Headmaster’s Newsletter
Week ending 29 June 2018 Dear Parents, So England are through to the knockout stages, and even as a Scotsman I am slightly excited by this. The loss yesterday means that they are in the better half of the draw, but it also means the next game is on at the same time as our 4th Year Parents’ Evening on Tuesday. Although your son or daughter – and perhaps you too - may be very disappointed about this, we do want to press on with the evening as it’s an important moment to review the year with you. We will encourage everyone to avoid referencing the score for those who want to watch it ‘live’ later on, and we look forward to seeing all 4th Year students and parents. This weekend marks the conclusion of this year’s Trinity Arts Festival. From karaoke at lunchtime yesterday, to a fantastic exhibition of our GCSE and A Level Art, with our Summer Concert, Just a Minute, the Film Festival and competition, a gig at Ronnie Scott’s, our Buskers’ Lunch and an outdoor production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in between (plus many more), we’ve had a great week celebrating the arts and seen many of our multi-talented students and staff take part. Thank you to everyone who has been involved and made this year’s festival such a success. Please see below for the results of this year’s Open Art Awards. First Year Economics Day Earlier this week our First Year students spent the day inventing and innovating educational products to assist school students, of any school age, that cost no more than £10. The boys researched various factors that would help determine the product’s success and presented their research to a board of investors. The teams were judged on their product idea, accuracy of research and presentation skills. The winning teams were: Joint 4th: 1B & 1D, 6th 1V & 7th 1P. 1st: 1J MagnaTidy Temi Asanbe Felix Gomulka Julian Holland Christian Pauling
2nd: 1C Gehitu Sam Adebajo Harry Ogden Lewis Tagg Ollie Veraas Brown
3rd: 1H Zip Drip Nathan Woodall Thomas Parry-Williams James Baxter
STEM Day This week's 2nd Year STEM day saw the whole year group off timetable for a series of sessions that explored the 'S', 'T' 'E' and 'M' of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths). In Biology students gleefully extracted their own DNA and preserved a sample for posterity, while in the Physics department a large Dewar of liquid nitrogen allowed them to explore the strange world of cryogenics and the joy of high-speed ice-cream. The Chemistry activity, meanwhile, was deliberately topical; against the background of concern relating to the environmental impact of plastic waste, the boys worked through the experimental steps that allowed them to make biodegradable plastics from starch. Elsewhere the Maths and Computing staff joined forces to give students an opportunity to work with Logo in the IT suite, with boys producing some impressive outcomes in the form of the sort of geometrical wizardry that lies behind CGI. The afternoon's design-and-build challenge rounded off the day with teams trying to make a working reading lamp of significant height and reach from a limited range of basic materials. Tables quickly sprouted strange cardboard growths that were coaxed, taped and counter-balanced into successful structures – or teetered and folded in ignominious collapse. Torch bulbs connected by a tangle of wires augmented by aluminium foil strips shone upwards, downwards, outwards – or sometimes not at all. Well done to Form 2M who won the competition overall, and to their sub-team 2M2 who had the highest individual team total. 2R came second and 2E third, while 2D1 and 2V1 came second and third in the individual sub-team competition. Well done to all the teams for working so well together.
Music The Trinity Music Academy, which runs on Saturdays during term time, is pleased to announce it is starting a Children’s Choir from September. It is open to all boys and girls aged 8-12 and will appeal particularly to young musicians interested in music at Trinity and siblings of Trinity students. The first rehearsal is 8 September 2018 from 10.30-12.30 in the Trinity School Music School. It will be led by Thomas Chapman, a professional singer and choir director who is a current music teacher at the school. Sessions will include fun musical games, group sessions, and full choir singing, working towards a concert performance at the end of each term. For further details please send Thomas an email at tdc@trinity.croydon.sch.uk. Ronnie Scott’s lunchtime performance Well done to the Trinity Big Band for another great performance at Ronnie Scott’s last week, as part of our annual Arts Festival. Toby Mills (L6), trombone player in the band, said: “It was an amazing experience to get to play in one of London's top Jazz Clubs, especially as I had never had the chance in previous years. It was also great to help showcase some of the singing talent in our school, with Alex Lee, Tom Foreman, Dominic Williams and Quentin Zach-Martins all putting in great performances. I can't talk about this years Ronnie's without mentioning Kieran Crowley's insane drum solo. He really helps hold the band together, and we're sad to see him go this year. We also sadly have to say goodbye to Mr. Brito, our conductor, rehearsals won't be the same without him”.
