Spring Summer 2018
the PERSE SCHOOL CAmbridge
OP
in this issue USA OPs across the Pond Careers writing successful applications Research Guggenheim Museum Archive Perse Drama
Contents 03
From the Headmaster
06 GOING STATESIDE
04 School News
A look at some of the 200+ Old Perseans across the pond
06 Going Stateside 10 Career Workshop 12 OP News 14 GDPR Update
10 Career Workshop Dr David Cottenden of TTP plc provides a behind-the-scenes
14 Peter Hall Performing Arts Centre Opening
16
look at creating successful job applications
Archive: Perse Drama
17 Research & Response 20
Obituaries
23
Recent Events
16 Archive: Perse Drama From makeshift to state of the art – a look over the last 100 years
24
Upcoming Events
On the cover The Peter Hall Performing Arts Centre, the largest change to The Perse since the move to Hills Road in the 1960s, was officially
17 Research & Response To what extent has Frank Gehry
named on 8 March 2018.
achieved aesthetic–functional
Opposite: The cast of the
Museum in Bilbao?
Perse Players production of Billy Elliot the Musical.
balance within the Guggenheim
From school the Headmaster news
From the Headmaster
W
e have enjoyed a very successful start to
The Cambridge Building Society, are attended by
2018. Perseans have received 757 university
people of all ages. Over 600 guests enjoyed talks from
offers including a new record of 51 from
the writer and neurosurgeon Henry Marsh on the NHS,
Oxford and Cambridge and 39 from medical schools.
and the anthropologist and broadcaster Alice Roberts
On the sports field four Perse Upper teams have reached
on species domestication. Looking forward, the summer term will be busy
the national finals in hockey competitions, whilst our senior general knowledge team has just come third in
with public exams including the first new 1–9 GCSEs
the national finals of the Schools’ Challenge (the school
which replace the old letter grades. The top grade 9
equivalent of University Challenge). In March we opened
will be above the old A*, but as more grades are added
the Peter Hall Performing Arts Centre and the first show
to the exam system the resulting need for accurate
was an outstanding production of Billy Elliot.
differentiation will require a level of reliability in marking that has not always been evident in the past.
The Perse continues to deliver public good for the wider community. Over £1 million each year is spent
We will be scrutinising public exam results carefully
on means tested financial assistance and the resulting
to ensure justice is done. The summer holidays are the busiest time for
bursaries support 120 pupils who otherwise could not attend the School. We now provide educational support
the outdoor pursuits department with a plethora of
to 19 local Cambridgeshire primary schools, whilst further
kayaking, canoeing, climbing, and Perse Exploration
afield Perse staff and pupils assist Christel House Schools
Society trips. PES is the successor body to Scouts and this year 238 Year 7–10 students will be
who give an excellent education to some of the world’s
camping in the Peak District, 90 Year
poorest children. We are busy fundraising to equip every
11 students will be canoeing across
classroom in Christel House Bangalore with a data projector to enhance teaching and learning. We have
Sweden, and 34 sixth formers will be
just passed 17 fitted data projectors and have 14
trekking in the Himalayas. All told 2018 should be another
to go. Perse staff will be travelling out to Bangalore in July to deliver a music education project.
successful year for the Perse, and alumni
The Perse doesn’t just support young
are always welcome to visit the School and see what we are up to.
people – we run Digistart programmes to assist elderly local residents with
Best wishes, Ed
their IT needs and our free community lectures, now run in partnership with 3
old perseans
School News The Perse welcomes high profile speakers
Perse rugby captain
to the Josef Behrmann Lecture
thrilled at clinching
The 2018 Josef Behrmann Lecture, given annually in
Northampton Saints deal
honour of OP Josef Behrmann (1939), took place on
Perse 1st XV rugby
1 March. Five prominent speakers from different beliefs
team captain Alex Coles
came together in an illuminating debate on ‘The Power
(Upper Sixth) has earned
of Words’ at the well-attended event, which was the
a full-time contract
first to be held in The Perse’s brand new Peter Hall
with top English club
Performing Arts Centre.
Northampton Saints for
Among the panellists were Jonathan Wittenberg,
the 2018/19 season.
President of the Council of Christians & Jews; Dilwar
Alex was part of the Northampton U18 side’s
Hussain, Chairman of New Horizons in British Islam;
unbeaten pre-season campaign and featured in
Canon Hugh Shilson-Thomas, Dean of Chapel at Selwyn
two matches for Wanderers – the club’s second
College; Julia Siddiqi, co-founder of Nisa-Nashim Jewish
team – in the Aviva A League before injury cut short
& Muslim Women’s Network; and children’s author
his season. The young lock, who has played for
Annemarie Young.
England at U18 and U16 level, is delighted to have an
Wittenberg opened the event with a lecture about
opportunity to prove himself at Franklin’s Gardens.
how words could be used as a force for both good
He said: “I’m thrilled to have a one-year contract
and bad. He recounted his grandparents’ experiences
to play for Northampton next season. It’s something
of living in Nazi Germany and spoke about the current
I’ve been working towards for a long time, but there’s
phenomena of ‘fake news’ and ‘alternative facts’ as
a lot of hard work still to come. I’ve been with the
ways in which words could have a negative power. He
club for four or five years after one of the Saints
felt “truth, accuracy and fairness in language” were
coaches saw me playing for The Perse. It all went
especially important in today’s world to counter the
from there and it’s great to commit myself to the
effects of hate speech. However, Wittenberg added that
club full-time.”
just a few positive words had the power to lift people.
Alex isn’t the only Persean to have rugby success
The panellists discussed the issues in more depth
this season – in February Patrick Noroozi Rad
before taking questions, exploring further issues
(Year 11) was called up by the Lambs – the England
relating to politics, religion, discrimination and prejudice
Independent Schools rugby team – for their 2018
as well as how words could prove inspirational.
round of matches.
The Perse Players Production of Billy Elliot The Musical The first production in the Peter Hall Performing Arts Centre was the biggest production ever staged by the Perse Players, featuring 38 cast members and nine band members, backed up by a 16-strong technical crew. The production, based on the 2000 film and set in County Durham, revolves around the title character who swaps boxing gloves for ballet shoes against a backdrop of family and community problems caused by the miners’ strike of 1984/85.
4
school news
Award-winning Perse musician creates new work for Symphonic Showcase concert
The annual Perse Symphonic Showcase concert took place on 16 March at Saffron Hall. Alongside pieces by Britten and Shostakovich, the Perse Symphony Orchestra gave the debut performance of a new piano concerto by award-winning composer Will Harmer (Upper Sixth). Last year Will won the upper junior category of the BBC Proms Inspire Young Composers competition with his piece The Whole Heaven on Fire, as well as the Royal Opera House Fanfare competition. Perse LGBT+ History Month
He began writing his new concerto last term after
This February, the Perse marked its first LGBT+ History
improvising different melodies at the piano as well as
Month with a week of activities designed to promote
taking cues from the likes of Rachmaninov and Ravel
discussion of LGBT+ issues in the UK and beyond.
in putting together his latest work.
