Issue 11 I Trinity Term 2017
Termly Review The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School
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Contents trinity term 2017 4 Together for Grenfell Ways in which the School has been working to raise funds for those affected by the fire at Grenfell Tower 6 Vaughan Parents A letter of thanks from the Chairman of the Vaughan Parents Association 8 An Assembly with Archbishop Warda His Grace Archbishop Bashar Warda, the current Archbishop of Erbil, Iraq, speaks to the Lower School 10 An Assembly with Barry Mizen Barry Mizen calls for early intervention, education and engagement with young people
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14 First Form Portraiture Prize 2017 Showcasing the skills and techniques learnt by the First Form throughout the year 16 Cardinal Vaughan’s Beehive Meet Cardinal Vaughan’s very own Queen Bee 18 Unlocking the secrets of the Ancient World Mr El-Dessouki looks back on the activities of Ancient Egypt Club 20 DofE Fourth Form Review Mr Curley reflects on the progress made by this year’s expeditionistas
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foreword from
This year’s show, Sweeney Tod involving ten pupils as members o and fifty in the crew (be it stage ma props, or sounds and lights) – alm School as a whole. Add to this the production and orchestration, no support staff who oversaw ticketi well as numerous Old Vaughanian achievement of Miss O’Connell, this small army in the space of a such a memorable show, is mund
I make no apologies for the oxy gravity in so many ways – be they is manages to do so with such reg is in many ways the norm. And t strength of our community, found aims. The best and most recent e all members of our community fo at a time when the School is mo
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the Headmaster
dd, was an enormous undertaking, of the cast, thirty-three in the chorus anagement, set design, costumes and most exactly 10% of the pupils in the e eight teachers involved in direction, ot to mention the six members of the ting and day-to-day administration, as ns who came along to help, then the the Head of English, who mobilised a mere seven school days to put on danely astonishing.
other point in its long history, we can get together and raise for those affected, in the space of a few weeks, in excess of ÂŁ20,000. The money is a fine thing; but finer still is the community from which it springs.
P Stubbings
ymoron: this School sets out to defy academic, aesthetic or athletic. That gularity means that overachievement this overachievement stems from the ded on our Catholic ethos and shared example of this is the money raised by or Grenfell: it is a wonderful thing that ore financially challenged than at any
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Together for Grenfell Following the tragedy that took place at Grenfell Tower in June, the School has responded in a number of ways and we will continue to do all we can to help those whose lives have been turned upside down by the fire. Here’s just a snapshot of the many ways we have been raising money for those affected - the total of which currently exceeds over £20,000. Thank you for your ongoing support.
CVMS Summer Fête on 2 July
Sixth Form charity cake sale
CVMS Summer Fête on 2 July
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Year groups take it in turns for a sponsored block-run in July
The Schola record Mendelssohn’s Hear My Prayer as a charity single on iTunes
Sixth Form boys win 4-1 in a boys vs girls netball fundraising match on 22 June
CVMS joins with schools across the diocese for a #Together4GrenfellDOW non-uniform day
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Message from the Vaughan Parents Association On behalf of all Vaughan Parents, I would firstly like to extend a warm welcome to all the new parents who will be joining the Vaughan in September. It was a pleasure to meet many of you at our New First Form Parents Social Evening in June, and to see so many of you and your families at our recent Summer Fête. The Summer Fête is always a great opportunity for the Vaughan community to come together and it was heartening that so many of our new parents joined us on the day, stepping up and helping in a variety of ways.
The Trinity Term is always a very enjoyable time of year for Vaughan Parents, with our Golf Day, Clay Pigeon Shoot and Summer Fête, all rounded off by a wonderful evening’s entertainment at the best show in town, the Vaughan’s School Musical.
I am particularly looking forward to this year’s production of Sweeney Todd as my eldest had not joined the Vaughan when this was last performed, This year’s Fête may have been our largest ever, and I have been told by many of the older boys and with over 240 boys playing in our annual six-a-side girls’ parents what a brilliant production Sweeney football tournament and over 1,000 joining us on Todd was first time around in 2009. the day. I hope to see many of you on the night, wish you all Special thanks are due to all our new, current an enjoyable and restful summer and look forward and former Parents who helped on the day, the to seeing you at our AGM in September. World Challenge Team, Shooting Starz, the CVMS Junior Orchestra and a very special thank you to Tony Mars our current parent John O’Reilly, who brilliantly Vaughan Parents Association headlined our Pyramid Stage on the day!
