The Cryptian 2020-2021 by The Crypt School

The Cryptian

2020-2021 A Year in the Life of the School

Headmaster’s Welcome

I am delighted to be writing the introduction to this edition of the annual Cryptian magazine, which tries, as always, to capture the life of our busy school and OC community. This edition certainly does that, and it is remarkable to note that so much has been still able to take place at school despite the enormously disruptive year we have experienced due to Covid-19. The pandemic has certainly curtailed all our lives, and the rich tapestry of school life has been interrupted by the closure of schools, and the cancellation of so many of the events, trips and activities that make school life so rich and rewarding for both students and staff. I must thank everyone connected to the School for the incredible perseverance, support and care for the Crypt - its students, its staff, its parental body and OC community - over the last year or so. We are indeed fortunate to have such a generous, committed staff body at Crypt, who care deeply about their students, their school and its purpose, and have shown

themselves to be a remarkable group of people across this pandemic in keeping the work of the School going, even during periods of lockdown. Our students have shown themselves to be an equally remarkable group of individuals, persevering through the restrictions on their school and wider lives. My thanks go to our parents, who have been incredibly supportive of the School, as have our OCs. It has been a privilege to both lead this school over that period and to be a part of that vibrant, caring, tolerant and resilient Crypt community, who together make the School what it is today. Continuing the work and life of the School has been challenging for staff, for students and their families over the last year; however, I think we can look back on this period in the long history of the School, with great pride and satisfaction that we not only kept school life going, but that we collectively rose to the considerable challenges of our time and, through our work, further strengthened the values, the vision and the work of the School. Thank you then to everyone connected with the School for their effort and support over the last year. I feel immensely reassured reading through the magazine that so much has indeed carried on despite everything and we can now look forward, we hope, to the return to a greater degree of normalcy in our lives and in the life of the School. For me, the highlight of the school year was in both September and then again in March 2021, when the students and staff returned to school following the then national lockdowns. The School provides a wonderful space in which our young people can grow, develop, learn and progress together; however, without students and staff, it is but an empty set of buildings with its purpose, its work and mission suspended. Their return breathed life back into the school and renewed that strong sense of purpose, of mission, we have here: to help support the development of responsible, caring, knowledgeable,informed and, above all, tolerant and respectful young people, ready to make a difference to both their own lives and the lives of others too. We can look forward to the next few years in the life of our school with great assurance: confident in our values and 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 Bernadette Warner, for taking on the huge task of editing 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

3 TABLE OF CONTENTS - Section One Headmaster’s Welcome Contents Head Students Years 7 and 8 Year 9 Years 10 and 11 Years 12 and 13

1-2 3 4 Year Reports 5 6 11 12 Inclusion 13 Careers 15 Subjects Art 16 Business and Economics 23 English 26 Food Technology 33 Geography 34 Government and Politics 36 History 37 Mathematics 40 Modern Foreign Languages 41 Music 43 Physical Education; Sports 47 Psychology and Sociology 53 Sciences: Chemistry 54 Biology 56 Physics 56 RE & Philosophy and Ethics 57 School Events Prize Giving 58 Remembrance Service 59 Carol Service; 60 KS3 Showcase 60 KS3 and KS4 Showcase 61 World Book Day 61 Founders’ Day 62 Summer Showcase 62 School Library Update 63 Clubs and Societies Duke of Edinburgh 66 Samba Group 70 Multicultural Group 71 Cross Country 71 Year 12 Choir 71 Green Influencers 72 Charity Year 8 Bottle Tops 73 Mask-making 74 Staff Focus Staff Reflections 74 Staff Spotlight 75 Thank you to the Trustees 80 School Philosophy 81

Head Students: Alice Gee and Harvind Sandhu

We, Harvind and Alice, are so excited and grateful for being given the invaluable opportunity to be the Crypt School's Head Students. We both see this as a responsibility to represent our fellow peers and set an example which follows The Crypt School values. Being selected to lead our student executive team was such an honour and we are ready to take on this leadership role to help our team achieve its full potential. This is also a role in which we look forward to the prospect of enhancing our Crypt community through new initiatives and programmes. Alice hopes to start inter-year conversations about pressing issues, for example, mental health, and gain a strong understanding of the student body's views on the matter to go forward from there; aiming to raise awareness and challenge preconceptions and stigma. Harvind wishes to start a mentoring programme in which experienced Cryptians can take new students under their wings and help guide them through the beginning of their journey at The Crypt School. We both look forward to working with the student body and Crypt Multicultural Society to carry on raising awareness of issues faced by marginalised communities, which we are certain will contribute to strengthening our school’s diverse community. We are devoted and committed to this responsibility, and we anticipate working with our student executive team to set an example and uphold The Crypt’s values and reputation.

Year Groups Year 7 Mr Andy Hart: It has been a tough Year for the year 7 students but I am proud of how they have coped with all challenges. Thankfully, we managed to run our transition days so in September they felt more settled and even the start of term gave them another chance to get to know each other and to find their way around. Sadly, the first casualty of the Covid year was the Year 7 residential. This is often an integral part of the transition programme so it was such a shame to lose it but they were quickly into their stride despite missing their time away. To help them settle in, we ran numerous lunchtime clubs including: music, hockey, rugby, chatterbox, netball, space club, debating, chess, story writing, futsal, cross country, drama, basketball, board games, art, raspberry pie, dodgeball programming, hide and seek and kahoot club. We hope there was something for everyone and those that got involved really enjoyed them. It was a shame that the school production and numerous sporting opportunities were not available but I know in Year 8 many students will be keen to get involved. As we move up a year, things are still not the same but, with a residential, skiing, school production and the house competition to look forward to, we are all eager to get back to some kind of normal

Year 8 residential

Mr Harry Winsor: The Year 8 residential trip to Culmington Manor, Shropshire, was a great success. Taking 97 students away at any time is challenge but, in these most testing of times, it was even more so. The students were impeccably behaved and got stuck into all of the activities from the get-go. Highlights included seeing students who previously claimed to be scared of heights, conquer their fears to make it around the high-ropes course and the crate stacking challenge; the kayaking and

6 canoeing sessions, where many decided to test the waters (quite literally, often unintentionally); and, of course, 7.15am Wake and Shake! Other activities the Year 8s tried included archery, rifle shooting, climbing, obstacle courses and mountain biking. Thanks to Mr Hart and Mrs Williams for their outstanding organisation of a very enjoyable trip.

Year 9 Ms Alice Green: Our current Year 9 students are confident, enthusiastic and clever students who challenge our thinking and make changes for the better. They have had a difficult year; virtual learning and social distancing making their lives very different from 'normal' school life. Due to the pandemic, extra-curricular activities have been few and far between but when opportunities have arisen, Year 9 have stepped up to the challenge! In Term 1, it was decided that Year 9 required a student panel. We felt this was integral to the development of this year group which contains the first cohort of girls. The panel has 7 members, both males and females, and they have been used to understand the needs of the year group and to strengthen the relationship between students and staff members. The students have met with Mr Dyer several times this year and have already set up a box which enables their peers to voice any concerns anonymously - this is something they requested themselves. As well as representing Year 9, the panel has been used on many occasions to represent the year group and have now been involved in several staff interviews. Most recently, the group were challenged to create a team building event which highlighted the school values.

8 Y9 Activity Day Timetable - Tuesday 6th July

Period

Activity

Location

Staff

Value

Orienteering ● X 10 groups of 15

Outside on school grounds.

AG, CMi, JN, RJ, RC

Responsibility

Old Cryptian speeches ● 2-4 speeches

Hall - 150 chairs set up.

AG, CMi, RC, EL

Respect

Vintage sports day ● Egg and spoon ● 3 legged race ● Tug of war ● Relay In teams, nominate: Egg and spoon x 1 3 legged race x 3 Tug of war x 2 Relay x 4 (batons)

Athletics track/sports hall/field

CCD,AG, CMi, EL. GBr

Resilience

Field/marquee

AG, CMi, RC, EL, CCD

Tolerance

Field

AG, CMi, JN, RC,MD

Perseverance

Mini whiteboards 4

Paint ‘n’ Chill ● Mini canvas ● Paints *Please bring an old tshirt/apron with you.

Catapult competition

Here is what some of the students had to say:

What did you plan? Elliot: I didn’t plan all that much. I was mainly there to help people with getting certain materials, and doing jobs that they didn’t have time to do. I went to the art room a lot, as we needed coloured paper and string. Alyssa: Much like Elliot, I wasn’t one of the main planners behind the day, I was also there to help with supplies and make sure everyone had what they needed for the day to work. We went on trips to the art room as well as the music room and the PE office. How did the day go? Elliot: The day was so much fun. Although the weather wasn’t as good as we might have hoped, everyone still enjoyed themselves, which was the main objective we wanted to achieve. A lot of people didn’t follow the task perfectly, but what do you expect?! The main thing was that everyone had fun. Alyssa: From the perspective of someone on the panel, I think the day went great, though the weather wasn’t exactly perfect; however it was still fun to go outside in the rain with your friends. I saw more people being excited about the activities once they did them, then complaining about them, which is a good thing, I hope.

What is it like being a member of the student panel? Have you made any changes to the school for example? What’s next on your agenda? Elliot: Being a member of the student panel has been a fun experience. Being able to spend time with people from the school that I wouldn’t usually be spending time with has been a very positive experience for me, and I’m very excited to continue to do so, and build stronger relationships and friendships. I’m not sure what everyone else wants to do in the future for student panel, but I would like to try and help the school with fundraising as there are multiple things, such as new practise rooms for music, that need to be built, and I would love the student panel to organise fundraising to help with it. Alyssa: For me, being a member of the student panel has been super fun, but also I’ve had moments of stress. Seven people from different “friend groups” coming together to make change for the school, to make it better, has been amazing. In the future, I’d love to take more students’ suggestions for making Year 9 better as I believe the 7 people alone shouldn’t have the final say.

Year 10 Mrs Georgie Herbert: This academic year has been a rollercoaster for Year 10 students. They made a fantastic start back in September and began their GCSE courses with enthusiasm. We were impressed and proud of how well they settled back into school after the prolonged lockdown period followed by the summer holidays. Although most of them were taller than their Head of Year in Year 9 it felt like they had come back into Year 10 even more grown up and a little wiser. As you know from January to March the majority of students were directed to learn from home. Year 10 students took this seriously and even found time to get involved with extracurricular challenge activities. When face to face learning in school began again, the year group settled well and worked hard. Many of our Year 10s are pursuing their Duke of Edinburgh awards, so this will be a challenging and exciting time for them. In Year 11, their Head of Year will be Mrs Sturge and we wish them every success both now and in their future.

Year 11 Mrs Charlotte Sturge: To say that this has been a difficult year is an understatement. To say that it has been a difficult year for those going through their examination year is also a huge understatement. In September of this academic year, the students had already endured several months of lockdown and were hoping to return to some kind of normality - that did not happen. Despite these challenges, Year 11 students have been amazing. This does not mean that some have not struggled, but that was to be expected. What has been wonderful is that, despite these struggles, they have still been excellent about letting us know how they were doing. As we know, it is not always easy to say we are finding things tricky, even as adults. These young people stepped up to support each other and to work hard. They also remained focused and we were able to still put on a number of the very important events which we do every year. It was great to continue our work with ‘Maximise’ who put together a great virtual session on study skills and coping techniques and also to have our wellbeing session which was led by the ‘NCS’. Year 11’s involvement and willingness to listen to the advice given during these sessions will, I am sure, stand them in good stead for the future. Thanks to all parents and guardians who have been wonderful in supporting their children and our school during this time. We are a community and at times like this it shows just how important a community is. It was good to see everyone on results day; now please remember that we have not gone anywhere and would be delighted to receive the odd email from students and will try to answer any questions that they have. I hope they have had a restful summer and are now ready for an exciting and fulfilling future either at The Crypt School or elsewhere. As we said at the information evening the road to success is not a straight line; it has many twists and turns, but you will get there whatever path you take.

Year 12 Mrs Hannah Swain: Year 12 have had a different year, following on from what was a very different end to Year 11 last year where school suddenly closed to them in March and they were left without exams or indeed any summer plans until returning to school in September! Given this long stretch away from school, it was clear to see their excitement and happiness at being back when they joined us for their induction days in September; I have never known such an enthusiastic reaction to a simple school quiz! After a brilliant first month back at school, Covid then struck again and the whole year group had to self-isolate for two weeks before the October half-term, but feedback from all the Year 12 teachers was amazing; they couldn’t believe how well our students were coping with and committing to online learning. This positive picture continued into the winter and throughout the longer period of home-schooling from January to March, where several of our students impressed us with their fundraising efforts for charity. The return to school in March saw the beginning of the much-anticipated application process for Head Boy, Head Girl and Student Executive Team, which has just ended with our new team of 12 starting their duties by helping organise the Year 11 Summer School, involving running a student panel and filming a new tour of the school. Harvind Sandhu, Alice Gee and the team already seem to have taken to their responsibilities with ease and confidence and we look forward to seeing them flourish in Year 13. To celebrate the end of Year 12 exams this year, the Sixth Form team organised a team building day where students participated in a range of challenges including climbing, rounders, tower building and egg dropping. We were very impressed by how they all threw themselves into the various activities and delighted to see the year group all together again in a year where opportunities like these have been few and far between!

Year 13 Mr Matthew Bevan: September 2020 brought an even greater sense of promise and anticipation for our Year 13 students embarking on their final year at the school than in other years. Having spent much of their first year in the Sixth Form learning from home and encountering new and challenging A-level content, students were determined to do their best academically, and to make the most of the time learning in person at school. In the face of an ever-changing picture regarding how their A-levels were to be assessed, we were so proud of their resilience, adaptability and maturity throughout; the year group really epitomised the values of the school in their collective response. A-level teachers, the Sixth Form pastoral team, and the students themselves as caring young people supported one another throughout, from being sent home once again in October for remote teaching, to the long period the whole school went remote again from January to March. Despite everything, Year 13 students flourished and grew stronger as individuals. Regular assessments set by teachers were sat in exam conditions in the Hall throughout April and May, extending the normal period over which public examinations would usually take place, and the final day in school for Year 13 students was Thursday 20th May. We marked this occasion with a final assembly together in the Common Room with Mr Dyer, Mr Biggs, Mr Bevan and form tutors, when every leaver was given a

13 special Old Cryptian 2020-21 tie in recognition of their resilience. It was a great final morning together, full of good feeling and thankfulness for their time at the school, whether over seven years or the last two. The Year 13 leavers’ do took place in July as an outdoor event due to COVID. It was a fantastic night for both staff and students and a great send off for a wonderful year group.

Inclusion This academic year saw us take big strides in our inclusion agenda. As a school we have a responsibility to ensure all aspects of school life are inclusive for all students, regardless of gender, race, religion or sexuality. Likewise, we must ensure we instil accepting behaviour and educate students to understand the impact discrimination has within society.

Black History Month took place in October and students across all year groups took part in a series of form tutor activities which discussed each aspect of racial discrimination and the promotion of influential role models from Black History. The Black Lives Matter movement mainly took place while we are at home in lockdown; however, Black History Month created the perfect platform to educate students about the global impact of the movement in the wake of the Gregory Floyd murder. BHM culminated with an inspiring student-led assembly. Ibrahim Ahmed and Harvind Sandhu in Year 12 were joined by Daniel Roderick in Year 13 who shared their own personal experiences of racial discrimination and views on the schools’ impact in supporting and educating students on such difficult topics. In line with BHM, Pride (LGBTQ+) Month was also celebrated in June. A series of tutor time activities alongside a number of video links and resources were shared with students in Year 7-10 and Year 12 helped prompt discussion and encouraged students to understand the differences in sexuality and gender identity as well as real life examples of sexual discrimination and positive role models. As in society, more and more students are struggling with their own identity, and as a school, we all have a responsibility to ensure we are creating a safe environment for all students to feel comfortable and supported regardless of whatever they may be dealing with on a personal level. It goes without saying that members of the LGBTQ+ community struggle more with their mental

14 health than anyone else. It is concerning that one in eight people from the LGBTQ community who are aged 18-24 have attempted to take their own life which reflects the importance of us covering Pride Month in so much detail this year.

Our celebration of Pride Month, like Black History Month, finished with a whole school assembly led by students. Two former head boys, Ollie Ramsey and Jamie Evans, who left us in 2014 and 2020 respectively, shared their thoughts and opinions about coming out and how the school had previously supported them. The assembly then finished with Xav Coupland, a current student in Year 12, who kindly agreed to share his story with the rest of the school. Xav joined us in Year 10 from a school in Jersey as our first ever transgender student and his ‘eye opening’ story told us everything that is wrong about some people’s perception of being transgender. Celebrating global events such as Black History Month and Pride Month has now given us the perfect platform to raise sensitive but hugely important topics. We are looking forward to building on this work even more next year, ensuring all aspects of school life continue to be outward thinking and inclusive for all. Mr Ashley Bawden

Careers Andrew Lloyd, Careers Adviser writes about Careers in a Covid World: All areas of school support have of course been impacted by the pandemic. Careers is no exception. We lost two opportunities to host our highly successful Careers and Higher Education Fair, a loss to our students and indeed visitors who have in previous years been impressed with the experience. A perhaps bigger loss has been the opportunity to build upon our first year of planned work experience for Year 12 which took place in 2019. There is no doubt students emerge from this with greater personal awareness and confidence about the world of work and their ability to build upon it. This is of great interest to employers and it is no coincidence that several of our recent leavers have secured opportunities with employers with whom they have spent valuable time. We can expect virtual work experience to remain a legacy of the pandemic and perhaps it levels the playing field for students without the privileged access to certain professional networks. Wouldn’t it be good if we could challenge employers and schools to actively champion this? We of course had to adapt our careers provision. During the lockdown period, careers guidance interviews continued online with the added benefit in a few cases of involving their carers. Our firmly established programme of Career Insight Talks for Year 12, which usually happen in the summer terms, could not take place face to face with students but again we stepped up to the online challenge with virtual visits from a range of professionals that included ex-students in medicine, engineering, cyber security, and journalism to name but a few. It was not without technical issues beyond our control and we will welcome a return to actual visits when this is again possible. Continuing with our use of online technology, Unifrog is one of several careers and higher education tools at the disposal of students and their carers. This is now embedded across all year groups and will become a major vehicle of our careers education delivery towards meeting the Gatsby benchmark objectives. As I write, our Year 12 students have received an online presentation from the University of Bath to kick-start a programme of support for students planning higher education choices in 2022, which we hope heralds a full return to normal. Despite difficult labour market circumstances, several of our recent leavers have secured apprenticeships to commence in the autumn or sooner. Many employers are noticeably late with their recruitment processes and new opportunities are only now emerging. Those as yet unplaced are perhaps wisely taking a planned gap year to review plans or gain the work experience missed in the last 18 months. Finally, it is with heavy regret that I am leaving my post as Careers Adviser at The Crypt School this summer to work independently in the guidance sector. I have enjoyed the role immensely and it has been a privilege to work with the school's staff, students and parents. Careers education and guidance is a constant challenge among many for schools but I know the school's commitment to it is undiminished by the pandemic experience.Thank you.

Art Year 7 Paintings

Year 8 Cards

Year 8 Day of the Dead

Year 9 Digital Icons

Year 9 Memories

A-Level

Year 6 into Year 7

When our new Year 7 visited The Crypt in July, they practised wax resist and construction skills.

Business and Economics Year 10 students were treated to an insight into the challenges of running your own business from Boombocs and DeadLoud founder, Jonny Williams, when he hosted an online event during March. Speaking to all GCSE Business students Jonny talked about his journey from A-levels to degree to becoming a successful sound engineer, working for world famous artists such as Kyle, Tom Petty and All Saints. When the pandemic hit, his work dried up and, as any entrepreneur would, he took on a new challenge by selling sustainable fashion - DeadLoud. The talk highlighted the challenges Jonny faced, such as the increased competition, operating solely online as well as trying to launch a crowdfunding campaign. It was an excellent opportunity for our students to speak with and hear from someone who is doing what we are teaching in the classroom and to hear first hand their views and experiences. ‘I am grateful to Jonny for giving up his time to speak with our students to share his experiences. It is always great to hear from young entrepreneurs and the journey they have had to achieve success’ commented Chris Germaine, teacher of Business at The Crypt School. Year 10 student Olly said ‘It was interesting listening to someone who had set up their own business and hearing about the mistakes Jonny made and how he was determined to succeed. It has given me the opportunity to think about my future and to understand that sometimes things don’t go according to plan’.

Students have been working hard this academic year in Business to increase their knowledge and understanding of the outside business world. One of our biggest focuses has been how the pandemic has affected not only consumers but the businesses themselves. Students have completed business profiles detailing key facts and information about the topics we have been studying in class to illustrate a deeper understanding of the key study points.

