Aylesburian 2022/2023 by Aylesbury Grammar School

THE AYLESBURIAN CELEBRATING 425 YEARS OF NURTURING CHARACTER

ANNIVERSARY ISSUE | 2023 - 2024

THE AYLESBURIAN

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EDITOR’S LETTER. 2023 has definitely felt like one of those watershed moments as we celebrate the 425th anniversary of Aylesbury Grammar School. The commemorative book published earlier this term and written by Dr Joel Burden, has been a fantastic, superbly detailed addition to the historical legacy of the School and this latest edition of the annual Aylesburian magazine is no different, charting all that has gone on in this our 425th year of existence. This publication is, in historical terms at least, still the proverbial ‘young upstart’, having been first published as a student magazine in 1908 and then ‘relaunched’ with staff input in 1927. After a few absent years in the early 1940s for obvious reasons this 2023 edition is in fact the 115th to roll off the publisher’s production line and we hope you enjoy it! As always we need to acknowledge the huge amount of effort and dedication which goes into producing this magazine. To Mrs Hart in the Development Office for all her enthusiasm and expertise in taking on the designing and layout role and of course to all our various contributors; staff, students and governors who as usual have gone many an extra mile to produce interesting articles, accounts and photos which accompany all that goes on here at AGS, we thank them all. To all our 2023 leavers we thank and congratulate you all for your hard work and achievements in the School over the years and we wish you all the very best for your next chapters, whatever they entail, and of course we hope to be able to welcome you back at various points in the future too.

‘Once an Aylesburian, always an Aylesburian.’

MR G DALLAS ASSISTANT HEADTEACHER

THE AYLESBURIAN

CONTENTS WELCOME STAFF LEAVERS HOUSE LIFE SCHOOL VISITS SCHOOL LIFE SPECIAL FEATURE SCHOOL SPORT SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT UNIVERSITY DESTINATIONS

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THE AYLESBURIAN

Welcome to the Aylesburian 2022-2023. As we celebrate our 425th Anniversary in 2023, this publication, and those before and after it, stand as definitive records of our place in history. As custodians of this great School, we all hold the responsibility of ensuring the School flourishes and we leave our legacy as one of positive contribution.

Through the research undertaken for the new book on the History of the School, we have reflected on our history and the impact many people have had on this wonderful School. As the 28th Headmaster of the School, I feel incredibly privileged, but our custodianship and legacy are only as successful as the people that contribute to this production. In 1598, Queen Elizabeth I entrusted Sir Henry Lee to provide an education for the young people of Aylesbury. While we

WELCOME

WELCOME FROM THE HEADMASTER celebrate his decision to form a School in St Mary’s Church in the old town of Aylesbury, we must highlight the enduring impact of his wife Anne Paget, who was as instrumental in ensuring the School was formed. In 1714, upon his death, Henry Phillips left an endowment to the School of £5,000 to enlarge its provision. Again, we celebrate and commemorate this with a House named after him. But it was the executor of his estate who should also be remembered. William Mead (not the same as Professor William Mead after whom the library is named) was a gentleman who demonstrated stoic resilience in the face of adversity to ensure the endowment was protected. He founded the Aylesbury Grammar School Foundation as a trustee and the Foundation supports the School to this day. The start of the academic year in 2022 was dominated by the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the start of the reign of King Charles III. The School also lost a very important member of our community and I would like to pay my respects to Gillian Miscampbell – who passed away on 12 February 2023. Gillian was a parent of the School, a grandparent of the School, former Chair of Governors, former Chair of the Foundation, and latterly a Member of the Academy Trust. She served our School for over 37 years. We all miss her calm, elegant and considered presence and will always remember her as the incredibly impressive and generous woman she was. She was remarkable, and a huge supporter of the School. Gillian’s bench is aptly in the Headmasters quad, outside the Foundation Hall. I would like to applaud the staff for all they do on behalf of our families and for the School. The last ‘normal’ year for a teacher and non-teaching staff was in 2018, five years ago. Things have never been the same. They have shown resilience, commitment, innovation, and a real sense of community.

THE AYLESBURIAN

At a conference in St Albans in May I had the pleasure to listen to Stuart Lawrence, the brother of Stephen Lawrence, who was murdered waiting for a bus in South London in April 1993. Stuart, a former teacher, said - ‘The opposite of uncertainty is not certainty, it is community.‘ We all value our School community, we respect and value the communities from where our families come, and we learn together. But the hope and certainty we experience at AGS comes from the brilliance and commitment of our wonderful community staff. The national headlines on examination results were clear that 2023 would see a return to more stringent assessment and grading, a return to pre-pandemic levels of 2019. I understand the need to reset the baseline after two years of inflation through school assessment and last year’s hybrid model. The real issue is that despite all this, the students in 2023 have still experienced an education unlike any other, and certainly unlike those in 2019 and before.

Senior Public Speaking was a particular highlight for me this year with topics

Regarding examinations, remember that Year 13 have

ranging from resilience and moving on,

never sat an external examination and Year 11 have not

learning from mistakes, new experiences,

had a disrupted year since they started at AGS, and their

change and creativity to Caesar Augusta.

outcomes have been truly remarkable. In both A Level

A quote that stayed with me was: ‘To deal

and GCSE the headline figures are all better than 2019. At

with rainbows you must deal with the rain.

A Level 20.6% of entries were graded A* and 77% A*-B. For

If you look hard enough you can find the

GCSE, 21.2% were graded 9 and 68% graded 9 to 7.

rainbows of the world’.

At the start of the year we were anticipating a visit from

In September 2022 we lost an Aylesburian,

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate (Ofsted) as we had gone 13

Julian Griffin (Denson 12) to a rare blood

years since our last inspection. There were clear changes

cancer. Julian demonstrated so much

to the inspection framework through the spotlight on

resilience. Described as a ‘Silent Hero’

the curriculum and personal development, as well as

of Denson House. He lost his battle on 17

behaviour and safeguarding. In November 2022 we

September 2022. The funeral at St Mary’s

received our phone call from Ofsted. Although it nearly

Church contained a moving tribute by his

didn’t happen, as it came on the first day back after

friend Zach Aziz and from Mrs Venning on

our half term and the phone lines were still on half term

behalf of the School. It is such a tragedy

holiday mode.

to lose students in what is the beginning of their lives. We send our thoughts

Mrs Linda Culling was the Lead Inspector and she

and condolences to Julian’s family and

demonstrated compassion and empathetic leadership.

friends.

In stark contrast to some more high profile inspections that followed later in the year and made the main stream

I seem to have reflected a lot on some

media. Feedback was we are an Outstanding school,

inspiring people I have heard speak this

using their words - exceptional and impeccable. This is

year. Another such impactful presentation

all the result of a community of professionals, a family of

came from James Shone. I was lucky

students and parents, and the support of our alumni and

to hear James speak twice this year.

friends.

The first presentation took me a little by

EXCEPTIONAL AND IMPECCABLE

surprise. James took to the stage and appeared much like most speakers. But he explained that he had suffered a brain tumour as a teacher, how he was thankful

to be alive today and shared his positivity. His website

In July we were sad to say goodbye to some

I CAN – promotes a sense of belonging, but also the

long standing colleagues - Mr Skinner – Head

importance of supporting others. A quote he shared was

of English - Assistant Head at AHS, and Mr

from Anthony Sutch that said - “Notice everything, correct

McGill – Head of Hampden House and Leader of

occasionally, but above all cherish the brethren”.

Core PE and Games - Director of Sport at Dame Alice Owens School.

There is always impact of cherishing our brethren and the need for us all to be aware, to be a listener, to ask if we are all OK. This year we also lost Ed Dean, an Old Aylesburian and much loved member of the School community. Ed’s loss affected many staff and the Sixth Form team in particular. The impact of mental health and the love we have as adults for our students and their lives could not be clearer. To all of Ed’s family, friends, and staff; Once an Aylesburian. Always an Aylesburian. Another development in School to support our students prepare for life also focusses on masculinity and what that means. We were honoured to be visited by Corbin Shaw. His work focusses on the definitions of masculinity and challenging perceptions and stereotypes.

But I also would like to honour and thank the contribution and leadership of Mrs Venning, who has stepped down from her role as Head of Sixth Form, whilst remaining Deputy Headteacher and Safeguarding Lead for the School. For 15 years as Head of Sixth Form, Mrs Venning has been a constant in the lives of over 3000 students. Supporting, challenging, nurturing and guiding them through their formative years. It is fitting that she presents the awards with Greg at Senior Prize Giving, representing her last year group in her Sixth Form Career. Thank you Lilla.

He presented a workshop to Year 8 students and this snowballed into a full tapestry of Year 8 artwork, a presentation feature on the cover of CircleZero8 magazine and on the electronic screens of Flannels Department Store in Oxford Street. Culminating in a presentation to a global audience of educators from Mrs Jackson at a conference in Auckland in July. An amazing project and one that will be featured in these pages. In the performing arts, music took centre stage, with concerts, recitals, House Music, Cabaret as well as the joint production of High School Musical at AHS. In sport, we have continued with successful seasons in rugby, football, basketball, athletics and cricket, reaching Handball finals, Squash finals and Swimming national finals. Some superb team performances as well as some individual brilliance. We are also proud to have been awarded the School Games Gold award. In the House competitions we congratulate Lee House for winning the Brodie Trophy and Denson for victory in the Watson trophy. The year saw a return to a full complement of visits and exchanges. The German Exchange was a particular highlight after a number of years absent, as well as the Malawi Exchange, where the team spent a number of weeks supporting the build of a new secondary school, under the guidance of Mr Corby and his team.

In Māori culture, the word Whakapapa relates to our ancestry. To the respect for what has come before us and the responsibility and opportunity for what lays ahead. As we reflect on the legacy of Sir Henry Lee, Anne Paget, Henry Phillips and William Mead, for every person that enjoys success and recognition, there are others who have helped us, driven us forward, supported us and created the environment for us to succeed. Through effort, through energy, and for AGS, through kindness. We all are grateful. Whilst we applaud the success of the students, we also think with great hope for their future. To all the staff and students who have made such a positive contribution to the life of the School, thank you.

THE AYLESBURIAN

A MESSAGE FROM OUR GOVERNORS

It is my great privilege to write this year’s article, on behalf of the Governing Board, for The Aylesburian. I thought that I should start with a brief introduction. I have been a very proud Appointed Governor of Aylesbury Grammar School since January 2021. I have worked in Education since September 2007 and have spent 15 years of my career to date teaching in Buckinghamshire Grammar Schools starting as a teacher, then a Head of Department, Head of Faculty and Assistant Headteacher. I am currently Deputy Head of a large through school (students aged 3-18) on the Hertfordshire/Middlesex border. As a serving school leader, I have expertise in Curriculum and CoCurriculum Development, whole school Operations, Partnerships and Outreach, Assessment and Reporting, effective use of Data, Digital Learning and Safeguarding. As Governors, it is our responsibility to set the strategic direction for AGS, oversee the financial performance of the School and to provide appropriate challenge to the Headmaster and his Senior Team. We conduct our work in a variety of ways, the majority of which is carried out through our committee structure. I am currently Chair of the Learning and Teaching Committee and, like the other committees, we meet at least once a term. My committee discusses areas of the School Development Plan that pertain to the curriculum as well as receiving regular updates on whole school performance data, pupil premium provision, careers education, educational visits, extra-curricular activities, and Digital Learning to name just a few areas. Having become a Governor of AGS during the COVID pandemic, I started my tenure online and it was a number of months before I met the rest of the Governing Board in person. This past year, I have made it my top priority to get to as many events as possible outside of our regular inperson board meetings. As a keen musician, I have been to almost all of the music concerts and particularly enjoyed the Joint Concert with Aylesbury High School. At the time of writing (August

WELCOME

2023), I recently enjoyed Junior Prize Giving which was a wonderful celebration of achievement; I now look forward to Senior Prize Giving in September. I attended our Open Evening at the end of the Summer Term and was once again struck by the passion, joy and enthusiasm of all the students and staff. Simon Winman, the Chair of our Community and Development Committee, wrote in his article last year that the school was busy preparing for an OFSTED inspection. As Governors of the School, we were immensely proud of the outcome, and I would like to note my grateful thanks to the whole School community for the part that every person played and continues to play on a daily basis. OFSTED commented in their report that “Governance is a strength of the School. Governors and trustees are knowledgeable and passionate. They offer appropriate challenge to leaders and are generous in their support of the School as well”. The Governing Board have an excellent relationship with the Headmaster and Senior Leadership Team and, as volunteers, we give of our time freely and passionately and we honestly love what we do. We are always interested to hear feedback about the School please do seek us out at School events – there are usually at least one or two of us present at each event and we all wear a grey AGS lanyard. Failing that, do contact us via the Clerk to the Governors, and read about the other Governors on the Governance section of our website. I wish everyone every success as we embark on a new and exciting school year. Written : Edward Walter Chair, Learning and Teaching Committee

THE AYLESBURIAN

WELCOME

A LEGACY OF WHICH WE ARE PROUD

Receiving a phone call from Mr Sturgeon back in the Easter of Year 12 to say that Nick, Ben and I had been appointed as Head Boys of School for the 2022-23 school year seems to have been a long time ago - now sat at my desk in

HEAD BOYS’ REFLECTIONS

the new beginnings of university - however I feel that the memories of AGS, especially in my last year as Head Boy, will be entrenched in me forever. It has been an absolute pleasure to be given the responsibility to lead and represent the student body of AGS. I hope that the new ideas and focuses that the three of us have brought to the school will continue to remain as a ‘legacy’ for years to come. Our aim of furthering the promotion of positive masculinity to fight toxicity was enabled greatly by having the pleasure to assist Mrs Jackson in the running of her weekly research sessions with a Year 8 form group, and I feel that just in that small group leaps and bounds of progress were made in each young boy’s outlook of life. Additionally, being able to work alongside the Student Committee for Change to bring new ideas of vertical integration of year groups to assist the maintenance and

development of positivity and engagement in the ever so important House system was hugely rewarding, especially in seeing the continuation of teamwork and leadership shown in the fantastic House Music competition this year, one in which I will truly miss to be a part of. Alongside our work to create a legacy of which we are proud, it was fantastic to finish my seven years at AGS on a high, captaining Denson’s House Music campaign (in which it has been an honour to lead for two years in a row) and the 1st V school squash team. Enjoyment for me came from having such a fantastic time with my friends, who I wish will go into new beginnings headfirst, and having such a fun and engaging set of teachers over my A levels – the laughs in my history, business and chemistry classes truly cannot be matched! Ending these reflections does come at a cost however, and that is the thought of properly signing off my time here at AGS. I will hope to be back soon for the wonderful OA events that Mrs Cox and AGS Development organise, but in the meantime, I would like to thank every student, teacher and member of staff at AGS for making it a place that I can call home. Thank you especially to Mrs Venning for her guidance, support and laughs over the year - I hope that the three of us have done you proud to be your last Head Boy cohort! I would finally like to congratulate Fraser, Alex and George on their appointment as the 2023/24 Head Boys and wish them all the best for their last year.

Written : Silas Glover (Outgoing) Head Boy

THE AYLESBURIAN

STAFF LEAVERS

CATHERINE GAROT I met Catherine properly in 2012 when I was new to role as SENDCo. Until then, we had had the occasional conversation in the staffroom about our sons who were in the same academic year and doing very little revision for their RS GCSE in Year 9! Catherine was already an experienced Teaching Assistant, and I really was the new kid on the block. Catherine supported me throughout my SENDCo training and remained a constant in the Department for 12 years. Catherine initially provided excellent in-class support to students with SEND but as the Department grew, the role became increasingly administrative. Catherine enjoyed this aspect of her work, and the new role of Student Support Officer was created. In this role, Catherine provided invaluable support in arranging appointments for me to meet with students, administering in-house assessments for Dyslexia and ADHD, preparing the necessary paperwork for our Specialist Assessor, and ensuring student records were kept up to date. Catherine could also carry out a Handwriting assessment (known as a DASH) in her sleep! During Catherine’s time in Student Support, we shared the trials and tribulations which come with supporting Arsenal, the many Marathon adventures of her partner Richard and the graduation of their son Sam as an RAF Regiment Officer. Catherine (‘Dr Garot’) will be fondly remembered by many of the students she supported on their journey at AGS. I know though that she has lots of exciting plans for her retirement and we wish her every happiness.

THE AYLESBURIAN

STAFF LEAVERS

COLIN MCGILL

ANDREW SKINNER

It is with sadness that we say goodbye to Mr McGill, who

Andrew Skinner joined the English

moves on to pastures new as Director of Sport at Dame

Department at AGS in 2009 as an NQT

Alice Owen’s School.

and a Ph10 Tutor. Mr Skinner was a new Dad in that year and Ph10 were a

PE teachers are a unique bunch and you get to know

tough gig who had seen off a series

one another within a district / fixture circuit quite

of tutors. Mr Skinner stayed the course

quickly. You start to work out opposition coaches, what

for 3 years and provided some much

they are like / how they interact with students / do they

needed stability for the group until

bring their players off if you are getting hammered!

he left them at end of Y12 to be Head

Mr McGill and I first met as opposition coaches and I

of Hampden House for two years. In

remember thinking this guy is alright, very personable,

2014 he was appointed as Head of

likeable and cares about the people he works with.

English where he could further develop

These are all qualities that I have seen first hand since

and share his passion for his subject.

we have worked together over the past two years.

Alongside being an incredibly strong Head of English, Mr Skinner has been a

Mr McGill joined the School in July 2010 and has worked

committed Lee House Tutor –and also

very hard to enrich the learning of students for the past

has been a loyal football coach within

13 years. Mr McGill has had two roles in recent times at

the Upper School.

AGS, Head of Hampden House and Leader of Core PE and Games. It was lovely to see the reaction at House

Mr Skinner’s decent, intelligent,

Athletics when Hampden won this year, a nice reward

common-sense, strategic approach

for your time as Head of Hampden. In the short time

will be hugely missed by the

that we have worked together, he has made an impact

department and the wider School, as

on me and has been very supportive since I started. It

will his self-control in the face of all

is interesting that in recent weeks a number of stories

challenges and dramas. Mr Skinner

about Mr McGill have come out from colleagues and

always took everything in his stride,

Mr McGill himself about his time here at AGS, but I will

unflappable, calm, and making no

spare him any kind of embarrassment but let’s just

fuss. I saw a steely determination

hope there are no Mango and Crayfish salads in the

from Mr Skinner all through the

end of term drinks!

Covid period when he steered the department through the challenges of

Through speaking with other members of the Team,

Centre Assessed Grades and School

students and through knowing Mr McGill, it is very clear

Assessed Grades. This was no mean

that many students have benefitted from his support,

feat at all when you remember that

energy and excellent knowledge of a number of sports

all students do two English GCSEs in

and activities - ranging from Football, Cricket but

Year 11 and the department also offers

especially Handball. It is safe to say that without Mr

two A levels in the Sixth Form; if you

McGill’s input, Handball at AGS would not be what it is

add in the subjective nature of this

today.

subject, I am sure you can imagine the challenges of moderating, being

We will miss Mr McGill and wish him and his family all

fair and honest whilst also supporting

the best for his future and thank him for all his hard

students to aspirations and guiding

work, support, friendship and commitment over his

staff through a tricky process. One of

time at AGS.

my abiding memories of Mr Skinner will be our google meets whilst he went through the process and criteria the department were working on for those School assessed grades. As ever, calm, pragmatic but also determined to do

his absolute best. The same calm steel was present at

Policies, at the last count I think at

the Ofsted inspection which you will know singled out the

least 4 Management Information

department for excellence – there were some expected

systems! She has also been through

nerves here but Mr Skinner and the department wowed

4 visits from Ofsted and a pandemic

the inspectors and the rest is history. Mr Skinner has also

when, like everyone else Judi had to

always been able to see the big picture – the place of

lead her team to functioning remotely

English within education, the School and wider literacy and

which she did brilliantly.

the challenges of staffing over a long period. Mr Skinner has built a strong English team who I know will miss his

Judi has been at the heart of the

support, humour and patience.

School and we know that the School would not have functioned as

Mr Skinner has also been a huge part of AGS football -

smoothly for so many years without

taking teams in Year 10 and 11 throughout his time at AGS.

her. I did a quick calculation of how

His hard work has greatly benefitted the Senior team when

many students Judi has admitted

the players reach Mr Barrie in the 6th Form. Having played

to AGS over the last 24 years. and I

high level Academy football with Ipswich Town until the

think, ball park, we are talking around

age of 16 Mr Skinner has a real level of expertise that he

5,190 Year 7 and new Year 12s. 5,190

could pass on to our students. It was fitting that his last

communications and welcomes, 5,190

game in charge of an AGS team was a win in the District

anxious parents. I couldn’t even begin

Final against The Grange, who had knocked us out of the

to calculate the number of phone calls

County Cup earlier in the season. The fact that the U15s,

answered, emails written, tears she has

were the only team to win a District final this season shows

mopped up and kindnesses she has

the value that Mr Skinner could add to a team. Mr Skinner

shown to all who come into the office.

was always keen to join a football tour and really enjoyed all aspects of touring with a School side.

Hundreds of staff, teaching and non teaching, have felt Judi’s care, support

Mr Skinner will be a huge loss to the English department,

and steadying hand over the last 24

football at AGS, Lee House, to school trips (93 of them!)

years. That has been clear from the

and to the School as a whole. We wish him all the best of

many tributes paid at other farewell

luck for his appointment as Assistant Head at Aylesbury

speeches over the years.

High School and we thank him for 14 years of committed service to the School.

When we work in a School like this, more than anything we want to feel that someone has your back - for

JUDI WARMAN Judi joined AGS in 1999 and will be just short of 24 years of hard work and service to the School - though in truth if we counted up the hours she has given, I am sure it is way, way more than that. Those of us who have been here long enough will remember her girls, Vic and Charlie growing up and even the time when Vic did the reception role for short period. The 24 years feels both a long time, and the blink of an eye.

many of us, me included, I have felt this for sure and for that we are all incredibly grateful. We all wish you and Mark a long and happy retirement in Worcester but if I know anything about you, you will be busy and probably quite soon looking for some sort of job where you can tell people what to do. We will miss you Jude.

Judi has been Office Manager through 4 Headmasters, 4 Deputy Heads (I think), 2 major office moves, major changes to the School Shop, massive changes to reprographics and School communication systems, building works, changes to Behaviour Policies, Attendance

Written : Mrs J Richards Mr C Duggan Mrs P Venning

HOUSE LIFE

THE AYLESBURIAN

WELL, WHAT A YEAR!

Not wishing to give away the ending, but this has been a good one. Under

DENSON HOUSE REPORT

the leadership of Aaron MacWhirter as Head Boy and Adam Bosompem and Piri Vigneswaran as Deputy Head Boys, we had our sights set on silverware. With House Cross Country looming, the Brodie started off with laps around the ‘top field’. A mixed bag of results, we came out 5th with two points to the Brodie Trophy. A big congratulations to the Inters team of Stan, Andrew, Dev, Kyle, Will, Sean, Alex and Reuben for coming first in their section. Next up were Badminton and Rugby. Coming 5th place in rugby, we turned to Badminton, a competition in which we have done incredibly well over the past few years. Once again, we did exceptionally well and came first. I am delighted to say that the boys all stepped up to the mark and performed exceptionally well. Once again, the boys did incredibly well and came 1st. A big mention must go to the year 9 team (Sanjeev, Ronak, Daniel and Eric) and the Seniors (Sanjit, Craig, Tom and Theo) who both came first. I must also congratulate Year 7 and 10 who came 2nd in their respective years. We finished 3 points ahead of Lee in 2nd place and 5 points ahead of Ridley in 3rd. The final competition before Christmas was Squash, a competition in which we had also done incredibly well last year. With everyone coming in the top three in their respective years, we ‘smashed it’ and came out first overall with 30 of a possible 36 points. A special mention must go to Year 8 (Hamish, Josh, Aashman and Avyan) and the Seniors (Silas, Tom, Aaron

and Alex) both of whom won their respective years and Year 9 (Daniela, Eric, Harry and Tanmay) and 11 (Alex, Lukas, Joe, George) who came 2nd. This was a phenomenal demonstration of what Denson can do with a racket in hand and we were back in the running for the Brodie trophy. This wrapped us up for Christmas and we finished the term 4th, 1 point behind Ridley in 3rd. After Christmas, the Spring term offered competitions in basketball, football and swimming. While this was not usually our best term as a House, we were determined to turn this around with a big focus on House football, a competition in which we had come 6th last year. Once again, I am delighted to say that the boys in (light) blue stepped up and performed fantastically well with Year 8, 9 and 11 coming 2nd in their year groups and Year 10 coming 3rd. It was down to the Seniors to bring it home. It wasn’t until the final week of the Senior calendar that the final games got played. To the credit of all the boys involved, they all stepped up and played in an incredibly sporting manner. Unfortunately for Denson, it was not our day and despite a fantastic performance by the boys, they placed 5th. That is not without a gutsy performance in the 5th/6th playoff between us and Phillips with a dominant performance from captain Joe Barber. With all the points added together, Denson came out joint 3rd, our highest position in four years - we were delighted. We moved up to 3rd place in the Brodie. It was now time for Basketball, a competition in which we had enjoyed a mixed bag of results. Credit goes out to the senior team for coming 3rd and to Year 11 for our best result of 2nd. We were back down to 4th overall. The final event of the term was House swimming. Once again, huge congratulations must go out to the Senior team who came 2nd in their year group with some excellent performances. There were also some

THE AYLESBURIAN

A GREAT WAY TO FINISH THE TERM!

HOUSE LIFE

Year 9: The 4 x 100m relay team came 1st. Jared H came 1st in the Javelin and 3rd in the 200m. Sam D came 2nd in the 800m. Year 10: The 4x100m relay came 1st. Kyle T came 1st in the 800m. Stanley H came 1st in the 1500m. Frankie J-Y came 2nd in the 100m. JJ came 2nd in the Javelin. Year 12: Griff C came 2nd in Triple Jump.

phenomenal solo efforts across the board. A big congratulations must go to Alfie Toms who had a fantastic day placing 1st in the Backstroke and the Butterfly. Another shout out must go to Rafi Gibson who placed 2nd in the Backstroke and Individual Medley. Another great performance was by George de Voogt who placed 2nd in the Senior Butterfly and Individual Medley. Ben Cheetham also had a fantastic swim in both Senior backstroke and breaststroke placing 3rd. We also had some brilliant team performances with Inters placing 2nd in the Freestyle Relay and Seniors placing 2nd in the Senior Medley Relay and Freestyle Relay. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we placed 5th and went in to the Easter break joint 5th in the

Year 13: Adam B came 1st in the 200m. The Senior 4x100m relay came 1st. A huge congratulations goes to Andrew J (Year 10) who won the most points for the House. He came 1st in the 100m and 200m, 2nd in the Long Jump and was involved in the Inters 4x100m relay team. Well done Andrew!! All in all, this was a fantastic day and a big thank you must go to Mr McGill and the Sports Team for running the day - it is a huge undertaking, and it always runs meticulously. Once again, the boys in blue did fantastically well as we came out 4th. It truly was great to see that Hampden came 1st to give Mr McGill a very well deserved send off in the event he runs. With 3 points to the Brodie trophy we finished 4th. This was a fantastic

Brodie.

year for Denson House in the Brodie trophy with many

Come the sSmmer term, the Brodie trophy is in the final

crown of racket sports. The boys did brilliantly and I look

two events before a winner is decided. We knew that we stood a good chance in House tennis and had done well in House Athletics last year. This year House Tennis took part on a freezing cold day in June (well done for sticking it out Mr Withey!!). Having won Badminton and Squash, we were incredibly hopeful to do well in the last racket sport of the year. Given the weather on the day, I was incredibly proud as the students put in some tremendous results, one after another. A special mention must go to Year 8 (Avyan R, Hamish H, Aashman P and Tetisimi A) and Year 10 (Andrew J, Leo P, JJ J and Dev P) who came 2nd and 3rd respectively. I must also offer a huge congratulations and well done to Year 9 (Ronak D, Daniel Y, Ben S and Eric C) and Year 11 (Joe E, Will P, Alex G and George J) who won their year groups. Unsurprisingly, with these fantastic results, we won House Tennis, completing the clean sweep of racket sports (Squash, Badminton and Squash). This moved us to 2nd place on 29 pts with Ridley in 3rd, Hampden in 4th and Paterson in 4th on 28.5pts, 27.5pts and 26.5 respectively. If we could hold out and do well in House Athletics, we could have our best finish in the Brodie since winning it in 2018. Unlike House Tennis, House Athletics was a boiling hot July day. Highlights in the Junior competition are as follows: Year 7: Alfie T came 1st in the 800m. Pradyun A came 2nd in the 100m and 200m.

tremendous results along the way, including the triple forward to next year. Next up, the Watson Trophy and, as always, we started with Senior Public Speaking. Historically, this has been a strong event for us, so we went in confident. It’s no secret that Dan Compton had been thinking about leading Denson to a Public Speaking victory in his final year and he certainly put in the work. A big mention must go to Leo Pargeter who came first in Year 10 and Dan who came 2nd. With the other two speakers Isaac Sallé and Rafi Gibson doing well in their years (12 and 10 respectively), we finished joint 2nd behind Paterson.Next up was House Art, a competition we have struggled with in the previous years. This year, Piri was determined to change this. He assembled a team of highly dedicated and engaged House captains across Years 11-13 and set about working on our house art entry. The theme was China and he wanted a dragon. Fortunately, we had three people up to the challenge - Hafeezur Rahman, Siddharth Kotyankar and Akshajaan Suthakaran. Between them, they produced a masterpiece that featured front and centre in our display (thank you guys!!!). Another big shout out, must go to Harrison Jay for his organisation of our sea of lanterns. All this would have been pointless if the rest of the House hadn’t stepped up to produce pieces to put on our display and I was absolutely delighted with the response we got from the boys in blue! With over 100 submissions to choose

from, we managed to put our best foot forward with

Rafi could deliver for the boys in blue. Once again,

a tremendous display of artistic excellence, placing

Dan and Isaac stepped up to support with practices,

3rd overall. The final competition before the Christmas

providing feedback on speeches and deliveries. With

break was Senior House Quiz, a competition we had

Devansh winning his year and George coming 2nd,

enjoyed some success in over the years. Despite our

we ended up coming 1st overall in public speaking. A

confidence, we certainly weren’t expecting first place in

massive congratulations and thank you must go to all

both Year 12 and 13. This was a great way to finish the

those involved, especially Dan who has put everything

term.

into this competition over the years and will be missed by the House next year. With this tremendous result

The first few weeks back from Christmas, is the time

going our way, we now sat in 2nd place on 16 points,

of House Music. With rehearsals fully under way, the

with Phillips in 1st on 17.5 points. The only results

Denson band, led by the one and only Silas Glover

remaining now were House Writing and House Quiz.

