The Aylesburian 2021/2022 by Aylesbury Grammar School

THE AYLESBURIAN 2021 / 2022

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THE AYLESBURIAN

THE MAGAZINE OF AYLESBURY GRAMMAR SCHOOL 2

Welcome

Staff leavers

House life

Sports

School life

School visits

Development

Prize winners

Editor – Mr G Dallas Front Cover illustration created by: Oliver Evans-Howe – Phillips 12

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WELCOME Headmaster's Welcome The power of relationships, the need for connection and the fortitude of endeavour have epitomised all our paths over the passing years. The character needed to re-form our connections, re-establish our friendships, and re-imagine our future has been all too evident in the life of our School. The seeds of growth, the richness of the curriculum and the emergence of the opportunities that defined our lives have set us on a path to a rewarding School experience, one connected to our community and rooted in mutual support.

In 2021-2022, Aylesbury Grammar School made a triumphant return to the kaleidoscope of opportunities that each student has at their feet. The curriculum and learning, the pastoral curriculum and its support of character development, alongside the extra-curricular opportunities across a multitude of disciplines. The options, levels of performance and experiences are captured here, to remind future generations that the history and traditions of our School provide the basis of our success, but it is the current generations who define the future.

In his book The Second Mountain, David Brooks quotes Edmund Burke who argues that those who have never looked backward to their ancestors will not be able to look forward and plan for the future. The Aylesburian salutes those that have not only come before us in our present time, but who have excelled, succeeded, led and contributed to the life of our amazing School.

Thank you to the selfless, relentless professionalism of the staff at the School. They are committed, approachable, creative and pioneering. We are lucky to have them all. As we said goodbye to a number of colleagues, we also welcome new Aylesburians and wish them all well. To those who are remembered in these pages, we thank you for your

service, none more so than Mr Grant, who retires after 36 years at AGS. To all the contributors of this publication, and especially to Mr Dallas for editing, our heartfelt thanks for capturing the life of the School with such verve. To our families, we hope you find this publication as a mark of a triumphant return to the School experience as much as we have. Thank you to all of you for your support and involvement. As we salute 2021-2022, we welcome and look forward to a rich and rewarding new academic year. Mr M J Sturgeon

2021 / 2022 Head Boys' Reflections 2021-22 When we began on our journey as the 2021/22 Head Boy cohort, Aymaan, Ed and I were unsure about what challenges Year 13 would bring. Coming out of a covid affected Year 11 with no exams, to months of online learning in Year 12 and further disruptions due to covid, it is safe to say we were not expecting to have such a smooth running and covid free year.

assemblies joint with Aylesbury High School, discussing the issue of sexual harassment and how we as boys at AGS can be better ‘allies’ to the girls at AHS, and vice-versa, I am proud to say we achieved what Mrs Venning asked. I feel as if we have left a platform that will provide the opportunity to voice opinions, speak out about issues and tackle toxic masculinity.

As a student that only joined AGS in Year 12, I cannot express my gratitude to all the students and staff that made me feel so welcome so quickly, and I am very grateful to have been able to represent my year group and the boys in it as one of their Head Boys. With the absence of many sports and societies in Year 12, it was amazing to experience my first proper year of Brodie and Watson House events, as well as further clubs, societies and all round opportunities. On our first Head Boy meeting with Mrs Venning, she asked us ‘what do you want your legacy at AGS to be?’ And leaving behind the blueprints of a Student Action Committee for Change, toxic masculinity talks and discussions, as well as being the first year to deliver

A Message from the Governors It has become traditional that a member of the Governing Body write a short article for the Aylesburian magazine about the why, what and how they became a Governor and what the Governing Body gets up to. So, it’s up to me as Chair of the Community & Development Committee and former teacher at the School to provide this year’s article. Firstly, it is such a relief for everyone to be back in School and in contact with staff, students, and parents in a more personal manner. We have been able to put COVID behind us operationally, but we are also aware of the lingering issues that some people have with the virus, and we wish them all the very best.

The Governing Body and Committees are now meeting in person, but one benefit we have all experienced is the way everyone can now be involved in meetings even if they cannot make them personally. We have a number of priorities to address, not least of which at the time of writing will be an impending OFSTED visit. We are all prepared, with the Headmaster and Senior Leadership Team having provided invaluable support and advice. Recent changes in the Department for Education as well as the economic situation will also require a clear focus for both Governing Body and the senior team to navigate the next 12 months. So why did I become a Governor? Principally because I was already

Looking back on my time at AGS, I am proud to have been a student there, but more importantly to have been given the opportunity to be a Head Boy of School. I would like to wish all the boys the best of luck on their future endeavours, whatever they may be, and like to congratulate Silas, Nick and Ben on their appointment to the Head Boy cohort of 2022/23. Matthew O’Sullivan – Lee 13

invested in the School and its life both as a former teacher and parent. It was relatively easy to step into an environment that was welcoming and appreciative of one’s skills and knowledge, none of which I must say were education based! One myth to be busted is that governors need an encyclopaedic knowledge and understanding of the world of education – not so. More than ever, it is important to have a diverse range of governors who can add to the depth and richness of the team, while bringing real-world experience to discussion and decision-making. Unlike a couple of my colleagues, I didn’t come from a PTA background, but my wife did, and so dutifully I did take my turn at the fete BBQ as many have done before me.

once a term, and each Governor can identify on which one they would like to sit. The Full Governing Body meets termly, but being the volunteers that we are we also enjoy each other’s company and will meet up for School & PTA social events.

The Governing Body is very similar to the Board of a company in that it provides strategic leadership for the School while having oversight of the operational running of the School that is the Headmaster’s responsibility. That sounds very grand, but again, not so – important yes, but remember that we are all volunteers and as such the feel is much more personable. We have 3 committees that meet

I was able to utilise my experience from my day job at England Rugby in helping to define the School's purpose, values, vision and strategy, after which colleagues and staff members have now done a great job in creating a brand and marketing plan for the School. Again this all sounds very corporate, but it’s really not; just understanding why we are doing what we do, and ensuing that the wider

I was approached by the Headmaster in 2017 to see if I might like to put myself forward for a role as a Coopted Governor. I had been looking to take on a Board role for a while and thought originally it would be with a national governing body of sport; however, the process was delayed and so I said yes to the Headmaster. A month later I was invited onto the Board of Baseball Softball UK and so ended up with two roles – each very different and equally fulfilling!

community in and around Aylesbury know that we have a great School that nurtures characterful young men. I later became Chair of the Community & Development Committee. Its scope includes pastoral issues, the wellbeing of students and staff, continuous professional development for staff and Governors and leadership development. The Staff, Students, Parents/carers, Governors, and the community at large are all separate stakeholders with their own views which provides this committee with a rich seam for discussion and debate. As Governors we are always interested in getting feedback about the School and having discussions with all our stakeholders. You can find out who we all are by looking on the website. Please take the time to seek us out when you see us around School at various events, and if you are a parent and interested in taking on this rewarding role please come and have a chat – no obligations – it would be good to meet you anyhow! Simon Winman Chair of Community & Development Committee

STAFF LEAVERS Alex Grant After the unfortunate cancellation due to the extreme heat, I was immensely happy that the event in early September was organised to allow the School to say a fond final farewell and huge thank you to Alex Grant. With the exception of the Ridley Panto, Alex Grant was never one to seek attention and the limelight so the outpouring of gratitude and appreciation may have made him feel a little uncomfortable however I make no apologies about this besides, as a long running MK Dons season ticket holder, he should be well used to sitting down and having to suffer. The years working with Alex have been a real pleasure, he is kind, funny (sometimes), and an outstanding teacher. He has been an exceptional mentor for me as both a teacher and Head of department and I have learnt an immense amount from him. He has been incredibly generous with time and has passed on an enormous wealth of knowledge. He has had a huge impact on my career and it has been amazing to see and hear the incredible impact that his teaching has had on so many students throughout his time at AGS. Having reached out to our Old Aylesburians in the summer in preparation for the celebration afternoon, in only a short space of time

Liz Smith Liz Smith joined AGS as a Biology Teacher in 2002 and was soon promoted to Head of Key Stage 3 Science. It is in her role as Head of Key Stage 3 Science that I got to know Liz and it was an absolute pleasure working with her. Her energy, professionalism and commitment were exemplary, in wanting the very best for AGS students, as she sought to plan a curriculum that resulted in passion and enjoyment for learning Science. Liz was very well respected by staff and students alike, balancing focus and determination with calmness and patience. She has developed numerous resources over the years to support her colleague’s delivery in the classroom and managed expertly the changes to the Science curriculum. As a Head of Department,

2021 / 2022

we were inundated with responses that could not be more complimentary of Alex as a teacher and person. I already knew the students held him in very high regard, but it has been truly astounding to read the comments provided by our Old Aylesburians. It appears that he has inspired so many students, from many backgrounds, to go on to achieve some great things in their lives and I hope this gives him an immense sense of achievement and pride.

a very physically active retirement. By the sounds of it he is keeping busy. He is filling his time with his ongoing work as an examiner and magistrate and appears to be revelling in his role as the young whippersnapper at his local Croquet club.

Alex has contributed a huge amount to the Business and Economic department. He is exceptionally knowledgeable about the subjects which has been to the benefit of students and colleagues alike. In addition to this, Alex’s contributions to the wider School community are truly astounding. He has been an integral part of the Malawi exchange and played an important role in recent years in shaping the environmental sustainability of the School. However, it is the Ridley pantomime that really sets Alex apart. As writer, director and performer Alex has managed to bring fun and laughter (sometimes) to the students in Ridley house. It is just one thing amongst many that makes Ridley house special and unique.

Mr G Davey

To wrap up, I hope you enjoy your retirement. Play your guitar, listen to your Ramones albums and enjoy watching MK Dons (if that is indeed possible)

Finally, I am so happy that Alex is retiring in relatively good health. It has been amazing to see the impact of those two hip operations and the new vigour he has and I hope he can enjoy she is much admired for her excellent communication and organisational skills. Student’s will remember fondly many of the extracurricular science-related School trips Liz has coordinated. These have included excursions to Thorpe Park, Woburn Safari Park, The Science Museum (London) and the National Space Centre. ‘Science at work’ days provided a carousel of activities where students learnt from industry experts, sometimes with hands on experiences of reptiles! Liz is always keen to challenge herself through developing her own skills and takes on a very exciting role in supporting Science trainees – she is perfectly suited to this role given her approach to teaching, her knowledge of the Science curriculum and the fact that she has been both an excellent teacher, as well as a fantastic mentor to those new to the teaching. Clearly, Liz leaving will be a loss to AGS, however it is a gain to the

teaching profession. We wish her every success in her new career. Mr G Singh

Valerie Hawkins & Elaine Beckett

As two long standing members of staff within the catering department with a wealth of experience it has been quite a difference with Val and Elaine leaving. Val who had been running the 6th form kitchen since before my arrival started here at AGS in 2004 and became the Assistant Catering Supervisor under Mrs Murray. After working in the main kitchen for some number of years was then asked to run 6th form where she became a well-known figure amongst the students. We hope she enjoys her retirement with her husband and family. Elaine started working at AGS in 2002 and over the years since before I arrived became a very valued member of the AGS catering department. She has a lot of knowledge and has always been a valued member of staff with a vigilant eye for making sure jobs and tasks were done to a very high standard. Elaine will be missed greatly and we wish her all the luck in her journey away from the AGS Catering Department. Mr S Warner

Julie Isherwood

studying but manage she did and achieved the highest possible grade for the work and soon achieved full qualified teacher status.

Julie Isherwood started teaching drama at AGS in September 2006 and the theatre world’s loss was very much the School's gain. Having trained at Mountview theatre School she spent the first part of her career treading the boards playing everything from leading ladies in major professional pantomimes to straight dramatic roles; playing opposite Alec McCowen and Michael (professor Dumbldore) Gambon under the direction of Richard (I don’t believe it) Wilson in the acclaimed production of Tom and Clem at the Aldwych theatre. Over the years our students have benefited greatly from Julie’s inside professional knowledge and experience of stage work.

Julie has never been happy to stay still and be content with doing just one thing. Several years ago she took up a second job utilizing another one of her many skills sets. Julie is a highly skilled craftsperson and textile artist and when not working at AGS she was involved in major restoration of antique furniture and curtains at Waddesdon Manor – a job I know she loved.

I have always greatly admired Julie’s drive, tenacity and enthusiasm to deliver her teaching at the highest level. To this end Julie decided early on in her time at AGS to fully commit to the teaching profession and made the decision to move from unqualified teaching status to QTS. I still don’t know how Julie managed to juggle raising her family, teaching and

Julie also managed to squeeze in achieving a masters degree. Julie has also achieved a distinction level in Museum curation This is where I think Julie’s ambitions now lie in running museums and to bring many of these local institutions kicking and screaming into the 21st Century. Julie is the living and breathing embodiment of the AGS Learner and she has inspired countless students with her vitality and determination to be a successful lifelong learner. If being an outstanding drama teacher, expert textile restorer and an Indrina Jones of the museum world was

not enough Julie has always given so much extra to the School. She modestly called her extra-curricular drama work “tweaking” – she has given up countless lunchtimes to help exams classes hone their assessed performances. She has helped the music department many times including taking music students on international music trips with Craig Nathan to places such as Paris. When it comes to our major joint

2021 / 2022 School productions with the High School Julie is always on hand to help sprinkle some additional magical showbiz glitter to the performances of our students. It seems fitting that the last time we were actually able to put on a School show Julie was more Centre stage. In our last production we put on not one but two shows – Guys and Dolls was one half and Julie then wrote and directed an original show – Showtime! A medley of musical theatre hits staring the considerable talents of our lower School students. It was during one of these rehearsals that best embodies Julie’s inspirational, energetic and nononsense approach. Whilst Ellie and I were working on Guys and Dolls in the hall, Julie was directing students in Showtime! In the drama studio. About half an hour into our rehearsal I sent two of our student back stage team

to see if Julie required any technical help.

Helen Keeping

Helen joined AGS in 2008 as a Learning Support Assistant, having previously worked at Princes Risborough School and Aylesbury High School. Whilst Helen loved the secretarial work she did at the British Museum and the BBC before working in Schools, her passion remained in supporting students with Special Educational Needs and Disability. Helen’s understanding and knowledge in supporting these students is second to none and I remember her expertise in supporting two visually impaired students when I became a new SENDCo in September 2012. Helen also guided me through those first Annual Reviews for our students with Statements (now known as Education and Health Care Plans) when I was on the massive learning curve in my new role.

Neither of the students returned to the Guys and Dolls rehearsal that evening. The next day I caught up to thank them for providing technical support for Julie’s rehearsal “We didn’t provide any technical support” says one of the students – pause – “I don’t know exactly how it happened sir” says the other “but I think we are now actually in the show!”. And indeed they were – the boys had arrived at the drama studio whilst Julie was mid-way through staging a musical number – as the boys arrived – without missing a beat Julie placed one student Stage right and the other Upstage Centre and 50 minutes later they were tap dancing Moses Supposes! These

I have worked with Helen for more than 10 years and we have been on a joint journey with the continuing

guys loved theatre but only regarded themselves as technicians never believing in themselves they could actually perform – it is testament to Julie’s belief in the students that these two students are now achieving high grades in our Year 12 A Level drama class. Julie left AGS to start life afresh in Harrogate where she will be living near her sister. Her leaving leaves a considerable gap in the drama department and the AGS community. On behalf of us all I thank Julie for many years of outstanding service to the School and I wish her all the very best for all the exciting endeavors that lie ahead of her. Mr R Warner

changes to all things SEND. Helen has always supported our students and the Department, working with students who are visually impaired, hearing impaired or have other SEND. Helen’s efforts have always been recognised by both students and parents, and I know there are students moving to Key Stage 4 in September 2022 who are going to greatly miss her presence in lessons. So, thank you Helen, for your dedication to the students you have supported. AGS wishes you a well-deserved and rewarding retirement. Though this is maybe not the right word as I know you will be keeping yourself busy (Waddesdon Manor, Cuddington Parish Council, Haddenham Community Library …), but at least you can now come and go as you like. Mrs J Richards

Stef Goff Stef joined Aylesbury Grammar School in 2014 as a teacher of Computer Science and as a Denson House Form Tutor. The previous year both Computer Science teachers had moved on to pastures new and so the new Head of Department had his work cut out. Joc Chappell therefore hugely appreciated the wealth of knowledge and experience brought to the role by Stef as well as his willingness to put himself out for the benefit of the students. Stef has been integral in the ongoing development of “Moodle” and Computer Science students have really appreciated the ease of availability of resources that this effort has provided. The Covid pandemic presented many challenges to the School as a whole and has impacted in particular those staff with underlying health conditions. Stef worked hard during the School closure to give students a positive learning experience and expressed how impressed he was

Joc Chappell

In the autumn term of 2021 Joc Chappell announced his plan to retire. Stef immediately stepped into the breach and has done a brilliant job of overseeing the Computer Science curriculum, supporting both the students and Mr Vakilpour who was brought in to replace Mr Chappell. We are hugely grateful for the efforts he has put in to ensuring that student progress has continued during such a challenging year.

with how so many of the students maintained progress throughout that time. He also contributed very effectively to the department’s allocation of School assessed grades. When School reopened but Stef continued to teach from home, he continued to work extremely hard to ensure the students made progress. Joc joined Aylesbury Grammar School in 2014 as the Head of Computer Science and as a Paterson House Form Tutor. He immediately had his work cut out as the previous year both members of the department had moved on to pastures new, so he and Stef Goff who also joined that year formed a brand-new department team. Joc worked hard to set things up the way he wanted, including extensive use of the department’s beloved “Moodle”. Computer Science students have recognised the hard work the department has invested into this, really appreciating the easy access to resources that it has given them. Joc also oversaw students entering the various Computing challenge competitions available, many of whom had a good deal of success. Paterson House have appreciated his efforts as a Form Tutor. The onset of the Covid pandemic presented a great deal of challenges to the School as a whole. Joc led the department through two years of

In addition to his hard work in the Computer Science department, Stef has used his knowledge and experience to deliver GCSE Economics and his efforts as a Denson House Form Tutor have been much appreciated. Stef moves on to work as a programmer and to explore the use of his many talents in supporting education. His knowledge and experience will be much missed, and we wish him all the best with his future endeavours. Dr K Smith

allocating School Assessed Grades to Computer Science students and avidly kept up with the latest developments and advice from the government. In the autumn term of 2021, Joc felt that it was time for him to retire and he left the School at the end of that term. At the time of writing Joc has therefore already enjoyed many months of retirement, which will no doubt have included many hundreds of miles of cycling (the distances he covers seem fictional but are in fact true!). Retirement appears to be suiting him as even the Year 10 students noticed - on a recent RS trip to St Mary’s Church where Joc was serving drinks, the students reported back that “he looks well and seemed very relaxed”. That is great news Joc and we wish you ongoing happiness in your continuing retirement. Dr K Smith

2021 / 2022 Charlotte Rolfe After 3½ years of service we were sad to say goodbye to Charlotte Rolfe, at the end of the Autumn term 2021. She settled into the role quickly and was an amazing art technician. A large part of Charlotte’s role was dedicated to ensuring that the department ran smoothly and that all students felt safe and supported. Her work had a positive impact with those that worked with her, which we thank her for. Many students loved attending her photographic workshops and staff greatly appreciated her support especially during the lockdown period

Amber Finn Dr Finn joined Aylesbury Grammar School as a teacher of Physics in 2016 and left us in 2022 to further pursue her teaching career in Luxembourg. During her time at AGS, she not only taught across all of the Key Stages in Physics, but due to her skills and experience, was seconded to the Computing department for some of her teaching time. Latterly, she also held the positions of ‘Digital Learning Leader’ and ‘KS3 leader of computer science’. The School was also to benefit from Dr Finn’s skills in software and research, through her involvement

and the more recent refurbishment work. Not long after starting her post at AGS, news soon crept out that one of Charlotte’s passions was singing and song-writing for a band which she is part of. Her followers on Spotify soon escalated! A fabulous opportunity to pursue a music contract and further music success now steers Charlotte and her band to new adventures. We wish to thank her for her dedication and support. We wish her well on her journey in the music industry and are hoping she will stay in touch! Mrs L Tangi

in an in-house research project on ‘Student led learning using IT in Physics’. As a result of this research, she attended the IBSC (International Boys School Coalition) Conference in Dallas, Texas. Dr Finn also had an eye on the sky as she applied to become an astronaut! She did extremely well, getting a number of stages through the selection process. She was very pragmatic about not making it to the final selection, displaying the very healthy attitude of ‘you’ve got to be in it to win it’ but ‘not everyone can win everything’. We wish her every success as she continues to teach in her new School in Luxembourg. Mr J Kemp

Anne Burnett Anne joined us in 2006 having completed a training placement here in 2005. She immediately proved to be an energetic and effective teacher and a thoughtful member of the Spanish Department and got involved in extra-curricular clubs and activities, including teaching Dutch at a number of Languages Days.

Madrid and Murcia, and led the Spanish Exchange on a number of occasions, which showed real commitment and was hugely appreciated by the students. As a colleague and friend she has been generous with her time and a good listener, and she will be much missed by students and colleagues alike. We wish Anne all the best for her future endeavours. Mr R O’Driscoll

Anne has been on numerous residential visits abroad to Barcelona,

Sue Ainsworth Sue joined Aylesbury Grammar School in 2008 as the School's Examinations Officer. She had spent her previous career as a Teacher of Spanish and was looking forward to a new challenge in a non-teaching role. No doubt she was hoping for a nice gentle start but unfortunately for her just a few days into her new role, a JCQ inspector arrived! (Teachers think Ofsted is bad enough with inspections every few years – the examinations side of things gets inspected every year!). As we would later come to expect of Sue, however, the JCQ report was very positive and marked a very successful start to Sue’s 14 years as Examinations Officer at AGS. The Examination Officer role is a hugely demanding one, requiring a wealth of knowledge and understanding, a calm approach and the ability to juggle many things at

the same time – Sue has all these qualities and more. These become particularly evident during the very busy summer exam season when she manages a large team of invigilators and oversees all that is going on – she has no problem hitting her step count target in those few weeks! She is a wealth of information and seems able to answer any question about the exams process whether it comes from teachers, students or parents (she disputes being the font of all knowledge but I am not so sure!). Her professional approach to her role was also particularly evident during the covid pandemic when she was a great support in helping to manage the School assessed grades process in both 2020 and 2021. Sue will begin her retirement after supporting the release of GCSE and A level results in August 2022 for one last time – a rough estimate suggests she will have processed around 30,000 GCSEs and 10,0000 A levels! Her professionalism, experience and

warmth will be much missed by us all. Thank you Sue for all you have done and for all your support and very best wishes for a long and happy retirement. Dr K Smith

HOUSE LIFE

2021 / 2022

Denson House Report With events getting underway incredibly quickly, we found ourselves preparing for Senior Public Speaking under the exceptional tutelage of Will Chapman and Dan Compton. Despite this short time of preparation, the boys produced four fantastic speeches on a variety of topics and did fantastically well. With Isaac Salle and Dan Compton both coming second in their respective year groups and Hrishik Subramani coming first, the boys deserved their first place overall. Unfortunately, this brilliant start to the Watson trophy did not last too long as we came sixth in House Art. Despite the tremendous efforts of all the House Captains, led by Dylan Nicholls, it was a shame that we were unable to produce a show that truly displayed our best. Lessons learnt, discussions had, we moved on to House Quiz and House Chess in which we fared slightly better. Our next big effort came in House Writing. Applying what we learnt from House Art earlier in the year, we put together a hardworking group of editors, led by George Wellbelove who put together a fantastic House magazine that we were incredibly proud of. For this I would like to offer my huge thanks to Adam Bosompem, Dan Compton, Silas Glover, Aaron MacWhirter, Piri Vigneswaran and Dinel Senarath Arachchige for their herculean effort, collecting and editing over 100 pieces from across the House. This truly is a phenomenal effort and I am very grateful for all of you who submitted a piece, whether it made the final magazine or not. It was a significant improvement on our efforts in House Art and goes to show what we are capable of as a House when we really try. Unfortunately, despite all our hard work, it was not to be and we didn’t achieve the position we hoped for. Our boys appear to have taken this to light a fire that is motivating them to do even better next year and I really look forward to working with them again. In the next round of House Quiz, it was fantastic to see our Year 10 and 11 teams out-perform their elder peers to come 3rd in their respective years, moving us to third overall in the competition. Rounding off the Watson was Junior Public Speaking, where we

found ourselves in a position to win it. Working incredibly hard, Jeremy Muncey, George Maguire, Srijan Kumar and Leo Pargeter attended a relentless program of rehearsals arranged by Dan Compton. It was fantastic to see all this hard work pay off to secure Denson placed first place overall in Public Speaking. A notable mention must go to Jeremy and George who combined to produce and deliver an excellent speech that placed them second in their year group and to Leo for a dominant performance in his year group placing him first. For those who have been with us this year, it is only fitting to finish off the report of this year’s Watson in one way. House Music is always a highlight of any calendar at AGS and this year was no exception. Given past performances in the competition, Silas Glover took it upon himself from early on (around Year 9), to guide Denson to success. For an overall view, I feel it is only fair that I leave my comment about the event to Silas (as posted on our Denson House page): BOYS I COULD NOT BE PROUDER. WE ABSOLUTELY, TOTALLY, UTTERLY, ENTIRELY, WHOLLY, FULLY, THOROUGHLY, CERTAINLY (look up synonyms of absolutely to see more!) S.M.A.S.H.E.D IT!!!!!!! SECOND PLACE!!!!!!!!! Wow, what can I say, it was amazing boys, last night was pure perfection from us. We could not have done more to deserve that silver medal, and as Tharrshann and Antoni have posted about, Phillips totally smashed it too, so they deserve every point of their 96/100 to take the trophy. You guys already know, but we scored a

WHOPPING 95/100 POINTS! In a normal year, if a House got 95, they would have been the winners by a mile, but this year was incredibly strong from all houses. Maybe, on a different night, Denson would have taken home that trophy, but don't let that get to you because we did insane. As Antoni said, to come from 6th place and never being the House to be thought of as musical, and then to go to second place with a point separating us from an incredible Philips performance, this truly is flabbergastingly incredible boys. This is the best result we have had in House Music for DECADES, and I literally mean DECADES, because myself, Will, Antoni, Tharrshann and the rest of the Denson Sixth Formers have never experienced a result higher than third, so you should all be incredibly proud. And now for some thank yous: The biggest thank you I can give in the world to the Denson House Music leadership team, consisting of Will, Tharrshann, Antoni, Adam, Aaron and many more incredible people. I really couldn't have led this without you as you all kept me sane throughout the November to February rehearsals, planning, coordination and many other things. You truly are the best people I could ever have imagined being by my side, and I well and truly can't thank you enough. Losing the three of you in Year 13 at the end of the year will leave a great hole in Denson, and House Music. A great thank you to Rhys and Kai as our compeers too, as they really did step up to the challenge and were said by many people to be the funniest compeers of the night. I can't thank you two enough. From me personally a huge thank you to each and everyone of you who participated, your hard work and commitment at each and every

rehearsal was immense. I would like to offer a particular thank you to Flynn Timberlake and Rumeth Lewliyadda on vocals who really were tremendous. It is never easy being up front and you did it tremendously well. As for the Brodie competition, this was a truly hard-fought contest and produced some of our best results, both individually and collectively as a House. Unfortunately, after Basketball and Cross Country we had some work to do to pull ourselves back to the top of the standings. Enter our House Squash heroes. With the Year 7 team consisting of Aashman Poondy (C), Xavi Hamilton, Dylan McCrae and Avyan Rana starting their AGS career with a third place we were looking good. Followed by third place in Year 11 (Tom (C), Alex, Calum, Joss) and second place in Year 10 (consisting of Alex Glover (C), Lukas Martyn Schroeder, Joe Endicott and George Jackson) and sixth form (Silas Glover (C), Aaron MacWhirter, Dinel Senarath Arachchige and Rhys Hanling) we finished 2nd overall. A huge thank you to all who were involved!! Unfortunately, this was followed by sixth place in House football, an area in which we have struggled historically. Next up was House swimming. And it is at this time that I would like to make a nod to one of the Denson Tutors who left us this year - Mrs Makin. A natural competitor through and through, with a passion for swimming, she took it upon herself to run swim training in the weeks leading up to the house competition. It is no surprise therefore that her tutor group

(Year 9), along with the Year 8s dominated their section to come first. The team consisted of Raf Gibson, Alfie Toms, Jared Hills, Diyon Senarath Arachchige, Caleb Yap, JJ Jackson , Cyrus Khamnian and Dev Parekh, this was a huge result and the boys should be incredibly proud. As should those boys who put on fantastic performances within their own races; Will Cliffe, Hamish Hodge and Rafi Gibson came 2nd in the backstroke finals, Alfie Toms, who came 2nd in the Butterfly and Individual medley, Tom Poole came 3rd in the individual medley and JJ Jackson came 3rd in his freestyle final. This meant going into the remaining events in 6th place, 6 points behind Ridley. Not an easy deficit to make up, but the boys were adamant they would not come 6th. Next up was an event in which Denson has enjoyed continued

success since it began, House Badminton. Coming second was a tremendous result and showed, once again, what Denson is capable of. A special mention must go to Year 8 (Sanjeev Sunil (C), Ronak Daleer, Srijan Kumar and Danie Yap) and Year 11 (Craig Pereira, Sanji Kumart, Tom Whitehead and George Bancroft) both of whom won their year groups. Aiming to build on their continued success with the racket, Denson’s next challenge was House Tennis. Following on from a great performance last year, we were incredibly confident that we could come away with some much-needed points. We did incredibly well with Year 7 (Avyan Rana (C), Aashman Poondy, Xav Hamiltoni and Hamish Hodge) placing third in their year. Year 9 (Caleb Yap, JJ Jackson, Leo Pargeter and Andrew Johnson) placing 2nd and Year 10 (Will Pringle, Joe Endicott, Alex Glover and George Jackson) placing 1st. It all came down to our Senior team to go to work and secure us 2nd place overall. A huge thank you to Tobi Akinwumi, who came back after finishing his exams to play for us - he really made the difference. I am delighted to say the boys (Elliot Mills, Silas Glover, Aaryaman Poondy and Tobi Akinwumi) did what they needed to do and ensured us second place overall. With only House Athletics to go, we had successfully pulled back 4.5 points on Ridley. We needed to finish 2 places above Ridley to achieve our goal of leap frogging them - having come in last place in House Athletics last year, this was not going to be easy. The boys knew the situation, the gauntlet had been thrown down and it was their chance to step up and be counted. For what the boys achieved I cannot be prouder and

2021 / 2022 cannot thank them all enough for their fantastic efforts on the day. Taking home bronze medals were: Ibrahim Jaradat, Sam Dewhirst, Jared Hills and Joe Gormally (4 x 100m Relay), Dan Tearle (Javelin), Sam Dewhirst (1500m), Sean Dover (800m), Joe Barber (400m), Joe Gormally (300m), Kyle Tshuma (200m), Tom Webb (1500m), Will Cliffe (100m) and Warwick Hill (Long Jump). Taking 2nd in their events were Adam Bosompem (200m), Sam Dewhirst (800m), Joe Gormally (Long Jump), Aaron MacWhirter (Long Jump) and Will Cliffe, Boris Tasev, Joe Barber and Joe Barber (4 x 100m Relay). Taking gold in the day were Kyle Tshuma, JJ Jackson, Andrew Johnson and Frankie Joy Young (4 x 100m Relay), Jared HIlls (Javelin), Stanley Horner (1500m), Andrew Johnson (Long Jump), Adam Bosompem (Triple Jump), Frankie Joy Young (100m), Ruben Munday (100m and 200m) and Boris Tasev (Long Jump). With so many great performances, we were delighted with our 4th place finish, two places ahead of Ridley. We had done it. Our end of year goal had been achieved and we really had proved ourselves contenders for the cup. Appetites whetted, the boys now look to next year to continue to improve as a collective.