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Thank you to parent Graham Lacdao for the wonderful photographs taken at Vaughan Parent events throughout the year. Click here to view the full Summer FĂŞte online album.
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An Assembly with Archbishop Warda His Grace Archbishop Bashar Warda is the current Archbishop of Erbil, Iraq. He is well known for his wide-ranging support for the Christian refugees in Iraq, and for promoting inter-religious dialogue and environmental protection. Speaking in a special Assembly to the Lower School, on 19 May we welcomed Archbishop Warda along with representatives from Aid to the Church in Need and learnt of their combined efforts to support the continuing Christian presence in Iraq. ‘It all started three years ago when ISIS, Daesh, invaded the city of Mosul, which was one of the biggest cities in Iraq and where we have a very, very historical presence - some of the monasteries go back to the Fifth and Fourth Centuries. They put three conditions to the Christian community: convert to Islam, pay jizya which is a taxation which means enslavements, or leave the city with nothing. Our people have decided to leave the city.’ ‘With the help of Aid to the Church in Need, who I am sure also depended on you with your prayers and generous donations, we were able to build 14 schools so all of our children were in schools, and establish two proper clinics as well as a programme where we could provide food for 12,000 families.’ Read the full article in the 2016/17 Vaughan Magazine, out September.
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Clockwise from left: His Grace Archbishop Warda with the Headmaster, Mr Stubbings; His Grace addresses the Lower School; A map of Erbil, Iraq, where Archbishop Warda is based
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Pupils in the First to Fourth Forms were invited to take part in a Mufti Day on Friday 26 May, with all proceeds going to the For Jimmy Foundation. The day was a great success, and as a consequence ÂŁ600 has been donated to the charity. Click here to find out more about For Jimmy and the important work that they do.
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‘Reach out to the person who is struggling’ Barry Mizen called for early intervention, education and engagement with young people in his assembly to the Lower School on Tuesday 16 May. ‘If we could change the perception of the ways things are then I think we might go a long way to make a long difference. But punishment will not stop this. There has to be consequences, undoubtedly, if only for the victims’ families, but this in itself will not change things. It’s not that easy.’ ‘We’re all pretty simple, aren’t we? Each and everyone one of us has questions, questions inside of us. Am I of value? Do I matter? Do I fit in? Do I belong? If you remember nothing else today from what I speak to you about, remember this: You are of value. You do matter. You are loved. And that goes for everyone around us.’ ‘Forgiveness, what is it? What do we mean by forgiveness? I forgive the person who killed my son, but what do I mean by that? I thank God I have never had the sense of wanting to do to Jake what he did to Jimmy. And that to me is forgiveness.’ Watch Barry Mizen’s Assembly on the School’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/cvmsTV Read more from Barry Mizen and the For Jimmy Foundation in the 2016/17 Vaughan Magazine, out September.
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vaughan connected Pupils from last year’s Upper Sixth returned to speak to the current Lower Sixth on 5 July about University and life after Sixth Form.
Thank you to all our fantastic speakers: Robin Knight, Ostin D’silva, Thomas Murphy, Portia Amoako, Hamish Phelan, Wesley Zuzarte, Kate Narciso, Amelia Storey, Stephen Ndoca, Matteo Di Paola and Joshua Sewell.
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Ryman National Enterprise Challenge Six pupils from the Third Form travelled to Telford on 4 July for The National Enterprise Challenge 2017 Grand Final. Having won the School’s competition in March, the team were required to pitch their business idea to representatives from Ryman Stationery and Alton Towers along with competition ambassador and Dragons’ Den favourite, Theo Paphitis. Over 40,000 students took part in this year’s competition so it was a fantastic achievement to make it to the Grand Finals. Well done boys!
