Culfordian Senior 2018 by Culford School

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Culfordian SENIOR & SIXTH FORM | 2017 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2018

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Contents Speech Day Exam Results

4 12

Scholarsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Programme Visual and Performing Arts

16 20

Sporting Achievements Culford Achievements

40 66

Trips and Activities Pastoral Care

76 92

Culford Foundation

113

Editors: Anna Cruickshank and Maura Power. Design: Newman Design. Print: Fuller Davies. With grateful thanks to all who contributed articles and photographs. Photo Credits: Wendy Turner/Red Shed Photography, Warren Page/Page Pix Photogtaphy, Honest Ideas, Tom Soper, Richard Bailey Photography, Gavin Stewart/Architectural Photography, Hadley Butler Photography and Filming and all other parent/pupil contributors. Culford School makes reasonable effort to include accurate information in The Culfordian but makes no warranties or representations as to the accuracy of the published content. Registered Charity No. 1142794

Culford School Bury St Edmunds Suffolk IP28 6TX T: 01284 728615 E: admissions@culford.co.uk

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SPEEC H DAY

Headmaster’s Speech Day Address The School gathered on a sunny May afternoon to celebrate the achievements of the year with Guest of Honour Rosie Barnes, OBE.

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SP EE C H DAY

Chairman, Mrs Barnes, Governors, honoured guests, pupils, I am grateful for the opportunity to be able to present my Headmaster’s Report to you this morning.

ast year ISI inspectors turned up at 48 hours notice in the week leading up to Speech Day. Nothing quite so dramatic has occurred this year; and apparently the weather will clear up for this afternoon, so the only pressure I am under is to get us out to lunch on time. In fact the people under real pressure are those sitting behind me. Let’s just say that if they yawn, fail to laugh or fall asleep I will get to know… Our Guest of Honour is, of course, under no such pressure. She sits here as a welcome visitor and is a great example of how living to your strength of conviction can bring about results you might not have believed. Having joined the SDP (Social Democratic Party) as a founding member in 1981, Rosie was selected as candidate for Greenwich when the previous one stood down saying he did not want to be a ‘paper candidate’ – that is one with no chance of winning. That same month the sitting MP died and a by-election was called; and activism, belief and organisation propelled Rosie into an unlikely win. Girls here today should note three things. First, that the candidate who gave up was a man; second, that self-belief propelled Rosie forward; but third, that it was the support and efforts of many other people that let her win. We can all learn from a female vision of leadership in which shared goals are more important than individual egos. Having left politics in 1992, Rosie went on to serve the Cystic Fibrosis Trust as Chief Executive for fourteen years. She was also a patron of Child Health International and I am particularly delighted, therefore, to welcome her as our Guest of Honour today. As ever, my role is to reflect upon the past year, reporting Culford’s health to you; and to offer you some thoughts about the future. Looking back, the past year was a good one academically. Pupils achieved fine results at A Level with 79% of all grades being A* - C. At GCSE 46% of all grades were A*/A and more than 25% of pupils achieved at least 8

A* or A grades. That represents an enormous amount of hard work on the part of not only those pupils, but also the teachers who support them. Before I thank those teachers, however, I want to thank those colleagues who support us. Immaculate gardens and grounds, welcoming faces on reception desks, efficient office support and administration; all combine to reassure parents and visitors that Culford is a well run, caring school that will look after their son or daughter because we are proud of what we do. Much of that depends upon people parents rarely see, or sometimes perhaps never even meet. I do ask you to thank them now and recognise them for all their efforts. Heads, of course, are not regarded by colleagues as real teachers. Basically, half of the Common Room believe that they can do your job better than you… and the other half believe that anyone can. That attitude is pretty prevalent. I went to a conference of Heads recently and when I checked in the porter told me in the lift that they were very busy because they had a huge number of Headmasters staying in the hotel. “Hey” he said, “I’ve got a really great joke about a stupid Headmaster. You wanna hear it?” I was a bit embarrassed and had to tell him: “Actually I’m a Headmaster myself.” “Oh, that’s OK,” he said, “I can tell it really slowly.” But never mind Headmasters; the real teachers here inspire their pupils every day in many different ways and give them a thirst for learning that will last throughout their lives. For that I hope you will join me in thanking them all. This year opened in an extremely positive way with the visit of the Good Schools’ Guide who said that Culford was “one of the most beautiful schools” they had seen and praised us highly. They also said that: “Every parent we spoke to couldn’t speak highly enough about pastoral care. To be honest they raved about it.” ‰

T HE CULFORDIAN

SPEEC H DAY

That is the best testament any school can have, and I am grateful to those parents who responded in that way. At the start of 2015, we opened our library and in 2016 we opened both a new hockey artificial turf pitch and two indoor tennis courts. Autumn 2017 saw less visible, but nevertheless similarly large-scale, investment. We spent a large sum introducing airconditioning to our dining hall to improve the experience for pupils there, and also on the roof of this hall, repairing it and removing the two air-handling units that were supposed to keep us warm in winter and cool in summer, but did neither. Given that each unit was the size of a school minibus, replacing them was in itself a significant piece of work. We also replaced the ceiling and what you sit beneath today is entirely new, including the new theatre lighting bars. The flooring was also replaced and new curtains introduced to the stage. I was somewhat grumpy about the fact that we were investing so much into keeping parents cool once a year on Speech Day; until the Director of Drama told me that with the right lighting she could make me look

SEN IOR & S IXTH FO RM | 2017 – 2 018

ten years younger. I do hope you are enjoying my youthful profile. In all seriousness, however, the work on this hall fits into our ambition for the creative and performing arts as a whole and we have also spent much of this year planning for the impending works in the art department. Although we have met some delay, I am happy to report that the blame lies not with us but with a colony of bats. We had hoped that work would begin in June, but it is the maternity season for bats and apparently their desire for a quiet nursery trumps our desire for noisy works. However, the maternity season will be over by October, the bats will depart to hibernate; and we will be free to begin building by half-term. Our builders and architects have worked hard to minimise the disruption and the timescales and we are still hopeful, therefore, that we will be able to see the new facilities on Speech Day next year, with the building fully open next September. My other thanks, therefore, must go to all of our donors here today; and those who will read this address in The Culfordian in due

course. Many alumni, current and former parents, and staff help us each year. Their generosity continues to enable physical developments in the school but, even more importantly, also enables our Foundation to make gifts to families who could not otherwise afford the education we can offer their children. All education is a gift from one generation to another; but our donors’ generosity is truly remarkable in that they enable young people they have never met and never will to have access to life-changing opportunities here. We thank them all. There are opportunities today to see the creativity our pupils can unleash, in a fabulous self-scripted drama production and through the work on display in the art department; and as I turn to the future I want to consider the value of human creativity. I made the mistake of going to a seminar at a boarding schools conference recently entitled “2030: will your school still be relevant?” I had hoped to hear something interesting about the educational and commercial issues that face the sector. ‰

SP EE C H DAY

Head Girl, Nella Walters and Head Boy, Joshua Stephens, addressing the audience at Speech Day

T HE CULFORDIAN

SPEEC H DAY

Instead I heard what I am finding to be increasingly typical nonsense from a young man trying to scare old men like me with a vision of the future based on big data, social media and imagined future lives drawn from watching the Matrix late at night after a heavy cheese supper. It is obviously true that false data is everywhere and the immediate global availability of information is a challenge to society: but it is not an existential threat to schools. No doubt schoolmasters were challenged by the students who first read Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses, Voltaire's Social Contract, or Darwin’s Theory of Evolution.

Guest of Honour, Rosie Barnes OBE with the Headmaster, Julian-Johnson Munday

But we are not copyists facing a paradigm shift because of the invention of the printing press; or publishing houses facing the seismic shock of the Internet and Kindle. Schools have never been merely about the transmission of information from one generation to the next. At their best, schools are about the exploration of shared values. We exist to consider with our pupils how those values should be reshaped, rejected or renewed. Our purpose is not to reassure young people that all is well because yesterday’s solutions will still fit tomorrow’s problems. It is to equip them to create new solutions for the new challenges that their generation will face. A proper education is an holistic one built around a firm academic core. Our passion for that academic core means that there is not only real drive at the moment in the creative and performing arts as we invest into them; but also in the STEM subjects of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics where we are considering how we can build upon our current strengths. But as we celebrate that, let us remind ourselves that Abraham Maslow observed that science is ultimately the: “enjoyment of wonder, awe and mystery.” Our false division of academic study into the arts and the sciences is so ingrained as to be almost instinctive; but it now needs urgent review, because even the more granular distinctions we make between subject areas are likely to be swept away in the near future. Look in the Art and DT departments today and tell me where one subject begins and the other ends. Paint, or watch someone else

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SP EE C H DAY

painting, in Virtual Reality this afternoon and tell me where art ends and computing begins. Indeed, as we look towards the neuro-linguistic programming of artificial intelligences, tell me where the study of language ends and mathematics begins. A future that will be dominated by Artificial Intelligence, or AI, means that we have to urgently consider what intelligence even is. The IQ tests and public examinations I sat at school were devised, set and marked by white, middle-class men to reflect their preconceived notions of intelligence. We need to learn rapidly that there are other measures.

information, containing far too many incorrect ‘facts’ and develop the ability to ask the right questions. If I look back at my own school days, I see a boy whose intelligence had an overwhelming bias towards curiosity and something of the spiritual: I went to Buddhist meditation classes off my own bat; but I was an irritating pupil in O level RE because I did not value its dull structure. I was, of course, also completely unsympathetic to my teacher’s struggles with me because, like most teenage boys, my Emotional Intelligence was almost entirely lacking.

Emotional Intelligence has become widely discussed since Daniel Goleman wrote his bestseller on the subject in 1995; but as far back as 1981 James Fowler described what he called Spiritual Intelligence as one that: “links the deeply personal with the universal.”

Even now, my curiosity propels me forward and my Emotional Intelligence has to work hard to recognise when others are uncomfortable at my speed or the robust way I question certainties; and I still need Simon and others to fan the embers and feed the flames of my Spiritual Intelligence.

Daniel Levitin’s book The Organized Mind, published in 2014, now describes Curiosity Intelligence as the skill by which we negotiate through much too much

We are also now beginning to appreciate Natural Intelligence, the one that has allowed us to evolve and cope with the world around us with little direct input from our minds.

Ridicule was heaped on Prince Charles years ago when he admitted talking to plants, but we are now discovering new truths about their intelligence. A beech tree will not bud until it feels a certain temperature and sees a certain length of daylight for a certain number of days in a row. That is how they know spring has truly arrived; and if you export beech trees to the southern hemisphere, where the seasons are reversed, they use their natural intelligence to adapt and bud at the right time there. I am no mystic, but if we consider this as an example of a form of intelligence with which we have just begun to grapple, we might see just how limited our assumptions are that intelligence can readily be measured by whether pupils pass certain tests at certain grades at certain points in their lives. The rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is set to provide us our greatest challenge yet. Given that AI will do many things far better than humans, why is our educational system still drilling students mechanically instead of focusing upon them developing as fully rounded human beings? ‰

T HE CULFORDIAN

SPEE C H DAY

SEN IOR & S IXTH FO RM | 2017 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2 018

SPEE C H DAY

â&#x20AC;&#x153;I cannot tell you one thing from the curriculum of today that will be relevant to the youngest child in our school when she graduates 20 years from now. But by focusing upon key values and feeling our way forward like the philosopher in Plato's Cave, ever edging towards the light, we will continue to be relevant in allowing that child to move towards her future with hope and a strong sense of her own abilitiesâ&#x20AC;?

For how much longer, for example, will we expect pupils to sit terminal exams recalling ideas in isolation, when as adults we expect them to live and work in teams, sharing and collaborating as only humans truly can? T.S. Eliot put it poetically in Choruses From The Rock when he asked: Where is the life we have lost in living? Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information? In an age in which information is both our greatest asset and the thing that most threatens to overwhelm us, we have to be brave enough to insist upon an education that reveals to children what it truly means to be human; not one that fits them to become the infantilised adjuncts of AI and robotics.

As T.S. Eliot hints, we must gain information to develop knowledge; apply that knowledge to see it become wisdom; and show that wisdom in our lives.

to others, include their views in our thinking and develop genuine diversity in our organisations. Perhaps we might call that Diversity Intelligence.

I cannot tell you one thing from the curriculum of today that will be relevant to the youngest child in our school when she graduates 20 years from now. But by focusing upon key values and feeling our way forward like the philosopher in Plato's Cave, ever edging towards the light, we will continue to be relevant in allowing that child to move towards her future with hope and a strong sense of her own abilities.

The role of a Headmaster, who is not a real teacher and whose job anyone could do, is pretty simple. Appoint great staff and attract supportive parents who have independently-minded children. Listen to those teachers, parents and children; and they will show you how to make the school you serve flexible, innovative, dynamic and resilient; and above all relevant to the future.

I return to my words about Rosieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s byelection victory, because leaders also need to change. We need to be judged far less on how well we write strategy, convince others of our wisdom and drive through change; and be judged far more on how far we listen

And therefore I close, as I do every year, by thanking those parents present today for entrusting to us the education of your son or daughter. It is not only a terrific responsibility, but also a wonderful opportunity; and we never take it for granted. Thank you.

T HE CULFORDIAN

EXAM RES ULT S

L – R: Katie Veitch, Edward Pomeroy, Grace Deane, Joshua Stephens, Abbie Farrow, Jude Everitt and Pete Hodgson

A Level Results Culford pupils perform strongly in the face of increasingly challenging examinations.

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A L EVEL EX AM RE SULT S

This year, Culford pupils achieved an excellent set of A Level results. Specifications involve less coursework and controlled assessment and have more challenging conceptual content and terminal exams. However, teachers and pupils now have a better understanding of the new type of stretching questions exam boards are setting in subject papers. Grade percentages were as follows: A* A*– A A*– B A*– C A*– D A*– E

4% 22% 46% 72% 89% 99%

We analyse all our results via a value-added framework, which means that for each individual pupil, we compare each subject final grade with predicted grades based on academic and pastoral profiles. This year, pupils who worked hard across all ability levels performed well in comparison to their predicted grades. The grades achieved by a number of our top performers are outlined below: William Baines Claire Bottomley Fraser Devoy Jude Everitt Abbie Farrow Sol Franklin Peter Hodgson Martynas Jurkonis Milana Kheiffetts Julius Kümpers Edward Pomeroy Joshua Stephens Kathryn Veitch Nella Walters Jianuo Wang Max Whittaker Celina Yan

AAAB AAB ABB ABB AAB A*A A C A*A B AAAB A*A A ABBC A*A A ABB A*A*A ABB ABB ABB A*A A A B

Our Headmaster, Julian Johnson-Munday, said “We are very pleased with this set of excellent grades, particularly the high number of very good individual results. We are also very proud of the value added, as pupils and teachers work very hard indeed when preparing for the examinations.” Nationally this year fewer pupils in the UK applied to universities, so with more places available, Culford pupils were advised to be very ambitious with both their first choice universities and to use the improved UCAS clearing process as an insurance choice. Stephen Arbuthnot, Head of Sixth Form, said “I was delighted that 70% of pupils were successful in going to the universities of their choosing, and most of the remainder were accepted onto excellent courses through Clearing. I am also delighted that we have three pupils who are starting exciting courses in America in Memphis, Montana and New York on sports scholarships.” A third of our 2018 applicants were accepted by Russell Group universities, however it has to be noted that, increasingly, non-Russell Group Universities are appearing at the top of the rankings. What is more important is that pupils secure places at their chosen universities and study the courses they are passionate about.

John Guntrip Deputy Head

Katie Veitch Individual Success Following a fantastic set of results with A*A*A in her A Levels, Katie (pictured left) has been accepted by Cardiff University to study Neuroscience. Katie had the aptitude and results to gain entry to Oxbridge, but after attending a Brain Day put on by Culford, she was inspired by neuroscience and was single-minded in her desire to join her course at Cardiff University. Stephen Arbuthnot, Head of Sixth Form, said “Alongside her studies, Katie was Deputy Head Girl, Chair of the Charities Committee, a Peer Counsellor and performed in our drama productions. She is a very talented girl and I am delighted she has been so successful”.

T HE CULFORDIAN

EXAM RES ULT S

L – R: Hugo Thompson, Francesca Sanderson, Rohan Salisbury, Bethany Farrow and Yaa Zuta

SEN IOR & S IXTH FO RM | 2017 – 2 018

GCSE E XAM RE SULT S

GCSE Results Excellent results secured by pupils interspersed by some outstanding individual performances.

At GCSE virtually all subjects moved to the 9-1 grading system, but a few subjects like geography and design technology retained the traditional grades of A*, A etc. Pupils, teachers and parents were nervous on results day because the threshold level for each grade boundary had not been made clear by the exam boards, and indeed the specifications and questions, as well as most of the assessment, had been via terminal exams. However, all were absolutely delighted and relieved when the results were published because most pupils achieved what was expected according to their academic profiles. Many pupils achieved the highest grades, including a number of level 9s. The percentages were as follows: A* + 9-8 A*– A + 9-7 A*– B + 9-6 A*– C + 9-4 A*– G + 9-3

28% 49% 69% 95% 100%

96% of all pupils gained at least 5 GCSE subjects at grades A* to C or 9 to 4. This outcome is excellent because we are not a statistically-orientated exam factory; even if it is clear that a pupil might struggle to pass a subject based on ability, a huge amount of effort from all parties goes into ensuring that this pupil gets as much help and support as possible.

