The Ousel 2013

AUTUMN 2012 – SUMMER 2013

VOLUME 985

OUSEL THE THE OUSEL

www.bedfordschool.org.uk

the ousel

THE Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose As I sit down to reflect upon the 2012–13 school year, my first impression is that it was a year of great change at Bedford School. Early July saw the departure of some key members of staff: Chris Godwin, the ever-present Headmaster of Bedford Preparatory School, moved on to pastures new after 20 extremely successful years; Irfan Latif, our deputy head academic, was promoted to be Headmaster of Sexey’s College; and Richard Walker, head of geography (who, in himself, was a Bedford School institution), slipped away without fuss into retirement. This is by no means an exhaustive list of those who left us at the end of the school year; the staff news section of the magazine pays a full and fitting tribute to the contribution that each one of the staff leavers made to the life of the school. We wish them all well as they move into their new lives. Tragically, in July we also lost a pivotal member of the school community, Guy Fletcher, when he died peacefully at home with his family. His loss was felt deeply by all involved with the school, not just in terms of his commitment to sport, but in innumerable other areas of school life. I shall particularly miss his many eloquent and witty contributions to this publication.

As we look forward, it also appears that the coming year will be one of transition at the school. It was with regret that we learnt of the departure of the Head Master, John Moule, who will take up the post of Warden of Radley College in September 2014. Next year’s edition of the magazine will document his many contributions to the growing success of Bedford School, but it is enough to say here that his influence will be sorely missed. Yet, at the same time we look forward with excitement to welcoming the new Head Master, James Hodgson, to our community. We are also excited at the prospect of the development work that is set to take place this year. Planning permission has been granted to convert St Luke’s into a theatre. This project has been advanced by the munificence of Brian Saville, OB (40–48), who, it was announced in November, has left £6.5 million in his will to the Bedford School Foundation. This, among many other very generous donations from OBs, parents, staff and friends of the school, has allowed these exciting plans to move forward.

So my reflective and prospective musings lead me to the conclusion that Bedford School is undergoing a period of change. Yet as I undertake my annual task of trawling through the proofs of this magazine’s pages, I get an entirely different impression. Much, it seems, is the same as it always was. From these pages it is clear that the boys continue to exert themselves on the sports fields, with the top teams helping to maintain the school’s reputation for sporting excellence, and all maintaining our reputation for sporting endeavour. Sport, as it always has at Bedford School, is thriving at all levels. In addition, the astonishing facilities in the music school continue to be used and enjoyed by an enormous proportion of boys, and we continue to produce a multitude of high quality school productions in the theatre. It seems that the arts, too, thrive just as they always have done.

After reviewing the sport, art and drama pages, my attention turned to the pages containing the mug shots of the outgoing upper sixth. As I cast my eye over these pictures, I am reminded of yet another continuity: namely the calibre of boys that pass through Bedford School’s gates.

This year (as in every year preceding it) we have said goodbye to a group of boys who genuinely make me proud to be part of this school. As in years gone by, Bedford boys leave school not simply with a wealth of excellent exam results, but with a mature, realistic and ethically based view of the modern world and of their potential place within it.

Finally, what continues to amaze me about Bedford School is the commitment shown by its staff. I rely on many staff members to write (or ‘encourage’ boys to write) articles, and they do so uncomplainingly. How they fit this duty in among coaching sports, meetings with parents, extra lessons with boys, tutor breakfasts, society lectures, attending school concerts and writing reports (to name but a few of their commitments) I do not know. Moreover, they make time to support and encourage each other through the ups and downs of day-to-day life as a teacher, making it a wonderful common room to be a part of. So I have to conclude that, while much may be changing around us, the commitment of the staff, as well as the commitment of the boys, remains unwavering. I dedicate this edition of the magazine to my colleagues at Bedford School.

I hope you all enjoy The Ousel 2013.

E. Murray

OUSEL

EDITOR E. Murray CONTENTS From the Head Master’s Study TEDxBedford Prize Giving Battlefields Tour Morocco Expedition Art Design and Technology Drama House Reports Music Staff News The 2013 Leavers Rugby Hockey Cricket Boat Club Minor Sports CCF Bedford School Association Old Bedfordians The Year in Pictures

2 3 4 5 10 14 22 28 38 44 54 65 72 88 97 105 113 146 150 157 208

DESIGN AND PRODUCTION The Armstrong Collective PHOTOGRAPHS A. Huxford and Anson Cheng THE COVER Front: Bedford School: GMFK’s Perspective, painted by Guy Fletcher, courtesy of Alan Eames-Jones Back: Some of the Mo Bros posse who took part in Movember, as part of a wide range of charitable activities throughout the year ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– The views expressed by contributors to The Ousel are not necessarily those of the school.

While we make every effort to include all the text of articles submitted, we cannot always guarantee that articles will be reproduced in their entirety. We reserve the right to edit and amend where necessary. © Bedford School 2013 Bedford School is part of The Harpur Trust –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

BEDFORD SCHOOL • DE PARYS AVENUE • BEDFORD MK40 2TU Telephone: 01234 362200 • Facsimile: 01234 362283 • email: info@bedfordschool.org.uk • Website: http//www.bedfordschool.org.uk

FROM THE HEAD MASTER’S STUDY

You may have read in the press recently about a talk Sir Michael Wilshaw, Chief Inspector of Schools, gave to an assembly of heads at HMC (Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference – an organisation of 250 leading independent schools of which we are one). I was there. Mind you, ‘talk’ is a slightly bland definition; harangue would be more accurate. Having courted controversy with a similar speech earlier in the year, he acknowledged the offence his talk had given … and then repeated it in slightly stronger terms. His theme was the failure of independent schools to recognise their duty to do more to help the 93 per cent of the nation’s youth educated in the maintained sector; his call, Kitchener-like (literally, since he likened himself and his theme to the First World War general and his finger-pointing ‘Your Country Needs You’ moment) was for us all to leap on the bandwagon and sponsor an academy tomorrow.

The nay-sayers leapt to their feet. Ungentlemanly language unfit for The Ousel was used by one as he expressed dissatisfaction with the inaccuracy of some of the Chief Inspector’s ‘facts’. Another, speaking for many in the room, pointed out that overtures of help were not always welcome: he confessed to not a little frustration. A rather eloquent point was made, I thought, by one to the tune of it being a bit rich that when nothing positive was ever really said in public by government about what we do, they were coming begging for help. The silent majority seethed quietly as they reflected on the fact that their primary job was to keep schools afloat in difficult times, and that no mention was ever made of the fact that our parents pay twice for education, thus benefiting the state to the tune of billions every year. And I, modest as ever, sat silently at the back, wondering why it is always the case that when public figures talk about HMC schools, it is as if we are represented only by Eton, Harrow and the like: about as far from the HMC norm as it is possible to be.

I also wondered something else, too. Being the contrary person that I am, I have a natural tendency to disagree with the prevailing view and, as my fellow heads jumped up and down, I found myself wanting to agree with Sir Michael. Not with the academy obsession – though, of course, the Harpur Trust is successfully involved in a such a project at the Bedford Academy – nor with the tedious stereotyping. There are many ways to help

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THE OUSEL 2012–2013

and it is not one size fits all. Not with the slightly grandiose saviour-of-the-country-in-crisis theme, for it cannot be our job to transform educational standards; the state sector would rightly feel patronised by that. I wanted to agree with him because, amidst all the hectoring, he reminded us of the importance of our mission, of the heritage of our purpose; he reminded us that we need to think about a wider duty when we educate the young.

He challenged us to think about why we were teachers, what we were about. And I take that seriously: our schools are about much more than providing a utilitarian service to those who can afford it.

We are about engaging with the world beyond school. I am delighted with the work of the Bedford School Association, the vibrancy of the Old Bedfordians Club, the international dimension of the school: all amply evident in this magazine. The St Luke’s Theatre, now guaranteed, is designed as a facility that can benefit town as well as school and will be a living symbol of the engagement we believe in. We are about helping those less fortunate than ourselves: the charities work of the school continues to make me very proud and our scholarship scheme, made possible through the generosity of benefactors, continues to grow. We are about passing on an academic heritage and, like many independent schools, we provide many of the students in core subjects that keep university departments alive. We are about turning out young men who do have a sense of duty, of purpose, of service. We are, I hope and think, making a contribution.

I wish Sir Michael well. He needs all the help he can get, and he has a vital job. He was, of course, a successful head himself.

And he should press home the strongest argument he has more than he does. It is not about helping some and including others: sticking plaster solutions that bring temporary relief. It is about school culture; an ethos of aspiration, a genuine desire to study for study’s sake, a breadth of activity, a collective identity, a healthy competition, inspirational teaching, a vocationally minded staff, a willingness to go the extra mile. It is that culture that is alive and well in independent schools, that culture that he wants from us. I can see why he hectors us.

It is, of course, a culture that infuses these pages and makes them such a rewarding read. Enjoy the 2013 edition of The Ousel.

J. Moule

After four months of hard work and determination, the TEDxBedfordSchool team staged the first TEDx event in the history of Bedford School. We were also one of the first schools in the UK to host such an event. We were very excited to have seen so much excitement and enthusiasm from students and teachers alike and this led to a great event that generated and inspired a lot of discussion and argument. Given TED’s mantra of ‘ideas worth spreading’, this discourse was exactly what we wanted.

TED is an international organisation which promotes learning by organising conferences consisting of multiple lectures, each of which may not exceed 18 minutes. It also gives licences to individual organisations, allowing them to host independent events using the brand name TEDx. This is what we hosted here at Bedford School. The application process for the licence was long, rigorous and demanding but the licence was ultimately granted and it was well worth the effort.

We split the two-and-a-half hour event into three sections.

Each section consisted of one pre-recorded TED talk and one live lecture. For our live lectures, we were very fortunate to have been able to welcome three very interesting and accomplished lecturers, all of whom spoke extremely well. The lectures covered a broad range of topics from education and politics to energy and sustainability.

I am very proud to have been the organiser of this event but I could not have done it without the help of my TEDx team. To have an evening in celebration of pure academic curiosity and

The event schedule was as follows: 6.40: Karan Gupta, TEDxBedfordSchool Organiser, introduces the event 6.45: First talk – Iain Staffell on ‘Hydrogen: Energy for the Ideal World?’ (live) 7.05: Second talk – Fahad Al-Attiya on ‘A country with no water’ (video) Break 7.15–7.25 7.25: Third talk – Sugata Mitra on ‘Build a School in the Cloud’ (video) 7.50: Fourth talk – Simon Shillebeeckx on ‘Scarcity and Innovation: Friends or Foes?’ (live) Break 8.10–8.20 8.20: Fifth talk – Rory Stewart on ‘Why Democracy Matters’ (video) 8.35: Sixth talk – John Ashton on ‘Climate Change: Why you should be angry, and why anger isn’t enough’ (live) Event closed by Mr Irfan Latif, deputy head academic at Bedford School. interest is not very common in our world and I was very glad to see so much enthusiasm and willingness to learn. I look forward to organising another event of this kind in the near future.

The TEDx team: Karan Gupta (organiser), Alex Dorgham, Joe Morgan, Ashil Shah, Kushal Kansagra, Dylan Parmar, Rio Rosano, Mr Latif, Mrs Smith and Mr Midgley.

Karan Gupta

BedfordSchool THE MAGAZINE OF BEDFORD SCHOOL AND THE OLD BEDFORDIANS CLUB

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A.R.C. Holland

B.P. Young

M.K. Haji Omar

B. Ho

D.S.K Seow

L.F.J. Wilson

G.J. Wallace

D. Lam

C.Y.D. Kwok

W.F.P. Wright

M. Ratnayake

A.P. Collins

A. Shushu

J.R. Evans

J.C. West

A.T. Rush

A.M. Karale

A.S. Bourne

J.L. Sommers

J.S. Hughes

O.E.L. Jackson

W. Govoni

E.H. Arbe-Barnes C.D.P. Seamark L. Humphreys B.G. Dathan S. Arnsberg S. Braminski B.P. Jones M.M. Nakum J.D. Hambleton-Jewell H.G. Churchill-Coleman E.H.J. Hicks J.P. Strode O.H.T. Maltby R.P. Elson F.F.F. Dixon

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PRIZE GIVING

Z. Guan

This year’s annual prize giving ceremony was held on Saturday 27th April 2013. The school was delighted to welcome Richard Fuller to present the prizes. Mr Fuller, MP for Bedford and Kempston and a former Bedford Modern School boy, gave a speech to the assembled audience of boys, parents, teachers and guests on the theme of ‘independence and interdependence in society’. He spoke about the boys’ duty to others in society and urged them to ‘try harder, do more, challenge yourself further [and] achieve great things’.

Mr Fuller’s presentation was followed by a very moving speech by the head of school, Vicram Sohal. It was a poignant day for Vicram as a new prize had been introduced in honour of his late father: the Bill Sohal Prize for Aspiration. Vicram spoke with his characteristic fluency, wit and charm and in so doing provided the younger boys with a superb example of the type of leader that Mr Fuller had urged them all to become.

E. Murray

A. Amirov I. Orazalin S.J.J. Assim N.J. Chapman M.F.K. Cooper S.N.M Fahmy K. Kansagra J.L. Morgan B. Nessler A. Sekeran L.A. Jones J.W. Porter A.A. Jones

C.N. Wilson

M.F. Delhougne

G.J.N. Trounson

K.R. Gupta

P.A. Whalley

P.W. Strain

P.J. Scaar

C.R. Campbell-Gray

V.V.S. Sohal

W.J. Hunt

Y.Z. Hu

R.K. Cawood

E.J. Kearey

T. Ngampakdeepanich

T.H. Lousada

D. Tanna

R.G. Oakley

T.D. Walker

THE OUSEL 2012–2013

BATTLEFIELDS TOUR

On Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd June 2013, 22 boys from the fourth form went on a trip to the First World War battlefields at Ypres and the Somme. This was an excellent opportunity for us to gain a greater understanding and appreciation of one of the most dramatic and important events of the 20th century.

We started the trip early on Saturday morning and arrived in Ypres at 11 am local time. Our first stop was the Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, which is where we first began to get an idea of the kind – and the amount – of people who lost their lives during the war. The origins of these individuals were also very interesting; Lijssenthoek cemetery provides a resting place for British, French, German, American, Chinese and Indian soldiers.

One of our next stops was the Langemarck German Cemetery – a tiny cemetery compared to Lijssenthoek and others we would see later. The whole graveyard was kept in the shadows by several huge oak trees (oaks being the German equivalent to our symbol of respect – poppies). The visit was also memorable for two other reasons: one being a huge mass grave in the middle of the cemetery containing 25,000 German soldiers; the other being that Ben Kight was able to stand on the exact spot that Hitler had stood on during his visit in 1940. That sent shivers up our spines.

That evening, after dinner, we went to the Menin Gate in Ypres for the Last Post, which the town holds literally every day.

Three of us were chosen to take part. We waited with the other parties until it was our turn to go up, lay the wreath, bow our heads and come back. It only lasted a few seconds, but we felt

very honoured to be able to be a part of such an important tradition for the people of Ypres.

The next day we made our way along the 16 miles of the Somme front line (known as the ‘Hockey Stick’). There were two visits we made on that day that I found particularly memorable.

The first was when we went to a very small and rarely visited cemetery, in which was buried Denzel Heriz-Smith – the head of school in 1913, who was killed during the Battle of the Somme in 1917. Ted Hicks laid a cross at his headstone before we stopped to have a minute of silence. However, the highlight of the day – and the entire trip – was our very last visit to the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing, where we held our own little Last Post.

It was a very poignant and emotional visit to a very important place, which I think is fitting seeing as it was the last item on the itinerary. I also think it summarised the trip very well – in those 48 hours we had learnt a lot more about the First World War than we could ever have learnt in our classrooms, because by visiting these places it is much more intimate; we were being told stories about these soldiers – some of which you just couldn’t have written – as we read their names on their headstones. The courage and bravery of all the men who died, regardless of which side they were on, is truly incredible, but also very sad when you think about just how they lost their lives. The futility of it all is something that will always shock me.

We returned after an eventful and thought-provoking trip, which I’m very glad I went on. I think it is true to say that it will stay with all of us for a very long time.

Logan Jones

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THE FOWLES ESSAY PRIZE

Stanislaw Braminski

‘It’s not about the art, but the art is what it’s all about’: an analysis of the persona within the concept of portraiture, throughout European art history.

Once, upon attending a lecture about Lucien Freud (1922–2011), the German-born ‘best living British painter’,1 I was left in a mild conundrum. The speaker, upon showing a portrait of himself (painted by Freud), asked us if we learnt more about him from the portrait or Freud himself, given Freud’s very distinct technique. This conundrum unconvolutes somewhat if you apply this to the aptly named Reflection (1985), Lucien Freud’s selfportrait, painted at the age of 73. The painter said this about his work in general: ‘I’ve always wanted to create drama in my pictures, which is why I paint people. It’s people who have brought drama to pictures from the beginning. The simplest human gestures tell stories.’ Consider that we are looking at the whole of Freud.

With mouth slightly open in contemplation, he telling us the story of him at that time and before, wearing many years in solid strokes of palatable paint. Imagine you move closer to observe one of those strokes you might consider crude or unneeded, but the more you look at it, the more you realise that it indeed has a business being there. Eventually you cannot ever imagine the whole without it, without the whole of whom Freud has chosen to be. The body might be that of a boxer’s due to the chiselled face, carefully sculpted by wet paint within wet paint, but the eyes completely overturn this perception, painted cool and piercing within the strong colours of the skin. At once, there is something more to this man. Something very astute and something that could see right into you. That was the essence of Freud’s art, painting what was there. After all, could you not almost touch that skin? Portraits were once revered within ancient civilisation because the people thought a great likeness could preserve the soul of whoever it was. Nietzsche wrote, ‘When you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back into thee’.

When one stares into Freud’s Reflection, eventually Freud gazes into you, and you are left with, as Cézanne says, an engraving into the sensitive plate of your being. One could consider this as Freud’s masterpiece, not because he has reserved the most skill and attention for a painting of himself, but because he never painted anyone as interesting as himself (there you have another conundrum). Art is only ever all that an artist shows: it is per se the human persona. It is therefore no wonder that the fundamental starting point for all artists has been and still is the human form.

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Fig 1. Aurignacian hand tracing, anonymous artist, 32,000 BC, tinted charcoal on granite

For many years the great 20th-century art movements have matured in the south of France. It is where Paul Cézanne (1839–1906) painted in Aix-en-Provence, a man who is widely accredited with fathering the cubist movement. It is also where Vincent Van Gough (1853–90) made his madness that would give fire to expressionists and abstractionists alike when he painted in Arles. The south of France is not only the cradle of ‘la révolution de l’art’; it is the cradle of all art. In the Ardèche valley, within the Chauvet cave 34,000 years ago, the first known artist spurted tinted charcoal onto his outstretched hand to frame the first essence of a human (fig 1). One might deduce a whole manner of things from any one of the pinpricks and swaths of information we receive from a work of art, yet the simple existence of this ghostly palm is a well of curiosity. What drove this man2 to imprint himself on a cave wall, and also the multitude of grassland animals that elsewhere decorate the cave? Was art created to stave off boredom? Is art the product of the development of computing within the human mind? Or, perhaps, art is just an advancement made by humans into their environment to discover and utilise; the means to make fire would have also been a child of this. What is certain is that it was a composition. Individual aspects were drawn together to give the final impression. The concept of portrait is an absolute, a perception of one’s self and thus the depiction of a single aspect: but what about the indefinable aspect of portraiture? What about the thus far completely incomprehensible intricacies of the human mind? We will never venture out of our individual spheres of existence because as everyone’s thoughts are their own, as are their senses: ‘We’re born alone, we live alone, we die alone.’3 The real power of all art is when something indefinable to yourself, yet wholly relevant, is encapsulated, from the most complex symphony to the simplest analogy. It is a glimpse from your sphere into someone else’s. The Boxer of Quirinal (330 BC) (fig 2), a Hellenistic era Greek sculpture, does not have the same penetrative outlook as Freud in Reflection. In fact, his eyes are quite hollow. Yet a sense of hardship emanates from this man, such anguish from the beaten face and weary body which turn toward the fight (fig 3). In contrast to Freud, you can see inside

Fig 2. Anonymous, The Boxer of Quirinal, 330 BC, bronze

Fig 3. The Boxer of Quirinal, face detail

this man and you can sense what he feels. Kafka wrote that each and every person has a door they want to pass through to discover ‘The Law’, a meaning. We can only just put our noses above whatever obscurity might be in the way, just poke through our door, and then that moment is gone, the feeling diminishing but you are left enlightened. The moment of understanding is indefinable, yet what it yields is a definition.

If one could indeed see great art as a deep rabbit hole of intrigue this is certainly true in a piece such as the Mona Lisa (1503–19) (fig 4). Leonardo Da Vinci (1452–1519) used ‘sfumato’, a merging of sharply contrasting dark and light, to render the art world’s favourite lady. He did this in such a fashion that it leaves a viewer guessing about the true shape of the Mona Lisa’s eyes and smile: if it is a smile (fig 5). The agenda of the woman is not quite whole, it is elusive, and rather than convey who the model is, Da Vinci created a fine display of artistic technique. Yet the Mona Lisa appears to have taken on a life of her own, such was Da Vinci’s genius that it creates living flesh before our eyes. ‘All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players’4 Shakespeare’s Jaques muses. When one looks at a piece such as The Last Supper (fig 6) it does not occur that the disciples are Below left: Fig 4. Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa, 1503–19, oil on wood Below right: Fig 5. Detail of fig 4

Fig 6. Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper, 1495–98, tempera on plaster

mostly aspects of Da Vinci’s mind, the life models just providing a base for the intricate movement and cohesion of the piece to be set in. To some extent we all enact a person that may no longer represent who we are, like children still wear clothes they have outgrown. Such was the case with the great Renaissance artists when they set a stage for their models to act upon. These paradigms dominated the art world for centuries. Europe until the 1600s was in a period called mannerism, a constant imitation of the Renaissance. Later, art that contradicted Renaissance and baroque standards of technique was ridiculed. Even Rembrandt (1606–69), was harshly received when he differed in painterly form. After the arduous artistic change instigated by the impressionists, maintaining a correct image of one’s self became less of a concern for the art world. One can observe such an effect with a post-impressionist painter5 such as William Orpen (1878–1931) whose energy wafted its way into his painting technique in deft dabs of radiance. Jackson Pollack (1912–56) tells us that ‘Every good painter paints what he is’. Jackson Pollock was certainly not bound by anything. His art quite literally flowed from his mind, into his wrist, and flew out onto the canvas.

Through just a glimpse, a single hand shape has been built into an immense world of myriad meandering mediums, a constant exploration into the human psyche. In this sense art is not too different to science, a discovery into the nature of things and leaving an imprint. Whether it be the fingerprints of Bernini (1598–1680), the baroque sculptor, in his clay marquettes or the boot prints of Neil Armstrong in the Sea of Fertility, art will always undoubtedly enthral us more. Jesus’s famous analogy in Matthew 7 states that you should ‘first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye’. In so doing, you will see clearly a whole manner of things.

Stanislaw Braminski Peter Blake, 1993.

Anatomical analysis of the palm’s shape has confirmed it was indeed a man.

Orson Welles.

4 From As You Like It. 5 Not a post-impressionist painter.

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DETWEILER CREATIVE WRITING COMPETITION

THE SENIOR PRIZE ‘Your library is your portrait’ – Holbrook Jackson Of my first disobedience by lifting up the book I start upon this literary Odyssey with trepidation Wondering what shadows of my world Will be mirrored in these familiar, well-loved bookshelves.

A Flanders Mare? A Dorian Gray?

I see the loving touch of a passionate bibliophile.

An excited frisson spanning genres and ages.

From quick-witted Cicero, niggardly Pliny and long-winded Livy Speaking with winged words Of Pious Aeneas, lewd Ovid with his anum lora All crying ‘Θαλασσα, Θαλασσα.’

To the Bloomsbury group, propping each other up in a quiet corner; A green dust jacket.

A lesbian kiss?

So little space given over to them. A single day.

A green dust jacket.

Be afraid, Mr Albee. Be very afraid.

From the hidden corner of Nordic noir Under the watchful eye of M and the Circus, Elementary titillation for the little grey cells; To another voyage aboard the Dawn Treader, Alethiometer in hand, Taming troublesome trucks, butchering Bloodbottlers, Searching the mountains of Mordor, outwitting Opal Koboi …

But always back in time for tea with lashings of ginger beer.

The comforting staircase of my childhood, step by step.

Bump, bump, bump.

I see someone never lost for words, Befriended by Messrs Roget, Larousse, Webster and Chambers.

A serious someone Spending time with the divine Dante, Or the virtuous Spenser and his Faerie Queene; Or on the Riverside with Chaucer, Telling tales of ilke worthy Knyght and a sclendre colerik Reve.

A playful someone, cryptic or acrostic Cater, crate, trace, react, carte, caret, recta.

Someone who eats, sleeps and reads.

Above all, I see someone delighting in the evocative beauty of literature.

So many heroes to stimulate my University Wits.

Whether ‘tis the green-eyed monster of vaulting ambition,

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Nick Chapman

Or the madness born in the rank sweat of an enseamed bed, Or flamed in the ashes of youth; There is none but Shakespeare to teach the secrets of the human heart.

My dear Miss Austen, on the other hand, handsome, clever, And to crown the whole, with a wit every bit as sharp As the bodkin holding her tight little ringlets in place; Miss Austen appeals to my sense of humour.

A single woman, biting social commentary And five thousand a year.

Nothing could be more delightful!

Now, with Dickens, I am seduced by his sublime descriptions; at times so fulsome it is like rambling in a familiar dale (enjoyable, wearying, and somehow good for the soul); at other times so crisp, so pithy, so apt they make me wince, like sampling the first sharp fruits of summer.

An apposite name, a choice phrase and characters spring to life; The ‘umble Uriah Heep; the practical, stifling Gradgrind; the overbearing philanthropist Honeythunder.

James Carker’s smile like the snarl of a cat, rarely extending beyond his mouth; The acid quality of Charity Pecksniff as if an extra lemon Had been squeezed into the nectar of her disposition; Her father Seth likened to a direction post, Always telling the way to a place but never goes there.

Underpinning it all a stinging social critique That chafes my cotton-wool conscience.

Sing worthy Milton to my thoughtful self Of matters weighty and on high; I thence Invoke thy aid to my adventurous toil, Instruct me for thou know’st; ‘twas thou who wrote Things unattempted yet in prose or rhyme.

I seek to study; what in me is dark Illumine, what is low raise and support; That to the height of your great argument I may aspire to read and understand And justify the ways of God to me.

All in all, I see the portrait of a bookworm as a young larva.

Quot libros, quam breve tempus: so many books, so little time. shantih shantih shantih Nick Chapman (With apologies to all my literary idols)

THE JUNIOR PRIZE

Logan Jones

VISIONS AND RETROSPECTIONS (Abridged)

1951 I first met Rory Danes at a mutual friend’s gathering a couple of years back, and I gotta say I didn’t think much of him the first time I clapped eyes on him … The next time I met him was about 18 months ago. I’d gone for a drink in one of my favourite bars in New York with Dick Fletcher, a good friend of mine … I looked down the bar to see none other than Rory Danes, all by himself, head down, nursing a scotch. I know I hadn’t liked the guy much when I had first met him, but he looked so goddamn lonely all by himself that I couldn’t help but ask him if he wanted to join me and Fletch … and, my God, he was a revelation! Fletch left after a couple hours but Rory and I just kept on talking and debating for hours and hours until last call and we went to another bar and just kept on talking. He had this great, great mind and fantastic opinions on everything from politics to books to film …

The next day I met him at his apartment like we’d arranged; we were going to spend the whole night talking and drinking and dancing … Kathy had been getting ready in the other room, leaving me and Rory to talk for a while. But when she came out and I saw her for the first time I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. She was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen in my life … I was insanely jealous of him, though I tried never to let it show. I’m never sure how much I succeeded at that.

So we went out, the three of us. That night is basically what my life is now, and has been for the last nine months.

We would roar through New York so fast you wouldn’t believe it, with me cowering helplessly in my seat while Kathy laughed and Rory sat at the wheel, driving like a madman. We would meet up with friends of theirs – who would soon become friends of mine – who showed us fantastic jazz bars and clubs where Rory would dance with Sophie so atavistically you’d think he’d lost control of his arms or something crazy like that. That was the thing with Rory: during the day he’d be very mellow and talk to you about anything you wanted, but as soon as the sky went dark and the stars started poking through and he had a couple of drinks in him, he was unstoppable. When we went to other cities and even over the border to Mexico, he was even wilder. And it was this incredible and wonderful zest for life he had that drew people to him; he was what they had been looking for in themselves their whole life – they just didn’t know it …

1961 The last time Rory and I went out was the late autumn of 1958 … We had a good night; we danced and drank and talked and shot some pool; it was all very mellow. But what troubled me about it was that it was too mellow for a night on the town with Rory. In the ‘Golden Years of Rory’ – as I coined it – we’d have spent all night running around the city, gone to bed in the morning and done the whole thing again the next night. The night my book was published in 1958, I was in bed by 11.30. And though he made an effort to make an effort, he was nothing like the tireless, vivacious free spirit that I had known and missed so much.

He died last year. He just went very quietly one night, but that’s all I have to say about that. Partly because it upsets me too much to think about it. Not many people came to his funeral – in fact there were only five of us: myself, Fletch, the mutual friend whose gathering we first met at (whose name I can’t remember for the life of me), the vicar and Rory himself.

Kathy didn’t come …

I remember one of the last things he said to me. I’d gone round his apartment as usual to see how he was getting on … He started to talk about how lonely he’d been, and he said to me: ‘Vincent van Gogh once said “One may have a blazing hearth in one's soul, and yet no one ever comes to sit by it.” … At first it’s difficult to adjust, but I soon discovered that you must make a friend of Loneliness, otherwise he is an adversary who will haunt you. All I’m going to say now is this: make your friends and keep them. Never let any of them get away.’

When I left that night I got in my car and broke down before I drove anywhere. He had moved me to tears; not simply through his words, but by the truth of them. I’d never felt that sad in my entire life. I knew I’d never see him again.

But it was okay, in a way, because I knew he’d said everything he’d wanted to say, and sometimes, when someone says everything they wanted or needed to say, that’s enough. That’s all that matters. Some people say too much, others not enough. Rory Danes had said a lot, but at least it had all made sense and mattered to somebody.

Logan Jones

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MOROCCO 2012

Every October the geography department embarks on an international field trip. This year was like no other. The destination: Morocco. Located on the North African coastline, Morocco is one of the most well-known Maghreb states, offering breathtaking landscapes and a mixture of African and Arabic culture. It was sure to be a brilliant field trip. After meeting our international contingent at Heathrow and boarding a slightly delayed plane, we were on our way. At this point the first hitch emerged with Will Jackson’s luggage being left behind at Heathrow! A big thank you must go to Clark Davidson for making significant clothing available for Will to enjoy on the trip (Will only got his bag back on the penultimate day and Clark returned with less underwear than he started with)! We were then introduced

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to our driver, Abdul (affectionately known as Abdul ‘The Bull’), our guide, Anwar, and our security man, Hamide. After a short journey we arrived at Hotel Amine, a top quality three-star hotel that didn’t disappoint. It was in the lobby where a couple of us, along with Mr Walker, sat while the locals played this one song on repeat which turned out to be the smash hit C’est La Vie by Kahlid. It became our very own theme tune for this trip. It also provided inspiration for the infamous dance move ‘the camel’!

Up at 7.30 am on day one with breakfast at 8 am, we packed onto the bus in good spirits. The destination today was Ouazarate, but the scenes that unfolded en route were unbelievable. We paused to hear and see the canal which reduces the water-stress conditions in semi-arid areas. Anwar threw out some quality anecdotes including the fact that one litre of prickly pear oil costs 1,500 euros! We neared the summit of the pass over the High Atlas Mountains. The bus began to awake with excitement, anticipation and in some cases considerable fear as the roads got narrower and there were staggering drops on either side of the road! However, we safely reached 2,260 metres and took in the fantastic sights of the surrounding area.

After lunch we set off for ‘The Sleepy Town’. A packet of Haribo was opened for home comforts but didn’t last very long, especially after Mr Strachan’s butterfingers meant they ended up all over the floor (and to think he then went on about his cricket prowess)! We also did a tour of a film studio as well as going to see our first kasbah.

Day two began and again we were on the bus. We saw the typical features of mesas and buttes with pediments and the extensive plains around. However, the day was significantly

impacted by a political meeting blocking the road. The danger was such that the army and police suggested we went back to Ouazarate. We got a driving master class from ‘The Bull’ with an eight-point turn, but this delay affected us greatly as the resulting seven-hour trip, accompanied by considerable illness, was very difficult. However, spirits remained high. At the end of the day we drove over the dunes in bouncing 4 x 4 cars. The Erg desert at Chebbe was something to behold. The sand went on for as far as the eye could see; the lack of rocks and just fine sand made it

an incredible sight. Our desert camp awaited us and for many it was ‘paradise’. However, to Pete it was anything but, as he claimed to have seen a scorpion!

Our wake up for day three was one of the highlights of the trip. The sunrise over the dunes was second to none: even a bit of cloud cover didn’t detract from the experience. Josh Li and Mr Gracie were off trekking to capture the perfect picture while the rest of us simply enjoyed waking up from a night in a tent in the middle of the Sahara. Before we left we all got on a camel and

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went up and down the dunes for half an hour. When the time to get off came, some of us found we were rather attached to our camels: Mr Walker’s famous disembarkation proved that he was particularly attached to his! On the journey back we came across a lot of artesian wells. These were amazing; they went on for miles and were dug all the way from the Atlas Mountains. At around 17 metres deep, this underground water system showed how important water is to the locals. These wells are hand dug,

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and people have risked life and limb to go underground and connect the wells together so there is a constant flow of water.

The positive of this is that the sun will not cause the water to evaporate as much as an open well, but it is extremely dangerous to create them. On the other side of the road were examples of barchan dunes which had formed across the road as a result of a one-directional prevailing wind.

Something which many of us were unaware of is the problem of sand encroachment. The fine sand particles get moved by the wind, but when the wind drops they are deposited; this can be anywhere. Attempts to try to stop this vary from tree walls to bamboo sticks but, ultimately, they are all fruitless processes. About a minute into our bus journey and the reality of this showed; half the road was covered in sand.

Moving on from this we ended up at a museum. This was like no other; built by one man over 20 years and centred on three water springs, the precision of detail, effort and information was astonishing. The history of Morocco and the Berbers was charted, along with models of nomadic homes and cuisine techniques; it really was incredible. He was an artist as well, and his gallery lived up to the rest of the museum’s standards. More treats followed as we went through the Todra Gorge. Standing at 300 metres tall in certain points and only 30 metres wide, the views were exceptional and the geographical concepts were profound.

Day five and the bus was quiet: a few had fallen ill and to aid their recovery we went to a spice pharmacy just down the road from the hotel. The smells were abundant and the list of different goods there resembled an Argos catalogue. Mr Gracie stepped up for a shoulder massage, while we were all offered ‘very special student prices for you, my friend’ if we purchased goods. We then headed back to the Red City, Marrakech. On the way, we stopped off at the UNESCO Heritage Site of the Kasbar of Ait-Ben-Haddou. The kasbah was built on a mound and the river surrounding it was great for showing thalweg erosion,

helicoidal flow and point bars (good AS-level revision): a true dream for geographers. The Mummy, Gladiator and many others had been filmed at this location over the years and now it was the setting for Game of Thrones. A man-made bank was being formed: an example of man’s intervention in natural processes.

On our way down the Atlas Mountains, the importance of the limited resource of water was shown through the ‘three-level cultivation system’ that the Berbers have adapted. Also highlighted was the importance of dates – 90,000 tonnes are exported from Morocco each year. In this arid area, we were surprised when heavy rain started to fall. The effects were astonishing: wadis became choked with sediment, rock falls occurred and ploughs were out to clean the debris off the road.

The rain forced us to cancel our visit to the Djemmaa el-Fnaa, an amazing square in the centre of Marrakech, so we headed to one of the 27 McDonald’s restaurants in the country (globalisation at its worst). En route, health and safety was not top of the agenda and Mr Gracie was close to handing in his resignation letter after witnessing various pupils having close shaves with the traffic!

We experienced the Moroccan way of queuing and finally got some food. Again that ‘safe place’ to cross the four-lane road caused concern, but we all eventually made it back to the

‘chunder chariot’ to enjoy the music and one another’s company.

Day six began and Anwar had failed to tell us that it was a fancy dress day as he appeared in his Jedi robe looking like Obi-Wan Kenobi! However, his outfit did provide us with an insight into local culture and we went off to ‘The Square of Execution’, with snake charmers, dancers and a lot of people offering the same ‘very special student prices’ for some attractive goods (and some rather less so). Kebabs and birthday cake was for lunch – Josh Li’s 18th birthday was celebrated in style! We said our final goodbyes to Anwar, Abdul and Hamide and awaited our chariot home. After touching down in a chilly 3ºC, the minibuses, led by ‘Trees’ and Mr Adams, took us back to Bedford.

The memories of C’est La Vie by Khaled will linger well beyond the trip! Thanks to Pirlot for enabling us to hear it throughout the last few days. We left with many mixed memories of our visit to Morocco. A big thank you must go to the most enthusiastic geographer on the trip, Mr Walker, the ever energetic Mr Gracie and last, but by no means least, Mr Strachan. It was a truly memorable field trip in all regards with a lot of top geography thrown in for good measure!

James Strode

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I don’t drink coffee I take tea my dear I like my toast done on one side And you can hear it in my accent when I talk I’m an Englishman in New York.

Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner (Sting) In Englishman in New York, Sting taps out the pulse of a city in a smart tempo of jazzy satire. It pales slightly against something like the whirlwind of energy in George Gershwin’s American in Paris, but I will always prefer the former (‘cos it’s a classic). It would be difficult to compare both songs to the respective city; both have changed somewhat since writing. But I believe both artists have paced forth ‘in the eyes of all posterity’, and that they have had a hand in the building of bridges across the Atlantic. I hope thus was also the case when the Bedford boys embarked on their journey across the pond to sample America’s great oeuvre (and a substantial portion of Europe’s: we felt quite at home).

So as these two marvellous compositions require that you put yourself into the shoes of some bemused soul in a spinning alien city, so do I that you put yourself into my shoes; more precisely, my walking shoes, and thoroughly worn out feet. In New York New York, we walk we walk; for four days up and down the four sides of Central Park quickly scribbling and sketching in and out of museums and galleries. To say the least, we got around a bit,

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and we got a bit done. Some even had time to unwind a little bit on the go: the boys’ tour de force of West Life hits throughout the streets and subway was unrivalled; sadly, not too well received by the art staff.

So what music did I, bemused soul, hear in the streets of New York? Well, I’m not that sort of artist. For me it’s more centred on perspective and proportion, which in New York, is all out (of the window). In New York the mild mannered Bedfordian artist is drowned in enormously vast streets, sky-high buildings and tremendous restaurant courses (and tips and tax!).

This was strongly evoked in The Metropolitan, a titanic cavernous expanse of museum that somehow still manages to cram too much art into too little space; and we had all too little time to completely sift through several millennia of history. I am certain everybody in the group saw something no one else did.

The majority, however, must have seen Bernini In Clay (featured exhibition), a brilliant opportunity to see the greatest genius of the baroque period in small intimate clay models; to see the seeds of great masterpieces such as the Fountain of Four Rivers. This extraordinary range of graceful figurines came from all over: from Harvard University, the Vatican, and the V&A. There was also Regarding Warhol, where most saw Andy Warhol’s famous silkscreen series of Marilyn Monroe, made in the month of her death as a tribute, apparently to capture ‘her beautiful face’ (some sort of thoroughly modern death mask?).

New York Art tour THE MAGAZINE OF BEDFORD SCHOOL AND THE OLD BEDFORDIANS CLUB

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The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is a curious building in which one has to walk upwards round and round in a coil while viewing works; it looked rather like an energy light bulb from the outside (a certain someone told me the exhibition had to be viewed from the top, which I found to be false only after walking all the way to the top. At least the gallery saved the best until last …).

The featured exhibition was Picasso Black and White which was a little more curious than the Guggenheim. It was the first time I really tasted the delicious side of Picasso which everyone seems to get around to sooner or later. It was an equal joy to behold Cézanne’s mirage of colour in his Bibémus in the gallery’s permanent 1860–1900 exhibition, as it was to see the amazing proportions of Picasso’s Reclining Woman Playing with a Black Cat. Afterwards, on the outside of the Guggenheim, we almost missed the Empire State Building because of a late comer; however, this tense moment immediately became my favourite of the tour. At a bleak time, off the clock, and almost knocked out of the bottom of Mr Campbell’s schedule, Mr Croker exclaimed ‘It’s a disaster’ to which a boy replied ‘I know, sir, there’s Picassos everywhere’.

It was not only he who got a dose of modern madness. At the Whitney Museum there was De Kooning’s vibrant Door to the River, and a brilliant breadth of Edward Hopper’s work, when the

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artist was really beginning to delve into the manipulation of light.

I will remember the MOMA in particular for its phenomenal photographic work; among a collection spanning a whole century, there was fascinating work about the leak of the Vietnam War into American domestic life.

We were also very privileged to be able to enjoy an evening with Miles Young, Old Bedfordian and CEO of Ogilvy Advertising.

After a tour of his oriental art collection and a presentation in the heart of Ogilvy’s chief office, we dined in style at a barbecue eat-in across the road.

New York certainly made an impression, but was it the journey, the art or the city? Perhaps it was just most important that everybody brought back something worthwhile; (I, a cheap print of the Chrysler building), and we all had a glance into the fervour of a city where one is not allowed to sleep; no worries, everybody did on the plane. To my knowledge, George Bellows, the celebrated American realist painter, only painted the inner metropolitan frenzy of New York once, in 1911. For him, that one time was enough. For me, indeed for all of us who went on the trip, who knows?

Enormous thanks and gratitude, of course, to the big three: Mr Campbell whose meticulous planning and unrelenting pace made the tour happen; Mr Croker; and Mr Chance who kept up, and made sure no man was left behind.

Stanisław Braminski

Assankhan Amirov, Year 11

Luke Adams, Year 13 Kevin Chan, Year 12

ART

Tom Marlow-Gilks, Year 12 Hadley Eames, Year 12

Ilyas Orazalin, Year 13

Lester Cheung, Year 13

Charlie Miller, Year 13

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Will Govoni, Year 13

Josh McNulty, Year 11

Marcus Eames, Year 12 Philip Tsang, Year 12

Sam Barkes, Year 12

Ali Jones, Year 13

Charlie Campbell-Gray, Year 13

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Josh Steel, Year 12

Asif Za’ir, Year 11

Ali Bourne, Year 13

Hustin Bhatt, Year 11

Gordon Yip, Year 11

ART

Paavan Chouhan, Year 11

Felix Lin, Year 11

Stanislaw Braminski, Year 12

Ali Blake, Year 12

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THE GILBERT LLOYD LECTURES IVY SMITH Bedford School was fortunate to host Ivy Smith as she not only presented her wonderful work in our main foyer but also give us a real insight into her work by speaking to us as part of the Gilbert Lloyd Lecture series. I found the speech not only fascinating but also very educational. One thing that Smith really edified was the intelligent way that she and other artists use composition to aid the viewer in observing the piece and making the piece very dynamic. She explained how the use of a grid can aid this process by aligning features of the picture with certain diagonals; this is where working from drawings was a big advantage to her. One thing that was evident not only in her presentation but also in her exhibition is that Smith is a really fantastic draughtswoman, working quickly to capture her sitters. Smith prefers not to use photography which I feel is very admirable, so this means that she does rely a lot on her draughtsmanship to aid her in producing her paintings. She said that she feels it is really important that a painting feels like a painting and is not just a photographic representation of her sitter and I feel that this really sums up her works as you constantly see her bending the composition and colours in search of producing a really striking and powerful image.

Smith started by showing a couple of pieces that had inspired her to become an artist, one of which was a Renaissance altarpiece that really helped me understand her work. One thing that she outlined was the way that she really liked the lack of the chiaroscuro. Chiaroscuro is when shapes fade out into darkness with a smooth transmission meaning you can’t always see the outline of shapes. This illustrated Smith’s love of shapes and this for me really underpins most of her work from there on. Having drawn one of her portraits from the exhibition I could really feel how the face was composed of shapes rather than one smooth, flowing form. This is also echoed by the very defined composition that she has intelligently arranged.

This Renaissance painting also helped her on her way to achieving another strength which is painting pictures with multiple people rather than just one sitter. In this painting you saw the figures connecting in areas like hands and feet. This, I think, inspired Smith to really focus on connecting the multiple

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subjects in her paintings. You can see that she pays a lot of attention to the hands of her sitters in her preparatory drawings, a technique which can make her portraits very powerful.

On the whole I thought that Ivy Smith’s visit to Bedford School was a resounding success and we were very grateful to have her here, not only to present her work but also talk to us about it. The talk was very informative about her work, revealing a lot about how she goes about producing her paintings and what had inspired her.

Charlie Campbell-Gray

MARTIN GAYFORD Martin Gayford returned to Bedford School to give a talk on the work of David Hockney.

Hockney is a friend of his and this provided him a wealth of anecdotal information with which he regaled us all. His previous lecture on Lucian Freud was very popular and again he showed us that he knew the artist very well. The information and insight that he gave us on Hockney, I think, far surpassed the Lucian Freud lecture.

Gayford explained to us that Hockney now uses an iPad as one of his favoured mediums. He has revolutionised art and how it is presented and exhibited. Gayford revealed to us drawings that were 100 per cent original and in most cases had not been seen by the public before as Hockney had emailed the images to him just prior to the lecture. Even when Gayford was talking about Hockney’s earlier works, you could still feel his connection with the artist and that really added to the talk for me.

Gayford is a knowledgeable and well-known art critic and, having written several books, it was evident that he was very well informed about his subject. Having been fortunate enough to have had dinner with him beforehand I was able to talk to him about Hockney, Lucian Freud and also his current work on Michelangelo and it really struck me how much work he undertakes when he is researching an artist, examining original archives and letters relating to Michelangelo and fellow artists of the time. He was able to put the art into context and bring it alive for the audience.

Gayford also managed to give us a complete retrospective of Hockney’s work and this revealed sides of the artist that I had never really known about. One of those is how effective Hockney was as a draughtsman, which for me is the fundamental skill in art. Seeing some of his life drawings really allowed me to appreciate his skill and even relate to what we students are doing at the moment. It was inspirational. Gayford conveyed Hockney’s versatility and he definitely inspired the student body as, the next day, I and other members of the art school were experimenting with iPhones and portraits.

Through his very quiet demeanour and his wealth of knowledge of his friend Hockney, Martin Gayford gave a lecture that provided us with information about more than just the art that Hockney created. By the end, I felt we knew a lot about Hockney the man, what he believed in and what inspired him.

We were very grateful to have Martin Gayford for another stimulating and enlightening evening and I can only hope that he returns in the years to come.

Charlie Campbell-Gray

WILLIAM GOMPERTZ Will Gompertz, OB, brought yet another different style of lecture to Bedford School for the final Gilbert Lloyd lecture of the academic year. When he started cracking jokes from the offset, I started to think that this was more of a stand-up comedy act rather than an art lecture.

He then went on to a section of the talk entitled ‘Monet or Manet’. Here he showed a selection of paintings and close-ups of sections of works by both Monet and Manet and he gave the audience the chance to guess which one it was before revealing the answer. After being put on the spot, Mr Campbell, who correctly identified all the right answers, excellently described the difference in styles and approaches between the two artists and, by the end, almost the whole audience were able to guess which one was which. I thought that this was both very interesting and educational at the same time. He rightly made the point that not many people would be able to distinguish the difference between the two very well-

known names, apart from the second letter in the name.

Gompertz also talked about his latest book on the advent of modern art. Using volunteers from the audience he made them act out a segment about the story of how Duchamp made his modern-art statement by exhibiting a urinal. It was techniques like this that not only added comedy and excitement to his talk but also helped explain his point very clearly. I know even the Head Master said that he left the lecture with his mind more open to modern art, which in my opinion rendered the talk to be a success.

After the lecture I showed Gompertz around his old boarding house, Redburn, and you could really tell how excited he was to return. We were really privileged to have him back to talk to us and we hope he will return in the near future for events here at Bedford School.

Charlie Campbell-Gray

TIMOTHY HYMAN Since his last visit, the artist and art historian Timothy Hyman has been elected to the RA so we were extremely grateful that he could find time for a return visit to Bedford in February, this time to talk about the artist Max Beckmann.

In his lecture Tim considered how, from its beginnings in the fin de siècle up to its completion after the Second World War, Beckmann’s work reflected an era of radical change in both art and history. He explained how many of Beckmann’s paintings express the agonies of Europe in the first half of the 20th century and that some of his imagery refers to the decadent glamour of the Weimar Republic’s cabaret culture. Tim explained how, from the 1930s on, his works often contain mythologised references to the brutalities of the Nazis.

What was compelling about the lecture was how Tim emphasised that, beyond these immediate concerns, Beckmann’s subjects and symbols assume a larger meaning, voicing universal themes of terror, redemption, and the mysteries of eternity and fate. A memorable lecture.

M. Croker

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ALENE TRAILER CARAVAN Charlie Miller Name

Charlie Miller

Age

18

Level

GCE

Category

Product Design

Project Name Alene Trailer Caravan

Description Reinventing a design classic, the Alene trailer caravan modernises caravan design, bringing it into the 21st century. Caravans on the market today can look dated, most of them with unexciting beige and white exteriors of a similar shape and form. This concept has broken away from the market to offer a modern and iconic trailer caravan which fits the modern environment.

By doing this, it is intended to demolish the social stereotype that comes with caravanning, thereby attracting younger holidaymakers into the market.

The Alene trailer caravan comes in a wide range of different colours, making it individualistic and personal to the user and far from the white boxes usually seen on the market today.

The spheres incorporated throughout the design provide an alternative and attractive exterior, removing the product from the status quo and drawing in a wider range of potential customers.

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TRI TIME Kevin Wong Tian Hong Name

Kevin Wong Tian Hong

Age

16

Level

IGCSE

Category

Product Design

Project Name Tri Time

Description Tri Time is not just an ordinary clock, it can attach itself to a variety of surfaces. Being fun in its appearance, the design is capable of attaching to the edge of a bookshelf or even hanging on the hooks behind doors.

The colour choice is bright and vibrant intended to catch the user’s attention and appeal to a younger audience.

The elegant spherical design not only gives Tri Time a modern outlook, but also increases its practicability. The tripod is fastened to the clock by just a screw and can be separated by users in a split second if they want to use the clock independently. Eyecatching, vibrant and fun, the design will stand out against those of competitors as something different.

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SUPER L SLP Mikail Awan Name

Mikail Awan

Age

16

Level

IGCSE

Category

Product Design

Project Name Super L SLP (Super Leggera Stepladder)

Description The Super Leggera Stepladder (Super L SLP) is a contemporary design of chair that combines seating with a two-step ladder.

To access the ladder the seat is simply lifted and the step unit pulled down. The chair is designed to be unobtrusive and allows the steps to be easily stored after use. The step unit works via a pivot between the legs so that it does not cause discomfort to the user.

The colour scheme was chosen as its effect is to reassure users that the chair is solid and reliable and will support their weight. Designed around Gio Ponti’s 1965 Super Leggera, the product appears elegant and lightweight.

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MJÖLNIR William Govoni Name

William Govoni

Age

18

Level

GCE

Category

Environmental Design

Project Name MJÖLNIR

Description Mjölnir is a futuristic concept of a wireless charging column for electric vehicles. The device would not only be easy to use but also promote the use of nonfossil fuel powered vehicles.

The form of the column was inspired by the organic forms of flower buds which underline the environmentrelated aim of the product. The white colour helps it to be easily spotted by people driving and walking past.

The column allows the user to select the charging options through the touch screen as well as providing other information about the urban environment, such as a public transport system or maps. A QR scanning system would allow the user to quickly and easily pay for this service.

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CARAFFA Jack McLeod Name

Jack McLeod

Age

18

Level

GCE

Category

Product Design

Project Name Caraffa Description Caraffa is a drinkingwater dispenser for the urban environment. It was designed to help reduce our demand for disposable water bottles and thereby reduce environmental impact. To be located in town centres, parks, near stations and shopping centres, the product is aimed at city workers, commuters and tourists.

Its elegant form was developed through the study of the traditional hand water pumps, water and wine decanters and the necks of swans.

The half-scale model incorporates clean-flowing lines and would be made from stainless steel with a cast-iron base. The materials and colours were chosen for their durability and to complement modern architecture, while contrasting elegantly with park environments.

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BLUE FIN Philippe Ziya Name

Philippe Ziya

Age

18

Level

GCE

Category

Environmental Design

Project Name Blue Fin

Description This design is based around the design of an original water wheel, once commonly seen around our waterways.

Developed to incorporate new materials and improve performance and efficiency, the wheel aims to generate greater interest in clean energy generation.

Following testing, a mid-entry point system was used to drive the wheel as it helped to increase efficiency.

The wheel would be attached to a gearbox to allow the control of torque and thereby maximise the energy transferred to the motor.

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INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION OF ‘CHATROOM’ BY ENDA WALSH

Synopsis Not often does theatre touch on the subject of the Internet, but in the case of the play Chatroom by Enda Walsh, it does so with great wisdom and maturity. Chatroom is set online in an Internet chatroom, where a depressed teenager, Jim, looks for help and understanding about his problems. Online he meets five other teenagers and their conversations range in subject from Britney Spears to Willy Wonka to … suicide. Jim is depressed and talks of ending his life. Therefore, Eva and William decide to do their utmost to persuade him to carry out his threat. From this chilling premise is forged a funny, compelling and yet dark play that tackles the issues of teenage life head-on and with great understanding.

Our Production When I decided with my co-director, Harry, that we were going to put on our own production, I quickly realised that it was one of the best decisions I made in my whole life. Despite the late rehearsals and the large amount of work that putting on a production entails, it was a thrilling experience, watching something we had created grow and develop into a piece of theatre that we were extremely proud of.

In the words of theatre critic Rachel Lynn Brody: ‘What is so refreshing about Chatroom is that it is a play which connects with issues faced by every teenager, without becoming an “issues play”. Enda Walsh has created a poignant and effective landscape for his teenage protagonists, in which personal emotions and shifting alliances, both mainstays of adolescence, take centre stage.’ This was, in itself, an exciting prospect as it was interesting as a director and as an actor to explore a piece that was contemporary – very different to the more classical texts I was used to.

As directors, Harry and I decided to put a creative twist on the staging of the play, which is normally head on to the audience.

