Floreat 2018 by Cheltenham College

FLOREAT

18 THE CHELTONIAN SOC IE T Y MAGA ZI NE J AN UARY 201 8 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; IS SUE NU MBER E LE VEN

CHELTONIA

FLOREAT 2018

THE CHELTONIAN SOCIETY MAGAZINE ISSUE ELEVEN – JANUARY 2018

CONTENTS CHELTENHAM NEWS

2 - 16

17 - 30

FEATURES

31 - 63

Cheltonian Society Network

Hong Kong Reunion

Memories of Sweatrooms

33 34-35

From Chandos to Africa

36-37

Junior School and the Sea

38-39

College Memories

40-41

Travel Award to Florence

Travel Award to Mongolia

The Prep

44-45

OC Wins Director Award

46-47 48

Dunkirk: the role of OCs

The Birth of an Actor

Sailing through Life

Three Weeks in the West Bank

Santiago de Compostela

Early Adventures in Film

Boarding – Day and Snow

Aloha from Hawaii

56-57 58

From Chapel to Fine Dining

OCs on HMS Queen Elizabeth

A Running Reunion

House and Society Talks

62-63

OC SPORTS

64 - 67

EVENTS CALENDAR

68 - 69

ANNOUNCEMENTS

70 - 71

MERCHANDISE

Finally I would like to thank Rebecca and the team for all the hard work done on behalf of the Society, in particular the strenuous efforts at keeping in touch with as many of you as possible. I hope you enjoy this edition of Floreat Cheltonia and I look forward to meeting you at an event this year. Please do think about what College can do for you and what you can do for College. Labor omnia vincit!

Robin Badham-Thornhill (H, 1973 & Housemaster BH, 1985-1993) Honorary President

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Not Too Shabby

If you haven’t already ‘opted in’ to continue to receive communications from the Society, this will be the last Floreat you receive. Please do complete the form via the Cheltonian Society Network if you want us to stay in touch or call the Society Office on 01242 265694 to ‘opt in’.

EVENTS CALENDAR

The Formative Years

In addition to the events programme and Old Cheltonian organisations, the Society aims to reach out to all members through Floreat, quarterly e-newsletters and social media. Also, much work has been put into the Cheltonian Society Network. Through the network you can reconnect with old friends, find networking opportunities and book tickets to events along with much, much more, without going through the Cheltonian Society office. You should have received an email inviting you to be part of the network. If you have any problems logging in, or haven’t received the email, please get in touch with Frances Morrow-Brown (f.morrowbrown@cheltenhamcollege.org).

OC SPORTS

Channel Swim Rematch

As the events pages show, it has been a very busy year and much has happened. In 2018, along with our usual annual gatherings, why not become more involved with some of the OC sporting organisations (see pages 64-67). Also, we are looking forward to welcoming you to one of the new events being held this year. Please see the events calendar on pages 68 & 69 for the full listing. I would like to draw your attention to the Girls’ Houses Reunion taking place at College on 28th April, the drinks reception on the terrace of the House of Commons on 21st June, the Charity Dinner being held at the Imperial War Museum on 8th November and a House Reunion at College for Boyne House, Cheltondale and the Day Boy Houses on 17th November. Invitations for all events will be sent out shortly; for further information please contact the Society Manager, Rebecca Creed on r.creed@cheltenhamcollege.org.

FEATURES

EVENTS

The success of a school is so often dependent on the leadership given by its Head; on behalf of the Society I would like to thank Dr Alex Peterken for all that he has done for College and the way that he has reached out to the Society, especially Old Cheltonians. I wish him and his family every success in the future as Head at Charterhouse. We also wish Crispin Dawson all the best in his role as acting Head and I welcome our new Head, Mrs Nicola Huggett, who starts in September 2018.

EVENTS

I am honoured to be writing the forward to Floreat 18 in my capacity as President of the Cheltonian Society. The magazine is packed full of articles outlining all that is happening. As you know and as suggested in these pages last year, the Cheltonian Society and Association have merged into one body; and the organisation represents current and past pupils, current and past parents, staff, Council and friends of College. It makes perfect sense to speak with one voice and to support College in all its activities. But we must not forget the role played by Peter Brettell over the past years and I would like to thank him for all that he has done as President of the Association.

NEWS

FLOREAT

CHELTENHAM NEWS

Letter from the Head It is with mixed feelings that I write my last review for Floreat magazine. I am proud of all that has been achieved in my time as Head, but also sad to leave it all behind as I turn to new challenges in Surrey. I have been very fortunate to have been at the helm during a very significant period for College. Looking back, we have come a very long way since 2010. We have seen the opening of new girls’ boarding houses in Westal, Chandos Cottages and now College Lawn, bringing us near to a 50/50 balance and, I don’t think it is exaggerating to say, leading the country in our coeducational provision. We have completely refurbished Big Classical, the Science Centre, both astroturfs, our tennis and squash facilities, built a new Estates building, transformed the Chatfeild-Roberts Library, created the Ben White Learning Centre, completely refurbished the Chapel organ and the Tewkesbury Boat House and opened a new Prep School Science and Technology Centre. During this period we have invested over £25m in the school, considerably improving our overall financial position. I am sad to be missing the completion of the final stage of exciting current projects; the opening of the new dining facilities in January 2018 after a refit (absolutely necessary to accommodate the growth from 560 pupils when I started to over 700 pupils in September 2018) and the opening of No 2 College Lawn in September 2018 – although I am delighted I will still be able to observe these successes at a distance as I will remain a parent of two daughters at College! None of this could have been achieved without the essential foundation of a renaissance in College’s academic performance over the last eight years. I am delighted to leave College following last year’s record GCSE results with record A Level results in 2017. 57% of grades at A Level were A*/A, and 82% A*- B, putting us well ahead of many of the other co-educational public schools in the country. We have also fully rolled out the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) in the Lower Sixth, which is producing some brilliant work and really helping students with their university applications, and we have started the first phase of our Sixth Form Electives programme, such as our Mini-MBA and community placements, which is offered alongside A Levels to better prepare our students for life beyond these walls. We have also seen considerable developments in our pastoral care over the years, not least in our recently

introduced adolescent wellbeing programme, Floreat. The Co-Education Committee has broadened its remit to consider wider issues of equality, diversity and gender within College. With digital and emotional health remaining top of our agenda, we will further develop our education and continue to work closely with the pupil body to destigmatise mental health issues within College and beyond. Our co-curricular provision was also updated in September 2017. This offers more opportunities for pupils to lead and demonstrate what they can do for others in line with our servant leadership ethos. We also seek a better balance in what we offer: pupils will engage more and more with the local community and reap the rewards of that. In the past year, 90 Lower Sixth students have gone out into the local Cheltenham community, offering their time to neighbourhood schools and care homes. The programme is shaped by the core aims of introducing pupils to communities of disadvantage, deprivation and disability outside of their life-experience, creating a culture of philanthropy and voluntary service, and giving them experiences and skills which will assist in their entry into the world of work. This programme will grow further in the coming academic year. We have forged and deepened partnerships with two local schools, All Saints’ Academy and Saint John’s Primary; schools which share our Anglican heritage. These partnerships cover academics, sport and music and aim to improve the experience and attainment of all pupils, both those from College and those from our partner schools. We also work closely with Naunton Park Primary School, St Gregory the Great Catholic School and St James’ Primary School and we continue in partnership with The Milestone School in Gloucester; a school dedicated to pupils with severe physical and learning disabilities. And, of course, all this against the usual backdrop of academic success, individual and team sporting achievements, varied music, art and drama performances, and many inspirational stories of transformed confidence and personal development. From nationally recognised sporting success – the 1st XV rugby team was unbeaten this season – to scoring a consolation try for the D team, from resilience shown, challenges surmounted, targets set and met, to burgeoning friendship, companionship and pure, sheer enjoyment; we strive to offer the very best breadth and depth that a true education of the whole person should offer. Thank you, Cheltenham College, for ten very happy years, may you all continue to flourish in the years ahead.

Dr Alex Peterken Head, Cheltenham College

FLOREAT 2018

Academic Alongside A Levels and EPQs, Upper College students take part in a programme of Electives, which was met with great success and takes students well beyond the traditional College curriculum. Electives cover a wide range of topics, including Business and Commerce with the Young Enterprise Scheme and the Mini-MBA Programme. The Mini-MBA Elective has been a highlight of the year and is a bespoke business management course. The programme was delivered by guest speakers, including many OCs, from backgrounds in business and academia, who led fortnightly workshops covering all the major elements of running a business and sharing their own inspirational stories of entrepreneurship.