Outside of the trophies, it has been great to see Denson building as a group to support our charity KIDs, a very worthy cause, even holding an ice lolly sale among Year 7 - well done George, Jeremy, Oscar and Ryan. We also started our very own in-house Taskmaster competition, seeing boys competing across a number of challenges testing a variety of skills from speed drawing to basketball. Congratulations to Denson 12 for being the first to win the trophy, we will see if you can defend it next year. I would like to finish by saying a huge thank you to all the boys in the house, all of you have been fantastic once again and I look forward to another year with you. I would also like to say a massive thank you to the form tutors who have been exceptional this year. Unfortunately, we say goodbye to Mr Goff and Mrs Makin, but we wish them all the very best in their new paths and hope to see them soon. A big thank you and farewell to the outgoing Year 13, I wish them the very best of luck as they move on to new pathways and hope they will come back soon to see how the House is doing without them. Finally, an enormous thank you to our Head boy Will Chapman, and Deputy Head boys Tharshann Logarajah and Dylan Nicholls who have been

Hampden House Report The world was a very different place back in 1998, Titanic was the first film to gross over 1 billion dollars at the box office, Britney Spears released her debut single ‘Baby One more time’, A furby was THE toy to have, Apple released the iMac, Tony Blair was the UK’s Prime Minister and Hampden House won the Brodie Trophy. 24 years is a long time to wait and a lot has changed since then, but Hampden House finally got their hands on that Brodie Trophy again in 2022! It’s been a truly incredible year for the House and combined with a 3rd place finish in what was a closely fought Watson Trophy, easily the most successful year we have had in terms of results for a very long time. More importantly though, these positive results came about as a result of changing attitudes within the House over recent years in terms of what we can achieve and how we need to apply ourselves, as well as a greater appreciation that a collective effort is required to keep on improving and making progress. So many

Hampden-ites from different year groups have made significant contributions in so many different ways throughout the year, and it is this that needs to be celebrated, together with our successes. The Watson - 3rd place overall. Public Speaking - 5th place (6th Senior Public Speaking & 1st Junior Public Speaking), Art - 1st Place, Quiz - 1st Place, Writing - 4th Place, Chess - 3rd Place & Music - 5th Place. It is testimony to the strength of both Paterson (2nd) and the resurgent Phillips (1st) that our results over the course of the year only lead to a 3rd place finish, having won both House Art and Quiz competitions. Our Art campaign was extremely impressive and best typified the improvements we have made as a House in terms of organisation and engagement. We had incredibly strong senior leadership in the form of Dhruva Menon (one of our House Deputies) who took it upon himself to lead a team that

a pleasure to work with and I know I speak for the House when I wish them the very best of luck. Mr T Walker

would emulate the previous year’s success in the same competition, with the help of Sonari Amabibi. Dhruva in particular not only led through example, he delegated and oversaw others with great skills, allowing the likes of George Wiggs and James O’Keefe to take on positions of greater responsibility.

In House Squash, the Year 8 team of Oscar Price, Isaac Forward, Sam Wright and Kyle Babbage recorded a most welcome win, while the Year 11 team of Joel Jennings, Harry Woodus, Elliot Godley and Callum Meader finished 2nd, all of which contributed to a 3rd place finish overall.

Although not as successful in terms of results, similar models were used to great effect with House Writing and Music. With Writing, it was Aryan Saxena who stepped up and took the lead, while Kevin Chen and Josh Ramcharitar did the same for House Music. In both events the end result didn’t reflect the amount of hard work and effort put in by so many in the House, but with House Music in particular it was fantastic to see so many of our students express themselves with so much skill, freedom and enthusiasm. For me, no one showed that more than the vocal efforts of Josh, Prithvi Menon and Lakshya Verma, who were unforgettable.

It was great to see Cross Country back on the events calendar after 5 years and it proved to be a fantastic event and a welcome return for Hampden House. While all year groups performed well, Cross Country provided an early indication of how talented our new Hampden 7 cohort was, with Leo Capaldi winning the event and Charlie Wade finishing 4th. Other notable performances came from Jed Okai (Ha8 - 3rd in the Juniors) and Alex Hodson (Ha12 - 4th in the Seniors).

Finally, our Junior Public Speakers (Chris Thomas in Ha7, Max Meader in Ha8 and Joshua Jude in Ha8) excelled, with Chris and Max winning their events in great style and Joshua performing extremely well in a strong year group. All of this bodes extremely well for next year and I am looking forward to seeing the House keep on moving forwards in these areas. The Brodie - 1st Place Overall Cross Country - 1st place, Rugby - 2nd place, Squash - 3rd place, Swimming - 2nd place, Football 3rd place, Basketball - 6th place, Badminton - 1st place, Tennis - 1st Place & Athletics - 1st place. As in The Watson, it was an extremely close-run thing, this time between ourselves and Lee House, who were hugely impressive in this year’s Brodie. It went to the final event to decide the top two places and we had to finish within two places of Lee in House Athletics (the final event of the year) to win our first Brodie in many, many years….but before we go there, let’s start at the beginning of the year!

In rugby we were consistently good in all year groups, which was particularly impressive in Years 7, 8 & 9 as all students were involved in either A, B or C Team competitions. In the older years, a 2nd place finish for the Year 10s and two 3rd place finishes for the Year 11s and Seniors consolidated our 2nd place finish overall and allowed the Senior students to represent their House in rugby for the first time in a long time, which was great to see and allowed the likes of Paddy McNulty and Fin Spencer (who have given so much to School rugby over the years) and chance to play in Hampden green for a final time.

The Spring Term brought about both House Football and Swimming, two highly anticipated and keenly contested House Events. In Football, the Year 7s once again showed their sporting prowess by winning their event, while the Year 10s achieved a similar result thanks to the efforts of Olly Awujo and his squad of talented footballers. In Swimming, we were once again excellent and so many of our students performed brilliantly, the Inters completely dominated their events, everyone gave it their all and the following Hampden-ites made their finals: Gethin Walters, Eashen Patel, Louis Zientek and Daniel Fry (Ha7), Edward Gullidge (Ha8), Toby Evans and Daksh Surana (Ha10), Tom Clarke (Ha11), George Wiggs and Sourab Surana (Ha12), Gabe Gullidge and Ethan Lawrence (Ha13), all of whom contributed to a fantastic 2nd place finish overall. We knew that Basketball was going to be our weakest event of the year, but everyone involved gave it their all and never gave up, maybe because they knew that we had the potential to do extremely well in the remaining events of the year, although we didn’t anticipate doing quite as well as we ended up doing! To finish 1st overall in Badminton, Tennis and then finally Athletics was an incredible end to an incredible year for the House. Highlights from House Badminton included a win for Kevin Chen’s senior team and while they were disappointed with finishing 2nd, Harry Dixon, Gavin Biju, Nirukt Agrawal and Hanush Siddabattula impressed. We are extremely fortunate to have some excellent racquet sports players in the House, and these talents very much extend to Tennis. We were excellent in House Tennis this year, winning the Year 7, 8 & 9 events, as well as finishing 2nd and 3rd in the Inter and Senior competitions. James Godley, Kyle Babbage, Ashton Taank, Ethan Taank and Will Murphy led their year group teams superbly and the 1st place overall meant that we went into House Athletics with a 2.5 point lead over Lee House.

2021 / 2022 In House Athletics, the House responded superbly to the challenge of needing to finish ahead of Lee to secure the Brodie. Both houses performed brilliantly on the day and finished in the top two overall positions, but it was fantastic to see all houses performing so well in what was our first full House Athletics meet since 2019. Consistency was the key for Hampden, with the Year 7s and 8s finishing 2nd in their competitions, the Year 9s were 3rd, the always impressive Year 10s won their event, while the Year 12s were 3rd. It’s impossible to name check all those involved, but a special mention must go to the Aloluwaloba family, with Temi (Ha8), Joseph (Ha10) and Joshua (Ha12) performing so well for the House on the day. The day was a great one, and for us to win Athletics and therefore claim our first Brodie

since the last century made it a very special one for the House. It’s clear from this report that 2021-22 was a year to remember for Hampden House when it came to both Watson and Brodie Trophies. But it was also a year in which the community spirit of the House came to the fore. So many of us contributed to a wide range of both School and house activities, including the welcome return of the School Fete and its House-led stalls. It was fantastic to see students from all year groups working together to make this happen and huge thanks to all those involved. Similar sentiments apply to the newly formed Hampden House Student Council, which is now providing students from all year groups with a voice as to how the House can be

Lee House Report “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” - a famous quote by Theodore Roosevelt reflects Lee House’s achievements this year. With a return to the full gambit of House Events, it was all to play for, and Lee’s spirit over the year was commendable, rising to challenges and coming together as a community on a quest to achieve greatness. As I entered the year ready to hold the mantle in the absence of Mrs Harris, I was determined to encourage and support students to embrace the opportunities that the House system can bring, and was optimistic of a successful year. This included assemblies, with a variety of interesting topics and presentations from all the year groups, and some moments of pure enjoyment - be that the Christmas ‘Finish the Lyric’ singa-long (it’s no wonder Lee had a good choir going for House Music later in the year!) or the popular Basketball shoot-out. A big well done to Lee 12 who won the student edition, and then their Tutor, Mr Disley, also won the Tutor edition! Overall, I think we not only got the job done many times, but had a lot of fun along the way. It was also wonderful to see Lee House fully support the return of the AGS PTA Summer Fete. Students volunteered over the day on our three stalls: Stop the Clock, Nerf-Gun Alley and the ever-popular Coconut Shy.

Thank you to all who took time out of their weekend to help out on the day, for your friendly faces and good humour over the day, even where weather occasionally wasn’t on our side! As you will read, Lee House has had a busy year of House Events, so it is worth mentioning at this point that none of this would be possible without the incredible support and hard work of our staff in both organising and running a busy programme of House Events. I must thank all of the PE Department, Mr Barrie, Mr Walker, Mr Goodchild, Mrs Harris, Mr Nathan, to name only a few, for their continued efforts. A particular shout-out should also go to Miss Chalk, for maintaining the eye-watering Trophy spreadsheets (no small task!). The Watson The Watson kick-started with Senior Public Speaking, an event that Lee House has enjoyed success in previous years. We again proved our worth, with an incredibly powerful speech from Dani Hidalgo-Angera and Julian Atat (Lee 13), ‘I had a friend’, leading the charge. Their support in preparing the other year groups proved instrumental, with last-minute changes due to Covid isolations meaning that James Davies (Lee 10) was unable to attend, and the heroic efforts of Ayaan Raza (Lee

improved. Much of what has been achieved this year has been done under the student leadership team of Vivin Thamaraikannan (Head Boy), Kevin Chen and Dhruva Menon (Deputies). They formed into a fantastic team that worked brilliantly together and I am hugely grateful for all that they did to create such a positive environment. Since being appointed as their successors, Tom Kirkpatrick-Brown (Head Boy), George Wiggs and James O’Keefe (Deputies) were similarly impressive and will form a great team for 2022-23. Let’s hope it’s another great one for the ‘Green Army’. Mr C McGill

10) coming in to perform his speech. Krishanu Thakore (Lee 11) also did a fine job representing the House. The big achievement of the day was Toby Webster (Lee 12), whose speech ‘Verifalsi’ led to him being awarded Speaker of the Day - a big well done! All the boys worked incredibly hard to research, edit and rehearse these speeches over the weeks running up, and should be very proud. Later in the year this was followed up by Junior Public Speaking, with a wonderful range of speeches from our younger years. Oliver Fenner (Lee 7), Aurman Brar (Lee 8) and Kajanan Ganeshkumar (Lee 9) did a wonderful job representing the House in a challenging event, and our efforts across both events earned us an admirable 3rd place overall. House Art is always one of the most popular events of the year, and this year was no different. Lee House took on the theme of ‘Utopia and Dystopia’ which was interpreted in a variety of ways, across different mediums and Lee’s artistic abilities were showcased. Many thanks to the House Art Captains across the year, ably led by Oliver Head (Lee 13) and the Head Boys of House, for all their dedication in organising and setting up the display - a real team effort. While there was a considerable range of quality pieces from the year groups, the standard across all the Houses was high and this resulted in a 5th place for Lee. Many thanks to Mrs Tangi and the Art Department as always for their hard work in organising this event every year.

across the events, this year’s Watson Trophy results placed us in 5th place. While slightly disappointing, we had clear highlights in Public Speaking and Writing, so I am confident that Lee House can continue this momentum into next year. Congratulations to Phillips House, and Mr Goodchild, for their victory in the Watson Trophy - the first time since 2006! The Brodie House Music was next on the agenda, and with fond memories of myself as House Music Captain many years ago (did I mention we won that year?) I was looking forward to seeing Lee’s programme take shape, with a range of talented musicians in the House. The journey to the night itself encountered challenges and obstacles, but the team led with patience and calmness by Marcus Birch and Daniel Mace (Lee 13) ensured that Lee were able to put forward a performance they could be proud of on the night. Lee opened the night with a performance that was exciting and varied, with everything from our very own Michael Buble, Bolu Oyedepo (Lee 13), funk-jazz fusion with ‘Funky Cha-Cha’ and Lee’s resident rock-star Louis Moore (Lee 13) bringing swagger to The Who’s ‘My Generation’, supporting with suitable attitude from the Lee House Choir. Although the House achieved a 6th place finish overall, this is more of a reflection of the high standard brought by the other Houses on the first House Music since 2020. Many thanks to all involved, and especially to Mr Nathan and Mr Dallas for their hard work in the weeks leading up to a wonderful night. Getting a place in a Lee House Quiz team is no easy feat, with the Tutor Group Prefects across all years putting groups through their paces to identify bright sparks across a variety of specialisms, in the hope of crafting teams full of confidence and expertise. This saw some notable success, with victories in Lee 12 and Lee 10, and a commendable 3rd place for Lee 7. The final scores saw Lee in 3rd place overall, with an impressive 26 points in total - thank you to all that took part. Many thanks also to Mr Walker for running another exciting competition this year. House Chess also made a successful return to the House calendar this

year after a period of absence. Many thanks go to Mr Goodchild for his efforts in organising this popular House Event. Although this event ultimately resulted in 5th place overall, a fun day was had by all and the competition was certainly intense when I poked my head in! The final Watson event to report on is House Writing. We came 2nd last year, pipped to the post by Ridley, so momentum was strong as we entered the year under the fine leadership of Dani-Hidalgo-Anguera, supported by a fantastic editing team of Year 12s: Toby Webster, Noah Wilcok, Diyatha Perera, Chris Marsteron, Jaco Peacock, Vincent Jansen Van Rensburg and Bolu Oyedepo. The theme this year was ‘Voices’ and this created opportunities for a variety of interesting pieces, full of different writing styles including letters, poems, reports and recipes. The resulting magazine proved a delightful read, with the adjudicator noting ‘there was considerable originality in the way the theme was conceptualised’ and ‘the design was stylistic and measured, and the accompanying drawings were an especially nice touch’. The quality of the pieces was also commended, with Distinctions awarded to: Marcus Birch (Lee 13) - ‘The Muppet Show’; and Dani Hidalgo-Anguera (Lee 13) - ‘Just chatting’. Merits were also awarded to: Nathaniel Mapondera ‘Dear Diary’; and Nate Chatterley (Lee 12) - ‘Mute’. This event proved a high point for Lee in the Watson, coming 2nd once again, this time just deprived of victory by Paterson. Well done to all who submitted a piece, and especially those who made it into the magazine! Thanks should also go to Mrs Harris for organising the adjudicator team of OAs Joe Parkhouse and Alex Bailey (Ridley ‘18), who also took the time to provide feedback for each individual piece. Thank you! With the total points added from

The Brodie began with an event that had almost become AGS legend and only hearsay - House Cross Country! Lee started the year strong with a 2nd place finish overall, and impressive performances from the Seniors who came 1st in their section, and Year 7 making a strong debut in House Events with a 2nd place finish overall in their race. With a full year of events taking place, it was great to see House Rugby fully completed, including in the Sixth Form. Again the Sixth Form came through strongly, with a 1st place finish, with commendable efforts from Lee 9 who came joint 2nd with Paterson, and Lee 7 who came joint 3rd (also with Paterson!). This gave us an admirable 4th place overall. Wonderful also was to see House Football fully completed as well - all years performed well with Lee 9 winning their group and Sixth Form coming 2nd. Overall another strong result with 2nd place. Well done to all teams for giving it their best shot, and showcasing some fine talent that we build on next year. So far this was looking good! House Basketball also made a return. This was another highly competitive day for Lee, with the House bringing its best players to the fore. Sixth Form appeared unstoppable with another victory in a Brodie Event, and impressive 2nd places in both Year 11 and Year 7, and 3rd places in Year 10 and Year 8. Another 2nd place overall. This was the sort of momentum that we needed, and found us in a strong position in the Brodie at this point. House Swimming is always popular, and one of the most thrilling events of the year, with tensions high and strong support from the students. This year was no exception, and despite last minute absences due to Covid (striking again!) Lee came together and achieved a very respectable 3rd place. Well done to all who swam, and

2021 / 2022 particularly to Daniel Talbot (Lee 7), Oliver Colborne-Baber (Lee 8) and the Inters Medley Relay who all won their events on the day. Most notable were the achievements of Jake Chesworth (Lee 9), breaking two records in the Junior Butterfly (28.66 secs) and Junior Individual Medley (66.25 secs). Jake set a new record in his heat for the Individual Medley and then smashed his own new record in the final. A true Lee talent for the future! It was clear at this point in the year that Lee House had many strengths in sporting achievement, but could they improve upon last year's performances in racket sports? One look at House Squash and Badminton indicate that Lee’s talents extend

day in glorious sunshine! Suncream applied, water bottles filled and snacks acquired, Lee was ready to deliver. Lee 9 and the Sixth Form both topped their year groups overall, and there were some incredible performances; Hamza Sohail (Lee 7) winning the 200m, Tomi Ashaolu (Lee 8) winning the 100m, Triple and Long Jump; Josh Mokaya (Lee 9) winning the 300m; Israel Adjei (Lee 9) winning the Discus; Pelumi Abioye (Lee 10) winning the Javelin; Tyno MartireCharlett (Lee 12) winning the Shotput; Alex Hamilton (Lee 12) winning the 100m and 200m; and, Oscar Wellbelove (Lee 12) winning the 400m and 800m. With this, we turned out a truly remarkable 2nd place, with Hampden coming 1st. This was a thrilling year of Brodie events, and it really came down to the wire in the end who would come out on top. Congratulations are in order to Hampden House and Mr McGill on their deserved victory, although a massive well done to everyone involved in the events this year, and for a wonderful performance overall we can all be proud. Final thoughts

further. House Squash proved to be one of Lee’s most outstanding performances of the year, with Year 7, Year 10, Year 11 and Sixth Form all coming top of their groups - this earned Lee a victory with 29.5 points in total (7.5 points clear of the other Houses!). Badminton also proved successful, with Lee 7, Lee 9 and Lee 10 all coming top of their groups, leading to a well-earned 2nd place overall. House Tennis unfortunately couldn’t complete the trilogy of racket sport success, with a 6th place overall - not yet our specialism, but we can certainly build upon our racket sport achievement for next year. It’s never too early to start practising your serves, Lee House! As the year began to draw to a close, it was a two-horse race for the overall Brodie Trophy between Lee and Hampden, who had also performed well over the year. At one point, Lee was atop the Brodie rankings, and now we were only 2.5 points behind in the overall standings. Some students had done the maths, and knew it was possible (so as Roosevelt said, they were halfway there!) - all that stood between Lee House and Brodie supremacy was House Athletics, and

Taking on the role of Head of House for a year, I have been very lucky to have some fantastic support this year from a great team of Head Boys of House - Marcus Birch as Head Boy of House, and a wonderful trio of Deputy Head Boys of House with Julian Atat, Harry Jones and Dani Hidalgo-Anguera. Their leadership and commitment have contributed to many of Lee’s successes, and their support in engaging younger year groups with the House has been incredible. I would like to thank all of Lee 13 for their contributions to the House over the years, and wish them well for the future. They will always be members of Lee House, and I commend them on what they have achieved, overcoming the challenges of Covid over the last few years. The Lee House Tutors this year have also been excellent. Mr Jones, Mrs Parvez, Mr Crapper, Mr Skinner, Mr Disley and Mr Corby have all been consistently positive and encouraging over the year, supporting all students and helping build the sense of community within the House.Thank you all, from myself and on behalf of Lee House, for your continued commitment to the House!

I would also like to thank Mr Dallas, and the other Heads of House for their advice and friendly competition over the year. So much work goes on behind the scenes to make the House system as successful a community as it is, and their unwavering support of all students throughout their School journey is one of the many aspects of AGS that makes it such a wonderful place. Looking back over the year, I am truly proud of everything that Lee House has accomplished. There is a real spring in Lee House’s step, and as we head into the next academic year I am delighted to say that a significant number of students occupy leadership positions including Junior Prefects, School Prefects and Senior Prefects. Particular well done to the newly appointed Buddies from the current Lee 7, who are in the vital role of supporting the incoming Lee 7 in September transition into AGS and Lee House: Kit Chantrey, Benji Colclough-Moss, Alex Cooper, Nathan Pike, Sheyon Rajaratnam and Joe Tilley. Additionally, I am confident that Lee House is in safe hands with the new Head Boy of House, Chris Marsterson, and Deputy Head Boys of House, Toby Webster and TynoMartire-Charlett. As Mrs Harris returns next year, I am confident that you all will continue to see great success in Lee House. And finally, thank you and congratulations to all of Lee House for your fine work this year representing the House. I have been extremely proud of the way you have approached the year with confidence and effort, and this really shows in our successes this year. There have been many achievements, and I look forward to continuing to support Lee House as a Tutor, confident that 2023 will see further victories for the House. Mr J Taylor (Acting Head of Lee House)

Paterson House Report Head Boy Team Perspective Coming to the end of our 7 years in Paterson House has been quite an emotional experience for us all. However, we are so happy that we are able to round off our time at AGS with such a successful and eventful final year. Throughout the year we saw first-hand how united we are as a House. This sense of teamwork across all years is something that was fantastic to see. We witnessed this during House art where a mix of people joined together to produce a fantastic display. This teamwork didn't just stop at House Art. In fact, it was elevated even further with House Music, which was our highlight event of the year. Everyone who was part of House Music can vouch for the fact that in terms of energy and presence, especially in the lecture theatre, we were unmatched. Despite not finishing higher in House Music, we could not be prouder of the individual and collective efforts inputted by all those involved. Adding to the many highlights from this year were the endless nominations for the Paterson Praise Awards. However, seeing everyone's submissions for the different Head Boys challenges definitely is up there with our best moments from this year. Whether it was seeing your pumpkin carvings or listening to Year 11s and their prefect Joe Vinken Pa 13, trying to sing in Paterson's Got Talent. It would be remiss to not acknowledge the hard work and dedication of Paterson House’s wonderful tutors who work incessantly to aid the House and their tutor groups. By providing an extraordinary level of pastoral

The Brodie Trophy

Paterson House, we were very excited to get back to a full programme of Brodie events. The year started with House Cross Country, an event we have not been able to hold at AGS since 2017, so we were delighted to see the return of this event in the Brodie Trophy. House Cross Country brought us a very mixed set of results, but a very pleasing Joint 3rd place overall finish. Special mentions go to the Paterson Inters team who won their section, as well as the excellent finishing results from Raphie London (Pa 8 – 1st Place Juniors), Thomas Young (Pa 11 – 2nd Place Inters) and Nick Cay (Pa 12 - 2nd Place Seniors). Next, we had the House Rugby competition. With a few changes in place from our new Director of Sport and the PE department, we were able to open the event to more students than ever before with A, B and C teams being fielded from Key Stage 3 and an event created for Key Stages 4 and 5. With another pleasing ‘top three’ finish, things were looking good in the Brodie. Well done to Paterson 8 who won their event stage. This success continued into House Squash where we achieved a 3rd place finish. We then held the House Swimming Gala, an event that we have not been able to hold for the last couple of years, so we were all very excited to see the return of such a popular event. Congratulations should be given to the Senior Paterson Medley Relay Team who broke the School record for the event in their Heat and then set a new School record in the Final! Sadly, a number of disqualifications in the relays really damaged our scoring potential and what is usually a very strong event for us, was not this year with an overall 4th place finish. The next event was House Football. With the introduction of ‘B’ and ‘C’ teams into the competition last year for Key Stage 3, this has become one of the more popular Brodie events and following last year’s 1st place finish, we had a lot to live up to. The footballers of Paterson House did not disappoint and delivered a firstclass performance to win this event yet again, giving us our first Brodie event trophy of the year. Well done to Paterson 11 who won their event. This was followed by a 4th place finish in House Basketball (well done Paterson 9 for a stage win), a 5th place finish in House Badminton and a 5th place finish in House Tennis.

After the disruption to House events over the last couple of years, and following last year’s Brodie win for

Then we moved onto House Athletics, arguably the most exciting and highly contended of the Brodie events. We

care, we as a House have always felt uplifted by their reassurance and faith in us all. Thank you all so much for everything you have done this past year. We would also like to give a special thanks to Dr McNamara, for all the support she has provided us over the last 6 years. We couldn’t have asked for a better form tutor, and we wish you all the best! Saying all this, none of our work would have been achievable without Ms Chalk - an absolute wonder to have as a Head of House. The admiration that we all have for Ms Chalk’s industrious work ethic is something that will not be forgotten, especially concerning the inner workings of Paterson House. The continuous support, as well as the perpetual care that we receive as a House from her, must not go unnoticed and for this, we thank her with our utmost appreciation. We would like to thank each and every member of the purple army, for making our time as Head Boys so enjoyable. It fills us with pride to say we were a part of a House where the engagement and enthusiasm for House events were so evident, not only to us but to other Houses as well. We wish you all the best in whatever you choose to do, and we hope you enjoy the rest of your time at AGS. Ashre Moses, Bar Heasman and Alex Comben Head Boy Team - Paterson House 2021-2022 Head of House Report

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knew we could not win the Brodie, or even come second at this stage, but this event would determine whether we finished in 3rd place or lower in the Brodie, and the importance of this was not lost in our preparations. Following an inspirational assembly from our new Head Boy team, ‘Team Paterson’ were ready. We ran, jumped and threw to the best of our ability and finished the event in a very pleasing 3rd place. There were some excellent performances that are worthy of note in the event – Freddie Bowen (Pa 7) who finished in 1st place in both the discus and shot events, Raphie London (Pa 8) finishing 1st in both the 800m and 1500m, Lennox Waugh (Pa 8) gaining a 1st place finish in discus, the Paterson 8 relay team who won their event, Nathaniel Thomey (Pa 10) for a 1st place discus finish, Nathan Hancox (Pa 10) for his 1st place shot result, Nick Cay (Pa 12) for finishing in 1st place in the 1500m and Riaghan Matheson (Pa 12) for his 1st place javelin result. Remarkable work from all involved. With the 3rd place finish in House Athletics, this meant we finished in a very comfortable 3rd place overall in the Brodie. Not quite matching the success of the previous year, but a top three finish in any trophy is certainly something to celebrate. The Watson Trophy The first event in the Watson Trophy was Senior Public Speaking. Keane Liboon (Pa 10), Sam Duodu (Pa 11), Liam Purchase (Pa 12) and Sam Main (Pa 13) took on this challenge and delivered speeches on the true worth of decisions, mental diversity, accountability, and the truth about migrants. The team finished in

4th place, a fairly solid start to a competition of two halves. In the summer term we had the Junior part of the competition where Zachariah Jahngir (Pa 7), Thomas Ruck (Pa 8), Ayan Sharma (Pa 9) presented their speeches on electric cars, making history and first impressions. All our speakers had worked very hard on their preparation, delivering informative and engaging speeches. When the points were added together, we finished overall in 4th place. Thank you to everyone who supported our speakers through the preparations for the competition, especially to senior members of Paterson House for giving up their time to help our team of speakers in rehearsals to be the best they can be.