However, feeling that this would not do justice to the play, we decided to stage Chatroom in-the-round, having the audience on all sides, allowing for more movement and freedom of expression for our actors.

I cannot express how proud Harry and I were of our extremely talented cast, who all gave convincing and moving performances.

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Archie Rush captured the insecurity of Jim perfectly and the audience were completely absorbed by his every word, portraying the sensitivity of such a delicate character and his descent into depression perfectly. This was complemented by the mature and well-delivered performance of Eddy Arbe-Barnes, who revealed the indecisiveness of Jack extremely well – the audience were held on the edge of their seats by his unwillingness to go along with William’s plan.

It was also lovely to have strong performances from pupils at both Bedford Modern and Bedford Girls’ School. Emily Tapp gave an exceedingly emotional and touching portrayal of Laura, the singular voice of reason encountered by Jim on his cyberjourney. She delivers the emotional core of the piece, especially in a speech she makes near the play’s climax which had the entire audience spellbound. Eva, excellently portrayed by Ellie Harbinson, gave the impression of being a bubbly teenage girl – however, Ellie then ripped this facade into tatters later in the play, revealing to the audience her character’s cold heart and cruel nature as she and William bully Jim into suicide. Abi Setchfield gave a great performance as Emily, perfectly balancing her sensitivity and her more rebellious streak to create a symbol of defiance and the voice of reason. Finally, the contribution of the extras must not be forgotten, as their performances helped create the atmosphere of the piece and tie it all together into a production I am extremely proud to have been a part of.

Cast: William – Matthew Gouldesbrough Jim – Archie Rush Jack – Eddy Arbe-Barnes Laura – Emily Tapp Eva – Ellie Harbinson Emily – Abi Setchfield Extras – Logan Jones, Rukudzo Msindo, Conrad Staroscik, Marcus Eames and Olly Wright Lighting operator – Dan Nicholls Sound operator – Harry Churchill-Coleman Directed, produced and designed by Matthew Gouldesbrough and Harry Churchill-Coleman Matthew Gouldesbrough

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A CHRISTMAS CAROL

The cast managed to engage the audience from the start and transported us to Victorian London. Actors had managed to enter their characters and were obviously enjoying the production. The storytellers added a feel of pantomime with their carousing songs and spirited voices and moved the story along with energy and pace. One wondered how Scrooge’s dreams and visions would be handled; they were handled well and the special effects and strength of acting captured the eerie times of dark o’clock with confidence and weight. Stanislaw Braminski gave a fine performance as the Ghost of Christmas Past, as did Matthew Gouldesbrough as the Ghost of Christmas Present.

Jack McLeod was also powerful, appearing truly fearful as the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. Lydia and Joanna Prettyman and Sarah Staker threw themselves into the partying and created the warm atmosphere of the Christmas at home that Scrooge eventually so missed.

Alastair Bourne displayed many talents as Scrooge; his performance was strong throughout and gave the narrative

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believability; as always, he has the ability to capture a character and make it his own. James Strode also performed well as Bob Cratchett and was totally engaging. The cast as a whole must be congratulated for their energy and obvious enjoyment. The singing was robust and, at times, appropriately sensitive. The moments whizzed by, totally engrossing. The cackling Charwomen in the final scene added some Christmas pantomime slapstick which really captured the audience’s humour; a contrast to the black moments of Scrooge’s dreams.

Congratulations to Sarah Swidenbank whose direction shone throughout. The set, designed by James Pharaoh and Gareth Swidenbank, was imaginatively conceived and expertly constructed, giving a real period feel to the play and evoking a Victorian scene in all it’s different moods. We, the art staff, thoroughly enjoyed the evening and it was good to see so many students being able to shine and perform to a full house on every evening that the play ran.

R. Campbell

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SIETE GRITOS EN EL MAR (‘CONFESSIONS’) In February, a cast of eight Bedford School boys, alongside five others from Bedford Modern School and Bedford Girls’ School, put on performances of Alejandro Casona’s play in Spanish Siete Gritos en el Mar. This play, which premiered in 1952 in Buenos Aires and had its first performance in Spain in 1968, involves a passenger liner used as a deliberate decoy for U-boat torpedoes at the start of naval hostilities. As a result, the lives of seven very different first-class passengers are thrown into the spotlight, divulging in their final hours details of their past and present lives as they try to come to terms with imminent death. In a play that blends reality and dreams with symbolism, their confessions form the central interest of the drama.

Preparations are being readied on board ship for Christmas and, alone in an armchair, sleeps Juan de Santillana (played by Ed Kearey). He startles awake at a dream, finding the journal of the Old Captain (Steven Fahmy) on his lap. This book is retrieved by the captain before being returned without its final page, apparently a precursor to what awaits. Joined for pre-dinner drinks by a professor (Rory McCracken) and then Baron Pertus (Sam Assim), with his companion Nina (Nancy Paladina), Santillana oversees the gradual entrance on to the stage of all the major protagonists, just in time for dinner to be served and news of their fate to be brought unceremoniously by the captain, who suggests they might as well confess to their sins while they still have the chance.

Sporting a mix of costumes (from black tie to a cricket jumper and elbow-length white gloves to a bolo tie) the cast lay bare two of their ‘confessions’ before the interval. One of these by Rebecca Preston, who plays Mercedes, the wife of Santiago Zabala (Karan Gupta), carries a most memorable line: ‘My

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husband is a murderer; my lover – the suave director Harrison (Ed Arbe-Barnes) – is a scoundrel’. As both Santiago and Harrison are on stage at the time, this makes for a comic, yet also tense and dramatic moment.

Love is a theme explored in the play and it is perhaps given greater significance by the tragedy that awaits. In one flashback, showcasing the plentiful acting talents of our very own Leyre Solano (who also directed this production), we see why Gupta’s character is labelled a murderer. Later, Nina (Paladina) wonders out loud to the audience whether she will ever hear those dos palabras (in English, ‘those three little words’ – an imprecise translation), given her prior experience with suitors. However there is a happy ending in marriage for her to Assim’s Baron Pertus.

Ultimately, it is a platonic love that plays a vital role in the play.

This emerges between Juan de Santillana and Charlotte Bociek’s reclusive character, Julia, whose reticent nature perhaps prevents her joining the fray at an earlier stage. After a crescendo in tension with the remaining confessions, the firstclass passengers embrace the realities of their situations. At this point, and to highlight the fact that all are equal in death, a rather loud, tambourine-wielding third-class passenger, Touwa Dunn, bursts onto the stage before director Harrison loses his cool and is silenced (shot) by the ship’s officer. In the chaos of missiles landing and red lights flashing, Kearey’s Santillana startles awake. Has it all been a dream?

Unsettling similarities greet him upon his waking; in front of the Old Captain’s photograph a younger version of the captain (Filip Kozera) praises the bravery of his predecessor (Fahmy) in saving all his passengers’ lives during a previous naval

encounter. Sound familiar? It does to Santillana, who realises that he has time to make a difference to his new friend Julia and duly goes about saving her life. We meet the same characters one final time but there are happier differences: Petrus and Nina are still an item and a less-frantic Harrison appears optimistic about the war. The revelation that reality mirrors some of the insights Santillana received while asleep seems troubling at first but hope wins the day and most characters enjoy a greater or lesser degree of liberation by the end.

Except for the odd missed line – which could have been a deliberate test to make sure Mr Huxford kept up with the action and delivered all prompts! – anyone would have found it hard to believe that the cast only had one full dress rehearsal with all players present! In Mr Huxford’s words: ‘This was a totally uncut version and our young linguists/thespians had to commit a great number of lines to memory, and this they did with much skill and

commitment. It is a challenging play to put on and there were ups and downs along the way; however, the youngsters came through powerfully and covered themselves with great credit.’

Thanks must go to William Govoni for the artwork, to Ben Thrasher and Charlie Wilson for their running contributions and, of course, to James Pharaoh and the drama department, without whom this production could not have gone ahead. My own personal thanks must be reserved for Jake Duxbury, who distilled at least one and a half hours’ worth of Spanish into sizeable, helpful surtitles which gave an overview and translation of the action on stage. Despite picking out the odd gem of Spanish, such as ‘in sickness and in health’ (though I only noted it in English at the time!) I was among many in the crowd whose enjoyment of this successful production was facilitated by this inspired technical addition.

L. Gearing

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HOUSE DRAMA COMPETITION ‘There was a Theme? Oh’

by Matthew Gouldesbrough Directed by Ali Bourne and Matthew Gouldesbrough Cast: Alistair Ackroyed, Eddy ArbeBarnes, Mohammed Azher, Thomas Backhouse, Ali Bourne, Cian Brittle, Nick Coulton, Matthew Gouldesbrough, Daniel Holdsworth, Ed Keary, James Maltby, Oliver Maltby, Milan Nakum and Keaton Whitaker

Ashburnham ‘Politically Incorrected’

by Stanislaw Braminski Directed by Stanislaw Braminski Cast: Joseph Bonassera, Stanislaw Braminski, Thomas Cauldon, Touwa Dunn, Jordan Legg, Jack Mcleod, Oliver Mcleod and Ben Spencer

Bromham ‘The Paint Job’ by Chris Davey (with input from Logan Jones, Rukudso Msindo and Jake Sommers)

Crescent

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Directed by Chris Davey (with input from Sam Assim and Callum Logan Cast: Dylan Adkins, Sam Assim, Chris Davey, Jack Hutchings, Logan Jones, Callum Logan, Rukudso Msindo, Adam Selvey, Jake Sommers and Conrad Staroscik

Bedford School was pleased to welcome Patrick Monahan as the guest speak at the 2013 house drama competition. He was winner of ITV’s Show Me The Funny and has made appearances on BBC’s Sport Relief and ITV2’s Fake Reaction. At the time of the competition, he was on a three-month UK tour with his show The Hug Train.

Patrick started off on the glamorous Irish/Iranian/Geordie circuit in his native homeland of the north-east of England before being invited to perform all over the world. He has performed at the Adelaide Fringe Comedy Festival 2011 as well as in Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Barbados, St Lucia, St Vincent, Spain, France, Luxembourg, Estonia, Ireland and Germany. He has also performed at the Edinburgh International Festival and various venues and comedy clubs up and down the UK, including the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Patrick’s favourite play of the evening was that performed by Ashburnham.

‘Grrr, This is the Hardest Part’

by Harry Churchill-Coleman and Sue Dennim

Paulo Pontine

Directed by Harry Churchill-Coleman and Charlie Miller Cast: Charlie Campbell-Grey, Harry Churchill-Coleman, Tom Holloway, Josh Jackson, Charlie Miller, Archie Rush, Vikram Sohal, Michael Stokey and Ollie Wright ‘A Tale of a Tiny Bit of a City’ by Olly Bowes and Jacob King (jokes)

St Cuthbert’s

Directed by Olly Bowes and Jacob King Cast: George Andrews, Alex Benzie, Olly Bowes, George Dickman, Jacob King, Jack Rice and Ben Russell

‘Portrait of Pedros’

by James Strode Directed by James Strode Cast: Syed Ali, Theo Butler, Ryan Brett-Williams, Charlie Brown, Seb Clements, Tom Crowson, Freddie Dixon, Oscar Garrad, Mikhail Glik, Charlie Hart, Ben Jones, Ed Jones, Richard Leach, Ben Nesseler, Ben Nethersole, Dylan Parmar, Sam Pudylyk, James Skirrow, Bob Song, James Strode, Henry Walsh, Harry Wetton and Ollie Wetton

St Peter’s

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AL MURRAY VISIT

Stand-up comedian and OB Al Murray (77–86) returned to school in November with friend and fellow OB Gavin Howard (77–87) to talk to the sixth form about life after school. In a talk that had been '25 years in the making', the two OBs discussed the things that they wished that they had known at age 17, as well as taking questions from the boys.

Highly entertaining and lively, Al Murray spoke about what it is like to be a comedian and what it took to achieve the success he has today (doing some 400 gigs a year in the early days). He told the audience about the satisfaction that comes from performing and 'having a whole room laughing with you … there is nothing like it'.

He also gave the boys a fascinating insight into the creative process of writing and perfecting a routine (write, rewrite and rewrite again).

Al Murray also praised his old drama teacher at Bedford, Mike Morrison, for getting him started with his comedic writing and entertained the audience with his fond memories of the former director of music, Andrew Morris. The OB duo sagely advised boys to play to their strengths and passions, not to try to fit into others' expectations and to stay friends with their school mates for as long as they possibly can. Sound advice.

J. Lock

THE TEMPEST

Any production at the Globe Theatre is bound to attract schools and tourists from around the world. So, it is no surprise that this particular production of The Tempest was well attended. Throughout the almost three-hour-long evening, we were lucky enough to enjoy a rain-free show (although, had it rained, it would have been relevant to the play) and a pleasant and relaxed atmosphere, unlike any other theatre I have visited.

As the play begins, we are greeted by the tempest itself. Using more traditional sound effects, you immediately sense how the directors of this production want to be faithful to how the play would have originally been carried out nearly 400 years ago. This is resonant throughout the play, and the simple yet effective set design strengthens this.

Soon, we are greeted by Roger Allam as Prospero, and Jessie Buckley as Miranda. Unlike most performances of the play, Prospero was portrayed as a much more versatile and two-sided character: at first, we see the former Duke of Milan as a loving, fatherly figure, comforting his naive daughter; but at the same time, Allam manages to show a deeper meaning to this characterisation of ‘moulding’ Miranda into the woman he sees fit. From this point onwards, Prospero proves to be a deceptive liar, yet we also see a compassionate father figure, making Roger Allam’s performance intriguing and innovative.

Buckley’s energetic portrayal of young Miranda is, although not so prominent, successful in creating a new lease of life for this muchplayed character. As the play progresses, we see this young woman mature as she finally meets other people. She also finds her future husband, Ferdinand, played by Joshua James, whose skinny, feeble looks match nearly all descriptions of the character. From this perspective, James is exactly how Ferdinand should be shown.

These two young actors bring youth and excitement to a production with a predominantly older cast.

Ariel, a fairy-like servant to Prospero, was played by Colin Morgan and Caliban the slave was portrayed by James Garnon. Morgan thrilled the audience as he leapt and climbed around the set and showed Ariel as a lighter, happier character despite him being a hardworking, mistreated native. Again, Caliban was shown as a somewhat comical character, rather than the sinister beast he would

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appear to be. However there were occasions when his gruesome side became apparent.

Throughout the play some dramatically written scenes were performed in a light-hearted manner. This was designed to satisfy the younger members of the audience, and the tourists, who may prefer this type of dramatisation.

Tom Rainbow

FESTIVAL OF LANGUAGES 2013

The Festival of Languages is becoming well-established in the calendar of the MFL and classics departments. This year’s event was a pleasurable mix of drama, music, public speaking and linguistic knowledge.

Aidan Swain, Harry Jackson and Alex Stammers (along with Rob Salvesen) had won a trip to Paris as a result of winning the Bouygues Language Challenge in March, on the subject of the environment and how the school could be a greener place; we were fortunate that we were able to listen in here on Bedford soil. Meanwhile, Nick Chapman, Joe Morgan and Luke Wilson demonstrated how much Latin we could all speak when we set it alongside our own English language; Ivan Simon and Kristof Pakozdi took us all where we had not trodden before – the Hungarian alphabet in its old and more modern forms. Brian Ho, Justin Chung, Harry Mok and Kevin Chan treated us to a brief concert of Chinese music on the piano and violin and the German lads – with help from other capable Germanists – did not disappoint with their annual contribution of community singing.

A scene from the Spanish play, Siete Gritos en el Mar, was re-enacted and the ship’s captain, Steven Fahmy, informed distinguished guests (Rory McCracken, Ed Arbe-Barnes, Sam Assim, Ed Kearey, Karan Gupta, Charlotte Bociek, Rebecca Preston and Leyre Solano) that they were all doomed that very night and that it was time to get some hidden sins off their first-class chests.

The evening was compèred expertly by Mikhail Glik and Sergey Gerasimov who talked us through each act in both Russian and English.

Languages are alive and well in Bedford School – the Famous Five are taught in the classroom week by week but we are fortunate to have far more spoken by our boys and we are grateful to all for sharing them with us.

A. Huxford

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H O U S E R E P O R T S

ashburnham Housemaster: Mr B. Burgess Head of house: James Maltby Ashburnham had something of a monopoly on the Arts with early wins in house singing (including unison) and house drama. A close second finish in the house cup was aided by a victory in the inaugural house debating competition which saw boys of all ages in the house compete. That is not to say Ashburnham did not perform in sport, having triumphed in junior squash and hockey. A string of second and third place finishes across rowing, swimming and house relays were enough to counter the somewhat less successful campaigns in rugby and football.

Most importantly, of course, boys ensured – in accordance with the house motto – that they were all in the right place at the right time in the right kit regardless of the result.

We also had a popular house trip to Xscape MK which was an excellent opportunity for boys to bond and enjoy themselves away from school. I think it is apt to mark what is the ‘end of an era’ for Ashburnham, with the departure of Mr Burgess as housemaster; we thank him for his stalwart leadership. We welcome Mr Everitt and are all very excited about the vision he has for the house.

Eddy Arbe-Barnes

SANDERSON’S Housemaster: Mr M. Jamieson Head of house: Nicholas Zeuzem All members of Sanderson’s are bright and successful individuals who show loyalty and have pride in their house.

Despite being the smallest house in terms of student numbers, there was no sign of any disadvantage during competitions, proving that a small number of unified boys can achieve great things.

There is no better evidence of this than house singing.

Despite being the underdogs, we proved everyone wrong by winning the unison and the overall cup, thanks to the hard work and perseverance of Ben Young, our conductor, and all the boys. This was a major accomplishment which Sanderson’s had been unable to accomplish for quite a while. To celebrate, we topped off the victory with a huge party.

Also, I must mention our excellent partnership with Ashburnham, with whom we were able to succeed in many other events, such as drama, badminton, debating, squash, relays, shooting, rowing, swimming, cricket, and many more.

Unfortunately, we missed out on first place in the overall house cup by two points, but it was still an outstanding achievement.

Hopefully, next year will be our year!

As ever, we had lots going on in the house over the year, including a trip to Cambridge with our lovely matrons. We also had our house barbecue which was followed by

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the traditional water-balloon fight; this year Mr Jamieson (with his experience in battle) teamed up with other members of staff to get revenge on the ‘hard-working’ fifth form, who were yet to finish their GCSEs! Nevertheless, we all had a good laugh!

We had the benefit of Mr Davies joining us as assistant housemaster this year. He quickly fitted into our little society with his great humour and experience in boarding life. However, we had to say goodbye to Mr Jamieson and his caring family at the end of the year as they left for Brighton. We also bid farewell to Mr Finch, who was a respected and devoted tutor in Sanderson’s for 13 years, once occupying the role of assistant housemaster himself – he decided to become a day house tutor.

Finally, we said goodbye to Mr Fisher who, after a comparatively short period of time as a Sanderson’s tutor, was promoted to housemaster of Crescent. We would like to thank them all for their hard work, effort and support. At the same time, I speak for all members of Sanderson’s when I issue a warm welcome to Miss Law, our new boarding housemaster, and her husband. We wish them luck and happiness in their new role.

Everyone in the house has had a great year and we all enjoy the wonderful atmosphere that has been established in this cosy, tight-knit community. I am confident the new members will fit in very well and find their stay at Sanderson’s memorable and, most importantly, enjoyable. May the next year be even better!

Sandor Pakozdi

bromham Housemaster: Mr A. Huxford Head of house: Joe Bonassera It was another eventful, action-packed year in the house: no different from those that preceded it and those that will come in the future. Despite our rather depleted numbers on many fronts, everyone pulled together through the highs and the lows of the year, presenting a respectable performance at each and every event. Sports day provided a first test for our house and was a chance for the fourth form to make their mark – and indeed they did. A triumphant first place in the juniors and other good results throughout the day resulted in a third place overall finish, placing us in good stead for the year to come.

Other notable performances during the course of the year were in the senior relays, house water polo and house tennis in both the junior and senior competitions. Bromham boys represented the house well on the track, the field, in the pool and on the courts, proud to be sporting the Bromham colours.

As well as the performances in house competitions, one aspect sets Bromham apart from the other houses: while at many house events there are a mere few supporters for each of the houses, there is always a full ‘bravo’ of support from the Bromham boys. It is this support which I feel defined Bromham last year, and defines Bromham in general.

Robert Salvesen

BURNABY Housemaster: Mr R. Heale Head of house: Nizam Omar ‘I’ve never been an outgoing person. How am I going to make friends? How am I going to adapt to an environment full of strangers?’ These were my thoughts before I came to Bedford School. Living in Bedford School for more than a year, I found satisfactory answers to all those questions in the form of Burnaby house. Wearing the same blue-striped tie every day, engaging in various house activities, hanging out and having fun with housemates coming from different countries: there’s really a sense of community and multi-nationality in Burnaby. It was, is and will continue to be an enjoyable experience to live in Burnaby with a principled and nice housemaster, kind and helpful matrons and, most importantly, outgoing and cool housemates.

For the past year, we have had so many fun times, for example, house paintballing, house barbeque and house gokarting. We had a great time practising hard for the house singing competition. We cheered as hard as we could for the Bromham competitors during sports day. The unity of Burnaby has been indescribably excellent. Not only do we have unforgettable experiences but the day-to-day concerns of our lives are also addressed. Our housemaster and tutors take care of academic issues and provide pizzas, chocolate, Chinese and Indian food at night. Our matrons take care of sick housemates and our cleaners ensure the hygiene of the house. There’s nothing more that a student could ask for. I am absolutely sure that my housemates and I are all proud to be ‘Burnabians’.

Trevor Hui

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crescent Housemaster: Miss J. Law Head of house: Michael Hanna Deputy head of house: Chris Davey In what was to be Miss Law’s last year as housemaster of Crescent, we were truly able to show how united we are as a house. The year began with a hugely successful fourth form trip to Body Flight, with boys giving glowing feedback on the day.

The boys experienced the physical challenge of indoor surfing, diving off the top of a tower and, for a more cerebral challenge for Bhavik Talsania, chess against the Head Master over lunch!

The juniors settled in quickly and very soon produced a series of strong performances in junior house events, most notably very impressive third place finishes in fives and squash, both of which were very tightly contested competitions. It was particularly encouraging to see the deputy head of house, Chris Davey, enlisting and coaching a new cohort of house and school fives players. The seniors also fared well throughout the year, securing wins in senior house cricket and rugby and second place in squash.

The commitment shown by boys in all of these events resulted in no fewer than 11 boys (Matthew McGall, Kieran Olds, Guy Davis, James Wood, Charlie Burt, Joshua Wellington,

PEMBERLEY Housemaster: Mr P. Sherwin Head of house: Tim Graham Pemberley had another fantastic year under the superb leadership of Mr Sherwin and head of house, Tim Graham.

Pemberley welcomed two new house tutors in the form of Mr Short and Miss Swallow who fitted in immediately and made the house an even better place (if that’s possible).

They did take a while to understand Mr Strachan’s accent, but they’re not the only ones! The year started with the inaugural house singing competition. Hours of practice were put in leading up to it, but we didn’t quite make it, coming second in the unison competition by one point – however, that didn’t dampen spirits for the after party!

Other events included a trip to the West End to see Shrek and go-karting and cycling at Grafham Water, all of which were very enjoyable. The year ended with the famous summer barbecue. Masterchef winner and former Pemberley boy Dhruv Baker came back again to cook up another mouth-watering display (which was finished off by the boys in the space of about ten minutes).

Overall, it was another great year for Pemberley, made even better by all of the upper sixth getting into their first choice universities; we wish them all the best in the next stage in their lives. We’re looking forward to another funfilled year in 2013–14.

Harry Glenn

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Harry Allen, James Winder, Charles Seamark, Andrew Lakin and John Hunt) earning the right to proudly display house colours.

While the final position in the house cup was not as high as it was the previous year when we finished in second place (our highest position for years), our commitment and ability to field teams, and sometimes entire squads, was a reflection of a united house.

Success was not limited to the sporting arena; Crescent crushed the competition in the house quiz, ably captained by Nick Chapman, and Chris Davey’s script won the writing element of house drama. The individual house merit prize was won for three consecutive terms by Jack Hutchings (fourth form) and the tutor group prizes through the year by Mr Ashton, Mr Melvill and Mr Gearing’s tutor groups. However, the highlight of the year was a remarkable show of togetherness to achieve a massive donation for Bedford Foodbank. I know Miss Law was truly inspired by our attitude towards this. I am sure I can speak on behalf of all of Crescent in saying a huge thank you to her for all she has done, and I am proud we were able to show her, through our donations to the Foodbank, how grateful we really are for all her support.

Callum Logan

Paulo pontine Housemaster: Mr A. Braithwaite Head of house: Tom Holloway This year Paulo Pontine has had a huge amount of success in all areas of school life. Our success is partially due to the leadership skills shown by our head of house and the good advice of our housemaster and tutors. However, the main reason for success is the determination and enthusiasm shown by every member of the house who entered house events over the past year.

Top achievements: ● Winners of sports day ● Winners of house rugby ● Winners of house shooting ● Winners of house rowing ● Winners of house hockey ● Winners of house cricket Sports day took place at the start of the year. This challenged the house as teams had to be organised quickly.

Support from Paulo was unmatched, encouraging many competitors to push forward and win their events. Paulo triumphed, being placed first overall in the competition. This was thanks to all competitors giving 100 per cent. As well as winning all the events listed above, we also put in a superb showing at house cross-country, where we finished second.

In addition to our traditional sporting success, Paulo has been involved with other activities such as house singing and house drama, where students competed in what seemed to be a fight to the death over which house had the best singing voice and the most comical sketch. Despite tremendous performances in both events Paulo unfortunately did not finish first but, as in every event, there is always next year.

Our success this year should make every student proud to represent the gold, brown and blue we wear. It has provided inspiration for the new fourth formers. I would like to say congratulations to all who have been a part of Paulo Pontine this year.

Tristan Brown

REDBURN Housemaster: Mr C. Bury Head of house: Charlie Campbell-Gray As ever, the autumn term began with a welcome to the new boys and a chance for the older boys to show that they are stepping up to the mark in whatever way they can. Under the leadership of Charlie Campbell-Gray, great things were expected. An early paintballing activity day with the boys from Paulo saw the fourth formers quickly settle into routines and all the boys began to show their character. Rugby provided a sporting focus for many of the boys, and an early sports day gave many a chance to shine. House singing practice got under way early in the term but, despite a great effort, this competition just doesn’t seem to be our forte! After half-term, Charlie Miller impressed all with his dedication to Mo Bros and his moustache. A trip to Flow Rider was a real hit, and I think Euan and Dan were kings of the surf. Ben won the first pool competition of the year, and the term was completed with a very amusing house play and a marvellous Christmas dinner, with Charlie’s speech the undoubted highlight

The spring term opened with Archie performing delightfully in the thought-provoking Chatroom. Miller’s success in the Detweiller was followed by excellent performances in the house drama competition, and hockey and football kept boys busy on the school sport front. As is traditional, the term ended with the house relays and we performed admirably in that, too.

In the summer term, exam focus and cricket tend to take over, but there was still time for an early trip to Alton Towers where Marcus came home with one of those big animals (which adults always laugh at, wondering where on earth will they put it when they get home). House rowing took place and was a success, and we ended the term with a great summer barbecue, where the penalty shoot-out was as popular as the hog roast.

Well done to all the boys in their exams – Redburn boys did exceptionally well again. As we bid farewell to C.C.-G., Miller, Ryohei, Jared, Franz and James, we wish them all the very best, knowing that they have developed very nicely from the little boys lost on their first day at the school to young men who are ready for the next challenge. I’m sure we’ll catch up soon.

C. Bury

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st cuthbert’s Housemaster: Mr L. Holt Heads of house: Will Jackson and Jack Rice This year will be remembered as one of the best St Cuthbert’s has enjoyed. The house has continued to grow in spirit and strength and this has seen us win even more house competitions. The boys put everything they had into all the competitions (even if they had never played that particular sport before) and we didn’t miss a single event! A classic example was this year’s house table-tennis competition where St Cuthbert’s fielded over half the competitors! St Cuthbert’s also retained the highest merit-to-pupil ratio with the three highest merit-scoring pupils in the school coming from St Cuthbert’s (day and boarding combined). This brilliant effort from all the boys in St Cuthbert’s, both through academic effort and sporting achievement, meant that for the first time in Mr Walker’s history at Bedford School (27 years in St Cuthbert’s house) and in the year of his retirement, we won the house cup! Congratulations to all the boys and staff for this great feat! The house dinner was well attended (in black tie) and it was good to see a range of ages there. Our legendary summer barbecue was also a great success, for which I stepped up as ‘head chef’, passing on the duty to Hadley Eames for the year to come. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in St Cuthbert’s, working with Jack Rice as co-head of house, and I wish St Cuthbert’s the very best for next year under the leadership of Connor O’Brien and the senior team.

You can keep in touch with St Cuthbert’s via twitter@stchouse and via the house blog.

Will Jackson

PHILLPOTTS Housemaster: Mr A. Grimshaw Heads of house: Barnaby Dathan, Nicholas Urquhart and Lester Cheung As far as house life goes within Phillpotts, many events take place such as competitions, dinners and barbecues that show how well our house can work together and cooperate.

Our sensational unison performance at house singing was a clear example of this, although we were robbed of first place, settling for a dissatisfying second instead. Our house Christmas play was a laugh and a half; with boys dressed as girls, fake newspaper breasts and an actual Korean leading the Gangnam style dance, this panto was sure to get a chuckle from everyone watching. Our assistant housemaster led the Schools’ Grand Prix team this year and got three of our boys (William Sedgwick, Peter Wood and Charlie Gee) to join in the car-building team.

Despite suffering a shock defeat on the day, the experience provided a learning curve for next year when Bedford School is sure to win. A house quiz night brought the spring term to a close in a flourish of intellectual power from Dr Calverley who

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led the teachers’ team to a narrow victory over Team Gareth (a boy-only team named in honour of the assistant housemaster).

One of our other tutors is Mr Adams, a skilled and determined man who showed both of these characteristics at the house paintball trip where he used supreme marksmanship to nullify all those who stood in his path to victory.

Although it may be news to some, one of Mr Grimshaw’s passions is beekeeping. This year he has taken that to a new level with the acquisition of several new queen bees and a multistorey hive. However, even the combined efforts of Mathieu Govoni and the master apiarist, Mr Grimshaw, couldn’t prevent the bees from stinging passers-by and they had to be relocated to Ickwell. Unfortunately, the bees wouldn’t go quietly and managed to burst out of the hive in the middle of the operation.

Even with all these other events going on we still managed a first place finish in house football, and an overall second on sports’ day highlighted our sporting talent. However, Phillpotts boys aren’t only one-dimensional and several boys took part in the brilliant first orchestra concert at the end of the year.

Henry and Charlie Gee

st peter’s Housemaster: Mrs E. Murray Head of house: Benny Jones The house this year saw a new face in Mrs Murray, as she took over the reins as housemaster from Mrs McEwan-Cox. Along with Benny Jones as the head of house, these two led us to a very successful and enjoyable year. The first real task for St Peter’s was to rustle up a side for sports day. Unfortunately, the end result left us further down the leader board than we would have hoped, but individual performances, such as Ryan Brett-Williams’ rampage in the 100 m, were great highlights on the day.

The hotly anticipated house singing event in mid-October was where the ball really started rolling, as the musical talent that the house is known for really shone through. James Western conducted the boys to a victory in the part song with Is You Is Or Is You Ain’t My Baby? There was terrific support from the balconies where the boys, who garnished themselves in the red and white colours of the house, drowned out the support from all the other houses combined!

The fourth form this year visited Grafham Water for their ‘fourth form challenge’. By all accounts Mrs Murray was relieved to see all of them come back (and come back unscathed) as several seemed to get lost during the 26-mile cycle around the periphery!

It was really good to see all the boys getting involved in numerous events this year. This led us to victory in junior house badminton and a strong performance in the senior house hockey, where the boys managed to take second spot in a closely fought final match against Bromham. Food also played a big part in the fun this year, with the fourth and remove forms’ pizza evening and a memorable trip to Choudhury’s for the house dinner.

The eagerly awaited house drama was a really memorable moment for me and many other boys this year. James Strode not only wrote a series of well-devised sketches, he also managed to choreograph a dance that involved a ‘Dirty Dancing’-style lift that brought the house down, securing joint second place for the house in this competition. It was surprising, looking back, that the play wasn’t based around Strode’s life, given the satisfaction he took from writing and ‘hosting’ a house assembly about himself later on in the term, reminiscing about his time here at Bedford.

Thanks go to the upper sixth for leading the way in what has been a tremendous year for the house.

James Skirrow

TALBOT’S

way to finish off a fruitful and enjoyable term.

After a well deserved Christmas break, the house returned to face mock exams and A-level modules. After a hard slog through these exams, the boys could look forward to a house go-karting trip and quiz which Karan and M.J. made even bigger and better than years gone by. This short term raced away and quickly became the summer which is always greeted warmly by the garden football fanatics.

Boarders’ Sunday began the term and saw a great trip to Alton Towers, where the massive rides sorted the men (Talbot’s) from the boys (other houses). The IB exams soon took away some of our beloved upper sixth, who performed impressively, especially Nic Bieber who managed to achieve the highest marks in the school in the IB. The A-level students did equally well and we are incredibly proud of them. The summer term was, however, all about saying goodbye to Mr and Mrs Cassell. The barbecue did them justice as their amazing hospitality skills entertained a large number of OBs as well as the rest of the Talbot’s wider family.

They got the weather their dedication to the house deserved and the quality of bouncy castle that all young men dream of. Mr Cassell’s speech was poignant, but humorous as ever. His ‘Hello Liz’ joke went down a treat, and was greatly enjoyed by the OBs and current crop alike.

The 2012–13 year was fantastic, and we now look on to the future in the hope that we will do Mr and Mrs Cassell proud.

Michael Holroyd

Housemaster: Mr M. Cassell Head of house: Ryan Chan Talbot’s have had a successful year, in what was sadly Mr and Mrs Cassell’s last year as house parents. The house was heartily led by Ryan Chan for the first half of the year, and Phil Schaar in the second half. There were plenty of new boys who had no trouble settling in as the house became a tight-knit unit.

In the first major event of the year, house singing, the house finished second, one point away from the leaders. The house sung a medley of First World War songs, which, after weeks of hard practice, came out very well on the night. The boys were determined to do well for Mr and Mrs Cassell, and became a well-oiled machine by the end of practising, justifiably rewarded by the judge on the night. Later in the term, the traditional house play took place. This year the story of advent was re-enacted, under the direction of Mrs Cassell, MJ Wright and Michael Holroyd. The boys started with the aim of creating the best Talbot’s house play that there had ever been. Again, after a lot of hard work, the boys were richly rewarded. The costumes were fantastic, the acting on-form and even the curls of Tom Crowson straightened for the big night. The term was finished off with the traditional house Christmas dinner. Mr Cassell, Ryan Chan and the guest of honour, Mr Loader, made speeches. The after party was an exciting affair that stretched on late into the evening, as it so often does. It was the perfect

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MUSIC It is an amazing fact that there are nearly five hundred individual instrumental music lessons taking place every week at Bedford School, with over one-third of the boys at the school learning one or more instruments. At events such as the St Cecilia’s Day Concert and the house singing competition it becomes clear just how many boys are actively involved in music at the school, and this is always heartening. In the midst of busy lives, with the demands of academic and sporting commitments, boys can and do enjoy taking part in a large variety of musical activities at school.

There are opportunities for boys to participate at all levels, and there are groups to cater for a large variety of standards and experience levels. Above all, though, we want the boys to enjoy making music and we hope to instil a real sense of achievement and enjoyment in the process. I hope that this comes across in the following pages.

J. Sanders

ST CECILIA’S DAY CONCERT St Cecilia is the patron saint of music and, as our autumn concert tends to fall around her saint’s day (22nd November), we have adopted the name in her honour. It is the first large performance event of the academic year, and is thus a hotly anticipated date in the concert calendar. The 2012 concert was no exception with all of the major ensembles performing, including the brass ensemble, second orchestra, dance band, school band, chamber orchestra and first orchestra.

The brass ensemble, directed by Mr Bennett, treated us to two pieces: one of Chris Hazell’s depictions of cats for a tenpiece brass ensemble (Kraken) followed by the highly entertaining Mexican Hat Dance by Particella, featuring trumpet soloist Luke Wilson, wearing (of course) a Mexican hat! This was followed by the second orchestra, directed this year by our new music technology teacher Mr Rooke, who presented a performance of music from the film Gladiator written by Hans Zimmer. For many of the younger boys this was their first experience of performing in a symphonic orchestra and they didn’t disappoint with some dramatic depictions of the ‘Barbarian Hordes’. The final ensemble before the interval was the dance band, directed by Mr Green, and joined by vocalist William

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Wright. Together they gave a performance of Fever by Eddie Cooley and John Davenport, which had the same sense of the sultriness as the original.

After the interval the school band, directed

by Mr Bennett, took the audience on a dramatic and operatic tour, taking in Mars from Holst’s Planet Suite, Verdi’s Traviata and Rossini’s William Tell Overture. The massed forces of the school band were clearly enjoying themselves, as was their director – so much so that they gave a spontaneous encore performance of the William Tell Overture at the end! The chamber orchestra followed, directed

by Mr Hughes, and gave a well-crafted performance of Greig’s Holberg Suite, capturing the spirit of the baroque dances lying behind the romantic exterior. The concert finished with the first orchestra, directed by Mr Sanders, presenting two pieces of film music: Schindler’s List by John Williams and Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian by Harry Gregson-Williams. The excerpt from Schindler’s List featured violin soloist Alex Collins, who played the beautifully haunting ‘Remembrances’ with sympathetic accompaniment from the orchestra. Fresh from an

orchestral workshop to all of the fourth form in the afternoon, the first orchestra played with precision and strength to provide a fitting climax to the concert with a powerful presentation of the Prince Caspian themes.

With well over 100 boys performing in six major ensembles, it was an impressive presentation of music, with both strength and depth being demonstrated. Long live St Cecilia’s cause!

J. Sanders

SENIOR SOLO PRIZE WINNERS’ CONCERT An enthusiastic and supportive audience attended this concert in the Recital Hall at the end of the summer term to hear the six prize-winning solo performers give a short recital programme. It is a daunting prospect to play in front of your peers, teachers, parents and the general public and yet the evening was hugely successful, thanks to the hard work and dedication of the boys and their teachers. Each performance was, as always, wonderfully and brilliantly accompanied by Mr Robert Thompson.

Julian West began proceedings with the first of two appearances, for he had won both the Barford wind prize and the Godber organ prize. He began the evening playing his bassoon with Saint-Saëns and the second movement from his Sonata for Bassoon. He followed this with the second movement from the Carl Stamitz Concerto in F major. While Stamitz’s writing for the solo instrument is not excessively virtuosic, this allowed Julian the opportunity to show his ability to play with great phrasing, sensitivity and warm sound. To close his recital, we were treated to Grovlez’s Sicilienne and Allegro Giocoso, a favourite among many concert bassoonists due to its lyrical ad-lib introduction and flowing melodies followed by an exciting and challenging finale in both the bassoon and piano parts. All most enjoyable.

Brian Ho, winner of the Tagore piano prize, then treated the audience to a wonderfully varied and balanced programme of Haydn, Beethoven and MacGregor. The second movement of Haydn’s Piano Sonata in B major was carefully performed. Brian then followed this with the second movement from Beethoven’s Pathétique Sonata. Choosing to play such a famous and wellknown piece is always risky but Brian’s performance had a clear sense of direction and tension. Adding a 20th-century touch to the programme, Lowside Blues by MacGregor came next.

MacGregor says that Lowside Blues is something to do with driving up Route 61 through Louisiana and Mississippi. The piece needs the pianist to explore the whole of the keyboard in just a couple of pages and this was expertly done with real feeling for the music. It was clearly enjoyed by both audience and performer alike.

The Crossman brass prize was won by Luke Wilson on trumpet and he performed a technically challenging programme.

In the first movement of Neruda’s Trumpet Concerto in E flat Luke gave a stylish performance, showing good phrasing and close attention to the articulation. In the second movement of Flor Peeters’s Trumpet Sonata Luke showed a style of playing that demonstrated a much more sustained and expressive style.

He managed to capture the sombre and dignified mood of the piece. The programme ended with the first movement of Böhme’s Trumpet Sonata in F minor but not before, what is any performer’s nightmare, a slight instrument malfunction. Luke decided on the right course of action with a restart, showing his growing confidence as a performer. This movement is particularly virtuosic and requires technical skill as well as romantic melodic phrasing. Luke rose to the occasion and gave a great performance.

Following the interval we moved to the Chapel for the second of Julian West’s prize-winning performances, this time on the organ. His programme began with Arvo Pärt’s meditative and sombre Pari Intervallo. However divided the audience might have been about Pärt’s music, this was no reflection on Julian’s able performance. There is no doubt that the Mendelssohn that followed had the audience completely in accord and Julian clearly enjoyed concluding his performance with the Sonata No 6 in D minor. Here ‘sonata’ refers to a collection of pieces. The chorale tune is played at the beginning followed by three variations and concluding with a grand ‘Toccata’. This was a fitting conclusion to Julian’s solo playing at Bedford and a testament to his ability as a musician. We wish him well at university and hope that he

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has opportunity to continue his music-making there.

Back in the Recital Hall we were treated to a wonderful programme of Schubert lieder

by William Wright, winner of the Osborn singing prize. The five songs, The Trout, Gratitude from the Brook, In Spring, The Fisher Girl and lastly Fisherman’s Song, were carefully chosen from various cycles on the theme of nature and everything surrounding it.

Throughout, Will’s singing showed complete mastery of the German and perhaps there had been close study of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, the most famous lyric baritone and lieder performer of the post-war period. He showed just how much his voice has developed over the past year and displayed great control. Above all he showed great sensitivity and musicianship and his programme completely captured the entire audience.

To round off the concert Derek Lam, winner of the Langley string prize, played a programme of violin music. He began with the ‘Sarabanda’ and ‘Giga’ from J.S. Bach’s Partita No 2 in D minor for solo instrument. The opening ‘Sarabanda’ was slow and stately followed by an able performance of the ‘Giga’. From the Homeland by Smetana then followed. Derek displayed much technical ability and a good sound in this lovely two-movement piece, which is full of Moravian folk melodies and one of only two pieces that Smetana wrote for violin and piano. The dance character of the second movement built towards the end and finished with a spirited and unexpected ‘Presto’ which gave an animated ending to what was a most enjoyable evening of music.

James Evans

HOUSE SINGING The annual house singing competition is an extraordinary event, in the truest sense of the word. It is out of the ordinary for so many reasons. Every boarder in the school is involved in singing for their house: it creates a focus for the beginning of the academic year and it provides an opportunity for the boarding house communities to bond and flourish. The boarders practise

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every day for weeks before the event to prepare for the unison songs, while the more experienced singers in both boarding and day houses work together to prepare for the part-song performances. What is most extraordinary is that the boys lead it, and are absolutely committed to the competition. The staff support where needed but it is a wonderful opportunity for boys to practise their leadership skills. The house singing competition of 2012 was no exception.

The atmosphere in the Great Hall was electric with some extremely exuberant chanting which helped to build up the tension beforehand. St Peter’s were first to perform (as they had won the year before) and presented a highly polished unison medley of First World War songs featured in the show Oh What a Lovely War. For their part song they did a version of Louis Jordan’s Is You Is, or Is You Ain’t My Baby? which was very well crafted. The bar was set high and next up Ashburnham had a hard act to follow. They presented an Elton John unison medley which was extremely subtle with expert attention to detail in the performance. Ashburnham’s part song Don’t Stop Believing was a daring choice with highly complex elements, but it came off very well. Bromham were next, and chose to perform unison songs by Matthew Wilder and Billy Joel before finishing with My Way. This was gutsy singing, and heartfelt (although a little rough in places). For their part song Bromham performed Plenty Good Room, one of the classic Songs of Yale, and this showed some good ensemble (albeit slightly tentative in places). Crescent were next up and took us on a journey Under the Sea followed by You’ve Got a Friend in Me for their unison songs. These were well polished with lots of attention to detail. For their part song they performed a very simple but effective arrangement of Lollipop by Dixon and Ross, with great contrasts between the very tall and low bass (George White) and small and high treble

(Jack Hutchings). St Cuthbert’s were next with an Amy Winehouse medley for their unison songs. This was very gutsy and mostly very well controlled. They performed (the unlikely choice of) the Pokemon theme tune for their part song – this was a brave choice with a very difficult arrangement, but had some strong moments. Last up was Paulo Pontine who presented two unison songs: Welcome Home and The Eye of the Tiger. There were again lots of very positive elements to this with good attention to detail throughout. The final part song of the evening was an arrangement of Billy Joel’s Uptown Girl, which had a good sense of shape and showed off a number of individual soloists through the arrangement.

Our adjudicator for the night was retired Director of Music and Precentor of Eton College, Ralph Allwood. He had a hard choice to make and whilst he was making his final decisions, the newly formed staff ‘Man Band’ took the stage. With the help of both deputy head (academic) Mr Latif and the Head Master, they gave a performance of Stand by Me to rapturous applause.

It was a night where the upper sixth musicians shone, and

particularly so for Ashburnham who were the overall winners.

This victory was due almost exclusively to the dedication and commitment of the two boy leaders, James Evans and Ben Young, who thoroughly prepared and executed a truly outstanding unison performance. Ashburnham won the unison cup and were overall winners, but the spoils were shared with St Peter’s who rightly won the part song cup. Long may the excellent traditions of house singing continue at Bedford School!

J. Sanders

RECITAL OF PIANO AND VIOLIN The music school has always been (and I hope will continue to be) the setting for excellent concerts and recitals – none more so than this one, given by Michal Dzitko (piano) and Alex Collins (violin) in February 2013 (and as it happened, on my birthday – what better present could I have asked for?).

Alex Collins opened the recital with Bach’s D minor Partita in a performance that captured the essence of the four contrasting

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dance movements. The third movement, ‘Sarabanda’, was played with a melancholy sadness, yet with a certain wistfulness, too. The music was unforced and allowed to flow naturally throughout. It was a challenging piece to open with, but one that was brought off well.

In (sharp) contrast, Michal Dzitko then took centre stage for performances of Mozart (the ‘Allegro’ from K332), Brahms (the A major Intermezzo, Op 118) and Chopin (Waltz in C sharp minor, Op 64, No 2, and the Polonaise in A major, Op 40, No 1 – known as the Militaire). The melodious lines in the Mozart were played with a delicacy that contrasted well with the darker lines in the score. The Brahms was given a performance as different again; here, the soloist caressed the music, bringing out the romantic elements with feeling while allowing the lines to sing. In the Chopin pieces, Michal clearly enjoyed playing the music of his fellow-countryman. The interpretation of the Waltz evoked the feeling of summer evening breezes through an unhurried, but appropriate, lightness of touch. The Polonaise was granted a suitably extrovert performance, with emphasis given to the powerful rhythms but with due regard being given to the more inward looking moments. It is unsurprising then, that at the outset of the Second World War, Polish radio broadcast this piece daily as a nationalistic protest and to rally the Polish people.

Alex Collins, accompanied by Mr Robert Thompson, head of piano, returned to conclude the recital with performances of two very differing works: Debussy’s G minor Violin Sonata and an arrangement by Kreisler (which he called Danse Espagnole) of the ‘Interlude’ and ‘Dance’ from de Falla’s opera La Vida Breve.

In the opening ‘Allegro’ of the Debussy, Alex handled the shifting shades of light and changes of mood with confidence, while in the second movement, he captured the absurdities written in the score with humour, while at the same time maintaining the requisite lightness of touch. The finale is marked to be played

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très animé and he did just that, bringing the work to an enthusiastic conclusion. If this is the musical counterpart to the impressionist painters, then Alex certainly used his bow as a very effective paintbrush.

If the recital had finished at that point, then I think that none of us in the audience could possibly have been disappointed, but we were treated to a tour de force of a performance of the de Falla – as typically Spanish as it is possible for music to be.

Both soloist and accompanist (always in sympathy with each other, here and in the Debussy) revelled in the rhythms and foot stamping and really let themselves go at the end. Eat your heart out, Nige!

In short it was a recital in which two consummate musicians, each with quite different temperaments, demonstrated their particular skills with fervour and conviction, and one where the overall lasting impression was much greater than the sum of its individual parts. Congratulations to all concerned for an evening of splendid and varied music making.

B. Johnson

FIRST ORCHESTRA CONCERT The first orchestra concert is the culmination of the school’s musical calendar, taking place on the final evening of the school year, and there was an air of anticipation as the audience waited for the concert to begin. They were not to be disappointed with what ensued. The evening proving to be a very special one.

The evening began with the Overture to Colas Breugnon, an opera completed in 1937 by the Russian composer Kabalevsky.

The orchestra showed off a wide range of orchestral colours from overwhelming fortissimos to chamber effects and raucous splashes of wind and percussive energy. The five-minute-long

piece provided a vibrant and assertive start to the evening.

However, I think everyone was looking forward to hearing Alex Collins perform Mozart’s Violin Concerto No 5 in A major, which was next on the programmme. Few would argue that this proved to be one of the great highlights of this year’s series of concerts and showed how Alex’s playing had matured and developed over the past year. Mozart’s last violin concerto, dated 1775, is the most mature and the most ambitious, despite having no more than the standard Salzburg orchestration of strings, two oboes and two horns. Unusually, the solo violin makes its initial entry with an unusual six-bar soaring ‘Adagio’. The finale is a rondo in minuet time, which was a familiar enough way of ending a mid-18th-century concerto. Less expected is the appearance of a minor-key central episode in 2/4 time and in the currently fashionable ‘Turkish’ style, with the usual noisy ‘percussion impersonation’ by the cellos and basses. This movement also boasts one of Mozart’s wittiest endings and it was clear that Collins had forgotten any nerves and was well into his stride, enjoying every minute. Throughout, this was an elegant performance by the soloist and he was ably supported by tight-knit playing from the orchestra. It was dexterous and demonstrated great technical skill but, above all, it was an

extremely mature and musical performance, deserving of the heartfelt response from the audience.

The interval was followed by Tchaikovsky’s great Symphony No 5 in E minor, composed over just four months in 1888. It is a work that shows Tchaikovsky’s fine orchestration and demonstrates that he was one of the most brilliant composers of the Romantic period. However, it was approached by the composer from a position of extreme self-doubt and gives a powerful evocation of the idea of fate. With its bleak tone, it was perhaps a strange and complex work for a school orchestra.

Ambitious, certainly, for it is a symphony lasting the best part of 50 minutes and one of the greatest in the orchestral repertoire.

Yet the audience should not have been concerned. The performance showed great command and understanding in every section. The strings had a full and well-developed sound throughout, but particularly at the opening of the last movement.

There were moments of lovely solo woodwind playing, especially in the second and third movements. The brass came into their own in the last movement, and mention should be made of Sean Davies’s beautiful horn solo at the beginning of the second movement.

Something that makes the first orchestra concert so special is that it is the last performance at Bedford by the current upper sixth. In addition to the leader, Alex Collins, particular mention should also be made of Tristan Walker whose superb timpani playing throughout this symphony helped give the orchestra such drive and direction, particularly in the last movement. Also special thanks must go to Julian West (playing first bassoon) and William Johnson (playing first oboe) for excellent solo woodwind playing.

These and others have made a huge commitment to music during their time at the school and they will be greatly missed.

James Evans

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SECOND ORCHESTRA CONCERT On the evening of Wednesday 26th June 2013, the concert for the second orchestra, junior ensembles and junior prize winners took place in the Great Hall. As always, it was a momentous occasion with a wide variety of music that clearly displayed the musical talent in the lower years. The second orchestra performed two pieces. The opening piece was Recognizer, arranged from Daft Punk’s film score from Tron: Legacy. This was an interesting piece for the orchestra to play as it was something different and modern. It was exciting to have the bass guitar and the synthesiser bass playing alongside the main orchestra. The other piece performed by the second orchestra was Haydn’s London Symphony No 104 in D, movements 3 and 4. This was played with character and had a good sense of unity within the orchestra. Many of the performers enjoyed playing this piece with a full orchestra, which made a triumphant sound.

The concert was dotted with solo performances throughout and every soloist put on an excellent show. David Stephenson was the first soloist to perform. Having won the junior brass prize, he played a technical piece on the trumpet which he executed with confidence and flair. Following David was Nathaniel Conte, winner of the junior piano prize, playing a piece called Puck by the composer Grieg. Nathaniel performed with energy and accuracy,

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much to the excitement of the audience. Edward Wilson stepped in at short notice to give a brilliant vocal performance. Jim Cooper played a Bach fugue, filling the Great Hall with the mesmerising sound of the organ. Oliver McCormack performed a piece on the violin and Harjeet Sumal performed on the clarinet: both played with a great tone and produced two very different but equally impressive performances.

The audience was lucky enough to enjoy performances by a couple of small ensembles, who played extremely well. Firstly, there was the string quartet playing No 9 in A major by Mozart.

Finally, the guitar ensemble (directed by Mr David Merrin) performed two distinctive pieces: Pavane by Gaspar Sanz and Tanya’s Tango by J. and P. Compton. Overall, the concert was a real success, displaying the talent of the junior musicians, with a good audience to appreciate such varied music.

Peter Wood

CHAMBER ORCHESTRA CONSORT CHOIR VOCES8 CONCERT 23rd April 2013 Part of this year’s Chamber Orchestra Concert was offered in memory of the British composer Benjamin Britten, the centenary of whose birth is celebrated this year (2013). It is fitting then that the orchestra was conducted by the head of strings, Martin Hughes, who, as a member of Northern Sinfonia, performed in front of the dying composer at the Aldeburgh Festival in 1976.

The school was also delighted to welcome back the internationally renowned vocal group Voces8, founded by OBs

Barnaby and Paul Smith. The concert began with Britten’s own arrangement of Purcell’s famous Chacony for Strings. This is a physically and technically demanding piece on account of its highly-energised dotted rhythms (these same rhythms pervade Britten’s own Chacony from his second string quartet, which was written in honour of Purcell). Both composers would surely have appreciated the commitment shown by the orchestra here, led indefatigably by Alex Collins.

Britten’s own Simple Symphony was next, a reworking and expansion of themes he had written as a child. While the intricate textures, expert instrumentation and perfect overall pacing could only have been produced by as thoroughly a practiced composer as Britten was at age 20, the best thing about the work is its melodic charm, which one can assume derived from his childhood experiments. This indicates how prodigiously talented Britten must have been. The acoustic of the school Chapel suited these often unusual and open-ended melodies very well. The setting also provided essential resonance for the second movement (‘Playful Pizzicato’), but, impressively, not at the loss of clarity in the individual parts.

