OUR YEAR 2021 - 2022
We love learning, thinking deeply, being creative and welcoming reasoned debate.
Annual Review 2021-2022 3
Whether you read the Annual Review from cover to cover, or just skim read the headings and admire the excellent photographs, you cannot fail to be impressed by what Pelican, Prep and Upper pupils have achieved. These academic, pastoral and extra-curricular achievements are even more impressive because they occurred against the backdrop of two years of pandemic-disrupted learning. I am very proud of the resourcefulness, ingenuity, adaptability, resilience, perseverance and sheer hard work that so many Perse pupils and staff have shown in making a success of the 2021-22 academic year.
Breadthbalanceand Endeavour
We are involved, engaged and committed, and we take full advantage of the opportunities we are given.
We aim high and challenge ourselves, try our best and are not afraid to make mistakes.
A clear sense of purpose, shared by pupils and staff, lies at the heart of everything we do.
There is so much of note in the 3-18 Perse, that the Annual Review’s excellent editors (Claire Ziwa and Aaron Mason) have a very difficult job in deciding what to include. Lines have to be drawn somewhere, and wherever that is, there will always be some people and activities who merited a mention but missed out. Chief amongst these are the multitude of extraordinary routine actions of Pelican, Prep and Upper pupils and staff going about their daily business with exemplary kindness, care, consideration and dedication. Such background excellence is often taken for granted and rarely merits the special attention of a headline, but it is what defines school culture. Individual and group successes are great and worthy of celebration, but what knits them together into a happy and successful school community are the myriad of individual interactions that create a supportive, coherent and kind school. So thank you to all the pupils and staff for their cheery greetings, for holding doors open, for smiling, for thinking about others and not just themselves, for noticing, for being a good friend, for welcoming the new and looking after the vulnerable, for doing what is right and not what is easy.
Shaped by our values
We each play our part in creating a kind and considerate community. We care for ourselves, each other and those in need.
Success comes in many different shapes and sizes. We must congratulate all our pupils and staff on their big and little achievements, their absolute and relative successes, and their ordinary and extraordinary triumphs whether tangible or intangible. Most importantly of all, we must recognise that conduct counts, and that is why acting with kindness and consideration and valuing one another really matter at The Perse.
Ed HeadElliott
Head’s welcome
curiosityIntellectualandscholarship
One environmentandanotherour
31 Atlas Fellowship 32 Computer Science 34 Chemistry 36 Physics 38 Biology 39 Geography 42 History 43 Philosophy, Ethics and Religion 44 Classics 46 Maths 47 Independent Research 58 Art 64 Design and Technology 66 Modern Foreign Languages 70 English and Drama 78 Music 84 Economics 84 Psychology 85 Politics 86 42 Society 87 Schools’ Challenge 88 Outdoor Pursuits 95 Charities and Community Outreach 101 Sport 6 16 30 PREPPELICANUPPER Contents4
112ALUMNI DEVELOPMENTAND120111 124CLUBPELICANSCHOOLSUMMERCOMMUNITYBENEFIT 114EXAM RESULTS 114 GCSE Results 116 A Level Results 118 University Destinations 119 Course Choices Annual Review 2021-2022 5
PELICAN
Pupils in Willow and Cedar classes enjoyed learning about pond and woodland habitats during their hands-on forest school trip. While some children preferred the pond-dipping, others said they most liked looking for wild flowers and mini beasts.
They met with marvellous minibeasts, ranging from cicadas and dragonflies to huge goliath beetles and horseshoe crab shells, and discovered fascinating facts about the creatures from Head of Biology Nicole Copeland.
Outdoor pursuits fun
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Reception children enjoyed a fun-filled visit to the Outdoor Pursuits Centre at the Upper.
A great time was had by Year 2 pupils during their exciting trip to Wandlebury.
Park rangers led groups of children around the country park, helping Pelicans learn more about nature and looking after their local environment.
Wandering around Wandlebury
Pupils’ faces also lit up as they enjoyed making attractive pyramid-shaped lanterns from bamboo canes and thin sheets of paper.
However, there was still lots of time to have fun and games on the beach and enjoy an ice cream!
Everyone had lots of fun at the Pelican fete, with a wide range of activities for children to take part in, including hooka-duck and mini pitch and putt. The Punch and Judy show was especially popular as were the giant candy floss sticks. Sports Coach Jordan Palazon was a ‘good sport’ and raised funds by getting soaked in the stocks.
Fun in the sun in Great Yarmouth
Seasideexcitement at Summer Fete
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Things got fishy with a visit to the SeaLife Centre as they got up close to tanks of sharks and rays, as well as seeing turtles, penguins and otters.
Great Yarmouth was the destination for a glorious day at the seaside for Year 2 children.
‘Take a Picture’ was their Summer term topic, with children delving into the life and work of different artists each week.
Tying in with their look at 19th-Century English painter John Constable, they visited a special exhibition featuring his works at the National Trust property.
Pupils dressed up as their favourite wild creatures and strutted their stuff in the style of elephants, monkeys and even armadillos for a special danceathon.
Going wild with Children in Need fundraiserPelicanchildrenhadfun in the jungle to raise funds for BBC Children in Need.
Artistic Pelicans drawn to Anglesey Abbey
Suitably inspired by their tour, children spent time sketching their own landscapes and scenery in the grounds of the beautiful country house.
Pupils learned more about Constable, who was renowned for his landscape paintings, as they viewed the collection while walking around the property.
Children learned the moves in their classes before coming together in the playground to groove along to I Like to Move It from the film Madagascar
Every child received a wristband and other treats featuring Children in Need mascot Pudsey Bear, while parents held a bake sale to help raise funds for the annual appeal, supporting disadvantaged youngsters across the country.
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Year 1 pupils showed their artistic side during a visit to Anglesey Abbey.
Lots of fun and laughter was had by Nursery children as they enjoyed a magical storytelling workshop.
They had a great time enjoying a day of team building and outdoor activities on their first day back at school after the Easter break. Children partnered up to take part in the blindfolded Burwell Challenge, as well as having a go at orienteering in the magnificent grounds and batik art in the Bramwell Barn.
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Following on from their topic ‘Traditional Tales’, they were visited by Andy Lawrence from the Theatre of Widdershins, who put on a joyful puppet show mash-up of The Three Little Pigs and Goldilocks and the Three Bears, entitled Pigs and Bears Don’t Come in Pairs!
Tall tales enjoyed by Nursery children
Team building at Burwell House
A wonderful start to the Summer term was had by Year 2 pupils as they took a trip to Burwell House.
Hot chocolate, sausage rolls and toasted marshmallows around the campfire proved to be popular, while Pelicans also enjoyed a barbecue lunch followed by ice lollies!
They enjoyed a rather wet but exciting moonwalk, trying to avoid all the craters as they stepped, jumped and hopped across the surface of the moon.
Out of this world production
The young astronauts flew to the moon in their very own rocket and although it was a bit of a bumpy ride, everyone arrived safely.
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Mission successful as Space Day takes off
It was then back on the rocket for the return journey to mission control, where they made tasty space rock cakes and enjoyed lots of fun and games.
Children in Year 2 took a journey into space for their production of The Blue Crystal
Nursery children lifted off on their special Space Day.
They sung their hearts out to a range of musical medleys as they took to the stage for one last time at the Pelican, before blasting off to the Prep. With colourful costumes that were out of this world, they shone like stars to an audience of parents and friends.
From producing pictures of The Queen from bits and bobs, such as beads and guitar plectrums, to making brilliantly creative crowns, Pelicans got stuck into the spirit of the occasion.
Veya brought a big Union Jack to school and as well as enjoying making colourful pictures of The Queen, she said: “I really liked eating the rocky road with a flag on it at break. It was very tasty.”
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Pelicans get into Platinum Jubilee spirit
A right royal celebration was enjoyed at the Pelican to mark HM The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
Conrad was excited about the Jubilee and had made an excellent Union Jack using different types of paper.
No big royal occasion would be complete without a big party and children celebrated in style with a patriotic picnic, in true street-party style.
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Every child planted a lemon tree seed in a pot to take home to mark the 70th anniversary of The Queen’s reign.
The Jubilee event followed on from a special Dancing through the Decades show at the Peter Hall Performing Arts Centre in which Pelicans strutted their stuff in the style of famous dance crazes from the last 70 years.
their favourite fictional figures.
Favourite
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In the run-up to the day itself, pupils in Reception and Years 1 and 2 took part in online workshops and draw-along
sessions with illustrators to get themselves in the mood for the Nurseryoccasion.children
enjoyed taking part in activities around the Julia Donaldson story What the Ladybird Heard, while Reception pupils had fun creating a puppet theatre.
Year 1 pupils found themselves transported back to the Middle Ages for a fun History Day.
To end the day, Pelicans enjoyed a medieval banquet – and there were even rat catchers on hand to ensure none of the food was taken!
Children made medieval arts and crafts and had a go at using common objects of the era, such as quills, pestles and mortars.
History Day takes Pelicans back to medieval times
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Dragons proved to be a hot topic for Year 1, while Year 2 pupils used what they had learned from the illustration workshops to create their own pictures inspired by the I Spy series.
up as
Pupils were also primed for battle as they were shown how soldiers used trebuchets, bows and arrows and shields, linking into their topic on castles.
Nursery children completed 152 laps (more than threequarters of a marathon) and Reception 430 laps (more than two marathons), while Years 1 and 2 finished 649 (more than three marathons) and 859 circuits (four-and-a-half marathons)
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On the run for charity
Following a warm-up in the school hall, pupils completed laps of the Pelican grounds and collected stickers for each circuit they finished.
Youngsters headed for the start line full of cheer in sweltering sunshine for Pelican Sports Day.
lollies were on hand to cool everyone down after their marathon mission, which raised funds for the children’s chosen charities Guide Dogs and Cambridge City Food Bank.
Lots of races were enjoyed by the children as they ran, jumped, balanced tennis balls on rackets and even participated in a race that depicted the life cycle of a butterfly.
Between them, the Pelicans managed a lung-busting 2,090 laps, which equated to 280 miles (almost 11 marathons).
Welcomerespectively.ice
Pelicans prove to be good sports
Children quickly hit their stride to raise funds for good causes in the Pelican Charity Marathon.
PREP
She told pupils about the inspiration of her Sri Lankan homeland on her evocative novels and led a workshop with Year 5 pupils, encouraging them with their creative writing.
Top poet Paul Cookson brought plenty of laughs and smiles on National Poetry Day as he kept pupils entertained with a dynamic performance of his hilarious verses.
Leading children’s author Sally Gardner, who won the Carnegie Medal and Costa Children’s Book Award with her novel Maggot Moon, paid a visit on World Book Day.
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He ensured they got involved in the fun with lots of audience participation, occasionally accompanied by the ukulele, and even encouraging teachers to join in with the actions to some of his poems.
Renowned writers thrilled Prep pupils with special visits and workshops throughout the year.
The festival also saw children have a go at performance poetry, share book recommendations with their classmates and read aloud their favourite stories on Leighton Lawn.
The school year culminated in a Reading Festival, which featured a visit from Nizrana Farook.
Inspirational visits from amazing authors
An audience of pupils, dressed up as their favourite literary characters, listened as Sally gave an enthralling talk about the worlds and characters she has created, as well as her personal experience of dyslexia and her journey to becoming a writer.
Typical costumes from the eras were tried on, while children also explored objects and played traditional games.
Going back in time with History Days
Pupils completed an action-packed day by becoming fearsome warriors in a full-scale battle with sticks and shields on Leighton Lawn.
They were introduced to Lady Catherine, who told them about life in the medieval era, before taking part in workshops to understand traditions and customs of the day.
Meanwhile, Year 4 pupils were transported back to Saxon and Viking times.
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Year 5 headed back to medieval times as part of their study of Britain in the Middle Ages.
Pupils enjoyed experiencing life in different historical eras as part of special History Days.
To round off the event, children marched on to the Leighton Lawn battlefield and took part in an exciting historical reenactment.
They also discovered more about runes – the letters used by Saxons and Vikings – and designed their own shields, as well as having the chance to handle a range of weaponry from axes to staffs.
Individual interests explored in exhibition
An array of intriguing projects were showcased in the inaugural Year 6 Independent Study Exhibition.
They also had the chance to strike a pose in a Paris-style fashion show, making their own haute couture hats before strutting down the catwalk, and test their linguistic and acting skills out by performing a play in French.
Among the projects were an ingenious robot car and an eye-catching 3D snakes and ladders game, while other
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Adding an artistic touch to the event, there was also a display of terrific sketches and paintings, including a series of Andy Warhol-style portraits of William Shakespeare.
With the regular Year 5 trip unable to go ahead this year as a knock-on effect of the Covid pandemic, children were given a flavour of France in the comfort of their classrooms. Pupils tried their hand at making mayonnaise and had a go at creating eye-catching pictures of baobab trees, commonly found in French-speaking African countries, using colourful pastels.
Lots of fun en français
Year 5 pupils were transported across the Channel as they took part in a fabulous French Day.
pupils displayed their research into topics across subjects ranging from geography to computer science.
The pupils were given the chance to explore their own interests as part of their homework timetable before sharing their inventive and creative efforts with their classmates.
Colourful creations dazzle at art exhibition
Italian futurist painter Giacomo Balla was the spark for Year 5 pupils. They learned about his life and work and produced expressive oil pastel pieces featuring lighthouses and boats, taking inspiration from his sense of creating movement and light. They also made exceptional lighthouse models from card, brought to life by incorporating electrical circuits and small battery packs to power the lights.
The work of Claude Monet provided the focus for Year 4 as they learned to use the impressionist style to paint luscious landscapes featuring trees throughout the seasons. On a similar theme, they used thick card to make colourful 3D models of trees in striking seasonal tones.
Year 3 children delved into the works of Vincent van Gogh and considered his use of mark-making to create marvellous moon paintings in a variety of rich metallic colours. They also produced wonderful ceramic leaves by creating leaf prints in clay and using gleaming glazes for an eye-catching finish.
Amazing artworks created by Prep pupils were showcased in style as the school’s regular art exhibition returned for the first time since the Covid pandemic.
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Yearconcepts.4children
learned about mechanisms from interacting with a number of different children’s pop-up books. They then built a number of mechanisms and used them to illustrate their own pop-up edition of Kensuke’s Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo.
Dazzling designs on Stunningdisplaycreationstook
centre stage as Prep youngsters saw their work go on show in the school’s design and technology exhibition.
Meanwhile, Year 5 pupils looked at a range of different furniture products made from recycled materials.
Alessi products and designs were investigated by Year 3. They discovered how to saw and attach balsa wood to make a frame and learned how to build a clock mechanism before completing their timepieces with colourful clock faces inspired by Alessi designs.
Year 6 pupils explored the evolution of design and the role that it plays in our lives, from the idea stage to the final product, and made their own desk tidy designs after considering the functions it might require.
Year 6 looked into architecture, inspired by a visit to the University of Cambridge’s Faculty of Education building and researching other notable structures in the city. They made initial architectural drawings and learned about scale and proportion before turning their designs into models, featuring surrounding landscapes, using foam, card and tracing paper.
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After evaluating successful designs, they learned how to strengthen and join cardboard and newspaper sticks using a variety of different attaching methods and engineering
The national theme for the latest Mental Health Awareness Week was nature and its benefits to personal wellbeing, so pupils spent lots of time outside connecting with the natural world.
Platinum Jubilee-themed House activity day.
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Year 3 had a splashing time building rafts before launching them at nearby Vicar’s Brook, as well as learning how to grow plants with fun grass and cress heads, while Year 5 pupils took part in a ‘mind maze’ on Leighton Lawn.
imaginative icing as they took part in the Great English Biscuit Challenge and had a go at making origami Irish shamrocks.
Pupils also had a great time learning how to sing like a Welsh choir and dance in the style of the Scottish ceilidh. The day culminated with the entire school community dancing The Dashing White Sergeant together in the playground!
Every corner of the UK was represented during a day of fun and games to celebrate the 70th anniversary of HM The Queen’s Childrenreign.displayed
Para-sports, including sitting volleyball and goalball, were sampled by Years 4 and 5 while Year 6 pupils enjoyed plenty of fun and games at Abington.
Musicians from The Utterly Butterly Ukulele Project inspired Year 5 to build their own stringed instruments from just margarine tubs, fishing line and pieces of wood before performing songs they had learned to an audience in the hall.
Children also had the chance to try kung fu and weaving, learn skills for first aid and emergency situations, design and decorate colourful tiles and make bath bombs, as well as create their own superheroes.
A fitting finale to a fun week saw everyone join together in a whole-school Indian dance in the playground.
for a special
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Thought-provokingactivitiesmarkMentalHealthAwarenessWeekFrominclusivesportstoIndiandancing,childrenenjoyedtakingpartinawiderangeofentertainingandstimulatingactivitiesduringPrepMentalHealthAwarenessWeek.
Year 6 pupils provided a powerful production of Peter Pan across three wonderful performances.
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The production featured original songs and lyrics by Prep Head of Music Paul Harris and Head of English Raph de Albuquerque, plus dazzling dance routines, choreographed by the cast themselves, all delivered in a hip hop style.
The other Centre Stage performance was directed, written and performed by the children themselves, based on four stories from Hilaire Belloc’s Cautionary Tales for Children. The creative team of Harris and de Albuquerque again composed songs so that the children could shine on stage.
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Meanwhile, Year 5 actors put on a suitably snappy performance of The Enormous Crocodile for one of their Centre Stage
Written by Nick Perrin and adapted by Mr Reston, the children enjoyed dramatising the classic story of heroism and the triumph of good over evil.
The young actors entertained audiences of family and friends as they took them on a voyage to a place where dreams are born and time is never planned.
Year 4 pupils entertained a delighted audience with an imaginative retelling of the story of Robin Hood
script from Roald Dahl’s story about a crocodile who tries all manner of trickery in his efforts to eat children for his lunch, the play recreated the famous scenes from the story but with a modern, multicultural London twist.
Prep pupils shine on stage
Rousing singing and dancing captured the spirit of Robin Hood and his friends in their resistance to the Sheriff of Nottingham.
The play culminated in an exciting archery tournament, the return of Richard the Lionheart and the marriage of Robin and Marian. The final song captured the joyous victory of freedom from the rule of the Sheriff and the children enjoyed showing off their rock ‘n’ roll dance moves.
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An impressive array of ensembles, groups and orchestras took to the stage with delightful and uplifting performances of contemporary and classical pieces in both concerts.
Striking a chord in concert
Prep children across all year groups were given the chance to display their musical talents in marvellous Michaelmas and Summer concerts in the Peter Hall Performing Arts Centre at the Upper.
Musicians make the grade
Three marvellous Prep musicians are hitting the high notes after achieving Grade 8 instrumental honours.
Ellie, who is also a talented pianist and singer, enjoys playing fast pieces of music and performed works by Beethoven and Bach in her exam. She aims to one day go to the Royal Academy of Music.
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Francesca He (Year 5) made the grade on both violin and piano, while Charlie Angus (Year 6) and Ellie Zhu (Year 3) both attained the standard on violin.
Francesca has been attending the Royal Academy of Music primary department each weekend since last year, but following a successful audition, she will join the Royal College of Music’s junior programme, which provides a weekly performance platform, in September 2022.
Meanwhile, Ellie has reached Grade 8 in rapid time, having only begun playing violin at the Pelican three years ago.
An amazing 144 out of 150 was scored by Francesca in her exam on violin –her principal instrument – while an excellent performance of pieces by her favourite composers, including Haydn, Chopin, Debussy and Bartok, saw her achieve Grade 8 on piano.
For his exam, Charlie performed pieces by the likes of Bach and Beethoven as he maintained his outstanding progression on violin. He hopes to continue building his skills to eventually audition for the National Youth Orchestra.
Away from the body, children gained an understanding of the science behind construction and architecture as they built their own marshmallow and spaghetti structures.
Children were all ears to understand more about how viruses spread and how the immune system works, while various activities helped them discover more about microbes and the history of cures for ailments.
Meanwhile, Year 6 visited the science labs at the Upper, where they built electrical circuits, discovered more about DNA and tested how quickly they could get sugar to dissolve.
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cream making, pupils had an excellent time exploring fresh experiences during Prep Activities Week.
Beyond science, Years 3, 5 and 6 enjoyed taking part in teambuilding outdoor pursuits activities at Abington, while Year 4 pupils had a great time clambering around The Playground assault course at the former Waterbeach Barracks.
With a strong science theme, more than 20 experts dropped into the Prep to share their passion for the subject in a series of engaging talks and hands-on experiments.
Activities
excitementWeekFrommarshmallowarchitecturetoice
The importance of DNA sequencing was explained and they were able to extract this from strawberries, as well as having a go at cracking DNA codes before making their own genetic code beads.
Every year group had the chance to try something new and discover more about the world around them through a range of exciting and interesting visits, talks and events.
