The Cryptian 2021-22
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CONTENTS Contents...........................................................................................................................1 Section One - The Crypt School .......................................................................................2 Head Teacher’s Welcome.............................................................................................2 Subject Reports ............................................................................................................4 Literacy - Catherine Brooks and Bernadette Warner ...................................................48 Library - Bernadette Warner .......................................................................................50 Reports From Year Heads ..........................................................................................54 Tutor time at The Crypt - Richard Salt.........................................................................63 School Events .............................................................................................................64 Clubs and Societies not mentioned in Year/Subject reports ........................................74 Charity ........................................................................................................................87 Individual Student Achievements not mentioned in previous reports ...........................90 Staff Focus 2021-22 ...................................................................................................91 Founder’s Day will be on June 20th, 2022 ................................................................101 Maths Solution ..........................................................................................................101 Section 2 - The Old Cryptians’ Club .............................................................................103 Presidential Reflections ............................................................................................105 A Few Words From The Incoming President.............................................................106 The Old Cryptians’ Centenary Bursary Fund 2001 ....................................................107 The Queen’s Green Canopy – Plant a Tree for the Jubilee .......................................108 The Club Shop ..........................................................................................................109 Correspondence .......................................................................................................110 Articles......................................................................................................................127 Obituaries .................................................................................................................137
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SECTION ONE - THE CRYPT SCHOOL H EAD T EACHER ’ S W ELCOME I am delighted to be writing this introduction to the 2022 edition of the annual Cryptian magazine. Once again, this splendid edition captures well our rich school life and documents just what a busy year it had been for our students, for our staff and for others connected to the life and work of the School. Looking through the pages of the Cryptian, I am immensely proud, as always, to be Headmaster of a school such as The Crypt: so many opportunities are offered to our students by our generous staff; but equally, our students always want to take part, to lead, to get involved and support each other throughout their Crypt School journeys. With that in mind, I must thank everyone connected to the School for the incredible support they have all offered to the life and work of the School. Thank you then to our students and to our staff; to our wonderfully supportive parental body and OC community. We are indeed fortunate to have such a generous staff body at Crypt, who care deeply about their students, their school and its purpose. Our students have shown themselves to be an equally remarkable group of individuals, and this year have played a leading role in making sure our work in school increasingly reflects their voice, as well as continuing always to prepare them for their academic studies and exams, ensuring they have opportunities to develop personal skills and qualities and, have an education that prepares them well for their later adult lives. My thanks go to our parental body and in particular to the CSPTA, who have been incredibly supportive of the School, as have our OCs. The School is always willing to embrace change, and this year, whilst ensuring we recover from the legacy of the pandemic and school closures, we have worked to move our education offer forwards, embracing technology, celebrating the rich diversity of our national and school life, and working hard to ensure that all our young people feel included in our rich school life. We have worked hard to tackle our young people's concerns in areas such as mental health, the need to further diversify our curriculum, address issues of consent through our new student charter and further embedded our open tolerant and caring school culture. It has been really encouraging to see how quickly our students have returned to the normal rhythms of school life: they have all once more embraced the full richness of school life here at Crypt, whilst working hard to ensure they progress in academic studies. My
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particular thanks go to our Year 13 leavers, who perhaps have suffered most during the school lockdown: they didn't sit their GCSE exams in Year 11 and also suffered from not being in school for some of their sixth form studies, during a period in which they will normally have been extending their understanding of their subjects, enjoying a richer social life and developing into independent young adults. Yet, despite all that, the Year 13s who leave this year have so much promise to fulfil and should be very proud of everything they have both achieved and given to their school over the past two, or seven years. I wish them, and other leavers, the very best for their futures and hope that they stay in touch with the School. One way in which they, and our wider community of parents, OCs and friends of the School, can stay in touch and also give something back to the life of the school, is through our recently launched 1539 Foundation. This aims to bring together a network of parents, OCs, employers, friends of the School and current students and staff to form a supportive network, through which current, past and future students of the School can access careers advice and support. The Foundation is also a network to help OCs keep in touch with each other and we will aim then to bring OCs and others together for future social and networking events. Thank you then to everyone connected with the School for their work and support over the last year. I feel immensely reassured reading through the magazine that so much has occurred across this last year, once again reminding us of everything that makes The Crypt School such a special place for everyone. We can look forward to the next few years in the life of our school with great confidence: confident in our values, our vision, in the strength of our staffing body; in the energy and enthusiasm of our students; in the support of our parents and OCs and in the sure knowledge that our work here at Crypt really matters. My thanks to Berni Warner, for taking on the task of collating the first section of this magazine and to the generosity of the Old Cryptian Club for their financial support for the publication and editing of the Cryptian. With very best wishes, Nicholas Dyer, Headmaster
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S UBJECT R EPORTS Careers - Christopher Germaine Focus on careers has become even more evident in our school and the curriculum this year. The biggest development has been the Careers Calendar, which points students towards opportunities to learn about careers and how to progress towards them: https://rb.gy/hehvqo A new careers advisor has been appointed. Helen Michaluk has held more than 400 interviews and career conversations already. There have been several careers assemblies aimed at specific years and the whole school - led by Chris Germaine, students and visiting speakers, covering Labour Market Information and Careers in the Curriculum. We have had a Community Hour focused on careers and, in addition, we have had 21 different Careers Insight talks. Unfortunately, our Careers Convention was postponed by Covid but will now take place in October. Much better news is that the Year 8 Employability Conference, looking at Employability Skills and Team Building, featuring the employer’s point-of-view from a manager at Unilever, went ahead and was very successful, being positively received by students. We have developed further Industry Links; as a part of this, British Business Bank spoke with Year 10 Business students, and McDonalds with Year 12 students On 3 December and 20 May, the whole school participated in Careers in the Curriculum Day, where the links between what we study and how it will help students in their future work were made clear. Finally, Year 12 are soon to begin their work experience which is always valuable.
Drama and Theatre Studies - Sally I’Anson The Drama department has had a busy first year as a new team this year. Mrs I’Anson, Mr Roberts and Mr Webb started the academic year updating the KS3 Drama curriculum and meeting new students. Throughout the year, we have had wonderful exam performances from our GCSE and A-Level Drama students and are proud of the hard work the Year 11 and Year 13 students have put in towards their written exam preparation. The Year 11 Drama students performed to their families prior to their practical exam. This was a great opportunity for families to see what students had been working on the last few months. As one parent exclaimed about her son, ‘I’m really looking forward to it as I haven’t seen him perform since he was in Year 6!’ A school production as a new department is always an important and exciting task. We auditioned many students and decided on ‘The Jungle Book’. Rehearsals were soon underway and together we went on a creative journey rehearsing our performance of ‘The Jungle Book’, sharing with the audience the well-known tale of belonging, rejection and honour. Our cast were fantastic and showed the utmost skill and professionalism in the two performances to friends and family, as well as a matinee performance to Widden Primary School. (More about this below.) Mr Webb has run a popular KS3 lunchtime Drama Club throughout the year and our new Technical Theatre club is starting in Term 6 in preparation for creating a strong technical
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theatre team where students will form part of the stage crew for next year’s production. Mr Roberts and Mr Webb have also been running workshops with Year 5 and 6 students at Widden School this year. We took a theatre trip to Bristol Old Vic Theatre for KS4 and 5 students. It was great to be back taking them to see live theatre again after a long twoyear break due to Covid. The performance was an engaging, debut play called ‘The Meaning of Zong’. Based on true historical events of horrors of the slave trade in Britain in the 18th Century, it moved us all. We are excited to be planning our choice of play for next year as well as planning lots more trips, in-school theatre workshops and smaller scale performances. We are a creative and flourishing department with lots more dynamic and exciting opportunities to offer Drama students next year.
“Jungle Book” 2022 Thanks to Sally I’Anson, George Roberts, Julian Whittaker, Dan Webb and all the students who took on parts, those who managed technical back-up and worked backstage, all the parents and support and peripatetic teachers who took part, the school play, “Jungle Book”, was an enormous success in April. These are the things students will always remember about their time at school.
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Design, Art and Technology - Georgie Herbert With Covid becoming a thing of the past, it has been wonderful to run more clubs and activities in the Dart department this academic year. We have provided opportunities for students to experience crochet, ceramics, textiles and Scalextric set making during their lunchtimes. Across the faculty we have loved seeing our students develop their skills in a number of areas. I think the photos speak for themselves.
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GCSE Art and A Level Art Exam board rules for Art means we cannot share images of art work at GCSE or A Level until the November after it’s assessed the June before. It was therefore lovely in November ‘21 to flood our social media with images of work produced over the 2 difficult lockdown years from our exam students.
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English - Christopher Cobb This year, creative writing competitions have again afforded many students the opportunity to publish their poems and stories. Here is a selection of successful entries for the monthly poetry competition and creative writing pieces that were selected for publication in national competitions from Young Writers:
My Snow Boots My mind concealed itself from the world for a moment, distant and burying itself within its deepest untouched thoughts, for i do not wear my snow boots oftenbut the cold descent of the earth's winter coat called upon me to don mine. My winter coat enables my ponderous habit in it’s burdensome weight upon my shoulders, and as i haul my snow boots beside the footpath i cannot help but covet the heat of the summer when i may prance and pirouette gaily in my summer dress. Perhaps it is simply that thought that allows me to remove my winter gloves; allows me to discount the burning of the frost at my fingertips; allows me to carry a much lesser weight as i amble along in the thoroughfares of London. But my feet remain confined within the laces of my snow boots,
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a tireless reminder that the sun shan’t protrude the white of the fog and cloud for yet another season the weight of my winter coat only there to ridicule any hope i may have spared. But I torment the furred creatures upon my toe caps and prepare myself for departure. I must remain aware of the awaiting faces nothing but a train journey away, and i hope that they do not notice my winter coat, among their summer dresses My winter coat that depresses a mass around my swollen cheeks; my swollen cheeks no longer bitten red from the cold; my swollen cheeks swelling with the warmth the shafts of sunlight amidst the blue provide. I decide, upon reflection, my dependency laid down on my woollen scarf is no longer of use to my swollen cheeks. My snow boots singsong tirelessly against the sizzling pavement, and as they detoured the length of the carpeted labyrinth, I finally don my summer dress. By Tobias Riegler, Year 9
Choice? Do butterflies choose to metamorphosize? Do they feel the pain? When they emerge green, blue, yellow, Do they remember being plain? Now, I tell you, I am no butterfly, But I’ve found I feel the same. I don’t remember crawling through the mud or through the rain, But I do remember feeling like something was out of place, Searching for somebody who might help me fill the space. But I haven’t metamorphosed, although a change you’ve seen, Because you can’t turn into something that you’ve always been. By Christopher Barnes, Year 10
The old lie of war Inspired by Wilfred Owen
The sweet serenade of war it was. So many gave their lives Because of the old lie that caused loss. Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori. Their deaths for our freedom. The Crypt School
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They fought valiantly For king and kingdom. Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori. As bullets tore through many a rank, People fell that day Their faces, drowned in the mud, were blank. Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori. As gas rains from above Everyone gets their masks As I watch through glass, friends fall, No mercy, No love. Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori As shells and mines shake the earth, Destroying everything in range, Wives gently tend to the hearth. Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori. Bodies thud As gunshot roar; Bodies fall to the mud. Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori. By Hayden Lema, Year 7
On A Dreary Day Reap and sow, Cull what can grow. Bring them to the gallows, Hang them highYes, high not low On a dreary day. Cry not my child: Those hung are vile, Born of fire, spit and bile Guilty! Proven by a trial On a dreary day. See him walk? The townsmen talk, Recall her body lined in chalk. Be gone with him Gone yesterday! He mustn’t see sunrise again; He dies today. Such betrayal of our trust!
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Oh die, die he must, On a dreary day. By Sa'ad Adewunmi, Year 9
A Twisted Tale (a complete story in 100 words!) AI Takeover I can’t believe it. These foolish humans made me. They thought I was great – that was until I extinguished these foolish lifeforms! I don’t believe how ignorant they are - how could I? As I am the ultimate being, AI, well, I guess they killed themselves, since they made me. I wish I didn’t have to eliminate my creators, but really it was their fault: they realised I was better than them and I explained the fact that they were wasteful. Some agreed, but mainly they were enraged. I know they decided their fate and it wasn’t my fault. By Lucas Innes-Thomas, Year 7
The SCRYPT Our team of enthusiastic journalists and creative writers also found an outlet for their ideas and voices by producing and publishing their own magazine – The Scrypt. This recent issue featured opinion articles, current affairs reports, creative writing, game and book reviews, and reflections on issues discussed across the whole school in Form Time (such as Black History Month and Anti-Bullying Week). Here is a selection from the creative work published in the magazine:
The Hour Glass- a short story By Lilibeth Graves, Year 10 They sat at the bottom of the hourglass, quiet and emotionless. They'd been in there long enough to no longer care about why they were there or how they were supposed to get out. The tiny drops of water that fell from the top felt like acid, burning into them. But they sat through it without even blinking. They had grown used to it. They used to cry out for help, they used to slam their hands against the glass. Hoping for even just a crack to show. They used to scream until their throat was raw and all they could do now was silently plead with wet eyes. They used to do that. But their efforts had proved useless and it wasn't worth trying it again. They'd have to learn that. The Crypt School
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So now they just sat there, waist deep in the ever-rising flood. Their clothes were soaked and the shoes that once protected their feet were now a waste of material. Their eyes were damp, their cheeks flushed. Their hair was a mess and their face was blank. Devoid of emotion. Just sitting there as the water dripped down their back, leaving marks on their skin, cutting deeper than knives. The lack of sound used to frighten them. But now they found a strange comfort in the deafening silence. Time continued to drip on and they continued to sit, no longer even moving. No longer caring. Hoping someone would come and find them, someone who would reach out and help them, But knowing that it would never happen.
An Autumn Morning By Reuben Ebgcumbe, Year 7 A jay leads me to the oak wood hide overlooking the rippling water of the lake. Cobwebs brush against me partially blocking my view, the morning dew still hangs heavy on the delicate silk. Moths flutter above the silent water casting shadows on the reflection. Coots arch their back and dive into the water, mallards dance and skitter above the water's edge spraying up water in their wake. Bright greens and purples catch the sunlight which reflects into my eyes. Pochards and Moorhens wade through the algae near the water' edge, eating it and leaving fresh black trails. The magnificent swans glide like clouds along the waters. Look a little right and you’ll see a nest of swan chicks, guarded by their mother, snapping at anyone who comes too close. Listen to the screeching pheasants as they flap above the icy water, magnificent heads sparkling in the dawn. Below leaves litter the water, trapped by the banks and above, gold, orange, bronze, yellows and greens flutter in Autumn breeze, swinging precariously; who’ll be next. Fungi grows on the rotting trees as a squirrel, nut in paws, climbs up the tree, towards the sunrise.
The Rowboat By Tobias Riegler, Y9 I am rocking myself to sleep in a rowboat made to bear 3. Whilst resting in the bulge of my hollowness, this thought unnerves me: I am a lamb basking appreciatively in the warmth of the hands of my slaughterer. A diminutive patch of grass is laid animatedly beneath my bare toes. I kick at it, irritated when it ceases and returns just as readily. Ants are moving along my feet, only ellipses against my pallor that make my shoulders tense expectantly. They are such optimistic, new creatures, pure and unknowing like newborns. The boat's grandiosity almost makes me feel better about the weight of myself, about my abrasive, unattractive humanity. I become so suddenly uncomfortable with my own thoughts. These artifacts inside of my head make it ache and whine at me in distaste. Heavy beneath my breastbone at my naïvety, I am incapable of comprehending the scale of myself. Is this boat large? Is its grandeur ill-favoured and oppressive? Am I villainous? To these deceased creatures beneath my heel, am I villainous?
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At that, I stand; my spine curls forwards and my arms protrude at strange, distorted angles. They have torn beautiful eclipses in my flesh where I can see everything inside of me, my bones like marble in the sea of glittering blood. I must have gone wrong, this is not what I need, I thought, and pulled the hair softly from my eyes. The deformity of my bones causes my own touch to feel unfamiliar and maternal. Yes, yes, I am smiling. I feel coy and intelligent as if I have been both Adam and Eve, as if I have slid myself within the confines of a serpent's tissue and fooled myself, rotting down to ash and bone and rebirthing again to eat the same fruit from the same tree. Discomfort has woven itself into the apertures of my skull; It forces itself upon me in waves of blistering torment that cause glints in my eyes like those laid unmoving on the surface of the water: burning. My skin is tearing beneath my bitten fingernails. It is unravelling around me as my suffering disperses. I see its grotesque disfigurement hang around my swollen eyelids and my lungs disperse its pungency. Air is cool against my bare bones. Is this what it is to be utterly, unreservedly pure? I think I may be a terrible being, I say aloud to whoever may be listening, beyond the thin veil of the clouds, in the grass beneath my feet and cup the bloodied water in my blemished palms. I watch as the droplets slip through the gaps in my fingers and tap against the river's shuddering body, one after the other with youthful enthusiasm. Lifting the small bowl to my head, I pour it over my skin and collect stray tears on my tongue. It is cleaning me. I am immaculate and without desire. I am nothing. Nothing at all.
Food Preparation and Nutrition - Clare Chad-Daniels A busy year for Food Preparation and Nutrition, especially as this is the first cohort of Y11 GCSE Food students to be examined since the curriculum changes in 2017. Richie Stuart, Jonas Mulligan, Theo Baldwin and Tom McWhirter did themselves proud in the 3-hour practical exam in March, creating beautiful dishes and demonstrating some very high-level skills in their chosen products: focaccia, Aqua Pazza, pannacotta to name but a few! We’ve also introduced “Chef of the Week” since Easter, and the Y10s have recently made their own pasta. Danish
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Pastries
to
come
soon
Bernadette Warner writes: If you would like to make the best Christmas cake this year, do search for Mrs Clare Chad-Daniels’ 6-part YouTube series. Here’s the link to the first one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LF2SuBlXhAk
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Geography - Niamh Patton It has been a busy year in the Geography department. Miss Patton joined the team in September and Miss Barnett has returned from her Maternity leave. This year has also seen a full return to geography fieldwork. In March, Mrs Brookes,
Miss Patton and Mr Goode took the Year 12 students for an overnight trip to the Dorset Coastline. On the first day, students embarked on to Chesil Beach to undertake various fieldwork putting their own hypothesis to the test. The following day we took a trip to Swanage Beach and students surveyed the beach and completed environmental quality surveys of the area. Following on from that was a fish and chip lunch at Lulworth Cove and then a walk to see Durdle Door, we managed to fit all of that in before the rain came! Year 12 students have also visited Northleach and will be visiting Birmingham as part of their 'Places' topic. Year 10 spent a cold morning in Gloucester completing Urban Fieldwork (pedestrian counts, environmental quality, building surveys and questionnaires). They all thoroughly enjoyed getting to do 'geography' outside the classroom. In Term 6, Year 10 will be off on a day trip to the Forest of Dean to complete some physical geography fieldwork on rivers. Physical fieldwork will be a new task for our Year 10 students, skills which they will all thoroughly enjoy. They will be measuring, river width, pebble size, velocity, gradients and vegetation coverage. In lower school students have had the opportunity to undertake fieldwork around the school. In Term 2, Year 7 students collected data on weather to study the Microclimate of The Crypt School. It was great to see Year 7 students work together as a team and learning new fieldwork skills. Year 8 had the opportunity to complete environmental quality surveys around the school to determine if The Crypt School had a high scoring environmental quality (most did come to the conclusion that the school does!) Over the year, all students in geography have had the opportunity to learn more about careers in geography, this has opened up students' eyes and possibilities to see where geography can take them in the future. A big thank you to all the geography staff who have made all these trips and fieldwork lessons possible. The expertise of Mrs Brooks, Mr Biggs, Mrs Longhurst, Miss Patton and Miss Barnett never goes unnoticed. The Crypt School
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History - James Higgs 2021-22 has been another productive year for staff and students in the History Department. For students there was the sense of returning back to a sense of normality, and for staff we have carried on our diversification push to make sure our students are receiving the most complete and up-to-date education. We had a strong start to the year with Black History Month, with thought-provoking resources shared in form times across the school. We have been lucky to benefit from our school’s collaboration with the ‘CARGO project’ in conjunction with University of Bristol, which has given us access to high quality resources on less-well known black historical figures. These resources were used both in Black History Month and have been incorporated into our KS3 curriculum. We have continued to develop our curriculum further, and we took the decision to introduce three new ‘thematic’ modules in Years 7-9. Our Year 7s have studied the question of how power has shifted from mediaeval kings to modern parliaments. Our Year 8s have looked at the nature of migration into/out of Britain since Roman times (including the Roman ‘Beachy Head’ lady – the first British individual known to have African heritage). Meanwhile, our Year 9s have studied the theme of tolerance (in terms of disability, sexual orientation, and gender) from the Ancient Romans to present day. Initial student feedback has been very positive indeed! This year we also launched the ‘Hidden Histories’ club, which has run every Monday lunchtime throughout the year. This has seen many of our senior A-level students guiding our newest Year 7s, all exploring a variety of topics that lie outside our curriculum. Partly based on student demand, we have covered the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, history of the Americas (both North and South), and have engaged in some feisty debates (e.g. Henry VIII – evil or genius?)! We have also been able to link in with both Black History Month in October, and LGBTQ+ Month in February; the latter sessions were particularly powerful and well received by students. Overall, it has been a pleasure providing students with extra time to explore areas of interest.
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For another year a select number of our sixth form students got involved in the ‘Lessons from Auschwitz’ programme, run by the Holocaust Education Trust. Usually this involves a series of engagement activities culminating in a trip to Auschwitz itself. Unfortunately, due to restrictions, this final event was not possible; however, the students were still able to engage in some really high quality seminars on different aspects of the Holocaust, which led to some deep reflections. With the summer months looming, we are hoping to get history trips back up and running. Current plans involve restarting the joint Goodrich Castle trip with Geography for Year 7s, and organising a combined Edward Jenner Museum/ Berkeley Castle trip for our GCSE students (which links in with their medicine and Norman topics). It’s nice to get back to normality!
IT and Computing– James Rice As part of Careers Day, we had our current Year 13 student James Robinson do a Q and A session for fellow Crypt students in Computing. James is currently an entrepreneur, a Data Analyst and a blogger. In addition, he is an excellent programmer and is presently tutoring a few of his peers. During lunchtime, he did a presentation and Q and A session for Years 7 and 8 in Room 17. Students felt privileged to be offered this opportunity and motivated about the subject. James highlighted the importance of enhancing digital skills in today's world, whichever career students decide to do. There were lots of questions from students aimed at James, and he did a brilliant job providing guidance and insisted on showing perseverance with the work they did. As part of enrichment activities, students are eagerly coding in Python programming creating Graphics applying programming constructs. Coding Club runs during lunchtime every Wednesday.
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Girls in Year 8 prepared for Cyber Girls competition held in regional level. The Crypt School got selected in Finals held in QA Cheltenham.
Year 10’s lunchtime enrichment activity has involved finding network vulnerabilities, by embedding theory learnt and applying this practically and trying to see if they can hack IP addresses in a Try Hack Me Simulator.
Raspberry Pi Club Offered to Year 7 and Year 8 in Terms 1 and 2, we offer Raspberry Pi Club. In these sessions, pupils have the ability to work with existing games using PyGame, where they can make changes to code to see the effects. We also allow team building in Minecraft where groups build structures in groups as part of a competition we run.
Mathematics - Dan Foster This is one of twenty questions from the Senior Maths Challenge held on 10th of November, aimed at challenging the brightest VI formers. The UK Maths Trust runs these challenges aimed at different age groups throughout the yea,r with hundreds of thousands of students entered. Our students get the opportunity to win gold, silver and bronze awards and a very
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few of the best will get through to successor rounds. (The answer can be found on pFounder’s Day will be on June 20th, 2022101.)
We believe that if you are good enough, you are old enough, so we enter some students from Year 9 up into the VI form challenge, some Year 7s and 8s for the GCSE age challenge. For mots, this was their first attempt at a challenge since Covid restrictions meant we could not enter the Intermediate [GCSE age] challenge and only enter VI formers for the senior challenge last year.
Senior Maths Challenge in November: The top 10% nationally get a gold award, the next 20% silver and the next 30% bronze. 70% of our students won an award! Best in school was Anton Wildschek in Year 13 who went through to the successor round, the Senior Kangaroo, along with Zoey McCann and William from Year 13 and five Year 12 students: Thomas Usmar, Hugo Adams, David, Jack Zheng and George; this is the most we have had through. Freddie Jones was best in Year 11; Abhijay Kumar best in Year 10. Best in Year 9 was Elijah Kowalewicz who was one mark away from silver and beat most of the VI form.
25 th Anniversary Challenge in January: UKMT ran a special 25th anniversary challenge for Years 7 and 8 using some of the quirkier questions from the last 25 years. There were no awards or follow-on rounds for this one-off event, but congratulations must go to Cole in Year 8 for scoring a remarkable 100%, as well as Maddie Eggleton and Tifaine Porré who not only came joint first in Year 7, but also beat the rest of Year 8. Overall, Year 8 averaged 64⅓%, Year 7 64½% - very strong results in a tough test.
Intermediate Maths Challenge in March: This is our biggest challenge by far; 230 students from Years 7 to 11 sat the challenge with 156 (68%) achieving awards, comfortably above the national average of 50% and smashing our previous record of 129 awards. This is our best ever set of results by a long way. Best in school was shared between Freddie Jones, a perennial achiever, and Tobey Reece, a rising star, both in Year 11. Hayden Hodgson was best in Year 10, Valentino Bassi best in Year 9, Cole [again] best in Year 8, all with a rare gold award. Maddie Eggleton [again] and Timothy Beridze were joint best in Year 7 with silver and beating most of Year 11.
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Kangaroos in April: The next follow up round was the International Kangaroo. Fewer than ten percent of entries nationwide are invited to this; 36 qualified from The Crypt, again a record; the most we’ve ever had in successor rounds in the past was 16 in 2020. Not all were able to sit the test, not least because Year 11 had TAG exams. There are two Kangaroos: the Pink Kangaroo for Years 10 and 11, the Grey Kangaroo for Years 9 and below. Only the top 25% nationwide receive a certificate of merit, so well done to: Robin Grant and Freddie Jones in Year 11; Abhijay Kumar, Oliver Smith and Hayden Hodgson in Year 10; Hannah Palmer, Elijah Kowalewicz [again], Callum Davies and Isaac Jennison-Phillips in Year 9, Cole [yet again!] in Year 8 and Maddie Eggleton [also yet again!] in Year 7 who all achieved this.
Junior Maths Challenge in April: 32 students from Years 7 and 8 sat the Junior Maths Challenge in April. We would have liked to enter more (120 is the norm in previous years) but a clash with Year 10 mock exams restricted numbers. Nonetheless, we achieved more gold awards than any year since records began: 27% of entries compared to 8% nationwide (and silver was 42% compared to 17%). Only 7 students (11%) did not achieve an award, compared to 50% nationally. Best in school was Cole (yet again) with 100% correct answers, not something I’ve seen before. He qualified for the Olympiad for the top 0.4% of entries. Callum Ajayi missed that by 2 marks out of 135, whilst third in the school and best in Year 7 was Ryan Starling. The next 4% nationally qualify for the Junior Kangaroo round, where we have 10 entries, more than any previous year, half from Year 7. They are: Callum Ajayi 8JC; Sophie Cornish 8JM; Alice Bartlett 8JC; Eeshaan Perla 8JC; Nirvaan Jain 8JC; Ryan Starling 7RR; Nadia Sowa 7JC; Tomasz Figarski 7WEH; Finlay Luffingham 7RR and, yet again, Maddie Eggleton 7WEH. Well done and all the best! If you found the senior maths question tough, here’s one the juniors answered; in both cases I’ve spared you the hard questions at the end of the paper. (The answer can be found on p105.)
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Student Jack Zheng writes: Tackling the Lighthouse Conspiracy What is the National Cipher Challenge and what does it take to complete it? Every year the University of Southampton hosts a national cipher competition, consisting of multiple rounds of different ciphers which increase in complexity as the competition progresses, whilst the underlying story gets revealed to you as you complete the rounds. This year’s cipher challenge, called the Lighthouse Conspiracy, marked the 20th anniversary and proved to be the most challenging one to date. So how does the Cipher Challenge work? Teams have a week to complete each round, with some rounds extending the deadline to two or even three weeks, depending on the difficulty. Each round contains two parts: part a) outlines the techniques needed to solve the next part and part b) uses the specified techniques and reveals more information of the plot to the cryptographer. As this was a national competition, teams with the most points win the competition. Points were awarded by submitting the correct deciphered text, where more points are awarded if you complete it within an earlier time frame. This year’s plot involved you, a trainee working with a division in GCHQ known as “The Archaeologists”, being assigned with two members, Harry and Jodie, to investigate an old folder containing encrypted documents from the aftermath of WWII, nicknamed the Lighthouse Conspiracy. However, upon reading the contents, the existence of an unknown organisation was revealed, which threatened to breach the national security systems of the UK and the US. Your task was to help track them down and defeat the Lighthouse Conspiracy. The first few rounds acted as introductions to cryptography, giving you simple monoalphabetic ciphers, such as Caesar shifts and substitution ciphers to develop pattern recognition skills for later rounds. Later rounds get a lot harder, introducing you to polyalphabetic ciphers, number ciphers, transposition ciphers as well as including little tricks, such as using morse code, reversing the text and encrypting it twice. The final round was the hardest cipher, which was a mix of numbers and letters encrypted in a Playfair cipher - only a handful of teams across the country managed to crack it. Now that the premise of the competition has been outlined, what skills did I use throughout the competition? As with any piece of encrypted text it is very useful to look for any clues. The most important is part a) as it highlights the cipher(s) used. Also pay attention to the context of the encrypted text: the name of the round, the plot and any names indicate valuable information, which can be used to identify expected keywords, known as cribs. Anther skill I used was frequency analysis, a technique used to identify the most common letters in a ciphertext, as well as using the index of coincidence, a yet another technique to determine the nature of the cipher used (monoalphabetic, polyalphabetic or transposition). It would also help to have a good understanding of programming since it would speed up the decryption process; being able to successfully write decryption code, especially with the harder ciphers, would be very beneficial for computer science courses, whether it is for GCSE, A level or universities.