What was most gratifying about this performance was how the various sections of the orchestra ‘conversed’ with each other, and in turn with the audience, and in this regard, the lyrical playing of the second violins and the violas during the third movement (‘Sentimental Sarabande’) was especially good.

This was followed by Arvo Pärt’s Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten, and it will surely have divided the opinions of the audience. In this piece Pärt creates a big wash of sound intended to engulf the listener in the mood of the music (which in this case is very sorrowful). Unlike the previous pieces in this

concert, which might be compared to framed portraits, enjoyed and speculated on from a distance, this is an example of music that breaches that boundary between the artwork and its natural surroundings. For some, the effect would be incredible, for others, banal. What can be agreed on though was that the execution was flawless, and the actual sound, as it diffused across the Chapel, was aurally ravishing (in part thanks to the addition of Tristan Walker on the tubular bell).

Byrd’s Sing Joyfully proved to be the perfect antidote to the misery of Pärt’s music. The amazing professionalism and confidence of Voces8 was totally arresting, and they maintained this extraordinarily high standard for the entire evening. Voces8’s programme was very varied, ranging from Renaissance polyphony to Mumford and Sons. A particularly enjoyable item was a stellar arrangement of Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Queen, complete with finger clicking, scat singing, and tasteful pelvic movements (house singing captains, take note)!

This concert also featured the Consort Choir, formed of some of the top singers from this school and Bedford Girls’ School, directed

by Jeremy Rouse. Their candlelit performance of Allegri’s Misereri from the choir stalls captured the solemn tone of this music in a genuinely moving way. Though it was dark, some audience members may have caught sight of one soprano congratulating her colleague on an excellent solo with a wink; a pleasing reminder that music is made more special when made with friends.

The final item, Vivaldi’s Gloria, combined all the evening’s performers (minus the bell), and filled every vacant space available in the crossing and chancel to deliver one more treat to their audience. The piece itself carries a powerful drive, but is also varied, and provides ample opportunity for solo singing. Of

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the soloists, special mention should go to James MacTavish, who not only sang the alto solo movement ‘Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris’ with real refinement, but for the rest of the piece was leading the viola section. The combined sound of Luke Wilson on the trumpet and William Johnson on the oboe was worthy of a professional baroque ensemble, while the oboe obbligato solo in ‘Domine Deus’ was, for this audience member at least, the highlight of the evening. Hearty congratulations and thanks are in order to all those involved.

A. Fort

BANDS CONCERT The clichéd phrase ‘eagerly awaited’ applied well to this year’s annual concert given by the school bands. During my (short) time at the school I have never been disappointed with this particular concert and, once more, Messrs Bennett and Green, and, more importantly, the musicians, delivered in spades. It is quite astonishing to see and hear the talent on stage and the standard of musicianship displayed – well in excess of the expected ‘normal’ school standard.

As is customary, the programme delivered the well known, the unusual and the unknown. No one in the appreciative audience (sadly, perhaps lacking in numbers) could possibly have been disappointed. There was something for everyone.

The concert was opened by the brass ensemble, directed by Mr Bennett, in lively style, with two popular pieces from opposite ends of the musical spectrum: Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance March No 1 (sans flag waving) and the Beatles’ Penny Lane. With everyone nicely ‘warmed-up’, the dance band, under the baton of Mr Green, took over and entertained the

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audience with five pieces given in exactly the right style, enough to set all feet tapping. Glenn Miller’s American Patrol was followed by Song for My Father (Silver) and then the band was joined by Will Wright (vocals) for performances of Me and Mrs Jones (Gamble, Gilbert and Huff) and Fever (Cooley and Davenport). He crooned his way through these numbers, making a deep impression in the way he delivered his vocal lines, matching words in a meaningful way to the music. Perhaps two things were missing here, though – dim lighting and a rather smoky atmosphere, although Will provided more than a hint of smokiness in his voice. The first half of the concert was then concluded with a rendition of Eli’s Comin’ (Nyro).

After the Interval, the dance band continued the concert with a generous further five pieces: Soul Man (Blues Brothers), Route 66 (Troup), I Just Can’t Wait to be King (John), Summer Time (Gershwin) and then, finally, for those of us who could remember the original TV series, a good wallow in Hawaii Five-O (Stevens).

All-in-all it was a remarkable contribution to the concert, with all ten items being delivered with enthusiasm and panache.

The school band, with Mr Bennett again on the podium, concluded the concert with invigorating performances of Bernstein’s Candide Overture, Holst’s Suite in E flat (good music fer t’ brass band, this) and concluding with Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnol, which brought the right amount of Mediterranean heat to match the warm summer’s evening.

It would be churlish to single out any one performer; each brought his own particular talent and had his ‘moment’. However, thanks must be extended to William Johnson (head of the school band) in this, his last concert, for his dedication to the musicmaking at Bedford School over the years. Likewise to James

Evans (head of the dance band) who, on this occasion, was unable to perform because of injury. To these two and those others for whom this was their last concert, I extend good wishes for the future and grateful thanks for all the pleasure given to many in concerts and recitals. To the rest I also say thank you and I look forward to even better things next year. Bring it on!

B. Johnson

MUSIC ON THE LAWN Music on the Lawn is an annual event where we invite all the school’s neighbours and parents to come and enjoy an evening of music, champagne and strawberries outside the music school.

This year, fortunately, the weather was extremely fine, allowing us to enjoy an uninterrupted concert. As always, the boys and staff involved continued to impress the visitors and delivered a very enjoyable concert. First up was the dance band, led by Mr Green. As usual, they did not disappoint. They created a fantastic, ‘jazzy’ and rich atmosphere that was complemented by an unbelievably full sound, despite slightly windy conditions.

Some of the memorable numbers they played were Soul Man, Route 66, Summertime and I Just Can’t Wait to be King. They finished off with their traditional piece, Hawaii Five-O. After that we had the pleasure of listening to Stratosfear, a band consisting of fourth and remove formers. Despite their young age, they produced music of a very high standard that really got the crowd going. Their opening number was the famous Linkin Park song In the End, which had the crowd on their feet, clapping to the beat. Their finale was a song called Recovery which they had, impressively, created themselves. It was very professionally written and executed incredibly well. It will be fantastic to see their musical talent grow as they progress through the school.

The final group to perform was the brass ensemble. As we see each week in school assemblies, they continue to get better and better. Although the wind demanded a substantially louder sound than normal, they overcame that obstacle and made it look easy. Their opening track was Got a Little Rhythm and they finished with a very light-hearted number I’m Getting Married in the Morning. The icing on the cake in this performance was conductor Bennett’s jokes, that really made the audience laugh.

All in all, a fantastic end to a sublime concert.

Karan Gupta

CHAPEL CHOIR TOUR Bedford School’s Chapel Choir and string ensemble set out to tour Germany this August. Over the course of five days the choir and ensemble gave concerts in Bad Ems, Kues, Bacharach and Cologne. The boys performed a wide selection of music, from English composers such as Purcell to German composers including Mozart, covering baroque to the early 20th century.

Their performance at All Saints Church in Cologne even made the local paper, Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger. The paper commented that the ‘choristers were very much worthy of their sacred red robes’.

The paper also noted that the ‘music director Jonathan Sanders … put value on a precise text pronunciation of the choir and a lively articulation of the strings. The versatile classical music programme gave precedence to music of the British Isles (for example a Chacony by Henry Purcell, arranged by Benjamin Britten) … [However] one also learned of the traditionally a-cappella dominated choral work of the lesser-known composer Hubert Parry (1848–1918).

‘Sounding the opening was Purcell’s festival hymn Rejoice in the Lord. Choir and strings worked well together. Deputy director of music Jeremy Rouse showed great experience at the Klais organ. He managed to support, but never to drown out the choir at the altar … This skill proved itself especially [important] in Mozart’s Spatzenmesse, where the young singers also performed the solo parts.’

It was a fantastic tour, thoroughly enjoyed by all.

J. Sanders

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GUY FLETCHER

At Tom Riseborough’s memorial service in 2005 I was struck by the sheer diversity of the people who attended it. It was not immediately obvious what they had in common. Later, I came to liken them to spokes on a complex wheel converging upon a central hub, that hub being the man whose passing they had come to mark. As I think about Guy Fletcher I have a similar feeling. All who knew him in so many different ways and contexts – family, friends, pupils, colleagues – will have their own memories and abiding images of him. If, in these lines, I offer a personal reflection, I hope, nevertheless, that some of what I say will find an echo in others’ experience of him, too.

There are people in whom we may sense a dichotomy between style and substance: the image says one thing, but the reality that emerges over time may reveal another. It can be the mark of those who take themselves too seriously, or who lack self-conviction, or who want to hoodwink their audience. None of this was the case with Guy. In an important sense, the style was the substance and spoke eloquently of the man. I think of him in that dark blue tracksuit, collar up, striding purposefully through the school: he carried himself with a certain informality and panache in which the seriousness of intent was nonetheless clearly discernible. In conversation with him, you saw the sense of humour at once, but you had to take care not to be distracted by it and thus miss the point it was meant to convey: humour and wit were the chosen vehicle of this passionate man, a man who cared, and they served him well in every forum in which I heard him argue his case, from heads of department meetings in the Memorial Hall to conversations over a beer.

His wit was rapier rather than bludgeon, and he sometimes used it to test people. The unspoken questions were: how much could you take, and could you respond? It is ten years since we went on a fourth form battlefields trip with Andrew Grimshaw and others. If, in later times, Guy thought he needed to stop me in my tracks, he only had to refer to the morning I overslept and, in my ensuing panic outside the hotel in Belgium, thought I had lost my wallet. The ribbing was merciless. He was also dismissive of my capacity to imbibe the expected quantities of Hoegaarden, another piece of ammunition which he knew how to use when he felt the circumstances were propitious. His wit was usually irreverent,

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sometimes acerbically ironic, often delivered in earthy AngloSaxon, but always precise. He could use repartee to shred one’s pretentions to credibility; but always kindly, in the spirit of competitive banter and in the full expectation of an equivalent response.

Many people had a connection with Guy through sport: they may have played or toured with him. However, his biggest constituency is made up of the generations of those he taught at Bedford School. Countless boys, the exceptionally talented and the journeymen, had the good fortune to be taught or coached by him, and are in his debt. It mattered little to which group they belonged; he had the knack of making people feel he was personally interested in them, and this is, perhaps, what made him an outstanding teacher. For all his love of rugby and cricket, team sports, he did not deal in collective abstractions: he was an inspiring teacher and coach at all levels because he saw the individual, and met the boy on his own terms. This gave him a motivational edge: boys played for him and worked with him because they could see that he liked them, and that he treated them with tough affection and respect. In Kes, the film made of Barry Hines’s novel A Kestrel For A Knave, Mr Sugden, the PE teacher played by Brian Glover, dreams of being Bobby Charlton and uses school games sessions to indulge his fantasy at the expense of the boys he is meant to be teaching. This is the exact opposite of the Fletcher way: another by-product of his human warmth was that there are, I suspect, many who, although not extravagantly endowed with sporting talent, nevertheless came to enjoy their sport because of him. He knew how to make it fun, and, critically, he possessed the human sympathy of the natural communicator.

Although I yield to none in my sporting passions, sport is not really the ground on which I knew Guy: he was a significant player and coach, and I was neither of these. This allowed me to witness other sides of the man. One of these was his tutorial role. I often formed the impression of the Fletcher group in St Peter’s as a band of initiates of an exclusive club, or coterie. If you entered the library, where, in latter days, they met in the mornings, the occasion seemed less like a tutorial formality and more like a reunion of friends and acquaintances gathered for a chat. As I thought about this,

I approached a recent graduate of the Fletcher group, James Strode, to whom I am indebted for some illuminating insights, including this one: ‘With him as a tutor everybody that went through his leadership learnt how to argue and hold a discussion – a simple thing but undervalued normally. Every day he would love to play the devil’s advocate in whatever scenario. Although sometimes trivial, it was a good laugh, but more than that, it helped us all.’ James also referred to Guy’s rapport with his tutees: ‘He had this knack of getting people on side; he wouldn’t battle against you if things were going wrong or you were having a hard time; he would be on your side, listen to you and work with you. I believe that is a very rare skill and as a tutor he did it perfectly.’ I would suggest that he taught the boys important principles and values for life, among them commitment, effort, healthy scepticism, the courtesies of sportsmanship, being true to oneself and, underpinning all of this, remembering to laugh. ‘He made the people happy’, says the legend on Bill Shankly’s statue at Anfield. As teacher and as tutor, Guy Fletcher did the same, but he also made them wise.

Guy may have done much of his work in his sports kit, but it would be a severe distortion of the evidence to suggest that he was ever confined in this role. He vigorously championed sport, but never at the expense of the other features of a rounded education; he thought a boy should be able fit games and music into his day alongside his academic work and not make excuses for the sacrifice of any of these elements. His artistic talents and his cultural curiosity provided another sign of his breadth. He used to complain – I was never sure how seriously – that Colin Baker would not invite him out for a drink if he was meeting what Guy, mischievously, called his ‘academic friends’. Any differences were soon resolved. On such occasions, his conversational range was broad, his tone part Socrates and part Rabelais, his appetite for debate insatiable. Sometimes it was unclear whether the argument he expounded so fervently truly represented his views, and to what extent the man across the table was again the devil’s advocate out for an evening’s entertainment. It matters little:

either way, he was always intolerant of pomposity and an astute judge of people, and this, and much besides, made him invigorating company.

Few have served Bedford School as long or as well as Guy; and few have embodied the best of its spirit so fully. It has been incongruous, this past year, to think of this life-affirming man so laid low by illness and his spirits affected as they must have been. I have missed him, as I occasionally sought to convey in a text message; he always replied. The last one I sent him was from Germany on 12th July, where I was spending a few days with a mutual friend. I wrote: ‘I am in Cologne with Baker. There is a seat at this table with your name on it. Wish you could join us for a beer.’ This time there was no reply; I soon learnt why. My first disbelieving impulse was to look up his television interviews about Alastair Cook and Dan Wheldon and to watch and listen to him; the sense of incongruity could not have been more poignant or more acute.

There it all was in a perfect demonstration of the essential qualities of G.M.K.F.: the high velocity delivery without loss of articulacy; the sheer vitality, warmth and enthusiasm with which he spoke of these sons of the school; the intensity; and, through it all, the passion for Bedford School itself.

Many moving tributes have been paid to Guy; he would have been proud to know that he was so loved and so highly esteemed, and that he had made such a difference to so many. Actually, although he would have carried such knowledge with typical modesty, I like to think that he knew it perfectly well.

C. Marsh

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STAFF NEWS FAREWELL

佥 DAVID ASHTON

LEYRE SOLANO AND ELISE FENART

CHRIS GODWIN

WELCOME

WILL MONTGOMERY

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ROB CAMPBELL

MATTHEW AND EMMA JAMIESON

KAREN KELLY

IRFAN LATIF

RICHARD WALKER

MATTHEW BOLTON

JAMES INGLE

BEV MARSHALL

ALASTAIR TIGHE

ALEX WARD

FIONA WHITEMAN

佥

Farewell to...

DAVID ASHTON

I am no expert on the subject of Superman, but I read somewhere that his favourite book is To Kill A Mockingbird. I wondered what the all-action hero, best known for the ostentatiously spectacular – ‘faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound’ – might have found appealing in Harper Lee’s novel. I suspect the answer is Atticus Finch. Although Atticus, a figure of quiet self-effacing sanity, is more usually associated with grey suit than blue costume and red cape, he provides an example of integrity, humility and moral uprightness that Superman would surely have sought to emulate.

David Ashton, whom I sometimes think of as the Atticus Finch of Bedford School, is leaving us after six years as head of English. It is entirely appropriate that, having fulfilled that role with distinction for a substantial period, he should feel it is time to move on. For those of us who have worked closely with him in different ways, however, there is a pervasive and almost palpable sense of regret that in September he will no longer be with us. There can surely be few examples of such a happy convergence of the man and the post he fills. The head of department is called upon to be many things, each of them more important than the efficient administrator that he must also be: teacher, leader, counsellor, exemplar, judge, adviser, critic, friend. Without certain qualities, few of these roles would be feasible. There may, no doubt, be heads of department who lack a sense of humour or the ability to remain calm under pressure; or who are not always available for a quiet word of guidance; or who do not possess the gift of listening patiently. They may still be adept at generating results, but if they are not readily approachable, or if they lack the essential humanity of a David Ashton, they will lead a less happy band of teachers and their departure will be less mourned.

Within the English Department, David has been a reassuring, encouraging leader who has built strong personal relationships with his colleagues. This is because they like the man, but it is also because they respect the professional; he has the natural authority that knowledge and experience confer on the softly spoken, and which is akin to wisdom. The boys he has taught, who include my son, speak of him with affection and respect: he is an excellent teacher of his subject who is unfailingly dedicated to them. He takes them to see plays they have studied, returning

at a late hour, he arranges stimulating speakers and he is eloquent in his support for the library and in his advocacy of reading as an inherently valuable activity. With all due respect to Clark Kent, we have – in a phrase coined, I gather, by one of our boys – our own Ashton Man. Lest any of my readers conclude from these remarks that in David Ashton we only – only! – have a man who is gentle and wise, I need to make this clear: he is also tough. It is not his way to profess principles and then shrink from asserting them. I have sat on committees with David; I have witnessed the passionate tenacity and the constructively forensic qualities he brings to debate. He is an invaluable colleague in this kind of forum because he is able to weigh up a proposition intellectually, but also intuitively, and to set it in a broader context to substantiate his judgement. This carries weight.

All this, and I have not even mentioned his immense contribution to the school as tutor – initially in Pemberley, latterly in Crescent – and as coach to various teams in football and cricket. He has been generous with his time as an all-round schoolmaster.

My mind goes back to my first meeting with David. I was on the panel that interviewed him. I remember not so much what he said, as the manner in which he said it; I felt he was a plausible successor to the highly esteemed Andrew Speedy. The other thing I remember about that first encounter, something I only found out afterwards, is that on the day in question he had been on his way north to that evening’s Champions’ League game at Anfield. I have never asked him which of that day’s events, interview or football, he regarded as the more important, but the discovery served to remind me that he is a man who, for all his commitment to the job and his prodigious work ethic, also has a life outside school. He has two young children; they are fortunate in their father.

David leaves us to take up the post of director of studies at Framlingham College in Suffolk, a job for which he is admirably equipped. Framlingham is lucky to have recruited a man of such calibre. We wish him, Anna, Tommy and Florence every happiness.

C. Marsh

BARRY BRYAN

Barry Bryan joined the maintenance team as the school electrician in 1998. A well-liked member of the team, Barry went about his work quietly and efficiently until retirement eventually beckoned in August this year. He is a model railway enthusiast, a Luton Town supporter and enjoys the theatre. We wish him a long and enjoyable retirement.

G. McWilliam

IAN BUBBINS

Ian joined the school in February 1998 as one of the two evening security guards. Not only was Ian very efficient at his duties, he was also an extremely popular and well-known character throughout the school community. On numerous occasions Ian had to deal with incidents around the school estate during his

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shift and he always did this in a firm and professional manner. He thought nothing of giving chase to someone if required and on one memorable occasion (accompanied by his colleague and long-time friend Bob Jarvis) he actually walked in on a theft as it was in process! He then ‘persuaded’ the person involved to drop the goods and to exit the school at great speed and subsequently gave a first-class description to the police. The end result was that the person involved was apprehended in town.

Ever-helpful while on duty, Ian would do whatever he could to assist in the smooth running of the school. He was a loyal team member and it was a sad day when Ian had to retire from the school on grounds of ill health in June 2013, having completed over 15 years with us.

M. Mellor

ROB CAMPBELL

At my first trip to an art conference I was asked by a fellow delegate which school I came from. When I mentioned Bedford School he replied ‘Ah yes, the head of department is a real gent.

Rob Campbell, isn’t it?’ It says much for the high regard and respect for Rob’s achievement as director of art here at Bedford that he is so well known throughout the independent sector. Yet the description of him as a gentleman says just as much about the man that he is.

Rob arrived at Bedford School in 1994. Coming from Carmel College where he was also head of department, he was the outstanding candidate to replace the highly respected John Sylvester who had made the post very much his own after a 24-year tenure. That Rob was able to expand and push the department forwards says much for his tireless energy and ambition to create opportunities for the boys for whom he always wants the best. The distinctive nature of the department with the specialist painting, printmaking and sculpture studios and specialist staff is a unique selling point and gives the boys a diverse and rich artistic experience in a variety of media. Many schools, and art schools for that matter, fail to match the facilities and expertise we have at Bedford School. All boys experience time in each studio whatever their year group which ensures that all art staff and, more importantly, the director of art, get to teach all the boys studying the subject. This is very much part of Rob’s plan and vision.

The Detweiler competition was another of Rob’s innovations and it is testimony to the excitement the competition engenders among the boys that it is always one of the most exciting exhibitions and events of the academic year. The Gilbert Lloyd lectures, made possible by a generous OB donation, were also initiated and have thrived in his time. When I asked Rob directly what he thought his major achievement had been, he said the fact that art was more in evidence across the whole campus was something he was proud of. Indeed, boys’ work, foyer gallery exhibitions and the ever-expanding school art collection are a wonderful and lasting celebration of that achievement. We are fortunate that the art school also occupies one of the oldest buildings on the school campus, creating a certain hallowed and distinctive character that makes the department such a pleasure to work in for both boys and staff. Indeed, I have yet to

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experience the spectre that is said to haunt the building which Rob told me about when I first arrived. I am still not sure if this was just Rob’s way of testing my metal to see if I was up to the job!

As director of art, Rob has been an excellent and inspiring leader to both boys and staff. Always calm and measured, he commands respect. He has an extensive knowledge and understanding of all areas of art, not just his favoured printmaking. Indeed his degree at Camberwell College of Art was actually in ceramics as well as printmaking. Yet there is also one other significant factor that contributes to the awe in which the boys hold Mr Campbell. When I first arrived I noticed the curious whispered conversations boys had about Mr Campbell’s huge forearms. Whether it was the printmaking or canoeing that encouraged the forearm development, it certainly guaranteed an immediate response from even the most chatty and disruptive students when undivided attention was called for. Similar physical prowess is displayed on the annual art study tours which Rob so effortlessly organises around the other daily demands of the job. Sebastian and I have named it the ‘Campbell Charge’ when Rob leads the party from one museum to another at what we consider a fast jogging pace but which seems to be a normal brisk walk for Rob. Many have fallen behind to see the always hatted tour leader disappearing over the horizon, with Sebastian and me hoovering up the stragglers! It is no surprise that ISADA are keen to utilise his travel organisational skills for their future tours!

As he does with the boys, Rob always has time for staff, not only those in the department, whether it is addressing concerns and issues or simply having a chat with a coffee, of which vast amounts are consumed in the art school. Always ready to help, nothing is ever too much trouble. Rob has an encyclopedic knowledge of the machinations of the school and staff which is indicative of his genuine passion and concern for the well-being of the school as a whole. This passion remains undiminished after 19 years and even in his last half-term he was in Scotland talking to OBs as a representative of the school.

It is not surprising that with the sort of energy Rob displays in the department he should also have been involved in boarding.

His 12 years in Phillpotts, ably assisted by his wife, Hilary, and their children, Ben and Iona, was clearly a happy time for him and the boys he was responsible for. OBs who were in Phillpotts in his time regularly drop into the department to catch up. A recent visitor politely requested a fatherly hug before leaving which, I suspect, says much about the affection the boys hold for Mr Campbell. The combination of Rob assuming the role of Vice Master for a term and the demands of running a boarding house did mean that Rob temporarily relinquished the reins for running the department to his colleague Carolyn Blake, and some of his teaching to me in a part-time post, for which I will always be grateful!

So how on earth did Rob also find time to do canoeing? A keen canoeist himself, I have no doubt that he was desperate to share his passion and enthusiasm for a sport which, to a landlover like myself, can be the only reason why so many boys have been willing to undertake the extraordinarily demanding challenge of the Devizes to Westminster race. This is always run in the Easter weekend and, as with the preliminary races that

have to be done, ridiculously early departures are a necessity. So Rob and Hilary should be looking forward to an Easter weekend at home next year but, not surprisingly, there are mutterings from Rob about actually competing himself in 2014! If he did so, this would actually be the tenth time he had participated and it may not be a surprise to hear that on three of those occasions he won the race in the class he was competing in. Many of those boys inspired by Rob to have a go and who have completed the challenge speak of the achievement as one of the most fulfilling experiences of their school lives, something that would not have been possible without Rob and Hilary’s support.

Much of this passion for canoeing has been showcased in the two recent exhibitions of Rob’s work in the foyer gallery.

Painting, prints and sculpture reveal a man exposed to the elements and sensitive to all that is going on around him. Found objects that many would overlook become the starting point for sculpture, while images conjure the elemental force of nature that Rob clearly finds so exhilarating. The two prints that hang at the far end of the library quietly but effortlessly transport the viewer to the lochs of Rob’s beloved Scotland. It says much about the work that the last exhibition was one of the bestselling shows the school has had. We look forward to another exhibition here soon.

So how will Rob cope with retirement? One thing is for sure, he will not be putting his feet up and many things are already planned, including an allotment which he intends to fit in around all his canoe trips. He will be sorely missed in the art department. During the 19 years he has been in charge the fact that there have been only been five colleagues – Stephen Odom, the late and much missed Neville Ferry, Carolyn Blake, Sebastian Chance and myself – suggests just what a happy department it has been to work in. I will miss his ever-cheerful countenance and sense of humour (his impersonation of the Goons will live long in my memory!), kindness and generosity. Yet I am equally sure that he will be greatly missed by the school as a whole.

M. Croker

BEVERLEY EVANS AND HELEN KYNASTON

We bid farewell to Beverley Evans (catering manager) and Helen Kynaston (cleaning manager). Both had worked at the school for several years and had contributed much in their separate spheres. We wish them well in their new employments.

C. Godfrey

ELISE FENART AND LEYRE SOLANO

Elise and Leyre were a welcome sight around school for all concerned. Rarely have we seen such dedicated and talented language assistants; the boys undeniably profited from their expert tutelage. Both were outstanding linguists among an impressive languages department, with Elise giving lectures to IB students in linguistics and the origin of language, and Leyre devoting herself wholeheartedly to our school’s Spanish plays.

Having now left Bedford School, Leyre is currently finishing off an MA in Spain in mediation and conflict resolution. Elise is simultaneously studying for a PhD in linguistics, specifically in

the area of war-time manipulation, and also for a PGCE in order to teach in the near future.

Those who have known them will miss them as they move on. We wish them all the best.

M. Hutchinson

CHRIS GODWIN

Chris Godwin joined the staff of Bedford Prep School in September 1993 as deputy head. Four years later he took over as Headmaster. The prep school was very different under Chris’s predecessor, although Chris had started to mould it to his vision even before taking over as head. When he took over in September 1997 he was able to build on this even further and it is hard to believe that he is now leaving after 16 years as Headmaster. I am sure that it won’t take him long to make his mark at his new school, The Hall.

One of my first meetings with Chris was in the summer term before he joined when he came one Monday to spend the day. It just so happened that this was the day after Founders and Benefactors and this really showed in the dining halls at lunch when there was an amazing spread of leftovers. I am not sure if Chris actually believed me when I told him that this was just a normal lunch; although I suspect he had worked it out well before the end of his first week in September!

Another early memory of Chris was when we accompanied the boys on the PGL water-sports holiday to the mighty Ardèche.

The trip started on the Mediterranean and Chris soon showed his rugby touring pedigree with his excellent organisation of staff evening entertainments. One of the worst photographs I have ever seen of Chris was taken on this trip. There was a shortage of the larger buoyancy aids and helmets and Chris was forced to squeeze himself into one which was more suited to an 11 year old. I did try to get hold of a copy of this, but Chris has it firmly under lock and key!

As well as being an excellent geography teacher, Chris has a passion for rugby. He coached the upper school 1st XV pack for many years and was famous for his lineout moves and calls. He has been on many rugby tours, including the memorable first visit to Ireland by a prep school side. His son, Elliott, was on the trip, and this gave the two of them a great opportunity to share some quality time together. What was slightly unusual was the fact that the Godwin idea of father/son bonding seems to involve endless and lengthy discussions about the finer points of binding on the tight-head side of the scrum.

I only ever saw Chris play once, and that was enough! He turned out for the BPS Parents XV in their match against Polam Parents and Friends. As a member of the East Midlands Referees’ Society I was asked to referee this allegedly friendly game. Friendly isn’t the first word that comes to mind when looking back. Polam parents seemed to be friends with a significant number of Bedford Blues’ players and Chris was soon right in the thick of it. Chris is a firm believer in the old way of preventing players killing the ball at the tackle and I still wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t blown for a penalty early enough to prevent Chris’ studs colliding with the back of the Bedford Blues’ openside flanker!

Chris really is a born teacher. He has a really clear view of

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what makes good education and also the skill to inspire other people. His work with the ELLI project at Bristol University meant a lot to him and it also led to the development of a clear ‘language for learning’ at Bedford. It is important to give pupils a vocabulary to talk about their learning and this is an achievement of which Chris can be proud.

Chris is not someone to rest on his laurels and I know that he will be just as dynamic at his new school. Bedford’s loss really is The Hall’s gain. We wish Chris and Sue every happiness in their new life in Hampstead.

G. Wickens

MATTHEW JAMIESON

Norman Mailer once wrote of masculinity that it ‘is not something given to you, but something you gain’. Matthew Jamieson, however, was born with a five o’clock shadow, a preference for fillet done rare and a lit Montecristo tucked into his breast pocket for afters.

Matthew joined Bedford School in September 2010 following a successful career in the Army. A man with an almost insatiable thirst for adventure (he once found himself in among the Celtic fans at Ibrox; on this occasion it was his raw pace rather than his East End accent that saved him), it would have surprised no one that following the danger, deprivations and desert hell of Iraq and Afghanistan he sought out for his next challenge the adrenalinesoaked environment of Bedford, complete with a cultural quarter closed for refurbishment.

Having played for GB, competed in the National League and coached the Army, Matthew arrived as master in charge of hockey and threw himself into the administrative maelstrom of games’ management, imposing his character and values on the 1st XI with a punishing training schedule; tournament victories followed. He turned out for Bedford Hockey Club but found the team insufficiently committed and bowed out gracefully before he ended up on one of those YouTube clips where team members attack each other. He also featured memorably and stylishly for The Ousels XI. As befits a man who wears red trousers to work, Matthew approached his teaching with confidence. Having scored 100 per cent in his own politics A-level (I think that was at Millfield, although no one’s quite sure where he went to school), he led the introduction of American politics and encouraged several boys to take up the subject at university. Matthew also has a genuine love of history and it was a pleasure to share several courses with him; between us we presented the boys with what I hope was an appropriately dark view of the Russian past, heavily flavoured by One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich.

Known affectionately to the boys as ‘Captain Jamieson’, Matthew commanded respect. Yet while he was a very efficient administrator and a diligent professional – he navigated us through controlled assessment, although he probably wishes he could have at least some of this time back – he also proved himself a thoughtful and sensitive practitioner and worked hard to nurture the interest and tap into the potential of all his pupils.

At Brighton College Matthew is looking forward to testing himself in the ‘teaching lab’, having his lessons filmed and plugging his students into all manner of mobile learning devices;

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I’m sure, though, that in among all the word clouds and twitter forums or whatever it is these people do, he’ll find the time to read extracts from Orlando Figes and tell them what it’s all about.

Matthew gave a great deal to the school during his time here and accompanied several trips, most notably to Everest Base Camp, where at some point he probably experienced a mild headache but didn’t let it show. In addition he cycled from Bedford to Paris and revived the popular Battlefields Tour.

Perhaps the less said about Morocco the better, other than to remind Matthew to think twice before going anywhere with geographers. We might be stuck in the past, but we can find our way around it at least some of the time.

Matthew soon graduated from being assistant housemaster at Talbot’s to take up the housemaster’s position at Sanderson’s in September 2011. This pastoral elevation surprised those who knew that Matthew thought TLC stood for ‘Terrifying Leadership Course’ but he proved an inspirational housemaster, leading the boys to victory in house singing and instilling a martial spirit with the house hymn, early morning running club outings and regular hiking and field days. The fourths came back in one piece from the Woodland Combat Zone and the junior and senior leadership structures Matthew introduced proved great innovations. Aside from all this activity and from the boys’ rapturous response both to his taking the stage as part of the original ‘Man Band’ and to the concept of ‘hot suppers’, I knew Matthew was destined for greatness when I saw his ‘mission statement’ laminated and pinned to the noticeboard, sandwiched between the local takeaway menu and a particularly bleak Childline poster. We sensed at this point he had sold his soul to the desolate, obfuscatory world of strategic planning and was destined to climb the managerial ladder.

Matthew has accomplished a great many things to date and will continue to challenge himself until one day he encounters a comfort zone not entirely induced by a good single malt; then he will change careers. I wish Matthew, Emma and family all the best as they begin life on the south coast.

M. Graham

KAREN KELLY

Karen left Bedford School in July 2013 after a year in the RE department. While Karen’s time at Bedford School was short, her influence was felt in a multitude of areas.

One of the main successes of her time here was the fantastic OB careers fair she organised in March. She arranged for 75 friends of the school (including OBs and former Dame Alice and Bedford High students) to set up stalls in the Great Hall ‘advertising’ their chosen career. Hundreds of students from Bedford School and BGS took advantage of this superb networking opportunity and were able to learn about careers ranging from the traditional (engineering, medicine, accountancy and investment banking) to the slightly more unorthodox (psychiatry, video-game development and sports therapy). The evening was an overwhelming success.

She will also be remembered fondly by many boys for her work on the squash courts. A superb squash player herself, she imparted her wisdom to the boys who were fortunate enough to find themselves in her tutelage. Tom Rees, master in charge of

squash, confided to me that he was ‘gutted’ to lose such a fantastic coach. I can personally attest to what a superb tutor she was in St Cuthbert’s. On more than one occasion an issue involving one of her tutees arose which required my attention as housemaster of St Peter’s. I bore witness to the compassion and empathy she showed towards her tutees, while at the same time maintaining her professionalism and a level head – these are the signs of a truly excellent pastoral tutor.

Finally, and most importantly, her contribution to the RE department must not be forgotten. She worked her students hard and the boys thrived in her classroom and relished the opportunity to learn from someone so enthusiastic and knowledgeable. Her sixth form students particularly enjoyed the regular ‘cake days’ which helped them cope with tricky philosophical topics! Karen will be sadly missed by all at Bedford School and we wish her every happiness for the future.

E. Murray

IRFAN LATIF

I once encountered a deputy head who had met Irfan. Looking this way and that, he lowered his voice and said, ‘that man knew so much about me and what I had done that I thought he was stalking me’. Not so. For Irfan simply has an insatiable interest in people: in their lives and in their experiences. Not just in school, either. I never knew what networking was until I met Irfan.

People have been telling me throughout my career that I should learn the art of getting to know people, take an interest in the local community and the world around me, be involved in projects, be seen. And, in my modest way, I thought I was doing reasonably well by the end of 2008. Then Irfan arrived. Within a few weeks, he knew more people than I did, was thoroughly involved in Bedford politics (with both a small and a large ‘p’ ), was serving as a local JP, as an UpRising mentor and on countless other committees and initiatives. I will, above all, remember his simple and genuine interest in people and what they were doing. He put me to shame.

It is far too easy to brand a deputy head (academic) simplistically by the various initiatives that emanate from his office … in Irfan’s case by email at extraordinary hours of the day and night. However, difficult though it is to believe for those who regard them as a sub-human species, a good deputy head, as well as doing all the dirty work of lazy and image-conscious heads, must also be a good schoolmaster. Time for boys: certainly true of Irfan. A good classroom practitioner: he was one of the very best. Involved in the life of the school: rugby referee, Choral Society participant, the Dutch exchange, attender of myriad events, member of the ‘Man Band’ … to name just a few. I know he loved the experience of working in a boarding school, having cut his teeth on London day schools; it says much about his approach to education.

There were the academic initiatives too, of course. The multiple iterations of the communications cycle did not always make him popular: to defend him, balancing competing interests is never easy and I have yet to discover a school where reporting is not the bane of many teachers’ lives. And Irfan challenged thinking: new approaches to citizenship, digital learning, data handling, academic colours, academic merits – all came out of

his ideas and unwillingness to accept the status quo. I hope the school has developed educationally in the past five years; we owe him much.

He is an incredible enthusiast. His passion for chemistry is infectious (well, almost) and to see his tour de force lecture delivered to hundreds of enthralled prep school pupils was a joy: a natural communicator, he was as happy with the 50th batch of liquid nitrogen ice-cream as he was with the first. If he had taught me science, I might even have done it for longer.

However, perhaps more impressively still, he has the same enthusiasm for what other people love – not for him a narrow range of interests. One of the great skills of a good headmaster is to make other people feel wanted, that what they are interested in matters … and Irfan has that skill in spades.

The enthusiasm is matched by optimism. Irfan believed boys were capable of getting good grades and many a recalcitrant examination candidate owes him much for the way in which he pulled them along by sheer force of aspirational goodwill. He also believed that boys were able to do superhuman numbers of hours of revision in holiday periods; I am not sure he was as successful on that front but as he pointed out to me, if they managed 50 per cent of the ‘Latif Schedule’, they were still probably ahead of the game. He will forgive me, I hope, for mentioning his finest hour of optimism. Short of a member of a team for the Foundation Golf Day – early in his time here – I asked if he played golf. He replied modestly but said he had played a bit and he was happy to join the team. Suffice it to say that he did not have a great day and contributed little to what was already a poor outfit. Yet that is not the point; one sensed that he genuinely believed hope would triumph over experience on every shot he played … and he smiled all the way through the experience. I rarely get to the fourth tee without a tantrum.

I envy his drive; his optimism; his enthusiasm; his passion. All seen, perhaps supremely, in the Everest expedition. It was a huge undertaking, had its ups and downs, so to speak, but was a triumphant experience for all concerned. It would not have happened without Irfan. He adds an ambition to his other qualities.

An ambition which, rightly, leads him to headship. He is a very proud family man and I know that he and Jocelyn will make a fine partnership as they join Sexey’s, a leading state boarding school in Bruton, Somerset. We wish them, and their lovely daughters, Zara and Emma, all the very best. I have a sneaking suspicion that we will see and hear from him again. Probably late at night. A whirlwind, maybe, but one of warmth and generosity, and a genuine passion for education and school-mastering. He is in the right profession.

J. Moule

RICHARD WALKER

Richard came to Bedford in 1986 for a three-week temporary appointment to cover for Mr Bernie Cotton, MBE, who was playing for the GB hockey squad in Australia. Richard had only been back in the country for four days having been teaching in King’s College, New Zealand. The Bedford School chaplain at the time was Revd Ian Browne who knew R.J.W. from university

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days and rang him to suggest the opportunity. R.J.W. saw the advantage of getting back into the British teaching system and a three-week ‘trial period’ seemed like a very good option …

Cutting a long story short, he stayed for the next 27 years!

Richard will be remembered most for his role in the geography department and as a geography teacher. The department had been struggling for a while and numbers were weak for A-level. However, a revival in fortunes followed with several new appointments and by the time the GCSE exam was introduced, there were 98 A grades. Numbers really started to grow and an international field trip to Switzerland added more status. The department continued to flourish, becoming one of the largest A-level departments. It also boasted a very healthy 85–90 per cent take-up rate at GCSE. Many boys have gone on to university to read geography – ten of the upper sixth in Richard’s final year secured places to read geography and this number is not uncommon. It is interesting to note that many of Richard’s former staff have gone on to great things, too – there are now 13 heads of departments and five deputy heads who started out under his tutelage. Interestingly, several pupils have also followed Richard into the profession and he knows of at least two boys who now run their own geography departments.

Richard has been in charge of many international field trips.

As well as being excellent learning experiences for pupils, they have also provided great opportunities for new staff to get to grips with overseas visits. Switzerland was a regular destination for seven years, followed more recently by alternating trips to Morocco and Iceland.

As a teacher, Richard is deservedly known as a ‘legend’. His use of humour and memory hooks are well known and the PEER system for essays is now a regular in lessons at Bedford as well as in several schools where teachers from the department have gone! A tutor from Oxford is reputed to say that she could select a Bedford School essay from a group of ten based on structure and clarity. He has a strong belief in the visual aspect of teaching and was the first to bring in data projectors and use PowerPoint in the school. He had discovered these on a teacher fellowship he won to University College London, thanks to the Fawcett Fellowship. Soon these electronic devices became the norm for teaching in schools. He has also contributed to national geographical education, writing two chapters in an A-level textbook as well as an article in the Geography Review.

R.J.W. was a good sportsman and he brought excellent coaching skills to Bedford. He had been captain of rugby and hockey at Uppingham and had actually played on the Bedford 1st XV pitch (albeit for the winning Uppingham side!). A Cambridge blue was a useful addition to the squad of hockey coaches Ian Jones had assembled at the school. However, there was such a successful team of coaches that, although R.J.W. had been in charge of hockey at Cheltenham Boys’ College, he started at Bedford by running the U15 B team, later stepping in to coach the U15 A team.

R.J.W. also went on tours with the 1st XI to Zimbabwe on three occasions, and to South Africa. Bedford gained an excellent reputation on these trips and the team was set against the full Zimbabwe Schools’ XI for ‘tests’ in preparation for the Currie Cup matches. Often described as the team psychologist in the programme, Richard’s support of the boys and fellow staff was

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valued highly. More recently R.J.W. has organised some very successful hockey reunions to celebrate the contributions of staff and boys over the years. The most recent reunion saw German gold medallist Stefan Tewes return to Bedford with his lovely family.

R.J.W. has played a significant role in the Christian tradition of the school. He was often asked to speak in Chapel. He ran the Christian Union (or Viewpoint, as it was known) over several years, arranging talks from speakers from Christian camps as well as local churches. He became Chapel warden for three years, supporting Father David Lawrence-March. This time included the repainting of the ceiling.

R.J.W. has been a committed tutor in St Cuthbert’s throughout his time at the school. He has enjoyed his tutor group and maintains contact with them via facebook, specifically through the group entitled ‘Ex-Walker Tutor Group’. On this page, the WWW or ‘Walker Words of Wisdom’ can be shared!

Many boys and parents have expressed their gratitude to Richard for the encouragement and help given to their son over the time he has been at Bedford School; indeed, several times, parents (including four staff members) have specifically asked for their sons to be placed in Richard’s pastoral care. Over the years, there have been boys who would not have continued through the school had it not been for his advice, compassion and wisdom. Two houses asked him to speak as guest of honour at their house dinner this year, reflecting the high regard in which he is held throughout the school R.J.W. goes into retirement. He will be missed in the common room. He is renowned for his enthusiasm for his subject and for hockey. We will also miss the outlandish comments he makes in order to provoke a reaction: such comments include his famous ‘have a good weekend’ delivered on a Friday afternoon and, more recently, ‘I am turning down my Harpur Trust bonus this year’. We wish him and his wife, Ursula, every happiness as he retires and we sincerely hope he will maintain contact in the future.

S. Spyropoulos

And welcome ...

MATTHEW BOLTON

Raised in Greater Manchester, Mr Bolton attended Manchester Grammar School. At school, his interests included cross-country, athletics and trekking, the latter of which has led him to travel to places such as Norway. Upon leaving school he went on to study religious studies at Edinburgh in 2009, where he won two RE prizes as well as editing an RE website, which has now evolved into an expanding Twitter feed. He was also part of a scheme proofreading work for foreign students at the university. Upon leaving Edinburgh in 2013 he came straight to Bedford where he will be joining the RE department and will also be a tutor in St Cuthbert’s. In his free time he enjoys watching football and is an

avid fan of Manchester United. He looks forward to having a happy time at Bedford School.

Michael Holroyd

STEVE HANDY

Steve joined the School in July 2012 having worked for the Harpur Trust for 11 years. He started at BHS in 2002, working his way up to head of site support. When BHS and Dame Alice amalgamated in 2011 he transferred to BGS as head of premises. He then joined Bedford School last year and is now an established member of the portering team. In his spare time Steve enjoys coarse fishing and country walks.

G. McGarry

JAMES INGLE

(Graduate Teaching Assistant) As an OB, James was well versed in the modus operandi at Bedford School even before he arrived for staff INSET on a sunny day back in September. While at school he had been a superb athlete. In particular he was an outstanding rugby player, so it was no surprise that he returned to his beloved former stomping ground as a graduate teaching assistant in the PE department.

In between his stints at Bedford School he spent three years studying sport science with management and French at Loughborough University. While there, he somehow found the time to play rugby for Northampton Saints. After university he continued playing the Gentleman’s Game for Northampton in a professional capacity. He remained with the Saints for three years before taking up his post here at Bedford.

During his time at the school, he hopes to spend a great deal of time on the river. He first discovered rowing as part of a Talent Identification and World Class Start programme in his final year at university. Indeed, he says he aspires to become as good at rowing as he was at rugby – James is clearly not a man who advocates partaking in sporting activities ‘just for fun’. He also plans to spend some time teaching in the languages department.

We wish him every success during his time here.

E. Murray

RICHARD KEOGH

Richard Keogh joined the maintenance team in September as the school’s electrician. Having worked as an operations manager at BT for 23 years, Richard decided on a career change. He retrained as an electrician in 2007, being self-employed until joining the school. Richard is settling in well, getting to know staff and the estate. He is a car enthusiast and treasurer of the local Fiat Barchetta Club.

G. McWilliam

BEV MARSHALL

Bev arrived at Bedford School early in January 2013 and immediately established herself as a team player, helping out

with all areas within the Bedford School Association (BSA). On a day-to-day basis, she deals with a variety of matters and has thrown herself into her role with great enthusiasm and good humour. More recently Bev has been able to concentrate on the Past Parents’ Association and has worked hard to build up the numbers and attract more people to get involved.

Bev joined us from Lincroft School, where she worked for six years. Away from work, Bev and her husband, Simon, are kept busy with their young family, socialising with friends, and participating in a variety of hobbies, from badminton to watching live comedy. She also plays an active part in her local community; Bev regularly helps with the Scouts and this year was also on the committee for the Oakley Summer Carnival. Not surprisingly, Bev shows a flair for organising events and ticks off jobs on her ‘to do list’ at a rapid rate …

R. Garrett

WILL MONTGOMERY

He’s back. Mr Montgomery left Bedford School in July 2011 after four and a half years with us in order to become the head of geography at Mill Hill School in North London. He must have realised his mistake for, two years later, he has traded in a flat in the shadow of Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium for a flat on De Parys Avenue. He comes back to Bedford as head of geography to take over from Mr Walker. As we discuss his return he is quick to acknowledge that his former mentor has left some very big shoes to fill after 25 years at the helm of the department. Mr Montgomery is looking forward to doing all that he can to ensure a smooth transition to a new HOG (an affectionate term for a head of geography). As he sits at his desk, sharpener and colouring pencils in hand, he tells me that he is particularly excited about working with the other members of the department who have been incredibly welcoming in his first few days back at the school.

Away from the department he is looking forward to getting involved in some of the many extracurricular activities that happen at Bedford. As a former master in charge of squash he has already got himself back on court as part of the squash coaching team. He is also looking forward to working under Mr Sherwin once more when the summer comes around and he coaches one of the junior cricket teams. Aside from his love of sport, Mr Montgomery is looking forward to getting back out into some of the Bedfordshire countryside. We wish Mr Montgomery the best of luck in the department and hope that he has a happy return to Bedford School.

Harry Glenn

ALASTAIR TIGHE

As a child, Mr Tighe lived on Portsmouth Navy Base as his father worked for the Royal Navy. Growing up, he attended Buckfast Abbey in Devon, until he reached the age of 13 when he moved on to Downside School in Somerset as a boarder. He stayed at Downside until he was 18, before taking a gap year in Cornwall.

During this time, he played the organ at Truro Cathedral, which led him to become an organ scholar at Magdalen College, Cambridge. At Cambridge, he studied English and theology.

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His first teaching position was at Oundle, where he was choirmaster for two years. He enjoyed this position but decided to take a year out to work in Leeds Cathedral as assistant director of music. Despite enjoying this post, he missed teaching and decided to rejoin Oundle. He was the deputy head of music, as well as assistant head master. He stayed for five years, before he then decided to explore pastures new once more; he became the director of music at Eltham College in London. He worked there for four years, only leaving to take up his post here at Bedford School.

He intends to feature in all areas of school life and hopes to be a prominent figure in the music department where he will teach lessons to a variety of year groups. Needless to say, you will see him at plenty of lunchtime concerts and other music school events.

His other interests include visiting the theatre, as well as travelling. He is also interested in sport and, although he won’t be heavily involved in coaching, he will be watching a great deal of sport from the touchline here at Bedford. He looks forward to what he hopes will be a happy time at Bedford School.

Michael Holroyd

CHRIS UNSWORTH

Chris arrived at Bedford School in March 2013 to take up a new position as domestic services manager. He is employed by our catering contractor, Sodexo, but is based full time at school, with the remit of managing both catering and cleaning services across the site.

Prior to arriving in Bedford, Chris’s career included overseeing catering operations and facilities management in various industries, and also running his own bar. With a BEd degree in outdoor and science education he is pleased to now finally work in a school, even if it is not as a teacher! Outside of work Chris enjoys spending time with his wife and young family and playing various sports. He is already a member of The Ousels cricket team.

C. Godfrey

ALEX WARD

Alex joined the BSA team back in May, with a specific responsibility for overseeing alumni communications. She is working very closely with the OB Club, and on arrival had to immediately roll up her sleeves to help produce the OB Review, which was achieved in record time. Since then Alex has been busy improving the website, increasing our social media activity and working on a number of publications. She grew up in Kew in London and studied history of art at Northampton. Before joining the school she was working for a small digital agency. As a volunteer, she edited the annual journal for Kew Gardens’ alumni association – definitely more prickly that the Old Bedfordians Club! Alex left the bright lights to be with her partner, Matt, and is enjoying (most of the time) renovating their new home in Bedford. To escape the dust and DIY jobs they enjoy regularly walking Baxter, their playful border terrier. Pleasingly, both Matt and Baxter are responding well to the training!

R. Garrett

FIONA WHITEMAN

Mrs Whiteman joins us from previously having taught part-time at The Peterborough School. She was there for two-and-a-half years before coming here to join the art department, teaching printing specifically. Mrs Whiteman gained her printmaking degree at Winchester School of Art and an MA at Chelsea College of Art and Design, so you are in good hands if you have her as a teacher! Mrs Whiteman is quite familiar with the local area having attended Kimbolton School as a young girl – she was one of the first girls to start at the school when it changed from a boys’ school to a mixed school. As well as Bedford, Mrs Whiteman has lived in Luton, St Albans and West Hampstead.

Outside school Mrs Whiteman has three children who keep her very busy! She is also a rusty Spanish speaker and is looking forward to improving her Spanish with Ms Rubio, with whom she will be coaching swimming. On behalf of the whole school, we wish her the best of luck in her new role.