Pupils also made wind-powered circuits and turbines and explored computer science and how microchips are designed, as well as learning how computer hackers work.
Year 3 and 4 pupils explored the Cambridge Botanic Garden, while the former year group also relished the animal antics at Shepreth Wildlife Park.
Children in Year 5 rose to the challenge of putting together a play in a day, as well as getting a taste of life at the Upper with an Academic Day featuring activities in geography, classics and computer science.
An adrenaline-filled weekend to remember was savoured by Year 6 as a celebration of their time at the Prep.
More than 70 children enjoyed a four-day adventure at Bawdsey Manor as they took part in a wide range of exhilarating activities from abseiling and zip wire to taking on the pulse-racing Jacob’s Ladder and Giant Swing.
Working in groups, they were also presented with a plethora of challenges, including raft building and navigating a sensory trail and obstacle course, and there was still time to enjoy a walk on the nearby beach.
Meanwhile, Year 4 pupils had a taste of the great outdoors with an overnight teambuilding camp at Chrishall Grange.
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Action-packed adventure
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Each year group took part in sprint and long-distance races on the track at Porson Road playing field, as well as a cricket ball-throwing event and tug of war competition.
Pupils get set on Sports Day
House teams battled it out for glory in the annual Prep Sports Day.
A whole-school relay provided a fun, but fiercely competitive finale as the Corinthians ran out as the champions.
The Perse Prep team clinched Bronze in the primary school category at the British Schools Orienteering Championships at Stowe Park, Buckinghamshire.
proud
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The Prep U11 boys’ and girls’ cricket teams did the county double by both being crowned Cambridgeshire champions.
The A team came fourth in the Tier 1 finals, while the B team were seventh in the Tier 2 competition. It was an exceptional achievement as each player was competing one or two years above their age group.
at the IAPS national finals at Rugby School.
The Prep girls’ and boys’ U11 hockey teams put in strong performances in the Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS) national finals.
In addition, the boys also reached the regional finals of the England Hockey In2Hockey competition after finishing runners-up in the county qualifiers.
TheperformancestennisPrepU11AandBtennisteamsdidthemselves
Meanwhile, the duo of Amy Keen and Siobhan Monteith secured Silver in the girls’ Year 6 team event.
Mapped out for medals
County success for cricket teams
Having won the regional IAPS title without conceding a goal, the girls’ team reached the quarter-finals at the national finals only to lose narrowly on penalty strokes against Hoe Bridge School following a 0-0 stalemate after extra time.
Hockey teams perform well in national finals
The boys’ team beat King’s Ely in the semi-finals before defeating King’s College School Cambridge (KCSC) by 32 runs in the final to take the crown.
The boys’ team also won their East qualifier to reach the national finals. They finished fifth in their pool to move into the bowl competition, which they won with a 1-0 victory over Witham Hall School.
Meanwhile, the girls’ team saw off KCSC in the semifinals before needing just three overs to overcome the target set by King’s Ely in the final.
Tremendous
UPPER
“It was more about the thought process than the answer. They weren’t looking for the ‘right’ answer, so one of the questions was ‘Choose an unsolved problem and describe your initial approach to it’.”
Eduard said: “I applied because I’m considering applying to universities in America. I thought it sounded like a really exciting opportunity, especially with a 10-day trip to California and a scholarship associated with it to help with university education.”
Emma Harris , Eduard Baroyan , Daniel Chen (all Lower Sixth) and Natalie Ronco (Year 11) were offered the chance to attend a 10-day Atlas Fellowship course in California’s Silicon Valley this summer.
Perse students chosen for groundbreaking US education project
Emma said: “The application questions were really interesting. They tested your
For the online interviews, the students were either asked to expand on the answers provided in their applications or given on-the-spot problems on which to consider their response on subjects ranging from physics to economics.Danielsaid:
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Just 100 students from across the world were invited to take part in the all-expenses-paid programme, which is supported by Open Philanthropy and FTX Future Fund, and challenged them to think about how the world’s most pressing problems could be tackled.
As well as the course, Atlas fellows also receive the incredible bonus of a scholarship of up to $50,000 to cover their future university tuition.
“I’m very focused on maths, but they still chose me because I think they are looking for students who have gone out of their way to do their own thing in the past.”
Nataliebefore.added:
They tested your ethical reasoning and quantitative reasoning and forced us to think in ways we’d never done before.
Another example of the type of problem posed was outlined by Eduard. He said: “One question was ‘Predict the population of people by the year 3000’, but then they also said this could include digital people, which is basically people’s brains uploaded on to computers! My top end was 50 quintillion!”
A rigorous selection process saw the students make a written application, where they were asked to consider a wide range of scientific and philosophical questions, followed by an online interview.
Emma, Eduard and Daniel were made aware of the Atlas Fellowship by Perse Assistant Director of Studies Jon Young, while Natalie heard about the initiative from languages teacher Rebecca Mitchell after taking part in the UK Linguistics Olympiad.
Four Perse students were selected for a brand new programme bringing together the world’s brightest young minds to consider solutions to global issues.
ethical and quantitative reasoning and forced us to think in ways we’d never done
Daniel Weglowski (Year 9) was runner-up in the intermediate category, while Perse students made up almost half of the entries for the senior final – Sourish Sharma , Mabel Symes , Oliver Gibson , Abhinav Gupta , Siddharth Kambli , Dominic Rogers (all Year 11), Tom Hammond, Marcus Collins and Hanli Jin (all Year 10).
Computer Science
The team received a laptop and goodie bag as well as an invitation to a celebration event hosted by NCSC.
Cyber-sleuth success in national competitionShawnieChen,LiliAngus,Haoning
Perse students had excellent results in the Oxford University Computing Challenge national finals.
Notably, Sourish came second, while Tom and Marcus were fifth and ninth respectively.
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and Rachel Liu (all Year 8) combined their cyber-sleuthing skills to win the prestigious Cyber First Girls competition.
Perse Head of Computer Science Dave Gwilt said: “Their achievement is impressive as they were competing against the best independent schools from across the UK and scored significantly more points than the second-placed team.
Twenty-six Perse Year 8 girls took part in the preliminary round last term with the team of Shawnie, Lili, Haoning and Rachel earning a spot in the independent schools category of the national finals.
Liu
Computing challenge honours for Perse students
Twelve Perse students made it into the finals, which featured just the top 20 participants from the first round in each age category. Competitors had only an hour to answer 12 logic problems and code-writing tests.
“They worked very quickly and independently, self-organising into topic specialities, but also showing super teamwork to help each other out when getting stuck.”
Perse Head of Computer Science Dave Gwilt said: “Congratulations to all students for an incredible showing in a highly competitive field.”
The competition, organised by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), aimed to give girls an insight into the world of cyber security as a potential career.
Under the team name ‘P3r53Two’, they went on to triumph in the online final after completing a series of challenges in cryptography, cyber security, networking and logic and coding, as well as an additional ‘puzzle book’, over a fivehour period.
Jem Bennett (Lower Sixth) cracked the code as he won the elite section for Sixth Form students, while Aidan Wong (Upper Sixth) came fourth.
Toby was among 350 students from all around the world who pitted their wits in trying to solve a series of extremely difficult programming challenges with intriguing titles, including Catfish Farm, Rarest Insects and Thousand Islands, across two However,exams.there was still plenty of time to explore the local area through a range of cultural excursions to sites such as Yogyakarta Royal Palace and the Indonesian Institute of Arts.
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“The competition consisted of six tough computer programming tasks across two days. The problems were extremely difficult, including creating an optimal strategy for sharing specific information and determining the highest possible score in a complicated game.
He featured in a four-strong team that took part in the competition in Indonesia after an impressive performance during a five-hour programming exam in the British Informatics Olympiad squad selection camp at the University of Cambridge’s Trinity College.
“The Informatics Olympiad was a brilliant opportunity to meet like-minded young people from all over the globe. I learned so much from the training and competition and the trip was spectacular.”
International Informatics olympiad experience for Perse student
Toby Collins (Upper Sixth) represented the UK at the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI).
time, so I was really pleased to be selected to represent the UK because it’s a very tough competition,” said Toby.
The IOI took place in the Javanese city of Yogyakarta – the ancient capital and academic centre of the Indonesia.
“Aside from the competition, there were many cultural excursions and technology talks, including learning Indonesian music and dance, visiting the ancient Borobudur Buddhist temple and a talk from open source blockchain platform Tezos.
“I’ve entered the competition for a few years now, through the Programming Club at school, and I’ve progressed further each
“The experience was amazing - tackling challenging programming problems, visiting beautiful cultural sites and making friends with students from around the world.
I learned so much from the training and competition and the trip was spectacular.
Aviation fuel research published in science journal
Mariam Abiani (Upper Sixth) was flying high after her research into alternative fuels to power aircraft was published in a renowned scientific journal.
She ruled out solar and battery power, as current technology would not be able to provide the amount of energy needed, and nuclear power due to the extreme challenge of integrating a nuclear reactor into a plane and that it technically comes from a finite source.
I want to work towards bridging the gap between aerospaceengineering,technologyandsustainability.
Instead, Mariam focused much of her research on the viability of liquid hydrogen and biofuels as potential alternatives, assessing energy provision
She investigated the topic for her Rouse Award project in Lower Sixth and her findings were featured in the Young Scientists’ Journal.
For her project, she looked into the issues for the future of commercial aviation in trying to move away from a reliance on non-renewable fuels to find other forms of energy.
and how engine and plane design may have to change to accommodate this new fuel, as well as considering economic, environmental and political factors.
However, Mariam found because hydrogen is only in a liquid state at extremely low temperatures and takes up much larger amounts of volume than current aviation fuel to make the same amount of energy, it would mean a radical redesign of current planes and fuelling systems if used.
Mariam concluded that biofuels offered the most immediate solution in the near term as little change would be needed to convert existing aircraft, making it economically advantageous.
She felt liquid hydrogen would be “an exciting prospect for the future as it provides huge amounts of energy and burns quite cleanly relative to kerosene.”
Chemistry
“I want to work towards bridging the gap between engineering, aerospace technology and sustainability. I think this is where I can have the greatest impact on the world and it’s also what I’m most passionate about.”
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She wants to pursue a career in aerospace engineering and after completing her project, she was thrilled to complete two weeks of virtual work experience with Airbus.
“It was particularly exciting that I got to see how it linked with my research,” she said. “They are investing large amounts into developing hydrogen-powered aircraft and many of the different proposed designs were similar to the ones I had predicted.
The Roentgenium award winners included Kiran Diamond, Emma Harris, Yunlin Chen and Hongli Hu. They were invited to a residential chemistry camp in Cambridge for their outstanding efforts.
An incredible total of 52 Gold awards, 48 Silver and 41 Bronze were achieved by pupils in the National Scientific Thinking Challenge, which tested participants’ ability to make deductions, spot trends and suggest hypotheses from looking at data, graphs and text online.
A school prize has been designated in honour of Mr Spiers. The Paul Spiers Lower School Research Prize will be awarded for outstanding research by pupils in Years 7 and 8.
During his time, he left enduring legacies not only in the lab in his role as a chemistry teacher, but also on the hockey pitch and tennis court as an outstanding sports coach.
Marcus Wentzell was the school’s leading representative with a 100% score, with Marcus Collins just one mark short.
Scientific Thinking
Perse students claimed 4 Roentgenium awards, 11 Gold, 18 Silver and 19 Copper awards in the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge for Lower Sixth (C3L6).
Paul Spiers
Nine Gold awards were collected by students taking part in the Chemistry Olympiad.
Year 10 pupils successfully showcased their scientific skills in a new national competition.
Meanwhile, four students were just a further mark behind – Ella Davidson, William Bedford, James Bell (10M) and Edmund Williams
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Cambridge Chemistry Challenge for Lower Sixth
Olympiad results
Paul Spiers retired at the end of the academic year after 44 years of excellent service to The Perse School.
Among the winners were Toby Collins, Jay Sardesai, Faith Ashworth Stobbs, Matthew Ferguson (all Upper Sixth), Hongli Hu, Kiran Diamond, Yunlin Chen, Emma Harris and Benedict Meissner (all Lower Sixth).
With the event unable to take place in the Colombian capital Bogota due to Covid-19 restrictions, she met up with four UK team-mates at the University of Cambridge as they undertook the contest online under test conditions.
also qualified for the UK team for the 2022 IOAA in the Georgian city of Kutaisi after earning Gold in this year’s BAAO.
Jay Sardesai (Upper Sixth) took Silver with Iain Lam (Upper Sixth) and Daniel Chen (Lower Sixth) securing Bronze.
“A lot depends on the questions that come up in the paper, and it happened that they suited me on the day.
Emma, who was chosen to represent the UK following a training camp and her results in the British Astronomy & Astrophysics Olympiad (BAAO) and Senior Physics Challenge, was thrilled to achieve the top standard in the competition.
“Learning more about astronomy was also really exciting as it’s an area of physics where so much of it is in the news. It’s something many people are interested in, and you can read about it without having to understand particularly complex
completed a three-hour data analysis paper and an observational test, which was split into a solar physics and a planetarium exam, on her way to earning the Gold award.
“I wasn’t expecting to get a Gold at all, but I’m really happy,” she said. “I knew the paper had gone well, but I didn’t think I’d answered the questions to that level, so it was a really great surprise.
PhysicsUpper36
“It was very intense, but well worth it. I really enjoyed solving the problems and it was especially rewarding when you have spent some time in getting to the answer.
As part of a gruelling week of competition, Emma sat a fivehour theory exam, worth 50% of the overall marks, tackling topics including cosmology, the evolution of stars and celestial mechanics – the study of the motions of celestial bodies, such as planets and asteroids, and how they interact with one
Gold for student at international astronomy and astrophysics Olympiad
another.Shealso
Emma Harris (Lower Sixth) displayed stellar knowledge to strike Gold at the 2021 International Olympiad on Astronomy & Astrophysics (IOAA).
Emmaideas.”
Having carried out three different experiments over a series of sessions, William created graphs to work out trends from altering the mass or distance from the suspension point.
Olympiad achievements
Physics Challenge results
Emma Harris and Iain Lam took Silver and Daniel Chen Bronze for their efforts.
Physics teacher Myles Thompson supervised William’s project, while the physics department technicians helped with the equipment he needed to carry out his research.
In BPhO round two, Jay Sardesai claimed Gold and was among the top 12 students in the country.
Senior Physics Challenge (for Lower Sixth): 23 Gold - top score for Emma Harris, 10 Silver, 18 Bronze.
Intermediate Physics Challenge (for Year 11 and below): 12 Gold - joint top score for Tom Hammond, Marcus Collins (both Year 10) and Dominic Rogers (Year 11), 31 Silver, 37 Bronze.
William said: “I had a metre rule, with holes drilled at different points, suspended from a stand and then had different masses I could screw on to it. It meant I could vary the amount of mass I was adding to the pendulum and the distance that the mass was from the suspension point on the stand.”
William Dickens (Lower Sixth) was right in the swing of things as his research into pendulums took Gold in a national physics competition.
Online Intermediate Physics Challenge: 40 Gold - top score for Daniel Myhill (Year 11), 39 Silver, 10 Bronze.
Junior Physics Challenge (for Year 10 and below): 18 Gold – top score for Neelkantha Mukherjee (Year 10), 7 Silver, 3 Bronze.
Jay Sardesai, Iain Lam (both Upper Sixth), Emma Harris and Daniel Chen (both Lower Sixth) were among just 170 students nationally to achieve the highest grade out of 2,300 taking part.
Four Perse students attained the Top Gold standard in the first round of the British Physics Olympiad (BPhO).
Online Senior Physics Challenge: 24 Gold - top score for Kiran Diamond, 20 Silver, 22 Bronze.
Round one also saw Toby Collins, Andrew Hambling and Samuel Shenker (all Upper Sixth) claim Gold, while Perse students took 10 Silver and 14 Bronze awards.
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He also had to do some extra research to explain the physics behind his findings when putting together his written evaluation, which included an overview of the methodology behind his experiments.
He claimed the top accolade in the British Physics Olympiad’s Experimental Project competition with his investigation into the repetitive movement of compound pendulums, such as those found on clocks.
Experimental project is right on time
Junior Astrophysics Challenge (for Year 10 and below): 10 Gold – top score for Hercules Voultsos (Year 9), 1 Silver, 5 Bronze.
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Both students are considering a career in medicine and were keen to look into a topic in which there is much groundbreaking research taking place.
“I thought it would be interesting to explore how ancient and modern genomes can be used, so I also looked at how we combined them and how they influence each other.
European DNA essay success
“I think it has quite a nice link to how researchers are now talking about whole genome sequencing in medicine and to help determine diseases.”
I think it has quite a nice link to how researchers are now talking about whole genome sequencing in medicine.
Notably, two students achieved Gold – Imogen Beaton and Hongli Hu – with 7 Silvers and 12 Bronzes also being attained.Meanwhile, students in Years 9 and 10 attained 21 Golds, 44 Silvers and 74 Bronzes in the National Biology Challenge.
Competition results
Sneha said: “I started off looking at how we can show population migration and admixture, and also disease and the environment people were living in at the time.
“I started by looking at the more known-about elements, such as gene development and admixture of different species, but I was really interested in the cultural aspect of it and how social norms have been passed on through time.
Sheen said: “I take a mix of A levelssciences and history - and I’ve always found it quite interesting to do projects where there’s a combination of subjects.
Biology
The Perse students came first and second respectively in the European DNA Day Essay Contest, with both investigating the question ‘How can DNA help us to discover ancient Forhistory?’their efforts in the competition, organised by the European Society of Human Genetics, Sheen and Sneha received cash prizes, while The Perse was awarded €1,800 to be used for a biology project.
“The difference between ancient and modern genomes was quite striking. It’s a topic I’d like to keep track of now I know a lot more about the basics behind it.”
Only Lower Sixth students entered the British Biology Olympiad this year due to an extra mock exam session for Upper Sixth.
I thought it would be interesting to explore how ancient and modern genomes can be used.
Sheen Gahlaut and Sneha Goni (both Lower Sixth) delved into DNA as they achieved success in an international biology essay competition.
Students were awed by the scale of the glacial features and were able to clearly see the key geological elements of the case study.
Peak conditions for Snowdonia trip
Lower Sixth geographers visited Snowdonia and central Birmingham in preparation for their A level coursework projects.
Geography
The sun was shining in Snowdonia and students explored the glacial valley of Nant Ffrancon. They visited a distinctive roche moutonnée and walked up to the shores of Cwm Idwal.
The forests around Betws-y-Coed allowed students to practise their techniques to measure carbon in trees and calculate infiltration rates of soil.
A walk along the canals allowed students to compare historic photographs with the current buildings and usage of the area, as they observed the most distinctive changes.
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In Birmingham, students looked at how the city centre has changed in recent years, taking a tour of the new library building and exploring the skyline from the rooftop gardens.
Izzy came third in the intermediate category (for ages 15-18) of the creative competition, while Joely was highly commended in the same section of the essay prize.
Shejudges.said:
actor in Perse productions, Izzy said: “I saw they had a creative competition, so I thought I could incorporate drama into it.
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Human rights competition honours for Perse students
“I just feel the UK has a responsibility to get involved, even though Myanmar isn’t part of the British Empire or Commonwealth anymore, because it’s such a horrible situation.”
The competition, held by the Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART), challenged young people to examine and engage critically with human rights issues related to any of the countries in which the organisation works.
“I really like writing essays and going outside my subject, so it was nice to hear I’d been highly commended.
“I had the idea after watching Rent and Tick, Tick… Boom! , which both have themes around HIV.
“I felt like this issue wasn’t in the news enough. No-one was noticing what was happening to these people and their schools have even been bombed by the Myanmar army.
“It’s a hard-hitting subject and you can see how attitudes have changed in countries like the USA and the UK since the 1980s and 1990s. However, I did some research on what’s it’s like now for a person in Uganda with HIV and there is still a lot of discrimination and stigma around it.
Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims fled to Bangladesh in 2017 following a crackdown by the government of the predominantly Buddhist country.
Joely’s entry took the form of a letter appealing to former Prime Minister Boris Johnson to intervene in the situation.Shesaid:
Meanwhile, Joely focused on the ongoing persecution of the Rohingya people in Myanmar for her project.
For her entry, Izzy filmed a short monologue contrasting the treatment and attitudes towards HIV carriers in Uganda and the UK from the firstperson perspective of a young woman with the virus in each country.
Joely enjoyed carrying out the research and was pleased her work had been acknowledged by the competition
“I want to be a lawyer, especially involved in human rights and climate change, as I just think these are important issues we face at the moment.”
“I wrote a script and although I used some facts and figures, I wanted to talk as if I was a real person with HIV living in Uganda and then London.”
On coming third, she said: “I just didn’t expect it. I entered for the sake of gaining more knowledge in that area and I wanted to show that young people are interested and do care about issues that are happening thousands of miles away.”