We had a number of excellent individual performances: Max Derbyshire

9 8 8 8 7 7 7 7 5 A*

Beth Farrow Janina Hanfeld

9 9 9 9 8 8 7 2A* 998666A

Will Hilsum Catherine Howells Natalya Hutchinson Ellis Kilbane Libby Rushforth Clare Scott Charlie Stephens Issy White Emily Wildish Alexia Zhang Jiawen Zhang Nina Zhang Shirley Zhang Vavara Zlotnik Yaa Zuta

9 8 8 8 8 6 5 2A* B 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 8 8 A* 9 8 8 8 8 7 7 7 6 A* 988888774 9 9 8 8 7 7 6 5 2A* 9 9 9 9 9 8 8 6 2A* 9 8 8 8 8 8 7 7 5 A* 9 9 9 8 8 7 7 5 5 A* 9 9 9 8 8 8 7 7 7 A* 8 8 7 7 6 6 4 2A* A 8 8 7 7 6 2A* A B 9 9 9 9 8 A* B 9 9 9 9 A* A 9 9 9 8 8 2A* A 9 9 8 8 7 7 6 6 A*

Every year pupils who are not academic scholars, but who do particularly well in their GCSE examinations are awarded Sixth Form Honorary Scholarships by the Headmaster. The bench mark is at least 5 level 9s and 8s and 4 level 7s. New Sixth Form Scholars are as follows: Max Derbyshire Charlie Stephens Megan Gore Nihal Shah In summary, we are absolutely delighted with the results this year. There is evidently a huge amount of effort behind each subject grade with pupils, teachers and parents getting fully involved in the journey. Grades are of course important, but we also focus on making the learning process as interesting and multi-dimensional as possible, providing a huge variety of learning activities both within and beyond the lessons. John Guntrip Deputy Head

Culford’s Headmaster, Mr Julian JohnsonMunday, said “These results are excellent, particularly the value added across the range of abilities. We are also delighted with the high number of top grade levels achieved by many of our pupils.”

“These results are excellent, particularly the value added across the range of abilities. We are also delighted with the high number of top grade levels achieved by many of our pupils”

T HE CULFORDIAN

SC HOL A RS ’ P RO G R AMME

Scholars’ Programme The first Scholars’ seminar began with Coffee Cups and Donuts: A Topologist’s View of the World, given by Dr Brian O’Riordan, Assistant Head of Maths. Dr O’Riordan gave a brief overview of graph theory from the classic Konigsberg Bridge problem through to the development of topology, also known as ‘rubber sheet’ geometry and ‘classical knot’ theory. The talk included some tricky hands-on demonstrations of Mobius bands and a review of key applications, such as computing, logistics and DNA analysis.

r Marios Constambeys visited in October to speak on the subject of Britain and Europe in the Middle Ages. He gave a charismatic seminar on peasants and monasteries in mediaeval Italy, as well as the empire of Charlemagne, the history of the city of Rome and Christian-Muslim relations in the medieval Mediterranean. Nigel Baker, Statistical Science Director at AstraZeneca, gave an intriguing talk on The Role of a Statistician in Medicine Development. He discussed the phases of the medicine development process, from experiments in a laboratory through to animal testing and clinical development. He also focused on the ethics of drug development, not just in terms of the treatment of animals but also in relation to the interpretation of statistics. In January, Dr Lisa Wade gave a riveting talk on Art and Hell that focused on the imagery of Hell and the Last Judgement in the art of the Italian Renaissance. Having appeared on television and radio numerous times, her seminar was extremely thoughtful and reflective. Professor Jonathan Ellis-Miller gave an engaging and personal talk on Architecture in Practice. He drew on his vast experience of leading and managing award winning schemes, from one-off houses through to large multi-stakeholder projects, to inspire us to think about architecture and design. In March, Dr Crispian Strachan QPM CBE delivered the thoughtprovoking seminar Why shouldn’t we break the law? As former Chief Constable of Northumbria Police, he focused on applied criminology and police management. The annual Scholars’ seminar and dinner featured Dr Zeena Feldman, who talked about Social Media and Resistance. She looked at how digital technologies impact upon the understanding and performance of traditionally analogue concepts, for instance friendship, work and wellbeing – making us all think about removing our social media apps from our phones! Parents also attended the seminar and drinks afterwards; the dinner, held in the Red Room in Old Hall, ended with a speech from the Head Boy, Joshua Stephens.

Dr Brian O’Riordan delivering a seminar on Graph Theory

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This annual series was rounded off by an outstanding seminar by our very own Peter Burge, Director of Music, who talked about Rachmaninoff, the Last Great Romantic. Rachmaninoff had an absolutely enormous hand span, and the seminar began with several pupils trying to match this span on the Steinway in the Billiard Room;

SC H OL ARS’ PROGR AMME

Alex Cruickshank, Dr Marios Constambeys, Head of History Marcus Rackowe and Ellie-Jean Royden

none of us succeeded! Mr Burge spoke about Rachmaninoff’s personal and professional life, interspersed with his own tremendous piano playing of Rachmaninoff’s great works. Scholars lead the academic life of the school both within and beyond lessons. This involves leading by example in their academic studies and helping other pupils with their academic work. Scholars also attend Oxbridge-style tutorials and debates. Following last year’s success, which saw the Debating Society achieve the Eastern Regionals of the ESU Schools’ Mace, we took a year to develop the skills of a new team from the ground up. Edward Roy, Clare Scott, Anh Nguyen and Alexia Zhang formed the new team and took part in the English-Speaking Union Mace in September, putting up a valiant battle. They learned much from the experience, and they will undoubtedly go back to the fray another time. In the Summer term, the Debating Society hit new heights of popularity, and we were able to form the biggest team to date. The team was made up of Julia D’Lima, Nathan Fernandes, Emily Hope, Connor Horne, Charles Ives, Finlay Morrison and Ellie-Jean Royden and flexed its collective muscle at Speech Day, debating the motion This House believes that large charities are not the best form of philanthropy. Judging by the high level of audience participation, the debate was a huge success. The quality of debate bodes very well indeed for the next competitive season. On a cold Friday in March, eight of our Lower Sixth Scholars took to the stage to present an academic topic to a packed Billiard Room of teachers and younger Culford Scholars. The brief was simple: you have five minutes to present a fast-paced, engaging TED-style talk to inspire younger scholars on an academic topic of your choice. The idea behind these events is not only to ensure that younger scholars are academically stimulated and inspired to learn, but also to develop our more senior scholars to show super-curricular research and to develop their communication skills. Topics were fascinating and included: domestic violence; the development of protesting methods used by feminists; China’s market economy status; drug issues in Thailand; the Oedipus and Electra complexes, along with other Freudian theories. This was the second year that the Lower Sixth completed a Culford Independent Research Project, and the results showed the initiative has really taken hold within our Sixth Form Programme. All pupils completed an extensive project over the Spring term after their exams, and it was an excellent way to practise independent research and presentation skills. This year a record 12 projects were graded at

Fergus Schofield, Leo Williams, Dr Lisa Wade, Alice Barkley, Emma Howards and Head of Art Tessa Richardson

distinction level, some, but not all, from scholars. Participants were required to present their results for 15 minutes to an audience of teachers and pupils. Two pupils, Ophelia Yannaghas and Anna Hutchinson, even presented in French and Spanish respectively; and Mr Arbuthnot had to call in the language teachers to assess their presentations! The pupils who secured distinctions, along with their topics, are listed below. However, all pupils should be congratulated on their strong performances across the board. Alice Barkley

Is time travel possible?

Mackenzie Bell

How advancing military tech can save and destroy lives

Thomas Day

Cryptocurrency and how it affects the market

Ciara Dysart

Bio-Archaeology: How we define age, sex, stature, diet and occupation using our skeletal remains

Lucy Flynn

Should cannabis be legalised?

Emily Hope

Did Winston Churchill’s words help win the war?

Emily Howard

Why is there so much inequality?

Annastasia Hutchinson Los cambios en los papeles de las mujeres durante la guerra civil Española Henry Jackson-Wells

How is theatre evolving to stay relevant and entertaining to a modern audience?

Oliver Riddick

Coral Reefs: Are they Doomed?

Ellie-Jean Royden

How understanding literary theory and criticism changes how you read a novel

Ophelia Yannaghas

A Gastronomic Tour of France

Scholars, teachers and parents who attended the tutorials, seminars, presentations and debates this year enjoyed interesting and thoughtprovoking experiences. Dr Guntrip would like to thank the Scholars’ tutors, Mr Rees, Mrs Baker, Mr Arbuthnot, Mrs Haughey and Mr Holiday-Scott for their assistance with the scholar and Oxbridge programmes this year.

T HE CULFORDIAN

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Culford Hall at Dusk

Artist Jo Bowen Jo Bowen is a well-established British artist, best known for her cityscapes and sport paintings. She is a multi-talented expressive artist who has worked as a professional for the last 20 years.

Culford pupil, Henry Meadows

Jo is also a mum to two pupils at Culford. Her family moved to Suffolk from London last year so she would like to introduce her work to parents and friends of the School by offering the opportunity to commission your own piece of art. These could be screen prints of your family or a sport portrait of your child in action at School. Jo is currently working on a golf painting of Henry Meadows, a Scholar in Prep School and she will be coming to Culford to speak to the Scholars in 2019, so watch out for this date in the diary. Career highlights include being appointed the of cial artist for the England Cricket Team, culminating in a sellout show at Lords; having her work hung in the permanent collections at the MCC and the Houses of Parliament; numerous solo and group exhibitions as well as two hugely successful solo shows of cityscapes at Cork Street, the V&A Museum and the Royal Automobile Club. Jo works on private and corporate commissions, with work displayed across the world in of ces of well known companies and in homes of many private clients. Joâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s success is down to her understanding of colour, tonal values and skillful draughtsmanship, a combination which creates atmosphere and movement in her paintings which are lled with life and energy. She works in many different mediums including oils on canvas, charcoals, acrylics and she is a proli c printmaker. If you are interested in commissioning a piece of art, please contact Jo directly.

Tel: 07885 193993 Email: Jo@Jobowen.co.uk www.jobowen.co.uk

Visual and Performing Arts From the classics to the contemporary, the arts have been truly celebrated across the school and demonstrate the depth of talent amongst our pupils.

VI SUAL AN D PE R FOR MING A RT S

DNA Dennis Kelly’s DNA is fast becoming one of the seminal texts of contemporary drama, and this year Culford’s Director of Drama Maria Jackson chose to direct this hard-hitting and thoughtprovoking play. The second the audience was blasted with Underworld’s trance anthems in the pre-set we knew what we were in for was going to be bold, raw and mesmerising.

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DN A

hronicling a group of misfit teenagers who had â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;done something bad, really bad;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; we saw them emerge onto the stage from the shadows, identically dressed but hiding their identities in grey hoodies. We immediately sensed their solidarity but shrank from their aggression as, accompanied to pounding music from The Prodigy, they performed one of the most energetic and threatening openings to a piece Culford has seen. Then we met them. One by one. First Mark and Jan who crouched centre stage whispering in disbelief about what had happened. Played by Henry Jackson-Wells and Emily Hope, these two characters were pivotal in exposing the plot and keeping the audience engaged in vital detail while bringing a humour and fluidity to their relationship. Henry and Emily have proved themselves again and again to be outstanding actors and they mastered the delivery of the vernacular language, making all of their quirky appearances together a highlight. Cayman Evans played the verbose Leah, who tried desperately to get a reaction from the self-styled ring leader Phil, played by Ellis Kilbane. The pair of them brought moments of wit and pathos to the piece as she talked and talked, and he ate and ate until they ultimately managed to drift completely apart, unable to cope with each other, or their actions.

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This production showed contemporary drama at its best: energising, shocking, enlightening, thought-provoking and entertaining. All involved should be congratulated on the outstanding result.

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The strength of the piece lay in the relationships between the teenagers as they ricocheted from banter to bleak silence. As they began to gather in the woods, Mark (Henry Jackson-Wells) recounted how a practical joke had ‘gone wrong’ leaving one of their own, Amy (Hollie Pym) missing, presumed dead. This speech was brilliantly chilling in its matter of fact delivery, inviting us to dislike the cruelty these callous misfits revelled in, and it set the tone for the macabre events to come. This event was Amy’s shock reappearance, where she crept in from the edge of the wood, injured, bloodied, having been living on birds, bugs and the like in a makeshift den. Hollie Pym played Amy beautifully, with a vulnerable reticence that told her story with absolute clarity. The teenagers, shocked by her reappearance and worried how this would make them guilty of having carried out a cover-up plan, plot to get rid of her properly for once and for all. It was in the role of psychotic Cathy who carries out this duty that Lucy Mason excelled, never once over doing the subtly required to make this role believable and shocking. As in all gangs, there was one who was the butt of everyone’s jokes; and this was the hapless Brian, played by Maxim Rushman. Constantly ridiculed by Richard, played with excellent comic timing by Hadley Butler, Brian never found his own voice – instead ending up a victim like Amy. Maxim’s performance was outstanding. He grasped entirely what the playwright intended Brian to be in order to get the audience to empathise with the underdog and performed just on the cusp of subtlety, so we cared more about him than anyone other character in the play. This production showed contemporary drama at its best: energising, shocking, enlightening, thought-provoking and entertaining. All involved should be congratulated on the outstanding result. Maria Jackson Director of Drama

T HE CULFORDIAN

VI SUAL AN D PE R FOR MING A RT S

The Lower Sixth A Level drama pupils performed their own original piece of drama I Am No Bird to a packed Studio Theatre in the Spring term.

I Am No Bird

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I AM NO BIRD

his dynamic piece, which fused naturalistic drama with physical theatre, explored the struggles that Charlotte Brontë faced trying to publish her work as a woman in the mid 1800s, whilst drawing a clever parallel with incarceration faced by Emily Jackson, a Lancastrian woman imprisoned by her husband in the same historical period.

ensemble based physical theatre to support their main character work.

Having been given a key extract from the National Theatre’s version of Jane Eyre as a stimulus, the pupils researched the social, historical and contextual background with the aim of creating a piece that shocked and educated whilst containing a contemporary edge through the inclusion of underscoring, minimalist staging, episodic structure and

Lucy Mason (Charlotte Brontë) perfectly captured Brontë’s iron will, and Emily Hope (Emily Jackson) gave a moving portrayal when reliving her entrapment. Henry Jackson-Wells (Rochester) showed the depths of his love for Jane and bitterness towards Bertha in equal measure and Charlotte Anderson (Jane Eyre) left us in no doubt of her passionate nature.

What resulted was a complex and fast-paced piece, which posed the question “Is Brontë free in a patriarchal society, or is she too imprisoned by expectation and ultimately by her own characters?”

Cayman Evans (Edmund Jackson) delivered a resolute performance of this bigoted man and Hollie Pym (Bertha Mason) demonstrated the subtle skills of manipulation to eventually get her own way. This was a highly successful piece of theatre that emulated perfectly the move in professional contemporary theatre practice towards combining narrative with physical theatre. All the pupils involved are to be congratulated on the structure and depth of the piece and on the high quality of the performances they delivered. Maria Jackson Director of Drama

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Drama Overview

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The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui by Bertold Brecht Upper Fifth GCSE drama pupils presented Brechtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui choosing to present monologues, duologues and an episodic group performance from this challenging piece of political theatre.

et in Chicago in 1933, this allegorical satire chronicled the exploits of Chicago gangster Arturo Ui, a thinly disguised representation of Adolf Hitler, who used Al Capone type methods to coerce and manipulate the population by setting up a protection scheme he insists they join. The play shows clear parallels with how Hitler aimed for world domination in the build-up to World War Two through parody, humour and, ultimately, menace. Ethan Littlefair opened the piece playing the Master of Ceremonies and directly addressed the audience and described some of the dubious characters we could expect to meet in the play. Maxim Rushman and Xander Bell then expertly depicted something that took place in reality: with Maxim representing Hitler through the character of Arturo Ui and

Xander playing the Actor in this scene, we saw a parody excellently played out of how Hitler took acting lessons so his public addresses would have more impact.

Dullfoot and Ryan Gittins as Arturo Ui in a scene which proved to us that, even with blood on his hands, all that mattered to Ui was financial gain and world domination.

This was followed by a monologue from Ellis Kilbane who shows us the sleezy, manipulative side of the character of Arturo Ui, who is part gangster. In this scence, Ui manipulates the public, ironically offering them protection against those who might do them harm.

The evening ended with a raucous execution of one of the most complex scenes in Brechtian theatre. All appeared in a slapstick court scene that revolved around a warehouse fire in Chicago, drawing a parallel with the Reichstag Fire of 1933 and giving a clear message of political corruption.

A rousing piece followed from Emily Wildish, who, playing the archypal Wounded Woman, is a respresentation of all those who suffer at the hands of dictators. In this role, she entreats the audience to rise against them and to fight back.

Brecht wrote this play not just to entertain, but to educate, and this presentation certainly did both those things.

The final duologue was performed by Megan Richardson playing widower Betty

Congratulations must go to Ellis Kilbane and Emily Wildish who were awarded 96% and 94% respectively from the visiting GCSE examiner for their monologue and group performances.

T HE CULFORDIAN

VISUAL AN D PE R FOR MING ART S

The Autumn Concert is the first major public concert of the year, taking place just before half-term. This year over 120 pupils were involved, which was quite a squeeze in the Studio Theatre as our usual venue of Centenary Hall was not available due to renovations. This created a particularly exciting and vibrant atmosphere, to which the pupils responded brilliantly, writes Pete Burge, Director of Music.

Music Overview T

he Wind Band started proceedings at the Autumn Concert with a funky Mambo number followed by an Abba medley. The Clarinet Ensemble, Senior Guitar

Ensemble all performed to their usual high standard and Hot Club, our slinky string ensemble entertained with a fine rendition of Blue Skies by Irving Berlin. Vocal soloists were featured with Ciara Dysart singing Supermarket Flowers by Ed Sheeran accompanied by Joshua Cope on piano. Ellie-Jean Royden sang one of her own songs, Sofia, accompanying herself on the guitar. Emily Hope, Ellen Farthing and Emma Howard, otherwise known as E Natural, gave a stunning rendition of Coldplay’s Viva La Vida and Ellis Kilbane impressed everyone with his lead singing in Rock Band’s performance of White Stripe’s Seven Nation Army and Run To You by Brian Adams. Our annual Staff Concert saw our talented music teachers taking a lead, entertaining a full Billiard Room of pupils and parents. Composers represented ranged from Mozart, Chopin, Dvorak, Britten and Mendelssohn through to Zinowsky, Marquina, Sherwin, Aldridge and our very own Janet Welsh. There were piano, cello,

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clarinet, saxophone, trumpet and violin solos, flute duets, and a movement from a piano trio. Stephen Williamson dazzled on the drum-kit in Full English Breckerfest and James Recknell entertained with his saw giving a very tenderly performed arrangement of A Nightingale Sang in Berkely Square. Senior pupils took centre stage in the Soloists Concert later in the Autumn term with 21 pupils performing an exciting range of advanced pieces. Nina Zhang opened proceedings with a blistering account of the Rondo from Beethoven’s Pathétique Sonata; Jiawen Zhang also impressed with her intricate Bach Gigue; and singers were represented by Megan Richardson, Edward Baines, Lucy Mason and Emily Hope. St. Edmundsbury Cathedral once again played host to our annual Carol Service. The mood was set perfectly by the Guitar Ensemble, directed by Nigel Tuffs in his own arrangement of The Holly and the Ivy.