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First Form Portraiture Prize 2017 Every pupil in the First Form created a portrait or selfportrait this term, showcasing the skills and techniques they have learnt throughout the academic year. The standard of the artworks was extremely high and an exhibition was held in the Library throughout April for pupils and staff to visit. Donald Trump, Margaret Thatcher, Tutankhamun, Nelson Mandela, and Albert Einstein were displayed alongside numerous footballers and personal family portraits, with staff encouraged to bring along their form groups and write a message in the comment book, congratulating the young artists on their very first exhibition.
Prizes for Portraiture 1st Prize: Elie Kouzmenkov 2nd Prize: Joseph Lamb 3rd Prize: Dut-Panyar Malwal-Dong
Prizes for Self-Portraiture 1st Prize: Vinz Kakilala 2nd Prize: Raymel Edwards 3rd Prize: Ricardo Ragni
Awards for Endeavour & Creativity Ruari Bagge-Hansen Peter Howard Stephanos Mulugata Calum Boyer Partrick Halpin Youel Hailu Julian Sakrouge Adrian Kosiakaiski Callum Jeffs Ted Luker Leo Reeves Connor Lanigan David Rodrigues Joseph Collarte Cornelius Nowicki
Alan Kilikiewicz Estefano Bedoya-Garcia Philip Tubilewicz Krystian Galeziowski Adrian Kosikowski Niles Toussaint Ruben Lorenzo–Perez Ben Daly Oliver Strzelczyk Miguel Mitchell George De Costres Marcl Laska Rocco Tesei Joshua Iwanczuk Nicolo Polenghi
Miss Carew, Head of Art
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Cardinal Vaughan’s Beehive Cardinal Vaughan took ownership of its very own beehive in June, with Miss Hellier and Mr O’Grady taking regular trips to the School’s rooftop to maintain the hive and take care of the School’s newest intake. CVMS honey to go on sale soon! Follow us on Twitter or Facebook for the latest updates.
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Click here to watch on YouTube
‘Sixteen Sixth Formers completed the School’s beekeeping course during the last week of term, ending with a visit to the hive and some hands on experience. Great fun and no stings. They even had a first taste of the honey, fresh from the comb. Thumbs up all round!’ - Miss Hellier
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Unlocking the secrets of the Ancient World As the academic year draws to a close - and we look forward to a well-earned break during the commemoration of Emperor Augustus’ victory over Mark Antony at the battle of Actium - I am drawn to reflect on the astonishing progress of our young Egyptologists. Speaking of calendar months, what we use today is, in fact, based on the calendar developed by the ancient Egyptians. The Roman lunar calendar was causing administrative problems for the Republic, so Julius Caesar turned to Cleopatra’s scientists and priests for help. As you may know, the Egyptians were compulsive record-keepers of everything, including astronomy and time. They had been using a 365-day calendar for centuries, and even leap years were accounted for: the extra days celebrated as birthdays of major gods such as Osiris and Horus. This collaboration led to the development of the Julian, which is the Gregorian calendar system we use today. This term has seen an eager polymathic team of First Formers meet every Tuesday lunchtime for another time-travelling adventure to the land of the pharaohs. During this time they have explored the complex language of Ancient Egyptians, from reading and writing in hieroglyphics to using phrases and even creating their own authentic Egyptian names. Our talented boys have also used their knowledge of science, maths and geography to investigate famous monumental achievements
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Members enjoyed an Ancient Egyptian-themed cake at their last meeting of the year
during this period, appreciating medical and technological advancements while exploring pharaonic theology and psychology. Longest member and club captain, Antonio, was ‘mummified’ by his peers in an entertaining reenactment of perhaps one the most iconic features of the culture, with the help of loo-roll, good humour and a sensible approach to health and safety from his peers. Show our ‘Sons of Thoth’ (god of wisdom and knowledge) any example of Egyptian art, and they will be able to explain many of the complex nuances they represent. Each one can introduce you to the theological origins of pyramids and tombs, ancient Egyptian attitudes on life and death, politics and society, and even discuss theories of how a civilisation lasted almost seamlessly for nearly 4,000 years. I must congratulate Antonio Gonzalez Napoles, Alexander Osterweil, William Lekstakaj, Joshua Iwanczuk, Alexander Sinden, Philopater Khalil and Sebastien Sadler for their effervescent contributions each week. They are each a credit to their families and subject teachers! It is an exciting time in the field of Egyptology. Already this year there have been many new discoveries, including a previously unknown submerged pyramid, a colossal statue of Seti II in central Cairo and the mummies of 20 pharaohs at the Valley of the Kings in Luxor. Genetic studies have also recently revealed that all domesticated cats around the world originated from those bred by… yes you’ve guessed it. Wishing you all a delightful summer, Mr El-Dessouki
Mummies lying in catacombs following their discovery in the Touna el-Gabal district of the Minya province, in central Egypt.