Art Over the past year, we have seen our students grow in confidence, develop self-compassion, acceptance of others, and a resilience towards problem solving which will serve them well throughout their lives. As our current Upper Sixth students put together applications and portfolios for interviews at prospective universities, we are reminded of our previous year’s cohort who were incredibly successful at achieving their first choice universities through grit and integrity: Alex Cove (OJ & Xt, 2017) is now attending the prestigious Courtauld Institute of Art, where he is reading History of Art; Jasmine Ng (We, 2017) is studying Creative Media at Cardiff School of Art and Design; Lavinia Fairlie (We, 2017) achieved her place at Oxford Brookes where she is studying on a foundation course, preparing to specialise and apply for a degree course; Vanessa Keung (Cha, 2017) and Jack Burns (NH, 2017) are studying Architecture; and Lottie Jones (Cha, 2017) continues painting and has undertaken several commissions since leaving Cheltenham College. Jo Millar Head of Art

NEWS

COLLEGE NEWS

Cheltenham College celebrates record results In August, students and their teachers celebrated record A Level results. 82% of results were graded A* - B and 57% of results were graded A* - A, with 90% of pupils achieving at least one A/A* grade and one in three gaining at least one A*. GCSE results were very similar, with 85% of results graded A*- B and around a third of all grades awarded The programme culminated with a day at the head office of Smiths Group PLC in St James’s Square, London, during which students drew on all they had learned from the workshops to pitch their own business ideas to a panel consisting of Current Parent Touker Suleyman (Dragons’ Den), Bruce Carnegie-Brown (OJ & H, 1977) (Chairman of Lloyd’s of London) and the

were A*. With significant academic change in A Levels and GCSEs, and a new grading system, our examination year groups have taken these changes in their stride and have flourished under College’s academic ethos. All Oxbridge candidates were successful in meeting their offers, and six College students went on to continue their studies at Oxford and Cambridge Universities. Head, Dr Alex Peterken. The winners, Tom Smith (U6, BH) and Kieran Thorley (U6, BH), are now in the process of establishing their own, brilliantly conceived, business: Aquari, a collapsible water bottle, read more on page 63. Simon Brian Deputy Head, Academic

Sixth Form exhibit alongside famous artists Sixth Form artists at College were given the opportunity to exhibit their artwork alongside artists such as Henry Moore, Marc Chagall and Camille Pissarro. Trinity House Paintings in Broadway held the exhibition from 26 – 29 January 2017 with a private view on the opening night.

‘Accident’ by Araminta Ramsey

It was a fabulous evening where students had the opportunity to talk to the owners and curators of the gallery, as well as members of the public about their art. Private collectors attended the exhibition during the weekend and three pieces of our students’ work sold to separate buyers, which we are delighted with. Araminta Ramsey (A, 2017) sold ‘Accident’, an artwork in acrylic; Lavinia Fairlie (We, 2017) sold ‘Looking Through Chapel’, produced in oil and ink; and Lili Sell (U6th, Cha) sold ‘Dreamer’, a piece in mixed media.

‘Dreamer’ by Lili Sell

‘Looking Through Chapel’ by Lavinia Fairlie 3

CHELTENHAM NEWS

Drama Over the past year, nearly a third of all College pupils performed on the Big Classical stage. In the Spring Term, we began with an ambitious production of The Great Gatsby. We were so overwhelmed with the high quality of the auditions in November that we double cast the whole production and rehearsed two totally separate casts. Big Classical was transformed into a 1920s jazz club with the audience surrounding the performers. The mature performances of the actors were underscored by jazz versions of pop songs, sung live throughout. The House play of the year saw a departure from previous House choices as Ashmead and Christowe took on the challenge of staging the full-length drama, Blood Brothers. A large cast, during a very brief rehearsal period, pulled together

Music The Schola Cantorum Chorister Scheme began in September 2017 following the creation of the Peterken Song School, made possible by the generous financial support of College friend Dr Bridget Jepson. The scheme is for both Prep and College pupils and it has also facilitated musical partnerships with local schools; we have choristers from Saint John’s, Bishop’s Cleeve and Saint James’ Primary Schools singing with pupils from Cheltenham Prep. David McKee Director of Music

admirably to create a brilliantly funny and often genuinely moving performance. Our final production Swallows and Amazons required the audience to suspend their disbelief and to accept that, at times, the floor of Big C was a wide expanse of water and the very next moment it was the rocks of Wildcat Island. Our talented performers used their skills, working together as an ensemble to transform our performance area into the wilds of the beautiful Lake District.

This year also saw the full launch of our London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) programme. In just one year our numbers have tripled and we have now been recognised as an independent LAMDA examining centre. Five pupils achieved the highest grade of distinction. Sian McBride Director of Drama

The Heart of Chapel restored The College Chapel touches the lives of all pupils, parents, staff and Old Cheltonians and at the heart of this lies the College organ. This year the organ had its most significant restoration since the 1970s and so remains one of the finest examples of British organ building of its period. The organ was built by Harrison and Harrison in 1933, when an earlier instrument by Norman and Beard was reconstructed. It was overhauled in 1976 when plans were set in motion to enhance the

tonal scheme. Further alterations were made in 2000, after damage from a lightning strike. The Double Ophicleide 32ft stop was added in 2013.

College reaches equal girl-to-boy numbers with the opening of College Lawn College Lawn, the latest girls’ day and boarding house, opened its doors in September to over 20 Third and Fourth Form pupils to meet growing demand for quality girls’ education within a co-educational teaching environment. College Lawn consists of two beautiful large Regency houses, near to the girls’ day house, Queen’s. College Lawn 1 was opened at the start of the academic year, and work continues on College Lawn 2, which will open in September 2018. This will bring the number of pupils in College to just over 700 and the ratio of

new to College in September, a particular camaraderie has been built between us as we have navigated College rules, traditions and lingo together.

girls to boys close to 50:50. Housemistress Mrs Jo Wintle commented, “The first term in College Lawn has been a whirlwind. With almost all of us – staff and girls –

“With College Lawn currently made up of Third and Fourth Form girls, (as well as a mixture of day, day boarding and boarding, the first of the houses to follow this model), we made the decision at the start of the year to have mixed dorms and it has been wonderful to see friendships building amongst the girls as the term has gone on.”

FLOREAT 2018

This past year, College sport, both in terms of participation and performance, has been excellent. I am delighted to say that congratulations are in order to Olivia Mitchell (L6, We) and Katya Jennings (5th, Cha) who have been selected for Severn Stars and Team Bath netball franchises. In the pool, our senior girls qualified for both the medley relay and freestyle relays at the National Schools’ Swimming event at

the Olympic Stadium in March, an unprecedented achievement for College; 13 swimmers were also involved in notching up College swimming records. Equestrianism continues to thrive: at the Addington Championships we came fourth in the team dressage; College also came sixth in the Arena Eventing at 90cm but qualified for the National Championships at 1m and 90cm. Mr Karl Cook Director of Sport

Girls play national hockey... While girls’ hockey goes from strength to strength, this year there were a handful of girls who have played national level hockey at various tournaments. The 2016-17 1st XI co-captain, India Blake (Q, 2017) along with Amber Beachus (U6th, We), Jemma Robson (We, 2017), Brittany Sutton-Page (U6th, Q), and Sophie Baillie-Hamilton (Q, 2017), were part of the U18 girls’ team that won England Hockey National Club Plate competition at Lee Valley in May. Emily Drysdale (L6th, We) is in her third season as a 1st XI player, and made her debut for the Wales U18 team against Ireland, then played in a test series with Scotland and

Switzerland, where she scored her first international goal at the age of only 15. Both Emily and Jemima Rees (5th, A) were selected to play at the England Hockey Futures Cup to represent the Celtic Jaguars U17 team. Brittany, the 2016-17 1st XI cocaptain and 2017-18 captain, also won a silver medal for England at the 2017 Sainsbury’s School Games.

The 1st XV have had a season to remember as they were unbeaten in all of their games, the fourth time this has happened since our records began.

During the first few games, College showed some fantastic running rugby and finished off a number of great team tries. All games were fantastic in their own right but the Radley fixture played at Worcester Warriors’ Sixways Stadium was a special moment for everyone involved. A great atmosphere in a premiership ground with a number of spectators in the stands was a fitting way to showcase the school. To be one of four teams to achieve this within the history of the school is very deserving of these players . Olly Morgan Director of Rugby

Deakin (L6th, We). In November, Fionnuala Dowling-Membrado (4th Form, Cha) won a tense Plate final in the British Women’s Rackets Doubles Championships against Martha Elliot (U6th, We) and Georgie BaillieHamilton (U6th, Q), winning 2-1.

Bronze at the National Schools’ Regatta In June, the Boat Club competed at the National Schools’ Regatta on the Olympic course at Eton Dorney. There were strong performances by our crews with a top 15 finish from the senior girls’ IV, top 10 from the senior boys’ pair and the J16 boys’ IV. The J15 boys’ VIII were the stand out performers, getting through a gruelling time-trial and semi-final, only to have a 2000m stroke-by-stroke battle

The XV unbeaten season

College is currently ranked number 5 in the Daily Mail Schools’ Merit League and number 1 in the Daily Mail Schools’ Performance League.

