The Aldronian 2023-24

The Aldronian 2023-2024

THE ALDRONIAN

HEAD OF SCHOOL

Seb Moss

DEPUTY HEAD OF SCHOOL

Alfred Wareing PREFECTS BOARDING PREFECTS

Leo Booth Archie Bickerton

James Davies Digby Duder

Kieran Duhra Xavier Rees

George Lye George Simms

Eddison Matthews Kimi Yan

James Pickford

SQUAD CAPTAINS & VICE-CAPTAINS

Alders Archie Yule, Archie Bickerton

Darley Joseph Sewrey, Digby Duder

Hall Alfie Graham, Tom Newman

Meads Chris Tilbury, Jonty Davies

TEAM CAPTAINS

Captain of Football Seb Moss (boys), Alice Greenwell (girls)

Captain of Rugby Seb Moss

Captain of Netball Katie Tillett

Captain of Hockey Emilia Forman

Captain of Cricket Tom Newman & Leo Booth (boys), Alice Greenwell (girls)

Captain of Swimming Jacky Chen (boys), Katie Tillett (girls)

Captain of Shooting Eddison Matthews

Captain of Athletics Seb Moss (boys), Amelia Morgan (girls)

Captain of Cross-Country Leo Booth (boys), Charlotte Lidgitt (girls)

Captain of Tennis Marsel Yarovoy

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The publishing of the Aldronian continues to be a team effort, which could not happen without the help and support of many people. Thank you to everyone who submitted reports and photographs. Thanks also to Sue Leach and Chris Rose for their meticulous and speedy proof-reading, advice and support. Many of the photographs of school life were taken by Jo Sawers, our Digital Marketing and Communications Assistant. The sports team photographs have been reproduced by kind permission of Gillman & Soame photographers and can be ordered online at: https://www.gsimagebank.co.uk/aldro/t/qsp4jd2024

Co-Editors: Loren Fenwick and Sheridan Charles Design and Print: Colourgraphic Arts

HEADMASTER’S INTRODUCTION 2023-24

The pages that follow chronicle another exciting and action-packed year at Aldro. The number of pupils in the school hit an all-time high in September; the resultant energy has enriched our daily lives and led to a tangible sense of optimism as we look to the future.

Our Leavers this year head on to 16 different senior schools. Between them they have been awarded 15 scholarships that cover the broad spectrum of school life to include sport, music, design and drama. The Leavers achieved amongst them no fewer than seven academic scholarships too, as many as have been achieved by any one cohort for over ten years; many congratulations to them all.

Sport is thriving as evidenced by the unbeaten seasons of no fewer than six teams over the course of the past year! In rugby, the Boys’ 1st team, in football, the Girls’ U9Bs, in hockey, the Girls' U9Bs, and in cricket the Girls’

U11As, U9As and the Boys’ U8As. Congratulations to all those involved, both players and coaches alike!

Inter-squad competition has been as fierce as ever, with the leaderboard changing week by week. At Prizegiving, however, it was Meads who eventually claimed the crown, helped along in the final weeks of term by their success on Sports Day.

Amongst the staple diet of activities across a typical Aldro year, all detailed in the pages that follow, there have been a number of ‘firsts’, most notable amongst them the Classics Department trip to Rome at Easter and a memorable ‘Rockfest’ at the close of the Summer term. Do look out for them in this edition. Furthermore, readers will find recorded here details of all the plays, concerts and events that we have enjoyed, too many to list in this brief introduction but covered in detail in the articles that follow.

I would like to thank all those involved in the publication of this year’s Aldronian, especially Mrs Fenwick for her tireless efforts in collating and editing the articles. Mrs Charles leaves Aldro at the end of the Summer term, and this would be the moment to record our thanks to her, not only for her help in this particular edition, but for all her help over the years in the publication of many previous Aldronians across her 22 years of association with the school.

I hope that, as you flick through the pages that follow, the images and text will evoke many happy memories of a super year at Aldro. We wish all our Aldro families a very happy summer break and our Leavers all the very best for the future.

PRIZE-GIVING ADDRESS

Whilst thinking back o’er months gone by I thought I would rehearse

My speech today and review of year

And pen it down in verse.

It’s not quite Shakespeare, that I know

But please do bear with me

So here we go, the old bard writes And what a year it’s been!

With numbers at a record high, The new school year began, It ends with ‘swifties’ dancing lots And goals from Bellingham.

In times of political unrest

Our children flourished bright, Both staff and students can take pride for all’s turned out alright!

These past few months have gone so well,

With feats that bring us pride, Fourteen scholarships achieved, I can’t believe my eyes!

And seven academic awards,

To schools so highly sought, As Winchester, and RGS, they must have been well taught.

In sport and music, drama too, more scholarships galore

A DT one as well achieved, We seemed to wipe the floor.

That’s Jonty, Kieran, James and George, the Xav and Alfred crew, It’s Alfie, Jackie, Seb and Will, Dorcas and Eddie too!

To all our Leavers, we extend applause and our delight

For places earned at senior schools, your futures now look bright.

From Eton's grounds to Winchester, Radley, Harrow too,

In Wycombe Abbey’s cherished walls, Your dreams will all come true.

From Benenden to Charterhouse, To Sherborne we’ve a few, Lord Wandsworth, Cranleigh, Canford, Stowe

To Kes and Tonbridge too.

At Sevenoaks and RGS

Some of you will thrive

St George’s, Kings in Canterbury

It’s here you’ll come alive!

Our hearts are filled with pride and joy,

As you take flight and soar, To futures bright and endless dreams, Success for evermore.

Internal scholarships we’ve sat

Once more again this year

Nineteen applied with fervent hope

And all of them came near

Just seven in the end achieved their efforts all quite stellar Lili, Lexi, Henry, James Armand, Francesca, Bella!

As we look back upon the year It’s reading that stands out ‘Word Millionaires’, we’ve sixty five! Their achievements leave no doubt!

Armand Cruse stands out so well, With nearly five mil read!

But Kaiqiao Chen, a record set, Ten million words, it's said!

And then there’s Prop, or Propria

To use its proper name

Because of Mr Ivall’s zeal

It’s garnered well-earned fame!

A love for learning it inspires It's time to get on board! And curiosity is key

Your efforts to reward.

In music, we enjoyed this year,

Our first big 'Rock-fest' night Twixt melodies and harmonies It brought us pure delight.

Our top musicians played their part upon another day

In the 'Advanced Concert', again a first, Their talent on display.

We’ve added to the music groups

An orchestra at last At Regatta they played so well whilst sailors rigged their masts.

The Chapel Choir at Grayshott sang St Luke’s the church’s name Their Christmas carols touched our hearts

Spreading Aldro fame!

One hundred exams or maybe more you’ve sat across the year

Sixty-eight percent with merit, or a distinction that we’ve cheer’d.

Our thanks to Mrs. Davy go Her zeal and drive is clear Her energy’s transformed the place

What a music year!

In drama, we have had such fun, With plays both old and new, Pirates of the Curry Bean Performed to rave reviews!

With Wind in Willows, Moley found That Toady drove too fast

Despite the weasels, Ratty found She had the final laugh.

Now Lamda classes thrive and grow With teachers five in place, A hundred ninety-six exams, At Aldro all took place.

Results were great, in March we got Distinctions all around Fifty six in all, it’s plain to see Your talents do abound.

Our Sport it goes from strength to strength,

With cricket’s recent fame, Three teams unbeaten all the term, Their victories we proclaim.

Form 6 girls and Form 4 too

Their A teams never beat Form 3 As, the boys this time They never saw defeat.

Cross-country teams have all excelled

The U8s boys took lead, First place at meets, three times they won, remarkable indeed.

The Boys' 1sts Rugby team were great Unbeaten all term long

With Mr Taylor’s help I know You’ve grown both fierce and strong!

Unbeaten also were the girls

The B team in Form 4

In football and in hockey too we couldn’t ask for more!

The Middle girls to IAPS went And netball silver won

Our swimmers too at Charterhouse they came out number one!

Seb Moss to national finals went

And down the track he flew

One hundred metres 12.2 And Silver he was due.

Amelia went as well to jump

As high as she was able 135 at Under 12

And 4th place was her label.

Meanwhile it was in Birmingham

Again in national meet

That Libby placed in 6th in dive

Now that was really neat!

Our children thrived on trips afar, With journeys that delight, From Brecon's peaks to Normandy And e’en the Isle of Wight.

Our skiers skied in Austria Down pistes with snow aglow

Then Mr Dodd to Rome he went And dragged us all in tow

In wider realms of Aldro life, Achievements shine so bright, Young Yechu Chen, IAPS chess he won,

National Champion is his right.

Pétanque continues to attract

Both curious and keen

The old, the young, the tall the small And all that’s in-between!

One hundred pupils had a go They thought it worth a crack

To try and throw their heavy boules and land them by the jack.

At breaktime pupils gathered round Under Monsieur’s watchful gaze

And watched agog whilst Bella threw Her boules, to highest praise.

It’s been a year of charity

Support for those in need

Our gifts for the Air Ambulance

Were very well received

Now following the pupil vote a new charity our choice

Hounds for Heroes is its name

Hurrah for pupil voice!

Chikuluti is the school we help

It’s found in Malawi

900 pounds was made through sale of drinks and slime and tea.

For all her lead we ought to thank Mrs Benz for all she’s done

For showing us that helping out

Can be a lot of fun!

And now it’s time to thank as well

The Friends of Aldro crew

For all their time and energy

We raise a glass to you!

The Lakeside party, Winter Fair

September drinks and more

A silent disco, trays of shots

And those moves on the dance floor!

Shevaun, and Sophie and your team

We’re filled with utter praise

Thank you for your tireless work

And all the joy you raise.

With thanks to James, the Governors’ Chair

And to all the Aldro Board, Your time and knowledge guide us well,

Your wisdom we applaud.

In times of challenge, you remain

A source of strength and grace, Your dedication and your care

Help keep this special place.

And now to all the staff around

Much gratitude I feel

For all your efforts and hard work

Your dedication’s real.

You're heroes all, I know you know; And whilst now we do applaud

The kids for'all their successes

It's of you we're all in awe.

On behalf of all those gathered here

We wish you all the best for holidays and rest ahead.

For all your help we're blessed.

And now my poem marathon

Is nearly said and done.

‘Thank goodness’ all the kids reply

Now where’s the prize I’ve won!

Well thank you all for listening hard

To my poem 24

I know you'll all be glad to hear

There's really nothing more!

And so at last I have to bring

This poem to a close

And breathe a sigh and take a break

And revert to speaking prose!

CHAPEL AND ASSEMBLIES

This past year we have continued to meet together as a school community every morning for our Chapel services or our twice-weekly assemblies. The Chapel remains central to life at Aldro, its Christian teaching underpinning our ethos, values and sense of community. We have enjoyed weekly messages from Mr Margesson and Monsieur Lombardot as well as more occasionally from a number of other staff. Over the year we have looked, for example, at the story of Jonah, the Gospel in the Old Testament, the Beatitudes, and what it means to wear the Christian ‘uniform’!

For our formal Chapel services on Saturdays we have welcomed as visiting preachers Mr Smart from Eton, Mr Marsden from Harrow, Rev Hannah Moore, Rector of Shackleford, Rev Bewes from Lymington Rushmore, Rev Righetti from Stowe, Rev Scott from Charterhouse and Dr Stevens from Bradfield who spoke at

our annual Carol Service in the Charterhouse chapel.

The choir have been in splendid voice leading the music in our collective worship. As well as the annual Carol Service in Charterhouse Chapel and our own Candlelit Carol Service, they performed to much high praise in the ‘Christmas is coming’ fundraising concert at St Luke’s in Grayshott.

In our Assemblies we have focused on Anti-bullying week, Safer Internet Day and Wellbeing. We have also heard from inspirational speakers such as Leah Chowdhry speaking about Cross-Channel Swimming and ‘resilience’ and from Mr Tom Jones talking about his journey in to architecture. We have had charity presentations from Restless Development, the Wooden Spoon Charity and ‘Step by Step’, our annual school charity, and we have enjoyed presentations on such as ‘VE Day’ and ‘M:Tech’, to name but a few.

In the busy lives we all lead, it remains a distinctive element of Aldro life that we gather together as often as we do for thought-provoking talks and times of self-reflection, and we are grateful to all those who have led our communal services and assemblies over the past year.

CAC

MONSIEUR’S THURSDAY CHAPEL.

I was delighted to talk to our boys and girls in Chapel again once a week throughout this school year, and to share this wonderful, enthusiastic and ethereal communal singing which I see as the best possible way to start a day.

My main purpose has been to convey to our young people messages of hope in a world confused by the acceleration of modern times and troubled by the threat of intolerance, the resurgence of obscurantisms, the permanence of conflicts and the environmental crisis. We looked at the past and questioned the absurdity of war to draw lessons for the future, find strength in our British values and solace in our Christian belief. We also paused to reflect on the immense privilege of working and having fun together in our peaceful, beautiful Shackleford heaven.

Every morning in the last twenty-seven years (!) I have written on our vestibule noticeboard a French proverb related either to school life or to worldwide news. One of the latest to appear this year epitomises the spirit of my Chapel talks: “Au-dessus des nuages, il fait toujours beau” (above the clouds, the weather is always fine).

YGBL

ALDRO’S ANNUAL REMEMBRANCE SERVICE

Aldro’s annual Remembrance Service took place on the 11th November. On this remembrance weekend, we commemorate and are grateful for those who gave their lives in service to our country and in particular the Old Aldronians.

BOARDING

Why board? In today's age this is a great question but boarding remains as popular as ever and an integral part of life at Aldro. Be it those coming in for a first 'Big Boarding Weekend' and having a first experience of boarding, or our regular and full-time boarders, it has been a fabulous year. We have laughed, supported one another through the tough times and enjoyed the 'boarding family' throughout the year. The opportunity to develop and find our 'identity' and 'independence' has been essential as we have watched and guided the boarders grow throughout the year. A huge thank you to the boarders and boarding staff for a fantastic year of Boarding at Aldro.

We've had new staff in the boarding team, with Miss Hargreaves, Mr Dodd and Mrs Beadle joining at the start of the year, along with lots of new pupils faces in the boarding house, with a strong influx of year 4 and 5 boarders joining us.

The boarding house itself has had another great year with lots of colour injected into its walls with some new photo displays by Miss Allen and dorms being decorated throughout the year.

The year has seen many adventures including numerous trips to the cinema and film nights, Legoland, the aquarium in London, Portsmouth Historic Dockyards and Virtual Reality gaming, along with our annual ice-skating trip to Hampton Court at Christmas on the weekend of the Boarders' Christmas Feast. It's been a very busy year!

The Big weekends were once again a huge hit for boarders and nonboarders alike, especially when they included trips to Coral Reef Waterpark with Form 6, Air Hop with Form 5 and Laser Tag with Form 3 and 4, along with a number of activities around

the school including cooking, dodgeball and the classic Hide and Seek around the entire school building, which the boarders loved.

New rivalries were seen as to who had the best slippers…stiff competition as they just kept getting better and better throughout the year. The annual Christmas dorm decorating competition saw new heights being reached by some dorms who had the best fairy lights up. One dorm had as many lights as Piccadilly Circus and we even had a fully decorated 6 foot tree in one dorm!

This year ‘Wacky Wednesdays’, led by Miss Barrett and Miss Allen, were introduced to the boarders. These evenings were designed to encourage whole house friendships, full integration of the boys and girls, and most importantly to be fun! This was clearly shown with our half-

termly quiz nights where teams consisted of a mix of boys and girls and pupils across three year groups – the overall winners after 5 quizzes were the ‘Spanish Arms’ and they were thrilled with their ‘pizza night’ prize! This year’s Wacky Wednesdays have included: bin-bag fashion, man-hunt, bonfires, railway riot, secret cinema, sock monkeys, football world cup, ice skating, roller disco, Aldro’s got talent, pool parties, American night and many more!

This year we wave goodbye to a couple of members of the Boarding Team including House Tutor, Mr Twyford and the Boys' Housemaster, Mr Nixon. Both have been part of the Boarding Team for several years and will be hugely missed by the Boarding Community - they leave big shoes to fill for their successors. We wish them both the best of good fortune going forward onto their new adventures ahead of them.

At the end of the year we also waved goodbye to our Form 8s who will be missed by the boarding team for their helpfulness, kindness, and comedy value but not for their lack of appreciation for the joke of the day!

Girls' boarding has continued to grow with all beds full on many nights. The next chapter continues next year with our first full-time girls boarders joining, and we are so looking forward to welcoming them and becoming a fully co-educational boarding house from September.

This year in boarding has been delightful with a great feeling of warmth and family within the boarding houses. Bring on next year!

SN and CHBD

What a wonderful start to the new school year. It was lovely to see the Form 8s helping our new Form 3s into school on their very first day at Aldro. Such a warm welcome for our new starters.

FIRST DAY AT ALDRO

FORM 3 ROALD DAHL MUSEUM

Form 3 had a splendiferous time visiting the gloriumptious Roald Dahl Museum in Missenden. They learnt so much about his fascinating life and enjoyed creative workshops which helped them to think about how to use the world around them to generate story ideas. They

participated in activities which helped them to develop their vocabulary skills and had a go at producing some animations. The children even got to walk past the library which was the inspiration for Mrs Phelp’s library and the building around which Sophie’s orphanage was based in the BFG.

FORM 4 VISIT NARNIA

Form 4 loved using the VR headsets in English to visit Narnia. They were able to walk through the snowy forest and enter Mr Tumnus' cave after it had been raided. They even heard eyewitness accounts from the forest animals.

FORM 3 ETON TRIP SUMMER TERM

Form 3 enjoyed learning even more about Ancient Egypt from the brilliant Saskia at Eton Museum of Antiquities. The children learnt about how mummies (and mummy parts) became fashionable souvenirs for the earliest tourists visiting Egypt. They took part in a hieroglyphics treasure hunt, an Egyptian Gods memory game and thought about what they would take to the afterlife. They were amazed to see the beautifully preserved artefacts from around 3000 years ago – some of which were donated by Howard Carter himself.

FORM 4 VISIT TO BUDDHIST TEMPLE

Form 4 visited the Buddhist Temple and enjoyed learning about how the temple was used and how the monks lived. They participated in a ‘Giving Ceremony’ during which the monks received food gifts from the children.

GILBERT WHITE'S HOUSE

Form 3 enjoyed a wonderful, action packed day at Gilbert White's House. They learnt about Scott’s ill-fated race to the Pole and handled artefacts from the famous expedition. They learnt about Antarctic animals and particularly enjoyed smelling penguin poo! Back at the Field Studies Centre, the children looked at more recent Antarctic exploration: trying on clothing, testing their endurance with icy water and pulling a sledge!

ALDRO'S ANNUAL GRANDPARENTS DAY

Aldro's annual Grandparents day is a chance for grandparents and other family members of Form 3 and 4 pupils to be treated to coffee and cake, plus a variety of performances including music, drama and poetry. All was topped off with games of Pétanque outside on the grounds.

MATILDA

The Form 3 and 4 boys and girls enjoyed a wonderful day in London, watching Matilda in the West End after having a meal at Pizza Express!

JUNIOR HARVEST FESTIVAL

The first musical offering from the Junior department was the Harvest festival service. Thank you to Chris Knott, CEO of Starfish Malawi, who spoke at the service and the FoAA who decorated the chapel so beautifully.

MS ATI TALKS ABOUT REFUGEES

As part of their English topic on refugees, Ms Ati spoke to pupils about her experience of being a refugee as a child coming from Uganda, East Africa in 1972. She was very impressed by their questions!

Ms Ati said “I really wanted to provide an insight into life as a refugee here, to share my cultural heritage with the children.”

PARENTS' LUNCH

There was much excitement in the Junior Department, as the children waited eagerly to have lunch with their parents. It is always a very special occasion, and this year was no exception. It was a wonderful opportunity for the Juniors to show their parents a typical mealtime at Aldro and for the parents to enjoy a meal without any preparation or clearing away at the end! With every table in the dining room full it certainly was a busy affair and huge thanks to David McCoy and his catering team for producing such a delicious lunch.

FORM 3 SQUAD ALLOCATIONS

Every year in October the Form 3 squad allocations are announced in a morning assembly and everyone is presented with their squad polo.

ROALD DAHL DAY

The Juniors and their teachers embraced the day with some fabulous costumes! Activities included an enormous Roald Dahl quiz, marvellous maths with jelly belly beans creating whizz-popping sweets and dreaming up character descriptions.

Bimpe from West End in Schools brought ‘Anisha the Accidental Detective’ to life through some fabulous storytelling and drama with Form 3 and 4.

WINTERSHALL ESTATE

In March Form 3 enjoyed an exciting day out to Wintershall estate. They followed the stations of the cross which the children have been learning about in their TPR lessons. They were able to gain an insight into the importance of this tradition for Christians, and the brilliant acting of the team helped them to consider how Jesus may have felt during the events of Holy week.

WORLD BOOK DAY

World Book Day 2024 was celebrated over a couple of weeks in early March. Author of the ‘Anisha Accidental Detective’ series, Serena Patel gave a talk to our year 3 and 4 children. The whole school were then treated to a talk by author Kieran Larwood of the ‘Podkin One Ear’ series. Amongst other things Kieran talked to the children about map drawing to help come up with creative ideas and names for characters and settings. Then ensued weeks of enthusiastic map drawing in the library. Mr McCoy and the catering staff treated us all to our annual world book day lunch where we enjoyed Ratburgers and butter beer, not forgetting the wonderful efforts made by both children and staff for our fancy dress day!

ROALD DAHL DAY

In September the children in forms 3 and 4 celebrated Roald Dahl Day. The children enjoyed dressing up as their favourite characters, as did many of the teaching staff!

STORY IN A JAR AND BOOKMARK COMPETITION

As part of our World Book Day celebrations the children got creative and put their favourite stories in a jar – it made for a wonderful display in the library for many months. Many children in school also entered our annual bookmark competition. Our theme this year was ‘your favourite animal from a book’. There were so many wonderful entries judging them was extremely difficult. The winning designs went to:

MILLIONAIRE READERS

It was wonderful to see 57 children achieve their Millionaire reader badge this year, 14 children read more than 2 million words and a special mention must go to Kaiqiao Chen – Form 6 who achieved what I believe is an Aldro school record of over 10 million words. Over the course of the year we have enjoyed 3 wonderful lunches in celebration of their achievements!

Wiliam Fraser - 3C with Dogman

Willow Wright 4B with The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark

Arjun Trikha - 5I

Amelia Zhu - 6S with The Last Bear

Cindy Yu 7T with The White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland

George Lye

8K with Mr Toad from The Wind in the Willows

BOOK CLUB

Mrs McCann and Mrs Templeton-Ward have this year created an Aldro Book Club. Originally an enrichment, Book Club has gained in popularity, and we are now looking to extend it to more children in the school through holiday reading challenges.

We have enjoyed a terrific year in the English Department this year with fantastic results from our Common Entrance and Scholarship pupils. In addition to this, a variety of fun, exciting and enriching competitions and trips have taken place. My thanks to all staff who made these activities possible.

A YEAR IN THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

BROOKWOOD

In November, Form 7 visited Brookwood Cemetery for the annual English and History trip, which complemented our reading of 'Private Peaceful' by Michael Morpurgo and our study of a range of WW1 poetry. The trip offered pupils the opportunity to develop their understanding of the impact of war,

THE PANGBOURNE PERFORMANCE POETRY DAY

to read and write poetry about war and to pay their respects in an act of remembrance. Ben Hargrave placed Aldro’s commemorative cross on the memorial to remember the life of Edward Needham OA, who is named there. It was a very powerful and thought-provoking visit.

We were fortunate to be invited to attend the Pangbourne Performance Poetry Day in February. Our Form 5 pupils Emmi Crichton, Lily Orr, Freddie Forman and Teddy Hawley were named the Teamwork Award Winners for the fantastic way in which they listened to each other and the way in which they worked so well collaboratively, to produce their unique and inspired performance of ‘A Bird Came Down the Walk’ by Emily Dickinson. They spent the morning participating enthusiastically in a range of warm up activities, led by some of Pangbourne’s English A-Level pupils, such as learning tongue twisters and experimenting with a variety of different techniques to present poetry in order to engage the audience. After lunch our pupils worked together to decide how best to present their poem, using the techniques learned earlier in the day and to polish their performance, which was presented in the beautiful Pangbourne Chapel. Our winners also presented their performance back at Aldro. They were very proud winners.

THE ORATORY SCHOOL DEBATING DAY

In January, Izzy Davies, Marcus Lowe and Ted Brinkley from Form 5 went to The Oratory School to their annual debating day. The pupils enjoyed taking part in a range of fun debating warm up activities in the morning, to refine and practise their public speaking skills before the debating competition in the afternoon. At the end of the day, they competed against nine other schools, with Izzy achieving the remarkable achievement of being awarded Best Speaker in the debate. It was a marvellous opportunity to experience debating in action.

THE BOY AT THE BACK OF THE CLASS FORM 5 AND 6 THEATRE TRIP

I loved our trip to see the play of “The Boy at the Back of the Class” in February, as it was great fun. We had read the book in our English lessons. It is about a boy called Ahmet who is a refugee from Syria and who comes to live in England. First, we went on a coach to get there, then we went and found our seats. After that, the play began. It began with the actors waving some blue fabric and they were making it look like the sea, so it started quite mysteriously. Then Ahmet’s story began. My favourite part was when Alexa and her friend Tom went to Buckingham Palace to give their letter to the Queen. It was the changing of the guard outside and Tom said to them, “Just read the letter!” It was very funny. It was very sad in the part where Ahmet was telling his story about how he had to escape the war that was happening in his country. I loved it very much and it was really good fun. We also got ice creams!

Review by Livvy Ellwood-Russell (Form 5)

ANISHA, ACCIDENTAL DETECTIVE DRAMA WORKSHOPS

In February, we welcomed a presenter from ‘West End in Schools’, to deliver drama workshops to our Forms 3 and 4 pupils. They were based on the fantastic book ‘Anisha, Accidental Detective’ by Serena Patel - winner of the Sainsbury's Children's Book Prize and of the Crimefest Best Crime Novel for Children. It tells the funny story of Anisha, who turns into an accidental detective just before her Aunty Bindi’s wedding, as the bridegroom Uncle Tony mysteriously disappears. Eventually Anisha manages to find him. The pupils enjoyed the workshops, in which they had the opportunity to experiment with playing different characters and creating a variety of tableaux based on different scenes from the novel.

SHAKESPEARE WEEK

In March, we celebrated Shakespeare Week in our English lessons. Pupils read and enjoyed some of Shakespeare’s most famous speeches. Form 6 used either “The Witches’ Spell” from Macbeth or the “When icicles hand by the wall” speech about winter from Love’s Labour’s Lost to investigate the different literary devices used, such as rhyming couplets, alliteration

and four beat lines. They were then inspired to adapt Shakespeare’s words to produce their own versions. They incorporated drama and mime into the performances of their work. Form 5 were amazed to read and explore some of the idioms and words which Shakespeare invented or was the first to write down, such as “As luck would have it”, “Break the ice” and “Fair play”.

UPTON HOUSE DEBATING COMPETITION

In April, Armand Cruse, Anjali Atkins, Lexie Nicholls, Ted Brinkley, Izzy Davies, Marcus Lowe from Forms 5 and 6, represented Aldro in the Upton House Debating Competition. They have developed their skills very effectively over the course of the year in Debating Club and were able to show their increased confidence in their responses during their debates.

A Potion for Positivity

Double, double, boil and bubble, Fire burn and cauldron mumble. Petal of a shivering rose, Cherry blossom’s tender snow. Whisker of a purring cat, Healthy and green - oak’s hat. Pure stream’s bubbling water, Glamorous songbird’s whispering mutter. Cool it with some blocks of ice, It creates something that is beyond all price.

By Dorcas Yang

THE NEW WRITING BADGE AND WRITING COMPETITIONS

We have introduced a new badge – The Writing Badge. Pupils who produce three pieces of independent writing will achieve their badge. They can choose to create a piece of writing of their choice or to enter one of the many competitions external to Aldro, such as ‘Time to Write’, ‘Once Upon a Dream’ (poem), ‘Crazy Creatures’ (creative writing), ‘Ancient Adventures’ (100 word mini saga), which we enter throughout the year. Alternatively, they can enter our Aldro writing competitions. This year’s War Poetry Competition’s overall winner was Rufus Blackwell, with a winner from each English group - Katie Tillett, Louis Green, Bella Stancliffe and Henry Evans.

THE ALDRO 500 WINNERS 2024

• 110 entries in total – Well over half the school took part from Forms 3 to 8 as well as a number of adults.

• All entries will receive 10 Squad Marks and one of their Writing Badge elements; so just the Highly-Commended and Winners today.

• An approximate total of 55,000 words were read and marked.

• This year had a very high-standard and so thank you to all who took part.

• Many thanks to Mrs McSweeney for helping in the judging.

(As the trophies are made of glass – parents can collect the trophies from the School Office, so could pupils return the prizes after receiving.)

Winners Trophies

Junior:

Middle:

Senior:

Adult:

Collaborative:

Placed Entries Bookmarks

Junior:

Middle:

Senior:

Adult:

Collaborative:

Anirvinn Sundar

Henry Thompson

George Lye

Ross Barber

Lochlan Robinson and Tava Smiley

Sophie Wild and Ralph Chenery

Rose Hennigan, Casper Hawley, Monty Plaistowe

Henry Evans, Alfred Wareing

Mr Rose and Mrs Atkins (Gran), Mr Wild

Hugo Morgan and Mrs Morgan, Harry Kirkpatrick and Mrs Kirkpatrick

Title

Writing as an Athlete.

Inspiring Speech to an Athlete.

Writing as an Athlete.

Writing as an Athlete.

Writing as an Athlete.

The Last Race

By Anirvinn Sundar

Form 4B

Squad – Alders

Category – Pupils Own Writing (Junior)

There I was sitting on the bench beside the pool, my nose filling with the sharp fumes of chlorine. I could hear the roar of my fans like a lion calling the rest of its pride. The taste of eagerness and anticipation formed in my mouth. I was nervous but also brave because I was determined to beat the Australian for one final time.

Slowly I walked down to my block and stretched my body for the last time. I looked around me taking it all in, as my brain etched every miniscule detail into my memory forever.

Just like scores of times before, my eyes were focused on the finish line with my end goal in sight. My ears perked, listening carefully for my cue over the loud chants of my name. The sound of the pistol reverberated through the arena like thunder. In an instant my feet launched me off the block, through the air and into the turquoise water like a torpedo. The water enveloped me in a cool embrace like greeting an old friend. I didn’t know where I began and the water ended. I became one with the water.

My legs kicked furiously propelling me forwards; my arms sliced through like knives; I could feel my shoulders ignite with power as I accelerated through the water. Everything was coming together like a well-oiled machine. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye I saw a flash of yellow on my tail. I panicked, worry taking over me. The Australian was closer to me than ever before. I used up every last ounce of energy I had to push me towards my dream.

I could see the blue ceramic tiles in a checkered blur. The world seemed to slow down. As my arm stretched forward towards victory, the one beside me shot out too. My fingertips found the smooth, cool surface and the crowd erupted.

The Race

By Ross Barber (Avery's Dad) Adult Winner

One hour until the start of the race. It was a short journey from the athlete’s village to the stadium. Tension permeated the air. But it wasn’t the looming presence of seventy thousand spectators that drove my anxiety. It was fear of failure that loomed over me; the fear of falling short after all those years of relentless training, all the sacrifices, all the dreams, the sweat and the pain… It would all unravel if I faltered in this moment. “Stop that!” I scolded myself sternly, “you are destined to win”.