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DofE Fourth Form Review Mr Curly, Duke of Edinburgh Coordinator, reports on the Fourth Form’s progress toward achieving their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh awards. Thirty-four Fourth Form pupils headed off to the Chiltern Hills near Chalfont St Peter in early April, trekking 16 miles over two days for their DofE Bronze Practice Expedition. Groups performed well and the supervising staff were pleased with their navigation ability. A few groups went slightly off course, but they corrected themselves effectively. Camp craft was also pleasing with groups cooking some interesting meals, keeping a tidy camp and ‘leaving no trace’ on departure. Later in April, the same set of pupils set off in glorious sunshine for their two-day, 15-mile Bronze qualifying expedition from Newland’s Corner in the Surrey Hills. Groups met the standards required in navigation and camp craft and, where they met difficulties, they mostly fixed these by working together as a team. As is usual, navigation skills varied somewhat but we could see an effort to improve in groups lacking natural navigators. The staff volunteers have all said this year group has been a special pleasure to work with: always polite, positive and spirited despite the challenges.
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All of the pupils passed their DofE expedition section, so well done to you all. Ensure to upload your evidence and assessors reports for the other sections, in order for you to receive your award. Mr Curley CVMS Duke of Edinburgh Coordinator
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sport
London Schools Athletics We had ten pupils competing in the London Schools Athletic Championships at Battersea Park on 10 June, with the boys achieving four gold medals, one silver and two bronze between them. Special mention must go to Casey Augustin in the Third Form, who won the Junior Boys 800m with a personal best of 2:05:87, narrowly missing the English Schools qualifying time by just .87 of a second. As if this wasn’t enough, Casey then went on to finish second place in the 300m sprint, achieving another personal best of 38:57 - missing gold by an even closer .02 of a second. On Sunday 18 June, Casey then achieved a new personal best in the 800m with a time of 2:03:40, ranking him 15th in the country for Under-15 boys. He will now represent London in the Junior Boys 800m at the English Schools Championships in Birmingham on 8 and 9 July.
Intermediate Boys Relay, with the boys bringing in another gold medal for the School with a time of 45:14. Herbert Mensuoh continued the School’s success winning bronze in the Intermediate Boys 100m with another personal best of 11:39, while Joseph Walshe McBride also won bronze in the Intermediate Boys 800m running a time of 2:07.
Congratulations also to Julian Lewis Jnr and Clayton Vincent who both got to the final of the Intermediate Boys 100m Final, as well as Justin Henry who got to the final of both the Junior Boys 100m and 200m sprint. Sean Oceng-Engena also Fourth Former Dominic Ogbechie also did performed extremely well, setting a personal best exceptionally well at the London Schools of 1.60m in the Junior Boys High Jump. Championships, winning gold in the Long Jump with a distance of 6.64m as well as the 200m sprint Three days’ later, our youngest athletes travelled with a personal best of 22:09. He will now go on to to Mile End for the Year 7 & 8 London Schools represent London in the Intermediate Boys Long Athletics Championships. Once again our boys did brilliantly, with Sean Oceng-Engena winning first Jump at the English Schools Championships. place in the High Jump setting a personal best of Dominic was then joined by Oluwole Orimoloye, 1.62m with Michael Ogbechie just behind him Herbert Mensuoh and Julian Lewis Jnr in the achieving third place at 1.50m.
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sport
A snapshot of sporting sucess
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March
Fourth Former Benjamin Starkey has enjoyed an incredible first winter training with the Team GB Snowboard team, which came to a close in the final race of the season out in Laax, Switzerland with Benjamin winning his semi-final - only narrowly missing out on a placement as the UK number one.
April
Sam Davies became the first pupil in the history of the Vaughan to represent England Rugby at international level, when he was selected for the U-16 England Rugby squad playing Wales on Sunday 30 April.