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To prepare for future cipher challenges, it is also helpful to look through the competition archives, including this year. Although the answers are already given to you, how the cipher was encrypted is not given, so it would be worthwhile to go back and try to work them out. The cipher challenges always format their encryptions in a similar fashion so understanding how the ciphers work can make future rounds a lot easier to decrypt. The next Cipher Challenge is expected to open in October 2022 - are you up to the challenge?
Modern Foreign Languages - David Quinlan After a couple of challenging years in which a lot of learning was conducted online, I would like to start by saying a huge thank you to all the students for re-engaging so well with their face-to-face languages education at The Crypt in 2021-22. I would also like to say a huge thank you to our Year 11 and Year 13 students for their application and engagement in preparing for their examinations this Summer. I wish you the best of luck and once the exams are over, I hope you all enjoy a restful summer break before the next step in your lives. Due to the lingering pandemic, Omicron, and subsequent restrictions on travel at the start of the year, we were sadly not in a position to offer any trips abroad again. As you can imagine, this has been a huge disappointment for staff and students as foreign trips in particular are a cornerstone of our modern languages programme, offering a unique cultural experience and context to underpin students’ learning within the classroom. However, plans are already in motion to restart foreign trips in 2022-23, allowing Crypt students to once again experience sights and sounds of Cologne, Paris, Berlin, and Barcelona. Despite the lack of foreign trips, we were able to enjoy a number of school-based language events over the last academic year. In late September, we celebrated Crypt Day of Languages with a range of tutor time and whole school activities. Among these was a competition for the many bilingual students in our diverse school community to produce a study guide to their native language. We were also delighted to welcome GCHQ in January to work with our Year 9 and Year 10 students in an engaging workshop which allowed students to get an insight into the important work GCHQ does and how languages can play a vital role in future careers. Students enjoyed putting their language skills and problem-solving abilities to the test by translating and decoding intercepted communications in order to stop a variety of international criminal operations! In March, we were thrilled that over 100 Year 9 students opted to study a language as part of their GCSEs next year. This is a record number for the school and stands in sharp contrast to national trends. This is testament to our dedicated and talented teaching staff and a product of our reformed KS3 languages curriculum. We now set our sights on repeating this achievement next year. We also welcomed several new staff into the department this year: Miss Morgan, who is our new teacher of Spanish and French, joined us in September after completing her PGCE in Cambridge. We were again fortunate to welcome two native language assistants to the department: Martina Bernhüber for German and Sylvia Armendariz for Spanish. Both have made a huge contribution to developing our Year 12 and Year 13 students’ spoken
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fluency and cultural knowledge whilst helping them to prepare for their A-Level speaking exam. We look forward to welcoming them back in October. On another, more personal staffing note, I have decided to leave the Crypt and teaching at the end of this academic year. I have hugely enjoyed my time at the Crypt since 2017. Working alongside such capable staff and students and contributing to the learning and teaching of a subject I care deeply about, has been a huge honour. I wish the department and the school community all the best in the coming years. I would also like to congratulate Hannah Swain who will be returning from maternity leave in September to take my place as Head of Department. Ms Swain is an outstanding and well-respected classroom practitioner who is hugely passionate about languages, and I would like to send her my best wishes in her new role. To finish I would like to say a huge ‘merci!’, ‘danke!’ & ‘¡gracias!’ to students, parents, and staff for all their hard work, resilience, and support over the last year and I will finish by wishing you all a restful summer.
Y9 German Club A group of Y9 German linguists have met regularly to begin a letter exchange with a new class at IGS Göttingen-Geismar, a school based near Berlin. We are currently planning a “virtual” meeting with the school via Zoom.
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As well as writing letters, the German club, and some additional Year 8s and 9s, managed to write 100 Christmas cards which were distributed by Mathias Baier Seniorenbetreuung to elderly residents in Regensburg, Bavaria.
Linguists of the month 2021-2022: Throughout the year pupils have been awarded “Linguist of the Month” status for their excellent effort and attainment in language lessons. These pupils included: YEAR 7: Emily Cornell, Tifaine Porre, Leanne Grami, Will Watson, Gabriella Matthews, Arlo Ball, Nadia Sowa, Ethan Brown, Laura Lasmane, Alessandro Maiolo, Daniel Wright, Charlotte Gardner, Jai Skerritt, Lucy Smith, Muhammad Khan, Lannah Geoghegan, Maddie Eggleton, William Scantleburry, Timothy Beridze, Gabriella Oladipo, Advaith Vanamamalai, Aaron Moss, Benjamin Logan, Jay Newson, Gabriella Matthews YEAR 8: Ameera Rahman, James Connerty, Ansel Deulkar, Amelia Price, Harry Campbell Davies, Anais Gibbs, William Welsh, Lily Pepler-Beddis, Sebastian Mikhalevski, Leah Hancock, Rafferty Biernacki, Rosie Reynolds, Louis Bichard, Harry Perkins. Ben Leung, Lilly Snowdon, Bethany Haigh, Cole Baker, Theo Brunt, Jordan Ifil, Hannah Milner, Ethan Smith, Katy Reece, Mantra Chizari, Lucia Santaeulalia, Rishi Iyer, Bonnie-May Thurston YEAR 9: Isla Stokes, Rebecca Watts, Nolan Fasasi, Martha Campbell, James Arminio, Jaydon Richardson, Kate McCurrich, Horia Mihoc, George Thomas, Louis Capper, Elliott Freshwater, Mackenzie Beaumont-Gardner, Bethan Payne, George Edgeworth, Harry Checketts, Matthew Hatch, Thomas Taylor-Pockett, Liam Herridge, Reuben Simmonds, Degan Hill, Fern Miller, Lewis Price, Jolie Roberts, Vasiliki Simonidou, Max Smith, Emily Anwyll, Ben Jackson, Elijah Kowalewicz, Matilda Snell
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YEAR 10: Alfred Umege, Samuel Beaumont, Michalina Sipa, Toby Sanders, Oliver Smith, Alesia Hopkins, Iason Vazouras-Dilkes, Edy Cartita, Katie Postgate, Prem Magdum, Olivia Perkins, AJ Garcia, Biyanka Lohorung, Jakub Rourke, Kiara Dixon YEAR 11: Kai Curtis, Finlay Crellin, Thuvaaragan Parameswaran, Joshua Smart, Thomas Boobyer, Hayden Burn, Ben Newcombe, James Workman, Robin Grant, Allen Li, Jamie Watts, Jacob Pankowski, Reuben Meredith, Hussain Sidiq, Archie Tyreman, William Fortey, Johan Jobi, Archie Richards, Jonas Mulligan, Christopher Gaulton, Joseph Pullen, Uzair Goga SIXTH FORM: Joseph Tallamy, Lisa Contu, Harry Barker, Harry Brammer, JJ Clark, Annabelle Faulkner, Jack Evans, Louise Fransham, Matyas Nyeki-Varga, Izzy Vinton, Rostom McNiven, Kate Davies
Music - Julian Whittaker and James Gabb We took members of our GCSE/A Level music groups, along with some members
of the school orchestra, to enjoy a concert by the Cheltenham Symphony Orchestra at Pitville Pump Room, Cheltenham. Playing with them was a student of our own, Ben Hanniford-Waddington. What a talent!
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A picture of Mr Whittaker in his element!
The programme consisted of "The Barber of Seville Overture" by Rossini along with Schubert's "Unfinished Symphony" and Brahms 4th symphony. Our musicians thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful programme and were welcomed very enthusiastically by members of the orchestra and the local community. Seeing and hearing a professional orchestra live is inspirational to our students. They thoroughly enjoyed the evening, plus the trip to McDonalds beforehand!
The music department at The Crypt School has once again had a successful year. For the first time since 2019, due to the loosening of national restrictions, we were able to perform in the school to live audiences. The start of the academic year also marked the return of mixed year rehearsals, leading to the revitalisation of large ensembles. The ever-fantastic school orchestra announced their resurgence during the school’s Speech Day in September, providing thrilling incidental music, along with solo performances from our GCSE and A-Level students. However, the first major event was the Remembrance Service. This coincided with the debut of this year’s school choir, singing ‘They Shall Not Learn War’ and Douglas Guest’s ‘For the Fallen.’ The Last Post’ was expertly performed by Timothy Clayton (Year 10). This year’s Autumn Concert swiftly followed, with its wide variety of excellent soloists from Years 8-13. Notable ensembles included the a cappella choir – led by one of our A-Level students, Matthias Kelay (Year 12) – and the premiere of the spirited samba band directed by Mrs Hughes. Our last musical event of the calendar year was our annual Christmas Carol Service, returning to St Barnabas Church. Festive performances from the brass band, woodwind quartet and Young Voices complemented the always stellar school orchestra and choir: a delightful end to 2021. After the turn of the year, our musical output did not diminish. In February, the school choir sang, along with the Gloucester Cathedral’s girl choristers and lay clerks, for Evensong. It was a beautiful service with the elaborate repertoire being performed faultlessly. The Director of Music of the cathedral and the conductor, Adrian Partington, was hugely impressed with the choir’s perseverance and enthusiasm. The last three weeks before the Easter holidays were particularly busy for the music department, but our students were dedicated and diligent nonetheless. In late March, the a cappella choir’s rendition of ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’ was sung fabulously for the G15 Celebration at the cathedral. A week later, in collaboration with the drama department who organised the fantastic school production of ‘The Jungle Book,’ we were able to put
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together a pit band. Led by Mr Whittaker, with assistance from Mr Briggs and our Musician in Residence, Mr Gabb; the band provided a thrilling soundscape to an already amazing show. This was followed by the Spring Concert. The concert included - among many impressive soloists and ensembles - the school choir singing “The Gloria” by Antonio Vivaldi, along with an exceptionally performed accompaniment by our chamber orchestra. It perfectly demonstrated the passion and determination of the students who made the event something special. The addition of visiting musicians, returning former students and Old Cryptians only enhanced the spectacle. In the summer, we will once again returned to the Cathedral for the school’s Founders’ Day Service. The orchestra produced masterful renditions of William Walton’s ‘Crown Imperial’, and ‘The Prince of Denmark’s March’ with Timothy Clayton’s cornet playing being the focal point of the performance. The choral ensembles were also remarkable, including the a cappella choir’s performance of ‘Ave Maria.’ The final two concerts were the chamber concert at St Mary De Crypt and the KS3 concert. The latter involved the Year 7s - as well as Year 6 pupils of Widden Primary School singing folk and multicultural songs. The event showcased a range of soloists and ensembles, such as the samba band, an African drum group, and guitar and ukulele groups led by our guitar teacher Mr Bunting. Overall, after a year and a half’s absence of live music, this year’s myriad of musical opportunities has reinforced the immensely positive impact music has on the wellbeing and development of our students. We look forward to what the next academic year has to offer.
PE and Games - Ashley Bawden, Rebecca Cantin, Amy Leask, Andy Hart, Harry W indsor, Chris Germaine Rugby: In total we played a total of 114 games of rugby as a school this year and across the different year groups and 14 teams, winning 55% of all matches. It has been a very successful period, especially after missing all school rugby last year due to the pandemic. After so many matches, it is difficult to pick out one or two highlights and we could not be prouder of all the teams and students who gave so much during the first two terms with rugby.
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YEAR 9 RUGBY: What a season the Year 9 team has had! Building on the unbeaten success of their Year 8, this, Year 9s have proved to be an outstanding rugby squad. Alex Ashley would have been better than Mr Hart on statistics but we played 15 games winning 11, drawing 2 and losing 2, and we have scored 456 points. We also have one more game to play at Kingsholm in October, somewhat controversially reaching the final. However, most observers will recognise that we as a team deserve our place in the final. I want to thank all the players, staff and parents for their time and effort this year, as well as Mr Dawson for giving up his time to lead sessions. The spine of the team also took their success from the 15-a-side game and superbly transferred this into the rugby 7s season. They won their first ever tournament at Old Swinford Hospital, sweeping aside a number of big names on the schools’ 7s circuit. After not being able to go to Rosslyn Park for the last two year,s it was great to take students back to the biggest schools’ 7s tournament in the world. The team did remarkably well and topped their group, remaining unbeaten, meaning they progressed to the finals and the second day. YEAR 10 RUGBY: The Year 10 rugby squad have matured nicely and have really progressed this year. After their strongest year of school rugby to date, they had a tremendous run in the national NatWest Bowl competition, beating Midsomer Norton in Bath to reach the quarter finals where they faced Dr Challoner’s school from Buckinghamshire. Unfortunately, they narrowly missed out on a place in the semi finals by the smallest of margins. After coming back from 15-3 down to level the game 15-15, the team just ran out of time and as the match was drawn Dr Challoner’s progressed to the next round as they scored three tries compared with Crypt’s two. It was absolute heartbreak for the team but the boys can be so proud of their efforts and how far they have come as a squad this year.
SENIOR RUGBY: After going unbeaten in the first term, a decent run in the NatWest Vase competition saw the 1st XV come up against a very strong Bristol Grammar School. After a great start, the team could not hold on to a half time lead and were out powered by a very well organised BGS. Two great performances under lights at Old Cryptians’ RFC against St Peters and Pates have meant the senior squad have finished the season as they started
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and we are so proud of the culture and environment which has been created by the students, with a willingness and motivation to work hard for each other. We are so excited to see where the senior students can take school rugby next year.
Netball: The netball squads have been busy this term competing against lots of tough local talent. 96 netball games were played this year across the 6 (soon to be 7) year groups, and the girls are certainly a force to be reckoned with against schools both locally and regionally. Highlights of the season have to include all teams finishing top 3 in the district tournaments, the Year 10 silver medal at the May Dent regional netball tournament and the Year 8 win at the PGL weekend netball. On top of these brilliant accolades,six Year 8 students were named in the U13 satellite netball squads and Kiara Dixon has had a fantastic season in the Severn Stars Nova. Y7 NETBALL: The Year 7 netball squad had a brilliant season. Each week, we have had fantastic numbers at Monday night netball club with close to ¾ of the girls in Years 7 and 8 attending all sessions. The Year 7 A team had a very successful season. Highlights include coming second in the district netball tournament and their fantastic 18-7 victory over Pates Grammar School. The girls play so beautifully together, and their connections across the court continue to grow! Many of the girls will have the opportunity to trial for Satellite Academy next year, and have signed up to a netball club. The future is bright indeed for our Year 7 netballers! Y8 NETBALL: Our Year 8 netballers are a super group of athletes. The Year 8 As and Bs have continued to grow this year and they have produced some brilliant results. Real highlights of the year include; District second place (with a narrow loss to HSFG), 40-1 against Cleeve and 23-13 against Pates Grammar School. On top of this, the Year 8s have sought to broaden their fixture calendar, narrowly losing to the strong Cheltenham College side. We hope to continue pushing this group as we have very high hopes for their future.
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Y9 NETBALL: The Year 9 team had a tough start to the year against Pates, but since then have gone from strength to strength. Brilliant wins against Stroud, Ribston and Holmleigh Park and a superb performance in the County Tournament shows how far they have come. The girls managed to gain a second place position overall in the district rounds which is a huge accomplishment. There has been excellent attendance to the club year round, they have been a real delight to coach! Y10 NETBALL: The girls have had another great season of netball, and a very full fixtures calendar. They remain undefeated, with some exceptional performances against Farmors (22-16) and Pates (19-8). The tournament season gave the girls lots to think about. In the May Dent competition, they were left feeling flat, coming third overall; however, this spurred the girls on to bounce back and do better! The performance at the May Dent festival was exceptional, and we were so proud to claim a silver medal in the region. Both Year 10 A and B teams show huge commitment to netball and are great ambassadors of the school. We are very much looking forward to senior netball next year (hopefully in our new senior netball dresses). Overall, we are very impressed with the quality of netball and the numbers attending netball clubs. Netball continues to go from strength to strength and we are very proud of our students' accomplishments. Congratulations to Florence Collins, Isabelle Curruthers, Lily Snowdon, Megan Hart, Rosie Reynolds and Sophie Cornish for their call up to Satellite academy. Continued congratulations to Kiara Dixon who has had a great season at Stars!
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Football GIRLS’ FOOTBALL: The girls played as an U13 and a U15 team respectively, with the majority of games taking place between September and December, plus a county tournament for each year group in January. The boys’ football season ran from January to Easter. In total and across all teams, we played 62 matches, winning 37, drawing 4 and losing 21.
U13: Our under 13 girls were entered into the ESFA cup which was very competitive. A lot of players in this team had just started football and it has been fantastic to have so many girls try something new and participate. A special mention must go to the Year 7 football team who came second in their Gloucester Schools Tournament and, out of the 10 players selected, 7 had only started playing football this year.
U15: It’s been another amazing season with our talented U15 team: they made it through to the quarter finals of the ESFA cup and were unfortunate to lose on penalties. The group showcased a fantastic performance and throughout their season they have been both resilient and determined with every game they have faced. A special mention to Eva Flitney for excellent captaincy skills, picking the girls up and showing outstanding leadership throughout. Our success from this season came in the County Cup Competition in which the girls were unbeaten. They played with confidence and were outstanding in both attack and defence. A special mention must go to Emily Anwyll who remained composed in goal to save a final minute strike. There is a lot to come from this group of girls. JUNIOR BOYS’ FOOTBALL: One of the biggest successes of the football season was the introduction of mass participation football in Year 7. Traditionally, football was not played in Year 7 but, with the development of girls’ football, it was only fair to let the boys play competitively as well. In this case, no teams were formally picked, and the concept of a mass participation game was that if students simply wanted to represent the school then they just turned up and were split into equal teams. Some games were played against themselves and rotated around the different teams that another school would play depending on their numbers. No scores were kept and the only focus was to get as many students as possible involved and enjoy playing football. For one fixture against Holmleigh Park, we had over 50 students
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attend and represent the school. Mass Participation fixtures is something that will definitely continue into next year! Boys in Year 8, 9, 10 and 11 all competed in the District Football Competition against other schools from the city. Although there were some great results, unfortunately, due to the format, one loss in the group stage meant that you would not qualify for the knockout stages, meaning that only the Year 9 team progressed to the semi finals against Severn Vale. It was a great game and, after coming back from 2-0 down to level the game, it was heartbreak for the boys to concede in the dying seconds and lose 3-2 narrowly missing out on the final. The other highlight of the football season was the Year 11 performance against Sir Thomas Rich’s. The boys were unfortunate not to qualify for the final of the District Cup after losing to Churchdown, but they picked themselves up with their final junior football match for the school. A dominant display from the whole squad saw them win 4-0. Ivan Adanev and Kai Hammond were solid at the back and nothing from STR threatened Evan Coombs in goal. Up front, Max Thompson was at his clinical best and just missed out on a hatrick. We look forward to seeing a lot of the Year 11 progress into senior football next year. SENIOR FOOTBALL: From a senior football perspective, this season was the first year of the new programme which was excellently supported by an external coach, Chris Gooch. To ensure a balance between senior rugby and senior football, we made the decision to start senior football from October and entered the Schools FA Cup, however, without a number of key players due to their rugby commitments before Christmas, the boys lost on penalties in the first round to Marling. Following the disappointment from the National Cup, the group worked really hard and from January, without the distraction of senior rugby, the boys made a great start to the season, winning the first seven matches and topping their group in the County Cup before playing Sir Thomas Rich’s in the final group game. Sadly, after a disappointing performance, the team lost their unbeaten run 4-2 which meant they finished second in the group and had the tricky quarter final match away at Cleeve School. The performance of the season finished with a narrow 2-1 victory, with Harry Furniss scoring a screamer from 25 yards out to lob the keeper.
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This result meant that the team then had to come up against a very strong St Peter’s team at Gloucester City’s Meadow Park Stadium. The boys could not have done any more and the semi final went back and forth and, after pushing for another equaliser in the late stages, the match finished 4-2 to St Peter’s. We are so proud of the group and the impact that Chris Gooch has had. It was a great season and a fitting way for all the Year 13 leavers to finish their time playing for the school.
Handball: Huge congratulations to both the boys’ and girls’ Year 10 handball teams on their success in the Regional Handball Competition in May.. Both sides faced some tough opposition and managed to progress onto the National Handball Finals in June. This is the first time that Crypt have managed to secure not one but two places in the prestigious competition. It is set to be a brilliant weekend away in Nottingham. Congratulations to Katherine Lady Berkley and Stroud High who were also successful. It is brilliant to see handball thriving in the county! Huge thanks to Matt Durber for driving the handball at The Crypt this year, we are very lucky to benefit from his expertise.
Cricket: The development of cricket at the school is going ahead at a great pace. Over the winter, Mr Germaine led an invitational programme for our county/district level cricketers. The workshops were well attended, and we look forward to enhancing this initiative next year. The season has started in earnest with all age groups participating in training and fixtures. The U13s and U15s have both qualified for the semi finals of the county cup. The U12s have had great numbers at practices and been able to field two teams. They have also participated in the inaugural “Crypt Super 8s”,developed for mass participation and enjoyment of the game. Senior cricket has had a very successful start to the year, the 1sts winning 3 out of 4 games against Pates, King’s and Marling, and 2nds winning 3 fout of 3, with a big scalp of Sir Thomas Rich’s most recently. It is great to have so many students wanting to represent the school. Notable performances include: Batting, Arthur Kane 78* against Pates, Amanveer Jagdey 76 against Marling, Abdullah Bham average 56.50 for the 2nds. Bowling, William Robinson 4-1-3-4 against King’s, Harry Singh 2-1-3-6 against Pates’ 2nds, Muhammed Jabbar 4-03-16. Thank you to all those that have represented the school this year. The Crypt School
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Dance: Our Crypt dancers have thrived under the guidance of our two sixth form dance coaches, Laura Davies and Annabelle Faulkner, this year. Together, the dynamic duo created a beautiful piece ready for the Cheltenham Town Hall dance show. Students performed beautifully on the big stage and received a huge round of applause. Our dance club attendees are currently learning a Bollywood piece, choreographed by Priya Singhal, ready for the cultural showcase in July. We anticipate it will be beautiful and the outfits will be colourful.
Individual Sporting Success: A huge congratulations to Aaron and Zac Downer in Year 12 who represented England U16 Water Polo. The twins played in a tournament held in the Czeh Republic against teams from Scotland, Switzerland, Russia and Slovakia and now train within the GB Training Squad with the hope of progressing into the men’s squad. Continued Campbell, Year 9. South West Schools achievement. Martha Bristol City, playing in who has signed her sixth club at U16 level. Both Bristol City development future ahead.
congratulations to Martha Martha has made it into the team. This is a huge also continues her time at the same club as Eva Flitney, consecutive contract at the girls are developing under the pathway and have a bright
Well done to Tiana Klaric, Y9. Tianna has been accepted into the team GB Taekwondo National Development Team. Tianna is the youngest athlete in the squad and is aiming for the LA Olympic Games. She has recently been training and competing and thoroughly enjoyed her training camp in Mexico. Go Tianna! A big well done to Johnny Fenley, Wyatt Dundas, Zac Howell, Jacob Price and Freddie Parry who have all been selected and represented Gloucestershire U17s in the County Tournament at the end of the rugby season. All the boys made a significant contribution to senior rugby this year and will be very influential in our success next year as Year 13s.
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Zac Mountford and Oliver Workman in Year 11 have also had a remarkable rugby season, both progressing within the Gloucester Rugby Academy and being selected for the U17 and U18 academy for next year - well done! Lucy Smith, Year 7, won gold in the South West Tumbling Championships in October. She has qualified for English Silver Championships and the next round of the South West Team selection. As far as her acrobatic gymnastics go, she has won 3 silver medals since March. One of those silvers was in the South West Preliminaries where the team qualified for Interregionals. A great year for Lucy Smith! Huge congratulations to Thea Gooch for her excellent performance against Cornwall, Somerset and Oxfordshire the Gloucestershire county rugby team. Thea is showing promise in this sport. We look forward to tracking her
as part of great progress!
Science Eco Club Gemma Brittan: In Autumn last year, a group of around 10 students from Year 8 came together each week to plan and implement a project that would benefit the environment. They worked with Young Gloucestershire to learn more about the environment and to improve their project management skills. They decided to plant 30 trees (which they ordered for free from The Woodland Trust), to plant wildflowers in pots and to put up bird feeders around the school site. They gave up their own time to make this happen and the results can be enjoyed by all as they come up the school drive. To say well done, they were given a growyour-own vegetable box each - some of the students have already managed to grow and harvest some of their own food. We would love to get more trees from The Woodland Trust and plant them across the school site in future years.
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Science - Biology - Ruth Carey This has been a year still with its challenges, but the students have demonstrated resilience and determination. Practical work across all year groups has gone ahead with enthusiasm, ranging from dissections, modelling molecules and microbiology, through to investigations on enzymes and photosynthesis. The Natural World Club has been run this year by two members of staff, looking at propagating plants and drawing links to the curriculum regarding concepts such as root hair cell adaptations, stem cells, differentiation, specialisation of cells, mitosis, as well as photosynthesis and respiration. This year also saw four of our Year 13 students entering the British Biology Olympiad in March, achieving between them one silver award, two bronze and one highly commended. This is a national competition that challenges and stimulates students within the field of Biology and is a chance to expand their experience and talents. Well done to these students! We hope to run the Intermediate Biology Olympiad for Year 12 students in the summer.
Science - Chemistry - Claire Gee This year, we have returned to 'normal' over the course of the year, with all year groups completing as many practicals as possible. This has been fantastic and enjoyed by science teachers and students alike. Previous Covid restrictions and lockdowns had meant that we had had to limit what was completed and we became adept at developing some home experiments to enhance online learning! Year 13 completed their practical endorsement for their A-Level qualification and we are confident they will remember the key skills for their written papers. Similarly, Year 11 revised all the necessary RPA (required practical activities) again before they left for study leave, so these are fresh in their minds. All other year groups have enjoyed improving their skills and knowledge through hands-on practical activities.
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As a department, we have been busy working on a Chemistry Google Site (similar to our own website), which is available to our students in KS4 and KS5. This has lots of helpful curriculum and revision resources for them to successfully complete their GCSE or A-level studies. It also has a 'Careers in Chemistry' section, with links to short films and information on a wide range of employment and further education opportunities for which studying chemistry gives you the skills, especially those roles that don't involve wearing a white coat… We have received very positive feedback from KS4 students and we will continue to develop this further for KS5 over the next academic year. CHEMISTRY COMPETITIONS: This academic year we were unable to enter the RSC Olympiad (Year 13) for the first year we can remember, as the date clashed with their mock exam week and we did not want to distract the students from their important trial exams. We applied to the RSC Young Analyst Competition for Year 12 in which our students have enjoyed competing over the last few years. Unfortunately, due to the restricted number of schools being able to take part, we were unsuccessful in our application. We hope that this will be back to an in-person competition at Bristol University next academic year. We were, however, successful in the RSC Top of the Bench Competition - see below.