(Head Boy of School), we were confident we could put

The first was House Writing and it became clear that

on a show. For driving Denson’s band this year and

the external adjudicator liked our magazine as much

putting on a tremendous performance on an epic night.

as we did and we placed 2nd - a result that we were

It is also important to acknowledge the hard work from

absolutely delighted with. This meant that with only

other Senior members of the House, including Aaron,

House Quiz to go, we were competing with Paterson for

Adam who stepped up to organise and run rehearsals

1st place. After what seemed like an extended wait, it

and lead pieces on the night. For me ‘Sing Sing Sing’

was time for Junior House Quiz. Once again, the boys

was my favourite House Music piece for a long time,

in blue delivered and we won Year 7, 8 and 9. Having

but there is no doubt the whole performance was

won 6 of 7 year groups, we took top spot in House Quiz.

an incredibly proud moment for Denson House as it

The scores were now in. We knew where we stood. WE

showcased the months of hard work and dedication

HAD WON THE WATSON TROPHY. The boys have had a

from the boys. Placing fourth on the night was a result

phenomenal year in the Watson Trophy and I cannot

that weighed heavy on some, but they should be

say thank you enough to everyone who took part in

immensely proud of what they achieved. Believe it or

House Music (4th), House Chess (4th), House Art (3rd),

not, this was only the second competition to actually

House Writing (2nd), House Quiz (1st) and House Public

have been completed in the Watson (Music and Art)

Speaking (1st). It has been a fantastic year and I cannot

and we sat in 3rd place with 7 points, behind Paterson

wait for next year!!

on 10 and Phillips on 11. Next up was House Chess. Once again we saw some excellent performances from the boys in blue and we came 4th. An honourable mention must go out to the Seniors who came second. This result saw us move to fourth place behind Hampden. It was now time for Isaac Sallé and Alex Davis to channel Denson’s former excellence in House Writing and help us rise back up the Watson leaderboard. It is difficult to describe how much work House Writing is and what the boys did to produce our house magazine, was incredible. Taking on board the advice and feedback from Diyon (one of last year’s editors, who wrote a three page document of advice) Isaac and Alex produced a magazine I know Mr Streat would have been proud to put his name to. Unfortunately, we now had to wait for the magazines to be marked by an external adjudicator. In the meantime it was time for inters house quiz. Once again, the boys in blue did incredibly well and Year 11 equaled the Seniors and won their year group. Next up was the return of public speaking. Following our 2nd place in the Senior competition, we were confident Devansh, George and

Written : Mr T Walker, Head of Denson House

THE AYLESBURIAN

HOUSE LIFE

HAMPDEN HOUSE REPORT

While it didn’t quite reach the heights of last year (did anyone mention that Hampden won their first Brodie Trophy in 24 years?), it was still another excellent year for ‘The Green Army’. The fact that the House was slightly disappointed with a 2nd place finish in the Brodie and a 3rd place finish in the Watson shows how much has changed, in terms of our expectations and aspirations, over the last 8 years. Emulating last year’s successes was always going to be a challenge, but what was pleasing to see was that so many in the House were willing to try. In terms of student leadership, Tom Kirkpatrick-Brown, George Wiggs and James O’Keefe were fantastic Head Boys of House. They combined their many skills and attributes to make a fantastic team, and it was a real pleasure to work with them and see them develop into strong and confident leaders as the year progressed. These guys were supported with great enthusiasm and energy by the likes of Tom Kirby, Joseph Grapes and Alex Hodson, all of whom showed that it is still possible to play a huge part in House life when you are in Year 13, despite all the other demands on their time. Hampden 12 were, yet again, a fantastic form when it comes to Hampden House. Collectively, they threw themselves into as much as they possibly could, showcasing their passion and enthusiasm for the House along the way. The leadership team of Eliott Godley, Jonty Woodward and Yuv Saxena that emerged at the end of the year, is an incredibly strong one and I am confident that they will take the House on to new heights in the 2023-24 campaign. So many of the high points of 2022-23 came about as a result of the efforts of Hampden 12, such as Harvey Clay’s performance

THE AYLESBURIAN

BEING HEAD

OF HAMPDEN HOUSE FOR THE LAST 8 YEARS

HAS BEEN

A GENUINE HONOUR AND

PRIVILEGE

HOUSE LIFE

in House Music and Anthony Sterling’s work in House Art and for the cover of our House Writing magazine, and I am sure that there is much more to come from so many in this form. Hampden 11 were another form that gave so much in terms of time and effort. As a result, they produced some fantastic performances and results in Rugby (2nd), Football (1st) and Badminton (1st), events where Isaac Tung, Sam Hughes and Hanush Siddabattula were amongst many who showed their skills and prowess. Joseph Aloluwaloba also deserves a special mention, for his huge contributions in so many events, such as Rugby, Writing and Music. Hampden 10 were a real force to be reckoned with this year and were the proud winners of their Rugby, Football, Basketball and Tennis competitions… which was an incredible achievement! Ridwan Anifowashe was often the inspiration for these successes, leading the likes of Austin Bhadri, Rhys Falzon, Jacob O’Neill and Dhoeton White to produce great performances. Once again, James Seanor was a major contributor in the Watson Trophy and his efforts are always hugely appreciated. Hampden 9 were consistent performers throughout the year, regularly finishing in the top three positions in Brodie events, the obvious highlights being their wins in Cross Country and Athletics, which reflected their athletic prowess. Sam Wright and Jed Okai played a big part in these successes. Keyaan Kiarie, Arjun Kedia, Oscar Bennett, Temi Aloluwaloba and Barney Spencer also need to be recognised for their contributions during the year. Max Meader excelled as both an athlete and as a public speaker, while Myles Coe and

James Taylor applied their talents to great effect in both competitions. Hampden 8 are a super talented form, full of outstanding athletes in all sports and their 1st place finishes in Cross Country and Athletics reflected this. They will therefore be disappointed with their results in other Brodie competitions, as opportunities were missed to accumulate many more points. Knowing this form, they will use this as motivation to work together much more cohesively next year, so that the likes of James Godley, Nevin Korala, Ishaan Ella and Eashan Patel can fully shine. David Onohwakpo’s commitment to the House was once again evident in all that he did throughout the year, while Chris Thomas was so impressive in public speaking. It was great to see many of the new Year 7 students engage with the House so positively, as they started their school journey. Jay Bhadri, Morten Giles, William Clarke and Hayden Perkins impressed in the Brodie, while Maro Onohwakpo had clearly been listening to his brother David when it came to making the most of the opportunities that the House system at AGS offers. It’s impossible to name all of the students who have made the effort to represent Hampden House in any capacity in this report, but everyone’s efforts are greatly appreciated. While our students are central to the success of the House System, the input from our excellent form tutors must be recognised. Hampden House are blessed with having some of the best (in my humble opinion) and the work of; Mr Sloan, Mr Mohan, Mr Travers, MIss Holliday, Mr Warne, Mr Brittain, Mrs Hearn and Mr Ash has to be recognised….. thanks for everything. Being the Head of Hampden House for the last 8 years has been a genuine honour and privilege and has provided me with some amazing memories that I will take with me as I move on to new challenges. Winning House Athletics this year and celebrating this with the students was one of these moments, and I hope that Mr Taylor (taking over as the new HoH) will enjoy many of these moments in the future. He and the House will go on to achieve great things I am sure.

Written : Mr C McGill, (Outgoing) Head of Hampden House

THE AYLESBURIAN

HOUSE LIFE

INCASE YOU MISSED IT: WE WON THE BRODIE TROPHY!

We did it! In case you missed it: we WON the Brodie Trophy! Bravo, Lee House! This is our 7th Brodie Trophy win since the House was established in 1974 and only the 2nd Brodie win in the past 20 years! A massive WELL DONE to everyone who competed this year! A special mention goes to Lee 7, who have been a superb addition to the House, and a phenomenal force this year, winning 4 of the Brodie competitions in

LEE HOUSE REPORT

Year 7. While we couldn’t win without the esprit de corps of everyone in the House, and Lee 8 were also highly successful this year, Lee 7 certainly were the trail blazers. Well done to everyone who participated throughout the year! The Watson While the Watson remained somewhat elusive this year, we tackled each event with impeccable style and determination. The year was kick-started with Senior Public Speaking, an event wherein Lee House has enjoyed much success in previous years. From the get-go we again proved our worth, with engaging speeches from Amogh Yalamalli – ‘Freedom of Speech’; Kaushik Potnuru – ‘The 4 Day Week’; Krishanu Thakore – ‘A Statistic with a Name’;

and Toby Webster – ‘The Reithian

Marsterson playing the saxophone, Archie Thomson on the

Directive’. Kaushik’s speech impressed

trumpet, George Goddard on the trombone, Vihan Reddy

the adjudicator and earned him first

playing the piano, Dylan Woodford on bass guitar, Rudhran

place (joint with Hampden). I would

Sankar and James Davies on guitar with Piers Morgan

like to thank Toby and Krishanu for all

on the drums. It really was a spectacular performance

their support in preparing the other

– enjoyed by everyone. Well done! This was followed by

year groups which proved instrumental

‘Gold’ sung by the talented Bow Oyedeopo with Lucas Xie

in our success. Later in the year

playing piano, Luca Annels on bass guitar, Rudhran Sankar

this was followed by Junior Public

on guitar, Alex Cooper playing the drums and supported

Speaking, with a wonderful range of

by the Lee Quintet of Nate Chatterley, Jan Koszczan, Chris

speeches from our younger years. Lee

Marsterson, Xavier Rogers and Tobie Spilman. While we

7 Jonah Scott – ‘Should we censor the

were channelling the chorus of the song, “You are Gold,

classics?’, Oliver Fenner – ‘National

always believe in your soul, you’ve got the power to know,

Service: do we need it?’ and Aurman

you’re indestructible…”, this, sadly, did not materialise

Brar - Consistency is Key. All the boys

into points. Our set finished with the beautiful ‘Tigerlilly’

worked incredibly hard to research,

by George Ezra with the incredible Tobie Spilman, as lead

edit and rehearse these speeches

vocalist, supported by Bow Oyedepo and the Lee House

over many weeks in preparation for

Choir. Chris Marsterson played the saxophone with Archie

the event, and should be very proud

Thomson on the trumpet. Partaap Bajwa took to the keys

of their achievements. Everyone did a

on the piano, Brian Wickramasinghe played the violin with

wonderful job representing the House

Dylan Woodford on bass guitar. Mackay Williams played

in a challenging and demanding event,

the guitar with Piers Morgan on the Drums and Toby

and our efforts across both events

Webster on the Bongos. We really were gold on the night,

earned us an admirable second place

but sadly it was not meant to be this year. Many thanks

overall.

to all involved, and especially to Mr Nathan and Mr Dallas

We marched into House Art with

for their hard work in the weeks leading up to a wonderful

enthusiasm. Our theme this year was

night.

‘Conspiracy Theories’ led admirably by

Ever consistent we came in 5th place for House Chess

Johan Jose. The theme was interpreted

- joint with Paterson. Thank you to Mr Goodchild for

in a variety of ways across different

organising and running this competition. Happily, things

mediums. While we showcased a

were on the up with the House Quiz Competition and while

broad range of artistic talent and

we did not win in any stage, we came in second place over

creative license, we faced tough

all in this event. Well done to everyone who participated!

competition from the other Houses.

Many thanks also to Mr Walker for running another exciting

Conspiracy theories abound as this

competition this year.

year resulted in a 5th place for Lee.

The final event to report in the Watson is House Writing!

I would like to thank the House Art

This was certainly a high point for Lee House in terms of

Captains across the year for all their

the Watson Competitions as we came in 3rd place. The

dedication in organising and setting

theme this year was ‘Happiness’ and we had a broad

up the display: it was a real team

range of writing styles. Thank you to everyone in Lee

effort. Many thanks to Mrs Tangi and

who submitted work for our House Writing Magazine.

the Art Department as always for their

Congratulations to all those students whose work was

hard work in organising this event.

selected, particularly to Selim - Emre Arslan (Y11), who

In House Music, somehow, we

was awarded a Distinction for his piece ‘Bridges’, and

came in 5th place again. Amused

Rudhran Sankar (Y12) for his submission ‘Beatatis’ which

and entertained by the dynamic

was awarded a Merit. Well done! House Writing, as

duo Shayne Lagyop and Shy

always, arrives at a busy time in the academic year, so

Satkunanathan, or Shayne and Shy,

the support, diligence and dedication of the production

as our comperes, our set opened with

team is very much appreciated. Special thanks go to our

the spectacular ‘Night Boat to Cairo’

editorial team of Toby Webster, Alex Lewis, Johan Jose,

with vocals by Nate Chatterley. We

Partaap Bajwa, Daniel Graves, Ajan Robertsingh, Rudhran

had Edwin Peacock on clarinet, Chris

Sankar and Krishanu Thakore who have done a fantastic

HOUSE LIFE

THE AYLESBURIAN

Ridley), Badminton, Squash and Tennis. But, this would not be possible without the commitment of everyone who participated in the House. Lee 8 also had a highly successful year with victories in Cross Country, Rugby and Badminton. Well done, Lee House! House Cross Country went ahead again this year and we started strongly. Both Lee 8 and Lee 9 came first place in their years, and this combined with our performance in other years secured us an impressive second place. In House Rugby with the commendable efforts from Lee 8 and Lee 9, who came in first place in their years, we won House Rugby (joint with Hampden House). Again, in House Football we showcased some fine talent. All years performed well with Lee 7 winning their group and Year 10 and the Sixth Form achieving second place. Combined with the impressive efforts from the other year groups, this resulted in a spectacular first place in House Football. We were smashing it! House Basketball is a highly competitive day for Lee, particularly for the Sixth Form with the House bringing its best players to the fore. Our Sixth Form appeared unstoppable with another victory in this Brodie Event, which resulted in a joint first place with Ridley overall. This job in editing and producing the

was the sort of momentum that we needed and placed us

magazine. It would not be possible

in a strong position in the Brodie at this point.

without you. I’d like to thank Old

Previously, racket sports have not been a strong point

Aylesburian, Adam Newton for all his

for the House, but not this year! In House Badminton Lee

time and effort spent reading and

8 were a phenomenal force gaining first place and we

providing feedback for each House

came second in Badminton overall. For House Squash

Writing Magazine. Thank you, Adam.

Lee 7 & 11 came first in their years and combined with the

With the total points added from

other years we achieved a solid 3rd place overall. In House

across the events, this year’s Watson

Tennis, Lee 7 & 10 came in first place, but unfortunately it

Trophy results placed us in 5th place

wasn’t enough to save us from 6th place.

– the same as last year. While slightly

House Swimming is always an exciting event, and this year

disappointing, particularly given our

Lee came together and achieved a very respectable joint

strengths in House Writing, House Quiz,

2nd place with Philips. Well done to all who swam! Most

and our entertaining and talented

notable were the achievements of Jake Chesworth who

performances in House Music, I am

broke the school record in the butterfly! Well done, Jake –

optimistic and that we will build on this

a truly phenomenal effort! Our swimmers were superb in

next year.

winning many victories. Well done to Tobie Spilman, James

Congratulations to Denson House,

Davies and James Herbert and Jake Chesworth who all

and Mr Walker, for their victory in the

came first in their events. Congratulations also to Daniel

Watson Trophy!

Talbot, Dan Poole and Ellison Socrates who all achieved an impressive second place in an event. Well done to all our

The Brodie

swimmers!

We are Gold!

While we have dominated the majority of Brodie events,

We shone in the Brodie this year.

House athletics always throws a curve ball. There were

Impressively, we had even won the

valiant efforts from many individuals. Most impressive was

Brodie before the final event of House

Tomi Ashaolu who, as with last year, came in first place

athletics – just saying! As mentioned,

in the 100m, triple jump and long jump. Robin Craven

Lee 7 led the way by coming in first

also came in first place in the 400m and Iwan Bridge won

place in House Football (joint with

the discus. It was wonderful to see a competitive spirit

throughout the day, but in spite of our gallant efforts –

will have the important role of supporting the new Lee

ever consistent – we came in 5th place. Thankfully, this

7 boys in September. Well done to Alex Emmins, George

year this didn’t impact us as we had already won the

Goddard, Harry Johnston, Gaurav Koyee.

Brodie! Go, Lee House!

Our House Charity this year was Tiggywinkles

A massive congratulations to everyone who

Wildlife Hospital. Using the best veterinary care

participated in the Brodie competitions this year!

available, Tiggywinkles are dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating all species of British wildlife. Earlier in the

House News

year, after a successful penalty shoot-out with me in

I have had a wonderful year as Head of Lee House

goal, we adopted a hedgehog whom the House have

after my return from maternity leave. I have thoroughly

named Sonic.

enjoyed reconnecting and getting to know the boys

Sadly, we say goodbye to two of our incredible tutors

through a range of competitions and events beyond

this year Mr Taylor and Mr Skinner. Mr Taylor, Lee 10

the classroom. I have been very lucky to have some

tutor, is moving over to the “Green Army” to take up

fantastic support this year from a great team of Head

his new role as Head of Hampden. I thank him for his

Boys of House – Christopher Marsterson as Head Boy

unceasing efforts, particularly in leading Lee House

of House, and Toby Webster and Tyno Martire-Charlett

during my maternity leave, and I wish him all the

as Deputy Head Boys of House. Their leadership and

very best in this new chapter, knowing that he will

commitment have contributed to many of Lee’s

always, albeit secretly, be a Lee House supporter! I

successes and made a real difference to the House. I

look forward to some friendly competitive rivalry next

would like to thank all of Lee 13 for their contributions to

year! Mr Skinner joined Lee House in 2014 after a short

the House over the years and wish them all the best for

spell in Hampden and has been a proactive, involved

the future.

and committed tutor. I would like to thank him for

As Lee 13 move on, it gives me great pleasure to

all his support and commitment over the years and

welcome the new Head Boys: Shayne Lagyop, Ed Scott

wish him all the very best in his new role as Assistant

and Krishanu Thakore over this past term. They make an

Headteacher across the road at AHS.

excellent team and have already worked hard to create

And finally, thank you and congratulations to everyone

engaging and interactive assemblies, organise events,

in Lee House who has contributed to or represented

and help behind the scenes. I am immensely grateful

our House so positively this year. I have been extremely

for all their efforts and look forward to working with

proud of the way you have carried yourselves. In

them next year.

everything we do, we do it with optimism, determination

The Lee House Tutors are excellent: Mr Jones, Mr Corby,

and with a touch of style! You should all be proud of

Mrs Parvez, Mr Taylor, Mr Crapper, Mr Skinner and

what you have achieved and look forward to next year

Mr Disley have all been fully involved, encouraging

with a renewed sense of achievement as we begin the

and supporting all students and helping to build the

race to be crowned the winners of BOTH the Brodie and

sense of community within the House. They have even

the Watson trophies 2024.

displayed their own competitive streak by taking part

See you soon.

in the Tutors Brussel Sprout Race at Christmas and the Tutors Sports Day. Thank you all, from myself and on behalf of Lee House, for everything you do. It was wonderful to see Lee House fully support the AGS PTA Summer Fete. Students volunteered over the day on our three stalls: Tin Can Alley, Hook a Duck and the ever-popular Coconut Shy. Thank you to all, who took time out of their weekend to help, for your friendly faces and good humour throughout the day. I would also like to thank the new Head Boys of House for their efforts in the organisation and running of the day. We even had a mini race round the bouncy castle, and I am pleased to say I came a quite respectable third! We are also delighted with the newly appointed Junior Prefects, Prefects and Senior Prefects. We have been able to promote Buddies from the current Lee 7, who

Written : Mrs K Harris, Head of Lee House

THE AYLESBURIAN

HOUSE LIFE

PATERSON HOUSE REPORT Head Boy of House Team Perspective

form class for the last 6 years (we know it wasn’t

So, we didn’t win the double! Sorry guys, we broke the

easy!). Lastly, to Ms Chalk, who is undoubtedly

promise that every new set of Head Boys of House

the reason Paterson is the best house at AGS.

makes in their application in Year 12.

Without her there would be no Purple Army for

But does that mean we had a bad year? Absolutely not.

us to write about in this article, there would be

As Head Boys of House one of the main goals we set

nobody to organise us and plan the year, but

out at the start of the year was to unify the house after

most importantly, there would be nobody for us

the difficulties of the past few years and we certainly

to have a cup of tea and a chat with when we

believed that we achieved that.

need it most.

The 2022-23 year took the house events calendar back

Thank you to every single member of Paterson

to normality, with no COVID stress for the first time

who made our time as enjoyable as it could

in three years. The resumption of normal house life

have been and got involved in everything you

brought back old traditions, in-person assemblies and

could. It makes it much easier to leave knowing

a little more fun.

the House is in safe hands from the young

The Watson trophy was our stronger suit this year

leaders within. Paterson is a much-loved house

with a win in House Art, House Writing and Senior

at AGS, which every single one of us appreciates

Public Speaking, taking two of the big three events.

and will remember. For the rest of our lives, we

Our Australia-themed art display was a highlight for

will #bleedpurple.

us, featuring an entire wall of Sydney Opera Houses, an aboriginal cave and (our centrepiece) Marky the hanging shark. The adjudicator feedback from our winning House Writing magazine of it being ‘too purple’ summed up the entire house and celebrated the unity in our Purple Army. The Brodie was a bit more up and down, but highlights were seen in House Swimming which we won in style, breaking multiple records across the year groups. Paterson came together as needed for every event and we’re confident that every team went out there to win. The three of us tried to get involved wherever we could, taking part in every kind of event. Together, we proved ourselves to be the best Head Boys of House as we won the annual Head Boys Challenge (taking the crown and trophy from Lee for the first time), with rapid piggybacks, impressive cracker eating and an intense game of musical chairs. We thoroughly embarrassed ourselves at the front of House assemblies, getting into costume for House Athletics, donning kangaroo outfits for House Art and swimming caps for House Swimming, but it was all worth it. From the departing Year 13’s we would like to give a massive thank you to all of the Paterson house tutors, who made our roles so much easier through their commitment to their form groups and all of the inspiring work they do behind the scenes to keep house life here at AGS thriving. On a more personal note, we would like to thank Mr McIntosh for his devotion to our

Written : George Birch, Zach Cooke and Liam Purchase Head Boys of Paterson House (‘22-’23) The Brodie Trophy As is traditionally the case, the Brodie trophy competition for the year began with House Cross Country. This event can often set the expectations for how House performances may go for the rest of the year – finishing in 1st place shows the other Houses who is setting the pace (quite literally in this case) and finishing in 6th place means you will need to work hard to try and re-gain some vital Brodie points in other events. We finished in 3rd place, which is pleasing – anywhere in the top half of the results table always is. A good start to the year, with some excellent performances from the team, especially from Lukas Biddulph (Pa7), Jake Canning (Pa7), Raphie London (Pa9), Edward Johnson (Pa9), Nick Cay (Pa13) and Thomas Young (Pa12) who all finished at or near the top of their sections. This was followed by a 5th place finish in House Badminton and a 6th place finish in House Squash. Things were not looking good for us and by this point Lee House had already taken a huge lead in the Brodie and catching them was looking unlikely. Next was House Rugby, and despite Paterson 7

winning their year group stage, as a House we only finished

team who scored the highest number of points

in 4th place. This was followed by a Joint 4th place finish in

in the entire House Athletics competition.

House Basketball. Success in the Brodie Trophy was getting

The points from House Athletics were added to

further away from us. As we moved into House Football, we

be Brodie and it was enough to keep us from

knew we needed to work together to make a change. The

the bottom as we finished in 5th place overall,

results began to filter in from each of the stages …. Year

but with only two and a half points separating

7 – 5th, Year 8 – 1st, Year 9 – 1st …. things were starting to

the four Houses in 2nd to 5th place in the

improve, or so we thought …. Year 10 – 6th, Year 11 – 5th. A

Brodie, we are not too disheartened by this

massive effort from the Senior footballers saw a strong 1st

result. As they say, the only way is up from here

place finish in their section meaning we finished House

and next year we aim to improve on this finish.

Football in 2nd place and got some valuable Brodie points added to our total. Things were going in the right direction

The Watson Trophy

and an inspirational assembly from the Head Boys of

Senior Public Speaking is the first event in the

House seemed to have the desired effect as we finished

Watson Trophy. Our team of Seb Jimenez

the next event, House Swimming in 1st place. Well done to

(Pa10), Akrit Sood (Pa11), George Mansfield

Chris Hamer (Pa7), Billy Knibb (Pa12), Tom Keane (Pa13), the

(Pa12) and Zach Cooke (Pa13) presented

Inters Medley Relay team and the Senior Freestyle Relay

well-researched speeches on how to move

team for finishing in first place within their events. Well

on after disappointment, the environmental

done to Han Tan (Pa9) who finished in first place in Junior

footprint caused by single use bottles, male

breaststroke and set a new school record for the event.

gender stereotypes and the pressure to fit in.