May
Laurence Joss, Lower Sixth, represented Great Britain in May at the Munich Junior Regatta, winning two medals for British Rowing. Associate Head, Miss Whelan, said: ‘Laurence’s skill, hard work and dedication have all been justly rewarded.’
June
Fourth Former Dominic Ogbechie was part of the Under-18 English Schools’ AA team who travelled to Nancy, France to participate in the ISF Jean Humbert Memorial World Schools’ Track and Field Cup on 26 & 27 June. This illustrious event featured teams representing 26 nations from five continents and saw Dominic win third place in both the High Jump and 200m. On 28 June, the top eight in each event competed again. Dominic won the High Jump with a height of 2:00, becoming ISF World Schools Champion competing against 18 year olds from 26 countries.
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June
Cardinal Vaughan was well represented at the Gaelic Football Under-14 Division One League Final in June, with five of our boys playing for the winning side Tara GFC. Congratulations to: Donal Slattery, Terence Gallagher, Harry Cunningham, Joseph Thornton and Barnaby Stewart.
July
Dominic Ogbechie and Casey Augustin competed at the English Schools Athletics Championships in July: Casey placed 6th in the 800m Junior Boys Final & Dominic 1st in the Long Jump, setting a new PB of 7.17m. Dominic will now go on to represent England in Dublin. It was bronze medals for Michael Koscien and Tino Bellot-Shosanya as they represented the RBKC Under-14 Football Team at the London Youth Games in July, with the team winning third place out of 32 boroughs. First Former Niles Toussaint also took part in the Games, coming second in the Indoor Rowing competition. Top rower Laurence Joss was selected to represent Team GB in a double at Coupe De La Jeunesse later this July. Dominic Ogbechie jumped a staggering distance of 7.33m to win the Home Countries International in Dublin on 15 July, competing against the best Under-17 athletes from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. CVMS Sports Day was held at the School Playing Fields in Twickenham on 14 July, with Fisher House named as the overall winners.
Click here to see more photos from Sports Day
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Benjamin Britten’s House
music
Latest News from the Music Department Trinity Term at the Vaughan sees the Music Department focused on the younger boys with the older pupils away taking exams. Before the senior pupils left though, the Department faced the annual challenge of bringing together the many hours of coursework required by those taking Music GCSE and the Pre U (the music course that we study in the Sixth Form – a widely respected alternative to A-Level). There was some especially fine work from the pupils this year – especially in the field of composition taught – and we look forward to seeing the results that their efforts bring about in the summer.
Form. This event always acts as a good guide to the current state-of-play in the Music Department and this year’s performances were very promising indeed. Well done to all who took part. Earlier in the term we had held our first Music Week – a week of performances from the boys for their peers and the staff, organised by Miss Wilby. It had occurred to us that although there is much excellent music-making going on in the School, many of the boys never get to hear it and indeed neither do the teachers. So in the week before the May half-term we gave performances every day in assembly (Second Orchestra, Junior Big Band and Jazz Orchestra) and presented short recitals afterschool – one by the Schola trebles and one by Third Form boys who performed Beatles arrangements they had put together themselves in class music lessons. There was a very positive response to this event from both boys and staff and we hope to repeat it next year – and perhaps do something similar for the older pupils to see. Also as part of Music Week on the Thursday evening we gave a very enjoyable Junior Concert for parents.
Once the older pupils were on Study Leave, we began rehearsals in earnest for one of the highlights of the School’s musical year, the annual Lower School Chamber Music Competition, arranged by Miss Wilby. Held in June and adjudicated by renowned French Horn player Richard Watkins, this year’s competition contained 21 groups with around 100 boys taking part. There was an excellent standard of performance and many of the groups could have won but the decision eventually went to a Clarinet and Piano Trio from the Third Form. The outstanding individual prize of the evening Junior Big Band were prominent at all these events deservedly went to Sam Cornes in the Fourth and they also performed at the School’s Summer
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Fête in July – the older boys were not free to play so their younger equivalents stepped into their shoes, doing extremely well. Miss Wilby directed the Band at this occasion and has done some wonderful work generally with these younger boys in training them into a really very good outfit. I was especially grateful that she was able to look after this event as it fell in the middle of a very busy period for the Schola boys and allowed me just a moment’s respite in an otherwise relentless few weeks.