Thirty minutes until the start of the race. I found solace in the sanctuary of the changing room. The clamour of the crowd now softened to a distanct hum, muffled, as it squeezed through the walls. Drowned out by the steady rhythm of my breath. With a practised precision I eased into my routine, donning my lucky socks, and securing the laces of my lucky running spikes.

Ten minutes until the start of the race. I walked out onto the track flanked by my fellow competitors. The crowd dissolved into a blur as I glanced up at the stands, allowing myself a brief moment to absorb the occasion. The noise was deafening, the chaos distracting... I snapped my attention inwards, and shut it out. From this moment onwards there was only the race, and the only noise I would heed was the explosion of the starter pistol.

5 minutes until the start of the race. I hardened my resolve; “You’ve trained harder, endured more, you can’t be caught”, this mantra echoed around my head. Doubt was a luxury I could not afford.

2 minutes until the start of the race. I claimed my position in lane 5, poised just behind the white line marking the start. The intense lights, the colours, the noise, they didn’t move me now; they passed right through me. I stood sentinellike, my gaze fixed on the distant finishing line. “I’m going to get there first” I declared to myself.

1 minute. I crouched on the starting blocks, eyes still locked on the finish line. Every muscle fibre primed, every sinew taut, my body a coiled spring about to explode. Any second now.

“On your marks!”. The command cut the atmosphere like a knife. I tensed and shifted my weight back into the blocks, my focus sharpened to a razors edge. I was ready.

4 seconds passed.

“Get set”.

It all came down to this.

“Go!”

9.81 seconds later Gold.

The Motivational Speech

By Henry Thompson (6B)

The Olympics is your time to shine, after training tirelessly and non-stop blood, sweat and tears; my heart is overflowing with admiration and inspiration from your hard work. You have dedicated your lives to a pursuit that transcends the ordinary, and today, as you get ready to make your country proud, embrace the atmosphere of the OLYMPICS!

The road is not paved with ease; it’s a path automatically made with obstacles, challenges and set backs that test your durability and how you react to it. Remember you have performed gruelling training sessions; you’ve sacrificed fun and games and, most importantly, sleep to train. Every ounce of effort you have put in has built up to this!

Don’t get arrogant as this journey doesn’t end here. As you step onto the open field of competition, remember that you carry with you the hopes and dreams of all the nation and turn them into real life. Your actions and effort towards the Olympics have lightened people's faces with inspiration and joy.

Remember in your head the wise words of Jesse Owens, who once said, ‘The battles that count aren’t the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself- the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us- that’s where its all at,’ Indeed, the true measure in a champion lies not in the medals, but in their courage, resilience and their integrity they display on their face.

Also, remember it all starts with a single step. And as you take your first big step onto the fresh, luscious ground of the Olympian arena, know that you don’t walk alone but in the footsteps of legends like Usain Bolt or Carl Lewis or the comrades-in-arms, and in the hearts of all the people who are admired and inspired by you.

You stand poised on the brink of greatness and immortality. Today you will re-write History and become forever mighty. Take strength from your soul and bring the fire that burns deep within you to drive you to success. Believe in your talent as you are now one of the true giants of sport.

So now go forth and advance, my fellow Olympians, and may the wind be ever at your back as it was for me, and let the sun shine upon your freckly face, and let the fire of passion burst out of you and let the whole world know who you are. For today, you are not an athlete but you are a champion of the world, and let the world know what you're made of. Go out and conquer that gold medal and celebrate your victory with your loving family and your nation!

Aldro 500 Entry I

By George Lye Senior Solo Winner

The wind whipped the dust up into my squinting eyes which were trying to acclimatise themselves to the sheer difference between the dark training room and the dazzling brightness of the Olympian sun. The crowd cheered triumphantly as I walked calmly into the arena trying not to burn my bare feet on the scorching sand. I could just make out the event officials and judges waving and shouting at me. It was an outer body experience as all the noises overloaded my senses and the butterflies exploded in my stomach filling me with dread and throwing all my self-confidence out of the window.

I had so many feelings and emotions running through my brain in these few minutes. Each one like a needle poking into me like “what if the discus slips” and “what if I fall over”. This has been my lifelong dream, and I knew that this was my one shot to get me in with the stars of the great Olympic Games. Up with the heroes of my childhood. Since I was a small child, I had listened in awe to my father as he described these athletes performing amazing feats of strength. It was at this moment that the seed of my dream to one day compete in the Olympic games was sown. As the applause petered out into silence my nerves skyrocketed and the butterflies became a swarm of angry bees stinging my stomach in a flurry of aggressive jabs.

It's now my time to shine. Reaching to remove a dusty discus from the crate felt like lifting a mountain but its comforting weight soothed my racing mind. My sweaty hands leaving the outline of a hand on my dusty clay discus. 11 other athletes lined up to make their throw and to make their shot at the target of Olympic glory. The crowd roared as the first athletes throw shot out of his hand flying towards the sky and the edge of the arena when suddenly it hit a pillar and shattered into a thousand pieces and with it his chance at landing himself a spot with stars. The next few throws ended in the same demoralising way. Then the crowd exploded as Claudius stepped up flexing his muscles. He was the favourite; he had wiped the floor with all the competitors for the past 12 years. But this year it was going to be different I was confident of it. I watch in awe like a child as his throw soared out of the arena of into the distance. When it eventually came to be my turn, I was shaking in fear of messing up my shot at achieving my dream. Stepping up onto the platform felt like climbing Mount Olympus. I was shaking so much that I almost dropped my discus. Breathing in deeply I prepared myself for the throw knowing that whatever happened next was completely up to me.

Reaching for Gold

By Tava Smiley & Lochlan Robinson

Collaborative Story

I woke up this morning in a cold sweat. I had been dreaming that I was competing as a gymnast in the Olympics. I had gone into the air to do a triple flip, and when I came down the floor had turned into water and I suddenly was sinking. Kicking my legs as hard as I could wasn’t helping…I just kept sinking. My arms didn’t seem to be working at all and then finally, as if they had had their batteries replaced, they started moving and pushing me up toward the light above me. I woke up just as I broke the surface and felt shaken and exhilarated all at once. For the first time I could remember, I understood what it felt like to have two arms. Two arms working together to propel me somewhere. Two arms that held strength and power. Twice the power that I had ever known in my real life. I had lain in my bed marvelling at that feeling. My dream hadn’t all been a fantasy. I am a gymnast. I am competing in the Olympics. I do have one good arm. My life feels like a dream. Today I will be the first amputee ever to compete as a gymnast in the official Olympic Games. I will use the one hand I have to pinch myself. Not that it has come easy. I have worked tirelessly and consistently to get to this place. No one thought this was possible. I was told that no amputee would ever be able to compete in the Olympics as they just couldn’t complete the requirements. Well, guess what? I proved them all wrong. Only my dad believed I could do it. He always was behind me and holding me up. I told him my dream, and he said “yes, if you believe you can do it, I believe you can do it.” And we prayed. A lot. And I never quit. Even when things got harder than I thought I could handle, when everything hurt and when the frustration felt too great to get past. I did get past it, and now I am here. On the morning of the biggest day of my life. Hopefully the best day of my life. I know that just getting here has been a win. Showing myself and the world what is possible has motivated me to this place. But the truth is…I do have one more goal…and I believe I can achieve it today. That goal is gold. And I believe that with my one hand, I can reach it.

MATHS DEPARTMENT

It is always rewarding to see the wonderful enthusiasm many of our pupils have for mathematics at Aldro across all year groups.

We have had another excellent year in the maths department, and the introduction of our first maths badges! These were awarded to a few deserving Form 8 pupils at the end of the summer term, and we hope to be able to give out some more badges this coming year. We will be on the lookout for pupils who take part in optional challenges, achieve in competitions and online practice, and set an example in maths lessons.

During the Christmas term, the children were busy preparing for the Annual Times Tables Squad Challenge. Preliminary rounds consisted of children coming up to Mrs Drayton's classroom at breaktimes and completing as many random times tables in five minutes as they possibly could. The pupils with the most correct answers in each year group in each squad went through to the grand final which took place in the Christmas term final school assembly. Twenty-four of our

best times-tablers gathered in their four squads to compete in front of the whole school. It was great to see the children from each year group work together in their squad to try and remember the most times tables in three minutes. In the last minute of the challenge, the spectators were allowed to cheer as loudly as they could for their squad and the noise was deafening! There could only be one winner and this year it went to Darley. Hall missed out by one, Alders were six behind and Meads lost by seven times tables. Well done to everyone involved and keep learning those tables!

We all love a worthwhile trip at Aldro, and Form 5 were able to enjoy our annual maths visit to King Edward’s, Witley again this year in January. The children watched an exciting show by ‘Isaac Newton’ who showed us some fascinating maths and science. Form 5 particularly enjoyed the ‘bumpy custard’ graph which cleverly simplified the fundamentals of how to find the area under a curve. ‘Newton’ had us entertained with his demonstrations and interesting facts

about gravity, the solar system, rainbows, and other inventors and inventions. The show culminated with some exciting audience participation when our host asked some eager children to navigate chairs with wheels in order to demonstrate the laws of motion. We cannot wait to see what show King Edward’s have in store for us next January!

It has been a bumper year of competitions in our department. Eight of our Form 8 and two Form 7 pupils were put to the test in the UK Intermediate Mathematical Challenge (for Y11 and below). We were delighted when the results revealed three bronze medals, six silver medals and a gold medal, along with invitations for Xavier, Eddison and Jonty to sit the next round of the competition.

In February 2024, pupils in Form 5 and 6 had the opportunity to take the Primary Maths Challenge. In addition to the many certificates awarded, six of our pupils made it through to the bonus round, in which they earned three bronze and two silver certificates. This is an improvement on our impressive results in the previous year’s competition! Well done to Lele, Dorcas, Luca, Nicolas, Anjali and Simi who made the bonus round.

Later in the year, it was time for the UK Junior Mathematical Challenge, taken by many pupils in Forms 6-8, along with one of our most able Form 5 pupils. We were delighted that fifty-two of the children earned medals! Special mention must go to Nicolas Wu (Form 5) who earned a silver medal, and to Lele Lai, Rufus Blackwell and Xavier Rees who were each ‘Best in Year’ in forms 6-8 respectively. An impressive fourteen pupils were invited to the second round of the competition and Lele Lai, Ben Cang, George Lye, along with Alfred Wareing, all earned a Certificate of Merit in this harder ‘Kangaroo’ round. Xavier Rees did himself proud and was invited to take part in the prestigious Mathematical Olympiad, in which he fared well, earning a Certificate of Merit.

We have some keen mathematicians in Forms 3 and 4 and therefore both year groups were also given the chance to compete in their ‘First Maths Challenge’ in the summer. Twenty-two of these scored gold or silver certificates and all pupils received a certificate for their efforts. We look forward to watching some of these budding mathematicians progress as they move up to the middle school!

Mrs Drayton continues to build confidence in many of our pupils with her valuable maths clubs in the mornings, designed to support and

grow mathematical confidence in our pupils. Adding to this, she introduced a times tables club for selected Form 3 and 4 students. The junior department continue to build a solid foundation in times tables with daily challenges in Form 3. We all work hard in the department to support mathematical thinking at every level, and my thanks must go to the experienced maths and learningsupport teachers who have dedicated many hours to this, both in the classroom and beyond.

Further up the school, our pupils taking academic scholarships in Form 8 continued to impress in their academic scholarship examinations, achieving highly and adding to Aldro’s roll of academic scholars. Achievement in maths at Common Entrance after half term was also fantastic, with our pupils individually achieving what we in the department felt was their personal best. Overall, 71% achieved A or A* grades in the new Core paper, and there was no shortage of stretch and challenge when ten of our twenty-one Common Entrance pupils sat the Additional paper. Now in its second year, all the students who rose to the challenge of the Additional paper can be enormously proud of the skills they demonstrated, which required much higher-level thinking and application across topics.

Our coveted red and green maths rulers have been handed out in many of the headmaster’s assemblies this year to celebrate particularly enthusiastic participation, most commonly in Mathematics, and we hope to have some newly designed rulers to hand out this year. Do keep an eye out for the maths badge criteria, and hopefully we will see children seizing many of the opportunities provided to problemsolve their way to one of these beautiful badges!

Tandy McCann (Head of Maths)

SCIENCE WEEK

This year's Science Week at Aldro was an extraordinary exploration of the theme 'Time'. The week was packed with engaging activities and exciting trips, providing students with a deeper understanding of the concept of time and its significance in science.

One of the highlights was the Form 8 trip to London, where students visited the Royal Observatory, the historic location of Greenwich Mean Time. The visit included an exciting planetarium show, which transported the pupils through the cosmos, enhancing their appreciation of astronomy and the measurement of time.

Form 6 enjoyed the annual trip to Wellington College for the Chemistry Spectacular show. Our students were thrilled to have front row seats, allowing them to experience the explosive and colourful demonstrations up close. The show sparked a sense of wonder and curiosity about the chemical reactions and principles that govern our world.

Additionally, all pupils had the opportunity to participate in the British Science Week National Poster Competition. This creative challenge encouraged students to express their scientific ideas and understanding of 'Time' through artistic and innovative posters, showcasing their talent and knowledge.

Science Week was a resounding success, filled with memorable experiences that enriched our students' scientific journey. We look forward to next years's Science week, with ‘Change and Adapt’ as the theme.

SCIENCE CHALLENGE AT LANCING COLLEGE

12 Form 6 pupils went to Lancing College to carry out a variety of science experiments. They were sorted into teams mixed with pupils from other prep schools and the teams competed against each other. Each science discipline had a winning team and the team including Lilly Graham won the biology section (so she received a book token). The points for each pupil were tallied and there was also a winning school for the whole day – and for the first time ever, WE WON!! The other highlight of the day was, of course, the presentation of birds of prey by Huxley’s of Horsham.

SCIENCE CHALLENGE EASTER POSTER COMPETITION – DESIGN A WONKA CHOCOLATE EGG

On Saturday, 11th May, the Aldro Science Department was thrilled to host our own Form 3 pupils along with students from local schools for a memorable Young Astronauts Day. The event was a fantastic opportunity for young minds to dive into the wonders of space exploration and aerodynamics through hands-on activities and engaging experiences.

The day kicked off with the exciting task of designing, making, and launching their own water rockets. The pupils eagerly embraced the

We had a good variety of entries this term, with some egg-sellent (sorry!) suggestions for how the egg would give the eater superpowers or make some kind of magic happen. It was again a tough decision to choose the winning posters. Before they are announced, there are two special mentions: Freddie and Arthur Moss. Their posters were both very good but the research they carried out was massively enhanced by them visiting an actual cocoa plantation over the Easter holiday.

YOUNG ASTRONAUTS DAY

challenge, learning about the principles of aerodynamics as they crafted their rockets for optimal flight. The joy and excitement on their faces as they launched their creations into the sky were truly priceless.

Adding to the day’s excitement was an incredible planetarium show held in an inflatable dome. This immersive experience transported the young astronauts through the stars and planets, igniting their curiosity about the vastness of space and our place within it.

A special highlight of the day was a visit from an "astronaut" – our very own Mr Templeton-Ward!

Young Astronauts Day was a resounding success, filled with laughter, learning, and unforgettable experiences. The photos from the day capture the enthusiasm and wonder of our budding astronauts as they embarked on their journey of discovery. We look forward to hosting more events like this in the future.

DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY

In our task of preparing pupils for their next steps in senior schools, it is my job to instil in them a love of Design and Technology. My primary goal is to achieve this by introducing them to a wide range of different materials and processes and develop their skills via a range of different design and make tasks. At Aldro we do this by creating a range of different usable practical outcomes alongside a design portfolio that documents the theory elements and practical achievements. This will prepare them for GCSE and A-Level coursework or for that matter any research, design, development, manufacture or evaluative project they might encounter in a range of different subjects in the future. This year we have covered the following and I hope that you enjoy viewing the photographs of the children’s marvellous outcomes over the coming pages.

Mrs Matthews

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

Build a Business

Aldro welcomed local entrepreneur Sam Rogerson who set up the local Children’s Business Fair initiative. All pupils in Forms 7 and 8 were given the opportunity to attend a series of tutorial sessions where they learnt about the world of business and setting up their own companies to create, market and sell their own products. In this programme pupils made and sold candle products to family and friends and whilst gaining an understanding of the importance of minimising costs and maximising profits, and also considering concepts such as marketing strategies and the difference between revenue and

profit. At the end of the course pupils were invited to participate in a dragon’s den style ‘big pitch’ to gain investment on their business ideas.

Children’s Business Fair

Once again, several pupils also participated at local Children’s Business Fair’s held in Farnham, Guildford and Camberley. Highlights from this year have been Charlie Hutchings whose business, Eco Deco, specialising in high end hardwood products, has made £3000 from 5 different Children’s Business Fairs; as well as the Davies family who wrote this following report:-

For the Children's Business Fair, we made bird feeders, tree decorations, and glass fused tea light holders from natural materials. We reduced our costs by using logs from fallen trees in the woods, and craft supplies from previous projects at home. We had a busy Autumn half term holiday making the products.

Our stand was on Guildford High Street at the beginning of December, and everyone was Christmas shopping, so the street was really busy. We sold out of all our products

and made £654.50. After deducting our costs (£110), the total profit was £544.50. We donated 25% of this to the Aldro Playground Project and 25% to the RSPB. The best things about taking part in the Business Fair was making the products and learning from Sam Rogerson (CEO CBF) how to talk to people to convince them to buy from us.

James and Isobel Davies

DT SCHOLARSHIP ENRICHMENT

This session facilitates those with a passion for DT to have access to our facilities where they can undertake a range of extra-curricular projects of their own choosing. This year we had a wide range of different practical outcomes, as well as some impressive portfolios. James Davies took his 80 page portfolio to Radley for their inaugural Innovation Scholarship Assessment day, and we were delighted that he was awarded an Exhibition for Innovation.

This year’s major scholarship projects have been:

George Lye – Birdtable

Archie Bickerton – Miggle's Kennel

Leo Booth – Britta's Windchime

James Davies – Drum Light

Charlie Hutchings – Desk Tidy

Charlie Paul – Fishing Stool

Julia Maunsell-Thomas – Skirt

Freddie Williams-Cole – Solitaire

Rafferty King – Architectural Studies

Lochlan Robinson - Skateboard

CHRISTMAS STOCKINGS

In recent years pupils have created wreaths, stars, trees, and angels to adorn the doors at Aldro. In 2023 it was the year of the stocking and once again we had a wide variety of creative entries.

FORM 3

PICTURE PERFECT

First introduction to the workshop creating a picture frame encompassing a range of materials.

SEW EASY

Discovering textiles, making a needle book and learning how to sew badges onto their school jumper.

FORM 4

LOCK UP

Batch producing 3 name plaques using CAD/CAM to demonstrate repeatability in industrial manufacture.

FORM 5

GLORIOUS GIFTS

MEGASTRUCTURES

Designing for a client, making a soap bar and its packaging as a thank you gift for a member of staff.

A study of architecture and the creation of straw models as a teamwork exercise.

FORM 6

KEY SKILLS: TAG THE BAG

Introduction to metalwork and the creation of an aluminium tag to help identify otherwise identical laptop bags.

DESIGN TIME

Studying design history and using these influences to inspire eyecatching clock designs.

FORM 7

BIRDHUTS

Interpreting working drawings to accurately construct a bird house and independently styling it to embody a British beach hut.

THIRSTY WORK

Introducing use of a digital portfolio featuring research, ideas, development of CAD designs and photographs of their drink packaging design.

TIE RACK

More advanced pupils created an independent project with the open brief of creating a means of storing/ displaying their collection of Aldro ties awarded during their time here.

Combining simple electronics, hexagonal box construction and industry/nature inspired vinyl graphics to create a mood light.

FORM 8 BRIGHT IDEAS

POST-IT NOTE EASTER CHALLENGE

The Post-it note art competition is a much anticipated Easter holiday challenge and this year the standard has been higher than ever!

Congratulations to Charlotte Orr, Tintin Gazizov, Isabella Livingston, Selena Cai, Glenn Shen, James Davies and Mrs Beadle for winning each of their categories. These mini-masterpieces, created in a wide variety of media are delightful and an inspiration to us all.

MEDICAL ROOM ART GALLERY

This is a new Art challenge and its popularity will ensure that it becomes an annual event. With the development of the medical centre, pupils ere invited to create bright and uplifting pictures, to lift the spirits of anybody needing medical attention. These artworks certainly fill that brief and were selected, by the school nurses, from a very strong field. They will adorn the space for one year –until the next challenge, when a new group of artists will have the chance to exhibit their work in this new gallery.

CHRISTMAS CARDS AND MORE!

This has become a popular biennial project at Aldro and once again artists have delighted and amazed with their stunning designs. The project was so popular in fact that over 95% of parents purchased cards, mugs, bags and wrapping paper with pupils’ designs on them, raising a whopping £700 for our school charity and the Art Department.

DRAW WHAT YOU SEE, NOT WHAT YOU THINK...

Creating self-portraits is by no means an easy task. Over the course of six weeks, the pupils in Form 3 rose to the challenge admirably and these “before” and “after” drawings are a testament to their tenacity and their ability to step outside their comfort zones. They demonstrated their ability to draw what they could see, instead of what they thought they looked like and their achievements are remarkable!

PLAYING WITH ABSTRACTION

In a complete contrast to the precision of observational drawings, pupils explored the colourful, abstract world of Sandra Silberzweig, a contemporary Canadian artist. They explored common elements in her work and created these vibrant and joyful masterpieces in chalk pastel, inspired by her style.

ASPIRATIONAL PAINTINGS

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” It’s a question we often ask children. Pupils in Form 4 gave this some serious thought and used their ideas to create these vibrant, energetic paintings of themselves in thirty years’ time. They considered what their occupation might look like – striving to communicate their ideas through dynamic action. Using only the primary colours, they learned how to mix all the colours they needed –including skin tones. They explored the brushwork of Vincent van Gogh and observed the way he mixed many varieties of the same colour, using this inspiration to enhance their work. Can you identify their occupations?

COLLABORATIVE COIL POTS

Form 5 pupils created these lovely pots by collaborating in pairs, over the course of two lessons. Each week they took turns to be the designer or the assistant, swapping roles so that each pupil achieved a completed pot. They learned how to roll coils and twist them into a variety of patterns. They also used wooden stamps to create decorative disks. They demonstrated good joining techniques and the importance of stability coils to create strong, sturdy pots. When the glaze was dry, they wiped it back, selectively, to enhance their beautiful coils. Once they acquired all these skills, they invited pupils from St Mary’s Shackleford to come and learn from them. They were excellent teachers! (more about that later on…)

ILLUSTRATING GREEK MYTHS

AND LEGENDS

Drawing on their knowledge of Greek Myths and Legends, pupils created these highly imaginative interpretations of their favourite stories. They explored bilateral symmetry to create unique shapes for their pots before decorating them with drawings and decorations inspired by traditional Greek designs.

CONTOURS AND COLLAGE

These colourful collages are the culmination of Form 6's exploration of blind and modified contour drawing. Using mirrors, pupils learned to follow the contours of their faces with their eyes, while making the same marks on their paper, with minimal looking at what they were drawing. Their drawings were copied onto several pieces of brightly coloured paper from which selected areas were cut and pasted to create these powerful images.

TRANSFORMING SLABS INTO POTS

Form 6 put their design skills to the test, creating these slab pots. They considered the function of their pot and how that would affect the size and shape. After drawing their ideas, they worked out the exact size of each section and created cardboard templates to allow them to cut precise shapes. They demonstrated secure joining techniques and lots of problem solving in order to achieve these imaginative and highly functional pots.

During the summer term, the Form 7 students explored a different approach to art by working with mixed media. Their task was to recreate an image of an octopus tentacle using collage, oil pastel, paint, and pencil. As they experimented with combining different materials, they discovered creative ways to blend media and found which techniques complemented each other best. The final pieces were impressive, with students successfully creating depth and tone in their work.

MIXED MEDIA OCTOPUS

HUMANIMALS

Humanimals has been a very popular project with Form 7, who enjoyed exploring art-making that did not rely on their drawing skills. Taking advantage of their access to technology, they used image search engines to find and combine elements of human and animal forms. The most successful artists considered how the different parts would connect, to achieve a “realistic”, imaginative and often comical creature.

These collages were used as starting point for drypoint etchings, which lend themselves to careful rendition of very fine details. Pupils started by creating prints using black ink and then, if they wished, they used a variety of coloured inks to explore and extend their printing experience.

Finally, they chose one of their black prints and experimented with hand colouring, using watercolour paints. The learning curve was steep, as watercolour is an unforgiving medium which requires meticulous care. The results speak for themselves!

SILK TIES

STILL LIFE IN PEN

The art room has a vast collection of strange and wonderful objects to draw and Form 7 took full advantage of this. Revisiting and building upon their observational skills, they explored ways to really look at each detail of their subject and draw what they could see, rather than what they think. Drawings were done in pen, which was terrifying for some at first, but they soon realised how liberating it is to not be a slave to the eraser. It encouraged pupils to draw carefully and deliberately.

The expectation was that each pupil, regardless of their skill or confidence level, would challenge him or herself, make mistakes and get out of his or her comfort zone. There was a lot of trepidation, some frustration at times, but also many, many breakthroughs. Several pupils surprised themselves by achieving drawings they thought were beyond their capabilities, impressing their teachers, but far more importantly… impressing themselves!

One might think that after more than 20 years of Aldronians creating silk ties, there would be no surprises left. One would be wrong! This year the Form 8s have really pulled the cat out of the bag – quite literally in Julius’s and Chris’s case –and delighted us again with their innovative designs. Fish featured quite prominently, along

with drama, railways, skateboards, hammers, dragons … and cats! Whether artists chose abstract patterns, meticulously rendered, or challenged themselves to draw pictorial designs, their ties have delighted and impressed us as their creators have proudly worn them for all to enjoy.

MUSIC

CAROLINE DAVY

Back in September, the Aldro family welcomed me with open arms as the new Director of Music. I have been in teaching for over 15 years with my career starting as a music teacher and community music manager at Dartford Grammar School, Kent. It was here where I met Old Dartfordian Sir Mick Jagger who walked into one of my very first school band rehearsals… luckily the pupils were happily improvising around some Rolling Stones riffs!

Originally from Leicestershire, I moved to London to study music at Trinity Laban followed by the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. Alongside my career, my biggest achievement is being a mum to Ethan and our black lab, Teddy. There is nothing better than going for a walk in the woods with my family followed by a good coffee!

I am very grateful to be part of the Aldro community and feel privileged to be able to open the musical door to many Aldro pupils this year. I am excited to build many more opportunities for all in 2024/2025!

ADVANCED MUSICIANS CONCERT

A NEW OBOE AND BASSOON TEACHER!

This year we welcomed Sylvia Turner to Aldro’s music department. Sylvia teaches oboe and bassoon and is a very valuable member of the team. Ben Wang (oboe), Joshua Robinson (bassoon) and Nicolas Wu (oboe) all benefit hugely from her expert tutelage, and are all keen members of the school orchestra.

The inaugural Advanced Musicians Concert celebrated the talents of Aldro’s finest musicians with some working towards music scholarships at senior schools. An array of performances created an eclectic evening of music from a sultry Spanish Love Song performed by George Lye on alto saxophone, an upbeat Car Wash by Anjali Atkins on drum kit, a delicate performance of No Man’s Land on classical guitar by Cindy Yu and a mature performance of She’s like a Swallow by Oscar Davison. Good luck to all our musicians who will be auditioning next year for music scholarships at prestigious senior schools.

PERFORMING ARTS

CHAPEL CHOIR

What an outstanding year the Chapel Choir have had. I am extremely proud of all the choristers for their fantastic commitment and musical contribution to a huge number of events throughout the year, both in school and externally.

The year commenced with the choir singing In Flander's Fields by John McCrae and Sharon Durant at the Remembrance service. This moving anthem in 2 parts was performed delicately by the choir. Following this successful performance, rehearsals were swiftly redirected into full Christmas mode with the children engaged in challenging repertoire. A particular favourite of the choir’s was Who is this Tiny Child? by Jay Althouse alongside other works by Chilcott, Darke and Slagle Mayo. The choir led the Carol Service with professional poise, including a quick turn around of repertoire when the pianist played a piece in a different order to published! Henry Cocks delighted the congregation singing the solo for Once in Royal David’s City and Alfred Wareing beautifully singing the solo for In the Bleak Midwinter. The choir were delighted with their performance at this event with Mr Rose kindly complimenting them with ‘the best Aldro carol service in 21 years!’ What an achievement!

Prior to this event, the choir enjoyed performing their Christmas programme to the local Shackleford residents in our annual Candlelit Carols service in the Aldro Chapel. The choir were also delighted to be invited to their first external engagement at St.Luke’s church, Grayshott. The choir led the ‘Christmas is Coming’ event on

stage accompanied by the huge sound of the organ. It was a fantastic experience for these young musicians with a ‘packed to the rafters’ church. It was a late night for the choir but definitely worth it. ‘That was the best night ever!’ exclaimed Ted Brinkley!

The new year saw a lighter feel to rehearsals with the musicians relaxed and enjoying exploring new repertoire. In May, the choir enjoyed a visit to Charterhouse as part of their Choral Day. Alongside other prep schools, the choir rehearsed some extremely challenging repertoire including Hear My Words by Parry and Collegium Regale by Howells. This was luckily interspersed with more light-hearted songs by Adele, Joel and Clapton. Our performance of Althouse’s Jubilate

Deo was incredibly well-received and we were delighted to be back in the Chapel at Charterhouse. The composer Jay Althouse quickly became a firm favourite this year!

Our year culminated with a muchdeserved treat for the choir members who had a brilliant time whizzing down the dry ski slope at Aldershot on inflatable rings!

Sadly, but excitedly for them, we say goodbye to our dedicated and long-standing members Ben Cang, Eddi Matthews, Alfred Wareing, Dorcas Yang and Xavier Rees. The choir wish them all the best for their future musical endeavours and very much hope that they continue to enjoy singing in the future. In the meantime we are recruiting and look forward to many auditions for new members early in the Christmas Term. If you wish your child to audition he or she must be in Form 5 and above, and be having singing lessons in or out of school.

CHRISTMAS CONCERT

The Christmas season at Aldro kicked off brilliantly with a festive concert of solos, ensembles and bands. The guitar ensembles commenced the concert with a well-known melody Feliz Navidad followed by more Christmas delights including a show-stopping solo performance of O Holy Night sung beautifully by Beth Petrow. The Jazz Band delighted the audience with Mambo No.5, the Chamber Choir thrilled us with an arrangement of White Christmas and the Function Band successfully got our toes tapping with Merry Christmas Everyone with lead vocals by Eddi Matthews and James Pickford.

JUNIOR MUSIC SHOWCASE

In the Lent Term the Junior Department delighted a huge audience with an array of musical talent in a special concert featuring only Form 3 and Form 4. The Junior Music Showcase evening was a real highlight of the term celebrating the hard work and success of Aldro’s youngest musicians. Amongst many brilliant performances Charlotte Orr wowed on the drums with Eye of the Tiger and Miles Parfitt’s stunning cello performance of Jupiter was equally wonderful. Jago Morgan gave a stirring performance of My Grandfather’s Clock and Priyanka Atkins delivered a strong vocal during Tomorrow. The Form 3 choir thoroughly enjoyed performing Artic Home accompanied by a montage of artic photos created by Roland Farr-Leader and inspired by the lyrics ‘Can you hear the ice breaking away? As the land gets warmer every day.’ The concert finished with a fun and entertaining performance of Viking Rock by the Form 4 choir.

