School Life

been in this job too long. We

discussed putting on a production of Guys and Dolls with a joint cast from the Grammar School and the High School. My only hesitation on putting on my favourite musical was that in my mind I had already directed this show for the school fairly recently – when it was pointed out that the last time I had staged the show at AGS in 2000 there was no further hesitation in picking the show to stage once again.

The main barrier to re-staging the show actually came down to logistics. When I staged the show back in 2000 the school was a quieter place and the extracurricular events calendar less packed. This meant we had over a year to produce and rehearse the school production. In these much busier times we had only 6 weeks. A smart solution presented itself. We would stage not just one show but two with two casts, two directors and two stage managers meaning we could rehearse two shows simultaneously in different parts of the school. The first 45 minutes would be a showcase of musical theatre talents with pupils singing and dancing show tunes with a live band. The second half would be a specially abridged version of Guys and Dolls with prerecorded music.

As always AGS is blessed with amazingly creative and talented staff. Mrs Isherwood wrote, produced and directed the show tunes part of the school production. Under the title Showtime! Mrs Isherwood skillfully wrote a script that tied together show tunes from Hairspray, Chicago, La La Land, Beauty and The Beast amongst others. She worked with a talented cast of primarily lower school pupils. Some of the older pupils such as Logan Walmsley, Millie Archer, Sarah Nicholls and Lauren Hoft helped out with the choreography. Mr Nathan led a live band comprising of Dylan Holmes-Cowan, Dan Choudhury, Corin Scott, George Garman and Jack Izard.

Showtime! was 45 minutes of fast, high energy dancing and singing. It was a real showcase of up and coming talent. There were plenty of standout moments with Samantha De Castro and Maiwa Banda proving they are going to be stars of the future following their soulful and powerful singing. There were also some surprises – Bolu Oyedepo, Tommy Roberts and Sujatro Dubey had shown up to offer technical support at an early rehearsal and before they knew found themselves on stage as part of a very funny rendition of Moses Supposes supported by Finlay Power and Logan Walmsey.

The abridged version of Guys and Dolls was in the safe hands of Miss Treherne. She provided the cast and crew with a great vision for the show. She also has an enviable ability to create dance routines that provide really clear storytelling.

The audition process for Guys & Dolls threw up a first. We found it impossible to choose between our leading man and our leading lady. The solution was to give four talented actors a chance to play

the leads. For two performances the parts of Sky Masterson and Sarah Brown were played by Ben Parkinson and Beth Lewin. For the other two performances the parts were played by Zach Roberts and Lucy Sallows. All four gave excellent performances. It was fascinating to watch the different nuances they found in playing the same parts.

Ishaan Chakraborty made his AGS debut playing Nathan Detroit. He gave a hilarious performance but also found the right pathos when required. Eve Whittemore was simply stunning as Adelaide and each night she bought the house down after singing her famous lament.

There was strength in depth and all the supporting players were superb. The large chorus, thanks to the very clear direction of Miss Treherne, was always in character and helped to bring the stage to clear, vibrant life.

The tech crew was led by Leo Dudfield (who, with Mr Warner helped re-wire most of the hall’s lighting system) and Joe Barnett (who made his debut as stage manager). The crew created a busy but well organised back stage area.

The four nights proved to be another spectacular success for AGS and AHS drama and music. We are blessed to have so many talented and hardworking staff and pupils. The last time we staged Guys and Dolls a young Theo James played Sky Masterson – one feels that given the talent on display in Showtown! and Guys and Dolls this time round those in the audience probably were watching future West End and Hollywood stars as well.

AGS. The largest live event in the House competition programme and in terms of sheer participation and competitive edge, it has arguably grown to become the largest event in the school calendar full stop.

And as musical tastes have developed and broadened over time and across the school you are always guaranteed that House Music will bring together an eclectic mix of mainly pop/rock, indie and jazz styles, occasionally with the odd classical (or at least classical crossover) piece thrown in too.

This year we were able to finally take the plunge and release House Music from the confines of the relatively cramped capacity of the Foundation Hall and into the much more spacious Alyesbury Waterside Theatre. This created a few logistical headaches in the planning stage and with the added pressure now of having to sell enough tickets to parents and friends of the school in order to at least break even and justify the ambitious move. We needed to sell around 500 tickets to achieve this but by the time the curtain was raised on the evening well over 600 paying guests filled the stalls of the theatre eagerly waiting to see whether the gathered AGS musicians could do their House proud on literally a bigger stage.

With the exciting news of the new venue being confirmed a few months earlier it was around October when the music practise room booking sheets dangling off the music department noticeboard started to resemble a well used and full of holes shooting range target. Numerous names were scribbled on, scribbled out and scribbled on again elsewhere as enthusiastic House music captains frantically tried to organise groups of teenage boys across their Houses. They soon realised how tricky it is to get groups together from several year groups at a time for a quick lunchtime practise session…..welcome to our world said Mr Nathan and I.

