ASSEMBLYSPRING 2012 From the Headmaster
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don’t think it is widely known but this is my third spell at Arnold House. Most recently, of course, I have had the privilege of being the School’s sixth Head since it was founded by Miss Hanson in 1905 and named after the great educationalist Dr. Thomas Arnold of Rugby School. Between 1997 and 2001 I was Head of Maths, teaching in what is now 3J’s Form room, and given Deputy Head responsibilities along the way by my predecessor Nicholas Allen. I first set foot in Arnold House, however, in the summer term of 1987, when the then Head Johnny Clegg employed me as a cover teacher for a term shortly before I joined the staff at UCS Senior School. When, the other day, I was reminded of my association with Arnold House spanning nearly 25 years I began to reflect on how
much the School had changed over the years. After a while, however, I became more interested in what had not changed because Arnold House has been a highly sought-after and popular prep school destination for London families for a very long time. Its special strength, I believe, lies in the fact that people who have an association with the School, be it in 2012, 1987 or previous to that, share the same values – and these values have stood the test of time. When this happens in an institution one is in the healthy position of being able to create strong and effective teams made up of individuals who enjoy
Wine Man’s Bluff
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n Tuesday 13th March, the School in association with the Board of Friends, hosted an exciting evening in St James’s. Attended by current parents and past supporters of the Bursary Fund, the evening started with a “Wine Man’s Bluff” led by Arnold House old boy and world famous wine writer Hugh Johnson OBE. Hugh was joined on the panel by Robert Atkin, fellow AH old boy and vineyard owner, and the Headmaster, Vivian Thomas. All the panel members thoroughly entertained
the audience with stories (some quite far-fetched!) about the wine they were tasting making it a difficult task to work out who was indeed telling the truth. The game was followed by a delicious two course meal and an update on the Bursary Fund and the ongoing successes of Arnold House bursary boys to date. We were then joined by Sotheby’s Auctioneer, Adrian Biddell, who conducted a highly entertaining auction. The evening raised close to £20,000 for the Bursary Fund, a figure that far exceeded our expectations. We would like to thank everyone for their support of this event, the many generous donations on the evening together with those we receive throughout the school year. Stephanie Miller Director of Development
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each others company and look forward to working together. At Arnold House in 2012 I rely on all sorts of teams to enable the School to function to its optimum; teaching, management, administration, governing body, Board of Friends, Parents’ Association, ’42 Club, catering, maintenance, Canons Park, development; and I never fail to be struck by how much people care about Arnold House, what it stands for as a School, and how it continues to shape young boys in the right way. Viv Thomas Headmaster
Farewell to the King’s Troop “The Last Hurrah!”
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n Monday 6th February two historic events were marked in a single, splendid occasion. 6th February is Accession Day (the date on which Her Majesty the Queen took the throne, in 1952). This year marks the 60th anniversary of that event. Because the date also marks the death of her beloved father, King George VI, it is not appropriate to observe it as a date of great celebration – instead we will mark the Diamond (60th) Jubilee in June. However each year on this date in February a special 41 gun salute is fired in Hyde Park. This is always performed by the King’s Troop of the Royal Horse Artillery. This famous and long serving regiment has been based in St John’s Wood since 1825 and their mounted soldiers in splendid uniform are a familiar sight to local residents. However a decision has now been made to close the barracks and move the regiment to Woolwich in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. Monday 6th February was the day the troops and horses relocated and “The Last Hurrah” was organised by St John’s Wood Church and the St John’s Wood Society to bid farewell and to show the community’s appreciation of the King’s Troop.
“ We spoke to a pearly kin g, he told us it took 5 months for him to sew all the buttons on his jacket.” Ma x Lipman (Year 1)
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There is little doubt this aim was achieved in style. Boys from Y1-6 at Arnold House joined thousands of other primary school aged children from local schools to line the High Street as the troops rode along, with the gun carriages, to fire the salute in Hyde Park. There was singing and flag waving from the children and many adults lining the route and the press was out in force, with many papers carrying pictures. There were foreign news crews too, reflecting the world wide interest in the bigger picture of the Jubilee. The Arnold House boys looked very smart in their blazers and can be seen clearly in some of the press photographs.