Tikkireddi – awarded certificates for two entries (Pa 9), Ben Curry (Pa 11), Thomas Young Pa 11, Nick Cay (Pa 12), James Alison (Pa 13), Dr McNamara (Year 13 Tutor), Ms Chalk (Head of House)

Next was the House Art event, one of my favourite events as it's something everyone can get involved with. The Senior Captains led by Jatheep Raj (Pa 13) decided on the theme of ‘The Toy Box’ and built a fun-filled display that made us all reminiscent of our childhoods with toy trains, Lego characters and building blocks. The event captains worked tirelessly to create a display worthy of the work it proudly exhibited, selecting from over 150 House Art entries that were submitted, and we were awarded with a pleasing 2nd Place finish. The level of talent within Paterson House was recognised with a total of 32 awards for outstanding entries. These were awarded to:

Preparations for the next event, House Music, started about 3 months before the actual competition. Discovering what musical talent we have within the house, deciding on songs, auditioning singers - it all takes time. Eventually, our Senior House Music Captain Max Wheaton (Pa 13), decided on our set and rehearsals began for what would be two epic nights of musical performances. Our compère trio of Sanjit Mallya (Pa 13), Joe Vinken (Pa13) and Jamie Wishart (Pa 13) set the scene perfectly with witty remarks and an inviting presence that had the audience invested in our performance. We began with Michael Bublé’s ‘Feeling Good’, where we were gifted with an incredible vocal performance from Theo Parfitt (Pa 13) who has been a staple of Paterson House Music for some years. We then moved onto ‘Message in a Bottle’ by The Police and welcomed Felix Mupanduki (Pa 10) to the stage as one of our lead singers for the very first time, and what a job he did! I also think that Max Wheaton needs a special mention for his exceptional

Double Award of Excellence - Aryan Gorai (Pa 9) Certificates of Excellence - Eldan Twelftree (Pa 7), Dilan Barauskas (Pa 8), Daniel McLarty (Pa 8), Abid Ahmed (Pa 9), Yehan Canthaboo (Pa 9), Sebastien Jimenez (Pa 9), Yash Suryavanshi (Pa 9), Saharsh

Merit - Vedanth Hari (Pa 7), Charlie McGrail (Pa 7), Zayan Pathan (Pa 7), Tharuga Pathirajage Don (Pa 7), Suhail Siraj Zarook (Pa 7), Vainav Vankadaru (Pa 7), Harry Lynch (Pa 8), Han Tan (Pa 8), Ollie Buckthorpe (Pa 9), Senesh Chady (Pa 9), Luke Marshall (Pa 9), Ronit Taylor (Pa 9), Reuben Bithell (Pa 10), Keane Liboon (Pa 10), Victor Poinaru, James Sutcliffe, Johann Armah and Abdul Taimoor (collective entry) (Pa 12), Samuel Mitev (Pa 13)

recorded digitally in 2010 at least!). Well done to our Juniors who finished 3rd, our Inters who finished 2nd and our Seniors who finished in 1st place. What an achievement. The Watson points were added together, and we finished this year in 2nd place, only 0.5 points behind the winning House. I think everyone in Paterson House should be incredibly proud of this achievement. This provided us with a top three finish in both trophies for 2021-2022. Other Areas of House life drumming skills on this piece – I’m sure Stewart Copeland would be proud of this rendition. Before the next piece, we had a little surprise for the audience (and one of the compère team who was unaware of what was to come). As audience members and the adjudicator donned party hats, the crowd all sang Happy Birthday to Joe Vinken (Pa 13) who was celebrating his 18th birthday by performing in House Music showing his selfless commitment to Paterson House. Thanks Joe – we hope you had a birthday to remember! We then had to move to the final piece in our set, ‘Knights of Cydonia’ by Muse. Paterson House is known for pushing the boundaries in House Music and this year was no exception. For this final piece, we decided to have an entirely choir led piece. Risky? Yes. Did it work? Yes, thankfully. Our choir gave out a cry worthy of the message of making a difference encompassed in the song’s lyrics. Another special mention needs to go to Ben Kearney (Pa 12). Not only did he spend time supporting a younger musician on this piece in learning their part, but his own guitar solo was exceptional. We finished House Music in a disappointing 4th place, but as one member of Paterson House said ‘we had the most fun of all the Houses, so that makes us winners’. Moving onto the next big event – House Writing. The theme of ‘Voices’ provided a lot of inspiration. The magazine editorial team of Harry Blackman, Nick Cay, Zach Cooke, Max Plumridge, Victor Poinaru, Liam Purchase, James Sutcliffe, Abdul Taimoor (all from Pa 12) and Ed Campbell, Alex Comben, Bar Heasman, Huned Mamajiwala, Ashré Moses, Jatheep Raj and Nathan Curry (all from Pa 13) worked through over 180 entries ranging from poems and haikus to stories and news articles to

select the best pieces to go into our House Writing Magazine. We were delighted to receive a 1st place finish in this event, with the adjudicator commenting ‘there is a very strong range of writing here, with a greater variegation of themes than seen in other magazines.’ A comment we can certainly be proud of, and one that reflect the commitment and creativity of all the members of Paterson House who submitted an entry. Congratulations go to Max Plumridge (Pa 12) and Sean Morrell (Pa 13) who were awarded distinctions for their entries, and to Lakshith Gnanpareddy (Pa 7), Han Tan (Pa 8), Sebastien Jimenez (Pa 9) and Hugh Podmore (Pa 10) who were all awarded merits. That finally brings us to House Chess and House Quiz. As has so often been the case, House Quiz was not one of our strongest events, with a Joint 4th place finish - although this was an improvement on last year’s 6th place finish in the event. However, House Chess was to hold even more of a surprise where we finished in joint 1st place our best finish since records began (well, since they were

The House system offers so much more to those at AGS than just House competitions. I have been so delighted to be involved in promoting so many students to leadership positions such as Year 8 Buddy’s, Junior Prefects, School Prefects and Senior Prefects. We have raised funds for our House Charity - Missing People - a UK charity that provides specialist support to people who are or at risk of missing, and the families and friends left behind. We have a wonderful group of tutor group prefects who support the younger members of Paterson House so well, providing links between the year groups. We were also able to support the PTA fete through the running of House stalls to help raise vital funds for School projects. We maintained our messages of support through our ‘Mental Health Mondays’ initiative, which is led by the prefects. We have also continued to run the Paterson House Fantasy Football league. Each month ‘Manager of the Month’ awards were awarded in the following age categories: Years 7, 8-9, 10-11, 12-13. At the end of the year, we presented our ‘Managers of the Year’ awards for each age group to William Belsham

2021 / 2022 (Pa 7), Michael Owolabi (Pa 8), Jonny Buckthorpe (Pa11) and the winner of the ‘Overall Paterson House Fantasy Football Manager of the Year’ was awarded to Charlie Back (Pa 13). Thanks to Sanjit Mallya (Pa 13) for coordinating the Fantasy Football league this year. The highlight of the year was the introduction of the Paterson Praise award. This has allowed members of Paterson House to nominate others within the House who they feel deserve some recognition and it has been so wonderful to read such diverse and genuine nominations for this ranging from being a good friend, helping with School work and being a good role model and then being able to contact all nominees to congratulate them on doing a great job. We are so grateful to be supported by a wonderful group of tutors who work tirelessly to support the students in

Paterson House and we would not be the team we are without them, and all of us are incredibly appreciative for their endless support and firstclass pastoral care. Thank you to Mr Dudmish, Mrs Sampson, Mr Scott, Mr Nathan, Dr Gardner, Mr McIntosh and Dr McNamara. We were very sad to lose Mr Chappell from the team this year, as he left AGS at Christmas. He was an incredible supporter of Paterson House, and his enthusiasm will be missed, but we all wish him the best in his retirement. The Paterson leadership team of Ashre Moses (Head Boy of House), Alex Comben, and Bar Heasman (Deputy Head Boys of House) have been nothing short of remarkable in their roles this year. They have carried out their duties with grace and a smile. For that, I am so grateful. They have been an absolute pleasure to work with and have been truly inspirational to everyone in the House – they are

Phillips House Report What a fantastic year of Phillips House! I recall last year reporting with some melancholy our bottom placings in Brodie and Watson trophies with encouraging words on how we can do better this year. Well, that is exactly what we have done and it is down to the unwavering determination and commitment of the whole House led until this term by Andreas, Ashwin and Pira. I am very proud to report that for 2021-2022 Phillips has won the Watson and come a solid 4th in the Brodie. These placings are our best performance for over 13 years!! Long may it continue. The Watson win was the outcome of what turned out to be an incredibly close fought battle near the top of the table and eventually Paterson succumbed by 0.5 points for us to seize the crown. The Brodie was less clear and we spent much of the year mid to low placed with the odd win. It was clear early in this term that Phillips was unlikely to win the sporting trophy but a place was feasible. In the end we settled for our 4th, but with the Watson win, things did not seem that bad. As part of our efforts to enhance performance a few innovations were made in September which turned out to be incredibly successful. First, we established the ‘Tutor Group Captain’, a role that provides a key point of contact between event captains

and the head boys. This new focus reduced problems and raised issues for early resolution during the year. This innovation was facilitated by our new House executive Google classroom page where the head boys and captains can communicate instantly. I am confident these changes coupled with pro-active meetings held by the boys before events, have all played their part in our success this year. I would also like to personally thanks Mr Warner who volunteered to lead both public speaking and writing, providing vital support and coordinating the students. This year I was very proud to award the Ben Emburey Award to John Davie of Ph12 for his ongoing efforts across a wide spectrum of house activities including most notably his outstanding leadership in the percussion section of House Music. John’s energy and sense of humour was unparalleled. Well done John! I would also like to welcome Mr Roberts who took on the role of Ph12 tutor earlier in the year and has since, given excellent support to his charges. Thanks as well to Andreas, Pira and Ashwin for their hard work as Head Boys and welcome their replacements from Ph12, Liam, Charles and Teni who have already set themselves up as excellent leaders and pro-active organisers.

certainly the reason we achieved success this year. I would also like to wish Year 13 all the very best of luck for the future as they leave us. They have been a fantastic year to get to know and I will miss them greatly as they leave us. My advice to you is to take every opportunity you can in life, don’t have any regrets and make the most of everyday. You will always be a member of #TeamPaterson. I am always so proud of the immense commitment and passion that all members of Paterson House display on a daily basis. We are a community, and each member of our team is essential. We work best when we work together, and I am excited to see what 2022-2023 will bring us in the quest for the Brodie and the Watson trophies. Ms K E Chalk - Head of Paterson House Welcome to all the other students who have earned well deserved promotion to other vital positions of responsibility including Junior Prefect, Prefect and Senior Prefects. The new crop of Year 8 buddies from Ph7 passed a demanding selection regime that included delivering a presentation to Head of Year and Head of House. Well done to all of you! This year, as always, I have been incredibly impressed with the crop of assemblies led by teams from every tutor group. The themes they selected have proved fascinating and included ‘Formula1’, ‘Remberance Day’, ‘Footballers Pay’, ‘Motivation’, ‘Institutional Racism’ and ‘The Science of Bringing Back Extinct Creatures’. Well done to all of you who researched, wrote and delivered them. As we continue to recover from the turbulence of the last two years, this Summer saw the return of the PTA Fete. It was great to be back, with

‘Welly Wanging’, Guess the Sweets in the Jar’ and ‘Book/DVD’ selling. My thanks to all who helped including, Daniel, Tayyib, Jayden, Mutahar, Sashi, George, Ashane, Ethan, Zach and Abu-Bakr. Watson report This year’s Watson competition witnessed wins for Phillips in music and chess with 2nd placings in the quiz and 3rd placings in art and writing. Music was an absolute highlight of the year. To win this most prestigious event was amazing and many of our musicians went on to the play in the excellent Cabaret later in the term. My thanks in particular to performers including Xander, Geordan, Aarav, Jacob, Ollie, Ewan, Tom, Aaron D, Aaron H and from the 6th form John, Charles E, Oliver, DJ, Teni, Charles S, Sam, Oliver, Andreas and the event leader Ashwin. Our joint 1st in chess with Paterson was outstanding and my thanks to the excellent chess playing skills of the Junior team in particular who won their year group. Well done Lian, Brendon, Shrihan, Arjun, Matthew and Dominic. In the quiz our excellent overall 2nd place was helped by first impressive top placings from Ph8 and Ph11 with Ph9 and the seniors gaining 2nd place. House Art and writing placed us 3rd. In art our placing was achieved thanks to the excellent leadership of Ashwin and amazing support from many students including James, Dylan, Oliver E-H, Carmelo, Sam, Harish, Michael, Shantanu. Liam, Alex, Aaron and Ewan. Certificates of Excellence were well deserved by Tom, Oliver T and Ewan. This year I genuinely believe we put in the best House Writing book I have seen in my time as Head of House. The theme was ‘Voices’ which gave Ph13 the opportunity to include some incredibly moving pieces on the memory of Ben. In my opinion, we were unlucky to be placed 3rd but as usual the standard from every House was unimpeachable. My thanks to Mr Warner for his energetic leadership of the Phillips House book and well done to Ashwin and John for their Distinctions and Andreas and Ed for their Merits. Of course, we did not always succeed to attain high placings and the Public Speaking competition saw Phillips gain an overall 6th despite

outstanding efforts from all our speakers. I see this as a blip since we normally do so well and look forward to next year’s competition. Well done all speakers!

overall joint 4th with Denson. I was massively pleased with all athletes and especially to the inters (mainly Ph10) who came 2nd and Ph7 who came 3rd.

Brodie Report

As always, I would like to finish by saying a massive thank you to all of you in Phillips House. The ongoing efforts of every student and all the supporting staff are phenomenal. On behalf of all the boys as would like to thank the tutors for their hard work. After the great Watson win of 2022, we can look forward with optimism to the forthcoming year knowing that we have laid solid foundations of inclusion and achievement as we move forward. Well done to you all.

This year, the Brodie saw ups and downs for Phillips House. We have always been a strong swimming House and I was extremely pleased with our joint win with Lee House in this competition. Well done to Pearce, Alistair, Henry, Xander and Vlad of Ph7 in particular. We also secured 2nd in the Ph8 and 9 sections of the competition. Another win was earned in the basketball, a perennial Phillips strength. There were excellent efforts from Ph7 and Ph11 who won their age groups. Cross country early in the year is a demanding fixture and our joint 3rd place with Paterson was to be commended. Well done to Ph8/9 for their 3rd and the inters for their 2nd. In rugby we came 5th but Ph8 came 3rd in their age group so well done to their team for that strong result. Football placed us joint 4th with Ridley. Mentions to Ph8 for their win and Ph7 with the seniors for their strong 3rd. In squash Phillips came 5th and in tennis, 4th. Strong year group performances were noted by Ph7 for joint 1st in squash. In tennis both Ph8 and the Seniors secured 2nd, This year we saw basketball and badminton run. Unfortunately, we did not shine in badminton and came overall 6th. Better luck next year! Athletics is the flagship Brodie competition and in steaming heat this year we enjoyed some outstanding sporting commitment in both track and field. Phillips have won this before but this year we had to settle for

Mr M Goodchild

2021 / 2022

Ridley House Report After 2 years of COVID disruption, the most important thing this year was to get back to a full programme of House and extra-curricular events. By this measure 2021-22 has been a very successful year. Every Ridley team in every competition was complete, every rally contested and every tackle fought over.

sports. Our senior tennis team of Ben Perkin, Nick Beale, Tom Steele and John MacGregor was victorious, whilst Ridley 7 were second. Ridley 9 and 11 were both second in the badminton, Ridley 8 were second in the squash, where Ridley 9 were victorious. There were a number of high points amongst the lows.

But in terms of results in the Brodie and Watson competitions, things did not go as we would have hoped.

So, what about the Watson Trophy? Ridley fared better coming fourth overall. We were second in the Public Speaking, with our senior team of Aymaan Sheikh R13, Morgan Billings R12, Gabriel Moukli R11 and Anthony Unugboke R10 performing particularly well. Ridley also finished joint second in the quiz, after another Ridley 7 victory. It was fantastic to be able to hold House Music again in a packed Foundation Hall and we came third in a very close and highquality competition. Thank you to our music captains Jack Lowndes and Ish Chakraborty and also the many talented musicians in Ridley 13 who were performing for the last time. A fourth-place finish in art was much better than usual, whilst fifth in the writing was a somewhat surprising fall from the lofty finishes of previous years (despite the commendable efforts of the editorial team led by Harry Warner, Tom Hounsell and Aymaan Sheikh). We came 4th in the chess.

In the Brodie Trophy for most of the year we hovered in a lower mid table position with lots of third, fourth and fifth place finishes. Unfortunately, in two of the big days in the sporting calendar - Sports Day and House Swimming, we came last. This meant that after the last event of the year (House Athletics) we sadly slipped to the bottom of the Brodie Trophy for the first time in the year, only half a point below 5th place Denson. This felt a bit like being relegated on the last game of the season. It all came down to House Athletics. Despite our best efforts, sports day did not go as we would have wanted, with one notable exception - Ridley 7 who won their competition. Despite this overall performance, there have been many positives. The big success was House Rugby, our one overall victory of the year. Ridley 9, 10 and 11 all won their competitions, whilst Ridley 7 and the seniors were both second. In fact, the seniors achieved a number of positive results, first in senior football and tennis, second in basketball and cross country. Basketball was another competition where we performed well. In addition to the seniors’ second place, both Ridley 8 and Ridley 10 were victorious. There has also been success in the racket

House Results

But of course, House life has been much more than just the Brodie and Watson trophies. We have started up a House Council this year and raised money for Diabetes UK. Our 3 Ridley stalls at the fete made a large amount of money and Ridley are the undisputed champions of human table football. What a shame that wasn’t included in the Brodie Trophy!

I must finish up with some words of thanks. Firstly, to our fantastic team of tutors who have done an excellent job supporting all our students through a busy and ever-changing year. I must also thank our student leadership team of head boy Torsten Hansen and deputy head boys Jude GuestBrainch and Matt Manley who have led superbly and assisted me in many ways. Finally, I must mention Mr Grant, who is retiring after 36 years at AGS. For many years Mr Grant was a Ridley tutor. He has also been the writer, director and star performer in our annual Ridley House Panto, which has become the stuff of legends. Happy retirement Mr Grant and thank you for everything. We will miss you. Thank you to everyone who has taken part in the House over the past 12 months. If this year has perhaps been about getting back into the swing of things, next year we should look to kick on and achieve greater successes. A realistic target might be top half finishes in both the Watson and Brodie Trophies, but who is to say that we cannot win one of the trophies? It is only two years since Ridley were the proud holders of the Watson Trophy. With a renewed effort from everyone in the House, 2022-23 could be a great year for Ridley. Mr J Barrie

SPORTS

1st XV Rugby Played 14 Won 9 Lost 5 It was great to be back playing rugby again this year after an absence due to covid. Numbers were initially a little thin but as the season progressed, more and more players came back to training and looked to represent the School either midweek or on a Saturday. Despite a poor pre-season effort, the team started well with strong wins against local rivals Tring and Royal Latin School. With close to 100 points scored and only 7 conceded, the potential was clear. The pack looked

strong and there was competition for places here. The dilemma in the backs was to work out which was the most effective half-back combination. A visit to Pangbourne College came next and although we escaped with another victory, we took a few casualties in this game which would prove challenging to deal with. Prolific try scorer, centre Jonty Charlier was injured and so too was Paddy McNulty, the only scrum half in our squad. The next three fixtures would test us significantly more with St Edwards, Magdalen and The Oratory School. These are three strong Schools, and this would give us a clear indication as to our ability. Wins in the National Vase competition followed against both Oxford teams but on the Saturday in between, we lost narrowly to The Oratory School. However, these results had got some national attention for us, and we were starting to make a name for ourselves. Credit must go to Matt O’Sullivan for filling the scrum half position for this period of 5 weeks and it shows what a versatile player he is. Despite our backline restructure, we continued to win.

buoyant mood to the round of the last 32 in the National Vase against St Columba’s College. A 46-17 win was a superb achievement and put us into the Regional Final of the competition. The pack continued its impressive start to the season with another dominant display. Props Fin Spencer and Dylan Nichols destroyed the opposition scrum and gave us plenty of topquality set-piece ball. Ben Chanter was starting to shine in the back row and his superb work rate and defensive qualities caught the eye. It was great to have Paddy back at scrum half and Matt O’Sullivan was restored to his favourite position of fullback.

After half term, we warmed up with a comfortable away win vs John Hampden Grammar School. In the 38-17 win, Number 8 Max Dolphin scored a hattrick. This sent us in

A tough away trip to Merchant Taylor’s was not ideal preparation for the last 16 match with Ipswich School. With 5 key players out injured or unavailable, we were never competitive and

2021 / 2022

Despite periods of field position and possession, we couldn’t get across the line to steal the game. It was nice to beat local rivals Dr Challoner’s in our last game of the season. Despite suffering early injuries, with George Birch and Evan Byles unable to continue, we remained competitive and controlled the match at half time. A host of changes were made for the second half and it was great to see five players making their 1st team debut.

although we prevented their pack from scoring through us, we couldn’t stop their backs from scoring around us. We lost 45-5 which didn’t do our confidence any favours prior to the long trek to Ipswich. Ipswich School, coached by George Fords brother, Jacob, were tournament favourites and we knew it would be a big ask. We started the game well and after 10 minutes took the lead 3-0 from a Matt O’Sullivan penalty. However, the opposition soon worked out where they could exploit us and they ran away with match for a comfortable win. Our lineout went well this day, as they had done all year, and it was from a closerange driving maul we scored our only try. Evan Byles, Harry Jones and Max Dolphin were a superb combination of lineout jumpers/lifters. We bounced back from defeat with am impressive victory vs Next Phase

Rugby Academy and for once it was the backs day to shine. Sam Kearney scored a fantastic hattrick and the newlook centre combination of Matt Sparke and Matt O’Sullivan went well. Reading Bluecoat came to AGS on the last Saturday block of the year. We knew they would be a strong test as they had just won through to the semi-finals of the National Vase competition. Having played up the hill first half, we were content to be 14-7 down with 35 mins to play. We scored next and the game was there for the taking. However, a 10-minute period of madness then proved to cost us the match. Indiscipline allowed Reading to utilise their one real strength, a strong driving maul, from close range and they regained the lead. George Birch then got himself needlessly yellow carded and with a man advantage, Reading scored again to seal the win.

Overall, the season has been a real success story. When we were able to pick from a full squad, we were very strong and a challenge for any team on the circuit. However, at times we were ravaged by injuries and because of insufficient depth in the squad, we couldn’t get the results we would have liked. Thank you to all players for their dedication and commitment to AGS rugby. We shall never underestimate the sacrifice you make to train twice a week and play on a Saturday morning. Thank you and best of luck for the future. Mr G J Ramsbottom

2nd XV Rugby The 2nd XV have had a successful season, showing the ability to compete with some very tough opponents. The team have been led well by a core group of Year 13 students, who have been supported well by a number of Year 12’s who have started playing this year for the first time or have come back to Rugby after the covid enforced break. The season started very well vs Pangbourne College. The team played very well throughout, in a physical confrontation with the opposition. Tom Kirkpatrick-Brown and Marcus Birch scoring tries for AGS. With Oscar Wellbelove and Archie Dodds playing well, helping to secure a 14-5 victory. The team continued their great start to the season with a fine 41-7 victory vs The Oratory School. They dominated the opposition from the start, scoring a number of great tries. Tries for AGS were scored by Tom KirkpatrickBrown, Josh Yates, Luke Evans, Oscar Wellbelove, Sam Tung, Jack Callaghan and a penalty try. Archie Dodds and Ben Kearney adding our conversions St Benedict’s were tough opposition in our third fixture of the season. We struggled to cope with their intensity and power, which helped them to secure the victory. Max Wheaton playing well throughout the game. The team bounced back vs Merchant Taylors, with a much better

performance. MT’s took the victory with our try being scored by Will Greenfield who was consistently strong in a losing battle. In early December, we played Tring School's 1st XV. In a team of mainly Year 13’s, Tring won but we played well in patches, especially the second half. Harry Wilson, Tom Oakes, Alex Ward and Tom Kirkpatrick-Brown scored tries for us. George Wellbelove adding 2 conversions. In our final game of the season vs Reading Bluecoat, we played very well in parts but were not able to sustain our good play with Reading running away with the victory in the last part of the game. Our tries were scored by Marcus Birch and

Ben Perkin - with George Wellbelove adding the conversions. Well done to the whole squad for their performances over the course of the season, the team have been led really well by our departing Year 13’s Marcus Birch, Max Wheaton and Will Greenfield. It has been really pleasing to see the numbers of students progress to the 1st XV. Mr C Duggan

2021 / 2022 U16 Rugby We started off the season with a match against Cokethorpe on a lovely, warm afternoon. The stage was set perfectly for what was to be a closefought contest. A long 60 minutes ensued for the boys as we defended in our 22 for the best part of 10 minutes straight. Scrum after scrum, ruck after ruck, every single boy pulled their sleeves up and put a shift in. An unfortunate try was disallowed for us due to a player being down and a number of opportunities arose for us to use our truck-loads of speed on the wing. The match ended with a disappointing scoreline of 24-0 that didn’t highlight the defensive effort from all on the team. We’d also like to mention Sam Johnson who in the last minutes of the game literally put his body on the line going down the line for a last ditch effort at a try and came out on the wrong side, breaking his collarbone and putting him out for the whole season. The game had many positives that we took away and a few areas of weakness to improve in training. Ten days later, and the team was fired up for redemption to face Pangbourne College. However, the match was cancelled and we were unable to execute what we had practised in training. The boys were evidently upset as in the season we only had 6 scheduled matches so we were desperate to play them all. However, there was a silver lining. Many of the boys were lucky enough to play against Pangborne in the seconds. A nice 14-5 win in the seconds left some of our boys with a confidence boost coming back. We came back after a nice little break for our match against The Oratory School, an unfamiliar opponent. A tough match followed and we once again dug deep to match the physicality of the opposition. The score line didn’t end our way but a well structured team try resulted in Godley scoring off a maul and Ollie finishing it off with the conversion. Final score 24-7. Then came St Benedict’s. Again, an unfamiliar opponent and we knew it wouldn’t be a walk in the park. We started off the game with the intensity and desire that we had been longing for all season. Going 12-0 up at half time with tries from George Mansfield,

and Ollie Main and 2 points by Ollie Blundell. It was looking like we would finally get that win, that the boys wanted and deserved. But after a slow restart, poor discipline and a few controversial refereeing calls, we came away with a 17-12 defeat. However heart-breaking that defeat was, we came away with the first-half in our heads and the knowledge that we could play some impressive rugby. For our penultimate match, we faced a strong Merchant Taylors side. A notoriously tough opposition. All of us felt that we didn’t turn up with our game heads on and once we got off on the back foot, it felt like we had to climb a mountain to even get points on the board. With heads down and the feeling of defeat fuelling us, we put in the work at lunch and after School to master the moves and setpiece play. That left us in a strong position for our final match. Reading Bluecoats. Confidence was high and past contests were in the front of everyone’s minds. A structured warm-up, focus in everyone’s mind and energetic team talks led us to a great start. Managing to hold out for 20 minutes before conceding, we were very optimistic and the passion was there. Eddie Greenfield scored arguably the try of the season after running through half the team and Blundell put the conversion away. The score at half time was 12-7 and the boys could smell a victory was in touching distance. We went down 19-7 and just as we thought it was slipping away, after a long 7 or 8 phases, a beautifully worked team try was finished off in the corner by Eliott. And that left the score of our final match of the season,19-12. We also have to highlight a narrowly disallowed try with a perfectly weighted cross-field kick (KFC for the boys) to Ethan Perry. That wrapped up our season and even though we didn’t rack up many points, the bond between the team is second to none and the play that we saw against a tough Reading side is something to be proud of and one to build on in future years. Cheers Lads. So that was the season summary and I won’t go on for long but I’d just like to say a few words to the team. In Year 9, I was lucky enough to be given the responsibility of captain and I hope that I have fulfilled my role to a high standard.