THE ALDRO SCHOOL ORCHESTRA

PREP SCHOOL MUSIC DAYS

Throughout the year, our young musicians have been fortunate to enjoy many visits to external music events at senior schools. They have been met with challenging repertoire that has furthered their musicianship, theoretical understanding and enhanced their ensemble experiences. The Prep Schools’ Wind Band day, Strings Day and Choral Day at Charterhouse and the Orchestral Day at Pangbourne College were all inspiring for the pupils and included a huge variety of exciting music for them to enjoy, including Mozart’s Ave Verum, an arrangement of Katy Perry’s Firework and Jupiter from Holst’s The Planets.

The School Orchestra gathered together for the first time in the Summer Term to enjoy making music together. A total of 30 musicians representing each of the families of the orchestra rehearsed weekly to explore TV and film repertoire including The Doctor Who Theme, Ghostbusters and the challenging Mars from Holst’s The Planets. With Kimi Yan leading, the orchestra’s premiere performance took place at the Regatta with a large audience in attendance. The orchestra has given pupils a chance to make music in a larger setting developing their musicianship, increase cognitive skills and collaboratively work as a team across year groups towards a shared goal. It has also given pupils like Anjali Atkins the experience of learning percussion alongside her fantastic drum kit performances, and pupils who have only had a few lessons on their instruments, the chance to rehearse and perform with others.

ROCKFEST!

Well, what can I say about Aldro’s first ever Rockfest? What a fantastic, fun, entertaining and courageous evening. Aldro’s young rockers came out in their full force to support one another through a brilliant evening showcasing bands from Form 3 through to Form 8. A total of 15 bands took part with hours of rehearsals learning lyrics, practising riffs, learning drum kit grooves and working out how to put it all together! We had pupils playing drums learning a part for the first time ever, pupils singing solos having never sung a solo before, guitarists

switching to bass guitar and having to learn a whole new different way of playing and pianists learning complicated chord sequences! The Chamber Choir, Function Band and Woodwind Ensemble, conducted by Mrs Phillips, also took part, with the latter accompanied by Mr Robinson on bass, Mr Moulard on electric guitar and Mr Edwards on drums. The night kicked off with the Form 4 boys’ version of Seven Nation Army which segued into hip-shaking Taylor Swift numbers by the Form 5 and Form 6 girls. After the interval the audience were treated to numbers by Coldplay,

Amy Winehouse and Queen. The Form 7 girls rocked out to Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit with the night ending with Will Morgan, Henry Cocks, Louis Green, Ben Smith and Felix Lowe performing the fantastic She Sells Sanctuary by The Cult. Special mention to Chris Tilbury’s dreamy solo performance of Radiohead’s Creep, not forgetting to finally mention the Flash Mob finale of We Will Rock You, bringing together Rock icons amongst the parents and staff.

PERFORMING ARTS

Sofia

ALDRONIAN DRAMA HIGHLIGHTS 23/24

Probably the funniest play ever. Really inclusive and well scripted.

Oscar

The costumes were great. I really loved the hula skirts!

Charlotte

Acting as a cat was kind of crazy. Miaow!

Alice

PIRATES OF THE CURRY

BEAN

Form 7 took to the high seas for their production of ‘Pirates of the Curry Bean’ in the Christmas Term!

ALL THAT GLISTERS- MRS SWANBOROUGH’S SWAN SONG!

We were highly entertained by the world premiere of ‘All that Glisters’, which featured the Form 6’s transporting us to Hollywood; and who can forget that tap dance?!

Magical adventure through Shakespeare’s world. I really enjoyed rocking hard in my band!

The brilliance of all of Shakespeare plays wrapped up into one. I loved being given the opportunity to play one of Shakespeare’s most famous characters.

James G

GRIMM’S TALES

Form 5 treated us to a trio of performances, with their versions of 'Rumpelstiltskin', 'Little Red Riding Hood' and 'Hansel and Gretel'.

Congratulations to our drama scholars - Eddison Matthews to King Edward's Witley, Alfie Graham to Charterhouse, Will Franks to Sherborne.

Jemima

THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS

Children in the junior department took us to the heart of the English countryside for their 2024 production, a delightful adaption of Kenneth Grahame’s ‘The Wind in the Willows’. The audience met the charming and whimsical characters of Mole, Ratty, Badger, and the irrepressible Mr. Toad, along with the mischievous Chief Weasel and his gang.

Through their story of friendship, bravery and the beauty of nature, the juniors brought smiles to the faces, and warmth to the hearts of the audience.

The show was such a hit thanks to the dedication and enthusiasm of the pupils, for some of whom it was their first time on stage! The students’ portrayal of these beloved characters was enhanced by creative set and costume designs by Miss Sarah Allen, artistic scenery by Victoria Beadle and a delightful piano accompaniment from Mrs Davy. Huge thanks also to all the parents who helped out in the face paint department, a real treat! The production not only highlighted the pupils talents but also the supportive atmosphere fostered by the audience. Well done to all of the junior department. You should be very proud.

LAMDA RESULTS FOR 2024

With Lamda requests being higher than ever, and Mrs Cardy-Brown and me looking to scale back, we welcomed Tash Thompson and Joely Barbour to our team. Unfortunately, the Godalming festival was going through some turmoil, and only at the very last moment were they able to put something together. Needless to say, it was far too late for us to get involved, but some of the more enterprising parents managed to get their children in to perform, and I believe they won all their respective groups.

Without the Godalming festival, performance opportunities were rather sparse, but that allowed us to focus on our very busy exam schedule. This included a number of Shakespeare exams, all of which were high distinction scores for Isobel Davies, Christian McCann, Armand Cruse, Henry Murphy, James Gore, Ava Gilmour, Katie Tillet, Charlotte Lidgitt, Anjali Atkins, Gabriella Cornelius and Ben Smith. They all gave wonderfully unique performances, with the new material for the exam.

We did almost two hundred exams in nine days spread across March, May and June, and the results were our best ever - a great reflection on our growing team.

It was another busy year for drama scholarships, and we would like to congratulate our successful drama scholars: Will Franks, Alfie Graham and Eddie Matthews, along with those who worked so hard to put themselves in the frame: Tom Newman and Chris Tilbury, both of whom produced brilliant pieces and narrowly missed out. They all produced fantastic pieces, ranking amongst the best we have produced over the last six years, since we started working with scholars.

Overall it has been a very busy year, which will hopefully lead to similar triumphs in the year to come.

Thank you all for your patience and support.

Adrian and Joy Cardy Brown

LAMDA

Lochlan Robinson 6 E Act 77

Libby Edelson 6 E Act 86

Freddie Forman 5 E Act 86

Monty Plaistowe 5 G1 V&P 85

Laurence Davison 5 G1 V&P 83

Casper Hawley 5 G1 V&P 85

Xander Chorley 5 G1 V&P 85

Maria Liu 5 G1 V&P 85

Kaiqiao Chen 6 G1 V&P 89

Hector Bickerton 5 G1 V&P 82

Lily Orr 5 G1 V&P 78

Gabriella Reuteler-Lumsdon 5 G1 V&P 89

Felix Ding 5 G1 V&P 70

Luke Booth 5 G1 V&P 87

Charlotte Simms 5 G1 V&P 81

Freddie Forman 5 G1 V&P 91

Nicolas Wu 5 G1 V&P 86

Marcus Lowe 5 G1 V&P 88

Arjun Trikha 5 G1 V&P 87

Bella Ma 5 G1 V&P 87

Quintus Collins 5 G1 V&P 89

Teddy Beabey 5 G1 V&P 87

Bella Campbell-James 5 G1 V&P 87

Selena Cai 6 G1 V&P 89

Benjamin Robinson 5 G1 Act 75

Emmi Crichton 5 G1 Act 90

Isabella Livingston 5 G1 ACT 90

Isobel Lidgitt 5 G1 duo Act 94

Georgina Stancliff 5 G1 duo Act 84

Joshua Noundou 7 G2 V&P 88

Peter Gazizov 6 G2 V&P 83

Elliott Clark 6 G2 V&P 82

Christian McCann 6 G2 V&P 81

Armand Cruse 6 G2 V&P 83

Georgie Botes 7 G2 V&P 82

Lexie Nicholls 6 G2 V&P 86

Isobel Davies 5 G2 V&P 86

Dorcas Young 6 G2 ACT 78

William Morgan 7 G2 Act 85

Julia Maunsell-Thomas 7 G2 Act 86

George Jiao 6 G2 Act 90

Wilbur Watson 7 G2 Act 97

Martha Marshall-Taylor 7 G2 Act 86

Joshua Robinson 6 G2 Act 93

Luca Yang 6 G2 duo Act 66

Hugh Lamont 6 G2 duo Act 81

Amelia Zhu 6 G2 duo Act 76

Nicole Ou 6 G2 duo Act 74

Patrick Kelly 6 G2 duo Act 81

Cameron Rowland 6 G2 duo Act 82

Tom Niel 6 G2 duo ACT 88

Rory Murray 6 G2 duo ACT 87

Kristen Thompson 6 G2 duo Act 89

Jemima Moss 6 G2 duo Act 87

James Gore 6 G2 duo Act 96

Henry Murphy 6 G2 duo Act 97

Ben Wang 6 G2 duo Act 76

Freddie Holliday 6 G2 duo Act 84

Maisie Templeton-Ward 6 G2 duo Act 83

Lilly Graham 6 G2 duo Act 86

Anjali Atkins 6 G2 duo Act 98

Gabriella Cornelius 6 G2 duo Act 92

CLASSICS AT ALDRO

FORM V GREEK MYTH PLAYS

In their Latin lessons in the summer term, Form V split into small groups that each chose and adapted a Greek myth into a play to present to their peers. They all showed real commitment and enthusiasm in their research, before a performance that treated Mr Ivall and me to a plethora of gods, heroes, and the odd Minotaur climbing out of Pandora’s dressing up box!

The Classics Department has had a busy year, with multiple trips near and far, as well exceptional scholarly accomplishment, including the first two candidates for Greek scholarship exams in living (i.e. M. Lombardot’s) memory – both achieving high marks with only a year’s study. Clearly the sandwiches prepared by Mr McCoy and his team for weekly Greek club contain a secret sauce!

In a concerted attempt at oneupmanship (with apologies to the Cardy-Browns' history helmet), the department was pleased to inaugurate three prizes this year: the Scutum Scientiae for an outstanding CE candidate, the Galea Grammaticae for Latin scholarship and the Glaux Glosson for Greek scholarship. Congratulations to Seb, Alfred, and Xavier!

JD

JD

FORM VI - BIGNOR ROMAN VILLA

Not just studying the Latin language, Form VI look at the wider Roman world in which it was spoken. As part of this, they visited Bignor Roman Villa in Sussex to learn about life in the province of Britannia. They experienced some of the aspects of farming life two thousand years ago as well as seeing some of the best classical mosaics outside Italy and Greece.

FORM VIII - BRITISH MUSEUM & BELFAST

As part of the Leavers’ Programme, Form VIII spent a day in London. They enjoyed looking around the Legion exhibition at the British Museum (giving them yet another chance to wear Roman armour!) before exploring HMS Belfast.

TUDOR COINS

Form 5 have been studying the Tudors and Mrs. Campbell-James kindly came in to show us some of her Tudor coin collection. We were mesmerized by the age of the coins and the opportunity we had to get ‘up close and personal’ with them. We even got to handle them! Pupils were surprised at how small and delicate the Tudor groats were and the detail that we could see on coins that were over 400 years old! Thank you very much Mrs. Campbell-James for sharing your passion for the era and collection with us.

ASTRO PI MISSION ZERO

This year, although many pupils expressed interest, only a few ended up entering the Astro Pi Mission Zero challenge. They had to write a simple program, using the Python coding language, to take a reading from the colour and luminosity sensor on an Astro Pi computer on board the International Space Station. This was then used to set the background colour in a personalised image for the astronauts to see as they went about their daily tasks.

Kieran Duhra and James Pickford, working as a team, had their programs run on the International Space Station and have received certificates to commemorate their achievement. The certificate includes the coordinates of where the International Space Station was when their code was run.

BEBRAS COMPUTATIONAL THINKING CHALLENGE

This year, Aldro pupils from all year groups participated in the Bebras Computational Thinking Challenge. Each pupil had 45 minutes to tackle a series of interactive tasks, designed to encourage logical thinking and problem-solving skills. We achieved some truly remarkable results and surpassed the national points average across the board.

Kits – Form 3

National average: 57 points.

Aldro average: 62 points.

Best in School: 114 points - Edward Taylor

Castors – Forms 4&5

National average: 92 points.

Aldro average: 112 points.

Best in School: 152 points - Henry Blackwell, Xander Chorley, Emmi Crichton, Isobel Davies, Laurence Davison, Maria Liu, Isabella Livingston, Nicolas Wu, Spencer Zhang.

Juniors – Forms 6&7

National average: 81 points.

Aldro average: 95 points.

Best in school: 148 points – Luca Yang

Inters – Form 8

National average: 64 points

Aldro average: 73 points

Best in School: 113 points – Dylan Taylor

This year 408,481 pupils in the UK took part in the challenge and so special mention goes to the following who were placed within the top 10% of the UK in their age group (the National competition only applies to the categories of Juniors and above).

Juniors (10-12) required a score ≥ 127: Gabriella Cornelius (131), Cesca Farley (142), Bea Hunt (130), Tom Niel (137), Dorcas Yang (135), Luca Yang (148), Lili Atkins (147), James Gore (140), Amelia Zhu (135), Eloise McCombes (129), Felix Lowe (129), Freddie Williams-Cole (136), Alex Yeldham (141) and Cindy Yu (136).

Inters (12-14) required a score ≥ 107: Dylan Taylor (113), Seb Moss (110) and Ben Chorley (108).

BLENDER DOUGHNUT PROJECT

This year, following exams, form 8 took on a creative project in ICT using Blender. Blender has been used to create 3D assets, games and special effects for Hollywood movies

E-SPORTS TOURNAMENT

The Cottesmore E-Sports Tournament made history this year as the world's first-ever E-Sports competition for prep schools. This landmark event saw twelve schools from across the country competing in two of the most popular video games among young gamers: Rocket League and Minecraft - Capture the Flag.

The Aldro team consisting of Captain, Ben Smith; Vice Caption, Rafferty King; Tom Niel; Leo Mattam and Georgie Stancliffe delivered impressive performances throughout the tournament.

In the Rocket League competition, the team displayed excellent coordination and strategic gameplay, which earned them a well-deserved spot in the semi-finals. Here, they faced off against the eventual champions in a nail-biting match that kept everyone on the edge of their seats. Despite their valiant efforts and commendable teamwork, Aldro narrowly missed out on a place in the finals, securing third place overall.

The Minecraft - Capture the Flag competition was equally thrilling. This game, known for its creative and strategic demands, saw teams battling to outsmart and

and so form 8 were excited to take on the challenge of developing a photo realistic 3D doughnut. The project proved to be a lot of fun with pupils collaborating with each other and even delivering mini workshops in lessons to pass on tips and tricks they had discovered. James Davies was the overall winner of the competition; his doughnut showcased great creativity combined with a fantastic grasp of digital texturing and lighting. Second place went to Leo Booth and third place to George Simms.

outmanoeuvre their opponents to capture the opposing team’s flag while defending their own. Although Aldro didn’t appear in the top three for this event, their participation was marked by innovative strategies and a relentless competitive spirit.

The event was more than just a competition; it was a celebration of digital literacy, strategic thinking, and the spirit of healthy competition. We look forward to seeing more thrilling matches and remarkable game play in the future as E-Sports continue to grow in popularity for inter-school competition.

Pupils have enjoyed a range of activities throughout this year in PSHE. In addition to the established programme of termly themes: Christmas Term – Health and Wellbeing, Lent Term – Healthy Relationships and Summer Term –Living in the Wider World, our pupils have also enjoyed complementing their learning by marking a variety of different special weeks and days.

In November the school came together to mark Anti-Bullying week with “Odd Socks Day” and to mark this year’s theme “Make a Noise About Bullying”. There was an assembly and a series of lessons which all pupils completed, based on the theme. Pupils were encouraged to speak out against bullying whenever and wherever they see it and were given strategies to help them to do this. They have continued with their work on this throughout the year as part of our PSHE programme – helping them to understand and to develop healthy friendships and clear boundaries.

Also in November we marked “UK Parliament Week” by helping pupils to understand what the UK Parliament does and how it works, how democracy functions and how they can have a voice now and in the future.

In February, pupils marked “Children’s Mental Health Week” with the theme “My Voice Matters”. This theme helps to empower young people by equipping them with tools to express themselves and to look after their mental health and wellbeing. Also in February was “Internet Safety Day” with the theme “Inspiring change? Making a difference, managing influence and navigating change online”. In their PSHE lessons, pupils participated in a range of interactive and discussion-based activities.

A YEAR IN PSHE

In February we also celebrated Chinese New Year – The Year of the Dragon! Pupils read about how the Chinese Calendar and Zodiac came to be. We celebrated with an amazing Chinese banquet for lunch, in the decorated dining room. It was absolutely amazing!

In May, the theme for “Mental Health Awareness Week” was “Movement: Moving more for our mental health.” Pupils were encouraged to get involved and think about their own movement and how it has the potential to affect their mental health positively.

FORM 3 WINTERSHALL EASTER RETREAT

Form 3 enjoyed a wonderfully peaceful and reflective day at Wintershall Estate in the Lent term, for their Easter Retreat. The day started with meeting the donkeys and thinking about their importance in the Easter story. After that the pupils watched a drama by the lake. They then walked the Stations of the Cross, stopping to reflect at each one and take a small token to represent each event. In the afternoon, they rotated around activities such as sitting at the Last Supper, dressing as a Roman soldier and discussing images of Jesus. It was a beautiful end to the Lent term.

CRANMER AWARDS

Rufus Blackwell and Henry Evans represented the school in our first ever entry to the Cranmer Awards, a public speaking event at Charterhouse. Both boys spoke eloquently, and Henry won first prize in the regional heat. Henry then went on to represent Guildford Diocese at Hampton Court Palace in February. He was the youngest competitor and his recitation of two Psalms was excellent. Henry was awarded Highly Commended. We were very proud of his achievement. Congratulations, Henry!

FORM 5 VISIT TO RICHMOND SYNAGOGUE.

On Friday 9th February, Form 5 visited the Richmond Synagogue and I had the best time!

To begin with we went to a large room where they pray and worship God. In that room there are two sides to the sanctuary (which is what the room is called) – the men sit on one side and the women sit on the other side, but if you are very young you can sit on either side.

We were shown the Torah scrolls which were amazing. They shimmered in the Ark (which is where they keep the scrolls).

Afterwards we were taught about how Jewish families celebrate Shabbatt each week. There was a

table laid out for a Shabbatt meal. On the table there was some plaited bread which had to be covered. The bread was delicious!

At the meal, the adults drink wine and the children have a little glass of Ribena. They say a prayer about the wine, which is why the bread has to be covered up so that it doesn’t get offended and then they do a prayer for the bread. And then they can eat!

There is a room in the Synagogue where the children are taught how to read and speak Hebrew – the original language of Judaism. We really enjoyed our trip.

Georgina

Stancliffe (5W)

FORM 6 VISIT TO SHAH JAHAN MOSQUE, WOKING.

On Monday the 5th February we visited the Shah Jahan Mosque in Woking. We were greeted by one of the members of the Mosque called Habib. We were split into two groups and the first one (my group) went into the Mosque first.

The Shah Jahan Mosque was built in 1889 in Woking in the town centre. It was the first purpose built mosque built in the UK and Northern Europe. It was quite small (much smaller than I was expecting). The original Mosque is a white and green main building with two small buildings on each side surrounded by grass, flowers and bushes. There was a large, grand main door which was green and white with a beautiful arch. The main building had a green dome (Qubba) with the gold crescent on the top of the dome which is the symbol of Islam. There was also four white towers (Minarets) with little green and gold domes on the top.

We had a look around inside. It was beautiful. It was also green and white.

The floor was carpeted with prayer mats as the carpet design. There was a semi-circle dome cut into the wall called the Mirhab (the reason the Mirhab has a dome is so that when the Imam speaks his voice is echoed around the mosque so everyone can hear him). We also listened to Habib tell us some interesting facts about the Mosque. Afterwards we were given a quiz sheet that had questions on the Mosque and on the back was a blank space to draw a picture of the Mosque.

After lunch we went into one of the prayer halls. These are the new prayer buildings that were opposite the main building. We had to be silent so the people praying were not disturbed.

The mosque is used for prayers but it is also used for funerals and weddings and more celebrations.

I enjoyed the day. It was an interesting visit.

By Freddie Holliday (6E)

FROM 7 VISIT TO NEASDEN HINDU TEMPLE

When we arrived at the Neasden Temple after a long journey, my first thought was that it was a beautiful temple with lots of carving in the wood and marble and the big golden statue of Pramukh swami Maharaj (the founder of the temple) also caught my eye.

The inside of the temple came from places all over the world, the marble from Italy and the wood from UK, and all the carvings were made by volunteers. Before the temple was built, in the 70’s and 80’s the east African refugees didn’t have anywhere to worship in England so they turned a chapel into a small Hindu temple and Pramukh swami Maharaj had a vision that they would build a big temple in London.

Inside the temple we firstly went into the exhibition to fill in the activity sheets, after that we went upstairs and we were shown an Aarti ceremony - a Hindu worship ceremony where the priests wave lit candles Infront of the sacred images (shrines of gods). Afterwards we walked around to look at the shrines.

Once we had looked at the carvings and the shrines we went back downstairs into a pray hall and watched a video about the African refugees and how after Pramukh swami Maharaj died they built the temple with 5000 tonnes of Bulgarian limestone and Italian Carrara marble and it was hand carved in India by 1500 artisans, then the finished pieces were sent over to the UK and built on site by around 3000 volunteers. Finally we went to the gift shop, collected our shoes and went to have lunch at the park.

It was a very interesting visit which we all enjoyed.

Julian Yeldham (Form 7)

RIDING AT ALDRO

Riding continued to be a popular enrichment this year, with mixed groups drawn from Forms 5 to 8 travelling down to Greenways Stables in Eashing during Monday or Friday games sessions.

During these sessions, pupils learnt how to care for horses; grooming and feeding them, managing their tack appropriately, and what to do with the never-ending poo! These stable management sessions alternated with riding the stables’ ponies in which pupils learnt how to ride the different gaits sympathetically.

Many thanks to Sally and Ian at Greenways for running such fun and engaging sessions.

BALLROOM DANCING

Mrs Charles brought her passion of ballroom dancing to the enrichment programme. The children got to learn the waltz, foxtrot, tango and quickstep with the latin dances cha cha cha, samba, rumba, paso doble and jive!

ART MASTERCLASS

During Enrichment, pupils attending the Art Masterclass expressed a desire to learn the art of Drypoint Etching. They quickly mastered the techniques and understood the skills needed. After a little trial-and-error, experimenting with the depth of the scratches, they produced some beautiful etchings with characteristic fine lines and minute detail. The variation of tones achieved is most impressive indeed!

JD

BOOKMAKING

Junior Enrichment saw a group of pupils who were very keen to learn how to fold an A4 piece of paper into a tiny book, with no glue or staples and only one small cut. Having gained this skill, pupils spontaneously extended their experience by creating and combining more books to create chunkier tomes. They also experimented with adding cardboard covers! Between lessons they filled the pages with drawings and stories, delighting in sharing their developing literary masterpieces with their classmates as the weeks passed.

MEDICAL ENRICHMENT

We were very lucky to have Mr Templeton-Ward teach for two terms this year and his medical enrichment was very popular. Mr T-W taught the group many things and one very memorable one was about setting a cast – the group even got to give it a go!

SAILING AT ALDRO

Pupils continue to make the most of Aldro Lake as one of the safest places to learn to sail. This year Jemima Downing and Roland Farr-Leander became the youngest on record to earn their Sailing Badges through enrichment last Autumn Term. They passed their test of tacking an Optimist single handed into the wind and sailing on both other points of sail in the twilight, quite literally, of term. Others have discovered the different world of being afloat in a stable boat whose size and speed is exactly to scale. Fluky winds and all the skills of a helmsman are the same here as on the Solent, minus the tides and taste of salt!

ALEX HIBBERT DAME MAGGIE ADERINPOCOCK

Aldro was delighted to welcome polar explorer, Alex Hibbert, as a guest speaker. He shared his experiences of his travels and adventures to Alaska and the Arctic, inspiring pupils and staff with his tales of survival, resilience and warding off inquisitive polar bears. Alex kept us all enthralled throughout a fascinating hour, and we are already looking forward to future visits.

GEORGE PETERKIN

Our Form 8 leavers watched an engaging presentation by George Peterkin, founder of Mind Your Health.

From his beginnings as a qualified teacher to the creation of a globally reaching organisation, George's journey is a testament to the power of transformative education and commitment to mental health.

LEAH CHOWDHRY

The children enjoyed an inspirational speech from guest speaker, Leah Chowdhry, who returned for a morning assembly. Leah was the first British Asian woman to swim the English Channel and spoke about the importance of teamwork.

We were delighted to welcome the wonderful Dame Maggie AderinPocock, renowned space scientist and broadcaster, who presented her talk 'Am I Made of Stardust?' to an enthralled audience of pupils and staff.

Dame Maggie brought the world of space alive with fascinating facts and insights for all.

Aldro was excited to welcome back Paralympic athlete and OA, Will Perry. He kicked off with an inspiring presentation to Form 8 and then set to work at the pool with Form 3 (it was somewhat of an idyllic setting on this day!).

TOM JONES WILL PERRY

ROB HIGGS

Form 8 pupils were visited by author, Rob Higgs, who performed his outstanding anti-bullying presentation, The Boy in the Photograph. There was a positive focus on empowering pupils with skills and strategies to understand and prevent bullying behaviour and promote wellbeing within school.

MARILYN OKORO OLY

In the last week of Lent Term, to celebrate National Girls & Women in Sports Day we were delighted to welcome Marilyn Okoro OLY to Aldro to speak to all the pupils. Marilyn, who was a British track and field athlete, winning medals at both the 2007 and 2008 IAAF World Athletics Final, was also on the bronze winning 4 x 400m relay at the World Championships. Marilyn represented Great Britain at the Beijing Olympics

in 2008 winning a bronze medal for the relay. She spoke to the whole school in assembly and following that took a training session for the Sport Scholars. The Form 5 and 6 girls then had an hour with Marilyn to ask all the questions they could think of, they held her medals, and at the end queued to get her autograph! What a fabulous morning we had and a huge thank you to Marilyn for inspiring all our pupils.

We were delighted to host an inspirational talk from leading architect and Aldro Governor Tom Jones. He entertained us all with his route into architecture, examples of his work from a toilet block in Hyde Park through to the 2012 Olympic Stadium and beyond, as well as sharing the work of 3 renowned architects that have inspired him personally. From this our Form 6 pupils researched a range of designers and use this as inspiration for their own clock designs, and Form 5 created architectural models and structures in their DT projects.

ALDROME

I for one hadn’t appreciated that the Eternal City’s Seven Hills are apparently made of gelato!

This year inaugurated what we plan to be a biennial trip to the classical world. On these, we hope that pupils can not only explore the histories of ancient sites whose echoes are still heard today, but also experience the modern cultures that live alongside them. These aims Rome delivered in spades.

Over the course of a week at the end of the Lent Term, thirty pupils and five staff saw such wonders as the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Vatican, the Circus Maximus, the Capitoline, the Pantheon, Hadrian’s Villa at Tivoli, and the Nemi Ships, as well as learning both how to be Roman legionaries on campaign and gladiators in the arena. And yes, they enjoyed a good deal of pizza and gelato along the way!

My thanks to Mr & Mrs Ivall, Mrs Stovold and Mr M-H for their help in running the trip, and to the boys for their company. I hope you return many times with happy memories.

JD

ANCIENT ROME

One day we visited the Colosseum which was the arena where gladiator fights took place. This was the main source of entertainment for the Romans, men in armour fighting each other, giraffes, lions and even chariots! It was much bigger than I previously thought, with stone steps climbing higher and higher that would have seated thousands. You could also see the corridors and chambers that would have been below the stage where animals and Gladiators came out through trapdoors set at various places in the arena floor.

On the same day we saw the Forum, which are huge remains of Roman Basilicas, columns and foundations from the times of the Roman Empire. We walked up a hill and at the top there was an amazing view over the Forum and the rest of Rome.

Another day we visited the Circus Maximus, once an arena for chariot races, another source of Roman entertainment. Even though most of the arena was covered in grass, you could still see the lanes that the chariots would follow on their high speed races.

For the last few days we went to a rural town outside of Rome called Ariccia, where we saw ships that had been recovered from the bottom of lake Nemi 100 years ago. These were built by Caligula, a Roman Emperor.

One of the ships was built as a floating palace with marble statues, colourful mosaics and heating and plumbing. However, there was a fire in the museum in 1944, meaning all the wood was burnt away, leaving only marble, tiles and metal on show. Even though we couldn’t see the ships as a whole, it was still an interesting visit.

Alfred Wareing

MILITARY

On the third day of our wonderful trip we were met in an old amphitheatre by some soldiers from the 2nd Parthian Legion, who showed us what equipment and tools were used before giving us our own Roman shield. We were all drilled on marching and battle formations. Once we had trained we had to form the turtle-shell shield position and the teachers fired arrows at our defence. Then it was our turn. As we eagerly waited to fire at Mr Dodd and the teachers, they seemed to be showing a different side of their confidence - ‘Please no’ or 'Right in the nose’ they screamed.

At the end of our amazing trip, the staff surprised us with a trip to a gladiator school. We learned how to hold the weapons of the gladiator we would want to be and what was their life like. We were then handed training robes and wooden swords. Once they had taught us the moves of a gladiator we were sent to the arena! We were given swords and got to battle our friends in a duel. Mr Dodd then chose the winner and then for our entertainment fought as well, and was beaten by Mr M-H. It was an amazing trip and the experiences were wonderful. Thank you to all the staff who went on the trip.

Archie Bickerton

FOOD

In my time at Rome I tasted some of the best food in my life, from creamy, flavoursome carbonara to crisp, doughy Neapolitan pizza - all were exceptional. But one dish stood out for its quality: after a long day walking we were taken to a restaurant around ten minutes away from the hotel and we were given a budget to spend. I decided to have a delicious assortment of shellfish and calamari which was absolutely fantastic. I would almost certainly eat there again.

Chris Tilbury

Other food highlights included Jackie eating c.5lbs of ice cream over the week, Seb and Eesa enjoying a steak for pudding, and a lovely birthday cake for Rufus S. The staff were also very grateful for good coffee!

JD

“A must-go trip. Fun; Awesome; Hilarious.”

Oscar Davison

“My favourite memories from the Rome trip were visiting the Colosseum, all the delicious pizza we ate, and learning to use a bow and arrow and fighting with Henry at Gladiator School!”

Jack Barnes

“Obviously I loved seeing all of the monuments and I am really grateful to have been taken to see all of them because not many people have done that but the pizza was REALLY good!”