But as always, organise they eventually did and by the start of the Spring term in January with less than three weeks to go, wrong notes and questionable tuning gradually morphed into correct notes and confident blending and balancing. It was the previous year where we had revised the marking criteria to focus as much as possible on the overall quality of the music produced. Having performers from as many year groups as possible was still an important aspect but in recent years this had been noticeably become

too skewed towards a quantity over quantity ethos. Previously, some Houses had taken the view that if you cram as many people on stage as possible at all times there would be enough of them playing well that it would cover up the mistakes of all the others……a gutsy plan at times, but ultimately not the best shall we say. So, for 2020 it was again all about the quality and with the promise of a huge stage and professional crew to sort the technical side of things Thursday 30 January trundled into view and literally the stage was set.

The day started at 9.00am and would not finish until 11.00pm, but what a fantastic day. Each House walked over to the Theatre for their final rehearsals and sound checks and miraculously everything ran to time. Of course we had planned it that way, but this was definitely the first time that had happened in 20 years! When the Theatre doors opened at 6.30pm the venue was absolutely buzzing with anticipation and that did not waver at all throughout the evening. Mr Nathan, with a huge stage to wander up and down on and a captive audience of 600 or so guests in the stalls and 150 or so performers on the edge of their seats in Circle 1 even managed to smash his PB for the slowest announcing of results ever… .”And………in……….6th……….place……” I have told him that one day someone will throw something heavy and it will hit him and he’ll only have himself to blame but he just loves his annual Monty Python-esque

House Music Aylesbury Waterside Theatre twitter: @AGSMusicDepart

performance. So my advice would be to bring extra snacks and a pillow next year….oh yes and something both heavy and throwable.

We were so lucky to have OA George Moore as our adjudicator this year especially as he is in such high demand as a producer and musical director all over the world. He was in fact due to fulfil the role last year but it clashed with a series of shows he was directing for the band ‘All Saints’ in Australia and New Zealand. If you reading this and under the age of 35 then ask someone older and they’ll tell you who they are!

George was extremely impressed by the musical talent on show during the evening and gave out suitable words of wisdom for all to take on board. But this was a competition and despite some wonderful performance from all six Houses there has to be a winner and it was Ridley House who claimed the silverware which as it turned out was just one stepping-stone to them becoming overall Watson trophy winners for 2020. Well done to everyone who took part in the House Music event this year and fingers crossed, if the gradual lifting of Covid-19 restrictions continues we will be able to enjoy the event again in 2021.

hone their skills. This year we

have again quickly reached full capacity with over 40 boys regularly attending. We have also welcomed a player from AHS, for the first time in some years. Several boys have used chess as their DofE skill although the current lockdown has prevented them from being signed off, let’s hope we can do this in the Autumn term.

Once more, we have provided a team to compete in the National Schools’ U19 Chess Championship. I am extremely pleased to have recommended a number of boys for Chess Honours over the last year, mainly for their commitment to the school team but also for their mature and supportive approach to the weekly club. Well done to Oscar, Sean, Karan, Yuv, Devon, Jeffrey, Yash and Tom.

This was an outstanding year for the AGS chess team who made the best progress in this prestigious national competition since I took over the club back in 2010. The team has been in the process of rebuilding after the loss of several Year 13 boys a year ago. But with enthusiastic and skilled players lower down the school we have been able to quickly restore the ranks with some nice strength in depth evident.

Our first outing was to RGS Guildford on 20th November. It was a long and well fought afternoon during which, to be honest, my main concern was how long the front tyre of the minibus would stay inflated! The team scored its best ever regional qualifier result with three matches played and a clean sweep of 18-0. Not to be left out, our reserves played their own informal game with other schools and won 4-2.

After this exceptional performance our confidence was growing and the next match, the first of the knockouts, was at home to Mill Hill County High on 24th January. Both teams put in strong performances but we came through with a very good 4 ½ - 1 ½ . There were excellent wins from Oscar, Yuv, Dev and Jeffrey with a solid draw from Sean.

Having now reached further into the competition than we had for 10 years, there was some trepidation about the next round which we knew would be against a really strong opponent. We faced Haberdashers’

Aske’s Boys, away. This was a team that we discovered included several England Chess players! Un-phased, on 27th February, we headed south to do battle. The welcome was exceptional and both teams enjoyed a focused but friendly match. Games impressively went to the 2 hour limit but we succumbed 6-0 in the end.

So that ended this year’s chess championship journey for AGS but with results to be really proud of.

In the Spring term we engaged in the intra school Chess Challenge where players compete in a league table and win prizes as they go along. Normally the winners get to take part in the ‘Mega Final’ held at another school, but alas, as with so many other events, the competition fell foul of lockdown.

After a great year of chess, we all now look forward to a new term and the opportunity to welcome new players, especially from the new Year 7 intake.

tested. This involves us looking at the CREST award website and picking a stimulus, this will follow a criteria. We had to achieve this criteria with a project of our own design. When you scroll through the website you can see the plethora of challenges, these all comprise of thinking logically, economically, structurally and practically about what prototype you make. I really enjoyed taking part in this and I really look forward to when younger student have the opportunity to join STEM club.