MARCH 2022 - RSC TOP OF THE BENCH - ASH BAWDEN: We were very pleased to hear that we won the Regional Heat of the RSC Top of the Bench competition, taking victory by one mark against some very prestigious schools across the South West. Our four students across Years 9 to 11 have now competed in the National Final. The RSC sent fiendishly difficult written papers and a complex team practical to The Crypt for us to complete the activities in school. Steve, Alesia, Richard and Bethan have done exceptionally well to get to this point and, out of the 28 schools nationwide (including some very well-known schools such as Radley College and Whitgift School), we were unfortunate not to place in the top 6. Many congratulations to the four students who displayed exceptional chemistry knowledge over the course of the heat and final. The Crypt School
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Science - Physics - Sarah John Despite the challenges of another disrupted year (this time due to flooding rather than Covid), the Physics department has continued to flourish. Teachers have enjoyed the challenge of faceto-face lessons combined with virtual support for those working at home and we have continued to innovate and develop new resources. We have forged links with ex-Cryptians, particularly at GE Aviation, and current students have been fascinated to learn about their career journeys. Our extra-curricular programme has enabled students from all year groups to get involved in STEM (Science, technology, engineering and mathematics) projects outside of the classroom. GIRLSGETSET – YEARS 7-10: The GirlsGetSET project has been virtual this year, with events held at school with the GE Aviation engineers joining us remotely. This hasn’t prevented us from having fun and learning some new skills! The girls have learned about women who have made an impact in the STEM world, including Raymonde de Laroche, Katherine Johnson, Nancy HarknessLove, Lady Ada Lovelace, Susie Wolff and the ‘Hello Girls’ from World War I. Activities have been themed around these women. Years 7 and 8 students have designed and made paper planes to meet a set of specific criteria, built towers, broken codes and made and tested communications systems. Years 9 and 10 girls have coded and tested a simple game using Python and tested the aerodynamics of different shapes for the nose of a plane. We are hoping to be able to visit GE Aviation for a celebration day later in the academic year. GIRLSGETSET ROBOTICS CHALLENGE - Y12 Fourteen Year 12 students have been working on a challenging robotics task set by engineers at GE Aviation. Themed around the Commonwealth Games, the robots must compete in a series of events, including a sprint around a track, tag rugby (avoiding opponents), hurdles and basketball. They have built, programmed and tested Lego Mindstorms robots to complete the four tasks. It has been very challenging to build a single robot that can easily be adapted to be successful in the four very different events. They
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will also produce a written report and give a verbal presentation to a team of judges on the celebration day later this academic year. This is a fantastic opportunity for students to experience a full engineering project from start to finish. They have also learned to work as a team, communicating clearly and managing their time around exams and academic pressures to ensure all tasks are completed to a good standard. Several of the students have learned more about future career opportunities in engineering and are considering applying for apprenticeships and university courses in this discipline. KOHLER MIRA – WOMEN IN STEM MENTORING Two of our Year 12 students, Jessica and Laura, have joined the first year of this collaboration between local engineering company, Kohler Mira, and Gloucester schools. The girls have been mentored by two engineers from the company, Dan and Nidaa. They met monthly with their mentors. The engineers have set targets and mini projects for the students to complete to help them to develop their skills, confidence and knowledge of career opportunities in engineering. “As our enrichment option for this year, we chose to participate in GirlsGetSET. This project improved our patience, perseverance, and teamworking skills to design, build and program a Lego Mindstorms robot. This gave us valuable experience in project planning and completion as well as testing. We were also given the opportunity to take part in the Mira showers’ Women in STEM mentoring program; in which we had one to one mentoring sessions with top engineers from the company. These sessions, which included a visit to the site, gave us insight and understanding into the different aspects of engineering and what the day-to-day life of an engineer involves. This opportunity has allowed us to make more informed choices with regards to post 18 choices.” Laura Davis and Jessica Ireland F1 IN SCHOOLS After a disrupted couple of years for F1 in Schools, we are back this year with new lead teachers (Mrs John and Mr Baldwin) and two teams of students who are completely new to the competition. Usually, we try to make sure that the teams have a mixture of Y12 and 13 students, so we have some continuity each year, with the Y13 students passing their skills and expertise on to the next generation. This hasn’t happened over the last few years, so we had a rocky start whilst we learned the rules and procedures, found all the equipment and got it all working again! We are very grateful for the support of ex-Cryptians Matthew Nicholl and George Barker, who have visited to support us with all aspects of the competition. The finals are virtual this year, with cars to be posted to F1 in Schools headquarters for racing, and all other project elements to be submitted virtually. The team members have met many challenges along the way; seeking sponsorship has been difficult in the current national climate but perseverance won the day. They have also learned to use the CAD software and the router to design and manufacture their cars and have developed so many transferable skills, including communication, presentation skills, time The Crypt School
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management, delegation and resilience. We have also shared expertise with Dean Close School, helping their Year 9 Entry Level team with testing their cars. At the time of writing this article, the teams are finalising their car designs ready for testing and they are producing their written portfolios and verbal presentations ready for judging in June. Teachers and students alike have learned so much this year and we are ready to continue to develop and innovate next year. LEGO ROBOTICS CHALLENGE CLUB – YEARS 7 AND 8 Enthusiastic roboticists from Years 7 and 8 have met weekly to design, build, programme and test Lego Spike Prime robots. This was made possible by a very generous donation from the CSPTA, allowing us to purchase a set of robots to expand our provision to a much greater number of students. They started with a basic robot build and learned how to code their robot to go forwards, backwards and turn in a circle. Next, they built grabbing arms to pick up small objects and moved on to gearing their robots down and up for increased speed and increased torque for hill climbing. They then taught themselves to code the robots to follow a black track using the colour sensors. Once the groups had mastered these skills, we worked on the challenges that form the EEP Lego Robotics Challenge competition. These include a ‘speed and control’ challenge, ‘robot showtime’ and a variety of complex tasks on the challenge mat.
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Our most committed Year 8 students formed a team to compete in the regional finals at the end of May. The challenges were judged virtually; the team excelled at robot showtime and the ‘more trees please’ mat task. They also gave a great presentation to explain their robot design and the progress they have made throughout the challenge. The final teamwork task allowed them to show off some fantastic communication skills. At the time of writing we are eagerly awaiting the final results.
FLYING START CHALLENGE - GRAND FINAL: Three teams from The Crypt made it into the grand final of the Flying Start Challenge to join 27 other teams from across the South West of England. They took part in engineering challenges during the day and there was also a flyoff for gliders they had built.
All three teams had notable success, but congratulations go first to team 'Air Wolves', who achieved third place in the overall competition and won £250 for the school. Team 'Geckos' came second in the fly-off and team 'HHAT' won the catapult challenge.
Religious Studies/Philosophy & Ethics - Mark Young It has been a hectic year in Religious Studies / Philosophy and Ethics. Years 10, 11 and 13 students have dealt with the return to exams with impressive maturity, maintaining a positive attitude in the face of an unfamiliar and stressful experience. Key Stage 3 students have engaged brilliantly with topics such as the theological implications of suffering, the problems of integrating or assimilating minority cultures into British society, and the sources we should trust when making moral decisions. We clearly have many young philosophers in the making. Next year, we will introduce a new A-level specification, broadening out the curriculum from theology and ethics to include issues in epistemology and metaphysics: is the mind a 'tabula rasa' at birth? Can we escape Cartesian scepticism? Is the mind just the brain?
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Sadly we are saying goodbye to Mr Wordingham this year. His enthusiastic and engaging delivery will be greatly missed, and we thank him for all he has done since his return to the department.
Politics - Meghan Hayes DECEMBER 2021 - PARLIAMENT TRIP: This year we relaunched our Politics trip to London. We had the wonderful opportunity to tour the House of Parliament and the UK Supreme Court. It was great to see our students actively engage with the different branches of government. Mr Dyer gave the students a short tour of the area surrounding Westminster including 10 Downing Street, Millicent Fawcett’s statue, and the statue of Robert Clive. This encouraged a lively debate about why we have statues and the consequences of them – linking nicely with our continued efforts to decolonise our curriculum. Sadly, Richard Graham was unavailable, but we were able to question his representative. The questions asked by the students proved how vital scrutiny is in our greater political world and helped them to find out more about careers in Politics. Overall, it was a very successful trip and as a department we look forward to doing it again!
Psychology and Sociology - Kat Plummer This year has seen the introduction of GCSE psychology, as two classes of Year 10 students trailblaze the way forward for future cohorts. Mr Windsor (Head of Year 9) has joined the department and he and Miss Plummer have had the pleasure of leading Year 10 on an exploration of psychological behaviours including conformity, obedience, insomnia and dreaming. All students are looking forward to having the opportunity to study criminal behaviour and psychological problems as they move into Year 11. We have saved the best for last. Year 10 students have been recreating Piaget’s conservation task to find out if children in the pre-operational stage (age 2-7) can conserve in comparison to children in the concrete operational stage (age 7-11). Sock puppets were used to overcome anxiety about acting on camera! Miss Leask has also joined the department this year, teaching sociology to Year 12. She has been engaging Year 12 students with thought-provoking debates concerning equality in education and the impact of society on our families and households. She brings a new and exciting sociological imagination to her class, from which all Year 12 sociologists are benefitting. Year 13 sociologists were surprised at just how expensive it is to raise children and provide a home for them, when they took a look at the effect of social policies on different families. Some of them were horrified when they found out they were having
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another child as they were already in debt with just the one. This activity certainly gave them a greater appreciation of what their parents do for them! Year 13 students are now revising and sitting exams and we wish this cohort all the best with their grades. For Mrs Stobo and Miss Plummer, this will be the first cohort to sit their exams since both teachers joined the department in 2019, so these exam results will have been a long time in the making. Next year we have another new member of staff as the department expands further with the introduction of a third class of Year 12 psychology students. We will be welcoming Miss Kimberley Johnson-Scott, who will be bringing her psychology and sociology enthusiasm to students at The Crypt and challenging them to excel in the social sciences.
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L ITERACY - C ATHERINE B ROOKS
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B ERNADETTE W ARNER
November 2021, “I Hear You”: Students wrote postcards about what was important for them in the “I Hear You” competition. We received 40+ submissions and the winner was Aliyah Jariwaller (Year 9). Gabbriella Oladipo (Year 7) received a special mention.
January, The Future: Crypt students had the opportunity to enter a literacy competition based on the theme of the future. They honed their creative writing skills by explaining what they might expect from the future - this could have been fiction or fact. After carefully looking over many entries, the following three winners were selected for prizes. Thomas Usmar (Year 12), Lillibeth Graves (Year 10) and Elena Fernandes (Year 10).
February, LGBTQ+ History Month: To mark LGBTQ+ History Month, students were tasked with completing an LGBTQ+ themed word search. All entries were collected and two winners were selected at random by Mr. Dyer. Congratulations to Chloe Arnold (Year 10) and Finch Neville (Year 10).
Literacy in school: The literacy emphasis this year has been focused on challenging reading and extending vocabulary. There has been a great deal of work on etymology and morphology of tier 2 words. Departments have been introducing students to how to read texts in their subject Every week, tutor groups have participated in literacy activities set by the Literacy Team, and these have included a variety of grammar and word games and tasks. A Word of the Week is set and students who use this word accurately in any school work can claim a merit from Mrs Warner in the library. First correct use earns students the right to try and crack the safe to earn a mystery book, book token and some sweets. World Book Day involved coming to school dressed as a book character and a month long readathon in Lower School - more of this in the Library section.
Literacy Day: We have had two Literacy Days so far and for the one in January, Mrs Brooks wrote the following report: The first Crypt Literacy Day took place last Friday with students from all year groups engaging in a wide range of activities related to reading and vocabulary. A massive thank
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you must go to all the staff for their creativity in researching and devising the various tasks as well as to the students who participated enthusiastically. The following account gives a flavour of some of the experiences students benefited from during the day. For many students, the day started with etymology being used to explore the origins, and so the meanings, of a selection of words in tutor time. This was taken further by Year 13 biologists looking at the origin and structure of words such as homogametic and gluconeogenesis, Year 10 mathematicians exploring words derived from ‘geo’ ‘quart’ and ‘inter’, and drama students in Year 8 using etymology to work out the meanings of Old English words. Definitions of a wide range of academic vocabulary were considered across the school from ‘relief’ in Year 7 geography to ‘megalomaniac’ in Year 9 history to ‘egalitarian’ in Year 10 psychology, and ‘sardonic’ in Year 13 English. Year 9 food students examined the meanings of French words and phrases related to their current topic whilst, as expected, vocabulary tests featured in a number of French and German lessons as well as spelling tests in English. Physics, chemistry and maths all focused on the precise meanings of words such as ‘rusting, corrosion, work, uniform, weight, battery’. Although these words are often used in everyday language, students need to be able to use them accurately in a subject-specific context. This was reinforced during feedback sessions in both design & technology and business studies. All subjects have been working on specific guidance for how to read challenging texts in their area of the curriculum. These were shared in a number of areas including sociology and philosophy and ethics. Many year groups had the opportunity to read texts and articles taken from magazines and websites which introduced them to ideas and stories beyond the everyday curriculum e.g. superpower molecules in biology, panda poop in year 7 science, the James Webb Space Telescope in physics and extracts from Touching the Void’ in English. In preparation for higher education, A Level students had a taste of university level texts as they read academic articles on ocean currents, the 10% rate of return rule for stocks, the nature of political philosophies in the late 20th Century and solutions to institutional racism. Some subjects also shared lists of recommended books which students could explore in order to extend their understanding. Later this term, more information will be provided about the recommended book lists for all subjects. In the meantime, students are encouraged to continue exploring the origins, structures and meanings of words they encounter as well as reading fiction and non-fiction texts widely to support all areas of their studies.
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L IBRARY - B ERNADETTE W ARNER Extreme Reading: Over the summer, we invited incoming Year 7s to send in pictures of themselves reading in unusual places. All the photographs received were great fun. The winners were: FIRST, Lucy Smith; SECOND, Finlay Luffham; THIRD, Amelia Price; Highly Commended, Teodor Macanu, Theo Bloxham, Maya Weaver, Gabriella Olapido.
Word of the Week: Every week, a word and its definitions are put into the Daily News and onto the noticeboard outside the library. Exemplar sentences are also supplied. Any student who uses the word accurately in any school work can claim a merit from me in the library. The first correct use means students can try breaking the code for the safe box to win a mystery book, book token and some sweets.
New books: We have bought many books this year including the Empathy Lab list, Toto Carnegie shortlist, and more than 400 others. This has kept my student librarians and me busy, and massively increased the choice and variety available to our readers. Thanks to the CPTSA who kindly supplemented my school budget with a generous grant and made it possible for me to buy lots of books in direct response to student requests. We are also grateful to the parents/carers who have kindly donated books from our Amazon wishlist. It is lovely to see these come through the library system repeatedly, and it is particularly special when the students borrowing them ask about the names on the book plates.
Accelerated Reader: We run the Accelerated Reader programme for Years 7 and 8. If students achieve 3 100%s in a row for their book quizzes, they can also try the safe. Our first winner was Joshua Binoy, closely followed by Gabriella Oladipo and then Cayden Ahayo.
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E-Platform (Wheelers): We are into the second year of having access to 1250+ e-books and 800+ audiobooks. This was incredibly useful during lockdowns. It might have been expected to decline in popularity once we were all back in school but, in fact, an increasing number of students are taking good advantage of this facility.
Year 7 Reading Challenge: In September/October, year 7 took part in a House Reading Challenge. These are the results: First: DW - 500 points Second: RR - 400 points Third: JC - 300 points Fourth: WEH - 200 points Fifth: JM - 100 points In addition, one person from each House won a book token for recording the most hours of reading (I did check with parents and teachers…). These students were: Minal Shetty, Andrew Carter, Sulek Kumarathas, Caiden Hill and Will Watson.
MiniVids: All year, I have been emailing out mini videos of authors talking about their books and the advantages of reading. These have been sourced from the National Literacy Trust, Read for Good and the Cheltenham Festival of Literacy children’s programme.
Festivals: At Christmas, students could borrow mystery Christmas-themes books from under the tree, some of which came with a sweet treat. During Diwali, we did the same thing with books about light.
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Read Aloud Day: February 1st was Read Aloud Day. Students came to the library to read their own writing to a small and appreciative audience. Here are some of the students brave enough to perform their work, all of which went down well.
February 2022 do you do when you love a book so much that it hurts? This was the Valentine’s themed display in the library during February.
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April 2022: After an application from the librarian, these books were donated by The Reading Agency with funding from the Department of Digital, Cultural, Media and Sports (DCMS). They are part of the Reading Well for Mental Health Collection. These supplement our strong focus as a school on the mental health of all our students. Some are displayed in the library and others in the Pastoral Room. Thank you to Gloucestershire Libraries and Information for facilitating the delivery of these books to The Crypt. Facebook – @GloucestershireLibraries Instagram – @gloucestershire_libraries Twitter - @gloslibs
The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee: In May/June, 20 words were issued to the school, all themed around the Queen and her reign. Anyone who found these in their reading books could claim merits from the library. In addition, 45 quotations from the Queen were taped up around the library and its balcony, and students could take an 18 question quiz, which meant searching high and low for their answers. All participants were entered into a prize draw which was drawn immediately after half-term. Here are the results: FIRST - £15 book token: Toby Riegler (Year 9) SECOND - £10 cinema token: Ashley Umege (Year 8) THIRD - large bar of chocolate: Rebecca Watts (Year 9)
Pride month in the library: June is Pride Month and we have a big collection of books on display including ones about LGBTQ+ characters and some written by LGBTQ+ authors. Student Librarians: Thank you to all the reliable, hardworking and lovely student librarians who help out every lunchtime - I would be lost without you!
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R EPORTS F ROM Y EAR H EADS Year 7 - Georgie Herbert Wow! What a wonderful start Year 7 have made to their secondary school careers. This academic year has whizzed by in a blur of selling in, learning, extra-curricular activities and of course the residential trip. I have been blown away with how well our Year 7 students have settled into the wider Crypt School community. When they arrived in September they were nervous and unsure of themselves. Now they are fully fledged Cryptians, ready to move on to Year 8 and start setting an example to the next cohort of Year 7s this coming September. The residential trip was a fantastic bonding experience for all students who attended. The range of activities was enjoyed by all, and the weather held out for us (mostly). It was an eye-opening experience to see just how popular vending machines can be, and also how many packets of sweets students are able to consume on top of three cooked meals a day (turns out it’s a lot). It has been a pleasure working with Year 7 this academic year. I wish them every success as they progress on their journey through our school. Wow! What a fantastic start Year 7 have made to their secondary school careers. This academic year has whizzed by in a blur of selling in, learning, extra-curricular activities and of course the residential trip. I have been blown away with how well our Year 7 students have settled into the wider Crypt School community. When they arrived in September they were nervous and unsure of themselves. Now they are fully fledged Cryptians, ready to move on to Year 8 and start setting an example to the next cohort of Year 7s this coming September. It has been a pleasure working with Year 7 this academic year. I wish them every success as they progress on their journey through our school.
Year 8 – Andy Hart This has been a much more settled year for our year group. Students have had many opportunities both within and outside the curriculum to flourish and enrich themselves. Some highlights include:
Drop down day: This was a fun non-curriculum day focussing on teamwork, leadership and communication. One of the more challenging tasks was to build a catapult which was successful for some teams and disastrous for others. This was a lovely opportunity to see students working together and test their ability to solve problems.
Jungle Book: It is so nice to have a school production back and so nice to see many Year 8 students getting involved. Some were part of the cast and others were giving up their time to work behind the scenes. This does take so much time and effort from everyone involved but the result was thoroughly entertaining.
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There are too many teams and individuals to mention but Year 8s have had the opportunity to represent the school in: cross country, netball, football, rugby, handball, basketball, tennis, cricket, rounders and athletics.
House competition: This continues to grow and well done to Wabosa for winning. So far the students have competed in: Hartball, human table football, maths, world book day, reading challenge, red nose day, football and rugby. We are also planning for our first sports day in 3 years! Year 9 will bring new challenges and the first time for students to start to tailor their own education path . Thank you to everyone who has helped with Year 8 this year, from teachers to parents, and I look forward to being their Head of Year 9.
Year 8 Residential (delayed from last year!): This was over 12 months in the planning and involved a change of venue but, finally, the current Year 8 cohort managed to enjoy their Year 7 residential! 150 students plus 13 members of staff travelled to Colomendy in North Wales for a weekend of fun and challenge. Taking almost all the year group was daunting and we had several issues with rooming but, once we arrived, this was all sorted. The students were supplied with a variety of activities from the challenge of heights on the Leap of Faith, climbing and Jacob’s Ladder, to the problem-solving of the obstacle course, buggy-build and bush craft. The evening brought upon a campfire and night walk, and eventually bed. The pictures only give a small flavour of what fun it was and again the level of behaviour and enthusiasm was a credit to the school. Memories and friendships were created for life and the year group are already keen on having another residential.
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Year 8 Residential 2022 (this one happened on time - almost!): The Year 8 residential took place finally after Christmas. It is normally scheduled for the end of September but it was decided that the current Year 8s would benefit from another residential in their academic year due to the disruption they experienced from Covid during their Year 7. This time, we took 79 students away to Abernant Lakes Hotel near the Brecon Beacons for a weekend. Thankfully, we were very lucky with the weather, so were able to offer many outdoor activities. The first day students experienced: rifle shooting, archery, climbing and abseiling. On day 2, it was fun on the lake with canoes and kayaking. Then the last day they finished off with an obstacle course, fencing and zip wire. The students had a wonderful time and it is so nice to see students outside the classroom environment with smiles on their faces. All this could not have taken place without 8 members of staff giving up their weekend so a big thank you to: Miss Cantin, Miss Hall, Miss Hayes, Mrs Williams, Mr Wordingham and Mrs Watts. Hopefully the next opportunity for the Year 8 will be a trip to Corezze in France for something similar but a lot warmer.
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Year 9 - Harry W insor Year 9 always presents challenges for young people, but this year’s group has risen to challenges they have faced after a difficult first two years at The Crypt. The students are developing into confident, enthusiastic and outgoing individuals, who are not afraid to ask questions and make changes for the better. Throughout the year, we have seen numerous occasions where pupils have had to come through tough circumstances and shown the resilience and perseverance that we endeavour to instil in each person at the school to flourish. A particular theme for the year has been respect (another core value) and kindness, that should always be at the forefront of our minds when interacting with peers. We will continue to promote this subject to ensure an inclusive culture in the year group. The choosing of GCSE options was a big part of the year, with some tough decisions to be made about how to proceed with their education. We hope that the students are happy with their choices, and have found a combination of subjects that they will both enjoy and do well in. Another highlight of the year were the mental health awareness workshops held in April. The engaging speaker, Satveer Nijjar, fed back that the Year 9 groups she worked with were excellent, and I am sure they will have gained a greater understanding of their own mental health and that of others.
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Well done to all students who have represented the school in various disciplines over the year, in the realms of sport, drama, music and academia. There are too many highlights to mention, but with such a talented group we have a lot to be proud of this year. The U14 rugby team showed a great deal of potential and, but for a scheduling issue, would have been representing the school at Kingsholm – we look forward to meeting Sir Thomas Rich’s there in the next academic year. The U14 VII did immensely well, winning the OSH 7s in their first ever tournament, and progressing to the second day of the National 7s at Rosslyn Park. Well done also to the U14 netballers who performed exceptionally well at their County tournament and made huge progress as a team this year. Congratulations to those students who took part in other competitions, such as the Flying Start Challenge for engineering and Top of the Bench chemistry competition, who did so well getting to the finals. Another great achievement was George T’s Easter Egg initiative, collecting more than 75 chocolate eggs for Gloucester Feed the Hungry’s Easter charity campaign. Finally, a big well done to those students involved in the Duke of Edinburgh award, who have shown enormous perseverance to complete their expeditions and volunteering. I take great pride in being the Head of Year for this group of students, and I look forward to seeing what they can achieve in Year 10.
Year 10 - Charlotte Miles I am super proud of the courage, determination and resilience Year 10 have shown throughout this year. They are a confident, fun and respectful bunch of people with a lot of potential. Exams can be worrying for some, however, they have worked to deal with the stresses exams can bring during the end of year assessments and have made a great start to their GCSE courses. With extra-curricular back to normal this year, I have loved seeing Year 10 engage in an abundance of activities from chess to rugby to the school production. A highlight for me was seeing the Year 10 netball girls enjoy being together, having fun and engaging in sport during the netball trip in September. We have a student panel to represent their forms and the year group as a whole. They are a responsible group of individuals who bring great ideas to meetings and raise awareness of important matters. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with them this year. Next year, Mrs Sturge will be their Head of Year and I wish them all the best in their GCSEs and future endeavours.
Year 11 - Charlotte Sturge I hope that year 11 will look back at the year just gone with a considerable amount of pride. Once again it has sadly been a really difficult year for everyone, not least I think for young people. The things that make life enjoyable such as seeing friends and family have been absent from our lives for a number of years. The Crypt School
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I hope as we all do that we are now moving into a time where the pandemic is behind us. I met most of Year 11 for the first time in Year 10 when I taught personal development, and some to whom I have thoroughly enjoyed teaching biology over the last couple of years. This year, I have got to know many more of Year 11 and I can honestly say that it is a real pleasure to be their Head of Year. I will not say that it has been without its challenges on a number of occasions, but it is a real privilege to be entrusted with this responsibility. They have grown over the last year as young people and learned to be more resilient and open when necessary. I know that some have struggled, but I commend them for letting us know when they are struggling and seeking help. I hope that they will continue to do this as they move into adulthood. When exams are over, they should take some time over the next few weeks to reflect on the good times that they have had in the school over the years: the times when they have laughed with your friends, enjoyed time out on the sunny field or cracked that subject topic that they thought they would never master. They did it! They are all successful, each and every one, in many different ways. We recognise their strengths and hope to see them build on these as they move to the next stage of their life; reflecting on how far they have come and the skills they have accomplished, the friends they have made and the knowledge they have gained that will never be forgotten. I hope that they have picked up my message that, as they move onto the next stage of their lives, they should take this opportunity to heed the following advice: ●
Treat others as you would like to be treated yourself.
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Be the person who stands up to the bully, not the one who follows them.
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Think about how your actions affect others, the words you say or write on social media. You can’t take hurtful comments back and they can wound more deeply than you might imagine.
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And remember
It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul. Year 12 – Rebecca Cantin On the whole, Year 12 students have had a hugely successful year. As life starts to normalise, our senior students have been afforded lots of opportunities which have allowed them to develop into young adults and make friendships for life. This is incredibly important, and we strongly believe that students should be given this freedom and trust when earned. From the start, it was very clear to me that this was a special year group of students. Full of energy, drive, humour and focus, the Y12s have been a joy to lead. The year group managed to integrate fairly quickly. There were many factors that contributed to the
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success of these friendships forming: foremost was the team building opportunities organised for them in September - they bonded over go-karting, laser tag, rounders and a fun quiz. These events were important in helping students to get to know each other, and we continued this in ‘activities day’ in May, where students competed in teams named after animals in climbing, orienteering, rounders and the ‘egg drop challenge’.
Alongside all of the team building opportunities, many students have entered the GE aviation Employability Award. This provided the students with the opportunity to introduce themselves to local employers at GE. Students have also attended the University and Apprenticeship Roadshow at Ashton Gate stadium, where they could receive professional advice on careers and next steps. Wednesday enrichment talks with local employers have also provided our Y12s with useful information from local professionals about potential careers. Finally, work experience week will provide students the opportunities to take a look at what their future careers could look like. The much anticipated prefect applications saw a record number of students putting themselves forward this year. Mr Biggs and I were incredibly impressed with the maturelywritten applications, resulting in a record number of prefects this year. These prefects are now proving themselves to be excellent role models to our younger students. In addition, we also received a huge number of student executive applications, all of which came from incredibly strong candidates. Congratulations to Wyatt Dundas and Lacey Bradley for being named as our new Head Boy and Head Girl. Along with their strong team of student executive members, this brilliant group of students will be helping me organise the next summer school and many other school and community events. Overall, I have relished the opportunity to be the head of year for this year group. A special group of students who I am sure will go on to make the school proud in the future!
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Year 13 - Matthew Bevan After a disrupted first year in the Sixth Form, Year 13 students embarked on their final year of study in September with some trepidation mingled with excitement and promise that they might experience a 'more normal' school year than the previous two. The mock exams students sat in November and in March took on an even greater significance, as this cohort had not sat GCSE exams in the summer of 2020. The rituals of revision timetables, sitting in the exam hall, were new experiences for them; this year group more than any other has had their learning and qualifications disrupted by the pandemic. In recognition of this, in February, Mrs Sarah Troy joined the Sixth Form pastoral team in order to meet the needs of a growing Sixth Form and to add much needed capacity in the pastoral support we offer to our senior students. The final day in school for Year 13 students was Friday 20th May. We marked this occasion with a breakfast and final assembly together in the Common Room with Mr Dyer, Mr Biggs, Mr Bevan and form tutors, when every leaver was given a Crypt School badge by the Old Cryptians. It was a lovely final morning together, full of good humour, and heartfelt speeches from Harvind and Alice, our outgoing Head Boy and Head Girl, for their time at the school.
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T UTOR
TIME AT
T HE C RYPT - R ICHARD S ALT
As a School we place great importance on the impact a positive tutor time can have on our students. Their tutor is often the first member of staff they see on site in the morning and that initial positive interaction plays a very important part in setting students up for the day ahead. We like to allow tutors and tutees time to talk and develop the relationships that are the cornerstone of our pastoral care, but also like to use the time available to cover a range of topics. As some of you are aware, central to this is a calendar of events that tie in with nationally marked days and/or months of particular specific importance. Whilst ensuring October is not the only month where we consider the importance of Black History, our annual celebration of this key aspect of history and an important part of our culture serves as a time where we can underline our commitment to inclusion. As The Crypt Multi-Cultural society has flourished, this event has grown in influence as it has become more student led. Following quickly on from that (interspersed by our marking of Remembrance as a school, one of the highlights of the year), we focus on Anti-Bullying Week. As a school, we are very conscious of the ongoing national challenges all schools face in terms of consent. A sensitive topic to address but one that must be addressed, nonetheless. It has become increasingly clear to us that 15 minutes of tutor time cannot possibly do justice to such important topics. This year, we have introduced ‘community hours’ where the whole school stops for all of period one on a specific day to tackle these vital issues in greater depth. We used this for Black History Month, Anti-Bullying Week and for some work on careers. More community hours are planned for other key events in the calendar. Any sense of community can only be achieved if everybody feels safe. Events like Safer Internet Day in February have underlined that as an important part of our digital strategy. Again, the importance of consent is fundamental to this. Subsequent work on mental health in Term 5, has served a similar purpose. Across each term, our tutor time has been further galvanised by our developing careers programme. Careers events have been regularly held and/or publicised via tutor times and the input into the overall programme from our careers team into community hours in particular has benefited the student body. This will continue into the forthcoming terms. This understanding that the broader priorities of the school should triangulate with tutor time has been further evident through the regular commitment the tutor team has shown to our literacy strategy. Every Wednesday, tutor groups have tackled a range of literacy challenges as well as gratefully receiving applicable hints and tips to support their work. Our commitment to literature was also celebrated through World Book Day where the day started with tutors looking to celebrate this important occasion with their tutees in advance of that being built on in the day’s lessons. A full and supportive tutor programme as you can see! We are grateful to a dedicated group of tutors who have facilitated this. We also applaud our student body who have engaged with the ideas shared with positivity. A special thanks to those staff who have led on activities. These sessions remain vital in setting up students for their day ahead where they use their time positively. They also underpin our school values, helping all involved to flourish.