Henry Evans

ALDRO A LA GRAND’ FERME EN OCTOBRE 2023

In the fortnight leading up to departure the autumn high pushed the rain back daily and the kit list reverted to summer gear. We could not have asked for better weather and in the end it only rained on the last day over lunch at the goat farm. But by then the party was too absorbed in their last baguette sandwich and learning the terminology of les chèvres to notice. Nor notice whether or not French humour rubbed off as we were told how they laugh up their sleeves (rire dans la barbe) at our footballers who call themselves GOATs - ‘Un chèvre’ is the greatest insult that can be levelled at a footballer in France - ; but what undeniably did rub off was the smell of goat according to the

cashier in Brittany Ferries buffet at supper, “ça sent le bouc!” However, exemplary behaviour trumped all and the number of compliments we received wherever we went on the good manners of the children was a credit to both their parents, their school and especially the wonderful team that accompanied them in Mesdames Croall, Stovold, Jennings and Twyford, and Messieurs Watson and Oxenham.

We were as fortunate with our hosting staff as we were with the weather. To have Woody as our kayak instructor and guide across the Bay of Mont St Michel was la crème de la crème. No one knows its ways better than he and consequently, in spite of neap tides, we were able to make the full crossing from Mont St Michel itself to the Pointe de Groin and for the first time in all my eighteen crossings everyone who wanted to could experiment on how to extract yourself from quicksand thanks to Eva’s expert demonstration. Solene was our matriarch, more like older sister, with a simplicity and clarity of diction that leaves her voice with one for days afterwards. Then there was Georges, our animateur, who got the measure of our group from the start and introduced us to Ultimate Frisbee as well as good kneading songs during la fabrication du pain. Finally we were glad to see our favourite

chef, Pascal, who catered for all our demands as well as challenging our palates with new French dishes. At Pegasus Bridge we were greeted and guided by the managing director himself, who having worked there since its inception has personally met many of the characters or their relatives and must be the most knowledgeable authority alive on that action. He pitched his talk just right for our listeners, but was able to field questions in depth. It was as fascinating as ever and culminated in the inevitable game of Cricket at the souvenir shop. For a 2 Euro entry fee players buy a U S Army issue WW2 Paratrooper’s clicker and try to keep possession of it for the duration of the

French Trip. Rules are made clear from the outset that one click = confiscation. To their credit this trip scored a high success ratio for such a large group of 1 in 3 confiscations, with Mme Croall accounting for a dozen Crickets within the first half hour on the bus to the next stop, Bayeux. A quick picnic was followed by the other Norman invasion as illustrated in 70 metres of world

famous tapestry followed by an ice cream in front of the cathedral and then a stroll to the British Cemetery where Rufus Sessions played the Last Post with great dignity at Macfarlane’s grave in honour of the 21 old Aldronians who lost their lives for us in the Second World War.

Each day on the French Trip is so very different from the last that time flies to leave memory lagging. By the time

we go to the market in mediaeval Dinan at the end, the start around the breakfast tables of Le Café de l’Ouest followed by a swim in la Piscine naturelle at St Malo seems a lifetime away. Adventure, whether sand yachting or sinking sands, is balanced with intensive learning through constant exposure to the French language that invariably results in an unintended ‘oui’ on return to school.

SKIING IN NASSFELD, AUSTRIA

Our school ski trip to Nassfeld, Austria, was a resounding success, thanks in large part to the excellent weather we experienced. Bright sunshine and clear blue skies were the backdrop for our adventures, providing perfect skiing conditions throughout the trip. Students were grouped based on their skill levels, and the more experienced skiers took full advantage of the conditions by skiing all the way to the Italian border, where they enjoyed some authentic Italian pizza. Meanwhile, Mr. Dodd embraced the challenge of skiing for

the first time, joining the beginners and adding an inspiring element to the trip.

In addition to skiing, the trip featured a range of enjoyable activities. The teachers (Miss Allen, Miss Barrett, Mr Taylor, Miss Shaw, Mr Balcombe and Mr Dodd) added a fun twist by hosting a 'retro day,' donning vintage ski attire and classic gear, which delighted the students. Off the slopes, students participated in après-ski activities on the mountain, enjoyed swimming sessions, and spent time in the sports hall. These varied activities

ensured a well-rounded experience, blending relaxation and active fun.

Overall, the Nassfeld ski trip offered a perfect mix of adventure, cultural experiences, and leisure. The combination of great weather, engaging skiing opportunities, and diverse off-piste activities created lasting memories for all participants. It was a fantastic opportunity for students to develop their skills, explore new experiences, and have fun in a beautiful setting.

FORM 7 AT WATTS GALLERY

Form 7 spent 2 wonderful days at the Watts Gallery Artist's Village in Compton. If you haven't been there, it's well worth a visit! They visited the Memorial Chapel first, where they spent time admiring the work of Mary Watts and her team of local craftspeople, who created this stunning chapel.

They then went up to Limnerslease, the home of George and Mary Watts, where they admired and drew the fabulous ceiling tiles and were introduced to both artists' studios. The Wednesday group remained at this site and tried their hand at creating a gesso tile, inspired by the ceiling tiles. The Thursday group walked to the main gallery and took turns exploring the gallery and creating ceramic tiles, which will be fired and returned to school next term.

it was wonderful to explore such a fascinating place, right on our doorstep!

FORM 5 PUPILS EXCEL AT CHELTENHAM COLLEGE TEAM BUILDING COMPETITION

On May 8th, Form 5 pupils set off early for an exciting day at Cheltenham College, where they competed in a highly anticipated Team Building Competition. The students participated in a range of challenging problem-solving activities that tested their leadership, teamwork, ingenuity, communication skills, and ability to follow instructions.

The day was packed with fun and excitement, and the team’s hard work paid off as they returned proudly with a bronze medal, securing third place out of twelve competing teams. Big congratulations to Isabella Livingston, Georgie Stancliffe, Charlotte Simms, Livvy Ellwood-Russell, Nicolas Wu, Henry Stevenson, Arjun Trikha, and George Greenwell for their fantastic performance.

FORM 6 VISIT THE ISLE OF WIGHT

For the Activity Week residential trip this year, 51 Form 6 pupils travelled to Tapnell Farm Park on the Isle of Wight with 6 staff. It was a fun few days with activities including go-karting, the water park, the beach and a trip to Osborne House.

We left school on the morning of Monday 1st July and headed, by coach, to Southsea to take the Hovercraft across to the island where we were greeted by another coach. Once at the Park, dorms were sorted and everyone unpacked and created a homely feeling. After visiting the Cow for our evening meal, we returned to camp to chill.

Tuesday was excursion day with a trip to the beautiful Osborne House. This included tours of the gardens and the house itself; we even found the private beach and had our packed lunch in the extensive grounds. After the obligatory trip to the gift shop, we returned to camp and following the evening meal in the Cow we retired to watch a movie.

Wednesday was probably the most highly anticipated day, but sadly dawned a little grey, with the water park planned for today. Fun was had by all despite a downpour during the event. We were also entertained by Mr M-H losing his clothing and standing for a full 20 minutes unable to conceive where it might be; it was eventually located in the girls changing area! We travelled to Alum Bay in the afternoon to visit the beach and the traditional seaside shopping with an ice cream. Following our final evening meal at the Cow, the day was topped off by a fun disco in the barn. Everyone returned to camp very tired after today’s activities.

Thursday morning dawned with the final trip to the Cow for breakfast and the hustle and bustle of packing to leave. With a number of missing items finally located, we ate our packed lunch and boarded the coach to return to the Hoverport. Back on the mainland, we picked up the last coach for our final leg of the journey back to school.

The highlight of the day came when Henry Stevenson, in a light-hearted moment, wore a bucket on his head while catching tennis balls—creating a memorable and entertaining scene for everyone. Well done to all the pupils for their great teamwork and energy throughout the day!

CS

After we arrived at Stowe, we did a film animation project. We were split into 3 groups with children that we didn’t know, from other schools. We needed to complete each part of the project in a short time, so teamwork became very important.

STOWE PREP SCHOOL ART FESTIVAL

We brainstormed to form a storyboard, with characters and setting; then we started working. We picked materials for our background and stuck them to the cardboard backing. We used plasticine clay to make the characters. It took a while, but it was very enjoyable.

My group’s story was about a massive road-cone that eats cars and people! After lunch we started filming. We used iPads with an app called I Can Animate. We took photographs of every movement and put them together to form an animation. I was the person in the team that took all the photos. It was important to keep the iPad in the same place all the time, so that the whole movie didn’t move about. I had to press the red button each time the character moved.

This was a really good experience. I learned a lot and I made new friends. I had so much fun!

Cindy Yu (7T)

MERCHANT OF VENICE

Aldro’s Form 8 drama scholars and the Forum Enrichment group travelled to Chichester’s Minerva Theatre to watch Tracy-Ann Oberman and Brigid Larmour’s re-imagined production of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. Pupils have spent several weeks studying the complex play to understand the themes and political events shown in this production. Aldro pupils were lucky enough to meet the delightful Miss Oberman after the performance and spend some time chatting to her about the play.

FORM 5 HISTORY TUDOR TRIP TO ETON

Form 5 went to Eton College on Monday 6 November to look at the Tudors as part of our history course. We were split into two groups. One went into Election Hall (which is next to School Yard) and the other went into the school’s own natural history museum.

In Election Hall, we wrote with a quill, which is a large feather from a goose and we learnt how to write in secretary hand, which is how they wrote in Tudor times. We also looked at some contemporary sources, including a large wax seal which was attached to a document about building a new school in the village of Eton, next to Windsor. This was signed by Henry VI. We also saw another scroll signed by Elizabeth I. They were both original sources and not photocopies.

We then visited Eton’s natural history museum, where we looked at some fossils, ammonites, stuffed animals and photos of indigenous tribes firing arrows. We even saw a duck with four legs and a kitten with four eyes which were both mutated. When we walked to the museum, we saw a sign on the side of a building on Keat’s Lane which showed where College Chapel would have been built if Henry VI had stayed on the throne and not lost it to his

cousin Edward IV. Henry VI and Edward IV both belonged to the Plantagenets but Henry was a Lancastrian and Edward was a Yorkist.

After lunch both groups walked around College, which is the oldest part of the school and where the scholars live, and we had a quick look (through the window) into Lower School.

We had a super time and learnt lots about the Tudors and Eton life.

JAS and 5I

FORM 5 HISTORY TRIP TO PORTSMOUTH HISTORIC DOCKYARD

On Tuesday 30 April Form 5 embarked on a journey to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. The trip was led by our two historians Mrs Radcliffe and Mr Streatfeild and we were accompanied by two form tutors, Mr Ivall and Mrs Snook. As part of the topic that we have been studying (the Tudors), we first went to see the remains of the Mary Rose and to see how it was brought up from the bed of the Solent and then restored. The Mary Rose, sister ship to Peter Pomegranate, was made of English oak with some elm on the top deck. We saw that half of the ship was totally rotten but the

part that was buried in the mud survived and to this day we can see it. We learnt that the ship sank at the battle of the Solent when fighting the French on 19 July 1545, and this happened when Henry VIII was watching from Southsea Castle. The Mary Rose turned too sharply whilst been captained by Sir George Carew, a friend of Henry VIII but a sailor who lacked experience. We also saw two skeletons including one of a dog who is now called Hatch (because it was found by a small hatch when the ship was raised).

After lunch we went aboard HMS Victory. This ship is the oldest ship in

the world that is still in commission. We saw where and how the crew lived below deck, including the gunners who slept next to the guns. We also saw Vice Admiral Nelson’s office, his bureau as well as his bed. Unfortunately, much of Victory is covered up because it is being restored. This means we could not see much of the ship from the outside.

We very much enjoyed our trip, and it was good to see Tudor history with our own eyes. It was a pity that much of HMS Victory was covered up, but we were told that it should be fully restored by 2034!

FORM 7 AT HAMPTON COURT PALACE

On Tuesday 23 April Form 7 went on a history trip to Hampton Court Palace. We went by coach and on arriving we had a talk about the different monarchs who lived in the palace, as well as its founding by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. We had an audio tour which started in the kitchens and then went down to the wine cellar. We saw the Chapel Royal from the gallery and watched some real tennis.

We had lunch in the Privy Gardens, saw the Great Vine which was planted George III and Capability Brown. We then had a tour which started next to the Colonnade in Clock Court, looked at the Clock Tower and then went to

Henry’s Great Hall, where we searched for evidence of Anne Boleyn’s initials as well as Catherine of Aragon’s pomegranate (which is a symbol of her fertility). We saw the great tapestries, which cost the same as a Tudor warship and the eavesdroppers up by the roof. These were ordered by Henry VIII and symbolize that everyone is being watched! We also saw where Edward VI was born in the Great Watching Chamber.

We also visited the Stuart part of the building where we saw a room of thirteen Canalettos and Wolsey’s closet.

Lastly, we went to the maze, which was planted in the 1700s by William III and Mary and then it was time to go home!

Lombard History

1 May 2024

THE BATTLE OF HASTINGS

On the 2nd of October 2023 Mr Dodd, Mr Streatfeild and Mrs Radcliffe took Form 8 on a trip to Battle, a town seven miles from the coast in East Sussex, to learn more about the Battle of Hastings, which is our history topic for the Christmas Term.

After an 1 hour and 45 minute drive, we arrived in Battle. We first went to the visitor centre where we could hold replicas of all the weapons and armour that were used in the battle. Soon after, we watched a twelve-minute documentary on the Battle of Hastings, which included key facts and numbers about the succession crisis, the three claimants and the actual battle.

Leaving the centre, we walked along the path at the top of Senlac Hill towards the presentation in the Old Gate House, where we listened to a member of staff from English Heritage telling us the story from January 1066 to 14 October. We also got the opportunity to try on replica helmets, swords, shields, arrows, spears and chainmail! This was very interesting and I learned a lot from it which I didn’t know before!

Soon after, we departed to the old monastery, which was dissolved by Henry VIII, and Harold Godwinson’s memorial. I actually got to lie down on it, which was quite uncomfortable! The best bit about the trip was definitely reenacting the battle on Senlac Hill! 8R were the Normans and 8K were the Anglo-Saxons. It was really exciting and was amazing to think we fought on the same ground as the Anglo-Saxons and the Normans did 957 years ago! Finally, we went to a gift shop, where I bought a wooden sword! Overall, it was an amazing day out and many thanks to Mrs Radcliffe and Mr Streatfeild for running the trip.

Written by Alfred Wareing and George

Lye.

MILFORD PUMAS RAPID

Alfie with his 'Manager's Player of the Year' trophy.

Alfie Graham's Stellar Season with Milford Pumas Rapid: Unbeaten Run in the Surrey Primary League 'Premier' Division

Alfie Graham had an outstanding 2023/24 football season with his Sunday League team, Milford Pumas Rapid. Despite playing up a year in the U14 team, Alfie made significant

In March Charlie swam in the National Arena League final in Cardiff, like the FA cup final of swimming! There are eight regions, each with several leagues. For example, the South East has a premier league and divisions 1-5. The winner of each regions premier league, plus two

contributions alongside his teammates, including Jack Graham, Charlie Watson, Adam Jones, Harvey O'Mahoney, James Sleet, and Cormac Sharp, who are Old Aldronians and 2023 leavers.

The team played 16 league matches against 8 other teams, winning every single game. They secured the maximum 48 points, finishing an impressive 19 points ahead of the second-place team.

best runners-up compete in the final to be crowned National Champions.

Early in the final Guildford City, Millfield and Mount Kelly (a school in Tavistock, Devon) pulled away from the other seven teams. Millfield led for a while before being overtaken by MK and Guildford. After 42 of the 51 events, MK led Guildford by one point, with Millfield a further ten points behind. Over the final few races, Guildford overtook MK and ended up winning by seven points. This was the second time they have won and the first since 2016. Charlie was selected for the individual 50m Butterfly and the Medley relay. He won both races, the 50m Fly with an amazing PB of 33.89 seconds, followed by 50m freestyle in the anchor leg of the relay.

Alfie with the Milford Pumas Rapid Team, including Old Aldronians. (Back Row): Jack Graham, Charlie Watson, Adam Jones, Harvey O'Mahoney. (Front Row): Alex Oldham, James Sleet, Cormac Sharp, and Alfie Graham.

Alfie lifting the Surrey FA League Winners Trophy.

In recognition of their achievement, the team was awarded the League Winners Trophy and medals at a ceremony held at ACS International School in Cobham in June.

Alfie’s performance throughout the 2023/24 season was further acknowledged when he was presented with the 'Manager's Player of the Year' award at the club's end-of-year prize-giving event.

CHARLIE

COMPETITION SUCCESS!

We are very proud of both Eddison Matthews (Form 8) and Dorcas Yang (Form 6) for competing in external music competitions. Congratulations to Eddison for winning a silver medal for his acapella performance of Fly Me to the Moon in the open singing category of the Surrey Festival of Musical Theatre and Arts.

Congratulations to Dorcas for winning first prize in an international competition. Dorcas writes ‘I am very thrilled to have won first prize at the Valle Dell’Etna Musical Competition in Italy, in which I decided to participate online. I played ‘Clair de Lune’ by Claude Debussy on the piano, which is one of my favourite pieces, and the dreamy setting of the music really made it an unforgettable experience. I know that this opportunity will help me develop and grow even more in my musical journey, and I am very glad to have had the chance to participate.’

XANDER CHORLEY

Xander and his friends at Cubs took part in District Quiz and won! He will now represent Guildford District at Surrey County Quiz at the end of February.

TREADING THE BOARDS

There has been much to enjoy and celebrate on the stage outside of Aldro over the last year, as many pupils have undertaken performances with independent groups.

Alfred played the lead role of Emil in an under 18’s cast of ‘Emil and the Detectives’, at Farnham Maltings, and Chris Tilbury was a member of the ensemble in the Rare Productions youth cast of ‘Grease’ at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford.

Following his Form 7 role as Bill Sykes at Aldro, Alfie Graham took on the role of Fagin for Surrey Youth Theatre’s musical ‘Oliver’! in a week at Godalming Borough Hall last summer. This year a large number of Aldro pupils including Alfred Wareing (Troy), Alfie Graham (Chad), Eddison Matthews (Coach), Wilbur Watson (Ryan), Katie Tillett (Cathy), Henry Cox (Zeke), Lexie Nicholls (cheerleader), Lilly Graham (Cindra) and Bella Watson (Susan) signed up for ‘High School Musical’ in a week with the same company.

Romeo and Juliet was another play in a week produced by the Guildford

Shakespeare Company, where Alfred played Romeo, and Eddi played Mercutio, his best friend.

Eddison has enjoyed being a member of Godalming Theatre Group where he was a member of the ensemble for the 2023 pantomime ‘Aladdin’. This was followed by playing Benjamin in GTG’s production of ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat’ at the Baptist Church in Godalming. Here he played the youngest of the 12 brothers, acting alongside many experienced adult cast members. He, along with Katie Tillett, is now working on the 2024 Pantomime, ‘Cinderella’.

SAILING

George Lye regularly sails near their holiday home in North Devon. Last summer he won the Pelican Cup for sailing the fastest Laser Pico during the Pelican dingy racing week at North Devon Yacht Club.

GUILDFORD ROWING CLUB

James Davies and Chris Tilbury have been training with the Guildford Rowing Club throughout years 7 and 8, and their hard work paid off during the 2024 regatta season. With their crew mates they won both Thames Valley Park Regatta and Walton & Weybridge Regatta

In the fast paced world of Athletics we have been thrilled to see Seb Moss go from strength to strength this year. On 2nd September 2023 at Carshalton, Seb achieved a ranking of 15th in the UK for U13 Pentathlon. He was awarded Silver in the Surrey County Championships Combined Events.

Later in the year he also took time out of the Leavers trip to Brecon Beacons to attend the National Prep Schools 100m final. This was held at the Alexander Stadium, Birmingham, on Wednesday 3rd July 2024. Having qualified with gold in the 100m at the West Surrey schools qualifying meet, Seb went on to achieve the Silver (U14) in this prestigious national competition. We look forward to seeing more great things from Seb in the future!

J13 coxed quads, beating a competitive field. In addition to this they paired up in a double to come second in J13 double sculls at Walton & Weybridge. They also won the Kingston Regatta for a triumphant hat-trick.

ATHLETICS

GRFC WATERFALL CUP

Throughout the 2023-2024 season no less than 7 Aldro boys played for the U13 team at Guildford Rugby club. George Lye, Leo Booth, James Davies and Chris Tilbury were steadfast members of the Yellow team, and Seb Moss, Jacky Chen and Eddison Matthews played for the Blues. Throughout the season both teams put in fabulous performances in many challenging matches, including those for the Surrey Waterfall Cup. On Sunday 28th April 2024 the Blues had the great pleasure of playing in the final match of the competition. Although they lost 5-2 to a very strong Old Wimbledonians team, the GRFC U13 Blues did come 2nd overall from 58 teams in the Surrey wide competition.

LIBBY

EDELSON

Congratulations to pupil Libby for being placed 7th overall in the 1m springboard and 5m platform, and 6th place overall in the 3m springboard at the Swim England Diving National Age Group Championships in Birmingham.

Huge congratulations to Mrs Andrews, who won Gold in the British Masters Road Relays in Leicestershire (4 x 5000m). She was the anchor leg for our team, Aldershot, Farnham & District, and won by over two minutes!

Earlier in the year Mrs Andrews won gold at the British Masters 3000m Championships and won silver in the British Masters 2000m Steeplechase.

What incredible achievements and an inspiration for our Aldro athletes.

KAREN ANDREWS STRICTLY SHERIDAN CHARLES MISS CLEMONS GOES TO PARIS

Huge congratulations to Miss Clemons who completed her first marathon in Paris in the Easter break. Raising money for cancer research, Miss Clemons was thrilled when she surpassed her fundraising target.

Huge congratulations to our Director of Admissions & Marketing, Sheridan Charles who won both the Senior Ballroom and Senior Latin dance competitions for the North East and then went on the win the Ballroom section at the Nationals in the famous Blackpool Ballroom. What an inspiration for our children in the enrichment Strictly group!

Having completed his schooling at Cranleigh, William did what many young people do and embarked upon a gap year, (or half year, in William’s case) travelling to a distant part of the world. He, however, had completely different plans...

He travelled to India, to the state of Tamil Nadu, where he spent 6 months working at the Mother Theresa Foundation, an NGO that cares for the people that have nobody else, people who are facing challenges due to poverty, caste or health issues. The organisation manages an orphanage, a health centre and a care home called The Joy Home. It also has school sponsorships for children in the local village and free medical camps.

His working days were long – 6am to 10pm. He spent them supporting the organisation and learning a vast amount about Indian culture and day-to-day living.

Upon his return he came to Aldro to give a talk to the pupils about his experiences and what he gained from them.

His message was powerful and he captured the attention of all the children and adults for half an hour, while he shared

JAMES HOAD

Many Congratulations to OA 2005 James Hoad on coming 14th in the 2024 London Marathon with an impressive time of 2:16:29:00

WILLIAM GROVES

amusing anecdotes as well as his thoughts and observations. William told us that the experience enriched and broadened his acceptance of the differences between people and cultures. He told us that this acceptance of difference stops judgement. This is a very valuable lesson, which will stay with him, he says, for the rest of his life. He feels that it is important in society to destroy stereotypes and teach each other how to be kind and generous.

During the question time at the end, one of our pupils asked him why he had decided to embark upon this path. His reply was profound: “I have had so many opportunities given to me in my life and I felt the need to give something back and do something with my gap year that would mean something and really make a difference.”

We, at Aldro, look forward to seeing what William does next!

OLLIE WYNNE-GRIFFITH

Three cheers for Ollie WynneGriffith (2007) who won silver for Britain at the Paris Olympics at the double scull event, missing gold very narrowly!!!

FRIENDS OF ALDRO ASSOCIATION WINTER FAIR

The Aldro Winter Fair was, as always, a great success with some fabulous stalls for all the visitors. It is always lovely to see so many past parents who come to support the event. The children were also busy in the ASC buying gifts for their families and enjoying all the activities the FoAA had organised for them.

THE ALDRO QUIZ

What a fabulous Quiz Night we had in February. A huge thank you to the Friends of Aldro, in particular the Form 3 & 4 reps, who worked incredibly hard to organise the evening and were well supported by Miss Shaw running the bar! Mr Rose ran the proceedings with his usual sense of humour and enthusiasm and kept the evening on course and the parents and staff in line! Congratulations to the winning team Rizz Quizzers...

FIREWORKS EVENING

A huge thank you to the Friends of Aldro and those parents who organised the amazing Fireworks Display in November! We were very lucky with the weather as the rain stayed away and there was a big selection of BBQ food from BBQ Chef, donuts, glowstick accessories, hot chocolates and mulled wine on offer – what was there not to love! The fireworks display from Aurora Fireworks was absolutely spectacular to watch. It was such a wonderful evening, enjoyed by all!

PARTY BY THE LAKE

The 22nd June saw our biennial Party by the Lake take place. With the marquee erected and the tables and chairs installed, the decorating began! A huge thank you to the committee who organised this special event for us, and especially Sheridan Charles, Sophie Bickerton, Liz Yule, Emma Evans and Tava Smiley.

We would particularly like to thank Property Vision for kindly sponsoring the champagne reception, Hydons flowers for the beautiful flowers on the tables, Tonys Chocolonely for the chocolate on our tables and the many companies who donated such a wonderful array of prizes for our Lucky Envelopes. Our thanks also go to Mr David McCoy and our catering team for the wonderful food and their customary hospitality.

The evening was a great success and the after-dinner entertainment of a disco, and the now customary ‘Silent Disco’ was enjoyed by all.

MACMILLIAN COFFEE MORNING

The annual Macmillan Coffee Morning proved to be a big success again. A huge thank you to all those parents who purchased cakes, ate cakes and gave up their time to make this event happen. We are very grateful for all your support.

NEW AND IMPROVED SHACKLEFORT

A huge thank you to the Friends of Aldro and in particular the Chairs, Ali Lye, Clare Wareing and Liz Yule who have led the fundraising for our new Shacklefort! The official opening of phase 1 took place in November at break time and the boys and girls had a wonderful time playing on it in the sunshine. No doubt it’ll be a very popular break hotspot from now on!

Sheridan first joined Aldro as a parent when Elliott started Form 4 in 2002, soon followed by Harrison and Jonny. Always a staunch supporter of all things Aldro, Sheridan soon found herself as Chair of the FoAA, and subsequently joined Aldro as a member of staff to help out with Marketing. Sheridan’s roles and responsibilities have been varied since her first foray into volunteering with the FoAA; her influence has been far reaching and incomparable, and of course all tackled with Sheridan’s

SIMON NIXON

It is very difficult to pin down exactly what Simon’s role at Aldro was...and that’s because he filled so many roles within our school community...in fact there are not many areas of school life in which he wasn’t involved. (including the kitchen, when snow days resulted in no kitchen staff...)

He was a teacher of many subjects, form tutor, sports coach, boarding tutor and most recently Housemaster – and those were only his official roles! An outstanding Maths teacher, Simon prepared many pupils for both Pre-Tests and Common Entrance. Simon was always ready and willing to muck in and get involved in whatever needed doing, from covering duties and running activities to managing the boarding house during Covid –juggling isolating pupils and all the weekly Covid testing and doing his best to ensure that we made it to the end of each term without having to lock down the boarding house.

SHERIDAN CHARLES

never-ending energy and enthusiasm and driven by her love of Aldro.

Sheridan’s many ‘hats’ include organising events, from Parties by the Lake to Sportsmen’s Dinners, Open days, football tournaments, Leavers Suppers and many more, instilling a real sense of community among the Aldro family. In addition, Sheridan has also been a driving influence in development and fundraising at Aldro, most notably for the Aston Sports centre. Rebranding, marketing, social media content, the website and overseeing admissions have also come under Sheridan’s extensive remit. However, Sheridan’s true skill lies in making everyone feel welcome, to instilling a true feeling of family to the Aldro community and in bringing people together through her sense of fun and empathy. She has always loved touring prospective parents and helping new families see Aldro through her eyes. Her office has always been a refuge for staff that just need a cup of tea and a chat and for

As a valuable member of Aldro’s sports staff, Simon was rarely happier than when he was out on our pitches, coaching, encouraging and inspiring our pupils in Rugby, Football and Cricket. He had played Rugby and Cricket to a high level himself, and thoroughly enjoyed passing on his knowledge and expertise to both boys and girls.

Simon and his wife, Steph (and Airie!), were vital members of the Aldro quiz team and organisers of post-inset staff

anyone who wants to know anything about Aldro, the cry is always “ask Sheridan. She will know!”

Sheridan has made her tentative steps into retirement with a move to the beautiful countryside near Harrogate, and has returned to her first love, competing in Ballroom and Latin dancing. In her normal ambitious and ‘can do’ style, she has already become National Champion in both disciplines for her age group! A new puppy will soon be joining Sheridan and will no doubt keep her busy!

Sheridan is the heart and soul of Aldro. Some believe her blood flows red and green! We will miss her immeasurably.

We all owe her a debt of gratitude for her many years of tireless championing of Aldro. We wish her all the best for her well-earned retirement and look forward to her visiting occasionally in her continued role as OA secretary.

TM and LH

gatherings at the Cyder House. He was also an essential member of our local cricket team, who could offer aggressive batting, economic bowling, and safe wicket-keeping. Few will forget his bellowing laugh or his larger-than-life character. Many will remember his Viking beard festooned with Christmas baubles during the boarders’ feast. Simon’s character could best be described as “chilled”. Nothing seemed to phase him and he took in his stride whatever challenge came his way. Simon’s natural empathy with staff meant he often provided a reliable listening ear as well as sound advice where needed.

Ready for a new chapter in his life, Simon has relocated to Canada, where he and Steph will no doubt tackle all their new challenges with the gusto and “chill” we have come to know. It’s a safe bet that Simon has already fired up the BBQ and treated friends to a delicious feast of meat and a few drinks. Aldro will miss them, but we wish them both all the success they deserve.

LF and CPR

AGNÈS TWYFORD

We bid au revoir to Agnès, a cherished member of the Aldro community, whose contributions have left an indelible mark. Agnès' journey began in 1991 when she arrived in England and embarked on a career in translation. Her passion for education soon led her to qualify as a Higher Level Teaching Assistant (HLTA), teaching French to students of all ages.

Agnès achieved a First in her Degree in Education, followed by the Helen Arkell OCR Level 5, Specialist Teacher diploma. At Aldro, Agnès served as a Specialist Teacher and Head of English as an Additional Language (EAL). Her expertise significantly enhanced our Learning Support department, providing invaluable support to

Ben Twyford first came to Aldro in 2016 as a 16 year old! He worked on Mr & Mrs Drayton’s Summer School of Sport in July 2016. It was these humble beginnings that lead to Ben becoming a Gap Student 2 years later when he completed his A Levels at Seaford College and started formally at Aldro in September 2018.

It was evident even from that early age that Ben was made for teaching and destined for a career in Education. As such he has remained an integral part of the Aldro community for the past 6 years. His first 2 years at Aldro saw him enjoy and thrive as a Gap Student whilst

students from diverse linguistic backgrounds. Her commitment to her students' success was evident in her innovative teaching methods and personal connections with each learner.

Beyond her professional achievements, Agnès' warmth and gallic wit made her a beloved figure among colleagues and students. Many will remember her lively 1:1 lessons filled with laughter and engaging activities.

Agnès has moved on to St Catherine's school, where she continues her educational journey as an Academic Mentor Teacher and Specialist Study Skills Tutor for university students with ASC and ADHD. Her new role will undoubtedly benefit from the

compassion and expertise she honed at Aldro.

As we say adieu, we express our deepest gratitude for Agnès' dedication and wish her all the best. She will be greatly missed, but her legacy will continue to inspire us all.

Merci beaucoup, Agnès. Au revoir et bonne chance!

