The Aylesburian - 2017/2018 by Aylesbury Grammar School

THE

AYLESBURIAN

2017/2018

Sports Village

Halton Sports Village Chestnut End, Halton, Aylesbury, HP22 5PD T: 01296 623453 E: haltontennis@btinternet.com

www.haltontennis.co.uk

CONTENTS FOR THE

AYLESBURIAN The magazine of Aylesbury Grammar School Headmaster’s Welcome

Staff Leavers

Tribute to Charlie Dunne

House Life

Sport

School Life

School Visits

PTA

School Development & Alumni

Prize Winners

Design and Printed by Fresh Design & Print Solutions Ltd Email: hello@freshdps.co.uk

Editorial

Copyright © Aylesbury Grammar School 2018. Individual articles are copyright © the author. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, without the prior permission writing of the school, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographs rights organisations.

Mr G Dallas

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

HEADMASTER’S WELCOME It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the Aylesburian magazine for 2017-2018. This publication stands as the definitive historical reference for the School and so we hope that you enjoy reading the articles. Our thanks go to Mr Dallas and the whole editorial team for this year’s production.

Charlie Dunne is a true Aylesburian;

again in March. This was followed

taking part, trying new things, always

with a scorching summer and 50 plus

giving his best with a smile. Always

days without rain.

supporting and helping others, raising money for charity, going above and beyond and making a difference to all our lives.

These conditions did not deter the examination cohorts of 2018. At both A Level and GCSE, the level of change had been unprecedented

His legacy at School, in Denson

with new linear courses and at

House and across the community will

GCSE a new grading system. The

be one of fun, smiles, confidence,

staff have planned and delivered

selfless contribution and friendship.

the courses with great expertise

2017-2018 has provided many

He will always be remembered,

and professionalism. The overall

successes and opportunities but

once an Aylesburian, always an

outcomes were outstanding as

equally, it has brought us challenges

Aylesburian.

the students demonstrated their

and a deep sense of loss. It is through our core values that we have all demonstrated our compassion,

The climate played a major role in some of the key decisions across the

understanding and adoption of the changes with record results.

year. The whole school photograph,

We have seen the departure of a

planned once every five years, was

number of key staff across the year,

delayed not once, twice but three

with the retirement of Mrs Jiggins

To all the family, friends, staff,

times. There were also two snow

in April and the departure of Mr

students who knew and laughed with

events causing the closure of the

McCarthy in July. Mrs Jiggins left

Charlie, thank you for your strength,

School on transport and safety

at Easter 2018, a time when the

your friendship and your support.

grounds, once in December and

Geology team had become national

our humility and excellence when the time has come.

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

Visits to the USA, France, Germany,

the infrastructure of the School.

Spain, Italy and numerous visits in

Previous projects include the Science

the UK. Sports fixtures against fierce

block roof, main block heating and

local rivals and national excellence

the Sixth Form refurbishment.

in a range of sports. Debating and public speaking success, geology

This year, we were successful in

and Warhammer success, Maths

our two bids to improve our electrical

challenges, science Olympiads,

sustainability and to repair and

languages, engineering, computing

replace windows across the site.

and the list continues. All made possible by the staff and the desire of

Over the summer the incoming electricity supply has been upgraded

the students to excel.

to ensure further resilience and

The House competition remains the

hopefully no more events like the

vibrant heart beat of the School. With the array of competitions and

one that struck us in December.

events ensuring every student can

Windows in the main block have

participate in the life of the house.

been repaired and others are

This is the 6th time since 2000

being replaced across the site.

we have had a double winner of

IT1 and IT2 have been completely

champions. This accolade was

the Watson and Brodie Trophies,

testament to her continued focus on

Denson’s second double following

the progress and excellence of all the

the success of 2001.

students. Across 23 years, she has

Denson now move to joint second

been an outstanding teacher, Head

in the all-time Brodie winners list,

of Year and Head of Department.

level with Ridley but still two behind

For Mr McCarthy, his legacy in

Phillips. Only Denson’s second

basketball has led to AGS having a

Watson win in 17 years but both

sincere thanks to all the PTA

times as part of a double triumph.

members and the families who

A fitting victory for Denson following

have supported the School across

the tragic loss of one of their most

the year.

national reputation for excellence. Alongside the Basketball Academy and the Bucks Hornets club, Mr McCarthy has developed, nurtured level over his 15 years at the School.

have hosted the eminent professor

Both will be greatly missed.

Guy Claxton this year as well as

vibrant life of the School continues to impress. This is made possible

projects courtesy of the generosity and success of the PTA and the Aylesburian Annual Fund. Our

colourful and charismatic members. In our development of learning, we

curricular activity, the rich and

and furniture, while the tennis courts were resurfaced. These two

and progressed basketball to a new

In all areas of curricular and extra

refurbished with new hardware

To all the staff and students who have endured such a tough year, thank you. To all the families and

hosting Secondary Headteachers

especially the Cox family and the

from across the county to discuss

Dunne family, thank you for your

the culture of excellence and high

strength and humility.

performance. We hope you enjoy this publication.

by the relentless energy and

We have experienced great success

commitment from the staff alongside

over the last few years in winning

M Sturgeon

the enthusiasm of the students.

bids to the government to improve

Headmaster

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

Head Boy’s Reflections 2017 - 18

This academic year has been one of enjoyment and success for the entire AGS community.

Student Research Panel, a select

The 2017-18 academic year has also

group of students who have been

seen changes to the school. There

working to explore methods which

has been a major refurbishment to

The school has excelled in an

could increase extra-curricular

the ‘Old Gym’, which no longer looks

incredible range of areas, which

participation of students living further

so ‘old’. We have also witnessed

reflects the passion and ability of

from school. We hope the findings

the first full year of use for the new

the students across such a variety

of this group can be implemented in

science department, appreciated by

of interests. Above all, the school’s

the future as next year’s Head Boy

students and staff alike. The school-

success is consistently achieved in

team takes up the reigns. Also, a

wide focus on the AGS Learner has

the spirit of the school’s core values:

reorganisation of the School Council

continued to give a framework for all

to respect and aspire.

and Student Executive Board has

students to work towards, serving

made it easier for students to have

as an aide-memoire for the type of

As a team, Toby Higgs, Adam

an effective input into the workings of

work ethic that we can aspire to. To

Woodage and I made it our main

the school. We have more students

name just a single example of the

objective to increase student

involved in this system than ever

school’s achievement this year, there

involvement across all aspects of

before which has led to many

has been particular success for the

school life this year. Consequently,

suggestions being implemented

school’s Mathematics department in

we have seen the birth of the

within the school.

both individual and group ventures

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

– the senior team finishing in the top

thanks to all of you for being a part of

incredibly committed and I have truly

25 nationally.

it. On behalf of the entire year-group

enjoyed working with both of you

I would like to thank the staff of AGS

this year. A great deal of the work

for all the time and effort you have

that all of the above have done has

invested in us over the past seven

happened behind the scenes and

years – we will always be grateful for

sometimes goes unnoticed, so thank

your commitment and enthusiasm.

you from the entire AGS community

On a personal note, I would like to thank the Year 13 cohort with whom I have spent the past seven years. I have always believed we have been a very tight knit and inclusive year-

for all the hours you have put in over

group and this has been verified

I owe my thanks to all the Senior

over the past academic year. It is

and School Prefects, who have been

no secret that the final few months

integral to the school’s functioning. I

Good luck to next year’s student

of our school careers have been

would like to thank all the Head Boys

leadership team of Finn Bell, Sam

difficult with the stresses of exams

of House and their deputies; your

Carter and Sam Robertson, I hope

as well as plans for life after AGS.

roles are invaluable and you have all

it is a successful year for you all. It

However, as a collective, we should

gone above and beyond to aid the

has been a pleasure to be Head Boy

all be very proud of ourselves for

running of your respective Houses in

this year and it will always be a year

making it through. I wish you all the

addition to being involved in running

I look back on with great fondness.

very best of luck with your exam

numerous school events this year.

Thank you.

results and for the future. The

My sincerest thanks also go to Toby

memories of the past seven years

and Adam, my Deputy Head Boys

will always be important to me and

of School. You have both been

the past 12 months.

Max Hutt – Paterson 13

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

STAFF LEAVERS Caroline Jiggins

helping to run field trips and Caroline

knowledge and experience in a

has run many of these in both

different situation.

subjects. She has planned and organised these with great efficiency and thoroughly enjoyed helping students to apply their knowledge in various areas up and down the country. Her desire to see the profile of Geology raised in the school also led to her setting up a Geology club, which has been very popular with students of all ages. Over the past few years, she has also supported a team in entering competitions, which culminated in March of this year with the team being crowned National Champions in the Royal Geological

Caroline Jiggins joined Aylesbury Grammar School in November 1996 as a temporary and part-time teacher of Geography before becoming a permanent member of staff in 1999. Her expert knowledge

Society Competition, despite being

and passion for her subject, as

in 2003 as Head of Year 8, but she

well as her ability to communicate

has spent her more recent years

that knowledge to students of all

as part of the Upper School team

ages, has been much appreciated

as Head of Year 10 or Year 11. She

over the 22 years of service to the

has approached the role with great

school. When the Head of Geology,

efficiency and enthusiasm and with

Dr Rodgers, left the school in 2010

the well-being of the students in her

there were fears that the teaching of

care as her first priority. It was with

Geology as a separate subject might

great reluctance that she stepped

be lost with him. Fortunately, Caroline

down from the pastoral role which

stepped up and was appointed

she loved so much, in preparation

Head of Department. She has since

for her retirement, at the end of 2017

supported many students gain their

and she continued to offer her advice

GCSE in Geology, with grades

and support even after leaving the

amongst the best in the school.

role. Her commitment to the school

younger than most other entrants. Caroline has also been a highly successful Head of Year during her time at Aylesbury Grammar School. She was first appointed to the role

was also shown in her taking on the The role of a teacher of Geography

role of Staff Governor in 2009,

and Geology inevitably involves

where she was able to apply her

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

Caroline retired at the end of April 2018 to move up north and pursue her dream of running a B&B with her husband, her hospitality having already been enjoyed by members of the AGS staff. She will be much missed as a teacher, pastoral leader and as a friend and we wish her much happiness and success with her future plans. Dr K Smith

Lee McCarthy

As well as his work here at school

the AGS basketball academy which

he has developed a successful and

at its heart aims to provide a high

thriving local basketball club which

performance culture for students of

competes at national league level and

all ages to enhance and develop the

has provided yet more opportunity for

skills and gameplay. The academy

our students to play basketball at the

has gone from strength to strength

highest level. As a level 3 coach Lee

with more and more students joining

has also coached a small number

each year and the performance

of students at South England level

improvement was exemplified in

and in a few cases at a National

2018 with U12 basketball team

level. Over the years, Lee has had

reaching the National finals.

a huge influence on students, some students arrive at AGS with little or no basketball experience and in a few examples go on to play at the highest level across Europe. He has also provided excellent pastoral support for players, helping them through

When I first join AGS in 2006 I was immediately impressed by Lee and his energy and passion for basketball. He lived

difficult times, and in some cases

and breathed the sport and this

students to point where they share

enthusiasm spread to the students

the same passion for basketball.

he coached. In his time here at AGS

In recent years Lee has developed

acting as a mentor.

Lee’s contribution to AGS life has been immense and he will be sorely missed, basketball here at AGS will not be the same and that is due to the passion and dedication that Lee has for the sport and the students here at AGS. We wish him success in his future ventures and hope we don’t come across any of his school

Lee is a unique coach who has a

teams as we will know what a tough

style which enthuses and engages

game it will be. Play Big. Mr N Gibbs

he has single handedly led school basketball, coaching teams from U12 to senior age groups. He was instrumental in developing basketball across the county, running the Bucks county cup and thus providing students with more and more opportunity to represent the school. In 2008 I was lucky enough to accompany Lee to Utah on a basketball tour where we successfully took on the Americans at their own sport and won. We trained on the Utah Jazz court and the squad were pre game mascots for an NBA game. The whole squad enjoyed a once in a lifetime trip which had a huge impact on their lives.

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

Charlie Dunne (1999 – 2018) From our ‘Memories of Charlie afternoon’ held for his year group: What can I add about my memories of Charlie? Inevitably, because of the closeness of the school community, my memories will intermingle with those of my colleagues. Firstly, I will always remember his huge smile, his ready laughter and general enjoyment of life – you always knew when Charlie was around. There was noise, a lot of noise; he was seldom still and quiet in the Sixth Form Common Room, or

Towards the end of the Summer term 2018 we received the awful news that Charlie Dunne, one of our Year 13 students and a member of Denson House, had died after suffering a terrible accident on a beach in North Devon. Charlie had recently completed his A-levels, attended the Leavers’ Ball with friends and staff on Sunday 8 July and then travelled to North Devon for a holiday with family and some friends.

his death, and from our Book of Condolence. In the coming months we will talk more about how we will remember Charlie more formally and will perhaps share this with you in the next edition.

indeed in the Learning Centre and

To Charlie, once an Aylesburian, always an Aylesburian

that little boy in 2012 singing Cee

We will always remember you.

It is extremely difficult to put anything into words when tragedy strikes a close-knit community such as ours here at AGS and to try to make sense of events, which have caused a great deal of pain and sadness amongst so many people who knew and worked alongside Charlie. We hope the following collection of thoughts and reflections are a small but fitting tribute to such an energetic and wellloved student. The reflections and words are extracts from some of the tributes given in the days following

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

there was always a buzz and friends around him. The second thing that comes to my mind is 7 years of House Music – Lo Green and ‘Forget You’ with such confidence, is overlaid layer by layer in my memory with a succession of numbers; ‘What About Now’, ‘Mirrors’, ‘September’, ‘Busy Earnin’, ‘Radio Gaga’ and finally, triumphantly, ‘Take Me Out’ in February 2018. Same character, same smile, same attitude – just all a lot bigger. Denson’s fortunes in House Music, and indeed in the Watson Trophy seem, in my mind anyway, to be so connected with Charlie and his irrepressible zest for life and his willingness to keep on putting himself in the arena – even when things did not go well. My memories of Charlie’s performances in House Music are the ones I find hardest to go back to

right now; they charted his progress

knew that is how it would be. Perhaps

him as a student and I know you will

through the school, but they also

he did not take me very seriously – in

not forget him as friend either.

demonstrated the things that didn’t

honesty, there were times that my

change about Charlie. You always

serious and cross face would come

knew he would get up and perform

on for telling him off, and then I would

and make everyone smile. I hope I

have to go into my office to smile and

told him enough how much I enjoyed

laugh. Perhaps he knew that, I hope

his performances.

so. I cannot tell you how much I wish

Mrs PA Venning – Deputy Headteacher and Head of Sixth Form

he was still here – being the same

A selection of tributes from the Book

mix of wonderful and frustration.

of Condolence:

infuriated me at times! Since his

Over the past weeks, I have thought

‘Charlie, you always were a wonderful

death, I have been remembering

a great deal of Charlie’s family and

character, so full of energy and fun

the times I had to tell him off over

have tried to get my thoughts in some

as well as plenty of mischief! We

the last two years. Those ‘tellings

sort of order and to make sense

always knew you were in the room.

off’ also have become overlaid

of Charlie’s death. Over the last

You only had a short time to make

in my memory… noise in the

three years, our School community

your mark on the world, but what a

Learning Centre, misbehaviour

has lost three lovely, young lives –

mark you made. I feel privileged to

on rugby tour, conversations

Harry Hewitt in 2015, Freya Cox in

have known you and your family, both

during Assessment Tutorial, over

December 2017 and now Charlie. All

through school and scouting. You will

exuberance in a Business classroom

of them gone too suddenly and all

be sorely missed by so many people.

and somehow ending up falling

too young but they had something

God bless you and your family. Rest

into a door/cupboard….. It could

in common. They all lived life to

in Peace.’

only have been Charlie. The thing

the full, they all got involved, they

with Charlie is that he would come

have all left indelible memories on

in to my office and say sorry. He

those who knew and loved them. As

and I pretty much always knew

teachers here at AGS we spend our

how the conversation was going to

time telling students to get involved,

go. It would be something like ‘For

to connect with people, to put

goodness sake Charlie what are you

themselves in the arena and Charlie

doing?’ Inevitably, these meetings

really did those things. I can really

would come soon after he had done

say that on the things that really

‘Charlie, thank you for all the fantastic

something wonderful; House Music,

matter, he actually did as he was told.

memories – you were one of the

rugby, helping with Prefect duties, a

Some people live long lives, some do

brightest characters I have ever come

kindness to a colleague or student,

not but look around you and think –

across in my life’

a cheery hello or saying something

look at the lives Charlie touched, look

funny, so it was hard to be cross with

at the connections he made, look at

‘Charlie, thank you for always making

him. The thing with Charlie is that I

the impact he had. He loved and was

me smile. Your personality would

would tell him off and then two things

loved, he was a great friend and a

always light up the room, as did your

would follow. Firstly, the next day

great student of AGS. I do not think

extremely infectious laugh! Thank you

he would smile and say hello as he

there is anything better that you can

for all the great memories, you truly

never bore a grudge. Secondly, he

say about anyone than that they are

were a lovely person who touched so

would go and do it again. He and I

a great friend. I will not ever forget

many. God Bless.’

It is true also that my other big memory of Charlie is how much he

‘Charlie, I can take great pride and pleasure in calling you one of my best friends. I had the honour to know you the 7 years you were at AGS and although you are gone, you will never be forgotten. I have so many beautiful memories to cherish of you’

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

HOUSE LIFE Denson House Report There are some rather rare years that seem more full of events and results than a single year is able to contain. On reflection, 2017-18 will, in my mind, go down as just such a year for Denson. I thought 2016 was – the year in which I became Head of Denson and a father to Saffron (now two). However, this year, I became a father again in May (to Finn) – and Denson did the fabled ‘double’. And yet, by the end, I also had the opening lines of Dickens’ ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ – ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times’ swimming around my head. For this was the year, too, in which we lost Charlie Dunne (D13) in July to a tragic accident. Charlie was in my old form group and was one of Denson’s biggest personalities and a mainstay of events, especially Music. It is a loss which is still raw and was a great shock to the House as a whole. All I can say is that he will be sorely missed, and that Denson’s success this year is a fitting legacy to a young man who had a bright future, and who contributed with characteristic

commitment and good humour over seven years to our House. Well done Charlie, you did Denson and AGS proud. Before the review of the year in full, some other goodbyes and thanks, to Mrs Burnett and Mrs Waverley as D13’s tutors in their sixth form years, including for Charlie. They have been a huge support, especially in these recent, very challenging weeks. And to Mr Gardiner, tutor for D7 for only one year, but undeniably a driving force in both theirs, and more widely Denson’s success this year. He has made a huge impact. And my thanks, as ever, to our other tutors, including new-comer Mr Graham, who has made a great impact for D8 in his first year; Mr Kemp, Miss Rowling, Mr Goff and Mr Smith. They are the fundamental bedrock of our House system.

The Brodie Trophy It was a year of unparalleled success, certainly in our House’s recent history. Where even to start? Well, it started,

as ever, with House Cross-Country. Denson had come 5th the previous year, and we were determined to make our mark for our 2017-18 campaign. We came 5th=. Perhaps not the most auspicious of starts. That said, our Seniors came 2nd, with tremendous runs from our 11s, including Cam Brooker, and among our sixth form, including Sam Stembridge-King. Our new 7s put in an encouraging performance as well, including Alex Davis. But, there was no glossing over the fact we were joint last in the Brodie after the first of eight events; though this was to be the last time this was to occur. For what came next was an extraordinary hot streak of results which broke all boundaries of our recent performances. We had come last overall as a House in Basketball the previous year. And yet we started racking up some superb results – in particular our Year 7s and Inters, both 2nd. But, as outgoing AGS Basketball legend Mr McCarthy said, consistency is key, so our other performances proved, with 3rd places for our 8s and

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

9s – even our Seniors’ spirited last place was enough to secure Denson a trophy win. They played to win and win they did (even though they lost). Last to first in a year; I sensed something might be in the air. And so it came to pass, in what was a hat-trick of trophy wins for Denson. We secured the Squash trophy once again, with the help of some of the school’s best players, including the Marcus and Ryan Connor and Lewis Milner. But it was our 7s again – Thomas Whitehead in particular – and Juniors, especially Silas Glover, who sealed it for us. And in Rugby, another event in which we have often languished. Here, too, our 8s triumphed with an overall 1st place, and our 7s really proved their worth in what has been an absolute banner year for them, under the guidance of their hugely supportive tutor, Mr Gardiner and a number of Year 12s who gave their support: they too sealed an overall 1st place across their A and B teams. It was the Year 10 result of which I was especially proud as well, though. Here was a form who had traditionally ranked in the bottom couple of spaces, but who

powered themselves to a 2nd place finish. This surely can’t last, I felt. House Swimming was another event in which we had come last the previous year. But again, a superlative team effort from across the year groups led to a 3rd place finish. There were stand-out swims and records from our stars, such as Cam Brooker. But again consistency was key; I firmly believe that every tutor group and section put in their best. By the end of the spring term in 2017, Denson were a comprehensive last in the Brodie; this time we were flying high in poll position. Going into the final term, I felt Lee would be the ones to beat, having run away with the Brodie the previous year. House Football had been rumbling away in the background for a few weeks; I was keen for us to reclaim the trophy this year, but it was looking a tantalisingly closefought contest by the summer term. Everything pointed towards the end of June – House Athletics on Friday; Junior Football on the Fete Day. Athletics, almost impossibly it seemed, resulted in a 1st= with reigning champions Paterson (from

our 4th last year). As with Swimming, it was a festival of activity, effort and drama. And here too, it was a wonderful team effort. Full praise, here, to our Year 11s, many of whom came back to rocket-power our Inters to a 2nd place; and likewise to a handful of 13s who came back for even better results for our Seniors with a 1st – in particular James Massey. The final relay was an emotional sight for me, to see four of my old tutor group (Sam Wright, James Massey, Oli Rae and Ayo Adesunloye) sprinting to a glorious 1st-place finish. It was impossible to tell whether the tears in my eyes were from pure pride or hay fever. The lower year groups helped secure it all – the 8s with a 1st place, including captain Will Cliffe; and excellent input from our 7s and 9s, as well as our 10s and, in particular 12s, too, in their sections. A truly memorable day. So, Football decided it across the next two weeks – our 7s and 9s both coming 2nd on the Fete Day in their competitions – and both finally coming down to penalty shootouts, in which the ghost of England football past seemed to haunt us. Their quality and efforts were superb, though, as were our 8s when they helped seal Denson a phenomenal fifth Brodie event win (more than half of the events) a couple of weeks later in their deciding games. By House Tennis, we had pulled ahead of even the likes of Lee and Paterson, but still fought well for a 4th=. Once again, an excellent group effort, and special mention to Harvey Newland-Smith in 11De for coming back on the day especially, to help our Seniors to a 3rd place. As ever, there have been stars for Denson. But most of all, it was an incredible team effort.

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

HOUSE LIFE models to illustrations, films and paintings.

And this was only one side of the competitions.

The Watson Trophy So, I made vague promises to Mr Dallas to keep this report to about a thousand words, and I’ve already reached that limit with the other side of competitions still to go (and continue to eat into my word count as I type…). But when was the last time there was a year like this for our House? (2001, since you ask). The Watson was the one. This was the one we were going to win this year (and aim for a top 3 in the Brodie), as this was the one we have missed out on winning by just a point or two for the last few years. And we hadn’t won it since 2001 – when Lord of the Rings was in the cinemas and Destiny’s Child in the charts, and the majority of the House weren’t even alive. And yet, by the half-way mark, we had surely missed our chance once more. Paterson had, again, comprehensively won House Art with an admirable display, and clinched House Music, too, in a tight run-off against Hampden. And then they

came 2nd in Chess, where normally they can be relied upon to come about 5th. In March, I sat down with my head boys, Tanmay, Finn and Shafiea and we calculated that even if we came first in the three remaining Watson events, it was all relative to Paterson’s performance. In short, it wasn’t looking hopeful. But here too, the crucial factor was that Denson had put in the graft in these earlier events as well. Our travel-themed Art display really showed off a wide variety of our talents to gain us a well-earned 3rd place. As ever, I enjoyed popping into the Art rooms to see the flurry of activity – including the final piece de resistance: a Denson-blue large scale model bi-plane, and paintcovered, eager art captains all getting involved. This was another excellent team effort, led by the charismatic duo of Finn Walsh and Sam Wright, with very able assistance from other year groups. Our lower year groups in particular should be commended for their efforts as well, some spending painstaking hours to produce a wide array of memorable pieces, from

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

As ever, House Music was a phenomenal night, with the quality at the top as high as I have ever seen it. Hampden’s piece ‘Caravan’ remains the best single House Music piece I have yet seen. And I only half-joke when I say that Denson’s 3rd place was as though we had won; I think our reaction spoke as much, after years of having languished at bottom. All I can say is that the whole House did us proud, and I was especially pleased for our outgoing Year 13s, my old tutor group, who deserved this position. A big well done, therefore, to captain Tanmay Mahesh, Peter Mills, Xav Atkins, Marcus Lowe, Tom Wright, Ieuan Mulholland and Rutwik Mudholkar; as well as other main players, Rakin Gilani and break-out star Ethan Tran (D12) and singer Ben Harding (D10); all our other participants across ‘Just’, ‘As Time Goes By’, and ‘Take Me Out’ – including our 70-strong choir for the latter; and to our excellent comperes, Finn Walsh and Sam Wright once more. And this night most of all will be enshrined in a memorial amber for me as the last performance of the aforementioned Charlie Dunne, after seven years’ sterling service in the name of Denson House Music. As ever, he was charismatic, ebullient and, just Charlie. He led ‘Take Me Out’ with his usual panache and style, and all I can say, after many attempts at articulating his loss to myself and others, is what a loss he is. But that I am happy the House could share this final happy House Music moment together in February at least. It was a night to remember.

Elsewhere in the Watson, House Chess produced our usual stellar result from our Seniors, with the likes of Richard Chappell and Callum Evans among the best in school. Lower down, it was indeed more tightly fought, but Denson held their own for a 4th place overall, and as ever it was great to see bright stars in our 7s, with Ben Cheetham and Freddie Hulett. But our progress in the Watson all hinged on House Writing, an event we have never won in my time, even when I was the adjudicator. So it is to the eternal credit of the House, in particular our Year 12 editing team – Flynn Collins, Tom Aston and Sam Stembridge-King, that they produced just such a crucial result. Yet, it came as no complete surprise to me: they had worked tirelessly to gain a record number of submissions from the House, and with a wide array of styles and pieces of a dazzlingly high quality from across the year groups. The final magazine of nearly 40 pieces made me hugely proud of Denson, with standout pieces from the likes of Sam Wright, Edward Maher and Antoni Kocan, but with quality running throughout our blue-themed final edition. And yet still, Paterson’s third place maintained some clear water between us.

It would all come down to Junior Public Speaking. Our Seniors in this event had already more than done their bit in October – with strong finishes by Xav Atkins (D13) and Sam Stembridge-King (D12), together with a superb maiden speech and first-place finish for Ishaan Mukherji in Year 11, and Michael Adebiyi in Year 10, who sprinkled the occasion with his usual oratorical stardust and picked up best speaker in his section. But nonetheless, this was a fair amount of pressure and expectation for three lads in the lower years to shoulder. Tuesday, July 10th, therefore, remains a day of indelible pride for me, in a year chock-full of such sentiments. Isaac Sallé (7De), Dan Compton (8De) and Will Chapman (9De) held their nerve in one of the toughest fields of junior speaking I’ve seen, with highly engaging speeches on topics as challenging as hostile environments, the death of creativity, and gaming addiction. It was to prove a hat trick JPS win for Denson – and, most crucially, see us squeak past Paterson in the overall final Watson rankings. I’m not quite sure, still, how we did it – to my (admittedly wholly biased mind) it is one of the great recent

comebacks, up there with Belgium vs Japan in the World Cup. Paterson remain formidable competition in the Watson and it took a concerted effort, both on an individual, but also wholeHouse, team level to achieve what is the first Denson Watson win in 17 years. Well done boys. The stats and facts speak for themselves – eight event wins in total for Denson (five Brodie; three Watson – at least half of each side); our first Brodie win since 2005; first Watson win since 2001 (and first double win since then); and only the sixth double win at all since 2000. How did this happen? I can never entirely be sure – though it was some alchemical mixture of team effort; excellent passion and leadership from our head boys, Tanmay, Finn and Shafiea; tremendous organisation and support from tutor group prefects, sixth form captains and tutors; a bit of luck at times; and an overall newfound self-belief and dynamism. Can it happen again? I believe it can. I believe in Denson. Next year will tell. In the meantime, well done Denson – and Ganbatte! Mr A Streat

And so it came to the House Quiz, in which our Seniors and Inters (led by one-man-quiz-machine, Fitz StegerLewis) had already racked up some serious points for Denson; our Year 7s and Juniors especially sealed yet another trophy win for Denson, leaving us tantalisingly just a point behind Paterson in the overall Watson stakes.

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

HOUSE LIFE Hampden House Report

only for their overall contributions but for their exceptional performance of ‘Caravan’, which will live long in the

When you look purely at overall results and final positions, finishing 5th in the Watson (disappointing) and 4th in the Brodie (encouraging) could be viewed in a negative light, but the house system is so much more than just pure results and there were some amazing contributions made by members of Hampden House throughout the year.

many in terms of submitted pieces

The Watson Trophy Public Speaking – 5th Place

and overall organisation.

memory. Chess – 6th Place

While there are a large number of

A huge thanks to all who represented

boys who submitted work of a very

the House and with more practice we

high standard, it is the efforts of Dan

will hopefully finish higher next year

Bedwell and Chris Owen (Ha13)

in order to maintain a challenge for

which need to be acknowledged,

the Watson trophy.

as they oversaw the whole process with great enthusiasm. In hindsight,

Writing – 4th Place

allowing our boys to flex their

More pieces were submitted this year

creative muscles away from the main

than in any previous year within living

theme for the year, would probably

memory and the wonders of modern

have resulted in a higher placing,

technology (Google Classroom)

which is something we need to

allowed us to see this very clearly.

consider next year.

Ollie Mulcahy and his editing team

A huge amount of hard work and a

did a fantastic job of putting together

great deal of confidence is required

Music – 2nd Place

in order to stand up and address

In any other year, 2nd place in the

Philippe Pir in Hampden 8 really

not only a large number of your

showpiece that is House Music would

used House Writing as an opportunity

peers, but also a panel of judges and

have been an amazing achievement

to show their willingness to contribute

for that the efforts of Sam Knights

and to view such a fantastic evening

to the house effort.