The stimulus that I liked the most was “Ditch the Dirt”. Set in the context of accessing clean water in Kenya it enables pupils to model and test filters as a way of making dirty water cleaner. It can also be used to explore ways of making water safe to drink. However, there is much more to think about than just making a filter. You need to consider the usability of the filter, the durability of the filter, how hygienic it is, the price of the filter - based on materials (it needs to affordable to the people of Kenya) and many more factors.

Another stimulus some of my friends chose was “Squashed Tomatoes”. In Nepal many farmers living on the mountainside grow fruit and vegetables, including tomatoes. To earn a living they need to sell these at the local market. The problem is getting to the market involves a long, dangerous walk down the mountain side and over a river, at the end of which the tomatoes may well be a bit squashed. So what is the challenge, you might ask? To design, build and test a way of moving tomatoes that won’t squash them!

In addition to this, another popular one was “Beat the Flood”. Pupils look at flooding around the world then design and build a model of a flood-proof house. Flooding due to climate change can have a devastating effect on people’s lives. Set on the fictitious island of Watu, pupils explore how STEM skills can be used to help communities be better prepared for flooding. The aim is to work as a team, as well as to design and make a model of a home able to withstand the effects of flooding. This can be tested with the use of a hosepipe.

Lastly, there was “Wind Power”. Recently updated, this popular challenge introduces pupils to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS) and includes a starter activity where pupils simulate how the National Grid supplies electricity to most parts of the UK. Pupils then explore how life for people in the rural mountainous regions of Peru is different as they live without access to mains electricity. In this stimulus you have to design and create a small wind turbine. They learn how small scale wind turbines have changed people’s lives, as with a supply of electricity people are able to light their homes, their school and run small businesses.

enjoyed taking part in. The

teachers of science in our school put together a day full of exciting opportunities and interesting talks from many different people who taught us about their trade. We learnt that day the importance of the environment, poisons, the process of making honey and many other things. We also earned pens as a reward, which was a highlight! In the following paragraphs I am going to elaborate upon what we learnt during chemistry at work day.

The first talk we had was concentrating on the importance of keeping the environment breathing and living. We had a representative from the Extinction Rebellion (which made the news) to teach us why we need to help save the environment. The scientist showed us statistics and first proved that the health of the world was deteriorating significantly. He showed us a chart which made us understand the severity of the situation.

The next section of the talk helped us understand that change was needed and how to cause change. We learnt that reducing carbon dioxide emissions as a person would change nothing and therefore the only way to save or prolong the life of the planet is to collectively reduce carbon emissions. He also taught us that small things can make a difference if everyone does it. From this talk we took away a lesson of massive importance: the planet must be saved by a collective action from the world. As a past ECO rep and a reserve ECO rep now I did understand this before, but never clearer than after that talk. It seemed to have lightened up the mood and morale of my group and may have even made them ‘greener’. The talk readied the group for the next fascinating talk by Buckinghamshire Beekeepers.

The Beekeepers were humorous and lively people, who talked to us about their bees and the amazing honey making process in a bee colony. The Beekeepers engaged us and kept us focused while explaining to us the anatomy of the bee. We were taught that every bee colony contains 1 queen bee, a few thousand drone bees and tens of thousands of worker bees. We learned that the bees drank and stored nectar in the stomach where inversion takes place with the use of many different enzymes. When the bee is full, it regurgitates (yes that’s right) the nectar and worker bees flap their wings furiously to evaporate the water content from the nectar, which is highly saturated in water. Once a honey is perfect it is stored in a beeswax cell with wax on top . We learned that one bee does not make that much honey at all and it is only collectively that the bees can make up to 200 pounds of honey a year. I

recall that the best bit of their talk was the honey tasting we got to do!

After this, we had an interesting experience with a renowned miner. An experienced miner had brought with him his treasures from his adventures abroad. He had brought with him many different rocks, fool’s gold, silver and metals which none of us had seen before. We gained knowledge about mining technique, where mining takes place and what is mined. This was an enjoyable experience where I proudly gained a pen as a prize!

Between the mining experience and the end of the day we had several interesting talks featuring pH levels, pool maintenance and roads. There is one talk I would like to emphasise more about : The talk regarding poison. It had just as much humour as the beekeepers talks and it was just as informative as the talk on the environment.

We were taught about different types of poisons and their effect on people. This was interesting as it taught us about what had happened in the past and would help us identify the danger of certain products in the future. He showed us the danger of different types of poison, and we were involved in his demonstrations by interactive questions about poisons and dangerous objects. We were told that one of us would be given a very small amount of a poison. I happened to be that person and took a pinch of the aforementioned poison. I was surprised to find the taste of the poison was rather different from expected. The ‘poison’ just turned out to be table salt. All the anticipation and hesitation led to a moment where I just ate a pinch of salt. I was surprised and rather confused at how that had any relationship to poisons! Until our talker explained a terrifying story relating to salt. A woman in America would have salt by the kilo in front of her television and one day was found dead. She had died apparently from a salt overdose. Now I only eat minimal amounts of salt!