A special mention should also go to Sam Pyefinch (Pa13), a dedicated member of the Paterson House swimming team for the last seven years. Not only did Sam break the school record for Senior Butterfly in his heats, but he also then went on to break his own record again in the finals! Sam – your efforts and commitments to House and School swimming will be missed as you leave us. Thank you. This success faded a little as we moved to House Tennis with a 4th place finish. We were now focusing our efforts on not finishing the Brodie in last place and it all came down to House Athletics. The new Head Boys of House created an instructional video to explain how to perform in each event, our best teams were gathered, and we made our way up Turnfurlong to the top field to give the best performance we could. This effort did not go unrewarded as we finished in a commendable Joint 2nd place, which was an improvement on last year’s result. There were many exceptional performances that need to be acknowledged: •

Paterson 7 - Jason Amaeshike (1st – 100m), Luca

Quelho Dos Santos (2nd – Javelin and Shot), Umar Hassan (1st – Discus), Year 7 relay team (1st place) •

Paterson 8 – Seth Okesola (1st – 300m and

Discus), Freddie Bowen (1st – Shot) •

Paterson 9 – Edward Johnson (1st – 800m and

1500m), Dilan Barauskas (2nd – 200m), Raphie London (2nd – 1500m), Jafa Hassan (1st – Discuss), Year 9 relay team (2nd place) •

Seniors - Nathaniel Arulanandam (2nd – 100m, 1st

– Javelin), Thomas Young (1st – 800, 2nd - 1500m), George Birch (2nd – Discus), Senior relay team (2nd place) Well done to the Paterson House Senior team who were the

THE AYLESBURIAN

HOUSE LIFE

The hours of speech writing and practice paid off with

Souidi (Pa8), Ali Zine El Abidine (Pa8), Eldan Twelftree

a 1st place finish in the event! The first trophy of the

(Pa8), Tharuga Pathirajage Don (Pa8), Vainav

year and a great start to the Watson. Public Speaking

Vankadaru (Pa8), Daniel Omoyele (Pa9), Dilan

is an event of two halves, with the Junior section taking

Barauskas (Pa9), Han Tan (Pa9), Sid Auddy (Pa9),

place in the summer term. Stepping to the stage for us

Thomas Ruck (Pa9), Saharsh Tikkireddi (Pa10), Yehan

were Ciaran McShane (Pa7) discussing the importance

Canthaboo (Pa10), Matt Holcroft (Pa11), Thomas Young

of dog adoption, Zach Jahngir (Pa8) highlighting the

(Pa12), Max Plumridge (Pa13), Nick Cay(Pa13).

plight of the Siberian tigers and Thomas Ruck (Pa9)

Merit: Ben Ludlam (Pa7), Eshan Muralikrishnan (Pa8),

educating the audience about the funding of the prison

Hassan Mufti (Pa8), Suhail Siraj Zarook (Pa8), Year 10

system. Sadly, the competition was just too strong,

for Perry the Platypus, Nathaniel Thomey (Pa11), Toby

and we finished Junior Public Speaking in 6th place,

Yeneralski (Pa11), Cristiano Iannelli (Pa13).

meaning that we finished the overall Public Speaking

The next event was House Music. As usual, preparations

event in 4th place.

for this event started months beforehand with many

We then moved onto House Art, one of our favourite

meetings to determine the set list. Under the leadership

events in Paterson House as it provides an opportunity

of Sam Pyefinch (Pa13) with support from Ben Kearney

for everyone to get involved, which is when we are at

(Pa13) we decided on the songs, assembled our best

our strongest. The captains decided on the theme of

musicians and began rehearsals for the event. Our

‘Australia’ for our entries, which was followed by the

compère team consisting of Nick Cay (Pa13) and Zach

obligatory motivational House assembly complete with

Cooke (Pa13) took to the stage and, along with our first

fancy dress costumers by our Head Boy of House team

House choir of the night, we began our performance

to motivate #TeamPaterson and the entries started

with a rendition of ‘Mountains’ by Biffy Clyro followed

appearing in the art rooms. With 155 entries submitted

by ‘Pedro’ by Ripe, which was transcribed by ear by

including group efforts from Year 10 in the form of ‘Perry

our House Music captain Sam as we could not access

the Platypus’ and Year 13 with ‘Marky the Shark’ the

any sheet music for the piece. Then, not content with

display really was a team effort. Our exhibition boards

having one large House choir, for our third piece we

were adorned with examples of aboriginal inspired art

brought to the stage a second House choir as we had

as well as Australian wildlife and landmarks made from

too many people wanting to participate to fit them all

various different media. As the results were announced

on the hall stage for one song! The lights in the hall

we were delighted to finish in 1st place with a lead of

dimmed as our compères encouraged the audience

17 points over 2nd place Hampden. Thanks must go to

to imagine themselves sitting on a ‘sunny beach to

all the captains in each year group, and in particular

join us for the final part of a musical adventure’. We

to George Birch (Pa13) and Zach Cooke (Pa13) for all

gathered every percussion instrument we could get our

their hard work and organisation of the event. What

hands on, and filled the stage with inflatable flamingos,

an incredible achievement. Congratulations to all our

beach balls and Hawaiian shirts – to bring life to our

award winners:

version of ‘Copacabana’ by Barry Manilow. The team

Double Certificate of Excellence: Dinul

had worked hard and produced a memorable set that

Peramunugamage (Pa7)

was rewarded with a 3rd place finish. For all the Year

Certificate of Excellence: Arun Sethukavalar (Pa7),

13s involved in what was their last House Music event –

Ciaran McShane (Pa7), Gabe Repton (Pa7), Adam

thank you. In particular to Sam Pyefinch (Pa13) who has been so involved for many years – we will miss you and your trumpet! House Writing shortly followed. With the theme of ‘Happiness’ being presented to us, the Senior Editorial Team of Liam Purchase (Pa13), Tommy Healy (Pa13), Pragvansh Bhatt (Pa12), Sam Duodu (Pa12), George Mansfield (Pa12), Shom Varia (Pa12) and Harry Blackman (Pa13), led by Zach Cooke (Pa13) started reading through the 150 entries that had been submitted from the year groups to select the very best ones to go into our magazine. Additionally, the editors used the opportunity to demonstrate the concept of happiness in our magazine through the use of well-

WE ARE A TEAM placed quotes and photos from members of Paterson House. We were overjoyed to be awarded 1st place for this event, with the adjudicator commenting our magazine was ‘An accomplished publication which provided the best balance of varied and quality writing styles, coherent look and feel and good understanding of audience’. We were so proud of the magazine that the editors produced and delighted that the adjudicator recognised everything they were trying to convey. Congratulations to Seb Jimenez (Pa10), Nathan Hancox (Pa11), George Mansfield (Pa12) and Max Plumridge (Pa13) who were all awarded Distinctions for the entries and to Harry Lynch (Pa9) who was awarded a Merit. The final events in the Watson were House Chess and House Quiz where we saw Joint 5th and 4th places respectively. We really do find these such a challenge to succeed in. Maybe one day our fate will change. So, these results meant that we finished the Watson in

pleasure to work with and have been truly inspirational to everyone – I know their presence and enthusiasm will be missed. I would also like to wish the outgoing Year 13s all the very best of luck for the future as they leave us. They have been a fantastic year group to get to know and I will miss them greatly as they leave us. My advice to you is to take every opportunity you can in life, don’t have any regrets and make the most of everyday ….. and remember, you will always be a member of the Paterson House Family. We are so fortunate to have a fantastic group of tutors in Paterson House who genuinely care about their tutees and provide outstanding pastoral support to their tutor groups. Mr Dudmish, Dr McNamara, Mrs Bhui, Ms Genders, Mr Nathan, Dr Gardner, Mr McIntosh - we all really appreciate you. Thank you. As always, I am truly amazed by the effort and dedication that all students in Paterson House have put into events this year – each and every one playing a valuable role in our success. We are a team, and I continue to be proud of each and every member of Paterson House.

a pleasing 2nd place overall for the year, something everyone in Paterson House should be very proud of. Other areas of House Life The House System is an integral part of life at AGS and offers more than just the House Events to the students. I have been delighted to promote many members of the House to leadership promotions including Year 8 Buddy’s, Junior Prefects, School Prefects and Senior Prefects. We have also been raising funds through mufti days for our chosen House Charity – ADD-Vance – a small charity that offers support and guidance related to ADHD and Autism. We have supported the work of the PTA through the House Stalls at the school fete to help raise funds for school projects. We have continued to develop our prefect led initiative ‘Mental Health Mondays’ as well as providing opportunities to offer congratulations to those around us through ‘Paterson Praise’ nominations. I would like to take this opportunity to thank George Birch, Zach Cooke and Liam Purchase (Head Boy Team of Paterson House) for everything they have done this year. Most people don’t see what goes on in the background to make our House work and I have witnessed the personal sacrifices made and the countless hours they put into Paterson House over that time, which demonstrated just how much they cared

Written :

about their roles and the students in the House. For

Ms K Chalk, Head of Paterson House

that, I am so grateful. They have been an absolute

THE AYLESBURIAN

PHILLIPS HOUSE REPORT

HOUSE LIFE

I am delighted to be able to write about another year of hard work and successes for Phillips House. Most importantly, the tutors and I have thoroughly enjoyed watching our students eagerly throw themselves into the full range of competitive events and other opportunities that are available to them here at AGS. Our overall placings in the Brodie and Watson trophies were not what we would have wanted with 6th in the Brodie and 4th respectively, but there were some incredible achievements to celebrate and most impressively, we scored the double by winning the prestigious House music competition for the second year running, a truly excellent result! Additionally, we won House chess, another impressive result. Nothing would be possible without the dedicated leadership of our Tutor Group Captains, Senior Prefects, Prefects, Junior Prefects, Buddies and of course Head Boys who this year were the fantastic Liam, Charlie and Teni. As these excellent leaders depart to new horizons beyond Y13, we welcome Aaron, James and Rayhan who are already demonstrating outstanding leadership for the forthcoming year. It is also very pleasing to recognise the promotion of Fraser to Head Boy of school, a rare achievement in Phillips and one to be celebrated. There have been some real highlights over the last year. Sam of Ph12 received public recognition in assembly for his amazing skiing achievements in the British ski championships in January where he came 1st in U18 and 3rd in U23. He was also positioned an impressive 6th in the Mass start 7.5km race that included Juniors, U23 and Senior men. Additionally, he came 3rd in the 10km Youth category! Could we be seeing international skiing talent of the future? Another outdoors achievement came with Jack who completed the arduous ‘Three Peaks Challenge’ in 22 hours, raising money for his chosen charity. Closer to home, Daniel in Ph11 broke the school breaststroke record in House swimming and this year the Ben Emburey award was won by Ewan of Ph11 for his outstanding commitment to house and school including starring role in ‘High School Musical’ a production put on jointly with AHS. We have all enjoyed watching the highly informative house assembly programme this year that has included enlightening presentations by tutor groups on a range of stimulating and topical issues. These have included mental health, vaping, homelessness, climate change, Advent and Lent. Phillips House played its usual key role in the PTA fete. There were some changes to stalls from previous years, but this did not phaze the students who ran them

THE AYLESBURIAN

efficiently all day and helped contribute to the record breaking takings for AGS PTA. Well done to Aaron and his team! Every year I award small prizes to boys who have made that extra effort to get involved in house life and who have won the most House credits for their tutor group. This year winners were Moosa, Oliver, Will, Fionn, Daniel, Yiorgos, Jonathan, Noah, Oliver, Zach and Fraser. I also welcome Felix, Aiden, Srilikith, Tim, Rocco and Noah to the role of Year 8 Buddy for the arriving students in Ph7 this September. Watson Report In the public speaking competitions, which are spread out over the year, the speakers from each tutor group demonstrated courage and determination as they stood before audiences of judges and their own year groups. With resilience and courage, we came a reasonable 4th place. This was made up of a 4th from the seniors and an impressive second from the juniors. In the art competition, our students were able to explore the topic of ‘horror’ giving enormous scope for their imagination with inspiration from literature, movies and TV. There were some excellent pictures and models on show and we won a commendable 4th place. Certificates of excellence were awarded to Daniel, Sashi, Xander, Oliver, Rocco, Rehan, Luke, Moosa, Gabriel, Daniel and Alex. The quiz was not a notable result this year with an overall 6th place and writing was slightly better with Phillips being placed 5th with the theme of ‘Happiness’. It was mid year before our two greatest achievements. The win in House music was a result of absolute dedication and incredibly skilled musical creativity. Special mention goes out to the captains and musical leaders including Oliver and Charles S. Geordan was a highlight with his solo of ‘Donde Estas, Yolanda?’, which was sung entirely in Spanish. Thanks go out to all our musicians; Charles E, Tom, Jonathan, Aaron, Yiorgos, Ewan, Oliver T, Oliver E-H, John, Jamie, Gabriel and of course the performers in Phillips percussion and the Phillips choir. A massive well done to all of you who made the performances so outstanding. Approaching Easter we gained an enviable win in chess and I need to thank Swarup, Noah, Lian, Brendan, Shrihan, Arjun, Dom, Luke, Mohit, Nathan, James, Arshad, Jonathan and Irfan. Their playing was outstanding and ensured a well-earned victory. As a result of all the hard work from Phillips students we achieved overall 4th in the Watson Trophy. Well done to you all. The Brodie Report In the Brodie, we were not quite as successful as in the Watson coming 6th. That said there were some excellent performances and a huge level of commitment. The year started with cross country running. Despite solid 3rd for the juniors and 4th for the inters, we came last. Rugby was more successful. The Phillips 8, 10 and seniors all came 2nd in their games leading to an overall 3rd. Very good and a sound result. In squash there were good

HOUSE LIFE

games from Ph8 and Ph10 who came 2nd in their matches. The overall 4th was OK and still left us in contention for the Brodie trophy. Swimming has always been a strength for Phillips and this year was no exception. Whilst the overall win proved elusive great swims from Ph7, juniors and inters who all came 2nd or 3rd helped us secure 2nd place in the competition. I have already mentioned Daniel who broke the Y11, breaststroke record. What an exceptional achievement! Well done to all Phillips swimmers for your efforts. The Brodie really started to slip away from us with football. Despite good individual performances and 3rd for Ph11, we came 6th. The same happened in badminton but in basketball Phillips rose to a nice 3rd position. This result was in no small part down to Ph7 who won their match; well done Gibril, Kameron, Moosa, Ayaan, David, Tim, Hesham, Alex and Jacob. Tennis saw us placed 5th against some really good AGS talent. In the last event of the year where we often shine, Phillips saw the last nail in the coffin of the Brodie with 6th place. However, as always, there was bags of individual effort and skill. Massive thanks to the 6th form athletes who came 2nd in their year group. Well done Sam, Aaron, Fraser, Paolo, Rayhan, Oliver, Eman, Daniel Ethan, Barrie, James, Ali and Hussan. I would like to finish by thanking everyone in Phillips House for their enormous commitment this year. Special thanks go to those who have pushed themselves into leadership roles and to those who follow with enthusiasm and humility. Finally, I thank Miss Hammond who started her year as a joint tutor with Ph11 and will now be working as a tutor in Ph7. Finally, after 13 years, I have taken the decision to step down as Head of Phillips and focus more on the classroom. I leave Phillips House in the incredibly capable hands of Mrs Jackson who I know will lead Phillips to great things. Thank you to all of you for your support for me and best of luck in the future. My time as Head of House will always give me happy memories. Keep leading the way, Phillips House. Written: Mr Goodchild, (Outgoing) Head of Phillips House

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RIDLEY HOUSE REPORT

HOUSE LIFE

2022-23 was not a vintage year for Ridley in the Watson Trophy. The highlight of the year was clear – a fantastic second place in the everimpressive House Music festival. Our house captain Matteo Bellini, ably assisted by Ben Chanter, but of course with many other contributors, almost pulled off a famous victory – finishing just 1 point behind Hampden. Our other solid showing in the Watson was in the chess competition where we finished third. Our Juniors finished second, the Inters were victorious, but a sixth place finish in the Seniors affected our overall standing. Ridley traditionally perform very well in the house writing, so a joint fifth place was lower than we hoped and expected, especially given all the hard work of our editorial team. Expectations were perhaps lower in the art where we often perform less well, but we were still disappointed to finish last. Ridley were also sixth in the overall public speaking, despite our Juniors coming third. Mention should go to Hashim Ashiq in Ridley 7 who finished second in his competition. The quiz is always a bit of a lottery and we came fifth overall. Our best finish was Ridley 9 who came second. So, at the end of a disappointing year in the Watson Trophy, the final standings were: 1st Denson 27 points 2nd Paterson 23 points 3rd Hampden 22 points 4th Phillips 20 points 5th Lee 19.5 points 6th Ridley 14.5 points The Brodie Trophy provided a far more positive picture for Ridley House. In recent years we have excelled in rugby, but we didn’t this year, finishing fifth. Well done to Ridley 11 who came first and Ridley 7 who were runners up. We also came fifth in football, where Ridley 7 were joint first. In the swimming we came forth overall and

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both Ridley 7 and the Juniors won their events. It was the results in Years 10-13 where we lost ground. Special mention to Elliot King in Ridley 7 who won all his events, including the individual medley and butterfly. Apart from rugby, football and swimming, Ridley recorded top half finishes in all the other events. In both badminton and tennis we came third. Congratulations to our Year 8 tennis team, who were victorious, whilst Ridley 7 came second. In badminton our Year 10s were winners and the Seniors runners up. We went one better in squash coming second, with both Ridley 9 and Ridley 10 winning their competitions. Racket sports are clearly an area of strength within the House. Our only overall victory of the year was a joint first in basketball with years 7, 10, 11 and 6th Form all performing strongly. There was still lots to play for on Sports Day and the final event of a busy year. Ridley performed strongly in athletics, coming joint second overall. Congratulations in particular to Ridley 7, who were first and Ridley 8 who came second. Perhaps you have spotted a theme here, with strong performances in the younger years of the House. Ridley 7 have been by far our most successful sporting year group and this of course bodes very well for the future. Next year we need other groups to try and match their achievements. Perhaps we should also acknowledge all our individual winners on Sports Day. Year 7 Winners 300m - Owen Samaranayake 1500m - Joshua Riemer Long Jump - Arthur Morley Javlin - Harry Smith Year 8 Winners 800 m - Ollie Usher Long Jump - Dylan Richards Javlin - Euan Conely Year 9 Winners Shot - Tani Abioye Seniors Winners Long Jump - James Marklew-Brown Overall Brodie Results. 1st Lee 38.5 points 2nd Hampden 33.5 points 3rd Ridley 33 points 4th Denson 32 points 5th Paterson 31 points 6th Phillips 21 points

HOUSE LIFE

EVERY POINT

REALLY DOES MATTER

IN THESE

COMPETITIONS

It was therefore an incredibly close competition in the Brodie Trophy this year, with Ridley only half a point off second, but equally only 2 points ahead of fifth. Every point really does matter in these competitions. Our course there is much more to House life than just the Brodie and Watson Trophies. Despite Mr Grant leaving AGS last year, luckily the tradition of the Ridley House panto continued. Our thanks to Mr Roberts for stepping into the Director’s role and to all the Ridley tutors for their memorable performances. Ridley raised a large amount of money at the PTA fete and also won the inflatable obstacle course race. Thank you to everyone who gave up their time to raise money for the benefit of the school. Talking of raising money, our House Charity this year has been MIND and raising the profile of our House Charity has been just one of the issues discussed at our termly House Council meetings. House Council is a really good vehicle for students to put their own views forward on how Ridley House could be even better! Finally, I would like to thank our outgoing leadership team of Head Boy Morgan Billings and his Deputies Freddie Marshall and Gavin Thurairajah for all their support and hard work and we wish our new leadership team of Jamie Baker, Gabriel Moukli and Aryan Sharma good luck in leading the House in the year ahead. Thank you of course to the superb team of Ridley tutors for all the support they have given the students during another busyW school year. After a well-earned summer break we will look forward to another year of fierce competition in House events.

Written : Mr J Barrie, Head of Ridley House

FOR THE LOVE OF THE LADS

THE AYLESBURIAN

SCHOOL VISITS

For the Love of the Lads was an art project that we and Corbin Shaw worked on to teach us about positive masculinity and what it is truly like to be a man.

We all created flags like Corbin with messages we had came up with to share what positive masculinity is for us. We had also drawn some images on the flag with the message to make them more expressive and unique. We all had enjoyed making them with each other, Corbin, Flora (Corbin’s assistant) and our French and Art teachers (Mrs Jackson and Mrs Tangi). It was a really good experience and an important topic to talk about. After we had each created a flag, Corbin had collected them and sewed them together to create a tapestry of our work and his. Corbin had also created another flag with the following written on it, “You are as rare as a shiny Steve G in 2003, showing us that we are all amazing and unique.” Corbin had then came back to our school and had a photoshoot with us and he had also read to us an amazing poem that he had written for us. We were then also invited to go to an exhibition of our artwork in the Flannels store in London. The pictures of our flags being shown on a screen outside the store being shown one by one. Inside the store and down the stairs there was a shiny, black room with the tapestry of our flags and Corbin Shaw’s flag in the middle in glass cases.

SCHOOL VISITS

THE AYLESBURIAN

AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE

Positive masculinity is different for many people and is a positive way a man can express themselves and celebrate their positive qualities of a man. It encourages traits such as empathy, emotional intelligence, respect, and support

POSITIVE MASCULINITY

for others. It also encourages males to reject harmful stereotypes and embrace qualities that promote equality, compassion, and personal growth. Positive Masculinity can look like this for some but remember positive masculinity can look different for everyone. Just remember to be yourself. To start the journey off, we walked from our school to the local train station, the Aylesbury train station, where we ate our lunch and finally arrived in Marylebone. We went on the underground to Oxford Street to then started to walk to the Flannels store and on the way we saw many decorations for the King’s Coronation.

We arrived in the store and went down the stairs to the exhibition. It was a really nice surprise to see our work in an exhibition and it gave me a feeling of accomplishment. I also felt very thankful for Corbin for giving us the amazing once in a lifetime opportunity to see our work be put in an exhibition with 300 people coming to see it across the two days of the exhibition. He even wrote a poem to accompany the artwork! It was also a lovely feeling to hear so many people talking about their enjoyment of the exhibition and the aspects they liked of it. It was an amazing experience and I and many others really enjoyed it and will cherish it for the rest of our lives. Thank you so much Corbin, Flora, Mrs Tangi and Mrs Jackson for the wonderful experience.

Written : Adam Souidi, Paterson 8

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THE POWER OF ART AND CREATIVITY Written : Mrs L Tangi, Director of Art

SCHOOL VISITS

On 4th May 2023 a select few of Year 8 boys attended the Circle Zero Eight art exhibition on masculinity at a prestigious art gallery in Oxford Street. This was a collaboration between AGS, the gallery, Corbin Shaw (a famous artist) and Flannels (a well known retailer). As part of the exhibition, my colleagues and I designed flags to showcase our views on positive masculinity. In particular, my flag featured the message “Be You Be True” and was part of the Flannels flagship store window exhibition along with a selected few others, eight to be exact. One of the most inspiring aspects of the exhibition was the message that it’s okay for men to express their emotions and vulnerabilities. This was a theme that resonated throughout the artwork on display and was reflected in the messages conveyed by the flags, including my own. By challenging traditional notions of masculinity, the exhibition and the flags provided a platform for important conversations about gender, emotion, and identity in the 21st century. The exhibition showcased a diverse range of art styles, from traditional drawings to avant-garde video installations, but the most eye-catching pieces were our large faces on screens that greeted visitors as they entered the gallery. These faces served as a powerful reminder of the complex emotions that young men experience as we mature and highlighted the importance of acknowledging and expressing these emotions in a healthy way as we grow older. In addition to the artwork, the conversations that people were having about the exhibition were an interesting take on critical thinking, personal experience and perception. It was heartening to see people engaging with the art and the flags in such a thoughtful and reflective way. This reinforced my belief in the power of art and creativity to spark important conversations and promote positive change in society. As one of the 8 artists chosen from Aylesbury Grammar School, I was proud to be a part of this exhibition and to have my flag on display in the Flannels flagship store window. The message “Be You Be True” encapsulated my view of positive masculinity, which is to be true to oneself and to express one’s emotions in a healthy and authentic way. In conclusion, the Circle Zero Eight exhibition was a powerful showcase of art and creativity that challenged traditional notions of masculinity and encouraged important conversations about gender and emotion. The flags that my colleagues and I designed added another layer of meaning to the exhibition and highlighted our personal views on positive masculinity. It was an inspiring experience that reinforced my belief in the power of art to promote positive change in the world.

THE AYLESBURIAN

Written : Alex Childerstone,

BRIGHTON ROCKS

Phillips 12

SCHOOL VISITS

In the final week of the summer term, our Year 12 English Literature class made the long journey in the AGS mini van to the South Coast: Brighton, the setting of our crime text, Brighton Rock. Our mission - to immerse ourselves in the vibrant city which exists parallel to the dark seedy underbelly, the setting of both fictional and real criminality throughout the city’s long history. We experienced the tourist driven, colourful face of Brighton, visiting the pier, local shops and most importantly, the fish and chip stand. In contrast, we plunged into darker depths, exploring the city’s notable twittens, narrow alleyways intertwining the city’s old roads, which felt straight from a Gothic novel, the perfect setting for imagining the city’s crime fuelled past. We visited iconic locations from within the book, including the registry office where Pinkie and Rose marry, (several) pubs referenced throughout the novel as well as outside of the city, the cliffs towards Peacehaven. This was a sombre experience, the bitter sea wind spitting rain at us as we traversed the cliffside which proved to be Pinkie’s final resting place. Our proximity to the steep ledge truly demonstrated these white cliffs’ fateful and tragic reputation. Our immersion in the world of crime writing was deepened in our visit to The Cricketers, a pub often frequented by Graham Greene, the author of Brighton Rock, as well as supposedly by Jack the Ripper! The aptly named Greene Room upstairs was a clear demonstration to us of Brighton’s dual persona, dark killings and crime in immediate proximity with tourism and 1930s colour and life. Thank you to Mrs Sampson for acting as our literary tour guide and particular mention to Mr Skinner, our mini van driver, as this was his final school visit of many during his time at AGS.

THE AYLESBURIAN

BETTER A WITTY FOOL THAN A FOOLISH WIT

SCHOOL VISITS

On the 10th and 12th of January 2023, Year 8 went to London to go to the Globe Theatre and have a drama workshop. The trip began with a small walk around the south side of the Thames, near the Globe. This walk took us from the current Globe, to the site of the original Globe Theatre, and back again, in a loop. Throughout the walk, we were taught about various things that occurred in Elizabethan England, as we passed them. One such site was the replica of The Golden Hind, the ship that the famous pirate Sir Francis Drake sailed on. There, we were told about Sir Francis Drake’s involvement in the battle against the Spanish Armada. We also were taught about the way things were for people on the south side of the river in Elizabethan times; the lawless nature of the South side, with bearbaiting and criminals, and worse. We also learned that the reason all the theatres are on the south side is because the main city, which only went up until the

river in those times, was governed by Puritans, who feared theatre for the way it spread ideas that they had not regulated; for before that, ideas were spread by church and church alone. After the walk, we returned to the Globe and were given a tour. It was an amazing experience due to the incredible atmosphere. We also went backstage, which was interesting; many students had never been backstage before, and the atmosphere was tangible. Whilst on the stage, we were told about the symbolism of it, as well as the ways they convey setting and feeling without the use of lights and background; it is all about props and costumes, because the Globe Theatre tries to make itself as authentic and accurate to the original Globe as possible (it only costs £5 to watch from ‘the pit’, which equivalents to about a penny in Elizabethan times - which was the price at the time). We also learned about the symbolism of heaven and hell in the stage design, the roof area over the stage being the heavens, and the underneath being hell, as well as why the Theatre burned down. After this, we were taken to another building owned by the Globe Theatre Company, and had a drama workshop there based on Twelfth Night. The workshop was run by a professional actress from the Globe Theatre Company, and she taught us many acting techniques and tips. Everyone loved the workshop, and enjoyed the opportunity to act and be creative in doing so. Over the course of the day, we also managed to visit the Millennium Bridge, after having lunch outside the Tate Modern, and many people took photos of London. The trip was an amazing opportunity to see London, learn, and have fun, all at the same time.

Written : Benji Colclough Moss, Lee 8

THE AYLESBURIAN

SCHOOL VISITS

VERY MUCH LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT YEAR! The week of the 5th of June was an exciting one for Year 7 as they embarked on their residential trips. Denson, Hampden and Lee set off for the Oxfordshire countryside on Monday 5th, and it was Paterson, Phillips and Ridley’s turn on Wednesday 7th. During the 3-day trip, students took part in lots of activities, many for the first time. In fact, for some students, this was the first time they had stayed away from home. The first day began with den building, some of which became home for the two nights, with others deciding to stay in the relative stability of the more professional looking yurts! The students gave themselves team names and displayed some excellent teamwork as they worked together on their dens, designed flags and in some cases choreographed team dances and composed team songs. There were many activities over the course of the trips, including archery, axe throwing and woodland games. During a woodland walk on one of the days, the students happened across ‘injured’ staff members. Worry not as the ‘blood’ was a mixture of sugar solution and food colouring (some of us are still trying to get it out of our clothing!). Earlier in the day the students had been taught basic first aid, and on discovering the staff, put their

new-found skills to the test. I was impressed as many of the students put staff in the recovery position and carried them using their survival skills to a position of safety. Some students really showed their leadership skills in this activity, too. Building and lighting their own fires enabled them to eat one evening as they had burgers and corn on the cob to cook. Although some took longer than others, no one went to bed hungry! On the last evening, staff were excited to be audience members for ‘Tribe’s Got Talent’ as the teams had put performances together which included, in some cases almost feature-length, storytelling with singing and dancing. The Year 7 residential, as well as being a new and fun experience for students, is also organised to help them to continue to build relationships with one another and the staff. It helps them to build resilience and character, and also to develop leadership skills as they take part in challenging activities away from the school environment. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the staff members who joined the trips: Mr Singh, Mrs Cox, Mr Ellis, Mr Taylor, Mr Dimelow, Mrs Farmborough, Mr Roberts, Miss Hammond-Ainge, Mr Disley, Mr Perry and Mr Phillips, all of whom gave up their time to ensure the students had an enjoyable and memorable time. We are very much looking forward to next year, and I have already booked 186 places and coach travel for the new Year 7s! Written : Mrs K Blunt, Head of Year 7

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SCHOOL VISITS

A FRENCH ADVENTURE On Friday 26th May, around 40 of us lined up along the road near Turnfurlong … at 5.a.m in the morning. Passports were being handed to teachers, suitcases were being loaded into the coach and farewells and goodbyes were being said from parents to their children. We then swiftly embarked on our 15 hour journey, finally arriving at the Maison Claire Fontaine Centre at around 9 o’clock at night. The location of our destination was in a beautiful, dense forest which provided us with fantastic views and a rather calm state of mind with no distractions from a busy city. In my opinion, the next three days were a fantastic experience for me. The staff at Maison Claire Fontaine were always ready to devote time to help us and always greet us, whether it’s 6pm or 6am, with a smile on their faces. The staff also made sure to converse with us in French to strengthen our confidence in communicating in French. We also completed a range of superb activities, ranging from kayaking and walking through Nature Reserve Parks to visiting historical sites of interest. One of my favourite memories would be taking part in a visit to a classic French market, which allowed me to experience true French culture and understand more about the people that live there as well. I also had the chance to taste some fantastic food as well. Overall, this trip was an amazing one which will always be embedded into my memory. In the future, I hope that I am able to go on more trips like these, allowing me to experience many more different countries and cultures. I woke up at half past three in the morning, which honestly didn’t make too much of a difference to my normal waking time. I was prepared for the trip, although I have to admit I was not looking forward to such a long journey. Upon entering the ferry in our second phase of the journey I grew excited to see the sea beyond. I spent at least half of the ferry journey staring at the sea and the elegance of the waves upon it.

As we began approaching the shore of France, it dawned on me how big this moment actually was; it may not have been so exciting for everyone, but for me, this was my first time abroad. After this I enjoyed the rest of the trip. Admiring the beauty of the French countryside and listening to the stories of the war told by Mr Taylor, as we arrived at Dunkerque. Finally we arrived at our destination of Maison Claire Fontaine, and I was taken in by the surroundings; the massive fields, the mountainous hills, even the trees were a sight to behold within this beautiful environment. After unpacking our bags in our dormitories we had our dinner, myself being one of the chef de table for the first meal of the trip. We spent the rest of the night in our dorms, attempting to sleep but struggling with the noise of 14 other boys. I myself got to sleep at what I thought was one o’clock in the morning. Turns out this was really 2 o’clock, as I only noticed the day after the shift of time between England and France. I was unable to update my watch, so I had to remember this the rest of the trip.