BEN TWYFORD

over the past 4 years he has stepped up as essentially a Graduate Teacher teaching formally a range of subjects in the classroom, leading lessons in Outdoor Education and taking an active pastoral role in Boarding.

Throughout his 6 years he has been on the sports field as part of my Games team and this is clearly where he stands out. Passionate about sport and displaying an obvious love of working with children has proved an excellent combination to making him an outstanding coach. His coaching knowledge is current and he is a brilliant communicator with those he is coaching with clear and easy to follow directions. He is a stronger motivator and backs his players through thick and thin.

In the 2023/24 season he took over the coaching of the 1st XI Football team, breathing new life into a group who displayed lots of potential but lacked confidence. The boys completed a fantastically successful season as a result. During the rugby season he took over the reins of the U11A rugby team bringing modern ideas and coaching. The boys

responded to his style and encouragement and played well beyond our expectations playing some wonderful rugby and displaying a real sense of pride and teamwork.

Behind the scenes over the past number of years Ben completed his degree in Education at Oxford Brooks University combining study and work simultaneously; a huge effort and achievement and something I admire.

During his time at Aldro Ben has been hugely appreciated by both pupils and parents and certainly by staff. His contribution to Aldro has been significant and he will be greatly missed. However, in moving on and taking the role as Assistant Director of Sport at Cottesmore School he is well on his way to a very successful career in Sport & Education and we all wish him well.

GEMMA PACE

Gemma joined Aldro for two terms, during which she made a significant impact on school life. As a science teacher, she brought enthusiasm and expertise to the classroom, inspiring her students with her passion for the subject. Her dedication extended beyond the classroom, as she played an integral role in various extracurricular activities.

Gemma led the Science Enrichment Club, fostering curiosity and a love for science among the pupils. She also made valuable contributions to the girls' boarding house, providing support and guidance to the boarders. Additionally, her involvement in coaching the Netball and Hockey teams showcased her versatility and commitment to the overall development of the students.

As Gemma moves on to her next school, we wish her the very best of luck with her continued work on her PhD and her future endeavours.

CHBD

KAREN ANDREWS GRACE WISEMAN

Karen Andrews joined Aldro in September 2021 as the first ever Head of Girls’ Games. She came from Turi School in Kenya, bringing with her not only a wealth of experience but an abundance of energy, enthusiasm and expertise. She worked tirelessly to introduce an outstanding sports provision for the girls at Aldro. In her time here she had such a huge impact on girls’ sport and achieved so

much, including winning the IAP schools netball in her first year. Karen was particularly proud of the enthusiasm and progress that the girls made, especially in cricket. She introduced the Aldro Triathlon and was so impressed by the effort, resilience and attitude the girls displayed. In her time here, Karen developed a really supportive culture and encouraged the girls to value progress as much as the main result. It wasn’t only in school that Karen achieved highly; during her time at Aldro, she balanced teaching and coaching with her own training, winning gold in the British Masters Road Relay (4 x 5000m) where she was the anchor leg as well as individual gold in the British Masters 3000m and 2000m Steeplechase. She was a wonderful source of inspiration to the children at Aldro and she will be hugely missed. We wish her every success at Bohunt School, where we know she will continue to shine brightly.

RP

Grace joined Aldro in September 2022 and stayed with us for two years. She quickly established herself as an enthusiastic member of the English Department with a fantastic “can-do” attitude. She threw herself into life at Aldro by teaching English, Reasoning and Games and in her second year, she added to this by also teaching some PSHE. In addition, she was a caring, attentive and much-loved form tutor in her second year. She helped to inspire the members of the Debate Club and accompanied them on several debating competitions to The Oratory and to Upton House School. A very popular member of staff, Grace worked hard to create accessible, interesting and exciting lessons which motivated and inspired pupils to give their best and to learn without realising it! She achieved her PGCE in her first year and added her QTS to this in her second year – achieving a well-deserved distinction and being described by her tutor as “an exceptional teacher”. We will miss her kindness, thoughtfulness and enthusiasm to get involved, as well as her high-quality teaching. We wish her every success in the exciting adventures which lie ahead for her.

LESLEY BENZ

Everyone at Aldro knew Lesley! Already a qualified Modern Languages teacher, Lesley began life at Aldro as a peripatetic EAL teacher, and then qualified to teach SEN. She subsequently became a permanent member of staff but, in addition to teaching in the Learning Support and EAL department, Lesley threw herself into many other areas; at one point she taught Spanish, she would help in the French department, even going on a Year 7 French trip which she really enjoyed, and assist in other lessons. She was also passionate about the charity Starfish Malawi and raised considerable sums of money with Aldro pupils for the charity. We will all remember Lesley and her team of pupils who plied us with doughnuts and lemonade once a year! Lesley also helped fill shipping containers with IT equipment and

Ollie has spent two terms at Aldro on sabbatical from the NHS. Despite his demanding career as a practising surgeon, Ollie brought his boundless enthusiasm and fun-loving spirit to our Science Department, leaving a lasting impression on both students and staff.

During his time here, Ollie taught numerous science classes, sharing his extensive medical knowledge and passion for the subject. His unique approach to teaching made science

JO SAWERS

Jo joined Aldro in the role of Digital Marketing in November 2022. She very quickly made her mark in many ways. Jo reignited our social media presence and, being a very talented photographer, the quality of her photographs (with portraits being her speciality) alongside the positive and friendly relationships that she built with the children enabled her to capture the joy and fun of life at Aldro.

stationery which then went to Chikuluti School. However, Spain was always her passion, and Lesley is now happily settled there. In the LS department, we all said ‘Hasta pronto’ instead of ‘Adiós’ as we’ve got plans to visit and reminisce…

exciting and accessible, inspiring many pupils to develop a deeper interest in the field.

One of Ollie’s standout contributions was his highly engaging ‘Medical’ Enrichment Club. Under his guidance, students learned practical medical skills, such as how to put a cast on their own arm or leg. These hands-on experiences were not only educational but also incredibly enjoyable, making science come alive for many young minds.

Jo will be remembered for being dedicated and hardworking, organised and diligent and to those who worked closely with her, her New Zealand dry sense of humour made her a wonderful colleague to work with. We all wished her well when she left at Christmas.

OLLIE TEMPLETON -WARD

Ollie’s hard work and dedication have been greatly appreciated, and his departure will leave a significant gap in our department. We extend our heartfelt thanks to him for his contributions and wish him all the best as he continues his important work in knee surgery. His time at Aldro has been truly enriching for us all and he will be greatly missed.

CHBD

SAMMY SWANBOROUGH

Sammy Swanborough started her role at Aldro as Head of Drama (maternity cover) in September 2023. With an endless supply of energy and passion, Sammy immediately took the reins of the Form 7 show ‘Pirates of the Curry Bean’. She then triumphantly steered the ship through Form 5 with their wonderful short stories of the Grimms’ Tales before finally reaching land ahoy with her self-penned Form 6 production of ‘All that Glisters’. The latter brought a mysterious story full of Shakespeare, Hollywood and fairies. The final Oscar must go to Sammy, who will be fondly remembered for her fun and energising zest for drama!

CD

VICTORIA WOODS TOR WATTS

The Aldro community has been lucky to know Tor under many guises and it was her loyalty and passion for the school that saw her become involved in so many strands of school life. As a parent to twin boys at Aldro and with an older daughter, she was used to multi-tasking, and it didn’t take long before she took on a Class Rep role and then volunteered and executed always with a professional approach the esteemed role as Co-Chair of the Friends of Aldro Association (FOAA).

After her boys left Aldro, Tor came back to us as a valued member of our Front Office team. I think everyone would agree that she brought a little bit of sunshine to work with her every day. Tor’s wonderful warmth, kindness and generosity of spirit were appreciated by all and her empathy with the children really shone through.

Sadly, for us, it was in discovering how much she enjoyed her involvement with children, that initially drew her away from Aldro with the thought that she would like to re-train as a Young Persons’ Counsellor. Not content with one new challenge ahead, Tor also took

on training for the Brighton Marathon (which she smashed, raising a fantastic amount for charity) and added a new puppy to her life shortly before leaving Aldro!

She will be missed by us all and we wish her the very best for her next adventure, and hope that we may see her again some time.

Three years in a job I love doesn’t seem long but, sadly, it is time to GO

I will remember with great fondness: staff, pupils, parents, music, drama, art and foOD

A happy environment, always someone saying ‘hello, how are you?’ or, ‘have a nice evening, goodBYE

Yet, after 30 years of teaching, assessing, advising, training with children aged from 2 to 19 years in many different setting and places, a new venture now is my herALD

I wish everyone a fond farewell, knowing that the school will continue to flourish and help our pupils to be the stars of tomorRO’

Victoria x

FORM 8 LEAVERS PROGRAMME

During the second half of the Summer Term, our Form 8 Leavers enjoy a stimulating and varied series of events and activities, together with around fifteen guest speakers.

8K CANOE TRIP TO THE RIVER WYE

To kick off the Leavers Programme, Sir James and a selection of boys in 8K planned a canoeing trip to the River Wye, spread over four days.

GUEST SPEAKERS

James Paterson, otherwise known as The Memory Man, has been a regular visitor to Aldro for many years now, and he returned once more to entertain, baffle and amaze the boys with his unbelievable feats of memory. One highlight involved James managing to memorise the order of a shuffled deck of playing cards in under two minutes! He also shared some of his memory skills and techniques with our spellbound boys.

Will Perry was a pupil here at Aldro from 2007-2013. A wonderful and charming young man, he had us all captivated as he told us how he had dealt with the challenges of dwarfism at Aldro and Stowe, and how his determination and dedication led to a career in Paralympic swimming. An utterly inspirational talk – taking in the Tokyo Paralympics, the World Championships, and the way in which Will dealt with the disappointment of not qualifying for Paris this year.

Sam Rogerson is a familiar face at Aldro. He runs the highly successful Children’s Business Fair, where young adults are prepared for business challenges and taught advertising, marketing and selling techniques. As part of our Entrepreneurs Day (The Aldro Business Sprint), Sam gave our boys a challenge, involving preparing, making, and eventually ‘selling’ lemonade to Aldro pupils. It was a lot of fun, bringing out the teamwork and perseverance in our boys and

most importantly introducing them to the idea of learning through failing. Winning team was the Sweet Squeeze, who ‘made’ an impressive £86 profit!

George Peterkin taught Sport, Latin and Mandarin here a few years ago, and has now established himself as a respected Instructor of Mental Health First Aid. He ran a one-day event called Mental Health Awareness Warriors for our boys, and lectured them on mental toughness and resilience. Our boys responded well to George’s relaxed but serious sessions, and now have a greater understanding of mental health issues to take with them into teenage years.

Rob Higgs delivered a hard-hitting, thought-provoking talk billed as ‘The Boy in the Photograph’. This was an outstanding Anti-Bullying presentation with a focus on empowering pupils with the practical skills and strategies to understand and prevent bullying behaviour and promote wellbeing within their School. Again, vital preparation for the transition to Senior School.

Chloe Combi is a best-selling author, presenter and educational consultant. Her talk, entitled ‘Moving On’, achieved that difficult balance of entertaining her audience while tackling serious issues around the lives, behaviour and influences on young adults today. You may have heard her on the radio recently, or

caught one of her TV appearances. A great motivation to our Leavers.

Patrick Foster is a former professional cricketer and gave an emotional talk about addiction and mental illness, with admirable honesty about his 13-year addiction to gambling, which cost him three separate careers and left him virtually penniless. He spoke to us about what he’s learnt, and the strategies he continues to use to maintain and promote his continuing mental and physical health.

Brett Bader from Lifeline Training paid us a visit towards the end of term, and carried out a 3-hour Emergency First Aid training session with the boys present. Largely practical, the boys put each other in slings, learned the rescue position, and had the usual CPR coaching on a host of Resuscitation Annies. They duly received a certificate, alongside a resource manual. A vital course as the boys head into their teens.

Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock MBE is an award-winning space scientist, broadcaster and author, who promotes the study of STEM subjects and is passionate about the wonders of space. Her talk – ‘Are we made of Stardust?’ – told us that it’s ok to dream, and ok to fail. What a fantastic role model for young girls.

Alex Hibbert, polar explorer (and former pupil in Mr Rose’s class) had us all transfixed by his talk on ‘Icebergs, Sled Dogs and Polar Darkness’. A former Royal Marine, he broke the world record for the longest unsupported polar journey in history, and had us all fascinated by his adventures in Alaska and Greenland. Utterly captivating, amusing and totally engaging, Alex taught us how to manage risk and deal with fastmoving situations.

OUTINGS

Outings included a day at Chessington World of Adventures, with its thrilling rides and attractions, plus three visits to the Capital: a visit to The Globe for The Taming of the Shrew, plus the British Museum and the Old Operating Theatre. Prefects had a great night out at the Oval for the Surrey v Gloucestershire T20 match, and the 1st XI squad enjoyed a three-match tour to Kent. Boarders also enjoyed trips to West Wittering and Laser Tag in Guildford..

LEAVERS VIDEO

The Queen song, I Want to Break Free, proved a perfect choice for our Leavers Video this year, with a guest appearance by Pharrell Williams’ Happy. Jenks & Co once more did all the hard work (aided by our own Emma Matthews) and the result was another highly entertaining video featuring the Form 8 boys and ‘volunteering’ Staff.

OTHER EVENTS

A School Council meeting, a Maths Olympiad, and a Sports Social evening at Prior’s Field were some of the early highlights of the Leavers Programme.

Leavers Photos were taken as always, to capture the boys in their final few days at Aldro. Mrs Eves organised the presentation of their AIPs (Aldro Independent Projects), covering a fine variety of topics. Boys helped with, and participated in, our Careers Fair, featuring over twenty stalls and stands. Musicians worked hard to prepare for their ABRSM Music exams, and a good number of Leavers featured in the Summer Concert – our inaugural Rockfest!

The Leavers Supper took place in the CHC, with boys and parents looking smart and enjoying a superb threecourse meal courtesy of our catering staff. This was preceded by a superb selection of Drama sketches, which included performances ranging from Shakespeare to ‘I’m a Celebrity’ and

cameos from the likes of Joe Biden, Boris Johnson and Taylor Swift, followed by the Leavers Video première, and finally a nostalgic look back at the boys’ Aldro careers.

Sports Day had to be curtailed on its original date, and completed two weeks later. Seb Moss qualified for the National Athletics Finals in the 200m, winning a silver medal with a terrific time of 12.21s.

Speech Day, on the last day of term, was preceded by the usual Leavers Chapel Service. The boys heard from the brilliant Marilyn Okoro OLY, and left with the usual array of trophies, medals, certificates and books as every Form 8 boy received at least one prize.

In the last week of term, the Year group travelled to the Brecon Beacons for their annual Adventure camp. Both boys and accompanying Staff enjoyed a wide range of activities including gorge walking, kayaking, rock climbing and archery. Most of all, of course, they enjoyed each other’s company, for the last time as a group.

C Rose

CRICKET TRIUMPH

The annual Lads v Dads Cricket match took place on Saturday 8 June, with Tom Newman captaining the side against the Year 8 Dads. As is always the case, the boys batted and bowled well, but were up against a fiercely-

competitive opposition who were determined not to be embarrassed by their sons! In a nail-biting climax, the 1st XI triumphed in the final over to earn the bragging rights for another year. Thanks to all who took part.

WYE CANOE WITH THE SCHOLARS

“Five years have passed; five summers, with five long winters!”

The last winter for a scholar is intense and feels exceptionally long in the approach route to Winchester Election with various degrees of difficulty depending on the other schools entered for along that approach route. This year they included King Edward's Witley, Canford, Harrow, Charterhouse and RGS. All their different styles of paper, let alone syllabus content, have to be assimilated culminating in quasi A level style questions with a spirit of “All for one and one for all” along the way. The team this year has been exceptional in supporting two of its members to ‘summit’ Winchester with an Election and an Exhibition, not to mention an RGS Scholarship to their credit and they deserved a jolly good break this, their last summer. In the words of Mrs Lye,

“He (George) loved the canoeing and hasn’t stopped talking about his adventures on and off the river since he came home this evening. He says it was definitely worth doing his exams for!”

Along with Wordsworth’s Lines Written from a few miles above Tintern Abbey above, the choice of this year’s trip was inspired by the 2018 Scholars descent

of the middle reaches of the River Wye from Glasbury to Holme Lacey and seeing how well the boys took to water in Mrs Matthews' brilliantly organised day on the Wey in last year’s Activity Week.

“I really enjoyed travelling to Wales, sleeping in the bell tent by night and canoeing by day. Although the fishing could have been better, my favourite part was canoeing down the small rapids and eating bacon for breakfast.”

Jonty Davies

Wye Tipi Camping/ Adventure River Co was selected as a small company offering personal service specialising in the lower, north-south reaches of the River Wye and they did not disappoint. The more the trip progressed, the more we got the measure of each other and our time in Wales just got better and better. The weather agreed as the sun beamed down on the water and the landscape grew more dramatic round each bend of the river.

“My best memory of the trip was canoeing through the stunning Welsh scenery surrounding the River Wye. The peaceful gliding down the river paired with the challenging rapids, helped to

make the trip an unforgettable experience, alongside returning to our campsite and relaxing with friends.”

Xavier Rees

“...plots of cottage-ground, these orchard-tufts,

Which at this season, with their unripe fruits,

Are clad in one green hue, and lose themselves

'Mid groves and copses...

The sounding cataract

Haunted me like a passion: the tall rock,

The mountain, and the deep and gloomy wood,

Their colours and their forms,...”

Wordsworth

“My best moment was skimming stones on the river during breaks and playing frisbee to air dry the plates after washing up. The funniest moment was falling in when pushing our balancing acts with George to the limit just as we were getting out on the last day. It was really cold! Overall the trip was an amazing experience and I learned a lot of key skills.

Campfire cooking was also amazing.”

Alfred Wareing

Our Wye Tipi base camp was a cleverly thought-out encampment just upstream from Monmouth which we had to ourselves and could have been in the middle of nowhere, if it had not been for the daily supply of succulent daily rations of local meats supplied for the barbecue and civilised shower block in the field next door – with running hot water! The team of six settled quickly into campsite routine and impressed their leaders from the start with their tent pitching and willingness to adapt and pitch into daily chores following George’s quiet example of knuckling down to do the washing up after our first meal round the fire before anyone else had even thought about it.

“I found it fun, and the scenery was beautiful. Also, I found living in a tent was a whole new adventure.”

Chris Tilbury

“ The Scholars’ Trip to Wales had the perfect balance of being active out of the water and resting back at the campsite, in spite of maybe not the right amount of sleep; but we pushed through and enjoyed ourselves the whole week.”

Eddison Matthews

Day Two saw our longest stretch of paddling over 20 Km. At the end of it Emrys Cook, our instructor and manager of the company, pointed out that the four places we had stopped en route, were the only ones canoes are permitted to land. Such is the nature of private ownership and fishing rights along much of the Wye that keeps it as unspoilt as it is with zero road access. He was full of admiration for our boys and confessed normally he takes young groups half that distance and today was the furthest he has ever taken one of our age! We rewarded ourselves by going out to Aslan’s, the best Fish and Chip shop in Monmouth, and were rewarded by Mr Rainer joining us! He happened to be in Chepstow that day at St John’s on the Hill where he will be headmaster as from September and everyone was thrilled to be able to toast his success.

Talking of success, the trip would not have been the same without Mr Balcombe and I am sure I speak on behalf of everyone in thanking him for his good-natured company and wealth of experience, not to mention photographic and technical expertise, that contributed to the ‘unforgettable’ nature of the trip.

Alejandro Ellis Tonbridge

Alfie Graham Charterhouse

Alfred Wareing Winchester College

Archie Bickerton Stowe

Archie Yule Cranleigh

Ben Cang RGS Guildford

Ben Chorley Sherborne

Chris Tilbury Canford

Digby Duder Sherborne

Dylan Taylor KES Witley

Eddison Matthews Broadwater

George Lye RGS Guildford

George Simms Cranleigh

Jacky Chen Radley

James Davies Radley

James Pickford Eton

Jonty Davies Charterhouse

Joseph Sewrey KES Witley

Julius Reiser Charterhouse

Kieran Duhra Harrow

Kimi Yan Sevenoaks

Leo Booth Radley

Marsel Yarovoy King's Canterbury

Sasha Gazizov Tonbridge

Seb Moss Lord Wandsworth College

Tom Newman Charterhouse

Will Franks Sherborne

Xavier Rees Winchester College

ALDRO AWARDS 2024

The Guest of Honour this year was Marilyn Okoro OLY.

Marilyn Okoro is a former British track and field athlete. She finished third in the 800m at both the 2007 and 2008 IAAF World Athletics Final. She was part of the bronze medal winning 4×400m relay team at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics and the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008. Marilyn

FORM AWARDS

FORM PRIZE

3C Avery Barber

3P Jack Thomas

4B Ron Fergusson

4S Poppy Beadle

5I Tom Campbell

is an inspirational public speaker, Life Coach, and champion of women in sport. Driving change in professional sport and athlete welfare, she founded a podcast series called Detach the Stigma, which features courageous conversations about the lifestyle and stigmas athletes face at the price of chasing their dreams. Following retirement from a 15-year career in Track and Field, Marilyn is currently

working on a number of causes close to her heart, including a mentoring programme for teenage girls in sport.

ATTAINMENT PRIZE EFFORT PRIZE

Edward Taylor

Ralph Chenery

Izzy Stevenson

Priyanka Atkins

Arjun Trikha

5S Livvy Ellwood-Russell Laurence Davison

5W Belle Ellwood-Russell

6B Henry Thompson

6E Lilly Graham

6S James Gore

7FD Wilbur Watson

7JD William Wright

7M Seb Green

7T Ben Hargrave

8K James Pickford

8R Leo Booth

SUBJECT AWARDS

English Longacre Award

English Non-Fiction Award

English Progress Award

Maths Scholarship Award

Science Scholarship Award

Science Biology Award

Science Physics Award

French CE Award

Latin Scholarship Award

Geography Badcock Award

History Scholarship Award

TPR Badcock Award

Computing Senior Award

PSHE Senior Award

Arthur Moss

Dorcas Yang

Kaiqiao Chen

Armand Cruse

Jamie Reid

Henry Evans

Oscar Davison

Rufus Blackwell

Alfred Wareing

Dylan Taylor

George Lye

Tom Newman

Joseph Sewrey

Xavier Rees

Xavier Rees

Dylan Taylor

Archie Yule

Kimi Yan

Alfred Wareing

George Lye

Jonty Davies

Alfred Wareing

Eddison Matthews

Archie Bickerton

English CE Award

William Paul

Charlotte Orr

Willow Wright

Daniel Webster

Gabriella Reuteler-Lumsdon

Lily Orr

Georgina Stancliffe

Cesca Farley

Christian McCann

Bella Paterson

Eloise McCombes

William Morgan

Ava Gilmour

Cindy Yu

Kimi Yan

Ben Chorley

English Creative Writing Award

AIP Award

Maths CE Award

Science CE Award

Alejandro Ellis

Sasha Gazizov

Kieran Duhra

Kimi Yan

James Davies

Science Chemistry Award Ben Cang

French Lubin Award

Greek Award

Latin CE Award

Geography BACC Award

History BACC Award

TPR BACC Award

Coding Senior Award

Coding Senior Award

Dylan Taylor

Xavier Rees

Seb Moss

Julius Reiser

Will Franks

Dylan Taylor

George Simms

George Simms

JUNIOR & MIDDLE SCHOOL AWARDS

English Junior Award Sophie Wild

French Sue Leach Award Constantine Gazizov

Computing Gunner Award Leo Mettam

Citizenship Junior Award

Toby Nicholls

Science Junior Award Flori Beadle

PSHE Junior Award

Poppy Beadle

Computing Alexander Award Jago Morgan

ART & DT AWARDS

Art Pate Award Glenn Shen

DT Knight Award

Art Form 8 Award

DT Form 8 Award

DT Progress Award

James Davies

Eddison Matthews

Leo Booth

Charlie Watson

MUSIC & DRAMA AWARDS

Music Twyford Award

Music Ashton Award

Music Hugo Bush Piano Award

Drama Mitchell Award

Drama Form 8 Award

Music Ellis Singing Award

Music Edge Award

Music Form 8 Award

Drama Nicholson Award

Xavier Rees

Alfred Wareing

Dorcas Yang

James Pickford

Chris Tilbury

Eddison Matthews

Ben Cang

George Lye

Alfie Graham

The CC Trophy for Dance Emmi Crichton

LAMDA AWARDS

Junior School Award Allegra Bateman

Middle School Award Ava Gilmour

Senior School Award

CHESS AWARDS

Gabriella Cornelius

Rawlinson Board Armand Cruse

The Price Shield

Yechu Chen Form 8 Award Xavier Rees

SPORTS AWARDS

Cronshaw Cup for contribution to Sport

Alasdair Ross Memorial Trophy:

Most Promising Athlete

Form 8 Sportsman of the Year

Form 7 Sportsman & Sportswoman of the Year

Form 6 Sportsman & Sportswoman of the Year

Form 5 Sportsman & Sportswoman of the Year

Form 4 Sportsman & Sportswoman of the Year

Form 3 Sportsman & Sportswoman of the Year

CRICKET AWARDS

1st XI Player of the Year

Eddison Matthews

Seb Moss

Seb Moss

Henry Evans & Amelia Morgan

Henry Thompson & Bella Paterson

Monty Plaistowe & Emmi Crichton

Henry Morgan & Sienna Plaistowe

Jack Thomas & Alessia Croall

SHOOTING AWARDS

Tom Harrison Rifle

Nicholas May Rifle

Galloway Top Rifle

Top Gun Shield

RBG Most Improved Pistol

Grey Pistol

Henry Evans

Senior Most Improved Player Kieran Duhra

Nicholson Niggardly Cup

Champagne Moment

TENNIS AWARDS

Maslen Tennis Cup

Tom Newman

Jonty Davies

Henry Thompson

Firth Challenge Cup Marsel Yarovoy

SWIMMING AWARDS

Senior Swimmer of the Year

SAILING AWARD

Sailing Kettle Trophy

Charlie Goddard

William Morgan

George Lye

Leo Booth

Charlie Paul

Eddison Matthews

Ben Cang

Lochlan Robinson

Lloyd Williams Top Pistol Marsel Yarovoy

PETANQUE AWARDS

Marcel Pagnol Award

Crispin Hill Trophy

BOARDING AWARDS

Junior School

Senior School

Ben Hargrave

Harry Kirkpatrick

Nicolas Wu, Charlotte Simms

George Simms, Bella Zhao

MISCELLANEOUS AWARDS

Senior Citizenship Award

Senior Perseverance Award

Hurry Cup for kindness

The IF Cup

Deputy Head’s Cup

Kirkpatrick Trophy

Headmaster’s 1898 Cup

Digby Duder

Joseph Sewrey

Charlotte Lidgitt

Alejandro Ellis

Alfie Graham

James Davies

Seb Moss

The Champion Squad Shield Meads

PRIZE GIVING 2024 – SEB MOSS - HEAD BOY’S SPEECH

For the past six years Aldro has not just been a school, but a home. But like every home, it’s now sadly time to move out.

Aldro has taught us many life lessons, like patience. For example, waiting for the boarding staff to leave after lights out so we can chat. Now that takes serious patience!

It’s taught us decision making: whether to play games during prep, and attempt to do prep at home, or to do prep at school, and attempt to play games at home! I think we all know which one we should actually choose after handing in our poor attempt at History prep for the first time!

Most of all it has taught us how unlikely you are to win in a casino. Betting on which exercise we would be doing in Maths lessons has consistently proven that.

Throughout my years at Aldro there have been members of staff that have made these years some of the best. From the sports department to the music department, all the staff have been here to support all of us, no matter what the issue is.

The most important part of the team is of course, the kitchen staff! Making great breakfasts and lunches but most of all, the famous match teas. There is nothing better than beating Cranleigh in a wet and muddy rugby game then getting a nice, warm plate of sausage, beans and chips to celebrate, or after a cricket match, getting your parents to sneak some cake from the parents' match tea!

Sport has been a major part of my Aldro experience and I would encourage you all to participate as much as you can. You can learn much about your own personality playing sport but most of all you learn to be part of a team. Everyone on the team has something to contribute and find a way of getting that unique ingredient out of everyone. Leave no one behind and together you can achieve big things, like the unbeaten season we had in the 1st team rugby. If you had seen us play earlier in our

Aldro careers you wouldn’t have believed it, but we stuck together and look what we achieved.

Before I leave, I have one last gift for the school, some tips.

Mrs. Eves loves two things, Superheroes and ‘what if’ questions. So, take advantage of this. At the start of the lesson, ask her has she seen the new Marvel movie, or after she has explained something ask her a ‘what if’ question. Even better, ask her a ‘what if’ question based on something that happened in Marvel. If you play it right, you could take up a big part of the lesson on that one question!

If you have Mr. Streatfield for History, or Mrs. Drayton for Maths, their preps should be top priority. And for the new Year 8’s, if you have Mr Dodd for Latin, you can forget about Blooket!

And last of all, in Year 8 if anyone says we will watch a movie, or do something fun after the exams, they mean that it might happen after the real common entrance exams, not just the mocks, so I’m afraid you will just have to wait.

Finally, be kind in everything you do. To quote the famous author Roald Dahl:

“I think probably kindness is my number one attribute in a human being. I’ll put it before any of the things like courage or bravery or generosity or anything else. If you’re kind that’s it.”

Thank you Mr Carlier and all the staff, thank you to the governors and all the pupils past and present, for making these years so memorable for us Year 8 Leavers.

I would also like to wish the new Heads of School all the best for next year.

So, as we leave, I can say with confidence that the memories that we have made at Aldro will stay with us and no matter how far we go, we will always remember that it all started here at Aldro.

FOOTBALL 1ST XI - BOYS

Games Played: 25

Wins: 13

Draws: 4

Losses: 8

The 1st XI football team wrapped up an exciting and dynamic season, marked by significant growth and memorable moments. Despite a slow start to the season, the team quickly found its footing, showcasing the boys’ resilience and determination.

This season saw many new faces, with a considerable number of the boys playing together for the first time. It took a few weeks for the team to gel and build chemistry, but once they did, their performance on the pitch improved markedly.

We primarily deployed two formations: a compact 4-5-1 and a traditional 4-4-2. Our strategy revolved around sitting deep in defence while employing a high press. This approach proved highly effective, as our high press became a notable strength, consistently putting pressure on the opposition, forcing

errors, and creating scoring opportunities.

The highlight of the season undoubtedly came during the County Cup match against Downsend. Facing an unbeaten Downsend team, our boys delivered an outstanding performance, securing a 1-0 victory. This match showcased the high levels of football our team is capable of playing and was a testament to their hard work and tactical discipline.

Additionally, the team showcased their versatility and skill in the 6-a-side format. We entered three tournaments and demonstrated remarkable consistency by reaching the final in all three competitions. Although we narrowly missed out on securing a trophy, the boys' performances were commendable, reflecting their adaptability and high level of play. These tournaments provided invaluable experience and highlighted the depth of talent within our squad. The determination and teamwork displayed in these high-pressure scenarios will undoubtedly serve as a strong foundation for next season.

Despite playing all but one fixture at home, the spirit and camaraderie of the team were always high. The minibus rides to away games were filled with chants and music, creating lasting memories regardless of the match results.

As the season concludes, we extend our best wishes to the Year 8 players as they move on to their next schools. We hope the Year 7 players will build upon this season's foundation and continue to grow and succeed.

An extremely successful season overall, filled with growth, learning, and unforgettable moments.

