head’sreview
prizewinners
Martine Croxall’s reply
Prize Winners
Praised by Headmaster Martin Barker, for her ‘intellectual strength and personal presence’ and by the late Joe Rolfe for ‘never lacking animated conversation’, BBC newsreader Martine Croxall, a University of Leeds Geography graduate, said:
The most prestigious of over 200 individual prize-winners this year included:
‘A broad Bablake education comes in useful all the time’ It’s an honour to be back among so many friends again to recognise your effort, your application, your achievements. That it’s me standing here speaking to you tonight rather than one of my more academically gifted peers is quite a wonder to me. When I first came to Bablake, I was the girl who would blush crimson if I had to speak in class, even though I was burning to answer questions. But my parents had chosen the right school for me, one that had seen my potential, nurtured it and my confidence grew. I now present television news programmes to millions of people around the world without a trace of embarrassment. I’m not sure whether we realise at the time how fortunate we are to be at Bablake. If we want to learn and are prepared to apply ourselves, then our committed teachers will share their enthusiasm and give us all the support we need, whatever the subject. I was inspired by Mr. Rhodes and his printed sheets, eagerly describing ‘irrigation for onions in the Vale of Evesham’. Mr. Long, the then Head of Classics and my form master for four years, somehow managed to make declining Latin nouns and conjugating Latin verbs fun. Mr. Prescott coaxed us through to the final of a drama competition with a play called ‘Hero’ we’d devised ourselves. Mr. Barker invited me to read in front of full assembly, even though it terrified me. Mrs. Thomas spent hours with her tape measure, encouraging me to jump further into a sand pit and to Fosbury Flop higher over a bar onto a crash mat. This is how they nurture us. I am not pretending that we don’t have difficult times at Bablake – after all, we are teenagers while we’re here and those years are hormone-ridden, if not angst-ridden. But it’s a time and a place where we can decide on the kind of person we want to be, on how we want to face the world. I’m not one of those people who can say, ‘Oh, I knew I wanted to be a newsreader when I was an embryo.’ But there’s no rush – you have more time than you realise.
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the wheatleyan 2008/09
I took advantage of the countless opportunities Bablake put my way to find out what really suited me: I’m so glad I kept an open mind. I can pinpoint one of the moments that helped me decide who I wanted to be. Mr. Jackson had set us a 3rd year weather map test – I got completely lost and was bottom of the class. I didn’t like that feeling of failure and humiliation. I was determined it wasn’t going to happen again. The next week, I really applied myself. My book got passed round the class – this time because it was so good. That feeling I did enjoy. Thankfully, Bablake still rewards talent and excellence. So congratulations to everyone who’s received an award – here it really does count for something. It’s heartening that even at such an academic school, you can win a prize for outstanding service or for sporting ability. There’s room while you’re here to be part of a team and to stand out from the crowd. I could have earned more money in other careers but I’m very lucky to be paid to do a job I enjoy as much now as I did when I started in broadcasting 18 years ago – it rarely feels like a chore to go to work, even if the hours can be horribly anti-social. Every day is different. I interview opinion-formers all over the world on every subject under the sun. A broad Bablake education comes in useful all the time. Novelist Stephen King said, ‘Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.’ I’ll vouch for that. It hasn’t always been easy. I started at the bottom, the days were long, the pay lousy. But if you want something badly enough, you’ll persevere. I’ve been told by more than one boss that I couldn’t do certain jobs. What nonsense! I’d thank them for their advice, ignore their negativity and go on to prove them wrong. I still love learning new things for the sake of it, so enjoy your time at Bablake – I wish I could have mine again. Be bold. Make your mark!
Shell Scholars 2009 – 10
6th Form Scholarships
Academic Scholars Thomas Betts, Madison Cotteret, Mej Farid, Ruby Griffin, Jake Morton, Ananya Nair, Manvir Thandi
Academic: Isobel Ferguson, Aaren Healy, Amelia Ross, Christopher Starkey, Oliver White Elizabeth Allen: Rosie Gaunt, Oliver Towlson Whitehouse: Daniel Richards, Katie Timms Music: Emily Chomitzki, Jonathan Evans, Matthew Lewis, Samuel Lewis Sport: Alice O’Connor, Alexander Popplewell
Art Scholar Emily White Music Scholars Roisin Bowe, Benjamin Powell, Christopher Tuttle
William Townsend Form Prizes Shells Attainment: Francesca Bellingeri, Brogan CoulsonHaggins, Connor Putnam, Danujan Sivanesan, Alexander Towlson Progress: Jake Dolphin, Blake Hatfield, Hayley Smith, Robert Tuckey, Rebecca Williamson 2nds Attainment: Ellie Davies, Tina Feng, Aaran Patel, Kalika Puri, Joshua Rowe Progress Kathryn Jones, Kara Dosanj, Harry Pashley, Makhan Bhinder, Adam Clements 3rds Attainment: Marlena Cummings, Chandni Patel, Georgia Powell, Jennifer Scoular, Maneesha Sehgal Progress Benjamin Evans, Craig Easton, Robbie Gibbens, Eleanor Morris, Rebecca Taylor 4ths Attainment: Anuriti Aojula, Bethany Evans, Kurt Ibberson, William Kenney-Herbert, Nicola McIntyre, Georgina Poyda-Williams, Robert Vallance Progress: Jonine Bains, Sophie Bullen, Hannah Elsy, Kimberly Jamison, Hannah Johnson, Ryan Kent, Daniel Riley 5ths Attainment: Georgina Haselock Excellence at GCSE: Jay Brahach, Luke Briggs, Lauren Deeth-Kelt, David Dwyer, Shannon Easterlow, Rees Herrod
Lane Scholarships awarded to L6th Formers for outstanding academic achievement: Jim Chen, Tom Chen, Martyn Gray, Daniel Lawrence, Daisy Twigger, James Vallance The J V Rattigan Cup for Merit: Paramjit Uppal The Jackson Progress Prize: Holly Payne The Leonard Ward Trophy for Sportswoman of the Year: Lauren Boon The Seabourne Trophy for Sportsman of the Year: Paul Best Best Contribution to the School by students new to the 6th Form: Sunera Nawab The Chris Ashworth Trophy (Outstanding Achievement): Thomas Hine Former Pupils’ Association Prize for Merit: Matthew Drage, Faith Hannon, Katherine Hull, Victoria Martin The H Curt Prize for Service: Ira Kleine The Hawley Cup for Service: Lara Jackson The Humberstone Prize for Character and Scholarship: James Ross This prize is awarded each year by the Trustees of the Humberstone Memorial on the recommendation of the school staff, in memory of F W Humberstone, Headmaster of Bablake School 1870 – 1890. bablake school
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