I don’t think the boys know how proud I am of them and the effort they give week in, week out. School rugby had always been special to me and others in the team. There is a constant air of pride and passion when wearing the School badge and I always look forward to those Saturday coach journeys with you all. However tough the season has been, we always back each other and I truly couldn’t have asked for a better team. Last Saturday, I truly saw the desire to make each other proud in everyone’s eyes and it couldn’t have been done without every single one of you. An incredible shift from all has made this a season to remember. Finally, I’d like to make a few thank you’s. First off, to everyone who joined rugby this year, having never played competitively before. Eman, Gabriel, Jake, Balaji, and Rehan, it has been a pleasure to see you boys grow as players. Next is Jonty. With Sam being out for the whole season, you stepped up to the plate and filled his boots. Being the only 9 in the team, you worked tirelessly in training switching between teams and maintained your performance in matches. I can’t go through the whole team but I would like to mention some personal standouts this season: Ollie, Zac, Billy and Will have controlled the backs' play and were not afraid to put a hit in when needed. Mawdsley, George, Jason and Eddie have been instrumental in crashing the ball up and playing their role in the team. Ethan, James, Eman and Dom, you have been our pace merchants, tearing it up and down the pitch each match. It has been a pleasure and I look forward to next season. Elliot Godley – Hampden 11

U15 Rugby After two years of missed rugby, around 40 players turned up to our first training session and everyone worked hard to prepare for our first match of the season against Pangbourne College. Unfortunately, our initial plans were affected by Covid and we lost a few crucial players, who were forced to drop out. On the day of the match the team worked their hardest, with highlights coming from Sean Dover, who produced an incredible run from the halfway line to score a fantastic try, Ewan Gatt, who made some unbelievable try saving tackles, and some great decision making from Matt Holcroft and Toby Evans, which enabled Freddy Crafts to score two tries in a 31-10 loss to our very strong opponents. Our next game was an important one, as it was the first round of the NatWest Schools Cup against Hemel Hempstead. We again lost a number of players due to Covid, this time as a direct result of our first game, so we travelled to Hemel in a cautiously optimistic mood, despite having to call up several inexperienced squad members. The game started slowly, with a few tries going against us in the first half. We eventually woke up in the 2nd half and tries from Matty Holmes, Ewan and Freddy left the score close but sadly we could not pull back the deficit and we lost 26-19, putting us out of the competition. Once again Ewan put in amazing efforts to stop tries and Matty showed his ball carrying capabilities. Our next match was against Royal Latin, who have always been tough opponents, and in the first half we defended well and only conceded 2 tries. During the second half however our defence slipped, we missed a few tackles, which led to more tries being conceded and the game getting away from us. In attack, we were more promising and looked to play on the front foot, and great decisions from Will Pringle enabled Freddy to score 3 more tries. Despite these losses, with more players returning after illness and injury, we went into our final game of the half term with greater confidence and we were looking forward to the challenge of playing The Oratory School under the floodlights of

Aylesbury Rugby Club on a Friday night. Unfortunately the game ended with a disappointing loss and showed us that we needed to change our style of play, although a few highlights were provided by our backs, who showed some attacking movements that allowed us to make ground. The first game back after the break was against Burnham Grammar, and while this wasn’t a great game of rugby, we started to use a new formation which allowed us to make lots of attacking runs. Our defence this game was also pretty solid, and we only conceded one try from a missed tackle. We responded well and tries from Ollie Costelloe, 2 from Ewan Gatt and 1 apiece from Sean Dover, Sam Griffiths and Freddy Crafts resulted in a confidence boosting 29-5 win (which featured Pelumi Abioye for the first time this season). Our next match was against old rivals and friends Dr Challoner’s. In a match that proved to be the highlight of the ‘A’ team season, our opponents took an early lead by scoring two tries in the first five minutes. After this (typically) sluggish start, the team rallied and there was a positive reaction from the entire team and we played our best rugby of the entire season and a try by Ewan Gatt left us only 7 points down at half-time. The second half could not have come at a worse time as we were all over the opposition. The next half we were going down the Challoner’s slope and we managed to maintain our momentum. Several runs left us in their 22 but Challoner’s good

defence did not allow us to score. Finally, Freddy spotted an opportunity to run with the ball in hand, slipped through a gap and evaded a few tackles to score a vital try and Will Pringle stepped up to slot home the conversion, taking us to a tied game. Both teams defended well for the remainder of the match and despite the efforts of Isaac Tung, who showed great intensity and strength and Nat Massa, who made some big tackles, the match ended in an honourable draw. While we continued to improve and develop as a team, our last few matches did not go our way in terms of results, but players like Joshua David and Matthias Bockmeuhl continued to impress, as did newer players to the squad. This year of rugby has been all about us returning to the sport we love, playing for the School again and progressing as a team. We have learnt lots of new things along the way and have developed a great team spirit, which will serve us well. Although opportunities were limited, when our ‘B’ Team came together to play they showed how much they have progressed as a group, with many of them (like Ben Oakes) featuring in the ‘A’ team later on in the season. We would like to thank our coaches, Mr McGill and Ben Mulholland, who have always been there to teach us and make us do as well as we can and we are all looking forward to going again as a squad next year. Freddy Crafts – Ridley 10

2021 / 2022

U14 Rugby A-Team End of Season Report First game of the season was against Pangbourne College. Going into this game we knew they were a good side and would be tough to beat. But with an early two tries for Pangbourne we were down but we kept our heads up with two tries from Fionn Clare and one from Ossian. Pangbourne then came back with a late try to draw the game 3-3. Not bad for a first game against strong opposition. After a few tough losses against Cokethorpe, The Oratory and St Benedict’s. We realised that we needed to be more organised, both in attack and defence. We went into the next game with a good attitude and formation. Burnham Grammar was a slightly easier opponent to play and practise good, flowing rugby. We won that one 8-0 with three tries from Tom Ludlam, three from Fionn Clare, one from Thomas Lowe and one from Daniel Obhakhan. This next game was big. Dr Challoner’s Grammar. A long-lasting rivalry. Coming from an intense draw in Year 7 the lads were pumped going into this one. With an early set play from Tom Usher to Fionn Clare we scored an early try which put us ahead yet as the game progressed Dr Challoner’s proved to be a very strong side. With great tackles from Charlie, strong hard runs from Ayath Habib and quick hands with Tom Usher we were playing the best we had all season. We were playing hard and Joe Harrison scored a great try we thought we could get the win but Dr Challoner’s rucking and forward runs set us back with a final score of 25-10 to them, although the result may not have gone our way that game was the

best we played as a team all season and brought us together as players and teammates. As the season progressed the team progressed not only as individual players but as a team and we are all very excited for what next season holds. B-Team End of Season Report We started off the season away at Pangbourne, for some this was a new experience, their first taste of a physical rugby match. Having multiple players drop out last minute our numbers were far from ideal; we borrowed some players and despite losing 35-60 we put up a good game and team morale was high, despite a few injuries. Our second match, we faced the Oratory, again short in numbers we turned to a very strong few Year 8 players. This game really showed our strength of moving the ball through our attacking lines and we showed a solid defence. The game finished 15-15 with them scoring two late tries. Our 3rd match signalled the halfway point of the season, and finally with a full team we looked strong against Cokethorpe. This was a successful game as we escaped with a 55-40 win, a successful day for the boys, showing the true potential as a team. With most of the tries coming in the hands of Oliver Baldwin. The next of our fixtures was our first home game of the season against St Benedict's School. We lost 15-75 but given our struggle with numbers again we put up a good performance. For our latest game of the season so far, we faced Merchant Taylors. We were hopeful and all came prepared for a tough game.

We showed great heart, perseverance and team spirit throughout with our heads never dropping resulting in us coming back to 45-15 loss. To round off our season, It was tough, enjoyable and filled with highs and lows. With great leadership from Jonny, and fantastic tackles from Arthur and Angus, good passing from Will, the backs were dominant. We also got to see the great running capabilities of Rilwan Anifowoshe, Imisi Aremu, Sebastien Jimenez and Risheet Saboo. Savva Nazarov called the play well at number ten and showed great distribution of the ball. With immense team spirit from AbuBakr Siddique, the team always had high spirits. Ollie Baldwin, Tahseen Hannan, Harry Blowfield, Iwan Bridge and Ethan Jarrett were strong in the rucks and the passing to Aditey Allam and Caleb Yap allowed us to break the defensive lines easily. We are all excited and eager to start next season with great anticipation for what is to come. Mr M Roberts

U13 Rugby The Year 8 rugby season was the first opportunity for this year group to display their ability within the sport and represent the School on a number of fixtures. Claire’s Court – 9th Oct. Mixed A and B Team - Our first game was against a very strong Claire’s Court side who restricted us to only a single try from Zach Cleary, and highlighted the initial areas we needed to work on for the rest of the season. Despite a loss in our first game we demonstrated great character, and stuck at it for the full match, which was a huge positive and would encourage us going into the rest of the season. St Benedicts – 16th Oct. A Team - Following on from our opening game, we responded with a confident and fast start to our next game against St Benedicts. The only dampener in the first half being when Jafar Hassan broke through the oppositions defence to score his first ever try, but instead ran past the dead ball line without placing the ball on the ground. Despite this, Jafar was able to redeem this by scoring a hat-trick, as we came out with a 20-10 win with Joe Gormally also crossing the line. Jafar deservedly receiving the Man of The Match award. B Team – Like the A team, the B’s looked at bouncing back. Despite the score line not providing a true reflection of the huge progress we had made, particularly in our tackling, we fell to a heavy 35-0 loss. In spite of this, it was great to see a number of boys play their first ever game of rugby and represent the School. Caldicott – 6th Nov. A Team - Our second victory soon followed against Caldicott in our next match. We secured a convincing win with the score finishing 30-15. The start of the game followed the same opening as the previous match, but this time Jafar successfully scored the opening try within 60 seconds. This victory highlighted great progress within our defence which Isaac Mills demonstrated as he intercepted and held the ball on his 7th attempt to get himself a try. Both our wingers, Suran

Godagama and Raphie London, got on the score sheet, before Dilan Barauskas, who put in a fantastic Man of The Match performance scored twice.

a 20-5 loss. Raphie, our fast attacking winger received the Man of The Match award for his brilliant defensive display.

B Team – After two opening game losses, we were able to stop the losing run with a commanding 35-15 win against Caldicott. Our attacking display clicked well with the tries being shared between Zach, Sam Wright and Edward Johnson.

B Team – The B team followed suit with a loss against a strong Challoners’ B side. During the first half we demonstrated great spirit and determination and took the lead with a Olly Rothwell try. Unfortunately we were unable to hang on, and fell to a 15-5 loss.

Burnham – 11th Nov.

St Albans – 27th Nov.

B Team - In our game against Burnham Grammar, both teams had met their match. Burnham scored the first try at the end of the first half, after an evenly contested start. Burnham Grammar were quick to expand their lead, before the comeback began with Zach, Sam and Josh Woodward scoring our tries. Despite this we were unable to overturn the deficit, and the game ended in a 20-15 win for Burnham. The Man of The Match award was given to Sam for his great attacking and defensive display.

A Team - In spite of bad weather, we looked to bounce back to winning ways against St Albans. Using the weather to our advantage we went into half time 10-0 up, as Rafi Gibson put us in the lead, before a fantastic cross field kick from Isaac into the try area allowed Suran to score. The second half and the weather now against us, didn’t seem to bother Jayden Mugonapanja, who in his first ever game of rugby, collected the ball on our own try line, and ran the length of the pitch, making the score 15-0. Our defence proved strong enough to hold onto a well deserved 15-10 win, with the Man of The Match being awarded to team captain, Conor Heatley, who demonstrated superb defensive qualities including a try saving tackle.

Dr Challoners’ – 13th Nov. A Team - After 2 strong performances, we looked to make it 3 wins on the bounce against a very tough and well drilled Dr Challoners’ side. At half time the game tied at 5-5, however, early in the second half 2 tries swung the game in Challoners’ favour. Despite a valiant effort from all of the boys and hard hitting tackles throughout the team we were unable to find any breakthrough, and the game ended in

B Team – In the same bitterly cold weather conditions the B team aimed to get a win against a well drilled St Albans side. Although a number of boys got numb hands during the game, Tayyib Johnson and Arnav

2021 / 2022 Rai were able to get themselves a try each. However, this wasn’t enough to keep St Albans at bay as we lost by 6 tries to 2.

game, where Dilan was able to power through the opposition’s defence to cross the line and end the game in a 25-25 draw.

Cokethorpe – 1st Dec.

B Team – In the final B team game of the season, we looked to end on a high and Josh made sure he played his part in this as he scored 4 tries as he weaved through the Cokethorpe defensive throughout the game. Barney Lemanski was also able to help himself to a couple of tries, with Arnav again scoring and Leedon Alleyne crossing the line for the first time this season. It was a great way for the B team to end their season with a 40-10 win.

A Team – In our next fixture against Cokethorpe we got off to the perfect start once again and quickly went 2 tries ahead, Thanks to Conor and Raphie, before letting Cokethorpe back into the game as they took a lead into the break. Cokethorpe continued to push on and extended their lead, before George Greer’s try sparked a comeback. A great bulldozing run from our Man of the Match, Isaac, who not only ran through a number players, but also the posts closed the gap further. Our momentum continued all the way through to the last play of the

to represent the School was still extremely high with over 30 boys available for selection against Tring. Following the pattern set throughout the season we got off to a fast start and took the lead in the open phases of play through Dilan, who scored twice during the game. With lots of tries scored in a convincing 30-10 win, it was great to see a range of tries including Jed Okai’s fast breakthrough and Tayyib’s strong finish. Sam, who scored 2 powerful tries, received the Man of The Match award as he stepped up comfortably from the B team to play.

Tring – 7th Dec.

Overview: A Team – Played: 6 / Won: 4 / Lost: 1 / Draw: 1 / Tries Scored: 25

A Team – with the rugby season coming to an end the commitment

B Team – Played: 7 / Won: 2 / Lost: 5 / Tries Scored: 22

Grammar School with a convincing victory. We found ourselves against a strong Dr Challoners that seemed to have an impenetrable defence and formidable attack. Significant progress was made after this which enabled us to beat Royal Latin with tries from Felix Caille, Hugo Sturgeon, Charlie McGrail, Ollie Usher and Gethin Walters, Seth Okesola, Charlie Wade, James Godley and Muku Malanda.

ourselves evenly matched and still managed to win. By this stage, our ability to tackle, ruck, scrum, maul and pass the ball out to the backs proved to be a winning formula and a great team.

U12 Rugby A Team This was the first season that we all played together as a team and we had a lot to learn. We started training to understand our individual strengths and weaknesses and improve our skills. It was a relief for all of us to finally get to play contact after so many months of lockdown. Our first game was against Cokethorpe School and because it was our first game as a team we were not yet prepared for the stiff competition but we only narrowly lost. We were let down by a lack of understanding of each other, lack of communication between the players and poor tackling and rucking skills. Hugh Sturgeon managed to score the first try of the season. Thanks to our great coaches, Messrs Gibbs, Mansfield and Priestly we soon started to work better together. Our next three games against Claire’s court, St Benedicts and Caldicott prep were all losses however we saw some exceptional tries from Hugo Sturgeon, Seth Okesola, James Godley, Ollie Usher, Pearce Clare, Joe Tilley, Charlie McGrail and Josh Dumbu. Our communication skills and team work were starting to improve and we saw a turning point against Burnham

We then had a game of mixed abilities against St. Albans and both teams won. Probably, our best game was the last game of the season against Reading Blue Coats where we found

Pearce Clare - Phillips 7

B Team In the B team we’ve had some highs and lows, we proceeded to win 3 games and unfortunately lose 4. Our first game was against Cokethorpe School which we won 55-20, tries scored by Euan Conely in Ridley x3, Sam Tuffin x2, Muna Aja in Lee, Dylan McCream in Denson x2, Freddie Bowen in Paterson and finally Josh Dumbu in Lee x2. The next game was a home game against Claire’s Court on a windy and cold Saturday, we lost this game 20-40 with the try scorers being Sam Bett in Patterson x4. Even though we lost this game, we had our heads up high for our next game against St Benedict’s School, where we fought our battle away on their land. We lost this game as well unfortunately 15-40, with the tries scored by Felix Caille in Lee 7, another scored by Josh Dumbu appearing for the second time and Gethin Walters in Hampden 7 on his debut, such a good way to start your long rugby Journey throughout this School! Even though we lost we all knew we massively improved from the last game. The next game was played against Caldicott Prep in better weather conditions but we just couldn’t pull a

Rugby 7's Tournament 1 at HABS In our first tournament of the season we started off strong with a good 30-0 win against Haberdashers tough 20-5 win over the well-known Merchant Taylors. We implemented our good playing style early on and dominated our opening games. We then played Queen Elizabeth Barnet and despite being 15-0 down at half time we made a spirited comeback and ended up drawing 20-20, This meant we qualified top of our group with a try difference of +45. We then went on to the semi-final where we beat Campion School from Essex 15-10 and despite a strong ending from Campion we held on to the win. We had worked tirelessly all day and despite a strong start with non- stop play for the whole of the first half, we lost 20-0. A good first showing for the team. Players of the day were Joe Gormally and Dilan Barauskas.

win, we lost 5-25 with Hunayn Mehrab in Denson scoring an extraordinary try. Even though we had lost the past 3 games we came to the next game against our rivals, Dr Challoner’s with our heads up high again. This game was tough, we all thought the game would end 20-20, but in the last minute with all of Year 7, 8, and 9 from both Schools watching, Charlie Wade managed to slot the ball onto the try line, it was a day to remember! Even though most of the credit for this game goes to Charlie, we couldn’t do it without our other try scorers, Sam Bett again x2, Seth Okesola, appearing again and Charlie Wade x2.

Our last game was against Reading Blue Coats and with the B team's captain not being able to play, they just couldn’t claw onto the win. The boys lost 9-1, with Seth Okesola scoring a try. All in all, I feel like we have improved massively in just a few months as some people joined this School without ever touching a rugby ball before, so well done to everyone who participated and dedicated your time to represent this School! And I hope that I’ll see everyone and even more people next year! David Chelaru - Lee 7

The next game was a bit different, we had mixed teams, knowing that we headed to the match with a better team than normal against St. Alban’s School which we beat 40-5. This game was played in some horrible weather, at one point it was even snowing! But most of the boys kept strong and kept playing. This game brought out some new try scorers, David Chelaru in Lee 7, Hamish Hodge in Denson 7, Zach Diment in Lee, Muku Malanda in Paterson x2, Hunanyn Mehrab x2, Hugo Sturgeon and Charlie Wade x3, and after we won this tough game we got treated with some nice, warm food!.

Tournament 3 at Bedford Modern In our second tournament we started off with a shaky 10-10 draw with Queen Elizabeth Barnet, we then went on to play the hosts and despite being 10-0 down at half time we came back to draw 10-10. In our 3rd game we played The Purse School and lost 20-5, a tough one to take as they had 1 player that ran through us for all 4 tries. In our 4th and final game, we played St George's from Harpenden, we played our best rugby in this game but unfortunately lost 20-10. Players of the day were Isaac Mills, Sam Wright and Dilan Barauskas. Tournament 3 at Stowe School In our 3rd and final tournament we were better prepared and that showed with a good opening 25-10 win over the Royal Latin. We then played Oolase School and despite dominating for 12 out of 14 minutes they scored a late try to draw the game at 5-5. That then put us into the situation of needing to win our final group vs William Borlase’s. This was

a fiercely contested name, despite playing well and having Isaac Mills do a great goose step, the team lost 5-0 which put us 3rd in the group. We had been placed into the 5th 6th 7th and 8th play off, We started off with a great 15-5 win over a good Buckingham School side with Joe Gormally scoring a great try and Raphie London rinsing their defence to score in the corner. We then moved onto Akeley Wood School where we won a very physical game 20-5, the team played well with some big tackles from Dilan and carries by Jafar and Isaac. We were then due to play another game but Oolase School left early giving us a free win, this meant we came 5th out of 12 teams, a good showing considering there were big Schools there like Warwick and Caldicott. This rounded off a great tournament and rugby 7s season. Well done to all those involved! Mr G Ramsbottom

2021 / 2022 1st XI Football First and foremost, it has been great to get back on the pitch after two disrupted seasons – even if things did not go quite as we had planned. The 1st XI warmed up with preseason friendlies against Waddesdon (a 2-1 win) and the Old Aylesburians (a 2-5 loss) before beginning our competitive fixtures. Our involvement in the National Cup did not last long. We lost 1-0 to Reading School with a spirited performance by a team decimated by injuries and absentees. I am convinced we would have progressed with our full-strength team. In the Under 18 County Cup we were placed in the 1st division, in theory with the strongest teams in the competition. We got off to a convincing start with a 5-1 away victory at Walton High with Julian Atat scoring a brace. In a number of our group games we were not entirely convincing and we struggled to beat lesser teams. On the other hand, the team showed resilience and determination to turn games around and score last minute winners – even if we should not have lost control of these matches in the first place. Sir William Borlase were beaten 5-4, Teikyo by the same score (after a Ted Sturgeon hat-trick) and Chesham

U16 Football The 21/22 Season was a tough one for us. We competed in national, county and district competitions. Despite our progress being subpar our spirit was commendable throughout. The season kicked off with the first round of the national cup against Vandyke Upper School. Whilst it was a strenuous one, the team came through with an impressive win. Goals from Baldwin, Hussain, J Duodu, and Knibb contributed to a 4-2 victory after extra time with every player giving their all for two goals in the last 5 minutes. Our second game of the season was another triumph over Denbigh School

Grammar 3-2 – all with goals in the dying moments after we had been behind. However, when the team clicked we certainly were convincing. Royal Latin were defeated 5-2 away (with Timi Ashaolu and Julian Atat both scoring twice) from home and John Hampden 5-1 in our final league fixture. This meant we finished second in our league with 6 victories in our 7 matches. The only slip up had been a 3-1 defeat at group winners, Dr Challoners. Finishing second in the group afforded us the perceived advantage of a home tie in the Quarter Final. We would play Sir William Borlase, who we had beaten earlier in the campaign. On a good playing surface and with a strong team available, hopes were high. This was a game that we dominated. We were, in my opinion, the better team. However, in a tight game, we failed to convert the chances we created. To give credit to our opponents, they were resilient, they defended well and they stayed in the game. They took the only real chance they created in normal time. We were handed a lifeline when we were awarded a penalty in the last 2 minutes and our captain Jude Guest-Brainch showed real bottle to convert. Both sides had chances in extra-time, but with no further goals the game went to penalties – which is always my ultimate nightmare. Sadly, we missed one spot-kick, whilst Sir William Borlase converted all of theirs. Yet again the AGS 1st XI would fall to the curse of penalties. Not taking

our chances in normal time and failing to progress to the Semi Finals was a real disappointment, since I genuinely believed that we had the talent to advance to the final and our results in the group stage would support this claim. I could not fault the effort and commitment of the players. However, it was not to be. A huge positive this season has been that we have managed to play a series of Under 17A team fixtures and most of these games have resulted in AGS victories. I have had the opportunity to have a good look at the Year 12 players who will form the core of next year’s 1st XI. I am confident that we will have a good season. I should finish by mentioning a few individuals. Firstly, Ben Perkin has played all 19 1st XI and Under 17A team games. Jude Guest-Brainch, Sanjit Mallya, Tom Smale and Dylan Changer have been virtual ever presents in the 1st XI, as has Julian Atat who top scored with 12 goals. Several other important players picked up significant injuries during the season which limited their involvement. I would like to thank all our Year 13 players and it has been a pleasure working with them. They have been one of our strongest year groups over recent years and they have represented AGS with distinction. Good luck to our departing players in their footballing futures. Mr J Barrie - 1st XI Coach

with a double from Knibb and other goals from Siddall, Whall and Gray. However, a couple of goals were conceded after a shaky defensive performance in the first half, but a strong second half overpowered the opposition.

schedule began with the District cup. The year of 2022 started with a very solid performance over Waddesdon School. Goals from Craven and Knibb capped off a 2-0 win that could have been much more and was extremely comfortable for the team.

Following these first round victories were two disappointing games from our perspective as we lost 2-0 to a very strong Bicester School team in the National Cup second round and then lost 3-2 to Thorpe House School in the County Cup second round. Goals from Whall and Baldwin were cancelled out in the second half after a missed pen from our side and some poor communication all round the team.

The second game of the year was arguably the most admirable of the season as we were missing many key players. However, others stepped up to the plate and delivered a 4-2 win against Akeley Wood. Two goals and a great performance from Ward as well as goals from Craven and Gray contributed to this brilliant victory.

After these losses, the team had some time to regroup and refocus over Christmas before a slightly heavier

The penultimate game of the District Cup was against top of the group, Royal Latin. They had a goal difference of over 25 and had not come anywhere close to losing a game in this cup. The first half

kicked off with an early goal for the opposition and after lots of defending the first half ended at 1-0. At half time, some words of inspiration from Mr Skinner helped us all to reach the best of our abilities and perform to our peaks. A scrappy own goal from a corner along with a volley from Knibb after a wonderful assist from Hussain brought us back in front. Then, a strong defensive performance helped us to hold out the lead and go top of the group.

U15 Football It has been a very mixed year for our Year 10 footballers. Under normal circumstances this year would have been a period of making slight adjustments to a settled team and looking to make it deep into the County Cup competition and competing in the District Cup knockout stage. However, due to the disruptions caused by COVID meaning no School football took place last year, Mr Barrie and Mr Davey had to start from scratch identifying players, finding out their best positions and attempting to put in place some structures to enable them to work cohesively. Slowly, the team has taken shape and the team is in a good place to kick on next year. We are in the envious position of having two very competent goalkeepers competing for the number one spot in Ben Tucker and Matthias Bockmuehl. Both have demonstrated this year that they are dependable between the sticks. The defence has gone through some changes and adjustments this year and, with a little more work, there is the making of a very good unit. At centre back, Owen Mitchell, Malachy Foley and Gavin Biju have each shown that they have a good mix of physical attributes and defensive nous to deal with both pacy and strong forwards. At full back, Alex Glover, Bradley Agyemang-Kumi have played

Unfortunately, the group stage was as far as we’d go, as two goals from Hussain were not enough and the game finished 4-2 to Stoke Mandeville School. This still kept us in second position in the group and anything but guaranteed to go through to the knockout stages. However, Stoke Mandeville had a game in hand against us and won 9-0 against Akeley Wood which put them equal on points yet one goal ahead of us on goal difference.

Overall, it was a disappointing season that could and should have been better. A special mention to Bertie Heyes who played every minute of our season as well as all those who took part in the squad.

really well despite the positions they operate in not being natural or familiar to them and have demonstrated good defensive qualities as well as confidence when in possession.

Olly Awujo who holds the ball up really well to bring others into play but who also offers his own threat running in behind or shooting from distance.

The most competitive position in the squad is in centre midfield where we have the ability to choose from a wealth of talent with each individual offering something different to the team. Captain Sam Hughes has the excellent ability to quickly turn defence into attack for us both through his ability to carry the ball from deep or to play accurate long passes over the opposition's defence. Joe Alowaloba has excellent strength and composure on the ball which helps us to gain and retain possession. Henry Wallington is one of our better communicators and is both tenacious out of possession and composed with the ball at his feet. Ben Ahuja has great technical qualities and offers the team creativity and Shyam Satpathy has a coolness on the ball and doesn’t appear to get flustered easily when opposition teams press. In the forward positions Ruben Munday and Hayden Foster have been devastating at times. They have so much pace and quality in possession that even in games where we have come up against really tough opponents we always feel like we have a chance of nicking a goal on the counter attack. They have weighed in with some important and quite spectacular goals this season and work really well with our striker

Billy Knibb – Paterson 11

In addition to the mainstays of the squad there have been some very good and important cameos from the likes of Peter Koleoso, Winfred Gotah, Nathan Hancox, Felix Mupanduki and Regan Footman who have been in and out of the matchday squads due to injury or due to the level of competition in the squad and hopefully there will be an opportunity to see more of what they can offer next season. Statistically, the season has not been a great success. We were eliminated in the early rounds of both the National and County Cup competitions and failed to make it out of our group in the District Cup. Despite this, Mr Barrie and Mr Davey are extremely confident that this team can challenge next season. We have the making of a good solid side who has the qualities to be dangerous against any opposition. There are areas to improve such as fitness, team cohesion and set pieces…. definitely set pieces, but the team should take pride in their performances. Their commitment cannot be questioned and they are by far one the best groups of players in the terms of attitude that Mr Davey has worked with. Mr G Davey

2021 / 2022 U14 Football This year, the boys of Year 9 played football as a collective group for the first time ever. As expected, this led to a mixed bag in terms of results. Our first game was in the area cup against a well drilled Waddesdon side. Despite a very tight first 20 minutes, where either side could have gone a goal up, with Tom Lowe making some great saves and Timmy Ogunnaike and Osaretin Erese creating our openings, by half time Waddesdon held a comfortable 3-0 lead. Unfortunately, we could not recover in the second half and eventually fell to a 6-1 loss in our opening game of the season, as Trey Onuoha got on the score sheet late on. The following game against Dr Challoner’s, didn’t fare much better for either the A team or B, as we continued to work on a back three system. The A team suffered a 9-1 defeat, but demonstrated great character to keep working in the second half, after being 6-0 down at half time. Jacob O'Neill, received the Man of The Match award due to his fantastic part in creating our only goal, scored by Ollie Baldwin. The B team was able to hold out a lot stronger in their first game of the season, with the game ending in a 3-0 loss. A fantastic goalkeeping display by Laurent Pllana got himself the Man of The Match award. Unfortunately we lost a third straight game, after a 5-1 defeat at St Columbas’. However, a very powerful

volley from the halfway line from Ridwan Anifowoshe, which caught the goalkeeper out, gave us a consolation goal. For these games we were experimenting with a back 3, but after 3 consecutive defeats in our opening 3 we changed to 4 at the back which gave us more stability when having to defend. Mr Dudmish then challenged us to concede less than 4 goals in a game. Following on from a couple of friendly fixtures, we had our second league game against Akeley Wood. Unlike the first game, this fixture started quick with a number of goals coming in the first 10 minutes as we took a 3-1 lead. The goals kept on flowing throughout the game, and despite the boys having the target of conceding less than 4, which would have been a fewest yet, we conceded two very late goals as the game ended in an 8-5 AGS win. Our goals were scored by Dhoeton White, 2 from Trey Onuoha and 5 from our Man of The Match Jacob O'Neill. After conceding 25 goals in our opening 4 games, our next league game took everyone by surprise as we went away to Royal Latin. In a very even first half, where again at times Tom Lowe kept us in the game, and our midfield of Timmy Ogunnaike, Arthur Nkrumah and Ollie Buckthorpe created chances for our front 3, neither team could find the breakthrough. The second half could not have been much difference as we started to dominate the game and pushed on to find the opening goal. Despite both Arthur Nkrumah and Harry Baldwin hitting the woodwork we couldn’t open the scoring, resulting in a 0-0 draw.

U13 Football

involved. It is impossible to namecheck everyone involved and discuss every fixture, so this report is going to look at some of the highlights.

Up until this year, it had not been possible to play representative football for AGS until you reached Year 9. We knew that, once the decision had been made to open this up to Years 7 and 8 for the very first time, playing School football would be extremely popular. What we did not anticipate was just how popular it would be (over 100 students signed up for the initial Year 7 training sessions), and how successful we would be in terms of participation, engagement, performances and results, thanks to the significant efforts of all those

We played a number of friendly fixtures at the start of the term, with the aim of giving as many students as possible the opportunity to play football for AGS. It became clear from the first game against Bedford Modern that this was a talented and enthusiastic year group, and it was great to see so many different students play for us in the games against St Columba’s, Abingdon School and Dr Challoner’s, all of which involved giving up time on a Saturday to represent the School.

We brought this confidence with us into our next game-St Michael’s away. We started strong once again, with pace on the wings in the form of Dhoeton White and Osaretin Orese. An early goal from Jacob O’Neill raised the confidence of the team, and with strong midfield play from Timmy Ogunnaike and Ridwan Anifowoshe, we looked dominant. We had a 1-0 lead going into the second half, once again showing how far we had come defensively. Kyle Tshuma, Harry Doherty, Tom Usher and Imisi Aremu were all extremely solid at the back. In the second half, a brace from Osaretin and one for Trey won us the game, despite a great strike from St Michaels. We left 4-1 winners, elated at the run of good form. With a run of 3 good results, we came into our fixture against Mandeville needing another win to keep our hopes of qualifying possible. Unfortunately, we fell to a 3-0 defeat, which didn’t really tell the full story. After a very even first half, the teams were only separated after a slightly scrappy and avoidable goal. We had multiple good chances to level the game, but their keeper made several excellent save, then midway through the second half we conceded an unlucky second. Unfortunately, despite a great team effort, with stand out performances from Arthur Nkrumah, Osaretin Erese and Kyle Tshuma, we were unable to affect the score line. Well done to everyone who was involved in the Year 9 season, with much progress made, and a great way to set us up for our season in Year 10.