... and dominate rackets Cheltenham College girls hold the U18 Singles Championship title and the Open Doubles Championship title after winning at the National Schools’ Rackets Championships in January and April respectively. Rose Jones (U6th, Q) emerged victorious in the singles competition after beating fellow Cheltenham pupil India Blake (Q, 2017) 2-0. India and Rose went on to win the Girls’ Open Doubles in April in another Cheltenham v Cheltenham final against Millie Broom (We, 2017) and India

NEWS

Sport

with Westminster in the final to win the Bronze Medal. This is the first medal for College at the National Schools’ Regatta in 14 years – a lifetime for the boys who just won! The same crew reached the finals at Reading Amateur Regatta, only to lose by three feet to Southampton University. They backed up their effort the following day to overcome Winchester College J15 boys in the final and win a coveted medal.

For more information please follow us on Twitter @cheltcollege and on Facebook facebook.com/cheltcollege

U18s in finals of Rosslyn Park The Rugby Sevens season ended with a climax in the shape of the Rosslyn Park National Schools' Sevens Tournament. Some 750 schools compete across the five days, making it the largest schools tournament in the world. College entered four teams: Prep, U14s, U16s and U18s and the U18s making it to the final, for the first time in 12 years. The final against St John’s Leatherhead proved an epic contest. St John’s started extremely well and through errors of our own, went into half time 21-7 up. College put up a strong fight in the second half but St John’s managed to hold on, eventually winning 26-24. 5

CHELTENHAM NEWS

Valetes Alex Peterken Head 2008-2017 It is almost impossible to overstate Alex Peterken’s enormous contribution to College during his tenure as Head. When Alex joined College from Charterhouse as Deputy Head in September 2008, little did we know that two short years later Council’s brave decision in 2010 to appoint one of the then youngest Heads in the independent sector would see the beginning of some of the biggest changes in College history. A passionate and inspirational leader, Alex’s first task as Head was to appoint two outstanding new Deputy Heads; between them they set about driving-up academic results and simultaneously improving the pastoral care provided for all Cheltonians as well as developing a vision for College’s future. Since those appointments in 2010, and the subsequent appointments of Crispin Dawson and Simon Brian, academic results have improved greatly, with 2017 seeing some of the best ever A Level results and outstanding pastoral care, with pupils’ mental health as much a priority as their physical wellbeing. Alex’s ability to move seamlessly between the bigger picture vision and the detail required to get there set him apart. His passion for the highest standards from every member of staff, alongside his care and empathy, made him an outstanding leader of College. His legacy will be developing a group of staff who would not want to let College deviate from delivering a first class modern education. His mantra of always putting the pupils at the centre of decision making will continue long after his departure. Alex’s tenure as Head has also seen important developments of the College estate; the refurbishment of the original 1843 building including the redevelopment of The Chatfeild-Roberts

Graeme Adams Visiting Music Teacher 2002-2017 Graeme Adams taught oboe at College for fifteen years. He is a superb, dedicated musician with a busy teaching schedule and performing commitments around the country. He played with the Welsh National

Sue Baxter Head’s Executive Assistant 2005-2017 Behind every fortunate Head you will find a brilliant and quietly efficient Executive Assistant who ensures that he is on time, in the right place, with the right brief and filled with the appropriate level of

Library, the complete refurbishment of the Science Block, two new girls’ boarding houses, Westal and College Lawn, a new Estates building, and the refurbishment of some of the sports facilities to name but a few. He has also worked tirelessly to encourage Old Cheltonians to give something back to College and those donations have been greatly appreciated, helping us to deliver the Library and Science Block refurbishment. His vision and his ability to communicate it to those around him has been a crucial part of that. Whilst delivering all of these developments and projects, Alex, as head, has still found time to continue teaching, sharing his love of Theology, Philosophy and Ethics with many Cheltonians over the past seven years. Alex will also be remembered for his other interests. As a keen musician we’ve seen him perform Handel’s Messiah with the College Choir, take to the keyboard upon the arrival of the new Steinway Piano fleet (College became an ‘All Steinway School’ during Alex’s headship) and, as an equally keen sports fan, enjoy many hours watching Gloucestershire during the Cheltenham Cricket Festival. More recently, following the purchase of a home in the South West of England, Alex has become a keen gardener, visitors often finding themselves put to work! On a personal level it has been wonderful to see him find happiness with Henny following the loss of his first wife, Clare. Time with Henny, and his six children, has been an important part of life and he enjoys school holidays away from it all in Cornwall. It was no surprise to hear that Charterhouse had appointed him as their new Head; the governors there could not have found a more inspirational, hard-working, dedicated and passionate leader to head the school at a time of change. Their gain is certainly College’s loss; in the words of the President of Council at Alex’s farewell dinner: “In time, you will be seen as one of the great Heads of Cheltenham College”. Undoubtedly, that time will be very soon. Alex will be greatly missed at the helm of this fine school, but we wish him and his family every happiness and success for the future. Opera for many years and is an acclaimed soloist. Graeme is a patient, gifted teacher; he was able to coax the best from each pupil. He has contributed a great deal to the music department over the years, including coaching pupils to play a vital role in the orchestra. He has played in many College concerts and shows – hopefully this will continue. Graeme always set a strong example by practising the oboe in every spare minute. As a result, the department was often treated to his extraordinary playing with beautiful tone and exquisite musicianship. caffeine. For the last 12 years or so, this role has been performed magnificently by Sue Baxter who now leaves Cheltenham to live nearer her daughters and grandchildren in Surrey and continue to work with Alex Peterken at Charterhouse. Sue's commitment, her unwaveringly high standards, her discretion and tact, and her infectious sense of humour have been a very important feature behind the scenes at College for over a decade. She has been a key, and often unsung, part of the school's success and we wish her all the very best.

FLOREAT 2018

Having taught previously at Eton and Abingdon, Andrew was appointed to College by Richard Morgan in 1987 into a Geography Department that featured three Cambridge graduates assisted only by a ‘BBC B’ computer and a single television as teaching aids. Within a year he was Head of

Denise Harris Health Centre Receptionist 2006-2016 Last December saw the departure of a highly regarded member of the Health Centre Team. Denise Harris started as the Administrator in 2006 and assisted in the development of services and organisation for

Christine Harrison Physics Teacher 1999-2017 Christine joined College in 1999, when girls were still very much in the minority, particularly in Physics. Christine tackled this head on and proved that ‘schoolmastering’ was not the preserve of male teachers. She has taught mainly Physics, but also

Amanda Naylor Director of Admissions & Marketing 2015-2017 Amanda joined Cheltenham College in January 2015 as Director of Admissions and Marketing. She quickly demonstrated great dedication to her role and to welcoming and supporting our prospective parents through

Brian Pond Skilled Maintenance Tradesman 1975-2017 Brian joined College on 17 March 1975 and after more than 40 years’ service, all served within the Estates Department, Brian has left College. He will be missed by all within the Estates team as well as by the wider

Sarah Ramsay Past Chandos Housemistress & Teacher 2000-2017 Sarah joined College in September 2000 as a teacher of Biology. Her particular fondness lay with the younger students for whom she was a mentor. Sarah designed and developed the Peer Mentor Training

NEWS

Andrew Gasson Assistant Head, Co-Curricular 1987-2017

Department and the rest is history. Geography has long since been an academic powerhouse at College and Andrew should take much of the credit. In 2000 Andrew was appointed as Senior Tutor and his restructuring of the tutoring system continues to operate today. He took a leading role in modernising attitudes to pastoral care at College in the 1990s. He was a Tutor in Christowe for 26 years and ran the Junior Colts’ A hockey team from 1987 to 2009. He also ran the Yearlings’ A cricket team for 17 seasons (winning 238 of 332 matches!). Andrew leaves a huge hole and will be very much missed. We wish him every success. care of College pupils. She helped forge the progression of the Health Centre and generally supported the team of nurses and doctors tirelessly. A year later, her presence is still sorely missed as is her keen sense of humour. Her organisation skills were exemplary and she ensured College pupils were dressed appropriately in her time overseeing the Uniform Shop. A keen dog lover, she left College to spend time with her beloved dog Libby and to volunteer at the local Animal Shelter. Hopefully she is appreciating her garden and walks on Cleeve Hill. Mathematics, Chemistry and Biology. For some years she tutored PGCE students as well as guiding newly qualified teachers through their first year of teaching. Christine managed the considerable commitment of coaching College rowing for 10 years and was a great example to the pupils in her care. Her leadership of the CCF Naval section since 2009 has been outstanding. In October 2013 Christine was awarded the HM Lord Lieutenant for Gloucestershire Certificate for Meritorious Voluntary Service. Christine will be missed by College. She has an exciting retirement planned. the admissions process. In particular Amanda showed a strong sense of empathy and understanding about the issues on parents' minds. Amanda brought professional knowledge and experience to the role from her broad career background in the educational and commercial sectors. During her time she helped recruit many high quality students, playing a key part in the expansion of College. She also took an active part in the wider life of College and both as a member of the senior team and as a parent herself. We wish her the very best of luck in the future. College community, not least by pupils and parents in The Prep who, for quite a few of those 40 plus years, have seen him, rain or shine, in the car park at the morning rush. He has worked in both schools, predominantly as a carpenter and caretaker, and there can’t be a room or department he has not visited within that time. His knowledge of our grounds and buildings is second to none and his flexibility and loyalty will be very difficult to replace. Brian has been a committed, skilled and trusted member of the team and we wish him the very best. Scheme which has now become well established throughout College. Sarah had a natural way with girls in Westal, working through issues together. She had the knack of spotting those who were a little shy and enabling them to shine. Her jewellerymaking evenings are part of Westal legend. She was appointed Housemistress of Chandos and Chandos Cottages from 2002 – 2010. From her involvement on the Netball pitches to her role as the staff listener, Sarah had a vital role. She will be missed and we wish her the very best for her new ventures.