(Ha13), Josh Horton (Ha12), Theo

in terms of final standing is perhaps

Nze (Ha11), David Dallas (Ha10),

wrong, but I don’t think our lads

Quiz – 2nd Place

Seb Shah (Ha9), Tom Kirkpatrick-

could have done much more on the

Once again, the house showed its

Brown (Ha8) and Will Annat (Ha7)

day and they were simply incredible.

intellectual strength with a fantastic

have to be recognised. A 5th place

To produce three musical pieces

2nd place finish overall, in which all

finish in the seniors’ competition at

of such high quality and with great

year groups performed with great

the start of the year was followed

variations in style was extremely

consistency.

up much later in the year by an

impressive and to not be rewarded

impressive 3rd place finish by our

with a win was perhaps a little harsh.

juniors, who performed with great

A huge amount of praise and thanks

Cross Country – 1st Place

composure having been guided so

is needed for a large number of

The season opener and an excellent

well by Josh Horton, Matt Bird and

Hampden students from all year

start to our Brodie campaign thanks

Miss Holliday.

groups, and it is not possible to

to our first individual trophy win

acknowledge them all here, but the

in over a year! Wins for the year

Art – 5th Place

contributions from Tom Robertson,

7/8 and 9/10 teams, together with

Perhaps one of the more

Dan Bedwell, Toby and Jack Insley,

a 2nd place for the senior boys

disappointing results of the year due

Corin Scott and Lester Ridout in

were as a result of some fantastic

to the amount of work put in by so

particular need to be recognised, not

performances, most notably: Fionn

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

the magazine, while the likes of

The Brodie Trophy

Clancy (Year 7) James O’Keefe and

as well as good organisation by

13) once again impressed, but it

Alex Hodson (Year 8), Aryan Saxena

the boys. The year 10s and 11s

was the performances of the year 7

(Year 9), Ted Gundry & James

performed extremely well to finish

team that really took the eye, as Will

Phillips (Year 10), Harry Edmonds

2nd in their competitions, while the

Annat, Matthew Redhead, Sam Clark

(Year 11), James Richardson &

year 9s excelled themselves by

and Tom Clarke were amazing.

Matt Bird (Year 12) as well as Billy

winning their competition against

Jackson and Nathan Huntington

some extremely strong opposition.

(Year 13).

The performances of Nathan

Notable this year not just because of

McDonald, Ethan Loi, Max Cornish

the impressive performances from

and Aaman Ahmed in this year 9

a number of boys in all age ranges

team were particularly impressive.

(Fareed Gilani’s impressive win in the

Basketball – 6th Place While the overall placing was a disappointment, the senior boys’ performances were extremely impressive and they won their section thanks in particular to the efforts of Will Liggett, Kym Ibragimov, Jaden Adigun and Ollie Mulcahy.

House Athletics – 5th Place

year 7 shot and Seb Shah’s battles in

House Swimming – 1st Place

the 100m sprint were real highlights),

Having come so close to winning

this was the first year for a while the

last year, to record a 2nd trophy

we as a house have not finished 6th

win in this year’s Brodie was

in House Athletics…hopefully this is

particularly satisfying, thanks to the

the start of an upward trend!

Squash – 3rd Place

quality of the teams put out and the

Continuing our improved

performances produced by so many

performance in house squash over

in the Hampden house swim team

Despite the efforts to improve on last

recent years, the overall 3rd place

this year. Both the seniors and the

year’s 6th place finish in this event

finish was pleasing and included an

Year 7s won their competitions and

as well, we did not quite achieve

encouraging second place finish for

in total we had 23 finalists represent

this, although the performances

the year 7 team.

the house, which is an incredible

from the three boys in year 7 (Jonty

achievement. Gabe Gullidge (Year

Woodward, Eliott Godley and Harry

9), James Phillips and Ted Gundry

Woodus) gave enough hope to

(Year 10) as well as Douglas Birchall

indicate that maybe next year might

(Year 12) and Kym Ibragimov (Year

be different.

Rugby – Joint 5th After last year’s excellent 2nd place finish, it was perhaps a little disappointing to finish in joint 5th

House Tennis – 6th Place

this year, but it should be noted that the normally excellent year 10 team was hampered by injuries while a few other year groups finished on the wrong end of some very tight and competitive fixtures. Football/Futsal – 2nd Place In an event we have really struggled in over recent years, to finish 2nd overall was a tremendous achievement and one that came about through good performances

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

HOUSE LIFE Review Overall, it was a tremendously

Lee House Report

enjoyable and exciting year and particular the javelin with Tristan Coe

from Hampden students in both

Until 2017, it had been 15 years since Lee House had last won the Brodie Trophy back in 2002.

competitions. In reality, there are

I was left feeling elated and thinking

place.

a few competitions that we are

of lines from The Lightening Seeds

we were able to celebrate a number of fantastic performances

consistently underperforming in and to be more competitive, we must find a way of improving in these areas. I must thank the house’s fantastic senior boys leadership team, as Ollie Mulcahy (Head Boy

song ‘Three Lions’ at that juncture. Now 12 months later I am writing this report of Lee house’s year, on the morning after England have just lost their World Cup semi-final to Croatia, is that not a little poignant?

and Peter King and the discus with Will Smith throwing 31.57m in 1st

We have just had a truly horrendous year in the Watson trophy. House art which once was a genuine strength of Lee, proved like 12 months ago to be extremely disappointing with a 6th place finish. House music again, previously our forte, did not

of House), Sam Knights and Kym

Unfortunately, a little like the Jules

go according to plan despite the best

Ibragimov (Deputy Head Boys) were

Rimet trophy the Brodie will not be

effort of the music captains and our

incredibly enthusiastic, motivated

coming home this year. However over

musicians. Like last year’s 5th place

and well organised, as well as every

the past academic year, Lee House

in this keenly contested and extremely

student who represented the house

has made a really valiant attempt to

well supported event, we actually

throughout the year. A huge thank

retain our place at the head of the

fared even worse finishing in 6th.

you as well to all Hampden house

AGS sporting table.

However, can I take this opportunity

form tutors who do so much to help

In the Brodie, the year once again

the boys and to the new Head Boys

started well with Lee House taking

of House (Matt Bird, Jude Cornish

2nd place overall in House cross

& Alex Wall) who have impressed in

country, I was again impressed with

the short time that they have been in

our level of organisation and with the

their new roles.

students’ willingness to turn out to

Mr C McGill

represent the house and the dogged determination which they showed during the races. We have some gifted athletes particularly in our Inter and Junior cohorts and this was evident in cross country and later in the year in House athletics. In cross country our year 9 and 10 teams both placed 1st and in athletics our seniors and year 8 teams both finished 2nd;

to thank all the students who gave up so much of their time and expertise to make our house music collaboration possible. Having spoken recently to Cameron MacDonald our new Head Boy of Lee, over the year ahead we must really focus on all of the Watson events, early preparation and high quality organisation are undoubtedly the key to success. After all we certainly have students who can write, draw, play chess and sing. Having taught Lee 7 this year we certainly have individuals who can talk! So Public Speaking, should in time be ours for the taking.

enabling us to finish 3rd overall in

During the first term House rugby

athletics at the end of a busy summer

which is played by all students in

term. It was particularly pleasing to

years 7 and 8, alongside years 9

see our year 13 students returning to

and 10, again proved to be highly

dominate a few of the field events, in

competitive and extremely well

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

year 12 next year, Jack Edwards and

for Lee, =5th place in House writing,

Jai Horwood year 9 and once again

a horrendous 6th place in House quiz

Murray Wakeford leading a strong

and a downbeat performance in public

year 8 cohort. The real highlight, was

speaking; as last year even more food

the effort and commitment put in

for thought and a tremendous amount

by our senior team led by Cameron

of work for us to do as a house in this

Macdonald. Many of our team,

competition next year. Perhaps we

unlike Cameron and the other more

can start composing our music, writing

experienced junior swimmers I have

our speeches and formulating our

mentioned are certainly not regular contested! It is pleasing to see so

entries for house art over the summer

swimmers, but are willing to find

many students representing their

holidays? It is a thought, it might give

their trunks and give 100% for the

houses on the rugby field. Once

us a slight head start in the Watson for

house. Lee contested nearly all of the

again Lee rugby proved to be free

2018/2019.

individual finals and showed their true

flowing and combative, finishing third

fighting spirit in the relays.

overall; with Lee 9 following up their win last year as Lee 8 by winning their respective year group competition! This was a really promising start and once again Lee were performing well in the Brodie before Christmas. But unlike last year we were struggling

So the year finishes, with Lee 2nd in The Brodie and 6th in The Watson, it

House Chess, saw our only area of

shows Lee still has real ability in the

success in the Watson and what a

sporting arena. However, next year

success! Lee took the top spot. 1st

Lee house must start using its brains

overall and 6 extremely valuable

as well as its brawn.

points secured. A massive well done

Can I take this final opportunity to

to all our Lee chess gurus, masters in the dark arts of this most cerebral

thank our Head Boy of Lee, Peter

of pursuits. Let’s back this up with

King who really led by example and

another win next year and we must

his two Deputies Oscar Brownhill and

hope our other Watson teams

Sam Bhaskaran. Can I wish them

and competitors can follow your

every success for the future? Peter

Other real success stories included

outstanding example.

set an excellent example all year

our 1st place in the year 8 and year

The summer term ended with house

9 basketball competitions, which

athletics, junior football and tennis.

enabled us to secure a great 2nd

Lee House were still in the running for

place finish in the overall competition.

the Brodie. However both Denson and

House swimming, was yet again

Paterson houses were also vying for

another great competition for Lee,

the title. Although our year 8 footballers

with the house finishing 2nd overall.

took first place in their competition, the

a little in the year 7 age group and success in any of these junior events would be vital, if Lee were to retain the Brodie.

As last year, we once again proved to have genuine strength in a number of our year groups, with the Lee inters’ team placing 1st, our juniors joint 1st and our seniors taking 3rd. Lee House swimming is safe for a little

for our younger students, as well as playing school rugby throughout his time at AGS. Oscar and Sam will be undoubtedly missed for their efforts across a number of house events, alongside their undoubted talent as musicians.

rest of our players could not back that

Lee House, have a good summer

up! So 3rd in athletics, 6th in football

the sun is certainly shining. Rest,

and 4th in house tennis ended our

recover and really prepare for BOTH

Brodie dreams, sadly we fell just a little

the Watson and Brodie events next

short of repeating our success of a

year; let battle begin between the

year ago.

six houses once again in September

while longer, with individuals like, Ed

The final Watson events unfortunately

Birch and James Chennells moving to

again proved extremely disappointing

2018. Mr P Dean

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

HOUSE LIFE Paterson House Report

have wished for. If there’s anything I want you to take from this year, it’s that the most important thing, besides

Looking back, I have enjoyed every single year that I have spent at AGS, but none have been as rewarding or satisfying as this last one as Head Boy of House and I wish I could re-live every single moment. Following on from a very successful year in which we won the revered ‘Triple Crown’, I knew it was going to have

and love within the House. Winning is

your exams, is that you enjoy every

great, there’s no doubting that,

second you have at AGS because

but in hindsight it isn’t the result that

it’s over before you know it. Good

matters, it’s how we got there and

luck for the future and always be

the memories that makes - memories

proud to say you were a member of

from this year that I, and I hope all of

Paterson House.

you, will cherish forever. Thanks also, has to be given to my two deputies, Tom and Luan, for all

Michael Witham - Pa13 (Head Boy of House 2017-2018)

the support they have offered me

The Brodie Trophy

and all of the effort they have put into

After a few very successful years

both deputies, Tom and Luan, behind

the House - I thought we would be a

in the Brodie trophy, we were

me every step of the way, each event

good team when we started, and I’m

determined to make sure we stayed at

was ours for the taking and I like to

glad to say we’ve turned into a great

the top.

think that everyone believed we could

one. Lastly, thanks has to go to Miss

replicate our former successes.

Chalk, someone I can now gladly call

to be another big year for Paterson and I was not wrong. Fortunately, with

a great friend. The work she puts into

The first event in the year is always House Cross Country. We have had fairly mixed results in this event

There is no denying it was hard

her House is unmatched, she lives

work; sweat, tears and blood does

and breathes Paterson and I thank

not quite cover it. However, It’s been

her eternally for making it all run

a momentous journey and I have

finish, which was an improvement on

like clockwork - thank you so much

thrived off the energy and enthusiasm

last year. Congratulations to Nick Cay

for everything this year and all the

of our House - thanks has to go to

(Pa8) and Thomas Young (Pa7) in

previous ones on behalf of myself and

each member of all ages, I wanted

finishing 1st and 6th respectively out

everyone else in Paterson.

of 48 runners in the Year 7/8 section,

to get to know you all and there’s no

over the years, but we secured an extremely pleasing joint 2nd place

Will Ratcliffe (Pa9) and Sam Kearney

doubt in my mind that I’ve achieved

Looking to the future then, I wish the

that. You have done yourselves proud

new leaders, James M, James K and

and all of our hard work has paid off.

James W good luck - I hope you relish

In terms of my personal highlights,

in the challenges you’ll face and bring

House Art was the first time I’ve ever

the best out of the House. To Year 13,

seen such a vast number of students

the class I’ve been with for 7 years

come together to create something

now, it’s been a pleasure getting to

what initially seems like a pleasing

incredible and we were rewarded

know you all and I thank you for all

2nd place finish in House Basketball,

justly for the creativity of our pieces.

the support you’ve given me and each

however it would be more accurate

House Music was perhaps the most

other - I hope to see you all again in

to say a joint 2nd place finish along

stressful time of all this year but it

the future, good luck. To every other

with TWO other houses! A 4th place

is a night that I will never forget and

member of the House, you have

finish in House Rugby came after

that was only made possible by the

made this year the best year of my life

this. It was turning out to be a very

talented people I have come to know

- you’re the best set of guys I could

unpredictable year for us.

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

(Pa9) finishing 3rd and 4th in the Year 9/10 section and Ben Lindars (Pa11) and Olly Cay (Pa11) finishing 3rd and 6th out of the 72 runners of the Year 11/12/13s section. A pleasing start to the Brodie. This was followed with

total out of any group in any House (76.5 points), but they won their section with a lead of 29 points over Phillips in 2nd place. Special mention also to the Inters’ team who had the second highest total overall with 60 points. Just when we thought we were making our way back up the trophy ladder, and even with a 1st place finish from the Year 7 team, we were faced with an overall 6th place finish in House Football. This bought us to We then moved onto House Squash

and #TeamPaterson took to the field.

the final event of the year – House

where we were awarded a 2nd place

The results were announced and

Tennis. Denson were already way

finish. Well done to the Senior squash

for the 3rd year in a row, Paterson

out in front at the top of the Brodie

team of Harshi Gupta (Pa12), James

finished in 1st place (well, joint 1st

and could not be caught, so we were

Weller (Pa12), Krishna Chintamreddy

place with Denson, but it is still 1st!).

facing our own battle whether we

(Pa12) and Simon Amaeshike (Pa12)

Congratulations to our Year 7, Year

finish in the top three Houses in the

for winning their section. I hoped

9 and Inters teams who all won their

Brodie, or the bottom three. On a very

that this was a sign of things to come

age groups with the year 7,8,9 and

hot summer’s day, the players took

in the Brodie. Unfortunately not.

Inters relay teams all finishing in 1st

to the court and secured a joint 2nd

Despite our Inters and Junior teams

or 2nd place. Well done to our House

place finish in House Tennis, with the

winning their age ranges, and an

Athletics Superstars of 2018, all of

Senior team winning their section.

inspirational assembly from our Head

whom had exceptional finished in

Was this enough to undo the damage

Boy of House demonstrating ‘how

their events:

of previous events? Yes, it was. We

to swim and not be disqualified’, we

•

finished in a comfortable 3rd place,

still managed to finish in 6th place in

Paterson 7 - Ryan Morrell, James Baldwin, George Whall, Billy Knibb,

House Swimming. There was only 0.5

Richard Boima, Thomas Young

points between the bottom 3 houses.

Nathaniel Arulanandam

Well done to Michael Witham (Pa13) who set a new school record in Senior

•

Freestyle and to Billy Knibb (Pa7) for setting a new Year 7 Individual Medley

•

record. At this point, it looked like the Brodie was quickly slipping away from us and we were making a return to the days of finishing in 6th place. After a few motivational speeches and

and considering how close some of the competitions have been and how inconsistent our performances

Paterson 8 - Sam Pyefinch,

had been, we had a really positive

Nick Cay, Riaghan Matheson

result. This will certainly give us some motivation to improve next year.

Paterson 9 - Sam Kearney, Sanjit Mallya, Samuel Mitev, Evan Byles,

•

which is in the top half of the table

Paterson 10 - Kit Fairhurst, Gus Burnett, Albie Whittemore, Ben Latham

However, this was not our last sporting achievement of the year. After an exciting and well fought battle, Paterson House were crowned House Tug of War Champions at

some words of encouragement, we

Team of the year must go to Year 7

the school fete. There are no points

gathered our House Athletics teams

who not only had the highest points

attached to this, just pride!

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

HOUSE LIFE The Watson Trophy The first event in the Watson was Senior Public Speaking. Albie Whittemore (Pa10), Previn Chady (Pa11), Joey Horrox (Pa12), Charlie Sellar (Pa13) stepped up the challenge, delivering speeches on topics such as the Grenfell Tower fire and gender equality. The team finished in 4th place, a fairly solid start to a competition of two halves. In the summer term we had the Junior part of the competition.

featuring a smoke machine and

Ward (Pa7), Nathaniel Arulanandam

Jonny Buckthorpe (Pa7), Nick Cay

some ambient lighting to create a

(Pa7), Sam Pyefinch (Pa8), Ashwin

(Pa8) and Ryan Sara (Pa9) gave

slightly eerie feel to our creation.

Paramanantham (Pa7), Billy Knibb

passionate speeches on life, NASA

Work inspired by Cheshire cats,

(Pa7), Nick Cay (Pa8), James

and discoveries and finished in joint

playing cards and the Mad Hatter

Manley (Pa12), Ben Curry (Pa7),

3rd place, with Nick Cay (Pa8) being

were displayed, made from varying

Victor Poinaru (Pa8), Ryan Sara

named as the Best Junior Speaker.

materials including paint, hula-hoops,

(Pa9), Jaytheep Raj (Pa9), Jonny

All our speakers had worked very

matchsticks and papier-mâché.

Buckthorpe (Pa7), Sam Holcroft

hard on their preparation, delivering

The Captains worked tirelessly to

(Pa10), Ollie Cay (Pa11), Dylan

informative and engaging speeches.

create a display worthy of the work

Cleveland (Pa11), Samihan Joshi

When the points were added

it proudly exhibited, selected from

(Pa7), Miss Chalk (HOH). Thanks

together, we finished overall in 4th

over 150 entries that were submitted,

needs to go to Matt Smith (Pa13) and

place. Thank you to everyone who

and we were awarded 86 points

George Birch (Pa8) who both offered

supported our speakers through the

and a 1st Place finish, with a 16

an exceptional level of support to the

preparations for the competition,

point lead over 2nd place Phillips.

team throughout the competition.

especially to Mrs Sampson for

The level of talent within Paterson

The next event was for the highly

House was recognised with a total

coveted House Music trophy. The

of 29 Certificates of Excellence

captains, Samuel Horrox (Pa13),

being awarded in recognition of

Lewis Ball (Pa13) and Joey Horrox

One of our favourite events in

outstanding entries, surpassing

(Pa12) quickly made song selections

Paterson House is House Art. The

last year’s total. Congratulations

and arranged their musicians. Being

Senior captains, James Noble (Pa13),

to Samuel Duodu (Pa7), Aqeel

last to perform in the programme is

Michael Witham (Pa13), Luan Ross

Saleem Zarook (Pa7), Ed Stubbs

always difficult, as the audience have

(Pa13), Tom Cay (Pa13), Max Hutt

(Pa8), Previn Chady (Pa11), James

usually decided on their favourite

(Pa13), James Manley (Pa12) and

Baldwin (Pa7), Dan Choudhury

performance by then, so the last

James Wrigley (Pa12) led by Alroy

(Pa11), Bertie Heyes (Pa7), Ollie

House needs to do something special.

Pereira (Pa13) decided on a theme

Main (Pa7), Daniel Poulton (Pa7),

Our announcers Michael Witham

inspired by ‘Alice in Wonderland’.

Charlie Lane (Pa11), George Birch

(Pa13) and Charlie Leggett (Pa13)

A rather unusual display was created,

(Pa8), Huned Mamajiwala (Pa9), Max

took to the stage to entertain the

giving up her valuable time to help our team of speakers to be the best they can be.

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

packed Foundation Hall audience and

James Wrigley (Pa12) worked through

House) for all the tireless work they

introduce our songs. The first set of

over 145 entries to create a magazine

have put into Paterson House this

musicians performed a psychedelic-

we could be proud of. We were a little

year. Michael said it earlier, but I

rock piece ‘Solitude is Bliss’ by Tame

disappointed with a 3rd place finish

witnessed the blood, sweat and tears

Impala. Next, was the Latin rock

here, especially as we had wanted

they put in over that time, which

inspired ‘She’s Not There’ by Santana.

to win what we in Paterson House

demonstrated just how much they

For me, this was a very special part

call the ‘Triple Crown’ of winning

cared about their roles. For that,

of our set list. Throughout his school

Art, Music and Writing – the mass

I am so grateful. They have been

career, Samuel Horrox (Pa13) has

participation events that make us

an absolute pleasure to work with,

always been a key member of the

work as a large team. Congratulations

and have been truly inspirational to

Paterson House music team on

to James Weller (Pa12) who was

everyone in the House – they are

the drums. However, this year he

awarded a Distinction for his entry and

certainly the reason we achieved

stepped out onto the front of the

to Jonny Buckthorpe (Pa7), Nathan

success this year. I would also like to

stage taking lead vocals and guitar

Curry (Pa9), Previn Chady (Pa11),

on this piece and gave a tremendous

wish Year 13 all the very best of luck

Dylan Cleveland (Pa11), Charlie

performance, which was wonderful to

for the future as they leave us. They

Sellar (Pa13), Tom Cay (Pa13) and

see. The final piece of the evening

have been a fantastic year to get to

Michael Witham (Pa13) for being

was Cab Calloways ‘Minnie The

know and I will miss them greatly as

awarded Merits. Well done also

Moocher’. Our announcers had

they leave us. My advice to you is to

to James Manley (Pa12) who was

primed the audience to sing along

take every opportunity you can in life,

selected as having produced the ‘Best

with us, the exceptionally large

don’t have any regrets and make the

Cover’ of the event.

most of everyday. You will always be a

and Charlie Sellar (Pa13) gave us

And finally, that brings us to

member of #TeamPaterson.

his own unique performance on lead

House Chess and House Quiz,

I am so fortunate to have a fantastic

vocals. It was a great way to end the

events we have struggled to finish

group of tutors in Paterson House

evening. The results were announced

anywhere above 5th place in for

who genuinely care about their tutees,

and for the second year in a row, we

years. However, this year we had a miraculous 2nd place finish in

providing outstanding pastoral support

had won House Music. The sheer delight shown on the faces of our

House Chess – our best finish since

House Music team is an image that

records began (well, since they went

will stay with me forever.

electronic in 2010 at least!) and in

I am always truly astounded by the

House Quiz we finished in 4th place

level of dedication that all students

with section wins for Year 7 Team A

in Paterson House put into making

and Year 12/13 Team A. The results

sure we can be as successful as we

from these two events were potentially

can. We remain a team, and I am

our greatest achievement this year.

exceptionally proud of every single

We ended up finishing in 2nd place

member.

Paterson House Choir were in place

The next big event in the Watson was House Writing. The theme of ‘Blue’ was one that was not greatly received in the house; but nonetheless, everyone started to draw inspiration from a variety of places and produced work in a variety of writing styles. The magazine editors - Michael Witham

in the Watson overall which we were extremely happy with.

(Pa13), Tom Cay (Pa13), Luan Ross

I would like to take this opportunity

(Pa13),Caelan Coney (Pa12), Jamie

to thank Michael Witham (Head

Fairhurst (Pa12), Jonah Donnelly

Boy of House) and Luan Ross and

(Pa12), Will Chalmers (Pa12) and

Tom Cay (Deputy Head Boys of

to their tutor groups, so thank you tutors. We all really appreciate you.

“If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.”—Henry Ford Miss K Chalk

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

HOUSE LIFE Phillips House Report

relay, well done for that outstanding performance! As in previous years, Phillips was strong in basketball and

This year Phillips House has again faced tough challenges in all competitions and it is fair to say 2017/18 has been a real rollercoaster in the Brodie and Watson. I am, as usual, extremely

with great results from the Inters who

pleased with the commitment and

basketball is a great Phillips strength

skill in both sporting and non-sporting

and I know many of our players train

competition from boys in all tutor

in the club before school. Hopefully

came 1st, Ph8 2nd and Seniors 3rd, there is no doubt that our overall 2nd place was well deserved and sets us up nicely for a victory next year. Having won last year it is clear that

groups. Those who have gained

next year we will once more earn the

positions of responsibility in Phillips from Junior Prefects to Prefects

Brodie Trophy

and Senior Prefects have given up

Again, we have struggled to match the

a lot of time to take on important

glory of past times and by the end of

responsibilities often providing valuable support to staff. I would like to start by thanking our outgoing Head boys, James, Liam and Jeffrey. Thank you for your leadership and hard work in supporting Phillips House this year.

the year sit 5th just above Ridley. That said, there have been some fantastic performances over the year. Cross country started off the year and overall a 4th place for Phillips was very good

I know that our new leadership team

and much better than our last place in

of Isaac, Tom and Michael will do a

the previous year. Our senior runners

fantastic job. I also welcome on all

did the best with a strong 3rd in their

our behalf, Ms Fabre who arrived in

year group and from this reasonably

September and has been an excellent

strong start overall, the year looked to

new tutor to Ph8.

have some real promise for us in the sporting side of House competitions. Rugby proved to be extremely

victory we deserve but well done to all the players from 2017/18. Football has been a competition of ups and downs for Phillips this year. Stretching over the whole year and finishing at the PTA fete, the teams played hard and showed real determination in all their games. We came a disappointing 5th overall but the seniors excelled to come first in their year group and Ph11 an impressive 3rd. While generally, mid table has been the norm this year we have enormous potential for the future and good luck in the next season to all players.

successful with 3nd place overall,

In the flagship sporting day of the

supported by year group 2nds from

year, athletics has recently been a

Ph7, 8 and 9! I was massively proud

great success for Phillips House.

of these achievements especially by

Unfortunately despite brilliant effort

our younger players.

from all competitors and some excellent individual performances that

Swimming is traditionally a strength

include Nathan of Ph12 1st in 100m,

in Phillips and although we came

Harish of Ph9 1st in 300m, Ethan of

4th there were excellent individual

Ph7 1st in both 800m and 1500m

performances and a special mention

and 1st place for the Ph9 relay team.

goes to the inters’ team which

There were good 2nd places too

broke the school record for medley

from Daniel of Ph8 in both shot and

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

than ever before. The editorial team was extremely well led by Adam and Nathan and our 5th place was not indicative of the quality of pieces. This was a great effort with real potential for next year. In chess we again did respectably coming 3rd and were unlucky to get a 5th overall in the quiz. Music is a great highlight of the Watson and I am always blown away by the musical talent on display in Phillips. Despite outstanding talent on show we came a surprising 4th. Once more we felt we discuss as well as Zubair of Ph7 2nd

Junior competitions straddle the year.

in 200m and triple jump. These were

In the Autumn term Abdullah, Max,

outstanding achievements, especially

Sam and Adam gave impressive and

from Ph7, who have laid excellent

convincing speeches to score 4th,

foundations for next year. Tennis is

3rd, 3rd and 1st respectively; well

another Phillips strength and our

done to Adam for your outstanding

excellent players came 2nd overall

speech. The Juniors were equally

against tough opposition. Thank you

impressive. Aaron Ph7, Torin Ph8 and

to all of you and next year a win is

Humzah Ph9 all did extremely well

within your grasp.

to earn 2nd,5th and 2nd respectively.

Watson trophy

Their efforts earned Phillips an overall

This year the boys of Phillips once more showcased their creativity and

deserved better, but the other houses were also fantastic and next year we will aim for the top. Already, our senior boys are scouting for interest and musicians for the next competition so go for it Phillips.

2nd place in the most challenging

Phillips House has continued to raise money for Malawi and is raking in a lot for our chosen charity Bloodwise, inspired by one of our own who is currently undergoing long term

individual competition.

treatment. We wish him well as he

musicality in the Watson Trophy. At

Art was a great triumph this year.

times we have been tantalisingly close

Where previously we have languished

to stealing the top position but despite

down the table, the artistic skills of

I would like to thank the Junior

outstanding efforts all round, the prize

Phillips shone through this year with

Prefects, Prefects and Senior

a very good 2nd place overall. Well

Prefects for all your organisational

done to all who supplied pieces,

and leadership support this year. I

many of which earned certificates of

also want to thank our head boys and

Public speaking is always something

merit. My special thanks go to the

of course tutors who are the glue that

we encourage in Phillips House and

boys who gave up lunchtimes to set

it manifests itself every week with the

up the display, you were all fantastic.

excellent assemblies taken by boys

Writing some excellent submissions

of all tutor groups. The Senior and

and we were able to put in more

has slipped our grasp in the last few months and we sit in a reasonable but not ideal 4th place.

recovers.

holds us together. Thank you and good luck in 2018/19. Mr M Goodchild

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

HOUSE LIFE Ridley House Report

Once again the House Music was a fantastic event and whilst we perhaps did not quite hit the musical

It really has been a year of ups and downs in Ridley House. Let’s get the bad news out of the way first! After flirting with

the Basketball and Athletics events.

heights of the two previous years, I

Although we didn’t finish bottom in

was somewhat disappointed when

any single event (there were several

we were adjudged in fifth place. This

joint fifth places) apart from the

year we have said farewell to some

the wooden spoon in the Brodie

aforementioned House Tennis our

fantastic musicians in Ridley 13

Trophy for the past couple of years,

only other credible showing was joint

(George Wyatt, Tom Ramsbottom,

in 2017-18 we left our surge just a bit

third place in the House Football.