24 We have also been lucky enough to gain 12 iPads for the Business and Economics department. This has meant that we have been able to continue some of the excellent online strategies used during online learning and implement these into our classroom teaching, allowing our students to fully engage with a variety of different teaching strategies. Our Economists have enjoyed several interesting Challenge Day activities where they have pushed themselves by evaluating fiscal and monetary policy in the UK context. We had a Chancellor of the Exchequer competition which was won by Thomas Joslyn who predicticted the expansionary policies the government would announce in the March Budget. In Economics, we also had an online talk from one of our ex-students, Matt Nash, who spoke to our current Year 12 and 13 Economics students about his apprenticeship in the Department of Economic Services. Our students felt inspired and motivated to explore a career in Economics further.

Drama This year, drama has not been able to flourish in the normal way at The Crypt. As the pandemic took us online, we worked as creatively as possible and tried our best to keep our students performing. At GCSE and A Level, monologue rehearsals and performances continued online successfully. Unfortunately, there was no production this year, which is normally a highlight of the school calendar; however, we did finish the year with a wonderful house drama event which enabled students to perform again. One exciting activity which recently took place was Stage Electrics lighting company coming in to deliver workshops. These involved the company, who provided lighting and sound for our Grease production in 2019, using new lighting desks. These desks have been made by the company in Bristol to make teaching and learning about lighting accessible for both teachers and students. This was a successful day which was delivered by Richard Thompson from the company and the students' feedback will now go towards market research for the new product.

Design and Technology It has been a great year in DT with pupils back in the workshops and undertaking practicals again. There has been a hive of activity and it has been great seeing the pupils enjoying themselves and developing their skills. From bottle openers to board games it has been great to see the excitement and enjoyment on their faces as they analyse, design, problem solve and develop, seeing their creations and ideas come to life. It has been a busy one too with the GCSE and ALevel pupils starting on their NEA element for their exam, with lots of exciting ideas being investigated.

English Competitions Year 7s and 8s have certainly made their mark in the various competitions held this year in the department, including Poem of the Month and the external ‘Young Writers’ competitions: ‘Imagine’ and ‘Unsolved’. These competitions have provided a forum for our budding creative writers to share and publish their work, and have switched a spotlight on to reveal some of the writing talent that lies within our student body. Notable mentions are Mantra Chizari, a promising young poet, having won Poem of The Month twice this year; Chris Chindah, another POM winner and already a published writer; then we have Callum Ajayi, Celeste Feld, George Edgeworth and Anais Gibbs, who all succeeded in having their work selected for publication in the Young Writers ‘Imagine’ competition. POEM of the Month - September

27 Poem of the month- October

The Captain I’m the captain of this ship I’m the master of the sea Nobody, nobody will tell me what to be. On my road to destiny Happy smiles and free I’m not a puppet on strings; I fly high on my own wings. I’m the captain of this ship I’m the master of the sea. The leader of my destiny is only me.

by Mantra Chizari

Poem of the Month – November 2020

The Poppy Here we are as we stand in silence To think about unimaginable violence All the peace we have today Is because of the people that went away. In that war families were apart But the call of duty was the thing in heart. In the end when the guns were quiet A flower grew from the traces of riot With the middle as black as restless nights And the petals as red as murderous fights. That flower we wear with pride As we honour those in the war who died.

by Mantra Chizari

~ On the following pages are some entries from external competitions ~

28 I hope I’m not too late. On one fair school day, The trees thought they were sick of this way Of people littering and not giving any thought To the way plastic was used in things they bought. So I watched their roots crumble and stand To support the huge trunks with faces in command. Their branches as thick as my arm, People shouting “Don’t do us any harm!” Yet their branches curled around Their bodies and lifted them off the ground! I took shelter behind the bin And saw the trees’ gnarled faces wear a grin. Worried what might happen to my friends next I ran forward all perplexed, “What do you want?” A tree looked at me, eating a child’s croissant “We want clean grounds!” it let out a shout; “We want clean rivers filled with trout!” “We want you to love nature and take care of it too!” “What did our hills and mountains turn into?” “Okay!” I yelled, “But how to do all this on my own, do tell!” “Tell all your family, tell all your friends! Make this war with nature finally end.” “Alright but let my friends go, then we will make the deal.” “That’s a shame,” I heard one of them mutter, “They would’ve made a pretty great meal.” The tree gave me a green leaf from his very own head, “To remind you of the deal,” it said. It smiled at all the kids below. Suddenly its features started to glow. Then in a hurry The world became blurry And I woke up with a start A green leaf in my hand and a beating in my heart. “It must have been a dream, my friend,” but it seemed to appeal. Dream or not, real or not, I kept my side of the deal!

‘Imagine’ Imagine there were no trees No leaves on the trees No safe air to breathe. Imagine there were no birds No tweets and chirps No fertilised earth. Imagine there was no dirt To plant the crops in That we need and yearn for. Imagine there was no fresh water

by Mantra Chizari

29 Nothing to drink In hot summer’s weather. Imagine there was no heat No hot holidays No summers on the beach. Imagine there was no light, No electricity, No torches, no phones No fire burning bright In the darkness of the night. Imagine there was no life, No creatures no bugs, No humans in sight. Imagine there was nothing. No way to think. No way to breathe. No humans, no us. Nothing to believe in, Just eternal blackness.

Joy and Darkness Dashing, darting, reeling; Oh, such joy is in this feeling! Free-falling through an abyss, Such wonders and utter bliss. Fluid blue glass surrounds me, My life, my home is in the sea. Surely no-one could take this elation, And turn it into devastation? Perhaps I spoke too soon, A shadow lingers casting gloom. Suddenly I’m all alone, Far away from my seabed home. Sharp knotted fingers grasp at me, In no direction can I flee. Yet still darkness looms overhead, My small-finned body fills with dread. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, Might I end up frizzled and fried? As I look to the left, I see my school, Searching for me inside a rock pool. I swim to them as fast as I can,

by Callum Ajayi

30 But I’m stopped by the net of a fisherman. I flip and gnaw to get free, To the friends that await me. I find a hole and swim through the gap, Out of that deadly trap. As I turn around it is gone, Hauled away with a fisherman’s song. Me, I escaped that fate, But I shudder to think of those too late. Now the seas are far more depleted, And soon our race may be defeated. So do hear my pleas, Do not over fish our deep blue seas.

by Celeste Feld

Just a Simulation Is life just a simulation, Or are we robots on a secret operation? Is life really real, Or are we being controlled by a big wooden wheel? Is there an escape to the life we live Or are we finished with nothing else left to give? I sit and wonder every day While the blue sky is gone and the sky is grey. Is it real life, Or is it just a fantasy? This I will never know Until it’s my time to go.

Silence Imagine There’s nothing. Nothing at all: No humming of birds. No roaring of cars. No chatter of children. No bark of dogs.

by George Edgeworth

No muffled whispers. No crying. No laughter. No love. No hate. No emotion. Nothing. Just silence. S i l e n c e.

by Anais Gibbs

Through the Lens of a Feline Humans are gone, Perished all way along, Their body slammed shut, Vanished away from earth. They didn’t clean plastic! They didn’t help climate! They didn’t reduce deforestation! They didn’t stop hunting! Bear with me for I am literally right, Why did Earth endure this plight? Now humans are extinct and are gone, Animals are in sync with this new norm. The future can’t be changed, It’s ahead and right above, Your mind – there and just beyond, That yawned too fond to correspond. The courage they didn’t stand up against, It’s humanity they lost, Urbanity had become a calamity, Civility is lost. Sleeping in those cosy beds, With a bowl full of kibbles to munch, It was hard living without them, And wild hunting got out of touch The earth now blooming with dignity, The planet thriving with life, A new beginning will set forth, With the explosion of new life! Through the lens of a feline I see, The future is uncertain, There sure is a hope we foresee, For tomorrow is bright for you and for me…

Rishi Iyer

Student magazine A new Crypt student magazine made its debut this year: The Scrypt. Lead editors Maddison Lee and Harry Thomas have coordinated a large team of student journalists across the school, under the auspices of Mr Cobb’s journalism club, to put together the first edition.

Liberty Brignall writes about her experience of English at The Crypt School before she goes to Oxford University "Before I started sixth form at Crypt, I knew that I wanted to study English Literature at university. The A-Level English Literature course reinforced this, as it allowed me to analyse and evaluate texts in greater depth. More importantly, it continued my passion for the subject through the study of works I greatly enjoyed – the poetry of John Donne – and a novel I now consider one of my favourites – Atonement. There were many challenges to remote learning, but the opportunity to spend English lessons working, largely independently, on our coursework was a positive for me. It felt like a glimpse into what studying English at university may be like. At the same time as this, I was beginning to write my personal statement, having decided to apply to Oxford. After sitting the ELAT in November, I was invited to an interview in early December, which, because of the pandemic, was to take place at school, on Teams. My mock interview the week before had gone well, but I still, inevitably, feared being asked an impossibly obscure question or being given a poem I didn’t understand. I was surprised, then, when my immediate reaction upon finishing my interview was to say I really enjoyed that. A-Level English enhanced my passion for the subject and made me more confident about articulating my opinions, so the opportunity to discuss literature at length was, in hindsight, exciting. The day Oxford gave out their offers fell, fortunately or unfortunately, on my eighteenth birthday. I was, as a result, both delighted and relieved when I logged on to UCAS Track and saw I’d been offered a place. As I prepare to start university in October, I am excited to explore a broader range of literature, both medieval and modern, and to spend three years studying a subject I love." The English Department and whole school wish both Liberty and Kaleigh (another of our Oxford students) all the best of luck and look forward to receiving updates.

Food Technology GCSE successes in a Covid year.

Geography Despite the challenges of the COVID pandemic, we are delighted that we have been able to continue to provide the current generation of Crypt students with nearly all the full range of geographical activities we would normally offer. The year started positively with all students back in the classroom but soon we had to embrace the new routines of blended and remote learning. Teachers quickly became adept at adapting lesson materials, setting up breakout rooms and using every tactic possible to encourage students to contribute in lessons. During the second lockdown (January - March 2021), the use of visualisers was invaluable and allowed staff to use diagrams to explain how river landforms were created, highlight the intricacies of the Demographic Transition Model, model the detail required in a written answer and much more. This enabled students to continue to follow the normal curriculum which ensured the GCSE and A Level students could really demonstrate their knowledge and understanding in the final assessments. Running fieldwork proved more difficult but, despite the setbacks, we are on track to complete all the required fieldwork with Years 10 and 12. There was disappointment at the start of the year when rates of coronavirus infection rose in Iceland and the residential trip planned for October 2020 had to be cancelled. We hope that once travel is possible again that we will be able to arrange a new trip to Iceland in the future. After rearranging the date three times, Year 12 finally visited Northleach in December 2020. A slightly chilly morning was spent observing the features that give the town its unique place characteristics as well as collecting data on traffic levels and noise pollution. Students always benefit from seeing a place in person and this trip really helped to make sense of the photos that had been shared in lessons. A highlight of this trip is rapidly becoming the chance to sample the high quality chips and this year’s selection did not disappoint! Birmingham was the second destination for the Year 12 geographers. In contrast to the cool weather in Northleach, students were able to enjoy the sunshine of June for this visit. Once again, we walked through the redeveloped areas alongside the canal and visited Brindley Place - another case study covered in the Places topic. Students used digital apps, such as Survey 123, to record their perceptions of different locations along this route. This data was then efficiently transformed into a GIS map back in school. The second part of the visit provided students with the opportunity to hone their interview techniques by

35 speaking to members of the public whilst, again, using digital technology to record responses using Google Forms. The resulting data allowed analysis techniques using Excel to be taught back in school. Without a clipboard in sight, students were fully immersed in using modern techniques which is required when completing the A Level Coursework. Having not run any fieldwork for Year 10 in 2019-20, it was wonderful to be able to take the Year 10 geographers into Gloucester city centre once again. Students behaved impeccably following the various COVID restrictions without complaint. Data covering land use, pedestrian counts and environmental quality was accurately recorded with many students also managing to conduct socially distanced questionnaires with members of the public. Follow-up lessons have focused on presenting the data using techniques such as trip-line maps, isoline maps and located bar charts. The final task was to decide whether Gloucester city centre does provide a high quality experience for visitors - a question which always leads to conflicting views.

Just before the summer break, Year 10 completed their second day of fieldwork in The Forest of Dean. The chance to paddle in Blackpool Brook is always popular with the GCSE students and even more so on a hot day in July. We were able to return to both Mallards Pike Lake and Wenchford where students measured different features of the river (width, depth, velocity, pebble size and vegetation cover) in order to determine how the river changes downstream. In the lower school, the opportunities to conduct fieldwork in school were restricted by the need for year group bubbles to not mix; however, Miss Barnett adapted the Year 8 environmental quality survey task so that students could complete this at home during the second lockdown period. The chance to get outside during a lesson and escape from Google Meet for a few minutes was appreciated by many in Year 8.

36 Particular thanks go to the various geography teachers who have supported these trips: the expertise of Mr Biggs, Mrs Longhurst and Miss Barnett is always invaluable. Mr Jones ably covered Miss Barnett’s lessons whilst she was on maternity leave and willingly assisted with the various Year 10 trips. His conscientious approach to lesson planning and enthusiastic delivery will be missed when he leaves the geography department at the end of the summer term. Miss Patton is taking over from Mr Jones and will cover the remainder of Miss Barnett’s maternity leave. Having trained with us in the autumn term, it was a pleasure to welcome her back at the start of July so that she could meet some of her classes and, more importantly, help out with the final Year 10 trip in July. We are looking forward to working with Miss Patton over the next year.

Government and Politics It has been a fascinating year for those studying Politics at school: the Brexit deal in January led to the UK leaving the EU after nearly 50 years of membership, fundamentally changing the nature of UK Governance and the study of it; the continuing pandemic dominated all aspects of governance and societal interactions; elections, particularly in Scotland, cast doubt on the nature of the UK's union of nations itself, and the US election, and the subsequent storming of Congress, demonstrated to everyone, just how fragile democracy can be. For students in Year 13, the year continued to be very disrupted and, with exams cancelled in January, students focused on ensuring that the course content was covered in enough depth to enable them to sit a series of assessments from which their final A level grades were determined. Well done to all the Year 13 Politics students for persevering through the course. Year 12 enjoyed their first year of politics studies, and were constantly reminded through the events of the year, just how important politics is to each and every one of us. Trips and visits haven't been possible this year, but lots has happened to enrich the learning of our students, particularly in Year 12. For example, an International Relations lecture on the 'War on Terror' organised with the University of Gloucestershire was appreciated by all who attended, and generated lots of discussion. With over 20 students planning to study politics next year in Year 12, the future looks bright for A-Level Government and Politics at The Crypt.

History Diversity and inclusion have been the characterising themes of the History Department this year at The Crypt School. There has been a lot of work done to reinforce the vision of history as being more diverse and complex than we often consider. Just as medieval history is not limited to its kings and queens, we have been broadening our scope of enquiries by highlighting to students that women, BME, LGBTQ+ and the working classes are all part of a wider shared history, rather than being separate topics to be studied in isolation. The year kicked off with celebrating Black History Month, which reiterated the idea that ‘black’ and ‘white’ history are intertwined in one united history. This event saw powerful speeches made by Crypt students on their experience of racism, along with form time activities exploring controversial areas like Colston’s statue, and where the roots of the Black Lives Matter movement lie. As a department we have diversified our curriculum further, and these changes have been made in tandem with the Crypt School Multicultural Society. It was great to see so many energised students talking passionately about how history should be taught and how sensitive topics should be discussed. We have reviewed how certain topics like Trans-Atlantic Slavery or the British Empire could be taught in a ‘decolonised’ way. We’ve also introduced a new module to Year 9 – ‘The making of modern Britain’ – which explores how the NHS, Windrush generation, Alan Turing and female ‘trailblazers’ have shaped the UK over the last 60 years. This has gone down well with our Year 9 students who have shown great interest in how The Crypt School values have been developed.

As always, we have had some outstanding individual contributions to the History Department this year. Finch Neville (9B) presented an outstanding presentation on the impact of the Korean War to his peers as part of our Cold War study. Imogen Colenutt and Poppy Savory created a display based on their experiences on the ‘Lessons from Auschwitz’ trip last year. Within this display, QR codes link to pictures taken by them on this trip. You can view them by scanning Figure 3. Our Year 9 groups also investigated aspects of the Holocaust – some of which can be accessed by scanning Figure 4.

38 Finally, we inaugurated the ‘Peter Hobbes History Prize’ for those Crypt students willing to undertake original research into an Ex-Cryptian. Entries were submitted over the summer and the winner will be announced on Speech Day at the start of next year. (Please see below for further news of this.) Hopefully next year will allow us to take students out to see some of their favourite historical sites first hand!

The Peter Hobbs Biographical History Award Peter Hobbs attended The Crypt School from 1949 to 1957. Including serving in the Army, he went to Exeter College Oxford as an History Scholar. A Main Board Director of an international pharmaceutical company, The Wellcome Foundation (from whom came the board table in the school Crush Hall), Peter was then appointed as the first non-Police Inspector of Constabulary responsible to the Home Secretary for the inspection of police forces in England and Wales. A Director of the Home Office Forensic Science Service and the International Vice President of the Institute of Personnel and Development, he also founded the now large charity, the Business Disability Forum. Currently, Peter is a Director of Kent College Canterbury and of the Canterbury Archaeological Trust.

Congratulations to Kaleigh Parkes who won the award this year. Here is what she wrote:

Gloucester’s Greatest Son A re-evaluation of the life of George Whitefield, c. 1714-1770 Early Life and Education George Whitefield was born at the Old Bell Inn, Gloucester, on 27th December 1714. The building, a Jacobean merchant’s house, still stands on Southgate Street - albeit as a Costa. Whitefield’s family, however, were not merchants but innkeepers, and whilst by no means poor, he lacked the privileged start in life afforded to many of his peers. Given this, the value of Whitefield’s education at The Crypt School cannot be overstated. Upon completing his education at The Crypt, Whitefield lacked the means to continue to university, so worked with his parents at the inn - a heavy blow for the academic Whitefield, who recalled: “a dear youth, now with God, would often come entreating me, when serving at the bar, to go to Oxford. My general answer was ‘I wish I could.’” Sure enough, Whitefield did come to attend Pembroke College, Oxford - albeit as a servitor, the lowest rank of undergraduate. Alongside his studies, and in return for free tuition, he acted as a servant to the fellows of the college: cleaning rooms, carrying books and equipment, and assisting with work. It was at Oxford that Whitefield converted to Methodism, and he preached his first sermon at St Mary de Crypt Church in 1736, a week after his ordination. This was the beginning of the evangelism which would come to define his life and career.

Bethesda Orphanage In 1738, Whitefield travelled to the American colonies to act as a parish priest in Savannah, Georgia. Whilst there, he identified the need for an orphanage, and alongside his preaching, the foundation and maintenance of the Bethesda Orphanage became one of the two great occupations of his life.

Since its foundation in 1740, Whitefield’s institution - the Bethesda Orphanage, Bethesda Home for Boys and now Bethesda

Academy - has been a continuous resource for boys in the area. In the 18th century orphans were taught a trade so they could make a living as adults, and given moral and religious instruction where they might otherwise have gone astray. Although no longer an orphanage, the Bethesda Academy in the 21st century continues Whitefield’s legacy of “a love of God, a love of learning and a strong work ethic.”1

The Great Awakening Today, Whitefield is principally remembered as a great evangelist. In this he was not unique - his move to America coincided with the first Great Awakening, a period of religious revival. The religious landscape was dominated by powerful preachers, of which Whitefield was one of many.

http://www.bethesdaacademy.org/ Retrieved August 2021

It was precisely Whitefield’s intense power and conviction, however, that set him apart and led him to be regarded as “perhaps [...] the greatest evangelical preacher that the world has ever seen.”2 Whitefield’s preaching was almost revolutionary in its methods - he sought to engage the heart as well as the mind of the listener, and reached out to those who were least likely to attend Church services, preaching out-of-doors to miners, working-class people and African-American slaves. It was in this way that he differed most from all of his predecessors and many of his contemporaries.