Well, it seems that the end of that speech was the end of my day, when I captured this moment in my article, and now that day is over, I shall remember Chemistry at Work Day for a long time to come. I hope you will remember this experience either through your own participation or through my words.

Year 8 Chemistry at Work Day was exciting for all of us. Although slightly hampered by COVID-19, we took full advantage of the available opportunities. The Royal Society of Chemistry ran the event with Mrs. Parvez, and it went smoothly.

We always had fun: from learning about asbestos to poison. We also tried arsenic, but it, unfortunately, turned out to be salt. The trend for free food continued, as we soon taste-tested some local and supermarket honey (the local one was better). Did you know that honey contains two sugars: glucose and sucrose, and the ratio of them controls the crystallization of it. Overall, we had seven different sessions, showing the true nature of the urban world: being complicated.

The day was also a hub for fresh ideas and interests. For example, after learning about asbestos, we were continuously on the lookout for a suspected spot. We eventually found a suspicious area, but it was safe. As a year group, we have also gotten into better habits: using electricity more efficiently and eating local produce. In summary, the day enlightened us all: changing our view on the world and making us more knowledgeable citizens. We can’t wait for another opportunity like this.

short drive. However, in our haste to not be late we’d unintentionally arrived nearly an hour before the start of the competition.

With the practice questions long done and forgotten and the frigid room having sufficiently frozen us we started slow, answering a question wrong and thereby dropping six marks in the group round. While 54/60 was hardly a bad start, we knew several other groups had full marks and, with the weight of expectations due to the previous three AGS teams reaching the National finals, we knew we’d have to perform on the following rounds.

The cross number was next, as the name suggests it’s a crossword but with Maths problems, which we breezed through, filling it out completely without a mistake and with more than 15 of the 40 minutes remaining. While looking around to see other groups still struggling through the questions certainly buoyed our spirits, we were concerned by the round that would come after a brief pause for refreshments. The third and final round was the shuttle, a round we’d struggled with consistently in practice, never getting more than 45 of the 60 marks available. While we knew it was a tough round and few teams did well on it, the knowledge that we were still not first only increased the pressure. Shockingly we were near perfect on the shuttle, dropping only 3 bonus marks (given for finishing a set of questions early) which we narrowly missed out on by a matter of seconds. With an unexpectedly superb performance on this final round we clinched the competition by a safe margin winning the local heat for AGS once more and reaching the National finals in what will be AGS’s fourth straight appearance.

Special thanks go to Dr Manley, without whose time we’d not only likely have been underprepared, but we wouldn’t even have been there.

Fortunately we were off to a fairly leisurely start, arriving at the train station at 8:45, the same time school would begin. From there we took the train to Marylebone, and then the tube, to arrive with time to spare at the venue: Lindley Hall.

The event was kicked off by the annual poster round, a competition separate from the actual SMTC, in which each team was given 50 minutes to make a poster on a topic we had researched beforehand. (This year, the mathematics behind chemistry.) Due to our preparation, much of which was organised by Fitz and Aidan, the making of the poster was a trivial matter, requiring only the cutting out and sticking down of the pictures, text blocks and diagrams we had drawn up beforehand.

The only challenge lay in the three questions we had to solve on the day; because we were in charge of cutting and sticking last year, during the first 35 minutes Fitz and I did the questions, while Aidan and Jamie assembled the poster.

Having finished, Aidan then began to tackle the first question, with Fitz and I just finishing up our work on the latter two. However, soon time began to run out, even whilst the first question still remained unsolved; fortunately, with the help of the team, I was able to come up with a last-minute solution, the bell ringing mere moments after I had finished writing it up.

Following this, we met up with our adoptive teacher and began the group round. With a spirited effort from all members of the team, we were able to answer every question; unfortunately, due to arithmetic errors, we dropped quite a few marks. Perhaps the worst was the loss of six at once, due to Fitz mistaking 54 divided by 2 for 28!

However, we were soon able to recoup our losses in the following round: the cross-number, where some fast but accurate calculations led us to get full marks with time spare.

Unfortunately, from there our performance went downhill rather drastically, losing several marks in the shuttle, and finally, in the relay, only completing half the questions. This led us to get 68th place.

However, it should be noted that the team still did remarkably to win the Regional and even get to the National. Everyone who was involved ought to be proud of themselves, especially Dr Manley, for organising the outing and arranging all of our practice questions, doing a brilliant job in lieu of Mrs Smith, who usually runs the SMTC.

English - Poetry by Heart competition

and recite a poem. I practised my

poems every day after I heard the news and was very confident about it. I chose to do the poems ‘Death’ and ‘Matilda’, but apparently I couldn’t recite the very cheerful poem, ‘Death’ in the finals so for my third poem I chose ‘The Moon and the Cat’.

