Team set off at 7am on the journey to the Palmer Park Athletics Stadium in Reading to participate in the United Westminster Grey Coat Foundation Athletics meet. This annual event involves the Foundation Schools of Grey Coat Hospital, Emanuel School, Queen Anne’s School, Westminster City School and Sutton Valence School. The SVS team performed incredibly well in very hot and sunny conditions, with Austin Smith (Second Form) winning Best Overall Junior Athlete and our Junior Boys’ Team winning the Best Overall Junior Boys’ Team. We were also thrilled that the SVS Boys’ Team won the Overall Team Award, winning the Godfrey Trophy for the sixth year running.
Not Down Hill for Ski Team Southern Schools Cup
Our U14 Boys’ Ski Team, comprising of Max Chapman, Evan Henley, Edward Homard and Charlie Wells (all Third Form) travelled to Stoke for the British Schools’ Dry Ski Slope Championship. They had done incredibly well to qualify for the open event, competing against U18 boys’ teams from across the British Isles, and came away with a team position of 16th.
All of the boys improved their individual timings, but a special mention must go to Max for coming 32nd and Charlie who was 48th. This is a fantastic result for such a young team, who had already improved so much during the season.
At the start of the School year, our SVS Golf Team entered the 2022 Southern Schools Cup, an Independent Schools’ Golf Association ranking event attended by some of the finest independent school golfers in the South of England. Luca Esposito Lee-Kemp (Fifth Form), Lorcan Hanna and Heston King (both Upper Sixth) managed to win the NETT part of the competition, which meant they were overall runners up to Reed’s School. A special mention must go to Lorcan Hanna who not only won the individual NETT competition but also shot three under par and tied second with the lowest overall gross score. This is the best round of golf that any student has ever had at Sutton Valence School and it is not often an amateur player can say they beat the course!
Jolly Hockey Sticks Not Enough for Old Suttonians
On Friday 21st of April, the School hosted the annual Old Suttonian (OS) versus 1st XI girls’ and boys’ hockey matches. Despite significant rain earlier in the day, the weather held throughout the afternoon and into the evening. On the pitch, the Old Suttonian teams put in a valiant effort, but the 1st XI girls’ and boys’ teams were just too strong, with final scores of 7-3 and 4-2 respectively.
England VS Jamaica Trip U13 Double County Winners
January afforded a group of students the opportunity to watch the final netball international between England and Jamaica who are ranked third and fourth respectively in the world. Esmee Bush (First Form) says: “The match was held in the Copper Box Arena, which is part of the 2012 Olympic Park in London. Everyone watching was very impressed by the speed and intensity of the match, it was so quick and the energy required to play at this level is immense. The game had me on the edge of my seat as the lead went back and forth between the two teams. When England won, the crowd went wild and the atmosphere was incredible. It is a day I will always remember!”
On Monday 9th of January, the U13A Hockey Team travelled to Kent College, Canterbury to play in the Tier 1 County Hockey Tournament. The team navigated the group stages with wins against The Harvey Grammar School (4-2), Ashford School (3-2) and Skinners’ Academy (5-1), setting up a quarter final against Simon Langton Grammar School, which they won 8-0. This set up a repeat of last year’s semi final, with SVS facing St Edmund’s School. Last year the match went to penalties, but this year SVS continued their excellent run and won 4-1. The final was a repeat of last year’s, with Kent College, Canterbury also making the final again. Our U13s won 3-1, winning the Tier 1 County Tournament for the second year in a row, an outstanding feat for the side.
South African Adventure
February gave the Boys’ Senior Cricket Team the chance to set off on their tour to South Africa. Struben Savage (Upper Sixth) reflects:
“On Wednesday 8th of February, the 1st XI Cricket squad embarked on a 25 hour journey to Cape Town, South Africa, where we played five matches over the course of ten days. When we arrived, we had a quiet afternoon at our hotel before a brief net session the next morning as we got used to the South African heat.
Unfortunately, we had a slow start to the tour and despite being a very close game that came down to the last over, we ended our first match with a defeat. We then had a day of activities, including a thought-provoking trip to Robben Island, followed by a lovely drive around Chapman’s Peak, finishing with a visit to Boulder’s Beach to see the penguin colony.
The next day we were once again in action as we travelled to Langa township to play against their development club, where we were met by a strong side that meant the match once again resulted in a close defeat for us. On Monday, we had another day of rest including a cable car trip up to the top of Table Mountain, where we witnessed beautiful views all around us, before spending the afternoon preparing to move inwards from Cape Town to Franschhoek.
Before our journey inland, we were lucky enough to enjoy a ferry journey around Seal Island and even an up close meeting with a seal at Hout Bay. When we did arrive in Franschhoek afterwards, we were straight into a 20-over match against Bridge House School, in which the boys worked hard to secure our first win of the tour in strong fashion.
We were then up early again the day after as we travelled to Paarl where we had an incredible experience at the Cheetah Sanctuary, where a number of us were given the opportunity to have a hands on meeting with one of the cheetahs. This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity was then followed by another cricket match, this time against the impressive Paarl Boys High School, but once again we came up short, despite another very close game.
We ended a busy three days with a visit to the Eagle Encounters at the Spier Wine Estate, an activity that once again gave the boys hands on experience with a number of exotic animals. That afternoon, we played our final match against Reddam House Constantia, where the boys faced difficult playing conditions in the wind and, despite the match going to the last over, we unfortunately finished our tour with another close defeat.
Finally, on Saturday 18th, we had the opportunity for some last minute souvenir shopping, before we began the long journey back home after an amazing experience and incredible tour, with a massive thank you to Mr Head, Mr Howell and Mr Wells for arranging and looking after us all. “
Golden Hat Trick for Horse Riders
Over the Christmas Holidays, our Equestrian Team went out to rival other schools at a local Show Jumping competition in Staplehurst, with the Senior Team winning three out of three team golds!
The 75cm team gold was won by Amelia P (Year 5), Isla D (Year 6), Harriet Plummer (Second Form) and Imogen Trott (Fifth Form). Harriet also came 1st individually, followed by Amelia in 2nd and Imogen in 5th. In the 85cm, we had two teams competing. The winning team was made up of Amelia, Harriet and George Stanley (Third Form). Individually, Harriet also achieved first place and George came fifth. The final team gold came in the 95cm for Erin, Harriet, George and Imogen. Individual placings were: Erin in first place, George in second place and Harriet in fourth place.
Wellesley House Win
Congratulations to the U13 Girls’ Netball Team, who won the Wellesley House tournament.
The results were: an 8-2 win against St Lawrence College, a 5-4 win against Ashford School, a 4-2 win against The Duke of York’s Royal Military School, an 8-2 win against Wellesley House and then in the final, a 5-4 win against Junior King’s, Canterbury.
Well done to Ella Barr, Clementine Bennett, Isabel Gowing, Lydia Head, Charlotte Slaughter, Evelyn Westlake and their captain Sophie Petrie (all Second Form).
SPORTS DAY
Racing towards the end of term, the annual SVS Sports Day saw the whole School compete across track and field events! Girl power proved the order of the day, with two School records broken - Tess Hodson, Intermediate Girls’ Javelin, 24.93m and Sophie Petrie, Junior Girls’ 400m, 1 min 10 sec, and Founder’s House lifting the overall trophy.
Ready, set... slow mo! Relive the energy of the day in our fast and furious promo video via our QR code below!
OVERCOMING HURDLES
The high jump is a popular event as part of Sports Day.
SVS VS Old Suttonian Netball
Scarlett Washington (Upper Sixth)
On Saturday March 5th, the SVS 1st Netball girls played the Old Suttonian team in our annual OS match.
With many of us playing this same match last year, we knew just how strong the OS team would be. Both teams started the game strong, with the match going goal for goal for the first few minutes. The experience and knowledge of the OS girls allowed them to pull away from us in the first quarter, which ended 18-12 in their favour.
At this point we knew that we were still in the game and with some clever attacking and fantastic interceptions from Darcy Hanna and Louisa Yorke, we kept up with the OS and managed to get the goal difference down to 4, 27-23 to the OS at half time.
In the third quarter, the Old Suttonians played hard, and their quick passes and excellent shooting meant that they dominated this quarter. Although we managed to stay close, which gave us a chance to win in the last quarter.
Down by five goals but still determined to pull the game back, we played fast, controlled netball. With Lizzie, Annie and Rose controlling our play in the centre court, we moved the ball with pace into Louisa and myself in the D and managed to score on our centre passes.
With some quick turnovers from Caitlin and Charlotte, we converted many of the OS centre passes into attacking opportunities. This meant that with 45 seconds to go, the score was level for the first time since the start of the first quarter, 45-45. The experience and quick thinking of the OS team allowed them
to play the ball around the D and take their final shot right before the whistle. This left the game 46-45 to the Old Suttonians.
It was an excellent match and we had amazing support for both teams from many people who came to watch. Thank you to the OS team who continue to be a formidable opposition that many of the first team are looking forward to joining in the future.
OS team: Annabel Mansfield (2020 C), Jenna Boltman (2020 H), Ella Carter (2020 H), Phoebe Aucamp (2019 C), Kate Woodford (2019 C), Katie Latter (2016 F), Victoria Barnden (2015 H), Lydia Davies (2015 H), Liz Miles (2014 H), Charlotte Crouch (2014 L)
Equestrians at NSEA National Championships
Mrs V Plummer
Over the May Half Term, some members of the SVS Equestrian Team competed at the National Championships at Hickstead, over two days.