Every term we have around 60 pupils sitting Associated Board Grade Exams and this term was no different. On a Saturday at the end of June, three ABRSM Examiners came to the School and examined the pupils. The results were very strong this term – noteworthy is Leo Blair’s Grade VIII Trombone passed with Distinction and also the remarkable performances of the Schola trebles in their Grade V Singing Exams.
Candidate Subject Grade Cat KOFI ANTWI ESTEFANO BEDOYA-GARCIA LEO BLAIR ALEXANDER BLONSKI-RULACH BENEDYKT CHODZKO-ZAJKO BENEDYKT CHODZKO-ZAJKO BENEDYKT CHODZKO-ZAJKO AIDAN COLE MATHIS DESODT GEORGE DOUMENIS-RAMOS JONATHAN EASTMOND JAMES FERNANDES JAMES FOTHERGILL TERENCE GALLAGHER ALEX GULA YOUEL HAILU JONATHAN HENRY JAGO HILL BENEDICT JERMEY KONRAD JEZIERSKI CALLUM JOHNSTON OLIVIERO KELLY NIALL KIELY ANTONI KRZYZOS PETER LALEYE-THOMAS OLIVIER LASEK MARCEL LASKA MARCEL LASKA LEONARD LEE HE NIAN KWO ISAAC LONDON SAMUEL LYNE-HALL GABRIELE MONTONE GABRIELE MONTONE IGNACY MROZ MAKSYMILIAN MROZ
TUBA OBOE TROMBONE HORN VIOLIN TRUMPET SINGING SINGING GUITAR DOUBLE BASS SINGING FLUTE FLUTE SINGING SINGING VIOLIN FLUTE SINGING TRUMPET CLARINET PIANO OBOE VIOLIN FLUTE FLUTE VIOLIN VIOLIN PIANO CELLO TRUMPET SINGING SINGING VIOLIN VIOLIN VIOLIN
03 02 08 01 02 02 05 05 02 05 05 02 01 05 05 03 01 05 03 03 01 06 04 02 03 02 03 02 02 04 05 05 08 04 04
Distinction Distinction Distinction Merit Merit Merit Distinction Distinction Merit Pass Distinction Pass Pass Distinction Distinction Merit Pass Distinction Merit Pass Pass Merit Merit Merit Merit Merit Merit Merit Pass Pass Distinction Distinction Pass Merit Pass
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STEFANOS MULUGETA CLARINET 05 Merit CHRISTOPHER NGUYEN CELLO 03 Merit MARTIN NGUYEN VIOLIN 07 Pass PATRICK NOONAN ALTO SAXOPHONE 01 Distinction JAMES OUTTRIM SINGING 05 Distinction REBECCA PEAKE PIANO 07 Distinction OWEN ROBERTS-MCINTOSH TRUMPET 05 Pass JAMES ROCK TRUMPET 01 Merit MIKOLAJ ROMANOWSKI SINGING 05 Distinction TOBIA ROSATI OBOE 01 Distinction JOSEPH SHORT SINGING 05 Distinction MICHAEL SIMBANA TRUMPET 05 Pass MICHAEL SIMBANA PIANO 03 Pass GEORGE STEVENS HORN 06 Pass DAVID SZCZEPANSKI VIOLIN 02 Distinction ROCCO TESEI PIANO 04 Merit ROCCO TESEI SINGING 05 Merit PHILIP TUBILEWICZ TRUMPET 03 Merit MARK USTYNOVYCH-REPA SINGING 05 Pass ZANEKIN VITIELLO TRUMPET 01 Pass XAVIER WADE PIANO 01 Distinction JOE WALSHE SINGING 05 Distinction ALEXANDER WU CELLO 07 Distinction YARED YOHANNES ALTO SAXOPHONE 01 Merit IGOR ZAKURZEWSKI CELLO 01 Distinction This Trinity Term was full of events for the Schola trebles. In June, the boys gave a very lovely recital for The Campaign for The Traditional Cathedral Choir, singing an hour-long concert at St Botolphwithout-Bishopsgate for a very knowledgeable and appreciative audience. A week later, the boys gave the Schola’s first ever performance in the greatly prestigious Aldeburgh Festival, singing the world premiere of a new song cycle by Luke Styles as part of the Friday Afternoons national singing initiative. This was a wonderful event given at Snape Maltings, the Schola sharing the programme with the National Youth Choir and Jubilee Opera. The boys stayed over night in Aldeburgh and had a lovely evening eating fish and chips on the famous beach there – enjoyable despite the attentions of the greedy seagulls. On the first day of the trip time was spent at Benjamin Britten’s House, the Red House, where the boys enjoyed the great privilege of singing in Britten’s Library – where he composed much of his music – and, on the front lawn of the house, we also recorded some pieces with harpist
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Phone Box Premiere
Turandot at the Royal Opera House