Izzy Bevens and Joely Harrison (both Lower Sixth) enjoyed success in the HART Prize for Human Rights.
She said she discovered HART from reading influential feminist geography book Half the Sky: How to Change the World by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl AWuDunn.regular
The final debate - ‘This house believes colonial superpowers should pay reparations for the damage they have inflicted’was won by Dominic O’Loughlin, Danny Petkov and Eduard Baroyan (all Lower Sixth).
This year’s Perse geography debating competition was the biggest to date with a whopping 36 teams and 100 students from Year 11 to Upper Sixth involved.
For the first time two teams of Year 11 students made it through to the semi-finals, dispatching a number of Sixth Form teams en route.
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Two groups of Perse students presented their findings on a range of material related to the A level curriculum at the Cambridge and District Geographical Association’s annual GeogMeet.
Fourteen of Maito’s favourite fossils were on display in a special exhibition at Cambridge’s renowned earth sciences museum, including sponges, belemnites, a sea lily, a sea urchin, iguanodon and turtle bones Maito has found and collected over the years.
Peter Santarius and Edward de Ferrars Green (both Lower Sixth) explained how dendrochronology (the study of tree rings) can be used as a climate proxy, while Joely Harrison and Evelyn Marshall (both Lower Sixth) gave an overview of how bilateral flows of people cause interdependence between Laos and Thailand.
He said: “I just find fossils very beautiful. I’m fascinated by their natural beauty, because no two fossils are the same. They are unique. Having these fossils makes me feel like I’ve got my own mini museum.”
Students put proposals to the Geographical Association, which were accepted, refined with the assistance of experts from the University of Cambridge, and shaped into easily digestible presentations for a wider audience.
Maito has amassed a collection of around 1,000 artefacts in the last four years, largely found in gravel in his garden and at the Upper and the Prep, as well as the coasts of Norfolk, Isle of Wight and French Riviera.
Geography up for debate
GeogMeet presentations
Fossil collection showcased at museum exhibition
An array of fossils found by Maito Shiode (Year 7) went on show at the University of Cambridge’s Sedgwick Museum.
The exhibition highlighted the Sedgwick’s Gravel Hunters initiative, which aimed to show how gravel can be a treasure trove for small fossils. Maito recently visited the museum and met with curator Dr Rob Theodore, who helped him arrange his section of the display.
Essay success
to maintain the objects, or because it is hard to establish to whom an object should be repatriated, I argue that museums have an obligation, in their primary educational role, to display all objects with their full historical context to enrich the experience and learning of museum-goers.”
Head Ed Elliott took all Year 7 pupils on a local studies field trip to Bartlow and Castle Camps where they visited the Roman burial mounds and medieval friezes in Bartlow, and the plague village and witch marks at Castle Camps. Meanwhile, Year 10 students took part in a ‘History Around Us’ tour of Cambridge, where they considered how the city evolved from the late Iron Age to circ. 1540.
John Webb, a member of the school support staff, was a guest of the History Society where he showed his impressive coin collection gathered over many years.
Shaaon Bhattacharya (Lower Sixth) came third in the New College of the Humanities Art History 2021 essay competition addressing the question of ‘Should the West return cultural artefacts to their former colonial territories?’ He explains more…
“My essay addressed the very topical issue of decolonising museum collections – think the Elgin Marbles, the Benin Bronzes or the Shuar shrunken heads. While many equate this with repatriation of cultural artefacts, I argue in my essay this is not the inevitable solution. My research shows that there are indeed instances where, such as in the case of the Benin Bronzes, repatriation is appropriate on the grounds that they could be adequately maintained and displayed in their nations of origin. However, there is no hard-and-fast rule for decolonising museum collections. Where repatriation is not possible, either because the nation of origin is unable
A head for sites
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History
Charles Fowkes Bolt (Upper Sixth) scored the highest mark nationally in the OCR A level history qualification with a total of 194 out of 200 (97%).
Perse students were in a philosophical mood after taking part in the Ethics Cup debating competition.
A team of nine Lower Sixth philosophy and religious studies students represented the school in the regional round of the illustrious competition at King’s College London.
“I found it really interesting because although I knew about misinformation, fake news and conspiracy theories, I didn’t really know about them in-depth so I started by listening to some podcasts and reading some articles on Covid and misinformation,” she said.
She added: “I’ve always liked looking at the big questions. Questioning everything around you is the most fundamental thing you can do.”
“Looking at this question philosophically was interesting. You cannot compromise freedom of expression because that’s important.
In the group stage, they lost narrowly to reigning national champions Simon Langton Girls’ Grammar School before winning their second match against Beths Grammar School.
Philosophy, Ethics and Religion
Up for the Ethics Cup
“The initial solution would be to completely silence people, but then you get problems with aligning it politically and I looked at Donald Trump as an example of that.
Hilary Hawthorne (Lower Sixth) enjoyed success in a prestigious essay competition with a thought-provoking work on Covid-19.
“As such, my solution was to consider having an independent fact-checking organisation that could flag misinformation rather than categorically removing it.”
Hilary based her investigation around Covid-19 and looked into how misinformation around the virus, via sources such as social media, could be combatted without compromising on the right to free speech.
Hilary, who hopes to study classics and philosophy at university, was delighted to win the competition, which received more than 6,000 entries across all categories.
However, the team were unable to make it through to the knockout round despite a fine display of debating on topics ranging from male circumcision to anti-natalism – a philosophical position that opposes giving birth.
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Philosophical about essay competition victory
She won the philosophy section of the New College of the Humanities essay competition with her response to the question ‘How should we respond to the fact that misinformation can be harmful while recognising the value of free expression?’
I’ve always liked looking at the big questions. Questioning everything around you is the most fundamental thing you can do.
Classical reading success
Hilary Hawthorne (Lower Sixth) won the senior Greek verse category, while Neelkantha Mukherjee (Year 10) and Carole Tucker (Year 11) were first and second respectively in the intermediate competition.
and Lucy Blanning (both Lower Sixth) were first and second respectively in the senior Latin prose category, in which George Richards (Lower Sixth) also took part. Jem also took part in the Latin verse competition along with Lucy St Clair Holborn (Lower Sixth).
Meanwhile, Carla Campos Zanotti Gerosa (Year 9, pictured) was victorious in the junior Greek prose category after impressing judges with her excellent reading in front of a packed lecture room at the University of Cambridge’s Faculty of Classics.
Perse students enjoyed plenty of success in the Cambridge Classical Association’s Classical Reading competitions this Jemyear.Bennett
The Perse was also represented extremely well by Year 8 pupils Enrica Russo, Arya Lloyd, Pavel Lomonosov and Timofei Lomonosov
“All of our pupils did superbly well and should be very proud of themselves. I think they learned a huge amount from the experience.”
Classics
The competition has been held remotely over the past two years, so it was brilliant to be able to compete in person again.
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Enrica and Arya did themselves proud in the junior Latin prose category and they were joined by Pavel and Timofei in giving a convincing and dramatic performance in the Latin play reading category.
Perse Head of Classics Seb Foster said: “The competition has been held remotely over the past two years, so it was brilliant to be able to compete in person again.
Carole came out on top in the intermediate Latin verse category with Tansy Xue (Year 11) runner-up and Yolanda Xue (Year 11) also putting in a strong performance. Carole also represented the school in the intermediate Latin prose section with Sudevi Hoare (Year 11).
Carla had stiff competition from fellow Perse pupils Maia Polonius, Milo Khong and Djia Sanath-Vijay (all Year 9), who all performed admirably in the Greek section.
The Perse play, written by a group of Lower Sixth students, was praised by the judges for its inventiveness, the convincing dinner party setting that was created and some strong individual performances. The Roman cats in particular were commended for their comic timing.
Pupils were challenged to cook a Roman dish and create a two-minute video of how to make it in the competition organised by the University of Cambridge.
Ludi Scaenici returned for the first time since 2019 as young actors took to the stage in the Peter Hall Performing Arts Centre for the Latin play competition.
A cast of Perse pupils were joined by counterparts from St John’s College School, St Mary’s School and Norwich High School to perform original Latin scripts written from scratch by staff or students.
Edward Samson (Year 7) had the recipe for success after winning the ‘best video’ prize in the Great Roman Bake Off competition.
Edward won his award for his demonstration of making patina, a Roman nut tart, while Jahnavi Manya , Isla Cochrane, Hetty Baldwin, Paloma Bargh (all Year 9) and Enrica Russo (Year 8) also enjoyed taking part.
Pupils involved in the Perse performance included Amelie Brown, Sophie De Young, Amatullah Mumisa, Enrica Russo, Leena Shaukat, Hanrong Zeng, Hanyu Zeng, Emily Cheng (all Year 8), Hetty Baldwin, Paloma Bargh, Yinghao Chen, Isla Cochrane, Catherine Follows, Jahnavi Manya, Zara Osei (all Year 9), Jem Bennett, Eos Liao, Tengyu Zhao, Yunlin Chen and Benjamin Sharpstone (all Lower Sixth).
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The performances were judged by Dr Rosanna Omitowoju from the University of Cambridge’s Faculty of Classics, Stephen Kern, former Perse teacher and local Classical Association secretary, and Katharine Russell, Head of Classics at Chesterton Community College.
Great Roman Bake Off
Dramatic scenes as Latin play competition returns
The Senior Maths Challenge saw 114 Sixth Formers, top Year 11 sets and a number of Year 10 pupils take part, with students achieving 63 Gold, 69 Silver and 38 Bronze certificates.
Combining numerical knowledge with a talent for translation was the sum total of Perse maths teacher Vesna Kadelburg’s key role at the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) in Norway.
Round one of the British Maths Olympiad (BMO) was entered by 26 students. Daniel Chen and Emma Harris (both Lower Sixth) were awarded Medals, while Distinctions were gained by Can Dogan, Katherine Liang, Samuel Simons (all Upper Sixth), Andrew Girgis, Peter Wei (both Lower Sixth), Mabel Symes (Year 11), Arthur Depledge and Tom Hammond (both Year 10).
In addition, 34 pupils took part in the Intermediate Maths Olympiad. Arthur Depledge, Steven Kong and Tom Hammond (all Year 10) were awarded Bronzes for placing in the top 100 nationally, while Kuan Kuan Lin, Natalie Ronco, Mabel Symes (all Year 11) and Zoe Walters (Year 9) achieved Distinctions. Roy Han (Year 8) was one of the youngest participants.
Teacher makes a mark at international olympiad
They achieved 108 Gold, 84 Silver and 39 Bronze awards, with Arthur Depledge, Neelkantha Mukherjee (both Year 10) and Ganesh Mullaparthi (Year 11) scoring full marks.
Twenty-five students from Year 10 to Upper Sixth took part in the Maths Olympiad for Girls. Emma Harris, Yunlin Chen (both Lower Sixth), Mabel Symes, Alina Turchyn, Bibi Elliott, Yolanda Xue, Rebecca Li and Natalie Ronco (all Year 11) were awarded Distinctions, while Emma and Mabel also won book prizes for being among the top 30 scorers.
In round two of the BMO – the most prestigious level of UK Maths Trust competitions – Daniel and Emma were awarded a Distinction and Merit respectively, with both placing in the top 20 students nationally.
Marcus Li, Tianyi Shan (both Year 7) and Jinashou Mei (Year 8) scored full marks and 76 pupils qualified for the Kangaroo follow-on round, in which Hanrong Zeng (Year 8) claimed a 100% score.
Maths
Daniel Chen and Hongli Hu (both Lower Sixth) scored full marks, while 30 students qualified for the Senior Kangaroo, where 10 Merits were attained.
Dr Kadelburg had the tough assignment of being a marker/co-ordinator at this year’s IMO in Oslo.
All Lower School pupils took part in the Junior Maths Challenge, achieving 111 Gold, 77 Silver and 48 Bronze certificates.
She was invited to be part of the 70-plus marking/co-ordination panel due to her involvement with the UK Mathematics Trust in national team training and selection for almost 20 years. She has also been leader or deputy leader of UK teams at several international competitions.
The Intermediate Maths Challenge was taken by more than 400 pupils ranging from Years 8 to 11.
Her role included helping develop a marking scheme for the problems on the test papers, as well as trying to decipher explanations for answers from a variety of languages, including Mandarin and Arabic!
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Sixty-four Year 9 and 8 pupils qualified for the Grey Kangaroo competition with 28 achieving a Merit, while 67 Year 10 and 11 pupils reached the Pink Kangaroo with 16 achieving a Merit.
scholarship.Aristotelian
Cobham Hall pupil Martha Hyde won the arts/humanities category with her reflections on whether history always repeats itself. Sophia Das, Benjamin Shaw (both St Bede’s), Nisna Malviya (RGS Newcastle) and Colin Chung (Ipswich School) were highly commended.
Award
Split into two categories of arts/humanities and sciences, the winners of each section received £70 while the four highly commended pupils in each section were awarded £20.
The sciences category was won by Royal Grammar School, Newcastle pupil Krishen Kashyap, who investigated the most important factors affecting the spread of zoonotic diseases. Highly commended were Ollie Sanders, Darell D’Cunha (both St Bede’s Inter-Church School, Cambridge), Cheyoon Kim and Hercules Voultsos (both The Perse).
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The national Aristotelian Award was launched following the success of last year’s Perse Research Essay competition, which had been aimed at pupils in Cambridgeshire.
Independent Research
With the goal of inspiring young people to develop independent research skills, the Aristotelian Award offered a wide variety of essay titles across a broad range of subjects.
This academic year, 434 pupils undertook research projects beyond the curriculum, supported by 48 members of staff. Running research projects for all ages is key to a Perse education, nurturing students’ intellectual curiosity, while also exposing them to cutting-edge
High levels of intellectual curiosity were displayed by Year 9 pupils from across the country who took part in the inaugural Perse Aristotelian Award competition.
For her project, Lucy took on the task of writing a short story in the narrative vein of the early-19th Century novelist after delving into her classic novels Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility to pull out the key styles and themes used.
However, he felt there was a combination of factors in their increased survival rate, including the speed of air medical evacuations and the pace at which military medics adapted to the situation.
Students participating in the Rouse Award had supervisions with a subject specialist teacher guiding them through the research process. Their submissions were then assessed by the award panel based on the intellectual curiosity, depth and quality of research that had been undertaken.
He decided to evaluate which changes to patient care had been the most instrumental in improving survival rates for injured services personnel in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2014, when the International Security Assistance Force ceased combat operations.
The latest winners were announced in September 2021, with four students taking the overall honours. On top of this, 45 gained Distinctions, 50 were highly commended, 27 were commended and seven received awards.
The Rouse Award scheme is an internally-assessed programme for Lower Sixth students judged by a panel of governors and leading academics.
Charlie found that even simple treatments, such as the reintroduction of the use of tourniquets, had made a big difference in helping stricken soldiers.
Lucy noted Austen regularly employed irony and free indirect discourse, where a character’s thoughts are conveyed through the narration, but also her “revolutionary” use of the narrator in other ways to create her unique form of writing.
Charlie Toff earned the Rouse Award for his exploration into pre-hospital patient care during the Afghanistan conflict.
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Lucy Collier channelled the spirit of Jane Austen on her way to claiming the Rouse Artefact Award.
Rouse Award
Much of Charlie’s research came from reviewing journals of both military and civilian medicine, especially in relation to air medical evacuations and specific treatments for those injured. He also spoke to several doctors at Addenbrooke’s Hospital who had come from a services background.
A keen creative writer, Lucy took just a single weekend to compose her untitled 10,000-word work, featuring a panicky mother trying to marry off her daughters.
In looking to find a way of making the resettlement initiative more effective, Elizabeth devised a model evaluating the suitability of different rural islands around Indonesia based largely on socio-economic and environmental
However, she admitted a major flaw remained the communication between newcomers and natives with more than 700 languages being spoken across the country.
Tom Davies designed and built an innovative responsive road stud to win the Rouse Artefact Award.
His investigation looked into how an effective use of smart cat’s eyes could reduce the risk of road traffic accidents in developing countries.
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Shefactors.also created a table highlighting previous problems and provided possible solutions, such as training people in farming techniques before heading to a new environment.
Elizabeth Follows assessed what lessons could be learned from previous transmigration programmes in Indonesia for her Rouse Award-winning research.
The schemes began while the Asian nation was under Dutch rule in the early 20th Century as a means of moving people from densely populated areas to other parts of the country.
He decided to try to come up with a solution having seen problems with road safety first hand while visiting family near to the Indonesian city of HavingBandung.foundthe
Elizabeth outlined that there had been issues with city slum dwellers moving to rural areas on other Indonesian islands to work as farmers without having the necessary skills, as well as the land they had been given being unsuitable for long-term farming, leading to some transmigrants moving into the illegal logging industry to make ends meet.
As with passive road studs, Tom’s design had a retroreflective strip, but also included censors picking up on sound, temperature and light and LEDs to convey information to drivers on hazardous driving conditions.
dimensions for regular cat’s eyes, Tom sketched his design and built it using a 3D printer before programming in the necessary code to bring his creation to fruition.
The Rouse Award programme is generously sponsored by Alan and Valerie Hirzel.
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Amelie Brown
Meanwhile, 112 Year 7 pupils successfully completed the Perse Research Skills Qualification (PRSQ). The PRSQ allows them to learn key research skills, assessed via online quizzes after each module, so they are better equipped to tackle an independent PPQ project in Year 8. The skills are invaluable in helping them be smarter in the way they search for information, read sources and make notes.
Fifty-nine Year 8 pupils completed the Perse Project Qualification (PPQ) process. They independently formulated a research question, identifying sources, analysing them and developing their findings and conclusions into an essay.
Lower School Project Qualification
Leo Mortenson
Rachel Liu
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Shawnie Chen
Kiana Mackie
Ted Bowers
George Tysome
I used a variety of resources for my research, including websites and YouTube videos to begin with, followed by more specialised sources such as books, TED talks and journal
To what extent is high emotional intelligence a predictor of good health?
Thirty-four pupils in Year 10 completed their Higher Project Qualification (HPQ). Pupils undertook research in a wide range of subjects including music, science, law, media, languages and sport.
This research project was an intellectually stimulating and engaging opportunity for me in which I gained a number of new skills, such as improved time management, organisation, studying independently, confidence in presenting and evaluative skills. Overall, I found the HPQ to be an enjoyable and enriching process and I am glad that I have been able to learn so much from this opportunity.
Higher Project Qualification
The motivation behind choosing this topic for my HPQ lies in my longstanding passion for psychology, since I have always found it fascinating to learn more about the nature of the human mind and behaviour, as well as to be able to understand more about myself and everyone around us.
After doing some initial introductory research into emotional intelligence, I decided I specifically wanted to learn more about what effect it could have on us and discovered some intriguing studies showing a strong correlation between having a high emotional intelligence and better health, compelling me to start researching that area of the subject further.
Versha Wahid
Whenarticles.exploring my topic, I found multiple arguments against the proposition, including a particularly striking one on the effect of emotional intelligence on financial health. It appeared that those with a higher-level job title, such as CEOs, in fact had a lower emotional quotient on average than those with lower-level jobs, such as supervisors and managers. However, there were many persuasive studies and overwhelming amounts of evidence to support the ‘for’ argument, so I concluded that high emotional intelligence is indeed a predictor of good physical, mental and social health.
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Annabella Bristow
• To obtain water, we would need to locate and melt natural ice on Mars and process it to make it drinkable.
• To obtain breathable air on Mars, we would need instruments to create oxygen and isolate nitrogen. There are some options already in development.
I enjoyed looking into the potential for space exploration, learning more about Mars, its environment and how it might be adapted to support human life. I also gained an appreciation of how efficiently and thoroughly Earth meets our human requirements to survive and thrive.
The answer is to survive on Mars, humans would need breathable air, water, food and shelter in order of their importance. However, obtaining these on Mars using sustainable methods is much more complex.
• Humans would stay in either tent-like above-ground shelters, or underground tunnels dug by tunnel bores.
This project gave me new skills, including finding and assessing the value and reliability of sources and information, producing detailed written notes and documenting each stage of my research journey.
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• To get food on Mars, we would create shelters where we could grow crops, along with using insect farms and cellular agriculture.
What would humans need to colonise Mars?
I chose this topic because I find space exploration interesting and it may potentially be relevant to the success of our species in the future. Hypothetically, we may exhaust all the provisions of Earth and need to look elsewhere for survival. Mars’ environment may be adapted to support human life. In the further future, it could also potentially serve as a checkpoint in interplanetary travel due to it being a nearby planet with adaptable characteristics.
I focused my research on reviewing reliable and informative sources, particularly online, including the NASA website, Digitrends.com, Imagineeringezine.com and BBC News, as well as reading other sources, such as Andy Weir’s novel The Martian, for background information.
• Describing the factors influencing the change in sportswashing
I gained a lot from completing the HPQ and, if I were to do it again, I would have dedicated more time to developing the discussion of the concept and the purpose of gathering the information in the first place. I found the project challenging but manageable and enjoyed developing new skills in addition to gaining new knowledge.