The first day was the Eventers Challenge, a mix of show jumps, then cross country fences. With 232 individuals in this class from across the UK, Toby De Lucy (Fifth Form) came 166th with an unlucky refusal at one of the cross country fences, Charles Stanley (Lower Sixth) came 137th with an unlucky pole in the Show Jumping section, and George Stanley (Third Form) went double clear and came 33rd. Overall, out of 48 teams in the class, we came 31st.
George started the next day with an individual qualification to the 85cm Show Jumping class, again a large class with 130 competitors from all corners of the UK. George took the chances
and cut the corners with his pony Rom, but unfortunately they rolled a pole that cost them a top two placing. George still did really well, coming 49th out of the whole class, with the 10th best individual scoring out of the 20 individuals in the class.
Moving onto Monday afternoon, George Stanley, Charles Stanley and Erin Smith (Fourth Form) went out into the 95cm show jumping class with 102 competitors. As well as competing as a team, George had also qualified as an individual in this class. The course was big and bold to test riders and ponies - Charles went double clear securing 26th place, Erin had an unlucky couple of poles and came 87th, then George went out with a quick and careful double clear to secure 9th overall and 4th individually, putting him in the top five and securing an individual 4th place rosette.
Charles has special compensation allowed for guide assistance in the ring incase he needs it. Charles was born partially sighted and has learnt from a young age to ride with limited vision, only being able to see jumps in any detail when they are right in front of him. Imagine yourself in a large arena 60m by 20m and having to work at speed around 1224 jumps in a specific order. In both classes, Charles had the assistance ready but his skill at managing his disability and mastering the course meant he didn’t need to call on the assistance.
The organisers of the Championships were visibly moved watching him compete, which shows the skill of talent and how highly Charles is regarded as an exceptional rider within the National Schools Equestrian Association, as well as here at SVS.
1st XI vs SVS Foundation XI Football
Mr J Downs
The first half was played at a ferocious pace, with Foundation working the first opportunity of the game, seeing Ben Watkins (2020 C) firing narrowly wide in the first minute after fine work by Foundation left wing back Mr Sealy.
Not to be outdone, SVS manufactured a wonderful opening of their own. An attempted pass down the SVS left was intercepted by centre back Heston King, who then laid the ball off to Dan Odling in the middle of midfield. The SVS skipper showed his class by threading a defence splitting through ball to Jamie Coates. As the midfielder bore down on goal, SVS Foundation centre back George Baker (2020 M) did well to get a toe to the ball just as Coates pulled the trigger, with the ball cannoning back off the bar.
The frantic nature of the match continued with Foundation next to rue a missed opening moments later. After a classy tackle by centre back Oliver Aylett, Foundation broke through right wing back Sam Knighton, who
proceeded to play a delightful long pass out of defence towards Watkins in the final third. The only thing better than the pass was the firsttime control of the SVS Foundation striker, who brought the ball down majestically before shooting firmly towards goal with his next touch. Luckily for SVS, goalkeeper Sam Foss produced an instinctive save, getting a strong right hand to the ball.
That missed chance did not prove too costly, as Foundation made the breakthrough a few minutes later. A quick long throw from Knighton released SVS Foundation centre forward Max Lindsay down the right channel. As King came across to block the run, both players became tangled, with King falling to the ground. With SVS calling in vain for a free kick, Lindsay calmly slotted passed the onrushing Foss.
If the circumstances around the opening goal were fortunate for SVS Foundation, the second was solely down to skill, with both SVS Foundation wing backs combining expertly.
A loose ball out of defence was collected by Sealy who took one touch before swinging in an enchanting ball to his fellow wing back Knighton, whose first touch took him around Foss and allowed him to calmly slot into the empty net.
Before SVS even had chance to take stock, they were almost left facing a three goal deficit. Dayo Oyerinde’s long goal kick allowed Watkins to expertly break through the SVS offside trap, whose exquisite first time lob careered off the top of the bar.
This proved to be the wake up call that SVS needed. Driven forwards by George Sturges and Odling in midfield with Fraser Cox and Josh Fawell upfront, SVS started to wrestle control away from SVS Foundation. This almost immediately produced a goal when Fawell’s cross could only be parried into the path of Sturges, whose effort was blocked brilliantly by the outstretched leg of Oyerinde. The threat was not over though, with SVS right back Matthew Hall firing passed Oyerinde,
THEY’RE ON THE BALL Old Suttonians are still pitch perfect with last minute win.
only for his goal bound effort to be blocked by Aylett on the line.
With the momentum well and truly with them, SVS pushed hard for a goal. Only a last ditch tackle stopped Fawell weaving his way clear of the SVS Foundation defence. This was only a short reprieve though with Fawell running through on goal a few minutes later, placing a composed finish beyond Oyerinde.
At this point SVS Foundation resembled a boxer desperately clinging on to the ropes, trying to see it through to the end of the round. The defensive block which had seemed so secure for the first part of the half, was now clearly stretched and porous. SVS sensed an opportunity to complete a marvellous turnaround before half time and pressed relentlessly forwards and they did not have to wait long to draw parity with SVS Foundation. SVS winger Toby Butler played a pass through to Fawell, who had skilfully dropped between the lines. As he turned on the ball the danger seemed limited, but Fawell had other ideas, playing a beautiful through ball with the outside of his left boot, finding the advancing Hall in the area who shot passed a despairing lunge from the SVS Foundation keeper to take the teams to level at half-time.
The second half continued in the same end to end fashion of the previous 45 minutes, with SVS Foundation midfielder Arthur Genders (2020 F) clearing at the back post to save a certain goal, whilst up the other end Hall was lucky not to give away a penalty with a challenge on Watkins.
The penalty decision invigorated SVS Foundation XI who enjoyed their best spell since taking a two goal lead and were unlucky not to go ahead once again with excellent efforts from both Sealy and Watkins blocked by the resolute SVS defence.
This period of superiority was brought to an abrupt end as SVS took the lead for the first time in the game in the 74th minute. As SVS Foundation naively and incorrectly waited for a throw in to be called, Odling continued advancing down the right channel playing a wonderful square ball into the feet of SVS striker Isaac Forknall. The forward showed that the exceptional goal he scored in the Intra-Sixth Form Cup match in midweek was not a one-off, casually placing the ball under Oyerinde into the net.
Now that time and the score line was against them, SVS Foundation manager Mr Evans rolled the dice by pushing Mikey
Summers (2022 F) into a more advanced role, switching from a back three to a more conventional four. This switch had an almost immediate effect, with Summers’ drive being deflected narrowly wide by SVS defender Quoc Dam.
SVS Foundation were not to be denied though, as a quick corner routine from Lindsay found midfielder Mr Downs free on the angle of the penalty area, who whipped a curling shot into the top right corner of the SVS goal.
With penalties beckoning, both teams pushed to find a decisive goal in the remaining time. SVS thought they had secured the win with Butler’s rasping shot from the edge of the area sailing within inches of the upright. Sadly for SVS, a comeback win was to be denied. The influential Knighton won the ball in midfield and played it beyond the SVS defence, allowing Watkins to use his explosive pace to take the ball passed Foss and secure the win for the SVS Foundation XI.
At the final whistle, both teams came together to congratulate one another for a truly gripping encounter. With the wonderful support of friends, family, and colleagues on the touch line, it was a special event to be a part of, showcasing the magnificent caring ethos we are quite rightly proud of at SVS. Even through the adversity of losing members of this community over the years, we are able to draw strength from this beautiful spirit and this is something we will always cherish.
A match tea was then enjoyed in TC’s and we were delighted to welcome back Daisy Fenton (2020 C) and Sam Fenton (2023 C) to present the SVS Foundation XI Captain, Arthur Genders, with the new Jack Fenton and Jack Howe Memorial Trophy.
Teams:
SVS 1st XI - Samuel Foss, Liam Kirk, Matthew Hall, Heston King, Jamie Coates, Quoc Dam, Fraser Cox, George Sturges, Joshua Fawell, Daniel Odling, George Edwards, Isaac Forknall and Toby Butler.
SVS Foundation XI - Oyedayo Oyerinde, Mr T Sealy, George Baker (2020 M), Michael Summers (2022 F), Oliver Aylett, Finnian O’Keefe (2021 M), Sam Knighton, Mr J Downs, Arthur Genders (2020 F), Max Lindsay, Ben Watkins (2020 C), Oliver Barr, Henry Kyd and Callum Baker.
SUCCESS ON THE SLOPES
May saw three SVS teams compete in the Kent Schools’ Ski Championships at Chatham Ski Centre. Our pupils, both experienced and newcomers, performed well with some impressive results.
Making their debut were the First Form boys’ team made up of Albert Homard, Walter Barker, William Overton and Paddy McPartland. They all skied well and placed third in the Junior Secondary race.
The girls, Isabel Gowing, Jess Chapman, Sienna Chappell and Bo Catterall, were also on top form, coming second in the Girls’ Junior Secondary race.
Our Senior boys’ team was represented by Max Chapman, Charlie Wells, Ed Homard and Harry Heyworth who were first placed in the schools’ race.
Added to this, Max was the overall winner of the Junior Secondary competition with a time of 17.05. Charlie Wells also had a fantastic race, finishing closely behind in third.
All the pupils must be congratulated for their determined efforts, positive attitude and the progress they all made throughout the afternoon of racing.
