The Aylesburian 2020/2021 by Aylesbury Grammar School

THE AYLESBURIAN 2020/2021

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THE AYLESBURIAN

THE MAGAZINE OF AYLESBURY GRAMMAR SCHOOL 2

Welcome

Message from the Governors

In Memoriam

Staff Leavers

House Life

House Writing

Sports

School Life

School Visits

School Development

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WELCOME Headmaster's Welcome "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." – Helen Keller At a time of rapid change and challenge, education stands more clearly than ever as the gateway to a brighter future. While we anticipate and prepare for this future we must acknowledge, celebrate and continue to learn from what has gone before us. The Aylesburian remains the definitive record of the academic year, and what a year it was. From the dawn of a return to School following the lockdown of 2020, with restrictions and control measures to keep us safe, we witnessed a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on School education and the examination systems that provide so many opportunities for our students. Undeterred by the continual disruption, we set a clear path for all of our community to thrive under whatever circumstances they found themselves. The essential element of any successful community is the collaboration to overcome any challenge. To recognise when we are

vulnerable, to protect our peers from harm, and simultaneously using our expertise and creativity to continue to learn, grow and flourish. In 2020-2021, Aylesbury Grammar School achieved these unwritten goals in abundance. From Remote Home Learning, School Assessed Grades, new ways to navigate the School site, face coverings, hygiene measures, and without a blink continuing to progress in making the School a better place tomorrow than it was yesterday. The honour and responsibility of nurturing our young people with the character, knowledge and skills to lead humanity to a sustainable future is a challenge we all thrive upon. The rewards are boundless, and this drives us all to seek solutions and capitalise upon the opportunities that evolve before us. This introduction provides me with a unique opportunity to say thank you. Thank you to the selfless, continued professionalism of the staff at the School. The teachers and support staff who creatively came

together to produce a new School on multiple occasions: as we returned in September, went back on lockdown in January, created new assessment systems in March and finally returned again in the summer. Doing so to keep us all safe, but equally to ensure AGS remained the special place that it is for learning and developing as people. The relentless optimism and support from our families and to the students, who never waivered, never complained, yet took the brunt of over 200 guidance changes from the government across the year. To the staff that we said goodbye to, we hope that they were honoured in a way that they would have liked, to pay respect to the contributions they made across the many years of dedication and impact. Finally to the Senior Leadership Team, who have faced every turn with stoicism, energy and camaraderie and together have faced each challenge and ensured the full support for us all. A unique publication, for a unique academic year. Thank you to everyone. M Sturgeon - Headmaster

2020/2021 Head Boys' Reflections 2020-21 When we began our roles as Head Boys at the end of the 2019/20 academic year, Ben, Tobi and I were fully aware it would not be the same experience as any trio had had before us. By the start of our time in Year 13, 6 months into the pandemic, the school had transitioned to a COVIDsafe bubble, thanks largely to a mammoth effort by the maintenance team, who worked tirelessly all year to make sure we could learn in school as much as possible. Our year group was suspended in uncertainty, but despite the volume of unanswerable questions they had and the stress that this caused, I’ve never experienced such a nice, working, atmosphere on such a large scale before. I can only thank my fellow students for that, and I think I can speak for most when I say that I will certainly miss that community feeling. Of course, our last year was far from ideal, the icing on the cake being a cancelled Leavers’ Ball in June, but the Class of 2021 pushed through. It’s hard to stay motivated when you don’t know when the next exam related curveball will be thrown by the government, so to see so many friends preparing to go to first choice universities this month has been so rewarding. I wish the best of luck to all in their next step, and to the new crop of Year 13s: enjoy your last year in what we all hope will be actual normality. Albie Whittemore – Paterson 13

The last eighteen months has undoubtedly been one of the most difficult and uncertain periods that we will face in our lifetimes. Despite this, amidst all the disruption, the AGS community has shown resilience and determination to keep going throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. As a Head Boy I’m grateful to have been involved in so many different aspects of school life, even with the limitations imposed by the pandemic. From making virtual tours of the school to recording open day talks alongside the other Head Boys of House and School, from Mr Barrie’s weekly lockdown quizzes to taking part in the Round the World Challenge during lockdown, we were able to adapt in numerous ways, aspiring to maintain a sense of normality wherever possible. I thoroughly

enjoyed working on the Action Committee for Equality alongside other student leaders, where we focused on what we can do as the AGS community to combat intrinsic racism in society and challenge curricula and wider practice at AGS. I hope that the committee will continue the work that has been done so far in striving to make AGS the best place it can be for students and staff from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds. To everyone continuing on their AGS journey, cherish the time you have left - you won’t realise how special it truly is until it’s over. Tobi Dairo – Ridley 13

To say the last year has been challenging would be an understatement. The constant disruptions, forced safety decisions and uncertainty over exams, acted as a consistent strain on the entire school community, yet over and over again the AGS community astounded me with their adaptability and strength. Whilst school sport, drama, music, clubs and events were taken from us, each day was met with enthusiasm and joy, enabling us to continue to grow as people and excel with our academics. Every outstanding set of results and uni offer couldn’t be more deserved, and I could not be

prouder to be part of this year group, or to be able to call myself one of the Schools Head Boys. To have to say goodbye to our school, friends and staff who have supported us from the age of 11 to young adulthood in such a fragmented manner is doleful, and I wish it could be different. Yet, if the last year has shown us anything, it's how special a place AGS is, how much we’ve learnt to make the most of every small victory or glimpse of light, and more than anything, how strong the friendships we have created over 7 years truly are. Ben Mulholland – Denson 13

To everyone in the AGS family, the three of us would like to say thank you: for staying positive through unprecedented times, for continuing to work hard throughout months and months of home learning, for staying connected during lockdowns that left us unable to see our friends and family. Thank you to all the teachers and other members of staff for working tirelessly to provide us with the best possible remote learning experience, and thank you to all the students for respecting the hard work of your teachers by turning up to Google meets and handing in assignments on time. It has been a pleasure to serve as the first trio of Head Boys, and we wish Aymaan, Matt and Ed all the best for the year ahead. And once more, thank you to everyone who has made the last 7 years so memorable.

GOVERNORS A Message from the Governors The best thing about being a Governor at AGS is witnessing the successes of the boys and staff throughout the year, but it's always a bonus to read all about it, too, in the glossy ‘Aylesburian’. You will recall previous edition’s articles by Richard Williams and Jim Collins, Chairmen of Governors, present and past, regarding their connection to AGS, and outlining some of the achievements of the Governing Body. I feel honoured, therefore, to have been approached to pen this year’s ‘Message from the Governors’. Who am I? Current boys may remember my wife and I judging the Public Speaking competition just before Covid, some old boys will remember me as William Cobley’s (Hampden 2000-2007) dad, and older old boys will recall me, Lee Cobley (Hampden 1969-76), as the only boy who actually enjoyed school cross-country. I left in 1976 to read Engineering at Bristol but stayed in touch with teachers such as John Glover, CJ Williams and Ian Roe, helped with leadership programmes, and ran the ‘Wang the Welly’ stall at numerous school fetes. In 2010, I helped with the New Science Block campaign, becoming chairman for the second phase. Having such an affinity with the school and being doubly grateful to AGS for my son’s and my education, it seemed only natural that I should then join the Governing Body and also be a Trustee of the Foundation.

As a Foundation Governor, I get enormous satisfaction from seeing the Foundation benefit generations of Grammar School Students by supporting, for instance, major infrastructure projects, school events, Prize-Giving and extra-curricular subjects. The Foundation Trustees are always looking for innovative ways in which to use the Trust, set up over four centuries ago, to help develop excellence in today’s AGS boys. With my background as an RAF Education and Training officer, three years ago I volunteered to be the Development Governor, monitoring the Induction Process for any new Governors. They are all of course highly successful practitioners in their own fields, but there will always be some familiarisation training, governor-specific training or mandatory training which new Governors will have to get under their belt before they select appropriate Committees to sit on. For nearly the past 2 years, our lives have been dominated by COVID-19, and writing this in July 21, I wonder what the picture will look like when you are reading this. Will we have had summer holidays abroad? Can we go about our business without masks? How far did the third spike reach? Did England win the Euros? Is everyone back at school as normal? What will GCSEs and A Levels look like next year?

One thing is for sure: it is the firm opinion of the Governors that the Headmaster, the Senior Leadership Team, all the AGS staff, students and their parents all rose to the challenge of COVID-19 magnificently. Early in the COVID crisis, the Governors formed a small COVID Sub-Committee which met on-line on at least a weekly basis with the Headmaster and Resources Director to deal with the many instant issues and requirements for decisions which the crisis threw at us. The Governors also sent a personal letter of thanks to every member of staff for their extra efforts. As a Governing Body we had our own challenges. Something that was very close to my heart was our inability to visit the School and conduct our normal business face to face. It had been my responsibility to organise the attendance of Governors at Parents Evenings, which was halted in its tracks in March 2020. It had been the ideal opportunity for Governors to meet parents, staff and boys, to get instant and honest feedback on how they felt about AGS. When things return to normal after COVID, I look forward to seeing how we can reinvigorate such rewarding events. Throughout the year, the Governors have continued to set objectives for the Headmaster and appraise his performance on financial and property matters, the School’s academic performance, and the community and development initiatives. We are now looking to the future and are genuinely excited at the prospect of our moving forward the School strategies, policies and branding, not only enabling AGS to make the most of its traditions, excelling in the provision of education in our local community, but also enabling our young men to meet with confidence the modern world and all that it brings. As Governors we are always interested in receiving feedback about the School and having discussions with all our stakeholders to make AGS an even better place for all to respect and aspire. You can find out who we all are by looking on the website. Please take the time to seek us out. If one of your parents is interested in being a Governor, elections tend to come up as and when sons depart. Please ask them to look out for the announcements and think about whether they would like to join us. Meanwhile, I wish you all a safe and successful year. Wing Commander, Lee Cobley – Foundation Governor

IN MEMORIAM In Memoriam – Julie Smith Julie Smith was a shining light in the Mathematics Department, a longserving and much-loved teacher and colleague. It was with great sadness that we lost her in April this year when she tragically lost her fight against cancer, having previously been given the all-clear to return to the job she loved at AGS at the end of the summer term 2020. Back in the spring of 2004 Julie came to AGS as maternity cover, … and never left. After joining us on a part time basis (with a still young family) it took another ten years to finally persuade her to go full time. Her dedication was self-evident, always passionately wanting to do the very best for her students. She had great relationships with her classes, from the ‘lower set’ GCSE groups who appreciated her firm but caring approach, to the Year 13 Further Maths classes who, at the end of Year 13, would use mathematical functions to create thank you notes! The care she had for her students really shone through. She had both a real love for Mathematics and a passion for nurturing students throughout the school; in recent years she had a number of generations of Ridley students in her care as their Year 7 tutor. And of course as a Ridley tutor Julie was a stalwart of the annual Ridley Pantomime. Julie’s clear thinking, thorough organisation and refusal to leave jobs half done made her a brilliant Second in Mathematics when Dr Nicholas retired in 2011. (She was also well known for her clear-outs, throwing away unused items when I wasn’t looking!) For the last ten years Julie has been pivotal in the success of the department, being at the core of a tight and supportive group of teachers. Her experience and guidance, both informally and through the school appraisal process, have been much appreciated by many colleagues. She would, for most, commonly be the colleague of choice to seek help and advice from. On a personal note, as my ‘right-hand-man’ for the last decade Julie’s support and friendship has helped to keep me sane and make us all look good. It is an impossible task to describe the hole that Julie leaves in the many lives that she touched. Instead I shall

finish this tribute with words I cannot improve on, from our Headmaster to AGS staff shortly after the dreadful news of Julie’s loss broke: “The impact Julie had on all those she knew, or even just offered a smile to, will be her legacy. Her calm, warm and generous character, her gifted teaching and innate ability to make us all feel welcome and that we belonged. She was the first tutor in Year 7 to almost all of Ridley House. A tutor who made her students feel like a family, that they were part of something special. She was the nicest of people. The nicest of characters. The nicest of teachers. She had an impact on so many lives that we can be grateful for the time we knew her.” Julie’s family remain in our thoughts at this difficult time, especially husband Ian and Ben and Chloe (old Aylesburians). Mr C Smith

Quite simply, without Mrs Smith, I would not be back here at AGS. I came into teaching in 2005 shortly after Mrs Smith joined. It was her Year 7 class that I first observed to get some experience before embarking on my career. Even though she played no formal part in my training, I regularly sought her out; initially for advice and later for her opinion as it was her views that I respected the most. She had this wonderful ability of letting you know she disagreed with you without actually saying so. She and I had quite different teaching styles but remarkably similar views on how we thought maths should best be taught. I have always respected her as an outstanding teacher who regularly achieved the best results for her students. In setting targets for myself, my goal was simple. To try to achieve similar results with similar sets as she did. On the rare occasion that my results were better, I knew I had taught well that year. I retired from teaching a few years ago but when Mrs Smith asked me to help with her classes while she underwent treatment, I leapt at the

2020/2021 chance to repay some of the debt I owed her. This episode came to an end when she returned in May of last year. But she hadn’t finished with me yet. When this icon of teaching and my mentor and confident of many years asked me to team teach with her this year, the honour and privilege I felt was so profound that I had no hesitation in accepting. Over the last couple of years, I have had the wonderful opportunity of working very closely with my friend on our shared classes. I have been incredibly lucky to have visited and had video calls with her frequently. In all our meetings, she maintained an aura of calm pragmatism although clearly understanding the challenges she would meet and accepting them without question. Most of all, she maintained a keen interest in all her pupils, past and present and was active to the end helping me with teaching, report writing, assessment marking and especially the grade awards for last year’s exams. Her one regret was that she was unable to do more for her boys. For those who had been tutored or taught by Mrs Smith, like me, they can be thankful for the many gifts she has bestowed. She was a teacher of students; she was a teacher of teachers; she was a goddess of the maths department; she was my friend. Mr D Switzer

In Memoriam – Sally Gregson

took on the role of mentor to a newly qualified colleague, sharing her not inconsiderable experience of the teaching of Physics as well as being a key member of the Physics team. Several of us were privileged to be able to visit CERN when Sally offered to ably lead the trip. On a day to day basis, Sally put a great deal of time into many aspects of the practical work that we do in the sixth form. Sally has been and will be missed by many members of the AGS community. Our thoughts continue to be with her husband and two children. Mr J Kemp

Sally Gregson joined the Physics department here at AGS in September 2005. Over the past 15 years, she taught across the Key Stages, sharing the wealth of her knowledge with numerous students and colleagues. As with most members of the school community, Sally returned to site in September 2020 Post Lockdown, in order to resume face to face learning and teaching. It was with shock and

the greatest sadness that, following a very short time at home at the start of October, we learned of Sally’s sudden death. Sally had formed strong working relationships with her students, whom she educated to a high standard. She was always keen to go beyond the ‘what you need to know’ and sought to inspire and stretch those in her classes. She successfully

"Once an Aylesburian, always an Aylesburian"

STAFF LEAVERS Paul Dean

programme where all AGS students are given the opportunity to train, play and represent their school both at home and further afield.

Paul joined AGS, as Head of the PE Department, in 1993 having built a strong reputation at The Skinners School, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent. His first task in charge was to appoint a fresh faced, young, energetic teacher straight out of university to join the department and this was our first glimpse of his excellent decision making. Incredibly, at that time, the department only consisted of three full-time PE teachers. As that fresh faced, newly qualified teacher in the department, I couldn’t have wished for a more supportive and effective role model to help me establish myself as a PE Teacher and refine/develop my skills. Over the next few years, Paul started to drive significant change to the PE/Games and extra-curricular programmes. The PE Department grew from 3 to 5 full-time members of staff and year group games sessions were re-structured allowing more opportunity for specialist teaching for more of our students. The extracurricular programme was significantly enhanced with more depth and variety than ever before. Alongside this, the students were provided the opportunity to travel and tour, and be able to compete against a wider range of opposition. Sports tours proved highly popular with the students, and slowly grew in challenge and adventure. From taking on the challenges of rural west Wales and New Quay, Cornwall, we progressed into Europe and experienced the delights of the Dordogne and played against the Brive Academy teams (1995). In 1998, Paul organised the most ambitious tour yet with a two-week tour of South Africa. Starting in the Cape, we lost our initial game to a local township Lagunya 2214 before bouncing back with victory vs Voortrekker High School. We then moved on to Stellenbosch and had the absolute privilege of playing Paul Roos Gymnasium school who are one of the very best in South Africa. A certain Schalk Brits ran out against us that day as a young 17-year-old and it was no surprise that we were on the end of a 51-10 defeat. Further games followed in Pietermaritzburg and Durban before our final game against Westville High School. The students from that tour still talk of what an incredible experience it was and how it will always remain one of the highlights of their lives. This was the start of establishing a touring

Next on the development plan for Paul was to introduce academic PE to the curriculum and we saw the start of ‘A’ level and GCSE classes being taught. These have always been popular choices with the students and results have been excellent. In addition to curriculum changes, Paul strived to improve facilities at AGS and the creation of the Sports Hall was probably one of the most significant moments. The old cricket pavilion was demolished and an exciting new indoor facility was created in 2003. This has enabled the department to once again broaden the range of activities offered and allow teaching/ coaching to proceed at higher levels. A thriving Basketball programme was one of the big benefactors of the Sports Hall and Paul was innovative in bringing in specialist outside coaching to drive this area of development. A few years later, Paul introduced the physical conditioning suite upstairs and provided the students with opportunity within and outside of the curriculum to improve their levels of fitness. A parttime specialist personal trainer was added to the staff and team/individual programmes of conditioning were established. One of Paul’s strongest attributes has been his determination to provide his colleagues with opportunity to take on responsibility and broaden their range of expertise. It is no coincidence that many colleagues from within the department quickly moved on to bigger and better things due to their personal development. Mike Williams, Paul Jackson, Nick Roberston and Rob Rooney are just a few who have moved on to significant promotions

2020/2021 following their time in the department. In 2000, Paul was appointed Head of Lee House and this saw him contributing to the pastoral care of students throughout the school, from years 7 to 13. In addition to this, he always produced highly competitive Brodie and Watson teams and in more recent years, became their source of UCAS expertise and support. His reference writing skills were legendary and I know many Old Aylesburians who appreciated his help with the transition to university. Over the last 10 years, Paul has taken responsibility for tennis at AGS and contributed significantly to the sports development and success. His teams have reached the National Schools Finals on a number of occasions, which is some feat considering the dominance of Independent School tennis academies. For a state school like ourselves to have such a strong reputation nationally, is a real credit to Paul. Summer trips to the Wimbledon Finals were also a real treat for many. When you look back to 1993 and Paul’s arrival, you can really see how much he has developed the PE Department and sport at AGS. From our three-man department, who’s office then was the ball cupboard in the old gym, Paul leaves a thriving department and a school who are regularly ranked in the top 10 of State Schools for sporting success. He leaves with ‘Legend’ status and a legacy to be very proud of. Thank you for everything Paul. Mr G Ramsbottom

Charles Smith Charles joined Aylesbury Grammar School as Head of Maths in 2000 and his first duty in charge before he even officially started at the school was to interview and appoint a new second in department. Certainly a challenging first year for the new Maths department leadership! Under his 21 years of leadership, Maths has been a key strength at AGS, hugely popular with the students (it is consistently the most popular A level subject) and achieving great exam results at both GCSE and A level. Charles has been an incredibly supportive Head of Department, going out of his way to ensure staff are looked after and feel truly valued as part of the team. He has worked hard and is super organised which both helps to keep the department running smoothly and keeps some of the pressure off his very grateful team. Charles has also, however, sought to develop his team and this has sometimes meant taking teachers out of their comfort zones. In this way, after a few years in the maths departments teachers are likely to be experts in teaching pretty much all of the Further Maths A level course –

Chris King Chris joined AGS in February 2008 and his many years of experience with data bases and spreadsheets were immediately put to good use as he took on the role of Data Manager. He got to grips with the role quickly which was just as well given that he had a key role to play the following year when Ofsted visited the school! Chris’s skills proved invaluable as the role of data in the school increased significantly over the years. A further member of staff was added to the team and in addition Chris was later to oversee the school’s Exams Officer as our Data and Exams Manager. Still further change was to come with the changes to GDPR legislation. Chris embraced the new challenges this presented and completed the significant training required in order to become the school’s Data Protection Lead.

Charles’ team are often “encouraged” to take on new “opportunities” to develop their Maths A level teaching! During his time at the school Charles has introduced an increased amount of Statistics teaching in the lower part of the school. This has led to the subject moving from being an option subject in Year 10 to every student taking the GCSE at the end of Year 10. Charles is also an examiner for GCSE Statistics – part of that role involves writing GCSE papers and observant staff and students will spot a number of AGS Maths teachers past and present popping up in the papers!

The professionalism, dedication and commitment shown by Charles during his time at AGS is hugely appreciated by all who have worked with him. Thank you so much Charles and very best wishes from all of us for a long and happy retirement. Dr K Smith

Those who work with Charles will also know him as the unofficial lead teacher for “cringe-worthy comedy” – he has a natural ability to respond with a funny (or not) pun which seems to have rubbed off on some other members of the team. Perhaps a further legacy in addition to the success of the Maths department. Charles is hugely valued by those who have worked with him over the years as shown by the number of AGS Maths staff both past and present who attended his leaving BBQ. The department is hoping for further BBQ invites in the future so do take note Charles.

Throughout his time at AGS Chris has combined a professionalism with a cheerful and helpful approach to his role. He has always been willing to be flexible in his working hours in order to be able to respond to a “data emergency” and has been happy to help where staff need a helping hand with a spreadsheet or using the School’s Management Information System (iSAMS). His expertise and ingenuity with spreadsheets has been a constant amazement to many of us! Chris has spent a good deal of time in his final weeks at the school putting together clear instructions for his successor and working with her to ensure the handover from one data expert to another goes as smoothly as possible – further testament to his professionalism. Chris has done a fantastic job throughout his time at the school and we are hugely grateful for all he has done - he will be much missed.

We wish you all the best Chris for a long and happy retirement. Dr K Smith

2020/2021 Rob Rooney So we say a huge thank you, goodbye and good luck to Mr Rooney, who leaves us after 14 years of service at AGS to become an Assistant Headteacher at St Michael’s School. It’s safe to say that, in whatever role he undertook, Mr Rooney worked tirelessly and with great professionalism to enhance the student experience at AGS, whether that was in his role as a Head of Year, as the Head of Hampden House, or as a PE Teacher and Sports Coach. In a period when Hampden House success was somewhat limited, in 2010 Mr Rooney guided them to their first Watson Trophy win since 1997, and while a first Brodie win since 1998 eluded them, under Mr Rooney’s influence the house came extremely close. When Mr Rooney moved on to become a Head of Year, he took on a role in which he demonstrated great empathy and understanding to ensure that all students were able to take full advantage of the opportunities that AGS offered them and beyond, into higher education and employment.

James Graham James Graham joined AGS in 2017 as a fresh faced young 20 something and leaves us in 2021 as frankly a fresh faced young 30 something! Starting from the base of an NQT, he threw himself into many aspects of the business of learning and teaching, keen to learn new strategies and play his part in the Physics team as well as performing his role as a form tutor. Rather than being lured away by

As both a PE Teacher and a coach of many different sports, Mr Rooney’s passion for teaching, coaching and sport was always clear to see. With a focus on increasing participation and engagement in sport and physical activity, Mr Rooney also ensured that the boys who wanted to pursue sporting excellence benefited from his expertise. As a coach to Year 7, 8 & 9 rugby teams, Mr Rooney enjoyed County Cup successes, and he led a number of Year 9 football teams to District Cup wins (although he classes his one outing as the 3rd team coach as a real highlight of his time at AGS). In cricket, he coached Year 10, 2nd and 1st teams and since taking over from Mr Holmes as the ‘Master in charge of Cricket’ he worked incredibly hard to increase the profile of the sport at AGS even further. His commitment to training and developing players in all of these sports has resulted in Mr Rooney dedicating significant amounts of time and effort to AGS Sport & PE, and all those that have been taught and coached by him (as well as the staff who have worked with him) are hugely grateful for what he has given to the School.

opportunity to work at another school, we see Mr Graham leave AGS for the prospects of working in Special Effects in the film industry. On reflection, we recognize that the role of a good Physics teacher shares much with that of a Special Effects creator….Smoke and mirrors, leading your audience through what can appear a perilous journey, only to reach a positive ending and working incredibly hard to take keen minds on a journey of a lifetime. We wish Mr Graham all the best on his continuing journey and hope that it delivers all that he hopes for. Mr J Kemp

Thanks again for everything Mr Rooney, it has been both an honour and a pleasure and we look forward to seeing you again at future sporting fixtures between your old and new schools. Mr C McGill

Virginia Francis Virginia joined AGS back in September 1995. During her 26 years’ service she has forged a reputation as the most supportive of mentors to many of our students on a one to one basis. Many students, particularly at the upper end of the school, have benefitted from her genuine, dedicated and caring approach to their well-being. There are students in that number to whom she will have made contributions that will stay with them a lifetime. To those students she will be irreplaceable. It has not only been the students who benefitted from her supportive guidance. Having mentored many newly qualified teachers and trainees, her calm reassurance has encouraged those new to the profession that they have made the right career choice! Indeed, even as a Head of Department, I have been grateful for her calm and loyal support over the last seven years. Virginia spent those last seven years in the position of Second in English, guiding the department through substantial changes to the GCSE specifications in 2015, and supporting the accompanied adjustments at A Level as well. During a time of a

significantly increased workload, she remained a smiling and positive presence within the department. That smiling, positive approach was never more welcome than during the last couple of school years supporting students and colleagues through an uncertain period of school assessed grades. Virginia’s penchant for regular lessons on poetry or writing ‘for pleasure’ - for both lower and upper years - was indicative of her love of the more creative parts of English teaching. This, along with her stylish morning walk across the playground often complete with sunglasses, helped cultivate her position as a free spirit within the department. Whilst she had her own individual approach, the focus was always the same – the students. Not only has she contributed in her own unique way to the learning of the students, she has enriched their wider curriculum experience through organising and accompanying trips and visits, most recently arranging for author Alan Gibbons to talk to Year 8. A particularly memorable and unusual ‘musical’ version of Graham Greene’s Brighton Rock in Watford will live long in the minds of the Sixth Form students who witnessed it…

With her departure, students and staff at AGS (as well as the wider teaching profession) lose a teacher who always put the individual and personal experiences at the heart of everything she did. Someone who put the nurturing needs of individuals above everything else. Whilst we all wish her well, she will be much missed by those who knew her best. Mr A Skinner

HOUSE LIFE Denson House Report Despite tremendous uncertainty at the start of this year, the boys were determined to build on previous performances in the Watson and Brodie trophies. It will not be a surprise to hear that this year has been unlike any other. With its cancellations, postponements and confusion over the house calendar, the boys in blue have shown tremendous character and resolve putting out teams and performing fantastically all year long. Starting with the Brodie trophy, it is fair to say that the use of a racket is a skill in which many a ‘Densonite’ find themselves highly proficient. Starting with House Tennis, Denson showed outstanding skill taking top spot in the first brodie event of the year. A huge congratulations to Years 8, 10 and 12/13 all of whom came second in their respective years and Year 9 who won their year group. Following on from this, Denson also showed outstanding promise in House Badminton – a new event this year and one to stay. Once again Year 9 showed dominance in their year, coming 2nd, while Year 10 won their year group. Equally impressive and, requiring special mention, was the Year 7 team who

dominated in their first team event in AGS inter-house competition, coming 1st in their year group. Combined with joint 5th in House Football, this left the Brodie trophy tied for 1st place with Denson, Paterson and Hampden vying for honours coming into House Athletics. Unfortunately, House Athletics proved to be our undoing coming 6th overall. This meant that after extremely impressive and promising performances in the Brodie, Denson finished 4th overall in the Brodie trophy. Running alongside the Brodie trophy, the Watson had its own difficulties but there were some fantastic performances over the course of the year. Starting the year with Senior Public Speaking, a special mention must go to Michael Adebiyi for ranking first in his year group, capping off many years of excellence in this competition. Leading on from 4th place in public speaking our House Art Captains set about building on our performance last year. A huge thank you to all the boys who produced pieces and especially to Tae for pulling it all together along with all the other year group representatives. Following

Hampden House Report In what has been an extremely challenging year for all, when so many school events and activities have had to be cancelled, the fact that we were able to run 8 house events is testimony to the hard work, effort and ‘can-do’ spirit of so many members of staff at Aylesbury Grammar School. Highlights have been House Football which, for the first time, was run as whole yeargroup events in Years 7, 8 and 9, for A, B and C teams (thanks PE Department). The older years were also able to enjoy expanded outdoor competitions which involved more students (thanks to Mr Barrie, Mr Davey and Mr Dudmish). To compensate for the loss of contact sports such as Rugby and Basketball, House Badminton took place for the first time and was a great success (huge thanks to Mr Gibbs for making this possible). While it was obviously disappointing to lose events such as House Music, the fact that all houses were able to

2020/2021

on from House Art, it was time to put pen to paper and let inspiration hit in House Writing. A big thank you to Dylan and Tharrshann for leading the way producing a fantastic magazine and for Ben for providing his support. Our final competition of the year, House Quiz, proved to be our best in the Watson – it turns out Denson have their fair share of Eggheads. With special mention going to Year 9, who came joint first in their year, Denson came second overall, finishing the year in fine form. Overall Denson came 5th in the Watson and I would like to pass on a huge thanks for everyone’s participation in all of the events. Finally, I would like to thank the fantastic team of Denson tutors without whom events would not have been able to run and the house would have really struggled. Thank you too to Ben, our excellent Head Boy and our Deputy Head Boys Sam and Pat who continued to engage in their roles with dedication and great enthusiasm, whether over Google Meets, or in school. It was not an easy year for anyone, but everyone has pulled in together and have made a great year of it. Thank you!! Mr T Walker

submit such high-quality House Writing magazines during lockdown, showcased not only the creativity and IT skills that all of us have had to master over the last year, but also the continued appetite amongst students for house competition. It has therefore been extremely pleasing to see Hampden-ites from all year groups take full advantages of these opportunities to show their wide range of skills and abilities. To win The Watson and to finish in 2nd place (by one point) to the consistently excellent Paterson House is a fantastic achievement from all those who made a contribution to ‘The Green Army’ and I can’t thank you all enough for your efforts. Huge amounts of credit for this must go to our amazing Head Boys of House team. Ted Gundry (Head Boy), Josh Lai and James Phillips (Deputies) provided great leadership, which required the ability to adapt to an ever-changing landscape. They undertook their roles and responsibilities with dedication, great humour and large amounts of humility and I am hugely grateful for their hard work and dedication. In particular

many of the logistical problems that year group bubbles posed. The presentation of pieces electronically was particularly impressive. While all houses stepped up massively, Hampden’s House Art exhibition showcased not only our artistic abilities to their fullest (particularly given the challenges that students faced with getting materials) but also the great leadership, management and organisational skills of our senior boys. While so many of the house contributed (in terms of pieces submitted or helping out with displays) there are two Year 12 students in particular whose contributions have to be acknowledged. Both Dhruva Menon and Sonari Amabibi put in an incredible amount of work this year to produce the best presentations possible and the 1st place finish was a just reward for their efforts. House Writing - 3rd

I must thank them for attending weekly meetings throughout lockdown.