As a keen sports fan, I realised I could name many examples of sportswashing, but would not have used the term to define them as such. Similarly, these sorts of topics had sparked much debate among my family and friends and was an issue that was both interesting and original. The HPQ provided a good opportunity to explore it further.
What is sportswashing and to what extent has it changed over time?
• Identifying different forms of sportswashing and providing relevant examples
• Examining the ways in which sportswashing has changed over time
• Concluding the extent to which sportswashing has changed
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On further reading, I discovered sportswashing actually spans many very interesting concepts as a form of soft power and is used in different ways by many entities often for specific purposes. Sportswashing is changing rapidly with the emergence of new nation states as superpowers on the global stage and the media revolution of the past 30 years.
• Determining the meaning of the word sportswashing
At the time of my source collection, there were numerous media commentaries on the attempted takeover of Newcastle United by the Saudi Sovereign Fund which referenced the term sportswashing.
My HPQ enabled me to achieve the objectives which were:
Rafe Beale
This was the first time I had attempted to carry out independent research and write a report on it. I found it helpful to map out the tasks as the topic is broad, so I set a series of objectives to achieve my aim, as well as considering my methods for gathering and analysing data prospectively.
was instrumental in my choice of question for my HPQ research. While the question of how one finds a drug for a specific ailment is in itself truly fascinating, whether artificial intelligence (AI), a fast-evolving field of computer science, can be used to find better cures, perhaps faster, became a more pertinent and exciting question.
Neelkantha Mukherjee
Thediscovery.HPQresearch
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Thisquestion.idea
Artificial intelligence and drug discovery: What roles can semantic networks play?
I have always wanted to know more and hence I am passionate about research. My personal research has led me to realise a multidisciplinary approach is the most efficient way to arrive at a more holistic, inclusive truth or solution to a problem or
Neural networks are the ‘brains’ of any AI model. They produce sensible outputs from many possible inputs. Semantic networks describe links between relevant discrete variables, referred to as nodes. The richness of the relationship data in semantic networks is greatly important in processing large volumes of knowledge to allow the identification of target biomolecules and link them to specific diseases. Graph neural networks (GNN) can analyse the features of semantic networks to produce a matrix of viable optimal outputs.
Rational drug discovery and design is a slow, labour-intensive process. A simple hypothesis is that AI and machine learning protocols can be used to accelerate optimised drug discovery.
journey was very enjoyable and satisfying for me. Among the transferrable skills I acquired were strategies of time management and organisation and prioritisation of research materials. Importantly, I learned that open-ended questions allow greater knowledge generation and are necessary to identify multitudinous questions more specific for further research.
I concluded that the richness of information presented in semantic networks can be handled efficiently by GNNs. These can be used for the relatively rapid identification of drug targets and molecules that can be synthesised to influence the activities of biological targets - the way of future drug
followed by an evaluation of the potential of each lifestyle factor to prevent the development of the disease.
I found there was strong evidence for modifications to whole dietary patterns as an approach to prevention. I noticed that there was a strong bi-directional relationship between sleep deprivation and Alzheimer’s disease pathology, suggesting that it is likely to contribute to the development of the disease. Despite inconsistent evidence surrounding exercise, I found it is correlated with a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease, however more research is required to confirm the mechanisms mediating this.
Extended Project Qualification
My decision to research this topic stemmed from my interest in medicine, which I am hoping to study at university. I have always been fascinated by neuroscience and I knew that I wanted to study a topic relating to this. I was intrigued by the complexity of Alzheimer’s disease and the fact that the condition is still not completely understood.
Sneha Goni
At the end of my essay, I also discussed ideas for future directions for research in this field, proposing that more randomised controlled trials with longer intervention and follow-up periods are required.
In my essay, I discussed how each lifestyle factor is linked to Alzheimer’s disease by considering a range of mechanisms,
After some initial research, I chose to look into prevention as opposed to potential treatments, since there is still no cure for Alzheimer’s disease. Reading Matthew Walker’s Why We Sleep inspired me to delve deeper into the relationship between lifestyle and Alzheimer’s disease as it discussed how sleep disruption may be correlated with the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. I decided to research three lifestyle factors thought to be relevant in the prevention of the disease - diet, sleep and exercise.
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Twenty-nine Lower Sixth students undertook research for the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) – an externally-assessed project amounting to half of an A level.
My research mostly involved reading and making notes on journal articles from a range of sources. During the earlier stages of the project, I also made use of books and websites to help me understand the complex language of scientific articles. While researching, I completed a critical analysis grid to assess the credibility of each source I read and identify bias.
A review of the evidence on whether diet, sleep and exercise can influence and prevent the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease
I also looked at multi-domain interventions, which target a range of factors simultaneously. I concluded these are most likely to be effective at preventing Alzheimer’s disease since there are a number of lifestyle factors that are associated with the condition. Therefore, modifying one factor alone is unlikely to prevent Alzheimer’s disease.
Dendroclimatology is the science behind tree rings and the inferences of climate that can be made based on their formation. The size of tree rings produced every year will change depending on the surrounding environmental conditions. As trees of the same species are ultimately subject to the same mechanical understanding, a chronology consisting of many trees can then be assembled to create a reconstruction of climate over the last few thousand years.
Once familiar with the key concepts through discussions with subject specialists alongside the examination of the wider scientific literature, I focused on the methodological and fundamental issues that affect the reconstructions produced.
Measurements from dendroclimatology come (mostly) in the form of annual ring widths, which contain both climatic and non-climatic inferences that influence their widths. During the reconstruction process, methods are used to remove these effects. However, they are often fraught with issues and controversy. Error in this regard is numerous and somewhat inevitable, yet is generally well understood and can be controlled with experimental design and peer review.
latter half of the 20th Century, there has been an increasing inability for trees to track modern changes in warmer climate which has been dubbed the ‘divergence problem’, with exact reasons behind this inconsistency being largely inconclusive. The significance of this is there is no way of knowing if the significant decrease in correlation may have happened in the past, before the calibration with instrumental data.
In short, dendroclimatology produces unique and highly valuable reconstructions of past climate. However, as with all scientific disciplines, it has limitations that one needs to be mindful of when applying its findings.
climate.Sincethe
Instrumental data from weather stations and satellites are simply too short to show the full scale of climatic variability. This variability, however, is critical to resource management, climate policy and economic planning. Thus, extending climate data through natural archives of climate helps to represent the planet’s longer-term climate which, in turn, helps us to better plan for the future.
The aim of the project was to question the usefulness of dendroclimatology in producing climate reconstructions, learn about the fundamental principles of the field and to identify potential sources of error and assess their likely significance.
After a brief mention in the GCSE geography course on methods of reconstructing climate, I sought the opportunity in my EPQ to investigate this further.
Assessing the efficacy of using dendroclimatology to reconstruct climates
However, fundamental and yet unsolved challenges facing dendroclimatology threaten the foundations on which the field relies, representing the biggest challenges in reconstructing
While this problem is likely due to anthropogenic influences, it represents a major weakness in the reputability of tree ring sciences. Yet, much to the dislike of constitutive reductionists, reconstructions are never more than ‘best guesses’ of climate in the past, therefore, expecting absolute reputability is unrealistic.
Peter Santarius
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that his introduction to raku – a firing process where ceramics are removed from the kiln while red hot and cooled rapidly – in Year 10 had been a big influence on his work.
“This is unfortunately a perpetually current issue. I was particularly interested in expressing feelings of emptiness and loss of hope.
his creation, which he made as part of his GCSE 3D art coursework last year, had been accepted into the prestigious exhibition.
The talented ceramicist had his piece War Child chosen from more than 21,000 submissions to be included in the RA’s illustrious Young Artists’ Summer NicholasShow.wasdelighted to discover
He said: “It was part of a series of ceramic artworks that were inspired by photographs of children whose lives have been torn apart by war.
Perse student’s stunning ceramic set for prestigious exhibition
Art
After a first bisque firing, he coloured the piece with a metallic salts wash. The piece was then saggar-fired, using wood shavings, in the electric kiln at school before a final wax polish was added.
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With the War Child piece, Nicholas sculpted the hollow clay form of the boy and used the ancient technique of terra sigillata – covering the surface with a suspension of highly-refined clay particles and burnishing it – to achieve a smooth sheen.
He said: “It’s an unpredictable and often unforgiving process, but I set up a firing bin in my garden – using wood shavings and certain chemicals for colouring – to experiment and develop my understanding of the technique.”
Nicholas Malasiotis (Lower Sixth) had the honour of seeing his artwork in pride of place at the Royal Academy of Arts (RA) over the summer.
“The specific War Child piece takes the form of a boy that stares directly at the viewer with a blank, resigned expression, questioning the reasoning of his incomprehensible situation.”
In order to develop the form of his piece, Nicholas drew inspiration from the burnished and reduction-smoked ceramic artworks of renowned KenyanBritish ceramist Magdalene Odundo, as well as from the semi-abstract visual language of world-famous sculptor Henry NicholasMoore.added
He said: “I like the tactile aspect of working clay and the fact that it results into a physical, three-dimensional object. Mrs Wilkins has been especially helpful with the knowledge and support she has given me.”
I like the tactile aspect of working clay and the fact that it results into a physical, threedimensional object.
leads the art aspect of the Perse PDBe project, was approached to submit a pupil piece for possible inclusion.
Perse Head of Art Ben Keeble commented:
Kate created a 3D ceramic piece based on the haemagglutinin protein during Year 9 as part of an ongoing Protein Data Bank in Europe (PDBe) programme in which the Perse art and biology departments have been involved for several years.
“This year’s theme was ‘Connections’ and the contrails of the jets appear to connect, without, of course, any contact from the aeroplanes themselves.”
Eye-catching work by Kate Lawrence-Jones (Year 10) went on display at a special scientific art exhibition in Germany.
“The colour of the glaze was chosen because a green-blue colour is often used in CAD (computer-aided design) representations of the virus, as well as a mottled surface.”
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Laetitia Lowe (Year 8) won the Heller Prize for Creative Art with this stunning image.
“Once I was satisfied, it had its first firing and I then applied three coats of blue rutile glaze. The thickness and firing temperature created a fluid natural quality to my 3D piece.
Heller Prize winner
The award is sponsored by Sir Michael and Lady Heller. Sir Michael is an Old Persean (1954), businessman and philanthropist, who was knighted in 2013 for charitable services.
“The composition is very striking, with strong dynamic diagonals and reflects the recent Jubilee celebrations very well.
Pupils’ works inspired by 3D structures of molecules from the PDBe archive often feature in annual exhibitions in Cambridge.However,Kate’s super sculpture was selected to be shown as part of the permanent World of Molecular Biology exhibition at the Heidelberg headquarters of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL). It came after teacher Mandy Wilkins, who
The haemagglutinin protein on which Kate’s creation is based is found on the surface of flu viruses and is integral to its Sheinfectivity.explained: “I based my piece on the influenza virus because of its dynamic form. I started by creating two semisphere pinch pots and then used the score-and-slip technique to seal the two halves together.
Pupils were invited to submit photographs linked to the theme of ‘Connections’, with Sir Michael and Lady Heller choosing Laetitia’s shot Flying Colours, featuring the Red Arrows in action during a display.
Science-inspired art by Perse pupil selected for German exhibition
“After that, I made spikes, which had to harden before being attached using score and slip. These dried to hold their shape and balance.
Anna Dunphy
Pupils in Year 11 studying the GCSE fine art course looked at natural forms as a starting point for their projects in the personal investigation, researching numerous artists to inspire the development of their ideas. They were encouraged to develop sustained final outcomes in the media of their choice, reflecting the diversity of media and techniques available to them during the course.
Cordelia Bargh
GCSE artwork
Gwennie Evans
Isabella Harvey
Elena Wheaton
Ayushi Ambegaonkar
Alissa Devereux
Clementine Nguyen
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Eunsong Seo
Nicola McGilly
Juliette Brooking
Safia Leach
Katie Richards
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Safia Clements
A level artwork
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Becky Bian
Lauren Baxter
Monty Williams
Those studying the A level course started a series of skills-based workshops in their first year looking at the human form, beginning their personal investigations exploring a wide variety of themes and historical approaches to art-making depending on their interests. This led naturally into their research for the related study essay where they were required to research an aspect of art and design, extending knowledge gleaned in their practical portfolio. Their stunning outcomes were the culmination of two years’ practical and written work and will be on display in an exhibition during Michaelmas term 2022.
Helen Haines
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Madeleine Brooking
Mano Borszeki
“I’m probably going to use my funding to work on another project, but I’m also looking forward to the ‘connect days’ which give you opportunities such as work experience.”
Fred Wyatt and Eduard Baroyan (both Lower Sixth) have earned sought-after Arkwright Engineering Scholarships.
Design and Technology
Meanwhile, Eduard already has knowledge of the industry from working part-time with Unipart, where he uses virtual reality and digital twins – virtual models that serve as digital counterparts of physical objects or processes –to investigate warehousing solutions. He used his experiences working for the logistics company’s digital team for his application.
The prestigious scholarships give budding engineers, who have been identified as potential future leaders in the industry, the chance to make connections and gain experience as well as providing £600 to support their A level studies.
Fred highlighted the automatic guitar tuner he had designed and made as part of his Arkwright application.
After applying for the awards in Year 11, the Perse students had to showcase their interest in engineering through a detailed application form and an in-depth online interview as part of the selection process.
He said: “I play guitar, so it felt like quite an intuitive thing for me to make and I especially enjoyed the coding aspect of it. I thought the Arkwright Scholarship would be quite an interesting opportunity, so I felt proud to be accepted for it.
Illustrious engineering scholarships earned
Eduard Baroyan
Less than 300 Arkwright Scholarships were awarded nationally this year, but as a result of their successful applications, Fred and Eduard are now being sponsored by high-tech Cambridge company ARM Holdings.
Fred Wyatt
Eduard, who plans to put some of his funding towards a robotics project, said: “I like engineering because I really enjoy creating things to solve problems that exist, so I was ecstatic to find out I’d got a scholarship, and particularly happy to find out my sponsor is ARM, which is a major benefit.”
Physics teacher Sam Patterson, who oversaw the Arkwright applications, added: “This was a particularly competitive year, so our scholars have done exceptionally well to be awarded one this year.”
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Run by the British Science Association, the CREST award scheme is aimed at inspiring young people to get involved in STEM research.
“I had to make several prototypes and keep making them better each time until I finally got something I was happy with,” said Sourish. “The hardest part was making sure the electronics were safe. I started from scratch and I didn’t want anything blowing up, and as the clock is made of wood, so it could catch fire.”
Sourish began by researching how word clocks could be made before coming up with his own design, which he prototyped in cardboard, having also built all the electronic circuitry, before making the finished product in wood.
Award-winning project goes like clockwork for Perse pupil
He said: “My brother did a Silver CREST Award at around my age and I remember thinking it looked like a fun project where you could make something. I actually started it in Year 9, but because of Covid there were breaks in my work as there were many things I could only do in school as it’s a physical project.”
Sourish had to submit a huge report to the CREST panel outlining his project from start to finish and was elated to claim the Gold Award. He believes the process will stand him in good stead for his future career.
I had to make several prototypes and keep making them better each time until I finally got something I was happy with.
Sourish Sharma (Year 11) had time on his side after earning a Gold CREST Award for his ingenious word clock project.
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As a budding electronics engineer, Sourish decided to go for Gold level, which is primarily tackled by Sixth Form students, and successfully claimed the award after designing and building his innovative clock, which spells out the time through letters being lit up in a range of different colours.
He estimated the project took around 100 hours of work, given the amount of development needed to reach the end result.
Both students thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the competition, which sees contestants given a word in English that they must translate into the relevant language before saying the spelling out loud.
Jo said: “I found it quite hard at first because none of my family are Spanish but after the first two rounds, I became quite obsessive! It’s just really good fun.
Perse Head of Mandarin Hannah Bolton said: “One of the things they all loved was playing video games. They bonded over Minecraft, so they were very excited about that!”
Meanwhile, Ariana said the experience so far had helped improve her grasp of the language.
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To reach the national finals, both students first had to qualify at the regional stage, attempting to learn an increasing number of words in Spanish and/or French as they progressed.
The Wenzhou pupils rounded off the interactive session by performing a traditional Chinese song and dance called Mo Li Hua, which translates as Jasmine Flower.
Year 10 Mandarin students met children from Wenzhou No 2 Foreign Language School, based in China’s east coast Zhejiang province, via an online link.
Mandarin event savoured by Perse pupils
She said: “It’s helped me a lot with my vocabulary in general and pronunciation, especially because we’ve learned words that we don’t learn in the normal curriculum.
“I talk a little bit with my mum at home, but it’s useful when she’s talking to my grandmother in Peru and I can understand a bit better what they’re saying.”
Perse pupils discovered more about Chinese culture and language during a special Mandarin enrichment event.
“I really like languages because it’s very satisfying to know you can speak to other people around the world if you go on holiday or learn about different cultures.”
Both Jo and Ariana said the MFL Spelling Bee Club, led by French teacher Hannah Roberts, had been a big help in preparing them for each round of the competition.
Jo Zhou and Ariana Sabourian (both Year 7) displayed superb Spanish skills in the Foreign Language Spelling Bee national finals.
Ariana came third overall, while Jo went as far as the semi-final.
Superb Spanish skills spell success
Besides practising each other’s languages, they shared experiences of their interests and school life as well as their cultures from food to festivals.
Modern Foreign Languages
Toby gained selection for the eight-strong national squad once more after impressing in a training camp at the University of Warwick, having performed exceptionally well in the first two online rounds of the UK Linguistics Olympiad (UKLO).
“The Linguistics Olympiad was a fantastic opportunity to make friends with people from all over the globe, with more than 150 students attending from over 30 different countries. The whole event was amazing and I learned so much from the training and competition.”
Organised by The Queen’s College, Oxford, the Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators is inspired by the late renowned literary translator and aims to encourage youngsters to go further with modern foreign languages.
Silver lining at International Linguistics Olympiad
Toby also helped the UK team to bronze in the team event as they tackled a five-hour exam involving a series of tough questions based on the little-used Manchu language of northeast China.
She said: “You could choose from a piece of fiction, nonfiction or poetry and I picked the fiction for both language categories. You were allowed to use an online translation tool, such as Google Translate, to help and they also gave some of the possible translations for words, so you could choose which ones you thought made it sound the best.
“It was trying to figure out what would be the natural way for the piece to read in English translation because if you literally translate from Spanish, it sounds strange. With Mandarin, it was more about trying to convey the feeling and get the overall sense of characters.
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It was the second consecutive year that Toby had taken part in the IOL, having claimed individual bronze in the 2021 edition, which was held online due to the Covid pandemic.
More than 3,200 pupils across the country entered the competition and Natalie was the national runner-up and East region Level 3 champion in both Spanish and Mandarin, having had the challenges of translating part of a story from those languages to English.
“I was very surprised to have won, especially in both languages, because a lot of people entered, but I really enjoyed doing it.”
Toby Collins (Upper Sixth) demonstrated a successful way with words representing the UK at the International Linguistics Olympiad (IOL) on the Isle of Man.
Languages translate to prizes for Perse pupil
He collected silver in the individual competition having attempted to solve problems focusing on the structures of obscure languages, such as the Native American Alabama, the Australian aboriginal Arabana and the extinct Ubykh, during a six-hour test.
He was elated to have done so well in both the individual and team competitions and thoroughly enjoyed being able to take part in the IOL in person.
“The most interesting problem of this year’s contest was about how the pronunciation of words changes with time, while the hardest problem involved decomposing the meaning and structure of verbs. Many questions require you to think outside the box.
Overall, Perse students won 15 awards in the UKLO – three Gold, two Silver and 11 Bronze. Gold awards were won by Toby Collins, as well as Jem Bennett and Kiran Diamond (both Lower Sixth).
Toby said: “It was a fantastic experience, meeting many like-minded students from all around the world and getting exposure to a range of different cultures.
Natalie Ronco (Year 11) exhibited tremendous translation technique to enjoy success in a prestigious language competition.
“Aside from the competition, there were many social opportunities and cultural excursions, including a Manx concert and an evening of Celtic dance.
A group of talented Year 8 linguists took part in the National Translation Bee competition.
Hanli said: “Maito and I both love the multitude of sporting facilities available and getting to speak Japanese while using them made them even better. We were very pleased to find out that we have been chosen as one of the finalists.”
They participated in a range of activities and exercises, testing a wide variety of their linguistic skills, while being able to see how they were performing individually in real time. Thomas focused on converting Japanese to English, largely through reading and listening activities, while Eos concentrated on being tested on new vocabulary.
Making the cut to reach JaViChamp film final
Although the regional final was held online, this did not deter students from giving their best efforts to the competition as they translated up to 11 sentences in a minute.