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!
On Wednesday 1st March, our Under 16 Girls’ Hockey Team competed in the U16 National Tier 2 Finals of the Notts Sport Girls’ Schools’ Championships. Captain, Caitlin Calverley (Fifth Form) reports:
After travelling to London the previous day, a trip to Zizzi’s, and a sleepover at Premier Inn, the girls were set the task of becoming Tier 2 National Champions. After walking to the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre and having a team photo taken, we walked out onto the pitch to warm up and play. It was great to see so many familiar faces supporting us.
From the start, Manchester High School were relentless, scoring a goal after just 13 minutes, giving them an early lead. Despite this, the girls did not let their heads drop and willed on by the constant cheer of the crowd, we were able to score an equaliser with Evie Smith (Fourth Form) scoring a backhand past the keeper’s gloves. We finished the half still 1-1 even after some defensive chaos with Pippa Campbell (Fourth Form) receiving a green card and multiple defensive short corners.
Coming out of a stern but encouraging half-time chat urging the girls on, we were able to have an early wellcrafted attack giving Florence Wood (Fifth Form) a great 1 on 1 opportunity with the keeper. Florence was able to skilfully beat the keeper and put us 2-1 up. Unfortunately, we were not able to capitalise on Manchester having a player green carded. After a quick counterattack, Manchester were able to score a deflection on the back post after some miscommunication in defence. We were equal. The tension continued right until the last play with us hammering balls towards their goal, but to no avail.
The game went to a shootout. With the memories of our shootout with Wellington still fresh in our minds, we were ready. We knew the Manchester players were skilful, but we also knew how far Abigail Miles (Fourth Form) had come as a goalkeeper and with her confidence. After winning the toss, and electing to go first, I went to take the first shuffle.
After missing my shuffle, Florence stepped up and took hers, scoring it. Evie, Pippa and Lettice Allchorne (Fifth Form) also all scored their shuffles. Again, we were tied with four goals apiece after Abigail was able to save one of Manchester’s.
Manchester took the first shuffle in the sudden death, and I was forced to again take a shuffle. This time I was able to keep my cool and score. Abigail made a great save meaning that it was all down to Florence. Keeping a poker face and not showing any fear, Florence walked over standing ready. She drew the keeper out and expertly rolled out and pushed the ball into the goal. She had done it, we had won!
The girls had firmly told the nation that Sutton Valence School was a force to be reckoned with as an all-round sporting School.
The constant support and cheering from the Fourth and Fifth Form, teachers and parents throughout the match really helped to push us to this victory. I would like to say thank you for not just the support at this game, but also the support that we have received at every match this season.
I would also like to say a huge thank you to Mr Braddick and Miss Giddings for their endless encouragement, support and wisdom throughout the season. It has been an honour to captain the girls this season. The girls should be proud of themselves and all that they have achieved.
IMAGES: JOHNATHAN LOCKWOOD
PASSING THE BATON!
The annual end of term baton race proved to be a frantic race to the finishing line once again, with most members of the student body (and even some staff members!) taking a turn at running a leg of the relay.
In the Juniors, Clothworkers’ sped their way to victory, with Holdgate taking second place. In third were Founder’s, with Lambe’s coming in fourth.
For the combined Seniors and Inters, Holdgate were the top team, with Founder’s, Clothworkers’ and Lambe’s declared second.
IMAGES: SARAH-JANE ADAMS
SHOWDOWN AGAINST SKINNERS
On Wednesday 9th of November, the SVS 1st XV Rugby Team played against The Skinners’ School in the fourth round of the National Vase competition. Alfie Jarrett (Upper Sixth) wrote a report on the game:
Skinners’ have always been strong opponents. We met them last year in the fifth round of the National Vase and the close match finished 14-5 in our favour. This meant that this time, they were looking for redemption. The game started well for us with a superb charge down by Barnaby Merrett (Upper Sixth), who went on to score in the corner. From then on, our performance was unfortunately sub-standard with mistakes being made all over the pitch.
Max Lindsay (Lower Sixth) kicked well but Skinners’ kept coming back, scoring tries but failing to convert. We defended our line for a long time, giving away several penalties which eventually led to a yellow card. As the half-time whistle blew, we had a narrow lead of 12-10. Our second half performance was slightly better but still not up to our usual level. With Max scoring and Henry Keith (Upper Sixth) going over as well, we increased our lead. However, Skinners’ kept coming back until eventually Barnaby scored from a touch and go penalty.
The game finished with a win of 27-22 but we were disappointed with how we had played. We now move forward to the fifth round of the competition where we will face Ravens Wood School. We have learnt from this performance and plan to build on it.
U18 Tier 3 National Plate Hockey
Charlie Wood (Upper Sixth)
Back in March, we faced Tonbridge in the quarter finals. After losing to them 4-1 the week before, the boys wanted to settle the score. We started very fast and were able to win a short corner early in the game, and after a misplaced drag out, the ball fell to me at the top of the D and I was able to flick the ball into the corner to open the scoring.
However, Tonbridge managed to pull one back and make the score even yet again. We kept pushing and allowed ourselves to gain a lead of 4-2 going into half-time, after Sam, Rhys, and Harry all scored. However, we knew that we had struggled to hold a lead in previous games so needed to maintain our composure throughout the second half.
We managed to continue to take Tonbridge apart throughout the next 30 minutes, with consistently clean tackles from Jago and James as well as Harry, myself and Otto maintaining structure. This enabled Lorcan and Rhys to continue to put pressure on the Tonbridge defence leading to them both scoring, leaving the final score 6-3.
This put us through to the National Plate Semi Finals, for the second year in a row.
I also want to say thank you for the continuous support throughout these matches.
Team: Charlie Collie, Rhys Harmer, Harry Miles, Jago Ongley-Dellar, Otto Plant (all Fifth Form), Callum Baker, Samuel Laird, Harry Mundell, Jack Sheldon, Jack Walsh (all Lower Sixth), Lorcan Hanna, Oliver Murch, James Pepler VC, Charlie Wood C (all Upper Sixth)
1st VII Netball VS Ashford School
Scarlett Washington (Upper Sixth)
On Thursday 16th of March, the girls played Ashford at home.
After losing to them in the King’s Rochester tournament a few weeks before, we wanted a win. Both teams started the first quarter strong, but a few interceptions from Darcy and Lizzie allowed us to gain a small lead of 3 goals.
Ashford came back at us with some fast attacking and aggressive defence, but we managed to hold onto a lead, with the score 16-14 in our favour at half-time.
We knew the third quarter would determine who won the match, so we moved the ball quickly and stayed calm in defence, with Lulu halting their attack. Some consistent shooting from Louisa and I increased our lead to 27-19 going into the last quarter.
We stayed focused and calm in the last quarter, with Rose and Annie doing well to control the centre court. This meant we finished the match with an excellent 32-25 win for SVS, which we were all very proud of against such an aggressive team.
U13 Boys’ Hockey South Regional Tournament
Xavier Elms (Second Form)
Having won the Tier 1 County Tournament in January, and having had a good season since, the U13A Hockey Team went into the South Regional Tournament feeling quietly confident. With the matches being 35 minutes long, there were to be plenty of opportunities and the team had to have their wits about them all day, especially with the standard being so high.
Up first we had to play Reeds, who not only won regionals last year, but beat us en route to doing so. However, we left that result in the past and moved forward to beat Reeds 6-3, playing some excellent passing hockey in the process.
Next we had St George’s College from Weybridge - with both teams going into the game having won their first matches, we knew this would be a competitive match. The game kicked off with both teams showing their quality. Shortly, St George’s scored. Our heads didn’t fall with a long way to go. With shots coming fast and good chances for both sides, we decided to show up with a wonder strike from Cian. This then made the teams level at half-time. As the second half started we had a short corner, well worked by Nathan scoring a beautiful goal into the bottom corner. We held the lead for a long time until St George’s pounced, levelling the game. Struggling to keep hold of the ball, we struggled to score, leaving the final score 4-2 to St George’s, despite some heroic efforts from the boys.
Up next we had Kent College. Our team recovered well and won the game 7-3, including some beautiful team goals and a double hat-trick from Cian. We finished the day proudly in second place, knowing that if things had gone slightly differently, we could have been victorious.
Team: Chester Livesey, Gus Gouldstone, Aaryan Haque, Nathan Calverley,
Xavi Elms, Seb Harmer, Wian Botes, Cian Nelson, Max Jarvis (all Second Form)
Miskin Plate County Final Winners
Mr V Wells
On Tuesday July 4th, the U15A Cricket Team played in the Miskin Plate County Final against The Judd School at Tenterden Cricket Club.
Losing the toss, the team were asked to bat first and got off to a reasonable start with Harry Demarne hitting the ball well. Unfortunately, following his dismissal, wickets began to fall and the run rate slowed down. Will Deacon steadied the innings, scoring 26, and this meant that we reached 110-7 at the end of our 20 overs. This was probably 20/30 runs short of a par score on this wicket but the team were up for the challenge.
The loss of Ed Dyer, our opening bowler, with a sore back after batting was not the ideal start. The Judd innings was very similar to ours reaching the 10 over stage at 55-3. A good partnership then looked like Judd would achieve this score relatively easily until Nick Sumner was introduced to the attack. Nick proceeded to bowl three quality overs and took three wickets for just six runs, aided by some outstanding fielding and catching, especially one catch by Angus Brown.