Slavery Controversy The term ‘The Great Awakening’ may be as well used to describe the recent pre-occupation with and re-evaluation of slavery as it was the pre-occupation with religion in 18th century America. Certainly, like religion, the topic of slavery is divisive and emotive. For this reason, an evaluation of Whitefield’s life and work in this day and age would be incomplete without it. George Whitefield was an owner of slaves. This cannot be disputed. Upon his death in 1770, 50 black slaves were employed at the Bethesda Orphanage, and along with the rest of its property, passed into the ownership of the Countess of Huntingdon. This cannot be seen, however, as evidence of cruelty, or justification for slander or defamation. Whitefield was a man of God, but he was also a man of his time - and in 18th century southern America, around a fifth of white landowners were also owners of slaves. Whitefield’s relationship to slavery is complex. Although we can never be certain of his exact views or justifications, it should be noted that his use of slaves was necessary for the financial viability of the Bethesda Orphanage. It is certain that without them the orphanage would not have survived its infancy. Certainly, in all other respects, Whitefield was progressive in his attitudes towards African-Americans. He viewed them as equal to white men in the eyes of God and was one of the first evangelists to preach to slaves. We can be almost certain that his treatment of slaves was humane, guided by his open letter of 1740, in which he accused fellow slaveholders of inhumanity: “I think God has a Quarrel with you for your Abuse of and Cruelty to the poor Negroes […] Your dogs are caressed and fondled at your tables; but your slaves who are frequently styled dogs or beasts, have not an equal privilege.” Phillis Wheatley, the first published African-American poet, published the poem “On the Death of George Whitefield” in

1770. Written while she was still in slavery, the poem gives us a glimpse of Whitefield’s attitudes towards slaves, and theirs

towards him: “Take him my dear Americans, he said “Be your complaints on his kind bosom laid: “Take him, ye Africans, he longs for you, “Impartial saviour is his title due ... Whitefield’s ownership of slaves may be taboo in today’s world, but it cannot be denied that his attitudes were impressively lenient for his time.

Kidd, Thomas S. (2014). George Whitefield: America's Spiritual Founding Father. Yale University Press.

Legacy

Our separation from the world of George Whitefield, with its religious fervour, slavery, prejudice and injustice can make it difficult for us to appreciate the remarkable life that he carved out for himself. His career spanned two continents and almost half a century, and in that time he inspired millions of people - black and white, rich and poor - with his eloquent public speaking and genuine religious belief. Even if the majority of modern readers do not share Whitefield’s belief in salvation, we can appreciate that he guided his audiences to greater contentment with and understanding of the world and their places within it. His work was not only spiritual, and his establishment of the Bethesda Orphanage, as well as his pioneering treatment of black slaves and working class people, is a legacy that lasts to this day. For these reasons, I cannot deny Whitefield the title that has previously been given him - that of Gloucester’s greatest son.

Mathematics Maths challenges Each year the UKMT organises competitions for the brightest mathematicians in UK schools, and we like to enter them each year. November brought the Senior Maths Challenge, aimed at VI form. We like to enter the brightest from Years 9 to 11 as well, but year group bubbles meant that this time we couldn’t, with the exception of four Year 10 students. This, together with a reduced number of entries, led to a dip in results on previous years, although over half received either gold, silver or bronze awards and the students enjoyed it. Best in school was Allen Li in Year 10, who, as well as winning a gold award, qualified for the successor round, the Senior Kangaroo. Sadly Covid restrictions meant the team events did not run this year, and we did not have enough time after the second lockdown was announced to switch to the online version of the intermediate challenge aimed at Years 9 to 11. With luck we will be able to run these next year. Year 7 and 8 sat the Junior Challenge in March and did really well. Over 60% received gold, silver or bronze awards, compared to 40% nationally. Ten students qualified for a successor round, the most we have ever had progress this far. There were particularly strong results from Hannah Palmer [8W], best in Year 8, and Harry Wheeler [7B], best in school.

41 Here is one of the questions they got right, for you to try. (Answer is on page 58.)

Modern Foreign Languages Linguist of the Month Our highly coveted Linguist of the Month competition ran again this year. You can use the link below to see the 163 students who earned this during last year. Congratulations to you all and keep it up! https://twitter.com/CryptMFL It goes without saying that this has been a difficult and challenging year, but I would like to start by saying a huge thank you to all the students who engaged so well with online learning over the lockdown period. Whilst online learning is certainly not ideal, our language teachers have been able to discover new and creative ways to teach languages using technology. We will certainly continue to make use of these when (fingers crossed!) we hopefully return to some form of normality in September. I would also like to say a huge thank you to our Year 11 and Year 13 students for their application and engagement with the rather gruelling assessment process we undertook to put together their GCSE and A Level grades. We were determined that all students would have the opportunity to put all their hard work over the duration of the course to good effect and consequently, be able to demonstrate their skills to the fullest extent. I hope you all enjoyed a restful summer break before the next step in your lives. Normally at this time of year, I would be filling these pages with pictures, stories, and student experiences from our range of cultural events and foreign trips that have taken place; however, due to the ongoing pandemic and subsequent restrictions on travel, these have sadly not been able to go ahead this year. 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. Despite this, we remain optimistic that restrictions will be eased somewhat next year, allowing us to restart at least some of our trips, and once again introduce Crypt students to sights and sounds of Cologne, Paris, Berlin, the Rhineland and Barcelona. Additionally, our annual cultural visit from Shukutoku Sugamo Senior High School in Japan was also unable to take place but we look forward to welcoming them back when circumstances allow.

42 The lack of trips and cultural visits this year did allow us to turn our attention to our Key Stage 3 curriculum. Since last September, we have allowed students to focus on one language in Years 7 and 8, thereby giving them the curriculum time that is comparable with what many schools abroad devote to learning English. The idea underpinning this is that it will allow students the opportunity to really master their chosen language and allow those students who are linguistically inclined to become as proficient and as comfortable as possible in a second language, in the way that many young people in other countries are in English. We also welcomed several new staff into the department this year: Mr Pennington, who is our new teacher of German, Spanish and French, joined us in September. As well as being an outstanding classroom practitioner, Mr Pennington has already contributed hugely to the reform of our Key Stage 3 curriculum. We were again fortunate to welcome two native language assistants to the department: Ramona Müller in German and Anna Meers in French. Both have made a huge contribution to developing our Year 12 and 13 students’ spoken skills and cultural knowledge whilst helping them to prepare for their A-Level assessments. We look forward to welcoming them back in October. We also send our gratitude and best wishes to Ms Swain, who is temporarily leaving us to go on maternity leave. As many students and parents know, Ms Swain is an outstanding and dedicated language teacher, and she will be greatly missed within the school over the next year. We wish her all the best for the birth of her first child. For the upcoming year, we are delighted to welcome Miss Alex Morgan into the department. Miss Morgan is a graduate in French and Spanish and is joining us after completing her PGCE at Cambridge University. Alex worked with us during the summer term to get to know the students and the school before she now starts in earnest in September. 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. Congratulations to Jude Smith and Harvind Sandhu who produced hugely informative guides on Italian and Punjabi, respectively. In the absence of the usual trip to Paris, Year 12 French students also prepared a French speciality feast to recreate a Paris restaurant in the classroom, as part of their A-Level studies of ‘La Patrimoine’ in March of this year:

A group of Y8 German linguists have also been meeting regularly to begin a letter exchange with IGS Göttingen-Geismar, a school based near Berlin. Unfortunately, lockdown restraints as well as school closures here and in Germany have meant that we have not managed as many letters as we had hoped, but we sent our first parcel of letters and goodies in November. It was exciting to receive our replies on our return to school in March.

Our second parcel has unfortunately still not arrived in Germany – even though it was sent in April!

In addition to writing to their penpals, the students have played lots of vocab games on Blooket, as well as used their culinary skills to make traditional Spaghetties! Unfortunately, we have not been able to travel to Germany this year, but that did not stop us from experiencing a bit of German cuisine! Roman commented "es war spannend" and Fin said, "es war sehr gut!" Thomas thought it was "creatively brilliant" and others "loved having spaghetti ice-cream with ‘Bolognese’ sauce" and thought "it was delicious - a definite must do for anyone visiting Germany!"

At the beginning of next term, we hope to be able to conduct a “virtual” meeting with the school via Zoom. New members are always welcome! We are also expecting to set up a similar penpal programme with a French school in 2021-22. To finish, I would like to say a huge ‘merci!’, ‘danke!’ & ‘¡gracias!’ to students, parents, and staff for all their hard work and support over the course of this trying year and I will finish by hoping you all had a restful summer.

Music This year has seen many changes and developments for the music department. Opening after a national lockdown meant we needed to adapt and progress which we managed with the hard work and effort of both students and staff.

Due to new regulations and restrictions, we were unable to rehearse in mixed-year group ensembles, but this did not stop us from creating and enjoying wonderful music. Each year group formed bubbled ensembles including instrumental groups (led by Musician in Residence, Marcus Kong) and choirs (lead by Mr Whittaker, Mrs Hughes, and Mr Bevan). These quickly became very popular. Some were featured in our virtual Autumn concert along with many talented soloists and duetists from Years 7-13, most of whom were expertly recorded in school by Malcolm Hannaford, with help from Ben Hannaford-Waddington (Y11), Matthias Kelay (Y11) and Marcus Kong. The next large scale school event was our Remembrance Service, which saw many of our talented smaller choirs joining together into a massed virtual choir to sing Malcolm Archer’s ‘For the Fallen’ alongside our Year 13 and staff choirs performing the congregational hymns. Lily Mountford (Y13) played ‘The Last Post’ exceptionally. The final item was a lovely rendition of Parry’s ‘Crossing The Bar’, by our virtual choir of staff, sixth formers and former students.

Our Annual Christmas Carol Service (again virtual) was a huge success, showcasing many of our talented bubble-choirs and instrumental ensembles alongside some amazing soloists from our sixth form students, and the debut performance of our staff choir! The service was a splendid mix of carols old and new. A fantastic end to the calendar year! Even though the Spring term saw the country in another national lockdown, this did not hinder the enthusiasm, perseverance, and hard-working nature of our students. We went forth with our plans for a KS3 concert. The combined efforts of several students from Years 7-9 recording their pieces at home were commendable and meant the concert was a great success. Shortly after that, we had our Virtual KS4/5 concert which was also self-recorded by students; they did a fantastic job and all efforts culminated in a wonderful evening of music. The School’s Founders’ Day was also virtual this year, however all our students and staff rose to the occasion and produced impressive performances of Brewer’s ‘Magnificat’ and PItoni’s ‘Cantate Domino’ with the Year 13 choir (along with guest staff and music teachers) singing a charming

45 rendition of ‘O Radiant Dawn’. Soloists included Damon Knott (Y12), Jessica Edwards (Y12) and Lily Mountford (Y13).

Our final event of the year was a Summer Concert, where soloists, choirs, and instrumental ensembles from each year, as well as our staff choir, contributed to a beautiful event! Everyone performed excellently and throughout the year have shown that music is an extremely important aspect of school life and what a difference music can make. A fantastic way to end the academic Year. We would all like to thank Malcolm Hannaford and his talented team for the hours and skill they contributed to make our year of music such a success. MK

Music in the Classroom The lockdown period has given the music department a fantastic opportunity to showcase new innovative teaching methods in the classroom. Throughout the year, all students have been given opportunities to compose in the classroom, using music technology to perform and listen to a wide variety of musical styles. The demands of online teaching enabled us to create some very engaging GCSE and A Level analysis lessons, which all our students enjoyed. Our KS3 classes continued to sing (at home through Google Meet), give class performances, present imaginative compositions (on Musescore and Soundtrap) and listen to musical styles from Mozart to Jazz, Orchestra landmarks, pop/rock and multicultural music. I would just like to thank our amazing pupils and their parents for continuing to become fully immersed in our musical journey. I would also like to thank our wonderful staff team including our outstanding Musician in Residence, Marcus Kong, who was thrown in at the deep end and has continued to prepare, rehearse and energise ensembles for virtual concerts, support classroom music, undertake administrative tasks, support our visiting teachers, help organise and manage concerts, put together a “safe/distanced” rooming schedule for instrumental lessons and many more daily tasks. Brilliant work! Thank you also to Rebecca Hughes for her tireless support of classroom music and online teaching and our amazing visiting music teachers. You are fantastic! The future is very bright for music in the school. We have some incredible lessons, events and projects lined up for next year. Keep an eye out! Julian Whittaker, Director of Music

PE and Sports Not the year we would have liked for PE and Sport. Despite all the challenges we have faced we are proud of what we have still achieved this year. Students have gained new experiences; many have played competitive sport in term 6 and all have continued to work hard throughout the year. Thank you to everyone who engaged during lockdown and all students who continued to train hard at clubs. We are excited for the new school year, creating new experiences, playing more competitive fixtures and offering another rich and extensive extracurricular programme. Here is what we got up to this year:

Strava During the lockdown we created a house competition known as ‘the PE Strava challenge’. We recognised that physical activity was crucial to keeping physically and mentally fit over a difficult period. Each house was set the challenge of virtually racing from Lands’ End to John O’Groats. We were amazed by the whole school community connecting with each other and enjoying getting out for a walk or run that we decided to keep this competition going. Leg #2, we travelled from John O’Groats to Paris. Leg #3, we travelled from Paris to Rome. Well done to all who were involved, we could not be prouder of our school community.

Virtual lessons All students took part in online PE lessons during the lockdown. Each member of staff took it in turns to plan a different workout each week for PE teachers to deliver to all their groups. Thank you to all students that got involved and kept us all motivated and smiling. PE staff go virtual

Cricket Seniors The 1st XI had a difficult year playing three fixtures against some very strong opposition. Highlights include Captain Joel Birchmore's half century against Tommies, and Alex Borley taking 3 for 23 against King's, Gloucester. Thanks to Joel for his efforts in leading the side this year. Despite not registering a win, the very young squad bodes well for the future. Mr Windsor

Year 10 Year 10 cricketers saw their performance go unbeaten during the season at both A and B level. Even with a reduced fixture card, performances had to be produced and there was even less time to learn and adapt from previous games. Results: The Crypt 129 for 7 v Newent Community School 94 for 7. The Crypt won by 35 runs. The Crypt 209 for 3 v Marling School 51 all out. The Crypt won by 158 runs. The Crypt A 136 for 6 v Dean Close A 100 all out. The Crypt won by 38 runs. The Crypt B 126 for 7 v Dean Close B 126 for 8. Tied game. The Crypt 185 for 9 v The King's School 92 for 6. The Crypt won by 93 runs. Half centurions included: Sebastian Pascoe 51* v Marling School Zachary Mountford 54* v Marling School Abdullah Bham 52* v The Kings School During the season, the energy and desire to improve was obvious from the year group, with 20 plus boys turning up for training each week, alongside any matches scheduled. Reflection on previous performances opened a dialogue for self-reflection and the identification of plans the boys wanted to implement in order to get better at what they did on the field. Working as a team to support and challenge each other, it was a pleasure to watch, umpire and coach the boys this season. Respect, determination, winning habits. Mr Germaine

Year 9 Year 9 cricket have had a mixed season, winning two of their four games we were able to play in Term 6. The highlight was definitely the first game against Marling, winning in the last over, however, the team were also

49 on the wrong side of a nail biting final over win against King’s. Standout performances as always have come from Jack Mitten, Joe Tutty and Sam Reynolds with both the bat and ball, but this year also found new cricketers in Enzo Regazzoni-Wood and Evan Hale who have progressed massively in all aspects of the game. Mr Bawden Year 8 Having started with a lot of optimism, it was a frustrating season for the U13 cricketers only managing to get two games in the books, losing to a strong Marling side and Holmleigh Park U14s. It’s been a year of development, which will allow the players time to reflect on how to improve for next year. Well done to Shubham Marathe for captaining the side in difficult circumstances, and Harvey Fell for his tidy leg spin bowling. Mr Windsor

Year 7 After what seems like an eternity of waiting for the go ahead to begin competitive school fixtures, the under 12s have made a very positive start to their programme. With over 30 students regularly participating on Monday afternoons and remaining after school in the nets for practice, the squad got off to a positive start at home against Newent School and won by 5 wickets after knocking off 104 in the first innings of a 20 over game. Patient batting by captain Nirvaan Jain built up a steady partnership with Alessio Bautista-Tate and although we lost some early wickets we managed to build up a score which was challenging but competitive. It took a while for Newent to score runs, which was possibly their downfall, as their middle order tried to increase the runs per over but left it too late. Excellent fielding and backing up proved to be the decider with wickets taken from Ethan Lovegrove, Rosie Reynolds, 2 from Jack McKerrow and catches from Alessio Bautista-Taite and Rishi Iyer closed the game. Another home game against Marling saw the team continuing their success winning by 8 wickets. Excellent performances and strong bowling came from Nirvaan Jain, Alessio Bautista-Taite, Ethan Lovegrove and Harry Wheeler. King’s, Gloucester proved to be strong opposition as they won the toss and elected to bat. Harry Wheeler and Nirvan Jain took a wicket each as the opposition reached a total of 142. In reply after losing an early wicket, top scorer Jordan Ifil 30, Nirvaan Jain 25 and Connor Macwhirter 16 collectively pulled the runs close to a competitive game but finished 23 runs short. Well done to all the players involved. Many thanks for the enthusiasm during practice and games and the support of the parents throughout. M Carolan

Rounders It has been wonderful to play some fixtures during term 6. The Crypt girls have been enjoying every aspect of rounders. They have been committed to training each week to prepare for their competitive matches. R Cantin. Seniors Only one match for our senior girls this year unfortunately, but what a game it turned out to be. Crypt welcomed Homleigh Park in a competitive 2 inning 30 ball match. It was a close game with Crypt taking a 23-21 ½ win overall. An

50 excellent display of sportsmanship and teamwork throughout. We look forward to our up-coming mixed senior rounders fixtures. Year 9 A great start to rounders for our Year 9s, with a total of 1 win and 1 loss under their belt. It has been good to watch the girls back in action after so long out of school competitive sport. Special mention must go to Bridget Blackstone for her excellent leadership as captain this season. Also, a ‘well done’ to Alyssa Mansell and her wonderful batting skills as she made her rounders debut. A great effort all round. A big ‘thank you’ to Willow Armstrong, Bridget Blackstone and Sachi Regazzoni-Wood who also took on coaching roles this year and helped to run our Year 7 girls’ rounders club. They have been excellent role models for the younger years and brilliant coaches. Year 8 Due to the lockdown last year, our Year 8 girls were yet to experience rounders. Despite this year being their first season, it has been a great experience for all involved. In a tough first game against Homleigh Park, we lost by 5 ½ rounders. Since then, we have developed and learnt a lot and I am looking forward to putting this into practice. A special shout out to Kate McCurrich for being an excellent captain and well done all. Year 7 Our Year 7 girls were able to experience their first secondary school competitive sport fixtures. The Year 7s have worked hard this term developing their skills in rounders and have regularly turned up to club. We have managed to field 2 brilliant teams, and both have achieved 1 win against Severn Vale and 1 loss to Denmark Road. Well done to Amira Macey-Michael for her excellent bowling and Sophie Cornish with her superb batting skills this season.

Athletics English Schools Cup Great effort from the 4 teams that attended this event in Oxford. The junior girls’ team was a mixture of Year 7 and Year 8 with outstanding performances from Martha Campbell and Rosie Reynolds. The team came 5th overall which bodes well for next year. The junior boys managed to have a full team of Year 8 students plus Amiel from Year 7. 15 points is our benchmark for an outstanding performance, and this was achieved by: Emmanuel Daramola, Rhodri Edwards (in both of his events), Nolan Fassai, Alex Ashley, Finn Duncan, Casper Stanita and James Fish. This moved them into 3rd place overall which is a really good performance. The inter girls team was exclusively Year 9 athletes, so it was always going to be tough for them but great preparation ready for next year. Elle Griffiths and Kiara Dixon were top performers for the girls and helped them to 5th place overall. The inter boys team suffered some late withdrawals but it was pleasing to see a couple of boys step in at late notice. 15 points or above was achieved by: Olamide Odukunle, Kai Pearson, Theo Evans, Sam Powell, Kieron Grinyer, Seb Pascoe and Jacob Bullingham. This moved the team into an impressive 3rd place overall. It was a shame that this was the only athletic event of the year, but it was lovely to see the team compete.

Rugby Year 9 This term the Year 9 girls managed to experience some touch rugby. This was led by the fantastic community coaches at Gloucester Rugby. It was a brilliant experience for our girls to receive some top-level coaching and play in a touch match against Pitville School. The team achieved a good win against Pitville with Ruth Le Maistre and Alyssa Mansell being nominated as oppositions player of the match and Angell-Lei Reilly receiving coach’s player nomination. We are very thankful to the community coaches that support our school in many sports. Seniors After missing over 12 months of school rugby due to the pandemic, big plans are being put in place for September and the new rugby season. Every Wednesday for the last few weeks of term, students in Years 10, 11 and 12 have come together and worked alongside each other in their year group bubbles for pre-season training. Over 20 Year 11s make the effort to come into school which reflects the boys’ desire for rugby next year as well as catching up on a sport they have missed so much over the last year. The focus has been mainly fitness-based activities and conditioned touch rugby to refocus skills ahead of the competitive rugby season in September. Massive well done to everyone with their efforts and we look forward to seeing the Crypt rugby shirt in matches again next term.

Tennis Year 7 & 8 It has been wonderful to play competitive tennis fixtures on our courts. This is the first time we have been able to use the courts for tennis lessons and fixtures and they have been thoroughly enjoyed by all. Years 7 and 8 competed in a mixed doubles match against a strong Denmark Road side. The results were: Crypt 3 doubles wins, and 5 singles wins. Denmark Road 5 doubles wins and 4 single wins. Stand out performer of the day was Connor Macwhirter in both singles and doubles!