THE BRODIE…...a year on year review (2nd Place finish). In their first year at AGS the Year 7’s were quite simply superb. Led by Kyle Babbage the tennis team (Ruyan Gupte, Rohan Appikatla & Saeyon Dinesh) won their year group event in fine style, while a 2nd place finish in House Football came from an excellent whole class effort. A very commendable fourth place finish in Badminton was the lowest that Hampden 7 finished in a Brodie event this year, and they finished the year off by winning House Athletics, where Sam Wright and Jed Okai impressed on the track. The Year 8’s had shown during the previous year that they were an enthusiastic and talented bunch. They didn’t disappoint this year, finishing 1st in Tennis (Ashton Taank, Austin Bhadri, Cormac Clancy & Shaun Gamage) and Football, 4th in Badminton and Joint 2nd in Athletics. It was a similar (success) story for our Year 9s, who also produced two 1st place finishes in Football and Badminton (Harry Dixon, Hanush Siddabatula, Gavin Biju & Nirukt Agrawal), a 2nd (Athletics) and a 4th (Tennis). If we were only competing in a Key Stage 3 competition, then quite simply we would have ‘smashed it’, as all three

year groups produced fantastic results. The boys from Hampden 10, 11, 12 & 13 weren’t able to repeat this in terms of results, but their spirit and commitment to the Hampden cause couldn’t be faulted and they all produced some great results in different competitions. The Year 10’s finished 3rd in House Football, which (if they don’t mind me saying) came as a pleasant surprise to everyone on the day. The highlight for the Year 11’s was a Sam Tung inspired badminton win (with Will Murphy, Theo Bockmeuhl & Ollie Lemonde) and badminton was again the inspiration for the senior boys best result, a 2nd place finish for the team led by Kevin Chen.

To complete this event when we had all moved to remote learning was a genuine feat by all involved. Mrs Harris guided us all in terms of the competition structure, while our House Captain (Lewis Hodges) and his editing team carefully went through the process of selecting pieces for submission. In Dhruva we knew we had ‘the man’ when it came to cover design. The initial problem was finding ways to encourage students to submit work. Thankfully, after several presses of ‘the panic button’, these pieces were submitted in their droves and the magazine came together very nicely (despite my best efforts to ‘blindside’ the house with some shocking misinterpretation of the rules). After many 6th place finishes, a third place finish this year was extremely satisfying, and was particularly pleasing for Josh and Dom Lai, who put in a great deal of work late in the day.

THE WATSON (Trophy Winners)

Quiz - 1st

Public Speaking - 5th

With year group events taking place at different times throughout the year, the bragging rights for being the cleverest House in the school was earned by us winning House Quiz, which also gave us victory in the Watson. The seniors finished 2nd in their competition, which started the ball rolling. The Year 7’s finished 2nd, the 8’s and 9’s were 1st and the Year 10’s were joint 2nd. An amazing set of results by any standards and a fantastic effort all round. Huge thanks must go to Mr Walker, who really had his work cut out running this competition this year.

The Watson started off with Senior Public Speaking, which turned out to be the only section of Public Speaking that could be completed this year. Huge thanks to Yuv Saxena in Year 10 (4th), Tom Kirkpatrick-Brown in Year 11 (who finished 1st), Seb Shah in Year 12 (6th) & and Adshayan (6th) in Year 13, all of whom performed extremely well given the reduced time to prepare to give us a 5th place finish overall. House Art - 1st With great thanks to Mrs Tangi and the Art department for getting the job done, this year’s competition showed us the way forwards in terms of managing

Mr C McGill

2020/2021 Lee House Report came first in Year 7. They clocked more miles than the tutor groups in Years 8, 9, 10 and 11! A massive welldone, Lee 7! You are awesome! We also ran a pancake challenge which involved sharing a photo or video of their pancake creations for a range of categories. Best overall presentation: Hansh Nannapeneni Best topping: Anders Mallam Best use of the colour yellow: Ravjot Arora During lockdown, we pulled together and through all that this year threw at us – I’d like to think we had some fun. “When the going gets tough – the tough get going” – a very famous line from a Boyzone song (although I believe it was first sung by Billy Ocean, and has also been attributed to Joseph Kennedy) perfectly encapsulates the spirit of Lee House this year. We were all hopeful that this academic year would see a return to school life pre-Covid. Ever the optimist, I was certainly hopeful that my first full year as Head of Lee House was going to avoid the disruption faced last year. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be. The year posed a number of challenges – from year group bubbles to students facing periods of isolation – but, in spite of it all, Lee House rose to meet the challenges and coped admirably. Well done, gents! To overcome and combat the remoteness, we have adapted by having virtual assemblies each week. There have been some wonderful talks and presentations from each year group, and we have been able to celebrate our victories as well as acknowledge our defeats – together. Highlights have not only included our successes in House events, but also other inter-house competitions. One such event was the Around the World Challenge hosted by the PE Department to see which House could record the furthest distance through the use of 40-minute foot-based activities. After a rather slow start, we managed to sprint forward into second place. Lee 7 were outstanding and

Although a number of House events were cancelled due to ongoing restrictions, we were able to compete in 8 events through the hard work of a number of our staff. I must thank all members of the PE Department, and Mr Barrie, Mr Walker, Mr Davey, to name but a few, for all their efforts in making the events happen. Even though some events could not go ahead, this year saw the introduction of House Badminton, and House Football was organised as a whole year group event in Years 7, 8 and 9 leading to excellent participation and esprit de corps!

The Brodie The Brodie proved somewhat elusive for us this year, and we came in 5th place. Nevertheless, we had some excellent contributions from across the House. With the cancellation of House Cross-Country, which I have since been informed is becoming increasingly common so much so that it is now somewhat a tradition, House Tennis was the first event of the year. Unfortunately, this didn’t prove to be one of our strengths this year and we were placed 6th with 15 points. Ever consistent, we actually came in 6th place in Year 7, 10 and 12/13; nonetheless, well done to everyone who participated in what was a tough competition. Our Year 9, 10 and 8 teams pushed through to come in 2nd, 3rd and 4th place respectively – excellent effort and commitment were

shown, which bodes well for next year. Following on from House Tennis, we completed most of the House Football event, with only Senior House Football left to play. The very respectable 2nd place for the Lee House Senior Football team in the spring term was combined with the results from the other sections to place us overall in a very encouraging 3rd place. Our best performances were also in Year 8 and Year 11 where we came 2nd. Well done to all our teams for giving it their best – we can certainly build on this achievement next year. We were delighted to see the introduction of a new House event this year – House Badminton – despite the fact it isn’t yet our forte (perhaps, it is something to do with racket sports) and we came in 5th place. Thanks go to Mr Gibbs for organising the event and also live streaming it so those of us who could not attend could watch the action unfold. It certainly made for exciting and entertaining viewing! As the school year drew to a close, we were able to run the House Athletics event, albeit in a more condensed form. This was absolutely a highlight and while we have a way to go next year in our race to first place, we were still a solid 4.5 points ahead of Denson to secure our 5th place. It was wonderful to see a competitive spirit throughout the day. Pelumi Abioye’s performance in the Year 9 javelin was particularly impressive as was Tomi Ashaoulu’s in the Year 7 long jump. Oliver Reading also excelled securing first place in the 800m. Massive congratulations, gents! Congratulations to Paterson House on becoming this year’s Brodie winners.

The Watson The Watson was certainly a mixed bag for us. Senior Public Speaking kicked off the Watson events and from the get-go we showcased our talent. Enter the dynamic power duo of Dani Hidalgo-Anguera and Julian Atat, who carefully crafted a poignant and powerful speech entitled, ‘I. Can't. Breathe.’ Securing a tremendous first place in Year 12. The team was also made up of Raja Dhanda (Year 13), Toby Webster (Year 11) and Krishanu Thakore (Year 10). The boys worked exceptionally hard researching, editing and rehearsing a diverse range of

speeches from ‘Is being book smart enough to become successful’ to ‘Language: an endangered species? and ‘Our love of brands’. Our speakers did a superb job, which was recognised by the adjudicator and judges, as we finished in joint top place with Paterson House – although, it goes without saying we were the best. It was not possible to complete the Junior Public Speaking competition, but my thanks go to Aurman Brar (Year 7), Amogh Yallamalli (Year 8) and James Davies (Year 9) for all their hard work in preparing for the competition. Spurred on by our victory in Senior Public Speaking we marched into House Art with gusto. But so did the other Houses – and, it wasn’t to be our year. Many thanks to Mrs Tangi and the Art Department for organising and ensuring that House Art could go ahead by hosting an online House Art exhibition. This event showcased all the wonderful and broad ranging artistic and innovative abilities of our House and school. While we had a number of standout pieces and a wide variety of entries across all year groups, tough competition from other houses resulted in 5th place for Lee. Special mention goes to our Senior House Art Captains, Archie Davies and Sam Gibbs with the support of the Head Boys of House for all their efforts. Throughout remote learning we held a number of weekly House Kahoot quizzes. I had hoped this preparation would boost our confidence and position in House Quiz. Alas - our eventual position was 5th place with 18.5 points. I must commend our Year 7 team for their victorious first place and for certainly raising our points with their debut performance. Many thanks to Mr Walker for all his efforts running this competition this year. The final event to report in the Watson is House Writing! This was certainly a high point for Lee House as we came in 2nd place narrowly losing out to Ridley. The theme this year was diversity and we had a broad range of writing styles from short stories to recipes and poems. All submissions went through a rigorous selection process by our fantastic editorial team to determine the best ones for the Lee House Writing Magazine. The team was very ably led by Deputy Head Boy of House and Senior House Writing, Captain, Olly Tolson-Boxall, with support from Marcus Birch and Dani Hidalgo-Anguera. In the final push we drafted in additional help from

the Head Boy of House, Ned Morris and Deputy Head Boy of House, Josh Alexander. We submitted a superb House Writing Magazine – in the words of the judge it was “difficult to find fault”. Distinctions were awarded to: Oliver Tolson Boxall – ‘Translations’; Abdullah Ahmed – ‘Different Cultures, Different Foods’; and, Filip Bennett – ‘The Hunters’. Merits were awarded to: Lee Trotter – ‘Gesetz Zwei von Aylesbury Gymnasium’; Arya Singh – ‘Another World?’; and, Ajan Robertsingh – ‘Diversity’. I’d like to thank Old Aylesburian, Sam Ingleton for all his time and effort spent reading and providing feedback for each student on their House Writing pieces. Thank you so much, Sam! The total points from Senior Public Speaking, House Quiz, House Art and House Writing were added together to give this year’s Watson Trophy results which placed us joint third with Paterson House. Congratulations to Hampden House for winning the Watson Trophy this year. I am confident that we will be able to build on our third-place next year.

the previous 20 years. There is much for which I have to thank him in terms of guidance and support, particularly regarding the UCAS process last summer. Thank you, Mr Dean. We wish you all the best, and trust you are relaxing and enjoying your retirement. I was also lucky enough to have support this year from great Head Boys of House – Ned Morris, Josh Alexander and Olly Tolson-Boxall. Their leadership, support and commitment has made a real difference to the House, and I thank them for all they have done – often at short notice and in ever changing circumstances. I am hugely grateful for their commitment and hard work. I would also like to wish the Year 13s every happiness and all very best for future success.

House News

I must also thank the outstanding tutors of Lee House. Mr Jones, Mr Taylor, Mr Crapper, Mr Skinner, Mrs Blunt, Mr Corby and Mrs Parvez have tirelessly supported the students and myself as we continued to navigate remote learning and all the obstacles encountered. They have met with their tutees and put together creative and innovative registrations to build a sense of community from afar. From myself and on behalf of all the boys – thank you for all your efforts and support!

In May 2020, having loved being a Ridley tutor for seven years, I became the Head of Lee House. In taking on this role, I was going to have to fill the large shoes of the epic and popular Mr Dean, who had steered Lee House for

Sadly, we say goodbye to Miss Blunt, our Lee 11 tutor, as she takes up her new role as Head of Year 7. I thank her for her unceasing efforts and wish her all the very best in this new chapter, knowing that she will

2020/2021 always, albeit secretly, be an avid Lee House supporter! I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome Mr Disley to Lee House as the new tutor to Lee 12. Lastly, I would also like to thank Mr Dallas, and the other Heads of House for all their advice, support and friendly, competitive rivalry. Miss Chalk definitely deserves a special mention for her unwavering support and all the time she puts into the House system behind the scenes. I have had a wonderful first year as Head of House. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the boys through a range of competitions and events beyond the classroom. For a short time, I will be leaving the House in the very capable hands of Mr Taylor,

once Deputy Head Boy of House, and the new Head Boy of House, Marcus Birch, and Deputy Head Boys of House, Julian Atat, Dani HidalgoAnguera and Harry Jones. I know they will make an excellent team and look forward to seeing great success with them leading the House. No pressure, gents! We are also delighted with the newly appointed Junior Prefects, Prefects and Senior Prefects. We have been able to promote Buddies from the current Lee 7, who will have the important role of supporting the new Lee 7 boys in September. Well done to Sam Gill, Oliver Colborne-Baber, Ravjot Arora, Soham Gaddam, Eric Jude Pratheepan and Aurman Brar.

And finally, thank you and congratulations to everyone in Lee House who has contributed to or represented our House so positively this year. I have been extremely proud of the way you have carried yourselves this year, because when the going gets tough – you really do get going, and most importantly, with smiles on your faces! You should all be proud of what you have achieved and look forward to next year with hopeful optimism as we begin the race to be crowned the winners of the Brodie and the Watson trophies 2022. Mrs K E Harris

Paterson House Report Head Boy Perspective This year has been a challenging one. It is something that I, and many others, have said throughout this year and I am sure many more will in the future but, for me, coronavirus has not defined this year. The overwhelming show of strength and courage from every single person I have seen and spoken to this year has. From helping deliver food parcels to those isolating and getting involved in House challenges over lockdown to finding the strength to come into school when it has been so difficult and uncertain, I have been genuinely proud of everyone. One highlight of my year has to be the endless bloopers that have come with doing online video call assemblies and I hope they never surface. I will not miss looking into a camera lens instead of the faces of Paterson House. Another highlight for me would be the House challenges over lockdown, where it was incredible to see so many people getting involved and putting their all into it. Over the weeks we had videos of pancake trick flips, gravity defying book reading, blindfolded drumming, high speed mountain biking and toilet paper sculptures just to name a few. I would like to thank my deputies first - Aidan Manley and Sachin Patel. I cannot understate how much these two people have helped me this year; they have provided constant

support, creativity and most importantly good humour. They, along with Miss Chalk, have made me look forward to every single challenge and meeting as Head Boy of Paterson. Special recognition must go to Sachin as well for organising and running the Fantasy Football League which I know has been a brilliant success. Next I would like to thank the Tutors, especially Mrs Sampson who has experienced (and put up with) a whole range of things since she took us on in Year 8 and it has been a genuine pleasure to be part of her form for my time at AGS. To put it simply, Paterson House would not exist without our tutors. Their ability to motivate everyone to get involved in House events and the support they continue to provide each and every year has been incredible to experience, and I hope one day all members of Paterson appreciate everything they do for us. To work alongside Miss Chalk this last year has been an honour. I have never met someone more organised or dedicated to the House and every person in Paterson should feel pride at being in such a special house with such a wonderful leader. Most of the tears, laughs and just sheer effort Miss Chalk puts into the House many of us do not see, but my time as Head Boy of Paterson has given me even more respect for our teachers and all that they do behind the scenes for us. Finally, I would like to thank the members of Paterson House. It has

been amazing being your Head Boy this past year and getting to know you all. I had high expectations going into this year and they have been convincingly exceeded almost weekly by the level of commitment and character I have experienced from you all. It has been my greatest honour to lead Paterson and I wish every single one of you the best and am truly excited for the future of the best House of AGS. Kit Fairhurst - Head Boy of Paterson House 2020-2021

Head of House Report It has been another unusual year in running Paterson House this year. Keeping year group bubbles separate presented another level of challenge, but due to the hard work of many members of staff, we have been able to run weekly online assemblies and complete a number of House events this year – and because we have not been able to mix year groups it has meant even more people have been able to participate, which has been a really wonderful opportunity. As we started the year with a Brodie event, I will start my report there.

it meant that every member of the section was able to participate in the event, which is a significant increase on the usually 5-a-side version of the competition. Special mention should go to Jamie Wishart (Pa12) for his score equalising goal in the Senior final and to Sam Woods (Pa13) who scored the winning penalty for us to give Paterson House the win. Year 7: 1st Place, Year 8: Joint 3rd Place, Year 9: Joint 2nd Place, Year 10: 1st Place Year 11: 1st Place, Seniors: 1st Place Overall House Football Results: 1st Place

The Brodie The Brodie events started in what has become a traditional way – through the cancellation of House Cross Country due to poor conditions. Not to be disheartened by the loss of an event which is usually a strength of ours, we moved onto House Tennis, which turned out to be an excellent event for us this year with the following year group results for Paterson House: Year 7: 2nd Place, Year 8: 3rd Place, Year 9: 3rd Place, Year 10: 3rd Place

After many years of requests from students, we were able to create a working format for House Badminton and introduced this to the Brodie trophy this year thanks to the hard work of the Sport and PE Department. Sadly, this did not work out to be a particularly strong event for us. Year 7: 2nd Place, Year 8: 6th Place, Year 9: 4th Place, Year 10: 3rd Place, Year 11: 6th Place, Seniors: 3rd Place

Year 11: Joint 5th Place, Seniors: 3rd Place

Overall House Badminton Results: 4th Place

Overall House Tennis Results: Joint 2nd Place Next we moved onto House Football. With the introduction of ‘B’ and ‘C’ teams into the Key Stage 3 competition

We then moved onto House Athletics. With three Houses Joint at the top of the Brodie going into this final event, it was all to play for, and this was not lost on the respective Heads of House.

The day of House Athletics arrived and looked very different from a normal year – gone were some events and the large cheering crowds of supporters, replaced by one year group on the field at a time with a more streamlined programme of events and no Senior competition. This did not stop #TeamPaterson from doing their best in all their events – running, jumping and throwing to the best of their abilities to give us the following results: Year 7: 2nd Place, Year 8: Joint 2nd Place, Year 9: 1st Place, Year 10: 1st Place Overall House Athletics Results: 1st Place Well done to our House Athletics Superstars of 2021, all of whom had exceptional finishes in their events: Paterson 7: Edward Johnson, Raphael London, Lennox Waugh Paterson 8: Ayath Habib Paterson 9: Ben Oakes Paterson 10: George Whall, George Mansfield, Nathaniel Arulanandam, Thomas Young The points from the four Brodie events were added together and I am delighted to report that PATERSON HOUSE WON THE BRODIE TROPHY, something we had not achieved since 2016, which really is something to celebrate.

2020/2021

Merits: Sid Auddy (Pa7), Jeevan Jeera (Pa7), Oisin Patel (Pa7), Thomas Ruck (Pa7), Jack Higgs (Pa7), Anishan Kishokumar (Pa8), Nathan Hancox (Pa9), Rafik Moussaoui (Pa9), Thomas Young (Pa10), Harry Blackman (Pa11), Sanjit Mallya (Pa12), Samuel Mitev (Pa12), Mark Smith (Pa13)

The Watson The Watson began with Senior Public Speaking with our team of Samuel Duodu (Pa10), Nick Cay (Pa11), Nathan Curry (Pa12) and Abdurrahman Aroworamimo (Pa13) presenting on topics including Happiness, Culture, Identity and Catalysts. Our team worked incredibly hard to deliver well researched and informative speeches that led to excellent results: Year 10: 1st Place, Year 11: 4th Place, Year 12: 2nd Place, Year 13: 3rd Place Overall Senior Public Speaking Results: Joint 1st Place The House Art event followed. Due to social distancing and health and safety guidelines, a decision to host an online House Art exhibition was introduced. House Art is one that I have always enjoyed as everyone in the House can be involved in some way. The Senior team led by Year 13 students Sam Holcroft, Aidan Manley, Cyrus Pitcher, Alex Marsden, George Atwell, Sachin Patel and Abdurrahman Aroworamimo, supported by a wonderful team from Paterson 12, decided the theme for the year would be Harry Potter (much to Miss Chalks delight!). The members of Paterson House embraced this, creating a wonderful selection of Harry Potter inspired art including wands, a sorting hat, Tri-Wizard Cup, dragons and even a motorised Quidditch game. With over 120 entries received and Paterson House receiving top marks for the technical skills shown in our entries, we were awarded 2nd Place in the competition. Well done to everyone who did their bit to support the House and entered a piece of Art to the

competition. An additional congratulations goes to our award winners: Double Distinction Awards: Yash Suryavanshi (Pa8), Senesh Chady (Pa8), Yehan Canthaboo (Pa8), Saharsh Tikkireddi (Pa8), Keane Liboon (Pa9), Ben Curry (Pa10) Certificates of Excellence: Yan Han Tan (Pa7), Affiq Azmi (Pa7), Luke Marshall (Pa8), Ollie Buckthorpe (Pa8), Reuben Bithell (Pa9), Rueben Thay (Pa9), Hugh Podmore (Pa9), Toby Yeneralski (Pa9), Muhammad Ahmed (Pa9), Connor Bright (Pa9), Nick Cay (Pa11), Jatheep Raj (Pa12), Ryan Sara (Pa12)

The next event we were able to complete was House Writing. This year’s theme of ‘Diversity’ was interpreted in so many ways in the 120+ entries that were received by the House Editorial Team which was led by Sam Munday (Pa13). A range of different writing styles including poems, haikus, tweets, diary entries, letters and short stories were submitted, and these went through a rigorous selection process by the Editorial team to determine the best entries that would make it into the Paterson House Writing Magazine. These were entries from: Paterson 7 – Vishnu Bandari, Michael Owolabi, Conor Heatley, Raphael London, Daniel Omoyele, Yan Han Tan, Oisin Patel Paterson 8 – Anish Jakka, Luke Marshall, Ayan Sharma, Thomas Ludlam, Harry Lonsdale, Srujan Karri, Aryan Gorai, Saharsh Tikkireddi, Shlok Kapoor Paterson 9 – Edward Gibbs, Hugh Podmore, Peter Clark, Reuben Bithell, Henry Wallington, Keane Liboon

Paterson 10 –Samuel Duodu, Pragvansh Bhatt, Max Ward, Ben Curry, Thomas Young, Jonny Buckthorpe, Paterson 11 – Will Smith, Sam Pyefinch, Luca Fairhurst, Tom Keane, Leo McIntosh Paterson 12 – Ed Campbell, Jatheep Raj, Ashre Moses, Sanjit Mallya, Samuel Mitev Paterson 13 – Kit Fairhurst, Sam Munday, Aidan Manley, Sachin Patel Yet again, we were not able to be together in school to receive the results due to a National Lockdown, but we were able to meet with the adjudicator via Google Meet to receive these. With a score of 81/90 we finished in 4th Place, with the adjudicator commending us on a creative and aesthetically pleasing magazine with top marks awarded for inclusion of entries from all year groups. Thanks should go to the Sachin Patel (Pa13) for his cover design and the 44 members of Paterson House who featured as part of this. A number of awards were also presented by the adjudicator: Merit Awards: An Assortment of Tankas – Keane Liboon (Pa9), Dear Toby – Aryan Gorai (Pa8), The Purple Apple Tree – Sachin Patel (Pa13) Distinction Awards: Boat – Raphael London (Pa7), Recipe for Diversity – Luke Marshall (Pa8), Diversity Explained? – Yan Han Tan (Pa7)

Finally, we managed to complete the House Quiz competition, which is not a traditionally strong event for us and this year was no different. Year 7: 6th Place, Year 8: 6th Place, Year 9: 4th Place, Year 10: 6th Place, Seniors: 3rd Place Overall House Quiz Results: 6th Place

With the results from the four Watson events added together, we finished this year in Joint 3rd Place in this trophy. Podium finishes in both the Brodie and the Watson is an incredible achievement in what has been a very difficult and challenging year.

Remote Challenges In an attempt to maintain some level of House activity during the period of remote learning, we continued with our Paterson House Lockdown Challenges for students to participate and the entries for these were judged by the Head Boys of House. Well done to all the students who participated in these, and congratulations to all of our winners. Paterson’s Got Talent Members of Paterson House were invited to share a short video of a talent for our Head Boys of House to judge. There was an array of talents displayed including many musical talents such as blindfolded drumming, dramatic performances, scientific experiments and mathematics with an abacus!

The PE Department hosted an InterHouse Competition to see which House could record the furthest distance through the use of 40-minute foot-based activities. The competition took place for a week in February with all participants submitting supporting evidence of their efforts. At the end of the week, members of Paterson House had clocked up a total of 925 miles (which is almost the distance between Aylesbury Grammar School and Bratislava, Slovakia) and won the competition Year group results: Paterson 7 - 91.15 miles (2nd Place) Paterson 8 - 53.86 miles (4th Place) Paterson 9 - 49.81 miles (3rd Place)

Winner: Arnav Rai (Pa7)

Paterson 10 - 43.72 miles (5th Place)

Highly Commended: Ben Jones (Pa9), Oliver Blakey (Pa7), Sid Auddy (Pa7)

Paterson 11 - 77.87 miles (2nd Place)

Paterson Pancake Challenge This involved members of Paterson House sharing a photo or video of their pancake attempts in a number of categories. Winners: Best Use Of Purple In A Pancake -Tommy Healy (Pa11), Best Appearance – Sid Auddy (Pa7), Best Topping – Victor Poinaru (Pa11), Best Pancake Flip - Abdurrahman Aroworamimo Pa13 Highly Commended: Huned Mamajiwala (Pa12), Sam Woods (Pa13), William Johnson (Pa9), Sanjit Mallya (Pa12), Daniel McLarty (Pa7) Around The World

Paterson 12 and 13 - 262.36 miles (1st Place with 130 miles more than Ridley in 2nd place) Paterson Staff - 330 miles (finishing top of the staff group, with 60 miles more than Ridley staff in 2nd place)

Paterson House Fantasy Football League Due to the commitment of Sachin Patel (Pa13) we were able to introduce a Paterson House Fantasy Football league this year. Over 50 members of the House created their teams and each month Manager of the Month awards were awarded in the following age categories: Years 7, 8-9, 10-11, 12-13

2020/2021 Managers of the Year for each age group were awarded to: Lucas Taylor (Pa7), Luca Forchione (Pa9), Finn McGuire (Pa11) and the winner of the Overall House Football Manager of the Year was awarded to Charlie Back (Pa12) We are delighted by the introduction of this new competition as a way of bringing the year groups together, long may it continue.