With three overs to go the match was going to be very close but once again a great over from Harry Edwards, which went for just one run, put Sutton Valence School as slight favourites.
The final over resulted in Judd needing 10 runs to win and despite the first ball going for four runs Archie Burden kept his nerve and SVS won the match by just three runs. A fantastic performance and fightback and the team should be very proud of themselves.
Huw Elms,
Sporting team photographs 22/23
Bentley Photographic
1st XI Boys’ Cricket
Orchestra:
Back row: J Pepler, M Lindsay, S Savage, H Martin, H Mundell, H King
Front row: J Fawell, S Wilding, G Sturges, O Smith, L Beaumont
U15A Boys’ Cricket
Back row: A Burden, M Grierson Rickford, J Slaughter, E Dyer, H Edwards, A Kirk
Front row: W Deacon, B Wilding, H Demarne, J Pearton, A Brown
U15A Girls’ Cricket
Back row: O Neave, A Fletcher, F Arduino, E Smith, H Codd, A Miles
Front row: A Day, P Campbell, F Powell, C Balcomb, E Burden, E Summers
U15B Boys’ Cricket
Back row: J Mc Clinton, W Chadwick, S Smith, J Hackett, O Anderson, J Miller, S Chapman
Front row: H Head, O Dunderdale, N Sumner, J Miller, A Byskup
U14A Girls’ Cricket
Back row: D Rummun, E Oliver, S Webster,, O Tishe, I Garrow
Front row: E Denny, G Garrow, N Brown
U13A Boys’ Cricket
Back row: E Brass, J Singh
Second row: N Calverly, A Haque, H Heyworth,, S Harmer, H Elms, I Patel
Front row: T Bishop, C Nelson, W Botes, M Jarvis, H
U14A Boys’ Cricket
Back row: E Jayaweera, E Baxter, M Batchelor
Second row: O Messer, H Haldane, J Dyas, C Agnew
Front row: J Evenden, M Tunnicliff, B Watts, F Homewood
U14B Boys’ Cricket
Back row: A Paice, M Hoffman, S Ibrahim, M Ongley-Dellar, T Hoffman, T Corti
Front row: E Absalom, P Trott, J Bowers, M Chapman, M Batchelor
U13A Girls’ Cricket
Back row: M Foreman, E Skinner, S Petrie, M Webster, E Barr, L Head
Front row: E Gates, C Bennett, C Slaughter, I Gowing, A Tunnicliff
U13B Boys’ Cricket
Back row: J Kyd, E Moore, Z Stanton-Gleaves
Second row: J McGeachy, Z Gilham, L Travis, E Stratton, T Amsbury, L Wynne
Front row: C Livesey, I Patel, B Burden, T Green, G Gouldstone
U13C Boys’ Cricket
Back row: I Foreman, W Holmes
Second row: D Powell, G Simpson, K Hodson, J Dunderdale
Front row: S Priestley, W Clissold, P McPartland, O Slaughter, H Birkett
U13D Boys’ Cricket
Back row: H Simpson, H Knottenbelt, D Scott, C Ainsworth
Front row: J Reeve, A Homard, W Overton, E Burden, S Clifford
U13B Girls’ Cricket
Back row: J Chapman, L Walsh, E Bush, G Clifford
Second row: E Westlake, L Garrow, S Flecther, S Ells, E Overton, F Millbank
Front row: I Kemsley, V Smith, N Maclennan, C Brown, B Rees
U13C Girls’ Cricket
Back row: M Steele, A Norris, H Plummer
Front row: X Ball, M Walpole, A Wilson, M Wills, S Chappell
U13D Girls’ Cricket
Back row: M Coleman, S Easter, B Bird, B Catterall, O Hennell
Second row: C Patmore, H Betts, O Winton-Norman
Front row: S Dawling, E Adams, T Handley, I Martin, L Aziz
Senior Girls’ Tennis
Senior Boys’ Cricket
Orchestra:
Back row: Need names
Front row: Grace Bartleet, need names
Back row: B Ilgner, C Wood, P Ullrich, E Evans
Front row: W Howgill, J Robinson, M Brown
U15 Girls’ Tennis
Back row: S Roberts, E Smith, R Farrell
Front row: S Lloyd-Jones, T Hodson, I Robinson, S Rai, G Manning-Greene
U14 Girls’ Tennis
Back row: M McInulty, E Oliver, D Young, P Kolek
Front row: E Denny, R Jarvis, S Parkin
Junior Boys’ Tennis
E Moore, H Elms, M Baker, X Elms
U15 Boys’ Tennis
Back row: O Stinson, F Gooding
Front row: E Baxter, A Brown, W Deacon
Junior Girls’ Tennis
Back row: S Chappell, E Bush, E Gates, J Chapman, P Cowburn
Second row: E Westlake, M Foreman, S Petrie, S Ells, E Barr, A Wilson
Front row: I Gowing, L Head, F Millbank, C Bennett, B Rees
Senior Badminton
Back row: J Gardener, A Buckland, T Loy
Front row: E Goodwin, T Dolan, W Howgill, O Stuart, J Ellaway
1st XI Football
Orchestra:
Back row: M Hall, H King, S Foss, L Beaumont, E Fuller
Second row: J Coates, T Butler, H Reyher, F Cox, L Kirk, Mr J Downs
Front row: A Miles, F Elangbawi, D Odling, O Smith, J Fawell, P Spicer
2nd XI Football
Back row: E Mason, O Barr, S Savage, H Kyd, G Edwards, D Jung
Front row: K Bennett, T Butler, O Aylett, Q Dam, K Sandys
Golf Team
Equestrian Team
Back row: A Sharp, E Garner, H Plummer, I Trott, I Davis
Second row: M Russell, E Smith, C Stanley, T De Lucy, G Stanley
Front
I Martin, C Lewin, P Cowburn, L Martin, A Plummer
Orchestra:
Back row: H King, H Kyd, L Esposito Lee-Kemp, Mr A Penfold
Front row: Z Pantony, F King, L Hanna, F Lee
row:
Shooting Team
Orchestra:
Back row: Mr C Westlake, H Worrell, A Brown, Dr A Bromley
Front row: D Wild, C Davis, A Cook, J Gardener, F Rivanenok
Swimming Team
Back row: E Oliver, S Lloyd-Jones, C Calverley, F Jackson, J Vowell, S Webster, M Richards, P Campbell, A Smith
Second row: E Smith, R Harmer, C Jacques, J Lloyd-Jones, C Stanley, F King, O Messer, C Codd, C Collie, F Powell
Front row: G Stanley, G Garrow, L Garrow, M Webster, T Butler, N Calverley, H King, I Garrow, A Campbell, S Harmer, G Frow
1st XI Girls’ Hockey
Orchestra:
Back row: M Russell, O Farrell, C Calverley, G Bartleet, Mr M Braddick
Second row: C Wellings, F Wood, S Washington, E Smith, K Moore, M Featherstone
Front row: R Price, K Henley, A Moore, I Sinclair, G Payne-Cook
1st X1 Boys’ Hockey
Back row: C Baker, R Harmer, J Ongley-Dellar, O Plant, O Murch
Second row: E Evans, H Mundell, L Hanna, J Hillier, J Pepler, Mr M Braddick
Front row: J Sheldon, S Laird, C Wood, C Collie, H Miles
2nd XI Girls’ Hockey
Back row: F Gutteridge, A Hunt, P Connell, M Semmens, O Thorogood
Second row: R Parsons, E Myers, L Yorke, C Codd, L Ashcroft, D Hanna
Front row: O Chadwick, O Bruce-Lockhart, M Sands, L Allchorne, E McNair
3rd Boys’ Hockey
Back row: J Robinson, F King, J Miller
Second row: A Willett, F Lee, H Kyd, T Lister St George
Front row: H Ellis, H Mitchell, S Knighton, O Aylett, J Travis
U15A Girls’ Hockey
Back row: L Laird, T Hodson, E Burden
Second row: R Farrell, S Roberts, P Campbell, A Miles
Front row: E Summers, O Neave, E Smith, A Griffiths, I Neave
2nd XI Boys’ Hockey
Back row: J Fawell, J Oliver, M Cook, J Robinson, J Piller
Second row: E Evans, B Homewood, G Sturges, H Kyd, H King, S Wilding
Front row: T De Lucy, H Parton, A Miles, H Mitchell, F Mundell
U16A Girls’ Hockey
Back row: P Campbell, F Gutteridge, S Roberts, M Featherstone, L Allchorne
Second row: D Hanna, E Myers, E Smith, F Wood, R Parsons
Front row: E Burden, A Miles, C Calverley, R Farrell, T Hodson
U15A Boys’ Hockey
Back row: J Pearton, M Grierson Rickford, T Peterson, B Wilding, H Demane
Second row: E Dyer, S Charlton, F Gooding, W Deacon
Front row: A Brown, A Kirk, A Burden, J Slaughter, A Byskup
U15B Girls’ Hockey
Back row: C Briggs, F Powell, S Rai, J Kirk
Front row: G Manning-Greene, I Robinson, T Field, S Lloyd-Jones, E Clare
U14A Girls’ Hockey
Back row: L Humphreys, E Creed, J Parker, L Webb, L Murray
Middle row: T Counsell, C Taylor, E Parrott, D Rummun, G Groves, T Hunt, M Gimeno
Front row: C Ruddle, D Bird, T Tishe, P Cobas Corral, D Cole
U14B Girls’ Hockey
Back row: S Webster, R Jarvis, I Garrow
Middle row: M McInulty, N Brown, G Garrow, D Hogg
Front row: P Kolek, E Denny, E Oliver, I Priestley, Z Page
U15B Boys’ Hockey
Back row: M Bailey, T Eades, S Smith