Given the numbers who consistently expressed the desire to play School football, the chance to play 3 six a-side teams against St Michael’s School in March was a great opportunity to select many boys who had regularly attended training but who had not played for the School yet. We are keen to provide more of these opportunities next year, so that every student who commits to training will get the chance to play and huge thanks to everyone who played in these games. Given the number of talented footballers in Year 7, selecting squads and teams to play in the District Cup for the first time was always going

School, in what was a tight and sometimes nervous affair 4-1 to reach the final was amazing. To then go on and outplay a very physical and competitive Cottesloe team 3-1 in the final was an incredible way to end our first season as a team, and everyone involved in the whole District Cup campaign deserves a huge amount of credit for the way that they represented the School and themselves.

to be an interesting and exciting challenge, especially as we were only playing 9 a-side football. The fact that over 30 boys were involved in the 7 District Cup fixtures that we played in shows how strong this year group is (and can be going forwards), and with so much player rotation taking place it was fantastic to see how well boys coped with moving in and out of the squad. Playing our first District Cup game against Waddesdon in only our second ever match as a team, the boys selected did a great job and

a 0-0 draw was a positive start. We really found our feet in our next three District Cup games, beating Akeley Wood 5-2, The Royal Latin 5-1 and then St Michael’s 9-1. These results ensured that we would finish in the top two of our group, meaning we would qualify for a semi-final place, which in itself was a great achievement in our first year of football. A 3-3 draw against The Mandeville meant that we finished top of our group, to play The Buckingham School in our semi-final. Beating The Buckingham

U12 Football The Under 13 Football team have played very well throughout the season. The team has been especially successful in the District League where they won their league, ensuring they progressed to the final v The Grange School. The boys played very well in the final, becoming District Champions after a 1-0 win. In very testing conditions, Raphie London scored the decisive goal after strong work from Tomi Ashaolu. Jed Okai was named man of the match. Well done to the whole U13 squad, not just the squad who played in the final. The team has competed well in their Saturday fixtures with squad rotation being at the forefront of the weekend fixtures. There have been 56 different boys who have played across the season. The A team has been led very well by Jared Hills who has captained well from the defence. Tomi Ashaolu and Jayden Mugonapanja have been consistent threats up front. The midfield has been a strength, with Raphie London, Warwick Hill and Toby Sutliff playing consistently well through the season. The B team have been successful with Barney Spencer

being solid in goal, Suran Godagama and Alfie Thomas have performed well, then Arjun Kedia has been a goal scoring machine (even though he is a goalkeeper) Well done to everyone who has trained and played within the season. Mr C Duggan

With so many highlights, that included outstanding goalkeeping performances, highly accomplished defensive displays, midfield masterclasses (both defensive and attacking) and lots (and lots) of goals it’s not possible to name everyone involved here but Mr McGill, Mr Singh, Mr Priestley and Mr Manjengwa would like to thank everyone involved for your considerable efforts, enthusiasm and skill this year……and we cannot wait to see what next year will bring in terms of your progress and development. Mr C McGill

2021 / 2022 1st XI Cricket The first game of the season was twenty-over match against John Hampden Grammar School. We batted first and the innings got off to a flying start as we scored 64 runs in the six-over power play. However, wickets had fallen rapidly and we were 5 wickets down by this point! Some steady rebuilding from the lower order brought us to a total of 129 which seemed slightly under par. Hussan Zubair (32) and Ali Humzah (26) were top scorers. We bowled according to our plans, restricting them throughout and winning comfortably. Alex Davis was the pick of the bowlers with 3 wickets. Our next game was a 30-over match against rivals Dr. Challoner’s. We won the toss and bowled first, restricting the opposition to 151 off their 30 overs. Another strong bowling performance with wickets shared between Archie Dodds (2), Will Cliffe (2), Alex Davis (2) and Hussan Zubair (1.) Captain Bhavan Jeyanathan took four catches. Our team backed themselves to chase this total, but rain prevented any cricket from occurring in the second innings. A match against the Royal Grammar School was scheduled for the following week. Unfortunately, once again the weather prevented any cricket from being played.

This was disappointing, but we had the Reading Blue Coat Tournament to look forward to. With everyone making the 7am meet sharp, the stage was set for the three-game day tournament. Rain made yet another appearance; fortunately, it had passed by 10am so the tournament could go ahead with shortened games. The draw put us against the hosts, Reading Blue Coat, in our first 18over game. Batting first, we had yet another flying start scoring 56-2 off 5 overs, with skipper Jeyanathan scoring 32 off 17. Though history repeated itself, and we had lost wickets in clusters. We finished on 145, with youngster Tom Lowe hitting an impressive 18 off 7 balls. The AGS bowling performance was a strong response. Davis, Reading, Cliffe, Jeyanathan and Wheaton sharing the wickets. AGS won comfortably by 39 runs, putting us in the Cup semi-final against Dr. Challoner’s. With another spell of rain, the match length was further reduced to 15 overs. AGS batted first, on a tough wicket. Many batsmen got starts, but couldn’t convert into larger scores. We scored 112 off our 15 overs, with Davis top scoring with 32. AGS bowled well in the second innings, but Dr. Challoner’s batted sensibly and chased it with an over to spare. This put us in the 3rd/4th playoff against St. Edwards College, our final game of the season. St Edwards batted first and hit 102-2 off their 15 overs. Reading and Sharma picked up the

2 wickets. Following a similar pattern to most AGS innings, wickets fell in clusters and we were 6 wickets down in the sixth over. Opener Jeyanathan batted throughout, scoring 80 not out including 7 fours and 7 sixes, and AGS chased their total in 12 overs with 3 wickets to spare. We placed 3rd overall, a good result in a tournament of strong teams. The team would like to give a big thank you to Mr Digby and Mr Duggan for the support throughout a successful season. Bhavan Jeyanathan – Lee 13

2nd XI Cricket Our first 2nd XI match took place against Sir William Borlase’s at home. We won the toss and elected to bat first which proved to be a good decision. Leading from the front, captain Archie Dodds scored a brilliant 102 not out and was well supported at the other end by James who finished with 64 not out. This fantastic performance left us with 212 runs on the board in 20 overs for only 1 wicket. Our bowling effort helped us secure our first win of the year with everyone chipping in including 3 wickets for Dan Sudbery. All in all a strong start to the season! Our next match took place away at Berkhamsted School. Bowling first this time the innings started perfectly with a wicket from Neil Pandit first ball of the game. We proceeded to put on a fantastic bowling display with everyone chipping in lead by Ansh Biani who only went for 3 runs in his 3 overs picking up 2 wickets. This left us chasing 109 in 20 overs. Unfortunately, our run chase was cut short due to the rain which meant we only got to bat 8 overs for 46 runs, losing just two wickets. Considering the batting depth we had, we would have more than likely won the game had we had the full 20 overs.

Next was our rematch against William Borlase’s. Winning the toss once again, we chose to bowl first after our impressive bowling performance in the previous game. On a good wicket, the opposition got off to a good start as they were 70/1 after 10 overs, before Gavin made the breakthrough, getting the opening batsman out. From there, James took control of the game, finishing up with 4 wickets despite getting hit round the park in his last over. They finished on 143 for 9, so we needed 144 to win. Ben Perkin and Dan Sudbery walked out to open the batting and took the attack to the opposition. Dan made a quick fire 28 and Ben Perkin top scored with 58. With contributions from the other batsman, we chased the target down with 5 overs to spare. Another fantastic result. Our final match of the season was away against Dr Challoner’s who were our toughest opposition yet. Bowling first, Ansh and Neil once again set the tone with the new ball, each taking a wicket in their first over. The opposition then began to counterattack and some uncharacteristic dropped catches from us meant that we were behind the game at that point. However, Ansh continued to persist and eventually broke the partnership, featuring a good catch on the boundary from James. After that, wickets fell at regular intervals,

with Ansh, Dan and our Year 10 Adi finishing with 2 wickets each which included a stunning catch from James. This meant that we were left to chase 126 in our 20 overs. James and in form Ben Perkin got us of to a flying start with a 58 run partnership. Ben Perkin once again went on to score a half century this time finishing 54 not out. Supported by Dan Sudberry, AGS were able to chase the score down in the 14th over, only 2 wickets down. The array of wickets taken and runs scored this year is a testament to our strength in depth with not only our batting but our bowling too. It was also great to see the talent coming through from the younger year groups who played a big part in our success and will certainly make up the first team in years to come. We also want to take the time to thank Mr Duggan and Mr Digby, who both worked tirelessly in order to get us games this year and both had to rush around finding players whenever someone had to drop out due to being unavailable. We can’t thank them enough for the support they have shown in getting School cricket back to where it was before covid. Archie Dodds – Lee 12

2021 / 2022

U15 Cricket A Team report: After winning the Bucks Cup in Year 9, our first game of the season was a National Cup fixture against Eton. Unfortunately, Eton were much better than us and claimed a decisive victory, knocking us out in the first round of the national cup. We had to bounce back from this defeat quickly, as our next game was against Royal Latin in the first round of the Bucks Cup. Thanks to great knocks from George Jackson and Akhil Kumar, we completed a dominant victory over the Royal Latin. Following these two knockout fixtures, we faced a strong Berkhamsted side in a friendly. Due to a rotated batting line-up, we were only able to post 93 batting first, despite a great 37 not out from Ewan Gatt. Despite this extremely under-par score, we bowled excellently and lost only narrowly as they chased it down in the 19th over, seven wickets down. Although this wasn’t the result we wanted, we showed great fight and character with the ball and in the field. Our next challenge was Dr Challoner’s in the next round of the Bucks Cup (a replay of last year's final). We started excellently with the ball, thanks to some tight bowling from Matt Holcroft and Oliver Reading, having them at 40-1 at the halfway point. However, we followed this start up poorly allowing them to post a sizable target. Despite a rapid 30 from Billy Dodds and a shot of the season by Freddie Crafts we collapsed and faced a crushing defeat knocking us out of the Cup. After our proposed fixture against RGS was rained off we faced Dr Challoner’s again in our next game of the season fighting for a cup donated by an ex-teacher of the two Schools. After an early collapse from our top order, Will Pringle and Dan Poole fought back excellently allowing us to reach a competitive score. We bowled well for much of the game, however, lost in a bitterly close finish in the final over. Next, came our last game of the season against Chesham Grammar School. Despite some interesting field choices, we only allowed Chesham to post a mediocre score batting first, thanks to some great catching from Dan Poole. A breath-taking half century from Billy Dodds, despite

the crumbling of wickets going on around him, allowed AGS to perform a victory in our last game with Ben Fish finishing off in style. Overall, our season could have gone better with some tight finishes not going our way and some very mediocre fielding. But we showed great character and fight throughout the year as we move on to represent the 1st and 2nd XIs in the coming years for the School. We would like to say a big thank you to Mr Roberts and Mr Duggan for coaching us through this season as we could have not achieved anywhere near as much as we did without them. Mr Roberts has also learnt a valuable lesson as he now knows (we hope) how to reverse the minibus from a wall. B team report: The B Team has had quite a short season this year and there have been some highs and lows. We had a difficult start to the season with Dr Challoner’s away. AGS won the toss and chose to bowl so we took to the field. Our bowling was pretty good with some wickets taken. Hugh and Shay bowled very well taking wickets. Then we went into bat. Unfortunately, we had a batting collapse and came well short of our target. After this, we had another tough fixture against Berkhamsted. We bowled first again and kept them

to a chasable score. However, with a damp pitch and another batting collapse, we came short once again. However, we had scored more runs than in the first match, so we were improving. Our final match of the season was against John Hampden. We had a strong team and a very vocal group of AGS students watching from the boundary. With Luke taking an early catch and wickets falling regularly we kept them to just over 100. This was going to be a chasable total. However, even with a very solid performance from Gaurav and Ayaan we still fell short of their total. Some of our players also played for the 2nd X1 towards the end of the season and scored runs which was a promising look to the future. Overall, we had a mixed season and in total, we took more wickets than we lost and had players that may not have normally played. There were definitely some stand-out performances and some lows, but we would all like to thank Mr Roberts and Mr Duggan for their continued support throughout the season.

U14 Cricket A Team report This year, the Year 9 cricket team had a very eventful season, with many games going till the final over, with the team showing great resilience to push and beat the challenging opposition we faced throughout the course of the season. Our season started off with a County Cup match vs RGS, in which AGS batted first, scoring 117 from our 20 overs, with runs from Aditey Allam (41) and Tom Lowe (39). In the second innings, Tom Usher bowled an outstanding opening spell, taking 5-40 off his 4 overs, and there were useful contributions in the field by Vedanta Warad, Ayan Sharma and Alfie Eldridge, who kept very well. This spell put a lot of pressure onto RGS, however they managed to chase the 117 after 15 overs. Our second game was against John Hampden Grammar School, with AGS losing the toss and being put in to bat first. AGS posted a total of 136, with Fionn Clare and Aditey Allam scoring 25 runs each, and Tom Lowe holding the innings together with his 46 off 39 balls. In the second innings, AGS kept the bowling tight and restricted John Hampden Grammar School to 108, with Tom Lowe bowling a great opening spell of 3-16, Edward Jordan conceding only 14 runs off his 4 overs and Ayan Sharma and Arya Singh helped restrict the runs in the middle overs, which helped us to our first win of the season. We then travelled to Berkhamsted School, where we played a game in the ‘Hundred’ format, with each team having 100 balls to bat. AGS won the toss and chose to bat, setting a total of 112, with Aditey Allam and Tom Lowe having an unbroken opening stand, finishing on 44 and 59 not out. However, Berkhamsted responded strongly, chasing down AGS’s total on the 91st ball, with the only wicket coming from Joe Harrison, who ended with figures of 1-11 and Ossian Conely kept wicket very well. In our next game, we travelled to the London Oratory School, with AGS winning the toss and choosing to bat first. AGS produced a good batting performance setting 149, with Aditey Allam scoring 65 and Tom Lowe scoring 43. The chase started

off with an excellent run out from Edward Jordan in the fourth over, and although AGS bowled well, the Oratory School chased 149 off the second to last ball, with Ved Gandhe taking 2-30. This game showed the potential of our squad, after being challenged by an excellent team, we set a great total and stayed in the game until the last over, where we narrowly missed out on a win. Our final game of the season was against Chesham Grammar School, where AGS won the toss and chose to bat first. We displayed a brilliant batting performance, setting 188 from our 20 overs, with Aditey Allam retiring on 50, Oakley Spencer scoring a 19 ball 44 and Ismaeel Khalid and Tom Usher having a 47 run partnership at the end to push our score up to 188. AGS then bowled excellently, bowling Chesham Grammar out of 46, meaning AGS won by 142 runs. Tom Lowe had figures of 3 for 2, taking a hat-trick in the first over, Austin Bhadri taking a wicket in the next over, and Joe Harrison finished with figures of 3-0 off 3 overs. This was a great finish to the season, with everyone contributing to help win against Chesham. Overall, the AGS A team finished with 3 wins and 3 losses, with wins coming against Dr Challoner’s Grammar School, John Hampden Grammar and Chesham Grammar and losses coming against Berkhamsted School, London Oratory and RGS, High Wycombe. This year we had an excellent season, as we showed improvement after every game and

kept working hard at training sessions to help our batting, bowling and fielding. The AGS Year 9 A team has shown a lot of potential this year, and as the season progressed, we became a much stronger side. Next year, we can hopefully look to keep improving and competing to be the best side that our team can be. Fionn Clare – Phillips 9 Tom Lowe - Paterson 9 B Team report Our season started well with a win at Dr Challoner’s, Oakley Spencer doing well with the bat, scoring 22, and with the ball, taking two wickets. RGS, High Wycombe were up next. We held off a strong batting side taking nine wickets and only letting 90 runs through. Ayan Sharma and Osian Connelly put up a partnership of 73 and that guided us to a comfortable victory. Berkhamsted posed a serious challenge setting a very tough total to match. We tried to fight back to reach such a score but we were outmatched; this was our first loss of the season. The London Oratory were our next opponents. Setting a slightly disappointing score of 84 we had a lot of work to do in the field, we fought well taking wickets and keeping composure. In the end the Oratory won with only a few overs and wickets remaining.

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Our final game of the season was against John Hampden Grammar School. They were tough opponents who got straight to it setting a very high score of 138 this would be one of our highest chases and a very hard one to beat. Ayan Sharma scoring 46 and Joshua Jackson scoring 29 put us in a strong position, in the end the match came down to the final ball AGS needing one run to win which of course we got! A win seemed very fitting to finish off our successful season. Will Foster – Hampden 9

U13 Cricket A Team report: Vs. Chesham Grammar School Our first game of the season was a cup qualifier against Chesham Grammar. On an astro strip, we batted first and posted a defensive 117/6. Yashraj top scored in our innings, falling 1 short of a 50. We could not have started the bowling innings any better as A-team debutant Sufian Sheikh bowled their captain with his first ball. After that, the match was always in our favour, and even though at the end it was looking to be a close game, we comfortably won by 13 runs. Vs. Royal Grammar School Our next game was a friendly against the mighty RGS. Once again, we batted first and scored 134 with some brutal hitting from Toby Sutliff who scored a 43 that included 2 sixes that landed on the Year 7 Playground! Going into the bowling innings we were confident of defending it and we did so in style. George Greer picked up 4 wickets to wrap up their innings so AGS won by 3 runs. Whilst this was a friendly, it was a good measure of what was to come in our semi-final rematch. Vs. John Hampden Grammar School Another friendly for this A team that are starting to gain a reputation for winning matches. We have good memories from playing John Hampden last year when Aayan and Sriram put on a new ball bowling masterclass and a 45 not out from

George Greer. This year however we did things a little differently. We bowled first and John Hampden posted 117 after some powerful lower order hitting. In our batting innings we had a complete reverse order to experiment as we built towards finals day. We were always on the run rate but we were losing wickets in a steady flow meaning we eventually fell 31 runs short. It was unfortunate to lose but it gave us a good idea on our squad for finals day. Vs. Berkhamsted School Our final friendly before finals day and we won the toss and chose to bowl. We were playing in the Hundred format rather than our usual T20 but we still executed our plans brilliantly, leaving Berko 83 all out. Highlight of the innings was when Sufian, in proper T20 fashion, got a fingertip onto a straight drive, running out their opener in the process. We had high hopes going into the batting innings but it was never going to be that straightforward. A traditional English collapse at the top of the order made things extremely difficult and even though there was a well fought fightback by Jared Hills and Josh Tyack, we fell 14 runs short. It was another hard defeat to swallow but we put it to the back of our minds as we moved onto finals day. Finals Day Our finals day this year had us facing RGS in the semi final. Both our openers Sid Auddy and Yashraj Kumawat got us off to a secured start with the bat, but unfortunately with a collapse in our middle order we gave ourselves a tough score of 100 to defend. Despite a great start with the ball, and getting a wicket immediately through a Sufian Sheikh forcing the

batsman to hit straight to Conor Heatley for a catch, we fell to a defeat. This led us into our final game in a 3rd/4th playoff vs JHGS. This time we bowled first, on a dying pitch, and our bowlers across the team restricted John Hampden to 98 runs. Chasing the total down started well, and got off to a fast pace, but again we started to struggle and lost a number of quick wickets. It came down to our last wicket of Conor Heatley and Sufian Sheikh, who required a partnership of 20 for us to win. Between them they were able to see this out, with a couple of boundaries being made too. This resulted in us coming 3rd in the county as we won our final Year 8 game by 1 wicket. Congratulations to the whole team, as we aim to push on further next year. George Greer – Ridley 8 B team report: It was yet another promising season for the U13 B team. Our first game was a friendly match against Dr Challoner’s, which ended up as a defeat. We were batting first, but ended up with an early collapse. Soon after Arjun Kedia, James Herbert and Soham Gaddam scored more runs to rescue the team and drag us to a total of 77. We had a promising start to bowling with Shreyas Behera, Arjun Kedia and Josh Tyack impressing. Unfortunately, they were able to chase down our score, but as a team we kept the match very tight, with only 4 overs to spare when they reached our target. We then had a game unfortunately cancelled against John Hampden, before we came up against

Berkhamsted in the next game. We lost narrowly, with an excellent performance from Myles Coe, with him getting 3 wickets in his first two overs, and both being maidens. He then proceeded to get another wicket in his next over, capping off an

excellent performance. Muhammad Azhar got a very solid 21 in batting as AGS finished on 72 all out. It was very tight in the Berkhamsted batting innings, but the opponents just squeezed past AGS to win the game. Unfortunately, we also had our final

game of the season cancelled due to weather, which capped off the end of our Year 8 cricket season. Oscar Bennett – Hampden 8 Soham Gaddam – Lee 8 Vishnu Bandari – Paterson 8

U12 Cricket A Team report: This year’s cricket season has gone well and been very enjoyable. Although we lost the first game, we learnt from our mistakes as a team and were motivated to play our best in the semi-final of the County Cup against RGS. By that time we had all identified our strengths and weaknesses and were able to play accordingly. We faced Dr Challoner’s in the final and unfortunately lost but played united as a team and gave our best. Throughout the season we have constantly improved our skills and despite coming second place overall, I would say that our first cricket season has been successful and we have gained a lot of experience. Finally, many thanks to Mr Gibbs for his hard work and encouragement which has enabled us to proudly represent AGS.

B Team report: Here are some stats from the season. Games Played = 7 Won = 3 Lost = 3 Abandoned = 1 Leading batter: Ishaan Ella – 72 runs Leading bowler: Hamza Sohail – 10 wickets (econ. 5.33) Hamza Sohail – Lee 7

I think first I would like to thank Mr Gibbs and Mr Singh for leading our cricket coaching this year and organising matches for all of us. Our first game was against Dr Challoner’s School. They were a good side but we pulled through to win our first game of the season. We then faced the John Hampden School. We were unlucky to lose this one but we still managed to make a game of it and put pressure on their bowlers. We then played RGS, this was one of the best games of the season, in the end it went down to the last over of the match but with a 4 from Nikandros the win was secured. We then rematched the John Hampden School, we did lose this game but the boys wouldn't give up and were ready for the next game. Our next game was against Berkhamsted. Sadly there’s not much to say about this game as it was rained off after 4 overs apart from how fast everyone ran for shelter! Our last game of the season was against Chesham Grammar. We played well in this game and won, managing to bowl them all out for 64 after setting a high total with our batting. Dylan McCrea – Denson 7

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U15 Handball This season was an extremely eventful and amazing one. The U15 Handball Team worked hard week in and week out to be the best team that we possibly could be. With a late start to training this year, the Year 10 Handball Club initially had approximately 50 students, which was amazing to see. During the Autumn Term, this number had to be reduced so that a training squad could be selected for the upcoming English Handball Association’s national Schools competition. After a significant trial period, Mr McGill, with the help of Harry Jones and Oscar Wellbelove (our Year 13 and Year 12 assistant coaches) cut down the squad to roughly sixteen amazing handball players. Our first round of competition was the Pre-Regional Tournament, which took place at Stoke Mandeville in March 2022. This competition was made up of Schools from Buckinghamshire and Berkshire. Although the team got off to a characteristically nervous start, we still managed to win our first game, in which the squad got used to playing competitive handball

again and started to find their playing rhythm. The 3-0 win saw goals come from Winfred Gotah, Sean Dover and Joseph Aloluwaloba. After game one we knew what we needed to do to improve and we went into game 2 with our confidence high. This resulted in a fantastic 7-3 victory against Thorpe House School, with two goals from Anthony Unugboke, two from Joseph then one from Oliver Reading, Matty Holmes and Sacha Page. Game three was arguably our best performance of the tournament, in which we beat Great Marlow School 5-0, in which Joseph, Matty, Ewan Gatt, Freddie Crafts and Anthony were our goal scorers. Looking back, it seems that we were too happy and overly confident after three amazing wins and went into game four with our heads held a bit too high. We unfortunately received our only loss of the tournament in a close battle with John Hampden, in a match that ended 4-3. However, our first three wins were enough to get us into the semi-finals of the competition, which we won 5-1 against Windsor Boys’ School, where the goals came from Winfred, Sean, Freddie and 2 from Anthony. This win allowed us to enter into the finals, knowing that we were now guaranteed to make it into the next

regional tournament. Even though we knew we had qualified we didn’t stop there. We were able to beat an extremely combative Royal Latin team 4-1, with goals from Anthony, Sean, Matty and Ben Giles. Having failed to make it past this stage of the competition in the U13 tournament two years earlier, we had done it and we had won the competition playing some great handball. Highlights of the tournament were Anthony and Joseph being our top goal scorers with six goals each, as well as some great performances from Nat Massa in goal, who only conceded once during the three games he played. After our excellent performances in the pre-regional competition, we got straight back to work in preparation for the South West regional finals in Bournemouth, which took place in May. This proved to be a competition in which the AGS U15 handball squad showed how much we had improved during the year. We came away from this tournament with no losses out of five games played, with our greatest win coming in at 10-2 and us recording another dominant win against Royal Latin in the tournament final. During this competition we saw Matty Holmes put in a series of excellent performances, which resulted in him scoring 15 goals

throughout the day. We had shown everyone around us what we could do, but most importantly, we started to believe in what we could achieve as a team. This fantastic performance allowed us to go on and compete in the National Finals, which were taking place in Nottingham. We went into these finals with high hopes and expectations, but the truth is that our nerves got the better of us on the day and we never quite hit the peaks of the previous round. The squad had played exceptionally well throughout this season, however we were unable to show our full potential when the time came.

After an extremely early start and a long journey, we went into the first game of the competition and started slowly. Although we led the game by two goals going into the final minutes, some costly errors resulted in us suffering our second loss of the season. Despite this, we kept our heads held high and were able to come out of game two with a 6-2 win, with good saves coming from Gammy Uloyok-Job and some amazing goals from Anthony, Freddy and Matty. After only one loss, in order to make it to the semi-finals we needed to win our next two games, which meant we had to force the issue in game three. This proved to be the toughest game we were to ever play.

Against a team full of very talented athletes, who looked the strongest team in our group, we went into the game knowing that we had to win to stay in the competition, and at the start of the match things were going well. Unfortunately things took a turn for the worst and despite our efforts, we could not overcome this powerful opposing team and had no choice but to accept our defeat. The most heart-breaking game in all of our hand balling careers, we had been knocked out of the tournament in the group stages. Although we lost this match, it did not truly reflect all the hard work and dedication that every player in the squad had put in up to this point. Knowing that game four would be the last handball game some of us would play, we went into this with the intention of just enjoying it whilst we could. We won our last game of this amazing journey 5-4, with great contributions from James Koleoso and Pelumi Abioye. This season was one to remember for the whole training and playing squads and we should all be extremely proud of what we were able to achieve and how far we all came. There were ups and downs throughout the season, but we were able to overcome the challenges and show to ourselves what we could achieve thanks to hard work and commitment. We made immense improvements since Year 8, where we were unable to make it out of the pre-regional stage. Then in Year 9 having no training at all due to Covid-19. To then qualify for the national finals with just over a year's worth of training was a great achievement in itself. A great big thank you to Mr. McGill, Harry Jones and Oscar Wellbelove for taking time out of their busy schedules to train us and get to the position we did. Year 10 Handball Squad Nat Massa, Gammy Uloyok-Job, Matty Holmes, Ewan Gatt, Freddy Crafts, Sacha Page, Sean Dover, Anthony Unugboke, Joseph Aloluwaloba, Ben Giles, Winfred Gotah, Oliver Reading, James Koleoso and Pelumi Abioye. Gammy Uloyok-Job – Phillips 10 Matty Holmes – Lee 10

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U13 Handball It’s always exciting to introduce a new year group to the game of handball, and while the uptake wasn’t quite as we had hoped, it was fantastic to see a good number of Year 8 students regularly turn up to Handball Club on Thursdays. The Autumn term gave us the opportunity to work out how to play handball and understand the key rules, which we were able to do with lots of game-based training and skill development, which resulted in many making big improvements. The start of the National Schools Competition meant that selection decisions had to be made, and as a result of maximum squad sizes some of the students who had been training were left disappointed, but hopeful that their time would come. Those who were selected to play at Stoke Mandeville Stadium in the Pre-Regional tournament did so with great enthusiasm, a lot of skill and an increasing understanding of the demands of handball. The fact that the squad performed so well in their first ever competition was a testimony to all of their positive qualities and they should be extremely proud of this. In winning this tournament, the squad beat John Hampden (3-2), Maiden Erlegh (6-4), Thorpe House (6-1) and St Michael’s (4-2) and drew with The Grange (4-4), which was a fantastic achievement. While all those involved performed well, Temi Aloluwaloba impressed in goal, Zach Cleary showed great skill and composure at Centre Back, Jayden Mugonapanja was an aggressive and tenacious line player, Jed Okai showed great athleticism in the full back positions and Tomi Ashaolu was a scoring machine on the wing, showcasing a cannon for an arm! The squad were confident going into the regional finals, especially with the addition of Toby Sutliff to the squad. Unfortunately, preparations did not go as smoothly as hoped and we lost Tomi to a shoulder injury and Zach played despite carrying a significant injury, all of which proved to be costly on the day. The boys who were fit and able performed extremely well and were always extremely competitive in every game they played, which included a 1 goal loss to The Grange in the final group game and a penalty

shoot-out loss in the 3rd/4th place playoff match, which meant that we lost out on a place in the National Finals. This was obviously hugely disappointing for the squad, but they should feel extremely proud of their efforts throughout the year, knowing that they were extremely close to achieving their goals. I am looking forward to seeing more from the current Year 8 handballers over the next two years, who have the potential to develop into an excellent year group. It has been another extremely busy year for AGS Handball after two years away and it has been fantastic to see so many students get involved. As always, the help of our senior students

has been invaluable and Harry Jones and Oscar Wellbelove have been fantastic coaches throughout the year. Huge thanks to Mr Dudmish too for helping out with the Year 8’s for the first time this year…..and we look forward to going again in September as we introduce the sports to new students in Years 8 and 10. Year 8 Handball Squad Temi Aloluwaloba, Kaihan Chen, Jed Okai, Zach Cleary, Toby Sutliff, Barney Spencer, Kyle Babbage, Tomi Ashaolu, Jayden Mugonapanja, Thomas Ruck, Max Meader, Joshua Tyack & Jaffar Hassan. Mr C McGill

U18 Basketball This year was the return of School basketball at AGS since the Covid 19 pandemic and despite all the challenges faced this season, this year has been quite a successful one for the sixth form basketball team. We had a range of age groups attending Thursday training sessions and the involvement not just from the sixth form, but the Year 10s and 11s in training was great to see. With players that were new to the game as well as experienced players, training this year focused on the basics of basketball and refining our techniques to help each of us improve our games. Overall, the training after School helped us to develop as a team, which was ready for the season to kick off. Our first game of the season was a friendly match at home against Dr Challoner’s Grammar School. Unfortunately, our coaches could not attend the game because they had tested positive for Covid 19. There was also limited availability for this game, with a squad of only 10 players making it to the game, a lot of whom had never played School basketball before. Despite this, AGS put up a good fight against Dr Challoner’s, well led by Tyno with 19 points and assisted by Gavin Thurairajah's three point bombs and Dylan Changer. Special mention must go to Dylan, who played his first ever School basketball game that day and his hustle and athleticism on the court truly gave us a fighting chance, and Tyno who had to act as a player coach in the games without our coaches. However in the end, we fell just short, losing 50-37. Our second game was a rematch against Dr Challoner’s, only this time it was away and it was a league cup match. There is not much to say about this game as AGS were simply over matched by the speed and power of Dr Challoner’s. Tyno again led from the front, however it was a struggle to score for everyone throughout the game, and in the end, we lost 64 - 26. Our next game of the season was an away game against Amersham School, another league game. We entered this game with a reasonable amount of confidence, with the return of several key players and our coach being able to attend his first game of the season. And this confidence

definitely showed on the court as from start to finish, we were determined not to lose this game. It was a combined effort in this game, as Tyno, Joe Barber, Jadon and Vivin all reached 10 points or more and the others around them contributed with solid defence and good passing, Mofe provided an important monster block and his presence down low made the game easier for the team overall. Gavin's guard play was also a crucial part in gelling the team this game. In the end, we had secured our first win of the season, winning 56 - 24. Our final league game of the season was against Chesham Grammar School. Unfortunately our coach and Mr Gibbs could not make it to the game, so we were again left without a coach, however it was different than the first time, because we had gelled as a team and learnt how to play with each other. This game was a low scoring affair, with both teams focusing on their defence and this meant that points were hard to come by. However, we stuck to our game plan and in the second half, allowed just 4 points to be scored by the other team, while scoring 14 of our own in the second half. The scoring for us was once again led by Tyno as well as Gavin and Joe and in the end it was these points that eventually led us to a 30 to 13 win against Chesham Grammar, meaning that we had finished the season with 2 wins and 2 losses, one of which was a friendly, so overall in league games we were 2-1 in the season, making it quite a successful players.

