In Trinity Magazine - Spring 2022

Spotlight on Culture Week / Page 4 A whole-school celebration of our culture of inclusion

Midsummer in Malmö / Page 30 A return to the international stage

In Trinity Magazine Issue 2: Spring 2022

A look inside Trinity School

2 In Trinity Magazine Sustainability matters

“The aim is that our students will leave us as well-informed young people who care about our environment, and that they will have confidence and motivation to be part of the change process that we will need on a global scale.”

Alasdair Kennedy Headmaster

In Trinity Magazine Sustainability matters 3

Forming part of the change process

Headmaster, Alasdair Kennedy, considers the next steps...

“Our world is extraordinarily beautiful and fragile… our young people must be both inspired and equipped to tackle the global challenges that lie ahead.”

Speaking in 2017, these are the words of Dr Francisco Diego, a Senior Teaching Fellow at UCL, who also spoke at Trinity recently on the origin and wonder of the universe as part of our Facets of Science lecture evening.

Sustainability matters to us and our students, and there is much we can do, now, to change the way we work for better environmental outcomes. We need to lead with action, but we want our students to see how they can be part of that leadership; there is an obvious and impressive appetite among them, as well as among staff and governors, to ensure Trinity is part of the solution.

Our student Green Council has been excellent in encouraging the community to think about paper, plastic, transport and our consumption of meat, for example, but as they know and tell us, the big difference globally will be made by making significant changes and investment on a large scale.

One of the goals we have set for the school is to become carbon neutral as quickly as we can, and we are going to make significant progress towards this in the next three years. Our latest carbon footprint report shows us there are three main areas to tackle in our school activity.

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Firstly, our electrical energy: Four years ago, we installed the largest solar array on any school in Europe, and this now provides one third of our annual electrical energy requirement.

There are times when we generate more than we can use and this is fed back into the grid, but we are going to increase the size of this array further.

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Secondly, our heating: This currently accounts for nearly half of our annual footprint, through the gas used in our boilers. These will take some time to change entirely, and the replacement technology is still advancing, but a significant part of this usage is for our swimming pool, and we can address this relatively quickly; by 2023, we are aiming to separate it from the rest of our heating system and use pumps to recycle its energy.

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Thirdly, and where we have most discretion, is our use of flights for overseas trips. These provide some of the most memorable and life-changing experiences for our students, but they account for about one third of our total footprint. We have annual, world trips – such as taking our Lower Sixth to our partner school in Malawi every summer – that we will want to continue, and we will need to offset these journeys. Our range of trips will have to adapt however, and we will look to use other forms of transport to Europe, and find more destinations within the UK.

There are wider consumer and transport issues particularly that we need to consider. The aim is however that our students will leave us as well-informed young people who care about our environment, and that they will have confidence and motivation to be part of the change process that we will need on a global scale. We hope we can inspire and equip them for this.

4 In Trinity Magazine Culture and Diversity

Cultu

A week of celebration

Culture Week was born out of the Senior Prefects’ desire to enjoy a week-long celebration of the diversity within our community, writes Miss Boorman.

After a period of significant disruption, when we have been kept apart through a number of lockdowns, Culture Week aimed to bring everyone together by sharing something of our heritage and culture. We live in a diverse and multicultural community and this is something to be celebrated.

I was so proud of everything that the Senior Prefects put together. Thanks to James Duffy there were different sports available to try (‘kabaddi’ and ‘ki-o-rahi’);

El Harrison worked with the catering team to ensure there was a range of food throughout the week; and

Safi Tiotto-Smith liaised with the library for a display of different books to view.

We lost count of the number of entries we received for the creative competition, run by Safi and Mr Petty; these ranged from huge posters and hand-written poems to carefully curated videos or fact-files, and they proved both incredibly fun and challenging to judge!

Barnaby Corry curated a brilliant languages fair which saw a range of different languages being spoken and games being played.

On the Friday, a non-uniform day, some Sixth Form students opted to wear their cultural dress. This was really special to see, with students really interested in the array of dress and what it meant to each individual.

The star of the show was the whole school mural, hand-drawn by Surya Vijayanand and co-ordinated by Bilal Ismail, and which took pride of place in the TCH circus. Every student and member of staff was able to add a dot (or dots) to the country that they call home, or where they have roots.