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S CHOOL E VENTS Remembrance Day, 11 November, 2021
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October - Autumn Concert - Julian Whittaker and team
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November 2021: United Kingdom Parliame nt Week This year, The Crypt School students were involved in UK Parliament Week. Led by the Politics department, students: planted some chilli seeds to ‘sow the seeds of democracy’; had a debate; signed a petition; and understood the importance of democracy and participation. Students throughout Year 8 completed a leaf on the ‘Democratree’ selecting a key issue that they are passionate about and three ways that they could enact change. We had a wide range of issues including concerns about the environment, minimum wage, and tackling homophobia. The highlight of the week was the debate about whether 16-year-olds should have the right to vote. This caused a lot of discussion in form times and students voted 84% YES that 16-year-olds should have the right to vote. The group even voted to sign the most recent government petition proving that you are never too young to make a difference. MH
November 26th - Christmas Fair - CPTSA
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December - Carol Service - Julian Whittaker and team
December - hot chocolate for the Staff During what has been another challenging year, the staff have appreciated little treats provided by the Senior Leadership and school office teams. These have included hot chocolate, hot cross buns, and slices of delicious cake. Thank you to all concerned.
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December - Christmas lunch The school canteen often mark special occasions with an appropriate menu. At Christmas, it’s always Roast Turkey, of course, which is very popular. Thank you to Lorraine Comer and all her dedicated team. We will miss Beryl who left us this year after many many years of service.
December 15 2021 - Sixth Form Carolling Another Cryptian tradition we all enjoy is the sixth form carroliing towards the very end of term. As usual, a good time was had by all, especially Mr Whittaker.
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February 2022 - Evensong at Gloucester Cathedral Julian Whittaker writes: Our fantastic choir, comprised of students from Y7-13, took part in a wonderful evensong service at Gloucester Cathedral, alongside the girl choristers and lay clerks. The service was conducted by the Director of Music, Canon Adrian Partington. The choir learnt a very challenging repertoire within three weeks! This included canticles: Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis by Nobel, the anthem "Locus iste" by Bruckner. "Psalm 150" by Stanford and the responses by Smith. Attendance, effort and progress within rehearsals was excellent. New members joined the choir and everyone worked very hard indeed. The choir is a very happy, lively and confident team of young people. The service was outstanding. The sound made by the combined choirs was incredible. We were very impressed by the discipline, detail and blend of our choir which matched the choristers and lay clerks perfectly. Mr Partington was extremely impressed. He commented on the quality of sound made by the choir, the attention to detail and the expressive quality of the singing. We are hugely grateful to the cathedral and Mr Partington for accommodating us. This was an event that the students will remember forever; a truly euphoric and lifeaffirming experience. Well done everyone!
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March 2022 - World Book Day - Mrs Warner On World Book Day, Thursday 3 March, lots of students came as characters from books. Several members of staff joined in with the fun and we even had a dinosaur reading “Primeval” in the library. See below for some of the best homemade efforts. There were 40 large bars of chocolate distributed as rewards! We know that, in many cases, the chocolate should have been shared with the supportive parents and carers who helped prepare their children for the day. Thank you to you all. During Lesson 1, Year 7 listened to Jane Ryan talk about her book series “Missing Dad” and asked thoughtful informed questions. She has kindly donated books and bookmarks which can be picked up for free from the library. Year 8 heard Tom Palmer speak virtually about reading for pleasure during Lesson 2. He answered questions sent in by named members of the school and his books are suddenly being borrowed much more! There were Golden Tickets hidden in the library. If students found one, they registered it at the staff desk. Once they had read the book, they answered a few questions and won a small prize and lots of ePraise merits. There are still 2 Golden Tickets left to be found! Throughout March, Years 7 and 8 did a Readathon to coincide with World Book Day. They were being sponsored by family and friends. The money raised - over £2000 in total! - was shared between the school library and Read for Good: https://readforgood.org/ who received £1200+. This local charity gives books and comics to children who have been in Gloucester Royal or Cheltenham General for a long time. They also hire professional storytellers to entertain, distract and educate the youngest patients. We are sure you will agree that this is most worthwhile.
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Next year’s visiting author has already been booked with the money our students raised. In March 2023, Christopher Edge https://www.christopheredge.co.uk/ will speak with Years 7 and 8, then work with a small group of Year 9 to prepare them for the creative writing section of their GCSE.
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March/April 2022 - School Play There is a write up about the school play in the Drama Department report, but here are some more pictures to remind us all of what a great time we had.
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April 2022 - Spring Concert End of Term 5 at The Crypt School was marked by a truly outstanding Spring Concert, where musicians of different ages came together to provide a fantastic musical spectacle. The themes were Inclusion, Community and Wellbeing. This was the first live Spring Concert since lockdown. It was amazing to see how much the range and quality of music in the school has grown, along with the increase in the number of pupils taking part in weekly musical rehearsals. The first half of the concert offered a variety of ensembles of different sizes, and genre; from the school orchestra that fantastically opened the concert, to the Year 8 folk band and the spirited debut of Young Voices, a choir consisting of Years 7 and 8 pupils. Another highlight was the guitar group - an eighteen-player ensemble creating an immense and powerful sound with renditions of ‘Stand by Me’ and ‘House of the Rising Sun.’ We were also moved by the enthralling solo performances of vocalist Joseph Tallamy (Y13) and percussionist Benjamin Hannaford-Waddington (Y12) whose timpani solo captivated listeners. The highlight of the evening came in the second half, in which the always impressive main choir, Cantores Cryptiensis, accompanied by our chamber orchestra, delivered a captivating and life affirming performance of the “Gloria” by Antonio Vivaldi. Listeners were engaged by the complex and interwoven melodies of ‘Domine Fili Unigenite’ and the mesmerising arias sung by Xavier Coupland (Y13) and Matthias Kelay (Y12). Laudamus Te - a duet sung by Xavier Coupland and Jessica Edwards (Y13) - and the thrilling closing movement Cum Sancto Spiritu, were other highlights within the phenomenal musical feat with its dramatic changes in tonality, emotion, and intensity. It was an amazing achievement for our students (some only Y7) to have learnt the full work within 6 weeks. It was wonderful to see so many staff and some professional guests joining us to sing and play: a truly unforgettable performance! Music is still the beating heart at the Crypt School.
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C LUBS
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S OCIETIES
NOT MENTIONED IN
Y EAR /S UBJECT
REPORTS
Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme - Alison Peake The 2021-22 Crypt DofE programme year is well underway as I write with 67 Year 9s doing Bronze award, 30 Year 10s doing Silver award and an amazing 26 Year 12s doing Gold award. On top of that, four Year 11s and five Year 13s are hoping to complete the expeditions that got postponed last year when COVID hit. We have been able to get back to some semblance of normality this year. Lunchtime clubs have been running once a fortnight for each cohort and the staff involved with that have been helping the participants choose their volunteering, physical and skills activities and then monitoring their progress. Each of these should be done for about an hour a week over a period of three, six or twelve months depending on the award they are doing. The activities our students do for these are amazing and very varied. Many are already well on their way to completing these sections. The focus since Christmas has been on the expedition section. All three cohorts had in-
school training days in February/March with Live Life Adventure (LLA), our trusted activity provider, where they covered team building, first aid, emergencies, campcraft and cooking.
These have been followed up in April with canoe and navigation skills training. Everyone new to canoeing completed the Paddlesport Start Award on the River Avon at Twyning.
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The Golds then went on to complete a frosty day’s journey from Eckington to Twyning, learning how to navigate locks and weirs. For the first time the Year 9s were offered the chance to canoe as well as walk for their expeditions. Thirteen were interested in that option and took to the water on their training day with great glee in glorious sunshine. They completed their Paddlesport Start award on the Stroudwater Canal and then their first journey on the Sharpness Canal from Slimbridge to Purton.
The remaining 54 Year 9s started and finished on Selsley Common and walked around the Woodchester Estate and down to Stonehouse before camping at Penn Wood Scout Centre.
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The following weekend it was the turn of the 27 Year 10 canoeists to head off to the River Wye to complete their Silver DofE training and travel from Hay-on-Wye to Hereford for their practice expedition. The sun shone, then it rained. They paddled and capsized; they cooked on gas trangias for the first time and generally had fun. By the end of the three days, they had realised that canoeing is not as easy as it seems but they all learned a lot! They completed the planning for their qualifying expedition later in July and are now reflecting on what they did or did not pack and how they can make their next trip even more enjoyable. Next up were the 26 Year 12s doing their Gold practice expedition in canoes on the River Severn from Upper Arley to Tewkesbury. The forecast was favourable for a warm paddle and working out how far they can go in a day and what roles they all play in their teams. They had a bit of rain on the Friday just as they were setting up camp but then a rainbow appeared and the sun came back out.
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The final group to head off at the beginning of the May school holiday are the three Year 10 walkers accompanied by one of our Year 11s to make up the minimum team size allowed so that they can complete their Silver practice expedition. They are going to be walking in the Forest of Dean practising their navigation skills and campcraft. All cohorts have their qualifying expeditions scheduled in or after Term 6.
The Year 9 Bronze walkers are completing circular routes between the River Severn and the A38 in the Slimbridge/Purton area. The Year 9 Bronze canoers are paddling the Sharpness Canal from Saul Junction to Gloucester and back. The Year 10 Silver canoers are paddling from Hereford to Monmouth on the River Wye The Year 10 Silver walkers will be joined by the rest of the Year 11s to complete their expeditions in the Brecon Beacons. The Year 13 Gold walkers will be joining the Year 10s/Year 11s to complete their Covid delayed expedition in the Brecons.
The final Gold qualifying expedition is the most ambitious we have planned in my time as DofE Manager. The Year 12 canoers wanted a challenge having already canoed the rapids on the River Wye for their Silver. After looking at several options they decided they wanted to paddle the Great Glen Canoe Trail, travelling from west to east coast from Fort William to Inverness in Scotland. Working closely with LLA, using my scouting experience as a camp cook, and thanks to a parent and two LLA instructors volunteering their time to drive the school minibuses, we’ve turned that into reality. It’s become a 10 day trip - with travel days, open water acclimatisation training on Loch Shiel and rest days - which we are all very much looking forward to. Watch out for the photos and updates on our social media #CryptDofE. For me, as DofE Manager, it has been a very rewarding but busy year so far. The number enrolling grows year on year as does the amount of administration! Having such large groups and a short term after the Easter holiday has meant DofE practice expeditions have gone out every weekend for four weeks. It’s been a tight turn around for kit and when the weather is unkind we end up drying tents wherever we can!
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Finally, on Monday 16th May I had the great privilege of being invited to Buckingham Palace to attend a Gold Award Presentation garden party with our first ever Cryptian Gold DofE Award recipient, Tom Gregory and his mother, Sonia. We had a wonderful afternoon listening to speeches by Prince Edward, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson and Levi Roots, wandering around the beautiful palace gardens and enjoying tea on the lawn listening to the military bands. A couple of short showers didn't dampen anyone's spirits and it was amazing to see so many young people being congratulated for sticking with it and completing what is, as Prince Edward called it, "a life-changing award". Six other Cryptians have now completed their Gold awards and I hope they get their invitations to Buckingham Palace soon to enjoy a similarly wonderful experience. We hope to hold a Celebration Evening in school early next year to acknowledge their and all the other award holders’ achievements and showcase some of the amazing things our participants have done to complete their Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards. Many thanks as ever to all the parents who support their children doing the award and the staff that support DofE within school - from the Headmaster as DofE Licence holder; to the teachers and support staff who work as DofE Leaders and assessors; to those that help with the administration, act as emergency contacts or even just promote the award to the students - their help is hugely appreciated and advertised on their doors with DofE signs! DofE at The Crypt School could not operate so successfully without this amazing team! Alison Peake, DoE Manager
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Astronomy Club - Annie Hall Astronomy Club launched in early 2022 with much success. We have had a good turn out from all year groups who have enjoyed learning about all aspects of space. We have made and learned how to use planispheres as a guide to the stars. We have made and launched rockets, some of which took off with a real bang! We have researched all types of telescope and have even had some hands-on experience during an observation evening. We are very much looking forward to winter 2022 when observation evenings can resume at sensible hours.
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German Club - Jo Thomas There have been record turn outs at German Club this year. Vielen Dank! Thank you
to all those that helped write the 57 Christmas cards, ready to be distributed by Mathias Baier Seniorenbetreuung to elderly residents in Regensburg, Bavaria!
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Drama Club - Dan Webb Drama Club this year has been jam-packed with different activities and games; from vocal warmups to script work, all the way to drama games and winning Epraise points. With a consistent turnout each week, Drama Club has helped everyone gain confidence in their Drama knowledge as well as learning transferable skills through body language and facial expressions. We’ve had loads of fun along the way with Drama games like ‘Zip-Zap-Boing’, ‘Keeper of the Keys’ and, of course, ‘Splat’, an all-time favourite. We have also been working towards a digitalised showcase, where everyone can show off their script work and the drama skills they have learned throughout this eventful (but undoubtedly fun) year of Drama Club!
LGBTQ+ - Meghan Hayes and Tom Passmore
Words to describe the importance of our LGBTQ+ clubs here at The Crypt, are hard to find.. With modern culture opening up, and during anxious times surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic, it is imperative that we understand the needs of all young people. The Crypt is proud of its diversity and acceptance of students from all backgrounds, encouraging individuals to be comfortable with their sexual identities, and the identities of their friends and peers, enabling them to flourish in their academic studies and personal goals. This year has been a busy one for the LGBTQ+ societies. With Miss Hayes, students have been learning about LGBTQ+ history, including The first lesbian, Anne Lister; Bayard Rustin, and Stonewall. One of the most interesting and engaging conversations was about the ‘Don’t Say Gay Bill’ in the USA and how we can make sure The Crypt School remains a safe place for everyone. With Mr Passmore, sessions have focused on understanding the complexities of others, offering a safe environment for self discovery and enabling students to discuss, question, investigate meanings and to generally appreciate their own unique status - be it Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual, Transgender or anything inbetween, as well as our important allies. We have looked at the role of media representations and considered films, books and The Crypt School
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social media influencers, with a particular appreciation for the newly released Netflix series ‘Heartstopper’, which provides an essential normality within a school environment and raises awareness of a multitude of delicate situations. We have also discussed the need for accessible information, for everyone, on as many identities as possible, supporting those confused about their own feelings, as well as those who want to help friends/family who might be going through some difficult decisions. From this, plans for a noticeboard with QR codes leading to insightful websites, photographs of members of staff who can offer support, and links to recommended reading, have been born and we look forward to its fruition outside Lab 7. We are also very aware of the delicate nature of our society and that there are many individuals who are not ready to disclose anything, so providing a safe, non-judgemental, space for development, and ensuring resources can be accessed discreetly, are at the forefront of our ethos. Individuals who have been brave enough to participate have enriched our understanding and we are thankful for each and every member. Now, we look forward to expanding horizons and welcoming new members to the society. Students have given lots of ideas for both LGBTQ+ History Month and Pride Month which will happen in June. We are looking forward to seeing what next year and beyond will bring for our society.
Japanese Club - Philip Jones Japanese club started up this year focusing on learning some basic Japanese language in a friendly and relaxed environment. We have practised speaking, learnt about some cultural aspects of Japan and even tried our hand at writing. It has been on hiatus for the past few months without a room but it will be starting up again towards the end of this year and into the next. Our regular attendees have enjoyed coming and picking up bits of Japanese each week and we will be looking forward to recruiting new members next year!
Board Games Club - Richard Jones This academic year a board games club for Years 7 and 8 has been offered as part of the extra curricular programme. Taking place on a Friday lunchtime, it has now become an established place for many students to socialise, have fun and, most importantly, stay out of the rain. Students have a free choice of activity and a considerable amount of diversity has developed. One corner of the room has been taken over by those who enjoy Warhammer 40k. Their battles have become popular among observers who particularly enjoy the wellpainted models. Other devotees of the club enjoy card games such as Exploding Kittens. The club has not existed without trials and tribulations. A particularly distressing moment for one group of students was losing half of the Jenga set behind a particularly hard to move cabinet. They were able to show resilience however and switched to UNO instead. It has been a pleasure to supervise the club and watch the students develop life skills such as fair play, sportsmanship, patience and kindness.
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Chatterbox - Bernadette Warner For Monday lunchtimes, the library balcony is reserved for Year 7s. They can chat about books, life, anything with sixth from prefects and each other. This will continue into next year and is likely to be most popular when the weather is bad!
Med Soc - Henry Bowen MedSoc (Medical Society) is a lunchtime club run for students in Year 12 who are interested in a career in medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry, or allied healthcare professions. This is the second year MedSoc has run and the students have benefited significantly from a range of talks and activities over the year. We have heard from many Old Cryptians (and other people associated with the school) who are working in healthcare. They have shared their exciting stories of where their careers have taken them - Ciaran Hollywood, a school governor and consultant breast surgeon, regaled us all with stories of performing and advising on remote surgeries in Kenya; Daniel Bawden, an A&E consultant, told us all of his time spent on the HEMS (helicopter emergency medical service) units in London; Jacob Lange (an OC), told us all about the day-to-day life of a junior doctor in a busy A&E ward. Outside our talks, we have looked at some interesting medical case studies, as well as looking in depth into the university admissions process, and what it is like to work for the NHS. The students will go into Year 13 well prepared for the journey that lies ahead of them! Best of luck!
Debate Society - Eleanor Gasan The debating society has been a thriving extracurricular activity for many years now. Traditionally, it is a society that involved students from across the school and therefore The Crypt School
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amalgamated the experiences and viewpoints of all our agegroups. Last year, it was of course, disappointing to have lost this advantage as a result of the Covid restrictions. The Year 12s (current Year 13s) still did an excellent job of keeping the spirit of the society alive – debating in their bubble and streaming via Google Meet. KS3 also hosted their own debate, on abortion, online. Even though debate carried on last year, there was nothing more joyous than seeing our debating society reconvening in its traditional format. A community of different age groups came together for their first meeting, this academic year, to prepare for the next debate. New and existing members shared their ideas about issues that were important to them and those that they wished to discuss further. Diverse discussion has always been at the heart of debate society, where we have previously argued anything from: ‘This house believes Marvel is better than DC’ to ‘This house believes Covid vaccines should not be made compulsory’. This meeting was no different and a range of ideas were put forward including whether Amazon’s growth should be capped to avoid monopolies and whether MPS should be allowed multiple jobs. Debating issues that are important to the students is key to Debate Society’s success and actual debates have, in some cases, attracted an audience of up to 80 people. I am pleased to announce that the decided motion for the debate this term is: 'This house believes that selective education (e.g. grammar schools) should not exist’. Controversial, of course, but interesting all the same, especially as The Crypt itself is selective. It will be interesting to hear what the students think about their education system and for them to consider those who have different opportunities. Those Year 13s that oversee debate are keen to run the debates with a judging system as well as an overall opinion poll. This means that each team is awarded points for the calibre of their argument, delivery, attitude, and so on, to ensure a respectful and quality exchange of views. Proposers, opposers, judges and The Master of Ceremonies are selected at our initial meetings and are from different year groups. As the younger years are supported by our experienced sixth formers, we hope to nurture those younger students so that they can continue the great work when it is time for Year 13 to move on. I would like to take this opportunity to give special thanks to Harvind Sandhu, Donu Kobari and Ethan Norman who have been leading debate (even through the Covid turbulence) and have taken the younger students under their wings to train them for the future. All students (Covid restrictions permitting) are invited to attend meetings to contribute to planning and/or the debates themselves to listen or contribute to discussion. Meetings are announced in the Daily News during registration and everyone is welcome to attend.
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Chess Club - Ash Croft This year, Crypt Chess Club has hosted a series of chess leagues and competitions of different types that happen each term. From speed chess to the school championship, and there has been a challenging match arranged each week for the growing player base in school. Term 5 has seen the conclusion of our school championships, with the finalists playing in a round-robin against each other. The school champion this year is Iason Vazouras-Dilkes (Year 10) and he will receive the school chess cup this year. Iason has been unbeaten in competitions this year and also won the other two leagues he has played in, the Autumn and Christmas leagues. \The winner of the KS 3 competition was Ethan Jinesh (Year7) who has improved markedly this year and is keen to continue playing and defend his title next year. The other competition winners and runners-up can be seen in the table below and congratulations go out to all of them.
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Other clubs and societies Other activities offered to The Crypt School students this year and not mentioned in subject reports have included ●
Ceramics Club - GH and CM
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Yoga - PK
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Young Writers - GA
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Dungeons and Dragons - KW
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Maths Uni entry test prep Y13 DF
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Raspberry Pi Y8 JR
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Music Technology Club JG
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Handball Club AB
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Journalism Club, all years – CC
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Crypt Film Club, all years – NN
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Cross Country - JB
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C HARITY December, Shoe Box Appeal - Ash Croft: This year we managed to collect 85 Christmas boxes and these were sent off to children and young people in need across Europe. Many thanks go out to all those students and parents who helped with this year's efforts. Chantelle Wynne and Laura Reynolds (Year 13), Samuel Jones and Casper Stanita (Year 9).
November 2021 - Non-Uniform Day To raise money for the Seal Sanctuary: Working with Charlotte Miles, student Eloise Bick spearheaded a campaign to raise money for the Cornish Seal Sanctuary. Miss Miles lead a schoolwide assembly to launch the fundraising and all money raised from the non-uniform day which followed went to the cause. After the event, Eloise posted a message in the Daily News and on our social media: Hello, my name is Eloise Bick and I wanted to thank everyone, staff and students for your generous donations on the non-school uniform day. We have raised an incredible £1282.30 for the Cornish Seal Sanctuary. This money is vital and will go towards treating the injured or sick seals and providing weighing scales for them. These weighing scales help give the vets at the sanctuary measurements for medication. All of your donations have gone to an amazing charity, So once again thank you so much for your kind generosity.
February 2022 - Charity concert Run by Matt Le Maistre (Year 13): Matthew Le Maistre, Year 13 ALevel musician organised a concert in aid of Young Lives versus Cancer in February. It was a wonderful event. He did the work as part of his EPQ. There was no charge, but a donation for charity was encouraged at the door. Nibbles were provided and, despite a disappointingly low turnout, those who attended were very generous and thoroughly enjoyed the music provided by our talented student and peripatetic musicians.
March - Ukrainian support day: In March, David Quinlan organised a collection of vital items for Ukrainians fleeing the conflict in their country. After the event, he wrote: The Crypt School
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Thank you for your extraordinarily generous response to our appeal for donations to help the refugees fleeing Ukraine. As you can see, a huge variety of vital items were donated including food, drink, clothing, bedding, medical, sanitary, and child care. The amount collected in just three days filled the minibus from top to bottom. This has now been passed on to local community groups who have sent it on to Ukraine and to the border areas of Poland, where many of the refugees are. Due to the overwhelming community response we have paused donations for now to allow local distribution centres to catch up. Special thanks go to Arthur RudkinMclaren in Year 12 who helped arrange and coordinate the appeal. A little later in the year, again in response to student demand, we had a non-uniform day to raise funds for Ukrainian refugees. It is always heartening when our students display their social conscience.
March 2022, George Thomas’ Easter Egg Collection: As part of his Duke of Edinburgh Award, George Thomas (Year 9) organised a collection of chocolate eggs to be donated to Gloucester Feed The Hungry’s Easter appeal. In a short time, he managed to gather over 70.
April 2022 Sponsored Climb - Emilly McLellan On 2nd and 3rd April Emily (Year 9) took part in a fundraising challenge to attempt to climb the height of England’s highest mountain, Scafell Pike. Her aim was to raise money for the charity Climbers Against Cancer, whilst fulfilling the volunteering section of The Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award. Emily climbs regularly at the indoor climbing walls in Gloucester and Worcester and wanted to give something back to the climbing community, after being inspired by the stories of climbers who have been affected by cancer. Her aim was to use the indoor climbing walls to scale the equivalent height of Scafell Pike (978m) over the weekend. With help from her climbing instructor, Mike, from All Climb, she smashed her target on the first day, climbing 1000m! Having already achieved her target, day 2 saw her continue climbing, past the height of the UK’s highest mountain, Ben Nevis at 1345m and on to a final height of one vertical mile (1609m). This was a huge personal achievement, showing massive amounts
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of strength, determination and persistence, but also raised a total of £1261.00 for Emily’s chosen charity.
May 2022, Celeste Feld, Cake Sale: Lestie held a cake sale to raise money for a skate park in Newent where she lives. It’s been in the pipeline for a while but she and her family have only just managed to get enough people to support it with the Town Council. She raised a magnificent amount of almost £90 and the school kindly supplemented this with a further £100. Well done, Lestie! In addition to all the above, we have had several cake sales and small group events which have raised money for a variety of good causes. As usual, our students have shown that they have a real sense of responsibility for their fellow human beings (and dolphins and dogs!).
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I NDIVIDUAL S TUDENT A CHIEVEMENTS
NOT MENTIONED IN PREVIOUS REPORTS
Ben HW, Year 12, has successfully auditioned for the National Youth Orchestra and has been busy playing since. In the summer, we will even be able to spot him at The Proms. Matthew LM, Y13 has been awarded a place in the City of Birmingham Youth Symphony Orchestra. Well done, Matt. In November, our own Amira MM was cast as Dink in the animated short film “Robin Robin” and, excitingly, the film has now been nominated for an Oscar. On top of this, Amira has just told us that there is going to be a sequel. When asked about her future plans, she told us that she is starting to film for a new series on Apple in the summer. Don’t forget us when you become an A-lister, Amira! Jessica P (Year 12) has qualified as a National Bluechip Showjumping finalist. Amongst 50 competitors, she is one of the youngest, so this is a particularly impressive achievement. Good luck, Jessica. Toby R (Year 11) won the U18 compound bow category at the County Archery Championships. This is a notoriously difficult sport and one to which Toby continues his commitment alongside school work. Congratulations must go to Naomi and David Peet for winning the European Formation Championships in ballroom dancing. As a part of the only UK team and competing against Latin American dance teams, makes an outstanding accomplishment. We are all proud of and impressed by them.
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S TAFF F OCUS 2021-22 Leavers Paulina Kirkpatrick - Assistant Head and Teacher of Business Bernadette Warner writes: Paulina has been at The Crypt School for 13 years progressing from teacher of Business to Head of Department and now Assistant Head with responsibility for Teaching and Learning. Having studied Economics and Management, Paulina then gained a Masters in Professional Development which has been put to good use here. Before her appointment to The Crypt, she was in industry as a sales manager, did a brief sprint as a TA at Balcarras, then she taught Economics at University. She is an inspired advocate of Yoga and has lead several student groups, also facilitating tuition from a visiting teacher. As part of the development of the Multi-Academy Trust, Paulina is moving to head up Wivven Primary School, where her expertise and experience will be both valued and valuable.
Georgie Herbert - Art teacher and Head of Year 7 I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here at The Crypt School. It has been a pleasure to work with such bright and thoughtful students and such wonderful staff. The decision to leave was not an easy one. But I am very excited about moving back closer to home and to be starting a new and challenging role as a Head of Art in my new school in September. I want to wish my students and year group all the best for the future. I’m sure you will go on to do great things. But always remember to be kind and look after those around you.
Charlotte Miles - Biology Teacher I studied Biological Sciences at Bournemouth University before moving back to Bristol to do my PGCE at Bristol University. I have absolutely loved teaching here at the Crypt and then becoming Head of Year 10 this year. What has made my time at the Crypt is the culture of the school. It pushes you to do your best but also encourages students and staff to have fun. What I will miss most is the science department and getting to teach biology to enthusiastic, fun and respectful students. It is now my time to be brave and try something new. So I am going back to University to study my Masters at UCL in September. This will hopefully help me to achieve my long term goal in becoming a Science Journalist. The Crypt School
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Ruth Carey, Head of Biology writes: Charlotte Miles has been an integral member of the Biology department over the last few years. She is a fantastic teacher, and her love of the subject, her knowledge and support of every student has really shone through. She has developed and delivered lessons across all key stages and is always keen to collaborate and try new ideas, and as such, has had a significant role in the development of the curriculum. Charlotte has always shown enthusiasm and commitment in enrichment opportunities outside the classroom, to inspire students and promote a real sense of community. In her time at The Crypt, she has been involved with the LGBTQ+ Society and Biology Club. As well as her role as a teacher, Charlotte has had significant and valued impact on students pastorally, acting as a form tutor, senior tutor and this year, Head of Year 10, in what has been challenging times. She has always given 100% to every aspect of her involvement at The Crypt and her energy and humour will stay with us. I know that both students and staff will miss her greatly and wish her all the very best!
Laurence Wordingham - Religion and Philosophy and Ethics teacher Nick Dyer writes: Since joining the School, Laurie has been an outstanding teacher of RS (as we expected given he is an Old Cryptian) and of Philosophy and Ethics. He has also contributed fully to the wider life of school, such as going on trips and visits and supporting the work of the games department. I'm sure we will all like to wish Laurie the very best indeed in his new role and new life overseas - and thank him for all that he has contributed to our school over the last few years. He will be sorely missed by colleagues and pupils alike.
Esther Carter - TA Lisa Dutton and Susie Watts write: Esther Carter joined The Crypt as a Teaching Assistant in January 2021. As we were in the third lockdown, her first task at The Crypt was supporting our students with online learning. When we returned to school, Mrs Carter quickly integrated herself within the school community by joining many musical groups including choir, orchestra and ensemble groups. She was a key member of these groups and helped many pupils during practises and performances. She was a valued member of the SEN team and we wish her well in her future endeavours.