Harry Glenn

Bedford Preparatory School boys watch as the upper sixth survivors’ photograph is taken – see opposite page

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佢 THE MONITORS

佣 THE SURVIVORS

Back row: Lewis Humphreys, James Evans, Will Johnson, Dylan Stewart, George Adams, Freddie Dixon, Jaskaran Singh, James Strode, Ben Savage and Franz Hu Middle row: George White, Kieran Olds, Vicram Sohal, Benny Jones, Charlie Esam and Tim Graham Front row: Nicholas Urquhart, Jack McLeod, James Stroomer and Joss Herbert

Back row: Harry Wetton, Sam Saghir-Pashley, George White, Alistair Jones, Haraj Soor, Josh Keane, Benny Jones, Gary Berezin, Robbie Wade-Gery, Ali Bourne, Ed Kearey, Jack Rice and James Strode Middle row: Julian West, Richard Leach, Will Johnson, Matt McGall, Diane McAskill, Andrew Whitbread, Louise Thomas, Joe Porter and Tristan Walker Front row: Nathan O’Brien, Charlie Esam and Alex Dickinson

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GEORGE ADAMS (Pem) Monitor, deputy head of Pemberley, 1st XV rugby (colours), 1st XI hockey (colours), 1st XI cricket, Wine Appreciation Society (president), Geography Society

JOSEPH BONASSERA (Bro) Head of house, 2nd XV rugby, 1st IV volleyball, 3rd XI football, Choral Society, Geography Society

CHARLES CAMPBELL-GRAY (Red) Head of house, Head Master’s scarf, house colours, Art Appreciation (head), canoeing (captain), rugby, hockey, cricket, athletics, triathalon, shooting, weights, track cycling

SAMSON CHUNG (Tal) Badminton (colours), tennis, STEM Society

LUKE ADAMS (Pem) Senior house prefect, house colours, 1st XI cricket (colours), 2nd XI football (vice-captain), 4th XV rugby (captain), Pemberley Allotments Club (president)

ALISTAIR BOURNE (Ash) Arts colours (performing arts), Prospero in The Tempest, Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, 1st IV fives (colours), senior house monitor

SPENCER CARTWRIGHT (Bro) Athletics, track cycling, 4th XI hockey, 4th XV rugby, house rugby, CCF, Business Society

TOM CHURCH (San) 1st XV rugby, 1st XI football (vice-captain), weights

NIKLAS ALBUS (Pem) Weights, football, rowing, house prefect

RYAN BRETT-WILLIAMS (StP) 1st XV rugby (vice-captain, colours and cap), 1st IV volleyball

KA SHING CHAN (Phi) Badminton (colours)

LIAM COLES (Bro) English Society (president), Poetry Society

ALI ALYRZAEV (Phi) Weights

MATTHEW CHAN (StP) SAMUEL BROWN (Bro) Chapel Choir, canoeing (club Debating Society, Philosophy Society, weights secretary), Charities Committee, Christian Union, house drama leader

SELA ARNSBERG (Bur) 2nd XV rugby (colours), 1st V basketball (colours), Poetry Society, English Society, Harper Trust Debating, house committee

LORENZ BSCHER (Pem) German rugby team, German Society, German football team, 3rd XI football, house prefect

RYAN CHAN (Tal) Head of house, 1st team badminton (captain, colours), 2nd XI football, 1st team swimming (captain, colours), Economics Society, Charities Committee, Pythagoreans

MATTHEW COOPER (Cre) 4th XV rugby (captain), 4th XI hockey, Everest Base Camp expedition, house colours

MOHAMMED AZHER (Ash) 1st XI football (colours and golden boot), 2nd XI cricket, BSMA (senior advisor), house sports captain, house monitor, Harpur Science Forum, weights

AARON BUCK (StC) Basketball

DIMA CHERNYAVSKYY (Bur) 3rd XI football, 4th XI football, gold Senior Maths Challenge

NICHOLAS COULTON (San) Deputy head of house, 2nd XV and 1st XV rugby (colours), 3rd XI cricket, Engineering Society, Debating Society, Mitre Club

GARY BEREZIN (Phi) 2nd XI hockey, gold D of E , Ousel editorial team, Mitre Club

CHARLIE BURT (Cre) 4th XI hockey, 4th XI cricket, squash, Geography Society, Economics Society, house events coordinator

BRYAN CHEUNG (Bur) Debating Society, Young Enterprise (company secretary), Mitre Club, house option, house colours

BARNABY DATHAN (Phi) Canoeing, CCF (head of RAF), first orchestra, school band, head of house, Astronomy Society (head)

NICLAS BIEBER (Tal) German rugby team (vicecaptain), German football team (captain), badminton

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TYRONE BYRNE (Cre) Table Tennis Club (vicepresident), fives (2nd IV 2011), tennis, English Society, English Society Reading Group, Poetry Society, Debating Society, Pythagoreans, Economics Society, Tours Team, house colours

LESTER CHEUNG (Phi) Head of house, badminton (colours), Photography Club, Charities Committee

ALEX COLLINS (Bro) Leader of first and chamber orchestras, violin grade 8

CHRIS DAVEY (Cre) Deputy head of house, house colours, 1st IV fives (colours), house drama (writer and director), piano, acted in Guys and Dolls, A Christmas Carol, and Ernie’s Incredible Illucinations, stage crew of Fiddler on the Roof, house quiz

CLARK DAVIDSON (Ash) 1st XV (vice-captain, colours), 1st team athletics, swimming, deputy head of house, Geography Society (vicepresident)

CHARLIE ESAM (Cre) Deputy head of school, 1st XV rugby (captain, colours, honours cap), 1st XI hockey (colours), Head Master’s scarf, English Society (secretary), Ousel editorial team

MOHD KHAIRULNIZAM HAJI OMAR (Bur) Model United Nations (founder and president), head of house, Harpur Science Forum (publicity officer), house colours

LEWIS HUMPHREYS (Phi) Head of house, monitor, Theology and Philosophy Society (president), brass ensemble, school band

MICHAEL DELHOUGNE (Phi) Academic colours, swimming squad, German Society, Mitre Club

JAMES EVANS (San) Music Society (president), dance band (head), monitor, 2rd XI cricket (captain), first orchestra, school band, Head Master’s scarf, arts colours, house colours

JOSHUA HAMBLETONJEWELL (StP) Philosophy Society, Adrian Boult Society, Music Society, Acquila Radio (head), Rock Society (head)

WILL HUNT (Pau) 1st XV rugby (colours), water polo (colours), Rifle Club (captain), CCF (deputy head, head of Army), deputy head of house, house colours, BSMA, Harpur Science Forum, Lord Lieutenant’s Cadet of Bedfordshire

ALEXANDER DICKINSON (Cre) House colours, 1st V volleyball, house badminton, house water polo (captain), prep school choir

MICHAEL HANNA (Cre) DOLAPO FAGBENRO (Pau) 1st XV rugby (colours), 2nd XI Head of house, 1st V squash (club captain, colours), football Debating (head), Economics Society (vice-president), house colours

JOSHUA JACKSON (Pau) 2nd XI football, weights, house drama, acted in A Christmas Carol, Tours Team, house colours, Charities Committee

TOM DICKMAN (Bro) 2nd XI football, weights

LIAM FITT (Bur) 1st XV rugby (club captain, colours), athletics team, weights, Business Society, Politics Society, drama, house colours

JOSIAH HERBERT (Bro) Monitor, Christian Union (president), house committee, 1st XV rugby (club captain, colours, honours cap, Clubman of the Year 2012), volleyball (captain), 1st XI football (colours, Most Improved Player 2013), 1st XI cricket scorer

FREDDIE DIXON (StP) Monitor, Head Master’s scarf, 1st VIII rowing (captain, colours), Tours Team, Charities Committee, Philosophy and Theology Society

ROBERT FRIEND (Bro) 1st XV rugby (colours), weights

OMAR JACKSON (StC) 1st V basketball (captain, colours), athletics squad (captain), first and chamber orchestras, dance band, Arthur Jones computing prize, Young Designer of the Year (Product Design) 2012, Harpur Science Forum (publicity office)

ALEXANDER EARLY (StP) Deputy head of house, Rock Society

WILLIAM GARVIE (Bro) 1st XI football (colours), house mentor

VALERIY EKSUZYAN (Bur) 3rd XI football, weights, Pythagoreans

ROBERT ELSON (Bro) 1st XI cricket (colours, club secretary), 2nd XV rugby (colours), weights, 1st IV volleyball (colours), deputy head of house, BSMA (head of lectures), first orchestra

WILLIAM GOVONI (Phi) Head of house, arts colours (fine art), canoeing, Devizes to Westminster, Waterside Series school record (colours), athletics, weights, track cycling team, Shooting Club, Triathlon Club, design and technology prize, life drawing, Photography Club, Wine Appreciation Society, piano TIMOTHY GRAHAM (Pem) Senior monitor, 1st XI cricket (honours cap, colours), 1st XV rugby (colours), head of house, house colours, Wine Appreciation Society, Mitre Club

ANDREW HOLLAND (San) Harpur Debating (head), Politics Society (secretary), Current Affairs Society (head), Mosaic magazine (Editor), 4th XI cricket, Head Master’s arts prize winner

THOMAS HOLLOWAY (Pau) 1st XI hockey (colours), head of house, Economics Society (president), Debating (vicechairman)

FRANZ HU (Red) Monitor, piano playing, dance band, organ playing, Debating Society

JAN HUETTEMANN (Tal) 2nd XI football, 4th XV rugby, German Society

WILL JACKSON (StC) Swimming, water polo (captain), 1st team athletics, Geography Society, Pythagoreans

WILL JOHNSON (StC) Monitor, 1st XV rugby (colours), 1st XI hockey (vice-captain, colours), 2nd XI cricket, 1st V squash, house sports captain, school band (head), first orchestra, Choral Society, BSMA (vicepresident), Wine Appreciation Society, Adrian Boult Society ALISTAIR JONES (Cre) 1st IV fives (vice-captain and winner of A.R. Dawes fives trophy), 1st XI cricket, second orchestra, Poetry Society BENEDICT JONES (StP) Monitor, head of house, 1st XI hockey, 4th XV rugby (colours), 2nd XI cricket, Charities Committee (joint head)

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BEN RUSSELL (StC) Band, dance band, dixie band, chamber orchestra, first orchestra, second orchestra, swimming, athletics, weights

ABHISHEK KARALE (Cre) Harpur Science Forum (vicechairman), first orchestra, gold D of E, house colours

RYOHEI NAKAGURO (Red) PETER LO (Phi) Flute grade 8, first orchestra First orchestra, badminton, chamber orchestra, cello

JOSH KEANE (StP) Skiing (head), badminton (captain, colours)

ALEX LUSTY (StP) Mitre Club (chair), crosscountry (head), 4th XV rugby, Public Speaking (head), History Society (head), house colours, Debating Society, Poetry Society

NATHAN O’BRIEN (Ash) 3rd XV rugby (colours), 4th XV rugby (colours), 4th XI hockey, Tours Team, Economics Society, house colours, house events coordinator

SAM SAGHIR-PASHLEY (Bro) 3rd XV rugby (colours), swimming, water polo

EDWARD KEAREY (Ash) 2nd XI hockey (colours), football, acted in Guys and Dolls and three Spanish productions, Harpur Trust Debating, Economics Society

JAMES MALTBY (Ash) Head of house, 1st VIII rowing, 1st IV swimming (colours), 1st VII water polo, Geography Society (chairman), Economics Society, silver D of E

KIERAN OLDS (Cre) Senior monitor, French Society (president), 1st VIII rowing (captain of boats), house colours

BEN SAVAGE (Cre) 2nd XI cricket, 1st V squash, 1st IV fives, 1st XI hockey

CHAK YEUNG DOMINIC KWOK (Pem) Tai chi, academic colours

MATTHEW McGALL (Cre) House colours, Economics Society, 2nd XV rugby, 2nd XI football, athletics squad, Movemeber team, Everest Base Camp expedition

ILYAS ORAZALIN (Tal) Swimming (captain and colours), house option, house colours, Art Promotion (head), winner of school art prizes (Detweiler, William James Burr Memorial Prize)

PHILIP SCHAAR (Tal) 2nd XI football, 2nd team tennis, rowing, head of house, German Society (head), house colours

JEFFREY LAU (Tal) Badminton, tennis, Charities Committee, Photography Club, Pythagoreans

JACK McLEOD (Bro) Monitor, Geography Society (president), canoeing (colours, club president), Charities Committee

OSCAR PEACE (Bro) 4th XI hockey (captain), 2nd XV rugby (colours), weights (overhead squat record), Mitre Club (secretary), Harpur Science Forum (vice-chairman)

PATRICK SCHMITZ (Tal) Basketball, weights

RICHARD LEACH (StP) 1st VIII rowing (colours), shooting team, second orchestra, house option, house sports captain, Boat Club secretary

CHARLIE MILLER (Red) Athletics, Art Appreciation (secretary), deputy head of house, Detweiler prizewinner, house colours, Harpur Debating

JOSEPH PORTER (Ash) 4th XI hockey, 3rd XV rugby, Charities Committee (joint head), BSMA (chairman), house colours, Head Master’s scarf, volleyball

DEXTER SEOW (Bur) 4th XV Rugby, 2nd XI football, 3rd XI cricket, badminton, Harpur Science Forum (head), deputy head of house, BSMA

JONATHAN LEWIS (Phi) 3rd XV rugby (captain, colours), 3rd XI football, dance band, Harpur Science Forum (publicity officer), Tours Team

ALEX QING (Pem) ADAM MILLS (Bro) Piano, football Deputy head of house, rowing, guitar, Theology and Philosophy Society (secretary), silver D of E, house colours, Mitre Club, Debating Society

JOSH LI (Tal) Charities Committee (secretary)

FANSHAN MIN (Bur) Swimming, 2nd V basketball (captain), Team Maths Challenge, School Newspaper Society

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JACK RICE (StC) Head of house, 3rd XV rugby, house colours

JASKARAN SINGH (Pau) Monitor, 2nd IV fives (captain, colours), 2nd XI cricket, Tours Team, Economics Society

JARED SIOW (Red) Deputy head of house, house colours, 1st V basketball, Chess Club (head), Charities Committee

VICRAM SOHAL (Pau) Head of school, 1st XI cricket (captain, colours, cap), 1st V squash, German Society, Poetry Society, French Society, house colours

PATRICK PAK CHUEN TAI (Tal) 2nd XI football, badminton, senior house option, house colours, Charities Committee, house football (head), Photography Club

TOBY WALKER (Pau) 2nd XV rugby (captain, colours), 1st XI football (captain, colours), house colours

GEORGE WHITE (Cre) Monitor, 3rd XI hockey (captain, colours), 3rd XI cricket, chamber orchestra, first orchestra, deputy head of RAF, Chapel Choir (head), Charities Committee, house colours

JAKE SOMMERS (Cre) House drama, fives, house quiz

DYLAN TANNA (Bro) 1st XI hockey (vice-captain, colours, ‘Player of the Year’), 2nd XV rugby (colours), 2nd XI cricket, weights, deputy head of house

JAMES WOOD (Cre) Table tennis

HUGH SON (Pem) House prefect, cross-country, school band

GIOVANNI TESTA (Ash) 3rd XI hockey, 4th XI cricket, house events coordinator, Business Studies and Economics Society, acted in The Tempest and A Christmas Carol, stage crew, house colours

TRISTAN WALKER (Ash) 1st V squash (colours, secretary), 3rd XI cricket, Triathlon Club, principal percussionist, first orchestra, dance band, school band, chamber orchestra, Phoenix orchestra, second orchestra, Choral Society, samba band (head), Harpur Debating Society

HARAJ SOOR (Bro) 2nd XI football, 3rd XV rugby, Harpur Science Forum, BSMA, Tours Team, house colours

EROMOSELE THEOPHILUSOKOH (Tal) Basketball, Engineering Society, robotics

HARRY WARDELL (Bro) 3rd XV rugby (colours), 4th XV rugby (colours), house colours

BEN YOUNG (San) First orchestra, school band, Choral Society, Consort Choir, Music Society (vice-president), house badminton (captain), stage crew

DANIEL SORENSEN (Cre) 1st IV fives, gold D of E, sailing, Poetry Society, English Society

GUILLAUME TROUNSON (Bro) 2nd XV rugby, 2nd XI football, tennis, Mosaic Society

JULIAN WEST (StC) 1st V squash (colours), 2nd XI hockey (colours), 3rd XI cricket, first orchestra, school band, stand-in organist, wind quintet, Choral Society, Harpur Science Forum (committee), Mitre Club, Adrian Boult Society

NICHOLAS ZEUZEM (San) Head of house, 2nd XV rugby, 2nd XI football, German football (vice-captain), German rugby (captain), German Society

DYLAN STEWART (Pau) Monitor, 1st VIII rowing (vicecaptain, colours), house colours

NICHOLAS URQUHART (Phi) Monitor, head of house, 2nd XI hockey (colours), 3rd XV rugby, CCF (cadet sergeant)

JAMES WESTERN (StP) Choral Society (head), Chapel Choir (deputy head), first orchestra, brass ensemble, school band, Politics Society (president), Public Speaking Society (vice-president), 3rd XV rugby, 2nd XI football (captain),

JING YU ZHU (Bur) Pythagoreans

JAMES STRODE (StP) Monitor, 3rd XI cricket, 4th XI hockey, Economics Society, house committee (chairman)

JOSEPH USHER (Ash) House events coordinator, Tours Team, 2nd XV rugby (colours), 4th XI hockey, silver D of E

HARRY WETTON (StP) Golf (captain, colours), house option, house colours, Economics Society, Geography Society

PHILIPPE ZIYA (Cre) DT Society (head), 2nd IV fives, house colours

JAMES STROOMER (Ash) Monitor, Tours Team (head), house sports captain, 1st XI hockey (captain, colours, honours cap), 1st XV rugby (colours), 1st XI cricket

ROBBIE WADE-GERY (Bro) Bromham house mentor, Bromham head of art, 3rd XV rugby, Art Society, Philosophy Society

GREG WALLACE (Pau) Academic colours, 2nd XV rugby (colours), 2nd XI hockey (colours)

WILLIAM WRIGHT (Pau) 1st XI cricket (colours), 1st XI hockey, chamber orchestra (head), Adrian Boult Society (secretary), Geography Society (secretary)

U6 LEAVERS

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BEDFORD SCHOOL SPORT THE LANGHAM GRID

RUGBY 1st XV 2nd XV 3rd XV 4th XV 5th XV Colts A Colts B Colts C Colts D U15 A U15 B U15 C U15 D U14 A U14 B U14 C U14 D Totals

Won 5 2 4 1 1 6 4 5 3 12 5 5 1 3 11 6 4 78

CRICKET Drawn 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2

Lost 7 8 7 7 5 5 5 7 4 1 7 5 9 5 2 6 5 95

HOCKEY 1st XI 2nd XI 3rd XI 4th XI Colts A Colts B U15 A U15 B U15 C U14 A U14 B U14 C U14 D Totals

Won 4 2 2 2 7 2 2 1 2 1 3 2 1 31

Drawn 3 3 3 1 2 2 3 1 1 2 2 1 1 25

Lost 6 3 2 2 6 3 3 5 2 4 1 2 0 39

1st XI 2nd XI 3rd XI 4th XI Colts A Colts B U15 A U15 B U15 C U14 A U14 B U14 C U14 D Totals

Won 13 8 3 1 4 0 9 5 2 9 5 6 0 65

Drawn 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4

Lost 2 0 4 2 1 4 2 3 3 1 1 0 3 26

ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL 1st XI 2nd XI 3rd XI 4th XI Colts A Colts B Colts C U15 A U15 B Totals

Won 2 4 4 1 1 1 2 5 2 22

Drawn 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 7

Lost 2 1 1 2 2 2 2 1 3 16

At the suggestion of John Langham (OB), we have introduced a summary of results for the three major sports (rugby, hockey and cricket) and association football. In his honour, it has been named the Langham Grid.

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RUGBY THE FIRST FIFTEEN The 2012 XV can be extremely proud of the way they improved individually and collectively during the term and the commitment and team spirit shown throughout. They were a credit to themselves and the school and a pleasure to coach. A final record of played 12, won five and lost seven, is in no way a fair representation of the quality of rugby played by the team, nor does it tell the story of a season of extremely hard-fought encounters and games often won and lost by less than a score.

An encouraging victory in Germany and a strong showing at the St Albans preseason tournament kicked off the campaign, where the XV played some enterprising and physical rugby to reach the semi-finals of the main competition. These performances created a confident atmosphere going into the game against Oundle, which was deservedly won 24–17.

Throughout their first home game the team played with pace and width to produce a quite outstanding team performance against Uppingham and ultimately a 44–7 victory. The XV then dominated the first half against Oakham to take a considerable lead, but fell away during a scrappy second period to close with a 22–11 win, in what proved to be a frustrating match to watch.

The visit of Tonbridge after the exeat was a high quality and very physical encounter, which culminated in a 15–27 win for the away team. However, the ambition shown by the XV right up to the final whistle was indicative of a spirit and philosophy to play a high tempo game.

An impressive start and first half at Harrow resulted in a decent lead at the break. As expected, the home side came back into the match as they played with the wind at their backs and took a single-point lead into the final ten minutes. The XV pressed hard for the remainder of the game but, with a couple of lapses in concentration, the opposition side capitalised on their opportunities to record a somewhat flattering 12–35 victory. A disastrous start gave a gritty but very limited Stamford side an early lead and, although the XV played some superb rugby (once again), they leaked another soft try to find themselves on the end of a bitterly disappointing 14–16 reverse.

An excellent performance against a very strong Dulwich side deserved much more than an 8–15 defeat and, although the side

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had lost three games ‘on the bounce’, confidence remained high as the St Joseph’s festival approached. Stowe and Stamford were routinely and deservedly dispatched in the first two games on day one, to put the side into the main competition for day two. Then, in a group which contained Dulwich, Brighton and Millfield the squad gave a superb showing, but failed to qualify for the final.

For the visit of Warwick, following a well-earned half-term break, the XV started the game with renewed vigour to take a 21–6 lead. However, the direct and physical style of the visitors began to take its toll on the home set-piece and defence, as Warwick clawed their way back to a 21–26 win. A trip to Radley followed and, with several injuries and availability issues, a strong home side dominated proceedings to give the XV their

only true ‘beating’ of the season – even then, three scores in the final minutes gave the final scoreline (0–40) a very distorted view. The final matches against Rugby and Stowe (on a very emotional day – soon after the tragic news about Archie Wellbelove) were symptomatic of the rest of the season. The boys produced their fair share of possession, attacked with great width and ambition, but crucially leaked too many soft tries. A superb 40–24 victory and a 17–29 defeat respectively brought the curtain down on a somewhat frustrating but highly entertaining and enjoyable season.

The performances in these last two games emphasised the team’s

development, commitment to the cause and team spirit. A solid front five – made up of a combination of James Phillips, Josiah Herbert, Sela Arnsberg, Toby Walker, James Stroomer, Will Hunt, Liam Fitt, Dolapo Fagbenro, Seb Clements and Nick Coulton – worked extremely hard in the loose and supplied decent set-piece ball throughout the campaign. Flankers Ryan Brett-Williams and Zach Carter worked tirelessly to ensure continuity and were a constant ‘thorn in the side’ of the opposition attack. Ollie Lyons at No 8 carried the ball superbly and was deservedly named player of the season.

Ed Parkin at scrum-half was consistent in every game as were Clark Davidson and

Tim Graham at fly-half. Captain Charlie Esam and George Adams proved to be an attacking threat against all opposition and were equally impressive in defence. They were supplemented by a back three ‘squad’ of Zakk Scorer, Bob Barfoot, Tom Church and Ben Nethersole who performed exceptionally well individually and as a unit.

The 2012 XV: Honours Caps: C.G. Esam (captain), R.G.J. Brett-Williams, C.E. Davidson, J.M. Herbert, L. Fitt and O.C. Lyons.

Colours: G.W.H. Adams, R.A. Barfoot, Z. Carter, T.D.M. Church, S.M.G. Clements, O. Fagbenro, R.J. Friend, T. Graham, W.J. Hunt, W.E.H. Johnson, B.P.J. Nethersole, E. Parkin, J. Phillips, Z.D. Scorer and J. Stroomer.

The following also played: Arnsberg S., Coulton N. and Walker T.

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THE SECOND FIFTEEN

House Match Results: 15-a-side: Under 14 Bromham Under 15 St Cuthbert’s Under 16 Crescent Sevens: Under 15 Paulo Pontine Under 16 Paulo Pontine Seniors Crescent Once again, the standard of play was excellent, and the commitment and skill level in all games was a credit to the boys, and a great advert for school sport. Bob Barfoot (lower sixth) won the Carter Place-Kicking Cup and Jamie White won the Heald Cup for the best player in the 5th XV. My sincere thanks go to all the rugby coaches for their expertise and considerable time and effort – which is often well beyond ‘the call of duty’. My thanks also to all the support staff: nurses, grounds, security, Bell Room and catering, for their unstinting hard work and assistance.

B. Burgess

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‘True champions aren’t always the ones that win, but those with the most guts’ – Mia Hamm.

Even before the 2nd XV had started their campaign, we could tell that there was potential for a good season.

The preseason trip to Germany provided the team with a strong bond which lasted throughout the season.

The first display of class was at the tournament in St Albans in which the team showed their natural ability and commitment, which would be shown on every Saturday following.

Our opening fixture was against Oundle away: always a tough opener. We did not make this game easy for ourselves as we gave them an early lead. However, Henry Walsh produced one of his many dazzling runs, scoring a world-class try. Then, in the last play of the game, our hard work paid off with some excellent play from Ollie Wright who is famous for his linebreaks. Dylan Tanna, a key player throughout the season, converted to bring the game to a 26–26 draw. A tough game with a fair result gave us hope of a bright season ahead.

Sadly, the next three games, against Uppingham (0–21), Oakham (0–31) and a very strong Tonbridge (0–45), were not fruitful. A try drought during this time taught us that even small mistakes would be costly. As the games progressed our defence became more valiant and try-stopping tackles from the likes of Guillaume Trounson and Guy Davis were a regular occurrence but, without an attacking presence, we were not able to get any points under our belt.

Harrow is never an easy game and, with the injury list piling up, it was going to be even tougher, with some grit and determination though we ended our try drought with style: James Lee used his quick and skilful feet to skip past tackles and secure that long-awaited try. With both teams having a defence which looked unbreakable the game did not provide any more tries for a while. However, as in every game of the season, we fought until the final whistle and Dolapo Fagbenro, the powerhouse of the team, broke through the line and grabbed another try. Unfortunately, it was not enough, and we suffered a 10–20 defeat.

Harrow was followed by another tough fixture against Stamford. Even with our front

three of Joe Usher, Sela Arnsberg and Nick Coulton dominating both scrums and rucks we could not act upon the ball possession we had, succumbing to a 7–22 defeat.

Five straight defeats was not the form we wanted going into one of the biggest games of the season, Dulwich. Injuries meant that Usher and Toby Walker were ruled out of this game. However, it was a game never to be forgotten. George Cox’s power, along with Ollie Wetton’s speed, would prove significant along with a try from Arnsberg. Our tries were cemented with the precise kicking of Ryan Swallow, whose work with the boot was nearly faultless throughout the season. The 23–20 win was fully deserved: blood, sweat and tears were shed that day.

The momentum from that performance could not be maintained in the next two games. Warwick (24–31) and Radley (19–31) were unfair results.

Alex Axon showed his consistency at scrum-half, pushing Will Johnson to a new position, where he was more influential and could show off his tacklebreaking prance more often. Our next fixture was then cancelled due to the weather.

Our last home game was against Rugby. We could not have asked for a better home send-off, winning 24–17 with a last-minute try from Greg Wallace, who we had become dependent upon in

both attack and defence. Alex Dorgham was never in the limelight but he always played with maximum effort and often broke the opposition’s defensive line.

To end our season, we had one final game at Stowe (14–20) which was played in the right spirit. Under difficult circumstances we united as one and put our all into the game. The 2nd XV learnt that rugby is not all about winning, however nice it feels. There is more to the game. All of those that played for the 2nd XV showed a true determination to be part of a team and no one let the squad down.

Squad: Walker T. (captain), Arnsberg S., Axon A., Coulton N., Cox G., Davis G., Dorgham A., Eames M., Fagbenro D., Johnson W., Lee J., Peace O., Swallow R., Tanna D., Trounson G., Usher J., Wallace G., Walsh H., Wetton O. and Wright O. Toby Walker

THE THIRD FIFTEEN The 3rd XV had a tough season overall with a total of four wins. It was a season of ups and downs, with some games, such as

that against Stamford, resulting in hard-fought victories and others, such as against Tonbridge, being better off forgotten.

The season opened with a match against a very competitive Oundle side which, unfortunately, we lost 0–20. As in many matches this season, the match was lost by giving away a couple of early tries, ultimately sealing the match.

However, revenge was to come later in the season.

Two matches followed in quick succession. Our tightest match of the season was against Uppingham. An incredibly close and tough game saw Uppingham victorious, 25–29. The first stand-out performance of the season came against Oakham. On his first game of the season Haraj Soor put in a good performance at prop which, when added to the prowess of Harry Wardell at scrumhalf, resulted in a 47–12 win.

The game against Tonbridge was a low point of the season due to the team’s ineffectual tackling and lack of commitment. However, there were some positives to come out of the game, such as the power of the scrum.

This was

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season was defined by games that were narrowly lost that probably should have been won. However, throughout the term all members participated and committed to their best in what was a memorable season. Our thanks go to our coaches, Mr Huddlestone and Mr Briddan, who were incredibly supportive throughout.

Squad: Lewis J. (captain), Bonassera J., Colbeck M., Diemer J., Elson M., Jackson W., Jamieson M., Naidoo R., O’Brien C., O’Brien N., Porter J., Rice J., Roberts C., Saghir-Pashley S., Skirrow J., Soor H., Swallow R., Wade-Gery R., Wardell H., Western J. and Wright W. Michael Jamieson

THE FOURTH FIFTEEN followed by another close game, away against Harrow, which, unfortunately (due to the weakening of the team caused by university open days), was lost. However the team showed much greater commitment and, having worked hard on our tackling over the week, it was a much closer affair (12–19) than it otherwise might have been.

The next win of the season came against Stamford. Standout performances from Jack Diemer, Max Elson and captain Jonny Lewis helped us to the win in what was a scrappy match with many scrums and knock-ons.

We knew the following match against Dulwich would be a tough one. We put up a stern fight but eventually lost 19–29.

This was once again due to the quick couple of tries scored by the opposition in the first ten minutes.

Perhaps the easiest match of the season was against NGS with a final score of 53–24. A cameo and two tries from Diemer, formerly at lock now playing wing, helped to secure the game.

The second match against Oundle was won in a competitive game, 27–12, with a man of the match performance from Morgan Colbeck and a stand-out performance from Charlie Roberts in his first game on the wing for the 3rd XV. Due to the game against Rugby being cancelled by snow, the final match of the season was against Stowe. Unfortunately, many players were out of position due to lack of numbers.

However, the team put in a good performance, narrowly losing 10–21.

Overall, the

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It must be said that it was not the most successful season for the 4th XV. However, what the ‘Mighty Fourths’ lacked in results, they certainly made up for in style. An extended preseason brought injuries to many players in the senior rugby game which hampered our ambition early on, but the decision was made that it was more important to play an exciting style of rugby (for the sake of our many fans) rather than win games. Nevertheless, the standard did remain high, and competition for places was tough throughout the season, none more so than for blindside flanker, where Dexter Seow and Alex Lusty fought tirelessly.

Opposition was tough week-in-week-out as we came up against schools that boasted greater depth, but the mighty 4th XV fought every contest fiercely. Highlights include a thrilling match at home against Dulwich College. A squad comprising of a bare 15 took to the field, and the result ended in a narrow 12–13 defeat, even with two forwards playing in the back line.

However, we knew that much of the season would hinge on our success (or otherwise) against a fierce rival, Stowe. The preseason was over and the full capacity crowd was gathering.

After the traditional three-mile hike to the pitch across the Stowe estate, the team was in the mood to beat any opposition that might dare challenge them. In the warm-up we could easily have been mistaken for an international team. It was a close game throughout with the scrums being our only major advantage. Our captain went down with what many thought would be a careerending injury (a broken finger) only to return from the medical centre to finish the game. Defending tirelessly to the last man, Stowe were awarded an attacking scrum, a mere five metres from the Bedford try-line.

‘Crouch, touch, set’ was called by the referee and the two packs smashed into each other. Through sheer determination the scrum was turned against the

head, giving Will Wright a clear opportunity to kick the ball off field to secure a 19–17 victory. Much of the crowd was close to tears at the quality of rugby in the game, which capped off a good season.

4th XV colours are the highest award available to 4th team players, and were given to Matthew Cooper, Tom Banner, Wright, Sean Gilmartin, Mathieu Govoni and Max Lawson during the season for their unwavering commitment on and off the field, and for individual performances worthy of merit.

Squad: Cooper M. (captain), Adams L., Assim S., Banner T., Cloke M., Dunn T., Garcha A., Gilmartin S., Govoni M., Lawson M., Lelikov Y., Lusty A., McCracken R., Oakley R., Porter J., Rush A., Seow D., Urquhart N., Wright R., Wright W. and Zeuzem N. Matthew Cooper

ensure that we were unrecognisable from the side that lost so heavily to Oundle on the first weekend. In the return fixture we pushed them all the way, finally losing out 20–29, but with heads held high. Our final game of the season was a very pleasing 12–0 victory over Stowe.

All the squad members contributed to an increasingly teamminded group of players.

Squad: Churchill-Coleman H. (captain), Brett D., Brittle C., Caldon T., Cartwright. S, Cavill H., Chernyavskyy D., David H., Dziwisch L., Eksuzyan V., Evans R., Falter C., Huettemann J., Kong B., Kozera F., Logan C., Malkin D., Monnington G., Nesseler B., O’Cleirigh L., Parmar D., Pirlet W., Poon R., Sekaran A., Stokey C., White J. and Zinngrebe G. M. Crisp

SENIOR RUGBY SEVENS THE FIFTH FIFTEEN The 5th XV squad was dominated by the lower sixth this year, with only a handful of the upper sixth veterans in the squad. It was to their credit that they made such significant progress across the season, after what could have been a very dispiriting start.

After just one training session the 5th XV started their 2012 campaign by turning up to Oundle a couple of players short. To no one’s great surprise we were disorganised and got a sound beating by 14–78. There was a similar fate in store in the next couple of matches, as the team struggled to organise its defence against Uppingham and Tonbridge and things were made worse by a very unfortunate and unpleasant shoulder injury to fly-half Cian Brittle, which ruled him out for the remainder of the season. The team were playing some good rugby in attack, but were not getting sufficient continuity to convert this into points.

The turning point came towards half-term. A lot of effort in training went into improving our tackling and defensive-line organisation. Our rucking technique was reviewed, too.

Gradually, our backs began to get the ball more and to show that they were able to play a bit. Harry David scored a tremendous length-of-the-field try against Dulwich, to help draw the game 7–7. Our forward pack, led by workhorses Callum Logan, Wolfgang Pirlet, Tom Caldon and Harry Cavill, meant we were more than a match for most scrums and Jamie White and Harry Churchill-Coleman grew into the season to

We arrived at the first tournament of the campaign with everyone in peak physical condition. We started the day very physically (something we became known for throughout the season), breezing through the group, beating Oakham, Uppingham and Loughborough Grammar. With a somewhat ‘below par’ performance in the semi-final against Leicester Grammar, we reached the final versus a St Joseph’s College who had won the national event the previous year. All the fitness work in the world could not have prepared us for this game with only seven players to pick from (due to injury). However, we

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managed to beat St Jo’s 19–14 to win the tournament. Ollie Lyons and his ‘Pacific Islander’ steps helped us win the tournament and got us off to a flyer!

The team then travelled to Windsor Sevens in high hopes after the opening round win at Oakham. Bedford topped a hugely competitive group containing Henley College, RGS High Wycombe and Wellington B. Ollie Wetton and the returning Ryan Brett-Williams were on the score sheet and impressed throughout the group stages. The semi-final set up a clash with Radley who had comfortably beaten a weakened Bedford side during the 15-a-side season. Five points down with no time left on the clock, Bedford’s Zakk Scorer attempted an ambitious kick and chase. The Radley sweeper ran back to cover and shaped to kick the ball out of play to finish the game; however, the exceptional work rate from Scorer allowed him to charge down the kick. As the ball bounced towards the corner of the field it hit the tall, skinny corner flag, and rolled into the Radley try area, allowing Scorer to dive on it and level the game. A great individual effort was aided by some good luck, but fortune favours the brave, and brave we certainly were. The game was taken to extra time, and after a period of resolute defending from Bedford, Seb Clements worked some space on the touchline and raced through to score the winner. Unfortunately, Seb injured himself in the process, but the revenge mission upon Radley was complete. Bedford faced a strong, well-drilled Wellington side in the final. The highlight from Bedford’s perspective was a solo break from George Adams which was well finished by James Stroomer to level things up at 7–7. However, by this point Bedford had played one more game than Wellington and our tired legs could not stop them from coming out deserved winners. In a very tough competition, second place was pleasing, but there was a sense of frustration at losing in the final.

At this stage in the year the spring weather was showing no signs of improving. We took to the wet, soft pitches of Worth the following Sunday, in our final tournament before the Rosslyn Park National Sevens. Given the power of our squad we knew the soft ground would suit our direct style of sevens. This style proved too much for the hosts, as we won comfortably, scoring six tries in the process. We went on to win our next two games and top the group. However, we felt the performances were not up to scratch and responded well in the next game. The squad was buoyed by the returning Clark Davidson, along with other

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playmakers, Adams and Tim Graham, who were pulling the strings, showcasing great skills in the wet conditions. These players, along with the rest of the squad, hit their stride in a big quarter-final win against Wimbledon, keeping our try line intact throughout the game. Wetton defined the defensive performance with a big hit on the Wimbledon star player when it seemed as though he was clean through. We came up against a strong Tonbridge side in the semi-final which proved to be too much for us. Despite Charlie Esam scoring in the first play, Tonbridge broke through our defensive line too many times and won by three tries. Adams made sure we bowed out with our heads held high by making a try-saving tackle in the final play, even though the game was already lost.

Ten days later a full complement of players travelled to London for the National Sevens. It was the last time many of us pulled on the Bedford School rugby shirt and so we were not short on motivation. The draw favoured us somewhat as we simply had to win our group to progress (we would not have to navigate through a play-off). However, there was still no room for error, highlighted by our motivational phrase ‘every game is a final’. The four performances on the day were hugely impressive. Although each ‘final’ was very nerve-racking, in all honesty each game was never in doubt. A professional job done on the first day was led by our bruising forwards, Brett-Williams, Lyons and Liam Fitt. We had made it to day two of the National Sevens, and Cranleigh lay waiting in our ‘last 16’ fixture. Both teams were fresh, having had an overnight rest, and the large crowd was provided with an enthralling game. Bedford took an early lead through the impressive Brett-Williams and it was never surrendered.

Cranleigh stayed in touch, boasting dangerous players all across the park. Strong work from Lyons up to the touchline in the closing stages created the space for Esam to score the winner in the corner. Epsom College were next up for a Bedford side growing in confidence, knowing we were among the eight best sevens schools in the country. This confidence showed in an aggressive performance. Even on the main pitch, conditions were awful, encouraging a defensive mindset. Bedford’s defence proved to be the trump card, and squeezed the life out of Epsom’s attack. The game was won by over a score, and we progressed to the semi-finals. Tonbridge were a side we had been beaten by comfortably at Worth, but with our defence so strong we felt like a new side. A tight game followed. However, the run was painfully ended with a 12–14 defeat. With perhaps more of the chances falling our way, we were left to rue what could have been. However, we had put everything we could into the festival and into the whole season. We were physically and emotionally drained, but immensely proud of the rugby we played. We were not gifted with quick sevens specialists, but the 2013 Bedford School sevens squad showed that any limitations can be worked on and minimised with hard graft and belief.

Captain: C.G. Esam Colours: G.W.H Adams, S. Arnsberg, R.A. Barfoot, R.G.J. Brett-Williams, Z. Carter, T.D.M. Church, S.M.G. Clements, C.E. Davidson, L. Fitt, R.J. Friend, T. Graham, O.C. Lyons, B.P.J. Nethersole, Z.D. Scorer, J. Stroomer and O. Wetton.

Charlie Esam

COLTS A The season began with a very tough preseason tournament at Blundell’s School in Devon. We were immediately impressed, however, with the feisty nature of Bedford side and their refusal to capitulate, even under real pressure. A lot of hard work on the training ground under a new coach, ex-Saracen James Ellershaw, boosted confidence and we were able to score big wins over local rivals Oundle and Uppingham (both of whom went on to much better things later in the season, I gather). Oakham, surprisingly, requested that they play our B team, which proved to be a waste of an afternoon with our A team left frustrated on the touchline.

We then moved on to play the ‘big four’ schools and, annoyingly, lost each one by one score. Harrow, especially, can be reflected upon as a lost opportunity. Soft defence cost at least two tries and, despite scoring some excellent ones ourselves, the rapidly changing scoreboard finished favouring the visitors. There were no complaints at Tonbridge who played a neat game plan very effectively. From that, we learnt the value of kicking and chasing. Dulwich too were probably worth their win but it could so easily have been different. Discipline sadly cost us this one and was an issue too often during the term. With a depleted side, we feared the worst when Radley visited.

However, a fine defensive performance and a renewed confidence that grew from not having to rely on a few top players meant that Radley had to work incredibly hard to grind out their win. Thankfully, in between the ‘big four’ we scored a close and very physical win against Stamford, whose rugby is clearly back to its best. A return visit to Oundle was, predictably, much harder than the first romp in the sun, but we held on tight to score a much-needed win. We were simply blown away in the second half by a Warwick side who played some excellent rugby. Their use of quick ball with depth and width was impressive. What was really encouraging though was that the boys bounced back with real determination not to let that spoil the season. The close win at Rugby doesn’t do full justice to a wonderful performance based on manic aggression up front, and the rout of a hapless Stowe XV was a fitting end to a bumpy but highly enjoyable journey.

Paddy McDuell was a superb captain and quality fly-half throughout and we’ll even forgive him for playing for various higher grade teams while we were slogging away on the school circuit! Andrew Lakin and Ajay Momi are highly mobile carriers and solid scrummagers. Freddie Davison is also destined for higher honours and a versatile front-row man. I won’t forget his turnover against Stamford for some time. James Winder, Ben Howard, Robbie Evans (possibly the season’s most improved player) and James Herriott were rangy and athletic in the ‘engine room’; Guy Johnson, Dominic Barrett and Angus Gill (probably player of the season) were chippy, stroppy and sometimes downright nasty on the flank. Josh Wellington was often imperious at No 8. Ben Clarke proved an agile scrum-half with real pace. Simon Herridge (another player of the season contender) was a back-three player with all the skills. Tom Booton made a meteoric and well-deserved rise from the C team to shine at A-team level. George Cochrane-Davies pleaded for another chance against Stowe and finished two tries quite outstandingly. Charlie Ballard did a fine job covering for Paddy, as well as fitting in on the wing and at full-back. Centres John Hunt and Rufus Ollerhead were our best attacking weapon all season.

Tom Chapman proved a solid and reliable full-back, safe under the high ball and a crunching tackler.

Overall, a record of six wins and five losses was highly respectable. It was a really enjoyable season, not without a few challenging moments. Special thanks to a great crowd of passionately supportive parents whose heads, like those of the boys, never went down. Finally, I am very grateful to Lawrence Coward and James Ellershaw for their experience and expertise, as well as their consistently amusing and uplifting company.

Squad: McDuell P. (captain), Ballard C., Barrett D., Booton T., Chapman T., Clarke B., Cochrane-Davies G., Davison F., Evans R., Gill A., Herridge S., Herriott J., Howard B., Hunt J., Johnson G., Lakin A., Momi A., Ollerhead R., Wellington J., Winder J. and Wright M. R. Heale

COLTS B The Colts B team had a successful and enjoyable season under the captaincy of scrum-half Oliver Maltby and the coaching of Mr Coward. The large squad was already well bonded from previous seasons but with new rules in the scrum and, for the first time, lifting in the line-outs, the forwards had a lot of work to do.

The first match saw the team get off to a strong start against Oundle, at home, winning 25–14. However this match also brought the first injury, ruling Tom Hall out for the rest of the season. Then followed Uppingham, our first away match, in which there was some fantastic play from the backs, sealing an impressive 48–5 win with fast hands and attacking runs.

The next week brought disappointment as

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the first defeat of the season was recorded against Tonbridge.

The 14–22 scoreline was not the fairest representation of the match as we had put up a strong fight and played, arguably, some of the best rugby of the season. Despite losing, this match helped to cement a strong team spirit and showed that we were able to keep our cool even under immense pressure from the opposition.

Our next defeat was against the Oakham A team who made a strange request to play our B team as opposed to our A team – the loss was, therefore, unsurprising.

The next win followed immediately, however, against Stamford with a huge victory 48–3. The boys worked hard to prevent the Stamford lads from getting points, but a sloppy penalty in our own half gave Stamford the three points. This score came too late for Stamford to build upon and the Bedford team had secured their third win of the season in style, showing Stamford how it’s done!

Although we suffered another loss, Harrow at home, we had had a promising first half-term which we hoped to build upon in the second half.

The holidays came and went and then the weather went on a long holiday for the second half of term – only three matches were played due to poor weather. The first two of these were defeats: the first was to Radley, despite a spirited second-half performance; the second, unfortunately, was against Rugby themselves, our defence undone by two giant forwards.

However, the season ended with a tight win against Stowe giving the team something to celebrate after a cold, wet month.

Overall, it was a successful season for the team with a try in all but one of their matches. The majority of these came from the backs through the pace of Julian Kitson and Pascal Toresse. The changes to the set pieces were met with enthusiasm by the forwards and Tom Lousada threw in with consistency throughout the term, while the lifting was successful for the majority of line-outs.

The season, which consisted of four wins and five defeats, was a happy ending for a team who will be absorbed by the senior teams in the next academic year. Well done boys!

Squad: Maltby O. (captain), Benzie A., Blakemore T., Booton T., Bowes O., Dickman G., Dixon Z., Frossell D., Garrett B., Hall T., Harvey J., Humphries T., Kitson J., Lousada T., Matthews T., McLeod O., Reynolds W., Saad J., Tarbox W., Toresse P., Trounson S., Wardell S. and Wright M. Oliver McLeod

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COLTS C The 2012 season began with great promise, but ended in slight disappointment. It started well with a strong squad and a settled starting XV of good players, and hopes were high of winning most, if not all, of our matches. Playing strength, however, was reduced by a series of serious injuries in our first few games, and then by key players being called up to higher teams as they, too, suffered injuries. In the end, 42 different players appeared for the side, which reflected a drastic lack of continuity from match to match as the term wore on. Despite these difficulties, everyone who turned out played with great heart and determination, and all acquitted themselves well, in the true spirit of Bedford School rugby.

Overall, our record was played 12, won five, lost seven; points scored 321, conceded 203. There was some really excellent rugby, with big wins against Oundle (59–7 and 41–0), Uppingham (48–7), Oakham (46–5), and Stamford (71–7), especially in the first half of term, but also defeats by Tonbridge (7–12), Harrow (10–22), Dulwich (0–33), Warwick (7–24), Radley (10–36), Rugby (22–33) and Stowe (0–17). Several of these latter were much closer than the scores suggest.

Tobi Onafeko scored the highest number of tries (seven) while Tom Booton recorded the most conversions (15). Harry Allen and Ryan Callanan can be proud to say that they appeared in all 12 matches, while Joe Holt missed only one. All in all, the boys can be proud of their efforts, and look forward to greater endeavours in the senior sides next year.

Squad: Ackroyd A., Akerele-Miles R., Allen H., Backhouse T.,

Colts Sevens The Colts Sevens squad sadly only played in one tournament this season owing to the awful March weather. This was a great shame as Paddy McDuell led a very competent looking squad that promised much. As it was, we held on to the St Edward’s trophy for the fourth year running with convincing wins over Cheltenham College, Sherborne, Marlborough, St Edward’s and Magdalen College School in the final.

R. Heale

U15 A Blakemore T., Booton T., Bowes O., Burlison M., Callanan R., Dawson L., Dickman G., Dixon Z., Fong J., Frossell D., Geldmacher J., Guan M., Harvey J., Ho B., Holroyd M., Holt Jamie, Holt Joe, Humphreys T., Johnson G., Jones E., King J., Leroy A., Leung G., Lilley-Moncrieff G., Maier L., Matthews T., Monaghan A., Murgatroyd L., Ogden T., Olphin A., Onafeko T., Preyer H., Riddell L., Robinson S., Seamark C., Smith B., Smith S. and Torese P. Revd Atkins

COLTS D When we started, we had a team which consisted of players with a variety of skill levels. Some had played for several years and some were completely new to the sport. This presented the team with a problem: some players wanted to start work on new, more advanced, skilled techniques like lifting in line-outs, whilst others wanted to understand the fundamental rules of the game. Despite this, the squad quickly bonded as a group and formed a strong starting XV with plenty of substitutes in reserve.

Games were often won due to our high levels of fitness and the team’s determination not to give in. By the end of the season we had a squad of very capable players who played well as individuals and gelled as a team. Games started to become easier and we were winning more comfortably, with a bigger score margin. Everyone says it is the taking part that counts but it also felt good to beat teams by 40 points! You can’t deny the great feeling of a win.

Squad: Seamark C. (captain), Ackroyd A., Backhouse T., Burlison M., Dempsey C., Gee H., Geldmacher J., Holroyd M., King J., Leung G., Maier L., Malhi A., Murgatroyd L., Phillips M., Preyer H., Robinson S., Scholich J., Smith S., Sui J., Wacharaprechanot G. and Whitaker K. Tom Backhouse

We started the season in high spirits after last year when we had only lost one game. Our first match was against Oundle. While we did not perform to the very best of our ability (not helped by the fact that we finished the game with only 12 men on field due to injuries!) we won 36–17; a good start. Our second game was against the unknown opposition of Uppingham. We put in a great team performance and won comfortably 64–7. Special mention goes to Shay Boyd who had a great game! Oakham were our next opponents – although we had beaten them before, it was always going to be a tough game. However, we came out on top with a scoreline of 44–0 – notably Sam Pudylyk and Dave Hickey had outstanding games. The next few weeks we played Tonbridge, Harrow and Stamford, all of which brought comfortable winning margins of 40 points or more.

Our first round of the Daily Mail was against Wootton Upper, where we came out clear winners. Charlie Clarke and Aidan Swain had a particularly good match against big opposition.

Next up was Dulwich which everyone was looking forward to after a good game last year. The game itself was a bit scrappy; we did, however, come out as winners with a flattering scoreline of 49–0.

The Leys were the opponents in the second Daily Mail match of the season. It was a messy game and was stopped early because one of the boys on the other side was thought to have a neck or head injury. We came out on top with a 41–0 victory, having only played 34 minutes. Overall, we were very pleased with our progress during the first half of term.

Following the half-term break we travelled to Warwick in high spirits, for a match we had been looking forward to all season – we had drawn with them 7–7 the season before. This

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was the first game in which we were properly tested all season.

After going behind early on from a well-executed move in the midfield, the Bedford boys showed real resilience to fight back to a well–deserved 31–7 victory. Special mentions must go to Simon Beal, George Cave, Josh Simmons and Phil Cooper for great work in both attack and defence.

Next was our last block fixture of the season, against Radley, where we did not perform well by our high standards but came away with a 37–7 win.

Wymondham was our next game in the Daily Mail and it was a great occasion for all the boys, playing at home in front of many supporters on the 1st XV pitch. We played well in a hard game with great performances from the two wingers, Arun Kalyan and Tunde Adewale, and full-back John Hunt. We won 51–0. The next game we played was our best game of the season where we played Stowe in the last 32 of the Daily Mail Cup; it had been a long-awaited match having been postponed on six occasions due to the cold weather. The game was a very physical test and, unfortunately, Ben Slawinski was forced from the field with a nasty knee injury very early on in the first half. Euan Weed came on to play at No 9 and Oliver Burgess moved to play No 10 for the rest of the game. In the first half Stowe had all the pressure but only scored once. In the second half we played very well with Kalyan, Boyd and Jake Carter all crossing the try-line in a great half of rugby. We went on to win 17–7. It was a memorable performance by the whole team to secure the win and progress to the last 16, where we would once again face Warwick.

The Warwick game was a hard test; we performed poorly in the first half and conceded 20 points. After the break we played some

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determined rugby but could only recover 14 points of the deficit, despite our best efforts. After beating them earlier on in the season everyone went into the game very confident and expected to win and to go out in this fashion was extremely disappointing. Warwick played a tactical kicking game and were very robust in defence so it was very hard to get out of our half. We came back very well in the second half but it was not quite good enough.

Over the course of the season we made good progress as a squad, with all members contributing hugely to the unbeaten domestic run where we scored 556 points and only conceded 36 over the 13 matches played – pretty impressive statistics, of which we are all very proud.

Squad: Burgess O. (captain), Adewale T., Beal S., Boyd S., Carter J., Cave G., Clarke C., Clarke T., Cooper P., Cowen N., Hickey D., Hunt J., Kalyan A., Mathews J., Pudylyk S., Simmons J., Slawinski B., Stammers A., Swain A. and Weed E. Oliver Burgess

U15 B Overall, the U15 B team’s season was a good one; we improved massively from last year, but only really hit our peak right at the end of the term. Our first game was against Oundle, to whom we lost, but then we beat Uppingham in the next game. We then went on a run of defeats against schools such as Tonbridge, Harrow and Stamford but we were getting better with every game. We were working hard in training and we could feel ourselves improving.

After our run of defeats we eventually won a game against Great Houghton but, just as we started to build momentum, we

had games cancelled due to waterlogged pitches.

After about two weeks of no games we went straight into a game against Warwick. This was our closest game of the season – we put up a great fight after being down at half-time, but they scored in the last play to beat us by the narrowest of margins. However, this game was really the start of our season.

We then went on to win our last three games and we were playing some great rugby. It was just a shame that it came at the very end of the season!

Big thanks have to go to Mr Strachan who helped us to improve greatly as a team, and kept us motivated however badly we were losing. Thanks also must go to captain Adam Dorgham who led us brilliantly throughout the season.

Squad; Dorgham A. (captain), Barnett Z., Bracewell C., Chander J., Duxbury J., Glenn H., Hart C., Holroyd J., Hughes J., Idowu D., Johnston D., Kharzaliya D., Orchard R., Smith J., Smith M., Staddon J., Williams A., Wilson E. and Yin J. Harry Glenn

We managed to get our form back though and next had a very successful result against Stamford, winning 64–0, with the whole team putting in a great performance in wet and muddy conditions. Unfortunately, once again we could not hold this form and suffered our two heaviest defeats of the season, losing to Dulwich (0–49) and Radley (0–53). These were strong teams and for both matches our first-half performances were shambolic. We only ‘arrived’ in the second half of each match, by which time it was too late. However, we now had a chance to regain some confidence by playing Oundle for the second time. The whole team was really desperate for a win now and, by performing fantastically well as a group, we were able to beat them 22–15.

This was mainly down to the forwards who put in an incredible effort in the rucks and scrums to give the backs the scoring opportunities they needed.

Unfortunately, as a result of the typical British weather, our next two matches were cancelled due to flooded pitches, leaving us with only one more match, against a confident Stowe side. This was the best match we played, as the whole team was determined to end on a high. Even though conditions were incredibly muddy, this didn’t affect the match and we were able to snatch a 24–23 victory, in what was our closest match of the season. We were so thrilled.

Overall, it was a good season, even though we were blighted by injuries and bad weather. Thanks go to our teammates for putting in so much effort and to our coaches, Mr Beale, Mr Armstrong and Mr Strachan, for all the support they gave us this season.

Squad: Orbell C. (captain), Achba V., Anstis B., Bloxham C., Cope H., Crowson T., Duxbury J., Ellams J., Foulkes M., Johnston A., Junge C., Karpetyan O., Mills C., O’Reilly C., Potts A., Sheridan J., Sterling E., Trudgill T., Turner C., Twigden J. and Williamson M. Adam Johnston and Charlie Orbell

U15 C

U15 D

The U15 Cs had a rather mixed season, with highs and lows throughout, but showing great promise when working as a team.

Overall, we secured five wins and suffered five defeats. The team was quite pleased with this as we came up against some very good rugby schools, such as Warwick and Harrow. Plus, we had had a very disappointing season last year, winning only two matches.

Our season started with a disappointing defeat by Oundle, losing 14–15 after some very unlucky play which gave Oundle a winning try. The team were not fazed by this defeat and we went back to training to try and get our skill level up before the next match. We next played Uppingham in a really tight contest with both teams playing well. Thankfully, we came out on top, winning 31–7. We now went on to a short winning streak, firstly beating Oakham (84–5) in one of our best games of the season and then beating Tonbridge (19–17) with a last-play conversion from Jake Duxbury. After this we faced one of our biggest matches of the season against a very strong Harrow team. We went into the match feeling confident with the big win over Tonbridge still in our memories. However, sadly, our hard work was not enough and we lost 3–26.

Throughout the season the U15 D team contested well in many of the matches we played. This was not only down to the effort of the players but also the coaches, Mr Holt and Mr Loader, who gave up their time to train, encourage and help us through the season.

The season didn’t start too well with our biggest defeat coming against Oundle, where we lost 0–70. However, after this things started to improve as we became more confident and started to score more tries. Following our second game, against The Perse, we started to look more like a team. In the next match, against Tonbridge, we kept possession for

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long periods of time and our training helped us dominate the game. The 0–31 scoreline doesn’t reflect how well we played (we had two disallowed tries and dropped the ball on the line) – we could have been in a position to win our first game against a strong side.

However, we didn’t have to wait long for our first and only win of the term, against Rushmoor, where, because of the wide pitch, we used our pace in the back line to start scoring. After a hard-fought game we eventually won 17–10 and this was definitely our highlight of the season.

Overall, we played ten matches, winning just one, but everyone improved their game and enjoyed playing in a very enjoyable season. Team spirit was high throughout. Well done to a fine squad.

Squad: Tune D. (captain), Adams C., Ahmed K., Anstis B., Bornemann P., Calthorpe M., Davoyan Z., Garrad O., Georgiou A., Hamilton W., Holland S., Hui B., Junge C., Lawson J., Liu C., Mortimer O., Riswick T., Sahadat M., Salvesen R., Shah A., Stepheson D., Stokey M., Strain P., Welch L. and Yan R. Dan Tune

U14 A It was a new season for a new year and, for many, a new school.