Matt Proctor, Patrick Walters,

too late, meaning that sadly, this was

When viewed in these terms, despite

Alex Walters, Nat Vincent, Patrick

the year that we came bottom. We

the considerable efforts of so many

Harrington, Chris Harty and Martin

undoubtedly finished the Summer

in the House, our sixth place finish is

Atkins to mention just a few) and

Term strongly, but unfortunately we

perhaps not surprising.

had left ourselves too much to do!

they will be hard to replace. Our lowest finish was a fifth place in

Ridley did not win their first Brodie

Once again, the Watson Trophy, was

House Chess, although our Seniors

event – the House Tennis until the

a different story, although we never

reached the final. We were placed

very last competition of the academic

got close enough to really challenge

fourth in House Art and came third

year. Our Seniors and Inters both

either the winners Denson (on 29

in the Quiz. A superb team editorial

came second, whilst the Junior

points), or Paterson (27 points).

effort saw us come a commendable

team of Ben Perkin, Nick Beale,

Nevertheless, Ridley’s third place on

runners-up in the House Writing.

John McGregor and Tom Steal were

21 points was still a strong showing.

A particular highlight of the year

victorious. I hoped that (as in the last two years) such a victory would drag us off bottom place in the Brodie, but unfortunately for us, our closest rivals, Phillips House came joint second in the overall House Tennis standings, meaning that we finished a mere 1 point behind (22 to their 23) in the final Brodie Results. The run in at the end of term also saw our Year 10s win House Football, whilst the Year 8s came joint first. Apart from these sporting highlights, our sporting successes were few and far between. Mention must be made of our Intermediate Squash Team and the Ridley 7 Basketball Team who were both victorious. Ridley 9 were runners up in both

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

was the Senior Public Speaking,

their time for a good cause or to help

Ridley 13 and he received the trophy

which we won. Joe Harrington was

the House. I am of course extremely

from both Fred and George.

the highest placed speaker in the

grateful for everyone’s contributions,

Year 12 competition, whilst our

whether assisting at the Fete,

other 3 speakers (Dylan Sellors,

delivering assemblies, working with

Dylan Holmes-Cowan and Ali

younger students in the House or

Wasim) were all placed second in

volunteering within their tutor groups.

their year groups. When combined

I must also thank our superb team of tutors (Mrs Harris, Mr Davey, Mr Pilkington, Dr Manley, Mr Roberts, Mr Suder-Chatterjee and Mrs Smith) for all they have done to support both

This year we have had a superb

me and all our students during the

leadership team of Head Boy George

past year.

Wyatt and Deputies Chris Atkinson

So what are our aims for 2018-19?

and Tom Ramsbottom. I am very

To improve on our showings in both

There were of course other

grateful for all their efforts driving

the Watson and Brodie competitions.

notable achievements in another

the House forward. George is part

It would be great to taste victory

extremely busy academic year.

of a unique double since his older

again next year. After all, Ridley

One of these was winning the Good

brother Fred was Head Boy of Ridley

are statistically the most successful

Citizens’ Trophy for Ridley House’s

two years previously. Mr and Mrs

House this century with 10 combined

contribution towards the fundraising

Wyatt have very kindly donated a

trophy wins (ahead of Phillips on 9).

efforts at the PTA Fete, where we

magnificent trophy which will now

had more volunteers than any other

be awarded termly to the member

House. This is just one example of

of the House who is adjudged to

the many members of Ridley House

have contributed most to Ridley. The

who are always willing to give up

inaugural winner was Matt Proctor of

with the Junior competition, Ridley came second overall in the Public Speaking.

Congratulations to everyone who has contributed to House life during the past year. Mr J Barrie

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

SPORT 1ST XV Rugby Never in the history of AGS rugby, have so few, battled so hard, to overcome adversity and resolve the dilemma they found themselves in at the start of the 2017 season. Fresh from a successful tour of Singapore and Australia, where 4 of 5 games were won, we returned to pre-season to find that eight players had departed AGS for pastures new or had retired from the game due to changing priorities. We won’t dwell

completed this incredible journey. Words may not come close to conveying their true qualities and achievements but we must try.

on this negativity for more than a second. Because from out of this darkness, came light. Light in the form of character, resilience, determination and strength. The 2017 season was a long road of transformation. Week by week, we rebuilt our shattered confidence and worked hard to develop new combinations, partnerships and team vision. Stride by stride, moving forward. We’d get knocked down and we’d get up again. No-one could ever keep us down.

1. George Pratt – Reliable, 100% committed and brave 2. Sammy Roberston – Leader, inspirational and intelligent 3. Ore Oyinloye – Man of Steel 4. Adil Munir – Most improved, analytical and feisty 5. George Wyatt – Work horse, dependable and ever present 6. Jordan Dyer – Positive, honest and just keeps giving 7. Ed Giles – Tough, powerful and the perfect role model 8. Jonty Hanwell (Capt) – Leader, motivator and powerful

Gradually we created a defensive system which proved difficult to break down and expressed ourselves offensively with creativity and flair. From out of the ashes came giants. Giants of men who were prepared to put their body on the line, game after game, and pull on the shirt with pride and passion. We need not focus on results or score lines but give our 100% attention to the warriors who started and

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

9. Jack Nuttall – Confident, skilful and tactically astute 10. Harvey Mack – Physical, visionary and hard as nails 11. Isaac Macdonald – Elusive, speedy and committed 12. Joe Channer – Versatile, communicator and deceptively quick 13. Marc Grant – Balanced, skilful and agile 14. George Davies – Solid, dependable and athletic 15. Shea Minty – Under-rated, superb engine and intelligent

Thank you to the Year 13 who have played their last game in the AGS jersey. You should be proud of your efforts and I hope you look back fondly on your experience. For those in Year 12, I challenge you to go again, to be the leaders of the 1st XV next season, to set the standards for all to aspire to and leave behind a positive legacy, just as this year’s Year 13 have done.

16. Charlie Dunne – Committed, hardworking and confident Mr G Ramsbottom 17. Tom Lindars – Versatile, reliable and dogged

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

SPORT 2nd XV Rugby The season started with a bang, although we were on the losing end of the fixture against Campion, but ended quietly with games against Watford, Henry Floyd and John Hampden being cancelled. This meant that the

22 points in the second half but it

from an amateur to a professional one

was just too little too late and we

and this has been echoed at all levels.

lost it 40 – 30.

Skill levels have improved, the try

The Watford game was called off because of frost and the Henry

has gone from 3 points to 4 and now 5, the line out has been transformed

Floyd and John Hampden first teams

from a shambles to the lifting allowed

pulled out for reasons only known to

today – a definite positive, but the

themselves, all three were potential

ruck has all but disappeared and the

victories. So, to the final game against

game today resembles a 15-a-side

Royal Latin. Another Wednesday

Rugby League game with dummy

team ended with 4 wins and 4 losses

in the gloom and drizzle produced

runners and defensive lines spread

which was probably a little harsh as

a relatively easy win. Although the

across the field. I’m not sure if the

the cancelled games would have

19 – 15 score line suggests a close

constant tinkering with laws has

produced at least two more victories.

encounter we dominated all phases

improved matters either.

After the comprehensive loss to

but were particularly generous in allowing the opposition to run through

To finish, I would like to praise the

some weak tackles. Tom Aston shone

commitment of the vast majority of the

in this game with two tries and a man

members of the squad. The example

Dr Challoner’s 28 – 24. This was

of the match performance. Toby Higgs

set by the year 13s has been matched

a particularly pleasing result as we

showed great skill in converting two

by the year 12s and I hope that those

came back from a 7 – 19 deficit at

of the tries, perhaps a skill we should

year 12s come back to form the spine

half time to win by 4 points. James

have utilised more in earlier games.

of the 1st XV next year.

Last year I said that it was my last

My thanks to Mr Ramsbottom and all

season but obviously returned for

the players and I hope they continue

one more. However, after 48 years

with the game in some form by

Campion the team found their feet to beat Bedford Modern 17 – 5 and

Massey and Ollie Scorey led this fight back with 3 tries supported by some excellent place kicking from captain Peter King.

coaching this great game it is time to

St Albans was next but the 2nd XV

go, so my time is up. During that time I

disease of poor tackling let us down

have seen the game change markedly

again and we lost 26 – 5 which was a flattering result for the opposition. However, there was a pleasing recovery against Reading Bluecoats where the team scored the try of the season, and the 18 – 5 victory took us into the Magdalen College school game. Again, the tackling let us down and we let in 8 tries to lose 52 – 13, the worst performance of the season. The Wednesday afternoon curse of lethargy hit us against Akeley Wood 1st XV. Down 33 – 8 at the end of the first half the team fought back to score

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

playing, refereeing or coaching. Mr G Holmes

U16 Rugby

year. A bitter rivalry against a team

Despite no points, the boys no

which had unjustly beaten us last

had their tails in the air put on the

year. Little did we know that this was

defensive performance of the year.

Having started the year with a hard fought loss against Campion School, the boys bounced back with a 20pt victory against Bedford Modern School. Quickly followed by a

to be the last game for some of these

The next 15 minutes see the boys

boys. In reasonable conditions, on a

putting in some of the most brutal hits

pitch hand cut by the queen herself,

over the last two years. Giles, White,

the boys were in the best shape of

Claasen, Barrett, McIntosh, Brownhill

the season and against the glorious

are a pack possessed, putting their

backdrop of Oxford the stage was set

bodies on the line to win anything.

24-12 victory over St Albans, it is

to end the season on a high. Starting

Tackling every man they can get

fair to say that the boys started in

early on with the solid defence that

their hands on. Unfortunately, with

fine form and it looked as though

has very much become a trade mark

a little lapse in concentration, giving

we had put right the questions,

of this team, Magdalen had nothing.

Magdalen a little too much time on

which were asked of us last year.

In desperation to turn the game in

the ball Magdalen went up. Queue

Unfortunately, our next game against

their favour, their number 10 kicked

Reading Blue Coats raised some

a ball deep in to our half, in to the

of the same questions. This year

safe hands of our full back. Captain

the boys have worked hard on their

graceful, Joe Chapman. In the face

defence and I can honestly say that this has become their greatest asset over the year. Despite the losses they have faced, and the rubs of the green, which haven’t gone our way, they have kept their chins up and remained positive and proactive in their approach.

a game changing performance by none other than Tom Lane who from the first whistle in the second half single handedly neutralised their number 10. With no options to run

of mounting odds, Joe gracefully

the ball, the game turned and we

evaded the attempts of their winger. Now at the half way line, Joe adopted a less subtle approach as he ran over his opposite man leaving no sense of dignity in the man he had flattened. Unfortunately, the try was

got on top of the opposition early on in the second half. With the grit the boys had shown in the game, it was only a matter of time until we were rewarded with points of our own.

not to be, no raise of the arm from

With the boys exhausted, it’s time for

Our last game of the season against

the ref and no points on the score

the finishers. It’s like the changing of

Magdalen had been the focus of the

board.

the guard. On come Goillon, Harty, Birch, Gillis, Graham. The tempo does not let up. Every time we get the ball we look dangerous, with hands from Speake, Walters and Edmonds, the wingers start to cause problems. Twidale, Forrest and Birch all show their form from the season taking turns to run at the opposition. With a decision to deny skippy of 5 points following some tasty hands in the back, the boys found themselves setting up for a line out 5 metres from Magdalen’s line. It is here where the actual events become blurry. What we know is that Jake Graham

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

SPORT catches the ball from a poor throw in

This year we have been blessed with

to the line out, and he falls over the

numbers, consistently turning out

line. He has no idea whether he’s

high quality line ups.

scored, but the arm of the ref goes up and we get our five points. With

With the pack power of Barrett, Birch,

U15 Rugby Part one: This year has been

Brownhill, Claassen, Cyster-White,

nothing short of a phenomenal

Giles, Goillon, Graham, Harty, Lane,

one for the U15 rugby teams.

Littler, MacKnight, Martin, Plummer

Over forty boys have committed

and White, we have rarely been

to the process and have done

out-muscled this year. With the back

so since the previous summer

finesse of Bates, Burt, Chapman,

term with initial meetings and

The boys know that this is their

Edmonds, Forrest, Jadavji, Miles,

fitness testing followed by a

chance to do a number on Magdalen

Page, Speake, Thomson and

very busy Autumn term start

and come off the field victors. With

Walters. Of course a big mention

with regular training sessions

the potential of 2 points from the kick right out on the touch line, AGS now have the chance to go 2 pts up. Unfortunately the kick is missed and the score stands at 5-5.

two minutes to go we are down in their half and we look in a strong position. Unfortunately, rugby is a game where the rub of the green

must go out to Joe Chapman who has led from the front this year and

and plenty of fixtures.

has earned his position as captain of

The overall squad boasts genuine

a very dedicated team.

strength in depth across all positions and this has led to some great

can go with or against you. On this

There is no doubt that the boys have

occasion we didn’t get lucky and with

shown tremendous commitment and

30 seconds to go we find ourselves

enthusiasm this year and I hope it

the 19 matches played at A & B team

under our posts staring at the raised

continues this year. I would like to

level, there were 15 wins and only 4

arm of the referee. As the clock goes

thank Mr Bull and Mr Warner for all

losses. 585 points were scored and

red, the boys are forced to watch

of their help this year and I know I

only 181 conceded. Those numbers

as the opposition 10 takes the kick,

speak for the three of us when I wish

display an average score-line of 30

which could seal their fate. Given the

the boys the very best of luck for

points to 9. The statistics themselves

performances the boys have put in

next year.

show exactly how great this term

this year it is a cruel act to have lost our final game with a kick in the final

Mr T Walker

competition for places. In total, across

has been but they still don’t do the boys justice.

play of the game. It is a talented group of rugby players. But it is a talented group who have shown the attitude and commitment required to make special things happen during a season. Without that commitment and enthusiasm to each other and the process, those results would not have been possible. Due to the squad’s continued successes we were able to progress well in cup competitions this season, and extended the journey well beyond the usual December finish.

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

The Spring term would boast a county

greatest degree and the boys have

hungry bear from a lineout, the ball

cup final against the old enemy

been a genuine credit to themselves

was then carried by an impressive

from down the road, Dr Challoner’s

and the school. It is a special group

display of pure forward power in the

following wins against Princes

of young AGS rugby players and the

form of the notorious AGS U15 maul.

Risborough and Stowe school. And

best thing about it, is that the season

The ball was finally bulldozed over

the little matter of a massive tie

is not yet over - a huge well done to

the line by Will Spencer; who in the

against Northampton School for Boys

all involved.

moment seemed to resemble a baby

in the National Cup as the team won their first 4 rounds; beginning locally

rhino running for the first time as he

Mr L Gardiner

crushed all opposition in his path.

against Lord Williams, and moving

Part two: Our last game of the

The try was then converted due to a

further afield against St Albans,

season saw us line up against Dr

delightfully graceful kick from Dylan

Haileybury and Langley school from

Challoner’s in the U15 Bucks County

‘the dream’ Taylor. 7:0 to AGS.

Norwich. Each win has brought them

Cup Final. Not only was the County

closer to the end goal of the final at

Cup title to play for, but the bitter local

Twickenham stadium. The fixture

school rivalry and the fact that this

against Northampton was the final

game would not only conclude our

of Midlands A section - putting AGS

very successful and enjoyable season

in the last 16 schools in the country of the biggest competition at this age group; that is an exceptional

but the last time we’d belt out the words to Josh Groban’s ‘You raise me up’ in victory karaoke. Despite horrific conditions we started

up to all the expectations of a latter

sharply and as we intended to play for

stages competition tie with two very

the whole match, keeping the ball in

accomplished teams battling hard

hand and maintaining possession.

get over the line, losing 15:12, so near yet so far. It has been a collective effort of the

we were just that as Challoner’s gave away a penalty right in front of the

achievement in itself. The match lived

throughout. Sadly we just could not

Being clinical was our main goal and

posts that was slotted neatly through with ease, making the score 10:0 in our favour, just as the half drew to a close. As the second half started the Big Man (Mr Gardiner) warned us that they’d come out far better than they had to begin with, and this was apparent straight away. As they began

After scoring the first try of the match

to take over the game. The opposition

due to Ben Latham rising into the air

came onto the pitch hungrier and

like a salmon from a river desperately

more aggressive, with one of their

escaping the ferocious jaws of a

freakishly large players obliterating our defence, trampling through our smallest player to score. We wish Josh Alexander a speedy recovery... Reminding us all of that tragic scene in the Lion King (Mufasa was a king). The score was now 10:5 after they failed to add the extra points. Despite Challoner’s new found thirst for victory, the whole team stepped up to meet the level of performance demanded from us, the extra 10% individually as Mr Gardiner calls it. We tirelessly defended inside of our

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

SPORT own 22 for most of the half as they

ensuring each player on the side-lines

relentlessly smashed their main

was wearing a jumper and keeping

ball carriers into us. In an attempt

active and warm. Proving once more

to break the brick wall that was our

why she’s the most supportive head

defence. Players such as Cannonball

of year. On top of this we’d like to

Cam, Archie Davies and Fearsome

apologise on behalf of several of

Fred played a monumental role in

the team’s parents for mistaking

overpowering and shutting down the

her as one of our own Mums, which

oncoming attacks of our line with

as expected did not go down too

some impressive tackling, ensuring

well! We would also like to thank

that the re-enactment of the Lion King

Mr Manley for running after school

didn’t happen again.

strength and conditioning sessions

The back line also stepped it up a gear, meeting any attacking opportunity with lightning fast line speed. The dying minutes of the game went on and on, and the amount of deafening noise and abuse screamed from the mouth of team talisman and coach Mr Dean was truly epic. However the game came to a close, as Dylan ‘the dream’ Taylor gracefully as ever lined up a penalty kick in front

to give the team some much needed gains in order for us to have the physical edge over the competition and look good doing it. Finally of course the biggest of thanks to Mr Gardiner and Mr Dean for their continued support and coaching from the start to the end of our season, allowing us to gain County Cup glory as well as the Last 16 of the National Cup. Ben Mulholland – Denson 10

of the posts... And missed. Horribly. Everyone anxiously wondered if this was to end the match or if Challoner’s would have a last chance to score. Gladly for us though the final whistle blew and AGS one last time, belted ‘You raise me up’ at the top of their lungs. It was a physical and intense match, and looking back we would like to thank as a squad, Mr Sturgeon, Mr Ramsbottom, Miss Pollard, Mr Manley and Mr Streat for coming along to boost the morale of the team. In Miss Pollard’s case challenging every single one of the referee’s decisions verbally as well as vigilantly

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

U14 Rugby Year 9 rugby is all about transition, notably from 13 a-side to 15 a-side rugby, which put a strain on this squad straight away. With numbers lost to other sporting commitments from last year’s squad right at the start of the season, and injuries to key players happening throughout the year, finding a squad of fit and available players each week was a challenge and subsequently impacted on team development. While being completely necessary, the new concussion protocols alone accounted for 5 ‘A’ team players during the season, which had an obvious impact on team strength on several occasions. Taking all of this into consideration, the first half of the season saw us play some promising rugby in patches, but a lack of consistency and squad depth led to some disappointing team results. Early and heavy losses to Campion, Bedford Modern and St Albans really highlighted where we needed to improve, but a narrow 3 point loss to a strong Reading Blue Coats team suggested that we were moving in the right direction, but the next game, a 55-5 loss to RGS, proved to be the low point and turning point of the season. Although they all gave their best, fielding a seriously under strength team against RGS was a humbling experience, but it resulted in two huge big positives….one was the performance of Matt Sparke as flanker, a position he impressed in for the rest of the season. The other was the leadership shown by team captains Max Dolphin and Harry Jones following this defeat,

who demonstrated how a team of young players can start to take collective responsibility for their own development and success, rather than having to rely on others to continuously motivate and cajole.

team rounded off their season in style with a well-deserved 50-5 win against Royal Latin, which again came after we were able to field one of our strongest teams thanks to the return of most of our injured players.

The renewed focus and application in training, coupled with improving attendance by most, started to pay dividends and performances in matches improved considerably. A much needed 53-5 win against Akeley Wood before the half-term break was followed up by our most impressive result of the season, an excellent 21-19 win away at Northampton School for Boys’…..never an easy place to get a win and the team did extremely well to hang on having led 21-7 with 10 minutes left. The issue of squad strength would again cause us problems though straight after this game, as we lost both Sam Kearney and Daniel Partridge to concussions while on club duty and Bar Heasman fractured a thumb in training. Despite these challenges the squad continued its improvement and a 2 point loss at Magdalen College followed by a 5 point loss to Dr Challoner’s could have easily been two more wins, had our handling and decision making been a bit better in both games. The

In addition to Matt Sparke, many others impressed with their performances throughout the season and it’s impossible to talk about all of the boys, but some of the standouts include Fin Spencer, who made a huge difference after returning from injury, Harry Jones and Max Dolphin, who were immense ball carriers and big hitters throughout the year. Will Chapman and Paddy McNulty showed real improvement as 9 and 10 respectively, Sam Kearney was always a genuine attacking threat and Alfie McIntosh was a real find at full-back. From a technical perspective there are lots of areas in which the team needs to improve and work on next year, but ignoring all of that there is a couple of areas that could perhaps make the biggest difference next year, those being general organisation and communication. All in all though the efforts of the squad in the second half of the season made this an

overall enjoyable season, despite the frustrations referred to earlier. Mr McGill would like to thank all those who played A team rugby this year for their efforts and he looks forward to seeing their future progression in the coming years. Year 9 B TEAM Despite the anticipation, our season did not start well and a heavy loss to Campion School was followed by similarly heavy defeats to Bedford Modern, St Albans, Reading Bluecoats and RGS. All of these sides boasted extremely strong B teams, which had players all on the fringes of their school’s A teams. Despite the disappointing results, all the boys involved continued to work extremely hard and more importantly smile and enjoy their rugby throughout. Similar to the A team, injuries and availability resulted in a different set of results than hoped for. Continuity in our pack and the struggle each week with a different backline made it difficult to build solid foundations on as a team. But the boys represented their school with pride, passion and the utmost professionalism. Special mentions must go to the numerous players who have contributed at B team level and earnt themselves call ups to the A team squad. Additionally, standout performers throughout the season must go to Will Greenfield, who was a driving force in attack and to Will Ratcliffe, whose pace provided us with real dynamism in the rare attacks that we had. Both myself and Mr Mattu would like to thank all those who have contributed for this season and wishes you the best of luck in your future rugby careers. Mr C McGill & Mr H Mattu

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

SPORT U13 Rugby Year 7 was a successful year for this group of boys so Mr Dimbleby and I were keen to get started with training early on in Year 8 so that we could meet the boys and see what sort of pool of players we had to work with. From the outset the number of boys attending training (around 50) was really positive and it is testament to their work ethic and commitment that these big numbers remained right up to the last week of training. There are a number of boys who have progressed through the teams and competition for places has been extremely high making selection a genuine nightmare each week. I am pleased to say that we have built on the platform created by Mr Gibbs last year though and had another very successful season. Individual skills are still worked on but at the same time the boys have worked on their understanding of tactics and strategies and this has certainly improved their decision making during games.

have been a number of times when

not mentally and physically ready that

significant breaks were made by

they may end up a few scores down

Charlie Shepherd, Josh Armstrong,

within a few minutes. I need not have

Morgan Billings, Riaghan Matheson

been concerned however because the

and Luke Evans to name just a few.

team showed a tremendous amount

We are also fortunate to have a

of assertion, desire and work rate

very talented backline who have the

along with skill and accuracy to match

hands to play really exciting running

NSB in every department. The truth

rugby but also the desire and hunger

is we haven’t had to be at our best

to defend as a unit. George Birch

to win games this season but on this

has done a great job at fly half and

occasion we did need to be at our

Harry Wilson, Finn McGuire, Tom

best and we were able to respond

Oakes and Adam Bosompen have

with an excellent team performance.

all played a vital role in our attacking play. I would also like to mention the boys who have worked hard to earn

Played: 7

Won: 6

a position in the A team squad and

Drew: 0

Lost: 1

when given the chance have not

A Team:

B Team:

looked out of place. This includes

Dynamic, forward thinking, expansive and aesthetically pleasing are just

Played: 10

Won: 7

Riaghan Matheson, Jason Stephens,

Drawn: 1

Lost: 2

Theo Bockmuehl, Sam Tung and

describe the vast array of players that

Leo Walsh.

were involved with the Year 8 B team

The pack have provided us with a solid base to work from and this

For me the defining game of the

makes things much easier for Archie

season was not a victory but a draw

Dodds at 9 who is then able to dictate

against Northampton School for Boys.

the pace at which we play. In truth,

It was clear from the warm up that

the pack have also been the catalyst

NSB were really up for the game and

for our go forward rugby and there

my concern was that if our boys were

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

a few words that could be used to

this year. The season finished with a fantastic 6 wins and only 1 defeat against a very strong RGS team bearing in mind our squad was limited at the time. There has been an incredible record

of B team players who have shone

playing together. This also showed

then when the scores were tied Ben

and earned themselves promotions

that they were already a strong unit

Perkin scored in last minutes winning

to Mr Rooney’s A team squad. This

so credit must go to Mr Gibbs for the

the game. Winning 25-20 the boys

is a credit to their ability, commitment

preparation in Year 7. In this game,

showed what they were all about.

and willingness to improve. The

the scrum was perfect even with the

They showed they could play gritty

way the boys have demonstrated

new laws and credit here must go to

rugby and that they had the mindset

a camararderie and team spirit

Peter Drotske, Charlie Gould, Jason

to stay awake after not having the

has exemplified what team work is

Stephens, Theo Bockmuehl, Will

ball for long periods of play. A special

about. That’s what makes this year

Smith, Josh Sond and all of the other

mention must go to Ben Warner and

group stand out from all others. They

players who stepped in when injuries

are not a bunch of individuals who

caused issues.

Ben Perkin who shared the captaincy

don’t click, but a fantastic group of players who are keen to become better rugby players.

and led the team effectively showing great maturity and drive to win.

An especially tight victory against a strong Bedford Modern really

The future is extremely bright for

cemented their credentials and

this year group and I am sure they

Awesome wins against Reading

this fixture stands out to me as the

Bluecoats (40-10) and St Albans

game of the season. AGS started

stand out as the most impressive

very poorly going 10-0 down after 2

results where Tom Kirkpatrick Brown

quality tries from BMS. At the start

and Leo Walsh stood out as notable

of the second half it looked like it

runners and tacklers. In these games,

would be the same again with BMS

we tackled extremely well and ran

scoring within seconds of the restart.

moves we have been practising

Alex Brown however reacted with a

religiously in training. It was nice to

huge line break, bouncing off multiple

and thanks also to Mr Manley for

see the boys all click in their very

tackles to score in the corner. Alex

facilitating our sessions in the fitness

first game against Campion School,

then scored again and then Sam Tung

suite each week.

again winning (30-15). In this game,

scored from a Fijian style off load

a breakaway try from Ben Warner

executed perfectly by Ben Perkin.

got the team going after a year of not

Sam then went on to score again and

are going to go from strength to strength all the way up to when they are playing senior rugby for AGS. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr Dimbleby for giving up a huge amount of his time to run coaching sessions and taking fixtures

Mr R Rooney

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

SPORT U12 Rugby

victory for the As. Scoring a few early

outing with many of us knowing the

tries gave us the momentum to score

Challoner’s players from clubs or

more. The B team also had a great

previous schools. The As lost 45-0

The season for U12 rugby started back in August when the new Year 7 boys attended the Sports Induction week here at AGS. All new to the school, some

result of 45-15 and this time with no

but the score doesn’t reflect the

injuries!

impressive and relentless tackling put

active club players and some new

As were 3 tries down at half time but

to the sport of rugby. There was a

determined not to be outdone by our

Another challenge awaited in the

range of different abilities and different

local rivals, the team dug deep and

next game. It was Caldicott. The bus

attitudes towards the game. But there

tackled superbly. Billy Knibb used his

journey was highly entertaining with

was bucket-loads of potential, lots

brilliant pace to score a superb try at

some good tunes. After the match,

of characters and great way to get

a crucial time in the game to level the

there was a great tea but the result

involved in AGS life with the huge help

scores at 15-15. A try in the dying

sadly didn’t go our way. 50-10. Once

of our coach Mr Gibbs.

minutes secured a well-earned victory

again there were some stand out

of 20-15. The B team sadly had a

performances from Billy Knibb, Harry

heavy defeat of 55-5 but remained in

Woddus and Sam Johnson. James

good spirits.

Marklow-Brown had an amazing

A Team: Played: 10

Won: 3

Lost: 7

B Team:

The next match was the big one, against RGS High Wycombe. The

After the half term break both

Played: 8

Won: 2

Lost: 6

Both teams started off the season with heavy defeats against Bedford Modern (85-0 for the As and 35-10 for the Bs), showing us that we had much to learn but spirits were not broken.

The B team suffered a similar fate losing 60-15.

game scoring both of our tries.

teams returned to suffer x2 losses

The final game of the season was

against well prepared teams from

against Watford Grammar at home.

Northampton School for Boys and

The As started the game on a high,

Oxford’s Magdalen college. Dr

scoring 2 tries in the first five minutes.

Challoner’s was the next match which

We went on to score a total of 5 tries

we always knew would be a tough

in the first half to Watford’s 2 tries.

The next week we went into training determined to learn something new and to win the next match. The training in the week paid off with wins for both teams against St Albans. Maybe we were a little over confident for the next match when taking on Reading Blue Coats away. The As let a few easy tries pass by early on and then struggled to get back into the game . The Bs also lost in a close game of 25-35. Towards the end of September, we travelled to Royal Latin for a great

in by the boys and the all-round effort.

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

In the second half we plummeted showing a lack of commitment and

1st XI Football

I had a feeling that we had the potential to be successful after watching the traditional curtain-raiser

discipline and ended up losing a match we really should have won. The final score was 25-45. The B team lost 10-30 in another well contested match.