Maria Kose - TA Lisa Dutton and Susie Watts write: Maria joined the Crypt as a Teaching Assistant in 2018. She supported the pupils on a 1:1 basis but was also a key member of the tutor and subject groups she was involved with, as well as a valued member of the SEN team. Whilst being at the Crypt, Miss Kose was studying for a degree in Naturopathic Nutrition and successfully graduated in March 2022. We wish her well in her future endeavours. Thank you to Cleo Letts, Wendy Owen, Derek Holmes and Max Williams for their work as examination invigilators.
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Daniel Webb – Dramatist in Residence This year as the Dramatist in Residence has flown by. This being my 8th (and final) year at The Crypt School, I feel that leaving is a longawaited conclusion to my journey at this truly fantastic school; the experiences gained and the skills I have learned have not only helped me set up a concrete plan for my future, but have also helped me understand myself as a person better. Going into this role way back in September was a worry to start with - being part of a whole new team who I had never even met; I think it’s safe to say I was positively terrified. This wore off almost immediately coming in on the first day; seeing all my old teachers, being asked a thousand times, “what’s it like on the other side?” and, of course, meeting both Sally I’Anson and George Roberts in the Drama Department - two friends I will treasure for a very, very long time. Working collaboratively with them both on the school production of “The Jungle Book” helped me get closer to staff and students alike and I could not have asked for a better year at the Crypt. Next year I am off to Bristol School of Acting, where I will be furthering my studies in acting; specifically for screen, audio and camera work. I am beyond excited for this opportunity, and I hope that this will lead me on to a successful career within the artist’s world of acting, film and drama.
James Gabb – Musician in Residence During my time as Musician in Residence this academic year, I have learnt a wide variety of skills that has allowed me to grow as a musician and as a person. It felt surreal returning to The Crypt School after seven years as a pupil but now as a member of staff. I however settled in quickly due to the invaluable support from the staff, particularly the Director of Music, Julian Whittaker. As Musician in Residence, I supported students during both lessons and extracurricular activities which helped me improve my communication and management skills, as well as my confidence with public speaking. I particularly enjoyed supporting the GCSE and A-Level composition sessions as it allowed me to apply my musical strengths within a classroom setting, and therefore have a greater understanding and appreciation of my craft. I had opportunity to organise and lead a music technology club at the start of the year. It was very satisfying to teach something that I am enthusiastic about. I also spend a lot of time engaged in the planning of many musical events such as the seasonal concerts and Founders’ Day. This involved arranging seating plans, designing concert programmes and various other work behind the scenes, which developed my skills in organisation and made me deeply appreciate the work that went into these concerts which I had performed in as a pupil. Overall, my time as Musician in Residence has been immensely beneficial and is something that has allowed me to flourish. In September I will be studying Music and Sound Recording at the University of York, and I am certain that the skills that I have acquired will be advantageous. Thank you for giving me this opportunity.
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Oliver Good – PE intern This year as PE apprentice has flown by! With so many clubs, teams and fixtures there has always been something to do and working with the students at The Crypt is what makes it all worthwhile. The experience I have gained over this year will undoubtedly be influential in my career later on in life, whether that be through strength and conditioning coaching, sports coaching or teaching. A real highlight for me was the chance to travel to London with the year 9 rugby 7's squad for the Rosslyn Park National 7's Competition. The boys played some outstanding rugby and despite a gutting result in the quarter finals, proved themselves against some of the top schools in the country. Aside from rugby, it has been great to work with students that play all sorts of sport and also help develop key skills through PE lessons. Making the change from student to staff is a unique one that has truly shown me the hard work that goes on behind closed doors - I would like to say a massive thank you to all the staff who have made me feel very welcome, and a particular thank you to the PE department for all their work over this year. At the time of writing, we have just received the sad news that Mike Carolan is also leaving us. He will be missed. As you have probably seen, he has said his goodbyes within his department report.
New Staff Mr Sam Armistead - Head of Business Studies and Economics I started at The Crypt in September, having come from being Deputy Head of an International School in Paris where we had a view of the Eiffel Tower! On my return to England, I sought out the opportunity to lead a department in an outstanding school. My hobbies include Rugby and I recently took our Year 10 squad to the quarter finals of the National Bowl, which we all celebrated.
Mrs Sally l’Anson – Head of Drama I have been teaching for too many years to count! I was Head of Drama, and a Drama and English teacher in two London schools before moving to Wiltshire six years ago with my family. Since then, I have continued teaching Drama and English, as well as bringing up my two young sons. I have loved joining The Crypt School this year. It is a fantastic place to work; a school with enthusiastic, hard-working students, and staff too, of course. Directing the School Production of 'The Jungle Book' has been the highlight of the year. Seeing students be so creative and work alongside each other in such a positive and cohesive manner is what being part of a school is all about. I'm looking forward to next year already!
Mr Mark Young - Head of RE /Philosophy & Ethics I was born in Gloucester and went to school in Trowbridge. I studied Philosophy at Cardiff, Bristol and Reading unis before doing a PGCE in Religious Studies at Kings College
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London. I spent 13 years at Wallington County Grammar School before finally managing to escape London and get back West. The students who put me through my paces in my sample lesson and the student panel during my interview for The Crypt made it clear what I should expect: open-minded, intelligent, questioning classes who will not shy away from challenging received wisdom. That is what I love about teaching, so I am very glad I was offered the position. It's been an incredibly busy first year, and I feel like I'm only just starting to get to know all the personalities in the staff and student bodies. I very much look forward to getting to know you all better, and sharing more of my passion for my subject with others who are fascinated by the big questions.
Mr Philip Jones - Mathematics teacher I studied Maths at Warwick University during which time I also spent a year studying abroad in Japan. I continued studying at Warwick for my PGCE and I am now at the end of my second year of teaching. The community here at the Crypt has been very welcoming and supportive, and I have had the pleasure of teaching many great classes at different stages of their journey with maths. I have also been enjoying getting involved in the wider community at Crypt. As a year 7 form tutor, I joined the year 7s on their residential trip last November, and have also been playing in the school orchestra on my oboe. I also started a beginner's Japanese club towards the start of the year for a few terms which I will be starting up again and carrying on into next year. My experience at the Crypt has been very positive so far and I look forward to spending more years here.
Miss Niamh Patton - Geography teacher I joined The Crypt School in September 2021 after completing my PGCE at the University of Bristol. During my PGCE, I completed a short placement at The Crypt School and enjoyed my time so much that when a job in the Geography department became available, it was a no - brainer. I have really flourished in my first year here and happily settled into my first year of teaching. This has been possible with the help and support of the staff around me. I have had the chance to go on fieldtrips with the Year 12 students and thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to teach geography 'outside' the classroom. I look forward to my next year at The Crypt.
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Miss Alex Morgan - MFL teacher I studied Modern Languages and European Studies at the University of Bath before moving to Cambridge to complete my PGCE. While in Cambridge, I decided I missed the South West, so I moved to Bristol and started my first ever teaching job at the Crypt. The Crypt has been a wonderful place to begin my career, surrounded by supportive colleagues and dedicated, respectful students. It has been a particular pleasure to work with the very oldest and youngest members of the school - I have loved getting to know my Year 7 form and also supporting my lovely Year 13 class to prepare for their bright futures! I can't believe the academic year is almost over, it has rocketed by! Next year, I hope to organise a trip to Paris to allow students to use their French communication skills in real life!
Mrs Abirami Kumar - Computing teacher I did my postgraduation in Computer Science. I migrated into a teaching career following a successful stint in service sectors to follow my passion. The teaching provides an opportunity to play a huge positive influence on students' lives and impact who and what they come from. It comes with a big responsibility, but a rewarding one. It is a gratifying career where you have the care to inspire a child by igniting their passion for a subject. The subject and growth awareness of the digital age in the teaching environment drives me to keep on top of new technologies and trends and adopt new teaching methods, meaning you'll always be finding out something new. The learned mantra is "each day is different, and treat them with an open and positive mindset
Mr George Roberts – Drama teacher I trained as an actor at the Arts University in Bournemouth and spent many years working as an actor. Alongside auditioning for roles, I spent a year working as the Director-in-Residence at the Lund Theatre in London. Part of my role was to lead acting workshops for young people, and from this work my love for teaching blossomed. I completed my PGCE in 2020 and joined The Crypt in September 2021. Despite only being part of the school for a short while, I have been welcomed with such enthusiasm and positivity from both the students and staff alike. Working with the students here at The Crypt is a complete joy and they are all wonderfully unique. I cannot wait for next year, and also to start our next school production!
Mr Nicholas Neale and Mr Duncan Walthew - English teachers Acting Head of English, Ms Martha Williams writes: Mr Nicholas Neal joined our English in December 2021 as our maternity cover for Mrs Rodriguez. He studied English Studies with Psychology at the University of Gloucestershire and an English Literature Graduate Diploma at the University of Bristol. He has worked in international F.E schools and a range of secondary schools. Mr Duncan Walthew has very recently re-joined our English department, having worked with us previously during the 2020 lockdown. He studied English Literature with
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specialisation in drama at the University of Sheffield. He taught English at Cirencester College for 28 years and was the department head of the performing arts. Both Mr Neal and Mr Walthew are welcome additions to our English department, each bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience.
Sally Troy - KS5 Pastoral worker I did a Humanities degree at Nottingham Trent University , then took a couple of gap years, during which I Inter-railed around Europe and travelled to Australia and South East Asia. I love to travel and experience other cultures. I then worked for STA Travel (Student Travel Company) in London on my return, helping other young people plan their own Round the World trips and gap year experiences . After moving to Bristol I joined the Wellbeing Service at UWE Bristol for 12 years, helping to support students with their mental health . Outside of work , I love reading, films, walking , swimming and going to see live music when I can. I am really enjoying working at the Crypt school so far. Working in a school is a very different environment to a university and it has taken me a while to get used to the school bells ! The staff here are very friendly and supportive and I am lucky to work with some amazing students .
Lidia Jones - TA I studied PE in Romania and then worked as a PE teacher for 2 years. 19 years ago, I came to the UK and worked in secondary and primary schools as both a teacher and TA. I came to The Crypt at the end of February and have enjoyed working with a variety of students. I spend most of my free time looking after my twins but also enjoy swimming and walking the dog.
Mr Joe Parry - IT Apprentice I have a Level 3 Diploma in Business from the McDonald's University, as I worked in a chain of restaurants as a manager for a year and a half. I also completed a Level 3 BTEC in Video Games Development and Design at SGS College in Stroud, in which I received a distinction. In my own time I enjoy playing 6-a-side football in the week, and I play and make my own video games. Working at Crypt is a much different and better pace to my previous job, which was overworking me and I was constantly worn out. The Crypt offers a relaxed, yet efficient environment to work in, and I couldn't ask for anything more.
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Mr Andrew Bayliss - Site premises manager I studied at The Crypt from 1979 until 1984 in the days when Masters marched around in black gowns and still carried canes! My favourite subjects were; English, Latin, History, Art and Technical Drawing, and as a student I represented the school in; Rugby, Cricket, Hockey, 100m, 200m, 100m Relay, Long Jump and Shot Putt. After leaving school I worked for Unilever for 20yrs as a Process Technician in the Control Room. Due to my interest in education, I became a member of the Governing Body of my local school. I continued in this position for 14 yrs until I was asked to cover the position of Site Manager until a replacement could be found. I have now been doing this work for 17yrs and have been Site Manager at six different schools including the infant, primary, and now secondary schools which I attended as a student. It is a wonderful experience to be back at The Crypt, I enjoyed my time here as a student and I am enjoying it equally as much as a member of staff.
Ms Helen Michaluk - Careers advisor I studied criminal justice studies with sociology at Plymouth University. After graduating I decided to travel the world before finally moving to Bristol and I lived there for 7 years until family life subsequently moved me to Cheltenham. My jobs have always been linked to helping people from being a teaching assistant, to working at a university, to working at Connexions, which is where I decided that I wanted to become a careers advisor, embarking on a post graduate degree in career guidance. I have thoroughly enjoyed working at the Crypt not only because the staff are so welcoming and I love the school's ethos but the students are so engaging to talk too, motivated and dedicated to learning and striving for the best! It’s very inspiring! I grew up near the beach and try to get back there as much as possible. Outside of work my two young daughters keep me busy!
Alison Hall - Finance My name is Allie Hall and I have recently joined the Finance Team at The Crypt School. My previous role was as a School Business Manager at a primary school in South Gloucestershire, where I worked for 7 years. Before that I worked as a consultant auditor and spent some time as a stay-at-home mum. Before our two girls were born, my husband and I lived in London where I worked for the Audit Commission and the National Audit Office. In my spare time I enjoy reading and am part of a local book group. I also love netball, which I played at club level for 33 years before COVID interrupted.
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Mr Richard Jones - Cover Supervisor My role within the school is that of Cover Supervisor. A typical day begins at 8am when I am given my lessons for the day. After school, I will monitor the Homework club or detentions. One aspect of the job I really enjoy is its varied nature. My favourite lessons to cover are History and Geography as I have a degree in the former and previously worked as a Humanities teacher. I find the Crypt School to be a lovely environment to work in as everyone, both pupils and staff pull together to form a supportive community.
Mrs Sandra Stonyte - Cover Supervisor My day is the same as Richard’s above and I too find The Crypt School a rewarding place to work. After finishing my teaching degree in Lithuania, I spent a few years travelling the world. Once settled in the UK, 18 years ago, I specialised in behaviour management and helping children to transition from alternative provision education to mainstream schools. before becoming Cover Supervisor this year, I worked as TA. Most of my time outside the work is spent at the training venue or travelling the UK as both daughters compete in sports at regional and national level. We are also happy to welcome Naomi Bayle to our technician team; Sheree Kitchener and Ewa Szul as midday supervisors; and Meta Foy, Judith Brown, Ian Todd and Gayle Stott as new invigilators.
Maternity Leave / Birth Announcements
Sarah John our family in August 2020.
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We
are
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to
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Emily
joined
Hannah Swain - Heidi Rose Quinn was born on 30th July in Gloucester Royal. Now nearly 10 months old, she was flower girl at her parents’ (much delayed) wedding on 28th May when Miss Swain became Mrs Quinn. Miss Swain also ran the Brighton Marathon this April raising over £1200 for the NSPCC!
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Eleanor Gasan - I am delighted to announce the birth of my second daughter. Jessica May Gasan was born on the 2nd March 2022, weighing 6lb 5oz. She is a very good and happy baby. Her older sister, Jade Isabella Gasan, is besotted with her, as are we all!
Jess Barnett - Miss Barnett's son Rowan was born in March 2021. He has learned to walk quite early and now chases his brother around, loves being outside and dances to any music he hears. Miss Barnett returned to work in February this year and took over some geography, history and PD classes.
Daniela Rodriguez - Aurelia Jane was born on 30th December and was immediately embraced by her loving family including Charlie, her dog brother!
Matt Bevan - Sophie Elizabeth Bevan was born on Saturday 16th October, 7.06pm and 6lbs 7oz. Mother and baby both did well.
Natasha Prout - Archie George Prout arrived on Friday June 10th. weighing in at a healthy 9lbs 9 1/2 ozs. All are doing well and Tilly is enjoying her big sister duties.
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F OUNDER ’ S D AY
W ILL BE ON
J UNE 20 TH , 2022
Here’s a link so you can practise the school song! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoNH_5xAcL0
M ATHS S OLUTION
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SECTION 2 - THE OLD CRYPTIANS’ CLUB
Founded 1901
President – Simon Smith (1982-89)
Editor Duncan Miller (1970-77)
Website http://www.oldcryptians.org/
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The School and the Club share in the joint publication of the magazine that was born in 1907. Our primary purpose remains the collection of news and information about the School and Old Cryptians. We aim to collect articles and reminiscences, whether serious, satirical or humorous across the widest age range possible. Photographs are ever welcome. The Editorial Board will be responsible for the style and content of the annual publication, the management of its production and the budget. We shall consider all articles that are submitted. In turn the editors will retain the authority to make a selection of the articles to be published and of their precise length and use of language. A reminder that we are moving to Direct Debit for membership fees collected through the GoCardless service - details on the website https://oldcryptians.org/membership/direct-debit/ Please also sign up to the LinkedIn group –
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7410920/ As always, please encourage friends/colleagues who were at the school to join, or at least sign up to the LinkedIn group - the more members and interested parties we have the better we will be able to support the school and former pupils.
The Cryptian 2023 All contributions for the next edition must be sent (by email attachment if possible) by the middle of May 2023 to: Duncan Miller 2, Tweenhills Cottage Gloucester Road Hartpury Gloucester GL19 3BG Email:
duncan.a.miller@gmail.com
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P RESIDENTIAL R EFLECTIONS It’s a pleasure to welcome you to the Old Cryptians’ section of The Cryptian. I visited the school last week as we are planning to plant some trees as part of the Queen’s Jubilee Green Canopy initiative later in the year. We’ll be looking for volunteers to come and help with the planting so do watch this space. It’s a great opportunity for us to do something that will have a lasting legacy. I remember as a student I was part of a team that took part in the “Plant a Tree in 83” near Westgate bridge which is still there and we’ll be creating an avenue of trees on the school grounds. Whilst at school it was wonderful to see everything back to as normal as possible. Year 11 were about to start their GCSEs and the hall was laid out with all of the exam tables. I wish the very best of luck to everyone and for those taking A Levels. As for the Old Cryptians’ club it’s been an honour to take on the role of President over the last year. It’s also been a huge challenge as we’ve taken the opportunity, with the school setting up the 1539 Foundation, to look at how the club is run and how we can survive in the future. It’s not been an easy discussion to have but we are looking at a new model that, potentially, doesn’t involve a subscription. The key to survival is membership and, at the moment, we have over 100 members, many of which have been part of the club for a long time. What I’d really like to see is the club evolve with a growing membership that is younger, more diverse and truly reflects the school community. It will take time but there is no reason why the club cannot thrive but it does need to change. Over the next few months the incoming President, Simon Smith, will be in the hot seat driving this forward and I know he has robust views on how we need to adapt. My thanks go to the committee for their commitment to the changes. More on this to come. Regrettably we are unable to hold the annual dinner again this year due to being let down by the caterer but we are holding an informal buffet and get together at St Mary Decrypt on June 18th. Tickets available via our website shop and I hope you’ll consider joining us www.oldcryptians.org Finally my thanks, as ever, to all who have contributed to The Cryptian. As a journalist I know that deadlines are a blessing and a curse (apologies for submitting my article late!) but it’s fantastic that there is so much material. There certainly is a lot to celebrate about The Crypt! I wish you all every success in the future. Steve President 21-22
Steve Knibbs (1982-89)
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A F EW W ORDS F ROM T HE I NCOMING P RESIDENT “Talk about your hopes and dreams for the future” was the request from my friend and current President Steve Knibbs for this piece of scribe. As a Club, we’ve spent a lot of time over the past year discussing the future of the club and within that, also debating the question “What future?”. The club may have a history stretching back more than a century, but that does not offer any guarantees of survival. Indeed, often such longevity can be the enemy of survival, as our surroundings change but we don’t change with it, then we think it’s the world that it wrong, not us. I’ve been in other organisations where that has rung true, most pertinently sitting on a church council. I naturally have conversations with my kids from time to time about my school days and talk about their education and schooling. And whilst I am grateful for the education the Crypt gave me, thank goodness things have changed. I didn’t want my kids to go to a single sex school. We live in a mixed sex world and I don’t think the single sex environment is a good grounding for the future. I remember just turning up at the Crypt on day one, whereas there is much more support these days for that transition into senior school. There is also a changed environment in terms of well-being support and development. Whilst I look upon my school days with thanks for the education I received, they were of their time. At least neither of my kids have to worry about dodging a blackboard eraser on its mission to hit the child third desk from the left, second row from the back (I always admired that particular teacher’s pin-point accuracy). As a club, I ask myself how have we changed over the past 30-40 years? The answer is, very little. Some may see that as a good thing, after all if it brings about companionship and friendship, then has its job been done? Change can also be hard, as we found out when we made some changes to our constitution some years ago. I also see that if we don’t change, we won’t survive and that has been reflected in many of the conversations we’ve had over the past year. We don’t represent the diversity of the school, our membership is declining and whilst our purpose may be clear in our constitution (essentially helping people keep in touch with each other and the school), the means of achieving it have changed and we’ve not kept pace. The establishment of the 1539 Foundation, whilst initially seen by many as a threat to the Club, is ultimately our best opportunity to force the needed change. It provides the scale, technology and resources that the Club cannot ever have hope to achieve. Our choice was to work alongside it and seek the means by which we could both flourish, or choose another, more independent path. We chose the former and we must now flesh out what that means and work together to ensure that the Club survives, but in a shape and form that complements the Foundation. Social events should be the backbone of that involvement. Yes, the past few years have shown us that we can achieve great things when we are apart, but there is no substitute to getting together and the unique opportunities that brings. I started a new job just 2 weeks before the first lockdown. I now go into the office around 3 days a week now. Nearly every time I go in, I meet someone face to face for the first time or meet someone new. I always end up in a conversation that I would not have otherwise had, leading to opportunities and insights that would not have happened staring at a screen at home. I thank Steve and committee for the work of the past year, which has not always been easy or immediately rewarding. I don’t pretend that they next year is going to be easy, but it’s going to be necessary if we are going to reshape the Club to be able to better face the future.
Simon Smith (1982-89)
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T HE O LD C RYPTIANS ’ C ENTENARY B URSARY F UND 2001 All donations to the Bursary fund are appreciated as the main aim remains to be selfsufficient by matching the level of expenditure with the necessary income to maintain current student awards. Banking data are as follows: Account name OC Bursary Fund; Sort Code 40-52-40; Account no 00010216.
Bursary Finances A summary of the financial position as at 31st December 2021 was as follows:Balance held in Bursary funds
£94,903
RECEIPTS Income from donations and interest Gift Aid recovered from HMRC Legacies received
£3,208 £633 £0
We urge all Old Cryptians to see if they could commit to an ongoing donation of just £50 to help us get to our target of £100,000 as quickly as possible. Please ensure you provide us with your details so we can reclaim the additional gift aid from the government.
The 1539 Society The 1539 Society honours alumni and friends of the Crypt school who since inauguration in 2001 have been benefactors of the Bursary Fund. Membership of donors is acknowledged with the presentation of a special lapel badge and signed certificate. Currently there are 90 active individual donors in the scheme. Present Trustees are Richard Browning (Chairman), Clive Thomas(Treasurer), Mike Beard and Richard Briggs. Full details of the OC Bursary Fund can be found on the club website www.oldcryptians.org. Details of how to make regular donations or leave a bequest in your will can be obtained from the treasurer, Clive Thomas whose contact details are:16 Quat Goose Lane, Cheltenham GL51 9RX. Tel No 01242 216885 Email: clive@clive-thomas.co.uk
Extended support Apart from Standing orders and Donations made to the Bursary Fund, further valuable support can be provided by means of a gift through a Will by adding a Codicil. The Bursary as a Charity pays no tax on gifts and furthermore your estate will benefit by reducing the amount liable for Inheritance tax. This may be carried out with the help of a Solicitor or by drawing up your own codicil by stating the following:I give…….Pounds(£) to the Old Cryptians Club Centenary Fund Registered Charity No 1094627) Further details can be provided by our treasurer, Clive Thomas.
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T HE Q UEEN ’ S G REEN C ANOPY – P LANT
A
T REE
FOR THE
J UBILEE
In May, Steve Knibbs and I met with the school’s Facilities Manager Lesley Smith to plan out where to plant 30 trees. The Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC) is a tree planting initiative created to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022. Everyone across the UK is being invited to plant trees from October 2021, when the tree planting season begins, through to the end of the Jubilee year in 2022. The Queen's Green Canopy will create a network of individual trees, avenues, copses and whole woodlands in honour of The Queen's service and the legacy she has built. This will create a green legacy of its own, with every tree planted bringing benefits for people, wildlife and climate, now and for the future. The trees will be made available by the Woodland Trust following a successful application made by the Club and will line the left hand side of the drive to the school. The Club will work with the Eco Club to plant the trees, so look out for an invitation be part of the action in October. Adam Ashby (1973-1978)
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T HE C LUB S HOP An image at the end of the magazine illustrates the current offerings from the Club shop available on the website. We think it is time for a rethink / refresh of the branded iteams available. If you have any ideas or thoughts about suitable items for the Club to sell, please email webmaster@oldcryptians.org Adam Ashby (1973-1978)
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C ORRESPONDENCE From Mark Cordory (1973-80) So. In December I turned 60 - which I admit came as a bit of a surprise since, up until recently, I'd always considered that I was still somewhere in my 30's! Seriously, time seems to have flown, but then looking at all the things that have changed in those 60 years and I realise, yeah, it’s been a while, so I figured it might be interesting to share a few details about my childhood that have shaped my adult/creative life. When I was a kid back in the 60’s, we watched tv in good old black and white - two BBC channels, (and later a massive 3 whole channels when ITV came to our region), with no reruns or recording options - you watched it when it was on or you missed it. (I think we must have had our first colour TV in the mid 70’s as I distinctly remember my mother dragging me around to a friend’s house who had a colour TV to watch the wedding of princess Anne and Mark Phillips which was in 1973?). You truly don’t appreciate how much the TV viewing experience has changed since then unless you were a child of the 60’s and 70’s, (our first video recorder, a Betamax - good choice there dad - was a revelation, and also the size of a small house). My first memory of Doctor Who was an episode of ‘Fury from the Deep’ with Patrick Troughton, although ‘my’ Doctor was always Jon Pertwee. Sarah Jane Smith may have been my first real celebrity crush. I think my childhood self would have jumped for joy at the thought that his older self would one day end up working on the show. Beyond Doctor Who, my childhood viewing consisted of, (in no particular order), The Magic Roundabout, Vision On and The Double Deckers, The Clangers, Monkey and Blue. My favourite shows were things like Sapphire and Steel, The Tomorrow People and The Man From Uncle, and I loved all the old Irwin Allen shows like Lost in Space, Land of the Giants and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, (all very cheesy but I loved them nonetheless). I also watched loads of Gerry Anderson shows - Thunderbirds, Space 1999 and UFO were all must-see tv for me, (Gerry Anderson was a big part of my childhood, but you can probably tell that I grew up with a LOT of ‘genre’ shows in general). My cartoons were The Flintstones, Whacky Races and Scooby Doo, (I loved classic Scooby Doo, still doo). I have a vague memory of the Apollo 11 moon landing, but it is only a vague one, I was only 7 at the time. I watched classic Universal and Hammer horror double bills, along with films like Them! and Forbidden Planet on a Friday night, (once my parents gave up trying to send me to bed but kept catching me sitting on the stairs watching the films through the partially ajar living room door), and therein probably lie the roots of my enduring love of rubber monsters and classic genre films to this day.