Second row: H Edwards, J Hackett, J Miller, W Reeves
Front row: W Chadwick, J Miller, H Head, O Dunderdale, O Kolek
U14A Boys’ Hockey
Back row: J Bowers, F Homewood, J Evenden, E Jayaweera
Second row: E Baxter, M Ongley-Dellar, J Dyas, C Agnews
Front row: D Finch, M Tunnicliff, O Messer, L Mortimer-Cooper, G Stanley
U14B Boys’ Hockey
Back row: B Vermeulen, W Simpson, M Clark, A Watts, C Kelly
Second row: E Phillips, J Thomas, S Ibrahim, H Haldane, T Corti
Front row: J Haggie, E Absalom, M Batchelor, P Trott, S Hamilton
U14C Boys’ Hockey
Back row: E Henley, J Streeter, B Dallamore, H Hedger
Second row: M Kirk, T Hoffman, M Hoffman, C Wu
Front row: E McNair, E Homard, Z Theobald, T Devine, C Wells
U13A Boys’ Hockey
Back row: H Elms, A Haque, M Jarvis, B Burden
Second row: N Calverley, X Elms, W Botes, G Simpson
Front row: H Powell, G Gouldstone, S Harmer, C Livesey, C Nelson
U13B Boys’ Hockey
Back row: H Powell, B Burden, L Wynne, J Kyd
Second row: L Travis, R Laird, E Stratton, H Heyworth
Front row: E Burden, T Green, G Simpson, W Clissold, E Brass
U13A Girls’ Hockey
Back row: M Foreman, S Petrie, S Ells, C Slaughter, E Barr
Front row: C Brown, L Head, C Bennett, M Webster, F Millbank
U13B Girls’ Hockey
Back row: I Gowing, A Campbell, L Garrow, H Plummer, L Walsh
Front row: E Bush, E Gates, E Westlake, I Kemsley, P Cowburn
U13C Girls’ Hockey
Back row: H Plummer, M Steele, E Skinner, L Aziz, J Chapman
Front row: G Clifford, S Chappell, O Hennell, N Maclennan, A Wilson
U13C Boys’ Hockey
Back row: G Frow, Z Gilham, K Hodson, A Smith, M Baker, J Kyd
Front row: S Priestley, E Moore, T Green, D Powell, T Bishop
U13D Boys’ Hockey
Back row: M Heurtevent-Robin, G Neville, H Birkett, H Simpson
Front row: Z Stanton-Gleaves, O Sendles, J McGeachy, A Ripley, J Reeve
U13E Boys’ Hockey
Back row: I Patel, M Heurtevent-Robin, P McPartland, J Claydon, J Dunderdale, M Theobald
Front row: S Clifford, T Bird, J Singh, A Homard, O Slaughter
U13D Girls’ Hockey
Back row: B Bird, M Walpole, I Martin
Second row: V Smith, O Winton-Norman, E Overton, T Handley
Front row: A Tunnicliff, B Catterall, A Norris, O Hennell, T Coleman
U13E Girls’ Hockey
Back row: A Attwell, S Fletcher, H Betts, S Dawling
Front row: S Easter, M Wills, C Patmore, E Adams, X Ball
U13F Boys’ Hockey
Back row: I Victor-Obilahi, Z Williams, B Streeter, H Knottenbelt
Front row: R Mitchell, S Vigneswaran, C Ainsworth, L Sciacca, M Heurtevent-Robin
1st XI Netball
2nd XI Netball
Orchestra:
Back row: S Washington, L Yorke, L Lynch, E Myers
Front row: C Calverley, R Price, L Pankhurst, A Moore, D Hanna
Back row: K Moore, F Gutteridge, M Semmens, L Ashcroft, C Wellings, O Thorogood
Front row: G Bartleet, M Russell, M Cheriton, I Sinclair, K Henley
3rd VII Netball
Back row: O Farrell, H Walsh, N Croke, P Connell
Front row: A Hunt, O Peterson, O Chadwick
U15A Netball
Back row: R Farrell, E Smith, S Roberts
Front row: O Neave, P Campbell, A Miles, T Hodson, E Burden
U14A Netball
Back row: I Garrow, R Jarvis, S Webster, E Oliver, P Kolek
Front row: E Denny, D Hogg, D Rummun, G Garrow, N Brown
U16A Netball
Back row: M Semmens, R Parsons, D Hanna, F Wood, M Featherstone
Front row: O Bruce-Lockhart, E Penfold, E Myers, C Calverley, F Gutteridge
U15B Netball
Back row: S Lloyd-Jones, S Rai, F Powell, I Robinson
Front row: G Manning-Greene, L Laird, I Neave
U14B Netball
Back row: O Tishe, L Humphreys, E Creed
Front row: C Ruddle, T Counsell, D Young, M McInulty, Z Page
U13A Netball
Back row: L Head, S Ells, E Westlake
Front row: C Bennett, E Barr, S Petrie, C Slaughter, I Gowing
U13C Netball
Back row: B Bird, N Maclennan, T Handley, M Walpole
Front row: M Coleman, C Patmore, O Hennell
U12B Netball
Back row: B Rees, S Fletcherm L Aziz
Front row: B Catterall, I Kemsley, A Tunnicliff
U13B Netball
Back row: H Plummer, A Norris, M Steele, A Wilson
Front row: P Cowburn, F Millbank, M Foreman, E Overton, L Walsh
U12A Netball
Back row: E Bush, L Garrow, A Campbell, C Brown
Front row: G Clifford, M Webster, E Gates
U12C Netball
Back row: I Martin, M Wills, S Dawling, O Winton-Norman, X Ball, H Betts
Front row: E Adams, S Chappell, A Attwell, J Chapman, S Easters
1st XI Boys’ Rugby
Orchestra:
Back row: L Beaumont, L Thomas, M Woods, F Thomas, G Sturges, O Murch, B Varrall, F Page
Second row: Mr M Howell, T Butler, H Keith, B O’Keefe, H Anderson, O Oyerinde, M Lindsay, B Merrett, J Ennis
Front row: A Smith, A Stratton, I Forknall, E Wynne, A Jarrett, L Young, J Piller, P Spicer
2nd XI Boys’ Rugby
Back row: J Pillar, E Evans, H Mundell, O Barr, O MacGregor, K Bennett, Mr J Alexander
Second row: L Hanna, F Thomas, J Ennis, H Anderson, O Williams, G Sturges, M Reeves
Front row: O Aylett, K Sandys, A Smith, I Forknall, S Laird, P Spice
U15A Boys’ Rugby
Back row: S Chapman, M Grierson-Rickford, J Miller, O Anderson, H Edwards, J Pearton
Second row: T Eades, W Reeves, S Charlton, F Gooding, A Earl, J Hackett, A Matthews
Front row: A Byskup, A Burden, H Demane, J Slaughter, H Head, J Miller, D Tekeli
U16A Boys’ Rugby
Back row: E Smith, C Jacques, A Gallagher, J Vowell, F Wright, C Logan, D Toothill, F Rivanenok
Second row: H Ellis, F Dawling, M Brown, O McNamara, T Dyas, J Hills, L Esposito Lee-Kemp, O Laughland
Front row: J Wishart, C Collie, T De Lucy, J Gillett, B O’Keefe, B Homewood, H Miles, J Hurst
U15B Boys’ Rugby
Back row: F Jackson, L Kernan, S Smith, W Deacon
Second row: T Peterson, A Kirk, H Mewitt, J Charlesworth, O Stinson, J Robinson, D Peters, M Bailey
Front row: A Brown, W Chadwick, O Kolek, J McClinton, O Dunderdale, J Howell, O Meneses-Bautista
U14A Boys’ Rugby
U14B Boys’ Rugby
2nd XI Girls’ Hockey
Back row: M Tunnicliff, A Paice, E Baxter, J Evenden, W Simpson, D Finch
Second row: J Bowers, C Agnew, H Haldane, S Ibrahim, M Ongley-Dellar, J Dyas, L Mortimer-Cooper
Front row: J Haggie, B Watts, T Devine, O Messer, M Chapman, E Jayaweera
U13A Boys’ Rugby
Back row: Z Gilham, S Harmer, X Elms, W Botes, T Amsbury, A Haque
Second row: H Heyworth, G Nevill, E Stratton, K Hodson, M Mardon, L Travis
Front row: G Gouldstone, H Elms, C Livesey, N Calverley, M Jarvis, C Nelson
U12A Boys’ Rugby
Back row: W Overton, E Burden, C Ainsworth, R Mitchell, A Hornard
Second row: M Theobold, J McGeachy, J Claydon, Z Williams, B Burden
Front row: I Foreman, S Clifford
Z Gilham, J Reeves, A Priestley
Back row: P Trott, E Henley, F Homewood, H Hedger, M Clarke, C Kelly
Second row: A Hinde, E Phillips, M Hoffman, T Corti, T Hoffman, M Kirk, H Rees-Emsley
Front row: S Hamilton, B Dallamore, B Vermeulen, M Batchelor, J Vincent-Montero, E Absalom
U13B Boys’ Rugby
U16A Girls’ Hockey
Back row: E Moore, B Clissold, H Birkett, I Victor-Obilahi, L Wynne, D Powell, T Green
Second row: M Baker, A Smith, R Scott, S Nyzyk, G Simpson, R Scott, A Ripley
Front row: T Bird, J Kyd, H Powell, G Gouldstone, G Frow, T Bishop, E Brass
U12B Boys’ Rugby
Back row: O Sendles, H Simpson, L Sciacca, S Vigneswaran
Second row: I Patel, J Dunderdale, H Knottenbelt, F Fry
Front row: O Slaughter, J Singh, Z Stanton-Gleaves, W Barker, R Deol
SUTTONIAN: COMMUNITY
This year, the Charities Committee, made up of volunteers from the Sixth Form, agreed to support The Red Cross in Ukraine, The Hile School in Nepal, and the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) in memory of Clayton Olson.