2017-2018 must go down as one of the most successful – if not the most successful season played at 1st XI level. In our 18 games we won 15 and drew 3. The

Player of the Season:

only blip on an undefeated record was

Sam Johnson (D7)

that we lost a penalty shootout yet

Most improved player: Billy Knibb (Pa7) Players’ player:

against the Old Aylesburians, which we won 4-2. It was then straight into cup action in the group stages of the County Cup. We won all 4 matches against Sir Henry Floyd, Walton High, Chalfonts Community College and the Hazeley Academy, whilst Great Marlow conceded. We therefore

again – this time in the National Cup

finished our group as winners with

against Tring School. No side was

maximum points, although several of

able to defeat us in normal or extra

these games were much closer than

time across a long season.

they should have been on account of our poor finishing. We really should

George Mansfield (Pa7)

Played:

Overall it has been a hugely

Won:

enjoyable season and first term at

Drawn:

AGS. Thank you to Mr Gibbs for all

Lost:

Goals For:

Leo Blackman and Jonny Booth,

Goals Against:

which earned us a home tie against

his encouragement and guidance throughout the season. This is the first opportunity we have had to play

have killed teams off much earlier. In the National Cup we defeated a competitive Sir John Lawes School 3-1, with goals from Euan McDonald,

Tring School. This was the low point

together and we are looking forward

Goal Difference: +42

to rugby in year 8.

Top Scorers: Leo Blackman (10), Tom McElroy (8), Euan McDonald (8)

victims of our own complacency.

Top Assists: James Richardson (11)

and then conceded 2 goals, before a

Ollie Blundell – Phillips 7

of the season where we were the Having led through Alex Rice, we missed our usual array of chances

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

SPORT late Harvey Thorne equaliser took the

held at Slough Town’s superb new

line. This was a superb achievement

game to penalties. However the result

stadium. We undoubtedly entered the

by the whole squad since we had

might have been different if we had

game with the tag of firm favourites,

not won the Under 18 County Cup

been awarded a stonewall penalty

but I was confident that the 3G pitch

since 2000 & 2 years ago we lost on

and then not been the victims of a soft

would suit our skilful, passing game.

penalties! I know that it meant a great

penalty at the other end. Predictably

Our opponents were old rivals Dr

deal to the squad.

we lost the resultant shoot-out 4-3.

Challoner’s. AGS dominated the first

In the Quarter Finals of the County Cup we were held 2-2 at home against Royal Latin, when once again we lacked the killer instinct to win the game in normal time. With light fading, we were forced to replay after the Christmas holiday.

half and we only had a goal from influential Captain Tom McElroy to show for our supremacy. The second half continued in the same way – AGS in near total control, creating plenty of chances, but unable to put the ball in the net. As we neared the last 10 minutes, I began to worry.

Our final game of the season was against Chesham Grammar. After the euphoria of the previous week’s Cup Final, we slightly struggled on a terribly bobbly pitch against committed opponents. It was far from our best performance of the season, but Leo Blackman scored with the last kick of the game to earn us a

After Christmas we really hit form.

We should have been out of sight,

We preserved our unbeaten record

but Challoner’s were still one chance

with a last minute Leo Blackman

away from undeservedly taking the

equaliser at Reading Bluecoat and

game to the dreaded penalties –

Challoners, John Hampden, Chesham

we also had several cancellations and

dreaded because AGS have lost

Grammar and Sir William Borlase.

postponements due to the weather.

our last 6 or 7 penalty shoot outs.

We then finished off the season with

However, I needn’t have worried. With

This has been a long, memorable,

a run of 8 consecutive victories.

10 minutes to go we scored a second

We defeated Royal Latin 3-1 in the

– belatedly awarded to Jonny Booth

Quarter Final Replay, earning an

by the Dubious Goals Panel. In the

away tie at Denbigh. For a week or

final moments Harvey Thorne broke

two in March, the team played a brand

away and coolly slotted home to

of total football. Denbigh were beaten 8-0 in the County Cup Semi Final

give the game a more realistic score

and two days later we beat Bedford Modern School – traditionally one of our toughest games of the season, by the same score. We therefore scored 16 goals without reply in 48 hours of high quality football. During this period James Richardson really hit top form and he contributed 11 assists in the course of the season. Attacking players and goal-scorers often get the plaudits, so a special mention should be made of two stalwarts at the back – Luke Priestly and Harry Poll, who both played all 18 matches. This season’s County Cup Final was

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

2-1 win and with it the Hawkinsport Trophy, competed for by ourselves,

successful and hugely enjoyable season. I would like to congratulate everyone who has played for the team. They should all be very proud of their achievements. Mr J Barrie

2nd XI Football As Gary Lineker once said “Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win”. I used to say the same about the AGS 2nd XI, but with 2 losses recorded this year and a win percentage of only 75% (#QuickMaths) the quote doesn’t quite sum up the team anymore. I have therefore undertaken a significant amount of research and plumbed the depths of

some of our defensive displays this

commentary to accompany his play.

year and in particular Lorenzo Cross

Tom Faulkner, who appears to play

and Toby Simon’s against Akeley

the game like someone playing FIFA

Wood. They were given the run

on a PlayStation with a broken pass

around for 80 minutes and conceded

button, produced some dazzling

5 goals, 2 of which went to a striker

displays and superb long range

that Toby claimed “wasn’t even

finishes. Leo Gualchierotti was

that good”.

dependable and robust in midfield and alongside him, Yusuf showed

“Well, football is a hard game;

some very impressive performances

there’s no denying it” said Sir Alex

and was a real threat in the

Ferguson way back when. At times

opposition’s box.

the AGS midfield certainly made it look that way with some wayward

Tom Carter displayed a wonderful

passing, questionable dribbling and

variety of tricks out wide and Matt

hilarious attempts at goal.

Kiely-Smith was a fantastic utility man, effective at plugging gaps in

my football knowledge to come up

Current Man City boss Pep

with some quotes from the football

defence and midfield. Up front, Seyi

Guardiola best summarises our

world that do accurately represent

showed some exceptional touches

strikers’ displays this year. He once

this year’s incarnation of the AGS

and has a wonderful ability to keep

said “the most difficult thing in

Senior 2nd XI.

the ball. Adam Munir was a man

football is to score a goal”. This is

mountain and a true number 9 that

certainly something that Seyi Afonja,

held the ball up effectively to allow

Simon Amaeshike and Adam Munir

the rest of the team to push forward.

must agree with, but when they are

Simon Amaeshike must have

missing an open goal from 5 yards

finished the season as our top goal

Lost: 2

out, they certainly could have made

scorer combining his exceptional

Goals For: 31

it look a little easier.

physical attributes of pace and

Played: 8 Won: 6 Drawn: 0

Goals Against: 21

power with some very composed

In truth the team wasn’t all that

finishing.

We start with the late great Johann

bad. They won more than they lost,

Cryuff who said “Football is a game

played an attractive brand of football

As always, there are too many

of mistakes. Whoever makes the

and scored some exceptional goals.

players to mention, injuries hit

fewest mistakes wins”. For the

Xav Atkins was largely a solid and

the team hard at times and there

most part AGS were solid but we

dependable presence in goal, Jonny

were some very impressive cameo

certainly made a few mistakes. A

Dance ‘captain fantastic’ was a

appearances from many of you.

particular favourite was Xav Atkins

reliable defender and a threat on

throwing the ball in the back of his

the overlap. Toby Simon was a

own net moments after goading the

consistent performer throughout the

opposition and complaining about

season and Lorenzo showed some

how rubbish they were.

very composed performances with

Ex-England Manager Bobby Robson

Finally, well done to all those who have represented the teams this year. From the 1st XI to the 4th XI you have all demonstrated excellent character throughout the year and

some nice flashes of flair.

have been a credit to the school.

once said “We didn’t underestimate

Shafiea, as expected could be

them, they were just a lot better

heard long before he was seen,

than we thought”. This best sums up

provided some entertaining in-game

Mr G Davey

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

SPORT U16 Football This season has been a very stop start affair for the the Year 11 side. Drawn in a small group in the area cup and a spate of cancelled fixtures due to the poor weather conditions has led to games this year being rather sparse. Played: 8 Won: 6 Lost: 2 Goals for: 31 Goals against: 16 Similar to last year, we never really got going in the County Cup. After a convincing win against The Grange in the first round, we were pitted against a very robust Lord Grey side that managed to just edge us out of the competition with a 2-1 win. The two sides were evenly matched on the day but certainly, a team that AGS would feel comfortable beating if given the chance again. In the National Cup, we travelled to Luton to play a very strong Stockwood Park Academy side. Despite having played much of the better football and looking very composed on the ball we ultimately had no answer for the pace, power and penetration our opposition had. Time after time, we were picked off by a lightning fast counter attack. Despite a valiant effort in the second half where we played them off the pitch, the tie ended in a 6-3 defeat for AGS. The area cup again became our only chance of silverware and we were dominant in our group recording 6-2 victories over both Waddesdon and Royal Latin. Our journey in this competition, as it had a year earlier, unfortunately ended in defeat at the Semi-finals stage to The Grange. However, the boys should be immensely proud of the effort,

determination and dedication they have showed throughout the last 2 years and no doubt, they will go on to be successful at senior level. Ollie Twidale has continued to demonstrate excellent authority as our goalkeeper with an ability to pull off some spectacular saves. In truth however, in many of our more recent games he has had very little to do with much of the credit going to our defence. Harry Cook and Ben Jacobs look very assured full backs capable of going forward and being a threat on the overlap. Our regular centre back pairing on Harry Edmonds and Jack Burns have displayed exceptional steal and composure throughout the year. Our midfield trio, regardless of who starts, always seems to have a great blend of guile, guts and finesse. Ollie Cay, Michael Amaeshike, Cam Ross and James Atkinson and Endurance Rich have created a very combative and creative midfield, which have at times bullied and played teams off the pitch. Complementing them, Ben Ratcliffe and Owen Williams have provided a potent creative attacking force in the wide areas and have been the source of many goals this year. Up front, Elton has demonstrated devastating pace and is a constant goal threat both from careful build up play and on the counter attack. I would like to thank the whole squad, you have dealt with the constant disappointments and set back of cancelled games very well and produced some fantastic football this year. Keep getting involved and enjoying your football! Mr G Davey

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

U14 Football The results are as follows: Y9 B team: Played 5 Lost 4 – Drew 1 Y9 A team: Played 11 Won 7 – Drew 1 – Lost 3 After the ongoing trials throughout the games sessions in year 8 a provisional squad of around 35 boys had already been drawn up and these boys were excited to get going come January. Games came straight away and although it is normally the weather that causes the majority of the problems this year it seems that player availability or lack of availability was going to be the biggest issue for the staff. After the long wait to represent your school at football it seems that this opportunity was not as good as playing for your club and although I do have some sympathy for the players, the coaches were disappointed not to pick exactly who they wanted and see all of the boys play in the Saturday friendly games. The Google Classroom group for year 9 football has 43 players yet Mr Rooney had to come into assembly on numerous occasions to try and get extra players just so that we could fulfil our fixtures. The lack of communication has been extremely frustrating but in response to that I would like to thank all the boys that stepped up at last minute (both year 8 and year 9 boys). Player availability on Saturdays has had an impact on the teams that we put out and it is no surprise to say that all of the losses for both teams came on a Saturday rather than a

midweek game. That said it was great to see so many boys represent AGS at football and a large majority were representing their school for the first time which is excellent, despite the mixed results, I do hope that you enjoyed the experience. Interestingly, for the District Cup campaign for which the games are held during the week, the coaches have been able to select exactly who they want and this has resulted in some superb performances and excellent results. We beat Mandeville 6-3, Waddesdon 11-0, The Buckingham School 3-1, Royal Latin 12-2 and were awarded a walk over versus Akeley Wood all of which took us, as group winners, to a semi-final tie played after the Easter break. Despite their inability to communicate effectively, their occasional moodiness at training and their reluctance to get changed quickly in order to get to period 5 after training I am starting to enjoy working with the A team squad! There are a number of really good players in this team and at times this season they have played some excellent free flowing attacking football. They have also shown that they can win ugly too and the best example of that is the 3-1 win at Buckingham school on a pitch that makes the top field feel like Wembley. I would like to give a special mention to Jude Guest-Brainch who has been an exceptional captain both on and off the field. He has been committed to all training sessions, been available for all of the games and will go the extra mile to help the staff when needed.

Back to the District Cup and finishing top of our District group led us to a semi-final match against John Colet. The opposition only had ten men so you would think it would be a straight forward game but this certainly wasn’t the case. JCS came back into the game after AGS led on two occasions and despite going down to nine players due to an injury, the game went into extra time. Finally the extra men made a difference and AGS scored twice to make the final score 4-2. The team had made hard work of it but were through to the District final in their first season. The final was played at The Mandeville school on their 3G surface and a large crowd had gathered to see AGS play against Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School. The team played extremely well against the County Cup winners but just came up short losing 3-2 in a tight game. Timi scored two very well taken goals and on another day, it could have been a different outcome. It is obvious that there are some great individual players but over the season they started to work better as a team and have a greater understanding of whole team tactics, formations and an awareness of each other’s responsibilities. I certainly look forward to seeing how this squad develops next year.

1st XI Cricket Overall this has been a pleasing season for the senior cricket side and we certainly have a number of promising young cricketers coming through who will continue to represent the 1st XI for many years to come. Two Year 9 boys have played this season as well as three Year 10s, two Year 11s, six Year 12s and three Year 13 students. It is fantastic the way in which the team welcomes new players regardless of their age and all season we have had an excellent team spirit with balance between competitive cricket and team cohesion. The after school net sessions throughout the second term were well attended and this year we added an additional session in before school on a Friday. Despite boys having to get up much earlier in order to be in the sports hall by

A team squad: David Williams, Julian Atat, Ollie Flecknell, Jake Field, Dylan Changer, Isaac Ayilara, Sanjit Mallya, Harish Ramesh, Jude Guest-Brainch, Matt Sparke, Timi Ashaolu, Daniel Olawale-Babs, Tom Smale, Will Ratcliffe, Max Cornish. Mr R Rooney

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

SPORT U15 Cricket The season started with a difficult opening fixture away at Stowe in the county cup.

7.45am, we had good numbers each week and this clearly demonstrates their desire to improve as cricketers. In terms of results, we won 3 and lost 5 and, unfortunately games against Akeley Wood and RGS High Wycombe were rained off. Our competitive fixture list is always challenging but the players are happy to test themselves against top opposition and understand that these are the games that you learn the most from. In truth, improved game management at times could have led us to win close games against Dr Challoner’s and Bloxham School but we are a young side and the majority of the players from this year will be playing again next season. I would like to say thank you to the Year 13 players who have contributed many years to AGS cricket; Toby Simon (H13), Tom Faulkner (Ph13) and especially Max Hutt (Pa13) who has captained superbly this year. We hope to see you in the OAs’ game next year! Highlights this year include a comprehensive victory away against Bancroft’s School, two Year 10 boys Sachin Patel (Pa10) and

Ryan Connor (D10) putting on a 50 partnership batting at 9 and 10 against Lord Williams’ and, a very enjoyable day at the Reading Blue Coats T20 Festival where Marcus Connor hit 98* in the semi-final versus Shiplake College. Finally, I would like to thank Mr Holmes who is officially retiring at the end of this season. He has had a very big impact on AGS cricket over many years and worked hard to build the foundations of the successful cricket programme we now have at school. Mr R Rooney Top individual performances: Usman Khan 38, 35, 56, 47, Tom Carter 24, 30, 2 for 29 off 3.2, 3 for 19 off 5, Max Hutt 27, 77, 88, 2 for 13 off 6, Marcus Connor 50, 55, 98*, Tom Faulkner 2 for 24 off 6, 2 for 15 off 3, Milan Laljani 3 for 36 off 5, 3 for 22 off 4, 23, 33*, Ben Jacobs 28, 69, 39, Sam Holcroft 4 for 30 off 4, Sachin Patel 38*, 2 for 22 off 4, Ryan Connor 24. Other squad members include Toby Simon, Vibhav Pandey, Sammie Robertson, Ahmad Iqbal, Rohan Mistry, Bhavan Jeyanathan (2 for 27 off 6) and Dinath Alwis.

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

It was the team’s first match together and they were up against some quality opposition, going down by 31 runs in the end. In reflection, scoring over 110 runs against Stowe was an impressive achievement as they have been dominant in every other fixture against other opposition. A week later, the side suffered a forgettable loss at home to RGS, being bowled out cheaply in the first innings. In reply, AGS were inventive with their fields, aggressive with their bowling and outstanding in the field. Luke Murray-Russell took the catch of the season and Sam Gilbert introduced us all to some interesting chat in the field. The side then travelled away for a great encounter with Bedford Modern. Batting their 25 overs, AGS set an impressive 166-3, anchored beautifully by Sam Holcroft with 60no from his opening position. In reply, AGS limited BMS to 135-5 (Hirshal Patel with 2-24) via some brilliant bowling discipline and energy in the field. They took that momentum into their next midweek home fixture against a Bloxham senior side (2nd/3rd XI sixth form pupils). AGS bowled supremely and with a true assertiveness, they were yet to show. Sachin Patel finished with 2 for 5 and Kai Bailey supported him with 2 for 13. Bloxham’s total of 80-7 was not enough, and Ryan Connor’s aggressive 34 from 38 balls sealed a comfortable 9-wicket victory.

A long layoff due to fixture cancellation followed the victory and the side then hosted a solid Akeley Wood outfit. With five players rested, it was a good chance to see some of the other players in action. The visitors set a decent total of 130-5 via some pure striking from the top order but were challenged by some fine efforts with the ball from Abdul Gohar (1-23) and Jasper Smith (2-18). In reply, Ollie McKenna performed well at the top of the order and built a lovely partnership with Sam Holcroft. Sam again anchored the innings brilliantly to a 67 not out that allowed AGS to be competitive. Kai Bailey came in lower down the order and dismantled the bowlers for a quickfire 23 off 15 balls but it was not quite enough as the side fell short by three runs. In the final game of the season, the side came up against a strong DCGS side and were always chasing the game when DCGS set an impressive over 225. In reply, many batsmen contributed and made starts but they failed to build and fell 60 runs short in the end, Ollie McKenna top scoring with 30 runs.

all and tested their cricketing ability to the maximum. Group stage losses against DCGS and UCS Hampstead pushed AGS into the shield. On the big pitch one, in front of the crowd and with the music blasting, AGS put on a fine performance, bowling Bedford Modern out in under five overs. Holcroft and Connor impressed with the bat but it was the leg-spin of Ben Harding and seam of Kai Bailey that sealed the game in the end. The final created a stressful, tense atmosphere from the word go. Batting first, AGS bludgeoned 79 runs for the fall of 1 wicket. At the half waypoint, the side were confident, but that soon changed when Berkhamsted’s B team opening batsmen began in style hitting 41 runs off the first two overs. It eventually came down to Luke Murray-Russell to bowl the final over, that saw his final delivery be edged for a streaky 4 that tied the score at 79 runs. After discussion with the umpires, a super over was announced. 6 balls. Most runs win…..we scored 14 for 1! Luke “The Iceman” Murray-Russell, the Ian Poulter of cricket, stepped

up. Supported by some great fielding in the deep by Freddie Perkin, AGS reduced Berkhamsted B to just 4-2 off their final over, settling a win for the AGS side. The 6-a-side victory was a nice way to round off the season. There have been some brilliant moments to go along with some more forgettable instances. Many boys have held their hand up well and have shown massive development between Year 9 and Year 10, but also from the start to the finish of this school season. There is great strength in depth in this year group too, with plenty of competition for places and selection headaches for myself as coach. Competition for places builds progress and that will be important for this side moving forward into senior cricket next year. As many as six of the boys have represented the school regularly at 1st XI and 2nd XI level this season, which is wonderful for their development. They will need to call on that experience next year and in the rest of their AGS careers. Mr L Gardiner

U15 season: Played: 6 Won: 2 Lost: 4 Berkhamsted 6-a-side Competition – Shield Winners. The final commitment for the side came in a fantastic 6-a-side competition at the end of June. A new format to most of the boys, it was a brilliant experience for them

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

SPORT U14 Cricket The Year 9s had started training mid-way through April. We used the sports hall and/or the field on Mondays. The first match came late in April against Akeley Wood. There was tight bowling from everyone and we restricted them for 74-9. The opening pair of Bhavan (L9) and Danyaal (R9) had chased that below par score down with many overs to spare. The next match was a cup match against John Hampden Grammar School. After losing the toss, we fielded first. We bowled extremely well and had bowled them out for 90. Despite a little collapse with our top order, we had chased the total in 13 overs; Bhavan top scored with 43. Next, came a game against Bedford Modern School. AGS batted first and

made 166-4. Dinath (H9) hit 63. We

we were out of the cup. A couple

bowled BMS out for 59. This was

of weeks later, we had got some

another very convincing win.

unbelievable news. Stowe School

Afterwards, in mid-May, we played Bloxham School. AGS started slowly against a good bowling attack, but

had been disqualified because they’d used overaged players! Everyone was buzzing and we were given a lifeline.

then accelerated to a hard earned

We had two friendlies against

129. Bhavan made 70.

Berkhamsted School and Dr

At the halfway point in their innings Bloxham were on top. They were going at a good rate and hadn’t lost any wickets. Though, after a good comeback, we won the game. Bhavan

Challoner’s Grammar School. We lost to Berkhamsted by 35 runs, and we beat Dr Challoner’s comfortably. There was a fantastic opening partnership between Danyaal (60)

got 5 wickets. At this point, we had

and Bhavan (35).

won all 5 of our games.

Next was the crucial semi-final against

The streak was only to be broken

Sir William Borlase’s Grammar

in the county cup semi-final against

School. We batted first, and started off

Stowe School. We batted first and

shakily, losing our opening pair early.

made 113, but that wasn’t enough on

But the middle order stood up and

our ground. They’d chased it down

brought the total to 115. We knew we

with 3 overs to spare. We lost in a

had to bowl well and that is exactly

cup match and therefore thought

what we did, bowling them out for 60. The Year 9s were in the finals for the 2nd time. On the 10th of July, came the big game, the County Cup final vs. Dr. Challoner’s Grammar School. Both sides turned up early, preparing for the 25 over game. We lost the toss and bowled first. Everyone bowled extremely well, and we had restricted them to 111 on what was a good batting track. Our opening pair set out to bat and we started off well. There were good performances all round, including Danyaal (64). We chased the total with ease and won the cup for the second time in three years. We’d like to thank Mr Ramsbottom for all the hard work he has put in to make this season possible. Bhavan Jeyanathan – Lee 9

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

U13 Cricket

player could start to experience

The final game of the half term was

different game situations. Getting

against Magdalen College, where

the chance to open the batting,

the batting order was again mixed

Our season started against Berkhamsted. Despite the fact

Dan Sudbery took full advantage of

up. This time it was Will who shone

this to record an impressive knock

with the bat, getting 32 while chasing

that there had only been enough time

of 42. Together with some good

a score of 107. We started slowly in

for the squad to have two training

batting from Will, who managed 29

our attempts to beat this total against

sessions before this game, the team

and George Birch, who got 32, we

good opposition and had about

got off to an absolute flyer. Batting

put together a total score of 168,

thirty runs to get off of the last four

first, the As put on a solid score of

which Akeley Wood never looked

overs which, even for Archie proved

127 off 25 overs. A good opening

like beating. After restricting them to

too difficult a task (despite his best

partnership from Jack Callaghan

just 73 runs, it was great to record

efforts notes Mr McGill) and we just

and Archie Dodds was followed

a confidence boosting win after the

fell short. Our bowling will not be

by impressive knocks from James

BMS game.

mentioned as it was not one of our

Whitehead and Will Cliffe, which

best performances!

kept our run rate up. It was all then

Next up was our first game in this

down to the bowling, which was not

year’s county cup against Royal

Our first game after the break was

a problem for the likes of Will, Ben

Latin. For this we put out our

against John Hampden, which

Kearney and James, who all took

strongest team in its normal batting

provided us with the opportunity to

a brace of wickets. Berkhamsted

order. Bowling first, RLS set a

field a mixed A and B team, allowing

ended up scoring 78 all out, meaning

reasonable score of 100 off of 20

some of our squad players to get

our first game of the season was a

overs. In our closest game yet Archie

some valuable game time. Although

great success.

managed to play a great innings,

we lost this game by 4 wickets, the

scoring 51 runs. This allowed us to

star man for AGS was Ben Perking

beat the Latin’s total with only 1 over

who, in addition to a decent knock

to go, meaning we were now into the

with the bat, managed to take a 3

next round of the cup.

wicket haul in one over.

The second game, against Bedford Modern, was a completely different story and a bit of a rude awakening. We only managed to score 103 runs off of 25 overs as a result of some poor running and shot selection, which obviously meant that we needed to bowl and field very well in order to win. This however didn’t quite go to plan and on a very small pitch BMS batted aggressively and managed to reach and beat our total in only fifteen overs, for the loss of just one wicket! Our next game was against Akeley Wood. As a ‘friendly fixture’ it was decided that we would mix up our normal batting order so that each

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

SPORT Our last two games of the season

for 103. It was a game we could

where our toughest yet. First we had

have won, but on the day we never

Dr Challoner’s, who were previous

came close.

cup winners. It was obvious that we were up for the game the moment we arrived, as our entire team had managed to turn up before their first player even arrived for their home fixture. We were sent in to bat first and a great opening partnership from Dan and Archie got us up to 70 in not too many balls. After that though we collapsed, losing 4 wickets for only 10 runs. Great batting from Ed Stubbs and Zac Fish managed to get us to 107. The opposition started off quite well and were on track to win, but we never let our heads drop. Thanks to some great field placement and fielding and some tremendous wicket keeping from Zac we managed to slow their run rate down. James got a key wicket, getting their best batsman out and with Challoner’s needing 7 to win off of the last, Ed stepped up to bowl a brilliant over from which only 3 runs were scored, securing us a great win.

As I close the report I would like to say thanks to all the boys who have taken part in AGS cricket and the commitment shown this year. Most of all I want to say thank you to Mr Mattu and Mr McGill for coaching us, arranging all the fixtures and keeping everything organised. It has been a great season with highlights not just in the A’s but in the B’s and C’s as well, who played a number of fixtures that allowed all those who have attended training to represent the school. The B team’s record of played 4, won 1 (against Magdalen College) and lost 3 (against Berkhamsted, RGS and RBC) does not tell the story of their season properly, but it was great to see the likes of Josh Armstrong and Dan Tearle put on some fantastic performances. In each of these games at least 10 players were given the opportunity to bowl and they provided the opportunity for players

For are final game of the season in

like Riaghan Matheson to break into

the County Cup semi-final, we played

the A team.

old rivals RGS. If truth be told, it was a game that we unfortunately never looked like winning and in a high pressure game we retreated into our

All in all, it was fun and it looks very promising for next year. Archie Dodds – Lee 8

shells a little bit. They managed to get 137, with Archie getting 2 wickets, while Ansh Biyani and James bowled very well. Despite a few promising starts, none of our players managed to get enough runs to challenge the RGS total and we were bowled out

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

U12 Cricket The Year 7 cricket team enjoyed a generally successful first season together, winning 5 of our games and losing 3. We started the season with a comprehensive victory over Berkhamsted, with both Hussan and Ollie making fine fifties. Ollie was on form again in our next game versus Reading, making another half century after a superb fielding performance by Will as we chased down 120 with apparent ease. Next up was the first round of the county cup. Against Chesham, Ali compiled his first fifty and was well supported by our bowlers, notably Uwais with 4 wickets, as we qualified for the semi-finals by 53 runs. Our first defeat followed against Bedford Modern, despite 4 wickets for Alexander. Another 4-wicket haul, this time for Harry in our next game restricted Dr Challoner’s to 82, which we chased down calmly to win by 10 wickets. In the county Cup semi-final, against John Hampden, a stellar group bowling effort ensured a more-thancomfortable victory, putting us in the final. Before that took place, we faced a strong Magdalen side and lost out in a tight game by just 7 runs, despite 5 wickets for Alexander. The final match of the season was a disappointing one, losing to RGS in the final of the County Cup by 23 runs. With some of our more consistent bowlers having an off-day, Prag stepped up to take 3 wickets for

not many, but it was not enough as we struggled in bat against some tight bowling and fielding.

Senior Basketball

Despite this, it has still been a year to remember, with several very good performances and seasons. Hussan and Ollie both scored over 150 runs and Alexander was our leading wicket taker with 16. Sam showed his wicketkeeping prowess, claiming over 10 dismissals, and Uwais showed excellent control with the ball over every game. Ali, Prag, Aryan, Jonny, Harry and Will also put in important contributions towards our promising first season for AGS.

This season we made our debut in the Academy Basketball League (ABL). This meant that

defenders – coupled with his insane

we would be facing a lot tougher

rebounder, proving to be very

competition than in previous years,

consistent at grabbing rebounds and

but nevertheless we were hopeful

going up strong to put them back in.

and motivated to perform as well as

He is also quite a reliable free throw

we could. The squad consisted of

shooter, so we could always count on

(Captain) Aalim Shamsideen (Pa13),

him to put up some good numbers,

Kymir Ibragimov (H13), Tanatswa

this is why it was especially difficult

Chinzowu (Ph13), Ollie Mulcahy

when we lost him due to an injury,

(H13), Jaden Adigun (H12), Henry

which put a lot of pressure on Jaden,

Bambrick (Pa12), Sam Heasman

as he was often required to play

Meanwhile, the B team was capably led by Callum, who also had a consistent season with both bat and ball. So did Owen, who scored his first fifty against Reading in one of our 3 victories out of 7 games. They were supported in particular by Sam behind the stumps, Aryaman as another all-rounder and Aaron. It was great for so many boys to at least play in 1 match, and everyone who played represented the school well and contributed to whichever team they played in. Next year we will hopefully be even better and we look forward to what the summer of 2019 may bring.

(Pa12), Will Liggett (H13), Joslyn

ridiculous minutes, but never did he

Mcleod (Ph11), Harvey Newland-

complain so a massive thank you to

Smith (D11), Mayokun Okusanya

Jaden this season!

Mr N Gibbs

Adigun lead the team to victory with

on the court for him to punish opposing players. Sam standing at 6’6” towered over the majority of

(L12), Luke Parry (Ph11), Rob

standing reach and athletic ability, Sam was easily our most valuable

This season Joslyn, Harvey and

Preston (Ph12), and Alistair Kemp

Luke were up against players who

(H12). Unfortunately, we had a very

were 2 or 3 years older than them,

young team this year which meant

but I never once noticed any of them

that the season was going to be

backing down, instead they gave

all the more challenging for us, but ultimately, I am pleased with the way the season went, with many players

every game their all, often at times reminding us older boys the mindset we should have.

undergoing drastic improvements to

Luke is an athletic guard who can

their game and giving it their all.

knock down a three when needed,

We started the season with a win

chase down and block the opposing

at home against Uxbridge, Jaden

players on the fast break with ease,

23 points supported strongly by Sam Heasman’s 17 points and spectacular dunk. Jaden’s raw, gritty style of play

and he is consistently vocal with the team letting us know what is working and what is not.

was crucial to the team throughout

Harvey is one of the smallest guys

the season, as his sheer strength

on the squad but his use to the team

allows him to back down taller

is undeniable. He is easily one of our

players and get easy finishes at the

best shooters, providing us with a

rim. This season Jaden also stepped

lot of opportunities for drive-and-kick

out of his comfort zone establishing

situations in which you can always

himself as threat from the perimeter,

count on him to score, and when

this allowed for more opportunities

Harvey gets hot, he is unstoppable!