These issues are covered as part of the School’s pastoral programme, but the week aimed to create a space in which further and deeper discussion could
Prep Mental Health Awareness Week
take place. An introductory assembly was delivered to
The Prep School marked Mental Health Awareness
the whole school by Mr Matthew Hawksworth, Mr Ben
Week in February by two special days during
Wingfield and Mrs Anna Wingfield (neé West) on how
which children took part in a carousel of exciting,
far the fight for equal rights has come in the UK as of
entertaining and thought-provoking activities. African
2018 and what still needs to happen in order to turn
drumming, Kung Fu, dance aerobics and raft building
tolerance into full acceptance. We were delighted to
all promoted teamwork and resilience. Sessions about
welcome the human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell
critical thinking, happiness and a range of art and
to deliver a hard-hitting but ultimately optimistic 42
craft activities encouraged children to think about
Society lecture on his 50 years of experience fighting
their emotions and the importance of achieving a
for equal rights in a talk entitled The Long Road to
healthy balance of work and play in their everyday
LGBT Freedom: how did we get from there to here?
lives. A highlight of the week was welcoming back
Other events during the week included play readings,
Miss McDonnell who led mindfulness sessions.
a film screening and discussion of LGBT+ theatre and
The week concluded with a whole school aerobics
composers by the English and music departments,
session. Children enjoyed learning the routine in
and interactive lesson activities exploring LGBT+ rights
their form groups before performing it together as a
in the rest of the world in geography and history. After
school. The sense of unity and community shone on
the positive response demonstrated by staff and
the faces of pupils and teachers alike, as they took
pupils, we hope to repeat the week next year!
part in the dance routine.
Perse Enterprise students pave the way to rebuilding the Perse Hostel
In 1996, The Perse donated money to build the Perse Hostel at Him Ganga School in Rawa Dolu, Nepal, to allow access to education in this isolated region. Unfortunately, the hostel was badly damaged by the devastating Gorkha earthquake in April 2015, which meant many students could no longer attend the school. A group of Perse Year 11 and Lower Sixth pupils set themselves the challenge of raising the money to rebuild the girls’ hostel, which will be located next to the school. They have raised over £9000 to date, through crowdfunding as well as activities such as nonuniform days, quiz nights and dinner parties. 5
old perseans
Going Stateside OPs across the pond We are lucky that The Perse is a truly global community, and earlier this year we enjoyed catching up with some of more than 200 OPs and friends of the School who live in North America. Here four OPs tell their story of how life after The Perse took them across the pond.
Hugh Davies (1966) My family left Oxford in January of 1956 and emigrated to America. My dad was part of the so-called “brain drain” to the Department of Religion at Princeton University in New Jersey. Four years later almost to the day we travelled back to England for my father’s first six month sabbatical which he elected to spend in Cambridge. I was placed in the Perse Prep School and vividly remember being introduced to the Headmaster, Mr Lindeman, on the first day.
6
school Feature news
I never dreamt that school
of 1953. When his 1975 one-
work could be so effortless and
man exhibition opened at the
exciting. For one of Mr Brown’s
Metropolitan Museum of Art in
assignments I prepared an essay
New York I was thrilled to introduce
on Bath Abbey replete with my
Francis to Willem de Kooning and
own Brownie photographs.
Andy Warhol. I currently serve
Though I returned to the US after first form, to this day I gratefully acknowledge Mr Brown
which recently published his
and The Perse as the source of
catalogue raisonné – a complete,
my lifelong interest in art and
illustrated compendium of all his
art history, which I studied at
known works.
Princeton University through
My first professional job was
my doctorate and subsequently
running the art gallery and teaching
pursued as my career.
contemporary art history at the
Early on, I focused on British art,
iStock.com/beyhanyazar
on the Bacon Authentication Committee for the Bacon Estate
University of Massachusetts and
writing my undergraduate senior
as an adjunct professor at Amherst
thesis on the Shelter Drawings
College. While I learned a great
that Henry Moore made in the
deal from teaching, my real passion
London Underground during
was working with artists as a
WWII. In graduate school, I was
curator presenting their work at the
granted permission to write my
University Gallery. The privilege of
the Perse Prep because I could
doctoral dissertation on a living
vicariously seeing the world from an
play sports: back at Valley Road
artist, Francis Bacon, with the
artist’s perspective is an endless joy
Middle School I never made it
caveat that I must secure first-
and fascination. My second and only
onto any team. At the Prep we
hand interviews with the subject
other position has been as Director
I was enormously happy at
played football in the winter and
as so little had been published
of the Museum of Contemporary
cricket coached by Mrs Billington in
on his work by the early 70s.
Art San Diego (California) from
summer. She was pregnant at the
Bacon finally agreed to meet me
which I will retire next December
time and the team chipped in to
in February of 1973. Over the next
after 35 years. Besides curating
buy a fine teddy bear. I still treasure
six months I interviewed him at his
and writing, I am proud to have
the team photo with its elegant
home studio every other Tuesday.
been a member, trustee and president of the Association of Art
calligraphy and the school crest.
He was enormously patient with
As the end of term approached I
my questions and most generous
Museum Directors which represents
begged my parents to let me stay
in leading me to paintings and
the 250 largest art museums
and entered The Perse as a boarder
literature that had informed his art.
in North America. Through this
Following these sessions, we would
organisation I have enjoyed the
for the following year. In the first form I was fortunate
take a taxi to the Colony Club in
friendship of Tom Campbell (1980),
enough to be taught by Mr Brown
Soho and drink champagne with
who for eight years directed
whose classroom in the new school
his friends before heading to dinner.
the Metropolitan Museum.
was a small but well-appointed
After dinner, I’d race to catch the
“black box” theatre. We would
last tube train home to my bedsit
I’ve been granted a paid sabbatical for this my final year at
present every aspect of play
in Ealing while he proceeded to
MCASD and my wife and I have
production and the results were so
gamble until all hours.
rented a house near Lyme Regis.
exhilarating for us young students
We remained friends until he
I’ll spend more time on Bacon scholarship and in October our two
who were granted such great
died in 1992 and I have published
latitude and responsibility to create.
several books and articles on
standard poodles will join us on the
Rather than desks I recall long
his work as well as curated an
Queen Mary II for the journey back
exhibition on his Papal Portraits
to New York.
tables arranged in rows facing the stage. Mr Brown would have us write extemporaneously on a regular basis in our notebooks on a great variety of unpredictable subjects that fired the imagination.
my real passion was working with artists as a curator presenting their work.
7
old perseans
rainforests, reefs and volcanoes.
strong support and foundation of
Along the way I learned that time
security that both the school and
at sea can be life-changing for
my family provided me that allowed
young people.
me to feel comfortable testing out
After six years of sailing we
new and unique opportunities at
decided to make a home ashore
my own pace, to discover where I
and found an old barn for sale in
wanted to be in life.
Jamestown, Rhode Island, a stone’s throw from shore. We picked Rhode Island off the map. We had
Jessica Wurzbacher (1997)
no family here, didn’t know anyone, and had no job prospects. But the
As one of the first group of girls ever to attend The Perse it was certainly a unique experience. Looking back I’ve always enjoyed being a part of new adventures and perhaps that is why I thrive so much in my current role as Executive Director of a new organisation in Rhode Island, USA, that delivers innovative and empowering education-atsea programmes that promote personal and professional growth. Growing up in Cambridge, far from the shore, my career path certainly seemed unimaginable. Heading to the University of Bristol to study biology I soon realised the opportunities for adventure that lay ahead of me. I began working on coastal management and teaching projects in the South Pacific (Indonesia and Fiji), the Seychelles and then the Bahamas. It was on Andros in 2003 that I met Dan, my husband, and he introduced me to sailing. For six years we sailed together, taking college students to sea on semester-long programmes. Sailing and diving became my life and before long I had earned my 200-ton captain’s llicence, became a certified scuba instructor, with over 1,000 dives and several hundred students signed off. We logged more than 40,000 miles at sea, explored the most remote islands of the world, hiking, diving, mountain climbing, and studying
longer we stay, the more we love it. Oliver Hazard Perry Rhode Island formed in 2008 with the purchase of a partly built hull that was towed down from Canada. Over the course of seven years it was transformed into the Sailing School Vessel Oliver Hazard Perry,
Martha Bickerton (2014)
a customised platform to deliver education-at-sea programmes.