The School’s focus on charitable contributions started off in the first week of September with the community ramble, raising over £4000 for CRY. Over the course of the year, fundraising included the Junior pupils crocheting for the Goat Sanctuary, planting blue and yellow hyacinths on Prefects’ Lawn for Ukraine, the Hairy Hiles raising over £3000 for our partner school in Nepal, and other events such as the Junior Disco, our annual poppy appeal and the Common Room Raffle for the Salvation Army. The Friends’ Big Quiz and the Nepalese Evening were very well supported, as was the Sixth Form Ball. A big thank you to St Margaret’s House who raised money and awareness to fight against prostate cancer, and to Ros Dines, who once again produced over 150 Easter chicks to sell to the Juniors for the charity JacktheLad, in memory of Old Suttonian, Jack Fenton. We also had two cake sales in support of our partners Dandelion Time, and the charity Unicef. We ended the year with the Art Department selling greeting cards of the A Level and GCSE students’ work.
As well as fundraising, SVS pupils and staff were also involved in planting trees and providing bug boxes for Sutton Valence village, organising
donations for the Salvation Army’s food bank in Maidstone and Christmas hampers for the Hedgehog Ward at Pembury Hospital. The CCF also took part in the British Legion’s Remembrance Sunday Parade and completed a 50 mile night walk in support of St Dunstan’s. We celebrated the Queens’ Platinum Jubilee by having a tea party for the Juniors, decorated by bunting given to us by the Tower of London because it included artwork by a number of our pupils.
We continue to develop our work with other schools in order to foster links, make friends and share good practice. We work closely with our other school partnerships, in particular, The Wealden Hub and The Foundation Schools. Staff and students from the Lenham School visited SVS for a talk from The Human Dignity Trust. Our Junior music scholars went to Benenden for an orchestral concert and some of our Fourth Form pupils enjoyed taking part in a Macbeth workshop.
A big thank you to everyone for supporting such worthwhile initiatives and fostering our School’s ethos where we are a community “where each cares for all and individuality is cherished.” In particular, I wish to thank the members of the 2022-2023 Charities Committee for all their initiative, hard work and enthusiasm. They really did a tremendous job this year.
MRS F PORTER Community Engagement Co-Ordinator
Warming Hearts with Donations
Although it might look like Saffy Taylor, Alice Chew and Johanna Meyer (all Lower Sixth) are getting ready for a weekend away in Glastonbury, they were in fact just going into Maidstone! They were able to donate almost thirty sleeping bags and ten roll mats to the Salvation Army Maidstone where the girls have been volunteering all year.
The excess camping equipment was kindly donated by Miss Gray and Mrs Allman as it was no longer needed for the Junior Leadership camping expeditions.
Platinum Meadow Tree Planting
Back in the cold depths of December, a small group of Sutton Valence School students headed to Platinum Meadow off The Harbour, to assist Maidstone Borough Council and the Medway Valley Countryside in their efforts to plant over 3,000 trees.
The big dig forms part of a scheme by Sutton Valence Parish Council to create new woodland areas for the community.
In just over an hour of helping out, they managed to plant over 50 native varieties, including oak, beech and hornbeam. We even heard a mistle thrush singing on our way home!
£5 BAG
CHALLENGE
SVS has been pleased to run a ten week campaign to support the Salvation Army Food Bank. This has been a much needed project as the Food Bank’s store was very much depleted in January. In addition, demand for the Food Bank has almost doubled in the same period. Overall, we have collected and delivered approximately 60 bags of shopping. We are very grateful for all those students, parents and teachers who participated.
It was, however, a clean sweep for Clothworkers’ House who won every category. Mrs Westlake’s tutor group collected the most bags in the Juniors (seven). Mr Zane’s Senior tutor group did even better, collecting nine bags of shopping. A special mention also to Mrs Mitchell-Nanson’s tutor group who were the first to put a bag together. Prizes will follow shortly. Mr Jones, Housemaster of Clothworkers’ said, ‘I am hugely grateful to the students (and parents) in the House who have contributed generously to the superb work being done by the Food Bank volunteers to help those in need in our local community.’
Our Food Bank volunteers, Saffy Taylor, Alice Chew and Johanna Meyer (all Lower Sixth) have done an amazing job every week, sorting food, packing bags and checking dates. They have also been to Aldi to buy more provisions with money donated.
ANNUAL ROSE CEREMONY
Each Midsummer Day since 1957, representatives of Sutton Valence Parish Council have joined us for the Rose Ceremony, ‘paying’ us the rent of one red rose for the lease of Sutton Valence Village Green for 99 years. In June they were welcomed by the Headmaster and the Chaplain during Chapel, who accepted the rose and thanked them on behalf of the Governors ensuring the good relationship between town and gown continues.
VOLUNTEERING
Lower Sixth students spend their Wednesday afternoons volunteering in the local community - just one way that pupils give back to those around them, both within and outside of the School community.
Salvation Army Food Bank
Saffy Taylor, Alice Chew and Johanna Meyer have been volunteering at the Salvation Army Food Bank in Maidstone since September. The staff at the Salvation Army have been full of praise for the girls. ‘They do a brilliant job, and we really couldn’t manage without them,’ says David.
Although demand has dropped slightly since January, there is still plenty to do on a Wednesday afternoon. The girls usually make up bags for the following week, as well as checking dates of donations and doing a general tidy up.
What do the students like best? ‘I love speaking to David and Marion as it really helps with my English,’ says Johanna. Saffy says, ‘It feels really useful doing something practical for people in need.’ Alice agrees, ‘It has made me think about food waste in general too.’
Sutton Valence Care Home
Josh Robinson and Oscar Sandberg have been volunteering at Sutton Valence Care Home since September. They help to engage the residents in a variety of activities on a Wednesday afternoon. For example, playing a word game – using the alphabet to name different types of flowers. They also enjoy playing games like bingo.
The residents really enjoy their company. Oscar says, ‘It’s so nice to speak to the older people and challenge them with a word game.’ Josh agrees, ‘Sometimes it’s quite difficult, so we just Google the answers if they get stuck!’ Both boys have been praised by the staff for their ability to communicate and relate to the residents.
Miss J Manning, Volunteer Co-Ordinator
Getting Up and Atom with Charity Donation
The Science department donated spare equipment to Lab Aid this year - the equipment and tools will be sent to developing countries to support Science students’ learning by providing them with adequate resources. Lab Aid is a charity organisation that facilitates the collection of old Science equipment from UK schools and distributes it to schools in developing countries. Mrs Plummer lead the donation of potometers, beakers, thermometers, fish tanks, conical flasks, clipboards, pooters, and haemocytometers to support this cause.
The Winner Bakes it All! Quackers for Easter Chicks
The closely fought Lambes House cake contest raised £315 for the Turkey-Syria earthquake appeal back in March.
Judged by Mr Metcalfe and Mr Henshaw, the winners were named as Charlie Wells and Bradley Vermeulen (both Third Form) for the SVS themed category, with their impressive mathematical effort.
The annual sale of knitted Easter chicks amongst the Juniors has this year raised over £500.
The chicks are knitted by Ros Dines who was a cleaner / Matron at SVS for an incredible fifty years, who joined the Junior assembly to be congratulated on her charitable crafting.
Proceeds go towards the JackTheLad Foundation.
SWAPPING IS THE NEW SHOPING!
Now in its second year, The SwapShop was born in 2022 after the Eco Society had decided that fast fashion was a primary issue that they would like to tackle at the School.
Taking place again in June 2023, more than 420 items were donated - 140 of these items were taken in the shop, with the rest donated to a local charity close to the Eco Society’s hearts. Members of the society also made jewellery from old beads and jewellery making kits as well as from necklaces found in charity shops. These raised a fantastic £55 for charity.
IMAGES: SARAH-JANE ADAMS
SUSTAINABLE TRENDSETTERS
Fast fashion is out of style with our planet friendly shoppers.
SUTTONIAN: WELLBEING
Wellness and the wellbeing of pupils has grown to be a key part of how we look after students within our care, and our provision for mental and physical health has grown with it.
The past year has seen us make huge strides in how we deliver our wellbeing programme. In the first instance, we have assembled a staff wellbeing team of ambassadors, who meet regularly throughout the year to try different wellbeing strategies - we also have a student wellbeing ambassador team, and both staff and students are qualified in Mental Health First Aid. This enables more members of our community to be trained in spotting the signs of mental ill health and to signpost support.
There has also been the introduction of practical wellbeing sessions for staff and students, to keep the body as fit and healthy as the mind. These have taken the form of exercise sessions such as yoga, boxercise and Zumba.