Severn Stars Nova Academy The Crypt School students have enjoyed being new additions to the group of Severn Stars Nova centres this year. The first season has been a massive success and lots of improvements have been made by all. Overall, the girls played a total of 6 games, won 5 and lost 1. Big thank you to The Crypt school for allowing Miss Cantin this opportunity, Sue Walton for being the best manager, Kylie Benardie for her S&C expertise, Ed Archer (Athlete Academy) for incredible provision and finally, the players and parents for their hard work and commitment.

52 We also hope to see more girls from The Crypt school in the Nova academy like Kiara Dixon. Well done to one of our own for such a fantastic achievement. Bring on Crypt Nova 2021/22 season - it is sure to be a good one!

Rowing This year we were able to experience an amazing opportunity with Gloucester Rowing Club. Some students from Years 7, 8, 9 and 12 took to the water on the canal to learn the foundations of rowing. This was a great experience and one which all students involved will remember. Watch this space for potentially a future Olympic rower. If you did want to be involved in rowing make sure to contact Gloucester Rowing Club directly - all abilities are welcome.

Athlete Academy Throughout school and lockdown, our Athlete Academy students have remained committed and focused with their training. Athlete Academy gives students access to a wide range of strength and conditioning provisions including professional coaching and specialist equipment. This allows students to improve their movement which leads to a better performance in their sport. Thank you to Ed Archer and Kylie Benardie for their outstanding expertise and coaching in developing our athletes. As a school, we are extremely fortunate to have Athlete Academy.

House News At this time, we would normally be able to tell you all about the wealth of house events in which our students had participated. Sadly the pandemic has hit the house programme really hard. So far the events we have been able to run include: ● Cross country ● Charity Shoe Boxes ● Maths ● T Ball ● Badminton ● Mini sports day ● Kahoot ● Hart Ball As this goes to press we are still hopeful about having: ● Drama ● Sportsday ● Rounders The house competition, however, is having a roll-over, so all points gained this year will remain up to Christmas when the winning house will be named. We are also having a name change and Whitefield is being renamed The David Wabosa house whilst Brown will be changing to The Joan Cook house. Let's hope that next year I am able to report on a lot more events regarding the House Competition. AH

Psychology and Sociology Psychology Year 13 psychologists joined the sixth form at the same time as Miss Plummer and Mrs Stobo joined the department so, together, we have shared a unique sixth form experience of online learning, videoed lessons and virtual chatting. The students were instrumental in teaching the staff how to teach virtually and made the whole process enjoyable and a relatively easy conversion. Year 12 students have been just as enthusiastic and this year we had several take up the opportunity to enter ‘The Minds Underground Psychology Essay Competition and Challenge’ which provides students with an opportunity to engage in university-level research and writing. Next year, we hope to have teams of students enter the 2022 Royal Holloway Psychology competition where each team has to create a video, separate poster with audio explanation, and then explain their research at a live event. Next year we look forward to welcoming Year 10 students into the psychology department as GCSE psychology gets up and running for the first time at The Crypt School. Miss Plummer and Mr Windsor will be teaching our first Year 10 co-educational cohort all about memory, child development, and social influence in year 1 and crime, sleep and dreaming, and psychological disorders in year 2. We are so excited about this new course and are looking forward to introducing it in September.

Sociology This year has seen the first cohort of sociology students complete their A-Level at Crypt. The students have had a bizarre experience with the pandemic interrupting their learning, but their response to online lessons and current affairs has been fantastic. Last summer, they took the opportunity to write up a research project investigating how the various events of 2020 might be considered from functionalist, Marxist, feminist, and postmodernist viewpoints. Students looked into situations related to Covid or Black Lives Matters such as: the increase of domestic violence during lockdown; the difference in experiences of life at home between genders; ethnic differences in incidences of Covid-19; the experiences of the elderly during lockdown; how Covid-19 has impacted the educational experiences of children from low-income households; differential treatment of the young and old during the pandemic; the disparity between appreciation and pay for NHS key workers. With the go ahead being given by the Department for Education for the Wheatridge Primary School in Abbeymead, Year 12 students wrote to Mr Dyer informing him of the educational needs and experiences of children from lower-income households and how their education can be affected by both material and cultural deprivation and internal school factors such as labelling and subcultures. The students rose to the challenge of applying abstract learning to a real-world situation. Year 7 and 8 sat the Junior Challenge in March and did really well. Over 60% received gold, silver or bronze awards, compared to 40% nationally. Ten students qualified for a successor round, the most we have ever had progress this far. There were particularly strong results from Hannah Palmer [8W], best in Year 8, and Harry Wheeler [7B], best in school.

Sciences Chemistry Despite the turbulence of the past year, science teaching and learning has continued in full force! The science team committed to developing a diverse range of remote learning opportunities, most notably a sequence of at-home experiments for all year groups. Year 7 made pinhole cameras to develop their understanding of reflection; distilled pure water using a saucepan and a marble; and explored chromatography using permanent markers and kitchen roll! Year 8 made convection currents using food colouring and water, investigated heat transfer and insulation, and took part in the RSPB Big Garden Watch. Year 9 made models of the atom and Year 10 made their own mini-neutralisation reactions using baking soda and vinegar. Year 11 investigated iron, conditions that cause rusting and methods to prevent the corrosion of iron and steel.

An outline of our other extra-curricular activities is included below:

Chemistry RSC Olympiad Competition - January 2021 We did not let a national lockdown in January stop us entering the RSC Chemistry Olympiad! All Year 13 chemists were offered the chance to enter this prestigious competition and 12 students accepted the challenge. The RSC adapted the competition, and the students were able to complete the challenging written paper at home but had to have their cameras on whilst doing so. The competition enables ambitious students to encounter problems and challenges from beyond the A-level specification on topical issues. This year we received 3 Silver and 5 Bronze awards. Many Congratulations to: Silver Award: James Harrison, Joe Allen and Lily Mountford Bronze Award: Pralisha Shrestha, Adam Greaves, Matvei Sinden, Peter Comer and Taku Dhewa

RSC Chemistry Top of the Bench Competition - January to March 2021 Four students from Years 9 to 11 competed as a team in the Royal Society of Chemistry 'Top of the Bench' competition earlier this year, winning the south west England competition. In March, they went on to compete in the finals against 30 other regional winners from across the UK and Belgium, where they came in an admirable 6th place! Well done to Prem Magdum (Year 9), Naomi Peet (Year 9), Samuel Powell (Year 10) and Alex Ochiagha-Egbon (Year 11)! We are really proud of these talented chemists and we look forward to entering a new team next year.

RSC Schools’ Analyst Competition - May 2021 A group of twelve Year 12 A-level chemistry students took part in the new-look RSC Schools’ Analyst Competition. Normally involving a trip to the University of Bristol, this year kits were dispatched to competing schools and the students descended on Lab 4 for three hours of tough investigative chemistry. Tasked with identifying unknown materials using a variety of analytical chemistry techniques (familiar and unfamiliar), the students excelled in demonstrating their adaptability and subject knowledge. The students had great fun and this competition was an excellent boost for their confidence in practical chemistry. Congratulations are due to our winning team of Aidan Davey, Emmanuel Osemwengie-Omobude and Jude Smith.

Med Soc - all year Across this year, students in Year 12 who are interested in studying medicine, veterinary medicine, nursing, and related subjects have been attending MedSoc. This is a lunchtime club run by Mr Bowen focusing on pathways into studying these subjects, as well as life working in the medical field. Old Cryptian George Hawker-Bond, who has recently secured his place as a foundation doctor working within the NHS in Oxfordshire, gave his time to speak to our Year 12 pupils about his journey into medicine. Ciaran Hollywood, school governor and practicing breast surgeon, also gave his time to talk about his life working in the NHS, and the evolution of his day-to-day job as he developed his experience as a surgeon. We hope to include more speakers from across multiple medical disciplines (to include nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine) to widen the aspirations of our students. We would welcome contact from Old Cryptians who are interested in contributing to the career goals of our young adults.

Cambridge Chemistry Challenge - June 2021 The majority of the Yr12 chemistry students have recently entered the Cambridge University Chemistry Challenge which is a challenging written paper. It offers questions in a variety of topics and styles that are beyond the A-level specification, but with logical application of their knowledge, should be accessible. It is excellent preparation for the more challenging second year of the A-level course and their final exams. We wish them the best of luck!

Year 7 Eco Club A group of 16 Year 7 students have been chosen as green influencers. They are working with an Environmental Youth Worker from Young Gloucestershire to plan and run a project that will benefit the environment. There is funding available for their project and they will be given support to bring their ideas to life over a period of 6 weeks. This could include reducing plastic waste, planting trees, increasing biodiversity in the school grounds etc - whatever piques their interest. We look forward to seeing how they build on the excellent work carried out by Years 8 and 9 last year (introducing recycling bins around the school, responding to the Australian wildfires, working to reduce the plastic sold in the canteen).

Biology We have been most fortunate in two great clubs being run by current Year 12 students. Jude Smith: During the running of The Biology Club, we have had amazing opportunities throughout the year to promote biology in and around the school, with the creation of posters during lockdown to explore biodiversity and the fundamentals of nature and habitats. We were then given the most amazing opportunity of hatching chicks to observe and see the visible life cycle of chickens, with naming and observations being done. All of these have provided great ways to get involved in biology and science within Crypt and further activities will be done to spread the love of science and nature throughout the school. Harvind Sandhu: The Carbon Conscious Cryptians (CCC) was founded out of the interest in living sustainably. It is one of the ways many of our members can find respite from the constant fear of impending climate doom! We work to encourage our members and the school as a whole to develop eco-friendly practices as simple as switching to reusable water bottles and face masks. We are proud to have started a group to not only foster greener habits within our Crypt community but raise awareness on the impact of our carbon footprints. A special mention also goes to Marcia Shore who achieved a Commendation in the British Biology Olympiad in March this year. This is a national competition that challenges and simulates students within the field of Biology and is an opportunity to expand their experience and talents. Well done, Marcia!

Physics Space Club This year has seen the introduction of a weekly space club at Crypt. Students have been having lots of fun, for example: making ice-cream comets, model rockets, star maps and designing alien life forms. The space club have also recently received a donation of an optical telescope that they hope to put to good use when the darker evenings arrive.

Arkwright Scholarship

Space club

This year has been the first year that Crypt school has been involved with the Arkwright scholarship. The scholarship is set up to provide successful students with a link to an engineering company, where they will receive financial support and also the support of a mentor throughout their A-levels. They also undertake a project under the guidance of their mentor. Despite the school closure severely disrupting the application process, we have one student who made it to the final interview stage and is waiting to hear whether they have been successful.

Physics Olympiad - Years 11 and 13 This year, Crypt physics students took part in some of the British Physics Olympiad challenges. Although some of these had to be conducted online due disruption, Crypt students were able to secure the following medals: Gold – 2 medals, Silver – 3 medals, Bronze – 3 medals. We hope very much to be able to reinstate participation in the Olympiads to Years 10 and 12 again next year and also that our other competitions and challenges will be running again. These have included the GirlsGetSet, Flying Start and Lego Robotics challenges that have all not taken place this year.

Religious Education and Philosophy and Ethics The start of the year saw Mr Wordingham join the department, returning to his own old school! He has enthusiastically embraced his first year and, in particular, has enjoyed teaching the Philosophy side of the A-Level course. In Key Stage 3, some new units were introduced to diversify and expand the curriculum; these included a topic on Liberation Theology which explored how the oppressed can be empowered and focused on the biographies of some key figures within this movement. Also, a new unit investigating the experience of being a Muslim teenager in Britain today developed our students’ understanding of the diversity and prevalence of Islam both in their local area and nationally. Our Year 11 and 13s made excellent progress despite the challenges of more periods of remote learning. We were definitely very glad to have them back in the classroom discussing and debating in person rather than as small squares on a screen! As always, we were sad to see Year 13 leave but, at the same time, very excited about the amazing range of future pursuits and adventures that they have ahead of them – we do hope they keep in touch. Many thanks to Jude and Clemmie, and Miles and Toby, respectively, for agreeing to be in the Open Evening videos promoting the subject. Although this year has been limited in terms of our extra-curricular provision (we were sad to have to cancel the plans for the trip to Krakow in December), congratulations go to the Y12 students who participated in the John Stuart Mill Cup team; they competed very well for the school’s inaugural entry. Also a note of thanks to Anthony (Y8), Joshua (Y10) and Chantelle (Y12) for writing and recording such lovely prayers for our digital Founders’ Day in July.

58 Maths Puzzle Answer:

School Events Prize Giving Day - November 2020 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hJrwpd5ujE

David Waboso was our inspiring guest speaker. https://www.ice.org.uk/what-is-civil-engineering/civil-engineer-profiles/david-waboso

59 In his own words: My engineering degree meant I had an aptitude for mathematics, so I initially became a maths teacher at a school in East London. I have some incredible memories that helped build my confidence in addressing large and challenging audiences. I then joined Arup, which was constructing the Essex section of the M25, followed by other engineering firms including Nichols Group, and Bechtel. In 2003, I was asked to join the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) as its technical director. Representing the UK at the European Rail Agency proved useful in understanding the thought processes elsewhere. I joined London Underground (LU) as the director of engineering, a first job being to manage the replacement of the ‘temporary’ signalling on the Jubilee line. Another challenge was ‘cooling the Tube’ as more trains result in more energy dissipated and rising temperatures. I also had responsibility for other line upgrades including the Victoria line and station upgrades, including Victoria, Tottenham Court Road, Bond Street and Bank, all of which used innovative procurement that incentivised value not just cost. For all this work on LU, I was awarded a CBE in 2014.

Remembrance Service November 2020 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY2uPcpXwmk&t=6s

Carol Service - December 2020 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUIU-eWH5UM

KS3 Music Showcase - February 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pYM4BgaNPk&t=2454s

KS4 and KS5 Showcase - March 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdrvLJga8k8

World Book Day - March 2021

Despite World Book Day being a much quieter event this year because all the students were learning from home, we were still visited by Arthur Dent (“Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy”) and Doctor Grant (“Jurassic Park”). Well done, Mr Joe Nicholson and Miss Meghan Hayes. Local author, Jane Ryan (Missing Dad series), also made a video especially for our students.

Founders’ Day - June 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CWqsMp-oes

Summer Showcase, July 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUYBbueZnso

School Library Update Read for Good, Gloucestershire is an organisation which works to engage children with reading for pleasure. They do this because they know reading changes lives! Look here to see inspiring ideas to encourage children to read for pleasure: https://readforgood.org/reading-inspiration/ In May, Years 7 and 8 were invited to take part in the Read for Good Readathon. Any money raised went towards buying new books and graphic novels for children who are in hospital for extended periods of time. Several students worked particularly hard towards their goals. There were three main prize winners: Amelia Price for extreme reading (on the raised platform of a forklift truck!), Alex Ashley for raising the highest amount of money, and Joshua Jones for reading the most. Two other people were commended for their efforts: Jamie Dean and Fergus Brint. Well done to all of them!

In June, Read for Good, Gloucestershire also donated loads of books, magazines and comics to the school to be distributed for the summer. Many students were surprised and delighted to receive these.

EPlatform/Wheelers, the school’s new digital reading platform, came online this year. We now have access to 1500+ eBooks and over 800 audiobooks. There is an Accelerated Reader section and instructions for use have been sent out several times. It is available on the school iPads or any device owned by the staff and students of the school via an app which can be easily downloaded.

64 Over lockdown, students took part in a Library Lockdown Challenge. This involved a variety of activities associated with promoting reading. As you can see to the right, Jasper completed quite a few of them. Below are other examples of the contributions sent in. ⇐ Alice read under the stairs like Harry Potter.

Edward and Max read to their sisters. ==>

Erika and Allen made and used quills to write out their favourite poems.

Lovely to see Callum, Charlie, Rishi and Josh reading at home.

Several students sent in book reviews. Others read newspaper articles and talked them over with their family.

65 Emily wrote her own mini story and turned it into a mini book and Allen read all summer!.

Earlier in the year, Mrs Warner applied for and was awarded a generous grant from the Siobhan Dowd Trust. In collaboration with Helene Hewitt from Suffolk Anthology https://theanthology.co.uk/ an independent book shop in Cheltenham, students representing every year selected books they wanted to see in the library. When these were delivered, it was these same students who had the first look at them! Here you can read an article about it in SoGlos: https://www.soglos.com/culture/49762/New-life-injected-into-local-school-library-thanks-to-book-fund

Word of the Week Every week, a challenge word is included in the Daily News and on the board outside the library with a definition and some example sentences. Students can earn merits for using the word accurately in any of their school work. Amongst others, students have used ethos, epoch, loquacious and ubiquitous in German, Science, History, RE, English and Maths!

Clubs and Societies Duke of Edinburgh Award The 2020-21 Crypt Duke of Edinburgh programme year has been a strange one. With the 2020 lockdowns affecting last year’s cohort expeditions the decision was made to delay the launch of the Bronze Award and Silver Award to Y9s and Y10s but to continue with getting the Y12s started on their Gold Award. 14 signed up, 8 to do a walking expedition and 6 to do a canoe expedition - the highest number enrolled so far. Whilst they got started on their volunteering, physical and skills sections, the DofE team, with Live Life Adventure (LLA) as our trusted activity provider, got to work on planning and providing the expeditions last year's cohort missed out on. We had to work within the COVID-19 regulations so overnight camping was not allowed but the upside of that was they all got to go home for a decent night’s sleep. Over a very warm weekend in September, the Y9s completed their training with two days walking in the Cotswolds. Unfortunately, their qualifying expedition was very wet but the benefit of being able to go home, warm up and dry out meant they all came back in high spirits the next day to finish their expeditions. The lockdowns also meant this cohort had trouble getting their other activities started or completed but many have thought outside the box and found ways to do their volunteering, physical and skills at home, and we are now seeing these guys completing their Bronze awards. We continue to encourage them to get these finished and hope we will have plenty of certificates and badges for Mr Dyer to hand out in the end of year assembly. Yet more lockdowns this year led to even further delays in launching the Bronze and Silver award programme but we finally announced the start in March and were blown away by the response. 92 Y9 students signed up for Bronze, our biggest cohort ever at The Crypt and our first co-ed one too! Only 13 signed up for Silver but, not discouraged, we worked out how to do that within the new guidelines. This year's Silvers are getting a bit more of a challenge than normal as they are joining the Golds in a more remote area for their qualifying expedition in the summer holidays. That’s great for the future as we’ll have to find somewhere even more exciting to go by the time they are in Y12 doing Gold! Another lockdown drawback meant we were not able to run our normal DofE lunchtime clubs and enrichment sessions to start

67 their training but, again, LLA came up with alternatives and we held land-based and water-based training days for all the participants in April at school, in the Cranham area and on the River Avon. It was wonderful to see so many young people out enjoying the countryside after so many months stuck in school, at home and being limited to their gardens and local footpaths. They had great fun playing in the fields and on the water in the breaks between their training sessions as you will see from the photos. The expedition programme started in earnest after the May school holiday. Ten members of staff volunteered to assist with these and our admin staff have provided essential support throughout the year. Our Bronze practice expedition was again a lovely sunny warm weekend and the Y9s had the added benefit of being able to go home to sleep again. They all got a bit lost, found their way back to the right paths and enjoyed the challenge as well as the amazingly clear views from the top of Painswick Beacon. The Bronze qualifying expedition up and around Cleeve Hill was a bit cooler and wetter but that did not dampen their spirits, in fact, they competed to see who could get the muddiest! I think the tents won that competition which now creates a few problems for the DofE team as we have to wash and dry 40 tents over the summer holiday! All the Bronze participants passed and now have to complete their other sections to achieve their awards. The Silver teams successfully completed their practice expeditions beside and on the River Wye in cool but dry conditions. They have planned their qualifying expedition routes and the canoeists are looking forward to seeing a different stretch of the River Wye whilst the walkers will be following the Offa’s Dyke path across the eastern edge of the Brecon Beacons. The Gold teams had a more challenging and very hot weekend to contend with for their practice expeditions. Lessons were learnt about sun protection and how many calories really are needed for a more challenging expedition both on the hills and on the water. The two walking teams are due to walk from The Black Mountain to the Black Mountains for their qualifying expedition and the canoeists will be paddling from north of the Brecons almost down to the end of the River Wye for their more challenging expedition. I’m looking forward to seeing their presentations on the projects they are doing as they travel. For me, as DofE Manager, it has been another very strange year. Plans were made then changed and then changed again. Allowances have been made for lockdowns and DofE HQ have adapted the programme to allow our young people to complete their awards as best they can in these challenging times. I was saddened by the death of the awards founder, the Duke of Edinburgh. He presented my Gold award at St James’ Palace many years ago and asked everyone present a question and listened very carefully to all the answers. I am pleased that the

68 award scheme will continue to grow and evolve under the guidance of his younger son, Prince Edward. I’m still waiting for my first ever Gold award holders to get their invitations to Buckingham Palace to receive their Gold Awards but 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 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 admin, 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, DofE Manager

Samba Group

Mrs Hughes is leading an exciting new Year 10 Samba group which can be heard all over school - and we love it!