This season was primarily building upon the great foundations the team had and for bringing out every ounce of potential on the pitch for our school. It was a season of development.

At the very beginning of the season we were a very new side with great quality but we knew little of each other. We faced a very well-drilled Warwick side who were possibly the best side we faced during the season. We started the game with some intensity but it was a whole world away from the side we were at the end of the season. At the end of the match it was evident that we were unsatisfied with our performance. We went down too easily and we found many areas to work on in our practice sessions in preparation for our next match, which was equally tough.

We faced a Whitgift side who played a very similar game to

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Warwick, focused on making as many offloads as possible to fool our defence into over-committing to one man. Despite some big hits being put in

by Jack Ciuro, in particular, we were not up to the challenge on the day.

After some hard but productive training we were very well prepared to face an Oakham side who could not contain us. We muscled our way through the fixture, scoring some very good tries, including a hat-trick for David Adesida, and the game ended 36–12. Having won we were very happy with our individual performances. However, we were not content because we had not won comfortably enough for our liking.

After a rough patch in the season when injuries crept into the camp, which meant we lost centres Will Bowes for a spell and also Ben Kight, we were reignited with confidence as our squad changed and we found our strongest line-up. Having brought big winger Ken Ekweremadu and second row George Andrews into the team, they really stepped up and delivered some very significant performances. This showed in a gripping match against Dulwich where, although we lost, we played some excellent rugby and it was by far our best performance of the season. We were very committed and this particularly showed

when we scored in the dying minutes despite one of our men going to the bin. It was a brilliant performance.

We finished the season on a high after winning two games in a row, against Radley who we beat comfortably 45–5 and against a Rugby side who we also beat easily 22–5. After a season of much development in the team we totally changed from a new side to a well-gelled and talented group who are capable of giving any school side a run for their money. It was an excellent way to end the season and we thoroughly deserved it.

Squad: Entwistle W. (captain), Adesida D., Andrews G., Bowes W., Ciuro J., Cooke J., Dalton J., Dason-Barber T., Ekweremadu K., Hicks E., Johnson E., Kerr W., Kight B., Rogers J., Stewart T. and Zhu A. William Entwistle

U14 B The U14 Bs enjoyed a highly successful season. They played 13, winning 11, losing matches only to big London day schools Whitgift and Dulwich. Other matches were won in relative comfort, with the 42–0 defeat of Harrow the season highlight, although the demolition of Rugby in the final game was an impressive and fitting way to end the term.

Squad: Elson F. (captain), Andrews G., Chukwu C., Comfort W., Dennis A., Jamieson P., Kane C., Kharzaliya G., Lewis D., Shepherd A., Thomlinson S., Thrasher O., van der Walt J., Williamson J. and Wingfield E. P. Sherwin

U14 C What an exciting season, filled with triumphant wins, devastatingly close defeats, emotional victories over some of our bitter rivals and, overall, a season that brought us together and made us a formidable team!

The Bedford School U14 C team was definitely one of the strongest teams out there as we won the majority of our matches. I remember one match in particular from our memorable season where we won by the narrowest of margins.

We scored a try in the dying minutes of the match, which we won 12–10 against arch-rivals Whitgift. They were devastated, but we were delighted to have been on the winning side of such an extremely close match. Once we had scored the winning try everyone had something to say as we prepared for the last brutally contested scrum of the match. Even the parents got involved! After our try had been scored one of the boys from the opposing team claimed that our try-scorer placed the ball over the side and that the try didn’t count, then one of the Bedford School parents could be heard to say ‘Not a chance’ very firmly, and that made the boy think twice! For me, this was the match that confirmed we really were a good side. Of course, there was still work to do, but a strong comeback and a close win was a sign of a solid team with great potential.

A big debate during the course of the season was whether the C team should wear hoops or not. Most of us thought that having hoops would encourage the team and give us an extra bit of confidence. We never did end up sporting the red and white hooped jerseys, but even without them, the team

still had great morale and were always on each other’s side.

The greatest surprises of the season were our two wins over Warwick, and the margin of our victories. Our very first game of the season was against Warwick and at this stage we did not really know what to expect. We gave it our best shot, going into the match with a positive attitude, and really hoping to get something out of it. We certainly did get something out of it, with a massive victory over our rivals, winning 58–0. Later on in the season we played them again and proved ourselves once more by winning the game 41–0. To me these two games proved that it was possible for us to take on any team out there – even though it was not the strongest Warwick team that any of us had ever played, it was a Warwick team, and we were able to beat them, twice!

My U14 rugby C team season was an unforgettable one because we became a good team both on and off the pitch, and by coming together as friends, we gained the advantage over many of our rivals and that elusive cutting edge that any good rugby team needs.

Squad: Chapman J. (captain), Barnes C., Barrett W., Cheng J., Clements D., Cox D., Forsythe W., Garrett J., Humphreys M., Kilby-Smith A., King T., Lewes D., Malindine J., Marks H., Nevett T., Seamark R., Sedgwick W., Sivills H. and Sporton A. Joshua Garrett

U14 D The U14 D rugby team had a successful season, and we enjoyed all the matches played. Despite bad weather near the end of the term, resulting in some cancelled games, the team significantly improved thanks to hard work and the support of our great coaches, Mr Graham and Mr Short.

At the start of the season, the squad lost a few hard-fought games against tough sides, including Harrow 0–70 and Tonbridge (0–22). However, after a close game against Whitgift (14–34), we were improving and bonding. A memorable victory against Oakham (43–0), with many members of the team scoring tries, was a highlight and set us off on the right foot. This led to the best game of the season when we played Warwick – the first half proved a close match between the two sides, but the half-time motivational speech fired us up and we ran away with the game in the second half! The final score was 55–19, a promising result with a few games still to play.

Unfortunately, our penultimate game against Harrow was cancelled due to hard ground. However, we were victorious in our last game, against Rugby (39–0). We had previously lost away to Rugby but Mr Short again delivered a memorable team talk and we put in our best performance and ended the season on a great note.

Thanks to the team for all the hard work put in throughout.

Squad: Lamb C. (captain), Barnes J., Brown R., Cazzoli E., Dallas J., Enson Z., Fenton C., Ferrari J., Frost T., Guthrie H., Hayward G., Hosking M., Humphreys M., King T., Lamb E., Lombardo P., Martin T., McCormack O., McNulty O., Mohammed S., Molloy H., Purdy A., Sepede L., Smith J., Smith W., Song B., Storey H., Whitaker E. and Winder O. Ed Lamb

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RUGBY TOUR TO AUSTRALIA AND HONG KONG 2013

After 18 months of meticulous planning, orchestrated by the Simon Cowell of Bedford School rugby (Mr Burgess) and assisted by the Louis Walsh of Bedford rugby (Mr Braithwaite), the party of 50 boys congregated on Burnaby Road sporting their stunning tour ‘stash’ in a mood of great anticipation. Parents waved emotionally, although I’m not sure if these tears were because of the state of their bank accounts or perhaps an expression of extreme joy at the prospect of three weeks’ peace and quiet.

A long and arduous journey followed. And that was just to Heathrow in a clapped-out coach. The next 24 hours passed relatively smoothly, although I was never sure whether it was night or day or whether I’d ever get back that day I seemed to lose. We also started to get used to movement as a large group (‘Braithers will lead the way! George, where do you think you’re going?!’) and the choreography of finding and moving luggage (‘Please don’t block that walkway …’, ‘Has anyone got my bag?’). Anyway, we arrived at the Sports Super Centre in the typically modestly entitled Gold Coast ready for our four-day camp, which does sound suitably Cowell-esque.

Those concerned about the technical details may want to obtain a copy of the playbook (20 pages of calls and moves) but suffice it to say that lots of rugby preparation took place in excellent purposebuilt surroundings. The boys demonstrated a high level of incompetence on the beach volleyball court and were completely embarrassed in front of the RGS Worcester netball girls by another school party where volleyball is clearly on the curriculum.

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From here, we moved onto the similarly understated Aussie resort of Surfers’ Paradise where the boys replicated the beach volleyball experience, although this time on surf boards. By the way, winter in the Brisbane vicinity is not unlike May or June in the UK. ‘Poms’ can be identified as the shirtless ones in beach shorts and flip flops whereas your local Aussie is wearing a hoodie, a scarf and boots.

The first match was against All Saints Anglican School. We were delighted to meet such a hospitable group of staff and parents there and they quickly put the boys at ease before ferrying them off to generally luxurious accommodation. It was very much a theme of the tour that the boys were spoilt by some generous hosts who laid on parties, trips to AFL games, and unlimited access to Dominos Pizzas, wifi and Play Stations (not to mention sisters or friends of sisters). In return, somehow, the boys left a hugely positive impression behind and prompted many messages of praise.

On the rugby front, All Saints similarly obliged by allowing us to rack up a large number of points against them, so some subtle and carefully judged diplomacy was required after the game.

When Mr Strachan stood up to make the speech, I did wonder if a young South African was the man for the job, especially as he had four different names in his head for the opposition coaches. Thankfully, he was more than up to the task and spent the whole tour listening to coach drivers’ life histories, looking at taxi drivers’ wedding photos and charming various

hotel receptionists, shop assistants and female teachers.

On we moved to Melbourne, by way of the ‘Flight From Hell’.

Our arrival over the city coincided with a storm of apocalyptic proportions, such that the pilot had to fly the plane himself rather than programming the computer and sitting back to read the latest Harry Potter. If fear didn’t get you, a full bladder did as we circled around waiting for the right moment to dive down onto the runway. So we all arrived at the impressive Xavier College in a pretty dishevelled state. Another excellent welcome and great set of host parents soon restored morale while we poor staff set off in the pouring rain to find our modest accommodation. The rugby here, in the heart of AFL territory, proved weak, to say the least, and damage limitation and a speech of humble gratitude from Mr Strachan were again the order of the day.

Meanwhile, we all made the most of the wonderful city of Melbourne, with a city tour, a visit to the MCG (‘The G’), coffee on the banks of the Yarra River and an AFL match, where I found myself supporting St Kilda and congratulating the opposition fans on their team’s performance.

It was a shame to leave Melbourne but we craved some better opposition and a bit of sunshine and Sydney was certainly going to provide both. Our first opponents, Riverview (odd name for a school, I know; sounds like a pensioner’s bungalow in Kempston), were from the GPS elite group of schools who regularly batter each other at various sports with rugby union having the highest profile. Unfortunately, this meant they would only field a 3rd XV against our senior team and another comfortable victory was recorded. The Colts had a tougher test against their top side and won in the last play of the game. The usual lavish hospitality in the affluent suburb of Lane Cove kept the boys happy while the staff (Mrs Powell especially) were kept busy dealing with a bizarre incident involving a coach driver, a road sign, a roundabout and a broken ankle. Anyone wanting more detail on this should access the online edition of The Lane Cove Herald.

Manly was our next port of call and a tough time was predicted in the heart of rugby league country. Sure enough, the local rugby union ‘oval’ had been booked and it was unlikely that a hard-edged school like St Augustine’s would allow a bunch of Poms to humiliate them so publically. In two brutal encounters, the boys stepped up well but were taught a very physical lesson. If anyone was in any doubt as to the standard of schools’ rugby in Australia, they were firmly put right. Hopefully, the experience will set a standard for our top teams to aspire to in the coming season. If a

thorough thrashing wasn’t enough, the staff then had to endure an evening of gloating, patronising and eulogising, culminating with a drink at the house of the ‘Messiah of Australian Schools’ Rugby’.

The Messiah: ‘Look at the view guys, isn’t it a ripper?’. Mr Braithwaite: ‘Isn’t that McDonald’s in the distance?’

Despite the physical and cultural assault, we managed to have a fantastic time in one of the world’s great cities. Mr Strachan climbed the Harbour Bridge in the company of Guy Johnson and George Dickman. We all enjoyed a jet boat ride around the harbour, although the thought did occur to me that looking at the back of Zakk Scorer’s head while he cracked out some moves to the Black Eyed Peas didn’t enhance the experience. Some boys checked out the Tasmanian devils at the zoo while others lounged on the beach at Manly, and we all barbequed our own meat at a restaurant in the city.

So it was sad to leave the land down under, but it had delivered pretty much everything that we could have hoped for: sport, coffee, stunning natural beauty, perfect beaches and smart, clean cities. We will all have very fond memories of the places we visited and people we met there.

However, the tour was yet to be concluded and the Hong Kong experience proved very different. Thanks to our guides, Steven and Sherman, we got to know the place well in our short time there. Hot, sweaty and smelly, it is also spectacular and exciting.

The boys’ eyes lit up at the sight of markets selling Beats headphones for £25 but then they found that you couldn’t actually hear any music through them at that price (I must confess that I can’t get my Rolex to work either). The senior XV won a nail-biting match against the tough Hong Kong national side, while the Colts were mismatched against some boys new to the game. A big meal at a restaurant deep in the heart of Kowloon and some heartfelt speeches from Mr Burgess, Mr Braithwaite and tour captain, Ollie Lyons, rounded things off in style.

One could write so much more about all the experiences in those three weeks but, as the saying goes, what went on tour will have to stay there for the moment (although those who want to see my photos are welcome to drop by). A huge personal thank you to Mr Burgess for inviting me along and for managing the tour in such a thorough and professional fashion, to my other colleagues for their great company and to all the boys whose boundless energy and humour kept me entertained throughout.

R. Heale

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HOCKEY THE FIRST ELEVEN The 1st XI met early in January for a two-day pre-season training camp. The squad was a good blend of experienced upper sixth boys from last year’s 1st XI and some enthusiastic, talented lower sixth boys. James Stroomer (in his third year of 1st XI hockey) was to captain the side, and led from the front all season. The boys were tested in two warm-up matches against Bedford Men’s 1st and 2nd XI teams. They quickly realised the intensity that they would need to play at and that some hard work was needed in the coming weeks to get up to ‘hockey speed’. The squad set some goals for the season, which included finishing sixth in the league, along with achieving three wins throughout the season. These were realistic and achievable goals with the available squad, so we entered the league in high spirits.

An away trip to Trent College was never an easy start. After a very nervous 20 minutes the team found themselves five goals behind. Half-time arrived and the score line was 0–7. A daunting, but fairly easy team talk took place: we could only improve and we needed to play for pride in order to prevent this becoming a cricket score. We scored first in the second half and had several chances to score further, the final result being 1–9. Valuable lessons were learnt as a team and for individuals, which brought the side closer together and made them more determined to work even harder.

The inevitable winter freeze took place and games against Oundle and Bromsgrove were postponed. Even though the boys were keen to play and wipe out the memory of Trent, the bad weather gave the squad an ideal opportunity to train indoors, work on their fitness and improve their individual skills, while also playing some competitive internal matches. The snow melted in time for the County Cup against local rivals Bedford Modern. The boys were ready for the derby and put in an impressive performance to record their first win 5–2, Stroomer with four of the goals.

There are no ‘easy’ games in the league but up next was another difficult away trip to Repton. With last year’s scoreline being a 1–10 deficit, slight tweaks were made in formation – we didn’t want to ‘park the bus’ as such, but we needed to ensure we had a strong defensive platform, with the opportunity to counter-attack. The team showed great maturity and discipline to go into half-time only 0–2 down, with the boys themselves

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unhappy at that score. As the game progressed we created great chances to draw level, but couldn’t quite convert. While trying to get back into the game we left ourselves a little exposed and Repton scored another three goals. We had the final say with a well-worked team goal, which gave the boys the belief that they could score and compete with a good side. The final scoreline was a respectable 3–5.

The East Regional round gave us the opportunity to play four good schools outside of the league, drawing with Gresham’s and Bancroft’s and losing only by the odd goal to Ipswich and Bishop’s Stortford. These results confirmed that the team was improving all the time.

We then lost 2–3 to a Thomas Deacon Academy side who would progress to the National Finals, and recorded another narrow league defeat to Rugby (1–2) The goal of three victories was looking increasingly unlikely to be attained – the performances were good and we were more than competitive in games, but something wasn’t quite clicking. Stowe and The Perse were our next two fixtures which both took place in the space of three days. A scrappy game against Stowe saw us battle out a victory, which I think gave the boys the confidence they really needed going into the final stretch of the season. Our first home game saw a strong Perse side arrive. Grant Lawrence and Dylan Tanna were like walls in defence and Stroomer scored arguably the goal of the season: picking the ball up on the halfway line, he beat three or four defenders with ease and finished with a neat shot past the keeper into the corner. Captain Stroomer (AKA Fernando Torres) had taken some stick for missing one or two previous chances throughout the campaign,

but this goal somewhat silenced the calls – well, for at least ten minutes until he missed an easy chance to kill the game off moments later.

Thankfully, it wasn’t to matter and the team recorded their third win of the season and beat The Perse for the first time in a number of years.

Confidence was on a high when we returned to league action, hosting high-flying Oakham. We gave away six sloppy goals to bring the side back down to earth with a bump. The side battled hard and got back into the game with four superb goals but, unfortunately, conceding six at any level is always going be difficult to come back from. The squad got back to winning ways, again outside of the league, with a comfortable victory away at Stamford. However, this was quickly followed by a disappointing defeat to local school Kimbolton.

With one of the squad’s goals achieved (having got four victories in the bag), we went into the final league game with the other goal still achievable. A win against a strong Uppingham side would place us sixth in the league standings. However, with five minutes to go and 2–4 down, even a point looked highly unlikely.

However, this side had showed great fight and heart all season, so no scoreline could be ruled out. Stroomer scored a trademark penalty corner and, with seconds left, Robb Wright placed a perfect cross for Ben Nethersole to slide in from what felt like five metres away to deflect the ball high into the net. This point meant we finished seventh in the league, just a point behind sixth place.

George Adams in goal proved what an outstanding keeper he his, making several top-class saves throughout the season. The full-back pairing of Lawrence and Tanna put in great performances week-in week-out. After a difficult start, Benny Jones worked hard to keep his place and make it his own with some solid defensive performances. Will Johnson and Charlie Esam also battled hard all term in midfield. Stroomer provided

the catalyst for most of our best attacks, whilst Nethersole and James Lee gave the team great energy up front.

The horror show of that first game against Trent seemed like a distant memory by the end of the season and the whole squad can be very proud of what they achieved.

Squad: Stroomer J. (captain), Adams G., Esam C., Holloway T., Jones B., Johnson W., Lawrence G., Lee J., Nesseler B., Nethersole B., Spencer B., Tanna D. and Wright R. A. Meredith

THE SECOND ELEVEN The 2nd XI had a good season with three wins and a draw from seven tough matches.

The first match was away at Trent. The long journey did not help us and we went down 1–3. Our basic skills and finishing let us down due to the limited amount of training we had before the match. Moreover, the score did not reflect the even nature of the match. The midfield, as always, worked very hard with Greg Wallace using his pace to cover very well as sweeper.

We then bounced back with a very good away win at Repton.

This time we came back from 0–1 down to win 3–1 which shows the determination of the side. Ed Kearey put one past the keeper from a tight angle after a quick counter-attack. Ben Spencer ran from the halfway line using 3D skills to move past players and finish with a shot in the bottom corner; this goal was easily the goal of the season. In addition, Alex Dorgham finished off a well-worked move which he deserved for his relentless running throughout the game. Again the work rate of the team was faultless.

The next two games were disappointing as we felt we should have won due to our high possession and the number of shots which did not trouble the opposition keeper. With goals being conceded on the counter-attack the games became very frustrating. After these two away defeats to Stowe and Rugby the team came together to do some very hard work in training, focusing on our shooting.

We were unlucky not to win the next match, against Oundle.

Even though we were not the most skilful of the two sides our game reading, basic skills and finishing from players like Julian West meant we were in the lead three times in the game.

Unfortunately, we could not hold onto the win and we drew 3–3 with ten men on the pitch.

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The game against The Perse highlighted the style of game we have played all season. We scored two very good goals that came about from a quick attack due to the pace of Alex Ciuro and brutal strength of Ollie Lyons. Defending was very tight with Nick Urquhart making some very crucial interceptions and goalline saves. In addition, Ollie Wetton managed to get us out of many difficult situations with sublime stick skills, going past many players. Overall, an excellent win.

Uppingham was the best team performance of the season with the defence being connected to the attack through the short, crisp passing of Archie Rush and George Cox. In the end Rush was awarded the most-improved player of the season due to his precision passing and reading of the game, which enabled us to set up many of our match-winning attacks.

All in all, it was a thoroughly enjoyable season.

Squad: Axon A. (captain), Berezin G., Ciuro A., Cox G., Dorgham A., Kearey E., Lyons O., Phillips J., Rush A., Spencer B., Urquhart N., Wallace G., West J. and Wetton O. Alex Axon

THE THIRD ELEVEN The season started very positively, with a good 2–2 draw away at Trent. The season then got better and better, with the unbeaten run lasting until the second to last game of the season. The most impressive match was the 2–0 win away at Repton. This was a game that everyone in the team (including Mr Adams) wanted to win the most and, with a great performance from the whole team, the win was secured. Despite the unbeaten run coming to

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an end late in the term, the season was a great success for the team, and the most successful for any 3rd XI team. The highlight of the season had to be the way the team gelled together and had fun while still playing some great hockey. This was all aided by the excellent coaching of Mr Adams who brought the team together in every match and training session, and the exemplary captaining by George White and Tom Banner.

Squad : Banner T. and White G (captains), Ali S., Berezin G., Bird G., Diemer J., Dunlop B., Dunn T., Fahmy S., Gilmartin S., Lawson M., Martin B., Parmer D., Phillips J., Skirrow J., Spencer S., Testa G. and Watson R. Tom Banner

THE FOURTH ELEVEN A brilliant season for the 4th XI commenced with trial matches against the 3rd XI. Last year’s veterans were joined by some new blood and Alex Garcha and Harry Churchill-Coleman who, having been part of the academy set-up in 2012, are set to become the 4th XI’s most capped players in 2014. These matches suggested that the 4th XI was a force to be reckoned with, which was proved true in our first match against Framlingham, with an impressive 9–1 win at home, with goals from players all over the pitch, including a hat-trick from captain Oscar Peace, and what can only be described as something quite special from defender Mathew Cooper.

Next was the beginning of an epic three-match test series with Oundle. The first match was a hard-fought 1–1 draw at Oundle, with outstanding performances from James Strode in

COLTS A

goal and a vicious defensive effort from holding midfielder Joe Usher. We learnt some valuable tactical lessons from Oundle player ‘Mikey’ about the importance of getting on the posts, all of which we took into the second leg of the series, which was to be battled out at the 4th XI’s home turf – the grass fortress. We lived up to our brutal home reputation (despite Cooper’s yellow card) with a 3–1 win. Much of this win was down to the up-andcoming superstars George Burton and Jamie White, superbly reinforced by the veteran who seems to play everywhere: Nathan O’Brien.

The last leg of the Bedford–Oundle test series was played at Oundle. This courageous battle resulted in a 0–1 defeat for Bedford, but it was a triumphant series win on aggregate. The season culminated with an away match against Uppingham.

Our performance in this match was disappointingly affected by conflict within the team (which is to be expected between athletes who have to deal with the pressure of performing at the top of their sport). This led to a 1–4 defeat, but the team resolved its issues and the performance in the dying minutes of the game epitomised what 4th XI hockey is all about. The drive, ambition and effort shown by all was truly something to behold.

It was also the inaugural year of the ‘4th versus 4th’ football/hockey cup, in which the 4th XI hockey team played two matches against the 4th XI football team – the first was a hockey match and the second was a football match. The hockey leg was won by the 4th XI hockey, but the footballers made up the difference in the football game which meant the result came down to a tense penalty shoot-out where the footballers were victorious.

A personal highlight had to be the appearance of fourth-team legend, Johnny Blake, after whom the prestigious player of the season award is named, at the end-of-season lunch. The award went to goalkeeper Strode. I could not have asked for a better team to play for during my last year at Bedford School, and wish the team and coach Gracie the best of luck for next year.

Squad: Peace O. (captain), Burt C., Burton G., Cartwright S., Churchill-Coleman H., Cooper M., Eames M., Garcha A., O’Brien N., Porter J., Strode J., Usher J. and White J. Joseph Porter

Inevitably the hockey season got off to a slow start with typical losses to the British weather; no matter how hard we might train, there is no win to be had when the Astroturf is buried under three inches of snow. Once hockey did commence, the Colts A team kicked off the season with a torrid time against a well-drilled Trent side: with confidence and preparation time low, it was always going to be a tough start to the season and a 0–9 defeat ensued.

However, both the coaching staff and boys were determined that this season was not going to continue in the same vein and some good work in training meant the side went into the Bedfordshire county round of the national tournament more confident.

In good wins against both Sharnbrook and Biddenham Upper we started to show glimpses of what we were capable of. More tough opposition in a regular fixture away at Repton saw a 2–5 defeat but we had a multitude of positives to take into the regional round of the national tournament. At this tournament, we lost the first game but bounced back with a good win against The Leys – the Colts As were playing hockey they scarcely knew they were capable of! Ultra aggressive defending left oppositions out of sorts and lacking their usual calmness in front of goal, and Bedford managed to sneak two more wins out of the day. We were then through to unchartered territory of the regional finals.

However, before we could go to the regionals, the regular season called and momentum was building with good wins away at Rugby and Stowe before the half-term break. Upon our return we faced another away fixture at The Perse, where holiday sluggishness resulted in a poor performance all round, and a disappointing defeat. This streak continued against a very strong and drilled Oakham. Ben Clarke in goal managed to keep the scoreline somewhat respectable, but not even he could take out enough opposition strikers to stop all six of Oakham’s goals.

Disheartening though it was, the boys recognised that the tournament format was their forte, and tried not to be too disheartened.

Regional finals approached and the prospect of The Perse (again) and Felsted loomed large. Bedford headed to University of East Anglia outside Norwich, and there ensued a genuinely excellent display of the sport from all sides. With a 1–1 draw in the first against The Perse (whom we had lost to 1–5 only four weeks before) and a 0–3 defeat in the second against an excellent Felsted side, our progression hung in the balance as The Perse and Felsted played. With The Perse winning 1–0 in the

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final minute, we were knocked out, so Bedford had to finish the season in a disappointing manner, but overall the squad (including four remove form boys for tournaments) should be enormously proud of how much they achieved in a short and challenging season.

Squad: Momi A. (captain), Chapman T., Clarke B., Frossell D., Gill A., Herridge S., Islip P., Lakin A., Lamond J., Preyer H., Scholich J. and Trounson S. Tournament squad included: Beal S., Burgess O., Crowson T. and Orchard R. T. Davies

COLTS B A number of members of last year’s successful U15 B team did not report for duty; more leading lights were lost during the course of the season (pleasingly, some to the Colts A team); and bad weather curtailed our preparation. These represent the standard litany of excuses for a poor season ‘results-wise’ (as Premiership managers might say). Looking back, though, some ‘positives can be taken’ and we should give ‘credit where credit’s due’.

Generally, we beat the teams we were better than (Oakham and Stowe) but lost to teams that were much better (The Perse) or a little better (Rugby, for example) than us. A draw against Repton in a hard-fought, late-finishing, frozen-pitch-marred clash early in the season is probably the only result we can look back on with real satisfaction. That night (and it was night by the time we finished), we competed well and played to the best of our abilities: Rupert Jacques, Seb Trounson and Oliver McLeod, in particular, were excellent. That said, we led twice and did not quite score the winner we perhaps deserved.

At full strength, the side had a strong spine. McLeod is a fine goalkeeper, Shiv Patel an excellent ball-player with a hit to rival anyone on the circuit and Trounson is hard-working, mobile and has a good eye for goal. Trounson’s goal against Trent from a tight angle on his backhand was a genuine ‘champagne moment’ and (worryingly) McLeod’s performance in a heavy defeat against The Perse was all that stood between us and (even more) embarrassment that day. Losing Trounson and Patel to an increasingly successful A team – as we often did – left huge gaps in our team that we were generally unable to fill.

Not that people did not try. At the back, Tom Hall was a rock

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and made fearsome tackles; James Medley was enthusiastic and occasionally threatening (in numerous senses); and Marcus Philips could be a marauding presence. Manu Ratnayake led the team well in Patel’s absence. If he can be persuaded not to panic as much as he does, he will do well further up the school.

Phil Barnes was (to my mind at least) the most improved player of the season.

He is calm on the ball, distributes well and learnt the art of overlapping on the right as he went on. In more advanced positions, Geoffrey Cheung, Freddie Silva and Adam Olphin were tireless and when they played in a fast, direct fashion they caused problems for defenders. Will Tarbox, Alex Benzie and Jacques were the sort of forward-line that defenders dread. At least for a while. They were fast, physical and somewhat unorthodox. Too often, though, good work in build-up play was marred by erratic shooting.

It is this erratic shooting that best encapsulates the problems we had as a team. We tried hard, fought well and were anyone’s physical match. We were full of characters all over the pitch and training was generally amusing (if not always productive). Yet we still struggle to get a hockey ball from ‘A’ to ‘B’ reliably, especially when ‘B’ is the goal. Something to work on for next season.

Squad: Patel S. and Ratnayake M. (captains), Barnes P., Benzie A., Brown T., Cheung G., Hall T., Jacques R., McLeod O., Medley J., Olphin A., Philips M., Robinson J., Silva F., Tarbox W., Trounson S. and Wacharaprechanont G. M. Herring

U15 A The U15 A team of 2013, coached by Mr Jamieson, had a strong season. We had a solid squad of 14 quality hockey players, which meant that each place in the side was hotly contested.

We had a slow start to the season, narrowly losing to a strong Trent College side. However, we picked ourselves up from this point on, only losing two further matches in the whole season.

Our biggest fixture was against the national champions, Repton, and we thrilled to go in at half-time leading 3-0. By the second half, however, we were exhausted due to a lack of substitutes.

Repton took advantage of this, hitting us hard early on and putting two goals past us. We fought hard to keep our lead, only to be humiliated by a last minute mis-hit goal. 3–3 was not a deserved scoreline after we had battled so valiantly. However, our back four should be praised for their hard work: Chris Turner, Jayan Chander, Oli Burgess and Simon Beal prevented us from losing the match. After a couple of draws which should have been wins, the mighty Bedford U15 As finished the season off brilliantly, smashing Uppingham 8–1. Josh Simmons had a great game at the back, letting no one pass him and scoring two goals despite playing in defence.

I have two most memorable moments of the season. The first was when we were unable to play due to the snowy weather.

Mr Jamieson decided to take us for a run in Bedford Park. I vividly remember him taking us to a steep hill and making us collectively carry a player in the team in turn from the very bottom to the very top. Ten very painful minutes later, we made it. My second most memorable moment was during a match against Oundle. We were 3–2 up with two minutes remaining. I was determined not to lose so I decided to dribble the ball into the corner of the pitch for the last couple of minutes. Rob Salvesen (who had made some tremendous assists throughout the season) clearly had great confidence in my ability to keep the ball there, so he decided the game had ended, and lay down exhausted on the halfway line. Having been hit by some horrendous tackles, I was relieved to hear the final whistle blow.

Aiden Swain had a good match and a great season, using his strength to his advantage in close contact. A great season for the U15 As, with good results from the strong squad.

Squad: Crowson T. (captain), Beal S., Burgess O., Chander J., Clarke C., Clarke T., Orchard R., Salvesen R., Simmons J., Slawinski B., Strain P., Swain A., Turner C. and Twigden J. Tom Crowson

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U15 B The 2013 hockey season was not a vintage one for the U15 Bs based on results alone (won one, drew one, lost five) but the standard of play improved as the term progressed and the boys can be proud of the way they played against all of their opposition. The first game against a strong Trent side proved to be quite a battle and at 0–0 at half-time it could have gone either way. However, a couple of defensive errors were our undoing and we finished losing 0–2. Other matches followed a similar pattern and we were regularly punished in defence by eager opponents. The highlight of the season, though, was the match against Kimbolton who had not lost a game. After just three minutes we had opened the scoring and for the next hour we beat the Kimbolton goalkeeper a further eight times. Sam Pudylyk, Tunde Adewale and Oscar Garrad all played well. During the season four players moved up from U15 C to U15 B and, in particular, Duncan Johnston marked himself out as a skilful midfielder with a lot of promise.

The whole squad should be congratulated on giving their best at all times. There was an excellent atmosphere in the squad throughout the term and the boys showed great determination despite results going against them in the main.

Squad: Adewale T., Anstis B., Bornemann P., Boyd S., Burlison M., Cooper P., Garrad O., Hickey D., Johnston D., Kalyan A., MacTavish G., Matthews J., Orbell C., Pudylyk S., Shah A. and Weed E. A. Braithwaite

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The U15 C team was a very large squad with an abundance of talent. Our first match against Trent was a close-fought game with excellent keeping from Philip Bornemann, who prevented any goals being scored. Unfortunately, we did not have any good chances and, although excellent skills were shown by George MacTavish and Duncan Johnston, we were unable to put the ball in the goal and the final score was 0–0. Snow and rain saw the Bromsgrove game cancelled and Oundle postponed.

In our next game, against Rugby, the boys were simply excellent. Great defence from Lachlan Welch and Brian Fung meant that Rugby rarely got in our D. Excellent attacking from Johnston and Max Foulkes put huge pressure on their goalkeeper. A great goal was scored by MacTavish and then, with a huge team effort, we scored again, resulting in a 2–0 win.

The U15 Cs lost some key players due to the knock-on effect of injuries from the teams above. Jasper Lawson played his first game as keeper against Oakham and saved some difficult shots.

Ashley Birro and Foulkes linked up nicely to result in Birro scoring the only goal of the game. It was a great effort by all the team, with a 1–0 victory to show for it.

Bedford travelled to The Perse on a bleak and wet day to play against a very skilful team. The Perse had three chances to score, which they took. We, unfortunately, did not take ours.

Oliver Mortimer showed some impressive skills in the midfield and Charles Mills cleared the ball out of danger. However, The Perse were a strong outfit and we could not put the ball in the goal. The final score was a 0–3 defeat.

Finally, the Oundle fixture came around. It was a game which we had the ability to win. However, on grass it is always difficult.

All the boys played well, however it wasn’t meant to be as Oundle slotted a goal in the right corner. We were unlucky with a few boys being absent and could not equalise, so we ended up losing our final game 0–1.

Overall, it was a good effort and the boys showed an excellent attitude throughout the season.

Squad: Foulkes M. (captain), Ahmed K., Birro A., Bornemann P., Brodrip J., Cawood R., Fung B., Gilmartin C., Gorgiou A., Hawkins J., Hickey D., Johnston D., Karapetyan O., Lawson J., MacTavish G., Mills C., Mortimer O., Roese A., Staddon J., Stokey M., Thackara M., Welch L. and Yin J. L. Coward

U14 A Manager’s player of the season: Tom Stewart Players’ player of the season: Robert Seamark Top goal scorer: Ben Kight The U14 As had an excellent season this year and were commended on numerous occasions for their skills, teamwork and positive attitude. With a mixed bag of results, however, I hope that they will take with them the many highlights and remember the goals they scored and victories they fought for.

Our captain, Ed Johnson, led the team by example, proving to be a real strength in the midfield. Meanwhile, the silky skills of Tim Martin, the speed and energy of Will Bowes and strength of Robert Brown gave us a real advantage in the middle of the

pitch. Matthew Hosking then added to this with his prowess having been the strongest player in the B squad. They were our playmakers and dominated many an opposition with their quick skills and team play. Always in support were our solid defence with Ted Hicks and Tom Stewart commanding the middle, our ‘wanna-be attacker’ Oliver Hind on the right and the mighty George Andrews on the left. At the front our attackers worked tremendously hard and we can thank our top goal scorer, Ben Kight, for some well-earned rewards. The work ethic and improvement shown by Shaylen Tomlinson-Patel and Jack Dalton was truly incredible, showing tactical ingenuity in their game. Gabriel von der Heyde proved a key player in our attacking moves with his ‘killer’ reverse hit and Harry Guthrie added both speed and physicality to our team. We are all agreed that the highlight of our season was the last-second goal scored by Tomlinson-Patel (following an earlier goal from Bowes) to win our game against Rugby 2–1. A great moment and celebrated in style! They are certainly a team to look out for in years to come.

Squad: Johnson E. (captain), Andrews G., Bowes W., Brown R., Dalton J., Guthrie H., Hicks T., Hind O., Hosking M., Kight B., Martin T., Seamark R., Stewart T., Tomlinson-Patel S. and von der Heyde G. K. Hopkinson

Then, five minutes later, Guthrie found Tom Liggins in space who calmly finished into the bottom corner with seconds remaining.

The final scoreline of 3–2 was an excellent result for us.

The next two weeks were also empty due to snow. We then played Rugby, who we knew would be a good side. With what was arguably our best overall performance, we went into halftime with no score. After the break it was constant pressure from Bedford, but we could not put the ball in the net. Then, with minutes remaining, Rugby dispossessed us and scored on the break. The final score was a 0–1 defeat. Having lost a key goal scorer and defender to the A team it was not a bad overall performance, even though the result was disappointing.

With a few weeks off due to more bad weather and then halfterm, we headed to Oakham. After an intense first half with few major opportunities and a good performance from the opposition goalkeeper, we had some major chances and we hit the post twice. After the break we were the stronger of the two sides, but since Guthrie’s departure we were seemingly unable to finish off any of our chances. The game eventually ended 0–0 with a strong defensive display from both sides.

The final match of the season was against King Edward’s School. After a long journey and an hour watching the A team

U14 B What seemed to be a fairly comfortable season on paper was, in reality, not as comfortable as it looked.

We started the season against Trent, with what looked to be a strong Bedford squad up against some good opposition. We went into half-time leading 2–0 after a great finish from Harry Guthrie and a good goal from Freddie Elston. We then brought on six substitutes to ensure that everyone got a run-out. The game finished 2–0 thanks to a very strong defensive display in the second half.

With the next two weeks empty due to snow and the exeat, our next game was against Repton, who are an extremely good hockey school. After a strong first-half display with few chances we went into the break at 1–1. After 15 minutes of equal play, Repton scored, with a goal in the top corner. This inspired us to play more attackingly. After five minutes of intense attacking work, Will Barrett made a good ball through to Guthrie who finished well.

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we were finally ready. With a highly experimental side after the loss of Matthew Hosking and Andrew Zhu, the side looked very depleted. With strikers Elliot Wingfield and Zech Enson in defence, it did not look good! We took an early lead and then conceded, going into the break 1–1. After half-time it was much more energised with Guthrie scoring once more and the opposition scoring, too – we were heading into a tense final ten minutes. With the opposition taking the lead with five minutes remaining, it seemed as though this match was not going to go our way. However, with another last minute fightback we came out on top, winning 4–3.

While we were disappointed that our season was shortened due to bad weather, it was great fun and highly successful. We would like to thank Mr Strachan for all the hard work that he has put in throughout the season.

Squad: Hosking M. (captain), Barrett W., Clements D., Comfort W., Cooke J., Diemer M., Elston F., Enson Z., Guthrie H., Liggins T., Lombardo P., Shepherd A., Thrasher A., Wingfield E. and Zhu A. Darcy Clements

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The C team were a competitive and enthusiastic group who clearly enjoyed their hockey. They started strongly against two well-drilled sides, beating Trent College 1–0 and then drawing 1–1 with Bromsgrove. Will Comfort was the stand-out player, with good movement and skill. He managed to score regularly, eventually earning himself a place in the B team. Comfort’s promotion brought about a couple of defeats against Repton and Oakham, but the boys convincingly won against Rugby 3–0 (Comfort hat-trick), to finish up with a 50 per cent win record.

Squad: Comfort W., Cooper J., Hayward G., Gee C., Gulliver T., Kane C., Kerr W., Paradise E., Patel A., Sedgewick W., Smith O. and Storey H. J. Dunne

U14 D Some excellent hockey was played by the D team in the spring term of 2013. With the likes of Ed Lamb, Adam Choudary and Sachin Patel among the ranks, what D team opposition dare take to the field? They only played two fixtures, but that was enough to send shivers through U14 hockey teams around the country.

They drew 1–1 against Bromsgrove in a tactical showpiece, before hammering Rugby 3–2 in what must have been the game of the season. The D team held their heads high with an unbeaten record that will go down in school history.

Squad: Choudary A., Fenton C., Green K., Lamb E., Martin A., Paolozzi L., Patel S., Ramham W., Sumal H., Talsania B., Toor R. and Walker H. J. Dunne

CRICKET THE FIRST ELEVEN Well, another cricket season draws to a close: for the 1st XI it included 13 wins, three draws and two defeats; the 2nd XI and U14 C teams secured victory in every match this season; the U17 and U19 teams reached quarter-finals in national competitions; and the U15s were finalists in the Lord’s Taverners competition. Overall, that left us with a winning percentage of almost 70 per cent in the 90 matches that were played this summer term. Our Twenty20 campaign was a highlight, with the boys playing an irresistible brand of energetic, brash and phenomenally positive cricket through wins over Stowe, Rugby, Oakham, Trent and Felsted, before finally succumbing to Shrewsbury in a quarter-final match we will always feel we should have won. We were absolutely gutted not to have done so, but can have no regrets as we were absolutely true to our game and our mantra; and that was to be fearless in the way we play. It just wasn’t to be. Outside of the Twenty20, our 1st XI campaign saw us lose just the one match, but it took the most brilliantly audacious innings I have ever seen at this level to sink our hopes of an undefeated season. Otherwise it was seven magnificent wins and two draws in our ten matches in this category.

The Mike Green Batting Trophy was won for the second year running by Charlie Thurston, who scored 1,008 runs at 45.8 in all matches. In the Twenty20s his form and influence were incredible: 284 runs (38 per cent of team total) with a strike rate of 123.

The Richard Wise Bowling Cup was won by Will Wright who took an incredible 42 wickets at an average of 16.4.

The Cricket XI Challenge Cup for the best all-round cricketer of the year was won by Paddy McDuell with 25 wickets at 17.9 and 460 runs at 24.2 with four half-centuries.

Above all, I have been immensely proud of the way this group

of upper sixth cricketers have played. They have showcased the very best characteristics of schoolboy sport – positivity, determination and courage on the pitch combined with grace, humility and generosity off it. The upper sixth cricketers have been incredible and, thanks to their inspiration, the next batch of Bedford School cricketers has a clear path to follow. On behalf of the school, I thank them.

The 2012 XI: Captain: V.V.S. Sohal.

Honours Caps: T.J.O. Graham (vice-captain) and V.V.S. Sohal.

Colours: G.W.H. Adams, L. Adams, P.R.J. McDuell, C.O. Thurston and W.F.P. Wright.

Squad: Axon A., Bradbeer T., Clarke C., Duxbury J., Momi A., Slawinski B., Stroomer J. and Wright R. P. Sherwin

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THE SECOND ELEVEN As I gaze from the study over trees nibbled by autumn’s slow decay, it’s time (‘high time’ according to the editor) I reflected on the happy days of sunlit evenings, study leave and the sound of ‘howzat’ from distant parts of the Bedford School campus.

Any season that has a special edition T-shirt printed as a memento must have been at least half decent and I must say that in the absence of the scorebook, it’s quite useful having the results draped over a radiator next to me. With the 1st XI looking strong and including various child prodigies from Pilgrims’ baby unit, it was inevitable that some experienced old lags would head our way. Sure enough, the likes of James Stroomer, Dylan Tanna, Jaskaran Singh and Ben Jones added gravitas to the XI and they were supplemented by good lower sixth players like James Skirrow, Fayed Farrukh, George Cox, Guy Davis and Ashil Shah. Add in some lively talent from the colts such as Shiv Patel, George Cochrane-Davies, Navin Chodha, Freddie Davison, Ajay Momi, Josh Selvey, Ben Clarke and Oliver McLeod and you have the ingredients of a formidable 2nd XI. At this point, a chemist might use the analogy of adding sodium bicarbonate to an alkaline solution but the best I can come up with is adding ice cream to a Coca-Cola (a Friday treat at a 1970s Wimpy Bar): Ollie Lyons requested a return to cricket after four years putting a shot and turned the side from ‘strong’ to ‘dangerous’. And I do, literally, mean dangerous.

Early season victories over Felsted and Haileybury were certainly noteworthy due to excellent contributions from Davis, Selvey and the sometimes brilliant, sometimes terrible Skirrow (whose ‘all bowled hat-trick’ at Felsted certainly deserved its Great Hall applause). Oundle were good and we relied upon an excellent knock from former first team player, Jones, as well as some tight bowling from Tanna and Farrukh. It was the Harrow game that really turned the tide and put us on course for an unbeaten season. In fact, chasing 224–5 off 35 overs, I didn’t fancy our chances, especially with five batsmen back in the

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‘shed’ (or, in Harrow’s case, the brand new, million quid, state of the art, electronicscoreboarded shed) and barely 80 on the board. When Lyons strode to the wicket, I was ready to text the driver to pick us up early. Thence followed the most violent use of a chunk of willow since the Battle of Trafalgar (sorry, had to dig deep for that one).

Balls flew all over north London and air traffic control issued alerts to avoid the area. It was a shame Sky TV wasn’t there to witness Harrow being humbled in such a way. Victory was sealed with a six of such enormity that bags had been packed and hands shaken with the ball still a speck in the evening sky heading over Stoke Newington.

The Perse capitulated rather easily and anti-climatically and Oakham ran us very close indeed. Dulwich suffered the Harrow fate and left one wondering if Lyons has some sort of complex about London schools. St Albans were never going to challenge a side full of confidence and form, even without ‘The Terminator’, who showed his mortality by being off with a cold.

So an unbeaten season was achieved and celebrated with another onslaught against a 1st XI-standard OB XI and a highly enjoyable barbecue.

My annual thanks to Mr Braithwaite whose wisdom and seemingly benign off-cutters in the nets are at the heart of 2nd XI success. Also to Messers Sherwin, Holdsworth, Oakley and Grieve for the huge amount of work that underpins such high sporting standards. And, finally, to a vintage group of boys and parents for a truly memorable three months of cricket.

Squad: Stroomer J. (captain), Chodha N., Clarke B., CochraneDavies G., Cox G., Davis G., Davison F., Farrukh F., Jones B., Lyons O., McLeod O., Momi A., Patel S., Selvey J., Shah A., Singh J., Skirrow J. and Tanna D. R. Heale

THE THIRD ELEVEN The season began in high spirits, with senior lads James Strode, Julian West and James Evans left to guide the next generation of 3rd XI cricketers under the tactful eye of Mr Ashton. The first match was against Stamford in what would turn out to be the most exciting game of the season. Bowling first, Bedford were wayward with the ball and it was only tight spells from Evans (0–23 from six overs) and George White (1–22 from six overs) that kept the target down. Losing two early wickets left Bedford at 8–2. The middle order all chipped in: Aaron Merai (22), Evans (23), Jack Diemer (23) and Ben Nethersole (15) steadied the ship.

Then Cian Brittle arrived at the crease and provided a matchwinning knock of 59 not out. Almost as important was Harry David’s supporting role – his 21 not out was a measured innings and it was fitting that he hit a four to win the match, with Brittle and David putting on a 52-run partnership for the win.

This was followed by a visit from the Haileybury 3rd XI on a miserable May afternoon. However, there was nothing miserable about the 3rd XI performance. The bowling attack proved too

much for the inexperienced Haileybury batsmen, with West (2–8) and Evans (2–14) the pick of the bunch. After setting Bedford 71 to win, Haileybury were only required for 7.1 overs as West (38 not out), Evans (19) and Diemer (four not out) knocked off the runs, only losing one wicket in the process.

Bedford’s unbeaten start to the season came to an abrupt halt, and remained stationary for some weeks, as losses to Oundle, Harrow, The Perse and Oakham followed in quick succession. Against Oundle, Bedford only managed 140 off 30 overs; West (58) and Archie Rush (28) the only notable scorers.

Oundle chased down the total with five overs to spare – while losing a mere four wickets. Diemer bowled a tight spell (1–18 from six overs) but it wasn’t to be enough against a strong Oundle side. This was followed by an implosion at Harrow – the opening over from Diemer contained 12 deliveries; ending his bowling spell with 11 wides from three overs. There were some good performances with the ball, however, as Dom Hart contained the Harrow batsmen for his 0–15 from seven overs.

David gained figures of 1–28 from seven overs and Strode did well for his 1–40 from seven overs. However, with ‘extras’ managing to accumulate to 27, it was not going to be easy to chase down Harrow’s menacing 181. The five runs per over target seemed to get further away as the match continued; with Diemer (27) and Nethersole (50 not out) providing the only real resistance. After Strode was cruelly run out by a deflection off the bowler’s foot, and Brittle had dislocated his shoulder, reducing the team to ten, the match was wrapped up with Bedford falling 70 runs short of the required target.

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cope with in recent times. We need not have worried as the top order did the job; Merai (36 not out) and Brittle (30) produced a vital partnership. Tom Garratt then joined Merai at the crease and they were left to steer the side to victory with plenty of time to spare.

A good season, with the side managing three wins from their games (something that can definitely be improved upon next season). This also turned out to be Mr Ashton’s final year in charge of the 3rd XI as his successful tenure as manager came to an end. We are now in a transitional period with the coach position being vacant and, in the words of Mr Ashton, ‘the 3rds are now up for grabs to the highest bidding coach. I highly recommend the job – the games are always played in a good spirit and the banter is entertaining.’

Squad: Evans J. (captain), Brittle C., Coulton N., David H., Diemer J., Eames M., Garratt T., Hart D., Lewis J., Merai A., Nethersole B., Puddicombe J., Rush A., Seow D., Strode J., West J. and White G. Cian Brittle After these two losses to Oundle and Harrow, we played The Perse with the hope that they could turn our poor form around.

An injury to the captain, Evans, early on in the game reduced the penetration of the bowling attack and it showed as The Perse went on to score 155 from their 30 overs. Strode starred with the ball, taking 4–31 from his six overs. Bedford made a fine start to our chase; West (33) and Evans (returning to the field with his injury) put on 50 for the first wicket. West was then joined by Merai (31) and a further 50 runs were added for the second wicket. With 60 runs needed from the final 10 overs, all seemed to be going well, until a batting collapse of the highest proportions meant we only reached 138; losing by 17 runs.

In the penultimate game of the season, we hoped to end our three-game losing streak. However, when Oakham piled on 186 from their allocated overs, defeat loomed. Memories flooded back of the first game against Stamford where a similar score was chased down – after West and Merai were dismissed early on, hopes diminished. Diemer (44) and Brittle (36) then came together and produced a much-needed partnership, with Diemer hitting seven boundaries. It was not until Strode and Hart met at the crease in the final-wicket stand that people took notice.

Strode, playing his final game for the school, and Hart amassed over 50 runs together for the ninth wicket, meaning that Bedford needed 13 runs from the final over to win. Strode was cleanbowled by the first ball of that over for 16, leaving Hart stranded on 22 not out. It was a near-great comeback that wasn’t to be for the 3rd XI. In the final game of the season, against St Albans, there was hope Bedford might be able to win their first game in over a month. St Albans batted first and were dismissed for 151 – we bowled well and Hart was the star with the ball (5–33 from six overs) as St Albans found his accurate bowling and unassuming manner too much to handle. Other highlights included Diemer bowling an exceptionally slow ball that managed to bounce over middle stump and Merai’s refusal to take caught and bowled chances. In the end, Bedford found themselves looking at five runs an over in order to win; something we had struggled to

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THE FOURTH ELEVEN The 4th XI started their 2013 campaign with an away trip to Uppingham. However the squad was hit with a few exam clashes, injuries and illnesses. Thanks must go to younger boys Marcus Phillips, Chris Bracewell, Connor Adams and Sean Davies for providing us with a full complement. Bedford were put into bat and young Phillips, who had volunteered to open, quickly showed the exuberance of youth along with some flair by crashing the ball to all areas of the field. Unfortunately, our senior players were losing their heads and wickets all around him. Six wickets went for just eight runs, so, it was left to another youngster to shine. Bracewell partnered Phillips as they put on a 50 partnership to take Bedford to a fairly respectable 109 all out from their 20 overs. Bracewell opened the bowling and took a wicket with the third ball of the innings: game on? Adams then took another wicket in his second over and Uppingham were struggling on 17–2 off five overs. However the next two batsmen quickly upped the run rate and started to dominate the bowling and achieved the total in quick time to win the game by eight wickets.

A quick, three-day turnaround saw Bedford host Oakham.

Availability was good and the boys were hungry for a good performance. Marcus Eames opened the batting this time and went about the job in the same fashion as the other Marcus (Philips) had done against Uppingham … and this Marcus seemed destined to reach triple figures. The Head Master’s pitch isn’t the biggest, but 17 boundaries (including four sixes) is no mean feat on any pitch. Three wickets fell at the other end while Jon Lewis played a nice cameo of 19 at the end of the innings.

However, somehow in the last over Lewis managed to keep all of the strike leaving Eames stranded at the wrong end unbeaten on a superb 95 not out. 135–3 was the final score and Bedford were convinced that this total was defendable even with the small boundary. Bedford again struck in the first over and spirits were high. However Oakham’s opener had different ideas and very quickly he raced to a half-century. Fortunately, the wickets

were falling thick and fast at the other end and Bedford managed to restrict Oakham to 124–5 from their 20 overs to gain their first win of the season.

The third and final game of the season was an away fixture against Oundle, and the weather was anything but warm. A cold, wet afternoon was put in front of us but still the boys were in good spirits and looking to gain their second victory. Jake Sommers, who had been an ever-present in the short season, opened the batting in his last ever game for the school. He was partnered by Jack Diemer and both looked in the mood to score big. Sadly for Jake this wasn’t to be and he departed early in the innings. Diemer, however, was in fine nick, and he and Brittle helped the scoreboard tick over nicely at five an over. A quick bowling change and Bedford soon lost four very quick wickets and the tempo of the innings changed considerably, even with a nice cameo of 18 at the end from Dom Hart. Bedford were left reeling on 112 all out at tea. By this stage sight screens were being blown over and the prospect of being out in the field was not an enticing one. However, in true 4th XI fashion, the boys tried and tried and never gave up, even against a classy opener, but our target was quickly chased down. Even though it was an enjoyable game, I think everybody was keen to get into the warm.

All the boys who played for the 4th XI this season can be extremely proud of how they performed, and also how they conducted themselves on and off the field. The games were played in a great spirit and it was a pleasure to see the boys really enjoy their cricket.

Squad: Adams C., Ali S., Bracewell C., Brittle C., Coulton N., Davies S., Diemer J., Eames M., Hart D., Holland A., Holroyd M., Lewis J., Philips M., Sommers J., Spencer B., Spencer S. and Testa G. A. Meredith

COLTS A The Colts A had an extremely successful season in 2013, winning all but one of their games. They got off to an excellent start against Oakham, with Ajay Momi hitting an outstanding 130. Shiv Patel then ran through the Oakham batting order, taking five wickets, including a hat-trick, to wrap up a comprehensive victory. More success was to follow against Oundle. Simon Herridge reached 88 and Josh Selvey took four wickets to post yet another dominant victory. A couple of wins

on the road against Uppingham and St Albans put the team in great shape to finish unbeaten.