At The Perse, I really enjoyed my
I joined in 2012 and have been
A-Levels. I did maths, economics,
so grateful for the opportunities
French and chemistry and when
the organisation has provided
it came to applying to universities,
for me to develop my personal
I found it difficult to choose one
and professional goals. We
subject. I applied to study law with
began sailing in 2015 and have
French, thinking that it was way
now embarked close to 1,000
to combine disciplines. I left Perse
students on our programmes
with a deferred offer from Bristol.
including two voyages to Cuba.
On my gap year, I saw friends
The part of my job I enjoy most
start university and noticed two
is collaborating with teachers
things. First, their academic
and administrators to create
focuses seemed rigid and narrow.
programmes that take advantage
Second, the teaching style was
of the ship’s unique capabilities.
impersonal and anonymous – a far
I now sail a few weeks a year but shore life has its attractions, including our eight-year-old
cry from the attentive teaching at The Perse. The idea of studying in America
chocolate Lab Cadbury and our
had lingered in my head but I
four-year-old son Ben. I also run
didn’t know anyone who had been
my own small business creating
and it seemed far-fetched. Plus, I
handmade nautical dog leashes
felt I could never compete with
and collars in my “spare time” and
US students who had prepared
I’ve sold over 2,500 – so that’s
for the SATs, CommonApp and
5,000 splices!
Ivy interviews their whole lives.
My path has certainly been a
But my gap-year gave me the
surprise for me; I was always firmly
independence to think more about
rooted at home in Cambridge and
it and put in the work.
didn’t even like to spend nights
It was a very hectic process. I
away from home. But it was the
decided that I wanted to pursue the US option in December, which is when most American students
We picked Rhode Island off the map. We had no family here, didn’t know anyone, and had no job prospects. But the longer we stay, the more we love it.
8
submit their final essays for a January 1st deadline. I didn’t even have SAT scores (most American
school Feature news
In the early 1990s, I moved
The more research I did, the more I saw the US system as a great fit...
back to New Zealand and helped to found the country’s first digital mobile ’phone network. My travels around the world continued when I was convinced by my American first wife to move to the USA, where I began lecturing at MIT, much to
students start taking these two years in advance and retake
the amusement of my father, as I
them 3–4 times). But the more
always said I would never follow his
research I did, the more I saw the
Michael Davies (1978)
footsteps into academia. Alongside lecturing at MIT and
US system as a great fit, giving me the freedom to study different
I was born in Auckland, New
London Business School, I have also
disciplines for two years before
Zealand, and spent my early years
worked on a number of start-ups,
settling on one. The immersive
at school in Ponsonby. There was
with varying degrees of success.
teaching style that emphasises
only a minimal uniform – I wore
The first one failed (although
discussion and debate also made
shorts and a polo shirt and, like
I now have about 20 patents
me feel genuinely excited about
many other Kiwi children, went
relating to horse lameness), the
being a university student.
to school barefoot. My father was
second couldn’t possibly match
an academic and we moved to
the vast resources of our tech
of application preparation into
Cambridge in the mid-1960s for
titan competitors, resulting in us
one month was ambitious. I was
his work. Starting at The Perse
returning the initial investment, and
strategic and applied only to one
Prep was quite a culture shock.
it looks like third time lucky: the
university – NYU – because they
One term I was going to school
latest is scaling rapidly – making
Squeezing two years’ worth
didn’t require SAT scores. I think
shoeless, the next I was wearing a
more than $1 million in its first week
I was accepted because I could
cap, tie and striped purple blazer.
after the launch of its latest product. In 2003, I founded Endeavour
show them convincingly that this
I loved maths throughout my
was right for me. I had a fantastic
time at The Perse, and I spent my
Partners, a strategy consulting firm. Although we’re only about
first year at NYU. I was far outside
school career fighting with Gideon
of my comfort zone and met
Yoffe (1978) and Adrian Cuthbert
twenty people, our clients have a
fascinating people. But New York
(1978) for the position as the best
combined market cap of $2.5tn –
is overwhelming and it didn’t feel
in the year – over the course of
we are lucky to be working with some of the biggest names in
like a typical ‘college experience’,
seven years we just about tied.
so I decided to transfer to a smaller
After leaving school, I spent a year
technology. Nowadays, our work
college. I applied to most of the
as a ‘jackaroo’ in Australia – a ‘jack
focuses primarily on how digital
Ivies and was lucky to get to
of all trades’ fighting bushfires,
technologies are reshaping the
choose Brown, which is where
shooting kangaroos, and fixing
world. There is likely to be more
I am now.
fence posts.
change in the next decade than in
Brown is exactly what American colleges look like in the movies:
I had initially applied to study mathematics at university
the last 50 years, as we face up to huge shifts in consumer behaviour,
preppy East Coast-ers, vast
when I returned to the UK, but
new competitive reality and the
wood-panelled libraries, college
during an argument with my
ethical implications of big data.
sweatshirts and, of course, red
uncle about a diesel engine I
Companies will need to adapt
cups at parties. But in many ways,
realised that my true passion
quickly and we help them to do this.
Brown is much more than I had
was engineering. I managed to
expected. I am surrounded by
change courses and studied
My career has been truly global, and my job still takes me all over
passionate people who love what
engineering at St Catharine’s
the world – I’ve racked up over
they do. That is the beauty of the
College, Cambridge, followed
1.5m miles in the last six years,
American system; that everyone
by a Masters in Microelectronics,
mastering the art of avoiding jet
is very engaged in their studies
Cybernetics & Robotics at Durham
lag with caffeine and red wine. It is
because they have had freedom to
and an MBA at London Business
wonderful to have reached the point
work out what they are passionate
School. Nevertheless, I continued
where businesses and organisations who could go to anyone choose
about. Of course, there are
to have a varied career, working
challenges; the hardest part is the
in steel mills and spending some
to ask me for advice. However, my
culture shock. But overall, I can’t
time as the chief bouncer in
greatest achievement is definitely
imagine being anywhere else.
Sheffield’s largest nightclub.
my four daughters.
But overall, I can’t imagine being 9
old perseans
reer w a o C
rk sh o p Job hunting can be dispiriting, particularly if you send off application after application yet somehow rarely get invited for an interview. In this article, Dr David Cottenden provides a behind-the-scenes and tell-all view of how to create that successful CV and job application, based on his experience as a physicist recruiter at TTP plc, one of Cambridge’s top science and technology consultancies.
W
hen you’ve spotted an appealing job ad, before you sit down to update your CV and draft that application letter, consider
your tactics for a moment. In many of the applications I review, I encounter an applicant telling the recruiter about themselves. I would suggest that, instead of focusing on biography, your overall objective should be to show the person reviewing your application that you understand how to be successful in the role, and to provide evidence that you can do it. Employers are all different (more on this later), but one thing they all have in common is that they want to be successful. Recruitment is a big part of company success, so your primary objective is to show the person who is reviewing your application that you understand what success looks like for that organisation and in the role you’re applying for.