CHELTENHAM NEWS

Anthony Walsh IT Technician, Cheltenham Prep 2002-2016 Tony joined The Prep in 2002 and soon became an integral part of the staff. Though a quiet man he was always happy to help. No job was too big or small and there was always plenty to keep him occupied. Cries of “Has anyone seen Tony?” could often be heard echoing down corridors, or e-mails pinged to

Iain Wilcox Visiting Music Teacher 2000-2017 Iain Wilcox taught bagpipes at College for 17 years. He brought a wealth of experience, including piping the Scottish team onto the pitch at international rugby matches and appearing as a piper in films. His traditional

Rupert Woodbridge Teacher & Head of Corinth, Cheltenham Prep 1998-2017 Rupert Woodbridge leaves The Prep school after 19 years of dedicated service. In that time, Rupert was a member of the Maths department as well as heading the RS department in recent years. In all those

Chris Reid Leconfield Housemaster 2009-2017 By William Dowley (Past Parent) Chris has exemplified the involved, supportive and caring Housemaster. In his eight years at Leconfield he modernised the pastoral care in the house with benefit to all the boys, but especially the younger ones, many of whom were leaving home for the first time. As a parent, one finds that the delight of a good Housemaster is that he takes a lot of the rebellious flak from

Anna Cutts Ashmead Housemistress 2007-2017 By Eleanor Jones-Perrott (A, 2017) The ultimate Ashmead spirit was shown by Mrs Cutts who ran the 100m relay at last year’s sports day with so much passion and resolve etched on her face. She was determined to beat her opponents; however, the one slight issue

him first thing in the morning, as staff struggled to get an image on the Interactive Whiteboards or to get sound from a computer. More often than not a reply would come back, “Have you switched it on?” Sometimes the problems would be more serious and he would work his magic to get the computers functioning as soon as possible. The other string to Tony’s bow was his filming of several productions a year, ranging from the Kingfishers’ Nativity to Y8 showcases. He was the first to volunteer to assist with the recordings, which he then expertly edited to provide DVDs. He was very popular and known for his great humour and dry asides. We wish him a long and happy retirement. costumes make him a striking figure. Iain is also an accomplished public speaker – particularly on the subject of whisky! His robust character and enthusiasm for his instrument were appreciated by his pupils. He enabled bagpipers to play a part in solemn ceremonies at College, such as the Remembrance Service. Although the sound of bagpipes was not always joyfully embraced by all, particularly first thing in the morning, Iain’s contribution to the musical life of College was appreciated and will be sorely missed. years he was always a calm and measured colleague. Time upon time upon the golf course the challenge was to get him to curse a wayward shot. But true to form – everything he sampled from life would be viewed as a glass half full. As Housemaster of Corinth he waited 10 years to win a House Championship and when he did, the whole school celebrated Corinth’s victory because it could not have happened to a nicer man. That Corinth then continued to win was slightly more annoying! We all wish Rupert well as he sets up a tutoring business in Cheltenham. your teenager, leaving oneself relatively unscathed. Chris could be appropriately stern when needed (and it is needed, sometimes, with teenage boys) but always displayed his never failing fair, nurturing attitude. He always noticed and recorded any achievement of any boy. He has been very ably supported in his role by the wonderfully caring house matron Fiona Warden, who joined Leconfield at the same time as Chris. Parents will remember Chris for all his support, guidance and help offered to boys and parents. Boys will remember him for being unnervingly proficient at lurking round corners and hearing things they didn’t want him to hear. They’ll remember his shorts, his crocs, his love of Tottenham Hotspur and his aversion to indoor cricket in Leconfield’s corridors. All Porcherites and parents wish Chris the best in his new role, with thanks for eight excellent years. His pride in Leconfield is obvious, and well deserved. was that she was competing against Mr Morgan, the ex English Rugby player, and therefore seemed like she was running in slow motion. Mrs Cutts’s facial expression will be forever ingrained in our memory. There has not been a day in Mrs Cutts’ 10 year tenure in Ashmead when her house spirit has not shown through. She constantly shows teachers around College just how amazing Ashmead and her girls really are. Sadly we have to say farewell to the Cutts’ family and their Ashmead legacy. She leaves us with great memories and lots of laughs shared. Mrs Cutts will be sorely missed, and all of us under her care wish her the best of luck in her new role at College.

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NEWS

Letter from the Head, Cheltenham Prep 2017 has been another excellent year at The Prep in all aspects of life. From fantastic exam results to success on the sports field and from outstanding music performances to brilliantly produced plays, The Prep has continued to thrive. The last year has also thrown up some interesting challenges. Upgrades have been made to our existing facilities and we have said goodbye to some excellent teachers. Thankfully we have been able to welcome equally talented new members of staff. The Prep is enjoying the fruits of investment in its physical and human resources. Practice within the classroom has not only been revived and modernised, but it is also rightly accountable and complemented by a programme of classroom refurbishment. Our library will soon receive a complete makeover, confirming its position as the essential centre of learning and also a place of quiet during a busy school day. This will add to the exciting and excellent work of our librarian, Pippa Carson, and also complement the arrival of our new Deputy Head (Academic), Rachel Hamlyn. By ensuring that The Prep has focused on standards of teaching and learning, it has secured the top academic award to the College five times in the past six years and Laura Bingham (Y8) has been awarded an Academic Scholarship for entry to Cheltenham Ladies’ College in Year 9. All of our Common Entrance candidates gained entry to their first choice of school. These achievements have been supported by the usual high standards of performance in co-curricular activities and special mention should be made of our thriving Kingfishers’ Chess Club. This year is the second year in a row that we have an Under 7s County Champion in The Delancey National Chess Competition. This early commitment to an opportunity outside of the classroom is the catalyst for further involvement and leads on to successful events such as Bugsy Malone, the Rosslyn Park 7s tournament, the House Singing and Summer Concert and many, many more. It seems that qualities which underpin successful performance in any aspect of life now need to be given a label as do the basic duties of care and compassion. We will be developing our rewards system to encompass the qualities of perseverance, resilience, challenge, empathy, creativity and participation. These are complemented with a Prep Award, something similar to the Duke of Edinburgh Award offered in senior schools but without the royalty, The Prep has always

sought to take absolute care of the children. Whatever the trends, however attractive the window dressing, The Prep will always be all about substance rather than just style. The Prep’s charitable efforts are typical of this and, without any undue fuss, we raised £6,367 for the Sue Ryder Hospice in Leckhampton. Engaging with the local community is the responsibility of every school and to that end, from September, our aim has been to develop a genuine partnership with Saint John’s Primary School in Cheltenham. Change management is challenging, especially when it comes to the movement of staff but I am delighted to say we have passed this challenge with flying colours. This year we have said farewell to Emma Collings, Mia Du Toit, Clare Edgington, Nicky Norwood, Nikki Massey, Sandra Parrish, Vanessa Service, Wendy Smith and Rupert Woodbridge and thank them all for their service to the school. Although not officially staff, he might beg to differ, I must mention Dan Bingham (OJ & L, 1987), who steps down as Chair of the Friends of The Prep. Dan has been an outstanding doer, not just a delegator, and the success of our last two signature events, the Fête and the Family Camp Out, can be attributed to his determination and leadership. Although they are thankfully not leaving us, Vicky Jenkins stepped down from the position of Deputy Head (Academic) after transforming the approach to teaching and learning in The Prep and Bob and Faye Wells left the boarding house in order to concentrate on their ‘day jobs’. I am extremely grateful for their massive contributions in these highly complex and pressurised areas of Prep life. The Prep is a thriving part of the College, the Heads working closely together is vital and I have no doubt that the new incumbents will be confirming this approach when they write their contribution to Floreat in 2018. Jonathan Whybrow Head, Cheltenham College Preparatory School

Jon Whybrow with the RAF Falcons

CHELTENHAM NEWS

Academic

develop our key skills and attributes are well prepared to face their future, the inevitable ups and downs, and, as such, have every chance of reaching their full potential.