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The newly formed The Twelve, an elite Senior School vocal ensemble, sang Nicholas Hopton’s a capella introit, Alleluia! A New Work is Come on Hand. Nicholas, a former Culford member of staff, had great success with this Carol, which reached the final of the BBC carol writing competition in 2016. First Form Choir, Prep Choir and Senior Choir all featured strongly throughout the service with Prep and Senior Choir coming together in a jazz inspired carol by Peter Burge, Director of Music, entitled A Child is Born in Bethlehem. In the Spring term, GCSE music students combined with Music Scholars and Exhibitioners to give a joint concert. This was an entertaining evening of solos and small ensembles, and 22 musicians demonstrated the breadth and depth of their talent. Catherine Howells rounded off the evening with a stunning account of the second movement of Shostakovich’s 2nd Cello Sonata. Earlier in the term Catherine had featured as the soloist in a performance of Elgar’s Cello Concerto at the Apex Theatre in Bury St. Edmunds. Those of us privileged to

attend witnessed an utterly charismatic performance with Catherine more than a match for the full symphony orchestra accompanying her. The Spring term saw the return of the Tea for Two concert given for Old Culfordians. This is always a special event and a varied programme of music was performed by a selection of Prep and Senior School pupils. The afternoon ended with the customary enthusiastic rendition of Estote Fortes and the East Anglian School for Girls School Song. The Spring Concert at the end of term was a show-piece occasion featuring music ensembles from both the Prep and Senior Schools. It is exciting to see so many strong instrumentalists and singers coming through from the Prep School. The Prep Choir was particularly impressive with their singing of A Little Jazz Mass by Bob Chilcott. The Senior School’s fine vocal ensemble, The Twelve, also gave beautiful accounts of Rutter’s The Lord Bless You and Keep You and Stanford’s The Blue Bird.

Associated Board and Trinity music exams took place throughout the year with more than 60 examinations successfully passed. Particularly notable performances were by Emily Hope and Emma Howard, who both gained distinctions in their Grade 8 singing exams. Joshua Cope gained a merit in Grade 7 trumpet and William Hicks gained a merit in his Grade 7 clarinet. Although the Summer term is dominated by public examinations, many of our musicians found time to take part in the lunchtime recital at St. Edmundsbury Cathedral. This was a wonderful opportunity for more advanced pupils to shine with their impressive playing: Joshua Cope gave a beautiful performance of Chopin’s Nocturne No. 20 in C Sharp Minor, and Jiawen Zhang continued the Chopin trend with a scintillating performance of his Fantasie-Impromptu. The Clarinet Quartet and Guitar Trio also featured as did the Twelve with a performance of Fauré’s Cantique de Jean Racine. Peter Burge Director of Music

T HE CULFORDIAN

VI SUAL AN D PE R FOR MING A RT S

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Art Overview Culford’s new Head of Art, Tessa Richardson, reflects on her first year at the School and the accomplishments of her pupils.

o follow on from Mrs Hunt’s long established leadership of the art department has been an honor. The generations of pupils that have left Culford impassioned with creativity is a testament to the joy for art she inspires.

information by seeing work in its own environment. With the increased space in the art department, pupils will be encouraged to think about how to exhibit and display their work, which will enhance the learning experience of curating.

A great deal of change is occurring in the art department with the demolition of the old studio; the new construction has us excitedly looking to the future and the possibilities it will bring.

Sixth Form pupil Maggie Wang was accepted into Central St Martins on a Three-Dimensional Design course after making superb jewellery during an internship, and Hannah Brecknell and Max Whittaker entered regional and national competitions. Max investigated how to cast concrete into everyday objects to create a light installation that played with both shadows and texture; Hannah explored the intensely emotive topic of human trafficking. As a swimming scholar, water is Hannah’s gateway to freedom and passion; however, she explored the poignant difference that, to others, water is the peril that needs to be crossed, and more often than not, exploited.

The inclusion of Prep School art into the Senior School Art Centre has been a significant change as it encourages greater integration of the younger children with the Senior pupils. It is heart-warming to see the genuine encouragement and praise Senior pupils give to the lower years as they pass by. Prep school work was displayed alongside the Seniors at the School Art Exhibition, and the standard was exemplary. The Fourth Form curriculum included architecture for the first time, with fantastic results. Through studying the work of Daniel Libeskind and Frank Gehry, pupils explored the dynamic fluidity and ergonomic layout of some of the world’s most interesting buildings. The resulting ceramic outcomes surpassed pupils’ expectations, and hopefully made it home in one piece. Throughout the year we took numerous trips to London to support our contextual studies for those undertaking exam qualifications. We explored The National Gallery, Tate Britain, Tate Modern, Victoria & Albert Museum and the British Museum. These visits allow pupils to gain a wealth of

The year culminated in a fantastic trip to Paris. Pupils from Upper Fifth and Sixth Form gained inspiration by exploring the works of impressionists and cubists. We visited the newly refurbished Picasso Museum and the Musee D’Orsay with a current exhibition Âmes Sauvages: le symbolisme dans les pays baltes (Wild Souls: symbolism in the Baltic states). At the Centre Pompidou we saw the exhibition Aventure Moderne, which focused on French modern art and design from the 1900s to the 1950s. The new Upper Sixth will be the first to exhibit in the new space, and I am looking forward to seeing how they will curate their works.

T HE CULFORDIAN

VI SUAL AN D PE R FOR MING A RT S

Arts Presentation

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A RT S PRESENTATION

During the Spring term, Centenary Hall played host to the tenth Arts Presentation Dinner that celebrated achievements in the creative arts.

The Lower Sixth Art Committee hosted the event, which saw pupils and teachers assemble for a fine dinner, speeches and presentations. During the event, awards were presented to: Art: Clara Heiland, Emily Harris and Ophelia Yannaghas Drama: Charlotte Anderson, Finlay Evans, Tristan Long and Katie Veitch Music: Edward Baines, Ellen Farthing, Emily Hope and Emma Howard Upper Fifth artist Libby Rushforth said: “It was a wonderful evening, enjoyed by everyone, and it was great to celebrate the achievements of all involved in the arts at Culford.”

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VI SUAL AN D PE R FOR MING A RT S

Hannah Benton

Hannah Brecknell

Issey O'Brien-Miller

ART & DESIGN TECHNOLOGY

A Level Gallery 36

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A RT & DESIGN TEC HNO L OG Y | A LE VE L

Ophelia Yannaghas

Emily Harris

Hannah Brecknell

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VI SUAL AN D PE R FOR MING A RT S

ART & DESIGN TECHNOLOGY

GCSE Gallery

Aly Hutchinson

Skye Roberts (Fourth Form)

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A RT & DESIGN TEC H NOL OG Y | GCSE

Ronan Rutnam

Daisy Valiant

Daisy Grant

Florence Wilson (Fourth Form)

Yumico Cui

Ignacio Zaragoza (Fourth Form)

T HE CULFORDIAN

Sporting Achievements Culford is increasingly known for sporting excellence. This year, Senior School successes have won plaudits both nationally and internationally.

SPORTING AC HIE VE MENT S

Tennis We maintained our position as the Number One co-educational tennis school in Great Britain this year after numerous team successes at National level.

n the recent LTA national review of performance tennis programmes, Culford was awarded LTA Regional and Local Player Development Centre status; becoming one of only 11 Regional Centres in the Country and one of 50 Local Centres. This status recognises the strength of the players in the School, its links with the community and the quality of the facilities and coaching team.

Our leading players continue to achieve superbly in both UK and international tournaments. We currently have 120 players who are Tennis Scholars and full programme players, along with 30 very promising performance players. Culford’s Tennis Development Programme continues to thrive, with a further 120 pupils playing regularly throughout the year.

LTA Team Tennis National Schools Championships, December 2017 The Year 8 and Under and Year 10 and Under tennis pupils enjoyed fantastic success at the LTA National Schools Championships held at Bolton Arena.

The event began in April with the county qualifying stage, which resulted in Culford winning the County Finals in June. The players progressed through regional qualifying in September and October to reach the Regional Finals in November. After close matches, our Under 15 Boys and Girls teams emerged as Regional Champions. In the National Finals the girls’ team of Andrea Pineda (F4), Justice Hall (U3), Varvara Zlotnik (U5), Ella Wood (L5) and Gabia Paskauskas (L3) defeated Manchester Grammar School 8-4 and Leicester Grammar School 12-0, which placed them in a final match against Talbot Heath School, the current National Champions. Despite superb performances, Culford lost against a very strong team to finish in overall second place. The Year 10 boys’ team of Harry Wendelken (U5), Luke Watson (L5), Max Styra (U5), Warok Rai (U5), Will Gibson (F4) defeated Repton School 12-0, Merchiston Castle School 8-4 and went on to an exciting final match against Bournemouth Collegiate School. The match went down to the very last points before the National Champions emerged. Unfortunately, Culford lost 8-6 in the final tie-break to take second place. Over 1,200 state and independent school teams in each age group from across Great Britain entered in 2017.To finish as National Runners-up in both the Boys and Girls is a great achievement. As a result of Culford’s fantastic performances across 2017, the LTA year-end rankings show that our boys are in first place and our girls placed third in the country. Culford therefore remains the Number One co-educational tennis school in Great Britain.

LTA Team Tennis Senior Students National Finals, March 2018 The Culford mixed team competed in the LTA Team Tennis Senior Students National Finals at the USN Bolton Arena in March having qualified by winning the Regional Final in February. The team of Rob Clark (U6), Mila Ivanov (U5), Galin Rusev (U6) and Janina Hanfeld (U5) performed superbly to finish third. In their first match in the group the team lost to Millfield School 6-2, the eventual winners. After comfortable 6-2 win against Canon Slade School, Lancashire an absorbing match against Strathallan School ensued and finished 4-4 before a tie-break shoot-out. Galin and Mila lost 5-4 but gave a great performance during the last match. Other results stacked in our favour, which led Culford to finish second in our group and an equal third overall in the event. Well done to all the players!

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TE NNIS

Tennis Awards Evening, April 2018 We were delighted to welcome 150 people to the 2018 Tennis Awards evening which recognised the achievements of Culford School and non-Culford School pupils who attend the tennis coaching programme. The list of winners and nominees is as follows:

A celebration of Mini Tennis replaced previous awards for our youngest players Mini Tennis Red George Hansgate (L1), Samuel Chamberlain (L1) Mini Tennis Orange (DW/AO) Scott Watson (L1), Charlotte Anderson (L1), Charlotte James (L2) Mini Tennis Green (DW/AO) Rocco Richardson (U1), Imogen Callaghan (U2), MillieHansgate (U2), Will Anderson (U2)

Category

Player of the Year (Boy)

Player of the Year (Girl)

Most improved (Boy)

Most improved (Girl)

U12

Archie Jones (U2) winner Logan McElfresh (L3) nominee Josh Izod (U3) nominee

Gabia Paskauskas (L3) winner

Guy Manley (U2) winner Ibene Essem (L3) nominee

U14 Tennis

Gregor Webster (F4) winner Ralph Bartlett (U3) nominee

Andrea Pineda (F4) winner Kristina Paskauskas (F4) nominee

Ralph Bartlett (U3) winner Theo Purkis (U3) nominee Michael Gu (L5) nominee

Kristina Paskauskas (F4) winner Justice Hall (U3) nominee Polly Fothergill (U3) nominee

U14 Strength Strength and Conditioning

Josh Izod (U3) winner Gene Swain (F4) nominee Ralph Bartlett (U3) nominee

Dani Kotara (U3) winner Justice Hall (U3) nominee Gabia Paskuskas (L3) nominee

U16

Harry Wendelken (U5) winner Luke Watson (L5) nominee

Ella Wood (L5) winner Varvara Zlotnik (U5) nominee

Warok Rai (U5) winner

Varvara Zlotnik (U5) winner

U18 Tennis

Oscar Cutting (U6) winner Ed Pomeroy (U6) nominee Charlie James (U6) nominee

Kira Reuter (L6) winner

Noah Cutting (L6) winner Jaya Mace (L6) nominee Gordon Loo (U5) nominee

Maya Klermund (L6) winner

U18 Strength and Conditioning

Sebastian Koci-Edwards (L5) winner Laurenz Rathmanner (U5) nominee Warok Rai (U5) nominee

Varvara Zlotnik (U5) winner Kira Reuter (L6) nominee Ella Wood (L5) nominee

T HE CULFORDIAN

SPORTING AC HIE VE MENT S

LTA Team Tennis National Schools Under 18 Championships Culford’s Senior Tennis performed superbly in this year’s LTA Team Tennis National Schools Under 18 Championships at Nottingham Tennis Centre. The most prestigious event in the tennis calendar, it involves all state and independent schools across Great Britain in which 16 boys’ and 16 girls’ teams qualify for the finals.

ISTA National Schools Championships, 30th June to 3rd July 2018 The Independent National Schools championships held at Eton College is a highlight of the annual tennis calendar as all the leading independent schools enter the event. This year, 12 boys and girls played for Culford across the Under 15 and Under 19 groups. Our Upper Sixth boys’ Under 19 team of Oscar Cutting, Edward Pomeroy, Edward Pudney and Charlie James were number 1 seeds and aiming to win the Youll Cup for the first time. Comfortable wins in the first few rounds led to a semi-final against Eton College, who had beaten us twice in previous years. The boys played well and secured a 2-0 win to set them up for the much anticipated final against Millfield School. Two close matches saw Charlie and Edward lose to Millfield. The second pair, Oscar and Ed, were level at one set all, which took them into a match tie-break. The match seemed to be slipping away, but the boys recovered from three match points down at 9-6 to for a spectacular turn-around with a 12-10 win. This took the match into a one set shoot-out, and Oscar and Edward Pudney were selected to represent Culford. The match was going with serve, but unfortunately three break points against the Millfield serve were not taken. Oscar was left to save the set serving at 4-5, but Millfield broke serve to secure the match and win the trophy. Culford featured in three further finals, the Under 19 girls’ pair of Ella Wood (L5) and Varvara Zlotnik (U5) had recovered from a set in the first round and were and 0-4 down against Eastbourne College. Despite playing well, they lost against Queenswood School in the final. The Under 15 girls’ team of Kristina Paskauskas (F4) and Maddie McLoughlin (F4) reached the final with ease and came up against the pair from Queenswood School. In a really tight match, they fell just short 10-7 in a tight match tie break. Well done to Gregor Webster (F4) and Luke Watson (U5) who won the Thomas Bowl Under 15 boys’ Doubles consolation event. Gene Swain (F4) and William Gibson (F4) reached the Quarter-Finals of the main event.

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Both our teams were pre-seeded with direct entry to the finals and as number one seeds, our Upper Sixth boys’ team of Oscar Cutting, Edward Pudney, Charlie James, Edward Pomeroy were defending the trophy from last year. Kristina Paskauskas, Ella Wood, Andrea Pineda, Gabia Paskauskas and Justice Hall of were also aiming for a top four finish for the girls’ team. The boys’ teams progressed through to the final again with emphatic wins against St Peters RC High School 12-0, Bournemouth Collegiate School. 12-0 and Cheam High School 12-0. These wins set up a final against Merchiston High School from Edinburgh, a young team who had taken us close last year. Edward Pomeroy got us off to a good start with an impressive win in the first singles. Charlie James played a good game but struggled to find his form in the next match and lost his singles. Two close matches followed which proved to have a significant impact on the outcome. Edward Pudney got off to a great start with the first set but was slowly pegged back and lost a close match tie-break in an exhausting final end to the match. Oscar Cutting played outstanding tennis and almost came back from a losing position to level at one set all, but lost a tight match tie break. At 3-1 down, Culford had to win both matches in the doubles. Unfortunately Edward Pomeroy and Charlie James could not secure the win and with the last match not played, lost 8-4 to end the dream of defending our National title. To finish as National Runners-up is, however, a great achievement. Playing without the injured Kira Reuter (L6) and Maddie McLoughlin (F4), the girls’ teams had good wins against Bedford Girls School 10-2 and Surbiton High School 8-4, and progressed to a semi-final against Queenswood School, the No 2 seeds. The girls were superb and took the match all the way with three match tie-breaks all going against us to lose 8-4 and set-up a third and fourth play-off against Eastbourne College. In an accomplished performance from the entire team, we emerged winners in a well contested match 10-2 to finish third overall. To achieve a second and third place finish in the National Schools Championships is an amazing achievement, and this young team has enormous potential. Many thanks to coaches Andrew Richardson, Myles Orton and Emily Pursehouse, who managed the teams superbly throughout the week.

TEN NIS IND IVIDUAL FO CUS

Tennis individual focus Harry Wendelken Earlier this year, 16-year-old Harry Wendelken (U5), secured victory at the EuroElite ITF Junior Open in Malmo, Sweden. This success has propelled him into the world top 100 U18 tennis players. Harry’s major achievement of the year was to reach the semi-finals of Junior Wimbledon this summer. Turn to page 71 to read more about this outstanding achievement.

With the aim of becoming a professional tennis player, Harry must keep working every day on his tennis and improving all aspects of his game. As Chris explains, the game changes at different age groups. At the moment Harry is playing the ITF U18 circuit and that requires a certain skill set, but when he starts playing the men’s game he will need to add more skills to his game to compete at that level.

His win at the EuroElite ITF Junior opens is not the first success Harry has had whilst at Culford. In 2017, he was part of the winning GB team at the U16 Winter Cup European Championships and won both singles and doubles at the U16 National Junior Championships.

Despite the challenges he faces, Chris believes Harry has potential to achieve his goals. He said: “Harry’s forehand is potentially a world class shot. His ability to do things with the forehand in so many situations sets him apart. He generates great pace, hits through the court well, hits angles and good width, and his counter attack on the run is very effective too.

Harry’s coach, Chris Johnson, believes he is a promising tennis star. He said: “Harry has a very good understanding of the game, he sees the game well and reads the situation very early. Harry has good athletic qualities; he has played lots of different sports from a young age and I believe this has really helped him build a very good athletic foundation. It is so important for youngsters to play a wide range of sports. He has also shown perseverance over the years – to keep working hard and to come back from disappointments stronger than before.”

Harry moves on from Culford this year to train at the Good to Great Tennis Academy in Sweden. We wish him all the best.