Olivia Jaguers for her Royal Philharmonic Society award nominated project Fifteen Second Harp. The boys sang very beautifully in the concert in Snape Maltings – perhaps the finest performance they have given with me – and there were many compliments afterwards including a rather special comment from a member of the Britten family. There were twelve songs in the new song cycle and we had recorded them all at the School before going to Aldeburgh. In the concert there was space for just eight of them – so the four remaining songs were given their ‘premiere’ in a phonebox on the Snape Maltings grounds – see the picture! I was very grateful to Angela Cohen who accompanied the boys at the piano for this project and also to Miss Wilby who travelled with us. The Schola sang twice for the Saturday Vigil Mass at Westminster Cathedral this term. In May, the trebles alone sang Britten’s Missa Brevis (directed by Mr Jackson) and in July the full choir returned for what was for many of the older boys their final public performance with the Schola, as we sang music by Schubert, Palestrina and Mawby. Those who were available also sang briefly at a joint concert that the Schola gave with a visiting choir from Montreal, Les Petit Chanteurs du Mont Royal, whose boys stayed with Schola families over the second weekend in July.
It is always lovely to welcome visiting choirs to the School and we all greatly enjoyed their singing in our joint concert and at a Mass at St James’s, Spanish Place on the Saturday evening. I was hugely grateful to the Vaughan families who hosted the Canadian children – they had a lovely time and we will be able to do the same in return when the Schola travels to Canada perhaps in 2018. The Schola was not quite finished though as earlier this week the choir recorded Hear My Prayer by Mendelssohn (with Aidan Cole as soloist) and it is hoped to have this available very shortly on ITunes with all proceeds going to Grenfell Tower funds. The end of the Trinity Term saw 25 boys singing in the Royal Opera House’s spectacular production of Puccini’s Turandot. This is a production Vaughan boys have been involved with a number of times before and once again everyone had a wonderful time during this run of eight performances. One performance was relayed live on big screens all around the country and also broadcast on YouTube where it is still available to watch – the opening 20 minutes is really worth a look! Performing on the stage at Covent Garden is always challenging and tiring – the boys had to rehearse and take their exams at the same time this year – but it really is a unique opportunity and I am pleased that we continue to be one of only three London schools (and the only Comprehensive School!) that offer this opportunity to our pupils. We were also delighted to
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learn that, against considerable opposition, two or our boys, James Fernandes and Aidan Cole, have been given solo roles in the Royal Opera’s production of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte for the start of next season. The last couple of weeks of term have been dominated by the preparation of the production of Sweeney Todd. We first performed this remarkable show in 2010 and such is my adoration for the music that we have retuned to it at the very first opportunity once we had a new generation of pupils to perform it with. It really is an incredible piece and I hope that you will have the opportunity to come to see it this week – we have a very talented cast who have worked very hard to put the whole thing together in just ten days. The pupils have been, as always, a joy to work with and their commitment and talent is what makes it possible to put together a show to such a standard in such a short space of time. There are also many staff involved of course, all of whom work very hard indeed including Miss Foley, Miss Mohammed, Mr Cardozo, Mr O’Grady, Miss Wilby and Mr Jackson. We have also been greatly assisted by a number of former pupils who have continued with theatre work returning to help this year, in particular the wonderful Alex Knox and Eoghan McNelis. And of course the whole thing is brought together by the totally inspiring and incredibly motivating presence of Miss O’Connell, who really is a force of nature! We are so lucky to have someone so prodigiously gifted leading our productions.