And Finally ….. Once again, the House system has continued to offer all in Paterson House so much more than just House Events. I am delighted that we have been able to promote a significant number of students to leadership positions including Buddy’s, Junior Prefects, School Prefects and Senior Prefects. This has all been

supported by an extraordinary group of Paterson House tutors who work tirelessly to support and encourage their tutees. We are a team and cannot succeed without them – thank you very much Mr Dudmish, Mr Chappell, Mr Nathan, Dr Gardner, Mr McIntosh, Dr McNamara and Mrs Sampson. The Paterson leadership team of Kit Fairhurst (Head Boy of House), Aidan Manley and Sachin Patel (Deputy Head Boys of House) have been nothing short of remarkable this year. They have excelled in their roles and rather than allowing the challenges of the year to provide hurdles to overcome, they have treated them as opportunities to thrive. Their commitment, enthusiasm and good humour have meant it has been an absolute pleasure working alongside them over this last year and I thank them whole-heartedly for all they have done for Paterson House during their leadership term. I would also like to wish

Phillips House Report Once more Phillips house has faced a challenging year due in which the boys of the House have showed unerring determination, commitment and desire to push themselves to the limit. Despite ongoing COVID restrictions and the changing sands of rules and routines, we have engaged in a programme of events that while not complete, nevertheless more than last year. Through the wonders of IT, we have enjoyed a full assembly programme which has seen excellent presentations from across all year groups. The Brodie and Watson has taken place with more events than pre-lockdown and despite our double 6th placing, I was extremely pleased and indeed encouraged by the relentless effort and team work put in by our boys.

The Ben Emburey Award As many members of Phillips will remember, two and a half years ago, we sadly lost Ben Emburey, then of Ph10, to a serious disease that had forced him to spend a lot of time off school. Despite the enormous challenges he faced he continued to follow with eager enthusiasm the path of Phillips House. He was an extremely popular and committed member of our House so his parents decided to donate a trophy to be presented annually, for a worthy member of Phillips.

The Ben Emburey Award is given for the member of Phillips who, ‘has demonstrated outstanding selfless positivity in support of his House and those around him, displaying incredible character in the finest traditions of Phillips House and AGS’. In its inaugural year, it has been my pleasure to give this trophy to Pira Sritharan who was in Ben’s tutor group. Well done Pira! I know the annual award of this trophy will keep alive the memory of Ben in Phillips House and thank you so much to his parents for donating it to us.

House news I am extremely pleased with the new crop of Junior prefect, Prefects and Senior Prefects. Despite a restricted number of duties, they have thrown themselves eagerly into their work and have set high standards of leadership and organisational ability. I am sure with a wider level of commitments as we ‘unlock’ in the Autumn term, we will see a great deal of support from them for school life. We have been able to promote Buddies from the current Ph7 who will have the vital role of supporting new boys in September. Well done to George, Tayyib, Jayden, Shrihan, Fabio and Mutahhar.

the outgoing Year 13s all the very best of luck and success in the future. They have been such a fantastic year to get to know and they will leave me with many wonderful memories and I will miss them greatly. They will always be members of Paterson House. Yet again, I am astounded by the level of maturity and resilience shown by all members of Paterson House over this last year. Each and every member should be so proud of themselves, and the effort they have put into all that has been offered to them as part of the House system has been incredible. You are all essential to this community that we have created between us and I look forward to seeing the sheer level of determination and spirit shown this year when we return in September to take on the other Houses again for the Brodie and Watson trophies. Miss K E Chalk

As usual, there was no shortage of boys willing to take some really interesting and insightful assemblies this year. I thank the following for their efforts in raising our awareness of key issues: Sam, Ed. Andreas, Tanveer, Dylan, Basit, Dan, Nahin, James, Harishan, Dhruv, Abijith, Aarav, Huzaifa, Irfan and Jonny. If I have missed out anyone, it is because I have no copy of your scripts, but well done to all of you for stepping up! At Christmas, we saw the departure of Miss Draper to her new teaching job. She was an extremely popular and highly professional tutor who ensured that Ph13 were well supported in the first term and in their previous years. I thank her for her unceasing efforts and wish her all the best in this new chapter of her career. However, I was very pleased to welcome Mr Anderson as her replacement and he very quickly developed an excellent rapport with Ph13 for the brief time they were here until leaving after the Summer assessments. As Ph13 left us and the ‘circle of House life’ continues, it is my great pleasure to welcome the new Head Boys. Thank you so much to Chris, Tayo and Ethan who led from the front over them most challenging of years. They engaged the House through online activities via Google classroom throughout lockdowns and presented the very best of role models to our younger years. I wish them all the very best as they explore new academic horizons. Thank you all. We now welcome their replacements; Andreas is the new Head Boy and will be supported by Pira and Ashwin as

Watson Trophy The slimmed down Watson still provided great non-sporting opportunities this year. Despite having Junior public speaking pushed into Autumn we did manage to hear Senior public speakers earlier this year and although comping 6th overall, Brandon of Ph13 made an outstanding speech that earned him 1st place for his year group. There was some success in art and Phillips secured a respectable 3rd place overall with some great pieces of work. Writing this year was on the theme of ‘diversity’, for which Phillips rose to the challenge. Unfortunately, due to tough opposition, we came 5th but boys mentioned by the judge for outstanding work included in no particular order: Ashwin Ph12, Dhruv Ph9, Alex Ph8, Shantanu Ph12, Liam Ph11, Ethan Ph7, George Ph7, James Ph8, Will Ph9, Harry Ph7, Ollie Ph9, Ethan Ph7 and John Ph11 with the best piece of the competition!

his deputies. I know they will make an excellent team and expect great success with them at the helm next year.

Brodie Cup As with the Watson, despite serious limitations on the programme, there was more to compete in than last year, giving some opportunity for the boys to engage in activities outside the classroom. In tennis, we came overall 5th but saw some good performances from Ph10 which achieved an impressive 1st. Well done to Fraser, Will, Ali and Hussan, Ph7 also played well and 3rd place was highly respectable. Badminton replaced basketball this year for the first time. An overall 6th was disappointing, but Ph11 came 2nd in their year group with great laying from Dan, DJ, Callum, Teni and Charlie. Ph7 continued to show real

promise in sports with another 3rd place. Well done Will, Isaac and Zac. Football continued to follow the new format used last year, with year groups playing during games lessons over the year. Again, another low overall placing of 5th but we did have first, second and third places from Ph9B, Ph11 and Seniors in that order, so well done to all of you. Great foundations for next year. It was a pleasure to help judge the House Athletics this year. This competition did not run last Summer and this year it did with reduced teams to ensure distancing. Nevertheless, it was a great day out with excellent weather and all the boys really pushed themselves. Overall 4th was not bad and Ph7’s 3rd place coupled with Ph10’s 2nd place, were impressive. Well done to all athletes for an excellent display of determination and competitive spirit!

Ridley House Report When we returned to school back in September 2020 after a Spring and Summer of lock-down and remote learning, we all hoped the new academic year would bring a sense of normality. In reality what we would face was a year of challenges and great sadness, but one in which the spirit and determination of Ridley members shone through. In April we received the saddest possible news that our Ridley 7 tutor, Maths

teacher, colleague and friend, Julie Smith had lost her battle with cancer. We were so delighted when Julie returned to school in September after a course of treatment and she played a vital part in integrating our new Ridley 7 group into the school. Tragically, shortly before Christmas her illness returned. Mrs Smith had been a Ridley tutor for many years. In recent years she had taken on the role of Ridley 7 tutor where her cheerful approach, care and compassion

I would like to finish by saying a massive thank you to all of you in Phillips House. Without your efforts and skill there would be no competitions, no assemblies and no House life. I have also been very grateful for the charity fund raising for ‘Aylesbury Food Bank’ a local charity which has faced a significant increase in demand due to the impact of the COVID-19 crisis. Last but not least, thank you from me and on behalf of all the boys for the hard work from our dedicated team of tutors. Lets now look forward to some normality in the forthcoming academic year as we hopefully march safely and confidently out of the restrictions we have faced since 2020. Mr M Goodchild

for all her students played a vital part in supporting so many students in their first year at AGS. She was also an outstanding Maths teacher and a wonderfully supportive colleague. The tributes from students and staff alike made it quite clear how vital a part Mrs Smith had played in the life of Ridley House, the teaching of Maths at AGS and within the wider school community. We will miss Mrs Smith greatly, but we will never forget her. This was a disrupted year like no other. Many of our students faced periods of isolation away from school, some on

2020/2021 multiple occasions. Under the strict Covid-protocols and with year-group bubbles, it was inevitable that many ‘normal’ events, including House competitions, could not take place. We could not even perform our nowtraditional and much loved Ridley House Panto, although Mr Grant did come up with an equally amusing remote comic offering involving the Ridley tutors. Luckily a number of competitions could go ahead and there was also the opportunity to try a few new things. Ridley House had won the Watson Trophy in 2019-20 and once again the House performed strongly in the non-sporting competitions. Of course we got off to our usual bad start in the House Art (6th place again!), despite the best efforts of our Senior captains Owen Billings and Freddie Perkin. Given that both the Chess and House Music Festival were cancelled, this left us a mountain to climb. During remote learning we had held a weekly online Kahoot quiz for all tutor groups, culminating in a Champions League Final for all our weekly winners. Our eventual champions were Matt Manley, Matteo Bellini (joint winners from Years 13-11) and James Whitmore (winner from Years 10-7). We should therefore have been well-prepared for this year’s House Quiz. Our eventual position was 3rd, although one of our Sixth Form teams were victorious in their competition. It was not possible to complete the Junior Public Speaking competition, but my thanks go to Rami Al-Kheralla, Khizr Hussain and Anthony Unugboke for all their hard work preparing for the competition. Our Senior team of Gabriel Moukli, Morgan Billings, Aymaan Sheikh and Dylan Sellors were placed third. Many thanks to Dylan in particular in what would be his last appearance in the competition after many years of service. The high point of the Watson Trophy was once again the House Writing, where we have experienced real success over recent years. This would continue once again in 2021 with another victory spearheaded by our superb editorial team of Ollie McKenna, Archie Rainbow, Finn McGourty (R13), Aymaan Sheikh and Harry Warner (R12). Thus, with 4 of the 6 competitions completed (or partially completed in the case of the Public Speaking) Ridley were in second place, 3 points behind the winners, Hampden House. We had not quite managed to hold on to the Watson, but it had been a commendable effort.

This year it was not possible to run the House Rugby, Cross Country, Swimming or Squash competitions. This did however allow the opportunity to introduce a new competition in the form of badminton and an enhanced football competition. The introduction of badminton was certainly a bonus for Ridley with a number of talented players in the House. Overall Ridley were placed second, with our Seniors and Year 8s winning their competitions. All year groups were able to participate in the House Football in Games lessons and in Years 7-9 there were A, B and C team competitions meaning that the whole tutor group could take part. Ridley were placed 3rd overall with our best performance coming in Year 9 (joint 2nd). Ridley were placed 4th overall in the House Tennis, but mention should be made of our Senior (Freddie Perkin, Dylan Sellors, Reuben Cole and Logan Smith) and Year 11 (Ben Perkin, Nick Beale, John McGregor, Tom Steele) teams, who both won their competitions. All our other year groups were placed 5th, which dragged us down in the overall standings. Fortunately, it was possible to stage one of the highlights of the sporting calendar – House Athletics – albeit in a shortened form and without our Year 12s who were all isolating. Ridley came 3rd overall, but special mention should go to Ridley 8 (captained by Tom Usher) who came 1st having won 4 of their 7 events. Osaretin Erese’s performance in the Year 8 discuss was particularly impressive. Therefore at the end of the 4 completed competitions, Ridley were placed 3rd overall in the Brodie behind winners Paterson and

Hampden. Podium finishes in both the Watson and Brodie was certainly a positive end to a unique and difficult year. I must end this report with a few notes of thanks. Firstly, well done to everyone who has contributed to or represented the House in any form this year. We now look forward to next year when we hope that things will be back to normal and there will be even more opportunities to get involved in House activities. I am hugely grateful to all our tutors who have continued to support the Ridley students (and help me) both remotely and in person back at school. It was great to have Mr Switzer back with us in Ridley for a few months tutoring Ridley 7. I would also like to thank both Mr Webley and Mr Holmes tutoring Ridley 7 and Ridley 9 as they move on to new challenges. Finally, I must pay tribute to our fantastic student leadership team of Ish Rahim (Head Boy) and his Deputies Ollie McKenna and Archie Rainbow. Without their hard-work, support, organisation and enthusiasm a difficult year would have been so much harder. Thank you lads. Therefore, in Ridley House we look forward to the 2021-22 academic year with a sense of renewed enthusiasm and optimism. Mr J Barrie

HOUSE WRITING

House Writing Introduction 2021 The theme for this year’s House Writing competition – DIVERSITY Writers are free to interpret the theme in any way shape or form and can apply it to any writing style. Each House then collects as many

submissions as possible from a range of ages and these are compiled to produce the final House magazine. The full magazines are available to view on the school website – the pieces published here are a selection of those that were awarded certificates

Denson House Writing Diversity A brisk Tuesday morn. Winter was ending now, the cold withdrawing. Spring was showing its face now, bright splashes of colour and life between the drab concrete and bullet holes. This was a run-down area of London, and no one had made any attempt at patching up the marks that had pockmarked the buildings for nearly 30 years now. I drew my eyes away from the window and watched the teacher sit down. The faint smell of oak lacquer, the dishevelled seats, the way time seemed to stand still within its bounds, yes. This was my Modern History class. Today’s lesson seemed to be focused on an extract of propaganda, from the Progressive Party, defeated 30 years ago now by the forces of the Common Sense Party. I ran my eyes over the extract on the board: The Citizen’s guide to Creating a Unique Society and Encouraging Diversity (March 2041) Citizen! This is your guide to ensuring your role in a Unique and Diverse society! The government has determined that the hair colour of our glorious Countries citizens is not Diverse enough! Is your hair colour the same as your neighbours? CHANGE IT! To refuse to be unique is to refuse society! In the name of the King, the following rules will be put into place to “encourage” the uptake of diverse hair colour. Starting from the 16th of March, the following rules will be put into effect to encourage the formation of a unique and diverse society. 1) All Supermarkets will implement a diversified entry programme; 1. Max 20 people of Blonde, Brown, or black hair colour 2. Max 10 people of other, nonunique hair colours 3. People of Unique hair colours will not be restricted.

I snorted. How ironic. These rules proclaiming to “encourage diversity” seemed to do the opposite. Did no one at the time see the hypocrisy that was developing itself before their very eyes? Surely a diverse programme would allow entry to all hair colours equally? I read on in disbelief: 2) Social Restrictions will also be imposed as follows: a. People of Nonunique hair colour may NOT meet in groups larger than 6 to prevent the spread of non-unique ideology. (if your hair has been classed as “Unique” by His Majesty’s Board of Ideal Society, you are exempt from this rule) b. People of non-unique hair colour MUST MAINTAIN A 2 METER DISTANCE from other members of society, lest the Diversity Ratio of a crowd drop By the King’s Name, we WILL achieve Perfection in Society! This had to be satire. I thought about it even after the lecture, and on the way home. The more I thought, the less sense it seemed to make. Surely a diverse society would not place bounds or limits on people due to their hair colour, and equally treat every citizen regardless of hair colour? Why were “Unique” people treated differently than the “nonunique”? What made them better? My musings were brought to a sudden halt by my arrival at my door. It was dark now, and a typical March night, with my breath condensing before my eyes. How could a society so technologically advanced be so incapable of common sense and human decency? I closed my door on that cold night and entered the warmth of my home. I stared at my closed curtains and flicked on the lights. I set some water to boil and looked out into the starry sky. How could humans be so close to one another, and yet so far. Antoni Kocan – Denson 13

of merit or distinction as identified by our adjudicator, OA Sam Ingleton. This year’s keenly fought competition was won by Ridley House!

I say Good Riddance You’re Maggot, scum, you’re spat-out gum, You’re a rodent’s rotten feed. These are the things that spring to mind When I contemplate your breed. To gaze at your contorted face, It compulses me to retch. You’re a stain on the realm of time and space, Too deep, too foul to unetch. Like bubonic plague, like athlete’s foot, You too cause me to wonder, What stole the eye of the lord on high When he fashioned such a blunder? ‘Cause look upon this place you named home, My, you’ve really done a number! Bare witness to your thirst, your greed, To the fruits of endless plunder. A world ablaze, of disease and decay, The creation brought to ashes. Earth herself fractured and frayed As mother nature writhes and thrashes. Once fertile ground now cracks and smoulders And the Thames becomes the Styx And above the shadows choke Sun from sky And now you’re really in a fix. Some hellish evil is what you’ve unleashed As though led by Virgil’s tongue. You won’t hear the contempt of the innocent beast ‘Fore you’ve ruined all the fun. Oh such sacrilege and savagery, I almost want to cry! But to waste my tears on you sick privateers, I’d sooner dash out both my eyes. Your future holds not mystery But pain that never stops, You’re history, you’re blistery, We’re just waiting for you to pop. And pop you’ll go and down you’ll fall Through the land of sin and spoil.

2020/2021 Through fire and flame, till doused in the pool Of blood, to forever boil. To see you burn and sink so low, Is to be overwhelmed with bliss, And the horsemen need not their arrows nock, You’re too weak to reach the surface. ‘Tis the end of the line I say Good riddance, you waste of breath. And though you may pray for the Lord’s divine way, You’re all to be doomed in death. Mark my words, for you, in hell, one day, There will lie a special place,

And scratched in the stone, above blood and bone: Here lies the human race. Ben Harding – Denson 13

Ideology Not so simple as black or white, Not radical left, nor reactionary right; Our ideals not fixed, not forged in stone Each belief intertwined, never alone. The right to elections, fair and free, The right to represent, the right to be; The right to translate the values we

Hampden House Writing A Rhapsody on Clouds

Well, that’s a bit rude.

Clouds! How do they even work? In the stratosphere, transparent water vapour condenses into minute liquid droplets or solid crystals around nucleation sites in the form of atmospheric dust, staying aloft due to surface-area to volume ratio considerations and so on and so forth, ad

Fine, fine, if you insist. Sheesh. It takes a bit of the edge off Period 1, is all.

infinitum, ad nauseam. There’s probably good solid physics behind it, but the end result is that we have these great, big, fluffy things, as large as mountains, just hanging in the sky unsupported. How is one supposed to take the world seriously? It’s all fake, I’m telling you, we’re just programs in a simulation... Okay, but disregarding the debatable verisimilitude of this existence, you have to admit that clouds really are just gorgeous. One of my favourite hobbies, whenever I’m trudging down from the bus park on a Monday morning far earlier than anyone should be forced to be conscious, is to simply crane my neck as far upwards as my joints will allow and gawk, wide-eyed, jaw opened, tentacles sheathed, at the visual buffet that the sky has served up for me today. Yes, some of my favourite things in this life are just admiring the morning cirrus strands, like feathers ascended, or the classic dapple of altocumulus; but recently I’ve been really savouring the crucible that sunset makes of a sky, clouds heated to molten gold and yet still silhouettes, outshone by our local star. And of course I mustn’t forget about- what?

Jeffrey Tan – Hampden 13

Affirmative Action: A Necessary Discrimination? Affirmative action (AA) in the US was introduced by President John F. Kennedy in 1965 to provide benefits to minority groups that would otherwise be at a social disadvantage and discriminated against. AA refers to the favouring of someone from a typically non-white racial group when universities or government institutes look through applications. In extreme circumstances this can include quotas in which a percentage of places at a university must be allocated to African Americans or Hispanics for example. Naturally this has caused much debate amongst politicians and people in the states as to whether AA is a necessary form of discrimination to improve diversity or simply unfair to white citizens. AA can be seen by most critics as patronising to minorities, and should focus more on the pressing issues of class rather than race as well as the view that it is a cause of racism rather than a solution to it, in that it breaks the 14th amendment. On the other hand, it was greatly needed to improve the socio-economic status of minorities to close the gap between them and the privileged and

hold Into the gargantuan blend of our country’s mould. Each of us defined by who we trust, Which side, which party – we’re told we must. But we don’t conform, we are not square – We are fluid, we change, we grow and we care. Each of us different in what we need NHS, education, or business greed – Labour, Tory, Republican or Dems From any, the shape of our country stems. Alexander Davis – Denson 11

to conquer the de facto segregation that was present during the 60s. President Lyndon Johnson had this to say on AA: “You do not take a person who, for years, has been hobbled by chains and liberate him, bring him up to the starting line of a race and then say, “you are free to compete with all the others,” and still justly believe that you have been completely fair.” However, AA still remains inadequate by some people since it focuses on jobs and college education rather than the early years of someone’s life which have already been damaged by the effects of discrimination and sub-par education. When President Obama was asked whether his children should receive the benefits of AA he declined, despite agreeing with its principals. This shows that, unsurprisingly, since not all African Americans are in the same unfortunate situation then an overly generalised solution of AA might not be fair to apply to all minorities. Saying this, closing the gaps between ethnic and racial groups in education and the workplace can be seen as an effective way to ensure diversity is obtained and maintained in a country where racism is such a pressing issue. It should help to create tolerant and racially aware communities through exposure to other cultures and ideas. This mixing of racial groups may even combat the effects of gentrification and redlining which detriment the growth and quality of life of minorities. To conclude, as to whether or not AA is a necessary form of discrimination, that is for you to decide. There are areas where it has worked, it has clearly increased diversity in universities and job sectors, but racism still exists

in the US and affirmative action is not a solution to it. Whether or not you agree, be sure to consider both sides of the argument, as with any political issue, and use those facts to shape your opinion into something substantiated and justified. Lewis Hodges – Hampden 13

All in this Together The times we are currently living through are unprecedented. It is a surreal situation that the changes to our way of living are now so commonplace and comprehensively enforced, that the idea of merely seeing your mates or popping in to say hello to your relatives has become a distant memory. An understandable fact backs up this lack of freedom however: Covid kills. Over 120,000 Britons have passed away from the virus so far. Nearly 20 times the number of deaths than all UK soldiers killed in conflict since WW2. Although the concept of a national lockdown with extended state control over the population has been argued to infringe on the personal liberties of citizens, the majority of us feel inclined to accept this process for the greater good and the progress of our country; those of us who are most vulnerable cannot physically afford the impact of uncontrolled contact which will ultimately result in the rapid spread of this virus. Lockdown is tough for everyone, right? We’re all in this together? Well listening to the rich and powerful it is easy for us to become distracted from the reality of COVID inequality. A succinct snapshot of this illusion was widely seen last year when Gal Gadot and a large number of her celebrity pals posted a video all singing “Imagine” in an effort to stand strong in solidarity with the rest of society in the face of covid. This tone deaf superficial act was not only incredibly cringeworthy it was also a spit in the face to most of the people watching. Millions of people have lost their jobs and members of their family and are facing a future as bleak and uncertain as the 2008 recession, if not more so, just to see the ultra-rich of our society pretending to relate to our struggles while strutting around their million dollar mansions is frankly patronising. Our island nation is diverse, we are

a land of many different races and cultures, but these factors shouldn’t have an effect on our life outcomes, nor should they contribute to how we are affected by this pandemic, but they do. Inequality is on the rise within our nation and the COVID-19 pandemic is only fuelling this further. The poorest of our society are more likely to work in jobs significantly affected by Covid, such as many service workers who cannot feasibly work from home like others. “People from ethnic minority groups are almost 3x as likely to contract COVID-19 and 5x more likely to experience serious outcomes. Evidence suggests that this is largely due to social inequalities such as housing, occupational risk and access to healthcare. In addition, lockdown measures have disproportionately affected minority communities more than others. Those from Bangladeshi and Black African communities were found more likely to have experienced financial insecurity and mental health issues than white communities”. Churchill once famously said: “Never let a good crisis go to waste”; an important concept today. Although in a different context, it is a chance to unite and make a real change to our nation. Covid has further exposed the divisions in our society between different ethnicities and different classes (although the two are certainly linked), the gap is there and staring us right in the face. As the rich keep profiting off this disaster and the poor keep getting poorer, we must demand top down extensive changes to the way in which our country and society is run, to ensure that the longterm impact of COVID-19 is not so disproportionate. If we really are “all in this together”, then let’s make the most of it and use this power to even out our society and empower those of us who have been exploited. Sebastian Shah – Hampden 12

For a Steamed Dumpling Arse parked unsparingly, bordering luxuriously, en route to London Marylebone station; via the most average carriage Chiltern Railways had to offer. I send my deepest regards to COVID-19, having bestowed me with a harmonious ride as the only passenger of the carriage. I was able to thoroughly immerse myself in its averageness. There were the usual 80s-retro-abstract prints on the

seats that I couldn’t help but refuse to appreciate, and that undoubtedly masked a host of bothersome grime. It did not, however, manage to conceal the sad little lump of gum some ruffian youth had left square in the centre of the seat opposite me. I couldn’t tell how many journeys back and forth the gum had endured but it was clear the poor bugger had seen fresher days - countless rubbings up and down of jeans had turned him a ghastly grey. Recently taped to the windows, there were a couple of vibrant posters covered in dull information providing insight as to how one goes about avoiding COVID-19: wear a mask, hand sanitise regularly, travel at quieter times; the whole shebang how not to encounter the virus. The train ride was, for the most part, uneventful. Once at Marylebone Station, I transferred to the underground and traversed my way to Piccadilly Circus; a total of three stops southbound along the Bakerloo line. From there it would be a brief walk to Chinatown. Wafts of warm commuter air pushed me toward the surface, but, like the light at the end of a tunnel that you dismally realise to be a hurtling train, I could hear faint whispers of a rudimentary drum backing track reverberating along the corridors, amplified with every step I took. I regret to recount that social pressure got the best of me, and I joined the socially-distanced bully circle that had formed around the over-zealous busker. After three minutes of his preparation - consisting purely of prehistoric head-bopping – he pulled out his scratched-up saxophone and switched the track to ‘Careless Whisper’, shamelessly riffing out of tune (the whole spirit of the situation was rather shameless). I think it was the incongruent combination of his bright red breathless face straining at the mouthpiece and his sensual, provocative hip gyrations that have ruined the song for me...permanently. I also regret to inform that during the last minute of the song (that’s right, the eager gentleman couldn’t hold out until the end), as he came around collecting any spare change, I accidentally dropped two entire £1 coins into his tweed grandad cap, as opposed to the 50p I had deemed the performance worthy of. And so it was, one overpriced 5-minute jazz improvisation later, I emerged from the depths of the underground and up the greasy piss-covered steps of Piccadilly Circus Station.