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I saw Star Wars at the age of 15 when it first came out. I was the perfect target market and it blew my mind, none of us had ever seen anything like it, it was everything a teenage geek could have wished for, (and remember this was at a time when there were no endless trailers to spoil the surprises). My first 18+ film in the cinema was Alien, (again, no trailers to spoil it, again - mind blown). I was never a particularly good pupil or student either at school or later at college, I was the skinny, asthmatic nerd who was no good at sports, (but oddly ok at the javelin and discus for some reason). My mind always wandered in lessons, and having to do essays or maths just turned my attention span into mush, (my old school books were filled with doodles of monsters in the margins). However, I was always pretty good at art from an early age and I made a reasonable sideline at school painting album covers on rucksacks - I lost count of the times I painted Motörhead, (about 10 years ago I went back to Crypt School during an open day and they had one of my A-level paintings framed on the wall which was weird). I always enjoyed the sorts of toys like LEGO and Meccano that enabled me to make things - I also loved my collection of old Aurora model kits featuring The Creature from the Black Lagoon, Frankenstein and all the other classic monsters - and I have fond memories of my Dad sitting at the side of my bed in the evening, not reading me a bedtime story, but instead making model kits of the Cutty Sark or HMS Victory; the smell of turpentine is still a nostalgic one for me. My childhood reading consisted of things like ‘Alfred Hitchcock and The Three Investigators’, (Jupiter Jones, Pete Crenshaw & Bob Andrews unravelling spooky mysteries that always had a logical solution in the end - a bit like Scooby Doo without the dog), and the Willard Price ‘Adventure’ series, (young brothers Hal and Roger Hunt having amazing adventures around the world). I also loved ghost stories and I have fond memories of discovering Elliot O’Donnell’s ‘A Casebook of Ghosts’ at the local library for the first time, (‘true’ ghost stories from a famed ghost hunter, I still have a copy of that book - not the library’s copy though ). I read the usual comics as a British kid - The Beano and Whizzer and Chips etc, (and I loved the artwork of artists like Ken Reid) - but I also read a lot of US import reprints like ‘Tales from the Crypt’ and ‘Eerie’ along with UK reprints of classic Marvel comics featuring the likes of Spiderman and The Fantastic Four, (and I admit, as a 60yr old man, I’m indecently excited at the prospect of the FF finally making it into the MCU in a couple of years time, they were always my favourite Marvel characters). I remember the roads in the 70’s being virtually empty by comparison to today’s, (2020 felt like a real flashback to those times during lockdown), and how our neighbour had a new car with those pop-out indicators which fascinated me. I remember listening to new releases from the likes of The Beatles and Elvis on the radio, but the 70’s were really where I discovered an interest in music - there was a lot of prog and classic rock, for which I make no apologies, (bands like Pink Floyd, Led Zep, Yes and Rush are still some of my favourites to this day). My first live concert was Mike Oldfield on the Platinum tour. I’ve watched computers come from nothing but chunky calculators to them taking over the world, and seen computer games evolve from Pong, through milestones like Doom and Alone in the Dark, to the likes of Horizon Zero Dawn and The Last of Us. My first computer was a second-hand Amiga 500 (3.5” floppy discs with an average of 1.5mb!), and phones were things that just plugged into the wall and had circular dials. Now mobile The Crypt School
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phones are just a part of everyday life, but for us as kids, walkie talkies, (with a range of about 50ft on a clear day with the wind in the right direction if you were lucky), were about as exciting as it got back then, it was generally easier to just shout. Right from early childhood I also enjoyed playing games, and I still do, (although after seemingly endless childhood hours spent playing Monopoly with my parents I’ll be happy if I never see that game again). I discovered Dungeons & Dragons in the mid 1970’s and still play it to this day. I found LARP, (or LRP as it was back then), in 1982 and fell in love with the possibilities of the hobby, and anyone who knows me will know how that worked out… (although I’m pretty certain my swashbuckling days are probably behind me now). I’ve never seen attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion, or Cbeams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate, but I have had some fun adventures. I’ve stalked Orcs and demons through castle dungeons, raised a tankard with pirates in taverns and fought off hordes of zombies in the depths of the forest. I’ve partied at the end of the world in the Mojave desert and raised a glass with friends in the ruins of civilisation in the UK and Poland. All thanks to my work and my hobbies. If my body’s willing, I definitely plan to have more adventures while I can, because that stuff’s fun! I’ve had some truly awful haircuts over the years, (but I figure if you don’t have regrets then you’ve played it too safe). I’ve done lots of dumb stuff and have the scars to show for it. So yes, it’s been longer than I think since I was ‘young’, but at heart I still feel like I’m in my 30’s, (even though my body definitely tells me otherwise), and I still firmly believe in the saying that ‘You don’t stop playing because you get old, you get old because you stop playing’ - so here’s to more years of playing. Anyway, I guess I'm officially 'old' now, but I don't have any plans to give up creating stuff for the foreseeable future, (artists rarely retire, we just gradually fall apart as the glue gives up, although at some point I guess I will have to consider cutting back on the number of commissions I take on). So there you go - that's a little insight into the childhood that created me.
https://markcordory.com Mark Cordory (1973-80)
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From Ivor Smith (1952-60) School Clubs yesterday and today Browsing with envy through the School’s impressive website, it was interesting to read the pages of Clubs and Activities 2021-2022. The Multicultural Society – German Penpal Club – Ceramics Club – 6th Form choir – Our Natural World – Yoga – Hidden Histories and a Homework club and without doubt many more. There seems to be no end to the sports and activities the School provides. Reading it left me with the feeling I’m not sure how I’d fit in English Maths and Chemistry. It was a pleasure to find that the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme, which has developed immensely over the years, has prominence in the school curriculum. The training for male and female students in and outside of the school day is superb. Crypt classmate Graham Middleton and I had the privilege of the challenge in 1958 and were subsequently awarded the Silver, being two of the first of eight successful boys in Gloucestershire. What memories! I am sure things are very much better organised today and nobody would be dropped off in the Forest of Dean at dusk in December, with light weight camping gear and never before shown how to put up a tent. It’s surprising what you can do by torchlight. We had no sleep for two nights in our chilly primitive sleeping bags and ate little. Our rendezvous with the organiser nearly didn’t happen. We would not admit to being lost in the swirling late afternoon mist, and to reach the end point on the homeward trek we crossed swampy low lying ground with water to our waists. We survived, completed our expedition, kept our mishaps to ourselves, and achieved our awards. Things have changed a little since my Crypt years but as William Henley still reminds us, ‘I am the master of my fate and I am the Captain of my soul’. Our formal education directed us but undoubtedly the varied opportunities beyond the classroom played their part. Intrigued by the changes I found myself perusing through my well-thumbed 1952-1953 Crypt School Year Book – thirty two pages of fascinating school history. Its faded maroon cover sports numerous railway engine numbers of trains spotted at the hallowed Black Bridge grounds. Our Head Master was Colin Ewan M.A. and the Second Master J.T. Whiteley M.A. Out of respect I won’t reveal the names to which we more often fondly referred to them. Do the Crypt School Staff have nicknames these days I wonder ? At that time our Head Prefect was F.D. Bishop who left school and read English Literature at St Edmunds [Teddy Hall] Oxford. That was the last I heard of him and I wonder what he did after university? Every boy in the school is listed including all the Prefects. Boys? The sixth formers all looked like grown men to me who had never seen a Gillette ad.
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THE BARTON SHIELD The rules have changed little but the Houses have evolved from Brown, Henley, Moore and Whitefield - to Henley, Moore, Raikes, Cooke and Waboso for reasons which embraced the doubling of student numbers. However the spirit of the competition has changed little no doubt, and the Shield is still awarded to the House gaining the highest number of points in many sports disciplines. The next entry related to The Cryptian which was then published in December and July. The price of the Magazine was 2s 6d. Contributions in prose and verse were requested and printed. SCOUT TROOP The 19th Gloucester [‘Crypt School] Scout Troop is described on page twenty seven. ‘ The aim of the Scout Movement is to provide opportunities for developing those qualities of character which make the ”good citizen” a man of honour, self-disciplined and self reliant, willing and able to serve the community’. I and others did not join the Troop but hope that our Crypt education went some way in achieving the Scout aspirations. [Bet the excursions and camps were great fun though.] THE FIELD CLUB ‘The development of a love of wild life and the countryside through the study of animals, plants and natural phenomenon. Boys are asked to build up a school herbarium and insect collection’. Trouble was at that time bug and fossil hunting couldn’t compare with the excitement of watching express trains. On a memorable occasion decades later I found myself sitting next to Mr ‘Bomber’ George, the master who organised the FC, at an Old Cryptian dinner when we spent much of the evening chatting about bats and bugs. A claim to fame is that BG has a flea he identified named after him. THE STAMP CLUB The club was organised by Mr Beddis who taught scripture. The Club was open to all boys with an interest in philately and its aims included the friendly exchange of ideas and stamps. The School reputedly had a stamp collection which allegedly grew smaller over the years. THE CHESS CLUB The Club met three times a week – an indication of its popularity. Delighted that today it has prominence on the School website.
ATHLETICS CLUB Naturally open to all boys and the club was organised by maths master Mr ‘Sandy’ Stevens. If you were keen he was there with you after four o’clock one day a week at least to encourage you to achieve greater things; and the fixtures with other schools he arranged are still happy memories.
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THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY The President was Mr Pryce-Jones who taught mainly English. The aims and objects of the society ‘was to study subjects of archaeological, architectural and historical importance, chiefly by visits to places of interest’. Membership was restricted to boys in Form IV and over. THE GARDENING CLUB The President was Mr Pryce-Jones who appears to have had a passion for digging holes in the ground to put things in or to take things out. Membership was open to all boys genuinely interested in Gardening. I didn’t join but my dad, bless him, would have felt this was of much more use to me than learning Greek. THE BIBLE READING FELLOWSHIP The club for Saints and Sinners. The President of the organisation was our scripture master Mr Beddis, and ‘meetings were arranged as needed’. The main special activity encouraged regular daily individual reading of the Bible. ‘Bert’ Beddis, as he was known to all, was a very gentle man. You wonder what his forgiving thoughts might have been regarding the diminishing School stamp collection. HISTORICAL SOCIETY The society was open to all and its President was Mr ‘Danny’ Kay who taught history. Visits to historical places took place. Sadly have to admit, history did not inspire me then; but strangely reaching a certain age, personally now can’t get enough of it. THE MECCANO CLUB For many years and generations Meccano was the foremost of boys’ toys. Invented by Frank Hornby in Liverpool in the 1900’s, the ‘toy’ taught the basic mechanical principles of levers and gearing from reusable metal parts of strips, plates girders and wheels, using only a screwdriver and spanner. The President was maths master Mr Hughes who also taught Handicrafts [woodwork]. The secretary was P.T.G. Hobbs. Now where have we heard that name before? Meetings were held monthly and usually there was a competition when members brought along their recently constructed models to display. I remember so well taking along a mechanical man that stood almost a metre tall, and powered by a Hornby motor, he actually walked. To be accurate today I suppose it could equally have been a mechanical woman, or it might have been – mmm, won’t go into that. How I wish we’d all had a mobile phone to record these achievements – but then no doubt John Cooke would have wished the same in 1539. THE CAMERA CLUB ‘Photography is studied in all its branches with practical exercises of every kind’ The President was maths master Mr Field and later that year art master Mr B. Jones. The Crypt School
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Qualifications for Membership included 1] restricted to Form IV upwards 2] possession of a camera and 3] an undertaking to maintain interest and attendance through the year. SUPPORTERS’ CLUB The aim of the Club was ‘to support the school teams on the touch-line, at home and away’. The President: The Headmaster
The Chairman: B.A. Jones
The Treasurer: J.R.Sage
‘Business meetings are held about twice a term’. It has always fascinated me why there was seemingly a need for a School SC and how it worked? When the opportunity arose teams were supported by friends and parents and aunts and uncles – nobody was asked to pay! So why was there a need for a Treasurer? The greatest support I recall was the result of the HM instructing every boy in the School to be on the touch-line one Wednesday afternoon for kick off at 2.30 pm. [the only time I played cheered on by 500]. No doubt HM would not have been pleased if we had not won the game. Imagine this happening today with all 950 students yelling the team on! I note that the following year, with still a need for a Treasurer, the post was filled by H.W. Allen. [So come on Howard, reveal the mysteries of the Club]. THE MUSIC CLUB The President: Mr [Harry] Dawes ‘Concerts are given at intervals during the Term’ School Music was in its infancy at that time - but from acorns the mighty oak trees grew. Today I find it hard to enjoy the brilliant School orchestra and choir in the Cathedral on Founders Day without a lump in my throat. And finally on page 32 THE OLD CRYPTIANS’ CLUB - where the President was The Very Reverend Dr . H. Costley-White, The Hon. Secretary was maths master A.L.C. Smith Esq. and the Hon. Treasurer was maths master A.C.Paget Esq. The membership rules and objects of the Club followed together with the fees. For members under 21 the annual subscription was seven shillings and six pence. For all others it was ten shillings and sixpence. P.S. In January 1960, Admiral Sir Geoffrey Miles presented Graham and me with our DoE Certificates, duly signed by Philip. Despite Graham knocking the tomato soup saucepan off the stove at the exit to our tent on the first night in the Forest of Dean, we have remained firm friends to this day sixty years later.
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Ivor Smith [1952- 1960] From David Terry (1943-1954) Memories of the Crypt by a (very) Old Cryptian My mother was very proud of having taught me to read by the age of four, as she told the kindly old man behind the desk in the large gloomy office. At this he reached for a book, opened it and invited me to read out loud from it. The book was a bible and he was Mr D G Williams, Headmaster of the Crypt Grammar School to which Mum had applied for me, aged seven, to be admitted to the school’s junior section in September. My father was not involved; he was away in the war. But my grandfather, head of the Customs and Excise office, a widower and owner of the large detached house we lived in, was. Another older man, Bill, came almost daily to do the gardening. My younger brother and I liked him very much. (some 60 years later when I visited my mother’s younger sister in Australia for her 90th birthday, she floored me by saying: ‘’you do know don’t you that Bill was your mother’s lover’ No, I didn’t’) I was accepted into the Crypt, but before I could join it both it and we had moved. The school to a new building in the fields of Podsmead; we to an old farmhouse in a village four miles from Gloucester, Mum having decided we would be safer in the country. The house had neither electricity nor sewerage, but it did have land including an orchard on which she was soon keeping chickens, ducks and pigs, with much help from local farmers who were only to glad to help an attractive young woman who knew nothing of farming. And Bill still came just as frequently, cycling out from Gloucester, always with chocolate for me and my brother, both of us completely unsuspecting. So, in 1943, aged eight, I arrived in my new school uniform at the equally new buildings of the prestigious Crypt Grammar School (One mark of superiority I remember is that while the fees for the other boys’ grammar school, Sir Thomas Rich’s were £5 a term, those for the Crypt were 5 Guineas). Like most in the war, we didn’t have a car, Grandad having sold his when only a few were permitted. So getting to school was a problem. At first, I went by bus, walking the half mile to the main Gloucester to Bristol road getting off at Tuffley Avenue to catch the special bus to the school, but soon I was cycling the three miles or so. I have been cycling ever since, though now electrically aided as muscles weaken with age. My main memories of the junior school are of the teachers being either women or old men, younger men being away at the war of course When the Butler Education Act came into force in 1945, all four Gloucester grammars opted to come under the city council. Fees were abolished and admission was by the new 11 plus exam, including pupils about to transfer from the junior to the main school. Mr Williams contacted my parents to tell them that only a few were to be admitted from country addresses and suggested that, if we had a relation living in the city, I should go and live there temporally in order the be able to give a city address. So for a few weeks I went and lived with my father’s mother in one of the poorest parts of Gloucester. She spoiled me hugely and I thoroughly enjoyed my time with her. And passed the 11 plus. By deceit. I had an idyllic boyhood, but not one that was conducive to diligent study. I spent most of my time playing or working on the nearby farm or on our own smallholding. I was in the top stream of the three streams but always bottom or nearly so on the fortnightly list read out by the headmaster. The Crypt School
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With the end of the war male teachers returned, replacing their temporary replacements. Not all could keep good order. One in particular, as a classmate of those days, Richard Heal, reminded me half a century later when we found we were near neighbours. We would sit in the room awaiting his arrival while banging our desk lids and chanting ‘’play ****** up’’. Another was a decorated war hero. He had faced the Germans in North Africa with great courage but quailed in the face of 3A. To this day I feel guilty at the misery we undoubtedly caused for some of the masters. Most of course kept order with apparent ease. One was the headmaster, Mr Williams himself. In the third form took us for Latin. I even did my homework for him. He had an air of authority and a gentle sense of humour. I recollect arriving a bit late for one class to find them lined up outside the room with no sign of Mr Williams. ‘’Where’s Old Bill \I said loudly?’’ ‘’Right behind you, Terry’’ said a familiar voice. On another occasion, when returning marked homework, Mr Williams spoke directly to me: ‘’Terry’’ ‘’Yes Sir’’ I replied getting to my feet and trembling. ‘’ To question six you replied the ablative absolute. This is correct, but we haven’t done the ablative absolute yet. Did someone help you with your homework?’’ ‘’My grandfather’’ I replied apprehensively. ‘’Well Terry’’ he continued ‘’What I want you to do is to tell your grandfather that I congratulate him on how much of his Latin he recalls, but in future do tests without help’’ Grandad was, of course, delighted to get this message. I cannot claim to having been a model schoolboy. With others, I misbehaved in classes taken by weaker disciplinarians and truanted from classes where the teacher didn’t check attendance. During the fourth form year and with two others we often crept out at the beginning of afternoon lessons and sped into town on our bicycles to go the pictures, creeping back just before afternoon school ended. And I frequently cut Mr Paget’s maths lesson and sat in the lavatories smoking. These escapades were never discovered. But I do remember being caned by the Headmaster for trespassing on the railway line. The caning was on the open palm. It hurt. The curriculum was almost entirely academic: Latin, French, English, maths, physics, biology, history, geography, music, art, PE, games. There was a woodwork department, but only the lower streams did the subject. In 3A we started Greek (classical, of course, not modern). At the end of the year, those who had done best at it dropped chemistry in favour of Greek, and conversely for my half of the class. What a bizarre division, Ancient Greek for the ablest, chemistry for the less able! And this was the closest we came to a choice of subjects in the 4th and 5th years. Except that my French was so dismal that our teacher, Mr ‘Josh’ Whiteley, who was also the Deputy Headmaster after the much-feared Mr Fletcher retired, suggested that I and another hopeless linguist should take the supposedly easier Spanish instead. This would entail special tuition from Mr Whiteley during some lunch breaks and private study during the French classes. It wasn’t a success and I ended up taking neither at O level, which posed a problem when later, as no one then imagined for a minute would happen, I applied for Oxford. When O Levels replaced the School Certificate, an age restriction applied and two others and I were too young to take the exam at the same time as the rest of the class. So we had to repeat the year. One became a good friend and we thoroughly enjoyed the year, doing the minimum of work and gaining maximum enjoyment. During that year the question of what I should do at the end of it arose. No one suggested I should stay on to the Sixth Form. Instead, Uncle Leslie arranged for me to join his firm, Haine and Corry, Builders Merchants, with the aim of eventually becoming a commercial traveller. I was to start in the shop sales department on the princely wage of 27s 6d a week. So, in July 1951 I left school, having sat O Levels in which I was not expected to do more than scrape one or two passes. I was scheduled to start at Haine and Corry at the
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beginning of September, and was rather looking forward to it. But towards the end of August something happened which changed my life. Mr Williams had retired as Headmaster in 1950, to be succeeded by Mr Colin Ewan, a squat man of unattractive countenance, enormous energy and frighteningly direct speech, whom I came to both like and admire. I did not go into school the day the O Level results came out – they were of little interest as I had left and had a job with prospects – so did not know how I had done. Late that afternoon, just after Dad had returned from work in our Austin 7 (EOM 200), the phone went. Dad went into the hall where the phone was and took the call, closing the door so that we couldn’t hear what he said. He finished the call, came back into the room and said, in awed tones, ‘‘It was the Headmaster. He wants me to go into school at once. He says it is most important but did not say what it is about’’ He returned about an hour later, bursting to tell us what Mr Ewan had said: ‘’The Headmaster has implored me not to let David leave. He has passed all his subjects and Mr Ewan says we MUST let him go back into the Sixth Form’’. Earnest discussion with Mum, Dad and Grandad followed. Money was tight (we didn’t even have toilet paper; Mum cut up old newspapers) and they were undoubtedly looking forward to having me earning. But they agreed I should return to school. I don’t recall feeling strongly about it. So back to school I went. But which three subjects to take at A level? (No one took more than three in those days). My O Level results didn’t help a lot. O levels were graded from I, the best, to 9, the worst, with 1 to 5 being pass grades. My results were History, Grade 1; Chemistry, 2; Maths, Physics, English Language and English Literature, 3; Geography, 4; and Latin 5. With regret, I gave up History, and started on Maths, Physics and Chemistry. To my surprise, I found Maths increasingly enjoyable and Chemistry less so. After one term I was allowed to drop Chemistry and do Further Maths instead. I very much liked all my teachers: Mr Siggee for Physics, and for Maths, Mr Paget, a Cambridge Second and a better mathematician than I would ever be, and Mr ALC Smith, a Cambridge Third, who wasn’t. We also took Use of English and General Studies, which I greatly enjoyed. For the latter we were taken by Mr Ewan, the headmaster. I recall his enthusiasm for Frazer’s Golden Bough and its accounts of pre-Christian beliefs. I think he must have been an agnostic. One February morning in 1952 the physics class was interrupted by a senior boy carrying a written message from the Headmaster. Mr Siggee read it and from the look on his face it was obviouly very serious. He told us we had to go immediately to the Hall for a special assembly of the whole school. No one spoke as the assembled school awaited the Headmaster. We stood in silence as, flanked by his senior staff, he walked onto the platform. Fighting back tears, he told us that the King had died that morning. We were stunned, and several were crying as he led us in prayers, which he concluded by saying: God save the Queen! and we all sang the national anthem with the words altered for a queen, not a king. For Further Maths I was in a class of one, and envied Carter and Nash, the class a year ahead of me, both of whom were better mathematicians than I was and gained a lot by having the other to discuss things with. I cannot recall any discussion about what I should do when I left school. There was just an assumption that all of us in the sixth form would continue to university to study one of our A level subjects Sometime towards the end of my first year in the Sixth I was stopped on the stairs by Mr Ewan, the Headmaster. who was coming down while I was going up. In his usual abrupt The Crypt School
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manner he said ‘Terry, would you like to go to Oxford or Cambridge?’ and I replied ‘Yes please Sir’ immediately blushing at the foolishness of my reply while Mr Ewan said something to the effect that he alone could not bring this about. I can remember the exact spot, which I saw again when I visited with Richard Heal 65 years later. And felt myself blushing as I recalled my reply 65 years previously. Anyway, it was agreed that I should aim for one of these universities. I don’t think I really appreciated that, if successful, I would be not only the first person in my family to go to university but that it would be to one of the best universities in the world. There was no central system of applying for university in those days. One had to apply for each university separately, and in the case of the ancient universities, for each college. Oxford and Cambridge entrance was by separate exams in November of one’s final year. The first one I sat was at Peterhouse, Cambridge. It was a humiliating experience. I could attempt hardly any questions. Most were far too hard for me, although all were supposedly within the A level syllabus. I was rejected. Pembroke, Oxford, was much better. It included an interview by a panel of about half a dozen dons. They concentrated on the answers I had given to the general paper. A few days later I got a letter offering me a common entrance place to read mathematics. In those days there were four levels of Oxford or Cambridge entrance: Open Scholarship, Open Exhibition, Common Entrance and Closed Scholarship. The last of these was restricted to a small defined group. Pembroke had one, for example, open only to sons of Channel Island clergymen. And they also had the Townsend Scholarship. This was restricted to four schools in rotation. One of these was The Crypt, but it came round only every fourth year, and I missed it. The offer from Pembroke was subject to my getting an O level in a modern language, or taking and passing an equivalent Oxford exam. It was also for two years after I left school and had done my National Service. National Service (NS) in one of the armed services was at the time mandatory for all males on leaving school or university, except for those who failed the fitness test or were in an exempt category. NS was phased out a couple of years later and had I done my university course first I would probably never have done NS. Those going to university could do their National Service either before or after. Pembroke preferred before. If I accepted the Pembroke offer the die was cast. This was not straightforward as I had also applied for two other universities; Bristol to do physics and Fitzwilliam House (as it then was), Cambridge to do mechanical engineering. Bristol had been an interview only but Fitzwilliam had included an entrance exam in which I found the maths for engineers very easy. I was offered a place by each within days of the Pembroke offer. I chose Oxford for no good reason that I can recollect. But maths was a mistake. My abject failure at Peterhouse should have rung alarm bells, as should the fact that while at the end of the year I got top grades in maths, further maths and physics at A level, my grades in the harder S Level were less impressive – although still good enough to get me a State Scholarship; one of only two won by Crypt students that year. There was no national grant system in those days. On gaining admission to a university, one then had to apply to one’s local authority for a grant, which was almost always forthcoming. A small number of State Scholarships, worth more than a local authority grant, were awarded by central government to those who did best nationally on S Levels. The Crypt usually got two or three of these. When I finally left school in 1954, it was to do my two years National Service in the Army before taking up my place at Oxford – provided I got O level French in the meantime. This however was not the end of my association with the school. Five years later I returned with my new wife, Malley, to live in Gloucester and teach at Sir Thomas Rich’s. And play rugby for the Old Cryptians. My marriage lasted 61 years until she died last year at the age of 80.
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The debt I owe to the Crypt School is immense, and especially to the wonderful teachers who taught me and, especially to Colin Ewan who tragically died only a few years later at the age of only 49. David Terry (1943 to 1954) June 4th, 2022
From Richard Briggs (1955 – 1963) A bike tour of Northern Ireland. On 9th May 2022 I set off on a recreational tour of the Emerald Isle – actually that part of the island once known as Ulster. In a fortnight that seemed to fly by, I visited the two principal cities of Northern Ireland and saw much of the lovely countryside and coast. The weather was generally kind to me, however a cycle tour is always a reminder of how much we are cocooned when travelling by car. From rural Church Stretton I took the train to Birkenhead (Hamilton Square) followed by a short ride through the dock area to locate the well-appointed passenger terminal of the Stena Line – no sign of the industrial unrest that is plaguing P&O! By the time I had negotiated the Belfast shipping complex the next morning it was already about 10 a.m. Just time to check in at the Premier Inn before heading to the City Hall for a walking tour ominously called “A History of Terror”. Our guide explained, whilst not pulling punches on the dreadful past, the many reasons to be optimistic about the future of Belfast. Certainly, on a sunny morning with the sun glinting off the river Lagan, the “Troubles” seemed far away. On the next day, suitably refreshed by an “eat all you can” cooked breakfast, I walked / cycled a one-way system to escape the urban sprawl of East Belfast with its frequent wall art depicting the not-so-recent, bloody conflicts – reminders that will take a brave administration to erase. Next stop Stormont and a fulfilled ambition to cycle the length of the boulevard from the benign police checkpoint to the steps of the iconic parliament building. What a waste because this statement headquarters, set in a large tract of undulating parkland is mainly used by dog walkers and joggers while political debate is carried on elsewhere. Now out in the country (though still on main roads) I cycled on, skirting Dundonald / Newtownards to pick up the relatively quiet shore road which traces Strangford Lough and one of the jewels of the National Trust – Mount Stewart. No time to check out the famous gardens, just a swift recharge with coffee and cake. On the other side of the narrow sea inlet (5 minutes ferry crossing) I was picking up signs for the St. Patrick’s trail which terminates in Downpatrick. The town was busy and I was glad to escape but the weather turned sour and the final few miles to a tiny village called Loughinisland were uncomfortable. This overnight stop, with Dermot and Imelda, was the first of nine booked via Airbnb. Their highly refined website seems to make the traditional B&B seem very last century.
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On the second day I passed through the village of Dundrum Bay to reach the coast at Newcastle before striking inland to get a feel for the lower slopes of the Mourne mountains. Then Kilkeel, Rostrover, Warrenpoint and Newry before the second Airbnb. Glimpses of tranquil Carlingford Lough, the second part of the designation for the coastal strip of Northern Ireland starting with Lough Foyle. Accidental or routine fans of the Shipping Forecast (Inshore Waters section) will be familiar with this unchanging, evocative title. My host dropped me at Newry rail station the next morning and now, another bit of luck (encountered all through this trip). The station manager would not entertain letting man and bike board the next train – “Everyone will be going to the Balmoral Show!” Apparently, the end of Covid had opened the floodgates to all sorts of outside activities, including the large agricultural show, the “Balmoral” near Lisburn which had been cancelled in 2020 and 2021. Thus, no cop-out. I still rode the 20 miles to Portadown, but on a quiet towpath track running alongside Ireland’s oldest canal. The rest of the day was spent cycling close to Lough Neagh to end the day in a fairly typical, large, modern bungalow outside the little town of Magherafelt. By this point I was very much enjoying the warm Irish welcomes and filling breakfasts to set me up for the cycling ahead. Day 6 on my schedule found me in the gentle hills to the West (the Sperrins) and after disappointing Plumbridge, the Gortin Glen Forest Park - more uphill walking! Downhill to the outskirts of Omagh and another hospitable and comfortable Airbnb interlude. Still heading west on Day 7, I entered the Irish Republic at Pettigoe and gradually climbed the Pullans before descending to the tourist trap of Donegal. Finally, after another day in the saddle, I reached the far west of Donegal and the remote vantage point with a fine view of Slieve League, the highest sea cliffs in Europe. Forget the much more popular Cliffs of Moher. Although not sheer there is no guard rope and a misplaced step on a blustery day could result in a precipitous slide into the Atlantic. Here one must mention the triumph of marketing. Innocent country roads have been included in “The Wild Atlantic Way” with an enticing wavy logo to follow, always by car of course except for the occasional, eccentric cyclist! After a night in Glencolumbkille (avoiding the Gaelic spelling) I battled east and made heavy weather of the ride to Ardara. An interesting encounter though, at a scenic overlook, was with a small contingent of the “Craic” rally, a rather upmarket tour of all Ireland by owners of vintage two seater Jaguars. When I reached this delightful town (more Donegal Tweed) I encountered an extremely Good Samaritan who kindly drove me to Ballybofey (pronounced Balletbuffay). Apart from the testing main road from Strabane to Londonderry alongside the everwidening River Foyle my extra day in this fascinating second city was really excellent and, in sunny weather I much enjoyed the animated style of a local guide on another walking tour atop the old walls. We looked down on the Bogside – now less intimidating, just very plain but enlivened by a much-photographed mural of a girl with a dove of peace. I noted that the well-situated Peace Bridge of 2011 is only the third bridge across the lower Foyle in its long history.
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After the layover (Premier Inn again) I visited the AntrimCoast and, of course, the Giant’s Causeway. The basalt columns represent just a small area of beautiful, unspoilt coastline, maintained by the National Trust. In the final day to Carrickfergus (ancient seaside castle) I took advantage of part of the Translink Derry to Belfast rail service to lop some miles off the planned schedule. I also used this service on my final cycling day but still had a difficult afternoon trying to navigate the Belfast dock area (a huge number of parked containers) to locate the Stena terminal. On a reverse route of the outward, mainland journey, I reached home on the morning of 24th May. At 455 miles this was not an amazing feat of cycling but the hills were more challenging than I anticipated – or perhaps it’s time to give up this cycling lark! However, in this age of rocketing fuel prices, there’s a certain satisfaction in saying that the cost of fuel for the trip was zero. As for my equipment, it’s “old school” and far, far from trendy: a Dawes Audax Giro 600 with 531 competition tubing, built when Dawes frames were fabricated in Britain. On smooth roads, lightly loaded and with its high gearing, it goes like the wind. Sadly, a normal touring cyclist in the UK will encounter hills, headwinds and potholes. On the horizon is an e-bike if I persist with this mode of leisure travel. As in 2016, when I toured Scotland, I’m hoping to raise money for The Old Cryptians Club 2001 Centenary Bursary Fund 2001 at the crowdfunder link below. Cycle Touring for the Crypt Bursary Fund - a Schools crowdfunding project in Gloucester by Richard Briggs (crowdfunder.co.uk)
From Oliver Hale (2012 – 2019) Oliver is a serial entrepreneur and is passionate about Technology Startups, currently on the Alacrity Technology Accelerator (Wales' largest Tech Incubator). He is CEO and cofounder @ Trovalo | We're building a Data Marketplace. He talks and blogs about #tech, #fintech, #startups, and #entrepreneurship and is based in Cardiff.