Mr. Twyford

FOOTBALL 2ND XI - BOYS

RESULTS

14:30

Our total of 16 points out of a possible 21is title winning form in four of the last ten Premier Leagues with a superb hall of 87!

Credit to the 20 players who played and made it such a fantastic season.

The team’s core, regular players were Charlie Hitchings (in goal); Jacky Chen, Felix Lowe, George Lye, James Pickford (Captain), Alfred Wareing and Julian Yeldham (defenders); Ben Cang, Oscar Davison, Jamie Paterson, Joseph Sewrey (Vice Captain) and Alex Yeldham (midfielders) and Wilf Heilpern (striker).

There was a great balance between fun and focus in training and the support, talent and passion were evident in all games. Some fine home wins and a draw left Aldro as a fortress that could not be taken.

I am so proud of the season!

FOOTBALL U10A - GIRLS

We had many highlights, especially going away to the Portsmouth Grammar school tournament where the girls really excelled in every single game we played. Short games meant we had to start strongly in every game. We finished the tournament unbeaten! Which was a massive achievement for the girls.

RF

FOOTBALL U10B - GIRLS

The B team really tried the hardest they possibly could in training and in matches. In the short football term, I saw a massive progression in each one of the girls.

Highlights from the season were going away to St Edmund's, who were a really drilled team and we matched them for every minute of the game. The game ended 0-0 and we had plenty of things to work on in training to prepare for the Portsmouth Grammar tournament.

The PGS tournament was a great test but we showed amazing determination in the games coming away with 3 wins and 3 defeats.

RF

FOOTBALL 3RD XI - BOYS

Strength in depth amongst our senior footballers was evident from the very first training sessions of the 2023-24 season, and this depth continued to be demonstrated through the performances and results of a successful 3rd XI side. The season did start with a narrow defeat to a good Edgeborough team, but this only served to spur the boys on and they subsequently went unbeaten through the rest of their fixtures with the foundation being their determination and teamwork in defence and midfield. This ‘grit’ was complemented by some remarkable finishing up front and there were times when the quality of football far exceeded the expectations of a 3rd XI. Congratulations to all the boys involved for a very successful season. GW

FOOTBALL 4TH XI - BOYS

As can be seen from the results, this was very much a season of two halves. The first half of the season saw the boys working hard in training and full of endeavour during matches but with very little reward for their efforts. Five losses in a row was a tough start to the season and we were fearing the worst. However, things began to turn around just before half term. The work on fitness and ball retention began to pay off and this is reflected in the results –three wins in a row to end the season. It is always tough being the 4th team because selection is often affected, at short notice, by injury and absence in other teams, but the boys maintained their enthusiasm throughout. All of the boys played their part throughout the season, but special mention should go to Georgie for his brave goalkeeping, Kimi for his improvement throughout the season and Digby for his tireless running. Well Done.

FOOTBALL 5TH & 6TH - BOYS

Aldro School’s 5th and 6th football teams have enjoyed great seasons, showcasing much improved skill, teamwork, and sportsmanship on the field. These young athletes have worked diligently to achieve success and growth in their football journey and should be praised for their efforts throughout the season.

The 5th team kicked off the season slowly with three losses, but as the season went on and confidence grew throughout the team we finished the season with multiple strong victories. Their tight defence and strong passing skills were areas that they particularly improved in, which led to the teams’ overall improvement as the season went on. They finished the season with a commendable record of 4 wins, 1 draws, and 3 losses.

Key players such as captain Archie Yule and striker Charlie Paul have been pivotal to the team’s success. Archie, with his exceptional leadership and defensive prowess, has been the backbone of the team, while Charlie’s strong shot and goal-scoring ability have made him a standout player for the team.

The 6th team had a tough season but showed great effort to improve throughout. They demonstrated remarkable resilience and skill, and although this didn’t translate into any victories for the team, they should be proud of their efforts. The 6ths ended their season having lost their three matches, but improving considerably as the season progressed.

FOOTBALL U12A - GIRLS

I was delighted to be asked to coach a few weeks of Girls Football, and lucky enough to have a talented and committed squad to work with. The whole squad worked extremely hard in training, and developed a fine team spirit – an important factor when it came to the matches against some more experienced opposition. Starting with a tough game at Lambrook, we battled well but were outgunned by the home team’s speed and superior finishing. However, our never-say-die attitude shone through. We then took part in a couple of tournaments – one at Highfield, and another at St Edmund’s. Results were mixed, but performances were clearly improving thanks to the girls’ tenacity and relentless energy. It also helped that we discovered how to score some goals!

The pick of the outfield players included the energetic Emilia Forman, who passed nicely and took up some good positions; Eloise McCombes – a skilful midfielder; Bella Stancliffe, a strong, no-nonsense defender, and the best player, Alice Greenwell, who

covered every blade of grass with her non-stop passion and hunger. We also had Katie Tillett, equally at home in goal or in midfield, Amelia Morgan with her pace and enthusiasm, a spirited Beth Petrow and the tough-

FOOTBALL U12B - GIRLS

The U12B Girls Football team showed great improvement throughout their season. They started with a very strong Lambrook side of which Julia scored a great goal. The girls showed great resilience and didn’t give up. They then went back to practise with Mr Rose to practise their shooting techniques ready for the Highfield Tournament. The girls showed a great development with their dribbling skills and went on to have much more possession of the ball. They had a lot of close games with some 0-1 losses and draws, this was a huge improvement on the previous games. Both Julia & Arabella gave being Goalkeeper a good go and saved numerous goals throughout the tournaments and matches. It has been a pleasure watching the U12Bs grow from strength to strength in their football season. I look forward to watching them develop in the future.

tackling Charlotte Lidgitt.

My thanks to all the parents for their faithful support on the touchline, and of course to the girls for their efforts.

FOOTBALL U11 - BOYS

SEASON REPORT 2023

The 2023 U11 Football Season in 2023 proved to be a tough one in terms of results across the 3 teams we were able to field. Whilst it was clear the boys were keen to do well they struggled a little in their basic technique, strength and team work.

Whilst not the strongest footballing cohort we have seen in recent years, this group of boys did display a love of the game and a strong desire to do well. Our ABC teams were all regularly involved and did this best to improve individually and collectively.

This particular cohort needs to improve their ability to take on board clear advice and coaching in order to improve their own individual skills and game understanding. Technically this group struggled with players not able to do some of the basic to the required level. Simple things such as ball striking were/are areas they need to improve going forward.

As is our U11 way, it was important from the outset to create and develop a playing, training and off field culture. So as always, we implemented a group work ethic, established some fundamental values and laid the ground rules; teamwork, effort and comradeship were our mantras. Each and every session we discussed the value and importance of our main principles for success and enjoyment. Some of the boys bought very much into these values and ethics we were trying to instil, but not all and as such it was difficult to achieve the desired team culture. Clearly as a group moving forward this is something they will need to improve on.

As a group of coaches, we worked hard to obtain a suitable response from the players and occasionally it was very nice when we saw some success in what we were all trying to achieve. Our fundamental goal was to establish the importance of playing for one another, developing our teamwork and enjoying each other’s success as a result of this. We had mixed success in this area.

Much of our training was completed as an entire group with all the boys being given plenty of opportunity to progress and represent the school. We continued to strive towards our main aim of developing a style of football that was wholly inclusive but required strong and evident teamwork but also a lot of hard work off the ball. Furthermore, individual skill, touch and fitness was essential. There were some strong individual and team performances through the course of the season, but going forward we need consistency and all players contributing equally.

Despite the lack of success there was clearly a lot of learnings from the season and I am hopefully these will be carried forward into U13 Football. Good luck next year.

FOOTBALL U11 - GIRLS

FOOTBALL GIRLS U11A

Coaching the U11A girls' football team was an absolute delight. The girls approached each game with enthusiasm and dedication, making every moment on the pitch enjoyable. Their passion for football and commitment to improving their skills was commendable.

Throughout the season, we witnessed some great individual performances, each girl bringing her unique strengths to the team. Every player has progressed, and they are all well-prepared for the challenges of next season.

Our season's highlight was undoubtedly the quadrangular away at St Edmund's. The girls displayed extraordinary teamwork and skill, winning all their matches with impressive scores. We triumphed 6-1 against St Edmund's A team, secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Duke of Kent, and finished with a resounding 7-0 win against St Edmund's B team.

Special mention must go to Cesca 'safe hands' Farley, whose performance in goal was fantastic. The team's offensive efforts were equally impressive, with goals scored by nearly every player: Lexie contributed 1, Kristen netted 2, Ella added 3, Libby scored 4, and Bella P led the charge with an outstanding 5 goals.

As we look forward to next season, I'm excited to see what these talented girls can achieve. Their progress this year has been positive, and with their continued hard work and passion for the game, the future looks bright.

CHBD

FOOTBALL GIRLS U11B

The Girls U11B Football team had an enjoyable season on the pitch. Having lost against Lambrook School the girls were not disheartened and quickly turned themselves around in only 5 days to take the win 5-1 against St Edmund’s.

FOOTBALL U10 - BOYS

The U10A boys' football squad has had a remarkable season, characterised by hard work, dedication, and significant individual development. Throughout the season, the team focused on honing their core skills and enhancing their understanding of the game. A key factor in their progress was the “Good to Great” training sessions on Mondays, run by Mr Richardson. His expertise not only accelerated the players' skills but also improved their game intelligence, which was evident during matches.

As the coach of the A team, I greatly benefited from Mr Richardson's guidance and the players' ability to transfer their training into competitive games. This was particularly apparent during my favourite week of the season. The team played their best football against Hoe Bridge, securing a 4-2 victory, and followed this with a stunning performance at the King’s Wimbledon Festival. The boys clinched the Bowl, scoring an impressive 11 goals in the semi-final and final.

Overall, the team played nine matches, winning six and losing three. The highlight of the season was undoubtedly the victory over Cranleigh. Freddie's performance in goal was nothing short of spectacular; his shot-stopping skills would not have looked out of place in the England squad at the Euros. Although Cranleigh were the more skilled team, the relentless work rate of Monty, Jackson, Spencer, Hugo, and Arthur was overwhelming. They pressed quickly and attacked with forceful directness, going 2-0 up by half-time. After Cranleigh scored, our defensive pair, Laurence and Aubrey, were incredible. Their hard work and simple, effective play were crucial, and they tackled everything with smiles on their faces.

This resilient attitude characterised the team throughout the season. It has been a joy to work with such a committed and spirited group of players. I look forward to watching their future progress at Aldro and am confident they will continue to excel.

MBT

FOOTBALL U9 - BOYS

FOOTBALL BOYS U9A

Coaching the U9A boys' football team this season has been an immensely rewarding experience. The boys' ability to listen, absorb training lessons, and apply them in matches made this team a joy to coach. As a coaching team, we had a straightforward vision for the season: improve team shape, pass quicker, kick the ball harder with greater accuracy, and always support your pass and teammate.

Initially, embedding these principles was a challenge as the boys tended to play with their heads down. However, once they started to grasp the concepts, their play at times was nothing short of amazing. They began passing out from the back and creating numerous scoring opportunities, which Henry seized with great enthusiasm.

Our playing style evolved, leveraging the unique skills of each player. Sebbie's tireless work rate and powerful throw-ins, Jago's quick feet and long shots, and Harry's dynamo-like ability to break up play became cornerstones of our game. This was all supported by the rock-solid defence of Alec – whose tackles were formidable – and the dependable hands of Buster in goal.

While sides like Prince's Mead might have been technically superior, our boys never gave up. They consistently aimed to improve on their last performance, embodying a spirit of perseverance and dedication. This season, we participated in numerous festivals, providing ample opportunities to play multiple games. Although the matches were 5-a-side, we utilised over 11 players in the A team throughout the season. It was particularly gratifying to see Jack, Sam, and Ben develop in training and perform admirably for the A team.

I am incredibly proud of the progress shown by this group of players. Their growth, teamwork, and commitment were exemplary. Well done, boys, for a fantastic season.

MBT

FOOTBALL BOYS U9C

The U9C football team had a brilliant season in many ways. Whilst results did not always go our way, the team improved massively throughout the season and showed brilliant teamwork throughout. Goals were hard to come by in our team but defending was a strength for the whole season. George Haxhi was a shining point in attack showing great skill throughout the season. In defence Annirvin Sundar and Daniel Webster showed brilliant grit and determination as well as lightning speed. Miles Parfitt discovered a brilliant knack for goalkeeping making some fantastic saves throughout the season and allowing us to keep our defence solid. Ron Ferguson and Roland FarrLeander also played key roles throughout the season showing great determination and effort to keep working hard for the team throughout the season.

FOOTBALL U9 - GIRLS

Both U9 girls’ football teams had a fantastic season. We were impressed by how rapidly their skill levels increased and within weeks, they looked like they had far more experience than they actually did. They enjoyed local matches and two large festivals, which meant they played a total of 13 games. The A team did brilliantly and only lost 4 of their matches and never with a goal difference of more than 1. However, the B team were unstoppable and were very proud to go through the whole season undefeated! Both teams have an exciting future ahead of them!

FOOTBALL U8 - BOYS

SEASON REPORT 2023

What a sporting cohort the 2023 Year 3 boys intake has been! This group had a fabulous start to their sporting careers at Aldro in September displaying clear ability and tremendous enthusiasm as soon as they hit the playing fields. It has been one of the most competitive sporting cohorts in a while and we were delighted by their eagerness and willingness to learn. The listening skills and following instructions element took a little while to bed in but aside from this the level of ability and desire was hugely evident from the outset.

This season we were able, once again to field 3 teams: The Reds, the Greens and the Hoops were very much back in action. The boys played in lots of matches (and some tournaments!) in these teams but were also, on several occasions mixed together and so were given an opportunity to play with different players. I am delighted to say that on every occasion that the boys had a match this term each and every boy was able to take part.

There were many highlights during the season arguably most notably for The Reds was their magnificent win at the Danes Hill U8 Football Tournament. Furthermore, the Squad Matches and the Argyle Trophy matches were also exciting events. The Squad Matches were particularly exciting as this was the first occasion that the boys were able to represent their new Squad and do so in front of their parents! Fortunately, they are all at the beginning of their time at Aldro and will have plenty more opportunities and matches in the coming years!

I expect this group to continue improving and we are very excited at the prospect of how good they will potentially be when they reach Year 8! Well done this season, but be ready for the big step up in Form 4!

FOOTBALL U8A - BOYS

U8 DANES HILL 6 A-SIDE FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT

Friday 13th October 2023

Group Games

Aldro v Shrewsbury House 2

Won 2 – 0 (Thomas 2)

Aldro v Feltonfleet 2

Won 5 – 1 (Thomas 2, Holliday 2, Morgan 1)

Aldro v Danes Hill 2

Won 1 – 0 (Campbell 1)

Aldro finish 1st in the Group

½ Final of Cup

Aldro v Danes Hill 1

Drew 1 – 1 (Morgan 1)

Won 3-2 on penalties.

Final of Cup

Aldro v Feltonfleet 1

Drew 0 – 0

Won 3-2 on penalties.

ALDRO WINNERS

FOOTBALL U8A - GIRLS

The U8’s had a great football season throughout all of March. The girls worked hard to learn and develop the basics skills needed for playing the game.

The first game was on a very wet wintry day at Amesbury, where the U8 girls played a triangular v Amesbury and Highfield. The girls did well do adapt to the conditions with Elizabeth gaining a lot of possession and having a few attempts at goal. The team played well for their first match and went away for a plan for the next fixture.

During training they practised dribbling the ball and passing off to a moving player. This was something that they weren’t so confident in during their last game. They moved their focus onto the next fixture which was a tournament at Cranleigh. Teams in this included Barrow Hills, Brookham, Cranleigh & Wonersh & Shamley Green. The U8’s had a great time and played lots of small little games during the course of the afternoon. Hattie did well in defence and was able to get stuck into tackling the other players. Avery who went into goal and saved a lot more than she let in. The girls worked well as a team in this tournament and were treated to great match tea afterwards.

The final match of the season was against Barrow Hills. The game didn’t disappoint as there was a lot of action. With a pitch on a slant the girls quickly found their feet and managed to figure out how to control the ball going both

up and down hill. Alessia had a fantastic game playing with some U9’s in a mixed age match. The team won 9-1 with Alessia scoring 8 of the goals! The other team also started well and were 2-0 up at half time. They finished the game on a high with 1 more goal being scored, Avery with 1 goal and Hattie with 2. They finished off with a friendly game of penalty shoot-out with Aldro won!

They finished off with one last training session before the season ended and played internal matches at the end in their squads earning points for their house. It has been a pleasure to coach the U8’s this season. I look forward to their continued development and what next season brings. EB

NETBALL U12A

The U12A Girls Netball team had an outstanding season! They started off with a very close game v St Edmund's with the team losing by 1 goal. The team then rallied together and trained hard to beat Hall Grove. We knew if was going to be a close match as previously we had lost 14-15. The girls worked so hard, and with one less player due to injury Amelia, Eloise and Julia were shooting on form! The girls were able to win 29-18, a great improvement from last time. Next was Westbourne House we started off 5 goals down but with a few changes to tactics the girls then took the lead and held it until the final whistle. They finished off winning a massive 29-18.

Now starting to work on set plays and tactics the girls looked to secure their Centre pass by practising movement and structures to get the ball to goal. They then tried this in both their games v Highfield and Cranleigh Prep. During the Highfield game the girls adapted to new combinations played and Ava, Cressida and Alice were able to slot into the team with ease. The game ended in a high scoring 30-15 with lots of goals

scored by Amelia and Eloise. Katie was on great form intercepting and getting turnovers so Highfield couldn’t shoot. When playing Cranleigh the girls released quickly that they were the stronger team so used the time to work on set plays and changing up the movement and passes they were doing. This was great to see their hard work from training pay off and that they had the confidence to execute riskier moves. They ended up winning 31-2.

We continued playing some great matches v Barrow Hills, Pennthorpe, Twyford all of which were really close games. Before heading to IAPS we played a very talented Lambrook side. The girls knew this game was going to be tougher so they used work on possession with the ball to convert to goals. The game swung backwards and forwards but Aldro ended up with the win 27-25! Heading off to IAPS brought nerves and excitement for the girls. They were played a whole year up with a younger team so knew this tournament would be a good challenge and learning curve. The girls ended up winning 2/3 of

their pool game matches beating Downsend & Highfield and losing to a very talented Barrow Hills. We then qualified for the Cup quarterfinals and were playing a very talented Feltonfleet. The girls did so well and at the end of the game it was tied 7-7. All 9 girls played with heart and didn’t give up. Feltonfleet got a goal in the last 10 seconds of extra time meaning the score was 10-11. However the girls should hold their heads high knowing that they can do it. It has been a pleasure to watch these girls grow over the season and I look forward to watching them develop next year.

NETBALL U12B

The U12B netball team had an impressive season, marked by continuous improvement and solid teamwork. Throughout the year, the players developed their skills and understanding of the game, with a particular focus on enhancing their defensive play. This focus paid off, as the girls became increasingly adept at intercepting passes and blocking shots.

The team faced some close and challenging matches, one notable example being an 8-10 defeat against Lambrook School. Despite the loss, this match highlighted the team’s tenacity and ability to compete fiercely against strong opponents. The narrow margin demonstrated their strong mid-court play and fuelled their determination to keep improving.

The season’s highlight was a spectacular 18-12 victory against Downsend School, played away. This final game showcased the culmination of the team's hard work and growth over the season. The girls’ coordination and strategic play were on full display, securing a welldeserved win and ending the season on a high note.

Overall, the U12B netball season was a testament to the girls' dedication, teamwork, and steady progress. Their journey this year laid a strong foundation for future success, and they can be proud of their achievements as they look forward to the next season.

KH

NETBALL U11

NETBALL U11A

The U11A girls' netball team enjoyed a highly successful season, playing a total of 26 matches and losing only 7. Their netball skills developed significantly, with marked improvements in both individual abilities and overall team dynamics. The girls' dedication to teamwork and their constant encouragement of one another was pivotal to their success.

The season reached its climax at the IAPS Small Schools Tournament held at Framlingham. The girls displayed outstanding performance throughout the tournament, scoring an impressive 58 goals and conceding just 22. Despite narrowly losing in the final to St George's Windsor with a score of 6-3, the team's effort and determination were exemplary.

Their growth and achievements this season have been fantastic, and it's been a privilege to witness their progress. The camaraderie and sportsmanship the girls have shown both on and off the court have been a testament to their hard work and dedication. As they move forward, I am confident they will continue to build on this strong foundation and achieve even greater success in the future.

Well done to all the girls for a fantastic season!

NETBALL U11B

CHBD

The Girls U11B Netball season saw an impressive amount of wins against some challenging schools. Highlights included scoring 12-2 against St Ives School, with Cesca Farley confidently captaining the team, a 15-2 victory on home soil against St Nicholas’ School and a 10-0 win against St Edmund’s with Ella Brown as captain.

NETBALL U11C

NETBALL U10A

The U10A girls had a fantastic season. They started off their season with a lot of training and practice ready for their BEE Netball game. This means that there are only 5 positions and players. The girls must play all positions over the course of 4 quarters. They then started off by playing Churchers Blue and Yellow teams. In the 1st game the girls intercepted the ball well and took it to goal winning 14-0. They then played the Blue team. This one was a little closer but still a great win of 9-2, with Izzy Lidgitt scoring 9 goals throughout both games. The girls went back to training ready to take on Highfield. With a lot of work done on placement of the ball when passing the girls wanted to get this right in their game. They played super well and came away with a 15-2 win! Next the girls played St Ives where we mixed the teams together so that we match the other team. The girls came away with 2 very good wins and made sure their passing was with the correct technique.

Then back to training where the girls participated in an the ‘Aim High’ internal tournament of which saw all the girls mixed up and shooting became very key. Players were able to shoot from outside the circle to score more points. All girls participated and it was a fantastic event! As the term progressed the U10A’s started to practise set plays and movements that could fall their opponents. They used these techniques and strengths when they played Alton & Amesbury. With some amazing defending by Isobel D & Lily the ball was not getting down to goal. Aldro won both games 16-2 & 11-0 with most of the girls getting at least 1 goal.

On to the final few games for the U10A’s saw them facing Twyford next. The girls knew they would have to work hard in training to combat some of their skills. Unfortunately, it wasn’t our day and the game fell away with the score 6-12 to Twyford. All players tried their hardest and efforts didn’t go unnoticed. The last 2 games saw Aldro playing Barrow Hills and Princes Mead in a triangular. Some great

passing and catching from Emmi saw Aldro take a great win 7-0 v Barrow Hills. The next game was a tougher and closer game, so this came down to getting the goal in the net. With some fabulous shooting under pressure from all of the girls they won 7-5! It has been a pleasure to coach the U10A’s and I have been so impressed with their development this season. I look forward to seeing them develop in Year 6 ahead of the IAPS competitions.

NETBALL U10B

The U10B girls had a brilliant season. They started off practising the basic skills like catching, throwing shooting and footwork. During their first games the U10’s were split into 2 teams B’s & C’s. The B’s were fantastic in converting the ball to goal and scored a massive 22 goals and let none in! Amazing shooting by Bella CJ & Aurelia as they hardly ever missed! Next the girls took on our local opponents Highfield. Again split into 2 teams the B team came away with a very close win 7-6 and the C’s a 1-1 draw in what was a very close contest. Next the girls played St Ives where we mixed the teams together so that we matched the other team. The girls came away with 2 very good wins and practised shooting from lots of different places.

Then back to training where the girls participated in the ‘Aim High’ internal tournament which saw all the girls mixed up and shooting became very key. Players were able to shoot from outside the circle to score more points. All girls participated and it

was a fantastic event! The girls went back to training and then looked at their defending stances and techniques ready for their next games v Alton & Amesbury. The girls were quick to score goals and lead during the 1st half. After defending the goal so well in the 2nd half the 1st game finish 4-0 to Aldro. Then the girls played Amesbury which we knew would be a good game. It was very close at half time but a few loose balls saw Amesbury win the game 6-10.

On to the final few games for the U10B’s, facing Twyford next. The girls knew they would have to train hard and practise their shooting skills to combat Twyford’s accuracy on goal. The girls worked hard gaining the ball and kept within touching distance of Twyford’s score. A turnover near the end of the game saw Aldro take the lead and win 7-5! The last 2 games saw Aldro playing Barrow Hills and Princes Mead in a triangular. Some great shooting from Bella CJ & Aurelia meant that Aldro beat Barrow Hills 9-1. Then v Princes

Mead where the game was close some accurate passing by Georgie and some good defending by Lumen meant that the scores were tied 2-2. It has been a pleasure to coach the U10B’s this season. I look forward to their continued development through Year 6.

NETBALL U9

Both U9 teams enjoyed an outstanding netball season this year, showing huge amounts of determination, hard work and wonderful team spirit.

The A team played 11 matches, winning 10 and losing by the tightest of margins, just once. Throughout the term they scored a total of 64 goals and conceded 16, with Sienna M and Sienna P being joint top scorers.

The B team played 10 matches, winning 8, drawing one and losing once. Willow was the top goal scorer. As a team they scored 43 goals and conceded only 14.

Jemima did brilliantly to be awarded ‘Most Improved Player’ and congratulations to Priyanka who was named ‘Player of the Season’.

R Plaistowe

NETBALL U8

The Under 8A team demonstrated incredible effort and determination throughout their netball season, showcasing notable resilience and teamwork. The highlight of their season was a thrilling 2-0 victory against Cranleigh Prep School, where their hard work truly paid off.

Each player has shown remarkable improvement, reflecting their dedication to practice and their growing understanding of the game. The girls' performance has been a source of pride, and their progress is a testament to their commitment and enthusiasm for netball.

Congratulations to the Under 8 team on a fantastic first season at Aldro.

RUGBY U13A & 7S

The outcome of this season for the U13A boys' rugby team has been well publicised, and rightly so. Going unbeaten as an U13 rugby team at a prep school on a circuit as challenging as ours is a rare feat. It’s a triumph that the 17 boys who represented Aldro will remember and cherish for years to come. However, such a journey has a beginning, and it’s important to acknowledge those early steps and the gratitude owed.

Reflecting on the teams previous year's results, I didn’t expect too much from this season. Yet, we had size, some game sense, and eight players who participated in external clubs. With this mix, I planned our first three sessions leading up to game one, focusing on catching, passing, and body positioning in the contact zone. The scene was set, and the first activity, catch and pass, was ready to be explained. As I blew the whistle and watched, a smile appeared on my face—these boys could all pass and catch. Progressing quickly to activities usually reserved for much later, they grasped everything straight away. We even moved to a conditioned game sooner than planned. Though initially one-dimensional, the natural shape and width of their play was evident, and I knew we were ready for our strategies, “Rumble 10” and "Go North".

This is why I love coaching— moments like this, where new visions and unexpected developments arise. Credit must go to the coaching process at Aldro. Despite the team drawing one game and losing the rest as U12s, the resilience and high-level core skills instilled by the coaches laid the foundation for this incredible season.

Scoring over 85 tries and conceding only 25, we played a brand of rugby that was not only fun to coach but also great to watch. The evolution of the "Papplewick" mindset—resilient and determined to win every game— was evident. While we played ugly at times, finding ways to impose our style on the opposition was key, and we did this every game. The

highlights were numerous, and every player deserves mention. This season was unforgettable, and I coached at a level I might not experience again for some time, a testament to the players' attitudes and commitment.

Although this report has largely focused on the 13-a-side game, it's worth noting that Aldro had a short but very successful 7s season. Playing 11 games, we won 9 and lost 2, both to Danes Hill in the cup finals. It was a brilliant performance to come second

in our own tournament. During the tournaments we showcased our attacking intent by scoring 54 tries and conceding only 11. It was a shame we missed three big tournaments.

I wish all the players every success at their next schools and hope they continue to play and enjoy this amazing game. This season will always hold a special place in our memories.

RUGBY U13B

On paper, results will tell you that this was a far from successful season for the Under 13 B rugby team. As we all know, however, statistics often only tell part of the story! A small squad, with a number of inexperienced players (including two who were playing rugby for the first time) often found themselves physically outgunned by larger teams from much bigger schools. Added to this was the occasional and inevitable loss of some of our stronger players to the A team squad. And yet – this was a group of boys whose commitment and enthusiasm in training never waned, whose determination to represent Aldro with pride stayed true over a long and trying season, and who were genuinely a great deal of fun to work with during our training sessions. A great deal of resilience was shown by all the boys and they deserve much credit for their efforts across the season.

RUGBY U12A & U12B

This year's Under 12 rugby teams have demonstrated remarkable skill, dedication, and sportsmanship. Both the Under 12A and Under 12B teams have shown the true spirit of rugby, making us proud with their achievements on and off the field.

The Under 12A team had an outstanding season, showcasing their prowess in a series of competitive matches. Their teamwork and strategic play were evident in every game. Coached by Mr. Margesson, the team focused on developing core skills such as tackling, passing, and maintaining strong defensive lines. Their hard work paid off in thrilling victories against a number of schools including Lambrook, Twyford and Highfield School. Captain Henry Evans led the team with remarkable leadership and scored crucial tries in several matches. The highlight of the season was their emphatic 60 – 10 victory against Papplewick, which was a team that they had lost 25-20 to earlier in the season. This clearly showed how much progress and dedication that the A-team squad had put in throughout the season to progress to the level they reached by the end of the season. The A-team finished with an impressive record of 10 wins and only 4 losses throughout the season.

The Under 12B team also had a commendable season, emphasizing the importance of inclusivity and development. Under the guidance of Mr Nixon, the team worked tirelessly to improve their fundamental skills and understanding of the game. Their most memorable moment came in a nail-biting match against Cranleigh Prep, where they clinched a strong 30-15 win, which really helped improve the confidence of the squad. The resilience and determination shown by the players were truly inspiring. Both the Captain, Will Morgan, and Vice-captain Charlie Paul stood out with their dynamic play and sportsmanship, earning praise from teammates and opponents alike.

The standout player of the season though was Rufus Blackwell, who scored a remarkable 32 tries throughout the season for the B-team, which is an achievement he should be proud of. The Under 12B team’s progress throughout the season was remarkable, with each player contributing to their collective success. The B-team finished with a strong record of 8 wins, 1 draw and 4 losses throughout the season.

Both teams have exemplified the values of hard work, teamwork, and perseverance. Their achievements are a testament to the dedication of the players and the support from coaches and parents. We look forward to seeing these young athletes continue to grow and excel in their rugby journey. Congratulations to the Under 12A and Under 12B teams for a fantastic season.

RUGBY U12A 7S

Rugby sevens is all about pace, handling skill, good decision-making and physical bravery, and this group of boys had most of these in abundance.

The frustration and disappointment of the season was the lack of tournaments available to Under 12s – not many schools seem to organise tournaments for this age group. As a result we were limited to two full tournaments and a practice tournament which we arranged ourselves.

The first tournament was at Boundary Oak school. Sixteen schools took part in increasingly wet and muddy conditions. Aldro remained unbeaten throughout the tournament and eventually won the final against Forres Sandle Manor, who, despite having the standout player of the tournament, struggled in the face of slippery conditions and ferocious Aldro defence led by Julian.

The second ‘tournament’ was a home-grown affair hosted at Aldro. A fine afternoon with a few decent

teams playing good quality sevens in a festival format. Although we lost a few matches this was a great afternoon of learning and developing our sevens play. Aldro scored some spectacular sweeping tries on large pitches and demonstrated improved decision-making in the team.