The Academic life at The Prep continues to flourish with the children benefiting from committed, inspirational teaching and superb opportunities for learning and enrichment. At the forefront of our development this year is a focus on embedding our key skills and attributes in all; perseverance, empathy, creativity, challenge, resilience and participation. The education of young people is a huge responsibility and one which requires us to be ever reflective and outward-looking. It is no longer sufficient or responsible to prepare children only to receive knowledge, passive in their learning and not able to cope with failure. Children who

This year's Common Entrance and Scholarship results were testament to this. An impressive twenty-five scholarships and exhibitions were awarded to pupils. Amongst those was the top academic scholarship at College, the Lord James of Hereford award. Recognition of this type of achievement goes hand in hand with our pupils working towards the Prep Awards Scheme, a new initiative which mirrors many elements of the Duke of Edinburgh Award, and our 'plus' system in Middle and Upper School which now recognises the key skills and attributes rather than just success in subject areas. Pupils in Kingfishers and Lower School are

PREP NEWS

lucky to have Chloe Shelbourne-Ralph (OJ & We, 2012) talk to the children about life as an artist. Alayne Parsley Head of Art

Art In the past twelve months, Art at The Prep has been all about our town of Cheltenham. Mindful of the fact that we were hosting the SATIPS National Prep Schools’ Art Exhibition for the second year, I decided that House Art should be a competition based on local architecture. For the main projects, each year group was allocated a festival and used this as the theme to inspire their creations. Lower School joined in by creating a fabulous fullsize wire and paper horse, and papier mâché Gold Cup. Our finished pieces provided the perfect backdrop for the exhibition, which played host to more than 700 visitors on the first Sunday, overall 1400 people visited throughout the two weeks, and why not? We had more than 500 pieces of artwork from all over the country, it was really spectacular! Prep children were treated to an Assembly by illustrator and artist Korky Paul, who presented a very lively show. We were also 10

Boys’ Sport 2017 started with some outstanding performances on the hockey pitches, not just at A team level. Special mention must go to the U10C hockey team for their outstanding season and huge goal tally. Further successes came as the U9A won the Severnside Tournament, the U11A were crowned champions at the Rugby Tournament and superb 1st VII wins against Bromsgrove, Pinewood, Beaudesert, The Down’s Wraxall and St Hugh’s. The Summer Term saw outstanding performances from so many cricket teams that it is tough to select only a few to mention. Special mention must go to the 2nd XI and the U10A whose only losses this season came against county opposition in

encouraged to develop these skills with the introduction of characters such as Bounce Back Bunny and Ellie the Empathetic Elephant and look forward to receiving character stickers in recognition. The year ahead will hold many new adventures and challenges for us, which we very much look forward to. Rachel Hamlyn Deputy Head Academic the Cardiff and Vale sides, and to the 3rd XI whose only loss was against another school’s 2nd XI. The long tradition of strength amongst our B and C teams has continued with solid results, but more importantly a good set of technical skills and understanding of the game that belies their lower team status. The 1st XI went from strength to strength throughout the term with good wins against Pinewood, St Hugh’s, Beaudesert and Bromsgrove, as well as a superb win against the Cardiff and Vale County side. What a season – well done, boys. The 2017 Autumn Term has seen a huge amount of rugby fixtures. The game has changed and there is now a big focus on festivals, where children play a lot of small fixtures, with no scores kept, with a focus on enjoyment and development. This is balanced with the big match days, to give the boys the chance to learn and to put their skills under pressure. We have had a lot of superb results, along with some gallant losses, but the big highlights include the performances of our U9, ABC, teams this season, the U11B win against Clifton, the U13A wins against Bromsgrove, but the team of the season has to go to the U12A side. As U11s they failed to win a single match... one year on they won 12 out of 14; it is amazing how much of a difference a little confidence can do at this age! Duncan Simpson Head of Boys’ Sport

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NEWS

Richardson Walsh, Olympic gold medallists. We are also expanding our offering and thinking of the move up to senior school – we had Year 6 girls attending a Rackets masterclass, Year 8 girls getting out on the water to do some rowing, a combined Year 7 - 9 athletics entry in the District competition, and Year 5 girls attending a netball skills workshop.

Girls’ Sport This past year has been another of multiple and varied opportunities for girls’ sport. In addition to regular fixtures, girls had the chance to take on the teachers in our staff v pupil matches, and their peers in house matches. Our A teams did us proud at IAPS competitions in both hockey and netball, gaining valuable experience along the way. In addition to the major games, we continue to be represented in swimming and cross country with many girls achieving great success in these areas. One area of continued progress has been our exposure to high level sport and Athletics. In the netball term, the girls enjoyed an exciting and competitive ‘Team Bath’ netball match. In the hockey term, girls were put through their paces at a training camp led by Kate and Helen

And of course, all of the above is in addition to our standard games programme of hockey, netball and tennis or rounders. In these main sports, we put out on average 14 teams, who play twice weekly fixtures. We have played 134 hockey matches, with 89 of these resulting in wins or draws. Stacy Ramsay Head of Girls’ Sport

community and they have performed recitals for both local care homes and local primary schools in addition to the Chamber Choir singing carols in various locations in the lead up to Christmas.

The music department at The Prep is as busy as ever. We are teaching over 300 music lessons every week, running 20 different musical ensembles and performing weekly chapel services, regular pupils’ concerts, House Music and House Singing Competitions.

The pupils in school have enjoyed workshops given by experts in the field of ‘Rap’, ‘Beatboxing’ and ‘Junk Percussion’, and we are delighted to be working in partnership with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra who come in each term to deliver sessions to various age groups within The Prep. Our music tour in October 2017 was very successful, and saw a group of 30 choristers performing in Vienna.

Our music scholars spearhead our music outreach programme for the local

Kit Perona-Wright Head of Co-Curricular & Director of Music

The Roses Theatre, Tewkesbury and a cast of Year 8 pupils performed Romeo and Juliet and Year 6 produced a very challenging but successful Julius Caesar with an all-female cast.

feel very special and all of us ready for Christmas.

Music

Drama It has been another fine year for Drama at The Prep. Bugsy Malone was our big school production in the Spring Term which saw a cast of 90 from Middle and Upper School singing and dancing in this challenging show, but having great fun along the way. We were fortunate, again, to have the technical company, Blue Parrot, building our set and amazing both cast and audience with superb special effects and lighting. The owners and directors of the Blue Parrot company are all alumni from The Prep and College and genuinely love coming to give back to their old school. How lucky we are! The Autumn Term began with our participation in the Shakespeare Schools’ Festival where pupils rehearse for a term and a half, then perform a half-hour abridged Shakespeare play in a local professional theatre. This year we were at

Lower School provided a seasonal entertainment, Pantocrime. It is a modern play where someone has stolen the storytellers’ book of endings and so none of the traditional panto stories go to plan with hilarious consequences. This was performed alongside the two Kingfisher Nativity plays, making the end of the term

Finally, LAMDA lessons are going from strength to strength. We have employed a second LAMDA teacher to accommodate the demand of more pupils wanting lessons, exam results have been superb and showcase performances a success. Here’s to Treasure Island and The Complete History of the World…Abridged, up next. Jill Douglas Head of Drama 11

CHELTENHAM NEWS

Enhancing Lunch… with 10 Tonnes of Steel By John Champion (Bursar) ‘Google’ the expression ‘making the best of a bad job’ and you’ll find it defined as ‘doing something as well as one can under difficult circumstances’. At least that’s how the Oxford Dictionaries website puts it. ‘Doing something as well as one can under difficult circumstances’ also happens to be a perfect description of what the College catering team has been doing for as long as any of us can remember. They’ve been producing remarkably good meals despite operating from cramped, poorly designed kitchens, and working with equipment that has, in large part, been well past its best. In fact, bearing in mind just how difficult the circumstances have been, it’s hard to overstate what a great job they’ve been doing and we’re all very grateful to them. But times move on, and as pupil numbers grow and tastes and expectations become ever more sophisticated, we have to develop facilities and capabilities that keep pace. We’ve always recognised that food and nutrition are important

components of great pastoral care and we need to make sure that we remain at the forefront of independent schools catering. Overdue upgrades That’s why we’ve embarked on two key projects in the past twelve months. Firstly, we’ve begun working in partnership with the leading specialist catering provider in the independent sector, Holroyd Howe; and, secondly, we’ve embarked upon an ambitious redevelopment and reequipping of the senior school catering facilities. In combination, these two pieces of work will ensure that we soon have the skills, capabilities and facilities to rival the best, both locally and nationally. The work on our facilities has become widely known as the ‘Dining Hall project’ but in fact, the Dining Hall itself remains largely untouched. The historic parquet floor has received a long-overdue refurbishment – it’s now restored to its former glory – and the capacity of the Dining Hall will be increased when the salad bar is replaced by additional seating. But beyond that, the heritage of the room (see article on page 59) has

been respected, and a Cheltonian from the 1950s would immediately feel at home here – the food is already a hundred times better than it was back then, but the surroundings would feel very familiar. So where are the differences? Much of the major work has been going on ‘behind the scenes’. The existing kitchens have been completely strippedout and a number of challenging structural alterations have been made to increase both the size and the suitability of our food storage, preparation and

(top to bottom, left to right) What used to be the Hardy Lecture Theatre; demolition of the old kitchen; restoration of the old parquet flooring in the Dining Hall; and part of the 1.1km of new ducting 12