2020/2021 It was then that I found, to my utter dismay, the hollowed-out shell of ‘Ripley’s Believe It or Not!’ Museum was looming before me. I remember when I was at the tender age of 10 and the museum was still booming with business, my parents took me there during a day trip. Long story short I was utterly traumatised. My father failed to subdue my qualms when he thought it was a grand idea proving to me every one of the monstrous exhibits I had set my eyes on was real. This notion honestly did bother me so much I must have struggled to sleep soundly for at least two months afterwards. Premonitions of the world’s fattest farmer (Robert Earl Hughes with a waistline of 115” in his prime) squishing me out of existence were not suitable before bedtime. Reluctant to relive the dark and daunting memories, I made haste along Coventry Street, passing by a Five Guy’s and TGI Fridays - but American was not the cuisine that I was after! When I reached the sickly, artificially flamboyant front of the ‘M&M’s World’ store, it was the cue I needed to take the sharp left turn into Wardour Street, and further down Wardour Street, a few hundred yards, was the magnificent and majestic Chinatown Gate. Two bright red wooden pillars supported the intricate ornamental designs of the Qing dynasty era banner. Exotic blue and gold and red and jade hues adorned the banner, topped off with the archetypal jade tile roofing - the scene screamed regality. To paraphrase the guy in the satnav, ‘I had reached my destination’. The grand gate marked the beginning of the cultural bubble in central London. Sightseers flocked about, encompassing the structure with eagerness for pictures. Centred beneath the gate, a young woman was frantically flailing her selfie stick in anguish as another couple intruded on a potential Instagram post. Not fancying to get caught up in the imminent drama, a duel to the death with selfie sticks, I proceeded on and took a quick right into Gerrard Street, the High Street and heart of Chinatown. Foreign yet homely smells invaded my nose, from the vast variety of fruits and vegetables that lay upon the market stalls. Street vendors were yelling out to each other and passersby in their mother tongue Cantonese, and elderly women mumbled triumphantly and made small talk as they bagged up the groceries they had bartered down in price. God, I wished

my bilingual parents had committed to Chinese lessons with me, but alas, I stuck out like a turd in a punch bowl. Nevertheless, as I progressed down the street in search of a restaurant to dine in, I became completely immersed in the chaotic beauty of Chinatown. ‘Mr Wu’s’, ‘Kowloon Restaurant’, ‘Golden Dragon’, ‘Golden Phoenix’; quite a few ‘golden’ ones for that matter, very valuable sounding and enticing. I did have a particular restaurant in mind, just before the comical, cliché ‘Feng Shui Inn’, was the on-trend ‘Golden Pagoda’, a contender strongly recommended by my father. I was taken to a neat little table with a fresh pristine white tablecloth and awkwardly proceeded to ask the waiter for an English menu. I concluded a service charge would be wholly unjust considering the ever-increasing dubiousness that smothered his face. Having scoured the menu thoroughly and ordered a number of dishes that made my mouth water (most importantly the beef and chicken steamed dumplings) I waited, anticipation had possessed me. The chef was on fire that day because, in a matter of minutes, a waitress came over and promptly placed the tower of bamboo steamers in front of me. It was so beautiful. She unveiled the heavenly sight of steam swirling madly around the assortment of buns and dumplings. Chopsticks trembling, I bit into the piping hot dumpling. Joshua Lai – Hampden 13

The Lack of Diversity in F1 F1 could be considered not very diverse. However, is there a good reason for this, or is it just because of reasons such as a limited number of people being able to enter the sport? Firstly, the teams: 6 of the 10 teams are based in the UK, the 78th largest country in the world, with a seventh having a joint-HQ here as well. However, this is for practical reasons. Over the years teams have naturally ended up in the UK, because many races are Europe-based and the UK can be described as the “heart of the racing world” so teams can easily work with other companies they need to work with in the racing world. In reality just 3 teams are officially British. However, 9 out of the 10 teams are Western European and the 10th is

American. Why is this? Like many things, the answer is money. Using data from Essentially Sports, in 2019 Williams spent the least of any of the teams at $132 million. The mean average is $271 million. This makes it financially difficult for companies, outside Europe and North America to contemplate creating an F1 team. However, new budget caps of $145 million, and $135 million from 2023, could make this easier in the future. Secondly, the drivers: Lewis Hamilton has been calling for greater diversity in F1, which has an initiative called #WeRaceAsOne which aims for greater diversity and inclusion in the sport. This year, one of the focuses is about female participation in the sport. Currently, there are no female drivers. Only men have entered races since 1992 and the last time a woman started an F1 race was 1976. Over history, 5 women have entered a race, 2 have started, and 1 has scored points (0.5 points). However, why haven’t there been any female F1 drivers in the last 29 years? Well, it’s for a number of reasons. The first is that the average boy is more likely to want to be an F1 driver than an average girl. This might be because in western society boys are more likely to enjoy things like karting than girls. Also, boys are able to “want to be like Lewis Hamilton” or “want to be like Max Verstappen” whereas girls don’t have a role model that they want to be when they grow up in the F1 driver world. It was only 3 years ago that many women in the sport were “grid girls” holding umbrellas at the start of the race looking nice. However, many girls do get into karting. So why don’t they become F1 drivers? Well, only a tiny fraction of aspiring racing drivers become F1 drivers. Last year, the woman highest in the racing world was Sophia Flörsch. She came 29th out of 35 in F3. Let’s say there are 200,000 men in the driving world (made up figures) and 10,000 women. This means that 1 in 10,000 men would have an F1 seat (20 men). However, statistically, just 1 woman could drive in F1. There is an ongoing debate about whether F1 is one of those sports where your gender affects your performance and therefore it is harder for women to beat men than the other way around. However, gender isn’t the only measure of diversity. Nationality is also a good measure. At a glance, F1

seems quite diverse. The 20 drivers come from 13 countries, averaging out at just over 1.5 drivers per country. This seems reasonably diverse, until you look more closely. The country with the most drivers (3) is the UK. The countries with 2 drivers are Finland- Northern Europe, FranceWestern Europe, Spain- Western Europe, Germany-Western Europe and Canada- North America. A pattern quickly emerges. In fact, the only driver not from a country in the top category in the Human Development Index is Sergio Perez from Mexico.

His early career involved many trips to the US to race. Like the teams, you need money to drive. According to a post on Kart Pulse, in your first year it can cost you $4,000 (currently around £2,900) for a kart, engine etc. It then costs around $250 (around £180) per race. At 12 races a year, you need to put aside over £5,000. It’s not hard to see why it’s just not possible for people in certain countries to get into the racing world. Even in the wealthiest countries, it is hard for people with a lower household income to afford the cost of racing.

The solution to making F1 more diverse isn’t just one answer, and it depends on what type of diversity you’re interested in. Perhaps one of the key challenges is lack of awareness. Many people who have a talent for racing may have never once considered racing because they just don’t know about it. Alex Albon, who drove in F1 in 2019 and 20, is half British and half Thai. He chose to race under the Thai flag to help promote awareness of the sport in the country. However, like many things, a main answer to why F1 isn’t more diverse, is money. James Seanor – Hampden 8

Lee House Writing

Different Cultures, Different Foods

Another World?

Come with me and your taste buds will be swirled,

It was a dark room. Two chairs were placed and one was occupied. The other empty. A sound filled the room as the door opened and another entity entered. “How was the trip?” The person in the chair asked. “A bit lengthy, you did ask for me to travel across three galaxies, but 20 minutes doesn’t bother me much,” the entity answered. “Well I am glad to hear that, I wanted to ask you about your planet,” “Oh it’s doing fine, very neat and uniform, yours?” “Before I answer that, I want you to look at it, just see it from the window there,” “Ok. By gosh yours looks neat! Only three colours, Blue, green and a dusty sort of brown, my planet is coloured in 8 colours, good job!” “Why thank you, how many languages does your planet speak?” “1, we have one planetary language and it works well,” “Wow, if I were to ask you if my planet was a bit messy, or should we say diverse, would you believe that?” “Don’t mess with me, look at your planet, it looks nice and neat!”

“I have to confess something,” “What would that be?” “My world is something different. Every nook and cranny has life and surprises. The land is split between them and ‘ruled’ by important people. There are ‘rich’ people and ‘poor’ people, this is decided by a thing called money which has a different variant in each country. My world evolved as well, I saw it grow from a only green, blue and dusty yellow to a world with sparks of silver and grey. They built their own ecosystems and thriving economies. They have regions like us, but instead of galaxies and solar systems. They call them counties, states, cities and towns. They follow an idea called religion. And there are many of these ideas. They don’t speak one language but 7,099. There are 7 continents, 195 countries, 4,416 cities, 7 seas, 165 rivers, 1,187,049 mountains and 7 billion people. They are all thinking, sharing, making. Destroying, corrupting, fighting. They are all different and the same at the same time. And this is what I call Earth,” The man looked taken aback, he had heard something not done before. He was not just seeing three colours, but the result of 4 billion years and 7 billion people. He was seeing Earth. He left the room and went back to his own planet, all in silence. Arya Singh – Lee 8

There is lots of different food around the world,

First off let’s smack our lips, And go to the UK to eat fish and chips. Let’s go to India and enjoy some Chicken Tikka Masala, And then go to Australia to watch the Koala, Next up in Italy we eat some Pasta, I promise you will be exploding with laughter, The next place is Japan which is filled with beauty, Let’s go to a restaurant and enjoy some sushi, We go to Mexico to eat a taco, The flavour is so intense you will turn into a psycho, The next place is Sri Lanka with its Rice and Curry, Our journey’s coming to an end you better hurry, Let’s go to the USA and eat a burger, Don’t be disheartened just a little bit further, We stay a bit longer and eat some Mac n cheese, Our journey was over like a breeze, There is one last thing I want to converse, Food around the world is extremely diverse. Abdullah Ahmed – Lee 8

2020/2021 Diversity I stared at the blankness of the paper, armed with a single red crayon. With nothing else left to do, I attempted to create a picture. The crayon made its mark on the paper. Strokes of red here and there, creating all sorts of wonderful shapes yet the picture was still tediously empty. I surveyed my cluttered desk to find a blue pen. It was a great asset to my picture, its bold lines along the paper created a vibrant look. Yet the monotonous emptiness could not be ignored – the vibrancy was just not powerful enough. Under the pile of garbage scattered along my room I fished out a green highlighter which proved to be a gentle touch to my paper, but it was still not enough. I pursed my search again and to my surprise I was granted with some yellow paint. Splash! in excitement I covered the paper with splotches of yellow. I looked down at my creation and was pleased to find that all my efforts complimented each other. I laughed, thinking how ridiculous I was to think that my lonely red crayon could brighten up the mood by itself and was amazed by my picture, reflecting the power of our diverse community.

because of their beliefs. One has to be nice to other people, whether they understand the other group or not. You can understand and accept these people easily enough. The person’s colour should not be an excuse. Although you used to be allowed to fight against them, that’s not allowed any more. They are indeed different. They look different in Games, and they speak a different strange language, but Ridley are still people. Lee Trotter – Lee 13

Translation / to•ran•su•ree•shun 私の名前は渡辺港だ。英語の本を日本語に翻訳する翻訳家だ。子供の時から、ロマンチックスが大好きだ。他の人々は夏目漱石を読みながら、私はウィリアム・ワーズワースを楽しんでいた。この作品を翻訳する事はいつも私の夢だった。My name is Minato Watanabe. I am a translator who translates English books into Japanese. Ever since I was a teenager, I have loved the Romantics. Whilst others would read Natsume Soseki, I was nose deep in Wordsworth. Translating these works has always been my dream.

「一日、グーグル翻訳は渡辺さんの仕事 Ajan Robertsingh - Lee 10 を盗むね」と言う人々は私を苛立てて、露知らず。翻訳はたった言葉の数学的な換算だなくて、言葉はたった思考の通貨だない。 Gesetz Zwei von Aylesbury 意味を含む容器だが、自分の実態だ。「 Gymnasium: 悲しい」と「嘆かわしい」の詐害は何だか。言葉はたった意味の容器だったら、あり In unserer Schule haben wir Regeln. ないと言う。でも、あるよ。「セラヴィー」と Eine von diesen Regeln bedeutet, dass 「仕方がない」の詐害は何だか。言語は wir einander Respekt zeigen müssen. 自分の実態と完食がないだったら、あ Zum Beispiel darf man nicht wegen りないと言う。でも、あるよ。 People who seines Glaubens benachteiligt werden. say that Google Translate will steal my Man muss den anderen Menschen job annoy me - they have no idea what nett sein, ob man die andere Gruppe they’re talking about. Translation isn’t versteht oder nicht. Diese Menschen merely the mathematical transfer of kann man verstehen und akzeptieren words from one language to another; einfach genug. Die Farben von den language is not merely a currency of Menschen soll keine Ausrede sein. thought. It’s a vessel which contains meaning - but it is an entity in itself. Obwohl man die Erlaubnis früher hatte, What is the difference between “sad” gegen ihnen zu kämpfen, ist das noch and “sorrowful”? If words were simply nicht erlaubt. Sie sind anders, ja. Sie containers of meaning, you would say sehen anders aus, wenn sie Sport that there is none. But there is. What machen und sie sprechen eine andere is the difference between “c’est la seltsame Sprache, aber Ridley sind vie” and “that is life”? If language did noch Menschen. not contain its own essence, its own texture, you would say that there is Law 2 of AGS: none. But there is. In our school, we have rules. One of these rules means, that we have to show each other respect. For example, one should not be disadvantaged

もちろん、言葉は世界の片方がある。例えば、なんと言うのは大事だなくて、「テーブル」はいつもテーブルだ。でも、感情のようの

複雑なものはどうかしら。ぜひ、自分を写すために選ぶ言葉は自分を影響する。バイセクシャルな今日イギリスに住んでいる人はたった徳川時代に日本に住んでいる人だ。この言葉は本当にない物の荷札だか。写す意味を作るか。この意味は本当にある真実で、言葉は人類の真実着き方だか。もしかすると言葉は電子のように真実を取り巻く。もしかするとドイツ語の「タベレ」やイタリア語の「タヴォロ」やスペイン語の「メサ」は惑星のように「テーブルの真実」を取り巻く。 Of course, words still have a real-world counterpart; no matter what you call it, a “table” will always be a table. But what about more complex things, like emotions or identities? Certainly the words we choose to describe ourselves inform what we become. A bisexual man in Britain today is simply a man in Tokugawa-Era Japan. Are these words just labels for things that do not exist? Or do they create the meaning which they describe? Or does that meaning already exist as some Ultimate Truth, and words are humanity’s means of reaching it? Perhaps all of our words, all of our meanings, circle this Truth like electrons around an ion. Maybe “Tabelle”, “tavolo”, and “mesa” orbit the essential, metaphysical Notion of Table like the planets around the sun. 私はトランスジェンダーだ。これに気がついた後で、「私」の真実に肉薄した。ワーズワースのように、偽を無くして、真実に帰った。過去の定義や訳は大事だない。今いるのがいつもいた。私の名前は渡辺港だ。 When I came out as transgender, I came closer to the inner truth of Me. Like Wordsworth, I discarded all that was fake and returned to the natural core, to what is truly true. My previous definitions and translations do not matter; what I am now, I have always been. My name is Minato Watanabe. Oliver Tolson-Boxall – Lee 13

Paterson House Writing Boats Each individual person is like a boat. Lots of people say that we are in the same boat, but really everyone is in their own separate boat all alone. Going in different directions and to different places. Some boats are bigger than others and those boats represent the people in the world who are lucky and appreciated. Therefore, they have a bigger safety net around them. Others are smaller and are not welcome because they are different and believe in things others may not. Those people are going across rough seas, sometimes alone, but other times in twos or threes. Still just about staying afloat. And then there are those small dinghies, floating in the middle of nowhere, not knowing where they are and where they’re heading. Those are the people who do not believe in themselves because others don’t believe in them. They don’t know what they are or who they are going to be. These people, unlike the big boats sailing along happily, have to struggle, and every second for them is a matter of staying afloat. Every now and then they see another boat the same and they help each other, but some are not always that lucky. So, it shows not everyone is in the same boat, not everyone is fortunate to have rights, but everyone is different and no matter how small or big their boat is, on the inside the people on all boats should be treated the same. And that is ‘Diversity’. Raphael London – Paterson 7

Dear Toby Dear Toby, Hi! I hope you are doing all good. I hope this letter finds you in the best of spirits. It feels like years have passed since we last saw each other! How’s life in Canada, hope remote home learning hasn’t been too stressful. I have been welcomed warmly at my new school. All my new friends are supportive, caring and best of all interesting! We have so much to converse about during breaks and lunch, mainly due to the wide variety of origin & culture. From topics like

Diwali, to Eid. Recently I have been doing some research on Diversity and frankly I find it quite intriguing. Let me tell you what diversity means to me. Diversity by itself means many things, but for me it means understanding that each person is unique in all features and characteristics and we should acknowledge how it can build and enhance a community. I feel like alongside diversity we should start talking about equality. Around 99.9% of people have an unconscious prejudice to people who are different to you. When you see someone who is “different” there are thoughts that run through our mind, what are they going to do, are they a threat, are they friendly etc. In our modern world this has been reduced hugely, but the unconscious bias is still there. An example of discrimination: say you are doing the same task as your friend, and you both have the same outcome, but they receive a much better reward than you, that’s going to be annoying. Yet in places all around the world, full equality is still not even in sight, and this needs to change. In terms of having a team/workforce, many leaders are choosing similar people, rather than diverse people. They feel that choosing a diverse group of people would not help them achieve their goals. Whereas that is clearly not the case, when you have a range of contrasting opinions, the job will often be completed quicker. However, an extremely diverse workforce might be more difficult to manage, but it looks like the pros outweigh the cons… The greatest challenge of implementing diversity in a workplace is to remove unbiased prejudice. This happens through racism, sexism, homophobia and many more. Issues often start occurring when participants of the majority group have conflicting opinions/ideas to the minority group. Kind Regards, Aryan Gorai – Paterson 8

Diversity Explained? We’ve been talking about diversity for years and decades but what actually is the true meaning of it, so what is diversity? Diversity means different. Different is like a cat is not a dog or a dog is not a cat, they are not the same. But what actually is the true meaning of different? Different means special. Special is like he is left handed but I am right handed, they don’t do the same job. But what actually is the true meaning of special? Special means unique. Unique is like he has green eyes, but I have brown eyes, they don’t look the same. But what actually is the true meaning of unique? Unique means you are the one and only in the world and no one is the same as you. We are all humans, the same outside but different inside. Twins can look identical, you can’t tell their differences, but once you know what each of them are individually thinking or doing, that makes a huge difference. This is why we are all different, that we are all the one and only in the world. Without diversity, we would all be dull and the same. With diversity we are someone different, special, unique and there is no another one of us, which is why we should feel proud. Yan Han Tan – Paterson 7

2020/2021 Recipe for Diversity I am going to cook a diversity cake I’ll break some thoughts into a cup, I’ll beat them, whisk them, mix them up I’ll weigh out the pronouns, just enough. Choosing the right ones can be tough. I’ll drop in some big words for effect, Sexuality, inclusion and respect.

Now that my recipe has begun, I’ll add characteristics one by one. Race, ethnicity and religion make the mixture, And adds flavour to our worldly picture. I’ll add a disability word or two, I’ll pour them in and stir them through. Now I’ll put a lid on it, Wait a while, Let it sit.

Phillips House Writing Humanity Tiny bits matter from a small dense point United over time and joined, Into a nucleus, and then an atom of hydrogen Then atoms of different elements all in action Atoms get together into clumps of matter Forming rocks which collide and shatter And soon planets of different sizes, different materials Form of different substances, cores of different metals. The universe evolved, opening doors to more phenomena, Testing out different compounds and chemical formula And creating the Earth as we know it, our homeland A planet of woodlands, oceans, and desert sands. Diversity has existed since the start time, But being different was never a crime. So why now, why does racism and inequality exist? Why does the importance of Black Lives need raising a fist? So why do we stereotype people or give others privileges? Why should one religion have the advantages? Why should one group be in command? Why should one ideology be in demand? Diversity characterises our environment And difference is no topic for disparagement Because no human, not president nor supremacist

Should deny the equality of humans, someone’s right to exist. So, what can we do to save our Earth diversity? We need to bring change, embrace differences, act urgently, We need to look back at our past, our ancestors thousands of years ago, And no longer care about colour, gender, or age, to let our diverse species grow. We need a world with no space for separation, No space for colour, race, or religious victimisation. Because only together we are the human race And we are not defined by our birthplace. We are defined by our selflessness We are defined by our kindness We are defined by the opportunities we embrace We are the human race. Dhruv Kale - Phillips 9

I am Diversity I am diversity, I am the ugly person scaring people away, I am the attractive person luring people in, I am the black person standing there, I am the white person standing around too, I am the rich person full of privileges, I am the poor person who never had anything in life, I am the kind person who welcomes all that comes, I am the mean person who slams the door, I am the religious person preaching on my belief,

Lastly, the end is near to our creation. I’ll add different cultures for decoration, I will glaze it with peace and happiness, And leave it to give it an identity, Then bake it, brown it and finish my recipe. Luke Marshall – Paterson 8

I am the atheist shying religion away, I am the book with the worn-out cover, I am the book spanking new from the shelf, I am the person who will include anyone who asks, I am the person who will only include some, I am the tall person who towers over all, I am the short person who always steps out of the way, I am anyone you can imagine, I am anyone as we are all the same I am diversity. I am diversity, I will not shy away from any person, Everyone is my friend, I don’t care who they are, As everybody is the same inside, If people treat others equally, Without judging them by their cover, Then I will befriend them, I am diversity. I am diversity, I am that person who does not slam the door, I am that person who will welcome all inside, I am that person who cares not for appearances, I am that person who will treat everyone a friend, I am that person who knows right from wrong, I am that person who knows everyone is special inside, I am diversity. I am diversity, I will not shy away from any person, Everyone is my friend, I don’t care who they are, As everybody is the same inside, If people treat others equally, Without judging them by their cover, Then I will befriend them, I am diversity. Ethan Georgy - Phillips 7

Stand Up! Our world is made vile By we who have the power to reconcile, We, who object, oppose, and oppress, Must press on to fight injustice erstwhile. Despite the barriers of culture and language. We will no longer languish in fear and denial Because we can end this lunacy. We have the opportunity To communicate, serve our community, Strengthen, support, spread hope and pride, Provide without privilege, improve without impunity. To grow this world of great divisions Into a great vision – a world of unity Because we can sow the seed. In fact, indeed, When those in need become those we need, Regardless of the colour of their face, Regardless of their race or creed. Then, greed can never conquer the world: But the world can conquer greed. For a house united amongst itself will always stand. John Davie - Phillips 11

can travel around your country without much difficulty regarding language. Also, if you are from the same place, you may think of the same solutions, which is not necessarily the best answer. If you are from different places, you may think of different solutions and can filter out the most effective remedy.

Unique, different, not the same, And we all have imperfections, And that’s perfectly that’s okay.

However, there are disadvantages to having many languages amongst a country. For example, it takes more effort to communicate with each other. How are you supposed to travel across your country if you can’t ask locals questions? Also, having a similar language makes it easier when working as a team. You would be more cooperative if you had the same language and don’t need translators to help with working together. Finally, you are more united as a country. If you have only a few languages, then you are generally more patriotic.

He took the first cushioned step outside, His sleigh with him so he can ride, His father passed him his woolly hat from inside,

I think that it is best to have less linguistic diversity because I think that it is too confusing to have many languages. However, I think that having only one language means that you are at a disadvantage when it comes to going to different countries with a lot of linguistic diversity, so I think that it is best to mediate between the two. James Brear - Phillips 8

The Value of Your Language Linguistic diversity is the amount of languages in one country. For example, in Great Britain there is English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish. The countries with the highest amount of linguistic diversity are Papua New Guinea, with eight hundred and forty languages, Indonesia with 711 languages and Nigeria with 517 languages. The countries with the least highest are Argentina, South Korea, North Korea, and Japan. There are plenty of advantages to having many different languages in a country. A positive point is that you are already equipped to communicate in different countries. For example, if you live in Canada, you need to know French and English. This means that you are prepared to deal with the native languages in both England and France. Leading on from this, you can develop business in multiple countries. Another advantage is that you are bilingual if you learn the different required languages, so you

What If…? What if we lived in a world, Where we were all the same, Where there was no diversity, Where there was no such thing as change? Would we enjoy it? The predictability, the certainty, the feeling of control, Or would we all come to a screeching halt, As life turns grey and dull? Would we wander around mindlessly, Like robots, all ‘perfect’ and square, No rough edges of personality, No sign of what’s really there? Because the truth is diversity is important, It’s what makes you, you, It’s the defining factor of your life, And the path that you choose. We are all individuals,

George Murden - Phillips 7

You’re Different

Bill slipped it on and trotted away, Waiting to meet someone to play with today. The 12-year-old boy plodded along, His sleigh full of snowballs. He found a group of boys to play, But when he asked, they said, “Go Away, We’ve been playing today, And all you’ll do is stick out in the snow. You’re Different, so GO!” Bill trudged off, tears in his eyes, But calmed himself down before the anger could rise He tripped over his sleigh, But got back up to find a better group to play. He went around the corner and saw new people, Bill now felt quite gleeful. He ran at them shouting,” YAY!” All of them turned and ran away. One called out, “Girls only, Go away, You’re different, find someone else who’ll play!” He bobbled off, Blinking back tears, Until he heard this voice ring in his ears. “Billy!” someone called from beside, He turned around and allowed happiness to rise. A whole group of different girls and boys And in a big bundle of noise, Asked “, Come and join our group!” His smile did a full loop! They threw snowballs and built a snow den, Then made an army of snowmen, Billy’s group was having so much fun That the other kids started to look glum. They realised that they had not been nice,

2020/2021 And that different people can add some spice.

And created one group that had fun to no End.

And were all disappointed when they all had to go.