The third and final tournament of the season was a large event at Danes Hill with a broad variety of teams. The tournament clashed with the Rome trip which meant that the squad was somewhat depleted, but a couple of Form 6s stepped into the breach and one of them – Henry – went on to be player of the tournament. Once again, Aldro played some fine rugby and secured some good results and ended the rugby season a considerably improved side than at the beginning.

It was a pleasure to coach such an enthusiastic and committed group of boys, who, as well as possessing many of the raw materials needed to play quality rugby sevens, were also (mostly!) willing to listen and learn. Well done!

RUGBY U11A

SEASON REPORT

The Aldro U11A rugby team wrapped up a rewarding and dynamic season, experiencing significant growth and creating memorable moments along the way; the boys learning the new rules at U11 level, with more tactics, positions and kicking being involved. We worked hard in training to grasp both attacking and defensive structures, ensuring that each player adapted to their positions and roles within the team. This focused effort built their confidence, improved their tactics, and enhanced their overall ability. Through consistent practice, the boys developed into a cohesive unit capable of executing plays and responding effectively to various in-game situations.

We competed in a total of 12 games, securing 6 wins, 4 losses, and 2 draws. The team's primary focus was on understanding and mastering the new U11 rules, which emphasised both individual skills and teamwork. This strategy proved to be highly

RUGBY U11A 7S

GAMES PLAYED: 26

WINS: 22 DRAWS: 2 LOSSES: 2

After the Rugby Union season, the U11s transitioned into the rugby 7s season. None of the pupils had played 7s before, but the team was eager to learn the new style of rugby. The extra space on the pitch and the unique demands of 7s rugby put pressure on both individual skills and teamwork. Despite being new to the format, the boys quickly adapted to the fasterpaced and more open style of play. Training sessions focused on developing speed, agility, and precise passing, as well as understanding the importance of strategic positioning. The team worked hard to develop these skills, which were essential for success in 7s rugby. The boys showed remarkable improvement with each match, growing more confident and competent in their play. The additional space allowed them to

effective, as the boys gained experience and consistently leveraged the new rules to their advantage.

Throughout the season, the boys showed remarkable consistency and adaptability, which reflected their high level of play. These experiences provided valuable lessons and showcased the depth of talent within our squad. The determination and teamwork displayed in these challenging scenarios will undoubtedly serve as a strong

foundation for the future.

One of the standout moments came in the last match of the season during a closely contested match against an unbeaten Westbourne House team. The boys delivered an exceptional performance, scoring in the last second of the match to make the score 35-35. This match was a testament to the team and puts the U11s in a very good place going into next season.

Mr. Twyford

showcase their individual talents while also emphasising the importance of working together as a cohesive unit. Their ability to cover the field, support one another, and exploit gaps in the opposition's defence improved significantly.

Participating in several 7s tournaments, the team faced tough competition but rose to the challenge

each time, winning 4 of the 5 main tournaments. They demonstrated their resilience and adaptability, achieving fantastic results and gaining valuable experience. These tournaments not only highlighted their growing proficiency in the 7s game but also reinforced their teamwork and strategic thinking.

Mr. Twyford

RUGBY U11B

The U11B rugby team had a season full of memorable moments and tremendous effort. Despite the mixed results on the scoreboard, the boys showed remarkable spirit and resilience throughout the season. They played 13 games in total, securing 3 wins, 1 draw, and 9 losses. Each match presented unique challenges, yet the team approached every game with enthusiasm and determination.

One of the most unforgettable highlights of the season was our resounding victory against Amesbury, where the team triumphed with an impressive score of 80-20. This match highlighted the boys' exceptional teamwork and ability to apply what they had learned in Games sessions to a match day scenario. Every player contributed to this remarkable victory, and it was a proud moment for the team.

Another standout performance was our hard-fought 25-25 draw against Farleigh, which demonstrated the boys' ability to stay focused and resilient under pressure. The defensive efforts and perseverance during this match were commendable and truly reflective of the growth and learning that took place over the season.

Throughout the season, each player showed significant improvement, both individually and as part of the team. Their commitment to training, willingness to learn, and positive attitude were evident in every game. The boys displayed excellent sportsmanship and camaraderie, supporting each other through wins and losses alike.

Even in the nine losses, there were countless moments of brilliance, with players stepping up to tackle, pass, and run with determination and courage.

The coaching staff were immensely proud of the progress made by each player. The skills developed and the lessons learned this season will undoubtedly benefit the boys in their future sporting endeavours.

RUGBY U10A

GAMES PLAYED: 12

WINS: 8 DRAWS: 1 LOSSES: 3

POINTS FOR: 360

POINTS AGAINST: 300

DIFFERENCE: 60

Strong team-spirit, ability and desire-to-win led to a fantastic season for the Under 10 A’s and very pleasing end-of-season statistics.

A playing record of eight wins, one draw and just three losses would definitely lead to a top four spot in the Premiership with 44 points from 12 games including 10 bonus points.

Well done, all players who included Monty, our star captain, Arthur, Freddie, Hugo, Larry, Luke, and Marcus as well as Rocco, who left at Christmas.

These were our core players, but the Bs helped to get us over the line when we needed them: George particularly could be seen as an A player having played four games.

RUGBY U10B

SEASON REPORT

An enthusiastic and talented group of boys made up the Under 10 B team squad this season. In terms of size, we may not have had the biggest boys to choose from, but their commitment to coaching sessions and their readiness to improve made for a very enjoyable season.

We started strongly with a comfortable victory over Eagle House, then had a few tough matches against the likes of Papplewick, Cranleigh and Highfield – although we managed at least five tries in all of those defeats. In a wet few weeks after Christmas we produced fine performances to beat Twyford and Farleigh, before a great final match at Westbourne House resulted in a narrow 35-30 loss.

George Greenwell led the side with authority and aggression, well

The season saw great development in tackling, passing, off-loading and clean rucking. It included many hard-fought, passionate, nail-biting games with 9 out of the 12 games being decided by less than 2 tries.

With so many highlights to look back on, it is hard to pick, but on three occasions, immense defence that led to narrow victories against Windlesham House, Lambrook and Westbourne house really stood out. A

will to win characterised our season. This grit was added to by our great ability to attack with good technique, slick moves and being positionally aware: 72 tries in 12 games epitomises a team who can punish anyone on the circuit.

I have enjoyed coaching this group and can see their great potential going forward. I wish them all the best for their future rugby.

MT

supported by strong runners Xander Chorley and Henry Stevenson. The pace of Spencer Zhang and Teddy Beabey proved too much for several opposition teams, and we also had brave tackling from Arjun Trikha and Casper Hawley. Squad members Henry Blackwell, Harry Kirkpatrick and Hector Bickerton all played regularly.

My grateful thanks to all the parents for their faithful support on the touchline, to Mr Thompson for his coaching expertise, and to the boys for their attitude and approach to their rugby – they were a real pleasure to coach.

C Rose

RUGBY U10C

SEASON REPORT

The Under 10 C team squad this season developed into a fine, attacking team over the course of the season, losing just two of their ten matches. Their attitude to coaching sessions was excellent, and their desire to improve made it easy for me to take them.

We started with two draws. A 10-10 battle with Eagle House, then a quite epic 55-55 result against Cranleigh. What a game for the neutral! Comfortable victories followed, over Amesbury and Papplewick, before an incredible match with Farleigh ended up 95-90 in our favour! There were two more exciting draws with Edgeborough and Twyford, and then we went down fighting to a strong side at Westbourne House. No shortage of entertainment for spectators!

Quintus Collins led the side well, ably supported by regulars Teddy Hawley, Nicolas Wu and Benji Robinson. Pace was provided by Henry Blackwell and Harry Kirkpatrick, together with strong performances from the likes of Leo Mettam, Felix Ding and Ted Brinkley. B Team players Hector Bickerton, Casper Hawley and Xander Chorley played on occasions, boosting the tackling power and running with the ball.

A very memorable season. My thanks to all the parents for their support, and to all the boys for their dedication to their rugby – they were great to coach.

P Richardson

RUGBY U9A

This season for the U9A boys' rugby team was marked by significant frustration due to inclement weather, which led to the cancellation of six matches and numerous training sessions. Despite these setbacks, when the team did get the chance to play, they made the most of it, winning all three of their matches and achieving a 90% win rate in two festivals.

The squad showcased immense rugby potential, but the lack of opportunities to perform was a real hindrance. It was disappointing not to see their focus and style of play fully flourish, as each game they played demonstrated continuous improvement and growing cohesion. However, the glimpses of their capability were truly promising, hinting at what could have been a standout season.

As their coach for both football and rugby, I felt fortunate to work with such a dedicated and potentially talented group. We were able to build on the lessons learned in both sports, reinforcing key skills and teamwork. This continuity has laid a solid foundation for their future success as a rugby team at Aldro.

Looking ahead, I am confident that this squad has what it takes to excel. Their commitment and potential are evident, and with more opportunities to play as an U10 team, I believe they will achieve great things. Fingers crossed for more favourable weather and more matches next season!

MBT

RUGBY U8

SEASON REPORT 2024

The U8’s enjoyed a fun and exciting first season of Rugby at Aldro. The emphasis was based strongly on learning the game; understanding the laws and developing the techniques required to play the game and work as a team.

This particular cohort took to rugby like ducks to water. They displayed fantastic enthusiasm throughout their rugby season and a genuine desire to learn and play as much as possible. Despite the lack of opportunities due to the number of matches cancelled because of the weather, they achieved some brilliant results across all 3 teams without any team registering loss! An amazing achievement.

The player development was extremely pleasing in many areas with handling, passing and evasions skills really standing out. The game understanding of many of the boys was noticeably advanced and they look set for a fine rugby career at Aldro. It became very evident from an early stage that this cohort much preferred the contact variety of rugby and they are definitely ready for the next stage. They are a cohort whose rugby journey we will all thoroughly enjoy at Aldro.

Well tried this year and good luck in the future, but keep working on your listening skills!

KENT CRICKET TOUR 2024

Summer finally arrived as we headed for Kent in June. Our first stop was once again Tonbridge School who kindly took the boys off for a rackets lesson on arrival.

The match is now played on their field known as the Lower Hundred; it is small and the outfield lightning! So, a good toss to win!

Aldro batted first posting 206 in 25 overs with both Henry Evans and George Lye scoring excellent 50s. We then managed to give all our players the opportunity to bowl as Tonbridge chased down our total at a canter! They were very aggressive and whilst scoring quickly they offered plenty of chances. In the end they ran out of steam and Tom Newman finished with 3 wickets in an over to bring their innings to a close 53 runs short. A great winning start to the tour.

The following day we travelled to Sutton Valence School (SVS) for our annual meeting! We are always so incredibly well looked after, and the cricket is generally competitive. This occasion was no different.

Winning the toss on a good wicket, blue skies and another fast outfield was a perfect start. Henry Evans repeated his day one success with another accomplished 50 and was brilliantly supported by Jonty Davies making his first school 50. A total of 173 off 25 overs was pleasing but on a fast outfield we wondered if we had enough! SVS chased very well and consistently. They kept up with the run rate and scored boundaries freely. Some poor catching aided their chase, but some tight death

bowling got us across the line. SVS need 21 in the final over and only managed 7 resulting in an exciting match and another great win!

Day 3 saw us head to our traditional venue of Wellesley House in Broadstairs. It turned out this was to be our final ever match with them as they will no longer have pupils in Form 7&8.

An 11.30 start saw us win the toss again and bat first again! Our innings

yo-yoed a fair bit with runs but also early wickets. Fortunately, counter attacking knocks from first George Lye and then Leo Booth who scored a valuable 45 saw us to a strong total of 165 off 30 overs.

Following a BBQ lunch Aldro took their turn in the field and started with a block buster over from Luke Booth who had their quality opener got behind of the glove following a rip snorter of a short delivery! The tone was set early on and sadly Wellesley subsided to 21 all out with Theo Murphy finishing the game on a hatrick. As is always their way, Wellesley showed their class and presented us with a signed bat by the players signifying the final ever Wellesley House 1st XI. A fitting end to a very successful tour.

I am convinced it was this tour that helped in the boys winning the Hall Grove Festival a few days later and beating Cranleigh in the final game of the season for the first time in around 8 years!

1ST XI CRICKET SEASON 2024

The 1st XI season of 2024 was definitely one of two halves. The first half wet, uninspiring and lacking confidence and the second dry and hot, entertaining, exciting and full of sporting prowess.

It was evident from the outset that it was a clear disadvantage that none of our Year 8 cricketers had played regular 1st team cricket the season beforehand. A lack of cricket smarts, experience and confidence resulted in some consistently predictable performances and results. Whilst half the team was made up of talented Year 7 boys, they were also young and inexperienced. With the exception of the wins against Eagle House and St Andrew's which was really a mismatch we struggled as a bit predominantly in the field and with the bat.

I am very glad to say this all turned around in a glorious week of cricket and good weather in June. 7 matches in 7 days between 19-26 June saw a completely different team and hence results! 3 wins out of 3 on the Kent Tour (see separate report) catapulted the team into the next 4 matches with form and confidence.

At the Hall Grove Cricket Festival, we put 2 well known cricketing Prep Schools to the sword! First Sunningdale with a tense final over finish and then in the Final against Ludgrove where we won the match with a four off the last ball of the innings! This would not have been imaginable back in May!

The following day a very good performance was sadly undermined by a poor batting collapse against the touring Cornwall Hill College from South Africa. Our only real blip in 7 days of solid cricket.

The highlight of the season for me however was the defeat of Cranleigh in our final match of the year! In recent years they have been like an unstoppable juggernaut! Outstanding players with rich cricketing pedigree. We have not beaten them for certainly 8 years if not more!

Our all-round performances on the day was something to behold and a convincing 6 wicket margin of victory was the icing on the cake!

My congratulations to this team and especially the Year 8 boys who turned round the season and started believing in themselves. I hope you continue in this vein at your next schools. Meanwhile the Year 7 boys have an exciting season to look forward to in 2025!

2ND XI CRICKET

The 2024 cricket season has been a remarkable journey for the 2nd XI boys' cricket team; with dedication, teamwork, and exceptional skill on display, our young cricketers have made us immensely proud. Their record was played 8, won 5, lost 2 and 1 tie.

From the outset, the boys showed promise, working tirelessly on their batting, bowling, and fielding techniques. Their hard work paid off in their first match against the formidable team from Twyford. Despite the nerves that typically accompany the season opener, our team secured a thrilling victory by only 1 run, setting the tone for the rest of the season where there were several close finishes against other schools, including a thrilling tie against Ludgrove School.

One of the standout matches was against Hoe Bridge School, where our team delivered an outstanding all-round performance in very rainy conditions. Even with the weather being poor, the boys performed brilliantly with both bat and ball, the highlight being an outstanding one-handed catch by Eddi Matthews off their best batsmen, which put the

3RD XI CRICKET

PLAYED: 8

WON: 7 DRAWN: 0 LOST: 1 RUNS FOR: 857 RUNS AGAINST: 787

Wednesday 24 Apr 24 (H)

Tywford School Won by 50 runs

Wednesday 01 May 24 (H)

Eagle House Won by 35 runs

Saturday 11 May 24 (H)

Highfield School Lost by 83 runs

Wednesday15 May 24 (A)

The Pilgrim’s School Won by 24 runs

Wednesday 22 May 24 (H)

Hoe Bridge School Boys U13Cs Won by 4 wickets

Wednesday 12 June 24 (H) U12Bs vs. Highfield U12Bs Won by 15 runs

(B. Hargrave 51 runs off 43)

match's momentum well into our favour.

The camaraderie among the players has been a hallmark of this team. Notably, the partnership between Jack Barnes and James Pickford in the middle order has been particularly effective. Their understanding and coordination have often pulled the team out of challenging situations, demonstrating the importance of teamwork and mutual trust.

In addition to their on-field achievements, the boys have displayed exemplary sportsmanship throughout the season. They have respected their opponents, played

fairly, and upheld the values of Aldro School, which is a credit to their character as a team and to their captain Alfie Graham, who did a sterling job throughout the season.

The season concluded with a match against Cranleigh School, and although we didn’t end the season with a win, they still put forward a brilliant team performance with some outstanding bowling from Seb Moss and Oscar Davison.

Well done to all the boys who represented the 2nds this season and thank you for being a pleasure to coach.

Wednesday19 June 24 (A)

King Edward’s Witley U13Bs Won by 27 runs

Wednesday 26 Jun 24 (H)

Cranleigh Preparatory School Won by 7 wickets

The 3rds had an excellent and winning season that was built on a strong desire to improve, excellent teamwork and lots of ability.

Benjamin Cang

James Davies

Archie Bickerton

Jacky Chen

Ben Chorley

Julius Reiser

Joseph Sewrey

Marsel Yarovoy

Rufus Blackwell

Ben Hargrave

Wilfred Heilpern

Luca Kalika

Felix Lowe

William Morgan

Josh Noundou

Rufus Sessions

4TH XI CRICKET

The 4th XI started their season by pulling off a narrow victory away at Twyford with just three balls, and one wicket, remaining. In all honesty, it was a victory snatched from the jaws of defeat, and it set the tone for an enjoyable, eventful season! At our best, the team was capable of some excellent cricket, certainly in terms of our bowling and fielding, which were the basis for pleasing victories against Eagle House, Halstead St

All our matches highlighted our ability to bowl well and pleasingly we had a wide range of bowlers to call upon. The wickets were well-spread, but Wilf Heilpern, Joseph Sewrey, Julius Reiser and Marsel Yarovoy were particularly strong. In most of the matches, we were able to see off opponents with many runs to spare or achievable targets.

Our batting improved and we always seemed to have players who either played important cameos or steadily seeing off a number of overs with impressive batting. Ben Hargrave was strong as our opener and often batted on through the overs tidily with a best of 51 off 43 with nine fours. Others like James Davies, Marsel Yarovoy, Jacky Chen and Rufus Blackwell power batted to great effect.

Many thanks to our captain, Archie Bickerton, for being so capable and dedicated in his selections and motivation of the team.

The stats and seven wins from eight matches speak for themselves.

Well done all.

Andrew’s, and Cranleigh. Our batting was rather more ‘hit and miss’ (both metaphorically and literally…) and the two games we did lose, against Highfield and Ludgrove saw batting collapses to rival the worst of pre-Bazball England. Throughout it all, ran an ever-enthusiastic approach to training, a huge amount of positivity during matches, and a great deal of enjoyment for all involved. My thanks go to the boys for their care free and joyous approach!

5TH XI CRICKET

The 5th XI cricket had a strong season. There was huge amount of skill as well as improvement shown throughout the season and this led to truly enjoyable cricket season. The team’s bowling improved throughout the season often restricting teams to low totals through steady consistency and lack of extras. Brilliant bowling from the whole team led to some brilliant targets to chase. Standouts included Will Franks, Dylan Taylor and Matthew Liu whose excellent bowling throughout the season was a big factor in the team's success. This was all helped by consistently good fielding, led by Henry Cocks behind the stumps. Batting also showed huge improvement throughout the season with Alvaro Caro-Roman and Henry Cocks being the stand outs, showing brilliant technique and

ability to score runs consistently. The season highlights include a brilliant unbeaten knock by Henry Cocks scoring a 4 on the final ball to win the game. Overall a really strong season for the 5th XI with much improvement from all of the team.

U12A CRICKET GIRLS

This year marked a significant milestone as the U12A girls' hardball cricket team became the first of its kind at Aldro. The girls embraced the challenge with enthusiasm and dedication, learning a tremendous amount throughout the term.

Facing some tough opposition, the team demonstrated resilience and determination. Despite the challenges, they secured a couple of impressive wins, showcasing their growing skills and understanding of the game. Regular indoor nets and internal matches provided valuable practice opportunities, which the girls made the most of to hone their abilities.

The highlight of the season was undoubtedly the final T20 home match against Hall Grove. Katie delivered a spectacular batting performance, holding her bat and scoring an incredible 81 runs off 61 balls. Her outstanding effort, along with some great bowling from Charlotte, Eloise, Amelia and Alice, wicket keeping from Beth and

fielding from Julia, Ava and Bella, led the team to a resounding victory, winning by 58 runs.

Overall, the girls' hardball cricket team has laid a strong foundation for future seasons. Their progress this year has been commendable, and

their commitment to the sport bodes well for continued success. I look forward to seeing how this talented group will build on their achievements and further their cricketing journey next year.

U12B CRICKET GIRLS

The U12B girls Cricket team developed a lot throughout their season. They started off with a great contested game against Twyford, with great bowling from Cindy and fielding from Florence. Whilst this wasn’t the result that they wanted they girls learnt a lot, which they wanted to work on in the next game. The next fixture was against St Edmund's. The team worked hard to get the ball back to the stumps as fast as they could. They managed to take wickets from St Edmund's as they worked together as a team. The score ended up with 297-274 to Aldro. With lots of runs scored the team worked hard on making the right calls at the right time.

The next game was against Cranleigh. The game was well matched and went down to how many wickets each team could take from the other. The score ended up being 237-230 to Aldro! The U12Bs then played a selection of teams which included Twyford, St Edmund's & Highfield. Both Twyford’s & Highfield’s excellent batting saw Aldro chasing a good scores in both. It wasn’t our day and we didn’t score as many runs as we wanted but leant a lot within that game. The girls had a great sense of team spirit.

U11A CRICKET

Cricket is a game often dominated by statistics. Number of runs scored, wickets taken, partnerships, averages, strike rates, and endless other figures that aficionados mull over. But as anybody who has ever played the game will confirm – they only tell part of the story. A list of batting scores reveal nothing of the player’s attitude, technique, resilience at the crease, or of the hours spent practising in the nets. A bowler’s figures might indicate how effective his spell has been, but will not reflect his swing, seam movement or nagging length. And nowhere in any statistical summary will you find anything to illustrate how fantastic a team’s fielding has been. Our playing summary this season looks distinctly unimpressive on paper: won 2 out of 10, with a couple of games rained off. However, Mr Taylor, Mr M-H and myself, who supervised coaching sessions three times a week and umpired the matches, know just how much determination, commitment and passion the boys put in over the nine weeks of cricket.

Freddie Holliday led the side expertly,

To finish the season the girls went back into training for the Mums & Daughters cricket match. This is one of the highlights of the season and both girls and mums got practising. Some amazing work from the girls lead to a great afternoon in which both parties enjoyed themselves. It was great to see the girls teaching their mums how to play. We look forward to seeing the girls play next season.

contributing with both bat and ball, and setting clever, attacking fields. He achieved the unique feat of taking a wicket with the opening delivery of the season, finishing with 3-13 against a strong Twyford XI. One feature of his captaincy was his belief in his players – I enjoyed watching the way he encouraged them to bat and bowl with both freedom and aggression. Our best bowler was Christian McCann, who took 16 wickets over

the season with beautiful swing and accuracy of length. He has a wonderful bowling action, and when he learns a bit of variation (and cuts down his run-up!) he will be an important 1st XI bowler at Aldro. Christian is also a gifted, technically correct top order batsman with an exquisite square cut. Henry Thompson, another talented allrounder, was my Player of the Season. He batted beautifully at times, leading

U11A CRICKET CONTINUED

us to victory at The Pilgrims’ with a flawless unbeaten 53. On his day his bowling was lively and sharp, and had opposition batsmen in trouble with his seamers pitching just short of a length. In addition, Henry is a phenomenal fielder with safe hands and a bullet throw. Henry Murphy spent most of the season behind the stumps, keeping with great energy and spirit. He could be a destructive batsmen on his day, and as his shot selection improves he will undoubtedly make some big scores over the next two years. Fin Edwards proved a thoughtful, clever leg-

U11B CRICKET

Coaching the U11B boys' cricket team this term has been an incredibly rewarding experience. Winning 50% of our games is a fair reflection of the hard work and dedication the players put into their training and practice break time T20s on the "Green Carpet". As the season progressed, we witnessed considerable improvement in both batting and bowling across the team.

The players developed greater accuracy in their bowling and enhanced their batting technique and shot selection. It was particularly satisfying to see them hitting the ball harder, a skill that paid off in key moments. Luca's impressive 67 runs against Farleigh stands out as a testament to the team's hard work and capability. In that memorable game, Aldro scored 155 for 2, with Luca receiving admirable support from Peter, who scored 25, and George, who added 33. Farleigh, however, managed to chase down our total, finishing at 156 for 4 and scoring the winning runs off the last ball. Although the boys were devastated by the loss, the match, which saw over 300 runs scored, was a remarkable feat for an U11B game and one to remember.

Despite only having eight fielders, the team worked tirelessly to stop runs, demonstrating incredible teamwork and resilience. This effort encapsulated my moment of the season, highlighting why I love coaching: the opportunity to

spinner who was quite unplayable on several occasions. His three wickets at Highfield helped us to a close win, and he played superbly in the Tonbridge Tournament. Fin could hit the ball as hard as any of our boys, and chipped in with a very useful 75 runs during the season. Patrick Kelly scooped the best bowling figures of the summer with his gentle offcutters, finishing with 6-31 against Halstead St Andrew’s. Tom Niel and Ben Sharp both had their moments, and never let us down batting, bowling or fielding. Other squad members who made an impression

included James Gore, Josh Rowland, Charles Li, Luca Yang, Armand Cruse and Ben Wang. We also welcomed Monty Plaistowe, a hugely gifted U10 who played a large part in our success at Tonbridge. He has a very bright future at Aldro.

Many thanks to the boys for their enthusiasm and dedication to their cricket, to Mr Taylor and Mr M-H for their coaching expertise and assistance, and to the parents for their wonderful support and backing over the summer.

set players up for success. This season, we achieved this goal, with several B team players being selected to represent the A team, showcasing real improvement in overall cricket skills and game understanding.

I look forward to seeing these players continue to develop and succeed next season.

U11 CRICKET GIRLS

GIRLS U11A

PLAYED: 8

WON: 8 DRAWN: 0 LOST: 0

Many congratulations to the Girl’s Under 11A (Hardball) cricket team who have had a terrific season. They remain unbeaten in school matches and the development of the girlsboth as individuals and as a teamhas been fantastic.

Lexie and Bella P led the squad with enthusiasm, skill and determination. Their excellent batting and bowling were the foundations to many victories, with perhaps Bella’s innings at Twyford being the highlight. Both are outstanding cricketers and it is no surprise that they are being picked up by the county system.

However, it was the development of the less experienced players which has been possibly the most satisfying aspect of the season. A number of girls had never played hardball cricket before this summer, but, by the end of the season, were able to make significant contributions in matches. Ella B, Bella W and Jemima are all to be congratulated on the progress that they made over the course of the season, which meant that, even when there were injuries, they were able to step in and play their part.

It has been very much a team effort with some great performances from Rose, Cesca, Kristen, Gigi and Maisie.

Champagne moment of the season is shared between Bella P (for her six away at Twyford) and Lilly (for her hat-trick against Hall Grove.)

As might be clear from this report, it has been a pleasure to coach this team this season. Very well done!

NDM

GIRLS U11B

The Girls U11B Cricket team worked brilliantly this season. Each week the girls worked hard to improve their skills with Anjali Atkins feeling more confident with her bowling and Bella Watson putting increasing power

behind the ball when batting. Batting pairs were showing better communication within matches with Dorcas Yang demonstrating louder call as weeks passed by. The improved skills amongst the team didn’t transfer into many ‘wins’ but the girls thoroughly enjoyed the season, occasionally without wind or rain!

U10A CRICKET

The Aldro U10A cricket team concluded an extremely successful season, winning 9 out of 10 regular fixtures. This season marked the boys' first experience with hard-ball cricket, and they adapted exceptionally well to the new challenges.

Throughout the season, the boys embraced the "you’re out, we're out" format, which demanded an understanding of fielding positions, tactics, and various approaches to the game. Their ability to learn and implement these new elements of hard-ball cricket was impressive and contributed significantly to their success, especially as the season went on.

A highlight of the season was the Harrow tournament, where the team faced some strong opposition and won 3 out of 4 games. This tournament showcased the boys' skills and determination, as they competed fiercely and demonstrated their growing understanding of the game.

The dedication and hard work put in during training sessions paid off, with the team displaying excellent fielding, strategic batting, and effective bowling throughout the season. Their consistent performances and ability to adapt to different game situations were key factors in their outstanding record.

A special commendation goes to all the boys for their commitment and enthusiasm. Their teamwork and sportsmanship were exemplary, and they should be proud of what they have achieved. The experiences and lessons learned this season lay a strong foundation for future success. Well done to the boys for a great season, and we look forward to their continued development and success in the years ahead.

Mr. Twyford

U10B CRICKET

Despite a challenging set of results, with 3 wins and 8 losses out of 11 games, the U10B cricket team demonstrated exceptional spirit and sportsmanship throughout the season.

One of the standout moments of our season was our remarkable victory against Pilgrim's, where we triumphed by a remarkable 36 runs. This match was a testament to the hard work and dedication the boys put in during training sessions, and it showcased the teams potential.

Throughout the season, each game presented its own set of challenges and learning opportunities. Despite the results, every player showed significant improvement in all areas of the game. It's important to highlight the resilience the team displayed, particularly in close matches where the result often came down to the last few balls. These experiences will undoubtedly serve as valuable lessons for the boys as they continue to develop their cricketing skills.

The following players topped the rankings for the season.

Batters

Arthur Moss batted for a total of 126 minutes, faced 83 deliveries in 5 innings, scored 67 runs which included 12 4s. He ended the season with a strike rate of 80.7, an average of 16.8 and a highest score of 36 not out.

Marcus Lowe batted for a total 99 minutes, faced 100 deliveries in 8 innings, scored 66 runs which included 10 4s. He ended the season with a strike rate of 66, an average of 22 and a highest score of 26 not out.

Hector Bickerton batted for a total of 152 minutes, faced 107 deliveries in 9 innings, scored 52 runs which included 9 4s. He ended the season with a strike rate of 48.6, an average of 8.7 and a highest score of 26 not out.

Bowlers

Marcus Lowe bowled a total of 17 overs which included 2 maidens. He conceded 68 runs with an economy rate of 4 and a strike rate on 12.75.

Teddy Hawley bowled a total of 16 overs. He conceded 140 runs with an

economy rate of 8.75 and a strike rate of 13.71.

Arthur Moss bowled a total of 13 overs. He conceded 86 runs with an economy rate of 6.62 and a strike rate of 13.

U10A CRICKET GIRLS

It has been a pleasure watching the U10A Girls Cricket team grow in confidence throughout the year. All 8 girls have made tremendous progress this year on all aspects of their Cricket. The season started with a loss to Twyford 267-316, the girls had to adapt to a pitch on a hill and work out how to field and bat with the balls rolling away. They came away from that having learnt a lot and went back to training. The girls focused in on their fielding techniques and practised throwing the ball onto the wickets from various different points ready for their next games. With a week before the next game the girls threw themselves into nets training to practise their bowling. With both Hardball & Softball nets going the girls found a chance to enhance their bowling skills further.

The next few games saw the girls play Cranleigh, Twyford, Highfield, Hall Grove & Farleigh. With the girls set in their bowling and batting pairs they impressed everyone and won all 5 games. Most by over 40 runs, with

Isabella throwing some impressive balls every match in the field to get at least a wicket. Lily & Emmi bowling so fast the opposing batter could not hit the ball and Georgie nearly bowling a Hatrick in the game v Twyford, the girls worked so hard to better themselves each game. During the game v Farleigh both teams were very evenly matched. With Farleigh scoring an impressive 243 with 8 wickets taken the girls had a lot to work on if they wanted to beat them. With 6 wickets taken it was all up to the last two batters Emmi and Lily. They held their nerve in the last two overs and managed to gain enough runs to beat Farleigh 249-243. All girls played their part and gave 100%.