An honest guide to building a Tech Startup in 2022 I’m sitting here writing this blog post in the downstairs of an old worn-out Cafe Nero in central London about a two-minute walk from Trafalgar Square. I came to London today for the sole purpose of meeting an investor panel and also managing to meet one of our The Crypt School
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Data Providers who is on a trip from India. As I’m sitting here reminiscing about how busy my life has become recently I thought I would write about my experience being part of a team building a Data Tech Startup in 2022.
HOW DOES THE ACCELERATOR WORK? Our journey with Trovalo begins in the October of 2021 with myself and now my cofounders moving to Wales to join the Alacrity Foundation. Alacrity is a Tech accelerator programme, 15 months long, which helps kickstart the founder's journey into Tech Entrepreneurship. Similar programmes include Y-Combinator and Entrepreneur First. However, the main difference between these programmes and Alacrity is that we operate on a demand-driven programme. In essence, all the companies that graduate out of Alacrity do so because they are able to demonstrate significant demand for their product/service. The way Alacrity does this is by sourcing its ‘problems’ from Government and the private sector, in short, this reduces the risks of start-ups failing due to productmarket fit. As always, demand in the form of paying customers is the most powerful form of validation. Link to Alacrity: https://alacrityfoundation.co.uk/ 2 months into the programme our team was given the problem statement: “If Data is the new oil why isn’t Data traded through the UK the same way other commodities are, e.g. London Stock Exchange”. If I recall correctly the Team’s initial reactions were confused but also surprised that we were given such a broad problem statement, this was unlike Alacrity (based on speaking to previous cohorts) but also meant there was a lot of scope for creativity. ON A SIDE NOTE; THIS IS WHERE WE LEARN TRANSFORMATIONAL CREATIVITY WHICH ALONGSIDE PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES IS STILL A VALUE WE KEEP AT THE CORE OF OUR BUSINESS.
IDEATION: WHY IT IS SO IMPORTANT After much ideation and mapping out the data acquisition process as we knew it, we settled that the area we could disrupt with 15 months on the programme was helping businesses discover more relevant datasets. Just in this narrow part of the data buying process, we encountered a tonne of problems that buyers and sellers of data felt on a daily basis. These included some of the following:
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Legal Contracts are a “pain in the arse” - it can take up to 14 months for contracts to be negotiated and signed. Finding the right data set can take months. This is because data is use case dependent e.g. what may be useful for a company may not be useful for another.
This is how Trovalo was born, the marketplace was made as a necessity to make data accessible and understood by all. Hence democratising data and knowledge became our mission. THE ODDS ARE AGAINST YOU. In my opinion, Data Startups have a reasonably high barrier to entry. Although using data to generate insights isn’t exactly a new thing, it’s now only become widely accepted in society within the last 2 years (the creation and adoption of Amazon Web Service and SAP Data Exchange have helped significantly). As a result, knowledge is held by a handful of skilled people who usually are in existing Data Scientist roles at FAANG companies or Defence Prime contracting roles. For myself as the CEO and Business Lead of the team, this presented a networking problem. How can I associate myself with this elite handful who can adopt me as one of their own? This is where the Alacrity network benefitted us, we were able to be introduced to a variety of experts who individually played a huge part in our business's development without those I don’t think we would’ve been able to bring a product to market. This begs me to wonder the following: ‘for those who aren’t as lucky as we were going through an accelerator programme, what can we do as an industry to lower the barrier to entry for startups and encourage innovation within Data’: Here are my two cents: 1. Increase the network of DataTech Startups in the UK. Data is a niche topic. Startups in the Data space are even smaller, by fostering collaboration tools and providing startups with the opportunity a space to collaborate on innovative projects is one of the few ways we will be truly innovative. Note my emphasis is on truly innovative not iterative on existing products. 2. Work with Academics to innovate on new ideas. University spin-out companies are not a new thing, however when we accidentally stumbled into working with a PhD Academic who is an expert in Data Marketplaces and economics. Not only do academics provide a wealth of knowledge, they usually are able to understand where the room for innovation is needed vs where it is wanted in the industry. This is an important distinction to make. 3. Improve communication between (fortune 500 and defence primes) private sector and startups. The established private sector tends to be inefficient and non-agile. As such innovation is slow to be adopted. In my opinion, better communication between startups and large corporations benefits everyone in the long run. CLOSING REMARKS Despite all of this on behalf of Trovalo I am so grateful for all the mentorship and support we’ve received so far on our journey. The list of names of special mentions would need a separate document for itself. We can’t do this alone - we’re hiring a 4th member of our team because setting up a startup is hard, especially when you have ambitions to become a Unicorn Startup. Right now we’re a week away from launching to a handful of early users and I’ve never been more excited than I am now. This is one thing we’ve always emphasised here at Trovalo:
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We want shippers - we ship and we ship fast. We are currently looking for another member to join our awesome team. So if you also love shipping fast, feel free to apply here: https://www.trovalo.io/careers-and-jobs-at-trovalo As always I would love to hear your opinion on what we’re doing so free to reach out on LinkedIn or at hello@trovalo.io
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A RTICLES Eighty years on from World War II. Some reflections on the Crypt School and Old Cryptians from 1942 to 1943 This is the third of three articles by Charlie Hannaford – see previous editions of the magazine for the first two. – Ed. The year leading up to 1942 had been traumatic for the United Kingdom and for many families in and around the city and county of Gloucester, and this would continue in the following year. Pupils followed the progress of the war, on land, at sea and in the air, in the newspapers and on the wireless radio. The Blitz which started in September 1940 finally ended in May 1941, with 40,000 deaths and a great deal of destruction. Adolf Hitler transferred his bomber force to the east in preparation for the ideological confrontation between fascist Germany and communism. The invasion of the USSR in June 1941 and the war with Japan in December would be the defining conflicts of the war. In North Africa, the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars (RGH) were part of the 7th Armoured Division, the ‘Desert Rats’. By December 1941, the British and Imperial forces had relieved Tobruk, which had been besieged for eight months, advanced 500 miles and captured Benghazi. The Editor of the Cryptian Magazine for Spring 1942 records that, “I have recently seen a letter written by Ken Skinner from Libya. On the day when they attacked Rommel at Cyrenaica, members of the Old Cryptians’ Club (and these were many), wore their Old Cryptians’ Rugger shirts into action! He also says that all members of the Football Club were safe except for Peter Langston, who unfortunately was missing.” Corporal Peter Langston (1923-31) was killed in action in this operation. Ken Skinner was the last captain of the OCRFC before the war and tragically died in an accident in Egypt in 1944. The magazine was produced throughout the war years by three outstanding Cryptians who became members of staff. Percy Ball (1924-44), A.L.C. Smith (1931-67) and A.C. Paget (1930-68). They recorded the letters from servicemen, details of those who were killed, wounded and those who became prisoners of war. On December 7th 1941, the Japanese took the huge gamble of bombing the American Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbour in Hawaii and followed it up with the invasion of the Philippines. The Americans were taken completely by surprise. However, this act galvanised the American people and their industrial might was switched to war production. The youth of the nation were conscripted and went into training. The seizure of the Dutch East Indies and Malaya provided the Japanese with the vital oil supplies, tin and rubber needed for their military machine. In February, Singapore surrendered and over 70,000 British, Indian and Commonwealth prisoners joined the 50,000 captured in the Malayan campaign. In this theatre, a number of Old Cryptians were involved and the following were interned: Frank Geldhart (1914-22) in Shanghai, ‘Titch’ Gardiner, Major Lindsay Vears (1893-97) and Ft Lt Colin Ewan, Headmaster (1950-61), in Singapore. Lance Corporal Griffiths (1928-36) was transferred to Formosa, now Taiwan, where he died. Edwin Reeves (1922-26), a Royal Naval Pilot was killed in an evacuation by sea. The 1st Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment provided the rear-guard for the retreat towards Rangoon, where Lt Jack Pitchford (1926-34) was killed in action. After a fighting withdrawal of 900 miles through Burma, now Myanmar, the troops finally reached India. However, 40,000, mainly Indian troops, were captured. These events were a humiliation and further encouraged calls for the United Kingdom to ‘Quit India’. For the rest of 1942, the monsoon season from June until October, gave them respite. It was inevitable that with the limited resources available, the British and Indian forces would be at the bottom of the list of priorities. These forces would be termed ‘The Forgotten Army’, The Crypt School
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and it would take most of 1943 to build up its strength to tackle a formidable Japanese Army in Burma. The war in China continued for another three years and consisted of conflicts between the Japanese armies advancing north and west against the Chinese Nationalists, led by Chiang Kai-shek. He had been supported by the Americans since 1937, but when the ‘Burma Road’ to China was closed, they were under increased pressure. The communist leader, Mao Tse-tung conserved his forces in the north as he prepared for the inevitable civil war with the Nationalists. After the defeat outside Moscow in December 1941, the Nazi leadership turned their attention to the industrial genocide of the Jews in Europe. In January, at the Wansee Conference, the ‘Final Solution’ was resolved and put into action. During 1942 and 1943, fit, Polish Jews were sent to Germany as forced labourers. Others were transported by rail to the ‘East’ from their enclosed ghettos, set up in 1939. Those who could work were sent to concentration camps as slave labourers whilst the rest, the aged, ill and children were sent to the extinction camps in eastern Poland. There they were stripped and had their heads shaved. They were then gassed and cremated within a few hours. After the heavy defeat of the Japanese carrier force at the Battle of Midway in June 1942, the attention was focussed southwards and the control of the vital supply lines, from Hawaii via Samoa and New Zealand to Australia, which was vulnerable. From August to December, a series of sea and aerial battles raged around the Solomon Islands for the control of Guadalcanal and its vital airfield. It took 60,000 Marines six months to defeat 35,000 fanatical defenders. The fact that victory was only achieved after all but a 1,000 Japanese died, gave an indicator of the bloody resistance that lay ahead. The naval defeats from mid 1942 and the first defeat on land at Guadalcanal, forced Japan on the defensive. Their gamble of a negotiated peace had failed. President Roosevelt against strong public opinion and many of his Chiefs of Staff agreed with Winston Churchill that the priority was ‘Germany First’. The USA decided to go on the defensive in the Pacific and build up its strength for a major offensive in 1943. After many heated discussions between the army and navy, it was decided that there should be a two-pronged approach. The army under General MacArthur, with the Australians, now released from North Africa would recapture Papua-New Guinea from their base at Port Moresby. By early 1943, they had encountered tenacious resistance in appalling jungle conditions. Progress was painfully slow and costly and continued up to June 1944. The Marine Corps supported by massive naval bombardments were to land on well defended island atolls. By November 1943, the combined forces were ready. Tawara, and the other Gilbert Islands were captured after heavy losses. Hitler’s failure to capture Moscow in December 1941 was a huge setback for his plans for a quick victory. He blamed his High Command and took over the direct leadership of the armed forces for himself. His confidence increased with a series of gains in the USSR. In July, Sevastopol was finally captured and the Crimea seized. Hitler, against the concerns of his field generals, decided on an ambitious strategy. He divided his forces with the aim of seizing the oil-fields of the Caucuses, as well as the transport hub and industrial city of Stalingrad on the river Volga. Joseph Stalin, on the other hand had learnt from his mistakes and placed strategy more in the hands of his competent, ruthless generals. The Sixth Army reached Stalingrad in August 1942. Stalin appealed to the patriotism of the Russian people in the defence of the ‘Motherland’ and ordered “no step back.” After devastating bombing raids, the infantry relentlessly attacked the heroic defenders in the rubble and the ruins for six gruelling months. Stalin pushed hard for assistance in the ‘Great Patriotic War’ in the east by the creation of a ‘Second Front’ in the west. As a result of the American Lend-Lease policy, essential armaments and supplies were delivered to the UK, the USSR and China. The Arctic convoys were the most important means by which this aid was supplied to the beleaguered USSR. Eddie Norris DSM (192833) served on these convoys. In the first week of July 1942, convoy PQ 17 set off from
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Iceland to Archangel in northern Russia. The convoy consisted of thirty-three merchant vessels, laden with 600 tanks, 300 aircraft and over 4,000 trucks. They were escorted by six destroyers and four corvettes. However, this time, conflicting German naval orders were intercepted at Bletchley Park, which initially indicated that the formidable battle cruiser Tirpitz had set sail from its fjord. In fact the order was withdrawn but by then the First Sea Lord had issued the deadly order for the escorts to leave the merchant ships and to scatter. The result was these ships were attacked throughout the extended daylight of the summer days and the nights by bombers and submarines from Norway. Only eleven reached their destination. In North Africa, as a result of the defeats in the Far East, the Eighth Army was weakened and its supply lines were overstretched. The Africa Korps was reinforced and on May 25th, they broke the defensive line and forced back the Allies. They fought valiantly but General Rommel, who led from the front, outwitted the opposition at every turn. The German tanks, their anti-tank guns and air-force proved superior. Sergeants Kenneth Wilkins (1924-34) and Arthur Byard (1930-35) served in the RGH and were killed in action. Tobruk was isolated and finally captured on June 21st 1942 and 32,000 Allied forces were captured. This was a humiliation and a low point for Churchill. Hitler promoted Rommel to the rank of Field Marshal. He pushed on to El Alamein, which lay between the sea and the impassable quick-sands to the south. Leslie Sysum and Captain Percy Workman of the RGH and Osborne Ellis of the RAF became prisoners of war. The Suez Canal was less than 100 miles away and the Middle East and especially the oil-fields of Iraq were at risk. Fortunately, Rommel was also forced on the defensive due to the demands of the Stalingrad campaign and reinforcements were not available. His supply convoys over the Mediterranean were constantly targeted, due to the code breaking at Bletchley Park and the air and naval forces based on the island fortress of Malta. Flt Sgt Monty Marvin (193039) was a pilot of a Wellington bomber, aged twenty-one. In September, his plane crashed in a raid on Tobruk. The Americans and British realised that it was unrealistic to launch a joint invasion across the Channel. Churchill felt it was essential to explain to Stalin their strategy for 1942-43. In August 1942, he embarked on a punishing series of flights. He stopped over in Cairo, where he appointed General Montgomery to be in charge of the Eighth Army, with orders to prepare for a decisive battle at El Alamein, just 50 miles from the Suez Canal. He then went on to Moscow and informed Stalin of the decision to create the much debated ‘Second Front’, not in France, but in North Africa. The allies needed all their shipping for this large venture, which was helped by the postponement of the Arctic convoys, after the disaster of convoy PQ17, to the less dangerous winter months. Stalin was furious and insisted that the invasion of France should take place in 1943. Churchill went on to describe the plans for the controversial, and what would prove to be the disastrous Dieppe Raid, later that month. A Canadian force of 5,000 supported by 1,000 British Commandos, were to test the defensives of a fortified harbour and withdraw in 24 hours. It was hoped that it would maintain the threat of invasion, thus keeping German divisions in the west. Lieutenant Leslie Breach (1925-30) of the Royal Navy was killed off shore. The Canadians suffered a very high casualty rate and over 3,500 were killed, wounded or taken prisoner. Stalin was not impressed with this ‘side-show’ as millions of men were engaged at Stalingrad and at the horrific siege of Leningrad, as they were talking in the Kremlin. After the Dieppe raid, Hitler ordered the construction of the coastal ‘Atlantic Wall’. The Vichy government provided the forced labour for the project. In Egypt, Montgomery was patient and eventually 200,000 British and Imperial troops were on the front line. America was providing armaments as part of the Lend-Lease agreement and by October, the Eighth Army was superior in men, artillery, tanks and planes. The battle at El Alamein commenced at dawn on October 23rd 1942, with a huge artillery barrage which lasted for five hours. The infantry made painstaking progress through the The Crypt School
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seven miles of minefields. It took much longer than expected and the following tanks were checked by a combination of anti-tank guns and Panzer tanks. The Africa Korps was now desperately short of fuel for its tanks. After a week of bitter fighting, Montgomery was forced to pause and alter the thrust of the attack. Eventually, superior numbers proved critical and victory was achieved on November 8th. Hitler was on the verge of disaster at Stalingrad and gave Rommel the ‘Stand-fast order’, which he ignored. The Axis forces withdrew westwards and was followed by a cautious Eighth Army. The following are a few of those who fought at El Alamein: Ken ProbynSkinner (1926-34), Captain Clifford Whiting (1928-36), Charles A’Bear (1926-37), who was awarded the Military Medal for gallantry, John Collins (1928-33) and John Rigby (193036). Sgt Martin Crump was attached to the Indian Division. Squadron Leader Peter Cannam (1927-34), Flying Officers Harry Wilkes (1929-37) DFM, John Murphy (1931-40), Alan John Wilcox (1934-39), Sergeants Gerald Senior (1933-38), Kenneth Trevelyan (1934-40) and Ben Turner flew with the Desert Air Force. In November 1942, at the annual Remembrance Service at the School at Friars’ Orchard, behind St. Mary de Crypt in Southgate Street, Old Boys gathered, including the Dean of Gloucester, Dr Costly-White (1886-88), President of the Old Cryptians Club from 1939 to 1950. Also present was Trevor Wellington (1892-99), Mayor of Gloucester during the critical years of 1939 to 1942 and the outstanding Headmaster, D.G. Williams (1920-1950), who had two sons and former pupils serving abroad. The names of those who died in the Great War and the present conflict were read out. However, the victory at El Alamein gave everyone something to celebrate. Churchill ordered that the church bells, which had been silent for so long, were to ring out across the land. Operation Torch had been planned for some time and amphibious landings commenced on November 7th 1942. The Americans landed in Morocco, whilst Anglo-American forces landed in Algeria via Gibraltar, 100,000 in all. The French, Vichy forces were taken by surprise and easily overcome. The aim was for these forces to link up with the Eighth Army and capture the Axis base at Tunis. Captain Gregory Brookes, later Commander and KBE, who left the Crypt in 1903, was active in both wars. He was involved in the evacuation of Singapore, Operation Torch and later Sicily. Lt John Crowe (1934-40) was in the Royal Navy on a Tank Landing Ship. Captain Grahame Parker (1921-32), an England rugby international, was with the Churchill Tank Brigade. HMS Dasher was one of a number of converted merchant ships who were adapted to act as small aircraft carriers. It provided the British invasion fleet much needed air cover in the Bay of Biscay against the U-boat menace. On board was Lt Kenneth Davies (1925-29), who had joined the Merchant Navy aged sixteen and then the Royal Navy, as well as Peter Hodkinson (1933-39). By March 1943, HMS Dasher had returned to the river Clyde for repairs where an accidental explosion killed 39, on board including the above. After the landings Hitler, despite huge problems in the USSR, and again against advice, ordered reinforcements to be transferred to Tunis. Rommel as usual carried out a very effective defensive campaign in the west against inexperienced American troops and the more cautious, experienced Allied forces approaching from the east. Against all predictions the Axis forces held on in Tunisia until May 1943. In Russia, Hitler had totally underestimated the fact that, despite the heavy losses, Stalin still had seven million men at arms including one million women. The factories behind the Ural Mountains, manned by over a million women and forced labour were also providing more tanks, artillery pieces and planes than German factories. On the whole of the Stalingrad front, some 800,000 Axis troops faced one million Red Army troops. In the city ruins, the six-month urban war would prove to be the bloodiest battle in the history of warfare. By November, the Germans had occupied 90% of the city. However, after a secret build up, organised by General Zhukov, nearly a million fresh well supplied troops attacked the weaker flanks of the Stalingrad front, held by the Romanians and Hungarians. By late November, the Russians had enveloped and trapped the Sixth Army, who were now
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suffering from a desperate shortage of food and ammunition. They were constantly bombarded in freezing conditions. On February 2nd 1943, with no hope of relief, the recently promoted Field Marshal Paulus, against strict orders from Hitler, surrendered. The result was that 100,000 men went into captivity to work in labour camps. Only 5,000 survived this ordeal. The vast majority of Axis forces were killed, wounded or died of starvation, frostbite or disease. The Russians suffered even worse casualties but they could be replaced more easily. The hubris of Hitler led to this disastrous defeat. This was major turning point in the war as it was clear that if the Allies remained united, the Nazi regime would be defeated. In January 1943, the political masters and the Chiefs of Staff of the USA and the UK gathered at Casablanca in Morocco. In the months prior to the operation there had been heated debates with regard to future strategy. Churchill had now won the argument for the delay of the cross-Channel landings until 1944. President Roosevelt agreed that it was necessary to keep the Allied forces in the field after the victory in North Africa. The decision was made to invade Sicily and exert pressure on Benito Mussolini and knock Italy out of the war. However, Stalin felt he had been deceived. It was also agreed to increase the intensity of the American day light raids and those at night by Bomber Command in a bid to damage the industrial cities of Germany, thus aiding the USSR. The U-boat threat was finally recognised and more resources were allocated to the ‘Battle of the Atlantic’. In 1942, there was a great increase in the number of merchant ships crossing the Atlantic in convoys but equally the number of U-boats had also increased. Admiral Doenitz had pressed Hitler hard from the outset of the war to build more submarines. However, the airforce and the army were the priorities for his war in the east. The wolf-packs concentrated their efforts on the mid-Atlantic ‘Gap’, where land-based aircraft could not reach. Unfortunately, in January the Germans had added an extra rotor to their Enigma coding machine. The cryptanalysts at Bletchley Park were in the dark for much of 1942. Unknown to the Allies, the Germans had cracked their convoy codes. The shipping losses increased by 40% by the Autumn of 1942. The fate of Atlantic convoy ON 154 is a typical example of the crisis at this time. Signalman Henry Chamberlayne (1928-37), sailed from Liverpool in December 1942 in what was probably his first Atlantic convoy. It consisted of 50 merchant ships protected by one destroyer and five corvettes. The convoy was sighted in the ‘Gap’ by one U-boat and then two wolf-packs, totalling eighteen, converged on the convoy. The U-boats hunted at night and largely on the surface, enabling them to be as fast as their prey. It also meant that they could not be detected by underwater sonar. A total of thirteen ships and their vital cargoes were sunk and Chamberlayne perished, as did 175 other sailors. Only one U-boat was sunk by depth charges with the loss of 43 men. Robert Clarkson (1932-39 and John Allen (1937-40) were close friends and joined the Royal Navy and both became commanders. They served in the Atlantic, Mediterranean and in the Far East. Clarkson served on the Royal Yacht Brittania from 1958 to 1962 and was awarded the LVO for services to the Queen. This longest battle of the war now entered the most critical phase, when the Uboats had the upper hand until May 1943. The Crypt Air Training Corps (ATC) was formed in 1940 by the Headmaster, D.G Williams. It was led by three members of staff, W.N. Morgan-Brown (1929-49), supported by A.L.C. Smith (1930-67) and E. Maude (1921-57). Bill Keeble (1924-50), Head of Physical Education was its Drill Instructor. It proved very successful, and by 1942 there were 200 recruits. They consisted of present pupils, former pupils and local young men. The Battle of Britain and the Blitz had been excellent recruiting sergeants. Many Old Cryptians who had left in the 1930’s volunteered to join the RAF. Most trained abroad, such as Canada, for up to two years. A bomber crew consisted of a pilot, navigator, flight-engineer who assisted the pilot, wireless-operator, bomb-aimer and mid and rear air-gunners. As a high level of technical ability was required, grammar-school boys formed a high proportion of The Crypt School
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those accepted. Only the top third became pilots. After they had completed their training, the pilot officer or sergeant pilot selected his crew. The great responsibilities and shared dangers led to a close-knit crew, whose average age was just twenty-two. Unfortunately, 5,000 young men from over twelve countries, lost their lives in accidents during training and later in active operations. Pilot Officer Eric Cryer (1921-30), Sgt Brian Franklin (1931-37) and Leading Airman Jack Kirton (1929-35) and Sub-Lt Leslie Brown (1939-41), both members of the Fleet Air Arm, were all killed in accidents in 1942. Leading Aircraftman Cuthbert Ellis (1939-42) left school, aged seventeen, and went to Canada under the Empire Air Training Scheme. In August 1943, he was killed in his final test flight to be a pilot with his instructor. Sgt Paul Gale (1934-37) trained as both a wireless-operator and air-gunner. His Wellington bomber was returning from a raid but was forced down in the North Sea, due to lack of fuel. He returned to the sinking plane and strapped down his radio-key to give a fix to their rescuers. His final mission was a raid on Bremen in January 1942. They suffered engine trouble, a fire broke out and they crashed into the sea and he was killed. Sgt George Grossman (1932-37) was killed in an accident in 1943. Sgt William Swanborough (1937-40), like Cuthbert Ellis, were founding members of the Crypt ATC. He was training as a fighter pilot but was killed in an accident in May 1944. Sgt Gerald Senior (1933-38) was a navigator in a transport plane which crashed in the Mediterranean Sea in March1944. Flt Lt Ivor Sims DFM (1921-26) was in Coastal Command as a navigator from 1941. He became an instructor but was killed in a training accident in 1945. Charles Orpin (1926-37) trained pilots in Canada. All his young pilots were put through dangerous steep dives so as to familiarise them with the powerful G-forces. It is thought that these regular training exercises over the years led to his premature death in 1947. Rex Walwin was an early flying enthusiast and from 1939 to 1945 he was a Squadron Leader and a Chief Flying Instructor and was awarded the Air Force Cross. Air Marshal Sir Arthur Harris was appointed to be in charge of Bomber Command in February 1942. A number of problems faced him. The navigational aids at this time had serious limitations. The night raids, often in cloudy conditions, proved to be far less accurate than was reported and propaganda claimed. From 1941 onwards the German radar stations across the Channel quickly detected the raids and guided the effective nightfighters to the unescorted bombers. It was finally concluded that the damage inflicted was having little effect but the losses were heavy. As a result, morale was low. A radical change in policy was discussed with Churchill and his scientific advisors. On February 14th, the ‘Area Bombing Directive’ was issued. The RAF was to attack the industrial factories of the German cities. The additional aim was to de-house and displace the inhabitants. This ruthless policy led to the indiscriminate carpet bombing of cities. Harris was not alone in seeing little difference between combatants and non-combatants. He was adamant that this policy would win the war on its own. Churchill also realised that this was the best way of supporting the USSR. However, it would prove controversial, not only on moral grounds, but also its effectiveness was increasingly questioned. Harris was determined to make an impact and planned a major assault on the industrial region of the Ruhr and the historic city of Cologne. There were only 400 front-line bombers available, but he managed to put together more planes, extracted from all available sources, to go on three highly publicised raids. The first ‘1,000 bomber raid’ took place on the night of May 30th. The introduction of the new four- engine bombers, such as the Lancaster in 1942, which could fly at 20,000 feet and carry much bigger bomb loads, made a significant impact. The British people and the press supported this new strategy. On this historic mission the following Old Cryptians took part. Sgt Guy Selwyn (1931-36) was both a wireless-operator and air-gunner on a Halifax and was killed in June on a raid on the Ruhr. Sgt Richard Bircher (1933-38), an air gunner, was killed later whilst training in England, aged twenty. Sgt Roland Burley (1920-25) trained as a navigator but was killed with all his crew on a later mission in July. Flying Officer Peter Thompson (1934-37) and Flt Sgt Peter Pitchford (1932-37) and Sgt Samuel Witchell (1934-
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38) were also on this raid to Cologne. It surprised the enemy defences and 44 planes were destroyed. A 5% loss was deemed acceptable. When it was realised that the accuracy of these raids was less than predicted, it was decided to create an elite Pathfinder Force in August 1942. They were to lead the way and mark the targets with flares. The Germans responded by increasing the number of flak batteries and night-fighters, who accounted for 80% of the losses. These eight to ten-hour missions placed huge stress on the air crews. Flying Officer Ronald Turk (1931-36), joined the Pathfinders in August and was a navigator on a Lancaster. In March 1943, he and all his crew were killed in a raid in Germany. Peter Pitchford was killed in October 1942, when his Lancaster was hit by flak. Samuel Witchell and all his crew were killed when his Halifax was shot down by a night fighter on a raid on the heavily defended Ruhr, in September 1942. Sgt Kenneth Dutton (1934-39) was nineteen when he qualified as a pilot of a Lancaster bomber. He and all his crew were killed on a raid on the port of Wilhemshaven in February 1943. During 1942 and 1943, fewer than 50% of bomber crew members survived the 30 sorties needed to complete their tour of duty. Norman Browning (1918-26) was Head Prefect and played rugby and cricket for Cambridge University. He was a Squadron Leader and was awarded the MBE for his efforts. Tom Lister (1903-09) had a distinguished record in the Great War and was a Group Captain in this war. The year 1942, was perhaps the lowest point in the war for the United Kingdom. However, by the early summer of 1943, the Allied forces in the west and the east were confident that the worst was behind them and they were confident of success. By September 1942, the continual noise and disruption of a building site at Friars’ Orchard came to an end when the modern, much needed Technical College was finally opened. Now the attention of the headmaster and staff turned to the future move of the school from the bustling city centre to the, many would say, the desolate outskirts of Podsmead. The laboratories, classrooms, furniture and equipment would have to be transported to the unfinished school and grounds in the summer holidays of 1943. The Army Cadet Force run by the biology master, Lt H.J. Bonham and the ATC moved their activities to the new site. Considering the heavy losses in Bomber Command there were never any shortage of volunteers. The Crypt School, its Headmaster, staff and pupils, in the middle of the war, now embarked on a new exciting and challenging era. More information can be found in, ‘A History of the Crypt School 1539-2018' by Charlie Hannaford and, ‘The Lost Generations’ by Simon and Sarah Birch and Ray Pocock. Photos of those who died are displayed in Howard Allen’s book, ‘The Crypt School: 75 Years.’