Multicultural Group This is an inclusive group run by Mrs Rodrigues and some sixth formers, designed to stimulate discussion around issues of race, religion and culture. It was founded in October 2020 following the death of George Floyd which sent shockwaves around the world. Iby says: We felt it was increasingly important to create a safe space where people felt comfortable discussing issues which were often deemed taboo. Ultimately, this club is open to everyone and is run fortnightly. People can come and listen, learn and share.

Cross Country Running Led by Mr Julian Boon and Mr Andew Kaighin, students and staff regularly run at lunchtime.

Year 12 choir

A new endeavour from the music department, Year 12 choir practises have been held every Thursday morning and there is no audition. Ideally, every Year 12 student will join!

Green Influencers Students have been working with an Environmental Youth Worker from Young Gloucestershire. and The Ernest Cook Trust which engages young people as Green Inluencers to promote youth-led environmental social action. We have a group of about 15 Year 7s who have met with the representative once a week for 6 weeks. She has inspired them to come up with projects that they can implement at school. They have split into 4 groups and they are looking to plant trees, grow wildflowers (2 groups) and set up a birdwatching area by adding bird feeders and bird friendly plants. The group have had to learn project management skills and work with a budget of £360 in total - with one group managing to get hold of free trees from The Wildlife Trust. We are hoping to implement the projects in September - November, and over summer they've been given a load of ideas for volunteering opportunities with which they can get involved locally if they like. Their commitment and enthusiasm has been impressive! GB

Charity Year 8 Bottle Tops for LINC In addition to other charitable endeavours in school, and following on from their involvement in the Eco Committee, Year 8 wanted to make a difference and they did so by collecting milk bottle tops for charity. Therefore, they set about collecting to raise much needed funds for LINC, a leukemia charity based in charity. From something that would have been sent to landfill students collected milk bottle tops by the thousand, all of which were sent to a specialist recycler in Hampshire and any money raised donated to LINC. During the academic year, Year 8 collected 18 bags full of bottle tops. From September 2021, we hope to roll this out to the whole school, to collect even more bottle tops which will reduce the amount being put into landfill and raise money for LINC. Mr Germaine, tutor of 8R commented: 'I am really pleased how students and their families have got behind this initiative. It builds on the caring ethos of The Crypt and the values we stand for.'

Mask-making for Yemen Appeal and Tewkesbury Food Bank

Archie Travis, one of our Year 9s, worked for several months with two friends to make affordable face masks. They sold the masks to make money for the Yemen Appeal. When their fund reached over £500, they then gave money to the Tewkesbury Food Bank. Archie said he wanted to contribute to people having a hard time and to change some people’s poor perception of teenagers. We think he was successful on both counts! https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=798731490872576

Staff Focus Staff Reflections

Beth Copeland-Jordan reflects on her time at The Crypt Full Circle (sort of…)

The first time I stepped through the doors of The Crypt School it was September 2001, I was 16 and about to audition for the musical Bugsy Malone. I remember walking through those white weighted doors and being confronted by the enormous Crush Hall table, often covered in bags, or, back then, sixth formers lounging about against it (that has certainly changed). Some may have felt that the entrance was imposing, but I never did, instead I felt like it was presenting something to me - the idea of opportunity and community. And that was it. I was in. For the next two years, although I attended Ribston, I became part of Team Crypt (which already housed the legends of Mr Stanlake and Miss Sturge); whether that was playing in the jazz band, being a member of the Crypt Players or attending English lessons with Ms Yiend to discuss the female perspective on literature. It is without a doubt that my love of Drama and performing was cemented during that time, alongside making lifelong friends (including meeting my future husband here!). I’ll never forget the outdoor performance of ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, or a concert where we all played different objects rather than instruments. The Crypt Family embraced me as one of their own and I loved being a part of it. In March 2020 (before the world turned upside down), I was given the opportunity to walk through those front doors again and although it has only been a short stay, it has been wonderful. Once again, the English and Drama Departments have become my home (but now that Drama office is mine and Miss Green’s instead of Mr Griffiths’ and Mrs Evans’ - but that

sofa is still there…beware of that sofa!). I have found like-minded souls who love literature, Love Island and laughing (sorry – that alliterative triplet is appalling) across the school and I will be forever grateful for the support and kindness the staff have shown me. The students have been outstanding; I feel privileged to have taught my classes, and their ability to make me laugh whilst also tearing out my hair is a unique ability. As I walk out of those doors 20 years on, I will leave knowing that The Crypt School will always be able to embrace people and bring them into their community. Thank you so much.

Marcus Kong reflects on his time at The Crypt School I have thoroughly enjoyed my time as Musician in Residence for this year (2020-2021), I feel that I have gained some very valuable experiences and learned important skills which I will take forward with me to university and beyond. Having been a pupil of the school for the previous 7 years, the transition from student to teacher was a weird one but gave me insight and was made easier by the amazing support from all the staff. I worked with students both in the classroom during lessons and outside with extracurricular clubs. Both allowed me to develop my leadership and communication skills as well as helping me consolidate my own knowledge, which really helped when I was supporting GCSE/A-level classes. Helping teach the higher-level classes was a highlight for me and so was running the instrumental ensembles. I got to see my students grow and develop over the course of the year which was amazingly satisfying. Working with Malcolm Hannaford on the recordings for all the school’s virtual events was another highlight. It was very challenging but just as rewarding. It pushed my organisational skills and made us have to adapt from the previous ways we would have conducted the events. Overall, the experience I have gained from being Musician in Residence this year has been highly insightful and useful and I am very lucky that I had the opportunity for the job. The role has helped me prepare for my future endeavours. The next stage in my musical career is in September where I will be going to Cardiff University to study music. I definitely hope to return to the school to visit and hopefully help with future music/drama events such as Founders’ Day and the school productions. I would like to thank all the staff and students of The Crypt School for allowing me this amazing opportunity and giving me great support throughout. I will miss the school very much.

Andrew Kaighin reflects on his time at The Crypt School What has been your main job at The Crypt? I have mostly covered lessons where required and taught across History, Government & Politics and also Geography with all year groups. What else have you done? During my 5 years at the school I have had the privilege of overseeing the Year 11 leavers committee each year. I have also supported Pupil Premium students across the school and helped run the cross-country and athletics club. In addition, I have enthusiastically participated in staff sporting events. What has been the best thing about working here? The school ethos and sense of community.

75 Is there anything in particular which you will miss? Mainly the students and their enthusiasm about school life and learning. Do you have one highlight you would like to share? Too many to mention! Do you have any advice for the students? Work hard, but most of all enjoy The Crypt School which provides you with great opportunities. How about for the staff? Enjoy the challenge and how the students challenge themselves. Is there anything else you'd like to tell us? I will look back fondly on my time at The Crypt, and will take great experiences into my new role at Cirencester College. I'm also hoping for an exciting season following Cheltenham Town in League 1 after a successful promotion season last term!

Staff Spotlight We said a fond farewell to the following staff: Andrew Lloyd has been the School Careers Advisor since September 2017, providing students through one-to-one interviews with impartial and expert advice, guidance and support as they seek to understand the varied and ever changing nature of further study and careers. He has recently redrafted the careers policy and is moving careers guidance more firmly into lower school so that students are better prepared for their upper school decisions. Andrew introduced the Unifrog website, which has been fantastic for all year groups. He ran several careers fayres alongside Sue Wales. He introduced Year 12 Work Experience which has proved valuable. He developed the careers talks in terms 5 and 6, increasing the number of contributors. This went online during the pandemic. He is responsible for the establishment of the Careers and Higher Education library on the library terrace with a good range of resources ( it had been two shelves in the main library ) and a suite of online tools via the intranet. The school is now in a far stronger position to gain a quality award for its work in careers. Andrew moves to a well-deserved retirement/freelance Andrew: I’ve worked in many schools in the country but I have to say this one has been outstanding in terms of whole-school buy-in by the tutors. The students are so engaged; it’s no surprise that we regularly get compliments from employers and universities. Alice Green is moving to Wales to take up a new post there. Alice joined the School in September 2016 as a newly qualified teacher, and quickly impressed with her energy and excellence in the classroom. Her drive and strength shone through. She was soon appointed Head of Drama and has been an outstanding subject leader and, more recently, Head of Year. She gave 100% in every role. We shall remember Alice for many things, but perhaps her direction of a number of outstanding school musicals will last long in the memory. Students said: ● I remember being surprised about getting a main part and then terrified and then I loved it. ● Miss was my head of Year and she seems quite strict but she’s actually really kind.

76 ● I wish she could stay because we loved doing the plays. ● Miss trusted us to work in the Drama Studio and she really helped with our devised pieces. Mr Nick Dyer says: I know she will be sorely missed by her students, particularly her Year 9 year group. We wish her every success and believe she will fulfil her ambition to lead a school in the not too distant future. Ms Alice Green, Head of Drama: Beth Copeland-Jordan has only been at the School since September, but has certainly proved an exceptional teacher of both English and of drama. I know her students will miss her greatly, as she moves to a promoted post in a local school in the city. She has brought her knowledge and experience of drama to Crypt and has helped massively in the development of the curriculum. Her focus this year has been sculpting more of a skills based curriculum to prepare students at KS3 for GCSE and A Level courses including incorporating diversity and inclusion into the schemes of work. She has worked on Anne Frank in Y7 and successfully introduced a new text 'Skellig' to the year group. During online learning, Beth helped to plan and deliver lessons across the key stages. She creatively planned an advertising scheme of work for Y7 and Y8 which involved students creating and recording radio adverts. This enabled the department to remain creative whilst virtual. At both GCSE and A Level drama, Beth has shown her passion and love for the subject. Most notably, directing monologue performances for Y10-Y13. She is an honest, innovative practitioner who cherishes the teachings of Stanislavski and is always keen to teach and develop physical skills using Frantic Assembly techniques. She has a keen eye of detail and provides excellent feedback for her students. Ms Daniella Rodrigues, Head of English: Beth has fully immersed herself into the English department and her energy, enthusiasm for the subject and sense of humour will all be missed. She has made such a huge impression on us and our students in such a short amount of time but someone so amazing couldn't turn down an incredible promotion and opportunity. She has been able to integrate her passion for two different subjects perfectly and for that, we are so grateful. Thank you, Beth, for enriching both our lives and those of the students! Mr Nick Dyer, Headmaster: Beth is an extremely hard worker and a team player who will be missed at the Crypt school, most of all for her integrity and energy. Even with a socially distanced year, Beth has fully immersed herself into The Crypt School life and taken the time to get to know many staff members who will miss her humour and joy. We wish her all the best on her new exciting adventure and hope she keeps in touch. Anna-Marie McCormick has taught mathematics at Crypt since September 2017, helping support the work of many of our able mathematicians. Her time at Crypt has also coincided with the arrival of her children and Anna now wishes to relocate home to be nearer to her family. She introduced and ran the school equestrian society however the prohibition on mixed year group activities meant this was unviable on her return from maternity leave Andrew Kaighin has been our cover supervisor for a number of years, covering lessons for absent colleagues. He has also taught history to the lower years and A Level politics and history. His contribution to school games is also noteworthy, particularly to cross-country. Andrew leaves us to take up a lecturing post in

77 Cirencester, where his outstanding subject knowledge in both history and politics will be most valued by all his new students. Andrew: During my 5 years at the school I have had the privilege of facilitating the delivery of end-of-year hoodies. I have also supported Pupil Premium students across the school and helped run cross-country & athletics club. Claire O’Neill leaves the School this Summer after eight years of outstanding service. Starting as a teacher within the philosophy and ethics department, she then became Head of Department. It is no coincidence that student numbers have increased both at GCSE and A-Level during this time. Claire's ability to test the thinking of all students has seen them thrive within her classroom. Her work has gone far beyond her classroom alone, as she has also taken on the role of Oxbridge coordinator, mentoring and coaching the many students who apply from The Crypt School to top level Universities. Her work in this area and indeed as a key part of the Sixth Form tutor team steering students through the UCAS process has been invaluable. Claire's commitment to the broader development of Crypt students, has also been evident through her involvement in World Challenge expeditions and the school badminton club. She moves onto Dean Close School as Head of Department with our every best wishes and we will all dearly miss all that she has brought to the School, especially the many sixth form students she supported to aspire to the most competitive universities in the country. RSt and ND We are also saying a farewell to our staff interns, Marcus Kong (music) and James Dobson (PE) for their work and support of the school over what has been a tremendously challenging and busy year. Marcus has helped support the work of the music department, whilst James has supported the work of the PE and games department, and volunteer each day when we had the Covid-19 testing site in the Sports Hall.

The following staff went on maternity leave and then added new members to our Crypt community:

Ms Swain welcomed a little girl.

Ms Jess Barnett and Ms Rachel Linott welcomed little boys.

78 A special tribute must go to Sue Wales. Mr Nick Dyer: Sue Wales joined the School in 1997 as the data administrator, and in 2000 became the then Headmaster's PA, a role she has undertaken with great skill and dedication, and no doubt considerable patience ever since. Serving four Headmaster's can't have been easy, but I for one have always been greatly indebted to Sue for making me, at least occasionally, look well organised and efficient in my work! Although Sue has worked closely with four heads, her work in school has encompassed so much more than her official title suggests. Sue has combined her PA role, with that of School Admissions Officer, undertaking for many years School HR, advertising school events, liaising with staff, pupils, parents and acting for many years as Clerk to the Governing Board of the School. In fact, Sue has always been at the very centre of our school life, making sure everything runs smoothly, that issues are dealt with, that concerns are taken on board and that everyone connected to the School feels valued, supported and included. Staff are always going to Sue if they have an issue or concern, if they want a person to listen to them and indeed for so much more besides - often chocolates and cake! Indeed, I know that parents and students have also found in Sue that person with whom they can talk, and someone who will listen to them as well. Over the pandemic, she has always been in school, supporting our work and effort to keep school going - I'm not sure if Sue ever sleeps - it appears not! In short, Sue has been not only at, but is the beating heart of our school and we will all miss her daily presence greatly. I am delighted though that Sue is staying on as our Admissions Officer, a role she does so reassuringly well, not only for Crypt, but for the 7 Gloucestershire grammar schools as well, as our G7 Admissions Officer. Therefore, Sue's long relationship with Crypt will thankfully continue for some time yet. However, we won't be seeing Sue in school each day - that reassuring, positive, happy daily presence will disappear. What a wonderful legacy Sue leaves - the culture we have here at Crypt - which is very much Sue's: welcoming, supportive, caring and uttley generous. Our thanks go to Sue for everything she has contributed so richly to our school and our best wishes for her (partial) retirement - when she can spend more of her valued time with the family she so cherishes.

Recognising long service Several members of staff were recognised for their long service, this year. Their loyalty, commitment and hard work is much appreciated. Unfortunately, some people were more camera-shy than others so we don’t have pictures of absolutely everyone at the actual event.

● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

Toni Bayliss Catherine Brooks Andy Hart Susan Glock Joanne Hitchins James Bridges Chris Cobb Eileen price Nick Dyer Ashley Croft Stephanie Williams

10.5 years 10.5 years 10.5 years 10.5 years 10.5 years 11 years 11.1 years 11.5 years 11.5 years 11.8 years 12.1 years

We gave a warm welcome to the following members of staff in 2020/21: ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

Ruth Carey - Head of Biology Bathany Copeland-Jordan-Hore - Drama teacher Diane Duxbury - Maths teacher Annie Hall - Physics teacher Meghan Hayes - History teacher Joseph Nicholson - English teacher Tom Passmore - Biology teacher Benjamin Pennington - MFL teacher (Assistant Head of Department) Laurence Wordingham - RE/Philosophy and Ethics teacher Felicity Hemsley - School secretary Lesley Smith - Operations manager Paul Bright - Cover supervisor Clare Jakeman - Teaching assistant Karen Whiting - Teaching assistant James Dobson - PE Apprentice Marcus Kong - Musician in residence Samuel Baller - Dramatist in residence Michael Anwyll - Examination invigilator Charys Bailyes - Examination invigilator Christine Le Maistre - Examination invigilator Sheridan Walker - Examination invigilator Max Williams - Examination invigilator Romona Muller - Language assistant Anna Meers - Language assistant

We give a warm welcome to the following new staff this year, 2021/22: Once again, we are most fortunate to have been able to recruit a well-qualified and talented group of individuals who will join the School in September, enriching school life with their energy and new ideas. We are delighted to welcome ● Mr Sam Armistead - Head of Business Studies and Economics ● Mrs Sally l’Anson – Head of Drama ● Mr Mark Young - Head of RE /Philosophy & Ethics ● Mr Philip Jones - Mathematics teacher ● Miss Niamh Patton - Geography teacher ● Miss Alex Morgan - MFL teacher ● Mrs Abirami Kumar - Computing teacher ● Mr George Roberts – Drama teacher ● Andrew Bayliss - Site premises manager ● Helen Michaluk - Careers advisor ● Richard Jones - Cover supervisor. We are also very pleased to welcome back some of our Year 13s ● Daniel Webb – Dramatist in Residence ● James Gabb – Musician in Residence ● Ollie Good – PE intern.

Thank you to the Trustees The staff of The Crypt would like to thank their Trustees for all their support and the various kind gifts offered during the year. At the end of term, we received these delicious hampers of goodies, offering us “their sincere and grateful thanks to all colleagues for your tremendous hard work and for your continued commitment to the life and work of the School, during what has been another demanding year”.