A special thanks goes to all the players that played for us this season, as well as those that came to training from Year 13, Year 12 and Year 11. Special mention must also go to Ray and Anis from Year 11, who played for the sixth form team as well as their own age group and gave it 100% every time they stepped out on the court. Another thanks goes to our coach, for training us throughout the season and being able to attend the games whenever he could. And finally, a huge thank you to Mr Gibbs who got Sixth form basketball up and running again and who had set up the fixtures for us this season. Without him, we may not have played a single game and he was also responsible for organising the teams. Hopefully, we can carry this success that we had this year into next year and the years to come.

2021 / 2022 U16 Basketball Our basketball season started with two friendlies. The first of which came against John Colet. Despite being our first game together in two years, we showed what we were capable of in the 54-8 win which saw three of our players: Anis, Eroro and Hugo all outscore the other team. The next friendly was a far greater challenge. A game against one of our local rivals - The Grange, a far better, equally matched side. Bragging rights with the team mates outside of School on the line, we pulled through in a physical battle to win 42-40. Scoring led by Ray and once again Anis and excellent defensive performances from Tobi and Ryan. Now the friendlies were out of the way we were about to take on a new league. The first league game saw the return of Shayne - who had been previously injured and saw us up against Dr Challoners who we had lost to in the past. However, it is clear we had improved a lot in the past two years. And despite being a closely matched game, similar to that with the Grange, we won 33-29. Ray and Shayne leading AGS for scoring. Our fourth game of the season we were back at home. This time taking on a much more physical team of Amersham. We went into the game with roaring confidence that we’d get our fourth win of the season and continue our undefeated streak. The win was nearly lost, however a good

fourth quarter, ensured the victory for us. Shayne (17 points) and Ray (16 points) both once again leading the scoring for AGS with the win ending in 49-36. Soon came our final game at the end of this term. We would play Chesham Grammar School. A win would see us go undefeated in our first season back together. Eroro Ometoruwa having a game of a lifetime dropping a career high 12 points to lead AGS to a 55-15 win (solid performances by Shayne - 7 points and the three Year 10s - Hugo, Ewan and Luke who also had 7 points each.) To conclude, this season has been one of many highs and due to our effort and skill, few lows. A strong core for AGS basketball had already been established through Ray, Shayne,

Anis, Ryan and Eroro and this year saw great additions of Tobi, Shy, Anthony, and Elias as well as the three Year 10s previously mentioned who looked natural even playing with older age groups. We'd like to thank Mr Duggan, the rest of the PE staff and the team themselves for making this such a fun season. As a result of our performances, we won the Under 16 District League. Rayhan Nahim – Phillips 11

U15 Basketball The Under 15 Basketball team have had a great season, winning 5 of their 7 games. The boys have lost close games to St Michael’s Catholic School and Chesham Grammar School. Along the season, they have put in fine performances against The Grange School, Dr Challoner’s Grammar, Amersham School, Misbourne and Chalfonts Community College. The boys have been led in scoring by Ewan Gatt and Hugo Pearson. The team have all contributed across the season with a number of players developing very well throughout the season. Ewan and Hugo, along with Luke Murphy have all played regularly for the Under 16 team too. As a result of their performances over the season, the team won the District League.

U14 Basketball Our first game was against St Michael’s in a very close opening fixture. Despite our Man of the Match, Dhoeton White, scoring 10 points, it was St Michael's who ran out winners in a 19-18 win. Trey was able to make it a tight finish by sinking a couple of 3’s at the end of the final quarter.

Well done to the whole squad and thank you for your impressive efforts.

physical Dr Challoner’s side. After a very tight first ¼ with both teams scoring, including a 3 from Dhoeton White, Challoner’s held a slight lead. Unfortunately, this lead expanded quickly during the 2nd ¼, leaving the gap too big to recover in the 2nd half. Dr Challoner’s took the win, with a 34-15 score-line.

Our second friendly involved a whole new team, with the majority of the 10 boys having not played a competitive basketball match before. Despite a very slow start from us, the whole team continued to work away at the strong lead John Colet had formed in the first quarter. Points from our Man of The Match, Dominic HardimanMountford, left the score line at 20-6 to John Colet.

The first win of the season finally came, after a strong performance against a resilient Princes’ Risborough side. Matthew Harmon got the team off to a perfect start getting 5 points on the board in the first quarter to give us a 9-0 lead into the break. The 29 points scored were shared across the team with Lewis Beake, Trey Onouoha, Jacob O’Neill, Adi Allam, Matthew Harmon scoring, alongside lead scorer Dhoeton White (10 points). Mathew Harmon was Man of The Match during his first game.

The first competitive game we played was against a strong and

Needing another win in our next fixture to keep our hopes of

progressing alive started well, with Matthew Harmon taking the lead in the opening minutes. Unfortunately, a high scoring 2nd ¼ for our opposition, Chesham Grammar, took the game away from us. Despite a surge of points from across the team, we were unable to overturn the deficit, with the game ending in a 31-23 loss. Finally, in our last game of the season, came a big win against Amersham School, 21-9. Another exceptional offensive and defensive display from Dhoeton White, scoring many points and making a few blocks certainly helped us to finish the season well. We started the game strong, keeping them to 0 points until some time into the 2nd quarter. Amersham did managed to score some points to bring them 7 points behind us, but we then managed to expand the gap once again to win the game 21-9.

2021 / 2022 U13 Basketball To start off our season we had 4 friendlies as a brand new squad. Our first game was against Princess Risborough (a challenging team) with a very good point guard. We knew we would have to work for this win. We started off conceding early but after learning their strategies we took off. They equalised but with Raphie’s 4 last minute points and Vishnu and Lennox also scoring we won 12-10. Our second game against St Michaels showed our strength as a team as we came out with a 16-4 win with Lennox, Conor and Vishnu showing up for AGS. We faced our first loss against Dr Challoner’s due to injuries and not working enough, a low scoring 7-6 game was the result. We went on to use this loss as a learning curve to learn and expand our game knowledge. Our last friendly before the season we faced John Colet with a huge win

U12 Basketball Throughout the year in under 12 basketball, we have had many lows and one or two highs. The season started at Princes Risborough School with a painful 18-6 loss, this was probably one of the toughest games as we barely knew each other. The next game was a lot better as we managed to win our first game. The feeling of winning for the first time was amazing but we didn’t get too confident as things got a bit serious. After 2 games being cancelled, we arrived at our first area cup game where we suffered a big loss of 26-4.

of 28-6 with Lennox scoring 24 points and us going into our season with our heads held high. To start off our season we faced Dr Challoner’s for a rematch. This time everyone in the squad wanted it more and we came out on top winning 2116 with Oisin finally getting his well deserved 2 points, Raphie scoring 4 and Lennox scoring 12. Our Second game of the season was against Beaconsfield School. This was a cup fixture and we knew that we had to win to put ourselves into a good position to come out on top. The first quarter we controlled easily going into the lead, but we let them come back and regain the lead that we couldn’t take back again due to lack of organisation. Unfortunately, we lost 14-16 in the end. For our third cup game of the season, we played Princes Risborough. We had a bit of confidence going into this fixture as we had previously beaten them in a friendly. Unfortunately, we were missing two of our starters, Conor and Raphie.

After our big loss we didn't give up as our next game was against Princes Risborough but this time it was time for revenge throughout the game it was very tough. We fought through it and came out with a 14-18 win stealing it in the last quarter. During the last quarter we were down by 2 and it was 14-12 to them but we fought so hard to gain those 6 points playing full attack for 10 minutes straight. We ended up bringing home a glorious win of 14-18. The final game of the season was against Chesham Grammar and was one of our most challenging. The game started and immediately they took an early lead, so we knew it was going be a challenging match.

Despite the team’s effort, especially Lennox producing 12 points, we couldn’t manage the win suffering a disappointing loss 16-20. For our final game of the season, we played Chesham Grammar in a cup game. We needed to win this to have any hope of coming top two. The whole squad were desperate to win and end the season on a high. Lennox and Vishnu pushed through to help us win 14-10 with Lennox scoring 9 and Vishnu scoring 5. Thank you, to Lennox Waugh who played brilliantly throughout each fixture and helped develop and improve others within the team. The whole team showed great dedication and resilience throughout the season and some very challenging matches so well done to all those that were involved. A special mention to Dilan Barauskas, Oisin Patel and Daniel Kiteley who all showed excellent improvement throughout the season. Mr M Roberts

We stuck at it throughout the match and after a hard-fought battle we came out with an unfortunate loss, the game ended with them taking a 20-10 win. However, we could be proud of our teamwork, performance and resilience shown throughout. With that our first basketball season was complete and we knew that we would be back next year to go again. Although there were not too many wins this season, the whole team worked their hearts out for some great victories, and we all give this one to Mr Roberts and wanted to say thank you for the season. Mr M Roberts

Swimming

ALL GROUPS: The swimming calendar for this season began with the first round of the ESSA Secondary Schools’ team swimming championships. On 24th September, the full team of junior (Year 7 and 8), inter (Year 9 and 10) and senior teams (Year 11-13) made their way to Woodside Leisure Centre in Watford for the regional round of the competition. To qualify for the national competition was especially tough this year because, to qualify for the national finals, we needed to place in the top 20 teams nationally, whereas it would usually have been the top 30 pre-covid. JUNIORS (7-8): At the regional competition, our juniors: Alfie Toms, Oliver Colbourne-Baber, Edward Gullidge, Josh Tyack and Daniel Talbot, came 7th in the 4x50m medley relay and 5th in the 4x50m freestyle relay. This was a great experience for a new team, none of whom had

competed for School swimming due to covid last year. Unfortunately the team narrowly missed out on a place at nationals this year, but the future looks promising for this group of swimmers and nationals next year is most definitely a possibility. INTERS (9-10): Our inters: Tom Poole, Daksh Surana, Dan Beadle, Jake Chesworth and James Davies, came 2nd in the 4x50m medley relay, and 2nd in the 4x50m freestyle relay (only 0.01s behind first). This was an excellent performance from the whole team which saw them qualify for nationals in both relays. SENIORS (11-13): Finally, our seniors: Ryan Roberts, Jack Edwards, Billy Knibb and Carmelo Almadin, came 3rd in the 4x50m medley relay, and 5th in the 4x50m freestyle relay. This saw them qualify for nationals in the medley relay, which was a great accomplishment. ALL GROUPS: Overall in the competition as a School, we came 2nd in the boy’s team scores, just one point behind Dr Challoner’s. A fantastic achievement from all involved. (INTERS AND SENIORS): The national finals were held on 20th November at the London 2012 Olympic Pool in Stratford. A fantastic pool which had a noticeable difference from the regional competition. This event was held in a 50m pool as opposed to a 25m pool. This could potentially change the strength of certain teams from the regionals. INTERS: Unfortunately, Daniel Beadle was not able to attend nationals, however the other four swimmers from this team really stepped up and swam really well with a noticeable hole in their team. They ended up in 19th for the Medley relay and 20th for the

Freestyle relay. Overall, a really great effort from all the swimmers, getting a great experience of a national competition, and looking very promising for the future. SENIORS: Having not been able to attend the regional competition, Sam Pyefinch took the place of Carmelo Almadin at nationals, because Carmelo unfortunately couldn’t attend. Having qualified for the finals by the skin of their teeth in 20th, the team had nothing to lose, and swam very well to finish in 12th place, just 1.1 seconds away from making it to the final. This was a fantastic improvement from regionals and really shows the depth of the team to be able to change the team around and be competitive at a high level. ALL GROUPS: The other event on the School swimming calendar this year was the Wycombe Abbey Swimming League, in which Schools from the local area compete across multiple galas held at Wycombe Abbey School, culminating in a final, which was held on 9th March. JUNIORS: The junior team consisted of: Alfie Toms, Oliver ColbourneBaber, Edward Gullidge, Josh Tyack, Rafi Gibbson, Alessandro Partridge and Han Tan. The B team, only competing in one of the galas, consisted of: Pearce Clare, Lois Zientek, Vlad Kabanov, Daniel Talbot, Thomas Ruck and Max Meader. A great performance saw the A team win both rounds and overall, with our B team taking 4th place in the round they competed in, finishing in 5th place overall. INTERS: The inters team consisted of: Tom Poole, Daksh Surana, Dan Beadle, Jake Chesworth, James Davies, Dan Poole and Hugo Pearson. The inters displayed a dominant performance across all three of their galas, winning all 3 and coming in 1st overall. SENIORS: The senior team consisted of: Ryan Roberts, Jack Edwards,

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Billy Knibb, Carmelo Almadin, Sam Pyefinch, Torsten Hansen, Sourab Surana and Gabe Gullidge. After narrowly losing out to RGS in the first round, we managed to win the second round, however this was not quite enough of a win to beat RGS on overall points, so the senior team came 2nd overall - a very good performance nonetheless. ALL GROUPS: Across all age groups, AGS managed to easily come out on top, 69 points ahead of RGS for second place. This was a very successful meet for the team and a title that we hope to retain next season. Our swim team members have also been helping out every Friday lunchtime at swim club. This has seen great popularity this year among swimmers of all abilities, with growing numbers in the build up to house swimming, either looking to build up their endurance or come for some technical advice to improve their strokes. Finally, I’d just like to thank Mr Gibbs for all his hard work organising and managing all our swim teams. Without his support we would not be able to compete as a School so we are very grateful. Sam Pyefinch - Paterson 12

Squash

National Schools Competition: We have had 3 age groups competing in National Schools - Key Stage 3, KS4 & KS5 and a KS4 B team. All 4 squads successfully played their way through to Stage 2 of the competition. KS4 A team won through to finals in Nottingham by beating Dr Challoner’s and Perin’s School convincingly, finishing top of their Stage 2 group. The team travelled to Nottingham to play the top 8 Schools in country and put up a brave fight in the 1st round just missing out to St Pauls after some excellent displays. They then had to play off for 5/8 place and eventually ended up 6th in the country with a win against Gosforth Academy and a loss against South Hunsley. Excellent effort all round from the team of Tom Whitehead, Alex Glover, Billy Dodds, Harry Cuddy, Joel Jennings & Ciaran Sidhu. KS4 B team just missed out on the finals after finishing 3rd in a group

consisting of Abingdon, Eton and Wycliffe. Well done to Ollie Peck, Ellison Socrates, Joel Jennings, William Longman, Samuel Griffin. The KS3/U13 also qualified for stage 2 in Nationals and finished runners up in their group, having travelled to Sheffield for this stage of the competition. They recorded wins against Manchester Grammar and South Hunsley, only losing to Gosforth Trust. They were extremely pleased to find out runners up spot gave them a place in the finals. The team then travelled up with the older boys to play in finals where they met favourites and eventual winners Epsom in first round of the draw. They were beaten 3/2 which meant they also had a 5/8 spot to play for. They had a convincing win against Lincoln Minster before losing a very close match with Millfield, and like the KS4 team finished in 6th place. Congratulations to the team of William Longman, Samuel Griffin, Thomas Barlow, Ossian Conely, Charlie Garrity and Toby Sutliff.

The U19/KS5 team of Ollie Cartwright, Callum Egan, Ollie Carolin, Silas Glover & Tom Whitehead started the New Year with their stage 2 Nationals fixture and hosted St Pauls and Harrow at AGS. Despite a 3/2 win against Harrow they then followed up with a narrow loss against St Pauls which meant they progressed through to the finals at our expense. Friendly matches: When we play friendlies, we revert to U19, U17, U15 & U13 teams. The U19/KS5 team of Ollie Cartwright, Callum Egan, Ollie Carolin, Silas Glover & Tom Whitehead had friendlies, and convincing wins, over Eton and Radley which meant the team finished their fixture list on a high. Overall, despite not achieving the goal of the National Finals the team had asuccessful season and should be proud of their contribution to AGS squash. The U15 team, most of whom have competed in the National Schools KS4 matches, have won friendly fixtures against Radley, Stowe, and Eton. The U13 team of William Longman, Samuel Griffin, Thomas Barlow, Ossian Conely, Charlie Garrity and Toby Sutliff have also had friendly wins over Stowe and Bedford Modern to back up their impressive National Schools performances. AGS have had an excellent season and having 2 age groups qualify for National Schools finals is a magnificent achievement. Mr D Withey

Tennis

AGS Tennis started during the summer term with lunchtime sessions for all years and participation has started to increase across all ages. House tennis was a success with some excellent tennis on show. Both the Under 15 and Under 13 teams have been playing in the Div 1 LTA Competition. The Under 15 squad finished top of their group with outstanding performances from the brothers Ethan and Ashton Taank, and the team winning all their group matches with some impressive displays from all players. They now progress through to the next stage which begins in September.

U15 squad: Ethan Taank, Ashton Taank, Ben McCrory, Andrew Johnson and Will Foster. RESULTS Won v DCGS, 10-2 Won v Amersham, 12-0 Won v RGSHW, 10-2 Won v Sir William Borlase, 8-4 The Under 13 squad finished runners up in their group after suffering a loss against Dr Challoner’s. Leading the team was Kyle Babbage who remained unbeaten throughout, and he was consistently supported by James Godley. There were some other good performances across the

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team, with some good victories in tight contests U13 squad: Kyle Babbage, James Godley, Harry Pomfret, Euan Conely, Rohan Appikatla, Avyan Rana, Uday Gupta RESULTS Lost v DCGS, 2-10 Won v Amersham, 12-0 Won v RGSHW, 8-4 Won via w/o v Caldicott Mr D Withey

Athletics The athletics season started early in May just as we were getting up and running with the weekly athletics club. Trials were held and U13 & U15 teams were selected for the first competition, the English Schools Track and Field Cup Round 1. Both teams were made up of athletes from two different year groups, which is a great sign that we have talented athletes in all years. In Year 7, Ollie Usher, Chukwudi Oneybuchi, Leo Capaldi, and Euan Conely were selected to compete in the event at Stantonbury Campus, MK, which added strength to a strong U13 team. A team which included many of those athletes who ran at the cross-country finals earlier this year, this included Raphie London, Jed Okai and Edward Johnson. The Under 15 team again was made up with a mix of Year 9 and 10 students many of which had not had the chance to compete in this competition previously due to COVID. The competition itself went well with both teams scoring lots of points in each event. Each athlete had to compete in both a track and field event and points were scored according to time or distance achieved and within both teams there were some standout performances. Raphie London secured 41 points and Jed Okai grab 35 points, to name a few, enabled the team to reach 356 points and place 1st in the competition. The U15 team also had some excellent performances, with Joseph Aloluwaloba, Anthony Unugboke and Tom Usher achieving

38, 30 & 29 points respectively. But unfortunately despite the best efforts of the team the 3rd place finish wasn’t good enough for them to progress to the next round. The U13 team progressed on to the Regional Finals in the Midland A final. This was a step up in competition and again the boys all performed well, picking up where they left off in the last competition. Raphie and Edward Johnson again scored well along with Chukwudi Onyebuchi who scored 40 points, but up against strong opposition AGS could only manage 8th position. The season ended with 80 students representing AGS at district athletics at Stoke Mandeville stadium, this was the first time in 3 years that we have competed at this competition, despite this hopes were high for

some good performances. In Year 7, Chudwudi, continued his run of form by winning the 100m, along with Euan Conely in the 800m, and Ollie Usher in 1500m, this combined with the other results helped the Year 7s achieve 3rd place overall. In Year 8 Tomi Ashaola won the 200m, and a lot of other top performances meant the Year 8s finished 2nd. Year 9 were up against some strong opposition and despite some good results finished 6th. A similar story in Year 10, in which AGS could only muster one district champion and this was Levi Mobisa in the triple jump, this helped AGS achieve a 5th place in Year 10. Overall in this year’s district athletics AGS placed a respectable 3rd, a decent position, and a spring board for athletics moving forward. Mr N Gibbs

Juniors: This year, the Junior Boys cross country team has had a very successful season. We started it off with the first race in the ESAA Cross Country Cup on the 12th of October, which we came out with a very satisfactory 2nd place. That race set us up nicely for the Aylesbury Cross Country League at Cottesloe, which we won. After that elating victory, we had the second race of the ESAA Cross Country Cup on the 19th of November, which we came out of with yet another 2nd place finish. The final race of the season was down in Newquay for the ESAA Cross Country Cup Final on the 4th of December. It was a very tough race with our team battling against the wind while running across boggy playing fields, but we came 6th place out of 25 Schools from across the country. The individual times for that final race are as follows, Raphie in 6th place overall with a time of 10:52, then Sam in 33rd place with a time of 11:19, Zach in 47th place with a time of 11:31, Ollie in 68th place with a time of 11:49, Edward in 75th place with a time of 11:52, and Jed in 115th place with a time of 12:29. Seniors: The season started off with the ESAA Cross-country cup at Cottesloe School. A tough course with a particularly hard hill leading up to the finish. The senior team consisted of Ashwin Aggarwal (17th), Nick Cay (12th), Kai Gregory (18th), Alex Hodson(13th), Sam Wright(9th) and Harry Jones(25th), out of a total 26 in the race. Very good performances all round, earning us 4th place as a team.

The race that followed was the Cottesloe Cross-country series in November. This was the exact same course as last time so we were very familiar with it. With Dylan Changer now in the team, he led the race from start to finish, finishing 1st place. The rest of the team followed, finishing 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th. Although there were not many in the race, it was still a master class from the AGS runners. The final event of the season was the Buckinghamshire Schools’ Crosscountry Championships on the 2nd of February, rather than being a team race, this was an individual competition with the chance of qualifying to the English Schools Cross Country Nationals if you finish in the top 8 of your race. Racing for the Inter Boys were Sam Wright and Thomas Young in Yr 11, and Luca Annels, Dan Poole and Oliver Reading in Yr 10. Racing for the Senior boys were Nick Cay, Oscar

Wellbelove, Alex Hodgson, Dylan Changer and Torsten Hansen. The course itself was a challenging 5.6 kilometres long, testing all the runners to their limits. Everyone performed well and made themselves and AGS proud. Results for the Inter Boys were as follows: Thomas Young 17th, Oliver Reading 53rd, Dan Poole 56th and Luca Annels 60th. Results for the Inter Boys were: Dylan Changer 15th, Alex Hodson 18th and Torsten Hansen 29th. A special shout-out to Sam Wright who came 8th and Nick Cay who came 6th, both qualifying to run for Buckinghamshire at the English Schools Nationals in Kent. A big well done to Oscar Wellbelove too, who qualified as a reserve for National Schools in 11th place. Big congratulations to all the runners who took part in the Cross-country races this year. We would also like to thank Mr Gibbs and Mr Duggan for organising our teams and being our coaches this year. Hoping for a great year of Crosscountry next year. Sam Wright – Phillips 11 Nick Cay – Paterson 12

SCHOOL LIFE

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Malawi exchange update

Finally, we have a group scheduled to travel to Malawi in the summer of 2023. The students attending the exchange are currently in Years 9 to 12 and have been engaged in fundraising activities to help pay for projects while they are there. The exchange programme has been operating since 2007 and has completed a number of development projects in over 27 Schools and other medical and educational institutions. The projects have ranged from providing sewing machines for women empowerment training to the construction of 20 classrooms and 3 new pre-Schools. Our current project involves the creation of a new secondary School. This is due to the shortage of available School facilities available in Malawi helping to contribute to the fact that only 9% of children finish secondary School. As you can see from the images the site has been chosen and the construction is underway. It will be a remarkable achievement for AGS to have helped deliver such a facility. In the next edition of this magazine we hope to show you further progress and of course pictures of our students gaining fantastic experiences in Malawi for themselves. Mr M Corby

LGBTQ+ Society With the reopening of School clubs becoming possible since COVID, the LGBTQ+ Society began meeting once again every Friday to discuss a range of topics as well as just to have an open discussion with a side of cake. Over the course of this year, we, as a group, discussed LGBT history, performative bisexuality, the use of gender in clothing, alongside many other vital topics. This platform supporting each person’s unique experiences has been a marvel for us all and the growth in numbers is truly something that we are all very proud to witness, including the numbers of supportive allies now attending. As individuals, the club has allowed us to continually feel supported by having conversations with those who share

similar experiences to your own. Knowing that the club is a safe space for us all provides a huge comfort from which we have all been able to grow whilst always having a laugh. Accompanying this dialogue, we also had the delight of welcoming back OA, David Sheard (Paterson 2013), who gave an excellent presentation on LGBTQ+ life post AGS, deep diving into his own experience at School, university and now in the world of work. Welcoming questions with keen interest, David enlightened the group, allowing us to learn so much from his experiences - a moment to remember. Going forward there will undoubtedly be more guest speakers who can offer an insight into their own lives.

As a community, we are so thankful for the support from Ms Chalk and Mrs Richards who have helped in the running of the club as well as starting the collaboration with the LGBT group ‘Spectrum’ at Aylesbury High School. The club owes so much to you both and we all appreciate your work so much - thank you! Alex Comben - Paterson 13

Music

With the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions subsiding just enough for us to allow mixing of year groups at the start of the 2021-22 academic year it was about time to welcome back the sorely missed Music programme to AGS. It was always going to be a gradual rather than instant return to form as we had effectively missed two years worth of ensemble coaching and concert experience but as always our students rose to the occasion and momentum was gained throughout the year. In the Autumn term we combined forces with Aylesbury High School to put on a fantastically enjoyable Winter Concert, showcasing many of the previously mothballed ensembles and it was fabulous to see the talented performers from both Schools put on a great show for an eager audience of parents and friends of the Schools. Quietly rumbling along in the background from October onwards were the collective musical minds from our six Houses, determined to bring the flagship House Music competition back with the proverbial bang ready for the beginning of February 2022. It was decided to put the show on over two nights in order to maximise the availability for

the audience, with the second night being the adjudicated competition which for this year we welcomed OA James Wright (Ridley 2000). As with the previous term’s Winter Concert the performers of all ages were determined to put on a memorable show and they did not disappoint. After the first night performance had ironed out many of those inevitable nerves, dodgy guitar leads and missing music stands, those who were in attendance largely agreed that any one of four Houses could actually take home the trophy – it was that tight. And just 24 hours later it was the red ribbons of Phillips House being hastily attached to the magnificent House Music trophy, a well-fought and thoroughly deserved win. With the ringing of House Music still in the air preparations were already in full swing for the next and final large-scale extravaganza of the year, The Cabaret Night, held back in its usual slot on the Friday before the May Bank Holiday weekend. Bands and groups of all shapes and sizes, including some of the ‘best bits’ of the House Music competition took to the stage, providing our three hundred or so enthusiastic guests with around five hours of entertainment, confirming

(if we needed proof) that AGS Music was well and truly back! A huge well done and thank you to Mr Nathan, Director of Music for leading from the front in terms of encouraging all our students to get back into performing once again and of course to the many instrumental staff both at AGS and beyond who have emerged from the doom and gloom of the Covid-19 period to inspire them too. Mr G Dallas

2021 / 2022 Young Enterprise Report We have had an incredibly successful year for Young Enterprise, with three (very large) companies made up with over 50 students in Year 12, successfully participating in the programme. Each team worked hard

to create excellent product ideas that have the potential to succeed in the real world which included terrariums, rock and paint kits, recycled bags, candles, and vinyl clocks. I am incredibly proud of how well all team

members performed this year and how they adapted so well to the challenges of this experience, and I have really enjoyed sharing this opportunity with them. Ms K Chalk Young Enterprise Centre Lead

Nature Inside Managing Director Report Team Members: Brian Wickramasinghe, Connor Edwards-Keay, Dom Staines, Ed Stubbs, Jonny Sang, Sujatro Dubey, Theo Russell, Vincent Jansen Van Rensburg, Nick Beale, Josh Davidson, Peter Drotske, Luca Fairhurst, George Hamer, Olly Hunt, Alvin Jacob, Toby Lund, Finn McGuire, Aarya Poondy, Shivam Sharma. From the offset in September 2021, it was quickly apparent that Young Enterprise would be no easy endeavour. The first, and arguably the most prevalent challenge we faced, as perhaps you may have already guessed, was one with numbers. Numbers of people that is, though we would also have our fair share of challenges in our finances. Starting with 23 members, our company was one of the largest our School had seen. After learning what we needed to know about Young Enterprise and the various roles and responsibilities within a company we elected Theo Russel as our Managing Director, Ms Chalk pushed us to run meetings ourselves. I would like to take the opportunity to thank Connor, our Secretary, who took our minutes and made our agendas for every meeting diligently throughout the year. The company’s first “homework” was to develop two potential product ideas. Multiply 2 by 23 and you should, theoretically, be left with 46 product ideas. A sizable number of ideas should therefore be pretty good. In practice, we took 6 of them through to a shortlist. They included reading lights, fridge magnets, transparent epoxy products, terrariums and water bottles. A democratic vote led us to pursue epoxy as a main product and terrariums as a special product for

the upcoming Christmas markets. We landed, temporarily of course, on the name “EduPoxy” since our epoxy products were meant to come with an educational booklet with an environmentally themed product. This idea was rather flawed as while sustainable epoxy could be bought for higher prices with other limitations but we could never escape the irony of an environmentally themed product encased in what looks like a block of transparent plastic. Nevertheless, our Dragon’s Den pitch was successful in getting us an initial £60 investment. We began in-depth research into our two products, looking at potential competitors and where we could source our starting materials from and for how much. We collected used jars and glassware, and the first terrarium prototype soon emerged. Around this time, we settled on a rebranding of the company to “Nature Inside”. We believed the name better suited our company and was also less susceptible to mispronunciations. We also developed our mission statement: To reconnect people with nature to increase health and happiness. Meanwhile, due to a series of challenges of making an epoxy prototype and figuring out what to put in it we had not produced a prototype by the Aylesbury market. Nevertheless, we went into the

Aylesbury market with a sizable stock of small, medium and large terrariums which all sold out, giving us confidence in the product and the months to come. We eventually ditched the epoxy product in favour of the tried and tested terrariums. Following a successful Meet the Buyer event where we won best follow up email and best pitch over a zoom meeting we looked into new and innovative ways we could improve and develop our product. These included possibilities of terrariums themed for Mother’s day, Valentine’s day, marketing a new line of fragrant terrariums with sweet smelling plants and looking into a greater variety of exotic flowers and plants. Ultimately these would remain as ideas of where we could take the company if we were to continue it, however they were certainly useful to bring up when asked about the future of the company and during presentations. Looking into the final months and weeks of the business, it was clear that the running of the enterprise had not quite been what we had expected. Some slightly questionable finances left us each with a fraction above our initial investments, despite our healthy profit margins. However, it could have certainly gone much worse and at least we didn’t lose money.