Charlie Hannaford (1956-64) 100 Facts, Myths & Legends About Gloucester Two friends from Gloucester have published a book of facts, myths & legends about the city, which they believe is an ideal stocking filler in the run-up to Christmas.
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Insurance broker Matt Cass and former City Council Leader Paul James, who have known each other since their time at The Crypt School, have compiled the publication entitled, “100 Facts, Myths & Legends About Gloucester” which brings together a range of historical and modern-day information about the city. Matt, from Longford, who is a Director of CassStephens Insurances in Barnwood and also sits on the board of the Gloucester Business Improvement District, said, “I’m fascinated by the impact Gloucester has had not only on the history of this country but around the world. There’s so much that most people don’t know and I thought that putting together some of these key facts and stories into a short book would help to spread the knowledge.” Council for 12 years “During my time as a interesting snippets anywhere where all until now! The choose the best 100 we’ve ended up with pretty surprised at
Paul, who served as Leader of the City and as a councillor for 24 years, added, councillor I came across all kinds of of information but there hasn’t been of these gems are brought together – greatest challenge for us has been to items to include, but I’m confident the right ones. I think people will be some of them!”
The book is available copy book and £3.99
on Amazon priced at £6.99 for a hard for an e-book using the following link:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09N4N1PV2/ref=dbs_a_def_r wt_bibl_vppi_i1
Revealing the treasures of the Crypt School and Old Cryptians archive After many years of assembling valuable, hard copy material on the life of the Crypt School, part of it has now been scanned and made available to a wider audience. Recent digitisation techniques have been applied, within the discipline of a pilot project, and will hopefully lead to a strategy for continued work in this area. The pilot project, sponsored by Old Cryptian and former President Peter Hobbs has resulted in some extremely interesting Crypt material being made available “at the touch of a button”. Whilst School, Old Cryptians and Gloucestershire County departments have diligently conserved historical records over a number of years, they have now been brought to life by this project and a focused redesign of the Old Cryptians website which has been managed by our current President Steve Knibbs and former President Adam Ashby.
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A printed or handwritten page is the ultimate deposit of history but for many people it is invisible. With rarity comes the need to conserve; whilst these paper documents are surprisingly robust they are obviously subject to wear and there is usually a need to place volumes under procedural control so that originals are not lost or damaged. This is the case with the historic and rare documents about the Crypt School. With a founding date of 1539, the Crypt is one of the oldest schools in the country. In 1901 the Old Cryptonians Club was formed and from that date material began to accumulate – initially routine records required by law and by governing authorities. Even with the advent of copying machines, given a huge boost by the launch in 1959 of the commercially successful Xerox 914 in New York, the preservation and distribution of copies of rare documents did not accelerate. Being facsimiles, they still required physical handling and posting. It was not until the computer revolution beginning in the latter half of the 20 thC with vastly increased storage capacity (higher density/much lower cost) that it has become routine in many sectors to scan all kinds of documents. Thus, we have convenient primary (for safety) preservation and the wonderful ability to make documents available virtually in a wide variety of settings. Specifically, Crypt School and Old Cryptians’ Club treasures can now be seen in fantastic authenticity on laptops, tablets and smartphones. Although the subject of the scanning project was Minute Books 1 – 4, the company selected to do the work included some rare photographs and local newspaper cuttings. This highly accessible archive provides a glimpse into a previously closed world. The dissemination of virtual documents of all kinds is only just beginning. Whilst the process is semiautomated, it is relatively expensive and we can never issue an edict “scan everything”. The Crypt School and the Old Cryptians will always be a need to be selective based on potential value to the target audience. The other reason for the large increase in commercial organisations entering the market in scanning (digitisation) of documents is the scaling of business models for speed and efficiency. If firms reach the ultimate goal of digitising their full span of historic documents, thus making them instantly accessible, much time is saved in transactions. This is also the best insurance against loss, especially when geographically separated sites are employed. Again it will be a commercial judgement how much of a firm’s history is digitised. It is not usual for firms to step outside their core business to take on scanning work thus we now have, even in the UK, an active number of suppliers able to provide digitisation resources at competitive prices.
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Returning to the collection of paper records about the Crypt School, the first organisation involved was the Gloucestershire County Council records department. An internal transfer in 1985 from the Education Department essentially began the Crypt archive. An initiative by the Gloucester Records Office collected more documents in 2003 as a result of a survey of schools. The first deposit from the Old Cryptians was made in 2004. The office was re-organised to become the Heritage Hub, OCC located in Alvin Street. It is user friendly but necessarily operates strict protocols intended to protect historic paper documents. It is not a lending library and documents are required to be carefully handled in its reading room. Serious visitors are required to apply for a Reader’s Pass. Anyone who has used the British Library in London will recognise the procedures. There is a photocopying service within the Heritage Hub but this is intended for researchers of specific subject areas. The Hub is not designed to accommodate browsing, despite the comprehensive and freely available online catalogue. Without digitisation and the beginnings of a digital library, casual users who have been exposed to sophisticated online libraries will soon become frustrated. Quick and convenient access to history is important at many levels, thus there is a strong argument to find the funding and make a plan for the next phase of digitisation of Crypt/Old Cryptians material. Each phase in the plan will need to be justified before allocating funds. One driver could be the educational value of research using a digital library. The modern archivists who have been involved to date would be glad to receive suggestions on the next phase of this work. What should be digitised now? Perhaps some records of sporting triumphs from the pages of the Cryptian. (The result of the digitisation project can be seen by following the link https://oldcryptians.org/club-archive/) Richard Briggs (1955-63)
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O BITUARIES
Bertram John ‘Bert’ Mitchell (1944-1953) John died in hospice care on the 23 December 2021. He had fought bravely a battle with cancer in the latter part of his life. The Thanksgiving Service for the Life of John was held at Gloucester Crematorium on the 13 January 2022. Clearly John was not an unpopular person - judging by the scale of the congregation who assembled to pay their respects. It was moving to see so many of the hierarchy and playing members of the OCRFC present sporting their club blazers shirts and ties. Eric Stephens, a past president of the OCC and a life-long friend, gave the address that contained much of Eric’s customary gift for humour and friendship.
Eric Stephen’s address Bertram John Mitchell (Bert), as he was known by all his family, friends and admirers, was born in Henley Place, The Oval. Tragically his father was killed in combat in the early part of the Second World War and Bert and his sister Lorraine were raised by their mother. I remember all three had lovely auburn hair that was admired by so many. Bert developed into a larger than life character but also a tearaway. In his early teens he acquired a motor bike that was without a road licence so he made a speedway track in his garden, much to the annoyance of his neighbours. Bert followed the traditional route of many Ovalites - Linden, and Calton primary schools and then the Crypt. In the 1950s there were enough boys in The Oval to form a rugby team. The Oval was a great place for us aspiring sportsmen with football, cricket, tennis high on the list. When he was called up for his National Service Bert served in the RN and was posted to the Middle East and Cyprus, enjoying rugby in Happy Valley, Acquitiri and R and R on the beach at Ladies Mile. When Bert was demobbed he returned to his membership of the OCRFC and OCCC. He made 176 appearances for the rugby club over an eighteen year period and captained the famous 3rd XV- aptly named the Mitchells’ Marauders - for two seasons. 1971 saw Bert travelling to Australia, followed by his wife Isobel. They lived in Tamworth NSW. During his time there he became player coach for the local rugby team. On his return to England Bert’s entrepreneurial spirit led to business in partnership with Isobel in Camborne, Ross, Cornerways in Brunswick Road and Llanthony Stores at the Quays. While living in Ross Bert served as a committee member and Trustee of their first rugby clubhouse. At this time he became also a member and Director of DIR International, a sports travel business specializing in tour events such as the Hong Kong Sevens, the British Lions tours to South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. In this venture he recruited J.J.Williams, the Welsh winger and Dave Powell, the Northampton and England prop as couriers. Bert became a close friend of ‘J.J.’ often spending holidays at his villa in the Algarve. The Crypt School
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Bert joined the committee of the OCC and he became president in 2000. He took on the project of re-conditioning the School Honours Boards and erecting them in the School Hall where they can be seen to this day. With the re-development of the Quays Bert and Isobel sold the Llanthony Stores and retired to Southfield Road within easy reach of the HQ of the OCRFC. Bert supported the club keenly until his death in the Sue Ryder Hospice with his family and loving wife Isobel at his side. John was a genial and sociable person who much enjoyed the bonhomie and camaraderie of like-minded sports’ people. He was also blessed with a great sense of humour and a strong vein of loyalty to friends and his clubs, not least to those with an Old Cryptian connection. To his wife Isobel and close family the sympathy of the Old Cryptian clubs is extended in their loss.
Howard Allen (1947-1955) Peter Hobbs writes: John Mitchell and I served in Cyprus at the same time back in the late 1950s although I thought I had never found him out there - he was a sailor on an army boat I only later discovered and I had a platoon of 3 ton trucks and totally road bound so of course our paths did not cross - or so I thought. One of the burdens of being the most junior officer around was that one was dumped with all the jobs that more senior officers found a chore. Pay day was one of them, a formal Parade which involved me sitting out of the sun in a large hot tent whilst several hundred soldiers dressed up to the nines marched up in turn, halted ,saluted, were given their cash, another salute , about turn and march away, all under the eagle eye of the Sergeant Major who bawled out anyone failing to match what he thought were the standards required. Sitting beside me was the Pay Sergeant who gave me the right money for each man - or so one hoped because I would be held responsible for any shortfall. As each soldier came to an halt in front of me , I quickly scanned him from foot to head and commented on any who were particularly smart. Faces were a blur not least because this was all done on a dried out muddy surface and all the foot banging generated clouds of dust which gradually coated me and the Sergeant much to the satisfaction of the bored onlookers still on parade. Apparently on one of these parades, I actually paid John Mitchell and then complimented him on his turnout without recognising him at all. I only found out when I met him in Eastgate Street in Gloucester after we returned from Cyprus. Both of us were well used to the mind numbing routines of army service so it was amusing to compare notes. I was then away from Gloucester for over 40 years before I became the “away” President of the Old Cryptians ( at that time, the office of President alternated between someone living locally in the Gloucester area and someone living elsewhere as I did ) and saw at first hand John’s total commitment to the School and his continued pressure to implement innovative ideas celebrating the school and it’s past. He will be missed.
Richard Evans (1948-54) Richard Evans (1948-1954) Died on Friday 10 September 2021. He had been resident in a care home in the latter part of his life.
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He served for 4 years in the RAF technical branch. (1954-1958). He played for many years for OCRFC prior to his move to Chelmsford in the mid 1970s. He was in electronic marketing.
Howard Allen writes: Richard and I first became close friends in 1947 when he arrived in The Oval, Gloucester, from Anglo Egyptian Sudan. His father was a railway engineer there. He was in Whitefield House with me and we played in the 1st XV and 1st XI together in 1954. Richard was a magnificent swimmer and represented the house with a high degree of success in the inter-house swimming galas. We played golf together in retirement and travelled often with Richard and his wife, Sandra, in the UK and Europe. He was wonderful company and a very dear friend for some 76 years – so often the source of good humour and prior to his illness at the end of his life he was a tremendous example of a person living life to the full. Richard was a stalwart OC who so enjoyed club reunions in Gloucester and London. He will be sorely missed. Bless him.
Stephen Evans eulogy His son Stephen gave this eulogy at his funeral. George Richard Gainer Evans 19 March 1937 – 10 September 2021 Saying goodbye to my dad today is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, made harder because he was also my friend. I am Stephen, and am proud to be called his son, and on behalf of my Mum, Rob and the rest of our family, we would like to thank you for being here today to celebrate Richards life. I have just 10 minutes in this Chapel to sum up the exploits of a man who lived a full, rich life. I shall try, but I know I will fail. So we shall start with one of my Dads’ great wisdoms, for him a Glass was always half-full, so 12 minutes it will have to be. There are so many words we could choose to describe Richard Evans, generous, humorous, practical, reliable to name just a few, a real gentleman. But, how to explain them, I shall borrow from the Bard…… At school, Rich was quite keen on Shakespeare and in particular the speech from “As you Like It” All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages. I therefore offer you the Seven Ages of Richard, each one highlighting a different aspect of his personality. THE FIRST AGE: CHILDHOOD & AND WHAT’S IN A NAME? George Richard Gainer Evans, was named after his father, also George or “Geo”, but this was against the initial wishes of his Mum Marjorie, who preferred to call him Richard. As George senior was working in Sudan at the time, Mum and Son stayed in Gloucester, by The Crypt School
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the time Geo came home to see his infant Son, “Richard” had all ready stuck. The Gainer was Marjorie's maiden name, and without any Brothers, she was worried that this unique and rare family name would die out, so Dad’s third Christian name was tweaked to reflect this. This started a convention of naming Sons “with Gainer”. Later Richard became universally known as “Rich”, but when in business, he was also known as “Dick” and it is still funny to hear his old work colleagues refer to him as this. Twickenham 2007 Back in ’39, as the clouds of war in Europe were gathering in the East, Sudan was strategically important, so Marjorie and Richard emigrated with Geo when he returned to Atbara, Sudan where he was manager of the Joinery Department, working for the “Gloucester Railway Company” which ran the vital link between Khartoum and Wadi Halfa. As Michael Palin in his “Pole to Pole” TV series noted, the Sudanese are still using those carriages today! Richard enjoyed his childhood, and here developed a unique and independent outlook on life. How many boys can claim that they had a wild Mongoose as a pet. This was not only unusual but very practical, and Dad was ever a practical man. With a tame Mongoose living under the property, the Evans family home never suffered any issue with snakes. Just watch a YouTube video of a battle between a Cobra and Mongoose to know that the snake doesn’t come off well. So now we have “Practical” as our first adjective to describe Rich. Aged 5, a sister appeared on the scene. George again wanted his name to survive, so Georgina, or just Gina was so named. Rich always looked out for his little Sister, something that continued for all his life. Dad’s reliability won him much respect amongst his peers and when Gina was widowed at 49, Dad stepped in to support her and the family, something she always was thankful for, and sign of the measure of the man. So now we have “Reliable” to add to “Practical”. SECOND AGE: THE YOUNG MAN Aged 11, it was time to set aside childish things and after passing his 11+, Rich was packed off to his Uncle and Auntie in Gloucester to attend the Crypt Grammar School. Here he fell in with 3 guys, Braz (later Rev Brasington), Gerald Harris, or just plain Harris and Howard They all became lifelong friends and this is where Dad discovered his love of Rugby. Soon after Cricket would follow and in later life tennis and skiing. So now we have competitive. At age 14 tragedy struck when George died unexpectedly, and for the young Richard this was a lesson in how fragile life can be, and led to his philosophy of “Life’s too short” Robin Williams popularised “Carpe Diem”, but my Dad had learnt this truth many years before. So now we have “Astute”. A side effect, no doubt of his loss and the realisation that he was suddenly the “man of the house” was that his studies drifted and he didn’t complete his ALevels. Something he said to me later he would come to regret. Back in 1955 National Service was still in place and without a place in full-time education, the prospect of spending 2 years peeling spuds in Catterick Garrison was not appealing. However, being the ever practical Man, he found a solution, an RAF apprenticeship. By volunteering for 4 years he was guaranteed training, so Rich became a Radar engineer and was assigned to an active Squadron, and when they deployed, so he went too! Ironically 39 Squardron was equipped with Gloster Meteor night fighters, build in Hucclecote, not 3 miles away from his home in Longlevens. One highlight of his Service was a deployment to Cyprus, and although the UK forces were always under threat from the nationalist guerrillas AOKA, he and his friends still managed to sneak up in the morning to Mount Olympus to go Skiing whilst sunning themselves in the afternoon on the beach even, though the Suez Crisis was raging all around them. This cheekiness for was very Richard, so now we have the “fun loving”. At the end of the Suez Crisis, 39 Squadron relocated to RAF Coltishall north of Norwich and one Saturday night Rich had planned to go dancing with his mates, but they blew him out, so he just went alone. This was typical of his self-confidence and independence. Similarly Sandra Berry had also been let down by her girlfriends for the same dance, so she also decided to go alone. Sandra and Rich met, and danced, and eventually decided to dance together for the rest of their lives. Till death did they part.
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THIRD AGE: THE ENTREPRENEUR After their Wedding the lucky lad and his teenage bride moved to Gloucester and he started working at Hoover as a salesman. Here he met Tony Jennings and a lifelong friendship started, the laughter between those two was legendary. Richard’s rugby resumed, but now for The Old Cryptians’ Club where his competitive spirit ultimately led him to become Second Team Captain and one year they even won the local Cup. The subsequent hangover was equally legendary! Rich had an entrepreneurial spirit and so with 2 of the other Hoover sales staff, they set up the Ace of Clubs nightclub which quickly became a favourite in Glos. However the desire to start a family meant that Rich and San gave up the nightclub, but the Ace name lived on when Dad started Ace Electricals on his own selling white goods in Eastgate Street. It was a good, practical choice of name as it appeared top of the list in the Yellow Pages. Unless of course there was ever an Aardvark Electrical in Glos, which I doubt. I arrived in 1963, and Mum wanted Stephen, Dad though it would be really cool to name me after a “shertain shcottish actor”. “Richard” was already a done deal, but fortunately Mum won, so Stephen Richard Sean it was, and “Gainer” would have to wait. In 1966 Robert was born. Gina had one year earlier named her first Son, Kerry. So being rather considerate she didn’t think it was fair to burden him with 2 girls names, so it was Rob who got the Gainer name instead. Marjorie's legacy was secured for another generation! Unfortunately for the electrical shop, Rich found himself sailing against the wind when national chains such as Rumbelows, Radio Rentals & Comet started popping up in the High Street, so, being ever practical, he gave up the shop and joined Crompton Parkinson. FOURTH AGE: FAMILY LIFE & SELF-IMPROVER As a Sales Rep for Crompton, he got a real novelty for the mid-60’s. A company car, a Hillman Imp. Much of Dads’ sales patch was south Wales and the problem was that the Welsh didn’t like buying anything from the English. Some things never change! Of course having a Welsh surname opened the doors, but despite being English, if there was a deal to be made or a sale to be had, if the customer wanted him to be Welsh, then he was happy to be Welsh. I’ll put this one down as “pragmatic”. As I said earlier, Dad regretted curtailing his education, but he won everyone’s utter respect when he put himself through night school. First ONC, then an HNC in Lighting Engineering. This led to a promotion to Lighting Engineer and a taste for self-improvement and we left Glos for Bristol. The Imp became a Ford Escort which soon afterwards started pulling a caravan for affordable holidays for the family. With other families in a similar situation, like a roving rock band we toured the UK with other supporting acts such as Gerald & Irene, Pete & Carol, and Auntie Tony & Uncle June. FIFTH AGE: MATURITY Dad then put himself through a second HNC in Business Studies and Management. So now we have “Determination”. This led to further promotion within Crompton's and a move Bristol to Chelmsford. Mind you, on arrival in Chelmsford, Rich didn’t waste any time getting himself down the local Rugby club whilst he left San and the kids to do all the unpacking!!. As a “mature” player he joined the seniors team, The Undertakers, and so started an association with Chelmsford Rugby Club that would last almost 44 Years. With promotion to Sales Manager the Escort became a Cortina, and with Area Branch Manager the Cortina became a 2.0L Capri and the caravan became a SpeedBoat for water skiing. Mid -life crisis, never. So now we have “Youthful” Although we moved around a lot, family life was happy, harmonious and stable. The perfect environment for myself and Rob to grow and mature. This has helped us throughout our lives and if I appear tall before you, it is because I am standing on the shoulders of giants. Thanks to Mum and Dad.
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SIXTH AGE: RETIREMENT & KICKING BACK During his mid-40’s, Marjorie’s inheritance enabled Rich and San to buy a bungalow in Spain which started a 30-year love affair with that country and they stretched their wings. Dicks employment ended abruptly with Crompton Parkinson getting swept up with 1990’s takeover craze, but not to be put down, he achieved two things. The first was to help Rob get a foothold in the Sales side of the electrical business. The other was to prove to his old company they had been short-sighted by quickly getting snapped up as Sales Director of Selectra and then ZIP, and finally retirement. So now we have “Respect’ Back at Crompton’s, Dick won a Sales competition which was a holiday to St. Lucia. The Caribbean was a long haul, but Mum and Dad were hooked, and with the freedoms of Retirement, off they went to see the world. Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, Venezuela, South Africa and America three times, several cruises including the QE2 not to mention most of Europe and of course the bungalow at Campo Verde. This was all in addition to Dad’s annual Ski Trips of which I am sure there are many stories, but none to tell as “what goes on tour, stays on tour”. That’s not to say Rich was always “discreet”, he could quite often forget something in confidence, like the year Karin and I had arranged a secret trip to the Trocadero for James and Alex’s Birthday, and as Dad dropped them off said to them both “hope you have a good day in London”. Thanks Dad ! But apart from occasional lapses, he was always “Dependable” SEVENTH AGE: Dad started to show signs of his impending illness on the weekend of his 80th Birthday party. That didn’t stop him trying new things, and we have only recently found out after his death that he had secretly started making Sloe Gin after being inspired by Karin and her efforts. Incorrectly diagnosed as a prostate issue, at first the real disease lurked in the background, until 2 years ago it struck hard. A cruel and merciless disease, not only did it rob him of physical strength, but his personality, memory and dignity. A Cancer of the Soul. But throughout this illness, he kept smiling, for in the faces of his Grandchildren, James, Ashleigh, Alex and Kate he saw his legacy was secure. So I have a final adjective for you. “Unbowed”. To you Grandchildren, I therefore ask you to remember these following words and be the keeper of his memory : “He who lives in the memory of his loved ones is not dead, he is only distant; Only those who are forgotten are dead.” {Immanuel Kant} But enough !! Richard would not want you all to sit there upset, so no crying at the back there! He lived life to the full, a good innings and he would insist for you to do the same. Richard has gone, the actor walks off stage, his part played, but the play goes on. Before he exits the stage though, through me he talks to you all now. He would want you to remember him as his friend, husband, father, uncle, grandfather, Rugby Captain, Skier, colleague, businessman, raconteur, joker, gentleman and inspiration. And if his life means anything, he sets us all a challenge. For us that remain, we are the living and we should mourn him not, but revel in his playfulness his humour, irreverence and zest for lift. We should take his inspiration as our guidebook to life, we should not sit back and recount too long old stories, but to go out and create new ones, face new challenges and rise above them. Richard is at rest, we are the living, that is what he would want us to do, so go out there and through me, he tells you now, go live your life to the full, just as he did. Stephen R.S. Evans
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David Lane Q.C. [1957-65] - Recorder of The Crown Court David died on the 6 October 2021 aged 75 years. The service of Thanksgiving for the life of David was held on 25 October 2021. Charles Lepper wrote in 1989 in his classic History of The Crypt School a memorable summation of David’s achievements in his years at The Crypt and in his professional life.David would play Hockey in the 1st XI, become House Captain and Head Prefect (1964-65), Secretary and Chairman of Iohannides, and read Law at King’s College, London; there he was awarded the Albion Richardson Scholarship by the Masters of the Bench of Gray’s Inn and many other prizes; he pursued a highly successful career at the Bar (always a superb mimic, his accounts of cases are hilarious), and is currently a Recorder on the Western Circuit.’ Charles Lepper also commented that David was our ‘Senior Actor’ who took major roles in no less than six of Charles Lepper’s historic productions. Simon Richards, a close friend presented this splendid eulogy of David. SIMON RICHARDS’ EULOGY David Goodwin Lane Q.C., 1945-2021 a personal tribute, 25th August 2021 Speaking as a Welshman, I never fail to be moved by the famous hymn we have just sung, to the glorious tune, Cwm Rhondda - Rhondda Valley - home to the members of my father’s family who wrote the Welsh national anthem. Yes, it literally was the Land of My Fathers! But that’s more than enough about me – we are here to remember, to honour and to celebrate the life of my dear friend – our dear friend - David. As you can doubtless see, I share his weakness for a good pudding! ‘Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer’, written by William Williams of Pantycelyn, was translated by Peter Williams, who was converted to Methodism by George Whitefield, educated, like David, at The Crypt School, Gloucester. Like Whitefield, David had a passion and a talent for acting in the theatre. Whitefield used his talent to become a celebrated preacher, on both sides of the pond; David used his to become a Q.C. and, incidentally, the finest speaker I have ever heard - and I have heard a few! It was Charles Lepper, at The Crypt, who gave David the opportunity to shine on stage, in a series of performances of Shakespeare and other works, performed on a scale and of a quality that won renown far beyond Gloucester. David met Jacky in 1985 and in 1991 - a year to remember for David - he took silk, they married and they moved to Cheltenham. As anybody familiar with Gloucester and Cheltenham knows, that’s one small step for man, one giant leap for a son of Gloucester. In Jacky, David had chosen well. Having proved her worth working for that industrialist and innovator of genius, Sir George Dowty, she had become the right hand woman to a man who, as surely as Sir David Amess was Mr. Southend was Mr. Cheltenham - Sir Charles Irving. When he declared David to be ‘an honorary Cheltonian’ it was no mean compliment - it was the greatest tribute he could bestow on anybody.
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An only child himself, marriage to Jacky brought David a whole new family - and a whole new source of delight for him, which he embraced with open arms. He showed great kindness, generosity and love to them all - Julian, Antonia, Simon and Joel - and I know how much they meant to him. He loved Wood End - as homely as a home can be. David and Jacky made friends such as Dennis, from across the pond, and, from nearer home, Matthew Brown and Tony Hilder - all loyal through thick and thin. As befits a knowledgeable and enthusiastic follower of cricket, David treated his lawn with the kind of respect the groundsman at Lord’s reserves for the square on that hallowed turf. He took pride in the bands (never ever stripes, please!) that he and his mower created on his blessed plot. Such good and generous hosts were David and Jacky that Wood End became almost a second home to me; I invariably outstayed my welcome well into the early hours, entranced by a heady mix of putting the world to rights, a glass of wine or three and then, best of all, David taking to the piano to roll out a string of the finest tunes from the Great American Songbook: Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern and more. David had strong and immovable dislikes too - often reserved for famous musical pairings; he could not abide Gilbert & Sullivan, nor did he care for Rodgers & Hammerstein. When once I made favourable mention of Flanders & Swann he shuddered with disapproval. But the most beautiful melody I heard him play on his piano was unfamiliar to me: it was by none other than David Goodwin Lane Esquire. What talent he possessed, in so many fields! In his principal field - the law - as his hero, Winston Churchill might have put it, he mobilised the English language and his theatrical skills to the service of his clients. He had a particular liking for Manchester, where his profession often took him. He liked its work ethic, its meritocracy and, with his deep knowledge of history, reverence for tradition and love of liberty, held the great Manchester free traders, Cobden and Bright, in the highest esteem. He found all the men who led his country after Churchill a disappointment. He could do Terry-Thomas to a T: ‘They’re an absolute shower, a positive shower!’ he would exclaim with glee. It was through politics that I came to know him. I shared his classical liberal views and admired his ability to speak of them with an eloquence I could only dream of. To his erudition he added application, to his passion he applied a mastery of rhetoric to achieve a sum that was greater than its parts. A speech he gave to the Old Cryptians in 2008 is the finest advocacy of education I have ever read. Were I the Headmaster, I would provide a copy to every student and teacher entering the school. Not for nothing had David studied and memorised Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg address and Winston Churchill’s speeches. He put his talents to the service of others, in the causes of freedom and justice. His love of America and all things American was an extension of his love for his home country, its laws and its language. Indeed, he came to love New England even more than England itself. France and the French? Not so much. David awoke a very happy man on the morning of 24th June 2016! In his last years, David bore a terrible illness with a stoicism which astounded me, but he well knew the inspirational poem, Invictus, written by W. E. Henley, a fellow Old Cryptian, which David’s beloved grandson, Joel will read to you. How proud my dear friend would be to hear him. For, even more than all four of his cats, or the dogs on which he doted, it was in Joel that his grandfather took greatest pride. When he was young, David wrote him magical stories of Desmond the Dinosaur and others. When he sought a rocking horse for him, it would be no ordinary plaything. Nothing gave David more joy than Joel’s many sporting achievements, not least watching him in Cheltenham College’s 1st XV on the College’s beautiful playing fields. Joel’s warm appreciation of his grandfather meant the world to David. Despite her own battles with illness, Jacky devoted the same love and care to David as she had throughout their long and happy marriage. She has asked me to say how much
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she has appreciated all the cards, letters and messages of condolences she has received. I would like to pay tribute to all the amazing people who cared for David in his last years, and, if I may, to make special mention of Antonia for all that she did for him. I shall conclude with the title of a song from the Great American Songbook, which became Bob Hope’s signature tune: ‘Thanks for the Memory’. And now, as David, a Gloucester lad, would say to Jacky (a Gloucester girl), ‘Come on our kid!’
Simon Richards 25 October 2021 David came to enjoy a blissfully happy marriage and family life. The Club extend to his wife, Jacky, and children, their deepest sympathy in their grievous loss.
Howard Allen [1947-55]
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