So, they apologised to Billy and his new Friends,

And as a new team, they had even more fun in the snow,

Alexander Bland - Phillips 8

Ridley House Writing Economic Prophet Help Sir! He cut off my hands! Well? Did he turn in a profit? Yes, he cut back his costs, But what about my hands? Well, you know what they say: You’re what you make. Ollie McKenna – Ridley 13

Fraud Scratchings 6th May 1960 Known for his spendthrift tendencies, John Foster, just 24 hours ago, condemned himself to an eternity of misery, in return for one single packet of pork scratchings to accompany his poorly-pulled pint. Having but two single British Sterling to his name, the prodigal Luston native, fond of an aperitif with his Tuesday-evening beverage, found himself with an unwavering craving for a bag of the finest pork scratchings in the Heresod area. Naturally, being short of the requisite change to purchase these, his night mainly consisted of incessant confrontation of Davey Seyten, the landlord of the Limbos Arms, with the intention of obtaining a packet of the popular snack-food. Despite his initial reluctance to comply with the demands of Mr Foster, the landlord established a happy medium in which both parties would return home satisfied; Mr Seyten proposing terms by which Mr Foster would receive his so-desired packet of the flavoured nibble, free of monetary charge. However, to the infinite delight of Mr Seyten, Mr Foster’s obsession with the pork scratchings allowed the landlord to omit to mention the full proposals of the exchange of said item. The circumstances by which Mr Foster had come to possess the pork scratchings have now been exclusively revealed to The Luston Gazette. Following an interview given by Mr

Seyten, the Gazette has come to understand that Mr Foster’s trade-off was worse than initially feared. His ill-advised eagerness, owing perhaps to his well-known gluttonous streak, has condemned him to an eternity of uncategorical suffering. Although the means by which Mr Seyten intends to achieve this are unclear at this time, and his motives for doing so being abstruse at best, it is understood that the value on which Mr Foster places transient pleasure has left him significantly out-of-pocket to Mr Seyten. While it is difficult to believe such extraordinary single-mindedness and idiocy from a single person, Mr Seyten is believed to have a track record in exchanges similar to that of him and Mr Foster. This does perhaps clarify why Mr Foster was so devoid of any notion of rationality when agreeing to the terms which Mr Seyten proposed to him; the landlord appears to have certain abilities when it comes to pushing his agenda unto other people. Mr Seyten is known in the Heresod area for being a particularly slippery individual, and has appeared in front of the local crown court, mainly on counts of fraud of varying degrees. Despite the clearly malign qualities of Mr Seyten, it still defies belief that Mr Foster’s material desires where such that he could not consider the terms of the deal to be of complete detriment to him in every other instance in his life, save that five minutes he spent guzzling his ill-gotten packet of pork scratchings. The other clients in the pub were so shocked by the exchange of goods that the vast majority have fallen ill with an unusual case of amnesia, which seems to have only affected those that were in the pub at the time of the deal. Epidemics like this have been known to crop up from time to time in Luston, and tend, coincidentally, to develop following Mr Seyten being accused of yet another case of fraud. This, therefore, makes the reporting on the exchange undeniably hazy, and the

only information we at the Gazette of which we have come to possess has been sourced from Mr Foster himself. It is unclear whether Mr Foster has also been affected by this contagious forgetting, naturally making it very difficult to verify the information given to the Gazette by Mr Foster. However, there is significant cause to believe that the account given by the victim holds at least some truth, as this has been the tendency in the past, with the police often only being able to form a lacklustre argument to present in court, which explains Mr Seyten’s continued freedom, despite his poor criminal record. In the coming 24 years, The Luston Gazette will provide further clarification on the developments of this story, and endeavours to remain Heresod’s premiere newspaper through its reliable and rapid reporting. For the time being, it is up to the readers to wait patiently for our subsequent accounts of Mr Foster’s realisation of the immense stupidity of his actions that night. The Luston Gazette would like to reiterate to its readership that none of the events of this story are fabricated, and that one should take immense caution when bargaining for things which provide only evanescent gratification. Archie Rainbow – Ridley 13

The Isle of Dogs It all started on a snowy day three years ago. An elderly, crooked man had been experimenting with his mind on the most devious things he could come up with. He had thought of things only the devil can dream of. He wanted to put some of these ‘things’ totest. His first idea was a failed attempt, yet, he went back to his small island house and changed his approach. His plan was to export one hundred dogs to a remote island and see what they would do. He set about planning this horrible mission with every microcosm of his horrible mind. He took all kinds of dogs. He took dobermans, labradors, beagles and many, many more. His plan was for

them to fight and he would take the last dog that lived home to be his guard dog. He wanted a guard dog so that he would be protected from the wild animals that inhabited his island. He compiled all the resources he needed for the experiment. Once he had bought all the dogs he placed them in different parts of the island. He slowly and quietly rowed off the island back to his offshore shack. This was the first time he had left his island since 1980. He had not seen anyone for forty-one years. Only a handful of people even knew of his existence. He left his parents when he was only seventeen years old and moved straight to his island. He came back to the island exactly one week later. To his horror what he found was not what he had expected. There were very few dogs that had died. He had wanted the dogs to scrap until there was only one left. Instead they had worked to catch other animals on the island and were now eating what looked like a pig. All the dogs on the island had different jobs - they did these with the utmost obedience. The different jobs were all as important and valuable as the others. The dogs realised that there would only be one survivor if they fought and there would be many more survivors if they all worked together. The dogs had different specialities and they used these to do the different jobs. The labradors caught fish, the dobermans protected the other dogs while they slept and the greyhound

caught the food. What the dogs had shown the old man is that you need specialisation for a group to work efficiently; if everyone is the same then your achievements will be restricted. The dogs had shown the man that he needed to work together with his fellow man. Ewan Gatt – Ridley 9

The Test of Time Pristine, white clouds smudged across the horizon, highlighting the pale-blue canvas that sat behind it. Unexpectedly, it started to waft upwards, growing thicker, before revealing shades of grey. These clouds signalled hope for a new day, a fresh start, and a new page. But perhaps these puffy creatures weren’t so wonderful after all; the clouds were dotted with shades of grey, shades that tainted the work on a pale-blue canvas. Were these shades the signal for something? Peacefully walking round the square, the shrill sound of a bell ricocheted through the site. It scraped off the walls and then crescendoed like a mad siren. It pierced through my ear, pounding against my eardrum. Fortunately, I was early but others clearly weren’t. Footsteps rippled through the ground; a clamour breaking out amongst the young troops. They hustled and bustled throughout the main corridor,

bumping into me along the way. As I opened the door, the sight of these students struck a chord in my heart. Reminiscing the days when I was one of them. In a new dimension where I felt like a small fish in a big pond, a new-born baby, born into the world, naive to the exams that awaited me as I attempted to trace out my future as a young boy in Year 7, trying not to make any mistakes. From there on, I didn’t want anything to stain my reputation. All I wanted was to mark out my life. Who I wanted to be. How I was going to progress through the ranks. “Wake up, young man” remarked the teacher. “Aren’t you meant to be somewhere?” he added. “Yes Sir,” I replied as I awoke from my slumber. The clock hands trickled across the clock which peered upon me. It was almost as if it was teasing me, as the dark strokes of the clock stuttered. It then made it’s back up. The hour hand pointed towards half-past two. It had come to my realization: there was an exam. Even worse, the hall was on the other side. I dashed across the immaculate lawn, accelerating as I feared for my life. Advancing towards the classroom, there was an eerie silence. Drops of sweat, oozed from my forehead, crawling over before pattering through the crevices of the cold, hard ground. Advancing through the final hurdle, I reached my class. I sighed in relief. However, it was too late. Daniel George - Ridley 10

2020/2021

SPORTS

U12 Cricket Reading Blue Coat School (Away) The first game of the season for our new school was exciting and we arrived with high hopes. Reading won the toss, elected to bat and started strongly. It wasn’t until the 6th over that we finally got our first wicket quickly followed by 2 more in the 7th and 9th overs. These however were the only wickets for AGS’s bowlers. In the final overs Reading ramped up the run rate to finish with 108 runs. AGS had an unfortunate start to our innings with 3 of our top 4 out without scoring a run. After 2 overs we were in trouble at 6/3. It wasn’t looking hopeful and after 10 overs we were 45/5. Toby was batting well and looked set for 50. However, he was bowled in the 12th over on 40 runs. Although we did not lose a wicket for the next 6 overs we were eventually bowled out with 2 overs to spare, losing the match by 23 runs. Toby scored 40 and Aayan, Siddhant & Ravjot took 1 wicket each.

all bowled well and wickets tumbled. However, Dr Challoner’s batting line up is strong and late runs brought up a score of 150/8 from their of 25 overs. AGS started well and with a fast outfield we scored runs quickly. Their total of 150 was looking very achievable. However, it was a day for spin bowlers and wickets started to fall. The subsequent batting collapse saw AGS all out for 84 after 21 overs.

Royal Grammar School (Away) After a disappointing loss in our first match the team was keen to correct our mistakes. RGS won the toss and elected to bowl and it was looking good for AGS’s batsman before losing our first wicket in the 3rd over. AGS was building its innings but it was difficult to score and only George G reached double figures, scoring 25. The innings closed on 66/8 after 20 overs. With RGS falling to 13 for 2 our spirits were raised. However, they were the only wickets to fall and RGS comfortably reached their target in the 11th over to record another cruising defeat in only our second game. George G scored 25 with the bat and Miles & Connor took 1 wicket each with the ball.

Dr Challoner’s Grammar School (Away) Our first Saturday game of the season was set to 25 overs aside on a very hot sunny day. Dr Challoner’s batted first and their two openings were quickly dismissed in the first 6 overs, before AGS’s spin bowlers got onto bowl. They

Royal Latin School (Home) At the start of our first home game we knew we had to win to get into the semifinal. AGS won the toss and elected to bat. Our opening batsmen provided a good base, and when Toby came into bat the runs really started to flow. Scoring over 50 runs, he hit 6 fours and 3 sixes, dominating the run rate. The runs kept flowing after Toby was out bringing the team to a final score of 143, a large target for 20 overs. Royal Latin’s opening batsmen were quickly dismissed by our bowling and the wickets kept falling at a steady rate with no batting partnerships being made. In the 17th over however, their wickets ran out and they were all out for 91. We were in the semi-final!!

John Hampden Grammar School (Home) - Semi-Final Day Just like against Royal Latin AGS won the toss and chose to bat. We were scoring runs slowly until George G came in. Top scoring with 45 not out, George scored 6 fours from 57 balls.

The runs were flowing and in the last 6 overs our run rate increased by a large percentage with us often scoring 8-13 runs per over. We scored a total of 103-8. The AGS bowlers were off to a flying start taking 3 wickets in the first 2 overs. It was a great day for our openers, taking 5 wickets in total. During the middle overs we didn’t get any more wickets until the 17th over when the wickets returned and John Hampden lost 5 wickets in 3 overs before being all out in the last over for 71 runs. AGS had made it to the final! George G ended on 45 not out and the stand-out bowling performances were; Aayan 3 wickets for 6 runs and Sriram 2 wickets for 7 runs.

Dr Challoner’s Grammar School The Final Since we beat John Hampden in the semi-final we are now in the final against Dr Challoner’s. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19 we were missing some of our main players for the final but we still approached the game, determined to win. Sadly, this match was a step too far and Dr Challoner’s continued their good form from our previous match with them and they ran out winning by 7 wickets. It has been an exciting first cricket season for us at AGS and we look forward to many more to come. Well done to all members of the squad and thank you to our coaches, for organising and developing our play. Zach Cleary – Phillips 7

U13 Cricket The A Team: After the cancellation of last year’s cricket season, and with a few nets sessions behind us, there was an excited, yet nervous atmosphere as we waited outside the Sports Hall to go to our first game of the season, against Reading Blue Coat school. Given the issues that we have all faced over the last 12 months, we should perhaps have anticipated what was to come; an anticlimactic start involving a cancelled fixture due to extensive amounts of rain. So our first game was against arguably the best team in our county, Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe. RGS won the toss and chose to bat, making an excellent score of 142 on a spinning wicket, with George Greaves and Tom Lowe both taking 2 wickets each. Chasing down that total was never going to be easy against an excellent opposition, but Oakley Spencer battled it out at the crease and scored 27 runs, our top scorer for that game. Although we didn’t reach the target set by RGS, a great deal was learnt from that day batting and bowling - which was shown in our next game. Our second game was against Chesham Grammar, and we won the toss and elected to bowl. After an excellent opening spell from Eddie Jordan and Ismaeel Khalid, both of whom took a wicket each, Fionn Clare came on and took 2 wickets, one being caught and bowled by himself. Chesham went on to make 93, but Tom Lowe’s batting at the start of the innings obliterated their attack. With a 6 off the first ball, he went on to make 40 not out and hit 4 sixes and 4 fours. We chased it comfortably, with good hitting from Oakley, who made 28 runs. We then played Burnham Grammar school on a baking hot day, in what was an extremely enjoyable fixture. Adi Allam won the toss, opted to bowl first and gave everyone the chance to bowl at least one over. We got them all out for 75. It was time to run down this total to try to win the game. This run chase was made more exciting by us mixing up our batting order, which resulted in the loss of some early wickets. In amongst this, Iwan Bridge and Eshanth Vakkalanka both put in ‘a good shift’, scoring 11 and 12 valuable runs. They both got out, leaving Ossian Conely, Joe Harrison and Eddie to win us the game. We were living quite dangerously at this stage of the match, but Joe and

Eddie got 40 runs in a partnership to win in what turned out to be a close game. This game then qualified us for Finals Day, as we finished 2nd in our group. As a warm-up game for our finals day, we faced Magdalen College. We played on a relatively wet pitch, which made the wicket very skiddy and unpredictable. We bowled first and they survived the full 20 overs, scoring 156 for the loss of just 3 wickets. We were pretty shaken up after that innings, but we went out with a positive attitude and survived the full 20 overs, scoring 111 for 3 against a top - class team. Some great innings were made by Oakley, Ismaeel and Eddie, all scoring over 20 runs, with Ismaeel scoring 32 to top it off. On the 1st of July, we had Finals day. Our first game was against Dr Challoner’s, where we were sent in to bat. Ismaeel and Adi went out to open the batting, but a few quick wickets fell, due to a fiery spell of bowling from Dr Challoner’s. Adi and Eddie steadied our batting, with a 31 run partnership before Eddie was dismissed. Adi got out for 30 runs with our total score being 86 - 8. Our bowling was good, but wickets weren’t falling for us. We had only got 2 wickets before they ended the match, beating 86 on the 18th over. As a team, we fielded excellently, with Joe stopping numerous runs. We were extremely disappointed, but it was a great improvement considering we lost by 36 runs in a friendly match against them a few weeks before. After losing to Challoner’s, we were playing against John Hampden for third place in the county. We batted first,

scoring 91 - 9. We knew that we could have scored a few more runs than we did, but were confident. After the first 10 overs, we had taken 5 wickets, but a sudden comeback from John Hampden meant we lost the game on the penultimate ball. Joe took 2 amazing catches in the dying moments of the game and Adi finished with 3-13, Ismaeel bowled 2-20 and Ved Gandhe bowled 2-7. A sad end to our season, but we had shown great improvement throughout. A player who best exemplifies this improvement and who must be mentioned is Ossian. In our first game, it was his first time keeping wicket for a long while. He was hit on the knee, leaving him out of the game for around 10 overs, before he recovered and bravely came back on. His improvement was most apparent on the day it mattered most - Finals Day. He kept 40 overs and only let 3 byes through, taking many brilliant catches. In the team, Ossian improved the most and worked harder than anyone to play a vital role in our team. On behalf of the A team, we would like to thank Mr Dudmish and Mr McGill, who coached and supported us throughout the season. Well done to everyone playing this year and we hope to have another great season next year. Adi Allam – Ridley 8 Eddie Jordan – Lee 8

2020/2021 The B Team: Our season was, unfortunately negatively affected by the weather, which resulted in a number of cancellations. Only two B team games have been played, with losses against very strong RGS and Magdalen College School teams. Despite these results, there was a great deal to be proud of from the AGS boys who represented the B team this year. Against RGS, Tom Barlow and Shaun Gamage took two wickets, while Joshua Jackson (JJ) scored 11 runs with the bat. Against Magdalen, Ved Gandhe and Risheet Saboo took a couple of wickets apiece

and JJ again starred with the bat, scoring 15 not out. With a focus on squad rotation and participation for all, it has been great to see so many boys turn out for the school, even if the opportunities to play have been limited. It is not possible to mention everyone in this report, but it has been fantastic to see the likes of Vedanta Warad play competitive cricket for the first time.

Mr Dudmish, Mr McGill and Mr Brittain would like to thank everyone who has played school cricket this year for their efforts and application. It has been a lot of fun (if a bit too noisy at times!) and we wish you all the best with your future cricketing endeavours.

Ved Gandhe & Austin Bhadri – Hampden 8

U14 Cricket The A Team: We started our season playing Haberdashers in the national cup but because of lots of bad weather it was cancelled twice and the winner had to be decided with a bowl off. For AGS Oliver Reading hit the stumps as well as Billy Dodds, this took us through to the next round as Haberdashers only hit the stumps once. The next fixture we faced Chesham in the quarter final of the county cup who we beat with wickets still in hand. Our next game was a friendly against Berkhamsted where they scored 135 and we managed to scrape together 90 runs. This was our first loss of the season. For the next stage of the nationals, we were playing Whitgift and they batted first and scored 258. After playing for 35 overs our entire team was tired, we got off to a steady start with Ollie Costello and George Jackson, but we were eventually bowled out for 100. Our next game was a friendly against Dr Challoner’s where they managed to get to 150 as we went out to chase this, we lost 4 early wickets. Luckily, Ewan Gatt and George Jackson built a good partnership to get us back in the game where Ewan got a fifty, it ended up going down to the last ball needing one, we ended up drawing. Coming to the end of the season the last few games we had we played John Hampden in the county cup semi-finals. This was an easier game than normal with them only getting 32. Thanks to 4 wickets from Olly Reading and Freddy Crafts and Ben Fish chipping in with 2 wickets each.

Next, we had the final against Dr Challoner’s who we had drawn against a few weeks before. We were expecting this to be a very close game that could go either way like previous games. But surprisingly they only managed to reach 65 as Olly Reading took 5 wickets along with Dan Poole who took two. Past this point it was quite an easy chase with Matt Holcroft and George Jackson getting us off to a very good start. In the end Billy hit the winning runs to finish the game on 69 with AGS winning the game as County Champions and going through to the Nationals first round. Billy Dodds – Lee 9

The B Team: We have had quite a short season this year and there has been some highs and lows. We had a difficult start to the season with Berkhamsted away. Berkhamsted won the toss and chose to bat so

we took to the field. We kept them to 129 for 6 but our bowling had some room for improvement with 39 given in extras. Shay and Rayan bowled very well taking 2 wickets each. Then we went in to bat. We lost a couple of early wickets then Ben and Adi put on 79 for the third wicket including an excellent 53 for Adi and 23 not out for Ben. Unfortunately, we came 9 runs short as we needed 19 off the last over. Our next match was against Magdalen. With short boundaries and a dance class in the background, Magdalen won the toss and put us in to bat. Our batting was very strong at the top with Luke ending on 42, Shay with 37 and Akhil on 22 with 2 consecutive sixes. We finished in a good position with 136-4. We then went out to field. Our bowling was strong and we bowled them out for 96. Wickets were falling regularly and Will and Gaurav both with 2 wickets each. Our next match was also our first home match. It was against Challoner’s.

AGS won the toss and chose to bowl. Wickets were falling regularly and our fielding was tight. Shays 4 wickets in for overs and only going for 18 runs total was very helpful along with Hanush’s 3 wickets and only going for 8 runs. The partnership of 54 they had was broken by a direct-hit runout from the boundary by Ben. The final wicket fell with a diving one-handed catch by Ben off the last ball of the innings. Challoner’s were 108 all out. AGS then went to bat and lost five early wickets and after 8 overs we were 25-5. It was not looking good. The middle-order then staged a recovery with Tom 23 not

U15 Cricket A Team: After the lockdown last year meant no school cricket, it was impressive to see over 30 of us regularly coming to training throughout the Summer. The A team began their season with a much anticipated match against RGS - having lost in two County Cup finals to them, we were desperate not to lose again. We started well, limiting them to 122 with wickets shared around. However, we quickly collapsed to 58-9, and with our numbers 10 and 11 needing 65 off 52 balls, the game looked gone. Thoughts had already turned to arranging early lifts home, and RGS clearly saw the final wicket as a formality. But in an innings he will undoubtedly live off for years to come, Aryan Sharma began to score with increasing confidence, ably supported by Uwais Mukhtar (17*). We still required 18 off the last 2 overs and 4 off the last ball, but Aryan wasn’t fazed, stroking a brilliant drive through extra cover to take us to victory, finishing on 40 off 27 balls - cue wild celebrations. We moved on with encouragement to our first County Cup game at a very wet Stowe, but from the outset it looked like it would be a tough game. So it proved, as we capitulated to 72 all out before losing by 9 wickets. Next up was Dr Challoner’s, and once again our batting looked shaky, but we managed to post 122 in our 25 overs to give us a chance. With a number of players missing, a spirited performance with the ball took us close, the pick of the bowlers being Ollie Blundell (3-10 off 5 overs). Once again the game went to the last over and once again

out. Unfortunately, it was not enough and AGS lost by 13 runs. We finished on 95 for 9 off 20 overs. Our final match of the season was against John Hampden. We won the toss and chose to bat first, notable mentions go to Akhil with 50 not out and Will with 41 not out. Our total was 147-1. John Hampden then went to bat. Our bowling and fielding was tight and with Luke’s caught and bowled and Akhil’s 2 catches we were looking in good shape. John Hampden finished on 97 for 8 wickets.

Overall we had a great season and in total, we scored more runs than we gave and took more wickets than we lost. There were definitely some standout performances and we would all like to thank Mr Ramsbottom, Mr Digby and Mrs Jackson for their continued support throughout the season. Ben Jones – Paterson 9

Aryan finished it off, this time with the ball, defending 9 to give us the win, and the Trevor Whitby Cup, by 1 run.

even though it has been my first year of school cricket, I have seen plenty of dedication and resilience in this team.

In our only home game, against Chesham, Hussan Zubair (43 off 34) and Ali Humzah (50 off 35) made the most of the short boundaries, with one 6 from Ali reaching the squash courts’ roof. After making 154 Chesham were never really in the game, and despite some late hitting the win was relatively comfortable.

Starting off the season, we played our first match against RGS, which was an eventful and challenging game for us. We bowled first with a decent start, limiting the opposition to a run rate of approximately 5. From there, the bowling and fielding started to slip off, allowing RGS to score a comfortable total of 147, with four batsmen retiring. The main highlight on the bowling side was Nathaniel Arulanandam with 2/20 in 4 overs. Our definite downfall was the sheer amount of dropped catches, with 30 extras to add insult to injury. Somewhere between 6 and 14 catches were dropped, and only one successful one was taken by Aaron D’Souza. This made the batting half of the match difficult.

In our penultimate match of the season, against Berkhamsted, we batted first. Hussan played a brilliant innings, compiling 78 off 53, but he wasn’t supported - the next highest score was just 16, and we made only 122 despite a very good start. With some loose bowling, Berkhamsted also started well, reaching 45-0 inside 6 overs. However, 4 wickets in 5 balls, including 3 in 4 balls for Alex Davis, changed the game. From that point on, we were definitely in the game, but despite an improved bowling performance we were left to rue some lacklustre fielding and running between the wickets, and lost with an over to go, by 3 wickets. In all, we won 3 out of our 5 games (with 1 cancelled), winning the Grammar School league in the process, the highlight being what must surely go down as the comeback of the century against RGS. I would like to thank Mr Webley for his efforts in coaching us this year and look forward to what the team might achieve in the seniors in years to come. Alex Davis – Denson 10

The B Team: This season has been a short one for the year 10 B-team, and

The opening duo had a 44-run partnership, with Aaron D’Souza getting caught in the 8th over for 23 runs. Neil Pandit entered and brought the team runs to 50 before getting bowled LBW. After Sanjit Kumar (the first opener) was caught at 25 runs, subsequent batsmen struggled to keep the scoreboard ticking, and noone scored more than 10 apart from Aaron Halford. In the end, AGS had managed to reach 110 runs, which was unfortunately short of the target. After reflecting on the defeat, and seeing Sanjit leave to play in the A-team, we had our next match against Dr. Challoner’s. We batted first in a slow outfield, and had an incredibly slow opening, with Aaron D’Souza scoring a majority of the runs, and no extra runs being given for wides or no-balls (which the batsmen were unaware of). Both openers were shattered by 2 back-to-back wickets, where Rajvardan Patankar and

2020/2021 Nathaniel Arulanandam stepped in to increase the run-rate. Raj scored 14* of 29, and Nathaniel played an exceptional innings scoring 39* of 35, which is the season highest in the B-team. Regarding the slow outfield, AGS scored 104 runs, leaving Challoner’s to score 105 to win. AGS had a lovely start with the opening bowlers (Harry Woodus and Neil Pandit - 1st and 2nd bowler respectively), each taking a wicket and conceding 17 runs in the opening 4 overs. Afterwards however, the discipline fell off, and after a potential edge was denied on Challoner’s most threatening batsman, runs were slipping, and the fielders giving too many double runs. Exceptional bowling performances were Harry Woodus with 1/16 in 3 overs and Akshajaan Suthakaran with 0/7 in 2 overs, but despite their efforts, we still lost the game by the 16th over.

We fielded first and had a great bowling attack regarding our situation. Aki Vuppalanchi bowled 1/18 in 4 overs in his debut, along with the other debutants: Tom Whitehead; bowling 1/23 in 4 overs, and Fionn Clancy bowling 0/24 in 4 overs. Krishanu Thakore bowled the best, with the figures: 2/21 also in 4 overs. There were a lot of mis fields, although extras were very low, at 7, which is the best for B-team cricket. The catches in this match were phenomenal, with two beauties from Akshajaan and one amazing catch from an injured Adi Kausaria. We conceded 125 runs in total.

In our final match - against Berkhamsted - many players were absent. We had lost the main batting unit of our team and three dangerous bowlers due to many people absent for exams, and others being forced to play up in the A-team. There were some promising new players however, and there were also some players who joined yet they were

When it came to batting, we performed the worst out of our three matches, with a disappointing 39 all out. Our star batsman, Aaron D’Souza, was bowled on a duck, which set off a bad luck charm for everyone. Partaap Bajwa, another debutant scored the second highest score of 9 in 25 balls, and our wicketkeeper - Henry Bishop - scored

1st XI Cricket I really feel for the senior cricketers over the past 2 years because as with many other sports, their opportunities have been significantly reduced. We did manage a full training season in the Spring of 2020 but unfortunately could not then play in any fixtures. This year has seen a bit of a reverse in that we managed just a small number of training sessions but have been able to play in some fixtures. I have been really impressed with the number of Y13 students who have been committed despite having exams and then leaving school. This includes training on a Friday morning before school with the Y12 players. 5th May 2021 - John Hampden Grammar School - Our first match fell foul of the weather. Bowling first we had JHGS 46-3 off 10 overs before we had to abandon the game. Max Wheaton, Matt Sparke and Kai Bailey with the wickets

not confident in cricket at all; one such example was Ollie Maine, who showed dedication to AGS sport to help out even though he had never played cricket before.

12th May 2021 - RGS - RGS won by 6 wickets. Batting first, we scored 121 all out after 19.4 overs: Bhavan Jeyanathan 50, Matt Sparke 26. RGS then reached our total after 17.2 overs for the loss of 4 wickets: 1 wicket for Bhavan Jeyanathan, Matt O’Sullivan and Max Wheaton and a run out by Matt O’Sullivan. 19th May 2021 - Dr Challoners - Lost by 3 runs. Fielding first we restricted the opposition to 118-7 off 20 overs. Matthew Manley with 3 wickets, Matt Sparke with 2 wickets, and Bhavan Jeyanathan and Videet Vadalia with 1 wicket each. We then made a really good effort with the chase in reply but unfortunately came up 3 runs short for the loss of just 3 wickets in a game that we really should have won. Dinath Alwis top scored with 34 off 28 balls, Max Wheaton scored 28 off 38 balls and Bhavan Jeyanathan scored 23 off 31. 9th June 2021 - Magdalen College School - AGS won by 11 runs. Batting first we scored 143-4 off 20 overs: Bhavan Jeyanathan 57, Ryan Connor

10 off 30 before being bowled. Ollie Maine, a player who had not played cricket before but stepped in when the team was in need, scored 5* resiliently along with Adi Kausaria who also scored the same total. Overall, there were 7 ducks, with two golden ducks. This definitely was not the strongest batting performance, but it showed us that we function as a team, and that if half of us are absent, it could be catastrophic; however, this was also our best bowling performance as a team, hinting that we can form a strong team now. Overall, as captain of the B-team, I am extremely proud of the dedication and support everyone has shown throughout the season. This has not been a particularly strong season for us, but we have had strong individual performances, and I think that everyone can say they have done their bit at one point this season to aid us as a team, which is all I can ask for. I am very pleased to have skippered the team, and we hope to play more matches next season, because I know we have the potential to win and have not shown it yet, and we should pride ourselves on that. Neil Pandit – Hampden 10 31 and Matt O’Sullivan 22. We then shared out the bowling with 9 different bowlers being used: 2 wickets each for Dinath Alwis, Matt Sparke, Videet Vadalia and 1 for Jude Guest-Brainch. 22nd June 2021 - Berkhamsted - I think the less we say about this the better. Batting first, Berkhamsted put on 180-1 off their 20 overs with their opener putting on 97. Matt Sparke with the only wicket. We then scraped to 35 all out after our top order was toppled within the first few overs. 28th June 2021 Reading Blue Coats T20 tournament. The boys played some really competitive cricket throughout the day in their three T20 matches. We lost the first game against Shiplake College, beat Reading Blue Coats and then lost narrowly to St Edwards of Oxford which meant that we finished 6th out of the 8 teams in the tournament. Shiplake College - Shiplake College won by 6 wickets. Batting first we scored 96 for 9 off of our 20 overs: Matt Sparke 27, Bhavan Jeyanathan 23 and Ryan Connor 11. Shiplake then reached the total in 17 overs for the loss of just 2 wickets: Dinath Alwis

with 1 wicket and the other wicket was a run out by Truman Alvalle. Reading Blue Coats - AGS won by 2 runs. Batting first we scored 103 all out from 19.3 overs: Dinath Alwis 25, Bhavan Jeyanathan 24, Matt Sparke 13, Ryan Connor 13. We then bowled Reading out for 101 in reply: Bhavan Jeyanathan with incredible figures of 5 wickets for 10 runs off 4 overs! Dinath Alwis, Archie Dodds and Max Wheaton got the other wickets and there were 2 run outs (Videet Vadalia and Kai Bailey). St Edwards Oxford - Teddie won by 3 runs. The opposition scored 163 for 4 wickets from their 20 overs: Kai Bailey and Truman Alvalle with 1 wicket each and 2 runs outs (Archie Dodds and Luke Alligan). We then looked like we were going to achieve an incredible

Tennis It was a real blessing to be able to play any sport in the Summer term after the devastating impact of Covid-19 over the past 18 months. Tennis resumed and then was forced to stop again earlier in the academic year 2020/2021. So, it was more with hope than expectation, that I entered both our Year 7&8 and Year 9&10 teams in the Buckinghamshire Division 1 County School’s Competition. Earlier at the start of September House Tennis had taken place, adopting a different format as a result of Covid-19 restrictions. In many ways it was a very positive change with over 140 students taking part in the competition. It showed that we have a lot of strength in-depth at Aylesbury Grammar and that the students enjoyed playing tennis and representing their houses. So, to the Summer season, many school’s chose not to enter the various school’s competitions and friendly matches were side lined. Our first Year 7/8 fixture was against local rivals the Royal Grammar School High Wycombe. Ashton Taank won at No 1 6-1 against Yash Nagpal, Kyle Babbage beat John Goss 6-0, Ronit Tailor secured an excellent 6-1 win against

run chase but just fell short at the end by 3 runs. A fantastic display of hard hitting but Ryan Connor (61 off 25 balls) and Sam Gilbert (32 off 26) were supported by 29 from Bhavan Jeyanathan and 18 from Luke Alligan. 9th July 2021 - John Hampden - lost by 5 wickets. There were a number of changes to this team prior to the fixture due to a large number of Y12 boys having to isolate and therefore this was very much a mixed team. We did really well to get the game in however (due to the isolations and the weather) and thanks to Mr Webley who took the game. Batting first we were all out for 126 off 17.5 overs. Kai Bailey top scored with 38 and Matt Sparke scored 32. They were supported by Archie Dodds (19) and Luke Alligan (14). In the field the ball was shared amongst 8 bowlers with wickets for Matt Sparke (2), and the 1

each for Max Wheaton, Luke Alligan and Sai Krutheventi. Despite a good fielding display the opposition got the target with 4 balls to spare. Overall it has been a positive season and it has been great to see the boys enjoying their cricket and representing their school. This particular squad has had a really nice team cohesion. They play competitive cricket when they walk onto the field but they also enjoy each other's company and created a really nice environment for both the older players in the group and the new players coming through. With a strong Y12 cohort it will be interesting to see if the senior sides kick on again next year when they can be supported by players across all years (something that was not possible this year due to the bubble restrictions).