FLOREAT 2018

NEWS

(left to right) Artist’s rendition of the new cutlery pick-up area and the new food court cooking facilities. Readers familiar with the building will know that it has remained largely untouched for the past 60 years or so, and the extensive reshaping that we’ve now undertaken has presented some complex engineering and construction challenges. Whole rooms have disappeared – the Hardy Lecture Theatre for example – and have been replaced by spaces that will allow the team to operate far more effectively, and pupils to enjoy the best dining experience possible. Ten tonnes of steelwork, 5,000 kilometres of cabling, more than 2 kilometres of water pipework

and ventilation ducts, an investment of £3m and countless man-hours of sheer ‘hard graft’ will result in wonderful facilities for current Cheltonians, and a building that has been thoroughly futureproofed for generations of Cheltonians to come. This is very much an investment in the future as well as the present. And the changes aren’t all ‘behind the scenes’. One of the signature features of the project is a new glass-fronted entrance to the Dining Hall directly off the Quad, dispensing with the grim, drafty corridor that has long-served as a new

(clockwise, from top left) Structural work begins; the new kitchen is shaping up; and College Coffee is almost brewed

Cheltonian’s first ‘taste’ of College catering. If you’re familiar with the corridor I’m talking about you’ll know why that’s a first-impression we’ll all be very pleased to see the back of! College Coffee The new automatic glass doors lead to a bright spacious tray and cutlery pick-up area, and from there on into a brilliant new food court where the Holroyd Howe team will have the perfect environment to present meals in the most attractive and appetising ways possible. We know the food will be great, now we’ll have the opportunity to present it beautifully too. And all of this is supplemented by a brand new ‘College Coffee’ coffee-shop, where you’ll be welcome to come and join us for a cup! With limited resources available to us, it can be tough to decide our investment priorities. Very simply, we can never do everything we have on our ‘wish list’. But of course, some things are much more than mere ‘wishes’ – some developments are fundamental to continuing to look after our community well, and to making sure that in all respects College is the best it can be. We firmly believe that the catering projects we’ve embarked on in the past year fall into that category. Excellent food isn’t a ‘nice-to-have,’ it’s a ‘must’ and we’re confident that the old joke about a mush-room being the place that school lunches are stored won’t be used about us in future! Next time you’re in College please come and take a look for yourself – we think you’ll be impressed. ■ 13

CHELTENHAM NEWS

New Appointments Nicola Huggett Head, Cheltenham College Mrs Nicola Huggett, currently the successful Head of Blundell’s School in Devon, will take up the Headship of Cheltenham College from September 2018. Educated at Marlborough College, Nicola went on to read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford University. After successfully completing a graduate management scheme in advertising with J Walter Thompson Ltd, she returned to Oxford to take a PGCE in History and began teaching in 1994. From 1996 to 2007 Nicola taught Politics and History at Haileybury, working closely with Old Cheltonian Danny Hearn (OJ & NH, 1959) as her Head of Department. She became a Houseparent in 1999 and Head of Boarding in 2005. In 2007 Nicola was appointed as Deputy Head of Downe House School in Berkshire, where she remained until her appointment to Blundell’s in 2013.

Nicola has asked us to share this with you; “I am delighted to have been selected by Council to lead Cheltenham College in the next phase of its development, building on the excellent work and strong foundations laid by Alex Peterken. I know it will be a privilege to work alongside the outstanding team at College and The Prep, and I have already met many parents, pupils, staff and Old Cheltonians and I look forward to meeting many more of you in due course.”

Nicola has many interests including music and sport. A keen runner, she has completed the London Marathon and has enjoyed playing Club Hockey. Whilst at Oxford, she was both Captain of her College Boat Club and President of the

We are sure you will join us in congratulating Nicola and warmly welcoming her to College. Nicola will become Head in September 2018, and following Alex Peterken’s departure at Christmas, Crispin Dawson (Senior Deputy Head) has been appointed Acting Head, and will lead College during the interregnum.

Anthony Clarke Head of English, Cheltenham Prep

St Andrew’s Preparatory School, and later a further position as Assistant Head Pastoral.

Tony graduated from the College of St Mark & St John in Plymouth in 1995, before completing a PGCE in Secondary English at the University of Bath. He taught in the state system in Gloucestershire for the next seventeen years, before moving to Kenya with his wife and two daughters in 2014 to take up the positions of Head of English and Senior Boys’ Houseparent at

After three busy and very fulfilling years in East Africa, Tony returned to the UK in July 2017 to take up his new position at The Prep. He is particularly keen on football coaching, but his passion is mountain-climbing, having tackled Africa’s two highest peaks during his time abroad. Tony is very much looking forward to taking an active role in all aspects of school life at The Prep.

Claire Deshayes Head of Modern Languages, Cheltenham Prep

much that she decided to start a teaching career in the UK, studying at Bath University. She went on to move to London where she taught French in two secondary schools and then became Head of French at Newton Prep in Battersea.

Claire Deshayes was born and brought up in France. She lived in Paris and took an English degree at the University of La Sorbonne. In addition to her studies she trained for three years as an actress and toured with a theatre company both in France and abroad. After several years of acting, Claire spent a year in Scotland as a French assistant and enjoyed it so 14

Oxford University Riding Club. Nicola is indeed an accomplished rider, and has competed in several international two-star level, three-day events. Married to Spencer, they have four children – two boys and two girls - including 13 year-old twins. Nicola’s eldest daughter is reading Anthropology at Manchester University, whilst her eldest son has just commenced his A Level studies.

In 2009, Claire moved to the Cotswolds with her family and worked at Prior Park Prep for 7 years as Head of MFL. She joined Cheltenham College Prep in September 2017 to lead the MFL department.

FLOREAT 2018

Rachel joins from St Hugh's Prep School, Oxfordshire, where she enjoyed working for eight years. During this time, Rachel worked at a senior level taking responsibility within both the academic and pastoral leadership of the school. Rachel brings with her a knowledge of both the independent and maintained sector, and has experience of supporting schools at a strategic

Rachael Merrison Records & Heritage Manager Rachael became the new Records and Heritage Manager in January 2017, and also holds the post of Data Protection Officer. She graduated from the University of Liverpool with a Masters in Archives & Records Management and went on to work at the National Gallery, London, cataloguing the records of the fine arts dealer, Thos. Agnew & Sons Ltd. She subsequently became Deputy Trust Archivist at St Bartholomew’s Hospital (within Barts Health NHS Trust), where she managed the hospital’s archive service and museum, and undertook research into its 895-year history.

Shaun Pirttijarvi Head of Academic Music Shaun read Music at the University of York as a first study organist and accompanist. Following this he took up the post of Assistant Organist at Lancaster Priory and completed his PGCE in Secondary Music. In September 2012, Shaun was appointed Head of Keyboard at Milton Abbey School in Dorset, and he was promoted to Director of Music in September 2014. Alongside the usual tasks of a DoM, Shaun also directed the Milton Abbey International Music

Rich Watts Marketing & Communications Manager Rich Watts joined College as Marketing and Communications Manager in October 2017. He will be leading the team to review College’s marketing plans for all areas ensuring that there is a clear strategy for the years ahead. He brings with him a wealth of marketing experience having previously worked with organisations including Barratt Homes, the British Marine Federation and several other independent schools across the country as a Marketing Account Director.

NEWS

Rachel Hamlyn Deputy Head Academic, Cheltenham Prep

level as a leading teacher in the advisory team at local authority level. Having studied a BA(Ed) in Educational Studies at the University of Reading, Rachel has a background in primary education but a particular passion for teaching English and Art. When not at school, Rachel enjoys spending time with her husband, Duncan, an engineer, and their children Henry, 11, and Isabel, 7, at their Cotswold home. Skiing, travel and fun with family and friends feature highly on their calendar.

Since arriving at College, she has enjoyed delving into the collections of both Prep and the Senior School, as well as working on the management of current data, and looks to develop online access to our heritage in the coming years. Alongside her work for Cheltenham College, Rachael is co-editor for the Association of Manuscripts and Archives in Research newsletter and a member of the School Archivists’ Group. Rachael lives in Cheltenham with her fiancé, Ross, and enjoys hiking, painting portraits, and is currently attempting to learn to dance (with only partial success!).

Festival and Summer School in collaboration with award-winning British a cappella group VOCES8 for three highly-successful years. As Head of Academic Music, Shaun is looking forward to raising the profile of academic music at College, complementing the outstanding cocurricular music programme on offer. Shaun is passionate about music performance and is delighted to be directing Canticum, the largest choir in College, as well as singing with the Schola Cantorum. A musical theatre enthusiast, Shaun is particularly excited about the forthcoming performance of West Side Story.

Rich attended Lancaster University and graduated with a 2:1 in Advertising and Marketing; however, marketing is not his only passion. In 2012 he won the UK Business Speaker of the Year competition and regularly works with groups in the community teaching and developing public speaking skills. His iPad is usually employed watching footage of speeches from throughout history, and at home there is always a public speaking book to hand. Rich is a proud father to a new-born daughter, River, who has spent her first weeks proving to her parents that she has the lungs and volume to be able to give a rousing speech in future.