My favourite activities: I could go through the story of every day of the script in great detail, but, with all the event-filled days we had, that would take forever. So instead, here I will describe some of my highlights of each day. Firstly, on day one, alongside a French lesson in preparation for the second day, we made tartouillat (apple cake). More excitingly, however, we also went to a real circus, and had a go at all the different activities. Although I was outdone in almost everything, I found it very fun, and interesting. The activities were things that I honestly would never have done otherwise, but because of my experience, I might try them some day again. Day two, which was honestly my favourite, was spent by firstly going to the market, and using the phrases we learned such as ‘je pourrais avoir cela s’il vous plait’, to buy food ready for a competition where as a team we organised a starter, main and dessert and then presented it to everyone in French. I made a salad, which honestly I really loved. This was, in my opinion, the best part of the trip. Day three, the final full day of the trip, was spent by going to Vezelay to visit the Basilique which is a very historically important part of Burgundy. ( The highlight of this was buying a banana ice cream.) After exploring the Basilique, having lunch, and having some free time in the shops, we headed off to do kayaking. I did not kayak myself, but, even in the extreme heat, it was very fun to watch everyone else suffering, and then being rescued by (or being fought by) the teachers. I would love to go on more trips like this in the future, it was great fun.

Written : Chris Thomas, Hampden 8 Eldan Twelftree, Paterson 8

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SCHOOL VISITS

IT WAS GREAT FUN!

I arrived on a cold morning with mixed emotions about the trip ahead. 15 long hours of journey waited ahead. Easier said than done. We set off at around 5:30 am and arrived at Maison Claire Fontaine at around 9:00 pm, then a quick dinner before we were ushered to bed. The next few days consisted of a range of activities from kayaking to pétanque (a popular game in villages all around France). The staff at Maison Claire Fontaine were there every step of the way while helping us to strengthen our French skills and to help us have the best time. Situated in a remote area of France we were able to have a relaxing time during our stay. We had the chance to visit the market where we conversed with people in French while having the luxury to buy our own lunch. We got to embrace a range of different French food from the mundane baguette to the delicacy of escargots (snails). Hopefully the Maison Claire Fontaine Centre will always be there to help young people like me experience living in France. Written : Nevin Korala, Hampden 8

The trip was excellent overall and I hope to embark on more trips just like this one.

In March 2023 thirty-eight Year 10s and four teachers went on the AGS French trip. We were not the first AGS group to visit Maison Claire Fontaine- the activity centre where we stayed- but previous year groups had gone in Year 8, which we had spent in and out of lockdown. The start of our long journey was at 5:00am on a Saturday morning. The journey took 12 hours in total. We stopped for breakfast at Folkestone, before boarding Le Shuttle. Once in France we stopped twice. Although we had been told to bring packed lunches, the McDonald’s at the first certainly got a lot of orders. Finally we arrived at 6:00pm French time. We were shown our dorms and given instructions in a mixture of French and English, followed by a dinner of spaghetti bolognaise. Our evening activity was a French lesson, in preparation for the next day. The next day we had to get up early for the market at Chablis. Each table was given some money to buy lunch, preferably one reflective of the cuisine of Burgundy or France. After returning from the market, we were told to lay out our food we had bought, and create a menu. We had saucisson for starter, followed by fried chicken and chips! After that, we had another French lesson, and then we baked some delicious apple cake. In the evening, we played some pétanque. After breakfast on Monday, we went tree climbing for a few hours, and everybody enjoyed going down the ziplines at the end of each climb. After returning to MCF, we ate some fish fingers, and then went to a nearby town called Avallon. After going around the town, completing tasks that we had been given, we met the Mayor of Avallon, and asked her lots of questions. We then were allowed to buy souvenirs. Afterwards, we returned to MCF and ate meatballs for dinner. We then participated in a fun quiz, and then went to bed. On Tuesday, we went to the Beaune Hospice, which was founded in 1443 to care for the sick and homeless. After walking around, doing some activities and admiring the beautiful roof, we went to a fancy restaurant and ate croque monsieur. Afterwards, we visited a mustard factory. After a short tour, we were all given some small jars of free mustard and we were allowed to buy some more from the shop. After arriving back at MCF, we ate some steak that was almost raw, and some delicious snails! On Wednesday, our last day, we woke up at 4:30am and after packing all of our belongings, we got on the coach at 5am and began to drive back home. Nothing very eventful happened, apart from someone getting heatstroke, and we made it back to Turnfurlong at 5pm. Written : Harry Jost, Hampden 10 James Seanor, Hampden 10

Everyone really enjoyed the trip, and we will never forget it. Thank you MCF for having us.

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DE MADRID AL AYLESBURY Written : George Mansfield, Paterson 12

SCHOOL VISITS

Barely an hour after we had fallen asleep, alarms blared across Buckinghamshire at an ungodly hour of the morning. Minds still asleep, our bodies shuffled onto the bus, and we made the arduous journey to Heathrow airport. Just inside the Terminal we were joined by the final member of our cohort, for whom his alarm did not initially blare loud enough. After appreciating the rainbow-like architecture of our arrival terminal, we made our way into the heart of central Madrid where we were staying. Having settled into our hostel, we threw ourselves into the local gastronomy by having lunch in the Plaza Mayor. A variety of dishes were tried between us, but the “bocadillo de calamares” (squid sandwich) polarised the group: one restaurant’s interpretation seemed to make a few of the boys ill, while another secured some return customers! Bloated, we attempted to walk off the many thousands of calories just consumed by trying to keep up with Ms Treherne on a whistle-stop walking tour of the city. We saw the Temple of Debod, an Egyptian temple gifted to Spain, temporary decorations for Spain’s major feminism protest “8M” and a viewpoint that demonstrates well the local catchphrase “de Madrid al Cielo” (from Madrid to heaven). The morning after, we made our way to the most famous chocolatery in the world, that of “San Gines.” The highlight of the trip for many, we indulged ourselves into some freshly baked churros accompanied by pots of thick melted chocolate; if the buffet at Fresco the night before hadn’t filled each and every one of us up, this certainly did. In the afternoon we took a bus to the Valley of the Cuelgamuros – the deep history of its construction and the ongoing controversy surrounding the church built inside the massive hill was incredibly fascinating and the gargantuan cross bearing over us was sure to make it a sight to remember. Next, we moved on to a town just outside the city, where we toured a monastery and admired the riches of art and history that they had on display. Then, before returning to Madrid, we had lunch at a selection of local restaurants and got to use our well-practised restaurant vocabulary one final time, which, for my group, turned out to be a very interesting conversation with a local about the regional dish of squid-ring sandwiches. Over the next two days we visited two world-famous art museums: the Reina Sofia and the Prado. A vast array of works on display; we saw classics such as ‘Las Meninas’ and ‘La Guernica’ as well as more modern art commenting on current issues in Spain and the Spanish-speaking world. Feeling cultured, better at Spanish and tired, we made the journey “de Madrid al Aylesbury.”

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At the end of October, our Year 13 German students enjoyed a culture rich 4 day trip to Berlin together with students from Aylesbury High School. This immersive and collaborative visit enabled students to explore Berlin’s vibrant culture, architecture, many museums as well as discovering the traces of history (both historical and contemporary) in countless places around the capital. All themes closely linked to their A Level studies. After getting their culture kicks and sampling delights from the popular food outlets, students were tasked with presenting a piece, a ‘Referat’, imparting their newly found knowledge of the above mentioned themes and sharing it with their contemporaries resulting in some fantastic, thought provoking pieces from the students.

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EXPLORING THE OLD AND THE NEW

SCHOOL VISITS

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One Monday lunchtime back in February 2022,

our PowerPoint, we had some zoom meetings with

we were on our way to a maths lesson when Alex

our researcher, Arijit Ghosh, who advised us to look

mentioned we could have a go at something called

into the Kaplan et Al. 2020 study, incredibly helpfully

the ‘Young Economic Summit’, as our teacher had

forming the basis of our solution.

told us about it. “I told him no”, as I thought to myself

Thanks to Arijit’s help, we were able to focus our

‘we’ve got no chance at that.’

research and enrich our economic knowledge while also developing a scientifically well-reasoned

How it Began: It sounded like a huge competition, like we’d be out of our depth because we weren’t doing A-level economics, like other entrants would have been. But lo and behold, Alex convinced us that night to give it a go, we emailed Ms Chalk, and started writing the script for a video to enter. After many lunchtime meetings, we finalised the script for our introductory video - identifying the problem, discussing our motivation, and how we planned to approach creating a solution to the question “How can we reduce deaths during a pandemic using taxes

solution. Additionally, Yuv and I tackled the statistics side of our research: a clear survey which eventually received over 50 responses. The hours in front of spreadsheets and graph-making websites developed some very important mathematical skills that will be applicable to future careers, as well as some important figures that backed up our idea. The National Final: On the 19th July 2022, the UK Final of the YES! Competition took place. This day was one for the history books, not only for AGS, but for us all, as it

instead of lockdowns?”

was the hottest day ever recorded in the UK. As

The Preliminary Stage:

thanks to Alex’s dad and EMW Law, we were able to

It felt like we had done 100 takes, including one where I accidentally started reciting another speech I was learning at the time, as well as one with some befuddled year 7s lingering in the background. Eventually, we were happy with it, and with some artistic flair from Sanjit through the medium of some rather smooth transitions (the first of many), we had our video for the preliminary stage. We sent off the video moments before the deadline and put it to the back of our minds. Occasionally our group chat was blessed with the “imagine if we actually made it to Hamburg” conversation, but otherwise we were just happy to have given it a go. Out of the blue, I opened an email saying we had been chosen for the UK final of the YES! Competition. I read it, lost for words. With perhaps the widest grin my face could manage, I turned to Alex and simply said “Check

a result of this, the event was moved online, and compete from the comfort of a very well-facilitated (most importantly, air-conditioned) boardroom. After a long day of excellent presentations from all of the competing schools, and a fantastic talk from the Warwick University Economics Faculty, came the voting. This was very difficult due to the quality of the solutions presented by all the teams, but we came to an agreement eventually. Fortunately, we were voted through to the next round, and so the real work began. Hamburg: After a very successful National Final, and a long, relaxing summer, we found ourselves at Heathrow Airport early on the Sunday morning before the competition. We were eager to get to Germany and present our ideas. After a short flight, we landed

your email.”

at Hamburg airport, where we put all our German

The Preparation:

trains later, we made it to the hostel where we were

Once we had celebrated briefly, we realised that there was a lot more work to be done, and so we got down to it. In conjunction with some late, coffee-fuelled nights working on our survey, our solution, and most proudly,

to use (ich liebe currywurst). Then, another two staying. A short rest later, we found ourselves in the welcome meeting in the hostel, where we met the other teams. This was a great experience, getting to know the teams from all over the world, and their different cultures, with delicious food provided by our hosts.

A TRIP TO REMEMBER...

Our meeting was shortly followed by a hearty welcome from a few friendly German teams, whom we had gotten along with particularly well. The nerves that night were building. We knew we

had to present in two days and we were burning to go. We practised our speech again and got ready to start our journey through the YES! International Final. Monday was full of fantastic presentations, as well as a wonderful boat tour of the Hamburg Port, further inspiring us to get properly prepared for the following day. An early start and after a hearty breakfast, we made an early journey to the Bucerius Law School in order to get prepared for our presentation. Once we had checked the microphones were working, we sat down for a magnificent introduction by David Patrician. PowerPoint up and working: we began. We settled into “the zone” and our presentation went as smoothly as it could have done: our stage presence was a point of admiration from other teams. Then came the discussion: after managing some very challenging questions from the experts, we were able to maintain a good dialogue with the other teams, answering their questions about our economic concept of the Supermarket Excursion Tax. Following our presentation, of which we were very proud, we continued to watch the other teams, who were from Germany and the USA and were astounded at how tough the voting was going to be, given the sheer effort that every single team had put into their solution. On Day 3, after the last 2 teams had presented, came the voting. Following a difficult discussion among our own team, we came to an order in which we were going to vote the teams. The 4 German winners, as well as the International Winners, we thought were all very deserved, and we were amazed at how well thought out all their solutions were. A trip to remember for the rest of our lives: new friends made, new things learnt, and most importantly, new memories made. The YES! experience is something I would recommend to absolutely anyone, even if it´s just giving it a go at the preliminary stage. After all, we didn’t think we had a chance at even making the National Final, yet here I sit, reminiscing about the inspiring environment in Hamburg, awaiting a message from one of my many new international friends.

Written : George Mansfield, Paterson 12 Alex Davis, Denson 12 Sanjit Kumar, Denson 12 Yuv Saxena, Hampden 12

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YOUNG ENTERPRISE AWARDS We have had another incredibly successful year for Young Enterprise, with two companies made up from over 30 students in Year 12, successfully participating in the programme. Each team worked hard to create excellent product ideas that have the potential to succeed in the real world which included candles with an accompanying Spotify playlist and hand-made jewellery items raising awareness of hedgehogs. I am incredibly proud of how well all team members performed this year and how they adapted so well to the challenges they have faced, and I have really enjoyed sharing this experience with them. Ms K Chalk – Enterprise Leader HelpTheHogs – Company Review Managing Director: Adam Mercier Team Members: Akshit Vuppalanchi, Aryaman Allam, Aryan Sharma, Daniel George, Humzah Awais, James Marklew-Brown, Jamie Baker, Jeen Pandya, Noah Lynch, Pragvansh Bhatt, Rajvardhan Patankar, Shom Varia, Spencer Siddall. Early September last year, we set off on our Young Enterprise journey. At that time, it wouldn’t have been possible to imagine that our company became the company that we wound up a few months ago. After HelpTheHogs was formed, a delirious amount of

SCHOOL VISITS

meetings were spent deciding on a product, some ideas more outlandish than others. After that time though, we decided to embark on our mission to inform the public about how to help hedgehogs, an often forgotten, and sadly, at-risk animal. With our message chosen, we now faced the challenge of how to spread it. We had a setback concerning the production of Christmas decorations for a Christmas market and thus had to cancel our attendance but after a few changes in roles in the company, HelpTheHogs was in good stead to learn from and recover business-wise from the experience. Our final products were accessories, namely bracelets and necklaces. As time went on, confidence gradually grew and we managed to draw upon the various skills that were present throughout the team, with new, exciting ways to showcase our message through our packaging and social media. Following constructive criticism and encouragement, we persisted and believed in our product, especially in the later months of the journey; and the final selling opportunities enabled us to recuperate the losses from the Christmas market and deliver a profit. We even managed to sell out all our stock at the Aylesbury Trade Fair. As Managing Director, the most enjoyable moment for me was seeing new ideas flow in as well as seeing everyone’s skills being nurtured and used in the business setting. I have to sincerely thank all of the other team members for their efforts throughout our

65 collective journey since every single one of them were

jars for metal tins for a more professional finish, and

committed to the HelpTheHogs message and each one

adapting our range of scents to suit the time of year.

of them had their place and their importance in our

This hard work soon began to pay off when, after

collective Young Enterprise journey. Notwithstanding

Christmas, our output picked up rapidly. We began to

this, Young Enterprise was also a wonderful learning

sell at all opportunities we could, from school events to

experience; it has been an incredibly helpful scheme

local arts and crafts markets. These events were largely

that enabled us to discover new skills, help sculpt

successful, resulting in over 500 sales and helping us

future plans as well as allowing us to develop an

to meet our customers, many of whom returned on

understanding of how a company actually works: I

multiple occasions to collect the whole set of scents!

recommend it wholeheartedly.

This mammoth effort from the team in the early months

All of this learning could simply not have been realised

of 2023 led us to end the year with just over £1500 in net

without the invaluable help of Ms Chalk, our Centre

profit, a huge figure considering we started with solely

Lead as well as Kerrie Brindle, our business advisor. They

our own capital.

both guided us through our highs and lows, listened

We also had great success in the Young Enterprise-led

to our helpless initial business plans, and made the

competitions; we won our Regional Meet the Buyer and

whole experience possible for us. I, as well as the rest

Dragons’ Den events, demonstrating that local business

of the team simply cannot thank them enough for their

experts believed in our products just as much as we

dedication to HelpTheHogs as well as Young Enterprise

did.

as a whole.

Following this, our highlight of the year has to be our victory at the Aylesbury Vale Area Finals. This was an

Awards:

incredible day for all of the team, and one that we can

Dragon’s Den Pitch: Awarded £35

all take huge pride in, even if the Regional Finals didn’t

Aylesbury Vale Area Final: Sustainability and

quite go the way we wanted it to.

ECO Aware

Over the course of the year, although our group has

South Central & East of England Regional Logo

slightly shrunk, we feel that what was just a group of

Competition: Most Memorable Logo

students has turned into a team of 14 colleagues, each

of whom has learnt a great deal about the world of Serenity Scents – Company Review

business; communicate on the whole, especially for

Managing Director: Jonny Buckthorpe

directors, has been a key learning point for everyone on

Team Members: George Whall, Maximilian Ward, Joss

the team. We continued to attend selling events right

Kenrick, Jonathan Woodward, Thomas Young, Ollie Peck,

into the Summer Term, before ultimately closing the

Henry Milsom, Sanjit Kumar, Craig Pereira, Adi Kausaria,

company in July, with all profits being split between the

Daniel Frazer, Samihan Joshi, Griff Collins.

14 board members. While our enterprise only existed for roughly 9 months,

Our journey as Serenity Scents has been a rewarding

we feel that we have made as much of a positive

experience, with various highlights as well as a few

impact as possible in the time that we had, and we

challenges along the way. Back in September, we came

are proud of the awareness that we have brought to

together as a group of 16 students with, other than

wellbeing among all ages, and especially the younger

the odd part time job, zero business experience. After

generation, while still making a nice profit to make all

quickly electing directors for each business function,

the time spent worthwhile. We would like to thank our

the group began to brainstorm ideas for our product.

business advisor Peter Jackling for the support and

With the Christmas markets fast approaching, we

time he has given us over the past year.

made the collective decision to create a range of candles, initially with a view to diversifying with a new

Awards:

product after Christmas. However, what started off as

Regional Meet the Buyer Winner

a humble range of scented candles, soon developed

South Central Dragons’ Den Winner

into an established and recognisable brand, especially

Area Final - Best Presentation

amongst our peers. We worked with a music company

Area Final - Overall Winner

to introduce a Spotify playlist that was professionally curated for relaxation and wellbeing, a message that soon became core to Serenity Scents as a brand. Over the New Year we worked hard to develop our product as much as we could, replacing our glass

Written : Adam Mercier, Ridley 12 - HelpTheHogs Jonny Buckthorpe, Paterson 12 - Serenity Scents

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AGS ENTERPRISE DAY

As a person who is rather independent and prefers to be a “one-man team”, I was quite nervous and controversial about the whole idea of Enterprise Day where I would have to work in teams with people who I may not even be comfortable or happy with. This feeling of anxiousness continued for the whole of form time and went all the way up to the very moment that I entered the Foundation Hall and sat down at the table with my group. As I had apprehensively thought, it had turned out that I was indeed in a group with individuals that I had never talked to and a couple that I was not on good terms with. We were shortly spoken to by The Inspirational Learning Group (who were working alongside Airbus to make Enterprise Day possible) and they explained the challenge that we would partake in that day. We would be designing an airline company for the future, which would produce zero emissions and would cater to a specific target audience. Throughout the day, we continued to build our company by creating a billboard, advert and a whole image and brand. As time went on, I continued to become more relaxed and comfortable while working with my team. Each person had their own strengths, whether it be designing an eye-catching logo, having unique ideas or creating a memorable slogan for our company. At the end of the day came the finale … the time when a couple of teams would have the chance to present and propose the idea of their own company in front of a panel of judges. After all of the selected teams had presented, the winners had prevailed and each member of the winning team was presented with a prize. Overall, Enterprise Day was a great experience for me as it assisted me in identifying certain skill sets that I have and a couple that I could improve upon. The day was also very enjoyable and, as a keen viewer of The Apprentice, I felt like I had a mini-experience of the show itself! A huge thank you to Ms Chalk for organising the day.

SCHOOL LIFE

On the 28th and 29th of June, our school was

helpful, encouraging and supportive of every group that

buzzing with excitement as our fellow students

went up. During this, some groups thrived, showing off the

participated in the Enterprise Days. These two

creativity in their PowerPoint and their public speaking

action-packed days offered a unique opportunity

skills by answering questions thrown at them by the panel

for us to unleash our creativity and showcase

of judges.

our business skills (from which most of us learnt from our GCSE business lessons). Divided into

After every group had their chance to present, in the

teams, we journeyed throughout the two days

last hour of the day, the year reconvened in the lecture

to make business ideas and ultimately present

theatres. After words from Ms Chalk, who without the

our innovative proposals to a panel of judges.

day would be impossible, groups were called up and

With prizes up for grabs and potential real-world

presented their prizes, with a large amount of different

opportunities, the stakes were high.

groups earning prizes varying from best presentations to most unique products.

The atmosphere during the first day was thrilling as we were divided into diverse teams,

At the end of the two days, Year 10 took a lot away from

each comprising individuals from different

Enterprise Day. From working with new, unfamiliar people

backgrounds and talents. Each team were given

or working with people you don’t exactly get along the

2 categories, from which we could generate

best with, allowed us to come out of our shells and show

ideas - AGS 425th Anniversary product or an

off our talents and flair for product design. It put a foot in

upcycled product. The mix of perspectives from

the real world to show us what being an entrepreneur is

“diverse people” proved to be a powerful catalyst

really about and gave us all a chance to try new things!

for innovation as we brainstormed ideas. There

None of this, however, would be possible without the help

was a range of ideas from different teams,

of Ms Chalk, taking the time to organise Enterprise Day

varying from personal products to eco-conscious

and giving us an opportunity to do something new.

products. Every team member’s contribution was invaluable, and we quickly grasped the strength

Thank you for reading!

that came from combining our unique ideas to develop impactful solutions. On the second day, however, teams were only given an hour to finish the development of their products, which ramped up the pressure on each and every team to finish. This final hour, in my opinion, is when groups shined the brightest, with most teams having a level of efficiency, teamwork and harmony that were absent from the chaotic first day. When the hour finished and the dust had settled, collectively, Year 10 highlighted their creativity, teamwork skills, tech skills and artistic talents, whilst also building bridges in the year group that weren’t there before and tightening the bonds between already existing friend groups. With groups presenting next, it would be the make or break on deciding which groups would thrive and win. After developing our products, a handful of teams would be chosen at a time to present throughout the day, which put some people in a difficult position when having to present their products due to not being the keenest public speakers. Despite that, each audience was

Written : Chris Thomas, Hampden 8 Vaibhav Dachavaram, Denson 10 and Sebastian Jimenez, Paterson 10

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SENIOR DEBATING SOCIETY

further than last year, so were pleased with our

This year’s weekly debates began with the motion

We also sent teams to a number of ‘short-prep’

‘This House Would Privatise the NHS’, which set the tone for a year of controversial topics, ranging from absolute freedom of speech on social media to whether reparations should be paid to former British colonies.

performance.

competitions in Oxford, Nottingham and London, with debates including the abolition of private schools, affirmative action, the portrayal of relationships in reality TV and whether Commissioner Gordon should work with Batman (Nottingham Debating Union clearly wanting to tackle the biggest issues facing

We also never missed the opportunity to debate what

the world today). While none of our teams managed

had been in the news, with debates on public sector

to break through to the finals, each competition

workers’ right to strike, the risks posed by AI and Rishi

provided a frantic and tiring yet enjoyable day of

Sunak’s plan for all UK students to learn maths until

debating.

age 18. Our two comedy debates also proved to be highlights of the year, with a Christmas debate on

Finally, I wish next year’s debating teams every

whether Father Christmas should be punished for his

success and would like to thank everyone I have

countless crimes (which included illegal surveillance,

debated with (and against) during my time in the

breaking and entering and breaches of GDPR

sixth form, especially my fellow debating society

regulations) and the Year 13 leavers’ debate on whether

committee members Marcus Henry, Zach Cooke,

the entirety of the UK should be redesigned in the style

Liam Purchase and Musa Raja. I also need to thank

of Milton Keynes, in which the purported benefits of

Mrs Farmborough for all of her behind-the-scenes

roundabouts proved a major sticking point. This year

work, without which the debating society would

also saw the society undertake some ‘short-prep’

not be possible, and also for all of her advice

debates, in which the speakers only have 15 minutes

and guidance over the past two years which has

to prepare their arguments before the debate begins.

improved our debating immeasurably.

The invitation for AHS students to join the society also continued from the end of last year, with AHS speakers becoming a regular feature of debates towards the

DEBATING MATTERS

end of the year. The Debating Matters competition gave us the Just as important as our society debates were the

opportunity to freely debate the raw ideas of a

inter-school competitions, an opportunity to test our

motion, ditching the Oxbridge-style pomp and

mettle against other schools. The first of these was the

circumstance of traditional debates. A panel of expert

English Speaking Union’s Mace competition, a ‘long-

judges interrogating us during each debate, as well

prep’ competition in which motions and positions

as a floor determined to pick our arguments to pieces,

are released a few weeks in advance. The first round

made for an intellectually demanding day, which we

(unfortunately still Zoom-based) saw Zach Cooke,

survived thanks in part to the selection of fancy (and

Liam Ellis Florez and Alex Davis arguing that digital

free) biscuits being served.

manipulation should be banned in advertising. The competition was seen off, sending us through to the

The first motion ‘Billionaires owning media companies

second round, which would be hosted at AGS and our

is bad for democracy’ was argued impressively by Aki

first experience of in-person competitive debating.

and Adam, who brought AGS to victory. Toby and Oscar

Zach and Alex were joined by Toby Webster to make a

then argued against legalising commercial surrogacy,

robust defence of trial by jury which earned us a place

and a second victory here guaranteed us a spot in

in the regional final. This was hosted by Pipers Corner

the final, against a very talented pair. After a heated

School, which must be praised for its outstanding free

debate about the impact of ‘cancel culture’ on freedom

food offering. Unfortunately, only one of six schools

of speech and a tense deliberation period, we were

attending could go through to the national finals, and

delighted to win!

our case for only imprisoning individuals who pose a direct and ongoing risk to society wasn’t quite enough

Toby’s logical and lucid style won him the award of

to send us through. However, we had gone one round

best debater; Adam and Oscar received honourable

mentions. Shom, Aaron and Alex C asked a variety of

Adam: Losing in the semi-final didn’t put me off

thought-provoking questions from the floor. We are thrilled

debating, as I felt like we did the best we could

that we will be visiting the House of Lords on the 20th of

and it was our very first time debating, turning

September, and, perhaps most importantly, are the proud

our disappointment into happiness and a

owners of coveted ‘Debating Matters’ mugs.

sense of achievement. It was such an amazing experience where I learned so much and

KS3 DEBATING COMPETITION

further developed my friendship with Chris. Chris: Overall, the Summer Debating Competition was a fantastic experience. In the

Chris: As an individual who is well-practised in the subject

future, Adam and I wish to join Junior Debating

of public speaking as a whole, this year I was delighted

Society and extend our capabilities even

to hear that an opportunity to try another form of public

further, possibly moving to Senior Debating

speaking had opened up. After information about the

Society further up our time at AGS.

Summer Debating Competition was read out by my form tutor on one fortuitous morning, I spent the rest of form time in excitement about the first round of the competition. Hurriedly, I immediately signed up for the competition the first chance I got. Adam: Like Chris, I wanted to join and be a part of the competition. Luckily, there were some places left, and I was added to the roster of competitors. An issue had arisen: I needed a partner to compete, but destiny was on my side, and Mrs. Farmborough paired me up with Chris, a good friend of mine. Chris: During one lunchtime, we attended a meeting, during which we were shown an example of how a debate would work and we were told that during our second training session, we would have our first taste of debating, proposing the statement that, “This House would abolish school uniform”. This practice debate went well and we certainly understood where we could strengthen our weaknesses. Adam: As soon as the first Round began, we opposed the claim that “This House would ban mobile phones.” We successfully completed the process and received critical feedback, which we used to improve our skill set. In Round 2, we proposed a motion, “This House would abolish private schools.” Using the criticism and targets, I felt more confident in my abilities, and this motion was one that Chris strongly believed in, so he was able to pour his heart and soul into this round of the competition. We once again managed to pass through. Chris: After what seemed like a very long time, Adam and I had finally reached the penultimate stage of the competition: the Semi-Final. The motion was ‘This House Would Abolish the Monarchy” and, to our great dismay, we narrowly lost to the opposition, with a mere 2 point difference. Ultimately, what had led to our team being defeated, from my side, was the anxiety that crept upon me while I was speaking, adding to the fact that my speech may not have been strong enough to get us through to the Final.

Written : Toby Webster, Lee 13 Oscar Peck, Lee 12 Chris Thomas, Hampden 8 Adam Soudi, Paterson 8

THE AYLESBURIAN

SCHOOL LIFE

A THOUGHT PROVOKING SESSION The year 10 2023 Health Day was an interesting one. What most students walked into expecting to be an effortless and free day quickly evolved into one of the most informative and engaging days in recent AGS history. Students received many exciting and educational talks/activities surrounding the theme of health and the values of PSHE. There was a range of guest speakers invited into school to carry out these ‘lessons’. The activities students got to enjoy on the day included: •

Highly important and lifesaving practice on how to deliver first aid sessions: assess initial dangers, and administer CPR and or utilize a defibrillator effectively.