Zebedee Pearson and Andrew Johnson lost a tough match 6-7 against Jack Stott. AGS then secured both doubles rubbers comfortably to win the overall fixture 10-2, a great start to a short campaign.

Therefore, both County rounds of the LTA’s National School’s Competition for Year 7/8 and Year 9/10 teams would be decided on the 7th July when both teams would play Dr Challoners’ Grammar School away. This is normally a tough fixture and has witnessed many major battles in the past few years. The AGS players were confident and wanted “The Win” not just for the bragging rights of being County Champions but more importantly for the right to play more tennis in the Autumn term, where they would represent Buckinghamshire in the Regional/ National stages of their respective competitions.

The team then rolled onto our next fixture away at Caldicott Prep School who were already unbeaten in 5 fixtures on their Independent School circuit. They were in for a rude awakening and a reality check in respect of the quality of school’s tennis which is being played. In little time Ashton Taank dispatched their No 1 player Santiago Faulks 6-0, Kyle Babbage did the same to Marcus Smith again winning 6-0. Andrew Johnson playing at number 4 for AGS had a good 6-2 win against George Fenston and Ronit Tailor lost his singles 6-7 to Max Bracken-Smith after a very tense tie-break. We again took both doubles rubbers to win the fixture 10-2. Meanwhile the AGS Year 9/10 team played their first fixture away at RGS. Ethan Taank had a very tough match at No 1 v Oliver Connor eventually winning the tie-break to take the match 7/6. Fraser Reeves had a solid win 6-2 v Morgan Marward, Ben McCrory beat Benji Southwell-Sander 6-4 and Tobi Akinwumi beat Monty Evans 6-3 We then narrowly lost the first doubles rubber in a tie-break, but Ben and Tobi took their doubles match 6-2. Another great overall win for AGS 10-2.

Mr R Rooney

The AGS Year 7/8 team got off to a flying start. Ashton Taank once again demolished his opponent B Cameron 6-0. Kyle Babbage playing at number 2 backed this up with a 6-2 win against D Vela, Ronit Tailor playing K Thomson took his singles 6-2 and Andrew Johnson battled hard losing 2-6 to L Snowdon. AGS then managed to secure the first doubles match with Ashton and Kyle winning 6-0, we lost the second doubles 4-6. However, this meant a 8-4 overall win to AGS and the County title. The Year 9/10 team have real strength in-depth. We have had many good teams over the years at AGS, but this team has a very decent tennis player playing at number 4 and that is often a rarity in school’s tennis, unless you are an Independent school who offers tennis scholarships. Ethan Taank knew he

2020/2021 was in for a real battle against the Dr Challoners’ No. 1 N Bergandy, a player with a better LTA rating. Ethan however really knuckled down and dominated the match winning 6-1. Ben McCrory beat C Peyton 7-5 and Tobi Akinwumi won 6-1 against M Mowle. Only Fraser Reeves struggled in his singles losing 1-6 to R Spittal. AGS then took both doubles matches 6-4 and 6-2 to win the overall match 10-2 and another County title and guaranteed school tennis next term. That was the end of a very limited summer tennis term. Where we would often play 5 or 6 fixtures in each age group plus Senior fixtures, we have played so few due to the impact of Covid-19. At least the students will play more tennis for AGS in September.

On a personal note the Dr Challoners’ match was my last ever sporting fixture after 28 years at AGS. Can I take this last opportunity to thank all the students who have played any sport for the school during that time, there have been so many of them. In tennis terms, I have witnessed so many good players representing AGS and we have reached a number of National Finals at Senior level which placed us in the Top 16 schools in Great Britain. Can I thank all those tennis players who have played with such distinction over many years. Finally, as the students reminded me last night there was another important fixture taking place just after the matches against

Dr Challoners’ had finished. The small matter of England v Denmark and a possible major football final after England’s last win in 1966. I was old enough to watch that match and aged 5 had an official t-shirt with the lion mascot on it! The tennis players all made predictions, most were correct a win for England 2-1. I must admit to being far too enthusiastic and going 4-1 England!!! “Good Luck” to both AGS tennis teams in the Autumn term and someone will keep me posted on how you all get on. Mr P Dean

SCHOOL LIFE

Careers Report As part of the school’s purpose of enabling students to flourish throughout their lives we are committed to delivering high quality careers education through the framework of the eight Gatsby benchmarks. 1. A stable careers programme 2. Learning from career and labour market information 3. Addressing the needs of each student 4. Linking curriculum learning to careers 5. Encounters with employers and employees 6. Experience of work places 7. Encounters with further and higher education 8. Personal guidance Whilst unfortunately the national lockdown and remote learning have meant that many encounters and events that normally make up the rich extra and super curricular life of Aylesbury Grammar were not possible, the world of working from home has itself created new possibilities and opportunities to engage with careers learning.

In the autumn term 205 outgoing Year 13s and recent leavers, who were applying to university, successfully completed their UCAS applications with the support and guidance of their Heads of House and subject teachers. Many students had to undertake virtual interviews and the AGS staff and community were able to provide mock interviews for some of the most competitive courses and institutions. Applicants this year have secured an impressive total of 748 offers between them. Meanwhile the new Year 12s were introduced to the UCAS process and how to make the most of their time in the sixth form to prepare for their futures as part of the sixth form lecture series. In November the Bucks Skills Show organised by The Buckinghamshire Skills Hub was delivered online and many Year 9 students had the opportunity to link their curriculum learning to employer encounters, including one session delivered by an Old Aylesburian working in the music industry. As part of our commitment to careers education Aylesbury Grammar is part of The Careers & Enterprise Company, Enterprise Adviser Network and Careers Hub, through which, as well as productively networking with Careers Leaders in other Bucks schools and the Local Enterprise Partnership, we also

receive the support of an Enterprise Co-ordinator (Ladi Mohammed) and volunteer Enterprise Advisers (Nigel Flowers and Lorna Jeffrey). In the spring term when the school entered into its second period of remote learning, Nigel and Ladi stepped up to provide an informative online talk to both Year 12 and Year 13 on making use of the networking opportunities provided by LinkedIn. Nigel also collaborated with the Chemistry department to create a remote employer encounter and experience of the world of work by creating a life-cycle assessment task for all students in Year 11. In the run up to the Easter holidays Year 8 were again inspired to take advantage of the changing nature of the workplace during lockdown, by participating in a day of work (from home) shadowing, either during the Easter break or the April INSET day. Students were encouraged to follow a relative or friend through a day of working from home, to sit in on web-meetings and learn more about the world of work. There were some fantastic feedback comments from those who got involved on finally understanding what mum or dad gets up to all day, and seeing parents and friends in a whole new light. As the summer term saw the easing of restrictions, a number of school events were able to take place that supported

2020/2021

students understanding of the world of work, and provided a chance to meet with employers/employees including Year 8 and Year 9 Enterprise days and Year 10 Faith in Action day. For Year 11, following the cancellation of the external examination series, we launched our first ever Virtual Work Experience Programme. We encouraged all students to gain a greater understanding of the world of work by meeting directly with employers through video call and undertaking industry appropriate remote tasks as directed by the employer. Many students sought their own placement either directly with an employer or through schemes organised by agencies such as Springpod, Speakers for Schools and InvestIN. We were also delighted to assist nearly 50 students in making contact with 30 different employers through the generous support of the AGS community including parents and Old Aylesburians who have offered a huge range of fascinating opportunities to our students. It was really inspiring to take advantage of the remote working expertise gained by employers over the past year and a half to enable access to careers experiences that may not have been available in the past, and continue to prepare our students to be successful in their future. George Wellbelove reports further on his virtual work experience with a law firm below. June also saw post-18 options day and OA sharing of expertise afternoon for Year 12 where the whole year group were able to hear

from a range of providers about their options after A-levels. The day began with a talk from InvestIN on ambition and action and how to use networking to gain work experience placements. This was followed by breakout sessions on Higher and Degree Apprenticeships from the ASK programme, Student finance with UEA, Competitive applications with the University of Cambridge and Understanding my Strengths with CTM Pathways. The morning then concluded with a talk on Personal Statements from the University of Nottingham. The afternoon provided a fantastic opportunity to hear from Old Aylesburians who had left in the last 10 years on their experiences after AGS and the advice they appreciated,

or wish they had heard, at this stage of their academic careers. This was hugely popular with the Year 12 students who valued the authentic insights from former students. Finally, in the last week of term all of Year 10 were guided through their post16 options by Laura Franklin, an independent careers adviser and given a chance to research and reflect on their options using the Careerpilot platform. They also completed the pathway planner survey to enable targeted and suitable careers advise as they progress into Year 11. Throughout the academic year, Year 11 and 12 students have also had access to independent careers advice and guidance from Adviza, which continued via telephone calls during remote learning. All of the activities mentioned have, of course, been supported by classroom teachers making links between their subject and its application in the real world, the whole school drive to stamp out discrimination and challenge stereotypes and the huge number of opportunities that have been promoted and followed up by students in their own time. It will be wonderful to combine some of the best innovations of this academic year with the events we sadly missed, as we begin the next school year. Mrs L Adams

Debating Society This has been an ‘unusual’ year for the Debating Society, as you can imagine. Undaunted by Covid rules, our first debates certainly didn't shy away from controversial topics: ‘This House believes that monuments to controversial figures should remain' was followed in Debate 2 by the motion 'This House does not support diversity in the media for diversity's sake’. Audience numbers grew exponentially, and to some extent moving to the lecture theatre, as a result of Covid-19 restrictions, benefited the society, as it allowed a large number of students to attend, providing vibrant floor debates afterwards. With excellent arguments and blunt denials for points of information (brief questions from opposition speakers aimed to challenge the argument of the speaker), each debate seemed to be more interesting than the last, with

speakers developing in confidence. But as Covid-19 cases rose some debates became a hybrid between in person and online speakers, with people often having to fill in at short notice for absent time keepers or chairpersons. This came with its own problems with speakers delivering large chunks of their speeches on mute and not being able to hear points of information. In any case, we managed to push past these initial challenges! However, when the January lockdown was enforced, the decision was made that debating society should focus on upcoming online competitions, rather than general debates. This did come with the unfortunate decision of cancelling the much-anticipated to Christmas debate.

debate with some belated festive cheer… in March. All debaters were adorned in Christmas get-up to make their voices heard in the most passionate debate so far: ‘This House believes that Santa is not a good role model for children’. The trend of expansion in numbers continued and this was not only true for the Senior Debating Society. We finally managed to set up the Junior Debating Society, which has seen an increase in popularity since the January Lockdown, reaching more than 40 members. It has been wonderful to see the younger years get involved, and see the talent they have. We look forward to upcoming debates and hope that more people are inspired to join and take part in debating next year. Torsten Hansen – Ridley 12 Ashre Moses – Paterson 12

Nevertheless, when we did return to school, we decided to start the first

Design Technology - Gold Industrial Cadets Project Winslow On the 16th November 2020, a team of 6 assembled in the boardroom for the Launch Event of the Gold Industrial Cadets Programme, run by the Engineering Development Trust (EDT). Here, we were first introduced to our mentors and our project. We were tasked with designing a sustainable railway station for East-West Rail in Winslow. Our mentors were engineers working for the East-West Rail and would guide us throughout the duration of the programme. Over the course of the next 16 weeks, we would need to research and model our ideas and present our findings to a panel of experienced engineers in the final Graduation Week. But as is the case with all undertakings, our journey was not an easy one. Over the first few weeks, we had to research all our initial ideas and present them to our mentors. We envisioned that an extremely sustainable station should be built in Winslow, setting a high standard for sustainable infrastructure even in smaller locations. With this ideology at the core of our research, we investigated the uses of

various new technologies, including kinetic tiles to harness energy from footsteps, Timbercrete - a strong and environmentally friendly building material made from sawmill, and a Kinetic Energy Recovery System - to recover lost energy from braking, similar to Formula 1 cars. Alas, when the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic hit, we were all stuck at home, having to relearn online

cooperation for such a team-oriented project. Still, we persevered, arranging calls, as well as chat groups in order to keep on top of our work. Supporting each other throughout Lockdown was imperative and our team spirit got us through the mammoth task of remote teamwork. Presenting to our mentors was another hurdle when working from home, but

2020/2021 through the power of Google Meet, we were able to impress them with our research and designs. Using their feedback we narrowed down our ideas until we had a clear picture of what our station was going to include. After further research and modelling on Sketch-Up, we presented our first prototype of the station and its interior elements to our mentors. After more constructive feedback, we kept improving our interior and exterior designs until we created a design that we were extremely proud of. Once we had completed our design, we needed to complete our report. This would need to include all of our thinking, research and prototypes to

demonstrate our efforts for the past few months. Again, our teamwork was put into action, and we all split the writing between ourselves, allowing us to efficiently assemble a report that we were all proud of. Throughout the project, we were also required to attend a series of webinars to allow us to learn more about the variety of careers in engineering that were available if we decided to pursue it further. These were very insightful into the world of engineering, and allowed us to make informed decisions about career paths we would like to pursue. Overall, I believe that Gold Industrial

French – Year 9 Pancakes Le douze février 2021, notre classe, nous avons célébré la chandeleur. La chandeleur (en anglais, candlemas) est une date importante, et c’est célébré le deux février en France. ce jour, tu fais des crêpes, qui représentent le soleil. Nous avons cuisiné des crêpes dans nos maisons. On croit que si tu tiens une pièce d'or dans la main gauche, et retourne une crêpe avec la main droite, on ne manquera pas d'argent pendant toute l'année. En premier, j'ai rejoint la leçon en direct après j’ai fait la pâte à crêpes. Madame Jackson a enseigné la phrase “il faut”, ou traduit en anglais, “it is necessary”. Je ne pourrais jamais imaginer que je voudrais faire un cours de français dans ma cuisine. J’ai aussi appris beaucoup de matériels, par exemple une cuillère, un saladier, un verre etc. Après ça, nous avons appris comment traduire une recette française. J’ai suivi la recette et j’ai fait les meilleures crêpes que j'ai jamais faites. Elles étaient plus délicieuses avec du nutella. Au moment du dessert, j’ai mangé des crêpes avec ma famille, ils ont adoré. J'ai beaucoup apprécié cette leçon et j'ai beaucoup appris sur les traditions françaises Je pense que c'était le meilleur cours pendant le confinement. C'était trop marrant et je ferai des crêpes de nouveau l'année prochaine. Merci madame Jackson! Aditya Aggarwal – Ridley 9

Mes crêpes étaient sucrées et délicieuses La Chandeleur cuisiner La Chandeleur is a French festival which dates back to around 400 AD. It was designed to celebrate the midpoint of winter, and in early Christian times the day was known as the “feast of lights”, celebrating the ever increasing strength of the sun as winter faded away and spring started to emerge. La chandeleur is literally translated as “The CandleMass” and on February 2nd Christian mass is held to remember the presentation of Jesus in the Temple and candles are lit during the service. Being able to take part in this tradition was both exciting and enlightening, it was a good way of boosting morale during some difficult times, and it was very interesting to learn about the different customs of La Chandeleur. The most rewarding custom had to be the fact we were able to make pancakes during the live google meet and we also learnt some background

Cadets was a great way to improve my verbal and written communication skills, as well as teamwork, creativity, and perseverance, and I would definitely recommend this scheme to anyone considering any area of engineering, or anyone wanting to improve themselves, and have some fun on the way! On behalf of the team, I would like to thank the school for offering this opportunity to us, and especially Mr. Dimelow, who guided us throughout the project, giving us support and valuable advice to help us excel. Shantanu Kale – Phillips 12

information on the significance of the making of the crêpes. The basic idea was that your very first pancake needed to be sauteed in your right hand, while you held a gold coin in your left hand. You would then flip the pancake and if it landed correctly on the pan - on ne manquera pas d’argent pendant l'année. (There will be no shortage of money throughout the year). Of course it was still a French lesson so while we were reading the method and the ingredients needed for making the crêpes we learnt about the importance of the verb/adjective il faut (it is necessary to…) when giving instructions. People (such as me) seemed to appreciate the application of French in different circumstances more, because it was a topic we could all relate to. Pancakes. After all the anticipation it was finally time to get cooking. J’ai décidé que porter mon chapeau de cuisinier n'était pas nécessaire parce que je n'ai pas voulu que tout le monde perde confiance en apercevant mes compétences culinaires supérieures. The first step called for us to pour flour into a large bowl and to make a well (little hole) with it. The scales at my house were broken so I used the power of guesstimation to pour 250g of flour into the bowl. I then added half of my 50cl bottle of milk into the bowl and mixed them at 7200 RPM. I added the eggs into a separate bowl but laid off the salt due to traumatising previous experiences with salt. I added the perfect egg mixture into the large bowl and added the rest of the milk. We then had to whisk the entire mixture together and I used my huge forearm muscles to ensure the mixture was perfectly smooth.

and said I didn’t need to worry about sharing and could have the rest. Anthony Unugboke – Ridley 9

A normal day in the life of a 2020/2021 student: Google Meets are packed into every second of the day, and the afternoon is spent finishing off the extra classwork set by teachers. However, on Friday the 12th of February, when we celebrated La Chandeleur in French, we realised the potential of Remote Home Learning: Finally, it was time to saute and flip the crêpes. I lightly greased the pan and used a large spoon to spread the mixture evenly across it. After the first side had cooked sufficiently, I grabbed my coin and prepared to flip. Needless to say mine landed perfectly on the first try so I won’t be needing birthday money this year. I then flipped all the other pancakes with the same level of success and decided to use a very minimalistic glazing of honey. Simpler is better. I then called my family over to try the crêpes, my dad had the first taste and he said they looked better than they tasted. Because I am mindful of my health, I added very little sugar. My family was unimpressed

La Chandeleur, also called the Festival of the Candles, is the equivalent of Candlemas. It marks the time when Jesus was presented in the Temple of Jerusalem, according to Catholic religion, and it also signifies the time half-way through the winter, the time when we get nearer to Spring. In recognition of this, in French culture, pancakes are made, with the golden brown colour (if they are successful!) signifying the Sun in spring. The tradition follows that you must hold a gold coin in the left hand, whilst cooking and flipping the pancake with the right hand. On the day, we set up the camera in our kitchens, and together, we cooked

and flipped our pancakes, with many people showing their golden-brown pancakes to everyone else. What made this better was the fact that we had break-time after the lesson (although break-times in lockdown were not very distinguishable), meaning that we could eat all the pancakes we made, and they were amazing - not too sweet, but scrumptious with Nutella. The event really showed that remote lessons did not have to be just sitting in a chair and talking to a screen (although the chat feature was fun!) and more importantly that it was possible to do practical lessons during the pandemic. In addition, I learnt some French about cooking and food: Je voudrais faire une leçon comme ça dans le futur, surtout car il serait la plus divertissante et c’est impossible de faire un cours de cuisine dans la salle de classe de français.. J'ai appris qu'il faut sauter la crêpe après que c’est cuit. Aussi, la recette que notre professeure a trouvé était vraiment délicieuse avec Nutella - ce n’était pas trop sucré ou trop salé Pour conclure, La Chandeleur de 2021 était plus amusante que tout autre cours pendant le confinement. Dhruv Kale Ph9

Humanities Society Critical thinking has always been a cornerstone of intellectualism. Whether it be to promote curiosity, enhance problem solving or strengthen arguments, our students always find a way to engage in the school’s non-academic life to further develop such qualities. With this pretext in mind, a group of Year 12 pupils decided to form a society with the aim of promoting and celebrating the humanities. The society wishes not only to broaden perspectives on matters, but also to be a vessel for students to present, discuss and inform each other on a range of issues: History, Geography, Politics, Languages, Economics, English, the Arts, Philosophy, Religion and many others. One of the first actions of the society was to organise presentations that take place every Friday lunch. These presentations usually attract 20 to

30 pupils, some of whom believed they had no previous connection to the humanities. Whilst we have been restricted by the now 40 minute lunch breaks, the Humanities Society has held several presentations. The inaugural presentation was held by Andreas, regarding the history surrounding the Soviet Union, and was followed by Aymaan’s talk regarding the validity of art as a historical source. The next week, Seb discussed the treatment and demonization of the British Working Class using the connotations of the word “chav” as a canvas. The final presentation before the writing of this article was held by Anuka, Bhavan and Dinujan, exploring the economics and solutions to international drug cartels. Looking to the future, the Humanities Society wishes to give talks to younger years, compile a termly magazine and organise presentations by former alumni and

other guest lecturers. We also aim to form a monthly reading list covering current affairs and other topics that members have found interesting. Finally, we would like to thank all those who have participated as both presenters and active audience members over the course of the project. We would also like to thank Mr Crapper for helping us set up our Google Classroom, and Mr Taylor who has been so generous in lending us his classroom for presentations. Andreas Velimachitis – Phillips 12

2020/2021 Poetry by Heart Competition My experience with Poetry by Heart started in class when we were told about an upcoming poetry speaking competition. At first, I wasn’t sure what I thought, having never tried anything like it before. However, when I went home and started learning my poem (‘Jabberwocky’ by Lewis Carroll) I found myself enjoying it and started to genuinely consider the competition. From there, I fully

memorised ‘Jabberwocky’, progressed onto the Year 7 final, and won. By this point I was very content with my accomplishment and was very keen to continue further into the county round of the national competition.

I thoroughly enjoyed the entire Poetry by Heart journey, and I am very happy with what I achieved. It is a very rewarding experience and I think everyone should give it a try because even if you’re not convinced at first, you may find a love and passion for poetry and public speaking and maybe even win! George Murden - Phillips 7

Unfortunately, I didn’t go through to the Regional Final, but my second poem (‘Hyena’ by Edwin Morgan) was given a Highly Commended award.

Rambo’s Ironman Challenge I'm fundraising for the fabulous charity CRY - Cardiac Risk in the Young. CRY's Vision is preventing young sudden cardiac deaths through awareness, screening and research, and supporting affected families.

with potentially life-threatening cardiac conditions and offers bereavement support to families affected by YSCD. CRY promotes and develops heart screening programmes and funds medical research.

Every week in the UK at least 12 young people die of undiagnosed heart conditions. 80% of these young people have no signs or symptoms and so the only way to detect a potentially sinister cardiac abnormality is by having a CRY screening test. Since its formation in 1995, Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) has been working to reduce the frequency of young sudden cardiac death (YSCD). CRY supports young people diagnosed

CRY offers subsidised ECG and Echocardiogram screening to all young people between the ages of 14 & 35. There is a simple way to diagnose most cardiac abnormalities. This is by having an ECG (Electrocardiogram) test. Results should be read by a cardiologist. For extra clarity an Echocardiogram can also be done. At a CRY screening, a medical history questionnaire and ECG are used, and an Echocardiogram is carried out

on the day if the Dr requests further investigation. CRY is entirely dependent on the funds raised by its supporters to enable it to offer the services it does to those affected by young sudden cardiac death. I want to raise valuable funds for CRY to visit AGS and carry out a screening programme for our students. Being a PE teacher, working closely with students who exert themselves daily, I'm passionate about doing more to increase awareness and provide screening opportunities. There is a relationship between sudden cardiac death and sport. However, it is important to emphasise that sport is good for the heart. Sport reduces the risk of high blood pressure, it improves cholesterol levels and generally, it reduces the risk of someone dying from a cardiac problem. Indeed, people who play sport on a regular basis live an average of six years more than people who don’t play any sport at all. However, if an individual that plays sport harbours a condition that’s capable of causing sudden cardiac death – such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy or a blocked artery – then sport is three times more likely to cause sudden cardiac arrest. All of this is made more poignant and powerful by the fact that this kind of tragedy can and has recently struck within our very own school community. For my colleague and friend Mrs Alison Cox, AGS Development Director, tragedy struck at the end of 2017, when her daughter Freya died suddenly. Freya was a former student at Aylesbury High School and in her second year at the University of Bristol when she died. In her own words, “We are totally and utterly devastated that our beautiful, energetic and seemingly fit 19 year old daughter Freya died so suddenly on 31st December 2017. The

pain and loss we feel is unbearable but CRY are holding our hands and helping us to navigate our heart-breaking truth and the potential challenges ahead. Like our brilliant, vibrant, sparkling and determined daughter, CRY are making a difference and their work is, and will continue to be, instrumental in the diagnosis and prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death in young people.” The cost to bring CRY into Aylesbury Grammar School for a day, to screen 100 students would be £5000 (£50 per head). My ambition is to raise as much money as possible, to build an AGS CRY screening fund, to be used to provide screening opportunities and also, to support our families who are not in a position to fully fund screening for their sons themselves. As an ambitious target, we have provisionally booked CRY to come in for two days screening in September this year. So how do I persuade my family, friends and the AGS community to part with their precious, hard earned money and support this cause? Well, I've chosen a challenge which will very much test the boundaries of what is possible for this rapidly ageing PE teacher. I spend such a significant amount of time at school supporting students with problems which seem insurmountable, giving out the message that nothing is impossible and that with hard work and self-belief, anything can be accomplished. Never let the fear of failure be a reason not to try and achieve something.

I've chosen to tackle a physical challenge which without doubt, on first impression, is an insurmountable challenge. To complete an Ironman, you must swim 2.4 miles, followed by 112 miles on a bike and finished by running a full 26.2-mile marathon (the equivalent of Aylesbury to Manchester). Not only that, but you must complete the swim in 2 hr 20 mins, the swim and bike in 10 hrs 10 mins, and the swim, bike and run in 17 hrs. Failure to meet a cut-off or take any longer than 17 hrs to finish and you are disqualified. At 49 years of age and at least 2 stone overweight, I have an incredible amount to do to give myself any chance of completing this challenge. Since January, training has started well and currently I'm doing 3 hrs of swimming, 4-5 hrs of cycling and 1-2 hrs of running a week. My diet has had to be transformed and the weight is slowly coming off. With 1500m of climbing to do on the bike ride, weight will be crucial. Although I still cannot begin to comprehend how I will put these three components together, at least I can see signs of progress........... Knowing that people believe in me, and are willing to sponsor me, will be vital for motivation in the months to come. The accountability to those people who have supported this great cause will inspire me when things get tough and I question whether all of this is possible. Thank you.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

UPDATE MARCH 2021 So, my 2020 Ironman Austria attempt was thwarted by Covid, with the event being cancelled in September. Having trained hard and got into decent shape, it was really disappointing to not be able to take on the challenge. I have rolled my entry over to 2021, and the provisional new date is the 4th July, 2021. At this time of writing, I am still uncertain about whether it will take place in July, whether I will be able to travel to Austria or whether it will be postponed for a third time. All of this uncertainty makes the motivation for training harder, and it is difficult training for a specific date which is likely to change. The Autumn of 2020 was tough, and my motivation and discipline to training was poor. Coping with a Covid impacted school term was my main focus and training was inconsistent. I lost discipline in my diet and put on all the weight (and more) I had previously lost. My intention was to restart the training with purpose in the new year of 2021. However, Covid continued to worsen and then, out of the blue, school

2020/2021 closed for face to face teaching. From January to March, I have struggled with a far less active daily routine but been very motivated to get back to effective training. I have focussed mainly on the bike and been putting in 7-9 hrs a week on the turbo trainer. Pools continue to be shut through lockdown and hence no swim training has been possible. Once I managed to shed some weight, I have returned to running and am slowly building the necessary aerobic base to support the marathon training ahead in the Spring. I've lost 29lbs in weight since late Autumn and this is making a big difference to performance outcomes. Last week, the AGS pool re-opened and it was nice to get back in the water and start the long road back to swimming the necessary 2.4 miles. Open Water swimming reopen on the 3rd of April and although cold, the lake is calling once again. Ironman have stated that they will decide about the feasibility of the event taking place on the 4th July in May and so it is head down, and train hard for another couple of months whilst I await their decision. Having turned 50 during lockdown, my goal of completing this challenge before my 50th needs to be adjusted. Can I complete an Ironman in my 50th year? Watch this space.....