French and German teacher Helen Carmell said: “The pupils chose to participate as they were all very interested in languages and wanted to expand their knowledge. They all very much enjoyed working with each other and felt the competition had helped them with classwork too. I would like to say a huge thank you to Alice Shaw, Rebecca Alexander and Kiana Mackie for their fantastic efforts and enthusiasm and I look forward to working with them and other linguisticminded pupils on future language competitions.”
They earned Gold and Credit awards respectively in the online competition, helping The Perse take first place in the global small entry category for Japanese, as well as being the highest-ranked British school in the language, based on average scores.
They teamed up to enter the Japanese Video Championship for Young Learners (JaViChamp) after hearing about the competition from languages teacher Sibylle Wilson during Perse Japanese Club sessions.
Pupils translated as many sentences as they could into French, with one pupil also translating content into Spanish as well.
Hanli Jin (Year 10) and Maito Shiode (Year 7) qualified for the final of a national Japanese language film competition.
Thomas and Eos, along with fellow JLPT (Japanese-Language Proficiency Test) students Will Bacon, Lily MacFarlane (both
Upper Sixth) and Benjamin Sharpstone (Lower Sixth), took part after being encouraged to enter by Japanese teacher Mary Grace Browning.
Japanese joy in international languages competition
The pair chose to focus on the Perse sports facilities and produced a fun film explaining their passion for PE, taking in vaults in the sports studio, hockey on the all-weather pitches and shooting in the rifle range.
Year 8 enjoy ‘Translation Bee’
Organised by The Japan Foundation London, the competition challenged participants to make a short video on the theme of ‘Our Favourite Place in School’.
Thomas Starr and Eos Liao (both Lower Sixth) have showcased their Japanese skills in the Education Perfect International Languages Championships.
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Anshuman Gunda (Year 11) - German Debating Club
The themes for the debates tied in with the themes found in the GCSE syllabus, which meant that participating gave me some practice in talking about those key topics.”
“Ever since joining the school, Spanish has grown to be one of my favourite subjects and so by taking part in this club, I hoped to gain a greater insight into other aspects of the language and culture that aren’t covered as much in the GCSE course. Since I am also planning on taking Spanish A level next year this seemed like the perfect opportunity to develop some of the skills needed for the course. We watched a film called The Motorcycle Diaries which is a biopic about the guerrilla leader Ernesto Guevara. Whilst watching the film we regularly discussed our thoughts about it - something which I enjoyed as it helped to further my understanding of the film and also improved my speaking.”
Modern Yearsuccesslanguagesforeigndebating10
Bronze (German) Anshuman Gunda
Students share their views on participating in some of the many MFL clubs on offer
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Lower Sixth Gold (German) Freddie Shrager and Aiko McEwan
Year 11
“I decided to participate in this club as it is a fun learning opportunity and embraces many cultures through film. This club has helped my learning and consolidation of the languages I have taken this year. We have watched a film in French (La Vie en Rose), one in German (Ballon) and one in Spanish (Voces Inocentes). I find this club interesting as it is a relaxed yet educational environment to help me consolidate and learn languages.”
Silver (French) Diya Seth Silver (French) Emily Fowkes Bolt
Sienna Sharma (Year 9) - MFL Year 9 Film Club
Silver (German) Nicola McGilly Bronze (German) Carole Tucker
Catherine Balfour (Year 11) - Spanish Extension Club
Gold (French) Octavian Marinas Gold (French) Jonathan Hamilton Gold (Spanish) Sid Suresh Gold (Spanish) Ariel Fishgang
“Participating in the MFL debating competition was a lot of fun. I got to practise my German speaking skills and quick thinking when it came to rebuttals. Being there in person was quite nerve racking, but being prepared with some flash cards helped a lot. I would recommend the experience if you want to further your language skills. I learned about thinking quickly in a language that I am less familiar with.
Silver (German) Sophia Georgiadis
Routes Into Languages MFL Spelling Bee: Regional finalist (French) – Fraya Sudeep (Year 7)
“We also wanted it to have the same amount of detail as a big show and that’s why we went to work on the set by painting the stage and creating a moat. We gave everything we could in terms of production values.”
Animal antics lit up the stage as Perse Lower School actors gave heart-warming performances of The Wind in the Willows.
David Barrett, Assistant to the Perse Theatre Practitioner in Residence, and English teacher Hannah Flowers directed the play, which attracted large audiences for its two-night run.
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English and Drama
Mr Barrett said: “We were keen for the pupils to try something with animal study, where they take the animals they’re trying to portray and start to humanise them as a drama exercise, so they were learning as they went along.
The Wind in the Willows a breeze for Perse actors
Kenneth Grahame’s much-loved children’s tale follows Mole and his friends Ratty, Badger and Toad as they share reflections on fun times boating on the river, adventuring into the Wild Wood, battling weasels at Toad Hall and mishaps with motor cars.
Compelling Kindertransport production
Perse Year 9 actors highlighted the experiences of young Jewish wartime refugees in their powerful performance of Kindertransport.
Adding extra resonance to the production, Robert Rayner (Upper Sixth) researched The Perse’s involvement in the Kindertransport programme, with the help of the school’s alumni and development team.
Miss Salmond was thrilled with the cast’s performances and the work they had put into the production since rehearsals began last term.
She added: “They learned a lot from it themselves, questioning what their characters were thinking and feeling and if there was anything they were unsure about, we delved into the history and had those conversations when they arose. There were some quite sensitive issues which we tried to work through thoughtfully.”
Based around the character of Eva, the Diane Samuels play reflected on her struggles to come to terms with her past.
She said: “It’s about a part of history that’s really important, especially with current events and discussions around antiSemitism, tolerance, religion and migration. Many of the Kindertransport children faced quite a lot of discrimination when they arrived here and the play questions the narrative of Britain being a welcoming place during the war.
After being brutally separated from her Jewish parents in Germany on the eve of World War II, nine-year-old Eva was brought to England via Kindertransport – a rescue effort that saw almost 10,000 Jewish children brought to the UK from across Nazi-controlled Europe in 1938 and 1939.
When Eva’s parents failed to escape Germany, she changed her name and began the process of denying her roots. It was only when her son discovered some letters in their attic that Eva was forced to confront the truth about the past.
English and drama teacher Kathryn Salmond, who directed Kindertransport, felt it was a vital subject to tackle.
Governors’ meeting minutes from the era revealed the school committed to take up to five young refugees on full or partial
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Robertbursaries.discovered two of the Kindertransport children educated at The Perse went on to have long and distinguished careers. Lucian Lewitter became Professor of Slavonic Studies at the University of Cambridge, while Michael Steinberg moved to the USA and emerged as a renowned musicologist famed for his pre-concert talks.
“However, the main character has flashbacks talking about her love for Britain when Germany spat her out, so it’s a really complex play.”
Based on the classic Roald Dahl children’s novel, audiences flocked to catch the show over a run of four sensational performances, which featured a revolving stage and special effects for an added wow factor.
The magic of Matilda the Musical JR was brought to the Peter Hall Performing Arts Centre with a rousing Perse Players production.
Mr Pritchard was delighted with how everything had come together from the music and choreography to the work of the cast and Technical Theatre Club crew since starting on Matilda at the start of term.
Magical Matilda
He said: “Matilda is a truly excellent musical. It’s joyous and energetic and it’s a show that many people have wanted to do for a long time.
He said: “It’s the first musical we’ve been able to produce since 2019 and there was an expectation of it being a vibrant and positive event.
“With the matinee, we also had our first relaxed performance, which is a variation of the show adapted for audience members who might benefit from a more relaxed environment because we want to be as inclusive as we can.”
“To have a show that’s about chasing your dreams, building relationships, tackling massive challenges and overcoming huge obstacles felt like a really great production to do.”
Perse Theatre Practitioner in Residence Andrew Pritchard, who directed the production, was thrilled the school’s talented actors and singers had the chance to perform Matilda JR, an abridged hour-long version of the original show.
The production featured excellent performances from Katie Richards (Year 11) and Eloise Bowler (Year 9) as Matilda, Toby Owers and Ben Lewis (both Upper Sixth) as Miss Trunchbull and Horatia Duggan (Upper Sixth) and Isabella Li-Yan-Hui (Lower Sixth) as Miss Honey.
Meanwhile, a charity collection held alongside the performances raised around £600 for the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal and East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices.
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“Championing those female voices that are often suppressed or unheard and reflecting the world around us was integral to the choice of play.
Assistant director Talia Saeed (Upper Sixth) also took on a new role as the production’s inclusion, equality and diversity advisor, using an equity analysis template to consider how the play might impact various groups of people.
“It’s something the students were really able to engage with and they did an amazing job. There was the entertainment and enjoyment of performance, but also having a subject they really wanted to tackle made it really impactful.”
The challenging principal roles were double cast across the two performances with Chicko Ndumu (Lower Sixth) and Anna Bevens (Upper Sixth) playing Penelope in Hades, Maddie Austin (Upper Sixth) and Izzy Bevens (Lower Sixth) sharing the part of young Penelope and Corbin Abbasi and Ben Lewis (both Lower Sixth) taking on Odysseus.
Perse Theatre Practitioner in Residence Andrew Pritchard directed The Penelopiad and felt the show’s message was relevant for current times.
Innovative staging and lighting developed by the technical crew created the parallels between the underworld of Hades and flashbacks to Penelope’s earlier life.
Powerful Sixth Form play combines classical and contemporaryPerseSixthFormactorsfusedcontemporary and classical elements with strong female voices in their compelling production of The Penelopiad.
Meanwhile, a fundraising collection was held for Action Aid, a charity working to help women and girls living in poverty.
Based on Margaret Atwood’s 2005 novella, it retold the story of Penelope, the wife of Odysseus, reflecting on events in Homer’s The Odyssey from her point of view and exploring her life and those of her 12 maids.
He said: “We wanted to look at something classical through a contemporary lens for one of the first shows since lockdown where we’ve been able to engage with a live audience.
The play, by Silva Semerciyan, was based around a performance of Arthur Miller’s renowned work The Crucible – a fictionalised representation of the 17th Century Salem Witch Trials – by a school drama company.
Drama teacher George Smith, who directed Witches Can’t Be Burned , was delighted with how the cast had thrown themselves into the production, having only begun rehearsals at the start of term.
He said: “They were challenging themes for the cast to take on, but they were excellent. This was a play from the National Theatre’s Connections programme, which commissions playwrights to produce plays specifically for young people that deal with issues relevant to their age, so it felt like a perfect fit.
However, the main actor begins to ask questions about the portrayal of women in Miller’s play, and institutional inequality more widely, leading to clashes with the school authorities that see her undergo a disciplinary procedure which takes on the reflection of a ‘witch-hunt’.
“The maturity with which they approached it was amazing. It wasn’t just hard work and talent, they were thoughtful and politically engaged, and to do all this in four weeks, I’m really proud of them.”
YearThought-provokingthemestackledin11playPerseYear11actorstookonquestionsofgender, inequality
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and protest in their production of Witches Can’t Be Burned.
The awards were judged by contemporary poets Clare Pollard and Yomi Sode, who said of the winning poems:
Teeth will now be published in a special anthology as part of the prize. Alex said: “I was really surprised to win, but very happy. I’ve always liked to write, but we’ve been studying poetry in English lessons and this was something I did on a whim. Winning this competition is a real confidence booster.”
Lily was thrilled to discover she had been highly commended in the competition, especially as she hopes to gain a place reading English literature at Trinity College.
“It’s given an impetus to one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays,” she said. “Hamnet has a twin sister, Judith, and I’m a twin as well, so I found it very moving and very pertinent.
I’m passionate about English and of the different questions, I thought this was the most interesting and philosophical. I like a big idea, so I was immediately drawn to it.
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Lily O’Neill (Upper Sixth) was highly commended for her essay in the Trinity College Gould Prize competition.
Having already studied Hamlet in Lower Sixth, Lily read Hamnet on the recommendation of English teacher Deborah Vernon-Purvis and found it an “amazing” book that she wanted to explore further.
For her work, Lily considered how author Maggie O’Farrell had taken William Shakespeare’s words and made them her own in her 2020 novel Hamnet, based on the imagined life of the Bard’s son of the same name, who died aged just 11 in 1596, in relation to his tragedy Hamlet
Prestigious poetry prize for Perse pupil
She took on a question based on literary critic Mikhail Bakhtin’s quote ‘The word in language is half someone else’s. It becomes “one’s own” only when the speaker postulates it with his own intention, his own accent, when he appropriates the word, adapting it to his own semantic and expressive intention.’
often fallen so heavily on young people, we were moved by the beauty, fire and resilience of these poems. We know that the voices of this year’s winners will ring out, clear and urgent, over the coming years.”
She said: “I’m passionate about English and of the different questions, I thought this was the most interesting and philosophical. I like a big idea, so I was immediately drawn to it.”
English essay success
“After a period in which the burdens of the pandemic have
“I’d already written a lecture on grief and time in Hamlet and Hamnet before the competition, so I knew a lot of what I wanted to say. It was about reframing those ideas specifically for the idea of borrowing the language of another person.”
Alex Dunton (Year 11) claimed a prestigious Foyles Young Poets of the Year Award.
Her verse, entitled Teeth, was one of just 15 overall winning poems selected from more than 14,400 entries across the world in the competition, organised by The Poetry Society for young writers aged 11 to 17.
Neelkantha was motivated to write Alphonse’s Story after his parents told him about the “secrets and mystery” of Louisiana following a visit to the US state.
These included the implementation of a political general knowledge test to decide who could vote, whether there should be schools specifically for LGBTQ+ students, and if hacking should be allowed for social protest.
He said: “I was absolutely astounded to win. I didn’t expect it because there were so many good writers, so I felt very honoured to receive the prize. It means a great deal to me.”
He clinched the Fiction Writer of the Year honour in the Shine School Media Awards for his work Alphonse’s Story – a tense tale set in the Louisiana swamplands in which the eponymous character recalls a time in his youth when a series of cotton plantation workers were suddenly transformed into tiny Voodoo dolls.
“It’s a brilliant idea, for which I have to highly commend the editor Carole Tucker (Year 11), along with Mr Green (Perse Director of English & Drama).”
“Ruairi and I worked well as a team and we had really good fun competing with people from different schools around the country.”
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He came third overall in the individual speaker rankings out of around 70 participants in the online national round.
Neelkantha Mukherjee (Year 10) showcased his story-writing skills by winning a national schools media competition.
He praised Synthetic Violet for providing a forum for Perse students to have their stories, poems, essays, reviews and artworks published.
He said: “It inspired me to explore the concept of Voodoo, which is often portrayed as being about dolls. In my story, people get an inexplicable fever and become what Alphonse calls ‘strange mis-shapens’ as they are turned into Voodoo dolls themselves.”
The judging panel included Dr Glenda Cooper, Senior Journalism Lecturer at the University of London, Elle magazine
They commented that Neelkantha’s story was “an excellent piece of imaginative writing, evocative, gripping and the writer achieves a slow, tantalising build-up of horror. We really wanted to know what happened – and the climax surprised us all”.
However, Djia and team-mate Ruairi Wallace (Year 9) narrowly missed out on making it through to the international final despite a strong performance from the pair arguing across three topics.
Neelkantha’s submission featured in the Michaelmas 2021 edition of Synthetic Violet, the Perse student-led cultural and literary publication, which itself was shortlisted in the Shine Awards Best Magazine category.
Djia said: “Over the three topics, you do three speeches and each individual speech is judged. The better your speech, the more speaker points you get and then they are totalled up to get the overall score.
“We’d have loved to have gone through to the international final, but sometimes you get a tough topic and there were so many good teams taking part.
The write stuff for national fiction prize
Speech success for Perse pupil in competitioninternationalDjiaSanath-Vijay(Year9)earnedplaudits for his eloquence in the national qualifiers of the International Competition for Young Debaters.
Editor-in-Chief Kenya Hunt and Liz Hunt, Daily Mail Assistant Editor (Features & Comment).
Sanjana Bhatnagar, Rebecca Li and Alina Turchyn (all Year 11) were the winners of the first round of the EnglishSpeaking Union’s ‘Mace’ debating competition.
Harry Knight (Lower Sixth) was a participant in the final of the English-Speaking Union’s national public speaking competition.
For Ebrahim, the regional qualifier was his first taste of competitive debating with just 15 minutes to prepare for each topic.
Perse teams (at intermediate and senior level) were successful in the first rounds of ‘Youth Speaks’ public speaking competitions run by Rotary International.
teachers and theatre educators - that Jessica visited The Perse for an event organised by the school’s English & drama
become increasingly passionate and aware of the vital part drama could play in Jessicasociety.said:
The BAFTA-winning actor’s roles have included performances in TV shows such as The Royle Family and There She Goes and films including Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and the Nativity series.
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“Even though it was on Zoom, it was still an intense experience because it was very competitive with many people making great points. There were around 30 teams and there were just five that could qualify for the nationals.”
As such, she recently became an ambassador for Dramatic Recovery, a Liverpool-based organisation which uses drama and the arts to promote positive mental health and wellbeing through creative workshops.
Perse students talk their way into prestigious debating final
Paloma Bargh (Year 9) represented the school at the regional final of the Performing Shakespeare EnglishSpeaking Union competition having won the school’s internal final for this event.
“I’ve begun to really appreciate how important drama is and what it does for children and adults and how it can transform the way you feel.”
It was in a different role though, as patron of National Drama – the UK’s leading subject association for drama
Ebrahim Daultana and Taylor Sabot (both Lower Sixth) successfully argued their case to gain a place in the Oxford Union Debating competition national final.
William Walker (Year 9) was a finalist in the 11-14 age category of the Wicked UK Young Writers Awards.
Toby Collins (Upper Sixth) was highly commended for his entry to the National Theatre’s ‘New Views’ playwriting competition. Toby took part in a workshop with practitioners from the NT in the summer.
Catherine Balfour (Year 11) , Julia Chandy and Olivia Howard (both Year 10) progressed through several rounds of the English-Speaking Union’s ‘Churchill’ public speaking competition – and narrowly missed out on competing in the national final.
Taylor, who has been involved in school debating clubs since Year 7, also enjoyed taking part as the pair tackled topics including whether professional athletes should be viewed as role models and whether big film and TV roles should be recast with minority actors or if new roles should be created especially for them.
Stage and screen star Jessica Hynes gave an entertaining and reflective lecture on the importance of drama.
Sorcha Brickel (Year 11) received a distinction in her LAMDA qualification, and Alicia Li-Yan-Hui (Year 10) and Isabella Li-Yan-Hui (Lower Sixth) performed with the National Youth Music Theatre.
Emily Martinez-McCune (Lower Sixth) was joint second and Alice Wentzell (Lower Sixth) a finalist in the New College of the Humanities essay competition
Emily Fowkes Bolt (Year 11) gained her Grade 8 Acting award from Trinity College, London. All students in the Year 10 and 11 Drama sets passed their RADA Shakespeare certificate qualifications.
Why drama is so important
However,department.Jessicatold
students she had
Hannah Scotland and Elif Cektir (Year 11) were longlisted for National Theatre New Views Playwriting Competition.
He said: “The atmosphere on the evening was something special. We had a great crowd, but the best thing was all six finalists were there to support one another as much as to represent
The standout performers from the 674 video submissions – amounting to around 30 hours of music ranging from concertos to kazoos – were put through
“Nicholas commended all six finalists on their programming and virtuosity and had some really lovely things to say about everyone.
The grand final featured six of the school’s most gifted musicians with performances from Maito, percussionist George Demetriou-Foale (Lower Sixth), French horn player Mikey Halton (Upper Sixth), saxophonist Marcus Wentzell (Year 10), singer Isabella LiYan-Hui and violinist Sakura Fish (both Lower Sixth).
Perse Director of Music Ben Wingfield said: “It was very hard to call because all six finalists were incredibly talented in their own way and provided some really interesting, thought-provoking programmes.
Isabella displayed her soprano skills in four languages – English, Italian, German and French – with a programme of pieces on the theme of Sakuralove.
Marcus followed with renditions of movements from Sonatina by James Rae, Aria by Bozza and Monti’s Hungarian folk-inspired work Czardas
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The second half began with George playing Mitchell Peters’ Yellow After the Rain on marimba and Tranquillity by Murray Houllif on vibraphone before teaming up with Ed Kirker (Lower Sixth) for a drum duet of Chris Stock’s Crossfire
Music
Accomplished pianist takes Perse Musician of the Year crown
rounded off the concert by performing a traditional Japanese folk song, also called Sakura, as well as Nigun from Bloch’s Baal Shem Suite and a section from Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole
“Therethemselves.wasa huge amount of mutual respect and that was really nice to see.”
“He chose Maito as the winner for showing such great maturity and style, while George was highly commended for a deceptively difficult programme using tough techniques with tuned percussion.”MrWingfield was also happy to see the Perse Musician of the Year competition conclude with a live final for the first time since 2019.
Pianist Maito Shiode (Year 7) saw off tough competition to be crowned Perse Musician of the Year.
