ASSEMBLYSPRING 2013 From the Headmaster
I
n recent years it has been common place for schools to close when the snow arrives. Decisions are often made quickly in anticipation of the chaos that will ensue when an already creaking transport system is unable to get teachers to work, roads are impassable, pavements too dangerous to walk on and playgrounds made out-of-bounds having been labelled a risk to children at break times . This winter, with its biting stiletto-sharp north easterly winds, has lingered longer than most but I am delighted to report that it has been business as usual for Arnold House. The School did not close nor was a single games afternoon cancelled; even the House cross-country championships went ahead in temperatures of -8°C (I know because I was there!)
Arnold House has a proud history of carrying on through adversity, most notably when the School relocated to Scotland and Shropshire to avoid the worst of the Blitz, returning to Loudoun Road in 1942. I am pleased to say that the spirit shown by the boys and staff from those war years is alive and well at Arnold House today.
There was some ‘organised’ chaos along the way – with the now traditional snow ball fight when the playground was blanketed in a three inch carpet of pristine fluffy white snow – the boys wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else!
ASSEMBLY
A snapshot of the Spring Term – 1st XV Rugby Tour to Leicester, Chapel Choir Concert at the Church of St John of Jerusalem, Y3 visit the Shard, Y7 in Paris, Verse Speaking, Y3 at the Museum of London and Superheroes Charity Day
Viv Thomas Headmaster
Ringing the Changes
I
t is well known that Maths and Music go together, not least because Maths is not only about numbers but also about patterns and spaces and intervals. What better, then, than to choose a title from bell-ringing for this article that I have been asked to write about the changes that I have seen in Mathematics teaching over the years. I have been at Arnold House since September 2001, and before that was Head of Maths and Director of Studies at York House in Croxley Green for 10 years. It was in 1991 that I returned to teaching after leaving the Royal Navy, though I had actually qualified in the 1970s and had taught A- and O-level in a 13-18 high school for 3 years before running away to sea. In the early nineties the prep school world was all agog at the effect that the newly introduced National Curriculum was having on standards in state schools. We felt that primary schools were getting a grip on standards, and that we needed to do what they were doing and then more if we were to maintain prep schools’ position as the first choice for parents looking for a truly excellent all-round education. The first version of the National Curriculum was very well structured, with clear age-
appropriate targets and examples of the type of questions that should be tackled in each year. Teacher training also improved at this time, with many more ways of teaching being taught, and with a much greater awareness that children learn in many different ways. Standards and outcomes became the focus, rather than the methods and processes of teaching; consequently results improved. It was a far cry from when I first started teaching. Back then the prevailing orthodoxy was that children had to “discover” things for themselves. Many are the lessons I taught where an investigation was set up, and then the last 15 minutes was spent with me at the front collating what we had discovered. You might have been hard pushed to see how that differed from an old-fashioned didactic approach, where techniques were taught formally, because I always thought that traditional standards had to be maintained, but -hey! ho! – those were the hoops we had to jump through in those days. Of course, the best teaching always mixes different methods, and practical activity is essential to understanding Maths,
particularly for younger children. In the nineties, along with a renewed emphasis on standards, came a plethora of ideas for investigations as part of a serious study of how to encourage mathematical thinking. The first Attainment Target in the National Curriculum was called, “Using and Applying Mathematics”. In time the creativity of this initiative dissipated, as the far-too-numerous functionaries of the Department for Education issued jargon-infested booklets which removed the clarity of the earlier curriculum. The DfE was later called the Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF), which was remembered by many as the Department for Curtains and Soft Furnishings! Teaching to the test became standard, and investigations became formulaic. By the early noughties prep schools were abandoning the National Curriculum, and senior schools were setting their own rigorous entrance exams. Other fashions come and go – the Hungarian mental arithmetic programme where no-one wrote anything down until Year 3 was a memorable one, if short-lived. What does not change is the importance of Mathematics as a way of ordering and making sense of the world around us, and the interest and energy the boys at Arnold House show in learning. Charles Keal Head of Mathematics
ASSEMBLY
Quiz Night
O
n 7th March, 240 parents, old boys and staff gathered at the American School for the Arnold House Quiz Night held in aid of the School’s bursary fund. Graham Jacobs (father of Jack Y4 and Louis Y2) ran a superb, bespoke, quiz which brought out lots of competitive spirit and was thoroughly enjoyable. Babs Moss (mother of Leon Y5) performed the music round with panache and auctioneer John Fingleton (AH old boy) commanded the bidding for Lots in style.