When it got to the time to recite our poems to the class we were split up into small groups to see who would do the best. Whoever did the best in those small groups would go against the people in the other groups to see who would go on to the next round. In my group, I didn’t make it through which was quite worrying, but luckily we got the choice to perform anyway ... and I actually made it! Rehearsals were during break and lunch with Mrs Farmborough but it was definitely worth it because I learnt a lot of valuable information that I practised over the next few days. During the first rehearsal, I didn’t realise I still had a lot of work to do but I carried on practising. With each passing rehearsal, I would come back slightly better than the last, until I finally mastered it just in time for the finals.

When the time came for the school finals, I hadn’t anticipated the amount of people who came to watch. It was very unnerving but I just tried to remember everything I was told in the rehearsals and tried to forget anyone was there. Eventually, when we finished, all the contestants were sighing with relief that it was over but still very nervous for what was to come. Silence struck the room ... everyone knew it was time: the judging! The tension began to build up and they called out second place. It wasn’t me, the tension rose again. Then, they called out first place…I had done it!

I don’t think I could have done without my family listening to me rehearsing my poem every night (poor them). Or Mrs Farmborough, my English teacher who helped me with rehearsals. We also had to record my poems to send off to the judges, which was an interesting experience because we couldn’t stop the noise of the rain coming through on the recording. It still wasn’t over, as I had some good Lockdown news in May. I had received a commendation from the national judges of the ‘Poetry by Heart’ competition. This has boosted my confidence that bit more. Enough to try again next year!

This year, members of Puzzle Club continued to work through the second puzzle book in a series of two that we had started solving the previous year. New members to the club formed a smaller team and started working on the first book from the beginning. These books may not sound like a fun way to spend a Thursday lunchtime to the uninitiated, but they’re a special kind of puzzle book! Called Journal 29 (and its sequel) they contain lots of very abstract puzzles which, at first glance, sometimes leave you

wondering what on earth you have to do to solve them. I’ve included an example (hint below): Once you think you’ve solved a puzzle, you enter your answer into a dedicated website and if you’re correct it gives you a key word. Often you need to use these key words in future puzzles, so you have to work through the book in order.

I’ve run Puzzle Club for three years now and always said I would leave the club and handover the reins to another teacher once we had finished the books. I thought this would be around Christmas time. However, in some sessions we have solved a number of puzzles and other times we’ve been stuck on a particular puzzle for weeks, so I haven’t left quite yet!

There has been a dedicated team of boys who have come along every week, eager to see if we could make progress on the puzzles. We’ve also had two other teachers coming along throughout the year to help run the club as the numbers of attendees has increased, and for extra brain power. My thanks go to Mr Brittain and Mr Holmes for everything they’ve done for the club and the students this year too.

The best part about the puzzle books is that no one knows the answers, so unlike in the maths classroom where as teachers we can usually answer all the students’ questions, with this book we have just as little knowledge of how to solve the puzzles as the boys do. I think this has made running Puzzle Club even more enjoyable as it is challenging my thinking every week too.

We can stare at a puzzle, try lots of things to solve it and then someone will have a Eureka moment and suddenly everything will slot into place.

Thank you to all the boys that come along to Puzzle Club, who challenge themselves, each other and the teachers. Frustratingly, things had to stop during lockdown with just three puzzles to go to complete both books. But I’m looking forward to starting up again when we’re able to so that we can reach the goal we set ourselves all those months ago. And then we’ll find the next challenge and then there’ll be even more reason for me to stay…

Puzzle hint: to solve the puzzle you need a knowledge of chess.

We started from very humble beginnings in En8 in September for a debate on whether Grammar schools should be abolished. It was so loud, with playground noise to a jazz musical accompaniment that we probably abolished them out of irritation! We threw ourselves into research, learning the format, and practising our debating so that out of this modest start we progressed to have a very successful year competing against dozens of other schools and learning valuable skills along the way. We all shared a desire to improve our debating skills and work together to achieve the best results we possibly could, and after a lot of hard work we are able to look back with a great deal of fondness for what we have achieved.

We competed in the ESU Speakers Mace competition which runs nationally, via local, area, and regional heats. Our first outing was on a drizzly day to St Albans High School, and were delighted when we arrived to free cups of tea and coffee from the Starbucks in their canteen!

After we’d warmed up it was straight down to business with our first motion of the competition ‘This house would make voting compulsory’ in which we were arguing for the opposition side. Tom, Harvey, and Aidan put all their hard research into effect and progressed us to the second round of the competition, in which we were to host.

Only three of the four teams required to conduct the competition had progressed through to this round, so up stepped a few of our other members, eager to sink their teeth into the competition and provide a swing team for the debate. Possibly one of the most entertaining moments of this debate and of the whole year was getting the chance to chair and co-chair the debates, which four of us managed to do with skill and great aplomb (or at least, we thought so), and this can be a daunting task when charged with the handling of Mrs Farmborough’s debating bell, which is of course the instrument of all power!