T HE CULFORDIAN

SPORTING AC HIE VE MENT S

Golf

For the second year running, Culford was able to enter two teams in the Independent School Golf (ISGA) Matchplay Championship. This event required teams of three players to compete against other schools in our area knock-out, writes Lawrence Dodd, Head of Golf.

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ulford’s Team A consisted of Joseph Beasant (U6), Tom Auchterlonie (L6) and Max Adams (U6). Team B consisted of Ana Ingels (U6), Jude Everitt (U6) and William Kibbler (U5). Team A made it through round one comfortably, whilst Team B’s William Kibbler won the last two holes of his match, forcing a playoff and winning on the first extra hole. With both teams watching, this feat required solid nerve. This year the draw was at home, and Flempton Golf Club provided a familiar course for our teams to move safely through. Both teams decided that Royal Worlington would be the venue for the area final. On paper, Team A was favoured with a handicap deficit of 12 shot, but with Royal Worlington’s tricky undulating greens and tough par 3s, Team B were not out yet. Solid performances from all of Team A saw them through to the National Finals in April. St Mellion International Resort, Cornwall provided the venue for the National Finals, and what a challenge lay in wait for our finalist team as the resort provides two very different tests of golf. The Kernow course has generous fairways with reachable par 5s and attackable short par 4s, so was the place to set a good score in the first round. Culford’s Tom Auchterlonie scored an opening 69 followed a few shots behind by Max Adams on 73. With the best two scores from three counting from each round Culford’s 142 put them in fourth place, just five shots behind last year’s winners Whitgift. The Nicklaus course provided a far sterner test. Designed by Jack Nicklaus and built to provide a home for European Tour events in the South of England, Ballesteros, Olazabal and Langer have all won championships here. Hazards line all 18 holes on both sides and with many changes of elevation and undulating greens Culford finalists needed to be at their best. Strong winds gusted that day so the Nicklaus played even harder still, forcing our boys backwards on the final day to finish in eighth position. However, all three players valued the experience and took what they had learned back home to further their games. Lawrence Dodd Head of Golf

T HE CULFORDIAN

SPORTING AC HIE VEMENT S

Golf individual focus Max Weaver Max Weaver (L5) was selected to be Suffolk’s Under 16 Captain after proving himself a worthy leader during the county winter training sessions. Following solid performances in the early part of the season, Max was selected to represent Suffolk schools in the South East England Schools Championship, which was hosted at local course Bury St Edmunds. Max, a member at the club, punched above his weight to claim a tenth place finish, the last qualifying spot for the National Schools final. This final was held at the Shire, a tough Seve Ballesteros design in Hertfordshire. With rounds of 75 and 80, Max tied for 13th place, earning him a qualifying position. Max achieved Culford’s first International Cap and represented England Schools against Wales in late August at Llanwern Golf Club, Newport. This is a fantastic achievement for 15-year-old Max. Max Weaver is an exceptional young man, he is wonderfully polite, organised, and courteous. These qualities, combined with his work ethic and talent make Max the model pupil. His focus, drive and positivity have been key attributes to an incredibly successful season which has seen him be part of an England schools team that beat Wales 13-5 at Llanwern Golf Club late in August. Max picked up one from two possible points during the event, which was a great showing in his international debut. The opportunity to play at this level was a exciting opportunity for Max to test himself and perform in front of large groups of spectators. Equally impressive was Max's unbeaten season as Suffolk’s U16 captain. Max claimed 8 out of 8 individual wins this year, and I am sure there are plenty more to come. Lawrence Dodd Head of Golf

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SPORTING AC HIE VE MENT S

Rugby

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RUGBY

U14 The U14 teams have had a challenging season after playing nine games with eight losses and one draw. The success at this age group has been its ability to play an A & B team, with the number of boys playing rugby increasing. Despite not winning a game, the players maintained a competitive spirit and had close games against Woodbridge and Cheshunt RUFC on their rugby tour. The standout performances were from Fourth Formers Arthur Wildish for his passing and spatial awareness, Paul Ekpe for his try scoring and running with the ball and Will Smith for his all-round game. These groups of boys have gained valuable experience against much greater opposition and should look forward to next season and to turning those narrow losses into wins.

U15 The U15 team have played seven, won four and lost three, with one game abandoned due to bad weather. They showed immense promise and played for large parts of the season without some skilled players, due to injuries. At times they played some excellent rugby and moved the ball around the pitch. A particular highlight was a hard fought, but excellent, win against Gresham’s. Stand out performances of note came from Lower Fifth Gus Bentley for his running with the ball and tackling, James Oxley for hard work around the pitch, Ciaran Rees’s work at the ruck and Edward Harvey’s ability to run the ball back from full back.

2nd XV The 2nd XV played two games and won one. They had an impressive home win against Framlingham College and a narrow loss to Ipswich School. The team was made up of U16 players and players who were new to rugby or returning to it after time away. They played some really good rugby and many of the players should now push on for 1st XV positions next season.

1st XV The 1st XV had an excellent season; at times playing seven U16 players in the U18 team. They played ten games and won six. With narrow defeats to Bishop Stortford College, Stirling County and a hard fought final game loss at St Josephs College, these games epitomised the promise that this team holds for the next two seasons. The stand out game was the home victory over Gresham’s. The team played with precision, determination and an attitude which was superior to their opponents. The style of rugby this young team played was a joy to watch. Stand out performers in the team were Mack Bell (L6) for his work around the pitch, Jordan Asiama (L6) for his tackling and ball carrying at prop, Jack Bowyer (U5) for his organization, energy and distribution of the ball and Alex Hassan (U5) for his work in the lineout. The future looks promising for this group of players. Mark Bolton Head of Rugby

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R UGBY IND IVIDUAL FOCUS

Rugby individual focus

Alex Hassan (U5) I started playing rugby when I was six-years-old at my local rugby club and my coach, introduced me to Culford. I joined Culford Prep School when I was ten-years-old and being at the School has hugely developed my rugby game. Thanks to Culford’s help, I joined the Northampton Saints Elite squad from the age of 12 and have remained there. I am now part of the U18 Saints Junior Academy and train every week. I also represent Eastern Counties at U16 level. I hope to further develop my rugby ability during the last year and a half of my time at Culford.

Jack Bowyer (U5) I joined Culford in Upper Third, and over the course of that season I was picked for Northampton Saints Elite Academy Group. I have continued with the Saints, representing them at The Wellington Festival and am currently playing in their U18s squad. During my time at Culford, I have played through all year groups and been part of the 1st team since Upper Fifth. I find the coaching and individual sessions enjoyable and they have been beneficial to my rugby development. The facilities and on site support are invaluable as I need to continue my training to fulfil my ambition of a professional rugby career.

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SPORTING AC HIE VE MENT S

Cricket

Girls’ Cricket

U14 (Fourth Form)

U15

The U14 girls’ team relished the first season of competitive cricket and approached training and fixtures with much enthusiasm. Since the first fixture of the season against an experienced RHS, the girls made huge progress and grew in confidence with each match. All developed their understanding of the game and their techniques and improved across a range of aspects in the game. Holly Reynolds, Emily Moreton, Rosie Wilmot and Alicia Hassan demonstrated some exceptional batting this season, as they regularly hit boundaries on both sides of the wicket. Whilst with the ball, Sally Hancock, Emily Moreton, Georgie Hay and Hannah Hilsum were as consistent as could be expected from a group learning the game. Louisa Gooderham proved a fantastic find behind the stumps. The season finished on a high with two quality performances and wins against St Joseph’s and Framlingham College.

Culford’s U15s had a great season of cricket. They improved across all aspects of their game, and most importantly gained a better understanding of match play, including the rules and tactics. They received inspiring coaching from Mr Beaumont and Mr Robbins, and through their tireless commitment to girls’ cricket, they gave themselves permission to enjoy playing the game. This enjoyment could be measured by the number of girls who took part in fixtures as well as by their enthusiasm. They really were a pleasure to work with all year. One highlight needs particular mention: Georgia Parker (L5) scored 50 not out, and became the first girl in Culford’s Senior School history to score a half century in girls’ cricket. Fantastic!

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CRIC KET

Boys’ Cricket U14

1st XI

The U14 boys’ team faced the challenge of growing from playing solely to win, to being able to see the bigger picture. After what was initially a tough start, the boys joined up their knowledge with know-how to perform with more consistency during matches. Many learnt the intricacies and oddities of the game and what it means to be part of something special: a team. By the end of the season, they wore the shirt with pride and fought hard in every game. I couldn’t ask for more.

I am delighted to report that we now have silverware within the cricket fraternity. Our 1st XI cricket team won the East Anglian School t20 at RHS in the final week of term. Seeded 4th out the five schools on results leading into the competition and missing our captain Max Whittaker, the boys were nothing short of spectacular as they won four from four beating Norwich, Ipswich, St Joes and RHS. I have never seen a school or amateur team so professional, where our tactics and player skills shone through, dwarfing all around us.

U15 (Lower Fifth) The U15 boys’ team made significant progress with both bat and ball in a battling season of tight fixtures, beginning with the very first game of the year. The drama began on a soaking wet day at The Perse where they were denied victory by a single wicket in the final over. The batting performance of the year came in the t20 against Woodbridge, when Marcus Packer scored 114* from 68 balls and Mason Bickers finished 52* from 43 as the team racked up 215-1 from their 20 overs and cruised to a 60 run victory. There were a number of fine bowling performances throughout the season, as Charlie Bertie took 3-20 against St Joseph’s and Harry Southgate took 2-21 in the fixture against Wisbech. By continuing to work on their strategy, particularly in the field, this group of players have a bright future on the cricket pitch.

The season ended with a 66% win ratio, so a great year for the squad. They had the opportunity to play talented cricketing schools (beating New Hall and Norwich School, to name a few), and the boys rose to the challenge of bouncing back from heavy losses in the allday game, to taking on a completely different set of tactics in t20s. This truly makes a wonderful summer for the first team squad whose members collectively developed across 15 games. I could not be prouder of this set of boys. As always, their statistics do not read accurately without a back story. And our story involves Mason Bickers’ (L5) incredible debut innings against RHS to win the game; Ben Cragg (L6) getting hit in the eye but coming back for more in a constant positive manner; to Jude Everett (U6) stepping in (and driving to RHS at the final hour) to bring us to 11 before taking on a full-strength Norwich School. My 1st XI cricket staff have been excellent too: Mr Beaumont, Mr Robins and Mr Small along with umpires Mr Rayner and Mr Beazer who have supported both my wacky thinking and the boys all the way through the season. I would not be able to run our programme without them. Our awards for the summer: Leading Run scorer: A Oxley (L6), averaging 98.71 Leading Wicket tacker: O Riddick (L6) and A Cruickshank (L6), 19 wickets a piece Most Improved Player: O Melville-Ross (U5). Staff Award: G Southgate (L6), for taking crucial wickets at key points in a host of games Find of the summer: M Packer (L5) Andy Nortcote Head of Cricket

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CRIC KET IN DIVIDUAL FOCUS

Cricket individual focus

Alex Oxley (L6) – Check Point! In late September, as the Cricket seasons drew to a close, Alex received a call from Paul Greetham at Warwickshire CCC asking him to trial following a strong recommendation from Nick Knight. After an intense training session with two former professionals, now current coaches, and a ten-day wait, Alex was given a place in the WCCC U19 squad for the 2019 season. Check point! Alex’s path started at ten-years-old and with a local cricketing legend, Martin Eeles. Together over the next four years they worked tirelessly on ironing out a solid foundation, technique, style and mental approach to batting. Hundreds and thousands of underarm, overarm and bowling machine feeds later and Alex found himself entering the Culford Cricket High Performance Programme at 15-years-old. Here, we devised a programme that saw four hours of batting a week, one hour with an MMA exert on power output and hand speed and two hours in the Culford gym per week. This enhanced programme married his technical ability with a tactical understanding of batting and power to match both, creating spectacular results. The summer of 2018 saw Alex score a plethora of runs across all formats, meaning he had finally turned his natural and learnt ability, or talent, into performances and people started taking note.

Statistics from 2018 School Club County 17s

691 runs @ 98.71 586 runs @ 39.07 681 runs @ 85.13

109* 99* 210*

vs MCC vs Frinton On Seas CC vs Huntingdonshire CCC

This is truly a remarkable set of performances from a young man that has dedicated his school life to cricket, and in part, academics. Following a six-week rest period, Alex starts his winter programme by traveling to Cape Town for our third edition of our High Performance Camp. These camps proved invaluable to Alex, who has worked closely with Dane Vilas, Tom Westley and Andrew Puttick, three international cricketers renowned for batting long periods of the game, something Alex is striving to do. On returning, he slots back in to his Culford Programme where he will focus on making it up the Warwickshire Player Pathway. Staying present, working incredibly hard and enjoying every part of this amazing journey has allowed Alex to proudly say he’s a WCCC youth player 2019. Now to go one checkpoint further… Andy Northcote Head of Cricket

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SPORTING AC HIE VE MENT S

Hockey Girls’ Hockey Hybrid Team 14/15B (Fourth Form)

2nd XI (Upper Sixth)

The U14 and U15B teams played against a good selection of schools throughout the term. Highlights of the season included winning over Ipswich School 1-0 and a fiercely battled 0-0 draw against Bishop Stortford. Lily Gaywood provided many attacking opportunities and had support from some good midfielders. Pip Colegrave stopped a number of attacks, with Harriet Taylor and Georgina Hay doubling up in goal for both A and B teams. The team was a delight to umpire and coach and played exciting games throughout the season.

The 2nd XI had a tough season without a consistent goal keeper, which meant each week saw a rotation and change to the line-up; Isabel Whyte stepped up and worked hard to develop her goalkeeping skills. The girls had strong opposition at the beginning of the term, which knocked their confidence and motivation. As the term progressed the girls made a real effort to develop their skills, and the highlight of the season was the game against Wymondham College where everything clicked. Movement of the ball was fantastic, and they made use of the width of the pitch by taking their shooting opportunities and converting them into goals. Hannah Benton captained the team well, by motivating players alongside Katie Veitch.

U14A (Fourth Form) Tight and gripping matches were played throughout the season. The defence of Katie Nochton, Evie Hall, Emily Moreton and Rosie Wilmot improved throughout the season and Georgie Hay in goal has been outstanding at times, saving well struck goals time after time. Midfielders Plum Minns, Hannah Hilsum and Sally Hancock made a good partnership by creating opportunities for our forward players. Alicia Hassan looked dangerous in attack every time she received the ball, and was supported well by both Louisa Gooderham and MollyAnn Gimson. Lily Gaywood, Alice Wilson and Florence Wilson showed adaptability on pitch, creating a team that will improve each year. Their best performances were against St Josephs and Wymondham College.

U15A (Fifth Form) The U15s had a tough season this year; plagued by injuries it proved hard to put a consistent team out each week. When playing a team sport consistency is needed to improve as a whole, and this held the U15s back. Luckily, we did achieve individual improvements: Isobel Crosskey and Morgan Porter worked hard on their reverse hitting and Ella Francis Alagoa showed tremendous improvement each week; Ella responded well to coaching instructions and implemented these during match play. Another highlight this season was the incredible work rate of Dana Langheim. Dana showed strong technical abilities as well as good understanding of the game and really gave the team stability when needed. The highlight of the season was our win over St Joseph’s 6-1. Hopefully, this will give the U15s confidence and desire to continue their hard work and stay committed to hockey next year.

1st XI (Upper Sixth) The 1st XI Hockey Squad had a strong and respectable season, lead in confidence by Captain, Nella Walters. The team grew in boldness throughout the season and ended on a high with a goal-fuelled win against Wisbech School. The side’s strength was its ability to play as a team and to involve and encourage all players, which ranged from Fourth Form through to Upper Sixth; a breath of talent. Senior players, Nella Walters, Katie Farrant, Issy O’Brian-Miller, Abbie Farrow and Abi Callaghan, led this strength. The team ethos was evident from pre-season, where they participated in the annual Rugby School pre-season tournament and finished up with a challenging but rewarding fixture against a well drilled Oundle School; never has a coach seen such exceptional workrate. Our aggressive and skilful forward unit led by Katie Farrant was unbelievable, with Issy O’Brian Miller and Lowenna Clarke scoring some high class goals. Nella Walters, Tori Holt, Issy Bettley and Emma Howard were work-horses in midfield, illustrating exceptional levels of determination and fitness. In defence Katie Shea, Abbie Farrow, Abi Callaghan and Holly Reynolds worked phenomenally well as a unit; breaking down attacks from some immensely talented teams. In between the posts we had our superb and highly capable goalkeeper, Beth Farrow. Beth currently plays in the England Hockey U17 Performance Centre Squad and is certainly one to watch for t he future: look out Maddie Hinch!

Season highlights include: • Becoming Runners Up in County Round of the National Schools Hockey Championships, and progressing through to the East Round at Bedford Hockey Centre • Entering U18 Girls’ Indoor National Schools Championships for the first time

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H OC KE Y

Boys’ Hockey U14A

U15B

The U14A season began with five defeats in a row, including losses to Ipswich and Norwich School. However, the start of February marked a changing point for the group’s attitude to both training and match preparation, and with a number of promotions from the B team squad, they redoubled their dedication to both their attacking objectives and defensive intensity. The rebirth of their true potential as a team began with a quality 4-2 win against Woodbridge School when twice they came from behind to claim victory, before carrying this new found confidence into a 3-1 triumph against RHS. There is no doubt that if they continue to apply themselves in the training environment, this group of players has huge potential for the future.

The U15B team showed outstanding improvement throughout this season, despite many boys playing hockey for the first time. The boys’ commitment and attention to the game developed week by week, which resulted in the coaches having a large squad of players from which to select. After three losses early in the season, the team hoped to make it three wins on the trot after having beaten Woodbridge School and RHS who had got the better of us in the early part of the season. Unfortunately, the final game against Kimbolton School did not go our way in terms of the score; but the work rate, commitment and playing skills were on a different level compared to the beginning of the season. Congratulations to all players in the team for their phenomenal effort and improvement this season.

U14B 2nd XI The U14B team came on leaps and bounds this term. The majority of the team were new to hockey this season, however with plenty of hard work put in at training, they managed to work together as a team and develop their understanding of hockey. Highlights of the season are excellent wins against Woodbridge and New Hall School.