Well done to the following students on their results of the Guitar Competition adjudicated by Tim Pells on Monday. Classical Guitar Grades 2-3 1st Aaryan Roberts (1P) 2nd Stanley Chilvers (2E) 3rd Kaiyan Kataria (JW) Highly Commended Sejan Vignes (1H)
Plectrum 1st Frank Collins (JC) Highly Commended Nikolai Shulkin (2R) Grades 3-4 1st George Brown (1B) Highly Commended Luke Kirwin (4S)
Grades 4-5 1st Joseph French (4L) Highly Commended Andrew Pavalarjancroos (JL)
Grades 6-7 1st Nicholas Challier (3M) Highly Commended Ben Sharpe (5I)
Grades 6-8 1st Dominic Holland (from the Junior form!) 2nd Zander Bennett (1D) Highly Commended Brandon Man (L6)
Open Art Awards 2018 Well done to everyone who took part in this year’s Art Awards. This annual art competition was open to all members of the school community. This year’s winners are as follows: Parent / Family Winner Open Art Awards Winner Open Art Award runner-up Open Art Award runner-up Staff prize
Nira Dandiker Surya Vijayanand (3V) Anish Shah (2M) and Devina Shah (L6) Harry Foster (2D) Rachael Bainbridge
Sport We were delighted to welcome former student Jamal-Marcus Rhoden-Stevens back to the school this week. Jamal is a GB 400m athlete and came to the school to run a sprint mechanics workshop; he coached the boys through a series of drills and then split the boys into 'short distance' and 'middle - long distance' runners and sprinters. The short distance sprinters worked on transitioning from their acceleration phase into top speed, whilst the middle - long distance runners worked on running form under fatigue. The session then finished with sprint starts and some races! Jamal was then kind enough to stick around for a Q&A offering advice to our young athletes. Congratulations to Joseph Claxton (4S) who won double-gold at the International Martial Arts Tang Soo Do World Championships in Bedford recently. Joe is hoping to secure his black belt at an Invitational Tournament in October this year. What a great experience for First Formers Alfie Johnson (2D) and Conor Giblin (2E) who spent a day coaching with the Real Madrid Foundation coaches in St John’s, Leatherhead! They both made a great impression on the Real Madrid coaches, both on and off the pitch! Congratulations to Charlie Short (L6) who won bronze in the senior boys hammer with a new personal best of 39.66 at the recent Surrey School Athletics Championships. It has been another great year for our cricket teams. Well done to Aarush Wangoo (2E) for his 103 v Whitgift and Jay Evemy (3D) for his 133 v Ardingly last weekend. Below is an update of where we are in the cup competitions; U11 – 3rd in the Region at National level U12 – Finals day at Whitgift on Monday 2nd July U13 – County Cup Runners up U14 – Final on Monday 2nd July U15 – Final on Thursday 5th July Sports Results Cricket 13A County Cup Rokeby 124-7 (25) Trinity 126-2 (18) Wangoo 63*. Trinity win by 8 wickets 13B Trinity 125-7 (20) Lawrence-Green 50 Dulwich Prep London 110-8 (20). Trinity win by 15 runs 13C DPL 114-7 (20) Trinity 115-4 (15). Trinity win by 6 wickets 13D Trinity 114-7 (20) DPL 115-3 (15). Trinity lose by 7 wickets 14A County Cup Trinity 151ao (24) Khurll 30 Charterhouse 95ao (20) Burcombe 3-20.Trinity win by 65 runs 13A Wilsons 106-7 (20) Trinity 66ao (14). Trinity lose by 40 runs 12A Trinity 148-7 (20) Dulwich Prep London 74-7 (20). Trinity win by 74 runs 12B DPL 48ao (15) Sweeney 3-3, Wilkie 3-5 Trinity 49-4 (10). Trinity win by 6 wickets 12C DPL 134 (20) Trinity 118ao (20). Trinity lose by 16 runs 12D Trinity 133-5 (20) DPL 113-7 (20). Trinity win by 20 runs 11A Regional Final Trinity beat KCS Trinity lost to Cumnor House Trinity beat Cranmore Trinity come third on runs difference. 