Mikey opened the show by playing works from Richard Strauss and Alan Abbott, while Maito performed pieces from Bach’s Goldberg Variations , Haydn’s Piano Sonata and Chopin’s Etude Op.25, otherwise known as The Bees
Internationally-renowned oboist Nicholas Daniel OBE adjudicated the final and selected Maito as the winner of the Richard King Cup with George being highly commended.
However, there was a twist to the regular Perse Musician of the Year format this year, with the House Music Marathon feeding into selection for the competition.
to individual instrumental/vocal finals in the Lent term, from which the grand finalists were then chosen.
Bach celebrated in Goldberg music and art project
Marvellous music and amazing art were combined in a Perse celebration of Bach’s Goldberg Variations
A number of the musicians had the chance to take part in masterclasses with acclaimed pianists Joanna MacGregor CBE and Antoinette Cann.
Joanna put soloists through their paces prior to performing the Goldberg Variations in a special concert in the Peter Hall Performing Arts Centre, while Antoinette, who plays with sister Claire in The Cann Twins, worked with piano duos.
They began learning the 30 variations which make up the composition during the Michaelmas term, working as soloists or duos, playing either on a single keyboard together or on two pianos.
Thirty-five of the young pianists went on to perform Bach’s work in concert on the PAC stage with a beautifully animated backdrop featuring works by Year 7 pupils.
“The masterclasses saw them get expert teaching from professionals in their field and both Joanna and Toni were really good with them. They would give advice and you could see the pupils improving as they went along.
Mr Hewitt was also delighted with the performances of those taking part in the pupil concert and the “brilliant” artworks featured alongside them.
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They had been tasked with creating paintings and drawings in response to listening to the Goldberg Variations, with their original pieces now on display in the Pelican Gallery.
Ninety talented Perse pianists took part in the Goldberg Project as they went on a musical journey of discovery through the German composer’s famous work.
Perse Head of Keyboard Peter Hewitt, who oversaw the Goldberg Project, said: “It’s quite nice to do a big project around a particular piece of music to give a strong focal point.
“Having Joanna, who is an international pianist, play the piece herself in concert was the icing on the cake.”
The project will culminate with a film featuring recordings by all 90 pianists playing elements of the Goldberg Variations
“The piano duos and piano duets had to practise together. They usually play by themselves, so it was excellent for them to try something new and some of them want to keep playing together, which is a great outcome.
“The Goldberg Variations is an unusual piece for a school to do as it’s very difficult, but because we’ve got so many highstandard pianists, we were able to do it and it was a good opportunity for them to get into Bach.
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The Symphony Orchestra gave a wonderful rendition of Elgar’s Enigma Variations, while the 150th anniversary of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ birth was honoured with performances of two of his pieces, The Wasps: Overture and Three Shakespeare Songs
You could feel that it was pretty electric and there was quite a buzz in the rehearsal and the concert itself.
The recital featured excellent performances by the school’s Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, Wind Band 1, Senior Voice and Senior Brass Ensemble, with a programme featuring works by the likes of Rutter, Finzi and Gordon Langford.
The Perse’s talented musicians and singers returned to Saffron Hall for the first time in three years to perform a special classical concert.
However, Perse musicians made up for lost time with a stunning concert, entitled The Isle is Full of Noises, celebrating British music old and new.
Perse Director of Music Ben Wingfield was elated that the school’s senior ensembles had the opportunity to play at Saffron Hall once more.
Due to the Covid pandemic, the school’s annual symphonic showcase at the prestigious Saffron Walden venue had been put on hold since 2019.
Talented musicians stage stunning symphonic concert
He said: “This concert was the first school event to be cancelled in 2020 when Covid hit, so it felt like we had come full circle where we were now in a position to play here again.
Almost 300 young musicians performed in groups, ensembles and choirs across three ‘stages’ – the Peter Hall Performing Arts Centre auditorium and foyer and the Lecture Theatre – in an evening of uplifting entertainment.
Areturnsummerfestival
atmosphere surrounded the school as Proms at The Perse returned after a three-year hiatus.
Sensational song and sunshine as Perse Proms
“The weather was really kind to us and there was more of a party atmosphere to the music, something a bit more up tempo, such as jazz and pop, which this format lends itself to.”
Mr Wingfield said: “Mr Halton (woodwind teacher) wrote an arrangement that was suitable for everyone from beginners to Grade 8 musicians so anyone could take part.
From classical to Coldplay, there was something to suit all tastes among the 500-strong audience attending the event.
“Music is such a social thing and working together as a team to create something greater than the sum of its parts was denied to us for quite a long time, so it was lovely to make music on that scale again and have an audience there to enjoy it.”
Perse Director of Music Ben Wingfield was thrilled with the turnout for the event, which had not taken place since 2019 due to the Covid pandemic.
“It was nice that we were able to trial a festival format, the idea being that people didn’t have to sit through a whole concert but could wander around, listen to some music and grab a drink and a bite to eat.
For the finale, the Perse Mighty Orchestra, featuring performers and keen audience members, came together to play Sousa’s Liberty Bell March, better known as the Monty Python’s Flying Circus theme tune, in Ellison Court.
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“The most wonderful thing was the pupils really enjoyed performing in a different venue. It’s testament to the pupils because they worked so hard and showed so much determination to see it through. You could feel that it was pretty electric and there was quite a buzz in the rehearsal and the concert itself.
He said: “It was great to be able to do this again and it was bigger and better than ever before.
“The fact we could get that many people together in the last of the evening sun to enjoy making great music together and feed off that sense of scale and grandeur was wonderful.”
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Singers raise the roof at choral concert
Perse choirs revelled in the wonderful acoustics of Our Lady and the English Martyrs Church in Hills Road, paying a visit for the first time since 2019. They also sang at St John’s College Chapel for the first time in two years in December 2021.
Jo Zhou (Year 7) auditioned successfully for the National Youth String Orchestra, while Smera Sachin (Year 10), Naomi Hoare (Year 7) and Niah Veenith (Year 8) all gained places in the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain scheme.
Sakura’s duties for her section included marking bowings and other key details, such as page turns and dynamics, into the score and ensuring the second violins kept in line with the first violin section.
Isabella Li-Yan-Hui (Lower Sixth) made it to the final of the Junior Guildhall School singing competition.
Alicia Li-Yan-Hui (Year 10) represented the school in the National Youth Orchestra.
She also led the warm-ups for her section and helped her fellow second violinists work through certain difficult passages, as well as being “a friendly face for anyone in the section to come and talk to”.
Qiqi Shao (Year 7) came first in several classes, including receiving a Recital Cup, in the Milton Keynes Festival of the Arts. Isabella Li-Yan-Hui (Lower Sixth) was a finalist in the recent Junior Guildhall singing competition.
Talented Perse musician takes key role in National OrchestraYouthSakuraFish(LowerSixth)hasenjoyedthehonourofleadingthesecondviolinsectionintheNationalYouthOrchestra(NYO).
Ananya Malaviya and Elina Prakash (both Lower Sixth) became Fairhaven Scholars with The Fairhaven Singers.
Logan Armour (Year 10) won the brass section of the Saffron Walden Music Festival. Several pupils took part in the Cambridge Competitive Music Festival where Maito Shiode (Year 7) and Alice Shaw (Year 8) both won trophies, while Charlie Pratten (Year 9) came joint first in his class.
“I was absolutely honoured to be given the role of principal second violin,” said Sakura, who names fellow violinist Nicola Benedetti CBE and saxophonist Jess Gillam MBE as her musical role models, having played in concerts with them while a member of the National Children’s Orchestra.
and Dawn , a new work by British composer Thomas Ades, before rounding off with an encore of Panda Chant , a rhythmic vocal piece by Meredith Monk. There was also a piece by Florence Price, performed by a quartet, of which Sakura was chosen to play first violin.
A multi-talented musician, Sakura also plays piano and trombone, achieving Grade 8 on both last year, but violin will always be her first love as an instrument.
Individual successes abound
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The winter course concluded with a concert at Warwick Arts Centre in which the NYO performed Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances , Gabriela Lena Frank’s Three Latin American Dances
“I was very excited for this challenge and although it was quite nerve-racking at first, it was great to meet so many new people and I really enjoyed it.”
Hundreds of pupils took ABRSM/Trinity exams this year. We congratulate, in particular, Lili Angus (Year 8), William Dickens, Isabella Wickham (both Lower Sixth), Daniel Rix, Max Guida, Ben Lewis and Liza Verzhbitskaya (all Upper Sixth), who all passed their respective diplomas, some with distinction - Lili having completed two diplomas within the space of a year.
Sungjoon Park (Upper Sixth) was awarded an organ scholarship offer to Exeter College, Oxford.
She said: “Music is always going to be part of my life and I know I want to continue playing violin because it’s something I love and I’ve put a lot of effort into it over the years.”
Isabel Fleming (Year 9), Florence Mather and AJ Bowdrey (both Year 7) were awarded places in the National Children’s Orchestras.
The Perse music scholar, who has been playing violin since the age of eight, was given the prestigious role for the NYO’s winter course.
Indeed, at the end of each talk, we were given a chance to offer counter-arguments, ask further questions and consider the given topic in relation to other issues. It was fascinating how insightful some of the questions put forward by my peers were, with the speakers’ responses being no less so.
Arguments proposed by different teams on their topics were exceptionally cogent and many interesting exchanges were had in the floor debates.
Each of the 30 students arrived with an open mind and was keen to share their own thoughts and ideas, as well as listen to those of others. Through the many conversations I had, I learned to appreciate both sides of various arguments, considerably broadening my perspective on a range of current affairs.
My team had to argue ‘For the introduction of a Universal Basic Income (UBI) in the UK’. Previously, I had been broadly aware of UBI and its implications, but had never done much extensive research on it. However, as we read through numerous articles and reports – thoroughly educating ourselves on both sides of the argument – our knowledge and understanding of the subject matter increased substantially.
During the week, we attended a series of eye-opening lectures from expert economists on themes such as climate change, Covid, inequality, migration and international aid.
IEA programme provides inspiring food for thought
I applied to the programme in the hope of developing a more integrated understanding of economics, expanding my knowledge of certain concepts and meeting new people who shared my curiosity of the subject.
Dr Chambers discussed her latest book Intact: A Defence of the Unmodified Body during the lecture, which was organised by Psychology Society member Elin Oliver (Lower Sixth) and overseen by Perse Head of Psychology Sarah Mitchell.
Dr Chambers, who is Professor of Political Philosophy and a Fellow of Jesus College, outlined that there is societal pressure to change our bodies and the way they look or work, offering the example of the pressure on women to ‘get their body back’ after pregnancy.
Dr Chambers rounded off an enlightening session by fielding students’ questions on a range of points from cosmetic surgery to transgender body modification.
Renowned political philosopher Clare Chambers gave a thought-provoking talk on body modification at a special Perse Psychology Society event.
My time at the IEA went all too quickly and I can confidently say that my prior expectations were greatly exceeded. I left there feeling inspired not only by the depth of knowledge exposed to me throughout the week, but also by my fellow students.
Many of the arguments set forth identified flaws in what is perhaps more ‘conventional’ wisdom, illuminating the dangers of categorical thinking. However, that is not to say that these arguments were flawless themselves.
PsychologyEconomics
Leading philosopher gives enlightening talk to Perse students
She explained that we live in a ‘selfie culture’ with an emphasis on how we look, contributing to what psychologists call a ‘pandemic of appearance anxiety’ which can negatively impact mental health.
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Besides the lectures, there was also time to prepare for debates. We were split into teams of four, with each group assigned a stance for a particular topic.
Emma Harris (Lower Sixth) reflects on spending a week at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) taking part in their Sixth Form Future Thought Leaders’ Programme.
In his lecture on the Supreme Court, Professor Robert McKeever addressed the 1973 Roe v Wade decision, which legalised abortion across America, suggesting this might be overturned in the coming term, pointing to the recent Texas Heartbeat Act as evidence. His judgement highlighted the conservative revolution which has overwhelmed the Supreme Court in reaction to 20th Century liberal rulings.
He then became director of Policy Exchange, a think tank developing potential policy ideas for government, before being recruited by Boris Johnson in 2008 to be in charge of business and economic policy during the current Prime Minister’s first term as Mayor of London as well as writing the manifesto for his 2012 mayoral election campaign.
Politics
Mr Browne rounded off his visit by taking further questions from students seeking his thoughts on major national topics, such as Covid and Brexit, to local issues, including house prices and house building, as well as transport and traffic in and around Cambridge.
Perse politics students gain insight into US system
The Conservative MP, who left The Perse in 1985, explained to the audience how after reading maths at the University of Cambridge, he had started out as a journalist with the BBC, becoming economics correspondent, and fulfilling the same role at The Observer before moving to The Times
South Cambridgeshire MP Anthony Browne outlined his journey from The Perse to Parliament to students during his visit to the Upper.
Izzy Pearl shared her thoughts on the Upper Sixth politics trip to the US Politics Today Conference at the British Library in London.
A panel of two former members of Congress – Republican Senator Tim Hutchinson and Democrat Congressman Larry LaRocco – answered questions and commented throughout the lectures.
Senator Hutchinson particularly provided an interesting insight into the process of politics in America, explaining his campaign for Congress and how he found himself in the TheySenate.addressed a wide range of themes throughout the day, including the current state of the judiciary, the influence of interest groups in America, and the party-political balance in Washington.
He explained how he had to go through several stages, including a hustings in front of 300 people, before being selected to successfully run for the Conservatives in the 2019 General Election.
From OP to MP: Anthony Browne shares experience with Perse students
It was particularly interesting to hear perspectives of two men so far apart on the political spectrum, despite both having been critical of the Donald Trump presidency.
Overall, the lecturers encouraged us to think more thoroughly about the present condition of American politics, and the opportunity to interact with real Congress members helped us understand how the system really works.
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Professor Andrew Moran also gave an intriguing presentation on whether Joe Biden can be characterised as an ‘imperilled’ president. Moran went into great detail on presidential theory throughout his address and he questioned whether congressional oversight is still effective.
• Kevin Malone - Climate, community, composition
From 2014 to 2020, Sir Jonathan was Head of the Government Legal Service, the branch of the Civil Service which provides legal advice to the government and represents it in court
• Dr Fitzroy Morrissey – A short history of Islamic thought
Political pressure, whether from parliament itself, other political parties, pressure groups or the media, can also act as a balance, while unwritten rules, conventions and practices of behaviour and decency that the government is expected to go along with – political historian Peter Hennessy’s ‘good chaps’ theory – help keep it under control.
• Steve Stanley (1964) – Crime, punishment and rehabilitation
Other 42 Society lectures included:
He added that the sovereignty of parliament to make laws is paramount, with Acts of Parliament being bills that have been approved by both the House of Commons and the House of Lords and given royal assent by HM The Queen.
• Jessica Hynes - Why drama is so important
Sirproceedings.Jonathanexplained
that while the UK does not have a single written constitution, there are still many important constitutional rules that have been committed to the statute books.
• Dr Francesca O’Hanlon – Making drinking water accessible to all
Who Runs the Country?
Our 42 Society series of lunchtime lectures challenges our students to think about different ideas and concepts to broaden their horizons. Named after Douglas Adams’ ultimate answer to the ultimate question in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the programme featured a wide range of impressive and interesting speakers throughout the year.
• Hannah Kirk (2015) - Gatekeepers of a safer internet: Using artificial intelligence to detect online harms at scale
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Sir Jonathan Jones KCB QC gave an illuminating insight into ‘Who Runs the Country?’
42 Society
• Chris Dodsworth (2016) – Corridors of power: A view from the Civil Service
• Dr Rihab Khalid - Exploring the intersections of gender, energy and space use
• Benji Merrison – Composing the wild
• Oliver Rubinstein Baylis (2010) - What does the future of food and farming look like in the UK?
They began their campaign by beating Colchester RGS 900180 before running out 960-120 victors over Beeston Hall School to gain a place in the national finals, which take place in autumn 2022.
Schools’ Challenge
Perse maths teacher Fred Jayatilaka, who oversaw the team, said: “The standard of quizzing in the national finals is extremely high, so this is a brilliant achievement.”
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In the national finals at Tonbridge School, the Perse team got off to a great start by beating Warwick School 950-150 in the quarter-finals.
The Perse general knowledge team got quizzical to claim the runners-up spot in the Senior Schools’ Challenge national finals.
National general knowledge joy for quiz team
Featuring captain Sean Ridley, Shaaon Bhattacharya (both Lower Sixth), Dhruv Radhakrishnan and Neelkantha Mukherjee (both Year 10), the team reached the finals by winning the regional title with a 570-420 victory over Colchester Royal Grammar School followed by a 1,120-200 triumph over Gresham’s in the inter-regional final.
Meanwhile, the Perse team of captain Ardhra Radhakrishnan, Rosamund Riordan, George Tysome (all Year 8) and Jasmine Christmas (Year 7) will look to follow in the senior team’s footsteps in the Junior Schools’ Challenge national finals.
A 1,000-470 semi-final win followed against Magdalen College School before the team lost narrowly 820-700 to Westminster School in the final.
skills for steep ground.
The weather worked in the group’s favour, offering up stiff winds gusting 60mph on the first day with cold temperatures but good snow cover.
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Outdoor Pursuits
Adventurous students put through their paces in Cairngorms
Perse Head of Outdoor Pursuits Ben Parker said: “The group as a whole worked well together in some challenging conditions.
Twenty-eight pupils travelled to the Cairngorms to undertake winter skills training, which included avalanche awareness and rescue techniques,
Intrepid Perse students took on tough conditions in their Summit 12 training expedition to Scotland.
Setting sail for training
sailing for intrepid Perse pupils as they mastered dinghies during a Summit 10 trip to Grafham Water.
They also had opportunities to drive the motor cruisers, which acted as both journeying craft and accommodation for each crew.Students
Perse Head of Outdoor Pursuits Ben Parker said: “Pupils showed great resilience under some challenging weather conditions on day one, especially considering that the majority of them were new to sailing.
socialised, cooked and slept on their boats, taking pride in their temporary homes. Each crew designed and flew their own flag and competed in various inter-crew competitions including the ‘Broads Bake Off’!
Before getting out on the water, pupils got to grips with learning the basics from the parts of the dinghy to key sailing
As well as weekly training in the run-up to the four-day camp, those taking part had earned their spurs by recently gaining their RYA Level 1 dinghy sailing qualifications.
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terminology.Blusteryconditions
Savouring Norfolk Broads Summit 10 trip
Perse outdoor pursuits instructor Kieron Taylor said: “All students stepped up to make the most of the activities available, even during some challenging weather, and helped to make it a trip to remember.”
They spent two days handling the vessels to earn their RYA Level 1 dinghy sailing qualifications in preparation for an extended expedition on the Norfolk Broads over the Easter break.
The final day saw pupils develop their tacking and jibbing skills in single and double helm dinghies, with far fewer capsizes occurring, as they completed the course with flying colours.
“A capsize can be a challenging and sometimes frightening experience. Pupils overcame their fears, refocused and flourished on the course.”
Perse pupils put their sailing skills to the test during a Summit 10 trip to the Norfolk Broads.
met them after leaving the classroom with a few crafts capsizing, but crews swiftly overcame the wet and cold to persevere with their training.
During the camp, students had the chance to sail traditional half-decker sailing boats, paddle in canoes and turn their hand to stand-up paddleboarding.
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Over four nights and three days, pupils were challenged with over 40km of mountains, valleys and sheep!
Splashing Scotland adventure for paddlers
To maximise the experience, pupils also chose to ‘wild camp’ en route. The shores of both Loch Lochy and Loch Oich provided the team with some stunning evening vistas and a truly remote experience.
Adventurous Perse students braved the great outdoors with special half-term excursions.
As well as the beautiful scenery, there were some challenges for the group too, including an abundance of wind, rain and midges!
Gold found in the Lake District
Perse Paddlesport Club members travelled to the Great Glen in Scotland for a canoeing adventure.
Twelve students paddled the route of the Caledonian Canal from Fort William to Fort Augustus, taking in all the large lochs, including the famous Loch Ness on the final day.
Practice expedition enjoyed by intrepid students
North Wales was the scene for those taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award practice expedition.
The extremely wet and windy conditions in Snowdonia provided plenty of training opportunities for each group and pushed them to improve their outdoor skills with good navigation required and many camping tactics tested inbetween downpours.
Students used their planning, navigation and physical skills to keep them on track, while outdoor pursuits staff supervised the groups remotely, only seeing them a few times a day to encourage participants to gain a genuine experience of
Perse Lower Sixth students completed their Gold Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) Award expedition in the Lake District.
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However, on the middle day of the expedition the weather cleared sufficiently for each party to enjoy hiking in the mountains, with some students reaching the 726-metre summit of Moel Eilio despite being weighed down by heavy backpacks.