U15A (Fifth Form) This squad harboured a huge amount of talent in every line, as Ole Peters, Michael Ahrens, Mason Bickers and Ed Harvey anchored a midfield that was ably supported by a strong defensive unit and a burgeoning forward line that improved with every game. Despite excellent play from Gus Bentley in goal, the squad was unlucky to lose two of their first three games by the odd goal, before an excellent victory over Langley School and a tough 2-2 draw with Framlingham set the squad up for the game of the season away against Norwich. Marcus Packer scored a quality deflection goal before a penalty corner strike sealed a highly impressive team win. Charlie Bertie was a powerhouse in defence throughout the season, and it took some physical and athletic defending by James Graham, Ciaran Rees and Will Tozer to secure another tough draw away against RHS. Oscar Endean, Zak Winter and Luke Watson made huge strides both defensively and on the ball throughout the season, and Hugo Clifford, Will Longe and Thachawich Soonthornmanee contributed massively with their effort and intensity in both training and fixtures. If this group of players continues to put in the work rate and positive mental attitude to next year, there is a bright future for Senior hockey at Culford.

The seconds learnt a lot from their season. Even though results were not in their favour, they grew from playing as individuals into playing as a team. The season began against tough opposition with heavy losses but over the weeks of training, some great hockey began to show. A highlight of the season was our game against Framlingham. After a heavy loss to RHS, Culford put everything they had into playing a team renowned for their excellent hockey. With only minutes to go Culford was drawing and had chances to win but unfortunately, could not convert and narrowly lost a very hard fought game. Key members, Josh Stephens (U6) and Oscar Hamilton (L6) led the team and special mentions go to Rob Clarke (U6) and Jordan Asiama (L6) who received call-ups to the first team.

1st XI The 1st team produced excellent performances throughout the season; with a young squad it was important that we developed and shaped as a team early. The team grew in confidence with each game, which was noticeable in their performances. The side’s strength was its ability to play the ball successfully from defence into a key attacking position and denying the opposition the chance to score on many occasions with high-quality defending. At the beginning of the season we had two quality performances against Gresham’s and The Leys, which set good standards for the remainder of the season. The teams’ success was in the individual and team performances that overlooked the results; despite on many occasions just falling short of the win. During training the squad worked to improve on three main areas: lead runs, marking and high press. The team’s effort and dedication began to show; one performance in particular against Framlingham College resulted in their coach commending our team’s performance. It was a positive season with each player making progress in all areas of the game. The season highlight was entering the U18 Boys’ Indoor National Schools Championships for the first time. Emma Thornbury Head of Hockey

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SPORTING AC HIE VE MENT S

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NETB ALL

Netball U14

1st XII

The season saw some close fought matches as the team played what was a high standard of netball for this age group. The highlight of the season was progressing through the county rounds and representing Suffolk in the Regional Tournament. The girls’ first match was against the eventual winners of the U14 National Title, so it was a good experience to play against the best team in the country.

The 1st VII had a mixed season and were disappointed when they did not qualify for the regional tournament. As the term progressed, they settled as a team – remaining calm and controlled when under pressure. The highlights of the season were twofold: the game against Framlingham College and the match against RHS. Despite losing to RHS, the girls did themselves proud with a depleted team due to illness and were within reach the whole time. The attacking combinations developed a great relationship all the way through from centre to shooters; Nella Walters (U6) and Katie Farrant (U6) worked tirelessly off the ball and around the circle until they found the opportunity to feed Issey O’Brien-Miller (U6), Abbie Farrow (U6) and Lucy Flynn (L6). The defence of Alice Barkley (L6), Abi Callaghan (U6), Katie Shea (L6), Beatrice Northeast-Roffey (U6) and Cody FraserCox (U6) strengthened as the term progressed and they began turning the ball over more consistently and securely. This change could be seen in the match against The Leys when everything clicked with them. Issey and Abbie co-captained the team with maturity and with a wealth of experience, which transferred on to the other girls. It was sad to see a large proportion of the team leave Culford at the end of the year, as they were outstanding sports women; I hope they continue with netball at university and beyond.

At home, there have been some tight matches against local schools, and our defence gained in their tactical knowledge and ability to turn the ball over. Our mid-court players showed good speed endurance and were key in gaining possession. It was great to have three fantastic shooters, which is a main requirement to win matches. Thanks goes to Holly Reynolds for leading the team with such confidence and passion and thank you to the rest of the team for working so hard during match play. All girls within the year group represented the School in numerous fixtures, which was a goal implemented to promote participation amongst the girls.

U15 The U15 team had a mixed season. They were off to a good start as runners-up at the Western Area Tournament, and this team did particularly well as they were missing two strong players who were playing for the U16 team. They were narrowly beaten in the final by Finborough School, which had players who had performed for their 1st team, making the small margin even more impressive. The highlight of the term was the win over Framlingham College. Culford started the game with a wonderful self-assurance and discipline, which was unusual as this was their first game with their full squad. The team gelled and played outstanding netball, moving the ball effortlessly down the court and Jennifer (L5) and Nina Dahl (L5) converted each shot perfectly. By half-time the score was 15-4 and Framlingham College just missed out on scoring after the whistle as the ball had not passed completely through the ring. Culford was consistent with scoring and also defended in a strong, fair manner with Ella Francis-Alagoa (L5) and Maisie Fitton (L5) strong in the circle. Isobel Bettley (L5) combined effortlessly with Amelia Brayshaw (L5) and Tori Holt (L5) to control the mid-court. Yiannoula FernandesCardy (L5) and Imogen Guntrip (L5) completed the team with their energy and enthusiasm both on and off the court. The team were a delight to coach; watch this space next season.

Charlotte Olley Head of Netball

2nd XII The 2nds are a committed team captained by Jevony Hall (U6). After a disappointing game against Framlingham College, the squad worked to improve the strength of their passing and increase their confidence in set plays. With low numbers and weather, the 2nd VII had limited games compared to previous years. The 2nds went from strength to strength and finished the season with wins against Norwich High School and Ipswich School.

T HE CULFORDIAN

SPORTING AC HIE VE MENT S

Niamh Perry (U5), Jack Bowyer (U5) and Charlie Whyte (U5)

Swimming ESSA Secondary Schools Championships (Regional Round) – October 2017 Culford attended the Regional qualifying rounds for the ESSA Secondary Schools Team Championships in October 2017 at Woodside Leisure Centre, Watford. The Senior girls’ team competed in the 4 x 50m Medley Relay and 4 x 50m Freestyle relay with some great performances by Hannah Brecknell (U6), Olivia Nicolai (U6), Niamh Perry (U5) and Annabel Heywood (U6). Hannah got off to a good start on the backstroke, and Olivia (Breaststroke) and Niamh (Butterfly) kept the team within reaching distance of the heat leaders. Annabel had a strong freestyle leg and the girls barely touched out for the heat win and finished in fifth place overall in the senior age category. In the Senior girls’ Freestyle event, the Culford team raced in the final heat. Hannah Brecknell got off to a strong start, which was maintained by Annabel Heywood on the second leg. Niamh Perry and Olivia Nicolai kept the team in the top two in their heat, finishing in eighth place overall in the Senior girls category.

SEN IOR & S IXTH FO RM | 2017 – 2 018

The Senior girls qualified for the ESSA Secondary Schools Team Championship Final, which took place at the London Aquatic Centre on Saturday 18 November. This was a fantastic result for the senior team, which after the Regional qualifying rounds, finished in the top 30 in the country out of the 120 schools that competed.

ESSA Secondary Schools Championship Finals – November 2017 After solid performances in the Regional round a month earlier, the senior girls were back in action, competing in both the 4 x 50m Medley relay and 4 x 50m Freestyle relay. They entered the event in 25th position in the Freestyle relay, and, thanks to a strong team effort, the girls moved up three places to finish in 22nd overall after their heat swim. The team improved on their Regional performance time in the Medley relay and finished in a credible 13th place, just three places outside of making it into the final.

SWIM MING

Suffolk County Championships – January and February 2018 Twelve Culford swimmers competed at the Suffolk County Championships, in events that took place at the end of January through February. Between them, the swimmers qualified in 87 individual events over the course of the Championships, with 60 personal best times achieved from those swims. Niamh Perry (U5) led the way for the Culford swimmers, winning five County Championship titles. Niamh’s wins came in the 800m Freestyle where she finished 17 seconds ahead of her closest rival in the 16 Years age group; 100m Breaststroke, 200m Freestyle, 400m Freestyle and the 400m Individual Medley (IM) 30 seconds ahead of the second placed swimmer in her age group. Niamh also secured three silver medals and two bronze. From these results, Niamh placed top three overall in her age group, finishing in third place. Not to be outdone, Jack Bowyer (U5) took top honours in the Men’s 16 Years 50m Butterfly event. Jack also picked up medals in the 100m Butterfly (silver), 100m Breaststroke (bronze) and 200m Backstroke (bronze). Further medals from the County Championships came from: Henry King (L5) in the 15 Years 100m Breaststroke (silver), 50m Breaststroke (bronze); Olivia Nicolai (U6) in the 17 Years and over 50m Breaststroke (silver), 100m Breaststroke (bronze), 200m Breaststroke (bronze) and Thomas Page (F4) in the 14 Years 200m Butterfly (silver), 50m Freestyle (bronze). Charlie Whyte (U5) secured 16 individual swims. He got off to a strong start on his County Championship campaign, with a fifth place swim in the 17 Years and over 1500m Freestyle event, which was held long course (50m pool) at the UEA Sportspark in Norwich. Charlie Whyte was the other medallist in the 17 Years and Over 100m IM, which secured him a place in the SKINS event. In this knock-out event, eight swimmers line up to race a 50m swim every three minutes, with one swimmer knocked out at each round. Each race is a different stroke, determined after each swim by pulling from a hat. Charlie made it through the first four rounds, only to be knocked out when one of his weaker strokes was drawn. This was a great achievement by Charlie, who had missed the previous full weekend of racing due to illness. Top ten swims outside of the medals, came from: Thomas Page (nine events); Chloe-Jeane Parsley (U5) in five events – even after a year out of the water due to injury; Charlie Whyte (five events); Henry King (four events); Hannah Brecknell (U6) in three events; William Tozer (L5) in three events; Jack Bowyer (two events); Niamh Perry (one event) and Olivia Nicolai (one event).

Regional YOUTH Championships – May 2018 The 2018 Regional Youth Championships got underway over the first Bank Holiday weekend in May, and 27 swimmers from West Suffolk Swim Club qualified in 122 events. It is always a tough competition going against the best swimmers in the East Region, which is made up of teams from Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Swimmers race long course (50m) with the hopes of placing in the top 40 in the UK, to qualify for the National Championships at the end of July. Jack Bowyer (U5) stormed to victory in two of his favoured events, the 16 Years 50m and 100m Butterfly. After progressing through from the heats to the finals in pole position, the pressure was on Jack, and he did not fail to deliver with two dominant performances. Jack also finished in fourth place, just 0.01 of a second outside of a medal in the 50m Backstroke and fifth in the 100m Backstroke. Henry King (L5) competed in seven events over the three-day weekend also bought home a medal. Henry stepped up for a huge personal best in the 200m Breaststroke event, improving on his previous best set just weeks earlier by over four seconds in his heat swim. Progressing through to the final, Henry improved further to drop another two seconds and to take the silver medal in a swim, which ranked him 13th in the UK in that event. Henry also placed fifth in both the 50m and 100m Breaststroke finals. Along with Jack and two West Suffolk teammates, Henry took part in the 14 to 16 Years 4x100m medley relay, finishing in sixth place, and also qualified for the 200m IM final. Niamh Perry (U5) picked up top eight placings in the gruelling 200m Butterfly event, where she placed sixth. Niamh was also eighth in the 400m Freestyle event in the 16 Years age group and joined up with her West Suffolk team-mates, finishing sixth in the girls’ 14 to 16 Years 4x100m Freestyle relay. Also competing over the weekend were Charlie Whyte (U5), Olivia Nicolai (U6) and William Tozer (L5).

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SPORTING AC HIE VE MENT S

British Summer Nationals & Swim England National Meet– July and August 2018 Three Culford School swimmers represented West Suffolk Swimming Club in the annual British Summer Championships (long course) and Swim England National Summer Meet, held in Sheffield. For this event, the top 40 swimmers in the country are selected to compete in age groups from 12 Years up to 19 and Over. It was a fantastic achievement to qualify for these meets and it was a great chance for the swimmers to race against the best swimmers in the UK. Jack Bowyer (U5) qualified in three of his favoured events for the British Championships in the 50m Backstroke, 100m Butterfly and 50m Butterfly. He stepped up to gain new best times in all three of his events, narrowly missing out on the final in the 50m Backstroke by 0.15 of a second and finishing in 11th place in the 16 Years age group. In the 100m Butterfly, Jack swam just outside his best time in the heat, but qualified in tenth place going into the final. A great swim in the final saw Jack drop 0.8 of a second to pick up a new best time and ninth place. Saving the best for last, Jack put in a great heat swim in the 50m Butterfly event to gain a new best time and to qualify third fastest going into the final on the last day of the competition. In the final, Jack accelerated through the second half of the race in a real fight for the finish against the other competitors. Checking the scoreboard, Jack dipped below the 26-second barrier to earn the bronze medal in 25.81, only 0.05 of a second away from the silver medal! Competing in his first British Summer Championships was Henry King (L5), who had qualified in the 200m Breaststroke event. Henry gained extremely valuable experience competing at this level, finishing in 22nd place in the 15 Years age group in Britain, which bodes well for next year.

Henry knocked off a further 0.76 of a second from his heat time and placed fourth with a second personal best of the day with 1.10.23. On day four of the Championships, and after a successful season in Triathlon and Aquathlon, Niamh Perry was in action in the pool in the girls’ 16 years 200m Butterfly. This was Niamh’s first ever individual race at a National Championships and considering the 200m Butterfly is a particularly tough event, she handled the occasion very well and looked strong in the final stages of her race. Her posted time did not quite match her seasons’ best, and Niamh placed 12th overall. The next two swims on this day saw the return of Henry King, who was still carrying confidence and momentum from his successes earlier in the week. Henry maintained good form in this 50m Breaststroke event. In his race he exploded off the blocks to a fantastic start, which set him up to power down the length – setting a new personal best of 32.32, which secured him a place in the finals. Jack Bowyer competed in the Boys’ 16 Years 100m Backstroke. After a successful week at the British Nationals the week prior to this competition, Jack made a solo return to Ponds Forge for this event. After a fantastic start to the race, that played to his underwater kicking strength, by the half-way point it seemed Jack had left himself a little too much to do and was not able to improve on his season’s best, finishing 15th in his age group.

In the second week, Niamh Perry (U5) joined the party, competing in her first Swim England National Championships.

Niamh’s second event of the day was another tough one and a relatively new event placed on the women’s programme, the girls’ 1500m Freestyle. This was an unfamiliar event for Niamh, and the learning curve was steep, but she approached and swam the race impressively. Niamh knocked 4.74 seconds off her previous best time, posting a new personal best of 18.15.84, which placed her in fifth place.

Henry King was also back in action in the Boys’ 15 Years 100m Breaststroke. On the back of his first British Nationals event in the 200m Breaststroke the week before these championships, Henry approached his race with a positive attitude and put in a great heat swim, earning a place in the final and setting a new personal best of 1.10.99.

In the finals, Henry was back in action in the 50m Breaststroke and looking to improve on his heat performance, which is exactly what he did. From the outside lane nine and seeded in ninth place going into this final, Henry once again rose to the challenge and stormed down the pool in another personal best of 31.88 to place fifth and missing out on a medal by only 0.03 of a second!

In the finals session, Henry put in another fantastic performance. After going into his final ranked sixth, but with fractions of a second separating the top few positions, he knew it would be tight and would have to fight to the wall to maintain or improve his position.

Well done to the swimmers on their successes this past season! We look forward to the 2018-19 season and all that lies ahead.

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Dan Pilbrow Head of Performance Swimming

CROSS C O UN TRY AND ATHL ETICS

Cross Country and Athletics I

n Cross Country, three pupils gained Suffolk selection and represented the county at the Anglian Schools Cross Country event. Katie Veitch (U6) and Olivia Allum (L6) were selected for the Senior girls’ team and Charlie Wakefield (L5) for the intermediate boys’ team. Charlie and Olivia then went on to represent Suffolk at the prestigious English Schools’ Cross Country Championships held at Leeds in March in atrocious conditions of snow storms and blizzards. In addition, Charlie ran in the Norfolk County Cross Country Championships and was crowned county champion gaining automatic qualification for the English Road Racing Championships at the London mini-marathon, where he ran 3 miles in 16 minutes 24 seconds. Turn to page 68 to read more about Charlie’s accomplishments.

Charlie Wakefield and Olivia Allum

In Athletics, Olivia and Charlie won their respective county 800m races, despite being the youngest in their age group. Niamh Perry was second in her 1500m, and all three athletes were selected to run in the Anglian track championships in Norwich. Olivia was unable to compete but Niamh Perry (U5) and Charlie both ran, with Charlie running two minutes dead for the 800m, which placed him first for his age in the Anglian region. This time qualified him for the English National Championships in Bedford in August.

Sam Rutterford (L5)

Pupil Katie Veitch (U6) leads the pack

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Culford Achievements Senior School pupils have excelled on stage, at academic competitions and even at Junior Wimbledon; we are proud of their many accomplishments and share some of the amazing highlights in the following pages.

Emily Hope (L6) performing in We Will Rock You at Culford in 2017

Culfordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Wakefield becomes Norfolk U15 champion runner Charlie Wakefield (L5) braved wintry conditions in Autumn 2017 to be crowned U15 Norfolk Cross Country Champion. As a result, Charlie qualified for the prestigious London Mini Marathon, which took place in April 2018. The win capped a successful day for the Wakefield family, with 12-year old brother Harry finishing sixth place for his age group.

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CUL FORD AC HIEVEME NT S

Culford pupil earns place with prestigious National Theatre Group

Culford mathematicians achieve outstanding results

Emily Hope (L6) gained a place with the prestigious National Youth Music Theatre and won her place following an audition process that started with 1,000 hopefuls. Emily was one of the fortunate and talented 120 to be part in this year’s company. She was selected to appear in the new musical, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, playing the part of Lisbeth, which was performed in August at The Other Palace Theatre in London.

Over 60 Senior School pupils achieved a Bronze UK Mathematics Challenge or better this academic year after more than 150 pupils took part in UK Maths Trust national competitions.