•

A thought-provoking session about not only the detrimental effect of Drugs and substance abuse but the overlooked dangers of vaping and how they are marketed towards young people and children.

•

A heartbreaking talk about the stigma around knife crime and how it doesn’t just affect ‘criminals’ or troubled youth but innocent people in our everchanging society who just want to fit in.

•

And two very informative, welcoming, and progressive talks on not only safe sex practices but also the effect healthy or unhealthy relationships can have on them, as well as how to spot the signs of said happy or toxic relationships, not only in a romantic sense but also in friendships and family settings.

Thanks to the fantastic guest speakers and Ms Chalk for arranging the day. The AGS 2023 Health/PSHE enrichment day was one of the best experiences many have had inside education in memory.

WRITTEN : Joe Emery, Hampden 10

PSHE ENRICHMENT DAY

ensure we and the people around us are safe,

AGS GARDENING GROUP UPDATE I am pleased to say it has been another incredibly successful year for the Gardening group. Earlier this year, we harvested Swiss chard, Romanian white radishes, potatoes, beans, tomatoes, courgette and rhubarb in our Vegetable Plot which was used to make delicious and nutritious meals for the canteen and also the roof of the greenhouse was refurbished. During National Tree Week in November, Mrs Levitt organised a minibus trip to the ‘Platinum Way Tree Planting sessions’ in Aylesbury. In commemoration of her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, a cycle footpath road in Aylesbury was named ‘Platinum Way’. We learnt how to work as part of a team (from Y7s to Y13s) and test our abilities using a shovel, which was very amusing to watch and an enjoyable learning experience! The planning of the Zen Garden has been underway: a collection of mosaic tiles, bricks, and designs for wall art, and steps, and reused the butler sinks which are filled with succulents. Over the year, we had many weeding sessions in the flower garden and planted more bulbs for the perfect summer display. In January, Mr Warne offered us some seed potatoes and some expert guidance on growing them. We re-used egg boxes that we collected from home to use for chitting the potatoes. During our sessions in the greenhouse, we planted strawberries in a novelty tub and pool box which was surprisingly a challenging but fun activity, we replanted some geraniums. A few months later, we assessed the chitting potatoes - which sprouted rapidly and we planted them as well as the tomato plants, with the assistance of the new young gardeners in the vegetable plot. Thank you very much to Mrs Levitt for organising and planning the activities for our gardening sessions.

Written : Harishan Sivakanthan, Phillips 11

THE AYLESBURIAN

MALAWI INITIATIVE SPECIAL FEATURE

73 Earlier this year in the summer holidays, the AGS Malawi initiative of 2023 took place, consisting of 52 students and 6 members of staff. We were able to experience many amazing things on this trip, meet new people and friends, have fun and discover a whole new culture in a way that would be impossible without this trip, run by Mr Corby. As a group we had been fundraising for many years waiting for this opportunity, and I am glad that we were able to go see such a lovely country. We left on the 12th July after school and arrived on time for our flight, where we had a short layover at Addis Ababa airport, in Ethiopia. We spent the next few days in Game Haven, a herbivore based safari park/golf course on which many of us got out for a game or two. We were taken on beautiful game walks and drives to see the animals, having a great time at a lakeside barbeque and going to visit a tea plantation, as well as a nearby village. After some good fun and some time to get used to the country, we moved on to the main part of our trip in Chilema ecumenical college, meeting the students of Malosa secondary school. This was where the trip and its aims really shone out to me. On the first day we all got to know some of the students, we were given tours around their school and went on a short walk up a nearby mountain, which was unfortunately cut short. We ended the first night with dinner at their school, excited for the days to come. The next day we visited Msalabani primary school, which a lot of our fundraising went towards to build a secondary school there as well. We had great fun dancing and playing football. That night we held a cultural evening for the Malawian students, each of us presenting a different part of British history and culture in different forms, including an interesting game of countdown! The next day we went back to Msalabani, where we played their girl’s netball team and unsurprisingly lost. Arriving back at Malosa school, we were able to experience their own amazing cultural evening, learning about the average daily life of a person in Malawi and being lucky enough to experience some of their amazing dances, an important cultural aspect of Malawi. One of the best parts for me was the Annual Malosa and AGS football match, where we once again lost, unable to match up to the other team’s skill. That night was our final one in the college and we took part in a disco together, singing and dancing to both British and Malawian songs. I think that this part of the trip was the most valuable, with experiences we will never forget, not to mention the kindness and hospitality from the students. After some sad farewells, we set off to the next part of our trip, Kutchire safari park. Staying in treehouses and lodges, we all had great fun in this safari park, having competitions to be the first to find a lion or rhino. After a few nights out here, we took the trip to our final destination, Club Mak. We were able to try a wide variety of activities here, including a boat trip to fish eagle island, beach volleyball, tennis and golf. We spent a day out in Cape Maclear, admiring the beautiful lake Malawi and the fishing village. As a rather drowsy group of students with an early wakeup, we arrived at the airport and were able to take our flights back to Heathrow without any bother. As a group we are all incredibly thankful for Mr Corby for his admin over the trip, as well as to the other teachers who took us down, Mr Taylor, Mrs Jackson, Mr Travers, Mr Roberts and Mr Dudmish were all brilliant and as a whole the staff were the reason we could all have such an amazing experience. I would recommend the Malawi exchange to anyone with the opportunity, it is something you will never forget and I hope our school can continue our connections with Malosa for many years to come. Written : Tommy Meader, Hampden 13

THE AYLESBURIAN

SCHOOL SPORT

ATHLETICS Athletics Club: I am pleased to report that we had excellent attendance throughout the season at our Athletics Club, with students from Year 7 to Year 10 actively participating. It was heart-

SPORT AT AGS

ening to see our athletes displaying their determination, perseverance, and sportsmanship at every training session and competition. The commitment shown by our athletes reflects their passion for athletics and their desire to improve their skills. Many Year 7 & 8s also represented AGS at the Aylesbury athletics league hosted by SHFGS, this provided more students with the opportunity to compete against other schools. District Athletics: Our district athletics meet was a remarkable event, and our students truly shone on the track and field. I am proud to announce that Year 7, Year 8, and Year 9 all emerged victorious in their respective categories, showcasing their incredible talent and skill. Their hard work and dedication paid off, and they should be commended for their outstanding performances. Unfortunately, our Year 10 team faced some challenges with many of our athletes not available due to a geography trip, but still came in a respectable 5th place.

ESAA Track and Field Cup: Our under-13 and under-15 teams represented our school with great dedication and enthusiasm in the ESAA Track and Field Cup. The Junior team showcased their exceptional talent and reached the regional round, demonstrating their commitment and hard work throughout the season. On the other hand, the Inters team gave a commendable performance, finishing 4th in the county rounds. Their resilience and teamwork were truly admirable. Overall, this season has been filled with numerous achievements, personal growth, and a strong sense of camaraderie among our athletes. I am extremely proud of the progress and accomplishments of all our athletes. Their commitment, discipline, and sportsmanship have been commendable throughout the season. Special mention to Harry Smith (Ridley 7) who currently ranks 2nd in the country for Javelin in the U13 age group with

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES County Round 1st Place -Under 13 Chuck Onyebuchi, Phillips 8 (42 pts) Oliver Usher, Ridley 8 (31 pts) Harry Smith, Ridley 7 (35 pts) 4th Place - Under 15 Fionn Clare, Phillips 10 (30pts) Ridwan Anifowoshe, Hampden 10 (32 pts) Tomi Ashaola, Lee 9 (28 pts) Regional Round 4th Place - Under 13 Chuck Onyebuchi, Phillips 8 (51 pts) David Onohwakpo, Hampden 8 (40 pts) Harry Smith, Ridley 7 (41 pts) Oliver Usher, Ridley 8 (34pts) Hamza Sohail, Lee 8 (37 pts)

a throw of 40.41m. He is an outstanding prospect for the future. I would like to extend my gratitude to the athletes themselves, who have demonstrated incredible dedication and resilience. I would also like to acknowledge the unwavering support from the coaching team which included Mr McGill, Mr Dudmish and Mr Roberts, as well as Nathanial and Emmanual who provided insight and guidance, your encouragement has played a crucial role in our athletes’ success. As we conclude this season, I encourage all athletes to continue their training and set new goals for themselves. The skills, values, and friendships developed through athletics will undoubtedly contribute to their overall growth and well-being. Written : Mr N Gibbs

THE AYLESBURIAN

SCHOOL SPORT

BADMINTON

BASKETBALL

Both the Under 13 A & B and Under 15 A & B teams had

U18 Basketball

a fantastic season, with great performances from

The Under 18 Basketball team have

all the players. They displayed tremendous skill and

played very well over their season

sportsmanship throughout the season, and their hard

which has shown that when everyone

work paid off with some impressive results.

is available and on form they are a very hard team to beat. The team has

The Under 13 teams finished the season with an ex-

been led very well by Tyno Martire-

cellent record of 5 wins and only 1 loss, securing 2nd

Charlett and he has been supported

place in the league. They played with great energy and

well by a number of impressive Year

enthusiasm in every match, and their teamwork and

11 and 12 performers. The boys played

communication on the court were outstanding. The

excellently v Akeley Wood to secure

team’s success was due to the strong performances of

an impressive victory before a back to

all the players, who worked tirelessly to improve their

back series of games v Dr Challoner’s.

game throughout the season.

AGS took the victory in the first game, before DCGS won the return fixture.

Similarly, the Under 15 team had a fantastic season,

The team concluded their season

finishing top of the league with an unbeaten record of

v Chesham Grammar, with a 37-27

6 wins. Their performances were outstanding, with each

victory.

player contributing to the team’s success. They showed great determination and resilience in some hard-

U16 Basketball

fought matches, and their hard work and dedication

The Under 16 Basketball team have

paid off in the end.

had a good season with some performances across their fixtures.

The players had trained hard and worked well together,

After losing earlier in the season to

and their teamwork and communication on the court

St Michael’s, they gained revenge

were excellent. It was clear that they had developed a

defeating the same opposition in a

strong bond both on and off the court, which helped

reverse fixture. The team followed

them to perform at their best.

up with victories v Buckingham and Chesham Grammar. The boys

In conclusion, the Under 13 and Under 15 teams had a

have been led brilliantly by Hugo

highly successful badminton season in the Aylesbury

Pearson, Ewan Gatt, Luke Murphy and

district league. Their hard work, dedication, and team-

Winfred Gotah who has continued to

work were evident in their outstanding performances,

develop very well as the season has

and they should be proud of their achievements. We

progressed.

wish them all the best for their future matches and hope that they continue to develop their skills and love

U15 Basketball

for the game.

Our first game of the season was against John Colet, in which we won 51-13 with good performances from Laurent Pllana and Lewis Beake. A good team performance restricted John Colet’s offence, as we were able to work the ball in close to the basket.

SKILL AND SPORTSMANSHIP

The next match we came against St Michael’s, who we had previously lost to last season. However this year, we were able to edge them out in a close

34-25 win with a strong scoring performance from Dhoeton White. With two wins from two we travelled over to Princes Risborough, where we were able to continue our form with an impressive 46-28 win. Despite a very slow start to our game, Daniel Obhakhan, Matthew Harmon and Laurent picked us up well and got the team going, which resulted in Matthew scoring most of the teams points during the match. After a great start to our season, we came up against our toughest opponents, who we narrowly lost to last year. Unfortunately history repeated itself as we collected our first and only loss of the season against Dr Challoner’s 29-19. With a superb collective performance we won 81-22 with good scoring performances from both Ayath Habib and Matthew Harmon again. It was evident as we came to the end of our season the team were able to work effectively as a group, which was thanks Joe Barber as coach. In our final game of the season, we played Aylesbury Vale Academy and we were able to finish the year on a high, as we beat them 63- 17. Throughout the game, there was more strong scoring performances across the team from Matt Harmon, Ridwan Anifowoshe and Dhoeton White. (Team report written by Laurent Pllana, Matthew Harmon and Dhoeton White) U14 Basketball After a good last season, we were training hard throughout the first term. We had our first league game against St Michael’s after half-term. We went in strong and beat them 38-12 before going on to play John Colet. Despite not having our Captain Lennox Waugh we beat them comfortably 26-17 with great team chemistry especially from Conor Heatley and Oisin Patel scoring more than half of our teams points combined. Our next game would be against Dr Challoner’s in the first week back after Christmas. Even though it was a friendly game, AGS worked hard and we won 35-20. It was only a week until our next league game against Buckingham School. Buckingham played hard but we overwhelmed them winning the match with a confident score of 54-4. Lucas Taylor playing exceptionally, scoring 12 points. After this ridiculous win and having not lost a match thus far, we were feeling untouchable until after our next game against a tough Tring School opposition. Even though Tring were the better side, with some sloppy play from us and missing far too many layups and rebounds we managed to scrape a win. We had worked right down to the last seconds to keep our 23-20 lead and we managed to hold on against Tring School’s attacks. We were working hard in training after this close game and we won another friendly against Princes Risborough 45-12 before going on to our final game of the season. We were unbeaten at this point and we

THE AYLESBURIAN

SCHOOL SPORT

only had Aylesbury Vale Academy in our way of a perfect season. We started off with Lennox scoring 2 3s yet they played an annoying zonal defence, swarming anyone who tried to get anywhere near the key. We managed to win 32-22 with almost all of our shots being taken from just inside the 3 point line.

Over the course of the season, we had won all of our games, scoring 253 points in total with a point difference of +146. A special mention to Lennox who is a pivotal player in the team, who averaged 25 points a game and helped to improve our team to the standard it is. Some main team players who also contributed massively to our wins are Zach Cleary, Conor Heatley, Oisin Patel, Keeyan Kiare, James Whitemore and Lucas Taylor. Thank you to all those that played. We have high hopes for next season, hoping to

E TREHERNE

IMAGE BY

keep up our unbeaten streak.

U13 Basketball

U12 Basketball

Our Basketball season started off with

In an exciting first season of Under 12 basketball, this

a Home win to John Colet school. This

young team has emerged as the clear champions of

was a good start to the season and a

the Junior NBA league for the Aylesbury District, going

sign of good things to come.

unbeaten throughout the entire campaign. From the first game to the last, they dominated their opponents,

The next game we played after a

showcasing their impressive skills and teamwork on the

postponed match was Dr Challoner’s

court.

where although we fought hard they just got the edge, beating us 12-30.

Led by their talented captain Gibril Toure, the team showed unwavering determination and focus, always

After this we had our first Jr NBA game

striving to improve their game and push themselves to the

against Buckingham School. We

limit. They worked hard in training, perfecting their passes,

wanted to do well in the Jr NBA as it

dribbling, shooting, and learning new offensive strategies,

would be a chance to show people how

and their hard work paid off in the form of an undefeated

good we were, however they backed

season. Particularly impressive in defence were Freddie

out of the game at the last minute and

Palmer, Tobi Akintayo and Will Clarke.

eventually had to forfeit. This meant that we received the 3 points (a good

Throughout the season, the team faced tough opposition,

start to our campaign). Then we had

but they remained calm and composed, trusting in their

our second Jr NBA match against The

abilities and sticking to their game plan. Kameron Nahim,

Mandeville School Specialist Sports

scored valuable points in every game, whilst players like

College where we fought hard but

Harry Smith, Ed Wilson and Joe Yeardsley contributed well.

only managed to lose by a wafer thin

They played with passion and heart, always looking out

margin of 3 pts.

for each other, and never giving up even when the odds seemed stacked against them.

In between our Jr NBA games we still had plenty of friendlies and our next

As the season progressed, the team’s reputation grew,

one was against Tring School where

and they became the team to beat in the league. But their

we battled to get back onto winning

opponents never managed to break their unbeaten streak,

ways and won 18-14. On 02 February we

and they remained the team to beat until the final whistle

had our last group game in the Jr NBA

of the final game. Tami Ogunnaik, Tim Olufosoye, Malakai

against AVA (Aylesbury Vale Academy)

and Jack Sherriff provided some excellent creativity

and required a win to proceed to the

allowing the team to dominate the opposition at times.

knockout rounds. This was a tough game as we had crucial players

In the end, the team’s unbeaten season was a testament

missing due to a football match, we

to their hard work, talent, and dedication. They proved

fought strong but only achieved a draw

that with a positive attitude, teamwork, and a never-

meaning we would have to wait and

say-die spirit, anything is possible. They are deserved

see if we continue our Jr NBA journey.

champions, and the team is well-placed to continue their development in the coming years.

Although we were potentially out of the competition we still had one friendly left against Chesham Grammar School where we sadly finished our season on a low losing 20-33. Overall it was great fun and we would just like to thank everyone that played in these fixtures and of course our amazing coach Mr Roberts.

WRITTEN : MR C DUGGAN

MR H DUDMISH

MR M ROBERTS

MR N GIBBS

THE AYLESBURIAN

The cricket season for the senior sides, was one of mixed results, some excellent individual performances and weather playing its part in the cup competition. The season began at Dr Challoner’s (DCGS) with a 20/20 fixture against, on paper, a strong opposition that included a Northants 2nd X1 bowler. Having been asked to bat first on a lush wicket, the ball bounced around and this led to the DCGS opening bowlers bowling a majority of short balls that did not attack the stumps. An early loss left skipper Archie Dodds to show his class as he compiled a brilliant 108 not out off 70 balls, with support from Ali Humzah (20). The innings finished with AGS accumulating 137 for 2. In reply Archie took an early wicket and Ollie Reading conceded just 15 from his four overs, leaving DCGS behind the run rate. The change bowlers continued to keep the runs under control with Ben Perkin and Billy Dodds picking up a wicket apiece, plus Billy instigating a runout with a direct hit throw from third man. This ultimately led to DCGS falling 11 short of their target. The next match was against John Hampden Grammar School (JHGS) in the National Cup second round. The morning of the match was wet and a match looked unlikely, but somehow the JHGS pitch remained free from the weather from lunchtime so a match could ensue on a drying wicket. Unfortunately, we lost the toss and JHGS bowlers utilised the conditions and we were bowled out for 77, which despite taking wickets regularly JHGS passed with 7 wickets down. A trip to RGS was next on the fixture list and again Archie showed his prowess, again scoring 108 not out, this time off 68 balls, an innings that included 7 sixes and 26 off the last over, as we closed on 157 for 4. Our opening bowlers, Aryan Sharma and Alex Davis, took a wicket a piece, but a 75 run third wicket partnership kept RGS in the game and in fact in comparison they were ahead of our score at the end of each over. The partnership was then broken by Neil Pandit and despite some further boundaries RGS fell 10 short, with AGS thankful for the last high scoring over of our innings. After a tight match against the Old Aylesburians – see separate report, a mixed 1st/2nd XI took on John Hampden in a friendly this time, although the result was the same, despite runs from Hussan Zubair (32) and Aryan Sharma (28) and then a superb spell of 4 overs for 6 runs and 3 wickets from Aryan. The 1st XI season finished with Reading Blue Coats T20

CRICKET

SCHOOL SPORT

festival, where eight teams played throughout the day. Our first match, in effect a quarter final, saw us drawn against the hosts. Asked to bat first, Ali Humazh, scored a fantastic century off just 57 balls, to give us a competitive total of 130. The RBC innings started well for us as Aryan took a wicket with the first ball of their innings, but a steady second wicket partnership of 77 put RBC back on track. Adi Allam then took two wickets, but RBC were always just above the rate and sealed victory with 2 overs to spare. This meant we now played in the plate competition against Reading School. Playing on the smallest of the four grounds in use, Reading amassed 170, but some fine hitting by notably, Billy Dodds (83) saw us past this total and a place in the plate final against Shiplake College. The final was shortened to a T10 as the day had overrun time wise. Having posted 80 Shiplake secured victory in the final over. The 2nd XI Cricket team’s season was affected by the weather but we were able to secure an excellent victory v DCGS. DCGS batted first, scoring 151 from their 20 overs. Adi Aggarwal, 1 wicket for 13 runs, Balaji Kannan, 1 wicket for 27 runs and Nathaniel Arulanandam, 1 wicket for 24 runs were the pick of our bowlers. In the run chase we started slowly before Dan Poole and Adi Aggarwal came to the crease. Both boys batted superbly, Dan scoring 51 runs from 44 balls and Adi scored a fine 55 runs from 33 runs. It was frustrating that we did not play more games, but it was pleasing to see a number of boys who started in the 2nd XI represent the 1st XI. Well done to the whole squad for their efforts this year, with all contributing to the team’s success. With the bat, Archie Dodds, with two centuries and Ali Humzah with one of his own were brilliant to watch. There were some notable performances with the ball, with several bowlers bowling consistently well in games during their spells.

Written : Mr I Digby

THE AYLESBURIAN

SCHOOL SPORT

U15 Cricket -A Team

a massive first-innings total of 173, with contributions

This year, the U15 cricket team had

from Aditey Allam scoring 50, Joe Harrison scoring 31,

another mixed season, with 2 comfort-

Edward Jordan scoring 24, Fionn Clare scoring 22, with

able wins and 4 losses.

Tom Usher also scoring 20 not out which accelerated the back end of our innings. We then bowled them

The season started with our cup fixture

out for 93, with both Ved Gandhe and Tom Lowe tak-

against Stowe being rained off on 3

ing 2 wickets, dismantling their top order. Tom Usher

different occasions, before we finally

also took the key wicket off their captain, produced a

played them in a shortened 10 over

direct hit run out and took a catch in what was a bril-

game. Tricky conditions meant our

liant fielding display from him. Ossian Conely also kept

team only managed to set 39 from our

excellently and Ismaeel Khalid, Joe Harrison, Austin

10 overs, and Stowe chased it down

Bhadri, and Harry Blowfield all took one wicket to give us

in 6 overs, with Joe Harrison taking

a convincing win.

the only wicket. A tough loss, but after that the U15 team proceeded to win

We also played against Dr Challoner’s Grammar School,

2 games in a row against Chesham

in a 25 over match played on a scorching hot day. Dr

Grammar School and Sir Henry Floyd

Challoner’s batted first and got off to a quick start due

Grammar School. Against Chesham,

to some wayward bowling, however a stellar bowling

AGS batted first, posting a great total

spell from Oliver Jinks breaking their opening stand with

of 165-7, with Aditey Allam scoring 58

his first ball and then proceeding to bowl 5 economical

and Oakley Spencer scoring 28, includ-

overs helped slow the momentum of their innings. Joe

ing back to back maximums in the

Harrison then took 2 key wickets and bowled an impres-

penultimate over. AGS then produced

sive 5 over spell. In the end, Dr Challoner’s set 182, with

a brilliant fielding and bowling display,

Adi Allam, Ved Gandhe and Oakley Spencer also each

with Joe Harrison picking up 3 wickets,

taking a wicket. AGS’ chase started off strong, with Adit-

Edward Jordan picking up 2 and both

ey Allam striking 3 4s of the first 3 balls, but AGS only

Ved Gandhe,Joshua Jackson, Austin

managed to score 102, with Aditey Allam scoring 30 and

Bhadri and Ismaeel Khalid each tak-

Oliver Jinks scoring 22 in a late fightback from the team.

ing one wicket apiece, which limited Chesham Grammar to 107 from their

With the final game of the season came John Colet and

20 overs - a fantastic win.

as we had shorter end numbers due to some representing Sixth Form teams and others having injuries

Against Henry Floyd, once again with

the game did not go to plan which could be seen by an

AGS batting first, we managed to post

opposition playing an outstanding innings scoring 100

runs for their team, this rocketed their score to 170 a very tough target. Ved was the pick of the bowlers picking up 2 wickets . As we went to bat the innings didn’t start off too well as wickets fell quick, however players such as Oakley Spencer scoring 51, Ossian Connely scoring 22, Eddie Jordan scoring 27 kept the runs ticking on and we ended the innings on a respectable 143 runs short of the target but considering the lack players a resilient and respectable performance from the team To conclude, the U15 A team have had a varied season with some spectacular performances from both certain individuals and the entire team. The team has worked hard in training and has been resilient throughout the entire season and we look forward to coming back next year. Finally on behalf of the team we would all like to thank Mr Roberts for organising all the games and helping coach us throughout the season.

U15 Cricket -B Team

well when we won the toss and chose to bowl after

The B team had an alright season as we played 2

having much success using this tactic last season.

games, winning 1 and losing the other. To carry on our successful start, our opening bowlers For our first game of the season we travelled to Dr

Conor Heatley and Sufian Sheikh contained the run

Challener’s. We batted first and at first struggled but

rate and did the job of dismissing the openers. The

with strong performances from Ray and Tom and 1

spin of Soham Gaddam, Yashraj Kumawat and George

run from A team player Oakley we put a defendable

Greer did well to keep the pressure on the Challoner’s

score on the board. And we could not forget a special

batsmen. Challoner’s never really got going and after

mention for Aryan Gorai who went out to bat with no

some tidy death bowling from Zach Cleary, Sid Auddy

box and his phone in his pocket. The Doctor Challoner’s

and Myles Co, Dr. Challoner’s ended on 94-5. The pick

team came out scoring quickly and it was not long until

of the bowlers were Soham Gaddam who took 2-12

they had caught us and had won the game. We put up

from 2 overs and Sufian Sheikh who took 1-9 of 4 overs

a fight thanks to wickets from Olly Jinks, Oakley and

including a maiden! We were also great in the field with

Tom Usher and some great fielding by Rey.

two catches from George Greer and Edward Johnson behind the stumps, keeping it tidy as always, only

For our second and final game of the season, we came

conceding 2 byes and also getting a run out.

up against an inexperienced St Michael’s side. Thanks to

However, our batting definitely didn’t start off as well

Oli Jinks’ and Ved Gandhe’s bowling and Mr Partridge’s

as our bowling as we found ourselves 8-2 after 4 overs.

dodgy umpiring, we were able to restrict St Michael’s

Despite this we battled through the middle overs and

to a below par 106, we felt very happy at the halfway

eventually we ended up on 94-6 after a sensible and

interval. A strong opening pair of Olly and Shaun meant

intelligent knock of 30 from Aayan Mehrab almost saw

we put runs on the board very quickly. Shaun retired

us through. Once again it was an incredible game of

on 30 after pleasing the St Michael’s players with his

cricket and to take the game to the last ball against a

grunting after each shot that he played. This meant

very strong opposition is something to be proud of and

that Eddie and captain Alfie could comfortably chase

something we looked to build on going forwards.

down the remaining runs, including Eddie’s enormous

Unfortunately, the next game of the season against

six into the cemetery. With an unbeaten 27 for Alfie and

John Hampden was also our last and it was a below

quick scoring from Dom, AGS won by 8 wickets.

par performance to end our county cup campaign and

So that was our season. A 50% win rate for a side

season on.

where 4 players had never played cricket. The boys really improved between the first and last games and

We won the toss again and chose to stick with the

that was really nice to see. I hope we can continue to

method of bowling first, backing our bowlers to keep

improve as we move to playing first team cricket.

John Hampden to a low score as we have done to them in the past. It was not to be this time as our bowling

U14 Cricket -A Team

was easily below our expected standard and rightfully

Another season of cricket and we start it up at Dr.

so the John Hampden opener took us apart.

Challoner’s. We have played some great games of

The best of the bowling innings was Zach Cleary with

cricket against this opposition in the past and we knew

1-23 off 4 overs, Aaryan Hussain 1-22 off 3 overs and

we were in for a well fought match. Things started off

another 2 catches for George Greer.

THE AYLESBURIAN

SCHOOL SPORT

We knew chasing 158 was going to be a big ask and

team, who consistently demonstrated their talent

sadly our batting was fragile again and despite some

and commitment, culminating in their well-deserved

lower order resistance we ran out of steam ending on

qualification for the County Cup finals day. From the

96 all out. Good knocks from Ravjot Aurora, scoring 19

very beginning, it was evident that this was a keen and

and Edward Johnson, 13 with a strike rate of 216!!

enthusiastic group of players, with a genuine passion for the game and a willingness to develop as cricketers.

This brings the u14a cricket team report to a conclusion.