UPDATE JULY 2021 So yet again, Ironman Austria has been postponed due to Covid and the July 4th date has been pushed back to September 19th. Training has been going so well and I am genuinely feeling stronger than ever before. Progress in the water has been the most significant, with two/three sessions in the pool each week followed by a long swim in open water at the weekend. With limited availability to the lake in Marlow, session times start at 6am so it has become a very early start for me on a Saturday morning!! However, it’s beautiful swimming in the open water and I am now getting comfortable swimming the whole Ironman distance (3.8km) in about 90 minutes. My cycling fitness has also improved nicely following an effective winter training programme on my bike indoors. Training on an indoor turbo and being invited to join a racing team and compete in the WTRL Zwift racing League has really helped with my endurance base and VO2max. As the weather continues to improve, it’s all about the long rides outdoors now and having currently built up to 70-80-mile rides, I’ll be looking to get a few 100-mile rides under my belt before September.

Running will definitely be my toughest discipline and as a heavy lump, it will cause the most stress on the body. Currently I’m running 3 times a week with long runs around 11 miles. I aim to keep progressing and by mid-August have completed a few 15 mile runs. Fundraising continues to go well and we have currently raised £8,500. Incredibly, I think its time to adjust our targets and look to getting to the magical £10,000.

UPDATE & COMPLETION! SEPTEMBER 2021 So, after two years of training, the day finally arrived for my Ironman attempt on Sunday 19th September in Austria. The alarm rang at 3.30 am and it was breakfast at 4 am in the hotel. I arrived at the lakeside to prepare for the swim start and as the sun rose, it looked like we were in for a glorious day. The professional athletes started at 7 am and at 7.30 am I entered Lake Worthersee for the start of my race. The lake was incredible with crystal clear water and a temperature of 21 degrees. The 2.5 mile swim was fast and furious and rougher than I’d expected but I managed to keep a constant pace and finish strongly in a time of 1 hour and 20 minutes. It then seemed cruel to make us run almost a kilometre to the transition area in Klagenfurt University. The bike course was to be two different loops of 56 miles, with a total of 1600m of climbing. The weather was still glorious and my average speed was pleasingly high but I was a little baffled as to how flat the course seemed. Completing the first lap and still feeling strong, it slowly started to dawn on me that there was obviously going to be some serious climbing in the second lap, as we hadn’t gained any real elevation as yet. The hills started coming and as we went further into the countryside, the demands rose sharply. I went through a really tough patch between 80 and 100 miles, feeling very tired and sore. The biggest hill on the course came at 100 miles!! It was about 2km long with an average gradient of 8%. It was brutal. It took everything I had left in my legs to complete the climb and then I desperately had to cling on over the last 12 miles to finish back in Klagenfurt. I completed the ride in just under 7 hours which was a fantastic time for me. So, on leaving transition for the last time, I set off for the 26.2 mile marathon. The sun was still shining and I felt confident having safely negotiated two of the three elements. However, things were only just

beginning to get interesting. Having only ran 3 miles, I started to feel ill. My stomach was in pain and clearly not happy. On 4 miles, I was violently ill and I lost some time in order to recover. I continued to run at a steady pace and started to refuel. The evening closed in and it was completely dark by 6 pm with still another four hours to go for me to finish. As it went dark, a huge storm arrived and it started raining heavily. The rain was torrential and it didn’t let up at any stage. I was saturated from head to toe, clothes sticking to me, and my path lit by a head torch. On completion of the first of two 13 mile laps, for the first time, I started to think about finishing and believing I could do this. However, there was another challenge to come. On 14 miles, I started to feel rough again for a second time, was very ill. I just couldn’t keep any nutrition inside me. I made the decision to stop eating and just drink water. Could I last the remaining 12 miles without eating? Incredibly, that’s what I did. Running consistent mile times, I ticked off one mile after another and after a long day, I approached the red carpet of the finish line. Whenever, things got really tough on the run, I just thought of Freya and the Cox family, and all those who had donated and put their faith in me. So many people were tracking and supporting me from back in the UK. The motivation I got from that was incredible. After 14 hours and 5 minutes, I crossed the finish line and heard the commentator call out my name and say “Gary Ramsbottom, you are an Ironman!!” I can’t begin to describe the emotion and feeling of that moment. The Ironman motto of “Anything is possible” had come true. Through two years of dedication and hard graft, I had achieved my ultimate goal. Thank you to every single person who has either shared kind words of support with me or donated to our fundraising cause. We have smashed our fundraising goal and currently, have raised over £14,000. It’s still not too late to donate if you haven’t done so far. The link for donating is: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ agsrambo141miles With the funds, we shall be buying another defibrillator for specific use on our sports pitches and creating a screening programme with CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) and having them come into school to screen as many students as possible over the next few years. Mr G Ramsbottom

Year 8 Enterprise Day and stackable pods to make the lamp posts so that there can be different sizes and used for different purposes. The idea started off as just a rough design and a basic concept but, as the day went on, things started to come together.

The morning of Tuesday 8 June 2021 was the same as any other, except for the unsilenceable chatter of excitement. Some classes had been told which groups they were in but for those that did not, the lack of knowledge served as another source of endless talk. As we crept closer to the main event, the already palpable excitement rose even more. We all rushed out of our classrooms towards the hall, mingling with other classes on the way. After so many months of social distancing, google meet assemblies and lack of house events, it was strange to see so many people in one place. We lined up outside the hall in our classes as we were instructed to enter the hall in silence, find our group number on the list and sit at our tables. The thought of being in a group with people you do not know was quite daunting, almost mirroring the induction day. We filed into the hall and the groans of disappointment could be heard as the groups were revealed. We sat in our groups and were briefed about our tasks. We were shown a video informing us about Air Products & Chemicals, an industrial gas supplier. The first activity was to get to know your group and choose your team manager. After the initial shyness and anxiety of being in a group with completely new people, we began to talk to one another and as the day went on, new friends were made. After a couple of tasks about global warming, we were given our main task. We had to repurpose used oxygen canisters into a product and create a brand and market it to the people running the Enterprise Day. It was difficult at first. We struggled to find ideas that were unique and useful. After a while we came up with the idea of a lamp post. It does not sound too special, but we decided to make interconnecting

We refined the design of the product and went over all the details like materials, size, colours and costing. This was the most straightforward part but was exceedingly difficult. Luckily, it did not take too long as we all worked together on the maths. By now we were completely focused and were getting through the work at a steady pace. Our next task was branding. We came up with the name Kinect which, as was later pointed out to us, was a product name that already existed but we were too focused on our product to notice much else. Coming up with a logo was slightly more difficult though because, as was the same for every other group, not everyone was always on the same page. Eventually, after numerous sheets of paper and failed designs, we agreed on a logo. After lunchtime, things slowed down. It was hot and everyone was tired, and arguments had begun to break out throughout the hall. We were sweating and not all of us agreed on what we wanted to do. Although before lunch we agreed that our product was great, some of the group was starting to have doubts, me included. At the start, none of us really thought that we were going to win and now that the day was almost over, we just wanted to give up. We did

not want to present our work to everyone because we did not think it would be worth it but our team leader, Adyan persevered. Him and JJ persuaded us to present our work, but we still were not completely convinced. We sat at our table, waiting for the chosen group names to be called and to our surprise we heard Kinect. We were the first ones to present, and we were not prepared but we still walked onto the stage and were given the microphone and we presented. Our speech was riddled with “ums” and “urms” and we had absolutely no plan, but we still managed to get our point across and were met with applause. While the other groups were presenting, we sat there cursing ourselves. We could have done so much better, but we did not. We all knew that we were not going to win so when the Enterprise Day manager stood at the front and said our name: Kinect, we could not believe our ears. We walked up to the front in a trance and accepted our prize. We were stupefied. We had no idea that we were going to win but somehow, we did. We were so close to giving up, but we pulled through and won. We came out of the experience with a £10 amazon voucher, an opportunity and most importantly, new friends and that is all that really matters. Me, Ned Birkby, Thamjid Choudhury, JJ Jackson, Adyan Uddin and Dhoeton White put in hard work and won and made friends. Ethan Jarrett – Phillips 8

2020/2021 Year 10 Faith in Action Day Faith in Action day gave students in Year 10 the opportunity to learn about different beliefs and how they impact the daily lives of people. Students listened to six different speakers talk about their views on the world around them and what it feels like to be part of a religion. This was a day to respect the faith of others and educate ourselves regarding religion. Canon Rosie Harper, an Anglican Priest who was previously a singer, was invited to discuss issues of justice and equality within and beyond the church and how she contributes. As an active campaigner for LGBTQIA+ rights and a Patron of Dignity in Dying, she expressed her strong beliefs in a tremendously powerful and inspiring way. She also spoke about her life experiences and how they had pushed her to make incredible changes and inspire others. She identified the blocks to the development of justice within the church and voiced her ideas to tackle the issue. The speech that she gave was a message of hope, hope for the future generation to improve what the people currently in power won't. Rosie's words truly inspired me as a student and certainly made a significant impact. Rabbi Lew Mendel, the Senior Rabbi of Stanmore and Canons Park Synagogue, focused on trying to find the answer to the question “Why are we here?”. He believes that the Synagogue plays a small role in the life of a Jewish person. Issues of politics between Palestine and Israel were discussed between the students and Rabbi Lew as well as what the best way to live really is. Rabbi Lew encouraged us to think in different ways and to really focus on making the world a better place for everyone as he believes that is why we are here. Steve Terry, a retired IT teacher,

represents the Buddhist faith on Buckingham Council’s SACRE which guides and supports the teaching of religious studies in the county. The pupils took this session as an opportunity to compare their own faiths and beliefs with those who are Buddhists which made for a very interesting learning experience. He also focused on ethics and the problems associated with certain situations. He spoke on issues such as advancing technologies like electric cars. The pupils had very interesting discussions during the session and overall was a very informative learning experience. Ken Harris, a Methodist preacher, taught us the importance of discussion between religions. In a way, this reinforced the point of Faith in Action Day, which was all about us learning about other walks of life, and trying to understand their beliefs even if we did not fully agree with them. We then learnt about how we can fix many global issues through faith and discussion among different faiths, giving us a good overview not only of the Methodist beliefs, but also, to a large extent, the issues our generation face and will face going forward into the future. This taught me how to communicate well and effectively with people who may fundamentally disagree with me. Mark has taught me that with the right mindset, we can overcome these differences and help each other to grow as people. Mark Bryant helped us to learn about the environmental ethics which often go unnoticed in Islam. We learnt about how the Qur’an teaches to care for the planet like a gardener would a garden, but also how that does not mean we are allowed to misuse it. Mark further went through practical ways of being able to help the environment, such as using water sprays

instead of flowing water during wudu in order not to waste water. Mark helped us to understand that if everyone helps the environment in small ways, then overall, we can all have a large impact on the environment, and can help to restore it. Mark’s innovation was inspirational to me, as he had managed to find a way around a problem which people hadn’t even recognised for a long time. Mark taught me that there is a difference between being in control of something and caring for it. Alison Appiah is a member of the Hare Krishna Temple (Watford), and showed us about different aspects of Hinduism. We learnt about many holy objects used in rituals, and also what they meant to followers like her. She also taught us how Hinduism can be very different for different people, and we learnt about the Bhagavad Gita’s teachings about the soul. Alison helped to show us what it really means to be a soul, rather than to have a soul, and to have a body, rather than to be a body. I found these teachings to help us in our day to day lives, and I learnt that we can use the morals of other’s stories even if we don’t believe in the stories themselves. In conclusion, we learnt a lot about other people’s beliefs on Faith in Action Day - and some of us even learnt a bit more about ourselves. Hopefully, some form of Faith in Action Day will come back at a later date, and we can once again dive deeper into the depths of other’s faith and how it impacts all our lives - Mr Sturgeon told us at the beginning of Faith in Action Day that during our lives, we would be writing our own stories, and that during the course of the day, we would have the opportunity to enrich those stories with the beliefs of others. I hope that I speak for all of us when I say that we would love the opportunity to write another chapter. Yuv Saxena – Hampden 10 Shom Varia – Paterson 10

Year 11 – Virtual Work Experience On the week of the 21st June, virtual work experience took place with the pupils of Year 11. A month after the end of school, this was a welcome taster and insight into the world of employment into which some of us would be experiencing this summer and into the coming years. I chose to have law work experience as I would like to become a lawyer after my education. I was placed with Nicholas Moss QC from Temple Garden Chambers, a prestigious coroner who has overseen and sat in cases such as inquest into the death of Dawn Sturgess in the Novichok attack in Salisbury. Nicholas Moss was a former pupil at AGS and kindly offered to lead my work experience meetings. Due to Covid-19, the meetings were held via Zoom video call.

and how he got to where he is today. A task was set at the conclusion of the meeting and it involved five questions and researching a few different inquiries and laws. This was particularly significant as a lot of lawyer’s work is to research and provide details to a client or jury in order for a ruling to be made. The small details cannot be missed out. After a week in which the work was to be completed, we had a second meeting to review my research and Nicholas Moss provided valuable information and feedback which would benefit my future studies and placements. Most importantly, the work experience placement really helped to understand what goes into being a lawyer in my case. A keen eye for detail and good understanding of laws and proceedings is essential.

An initial first meeting took place and we discussed the pathways of how to be a lawyer, Nicholas’ line of work

A couple of my answers could have been improved but this was expected as Nicholas told me. This week aided

Year 12 Cookery Course We started the cooking course in order to help us learn key skills that can be used throughout our student lives, aiming to save money and reduce food waste. The purpose of our course was to help us learn different skills, dishes and recipes that are not only healthy but also delicious. These dishes varied from mains to deserts, and we thoroughly enjoyed making them all. We would alternate on a weekly basis, between a demo session, where we would be shown how to make the food, and then a cooking session the following week where how much we had taken in would be put to the test. We made a wide variety of dishes, some chosen by popular demand. Our first dish was Thai style chicken burgers, although many of us decided to bring some ingredients from home and add our own influence to the recipes. We then moved onto the highly requested lasagne. This too was not without personalisation as people who preferred not to use meat or beef used a variety of substitutes from quorn to vegetables to replace the beef mince. Our third dish was pancakes and it was the most time-pressured to complete. We had to make more than 12 pancakes (which for some was notoriously difficult) and then one savoury and one sweet filling. The last dish was pizza. This turned out to

be a hit all-round with all aspiring cooks ending up with an extremely appetizing pizza. Cooking was the perfect break from academics, it mixed chilled conversations with delicious food, the perfect combination! From misshaped crepes to sloppy lasagna, we never seemed to be able to replicate Mrs Wilkinson’s recipes, though it was

me to develop my researching skills and made me realise how much work is needed to get to where Nicholas was today. The work set was not particularly different from school work as researching through articles and recording it down in words was the main focus. Finding the right information and using the correct form of communication was also a focus. Through the meetings, I understood that law was an extremely competitive sector and that university is a requirement and a further year of study to become a barrister or solicitor, depending on the branch of law in your interest. Work experience and exploring different pathways in law was essential, for example watching a case at the Old Bailey or working at a solicitor’s company were both examples of what could help in the future. I would like to strive towards university after sixth form and then continue there in search for a role in the law sector, whether it being a solicitor or barrister. George Wellbelove – Denson 11

enjoyable trying to. It is not until you have 3 minutes to catch a bus until you realise how long washing 10 pieces of kitchenware takes, nevertheless Mrs Wilkinson and Mrs McLaren were always there to pick up the pieces. Overall this was an amazing experience and we highly recommend that students choose to take cooking, as you really do learn valuable skills for university and beyond and have a great time doing it. Torsten Hansen – Ridley 12 Jadon McFarlane – Ridley 12 Ashre Moses – Paterson 12

2020/2021 Young Enterprise 2021 This year has provided many challenges to running extra-curricular activities, but despite this we have still managed to run four Young Enterprise companies with our Year 12 students. Although their experience was a little unusual with online meetings and lack of any physical trading events, each team worked hard to create excellent product ideas that have the potential to succeed in the real world. 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. Miss K Chalk – Young Enterprise Centre Lead

Connect – Company Review Managing Director: Julian Atat - Lee 12 Team Members: Sanjit Mallya, Dylan Changer, Matthew Manley, Jamie Wishart, Joseph Vinken, Mathew Udusegbe, Theo Parfitt, Kuastubh Singh, Lukas Jenkins, Charlie Back, Hanijan Majuran Back in September, this group of Year 12s could not have foreseen how valuable the Young Enterprise experience would be. We were all drawn to the process because of our desire

to gain some first-hand experience into what running a business entails, but also to have a rare opportunity to develop some core skills we would need later on in our professional careers. After a few meetings, brainstorming potential ideas, it was apparent that the theme of mental health would be a vital aspect of our product. Coming back from school after potentially six months without seeing our close friends in person was undoubtedly a key reason for this push on mental health. We eventually agreed that we wanted our product to educate people on prevalent mental health issues in a friendly and helpful way. We also saw this as an opportunity to break the stigma surrounding male mental health thus ‘Connect’ was born. Initially, although we knew what impact we wanted our product to have, we found it hard to think of product ideas. After some heavy research into existing products that relieved stress or calmed anxiety, we saw there was space in the market for some much-needed innovation. A team-member brought up the topic of playing cards in one of our weekly meetings which proved to be the foundation that made up our final product: ConnectaCards. Designed to incorporate important advice to those dealing with the most common mental health issues with a fun set of playing cards, we saw this as a product that could genuinely make a difference in people’s day to day lives.

Because of the pandemic, we were not able to start the production process for our product in the Spring term, however, this didn’t stop us from being a successful business. In January 2021, we pitched our ideas to a panel of potential investors in the Young Enterprise ‘Dragon’s Den’ event. We secured £50 investment from the Dragons because of our interesting product and professional pitch. We were also able to secure some additional finance from the ‘Meet the Buyers’ event because we answered their questions well and gave the clearest pitch out of all companies in our area. These events, as well as the meetings we had (whether in real life or through Google Meet), have made this experience invaluable for us. We learned how to work in a team and saw that communication and presenting were some of our strong points. Of course, none of this would have been possible without the kind help from our Centre Lead, Miss Chalk who guided us through each step and gave essential feedback on important aspects of our business. From the design of the boxes to our End of Year Company Report, she has helped us succeed and has made the process a lot less stressful. Awards: • Dragon’s Den Pitch: Awarded £50 • Meet The Buyer Competition: Won ‘Best Pitch’ and awarded £30 Julian Atat - Lee 12

Invigorate – Company Review Managing Director: Abu Nahin Phillips 12 Team Members: Antonio Iannelli, Isaac Ayilara, Mohammed Abdulla, Mustafa Enver, Harry Jones, Oliver Flecknell, Tom McKenna, Tunmishe Coker, Jack Edwards Invigorate was created as a company dedicated to spreading the importance of water consumption to as many people as possible. We aimed to do this by creating a line of reusable water bottles with tracking capabilities. With an ambitious idea in mind our team definitely had its work cut out as over the next 8 months we experienced challenges and triumphs that were new to us all. One in particular impacted our company throughout and that of course is Covid-19. When the pandemic reached its height in December, national lockdowns were fully in effect, slowing down business all across the country and globe; however, that did not stop Invigorate. Dealing with the closure of schools was indeed a monumental challenge but when faced with this trial our group of young businessmen had chosen not to be weakened by this adversity but instead we emerged from the lockdown with a renewed sense of passion and determination as we all knew Invigorate was worth the struggle. Through a series of online meetings, late night calls and serious head scratching we were able to create a fully functioning product that our entire team could get behind and feel an immense sense of pride for. It was with these great efforts as well as contributions from Mohammed, Harry and Antonio that led to Invigorate securing £50 investment from the Dragons Den event as the judges were impressed with our product, brand and presentation. Overall, Invigorate was built on the hard work of all our members and I feel proud to have led such a great team, although we have had our tribulations we also had our fair few moments of success and for that I would like to acknowledge the time and effort that everyone put into our

company. A few honourable mentions include, Gabriel Gullidge for his efforts on our website, Isaac and Antonio for their contributions as project managers, Miss Chalk for her continued support and advice throughout the journey and finally Mohammed for his efforts presenting our company several times to the Young Enterprise Area Board and the Headmaster. Lastly, I could not be more thankful for the time sacrificed by each and every member of the Invigorate team. Thank you to everyone involved. Remember Invigorate to the moon! Abu Nahin - Phillips 12

Mercury - Company Review Managing Director - Harry Warner (Ridley 12) Team Members - Harushan Piratheepan,Shaurya Singh, Tharrshann Logarajah, Sammy Hubble, Andrei Lille, Tom Sandon, Aaron Ward, James Alison, Harry Warner At the beginning of September, our team started our Young Enterprise journey with little to no ideas but with large aspirations. After many long weeks we finally had the foundations of a business idea, a plan to create a service to help new people as they move to the local area. Once the final details of our plan were created, we began the process of making our idea a reality, creating our service, Mercury. When we first began Young Enterprise, we had little idea what it entailed. After having our company elections and sorting out our roles, we attempted to build an idea. This, however, was easier said than done. With twelve different people our ideas were very different ranging from sport equipment to barbering! Six weeks later we finally had an idea and began to try creating it. First we contacted local businesses to see whether they would be interested. Despite the lack of responses, it was the first-time contacting businesses and taught us vital communications skills. With a concrete idea we began to prepare for different competitions, such as Meet

the Buyer and Dragons Den. With useful criticism and optimistic encouragement, we continued on with our journey. Although we did not have much financial success, the knowledge and experience we did receive more than made up for this. For the whole group it was the first time working as a group to create a business and with many of us wanting to go on to study Business or Economics, the experience was invaluable. We learnt how to communicate both via email and Zoom with business owners, the importance of time management skills, and how a strong collaborative team can work much more efficiently than individuals. Our whole team can take away a lot from this experience which could be useful in the future. Despite the hard work at times, this experience overall was extremely enjoyable but more importantly, eye opening. On behalf of my team, I would also like to thank Miss Chalk, our supervisor and advisor who helped us throughout the Young Enterprise competition. Harry Warner - Ridley 12

Flora Family - Company Review Managing Director: Jatheep Raj (Paterson 12) Team Members: Nathan Curry, Jonathan Gopal, Tom Lloyd, Samuel Mitev, Lorenzo Evans, Lexi Dudfield, Olly Head, Daniel Sulikowski, Ryan Sara, James Wilford At the start of the school year, Flora Family started as a group of Year 12s. Just teenagers with little to no experience with the entrepreneurial world around them. Going into this programme, all of us were anxious about what was to come in the coming months. However, we all joined intending to make it to the top; to create an impactful enterprise worth backing. And with this drive, we created a company that we were truly passionate about. We created Flora Family, a company that sells plant kits to families of

2020/2021

young children to help them learn about the environment around them. Our initial ideas were varied and plentiful, ranging from planet lamps to emotional support lanyards, eventually deciding on a plant-based company that would promote environmental awareness. Our company strived to educate younger generations about the natural world around them, developing a product that would create a positive impact on the Earth. Through two meetings a week, we were able to develop our product through effective communication and planning. This was especially prevalent in the buildup to an event, where our teamwork and sub-groups allowed us to produce highlevel presentations to our audiences. With the Young Enterprise programme, all of us were able to learn skills that we couldn’t learn in the classroom. We were taught the importance of communication within a team, setting and meeting project deadlines, as well as the processes behind an enterprise. All of us got to experience new scenarios and roles and gained skills to prepare us for our future working life. However, in my opinion, the most beneficial role of Young Enterprise was to bring out the entrepreneur within all of us; to come out of our comfort zone and experiment with new opportunities. Many memories were made in the programme, like James’ iconic flower shirt and tie, the infamous ‘PogPouch’, as well

as the rollercoaster of emotions during the events. We had ups and downs throughout the programme, but I would like to say a huge thanks to the members of Flora Family. I feel that my role as a Managing Director was definitely eased by the hard work put in by everyone and that our confidence and teamwork contributed massively to the successes we had as a company. Together, we would like to say thank you to the parents of our members, for their constant support and aid in our projects. Thank you to Aylesbury Vale for all their events and competitions, allowing us to

simulate the processes of an enterprise. And a massive thanks to Miss Chalk, for turning this group of Year 12s into entrepreneurs of the future. Awards: • Aylesbury Vale ‘Dragons Den’ Competition - Investment Winners • Aylesbury Vale ‘Meet The Buyer’ Event - Best Tender Email • Aylesbury Value ‘Area Finals’ Runner-Up Best Presentation Jatheep Raj - Paterson 12

IBSC Europe/UK Hosted Online Global Conference Swan Song: According to ancient belief, the beautiful song sung by swans just before their death after a lifetime of silence. On Thursday 17 June, the Headmaster introduced the 2021 International Boys’ Schools Coalition Conference UK-Europe region. Year 13 student, Michael Adebiyi, delivered a powerful opening student performance to a global audience with his original composition entitled Swan Song. Through the symbol of the swan, the performance poem explores the hidden toll of racial inequity on people of colour, calling for society to open their eyes to existing prejudice and the accumulation of its effects over time. Make time to listen to Michael’s urgent entreaty here;

https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=a148rzSPAFI Michael’s performance was shown to every tutor group during the two weeks that followed.

AGS Urban Garden – Part 1

an improvement and the Eco-Team were keen to claim it for their own and create some sort of garden area. The original plans were drawn up by James Davies (Hampden 13) which maximised the surface area available in addition to thinking about potential water supply and how much sun the area enjoys during the day. The AGS PTA, who have been keen supporters of our Eco-projects over recent years kindly agreed to fully fund the project and we managed to secure the expertise and time of Mr Martin Frampton (AGS Parent), who generously agreed to project manage during the construction phase.

During the 2021 Easter break the AGS Urban Garden project finally came together. Plans had been in place since last year but of course with the arrival of Covid-19 and the accompanying lockdowns the on-site work was inevitably put on the back-burner.

This odd little piece of waste-ground on our site just behind the main building had, once upon a time, been a bikeshed area situated off what were originally student cloakrooms. The cloakrooms were turned into Music classrooms in the mid-1990s.

the beds to provide extra stability too. And the little matter of 10 (yes 10!) tonnes of soil shovelled and moved via trusty wheel-barrow – Phew!

Lily Frampton (Junior Labourer 1)

Whatever we were able to do with this unsightly area was going to be

Martin Frampton (AGS Parent & EPS of Stewkley) Ben Frampton (Lee 8)

The area was completely cleared, tool-shed constructed and painted, 5 huge raised sleeper beds built, levelled and lined, and 3 water butts installed including a gravity driven irrigation system. Concrete was added around

Mr Dallas (Assistant Head & Coffee organiser)

We are so pleased with the outcome and cannot wait for the greenery to be added by the Eco-Team Gardening Club. We look forward to being able to share photos of the garden in full bloom when the time is right. Our collective thanks go out to all those involved for all their hard work in taking this project from planning to reality.

Molly Dallas (Junior Labourer 2)

Mr G Dallas

Ruth Levitt (AGS Principle Biology Technician) Charlie Levitt (OA 2018 – Denson)

The construction team:

And so, after all the delays work finally started on Monday 12 April and construction took just about 4 days from start to finish.