We have been providing two break out sessions each week for different year groups, as well as one to one support meetings for students, either arranged or as drop ins. There are also one to one sessions available for staff.
Alongside these structured sessions, pupils have
access to our calming space, the James Room, a supervised area that pupils may make use of each break and lunchtime.
The James Room is a special space that really supports our efforts in wellbeing, as a light and airy informal area for activities, socialising and just taking moments of quiet reflection or a moment of peace out of a busy day.
At the beginning of the year, we delivered Wellbeing Week, launching the 5 Ways to Wellbeing framework, from which we work. The week was packed full of activities for both students and staff, to encourage mindfulness and movement.
We have also presented our wellbeing strategies to parents, and keep them further updated by writing a weekly article for the School newsletter, outlining what we have been working on from the PSHE and RSE Pathways that week, and providing a handy wellbeing tip to work through at home.
The School has also had an impressive rosta of guest speakers to support its self development programme this year, including the CEO of the Human Dignity Trust, and Girls on Board, alongside talks on driving awareness and drugs, alcohol and gambling education.
MRS M TRACHONITIS Assistant Head, Wellbeing
SUTTONIAN: EVENTS
Sutton Valence School prides itself on being a community. As such, it’s important that alongside the key academic and extra curricular work that goes on here, that there are also opportunities factored into the School calendar for staff, parents, pupils and former pupils to come together to celebrate, socialise, and get to know each other better.
Perhaps the largest such occasion is Speech Day, when family members are welcomed in to take their seats for a showstopping day of prize giving, speeches, picturesque lunch, and a certain crowd-pleasing video, Speech Day, The Movie!
Grandparents’ Day is another event focused on bringing relatives to the site, with students giving their loved ones tours of the site and enjoying a meal together, with generations enjoying the School facilities together.
Whether it is a concert, a play, a drinks reception or a quiz night, our network of parents form the backbone of their children’s education, and having them with us for all sorts of occasions, some formal, some far less so, goes a long way to building a strong connection between School and home. As new parents join us for the 23/24 term, many having begun their journey at Sutton Valence Prep School, we encourage you to join us for the inclusive and entertaining programme of events that we host here.
Students themselves have access to a number of fun and stimulating activities and special days, such as the chaos of Junior traditions like the Penguin Race and Tug of War, and special teas and outings for overnight boarders. As they near adulthood, these evolve into formal balls and barbeques, with plenty of opportunities to dress up. These too can be family affairs, with many parents choosing to attend Sixth Form balls alongside their teens.
Leaving the School does not close the door on such events, in fact opening up further possibilities to gather together and stay in touch as part of the Old Suttonian network. The Development Office delivers a rosta of outings and School based events for former pupils to get involved in, such as trips to the Chelsea Flower Show this year, visits to the annual Ploughing Match, and a special lunch to celebrate the 40 year anniversary of coeducation at Sutton Valence School. Whether you left the School last year, or fifty years ago, it is well worth keeping up with the vibrant calendar of sporting and social events available as an OS.
The next academic year is set to be another busy few months. Whether we see you at the side of the pitch, in the front row, or at the bar, thank you for being part of the social side of Sutton Valence School.
MISS SJ ADAMS Marketing and Communications Manager
SPEECH DAY
Speech Day is a wonderful opportunity for us to gather as a community with families, friends and guests to celebrate the many things that make Sutton Valence School such a special place to be. I very much hope that it was a chance to reflect on another fine year and the vast range of things that have happened both here at the School and further afield.
The day was also a chance to experience some of our creativity at its very best via the Leavers’ Concert in the Chapel, and also in the exhibitions taking place in the Art and DT departments in the village.
When we gathered in the Sports Hall, we once more held a presentation, led for the most part by the student Heads of School, sharing many stories and events from the last 12 months, before the prize giving aspect of the event.
I am especially grateful to the President of the SVS Foundation, Douglas Horner DL (1962 M) who gave a vote of thanks, and also to our Chair of Governors, Gillian Swaine, who gave the prizes to this year’s winners.
Mr J Thomas, Headmaster
IMAGES: JOHNATHAN LOCKWOOD
SPEECH DAY: THE MOVIE
Those of you who were here last year may remember that we chose to begin the formal aspect of Speech Day in the Sports Hall in a slightly different manner than in the past, by starting proceedings with a short ironic comedy film before a presentation reflecting on the year and the prize giving. This year we have continued the new movie tradition, albeit with a wider cast of students and staff, all of whom I know enjoyed putting it together for your delectation.
I am very grateful to videographer Simon Cossons and SarahJane Adams, our Marketing and Communications Manager, who have worked their magic by getting people in the right places for filming and then doing a grand job with their editorial skills.
If you have any ideas for the sequel next year, then please do let us know!
Mr J Thomas, Headmaster
HOLLYWOOD COMES TO KENT
The CCF crew do their best Maverick impressions in a Top Gun spoof.
GRANDPARENTS’ DAY
On Tuesday May 2, we welcomed over 180 grandparents for the School’s biggest ever annual Grandparents’ Day. Family elders were treated to a tour of the School by their respective grandchildren. From the Sports Centre down to the DT department, the site was full of intrigued visitors, with those venturing down to the village taking advantage of shuttlebuses to save everyone’s legs! Afterwards, families returned to the Refectory for a well deserved afternoon tea.
IMAGES: JOHNATHAN LOCKWOOD
SUTTONIAN: SIXTH FORM
The Leavers of 2023 can reflect with pride on the legacy that they have left behind and look forward to the next stages of their lives with confidence. Given the Covid-related disruption to their middle school years, that is no mean achievement. In the most simplistic of terms, their qualities were recognised in that 53 of the 76 pupils who submitted a UCAS form won places to study at their first choice university. This feat is in stark contrast to the doom ladened warnings that appeared in the press with increasingly alarming regularity in the week leading up to results day. They were a year who bucked trends - and as if to emphasise the point, one of them decided to go into regular employment by joining a band!
Whilst the Heads of School led the School with aplomb, the range of their talents can be appreciated by a brief review of some of the highlights of their final year in the school.
Concerts were blessed with a series of sterling performances that saw the Senior Strings play at Drapers’ Hall for the Clothworkers’ Guild and a summer concert that saw three movements of Bach’s concerto in A being performed with three different soloists. In choral music, the highlight was a day trip to Ypres which saw an impromptu concert at Talbot House acting as the precursor to the choir singing at the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate. This also saw Major Prem Ale participate in the ceremony as he laid a wreath
for the Gurkhas who died on the Ypres salient over one hundred years ago. Prem has left the CCF in rude health, as the Shooting Team won the annual CADSAAM competition, the School received a glowing report from the visiting Inspecting Officer in the Biennial Inspection and some Sixth Form Cadets were successful in applying to take part in the prestigious Royal Marine Cadet Leadership Course in Lympstone, Devon.
On the sports field both the boys’ rugby and hockey teams lost in the semi-finals of their respective National Competitions. Whilst the rugby team lost to the eventual winners, the hockey boys had to endure the agony of losing on shuffles for the second year running . The girls’ hockey team did reach the semi-final of the Mel Clewlow Cup, but will forever bathe in reflected glory of having the local bragging rights after beating Cranbrook both home and away.
The friendships that were created were on display at a wonderful Spring Ball based around a theme of A Night at the Oscars. The hard work of the committee ensured that their twin aims of reducing food wastage and maximising the charitable opportunities were met. This year the charity that benefitted from the night was the JacktheLad Charity that had a special significance to many in the year group. Thus it was with much sadness and but no little excitement that we
MR L ELLMERS Head of Sixth Form
hosted the Leavers’ Service and Dinner in late June. As a cohort they make a fine addition to the ranks of Old Suttonians.
The IT Crowd
Anumber of Sixth Form students travelled to London to take part in the Computer Science 2022 seminars during November. During their time there they got the opportunity to listen to four guest speakers talking about their profession and the past and future of IT.
Kieran Bush (Upper Sixth) talks about the experience:
The first presentation was about the autonomous vehicles industry, specifically on the behaviour of these cars in certain situations as well as how these autonomous cars could be popular in London and used in the not-so-distant future. The speaker mainly talked about the depth that is required to research for a simple task such as what to do in the situation of someone crossing the road.
Another fascinating presentation we listened to was regarding the election system used in 13th Century Venice. The system they used involved in voting for 43 successors who then selected an additional 43 successors. This process was repeated ten times and at the end the final group of successors then elected the Douge of Venice. She went into the thought behind it and how a system like this also gives minority parties a chance to become the Douge and minimalised the amount of bias in these elections. It turned out that this algorithm is much like the one used today and is simpler for technology to interpret, therefore helping improve AI technology over 700 years later.
The group’s favourite and arguably the most fascinating and relatable presentation was about smart cities and how data points from your phone allow people to do dangerous things from being able to track your locations to the extreme of eventually being able to predict where you will be. During this presentation, we heard real-life examples about how a student of his was able to predict where and when he would be in random places just by tracking his location for a few weeks. He also spoke about larger-scale examples of this ability of big data usage mainly being used by police to predict meeting points of criminals if they turn off the phones used to track them.
Amongst all of this, we also had some helpful wisdom about revising for computing exams that are transferable to other subjects as well.
LIFE AFTER SVS
The Upper Sixth forum carousel runs every Wednesday afternoon for five weeks to help prepare students for life after Sutton Valence School. One of the sessions running in this carousel looks at the practicalities of student life with Miss Young, such as budgeting, accommodation and seeking support.