While the finals day didn’t go as well as hoped, it was

It’s hard to say how this season went overall, with a

a season that all involved should be pleased with, as

good fought match against strong rivals and a weak

many showed significant improvement.

loss to a team we have beaten in the past, as there is very little evidence to judge this team on. We know we

Special mentions go out the following, who excelled

have a strong team and can match up to many top

with the ball; Nevin Korala and Zach Diment, who

teams on our day so we hope to come back stronger

bowled with great pace and accuracy and regularly

and better next season!

found a line and length that troubled most opponents. Charlie Wade’s consistent seam bowling was a

Written : George Greer, Ridley 9 U14 Cricket -B Team It was yet another promising season for our U14 B team although a couple of our matches had been cancelled due to the poor weather. To start the season off we faced a tough competition, Dr. Challoner’s, which ended up as a defeat. We put up a good bowling performance and restricted them to 133, with Aaryan Hussain taking 2 wickets and Rex Considine also taking a wicket. As we went to bat Muhammed Azhar played some good shots but unfortunately got out. As our middle order started to collapse, Danyaal Dogar and Oscar Bennett came to rescue us, scoring 15 and 8 respectively. However, this wasn’t enough to chase 133 and we finished on 90 runs from our 20 overs. Our next game (the last game) was yet again another tough opponent, RGS High Wycombe. We won the toss and elected to bat, but it just wasn’t batting conditions as our openers got out to some tough bowlers. Our middle order recovered well with Mohammed Azhar getting a solid 20. Oscar Bennett also scored 14 and Oisin Patel 9 runs, as we made 86 runs from our 20 overs. Our opening bowlers, Vrishank Pandakanti (3 overs for 13 runs) and Josh Tyack (3 overs for 18 runs) did well to limit the opposition but unfortunately, RGS was just the better team and won the match, finishing on 87 runs for the loss of 4 wickets. Finally, many thanks to Mr Ramsbottom for his encouragement throughout the season which enabled us to proudly represent AGS. U13 Cricket It’s been another very good season for the U13 cricket

constant threat throughout the season, while Hamzah Sohail and Arth Patel provided the guile and finesse to bamboozle many a batsmen. With the bat, Hunayn Mehrab, Ishaan Ella and James Davies showed great skill, excellent technique and composure to produce some impressive scores. The depth of this year group, in terms of its commitment to school cricket, was very much reflected in the numbers who made themselves available to play both A and B team fixtures. While the B team results were not positive (against very strong opponents), the willingness of all those who played was commendable and it was fantastic to see many players impress in the B team and then go on to play for the ‘A’’s. It has been an extremely enjoyable season and both Mr Dudmish and Mr McGill would like to thank everyone involved for both their time and effort. U12 Cricket Overall, the A team have had a brilliant season, reaching the finals day that will take place in early September. The A team have won all of their games that haven’t been cancelled apart from our first match against Berkhamsted. Berkhamsted: Our first match that took place after the cancelled matches was against Berkhamsted. We batted first and got a reasonable score of 97. With good batting performances from Harry G who scored a total of 27 runs, Harry S, who scored a solid 18 runs. Whilst getting used to playing with each other, the fielding was below average and some wayward bowling led us to our first and only loss of our U12 campaign. Wickets were taken by Harry S, Arjun M, FreddieJ, Vansh B and Harry J..

Sir Henry Floyd:

During the season, Harry G and Devansh K batted

Against the Floyd we bowled first and due to Freddie

very well throughout and Harry S, Harry J, Freddie J

J, Swarup H, Vrishab K and Devansh K each taking

and Arjun M bowled superbly taking lots of wickets

2 wickets and a great fielding performance we

each.

managed to have the Floyd all out for 49. After an easy and successful run-chase we beat Sir Henry

The B team had fewer games but were equally

Floyd by 8 wickets.

successful. They had good victories over John Colet and RGS and like the A team a loss early in

John Hampden:

the season against Berkhamsted School. Standout

Aylesbury won the toss and decided to bowl first.

performances were from Chris Hamer, Freddie

We were very sharp in the field to begin with but

Palmer and Ansh Desai who all scored an unbeaten

became less focused as the game went on and we

25 against John Colet school. Chris Hamer also

conceded more runs than we should have. Wickets

performed well against RGS taking 3 wickets, whilst

taken by Arjun M, who got 2. Vrishab K and Swarup

Baxter Kennedy, Revon and Freddie Palmer all made

H. John Hampden had a big total of 134, we knew

significant contributions on the way to a good team

that we would have to put a good performance in.

performance.

Devansh K scored a well-worked total of 38 runs which gave us a great start, with furthermore good

Overall this season we have seen an excellent

performances from Freddie J, Arjun M who both got

standard of cricket displayed by a huge number

10 runs. Then another good performance by Vrishab

of boys in Year 7, they should be proud of their

Kwho got 19 runs. Vansh B then went in having a job

achievements no matter the level they played at. We

to do needing 28 runs off the last 4 overs. Vansh

look forward to an exciting climax to the season in

scored a nail-biting 14 runs of 6 balls with three

September where we can hopefully bring back some

quick fours. After this good performance Aylesbury

silverware and be crowned county champions.

Grammar won by 4 wickets. Chesham Grammar School: AGS won the toss versus Chesham and we batted first. Thanks to a fine 70 runs from Harry G and 55 for Devansh K, we set a mammoth total of 183 runs in the first innings. We bowled and fielded excellently to reduce Chesham to 68 runs. Wicket-keeper Harry G took 4 catches and got one runout behind the stumps. Wickets were taken by Freddie J, Devansh K, Kaynu , Ansh and Vansh.

Written : Mr M Roberts Mr H Dudmish Mr N Gibbs

THE AYLESBURIAN

SCHOOL SPORT

CROSS COUNTRY The cross-country season this year was a challenging one, with tough races and adverse weather conditions. However, despite the obstacles, the team managed to achieve some success and showed great resilience and determination throughout the season. The season started on a high note, with the team performing impressively in the first few races at the Cottesloe cross-country series. The team demonstrated excellent endurance and stamina, pushing themselves to the limit and leaving everything on the course. However, as the season progressed, they faced tougher competition, and this showed in the results. The junior team which consisted of Ollie Usher, Chuckwudi, Euan Conely, Leo Capaldi, Noah Sullivan and Charlie Wade performed well at the ESAA cross-country event, narrowly missing out on qualification for the next round. Ollie Usher & Chuckwudi placed well, finishing 6th & 7th respectively. In the same competition, the Inter & senior teams both qualified for the regional finals. The inter-team consisting of Raphie London, Sam Dewhirst, Ed Johnson, Zach Cleary, and Stanley Horner all finished in the top 20, with Raphie, Sam and Ed finishing 3rd, 4th and 5th respectively. The senior team made up of Nick Cay, Oscar and George Wellbelove, Alex Hodson, Tom Young and Sam Wright all placed well with Nick Cay leading way in 8th place.

As the season drew to a close, the team’s performances improved, and they managed to secure some impressive results. They may not have made the national finals this year, but they showed that they were capable of competing at a high level and gave their all in every race. In February, there were the Bucks championships in which over 30 boys from AGS competed, all vying for a place in the Bucks county team. This year Ed Johnson from the inters and Tom Young & Sam Wright in the seniors both qualified for the county team and ran well for Bucks in Nottingham in the national finals. Overall, it was a tough cross-country season, but the team managed to achieve some success despite the challenges they faced. Their determination, resilience, and grit will be remembered and admired by all who witnessed their season. Written : Mr N Gibbs

THE AYLESBURIAN

SCHOOL SPORT

FOOTBALL

1st XI Football

outplayed this season. We dominated our local

So far, the 1st XI Football Team have produced some

derby against Sir Henry Floyd and looked the

encouraging performances and laid the foundations

better side but conceded from a long throw. Not

for what we hope will be a successful season.

for the first time this season the team refused to throw in the towel and Teni’s late headed

Our first competitive game of the season was a 1st

equaliser was the least we deserved. Our final

round National Cup tie away at Chesham Grammar

game before the Christmas break was back at

School. Despite conceding first we soon turned the tie

Chesham Grammar School. We knew it would

around and new striker Ed Scott announced his arrival

be a more difficult game than our previous visit

with an excellent hatrick. This handed us another away

and so it proved to be. Ed Scott scored early and

tie at Great Marlow School. We scored first through Teni

despite playing well we did not put the game to

Olurante-Ahmed and then controlled the game, before

bed. With 10 minutes remaining we conceded a

a sloppy goal took the game to extra time. Fortunately,

dubious penalty. Fortunately, Ben Perkin saved

late goals from Nick Cay and Cal Brooke meant that

the spot kick to guarantee another victory. After

penalties were not needed. In Round 3 we defeated a

Christmas we have one more group game to

limited St Gregory the Great side 7-0, with 5 second

play and then a County Cup Quarter Final to

half goals. Stand-in striker Nick Cay scored 4. These

follow since progress from the group is already

three wins took us into the last 64 and a home time

secured.

against Windsor Boys School. This was a game that if we had been at our best we could and maybe should

Well done to all the players on an encouraging

have won. Unfortunately, we were 2-0 down at half time

first half to the season. There are still things that

and in the second half when we had plenty of the ball,

we need to improve on, but the potential in the

we failed to take several excellent chances. In close

squad is there for all to see.

matches it is what happens in both boxes that really counts. So, our National Cup run was over for another

U16 Football

year after a positive run.

It has been another very mixed year for our Year 11 footballers. There have been sparks of hope

The County Cup is organised on a group basis, with

with some very strong performances and results

AGS playing in League A against the strongest teams

in tough conditions but ultimately it never quite

in the County. So far this has been an excellent

came together in the end. We were unlucky to

competition, with all but one of our games being close

be drawn against tough opposition early in both

and competitive. We started with an excellent 4-2

the county and national cup competitions losing

home win against Royal Latin, with Ed Scott grabbing

heavily on both occasions to Rickmansworth

another hattrick. Against Sir William Borlase, we found

School and John Hampden Grammar. We fared

ourselves 2-0 down with 12 minutes to go, but both Teni

slightly better in the area cup with a positive

Olurante-Ahmed and Josh Aloluwaloba scored late

result against St Michael’s and an exceptional

headers to grab a point. The team had showed good

victory away at Akeley Wood but the loss to

character to fight back and had we been awarded

Royal Latin made qualification from our group

a stonewall penalty in the last minute, we may have

very difficult.

won the game. Another point on the road was secured

Ultimately progression from the group would

away at John Hampden Grammar School, although

come down to beating Waddesdon in our

this time it was AGS who conceded a late equaliser.

penultimate fixture. Things appeared to be going

More seriously we lost our keeper Ben Perkin to a

well initially as we entered half time with a 4-1

serious finger dislocation. Our one real blip was a heavy

lead. This lead quickly began to be chipped

home defeat to Dr Challoner’s. This was a day when

away at over the course of the second half and

everything went wrong, not least 4 serious injuries. A

rather devastatingly, we conceded with the very

5-0 home defeat was the one time we have been

last kick of the game and drawing the game 5-5.

A demoralising result on the day but even worse now that we know it is very likely that we would have made it out of the group had we managed to hold on the win. Despite the disappointments, Mr Davey and Mr Barrie are very pleased with the level of commitment, attitude and application of this group of players. In goal we rotated between Ben Tucker and Matthias Bockmuehl, both of whom have demonstrated that they are dependable between the sticks and capable of making some top saves. The defence has gone through some changes and adjustments this year. We moved towards a back 3 to provide the team with greater defensive solidity. Owen Mitchell, Malachy Foley, Gavin Biju and latterly James Koleoso have each shown that they have a good mix of physical attributes and defensive nous to deal with both pacy and strong forwards. At full back, Alex Glover, Bradley Agyemang-Kumi, Regan Footman have played really well offering good defensive qualities as well as an attacking threat going forward. The most competitive position in our squad remained the centre of our midfield with each individual offering something different to the team. Captain Sam Hughes has the excellent ability to quickly turn defence into attack for us both through his ability to carry the ball from deep or to play accurate long passes over the opposition’s defence. Joe Alowaloba has excellent strength and composure on the ball which helps us to gain and retain possession. Henry Wallington and Nathan Hancox were combative and composed in possession and Ben Ahuja demonstrated good technical qualities. In the forward positions Ruben Munday and Hayden Foster have been devastating at times. Their pace and trickery were a great complement to Olly Awujo’s ability to hold the ball up and bring others into play as well as possessing his own threats of running in behind or shooting from distance. In addition to the mainstays of the squad there have been some very good and important cameos from the likes Felix Mupanduki and Jacob Childs who have provided great tenacity and quality when called upon. Statistically another underwhelming season but plenty to be proud of. Their commitment cannot be questioned and building on what they’d shown in Year 10 they remained by far one of the better groups of players in the terms of attitude that Mr Davey has worked with during his 10 years at AGS.

Written : Mr J Barrie Mr G Davey

THE AYLESBURIAN

SCHOOL SPORT

A REMARKABLE COMEBACK

U15 Football An inconsistent District League campaign that included an 8-0 demolition of St Michael’s, a 6-2 loss at the hands of Royal Latin, a 4-2 loss to a poorly behaved Akeley Wood side and a 4-2 win against AVA, meant the Year 10 squad went into the last game of the group stage knowing only a win against a good Waddesdon side (that had beaten them 6-0 in Year 9) would give them a chance of progressing to the semi-final. A defensively solid performance - led superbly by Osaretin Erese - was the basis for an excellent 2-0 victory. The three wins turned out to be enough to qualify for the semi-final. A strong Mandeville side started the semi-final in an aggressive and attacking fashion. They deservedly went 2 goals ahead after 15 minutes, scoring two excellent goals for this level. However, a really committed defensive display restricted them to just the two goal lead at half-time. At half-time, the message was simple: the next goal is huge in terms of the momentum of the game. It went to us. And for long spells we were the better side, though Mandeville looked dangerous on the counter attack. This proved to be the case as, against the run of play, they restored their two advantage to lead 3-1. Then, with 5 minutes to go, a pivotal moment in the game. We changed to a more attacking formation, got a goal back, and then with the last kick of the game equalised through Tom Usher following a corner. Luck always plays a part in football - he mishit it so badly off his shin that his shin pad flew out of his sock. The ball however found the corner of the net. 3-3.

players they still needed to see out the game - they did just that, scoring a break away goal with JJ beating the keeper in a one-on-one to seal the match and a remarkable comeback. Extra time followed, during which a superb defensive performance - typified with a superb last ditch tackle by Tom Usher on their dangerous striker - took the game to penalties. A perfect set of 4 penalties left Osaretin with the chance to send us to the final. He duly obliged. We won 5-4

In 14 years of coaching teams here at AGS, I can honestly say I have never felt more proud of a side for the way they persevered in the games against

on penalties.

Mandeville and The Grange - argu-

Our final opponents were The Grange - another team who

lessons to be learnt, and I would also

had beaten us previously: 2-0 in the County Cup back in October. For the third game in a row, we went in as the underdog. Strong winds meant this was likely to be a game where concentration and decision making (as well as luck)

ably two better sides. There are always say that in 14 years I’ve rarely had such a disorganised side! Forgetting boots, shin pads, socks, shorts throughout the season, not to mention forgetting all

would be a major factor.

kit for training. Imagine what could be

Playing against the wind we took an early lead from the

and the ability to train purposefully

penalty spot within a minute. This didn’t last long however, as a poor defensive clearance allowed The Grange to level more or less immediately. Two long range strikes (with the wind) extended their lead to a deserved 3-1. From here, it was a case of getting to half-time with that scoreline and resisting the further pressure from a buoyant Grange side. Sadly, we conceded a comical 4th on the stroke of half-

achieved with an improvement here with a full squad! This is not to diminish their achievements - done through a real strength of character and refusal to give up. This bodes well for them all in all aspects of life. Well done.

time - a clearance striking Imisi full in the face, landing at the feet of a Grange player to tap in. At 4-1 down, the half-time talk was simple once more. Change to an ultra attacking formation, and play to maintain pride and professionalism. Get the next goal, and take it from there. We did just that, Jacob O’Neill bundling in a goal created by determination and never giving up. That triggered an extraordinary spell where we rattled in another 2 goals to bring the tie level. There looked to be only one winner from here, however, to the credit of The Grange and their coach, they began to work out our formation change and found areas to exploit. The two teams cancelled each other out, and once again we found ourselves with extra

U14 Football The Under 14 Football team have struggled for consistency this year, playing impressively and winning before then getting beaten by teams they should have beaten. The season concluded with a fixture v John Colet in the semifinal of the District League. After getting the game back to 3-3, John Colet scored a late penalty then a quality 5th to take the victory. It was a frustrating season with glim-

time.

mers of hope, but we were unfortu-

We reverted to our usual formation and spoke about how

with our performances.

nately undone by a lack of consistency

to nullify the effect of the wind, for the first period of extratime. We did just that, and the game remained at 4-4 until 2 minutes before the arrival of penalties. The ball fell to Jacob O’Neill on the edge of the box, and he calmly found the bottom corner to spark wild celebrations - substituted players joining all the on field players in an enormous bundle on the pitch. Captain Kyle Tshuma reminded his

Written : Mr A Skinner Mr C McGill

THE AYLESBURIAN

SCHOOL SPORT

U13 Football After last year’s successes (in terms of participation

to see and fantastic to work with, and Mr McGill would

and team performance), the 2023 football season

like to thank every year 8 student who has been

offered the opportunity for more of the same in terms

involved in the football programme over the last two

of progress, but with the chance for more players to

years. He wishes you every success in your footballing

represent the school as we moved to playing 11 a-side

careers and looks forward to (hopefully) seeing many

matches.

of you in future football fixtures.

In terms of results, at the time of writing this report, the

In addition to working with a great student group, Mr

‘A’ Team squad have once again enjoyed an extremely

McGill would also like to say a massive thank you to Mr

successful season. In the District Cup, the team beat

Wishart, who has been fantastic to work with this year.

AVA 5-1, St Michael’s 3-1, Akeley Wood 4-0, Waddesdon

His passion and enthusiasm has played a large part in

3-1 and drew with Royal Latin 2-2 to finish top of their

making this such an enjoyable season and I know that

group. A 9-0 win against John Colet has sealed our

the Year 8’s have really enjoyed working with him.

place in a 2nd consecutive District Cup Final, which will

Thanks again and good luck.

be played at the start of the Summer Term, which is another great achievement. The squad has progressed

U12 Football

so much during this time and it has been fantastic to

The football season could not have gone better for the

see so many players playing in a variety of positions

year 7 team winning nearly every game. We battled

and doing so well, in what have been extremely

hard to achieve great results in a phenomenal first

competitive games (despite what the scores may

season. In our opening game we faced a strong St

suggest). Our Saturday games against Bedford Modern

Michaels side for friendlies across A, B and C teams. Our

(3-4 loss), St Columba’s College (3-1 win), Reading Blue

opposition came flying out of the traps scoring a very

Coats (4-1) and a disappointing loss to Dr Challoner’s

early goal within the A team game. Things improved

(2-4) have also provided lots of playing opportunities,

after that though with Freddie Jarman scoring right

which many have used to secure places in the ‘A’ Team

before half time to level it. Stunning second half

squad.

displays from the captain Luca Dos Santos as well as

This season we have seen Charlie McGrail, Oliver

Theo Chadwick and Charlie Ruck who turned it around

Twelftree, Emmanuel Ngolemasanga and Uday Gupta

making the final score 6-2. Goals scored by Luca, Ansh

all play well for us in goal. Euan Conely, James Davies

Desai, Jason Ameshike, Theo Chadwick and two from

and Gethin Walters have been great right backs.

Freddie. It was a great team performance all round,

Sam Bett, Noah Sullivan, Reon Adai, Felix Caille and

with both the B and C team following suit in a 3-0 and

Tetisimi Akinwumi have been excellent Centre Backs.

3-1 win.

Felix (again), Will Belsham and Hamish Hodge have

Full of confidence after the first game, we travelled

all played and excelled at left back. In midfield, we

away to Bedford Modern for a friendly on a Saturday

have seen some fantastic performances from James

morning with all three teams back in action with some

Godley, Chuckwudi Onyebuchi, Ollie Usher, Zac Diment,

rotation. After defending well and goalkeeper Harry

Henry Freeman, Hunayn Mehrab and Charlie McGrail.

Godden coming to the rescue at points, we found the

Our wide players have caused our opponents all sorts

breakthrough as Will Clarke scored after some patient

of problems, thanks to the efforts of Adedapo Adeniji,

build up play. Almost directly after this, Ed Wilson

Charlie Wade, Hugo Sturgeon and Will (again). Up front,

scored a fantastic goal to put us 2 to the good. In the

Freddie Bowen, Jonathan Edet and Charlie Wade have

second half there was a solid performance from Harry

scored some great goals between them. These 26 boys

Smith which also saw Will Clarke completing his hat-

have been fantastic this season and deserve a lot of

trick followed by a man of the match performance from

credit for their efforts and application.

Harry Godden. This rewarded us with a clean sheet as

The qualities of our overall squad goes so much deeper

well as being 4-0 winners in the A game, and again our

than these 26 players though, which makes this a

B and C teams taking positive results with a 7-2 and 1-0

very special year group to work with when it comes to

win.

football. We were able to play 4 ‘B’ team matches this

As we entered the league campaign we were able to

season (1 win, 1 draw and 2 close losses), as well as 2

put together a string of great results, as we were able

‘C’ team games (who managed to put 7 goals past

to come away from our AVA match winning 11-1, with

Bedford Modern in their opening game). The willingness

Morten Giles scoring a hat-trick and our goalkeeper

of so many to both train and play has been incredible

Harry Godden getting on the scoresheet alongside

Edward Wilson (2), Jake Canning, Luca Dos Santos and

the game. But before we could get a 3rd and seal the

Theo Chadwick (2) . Our next game was a rematch

game, 2 quick counter attacks from our opposition left

against St Michael’s. The game followed a similar

us drawing 2-2 with 15 minutes to go. We won a penalty

pattern as the friendly fixture with them scoring really

with 10 minutes to go but unfortunately Jake Canning

early on and us levelling it up to 1-1 at half time. With

hit the post and couldn’t follow up the rebound. Despite

the corner count rising and rising we tried a different

this he tracked the whole of the pitch to pull off a last

approach, with Luca firing in a low crossed which

ditch slide tackle. We had to settle for a 2-2 draw.

ricocheted into the St Michael’s goal to give us a lead.

Bouncing back from a draw we beat Akeley Wood

We continued to press, which resulted in Will Clarke

convincingly with our penalty woes continuing

and Freddie Jarman scoring, securing a 5-2 win, which

with another unfortunate miss. After this we played

could have been more if it wasn’t for the infamous dip

Waddesdon in the last game of the season. This was to

in the plastic crossbar.

protect our 100% league record and guarantee a place

As we hit the halfway mark in our season and after

in the semi-finals as well as winning our league. Within

some comfortable results it was time to face the

30 seconds of us kicking off they scored from a long

toughest test so far when we headed to the Royal

range strike and dampened our spirits. Despite this

Latin School. We started off well and held most of the

setback we were the hungrier of the two sides and won

possession in the first 15 minutes, which was finished

a penalty. This time there was no mistake from the spot

with a thumping Luca Dos Santos goal. Following our

with Morten Giles finishing into the top corner. It was

goal, Royal Latin then started to get a hold of the

game on. In a turn of events Louis Smith scored on his

game and had a clear goal threat in their striker. Our

first league start and got us to half time leading. After

defence built up of, Alex Emmins, Rocco Round, Tommy

the break we took Waddesdon by surprise with another

Davies and Oliver How played superbly throughout.

well worked goal scored by Louis. The game settled for

Unfortunately, two quick fire goals from their striker

a while and it looked like we were going to have a nervy

turned the game around with only 15 minutes left.

ending until Henry Purser broke free of the defence to

Another powering strike from Luca, quickly after a Harry

score. Henry was one of the most hard working players

Smith controlled volley meant we had the lead again

all season playing in almost all of the games and he

with just 10 minutes left. With little time left in the game,

finally got his goal to show for his excellent season. As

we turned our focus onto holding our slender lead,

the whistle went we got over the line to win the league

with Fraiser Hearmon, who is normally our striker, being

with a 4-2 victory.

tasked to nullify their dominant striker. We successfully

Well done for everyone involved in the AGS football

held onto our lead, to maintain our winning start to the

season this year. Theo Chadwick and Luca Dos Santos

season.

captained us to an extremely successful season and

After a tough game, we headed away to play the

we haven’t lost a single game up to this point. We still

Reading Blue Coats. In the first half Harry Smith scored

have the district cup semi final to play and hopefully

2 great goals, filling us with confidence for the rest of

we can keep our impressive record going.

Written : Mr C McGill Theo Chadwick, Ridley 7 Luca Dos Santos, Paterson 7 Harry Godden, Lee 7

THE AYLESBURIAN

HANDBALL

SCHOOL SPORT

Under 15 Handball Having missed out on playing handball in Year 8, the challenge this year was to get as many Year 10’s playing handball as possible at the start of the year, and then finding a group of players who would be good enough to represent the School in the national schools competition after the Christmas break. Fortunately (and with a lot of help from the current year 9’s who played U13 handball last year) we were able to do this….and do this very well. Once a training squad had been selected, the first hurdle to get through was the district competition, where we played The Royal Latin and The Grange. These games are always competitive (thanks to the local rivalries) and quite physical, as teams get used to the rules of the game and the contact elements of tackling. With a large squad involved, the AGS boys played some good attacking handball to see off both local opponents, which meant that they qualified for the South West Regional stage of the National Schools Cup. This round of competition involved a trip down to Bournemouth, and a very early start and late finish, as both U13 and U15 squads qualified for this stage of the competition. It was during this round of competition that the U15 squad came into their own and played the best competitive handball of their season. By winning all of their games against what was strong opposition (including a dominant victory in the final to secure their place in the national finals), all members of the squad

contributed to the team success. Eddie Jordan excelled

produce some exhilarating and fast-paced handball.

in goal, Matt Harmon, Austin Bhadri and Zac Cleary

After winning this competition, the whole training squad

formed a fantastic back three in both attack and

continued to show their commitment and dedication

defence, Jaydon Mugonapanja thrived as a line-player

to training in preparation for the South West Regional

playing against older and bigger opponents and Daniel

Finals, with the hope that this would lead to the

Obhakhan was a constant threat as a left winger thanks

National Finals later in the year.

to his pace and power, as was Joshua Jackson (JJ) on

Having applied themselves so well to training, the truth

the opposite wing. These guys were supported brilliantly

is that the regional finals did not go as well as planned.

by Tomi Ashaolu, Jacobo Beesley Alvarez, Alfie Eldridge,

In what was an extremely competitive environment,

Will Trotter and Kyle Tshuma who were all fantastic on

any mistakes that the squad made were punished

the day.

by strong opposition and early losses meant that we

Preparations for the national finals in Nottingham went

were not able to reach the semi finals stage of the

well, with the squad training hard before the event but,

competition. Despite this, the whole squad showed

unfortunately, the day didn’t go to plan for a number

significant improvement and adapted to the physical

of reasons which detrimentally effected the strength

demands of the game by the time we played our final

of the squad. An initial win took us into game two high

game; Nevin Korala, Eashan Patel and Keyaan Shah

on confidence, but a heavy loss in this game against

exemplified this brilliantly.

opponents who shared the kinds of physical attributes

The squad for this year’s U13 Regional Finals was

(in terms of height, speed and skill) with American

made up of the following students; Tetisimi Ainwumi,

College Basketballers took their toll on the squad, who

Will Belsham, Kit Chantry, David Chelaru, Euan

never really recovered from the shock in the remaining

Conely, James Davies, Lian Gong, Nevin Korala, David

matches. Despite this, all of those who were involved

Onohwakpo, Eashan Patel, Keyaan Shan and Joe Tilley.

should be extremely proud of their efforts, as reaching

This group represents only a small percentage of

the national finals is a fantastic achievement for any

those who attended training sessions this year, and it’s

handballing school, particularly when so few had

impossible to name all of you!

played handball before the start of the year.

While the national finals may not have been within

Mr McGill would like to thank everyone involved

their reach this time, the AGS U13 Handball team’s

with handball this year for their time and effort,

achievements and efforts should not be diminished.

irrespective of whether you played a part in the schools

They should be proud of their accomplishments

competition. He would also like to thank Mrs Malhi for

and use this experience as motivation to continue

all of her work with the squad, as she has been a much

improving and striving for success in the future. It has

welcome (and much needed) source of knowledge

been an extremely enjoyable and incredibly rewarding

and expertise in all things handball. Andre from Bucks

year and Mr McGill wishes you all the very best of luck

Mavericks and England Handball has also given us

going forwards, and he hopes that as many of you as

so much of his time in helping the squad, while Oscar

possible will continue to play handball in the future.