Ben Parker, Head of Outdoor Pursuits, said: “Despite some challenging conditions, the pupils fostered an excellent collaborative and supportive atmosphere which ensured everyone had a good time.
Climbers get to grips with Peak District
More than 200 Perse pupils, staff and volunteers headed off for a four-day Easter camp in Norfolk.
Perse outdoor pursuits instructor Kieron Taylor, who led the trip, said the pupils had relished putting their skills into practice.
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“The weekend proved a big success with both the climbing and the weather delivering.”
Perse pupils take the lead on Easter camp
The entire camp was run by the pupils, with pupil leaders helping the younger students to learn the basics of camping. Pupils purchased and cooked all their own food for the entirety of camp, even catering for the staff!
“I was most impressed with our developing pupil leaders who worked hard to support those under their charge.”
He said: “Over the day, students climbed various routes and showed improvement throughout, all with a stunning backdrop provided by the national park.
This was the first major residential camp for PES Ascent Group this academic year and aimed to prepare students for their longer summer camp.
The troop experienced some challenging weather conditions with overnight temperatures below freezing and extensive rain too, which added to their challenges. Pupils undertook archery, archery tag, backwoods cookery, climbing, abseiling, cutting tools training, orienteering, grass sledging, low ropes and various team challenges.
They began their adventure by visiting the Awesome Walls climbing complex in Sheffield, where they received instruction on a massive 18-metre high wall with varied grades of climb, allowing them to brush up on belaying as well as the finer points of their climbing techniques.
Perse Foundation Climbing Club members enjoyed a steep learning curve during their trip to the Peak District.
The climbers explored Higger Tor to round off their first day before getting to grips with the famous Peak District gritstone the following morning, transferring what they had learned on the indoor wall to a rockface.
Pupils took it in their stride and completed the ascent and descent in under three-and-a-half hours, allowing time for a further scramble up the technically more challenging Jack’s Rake on the hill of Pavey Ark.
Students on a high with Lakes expedition
“To have completed so many ascents and climbs in a threeday trip is extremely impressive. Pupils were focused and eager to learn.”
Single pitch traditional climbing on Long Rake, a rib of rock protruding from the mountainside above the precipitous Wrynose Pass, provided an atmospheric conclusion to an exciting and challenging trip.
The aim of the trip was to allow pupils the chance to try a wide range and forms of climbing, with the first day seeing the group scrambling up Sharp Edge on the hill of Blencathra.
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Day two saw the group tackle the Via Ferrata route at Honister slate mine before having a go at indoor sport climbing at Keswick Climbing Wall.
Perse Head of Outdoor Pursuits Ben Parker said: “I was most impressed with the enthusiasm and energy shown by all the pupils involved.
Perse students demonstrated a head for heights on the Development Climbing Club expedition to the Lake District.
PES Ascent Group - Summer Camp 2022
volunteers. Camp took place in hot weather conditions and many adaptations to the programme had to be made to provide rest and shade.
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As Summer term came to a close 35 Year 10 pupils set out for the Peak District, the advance party for PES Ascent Group Summer Camp. A convoy of two minibuses, six vans, a truck and four trailers set out to establish camp ahead of the arrival of 200 pupils in Years 8 and 10.
Pupils undertook a wide range of activities including cooking within their patrols, climbing, hiking, backwoods cooking, high ropes and raft building. The camp was entirely run by pupils with the support of adult staff and
Staff were most impressed with pupils’ resilience given the prevailing weather conditions. Pupils worked well within their patrols, budgeting and purchasing all of their own food for the duration of the camp. At the end of camp pupils took part in a cabaret which featured dramatic performances and energetic singing!
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Unfortunately, due to challenges obtaining travel insurance, the venue changed to Sweden. This required pupils to retrain in very different skills including cutting tools, canoeing and fire lighting at short notice. There was no loss of enthusiasm, however, and pupils showed a great deal of flexibility and tenacity in taking on this new challenge.
Pupils in PES Summit 12 had a challenging year. Pandemicinduced uncertainty led to wide-ranging plans for the expedition venue. The original intent was to undertake a trekking-based expedition in Iceland. To that end pupils undertook winter mountaineering training on the Cairngorm Plateau during the February half term.
Pupils landed in Gothenburg after an early start. Whilst shopping for the eight-day trip and preparing the boats and equipment, pupils endured searing temperatures. The following day, pupils set out paddling in torrential rain which lasted non-stop for 24 hours. Pupils had to work hard to dry out all of their equipment and establish camp for the very first time on a remote island. Despite the challenging start, pupils showed great resilience and went on, in improving weather, to explore the lakes and islands of Dalsland. On the way, pupils learnt about fire lighting (including fire by friction), wood carving, backwoods cookery, paddling and even improvised canoe sailing.
The trip was the first international trip for PES post-Covid and a great success. Returning to Sweden after a long break was a pleasure and pupils benefited from the access to true wilderness terrain.
PES Summit 12 - Sweden Expedition 2022
Talented musicians and singers star in Charity Cabaret
Organised by the Sixth Form Charities Committee, the event raised more than £400 for the British Red Cross Afghanistan Crisis Appeal.
Compered brilliantly by Anna Bevens and Ben Lewis (both Upper Sixth), the concert featured a variety of talented soloists and groups on stage in the Peter Hall Performing Arts Centre.
The Year 11 Melodic Medlians gave an excellent a capella set, while the Perse Big Band provided a powerful backing to performances of tracks such as Tina Turner’s soul hit Proud Mary, Nat King Cole’s jazz standard Orange Colored Sky and Frank Sinatra favourite New York, New York
Charities and Community Outreach
A fantastic evening of music was rounded off in traditional fashion with a fun dance finale from the Senior Prefects.
Perse singers and musicians put on a wonderful show at the annual school Charity Cabaret.
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From William Walker (Year 9) performing the guitar solo from Iron Maiden’s heavy metal classic The Trooper to the strains of the Chinese zither, played by Maggie Zhang (Lower Sixth) in a recital of traditional Chinese tune The Sound of the Maid’s Autumn Festival, a wide range of musical styles entertained the socially-distanced audience.
Perse community gets glowing to raise funds for Christel House
Christel House Cape Town visit a ‘humbling’ experience
Perse Head of Computing & Digital Strategy Paul Baker, who helped organise the event, said: “We wanted to come up with something that would be outdoors, because of Covid, and also bring the Perse community together, so it was great to have staff and student teams.
Jackie handed over three digital inking tablets and other educational materials on behalf of the school, as well as copies of the fundraising cookbook put together by the Perse Christel House Club.
Around 300 members of the Perse community took part in the evening event, forming small teams of runners and walkers to negotiate a one-kilometre circuit at the Upper School and collecting glow sticks as they completed each lap.
The Perse was lit up by pupils and staff attempting to Glow the Distance to raise funds for Christel House Schools.
Perse finance officer Jackie Matten was “humbled” after visiting the Christel House school in Cape Town.
“There were fantastic costumes from some of the teams and it was wonderful to see people ‘glowing’ around the site, so it was all a lot of fun and hopefully we’ll be able to raise lots of funds for Christel House.”
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The Perse has been working with Christel House since 2011, raising funds to provide resources to support the teaching of children and training of staff for their schools in some of the poorest areas of the world.
Sixth Form students and Perse Exploration Society Ascent Group members were on marshalling duty to ensure everyone stayed on course, while BandSoc provided rousing live rock music to keep participants on their toes.
True colours shown by Perse students for charity
Record total of parcels donated to Christmas shoebox appeal
to keep growing it specifically to donate my hair. I had it trimmed a few times just to keep it healthy, but eventually it was right down my back.”
They took part in the Color Obstacle Rush at Willen Lake, battling their way around a fivekilometre course featuring inflatable obstacles while being sprayed with brightly-coloured powders along the way.
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He thanked the Middle School Charities Committee for the part they had played in promoting the appeal through assemblies and posters.
Perse Head of Computing & Digital Strategy Paul Baker, who co-ordinated the school’s shoebox appeal, was overwhelmed with the success of the campaign.
Mr Baker said: “It was really wonderful to see form groups coming together again, from our very youngest at the Pelican and Prep, right up to those soon to leave for university, all making a difference with an act of kindness to those in need at Christmas.”
A record-breaking 713 shoeboxes were gifted by the Perse community to support the Link to Hope Christmas appeal.
The colourful crew, featuring eight Year 10 pupils, four Lower Sixth students and two Year 7 pupils, helped raise more than £200 for The Orphan Trust, a charity which works directly with grassroots projects to support orphaned and vulnerable children in Bangladesh.
Making the cut for Little Princess Trust
Cate has raised almost £3,000 in sponsorship for the Little Princess Trust, well above her original target of £600.
She said: “During lockdown, my hair was getting really long, but because no one could get their hair cut, I decided
A group of Perse students went on a multicoloured mission in Milton Keynes to raise funds for charity.
The parcels contained a variety of useful items such as gloves, soap, flannels, toothbrushes, toothpaste, scarves, sweets, small games, hairbrushes and socks which were delivered to the most disadvantaged families and elderly people in eastern Europe.
The Perse pupil had 14 inches of her hair chopped off for the charity, which makes wigs for children who have lost their hair due to cancer or other illnesses.
Cate Blakesley (Year 9) cut her hair to raise money for the Little Princess Trust.
They raised almost £5,000 for the local homelessness charity after bedding down for the night around the Upper site.
Alongside the sleepout, a minibus was filled with generous donations of pre-loved goods, such as books, CDs, DVDs and clothes, from the Perse community to be sold by Emmaus in their second-hand shop, thanks to a collection organised by the Middle School Charities Committee.
The value of ‘One Another’ was celebrated with a huge House Charity Giveathon as the whole Perse community across the Upper, Prep and Pelican were invited to donate food and other vital goods for Cambridge City Food Bank.
Perse pupils sleep out for homelessness charity
The trees in Ellison Court were transformed into ‘Values Trees’ where students and staff had the opportunity to tie messages of hope or community about what makes them #ProudlyPerse.
More than 80 Year 9 pupils took part in a sponsored sleepout to help raise funds for Emmaus Cambridge.
A focus on ‘Our Environment’ kicked off Values Week as students enjoyed making bird feeders from old yoghurt pots and creating a recycled art mural from scraps of old uniform.
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Organised by the Student Council, each day was dedicated to a particular school value with a variety of fun and thoughtprovoking themed activities.
The pupils were visited by an Emmaus staff member and four companions – formerly homeless people who have been supported by the charity – who outlined the work of the charity and shared their experiences of living on the streets.
Values Week brings Perse community together
The Perse values were celebrated in style during the school’s first Values Week.
Jessie Zhang , Amy Long , Anouska Duggan and Horatia Duggan (all Upper Sixth) teamed up to claim the ‘most amusing’ prize with their high-energy dance medley, while the 1st XI football team earned the ‘most horrifying’ award with their attempts at recreating famous goal celebrations.
From A-Ha’s eighties classic Take on Me to Taylor Swift’s 22 and a medley of tunes from the Shrek film series, Sixth Form tutor groups dazzled, while the girls’ 1st XI hockey team went back to the seventies as they performed disco favourite One Way Ticket.
‘Pop stars’ in Charity Lip Sync Battle
History teacher Alex Courtney and Maria Awan (Upper Sixth) compered the show as Sixth Form tutors opened proceedings with their humorous Hawaiian-themed performance of Koukou Move
The maths department provided a side-splitting spin on the musical Hairspray, while computer science staff donned Squid Game masks and outfits for a medley of hits, including Video Killed the Radio Star
Students and staff gave a special twist to the biggest names in pop at the annual Perse Charity Lip Sync Battle.
However, the ‘most innovative’ accolade went to the Senior Prefects with their entertaining mix of music and dance.
Senior Tutor Lilian Blaxill, who helped organise the event, said: “We were really pleased to raise a fantastic amount of money for a charity we are all mindful of the need to support. It was really nice to do something positive to that effect.
“It also gave the students a nice break from their revision. Sometimes it’s important to do something fun or silly and this was certainly both!”
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Much entertainment was had by all as hilarious song and dance routines were performed to an appreciative audience, with the event raising £750 for teenage mental health charity Stem4.
Pupils raised more than £1,000 for the charity by taking part in a sponsored inclusive kilometre.
Sporting events ‘a fitting tribute’ to former teacher
Perse pupils inspired to try inclusive sports for charity
Power2Inspire founder and CEO John Willis told pupils about the charity’s aims to ensure ‘no-one is left on the bench’ in terms of having access to sport, regardless of disability.
Director of Sport Glenn Kirkham, Assistant Director of Sport (Performance) Ravi Mahendra, Assistant Director of Studies Chris Ingram, Assistant Director of University Admissions Mike Goodson and sports coach Charlie Baker smashed their initial target of £2,000 by raising more than £3,350 for the mental health charity.
Year 8 Perse pupils enjoyed sampling a variety of inclusive sports while helping to raise funds for Power2Inspire.
He was joined by special guests Jennifer Crompton, the High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire, and her husband, former Perse Head of School John Crompton (1980), as they watched pupils trying adaptive sports, such as boccia, goalball, New Age Kurling, sitting volleyball and sitting netball, as part of the PowerHouse Games event.
Following on from the game, five Perse teachers ran the TTP Cambridge Half Marathon in aid of the Charlie Waller Trust in remembrance of Tommy.
Working in pairs, one member of each group was blindfolded and guided around laps of the Long Road pitch by their partner before swapping over.
Fittingly, the annual Perse v Leys 1st XV rugby encounter saw both teams pause to remember Tommy prior to the game, which The Perse won 33-19.
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Tommy, who coached rugby, cricket, football and PE at The Perse from 2009 to 2014 before becoming Head of Rugby at The Leys, died aged 40 in February 2021.
Former Perse coach Tommy Dann was celebrated in sporting style by his ex-colleagues and school teams.
The players of the match for each side were also awarded the inaugural Tommy Dann Cup for their sportsmanship and performance, with Freddie Brierley (Upper Sixth) taking the honours for The Perse.
U18 Boys were County champions
(top right) were National Tier 3 Plate runners-up
Holly Smith, May Busher, Charlotte Rye (all Year 11), Jean MacDonald, Isabelle Whichello and Millie Ely (all Year 10) all earned places in England Hockey girls’ regional performance centre squads.
U13 Girls were County champions
U13 Boys were County champions
U16 Boys (left) were County champions, East champions and seventh at the National Finals
Indoor Hockey
Fellow Perse pupils Jude Nathan, Theo Hofer, Millie Ely (all Year 10), Ethan Smythe, Henry Denny-Gouldson, Rosabel Clarke and Verity Valentine (all Year 9) also featured in the U15 PCC Cup.
U14 Girls were County champions and East runners-up
U18 Girls were County champions
Jack Moffat, Marc Rocca, James Goodricke, Laurie SimpsonBiles, Xanthe Farman, May Busher and Charlotte Rye (all Year 11) played in the U17 PCC Cup.
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U12 Boys were County champions and East runners-up
U14 Boys (bottom right) were County champions, East champions and fourth at the National Finals
U16 Girls were County champions
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Jack Moffat, Laurie Simpson-Biles (both Year 11), Theo Hofer, Elliott Kirkpatrick (both Year 10), Henry Denny-Gouldson, Ethan Smythe (both Year 9) and Thomas Goldsmith (Year 8) all earned places in England Hockey boys’ regional performance centre squads.
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U16 Girls (below) reached the National Tier 1 Cup semi-finals
Elliott Kirkpatrick (Year 10) was selected for the initial assessment stage for the England U16 boys’ squad, which will take place in autumn 2022, following his performance in the England Hockey U15 Performance Centre Challenge (PCC) Cup.
U12 Girls were County champions and East champions
She continued the theme of working as a unit with team drills aimed at getting the ball through the court, as well as tactical set plays for centre passes,
Miss Diss said: “All in all, it was an incredible experience for everyone involved and one we would love to repeat should the opportunity ever arise again.”
The Mavericks captain worked on basic ball handling skills to get the girls back in the swing of things before moving on to developing their defensive and team communication techniques.
Madeleine Brooking (left) and Bella Howarth
Mavericks, and felt her “charisma and personality” would give the players a pre-season boost.
Sasha rounded off her visit with some inspirational words for the players about her own netball journey before posing for photos and signing autographs.
Sasha, who represented the Roses from 2007 to 2018, provided an inspiring training session for the 1st VII and U16 A squads during her visit to The Perse.
Perse netball coach Millie Diss arranged the session, having previously worked alongside Sasha while coaching with Vitality Superleague side Saracens
Perse netballers warmed up for the new season in style after being put through their paces by former England international Sasha Corbin.
(right) were County runners-up, East runners-up and reached the National Finals. They also won the Team of the Year honour at the Cambridgeshire County Netball Association annual awards, having also enjoyed an unbeaten regular season outside of championship competition.
Bella Howarth (Lower Sixth) was selected for the Futures Academy of Superleague club London Pulse.
before watching them put everything together in matches.
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Emily Hiscock (Lower Sixth), Izzy Rumsby (Year 11) and Isabel Smith (Year 10) were selected for the Mavericks’ Cambridgeshire Futures Academy.
U14 team were County runners-up and reached the East finals. Madeleine Brooking (Upper Sixth) was selected for Vitality Superleague side Saracens Mavericks’ U19 squad and represented them in the National Performance League.
Former England star provides a pre-season boost
U16Netballteam
Pushan Chakraborty (Lower Sixth) took a five-wicket haul for the 1st XI against Durham School at the Merchant Taylors’ School Festival.
drew their annual fixture with the MCC. Elliott Kirkpatrick (Year 10) scored 90 as The Perse scored 189 for 9 in reply to the MCC’s total of 218.
U13 Girls (above right) were County champions in the Lady Taverners indoor competition.
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Bella Howarth (Lower Sixth) was selected for elite women’s side Lightning’s Academy squad. She also played for Essex women’s 1st XI.
Lulu Harding (Year 10) was selected for the Emerging Players programme with Eastern Sunrisers, the ECB Eastern Regional Development Centre for Girls.
Fifties were scored this year by Benjamin Floto (Upper Sixth), Alex Cross, Sachin Nagadev, Bella Howarth (all Lower Sixth), May Busher (Year 11), Thomas Graham, Isabelle Whichello (both Year 10), Teddie Clifton (Year 9), Jonny Rumsby , Christopher Smith and Alexi Demetriou-Foale (all Year 8).
U15 Girls (above left) reached the School Sport T20 Cup national quarter-finals and were County champions in the Lady Taverners indoor competition.
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Aditya Datta (Year 10) was selected for the Cambridgeshire Emerging Players programme.
Centuries were scored this year by Freddie Doel (Year 11) and Elliott Kirkpatrick (Year 10).
(Year 10) won the U14 boys’ doubles and was runner-up in the U14 boys’ singles at the Tennis Europe Liverpool Junior International.
U18 Boys (right) reached the regional final of the Glanville Cup (national U18 team competition).
Harry Purvis (left) and Yujian Zou
Yujian Zou (Upper Sixth) and Harry Purvis (Year 11) made their debuts for Northampton Saints U18 and U16 Academy teams respectively. Harry also captained the U16 team in a match against Harlequins Academy.
Gabriella Zailer-Fletcher (Year 11) was selected for the Cambridgeshire ladies’ team.
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1st XV captain Charlie Underwood (Upper Sixth) made his debut for IQ (Irish Qualified) Rugby U18 team in a 10-7 win over the Lambs – the England Independent Schools representative team.
reached the National Schools Plate semi-finals.
1st XV reached the fifth round of the National Schools Vase.
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Laura went on to win Bronze in the women’s quad event as part of the GB crew (below) at the World U19 Championships in Varese, Italy, finishing in a time of 6min 33.54 sec.
(Lower Sixth) represented The Perse in the NSEA (National Schools Equestrian Association) National InterCounty Show Jumping Championships at SheHickstead.made it to the finals on board her pony Comeytrowe Dione after being the highest-placed Cambridgeshire rider at the Tri-County qualifying competition.
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She made her GB debut at the Munich International Regatta, where she won Silver with her crew in the women’s quadruple sculls in a time of 7min 09.88sec and won the B final in the women’s single sculls in a time of 8.29:39, almost eight seconds ahead of her nearest rival.
(Upper Sixth, left) was called up to the Great Britain U19 squad following a successful trial.
Key individual performers included: Tom Meadows (Year 10) –Intermediate Boys, 42 points (25 in hurdles)
(Year 10) won Gold in boys’ U17 hammer and Silver in high jump and discus
Maya Vandermark (Lower Sixth) won Gold in women’s U20 shot put and Silver in 400m
Zara Osei (Year 9) won Bronze in girls’ U15 100m
(Lower Sixth) qualified to represent Great Britain in the women’s U19 sprint triathlon event at the European Triathlon Championships in Munich.