The evening was a great success raising a total of ÂŁ60,000 from the auction, raffle and general donations which will be used to support our next intake of bursary boys this September. We would like to thank everyone for their continued support of the bursary fund and in particular the Board of Friends, Bursary Ambassadors and the AHPA for all their help putting together a great evening. Stephanie Miller Director of Development
ASSEMBLY
In memory of Colin Ryder Richardson AH Old Boy 1936-39
O
ld boy Colin Ryder Richardson was among only thirteen children to survive the infamous sinking of the passenger ship City of Benares by a German U-boat in September 1940. In June 1940, the Germans invaded France, Belgium and Holland and their large army was standing by to invade the UK. Meanwhile the North American public had launched a scheme to take Colin aged 11 British children into their USA homes for the duration of the war. At the age of eleven, having been evacuated from St John’s Wood to Abergavenny, Colin was chosen to board the City of Benares destined for the safety of Canada. On 17th September, five days and 600 miles out of the UK the ship was torpedoed by a U-boat. Prior to his death at the age of 83 in November last year, Colin wrote down his memories of this tragic day. Here are some excerpts from his story:
I was in my bunk bed reading my comics. I kept a ball in my drawer by the bed. When the seas were quiet there was a gentle ‘click/ click’. Now as I read the ball was very actively banging hard. The torpedo had struck on the port side, luckily I was on the starboard side. I knew immediately what had happened. I could smell the cordite. Wearing a specially made lifejacket with sleeves, Colin joined the women and children who starting filling the lifeboats.
When our boat was lowered into the sea, it immediately filled with water but stayed afloat just under the level of the waterline, because of buoyancy air tanks. We had difficulty in moving the waterlogged boat away from the sinking liner as the seas were so rough. Within half an hour, the City of Benares sank. We were all hanging on for dear life. The seas were crashing over our heads. Because I was physically so small, I found I had to hold
Colin, far right, on the HMS Hurricane
very firmly onto the bench seat. Luckily I had string gloves on for better grip. A large elderly nurse sat next to me was at once in great distress, I held her to reassure her but eventually she died in my arms.
After being diagnosed with stomach cancer, Colin wrote two books to help fellow sufferers. , Mind Over Cancer (1988) and I Beat My Cancer: Let Me Show You How (2004).
One young man in his twenties tried to drink sea water. He was warned not to, but he did and he went mad, foaming at the mouth, finally leaping away from the boat in spite of all we tried to do.
Colin married Jill in 1953 with whom he had a son and a daughter and two adopted daughters. He also had a stepdaughter with his second wife, Rosemary, whom he married in 1978.
When the morning finally came we could see rafts and lifeboats, some upturned with bodies on them. We were all covered in oil. There were only twelve in our lifeboat; the other thirty having died during the night. In the late afternoon the destroyer HMS Hurricane arrived to take the survivors to Scotland. We were asked to climb up the scrambling nets but I was too numb to do that. My skin was as soft as jelly, so a rope hoist was put around my arms to heave me up onto the decks.
With thanks to Colin’s daughter, Sarah Watson, for providing the School with Colin’s memories and photos. If you would like to read the full version of his story please contact smiller@arnoldhouse.co.uk
Out of a total 406 lives, 258 died including 77 children. In 1941 Colin was awarded a silver oak leaf to signify an award of a King’s Commendation for Brave Conduct, the youngest ever recipient age eleven. Later in life, he also became the oldest to have the BBC’s Blue Peter badge! Back in Britain, Colin went to Charterhouse School, and then elected to do his National Service in the Royal Navy. He spent his career as a Lloyd’s underwriter, retiring in his early sixties.
Arnold House School 1 Loudoun Road St. John’s Wood, London NW8 0LH Telephone: 020 7266 4840 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
ASSEMBLY