We then played Churcher's who had twice as many girls as us. Due to this we mixed the teams up to have both Aldro and Chucher's playing together. I was really proud of the girls team work and how they tried hard even if they were playing with girls from the same team.

The last 2 games saw players missing

due to illnesses, but the team rallied on the knowledge that they had won the last few games and had practised hard. Barrow Hills was next and straight away Isobel Davies took 5 wickets both bowling and catching and Aurelia with 3 also. This was the most wickets we had taken in a game. Barrow Hills finished on 286 but had 12 wickets against them. Unfortunately, our batting wasn’t to par, and we ran on balls that weren’t the right choice. Barrow Hills ended up taking 10 wickets but scored more as Aldro ended on 276. As the game was really close game the girls learnt a lot of lessons, mainly in their batting, that they worked on and discussed for the final game v Amesbury. Unfortunately, the game didn’t go our way, but the girls did come away with two wickets, and they gave their all. The U10A girls have been outstanding and a pleasure to teach. I look forward to their progress as they move on up through the school.

U10B CRICKET GIRLS

The U10B girls started off their season with a great win v Twyford s scoring 271-261 runs, in a very close contested match, with great bowling from Charlotte.

The girls then went back to practice. We were able to use the senior nets which proved great benefit for the girls with both their batting and bowling techniques and in the space of 1 hour we could see the difference in confidence and accuracy. The girls expressed an interest in Hardball Cricket of which lead to Hardball Net practice.

The next fixture was against a tough Cranleigh. The girls held their nerve with some excellent fielding from Bella CJ & Charlotte meant that the game was all to play for. Some excellent batting and a few 4’s saw Aldro take the lead at the end by 1! The score finished 262-261. The next few games saw the U10B’s playing Highfield and Hall Grove. Both games saw the girls putting into practice the fielding and throwing work they had been looking at in their games

lessons. This resulted in a few wickets from fielding. The girls took on board all feedback and tried to implement it during the duration of the matches.

The final two games saw the U10B’s take on Farleigh and Churchers. The girls batted with confidence with Livvy and Charlotte scoring both 4’s & 6’s. Their communication between batters was much improved. Excellent fielding from Lumen with great clear direction saw the girls take the win against Farleigh 337-271. The girls finished off their Cricket season with a last game against Churcher's where we mixed the teams up and played for fun. It was great to see the girls have such great sportsmanship towards both our team and Churcher's. Looking forward to seeing their improvement next season. EB

U9A CRICKET

The U9A cricket team had an extraordinary season. After two defeats on the bounce to begin the season the team went on to win every match for the rest of the season. The improvement shown by the boys was brilliant and let to a sparkling season. Bowling proved a particular strength of the team, managing to allow less than 10 runs in an innings on 3 separate occasions. Jack Gilmour showed brilliant control and consistency with his left arm pace, Alec Legge dazed opponents with his exceptional Leg(ge) spin and the pace of Sebbie Holliday and Henry Morgan proved too much for many teams. With brilliant contributions from Jago Morgan, Buster Allen and Harry Jack with the ball, bringing in more than their fair share of wickets the U9A have shown a particular penchant for bowling. With the bat the team were no less impressive. With Jack Gilmour and Henry Morgan showing their own version of “Bazball” with swift and highly profitable opening overs, and Sebbie Holliday, Jago Morgan, Alec Legge and Harry Jack providing key stability and runs in the middle, showing brilliant technique, match awareness and maturity to take the game away from teams. Buster Allen brought up the rear brilliantly throughout the season providing boundary after boundary (with a fair few sixes) in the closing overs. This not only took close games away from the opposition but made wins even more impressive. Overall a brilliant season for the U9As who have shown brilliant skill, attitude and application.

U9C CRICKET

What a season it has been for the U9C boys' cricket team! With a record of played 9, won 8, and lost 1, the boys have truly outdone themselves. As a coaching team, we focused on the fundamentals we deemed most important for this group: bowling accuracy and hitting the ball hard. Our session planning revolved around these core skills, incorporating various challenges to keep the players engaged and improving.

The success of our season was not just due to our planning, but also because of the players' willingness to listen and absorb coaching points. This squad's dedication to improvement was

U9 CRICKET

GIRLS

Both the A and the B teams have had an outstanding cricket season, with the U9A team being undefeated throughout the season. They have shown particular improvement in their fielding and their bowling, giving away very few extras and taking over 40 wickets. Their batting has remained strong and their team work and communication was evident with their excellent calling, they were so good at maximising their runs after every ball. Despite dominating in all of their matches, the girls didn’t rest on their laurels, they enthusiastically participated in extra training sessions during break times and showed a constant desire to keep improving. A brilliant season and very well deserved success.

R Plaistowe

remarkable, and their progress in all aspects of the game was evident. The culmination of their hard work was seen in the final game against Cranleigh, where Aldro secured a convincing victory.

While every player contributed significantly to our success, a few standout performances deserve special mention. Daniel's powerful sixes were a highlight, showcasing his ability to hit the ball hard. James emerged as one of the most accurate bowlers in the team, consistently delivering precise and challenging balls. Anirvinn's first wicket was a particularly memorable moment. He had worked tirelessly on his

bowling, and this achievement was a just reward for his efforts.

The season was not only successful but also immensely fun. Training sessions were filled with enthusiasm, and it was incredibly rewarding to see the boys take the skills honed on the training pitch and apply them so effectively in matches. Their performances throughout the season were a testament to their hard work and determination.

Well done, boys. Your growth as players and as a team has been a joy to witness, and I look forward to seeing what you will achieve in the future.

MBT

U8 CRICKET

SEASON REPORT

Many of the boys were new to cricket this year, but what superb enthusiasm and ability they showed. Rather like their rugby season they took to cricket very quickly and were soon up to speed with both the techniques required and the laws of the game.

As a group there was lots of fun to be had whilst working hard on the basic skills and continuing to understanding the nuances of the game. As a result, all the boys in Form 3 enjoyed a fun and exciting first season of cricket Aldro.

The game is multi-faceted and requires the ability to bat, bowl, field and wicket keep. Most of the group mastered the basics in these areas but still require much work to make the jump to hard ball cricket in the future. Cricket is also such an individual game with a team sport and is so technical that it is vital that these areas are covered and constantly repeated in training.

Whilst there was a great deal of fun and enjoyment had by everyone, the prevailing message was the need to work hard and practise. With this ethic they can all do very well in the future. It was most rewarding to see some clear progress made by each individual.

We were delighted that during every match ALL the boys in Form 3 were actively involved. A real achievement for the school! Well done this year and good luck in the future.

GD

U8 CRICKET GIRLS

It has been a pleasure watching the U8’s develop in their Cricket most of the girls having never played before. They have developed a range of new skills and come a long way since the beginning of April. The first match was against an experienced Highfield side. As a first game for the U8’s they learnt a lot and were now starting to understand what they had been practising during their training. The score didn’t go our way but the girls really put an emphasis on their bowling as that had been the focus for previous sessions. The next game was Barfield which the girls were ready for after practising their bowling and now fielding. They worked on making sure they were concentrating, and their overarm throw when passing the ball back to the bowler. The game was super close and ended in a 253 tie! Both teams were so evenly matched that this score was the best outcome.

The girls went back to training to practise their catching in the field and did a lot of work to better that ready for the next game against

Edgeborough. The highlights of the game were Lily’s amazing bowling and Hattie’s along with Alessia's powerful batting. The next game they faced was against St Ives. This was a different style of game as they had both boys and girls, so it made the game different to those previously. The score was very close throughout the whole game as each over was pretty much tied. Coming down to the final over Aldro batted well and the score ended 274-272! The girls impressed me with the amount of runs they gained even if they didn’t hit the ball.

The final two games saw Aldro take on close rivals Amesbury and Barrow Hills. After working hard in training to sharpen their bowling the girls worked hard on power and strength so that they could get a wicket straight away. The work paid off as a few took wickets across the two games. The final score v Amesbury was so close and again came down to the final over. It ended 248-245 a super close win for Aldro! Last game of the season v Barrow Hills saw

Aldro off to a flying start with Lily scoring so many 4’s. With good quick fielding from the rest of the girls Aldro made a high score of 286 for 1 wicket. Barrow Hills then came into bat and had some great and powerful hitters. The girls worked hard to stop the ball going far as they practised their long barriers. This worked well as Barrow Hills scored 262 for 4 wickets, making it the biggest win of the season. What a great way to end the Cricket season. I look forward to seeing what they can do next.

U12A HOCKEY

The U12A’s had a good season of Hockey and learnt so much during their games. The girls worked hard to better their skills and develop their hockey knowledge. They started off by playing Danes Hill. Unfortunately, the girls did not get the win but managed to score 2 goals and took away some good knowledge from that game into the next one. The U12A’s then took on St Edmund's and working on passing and dribbling the girls succeeded in having more possession of the ball. They found their feet quicker with the game also. They then played Highfield next gaining early possession the girls took an early lead and won. Their shooting skills were much improved, and they were able to have more shots on goal.

They then went back to training focused on roll outs and block tackles. They trained hard and even went up to Charterhouse once a

U12B HOCKEY

The U12Bs started off their Hockey season with a tough opponent in Danes Hill. With a lot of girls still new to Hockey this was a learning experience for them. The game ended in a 5-0 win to Danes Hill but the girls came away positive and having learnt from their experience. They then went back to training and we were lucky to have the use of the Charterhouse grounds once a week so the girls practised passing and dribbling on the correct surface.

Their next game was v St Eds. With another experienced Hockey schools the girls knew they weren’t going for the win but to improve their overall skills they had been practising over the last few weeks. Both Cindy & Florence showed great improvement with their dribbling and felt they were able to control the ball better down the pitch.

week to train on a proper astro surface. The next few games saw the girls playing Amesbury, Elstree, Twyford and Barrow Hills. These games unfortunately went away from us as half time, but the girls focused on player and team development. From each game even if they didn’t win the girls were able to put into

practice skills that they had been trying to get right in a game situation. It has been a pleasure to see the U12A’s grow in confidence over their Hockey season. I look forward to seeing what the girls can do in year 8.

The final game of the season saw Aldro playing our local rival Highfield. The game was very evenly matched with Aldro coming out as winners 3-1! The moment of the match was Cindy's goal as the whole team rallied around her when she scored. The girls showed great team spirit. We had two other great goals from Cressida and

Alice. Our well deserved player of the match was Alice. She worked hard all over the pitch and her encouragement and praise of others was really motivating for everyone. Well done to the U12B Hockey team. A great start, looking forward to next season!

EB

U11A HOCKEY

This season, the U11A girls' hockey team faced some tough challenges, and unfortunately, they were unable to secure a win on match days. Despite the lack of victories, the girls' true capabilities shone through during training sessions, where their dedication and hard work were evident.

Throughout the term, the team focused on improving their core skills, and their commitment to bettering themselves was truly commendable. Each practice session was filled with enthusiasm and a determination to grow, laying a solid foundation for future success.

Although the results on the pitch did not reflect their potential, the progress made in training was significant. The girls have developed a deeper understanding of the game, and their skills have improved tremendously. Their teamwork,

U11B HOCKEY

sportsmanship, and positive attitude was exemplary, showing that success is not only measured by wins but also by growth and perseverance.

I am confident that this season's experiences have only made the team stronger. With their continued effort and enthusiasm, they are poised for a

The Girls U11B Hockey team worked with grit and determination throughout the hockey season. Training saw skills being developed and an understanding of the rules coming to fruition during both practice and real matches. The girls met some challenging teams and losses were met with a positive attitude and an understanding of how to improve.

bright and successful future. I look forward to seeing how they will build on the lessons learned this year and achieve great things in the next season.

Well done to the girls for their hard work and resilience!

U10A HOCKEY

Throughout the hockey season the Under 10A team girls went from strength to strength within the training and seeing the results of the games changing from defeats into draws/ wins in a short space of time.

Georgie in goal was a massive highlight from the season always trying her hardest to save everything thrown her way. Isobel Davies and Emmi Crichton as captains always showing their leadership skills through the tough spells and very positive spells we had on a hockey pitch this season. All in all, the girls showed excellent determination and improved massively.

U9 HOCKEY

LENT TERM 2024

Both teams enjoyed their first taste of hockey and under the watchful eye of hockey expert Ross Ferguson, they developed their skill levels rapidly. The girls worked so hard in training and enjoyed lots of local matches, proving themselves to be a pair of formidable teams. The highlight of the season and their strongest performances was the Highfield Hockey Festival, where they played against nine other schools and were the only team to beat the hosts. EB

U8 HOCKEY

The U8’s had a great start to their Hockey at Aldro. With a lot of girls not having played before the group got stuck in to drills and games. They started off learning how to hold a stick and found the best dribbling and passing techniques. The girls showed great enthusiasm and encouragement towards each other as they found their feet. The U8’s started off with a competitive game against Amesbury. The girls learnt a lot of lessons and started to understand Hockey in a competitive game. They worked well as a team as the girls passed the ball to each other. Unfortunately, they didn’t win but had fun trying. They then went back to training and worked on their block tackle. This is when they hold their stick closer to the floor in order to stop the other team from progressing towards their goal. They then played a very skilled Barrow Hills and the girls worked much harder to retain possession of the ball however could not quite get the ball in the goal. They worked tirelessly and had more shots near goal but were unable to convert. The final score ended up being 1-4 but a much better improvement with a goal during the game from last time. The girls then went back to training and had an extra week to prepare for their next fixture vs Cranleigh. They started off well with the main possession being with Aldro and the ball was not going past Hattie or Alessia. Aldro then took an early lead and by the end of the match Aldro won 6-0! Alessia scored a hattrick, Elizabeth scored 2

and Hattie 1. This was the most goals scored in a game by the U8’s.

The final few games were against St Edmund's, Edgeborough & Amesbury. The U8’s put all their skills of dribbling and shooting into the game and were more successful throughout each game they played. I was really impressed with their determination and concentration during the game and with more attemps at shooting in the goal the girls felt proud of their achievements. The girls look forward to next season when they can cement their Hockey skills now having practised for a year. I look forward to watching them grow in confidence as they move up the school.

EAGLE HOUSE CROSS COUNTRY MEETING

FRIDAY 26TH JANUARY 2024 RESULTS

BOYS

GIRLS

GRIMSTON CUP 2024 - RESULTS

1st Place Boy Jack Thomas Sebbie Holliday Arthur Moss Henry Thompson Jack Barnes Leo Booth

2nd Place Boy Freddie Moss Harry Jack Luke Booth Finley Edwards Louis Green Seb Moss

3rd Place Boy William Fraser Toby Nicholls Marcus Lowe Tom Niel Henry Evans Jonty Davies

1st Place Girl Alessia Croall Flora Brinkley Emmi Crichton Libby Edelson Emilia Forman

2nd Place Girl Elizabeth Stancliffe Jemima Downing Bella Ma Gabriella Cornelius Amelia Morgan

3rd Place Girl Avery Barber Pri Atkins Lily Orr Cesca Farley Beth Petrow

1st Placed Squad: Alders & Meads Alders Darley Hall Meads Meads

2nd Placed Squad: Boys Girls Darley Meads Alders Darley Darley & Hall

3rd Placed Squad: Boys Girls Darley Hall Hall Darley Hall

4th Placed Squad: Boys Girls Hall Meads Alders Meads Alders Alders

1st Placed Boys: Meads Alders Darley Darley Meads

2nd Placed Boys: Boys Girls Darley Darley Meads Alders Darley

3rd Placed Boys: Boys Girls Alders Hall Hall Hall Hall

4th Placed Boys: Boys Girls Hall Meads Alders Meads Alders

1st Placed Girls: Alders Alders Meads Hall Meads

2nd Placed Girls: Boys Girls Meads Hall Hall Alders Hall

3rd Placed Girls: Boys Girls Darley Darley Darley Darley Alders

4th Placed Girls: Boys Girls Hall Meads Alders Meads Darley Squad Rank 4 2 3 1 Squad Alders Darley Hall Meads Points Total 629 707 669 726

GRIMSTON CUP 2024

BOYS

GIRLS

GREAT SOUTH RUN

Twenty-six of our Form 5,6 and 7 girls travelled to Portsmouth on a Saturday in October for the Junior Great South Run. They showed such determination and resilience in completing the 2.5k course and were rightly proud of their medals. The girls enjoyed a picnic in the sunshine on the south coast afterwards!

ALDRO 8 SCHOOLS ATHLETICS

FRIDAY 17 MAY 2024

- BOYS

Highlights

1st Jonty Davies U14 Javelin 26.95m

1st Henry Thompson U12 Long Jump 4.16m

1st Seb Moss U14 Long Jump 5.22m

1st Freddie Holliday U12 Javelin 17.69m

1st Henry Thompson U12 1500m 5min38.83

1st Seb Moss U14 75m Hurdles 12.09sec

1st Henry Thompson U12 75m Hurdles 12.53sec

1st Finley Edwards U12 100m 14.05sec

1st Seb Moss U14 100m 12.25sec

Aldro placed 1st overall

REPORT

2024 saw the first ever mixed Aldro 8 Schools Athletics Meeting at the Spectrum! What a fantastic new venture this proved to be with both boys and girls of all school competing at the same time albeit by gender. The weather was extremely kind and the efforts and achievements of all the athletes matched the weather! The Aldro boys won their competition convincingly thanks to some outstanding individual performance across the year groups whilst the girls finished in 7th position with much experience gained and our Year 7 Girls having to compete against girls in Year 8.

Well done to all and congratulations on your efforts.

FRIDAY 17 MAY 2024

- GIRLS

Highlights

2nd Amelia Morgan U14 Triple Jump 8.20m

2nd Sofia MaunsellThomas U10 Cricket Ball 17.9m

2nd Alice Greenwell U14 Javelin 16.88m

2nd Allegra Bateman U10 High Jump 0.95m

2nd Allegra Bateman U10 75m 12.46

2nd Amelia Morgan U14 100m 14.59

Aldro placed 7th overall

SPORTS DAY 2024

In 2024 we saw the first ever Sports Day I & II split by 14 days thanks to the British Summer!

On a damp, cold and subdued Saturday in June we did our utmost to get Sports Day up and running. In spite of the British conditions, we fought on and following an initial wet first hour things brightened up. All looked positive for a full completion of the event, and we successfully got through to lunch. It was at this point that the heavens opened, and the wind blew bringing a premature close to the first half of our annual Athletics extravaganza.

Fortunately, we were able to return on Friday 28 June in order to fully

complete the day’s events. This time the hazard proved to be the Ice Cream van that became the centre of the pupil’s attentions. Despite this clear obstacle the afternoon proved a genuine success in nice warm weather.

The boys continued to strive to break records whilst the girls, in only their 3rd Sports Day inevitably stole the show with numerous new records. Well done to all our athletes.

My thanks as always goes out to the entire Aldro community who helped ensure a successful conclusion of the event despite the obvious challenges.

GD

THE FORM 5-7 GIRLS ALDRO TRIATHLON

The form 5-7 girls all competed in the Aldro triathlon in September. It was a wonderful event, with the sun shining and lots of supportive families watching. Congratulations to all the girls, some fabulous performances and determination.

CHESS 2023/24

CAPTAIN XAVIER REES

This year’s chess has been most enjoyable and many of our players have made excellent progress. It was such a shame our U11and U9 teams didn’t get the opportunity to play in the National Championships, but I am assured the competition will be back up and running next year. We also hope to have the IAPS Chess back at Aldro again during the Easter holiday.

UK CHESS CHALLENGE

We competed in the UK Chess Challenge with competitions in all chess clubs.

The winners of each competition are as follows.

Form 3P

1st= Ralph Chenery and Freddie Moss

Form 3C

1st Caspar Mackinnon

Year 3/4 Chess Club on Mondays

1st Yechu Chen

Year 5/6

1st Spencer Zhang

Tuesday Group

1st Yechu Chen

Player of the Year Yechu Chen (Price Shield)

Most improved player

Armand Cruse (Rawlinson Board)

Aldro Chess Championships and Squad Competition

AGE GROUP WINNERS;

Year 6 Lele Lai

Year 5 Spencer Zhang

Year 4 Yechu Chen

Year 3 Caspar Mackinnon

SQUAD RESULT

For the squad competition the top 5 scoring players from each squad count towards the final result.

1st ALDERS 60 points

2nd DARLEY 57

3rd MEADS 53

4th HALL 42

Congratulations to the Alders team.

ALDRO INTER SCHOOL TOURNAMENTS

In November we held one of our Inter School team tournaments and there were three sections U13,U11 and U9.There was an individual tournament for the U13 players which Xavier Rees won with 3\3 and teams of 4 in the other two age groups.

In the U11 section our A team were placed 1st the team consisted of Lele Lai, Luca Yang, Spencer Zhang and Arjun Trikha. They all scored 3\3 for the team!

In the U9 section our A team came 2nd Yechu Chen, Buster Allen, Harry Jack and Toby Nicholls. Yechu scored 3\3 on top board.

Special mention goes to Amelia Zhu who scored 3\3 for the U11B team.

IAPS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS at Twickenham Prep

Championship section Yechu Chen

5\5 1st NATIONAL CHAMPION

U11 age group Christian McCann 3/5 2nd=

U10 age group Arjun Trikha 3/5 3rd

Xander Chorley 1/5

U9 age group Caspar Mackinnon 4/5 2nd

Ralph Chenery 1.5/5

We had only 6 players at the tournament this year.

COTTESMORE CHESS CONGRESS

Once again we took a team of 3 players to Cottesmore Lele Lai, Spencer Zhang and Yechu Chen.

They all played well and came 4th out of 18 teams. Yechu was our top scorer with 4\6.

It was a great day's chess as it has been for many years.

GRAND PRIX PRIZE GIVING AND CHESS JAMBOREES

Sixty girls and boys have played this year, the Grand Prix shows which players have contributed most. We had two Jamborees one for year 3 and 4 players and one for year 5 and 6 players.

The top 10 players in the Grand Prix this year are; 1st Y.Chen

(605 points) Player of the Year

2nd L.Lai (310) best u11

3rd A.Trikha (200) best u10

4th C.Mackinnon (175) best U8

5th T.Nicholls (125) best u9

6th G.Jiao (115)

7th X.Rees (110 )best U13

8th C.McCann and R.Chenery (105)

10th A.Zhu and H.Jack (100)

Overall it was an encouraging year but we have still not managed to get back playing against many other schools. It was good to arrange our first all girls match against St Catherine's.

Many thanks to all the parents who have helped in many ways again this year.

Thanks also Mark Fulleylove for his help on Mondays and to Andrew Martin IM who ran the Masterclasses on Thursdays after supper.

Congratulations to all the girls and boys who have played so well.

D.J.Archer

LA PÉTANQUE

The People’s Game designed by the Petiot brothers of La Ciotat in 1907 and introduced in Shackleford twenty-seven years ago was met with ever-increasing popularity and saw many records beaten this year.

The Junior Teddy Competition held in the activity week at the end of the summer term crowned Sienna Plaistowe and Hugo Morgan.

For the first time, a girl put her name on the Crispin Hill Trophy, and not once but twice: Bella Paterson, five years after her brother, won both the winter and spring events traditionally held on Open Days (Crispin Hill Trophy).

Harry Kirkpatrick won the summer event for the second time, and he also claimed bronze at the prestigious Trophée Marcel Pagnol whose qualifying phase spread over the whole summer term was entered by exactly one hundred pupils (the top nine qualifying for the knockout stage).

The accessibility of the game was emphasized when Louie Holliday –our youngest pupil – promisingly reached the quarterfinal.

Rafferty King was a nerveless silver medallist, while Ben Hargrave’s third title in a row will remain the highlight of a season marked by unabating passion.

RESULTS:

Junior Teddy Competition

Winners:

Sienna Plaistowe, Hugo Morgan

Crispin Hill Trophy

Autumn 2023: Bella Paterson

Spring 2024: Bella Paterson

Summer 2024: Harry Kirkpatrick

Trophée Marcel Pagnol (100 entries, top nine to knockout stage)

Quarter-finals:

Harry Kirkpatrick 13 - 11

Edward Taylor

Rafferty King 13 – 8 Nicolas Wu

Ben Hargrave 13 - 3 Henry Blackwell

Benjamin Brown 13

Bella Paterson 12

Louie Holliday 4

Semi-finals:

Rafferty King 13 – 9

Harry Kirkpatrick

Ben Hargrave 13 - 8 Benjamin brown

Finals:

Bronze final:

Harry Kirkpatrick 13 - 4

Benjamin Brown

Gold final: Ben Hargrave 13-8 / 13-5

Rafferty King

ALDRO REGATTA 2024

This year’s Aldro Regatta & FoAA Olympic Celebrations was enhanced by perfect boating weather and some epic races, not to mention the ever-evolving nature of the event. Most remarkably this year saw the first Girls Race. The semi-finals were more of a matter of getting the feel for rowing as a team in a straight line pointed end first. Those that got it found themselves in the finals on a longer course than they were used to and superb teamwork from Amelia Morgan and Charlotte Lidgitt, coxed by Bella Stancliffe saw Drowning Ducks cruise comfortably in their stride the length of the course.

After a highly competitive semi-final from the Skibidi Sailors, the finals turned out to be a Wet Bob/ Dry Bob race with the experience Alvaro Roman, Alex Yeldham and Wilfred Heilpern had gained from their practice sessions to build up a good rhythm in Lightning McQueen telling against the affable three men in a boat from the cricket circuit. The same was even more marked in the Form 8 races with a very tight, neck and neck start in the finals between HMS Speck and Roy R.C. Unfortunately, the rudder plate fell off the latter at the right angle bend and a certain amount of loss of control lost them the race, although it would have been a very tall order even without equipment failure to have kept up with the HMS Speck giants and their confident steady rhythm. Well done to Seb Moss, Archie Bickerton (cox) and Digby Duder for all the hours they had put into training these last two years on the lake and their determination to win.

The Family Race was more popular than ever this year coming to a head with another clash of the titans in two families with evident experience behind an oar: the Mettams used to rowing at sea v the riverine Tilburys. This

was third year in a row the Tilbury Tantrums have made it to the finals and, fittingly, victory was theirs at last! Many congratulations to them!

Sailing seems to have been commandeered by Form V this year. No sooner had the Round the Island Race entry list gone up than they claimed monopoly of it this year. However, boating experience and teamwork quickly told at the Le Mans start and boats in all states of rig made their way to the Island as if fresh off a shipwreck. They all nevertheless succeeded in finding the treasured can of Coke and making it to ring the finishing bell, headed by Da Goats crew who shaped up impressively well during the race. Well done to Capt. Laurence Davison, Midshipman Arthur Moss and Able Seaman Hugo Davies for running such a slick operation Bristol fashion. Round the buoys, experience told again from the start as Rufus Sessions and Charlie Goddard took the lead in very light airs and pulled away at the slightest of puffs.

It was lovely to have some music being played adding to the entertainment of the afternoon and the Swim-a-Thon, Dog Show and Tug of War competition were a great success. A huge thank you must go to the FoAA for providing and manning the various stalls and inflatables and for the delicious afternoon tea provided by the parents was the icing on the cake.

JUDO

Congratulations to the children who represented Aldro in the ‘Inter School Judo Development Event’, held at High Wycombe Judo Centre. This was a development event to give the pupils a taste of competition. The hard work at trainings paid off with an impressive haul of gold medals won! Congratulations to Lilly on her Silver Medal winning performance at this years IAPS Judo Championships.

SWIMMING

We finished this year with our annual Squad Galas, which took place throughout activities week. Every child competed and race were very competitive. This completed a successful year in the pool, with a well-attended early morning swimming club and a number of fantastic galas. We competed in galas at Downsend and King Edward’s Witley and enjoyed hosting Hall Grove this term. The highlight this year was winning the Charterhouse Gala, in which we competed against ten other schools.

R Plaistowe

SWIMMING GALA AT KING EDWARDS

Aldro’s swim squad thoroughly enjoyed the swimming gala organised by Barrow Hills at King Edward’s School. A lot of tightly fought, exciting races saw our girls take second place overall and our boys as the winners. Such a fantastic atmosphere and brilliantly run.

ALDRO TENNIS REPORT SUMMER TERM 2024

An extremely busy year of tennis concluded with the Form 3 and 4 squad tennis events. Nearly 40 enthusiastic pupils took part in quick-fire doubles matches on the school courts and after two hours of games, Meads were triumphant in both age groups. A fantastic event with lively pupils all enjoying games against each other.

In other tennis events, matches took place throughout the summer term. Not all events could be completed but congratulations to the following pupils who won their respective age categories:

Form 6 boys – Henry Thompson

Form 6 girls – Bella Paterson

Form 7 girls – Charlotte Lidgitt

Form 8 boys – Marsel Yarovoy

External matches were organised against local schools such as Amesbury and Edgeborough. Encouragingly, new schools were also added to the rota including George Abbot and Barrow Hills. These matches enabled a large number of boys and girls to gain match play experience against different players.

There were a mixture of wins and losses, but all players were a credit to Aldro with their effort and sportsmanship. Thank you to parents for their support and the kitchen staff for providing the wonderful end of match snacks!

In addition to the regular term time lessons, there were various holiday opportunities to practise and learn more tennis skills. Half term, Christmas, Easter and Summer events took place and were well attended.

At the end of the school term, eight lucky pupils accompanied Mr Rose and Mr Watson to Wimbledon. With seats secured on court 2, they enjoyed some fabulous matches and even managed to get on to Centre Court at the end of the day. Everyone was enthused about returning again as soon as possible.

Mr Gill

WE REMEMBER DAVID TUDDENHAM (TUDDY)

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Mr David Tuddenham, who passed away in April this year. He had been the Chemistry teacher at Aldro for 23 years. Many former pupils will remember fondly measuring the speed of sound on the field with the starting gun, chromatography with Smarties, bad egg gas production, refining crude oil in the laboratory and many, many explosions. He refined the sodium in water experiment to hit the ceiling every time!

Of course, David's skills were much in demand throughout the school. He provided the pyrotechnics for many school plays, and the legendary Battle of Hall Place. This was a re-enactment day for the school leavers, organised each year by Mr Swan. David's task was to provide a distraction on the island, just when Matron needed retrieving from the swimming pool after being tried as a witch and dunked. Being innocent, she, of course, sank in full costume, but could not hold her breath for ever! David's well timed explosions and smoke on the island worked every time.

As Master of Studies, he rose to the challenge of producing the Aldro time table each year, and seemed to revel in the task.

David was very active with Aldro Chess. Himself a keen player, he coached many successful Aldro chess teams along with Mr Archer. Together they ran the IAPS National Chess Championships each year. David was also one of the top players at Godalming Chess Club.

A model train enthusiast, David had three layouts of his own. Many hours were spent with pupils up in the cider press building, constructing the Aldro layout. Some will remember him venturing down the coal mine on the leavers' Welsh History trip run by Mr Swan. David was also the leader of the Aldro Eggheads Team, that so nearly triumphed. As he often said afterwards, 'The Eggheads were lucky!' Two fellow team members are still on the Aldro payroll, and will concur with this sentiment. He took part in the TV programme Countdown, beating his opponent to go on to the next day. Past pupils may remember he used the Countdown ticking clock in lessons after this.

David retired in 2014 for health reasons, moving to Bruton in Somerset, near another former member of staff, Mr. Slater. He was able to spend more time on his model railway, supporting the Somerset Cricket team, bird watching, representing the local Frome Chess Club [on board one] and cooking delicious seafood paellas for his guests. Aldro was well represented at his funeral, and our dear friend David is sorely missed.

Nigel West

Photo taken by Ben Twyford