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

SPORT Handball

Joslyn is one of the most athletic

defender, rarely allowing any to pass

players I’ve ever met, and he is

him; but the greatest improvement I

extremely mature for his age. This

saw this season was from Henry who

season he proved to be one of

started off this season not being able

our most valuable players despite

to hit a three to save his life, but by

being one of the youngest in the

some miracle our very own Henry

entire league!! This just shows the

Bambrick finished off the season

immense talent he possesses. He is

being officially recognised as the 2nd

able to manoeuvre his way around

best 3pt-shooter in the entire league,

The AGS handball season has been, once again, an extremely successful campaign with excellent development and performance across both the U13 and U15 squads. Over the

numerous players and finish with

which is an astounding achievement

course of the year, more than 100

contact at the rim and can always be

and is only the result of hard work

boys have been involved with extra-

counted on behind the perimeter.

and determination, so a massive

curricular handball and more than

congratulations to Henry this season!

50 have represented the school in

improvements this season; this

Lastly a huge thank you to the team

district, county, regional and national

was Ollie’s first season and he

manager Osazee who was a massive

competitions.

showed tremendous improvement

help in filming the home games, and

U13 Squad

throughout, becoming a massive

also to the home supporters who

help to Jaden both on offence and

came with such vigour, helping spur

defence; Tan showed that despite

us on every game!

Many players showed huge

being the smallest on the team his experience and skill meant that

Aalim Shamisdeen – Paterson 13

he was possibly our best on-ball

Numbers for the Year 8 U13 squad blew away our expectations from the first training session. With nearly a third of the whole year group in attendance, it was great to see so many students engaged with and enjoying handball - a theme that would develop throughout the season. For the first time ever, we submitted two squads to the District and County championships, and competed in some very even and tightly-fought fixtures, against strong levels of competition. Utilising the strength of Alex Brown on the line and Sam Tung and Ben Kearney in the back three, AGS overcame their opponents without too much hardship, qualifying for the Regional finals and showing much maturity and composure for such a young group. After four months of dedicated practice with impressive commitment from all of the boys, we found ourselves heading to Surrey Sports Park to compete with the other

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

exceptional decision-making skills. As the game progressed, the two teams scored equally, often returning a goal conceded with a goal of their own, and the inevitable became the reality: extra time. Two periods of two minutes long were to be played, and this was executed with the same fierce competitiveness as the rest of the game. Unfortunately for AGS, the Surrey-based school scored early before becoming a defensive fortress County Champions. Just the winner

end of the court, wingers Harry

and giving few opportunities for our

would progress to the National

Wilson and Joe Barber were causing

attacking outlets to succeed. The

finals. In a typical AGS manner, the

a multitude of problems for the

game would finish 5-4 to Christ’s

boys started with nerves and angst,

opposition teams, and the end result

College, meaning that AGS would not

playing without their usual freedom or

was three resounding wins for AGS,

qualify for the National finals, despite

fluidity, causing an initial shock to the

taking them into the final against

displaying some of their very best

system as they struggled in their first

Christ’s College, a school who

handball on the day.

game. Rallying together, however,

we hadn’t met at this stage of the

with some superb leadership from

competition before but knew would

Ben Warner and Ben Kearney, the

pose one of the squad’s greatest

team manoeuvered themselves back

handball challenges to date.

into a strong position, winning their

Coming away from the event as coaches, we can absolutely reflect on the progress that was seen by the boys from their first training session

Despite the AGS boys being

in September to the spectacle of

full of confidence following their

handball that all enjoyed in the

previous successes, there was a

Regional finals. The boys have

nervous tension in the air as throw-

come a great way over a short

off approached, with both teams

period of time, and it is testament

recognising each other’s strengths

to their relentless commitment and

and identifying strategies with which

enthusiasm to the sport, alongside

they could combat them. The game

their willingness to learn, that they

Games followed against a plethora

started steadily and grew in both

have continued to be successful and

of teams from across the South East,

entertainment and quality as both

develop, in an ever more diverse,

with goalkeepers Aarya Poondy and

teams settled in, with some of the

experienced and competitive

Ollie Lemonde ensuring a strong

most fantastic handball on display.

handball world.

defensive foundation, built upon

There was a true understanding of

by a fantastic tackling display from

positional awareness and group

U15 Squad

Oscar Wellbelove and Harry Holmes,

cohesion from both teams on the

Following on from last year’s U13

working hard to cover ground across

court that not many U13 handball

squad, this would be the first year

the court and ensure that opposition

games can boast, matched with

that AGS would field a squad of

teams were restricted and frustrated

two equally competitive and high-

players across different year groups;

when they had the ball. At the other

quality sides with technical ability and

the combination of experience,

first game with some exceptional handball in the last couple of minutes. Christian Lynch and Theo Bockmuehl impressed from the bench, combining together well to finish off a number of successful AGS attacks.

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

SPORT dedication and physicality certainly lived up to its expectations. The U15 squad easily navigated their way through the District and County competitions (no mean feat with the likes of John Hampden and Royal Latin always eager to get one over on AGS), again submitting two squads of players. The formidable Sam Gilbert won plaudits from competition organisers for his strength and power on the wing, whilst the experience of Sam Hurley-Cook and Harry Jones as backs kept the team firmly under control and allowed them to exploit multiple tactical deficiencies of the opposition. This would then lead to the squad qualifying once again for the Regional tournament: a competition that we had already seen with the U13s would not necessarily be plain sailing. However, as the Y10s continued to integrate with the squad overall and deepened their positional understanding, the team looked as though it would certainly be competitive. Players such as Joe Maggs, Chris Bond and Logan Smith were building in confidence, skill level and application every time that they stepped onto the handball court, and we were all secretly excited for the

team’s chances in Surrey. Starting with an effervescence of energy and enthusiasm, the AGS side saw early success against a range of different teams. Notably, Sam Hurley-Cook’s newly invented alternative hip shot was constantly finding holes within the opposition, whilst Max Dolphin and Ollie Flecknell worked superbly hard across the line to screen and create opportunities for the AGS backs and Sam Kearney’s imperious defensive fortitude minimised the attacking opposition threats. With a number of decisive wins early in the competition, AGS found themselves in a final against another rogue and unknown school, who had played an intense style of handball through the tournament. It would require every player to step up and reach their pinnacle height of performance for AGS success, and they had little problem in accommodating that. With Tayo Oluranti-Ahmed growing further in confidence and athleticism with every attack and Ashray Moses covering fast breaks with some excellent running, AGS were able to beat the opposition in normal time by a comfortable margin of goals and

qualify for the National competition for the first time since 2015 in this age group. As has been an ever-present feature of this squad, enthusiasm and desire to learn at training continued with force between the Regional and National finals, allowing them to develop holistically and build a good platform from which they can now choose to develop with external handball pathways if they wish. The one final challenge of the season, though, would come in the shape of a Saturday tournament at the University of Worcester. Uncharacteristically, the team began slowly, caught off the pace against a strong team from the North West. Despite some reassembling among the group, they were unable to overcome the initial hurdle and lost the game by a one goal margin. There was a realisation, at this point, of the magnitude of individual performers and teams at this level of competition, giving the AGS squad a good idea of where they sat. After the second game followed in relatively similar vein, it was clear that the lacking physicality of a Y9/10 squad against the powerful and athletic opposition was a clear sticking point, and nullified the tactical and technical advantages that the team is used to playing with. Nevertheless, despite a disappointing run of results which saw AGS come away with just a couple of wins and a draw, there were some consistent and mature performances from players such as Robbie Lawns, who was able to draw the width in the opposition from his left-hand wing position and Nathan

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

Tennis

3-6 10-5 . James Weller again won at No 3 beating Josh Imber 6-1 6-0 and Krishna Chintamreddy at No 4, served particularly well to beat Jon

Seniors

McDonald, who kept us in games where we should’ve been out of sight with some fine stops in crucial moments.

Ehmrooth 6-2 6-4. AGS therefore did

The Senior Team of Daniel Dean (R12), James Weller (Pa12), Krishna Chintamreddy (Pa12) and Joel Good (Ph10) reached the regional final of the Glanville Cup which is the LTA’s Senior Schools’ competition.

not need to play either of the doubles rubbers, taking the match 8-0. An outstanding win in hot conditions, AGS moved on to the next round. AGS were in the Regional Final for the 5th year in succession, an outstanding achievement for a state school. Our opponents were

We received a bye in the 1st Round

Sherfield School, Hampshire and

and then met Watford Boys’ School,

a team consisting of four tennis

The squad were understandably disappointed coming away from the competition, but it’s important that their achievements are put into context: with a mixed squad, they finished within the top half of the National finals, and in the top 4 of more than 500 national entries into the competition. As a team, they have had an incredible cohesion and bond, combined with a relentless desire to play the game of handball and be the best that they can be. We thoroughly hope that those Y9s continue with success as they become the senior members of the U15 squad, and that the Y10s pursue external handball routes to continue building on their early success.

Hertfordshire in round 2. This was

scholars. The match was a home

always going to be a reasonably

fixture, our first in this competition

tough match for our side, with the tie

for 2 years and hosted at Halton

being played outdoors on AstroTurf,

Tennis Centre, on clay courts which

a notoriously fast and sometimes

are not the easiest to play on. AGS

difficult surface. AGS won the tie

got off to a mixed start in the singles,

10-2

Daniel Dean lost 6-4 2-6 2-10 to Liam Hignett. At No 2 Joel Good

Daniel Dean beat Alex Ali Habib 6-0

was eventually too good for Miles

6-0, Joel Good beat Tom Watts 6-0 6-0, James Weller beat Patrick Evans 6-2 6-3 and DJ Mentiply (Ph8) lost to Dhillon Dodhia 1-6 0-6. We went on to take both doubles with Dean/Good and Weller/Chintamreddy

Bromilow winning 6-3 7-6, James Weller lost 2-6 1-6 to Dean CooperKirby. The final singles match would prove vital. Krishna Chintamreddy played well on the clay, but found Alex Dawson too strong losing 3-6

We moved on to our Regional Semi-

2-6 so it would be decided by the

Final away against UCS. On paper

doubles. AGS had real concerns

AGS were the slightly stronger team,

and major issues as they were

A massive thank you from Mr McGill, Adam Woodage and Tom Aston for all of the effort of every player who has come to training or been involved with the squad over the last season. You have been a pleasure to coach and we look forward to as many of you continuing as possible next year!

and our players are always more

6-2 down and therefore had to

than happy to put up a fight. Daniel

win both doubles rubbers to force

Dean had a reasonably comfortable

a match shoot out!! Daniel Dean

match and always looked in control,

and Joel Good got AGS off to the

winning 6-4 6-4. Joel Good at No

best possible start beating Hignett/

2 had a difficult match against Tom

Bromilow 6-1 6-4. It came down to

Skinner, it was poised at one set a

the second doubles match. Weller/

piece before Joel took the final 3rd

Chintamreddy played good doubles,

Adam Woodage – Phillips 13

set tie break, the final score was 6-4

battled hard and came pretty close to

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

SPORT Maxim Plumridge (Pa8) and William Murphy (H8), alongside the two doubles rubbers. The final Regional round to reach the top 16 in GB was far tougher v The Matthew Arnold School. DJ Mentiply had a very good win at No 1 beating Rafferty Read 7-6, further singles wins followed with Ben Perkin beating Rafe Llewellyn 6-3 and William Murphy beating Edward Dashwood 6-0. Maxim Plumridge/William Murphy then won the vital second doubles match 6/2 to propel the AGS year 8 team into the last 16 in GB. forcing a 3rd set tie break. However

match saw AGS dominate RGS with

How did the final stages go? They

this year it was just not meant to be,

Joel, Freddie, Dylan and Chris all

were tough in our group we played

they came up just short, losing 2-6

winning their singles matches for the

Culford School, Reed’s School

5-7. No Last 16 in GB this year, no

loss of just 2 games!! Both doubles

and New Hall, these are some of

National Finals. The players will play

rubbers were played but were just a

the very best tennis schools in

plenty of tennis over the summer and

formality and two more comfortable

the country, with teams made up

there is always next year.

wins for AGS.

of National standard players on

Year 10 AEGON Team

A great season, which is certainly not

Our season started in the best possible way with a 10/2 win away at Dr Challoner’s, with good singles

over. AGS will need to continue to play good tennis and battle on in the Autumn term 2018.

tennis scholarships! Let us say we found the day a worthwhile learning experience. In sport to judge where you are you must match yourself against the best. The players learnt

wins for Joel Good (Ph10), Dylan

Year 8 AEGON Team

some important lessons and in the

Sellors (R10) and Chris Bond (Ph10).

!!!Shock News Flash!!! After I

long run will benefit from them. Three

The boys then paired up with Freddie

completed this report Dr Challoner’s

very tough matches played and three

Perkin (R10) to win both doubles

lost to Sir William Borlase’s School

matches lost.

matches. Our next match was v RGS

7-6….. So AGS have made the

with AGS taking the win comfortably

Regional Play-offs in September.

8-4.

So on to this summer season. The team is older and wiser. However

This is how I finished last year’s

our toughest match of the summer,

Two more wins quickly followed with

Aylesburian tennis report. Well

was also our first match of the

AGS beating Sir William Borlase’s

the Regional rounds started well

summer season. We lost 6-7 in a

10/2 and Sir William Ramsey 12/0.

in September 2017 for AGS.

tie break shoot out to arch rivals Dr

This meant AGS needed to win our

We comprehensively defeated

Challoner’s. It was all nicely poised

match v RGS High Wycombe to

Bedford Modern School 12-0. With

at 6-6 with excellent singles wins

progress to the national stages of the

comfortable singles wins for DJ

for Fraser Reeves (Ph7) at No 2,

competition in September 2018. The

Mentiply (Ph8), Ben Perkin (R8),

6-0 v J Mellows and Ben Perkin

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

6-4 v R Spittal. AGS then took the

need a coach, you do not need an

on offer. It is a really high-paced and

first doubles with Mentiply/Reeves

opponent, you just need a bucket of

energetic game and we all got into it

beating Oakley/Mellows J 6-1.

tennis balls and a free tennis court.

very quickly indeed.

Finally for the Year 10 team a huge

Some people had previous tennis

well done for winning the county

experience and some did not, but the

event and we now advance to the

game helped all abilities to improve

regional matches in September 2018.

and work well together.

Mr P Dean

One of my friends attended the club

Unfortunately we lost the second doubles 5-7 and then the “Shoot-out” 6-10 and therefore the match!! Really good wins then followed against Caldicott School 12-0, Sir William Borlase’s 10-2 and RGS 8-4. The season culminated with the annual Tennis Trip to Wimbledon on the 3rd July and the students really enjoyed watching some excellent tennis on No 2 court, in particular the third match of the day between

alongside me, which made it exciting

Year 7 & 8 Tennis Club This year at AGS I have participated in several clubs and I am very grateful that I have had the chance to very enjoyable.

slightly stranger things like a race but with slightly different rules: the

Dominic Thiem is an amazing player

this year and that was the tennis

and surely a future Grand Slam

club. The club meets every Friday

winner, however Baghdatis had one

lunchtime in the Sports Hall and for

final great day in the sun. Doing it

the Summer term has progressed

for the out of condition! Older player!

outside. Initially the club was

He showed a little like Federer that if

arranged for Year 7 students only but

you can hit the ball clean, if you have

eventually we let the Year 8s have a

great technique and all the shots in

go too in order to expand our skills.

the book at your disposal, then on

It really stood out to me because

your day anything is possible.

we had an experienced coach from

Can I just thank all the tennis

Halton Tennis Centre called Neale,

players who have represented AGS

who ran the club. He showed us

with distinction this season. For

various different styles of tennis to

once again; UCAS prediction exams and injury did not help, but once again you proved that you can play

but not-too competitive game. In the sessions, we occasionally did

One club really stood out to me

reaching the last 16 in the country

I would face him and have a decent,

experience so many as they are all

Dominic Thiem and Marco Baghdatis;

the seniors, you were so close to

because there was always a chance

race started when a specific tennis ball hit the ground, but believe me, it’s not as simple as it sounds. There were other elements, such as trick tennis balls and lines, to teach us to be more aware of the ball. That was my favourite part of the club because watching everyone race around clueless of what they were doing was surprisingly entertaining. During the summer term, we were also given the opportunity to attend an evening tennis session at Halton

play, most of which I had never heard of. Slowly, but surely new elements

Tennis Centre, just for AGS students. I am taking part in these too, and really enjoying these because we are

were added in, leading up to an

playing on clay courts. We have the

enjoyable, challenging and complex

same coach, Neale, who is teaching

game.

us how to serve and control the ball.

really good tennis. To the juniors,

We started to concentrate on ‘touch

keep practising and continue to

tennis’, playing on a smaller indoor

improve. Often in tennis at all levels,

court with a lighter ball. This ensures

it just comes down to serving really

that rallies are longer, forcing players

well; that is something you can

to really think as to how they are

practise on your own, you do not

going to win the rally and the points

I have really enjoyed tennis this year, and will carry on practising over the Summer. I hope to continue playing tennis in year 8. Kamran Karim – Hampden 7

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

SPORT Athletics Overall, athletics has had a mixture of ups and downs this past term, Aylesbury Grammar has often done quite well in these competitions, with us almost always getting past the first round, but falling short in the second, this year wasn’t much different. We started off well in the summer term, going into the county event feeling confident, and this confidence was deemed necessary as it led both the juniors and inters boys to third place finishes. Keeping in mind we were in a harder competition this year, with every team having both the morale and the ability to place first, we had a good result, and we were able to make the next round of the competition. Going into the regional competition, our determination wasn’t as high as it was in the previous round, maybe it was the sudden heatwave striking, or maybe we just weren’t as confident, shown with the 6th out of 7 place

finish from the inters, and the juniors coming last. This meant we were out of the competition, nevertheless we still gave it a good try, and with our heads held high we went into the last competition of the school year. It was our last chance to place first in an athletics event, the districts, looking back at the regional, we did all we could to improve, and by the time we got to the event, our team was looking stronger than ever. This was shown when the year 8 boys were able to win the event, with the year 9s not far behind, this was thanks to the incredible performances from all the competitors, but mainly victories for Basit Adeogan (100m), Mathew Sparke (300m), and a second place finish for Same Kearney (Shotput). Next year, we hope to build upon our success, and learn from our failures, in order to do our absolute best in further competitions, I want to thank all the athletes who have given their time to come and give it their all for their school, and hopefully we can keep doing that for years to come. Mr N Gibbs

Squash AGS Squash is as popular as ever and now we have 4 age groups (U19, U17, U15 & U13) competing in National Schools, with a new format introduced by England Squash. You can now only enter players in 1 age group and with this in mind our strongest team is the U17 team which is primarily our 1st team in friendlies. The aim is to progress as many of these age groups to the later stages of nationals as there is no longer a trophy competition for first round losers. The U19 squad is Alex Axford, Ed Mathews, James Glover, Krishan Chintamreddy, Jude Cornish, Dylan Holmes Cowan & Tom O’Shea for national matches. We are in a group of 5, with top 3 going through to the knock out stage. We have managed to progress with wins over John Hampden and Berkhamsted, despite close losses to RGS & Dr Challoner’s. The U17 team is Marcus Connor, Lewis Milner, Dan Choudhury, Harshit Gupta & Ryan Connor and have registered wins against both John Hampden A & B teams, Kenilworth,and Bromsgrove all convincingly 5-0. This means they have topped their regional group and they also progress to KO stages. The boys are a very strong squad and have potential to be one of the school’s most successful teams in recent decades. This squad also play as a 1st team in friendlies

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

and have had wins against Eton, Harrow, Abingdon, and Radley in recent months. They also remain unbeaten in the Bucks Junior League having won all their matches without dropping a single leg. M. Connor, Choudhury & Gupta also represented AGS in the Surrey Open Schools in Epsom College and were victorious, winning the tournament with competition from some impressive independent schools. The U15 team have had to deal with their No 1, Ryan Connor, stepping up to U17s. The squad of Callum Egan, Ollie Carolin, Sam Woods, Joe Maggs, Logan Smith, Alex Davies & Harry Woodus have struggled to make an impact in their group and subsequently failed to make later stages. The experience gained will stand them in good stead for next year. The U13 squad of DJ Mentiply, Silas Glover, Dryw McLaren, Thomas Whitehead, Ollie Peck & Aaron MacWhirter made a very steady start to their group and despite very narrow 3/2 defeats finished up with a 3/2 win over Challoner’s. We are unsure if they have gone through to the knock out stages, and so emulating the U19 & U17 teams, as we are waiting for other results from the group. We also running a 2nd team in Bucks League this year playing in Div 2 and they are currently lying in 2/3 position in league. Great commitment is shown from all the boys giving up their Sunday afternoons and thanks to their captain Jude Cornish.

This year’s National Schools’ Competition has now concluded and our U17 team has become the most successful team from the school for many decades, finishing 2nd overall. The U17 team of Marcus Connor, Lewis Milner, Dan Choudhury, Harshit Gupta & Ryan Connor have had a magnificent season and can be considered the best team in recent history. They topped their regional group with 100% record, progressing to KO stages where they overcame John Hampden 5-0 and The Stanway School in Essex 5-0 and so qualifying for National Finals. The format of the competition this year meant that only the top 4 teams in the country would be playing in the finals. So we headed off to Nottingham to challenge the best juniors in the country knowing we would at least be ranked 4th best team in the country, but obviously aspired to be the best! They were drawn to play Langley Park which posed a serious threat to our hopes. However, the boys came through with a 3/2 victory, with wins from Choudhury, Gupta and Ryan

Connor. AGS had made the final and looked forward to our match against squash academy Ackworth School, Yorkshire. Ackworth boasts many of the top players in the country, and world, so this was going to be tough. After the first 2 matches we were level at 1-1 with Ryan Connor winning again on what was his Finals debut. Unfortunately Choudhury went down 3/2 and Gupta also lost 3/1 which meant a win was needed from our 1 and 2 players if we were going to write history. Marcus Connor played the game of his life and despite having match balls was narrowly beaten by World No 1 Sam Todd in another 3/2. Milner then lost to another highly ranked junior 3/0 and our dream of a National title had faded but the effort put in by all the boys and the great spirit and sportsmanship shown throughout has been unquestionable. The support parents have given has also been overwhelming and thanks to them for their commitment to the cause. AGS also entered teams in the

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

SPORT National Schools’ competition in the U13, U15 and U19 age groups with

Swimming

the U13 and U15 teams going out at the first stage of the competition.

strong swimming region, all three teams (Junior, Inter and Senior) pulled together on the night. After what can only be described as utter

effort by all the boys and most will

Coming off the back of another successful swimming season in 2016/17, the new 2017/18 squad had great heights to live up to this year with potential, in some age groups, to reach national finals once again and compete with the most prolific sporting schools in England.

have a chance to go one better

Although swimming is a fairly new

With a few months of training

next season.

competitive sport to AGS, talent

separating the two events, AGS

within the dozen or so swimmers

came into the finals well prepared

who are involved is likened to that of

and motivated to replicate some

some of our most successful sporting

top ten places as has been done

successes this year. Our Under 17

teams and hopes were high that we

in previous years- Mr Gibbs was

squad had a warm up match before

could maintain this success. The

certainly hopeful. Knowing the junior

National finals against Harrow, who

first challenge of the year was

team, consisting of Sam Pyfinch

finished 3rd in the U19 National

regional finals, an event used to rank

(Pa8), Carmelo Almadin (Ph8),

finals, and recorded an impressive

schools nationally in order to select

Murray Wakefield (Le8) and Will

win against them. The Bucks Junior

the top 30 of each age group for the

Annat (H7), had been seeded very

League title has been won again and

ESSA nationals.

Our U19 squad of Alex Axford, Ed Mathews, James Glover, Krishna Chintamreddy, Jude Cornish, Dylan Holmes Cowan & Tom O Shea progressed to the KO rounds, narrowly missing out on finals, losing to Harrow after beating Merchant Taylors’ in the previous round. Great

Our quest for national glory continues but AGS Squash can be proud of many other achievements and

M. Connor, Choudhury & Gupta also

domination from our junior and inter teams as well as podium finishes in the seniors, AGS managed to accrue the most points overall and won the Regional competition for the second time in three years- we were all into the national finals at the Olympic pool, Stratford.

strongly and swimming exceptionally well in the heats, we were not

represented AGS in the Surrey Open

Although this was the first time that

disappointed to see they had entered

Schools in Epsom College and were

each team of four had swum together

into the finals in 2nd and 3rd place

victorious, winning the tournament

as a group, and despite some fierce

for the Freestyle and Medley relays

with competition from some

competition in what is clearly a very

respectively. However following an

impressive independent schools. This has been a very successful season and one of the best AGS has ever had. If any students are wanting to emulate this amazing effort in future get yourself down to the courts at lunchtime and after school where coaching and help is readily available. Mr D Withey

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

unfortunate disqualification in the

is a sporting force to be reckoned

to come along and be coached by

Freestyle final, the junior boys still

with nationally. It would seem each

the competition squad throughout the

managed a Bronze medal in the

and every year the squad builds on

academic year and a way of keeping

Medley: AGS’s highest placing ever

the success of previous ones- who

swimming alive even past the

at a national swimming event,

knows what next year will have in

national competitions. The interest

clearly a positive indication of future

store?

in the sport has exceeded any of our

AGS success.

expectations and it is a pleasure to

Following on from such a great

see that swimming is now a thriving

The inters were up next, consisting

achievement, the hunt for talent has

of Jack Edwards (L9), Nick Reed

been brought back to AGS through

(Ph10), Ish Rahim (R10), Ted Gundry

the creation of the weekly swimming

(H10) and James Phillips (H10),

club run by Mr Gibbs. It provides an

and whilst battling against some

opportunity for anyone in the school

sport in AGS with, undoubtedly, an extremely bright future for those involved. Michael Witham – Paterson 13

exceptionally strong teams in the Freestyle relay, achieved a 6th place seed for the afternoon finals in the Medley and eventually a 5th place overall- so far so good for the top ten finishes. Lastly came the Seniors consisting of Michael Witham (Pa13), Cam Brooker (D11), Tom Selby (R11), James Chennells (L11) and Oscar Almadin (Ph11), and despite having a relatively young team made up of mostly year 11s there was still hope that we could compete well against the older competition. Indeed, although the disappointment of disqualification was seen again in the Medley, 11th place was achieved in the Freestyle, narrowly missing out on the senior finals. Overall, a very satisfying day for AGS with some exceptionally fast swimming, once again, Aylesbury Grammar

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

SCHOOL LIFE Music House Music 2018 Once again, the months of November, December and January were awash with countless rehearsals in preparation for the extravaganza that is House Music 2018. With a great working

by 6.30pm on Friday evening, and

It was clear that Hampden had put

there was an intense atmosphere

an incredible amount of effort into

of expectation and excitement.

their set and it certainly didn’t go

The adjudicator, Michael Paul

unnoticed. Following them, however,

Smith (Denson ’05), an ex-AGS

was the last house of the evening;

jazz band pianist, opened the

Paterson. They opened explaining

night with a speech of anticipation

that their set will take the audience

and enthusiasm, before handing over to the first house, Lee, where Oscar Brownhill (L13) led them into setting the bar extremely high with

spirit between captains, it was

a memorable rendition of ACDC’s

possible to arrange room bookings

‘Thunderstruck’.

and equipment amicably, and with a friendly rivalry, Houses worked their ways towards the early days of February.

back in time over the past one hundred years, and this kicked off with ‘Solitude Is Bliss.’ This featured a remarkable line up of musicians, including Conor Simpson (Pa11), Ronak Rodriguez (Pa12), Dan Choudhury (Pa12) and Joey (Pa12)

The night ended with two houses:

and Samuel Horrox (Pa13), who all

Hampden and Paterson. They were

played the song with a tightness and

incredibly close and both played

musicianship on par with Hampden’s

spectacular sets of music. With

‘Caravan’ (and that’s saying something!), and using psychedelic

House Music auditions on the

Hampden, led by Tom Robertson

Monday of the House Music week

(H13) excelling in ‘Caravan,’ a piece

went off with the usual last minute

with a mind-blowing set of performers

chaos and changes, however, with a

including Toby (H11) and Jack Insley

Following this was ‘She’s Not

(H13), Lester Ridout (H10) and Tom

There’, led by Samuel Horrox, which

Robertson, and closely following it

successfully created an atmosphere

with a Madness song, performed

that truly transported the audience

by Mike Grimwood (H12) and Dan

back to 1969’s Woodstock Festival,

With tickets having sold out within

Bedwell (H13), who couldn’t have

before ending the evening in the

twelve hours, the hall was packed

done it better!