Outstanding LAMDA results Fourteen Senior School pupils achieved fantastic LAMDA results this year. Emily Hope (L6) received a Distinction for her grade eight gold medal award and Emily Wildish (U5) secured a Distinction in the Silver Medal Grade Seven category. Emily Harris (U6) and Ellis Kilbane (U5) both achieved Distinctions in bronze medal grade six qualifications. Maria Jackson, Director of Drama, said: “The LAMDA programme is proving invaluable to those pupils who take part in it, and all speak very positively about the skills it teaches them.”

During the Autumn term, 27 Sixth Form students obtained certificates at bronze level or higher, with five pupils earning gold certificates. Four of the five pupils obtained automatic entry to the second tier follow-on rounds, with Michael Liu and Nina Zhang securing their places in the Mathematical Olympiad. Pupils who gained entry to the Olympiad rounds overcame university-level questions that went beyond Further Maths A Level. During the Spring term, Culford’s top set Fourth and Fifth Form mathematicians entered the Intermediate Maths Competition, with 38 pupils securing at least bronze certificate level. Six of these pupils gained gold certificates and five qualified for follow-on rounds, performing well in highly challenging tests.

Pupils who achieved a Bronze UK Mathematics Challenge or better

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The Hunter Gallery was established in 2001 in Long Melford. Culford parents Paul and Jacqueline Foster recently relocated the gallery to Bury St Edmunds. We offer an excellent selection of works by well-known local artists from Suffolk, Norfolk and Essex alongside some of the UKs most respected creators of paintings, sculpture, furniture and glass. We specialise in art for the home in a wide range of styles and media with something to suit all tastes and budgets. 31 Angel Hill, Bury St Edmunds Suffolk IP33 1LS Tel: 01284 752283 Email: info@thehuntergallery.com

Dappled Light by Steven McLoughlin

BURY ST EDMUNDS

www.thehuntergallery.com

CUL FORD AC HIEVEME NT S

Inside World ‘I need to see him suffer! He took her away from me, put her in pain, I’ll get him back. I’ll use morphine. He did! Why can’t I?’ Stop! Just stop. I can’t keep letting the voices win! It’s like a completely different world inside of me. Lost in an ocean of angry voices. She’s gone. Dead. The cancer killed her. Not him! Take away my meds. Take them all; destroy the angry voices, the world inside of me. End that world. Then they would leave me alone. We can be free. All alone. Free, with her. No voices… Molly Lovejoy, winner of the Young Writers’ Competition

Culford pupil recognised by Young Writers Competition Molly Lovejoy (L5) won the chance to see her story in print. Molly took part in the Young Writers’ Welcome to Wonderland creative writing competition that challenged 11-18 year olds to write a mini saga in just 100 words. English teacher, Ruth-Ann Radlett said: “To be chosen, pupils needed to show creativity and imagination, as well as originality and use of language. Molly incorporated mystery, the macabre and an emotional touch to her story, with clear success.” Molly’s saga was published in Welcome To Wonderland – Tales From Norfolk and Suffolk in January 2018.

Culford pupil qualifies for Intermediate Mathematical Olympiad Nina Zhang (U5) qualified for the UK Mathematics Trust (UKMT) Intermediate Mathematical Olympiad in May 2018. Nina attended the invitation-only event after gaining gold medals in both the UKMT Senior and Intermediate Maths Challenges. Assistant Head of Department, Brian O’Riordan said: “Nina did particularly well in this challenge, gaining a distinction and an Olympiad Gold medal, demonstrating problem solving and mathematical proof skills well beyond the norm for her age group.”

Tennis scholar reaches semi-finals of Junior Wimbledon Following on from the success of Culford’s senior boys’ and girls’ tennis teams in the LTA National Championships, pupil Harry Wendelken (U5) achieved one of the greatest performances of any Culford Tennis Scholar when he reached the semi-finals of Junior Wimbledon on Saturday 14 July. Harry and his partner, James Storey, from Wales, played against Yanki Erel (Turkey) and Otto Virtanen (Finland) in the junior doubles. In a thrilling match, watched by Harry’s coach Chris Johnson on Court 18 and broadcast live on the BBC, the boys played some superb tennis, but lost the match by a slim margin 7-6, 7-6. David Hall, Former Head of Community Tennis, said: “This is a fantastic achievement, which will give Harry huge confidence as he leaves Culford to train at the Great to Good Tennis Academy in Stockholm. He is relocating to the city later this summer to join the Academy run by three former Davis Cup players Magnus Norman, Nicklas Kulti and Mikael Tillstrom. We wish him well for the future!” Harry's route through to the semi-finals of the doubles (in his Junior Grand Slam debut) meant that he was unavailable for the LTA Team Tennis Schools Finals in Nottingham, where Culford claimed second and third places.

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New Book Club for pupils This year, our new Librarian, Ms Francis and our English teacher, Miss Williams set up a Sixth Form Book (and cake!) Club. I love listening to people talk about books and at the first meeting, I was surprised at the number of students who turned up. The reality is that going to school often means struggling to find time to read, so it falls to the bottom of your to-do list. The book club gives members an opportunity to hear about the books other people are reading, to be inspired to read and to discuss new books. We meet every three weeks and choose the genre of our next selection. This gives you the freedom to read at whatever level you choose and on whatever topic interests you, whilst still having room for comparison. So far, we have read from the crime genre and historical fiction/biography, which has introduced me to Agatha Christie, as well as an interesting story about a girl who defects from North Korea. Ellie-Jean Royden (L6)

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Success at Culfordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first Robotics Competition In January 2018, Culford entered the Eastern Region VEX Robotics Competition, which took place at Stanborough School, Welwyn Garden City. The was the first occasion Culford had entered such a competition and credit must go to all the pupils who took part for showing great ingenuity and skill on the day as they prepared the robot for competition. Even though there were teams present with much more experience, the Culford team still managed to get to the quarter finals, which was an excellent achievement. We look forward to the 2018-2019 season and to the challenges it will bring.

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CU LF ORD AC HIE VE MENT S

Culford opens Living History Society It was an excellent inaugural full year for the Living History Society, culminating in our first ever show to pupils at the Prep School. The members of the Society learnt a range of new skills, from longbow archery, medieval sword combat and 14th century medicine to how to erect medieval tents. We started the year with longbow lessons by our local expert, Alan Baxter, and slowly our accuracy and skills developed. We then moved on to inside activities as the afternoons became darker, and pupils learnt about medieval clothing, medicine and cooking. Over the course of the winter, the Society invested in a wide range of equipment, including clothing, tents, furniture, cooking equipment, a medieval medical kit and, of course, lots of arms and armour. All of this was thoroughly researched by the pupils to ensure historical accuracy and then hand-made by a range of companies in Europe. Just before Christmas we had a wonderful medieval banquet, where

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pupils brought in a fantastic range of authentic and not so authentic food from the 14th century to be enjoyed by all. As the afternoons lengthened, we returned outside to learn key skills in loading and shooting crossbows and basic sword fighting technique. Once pupils passed their safety exams, they really began to push on with their skill and knowledge with these historically accurate pieces of equipment. Towards the summer we undertook two events: firstly a display at Speech Day and then a full show to pupils in Upper and Lower Third at the Prep School. Next year, we hope to do shows for local Prep Schools and Primary Schools to showcase what the Living History Society can do as we educate and entertain in the process. Marcus Rackowe Head of History

CUL FORD AC HIEVEME NT S

An exciting year for physics It has been busier than ever in the Culford Physics department. The year began with a trip for the U5 to the University of Cambridge for a Physics at Work exhibition, which gave pupils a chance become inspired by the range of businesses offering careers and apprenticeships in physics and engineering. The Upper Sixth attended the Physics in Action seminar at the University of Warwick, an event based around a series of lectures and seminars designed to stretch the thinking of A Level pupils and to offer a taste for life as an undergraduate. Also in the Upper Sixth, five of our pupils competed in the prestigious Physics Olympiad, run by the University of Oxford.Â

Culford also sent teams to two separate inter-schools physics quizzes, made possible by our continued partnership with schools from across East Anglia, through The Ogden Trust. The Fourth Form team placed seventh out of 22 in the last week of the school year. Our affiliation with the Trust also saw Culford host a medical physics day. With four other schools from the Bury St Edmunds area, our pupils were the consummate hosts, working around interactive exhibits and listening to a lecture by Dr Elizabeth Parvin from the Open University. Thirteen out of our 20 Upper Sixth Physics pupils applied for physics or engineering courses at universities this year, and we look forward to our new recruits following suit in the year to come.

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Trips and Activities Pupils had the opportunity to experience life well beyond the grounds of Culford Park.

Independent boarding & day school for boys and girls aged 1-18

Support Culford in Malawi For just ÂŁ5, you can sponsor a school bag for a Malawi primary pupil at Nankhufi School. The bag includes a pencil case, exercise book, toy and uniform. Each bag will be an incredible blessing to each pupil of this school and will come with a personalised tag with your name on it.

bags4malawi@culford.co.uk Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP28 6TX Culford School is a Registered Charity

TE NTH E XPE DI TION T O M AL AWI

Twenty Culford Sixth Formers, accompanied by four teachers, enjoyed work experience in the poorest areas of Malawi for the tenth year in a row.

Tenth Expedition to Malawi H

aving fundraised to cover the cost of their trip as well as over ÂŁ12,000 for their projects, the Culford group set about finishing the build of a library at Nankhufi School where their work started in 2009. At that time, the school barely existed and consisted of two single straw shacks and a handful of local primary children. Nankhufi has become a sizeable community school boasting five classroom blocks, toilets, a porridge kitchen, a local market and now a library which will further increase literacy levels and the excitement of learning. Having seen the progress by helping to build this school from scratch has been an absolute joy to all; especially moving is seeing the 300 young children attending regularly, and loving their learning experience and

beginning each day with a mug of porridge. Alongside Mr Deane, the Culford students and staff, Miss Frampton, Miss Nind and Ms Radlett, were completely dedicated to the cause from start to finish. Not even mud, blood, sweat or tears could get in their way of meeting their objectives. Elsewhere in the rural Shire Valley district of Southern Malawi, Culford pupils taught a series of PSHCE classes to 160 teenagers at Nankombe School, which culminated in the distribution of washable sanitary pads and underwear to the girls and underwear and wristbands to the boys. The pupils also made a memorable visit to Good News Orphanage in the Bangula district, where our fundraising continues to help the children to aspire to brighter futures.

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TRIPS A ND ACTIVITIES

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TE NTH E XPE DI TION T O M AL AWI

After giving blood, the Culford group was invited to share their experiences live on Malawi television, which was a memorable experience for the entire team. Our annual visit to Nsanje prison was an eye-opener for some and the fun shared with the inmates was made even more pronounced given the reality of their dire living conditions. Other projects involved planting fruit trees in an area of deforestation, as well as bore-hole repairs to provide access to water in a village near to our project base at Fishermanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Rest. Our pupils all stressed how rewarding the trip had been and how their Malawian host communities had been an absolute pleasure to serve, despite some of the huge challenges in life they face on a daily basis. Fundraising has already started for next yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s trip as we await even more opportunities to make a difference in Malawi.

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TRIPS A ND ACTIVITIES

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TE NTH E XPE DI TION T O M AL AWI

Malawi Project Fundraising 2018 As ever we are hugely grateful to the whole school community who have supported us in our projects over the years. The 2018 Malawi trip was richly blessed by the response to our fundraisers and the team are indebted to the following groups of people: The Rosetta Trust: For their amazing financial support of the projects after the presentations by the travelling pupils. Their support and enthusiasm for everything that the Culford team has set out to do has stayed with us on long, hard days of work in Malawi. The Nearly New Shop: Carolyn Scott and Craig Rushforth have masterminded the organisation of this facility for some years now. As the shop’s organisation changes hands it is appropriate to thank them for their meticulous running of the shop, the training of the Malawi pupils who helped behind the counter and the provision of the profits to the Malawi projects themselves. Fisherman’s Rest, Malawi: Wiktor and Sue, managers of our project base, have facilitated our last five trips and have paved the way for meaningful and personalised voluntary work for all the travelling Culford pupils. Their year-round management of the projects and their own investment in the

area has allowed us to build seamlessly on the work of previous years and will continue to do so. The Water Run, March 2018: Our first, but certainly not our last, water run, raised awareness of the average 8km travelled by women and children in Malawi just to fetch water and generated a fantastic £720 for our water project Madzi Alipo! Well done to all the participating pupils and staff. Bags4Malawi: Accompanying teachers Giselle Nind, Ruth Radlett and Hannah Frampton were enormously instrumental in the success of the projects and were so touched by the needs of the Nankhufi School pupils that they instigated bags4malawi, where school bags and contents can be sponsored by donors at £5 each by emailing bags4malawi.co.uk – this opportunity to change the school lives of 300 plus pupils will be ongoing until Easter 2019. Finally, many thanks also go to all the donors of clothes, toiletries, knitted hats, shoes and blankets. You have changed lives and continue to change livelihoods with your love and support. Andy Deane Malawi Co-ordinator

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TRIPS A ND ACTIVITIES

School Trips

Geography Trip to Iceland Our first day in Iceland involved visiting Gulfloss, a huge waterfall with access made tricky by an icy path leading down to the viewing platform. It was cold and windy, making for an atmospheric trip. Luckily, our next venue, a walk along the Skaftafell glacier, involved the use of crampons and ice axes.Â Each day involved visiting extreme environments, but although the trip was packed full of huge waterfalls, treks along plate boundaries and visiting interactive museums, it was the Blue Lagoon that everybody seems to enjoy the most: a spa based on geo-thermal pools, with Culford pupils immersing their bodies and removing the aches and pains from the previous few days. Mark Barber

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SC H OOL TRIPS

Loire Valley French Trip With the determined aim of being immersed in French language and culture through a combination of homestay and our French language school programme, a dozen pupils from Upper Fifth and Sixth Form had the most enriching experience as they enjoyed the hospitality of the beautiful city of Tours. Each day consisted of a programme of tailored lessons at CLE Language School in the historic centre of the city, followed by a local lunch and a teacher-led trip in the afternoon. Outings consisted of visits to the centre aquatique, le Château d’Amboise and its local markets, shopping at the centre commercial, French cinema and a day at Poitiers’ incredible theme park of the moving image, Le Futuroscope. Staying with a French family was something very new to the vast majority of the group but lasting links were made and many typically French meals were enjoyed! Miss Escriva and I were impressed with the confident and mature attitude of all those who took part and commented on the obvious improvement in their language and cultural awareness as the week progressed. What a beautiful part of France this is! Andy Deane Head of Modern Foreign Languages

French trip to the Château de Warsy The French trip was a great experience for all of us. Everyone had a great time and made lots of memories, with activities ranging from team sports to Disneyland. Our favourite day was the trip to Disneyland Paris where we went on fun rides and watched the parade. The highlight was a fast-speed lift to the 53rd floor of le Tour Montparnasse to give us views of the whole city. A picnic at the Eiffel Tower followed, after which we were treated with a bateau-mouche cruise under the 23 bridges of La Seine. We also visited a ‘chèvrerie’ (a goat farm) where we tasted the goats’ cheese, although everybody’s favourite part was the baby goats. The Château we stayed in was beautiful and had a wonderful French atmosphere. The French towns were stunning as well, and we all enjoyed having the chance to experience the French culture. Vive la France! Hannah Hilsum (F4) Trip to Iceland

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Tenerife Diving Trip After a short flight from Stansted, we arrived at Tenerife South Airport to collect our hire minibus which, for some strange reason, we called “Stacey” and she looked after us all week! Mr Arbuthnot drove us to the apartment complex, and we all shared lovely apartments surrounding an amazing swimming pool with a bridge from which we could dive. During the week we either ate out at one of the local restaurants or cooked in our own kitchens. Madame Waghorn and Miss McCarthy helped Alasdair and I with cooking, as we were novice chefs. Some evenings we came together for barbecues on the terrace. Mr Arbuthnot had trained us all how to dive in the Culford pool before we left and, while it was great to get into the clear sea, the first time felt unnatural. I soon got the hang of it and had some amazing experiences underwater. Highlights for me were having a huge two-metre wide stingray swim right over my head; and coming face to face with a turtle who was as curious about me as I was of him. Between diving sessions, we took a day off and visited Siam Park, one of the best water parks in the world. There were some amazing rides but most impressive was the Tower of Power, a ridiculously steep near vertical 30-metre drop. If the drop wasn’t scary enough, the slide also happened to go through a shark tank at the bottom – just to spice things up a bit! The trip to Tenerife was really fun and I would recommend it to everyone. It had a mixture of diving, relaxation and fun, and of course we all received our PADI dive qualification too. Alex Williams (L5)

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SC H OOL TRIPS

Diving Trip to Mexico Bliss. That is the only word that can summarise the recent diving trip to the idyllic island of Cozumel, Mexico. Beginning in rather uninspiring fashion at 3am on Culford North Front, things could only get better! After battling through the nine hour flight to Cancun with only Pringles and Culford pupils’ banter to fuel us, we arrived shattered and low on energy… but this was all to change. The Blue Angel Resort was a Mecca of peace and serenity; backing directly onto the clearest of seas, with a pool directly under the shade of palm trees which hung hammocks. There was enough sunshine to soothe even the most severe jetlag and the days seemed to melt away in relaxed excitement. The main event was of course the diving, which was absolutely amazing in the beautiful aqua marine waters. For those of us yet to qualify, the first day was spent in the surrounding bay practising the diving skills we had been taught by Mr Arbuthnot in the Culford pool. We couldn’t have asked for a better location, seeing both nurse sharks and manta rays on our first dive. The advanced divers went out on the dive boats to fully explore the depths of the ocean while us novices finished our Open Water qualification. Before long the two groups united, with splendid afternoons lounging on top of the yacht catching rays was equally as enjoyable as the hours spent gliding between shimmering reefs. Outside of the diving, the trip was full of entertainment. Powered each morning by a Mexican-inspired full English, the days were passed perfecting flips from the dock (mastered by the gymnastic figures of Leo Williams, Tom Lovett, and the cartwheeling Melia Englefield) and working on our golden tans. Stretching ourselves to leave our safe haven, a visit to Paradise Beach was a true highlight. Equipped with paddle boarding, crystal clear waters, ocean floats and a plethora of sun chairs immediately set upon by the girls of the group, it was the perfect retreat to prevent cabin fever. Although exhausted by the turn of each day, the nights were always brightened by a meal out together. Whilst swapping stories of our latest discoveries in the inky depths or our latest near death experiences with sea urchins, the cuisine of Cozumel was continually excellent with one night out even ending with an entertaining demonstration of Mr Arbuthnot's flexibility as a teacher: equally adept at teaching economics as he is pulling out the worm on the dance floor. Truly, looking back on the trip, I can honestly say that it was the most enjoyable and relaxing school trip I have ever participated in. What a shame we had to return to the snowy plains of Suffolk. Many thanks to Mr Arbuthnot for organising an out of this world trip, and to Mrs Waghorn and Miss McCarthy for their company and useful Spanish translations! Connor Horne (L6)

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C O MBINE D C ADE T FORCE

Combined Cadet Force CCF had a busy year, starting in early September 2017 with a shooting competition at Beckingham Camp. The nine cadets involved gained a great deal of valuable experience and wholly enjoyed themselves.