The final company showcase event, hosted in the spacious atrium of Aylesbury Vale Academy was certainly the highlight of some people’s experiences with the company. To see everything come together at the last moment made me feel as if the past year had not been a complete waste of time and we had, after all, actually accomplished something. Finally we owe much of our, albeit limited, success to the wonderful biology technicians who tolerated us using their greenhouse and very generously allowed us to use many of their plants in our terrariums. To Vincent, our Operations Director, who probably worked at least twice as hard as anyone else to manage our production and also attended biweekly markets to sell our products. To Theo, who I took the role of Managing Director from in spring, Theo got the company up and running in the first few weeks and months and made significant contributions in both Dragons Den events, finding our initial contacts and kickstarting production. To everyone who actually worked in the company, especially Dom, Peter, Connor, Jonny and Sujatro. You know who you are, thank you for all your time in meetings and production meetings, while it may have felt rather hopeless at times, we couldn’t have done it without you. To Kerry, our Retrospect – Managing Director Review Young Enterprise has been an unforgettable learning experience and I would highly recommend it to anyone considering it. As Managing Director throughout the whole 8 or so months, I have seen our company grow and evolve and I've seen the

Business Advisor who made a helpful presence in our meetings, pointed out things we might’ve skipped over or ideas we hadn’t thought of. Finally, to Ms Chalk who had to put up with us for the whole year, sometimes dragging us through tasks and deadlines and having very serious talks with us when we were not performing as well as we could be on countless occasions. Thank you very much for everything you did for us.

Thank you also, for reading this far, this has been the story of Nature Inside.

same changes take place in those in our team. Literally. It is not a poor analogy for a company that started off wanting to sell plant kits to massmanufacturing candles in our kitchens, to finally settling on vinyl clocks. If we had replayed our first ever meeting you would not believe that it would be some of those quieter and more timid members that would then go on to

present, or pitch, or sell to strangers. For a group who had just come out of Covid, two years of limited social interaction meant that Young Enterprise gave us the fantastic opportunity to develop those ever-so crucial teamwork skills. Managing a group of 18 people was not easy, but it was without a doubt rewarding.

Company Awards: Dragon’s Den Pitch: £60 Meet the Buyer Best follow-up email Meet the Buyer - Best Pitch Professionalism award Participation award James O’Keeffe - Hampden 12

When I look back at the experience, from when we secured maximum investment at a "Dragon's Den" pitch, to the stress that we worked under getting ready for the Christmas Market at the last minute due to poor organisation, through the highs and the lows I think we all gained and learned something new. Aside from the great insight into the running of a business it provided, I'm not sure from where else I would have developed those softer skills had I not taken part. The time and project management, the ability to resolve challenging conflicts and disputes, delegation - all of these will bode well for me and for the whole of Retrospect. Despite a challenging 8 months, Retrospect

2021 / 2022 did end the year with £760 in the bank and the "Best Presentation" in Aylesbury Vale trophy to their name, and that put an end to our company’s campaign on a high note. We would all like to thank Ms Chalk for organising this experience, it wouldn't have been possible without her and Retrospect did not make it easy for her in the slightest. Although we are of course already immensely grateful, I’m sure it will only be a few years down the line when we recognise the true benefit we all gained from taking part in something like this. Abshly Shaji - Denson 12 (Co-Managing Director) Our first event as a Young Enterprise group was Dragons Den. This was a product pitch asking for investment from local business owners. To prepare ourselves, we had to be clear on not just what our product was, but also what it meant. We created a team of our best speakers and some of the design leaders for our products who knew our brand inside out.

Our team was very successful, as we had prepared fully and planned out how the meeting might go, a skill we would need to take forward to greater challenges in our journey. Thanks to the hard work of our team members, we managed to secure the maximum investment, setting us on a solid foundation to continue our journey. The next event was the Christmas Fair, where we were selling ecofriendly homemade candles, as we had not settled on a final product yet but we were sure that this was a good option to gain extra funding for our more ambitious projects. It was a very successful day, with our team splitting into groups, some who were waiting at the stall to encourage customers to come over and talk about our product, and some who walked around the market making sales to anyone who hadn’t yet discovered our stall. This method allowed us to fully exploit the numbers we had on hand to make the most sales, and we sold out our candles by the end of the day, making it our most successful sales day throughout the entire process.

The next event was Meet the Buyer, where a mock sales deal was negotiated with local businesses. Again, good preparation and knowledge of the product, especially the price points, were essential. Even though our team experienced setbacks and difficulties during the presentation, we went on to receive positive feedback from all involved, and we used the criticisms to better ourselves in preparation for our biggest event. It was time for the final assessment. This day consisted of interviews with a panel of professional judges, the creation of a spectacular stall, and a presentation to everyone involved in Young Enterprise in our region. It was a fun day for all, as we got to see the brand we had worked so hard on go out in a spectacular way, and it was made ten times better by our excellent presentation team, who secured us the best presentation in the region, bringing Young Enterprise to a nice close. Harry Blackman - Paterson 12 (Co-Managing Director)

Rocking Around – Managing Director Report Managing Directors: Artyno Martire-Charlett, Liam Ellis Florez Social Media Director: Krishan Mistry Admin Director: Tommy Healy Finance Directors: Shreeharsh Rao, Dilraj Shergill Marketing Directors: Zachary Cooke, Robert Brettell CSR Director: Kamau Kamau Operations Directors: Ashwarth Gandluri, John Ajayi Starting early into October, we commenced with Young Enterprise - given that we were a group with little-to-no experience with business whatsoever, we knew that we had a lot to learn. Learning in our experience consisted of not only getting to know the operations and functions a business performs, but also how to communicate with others

in a professional manner. Each and every one of us had an inner drive to succeed: we pooled together our own knowledge, expertise and passion to eventually create a brand and product we were proud to say was ours. However, it took resilience and motivation to reach that point - let us recap our own Young Enterprise journey. After company-wide deliberation on what we should stand for as a company, we settled on focussing on an environmentally aware product, which would be progressive in nature, catering to a wide target audience thus, Worn and Reborn was born! By

using upcycled clothes, sourced from team members as well as donations from teachers, we used a Youtube method to turn the said clothes into tote bags. Our idea was to capitalise on progressive and environmentally based fashion - furthermore, given that the upcycling of old clothes was novel in the fashion industry, we truly thought it would be successful. Unfortunately, due to a poor production process, further hampered by disillusion, we were relatively unsuccessful in the Aylesbury market in December. Failure is the stepping-stone to success - this was certainly true in

our case. Failure let us realise that the business world is rarely smooth sailing; rather, failure was a necessary component in the development of our company, especially in realising the values we stood for. This led us to rebrand, transitioning into a new company - Rocking Around! We would make Rock and Paint kits containing various accessories, so customers could create their own ‘Rocky’ - a faithful friend, unique to the maker. Our goal was to improve mental

wellbeing in post-COVID society, while still abiding to our previous environmental aims by sourcing from eco-friendly stores. While we were unable to receive large-scale commercial success, we finished our Young Enterprise career with a sense of satisfaction - we were all proud of our creation, and happy to end our career on a good note.

Chess Club

Our next stop in the tournament was in the semi-final match against Reading School as our quarterfinal opponents withdrew from the tournament so we were awarded a bye. Unfortunately, the match coincided with the Year 13 mock exam week and many of our stronger team members were unable to attend the match - a huge blow as our opponents were the same opponents who beat us 6-0 the last time we played them. Despite this, we turned up expecting a hard match but fully believing that we could come out as victors. We played well but a silly mistake from myself and our other top boards, as well as a large rating disparity between our lower boards meant that we ultimately lost the same way we did the last time we played Reading with a 6-0 loss. Although we were now out of the tournament, a huge thank you needs to be given to the team members (consisting of Sean Morrel Pa13, Hamza Hussain Ph13, Huned Mamajiwala Pa13, Yuv Saxena Ha11) who gave up their evenings and Friday lunchtimes to give us our success.

Chess this year has been a fantastic and entertaining method in which to alleviate the stress and pressure in my final year at AGS. Our first outing was at Haberdashers’ Aske's School for Boys where we took part in the preliminaries for the National Schools’ Chess Championship, as we do every year, and faced 3 teams. Each match has 6 games where a win in a game counts for 1 point, a draw a half point, and a loss 0 points. All 6 game results are added up and the winner of the match receives 1 point in the tournament, and if both teams draw then they receive a half point each. We won our first two matches with relative ease, scoring 2 points towards the tournament. In our final match, we faced a strong opponent and our first 3 games ended with us on the losing side, however our top 3 boards managed to eke out victories meaning we finished the tournament on 2 and a half points out of 3 which qualified us for the next round and meant that we were the highest scoring team at the tournament.

but primarily by the experiences we’ve had and the business knowledge we’ve gained - we learned how to act cohesively and autonomously by improving our own communication skills. We’ve learned how to deal with finances, the production process, marketing to name but a few. Success was something we achieved in this regard. We must emphasise the crucial role that our Centre Lead, Ms Chalk, played in motivating and pushing our team to work at the best of our abilities whenever faced with an obstacle - her shrewdness really let us shine as a team. Also, we will dedicate our success to our Business Adviser Sally Courtney - her experience working in the real-time industry helped alleviate our own business prospects, providing us with doors to further information within the business world. Thanks for working with us! Awards: Aylesbury Vale Finals: Best Interview Liam Ellis Florez – Phillips 12 Artyno Martire-Charlett – Lee 12

We feel that it is necessary to define success not only by monetary gain,

In our final term, Mr Goodchild helped to host the School stage

of the Delancey UK School Chess Challenge which was intended to allow the players who entered to play everyone else in a 7-week round robin and the higher scoring players would then be eligible to play in the quarter-final round of the UK Chess Championships. Even though not many people chose to participate further in the event, it was useful in giving our more inexperienced players tournament experience - something which will be of great benefit to them when playing for the School team in later years. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time at AGS, and the Chess Club has never failed to brighten my day and put the icing on the cake at the end of the week. I would like to thank Mr Goodchild for all the hard work he has put into maintaining and running the Chess Club over the years and wish Mr Chappell the best of luck in taking over from Mr Goodchild in assisting our chess players to become the best that they can be and a final massive thank you to all the players who turned up each week - Chess Club wouldn’t be the same without you! Gabriel Gullidge – Hampden 13

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wider variety of dishes than we would have done otherwise. We honed many of our cooking skills, such as frying, steaming, baking and lots of chopping.

Much to my family’s delight, I joined Cookery Club in the Summer term. We prepared and cooked many delicious dishes, such as fish pie, tomato tart, katsu curry, gyoza, galaktoboureko (a Greek custard tart), strawberry roulade and chicken and mango traybake in a relaxed yet productive environment. Mrs Wilkinson offered us some choices each week, encouraging us to cook a

Every week we got a demonstration of how to prepare the critical elements of the dish, and then we were set loose to make it ourselves, although help was never far away. The gyoza were by far mine and my family’s favourite dish of the term, and most didn’t even make it home before they were eaten by a careful of cricketers with voracious appetites. The atmosphere in the kitchen was lively, but you

could always tell that everyone was concentrating hard on their dishes and enjoying themselves. Thank you so much to all the teachers in the Food and Nutrition Department for making this club possible, but especially Mrs Wilkinson, who led the sessions each week. I am sure that everyone who signed up would agree that it was a fun and amazing opportunity, and we are all looking forward to next term. William Johnson – Paterson 10

Healthy Eating Week We had a Healthy Eat Week between the 13th and 17th June 2022 to encourage people to eat 5 portions of fruit and veg a day, to stay hydrated and to encourage people to eat the right amounts of fibre. There were lots of posters and information around the School about everything that was going on. On the Tuesday and Thursday there were healthy ice lollies on sale to make sure that people get their five a day (Tuesday) and stay hydrated (Thursday).

Everything was made from pure fruit and all ice lolly profits went to charity. In the end we donated £76 to Denson’s House charity (KIDS). With the help from the Food and Nutrition team, Mr Walker and Mrs Burnett, we had a good week and spread the word of the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle amongst students and staff. Oscar Rose – Denson 7

Eco-Team Gardening Group In early October 2021, we made our herb garden in the vegetable plot by recycling the old art sinks and we harvested potatoes, Swiss chard, and yellow courgettes which Mr Warner used to make delicious meals for the School canteen. Over the months, we had numerous weeding sessions in the flower garden, and we dug the ground in the vegetable plot ready for planting with the valuable support from the Year 8s, 10s and 12s.

We had harvested a vast amount of rhubarb and mint - Mrs Levitt and Mrs Giles surprised us with a selection of homemade rhubarb muffins and mint chocolate chip cookies that were very appetising! In the greenhouse, we had sown many seeds including spinach, beetroot, and coriander ready to be harvested later this year. We also handpicked strawberries from the flower garden to eat ourselves and

planted new raspberry canes, beans, cucumber, pumpkin, and sweet peas. Using our creativity and artistic skills, we decorated plant pots as gifts for the exam invigilators. The idyllic view of the towering, colourful poppies, and dianthuses in the flower garden and after all our hard work, we rested on outdoor lounge chairs admiring the sunshine knowing it has been a successful year for the Gardening group! Harishan Sivakanthan - Phillips 10

YES! (Young Economic Summit)

This year, we were lucky enough to be one of the teams participating in the annual Young Economic Summit competition. This international competition, held in Germany, allows young people to put forth their ideas on solving some of today's most pressing issues. This year, the organisers decided to hold the competition online as a result of the pandemic, so whilst we were unable to go to Germany in person, we were welcomed online by a complete studio setup, live-streamed across the world and hosted by David Patrician, a professional German-American television presenter. It was clear that a lot of effort had been put into this event from the YES! team, the competing Schools and the mentors alike, resulting in a rewarding and mentally stimulating competition. The prompt we were given back in February 2021 read “How can a government best ensure that every child is fed?”, which we worked on for several weeks, developing our idea together. For this, we spent quite a few lunchtimes and hours after School growing our idea, not only researching, but reaching out to experts for advice. After talking with a member of a local Trussell Trust Food Bank in Aylesbury and seeing how poignantly our issue affects the local community, we came up with the idea

of a Universal Basic Income, or UBI. To bring our idea together, we were asked to submit a short video clip explaining our idea in detail. We worked tirelessly to make this as detailed, informative and understandable as possible, submitting it to Discover Economics after a few weeks. It wasn’t until a while later, as we were having lunch one afternoon, that we received the all-important email: we were through to the finals. The prospect of being one of the first UK teams to take part in such a prestigious competition was both exciting and nerve-wracking. Once we had got past the initial thrill however, we had to get to work on actually preparing for September. Our first meeting organised by the YES! competition took place in July, just as we were heading off for the summer holidays, which we would end up using to its full advantage to prepare. If the national round was a difficult hill to summit, the final was our Everest. We met again with professionals who were more than willing to share their experience and were lucky enough to receive mentoring from expert economists in the field. At the finals, we had to present our solution for 10 minutes, so

a lot of planning was required to create not only a professional and understandable presentation, but also a clear and informative speech to run alongside. We worked tirelessly to build compelling financial models, to estimate the effects our approach would have on public finances and the wider economy. We also read through a multitude of research papers around the idea, in order to be fully prepared for whatever the competition may have thrown at us. Of course, our idea didn’t work perfectly on the first try. At various points, we tried ideas that were unsustainable, or could end up leaving people in a worse off situation. But we never even thought of giving up. We kept on at it, working late into the evenings to refine our idea into one which was both financially feasible and theoretically sound. We were quite rightly nervous when the first morning of the three-day competition rolled around. Even though the excitement of a potential trip to Hamburg was long gone, the determination to do our best remained unextinguished. We listened diligently to everything the other groups had to say with our best attentiveness, asked our best questions, and spent our free time preparing to give the best possible presentation on Day 3. Finally our time came. Everything we had prepared in the last seven months was leading up to this proposal: our 10 minutes of fame. Our presentation, which we had persistently rehearsed, went without a hitch, as we put our best, most knowledgeable, most confident selves into the limelight of the Zoom presentation screen. After presenting, we were grilled not only by other participating teams, but also economists from the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the University of Essex. We took this in our stride and handled everything poised to respond. In the final judging, despite not coming first overall, we were pleased to be at the top of at least one individual team’s ranking, which definitely gave us some personal satisfaction. The rest, however, came from having had the opportunity to come this far, the persistence to work on our idea for many months, and the confidence to talk about our ideas to people we had never met before. If you were to ask any of us, the skills we developed through the YES! competition will

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stay with us throughout our lives, long beyond the scope of the competition. It was tremendous fun preparing for, and attending the finals of, the Summit, on both an academic and personal level. We would very strongly recommend the YES! competition to any student who wants a chance to develop and work on a project with experts, whilst still working in a team and acquiring new skills, all wrapped up in an unforgettable all-round experience. Fahd Al-Kheralla – Ridley 13 Bill Duling – Denson 13 Sam Ezeh – Phillips 13 Huned Mamajiwala – Paterson 13

Year 7 Survival

know anyone here and everything looked intimidating. When I met my classmates, even they looked a little bit intimidating.

My name is Nevin Korala and I am in Hampden 7. Coming to and surviving at AGS was a big challenge but I had a lot of help on the way.

However as I went through those three days, I realised that it wasn’t so bad. And so on the final day of Summer Camp, I walked out of the gates feeling confident and happy while having a few friends to see again at the start of the School year.

Going to the School's Summer Camp back in August had a really good effect on me as it really helped me settle in at AGS. Having the amazing opportunity to come to AGS to get to know my classmates and teachers was great. When I first walked through the gates, I felt really nervous. I didn’t

Sport and extra-curricular activities at AGS really gave me the opportunity to make friends outside my classroom and interact with people from higher up the School. I got involved with

different clubs such as Science Club and cricket training throughout the year. With these clubs I made even more friends that could help as well at my time in AGS. And with sports in particular I started to represent School in different sport matches which was really enjoyable, testing my skills against students from other local Schools. So overall I had the best time in Year 7 with great opportunities and I feel great about moving up to Year 8 in September. Nevin Korala – Hampden 7

SCHOOL VISITS

Geography – Year 8 visit to the Olympic Park

The Y8 students were heading to the Olympic Park and Stratford in London in order to complete their investigation comparing the difference between the built environment in Aylesbury and East London. The students had already prepared their data collection sheets and had collected samples in Aylesbury and were ready to experience geography fieldwork in a rapidly changing part of London. We started our visit in Fish Island, which although famous

as an artist’s enclave was rapidly being gentrified and redeveloped. This provided a lively site to start their studies. The students then visited the Carpenters Estate, which has been a site of controversy since the Olympics as many of the residents and businesses were forced to leave. We then visited the contrasting parts of Stratford, the old centre and the new Westfield site.

The students then took in the Olympic Park and saw how it had changed since 2012. Just before the end of the day our boys had a race to the Olympic rings only to find Lord Sebastian Coe and Denise Lewis OBE, completing TV interviews. Obviously, we invited them to be in our group photograph and they willingly obliged. High 5s all round! Lord Coe tweeted the photo later and said a shout out to AGS.

French - Year 10 & 12 visit to Waddesdon Manor Although it was only March, the French trip started well with warm weather and clear skies as Year 10s and 12s clambered onto the coach. Because of Covid, the highly anticipated trip to France had been swapped for a slightly less exotic visit to Waddesdon Manor. This thought however was soon forgotten as after a short journey, we reached the hugely impressive French-style château.

We began by being led on a Frenchlanguage guided tour of the house, which after the obvious looks of confusion on some faces, quickly dissolved into English. Despite this, it was very informative and gave an idea of how French design was used by the Rothschild family, who built and lived in the manor. Afterwards, we moved on to take a closer look at some of

the books in the collection with the curator. This certainly challenged us but in the end we did manage to decipher some interesting information about the very important books the Rothschilds collected. To ensure we did actually do some French during the day, Mr Crapper had organised a mock auction, selling off some of the manor’s collection

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we had previously seen. This meant we split into groups and assigned an object of which to write a description (in French) in order to persuade others to bid for it. Doing this was definitely good practice for our French although some groups did seem to lean towards Google Translate… It was then time for lunch so we all staggered out into the sunshine and sprawled across the huge front lawn. After (accidentally) ruining some tourists’ photos and feeding the gulls a large quantity of sugar, we left and went to the “auction house”. Each group was given €2500 of toy money and instructed to buy as much as they could. After some tentative bidding to begin with, people soon gained enthusiasm and the room descended into cries of “deux milles cinq cents” as groups desperately bid all of their money, hoping to win a lot. The auction was a great way to finish off our day and after several boys realised that the School canteen is really not that expensive compared to Waddesdon Manor’s cafe, we

got back on the coach and returned home. Thank you very much to Mr Crapper, Mrs Brown and Mrs Keeping for leading the trip, as well as Mrs

Jackson, who although was absent due to Covid, instigated the idea. Dominic Beattie – Hampden 10

Geography – Year 10 visit to the Lake District The Year 10s were completing their fieldwork for their GCSEs. It took the form of a visit to Birmingham where the students investigated the quality of life in areas that had been redeveloped compared to areas that had not. There were certainly clear contrasts and the new HS2 developed provided an interesting conclusion. The students then headed for the Lakes. There they stayed in Wordworth’s Grasmere which is a perfect base for studying the impacts of tourism. There they independently obtained data to assess the potential impacts on people and the environment. The next day the students climbed up to Easedale Tarn to assess the impact of tourists on footpaths and to observe the glacial features that were clear. It was great to see things they have studied in front of them. They completed an investigation of glacial deposits and the next day a study of changing river characteristics.

They clearly learnt a lot judging by their presentations. Although a visit to the Grasmere Gingerbread shop was clearly the best reason to visit!

Year 7 Residential We were delighted, three years since the previous trip due to the pandemic, to run the Year 7 Residential again this June. The organisation wasn’t plain sailing however when, with over 170 students booked and paid for, the company providing the trip contacted us to say they couldn’t accommodate us at our booked location in Cheshire. This was due to the site having been closed for two years and the amount of work required to get it ready for camp. Luckily, they were able to fit us in closer to home, but this required us to split the trip in two. My first thanks go to the students and parents for being so accommodating to this required change. On Monday 6th June, Denson, Hampden and Lee set off on their journey to Blenheim Woods and without phones to occupy them there was lots of excited chatting and singing on the coaches. After just over an hour, they had arrived, and it was time to make their way to camp. On Wednesday 8th June it was time to swap and Paterson, Phillips and Ridley to take their turn for the two nights away, and we passed each other at the drop off/pick up point. The second trip with excited anticipation and the first trip suitably muddy and tired with lots of stories to share. I asked Year 7 to share their experience of the trips and here are some of the highlights: “Our Year 7 classes at AGS were incredibly lucky to be the first class, after a few years of COVID, to go on a Year 7 Residential. This was an exciting camping experience which gave us all the feel of what it feels

like to be one with nature and the wilderness. It certainly was something new to me. We gained many useful life skills, such as making fires, learning how to survive with essentials but most importantly, we had lots of fun. The staff were welcoming, and we had our wonderful teachers to help us enjoy the trip. It was not only the essential skills that we mastered but we also played a lot of games as well. One of the best ones was called camouflage and conceal where we would have to get as close to the seeker as possible while hiding while the seeker is looking and running while he/she was counting. This trip was fantastic, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Overall, this residential gave us an opportunity to bond with our classmates outside of School and get to know them more.” Chris Thomas - Hampden 7 “My favourite part was when we made burgers on a fire. We also watched one of our instructors dissect a salmon so then he could cook it over a fire and let us eat it. Two students also ate the eyeballs! We also did Tribe’s Got Talent shortly before we went to tent time. On day three we used knives to make tent pegs and did the Tribe games. The last part of the Tribe games was when we had to eat buffalo worms. We had lots of fun on the residential and I’m sure a lot of us would like to go again.” Alex Ansah - Ridley 7 “I found the Year 7 Residential very fun. All of the activities were very engaging and the camp leaders were very helpful and kind. It was great fun

sleeping in tents, waking up and doing activities and the food was great. I really enjoyed all of the things we did. My favourite part of the residential as a whole was when we made shelters using a number of materials like tarp, paracord and we even tied it to some tree trunks. It was very fun and some of us even slept in them. Overall, it was a great experience and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who has the opportunity to go there.” Aarav Biyani – Paterson 7 “The Year 7 Residential was a very enjoyable experience as we got to do many activities such as tent making, creating a campfire and cooking burgers. We learnt how to perform first aid on our peers in a forest condition, and once we were able to successfully perform the first aid method, we had a hands-on experience, where we had to use our first aid techniques to save the tribe leaders and teachers from a plane crash. We had a lot of fun doing this whilst learning something that may come in handy in a tight situation. Another highlight that we had was when we had a tribe's talent show where we could perform anything within a 10 minute period. We had a lot of fun watching the shows. And even at one point a tribe sang a very amusing song to all of us and to be honest it was the funniest thing I have seen on the trip. Overall the Year 7 Residential bushcraft was great. They fed us adequately with delicious food and we had many fun activities. We sat at the campfire and told scary stories and we also had many riddles that got me thinking the whole day. It was a memorable experience.”

2021 / 2022 Shauri Prasad – Hampden 7 The Year 7 Residential would not have been possible without the support and commitment of the staff team who volunteered to accompany the trips and I would like to say a huge thank you to them all: Mr Singh, Mr

Dimelow, Mr Holmes, Mr Chappell, Mr Taylor, Mr Deeley, Mr Roberts, Dr Finn, Mr Dudmish, and Miss McLaren and Miss Brooks who went for the full 5 days.

made, we are already looking forward to next year as we have booked again for our new Year 7 cohort! Mrs K Blunt

With the Year 7 Residential over for another year and lots of memories

English – Year 12/13 visit to Brighton the ravages of time (and Premier Inn) denied us that joy. Instead, after a visit to the “World Famous Brighton Rock Shop”, we moved along through Brighton to many highlights from Greene’s classic novel; the dance hall (closed), the old police station (moved) and what could have inspired Frank’s (now remodelled). Safe to say, Brighton has changed somewhat since Greene’s time, and yet his favourite pub (which now dedicates a room to him) still looks every inch the 1920s den of iniquity (though it is still a very reputable establishment, I’m sure).

Our Day Trip to ‘Greene Land.’ It was already becoming uncomfortably hot while we were waiting for our minibus, and it did not improve. The minibus had practically melted when we arrived in Brighton, and though the heat was thoroughly stifling there was still an electric excitement in all of us at the sight of the ocean. We started at what was once the inspiration for the Cosmopolitan, but

We worked our way through Brighton, trying our best to imagine what it might have been like in the 1920s, until we came to the waterfront, and to the famous Brighton Pier. Sadly the water was not, in fact, “dark, poisonbottle green” but the pier and the sea were otherwise beautiful, and the ample shade was a welcome addition to the day. Having walked the length of the pier and back, we split up for lunch and reconvened to enter the underside of the pier, before walking down along the seafront. The sea breeze was lovely, though the heat was still brutal, and we were glad to see at the other end of the walk that the minibus was still standing.

From Brighton we drove out to Peacehaven and stood at the edge of the cliffs where Pinkie had his little tumble, and decided we’d rather go home than try it out for ourselves. The ride home was baking hot again, but we were all too tired to care from marching around Brighton. Thank you very much to Mrs Sampson and Mr Skinner for guiding us so well around Brighton, and to Mr Digby for driving us there and back again. Daniel Compton – Denson 12

Year 12/13 visit to Parliament This School year, the politics students in Sixth form were handed the opportunity to visit Parliament. It was an early start in London, with the sun blazing over Westminster, starting in Westminster Square, looking at the various statues of significant figures in British politics throughout history, including Winston Churchill, Benjamin Disraeli and Sir Robert Peel. Firstly, we explored the British Supreme Court, reading up on its history and taking in the intricate decoration, including being given free reign of one of the court rooms - probably not the greatest idea. Following this, we went into the

Parliament building, getting a tour around the buildings before being allowed to sit in the viewing deck of the Commons, watching Dominic Raab answer to Parliament - spotting the MP for Aylesbury, Rob Butler. The debate was on the topic of the current climate of the economy and the situation in Ukraine Moving on, we then spectated the House of Lords actively debating a bill. We even managed to speak briefly to a Baron outside of the chamber afterwards. It was a surreal experience watching the debate take place live, seeing the chambers in the flesh and being lucky enough to spectate debates.

Year 8 visit to Burgundy

This year, 40 of us were lucky enough to go on a five-day trip to Lac Sauvin in Burgundy. We stayed at Maison Claire Fontaine, as previous year groups had. We set off at 5.30am, when everyone else was still sleeping, and started the long coach journey. When we finally arrived at around 6:30pm, we were briefed about all the exciting things we had in store, settled into our dorms, ate dinner and went to bed anticipating the fabulous days ahead.