Concert. Miss Wilby has also been key in arranging our competitions and recitals as well as many other aspects of the Department’s work. She has been a wonderful Assistant Director of Music and always been a very loyal and hard-working colleague, giving up countless hours of her own time for the benefit of the pupils - often working on Fridays, for example, despite being paid only to work Monday to Thursday. Her contribution to the atmosphere of the department has been essential too however where she has brought a considerate and gentle approach and in doing so made the Department a yet more encouraging place for the boys and girls. I know that I speak for everyone, staff, boys and I’m sure many parents too when I write that we will miss her greatly. Thank you for everything over the past ten years, Sarah, and all the very best for the future.
There are a number of exciting ventures planned for next year. Before we get there, the boys will be singing again as they perform in a BBC Prom Concert this summer – Sunday August 6 at the Royal Albert Hall. Once we are back next term boys will once again appear with the Royal Opera, sing at York Minster and St John’s College, Cambridge, and the Schola is to travel to South Africa. We are to perform Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony, and the Monteverdi Vespers amongst many other works. I hope that you will be able to join us at these and other occasions next year – you can follow the Music Department on Twitter (@ cvmsmusic) and we have a Facebook Page (Facebook: Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School Music) if you would One of the great strengths of the Vaughan Music like to be kept up to date. Department has been the fact that the staffing has been so consistent for so long, but at the end of this Mr Price year we will sadly be saying goodbye to one of the Director Music key figures in our work, Sarah Wilby, who is leaving the School for a new position at St Mary’s School in Wiltshire. Sarah joined the Vaughan in 2007 and in the ten years she has been with us has been key in the development of many aspects of the Department’s work. She has led the younger boys instrumental work, in particular through her directing of Junior Big Band and Jazz Orchestra, ensembles she has really made her own. She has also been a great advocate for the Sixth Form Girls, conducting the Girls Choir with great skill. She is most passionate about Concert Bands and her directing of the Vaughan’s Concert Band has been outstanding. One of the highlights of her time with us was no doubt the appearance of the Concert Band in the National Concert Band Festival Finals in Manchester last year – this year they also received a Gold Award but were unable to travel to the finals Friday Afternoons Songs and Golden Vanity at Aldeburg as unfortunately we had a clash with the Easter
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The Winners in the Chamber Music Competition with Adjudicator Richard Watkins
Turandot at the Royal Opera House
Rehearsals for Sweeney Todd
Part of the set for Sweeney Todd
Opening night of Sweeney Todd
gh Festival 2017
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news in brief
Outside the classroom: a snapshot of extra-curricular
It was More vs Mayne in July’s First Form House Countdown, with Rocco Tesei winning it for Mayne House in the final few seconds with the Countdown Conundrum: numerical - well done Mayne!
The Second Form enjoyed a retre before making the most of the sun w
Day two of the ‘Adventure Trip to Wales’ started with a 15km cycle through the Welsh countryside for pupils in the First & Second Forms.
From bell boats and picos to can days learning to sail at Wimbledo Watersports Activity Days in the las
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life at the Vaughan
eat to Tyburn Convent on 10 July, with lunch and games in Hyde Park.
The Third Form had a wonderful day visiting the Jesuit Church of the Immaculate Conception in Farm Street on 11 July.
nadian canoes, pupils spent three on Park Lake as part of this year’s st week of term.
Sixth Formers learn to cook a breakfast of egg and bacon baguettes, followed by penne bolognese and apple crumble for lunch and an afternoon tea of warm scones. Thanks to Head Chef Esther for passing on her culinary skills!
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the cardinal vaughan Lunch Menu WHAT’S NEW?
Teriyaki chicken with rice
Feta and chickpea potatocake with salsa
Beef bourguignon
POPULAR DISHES POPULAR DISHES
Tex mex chicken burrito with savoury rice
Roast beef with roast potatoes, yorkshire puddings and gravy
Triple-loaded Macaroni Cheese
Each day there is an additional selection of jacket potatoes, breads, cold meats and a seasonal salad bar available for pupils to serve themselves from. Menu may be subject to change.
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The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School www.cvms.co.uk 0207 603 8478 89 Addison Road, W14 8BZ
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