Floreat Schola Cryptiensis: Founded in 1539, the School's vision is derived from the Latin motto “Floreat Schola Cryptiensis”: floreat means “to flourish” and at The Crypt we wish all our pupils and our young adults in the sixth form, as well as our staff, to flourish in all that they do both in school, and in their later adult lives. This vision, that everyone at The Crypt will flourish, is underpinned by our five key values of Crypt school life: ● Perseverance – in achieving one’s aims and ambitions ● Respect - for oneself and for each other ● Responsibility – for one’s own progress and development and that of others too ● Resilience – in the face of challenges and adversity ● Tolerance - of others, of all faiths, of different cultures and lifestyles To ensure every pupil, young adult and all members of staff can flourish, we have our five key Pillars of school life. These are: ● Our open, tolerant and caring school culture, which is built upon the five key values as out above ● Our rich knowledge-based curriculum, which is delivered by our specialist academic departments and specialist subject teachers, who are supported in their work by a dedicated group of professional support staff ● Our outstanding focus on pastoral care and pupil wellbeing ● Our commitment to each pupil’s and young person’s personal development through which they develop essential key skills and personal qualities ● Our positive behavioural code, which asks all pupils and young adults to take increasing responsibility for both their own and for others’ learning and progress. For more detail about the school, please visit our website: https://www.cryptschool.org/

Founded 1901

President – Steve Knibbs (1981-89)

Editor Duncan Miller (1970-77)

Website http://www.oldcryptians.org/

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 2022 All contributions for the next edition must be sent (by email attachment if possible) by the middle of July 2022 to: Duncan Miller 2, Tweenhills Cottage Gloucester Road Hartpury Gloucester GL19 3BG Email: Old Cryptians

duncan.a.miller@gmail.com 1

Table of Contents - Section Two Part 1

Presidential Reflections

The Old Cryptians’ Centenary Bursary Fund 2001

Part 2. The OCC Year 2020-21

Correspondence

Part 3. Articles

Eighty years on. Some reflections on the times of Old Cryptians from 1941 to 1942. 13 COVID

Golden Episodes in Cryptian History

Matt hopes lockdown diary will be a Christmas hit

Part 4. Obituaries

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PART 1 Presidential Reflections It is a huge pleasure to take on the role of President of the Old Cryptians’ club for 2021-22 and write to you in The Cryptian - a publication I first wrote for as a student back in the 1980s! We’ve been through a difficult 18 months and all faced different challenges. I have high respect for the students who have had their education disrupted due to lockdowns and to the teachers at the school who have adapted so quickly to keep learning going. As for the Old Cryptians’ Club, my predecessor, Adam Ashby, took on an extra year as President and had been brilliant guiding it through the pandemic and keeping the committee meetings and business, as far as we could, going. We’re at a point now where we need to think about the future direction of the club and how it can become more relevant to former students and to the school. Any ideas will be gratefully received as we plan to build on our long history and keep the club thriving well into the future. As we start to get our freedoms back we can look to the club blossoming again and, with fingers crossed, to getting together again at the annual dinner in March 2022. Social occasions like that are extremely important for the club to rekindle old friendships and make new ones. More details as soon as we have them. Finally, my thanks go to everyone at the school involved in putting The Cryptian together again. It’s no mean feat is testament to everyone’s enthusiasm for the school. I look forward to being at many of the events over the next year when we can all gather in person again and celebrate everything The Crypt has to offer. Steve Knibbs (1981-89)

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The Old Cryptians’ Centenary Bursary Fund 2001 Strategy for 2021 Fortunately the COVID pandemic is showing encouraging signs of easing allowing the Government to remove most restrictions as of July 19th. With school open most of the current year a similar policy to previous years has been maintained in providing Bursary awards to deserving students in their respective fields as outlined below. As for 2020, travel has again been excluded. The Bursary has this year supported an initiative from the school to establish a 6th Form fund to help students affected financially by the effects of the pandemic. All donations to the Bursary fund are appreciated as the main aim remains to be self-sufficient 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 2020 was as follows:Balance held in Bursary funds

£95,570

RECEIPTS Income from donations and interest Gift Aid recovered from HMRC Legacies received

£3,493 £2,610 £26,000

During 2020 £2,000 was paid out in bursaries and a further £2,500 was committed to the school’s 6th Form fund to support students affected by the pandemic, as mentioned above. This amount was paid over in early 2021 and so will be reflected in our 2021 figures. At the time of writing this report the total funds stand at £94,383, reflecting a net deficit in the year of £1,187. We urge all Old Cryptians to see if they could commit to an ongoing donation of just Old Cryptians

£50 to help us get to our target of £100,000 as quickly as possible. The additional help we gave this year to current students in financial difficulties shows what a difference the Bursary can make. Details of where you can set up a standing order is shown below, and also please ensure you provide us with your details so we can reclaim the additional gift aid from the government. Bursary awards 2021 The Trustees were pleased to award 8 Bursaries this year and held the awards ceremony at school on June 23rd in the new cricket pavilion. The following students were recommended for Bursaries by Crypt school staff. Academia(6thform)

Donu Kolani Jack Evans

Art, Music, Drama

Bram Allen-Bowdry Ben Hannaford- Waddington Daniel Crowe

Sports

Tianne Klaric Tom Pritchard

Technology/Engineering

Matvei Sinden

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:-

Old Cryptians

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. Richard Browning (1952-1959) Chairman of the Trustees

Old Cryptians

Part 2. The OCC Year 2020-21 A final message from outgoing President Adam Ashby (1973 - 1978) Well, that was a strange tenure! 6 months getting my feet under the table with the help of past presidents (thanks Jason and Richard), 3 months planning and preparing for the annual dinner and AGM, 1 month unplanning the annual dinner and getting the committee up and running online and 14 months of remote meetings and dealing with the impacts of the pandemic. Although I'm not the first president of the club to hold the role for 2 years, I feel sure I am the only president to have not delivered a social event; so I will have a place in OCC history, although not for what I had hoped at the start of my year. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to have communicated with so many former Cryptians over the past year, although tinged with sadness at those we have lost - my thoughts go out to all families who have lost loved ones. I've mentioned Jason Smith and Richard Briggs as having provided great assistance at the start, Peter Hobbs continues to steer us all on the right course with his unrivalled committee and club knowledge and it's comforting to be able to call on the support and guidance of all the committee when needed. I'd like to thank especially Francis Aldhouse who has provided Old Cryptians

significant data protection guidance and expertise which will be evident in the new website. I look forward to meeting up with fellow OCs hopefully later in the year; in the meantime, please look after yourselves. If you have the chance and means to, don't forget that there are always opportunities to support the Club, the Bursary Fund and the School financially or with time. Over to you Steve. Floreat. Adam Correspondence From Robert Biggs (Staff) Dear Adam, I just wanted to email you and the Old Cryptians to say a massive thank you for the Year 13 Leavers ties. We gave these out to students last Thursday and the reaction was fantastic! Most students put the new ties on straight away and it created a real buzz around the group. The students massively appreciated the gift from the OC and we also gave them out the instructions to sign up and join the OC Club. I asked a few students for some feedback on the new ties compared to the usual OC ties and again the reaction was very positive. They liked having the date (2021) on the ties and said that this would be a great ‘keep sake’ to take from school. A few would also like to purchase a traditional OC tie, so I’m not sure if you would be able to give us some ties to sell on results day on Tuesday 10th August? Thank you again and best regards, Rob Biggs

Old Cryptians

Stuart Hopkins (1945-53) sent in a recollection from his university days. I learn many interesting things about OCs from time to time. I think it was something in the most recent “Cryptian” which led me to an online investigation which resulted in the discovery that the head of the biochemistry department at University College London, at the time I was studying chemistry there (1953 – 1956), was an Old Cryptian, Professor Ernest Baldwin – and I didn’t know that at the time. The biochemistry students attended our third year lectures in organic chemistry and I was unaware that their head of department was an OC. Sadly he lived only to age 60, having died from congestive heart failure, after suffering from myotonic muscular dystrophy. He also comments on the virtual concert performed by the School Orchestra: Many thanks for providing the link to the concert which I have very much enjoyed this evening. All of the pupils who contributed to the concert which we were able watch this evening performed so well. The violinists performed the intricacies of the ornaments and double-stopping so cleanly. Another performance which impressed me so much was that of the Chopin Nocturne. I have an excellent CD of the Nocturnes and the piano music of two or three of them, and I am well aware of how difficult they are to play. The anthem “If ye love me keep my commandments” brought back happy memories. I sang tenor in the school choir and one year we sang that same anthem; I’ve forgotten whether it was at the Founders’ Day Service or at the Public Schools Festival in the Cathedral. In the summer of 1950 we joined with the lovely sopranos and altos Old Cryptians

from Ribston Hall to commemorate the bicentenary of the death of J S Bach (it is necessary to specify which Bach as there were so many composers in that large family). We performed the choruses of his Church Cantata No. 61, “Come Redeemer of our Race”. I now have two CDs of that Cantata by different, famous choirs and orchestras. Taking part in that was exhilarating; my only criticism is that we should have sung it in the original German "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland", because it is easy to sing in German (to sing in French is an entirely different matter!). We “imported” professional soloists for the wonderful recitatives and arias, but I feel certain that The Crypt and Ribston Hall could have provided soloists who, with sufficient practice, could have coped. Needless to say, we had frequent rehearsals, The Crypt and Ribston Hall combined, throughout the first few months of the year and they were extremely well attended! Again with my best wishes, and my thanks for making possible such an enjoyable evening. Howard Allen writes Gordon Jones (1942-50) was 90 on the 14th August. He is a past Chairman of the London OCS, past President of the Old Cryptians’ Club, and the legal mind behind the Bursary Fund. He has had a distinguished career in law in Lincoln’s Inn, major charitable works, and was a fine sportsman, including playing for Gloucester RFC. He is our most senior member. Charlie Hannaford writes I have been watching the 2020/1 Olympics where the extreme heat and humidity has been a major factor for the competitors to deal with. Fifty years ago I found myself on the RFU Centenary Tour of Japan and the Far East. The two Internationals versus Japan were by far the most demanding conditions I ever played in.

Old Cryptians

I have been impressed with the new Olympic sports introduced thus appealing to a younger audience. Ed Leigh (1986-1991) was an excellent commentator with the BBC Team. From Charlie’s book “A History of the Crypt School 1539-2018” Ed Leigh became a regular enthusiast at the Robinswood Hill Dry Ski-slope. He became a professional snowboarder and wintered for many years at Val d ‘Isere and became wind-surfer instructor in the summer. After an accident he went into journalism’ writing articles on extreme sports. From 2007, he presented Ski Sunday and has commentated on snowballing at the 2000, 2010 and 20018 Winter Olympics. At the London games he was part of the team that covered Beach Volleyball and BMX cycling. Mike Nuth (1947-55) writes Those were the days – and a fine alliteration too!

Cutting from the Western Daily Press 1958 Old Cryptians

More news from Howard Allen Probably our most bountiful contributor, Howard, tells me that He and Gill celebrated their Diamond Wedding Anniversary on the 2nd September 2021. Congratulations!

Old Cryptians

PART 3. ARTICLES This is the third of a series of articles by Charlie Hannaford – see previous editions of the magazine for the first two. – Ed.

Eighty years on. Some reflections on the times of Old Cryptians from 1941 to 1942. Adolf Hitler had assumed that Great Britain would enter into negotiations after the fall of France in July 1940. The failure of the Luftwaffe to defeat the RAF in the Battle of Britain by September 1940 meant that the invasion plans were postponed. However, the Blitz bombing campaign against major cities continued until May 1941. After pressurising Romania with its vital oil supplies and Bulgaria to join the Axis, German forces invaded Yugoslavia and Greece in April. The British and Commonwealth troops in the defence of Greece and Crete were defeated by May. In North Africa General Rommel and the Africa Corps took advantage of the situation and advanced to the Egyptian border and besieged Tobruk on April 10th. The vital Suez Canal and the oil supplies of the Middle East were under threat. Sympathetic governments in Iraq and Vichy controlled Syria had to be forcibly put down with the help of Indian colonial troops. We were still fighting Fascist Germany alone at this time and this was a low point for Winston Churchill. However, on June 22nd 1941, Hitler eventually invaded the USSR. This decision was driven by his long-term hatred of communism and the Slavic race, coupled with his desire to exploit the ‘living space’ and its natural resources, especially grain from the Ukraine and oil from the Caucuses. Since 1939, the USSR had been supplying Germany with much needed resources and Stalin, now our comrade-in-arms, was taken by complete surprise. The enormous war machine, consisting of four million Axis troops advanced on three fronts directed towards Leningrad, Moscow and Kiev. There were rapid and extensive territorial gains. In the early months three million prisoners were herded into camps in horrendous conditions, and by the autumn two million had died of starvation. Those who survived were moved to slave labour camps in occupied territories. Death squads organised by the SS followed the infantry and thus Old Cryptians

began the mass shootings of Jewish civilians. Over the next year about one million are thought to have been murdered. As the Russians retreated, in a remarkable feat, they transported their vital engineering factories by train to locations beyond the Urals mountains, and then embarked on a scorched-earth policy. During the hot summer months, the Axis forces over-ran the Baltic States, and by September Leningrad was besieged, Kiev captured and the Ukraine seized, and a further 600,000 prisoners went into captivity. Hitler was confident that the communist regime would soon crumble under the huge losses and pressure and they would capture Moscow. It appeared that the fears of the Allies would soon be realised and this risky venture of a war on two fronts would be justified. This was another high point for Nazi Germany and the situation looked grave indeed Hitler was convinced that the UK would be forced to seek a negotiated peace. The Germans were now making progress towards Moscow, and by November Panzer troops were 25 miles from the Kremlin. However, Hitler greatly underestimated the problems of the ever-extending supply lines and the poor state of the transport system, and winter was fast approaching. Hitler had also misjudged the capacity of the USSR to replace the huge losses from their population, which was double that of Germany. By November Joseph Stalin was informed that Japan, a traditional enemy, was no longer a threat in the Far East. Experienced Russian troops, fully equipped for winter warfare, were secretly transferred by the Siberian railway to the Moscow front, where the Germans had been checked, initially by the mud and then the freezing conditions. On December 5th, these 300,000 troops attacked and pushed the Germans back from Moscow. Hitler’s army had suffered its first defeat. He had misjudged the power and ruthless control of the communist system to mobilise their armed forces and work force. In 1942, new, extensive factories were operating behind the Urals, utilising the vast natural resources and producing tanks, planes and armaments in huge quantities. Women and children worked eighteen-hour days in appalling conditions. Only a totalitarian state could have resisted the onslaught, but Stalin also relied on the resilience and patriotic fervour of the Russian people. Hitler’s vision of a quick victory had failed and he would now have to fight the war on two fronts. Old Cryptians

Tensions in the Far East had been building since 1937, when Imperial Japan invaded China from their satellite province Manchuria, where they had exploited the coal and iron ore resources and the population since 1931. The seizure of Peking and the massacre of over 250,000 civilians at Nanking in their brutal war of expansion shocked the world, and increased the pressure on the USA to support the beleaguered Chinese Nationalists. The USA were determined to maintain the long-standing international ‘open-door’ trade policy with the huge Chinese population. By June 1940 Japan had forced Vietnam and Cambodia, both Vichy French Indo-Chinese colonial territories, to allow them to set up military bases. This directly threatened the British colonies of Malaya, Singapore and Burma, as well as the Philippines, protected by American troops. In August, Churchill crossed the Atlantic on-board HMS Prince of Wales to attend the historic Newfoundland Conference. This was the first wartime meeting of the two leaders. Lend-Lease was expanded and billions of vital supplies were promised to the USSR. It was agreed that American escort ships would protect convoys into Icelandic waters, now to be garrisoned by the USA. This escalation inevitably meant that tensions would increase in the Battle of the Atlantic. Supplies were to be sent by the Arctic convoys to Murmansk in Russia via Iceland and the dangerous Norwegian waters controlled by German forces. Signalman Eddie Norris DFM (1928-33) served on these convoys, and this outstanding Old Cryptian was posthumously awarded the Arctic Star in 2013. It was agreed that the USSR needed more help, and in September a joint Anglo-Soviet force invaded Persia and deposed the Axis friendly Shah. This ensured that a steady flow of armaments reached the desperate Russian forces via the Persian corridor, as well as securing the oil-fields. They also discussed the implications of the brutal war in China. They agreed that more supplies would be delivered to the Chinese via the ‘Burma Road’ and demanded that Japan withdraw from Indo-China. The increasingly powerful Japanese military leaders, were convinced that the expected defeat of their old foe the Russians, by their German allies, would finally force the UK out of the war. When they refused to withdraw, the USA, supported by the UK and the refugee Dutch government, decided to act. They raised the stakes and in 1941, imposed a crippling trade embargo and severe restrictions on oil exports. At this time the USA controlled 90% of the world’s oil Old Cryptians

production, whilst Germany and Japan only 3%. The UK was dependent upon the USA for oil supplies although the Army and Royal Navy based in Egypt benefitted from the 5% available from the Iraq and Persian oilfields. Japan’s response was to consider a high-risk strategy, which involved the seizure of the necessary economic resources, such as the oil-fields in the Dutch East Indies and Burma, as well as the extensive rubber and tin supplies which were to be found in Malaya. They felt the time was right, indeed, their destiny, to replace the European colonial empires with the Japanese Empire. To do this they needed to eliminate the American powerbase in the Philippines and to neutralise the US Pacific Fleet. The USA and the UK realised too late in the day that they needed time to reinforce the Philippines and Singapore, and so negotiations dragged on in 1941. There was a wide variety of strongly held opinions and a great deal of mistrust on both sides. The Japanese could not agree to a humiliating withdrawal from China, which had cost them a million casualties, and so positions hardened. The hardliners in Washington did not believe that the Japanese would opt for war against the vast economic and human resources of the USA. Eventually time ran out for the moderates on both sides, and the Japanese fleet set sail and remained undetected as it approached Hawaii. On the morning of Sunday December 7th 1941, the Japanese fleet executed a brilliant and surprise long-range attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor. In two waves, 400 bombers and low flying torpedo-bombers from six Japanese aircraft carriers sank three battleships, and nineteen major ships were put out of action. The US battleship fleet had been crippled and over 2,500 were killed. Fortunately, the three US carriers were at sea, but after three hours the Japanese had gained control of the Pacific. The American people responded with collective outrage and even strident isolationists demanded revenge. On the same day the American garrison in Shanghai was captured and Frank Geldart (1914-22), a tobacco trader, was interned. In 1961 he became the Deputy Chairman of British American Tobacco. Days later in an act of hubris Hitler declared war on the USA. Winston Churchill travelled to North America with the Heads of Staff on HMS Duke of York to discuss the future combined strategy. On-board was Charles Hill (1923-29). Whilst staying with Franklin Roosevelt in Old Cryptians

Washington, Churchill learned that Hong Kong, after over two weeks of heavy fighting had surrendered, and 7,000 troops and British civilians were interned. At the conference a momentous decision was taken. Despite the humiliation in the Pacific, Nazi Germany was designated as the major threat and should be defeated before the final thrust against Japan. The USA immediately reacted to the crisis and Congress set the budget at a staggering 52 billion dollars, of which 50 billion was allocated to rearmament. The army and marines were to be increased from 175,000 to 1.8 million men. With their long experience in mass production the huge industrial giants, such as General Motors and Ford, switched to the production of bombers, tanks, freighters, escort ships and aircraft-carriers. There was a huge increase in the work-force, especially women. The nation was on the move and the Great Depression and unemployment was over. On December 10th, in an attempt to prevent the amphibious landings in North Malaya from Indo-China, HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse sailed confidently from Singapore, but without adequate aircover, and were sunk by torpedo-bombers with the loss of 840 sailors. Lt. David Williams, son of the outstanding Headmaster of the Crypt School, DG Williams (1920-1950), as well as John Gale (1935-39) survived. The experienced battle-hardened Japanese seized the airfields and gained control of the air. They outflanked the poorly-equipped British and Indian troops, and advanced southwards relentlessly and by February the Allied forces were besieged in Singapore. In the chaos and confusion, Captain Gregory Brookes, who left the school in 1903, brought troops from India, and evacuated the wounded and selected non-combatants. Later, he was awarded a Knighthood for his services as Master of the British Indian Steam Navigation Fleet. Edwin Reeves (1922-26) served as a Royal Naval pilot and sailed for Sumatra whilst Singapore was under siege. In a heroic action the boat was sunk by a Japanese cruiser and he was killed. Francis Culpin had worked for the Shell Oil Company in Japan, and was in Sumatra when Singapore fell. He escaped with 2,000 others in a cargo- boat and they were fortunate to reach Ceylon. He joined Naval Intelligence and acted as a liaison officer with American forces in the Pacific. Wing Commander Culpin was awarded the Legion of Merit for Services to the President.