Jazz age, where Lewis Ball (Pa13)

final few days of frenetic alterations and rehearsals left throughout the week, most houses were ready by Friday.

projections to portray the mood of song in all senses - a great addition.

led ‘Minnie The Moocher’ with an infectious energy that was only enhanced by Charlie Sellar’s (Pa13) energetic and stylish singing and dancing. Again, it was clear that Paterson had put an admirable amount of time and effort into their set, and no one could bring themselves to decide between the two closest houses. There was about a 30 minute wait in which the Year 13 leavers from all houses played a set that completely summed up the musicianship and camaraderie of AGS, whilst displaying the astonishing talent that is held and by so many students

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

at the school. Following this, the adjudicator gave a rewarding speech that rounded up the evening perfectly, before announcing the competition’s results; all houses scored over 50/60, which is a rare and absolutely amazing achievement on everyone’s behalf, before the winner was revealed to be Paterson, followed extremely closely - in fact one-point-closely - by Hampden. Overall, Mr Nathan summed it up saying “it was the best House Music I’ve seen in my time!” Joey Horrox – Paterson 12

Classical Concerts Other musical events throughout year showcased the Classical music talents of students of all ages at AGS. The many groups and ensembles (some combined with the High School) continue to excel and attract enthusiastic audiences both within school and other outside venues. A brilliant addition to the Classical music calendar this year was the soloists’ evening held in the chapel at Exeter College, Oxford. With around 20 classical musicians playing (accompanied by Mr Nathan), there was a huge variety of music from different periods played by the mostly

Grade 7 and 8 musicians from across both AGS and AHS. Aside from this evening, of course the Choral Society, the Orchestra, Brass ensemble and the String ensemble played their annual March concert in the impressive setting of St. Mary’s Church, Aylesbury whilst the Carol service in December was expertly led by the AGS Choral Society. After what was a fantastic year for AGS Classical music we look forward to seeing what the new group of year 7s can add to the musical life of the school and on behalf of all the classical musicians at AGS and AHS, I would like to thank Mr Nathan, Mr Dallas and Mrs Raven (AHS) for organising and supporting all these events throughout this past year.

always a variety of performances, from piano and guitar to organ and harp, and a range of different styles, from jazz to classical, and abilities from across all years. It’s a rewarding event, as well as a chance to showpiece young performers, it is an opportunity to gain experience of public performance whilst it is also great for parents to see their sons perform on the small stage in Mu7. Huge thanks to Mr Wright who coordinates this termly event, usually 4.00-5.15pm on the last Tuesday of each term. Jamie Fairhurst – Paterson 12

James Weller – Paterson 12

Soloists’ Evenings The Soloists’ Evening is a short, casual mini-concert held on the last Tuesday at the end of each term, where students perform a piece of their choosing to a crowd of peers and parents. It is a low pressure environment where students can develop their confidence in performing without much risk, due to a sympathetic audience. There is

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

SCHOOL LIFE House Music & Cabaret Night 2018

and play the instrument they had

House music……a competition always worth fighting for. With music from across the globe, well known tracks, dance music - you can always ensure you will have a wonderful time.

In fact, the music practice rooms

structured event, with hot food, cold

were so full up I remember having to

ice-cream relaxing music and Year

practise in the corridor, partly due to

13 students dancing energetically

last minute desperation. During the

to what would be their final AGS

This year was no exception, with the arrival of former Denson student Michael Paul-Smith from 2005 promising a well organised and prepared for event. But, if you were there that night, sitting in your seat and enjoying recognisable and rehearsed tunes, you were probably wondering why Mr Paul-Smith got it so completely wrong! To again, give Phillips a 4th place and to award Paterson a 1st place. Michael is not my role model anymore….. In the weeks leading up to the night, a buzz of excitement was felt across all houses for one of the most major competitions in the Watson Cup. Singers, musicians, announcers – everyone was presented with the opportunity to represent their house

been working for years on.

night, there were some wonderful pieces performed, such as the

can get their hands on the trophy. Cabaret Night was another brilliantly

concert.

skilfully put together ‘It must be love’

The evening definitely has a festival

by Hampden, ‘Minnie The Moocher’

atmosphere with large groups

by Paterson and of course ‘Should I

performing on the main stage here

stay or Should I go’ by Phillips.

in the Hall, small groups and soloists

The competition went on all night

in the music room and even comedy

(well a few hours at least) with

and magicians along the main

much needed drinks and biscuits in

corridor.

the interval to keep everyone alert. All houses had a choir, which was full of energy, doing their house proud. If the pieces were considered particularly good on the night they were also invited to perform at the school Cabaret Night along with

It really is a great opportunity for students of all ages to perform and be thoroughly enjoyed by the hundreds of guests in attendance. I would like to thank all the Music staff who create wonderful events such as

bands, such as Junior Jazz Band and

these – Mr Nathan, Mr Dallas and

Senior Function Band.

of course the visiting instrumental

Despite the result……again…… House Music was a fabulous event and already we are plotting for next year and maybe, just maybe, Phillips

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

staff who all get involved and help to make music so successful here at AGS. Ashwin Aggarwal – Phillips 9

Drama - Loserville

Medsoc

theme of the underdog struggling to find his place, along with the help of his nerdy but loyal friends finally

When Mr Warner first mentioned his intention to put on the musical Loserville as our joint school production just before the October half term in 2017 – my initial thought was – isn’t that just a pop song? Yet

rising to great heights in order to

world of computers and the Internet

MedSoc is a society where students interested in medical careers meet every fortnight to discuss, explore and learn more about respective careers and topical issues. This year

loose into our world. We realised the

in MedSoc we have learned and

in the spirit of ‘We Will Rock You’ I

only way to truly do this piece justice

explored a vast array of different

knew we had the talent and drive

was to totally ham it up, which we did

medical careers that are available.

to make anything come alive, even

in spades!

We all get involved and this year

if the storyline was a bit sketchy and cheesy.

triumph over the evil – or in this case – handsome but lazy and shallow school ‘jock’ – to win the beautiful and highly intelligent girl and set the

everyone researched a different

The skilful comic timing and great

medical career and shared their

vocals of the performers rivalled

findings with the rest of the group.

It wasn’t easy by any means –

any West-end production and we

Blood, sweat and tears, hours of

were all incredibly proud. The sheer

rehearsal – but the usual team of

feel-good factor that was evoked by

Mr Warner, Miss Treherne & myself

the audience clapping away joyously

did it! With a huge amount of support

showed that this was no mere

from the amazing Director of Music

school show – this was an event that

– Mr Nathan, rocking out with his

would remain in all our memories

musician dudes! Not to mention all

and hearts for a very long time. Mrs

the amazing talent shown by our

Venning summed it up perfectly when

dedicated pupils, both onstage and

I spoke to her at the end – ‘best

Throughout the year debate on topics

behind the scenes.

show ever!’

including medical ethics and the

The story – exploring the classic

Mrs J Isherwood

Occupations discussed included radiographers, physiotherapists, nurses, midwives and air ambulance paramedics. This activity was eyeopening as it became clear that there is a large range of opportunities that are available outside of being a medical doctor.

admissions process for applying to a medical or dental school. During one session Dr McNamara gave a particularly interesting talk about the drawback of being a doctor. This talk was very informative and moreover everything she told us was from her first-hand experience. In my opinion this was excellent as it is also important to understand that all jobs have some drawbacks. MedSoc has also benefitted from some OA speakers. Dr Chris Ramsey spoke about his life story of how he became a psychiatrist; what his job is like, the sort of people he deals with, and how rewarding the job can be.

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

SCHOOL LIFE This talk was a unique opportunity for everyone to learn about one specialism of medicine (psychiatry) which is mostly about diagnosing and treating mental health disorders. This also is very topical as mental health is at the very forefront in today’s world and tackling it. Dr Cornish who conveyed his experiences as a medical doctor, his training and about his time at AGS as he was an old boy of the school. Flynn Collins (D12) voiced medical ethics in particular the Alfie Evans case which was a very widespread and controversial topic. The Year 13s have also been very supportive as they have

After an incredibly busy and thoroughly productive year, it has been a pleasure to work as the Deputy Leader of MedSoc.

to. Visit some, ask questions and get

With hours of absorbing essential

and friends to narrow it down. Next,

information from the insightful and

have a look on their websites and

inspirational speakers MedSoc has

see how your application statistics fit

offered over the past two years, flying

with the entry requirements. Different

university visits, conversations with

medical schools will have different

my peers & trawling the internet, I

preferences as to the areas of

have (at last) completed the process

strength in your application. Selecting

of applying to medical school.

universities by a balance of which

But, was it worth it? And would I do anything differently? Of course, yes, it was worth it - I now have a place at medical school - and

given us feedback on what their

yes, I would do things differently.

application processes were like

So here is the lowdown on how to

plus useful advice on Universities

be efficient and successful in your

and recommended further reading.

application to Medicine, ensuring

The teachers have encouraged all

you don’t make some of the same

the students to lead on one of the

mistakes I did!

sessions and so a number of boys

a feel for both course and university. Speak to OAs (you’ll meet plenty through MedSoc), family members

you would like to attend most & which fit the individual strengths of your application will enable you to maximise your chance of success. Once you’ve selected the universities you would like to attend, you can put your mind to aptitude tests. Different universities use different aptitude tests, so ensure you’ve read up on the details of the ones you wish to apply to. UKCAT registration

have researched a particular field

Firstly, identify the universities you

opens in May, so booking early is

of interest and then presented to

want to study at. It took me months

important. I booked later and ended

the rest of the group about what

to decide on the 4 I wanted to apply

up taking my test in Ipswich, which

they learnt. My topic was on mental health of Doctors and Dentists. Overall MedSoc has been a great place to discuss and debate medical subjects, themes and issues. All the students that attend are very grateful that this society is available as a MedSoc in many schools in unheard of. I would also like to say a big thank you to both Mrs Wilson and Dr McNamara as they have both given up their time willingly, and thank you to Mrs Cox and Mrs Taylor for their OA contacts. Tej Morjaria - Ridley 12

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

I can’t recommend. BMAT entries

To recap, organisation is key. Sixth

open in early September, with a

Form has been a steep learning

much narrower window to apply. This

curve how to get organised and I’ve

makes it even more important to

just about made it through alive.

book early!

Getting organised early will enable

Organise your work experience as soon as you can. Persistence is key with this one, I was rejected or delayed in my application to many placements. If you’re like me and have a birthday late in the year (many placements require you to be 17), it’s even more important to be

Cookery Club

application, maximising your chance

The AGS Cookery club is an opportunity for members of all years to learn the valuable skill of cooking. This includes

of success. Find ways of making

both traditional British gastronomy to

your application stand out; nearly all

exquisite Chinese cuisine. Cookery

medical students have exceptional

club runs for 6 - 8 weeks per term,

academic achievements. Support is

with each session lasting 2 hours

also there if you need it. Your Head

after school. Every session consists

you to get the best out of your

of Mrs Wilkinson demonstrating what

of Year, Head of House and Mrs

persistent and organise your work

Venning can provide excellent advice

experience before your birthday. Use

for general application queries, whilst

your networking skills and see what

Mrs Wilson & Dr McNamara can help

you can do - if you don’t ask, you

with Medicine specific stuff. A Levels

don’t get! Family and friends with

will be around the corner, so enjoy

careers in Medicine are often only

the experience of applying before the

too happy to help. Remember that it’s

really hard work kicks in!

not the length or quality of the work experience that is important, but what

David Bull – Phillips 13

we will be making in the session, and then us preparing it for ourselves. The atmosphere is always very chilled, with everyone working at their own pace to produce their magnum opus. The importance of learning to cook is extremely understated in modern society, and developing this skill

you take from it. I only had a single

allows us to bring out our creativity

day on my placement! Charity work

and also brings us pleasure in later

& volunteering is equally useful, if

life by building our confidence in the

not more so, especially if within a medical or care context.

skill. I find cookery really enjoyable as it allows a range of year groups to interact and learn about a

Lastly, draft those personal

common subject. After the session is

statements as soon as possible.

complete, we get to go home with our

The summer of Year 12 is a brilliant

personal masterpieces.

opportunity for this. Your personal statement is your only opportunity to demonstrate your individuality to medical schools. Focus on leaving an impression that sets you apart from the rest of the applicants. Consider the skills and qualities you have that make you a well-rounded individual, fit to be a successful medical student and a doctor.

I would like to give a very special thank you to Mrs O’Halloran for her commitment to cookery club this year, and for spending lots of her own time helping us to learn new skills. With her input the club has run with individual attention, support and encouragement for all. Keshav Sehgal – Denson 10

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

SCHOOL LIFE Chess Club

overall and a ticket to the knockout, which was a home match against Eton College on 16th January. We

The AGS chess club is open to all AGS students of any playing ability. Students from

have played Eton before and they

AHS are equally welcome. It has

but when Jonathan managed an

been another really successful year

incredible win after only two minutes,

for the AGS chess club with up to 50

I was quietly optimistic. Jeffrey went

players turning up to enjoy an hour of

on to win his game too. However,

chess on a Friday lunchtime. I would

eventually we succumbed and after

like to thank the senior players who

the full two hours, the final score was

have provided invaluable support

4-2 to Eton. However, all games

and leadership this year. Richard,

were incredibly close and went to

Callum, Adam and Jonathan have

the wire so a massive well done to

been a vital asset in organising and

are a tough school to beat at chess. The match was a hard fought affair

the whole team; Eton were equally

supervising the club and team.

impressed with our playing. Well

As has become the trend in recent

Karan, Jonathan, Jeffrey and Josh

years, I have been able to sign off a

for your commitment to the team

large number of boys’ chess skills for

throughout the competition.

DofE. I hope this helps them achieve

done to Callum, Richard, Oscar,

Computer Science Clubs In addition to the many students who come to the Computer Science rooms at lunch to work on their programming skills and improve their understanding of Computer Science topics taught in class, we also have a number of student led groups who have come in and worked on various projects of their own. These students are to be commended on the excellent AGS learner skills this demonstrates – the courage to try challenging things, taking ownership of what they want

As usual, the Spring term provided

to learn about, having the motivation

competitive fun with our intra school

to continue working at something

Chess Challenge and 30 boys were

they want to achieve and the

able to compete for prizes and a

resilience to carry on in the face of

chance to go through to the Mega

The flagship event for chess club

significant challenges and using their

Final. This is exactly what Yuv did

is still the annual National Schools’

and went on to win the first prize

new found skills to create innovative

Chess Championship. The qualifying

for the under 12 category winning

matches are played in the Autumn

five and drawing one game at High

Qasim Sheikh (H9), led a group of

term with knockouts in the Spring

Wycombe. As I write, he will be

year 9 students including Leo Pichler

term. In 2017/18 we entered the

entering the Giga Final so good luck

(H9), Daniel Sulikowski (H9), Nabeel

regional qualifier which was held

Yuv, from all of us!

Ali (H9) and Muhammed Moeen (H9)

their awards and wish them luck. Perhaps they will continue to play chess in the future, I do hope so!

at reading Bluecoat school on 29th November. We were very well looked after by Reading and most crucially, well fed! With five teams and three matches to play we were slightly anxious, but The AGS team did fantastically. Despite a 2.5 to 3.5 loss in round one our boys went on to win 5-1 and 5-1 in the remaining rounds. This clinched second place

I encourage new players to join us as I look forward to another successful

games and web applications.

in an exploration of interactive web technologies, developing websites

year of AGS chess, you are all most

that make use of web sockets to

welcome. We do need new blood

provide interactivity.

and long term commitment as well as veteran players, to ensure we keep fielding an excellent team but above all, to have fun playing chess. Mr M Goodchild

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

Other year 8 and 9 students including Laurie Egan-Carter (Ph8) Sam Small (Ph9), Carmelo Almadin (Ph8), Yash Kshirgar (Ph9) and Shantanu Kale (Ph9), have worked together to

develop their understanding across

19 students qualified for the

a wide range of Computer Science

follow-on rounds.

topics.

Intermediate Maths Challenge

Oliver Thompson (H7), who has a keen interest in game making, has supported other students from year 7, including Leon Dixon (L7), Tommy Meader (H7), Dylan Strachan (H7), David Samuel (H7), Callum Meader (H7) and Neil Pandit (H7), in investigations of game making in Scratch and with implementing the challenging KidsCanCode Pygame tutorials.

Best in Year 11 - James Brock (D11)

A very busy year and we look forward

30 students qualified for the

to what the next one will bring!

follow-on rounds.

Mr S Goff

The achievement of all these

Best in Year 10 - Jeffrey Tan (H10) Best in Year 9 - Nathan Curry (Pa9) 43 students qualified for the follow-on rounds.

Junior Challenge Best in Year 8 – John Davie (Ph8) Best in Year 7 - Yuv Saxena (H7)

students is really not to be underestimated - the first round

Maths – UKMT Challenge Competitions The Maths Department entered 360 students for Maths Challenges this year. Altogether,

questions are hard enough, but the following rounds are very tricky and require superb mathematical

This year, with an experienced team of Max Hutt (Pa13), George Wyatt (R13), Fred Phillips (D12) and Richard Chappell (D12), AGS once again won the Wendover Heat of the UKMT Senior Maths Team Challenge where we competed against 16 local schools. We were invited to take part in the National Final, held in London on 6th February. This time we would be competing against 86 schools from all over the UK, and the pressure was going to be much greater.

knowledge, together with well-

Much time was put into the poster

developed thinking and logic skills.

round whose theme this year was

Thank you to Mr Datta who hosted

Bell-ringing. As no-one on our team

pre-challenge preparation sessions

knew anything about the topic, never

for those who took part in all rounds

mind how it related to maths, they

of the challenge.

had a lot of pre-event research to

they achieved 115 Gold certificates,

Well done to all who competed.

127 Silver and 81 Bronze.

Mrs J M Smith

The top scoring boys from each of

Maths - STMC National Final 2018

do. On the day, the questions that related to the poster were tricky, and by the time the questions had been answered and poster had been

the Senior, Intermediate and Junior challenges are put through to the next round - the Olympiad round, whereas those just below qualify for the Kangaroo round.

Senior Maths Challenge Best in Year 13 - George Wyatt (R13) Best in Year 12 - Fred Phillips (D12)

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

SCHOOL LIFE completed, there was no time to admire the final result before it was taken away for judging. Each round went well, but we knew we weren’t going to get the top prize when the first set of results were announced after the second round. Undeterred, the team continued to give their best and performed well in the remaining two rounds, the Shuttle and Relay. The final result was that our AGS team came 18th. Not as high a position as we would have liked, but, put into perspective, this position is 18th in the country and 18th out of over 1000 schools which took part. I am very proud of the team and all their efforts. They spent many hours practising for the heat and the final, they demonstrated excellent organisational skills researching for and putting together their poster and throughout they were supportive and friendly towards each other. They have been a pleasure to work with. Well done! Mrs J M Smith

Maths Puzzle Club Escaping detention using a time machine…that went wrong. That was the theme of the Escape Room designed by members of Puzzle Club this year. After

of students in a classroom and only if

on 22nd June 2018 at The Crystal

they could solve riddles and puzzles

in London to present our ideas to a

would they be able to leave!

panel of mathematicians and industry

This project soon took a different

experts.

turn when we found out about a

When the day of the event finally

national competition called Cracking

arrived, we met Mrs Blunt, who

the Code which was inviting teams

runs Puzzle Club, and Mr Roberts

from schools all over the country

at Aylesbury Station to catch a very

to submit their ideas and designs

early train. We then travelled across

for an Escape Room with a futurist

London arriving just before 9.30am

theme. This is where our idea for

and had some time to finalise our

the time machine came from – all

presentation – after weeks of hard

the puzzles and riddles eventually

work this is what we had been

gave the number of years you have

working towards.

accidentally travelled forward in time. Only by working this out would you be transported back to present day.

The team included Leon Dixon (L7), Himendra Palisetty (L7), Oscar Peck (L7), Ajankumar Robertsingh

We spent lots of Puzzle Club

(L7), Oliver Thompson (H7) and Aki

sessions on Thursday lunchtimes,

Vuppalanchi (Pa7). The seventh

lots of extra lunchtimes and hours

member of the team, Johan Jose

outside of school putting together our

(L7), couldn’t join us on the day but

entry. We submitted it and then it

was very much a part of the team

was just a matter of waiting for

working on the entry at school.

the results.

We were really nervous but by

Christmas, we started to design an

A few weeks later we found out that

working together as a team and

Escape Room with the idea of setting

we had made it to the last ten teams

encouraging each other, we

it up and running it to raise funds for

in the country – we were very excited

presented to a panel of 5 judges (and

Malawi. We planned to ‘lock’ teams

to be invited to the grand final event

4 organisers – including cameras!).

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

Foster from the University of Sheffield to deliver a lecture on God and Science.

about which we know very little.

we answered all the questions from

Dr Foster is currently a Vice

repeatable physical phenomena

the judges with ease.

Chancellor’s Fellow in the

it is not a good tool for answering

Department of Chemistry at the

questions about morality, history,

University of Sheffield. His research

law or aesthetics and that we have

group are developing a new class

other “rational” ways of addressing

of graphene like two-dimensional

these. Science itself is also based on

nanomaterials for applications as

a series of unprovable assumptions

diverse as creating solar cells, water

(e.g. that reality exists independently

purification and diagnosing disease.

of our subjective experience or that

the auditorium for the final award

He has also worked with the God

scientific laws apply uniformly across

ceremony. All the teams were

and the Big Bang project (which goes

time and space) and also can’t

recognised for their efforts and one

into schools to inspire students about

explain why the Universe exists in

by one we were invited up on stage

science and faith) and is the current

the first place. Jonathan reflected

for a round of applause and to collect

Oliver Barclay Lecturer with the

that for him, the more he learnt

a goodie bag.

organisation Christians in Science

about how amazing and intricate

(CiS). This is an annual lectureship

the universe is, the less he could

awarded by CiS in memory of their

accept its existence as just a brute

founder, given to a promising young

fact. This led him to his own personal

communicator in science and faith

conviction in a creator God, whose

enthusiastic about the event.

who is also an active scientist.

work it is a privilege to study.

We are even already planning our

Dr Foster spoke passionately about

Dr. Jonathan Foster completed his

entry for next year’s competition!

the importance and achievements

undergraduate studies in Chemistry

of science as a method for

at the University of Durham in 2008

understanding the universe but

where he also undertook his PhD.

wanted to challenge the notion

In 2012 he moved to the University

that science is the only valid way

of Cambridge where he held post-

of knowing if something is true.

doctoral positions in the Chemistry

Jonathan explained that science is

and Materials Science departments.

a method where observations are

He joined the University of Sheffield

used to support hypotheses, and

in 2015 when he was awarded a

suggested that it is more helpful to

Ramsay Memorial Fellowship and a

think of scientific theories as “useful”

Vice Chancellor’s fellowship.

rather than “true”. He highlighted that

Mrs K Crussell

We really enjoyed presenting and felt it was the best presentation we had given on our Escape Room ideas (better than all the rehearsals), and

After lunch we had a tour of the building and a treasure hunt. ‘The Environment’ was the theme as the building is the ‘world’s most sustainable events venue and it has the largest exhibition on the future of cities’. It was then time to sit in

Unfortunately we didn’t win the competition but we weren’t downhearted. We had had an amazing day and were all really

The Puzzle Club Escape Room team – Year 7

Religious Studies - Year 12 Curriculum Lecture

He suggested that whilst science is a powerful method for explaining

our current scientific knowledge is

On 26 March 2018 we were delighted to welcome back to the school Old Aylesburian, Dr Jonathan

limited, for example we only know in any detail what 5% of the universe is made of with the rest made up of “dark matter” and “dark energy”

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

SCHOOL LIFE Year 8 Team Building Day

Young Enterprise Report

The Year 8 Teambuilding day took place at the beginning of June. We were lucky to have

It has been yet another fantastically successful year for Young Enterprise and for the third year in a row we reached the South Central Regional Final of the competition with Card Dog.

members of the organisation, ‘Show Racism the Red Card’ come into school to run a workshop teaching us all about racism and discrimination in society and how we can ensure we work as a team both in school and the wider world. Show Racism the Red Card, as the name suggests is a charity, which has grown out of the world of football, using that sport as a way to get children and adults to understand and to work against discrimination in all its forms. At the start of the day we watched a film on footballers’ experiences of racism such as Samuel Eto’o almost storming off the pitch against Real Zaragoza and when Mario Balotelli burst into tears after some racist remarks. The video also showed us who Show Racism the Red Card work with, for example league winners Manchester City the mighty Arsenal and even the not so mighty West Ham United. We then had some very educational classes in which we reviewed some scenarios and explained what we would do in those circumstances in order to combat discrimination. After the first lesson we then looked at pictures of random people from different cultures and we had to guess their religions and where they were from. I’m certain the results

Card Dog – Company Review Managing Director: Matt Bird (Hampden 12) shocked everyone, and we learnt how wrong it is to judge people on their looks or their clothes and how dangerous that can be in everyday society. In the final classroom lesson we reviewed words relating with racism and looked at discrimination laws and how they are applied both in the UK and beyond.

Team Members: Sam Harding, Alex Ayerst, Jude Cornish, Ryan Willis, Harvey Johnston, Doug Birchall, Tom King, Samad Chaudhry, Greg Michael Student Advisor: Charlie Dunne As our Young Enterprise journey draws to an end, we cannot help

And then in the final hour of the day we had a relaxed session of sport in the sports hall where we were put into teams working with each other to try and amass as many points as we could on a number of different physical challenges. We spoke about what it meant to be part of a successful team and how to deal with and avoid negativity in order to work towards a common goal.

but look back and be proud of

Following the day’s activities I have

Card Dog to immense success in the

learnt a great deal and I now know

Young Enterprise competition.

more than ever that discriminating against anyone because of any of their features or their background is unacceptable, whether that be in football or the wider world. Tom Foley – Ridley 8

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

the last 10 months that we have dedicated into building and growing our company together. It all began back in September 2017 when we walked into our first meeting with no product, no company name and little business or sales experience behind us. However, what we did have was a shared passion for business, and it was this passion that has driven

The process began with the team coming up with numerous ideas about what our potential product could be, but it wasn’t long before we set on an RFID blocking card with a built-in bottle opener. RFID

Skimming is where criminals use easily purchasable scanners to steal your money or details straight from your contactless cards through thin air. We developed a card, made from stainless-steel, that blocks the signals used by thieves to steal your

has supported us on this amazing

pride, joy, and above everything with

journey enough, and we would like

a smile on his face. The whole team

to give a particularly large thank

could not be more saddened to hear

you to our Centre Lead Miss Chalk,

of his passing recently, and we would

and our Business Advisors Kerrie

like to thank him for all his advice,

Brindle and Sarah-Jane Saint-Ruth,

support and interest in our progress

without whom we wouldn’t be half

which helped us greatly along the

the company we are today.

way. Our thoughts go out to his

Card Dog were lucky enough to have Charlie Dunne (D13) as our Student Advisor, a role he fulfilled with great

family and friends at this extremely difficult time. Matt Bird – Hampden 12

Awards: Aylesbury Vale Dragons Den Competition: Overall Winners

money and details, keeping you and your money safe, whilst easily fitting

Aylesbury Christmas Market: Best Customer Service

into your purse, wallet, or bag and

MK Trade Fair: Best Overall Company, Best Trade Stand,

all with the added feature of a handy

Runner Up Best Product

bottle opener! After this our business took off, we

YE National Trade Fair: Runner Up Best Company

attended multiple sales events and

Aylesbury Vale Area Finals: Best Overall Company, Best Presentation,

competitions all over the country,

selling 312 Card Dogs as well as gaining valuable sales and business experience in the process. To add to this, we hosted a very successful

Best Interview, Best Trade Stand, Best Use of Social Media

Bucks and MK County Finals: Best Overall Company,

Best Trade Stand, Runner Up Best Interview

South Central Regional Final: Innovation in IT Award

quiz night in the AGS Foundation Hall which attracted over 100 guests! Our company progressed at an unbelievably quick rate, with our trade stand improving on a seemingly weekly basis, our sales confidence and pitch progressing immensely, and our product being improved with new branding and packaging. Our journey culminated in our Runner Up Best Company Award in the YE National Trade Fair in Stratford-uponAvon, as well as in our Overall Best Company Award at the Bucks and MK County Final. We cannot thank everyone who

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

SCHOOL LIFE Year 7 Science Club

We also learnt that science goes

When we were first told about Science Club, we didn’t know what to expect. However, in

they worked perfectly. There also

Autumn Term 2 when it started, it

substance – elephant’s toothpaste.

was better than we could have ever

Then, as summer drew closer, we

This has been another outstanding year for AGS Warhammer club with six to ten boys regularly attending our sessions. The keen players

expected in the first place! Science

went outside and did some gardening.

of Warhammer 40K have regularly

Club has allowed Year 7 students

We livened up the overgrown and

met in Geography after school on

to get up close to many different

messy roof garden with vegetables;

a Monday to engage in fun and

practical experiments and see

onions and carrots to pumpkins and

determined battle. It has been great

Science in a completely different way.

beans. We also grew a handful of

to see the older boys supporting

fruits: tomatoes, strawberries and chilli

the younger ones and the level

peppers.

of skill in battle tactics as well as

In the first week, we burnt magnesium to create bright lights and loud

into many things, for example, bath bombs. We made these with acid towards the middle of the year and was a demonstration, which involved creating an enormous toothpaste like

squeaks, this was something some of

We have thoroughly enjoyed science

us had seen, but never done. It only

club this year and will never forget

got better when we filled a container

this experience. We would all like to

with flammable bubbles and creating

thank Mrs Parvez for always having

a fireball that reached up to the ceiling

a practical ready every Friday and

– but that was before we started

being so willing for us to make a

putting eggs inside conical flasks and

complete mess in her lab!

destroying metal cans in a couple

Aki Vuppalanchi, Oliver Thompson

of seconds.

& Rajvardhan Patankar – Year 7

Warhammer Club

painting miniatures is second to none. While the bread and butter of the club is social and involves battles in a state of friendly competition, we all look forward to the annual inter school Warhammer league run by Games Workshop. It has been a tradition in recent years for the four man team to get through the local knock out stage in Aylesbury and reach both the Semi Finals and Finals. This year was no exception and I took the team, consisting of Ross, Alex, Sam and Oli to the world centre of Games Workshop at Warhammer World in Nottingham. Once more we enjoyed to extensive gaming hall, shops, exhibitions and cafe facilities of ‘Bugman’s’ to take on the country’s finest players. Having stormed through the Semis the team did fantastically to secure their best result ever with a second place in the finals. Many trophies were won and Sam gained Best

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

were rewarded, for the second year

final nod from Mr Sturgeon, we were

in succession, by reaching the Finals,

satisfied that we had done all we

to be held at The Geological Society

could to ensure the quality of our

headquarters in Burlington House,

submission; we were as confident

Piccadilly, on 22nd March 2018.

as we could be for the final.