There was a real buzz around the map every morning and lunchtime, as students across the year groups stood and discussed the wide range of cultures in our community. In addition, form groups were invited to write a short comment to explain what culture means to them. These make up the sea on the map. My favourite moment of the whole week was walking past the map to see Mr Kennedy deep in conversation with a J Bug. The event has really brought everyone together and sparked interest and curiosity.

My sincere thanks go to the Senior Prefects!

In Trinity Magazine Culture and Diversity 5

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Trinity’s inaugural Culture Week brought our community together with a jam-packed line up of events.

Kabaddi

Yash Shetty helped to host a ‘Kabaddi’ match.

He explains: “Kabaddi is a contact team sport, thought to hail from the Vedic period of ancient India. Played between two teams of seven players, the objective is for a single player on offence, known as the ‘raider’, to run into the opposing team’s half of the court and touch out as many defenders as possible before returning to their own half, all in a single breath. The defending team aims to tackle, restrain or push the attached out of bounds to gain the point for the raid.

“As part of Trinity’s Culture Week, India Society decided to host Trinity’s first Kabaddi match for Fourth Year students. As my Indian heritage is such a significant part of my identity and with sport being such an integral part of Trinity, it only felt natural to provide the opportunity for students to engage in the action-packed game.

“The energy and atmosphere they created was incredible! Seeing students hopelessly attempt to claw their way to their half, shouting ‘I got this!’, even when being restrained by six of their peers were some of the funniest scenes I have ever witnessed.

“It was delightfully entertaining to see the students give their everything to take on their friends and the creative trash-talking was nothing short of hilarious. It was also satisfying to hear the positive reception from participants - with many asking for subsequent rematches to be held.”

14 In Trinity Magazine Enrichment

Enrichment

From pole vaulting, taking on painting commissions, studying Japanese outside of school, and writing custom Artificial Intelligence, Trinity students are finding a variety of ways to pursue their passions.

“Finding pleasure even in the most mundane processes … will yield great success,” is Sixth Form student Lev Titov’s advice. Certainly it’s true that a number of our students have found that grasping opportunities, finding pleasure in a variety of activities, being resourceful and taking the initiative has delivered well-deserved rewards.

Sixth Form student, Yash Shetty, for instance, achieved a CREST Gold award for his independent research project which looked at the right foods to eat to avoid Coronary Heart Disease. CREST is a nationally recognised scheme focused on STEM subjects and involves the immersion in research to make an original contribution to a field of study.

“My interest in health and fitness burgeoned during the first lockdown,” he explains. “I would recommend that any student take the initiative and pursue their academic inclinations beyond the classroom. The knowledge and understanding gained will stay with me for life.”

“The advice I was given is the best: ‘Be bold; be busy; be organised!’ It’s easy to go along with the crowd, or do things that everyone else is doing, but to try something new and find a unique passion is very important...”

Yash Shetty Crest Gold Award for independent research

In Trinity Magazine Enrichment 15

Varun Ravikumar British Mathematical Olympiad

Meanwhile, Gracie Whitter, who is studying Maths, Further Maths, Physics, and Art at A Level, has been working on an Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) entitled: ‘How has Brutalism helped shape our perceptions of social housing in the UK?’. She says that this formed a foundation for research around architecture, which solidified her resolve to study the subject at university. Alongside all of this, she has been working on various painting commissions.

“It’s so rewarding watching all the hard work and preparation pay off,” she says. “So far, this year-and-a-bit of Sixth Form has been the best time of my school career. Alongside schoolwork, prefect duties and mentoring, I also volunteer at my local Brownies group. One of my favourite extra-curricular clubs at school is Ceramics Club, and last term I made a ceramic hippo head, which I gifted to my parents for Christmas (pictured, right). At Trinity, my peers motivate me to work harder,” she adds.

Gracie Whitter Ceramic Hippo head

Varun Ravikumar, who has an offer from Cambridge to study Maths, has entered a variety of competitions which have stretched his learning. He particularly enjoyed working as a team with others: “Some competitions have been individual, such as the British Mathematical Olympiad. This gives the participant three-and-a-half hours to solve six difficult problems, and full written solutions - rather than simply the answers - are required. Others have been team competitions, such as Hans Woyda, which requires one participant from Third Form, Fifth Form, Lower Sixth, and Upper Sixth. We race against our counterparts, in a fashion comparable to University Challenge. Some of my fondest memories at school have been with the team I competed with during Fifth Year. There was just so much camaraderie and team spirit.”