Wellbelove (the School’s Team GB handballer) in Year

Mr McGill would also like to thank the coach from

13 has committed many of his lunchtimes to help out

Bucks Mavericks (Andre), Oscar Wellbelove (Year 13

and make this another successful year for handball at

Student, School Handball Legend and current member

AGS……and long may that continue.

of the U18 GB Handball Squad) and Tom Ruck (Year 9 Superstar and member of the current U15 squad) who

Under 13 Handball

have all been an incredible help throughout the year in

In its first year of playing Handball, the AGS U13 team

supporting AGS handball.

had an impressive journey, culminating in their participation in the South West Regional Finals in Bournemouth. Although they didn’t advance to the national finals, their achievements and efforts should be celebrated and they should feel proud of their accomplishments. In the district competition, thanks to the popularity of handball in the first term we were able to enter two full squads. Those involved showcased the skills that they had been learning in training, allowing them to

Written : Mr C McGill

THE AYLESBURIAN

RUGBY

SCHOOL SPORT

1st XV Rugby The season started with both the King Edward Stratford and Vandyke Upper School fixtures falling through, resulting in us going into the game away to Pangbourne College undercooked with no rugby under our belts. This showed as we were clearly off the pace and poor defence leaking some soft scores. The game was marred by a serious injury to Sam Johnson who dislocated his knee. The game was lost 35-5 but at least we had some video to analyse and issues identified that needed solving. In the 2nd round of the National Vase, we hosted Tring School at fortress Wendover Way. Some of our parttime players were available for this fixture and the squad depth was boosted. Our performance was significantly improved and we walked away with a 49-0 win against our local rivals. It was clear that we were going to have

an abundance of front row options this year and the battle for selection was going to be hotly contested. We had the return of Charlie Shepherd and Dan Sudbury from the rugby wilderness to compete with the likes of Ethan Walemba, Dan Mawdsley, Dan Davies and Luke Evans, whilst the battle for hooker between Tom KB and Vincent Jansen Van Rensburg was feisty. Our brief upturn in results was short lived as we headed to St Albans School. With 17 senior players making themselves unavailable for the fixture, the frailty of the squad was alarming. St Albans is not a place to go without your full strength team. Credit to those who did front up and battle bravely, but it was no surprise that we suffered a very heavy loss and worse, went away with 5 or 6 major injuries. Next up were The Oratory School, one of the toughest games on the circuit. With confidence in tatters, we struggled to match their physicality and although we scored some good tries ourselves, suffered a 49-17 loss. In round 3 of the National Vase, we hosted Dr Challoner’s School. With Evans, Mawdsley, Shepherd and Sudbury all missing, that abundance of front row was now an area of concern. The loss of Archie Dodds, the night before the fixture, with an ankle sprain, threw up the problem of having lost both scrum halves in the squad and we had to turn to Mr Versatile, Will Yarroll to help us out. The game was a tight affair but our inability to defend their one good player, resulted in some soft scores conceded and another loss. The last game before half term was against a touring side, St John’s School from Buenos Aires, Argentina. This was a fantastic game played on a beautiful day at Aylesbury Rugby Club. The sunshine brought the best out of our attacking game and we scored some great tries once we had worn down the opposition’s spirit and energy. George Birch stole the show with a hattrick of tries whilst playing at scrum half. Oscar Wellbelove was very impressive in the second row as was James Marklew Brown on the wing. Following half term, we had the difficult mission of playing St George’s School, Harpenden, under lights on a friday night. They brought a couple of hundred fans with them to create what was quite a hostile environment. Unfortunately, we had little answer to their very pacy and skillful back division and we leaked a number of scores from wide out. That said, our pack matched theirs and Eliott Godley, Josh Yates and George Mansfield played well. Unfortunately, further injuries were obtained that night and it would mark the end of Will Yarroll’s season. Cokethorpe School were next up in what was a very winnable game. Surprisingly, we lost the physicality battle that day and allowed a pretty ordinary team to escape with the win. George de Voogt played well and this game

THE AYLESBURIAN

SCHOOL SPORT

marked the start of Ollie Blundell’s run at fly half in the

really well by our departing Year 13’s. It has been really

1st XV. With one eye on the future, it was time to focus

pleasing to see the numbers of students progress to

on this young man and help him transition into 1st team

the 1st XV over the course of the season. Thank you to

senior rugby.

the whole squad for their efforts over the season.

I’m sure Ollie will claim that it was no coincidence that AGS 1st XV then went on a run of four wins - with scalps

U16 Ruby

obtained against Latymer Upper School, Nextphase

After a disappointing U15 season, all the boys were

Academy, The Royal Latin School and Haberdashers’

eager to get stuck into Pangbourne college, who had

Elstree. Blooding some youngsters into the team,

beaten us the previous year. We set the bar for the

Freddie Crafts, Nat Massa and Sean Dover from year 11

season high with a fantastic 29-7 win with Ollie going

all established themselves in the 1st XV with impressive

over in the corner after sustained pressure and Sean

displays. Eddie Greenfield also broke through from the

scoring 3.

2nd XV and put his hand up for a starting winger spot.

Next weekend we had St. Albans: a historically a strong

Mr Reliable, Adam Bosompem was always there, as

school and with numbers low due to Duke of Edinburgh,

consistent as ever and versatile enough to play centre,

we knew we had to play our best. In the first 20 minutes

wing or fullback.

it was all AGS, we went 14-0 up courtesy of Isaac and

The season finished with a very difficult loss to

Sean. However, after Nat saw yellow towards the end

stomach. Playing away at Lord Williams’ School in

of the 1st half for a late tackle and St Albans managed

Thame, the team contributed fully in a very physical

to run in several tries before the end of the half. From

slugfest where neither team found it easy to open their

there, it was a battle right up until the last play of the

opposition up. Having established a slender 5-3 lead, it

match, where Sean slotted a penalty to make the final

was disappointing to lose to a very controversial score

score 36-36 after tries from Freddy, Ben and Nat, a

where there were significant doubts over the legality

huge result considering having only 16 men to work with

of the opposition’s winning try. Standouts in a bruising

over the game.

battle were George Birch, Oscar Wellbelove, Ethan

Unfortunately both our games over the next few weeks

Walemba, Dan Davies, Tom Kirkpatrick Brown and Eliott

against The Oratory and St Benedict’s were cancelled

Godley.

or postponed. This led us nicely into the second half of

Congratulations must go to Tom Kirkpatrick Brown,

the season. We opened on a freezing November Friday

Adam Bosompem, James Marklew Brown and Zak

night evening against St. George’s. Once again, we

Brown on completing the 1st XV season with 100%

knew we would be up against it with a big crowd in the

commitment/availability. An impressive feat and one

stands. We were shocked in the first 10 minutes, quickly

which they should be very proud of. To remain injury

going down 20 points, however, Freddy replied well with

free and always available for an entire season is an

a score going into the second half. Our second half

incredible achievement.

display was something to behold as we beat St. George’s in every area of the

2nd XV Rugby

field. Sustained pressure lead to Nat and Freddy both

The 2nd XV have had a good season this year,

scoring with two excellent linebreaks which in the

with some fine performances across their fixtures.

end was not quite enough but left the final score a

The season started very positively with a victory

respectable 21-31 to St. George’s.

v Pangbourne College, with Dan Sudbery playing

Next, we travelled to Cokethorpe, another team that

especially well. This was followed by tough defeats v

had beaten us heavily the previous year. This season

St Albans and The Oratory School. The team bounced

was different. With an unfortunate final score of 7-0

back with a good performance v St George’s School,

Cokethorpe despite some incredible rugby shown by

where we were unlucky to not secure anything from

everyone on the field and Isaac’s best efforts to go for

the game. In a 2nd XV / Under 17 game v Latymer

the line with a fantastic line break. It was one of the

Upper School the team played very well with their

best games of the season as the two teams were so

performance being back to a similar standard to

evenly matched.

the start of the season. Unfortunately our remaining

The following week we hosted our first home game

two fixtures v HABs and Reading Bluecoat were both

against a rescheduled St Benedict’s. This was a

cancelled by the opposition.

frustrating game as once again we dominated the

Well done to the whole squad for their performances

play in many areas, going up by 7-0 at the beginning

over the course of the season, the team have been led

of the game due to Freddy crashing over. However St

Benedict’s did well to slowly grind us down and leave the final score at 24-12, another very close match. We ended the season against Waddesdon School, with our last and potentially biggest game of the season against Reading being cancelled due to the icy weather. The Waddesdon team was not particularly strong in terms of structure and knowledge of the game, but they were full of strong athletes who did cause us one or two problems, but finished the season well with a 55-7 win with tries from: Toby, Isaac, Ewan, Tom, Nathaniel, Sean and Pelumi. Overall all the boys were delighted with how this short but successful season played out, and we’re all looking forward to the prospect of senior rugby next season. A big thank you to Mr Warner, Mr Walker and Mr Duggan for both coaching and refereeing our games this season. U15 Rugby -Team A To say our season was mixed would be an understatement. We had our first taste of actual competitive rugby with the NAT VASE cup in which we were knocked out in the second round over a St George’s side in which our missing players were needed if we wanted to progress. Over the season we saw some strong wins over teams such as Haberdashers’ and Lord Williams’. These matches saw tries from Tom Ludlam, Tom Lowe, Fionn Claire and most notably a first try for Ben Every as an A team player. Also, we saw some heavy defeats against sides like St Albans and The Oratory. These sides were physically better than us, they had great shape and played like a proper team. Big losses like these were where we really learnt how to change our attitude and improve our skills. However, the highlight of our season would have to be the Paris tour that took place during October half term. We played two matches (winning one of them) and watched a live game at the Racing 92 area. This game really showed how the pro’s prepare for a game. This was where Ayath’s Scottish accent was put to the test when he started a conversation with Scottish fly-half Finn Russel. We also went to Disneyland Paris; had a tour at the Stade de France and enjoyed the sights from the top of the Eiffel Tower. Luckily, we didn’t have to walk up the stairs even though some of us were looking forward to it. The end of the season has been a little frustrating with our last two games being cancelled but we trained and focused on skills which could benefit us next season. We would all like to thank Mr Roberts and Mr Partridge for their efforts in trying to coach us and we are very grateful for their time this season.

100

THE AYLESBURIAN

SCHOOL SPORT

U15 Rugby -Team B

13 a side every week. Some of the lads

On the back of a disappointing season last year, the

hadn’t played before and still added

B Team were ready to start again with another fixture

a crucial role to the squad, turning up

against Pangbourne. Last season, Pangbourne had beaten

every week.

us, and we were looking for revenge. Thanks to 2 early

But, we all want to give a big thank

tries from Oli Jinks in the opening 2 minutes we were set

you to our coach, Mr Roberts and Mr

with a stable lead. This allowed us to play to our strengths

Partridge, who managed to guide us

and the Baldwin twins combined 5 tries let us start the

through thick and thin.

season on a high with a 57-3 victory. Next week was St. Albans. A new opponent who we had never faced before.

U14 Rugby

We were strong in the first half, momentum was with us.

After early training sessions, which

However, with a lacklustre second half, they managed

focused on parts of the game that we

to score 30 points, causing us to lose 28-56. The week

had not previously experienced (such

after we travelled to The Oratory. A team we had drawn

as line-outs and 8 player scrums),

3-3 with last year. We started well, again, and thanks to

our first game of the season was at

Seb’s pace, we won the game 43-26. After a month of no

Pangbourne College. The selected

games, the team re-united to play St George’s. Earlier in

team started off the season extremely

the season, the A Team had lost to them, so we were out

well, racing into a 21-5 lead at half

for some redemption. With some crucial new players, Iwan

time, with tries coming from Isaac MIlls,

and Alfie, we managed to go into the break with a 12-5

Joe Gormally and Suran Godagama.

lead. The wind that day had caused Caleb’s attempted

Despite this strong start, the team

clearance to go backward, and their player won the

faltered a bit and allowed Pangbourne

jump for the ball causing them to score. In the second

back into the game, but we scored

half Angus’s try allowed us to win 17-5. In the midweek,

3 excellent breakaway tries in the

we played Cokethorpe, a team we had beaten last year.

second half (with Jafar Hassan scoring

However, they came back a stronger side and didn’t let us

two almost identical tries two minutes

play like we did. Eddie’s good catching under the high ball

apart, and Ollie Blakey bursting down

allowed him to run through 2 tackles and score his 2nd

the wing to score another) making the

in 2 games. From some silly mistakes in the 2nd half and

final score 38-22. This represented a

completely switching up, we allowed them to draw with

great start to the season for the Year 9

us. With 3 games set up in the next month and all being

rugby squad.

cancelled, that was the season over. We ended on a 3-1-1

With spirits and confidence high, our

record, a huge improvement from the season before. It

second game of the season saw us

was a fantastic season, especially when you play 12 and

play against a very strong St Albans side. The selected team stayed fully committed throughout the game, but the truth is that we were outplayed on the day (for the first and last time) by a very physical team and struggled to get into the match. In a tough 43-21 loss, AGS tries came from Dilan Barauskas, Joe and Jafar. In our next game, we came up against The Oratory School in a game that was played under the floodlights of Aylesbury Rugby Club, hoping to show some ‘bouncebackability’. Despite a slow start and some extremely wayward passing, we achieved this by being 10-0 up at half time. With the team knowing it could (and maybe should) be doing much more, we came

101

out strongly in the second half and raced into a 22-0

conditions. In the second half, we

lead, during which Sam Wright made an outrageous try

came out flying with Temi Aloluwaloba

saving tackle to deny The Oratory fly half from scoring

scoring a superb try to put us 19-7

what looked like a certain try. Although we did concede

down with 20 minutes left, but despite

a late try, the final score of 22-5 represented a solid

a good few opportunities and a super

Friday evening’s work.

Conor Heatley 50-22 kick, the team

Our first National Schools Cup game of the season

couldn’t reduce the deficit and Stowe

was against local rivals Dr Challoner’s, which provided

prevailed to win 26-7.

us with the motivation to produce one of our best

In our final game of the season the

performances of the season. A strong start meant

team played Haberdashers’ and

that we went in at half-time 21-0 up, with tries coming

played very well to win 42-12, and

from Conor Heatley, Joe and Sam. Much to Mr McGill’s

despite there being a gap in quality

dismay, Conor’s try came from an NFL style pass

between the sides the team controlled

across the width of the pitch from Isaac (which Isaac

the game well and played some nice

maintain’s was all of 30 metre!) In the second half the

rugby. Tries were scored by Tayyib

boys returned to playing ‘normal’ rugby, kept up the

Johnson, Dilan, Suran, Isaac with two

(controlled) aggression and ‘front-foot’ positive play,

and Joe with three.

and came out 31-5 winners (which was a very satisfying

Winning 7 games out of 10, scoring 289

result).

points and only conceding 161 points

The team then travelled to St Benedict’s, where we were

represented a really positive season

involved in a close and very physical game. The team

for the Year 9 Rugby Team and while

was 5-0 up at half time, thanks to a Sam Wright try, but

it isn’t possible to name check every

in the second half St Benedict’s scored two quick tries to

member of the squad here, huge

put them 12-5 up. A blistering 10 minute spell from AGS

thanks need to go out to everyone who

saw the team go 22-12 up, St Benedict’s then scored

played and trained this year.

again with 5 minutes left to leave the game on a knife

While the results weren’t so positive for

edge. The defence from the team was superb, with try

the ‘B’ team, those who represented

saving tackles coming from Dilan and Isaac, and when

the school did so with great

St Benedicts had a chance to score in the final seconds

enthusiasm and a willingness to work

of the game, a great Edward Johnson tackle saw them

at their games. It was fantastic to see

off, leaving us with a well earned 22-19 win.

AGS students play rugby for the first

After a two week break the team were eager to keep

time this year and it would be fantastic

their winning run going against an unbeaten St

to see more of you do the same next

George’s Harpenden team but, despite a very physical

year, as a year group is only as strong

performance from the team, some interesting decisions

as the depth of its squad, which has

made by the stand-in referee and a lack of substitute

been a bit of a problem this year. Mr

options, the team stumbled to a disappointing 24-12

McGill would like to thank everyone

defeat. A 57-0 win against a weak Cokethorpe side was

involved in Year 9 Rugby this year,

a good confidence booster and allowed lots of squad

it’s been a very good season and the

members to get good game time.

squad has made great progress……see

We then played Latymer Upper School, in which the

you all next year!

team started slowly, gave away silly penalties and made poor decisions, but after a good team talk at half-time we came out strongly and Suran Godagama scored a great try to put us 17-5 up. This allowed us to play some great free flowing rugby and we won the game 37-5, with Dilan scoring a very good hatrick and George Greer scoring a nice try in the final play. We then faced our toughest test of the season when we played Stowe School in the second round of the National Schools Cup. Stowe started fast and showed a lot of quality and structure to go 19-0 up in dire

Written : Mr G Ramsbottom Mr C Duggan Mr T Walker/Mr S Warner Mr M Roberts Mr C McGill

102

THE AYLESBURIAN

SCHOOL SPORT

U13 Rugby -A TEAM

this season against St George’s School

We started off the season away at The Oratory School for

where Okesola was our only try scorer.

a tournament, where we managed to come 2nd place

We then welcomed our sacred rivals,

overall which was a huge achievement for the squad and

Dr Challoner’s where we won 35 to

gave us a good start. We then had our first weekday game

none, we always struggled against

against John Hampden where once again we secured the

them but this year we pulled through

win, 35-10, with tries scored by Bowen (2), Wade, Tilley,

and left our heart and soul out on that

Godley (2) and Dumbu. Our following game was against

pitch. We had Mr Duggan for this fixture

St Albans where we drew 20-20, a good composed game

who isn’t our normal coach and we just

overall. After this tough St Albans game, we welcomed

had to impress him. Really good rugby

Claires Court and St Benedict’s schools two weeks in a row.

was played on this Saturday morn-

Games finished at 25-50 and 15-45. Unfortunately, we lost

ing and we were all buzzing about the

both games but we had fun and that is what’s important.

win! Tries scored by Bowen (2), Conely,

Tries scored against Claires Court by Mcgrail, Malanda,

Dumbu (2), Onyebuchi and Clare.

Onyebuchi (2) and Dumbu. We welcomed a beast to the

So after a mixed start and a mixed

A team against Claires Court by the name of Chuckwudi

team, we didn’t just improve as a

Onyebuchi who on his A team debut managed to score 2

squad but as a true rugby team, se-

tries. Against St Benedicts, Caille (2) and Sturgeon scored

curing victories in our final four fixtures

our tries. Our next game was against our toughest side

against Dr Challoner’s, Latymer, Tring

103

against Dr Challoner’s and of course Mr Gibbs, for guiding our team to victory on multiple occasions and improving the squad as a whole. U13 Rugby -B TEAM The B team’s first game was against St Albans school, this game was a hard-fought win and definitely deserved. Chuck scored 5 tries that game so I think it’s fair to say that he was our man of the match. This was a great way to open the season and gave everyone great motivation for the season. Our next game was against Clares Court. They were a strong side and had definitely prepared for this game but so had we. This was a close game but in the last 10/15 minutes, they, unfortunately, ran away with it. The scoreline of 20-65 didn’t reflect how good the game was but there is not a lot we can do about that apart from moving on and training for the next game. Our next game was against a strong St Benedict’s side sadly from the start this was quite a one-sided game ending up with them winning the whole thing with 40-5 as the scoreline. I would like to thank Mr Duggan for stepping in and giving up his Saturday morning to help us out because we couldn’t have played if he didn’t help us. The next challenge for us was the Great Marlow School, we were the dominant team for the whole game and managed to pull off a 40-15 win. This was a good confidence booster as we had come off the back of a few losses. The next team that we faced was a must-win game…Sir Henry Floyd… but we pulled through and beat them by 1 try at the end of the game thanks to a massive effort from the whole team. Our next game was the most important of them all. Dr Challoner’s. This game was unfortunate as in the first half we and Haberdashers’. Also well done to the squad on improving overall. We looked like a different team by the end of the season; secure in the breakdown and I don’t think we lost a scrum in our last match versus Waddesdon. As the season progressed we built trust with our teammates and were more effective with our decision-making, communication and confidence on the pitch. Although we had our ups and downs we still came out to what I believe as a great team, and this season we came out on top with a smile on our faces, this is how our season went: Played: 9 Won: 5 Lost: 3 Drew: 1 Finally, a big thank you to all of our coaches, especially Mr Duggan for helping us secure that solid victory

dominated play, but in the second half of the game lots of players got injured and we lost lots of squad depth, unfortunately, this is the reason that they won this game. Our final game to close off an action-packed season was against Haberdasher Boys. This game went right down to the wire with us scoring the equalising try in the last play of the game. For everyone that has played in the B team or A team this season, you should be proud of what we’ve achieved and how much we have progressed as a team. We have had some new faces this season with Jason, Obi and Jack all playing their first matches this season and improving rapidly. To end off, thank you to all the staff and coaches at AGS for providing us with an action-packed season of rugby. Written : Mr N Gibbs

Hamish Hodge, Denson 8

Pearce Clare, Phillips 8

Dylan McCrea, Denson 8

David Chelaru, Lee 8

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THE AYLESBURIAN

SCHOOL SPORT

U12 Rugby -A Team The rugby season got off to a false start with our first game against King Edward’s being cancelled due to the passing of the Queen. However, a couple weeks later we had our very first AGS rugby match against John Hampden within our first few weeks at school. With only a few training sessions under our belts, this newly formed year 7 rugby team was nervous and eager to get the first win. Unfortunately, we didn’t get off to a great start and were 20-5 down at half time. Despite this, we went into the second half with hopes, and with a tactical plan in place from Baxter Kennedy and Freddie Palmer, who’s pace we could utilise, we scored immediately from kick off. This try boosted our confidence and led us on a path to victory. It was a great first victory coming back to win 2520, with Harry Smith and Tim Olufosoye scoring a try each, and Freddie Palmer getting the other 3. Our first Saturday fixture was against a very strong St Albans side, but we went into this game with more confidence after our previous performance. For many this was their first game, but we all had fire in our belly to go and get another win. Unlike the previous fixture we got off to a flying start as Joshua Riemer rucked well in the first passages of play leading to a couple passing out wide for Will Clarke to cross the line. Reuben Ashton and Umar Hassan secured the second win with a try each. A few weeks later we went over to play a physical Great Marlow, on a tight narrow pitch, which didn’t suit our fast attacking style of play, with Will Clarke, Reuben Ashton and Freddie Palmer. Despite this being well into the season, there were still first appearances for some of our players. James Hegarty was one of the newest A team representatives to play, and fought very hard in this physical game. After a very slow start, we quickly fell behind. Despite Baxter coming off the bench to get one back, followed by Himank Tripathy, Will Clarke and Harry Godden adding to our score, we could never recover. As we progressed through the season with mixed results, we headed to London to play Latymer. This time, we were the team that got off to a quick start as Tim Olufosoye was able to crash over the line to get us on the scoreboard. In a very tough match, where we were pinned on our own try line for periods of the game, the whole team demonstrated great resilience to hold onto our slender lead under heavy pressure. Great defensive displays from Umar Hassan, Harry Johnston and Alex Emmins in particular restricted Latymer to a single try, resulting in our first draw of the season.

Our final two games go hand-in-hand in terms of how we performed and the unravelling of the stories. Our last two games saw us travel to Haberdashers and Waddesdon in which we struggled to get success in the first halves. After a very slow start, and poor defensive work, we went into the half time breaks behind. After a clear focus of tackling hard the tide started to change in the second half of both games, with Morten Giles and Malakai Davison leading the way with big tackles. In both games we won the second half, but unfortunately we left ourselves too much to do in the Haberdashers game to win the tie losing 8 tries to 4. However, in the Waddesdon game, our second half performance did overturn our initial deficit resulting in a 20-15 win to end the season. Both games required a huge team effort, as displayed by the number of different scorers across the two games, which

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included; Baxter Kennedy, Jay Bhadri,

James Hegarty, Hashim Ashiq, Finlay O’Donovan and

Reuben Ashton (2), Malakai Davison,

Dominic Gregson to name a few.

Harry Smith, Harry Godden and Umar Hassan.

A great first season we should all be proud of. We won a total of 8 games, lost 9 and drew 1. Everyone this season

U12 Rugby -B Team

played excellently and there are far too many names to

Similar to the A team, this report will

list, but well done to everyone who took part in the AGS

look at some of the highlights from

year 7 rugby season. We all look forward to next season

the year 7 B team season, and like

and the future success we will achieve.

the A team, our first fixture was also cancelled, resulting in a delayed start. Despite the delayed start we had a really good start to this season and scored 3 tries in the first few minutes, which led us to a big 85-10 win against St Albans. Our top scorer was Jake Canning who scored nearly all our tries and our captain for the game was Charlie Ruck, who led the team very well. Our following few games unfortunately saw us fall to a run of defeats against very strong oppositions. With a rotation in captaincy a number of us were able to demonstrate great leadership throughout this tough run, and players like Jacob Wallace, Owen Samaranayake and Archie Phipps performed magnificently. Against our close rivals, Dr Challoner’s, we were able to end our struggling form with an impressive rugby display. A mixture of strong direct running from Kameron Nahim, and great team passing resulted in Pradyun Annapureddy, Musa Wasim and David Coceban (twice) scoring and helping us to a well deserved win. As the season progressed and worked it’s way to the finish line, opportunities arose for many boys to represent the school and showcase their ability and character through a tough fixture list. David Coceban, who was able to continuously stamp his name on the team sheet most weeks, captained the side tremendously, with constant support from his regular team mates;

IMAGE : E TREHERNE

WRITTEN : MR H DUDMISH BAXTER KENNEDY, DENSON 7 HARRY SMITH, RIDLEY 7 DAVID COCEBAN, PHILLIPS 7 DOMINIC GREGSON, RIDLEY 7

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THE AYLESBURIAN

RUGBY 7s

SCHOOL SPORT

probably too confidently and got beaten by a pretty ordinary Bromsgrove team. Our defence was very passive and there was no intensity at the breakdown. If you allow the independent schools time to play, they will always cause

U13 Rugby 7’s

you problems. We now had our work cut out to

In our one and only tournament, the boys from

qualify having lost a game but following some

Year 8 did really well and performed to a high level

stern words, we attempted to raise our level of

against local opposition. Training was disrupted

performance against RGS Colchester. In this

due to constant clashes with football, basketball,

game we were outstanding. The team selection

cross-country and swimming but a strong squad was

was changed and the new combinations worked

selected to compete at the Stowe School tournament.

well. We never let the opposition settle and

In our group, Akeley Wood didn’t show up and this

scored tries for fun winning 45-0, Chukwudi and

meant we had one less game to prepare for the

Joe Gormally excelling.

afternoon stage of the tournament. We secured a

During that 2nd group match, Bromsgrove got

confident win vs Buckingham School in our group to

beaten by Downsend so we knew it would now

ensure we went through as group winners.

be winner takes all from our final game to top

Up front, it was clear that Felix Caille, David Chelaru and

the group. Downsend were a very well organised

Joe Tilley were our strongest ball carriers and behind

team and played pretty rugby 7’s but again we

the scrum, Ollie Usher and Hamish Hodge would pull

set out to disrupt them and not allow them the

the strings. Our pace on the wing was provided by Josh

time or space to be creative. In fairness, we

Dumbu who was clearly a powerful unit who would take

completely blew them away and played some

some stopping.

attractive 7’s ourselves winning 27-7 and hence

As group winners, we then played the other group

winning the group on points difference. In this

winners, RGS High Wycombe and Ousedale School.

game Isaac Mills was controlling our shape

The game against RGS was a close fought one with it

from fly-half and kicking intelligently. Up front,

locked at two scores each going into the final minute.

Dilan, Sam Wright and Jafar were a handful and

A first half injury to Felix was a blow but Will Belsham

proved to be very strong runners.

stepped up and played strongly. Unfortunately, we lost

Having now qualified for Day 2, we played Eton

the game by a single score but pushed RGS all the way.

College to see which tournament we would

One final game remained against Ousedale and the

play in the next day. Eton were very strong and

squad was starting to tire. Unbelievably, Ollie Usher has

had pace all across their team and were very

left the tournament at lunch time to run in the County

difficult to defend against. They won the game,

Cross-Country finals before returning to play in the

four scores to nil, but we were in the game

decisive game against our MK rivals. Ousedale were a

throughout. We thought we had scored under

very strong outfit and had too much pace across their

the points at 14-0 down only to have it denied

team for us to cope with.

and reversed by a penalty against Joe Gormally.

Finishing third in the tournament meant we didn’t

So on day 2, we returned and were drawn in

qualify for the regional finals but credit to all the boys

the Plate competition, in a group with rugby

for playing so well.

giants John Fisher and Kings Wimbledon. We started very well with a win vs John Fisher 17-7.