Our main team of Tom, Harvey, and Aidan progressed through to the regional finals, whilst the swing team (who would be unable to progress regardless) put in a strong performance against a very good team from St Albans School, with little preparation and experience debating in the competition format.

In the Mid-South regional final, we travelled to Eton College, which some found an exciting prospect in itself, ready to take on St Helen and St Katherine’s on the motion ‘This House would abolish the House of Lords’. We always knew the teams,

motions, and levels of research required would be tougher as we progressed through the competition, however the whole team pulled together to produce a strong set of arguments. Unfortunately it wasn’t quite enough and our run in the competition ended here, but we could go away with our heads held high at the outstanding effort and performances we had put in throughout.

Our year was cut short by the Covid-19 lockdown, but the final event was an Oxford Union School’s Debate competition where we entered four of approximately 100 teams: Tom and Aidan, Harvey and Brandon, Harvey B and Oscar, and ‘Team James’. We sat huddled in the corner of a packed room in the Oxford Union building, notepads and pens in hand, like sprinters on the starting blocks ready to hear the first motion of the evening. The motion was announced as ‘This house would ban climate change denial’, and each team’s position in their respective debates were allocated.

After a short walk to the rooms where the debates would take place (during which Harvey and Brandon managed to get lost in Oxford!) we began to rapidly scribble ideas for arguments, points, and counterpoints. The whole event was rapid-fire from the beginning, so the ability to think on our feet was crucial, but we knuckled down and enjoyed lively debates. The second motion of the evening was ‘This house regrets the decline of traditional families’, and after a scramble similar to that of the first debates, we got into our stride and produced some well thought out arguments. It has to be said that the whole experience was very exciting and generally fun, because we got to discuss, debate, and interact with students from schools across the region. Unfortunately none of our teams progressed to the next round, but special credit must go to ‘Team James’ as this was the first competition they had ever debated in.

After an enjoyable year we have grown and learnt so much as speakers, thinkers, and debaters, but we couldn’t talk about our successes without thanking Mrs Farmborough who was constantly on hand to provide guidance, instruction, and advice without which we would never have achieved the results we did. To those debaters leaving for University from Year 13 we wish them well, and we are excited for the new challenges this will present to those who now have to step up and take their place, as well as for the involvement of new members. Hopefully we can take what we have learnt and do even better next year!

opportunity for myself. So, when I

was then invited back to the place of many of my lower school memories as one of the student judges for the ‘What’s on your plate?’ competition, it was an offer I could not refuse.

Culinary geniuses were free to excel but it was the groups that worked in harmonious unison, that were able to pull off the most impressive feats. Team-work, communication and effective time management prevailed as the teams were set with the challenging task of creating, and executing a three-course menu for two in just one hour. With two teams from a form group per lunch time, the kitchen was always full of the friendly, yet competitive spirit that is a signature of AGS.

Boys were assessed on the creativity of their proposals and the

complexity and effectiveness of their execution, as well workspace. Teams were responsible for the entirety of their kitchens, meaning no one got away without a tad of washing up or clearing down. As ever, the boys were learning far more than just culinary techniques and new dishes, as the competition also incorporated nutrition and balance as fundamental judging criteria so naturally, the chefs had to understand their ingredients and flavour combinations that would allow them to show off the maximum of their abilities in three dishes.

Happily, for six weeks I was able to guarantee myself a free lunch and I was genuinely staggered by the quality and complexity of what was produced each and every week, and proved to me that food and nutrition has continued to thrive amongst younger years at AGS well beyond my time. I’d like to thank Mrs Wilkinson for her continued dedication to allowing young chefs to prosper and providing new opportunities that I wish were available to myself and others. Additionally, I would like to congratulate all of the Year 8 chefs for exceeding my expectations and providing innovative and incredibly well executed dishes week in week out and I hope that many of them continue to follow their passion in cooking, as the talent is obviously there.

the programme. In the last few weeks of school before the closure, students had begun to prepare for the Aylesbury Vale Showcase Final, and were making good progress, but were then told they had to submit their evidence digitally as the faceto-face element of the Final event was cancelled at short notice as no large events could take place under government regulations. The teams all pulled through and worked hard to get the required electronic evidence in to the judges to assist with a remote judging process and overcame some real logistical challenges. They had to submit a company report online, then do a video of what their presentation would have been at the final as well as submit a photo of their trade stands to the judges.