After we engaged in fiercely contested 2-team quiz on British politics, followed by a debate on the subject of legalisation of marijuana in the UK whilst we waited to speak and ask questions to the aforementioned Rob Butler, the member of Parliament representing our constituency. Many intellectual questions were asked, many topic areas covered, met by satisfying replies. It was a fantastic trip on a lovely day, that was not only informative, but very much enjoyable - for politics students, anyway. A big thank you should be given to the organising team as well as Ms Treherne and Mr Goodchild for their time and effort on the day. Tom Foley – Ridley 12

The next morning, we had a French lesson, planning our visit to the market the following day. Then, we made Tartouillat, a delicious French apple cake, before finishing the afternoon learning some circus skills in the Big Top. In the evening, we played French bingo then some of us couldn’t resist watching the Champions League Final, resourcefully streamed from someone’s phone to the TV. On Sunday morning, we went to Chablis market to practise our French and buy our lunch. We were split into groups and given a €40 budget. After shopping for olives, cheese and meats, we went back to Lac Sauvin and concocted and presented our lunch. In the afternoon, we had another French lesson, where we learnt about Vézelay (the town we would be visiting on Monday) and all of its fascinating history. We also played French games, which included pétanque. Today’s dinner was a bit different, however, as we all got to try escargots which elicited many mixed responses! After dinner, we went on a hike in the evening sun around Lac Sauvin and saw a huge stag beetle. On Monday, we visited the ancient town of Vézelay, where we were split up into groups and interviewed local people as well as tourists and completed a scavenger hunt about the town. Then, we went inside the abbey, which contains a rib of Marie Madeleine. After a picnic lunch, for

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our final activity, we went kayaking on the river Cure where many spiders were lurking in the trees on the banks. To round off the trip, we went to a restaurant for dinner, followed by prize giving, where some of us were given the ambassador award for getting most involved in the trip. Sadly, our stay was drawing to an end and another long coach journey loomed. We said our thanks to the staff at Maison Claire Fontaine and headed home, after a really fun and educational trip. Thank you so much to our teachers, Mrs Jackson, Mr Sloan, Mr Taylor and Mr Travers for taking us, and especially Mr Crapper for organising it and putting in all the hard work. To anyone thinking about signing up, I would seriously recommend it. Edward Johnson – Paterson 8

Geography – Year 12 Southampton & Barton-on-Sea In Year 12 students are able to choose their own fieldwork investigations. This meant we have quite a logistical challenge to enable all the students to complete their studies in teams. The students spent half their time

completing studies in Southampton collecting data on topics such as urban microclimates and social deprivation. They then completed coastal fieldwork along Christchurch Bay assessing physical processes and coastal management.

Working in teams helped ensure they collected good data and ensured they learnt about different kinds of data collection. Mr M Corby

Geography – Year 7 visit to Southend-on-Sea The students were heading to Southend-on-Sea in order to complete an investigation about the sustainability of the coastal management that is present and how tourism is managed at Southend. The students had already prepared their data collection sheets and were ready for their first experience of geography fieldwork. They were able to take measurements at the beaches and collect scores for the coastal management present. The students were great at asking questionnaires and few tourists escaped Southend without being questioned! A lunchtime break provided the students with an opportunity to enjoy an ice cream and chips, ideal for a seaside trip.

Year 8 visit to Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre On the 11th and 13th January 2022, the Year 8 classes of AGS had the privilege of visiting Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London. Paterson, Phillips, and Ridley visited the Globe Theatre on the 11th January, while Denson, Hampden, and Lee visited on the 13th. The day was split into a tour around the outside streets near the Globe, a guided walk through the inside of the theatre, and a workshopdrama activity. The journey started at around 10 minutes to 9. The coach ride was quite long, but we were allowed to bring our own games, as well as using our mobile phones. When we had arrived in London, we had immediately began to notice the surreal urban landscape and the famous landmarks such as the Shard. For Hampden and half of Lee, the first part of the day was a tour around the streets of the Globe Theatre. Our tour guide, Ali, led us down Bankside (along the south of the River Thames). This was where we were able to witness the Globe Theatre from the outside. It was made of oakwood and had a thatched roof made from Norfolk reeds. As we encircled the Theatre, our tour guide shared the history of the Globe Theatre with us and explained the popular entertainments of Shakespeare’s time. The next activity was the walk through the theatre. Our new guide was an interesting actor named Scott. This

was a tremendous experience. The theatre was divided into five audience sections: the ground facing the stage directly, the seating area along the base of the circular dome, the middle and top seating areas along the dome, and the balcony right behind the stage. It was a theatre without a roof and used natural lighting to its advantage. We could see how the decorations and view from each section reflected on their value and price.

The last activity was the drama workshop. Our guide, Scott, brought us to a part of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre where we then did our workshop. It was fun, energetic, and showed us how Shakespeare’s language and plays could be interpreted. We took part in various exercises and played out parts of the script of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Scott’s humour and liveliness enticed us during this final venture.

Although it would be impractical to watch the play, the corner seating areas on the middle section and the balcony behind the stage were the most expensive. This was not because of their view of the play, but because the rest of the audience could see them and their importance. The theatre as a whole was immensely decorated. There were statues, pillars, and paintings; the set however was the most embellished. It had a tiring house for the actors to come in and out of the stage, balconies, doors, and many pillars. The ceiling of the stage was painted with images of gods, the zodiac, and a trapdoor representing a door from Heaven. The floor of the stage was raised and also had a trapdoor representing the Underworld. During this experience, we were invited to speak a line from one of Shakespeare’s plays on the stage itself!

Following our visit to Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, we had lunch between the Millennium Bridge and Bankside Beach. We ate delightedly, watching the ripples of the river Thames and listening to the tunes of a nearby busker. To end our day in London, we made a quick walk over half the Millennium Bridge and back, before going to the gift shop in Shakespeare’s Globe for a generous amount of time. After we gave our thanks and said our goodbyes, we headed back to the coach. On our journey back, we gave ourselves a quick sightseeing tour through London. We pointed out the London Eye, Westminster Abbey, and the newly refurbished Big Ben. We arrived back at School at about 10 minutes past 5. This trip was wondrous and fascinating, and I would most certainly recommend it to anyone in the future. Prithvi Menon - Hampden 8

2021 / 2022 Year 12 visit to the National Maritime Museum The destination for Year 12's History trip was to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London. On a substantial site of 200 acres, there are over 2 million collected items to look at, originating from all over the world and from different time periods. It was fascinating seeing artefacts dating centuries back, including a library with upwards of 100,000 books, extraordinary paintings, humongous

boat parts, and even Horatio Nelson's outfit from the Battle of Trafalgar - with the infamous bullet hole in his jacket. On top of our freedom to roam the museum, we had multiple lectures learning about the timeline and span of the British Empire, in some being allowed to touch replicas of raw materials traded by British colonies and items such as an engraved

opium pipe, and the specie (physical currency) of the time. Overall, it was an enchanting trip to London, discovering new information and seeing compelling objects in the flesh. A large mention of thanks should go to the History Department staff for arranging this visit. Tom Foley – Ridley 12

DEVELOPMENT

School Development and Alumni Relations The work of the School Development Office continues with earnest. Charlotte Hart, our Marketing Assistant, joined us in May 2021 for one day a week in the School Development Office and quickly made her mark supporting the Development Director with executing the revised and updated Aylesbury Grammar School branding and creating templates for the entire staff here to use going forward. Alongside this, our Social Media presence increased through extending the opportunities to stay connected and to keep up to date. Increased resource and energy was put behind our social media communications and already we are reaping the benefits of sharing and celebrating and in essence, changing the narrative to reflect the School we are today. FUNDRAISING Fundraising continues to be an absolute priority and we continue to focus our efforts on the engagement of the wider AGS community including our growing network of Old Aylesburians, parents, students and friends of the School, together with our communications strategy including reputation management and social media activity. We remain committed to raising funds through our Annual Fund (the Aylesburian Annual Fund) and took the opportunity to remind our parents of the need for their support if they can. As explained in one of the many presentations to parents, we wish we did not have to ask for support, and as a state School, the burden of funding does not fall on the shoulders of our community, but any support, at any level, does have an impact and is very much needed. The value of education and strength of character required of the next generation has never been greater. With an evolving social and cultural landscape, young men have never been more challenged when finding their place in the world. We are a hugely ambitious School, not only for our current students and staff, but also past and future students.

This is reflected in our academic achievements but more so in the quality of students who walk out of our doors at the end of their education with us. The struggle to know how to behave in society and questions around sense of identity brings into sharp focus the value of education and we provide the freedom to explore these issues and support our students to develop, in equal measure. Despite all of this, it is well documented, we are very poorly funded. For this academic year we received just £5,415 to educate each student in Years 7-11 (and significantly less for a Sixth Form student). One might say our team are doing a good job in managing our budget prudently, whilst still producing such incredible results, but it is not an easy feat, and it is not sustainable without incremental funding to maintain and improve our School for our future. This is where our Aylesburian Annual Fund has comes into play, it feeds specific projects which make a direct and immediate impact on our School community and future-proofs AGS for generations to come. Projects are varied and are determined by just how out of date the facilities are. In the past, they have included

the refurbishment of our Maths department, IT Rooms, and last year, the complete refurbishment of Art, DT and Engineering. Capital projects have included a new Science Centre, new Library and new Sixth Form Centre. The Fund also supports our Financial Assistance provision which helps families who are unable to finance certain School activities. During 2020-21 our focus turned to our extremely well used Student Support provision. We need to relocate and extend the space to another part of the School, freeing up much needed space in the Sixth Form Centre. It is an area frequently accessed by students needing a quiet and calm place away from the noisy School environment and it provides a crucial decompression and deescalation area for some students, as well as supporting students with specific educational needs. This year, like the years before, the Aylesburian Annual Fund certainly needs our community’s participation and support and it is an important income stream for the School. Our challenge as an office, is for our community to see the benefits of this fund and how the projects they facilitate are an integral part of our fantastic heritage and importantly, our future.

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The challenges of fundraising and encouraging participation continue but we are seeing a shift in the understanding of the need and participation in philanthropy which we hope will continue. We were thrilled to be able to hold a House Music event this academic year for the first time since 2020 (and the first one in the AGS hall since 2019). Our adjudicator was OA James Wright (Ridley ’00) who was given the very difficult task of deciding the results for the event. Only 11 points separated all 6 Houses showing the exceptional quality that was on display.

Early in the summer term we held our Junior Public Speaking competition, where we welcomed back OA James Tate (Denson ’14) as our adjudicator. James has spent the last 4 years as a Consultant working for Accenture having completed his degree in History from Exeter University.

We have enjoyed hosting several Old Aylesburian events this term and welcomed back many OAs to share their experience and knowledge with our current students. Early in June we held a Sharing of Expertise Afternoon when over 25 OAs chatted to our current Year 12s about their careers, university experience and things they wished they'd known whilst in Year 12! A hugely successful afternoon supported by a wide variety of OAs who had followed different paths and offered such a valuable insight - our thanks once again to all those who helped make the event a huge success. On 15 June we held a drinks reception in London, when we welcomed over 80 Old Aylesburians to the stunning Drawing Room at the Savile Club. A fantastic evening when memories were shared and some old friendships rekindled. We were particularly pleased to see our oldest member of the Old Aylesburian Community, Felicity Taylor, who left in 1952. Our sincere thanks to Stephen Fitzjohn (Hampden ‘80) for hosting the event at the Club.

Like so many other events, for the past two years the annual Old Aylesburians v AGS 1st XI cricket match was cancelled due to COVID. It was therefore a pleasure to welcome back 11 OAs to School on Wednesday 29th June to take on the current crop of AGS cricketers. After a two year break it was perhaps understandable that it was the OAs, rather than the 1st XI who looked a little rusty. However, it was great to see 11 of our former cricketers back in School, renewing acquaintances and donning their whites again. The game was played in a great spirit and it was fantastic to reestablish what had become an annual fixture in the cricket calendar. Many thanks to all the Old Aylesburians who came back to AGS to play.

2021 / 2022 Old Aylesburians XI: James Atkinson, Kai Bailey, Ali Bee, Dom Boyd, Tom Carter (c), Ryan Connor, Sam Holcroft, Ben Kidner, Ollie McKenna, Vibhav Pandey, Adam Priestley On Wednesday 6 July we warmly welcomed back to School twenty Old Aylesburians who left in 1971. The OAs enjoyed tours of the School by our brilliant Year 12 prefects, Liam, Charlie, George and Tom, followed by Afternoon Tea in the Headmaster's Quad and the opportunity to share stories and memorabilia from their School days. The event was fantastically organised by OA Trevor Howard (Phillips '71) more widely known as Dino. Dino approached us in January 2019 to discuss exciting plans for a reunion of his year group to celebrate 50 years since leaving AGS. We managed to collate a list of names and some contact details from our OA records and Linkedin and he set about finding contemporaries and spreading the word of a potential reunion at AGS in 2021. Sadly the reunion was unable to be held in 2021 due to lockdown restrictions but all his research and plans came to fruition this year when 20 OAs returned to School. Robin Smith (Ridley '71) was a fabulous source of memorabilia, he returned with items produced during woodwork and metal work lessons, his original School cap and many, many photos to share with the group. Bob Barker (Hampden '71) and Nigel Wood (Phillips '71) aka Woody were instrumental in engaging others and Ian Tolley supported in Dino's work from "North of the Arctic Circle". We thank all who returned on the day and

look forward to keeping in touch with them in years to come. Back row L to R: Max Craft, Peter Biggins, Jonathon How, Brian Pickworth, Nigel Wood, Peter Cooper, Rob Ayres Front row L to R: Bob Barker, Chris Birch, Trevor Howard, Paul Wainwright, Chris Hunt, Grahame Birchall, Robin Smith It was good to welcome back recent Old Aylesburian Tom Ward (Denson '20) who returned to talk to chemistry students and share his insight into studying chemistry at university with students and staff. Tom is studying chemistry at Oxford and is due to graduate in 2024. OA Karl Erlandsen (Phillips '03) returned to School from his home in Norway to give a fantastic opening talk at the Year 8 Languages Day detailing his journey with Languages. Following his A levels, Karl studied Computer Visualisation & Animation at Bournemouth University and is now a professional animator working on big budget films bridging creativetechnical skills. Our thanks to Karl for sharing his love of languages to our Year 8 students.

Alan Baldwin (Ridley '86) and his son Tom Baldwin (Ridley'18) returned in late June to speak to Year 10 as part of Careers Day. The objective of the day was to provide the Year 10 students with information about their post-16 study options (A-levels, T-levels and apprenticeships) as well as raising their awareness of recruitment processes (via a mock assessment centre) and employability skills. The OAs chatted about personal career journeys, their

experience of applying for courses and jobs or setting up the business, advice on being enterprising, determined and resilient throughout any of these processes. Alan is a Former Chief Police Officer with 32 years experience of public safety and law enforcement service delivery. He is now Founder and Chief Executive of Practice to Progress - helping people join policing and develop their careers within policing.

pushed them to explore more outside the curriculum. In preparation for university medical interviews we held a hugely successful mock interview evening in late November when several OAs and current parents hosted sessions online with our students to emulate their interviews this year – a hugely valuable experience for students and our sincere thanks to all our OAs who supported this initiative, Syb Rahim (Paterson ’09), Will Woodward (Lee ’14), Tom Pither (Paterson ’11), Dom Mears (Paterson ’14) and David Bishop (Paterson ’08). OA Chris Barker (Paterson '05) also visited us to share his experience and knowledge on Year 10 Career Day. Chris is Director of Business Banking at Nat West - East of England. For the last 14 years he's worked in business banking and does a significant amount of outreach work with Schools and Cambridge University through various larger educational organisations, so we were delighted that our students could benefit from his vast experience and expertise. We are so grateful to our supportive & inspiring OAs who give their time to nurture our students. AGS Medical Society continues to go from strength to strength and we have been extremely fortunate to enjoy talks from numerous OA’s who have so kindly given up their time to support us throughout this academic year and inspire the next generation of Medics. OA and former Deputy Head Boy of School Dom Mears (Paterson ‘14) kicked off the programme of talks by posing the question “What kind of doctor do you want to be?”

Dom took the time to talk through the main areas in medicine from anaesthetics to cardiology, paediatrics, GP, to name just a few, a great session explaining the specialisms and busting some myths. David Bishop (Paterson ’08) returned to School just before the half term break and took time to present to the students, answer their questions and

At the end of the Autumn term Tom Schmidt (Ridley ’15) spoke to our AGS medics about the personal side of being a doctor & not just focusing on the academic demands.

2021 / 2022

Ish Rahim (Ridley '21) visited in June and spoke to Med Soc about the realities of the first year of a medicine course and answered many questions from the students. Ish has just completed his first year at Queen Mary's London. Sean Donaghue (Denson '16) also returned towards the end of the summer term and delivered an honest and inspiring talk, sharing his thoughts on how to choose a university course, research that should be undertaken, opportunities to pursue a year out during the course and the realities of being a junior doctor. Our sincere thanks to all the OAs who have supported Med Soc this year, if you’d like to present to our Medical Society, on a topic of your choice, then please do get in touch with us at Development@ags.bucks.sch.uk, we are always delighted to welcome speakers to our School.

OA NEWS Delighted to share that OA Antony Feltham-White OBE QHC (Paterson '85) was made a Queen’s Honorary Chaplain earlier this year, a great privilege in this jubilee year. Antony has been an Army chaplain since 2005 and served multiple tours of duty in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. He's currently Assistant Chaplain General based in York. Theo James (Tapiklis Paterson ’03) has been seen on our screens this year in the Time Traveller’s Wife on Sky Atlantic. The six episode series aired in May and is an intricate and magical love story adapted from the much loved novel by Audrey Niffenegger. Theo has previously

started in Sanditon, The Divergent Series film trilogy, "Underworld " (2012 and 2016), the action film "How It Ends" (2018), and the science fiction film "Archive" (2020) Shailesh Vara (Hampden '79) has recently been appointed as the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. Shailesh has been MP for North West Cambridgeshire since 2005 and after leaving AGS studied at Brunel University and subsequently qualified as a solicitor. OA Brian Disbury (Ridley '69) who led a Great British team to bronze success in Hockey, has been presented with a cap for his achievements in the sport. Brian left AGS in 1969 after completing his A Levels and played for the Midlands and Worcestershire squads before being called up to play for England in 1974. He subsequently played for the GB squad in 1975, toting up 8 caps in the year. Brian is only the 176th player to receive a Cap which is quite amazing - our congratulations to Brian on a fabulous achievement.

Class of 2021 Alumni Our class of 2022 went on to study at 54 different institutions embarking on a wide range of courses, some students began apprenticeships and some took a gap year. Our congratulations to all of our class of 2022.

University

Course

Aston University, Birmingham

Medicine

Bedford College Group

Media Production

Birmingham City University

Video Game Development

Bournemouth University

Sport and Exercise Science

Brunel University London

Military and International History

Buckinghamshire New University

Paramedic Science

Canterbury Christ Church University

Paramedic Science

Cardiff University

History, Financial Mathematics

Coventry University

Mechanical Engineering

Durham University

Computer Science, Mathematics

Imperial College London

Mechanical Engineering (2) Geophysics, Earth and Planetary Science, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry and Computing

King's College London, University of London

Dentistry (3), Medicine, Physics with Astrophysics and Cosmology

Lancaster University

Economics, Finance

Leeds Beckett University

Media and English

Liverpool John Moores University

Business Management

London School of Economics

Economics (2)

Loughborough University

Accounting and Financial Management, Automotive Engineering, Economics ,International Business, Mechanical Engineering

Newcastle University

Agriculture, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry, Dentistry, Economics, Earth Science, Statistics, Marketing

Nottingham Trent University

Business, Business Management and Entrepreneurship, Data Science, Sport Engineering

Oxford Brookes University

Business and Finance, Computer Science

Queen Mary University of London

Accounting and Finance, Chemistry, Computer Science with Industrial Experience, Dentistry, Digital and Technology Solutions (Data Analyst) Degree Apprenticeship, Engineering, Medicine, Physics (2)

Royal Holloway, University of London

Business and Management

Sheffield Hallam University

Law

Swansea University

Business Management, Law (2)

The University of Edinburgh

English Literature and History

The University of Law

Law

UCL (University College London)

Architecture (2), Chemical Engineering (2), Medicine (2), Politics and International Relations

University of Bath

Economics (2), Integrated Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Mechanical with Automotive Engineering, Natural Sciences, Physics, Politics with Economics

2021 / 2022 University of Birmingham

Biochemistry with Professional Placement (4 years)

University of Brighton

Biomedical Science (2)

University of Bristol

Chemistry, Computer Science Economics, Engineering Mathematics, Geography, Law, Modern Language

University of Buckingham

Security, Intelligence and Cyber (2-year degree)

University of Cambridge

Chemical Engineering, Linguistics, Maths (2) Modern and Medieval Languages (2), Natural Sciences (2), Psychological and Behavioural Sciences

University of Chester

Interior Design (including a Foundation Year)

University of Chichester

Mechanical Engineering (with Integrated Foundation Year)

University of East Anglia UEA

Business Management, Economics and Finance, Philosophy, Politics and Economics

University of Exeter

Biological Sciences, Engineering, History (2), Politics and Sociology

University of Hertfordshire

Computer Science

University of Kent

Psychology

University of Leeds

Computer Science, Dental Surgery / Oral Science, Medicine

University of Leicester

Accounting, Biological Sciences, Computer Science, Economics, Engineering, Medicine, Physics

University of Liverpool

Medicine (2) Occupational Therapy

University of Manchester

Aerospace Engineering with Industrial Experience, Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry, Chemical Engineering International Disaster Management and Humanitarian Response and Spanish, Medicine, Pharmacy, Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies

University of Nottingham

Biochemistry, Engineering and Physical Sciences, Industrial Economics, Medicine

University of Oxford

Chemistry, Physics (2)

University of Plymouth

Computer Science, Medicine

University of Portsmouth

Politics, Science

University of Reading

Accounting and Business, Ancient History, Psychology

University of Sheffield

Computer Science, History, Medicine (Phase One), Philosophy

University of Southampton

Accounting and Finance, Aeronautics and Astronautics, Economics, Economics and Finance, Medicine, Modern Languages and Business Management

University of Surrey

Aerospace Engineering, Accounting and Finance, Computer Science, Criminology and Sociology Economics and Finance

University of Sussex

Law with American Studies, Psychology, Social Sciences

University of Warwick

Accounting and Finance, Biomedical Science, Computer Science, Computer Systems Engineering, MORSE

University of York

Business and Management, Computer Science, History / Politics

PRIZE WINNERS

Junior Prizegiving Awards 2022 Year 7 William Harding Subject Prizes Art: Classical Studies: Geography: Computer Science: Design Technology: English: Religious Studies: French:

Nevin Korala Torin Miller Dylan Richards Tharuga Parthirajage Don Ritvik Raavi Max Marzetti Joe Tilley Aariz Bilal

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

Obi Okwudili James Godley Dylan Richards James Davies Lucas Xie James Godley Xander Jefford Oliver Fenner

Head of Year 7 Award for Achievement Reon Adai Benji Colclough Moss Adam Souidi Eldan Twelftree

The Old Aylesburians’ Association Community Prize Chris Thomas

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

Max Meader Veer Parekh Girish Kumar Bharatkumar Kaihan Chen Girish Kumar Bharatkumar Mati Wej Farhan Iqbal Edward Johnson

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

Alex Chadwick Sam Gill Gabriel Goodman Suwayne Wickramarachchi Kottalage Rami Al-Kheralla Prithvi Menon Zachary Cleary Ruyan Gupte

Head of Year 8 Award for Achievement Tomi Ashaolu Joe Gormally Fabio Iannelli Edward Johnson

2021 / 2022

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

Khizr Hussain Caleb Yap Thomas Lowe Muhammad Saleem Aryan Gorai Calvin Steele Luke Marshall Dayeen Ali Abdullah Ahmed

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

Andrew Johnson Dev Parekh James Seanor Dominic Hardman-Mountford Adi Allam Dayeen Ali Robert Horrocks Andrew Johnson Yehan Canthaboo

Head of Year 9 Award for Achievement Adam Burgess Dominic Hardman-Mountford Khizr Hussain Elliot Swindell

The Glenn Turnell Cup Thomas Lowe

The Harry Hewitt Memorial Shield Charlie Kapinski-Noades

The Mike Griffin Cup Leo Pargeter

The Ben Pickard Trophy for Excellence Billy Poole

Senior Prize Giving Awards 2022 Year 10 William Harding Subject Prizes Ancient History: German: Art: Biology: Physics: Business: Chemistry: French: Computer Science: Design Technology: Drama:

Charlie Compton Dominic Beattie Ewan Crafts Kaushik Potnuru Anthony Unugboke Connor Bright Laksh Mahajan Daksh Surana Dhruv Kale Joseph Fernando Jack Lavery

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

Genthushan Piratheepan Nathan Townsend Kaushik Potnuru Umar Iqbal Hrishik Subramani Dominic Beattie Dhruv Kale Joseph Aloluwaloba Ewan Crafts Ewan Gatt Aditya Aggarwal

Head of Year 10 Award for Achievement Joseph Aloluwaloba Luke Murphy James Quinn Anthony Unugboke

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

Edwin Peacock Ary Ariyakuddy Hafeezur Rahman Amey Sharma Jonny Buckthorpe James Jackson Fionn Clancy Ikhlas Khan Flynn Timberlake Nithushan Sivaruban Alex Davis

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

Head of Year 11 Award for Achievement Paolo Gray Adi Kausaria Oscar Peck Thomas Whitehead

Eliott Godley Thomas Young Neil Pandit Harvey Clay George Mansfield Oscar Peck Yuv Saxena San Clark Will Yarroll Pragvansh Bhatt Sanjit Kumar

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The Richard Bennett Prize Fraser Reeves

The Old Aylesburians’ Association Community Prize Gabriel Moukli

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

Oliver Evans-Howe Tony Alocious James Whitehead Adam Bosompem Ayaan Mather Shreeharsh Rao Chris Marsterson Zach Cooke Yannis Zewdu Daniel Compton Silas Glover

French: Geography: Geology: Ancient History: German: History: Politics: Mathematics: PE: Physics: Psychology: Spanish:

Ayaan Mather Theo Russell Ollie Lemonde Toby Webster Toby Webster Zach Cooke Hasnain Abbas Callum Kiteley Oscar Wellbelove Morgan Billings Hasnain Abbas Morgan Billings

Head of Year 12 Award for Achievement Alexandru Barbanta Archie Dodds Gavin Thuairajah Tommy Healy

The Keith Smith Prize Abshly Shaji

Awards for Commitment to Enterprise Harry Blackman Liam Ellis Florez Tyno Martire-Charlett, James O’Keeffe Abshly Shaji

The PJ Larkham Prize for Theatre Boluwatifemito Oyedepo

Harvard Prize for Commitment to School and Learning Liam Ellis Florez

Year 13 William Harding Subject Prizes Drama: Geology:

Julian Atat Harry Maltby

Psychology:

Dani Hidalgo-Anguera

2021 / 2022

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 Comben Tunmishe Coker Hamza Hussain Joe Nicholson Ryan Roberts Oliver Gunton James Wilford Tharrshann Logarajah Ollie Carolin Shantanu Kale Anuka Kumarapeli Ashwin Aggarwal Bill Duling Andreas Velimachitis Sean Morrell Ed Campbell Bill Duling Marcus Birch Ashwin Aggarwal Huned Mamajiwala Josh Ramcharitar Dani Hidalgo-Anguera Fahd Al-Kheralla Torsten Hansen

The Charlie Dunne ‘Aylesburian’ Award for Participation and Contribution to House and School Life Antoni Kocan

The Alec Lowndes Knight Award for Endeavour Sam Ezeh

The Stephen Shipperley Prize for Enterprise and Innovation Max Wheaton

The Old Aylesburians’ Association Community Prize Dani Hidalgo-Anguera

The Thomson Cup for Sportsmanship Harry Jones

The John Prodger Cup for Sporting Achievement Matthew Sparke

The Disraeli Prize for Debating Bill Duling Andreas Velimachitis

The Beattie Cup for Musicianship Ashwin Aggarwal

Denson Prizes for Excellent A Level Results Basit Adeogun Aran Bali Mohammed Baramia Dylan Butterworth Kevin Chen Ed Cunningham Andrew Debrunner Max Dolphin

Mustafa Enver Sam Ezeh Kai Gregory Jude Guest-Brainch Hamzah Haque Bar Heasman Jai Horwood Amaan Hussain

Andrei Ilie Ethan Lawrence Jack Lowndes Sanjit Mallya Harry Maltby Dhruva Menon Samuel Mitev Leo Pichler

Harushan Piratheepan Josh Ramcharitar Patrick Sherley Pira Sritharan Dinujan Vimalakumar Harry Warner Nick Zalin

2021 / 2022 Foundation Governors’ Prizes for Outstanding A Level Results Ashwin Aggarwal Fahd Al-Kheralla Sonari Amabibi Adam Baker Marcus Birch Will Bowden Ollie Carolin Will Chapman Alex Comben Bill Duling Lorenzo Evans Dominic Grimshaw Gabe Gullidge Oliver Gunton Rhys Hanling

Tanveer Hannan Torsten Hansen Dani Hidalgo-Anguera Thomas Hounsell Hamza Hussain Ghafir Hussein Lukas Jenkins Bhavan Jeyanathan Cailean Jones Harry Jones Michael Joshua Shantani Kale Sam Kearney Yash Kshirsagar Anuka Kumarapeli

Paterson Prizes Head Boys: Ed Campbell Matt O’Sullivan Aymaan Sheikh

Tom Lloyd Tharrshann Logarajah Ethan Loi Daniel Mace Hanijan Majuran Huned Mamajiwala Matt Manley Josh Mobsby Muhammad Moeen Louis Moore Sean Morrell Ashre Moses Abu Nahin Yarid Or-Rshid Jude Page

Daniel Partridge Ryan Roberts Shonit Sharma Aymaan Sheikh Leo Sheldrick Shaurya Singh Cico Sorriento Vivin Thamaraikannan Videet Vadalia Andreas Velimachitis Lakshya Verma Aaron Ward Max Wheaton James Wilford

Nurturing Character since 1598

Tel: 01296 484545 Web: ags.bucks.sch.uk Aylesbury Grammar School, Walton Road, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, HP21 7RP