However, in the final game, against Harrow, they were denied, despite a fighting 75 from Ben Clarke.

Squad: Patel S. (captain), Chodha N., Clarke B., CochraneDavies G., Davison F., Herridge S., McLeod O., Momi A., Nakum M., Selvey J. and Sunner R. Shiv Patel

U15 A The U15 As had a terrific season as U14s in 2012, so big things were expected as they set out on a Lord’s Taverners campaign in 2013.

They began with a narrow win against Felsted, allowing the opposition 230 runs from 30 overs through some poor fielding. In reply, Bedford looked odds on to lose after handing early wickets to their opponents, but a brilliant (and, at some points, reckless) century from Arun Kaylan, his first of two tons for the season, helped them over the line. David Hickey should also get a mention for a mature 50 in support.

Comfortable victories followed against Prince William in the first round of the Taverners and Haileybury in a block fixture.

That winning routine was shaken up when a batting collapse at Oundle resulted in a 100-run defeat, the first loss for this team since the previous May against Northants. This was followed by another defeat by a talented Harrow side a week later.

Despite these losses, the side for the Taverners quietly went about their business with Ben Slawinski and captain Charlie Clarke rejoining the group from the first team. The 2012 bowler of the year, Max Thackara, also returned from injury. They hammered King’s School Worcester by eight wickets (with Ewan Cox getting 5–35) and then Thomas Telford by 121 runs (with noteworthy performances from Slawinski 83 not out and 4–21, Jake Duxbury scoring 53, Bhavik Talsania taking five wickets and Thackara taking four) to send them to the regional final against King’s Grantham. They chased down Grantham’s 93 all out (with few alarms) to set up a national semi-final with north group winners, Trent College.

A mixed build-up to the semi-final was helped by a return to winning ways for the Saturday side over The Perse and then Oakham, the latter of which ended in comical style. Oakham were nine down in pursuit of Bedford’s 156, requiring four from two balls for victory. The Oakham number 11 proceeded to flick a nervous ball from Jack Twigden to the boundary, only to

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dislodge his own bails with a stray left boot. Shrieks of joy from the opposing parents soon turned into Bedford celebrations as the broken wicket was spotted.

The Taverners semi-final at Trent was completed at a second attempt, with the original fixture date being washed out. Captain Clarke stuck to his guns by winning the toss and bowling first, backing his long batting line-up to chase down any target set.

The game was evenly poised at tea with Trent making 204 for six on an even surface with short boundaries (Shaylen TomlinsonPatel took 3–37 and Slawinski took 1–20). Kaylan set up the chase with a chanceless 52, before he unfortunately picked out the man on the boundary. Nerves started to jangle as wickets fell and run rate rose … but then, in strode Slawinski. His innings was the stand-out difference between two even sides and, with the help of the middle order (Adit Shah, Oliver Burgess and Cox) Bedford knocked off the target with two overs to spare, Slawinski unbeaten on 72.

One more win followed against St Albans with Kaylan hitting 150 and Chris Bracewell taking a five-wicket haul. In the end it was a strong season for the block side, with one huge game left against Millfield for the national title in the Taverners at Oakham.

Oakham was the scene of a heart-breaking loss for Bedford back in 2010, at the same stage of the competition and against the same opposition. Vicram Sohal and his men went down by 19 runs to Millfield that day, so the team of 2013 were desperate for vengeance.

The toss was taken out of the equation for Clarke, as the Somerset side won it and chose to bat. A good start from their top order on a traditionally flat batting surface gave the impression that a par score would be around 250. But once again, Bedford showed fighting qualities under pressure to take wickets regularly and peg Millfield back to 192 all out. Clarke was the pick of the bowlers with 2–18 from his eight overs.

I’m not sure what to say about the second innings. We were in total control of the game with the score at 64 from 13 overs before the first wicket fell. That progressed to 173 for four from 33 overs, leaving Bedford needing 19 runs from seven overs with six wickets in hand. At this stage, Duxbury was out for a run-a-ball 50, leaving the form men, Talsania and Slawinski, at the crease. What followed was pure sporting pressure and why batting first in such circumstances can be an advantage. 173 for four rapidly became 180 for nine in five overs of chaos. Although Bracewell and Thackara nearly knocked off the required seven

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from the final over, the damage was done and we finished an exasperating one run short.

Nothing will give consolation to the boys, but what a fantastic achievement to reach the final, bearing in mind 1,500 schools enter the Taverners competition each year. Every player knew his role and played a part each week. No doubt this group will go on to be a successful first team in years to come.

Squad: Clarke C. (captain), Adams C., Ahmed K., Bracewell C., Burgess O., Clarke T., Cox E., Duxbury J., Hickey D., Kaylan A., Matthews J., Shah A., Simmons J., Slawinski B., Swain A., Talsania B., Thackara M., Thrasher O., Tomlinson-Patel S. and Twigden J. J. Dunne

U15 B The U15 B XI had a reasonably successful season, with some high and low points; we played nine, won five, drew one and lost three.

The season could not have got off to a better start, with a strong victory over Felsted. We set Felsted a huge target of 247 runs off 30 overs, 8.2 runs an over, mainly thanks to a great innings of 87 by Jayan Chander, and to John Holroyd who batted with disdain for the opposing bowling attack, hitting 14 boundaries on the way to 67. We bowled out Felsted for 135, thanks to an impressive five-wicket haul for off-spinner Ollie Mortimer. This game really set the tone for the rest of the season.

The match against Harrow was the closest game all term. It was hyped-up by the coaches and was seen as one of the more challenging games of the season. We got off to the worst possible start, with both of our openers getting out for ducks. At one point, we found ourselves dwindling at 40 for five. However, a brilliant show of resilience through the middle/tail of the batting order meant that we could scramble to a defendable total of 127.

Holroyd, Alex Williams and Duncan Johnston batted particularly well. After an inspiring pep talk by Mr Strachan, we clapped the Harrow batsmen onto the pitch with our heads held high. After some great bowling from Kamran Ahmed, Matt Calthorpe, Chander and Mortimer, we found Harrow needing 12 runs to win with just one wicket in hand. I speak for all of us when I say that we felt the tension at that point! Luckily, it was quickly relieved after a great catch from Toby Clarke at gully won us the match. It

was a hard-fought victory, and really accentuated the quality of our bowling attack, having defended such a small target.

The season ended with us losing a tight game against St Albans. We had to chase a target of 216 and ended up being 15 runs short. There were some positives to be taken out of it, though, with a good 50 for Arjun Vaingankar, accompanied by some respectable knocks from Williams and Ben Anstis. It was, however, a slightly disappointing end to a thoroughly enjoyable season.

Some high points of the season included Mortimer’s seemingly constant four-wicket hauls, some interesting catching techniques employed by Jack Matthews, the destructive tendency of Holroyd’s batting and Ahmed’s banter in the field.

Thanks must go to Mr Strachan for coaching us well.

Squad: Chander J. (captain), Ahmed K., Anstis B., Calthorpe M., Clarke T., Holroyd J., Johnston D., Matthews J., Mortimer O., Pudylyk S., Vaingankar A. and Williams A. Arjun Vaingankar

U15 C The U15 C side played five matches this season, winning two and narrowly losing three. The team was always competitive with the majority of matches ending in fading light and with tension high. It’s a rare thing when the C side is the last to leave the playing fields, but this happened on a number of occasions – a testament to the quality of cricket played over the season.

The side was more than capably led by Matthew Burlison, a composed captain who always sought to get everyone involved.

I was pleased to select such a wide range of players over the season and our captain played an important role in ensuring that no cricketer was overlooked or sidelined.

He had some talented players to call on. With the bat, Charles Orbell was often destructive and clocked up a memorable 61 at Oundle that included some lusty blows into the oblivious stream of passers-by. Euan Weed was shrewd in the opening role, but with an irritating propensity to get himself out just as soon as he had got himself in. Chris Turner was class at The Perse, but got some harsh decisions elsewhere. In truth, however, we were a topheavy batting unit and the middle order and tail were unable to provide enough in the latter stages of an innings.

With the ball, Wilfred Hamilton impressed with his unerringly accurate leg tweakers.

Joseph Jacob was metronomic and bowled without even a flicker of emotion. Ed Sterling, Charles Mills, Dan Tune and Weed all picked up vital wickets and enjoyed running in for the side.

I congratulate this team for playing good cricket in the correct spirit. Harrow and Oundle may have registered wins on this occasion, but these were close games and could have gone either way up to the last few deliveries. It is, however, the Felsted game that sticks in the mind as the team imploded chasing 64. We ended up 63 all out with the Bedford numbers 10 and 11 tangled mid-pitch in what must be the ugliest run out I’ve ever had the anguish to behold.

Squad: Burlison M. (captain), Butler T., Coles E., Cooper P., Georgiou A., Hamilton W., Jacob J., Mills C., Orbell C., Shah A., Sterling E., Tune D., Turner C., Weed E. and Williams A. S. Adams

U14 A During the season we played ten matches, losing just one and winning nine. Therefore, we had a very good season.

At the start of the season, one notable match was against Haileybury. We batted first and had a poor start. Luckily, two from the middle order came in and hit a 178-run partnership (Ollie Hind with 74 and Elliot Wingfield with a fantastic 96) to give us a 220-run total in 30 overs. With strong performances from our bowlers and in the field, we won the match comfortably.

After a hard week of exams our only loss was against Harrow. With a strong bowling and fielding performance the match was in our hands at tea but, with a middle order collapse, the game swung away from us.

The County Cup Final was played away against BMS. After a sterling batting performance from Shaylen Tomlinson-Patel (86 not out) we sealed the match and won the cup.

Throughout the season everyone played their part. Particular mention goes to Tomlinson-Patel for his all-round excellence on the cricket pitch.

The squad would like the thank Mr Jamieson for a fantastic season and wish him well in his new post.

Squad: Tomlinson-Patel S. (captain), Adesida D., Barrett W., Comfort W., Cox E., Dennis A., Hind O., Johnson E., Kight B., Mohammed S., Patel A., Talsania B., Thrasher O. and Wingfield E. Ollie Hind

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U14 B The mighty U14 B Cricket 2nd XI (to give them their proper title) had an excellent season in 2013, winning five of their six games comfortably. The team’s biggest challenge came at the end of examination week against a disciplined Harrow outfit – perhaps a two-hour physics exam for some was not quite the best preparation available. Only on that occasion did our boys fail to turn up, with the exception of man-of-the-match Sachin Patel (and even he missed out on catching Harrow’s best batsman).

Generally, when we batted first we ran out comfortable winners (by 135 runs against Oakham and by 97 against St Albans). However, the team’s capable captain, Will Smith, had a preference for chasing a target and we won our first three games of the season by seven, six and five wickets, respectively. After half-term two games had to be cancelled, as so often happens, but on the whole the summer weather was good and subsequently reflected in the spirit and performances of the team.

Highlights of the season include: 1. Smith’s captaincy, having a knack for bowling changes that yielded wickets in the new bowlers’ first overs. He also always got everybody a game.

2. Alex Sporton’s Powerplay batting. Tip for bowlers: don’t try and get him out caught and bowled.

3. Samee Mohammed’s three man of the match awards – a first for this coach.

4. Thomas Stewart, an absolute team player, who does everything asked of him, even if it is to sit on the sidelines as 12th man.

5. Bowling 26 overs at Haileybury. In a 25-over innings.

Squad: Smith W. (captain), Barnes C., Dennis A., Garcha H., Hicks E., Hosking M., Martin T., Mohammed S., Patel A., Patel S., Sporton A., Stewart T. and Whitaker E. L. Gearing

U14 C The U14 C team had a very successful season in which every match was won. We had many easy games and some harder games. One of the harder games was against Harrow where we lost the toss and were asked to bowl first. Harrow put on a gobsmacking 195 off their allotted overs and then we had the task of chasing it down. We sent Robert Brown and Robert Seamark in as the opening batsmen – both were out reasonably quickly. Then it was the turn of Darcy Clements and Luis Hill who together put on a staggering partnership of 85, with Clements making an amazing 56 and Hill 42. This partnership saved the game for us. The rest of the runs came from the tail-enders: Matt Diemer, William Kerr, Colston Kane, George Andrews and Alex Shepherd. We successfully chased down this monumental score with just balls to spare. By this time all of the other home games against Harrow had finished and everyone was watching our game. It was a fantastic win for us! Throughout the rest of the season we remained unbeaten, playing Felsted, Haileybury, Oundle, Oakham and St Albans. It was a superb season and thanks must go to Mr Braithwaite for his excellent coaching.

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Squad: Diemer M. (captain), Andrews G., Brown R., Clements D., Guthrie H., Hill L., Kane C., Kerr W., Purdy A., Seamark R., Shepherd A. and Walker H. Matt Diemer

U14 D Being in the U14 D cricket team is quite unique. You may not be playing at the highest level; in fact you may not have even played cricket before. However, there is a different emphasis in the U14 D team – in our team we aimed to have fun playing cricket, and we did just that.

Looking back at our season, our performances were, relatively speaking, not always fantastic. All matches were lost disappointingly, failing to chase down scores that were possible to catch. We played three games, all with promising beginnings but ultimately disappointing ends. Playing Oundle and St Albans, we fielded excellently but batted miserably, failing to keep consistency at the crease, and at Harrow we were simply outgunned. Despite these defeats, the spirit of the U14 D team never wore down, and this is why I was so proud to be the captain. What we lacked in batting ability, we made up for in optimism and enjoyment which, in the end, is all that really matters. On behalf of the team I’d like to thank Mr Holt for being an inspirational coach – we would love him to coach the U15 D team next year. I’m looking forward to the season ahead – well done boys.

Squad: Zhu A. (captain), Arshad A., Choudary A., Chukwu C., Ekweremao K., Fenton C., Green K., Gulliver T., Hammond T., Hu J., Parfitt H., Rahman W., Sedgwick W., Smith O., Toor R. and Zwetsloot E. Andrew Zhu

ROWING THE FIRST EIGHT From the icy waters and snowy, misty mornings of December, emerged eight athletes who set out to push the boundaries and test the limits. Monday to Saturday were spent sweating in the gym, retching on the ergos or driving the eight down the river.

We searched every possible route to make the vessel go as fast as possible and early on in the season, we achieved some promising results.

A win at Star Head, and being the fastest crew of the day, left us feeling confident and showed that we had what it takes to succeed. However, soon after the victory, our seven-man and captain, Kieran Olds, picked up an injury on his back. After weeks of telling him to ‘man up’, we felt fairly guilty when he informed us that he would be out for the rest of the season. Although this was a big blow for the crew, his shoes were pounced on and quickly filled. Further promising results followed as the Schools’ Head of the River loomed around the corner.

A strong start to the Schools’ Head saw other crews in front starting to look worried. However, the Tideway can often play with crews and as the 20-minute race wore on the race plan started to buckle. The result was undesirable. Despite this, I believe that the attitude on the back of this result was a testament to the boys’ character. Back on circuit session the next Monday, the crew was motivated to push the boundaries further than ever before, determined to find the new level that was needed to match the speed of the other crews. This attitude was carried on into the Easter training camp at Sarnen, where a combination of good rowing, fun and breathtaking scenery provided some genuine life memories.

Beating us by 20 seconds at the Schools’ Head, Reading were not expecting to be swamped by the Blue Eagle at BASHER Regatta. We knew that there was a job to be done, a message to be sent. This desire was displayed in the first 30 strokes of the race where we shot out of the gate like a greyhound and left Reading and all the other crews for dead. We were back on track!

Throughout the rest of the regatta season we performed very strongly, reaching the final in almost every event we entered and coming tantalisingly close to crews at the top of the field.

Next up was the big day itself: the National Schools’ Regatta.

For the first time in roughly 200 years, the sun was shining over Holme Pierrepont. Not only did this provide some comical tan lines but also a fantastic day’s racing. On the Saturday, the eight stormed through the time trial, finishing sixth. The start of the semi-final was powerful and, with 1,000 metres to go, the crew was heading for a place in the final. Unfortunately, we started to run out of steam as the surrounding crews drew us in and eventually overtook us.

Missing the 1st VIII final by two seconds only fuelled the boys’ appetite for racing in the Championship Coxless Fours the next day. We qualified by the skin of our teeth for the semifinals, finishing 12th in the time trial. However, we turned this around in spectacular fashion in our semi-final. We had a blistering start and at 500 metres we were third, just a quarter of a length ahead of King’s School Wimbledon, two lengths ahead of Radley and overlapping Eton in second. We doggedly held onto this position, resolutely refusing to let the chasing crews get past. We finished the race just 0.25 seconds ahead of King’s Wimbledon, but it was enough and Bedford School were through to the final of Championship Fours for first time since 2009.

Following the heroics of the semi-final, it was no surprise we were not able to repeat the feat in the final and finished sixth.

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All this left was Henley. Often success at Henley is determined by the draw. We had as much chance of drawing Abingdon as we did any other crew. Fortunately, this was not the case and instead we drew Durham School – a crew we knew we could beat. However, the job wasn’t done until we crossed that finish line first. Two minutes into the race and we had over a length lead, which extended as the race went on. By the enclosures we had three lengths over Durham and were cruising.

It was truly a memorable experience to row through the Bedford roar and over the finish line in first place. Not a bad way to finish a schoolboy career and the perfect way to top off a good season!

Squad: Beal M., Carter Z., Davis G., Dixon F., Evans R., Glik M., Hall T., Leach R., Maltby J., Marlow-Gilkes T., Olds K., Stephenson J. and Stewart D. Freddie Dixon

THE FIRST FOUR The four came together two weeks before Bedford Regatta, one of the most important races for the Boat Club and one that none of us wanted to miss. Thankfully, the injured members of the squad returned just in time for us to start training properly for the upcoming events. With only two weeks until Bedford Regatta and a month until the National Schools’ Regatta, it was vital that we got as much time out on the water as possible. Early morning sessions on the water and plenty of after-school training got us off to a good start and the boat began to flow, barring some dubious steering by the bowman in coxless sessions. Bedford Regatta came around very quickly and before we knew it we were boating on our very own piece of river, about to take on the might of a J18 Radley four. Unfortunately, this happened to be the top four out of their championship eight which had reached the final at Henley last year. We fought well at the start and even started to push back slightly at the halfway mark, but they were simply in another league. Nonetheless, a very promising start for a boat that had only had a handful of sessions together.

Another two weeks of hard training led into the National Schools’ Regatta, the most important event of the year. The day started off with the time trial, a shortened version of the full course and a race against the clock with the fastest 12 going through to the semi-finals. We had a great row, overtaking Kingston Grammar School with ease and closing up on Canford before powering across the finish-line to secure ourselves a place in the semi-final. A couple of hours and some well-deserved food and rest later, it was time to row.

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Unfortunately, we had one of the worst starts we had ever had, leaving us a length behind the pack after the first 250 metres.

With great determination and endeavour we managed to fight back and finish in a respectable fifth place. Although we had not gone through to the final, we could all hold our heads high and be proud as, in a short space of time, we had managed to get the boat running as if we had been together for months, and I can honestly say we could not have worked any harder.

By far our best day was at Star Regatta in June. Once again on home water, we cruised through the semi-final, beating a Bedford Rowing Club men’s crew to progress to the final. Once there we faced Norwich School, a well-established rowing school in fours. We learnt our lesson from the National Schools’ and a lightning quick start saw us pull away very quickly, much to the delight of our coach Mr Birch. We maintained a comfortable lead all the way to win the IM3 event. As is turned out this was the last race for the four, a slightly shortened season that could not have finished any better! With the help of Mr Birch and Mr Mulkerrins we did as well as we could have done and I believe we can be proud of what we achieved.

Crew: Bruce T., Lombardo J., Stephenson D., Stephenson J. and Trustram-Eve J. Tom Bruce

SARNEN TRAINING CAMP Making a slight change from the French training camps of previous years, this year 32 boys from the J16s and the senior squads travelled to Sarnen in Switzerland. Setting off with the usual combination of excitement, anticipation and fear for the skin on their hands, both squads were looking forward to what is always a great week of training. In this case, like the previous year’s camp in Soustons, the rowing took place on a massive natural lake. The boys approached this with a mixture of excitement and dread: while it provided the crews with the chance to row continuously for a much longer distance than on the river (thus enabling them to find a lot of speed) it also meant that the training would be far tougher than normal. Of course, the will to make a lot of improvements outweighed the consequential need for more sleep, and the stunning scenery surrounding the lake added an extra something special to the camp – not least for the unofficial Boat Club photographer and minor Instagram celebrity, Mik Glik. Mik looked like a kid at Christmas upon seeing what the sun setting over the still, flat lake looked like through an iPhone camera. The location, combined with the masses of food supplied by the Swiss National Rowing Centre and the occasional ray of sunshine (a luxury on Boat Club training camps) meant that everything was in place for a successful week. By the end of the camp it was indeed apparent that everyone had made vital improvements for the upcoming regatta season. This was particularly noticeable in some of the small boats’ work on the camp, and also in the competitive side-by-side racing of three matched eights one afternoon. Unfortunately, the same improvements weren’t seen in either of the squads’ football skills as, despite all efforts on the nearby pitch, neither squad could boast even a vaguely competent starting line-up for a six-a-side match!

Overall, it was a fantastic camp for all involved, and certainly lived up to everyone’s expectations. Thanks must therefore go to Mr Mulkerrins, Mr and Mrs Guise, Miss Owens and Mr Birch for all their help, and for making the camp both successful and enjoyable.

Kieran Olds

J16 A The J16 season is often said to be the most important for crew development and preparation for senior standard rowing in the sixth form.

Our squad had big ambitions – particularly as we felt we had some gaps that needed to be filled from the season before, when many regattas had been cancelled due to weather and we had missed out on a medal at the National Schools’ Regatta to Canford by just 0.3 seconds. However, this gave us the determination needed to springboard into what was to end up being an awesome season.

Our training really began at Pangbourne rowing camp in the autumn half-term, where Mr Guise laid out his ambitions for us; then we were full steam ahead after Christmas, when the rugby

season ended, knowing that we had a lot of work to do to catch up with our competitors (who all do a full three terms of rowing).

Our first race of the season was a win at Cambridge Head followed by another win on home water at Bedford Head, which helped to build the squad’s confidence. Schools’ Head – the main winter race – was approaching fast, and Reading University Head enabled us to see where we were in comparison to our competitors.

Schools’ Head brought excitement and nerves. The Thames course is notoriously hard, especially in difficult weather conditions, but it is the finale of the winter season and highlights the main competitors for the upcoming regatta season. The squad had mixed feelings after the race and were eager for the results to be published. We were placed fourth in our category, with – to our disbelief – Canford beating us to third, once again by a fraction of a second. This wasn’t the only thought-provoking result. Reading Blue Coat School came first with a time that seemed unreachable.

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Our Easter rowing camp was in Switzerland on Lake Sarnen, a truly spectacular lake with glass-smooth water and amazing mountain views. The rowing was not our best on day three when the fog lifted and we couldn’t help but be distracted by the scenery. We developed hugely during this camp and were ready to take on the regattas.

With the start of regatta season began the ‘Road to NSR’. We were all getting excited about the National Schools’ Regatta but we had other events to come first.

At BASHER Regatta at Dorney Lake, Eton, we seemed to have made tremendous ground in closing the gap between us and Reading Blue Coat; however, when we returned to Dorney the following weekend for Wallingford Regatta, the results didn’t quite go to plan. It seemed that Reading Blue Coat had acknowledged us as a threat and had advanced even further.

This worried us as we knew our next race against them was the National Schools’ Regatta itself.

Next up was the much-anticipated Bedford Regatta – the largest one-day regatta in the country, with some tough competition. BMS managed a victory over us by only a few metres, knocking out one of our crews. This was another unexpected blow. However, we still had a crew in the competition. We produced an excellent row against Abingdon School in the semi-finals and then went on to win the event.

Winning on our home water was truly amazing and gave the squad a very important confidence boost.

The venue for Nottingham City Regatta is also the venue for the Nationals, and so the solid results we achieved there gave us our last boost of confidence to take forward to the main race of the season.

The day of the National Schools’ Regatta finally came, and particularly on our mind were Canford, BMS and Reading Blue Coat School. We were delighted to win the semi-final quite easily, giving us the place in the final that we had so longed for.

The final race came and, of course, we lined up on the start

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against Canford, BMS and Reading Blue Coat. It felt that the whole season – all the hours of training, the efforts made and the huge commitment shown by the whole squad – now came down to this one race. The starting light went red to green, and from silence came the roar of coxes and blades smashing through the water. Bedford and Reading were taking the lead as Canford, BMS and the other crews dropped back. We had our best row ever and kept tight on Reading as they tried to pull away from us.

As we crossed the finish line in second place – with both crews beating the course record for our category – the whole crew just cheered with excitement. It was the highlight of my rowing career so far.

Further wins in the eights and fours at Stratford Regatta, and the experience of racing in the Henley Qualifying Regatta, finished off an excellent season. Rob Evans, who stroked the J16 National Schools’ medal crew, raced in the 1st VIII at Henley with great support from the rest of the squad.

Thanks to Mr and Mrs Guise and Ally Satchwill for helping us achieve these outstanding results.

J16 squad: Allen H., Blakemore T., Booton T., Dempsey C., Edwards T., Evans R., Frossell D., Harvey J., Howard B., Humphreys T., Hunt J., Lousada T., Malindine M., Maltby O., Reynolds W., Sarro P., Seamark C., Stephenson D., Wellington J. and Winder J. Matt Malindine

J16 B The spring term produced promising results for the J16 B crew, the first of which was a win at Cambridge Head followed by a good result at Bedford.

During the February half-term, we had a day of useful training on the Tideway, which not only tested our rowing skills but our thermal and waterproof clothing too! However this was excellent preparation for the Schools’ Head as we finished fourth, narrowly missing out on third place to a strong Eton boat.

We returned to the Tideway a couple of weeks later to take part in the Tideway Head against both men’s and schools’ boats.

Competition was tough but the experience was invaluable.

Our Easter rowing camp this year was held in Sarnen, Switzerland, and proved to be a week’s high intensity training.

The beautiful location, good facilities and team spirit made for a very enjoyable and memorable trip.

After the camp we felt we could really push on and achieve great things as a crew. Over the term we visited numerous regattas and experienced largely positive results, the highlights for me being Nottingham City Regatta, Peterborough Regatta, Star Regatta and Stratford-upon-Avon Regatta.

We raced at Nottingham City Regatta as a dress rehearsal for the National Schools’ the following week – however, it turned out to be a better and more fulfilling result than we expected, acting as a success not a stepping stone. In the semi-final, we reached our rhythm early, rowing away from a strong field to win the semi by about a length over a club crew. Filled with confidence from our semi result, we went into the final with high hopes of mounting a strong challenge for the win (in a field where we were the only schoolboy crew). We rowed well, but struggled to find our rhythm and were just beaten into third: an encouraging result, even though we were disappointed at the time. During this race we discovered a ten-stroke push that was to become that backbone of our racing style. We also learnt the harsh lesson that every crew has to learn: you have to establish a rhythm early and you can’t just rely on power at the end of the race.

After a relatively disappointing National Schools’ (in which we finished fourth) we went to Peterborough with a point to prove; we had one race plan and that was to go out and dominate. We managed to stick to this plan, and 250 m into the race, we already had clear water from three university crews. From this stage we really powered on, showing our class and the expertise

that Mrs Guise had given to us in training. We won the race by a considerable margin. We were proud to have shown our dogged determination after a lacklustre National Schools’ performance.

The following week it was great to see three members of the J16 squad (Charlie Dempsey, Dan Frossell and David Stephenson), along with two members of the senior squad (Tom Bruce and Vinny Lombardo), recording another excellent result by winning the Novice IVs at Star Regatta, beating a strong university crew in the final.

Our season culminated in a race at Mr and Mrs Guise’s roots, Stratford-upon-Avon, where we experienced success across the board. The eight dominated its two races, winning the event by a relatively comfortable margin, going on to be termed ‘outstanding and a joy to watch’ by the commentator as we made our way down in the final. The other two fours who entered also won their events, making it an incredibly successful day out with everyone returning with a pot.

Our season was, on the whole, a very successful one (you only have to see our squad photo to realise that) but what made it all the more memorable was the bond and legacy we created as a squad. We found the balance between ‘banter’ and hard work, we gave our full trust to Mr and Mrs Guise and we just wanted to win. This moulded us into a successful group of oarsmen that will go on to do great things in the senior squad.

Particular thanks are due to Mrs Guise for her incredible coaching – she moulded our technique brilliantly and never failed to motivate us to achieve our potential.

J16 B crew: See the squad list at the foot of the J16 A article.

There was much movement between the two crews over the season.

Tom Blakemore and Tom Humphreys

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J15 A At the beginning of the year we were told by our coach, Dr Suthers, that we could achieve at the highest level, potentially receiving a medal at the National Schools’ Regatta, one of the major events on the rowing calendar. Not only this, but we should aim to achieve an average score of 7 min 10 sec on an ergo test. These were high expectations and as a crew we were determined to do our best to meet them.

We had a flying start to our regatta season when we raced at the BASHER Regatta. Our time trial placed us against Shiplake’s J18 3rd VIII, and Reading Blue Coats’ J18 2nd VIII. Going into the race we did not really think we could win but, after being last off the start, we rowed through to win the race. This was a massive boost of morale for the crew at the start of the season.

Next on the agenda was the Bedford Regatta. We were drawn against Abingdon in the J15 VIIIs event and, despite a good race, we lost by only a third of a length. However, the day was not over. We were also in the Novice VIIIs event and, despite losing our first-round race, we progressed through to the final of the Plate competition where we beat Shiplake’s J16 A crew to win the final by half a length.

The major event of the season was the National Schools’ Regatta, something our crew had been training hard for – we were hoping to take revenge on crews who had beaten us previously. We made it to the final after a very close semi-final, winning by only 0.3 sec. The final race was extremely tense. All the crews stayed level for the first half of the race and gradually we took BMS by a bow ball. However, we just failed to

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bring the momentum of the boat up at the end of the race, finishing fifth overall. We lost out on a medal by only 1.4 sec. Dr Suthers admitted that, despite us not getting a medal, we had actually achieved far beyond his expectations.

At the Star Regatta in Bedford we had a surprise visit from Eton, who we had not raced since BASHER. However they had become more aggressive since last time we met and we were just out-paced by three-quarters of a length.

At Thames Valley Park we raced two fours and both crews reached the final. The crew with Simon Beal, Zach Barnett, Nick Cowen and Jared Sheridan put in a great performance and won the event. The eights category was perhaps slightly easier in the heats and we ended up racing our own Bedford J15 B crew in the final. Our pride as the A crew made this something we knew we could not lose – we would never live it down if our B crew were to beat us. The B crew gave a solid performance, holding us for the first half of the race, but then we dominated the second half of the race and won the competition.

The final race of the season was Reading Town. In the eights we were against Radley and Hampton. We beat Hampton with some ease, but Radley just got the better of us. The fours crew of George Neave, Jake Carter, George Cave and Jack Ellams did manage to get revenge on Radley, beating them and Great Marlow to make the final of the fours. The other fours crew beat Hampton and Reading Blue Coats to also make the final. However neither Bedford crew could get the better of a strong St Edward’s crew, who we had previously beaten in the eights at the National Schools’ Regatta.

Overall, it was a good year. We made progress against all our

opponents and finished the year confident that we can move forward again next year.

Squad: Allen H., Barnett Z., Beal S., Carter J., Cave G., Cooper J., Cowen N., Dorgham A., Ellams J., Neave G., Potts A., Sheridan J. and Stammers A. Jack Ellams

J14 A We started out at Bedford Head. Other schools had been training for three terms and we only had a few sessions on the icy waters. The emphasis was on gaining race experience rather than our result. We certainly learnt a lot!

We then went to Dorney Lake for our first big race. We had heard about this huge arrow-straight lake on which the Olympics were hosted, but we never thought it would be quite as amazing as it was! We finished in a respectable 11th place out of the 30 A crews racing. According to our coaches this result suggested

that we should be very near the very top of the pile come the regatta season.

After that it was time for the infamous BASHER Regatta. We all enjoyed this and we did well in the head race. We then had our first experience of tight side-by-side racing and a master class in the effects of a strong cross-wind on the feel of a boat!

The following week, back in Bedford, we were put through our paces via a series of super-tough seat races. This gruelling process yielded data that coaches added to their information on ergo scores and technique in order to carry out some more accurate crew selection procedures.

A new crew came into effect for Bedford Regatta, where we won the plate competition with considerable style. This was our first big win and we were very happy to have performed so well in front of such a large crowd.

We then went to the National Schools’ Regatta. This is one of the biggest, if not the biggest regatta of the year. As we waited for our race the wind picked up and changed direction.

Eventually, with 40 mph winds, the whole race was cancelled.

We were all disappointed because we were pumped up for a great day of rowing.

The next event was Star Regatta. We were not sure how good the opposition (King’s School Ely) were. They put up a good fight until half-way and we then stormed ahead. We won by three lengths to take home our second piece of silverware of the season.

Thank you to our coaches, Mr Palmer and Mr Fisher.

Squad: Bang J., Bell J., Cazzoli E., Ciuro J., Dason-Barber T., Edwards G., Hine T., Man R., Qu M. and Rogers J. Edward Cazzoli

J14 B The last two terms of rowing in the J14 B crew had a mixture of good and bad results, with lots of crew changes throughout the year. Overall, however, I think we can say that it has been a success and that we have all enjoyed it.

Our first race was at Bedford Head in February. After a fairly short period of training, everyone was excited for their first race.

Unfortunately, there was little competition and only our A and B crews competed in the category.

However, the B crew had an excellent race and beat the A crew

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Loader and Miss Owens for coaching us throughout the season.

Squad: Entwistle W., Hine T., Jamieson P., Lamb C., Lamb E., Malindine J., McNulty O., Sivills H., van der Walt J. and Williamson J. Christopher Lamb

J14 C by 19 seconds. After a disappointing race at the Junior Sculling Head, in which the crew suffered a collision with another boat (although still finished seventh of all the B crews), and extra training at Radley, we had the BASHER Regatta. This proved to be one of the most successful results of the year for the B crew as, after a strong row, the crew finished as the fourth fastest J14 octuple overall, beating the A crew and many other J15 crews.

After lots of crew changes, and with an almost entirely different boat, we needed some positive results to rebuild our confidence.

Despite the changes, the crew put in an excellent effort at Bedford Regatta to beat St Edward’s, Shiplake and Bedford Modern by large margins in order to qualify for the final. With lots of support from the crowd, the crew was hopeful following the previous wins. Unfortunately, in terrible conditions (hail), we lost to a strong Abingdon crew although we were still the second fastest boat in the category.

After a disappointing trip to Dorney for the National Schools’ Regatta (which was cancelled due to high winds) we were nearing the end of the season with few races left. We drew an unfortunate first round in Star Regatta against Norwich J14 A and, following a bad start, we were unable to catch our opponents. We soon found ourselves at the end of the season, racing at Thames Valley Park Regatta. We were not used to such short races (about 500 m), and this made good starts essential.

The crew had two very strong races in the first and second rounds, beating good crews from The Oratory and Dulwich by at least a length, with helpful support from parents and J15 crews from the sides. Our final was a tough race against two very strong Abingdon crews and, after winning our second heat, we went straight to the start line without even getting off the water.

We had a good race and put everything into it, but were beaten by the other crews. We still came away pleased with finishing third overall and only losing by about a length to the winning crew. Thank you to Mr Gadsden for taking us to this event.

By the end of a successful season, we had all learnt a lot, most definitely improved, and enjoyed it greatly. Thanks must go to the parents for all their support, and special thanks to Mr

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This season was one of highs and lows for the J14 C team. We had some excellent races and some disastrous races. During the year the crew changed quite a lot due to other sporting commitments and the pull of the boats above.

Our first race was the Schools’ Sculling Head at Eton Dorney.

With it being our first race at such a prestigious venue we were very nervous. However, when it came to race time, the fear that we once had turned to adrenalin and for the whole race you could feel the power surging through the boat. With 200 m left of the 3,600 m time trial we gave it our all and ended up coming fourth in our class. This race gave us a lot of confidence for other races to come.

Our next event was the Bedford Quads match. We split the octo into two quads which were equally matched. The timed race was 1,200 m and the quads came second and third in the ‘C’ boat category.

One of our more unfortunate regattas was Bedford Regatta.

Our first race was against Abingdon, an extremely good rowing school. By Town Bridge we had taken the lead and were about 500 m from the finishing line when disaster struck – we caught a massive crab which led to Abingdon overtaking us and going into the final.

More misfortune followed: the first day’s racing at the National Schools’ Regatta was abandoned because of high winds; at Star Regatta our rudder string broke and we ended up against the wall when we were successfully chasing down Oundle; and at the Bedford Round Robin a blade came out of its gate as we were about to overtake our D crew, resulting in them beating us. We were, therefore, really fired up to do well at our last event, the Peterborough J14 Championships, only for it to be cancelled because of weed on the rowing lake.

Overall, the crew has worked incredibly hard this year, and I am very proud to be part of the J14 C crew. Thanks must go to our coach, Mr Gadsden.

Squad: Dallas J., Ferrari J., Johnson M., Lewis D., Marks H., McCormack O., Molloy H., Nevett T., Pakozdi K., Rainbow T., Savvides S. and Sivills H. Max Johnson

ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL THE FIRST ELEVEN Starting the season with a cup game is never easy. However, on this occasion, we made it look easy! Our team to host King’s Ely was very young with only six upper sixth players. However, this balance seemed to work very well. Tom Church and Mohammed Azher provided the firepower in front of goal whilst Josiah Herbert and Toby Walker provided the strength and experience in central defence. Tom Bradbeer in year 11 showed that even the youngest of players can still influence the game, often showing his class on the flank as a full-back. We could see we were comfortable playing with the ball on the floor. With Robert Elson controlling the centre of the park and stringing passes together, it did not take long for the deadlock to be broken. After some exquisite passing the ball fell to Bob Barfoot who calmly finished. Next came two unselfish goals from both strikers – a quality that would be seen throughout the season. Charlie Roberts got on the scoresheet with an impressive leap which saw the ball end up in the top corner. The scoring did not end there, as Bedford were given a penalty for a handball. The captain (who had never before scored in his Bedford School football career) stepped up and ended his goal drought. After a previous season of one-goal games, many were expecting the same this season: we proved their expectations to be wrong with this 5–0 drubbing.

Sadly, our second game, versus St Edward’s, was cancelled due to bad weather. It was a game that we wanted to play in order to prepare for our next cup match.

Even with the weather still trying to prevent us from playing, our game against Spalding went ahead. Spalding had been previous finalists in the cup, and we knew it would be a tough game. The weather conditions were taking their toll on both teams, and with both teams battling hard from the strikers to the defence, not many opportunities were created. However, as we learnt, mistakes can be very costly: a slip in the last five minutes allowed Spalding to score, and even with our gung-ho attacking we could not break their strong defence and we fell to a 0–1 defeat.

To guarantee our qualification to the quarter-finals of the cup we had to beat a very strong Oundle side at their home.

However, we were without our main source of pace, Church, as he was carrying an injury from Spalding. From the start things

looked promising. Barfoot was providing pace on the wing and creating lots of opportunities. The deadlock was broken when Azher ran directly at the defence, panicking them and causing them to concede a free kick on the edge of the box. Walker stepped over the ball and curled it around the wall and into the net. Much of the first half went by before Oundle found an equaliser. The second half started in our favour. Roberts, a strong competitor for the Golden Boot, provided the finishing touch to a corner. The game was physical from the start, Zac Scorer using his muscle to great effect, as he did throughout the season. However, the game turned against us and, with a decision I still believe to be wrong, Oundle’s striker crept offside and placed the ball in the bottom corner. We knew our circumstances and everyone stepped up their game, becoming more physical and determined to win every ball. However, this

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could not salvage another goal for us and, with the final score being 2–2, our fate rested on the Spalding–Oundle score, which was to be played two weeks afterwards. This wait was excruciating and, sadly, their 0–0 draw meant that we were to progress no further.

Haberdashers’ proved to be a very strong team and our defence, unusually, was beaten four times in the first half.

However, the second half was a different story: we only conceded one goal, and Elson managed to get on the scoresheet. Even though we lost 1–5 we still came off the pitch with our pride intact, particularly when you consider that Haberdashers’ ended their season by winning the cup competition. One team member who is not praised enough is our goalkeeper, Tom Caldon, who provided us with many outstanding saves, especially in this game. Throughout the season he calmed the defence and showed his great shot-stopping abilities.

Games against Rugby, Wellingborough and Oakham were all cancelled due to weather and, with the end of term dawning in on us, we could not rearrange them. This would therefore see the close of our season against other schools. However, we still had one more game to play. The match against the OBs is always greatly anticipated, with many of the previous 1st XI players coming back to try and show their dominance. However, they were not able to handle Azher who scored a hat-trick. Azher ended up winning the Golden Boot (beating Walker by one goal).

The goal of the game came from the reliable left back, William Garvie. His accurate crosses often provided us with opportunities during the season, but this was a moment of glory for him. A free kick, roughly 30 yards out and on the touchline, was swung in and crept into the top right-hand corner. The 5–2 thrashing provided the current 1st XI with bragging rights!

Although our season seemed very short, I am proud of the team. They showed great skills throughout the games we did play and showed what playing for the 1st XI meant to them. Our determination to win as a team is something that is hard to come by. I wish next season’s 1st XI every success. Charlie Roberts – do the captain’s armband proud!

Squad: Walker T. (captain), Azher M., Barfoot B., Bradbeer T., Caldon T., Chand A., Church T., Elson R., Garvie W., Herbert J., Roberts C. and Scorer Z. Toby Walker

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THE SECOND ELEVEN The 2nd XI’s season in 2013 was a successful one, boasting an 80 per cent win to loss ratio. However, there were also frustrations at having four of the nine games cancelled due to inclement weather.

The season kicked off against King’s Ely with a comfortable 5–0 win. After the second match, against Oundle, we had scored a total of seven goals and Haraj Soor, our goalkeeper, had not conceded a single goal. Perhaps that explains the 0–4 drubbing at the hands of Haberdashers’ that was dealt out in the third game. Then the games against Rugby and Wellingborough were postponed indefinitely and the squad had a couple of weeks to maintain their focus up at the Beverley Crescent training site. Pitch rotation always hits us about halfway through the season and it was good to see the boys keep their spirits up, despite the lack of fixtures. Into March and we travelled away to Radley against whom we, as a school, scored 47 goals to their 12 in our eight matches. Ours was a solid 3–1 win, with a wonder strike by Guillaume Trounson to open his school account. After a further postponement against Oakham, we took on the OBs in our final fixture. Having never masterminded a win against this opposition as coach, my outlook was gloomy throughout the morning of Saturday 16th March 2013. Did we thrash them? We gave them a footballing lesson and the credit should go to the defence, who were strong, physical and reliable all season. Mr Bury did not record the final score and I, writing this in October, am not entirely sure of the result but I think it was a 4–0 win! After the usual end-of-season photo with the OBs, I gave a speech; a very uncharacteristic gesture. I said then

as I will conclude now: I have never before had the fortune of coaching a better football side than the 2nd XI of 2013. Its strength came from the back, so a nod to the captain, James Western, whose best call was to step out of goal and hand over the gloves!

Squad: Western, J. (captain), Adams L., Brittle C., Chan R., Huettemann J., Jackson J., McGall M., O’Brien C., O’Cleirigh L., Soor H., Swallow R. and Trounson G. L. Gearing

THE THIRD ELEVEN As is the norm for British weather, we started (and continued) the season with rather horrific playing conditions: rain lashing down seemingly every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, accompanied by the odd dusting of snow.

We started off at home with a great confidence-boosting match, winning 8–1 against King’s Ely, with great play from all

over the field. There were noteworthy performances from Harry David with some fine distribution, setting up a few goals and netting one for himself, and Niklas Albus scoring a hat-trick in the match. We travelled to Oundle full of hope and promise and were ahead 1–0 at half-time before experiencing our worst ten minutes of football of the entire season, conceding four goals in that time. We managed to snag a goal back; however, we couldn’t find a way past their keeper again, and ended up going down 2–4.

With our next match, against Haberdashers’, we put to rest any negative thoughts from the Oundle game, managing a comfortable 3–0 victory against a strong Haberdashers’ team (and, much to our amusement, we were the only Bedford team to win that day). With that win in mind we set out to play Wellingborough, only to find ourselves 0–1 down at half-time.

However, we started the second half in good spirits and subsequently put four goals past their keeper, comfortably winning 4–1.

Radley have historically always been a strong football side and this year was no exception. Despite this, we managed to go into half-time with a 2–1 advantage. It stayed that way for the majority of the game until a slight slip-up in our defence allowed Radley to get an equaliser three minutes from time. However, showing true Bedford determination, we made our chances with Mathieu Govoni taking an accurate corner and landing the ball on Robbie Evans’s head to score the winner in the final play of the game.

We went into our last match of the season – a rematch against Oundle – with a very positive mentality. We were looking for the win, having lost the previous encounter with them. However, with a driving wind and hail in the air it became hard to play our flowing, passing style of football. This allowed Oundle to play their style instead and we fell behind early.

However, with a deserved penalty (which was duly slotted away

by Patrick Tai) and some great constant pressure, we managed to keep the score at 2–2, securing a draw for our last match of the season. Overall, a great season: four wins, one draw and one defeat. Good work lads!

Squad: Lewis J. (captain), Albus N., Bscher L., David H., Evans R., Govoni M., Hart D., Kozera F., Loewenthal J., Mazin B., Merai A., Poor R., Ramsbotham P., Sekaran A., Tai P. and Zinnigrebe G. Jonathan Lewis

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THE FOURTH ELEVEN Fourth-team football may not seem glamorous or challenging. I assume many people think it is where you play if you don’t take sport very seriously. I assure you this is not the case. Looking back at the results of previous 4th XIs it looks like an incredibly daunting task, especially for a new coach in the form of Mr Everitt. However, he came in and picked up the pieces

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of a group of boys bitterly disappointed at not making the 3rd XI. The season seemed to start in a rather lacklustre fashion: a 2–5 defeat at Oundle. Yet we were informed after the game that this far exceeded any result other 4th XI teams could have mustered. We were still disappointed. This does show how the team was already developing a winning mentality.

We attempted to forget the defeat in time for our next game, against Rugby; a much closer affair where we were left reeling at yet another defeat, albeit with a slightly more appealing scoreline of 1–2. This was a very winnable game. However, we lacked a bit of clinical finishing to clinch it and lost in the dying embers of a ferocious match. This took us to the training ground for some much-needed shooting drills.

These proved to be incredibly effective, as in our next match, against Radley, we achieved the unthinkable – a win for the Bedford School 4th XI. Not only a win, but a behemoth of a victory; 9–3 was the final scoreline. This truly was a testament to the team spirit, hard work and determination shown by the boys in training sessions.

All in all, it was a season that exceeded our wildest dreams as we had a victory next to our name, but we cannot go without mentioning the biggest match of the season – against the hockey 4th XI. A half of hockey was followed by a half of football which ended in a penalty shootout win for 4th XI football team to cap off a great season.

Squad: Logan C. (captain), McCracken R. (vice-captain), Arkarsleung P., Bieber N., Bscher L., Chernyavskyy D., Falter C., Forberg M., Kozera F., So A., Savelev I., Seow D., Zeuzem N. and Zinngrebe G. Callum Logan

COLTS A We started the season with a lack of confidence. After having a less than impressive season the previous year, we were determined to put a winning streak together. Unfortunately, we failed to do this in our first game, losing to Oundle. It was a hardfought game with both attacks excelling. We had some excellent chances towards the end but a 1–2 defeat was the final score. In spite of the loss, the team was optimistic about the season after displaying good football skills with a real sense of urgency in attack.

Our next game was away at Haberdashers’. It was a gruelling battle in interesting conditions. We had gone up two goals and we were confident. However, after some weak defence and questionable calls from the author as linesman, we were to lose by a one-goal deficit again. The team spirit was drained at this point as we had deserved to win both games, yet we were beaten by silly mistakes and bad fortune. This fired us up for the next game in which we displayed free-flowing football and put four goals over Radley to their mere two. We had found our form with incredible work rates up the right-hand side from George Cochrane-Davies.

Our final match was a close encounter with Oundle again, unfortunately with a slightly weakened team due to injury.

Thankfully, we still came away with a draw from a great goal by Luke Dawson in which he chipped the goalkeeper. Overall it was a positive season which included some great individual performances and some close battles. It was disappointing that three of our matches were called off, yet I felt that our team chemistry was strong and we greatly improved throughout the season. Thanks to Mr Finch for coaching the team and the external coaches who came in to help us.

Squad: Bayduzhiy M. (captain), Callanan R., Cochrane-Davies G., Dawson L., Fahmy J., Herriott J., Kitson J., Maier L., Matthews T., McNally A., Monanghan A., Ogden T., Ollerhead R. and Rosano R. Tim Matthews

COLTS B ‘Can you see anything?’

‘Yes, wonderful things.’

When Howard Carter peered through the gloom into the boyking’s tomb and saw the dazzling treasures stowed there, did the long-dead past rise up before him as colourful and vivid as the here and now?

I ask because trying to remember back to the Colts B season just gone feels like trying to resurrect that long-dead past. Who played? Did we win? Why is it all so vague? Has Grimshaw’s brain gone missing?

Bits of it do return now I meditate on things, gaily coloured and flapping like the bunting on a Tibetan monastery; what returns most vividly are fragments of a romp in the sun against Radley. Granted we were not playing their first-water Colts B team, but it is still something to savour when you can spank five past such a school; after all, one can only shoot the fish that are swimming in the barrel. I remember George Dickman banging one home into the roof of the net and James Newland seeming to gyrate like Georgie Best at his best, toying with Radley cruelly, putting in pass after pass to split the game open. I remember Jamie Holt, socks falling low like Nobby Stiles (every midfield dog of war reminds me of Nobby), toiling away, tackling and disrupting opposition possession repeatedly. John Fahmy was our quiet man with eloquence in his boots in midfield, often turning pig’s ear passes into the silkiest of purses. Watching Henry Gee’s languid skills brought to mind Hoddle in his mulletheaded pomp; perhaps there is a hairstyle in there for Henry. I remember Paavan Chouhan as Captain Colts Courageous, perfectly positioned to cut off trouble and showing the sort of uncanny understanding with Jake King that made me wonder whether the two had been mind-melded by Mr Spock. King was aptly named: he was a monarch in defence, willing to throw himself at the opposition if it meant that he could stop them. He is the kind of player to have the coach wincing and cheering, cheering and wincing and even though there are times when he looked like a clogger, one could not possibly meet a more gentle and companionable character off the pitch. Aran Malhi at fullback should not be forgotten: he kept that corner of our tent pinned down in the seething gale of games.

Ollie Charlton was club captain in spite of ill health preventing his playing early doors; he might not have played the full game on every occasion, but he was terrific company on the touchline as he listened to my moans and gave me sage tactical advice.

We had Sandor Pakozdi’s feline majesty in goal, the two absolutely magnificent BSSC imports of Din and Yoshi performing lung-busting runs on the park and also Julian Fong, with his wind-tunnel hair and bad-boy image to live up to, becoming a cuddly little teddy once he’d spent some meditation time on the subs’ bench.

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Thanks to all who wore the Colts B jersey with pride this season; apologies if you have not had your name check: nothing goes unnoticed at the time, believe me. Thanks also to A.D.F. as we toddle down Cemetery Road for another year.

Much of the rest of the season was cancelled due to poor performance on the part of the weather, yet now my eyes are accustomed to the murk there are indeed, particularly on that day of the Radley game, wonderful things to be seen.

Tale of the season: Oundle – drew 3–3; Haberdashers’ beat us 0–3; we beat Radley 5–0; Oundle won the rematch 1–2.

Squad: Charlton O. (captain), Chouhan P., Dickman G., Fahmy J., Fong J., Gee H., Holt J., King J., Monaghan A., Malhi A., Newland J. and Pakozdi S. A. Grimshaw

COLTS C The Colts C team had a very large squad with an abundance of talent. Our first game, against Trent, was a close-fought affair with excellent goalkeeping from Philip Bornemann preventing any goals from being scored. Unfortunately, we did not have any good chances and, despite excellent skills from George MacTavish and Duncan Johnston, we were unable to put the ball in the goal and it ended goalless. Snow and rain saw Bromsgrove cancelled and Oundle postponed.

In our next game, against Rugby, we exhibited pure excellence. Great defending from Lachlan Welch and Brian Fung meant that Rugby rarely got inside our D. Excellent attacking from Johnston and Max Foulkes put huge pressure on their goalkeeper. A great goal scored by MacTavish, followed by a huge team effort to clinch a second goal, gave us a welldeserved 2–0 victory.

We then lost some key players due to the knock-on effect of injuries from the teams above. Jasper Lawson played his first game as goalkeeper against Oakham and saved some difficult shots. Ashley Birro and Max Foulkes linked up nicely to result in Birro scoring the only goal of the game. This 1–0 win reflected the great effort put in by all the team.

Bedford then travelled to The Perse on a bleak and wet day to play against a very skilful team. The Perse had three chances to score, all of which they took. We, unfortunately, did not take our chances. Oliver Mortimer showed some impressive skills in the midfield and Charles Mills cleared the ball out of danger on numerous occasions. However, they were a strong outfit and we could not put the ball in the goal.

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Finally, the Oundle fixture came around. It was a game which we had the ability to win. However, on grass it is always difficult.

All the boys played well but it wasn’t meant to be as Oundle slotted a goal in the right corner and we went down 0–1. We were unlucky as a few boys were absent and, as a result, we did not have the finishing skills to find an equaliser.

Overall, throughout the season the boys showed a superb attitude – well done on a good season.