10
school Careers news
The job description will usually be a good starting
To use a sporting metaphor, academic qualifications and experience are like the set pieces in a game: they are important, but only part of the match.
point to develop this understanding, but it’s advisable to look wider than that: the employer’s website, their careers pages and the news may give you an impression of the priorities of the employer at the current time. You can also talk to friends and contacts
employers in these sectors are generally looking for
who may know the employer.
different attributes. For example, publications are key
Now sit down and think: how can you, in a few statements, summarise what a successful employee in
for an academic role, but are unlikely to be of great
that role would be and do, and what skills they might
interest to industrial recruiters. A final word of warning: do not assume that an
have? This is very important; take your time. If – even after some research – you still have questions about
excellent degree from an excellent university is all
something, it is fine to phone up, talk to the recruiter
you need. When it comes to the high-tech sector
and ask questions.
around Cambridge, most applicants will have similarly excellent academic qualifications and experience.
Now you’re ready to begin writing. In putting together your application, you need to show the
Moreover, many recruiters will be looking for
recruiter how your experience and skills answer those
applicants who can achieve results by using a range
“statements for success” which you came up with
of skills including their academic ones, rather than
earlier. This brings us to a second key aspect of a
solve abstract academic problems. To use a sporting
good application: evidence. Assertions of competence
metaphor, academic qualifications and experience
without evidence mean next to nothing. It may be wise
are like the set pieces in a game: they are important,
to cite multiple pieces of evidence for key points. In
but only part of the match. In many companies, there
doing so, you should emphasise achievements – that
will not be many spaces in the team for expert place-
is, how your involvement has resulted in objective
kickers. Most recruiters are looking for applicants that
success – over lists of activities or skills. Experience and
can demonstrate flexibility, deal with uncertainty and
achievements from extra-curricular activities can be
yet achieve the necessary results to be successful.
perfectly valid for a prospective employer. Of course, if
In a way, this is all obvious, but from reviewing
you mention something in an application, you must be
thousands of CVs my experience is that applicants
prepared to talk about it during an interview.
who take this advice to heart and put in the thought and time necessary to do a good job of it are rare.
While thinking about success and evidence are the core of a good application, the tone of your
But they are also disproportionately likely to be asked
application matters. A recruiter at a London bank
to interview.
may expect a different tone from an applicant than a recruiter at a San Francisco technology start-up. Photo courtesy of TTP Group
If in doubt, err on the side of a “professional” tone. A recruiter is likely to draw inferences about what matters to the applicant not only from what they write but also how they write it. Often the recruiter will only have a few minutes to consider your application, so make your application easy to process. Unless you’ve good reasons not to, use conventional formatting, layouts and structures so that information is easy to find, and provide brief explanations for unfamiliar qualifications or unusual experience. And once you have done these things … STOP! Make it easy for the recruiter to evaluate your application by keeping it to the point. Since your primary objective at this stage is to be invited for interview, you only need to describe enough of your experience to capture the recruiter’s interest. To find out more they will have no choice but to invite you for that interview. If you’re applying for many roles, or even to many
TTP Group (www.ttp.com) has supported
different types of organisation, make sure your
The Perse School’s means-tested bursary
application is relevant to each role you apply for.
scheme since 2010 and has recently
This also applies to your CV and is especially true
extended its support until 2024.
for academic versus industrial positions, because 11
old perseans
OP NEWS Alastair Whatley (2002) is completing his fourth and final UK tour of Sebastian Faulks’s Birdsong, which has been seen by over 200,000 people since 2013. Alastair’s spring season has been a busy one, as his Original Theatre Company has also completed a national tour of The Importance of Being Earnest – a play he vividly remembers studying in the Junior Mummery – and is currently directing a new comedy – Monogamy.
Antonia Goddard (2012) wrote and produced a critically acclaimed one-act play, I am Turpin, which was performed at Theatre N16 in October 2017. The play, which centres around Dick Turpin’s final days in prison, starred Hugh Train as the eponymous anti-hero and Phoebe Sparrow (Downton Abbey, Inside No. 9) as his gaoler Abigail. The play received stellar reviews and will be restaged by Harlow Theatre as part Colin McFarlane (1980) starred alongside
of their 2018–19 season.
Liam Neeson is his latest film The Commuter, which was released in January. The action-packed film sees Neeson Stephen Reicher (1974) was
caught up in a deadly criminal conspiracy
interviewed by Jim Al-Khalili
while on his daily commute home from
on The Life Scientific on BBC
work, with McFarlane playing Sam the
Radio 4. Stephen, a social
conductor. Colin will also be back on our
psychologist at St Andrews
screens soon in his role as Ulysses in the
University, spoke about the
upcoming fourth season of Golden-Globe
positive and negative sides to a
nominated series Outlander.
crowd, and the role of crowd leaders. If you missed it, you can hear it on Helen Petrovna (2006,
BBC iPlayer.
neé Duckhouse) is currently on tour with the Broadway and West End A chapter written by Adrienne May (1958)
smash hit Legally Blonde
appeared in Trans Britain: Our Journey From
The Musical. Helen is
The Shadows, edited by Christine Burns
playing Brooke Wyndham
MBE and published in January. Adrienne
in the show, which is
has written a number of novels under her
based on the popular film
pseudonym, Adrienne Nash.
of the same name.
12
school OP NEWS news
Midé Adenaike (2013) and the Sons of Pitches are going on another UK tour this autumn. He said “I’m really pleased to say that I’m embarking on a fourth tour with the Sons of Pitches. It’s been a hectic time and we are putting a lot of work in to make this the biggest one yet! I’m ever grateful to The Perse for supporting me in my earliest days as an aspiring beatboxer!” More information about the tour, including ticket information, can be found at thesonsofpitches.co.uk.
nine Old Perseans of various vintages – from
For the 2017 cycling
Ed Cassels (2004) to Tom Sherwin (2011) – took
season, Felix Barker
part in the Cambridge to Casablanca Cycling
(2013) took a year
Cricket Club’s (CtCCCC) tour to Rwanda.
out of his Engineering
Ed Pearson (2006), a member of the touring
degree at Cambridge
squad, spent two years living in Kigali as project
to ride for the Elite/
manager for the Rwanda Cricket Stadium
U23 development team
Foundation, constructing the country’s first
Cycling Team Friuli,
international standard ground, which opened in
based in Udine, Italy.
October 2017. Prior to the tour the club raised over £13,000 for Cricket Builds Hope, the charity that will be responsible for the ongoing running of the ground. The squad completed six matches, winning three and losing three, with stand-out performances from Will Hammond (2006), Rory Davidson (2006) and James Coe (2007). The highlight was a game against the national team,
In December, Old Perseans made their
in which CtCCCC lost by just two runs.
debut in the Thames Hare & Hounds alumni race, finishing in third place, behind Winchester and Sherborne. Congratulations to Tim Harrison (2017), Simon Sampson (2005), John Hale (2006) and Hugh Chatfield (2013) on a superb performance!
13
iStock.com/Dmytro Aksonov
George Dean (2006) writes: In February
old perseans
GDPR update from the Development Director
What you want matters to us!