Apache helicopter demonstration over Culfordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s North Front

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C OMBINED C ADET FORC E

n October we visited The 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment at The Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich, where the cadets tackled an obstacle course and trained on the GPMG (general purpose machine gun) in a sustained fire role.

Inspection Day in April was slightly different this year, as we decided to demonstrate a field exercise. To show the activities our cadets conduct on exercise, we established a patrol harbour at RAF Barnham the night before guests were due to arrive.

It was an honour to take part in the annual Remembrance Parades both at Culford and in Bury St Edmunds; a feeling shared by all of those involved.

Unfortunately, we were unable to book the sun and the weather was not on our side; however the cadets were fully prepared and gave the task their all in the ambush, section attack, and stalk. The Inspecting Officer, Lt Col Nick English, was impressed with how our cadets coped with the conditions and was very encouraging to both the cadets and parents. The day was capped off with the CCF Mess Dinner: a great evening of fine food, thought-provoking speeches and a

Over Easter we spent a few days adventure training at Mersea Island, where we joined forces with the Pathfinder pupils. While there, we tried caving, obstacle courses, archery and the ‘leap of faith,’ to name but a few of the activities on offer.

chance for our Senior Cadets from past years to return and realise they will always be part of Culford School’s CCF. Throughout the year, we held a number of weekend training exercises. These are challenging, but the cadets gain a lot from this style of training. Besides new skills, they learnt teamwork, self-reliance, pride and confidence in their own abilities. The Officers and I have the privilege of seeing the cadets grow throughout the year, not just as individuals but also as part of a team. The last Parade of the year was exciting as Lt Col Nick English flew an Apache helicopter to Culford for a demonstration over the North Front with assistance of ‰

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C O MBINE D C ADE T FORCE

his co-pilot and ground crew. It was an incredible performance, if a little dusty. I would like to thank all involved; it was the perfect way to end the years training. Central Camp was held at Beckingham, Lincolnshire this year. The training was excellent, as always, and the cadets took every opportunity to improve not only their field craft skills but also their drill and shooting. Their hard work paid off as we placed third in the drill competition, air rifle shoot and full bore shooting. Consistency really does pay off, and our Culford cadets were proud to have finished first in the competition. The cadets, especially the new recruits, fully embraced the CCF this year They faced many of their fears: insects, heights, shooting and living without Wi-Fi to name a few! I would like to thank all the cadets and staff for not only their hard work and enthusiasm, but also for the fun we have shared as a Contingent this year.

Captain Sarah Schofield Contingent Commander

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THE D UKE O F EDINBURGH â&#x20AC;&#x2122;S AWA RD SC H E ME

The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme The Duke of Edinburgh Awards have been offered at Culford for many years and hundreds of pupils have gone on to complete their awards. This year, 44 pupils started their Bronze Award, ten pupils Silver and eight pupils Gold. The demand for this exciting and rewarding experience grows from year to year.

o achieve such a high rate of involvement and success requires hard work and tenacity from the pupils, parents and the staff who support them. Pupils must give up their spare time while juggling their other commitments to volunteer, partake in physical exercise and develop a skill over an extended length of time. In addition, each cohort has to complete two expeditions varying in length from two to four days depending on the level they are working to attain.

Dedicated parents keep the pupils motivated and organised; some even open their kitchens for cookery or take up jogging with their children to help! Staff give their time to keep everyone focused and to ensure that the expeditions are well planned and safe. I know from my own experience so many years ago how rewarding the Duke of Edinburgh is, and my thanks go out to all of those involved. Douglas Edwards Science Teacher

Pastoral Care It has been a busy year for all four houses with plenty of House events, formal dinners and academic success.

PAS T OR AL C A RE

Cornwallis House

Mr Reynolds

Upper Sixth Cornwallis pupils

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Housemaster: Mr G Reynolds Deputy Housemaster: Mr J Fox Head of House: Martynas Jurkonis House Captains: Jude Everitt and Edward Pomeroy

C OR NWALLIS H OUSE

New Year started with a new look for all 118 Gentleman of Cornwallis as they were given initialised House baseball caps, thanks to the energy and commitment of Edward Pomeroy (U6) who turned a vision into reality. It is in watching boys turn into men as they develop the skills to start and finish ideas with little input from me that makes being a Housemaster so rewarding. As ever, the Upper Sixth completed this journey in their own way, acquiring skills and knowledge alongside one another and growing spiritually, physically and mentally into fine young adults. The House was led by another Martynas this year, this time Jurkonis (U6), who combined time on the tennis court with his studies and who led the house exceptionally well. In our modern fast paced world, time management is a key skill and Martynas has shown a real strength in this area. He also developed a British sense of humour which, coupled with his warm and welcoming approach, made him an excellent Head of House. As ever, the Formal Dinner was a highlight of the year, with great food, great company and some wise words from our Head of Golf, Lawrence Dodd, on setting targets that are ambitious and doing all you can to reach them, which is very much in keeping with

our House motto “Success comes to those that follow their ambitions”.

twelve years. They have kept me on my toes, offered me challenges in working out how I can best support them with the mistakes they have made and I hope they have learned from the experience. I am proud of each and every one of them; I will miss them and wish them well on the adventures that are ahead for them. They are well equipped to whatever that may be.

Someone who reaped the benefit of Mr Dodd’s tuition is Jude Everitt (U6), who has developed greatly as a golfer, and finally after five years, took my advice on what was an appropriate haircut, something that I failed in achieving with Josh Bray and Lee Li (U6)! We were well represented on the games field where Sam Nash (U6) was an inspirational captain on the rugby field, and Alex Packer (U6) the same on the hockey and cricket field. Head Boy, Josh Stephens (U6), showed real commitment to the cause by helping out when needed on the rugby field and doing his bit for integrating the community by being so welcoming to the girls (well one) of Fitz, something mirrored by Galin Rusev (U6) with Jocelyn House. I am told the virtual world has been saved over 1000 times by Jason Yeung (U6) who has shown great commitment to gaining an understanding of learning to live in a virtual world, but has also wowed us with his excellence as a musician in the real world. Alex Naskinov turned the house into a woodworking studio with his love of Design and Technology, and if I close my eyes I can still smell the varnish!

Josh Fox has been an outstanding Deputy Housemaster while living in Cornwallis for the last five years. His humour, commitment and support of pupils will be sorely missed. I really value the support he has offered me personally and will now need to stroll to the physics department to seek his wise counsel!

They are as fine a bunch of young man that has passed through my doors in the last

Gavin Reynolds

We finished the year with a festival of food and sport at the House Barbecue, organised by the new Prefect team in the Lower Sixth. The evening was a great success with the highlight seeing the Fourth Form being thrown into the air in losing their tug of war contest with the Upper Sixth; their time will come as they move forward on their journey into becoming a Gentleman of Cornwallis and an adult equipped to take on the world.

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Edwards House

Housemaster: Mr J Holiday-Scott Deputy Housemaster: Mr C Sadler Head of House: Joe Beasant House Captains: Fraser Devoy, Sol Franklin and William Baines

Upper Sixth Edwards pupils

f I were to sum up the year in three words, I would choose: transformation, growth and service. The Edwards House team believes in facilitating transformation, bettering yesterday and that leadership begins with service. I am proud of the men of Edwards for living these challenging values throughout the year. The first House event of the year was the immensely successful Edwards House Night Out where all 118 of us went Go Karting. We raced, supported, cheered and ate and, in the process, discovered a few experienced drivers and few undiscovered Jenson Buttons. The boys have asked for a similar night out in the upcoming year, saying it’s great to have all the year groups together. I couldn’t agree more, and we will. Mr Holiday-Scott

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E DWARDS HO USE

Leadership and service were the name of the game on Friday 13 October when the House rode 700 miles – the distance from John O’Groats to Lands’ End – on rusty old mountain bikes attached to turbo trainers. This immense effort took 23 hours, going through the night, and the peddling action of nearly the whole House. Special credit here goes to the incredibly tenacious William Tozer (U5) who took two slots, one handed, in the early hours of the morning. The event, organised by Deputy Head Boy Charlie James (U6), raised £1,581.73 – thanks to the incredibly generous donations of the wider Edwards family. Nominated by an Edwardian, the money went to Cancer Research UK. What better way is there than drama to experience transformation and growth? In November, the visceral and demanding DNA by Dennis Kelly allowed Maxim (U5) and Ellis (U5) to show the range and depth of their acting talents. Rarely have I been so moved and swept up by a student production. In January, the Edwards House Formal saw Edwards leading the way in service and growth. Never being content to do things the old way, having already paved the way in inviting external speakers, we again broke the mold by working with the BTEC Business Studies group to experience running a project using real-world management frameworks. Parents, again, supported this event with very generous prizes for the charity raffle, which raised £628 for the East Anglian Children’s Hospice. The boys had a

lovely evening, as always, enjoying the opportunity to dress up and revel in the formal occasion.

engaging with learning. Grades are often excellent, but I am most proud of the House for making progress and beating yesterday.

As with every year, as the spring turns to summer the focus of the House shifts to the growth and transformation opportunities of internal exams, UCAS applications, external exams, geography field trips, language trips abroad, CCF and Pathfinders camp-outs and a plethora of activities. In all these, I am proud of how willingly and tenaciously Edwardians took part in, and grew from all they did.

In the Summer term we said goodbye to another excellent set of prefects, and welcomed a new team. Upper Sixth pupils Charlie James, Joe Beasant, Fraser Devoy, Sol Franklin, William Baines, Julius Kümpers, Stephane Aries, Louie Ellis, Peter Hodgson: Edwardians owe you a debt of thanks for the leadership and initiative you have shown the House this year. To that I add my own heartfelt thanks.

In sport, the list of successes is too long to go through in full, but I wanted to mention a few names. Nils Klermund (U6) and Cameron Branagh (L6) for incredible tenacity and resilience. Harry Wendleken (U5) for personal growth as an athlete. Oliver Riddick (L6) for consistency and service. Max Weaver (L5) for humility in winning. Luke Watson (L5) for commitment. Arthur Wildish (F4) for professionalism. Win or lose, I’m proud of the qualities you show in your given sport.

With the excitement that comes with a new beginning, the House welcomes the new team of prefects: Lower Sixth pupils Jordan Asiama, Nathan Fernandez, James Gibbs, Charlie Ives, Henry Jackson-Wells, Josh McCullough, Edwin Ho, and Archie Crosskey. I look forward to seeing how you choose to change and transform Edwards House this year.

In academics we saw the same laudable qualities, and again, the list of names is too long but I want to mention a few standout names here. Fraser Devoy (U6) for humility in excellence. Sol Franklin (U6) for initiative and creativity. Rob Clark (U6) for tenacity and commitment. Focus Chen (U6) for a commitment to getting the most out of every learning opportunity. Hugo Clifford (L5) for consistent excellence. Will Longe (L5) for

My final thanks goes to my team of tutors who do so much every day for the House. Especially, I’d like to thank Charlie Sadler for his wise head, located as it is on young shoulders, and his boundless energy and enthusiasm for the House and boys. To Leavers, please stay in touch. To Freshers, welcome. To Edwards, onwards and upwards!

James Holiday-Scott

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Fitzgerald House

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Housemistress: Mrs L Bryant Deputy Housemistress: Mrs K Waghorn Head of House: Maggie Wang House Captains: Abbie Farrow, Hannah Brecknell and Elise Yiu

FITZG ER ALD H OUSE

t has been a real pleasure to have been Housemistress of Fitzgerald House these last two years, to have the chance to get to know such a group of wonderful and talented young ladies and work with such committed and highly professional staff. The role of Housemistress has prepared me well for my next adventure in life as I leave to start my own family (news hot off the press: Mrs Bryant and her husband George were delighted to welcome son Freddie into the world in early September) but it is with a heavy heart that I say goodbye to Culford, Fitzgerald and most significantly the girls whose lives I have shared for the last two years. Maggie Wang (U6) was an exceptional Head of House, a fantastic support to both the girls in the House and to me personally. She combined a fine sense of humour with excellent organisation skills and a caring nature and showed herself to be everything you would expect from a Senior Prefect. The House Formal Dinner was, as ever, a highlight of the year. The Sixth Form

organised the event entirely themselves and allowed year groups to integrate and get to know each other better. The smiling Katie Veitch (U6) epitomised house spirit, always positive, upbeat and looking to help others. Abbie Farrow (U6) and Claire Bottomley (U6) always lifted the spirits of others, while Izzy O’Brian-Miller’s (U6) relationship with Abbie on the netball court was almost telepathic such was their understanding of where each other would be. We also had our own fish in Olivia Nicolai (U6) and Hannah Brecknell (U6), whose dedication to swimming showed them to be excellent role models to other girls; those two really understand what the word commitment means. Speaking of commitment, as an excellent golfer, Ana Ingels (U6) was always above par on that count. A love of life, an African view on the world, combined with the fine qualities of caring and compassion made Cody FraserCox (U6) a real asset to the boarding community. Elise Yiu (U6) was an excellent Prefect; she was always there to help others and defined tenacity, as whatever was put in front of her she continued to do all she

could be a success. Although the team did not manage to win the House Cup, their ambition and mine at the start of the year, we enjoyed the journey, had fun and competed hard in all competitions. I remain grateful to all who helped Fitzgerald to be an inclusive, encouraging, diverse and fun part of the boarding community at Culford, with special mention going to Louise and Bea, our two matrons, who support the girls in so many ways: from the mundane tasks such as laundry to offering wise words and a listening ear when needed. I am delighted that Kate Waghorn is taking over as Housemistress; she has been an excellent Deputy to me for two years and her rich experiences of life, coupled with her sense of humour and genuine wish to make a difference in the young people’s lives means she will excel in the role. I wish her all the best! Lydia Bryant

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Jocelyn House Housemistress: Mrs S Haughey Deputy Housemistress: Miss C Olley Head of House: Katie Farrant House Captains: Grace Deane, Abigail Callaghan and Melody Lee

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J OCELYN H OUSE

his year was the best yet for Jocelyn House. Highlights included winning the Effort Cup (because Jocelyn is amazing!), the House Hockey competition and, with Miss Olley’s superb guidance, the House Netball as well. But Jocelyn is not just a sporty House, we are also skilled at party planning. This year’s Formal Dinner was fantastic and will live on in all our memories. The theme was Magic, and we were lucky to be entertained by a talented magician as we enjoyed supper. We practiced making balloon animals, learned some card tricks, danced the night away and just enjoyed each others company. Our Krispy Kreme themed Christmas party was a big hit, with silly games and the special treat of a photobooth to help us capture all those lovely moments together. Later that evening our shoes were magically filled with chocolate! It was a perfect day for the Easter Egg hunt on the South Front, and watching the ladies of Jocelyn House race around after tiny plastic eggs was hilariously sweet. We ended the year with a wonderful Barbecue and games on the fields, making hand print pictures and jewellery and eating the delicious food that the Prefect Team created the night before. Well done Jocleyn for always being willing to throw yourselves into having a good time and enjoying one another’s company. Jocelyn House has been represented in drama, hockey, music, the Maths Challenge Competition, CCF and Duke of Edinburgh, Malawi fundraising, clubs such as Amnesty International and one of our own even revived the school newspaper. But Jocelyn Ladies do not confine their fabulousness to school hours; outside of school we have skilled horse riders, gymnasts, bakers, gardeners, bloggers, swimmers, business owners, football players, charity volunteers, scuba divers, artists, and even a couple of published authors. Jocelyn House is a collection of unique, strong, and beautiful women whose talents and successes are, in a word, amazing. Sarah Haughey

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Katie Veitch and Joshua Stephens at the Summer Ball

U PPE R SIX TH VALEDICT ORY

Upper Sixth Valedictory

Charlie James and family at the Summer Ball

s we reflect upon our time here, we realise how quickly the years go by when you are busy with all the amazing activities that Culford has to offer. Whether it’s being part of the Combined Cadet Forces or Duke of Edinburgh Awards, basking in the sun or playing on school sport teams, Culford has given everyone the opportunity to find something that they are passionate about. However, none of this compares to the lifelong friends that everyone has made throughout their time here. Even though we took Common Entrance exams far too seriously, Prep School was definitely filled with hilarious and care free moments. White-water rafting, kayaking and swimming in the heat are just a few life-long memories that the Italy trip left us with. This was definitely the perfect way to end our

unforgettable Prep School days. However for many of us, our life at Culford started in the Fourth Form. We were fortunate to make great new friends and, taking advantage of the fact, we had no exams and no worries, Fourth Form quickly became an epic year. In spite of the dark cloud of GCSEs looming large, there were highlights that stood out. The geography field trip to Yorkshire was a fun day at the beach with pals; the musicals provided a much-needed respite and a chance to show off our dramatic and musical talent. Also, the Upper Fifth tennis team brought home Culford’s first national title, a moment that brought a tear to Dave Hall’s eye. Freshers was the start of a crazy Sixth Form for all of us. From Louie’s outrageous dance routine at the talent show, to rock climbing

and caving, we all made memories and friendships that stay with us to this day. We have had two of the most entertaining years and whilst we know that there is so much more for us all to achieve, Sixth Form has set us up for life, and we could not have wished for more from it. Even though the length of time we have spent at Culford may vary, we can all say that it has shaped us into the people we are today. Each one of us has learned different skills and values that will benefit us in whichever path we take in the future. Now all that is left for us to say is, “Cheers for all of the good times and we wish everyone the best for the future. Let’s face it guys, we were one hell of a year group so let’s all stay in touch.” Katie Veitch and Charlie James (U6)

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2017-18 Valete The following Upper Sixth pupils completed their education at Culford this year. We wish them all well for the future and look forward to seeing them again at events and reunions.