“I enjoyed watching the King’s Troop because it was a lovely sight to see them all polished and proud. I especially liked learning that many of the horses came from Ireland and is one of the reasons they were so big.” James Flaherty (Year 4) gs, then a bright “ First we sang a few son e came to warn us flashing police motorbik s were coming.” that some galloping horse Leonardo Seibel (Year 1)
The School will be planning a series of events to mark the Jubilee at the end of the first half of next term and, following the amazing success of “The Last Hurrah”, there are plans for a St John’s Wood based community event during the Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend. John Hill Deputy Headmaster
“The upright soldiers looked extremely experienced on the back of their sturdy horses. While I watched them go by I thought to myself, this is definitely a day to remember.” Milton Gibney (Year 4)
impatient. When “Some horses were a little e songs. And we were there we sang som sticks on their hats. some of the soldiers had rses had artillery Some had feathers. The ho rite bit was when on their backs. My favou ads about.” they were shaking their he Luke Widdowson (Year 2)
Geography Department
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eography in the Pre-prep forms part of Topic. The boys learn about their homes and local community and practise map work. They very much enjoy the ‘Where in the World is Barnaby Bear’ module. Year 2 boys learn amongst other things about travel and transport which includes a great day out at the London Transport Museum. Fully fledged Geography starts in Year 3 where the boys learn a range of skills such as map work and, knowledge of global location using graphs and drawing plans. This continues at a pace in Year 4 and the boys are introduced to the water cycle, weather and the concept of water as a precious resource.
flag, the card included statistics about population, GDP and major physical features. The boys loved playing against each other and the prize card to capture was affluent Luxembourg. In Year 6, the boys learn three main topics which are part of the Common Entrance syllabus: Earthquakes and Volcanoes, Weather and Climate and Environmental Issues. All the topics are very different and require separate skills. The boys are always enthused by earthquakes and volcanoes and these modules really encourage the boys to be aware of the world that they live in. We were lucky enough to be visited by Professor Woods, Head Volcanologist at Cambridge University, who delivered a fascinating insight in the science behind volcanoes. The recent earthquake in Haiti is a case study that the boys look at very closely. We have had an array of work such as a power point presentations on Yellowstone Park, extensive research into numerous earthquakes, and most recently the boys have looked at various factors as to why the UK gets the weather and climate that it does, using the data from the Met Office website.
shaped the amazing landscape and collect data for their fieldwork project. The boys combine their ICT lessons and Geography lessons in the summer term to produce their assignment which counts for 20% of their Common Entrance Geography grade. As part of the Geography Common entrance syllabus the boys have to learn the exact location of about 300 countries, cities, mountains, seas and oceans as well as other physical features. This accounts for at least 15% of the overall mark but can be arduous for the boys to learn. The Global Location League is a break-time activity for Year 8 boys, which combines Geography with the basic principles of football to encourage the boys to learn in an enjoyable manner. OS map reading skills are honed in the boys’ final year at Arnold House along with revision through practice papers and further syllabus content in preparation for the all important entrance examinations. I was buoyed this term when an old boy, now in Year 10, visited Arnold House on his day off. When I asked him about Geography at his senior school. ‘Mr Stones’, he said, ‘We know it all already.’ Seb Stones Head of Geography
Year 5 concentrate on Physical Geography, rivers, coasts as well as map work. An exciting innovation last year, aimed at assisting the boys’ learning about the characteristics of a range of countries, involved a team of boys producing a set of Top Trump cards. Adorned with the nations’
In Year 7 the boys have a chance to visit the beautiful timeless Jurassic coast in Dorset. Year 7 trip to D Here they study the processes that have orset last June
The History of Arnold House School
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e are pleased to announce that the School has appointed author Nigel Watson and publishers Millennium to create a ‘History of Arnold House’ book tracing the School’s heritage from 1905 to date. Nigel has been writing corporate histories since 1983 and is experienced in the research, writing and production of all types of corporate history but with a strong focus on universities, schools and colleges.