The topic for the AGS presentation,

We knew that we would be facing

“Curious Carbonados”, was chosen

tough opposition from a full house

to complement the Society’s 2018

of equally determined competitors,

General and Most Sporting Player

Year of Resources and to highlight

and that we would be subjected

awards. Well done to all of the team

the fascinating and rare minerals

to scrutiny by a panel of leading

for their fantastic achievements and

found on Earth that may have

geologists from academia and

here’s hoping for next year.

extra-terrestrial origin, giving clues

industry, but nevertheless we felt

as to what other resources may

positive that we would benefit from

Special thanks to Ross who leaves

be out there in the Universe, yet to

our thorough preparation and a good

us for university and who has led the

be discovered.

knowledge of our topic and that we

team so well.

would be able to rely on each other’s

The study of these remarkable Mr M Goodchild

different strengths to help us through

‘black diamonds’ may help us to

the various tasks.

find solutions to the problems of

National Schools’ Geology Challenge 2018

ever depleting natural resources

We were drawn first to present on

on Earth, reinforcing the need to

the day and our talk went well.

consider opportunities to secure

Despite some tough and probing

new resources for the future but

questioning from the judges, we

also assisting in facilitating the design of better materials for specific

The National Schools’ Geology Challenge, held by The Geological Society of London, is aimed at teams of A Level students competing to produce the best geology related, five minute presentation on their chosen topic, accompanied by a themed poster to illustrate their talk. A geological quiz section of the competition also adds points to the final scores, allowing students to additionally demonstrate their wider geological knowledge.

applications too.

felt that we were able to provide reasoned and credible responses to all the points raised and it proved

Not only did the competition provide

to be an extremely exhilarating and

an excellent opportunity for geology

rewarding experience for us all.

students across the school to work together to investigate such a fascinating subject but it also enabled us to consult with experts in their fields to verify that the information we presented was accurate and as current as possible. Having taken advantage of all the encouragement given by our teachers, Mrs Jiggins and Mr Jones, and by Old Aylesburian, Declan

Following success in the Regional

Millar, who came back to AGS to

Heats, Aylesbury Grammar School

lend his support also, and with the

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

SCHOOL VISITS Our team managed to capitalise on the ‘faults’ made by the other teams in the Quiz Round, leading to overall success for Aylesbury Grammar School, who were declared

Art - Year 10 & 12 visit the Tate Modern Gallery, London

champions. AGS were presented with the National Schools’ Geology Challenge Trophy 2018 and each winning team member was awarded a Junior Candidate Fellowship of The Geological Society. It was especially pleasing to have won the competition for Mrs Jiggins Highlights of the day were the

in her final year at AGS and we

judges’ own presentations,

cannot thank her enough for not

on various geological themed

only enabling us to take part in

topics, close to their hearts, from

the competition but also for all her

preserving and presenting geological

years of dedication, hard work and

samples, to civil engineering, with

fantastic teaching, on behalf of all

a particularly engaging favourite of

her students.

ours, by Mr Timothy Gregory, from Bristol University, focusing on his work on meteorites.

She will be greatly missed! George Ramsey – Phillips 11

These professional presentations also highlighted the skills that are needed to deliver truly engaging talks; by conveying the speakers’ utter enthusiasm for their subjects, we were equally enthused, whilst being thoroughly entertained.

This year once again, the AGS Art Department organised a trip to London to visit the Tate Modern Art Gallery on the 20th September 2017. Students travelled by coach into London and walked a short distance to the gallery. Once inside the gallery students had the opportunity to tour the permanent displays of art work in the main gallery until midday, taking in some of Britain’s most diverse and contemporary works of Art. After taking lunch the group then headed to the gallery’s new extension, the Switch House. Here there were opportunities to experience installations made of many different materials; as well as more traditional paintings. This educational visit proved very successful and was invaluable to the development of the Year 10s Art project based on the theme ‘Close Up’. Thank you to all the GCSE and A level students who attended for their positive contribution on the day.

An enjoyable lunch, in historic surroundings, gave the judges the opportunity to deliberate on the eight finalists’ poster submissions before there was one last chance to maximise points in the intense and quick fire Quiz Round; our geological knowledge pitted against that of all the other teams.

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

Mrs L Tangi

Art - Year 12 visit the

particularly due to the huge variety of

Royal Academy of Art, London

the pieces, such as the enormous

work and the skill shown in making

Shakespeare Study Day

fabric ‘octopus’. It was great in a way which was both abstract yet very meticulous with its ornate frills

A Sixth Form trip was organised to the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition on the 20th June 2018. This year Grayson Perry RA

and seams. My A-level is primarily

was commissioned to coordinate the

form can be depicted thus providing

gallery’s 250th annual celebration.

new angles to my project.

Students travelled by train and were accompanied to the gallery by

English - Year 12

focused on portraiture and visiting the exhibition opened my eyes to all of the different ways in which the human

Stratford-upon-Avon; birthplace and home of Shakespeare, bustling market town with over 800 years of preserved history, proud holder of an average resident age significantly greater than the UK average.

William Irons - Ridley 12 Having studied Shakespeare’s

staff from the Art department. The

The Royal Academy of Arts

art extravaganza extended to the

gripping yet often overlooked tragedy

Exhibition held both traditional and

streets of London’s West End, with an

Othello over the course of the Autumn

contemporary paintings, giving the

installation of over 200 flags designed

term, the prospect of a study day on

opportunity to explore a variety of

by Royal Academicians. Galleries

the text at the great man’s birthplace

different artists. The piece ‘La Loggia,

were jam-packed with contemporary

Udine’ by artist Ken Howard was one

art made by internationally renowned

of my favourites and depicts a scene

artists and exciting new talent.

at Doge’s Palace, Venice using the

Highlights of this trip are summarised

illusion of detail to draw the viewer

by the students that joined us as

in. There was certainly something for

follows…

everyone with its 1,300 artworks in an

Mrs L Tangi Our visit to the Royal Academy’s summer exhibition was a great opportunity to find inspiration for future work and projects. It was a great occasion for us to take a look at some of the best contemporary work on display in one of London’s

was welcomed by Year 12 English Literature students. We kicked off the day by finding the nearest coffee shop to facilitate pre-10:00am thinking

array of mediums.

(and happily live up to the artsy literature student cliché), followed by a talk on the text from Lisa Peter, a senior lecturer and researcher at

The visit not only complemented my

the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

educational studies but gave me an

Beyond just consolidating what we

holistic view on art as an expression.

had learnt in the classroom, we were

I would highly recommend this visit

presented with new source materials

to any year 11s who have decided to

that placed the text firmly within its

study Art at A-level.

historical context.

Tim Wheeler - Lee 12

Othello is known, probably above

finest galleries. I took a lot away from

all else, for its presentations of

the experience in terms of ideas and

race and racism, often leading

artists to study in the coming year and

to it being dubbed a ‘racist play’.

I thoroughly enjoyed the trip.

Whilst some scenes may play

Tommy Williams - Lee 12

uncomfortably for a modern audience, fully appreciating the context in

The Art trip to the Royal Academy

which it was written in 1603 is

Summer Exhibition was inspiring,

critical due to some fundamental

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

SCHOOL VISITS To view the play entirely through

German - Year 13

this lens is to completely overlook

visit to Berlin

differences in perceptions of race.

the remainder of the complex social web constructed by Shakespeare, however. It was remarkably ahead of its time in challenging conventional gender roles, it tackles class issues and has great scope to be played psychoanalytically or homo-erotically.

fascinating and highly informative, and we seized the opportunity to enact Pyramus and Thisbe (the

As a fairly small group, this talk was

play performed within A Midsummer

very interactive and offered the perfect

Night’s Dream) at a drama workshop

opportunity to develop and challenge

afterwards. As heart-shatteringly

ideas in 1.5 hours of undiluted

convincing as James Storey (D12)

Shakespeare appreciation. This was

was in portraying the passionate

followed by lunch, with the teachers

death of Thisbe, the results were

taking advantage of Stratford’s hipster,

undeniably more comic than tragic.

avocado-rich offerings, and students swiftly tracking towards McDonalds.

The day was fantastically interesting and proved extremely useful in

Our second main activity was a look around Shakespeare’s childhood home, a half-timbered, late 16th century house including the very room in which the oft-cited ‘greatest of all English writers’ was born. Whilst not strictly relevant to our studies of Othello, the experience proved

extending our studies of Shakespeare in relation to Othello and beyond. To Mrs Beckley and Mrs Sampson, we “can no other answer make but thanks, and thanks and ever thanks” for organising and accompanying! Sam Carter – L12

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

Eight Year 13s from AGS and AHS took part in a trip to Berlin at the start of the October half term holiday. The 4 day trip took us through 250 years of Berlin’s history. The main focuses were the cultural boom under the reign of ‘Friedrich the Great’, the atrocities and guilt of the holocaust and life under the communist regime from the 1960s until the fall of the Berlin Wall. We were on our feet for between 10 and 12 hours a day and saw most of the city’s famous sights. Among the more significant were the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag, the TV tower and both holocaust and soviet war memorials. Our fair share of museums were on the agenda too, namely the GDR museum and Jewish museum. They enhanced our knowledge, as we were given the chance to learn through museum exhibitions and our surroundings alike. In addition, every student had

prepared a presentation in German on a chosen landmark to be given on a site. Because the trip was so intensive, some downtime was essential to keep our brains from frying; a journey to the Turkish market brought us back from the mid-20th century to experience, first hand, the cultural impacts of immigration and more contemporary European politics. One donner kebab and some Turkish bread later, I know that I’d definitely understood the city’s great diversity and its cultural differences, from the ethnic communities and sub-divisions to Charlottenplatz and KaDeWe (Kaufhaus des Westens, the capital’s most prestigious shop). It’s safe to say not a moment was wasted, re-enforcing experiences that will prove to be vital in exam season. On behalf of the whole group, we all had a great time and I would recommend the city to all those with the opportunity to go in the future. Tristan Coe – Lee 13

French - Year 10

straight on to the cinema to watch Pacific Rim, in French. I was a

Exchange to Bourg en Bresse

bit sceptical about going into the cinema as I was wondering how much I would be able to understand. My expectations were correct and

You’ve probably read lots of reports on exchanges and visits so I’m going to keep this short and sweet in the hope that you will make it to the end!!

within the adverts before the film I was already very lost. Although I managed to soldier on through the film, unlike my two English colleagues who fell asleep for the entire film. This made a great story and provided me with some

We travelled to Bourg-en-Bresse, which is situated 70km north of Lyon.

amusement whilst in the cinema.

I enjoyed lots whilst on the visit, firstly

I also really enjoyed our Art workshop

the food. Eating delicious traditional

where we learnt how to draw a

French food such as onion soup and

face. Although I gave it a good go,

“baby sheep” which, later, I learned

the one thing I took away from this

to be lamb. Also eating traditional

activity, is that I was right not to

French bread instead of a “rip off”

pick Art for GCSE. Also, for Easter

version that we Brits make, made

I predominantly stayed with the

me realise that the French know

family. We went to a church service

their food.

then went to my exchange partner’s

On the visit I also really enjoyed all the excursions we went on. My favourite had to be when we went to a kebab shop for food and then

grandparents’ house for the rest of the day. After the end of the visit I was quite glad to be heading home, but at the same time I was quite sad about leaving as I had come to enjoy being in France and I am sure my colleagues did as well. Many thanks to the French department staff for organising. Josh Alexander – Lee 10

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

SCHOOL VISITS English - Year 13 visit Paris

sternly demanding they quieten. Talk

atmosphere of French cookery like

about snakes on a train.

the intrepid ‘gastronauts’ we always

This conflict soon dissipated as we

knew they were.

arrived in the Paris Gare Du Nord,

Having saturated ourselves with

Every second became a minute and thus, as you would expect, the minutes morphed into hours.

followed by the joys of hotel check-in.

delicious grease, it was time for

The cold, mechanical beeps signalling

justify purchasing any item from the

the end of fifth period suddenly

array of meaningless, Eiffel-tower-

seemed unusually full of life and a

themed, overpriced tourist tat that is

desire to live it, each coinciding with

sold on every street corner, as if the

further realisation of the actuality of

country as a whole were clearing out

the circumstances we had occurred

stock. The overcast skies made the

upon. We – that is to say the tutti-frutti

famous pylon strikingly menacing,

gang of eight, comprising an octet of

its gunmetal grey frame piercing the

English Literature/Language Students

heavens in a challenge facilitated

of all flavours in our final year of

by the kind of self-confidence only

secondary schooling (none of whom

possessed by Parisian buildings. The

could believe their luck) – would soon

ascent triggered certain primal fears

find ourselves in the city of love, light

in oneself that can only be described

and lacklustre driving. ‘PARIS’ – even

as ‘cowardice’, clinging desperately

to say the word felt immediately

to the centre whilst my peers made

natural: its soft vowels and gentle

full use of photo opportunities of

consonants glide off the tongue as if

the magnificent view of the city, and

The Notre Dame, that cathedral

my breath was made to carry it and

contemplated whether they’d make it

of hyperkyphotic Disney (/Victor

my soul to know it - this home I loved

across the Seine dry if the tower fell.

Hugo, depending on your cultural

only from afar.

The only place to start our visit would be the Eiffel tower, which gave us the qualifications necessary to

A brisk wander through Paris certainly

death. More specifically, it was time to explore the wonders of the famed Père Lachaise Cemetery, a morbid home to the great and good of Parisian history. The largest cemetery in Paris was constructed by Napoleon and had previously been social housing, making the rows of mausoleums seem eerily like streets of terraced houses. It was easy to imagine the unfortunate souls, housed as they were in their elaborate shrines, waking up and popping to the shops down the road. An uncomfortable juxtaposition between the living and the dead flavoured the crisp, urban air, particularly in the case of the more famous yet equally permanent inhabitants of the estate.

references) fame, was our next destination touristique. Far from

The seven-hour train journey,

built up our appetite and what better

which involved more transfers than

place to be hungry than the Rue

a restless mercenary, slipped by

Mouffetard Market? With all manner

surprisingly quickly for the overly

of cuisines on offer from all over the

vocal half of the group, high on

world, there was plenty of scope for

expectations and E numbers, who

the inquisitive students to meander

may have slightly annoyed the

into virgin culinary boundaries for their

more passenger-minded amongst

limited English palette of Nandos and

the ebullient globetrotters. This led

Haribo. Having carefully examined the

to one of the tranquilites becoming

aliment on offer, the students took the

En route to our tea, we had a whistle

somewhat irate with the clamorous

risk of purchasing pizzas, kebabs and

stop tour of other checklist items

exuberance of his peers, eventually

burgers, going straight into the outer

of the tourist capital of mainland

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

a gothic nightmare, the chance to admire one of the best-known religious structures in the world was one taken with glee by many of the students. We slowly weaved through the packed ambulatory to gaze at the various stained glass attractions and holy statues.

Europe. Brief stops at the Bastille

jacket and black turtleneck with some

our hands of pens used to write

(personally bitterly disappointed to

degree of irony and satire (specifically

essay analysis on a Friday afternoon,

find a building and not 2014’s British

how much, I am still unclear), I went

unbelievably, only two days ago. And

Breakthrough Act winners) and the

around piece to piece whilst talking to

certainly the last time before we left

Places des Vosges buoyed interest

my peers as if each brush stroke (or,

for home. The to-scale-Scalextric

as we meandered through the

in some cases, lack thereof) was of

city towards the La Marais District

genuine significance to my life. This

after a packed day. The restaurant

was a great deal of fun and climaxed

district provided the problem of too

in a small crowd of French strangers

much choice but I finally settled

gathering around and listening

for seemingly the most French

intently, presumably affecting some

restaurant in the whole of Paris.

level of interest in the drivel I am

The last activity for the day was

track around us preceded the view of the laser-straight streets framing a beautifully hazy urban sunset as a backdrop for contemplation on a once-in-a-lifetime trip. As my eyes followed the soft curves of the

predisposed to unload on occasion.

famous arc, my mind raced through

We eventually tired of toying with the

a montage of images, so imbued

visiting the Pompadou centre. The

vulnerable gallery-goers and strode

with intense emotion that had been

prominent pop art exoskeleton of

back to the designated meeting point,

created during this weekend. I had

brilliant primary coloured tubing

incredibly proud of our little prank.

tried new and adventurous foods,

cascades down the sides of the

and seen old and famous artwork,

building, making the museum

We arrived later than expected to our

impossible to miss. Difficulty in finding

hotel rooms and collapsed into an

the entrance to the impressive yet

immediate slumber due to exhaustion

bizarre building was more of an

after having absorbed an undiluted

whom I had struggled through pages

obstacle than the short queue we

twelve hours of the capital. What.

of Lovely Bones analysis on grey

found at the door, possibly caused

A. Day.

Tuesday mornings for nearly two

by less hardy tourists giving up after

We said farewell to our hotel. The Arc

a few attempts at locating the entry

de Triomphe was a brisk walk away

point. Once inside, we were free to

and enclosed by a moat of Mario

walk amongst the Picassos, Pollocks,

Kart-esque driving, reminiscent of

Rothkos and Warhols and attempt

the centripetal experiment of keeping

to salvage some meaning from a

a bucket full of water spinning fast

its culture and its people that have

few of the more ‘abstract’ pieces. Mr

enough to prevent any liquid from

certainly furthered our understanding

Skinner had plenty to say about the

falling out – the cars always looked

of the Paris Anthology, ready for the

presence of three blank canvasses

inches from a disastrous crash

summer exams. For this, we can only

which took up a good 3m across the

worthy of international news, but kept

thank Mr Skinner and Mrs Harris who

main wall. Unfortunately, few of these

moving like supersonic clockwork

I know worked tirelessly to organise

words are likely to make it through

following abstract copper grooves

the trip and then had to make sure

editing. Much of the art on display

which are beyond (non-Parisian)

we didn’t decapitate one another/a

was very impressive but plenty of it

human comprehension. Surrounded

did seem peculiarly not, which turned

member of the public/ourselves for a

by the incredulous flouting of traffic

us onto the game of pretending to be

laws and common sense, the class

pompous know-it-all art critics. Already

rested for a moment, possibly the

dressed appropriately in a leather

first moment since we had lightened

and all the time I was accompanied by the same English class with

years. Above all, we had a great time. It is difficult to find trips for an English class beyond going to the theatre, but these two days had given us all an invaluable insight into Paris,

whole two days which is a remarkable achievement in itself. Patrick Walters – Ridley 13

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

SCHOOL VISITS French - Year 13

was buried inside the mausoleum and why they are so well-known in

German - Year 8

visit Paris

France. Up next was a visit to the

visit to Cologne

Musée de l’Armée to learn about

Over a warm weekend in October, Year 13 French students from AGS and AHS embarked on the capital city of France for a cultural enrichment visit. With the help

former French president, Charles de Gaulle. After around a day and a half on our feet, the seats in the exhibition’s cinema proved a bit too comfortable for most of the group.

We had all been anticipating this trip for weeks and it definitely exceeded expectations. We had an early start with a packed breakfast on the

After dinner at the hostel, we

coach, we arrived at Heathrow without

of Mr. Crapper and Miss Billon, we

returned to the centre of Paris to

too much traffic, we went through

navigated our way across Paris in

take in the sites by night. The Arc de

security arguably quickly before being

the brutal but efficient metro system

Triomphe was magnificent but the

given free time to have a browse

to various sites of interest. After a

Eiffel Tower was the main attraction.

around the airport and buy any snacks

quick stop at the youth hostel upon

The excellent viewpoint combined

for later that day.

arriving, we made our way over to the

with the flash on our camera-phones

Assemblée National (one of the two

We landed at Dusseldorf airport and

led to many a profile picture being

parliamentary buildings in the city) and

the heat was close to unbearable, so

updated to include the glowing tower

were led around by an enthusiastic

an air-conditioned coach was greatly

against the Paris skyline. After a

and very French tour guide.

appreciated. We arrived at the hostel

morning roaming around the Marais

where we were given our first task;

Sadly no sight of President Macron

quarter, it was time to head home

making our beds. Unsurprisingly,

but we carried on in high spirits

via the Eurostar. Special thanks

most people didn’t get very far into the

towards the Latin Quarter where

to Mr. Crapper, Miss Billon and

process and decided to use the sheet

we took in a rather bizarre but

Mrs. Coakely for organising and

as it comes (me included).

enjoyable play, Eugène Ionesco’s

carrying out such an informative and

“La Cantatrice Chauve” in a quaint,

memorable visit.

little theatre, le Théâtre de la

Billy Munday – Ridley 13

After the bed making, we headed through Cologne and along the river to get to our restaurant where the

Huchette, where the play has been

traditional German food was amazing;

performed every night since 1957.

the starters were beef soup with

That was followed by a visit to Notre

marrow dumplings, the main course

Dame Cathedral and then back to the

was bratwurst or chicken salad and

youth hostel to celebrate Max Hutt’s

the pudding was a wonderful portion

(Pa13) birthday.

of apple strudel. We got back to the

The morning after, we were unleashed into the Musée d’Orsay (one of the most famous art

hostel, were given keys to our rooms before free time and our heads inevitably hitting the pillows.

collections in the world) for two hours

On the second day, we visited the

before heading to the Panthéon to

chocolate museum where a lot of

read out our pre-planned speeches.

souvenirs were purchased and later

These informed the group of who

binned due to them melting! We then

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

History - Year 7

example that it was also used to hurl dead cows and pigs, riddled with

visit Warwick Castle

disease over castle walls so their enemies would get infected and die!

We went to Warwick castle on the 17th of May 2018 as part of our History studies, a topic based on the Norman Conquest so we went to see the Norman Conquest in reality.

We then saw the trebuchet throw a

teams on a town quiz. We had our

I personally enjoyed this visit and

action such as the “water wheel”, and

dinner at the hostel, before getting the

found it very educational and fun at

then went up the towers which was a

tram to the bowling alley which was

the same time. It took us around

really enjoyable experience despite

one of the highlights on the trip.

one and a half hours to get there

the claustrophobia in the really tight

and, upon arrival, we were given an

stairway and the dizziness when you

optional task to plan a successful

actually reached the top! I probably

invasion of Warwick castle which I

did scream the whole way up but we

eagerly signed up for.

all got there in the end.

food and rollercoasters, we drove

We first went inside the castle and I

Back on ground level we had the

back to Dusseldorf airport for the flight

saw many cool things from the middle

chance to experience the falconry

home. Lots of tired faces but it was all

ages for example; children’s toys,

show where we saw birds showing

worth it. All in all, it was an unmissable

knights’ armour and various paintings

us some cool tricks like catching a

experience and a great way to

of important medieval figures.

rat and then on to the archery show

After visiting the inside of the castle,

where we got to see an English long-

we went to the “trebuchet” show,

bowman who got paid 6p every day to

where we were also encouraged to

show us his precision archery skills.

tuck into our not so medieval lunch.

Then we went to the kingmaker where

The trebuchet was a deadly medieval

we saw medieval swords, workshops

war machine that could hurl massive

and learnt more about medieval

stones, often which had been set

life. Last but not least the gift-shop

on fire, at enemies. The staff gave

beckoned, to stock up on medieval

went back into Cologne to climb the cathedral with a very rewarding view. We also competed against other

The last day was when we had to pack our bags before getting a coach to Phantasia Land which everyone thoroughly enjoyed, after 6 hours of

practise the German language! Alex Hodson - Hampden 8

us interesting trebuchet facts, for

flaming rock at a few pots and BOOM! They were destroyed, I really liked the trebuchet show! We then went to the boathouse where we saw medieval technologies in

souvenirs, conveniently at modern day prices and we then piled onto the coaches and headed home. I would like to thank the History department for organising such an enjoyable experience. Arshad Ahmed – Phillips 7

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

SCHOOL VISITS French - Year 8

we know that we had a six hour bus

eight students in a kitchen with eggs

ride ahead of us. A few sleeps later…

and flour present was cleared up we

visit to Avallon

we arrived in a beautiful little village

had our lunch. Once we had gobbled

near Avallon and met the gregarious

down our lunch, we were quickly

and energetic Maison Claire Fortaine

hurried onto a bus to Vézelay for the

members. We went through all the

afternoon. In Vézelay, we got to have

usual procedures and then got given

a look around the town itself with a

our rooms to unpack. After that we

small quiz to finish while we were

had our first meal in MCF which was

there, its infamous Basilica where

très délicieux and then we were let

it allegedly holds Mary Magdalen’s

loose for free time to unleash the

relic and also being allowed to buy a

immense energy that had built up

sweet treat or souvenir. An interesting

Finally, the ardous journey started, but

inside of us. Then it was bedtime.

fact that I learnt while looking

before we knew it we were in Dover

One of the most talkative bedtimes

around Vézelay was that there were

waiting to cross the English channel

full of intent to start the next day.

numerous models of shells on the

On 24th May at exactly 7.00am an atmopshere of anticipation and eagerness fell over forty Aylesbury Grammar School pupils yearning to climb onto the bus and begin the long journey to Avallon (France).

and the anticipation of seeing the

road. The explanation for this is that Day two began with many tired faces

in the olden days, the shells would be

and a classic breakfast before swiftly

used by pilgrims to eat from as it was

After wandering around the ship and

diving into a nice calm and relaxed

cheap and easy to use. Meeting back

buying a delicous mocha and slice

French lesson preparing us for our

by the coach, we went back to base

of Carrot cake, we ventured back to

visit to Vézelay in the afternoon and

to eat our diner and more importantly

the bus waiting to officially set foot on

Avallon the next day. When our lesson

our tart (that we had made earlier).

fresh French soil; but to be peadantic

finished we went to the kitchen to

Our tarts turned out really well and

it wasn’t soil at all but a hard stone

make our own tart to have for dessert

we all ate them with big grins (and

pavement. Suprisingly, most of us

at dinnertime. After the mess that

food) across our faces. We ended the

were beginnng to get tired but little did

was left after coordinating eighty year

day with a game of bingo which was

white cliffs disappear behind us.

a good way to pass the time before it was time for bed Day three and we made our way to the typical and picturesque town of Avallon to buy our lunch for the day from the market. This involved being thrifty with the money we were given, team discussion, introduction to completely fresh French foods and of course speaking French. Our group bought ourselves a delicious assortment of fruits in a salad, scrumptious platter of dried meats and burgundy’s regional cheeses in a slice of crisp bread and finishing off with mouthwatering strawberries and caramel waffles which we eagerly scoffed down us when we got back.

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

History - Year 8 visit to Bletchley Park After spending the last few lessons on the enigma code, year 8 were happy to find out that the history trip this year was going to be to Bletchley Park. If you didn’t know already,

It was amazing! After our body had

Firstly, we got to try syrup which is

digested our hearty food we went on

a bit like really flavoursome squash

a 7km hike in the French countryside

before getting some salad and waiting

where we learnt about a stone that

for the main meal to arrive. The waiter

Bletchley Park is where the most

supposedly sings, the Gauls & the

strolled in with his hands full with

intelligent people in England went to

Romans as well as venturing into a

steaming hot plates of our chosen

try and crack the Enigma which was

deep-dark cave. Once our faces had

meal. The kebab with cream potatoes

a German wartime code language

become so red from the long hike

was what many people had and

introduced so that the Allies couldn’t

we had our lunch and ended the day

adored; I personally thought it was

work out what their messages were

with a relaxing game of pétanque

heaven on a plate. While we had last

saying.

(basically bowls) which I enjoyed

course (dessert), various prizes were

very much.

handed out and shoutouts to the MCF

Our final full day at MCF and it was not to disappoint. We had our last French lesson to prepare us before we went to a posh French restaurant for dinner and then prepared a little

staff and to key member of AGS staff (who had a main role in organising

Fortunately, in the end the code was broken and this went a long way in ensuring the war was won. Our day started with a guided tour around the

the trip). And with that, our last full day in France was over and we were all shattered.

park. It was very interesting because we got a chance to see the huts where they decoded the messages

drama sketch in French to re-enact

It was are last day in France and

something we had done in our time

in our own time and got a great

we all awoke when Mr Sloan came

at MCF which was very intresting

chance to review what we have learnt

in our room and woke us all up at 4

to see what other people created.

previously.

o’clock to get on the bus to Calais.

After plenty of laughter, we had our lunch before proceeding to the circus tent to learn some circus tricks. The man who taught us was extremely funny and incredibly flexible. We learnt how to do the trapeze, diablo, varied balancing acts, the chinese plates and many more. For me, this was the highlight of the trip because it was something that was physical and fun. We all then went back to our dormitories to get changed into our smart clothes for dinner. And then the last supper was upon us.

Nine hours later we were back where

It was also a good chance to see the

we started, standing on Turnfurlong

things they used and we even got to

with many a story to tell to our parents

see one of the few enigma machines

and siblings. All in all, the French trip

left in existence. After this, we were

was one of brilliance, from education,

given another tour by one of the

confidence and experencies that were

staff members which we thoroughly

learnt. I thought that this trip was a

enjoyed since we got to find out extra

success because it got us immersed

bits of information which we wouldn’t

in the French culture, language and

have known at school.

also the qualities listed above. I wonder what future foreign language trips have to behold. Adam Bosompem – Denson 8

We also learned more about everyday life and we got to see some of the transport methods and clothing worn. After having a light lunch, we went

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

SCHOOL VISITS Year 7 Residential Year 7 has been a hard year with fun along the way. The transition from primary to secondary, end of year tests and the challenges to a workshop where we learnt how to decode enigma using an app on a tablet. It also lead to us plotting

where we were pushed to our limits. One of these challenges was the residential – a camping trip.

plane crash. Whatever happened, we always had a good laugh about it.

‘German attacks’ which gave us

Those who had been to scouts and

a greater understanding on how

the like had the superior edge over

A scarier moment was when Michael

us; however we were undeterred and

Adekanye decided to have a raw

constantly tried to help. Although the

fish’s eyeball within five seconds! The

trip was undoubtedly fun, it was not a

camp leaders told us they had never

One of my favourite things

trip for you to just lie back and relax

met a 12 year old so enthusiastic to

about Bletchley Park is that it is

whilst everyone else built a shelter

eat an eyeball in all their life! One

very interactive and modern yet

for you.

of the biggest learning curves for us

incorporating it with the historic

By the time we came home, as I am

building that is still standing today.

sure the parents can relate to, our

Some of the activities included

hands were dirty from camouflage,

decoding sequences which is another

our arms aching after building a

With no music to listen to, a

shelter and our legs painful after

determined Eman set off on a mission

playing endless games of predator.