Stephane Aries William Baines Joseph Beasant Hannah Benton Claire Bottomley Joshua Bray Hannah Brecknell Abigail Callaghan Robert Clark Imogen Colegrave Lauren Cooper Xiao Tong Cui Oscar Cutting James Davies Edward Davis Grace Deane

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Fraser Devoy Louie Ellis Jude Everitt Katie Farrant Abbie Farrow Sol Franklin Cody Fraser-Cox Jevony Hall Emily Harris Si Ran He Siyu He Annabel Heywood Ashley Hobday Peter Hodgson Ana Ingels Charlie James

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Martynas Jurkonis Milana Kheiffetts Nils Klermund Julius Kümpers Sin Tung Lee Fengyi Li Hao Yan Li Kening Lin Tristan Long Samuel Nash Alexander Naskinov Olivia Nicolai Beatrice Northeast-Roffey Isabella O'Brien-Miller Alexander Packer Edward Pomeroy

Thomas Powis Edward Pudney Galin Rusev Joshua Stephens Emily Taylor Hoi Laam Tsang Kathryn Veitch Nella Walters Heya Wang Jianuo Wang Max Whittaker Yiqing Yan Yat Shun Yeung Yi Seen Yiu Jiahui Zhu

2017-18 VALE TE

POSITIONS OF RESPONSIBILITY 2017-18 HEAD BOY HEAD GIRL DEPUTY HEAD BOY DEPUTY HEAD GIRL

Joshua Stephens Nella Walters Charlie James Katie Vietch

PREFECT BODY BY HOUSE Cornwallis Head of House House Captains

Edwards Head of House House Captains

Fitzgerald Head of House House Captains

Jocelyn Head of House House Captains

Martynas Jurkonis Jude Everitt Edward Pomeroy

Joe Beasant Fraser Devoy Sol Franklin William Baines

Maggie Wang Abbie Farrow Hannah Brecknell Elise Yiu

Katie Farrant Grace Deane Abigail Callaghan Melody Lee

SPORTS CAPTAINS 1st XI Hockey Captain 1st XI Netball Captains 1st Rugby 7s Captain Girls’ Tennis Captain Boys’ Tennis Captain

Alex Packer Abbie Farrow Issey O’Brien Miller Josh Bray Kira Reuter Charlie James

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C OMMON ROOM VALETE

Senior Common Room Valete “We always thank the Common Room who teach our pupils, but as ever, a number of them will be leaving us at the end of this term and this is my opportunity to thank them in particular”, writes Headmaster, Julian Johnson-Munday.

Adrian Fisk has been at Culford as Head of Biology since 2002. He has run a happy, settled, popular department. Pupils get strong grades and enjoy the subject, and we regularly see two sets take A levels, which is a fine achievement in a school this size. Adrian is one of the quieter members of the Common Room: professional and thoughtful, he tends to simply do what is required, to a high standard and without much fuss. Adrian now moves towards a phased-retirement, although we hope to keep in touch. For now, however, we thank him for all his efforts on our behalf.

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Lydia Bryant joined us in 2016. She took over Fitzgerald House and quickly made it her own, establishing a solid rapport with the girls and creating a happy environment. In the classroom her charisma and energy has shone through and we shall miss her as she leaves us to have her first child. As her husband is at RAF Honington, we may lure her back at some point. For now, however, we wish her well and look forward to meeting her baby in September.

Nick Murray joined us in September 2015 and has run our international English programme with great energy. Parents and pupils alike are grateful for his attention to detail and his determination to see pupils make the most of their talents; and as no pupil got lower than an A grade last year his efforts have borne much fruit. We wish him well as he now follows his fiancée to Canada where she takes up a position lecturing at a university.

C O MMO N ROOM VALETE

Barbara Murray joined us in September 2008. Barbara ran Fitzgerald to great effect before Lydia, but her greatest impact has been as Head of Learning Development. Her efficiency and thoroughness has ensured that each pupil got exactly the kind of support he or she required. Barbara mixes a necessary eye for detail to deal with exam board regulations, with the compassion and pastoral support necessary for a truly successful teacher. At her previous school she taught the most disorganised pupil it was ever her misfortune to meet; but she recognised his abilities and supported him fully. She used to rescue him from the wrath of other colleagues by keeping spare pens, pencils, erasers and paper on her desk. He would erupt into her classroom to grab supplies before scooting off to appear almost on time and mostly prepared somewhere else. As his father, I thank you Barbara. Barbara now moves towards retirement but will be back in a parttime capacity next year. For now, however, we thank her for all she has done.

Liz Long has been a member of the PE department since 2003 and has given freely of her energy and passions, especially for athletics, cross-country and horse-riding. Most people are surprised to learn that Liz is a parttime member of the department because she has become so central to it. The girls in her tutor groups have always enjoyed her support and approachability and her teaching has always brought out the best in pupils. Liz now retires to spend more time with her husband and we wish her well as they move on to the next phase of their lives together.

Finally, Simon Crompton-Battersby has been our Chaplain since 2005. His passion for pastoral support led us to develop pupil peer-counselling and especially to focus upon mental health. Simon has so far trained some 50% of our teachers in mental health first aid; and has trained Governors and parents too, so that our young people have the best possible support for the issues we all face with our mental resilience from time to time. In his work on our Christian ethos, Simon has done what every successful Chaplain must and kept the rumour of God alive. Each week, in Collective Worship, cynical or unconvinced pupils have been confronted by Simon’s humanity and passion for social justice; and have had to consider where that passion and humanity come from. Personally, I shall miss Simon’s private support. He has been asked by me many times to help colleagues and pupils in trouble; and he has spoken truth to me many times, helping me to support them better. Simon’s resignation letter spoke volumes for his humility in telling me that Culford has given him much and that he leaves: “wiser, quieter and more confident than I arrived.” He also leaves behind a Culford, wiser, richer and more grounded in compassion than when he arrived; and for that we should all thank him roundly.

Emma Thornbury has only been here for a year but she has made a positive contribution as our Head of Hockey. She has, however, found her dream role in developing her career further and now moves to Newcastle Under Lyme School where we wish her well.

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Sixth Form Enrichment

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SIXTH FORM E NRIC HME NT

Freshers’ Week at the Peak District 2017

Before starting my journey as a Culford Sixth Former, my emotions were a mix of excitement and anticipation. After finishing my first year in Sixth Form, I can look back and see how much it has taught me in what seemed to be a blink of an eye. As older students we are handed a much higher level of independence within our education, from free periods to the ability to choose our next direction in life. This teaches you a whole number of valuable lessons such as time management, adaptability and organisation.

s a new year group, our first few days as a Culford Lower Sixth were spent in the Peak District getting involved in a fun week full of activities which test you and your peers in new and exciting ways. These experiences help you form new friendships and bonds with people you may not have worked with before. A wide range of team activities such as caving, abseiling and orienteering allows everyone to come out of their shell in different ways and demonstrate skills like leadership and communication. The week provides chances to make the best memories and a great start to what promises to be an amazing year. A Lower Sixth Formal Dinner when you return to school is a great way to end the week, and is a time to treat yourself and get dressed up with your new friends. One exciting factor of Sixth Form is the set of exclusive privileges, which to the younger members of the school are not allowed. The library mezzanine and Paddy and Scott’s Café allow both years of the Sixth Form to spend time together, both within and away from their academic studies. Sofas, tea and coffee are welcomed privileges as well as a few uniform changes that differentiate a Sixth Form pupil from the rest of the School. A number of social events are also organised and enjoyed by the Sixth Form, like themed parties and the Highland Ball.

As you get closer to the end of your school career, you inevitably need to look towards the future and make some decisions. During Lower Sixth there is a huge amount of support and guidance to help set individual goals and achieve them. Career lunches presented by employees in various industries provide inspiration in areas from accounting to medicine, law, digital media and architecture. A 20-minute mock interview for a graduate job at M&S gave us detailed interview training and assessments. Independent Research Projects entailed each student giving a 15-minute presentation to peers and teachers on a topic relevant to our subjects as well as a research log and summary. Everyone was given presentation training, assessment and achievements to expand our personal statements. This year taught me the importance of social skills, organisation, leadership and confidence; Lower Sixth provides many opportunities to develop and demonstrate these skills. One example of this is the prefect application process. Students have to fill in an application, write a letter explaining why you should be a prefect, be interviewed and vote alongside your peers. At the end of this process, 20 students become prefects, which is an amazing achievement. ‰

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PAS T OR A L C AR E

These roles come with responsibilities such as school tours, lunch duty, giving talks, organising and running collective worship each week, as well as being a positive ambassador for the School. Other responsibilities within the Sixth Form include House Prefects, Sports Captains, Subject Ambassadors and Student Mentors for younger pupils. Towards the end of the Lower Sixth year a wellbeing day is held, which stresses the importance of keeping physically and mentally healthy. It is a rewarding day away from normal lessons and I particularly enjoyed the yoga and self-defense sessions. There is also a Life After Culford Week dedicated to decisions about our future and support for University/Apprenticeship applications. We enjoyed talks about gap years, careers, personal statements, the

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experiences of OCs and how to select a journey that will be right for us. One piece of software provided by the School I found particularly useful is UniFrog, which gives me all the information I need about the opportunities relevant to what I want to do in the future. It shows you all the different university courses or apprenticeships that you might be interested in, as well as giving you guidance in writing personal statements and CVs. The Scholarsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Programme was exciting as it opened my eyes to areas outside the normal curriculum, from talented composers to medicine and Italian art. We were also given the opportunity to present a TED-style talk on a topic of our choice to all the other scholars. It was great to see our peers succeed and talk passionately about topics they chose themselves, making the

experience rewarding for both those listening and presenting. Culford Sixth Form creates such a positive and dynamic learning environment, which combines work, independence and fun. As cringey as it sounds, one of the key things I learned this year is that you only get out of something what you put into it. Although the work does intensify, as long as you stay committed and use the support provided, the benefits will be amazing. The memories I made this year helped shape me as a person, and I know that they will stay with me forever. I would encourage everyone to get involved as much as they can in the Sixth Form so you can get the most out of these amazing two years. Emma Howard Sixth Form Pupil

SIXTH FORM E NRIC HME NT

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Independent boarding & day school for boys and girls aged 1-18

Your invitation Come for an individual visit with our friendly Admissions team who will introduce you to Culford and the opportunity that awaits. Find out more culford.co.uk or call 01284 385308

Bus routes across the region Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP28 6TX Culford School is a Registered Charity

THE CULFORD FO UNDATION

What does the Foundation do? The Culford Foundation exists to friendraise and fundraise for Culford School. We work with alumni, parents and staff to: • Engage and build relationships amongst the Culford community through reunions, social and sporting events, networking and overseas groups • Raise awareness about our friendraising and fundraising activities and the philanthropic support we receive • Seek gifts and donations to help develop Culford’s facilities for future generations and fundraise for bursaries to sponsor places at Culford for children who could not otherwise afford to come here Jo Johnson-Munday and Samantha Salisbury from the Foundation team

• Utilise Old Culfordians’ professional experience and knowledge to help current pupils and recent leavers with decisions about their future career choices

How do you become an Old Culfordian (OC)? All pupils become Old Culfordians on leaving the Senior School and may register with Culford Online, culfordonline.co.uk, an interactive database which enables members to update their own contact details and share information, if they choose to, with other alumni. Parents pay a oneoff £75 joining fee in the second term after their child joins the Senior School; this ensures that the family receives the alumni magazine, invitations to appropriate Foundation events and activities and pupils can seek help with accessing information, work experience and careers support from the alumni network.

50 Years apart

Networking opportunities at the annual London Drinks reception

Sol Franklin, 2018 leaver meets David Bartlett, Year of 1968

L – R: Tim James, Nick Ivory, Lucy Kearney, Max Mason, Poppy Kearney, Will Ewing

OC London Drinks

Presidents’ Cricket match vs the School

OC guests at Speech Day 2018

L – R: Head Girl, Nella Walters (2007-2018), John Motson (1956-1961) and former Head Girl, Charlotte Harpur (2005-2012)

L – R Bottom row: Andrew Morgan, Freddie Allum, Arran Dhesi, Matthew Mitcham, Alex Bloomfield Top row: Ben Whittaker, Alex McCaffrey, Elliot Smith, Kieran Pask, Freddie Preston, Dom Corbett

L – R: Rosy Black (1953-1964), Simon Kiddy (1974-1978), Susanne Kohl (1949-1957) and Alan Atkinson (1960-1967)

Some 2017/18 Highlights

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TH E CULFOR D FOUNDAT ION

How the Foundation helps Culford

hree years since the opening of our landmark Library, this stunning building has proved to be a far greater success than we might ever have imagined and, like all great new facilities, we now wonder how we ever managed without it. More than £750,000 was fundraised by the Foundation towards the project cost of £2.3million. It simply would not have happened without the generosity of Old Culfordians, including Professor Harry Watson OC (1949-1959) and his wife, after whom the Watson Lecture Theatre is named. Their philanthropic support and that of several other major benefactors, along with gifts of all sizes from alumni, parents and friends, has ensured that present and future Culfordians have the perfect place to study and do so much more in. Head Librarian, Niki Francis explains: “The Library is a beautifully designed and flexible work space, a truly inviting and

welcoming place to learn in. Excellent Wi-Fi and an array of charging points ensures easy access to all the online content and journals we subscribe to and a Librarian is always on hand to help find what you need. From Harry Potter nights to poetry slams, from Oxbridge conferences to silent study spaces for revision, Culford’s Library offers it all. Pupils up until Fifth Form have reading lessons in the comfy, light and bright reading area with its funky seating and the pick of our extensive range of fiction and non-fiction resources. A variety of work spaces means you can work collaboratively or individually and there is a Librarian on hand every week day to help find any resources, including in the evenings until 9pm. The Sixth Form enjoy sole use of the large mezzanine, with tea and coffee facilities, a lounge area and stunning vistas towards The King of the Park, the oldest oak tree

on the estate, planted in c1591. Not only do they have access to all the books downstairs, students also have separate resources upstairs, specifically curated for them. Popular all week and used for Private Study, the mezzanine is naturally extra busy during exam season when we also make a silent space available downstairs in the Watson Lecture Theatre. “The Watson” is a multipurpose, bookable space which can be split into two and hosts everything from storytellers, training sessions, scholars’ seminars, prefects and governors meetings to parent presentations, careers events, workshops and even a yoga activity – all without disturbing any other pupils as it is a soundproofed room. The ability to host a huge variety of activities all at once in this phenomenal space, makes the learning opportunities for our pupils truly exceptional. It is simply a great place to come and learn!”

“The new Library gave me a space where I could work on my own, undistracted, as well as discussing and tackling problems with friends. The atmosphere motivated me and I knew I would spend my time there most beneficially” Freddie Allum (2007-2017) Imperial College London, reading Medicine

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THE CULFORD FO UNDATION

“I was fortunate to have access to the new Library for both my Sixth Form years. Not only was it a beautiful addition to the school grounds, it facilitated so much learning. The mezzanine study area is so bright and particularly popular during exam season; creating a very positive revision space to share with other students.” Natasha Day (2015-2017) Exeter University, reading Natural Sciences

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TH E CULFOR D FOUNDAT ION

What’s next for the Campaign for Culford? A New Art Studio

Infinity Architects drawing of the new building

he Foundation’s target is to raise at least £350,000 towards an estimated project cost of £670,000 to develop the main Art Studio (see architect’s drawing); the balance of funds will be met by the School. In addition, we aim to raise at least £30,000 towards the exterior landscaping, creating a beautiful space and an inviting garden where pupils will both work and relax.

The new Studio is scheduled for completion in spring/summer 2019. Head of Art, Tessa Richardson (pictured in her sponsored Pop Art Portrait below), explains why this new facility will make such a difference:

The main studio will be a light, bright and flexible space. All the furniture, lighting and storage will be designed to be continually fluid in its positioning so that it can be teaching studios one minute, and a gallery for exhibiting work in another. Today’s A Level students explore art that is becoming more challenging and conceptual in design; offering the space in which to curate their own installation will enable them to expand and fully explore their own learning experience.

To date we have raised close to £350,000 in gifts and pledges. Fundraising initiatives for this project include the Pop Art Portraits on display around school, sponsored pavers which will form part of the new terrace outside the main studio, and memorial benches for the new garden area. Thank you to everyone who has donated thus far, we are extremely grateful to all our donors. If you would like to contribute, please contact the Foundation team on: 01284 385310 or email us at: foundation@culford.co.uk More information may be found at: culford.co.uk/How-You-Can-Help

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Culfordians to have more access to a broader spectrum of creative media, as well as the space, flexibility and technology to further develop their creativity. The media suite on the mezzanine will offer pupils access to a wider world of digital design, and the expanding ceramics studio will allow us to explore this medium more often.

“The exciting new design for our future art department will enable current and future

This fabulous new facility will open up so many creative avenues within the Arts, allowing us to find the creative strengths of each individual at Culford. We can’t wait!”

OPE R A AND RO O T S IN TH E PARK 2018

Culford School were thrilled to welcome some 800 guests through its gates for Opera and Roots in the Park.

Opera and Roots in the Park 2018 O

n Saturday 16 June, the fifth Opera in the Park saw London Festival Opera performing La Traviata and other operatic favourites. Culford were also thrilled to showcase some of their in-house talent with a selection of Prep School performers taking to the South Front stage. There was a charitable purpose to the evening, with generous opera goers donating over £800 to a raffle in aid of Culford’s charitable trip to Malawi. In July, 20 Lower Sixth pupils travelled to Malawi to assist with construction work, taught local schools and orphanages and finally opened a new Library, which Culfordians have been working on since 2008. 2018 marks the tenth year that Culford has volunteered in Malawi, which made this raffle extremely special.

There was a mellow vibe on Sunday afternoon for Culford’s second Roots in the Park. Families and friends lounged in the beautiful park while listening to the cool sounds of Dusty Stray, Fargo Railroad Company and The Vagaband. The audience were also wowed by the talent of pupils and the Headmaster, Julian Johnson-Munday, who took to the stage for a set. A huge thank you goes to Culford’s main sponsor of the weekend, Edwards & Blake, East Anglia contract caterers, who provided guests with wonderful picnic hampers at Opera and a fantastic pop-up Afternoon Tea tent on Sunday. Thanks also goes to Krazy Horse for supporting Opera and showcasing a selection of their fantastic classic cars, Go Ape for bringing along Segways for guests to enjoy at Roots and Quove Accounting for their generous support.

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