Peter Hall Performing Arts Centre Opening
The legal beagles among you will be aware that the data protection regulation (GDPR) comes into force on 25 May. We thought that now would be as good an opportunity as any to get in touch with you to ensure that emails you get from us are welcome and relevant to you. We are hugely proud of all of our alumni and friends. Email is one of our main means of communication: it is quick, easy, cost-efficient and environmentally
The Bursar, Gerald Ellison, with Lady Hall and Ed Elliott.
friendly. You will recently have received a card from us, finely crafted by Erin – don’t throw it away! It is all about you and what you would
O
n 8 March 2018, The
history master] and Peter put in
Perse’s brand new
to the performance – Peter was
Peter Hall Performing
a very talented young man who
Arts Centre was officially opened
received much encouragement
e-communications. With just a
by Peter Hall’s widow, Nicola.
and inspiration from Tanfield.
few simple boxes to tick and a
Almost 200 people were present
The second is the closet scene in
freepost envelope, it will take only
at the event, including architects,
Act III, Scene IV. At the time I still
a minute or two for you to get
builders, donors and members
had a few inches to grow and I
back to us.
of the Hall family. We were also
remember Peter towering over me,
like us to do for you by way of
delighted to welcome back a
furious that I had married the man
to revert to post and stop sending
number of OPs who were Peter’s
who murdered his father – I was
you the lovely e-newsletter and
contemporaries, some of whom
terrified of forgetting my lines!”
email event invitations, not to
also took to the stage with him in
The guests were welcomed to
mention the fact that we will not
the legendary 1949 Perse Players’
the ceremony by Sir David Wright,
be able to share with you great
production of Hamlet.
Chair of the Governing Board, who
If you do not reply we will have
news about how generous gifts
Philip Graham (1949), who
paid tribute to the years of hard
are making a difference at The
played Gertrude, Queen of
work behind the scenes in ensuring
Perse today.
Denmark, and mother to Hamlet,
the vision of a performing arts
has strong memories of the
centre at The Perse was realised.
You know what to do! But don’t
The Bursar, Gerald Ellison,
worry if you forget this time or
production and can still remember
have mislaid the form, you can do
his lines almost 70 years later.
then unveiled the School’s new
the same online at perse.co.uk/
Philip said “I have two abiding
public art commission – a wall-
e-communications and we will
memories of Peter Hall. The first
hanging by Victoria Morton,
periodically remind you over the
is the amount of time and work
tufted by Kristi Vana at Dovecot
coming months.
John Tanfield [former Perse
Studios. Public art commissions
You can find out more about how we use your data in our Privacy Notice for Alumni, Friends and Supporters, which can be found at perse.co.uk/policies.
We were also delighted to welcome back a number of Old Perseans who were Peter’s contemporaries.
14
PHPAC school Opening news
are a requirement of planning policy for new developments in Cambridgeshire. The provision of public art in schools is particularly valuable as it can be used to allow children to engage with art and artists, add value to the School community and provide new learning experiences. The vibrant, colourful rug creates a powerful impact in the main public space of the building, and provided a source of great enjoyment for attendees at the ceremony, who were able to locate the different motifs within the composition. Peter Hall’s widow, Nicola, officially opened the building,
The joy in creative expression and knowledge ignited in him here at The Perse was an absolute game changer.
unveiling the plaque in the foyer which bears his name. Nicola spoke of Peter’s two defining beliefs in education and the arts: “Education he saw as the engine of social progress and the key to a rich and fulfilling life. He, himself, came from a modest family background; he was a scholarship boy. The joy in
a production, a triple-height foyer
A love of the arts begun at school
creative expression and knowledge
incorporating exhibition space for
provides a tonic for later life,
ignited in him here at The Perse
art, technology and other shows,
a lifelong opportunity to find
was an absolute game changer.
a café and a separate Gallery
perspective, empathy, insight,
Peter’s twin passions happily
Studio for smaller productions
meaning and joy in the creativity
converge in this remarkable new
and concerts.
of the human condition.
facility. He would be so delighted
Head Ed Elliott said: “We are
“I am pleased that the ‘Play
by the building, so excited by its
delighted that Peter Hall’s example
Way’ nurtured Peter, and I hope
potential and very, very honoured
will live on at The Perse in the
the Peter Hall Performing Arts
to have it named after him”. The
name of our new performing arts
Centre will in turn help future
Head, Ed Elliott, gave his thanks
centre. The Peter Hall Performing
Perseans to develop their
to all those who contributed to
Arts Centre will offer Perse pupils
communication, teamwork,
the building, both financially and
multiple opportunities for fun
empathy and creative skills
by giving their time and expertise.
learning through drama, music,
and act as a springboard
Special thanks were given to the
dance, debating and exhibitions.
for artistic careers.”
Bursar, without whose vision the project would not have come to fruition. Guests were then invited to tour the new building and see the Centre for themselves. Designed by award-winning theatre architects Haworth Tompkins, the 370-seater auditorium provides space for drama, music and dance performances, as well as debates, lectures and assemblies. The centre also features full backstage facilities, enabling students to experience all aspects of staging
15
old perseans
Archivist’s Account
Perse Drama: From Makeshift to State of the Art Just over a hundred years ago an appeal was launched to raise £2,000 for the Perse playhouse, a replica of an Elizabethan theatre.
David Jones
I
t yielded £13, and that was the end of that dream. Today, in the Peter Hall Performing Arts Centre, the School at last has a purpose-built theatre worthy of its achievements in drama. The earliest recorded dramatic performances date from the
1870s when Christmas burlesques formed part of “The Perse School Entertainment”, proceeds going to Addenbrooke’s Hospital. These were held in the hall at Free School Lane, and we have no idea how they were mounted. Following the move to Gonville Place in 1890, the larger hall there provided the venue for plays but without proper staging or curtains. If you sat at the back you would see little. Mrs Lily Frazer, wife of James Frazer of Golden Bough fame, and a great supporter of The Perse, came to the rescue. In 1904 her French Dramatic Society performed Moliere’s Les Femmes Savantes at the School, donating the profits towards the required curtains and stage blocks. Later, just after the 1914–18 war, maths teacher Cecil Shinkfield constructed additional staging which could be dismantled and stored, as well as a lighting system. But this meant prodigies of physical labour against the clock every time the hall had to be rearranged. Later still, F.C. Brown invented a Heath Robinson contrivance for dimming or brightening lights, involving lowering a lead plate (connected to the electric circuit) into a tank of sulphuric acid. Health and safety had not then been invented. Meanwhile, the arrival of Henry Caldwell Cook in 1911 brought an astounding leap forward in Perse drama. The Perse Players were formed in 1912, meeting such success that the following year Cook felt ambitious enough to appeal for a Shakespearean theatre (long before the replica London Globe was ever thought of). Alas, although £200 had been already pledged towards the estimated cost of £2,000, receipts from the appeal were a miserable £13. Cook was obliged to make do with a couple of rooms in Pendeen House, which the School bought in 1914. Putting in much of his own money, he fashioned a serviceable stage, auditorium and tiring house for his mummery classes. But the auditorium could seat no more than 40 (small) boys and could not be used for Perse Players’ productions. They continued to use the hall. The move to Hills Road brought a proper stage with wings. A sunken well (now filled in for the usual health and safety reasons) was surrounded by a terrace, which helped sightlines. Lighting was improved through the generous offices of parent Roland Wass. David Jones joined The
However, the multi-purpose nature of the hall required a large gallery,
Perse in 1974 as a history
with dire consequences for acoustics. When the new lecture theatre
teacher and was Junior
(1991) was opened, productions mostly moved there for the raked
House Master at School
seating, better acoustics and up-to-date sound and lighting box.
House until 1982. He retired
But this too was a hybrid room; there were no wings or dressing
from teaching in 2008, but
rooms, and audience capacity was small. It required familiar
has continued at the School
makeshifts and improvisations.
in his role as Archivist.