The AGS highlights from the digital YE Aylesbury Area Showcase were:

•Best Digital Presence – Good Earth

AGS • Best Student Company report –

Mindful AGS • • Best Trade Stand – Man Down AGS 360 Degree Feedback -runners up

Mindful AGS • Overall Best Team – Runner Up –

Good Earth AGS • Overall Best Team – Mindful AGS

This meant that Mindful would head to the UK Regional Finals, held remotely again later in the year. Due to COVID-19 closure, the companies all faced difficulties, but they continued to run their companies virtually during the remote learning school phase and have not let anything stop them. The Managing Directors for each team (Harvey Bell Lee 12 – Good Earth, Sam Holcroft Paterson 12 – Man Down, and Brandon Pratt Phillips 12 – Mindful) did an incredible job of leading their teams through this most challenging experience. The teams all gained unique experiences in their journey this year, which were being replicated throughout the world as companies adapted to new remote working practices, including virtual board meetings and digital selling platforms to allow them to sell remaining stock. I am incredibly proud of how well all team members performed this year and how they adapted so well to such unusual circumstances, and I have really enjoyed sharing this experience with them.

I would like to thank all of our business advisors – Kerrie Brindle, Graham Woodage and Babs Cooper for their support. We were also fortunate to have some Year 13 business advisors this year. These are students who participated in the experience last year, and gave up time this year to support our teams with their knowledge and experience of the programme, so thank you to Harvey Newland-Smith (D13), Tom Woodage (Ph13) and Boyzie Morse (Pa13) for their commitment to enterprise at AGS this year.

Managing Director: Brandon Pratt (Ph12)

Team Members: Stephan Drotske, Ayush Chourishi, Harushan Sivanantham, Joe Price, Joe Barnett, Keshav Sehgal, Hirshal Patel, Tayo Oluranti-Ahmed, Matt Hobson, Matt Stanbrell, George Garman, Dan Stanton-Tonner, Michael Adebiyi

Student Advisor: Harvey NewlandSmith (D13)

10 months ago we started our Young Enterprise journey as a group of people with virtually no business experience, no idea what to expect, and some of us not even knowing the person sitting next to them. What we did all share, however, was passion to succeed and some great ideas which continued to drive us through all the way to the end of our amazing journey. The process began with a shared drive to make a difference in an area of growing concern, mental health, and from this Mindful was born!

The first steps in the process weren’t easy and we did a lot of learning when it came to design, branding, selling and much more before we were really happy with our final product - The Mindful Journal. Designed to combine features of mindfulness activity books, thought journals, and diaries it was the product that we believed in and knew could make a real difference to the lives of people suffering with poor mental wellbeing. After contacting a local printer, our stock arrived in the new year and we began a journey that would see us attend selling events across the Aylesbury area, at school events, and in competitions across the county, selling nearly 80% of our stock and earning over £700 in revenue.

But we didn’t just have sales success, we also learnt a vast amount of valuable business experience in the process. Our trade stand improved rapidly from our first selling event before Christmas to a bold and professional set-up, many of those who wouldn’t even speak at meetings were out approaching the public and selling products, and the message was being promoted across all platforms through a powerful social media presence. Unfortunately our journey came to a somewhat abrupt end as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak meaning that we were unable to progress to many more selling events, or boost our skills even further than we already had, but the experience we did get is invaluable. We managed to reach regional finals, further than any other team from the Aylesbury area, which we are immensely proud of.

Of course we wouldn’t be half the team we are now without the support, advice, and guidance of our business advisor Kerrie Brindle, who’s input and knowledge proved beyond helpful. We would also like to thank our student advisor Harvey NewlandSmith who gave up his time to assist us throughout the process by giving an insight into what the experience would be like. Finally, our centre lead Miss Chalk was always available for sound advice and guidance on everything from running our company to progressing through the Young Enterprise competition. To all three advisors we are immensely grateful! Awards • Aylesbury Vale Dragons Den

Competition - Overall Winners • MK Trade Fair - Best customer service winner

•Aylesbury Vale Area Finals -

Overall Winner Best Company,

Best Student Company Report

Winner, 360 Degree Feedback

Runner-Up • South Central Regional Finals -

Winner Most Purposeful Product

Managing Director: Harvey Bell (L12)

Team Members: AJ Elliott-Gratton, Jared Samuels, David Dallas, Ben Chapman, Will Beddall, Patrick Way, Mattia Hughes, Kai Bailey, George Atwell, Zach Wadud, Abid Mehmood

Student Advisor: Boyzie Morse (P13)

Good Earth started as an idea scribbled on a whiteboard in a room of arguing teenagers. Nine months later it has grown to be something so much bigger - a team, a community and a force for good. From ideas about bamboo toothbrushes, hand-painted water bottles and even ‘Stewkley Cricket Club’ branded mugs from our very own Kai Bailey, we have built a brand and a message that resonates with other young people and challenges and promotes creativity, social action and ultimately community. Starting through the medium of sustainably sourced fashion we’ve generated thousands of pounds in revenue, provided alternatives to ecologically damaging consumer goods and raised much-needed awareness of important issues in our society from Rough Sleeping to the drastic global effects of the Fast Fashion Industry. Since then, we’ve begun working with local artists, musicians and talent to explore youth culture and issues. We are in the planning stages for a major live event and published a professionally printed magazine.