U14 Rugby 7’s

Our defence held up well against their well-

Following on from a successful season of rugby 7’s last

organised attack and were potent with the

year, the Year 9 squad was supplemented by some

ball, with Chukwudi looking dangerous and

quality players from the year below, following their

scoring from distance. The scoreline could

tournament at Stowe School. Chukwudi would provide

have been more dominant had he not lost a

some welcome pace on the wing and Ollie Usher the

try being tackled from behind whilst grounding

engine to last the tournament and finish strongly.

the ball. KCS Wimbledon had beaten John

On Day 1, we had been drawn in a tough group with

Fisher by an identical score and so once again,

Bromsgrove School, RGS Colchester and Downsend

it was winner take all to qualify for the Quarter

School. With only the group winner progressing, we

Finals. We had lost Chukwudi with injury in the

knew it would be a tough ask. We started confidently,

previous game and so were lacking our real

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pace for this crucial game. That said, we decided to play

strongly and Harry Wilson was always a threat.

a fairly direct game and utilise our physical strengths and

Although we were competitive, we did lose

attempt to go through our opposition. There was nothing

the game 43-22. Last up was a game against

between the teams and with only seconds to go, we were

Haberdsher’s School, Elstree - a team we had

14-12 up having just scored under the posts. With a little

beaten on our 15-a-side circuit. We started well

composure, we just had to see out the last minutes of play

and went 14 points up with Adam Bosompem

and progress to the prestigious knockout stages. It turned

looking very sharp on the wing, following James

out to be a heartbreaking last minute as we defended

Marklew-Brown’s injury. However, we then

valiantly, scrambling to keep KCS out. Somehow we

seemed to run out of steam and allowed Habs

managed to turn the ball over and just needed to get the

to score four unanswered tries to win the game

ball off the pitch. Our kick went astray and KCS had one

for them.

final attacking opportunity with the clock in the red. Our

Many thanks to all who trained and braved

defence had matched up to their numbers but we missed

horrific weather to represent the school with

a tackle out wide and they scored in the corner to win the

honour.

game. Although the loss was difficult to take, the team should be very proud of their efforts. It is a great achievement to make Day 2 and to go so close to the Quarter Finals, is a fantastic performance. U18 Rugby 7’s First up for us was the tournament at Nextphase Academy where we battled freezing cold conditions and driving rain. It was hardly 7’s weather. In our first game, we played a good quality Oratory side who were packed with pace and power. We started well and matched them in most areas in the first half. We scored one impressive try which followed our edge to edge philosophy and the ball went through multiple sets of hands before scoring. Tom Kirkpatrick-Brown was particularly impressive in this defeat. As the game wore on, we definitely tired and their squad depth proved to be key in them turning the screw and obtaining the win. In our second game, we made a number of changes and took on Windsor Boys School. This was certainly a game we should have won but we missed a number of poor tackles and didn’t really play according to our planned shape. As a result we were punished with a defeat which placed us bottom of our group. In our play-off game in the Bowl Final, we played John Hampden on the show pitch. It was an end to end affair but a game which we led from start to finish. James Marklew-Brown looked sharp and George Birch was very direct. It was pleasing to finish with a win and pick up some silverware. At Rosslyn Park National 7’s Tournament, we were drawn in a group which was on a whole different level to the Nextphase tournament. First up we played Oundle School and were significantly out-muscled. Their pace and power was too much for us to handle and we were well beaten. Next up, we played Magdalen College School, Oxford and this was a much more even contest. Zac Brown played

Written : Mr G Ramsbottom Mr M Roberts

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THE AYLESBURIAN

SQUASH

SCHOOL SPORT

in New Year. Special mention to the following who have all been selected for regional

AGS Squash has continued to prove very popular with students. The use of courts in the mornings has been very encouraging along with countless boys who attend lunchtimes and after school clubs. We have 3 teams competing in National Schools, 1 each in the England Squash age specifications of KS3, KS4 & KS5. We have been extremely successful in Stage 1 of the competition with all 3 squads qualifying for the next stage. When we play friendlies, we revert back to U19, U17, U15 & U13 teams. The U19/KS5 team of Ciaran Sidhu, Silas Glover, Tom Whitehead, Alex Glover & Ollie Peck started the season with losses to Harrow, John Hampden and Eton but more recently had friendly wins over Radley and Berkhamsted. Their Stage 1 National Schools wins were over Abingdon and Haberdashers. The U19 2nd team have played a few friendly matches and recorded wins over Berkhamsted, John Hampden and Radley. Team consists of Ellison Socrates, Joel Jennings, Billy Dodds, William Longman, Samuel Griffin, Thomas Barlow and Ossian Conely. Our KS4 team won through their national school group beating John Hampden and Bradfield convincingly to finish top of their Stage 1 group. Excellent effort all round from the team of Ciaran Sidhu, Alex Glover, Billy Dodds, William Longman & Samuel Griffin. The U15 team, most of whom have competed in the National Schools KS4 matches, have won friendly fixtures against Harrow and Eton. The KS3 qualified for next stage in National Schools by winning both of their group matches against John Hampden and Bedford Modern, finishing top. Congratulations to the team of William Longman, Suran Godagama, Luca Goddard, Daniel Yap and Dylan Bhana. A promising aspect of this term has been the number of U13 boys who have turned up for all available sessions to play and train so well done to the following boys who have represented the school in their age groups - Malakai Davison, Harry Smith, Joe Yeardsley, Joshua Quinn, Eshan Muralikrishnan, David Onohwakpo Tobie Spillman, Eshan Patel, Charlie Ruck & Rueben Ashton. At the halfway point of the season the boys can take many positives from their performances, and we look forward to the draws for the next round of the National Schools competition as well as a full friendly fixture list

squads - Ciaran Sidhu, Alex Glover, William Longman. Samuel Griffin, Thomas Barlow and Ossian Conely have also played county recently so congratulations to them also. We had 3 teams competing in National Schools after successful stage 1matches, with representation in KS3, KS4 & KS5. When we play friendlies, we revert to U19, U17, U15 & U13 teams. The 1st team , our Under 19’s, of Ciaran Sidhu, Silas Glover, Tom Whitehead, Alex Glover & Ollie Peck started the 2nd half of the season with a win against Harrow, but unfortunately ended the term with a loss away to Eton. The team were drawn in stage 2 with serial national winners Millfield, Dr Challoners and RGS High Wycombe and we were hosting. Despite some valiant efforts and wins over DCGS & RGSHW the team were beaten by Millfield and were only able to finish runners up. This was disappointing as only the winners of each group went through to the finals. Our KS4 team and boasting some of the 1st team players were drawn to play hosts Berkhamsted, The Leys and Dr Challoners in their stage 2 group. Excellent effort all round from the team of Ciaran Sidhu, Alex Glover, Billy Dodds, William Longman & Samuel Griffin as they progressed to finals with 5-0 wins over all the opposition. They then travelled to Egbaston Priory Club in Birmingham to take on the elite in the finals. With the top 8 schools in country qualifying the boys finally finished a creditable 7th losing to Epsom College, South Hunsley but ending with a 5-0 win over Harrow. The U15 team, most of whom have competed in the National Schools KS4 matches, have won friendly fixtures against Harrow and Eton.

109

The KS3 qualified for stage 2 in National Schools and were drawn to play one of the most successful schools in country, Wycliffe, and hosts Solihull. Despite beating their hosts, they were unable to beat a very strong and eventual national winners Wycliffe. Congratulations to the team of William Longman, Suran Godagama, Luca Goddard, Daniel Yap and Dylan Bhana who have played excellently throughout the season. A promising aspect of this term has been the number of U13 boys who have turned up for all sessions to play and train so well done to the following boys who have represented the school in their age groups - Malakai Davison, Harry Smith, Joe Yeardsley, Joshua Quinn, Harry Johnston, Eashan Patel & David Onohwakpo. They recently had a good 3-2 friendly with over Dr Challoner’s. At the end of the season the boys can take many positives from their performances and will continue to train and build on their experiences.

SWIMMING The Junior swim team has demonstrated skill and talent throughout the season, competing at a high level against other teams in both the Wycombe Abbey and the Herts swim league. Their dedication to training and determination in the pool paid off, as they won several key events throughout the season, ultimately leading them to victory in both leagues. The team led by Daniel Talbot, included Vlad Kabanov, Pearce Clare, Max Manners, Chris Hamer, Elliot King, and Fraser Hearmon. Notably, Chris, Elliot and Frasier are all in Yr 7 and helped support the squad throughout the season gaining valuable experience. The Inter swim team has also had an outstanding season, with several team members earning individual accolades and setting new personal bests in their events. Their performances throughout the Wycombe Abbey swim league were exceptional, winning several key events and contributing to the team’s overall success. In the Herts swim league, the Inter team’s impressive performances continued, earning them 1st place in the standings and helping to secure the team’s victory. The team is made up of Jake Chesworth, Alfie Toms, Rafi Gibson, Josh Tyack, Han Tan, Tom Ruck and Oliver C-B and many of these swimmers broke event records. The Senior swim team has been a dominant force throughout the entire season, demonstrating a level of skill and determination that has been unmatched by their competitors. Their performances in both the Wycombe Abby and Herts swim leagues were very consistent, with

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THE AYLESBURIAN

the team achieving good results in each event in which they competed. Their hard work and dedication to their training have certainly paid off, as they were the clear winners in the Herts League and runners-up in the Wycombe Abbey League. Back in September 2022, the senior team swam well in the ESSA regional competition, placing 2nd in both the Freestyle and Medley relays. They qualified for the National finals in London in November 2022, and again against tough competition placed 12th overall, which is a fantastic achievement. The squad included Sam Pyefinch, Carmelo Almadin, Billy Knibb, George De Voogt, Dan Beadle, Daksh Surana, Tom & Dan Poole, Sam Clark & James Davies, all of which swam well, representing the school with distinction. A special mention goes to Sam Pyfinch and Carmelo Almadin, both have represented AGS in swimming over the past 7 years and have consistently performed at the top level. Thank you for your service. Overall, it has been a fantastic season for all three swim teams, who have shown a remarkable level of skill, teamwork, and dedication throughout the season. Their impressive performances have brought great pride to AGS, and their victories in both the Wycombe Abbey and Herts swimming leagues are a testament to their hard work and talent. Congratulations to all the swimmers who have taken part this season.

WRITTEN : MR N GIBBS

SCHOOL SPORT

111

TENNIS AGS Tennis started during the summer term with lunchtime sessions for all years and participation has started to increase across all ages. House tennis was a success with some excellent tennis on show despite the unsavoury weather. The U15 squad finished top of their group with outstanding performances from Ashton Taank and the team winning all their group matches with some impressive displays against Stowe, Ousedale and RGS. Well done to Taank, Andrew Johnson, Ronit Tailor & John McIntosh. They now progress through to next stage which begins in September. The U13 squad had fixtures against RGS and DCGS and also progressed to next stage of nationals in a depleted group. However, many boys were given the opportunity to represent the school and did extremely well. Heading the team was James Godley who was supported superbly throughout by the rest of the squad. U13 squad James Godley, Euan Conely, Freddie Jarman, Malakai Davison, Uday Gupta,

RESULTS U15s Won v Stowe Won v RGSHW, 8-4 U13s Won v RGSHW, Won via w/o v Akeley Wood Won v Ousedale

Written : Mr D Withey

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THE AYLESBURIAN

BETTER TOGETHER

SCHOOL SPORT

113

It is so pleasing to read through all the activities that have happened over the past 12 months at AGS. There have been some awesome achievements from our students along with some exciting performances over the course of the year. AGS Sport continues to go from strength to strength, especially post the ‘covid’ years that really affected Sport. Our participation numbers have increased and the opportunities for students to participate in have increased with variety, including participation in Ultimate Frisbee, Climbing, Kendo, Golf alongside our historical sports such as Football, Cricket, Squash, Rugby and Swimming to name a few. None of this would be possible without the hard work and commitment from our students and the support from our parental body. The opportunities that students are given are as a result of dedication of our amazing team within the Sport and PE Team. I am hugely grateful to the whole team, not just the PE Team but also to the wider staff beyond the PE Team. Our extracurricular programme would not be what it is without this support and enthusiasm of everyone. It is with sadness that we say goodbye to Mr McGill, who moved on to pastures new as Director of Sport at Dame Alice Owen’s School. It was very clear that many students have benefited from his support, energy and excellent knowledge of a number of sports and activities - ranging from Football, Cricket but especially Handball. It is safe to say that without Mr McGill’s input, Handball at AGS would not be what it is today. It is a very exciting time for Sport and AGS and we look forward to seeing things continue to progress further whilst enjoying the journey.

Written : Mr C Duggan, Director of Sport

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THE AYLESBURIAN

PRIZE WINNERS

WILLIAM HARDING SUBJECT PRIZE YEAR 7 WINNERS Art

Drama

Geography

Jack Gates

Lucien Tosti

Dominic Webley

Harry Smith

Classical Studies

English

German

Religious Studies

James Wylie

Alex Grimshaw

Archie Phipps

Harry Smith

Computer Science

History

Mathematics

Science

Xavier Rogers

Alex Grimshaw

George Goddard

Hashim Ashiq

Design Technology

French

Music

Spanish

Hribhav Agarwal

Hristian Hristov

George Goddard

Luca Quelho Dos Santos

JUNIOR PRIZE WINNERS

YEAR 8 WINNERS Art

English

History

Kit Chantrey

Xander Jefford

Chris Thomas

Ollie Usher

Computer Science

French

Latin

Religious Studies

George Maguire

Benji Colclough Moss

Chris Thomas

Design Technology

Geography

Mathematics

Science

Jeremy Muncey

Tharuga Pathirajage

Eldan Twelftree

James Ratcliffe

Drama

German

Music

Spanish

Louis Ajuied

Sheyon Rajaratnam

Eldan Twelftree

Dylan Richards

Art

Drama

History

Zachary Cleary

Seth Yeneralski

Rami Al-Kheralla

Edward Johnson

Biology

English

Latin

Physics

Sanjeev Sunil

George Murden

Jack Higgs

Gabriel Goodman

Chemistry

French

Mathematics

Religious Studies

Tharun Millathe

Rishabh Bali

Gabriel Goodman

Computer Science

Geography

Music

Spanish

Jaiden Rowell

Alex Chadwick

Isaac Forward

Edward Johnson

Design Technology

German

Alex Chadwick

Henry Hall

YEAR 9 WINNERS

HEAD OF YEAR AWARD FOR ACHIEVEMENT

Year 7

Year 8

Year 9

Alex Deris

Sam Bett

Oliver Colborne-Baber

Dev Gohil

Alex Cooper

Sam Gill

Alex Harvey

Malek Elfadaly

William Longman

Harry Smith

David Onohwakpo

Alfie Toms

THE OLD AYLESBURIANS’ ASSOCIATION COMMUNITY PRIZE Jafar Hassan

THE GLENN TURNELL CUP Zachary Cleary

THE HARRY HEWITT MEMORIAL SHIELD Edward Johnson

THE MIKE GRIFFIN CUP Sam Dewhirst

THE BEN PICKARD TROPHY FOR EXCELLENCE Cody Needham

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WILLIAM HARDING SUBJECT PRIZE YEAR 10 WINNERS Ancient History

Computer Science

French

Mathematics

Andrew Johnson

Vaibhav Dachavaram

Dayeen Ali

Avaneesh Ekande

Art

Design Technology

Geography

Music

Khizr Hussain

Ayan Sharma

James Brear

Robert Horrocks

Biology

Drama

Geology

Dominic Hardman-

Seb Jimenez

Ismaeel Khalid

Joe Harrison

Mountford

English

German

Physics

Business

Shaun Gamage

Austin Bhadri

Dayeen Ali

Eshanth Vakkalanka

Food & Nutrition

History

Religious Studies

Chemistry

Dominic Hardman-

James Seanor

Vaibhav Dachavaram

Muhammad Saleem

Mountford

Latin

Spanish

William Stewart

Ethan Jarrett

SENIOR PRIZE WINNERS

YEAR 11 WINNERS Ancient History

Design Technology

Geology

Music

Charlie Compton

Joseph Fernando

Edward Fails

Keane Liboon

Art

Drama

German

Caiden Griffiths

Levi Mobisa

James Quinn

Sam Hughes

Biology

Economics

History

Physics

Alex Glover

Isaac Gibbs

Manas Tannan

Daksh Surana

Business

English

Latin

Religious Studies

Gaurav Bohra

Joseph Aloluwaloba

Dominic Beattie

Nathan Townsend

Chemistry

French

Mathematics

Spanish

Kaushik Potnuru

Dominic Beattie

James Quinn

Anthony Unugboke

Computer Science

Geography

Nathan Townsend

Hrishik Subramani

YEAR 12 WINNERS Ancient History

Design Technology

French

Mathematics

Leo Wallis

Oliver Thompson

Thomas Young

Hafeezur Rahman

Art

Drama

Further

Music

Johan Jose

Jake Russon

Mathematics

Ben Curry

Biology

Economics

Pragvansh Bhatt

Fraser Reeves

Tobi Akinwumi

Geography

Sam Codrington

Business

English Language &

Alex Davis

Physics

Krishanu Thakore

Literature

German

Jamie Baker

Chemistry

Krishanu Thakore

David Samuel

Politics

Anis Manuchehri-

English Literature

History

Oscar Peck

Ramirez

Isaac Salle

Alex Davis

Psychology

Computer Science

EPQ

Latin

Fraser Reeves

Yuv Saxena

Gabriel Moukli

Leo Wallis

Spanish George Mansfield

YEAR 13 WINNERS Ancient History

Design Technology

Drama

Geology

William Kuht

Kasper Marriott

Chris Marsterson

Ollie Lemonde Psychology Hasnain Abbas

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THE AYLESBURIAN

PRIZE WINNERS

HEAD OF YEAR AWARD FOR ACHIEVEMENT YEAR 10

YEAR 11

YEAR 12

Thamjid Choudhury

Freddy Crafts

Sam Duodu

Matthew Draper

James Davies

Eliott Godley

Josh Olliffe

Patrick Matthews

George Moore

Leo Pargeter

Genthushan Piratheepan

Ed Scott

THE OLD AYLESBURIANS’ ASSOCIATION COMMUNITY PRIZE Khizr Hussain, Sujatro Dubey

THE RICHARD BENNETT PRIZE Sam Baxter

THE STEPHEN SHIPPERLEY PRIZE FOR ENTERPRISE AND INNOVATION Dhruv Kale

THE KEITH SMITH PRIZE Gabriel Moukli

AWARDS FOR COMMITMENT TO ENTERPRISE

SENIOR PRIZE WINNERS

Jonny Buckthorpe, Adam Mercier

THE ALEC LOWNDES KNIGHT AWARD FOR ENDEAVOUR Ben Hallett

THE P J LARKHAM PRIZE FOR THEATRE John Davie

THE DISRAELI PRIZE FOR DEBATING Toby Webster

THE THOMSON CUP FOR SPORTSMANSHIP Joe Barber

THE JOHN PRODGER CUP FOR SPORTING ACHIEVEMENT Oscar Wellbelove

THE BEATTIE CUP FOR MUSICIANSHIP Chris Marsterson

THE CHARLIE DUNNE ‘AYLESBURIAN’ AWARD FOR PARTICIPATION AND CONTRIBUTION TO HOUSE AND SCHOOL LIFE Tom Kirkpatrick-Brown

FOUNDATION GOVERNORS’ PRIZES FOR OUTSTANDING A LEVEL RESULTS Hasnain Abbas

Silas Glover

Liam Purchase

Tony Alocious

Marcus Henry

Dilraj Shergill

Morgan Billings

Callum Kiteley

Jason Stephens

Adam Bosompem

Aaron MacWhirter

Theerhan Suppiah

Daniel Bulmer

Ayaan Mather

Toby Webster

Jack Callaghan

DJ Mentiply

Noah Wilcock

Eric Chen

William Murphy

David Wusu

Charles Edwards

Teni Oluranti-Ahmed

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DONATED SUBJECT PRIZES Chiltern Hundreds Prize for EPQ

Glover Prize for The Arts

Adam Bosompem

Marcus Henry

Helliwell Prize for Science

Irons Prize for Art

Adam Bosompem

Oliver Evans-Howe Dame Kathleen Raven Prize for Biology Tony Alocious

Furley Prize for French Abshly Shaji Belger Prize for Further Mathematics

Miscampbell Prize for Mathematics

Morgan Billings

Tony Alocious

Brown Prize for Mathematical Physics

James Bowe Prize for Business

Morgan Billings

Silas Glover

Lloyd-Jones Prize for Geography

Raven Prize for Chemistry

Theo Russell

Toby Webster

Owen Prize for History

Brooker Prize for German

Liam Purchase

Toby Webster

Professor Mead Prize for Music

Fleet Prize for Computer Science

Matteo Bellini

David Wusu

Mackrill Prize for PE

Webb Prize for Economics

Nick Beale

Zach Cooke

Furneaux Prize for Physics

Jones Prize for Politics

Jason Stephens

Zach Cooke

John Hunt Prize for Spanish

Deeming Prize for English

Ed Stubbs

Daniel Compton MacLeod Prize for English Language and Literature George Wiggs

DENSON PRIZES FOR EXCELLENT A LEVEL RESULTS Tom Adsley

Kasper Marriott

Vihan Reddy

Nick Beale

Tyno Martire-Charlett

Theo Russell

Ansh Biyani

Yusuf Misbah

Aadhav Sakthivel

Nick Cay

Aidan Murrell

Jonathan Sang

Will Cliffe

Tom Oakes

Abshly Shaji

Zach Cooke

Jaco Peacock

Shivam Sharma

John Davie

Diyatha Perera

Dom Staines

James Davies

Aarya Poondy

Sourab Surana

Ewan Dixon

Sam Pyefinch

Gavin Thurairajah

Liam Ellis Florez

Faizan Rahman

Irfan Usman

Ayman Helmy

Komal Ramineni

Alex Ward

Dom Lai

Shreeharsh Rao

Brian Wickramasinghe

PATERSON PRIZES -HEAD BOYS Nick Cay

Ben Chanter

Silas Glover

118

THE AYLESBURIAN

SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT

The year 2023 marks the 425th anniversary of the foundation of Aylesbury Grammar School in 1598. That’s 425 years of educating local students and since its foundation, the School has survived 19 monarchs, the upheaval of two world wars – as well as the English Civil War – and various relocations around Aylesbury. To commemorate this incredible milestone, we created a very special 425th anniversary book revealing the fascinating history of Aylesbury Grammar School through an exploration of key events and personalities that have left a lasting impact on the School. The story is engrossing, lively, sometimes surprising, and beautifully illustrated, with many stunning photographs reproduced which have not been published previously. It is a book for the entire AGS community, to be enjoyed, referred to, and cherished for years to come. If you haven’t already, there is still time to order your copy from our website ags.bucks.sch.uk/parents/shops (clicking on the ParentPay link) or simply the scan the QR code embedded in the book image opposite. Fundraising continues to be a challenge for us here at AGS. With immense pressure on school budgets and forecast income being revised and in real terms reduced, community donations to our School are essential. They are not used to supplement the Department for Education funding to pay for operating costs in the School, but they are used to ensure our ageing facilities are kept up to date to ensure they are fit for purpose. Donations address the immediate needs of the School and positively impact students during their time here. Most recently, we were delighted that these crucial funds enabled us to completely repurpose the south side, ground floor area of the Tower Block. This has completely transformed the space into a specially designed Student Support facility. Located in the heart of the School, this facility now provides a valuable decompression space for all students, away from the noise and gives any student that needs it a space away from the rest of the School. We are grateful to all those who have already generously pledged their support for the Aylesburian Annual Fund. Importantly, any contribution, at any level,

and GCSE PE courses, whilst also providing

has impact and means that we continue to develop the

offices for our PE staff. This will be the first

teaching and learning facilities at AGS. The focus of our

stage of a three-phase development plan for

next project is to convert the old caretaker’s bungalow

Sport at AGS, which you will read more about in

into a specialised PE classroom, to be used for A Level

the next edition of the Aylesburian Magazine.

119

To make a donation, visit our website ags.buck.sch. uk/supportus or email the Development Office at

OLD AYLESBURIANS

development@ags.bucks.sch with the subject ‘Donate’ and we shall be in touch. Our Inscribe a Plaque initiative continues to inspire the parents of outgoing Year 13 students in particular and some Year 12 parents to donate to the School. We also offer the initiative to Old Aylesburians. It is another mechanism for supporting School fundraising, which, with The Aylesburian Annual Fund, was the relocation

We are, as always, grateful to our inspirational and supportive OA community, who give their time and expertise so generously to enrich the learning and lives of our students. In additional to events and programme talks, we held a hugely successful and highly valuable

and refurbishment of Student Support.

mock interview evening for several of our medical

For a one-off gift of £250 parents and carers are

OA’s online, students were supported through

encouraged to inscribe a plaque in their child’s name and it is the added to the Feature Wall in the Sixth Form Centre. By investing in the future of the School, they are helping to enrich teaching and learning, and it is an opportunity for the community to support AGS in perhaps a more overt way, and to leave a lasting legacy for their child or themselves, celebrating their time here.

students. Hosted by current parents and several interview style questioning and scenarios in preparation for university medical interviews. We are always keen to hear from Medics and Law professionals to support our students and our MedSoc and LawSoc societies. Please do get in touch with us at Development (via email development@ags.bucks.sch.uk) if you think you might be to share knowledge and support our aspiring students. We were sad to lose some long standing members of our Aylesburian community last year. Dennis Lack, much loved Head of Art and House Master 1956-1981, died peacefully at his home in January, having celebrated his 100th birthday with friends and family in the previous March. Gillian Miscampbell OBE, DL passed away in January.The personification of an Aylesburian,

AGS is more than just a place of learning, it is home to a community of staff, parents, alumni, friends and other professionals whom come together to support our

Gillian gave her time, expertise and energy to Aylesbury Grammar School in her numerous roles as former parent, Governor, Chairman of

School’s purpose and vision.

the Foundation and current Foundation Trustee.

From fundraising events, mentorship programmes

and attended her last meeting in December.

and inspirational speakers the sense of belonging and philanthropy is truly inspirational. It is therefore only right that we acknowledge and thank all those who have given their time and expertise to support development at AGS. Over the past year we have welcomed back a number of familiar faces to School and Development events including Reunions, Prize Giving, Public Speaking, House Music, Subject talks, Career Days, Old Aylesburians’ Sports Day and as part of the School’s Inspirational Speakers programme.

She was a Member of the Academy Trust Gillian will be sorely missed by many but her philanthropic impact will leave an impressive legacy. In 1982, Gillian was awarded an Order of the British Empire for her public and political services.

ONCE AN

AYLESBURIAN, ALWAYS AN

AYLESBURIAN

120

THE AYLESBURIAN

OLD AYLESBURIANS In early July we held a Sharing of Expertise afternoon with over 30 OA’s returning to talk to our Year 12 students about their careers, university experiences and things they wished they had known when they were in Year 12! It was a hugely successful afternoon, providing valuable insights from a wide variety of Old Aylesburians who had all followed different paths. Thank you again to all those who helped make the afternoon such a success. It was great to welcome back the AGS Class of 1997 and 1998 to a special OA 25 Year Reunion hosted by Seni Mylvaganam (Hampden ’97) and Titu Basu (Phillips ’98). It was good to see some familiar faces and meet those who had not connected with the School since they had left. A fantastic evening was had by all and our sincere thanks to Seni and Titu for their valuable help in rallying the troops. Our annual OA Sports Day returned again with a host of sporting Old Aylesburians taking part in cricket, squash and futsal matches -all in one afternoon! It was great to see former students from the 1980’s right through to 2022 leavers battling it out against each other in the spirit of competition! All followed by drinks and pizza in the Headmaster’s Quad. Our OA community is thriving and we encourage all former students to join our vibrant alumni community site and enjoy numerous benefits such as access to professional networking, opportunities to share expertise, inspire others and be inspired. Visit alumni.bucks.sch.uk and stay up to date with all our exclusive alumni news and events.

121 With the launch of our newly

Krish Koria (Phillips ‘07) returned

established AGS Law Society we were

to speak with our Engineering

delighted to welcome back Cambridge

students back in June. Krish is a

graduate Finn Bell (Lee ‘19) to talk

Geophysical Business Manager

to students about studying Law at

at Resources Developments

university and next steps after uni.

Consultants Ltd in New Zealand.

Richard Bush (Phillips ‘03) returned to

Law Soc also welcomed Cam

AGS to share his journey in Sports Law

McDonald (Lee ‘19) back to AGS to

with our students. It was really great

share his experiences of studying

to see Richard offering our aspiring

law at Oxford university. Having

legal professions valuable advice and

graduated last summer Cam was

sharing his experiences with them.

able to provide insights into uni life.

As always it was a pleasure to

Adam Newton (Hampden ‘93)

welcome back Bernie Bernard (Denson

kindly spent a lesson with our Year

‘05) back to deliver an inspired talk

13 Politics students back in May as

to our Year 9 students as part of their

well as adjudicating our prestigious

Character Education sessions here at

House Writing competition. We are

AGS.

so grateful for his time & expertise.

As part our Inspirational Speakers

Sharing his wealth of medical

programme we were thrilled to have

knowledge and expertise, Seni

Scott Davies (Phillips ‘04) return to

Mylvaganam (Hampden ‘97) a

share his brilliant career and incredibly

Consultant Oncoplastic Surgeon,

emotive story to our Sixth Form

returned to AGS to kick off our

students, over 400 of them!

calendar of speakers for MedSoc.

September saw the welcome return

Returning to AGS to speak to

of Senior Prize Giving (in person)

our Sixth Form students about

and we were delighted to welcome

the intricacies of setting up and

Matthew Dickinson (Denson ‘05) back

running your own business, Dan

to the Foundation Hall to be our guest

Silvertown (Hampden ‘10) delivered

speaker for the event.

an informative and engaging talk.

House Music, the biggest music event

For Senior Public Speaking we

of the year, took place in February and

welcomed Tom Ward (Hampden

we were honoured to have Will Farmer

‘06) back to AGS to adjudicate

(Hampden ‘16) join us on the final night

the competition. Bringing fond

to adjudicate proceedings and enjoy

memories to Tom of his AGS Public

some incredible performances.

Speaking days!

The Art Department welcomed back

From the Seniors to the Juniors,

Heston Harris (Paterson ‘15) to chat

we were thrilled when Cam

with our A Level art students about

Wilson (Phillips ‘18) agreed to be

his journey from AGS, through uni at

our adjudicator for Junior Public

Manchester and fascinating career

Speaking, wonderful to see him

journey into architecture.

supporting our younger students.

THE AYLESBURIAN

UNIVERSITY DESTINATIONS

CLASS OF 2023 Aberystwyth University

The class of 2023 went onto to study

Aston University Birmingham

at a number of different institutions,

Birmingham City University Bristol, University of the West of England Brunel University London Cardiff University Durham University Heriot-Watt University Imperial College London Lancaster University London School of Economics and Political Science Loughborough University Newcastle University Northumbria University, Newcastle Nottingham Trent University Oxford Brookes University Queen Mary University of London Queen’s University Belfast Royal Holloway, University of London Staffordshire University Swansea University UCFB UCL (University College London) University for the Creative Arts University of Bath University of Birmingham University of Bristol University of Cambridge University of East Anglia UEA University of Exeter University of Gloucestershire University of Hull University of Kent University of Leeds University of Leicester University of Lincoln University of Liverpool University of Manchester University of Nottingham University of Oxford University of Plymouth University of Sheffield University of Southampton University of Surrey University of Sussex University of the Arts London University of Warwick University of York

embarking upon a wide range of courses. Other students began apprenticeships or took a gap year.

UNIVERSITY DESTINATIONS

122

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NUNCLIVING.COM

Nurturing Character since 1598 Aylesbury Grammar School is more than just a School. It is a community and a family built upon 425 years of history. As a School we inspire and nurture our students to explore for themselves who they want to be and find their place in the world.