Those days are now over. 16
school Feature news
Research To what extent has Frank Gehry achieved aesthetic–functional balance within the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain? The research for this project was
Louis Bartlett (2017)
M
My research began with
undertaken through two different
laying the foundations of the
methods: a comprehensive
theory surrounding aesthetic–
literature review and an email
functional balance, starting with
questionnaire. The literature review
aesthetic–functionalism. I found
formed the foundation of the
that the aesthetic value of a
research, investigating the theory
building is neither reducible to
surrounding aesthetic–functional
practical function nor completely
balance and how it can be achieved
independent of it. One has
through architectural means. The
to reach a standpoint which
focus of the questionnaire was
combines theories of Reduction
EPQ was sparked by my
to gain honest responses from
(function leads to aesthetics)
interest in postmodern
architects and experts within the
and Independence (function
y choice of topic for the
architecture, in particular the
field of study and was designed to
is completely independent of
movement of Deconstructivism.
be sufficiently broad to allow the
aesthetics): the thesis of Aesthetic
Frank Gehry’s work, characterised
recipient to expand on his or her
Duality. Aesthetic Duality states
by his distinct and expressive style,
views on the subject matter. One
that objects can be appraised
led me to question his design
of the key research components of
both under descriptions that
process and to consider how
this project was an appreciation of
refer to practical functions
an architect, whose work could
the subjective nature of the topic.
and under descriptions that
be described as more artistic
The questions emphasised issues
only apply to aesthetics. The
than practical, is able to design
surrounding the Guggenheim’s
addition of a contributory thesis
a building that balances both
interior and exterior components,
determines that the satisfaction
aesthetics and function. I decided
theory relating to aesthetic–
of functional requirements in
to look at the Guggenheim due to
functional balance as well as the
most cases contributes positively
its controversial history in terms
relationship between form and
to aesthetic value. This theory
of construction as well as its role
function. A variety of experts were
developed further into the theory
as a home for one of the world’s
contacted at different universities
of Econo-functional Aesthetic
most formidable art institutions. In
including UCL, Bath, Harvard, and
Balance, which resolves issues
order to tackle my overall research
the Delft School of Technology.
pertaining to economic, aesthetic,
question, I broke the project down into three smaller questions. How is it possible to achieve aesthetic– functional balance? How does Frank Gehry’s design process relate to the determination of aesthetics and function within his own architecture? How does the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao exhibit the qualities of a building that has achieved aesthetic–
Frank Gehry’s work, characterised by his distinct and expressive style, led me to question his design process and to consider how an architect, whose work could be described as more artistic than practical, is able to design a building that balances both aesthetics and function.
functional balance? 17
old perseans
and functional factors within
urban spaces and experiences
architectural design.
surrounding the building’
have shifted away from primarily
(Professor Rients Dijkstra, 2016).
providing educational services
With the theory foundation of the research laid, I turned my
Despite the Guggenheim’s
as the Guggenheim in Bilbao
to the public towards a more
attention to the Guggenheim
controversial construction, there
museum itself and began to
have been many factors that
increasingly see art museums
apply the theories to Gehry’s
contributed to its success and
as open and participative
progressive dynamic. We
work. The idea of the “Seduction
have given support to how the
places that allow the public to
of Aesthetic”, where the primary
museum has achieved aesthetic
explore equally open-minded
building focus is put into the
functional balance. I had to
and experimental modern art.
exterior appearance of the
consider the building in terms of
Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim
building, is seen throughout the
its function as a contemporary art
Museum has redefined the
Guggenheim. It is clear that the
museum to justify why the building
perception of contemporary art
museum has a very expressive and
possesses such an expressive
despite its initial controversy
abstract exterior aesthetic, which
aesthetic and the impacts the
and Gehry‘s approach to
arguably outweighs the interior
architecture has had on the
design has resulted in a high
components of the building.
economic and cultural aspects
degree of aesthetic–functional
Furthermore, in relation to the
of the city. Patrik Schumacher,
balance. As part of the Solomon
surrounding urban sprawl, the
director and senior designer of
R. Guggenheim institute, the
Guggenheim is not stylistically
Zaha Hadid architects, stated
Museum in Bilbao has become
sensitive towards the traditional
that “prominent cultural buildings,
one of the most recognisable art
architecture of Bilbao. In fact, it
especially contemporary art
centres globally. Despite many
is a deeply radical departure
centres, are the perfect vehicles
initially doubting the design of
from Bilbao’s characteristic
for stating general architectural
the Guggenheim due to its use
neo-classical heritage. One of
positions” (Schumacher, 2010).
of bizarre forms and radical
my respondents described the
He says that “discursive space”
floor space configurations,
Guggenheim as having made the
can be used to build and
when looking in depth at the
‘aesthetics a number one selling
develop new architectural
combinations of shapes within the
point, at the expense of long
outlooks. Contemporary art
building one begins to understand
lasting (flexible) functionality,
centres such
why it has become such a
at the expense of sustainability
symbol of progressive and
values (energy for one), at the
experimental architecture.
expense of the quality of the
18
school Feature news
& Response
Guggenheim external appearance
design, Louis’ study shows strong
does not reveal a clear functional
categorical thinking that considers
purpose. Louis’ discussion on “the
the implications of this imbalance
Seduction of Aesthetic” outlines
through an investigation of a
the potential pitfalls of aesthetically
series of related theories. Named
driven design. Functional
after the town of its success,
performance, adaptability and
the ‘Bilbao effect’ describes a
contextual sensitivity are rightly
phenomenon whereby a city’s
identified as important factors that
economic revitalisation can be
must be considered alongside the
achieved through the construction
application of aesthetic for long
of iconic architecture. However,
term utility.
the transformative qualities of a
In the case of Bilbao’s
landmark architecture have met
Guggenheim, the Museum is neither
varying successes in other parts of
stylistically sympathetic to its
the world. Thus, the essay takes an
surroundings nor designed to be
informative approach that carefully
particularly adaptable in function.
considers knowledge on what
The architecture is simply designed
influences the success of aesthetic–
to be “interesting”. The entrance
functional balance. The culmination
to the Museum begins with a
of the study’s findings returns to
swift descent past the underbelly
validate the Guggenheim’s aesthetic
of titanium scales arriving at the
success. Its iconic status is used
foot of a tall curvaceous valley.
to support the notion that cultural
Subsequently, visitors are taken
buildings are ‘discursive spaces’
through a variety of exhibition
that facilitate experimental and
spaces that consist of irregular
progressive architecture. Incidentally,
Haeseung Choi (2007)
caverns amongst intervals of
the first of many annual architecture
Architectural Staff,
familiar white painted boxes
trips I had at university took me to
Hopkins Architects
connected at high level by bridges
visit the Bilbao Guggenheim. My
J
above canyon-like walls. This motley
personal experience of the Museum
ustifying aesthetic value
of spatial experiences completes
allowed me to play Louis’ theories
over function has always
a journey that is unpredictable
with my own memories, recreating
been problematic due to the
yet surprisingly systematic.
new views of my recollection of
Increasingly, art centres are filled
the architecture. Having produced
difficulties involved in quantifying aesthetic virtues. Louis’ study
with immersive installations and
a comprehensive study from
demonstrates a logical approach
contemporary work, as Louis points
questionnaire responses and written
and progressive understanding
out, that encourage participation.
research, the investigation could
of the dynamics that control the
Consequently, the variety of spatial
develop further by introducing some
balance between aesthetic and
wonders appears to convey an
personal experience. Well written
function in architecture. Through
appropriate reflection of the type
and argued Louis is clearly capable of carrying out research that results
his interrogation of ideas such
of artwork it was designed to hold.
as “Aesthetic Duality” he provides
Its form, by default, also serves to
in continual rhetoric. Conclusively,
a platform from which to analyse
encourage exploratory behaviour
this study encourages me to believe
this subjective topic. Ultimately, the
following modern art’s increasingly
Louis has an innate understanding
study identifies that socio-political
immersive nature.
of the interdisciplinary aspects
and economic motives are also
Through wide-ranging research
involved in the determination of
this study presents a mature
aesthetic–functional balance.
approach that clarifies the
Frequently featured on the cover of contemporary architecture
importance of finding balance between aesthetic and function
books, the Guggenheim Museum
in architecture. Louis’ piece
in Bilbao is widely acknowledged
successfully identifies the presence
as one of the most significant
of economical, historical and
pieces of architecture in recent
socio-political factors involved in
years. Unlike its predecessor in
determining aesthetic–functional
New York whose iconic rings
balance. Taking advantage of the
express the internal ramp, Bilbao’s
Guggenheim’s aesthetic favouring 19
associated but not limited to the field of architecture.