- to create a song. The song he ended

Overall, the trip to Bletchley was

And, just to put the icing on the cake,

up with was ‘the mighty pole song’

highly enjoyable, educational and was

our clothes were grimy.

and it was a big hit all over camp. I

important it was to decode messages quickly and correctly.

key part of the process.

really well organised by the History Department and we would all like to thank them for that. Finlay Power – Ridley 8

Throughout the trip, there were times of tension as the winners of ‘tribes got talent’ were announced and times

was that we needed to respect and appreciate nature and also modern comforts like beds and TVs.

would say that song summed up the success of the trip. A huge thank you to Miss Hill and all the other staff for

of panic when we had to rescue

organising such a fun experience.

the teachers from an SOS scenario

Aryaman Allam – Ridley 7

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

Skiing 2018

The ski resort had amazing facilities

sightseeing and shopping (again) at

and great instructors. We were put

a local mall.

into groups that ranged from people

The ski trip has easily been

who used to race on skis, to people

the best visit I’ve gone on so

who hadn’t touched a pair of skis

far. It brought many surprises

in their life. The great thing about

and was definitely an all-round

skiing is that everyone falls over,

Third was to a local buffet restaurant to have a memorable dinner. The best night was at an arcade with multiple engaging activities. All of

unforgettable experience.

your experience just determines how

The long and tiring journey to a hotel

hit the ground!

in Utah was well worth the wait, especially for all the teachers who once again had the unenviable task of navigating through various airport terminals, baggage claim areas and coaches to get around 80 very excited and sleep deprived children safely across the pond to the USA.

many times and how hard or fast you

these were incredible experiences and always exciting. The progression of the group’s ability, especially the ones who had never

Skiing up in the clouds every day

skied was immense by the end of

made me and everyone else make some new friendships and of course taught me how to ski better. By the

the week because of our instructors’ unwavering support and guidance. Overall the ski trip taught me how

end of the week we all knew each

to be resilient and take ownership

other a little bit more which helped

of whatever I was doing. It was an

when we got back to school.

amazing experience and I would

At the end of every day we would

The many outlet stores were a great

thoroughly recommend it to other

have an activity or event which

way to spend all our money on

students considering going.

were always interesting. First it was

anything and everything upon arrival

watching the Utah Jazz basketball

but luckily most saw sense and

team, defeat the Memphis Grizzlies

saved at least some cash for the rest

in a close game. Next, we had dinner

of the week!

at Costa Vida, and spent some time

A huge thank you to Mr Ramsbottom and all the other accompanying staff for organising such a wonderful trip. Julian Atat – Lee 9

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

SCHOOL VISITS Spanish - Year 9 visit Barcelona This year’s trip to Barcelona and Salou was faced by the prospect of ongoing disturbance in the capital, however, this didn’t stop 45 enthusiastic boys from AGS departing and on a pleasant sunny morning we were all graced with the fantastic opportunity to visit Camp Nou; the home of Catalan football. A rather memorable and daring experience was of a boy who had decided to wear a Real Madrid shirt in the stadium. Their impressive display of trophies, trophies and more trophies didn’t fail to amaze us and a stroll outside proved the beauty of the stadium. We ended our tour of this area with a look at the shop and a fantastic go at ice skating, arguably some were better than others. One of the more subtle yet captivating activities was the tours and visits of different architecture, by renowned Catalan architect, Antoni

Gaudi. His radical way of turning whole buildings into whole stories stunned us and left us guessing and utilising our imaginations to unlock his message. These buildings included Casa Milà, Casa Batlló and nature inspired Park Guell. However, the grand finale of Gaudi architecture and art was the unbelievably and awe-inspiring Sagrada Familia. Started in 1882, and predicted to finish in 2028, the detail, hugeness and general mystery engulfed most of us, with a little bit of help required from the teachers to find the secret inscriptions on the walls. Las Ramblas. The biggest and most famous street in all of Catalonia, perhaps even Spain. The number of people was just crazy; mainly because it was half term, or perhaps the curiosity of the human brain likes exploring new nooks and crannies, because believe me, there was a lot of exploring to do. Whether it was speed walking to the nearest Nike shop to get some Barcelona merchandise or trying not to get lost in the tiny medieval streets that meandered of La Plaza Real (or in Catalan La Placa Reial) that felt like someone had carved them into

a beige coloured rock, there was a huge variety of things to buy, do and eat. There were even shirts being sold saying “Viva la Cataluña” (Long live Catalonia); a protest would take place later that evening. When we first received the itinerary, the standout features were dominated by the worldwide famous theme park of Port Adventura. Boasting the tallest and fastest rollercoaster – Shambhala – the day proved to be massively fun, with fortunately no-one throwing up! For many, this was the standout day for those who wanted some slapdash fun (even if no money was left to buy food). The highlights included shouting our last words on a roller coaster, discovering the trick to surviving the Shambhala (closing your eyes) and getting soaked by the perilous rapids of the Wild West. Overall, it was a great day. To conclude, we’d like to thank all the teachers for putting in all the hard work and effort into providing us with a brilliant trip. All of us really enjoyed it, and it was a fun alternative to the last two days of school before half term, and the start of half term itself. On behalf of everyone who went, we would like to thank all the teachers for organising and producing a magnificent trip. ¡Muchas Gracias! Ashwin Aggarwal & Andreas Velimachitis - Phillips 9

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

PTA A message from the PTA Aylesbury Grammar School is over four hundred years old and whilst we are rightly proud of our history and our tradition of excellence, we also want to build a school with facilities to support exceptional learning, to help our students ready themselves to face the demands of the 21st century, and to be successful in whatever they choose to do. But this requires money and that is where the AGSPTA comes in.

projects that benefit every single

ideas, or organise, or volunteer on

student in the school; from science

the day. So, have you thought about

labs to music equipment, a minibus,

joining the AGS PTA? We need you

sports changing rooms, theatre lighting, language labs and a myriad of smaller items that make it possible

now more than ever. Don’t leave it to someone else to join. Email us now and join the community.

for the teachers to run the range of extracurricular clubs that AGS offers.

We would like to thank everyone who

The AGS PTA is a community of

And that’s why we need your help.

helped make the 2017/18 academic

parents, carers and teachers who

To raise all this money we put on a

year such a success in terms of

raise money for AGS. This year,

range of different events throughout

we have raised £28,000 to help

the year. This year, we put on a curry

refurbish the IT rooms. And, in the

and quiz night, a summer fête, laser

last ten years, the AGS PTA has

tag days, a Burns’ Night supper, and

raised over £250,000. PTA money

an Arts & Craft Fair. All our events

has helped to fund a wide range of

need people to help brainstorm new

fundraising and we hope to see you again next year! AGS PTA Team pta@ags.bucks.sch.uk

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT & We now have a vibrant and growing community of Old Aylesburians spanning a number of generations and through a programme of social events, sporting fixtures and an evolving careers development and curriculum enrichment programme, the majority of our Old Boys decide to stay in touch. In fact over 95% of outgoing Year 13 students made the decision to sign up to our alumni community before they went off on study leave this year. Interaction among OAs and other members of the School community, including current and former staff, current and former parents and current pupils, is very much a growing part of life after Aylesbury Grammar School. We were delighted to

interactive community. It is important that our School continues to be supported by a thriving and engaged alumni community. Current students and other alumni benefit in many ways – careers advice, work placements, mentoring and inspiration. We have alumni who have gone on to do a vast array of fascinating things, and make a tremendous impact in all walks of life, and by building an alumni network we engage an army of powerful, supportive advocates. This year a focus for the Development Office has been to continue with our evolving programme of engagement events including Leavers’ Decade Reunions, Anniversary Reunions and the development of a number of programmes to share experiences,

effective running of our School. The first bid was to replace the majority of poor quality windows across the site and the second bid was to complete essential works on the electricity supply to the School to ensure sustainability and resilience. Work was carried out during the summer 2018 and it means now that the funds raised by The Aylesburian Annual Fund can now be re-directed to the much needed refurbishment of our teaching and learning spaces. There is still so much to do. Our vision is to build a school with facilities to support exceptional learning, a school to help our students ready themselves to face the demands of the 21st century, and to be successful in whatever they choose to do.

including the continuation our very

In order to this, we realise we face

successful Medical Society that

significant financial challenges. Our

included great insight and thought

School has occupied its current site

provoking talks by several of our OA

for over a century and has some

medics.

rapidly deteriorating learning and

directly and read all about our AGS

School Development

teaching spaces. Many are not fit for

news and events. OAs can also use

In April we received some excellent

the new community site to share

news for the continuous improvement

information about their career, new

of the AGS site.

launch our new interactive database, earlier this year which offers Old Aylesburians the opportunity to build a professional profile, find, message and connect with old school friends

ventures and job opportunities with the other network members. Many of our OAs have already signed up to this community site and we are using the new facility in the Development Office daily. It has certainly made the way in which we stay in touch with our

our Aylesburian Annual Fund which offers an opportunity for every parent, old boy, member of staff, governor

As an academy school each year

and friend to support both current

we can submit two bids to improve

and future generations of students

the School facilities through the

at AGS. Through regular giving, our

Condition Improvement Fund (CiF).

community can help us to realise

Bids are based on the needs of our

projects that urgently need our

site and the guidance from the DfE.

attention and enrich the educational

community very much easier and has

The great news is we were

given us the opportunity to refocus our

successful with our bids both of

energy towards encouraging a more

which were essential to maintain the

learning in the modern world and so

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

experience for every student at Aylesbury Grammar School. On that note, this year, we used

ALUMNI RELATIONS Commander Lee Cobley (OA and Foundation Governor) who stepped in as honorary guest at the last minute. His words and formula for success (*Ability * Effort * Conditions * Confidence) struck a chord with the audience. Lee spoke to every single prizewinner, who all approached him to collect their prize with a smile. A wonderful celebration for the School.

sponsored our 1st XI Football kit for this season.

Back Row from left to right: funds from The Aylesburian Annual

Liam Bell, Earl Atat, Harrison Ambrose, Alex Rice, Luan Ross, Jonny Booth, Euan McDonald, Ore Soetan, Taf Manjengwa

Fund to refurbish the old gym and what a difference it made! We continue to thank everyone who

Front Row from left to right:

has supported the School so far. Our students are now benefiting from this

Chris Atkinson, Matt Cato, Harvey Farrington-Thorne, Tom McElroy (capt), Leo Blackman, Tom Baldwin, Luke Priestley

fantastic transformation of the Old Gym thanks to the support of parents and OAs through donations to The Aylesburian Annual Fund.

Alumni Relations Our new community database now has 937 registered Old Aylesburians and 2100 connections on Linkedin. The introduction of the new community site effectively means we have had to take a step back and ask our existing community to re-register. It has been a good exercise and we are delighted with the number of OAs who have chosen to register on the new site. We also use Twitter and Facebook on an almost daily basis. Our Senior Prize Giving in September was a sparkling evening of speeches, music & presentations for our hard working students. The event was a great celebration of everyone’s success across the year. Special thanks to Wing

The traditional curtain raiser to the AGS 1st XI Football Team’s competitive season was a match against the Old Aylesburians, held at the very beginning of the school year. The 11-a-side OA v 1st XI match in September finished 4-2 to the 1st XI. This was pre-cursor to an undefeated season for the 1st XI which culminated in winning the Bucks Under 18 County Cup for the first time since 2000.

Our annual Senior Public Speaking Competition held in September was adjudicated by Jamie Patmore (Ridley ’10). Jamie won Senior Public Speaking in his final year at AGS and has since studied Politics and International Relations at Cambridge. He went on to complete work experience on the trading floor for a global investment bank, before moving to his current position as a strategy consultant for a boutique private equity advisory firm. It was great to see him back at AGS.

Thank you to our OA AGS footballers, Patrick Murphy (Hampden ‘05), Martin Murphy (Hampden ‘05), Jack Thompson (Hampden ‘05), Matthew Dickinson (Denson ‘05), Dominic Butler (Hampden ‘05) and Marcus Allen (Ridley ‘05) who kindly

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT & We held a decade reunion in late September for Old Aylesburians who left the School between 1961-1970. A lively group enjoyed a tour of the School and drinks in the Sixth Form Centre.

On Saturday 25 November we hosted our Celebration of Sport Dinner in the Foundation Hall. Attended by over 150 OAs, Staff, Governors, Parents and Students, we were Above from left to right: Peter Horlock, John Saxby, Paul Bown, John White, Dee Blount, Roger and Sarah Carey, Robert Brown, Geoffrey Howell, Keith Grout and Peter Dean.

privileged to welcome Richard Lee (Phillips ’99) back to the School as our guest speaker. Richard is an ex professional footballer, entrepreneur, television pundit and speaker. We also warmly welcomed

On Friday 10 November our Year

David Atkinson, Headmaster of

8 and 9 students enjoyed some

Dr Challoner’s Grammar School

inspiring words from OA James

and Ashley Robson, Headmaster

Chiddention (Phillips ‘12) at our

of Reading School. Toby Vintcent

formal Remembrance Assembly.

(Phillips ’80) also joined the

James, Flying Officer at RAF

Headmaster on his table; Toby served

Northolt, spoke about his time at

as an officer in the British Army

AGS, UCL and in the RAF. James

during the Cold War as part of the

laid the wreath in the Foundation Hall

NATO Rapid Deployment Force. He

and also shared his thoughts on what

subsequently had a successful career

Remembrance Day meant to him and

at Merrill Lynch and has written three

how important it is to make the most

novels. Toby kindly agreed to be our

of life, to take chances and to do your

guest speaker at Junior Prizegiving

best.

later in the School Year.

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

Our Medical Society has been extremely well attended by our aspiring medical students since the introduction of the society last year and we have received great support from our OA community, many of whom returned to AGS to give thought provoking and insightful talks about the role of a doctor, vet or the commercial side of medicine. In addition to these on going talks we held a very successful Medical School Interview practice session in January where we welcomed back OAs and parents who generously gave up their time to help our current students prepare for interviews for their university places. On 2 February the School hosted House Music when we were delighted to welcome back OA Mike Paul-Smith (Denson ’05) as adjudicator. During his last year at AGS, Mike formed the band Down for the Count which he now runs fulltime, performing at over 130 events each year.

ALUMNI RELATIONS In March we were delighted to welcome OA David Krause (Denson ‘43) who returned to School for the first time since he left during the 1940s. Although a great deal of change was noticed during David’s tour of the school, he was delighted that his recollections of the high standards set by Aylesbury Grammar School were endorsed by everyone he met and by everything he saw. It was wonderful to meet with David and have the opportunity to show him how his former School has grown with the times yet still maintains its core values.

OA Cricket Match, Basketball and Squash Tournament 27 June OA Cricket

For the past two years the OAs have defeated the AGS 1st XI with relative ease, so this year we decided to try something different and mix the teams. This had the added advantage of being able to accommodate more than 11 OA players. The 14 returning OAs contained 4 sets of siblings – the Burden, Bee, Woodward and Sutcliffe brothers. The current AGS 1st XI provided the remaining 8 players, with the two teams being captained by Jonathan Burden and Will Fisher. We were also grateful that OA Keith Lamdin was able to return to AGS for the first time in many years to umpire.

Marcus Connor from Year 12 (45)

The match took place during the height of the summer heat wave, so on a small ground and with a lightning fast outfield, batting was certainly easier than fielding. Jonathan Burden’s XI set a useful marker, scoring 202 all out in 29.2 of their allotted 30 overs. OA Will Sutcliffe (36) and Ben Jacobs from Year 11 (39) led the way at the top of the order, although Captain Jonathan Burden contributed a useful 38 at the end of the innings. Pick of the bowlers was Ali Bee who took 3 for 32 in his 6 overs (including the wicket of his brother James). Will Woodward also contributed 2 wickets in a tight 7 over spell?

With the OAs currently holding

In reply the Will Fisher XI got off to a flying start. OA Josh Thompson, opening the innings was due at work and was clearly in no mood to hang about. A series of huge shots peppered the Languages Block or landed in the car park, before he retired. He was ably supported by

and Will Woodward (43) as the Fisher XI kept well ahead of the required run rate. Wickets were taken, including two apiece for Sam Morton and James Bee, but the target of 203 to win was surpassed with 3 overs to spare. It was fantastic to see 14 recently departed AGS cricketers playing with and against the current crop of AGS cricketing talent on a perfect summer’s day. Joel Barrie

OA Basketball

victory of the last two of this annual fixture, this year’s AGS basketball academy team looked to upset this standing record and take a win back. Before the match started, the OAs needed an extra player, so in his last ever OA match, Coach Lee McCarthy went over to the OA side, who now had two big men on their side, with Tom Edwards returning for the OAs. The coach-less AGS team now had to pull in together and work as a team, using all their combined experience and knowledge to devise a strategy to beat the OAs. Knowing the difference in height and fitness between the teams, the smaller AGS team had planned to outrun the taller, older OA team, expecting in the later quarters the difference in fitness to show. The AGS team started off well with a few quick buckets, but the OAs also traded back some as well, keeping the game close. After a few minutes

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT & OA Squash A total of six matches were played in the OA Squash Tournament with OA Nick Ratnarajah, who has just finished at Nottingham University with a 1st, conjuring up enough energy to play 2 matches on a lovely summer’s day. We welcomed back Nick along with Alex Preston, Iain Digby, Lee Cobley, Phil Yerby and Alex Axford. Very competitive and enjoyable matches whilst reminiscing

into the game, the OAs’ fitness level

younger AGS team and the presence

showed immediately as they sat

of big men Tom Edwards and Coach

in a zone defence for most of the

McCarthy made it difficult for AGS to

game. Noticing this, AGS called a

score inside, leading to this loss.

in the cricket match on the same

Despite the loss, in appreciation of

day, was beaten by Ratnarajah on

quick timeout to regroup and figure out how to approach this. They had managed to score a few more after the timeout, but the OAs were still able to maintain the score, and by the end of the 1st quarter, OAs were leading by a few points. In the 2nd quarter, AGS had tough luck scoring

Coach Lee McCarthy’s last year at AGS, the OAs put together a collage of photos from all the years he has been at AGS as a token for him to remember his time at AGS. As well as the departure of Coach McCarthy,

as many of their shots wouldn’t go

this was the last ever AGS fixture

in. Because of these misses, the

of the Year 13s as they head off

OAs started to get easy fastbreaks

to university; Aalim Shamsideen,

on AGS as they ran ahead of them,

Tan Chinzowu, Kym Ibragimov and

anticipating a miss, to get easy points

Ollie Mulchay. As well from Year 11,

down the other end and by halftime,

Luke Parry will be leaving AGS and

the OAs had increased their lead

attending another sixth-form and

much further. AGS started the next

Joslyn McLeod will be taking his

half with a quick three and seemed

basketball talents to Southampton

like the start of a run, but this was

playing for an EABL league team.

cut very short as soon, later in the

Lastly, just a thank you to the OA

3rd quarter, we witnessed a sudden

players for taking their time to come

shooting showcase from Ben Geddes

down to play this fixture and thanks

who made about four threes in a row,

to Coach McCarthy for all the years

drastically increasing the OAs’ lead.

of basketball you have done for

To the disappointment of AGS, the

us. This year’s team are the last to

OAs had come out with a blowout

fully appreciate how much you have

win this year, winning this fixture

done for basketball and to keep it a

three years in a row. The experience

relevant sport at AGS and we wish

of the OAs was too much for the

you all the best that is to come.

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

of past glories and recalling faces on the wall of fame. AGS no 1 Marcus Connor, who also took part

court 1 whilst OA Lee Cobley was battling away with Elliott Abdey and eventually succumbed to a 3/2 loss and a groin injury. Next up Ryan Connor played OA Alex Axford and was surprisingly dispatched 3/0 in a less than competitive match. Following on in the next match was OA Iain Digby against Harshi Gupta and the latter, current No 4 in school, won 3/0 and giving present team hope. Next up Darren Withey took on training partner and OA Alex Preston which resulted in another 5 set match with OA taking the decider. Nick Ratnarajah then turned out as special

ALUMNI RELATIONS guest for present team. Nick won his 2nd match against OA Phil Yerby in a game that was closer than the 3,0 scoreline suggests. Final result was an honourable 3-3 draw. Many thanks to all of those who gave their time and effort to take part which is much appreciated by the school.

Our thanks to Alex Mustoe (Paterson ‘15) for taking the time to return to AGS to adjudicate Junior Public Speaking in July. Alex was a committed public speaker when he was here at Aylesbury Grammar School and is now in his final year studying Social Psychology at Loughborough University.

Toby Vintcent (Phillips ‘80) returned to the School as our Guest of Honour at Junior Prize Giving in July. An interesting and varied biography, Toby is a published author of three critically acclaimed Formula 1 inspired novels, former commissioned officer in the 16th/5th The Queen’s Royal Lancers, Investment Manager and Marketing Director in the City, a Great British Three Day Event Rider, a Team Manager for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and former Politician. We were interested to hear his words to our Year 7 - 9 students and parents.

League proved popular with over 200 OAs involved. Thank you to Tom Piotrowski (Denson ’05) for setting up it up. The worthy winner was Will Edwards (Hampden ’08). Mrs A Cox – Development Director

A number of other OAs returned to the School over the year for other events and activities such as the AGS Research Panel (instigated by Deputy Head Boy Adam Woodage (Phillips 13). The idea was to encourage junior and middle students to take part in a learning programme to acquire necessary research skills, delivered in parallel with their own research project and some in-industry perspective was added to this by our OAs. Another great initiative which was supported by our engaged Old Aylesburian community. The Inspirational Speakers’ Programme for our Sixth Form students continued and our Old Aylesburian Fantasy Football

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

PRIZE WINNERS Junior Prize Giving 2018 Year 7 - Harding Subject Prizes Art: Classical Studies: Computing: Design Technology: Drama: English: French: Geography:

Hafeezur Rahman Devam Sharma Mohammed Ansar Oliver Thompson Griff Collins Alex Childerstone Johan Jose Daniel Graves

German: PE: History: Mathematics: Music: Religious Studies: Spanish: Science:

Alexander Davis Alexander Davis Oscar Peck Yuv Saxena Jack Izard Pragvansh Bhatt Pragvansh Bhatt Jamie Baker

Head of Year 7 Award for Achievement Fionn Clancy, Harvey Clay, Daniel Graves, Samuel Wright

Year 8 - Harding Subject Prizes Art: Computing: Design Technology: Drama: English: Mathematics: French: Geography:

Charlie Gould Abshly Shaji Aarya Poondy Zak Aziez Charles Edwards Charles Edwards Teni Oluranti-Ahmed Nikolai Smith

German: History: Latin: Music: PE: Religious Studies: Science: Spanish:

Tony Alocious Aaron MacWhirter Dragos Goian Matteo Bellini Archie Dodds Adam Bosompem Morgan Billings Ankit Arun

Head of Year 8 Award for Achievement Ewan Dixon, Tom Kirkpatrick-Brown, Christian Lynch, Kasper Marriott

Year 9 - Harding Subject Prizes Art & Design: Biology: Computing: Chemistry: Spanish: Design Technology: Drama: English: French:

Owen Billings Karan Elangovan Karan Elangovan Sachin Patel Sachin Patel Sam Packer Harvey Bell Oliver Tolson Boxall Robbie Lawns

Geography: Latin: German: History: Mathematics: Music: PE: Physics: Religious Studies:

Edward Maher Edward Maher Reece Wilcock Aidan Manley Alex Butler Yifan Wong Joel Good Jeffrey Tan Shehroz Jehandad

Head of Year 9 Award for Achievement

The Harry Hewitt Memorial Shield

Ashwin Aggarwal, Will Chapman, Tom Hounsell, Huned Mamajiwala

Harry Jones

The Ben Pickard Trophy for Excellence The Glenn Turnell Cup

Leo Dudfield

Matthew Sparke

The Mike Griffin Cup The Old Aylesburians’ Association Community Prize Will Chapman & Finley Spencer

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

Ashwin Aggarwal

Senior Prize Giving 2018 Year 10 - Harding Subject Prizes Ancient History: Art: Biology: Business: Chemistry: Mathematics: Computing: Design Technology: Physics: Drama: Economics:

Sam George Owen Billings Joe Maggs Christian West Tobi Dairo Tobi Dairo Lee Trotter James Farmborough James Farmborough Ethan Odukoya Matthew Stanbrell

English: History: French: German: Geography: Geology: Latin: Music: PE: Spanish:

Aidan Manley Aidan Manley Tishe Coker Tishe Coker Reece Wilcock Edward Maher Edward Maher James Sansome Alex Butler Hasan Sheikh

Head of Year 10 Award for Achievement Josh Alexander, Harvey Bell, Tom Blowfield, Ish Rahim

The Ben Mckenzie Cup Theo Cooper-Tutton, Matt Hobson, Tom Hunter, Alex Lincoln, Samuel Packer, Joe Price, Cameron White

The Old Aylesburians’ Association Community Prize Edward Maher

Year 11 - Harding Subject Prizes Ancient History: Geology: Art: Biology: Business: History: Chemistry: Computing: Design Technology: Drama: Economics:

George Ramsey George Ramsey Zak Griffith Matthew Rizzo-Naudi Nikhil Aggarwal Nikhil Aggarwal Dylan Cleveland Sam Byass Charlie Lane Ben Parkinson Dylan Holmes-Cowan

Music: English: French: Latin: Geography: Spanish: German: Mathematics: PE: Physics: Religious Studies:

Dylan Holmes-Cowan Jordan Cobley Theo Nze Theo Nze Max Ramsey Max Ramsey James Mallord Aidan Purchase Ben Lindars Aman Sadiq James Chennells

Head of Year 11 Award for Achievement James Arman, Finn Brown, Kiri Jeyanathan, Tom Moyse

The Richard Bennett Prize Shoheb Hassan

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

PRIZE WINNERS Year 12 - Harding Subject Prizes Ancient History: Callum Evans Art: Timothy Wheeler Biology: Zain Ishtiaq Business: Mitchell Walker Chemistry: Michael Roach Further Mathematics: Michael Roach Computing: Richard Chappell Design Technology: Stuart D’Arcy Drama: Joe Harrington Economics: Vibhav Pandey History: Vibhav Pandey English Lang. & Literature: Aaron Sidhu

Politics: English Literature: German; EPQ: Geography: French: Mathematics: Music: PE: Physics: Spanish:

Aaron Sidhu Sam Carter Sam Carter Matthew Jones Matthew Jones James Weller Josh Horton Toby Sexton James Glover Tom Lewis Henry Bambrick

Head of Year 12 Award for Achievement Papa Ansah, Cameron Burchell, Jonah Donnelly, Jakeesan Kirubatharan, Vishal Varadraj

The Keith Smith Prize Dom East

The Stephen Shipperly Prize for Enterprise and Innovation Rakin Gilani, Tom Lewis, Nirosan Pragash, Matthew Tattam, Nathan Walemba, Tom Wiegand

The ESRI Prizes for Young Enterprise Alex Ayerst, Lewis Ball, Matt Bird, Jude Cornish, Charlie Dunne, Sam Harding, Mitchell Walker

Year 13 - Harding Subject Prizes Ancient History: Art:

Gabriela Hidalgo-Anguera Alroy Pereira

Design Technology: Drama:

Sam Wright Joe Youens-Brown

Donated Subject Prizes Glover Prize for The Arts Dame Kathleen Raven Prize for Biology James Bowe Prize for Business Raven Prize for Chemistry Fleet Prize for Computing Chiltern Hundreds Prize for EPQ Webb Prize for Economics Deeming Prize for English MacLeod Prize for English Language and Literature Furley Prize for French Brooker Prize for German Belger Prize for Further Mathematics Lloyd-Jones Prize for Geography Owen Prize for History Ferris Prize for Latin John Hunt Prize for Spanish Brown Prize for Mathematical Physics Furneaux Prize for Physics Miscampbell Prize for Mathematics Helliwell Prize for Science Professor Mead Prize for Music Mackrill Prize for PE Jones Prize for Politics

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

Lee Saunders James Young Adam Woodage William Hindmarsh Viraj Shah Lee Saunders Dylan Bhopal Gabriela Hidalgo-Anguera Patrick Walters Harri Ambrose Harri Ambrose George Wyatt Peter King Gabriel Bailey Tom Cay Tom Cay Max Hutt Max Hutt Daniel Hawkes Daniel Hawkes Samuel Horrox Luke Priestley James Burton

The PJ Larkham Prize for Theatre Finn Walsh and Sam Wright

The John Prodger Cup for Sporting Achievement Aalim Shamsideen

The Thomson Cup for Sportsmanship Adam Woodage

The Old Aylesburians’ Association Community Prize Kym Ibragimov

The Beattie Cup for Musicianship Tom Robertson

The Disraeli Prize for Debating Tom Cay and Tanmay Mahesh

The Ale Lowndes Knight Award for Endeavour Josh Mayhead

Denson Prizes for Excellent A Level Results Ayo Adesunloye Amith Anikumar Gabriel Bailey Sam Bhaskaran James Burton

Oscar Case Toby Higgs Kym Ibragimov James Massey Harry Poll

Nameer Rahman Huw Richards Luan Ross Adi Roy Tom Rumble

Oliver Scorey Ameya Tekale Nat Vincett Alex Walters

Foundation Governors’ Prizes For Outstanding A Level Results Karsten Allers Harri Ambrose Martin Atkins Xav Atkins Chris Atkinson Alex Axford Lewis Ball Dylan Bhopal Matthew Bryce Tony Carlisle

Tom Cay Kieron Cheng Alastair Claringbold Jack Draper Patrick Harrington Daniel Hawkes Gabby Hidalgo-Anguera William Hindmarsh Nathan Huntington Max Hutt

Billy Jackson Tom Richards Dylan Kanapathipillai Piri Santhiravarman Sam Knights Lee Saunders Rhys Linnell Viraj Shah Marcus Lowe Absham Shaji Tanmay Mahesh Patrick Walters Rutwick Mudholkar Michael Witham Chris Pringle Sam Wright Tom Ramsbottom George Wyatt Sam Ray-Chaudhuri James Young

Paterson Prizes Deputy Head Boys: Toby Higgs and Adam Woodage Head Boy: Max Hutt

Aylesbury Grammar School would like to thank The William Harding’s Charity for their generous support in funding the Harding Prizes

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

Voted Aylesb

ury

• Leaflets

sig

Cre

• Business Cards • Posters

ati

Bus

in e s s

• Colour Copying • B&W Copying • Brochures • Websites

AYLESBURY VALE BUSINESS AWARDS

WINNER

• Vinyl Banners • Pull Up Banners • Building Plans • Binding • Walk in Shop

e s u o I n-h www.freshdps.co.uk

ble a l i a v a o ls a n sig e D c i h p a Gr

01296 489998 •

hello@freshdps.co.uk

2 Townsend Piece, Bicester Road, Aylesbury, Bucks HP19 8BQ The Aylesburian 2017/2018

The Aylesburian 2017/2018

www.ags.bucks.sch.uk

Respect & Aspire

The Aylesburian - 2017/2018

Articles inside

School Development & Alumni

Sport

School Life

House Life

School Visits

PTA

Staff Leavers

Tribute to Charlie Dunne

Headmaster’s Welcome