Isaac Rothwell (Lower Sixth, right) won Bronze in the boys’ 1,500m at the 2021 National Finals
Elodie Bowen-Sanders (Year 8) qualified for the National Finals in the U14 girls’ shot put
Edward Taylor (Year 9) won Bronze in boys’ U15 javelin
Noah Karat (Year 8) – Junior Boys, 40 points (26 in 100m)
She also finished runner-up in the junior female category at the Long Course Weekend in Tenby with a time of 4hr 00min 44sec. The competition featured a 2km sea swim, 65km bike ride and 10km run, with Holly winning the swimming section in her category in a time of 35min 46sec.
ESAA Track & Field Cup
The Perse team, featuring pupils from Years 7 to 10, won the overall event in the local schools competition.
HollyTriathlonWebb
George Christmas (Year 10) won Silver in boys’ U17 1,500m
Verity Valentine (Year 9) –Intermediate Girls, 30 points in 1,500m
Sophie Higgins (Year 9) won Silver in girls’ U15 long jump
Ianthe Carr (Year 9) won Silver in girls’ U15 shot put and javelin and Bronze in 75m hurdles
Samay Sanglikar (Year 8) – Junior Boys, 40 points
(Year 7, above) won Gold in the U12 girls’ 1,500m in a time of 4min 55.18sec
Cambridgeshire Track & Field
JasmineChampionshipsNationalAthleticsPrepSchoolsChristmas
TobyChampionshipsCarroll
Jasmine Christmas (Year 7) – Junior Girls, 30 points in 1,500m
Noah Karat (Year 8, top right) won Bronze in the U14 boys’ 100m in a time of 12.16sec
The Intermediate Boys, Intermediate Girls, Junior Boys and Junior Girls teams all reached the East Anglia finals.
Cambridge & District Jubilee Cup
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School Games
Marcus Wentzell (Year 10) won Bronze in boys’ U17 long jump
Junior Girls (U13, above) were County champions, East Central champions and came 12th in the National Finals
The Year 9 girls’ team of Hebe Darwin and Isabelle Hunter won Silver in their year group section at the British Schools Orienteering Championships. Hebe also won individual Bronze.
Senior Girls (U17) were County champions and came sixth in the East Central finals
ECCA National Relay Championships
Intermediate Girls (U15) were County champions and came seventh in the East Central finals
Intermediate Boys (U15) were County runners-up and seventh in the East Central finals
Orienteering
ESAA Schools Championships
Senior Boys (U17) were County champions and came fourth in the East Central finals
Isaac Rothwell, Rebecca West (both Lower Sixth), George Christmas (Year 10) and Verity Valentine (Year 9) were selected to represent Cambridgeshire in the National Finals
The Year 10 boys’ team of Marcus Wentzell, James Roskilly and Jamie Kruppa (Year 9) won Silver in their year group category at the British Schools Orienteering Championships.
ESAA National Schools Cup
Isaac Rothwell (Lower Sixth) helped his Cambridge & Coleridge team to Gold in the U17 boys’ event at the National Finals
Cross Country
Verity Valentine (Year 9, above left) was Cambridge & District champion, Cambridgeshire champion and Anglian junior girls’ champion
Jasmine Christmas (Year 7, above right) was Cambridge & District champion, Cambridgeshire champion and Anglian minor girls’ champion
Isaac Rothwell (Lower Sixth) came third in the senior boys’ category at the Anglian finals
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Cambridge Half Marathon
Daniel Zailer-Fletcher (Lower Sixth) was runner-up in the men’s U20 category in the 2021 edition and third in the 2022 event, the latter with a personal best of 1hr 17min 25sec
The assessment also tested their sparring, self-defence and leadership skills as well as their knowledge of the theory and terminology of the Korean martial art.
The Perse team of Will McKernan (Lower Sixth), Maya Mahadeva (Year 10) and Harry Howell (Year 9) reached the ISGA (Independent Schools Golf Association) National Plate Finals.
The Perse team (below) of Will McKernan (Lower Sixth), Harry Howell and Alexander Mills (both Year 9) were runners-up in the team event at the ISGA HG Trophy strokeplay competition. Will was fourth overall in the individual standings, while Harry won his age group.
Will McKernan (Lower Sixth, above) qualified for the Junior European Open in Cadiz, Spain, and finished 29th out of a field of almost 100 golfers. He was also part of the Cambridgeshire team that won the Midlands Championships and qualified for the English Championships. Will also finished eighth in the individual placings.
Golf
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Harry Howell (Year 9) was runner-up in the boys’ U14 category at the US Kids Golf European Championships in Scotland.
EdwardTaekwondoShelley (Upper Sixth), Alysha Djamarani and Alexandra Mackie (both Year 9) were presented with their first-degree black belts after successfully completing a rigorous four-hour exam in which they had to demonstrate every kick, pattern and technique from the lowest white belt level upwards.
the six-a-side competition in London, which featured age group teams from top European clubs such as Barcelona, Juventus and Marseille.
International Honours
The Perse team of Will Bacon, Fleur Christmas, Ewan Smith (all Upper Sixth), Liliana French, Eleanor Brinsden, Cara Hollis, Eos Liao and William Smith (all Lower sixth) were runners-up in the eights competition.
BSSRA National Schools Championships
(Year 7) led Norwich City’s U12 team to glory against some of the biggest clubs in football at a major endof-season tournament.
(Year 11) took part in the British Fencing Youth Championships girls’ U16 foil finals after qualifying in fifth place from the East finals.
Will Bacon (Upper Sixth) and Liliana French (Lower Sixth) were senior pairs champions, with Eleanor Brinsden (Lower Sixth) and Fleur Christmas (Upper Sixth), and Ewan Smith (Upper Sixth) and Cara Hollis (Lower Sixth) coming fourth and eighth respectively.
Will Bacon , Liliana French , Eleanor Brinsden and Fleur Christmas were third in the fours event.
Liliana French (Lower Sixth) and Will Bacon (Upper Sixth) were named in the England A team for the British Schools Small-bore Rifle Association National Match.
Lynden helped Norwich knock out Barcelona, who have one of the world’s leading youth academies, in the quarterfinals before eventually going on to beat Birmingham City in the final.
BritishShootingSchools50m Challenge
As well as captaining the Canaries to the YSE Champions Cup title, Lynden was top scorer for his side with six goals in
Will Bacon came eighth in the individual event and was third in his age group category. Fleur Christmas was third in her age group section, while Carla Campos Zanotti Gerosa and Maia Polonius (both Year 9) were runner-up and third respectively in their age group.
LyndenFootballLong
Will Bacon and Liliana French came eighth in the senior pairs competition.
Cara Hollis (Lower Sixth) was selected for England B, while Eleanor Brinsden (Lower Sixth) and Fleur Christmas (Upper Sixth) were picked for England C and Eos Liao and Miles Cobley (both Lower Sixth) for England D.
Will Bacon and Eleanor Brinsden were third and ninth respectively in the individual event, while Carla Campos Zanotti Gerosa (Year 9) was runner-up in her age group category.
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Will Bacon , Eleanor Brinsden , Liliana French and Fleur Christmas were third in the fours event.
CharlotteFencingHipperson
Lina partnered her father Michael – an England senior international - as they won Bronze in the mixed doubles event at the English Championships.
(Year 7) slid her way to success on the curling rink this year.
CurlingLinaOpel
SkiingDannaWang
(Year 7) displayed plenty of style on the slopes during a successful skiing season.
This was a particularly notable feat as her colleagues live all over the country, so they often only get to practise as a full team during school holidays.
She also claimed Silver in the English Junior Championships with her team, featuring skip Helena Kiggell, Anna MacDougall and Marianna Ward, by winning two of their four matches.
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Aged 12, she often came up against older and more experienced skiers in the U14 girls’ category of indoor and dry slope competitions.Despitethis, she won the British Independent Schools indoor title and came third in the NSSA (National Schools Snowsports Association) Indoor Championships.Dannaalsocame fourth in the British Schools Indoor Open and 10th in the NSSA UK Outdoor Open on the dry slope at Swadlincote.
Perse teacher Dr Lilian Blaxill, who manages the maths programme, said: “We hope that the primary school children really enjoy the sessions which are designed to be fun and interactive as we build on the excellent work of the school, taking the children beyond the curriculum.”
We relaunched our full primary school partnership programme where staff and students from the Upper Sixth worked with 22 primary schools across Cambridge city and South Cambridgeshire, assisting with the delivery of extension maths, science, technology and computing masterclasses, language classes in French, Spanish and Latin, an art-based mentoring programme, literacy and drama collaborations and the provision of a free hockey club for local children in Years 4 to 6.
At Jeavons Wood Primary School in Cambourne, Sixth Form students worked alongside gifted and talented Year 6 maths pupils. Children enjoyed a wide range of maths problems to solve including code-breaker challenges and quizzes.
A rare bat was discovered in the grounds of The Perse.
The bat, known as a barbastelle, is a protected species and has never before been spotted in the city.
The elusive bat was discovered by a group of pupils while it was hanging in the entrance to the North Building on the Upper School site in Hills Road.
It’s just so much fun when the Perse team come to our school.
Jeavons Wood Pupil
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One of the projects that students took part in was the design and production of their own keychain. Galfrid pupils came up with their own ideas for a design, and Perse students used
Volunteers from Cambridgeshire Bat Group collected the bat and nursed it back to full health. Group member Chris Percival said: “It was a very special day when I discovered that the bat was one of the rare barbastelle species. My volunteer friend and Chair of our group, Barbara York, spent time nursing it and helping it to rehydrate.
Rare bat discovered at The Perse
Louise Short, Teaching Assistant at The Galfrid School, said: “They’ve learned team-working skills and creativity, and they have enjoyed learning from older Perse students and teachers. It’s been really beneficial for their academic and personal development.”
the laser cutter to turn the design into reality. Children chose to design characters from video games as well as Christmas decorations.
The school also continued to develop the Aristotelian Award for Research, which was open to pupils in Year 9 nationally and aimed to inspire pupils across the UK to develop their research skills.
Community Benefit
William Emery, Assistant Head Key Stage Two at Jeavons Wood, said: “There are huge benefits of having the partnership with The Perse. The children really do enjoy the opportunities the sessions give them, as they provide a further challenge to their learning.”
The pupils were pleased to discover that it was alive, even though it was very dehydrated.
Our design and technology enrichment programme saw a group of students from The Galfrid School in Cambridge coming to The Perse to be mentored by our Sixth Form students.
“It was such a surprise because barbastelle bats are usually found in ancient woodland and very mature trees. They’ve been seen in Hertfordshire, but we have not seen one in Cambridgeshire before now.”
Beyond our local community, we have continued to build on the success of the Perse Coding Team Challenge, in which teams of pupils undertake several rounds of coding challenges to try to win the Braben Cup. We have welcomed teams from over 70 state schools from across the UK and internationally. The competition is now recognised as part of the UKCT challenges pathway.
Providing access to an excellent education is The Perse’s founding mission, and remains one of the school’s main priorities. This year, we have continued to provide means-tested bursary support, and our community outreach programme collaborated with local state schools to deliver a range of activities including peer mentoring and enrichment classes.
73 pupils received a means-tested bursary
Events
550+£300,00085
More than 550 donors made a gift to The Perse
85 Old Perseans and Friends of the School volunteered their time
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Almost £300,000 raised for the school’s charitable purposes
Alumni and Development
With Covid-19 gradually abating, in-person reunions and speaker events returned to The Perse this year. We welcomed back Old Perseans from the 1980s and from the Classes of 2005-10, and over 100 guests returned for the Half Century Club Lunch. It was also fantastic to see the return of the OP v 1st XI cricket fixture, with a narrow victory for the OP XI after plenty of big hitting throughout the match.
How you made a difference this year
Perseyou!
We are grateful to all those who donate their time, skills and expertise to The Perse. This year, 85 OPs and Friends of The Perse gave their time to deliver talks, mentor pupils, help with university applications and support the Perse Exploration Society. Thank you so much!
Volunteers
Chris Dodsworth (2016) gave a 42 Society lecture on his career in the Civil Service
Support came from nine different countries
Thursday 21 April saw the launch of our first Perse Giving Day. This 36-hour online fundraising event brought the entire Perse community together to raise money for bursaries and community outreach programmes. Over £114,000 was raised from parents, Old Perseans and Friends of The Perse, which is an amazing total – thank
…of whom 145 were new donors
pupils also collected over 2,800 food items for Cambridge City Foodbank, which unlocked an additional £10,000 for the campaign. These donations provided three days’ emergency food to 47 families in Cambridge.
The money raised will be used to support the development of the outreach programme, and to fund bursary places for future Perseans. Thank you to everybody who donated to Giving Day. Your extraordinary generosity means that more young people will experience the life-changing opportunities of a Perse education.
113 Annual Review 2021-2022
229 members of the Perse community made a gift...
Giving Day 2022
GCSE results 2022 Year (% cumulative) 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2022 56 79 93 98 99.6 100 100 2019 62 84 94 98 99 100 100 Year (% cumulative) 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2021* 80 94 99 99.6 99.9 100 100 2020* 67 87 97 99.4 99.9 100 100 *Teacher-assessed grades (TAGs) were used for GCSEs in 2020 and 2021, so these results are not directly comparable to those in the first table. Subject Candidates 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 Ancient History 18 8 5 4 1 0 0 0 Art 27 7 9 10 1 0 0 0 Biology 184 122 47 6 8 0 1 0 Chemistry 182 125 39 11 4 2 1 0 Chinese 13 12 0 1 0 0 0 0 Computer Science 95 71 17 5 2 0 0 0 Design & Technology 56 41 11 3 1 0 0 0 English Language 184 44 51 55 26 7 1 0 English Literature 183 41 54 46 29 11 2 0 French 126 66 22 27 10 0 1 0 Geography 122 94 17 10 1 0 0 0 German 14 10 3 1 0 0 0 0 Greek 5 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 History 133 70 35 17 11 0 0 0 Italian 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 Japanese 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 Latin 27 13 10 3 0 0 1 0 Maths 185 98 51 25 9 2 0 0 Music 35 35 0 0 0 0 0 0 Physics 179 131 32 12 2 1 1 0 Religious Studies 44 24 11 6 3 0 0 0 Spanish 62 31 22 8 1 0 0 0 Turkish 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 1,880 1,053 437 250 109 23 8 0 GCSE by subject Upper114
Results correct at the time of going to print (September 2022) GCSE results by subject, other year groups YearSubject10 Candidates 9 8 7 Astronomy 2 2 0 0 Chinese 7 7 0 0 French 1 1 0 0 German 1 1 0 0 Greek 1 1 0 0 Italian 1 0 0 1 Japanese 1 1 0 0 Maths 1 1 0 0 Music 6 6 0 0 Portuguese 2 2 0 0 Russian 1 1 0 0 Spanish 2 2 0 0 YearSubject9 Candidates 9 8 7 Chinese 3 3 0 0 French 1 1 0 0 German 1 1 0 0 Greek 1 1 0 0 Italian 1 1 0 0 Japanese 1 1 0 0 YearSubject8 Candidates 9 8 7 Chinese 1 1 0 0 Further Maths results Subject Candidates 9 8 7 Further Maths 117 87 19 11 HPQSubjectresults Candidates A* A B HPQ 45 34 9 2 Annual Review 2021-2022 115
A level results 2022 Year (% cumulative) A* A B C D E U 2022 52 83 95 99 99.6 100 100 2019 49 79 92 97 99 99.3 100 2018 49 84 95 99 99.6 100 100 This table includes Pre U equivalent grades using the standard D1/D2=A*, D3/M1=A, M2=B, M3=C Year (% cumulative) A* A B C D E U 2021* 88 95 99.3 99.5 99.8 100 100 2020* 65 93 99 99.6 99.8 100 100 *Teacher-assessed grades (TAGs) were used for A levels and school-assessed grades (SAGs) were used for Pre U in 2020 and 2021, so these results are not directly comparable to the first table. Subject Candidates A* A B C D E Art & Design 6 3 3 0 0 0 0 Biology 62 23 22 9 8 0 0 Chemistry 77 28 34 9 4 2 0 Classics: Ancient History 7 1 3 3 0 0 0 Computer Science 12 10 1 1 0 0 0 Design & Technology 9 5 4 0 0 0 0 Economics 42 23 11 6 1 0 1 English Literature 33 13 6 13 0 1 0 French 10 4 3 1 2 0 0 Further Maths 42 21 17 4 0 0 0 Geography 34 26 6 2 0 0 0 German 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 History 34 21 11 2 0 0 0 Latin 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 Maths 125 74 37 9 3 2 0 Music 4 3 1 0 0 0 0 Philosophy 12 2 6 3 1 0 0 Politics 14 11 2 1 0 0 0 Psychology 18 5 4 8 0 0 1 Religious Studies 3 1 1 0 1 0 0 Russian 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 Spanish 4 1 3 0 0 0 0 Totals 554 279 177 71 20 5 2 A levels by subject Upper116
Results correct at the time of going to print (September 2022) Pre U results by subject AS levels for subjects taken in the Upper Sixth A levels completed by members of the Lower Sixth Subject Candidates D1 D2 D3 M1 M2 M3 Physics 55 22 15 12 3 2 1 Subject Candidates A* A B C EPQ 22 15 7 0 0 Further Maths 10 n/a 10 0 0 German 1 n/a 1 0 0 Totals 33 15 18 0 0 Subject Candidates A* A B C Computer Science 1 1 0 0 0 Italian 1 1 0 0 0 Japanese 1 1 0 0 0 Maths 1 1 0 0 0 Totals 4 4 0 0 0 83% of entries were awarded A* or A grade (or Pre U equivalent) 131 students achieved three or more A* or A grades (or Pre U equivalent) 83% 71% Annual Review 2021-2022 117
Queen Mary, University of London 4 East Anglia 3 Leeds 3 Sheffield 3 Southampton 3 St Andrews 3 Edinburgh 2 London School of Economics 2 Queen’s University Belfast 2 St George’s, University of London 2 Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London 1 Kent 1
University Destinations 2022
King’s College London 1 Lancaster 1 Leicester 1 Liverpool 1
Loughborough 1 Northumbria 1
Royal Holloway, University of London 1 Salford 1 Surrey 1 Swansea 1 University of the Arts London 1
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Birmingham 4 Newcastle 4
Total 173
Durham 24 Cambridge 18 Oxford 16 University College London 11
Nottingham Trent 1 Plymouth 1 Reading 1
Imperial College London 8 Warwick 8 Bristol 7 Bath 6 Exeter 6 Manchester 6 Nottingham 6 York 6
Aeronautics and Astronautics/ Aeronautical Engineering
Biology/Biological Sciences
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Criminology 1
1
English/English Literature/English with Study Abroad/English Literature and Creative Writing
Architecture 4
1
Ancient History and History
Intercultural Communications with Business Management 1
Law/Law with French Law 4
Geography/Global Sustainable Development
Liberal Arts 3
Biochemistry 1
Economics/Economics and Management/ Economics and Politics/Economics and Finance/ Economics, Politics and International Relations/ International Development with Economics 10
Marine Biology 1
1
1
Psychology/Psychological and Behavioural Sciences 6
15
Politics and International Relations 2
Real Estate with Urban Planning 1
History 9
Engineering/Electrical and Electronic Engineering/ Mechanical Engineering/General Engineering/ Acoustical Engineering 16
Veterinary Bioscience 1
10
Veterinary Medicine 2
Biomedical Sciences/Biomedical Engineering 3
MFL: French and Spanish/Japanese/ Modern Languages 4
Information correct at the time of going to print (September 2022)
Finance
Natural Sciences 8 Nursing Science 1
Philosophy/Philosophy and Economics/ Philosophy and Theology/ Philosophy, Politics and Economics 6
3
Art History/History of Art
Music 1
Physics/Physics and Astrophysics/ Physics with Astronomy 9
Film Studies
Sports Science 1
Graphic Design
Course Choices 2022
2
2
Business Management 1 Chemistry 3 Classics 2 Computer Science/Computing 11
Materials Science and Engineering 1 Mathematics/Maths and Finance/ Maths and Music/Maths and Physics 5
Medicine 19
A very popular Perse Summer School saw over 650 children between the ages of seven and 14 take part in a wide range of activities including multi-sports, debating, poetry, animation, cookery, science, ceramics and sign language.
Summer School
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Children attended from 82 independent and state schools over four weeks.
Youngsters had an excellent time messing about on the water at Milton Country Park. They had a go in canoes and kayaks, learning all the basics needed to paddle their boats before progressing to finer skills, including rescue techniques to ensure they stayed safe on the water.
Children make a splash on watersports course
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Our Pelican School hosted six themed weeks which included ball sport bonanza, musical theatre and world explorers.
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Club Pelican
Written and produced by Claire Ziwa and Aaron Mason. Design by Steve Welch at Svelte Design. Cover photo by Head of Geography James Riley taken during a field trip to Snowdonia. perse.co.uk The Perse School is a charitable company limited by guarantee (company number 5977683, registered charity number 1120654) registered in England and Wales whose registered office is situated at The Perse School, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 8QF.