CHELTENHAM NEWS

Dan Evans Housemaster of Leconfield Dan joined College in 2014 as Deputy Head of Upper College, Higher Education and Careers. He teaches History and History of Art and prior to Cheltenham was Head of History of Art & Architecture at Wycombe Abbey School. Dan coaches rowing, predominantly with the 2nd VIII, and he is the President of the Cheltenham College Boat Club. Before his career in teaching, Dan spent nine years running an educational travel

Ester Leach Housemistress of Ashmead

company and led residential gap year and school trips in Venice, Florence and Rome. His wife Becks is the Higher Education and Careers advisor at College and worked as a Head-Hunter and recruitment consultant in London for 15 years prior to this. They have two young boys, Hector and Tobias. Together they aim to run a happy house with the wellbeing of every boy at its heart, where every pupil’s talent is nurtured and aspirations run high. Dan considers it a great honour to be taking over a house with such a rich history.

Ester started life at College in Ashmead as a Lower College tutor and Spanish teacher in 2010. In 2013, she became Head of Modern Languages and resident tutor in Westal, where she moved with her husband Matthew and twin daughters, Zara and Tula. Ester spent most of her early academic life in Spain but decided to come to the UK to read Modern Languages and graduated with a BA

Honours degree, she followed this with a PGCE in Secondary Education. Her first teaching post was at Kingswood School, Bath, where she spent two years and had her first experience of a boarding school. What attracted her most about boarding was being able to interact with pupils in different spheres of school life, be it sport, extra-curricular or in House. Ester feels very privileged to be going back to Ashmead and taking the helm. She is looking forward to getting to know the Ashmead girls and their families.

Jo Wintle Housemistress of College Lawn

and, latterly, as Housemistress of Beale House, a Sixth Form boarding house.

Jo joined College in September 2017 as Housemistress of the new girls’ boarding house, College Lawn. Following her graduation from Oxford University where she studied English Language and Literature, Jo undertook a PGCE before joining Sevenoaks School as an English teacher and non-resident tutor. Moving to Cheltenham in 2007, she taught English at Cheltenham Ladies’ College alongside roles there as US University Advisor, Head of the Professional Guidance Centre (Careers/HE), IB English co-ordinator

Jo and her family (husband Simon and four year old Arthur, who attends Cheltenham Prep) are delighted to join the College community. Jo says: “It is a great privilege to be given the responsibility for establishing a new house, and I look forward to working with the girls in my care to establish a warm, supportive and inclusive community at College Lawn”. College Lawn is a beautiful restoration of stunning Regency buildings, with spectacular views on to College Field and Chapel, phase 1 of College Lawn opened

with 24, 3rd and 4th form girls with a mixture of day, day boarding and boarding places. With phase 2 due for completion in time for September 2018, the new house plays a key role in the College’s progress to gender balance across the school.

INTERNAL APPOINTMENTS COLLEGE Crispin Dawson – Acting Head Anna Cutts – Acting Deputy Head (Pastoral) Timothy Brewis – Assistant Head (Academic) Simon Conner – Acting Registrar James Copeland-Jordan – Head of Chemistry Christiane Dickens – Director of External Relations Andrew Hailes – Deputy Bursar Graham Mallard – Head of Academic Enrichment & Research Isabella Mech – Head of Upper College Jane Moore – PA to Acting Head 16

Kirstie Naish – Head of Design, Technology & Textiles Ben Page – Head of Modern Foreign Languages Richard Penny – Senior HsM, seconded to SMT Kay Rackliff – Director of HR & Payroll Andrew Straiton – Head of English Dan Townley – Head of Science PREP Dickon Baird – Head of Boarding Victoria Jenkins – Head of Classics

FLOREAT 2018

CHELTENHAM AT THE RACES CHAMPiONâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S DAY Tuesday 14th March EVENTS

Bozana Rawlinson & Juliette Sherwood

Byron Baber & Simon Harrison

Current Parents Michael & Felicity Broom

Current Council Member Bob Acheson, John Chatfeild-Roberts (L, 1980), Simon Eaton (BH, 1980), Past Parent Cathy Sloan & Malcolm Sloan (OC Administrator)

Past Parent Cynthia Dowty, Rosemary King, Calvin New & Pauline Hislop

His Honour Judge Michael Chambers Q.C. (Xt, 1976) & Andrew Robertson Q.C.

Romayne Instone with Past Parents Matthew & Wendy Brown

Current Prep Parent Sara Berrow, Current Parent Alison Goff and Past Parent Jane Woodward

Current Parent Anita Brister, David Melligan, Susan Leggett & Current Parent Graeme Brister

Current Parent Rob Stanton with Past Parent Christina Horan

Pablo Dubois & Nick Jones

David Fermont (L, 1964) & Linda Fermont

Wendy Hopkins, Jacqui Gerrard & Caroline Wood (Hon OC, Past Staff Member & Past Parent)

Tom King, Colin Hislop, Kelvin New & Past Parent George Dowty

Past Parent Phil Moorsom (H, 1985), Loran Spiteri & Melanie Arnold

EVENTS

International & Regional Reunions 2017 Malaysia

London

Devon

February

May

Thailand

London

September

November

Hong Kong 18

November

March

FLOREAT 2018

Henley Royal Regatta Wednesday 29th June

EVENTS

Current Parent Adam Schallamach, Jed Greenhouse (Boatman) & Current Parent Phil Mitchell

Current Parents Heidi Callon-Hine, Will Hine (H, 1986) & Clare Kemp

Past Parent James Wasdell, Current Parents Sisi Janes & Nick August (OJ & H, 1983)

Current Parent Sisi Janes with Dominic & Nichola Hawes-Fairley

Past Staff Members Ed Fenn & James Bracey with Jed Greenhouse (College Boatman) & Olympic Gold Medal Winner Matt Gotrel

Minty Ramsey (A, 2017), Emily Lowde (Q, 2017), Shauna McLaren (Cha, 2017) & Georgina Rigg (Q, 2017)

Otto Ledniczky (L, 1973) & Robert Ledniczky

Helen & Christopher Hartley-Sharpe (Ch, 1980)

Current Parents Carolyn Gilder, Georgie Wasdell & Laura James

Current Prep Parents Sue & Mark Blanchfield

Photography by Andy Banks

Current Staff Member Sebastian Bullock with Chris Adams (BH, 1957)

Edward August (U6th, H), Tommy Ladds (L6th, Xt), Benedict Schallamach (U6th, BH), Hugo Oglina (U6th, Xt), Sebastian Villars (U6th, S) & Jed Greenhouse (Boatman)

Edward August (U6th, H), Hugo Oglina (U6th, Xt), Olivia Mitchell (L6th, We), Arabella Johnson (U6th, A), Tommy Ladds (L6th, Xt), Sebastian Villars (U6th, S) & Tara Wasdell (We, 2017)

Malcolm Sloan (OC Administrator), James Quibell (Xt, 1993) & Barry Wild (Past Staff Member)

Peter Mayes (L, 1965), David Fermont (L, 1964), Linda Fermont & Frances Mayes

EVENTS

OpERA BRAVA AT CHELTENHAM COLLEgE 3rd June 2017

Photography by Andy Banks

Guests enjoyed Mozartâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s The Impresario and Favourite Classical Arias, Duets & Ensembles

FLOREAT 2018

EVENTS

Kindly sponsored by:

See: www.abbeybusinessgroup.com and www.trinityhousepaintings.com 21

EVENTS

2018 Event Highlights House Reunions Following a successful event for the Anniversary of Christowe, 28 150th Hazelwell, Leconfield and Newick House in 2016, we are now organising reunions for the remaining houses. On 28th April we will welcome back all Girls’ Houses, and we will host Boyne House, Cheltondale and Day Boy Houses on 17th November. The atmosphere at the previous event was absolutely amazing, and we hope to replicate this in 2018. Get the date in the diary and get your year group together – looking forward to a full house! APR

House of Commons Drinks You may remember that we a drinks event at the 21 planned House of Commons on 8th June last year, however, Theresa May scuppered our plans by calling a snap election for that date! We will now be hosting a reception on the terrace with drinks and canapés on the summer solstice, 21st June, elections permitting! The terrace provides brilliant views of London over the Thames and we hope to see many of you there! Save the date, we don’t want to miss you! JUN

Dinner At The Imperial War Museum We are very pleased to be able to host an event on November at The Imperial War Museum as a 8 8th conclusion to our World War I commemorations. The event will include a private view of The Lord Ashcroft Gallery; the collection contains a number of Victoria Crosses awarded to Old Cheltonians in World War II. This will also be an opportunity to meet the new Head, Nicola Huggett. We are anticipating a sell out event, so register your interest early to avoid disappointment. Tickets will be in the region of £100pp, and will include a drinks reception, private view, three course meal and guest speaker. More details and invitations will follow in the summer. NOV