He adds: “There is, firstly, virtually nothing in life worth having that does not require hard work, and in particular I have found that the gap in ability between yourself and those around you - with apparently more raw talent - can often be closed through sheer dedication and practice.

“You should, also, be careful not to let failures and setbacks demoralise you. My first couple of Olympiads went disastrously, but I made sure to analyse my performance carefully in order to create a launch pad off of which to improve.”

18 In Trinity Magazine Sport

LET’S PL AY.

Sport

When it comes to sport, the prime focus at Trinity is on making sure that students are enjoying themselves, writes Mr Page.

Remembering to have fun Whether out on the tennis courts or in the swimming pool, we want students to have fun and build long-lasting relationships with their peers and teachers. As such, Trinity offers a multi-dimensional cocurricular programme with more than 20 different sports taking place each week.

We are aware that there is sometimes a tendency to forget that sports are meant to be fun: enthusiasm for the ambition of becoming a professional athlete can lead to the belief that the route to the top is to specialise in a single sport from a young age. On the contrary, children who participate in a variety of sports are in fact more likely to form a long-lasting passion for physical exercise and ultimately compete at elite level.

So, our ‘multi-sport’ approach is designed to benefit students in their development of physical literacy skills. Learning fundamental movements and coordination at a young age is critical to development.

By practising skills such as running, throwing, and catching, students gain the confidence as well as the ability to participate in a variety of physical activities, whether in before school, lunchtime or after-school clubs.

Encouraging curiosity Multi-sport participation also helps ensure that students are exposed to sports that require different movements and motor skills. Second Year student, Daniel Farrell, for instance, has really made the most of the multi-sport opportunity on offer at Trinity; getting stuck into a plethora of activities across the school year. In the Winter term, he plays Rugby, Football, Hockey and Basketball, and in the Summer term, Tennis, Cricket and Squash. Daniel competes in regular fixtures on the weekend for Trinity, having been selected for A, B, C and D teams amongst the variety of sports.

Forming new relationships As well as gaining a competitive spirit, students like Daniel learn the value of what it means to be a team player and how to bounce back from adversity.

Competing at the highest level is certainly something that we respect and pay close attention to, however what’s more important is that students - regardless of what level they play at - come away with a love and passion for sport. We aim to give the same care and support to students that want to form new relationships, stay physically fit and be part of the sporting community, as we do our elite-level performers.

Students thrive at Trinity in no small part because of their eagerness to learn and the relationships they have with coaching staff. Coaches bring energy and joy to every session, whether it be on-field rugby sessions, video analysis, strength and conditioning, leadership meetings or individual mentoring and, in turn, we get the best from our students.

And this past year has seen the Trinity Rugby 1st XV reach new heights; making it all the way to Twickenham stadium for the final of the National Cup – which it went on to win! The Senior team were also crowned winners of the Seaford Southern 10s after scoring a winning try in extra time. They showed tremendous spirit and character to come from behind in both the final two games, with every individual doing their bit to help the team to the title.

In Trinity Magazine Sport Success 19 at the National Cup for Trinity Rugby

28 In Trinity Magazine Drama

Drama.

Miss Robinson, Head of Academic Drama, on some of the highlights of the year so far.

“Live theatre has nothing to say to the youth of today.” Such a statement is typical of those with which our Sixth Form students must engage in Component 3 of their A Level exam, considering the success of a production in light of a controversial statement about theatre’s resonance today.

After years of engaging with live performance only through streamed and online versions, it has been an utter joy to take students to the theatre again, and to confirm that this statement is, entirely, incorrect. As fortunate as we have been to be able to access theatre online whilst their doors have been closed, nothing replaces the excited hush and slow fade of lights before the show starts, or the novelty of a half-time ice cream and the buzz on the train home as students discuss the show.

Miss Robinson Head of Academic Drama

Love through apartheid Our Sixth Form students started the term with ‘Statements after an Arrest Under the Immorality Act’, a hard-hitting play about a relationship forbidden during the South African apartheid. The intimacy and claustrophobia of the Orange Tree Theatre’s traditional in the round performance space reinforced the themes of mistrust and surveillance presented in the dialogue, and prompted perceptive and meaningful questions from our students in subsequent discussions.