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The Japanese had only 30,000 troops outside Singapore and were low on supplies, but they controlled the city’s water supply and could have caused great civilian casualties by uncontested bombing. The civilian and military leaders had totally underestimated the Japanese. After seven days, and with no realistic chance of rescue, Singapore surrendered on February 15th. Over 70,000 British, Indian and Australian troops were made prisoners-of-war and joined the 50,000 captured in the Malayan campaign. Amongst those captured was Lance Corporal Griffiths (1928-36), who played for the 1st XV for three years. He was shipped to Taiwan where he died in a brutal work-camp. ‘Titch’ Gardiner, a manager of a rubber plantation, laboured on the notorious Burma-Siam railway. Over 25% of prisoners died in atrocious conditions in captivity. Major Lindsay Vears (1893-97) was the ADC to HH the Sultan of Perak. At the age of 60, he was made garrison commander of Penang. He spent three years in Changi Gaol with 3,000 other civilians. Ft. Lt. Colin Ewan, a future Headmaster of the Crypt School (1950-1961), was also taken prisoner. This defeat was a colossal humiliation for Churchill and the British Empire, and it encouraged nationalist groups in Malaya, Burma and India to pursue their claims for independence. By February, Borneo and Sumatra were overwhelmed. In March, the Dutch fleet supported by the USA was defeated off Java and the Dutch East Indies surrendered. From March 1942 until May, the 1st Battalion, of the Gloucestershire Regiment, provided the rear-guard for the retreat towards Rangoon in Burma, which was the port of entry for Anglo-American supplies to the Chinese Nationalists by way of the Burma Road. Lt. Jack Pitchford (1926-34), Captain of the 1st XV, was killed in action. There followed a 900-mile long fighting chaotic withdrawal to the Indian border with a million refugees on the roads. Only 15,000 troops reached safety, whilst 40,000, mainly Indian troops, were captured. Here the monsoon season from June to October gave them respite. Japanese troops entered Manila on January 2nd, and after bitter fighting in a four-month siege of the Bataan Peninsula, the American and Philippine soldiers surrendered. These prisoners were subjected to inhumane treatment on the infamous ‘Death March’ to camps and later in captivity. With the successful invasion of New-Guinea, the Japanese had in four months achieved all their objectives, a remarkable achievement. Japan believed that by now the Germans would have defeated the USSR, and Old Cryptians

the USA would be fully occupied in the Atlantic theatre in support of a desperate UK. The huge expansion of their Japanese Empire brought conflict between the Army and Navy leaders, with regard to formulating their future strategy. The Army were more interested in finally defeating the Chinese and pressing on into India, whilst the Navy wanted to lure the US Fleet into a decisive carrier battle. They decided to eliminate the Australians in Papua-New Guinea and capture Port Moresby, thus directly threatening Australia. In May, in the Battle of the Coral Sea, just 800 miles north-east of Queensland, the result was inconclusive, but significantly the invasion force was cancelled. The USA had benefitted from the cracking of the Japanese naval codes which enabled them to concentrate their limited resources. On June 4th, at the Battle of Midway in the Pacific, aided again by the work of the cryptanalysts, in a series of brilliant aircraft raids from carriers, the invasion fleet was crushed with the loss of four of its carriers. This was considered to be the most decisive and significant battle in the Pacific War. The Japanese expected victory and felt a negotiated peace would follow, a fatal miscalculation. From now on it would be a four-year bloody war of attrition, involving jungle warfare in New Guinea, and amphibious beach landings on heavily and tenaciously defended island atolls. Since March 1941, General Rommel had besieged the vital supply port of Tobruk and formed a strong defensive line on the Egyptian border. There had been a steady build-up of 100,000 British, as well as Commonwealth troops from Australia and New Zealand and equipment, including 700 tanks. In August, the 2nd Royal Gloucestershire Hussars (RGH) joined the 7th Armoured Division, the elite ‘Desert Rats’. On November 18th, the long-awaited Operation Crusader commenced and the formidable Allied forces swept forward, and during a week of heavy fighting more than 300 tanks and their crews were lost. Victory was only ensured when the Tobruk garrison broke out, thus ending the 240 day- siege, and the Africa Korps was forced to retreat. The Allied forces advanced 500 miles and captured Benghazi on December 7th, which was overshadowed by events at Pearl Harbour. In this conflict 18,000 Allied soldiers were killed or wounded. Corporal Peter Langston (1923-31) was in action around Benghazi in December in his Crusader tank when it was hit by Old Cryptians

a Panzer shell and was killed. The Desert Airforce was active during this time and a number of Old Cryptians were members. Ft. Sergeant Monty Marvin (1930-39) was killed in a raid around Tobruk. Peter Cannam (1927-34) was shot down twice in action, but survived and became a squadron leader. After the fall of Singapore, two experienced divisions of 35,000 Australian troops returned to their threatened homeland. An Indian division and an armoured brigade, as well as RAF squadrons were transferred to India. In January 1942, Rommel took advantage and with the Italians recaptured Benghazi, seized the airfields and advanced towards the well-fortified defensive line, west of Tobruk. Here in May, the month-long critical Battle of Gazala, the news of which was followed closely by the families in and around Gloucester, ended in defeat for the allies. The outstanding German tank, anti-tank crews and their leaders proved superior. Sergeants Kenneth Wilkins (1929-34) and Arthur Byard (1930-35) were both killed in this closely fought battle. By now the RGH had lost so many men and tanks that they ceased to be a regiment. On June 17th after heavy bombardment Tobruk surrendered and 33,000 prisoners were taken, including Leslie Sysum of the Hussars and Osborne Ellis of the RAF. Charles A’Bear (1926-37), who was awarded a Military Medal during this action, John Rigby (1930-36), a future President of the OCC and Sergeant Ken Probyn-Skinner (1926-37) retreated with the allied forces towards the Egyptian border. There at the Battle of Mersa-Matruh, another defeat led to the capture of a further 6,000 prisoners, including Captain Percy Workman (1910-16). All the gains made with Operation Crusader were lost. This six-month campaign was considered Rommel’s greatest victory and he was promoted to Field Marshal by a jubilant Hitler. The British and Commonwealth forces were forced back to El Alamein, 50 miles from the naval base at Alexandria, thus threatening the Suez Canal, the Middle East and the oil-fields of Iraq. The foreign civilians in Cairo started to panic. Many Arabs in Palestine and Egypt gave reluctant and only passive support. The future President of Egypt, Anwar Sadat, was jailed for conspiracy with German spies. For three weeks Rommel hammered away in a desperate attempt to break through. However, the defenders were too strong and both sides, now exhausted, went on the defensive. The news of the humiliating surrender of Tobruk and the imminent threat to Egypt reached Churchill in Washington and was another low point. Old Cryptians

Roosevelt’s immediate reaction was, “What can we do to help?” Churchill’s response was a request for 300 of the latest Sherman tanks. He explained his plans for a build-up of forces in North Africa which would include the Australians and New Zealanders, now that the USA had guaranteed the safety of their homelands. Critically the President, against the advice of his military advisors, was sympathetic to the British plan for a joint campaign to defeat the Axis in North Africa in the autumn and delaying the cross-Channel invasion until 1943. This was the only feasible way that American troops could engage the enemy. It was agreed that the UK atomic research be handed over to the Americans. Thus, the huge and vastly expensive Manhattan Project was set in motion with the intention of producing an atomic bomb. The Allies were concerned that Germany had the potential to produce such a weapon. Details of other research projects were also shared in recognition of American support. One of these was the development of the jet engine taking place at Brockworth, where Edward Scriven (1928-34) was working with Frank Whittle. He was killed in an air-raid in the area in April 1942. After the successful defence around Moscow in December 1941, Stalin went on the offensive on a broad front in the new year, but was checked. In January 1942, at the infamous Wansee Conference in Berlin, the ‘Final Solution’ became the state policy. A far more efficient, industrial scale elimination of the Jews in Europe was set in motion. The Jews in the ghettoes in Poland were the first to be rounded up for ‘resettlement’ to the East, and ended up in cattle trucks to be transported to the extermination camps and the gas chambers. By the end of 1942, four million European Jews had been died. The war would prove to be not only a war against tyranny and oppression but also a genocidal war. By June the Russians again would confront the full weight of the German counter-offensive and losses were heavy. This time their objectives were the Crimea, the oil-fields of the Caucuses and Stalingrad on the river Volga. Stalin demanded in vain for an invasion of France, thus creating a ‘Second Front’ in 1942. This was unrealistic, but the Allies did make a major change in strategy. Air Marshall Sir Arthur Harris was appointed in charge of Bomber Command in February 1941. He adopted a far more ruthless approach, which was supported by Churchill. In order to aid the Russians and to take the war to the enemy, it was decided to increase and concentrate the bombing campaign on German industrial cities, regardless of civilian casualties. Harris believed Old Cryptians

passionately that such an intensification would affect the morale of the people and would eventually cause the regime to collapse. He also thought that this would negate the need for a costly invasion of France. The effectiveness of the night-time raids improved greatly with the introduction of the new four-engine Lancaster bomber, which could fly at 20,000 feet and carry a much bigger bomb-load. However, these cities were very heavily defended by searchlights, flak-fire and night-fighters and the number of planes and crew lost rose dramatically. In 1942, fewer than 50% of all bomber Allied crew members survived the 30 sorties required for their tour of duty. The following Old Cryptians, all sergeants were killed in 1942. Arthur Gale (1934-36) in a raid on Cherbourg and Guy Selwyn (1931-36), who was in the first 1,000 bomber raid on Cologne. Richard Bircher (1933-38) and Samuel Witchell (1934-38), both members of 76 Squadron, were killed in similar raids. Peter Pitchford (1932-37), brother of Jack, perished with his crew in a raid on the Ruhr, whilst Henry Burley (1920-25) was killed approaching North Germany. The bombers could be replaced, but there was growing pressure on training new crew members. Pilot Officer Eric Cryer (1921-30), Jack Kirton (1929-35) and Leslie Brown were killed in flying accidents. All were faithfully recorded in ‘The Cryptian’ magazine by the Secretary of the Old Cryptians, Percy Ball (1911-17), Staff (1924-44), and Head of Rugby and Cricket, who knew all of them. The fall of France in June 1940 greatly transformed the threat to vital imports to the UK. Heavily protected U-Boat bases were constructed in Brittany and food imports were down by 30%. The Royal Navy had severely underestimated their threat and so began the longest, largest and most complex naval battle in history. Coastal Command protected shipping in the Channel, North Sea and the western Atlantic approaches. The following Old Cryptians joined. Bill Bray, (1926-32), John Lawrence (1932-38), later Air Vice Marshall and CBE, Ron Tiley (1932-36) and Ivor Sims (1932- 36), who was awarded the DFM for Gallantry in 1942. Sergeant William Parnell (1931-36) and his brother Hugh Parnell DFC also joined. William and his seven-man crew were killed on anti-submarine patrol from the Outer Hebrides in December 1942. Squadron Leader Kenneth Bruce (1926-31) had supported the evacuation from Dunkirk, and later was on patrol from Liverpool, and then the Shetlands. He was killed off Norway in April 1942. Sam Bridges (1932-38), based in Cornwall, Old Cryptians

was searching for U-Boats in the Bay of Biscay when he was lost. Raymond Farmer (1935-40) also based in Cornwall, flew Spitfires and was killed over the Channel, at just eighteen years old. The USA were very slow in protecting the shipping supplying the UK, especially the oil tankers. By 1942 there had been a great increase in the number of merchant ships and submarines operating in the Atlantic and especially off the coast of America. The increased effectiveness of Coastal Command and the extension of the American and Canadian escort vessels, forced the U-Boat commanders to develop new successful tactics. They were co-ordinated into wolf-packs who hunted at night, and largely on the surface, thereby reducing their detection by sonar, enabling them to be as fast as their prey. They concentrated their efforts in the mid-Atlantic ‘Gap’, where there was no aircraft cover. They were aided by the cracking of the British naval convoy codes in 1942, and shipping losses increased by 40% in the Autumn of 1942. Unfortunately, the Germans made changes to their Enigma machine network, which meant that the brilliant cryptanalysts at Bletchley Park were in the dark for much of 1942 and things looked desperate. The Battle of the Atlantic became a deadly struggle of attrition played out in the most appalling conditions for both sides. 1941 started with the Blitz still in progress but ended with an ideological and genocidal war taking place in the USSR. The bombing of Pearl Harbor and the defeat of Hitler’s formidable army outside Moscow in December 1941, changed everything. The humiliating defeats in Malaya and Burma and the surrender of Singapore, and later Tobruk in 1942, were the lowest points of the war for Churchill. This was only exacerbated by the growing losses in the Battle of the Atlantic and the air campaign in which more and more young Cryptian leavers would take part in. By late 1942, German troops were at the Volga and Leningrad seemed about to fall and the oil-fields of the Caucuses were within reach. The most positive development was that the USA was in the war and the vast, efficient, industrial complex quickly produced the huge quantities of war supplies for the global struggle, whilst millions of young Americans embarked on their training for service in the Pacific and across the Atlantic.

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More details can be found in : “A History of the Crypt School 1539-2018” by Charlie Hannaford. “The Lost Generations” by Simon Birch, Sarah Birch and Ray Pocock. Please contact me if you find any errors or have more information that is not in the above history. charliehannaford8@gmail. com Charlie Hannaford (1956-64) COVID At the time of writing this, we are all one way or another preoccupied with coping with and managing the effects of Covid. I suspect by the time this is published, there will be some lightening of this but replaced with worries as to how it will all be paid for and how to function effectively again. This has all been a great shock. Our predecessors faced worse. Only a few years ago, Oxford Archaeology excavated the mass burial at Wooton on London Road in Gloucester where at least 91 people had been tossed into a large hole in the second half of the 2ndC AD. Educated guesses were this was the result of the Antonine plague, a small pox epidemic which swept the Roman Empire between AD165 and 189. Plagues were not uncommon – three Roman Emperors are recorded as dying of plague and some historians lay the fall of the late Roman administrations of Cirencester and Gloucester to the Anglo- Saxons down to the plague of Justinian in the 6thC. (The Roman Army may have quit around 410 but there is more and more evidence that the various civic administrations carried on functioning in very many places long afterwards) The plague of Justinian is thought to have led to the death of approximately half the population of the known world and is not matched as far as we know until the arrival of the Black Death in 1348. I have been shielding down in Kent (since March 2020) on an ancient estate recorded by the Anglo-Saxons in the 790s (Kent land records are very full.) Archaeologists have been digging here for over 20 years and within a few hundred yards, we have a 4000 year old arrow head, Bronze age pottery, an Iron Age farm, Roman buildings, two Anglo Old Cryptians

Saxon burial grounds and they are currently excavating the house built by Sir John de Beauchamp, bearer of the Royal Standard at Crecy, Governor of Calais and Admiral of the Fleet in 1348. Demolishing earlier buildings, we think he moved his HQ from Dover to our site (in open country but on a Roman road and equidistant from Sandwich where lay his fleet, Dover which was the fast route to Calais, and Canterbury) because his intelligence sources warned him that something in southern Europe was killing large numbers of people in cities and towns. He was right. I don’t know what happened in Gloucester but in Canterbury in 1349, there died the Mayor, all the Burgesses and it is now thought, two thirds of the inhabitants. Sir John survived for another ten years and our Rent Rolls show no deaths on the estate that year. Plague remained part of ordinary life, reviving with virulence even in modern times – Pepys writing about it in 1665 in London and of course other diseases were rife. There were no less than six cholera pandemics in the UK in the 19thC with thousands dying. And it only subsided with the development of immunization by Pasteur and vaccination. More devastating but still surprisingly little known is the 1918 ‘flu’ epidemic which killed more people than died in the whole of the First World War. As far as we know, that mutated and disappeared. We should be astounded at the amazing science that has delivered us a working vaccine in under a year. You have part of it. The table in the Crush hall was the Board table for the Wellcome Foundation around which sat the scientists who not only pioneered the techniques for the biological manufacture of interferon but whose financial legacy is also the analytical facilities of places like the Sangster Institute at Cambridge, the sophisticated analytical techniques of which are now so important in combatting Covid. Peter Hobbs (1949-57)

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Golden Episodes in Cryptian History Scholastic: 1890-1939 It is not often recalled that in the second half of the nineteenth century the school was in the doldrums. The school was extinct from 1859-1863 and reopened under the headship of the Manx poet, T.E. Brown. His headship was short lived and the school recovered very slowly through the leadership of the Rev Christopher Naylor, the 37th Master (1867-1906). However in 1866 the number of boys on roll had fallen to 66. An examiner remarked in this year ‘that the school had in point of numbers fallen to its lowest ebb’. In 1867 there were only 49 boys on roll and no boy ‘had proceeded to university for several years.’ At the turn of the century the numbers on roll had risen to 103 and by 1906 to 130. The sixth form had only three students and this was very much due to the policy of the headmaster who was insistent that the sixth form should remain at that low level. However in 1906 major improvements followed with the introduction of natural science into the curriculum, the creation of a sixth form and the appointment of specialist staff in a range of teaching subjects. The most influential developments came in science upon the appointment of A.A.K. Whitehouse who rendered exceptional service in his years – 1908-1941 – whilst on the staff. In 1910 he set up a science sixth form and oversaw the expansion in the take-up of boys studying science throughout the school. In 1917 there were 86 science students and in 1920 this number had grown to 190. In 1939 Roland Austin, a distinguished Old Cryptian and the Professor of Latin at the University College of Cardiff, published his splendid Crypt School, Gloucester. This is essentially a legal and administrative history that commemorates the 400th anniversary of the foundation of the school. In the appendices there is a list of was compiled by the headmaster, D. G. Williams, of University Honours, 1890-1939. Old Cryptians

I commend this remarkable list of scholastic achievements to the attention of the reader. The extent of the students’ success in face of the most intense competition from students of the highest intelligence and from best known schools in the country is simply amazing. This marks a renaissance in the history of the school. Throughout this period The Crypt remained a small school – by 1939 – there were no more than 350 boys on roll and the sixth form was always small in number. Thus in this context such a roll of honour must be set. The range of scholastic success from 1890 to 1939 in summary is as follows: ● No of Scholarships to mainly Oxbridge Colleges Classics - 30 Science – 17 Mathematics - 12 History – 9 Modern Languages - 1 ● Townsend Scholars to Pembroke College, Oxford -12 ● First Class Honours at University- mainly at Oxbridge Classics - 22 Science - 13 Mathematics - 5 English - 2 Modern Languages - 3 These impressive details represent a tribute to the students but also to those who taught them and prepared them for academic competition at a most demanding level.

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Sixth Form 1935 ‘No less than five awards were won in 1928 and eight in 1935. Amongst them were some famous names-E.H.F. Baldwin, W.N.S. Hoare, A.A.K. Whitehouse, J.C.T. Oates and A.R. George.’

The Headmaster and Prefects 1935

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Rugby Football: 1922-1975 In 1920 D.G. Williams took up his headship of the Crypt. He was a most distinguished classicist – a scholar of Corpus Christi College, Oxford and he gained a first in Classical Greats in 1909. He had also played rugby for his college and prior to that he had played for Llandovery College – a Welsh school with a high reputation for rugby. In the autumn of 1922 the Cryptian recorded that ‘Rugby Football had been adopted instead of Association’. A.C. Paget, then a boy at the School, recalled that a ‘Demonstration Rugby Match’ was arranged in which the Headmaster played: ‘During the game the Head was brought down by a terrific flying tackle and I think that convinced everyone that we’d like Rugger’. From these humble beginnings rugby football came to prosper in the extra-curricular programme of the School and the 1st XV soon was competing in a tough inter-school fixture list. Several boys won representative schools’ honours and many more went on to successful careers on the rugby field after leaving school. International Players Prior to the introduction of rugby into the School in 1922, both Frank and Percy Stout in the late 1890s won full caps and also played for the Barbarians. Frank also captained the British Lions in Test matches in South Africa. Grahame Parker, arguably the most accomplished of Cryptian games-players, won a Double Blue at Cambridge and was captain of the university cricket team in 1934. He played cricket, too, for GCCC both before and after the Second World War. He won England rugby caps at full-back in 1938 against Ireland and Scotland.

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Graham Parker Charlie Hannaford some 33 years later won three England caps and also a Rugby Blue at Cambridge. He was a magnificent No. 8 and was very unlucky not to have won many more caps during an incompetent period in team selection. Peter Butler won two caps in the early 1970s. He was a supreme goal-kicker and exceeded the impressive feat of Eric Stephens as the record holder for points in a season for GRFC. John A’Bear in 1936 toured with the British Isles party in Argentina. He was also the youngest ever captain of GRFC. Gordon Hudson won war-time international honours (1942-45). He captained GRFC and played many times for Gloucestershire. He was a

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tremendous back-row forward and unlucky not to have won full international honours. Grahame Parker, Gordon Hudson, Richard Smith and Charlie Hannaford all wore the Barbarians’ shirt. Ed James and Howard Meadows won Blues at Oxford. Brian Green and Dick Smith were selected for English trials. In addition to these impressive performers 16 Old Cryptians represented Gloucestershire during the years when the county championship was the home for a very high standard of rugby. Another 10 represented several other county teams stretching from Hampshire to Durham.

R.C. Hannaford E.J.F. Stephens R. Smith County Championship Final 1971-72 v. Warwickshire

Gordon Hudson, Dick Smith, Charlie Hannaford, Eric Stephens and Peter Butler played for the Western Counties in matches against the All Blacks or Fijians in the 1960s. No less than 28 Cryptians had the honour of wearing the Cherry and White shirt of GRFC during the years 1922 to 1975.

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R.C. Hannaford P.E. Butler R. Smith County Championship Final 1972-73 v. Lancashire

Schools’ Internationals In the post war years Bill Smith, Dennis Wilshaw, John Hart, Tony Marmon, Bernard Stephens, Mike Pickard and Peter Bera all played for the 15 Age Group whilst Hugh Roe, Howard Allen and Charlie Hannaford won international honours with either of the 18 or 19 Age Group. As with the list of scholastic achievements the sporting list is again remarkable in particular when set in the context of the small size of the school and not least, of its sixth form during these years.

Bernard Stephens The personal scholastic and sporting achievements as described herein are indeed nuggets in the history of our school and must be a source of pride for who cherish their association with their school.

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Howard Allen (1947-1955) Past President of OCC, Honorary Life Member of OCC and former editor of The Cryptian.

