The Cheltonian 2015-16

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and Hope; and Southwood on Loneliness. This very rich offering meant that immediately before Speech Day, the judges adjudicating the prize for the Jackson-Matthews Chapel Prize for best address had their work cut out for them; they eventually chose Harry Ferris’s (U6, NH) witty and challenging talk on the subject of Adversity, worthy of the accolade. This address can be found in the opening pages of this publication. Another distinctive feature of Chapel is that it functions as a gathering place for the whole community. In other schools it is rare for members of the Common Room to attend Chapel daily and to experience what the pupils are experiencing. Not so at College and I think this highlights an important contribution that Chapel makes to create the unique community atmosphere of the school. Members of the Common Room who spoke in Chapel this year were Mr Karl Cook, Mr Graham Cutts, Mr Andrew Straiton, Mr Richard Penny, Mrs Rachel Melville‑Thomas, Mr Tim Brewis, Mr James Coull, Mr Dan Townley, Mr Jonathan Mace, Mr Jon Morton (memorably with his daughters, Emily and Sophie), Mr Crispin Dawson, Mr Nick Hands, Dr Luke Davidson, Mrs Tammy Penny, Dr Gill Ward, Mrs Alexandra Eldred, Mr Jonathan Whybrow, Mr Duncan Byrne, Mr Stephen McQuitty, Mrs Julia Hande and Mr Nick Nelson. In addition, Mr Charlie McKegney, Mr Andrew Straiton and Mr Dan Townley all volunteered to be interviewed as part of ‘Chapel Island Discs’.

result of meningitis in February 2015. The prefects decided to reduce the event to 12 hours and include the whole Upper Sixth Form student body. In shifts, the prefects ran and cycled for 12 hours and exceeded 3,000km; the target had been 1,500km. The Upper Sixth Form student body joined the prefects in the last hour of the event, which culminated with the prefects running into Chapel. Earlier in the afternoon the Houses ran stands as part of a Charities Fair; this was coordinated by Heads of Houses and was run by the Upper Sixth students. A JustGiving page was set up which raised £8,000. Overall this charity drive raised £9,000. Money has been used

by Meningitis Now to ensure that all children are given access to the new Men Z vaccine and to provide much needed funds to further research into the development of additional vaccines for meningitis. Furthermore, the annual Valentines Day fund‑raiser and Prefects Charity Ball was held in aid of CRY, a charity which aims to assess Cardiac Risk in the Young. Looking forward, a significant development in September will be the adoption, by each House, of a specific local charity. Once each House has selected its charity, the hope is that a lasting relationship will be established. This will be mutually beneficial and enriching. Other charitable

Chapel continues to be a place of celebration for many members of the College Community. Mr James Stubbert and Mrs Jo Smith brought their children for baptism. Mr Rod King of the Estates Department was present for the baptism of his grandson and Miss Lisa Olive in Accounts and Miss Rubeeya Masood of the Prep School, were both married in Chapel. One final event of note took place in October. As part of the Literature Festival, Chapel hosted a stimulating evening of discussion and music. The Reverend Lucy Winkett, Rector of Saint James’ Church, Piccadilly, and the author and choirmaster Andrew Gant, discussed the evolution of church music with the BBC Radio 3 broadcaster, Christopher Cook.

Dr Adam Dunning

Charity College, the Prep and the Cheltonian Association and Society have collectively raised in excess of £38,000 for charitable causes in the year from Speech Day 2015 to Speech Day 2016. This is an impressive amount of money and should be celebrated. This sum is the product of both collective and individual efforts and the list of fundraising activities undertaken includes quiz nights, a charity ball, cake sales, car washes, sponsored events and theatrical productions. The principal beneficiaries have been Meningitis Now, Emmaus Gloucester, The Royal British Legion and Gloucestershire Bundles, as well as our three sponsored schools: the residential school for children with special needs in Bradet, Romania; Shamrock School in Nepal; and Gogar Primary School, In Kenya. Meningitis Now was chosen by the prefects as a result of the tragic loss of Abigail Kelly (W) as a

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The Cheltonian 2015-2016

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