Squad: Foulkes M. (captain), Ahmed K., Birro A., Bornemann P., Brodrip J., Cawood R., Foulkes M., Fung B., Gilmartin C., Gorgiou A., Hawkins J., Hickey D., Johnston D., Karapetyan O., Lawson J., MacTavish G., Mills C., Mortimer O., Roese A., Staddon J., Stokey M., Thackara M., Welch L. and Yin J. L. Coward

U15 A England versus Germany, Wembley Stadium, 26th June 1996, European Championships semi-final. Deep into extra time with the teams level at 1–1, Sheringham picked the ball up in midfield, looked up and drifted a 40-yard diagonal pass directly into the path of Alan Shearer, who volleyed a perfect ball straight across the face of goal, bisecting goalkeeper and centre-half. Thinking Kopke would claim it, Paul Gascoigne appeared to hesitate then threw himself forward in search of glory and redemption but it was too late; his left boot failed to make contact by a matter of inches. Then it was penalties, inevitable German victory and a Pizza Hut advert for Gareth Southgate. The U15 A team were as close as that desperate English lunge to finishing the season with a 100 per cent win record. The almost-invincibles, they can nevertheless be proud of what was a magnificent effort. What more could we ask for? John Holroyd, Calvin Liu and Cory

Bloxham impenetrable at the back; Max Smith, Joe Conlon and Chris O’Reilly snapping at the heels of any opposition winger bold enough to enter their territory; Alex Williams doing the work of three men in the middle; Fuma Iwama playing like a young Toure–Ronaldo hybrid; ‘Big Ken’ Ekweremadu disarming opponents with the skill and trickery of a diminutive No 10; the Kharzaliyas slicing through from the wide areas to deliver pinpoint crosses or storming into the box to send bullet headers flying into the net; and, to top it all, Jake Duxbury, a true goal machine. Jake scored 18 times in seven matches despite the rough treatment meted out by defenders, lesser mortals belonging to a simpler universe. Even Oundle, eventual pantomime villains of the piece, were put to the sword on Phillpotts’ pitch earlier in the term, Bedford’s performance in a 10–3 win as emphatic as the scoreline suggests. From what source did this hoard of conquerors emerge? Abuja, Hong Kong, Yokosuka, Moscow, rural Bedfordshire … in their fusion-football was contained the essence of the beautiful game, the working man’s ballet, and it was fantastic to see.

First to fall were King’s Ely. The pre-match rumour was that they had ‘academy players’ and they made the better start.

Beginning the season in goal (this was before Holroyd’s arrival), Duxbury made several saves but was eventually beaten and the Cambridgeshire school went in 0–1 up at half-time. There had been some positives – the Kharzaliyas had competed well and Georgy, playing with the demeanour of a slightly worse-for-wear George Best, beat at least four players on one particularly mazy run – but King’s deserved their lead. However, they had no answer to Bedford’s tactical change. If they were taken aback by the sight of Duxbury in an outfield jersey standing by the centre spot upon their return, imagine their surprise when, minutes later, he latched onto a ball played down the left channel and drove powerfully into the top corner for the equaliser. This must have turned to shock, then horror when his audacious chip made it 2–1, then, perhaps, finally to resignation as Ekweremadu drilled a loose ball low to the goalkeeper’s right for the third. Iwama had increasingly come into the game, having spent much of the first half dropping deep to help regain possession. He was rewarded with the final goal and celebrated in style; Bedford had opened the season with a highly impressive 4–1 away win and it was to be a sign of things to come.

Bedford’s opening home fixture came against Oundle, a skilful outfit who played good football at times but ultimately had no

answer to Domenik Kharzaliya and Duxbury up front, who claimed a hat-trick each. Stalwart defender Liu finished tidily from a corner and hard-working wide men Samee Mohammed and Dan Tune added to the goals. Man of the Match, though, was Williams, whose tireless running broke the resolve of a cultured midfield and was the impetus behind the waves of Bedford attacks; credit also went to Iwama and Ekweremadu for their stints in goal.

Following this were two seemingly tough-looking away fixtures at Rugby and Wellingborough, both sites of heavy losses in recent years. Rugby proved difficult opponents and Duxbury was subjected to some fairly agricultural defending, but he stayed strong and scored two goals of great quality, a header and a long-range effort, before the marauding Smith added a third. Wellingborough also fielded a rugged, determined-looking side but were again dispatched, this time 6–0. It was ‘the Hamilton and Tune show’ as the tricky wingers turned their fullbacks inside out; the unorthodox Wilfred Hamilton, dancing down the line like an inspired Robbie Dale (of Blyth Spartans), claimed a brace, his first an improbable finish from near the touchline that surprised him as much as it did the stranded goalkeeper, and further goals from Domenik, Duxbury and the irrepressible Iwama completed the picture. The captain was unlucky not to have had a spectacular second as he ran the length of the pitch, slaloming through the defensive line then rounding the goalkeeper, but his final touch took him too far wide. He did net twice in the following match, though, a 13–2 demolition of Radley College.

The actual Goal of the Season was scored in this game by powerhouse Williams who, having been substituted then reinstated at full-back as an act of kindness to the shell-shocked Radleians, stormed forward from his defensive position, crossed the halfway line, looked up and from fully 30 yards unleashed the purest strike ever seen on a Bedford School football pitch, a dipping, Gareth Bale-like missile that launched high and over the goalkeeper into the net to send the supporters wild. The link-up play between the Kharzaliya brothers was another key feature of the game; they scored two goals each, the best coming when Domenik’s driving run and cross from the right was met by Georgy’s powerful headed finish. Duxbury scored the first of what would be three consecutive hat-tricks and the remaining goal came from Jonathan Konstantinidis, who played up front all game and converted a fine volley following another Domenik Kharzaliya cross.

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Luis Hill and Georgy Kharzaliya will form the core of the U15 A side in 2014, when they will have some act to follow. Good luck boys!

Squad: Iwama F. (captain), Bloxham C., Calthorpe M., Conlon J., Duxbury J., Ekweremadu K., Hamilton W., Hill L., Holroyd J., Kharzaliya D., Kharzaliya G., Konstantinidis J., Liu C., Mohammed S., O’Reilly C., Smith M., Sterling E., Tune D. and Williams A. M. Graham and M. Hutchinson

U15 B

There was one match left; could Bedford make it a clean sweep? Alas, it wasn’t to be. Bedford took the lead on several occasions but a late surge from Oundle saw them snatch a dramatic (Fergie time?) 5–6 victory, going some way towards avenging the drubbing they took earlier in the season (well, not really; that’s still 15–9 on aggregate, lads). Duxbury was in brilliant form again, completing his hat-trick with another outrageous chip from outside the box. Domenik and Ekweremadu added further strikes and Williams and Iwama ran themselves into the ground for the cause, but it still wasn’t to be. Still, five wins out of six and a goal ratio of 41 for and 13 against represents the U15 A’s biggest-scoring and most successful campaign for many years.

The boys finished the season with an entertaining fixture against the Colts B side. Duxbury’s final three-goal haul and a typical Domenik Kharzaliya finish when one-on-one against impressive Hungarian stopper Sandor Pakozdi saw the U15 As claim a credible 4–4 draw and finish the season with a remarkable average of 6.4 goals per game. Duxbury won the Golden Boot; no one has scored so many goals in so few games for the school. Domenik scored eight excellent goals and took fourth place in the Player of the Season Award, with vice-captain Alex Williams scoring four times and finishing just behind Duxbury in third. The U15 A Player of the Season 2013 was inspirational captain Fuga Iwama, who netted four times and took two Man of the Match awards.

The remaining goals came from across the team and we were also grateful for the solid contributions of Matt Calthorpe and Ed Sterling from the B squad; they are likely to play for the As next year at U16 level while fourth formers Conlon, Ekweremadu,

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The U15 Bs have had another enjoyable season with both notable highs and lows. After a mere two training sessions, our first match was away to King’s Ely. Despite an impressive display by the central midfield, driven on by the energetic Jonathan Konstantinidis, the boys were up against it throughout the game and went down to a high-scoring defeat, their cause not helped when an injury to Joseph Jacob during a brave tackle left them with ten men, and with Jacob ruled out for the rest of the season. It couldn’t have started much worse but, like Spain recovering from opening day defeat to Switzerland to win the 2010 World Cup, the squad showed an admirably strong work ethic in training and soon improved their game. The next match was at home to a well-fancied Oundle side. A man down at the start, fifth-form student Harry Burden stepped up to the mark and did a half in goal; like Bruce Grobbelaar for Liverpool in their 1984 European Cup Final victory over Roma, Burden pulled off some spectacular saves before intimidating an opposition player into putting the ball wide from the penalty spot. Subsequent forays were cleared much more effectively and the teams went in all-square at half-time, Oundle’s fragile psychology shattered.

After the break we saw the introduction of Wilfred ‘Stanley Matthews’ Hamilton, whose tricky work down the wing proved highly effective. Chris O’Reilly came into the game more after the break with a series of powerful runs and hefty challenges, stopping at nothing in his pursuit of the ball. In the end Bedford came out with a respectable 2–2 draw/moral victory. A mood of optimism took hold in the camp and a resurgent Bedford notched their first win of the season in the following game against Rugby, coming out 2–1 winners in a tense match, most notable for some excellent defensive organisation and commitment to the tackle from stalwart Luis Hill.

However, when you’re a B team it’s never a good idea to do too well, as the A team then swoops down from on high and greedily snatches all the form players; so it was in this case as

O’Reilly, Konstantinidis, Hill and Matthew Calthorpe made the step up and it was an altered team that made the short journey to one of the best teams on the circuit, Wellingborough.

Georgy Kharzaliya and Ken Ekweremadu both put in storming performances with the latter scoring a great second-half goal, smashing through the Wellingborough back line before coolly

dispatching his chance. A highly skilful Wellingborough team proved too strong, though, and a flurry of goals from the home side in the dying minutes against a tiring visitors’ defence condemned Bedford to their second defeat. The boys stayed positive and excelled themselves in their next fixture, dispatching Radley 9–1 to notch up their biggest win of the season. Player of the Season Jamie Oliver scored the U15 B’s only hat-trick of the season and dominated the game. Our final trip of the year took us to Oundle where a truly possessed home side, perhaps nursing some kind of twisted revenge motive and hyped-up by overly intensive training methods, left it all on the pitch and ran out 0–4 winners against a B team again depleted by the scouting raids of the single-minded A team coaching staff.

This was a Jekyll and Hyde campaign; at times we were like Wenger’s Invincibles or Perez’s Real Madrid Galacticos and at others it was more like Fulham away, but the boys acquitted themselves well and never gave anything less than their all for the shirt, which is more than can be said for the travelling prima donnas of SW6. The midfield was particularly impressive this year. Timothy Hammond showed flair and composure on the ball and our top scorer was Oliver, who worked tirelessly all season long and can look forward to great things later on in his school football career. Our Most Improved Player was Ben Poslad; despite not having played much football before. He took to the field with determination and a great desire to win each week and put in some vital blocks, challenges and clearances from rightback. He was matched for commitment by his fellow full-back, the effervescent Hugh Parfitt, also worthy of special mention.

The U15 Bs have had a fantastic season and played the year with an impeccable spirit and respect for the game. No matter what the result was on the day, football was the winner.

Squad: Ajadi A., Burden H., Calthorpe M., Chapman J., Conlon J., Cope H., Davoyan Z., Ekweremadu K., Elsmore E., Frost T., Hamilton W., Hammond T., Hawkins D., Hill L., Jacob J., Kharzaliya G., Konstantinidis J., Meniru O., Mohammed S., Oliver J., O’Reilly C., Parfitt H., Poslad B., Purdy A., Sharma B., Song B., Stalley N., Sterling E. and Whitaker E. M. Hutchinson

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SPORTS DAY 2013 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th

Seniors (Sixth Form) Bromham 72.5 points St Cuthbert’s 70.5 points Crescent 68.5 points St Peter’s 64 points Paulo Pontine 54 points Ashburnham 48.5 points

Intermediates (Removes and Fifths) 1st St Cuthbert’s 81.5 points 2nd Ashburnham 66 points 3rd Paulo Pontine 62.5 points 4th St Peter’s 57.5 points 5th Crescent 55.5 points 6th Bromham 54 points

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th

Juniors (Fourths) St Peter’s 76 points Paulo Pontine 74.5 points Crescent 71.5 points St Cuthbert’s 54.5 points Ashburnham 52.5 points Bromham 46 points

Overall winners (on competition points) 1st St Cuthbert’s 206.5 points 2nd St Peter’s 197.5 points 3rd Crescent 195.5 points 4th Paulo Pontine 191 points 5th Bromham 172.5 points 6th Ashburnham 167 points

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OTHER MINOR SPORTS ATHLETICS With sports day taking place in September, it’s now hard to tell when the athletics season starts and when it finishes. We’ll start on a bright Tuesday afternoon in September 2012, when all staff and boys headed to Bedford International Athletics Stadium to battle for points in the inter-house athletics competition. Circa 350 boys donned white athletics vests and colourful house ‘numbers’ to race, throw and jump their way to small victory against their peers in a variety of traditional track and field events. Those small victories soon added up to give a close competition, with Paulo Pontine taking first place overall, as reported in last year’s magazine (see opposite for this year’s results).

After this whole-school event, boys return to rugby, rowing, fives and whatnot to gain the fitness required before the athletics season proper starts in April. The start of the season always looks promising and this year a squad of 65 boys were joined by new staff in Mrs Mainstone, Mr Coward and Mr Knight, who started the season with a real buzz. Mr Knight brought enthusiasm and lycra shorts, Mr Coward brought guns of steel and Mrs Mainstone brought a skillset that embarrassed the rest of the coaches. The squad trained well and prepared for the first fixture, the Oakham Relays, only to have it cancelled due to poor weather which meant that baton changeovers would not be possible on the very wet grass track. With that, our sights were set on the Stowe track and field fixture where a strong squad arrived on the (tennis!) coach in the pouring rain. Despite the hail stones and cold rain, the all-weather surface meant that all events went ahead and our boys delivered some impressive performances. Mathuieu Govoni and Omar Jackson (captain) should be congratulated for their input, putting themselves forward for many track and field events, meaning that the senior squad picked up 111 points, placing them third (ahead of Malvern College). The day, however, belonged to the intermediate boys whose strong squad finished first, ahead of Stowe and Malvern College, with 143 points; some 11 points clear of the host team. This was thanks to many boys, but with particularly great races from Jonathan Janes (1,500 m) and Cory Bloxham (200 m). The spirit of the whole afternoon was perhaps exemplified by the boys’ willingness to get involved and score points with some memorable hurdling from Charlie Esam, Ollie Wetton and, of course, Julian Kitson, who informed us that the plastic hurdles had a little more give than the traditional wooden ones.

The focus then turned to the North Bedfordshire Schools’ Championships where a number of junior (fourths) and intermediate (removes and fifths) boys got the opportunity to impress selecting coaches from the Bedfordshire Schools’ County Team. Led by Bedford and County athletes Joe Rogers and Will Kerr, they certainly did impress and the following boys gave great performances that led to them being asked to travel to Luton for the Counties: Rogers (hammer), Kerr (300 m, hammer and discus), Adam Kilby-Smith (long jump), Jack Dalton (sprint hurdles), Janes (1,500 m) and Tunde Adewale (long jump). The

boys competed well in Luton, despite the windy and rainy conditions – it was a shame that Adewale could not compete due to injury. During the county competitions many boys did very well, taking a series of new school records including: Janes (intermediate, 1,500 m) in 4 min 12.3 sec; Rogers (junior hammer) with 53.55 m; and Kerr (junior discus) with 31.13 m.

The final fixture of the year saw 15 boys travel to Radley College to compete in a multi-event quadrathlon that requires the boys to compete as individuals in four different events, scoring points on the decathlon points system. The boys chose one jump (high jump or long jump), one throw (shot put or javelin), one sprint (100 m or 400 m) and one distance run (800 m or 1 mile), and accumulated points individually. As such, it is a real test of allround athleticism. Previous years have seen boys do well, particularly at senior level, and this year was no different as Matthew Cloke stood out, scoring 2,210 points. This placed him third out of a total of 40 year 12 boys from Radley, Cheltenham, Harrow, St Edward’s, Coopers’ and MCS Oxford, and also beating previous Bedford School athletes such as Omar Jackson (2,128 points in 2012) and Anthony Hensman (2,032 points in 2011).

The season showed once again that, while we have a relatively small number of athletes training and competing regularly as a squad, there is always a great depth of character that comes with being a Bedford School athlete. Boys had fixtures cancelled, meets in the wind, hail and rain, and yet they still continued to represent the school with gusto.

Perhaps another highlight of the season was the training each Tuesday and Thursday. While many boys are clearly busy preparing for public exams, it was great to see them relax and enjoy spirited sessions at the stadium. Thanks are due to Mrs Mainstone who helped them to enjoy new events, including the hammer and even the pole vault. Thanks also go to Beth Harris who came to Bedford from London to give her expertise in coaching the pole vault for absolute beginners. Many boys

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showed great flair for the pole vault while staff stood back and observed (in the interests of safety, not fear, obviously). I hope that Beth can return next year and take up from where she left off. We may have the next Holly Bleasdale in our midst!

As we say farewell to some great senior athletes, we look can look forward to next season as we clearly have some great young athletes coming through from Bedford Prep School. We also have many record holders moving up from the junior category into the intermediates; which means there are more records to be broken!

G. Waite

CANOEING The 2013 canoe season was set to be a good one. We had three really good pairs consisting of: Charlie Campbell-Gray and Will Govoni; Jack McLeod and Barney Dathan; and Leo Dziwisch and Kevin Wong. All paddlers were totally focused on completing the races competitively.

Waterside A is the first race of a four-race series. It is 13.5 miles long and the standing junior record for C2 was 2:31:37, set a few years ago by a Bedford School crew. Dziwisch and Wong far surpassed Mr Campbell’s expectations by completing the course in less than three hours. Govoni and Campbell-Gray had a really solid race with not a lot going wrong. They finished with the new record time of 2:22:15 and McLeod and Dathan were not long behind with a time of 2:28:52. You could also sense the rivalry between Bedford boats seeing as the times were so close.

Waterside B was set to be a difficult one. It is a 17.5 mile race from Newbury to Aldermaston and back. Due to the heavy rains there was a strong current, meaning the way back was going to be hard work and tricky for the stern paddlers to steer the boat.

We also had the OB pair of Ed and Rob Campbell-Gray competing in their first race. The run down to Aldermaston was really good and the boats seemed to be moving well. We approached the turning point in good time. The way back was brutal, however. There were a few moments where we were really slacking off against the current and had a few wobbles, forcing us to decide to run with the boats for a stretch, which kept us on track. Campbell-Gray and Govoni managed to get back in one piece in a time of 3:05:16, shortly followed by McLeod and Dathan sprinting across the line five minutes later.

Both boats could have gone faster but both still managed to beat the previous record of 3:13:10 which was really good considering the conditions. Dziwisch and Wong had a very good race given that it was their second ever in those conditions, completing the course in 3:35:46 which was impressive. The OBs also completed the race with a time of 4:07:08 which was impressive considering they rescued a fellow C2 which capsized near them.

Training for Waterside C had been going well so confidence was high. Our faces dropped as we approached the start line in the minibus and saw that the canal was frozen. As far as we were concerned the race was going to be a 23 mile run along a footpath with 20 kg of canoe. We set off in the freezing cold praying that the ice would melt and we could paddle. Luckily, after a gruelling six mile run, the ice started to clear and we could

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finally start paddling. Our boats were moving really well and despite the run at the start, we were flying. Campbell-Gray and Govoni finished in a time of 4:09:51, finishing fourth overall, beating the previous record which was 4:17:10. McLeod and Dathan struggled on the run, both of them not really runners but more paddlers (which is the whole point of canoeing!) and finished in 4:27:39 which was still respectable. Wong and Dziwisch did amazingly well too to finish in just 5:07:01.

Approaching Waterside D we thought we had already seen the worst conditions possible: fast flow on B and ice on C. However, as Govoni and Campbell-Gray exited the hotel to find it was snowing heavily they just laughed, knowing that it was going to be a long race. Warming up was essential before this race to ensure we could paddle properly – we did not want to waste time warming up once the race had already begun. Govoni and Campbell-Gray set off just in front of McLeod and Dathan with Wong and Dziwisch behind them as they paddled into the dense snow. About three miles in, at the first support bridge, Govoni felt a massive snap in the boat. They stopped briefly to see what had happened and the bar that supported his seat had snapped. After a couple of pit stops the seat had been repaired so they set off again on the chase. The snow did not stop at all for the whole duration of the race making portaging and paddling extremely hard. They never did end up catching Dathan and McLeod and they managed to get an overall time of 6:32:45, beating Campbell-Gray and Govoni by nine minutes over the 34.5 mile course. Dziwisch and Wong put in a great time of 7:31:42 despite the horrible conditions, showing just how much they had improved over the term. The OB team of Rob and Ed CampbellGray struggled through the blizzard to amazingly finish the race, despite injuries to Rob’s coccyx and it only being his second time in a canoe. Govoni also finished the race with minor frostbite to his fingers and injuries to both of his knees.

At the prize giving everyone who completed the series was awarded a Waterside Series T-shirt to wear with pride. McLeod and Dathan also won third place in the Waterside D race in the senior class and Govoni and Campbell-Gray won third overall in the series and the John Baggs Trophy for the fastest series time for a Junior C2. Overall, a very successful Waterside Series and the club was very positive as we approached the Devizes to Westminster race.

Rob Campbell entered this canoe season knowing it would be his last, after 18 years of being master in charge of canoeing.

This year was a good one to end with, as he had four crews of canoeists (including the OB crew) keen to complete the 125 mile long Devizes to Westminster race which is known as the ‘The Canoeists’ Everest’. There is a good reason for the name as it is an arduous event which is filled with unexpected challenges and problems. This year’s biggest challenge was the extreme weather conditions, with snow, frozen water and extremely cold temperatures.

For the second year running, Jack McLeod’s father volunteered to join a boat in need, as one of the OBs had to pull out due to medical problems. Jack’s father did it this time with no training before the race, only his experience from the previous year. The crews were: Rob McLeod and Ed Campbell-Gray; Govoni and Campbell-Gray; McLeod and Dathan; and Wong and

Dziwisch. All four boats covered the course in four daily stages over Easter, starting in Devizes on Good Friday and finishing under Westminster Bridge on Easter Monday.

McLeod and Dathan kept up a strong and even pace, trying to break the school record. Sadly, this did not work out, but they achieved second place in the overall Junior C2 competition.

Despite injuries and other problems, Govoni and Campbell-Gray kept up a firm and even pace, finishing approximately one hour behind McLeod and Dathan, resulting in their gaining third place in the overall Junior C2 competition. Wong and Dziwisch finished around one and a half hours after Campbell-Gray and Govoni, achieving fourth in the Junior C2 competition. Rob and Ed achieved a strong finish in the Endeavour Class, just 40 minutes behind Wong and Dziwisch.

Great thanks go to all the supporters this year. A fantastic team of parents, friends and OBs braved the elements to feed and encourage the paddlers: Jerry Rogers, Brendan Ko, Oli McLeod and Mr and Mrs Ledward who once more joined the race from portage to portage. Special thanks should go to Hilary Campbell for battling through all the paperwork and organising everything with Mr Campbell. We all give thanks to him for his coaching and care, as none of the crews would have been able to finish without him.

Charlie Campbell-Gray and Leonard Dziwisch

CYCLING 2013 Inter-Schools’ Cycling Championships The spiritual home of British Cycling, Herne Hill Velodrome, continued its illustrious 130-year history on Monday 6th May when it played host to the 2013 Inter-Schools’ Cycling Championships. Bedford School fielded two teams of three boys to race against the 14 other schools represented in the seniors’ competition. Bedford School were represented by an A team of Matthew Cloke, Spencer Cartwright and Jack Rice and a B team of Lester Cheung, Charlie Miller and Kevin Chan.

The day started with a track induction and warm-up before the boys competed in the team pursuit. This is the pinnacle of team precision and understanding. Effective slipstreaming of teammates is crucial to success; a skill which requires trust and

courage in equal measure. The boys from Bedford School performed admirably to place them mid-field in their category.

Next up was Sir Chris Hoy’s signature event, the match sprint. This gladiatorial style race tested the boys’ physical power and psychological toughness during this one-on-one duel to the line. The boys received something of a master class in tactics during the series of races but, nonetheless, Charlie Miller managed to make it through to the repechage.

After a light lunch, Cartwright and Cheung lined up for the individual points race; a test of the legs and mind as boys race 15 laps of the 450 m track with points available for the first five places at the end of each three laps. They came up against some really tough competition and Cartwright worked hard to finish in the main pack.

The highlight of the day was the penultimate event, the Australian pursuit. This crowd-pleasing affair requires a combination of speed, endurance, determination and pain tolerance as riders attempt to eliminate each other, Hunger Games style (without the death part, thankfully). Cartwright discovered his inner Katniss Everdeen to finish fourth in the competition; an excellent effort!

Despite a lack of medals, a great day was had by boys, parents and staff alike. The boys showed great depth of character and learnt a lot about the art of track cycling … the learning curve was almost as steep as the 30 degree track!

C. Palmer

FIVES This has been a particularly busy year for fives. The season got under way with the annual early fixture at the end of September against Bedford Modern. The 1st IV, consisting of Chris Davey (captain), Ali Jones, Ali Bourne, and Dan Sorensen, were all players who had been regulars in the first team for a number of years. They made their experience count against a younger opposition to secure a thumping victory by 152 points. New fives enthusiast and supporter Mr Jamieson, keen to get some match play himself, gallantly took Davey, Jones and Sorensen to Giggleswick to participate in the Yorkshire Senior Doubles competition. The long journey paid off with Davey and Jones securing the plate, much to the always competitive Mr Jamieson’s dismay! The fixture against Oundle in November is

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always a challenge but their inexperienced 1st team were swept aside by Bedford with another big win by 124 points. However, the 2nd IV, consisting of Jaskaran Singh (captain), Ben Savage, James Wood and Jake Sommers, had a tough time in their first game of the season against Oundle’s 2nd IV. The scores were even after the singles. However, some impressive doubles play

by Singh and Savage and stubborn resistance from Wood and Sommers secured Bedford a narrow but well-deserved win by 18 points.

Buoyed by their winning streak, the 1st IV were confident as they took on the always impressive Cambridge University.

After some excellent matches in the singles, Cambridge had a narrow lead. Bedford raised their game again to win four of the eight doubles games, but Cambridge snuck a win by a tiny 23 points – a very respectable result for Bedford. In the away game against Rugby, Sorensen (on an unbeaten run) and Jones won their singles games so the match was evenly balanced.

However, the superior firepower of the Rugby team secured them victories in five of the eight doubles games, resulting in another narrow 17-point defeat for Bedford. Against the adult club The Jesters, the 1st IV again distinguished themselves in an always tough fixture. With only one victory in the singles (for Jones) but some excellent doubles games (winning five out of eight) the Jesters won by only 24 points.

In the home match against Bedford Modern, Sommers and Wood joined Davey and Sorensen in the 1st IV and rose to the challenge, distinguishing themselves to ensure a comfortable 79-point win. The U15 team, consisting of Ajay Shah (captain), Nihat Aslanoba, Harvey Lake and Jack Hutchings, in their first game of the season (against Bedford Modern), struggled against a more confident and experienced team. After taking a beating in the singles they showed real character in the doubles finding rhythm to narrow the Bedford Modern victory to only 57 points.

In the home fixture against Derby Moor, the U15 side again struggled. With the opposition being ruthless and with points hard to come by, Derby Moor won by the crushing margin of 134 points. The 1st IV faired much better and, for the first time for a number of years, came away victors by the impressive margin of 80 points.

Bad weather scuppered the annual fixture with St Paul’s so the home fixture against the RFA was the first of the spring

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term. As an adult club they are always tough opposition but the 1st IV did well to narrow the losing margin to only 32 points.

Keen for revenge after the away defeat to Rugby, the 1st IV, this time consisting of Davey, Jones, Bourne and Karan Gupta, were hoping to make home advantage count when Rugby came to Bedford. However, the stronger opposition powered their way to a narrow eight-point win in an exciting game. The 2nd IV of Singh, Sorensen, Jack Rice and Yuri Lelikov won by 18 points after some impressive doubles play in particular.

For the first time in a number of years Bedford made the journey to Whitgift but struggled on the slower courts.

Disappointingly, the 1st IV lost by 28 points and the 2nd IV by 57 points. A below-strength Oundle, in the return fixture, failed to stretch the 1st IV who won comfortably by the healthy margin of 101 points. As a result, Bedford approached the Merchant Taylors’ fixture with real confidence. The pursuit of the Centenary Cup in this fixture has become the Holy Grail as it has eluded Bedford for 13 years but, with a solid and cohesive 1st IV squad and home advantage, expectations were high. Wins were secured by Bedford in all the singles but tougher doubles games ensured a narrowing of the early lead. The pairings of Davey and Gupta and Jones and Bourne eventually won six of the eight doubles games for a memorable win. The 2nd IV victory by 51 points was the icing on the cake. After the euphoria of this win, to lose to Eastbourne College by only four points in this annual game was a disappointment, particularly after some exciting match play.

For the traditional final game of the season, against the OBs, a lunch was organised for any OB who had played fives at any level during their time at school. It was a particular pleasure to welcome back Tony Dawes, Peter Mellor, Julian Dalzell and Charles Pattison, four of Bedford’s former National Schools’ Champions.

Their presence will hopefully inspire the current generation of boys who were also in attendance. The lunch proved a great success and a wonderful curtain-raiser for the afternoon’s game. This proved to be an exciting and equally matched contest and, after very close games, the 1st IV beat the OBs’ 1st team with the OBs 2nd IV overcoming the school 2nd IV. ‘Honours even’ seems an appropriate result for an extremely enjoyable day.

Bedford and Bedford Modern hosted the first East Midlands Tournament in March. Bedford, Bedford Modern, Rugby, Oundle

of their fives achievements during their time at school the trophies have been named after Tony Dawes and Peter Mellor who were able to present the winners with their trophies at the OB lunch in March. It is hoped these extra annual events will keep fives thriving at Bedford.

Minor sports colours were awarded this year to Bourne and Jones for their on-going contribution to fives since they first played for the school a number of years ago. Thanks must also go to Mrs Mainstone who has made a significant contribution to fives with her enthusiasm and patience and also to our regular visiting fives coach, David Mew, who makes the weekly journey up from Croydon to offer his skill and expertise. I must also add a thank you to Mr Jamieson who bounded on to the courts in September and, from being an enthusiastic novice when he began, was beating my best team players by Christmas! I wish him well as he moves on to Brighton College and hope that he continues with his newfound passion.

M. Croker and Derby Moor sent both senior and junior sides. The Bedford U15 team, consisting of Shah, Aslanoba, Charlie Hart and Jesse Billington, found both the singles and doubles competitions tough. It was a good experience for them but they failed to progress beyond the league stages.

In the senior doubles competition Rice and Sorensen did brilliantly to progress to the final but were beaten by a strong Derby Moor team. However MJ Wright and Gupta won the plate competition which, as the junior pairing in the squad, was a real achievement.

In the singles, both Jones and Davey did brilliantly to reach the semi-finals. Unfortunately, they had to face each other at this stage and, after an exciting and evenly matched game, Jones gained victory to progress to the final. Against a strong Derby Moor player, Jones found the game tough going and, despite matching his opponent for much of the game, eventually lost after an exciting match. Davey played the other semi-finalist to determine the plate winner and, after a good game, secured a well-deserved victory At the National Schools’ Competition at St Paul’s over Easter, Bedford were represented by Rice, Sorensen, Jones and Davey.

As ever, the competition was tough in both the singles and doubles competitions but some impressive play by Davey and Jones ensured they made progress in both the plate and 2nd plate singles competitions respectively. Davey eventually secured runner-up in the plate and Jones was runner-up in the 2nd plate – a real achievement and a fitting conclusion to their significant contribution to fives in their time at the school.

The senior house fives competition was played in the autumn term and won comfortably by Crescent with a team consisting largely of regular school players – St Peter’s were runners-up. In the junior competition in the spring term a strong St Peter’s team powered their way to victory with Bromham coming second. The spring term also saw the return of the school senior and junior singles competition with the intention of getting more boys involved in fives. It was good to see a healthy number of entrants but, unsurprisingly, school players made the greatest progress through the rounds. Jones deservedly won the senior competition and Aslanoba the junior competition. In recognition

GOLF Qualifying for both the ISGA and HMC Foursomes National Finals, Bedford School’s golf team have had a wonderful season.

The first major success of the season came in the ISGA (Independent Schools Golf Association) National Final. The threeman team played some superb golf, achieving both individual and team top two places.

Having secured wins in the regional heats against Stowe and the Oratory School, the team took their place alongside the other regional finalists in Sandwich, Kent, to compete for the national trophy. The format of the finals was stroke play over 36 holes, with prizes for the best team performance (best two scores each day from three players) and best individual performance.

Bedford School got off to a great start on day one on the Prince’s Golf Course in dry but extremely windy conditions. The highlight of the day was a stunning level par round from Harry Wetton, which consisted of 18 straight pars! This, together with Josh Taylor’s competitive 79, which was just seven shots over the course par, gave Bedford School the clubhouse lead after day one.

Day two was played at the prestigious Royal St George’s in breezy but less extreme weather conditions. Despite the ease in the weather, the course proved to be a real challenge with Wetton matching his first day level par round with a four over par 74. Ben Dunlop demonstrated great determination after a tough first day to come back and shoot 78 around St George’s, giving the Bedford School team a final total of 303 and second place in the Team Prize, just two shots over the winners Haberdashers’.

Wetton was also justly rewarded with second place in the individual prize for his two superb rounds of golf. This was a great achievement for the team captain who has, sadly, reached his final year with the team. After five years of dedication to the golf team, we wish him all the best next year, where he will be taking up a golf scholarship at university in America.

Following on from their outstanding performance in the ISGA finals, Bedford School’s golfers then secured their place in the

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HMC Foursomes National Final with a resounding win over Warwick. The team triumphed with a 3–0 victory over their opposition at Buckingham Golf Club to win the HMC Central Region Final for the second consecutive year (Wetton and Josh Taylor won eight and seven, Adam Winter and Dunlop won one up, and Charlie Ballard and Guy Johnson won six and five). The team defeated Framingham, Brentwood and New Hall School in the opening rounds of the tournament to secure their place in the regional final.

The HMC Foursomes National Final was played at Rye Golf Club, which proved to be another excellent test of the boys’ skills in dry but windy conditions through both days.

Unfortunately, on the first day the boys lost narrowly 1–2 to both Loretto and Whitgift. Credit to the boys, though, as they all came out the next day in the final round and produced a superb performance in all three groups, beating Tonbridge 3–0. This wasn’t enough to make the final match but the effort and professionalism of the boys was exceptional, even when they weren’t quite getting the run of the green.

Finally, Dunlop, Taylor and Winter also triumphed at the ISGA Shire Trophy Event, coming second in the Team Gross prize and first in the Team Nett competition, with Dunlop equal second in the Gross Individual and winning the Nett Individual prize with a stunning two under par 68. Winter also topped off an excellent day with the ‘nearest the pin’ prize.

Overall, this was an outstanding season for the boys and demonstrates how strong the Scholarship Golf Programme is at Bedford School.

H. Taylor

RIFLE CLUB The shooting year kicked-off with the autumn season of the British Schools’ Smallbore Rifle Association (BSSRA) leagues and, as usual, the competition was shot on five bull targets over five rounds. The team consisted of Charlie Campbell-Gray, Tommy Hine, Manu Ratnayake, Ed Sharrock and George Cave, although, unfortunately, a rugby injury meant that Cave could only shoot two rounds before Joe Ayling took-up the baton and shot the remaining three cards. The movement of the upper sixth shooters to pastures new in the previous term had left the team somewhat depleted. This lack of experience in the face of a seasoned opposition showed in the final result, where we finished fourth in a field of four. The potential of the team was, however, already

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becoming apparent as, despite their inexperience, they only finished seven points out of 500 off the pace.

Training progressed through the autumn term and the squad developed quickly, to the point that we were able to enter two teams into the spring season BSSRA leagues. By now the teams had gained valuable experience and this showed in their performance. The A team, consisting of Ratnayake, Cave, Hine, Sharrock and Campbell-Gray, finished third in their division and the B team, consisting of Ayling, Will Govoni, Will Hunt, Thitikorn Ngampakdeepanich and Richard Leach, finished second in theirs.

Credit must also go to Hunt who, despite only starting shooting competitively in the spring term, managed to return not just the highest score in the team but also in the division (474 from 500).

House shooting occurred in November. As usual, competition was fierce with Paulo Pontine winning with a score of 191 from a possible 225. Congratulations to Campbell-Gray for achieving the highest individual score, an impressive 72 from 75.

Once again, the most keenly fought match of the year was that against the OBs in March. Here the Rifle Club has, in some ways, become a victim of its own success, having produced some very talented national- and international-class shots only for them to return and challenge the school team. By way of example, in this year alone, Nigel Penn (65–69), will captain the GB Australia Match Team and Andy Barnes (76–83), will join the GB Rifle Team competing in Canada. The match comprised of group, rapid, snap and five bull targets, shot on the school range and using No 8 rifles. The school team of Ayling, Ngampakdeepanich, Sharrock, Leach, Hunt, Campbell-Gray and Govoni achieved an impressive average score of 261.7 from 300 but, unfortunately, the OBs eyes remained unmisted by nostalgia and they managed to narrowly beat us with an average of 270.9. There is no doubt that the OBs felt the pressure more than ever this year, as shown by their winning margin, which was squeezed from 17 per cent last year to 3.4 per cent in this, a statistic that bodes well for next year’s meeting, already scheduled for 22nd March 2014. Trophies were awarded to Phil Dawes (63–72) and Hunt for highest individual scores of 292 and 280, respectively.

As usual thanks must go to the RSM and Mrs TekellMellor without whose help the Rifle Club could not

possibly function. Many thanks also to the departing upper sixth: Hunt, Campbell-Gray, Govoni and Leach. You will be missed (no pun intended) and I hope very much to welcome you back to the range in the near future as OBs. P. Lumley-Wood

SKI CLUB AND SKI RACE TEAM Bedford School Ski Club has had a very successful year of competition both at home and abroad. While we commend the top achievers, we are also very proud of the boys who take part in the recreational Ski Club and who represented the school at this year’s British Independent Schools’ Ski Racing Championships at Hemel Hempstead. The upper school team of Mason Keane, Ed Clarke, James Smith and Ben Smith raced well, with Ben Smith picking up a first-place medal at U18.

For the British Interschool Championships in March 2013 our ski team travelled to Les Houches in the French Alps. The team, comprising of Josh Keane, Sam Smith, Luke Riddell, Ben Smith and James Smith, all took to the slopes and displayed true determination and skill against some of Britain’s best young skiers. Ben Smith gained fifth at U16 in grand slalom while Riddell won the U18 category.

Both Ben Smith and Riddell have competed this winter on the international circuit at the English and Anglo-Scottish Championships, with them both achieving excellent finishing positions in grand slalom, super G and slalom. Having come seventh in the men’s giant slalom FIS race in Villars-Gryon, Riddell achieved enough points to qualify for Olympic selection – a remarkable achievement. He has since represented Ireland at the Youth Olympics so he is certainly a skier to look out for.

This year we look forward to yet another successful winter.

The upper school will be heading to Austria on the annual school

ski trip in February half-term where our next budding Olympic champions may well be found. Our ski team will then be back on the slopes in Les Houches for the Interschool Championships in March.

Squad: Keane J. (captain), Clarke E., Keane M., Riddell L., Smith B., Smith J. and Smith S. K. Hopkinson

SQUASH CLUB This season saw a busy fixture list for the Squash Club, with traditional school fixtures and entry into the National Schools’ Competition. It also saw the arrival of Karen Kelly onto the coaching staff, a very experienced squash player and an Oxford Blue. Steve Davies continued to provide professional, high-level coaching to all boys and he kicked the season

off with one-to-one video analysis for all squad players.

With the loss of four of the 1st V team from last year, we were apprehensive about the chances that our inexperienced senior squad had this season. Kushal Kansagra took over the captaincy from his brother and played an important role in building two strong teams. The first match of the season was

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against Berkhamsted, which is always a close-fought contest for the 1st team. Early matches were taken comfortably by Shiv Patel and Savage, leaving us one more match to take the fixture.

Kansagra faced his toughest match of the season against Harry Faulkner, ranked 419 in the world. The crowd were thoroughly entertained as Kansagra took only two points in three games against a superbly good opponent, and we were all shown how to play top-level squash. A loss for Julian West and a win for Ben Savage gave Bedford a 3–2 win. The 2nd V won comfortably 5–0, with strong performances for Josh Selvey and Vicram Sohal. A 1st VII team then went on to face Oakham. Despite shaky first games from Kansagra and Patel, the team showed good dominance with a 7–0 victory. This was repeated again later in the term with an away return fixture where the 1st V won 5–0 and the 2nd V 4–1. It was particularly pleasing to see Fabian Cooper getting an opportunity to wear a red 1st team shirt and win 3–2.

The teams were feeling confident as they travelled away to face Uppingham. Sadly, the winning streak ended here for the 1st V, despite some very hard-fought and close games with West and Patel’s matches going to five games. The 1st V lost 0–5. However, the 2nd V won 3–2 with excellent victories for Selvey, Sohal and Tristan Walker with their clinical technique.

Uppingham travelled to Bedford later in the term for a return fixture. It was evident that Bedford had a thirst to win this fixture and all matches were played to an exceptional quality. However this is not reflected in the 1–4 defeat for both Bedford teams, despite many games totalling almost 30 points.

Rugby are traditionally a tough opposition and after a very close defeat last year we were looking for a change in fortune.

This was provided with ease with all three top seeds walking away with 3–1 victories. The 1st V match ended with a 4–1 win, helped by Sohal winning his punishing five-game match. Sadly, the 2nd V didn’t fair so well. Despite winning performances from Walker and Cooper, the team lost 2–3. Another team to beat are Stamford, who for the last few years played exceptionally well against us. The two wins for Bedford came from Savage and Walker, who were beginning to prove very difficult to beat.

Sadly, all the other matches went Stamford’s way, resulting in a 1–4 defeat for both teams.

Training sessions were starting to turn very much towards fitness and court movement as we headed into the winter months. The team’s increased stamina was evident in our next match, against Oundle, when Kansagra played his finest squash ever, giving away four points in three games at No 1 seed. West and Savage (fuelled by an incredible number of mid-game sandwiches) won their matches, guaranteeing the win for the 1st V despite losses at second and fifth seeds. After a loss in his earlier debut match it was good to see Navin Chodha win convincingly in the 2nd V. Sadly, the overall team result was a 2–3 defeat for the 2nd V. The 1st team also competed in the group stages of the National Schools’ Competition, where we had been pitched against some extremely tough competition. Comberton Sixth Form College were our first opposition. With some good quality club-level players, they proved to be tough first opposition in the competition. William Johnson was played at first seed with

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Kansagra at second seed. Both players, despite their best efforts, were off the court in three games and up to cheer on the rest of the team. Good wins for Patel and Michael Hanna left the team’s fate up to West. He was unaware of this and put up a nail-biting five-game fight, losing very narrowly. The team lost 2–3. Hills Road Sixth Form College were our next opponents.

The team had learnt from the previous fixture and played some extremely good squash against very tough opposition. Although scorelines were improved, Johnson and Kansagra were unable to take their matches, putting the pressure on the lower order.

Again, West played an epic five-game match, narrowly losing; the only win went to Savage, giving the team a defeat at 1–4.

The final match in this stage was against Berkhamsted again.

The team approached this with a casual and confident attitude; scorelines were extremely close. However, only Savage managed to win his match and the team lost 1–4. We were, however, once again treated to a true spectacle of quality toplevel squash as Kansagra played Harry Faulkner for the second time this term. This was tragically to be Harry’s last game for Berkhamsted as he died of a heart attack while playing county level squash in February 2013. He was incredibly well respected and admired by the boys of Bedford School Squash Club and the wider squash community, and he is sorely missed.

It was evident after the first game of the second term that the boys were a little out of practice and that fitness needed to be a larger part of the training programme. The team suffered at the hands of Oakham, 3–2. This was the first loss to Oakham for years and not a great start to the new term for all the boys, with the exception of Cooper who played some superb squash.

Unfortunately, these very close scorelines continued through the term with the majority of matches going to the opposition, including narrow defeats by Uppingham, Stowe and Stamford.

The only win came for the 2nd V against Stamford, 4-1. As is tradition, the final game of the season is played against Harrow.

They proved too strong for us this year and, despite excellent games from Hanna and Cooper, Harrow took the match with a clean win. The second term was frustrating for the boys as many of the wins could have gone to Bedford, with the team’s fate often resting on an individual’s shoulders in the final match. The quality of squash at Bedford School remains high, helped by the boys’ enthusiasm for the Squash Club.

The term also saw the OB squash match played. This year, it was played in combination with fives and was therefore a much bigger affair than in previous years, with a pre-match lunch and afternoon tea. The day was a great success, with a good number of OBs throughout the generations taking part and a very high standard of squash played. The OBs took the fixture by a clear margin.

The end-of-season dinner was held at Santaniello’s in Bedford and was well attended. We were treated to an eloquent speech

by Hanna and, of course, the announcement of the year’s ‘most valuable player’. This year it went to Cooper who also gained the title of the ‘most improved player’.

Thanks must go to Hanna, who was Squash Club captain this year, Walker, who was secretary and Kansagra, who was 1st team captain. All were invaluable in their enthusiasm and organisational help. Karen Kelly proved an asset to the

coaching staff and we wish her well as she leaves Bedford School.

1st V: Kansagra K. (captain), Cooper F., Hanna M., Johnson W., Naidoo R., Patel S., Savage B. and West J. 2nd V: Chodha N., Morgan J., Selvey J., Sohal V., Sunner R. and Walker T. Colts V: Johnson E., McLean F., Selvey J., Sunner R. and Vaingankar A. T. Rees

SWIMMING AND WATER POLO This has been an extremely busy year for the swimming and water polo squads. The season started with the house competitions and it was a particularly successful year for St Cuthbert’s who came first in both events.

In water polo, we had several early matches against BMS, Warwick, Stowe and Oundle. However, our biggest tournament was the ESSA National Water Polo U18 Bowl which took place in March at Warwick School. The boys played superbly and narrowly lost to the eventual winners, Alleyn’s School. In the second/third place play-off Bedford beat Oundle comfortably (7–2).

A major event for our swimmers is the Warwick 100. This is one of the biggest independent schools’ competitions in which the junior team swam to great standards. In the senior team James Maltby came fourth, Will Jackson second and Thitikorn Ngampakdeepanich and Ollie Maltby first in their events. Tony Cheung also swam the 200 individual medley and did very well.

In the relays the boys finished first and third and overall won the whole senior competition.

Friday 8th March was another important day for the swim squad when they travelled to Crystal Palace to compete in the Bath and Otter Cup Relays, featuring the best 80 teams from the whole of Great Britain. The team, consisting of Jackson, Ngampakdeepanich, Maltby and his brother James, swam a school record time for the medley relay and qualified fifth for the final – a feat never before achieved by the school. In the final the boys swam remarkably and went quicker than their qualifying time with another school record. They were placed fourth overall

and were under one second behind second and third place.

This has been an excellent year for the swimming team and one of the highlights was that it was the first time that our swimmers won the freestyle relay and both events at Stowe Relays. Jackson, Ngampakdeepanich, Nick Stalley and Cheung qualified second for the final and then took five seconds off their qualifying time to take first place in the freestyle relay final. In the medley the boys qualified third but secured another victory in the final.

At the beginning of the summer holidays the swimming squad went to Sitges near Barcelona for their swimming tour.

Although the squad had to set off for training at 6.30 every morning they remained in good spirits throughout. They all made good progress in their technique and the staff at the swimming club were very impressed by their swimming ability and excellent behaviour at all times. For the football fans, the highlight of the trip was the tour of the FC Barcelona stadium.

Many other boys enjoyed Gaudi’s architecture: Sagrada Familia, Parque Guel and Casa Batllo.

Many thanks must go to Ilyas Orazalin and Jackson for the great job that they did as swimming and water polo captains. We wish them the best for the future.

E. Rubio

TENNIS With the departure of the previous master in charge of tennis, Miss Evans, we welcomed in Mr Rees, who brought optimism and enthusiasm to the tennis squad. The 2013 season was another eventful year for Bedford School tennis, with success across the board in all age groups.

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Despite a rusty start against Oundle, we saw none of the same throughout the rest of the season. Wins came within the 1st and 3rd teams against Oakham with Sean Gilmartin and Alex Ciuro only dropping three games from four sets. Stamford were next on the fixture list. This was one of the most well-contested fixtures of the season and, whilst the 1st VI went down 5–7, Bedford came out on top with more wins across the board than losses. Another extremely tight fixture against Haileybury was next with the 1st VI and 2nd VI only winning by one match (5–4) and the Colts A and U14 A only losing by one match (4–5). The U15 A were an exception to the struggle, achieving an impressive 9–0 victory, with Robert Salvesen and Robert Orchard only dropping two games from four sets. Our last block fixture was against Stowe, a tough fixture on a typical day of poor English weather with regular starts and stops and slippery conditions. Only the 1st VI and U14 A teams could manage wins here. However, the revival was ahead. The final match of the

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school fixture card was against Mill Hill. The weather was not kind to us again but we played on regardless. All games were comfortably won at the senior level, with excellent doubles displays from Kushal Kansagra/Ciuro and Jamie White/Gilmartin.

The juniors had a bit of a tougher challenge but Bedford still won the junior fixture 8–4.

There were a number of fixtures played away from the norm of our school fixture card. Both the U14 and U15 boys played against Bedford Girls’ School, in what was planned to be mixed doubles. However, the girls decided at the last minute that they would rather play ‘girls against boys’. The boys won comfortably so we plan to play mixed doubles next year! Despite the onesided nature of this year’s fixture, it was fantastic to see 64 students from both schools taking part. There was also a large tournament organised against The Perse for both the U14 and U15 teams, again with large numbers. 16 boys played from each year group. Bedford played well at the top end and won the

majority of the top order matches. However, we were unable to match the depth of The Perse team and lost overall.

The 1st VI and the U15 A both displayed impressive efforts in their national competitions. The 1st VI put in a fantastic performance in National Schools’, losing in a tough match to Hills Road, while the U15 A notably cruised through the county stage of the AEGON National Tournament, putting them into the regional knockout round in September.

The real highlight of the season came in the Eton National Schools’ Competition. The four boys from the 1st VI squad, Kansagra, Ciuro, Gilmartin and White, remarkably reached the final of the event, narrowly losing out to a strong Millfield side.

On their journey, Bedford beat Mill Hill, Westminster, Newcastle (the number two seeds of the tournament), St George’s in the quarter-finals and Stamford in the semi-finals.

With renowned tennis schools such as Millfield, Reed’s and Eton themselves all being in the competition, reaching the final was a tremendous achievement.

To celebrate we ended the term with a visit for 12 boys to the Wimbledon Championships to watch a great semi-finals day in the glorious sunshine.

With an organised trip to Portugal in Easter 2014 and the new astro surface at Gordon Fields, the tennis squad have a lot to look forward to next year.

1st Team Squad: Ciuro A. (captain), Cooper F., Dorgham A., Gilmartin S., Kansagra K., O’Cleirgh L. and White J. 2nd Team Squad: Gupta K., Lawson M., Loewenthal J., Logan C., Mazin B., Morgan J. and Naidoo R. Colts A: Dawson L., Islip P., Lamond J., Lin F., Trounson S. and Wright M. Colts B: Akerele-Miles R., Gee H., Leung G., Maier L., Matthews T. and Murgatroyd L. U15 A: Crowson T., Foulkes M., Garrad O., MacTavish G., Orchard R. and Salvesen R. U15 B: Barnes P., Birro A., Gilmartin C., Karapetyan O., Lawson J., Strain P., Welch L. and Yip G. U14 A: Dalton J., Elston F., Garrett J., Jamieson P., Paradise E., Storey H. and Sumal H. Alex Ciuro

VOLLEYBALL Training throughout the volleyball season is all geared towards our one major tournament of the year – the Brighton Schools’ Volleyball Tournament. This year it was held on 26th June.

Thankfully, the weather was extremely kind to us as it was a glorious sunny day; perfect weather for beach volleyball.

Unfortunately, the results were not so favourable. We played seven matches and managed to win two. Despite the poor results, a fantastic day was still enjoyed by all. Many thanks to last year’s captain, Joss Herbert. We are looking forward to an equally enjoyable season next summer. If anyone is interested in playing, please contact Mrs Beale. We are always looking to recruit enthusiastic volleyball players!

Squad: Bonassera J., Brett-Williams R., Elson R., Gawlinski P., Herbert J., Lelikov Y. and Wright O. Patryk Gawlinski

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DE PARYS TO PARIS While I was in my first term of teaching at Bedford I was asked if I would like to join a charity cycle ride to Paris with some ‘old boys’.

My initial understanding of this phrase was ‘gentlemen of a similar age to myself, or even older’. I swiftly discovered that ‘old boys’ could be very young.

There was an excellent reason for the trip, which had been organised by Mark Girven (02–08) and Alex Wakeley (96–07). They have arranged various fundraising events for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research in memory of their friends Edd Griffiths (18.09.88–29.07.06) and Andy Lucken (05.11.88–08.05.07). Last Easter they decided to try a greater challenge: a cycle ride from Bedford to Paris in three days. Under normal circumstances this was going to be a challenging ordeal. As it turned out, the circumstances were far from normal and significantly more challenging than any of us had ever contemplated.

With the support of Richard Salisbury at Trek who supplied much needed inner tubes and water bottles (among other things), we were ready to set off. The team consisted of Mark, Oli Mint (01–08), three other friends and the staff contingent (Barry Burgess, Al Braithwaite, Lawrence Coward, Matt Jamieson and myself). We gathered early on the Friday morning and were greeted with unseasonal snow and south-easterly gales. With family, friends and colleagues gathered, we posed for a send-off photo and Matt promptly fell off his bicycle.

This raised a much needed cheer, as it did every other time he did this during the three days.

The wind, rain and snow were unfailing for our first day. When the group’s first puncture occurred in Stotfold we relished the opportunity to take a flapjack break. When the second puncturebreak occurred within 20 minutes of the first (both for Al), we realised the going was going to be slow. We arrived at our first scheduled stop (Church Farm, Ardeley, near Stevenage) and it proved difficult for us to move on from the home-made soup and maple syrup pancakes! The other customers were impressed by what we were doing, although not by how far (or not, as the case may be) we had already travelled! It did give Mark’s mother her first chance to get the charity bucket out. The first day continued in the same energy-sapping way until, in fading light, we negotiated the M25 roundabout and headed for the Thames passenger ferry crossing at Tilbury, only two hours behind schedule. Like most sane people that day, the ferry operator had deemed the weather too inclement to venture out; there had been no ferry service at all that

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Friday. A change of plan and a couple of train journeys later and we were in Maidstone ready for a very late supper and bed.

We were greeted by 5.30 am; the snow was almost sleet and the rolling Kent countryside almost flat. Lawrence thought this would be a good time to get the views of the party for his video; most of this tape is on the cutting-room floor. Could we get to Dover in time for our ferry? 40 miles or so in four hours, even with a break: no problem. Or so we thought … I will say that I was impressed by the efficiency of the channel ferry service; it promptly left on time, leaving us on the quayside as we arrived with only 15 minutes to spare. In fact the two-hour wait for the next ferry was a welcome refuelling rest. It was at Dover that the group finally had its full quota of cyclists. Alex had been on pre-season training in the Caribbean with the Northants cricket team. He flew into a snowy England, relaxed and tanned; neither his tan nor his sense of relaxation lasted long.