15A County Cup Semi Wilsons 39ao (12) Jamil 3-7 Lilley 4- 10 Trinity 43-2 (8).Trinity win by 8 wickets 12A County ¼ FinalTrinity 87ao (20) Beadle 30 Kingston 80ao (17).Trinity win by 7 runs 12B Trinity 115-8 (20) Wilsons As 116-1 (15).Trinity lose by 9 wickets 12C Trinity 118-6 (20) Wilsons 112-8 (20).Trinity win by 7 runs 11A Postponed 1st X1 Ardingly 251-7 (50) Trinity 251-7 (50). Tied game 2nd X1Trinity 130-5 (20) Vickars 35 Sharpe 31* Ardingly 120-8 (20) Vickars 3-18, Khan 3-17. Trinity win by 10 runs 15A Ardingly 111ao (25) Owen 3-16 Malhotra 3-22 Trinity 112-4 (18) Unnithan 41*. Trinity win by 6 wickets 15B Trinity 130-8 (14) Ardingly 131-3 (18). Trinity lose by 7 wickets 14A Trinity 236-4 (25) Evemy 133 Ardingly 66ao (18). Trinity win by 170 runs 14B Ardingly 74-9 (20) Trinity 75-1 (14). Trinity win by 9 wickets 13A Whitgift 233-4 (25) Trinity 190-3 (25) Wangoo 103. Trinity lose by 43 runs 13B Whitgift 190 (20) Trinity 50ao (10). Trinity lose by 10 wickets 13C Whitgift 140-5 (20) Trinity 127-5 (20). Trinity lose by 13 runs 12A Whitgift 130-4 (20) Trinity 90-8 (20).Trinity lose by 40 runs 12B Whitgift 107-8 (20) Trinity 109-9 (19.4). Trinity win by 1 wicket 12C Trinity 110ao (20) Whitgift 111-0 (15). Trinity lose by 10 wickets
Colombia Day Fourth Year Spanish students took part in ‘Colombia Day’ on Thursday to learn more about this fascinating country and its culture. The event was a collaborative project with JAGS and we welcomed 35 of their Year 10 girls to Trinity to work with our boys. We welcomed Felipe Ángel from the PROCOLOMBIA organisation, who spoke to the students about the incredible natural beauty of the country and wealth of products that it exports. Students also took part in workshops on diverse topics such as the artist Fernando Botero, the singer Shakira and the legacy of the infamous Pablo Escobar. Students and staff were treated to delicious and authentic Colombian food by our catering department and the event was rounded off in the afternoon with the gripping film María Full of Grace. Modern Foreign Languages Extension Day Earlier this week 16 of our Lower Sixth linguists visited Alleyn’s to take part in a Modern Foreign Language extension day to encourage them to continue with their language studies. The afternoon began with a talk by Huw Edwards (BBC News Presenter), who talked about his degree in French and German and how useful it has been in his career. The self-confessed French grammar ‘anorak’ extolled the virtues of learning languages and spoke about the increased importance of them in post-Brexit Britain. Students then attended talks on topics as diverse as Magical Realism, the Stasi and Politics in Spanish football, which gave them an insight in to what studying at University might entail. Third Year Trip to Ypres Last weekend 37 boys and 5 staff visited the Commonwealth and German war graves in and around Ypres, followed by visiting the Menin Gate to observe the last post ceremony at 8pm in memory of the fallen. The Ypres salient, one of the few places along the Western Front to see continuous fighting during the First World War, is where many battles, including Passchendaele, took place, as well as where the largest Commonwealth War Grave cemetery anywhere in the world, Tyne Cot, can be found with 11,965 soldiers buried there, of which 8,369 are unidentified. In addition to visiting the First World War Battlefields, students also visited the Oostende Atlantik Wall museum, where sections of the Atlantic Wall have been preserved to give an impression of the fortifications that faced allied soldiers on D-Day in 1944. Christmas Ski Trip to Sierra Nevada The Christmas Ski Trip this year is to Sierra Nevada in Spain, including a day trip to Granada and the Alhambra on the last day. The trip is open to any one in the current J, 1st, 2nd, or 3rd Years and will leave on 16th