Matt hopes lockdown diary will be a Christmas hit A Gloucester insurance broker has published his lockdown diary to raise funds for local NHS charities. Matt Cass, a Director of Cass-Stephens Insurances in Barnwood, has put his tongue-in-cheek postings from Facebook, which he kept up for 100 days during the first lockdown, into a paperback and e-book which is now available on Amazon. He hopes it will become a popular stocking filler in the run-up to Christmas. The book, which is based on a “Zombie Apocalypse”, tells of his struggles to maintain sanity while homeschooling the children, not being able to go out except for daily exercise and living in fear of running out of toilet paper! Matt explains in his introduction to the book, “I've always been a bit of a joker and liked to entertain my family and friends. When I used up the toilet roll in the downstairs toilet right at the start of lockdown and the height of the panic buying, I thought it was a perfect time to post something funny on social media. “What started off as a bit of fun to hopefully put a smile on people's faces during what looked like a decidedly depressing period turned into a mammoth 100-day diary with people tuning in every day to see what I would put next. “When my friend Paul and I had finished a charity run and were enjoying our first pint in a pub (post lockdown) I mentioned that I would love to write a book. He pointed out I already had in my lockdown diary. I just needed to get it online.” Matt, 47, lives in Longford and was the President of the Rotary Club of Gloucester during the lockdown. The e-book costs £3.99, with the paperback selling for £19.99. All royalties will go to the Cheltenham and Gloucester NHS Charity. The book is available at https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08P52ZFKN Old Cryptians

4. Obituaries

Barrie Gordon Sims (1953-60) Barrie Gordon Sims, 78, a resident of Columbia, Maryland, died of Covid 19 on Friday, November 27, 2020 at Gilchrist Hospice in Towson, Maryland. Barrie was born in Gloucester, England, on May 16, 1942, to Gordon and Lillian Sims. He grew up with his sisters Julie and Heather and attended the Crypt Grammar School. After graduating, he began a long career with GCHQ as a computer scientist. While working, he achieved a Bachelor of Science degree in Maths. Barrie's family was his source of pride and joy. He married Patricia Murrin of Gloucester in 1963 and their marriage was blessed with three children, Colin, Philip, and Jennifer. The marriage ended in divorce. In 1986, he married Tracey Taaffe Manning of Columbia. In 1983, Barrie moved to Columbia, Maryland, to coordinate intelligence work with his U.S. counterparts. Later he worked as a program director for Computer Sciences Corporation and subsequently, Eagle Alliance, both in service to the National Security Agency. He always took satisfaction in his contribution towards making the world safer for his two beloved countries. Barrie's faith was important to him and he was very committed to his Baptist churches, both in Gloucester and in Columbia. As its treasurer, he helped to shepherd Brunswick Baptist Church in Gloucester through growth and the building of a new facility. He later served as treasurer for over 20 years to the Columbia Baptist Fellowship (CBF) in Maryland. For many years, he represented CBF on the Oakland Mills Interfaith Center (OMI) board of directors where, during his term as president of the board, he oversaw a major building expansion and renovation. Old Cryptians

He is survived by his wife Tracey Manning Sims, his three children, Colin Sims (Annette Beattie) of Hampshire, Philip Sims (Michelle Sullivan) and Jennifer Sims (Graham Wollington) of Essex, his two stepchildren, Laura Manning Attridge (Andrew Attridge) and Elizabeth Manning, and his grandchildren, Matthew Sims, George Sims, Margaret Attridge, and Sean Attridge. He is also survived by his sisters Julie Briffett (Gerald Briffett) of Hereford, Heather Harvey (Robert Harvey) of Gloucester, and numerous nieces, nephews, great nieces, and great nephews. He was predeceased by his parents, Gordon and Lillian Sims. Donations may be made in his memory to Parkinson's UK (www.parkinsons.org.uk/donate). Tracey Manning Sims B.A. ‘Brian’ Jones (1944-1953) Brian was a past president of the Old Cryptian Club and he was held in the highest esteem both within the Cryptian community and the world of Motor Racing. He died of Covid 19 whilst in hospital on New Years’ Day 2021. He was 85. In every aspect of his life Brian possessed enormous energy and high motivation. He was a natural leader and a source of inspiration to so many people. His skill in the management of personal relationships was immense as was his love for his family and countless friends. The majority of his formative years were spent in The Oval, Gloucester that Brian once described as his ‘earthly utopia’. In January 1944 he entered the Junior School and then proceeded to Senior School in 1946. The Valete section in the Cryptian of December 1953 contains an admirable summation of Brian’s commendable achievements and inputs into the life of the school. He was a Prefect in 1952, a Second Prefect in 1953 and also the House Captain of Brown House. He was awarded his 1st XV Colours in 1951-53 and he was an inspirational Captain of Rugby in 1952-1953 Old Cryptians

and for part of the season 1953-1954. He was a fine left hander in tennis and was the 1st VI Tennis Champion in 1951 and he won his in Colours 1951-1953.

Brian was a magnificent athlete and in 1953 he won his Athletic Colours and represented the County Schools Athletic Team. In the same year he was selected to compete in the English Schools’ National Championships in Uxbridge. His long stride and sprinting technique enabled him to take a very creditable fourth place in the 440 yards at senior level. Throughout his life Brian shared with his older brother, Gordon, a warm, loving and competitive relationship. Gordon always claimed that the 100 and 220 yards sprints were his domain in any competition with Brian but he conceded that Brian had the edge in any distance beyond 220 yards! Brian’s flair on the stage came to the fore in Shaw’s The Devil’s Disciple. In 1953 Brian gave a memorable performance as the rascal Christy Dudgeon. His gift for humour and his striking voice gave his audience at St Stephen’s Hall much pleasure. 1n 1953 Brian decided to leave school at the Autumn Half Term. He was soon to commence his National Service. He was commissioned in the Royal Artillery and during his service he completed a tour of Egypt and Jordan. Once back in civilian life he withdrew from his place at St Luke’s College, Exeter, and instead took up a marketing role with BP and also looked after the company’s motorsport sponsorship. In the season of 1956-57, Brian made 21 appearances for Gloucester R.F.C. He loved to recall his debut when he was called upon to play at Neath in December 1956. He described his experience of how weighing no more than 13 stones himself, he was standing at the first line-out next to the great Welsh icons – Roy John and Rees Stephens – a mere three or four stones heavier and three or more inches taller. They congratulated him on his performance that day. Old Cryptians

Brian played another nine games for Gloucester in 1957-58. He was always a popular player with the supporters in the Shed at Kingsholm as they loved Brian’s dash and commitment. He responded positively to their call of ‘come on Ginger’ – a good hearted reference to Brian’s mop of red hair.

In a word Brian packed a lot into just 30 first team appearances. His commitment on the rugby field as in every activity in his life was whole–hearted. He made his final appearance in March 1958 as work commitments with BP precluded involvement with the club that he had so loved to play for. When BP wound back its involvement from motor sport in the late 1960s, Brian moved to Brands Hatch where he became the general manager of Motor Racing Stables, the circuit’s racing school. In time Brian moved into circuit commentary and by the late 1970s as ‘The Voice of Brands’ he was leading the circuit’s British Grand Prix team of announcers as well as being the man on ‘the mic’ at pretty much every car-racing fixture in between.

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Brian interviewing Ayrton Senna

The current boss Jonathan Palmer, who took part in numerous races that Brian commentated on, has said ‘Brian Jones was to Brands Hatch what Murray Walker was to British F1. Both were synonymous with the motor racing they covered and had wonderful, distinctive and charismatic voices.’ Brian was not only the ‘Voice of Brands’ but he was a genial person who never passed on an opportunity to support anyone in motorsport that he believed in, whether that was a driver, journalist or an aspiring fellow commentator. Typically Brian claimed that he was not necessarily the man for the hard core fan and that his job was more to entertain wives, girlfriends or children. In this he succeeded magnificently with his memorable baritone, slow paced delivery and humour. The writer is proud to recollect his friendship with Brian that commenced in The Oval in our formative years. He was, too, for me a mentor and a source of ideas and practices in the art of leadership and management. Brian was blessed with a rich vein of camaraderie and bonhomie. Thus his jovial presence enlivened any social gathering that he was party to. His hearty laughter and gift as a raconteur will never be forgotten. He was initially married to Rita and they begat (a favourite word of Brian) Fay and Tim. The former, now an artist, has two very talented academic sons. Tim followed Brian into motor racing and now lives in Australia. Brian’s second marriage was to Ros and they begat Charlotte who produced two grandchildren for doting grandparents. On behalf of the Old Cryptians’ Club I extend condolences to Brian’s wife, Ros, and family members and his brother, Gordon. Howard Allen (1947-1955) Old Cryptians

R. ‘Dick’ Sheppard (1941-1946) Dick Sheppard, the former stunt driving world record holder, died on 1 March 2021. He was 90. Dick was born in Gloucester and lived in the city all his life. He became a Cryptian in 1941 and left school at the end of the fifth form in the summer of 1946. He called himself “The World’s Most Prolific Stuntman as documented by the Guinness Book of Records.” And he often commented that he had appeared in the Guinness Book more times than anyone else…even the editor. His first world record – one of his favourites – was in 1969 when he rode an ex-army motorbike through a 100 foot tunnel of fire. The record could never be broken as it was withdrawn from the book after four people had died trying to beat it.

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Dick was very proud of his achievement as the top points’ scorer in Stock Car Racing for four consecutive seasons and of his autobiography. In retirement he became a popular public speaker and for more than fifteen years he adorned the outside of his home in Stroud Road at Christmas with an amazing system of lighting. His displays attracted many viewers and he raised more than £40,000 for charity. Not surprisingly Dick’s favourite film was The Italian Job in which he was a car stunt driver. Dick was married three times and was the father of nine children and one step-daughter. He was a proud grandfather and great-grandfather. The club extends condolences to his wife, Phoebe and family members. Howard Allen (1947-1955)

The following is extracted from his obituary published in Punchline Gloucester. After attending Calton Road Junior and Crypt Grammar School, he earned a place at Cambridge University but opted for a job in a motorcycle shop instead. He said: "At school I was caned quite frequently and threatened with expulsion more than once for being a rebel. I accepted that because it was usually quite true. "The few masters who owned cars used to hand me the keys during the morning so that I spent the lunch hour cleaning the plugs and points and generally tuning their cars at the out of bounds area in front of the school, while my pals played football in the playground.

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"This I did more for the love of engines than any fondness I felt for the teachers. The happiness this gave me continued throughout my life whenever I got the maximum performance out of an engine, whether it was to win a stock car race or achieve a new world record." Professor John Morehen (1953-56) We are saddened to learn of the death in January of John Morehen. John spoke at the school Prizegiving in 2008. Professor John Morehen was born in Gloucester, and attended the Crypt School from 1953-56 before completing his schooling in Bristol. After three years as Organ Scholar at New College, Oxford, he moved to King’s College, Cambridge, where he took a Doctorate of Philosophy. He then worked in Washington DC on the staff of Washington National Cathedral and of The American University. He returned to England in 1968 to become Sub-Organist at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, where he played the organ for many Royal and state occasions. In 1972 he joined the music staff of Nottingham University, where he is now Emeritus Professor of Music. As a lecturer/recitalist/adjudicator John Morehen has toured the USA, Canada, Europe and Australia, and he was a regular BBC Radio 3 recitalist for over thirty years. He has given more than 100 radio and television broadcasts in the UK and abroad, and, as a musical scholar, has written extensively about Renaissance music. In 2003 he received the Degree of Doctor of Letters from Nottingham University for his published work. Much more information on John’s fascinating and successful life is available from his website, http://www.morehen.com Our condolences go to his family and friends.

Derek Pearce (1934–1939) We are saddened to learn of the death of Old Cryptian Derek Pearce who we heard from last year when he wrote to tell us of Old Cryptians

his meeting a fellow Cryptian in his care home in Norwich. Despite leaving school aged 14, without any qualifications, he won a scholarship to the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester – and won the best student of the year award. In 1961, he went to the United States and became the first farmer in Britain to graduate from the advanced management course at Harvard University’s Business School. The Eastern Daily Press has a full obituary of Derek https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/business/obituary-farm-businessmanager-derek-pearce-6514960 who lived an interesting life and was well respected in the farming community Robert Ireland (1949-57) We are saddened to learn of the passing in October 2020 of Bob Ireland who was at the Crypt School 1949-57 and who had spoken at the 475th anniversary dinner. Bob was a pioneer of air travel magazine publishing.

John Allison MRPharmS (1946-53) We are saddened to learn of the passing in October 2020 of John Allison MRPharmS who was at the Crypt School 1946-53. John was a member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and practised for many years in the Linden district of Gloucester. Thanks to Dr. Graham Russell for passing the news on to us. Peter Power MbChB (1942-49) We are saddened to learn of the passing of Old Cryptian Peter Power who was at the Crypt School from 1942-1949 before studying medicine at Bristol University Medical School with fellow Cryptians

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Alec Horton, Graham Russell & Bryan Green. He was for a time in General Medical Practice in Gloucester. He made 135 appearances for the Old Cryptian Rugby Club from 1951-1971. Thanks to Dr. Graham Russell for passing the news on to us.

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Peter Hendy (1954-62) I first became aware of Pete Hendy when I reached the fifth form. he was a giant in many ways and a terrifying sight as he charged around the playing fields with a rugby ball in his hands, or even a discus. As I got to know him better I found him to be a good friend, gentle, with a sense of humour. He tried to teach me to sail. A task he undertook with great patience. I was, after all, a non swimmer scared of water! but he succeeded. He was a school prefect with a unique style. While others would shout at lurkers to 'get outside' Pete would look at the lurker, nod at the door and quietly say 'please) and out would go the lurker - no fuss. At St Luke's, where he was known as 'Adam'. He made many friends which he kept all his life. Reunions will not be the same. I didn't come across him all that often at Exeter as he was in his final year while I was in my first and we did different subjects. I imagine his teaching style as unique and not to copied. He did tell me that on one teaching practice with a class of first years he shouted at the to be quiet. All the girls, and no doubt many of the boys burst into tears, he was mortified and never shouted at a class again. We were in the same athletics team where in addition to his discus throwing he would get a relay team together with some chums which would compete in the relay race. Often beating the opposition! He would sometimes come into my college room early in the morning and collapse on the bed exhausted from whatever it was he'd been up to, he never said I didn't ask, but it wouldn't have been anything to his discredit. I think anything like that occurred, if at all, in his first year. I shall keep remembering bits and pieces of life with Pete/Adam as no doubt will all those who knew and loved him. Especially when they meet. As I said a much loved man. Nino Pelopida (1955-63) Charlie Hannaford writes: Peter Hendy died on April 8th at the age of 77. He grew up in Hucclecote, and was educated at The Crypt School from 1954 to 1962. He was a character from the start as he had a glass eye due to a childhood accident and by the age of 15 was well over six foot. He eventually added another six inches by the time he captained the Old Cryptians

1st XV and played for the County XV in his final year. He was incredibly powerful and my brother Bob was not impressed when Pete entered the Discus competition on Sports Day and without any practice broke his school record. Pete passed his driving test early and his close friends were thrilled when Pete borrowed his father’s six cylinder Ford Zephyr. We progressed to the recently opened Ross Spur motorway, which had little traffic and with no speed limit in place or indeed safety belts he broke the 100mph barrier. He was a keen on yachting and many of us enjoyed the hospitality of the Hendy and Stevenson families at the South Cerney lakes. I recall going on one of the annual Easter trips to the Lake District organised by the school and catching a throat infection which meant I had to stay behind to recover. Pete was exceptionally kind and helped me back from a gruelling walk. In these more relaxed times, when Health and Safety issues was not on the daily agenda, the Chemistry Labs were open to Sixth Form students at lunch times. One day the football games in the playground came to a halt when a large explosion emanated from Lab 3 and half a dozenwhite coated students, no goggles of course, emerged surrounded by a cloud of black smoke. Needless to say we recognised Pete leading the way to safety. By now Horace Edwards (1950-1981), the esteemed Head of PE and Rugby, who attended St Luke’s College, Exeter, supported Pete’s and later Nino Pelopida’s application. Like many 1st Year students Pete led a full social life. His natural openness, sense of humour and larger than life character made him a very popular student. I have witnessed many rugby players who have taken on the challenge of speed drinking beer. However, I never saw anyone faster than Pete. An unusual claim to fame, perhaps, which added to his other qualities made him a charismatic character. Nino recalls that he was a gentle good friend who had a great sense of humour. Pete tried to teach me to sail, a task he undertook with great patience, especially as I was a non swimmer and scared of water but he succeeded. They were were in the same Athletics team, where Pete or Adam as he was called in his student days, excelled in the discus. In 1967, Nino represented Wales as a sprinter in the Commonwealth Games. Nino recalls that Pete had a knack of making friends which he regularly maintained by returning to College reunions and was much loved. Old Cryptians

Pete taught Chemistry and Biology at Marling School, Stroud for nearly forty years, an extraordinary achievement and was a Senior Tutor. Like all the best teachers he had no need to raise his voice to make his point and encouraged a wide range of pupils. In the radical re-organisation of education in the 1960’s many comprehensive schools were introduced. In 1965 Marling School was amalgamated with Stroud Technical School and proved to be an enlightened decision. Pete made it clear that he found this environment more to his liking than the more selective and often restrictive atmosphere that he had experienced at The Crypt School in the 1960’s. Peter’s friend of 40 years, Ian Bucknall, recorded an obituary in the Bisley News which describes his immense contribution to the community. Peter lived in Bisley with his wife Marjorie and was active in the restoration of the local church and took up bellringing in the 1970’s, eventually becoming Tower Captain. Here he passed on his skills and guidance to younger members. He played the tuba in the Chalford Brass Band and organised the Bisley Fun Run, a half marathon, for many years. He was a founder member of a folk group and for 25 years spent his weekends as a “caller” for a variety of functions, barn dances and charitable events in the local Stroud area. He was the life and soul of the party after such events often at The Bear or The Stirrup Cup. His other interests ranged from bee keeping, home brewing, Pub Quizzes, hill walking and his dogs. Ian reflects that Peter was a big man with a big heart, larger than life, full of energy and drive who positively influenced the lives of so many people, young and old. He was an inspirational figure to so many of us. Addendum To give you an idea of the limited number of Staff who complete more than 35 years of service in the same school I record those who have done so at The Crypt School in its history. Abraham Heague, Headmaster(1656-96) is only passed by the Reverend C. Naylor (1867-1906) who as Headmaster for 39 years stabilised and built up the school in the difficult years at this time after the ineffective and short tenure of T.E.Brown (1861-63). Naylor was responsible for the move from Eastgate Street to the school’s spiritual home near St Mary de Crypt at Friars Orchard in Southgate Street. Sir Thomas Rich’s moved out of its buildings to make way for the Guild Hall in Eastgate Street and took over the premises of the Crypt School and stayed there Old Cryptians

until 1964. Despite these achievements it was Brown who managed to have a House named after him when the House system was revamped by the outstanding Headmaster D.G.Williams (1920-1950). Williams appointed the following staff who formed the backbone of the School for many years including the war years and the move to Podsmead in 1943. Old Cryptians, A.C. Paget, (1930-1968 ), Head of Mathematics and A.L.C. Smith (1930-1967), Deputy Headmaster. J.T.Whiteley (1921-1962), Head of Foreign Languages and Deputy Headmaster. A.W.Walton (1931-1970), Head of Classics. These stalwarts were all dominant figures very active in Pete and my time. Later, John Skinner (1952-1988), Head of History and Head of Cricket for many years and finally, Deputy Headmaster was another who taught at the Crypt all their working lives. Later it was unusual for staff to stay in the same school and many retired earlier than before. The only recent comparison with Pete is the much admired Nigel Coombes (1964-2001) Nino has informed me that he was timed and he swallowed a pint in 1.9 seconds!..I am sure this is true. For the younger and more inquisitive amongst readers, Try it perhaps with water and see how you get on. Clive Grafton writes: I moved from Birmingham to join first year in 1956 and left to study medicine at Barts in 1963. The head when I arrived was Colin Ewan who died suddenly from a heart attack. I cannot recall the name of his successor although he was there for my last two or three years. I was a year behind my good friend Peter Hendy and succeeded him as captain of rugby. Clive Mitchell was the head boy in my last year and because he was away, I dug the first dirt to start the swimming pool. My family moved away from Gloucester and then later I moved to Canada. Hence I had lost touch with my school friends and the school. I was reconnected by Charlie Hannaford who contacted me about Peter’s death. Sad times that may prove good reconnections.

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J.H.L. John Hopkin (1943-49) The death of John has been announced. He was 90. John enjoyed a most successful career at school. He was a Prefect in 1948 and House Captain of Henley. John was a most able linguist. In 1948 in the Higher School Certificate he obtained distinctions in French and Spanish. He was also awarded a State Scholarship and he won the Modern Languages Prize that was presented on Speech Day. He also won a place at Queen’s College, Cambridge to read Modern Languages. John was a very keen rugby player and only the depth of sporting quality in the school at the time prevented him from playing in the 1st XV. However, he was awarded his 2nd XV Colours and he was captain of the 2nd XV in 1948. He also played no less than 346 times for the OCRFC during his career. After his National Service John proceeded to Queens College and predictably he was well placed in both parts of the Modern Languages Tripos. In his professional career John was an officer in the Inland Revenue. John’s wife, Eunice, survives him and to her the Club extend condolences. Howard Allen (1947-1955)

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For Sale Ties: Silk £25.00 Polyester £12.00

Scarves in Club Colours (pre-order): £25.00

Beanie in Club Colour: £10.00

Lapel Pin: £2.00

Old Cryptians’ Blazer: (pre-order) £120/£150 ‘Cryptian’ – Back Copies £5.00 Postage Cost for Stock: Ties £1.50; Scarf £5.00; Beanie Hats £3.00; Lapel Pin: £1.00 Cheques payable to The Old Cryptians’ Club to: Mr Matt Cass, Old Cryptians’ Club, Windsor House, 200 Barnwood Fields, Barnett Way GL4 3RT Or by E mail: matthewmichaelcass@hotmail.com

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The Cryptian 2020-2021

Here’s to a successful and happy new academic year.

The Cryptian 2020-2021

Articles inside

The Cryptian 2020-2021

Head Students

Headmaster’s Welcome