We finally reached Amiens a little later than planned. Once we had refuelled with the French speciality of chips and bread, the finishing line in Paris felt in sight. We still had some adventures to come, of course. Barry had a gear problem which couldn’t be fixed; his gears were stuck in the lowest set. Only Barry could have pedalled so furiously on the flat that he didn’t actually need the top set of gears! Al had yet another puncture while at breakfast. The bang of a rupturing inner tube woke all the residents of the hotel! Oli was struggling with injuries from his crash course on how to ride a bicycle. He had never ridden before (and I’m not sure if he has continued since).

Despite another ruptured tyre and more punctures, we felt content simply because Sunday was not snowy. A two-mile-long hill tested man and machine, but the signs that read ‘Paris’ filled us with excitement. Nothing could stop us now … except the fact that Paris was closed to traffic! We therefore abandoned our support vehicles and we set off through half a million protestors to find the Eiffel Tower. A traffic-free centre of Paris means only one thing for a group of cyclists: a victory circuit of the Arc de Triomphe, in true Tour de France style!

A welcome celebratory drink (or two) followed. In the morning Eurostar returned us to London in glorious sunshine. Our efforts have helped Mark and Alex to raise over £10,000 – a superb effort by all involved.

S. Knight

CHARITIES COMMITTEE

This year the charities committee and the school community raised a record-breaking £49,716. Joe Porter and Benny Jones were joint chairmen, with James Strode (publicity officer), Josh Li (secretary), George White, Jas Singh, Sam Brown and Jack McLeod forming an inspirational team.

The autumn term began with a traditional mufti day and cake sale.

These occur once every half-term and we aim to support three different charities each time. If you would like to nominate a charity, please contact a member of the charities committee. Jas Singh led the new Foodbank initiative which rotated around the houses and donated 350 kg to The Trussell Trust over the year. The RSM organised the annual Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal, which has raised £4,292 since 2007. The Samaritan’s Purse shoebox collection resulted in 50 boxes being sent to Serbia. The Movember Campaign also raised an incredible £11,543.

The term ended in traditional fashion with 49 runners from Bedford School entering the Bedford Santa 5 km run around the Embankment. The race was won by Jonathan Janes (removes) in 20 min 19 sec, closely followed by Thitikorn Ngampakdeepaneech, James Medley, Ami Ajadi, Mr Davies and Mikhail Glik in an allBedford top six. The team raised £1,765 for Keech Hospice Care.

The spring term included an ‘Evening of Fine Music’, organised by George White. Talented boys and staff gave amazing performances, raising £500 for Autism Bedfordshire. Members of the Rock Society organised Rock Night and raised £340 for Headfirst. The Live Below

the Line group of boys and staff lived on just £1 per day in order to increase awareness of global poverty issues and raised over £5,063.

On 21st March, following the house relay competition, 64 boys and staff completed 350 laps of the relay course and raised over £2,000 for Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust – Paediatric Oncology.

Mark Girven (OB) organised a Bedford to Paris cycle ride (see article for details). Over the Easter weekend, Jack McLeod, Rob McLeod (OB), Sam Brown and Charlie Campbell-Gray completed the Devizes to Westminster Canoe Marathon, raising £697.50 for Bedford Mencap Play Scheme.

The brass ensemble performed a concert in aid of Bedford and District Horse Riding for the Disabled and raised over £500. The annual Almshouse Summer Party took place on Wednesday 19th June in the Erskine May Hall. Acts from all four Harpur Trust schools performed and over one hundred guests had an enjoyable afternoon.

This year’s committee were keen to emphasise the importance of giving up time for charity as well as donating money. A number of boys took part in Mencap, Fun4Kids and Bedford and District Cerebral Palsy Society Play Schemes over the summer holidays.

This article can only give a flavour of all the fantastic events that made this year so special. The Bedford School community has really got behind the idea of raising money for charity. The charities committee would like to thank every single person who has done their bit for charity this year.

C. Medley

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PYTHAGOREAN SOCIETY Another great year for the Pythagorean Society! In keeping with tradition, it began with Mr Coggins giving an extremely exciting talk about the unexpected things we encounter in the world of mathematics. During his mind-twisting talk we learnt that pi can appear out of nowhere, even if the problem has nothing to do with circles. As always, it was great to see a lot of new faces in the room, some of which were puzzled and some amazed.

Others just sat eating cookies in the back row and some wrote down all the information at the speed of light! Nevertheless, everybody left the room with plenty of answers and with even more questions, which some attempted to tackle in their own time.

During the year we had some great speakers. First was Dr Dave Conlon (research fellow at Wadham College, Oxford) who gave an inspiring talk about the application of mathematics in different games. As well as listening to the talk, students got to challenge the speaker in different games, which turned out to be incredibly amusing. Later in the year, the great Mr Watson gave a talk about infinities, which turned out to be quite extraordinary.

Difficult material was very well explained and all the boys and girls were happy to look at mathematics in a different dimension.

As a part of Pythagorean Society tradition, Mr Hutchinson hosted a Christmas quiz, where members of the society were split into groups of four in order to challenge each other in a mathematical battle to win a Christmas prize. All teams were stunned by the difficulty of some questions; we had to overcome time pressure and combine knowledge in order to get answers.

However, in the end the prize was awarded to James Loewenthal, who was slightly late to the quiz and had to solve all the problems on his own. Having only one brain in his one-man team, he caught up with the other teams fairly quickly and then took a last-minute lead. The year was finished on an excellent note by Mr Hutchinson, who gave an inspiring talk about special relativity. In the beginning of the talk he defined basic terms, and then progressed into a very complicated side of mathematics.

Overall, the year was very successful. Having seen many new faces at events, we are confident that next year will be even better.

Mikhail Glik

TAKING MATHS FURTHER – AN ENRICHMENT DAY FOR YEAR 10 STUDENTS Year 10 mathematicians attended a mathematical enrichment day at the University of Cambridge in July. The venue was the Centre for Mathematical Sciences and the boys had the opportunity to interact with Cambridge University students and staff and spend a day away from school focusing on mathematics.

The majority of the day was given over to hands-on workshops led by the likes of Charlie Gilderdale of NRICH, research student Alexander Shannon and Dr Vicky Neale, director of the Cambridge Mathematics Education Project. Another workshop was run by current Cambridge graduate and undergraduate students, guiding the year 10 students through various problems and activities from the NRICH website and the Millennium Mathematics Project’s Fun Maths Roadshow. A highlight was the Maths Magic with Derek Couzens. The day finished with a talk on the topic of infinity by Dr David Bedford of Keele University. No one was surprised to find the ideas it contained perplexing and somewhat mind-bending, but many were surprised at just how entertaining the talk was and how down-to-earth it was (you can’t get much more ‘down-to-earth’ than ants and bricks!).

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One of the problems – The (persistent) ant and the (very stretchy) rubber band An ant starts at one end of a metre-long rubber band and crawls at 1 cm per second towards the other end. At the end of each second the ant’s nemesis stretches the band by one metre.

Does the ant ever reach the end?

J. Beale

MATHS CAMP Gordon Yip (year 11) was invited to the National Mathematics Summer School following an excellent performance in the Intermediate Mathematical Challenge. The Summer School is invitation-only for 40 students (the best 40 are selected from around 200,000 applicants) and took place in Leeds from Sunday 7th to Friday 12th July 2013. The main purpose of this camp is to offer a week’s intensive training in mathematics outside the conventional syllabus to a few of the ablest young mathematicians in the country. Each day involved three hours of maths in the morning, followed by three hours after lunch and (if that wasn’t enough) there was invariably a maths-related activity in the evening. The topics covered were diverse: mind-bending descriptions of shapes, defying what we believed previously; sweat-inducing cyclotomic polynomials; and ultra-efficient sightseeing. The whole course was not only aimed at learning, but also at the enjoyment of every participant. To summarise the whole experience, Gordon reliably informs us that it was great fun!

Gordon Yipp and J. Beale

UK MATHS TRUST In July Dr Alan Eames-Jones was elected the new Secretary of the United Kingdom Mathematics Trust (UKMT). They run the annual Maths Challenge competitions in which many of our students participate. Alan is a recently retired Bedford School maths teacher who is looking forward to his new key role as Secretary of the Trust.

MATHEMATICS TEAM CHALLENGE A group of four sixth form boys took part in the Regional Finals of the Senior Maths Team Challenge in November. This was held in the Centre for Mathematical Sciences, Cambridge. 32 teams took part, with the Bedford School team comprising of Dominic Kwok and Greg Wallace from the upper sixth and James Loewenthal and Filip Kozera from the lower sixth, who came a respectable ninth in the competition.

A group of four boys also took part in the Regional Finals of the Junior Maths Team Challenge in April. 30 teams took part, with the Bedford School team comprising of Han Cai and Jae Hak Bang from the fourth form and Tiger Feng and Eddie Tian from the prep school. Overall they also came ninth.

Congratulations to all involved.

M. Hutchinson

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BEDFORD SCHOOL MEDICAL ASSOCIATION The Bedford School Medical Association (BSMA) has continued with the verve of its previous year, having passed from the hands of its steadfast founders (Giles Neal and Tom Beale) into those of the fervent lower sixth. After a slow start, the three-part lecture series got under way, attracting large audiences of the school’s budding medics (with a small number from BGS, too).

As an (almost) completely student-run body, I believe that this year it has been a resounding success.

We began with Dr Amrik Basran giving an excellent talk on therapeutic proteins and the future of pharmaceutical research.

This not only gave an insight into university level pharmacology and biochemistry, but also into the process of getting a drug to market. The talk successfully made a topic that can often be a bit dry seem very interesting. Dr Basran remarked on how impressed he was with the discerning nature of the questions that members asked and with the amount of enthusiasm people had.

From biochemistry we moved on to mental health as Dr Rudolph Cardinal of Cambridge University gave a talk entitled ‘Ghosts in the Mind: the Nature and Causes of Psychosis’, focusing on schizophrenia. This was a genuinely enlightening and thoughtprovoking talk on an area of medicine which is so often overlooked by those wanting to become doctors. Unsurprisingly, this talk also attracted pupils with interests in philosophy and psychology.

Our finale came with Professor Thrasher from UCL giving a talk on his pioneering treatments of autoimmune diseases. As one of the world’s most eminent speakers in paediatric immunology, we were incredibly fortunate to have him speak; his talk was an excellent end to an inspiring lecture series.

In addition, the BSMA did, in keeping with its original purpose, hold fortnightly student-led ethics discussions. These have continued to be hugely beneficial, not only in improving members’ confidence and public-speaking skills, but also helping

to force students to organise their thoughts to form logical arguments, which should prove invaluable at interview. Student members have talked on: end-of-life decisions; animal vivisection; and the ethical implications of artificial hearts. The ardent manner in which we debated our positions and argued our points really revealed the society at its best.

The lower sixth organised a trip to the British Society for Gene and Cell Therapy’s annual student conference (see photo); this proved thoroughly interesting, giving boys the opportunity to hear experts from across the country discuss the advances being made in these areas.

It is, of course, necessary to thank Mr Beale for his continued enthusiasm and the work he does in facilitating the lectures, without which the BSMA would not run. Also credit goes to the deputy chairmen, Jacob Stephenson and Alex Dorgham, and to Fayed Farrukh for his work as publicity officer. I wish the best of luck to Jacob Stephenson and to Josh Wellington who are to take over from September and Christmas, respectively, and I hope that they continue the BSMA’s success.

Eddy Arbe-Barnes

HARPUR SCIENCE FORUM The Harpur Science Forum’s lectures in this year’s series have been captivating, with an extremely wide-ranging spectrum of titles from ‘Our Quantum World’ to ‘Genital Warts’ which brought in consistently large audiences from schools across the community; a sign that HSF lectures remain alluring and irresistible to the curious mind!

This academic year’s series kicked off with a lecture by Albert Beardow (OB) of Cambridge University, who explained quantum mechanics using the example of Schrödinger’s cat and questioned if there would ever be a room temperature superconductor; it was a lecture topic which really challenged the audience’s intelligence!

Professor James Keeler, Director of Chemistry Teaching at Cambridge University, corroborated the idea that there is a lot more to science than people think they know. It was an enthralling lecture in which he pointed out that the understanding of ‘entropy’ being disorder or chaos is erroneous, but instead, entropy is the number of ways a system can be arranged in a set number of particular energy levels. The brilliance of this lecture was illustrated as the moment it ended Dr Keeler was bombarded with questions.

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Professor Tipu Aziz, lecturer at Oxford University and Imperial College London, delivered a compelling lecture into the ethics of using animals in research to improve, for example, Parkinsonian treatments, challenging the audience to consider what would happen if animal testing was banned. A moving but rather utilitarianistic example that he shared would be how he has used 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) – a drug that

induces irreversible symptoms of Parkinson’s disease – to study the monkey models of Parkinson’s, in an attempt to develop effective treatments for humans. In over 20 years he has used about 30 monkeys; his deep-brain stimulation treatment for Parkinson’s has improved more than 40,000 lives.

The new year started with a lecture by astronomer Professor Carolin Crawford of Cambridge University, who gave the talk: ‘A Voyage Around Saturn, its Rings and Moons’. Professor Crawford explained how life beyond earth might be possible, and she speculated whether life on Enceladus – one of Saturn’s moons – might yet be found since it has an H2O-based surface.

Our final lecture was delivered by Dr Paddy Brock from the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College, entitled: ‘Infectious Disease Modelling: Galapagos Sea Lions to Genital Warts’. The

talk explained how mathematics could be used to model infectious diseases, such that particular parameters of the disease can be found, allowing precautions to be taken if necessary. Dr Brock’s simple explanation and humble approach made it easy for the audience to comprehend what may otherwise have been complicated.

In summary, the HSF lectures this year have again been superb. It must be noted that these lectures would not have happened if it were not for the hard work of the HSF committee members and the guidance of Mr Beale and Mrs Armitage. Thus, I would like to give my sincere thanks to them for driving the HSF. I hope that next year’s HSF lecture series will continue to be brilliant and successful. I wish everyone involved the best of luck.

Dexter Seow

STEM SOCIETY Although it was a fairly quiet year for the STEM Society, we have grown in size and have branched out in terms of the areas in which we become involved. We enjoyed a few lectures, ranging from the ‘Medical Applications of X-Rays’ and ‘Relativity’ to ‘Mathematical Modelling’. However, more significantly, we have made further advances in gaining engineering knowledge by getting involved in a variety of competitions and doing a bit of research, too. A few of the fourth form boys are partaking in a competition called 4 x 4 where they will be making a remote control 4 x 4 car and racing it on various terrains. We have also started up a ‘lecture night’ where we stay after school once a week in order to watch a physics/engineering lecture video by famous scientists, including Walter Lewin, Richard Feynman and Brian Cox. Another new venture we have become involved in is a ‘programming club’. Every week, we spend an hour learning about computer code and different programming languages because of the increasing use of computers in all aspects of engineering. It is really good to see more people interested in engineering and more people becoming involved with the

society. I restarted this society in remove form and it is very good to see it growing so rapidly. As a society we hope to do even more next year – we encourage as many people as possible to get involved.

Karan Gupta

CHRISTIAN UNION

Bedford Girls’ School to run the ‘Christianity Explored’ course which included watching a DVD and group discussion, followed by a supper. We had a great turn-out to this session and were able to answer questions people had about Christianity, look into what it is to be a Christian and have a lot of fun along the way. In the summer term we did a follow-up course called ‘Discipleship Explored’, looking into the book of Philippians and studying what it means, in a practical sense, to live life as a Christian.

I’d like to thank Josiah Herbert for running the Christian Union this year. His contributions will be missed (along with his amazing ability to eat practically anything) as will the contributions of all the other sixth formers who contributed to the CU. If you have any questions about Christianity, I’d strongly encourage you to come along – you don’t have to be a Christian to come.

M. Strachan

It has been another great year for the Christian Union at Bedford School and we have been blessed over the past 12 months with many inspirational talks, challenging debates and lovely meals provided for us by the dining hall staff. In the first term many teachers, including the Head Master, shared with us their reasons for being a Christian and their personal journey of faith. It was very interesting to see how, coming from a variety of different backgrounds, each person had come to know God and how God has impacted upon their lives in many ways. Also, during the winter term our five-a-side football team, ‘The God Squad’, made a commendable effort in the tournament and, after winning the group stages, unfortunately was knocked out by a team we previously had beaten. Thanks to George Neave who captained the squad and also to the Revd who gave us prayer support. In the second term we combined forces with the CU at

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THE YEAR AT ICKWELL NATURE RESERVE With the management team well established, we have moved forward significantly and this is of great benefit to the IB CAS groups who are our main users. We have also seen an increase in other users as well as developments on the reserve.

The year began in September 2012 with our now traditional visit to the Old Warden vineyard on the Whitbread estate for vine trimming. The boys worked alongside Jane Markham from the Rural Communities charity which now manages the orchard. We learnt to recognise when the grapes are ready for harvest and this spring I was privileged to taste the resulting brew – wow!

During the past year we have been investigating aspects of the historic garden. In the late 1880s the Harvey family, then owners of the site, established a Victorian pleasure garden and so we are looking into the history, aided by the Bedfordshire Historic Gardens Trust. The boys have been uncovering neglected parts of the site, assisted by Tony Young (the warden) and me. We also continue to delve into the historic records and the school archives hoping to discover some estate maps as there is no evidence on the enclosure map of Ickwell.

Conservation grassland management is a major part of the work, with two meadows to look after. As shown in the photograph, the boys cleared the grass in front of the grade two

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listed dovecote building. I am pleased to report that among regular users at Ickwell are On Track Education Services who provide a sustainable and secure environment for troubled and excluded children in Bedfordshire.

A small group comes out twice a week with their science staff to enjoy the peace of the reserve and enhance the children’s learning and we are pleased to work with them. Other regular users are a group of state schools from Cambridge who use our site for D of E staff training. Our most recent visitors were a group from Mark Rutherford Upper School who enjoyed backwoods cooking and willow shapemaking.

A regular feature of our winter work is that we undertake the ancient art of coppicing. The boys clear, sort and stack timber from our mostly hazel coppice to be made into charcoal in our kiln. This activity involving smoke and flames is always entered into with enthusiasm and this year was no exception. Some of the produce will be burnt later at the science department barbeque.

Once again I am indebted to the staff support of Miss Swallow, Mr Palmer and Mr Young. We have strong backing from the Bedford School Trust Board who had a very successful visit to Ickwell in mid-summer.

C. Jones

ICKWELL SUMMER PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECT

We were excited to go out to Ickwell during the summer holidays because of the rich variety of wildlife there. Luckily the weather was excellent most of the time we were there, resulting in us getting some great landscape photographs. Birds and rabbits were harder to photograph, partly because of the lighting conditions in the forests, and partly because they were very timid. As a result, the majority of the photographs are taken in a studio-style situation, where we brought small animals or flowers inside and set up suitable lighting conditions for some excellent photos.

The animals and plants were very cooperative and were released back to their homes afterwards, including the common shrew found wandering near the dovecote.

The most useful and most used style of photography was macro photography. This is when an attachment, or a special

lens, is used to capture detail in an object at a microscopic level.

This proved invaluable when photographing small flowers or small insects. It was also useful in photographing the pond life, for example the crayfish, because it is possible to view details of the animal that you have never seen before.

The highlight, without a doubt, was finding and photographing a grass snake. Many attempts were made to catch one, but with the exception of our one successful attempt, they always managed to evade us. Snakes are a great subject for photographers, and the hard work paid off. Ickwell has a thriving population of these attractive reptiles.

Hopefully the photographs taken will encourage people to make use of Ickwell, because there is so much to be experienced.

Christopher Stokey and Marcus Eames

BEES AT ICKWELL After the bees proved rather too frisky for the Phillpotts’ garden, they were transferred to the Ickwell apiary and have since thrived, under the care of A.W.G., who is himself under the care of Pat Gavin. She has had bees at Ickwell for 15 years and has been keeping bees for over 50 years. Pat has put the project back on a firm footing and we have even produced some honey this year – pale and elegant, but with a kick. Next year, if we can get the bees through the winter, we hope for a little more honey and to have some of the boys playing a part in proceedings.

A. Grimshaw

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BEDFORD AUTODROME SCHOOLS’ GRAND PRIX 2013

The challenge was to design, build, test and race a battery powered race car that used a set of standard components, including a standard motor, batteries and gears, as supplied by the organiser and sponsor, PalmerSport, who are based at Bedford Autodrome. Twelve boys (all from the fourths and remove forms) with an interest in design and engineering have met at this extracurricular club every Monday evening and made great progress given that this was our first year of entry into the event. The boys built scaled-down prototypes and then a fullscale wooden model to prove the driver safety, chassis geometry and drivetrain, before embarking on the final aluminium car. Local company Alutec and specialist aluminium welder Jamie Catlett helped the school prepare the chassis which ended up being a little more than robust. The first time that the car touched the road was on test day, Tuesday 4th June, which was successful as the car ran smoothly with no mechanical or electrical failures. We did realise at this stage that the motor ran hot and lost efficiency after a relatively short period of time. This would not be good given that the actual race was to be over two-and-a-half hours in duration. As such, the next few weeks saw the team modifying the car to aid airflow over the motor.

On race day, Sunday 16th June, the team had no real issues with scrutineering and got the go-ahead to race. Given that they had spent a great deal of time preparing they were all understandably buzzing with excitement on the day. During racing it was clear that our car was a little heavy and lacking in

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raw speed. It was particularly pleasing to see the boys work autonomously and stay cheerful to the end, even when we were battling for eighth place with Bedford Modern School. We ended the day in ninth having finished just under a lap behind them. I mention this not because of the result, clearly, but because despite this the team remained cheerful, good humoured and focused on doing their best and seemed to enjoy every minute of it. The reliability of the car was faultless, but the weight was considerable. As such, we were beaten purely on speed which was painfully emphasised over such a long race.

The boys were well supported by family, friends and staff.

Conrad Staroscik helped with commentary and Peter Wood did a great job in hospitality. While I remain amazed that we did not pick up the prize for reliability, we were delighted to win Best Presented Pit Crew, as the team worked slickly under Jesse Billington and Ross Cawood’s leadership. Who knows what next year’s competition will bring.

All the boys and staff are hugely grateful to Kevin Cawood for providing the Land Rover and trailer for transporting the car to and from both the testing and the race days.

Boys involved were: Jesse Billington, Ross Cawood, Charlie Gee, Peter Wood, Will Sedgwick, Tom Rainbow, Matt Diemer, Andy Martin, Oliver Smith, Rohan Sanghera, Conrad Staroscik and Jordan Legg.

Staff involved were: Mr Waite, Mr Fourey-Jones and Dr Calverley.

G. Waite

GOLD EXPEDITION This year we had four boys (all lower sixth students) taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh Gold expedition. We set off in a small convoy to the Brecon Beacons, starting off very successfully with Miss Swallow not finding first gear in the Land Rover until halfway out of Bedford! We arrived successfully at the campsite and immediately the frisbee was dug out of the bag.

We awoke to a wonderful day which would be perfect for lounging around, but sadly that wasn’t for us. We packed up our bags and were taken to our start point where we sun-creamed ourselves and set off. It was boiling hot and we were flagging within an hour, but we trudged on and, with the help of some water refills, courtesy of Miss Swallow and Mrs Tekell-Mellor, we made it to our campsite in reasonably high spirits. Once there, the frisbee featured again (as it would every evening).

The next morning we woke up and prepared for another sunny day, with the longest day of walking ahead of us. We set off nice and early but the going was tough and the morale was plummeting. However, the prospect of finding out the Wimbledon Men’s Final result sped us up and we reached the campsite while it was still light.

On the third day we were all stiff, but we warmed up quickly and made good progress up a valley with Pen y Fan looming in the distance, getting closer with every step. Once at the top of the valley we took the necessary photos and set off down the side of a second valley with the campsite in sight and spirits high. That evening almost all of our food weight was either eaten or chucked away to make the last day as easy as possible. We all went to bed with full stomachs and the sense that we were almost there … and the sound of mosquitoes trying to eat us alive!

The next day we awoke to a less sunny morning and were keen to leave, setting off an hour earlier than we had on any previous morning. The determination of the group was

incredible, especially given the blisters that some of us were feeling. We made great progress with Rahill, always spritely, encouraging the group to keep going. We made it to the top of Fan y Big and, after a quick water stop, we left a cheeky ‘catch us if you can’ note for the teachers to find! We continued at a blistering pace (almost as though we could smell the KFC that we had been promised on the way back) and were at the finish point an hour and a half before the assessor turned up. Once we tied everything up with the assessor, we piled into the cars and set off for home, shattered but happy to finish.

I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Mrs Tekell-Mellor and Miss Swallow, without whom this expedition wouldn’t have been possible. I would also like to thank the rest of my group, Rahill Naidoo, Callum Logan and Michael Jamieson, without whom I would have given up long before the end.

Max Lawson

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SILVER EXPEDITION Upon completing our GCSEs, the prospect of spending four days in the fresh, open air of the Yorkshire Dales in the company of friends seemed to be a blissful one.

Already enthused by the success of our prior practice and bronze expeditions, we began the five hour bus journey in high spirits. However, the jovial demeanour of our group was soon shattered when we had two daunting realisations. The first came with our initial glimpse of the enormous mountains that we would be orienteering. Instantly we realised that the daily 20 kilometre trek would actually require considerable effort. The second realisation was far more distressing. We became gravely aware that two of us would be sharing a tent with Robert Akerele-Miles’ feet – an ordeal that no one should have to endure once, let alone for three nights. Nonetheless, we made camp and were ready to start our expedition the following morning.

The sunny weather which greeted us when we woke up was ideal; it made map reading easy, ensured that the scenery was picturesque and kept morale high. During the first day our group dynamic became strikingly clear. By delegating a specific task to each member – be it map reading, using the compass or scouting ahead – we found that we could execute the tasks required for our lengthy walk with military precision and minimal effort.

Each day when we arrived at our campsites in the late

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afternoon, we were reunited with the other D of E groups. The sense of well-being this gave made setting up camp an enjoyable task as we shared stories and bantered with one another. Our boisterous behaviour inevitably led to an impromptu game of British bulldog. The game not only succeeded in passing the time, but also destroying the tent of our assessor!

The second day passed in much the same fashion as the first.

It was only on the third day when rain had vanquished our shining ally and fatigue was heavy on our shoulders that the group’s true colours were shown. Our system faltered when the trusty map reader (me!), was forced to admit he was utterly disorientated. At this point I expected frustrated and crestfallen faces to greet me. Instead the entire group discussed the situation until we resolved on a course of action. Soon enough, we were back en route to our final destination and, within two hours, we had reached it. We had successfully completed our expedition and the sense of achievement made it all worthwhile.

The Silver D of E Expedition was a brilliant experience, which served to teach the often forgotten importance of teamwork and endeavour. As for the gold expedition next year, I greatly look forward to the challenge.

Joshua Wellington

BRONZE EXPEDITION In early July the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh expedition took place.

The location was the picturesque landscape of the Chilterns.

With the weather warm, perfectly matching the high spirits of the pupils, each group was dropped off at the start of their personally designed routes. The primary goal was for us to reach the campsite before it was dark. With everyone bringing their own food supplies, some managed well in having a steady intake, whereas others could not stop themselves from giving into temptation (and eating five bagels in an hour, for example).

Some groups were very good at finding their way around the countryside, but others did not fare so well. The worst example was the group who were the last to reach their destination on both of the expedition days – each time by an enormous three hours! The campsite, where everyone arrived safely, was a place where we could all relax and play a game of football while watching Mrs Mainstone get ready for her previous school’s prom (high heels in a campsite being an amusing sight). Overall, everyone enjoyed the expedition and we have all learnt some valuable teamwork skills.

George Neave

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ANNUAL GENERAL INSPECTION The CCF was honoured to have Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant for Bedfordshire, Mrs Helen Nellis, present for the AGI parade; during which she awarded Will Hunt with the certificate as the Lord-Lieutenant’s Cadet. This is the first time that a cadet has been made Lord-Lieutenant’s Cadet in Bedfordshire. The award is given to cadets who not only set and maintain the highest standard within the cadet force but also within the wider school and outside community. Huge congratulations to Will on this outstanding achievement.

M. Mellor

ANNUAL CAMP During the second week of the summer holidays, cadets from Bedford School CCF went off on annual camp at Crowborough Training Camp. After an interesting coach journey, we were shown the accommodation and spent the rest of the day sorting out practicalities.

For the first three days we were practising and learning skills, some of which we would be tested on during the competition day.

On the first day we were out in the field, mainly practising field skills. One of the best stands that day was the snipe and stalk. In this you have to sneak up on the enemy without being seen.

Everyone managed to do this, which was impressive as it was a long distance to crawl, especially with the sun beating down on us. On the second day, we stayed at the base and did a number of activities around it. These included paintballing, laser quest and

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live-firing down the range. For many it was the first time they had live-fired the rifles, so it was a new experience and one that everyone enjoyed. On the third day we were out in the field again.

We practised river crossing, which was a new experience for everyone. We also learnt about first aid and completed a number of command tasks. There was also a weapon stand and here they showed us a range of different guns, from pistols to RPGs. On day four it was competition day. This is what all the training so far had been leading up to. To start the day off we had the ‘march and shoot’. This was a run around the camp, followed by the team splitting off into two groups, one group shooting down a range and the other completing an obstacle course. Due to the weather conditions, the obstacle course was not a timed event; however, it was marked on teamwork. During the course of the day, there were a number of stands which needed to be completed, and we put forward teams which we thought would do best on each stand. Some of the stands included a first-aid scenario, an observation exercise, orienteering, drill and a quiz.

During the day, we managed to win three stands which were first aid, observation and command tasks. We also came third in two other stands, which were drill and orienteering. Overall, during the whole competition we came fourth, which we were all very happy with.

From Friday lunchtime till Saturday lunchtime, we all went on exercise. The upper sixth were the enemy and I was head of the section, trying to clear the enemy from the area. However, one of the enemies was a defector who we had to capture. This made things interesting and also challenging. The whole section was very impressive in terms of both their motivation and discipline.

Overall, all the cadets enjoyed the annual camp. It was great to see people from all the years bonding well, both with other cadets and staff. A massive thank you to all the staff who helped to organise the trip.

Bobby Martin

ADVENTURE TRAINING During the first part of the Easter holiday, members of Bedford School CCF went to Capel Curig for the adventure training courses which are held there. Although it had been snowing, and more snow was forecast, it was decided the trip would go

ahead. Due to the bad weather conditions, many other schools who were due to be there had cancelled.

As a result of the weather, many of the scheduled activities had to be cancelled so we had to do different activities and the trip had to be shortened. During the first day we helped to clear the entrance to the camp, managing to do a much better job than the tractor that the camp staff were using! After we had done this we had a walk up the mountains and, after a snowball fight (which resulted in some minor injuries!), it was decided that we would go back to the camp. During the afternoon the cadets let their creative sides out, making a snow cadet and also a snow dog. Having spent the afternoon outside in the snow, we ventured away from the camp for a hot chocolate.

For the second day it was decided that we would go rock climbing at an indoor rock-climbing facility in Caernarfon.

Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, and I especially enjoyed trying to complete the bouldering walls. These seemed to provide everyone with a bit of a challenge, as it is something you don’t get to do every day.

For the third day we went to Llyn Padarn to do some sailing and walking. The weather was quite windy, so not all the sails were put up. After both the activities had been completed, we went into Llanberis for hot chocolate, which was very warming after having spent a while out on the lake.

The final full day was the Friog Quarry day. Due to the unfortunate weather, many of the activities at the quarry were cancelled, including the zip wire which was a huge disappointment to many. We were still able to do rock climbing and abseiling, but many found these activities challenging due to the conditions. The climbing was especially hard due to the cold weather which made it very difficult to get a good grip.

Overall, it seemed that everyone enjoyed themselves, despite the weather. A big thank you to everyone who helped organise and also run the trip.

Bobby Martin

COMBINED CADET FORCE

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FIELD WEEKEND The March field weekend was definitely an interesting one, with the very British weather ranging from light showers to sunny breaks to hail and even some snow! For the junior NCOs this was the first weekend where we were the most senior cadets on the main exercise, with the senior NCOs forming the enemy.

For the recruits that were there, this was their first field weekend handling rifles and blank rounds. This meant that there was a very steep learning curve for all of us.

The weekend started with a briefing from Captain Milton before, rather recklessly, I led everyone off into the mist down our main route to our potential harbour. We only got about a hundred paces down the road before we were faced with fire from the enemy and the platoon almost immediately descended into chaos. Armed with his trusty clip-on injury labels, Captain Milton started tagging people at will, with injuries ranging from a ‘nose bleed’ to a ‘blown-off leg’! After a retreat and a bit of reorganisation we managed to lead an attack from the flank of the enemy and retrieve some information about them. After this we found the location of our harbour and settled down for the night, splitting the platoon up between sentries and sleeping.

In the morning we were just cooking breakfast when we were attacked once again by the enemy, meaning that we had to move out from our harbour rather quickly after breakfast. After finding a suitable place to leave our kit, we sent out patrols to try to work out where the enemy could be and whether they were using any particular routes for patrols of their own. From this we decided upon two ambush sites which we could use to surprise the enemy and get some more intelligence on where they were staying. The ambushes took a lot of waiting for but, after successfully carrying them out and witnessing some very dramatic ‘deaths’, we were able to obtain a couple of maps and a coded message.

We set up sentries again on Saturday night and sent the most adventurous of the cadets out to locate exactly where the enemy was hiding. After a long chilly night, which resulted in many cold cadets and frost on our bashers, we sent out a small patrol to plan for our final attack in the sleet, where we flanked the remaining enemy from two sides of their harbour and eliminated them, successfully achieving our objectives for the weekend.

Overall, it was an interesting weekend, where everyone who attended learnt a lot and enjoyed the different aspects of the exercise. Special thanks must go to Captain Milton, the RSM and all of the officers who helped to organise and supervise the weekend, in order to make it so much fun and tiring!

Jacob Stephenson

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RAF SUMMER CAMP The RAF camp this summer was a great success.

Ten RAF cadets (five Bedford School boys and five BGS girls) travelled by minibus up the A1 to RAF Boulmer in Northumberland. They were accompanied by Mrs Milton and me. The accommodation at Boulmer was excellent (single rooms) and the food in the junior ranks’ mess was of the usual high RAF standard.

RAF Boulmer is to be found right by the sea in a beautiful location and we enjoyed several coastal walks along the cliff tops. The views were spectacular and we saw huge flocks of seabirds as well as porpoises out at sea. Other activities we enjoyed were raft building and kayaking on a nearby lake.

Visits included the castles at Edinburgh and Alnwick (Harry Potter film location) and the RAF base at Spadeadam. The latter was a secret bombing range for NATO forces and a fascinating experience.

At our home base (Boulmer) we visited the fire section, shot on the DCCT (indoor) range and were lucky enough to see inside a secret underground bunker (I am not allowed to say any more!). We enjoyed several presentations by RAF regular staff, sport, a night exercise, a drill demonstration and film evenings.

The highlight of the week, however, was our flight in a Sea King helicopter. RAF Boulmer is home to two SAR (Search and Rescue) helicopters of ‘A’ Flight, 202 Squadron and we all got to

fly. It was a flight with a difference. We were all winched up into the helicopter from the grass (two at a time)! We then had a 20-minute flight along the coast with the door open and we were able to wave to the people below. It was absolutely amazing.

The cadets had a wonderful week and we are grateful to the staff at RAF Boulmer who hosted us and gave us such great experiences. We will never forget camps like this one.

C. Blacklock

RECRUITS’ FIELD WEEKEND In September 2012 the new recruits went on their first ever field weekend at Barnham Training Area. We arrived in the dark, and set up bashers for the night at our chosen harbour area, before going on a night reconnaissance patrol to survey the ground.

An early start on Saturday morning gave just enough time for the NCOs to show the recruits how to cook ration packs for breakfast, before heading out for a day of teaching. The recruits were taught valuable lessons such as how to move at night and how to navigate, and had fun practising these skills which would be useful over the rest of the weekend. However, there was still time to rehearse our famous ‘penguin dance’ before lunch!

Later we were given an ambush demonstration, after which the sections had the chance to perform ambushes on each other, which was a lot of fun despite getting tired from all the running! Then the recruits were shown how to occupy a patrol harbour. This new knowledge proved useful later when moving to a new harbour area. The day didn’t end there – we were then given a night noise and light demonstration, which showed just how easily you could accidently reveal your location to the enemy.

Before bed we went on a night exercise, which involved navigating to different checkpoints. This proved difficult but, despite some people getting a bit lost, everyone made it back to the patrol harbour to get some much-needed sleep.

The last day involved practising section formations and fire and movement, before learning how to do section battle drills and performing them ourselves. Later, we had a more relaxed round robin of activities, including navigating, Kim’s Game and camouflage. This provided us with an exciting end to the weekend, with sections competing to win the round robin.

Overall, the weekend was challenging yet rewarding and

exciting, and left many cadets wanting to sign up for the next field weekend!

Katerina Konstantinidi

RN DARTMOUTH FIELD WEEKEND The Royal Navy field weekend in May saw Bedford School naval cadets joining with the Bedford Modern School naval section on a fantastic weekend on the Hindostan (former HMS Cromer) at the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth.

The cadets arrived in Dartmouth late on the Friday evening after a very long train journey, where they were able to find their bunks on the ship and tuck into an evening meal.

The weekend started early on the Saturday morning with some bosun sailing on the water at Sandquay where both experienced and novice cadets had a great time learning and having fun with the help of some very good weather! The day then continued on the water with the captaining of picket boats and whalers. The cadets learnt how to manoeuvre the picket boats to a high naval standard and went on a trip down the water on the whalers carrying out man-overboard drills on the way.

With a quick stop for lunch, the day then continued with scuba-diving in the pool on the BRNC base. The cadets quickly took to the diving and by the end of the session were doing somersaults under water which was a brilliant experience for all!

The first day ended with a fantastic opportunity to use the college’s bridge trainer. This enabled the cadets to work as a team to successfully captain a frigate on the simulated waters of Portsmouth. They were hit with some bad weather and uneasy waters but, by working together and staying calm, they made it through. After a very tiring first day the cadets made their way back onto the Hindostan for a well-earned rest.

The next day started early with breakfast on the ship at 0700 hrs. We then travelled back onto the base for some leadership activities on the low-ropes course. The cadets showed excellent teamwork and communication skills with some natural leaders shining through, helping all the cadets around the course.

It was a fantastic weekend with many first-time activities for most of the cadets, some of which they will hopefully repeat in their time in the Royal Navy section. All the cadets thank the staff at BRNC and Bedford School for such an enjoyable weekend.

Niamh Harding

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BEDFORD SCHOOL ASSOCIATION (BSA) I am delighted that the BSA has had such a busy year and that all the groups within it are thriving. The Bedford Prep School Association (BPSA), Upper School Parents’ Guild, Past Parents’ Association, Old Bedfordians Club and Foundation all seem to be going from strength to strength. A lot of this is down to improved communication, but I must also pay tribute to all the volunteers involved.

As a Governor and Chairman of the BSA Committee I am fortunate to get a regular overview of all the events and communication taking place across all areas. We are mindful that each group should maintain its own identity, but appreciate that there are opportunities to work together. I see it as a huge advantage that a boy can now approach an OB, current parent or past parent for some career guidance and that we now have a bigger pool of guest lecturers. For me the key thing is that all elements are active and very supportive of the school, which is fantastic. Similarly, as the Foundation focuses on the future, I hope that all elements of the community will come together to do what they can to support the exciting projects which are taking shape.

Below is a useful diagram demonstrating the structure; rather than the BSA being another subgroup, it acts as an umbrella organisation that quietly and efficiently helps support and coordinate the activities of all the major groups within the school community, as well as playing a role in linking up the school with the local community.

With my eldest son leaving the school after his A-levels and becoming an OB this summer, Rachel and myself now also join the ranks of ‘Past Parents’. There is of course a sense of relief that we have one set less of school fees to pay, but I am also delighted that there will be an opportunity to keep up with those parents that we have forged a strong link with over the past 11 enjoyable years.

Whatever your association with Bedford School, please do stay in touch and update us with your contact details. I hope that you will join us at an event in 2014.

Hugh Maltby (73–83), Chairman, Bedford School Association

Bedford School Association (BSA)

Bedford Prep School Association (BPSA)

Upper School Parents’ Guild

PAST PARENTS’ ASSOCIATION

Past Parents’ Association

It has been good to catch up with lots of past parents over the year at various school events. Those who know me will know I need no excuse to pop out of my office in the town to watch Bedford play any sport, particularly rugby and cricket.

As a past parent myself, I know that Bedford School not only aims to make the boys feel part of a special community, but it also actively engages with parents to ensure that they feel both involved and informed. As a result, over the years parents meet other like-minded parents and form long-lasting friendships.

As the boys leave Bedford School and move onto the next phase of their life, their parents’ lives also change pace and it is easy to lose touch with all those great people they have met during that time. For this reason we are working hard to encourage parents to join the Bedford School Past Parents’ Association.

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Old Bedfordians Club

Bedford School Foundation

The aim of the Past Parents’ Association is to enable parents to keep up to date with what is happening at the school and to help them stay in touch with old friends. The school is as busy as ever with musical concerts, drama productions and sporting fixtures and past parents are welcome back to any of these, and to our regular Chapel services. We also run events specifically for past parents to give them the opportunity to catch up with old friends and maybe make some new ones.

If you would like any further information about the Past Parents’ Association, please email Bev Marshall at bmarshall@bedfordschool.org.uk I hope to see you at an event in the near future.

Richard Banks, Past Parents’ Association

Several joined-up events took place throughout the year where all areas of the wider school community came together – from the Harvest Festival Supper for Farmers and Friends (top right) in

the autumn of 2012 to the Army Benevolent Fund Beating Retreat (top left) and our annual Henley Reception in the summer term. Thank you for your support.

PARENTS’ GUILD Over the past year the Parents’ Guild has continued in its efforts to create an environment where parents feel comfortable and welcome within the school community.

We have held a number of varied social events, from the twice termly, small scale, very relaxed coffee mornings in the café bar, to the hugely successful Mistletoe Ball in the Great Hall in December, which was attended by 220 parents, staff and friends of the school. We were also very pleased to join with the Bedford Prep School Association to run a Macmillan Coffee Morning, raising over £400 for the charity. Parents particularly enjoyed working alongside a number of boys who gave up their free periods to help on the day.

The Guild was also delighted to be able to collaborate for the first time with the Bedford Girls’ School Association and the Combined Cadet Force to jointly host a Burns Night Dinner at the Girls’ School. It was so successful that arrangements are already

well under way for another one to be held in the Great Hall next year.

Members of the Guild have attended many school events, where they have been spotted pouring wine (and on occasion drinking it, too!), answering questions at Open Mornings, or chatting to new parents and old boys. The Guild’s Nearly New Uniform Shop, run by parent volunteers, continues to go from strength to strength, and provides an invaluable source not only of prep and upper school nearly new uniform, but also advice and information about school life and the Guild in general. If you would like more information, or wish to join our team, please feel free to contact us via the Bell Room or email us at parentsguild@bedfordschool.org.uk (for Parents’ Guild general enquiries) or guildshop@bedfordschool.org.uk (for Parents’ Guild Nearly New Uniform Shop enquiries).

Adrienne Plantagenet de Brotherton, Chairman, Parents’ Guild

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BEDFORD SCHOOL FOUNDATION – HELPING TO SHAPE THE FUTURE In the autumn of 2013 we will mark the Ten-Year Anniversary of the Bedford School Foundation, which gives us the opportunity to look back on the tremendous amount it has achieved. At the same time we must drive onwards. As an Old Bedfordian and past parent, I am keen to see that the heritage and good traditions are maintained, but I am also fully aware that the school must move forward with the times, and the Foundation and 1552 Legacy Club play a key role in achieving this.

Over the past ten years, the Foundation has made a significant contribution to or wholly funded the following projects: ● Assistance with fees and additional costs. ● Key support to a number of Academic Departments and Sporting Clubs. ● The restoration of the Chapel Ceiling – 2005. ● The building of a new Music School – 2006. ● The creation of the Lindsay White Fitness Centre – 2010. ● The upgrading of the Phillpotts’ Tennis Courts – 2011. ● The development of the Langham Pavilion – 2012.

As we look ahead, we wait for the governors this autumn to give the final green light to a number of key projects that the Foundation will then aim to support.

䡩 Supporting Scholarships and Bursaries – Many boys over the years have benefited from assistance with their fees, and this still remains an integral part of the make-up of the school.

The school aims to identify academic, musical and sporting potential and to offer as many boys as possible a broad range of opportunities, irrespective of background.

If you would like to know more about any of the above or discuss supporting them, please do not hesitate to make contact. I ask you to remember that the days of ‘the Harpur Trust will provide’ are gone. Each school is clearly responsible for its own finances and as a result the work of the Foundation is of vital importance.

䡩 Advancing Science – In a world that I find is changing at a phenomenal pace it is essential that Bedford School continues to teach all three sciences to the very best possible standard.

Amazingly it has been over 30 years since our laboratories were last improved and opened by Sir Keith Joseph, the then Secretary of State for Education and Science. Within the current science department buildings, the school plans to refit and upgrade every laboratory over a three-year period. From inspiring boys to be medics and vets, to inventing life-changing technology, or conducting ground-breaking research, I believe it is vital that we prepare Bedford School boys to be at the forefront of scientific development in the world we live in.

Colin Baker, Vice Master – 34 years on the staff and still a steady hand!

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Outside the science building, left to right, are Richard Garrett (Director BSA), Steve Pocock (Deputy Bursar), Mike Beale (head of science) and Anthony Ormerod (Chairman Bedford School Foundation)

An artist’s impression of the new theatre

䡩 Creating a New Theatre – I hope that you will be aware that exciting plans are taking shape to turn St Luke’s, the old Moravian Church on the south side of the school estate fronting St Peter’s Street, into a new theatre for the school and local community.

The school is passionate about the opportunity to create a new space in Bedford which will benefit both the school and town, and without doubt make a positive impact on the local arts scene.

In particular, I would like to publicly thank Gareth Quarry (68–77) and his wife, Jill, for everything they are doing to promote the new theatre project. Their lead donation and shared passion for the project are a key driving force.

Finally, a massive thank you to all those who have supported the Foundation in the past ten years. Also our thanks to those that have specifically given donations or made pledges for our future projects. Without your generous support these developments would not be possible.

Anthony Ormerod (47–57), Chairman of the Bedford School Foundation

Young at Heart! At the AGM, two ‘young’ OBs were elected as trustees – James Godber (82–87) on the left, and David Pinkney (78–89)

1552 CLUB From enquiries it seems that more and more OBs, wives, past parents and former staff are kindly considering a gift to Bedford School Foundation in their wills. This forward planning is very kind and all gifts, large and small, are much appreciated. Donating in this tax-efficient manner helps contribute to the overall work of the Foundation, be it with capital projects or assistance with fees. For more information please do not hesitate to contact Richard Garrett or Natalie Thompson.

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‘HARRY’ STILLMAN – A FOND MEMORY Old Bedfordian ‘Harry’ Stillman generously made a donation to the new scoreboard in 2012. When he passed away earlier this year many OBs made contact to pass on their sympathies and to share their memories. This one from Toby Campbell Gray (76–83) appeared on the order of service at Harry’s funeral on 1st May 2013.

One blisteringly hot day at St Edmunds, Ware, I was batting with Mike Nutt; a very good friend of mine, a fine cricketer and, in fact, now godfather to one of my daughters. We were behind the clock due to Peter Fitt and Jerry Langford blocking the first ten overs or so and then getting out. Harry took it upon himself to have a walk around the boundary to import the message that we ought to, in his words, ‘get a move on!’ What he didn’t know when he was delivering this message was the padre of the college was also walking around the boundary with the head of the board of governors not far away from him.

‘Campbell Gray, would you mind pulling your finger out and getting a move on!’ The padre and the governor were visibly shocked by this loud and totally audible and unprovoked outburst.

What happened next will remain with me till I die. The bowler’s next delivery was of fullish length on the leg stump. I slog swept it (in a village cricket sort of fashion) and catching the ball right out of the sweet spot it travelled no more than three foot above the ground … like a tracer bullet and at shockingly great pace before hitting the padre full toss on the ankle. The padre went down as if he’d been shot. He squealed and whimpered and then fell silent and motionless. Mike Nutt, my batting partner, was white with shock and I remember him saying to me ‘Oh Jesus Christ, Toby, you’ve killed the padre’. He was serious and the padre remained motionless for some time.

The padre, it transpired, was a man well into his eighties and pretty frail; we were very worried as everyone was. Harry on the other hand appeared to have not much interest in the motionless and unconscious padre or indeed the commotion of stretchers

ONE OF OUR GREAT SCIENTISTS

John Desmond Bernal (14–19) As we embark on a major project to develop the science laboratories, the life of John Bernal (14-19) is a testament to the tradition of excellence in this field at Bedford School.

Bernal developed his passion while studying at the school, winning a scholarship to Cambridge University to read science and mathematics.

He was appointed as the first lecturer in structural crystallography at Cambridge in 1927, becoming the Assistant Director of the Cavendish Laboratory seven years later. In 1937 Bernal became Professor of Physics at Birkbeck College, University of London, and a Fellow of the Royal Society.

His research looked at the origin of life – studying the atomic structure of solid compounds – helping to develop X-ray crystallography. In the war he also assisted in the preparations for D-Day, working on the structure of the

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and nurses rushing to his aid … he called out to the umpire, which took a couple of shouts to get his attention … in fact by the time he had the umpire’s attention he had everyone’s, as his shouting was loud and direct. So urgent did his voice sound, both Mike and I thought he was going to say something of real importance, maybe call us in.

Everyone was looking at Harry … even the padre, who had just regained consciousness (a relief to everyone). Everyone … including the headmaster who was now on the field attending to the padre, plus a multitude of parents and children who were celebrating the school’s founders and benefactors day, was resting on Harry’s every move and word. He had everyone’s complete attention … Harry simply signalled by lifting up his arms above his head that the ball had indeed carried the boundary rope and was indeed a six and not a four!

Raising a glass to ‘Harry’ Stillman at the dedication of the scoreboard

proposed landing sites. There is no doubt that Bernal was a controversial character with Marxist and pro-Soviet sympathies, and was an outspoken political activist, contributing to campaigns for science’s social responsibility, more government funding for scientific research and the peace movement.

As a pioneering scientist, we are proud to list Bernal amongst our alumni and hope, with first-class teaching and facilities, that boys will follow Bernal’s lead and continue to make their mark in all areas of science.

KEEPING MEMORIES ALIVE The Cook family, taken at 8 The Crescent, Bedford in 1962. Left to right: Michael, Sara, Gilbert, Doreen, John and Mary

Gilbert Cook, MBE, CBE, MVO Two Sports at International Level As part of the Langham Pavilion Project in 2012 a paving stone was laid to recognise all OBs who had represented their country at sport at senior level. One such individual was John Gilbert Cook (22–29). Gilbert, along with his three younger brothers, attended Bedford School. There were the twins, Philip (later became Byam-Cook) and Maurice (who emigrated to New Zealand) and, finally, Alec who went to Brasenose College Oxford, but was then tragically killed flying Mosquitoes in the Second World War. Gilbert went on to represent both Ireland at cricket and England at rugby. He played twice for the Irish cricket team, making his debut at Lord’s in August 1935, and played India the following year. In March 1937 he represented England at rugby, playing as a wing forward against Scotland.

Gilbert went on to qualify as a surveyor and married Doreen (née Harrington) in September 1939 and had four children: two sons, both OBs, John (47–58), Michael (55–64) and two daughters, Mary and Sara. Following his sporting successes

Back row, far left: Gilbert Cook in the 1926 3rd XI

and time in the RAF during the war, Gilbert went on to work for the Government as Treasury Valuer and was awarded an MBE, CBE and MVO over the years for his contribution in different areas. Gilbert and Doreen lived in the Crescent, Bedford, while the children were at school. However, the children are now spread across the globe, with John (a retired dentist) and Judie, living in Nova Scotia, Mary and Jim (surname now Gately) in Florida, Michael (running a landscaping business) and Sally in Victoria, Australia, and Sara (surname now Robinson) and John in Hertfordshire. Together they have 27 grandchildren between them and three on the way. Not surprisingly family and travel keep them all busy!

It is important to also note that their uncle, Philip, when a solicitor in the City, established a fund in Gilbert’s name to support boys who would not normally have the opportunity to attend Bedford School. This fund is still in operation and continues to support boys today as it has done for many years.

The school and the recipients are of course enormously grateful.

A more recent family reunion in the Okanagan Valley, Canada. Left to right: Michael, Mary, Sara and John

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THE JOHN HEXT PRIZE FOR MANDARIN Three generations of the Hext family visited the school in July.

John Hext (35–44), who lived and worked in South-East Asia between 1950 and 1990, and his son, Richard (67–74), who is still based in Hong Kong. Richard’s youngest son, Joey, had only previously visited Bedford School when representing Harrow! The family were shown around the school by Rupert Oakley, the first boy to be awarded the John Hext Prize for Mandarin. This prize had generously been donated by Richard to honour his father and to encourage Bedfordians to seize the opportunities, both economic and cultural, that exist in East Asia. We were all shocked to hear the news of John’s death in August as he was on such good form for this visit.

Please see page 196 for his obituary.

Left to right: Rupert Oakley, Richard Hext (67–74), Joey Hext and the Head Master, John Moule. Seated, John Hext (35–44)

FOUNDATION CHARITY GOLF DAY On 18th May, the fourth year of this tournament saw 15 teams battle it out at the Bedfordshire Golf Club at Stagsden. In an enthusiastically fought competition, the ‘Pink Eagles’ were the eventual winners, comprising of Tamsin May (captain), Chris May, Phil May and Dave Fishwick, while the colourful ‘Boys Fab’ won the No Limitz and Plumb It award for the Best Dressed Team! A fun day of golf was rounded off with a lively barbecue in the evening and an entertaining auction, courtesy of Sam Roberts (85–96). With thanks to Elms BMW, Hanbury Manor Hotel, Paragon and Michael Graham, and those who generously donated raffle and auction prizes, we are thrilled that the event raised over

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£3,600 for the school’s Golf Master Class Programme. Plans are being made to hold the tournament again next year on Saturday 17th May – please book early – it remains open to all and we hope that even more old and new friends will join us.

‘What I like about photographs is that they capture a moment that’s gone forever, impossible to reproduce.’

Karl Lagerfeld

AUTUMN 2012 – SUMMER 2013

VOLUME 985

OUSEL THE THE OUSEL

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