December, returning on the 22nd. The total cost is £1,280.00 and if anyone is interested, they should see Mr Price or Mr Brennan as soon as possible please. Social Enterprise Workshop Next Wednesday our Fourth Years will be off-timetable for a Social Enterprise Workshop day called the ‘Trinity Social Challenge’. It will be a really exciting, productive and engaging day, run by a team of award-winning social entrepreneurs, teaching our students about commerce and industry with a sense of social or ethical responsibility, as well as a wide range of professional skills from marketing to budgeting. They will be working in small groups on key social issues (such as homelessness or ecology) and generating their own social enterprise that they will pitch at the end of the day in a Dragons’-Den-style final session. The first session of the day will be run by returning Trinity Alumnus Cemal Ezel, the founder of Change Please, who won UK Social Entrepreneur of the Year in 2017 and has just been crowned Global Winner of the Chivas Venture 2018, an internationally-renowned Social Enterprise competition.
Intermediate Biology Olympiad Last week 16 of our Lower Sixth Biologists took part in the Intermediate Biology Olympiad 2018. 6,580 students from 409 schools worldwide participated this year. Our students achieved the following: Owen Harries Ibraheem Siddiqui Daniel-Paul Osahon Katie Woolcott Michael Eagling Niamh Singleton Mollie Palmer Joel Okolo-Hunter
Gold Gold Silver Bronze Bronze Bronze Bronze Bronze
Kekeli Chen-Kwawu Alexandra King Funmi Morgan Owais Hasan Tayyab Hasan Renee Brown
Highly Commended Highly Commended Highly Commended Highly Commended Commended Commended
Learning for the Future This Wednesday we were honoured to welcome a range of teaching and learning leads from top local independent and state schools to Trinity for a Teaching and Learning conference. Under the title of ‘Learning for the Future’ delegates saw keynote talks and took part in breakout sessions that covered topics including what skills students will need to learn; how learning might be influenced by technology, and how, as teachers, we can be positive role models as progressive and constant learners. Our keynote speakers included Guy Claxton (visiting Professor at KCL), David Weston (CEO of the Teacher Development Trust) and our Teaching and Learning Committee Chair Saj Jetha (Founder of the Smarty Train). The breakout sessions were run by Trinity teachers alongside our peers from local schools. The day was a great success, full of excited conversation and ideas to take us into the next academic year! TPA Prombola It is only a week to go until the end of term and the TPA Trinity Proms on Saturday 7th July. The weather forecast is for a warm summer day with temperatures in the high 20C! Thank you to everyone who has bought a ticket and is supporting this event — we’re looking forward to seeing you there to celebrate the end of the school year with wonderful music, great food and fireworks. You will receive an email this shortly confirming details for the evening. If you haven’t got your ticket yet they are still available online or via the school office, and will be available on the door on the evening. Any questions regarding the event should be sent to tpa@trinity.croydon.sch.uk. A reminder that the TPA would be very grateful for any bottle donations for the Prombola Raffle, which will take place at the event. All funds raised will go to providing free school meals to children in one of the poorest countries in the world. Please take donations to the school office. Forthcoming Events Date Friday 6 July
Event Name Term ends
Location
Saturday 7 July
TPA Proms
School Field
Wednesday 5 September
First day of term
With my best wishes for a great weekend, Alasdair Kennedy