2020/2021

AGS Urban Garden – Part 2 In our Spring Newsletter we reported that construction work on the planned urban Eco-garden was just about to start and it did! Over the Easter break with the excellent project management of Mr Martin Frampton (AGS parent) and a small but hardworking team of

volunteers the AGS Eco-garden was born. This area is being used primarily as a flower garden but we couldn’t resist putting some strawberries in too. An enthusiastic band of students have been tending to the garden in their year group bubbles, expertly led by our Biology Technicians, Mrs Levitt and Mrs Giles. And let’s not forget the school vegetable garden project which continues to bear fruit…..or…..errr…. vegetables! The rhubarb, onions and garlic have been growing well, so much so that we were able to donate our first crop of rhubarb, mostly to Mrs Levitt and Mrs Giles, and the onions to Mr Warner, our catering manager who will be using them to feed the masses in the dining hall in due course. Mr G Dallas

SCHOOL VISITS

Biology - Year 12 visit to Wendover Woods On Tuesday 29 June, a group of year 12s went on the first biology field trip of the year, to Wendover Woods. The purpose of the day was to collect data and observe the plant biodiversity of different habitats using a quadrat that was complemented by a scenic walk along the footpaths of the hill, to go along with other practical activities we had done in biology throughout the year. While we trekked up the chalky grasslands to the monument at the top of Coombe Hill, we passed by many members of the public, ranging from people going on runs to people walking their dogs, ultimately enjoying the beautiful English summer weather. It was interesting to see how the way leisurely activities such as dog walking affected the biodiversity, as the areas where people would walk had different plants to areas which were less often walked on. Nearing the end of the day we settled near a recreational area for our final task. For this we had to plan a brief

method and find the spine density of holly leaves, trying not to get cut in the process! This was a relaxing and enjoyable trip, whilst still being educational, and we would like to thank

the Biology department who organised for us to go on it. Parsa Hariri - Hampden 12 Ashre Moses - Paterson 12

English – Year 12 visit to Brighton The sound of squabbling seagulls overhead welcomed us into the city. Waves lapping against the mossy Brighton Pier. The sight of tall white houses concealing the dark underbelly of the place. All this: the perfect backdrop to a crime novel. Climbing on board the (rickety) school minibus, A-Level English Literature students embarked on a trip to explore the setting of our novel “Brighton Rock” by Graham Greene. We waited in excitement, ready for the first trip this year... The trip began with a visit to “Holiday Inn”: a hotel formerly known as “The Cosmopolitan” in which the criminal mastermind in the novel, Mr Colleoni, controlled his mob. We then strolled along Brighton beach, pausing at various places intricately described in the novel. Under Brighton Pier for example - a hidden area in which the victim Hale is secretly murdered by the criminal Pinkie and his gang - we saw how Brighton is not just a place of beaches, joy and happiness but possesses a more sinister side too.

We spent the afternoon exploring the Palace Pier, a beautiful structure stretching over the sea, packed with tourist attractions: arcades, roller coasters, food stalls and deck chairs to view the endless golden beaches in Brighton. There, we relished in battered fish and chips (fish always tastes better eaten by the sea!) and soaked in the landscape. Notably, some of Ed’s fish was snatched by a scheming seagull! Later on, we explored Brighton’s “countryside”, or green area known as Peacehaven. This is a magnificent setting: chalky white cliffs overlooking a turquoise sea, tourists marvelling at the azure sky, the bright sun shining on the afternoon day. Here (in the novel), the detective Ida catches Pinkie, and it was a superb experience to visualise the descriptions written in the novel. We’d like to say a massive thank you to Mrs Sampson and Mr Skinner for organizing the trip. Although it has been a tough year, Mrs Sampson has really pushed for the trip to go ahead, and

expertly guided us around the modern day streets of Brighton. Thank you! Ashwin Aggarwal – Phillips 12

SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT

School Development & Alumni relations Alumni Relations and Events Over three years ago we made the decision to invest in new software for our school development office and alumni relations activity. The new system has enabled us to achieve all we need in one bespoke microsite. We are able to control our data, grow our Old Aylesburian community, create a content hub, power our communication, manage all types of events, run fundraising campaigns and track all of our activity. It has certainly proved already to be a great return on our investment.

staff, Governors and our Leadership team were involved in the research and focus groups. From this research we identified myths surrounding the School, many of which were based on historical perception, incorrect information or word of mouth. Mindful of the many stakeholders

we have to satisfy, we reviewed our competitive landscape, the current social and cultural issues facing our students and our School, and our School marketing mix – the result was the ability to develop a clear and distinctive brand platform summarised here:

We have an extraordinary School with a wonderful history and an amazing offering to all who come here. Our pioneering teachers, dedicated students, passionate staff, hardworking PTA and highly skilled Governing body all ensure the future of AGS remains a strong, secure and thriving environment for the next generations.

A detailed Aylesbury Grammar School Brand Book was produced to share the insight from this work and to clearly outline the new visual and verbal identity which we are now all adhering to when we represent the School in any way.

We now have over 2000 registered Old Aylesburians on our community database and over 2700 connections on LinkedIn. We continue to actively communicate on social media via Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, reaching as many OAs as possible and ensuring we continue to grow our thriving OA community. Our calendar of events for 2020-21 has looked somewhat different to previous years due to the challenges of a global pandemic however we have continued to build our alumni relations and are delighted that so many OAs continue to support us in many different ways.

Brand and Communications Strategy There has been a significant focus this year on the development of a Marketing and Brand Strategy with the aim of creating a consolidated School Brand Identity and creating a threeyear implementation plan including a social media strategy. This has been a major project working alongside the Headmaster and one of our Governors Jo Moore, who has played an instrumental role in our thinking. Key to this work has been understanding how the current School communications is not an accurate reflection of the School as it is today, understanding and tackling perception issues, alongside our recruitment and fundraising challenges. The groundwork for the new School Brand Strategy kicked off by delving into the perceptions of our School which directed the insight. Staff, students, parents, former students and

It’s critical therefore that everything is done to protect the future success of the School and to ensure that the incredible work that takes place each and every day within the School is represented at its best at all times.

We are all custodians of this amazing School and our aim is to pass the baton on at some point in the future knowing we have done all we can to protect the heritage of our School and to shape the future.

At the end of the summer term we launched our new School Film which was created to bring to life the way in which we do everything we can to nurture the character of our students so they have the courage to be who they really want to be, define for themselves who they want to be in the world, and flourish through their lives. As a film in the education sector it is quite different and uses a combination of animation and footage to really highlight our key messages. The film aims to clearly define who we are as a School and clearly communicates what we truly believe in. We believe in the inherent goodness of young men and this film shows that an AGS student is one who will excel culturally, emotionally, socially and of course academically from attending AGS. They leave us as well-balanced, tolerant, compassionate, brave, and dynamic young people, who all form part of a wider alumni community of Old Aylesburians. On that note, it was good to work with OA Will Littlewood (Hampden ’11) and the team at Raw Pictures to produce the film. Wonderful that we continue to collaborate our OA community for all sorts of expertise. The brand book and film are just a part of the jigsaw and next year we will focus on continuing to bring our communications strategy to life. In the first part of this academic year OA JJ Clark (Paterson ’15) joined the Development and Alumni Relations Office as Marketing Assistant and Cover Supervisor. Working alongside one of our Governors, Jo Moore, and

the Development Director, Alison Cox, JJ reviewed our Social Media presence in line with our School Reputation Strategy. Creating a Social Media presence that is in line with the Reputation Strategy ensures continuity in all messaging, which is important for all stakeholders. Our Senior Public Speaking was held on Thursday 1 October and we were delighted to welcome back Mats Venning (Phillips '13) as the adjudicator for the competition. Lee House and Paterson House were the joint winners of this annual competition and our thanks to Nicky Farmborough, Teacher of English and Lilla Venning, Deputy Head Teacher, for their organisation of the event. During November we held our fourth Medical School Interview Practice Session evening. This year the format had to be slightly different in that our interviewers conducted interviews remotely. It was great practice though as this format reflected the way our students would be experiencing their medical school interviews. We simply could not create this opportunity

A revitalised Instagram and Facebook page, along with a streamlined Twitter presence has allowed for more opportunities to showcase the wonderful achievements that occur daily at AGS. Aylesbury Grammar School is a pioneering school and now it has an online presence to match.

for our aspiring medics without the tremendous support from OAs and parents who so generously give up their time to help our current students to prepare, sharing their expertise and energy to support the next generation of aspiring medics. Thank you to OAs David Bishop (Paterson '08), David Bull (Phillips '18), Flynn Collins (Denson '19), Moezz Karim (Denson '16) and Luke Starr (Ridley '13) who supported this worthwhile event along with several of our medical parents including Dr Blowfield, Dr Bajwa and Dr Sethuraman. The feedback received from the students was fantastic - the interviews gave them great insight and helped enormously to prepare them for the rigour of a successful medical application. For our budding dentists, Ed Bottrill (Paterson '14) shared his knowledge and expertise in helping

2020/2021 them prepare for their forthcoming interviews, and those students were then put through their paces by the parents of OA Ben Kidner (Paterson ’12). Giles and Melanie Kidner spent an evening on line questioning and inspiring our students. A great team effort which demonstrated once again that a pandemic does not get in the way of support! As always, a sincere thank you to all our medical parents and OAs for their time, constructive feedback and positivity. Aylesbury Grammar School Medical

designed to prepare our Sixth Form students for life after AGS, has also continued remotely this academic year and we are grateful to Scott Davies (Phillips '04) who once again supported the program by discussing his life experiences as an ex professional footballer and recovered gambling addict. His session was hard hitting, insightful and brutally honest - thank you to Scott for sharing his story and answering the plethora of questions from our students so honestly. We are thrilled to have such a diverse OA community willing to share their experiences, challenges and

agencies such as Springpod, Speakers for Schools and InvestIN. We were delighted to assist nearly 50 students in making contact with 30 different employers through the generous support of the AGS community including parents and Old Aylesburians who offered a huge range of fascinating opportunities to our students. As part of our continued enrichment programme for our current Sixth Form students, we were delighted to hold our Sharing of Expertise afternoon in late June when we welcomed back over 35 recent leavers to share their wisdom and experience on deciding on next steps post AGS. The afternoon was part of the wider Post Options day which provided our Year 12 students with the opportunity to be inspired by learning Society has continued apace this year, albeit remotely, and we'd like to publicly once again thank our supportive OAs who have shared their knowledge, their experiences and their valuable time to chat to our eager future medical and dentistry students from Years 11 and 12. Our thanks to Chris Pringle (Lee '18) for sharing his experience of Covid during clinical training at Imperial, Luke Starr (Ridley ' 13) for his masterclass in medical ethics and how to navigate working through tricky scenarios, Flynn Collins (Denson '19) for his session on suggestions on what makes a good patient-doctor consultation and finally David Bull (Phillips '18) who spoke around the hot topic of organ donation and the recent changes to the law surrounding it. Thanks to all our OAs for creating such an informative programme and also to our wider Aylesburian community for their support. Our Inspirational Speakers programme,

successes. In March we were delighted that OA Sam Ingleton (Denson '15) was on hand to adjudicate House Writing. After completing his A levels in English Literature, History, Economics and Maths, Sam went on to study English Literature and Philosophy at Edinburgh University. He then did a Graduate LLB at Edinburgh and now is a Future Trainee Solicitor at DLA Piper. Our thanks to Sam to taking the time to adjudicate and provide valuable feedback to our House writers. In the summer term our Year 11 students took part in our first ever Virtual Work Experience Programme. Many students sought their own placement either directly with an employer or through schemes organised by

of new opportunities, new ideas, conducting research and networking. During the Sharing of Expertise afternoon OAs shared their personal and unique journey after leaving AGS, from continuing their studies at university, apprenticeships, work or travel. A hugely successful event which we could not hold without our supportive and engaged OA community, our thanks again to all those who gave up their time to support our School. OA social events may not have happened this year but we have enjoyed connecting with our community either in School or virtually! In October half term Fraser Kay (Paterson '10) visited us as part of his work with Instrinsic Risk Management who carried out our Fire Risk Assessment. When he’s not working with the family business in his day job, Fraser is a

sports commentator (cricket, football and rugby) for BBC local radio stations and Radio 5 Live. We were delighted to meet Fraser and welcome him back to AGS. OA Will Adam (Paterson '88) recently spoke to us to share stories of his time at AGS, his travels, and how he became the Director of Unity, Faith and Order and Deputy Secretary General of the Anglican Communion. Will was ordained in 1994 and was the youngest cleric in the Church of England at the time. His memories of the school are more of people than places and he made many great friends at AGS and feels he has benefitted enormously from his education here. He has managed to keep in touch with a number of his school friends and social media, along with our OA Community, has enabled him to connect with others. Since being ordained in 1994, Will returned to Buckinghamshire to curate

in Beaconsfield and since then has worked in parishes in West Oxfordshire, Cambridge and in North London. Celebrating Sport We are constantly reviewing ways of keeping our School visually impactful and up to date on a limited budget and one of the areas of the School we are working on at the moment is the Sports Hall. We are in the process of creating a series of posters celebrating some of our Old Aylesburian sportsmen. We are lucky to have such an interesting and varied raft of OAs who have gone on to play at a very high level and we know the impact our OAs have on our current students.

2020/2021 Class of 2020 Alumni Our class of 2020 went on to study at 49 different institutions embarking on 161 different courses, some took a gap year whilst others took apprenticeship positions or commenced full time employment. Our congratulations to all our class of 2020 University / College

Course

Aston University, Birmingham

Business and Management, Medicine

Bournemouth University

Mechanical Engineering, Accounting and Finance

Brunel University London

Automotive Engineering

Cardiff University

Neuroscience, Engineering with Foundation Year, Mathematics, Business Economics (3), Dentistry, Politics and Economics, German, Economics, Geology, Architecture

City, University of London

Computer Science, Finance

Coventry University

Accounting and Finance

Durham University

Theoretical Physics, Accounting and Finance, Physics, Philosophy, Politics and Economics, Computer Science

Imperial College London

Biochemistry, Medicine

Keele University

Computer Science, Medicine, Biology with Science Foundation Year

King's College London, University of London

Economics, International Relations, Geography

Lancaster University

Economics, Computer Science

London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London

International Relations

Loughborough College

Sport and Exercise Therapy, Aeronautical Engineering, Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Accounting and Financial Management, Geography and Sport Science

Manchester Metropolitan University

International Business Management, Economics

Newcastle University

Modern Languages and Linguistics, Medicine and Surgery

Nottingham Trent University

Law, Economics with International Finance and Banking, Marketing, Mechanical Engineering, Business Management and Economics, Accounting and Finance

Oxford Brookes University

History/Politics, Computer Science for Cyber Security

Queen Mary University of London

Pure Mathematics

Queen's University Belfast

Chemistry, Economics

Staffordshire University

Computer Games Design and Programming

Swansea University

Medical Pharmacology

UCL (University College London)

Spanish and Latin American Studies, Economics

University of Bath

Mechanical Engineering, Biochemistry, Mathematics and Physics, Economics, Aerospace Engineering

University of Birmingham

Computer Science with an Industrial Year, Physics, History, International Relations, English, Computer Science, Business Management, Chemical Engineering, Economics

University of Brighton

Pharmacy with Integrated Foundation Year

University of Bristol

Chemistry, Economics, Management (2), Mathematics, Physics

University of Buckingham

Computing (2-year degree)

University of Cambridge

Law (2), Natural Sciences (2), Computer Science, Education

University of East Anglia UEA

Marketing and Management, Computer Science, Economics, Medicine, Natural Sciences

University of Exeter

Economics and Finance, Environmental Science, Marketing and Management, Medical Sciences, Business and Management

University of Hertfordshire

Physiotherapy

University of Kent

Accounting and Finance

University of Leeds

Interdisciplinary Science with Foundation Year, Mechanical Engineering

University of Leicester

Management Studies, Accounting and Finance (2), Medical Biochemistry

University of Lincoln

Psychology

University of Liverpool

Philosophy, Music, History and Politics, International Politics and Policy

University of Manchester

Chemical Engineering, International Management, Actuarial Science and Maths, Physics, Maths

University of Nottingham

Engineering and Physical Sciences, English, Mechanical Engineering (4), Law (3), History (2), Economics, Aerospace Engineering, Veterinary Medicine

University of Oxford

Computer Science, Law, Chemistry (2), Mathematics and Philosophy, Mathematics, Economics and Management

University of Plymouth

Optometry

University of Portsmouth

Marketing, Business Information Systems, Criminology and Forensic Studies

University of Reading

Spanish and Economics

University of Sheffield

Materials Science and Engineering, Psychology, Medicine, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Economics and Politics, Biomedical Science, Aerospace Engineering

University of Southampton

Ship Science, Economics (2), Biology and Marine Biology, Acoustical Engineering, Geophysics

University of Sussex

Law with Politics, Philosophy, Politics and Economics

University of Warwick

History and Politics (2), Philosophy, Politics and Economics, French and German, Computer Science (2), Discrete Maths, Automotive Engineering, Mathematics and Statistics, Mathematics (2), Psychology, Politics and International Studies

University of Winchester

Economics

University of Worcester

Journalism and Media & Culture

University of York

Biology, Chemistry, Electronic and Computer Engineering, Business and Management, History

2020/2021 School Fundraising Art, DT and Engineering

extremely grateful to the Trustees for considering AGS as a major benefactor for their funds.

Our focus this year has been on raising funds to complete refurbishment of Art, DT and Engineering. Our target was to add £150,000 to the £300,000 already received from the John Mason Raven Trust. The significant donation to the School of £300,000 was through building a strong relationship with the Trust over many years and we are

As we began this academic year, we had already secured additional gifts and pledges to the value of £15,000 the aim was to raise £150,000 to bring the total to £450,000 to complete the entire refurbishment of the Art, DT and Engineering building this summer. This important project remained very much a priority for our School to enable us

It is wonderful to be able to report that by May half term we had achieved our goal. Our community’s willingness to support our fundraising efforts really did have an significant impact and the images below show work is well underway.

philanthropy supports not just the current students but the future of the School too. It enables the team here to plan and implement much needed improvements to the School site. We have been here on our Walton Road site for well over a century and so we still have a number of buildings in dire need of refurbishment. Going forward, we have a very clear vision for the future but right now our focus is simply

Fundraising in the state education sector continues to be such an emotive subject but this type of

to deliver a modern curriculum and to update the now very tired facilities. The pandemic made fundraising a little more challenging but we have remained focused on the vision and fundraising goal. After all, our School will be here long after the pandemic and our students still need and indeed deserve nothing less than the best facilities we can possibly provide. Vision for the refurbishment of Art, DT and Engineering Project

on making sure current facilities are appropriate for teaching and learning in the 21st century. It’s the very least we need to do. Below are some initial shots of the build. Thanks again to our community - our vision for Art, DT and Engineering will be a reality in September

We will totally refurbish the classrooms, including new lighting, flooring, extraction, storage, workspaces, and equipment. This project will also include structural work, moving the staircase to open up the first floor, as well as building a bi-fold wall to allow flexibility in Art. There will be a total of three teaching and learning spaces for DT and Engineering, two multi-purpose and one for electronics, including multiple 3-D printers.

New Entrance and Staff Room

A vital part of the project is the relocation of the staff room. The new staff room will take the place of the

existing entrance lobby and main office, as well as there being an extension to ensure that the

At the time of writing the project to create a new entrance for our School is now well underway. This essential project has been some time in the planning and will enhance the protection of our students, increase safety and create an entrance that reflects the quality of our School. The entrance to the School is being entirely remodelled – the new design will move the existing staff room area, with entry and exit doors in the centre

of the main building. The project is being funded through a combination of a generous gift from the Aylesbury Grammar School Foundation and from the capital expenditure of the School budget. It has become increasingly important for these essential changes to take place – our site is still rather exposed on the Walton Road and we need to do all we can to safeguard our students and staff. The designs for this area are detailed below.

footprint remains similar to the current staff room.

2020/2021

The Story Behind the AGS Learner AGS Learner defines our comprehensive approach to nurturing the character of our students. Through it, we prepare students for the challenges they will face both within school and beyond - a responsibility we undertake with great seriousness.

It was in September 2015, following broad and inclusive feedback from students, staff and parents, that we identified the AGS Learner traits of Ownership, Motivation, Resilience, Innovation and Courage – characteristics that as a community we wholly believe in. Teachers at AGS develop these key learning habits through the delivery of their subject in all lessons, for all

students. September 2019 brought the introduction of regular personal development sessions to enable students to better understand their emotions, increase their understanding of mental health and wellbeing and foster a shared sense of common morality.

Join Our Old Aylesburian Community alumni.ags.bucks.sch.uk

Numerous benefits of joining our vibrant OA community Here are just a few: • Find out about alumni news and events • Share your success stories • Recruit new staff or find a job • Search for people in specific industries, companies or countries • Get recommendations and advice from people you can trust • Inspire and be inspired by others • Profile good causes you support • Advertise your business, products or services • Share births/deaths/marriages • Mentor current students • Access our archive and share memories • Networking: Grow your professional and social connections • Support AGS so others can benefit like you did

The Old Aylesburian community continues to grow at pace – help it to continue to grow by inviting your AGS friends to join too

2020/2021

PRIZEWINNERS Junior Prizegiving Awards 2021

Year 7 William Harding Subject Prizes Art: Classical Studies: Geography: Computer Science: Design Technology: English: Religious Studies: French:

Oliver Blakey Tayyib Johnson Sam Wright Rohan Appikatla Lucas Taylor Sam Dewhirst Hamshi Sivarupan Fabio Iannelli

German: History: Mathematics: Science: Music: PE: Spanish: Drama:

Ravjot Arora Hamshi Sivarupan Rohan Appikatla Advik Singhal Han Tan Zachary Cleary George Murden Erick Fulga

Head of Year 7 Award for Achievement Sam Gill Edward Johnson Daniel McLarty Alex Winspear

Year 8 William Harding Subject Prizes Art: Computer Science: Design Technology: Drama: English: German: French: Spanish:

Shlok Kapoor Vaibhav Dachavaram Senesh Chady Andrew Johnson Ethan Jarrett Aarib Mohammed Dayeen Ali Ollie Buckthorpe

Geography: History: Mathematics: Latin: Science: Music: PE: Religious Studies:

Head of Year 8 Award for Achievement Thamjid Choudhury Alfie Eldridge Harish Koneswaran Diyon Senarath Arachchige

The Ben Pickard Trophy for Excellence Billy Poole

James Seanor Dayeen Ali James Seanor Billy Poole Caleb Yap Leo Pargeter Thomas Lowe Vedanta Warad

Year 9 William Harding Subject Prizes Art: Biology: PE: Chemistry: Computer Science: Design Technology: Drama: English: French:

Ewan Crafts Kaushik Potnuru Oliver Reading Daksh Surana Laksh Mahajan Samuel Griffiths Harry Dixon Dominic Beattie Dhruv Kale

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

Dhruv Kale Joseph Aloluwaloba Daksh Surana Anthony Unugboke Aditya Aggarwal James Quinn Patrick Matthews Anthony Unugboke Haaris Munir

Head of Year 9 Award for Achievement Connor Bright Nat Massa Ishaan Sehgal Saravanan Vijay Kannian

The Old Aylesburians’ Association Community Prize Dhruv Kale

The Glenn Turnell Cup Billy Dodds

The Harry Hewitt Memorial Shield Anthony Unugboke

The Mike Griffin Cup Thomas Harrington

2020/2021 Senior Prize Giving Awards 2021 Year 10 William Harding Subject Prizes Ancient History: German: Art: Biology: Physics: Business: Chemistry: French: Computer Science: Design Technology: Drama:

Will Annat Alex Nze Johan Jose Pragvansh Bhatt James Jackson Musa Khan Fionn Clancy Jamie Baker Edwin Peacock Sam Duodu Matt Readhead

Economics: English: Geography: Geology: History: Latin: Mathematics: Religious Studies: Music: PE: Spanish:

Daniel Frazer Isaac Salle Alexander Davis Harvey Clay Alexander Davis Fionn Clancy Jamie Baker Harvey Clay Jack Izard Sam Johnson Pragvansh Bhatt

Head of Year Award for Achievement Jonny Buckthorpe Daniel George Craig Pereira Shy Satkunanathan

Year 11 William Harding Subject Prizes Ancient History: Art: Biology: Chemistry: Business: Computer Science: Physics: Design Technology: Drama: Economics: Geography:

George Wellbelove Logan Walmsley Adam Bosompem Toby Webster James Whitehead Charles Edwards Jason Stephens Aaron MacWhirter Liam Purchase Abshly Shaji Josh Yates

English: French: Geology: German: Latin: History: Mathematics: Music: PE: Spanish: Religious Studies:

Head of Year Award for Achievement George Birch Ben Kearney Dom Staines Ed Stubbs

Liam Purchase Ewan Dixon Ollie Lemonde Toby Webster DJ Mentiply Zach Cooke Morgan Billings Sam Pyefinch DJ Mentiply Morgan Billings Tony Alocious

The Richard Bennett Prize Sam Pyefinch

The Old Aylesburians’ Association Community Prize Phillipe Pir

Year 12 William Harding Subject Prizes Art: Biology: Business: Chemistry: Computer Science: Further Mathematics: Drama: Economics: English Language & Literature: English Literature: EPQ: French:

Dhruva Menon Vivin Thamaraikannan Antonio Iannelli Lukas Jenkins Tharrshann Logarajah Tharrshann Logarajah Julian Atat Anuka Kumarapeli Marcus Birch Thomas Hounsell Max Wheaton Andreas Velimachitis

Geography: Geology: Latin: German: History: Politics: Mathematics: PE: Physics: Psychology: Religious Studies: Spanish:

Head of Year 12 Award for Achievement Herbie Mansbridge Alfie McIntosh Tom Sandon Matthew Sparke

The Keith Smith Prize Matt O’Sullivan

Ed Campbell Tom Lloyd Tom Lloyd Bill Duling Aymaan Sheikh Aymaan Sheikh Hamza Hussain Ryan Roberts Shantanu Kale Dani Hidalgo-Anguera Ashwin Aggarwal Sam Kearney

2020/2021 The Stephen Shipperley Prize for Enterprise and Innovation Adam Baker Shantanu Kale Shonit Sharma Max Wheaton Kai Wilkinson Aaron Woods

The Disraeli Prize for Debating Ashwin Aggarwal

Awards for Commitment to Enterprise Julian Atat Abu Nahin Jay Raj Harry Warner

The PJ Larkham Prize for Theatre Lexi Dudfield

The Beattie Cup for Musicianship Jack Lowndes

Year 13 William Harding Subject Prizes Ancient History: Design Technology: Drama:

Rocco Wooster Tom Hunter Stephen Ijeh

Geology: Psychology:

Joe Stembridge-King Ned Morris

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

Alex Lincoln Shathursan Vamathevan Ben Roberts Matthew Stanbrell Dan Choudhury Ben Roberts Jamie Timman Lee Trotter Ish Rahim Tayo Oluranti-Ahmed Major Shokar Oliver Tolson-Boxall Ollie McKenna Tishe Coker Karan Elangovan Ned Morris Edward Maher Edward Maher Aidan Manley Major Shokar Corin Scott Ben Mulholland Tobi Dairo Archie Rainbow

The Charlie Dunne ‘Aylesburian’ Award for Participation and Contribution to House and School Life George Atwell

The Alec Lowndes Knight Award for Endeavour Jenson Ready

The Old Aylesburians’ Association Community Prize Michael Adebiyi

The Thomson Cup for Sportsmanship James Phillips

2020/2021 The John Prodger Cup for Sporting Achievement Ben Mulholland

The Disraeli Prize for Debating Harvey Newland-Smith Aidan Purchase Tom Ward

Denson Prizes for Excellent A Level Results Michael Adebiyi Mesbah Ahmed Josh Alexander Luke Alligan Sam Ashley

Will Beddall Ben Bullivant Sam Choudhury Ayush Chourishi Beau Clifford

Ted Gundry Alex Hemsley George Kiteley Robbie Lawns Sachin Patel

Peter Sansome Keshav Sehgal Dylan Sellors Jasper Smith James Trott

Foundation Governors’ Prizes for Outstanding A Level Results Tom Blowfield Finn Bunyard Alex Butler Tishe Coker Reuben Cole Tobi Dairo Raja Dhanda Amaan Ditta Stephan Drotske Karan Elangovan James Farmborough George Garman Ben Harding

Ali Hassan Lewis Hodges Kai Kennedy Sai Kruthiventi Miles Lewis Alex Lincoln Joe Maggs Edward Maher Aidan Manley Alex Marsden Finn McGourty Ollie McKenna Ned Morris

Paterson Prizes Head Boys: Tobi Dairo Ben Mulholland Albie Whittemore

Ben Mulholland Luke Murray-Russell Tayo Oluranti-Ahmed Freddie Osborne-Fardon Hirshal Patel Kai Patel Rafay Rafay Ish Rahim Archie Rainbow Ben Roberts James Sansome Corin Scott Binaya Shakya

Major Shokar William Spencer Harvey Springell Matthew Stanbrell Jeffrey Tan Jamie Timman Lee Trotter Luv Tyagi Shathursan Vamathevam Patrick Way Albie Whittemore Reece Wilcock

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