My personal experience of the Museum allowed me to play Louis’ theories with my own memories, recreating new views of my recollection of the architecture.
old perseans
Obituaries Robin Harvie-Smith (1952)
Ingeborg Harvie-Smith writes: Robin completed his National Service in the Far East and then joined Corpus Christi College, Cambridge in 1955 to read Law and Economics. Subsequently, he joined the Legal and General Insurance Company in London where he stayed until 1971, having been promoted to Head of Marketing for the Pension Division. A short spell with the National Mutual of Australasia in 1973 followed. He then joined the Atlantic Assurance and was responsible for the marketing campaign that raised £60 million of premium income in the first year of operation. This was followed by serving on the management team of Jessel Securities. Subsequently, Robin was appointed Managing Director of Hodge Life in Wales which became the Life Assurance arm of the Standard Chartered Bank. Previously of excellent health, in 1985 Robin underwent a quadruple heart bypass at the
Michael J S Collins (1951)
Nigel Collins & Elizabeth Mikkelsen write: Michael had many wonderful memories of his time at The Perse, of great lifelong friendships that developed, of acting in plays (alongside the late Peter Hall), of hockey, cricket, tennis and cross country running.
Robin Harvie-Smith as the Second Gravedigger in the Perse Players’ Production of Hamlet, 1949.
age of 52. This was an era when employers were rather more reticent to offer employment to anyone with such a medical history than they would be today. Conventional employment for Robin therefore ceased and he applied his energy and enthusiasm to a variety of projects, including the travel
industry and antiques, in which he became a respected figure until this death in May 2017. Throughout his life Robin was proud to be a citizen of, and to have been educated in, Cambridge. Robin leaves a widow, Ingeborg, and is survived by three of his four children.
After military service, Michael resumed his education, returning to Peterhouse, Cambridge where he read History. In 1956, Michael joined British Petroleum (BP) as a trainee and in 1958, he married Mary Bergh. In 1960, Michael received a posting to Australia: first Melbourne, then on to Queensland where he worked as a sales representative marketing fuels to the extensive farming community. Having been with BP for some 18 years, Michael took a new career opportunity in tertiary and management education, joining the Caulfield Institute of Technology in 1974. In 1978 Michael fulfilled his vision to provide specific courses for the retail industry and so the first Retail Management course was born. Over time, and with much persistence and his usual infectious enthusiasm,
this led to the establishment of the Australian Centre of Retail Studies, part of Monash University, in 1990. Michael remained head of the Centre as Associate Professor and Executive Director for the remainder of his career, retiring in 1995. Retirement certainly wasn’t any less energetic, with Michael providing his energy and enthusiasm to numerous local volunteer groups and his golf. In particular, his love of history led him to join the Mornington Historical Society, with which he authored a book Our Boys on the Front, looking at the Great War through local eyes. (A copy of this has been provided to The Perse for its collection). Over the years, Michael developed a deep love of Australia, and was fascinated by its fauna and flora. One of Michael’s many interests was
20
school Obituaries news
developing gardens filled with a wide collection of native plants to attract wildlife. At one time, he was renowned for having a garden bed in the shape of the Australian continent with a rock representing Tasmania, such was his love of his adopted country. Although there was still a big place in his heart for England, it was clear where his loyalties lay during an Ashes test match … Australia! Throughout his life, Michael loved, most of all, his family and friends. He derived much of his energy from meeting new people and learning their stories: he was interested in everyone and everything. He cherished his time at The Perse and remained in touch with many old friends. In July 2017 Michael was diagnosed with cancer and passed away peacefully on 5 December with great courage, grace and dignity. He is remembered for his boundless curiosity, his humility, his great respect for everyone no matter their walk of life, and as a true gentleman. Michael is survived by wife Mary and children Elizabeth and Nigel.
David H Deacon (1954)
Sallyann Deacon writes: David was a stalwart of the Institute of Corrosion, supporting it virtually all of his long working life. In recognition of his service, David was elected an Honorary Life Fellow in 1992, and as a mark of his continued significant and influential contributions to the Institute, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award, a unique decoration especially
created for him. In 1976 he became the Technical Committee Chairman and Council member and was Chairman of Council from 1986– 1988. He took on a part-time role as Honorary Secretary, became VicePresident (twice) and was President from 2002–2004. He also contributed to the work of London Branch between 2013–2015. In 1970, David formed BIE Anti-Corrosion Company and when this was sold in 1981 he became the Managing Director of the newly formed ITI Anti-Corrosion Inspection Company. Then in 1992, David founded his present consultancy company, the Steel Protection Consultancy (SPC); his son William has followed in his footsteps and is now the Director of SPC. He was still contributing to projects even up to January 2017. David was part of the team that specified the coatings for renowned structures known world-wide, such as the Thames Barrier and Forth Bridges, to name but a few. David was proud to say he was the person who ended the joke of “Painting the Forth (Rail) Bridge.” When he’d finished it wouldn’t need painting again for at least another 25 years. People always wanted to know what the ‘H’ stood for as he always used the initial. But he never gave the name: “Humfrey.” Turned out it was a family name, and way back one of the early holders had left a bequest to any of the male descendants who had it in their name, and this legacy has followed on with his sons and grandson. He’d been a proud Public Schoolboy, attending as a boarder at The Perse School from a young age. He always remembered his Latin master at the time christened him Praelatus because he was a ‘Deacon’ and therefore must be a prelate of some description. David had also been a good sportsman in his day, playing cricket for the Counties Hampshire and Berkshire. He was a very useful footballer, too, and a lifelong Reading supporter. 21
David Berrie (1971)
Chris Berrie (1975) writes: David attended The Perse as a boarder when the rest of us ‘Berrie boys’ were in Malawi with our parents. He later gained a place at Aberystwyth University, although this was also the start of some of the problems he had throughout his life. The good side was that, on the 7 October, 1972, he met Angela Burgess for the first time, on the steps of the Great Hall. Following their marriage in 1977, they moved to Kent, in 1979. Angela had gained her PhD, and started working at the Agricultural Development and Advisory Service in Wye. David worked at the Kent and Canterbury Hospital for the next 17 years, which were probably their most enjoyable times, work-wise. However, throughout his adult life David was plagued by mental issues, along with which he seemed to accumulate further problems. This included a drink problem, although when he finally left us in late 2017 he had remained “dry” for 15 years. He had foot problems too, and in 2009 he had to have a leg amputated. He managed well enough with his artificial leg (known as George) for some years, and then later on in a wheelchair, and he and Angela enjoyed many trips out and about, throughout the UK. Although David had a relatively quiet life, he does have some ‘claims to fame’. These started back at university, where as a young communist in Aber, he was also a member of both the Conservative and Labour parties! Another event that remains with us was when he
old perseans
disappeared during one of his bad periods, and he joined the French Foreign Legion. However, he returned to the UK soon after, once they realised he had left his medication back at home! David loved cats, who provided him with good company through the years. He also loved cooking, and helped to supply many a neighbour and local fete with his cakes, marmalades, jams and chutneys. David was also an artist, a letter writer and a poet. His poetry was probably his most prolific pastime in his later years, with many poems published in the parish magazine. Each of us brothers has our own memories of our big brother, David. However, it is Angela who knew him best over their 40 years of marriage, which included some difficult times, she says, but also some wonderful times. As she said, “David could be difficult, but was mostly a kind, generous person, who was always willing to help. Above all, as well as my husband, David was my best friend, and I will miss him terribly.” As we all do, in our own ways. RIP, bruv.