Nigel will be spending a number of weeks at Arnold House during the summer term researching our archives and reading the well-preserved diaries of the School’s founder Amy Hanson. He will also meet and interview a number of members of the Arnold House community past and present in order to gain a full insight into the history of the School.
The book will be available to purchase from June 2013, with all profits going to the School’s Bursary Fund. If you have anything that you would like to contribute to the book, please contact me on 020 7266 6989 or email smiller@arnoldhouse.co.uk Stephanie Miller Director of Development ASSEMBLY
Interview with Arnold House old boy James Japhet (1989-97)
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ames was a second generation Japhet to attend Arnold House, his father Antony Japhet having attended the School from 1945-52. On completing his education, James has pursued an interesting career in Sports Television as the Creative Director of HawkeEye Innovations, the cutting edge of James in Year 1 officiating technology used in broadcasting major sporting events worldwide. What you have done since leaving Arnold House? On leaving AH, having already fallen in love with sport and in particular cricket, I went to Westminster School. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there (almost as much as AH!) and having finished my A-levels decided to take a gap year. I went off to play and coach cricket in Sydney for their summer before starting a degree in History at the University of Manchester. Three years later having completed my degree I found myself back in Sydney playing another season of cricket and on my return heard about an opportunity with Hawk-Eye. It all happened so quickly really, there I was at my interview and the very next day I found myself at Trent Bridge cricket ground starting my training! Since then, in the five years with the company, I’ve operated the system at every major cricket tournament and series all over the globe to television audiences, in some cases of over a billion people. Please explain a bit about what you do at Hawk-Eye? At the moment I am responsible for overseeing what everyone sees at home on television across all the sports that we cover, as well as pushing the product forward and continuing to find interesting and innovative ways to entertain and inform the viewer. I still spend a fair proportion of my time travelling and operating the system all over the globe (I’m currently working in the Caribbean covering the West Indies v Australia series) and have managed to fill
3 passports with entry and exit visas over my time with Hawk-Eye. My travels with cricket have taken me to Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the West Indies, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Dubai, whilst I’ve also done a fair bit of globe trotting with the tennis side of our business. What advice would you give our current boys should they wish to follow in your footsteps and pursue a career in television? Working within sports television was something that I had never really considered when growing up and came across this opportunity somewhat by chance. I think that not being overly concerned, if you’re not one of those lucky enough to know exactly what you want to do growing up, and to grasp any opportunity that may fall your way. Whether it be cricket or music, for example if that’s your passion, there are many weird and wonderful careers out there so don’t be afraid to give something a go if an opportunity arises. What are your overriding memories of Arnold House? My memories of AH are remarkably vivid, from my first day wearing an oversized red blazer, to playing cricket down at the bottom of the playground under the supervision of Mr Martin, to coming off second best to a lamp post whilst walking two by two down to a church service! The overriding memory though, has to be the
enjoyment that I took from those 8 years, both in the classroom and whilst playing sport. How has being an Arnold House pupil impacted your life? AH has had a huge impact on my life, not only providing me with an awful lot of memories that will stay with me forever, but also offering me the chance to try my hand at so very much and fall in love with sport from an early age. What was your favourite subject at School? My favourite subject at school was by far and away History. I remember sitting in Mr Newman’s class transfixed by the Middle Ages and then the added bonus of being able to play Castles (a history based black board game that Mr Newman invented) at the end of each term! Have you stayed in touch with any of your fellow pupils? The advent of Facebook has made keeping in touch with my peers that much easier, which is just as well as I don’t get the opportunity to spend all that much time in London. I’ll hopefully see a few familiar faces at the ‘42 Club dinner in May!
James on one of his business trips to India
1st XI Cricket Team in 1997
Arnold House School 1 Loudoun Road St. John’s Wood, London NW8 0LH Telephone: 020 7266 4840 Facsimile: 020 7266 6994 Email: office@arnoldhouse.co.uk Website: www.arnoldhouse.co.uk Arnold House School Ltd (Limited by Guarantee). Registered in London Number 889424. Educational Charitable Trust Number 312725
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