The Seven Pomegranate Seeds In the second half of term, we saw the world premiere of Colin Teevan’s ‘The Seven Pomegranate Seeds’ [photo above] which transposed seven of Euripides’ famous tragic women into modern scenarios with a stark but powerful set comprised of wooden doorframes, weighted strings and metal scaffolding. Students thoroughly enjoyed this production, engaging in a passionate debate in class about the messages it presented about female autonomy, adoption, murder and domestic abuse. As well as contributing to students’ written work, the stylised acting in this production has hugely influenced students’ practical work in the classroom too.

Inspiration from the West End November saw our GCSE students head to the West End to see the criticallyacclaimed adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s novel ‘The Ocean at the End of the Lane’ which transferred from the National Theatre in the summer of 2021. The show featured outstanding use of puppetry, set design and lighting to tell the heartwarming story of Boy and his friendship with Lettie Hempstock, an ageless girl from a family of witches who help him fight other-worldly battles with alien creatures who emerge from his bathroom plughole… This production provided GCSE students with a brilliant opportunity to work closely with Mr Burn to explore stage lighting [photos left] in anticipation and in response to the production of ‘The Ocean at the End of the Lane’ which won a Laurence Olivier award for its lighting in 2020.

Drama Scholars’ Showcase In October we presented the inaugural Trinity Drama Scholars’ Showcase, an opportunity for Drama scholars from all year groups to perform a monologue or duologue of their choice in front of a small audience of family and teachers. Joining them were three LAMDA students who had upcoming assessments, whose performance in front of an audience hugely benefited their confidence as they approached their exams.

We had a brilliant range of texts chosen, from the sublime Romeo and Juliet, 4.48 Psychosis to the slightly more ridiculous Charlie Brown and Humpty Dumpty. Students coped exceptionally well with the demands of independent rehearsal at a busy time of term (all were involved in Shrek at the time!); particular congratulations to Anna, Phoebe, Arthur and Hector for whom this showcase took place during their first half term at Trinity.

The Life of Pi In November, our Drama Scholars went to see ‘Life of Pi’ in London’s West End. Third Year student, Jacob Haunstetter, writes: “There was plenty of anticipation to see how ‘Life of Pi’ had been adapted from screen to stage; but also because it was the Scholars’ first drama trip. The story was captivating, a young man stranded at sea with the presence of a tiger - representing himself. His journey of emotional growth was effectively demonstrated by the puppetry, which enticed those in the audience. The production was unlike anything we had seen before. Everything felt fresh and new – the puppetry, the projection, the abstract technology. You could tell the actors were delighted to be back onstage. It was great to be back in the theatre!”

34 In Trinity Magazine Art and Design

In Trinity Magazine Art and Design 35

Q&A with our new Director of Art, Mr Robertson

How are you finding your first year as Trinity’s Director of Art? It has been great. I have really enjoyed getting to know the school community. The Art department itself is a place of wonder; full of exciting happenings and no two days are the same.

Where were you working before? Did you train as an artist? Prior to Trinity, I taught at a local independent girls’ school. Before becoming a teacher, I worked as a professional practicing artist and was lucky enough to exhibit my work internationally.

Some of these opportunities stemmed from my university experience as both an undergraduate at the Slade School of Fine Art (UCL) and postgraduate at the Royal Academy Schools.

What have you been most surprised or impressed by? Besides the outstanding facilities, it really has been the students that I teach and seeing the buzz around the department, with co-curricular clubs such as ceramics and textiles making a big impact.

On a Wednesday we have our resident ceramics specialist, Martha MacDonald, and each week up to 40 students from across all age groups have been attending her club. This is really exciting to see.

What have been some of the stand-out pieces of work? There are lots of fantastic students in the department, especially when you look to our GCSE and A Level cohort. This year I teach a great Fourth Year and Lower Sixth class.

They have all really impressed me with their work ethic and engagement. We have also recently held exam-style practical days for the Fifth Year and Upper Sixth, so there are lots of great pieces to see. I am starting to get some of this work onto our new Instagram account, so please do follow and support us!

What are your plans for the Art Department? In the short term we have been developing the curriculum, with some exciting new projects that include sculpture, textiles and photography.

We are continually looking to expand our facilities and have established a specific textiles area with a new sublimation dye printer. Moving on, I am keen to develop our artist-in-residency programme and events for the Shaw Gallery.

What do we have to look forward to for the rest of this academic year? Lots of exciting work! We are all looking forward to seeing what the students create this term - especially with the GCSE and A Level students in mind. I am sure they will do themselves proud and I can’t wait to see their final exhibition.