This session looks at the six topics of accommodation, finance, support, learning, employment and social life. Students are given the opportunity to explore the variety of accommodation options available at university and for renting privately. We also explored the role of the residential staff in university halls and how students can ask them for support whilst living there. Students discussed scenarios, such as disagreements in your flat, and what methods can be taken to resolve the problem. Those going into apprenticeships and direct employment received advice on how to deal with landlords and where to seek support on their rights as tenants.
Students also received an updated talk on student finance for those entering university in September 2023. The student finance calculator was shared with the class and the Upper Sixth had the opportunity to provisionally enter their details into the calculator to get an estimate of what maintenance loan they may be offered. Students went on to complete a budgeting challenge using Microsoft Excel.
The Upper Sixth were given a populated spreadsheet, which they can also save for personal use, and some profiles of typical student spending in the UK. They were tasked with organising a budget for accommodation, food, subscriptions and transport, given a specific amount of maintenance loan. The students had the opportunity to explore different locations and compare living costs between places such as London and the Midlands.
The final section looked at both the academic and pastoral support available to students at university. This included scenario-based problems, such as wanting to switch courses, and how to avail of the support system to get the help you require. For those who are not intending to go to university, we discussed getting support from organisations such as the Citizens Advice Bureau and charities such as CALM and Shout.
The session concluded with a Q&A, where students had the opportunity to ask questions on the topics discussed during the session. This gave students the platform to discuss concerns they may have about leaving.
First Prize Success for STEM Sixth Formers
Benenden’s STEM Convention saw accolades for SVS Sixth Formers, with first prize awarded to Hannah Slipper (Upper Sixth) for the best student project, an investigation into the best type of sunscreen.
Ten students attended, and another presentation was given by Thomas Dolan and William Howgill (Upper Sixth) on their Crest Award project on the effectiveness of different types of Impact Attenuators. We had two stands with posters outlining the projects which sparked lots of discussion at the Science fair.
Personalise Your Path
As part of their LWOST activities, students in the Lower Sixth have been engaging in workshops on employability skills, navigating the Unifrog software and creating their UCAS applications.
With the support of Durham University, our Lower Sixth students engaged in an interactive workshop centered around personal statements, equipping them with the necessary skills to excel in their applications.
Patrick Foster - Might Bite
Having previously worked in education, before falling into severe gambling addiction and debt, author of Might Bite, Patrick Foster, now visits schools to inform pupils of the consequences of this debilitating habit.
In March, older pupils had the chance to hear his inspiring story, and to reflect on the mental health implications of adversity, a particularly timely visit with it being the week of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, which features dramatically in Patrick’s story.
THE SPRING BALL
Members of the Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth Form gathered together for the Spring Charity Ball, with the theme of A Night At The Oscars. This year, the event raised money for the JackTheLad Foundation, in memory of Jack Fenton (2018 C) and Jack Howe (2016 F)
UPPER SIXTH LEAVERS’ SERVICE
Our departing Upper Sixth students officially became Old Suttonians at a Leavers’ Service in Chapel on July 29. With speeches from Housemasters, prayers from the Chaplain and music from Chapel Choir, the Headmaster congratulated each leaver in turn.
CHEERS TO ALL THE YEARS!
Raising a Glass to the Upper Sixth - SVS Leavers enjoyed a drinks reception on Chapel Lawn last week following their evening service. They were joined by staff and family members, to toast them into further education or employment, as well as members of the Lower Sixth, who helped the serving team.
IMAGES: SARAH-JANE ADAMS
SERVICE WITH A SMILE
Lower Sixth pupils helped the serving staff provide the cheer.
A LEVEL HEROES
Our Upper Sixth cohort took a break from A Level examination revision to return to School grounds during their June study leave. They were rewarded with the Leaver’s Barbecue, enjoying a breather with an ice cream van, inflatable assualt course and a few games of football. Earlier in the day they attended the annual Leavers’ Service in the Chapel - in time honoured tradition, an array of fancy dress was embraced.
OUTFITS ARE A MARVEL
Costumes ranged from Teletubbies to superheroes and villains.
LEAVERS’ BALL
This year’s Leavers’ Ball went off with a bang, as an impressive fireworks display, provided by Bursar Mr Fowle, closed out proceedings. A feast was provided by the Curious Eatery, with a musical set by band Another Day, and a rousing rendition of Jerusalem.
Congratulations to the organising committee of Mrs Jackie Browning (Chairperson of the Friends of SVS), Mrs Anderson, Mrs Bush, Mrs Forknall, Mrs Kirk, Mrs Murch, Mrs Page and Mrs Woods
Best of Both Worlds with International Head’s Visit
All the way from Tianjin, China, Andrew Hurst, Principal of our partner School, HIK-SVS International, enjoyed a day at SVS with his British counterparts, Headmaster, James Thomas and Head of Sutton Valence Prep School, Mark Scholey. Starting at Sutton Valence Prep School, Andrew met staff and students, and attended a performance of the Year 1 play, Wiz, Wham, Alakazam. At the Senior School site, Mr Hurst toured new build areas such as the James Room and centre block boarding houses, and was introduced to staff and governors. Opening in 2017, HIK-SVS is an English-speaking primary School, founded as a collaboration between Sutton Valence School and Hopeland International Kindergarten.
Back to School for New Teachers Head to Head with Prep Visit
Back in May, the School hosted a training day for Early Career Teachers (ECTs) from schools within the United Westminster Grey Coat Foundation, of which Sutton Valence is a part. Ten teachers from Sutton Valence, Westminster City, Grey Coat Hospital, and Emanuel Schools joined us for the day. They had the opportunity to observe teaching, engage with other teachers to share best practices, and participate in discussion forums on various aspects of pedagogy, led and organised by Mr Sansom. The visiting teachers were highly impressed by the quality of teaching, the level of challenge, the support provided, and the progress observed during the lessons.
During the Summer Term the Headmaster welcomed our friends from local Prep Schools Sevenoaks Prep, the New Beacon, Somerhill, Marlborough House, St Ronan’s, Sutton Valence Prep School, Dulwich Prep School and St Michael’s Prep for lunch alfresco and tours of SVS with students who used to attend their Prep Schools.
SVS values the strong relationships it has with feeder schools and other Headteachers in our area, and the visitors relayed how nice it was for them to catch up with their former pupils - looking a lot bigger!
COMMON ROOM VALETE: 2020-2023
Sutton Valence School is powered by the people who work, and sometimes live here, creating a safe and enriching environment for the pupils who choose to call the site their School, or even their home away from home. Here we offer our thanks to some of the notable staff leavers since the publication of the last issue of The Suttonian.
EMMA AGU BENSON Matron, Sutton 2013-2023
ANTHONY BROMLEY Geography Teacher 2021-2023
PAULINE DAVENPORT Matron , Beresford 2009-2021
IAN AVERY Head Groundsman 2000-2022
LUCY BURDEN Head of Psychology 2002-2022
JACK DOWNS Head of Geography 2018-2023
CHRISTOPHER BALL Design Technology Technician 2016-2021
ELIZABETH CHEESEMAN Science Technician 2010-2022
LUKE ELLMERS Head of Spanish Head of Sixth Form 2016-2023
TIM BEACOCK Science Teacher 2022-2023
CHRISTOPHER DAVENPORT English teacher Housemaster, Beresford 2009-2021
ANTON EVANS Geography Teacher 2018-2023
SUZANNAH GEBBETT Mathematics Teacher 2019-2020
ANDREW HAMMERSLEY Biology Teacher 2000-2023
MATTHEW JONES Geography teacher Housemaster, Clothworkers’ 2016-2023
RICHARD PLOWDEN History Teacher 2006-2022
DR FRANCIS GERGELY Mathematics Teacher 2017-2021
EMMA HARRINGTON -CLAYDON Economics and Business Studies Teacher 2020-2020
LISA LOGAN Cleaner, St Margarets 2001-2023
SARAH PRITCHARD Business Studies Teacher 2010-2023
PHILIPPA GOODRIDGE Director of Marketing and SVPS Admissions 2020-2022
DIANE HORSLEY Science Technician 2000-2021
BRUCE GRINDLAY Headmaster 2009-2021
MICHAEL JAMES Head of Business and Economics Housemaster, Westminster 2009-2021
WENDY LOY Physics Teacher 2015-2023
GAIL RAGBOURNE Economics and Business Studies Teacher 2021-2021
MARGARET PALMER-PILGRIM ICT Teacher 2017-2023
ANGELA READER Cleaning Team Leader 1999-2022
SALLY ROSE Assistant Head 2008-2022
KATHY WEBSTER Admissions Officer 2000-2023
DAVID PAGE Governor 2003-2021
LEWIS RUSHFORTH Mathematics Teacher 2021-2022
KAREN WILLIAMS Director of Admissions and Marketing 2017-2021
JO PALMER Governor 2020-2023
LOUISE SCHEMBRI School Nurse 2012-2022
CHLOE YOUNG ICT Teacher 2021-2023
THE REV CANON ANDREW ZIHNI Governor 2019-2023
CATHERINE SWAINSTON Science Technician 2016-2022
SIMON JAMES Governor 2018-2022
Not pictured: Helen Brunt, Governor, 2018-2021 John Lennard, Governor, 2017-2021
We hope you have enjoyed this 2023 edition of The Suttonian by Sutton Valence School. For editorial enquiries please contact adamss@svs.org.uk
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