The Young Enterprise experience has provided a unique platform for every team member’s own personal development and allowed each of us to try our hands at new and exciting things and prepare for life in the wider world. Perhaps most importantly it has also provided a platform for many students to come out of their shell; show passion, commitment and teamwork and excel at something beyond the more conventional and recognised realms of AGS life. The sacrifices, late nights and early mornings have proved to me that all ten of my fellow team members are responsible, driven and more than capable - after all, it takes a huge amount of willpower to stand outside at a trade fair on a freezing December night where unfortunately potential customers - unlike us - were deterred by sub-zero temperatures!

Whilst every single team member certainly played their part, I would like to give a brief mention to Abid Mehmood who took the program and all of its opportunities and really came into his own and to all the members of the Board - George Atwell, Zak Wadud, Jared Samuels and Patrick Way - who each suffered many a late night and multiple hour-long phone calls to banks, suppliers and providers. Testament to the creative genius of our media and branding team, you can view our lookbook and some of our achievements online and we invite the AGS community to follow our future exploits under our new name “erth.” (The erth. Collective www. erthcollective.uk @erth.uk) A massive thanks must, of course, go to the wonderful Graham Woodage for his belief in our perhaps crazy ideas and all of his invaluable help and expertise, as well as to Boyzie Morse (Pa13) for putting up with us, coaching and supporting us and even modelling in one of our shoots. None of this, however, would have been possible without Miss Chalk who not only had to deal with the craziness of our group but of two others also. We are extremely grateful to all of the encouragement and knowledge she provided on school days, weekdays and cold December evenings alike. I would also like to personally thank every member of my team for the fun, friendship and effort they have all provided.

Awards

•MK Trade Fair – Runner-Up Best

Trade Stand

•Aylesbury Vale Area Finals - Best

Digital Presence, Overall Runner Up

Best Company Harvey Bell – Lee 12

Managing Director: Sam Holcroft (Pa12)

Team Members: Aidan Manley, Abdurrahman Arowaramimo, Ben Redwood, Ben Latham, Connor Fielding, Freddie Perkin, Jack Pinder, Jake Bennet, Kit Fairhurst, Ollie Ellison, Sam Dodds, Sam Ramsbottom, Dylan Sellors, Robbie Lawnes In October last year Man Down made its start as a company operating under Young Enterprise. Our team of 15 boys walked into the AGS ‘cube’ with no idea as to what was going to happen next. With visions of creating a multi-million-pound company and worldwide success still at the forefront of our minds, how naive we were! Having spent many weeks pitching our ideas of products, ranging from biodegradable shoe covers to candles, we were getting absolutely nowhere. Instead we decided to take a different approach and find the most pressing and present issue we could find. The one topic, ironically, no-one brought up ….Male mental health.

Man Down was created with the main goal of counteracting this exact issue we had just come across. Men don’t talk about their struggles. We needed a product that was discreet, universal to everyone, but that would ultimately make a change. After endless brainstorming sessions, we developed our coaster. A product that could sit on a table and allow people to start a conversation about mental health over a cup of tea. Whilst extremely subtle, the product was effective and didn’t go unnoticed. Sales of the Man Down coaster began at the Aylesbury Christmas Market where we sold around 150 units almost completely selling out of all the stock we took with us to the event, and revenues only increased from there - selling hundreds of coasters throughout the process. In March, we had around

200 units remaining, and we were in discussions with a potential distributor to widen the reach of our product. However, these discussions sadly fell short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our product was completely handmade by all the members of the team ourselves, in an extremely painstaking process that involved us working for over 400 hours in total to produce the stock we had to sell throughout the process. This didn’t go unnoticed with numerous engagements over social media and feedback from customers on our quality, which, despite increasing our output, only improved throughout the process.

As a company we learnt a lot throughout the process and grew a lot as individuals. Our skills within our respective roles improved exponentially, with every team member gaining a vast amount of knowledge about how a business runs in the real world. With long nights spent at home putting together websites, calling suppliers and creating business plans the process grew tiring at times, but this was massively made up for by the high points. The lunch times spent in our ‘production centre’ (Miss Chalks classroom) all singing Frank Sinatra, whilst from the outside may seem strange and repetitive, was a really enjoyable experience and one that will be remembered by all of us for a long time.

This company would’ve been nothing without the endless support we have had from our Centre Lead Miss Chalk and our business advisors Babs Cooper and Tom Woodage (Ph13) and we are thoroughly grateful for the time they have put in to help us succeed. It is only right that they get the acknowledgement they deserve. I am fully accepting that as a leader I was not perfect and there was a fair share of ups and downs, but to the 15 boys that finished the process alongside me I am so grateful for the work everyone has put in as running the company was a massive team effort. There was not a single individual that put anything less than 20 extra hours of their time outside meetings to support production and attend trade fairs, and for that I am thoroughly grateful. Thank you to everyone involved.

Awards

•Aylesbury Vale Area Finals -

Best Trade Stand