HUMANITIES

Staveley Poetry publication celebrates young writers’ work

A new publication features more than 50 of the best poems written by Tonbridge boys for the School’s Staveley Poetry Prize. The competition, which has run for more than half a century, is named after a remarkable teacher at Tonbridge, Tom Staveley, who taught and inspired Sidney Keyes, one of the greatest poets of the Second World War.

The English Department’s Peter Carpenter said: “The latest competition prompted more than 120 entries. We thought that the quality and range of the poems was remarkable and merited a publication, and so we produced an 80-page booklet to showcase the best of the boys’ work.

We hope everybody enjoys the poems on offer – there is a lot of fine writing within the pages.”

The Staveley Prize was judged by renowned poet Jonathan Edwards, pictured below (centre) on a visit to Tonbridge. Jonathan was also a judge for the 2020 National Poetry Competition run by the Poetry Society, the biggest and most prestigious UK poetry prize.

After commending the high quality of the entries, Jonathan chose overall winners for the three age groups. Archie Capon (WH5) won the Senior Prize, Jack Walder (PS2) was selected for the Intermediate Prize, and James Tam (MH1) won the Novi Prize.

The new publication features the poems awarded first, second and third prize in each category, as well as all the entries that were either Highly Commended or Shortlisted.

The History Boys: top placings for Churchill essays

Three boys earned prizes following a national essay-writing competition on the subject of Sir Winston Churchill. After entering the Sir Martin Gilbert History Prize, Eddie Adams (OH4) came runner-up in the Year 11 category, while Hector Money (HS5) and Tom Pitts-Tucker (CH5) both gained a top ten finish in the Year 12 section. All three are planning on reading History at university.

The competition, run in honour of Sir Martin, the renowned late historian and biographer, invited students from across the country to give their assessment of an aspect of Churchill’s life, while demonstrating the qualities of a historian: original research, thoughtful analysis, factual accuracy and attention to detail.

Sixth Former Rory commended in national contest

An essay by Upper Sixth student Rory Smith (JH5) has been ranked as ‘Very Highly Commended’ in the Robson History Prize, a prestigious competition run by Trinity College, University of Cambridge. The prize is named in memory of historian Robert Robson, who was for many years a Fellow and Tutor at the college

Rory’s essay, which he wrote after completing two months of reading and research, compared similarities and differences between the ancient Roman and Athenian empires. He said: “I have a fascination with the past, and with comparing then to now. Tonbridge has helped to stimulate my interests further, and I am so grateful for the teaching and support I have always received here.”

Debating team’s ‘fantastic performance’ in national contest

A School team has advanced to the next round of the English-Speaking Union’s Schools’ Mace, the oldest and largest debating competition for schools in England. The team, made up of Tom Roxburgh (WH5), Jonas Freeman (MH4) and Isaac Willats (WW4), took part in the first round in January 2021. The boys are members of the School’s Debating Society and they take Debating as their Wednesday activity.

Students enhance their speech-writing, public speaking and critical thinking skills by taking part in the Mace. Tonbridge will also compete in the Oxford Schools competition (run by the Oxford Union) later this year.