Mike Strawson (1960)
Val Strawson writes: Mike Strawson had a varied and successful career in international trade, and as one of Britain’s most respected export trainers. He was also an amateur baker, charity fundraiser, real ale lover, father, stepfather and grandfather, who will be sorely missed by all who knew him. In the
words of his colleague at Chamber International, director Tim Bailey, “Mike was highly respected and regarded with affection by our whole team, not just for his considerable expertise but for his qualities as a wise, kind and considerate individual.” Mike was particularly highly regarded in Yorkshire, where he helped hundreds of companies to start exporting during his 13 years as Chamber International’s senior export trainer. Chamber International paid tribute to him as “a kind, relaxed man, who dispensed wisdom and mirth in equal measure, Mike was a sharp dresser with an equally sharp mind. Even into his 70s, he was always prepared to work late and travel long distances.” Mike’s career spanned a range of industries and took him around the world. While he was at Croda International PLC, a major manufacturer of chemicals, he managed a highly successful international trade department. This led to him mentoring three other companies, as well as providing guidance during the company’s visits to the Middle East. He afterwards turned his attention to the UK adhesives industry, creating a new division for Datac Adhesives Ltd, training its staff and accompanying a director on visits to South East Asia. Following this, Mike formed Novatech Adhesives to buy and export cyanoacrylate adhesives, alongside mentoring other companies in the sector. His talent for bringing out the best in companies and individuals led Mike to concentrate on training through his business, The Export Trainer Ltd. He also created and delivered training for UK Trade & Investment, now the Department of International Trade, and trained export professionals in Trinidad, Malaysia, Iran, France, Germany and Singapore. Mike’s remarkable contribution to international trade was recognised by the Institute of Export and International Trade in May 2017 when he became only the third person in the history of the Institute to be presented with a Lifetime Achievement award. 22
Outside work, Mike was a Spiritualist with a strong Christian base, a loving family man to his wife, Val, a father of two, stepfather of three and grandfather of eight. He sadly passed away on Sunday 8 October 2017 after a brave battle with cancer.
In Memoriam Peter Joseph Askem (1949)
died 18 February 2018, aged 87 years Maurice Gordon Baker (1953)
died 13 February 2018, aged 83 years Christopher Edward Bullen (1967)
died in 2018, aged 69 years Brian Frederick Butler (1953)
died in 2018, aged 82 years Richard Anthony Lovelace (1952)
died 10 January 2018, aged 84 years Rajen Mahendra (2010)
died 28 January 2018, aged 26 years Harold Walter Olins (1951)
died 20 July 2017, aged 84 years William Gordon Reeves (1957)
died November 2017, aged 79 years Barry Joseph Sanderson (1956)
died 2 February 2018, aged 80 years Russell John Bishop Simmons (1945)
died 27 February 2016, aged 87 years Terence Litchfield Stiles (1942)
died 11 April 2013, aged 88 years Louis Jiew Cheng Tan (1967)
died 30 March 2018, aged 69 years This list was up-to-date when we went to print. Obituaries may be read in full on our website: perse.co.uk/obituaries
recent schoolevents news
Recent Events
Boston Brunch: Sunday 18 February 2018 After a snowy night in Boston, some Old Perseans who live or study in Massachusetts met at the home of Chris Covey (2003) and his wife Susie
OP Sports Festival: Saturday 24 March 2018
(formerly a teacher in the History Department at
We were delighted to see over 150 OPs taking
The Perse), who kindly hosted the gathering. Joined
part in our OP Sports Festival, with many more
by current staff Jonathan Green, Sam Black and
coming along to spectate. The day started with Tim
Richard Morgan, the group shared memories from
Harrison (2017) smashing the 10 mile Roman Road
experiences of The Perse in the 1960s right through
Run record by over two minutes, finishing in 55:57
to last academic year.
(beating Mr Fox by 40s). OPs took part in football,
Over plentiful coffee and a brunch banquet,
basketball, netball, men’s and women’s hockey, and
thoughts were shared on a wide range of topics
touch rugby. A minute of applause was held before
and the current staff learned a lot about what it
the men’s hockey matches in memory of Rajen
was like studying and working in America. With a
Mahendra (2010). Our thanks go to the Perse Sports
broad range of perspectives and experiences, the
department for all their help and assistance, and to
conversation flowed through into the early afternoon.
all OPs who helped organise the teams on the day.
New York Dinner: Wednesday 21 February 2018
Hong Kong dinner: Sunday 25 March 2018
This event was kindly hosted by Simon Hornby
It is always such a pleasure to visit OPs in Hong
(1977), who organised drinks and a buffet dinner in
Kong; and it was not different this time around.
a function room at Bocca di Bacco in the Chelsea
A jolly group got together for a fabulous feast
district of Manhattan.
at Hong Zhou restaurant, generously hosted by
While most attendees were based in and around
Alasdair Pitt (1987). The conversations ranged
New York, there were also longer journeys made
from Peter Hall, the mummery and the new
from Washington DC and Toronto to attend this
performing arts centre to Brexit. We covered
gathering. The experiences of The Perse spanned
it all and more! Plans are afoot to set up a HK
across five decades, while subsequent careers have
WhatsApp group in response to requests for
included law, business, media, software, education,
more OP socials locally.
research and government to name a few. Naturally
Finally, by the time this issue goes to print we
this made for a really interesting evening sharing
hope that Stephen Pau (1988) has successfully
memories, thoughts and hopes for the future.
completed running a 170km race in Patagonia for
This is the second event in New York for Old
the medical charity Orbis. Next is a 100km ultra
Perseans and Simon Hornby would love to hear from
marathon in July around the Eiger for the British
those who are keen to attend future events.
Red Cross. Good luck! 23
old perseans
Upcoming Events Upcoming Reunion Dinners 2018/9 1970 – 1979 2018/9 1999 – 2004 Benefactors’ Reception Saturday 16 June 2018 12.30pm, The Perse. By invitation. OP Cricket Friday 22 June 2018 Play from 2pm, The Perse. Open to all. For more information Please visit perse.co.uk/alumni/events or contact the Alumni & Development Office by telephone on +44 (0)1223 403 808 or email PerseADO@perse.co.uk Old Perseans and Friends @OldPerseans Old Perseans
Alumni & Development Office www.perse.co.uk/alumni The Perse School Hills Road Cambridge, CB2 8QF Tel: +44(0)1223 403 808 PerseADO@perse.co.uk
The Perse School is a registered charity no. 1120654 24