For more information on any of our events or to register interest, please contact Rebecca Creed, Society Manager: r.creed@cheltenhamcollege.org or 01242 265694. 22

FLOREAT 2018

LEAVERSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; DAy Saturday 1st July

EVENTS

Freddy Foster (NH) & Nikolay Alexandrov (NH)

Chandos Girls, Vivi Radway & Lottie Jones

Luke Knudsen (NH), Ed Johnston (L) & Ollie Evans (S)

Father and son Jack Burns (NH) and Simon Burns

Chandos Girls, Olivia McDowell-Foord, Elle Sawamiphakdi, Catriona Zimmern & Rosie Mahoney

Fin Milton (Xt), Parth Patel (H), Kiara Munn (Cha), Nikolay Alexandrov (NH) & Jeremy Wahome (Xt)

Photography by Andy Banks

Georgia Whittal (A) with Ashmead Head Boy Luke Knudsen (NH) & Housemistress Anna Cutts Head Girl Ankita Mediratta (We)

Boyne House Boys Mahmoud Ismail, Tom Hill, Ben Adams & Will Jury-Simpson

Max Dymoke (NH), Emily Campbell (Cha) & Josh Stanton (NH)

Current Parents Vasoulla & Chris Asprou with Gary & Catherine Palmer

Ella Mayes (A), Rheanna Hopkins (Q), Juliette Lamden (Q), Jasmine Murphy (Cha), Joanna White (Cha), India Blake (Q), Sophie Baillie-Hamilton (Q) & Harriet White (Cha) 23

EVENTS

LEAVERSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; BALL Saturday 1st July 2

Photography by Andy Banks

1 Current Parents Andrew & Claudia Percival with Tara Percival (A, 2017)

7 Josh Stanton (NH, 2017) and Current Parents Beth & Robert Stanton

2 Current Parents Vishal & Chetal Patel & Parth Patel (H)

8 Kathleen Waller, Past Parent Lee Bond & Rosa Bond (We)

15 The Southwood Table

3 Milly Fair (A, 2017), Angus & Cath Fair (Past Parents)

9 Georgina Rigg (Q) & Emily Lowde (Q)

16 Sian Salter, Currents Parents Grizzie & David Elliott with Oskar Elliott (L)

10 Shauna McLaren (Cha), Minty Ramsey (A) & Lucy Hall (Cha)

17 The Magician

4 Past Parents Christopher & Janice Knudsen with Luke Knudsen (NH, 2017) 5 Past Parents Simon & Polly Burns with Jack Burns (NH, 2017) 6 Elle Sawamiphakdi (Cha), Jan Sutaputra & Krisda Sawamiphakdi (L, 1985 & Past Parent) 24

11 Southwood Boys Will Hardy, Ollie Evans, Laurie Davies, Tom Maclaren, Harry Potter, Jamie Orme, Shazad Karim & Max Hindmarch 12 The Christowe Table

13 The Ashmead Table 14 The Chandos Table

18 Lots of action at the casino

FLOREAT 2018

EVENTS

12 13

The Survivors

EVENTS

pAST STAFF DINNER AND 1992 REuNION Saturday 14th October

Tom Howard (BH) & Ed Easton (BH)

Lucy Quibell (Cha) & Justin Quibell

Current Staff Member Sebastian Bullock with Past Staff Members Pete Summers, Malcolm Mennie, Christine Harrison, Barry Wild, Peter Middleton & Charlie Wright

Past Staff Members John Bristol, William Simpson & Trevor Davies

Graeme & Zoe Roberts (Past Staff Members)

Past Staff Member Brian Pond & Malcolm Sloan (OC Administrator)

Sam Crowther (NH), Tom Billingham (W) & Euan Thorneycroft (L)

Matthew Tangye (H), Sam Crowther (NH), Euan Thorneycroft (L) & Nick Marangos (H)

Freddie White (U6th, BH) & Past Staff Member Christine Harrison

Piers Glover (Xt) & Claire Glover

Lucy Quibell (Cha) & Christian Johnson-Gibbs (NH)

Matthew Brumwell (L), James Dobson (Xt), James Lyall-Grant (Xt) James Westbrook (BH) & Alex Hayes (L)

Past Staff Members Tim Pearce, Cathy Sloan (Past Parent) & Peter Middleton

Past Staff Members Tom Adams & Don Barnes with Barbara Barnes

Photography by Andy Banks

Andrew Thomson (Xt) & Adrian Wood (Xt)

FLOREAT 2018

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EVENTS

Chandos Ladies, Virginia Kelly, Charlotte Hunt, Kate Hobbs, Sara Lear, Jade Goodrich, Caroline Pynn and Lucy Holt

Current Staff Members Sebastian Bullock & Christiane Dickens with Past Staff Member Brian Pond

Tom Howard (BH) & James Lyall-Grant (Xt)

Adrian Wood (Xt), Tony Wilson (BH), Giles Morrison (L) & Toby Boothman (L)

Current Staff Member Karl Cook, Ed Fulton (L) & Trevor Davies (Past Hazelwell Housemaster)

Malcolm Sloan (OC Administrator) Christian JohnsonGibbs (NH) & Louise Johnson-Gibbs

Emma & Tony Wilson (BH)

Giles Morrison (L), Paddy Christopher (U6th, H & Deputy Head Boy) & Charlie Wright (Past Leconfield Housemaster)

Piers Glover (Xt) & Adrian Wood (Xt)

Past Staff Members Barry Wild & Peter Middleton with Fiona Wild

Ed Gooding (BH), Toby Boothman (L), Tom Howard (BH) & Robin Badham-Thornhill (H, 1973 & President of The Cheltonian Society)

Fiona Wild, Toby Boothman (L) & Julie Wright

Dom Barnes (Past Staff Member), Barbara Barnes, Elizabeth Vinestock & Gerald Vinestock (Past Cheltondale Housemaster)

EVENTS

A VISIT TO WORKINg TITLE FILMS 28th September 2017 On the 28th September, a group of Lower Sixth Theatre Studies students including myself had the opportunity to visit the Headquarters of Working Title Films in central London. We arrived in the early evening to a welcoming reception of a few ‘runners’, who took us on a fascinating tour of the offices in the building. We saw a variety of jobs that took place, including movie editors sitting in studios with huge screens, to the executive producers’ top offices where many eminent actors had previously spent time in! Later in the evening, we chatted to OCs and current College parents who had come to watch Victoria and Abdul, Working Titles newly released film in their private screening rooms. Having been told the likes of Stephen Hawkins had sat and watched in that very plush cinema we were so excited! It was brilliant to see Bafta 2017 Best Actor Winner and OC Adeel Aktar (OJ & NH, 1999) in action as Mohammed. The movie was great and even more enjoyable having been sat in those mammoth leather seats. Overall, it was an amazing experience to have been able to visit a company so renowned for their immensely popular films. Thank you very much to Tim Bevan (H, 1976), co-founder of Working Title Films, for this opportunity. ■

by Bella Barber (L6th, A)

FLOREAT 2018

Kindly sponsored by

Supporting

Sunday 26th November

Photography by Andy Banks

EVENTS 29

EVENTS

The Christmas Carol Service

Photography by Andy Banks

Friday 15th December

FLOREAT 2018

The Cheltonian Society Network

Welcome to the 21st Century! We have recently launched The Cheltonian Society Network – www.cheltoniansociety.org – an online community which gives you the opportunity to connect with other Society members.

FEATURES

You should have already received an email with your login details, but if you haven’t, please get in touch with Frances who will see what’s gone awry – f.morrowbrown@cheltenhamcollege.org. The Cheltonian Society Network offers a range of great features including: • following and getting involved with OC Sports and other groups; • finding fellow Society members, reminiscing and keeping in touch; • reading publications, including Floreat, online; • helping us to find lost OCs; • signing up to volunteer to act as a mentor or to offer work experience to students and young OCs; and • booking tickets to events online! The network will evolve as we learn more about what you want from it, so please do let us know if there is a function you would like to see, or if anything isn’t working quite as it should. You can contact any of the Society team – see details on the right of this page – we would love to hear from you.

The Cheltonian Society is an allinclusive organisation for everyone who has, or has had, an association with College or The Prep. Membership is automatic and includes current and former parents, current and former pupils, as well as current and former staff. The Society is led by the Society Manager under the direction of the Director of External Relations.

Keep in touch through social media... We also have a very active social media presence these days, so make sure you’re following us to keep up to date! facebook.com/cheltoniansociety instagram.com/cheltoniansociety twitter.com/cheltoniansoc

Contact Society Manager Rebecca Creed r.creed@cheltenhamcollege.org 01242 265694 OC Administrator Malcolm Sloan m.sloan@cheltenhamcollege.org 01242 265664 Social Media Manager Frances Morrow-Brown f.morrowbrown@cheltenhamcollege.org 01242 706812 Society Officer Susie Bosano s.bosano@cheltenhamcollege.org 01242 706815 General enquiries society@cheltenhamcollege.org Cheltonian Society Bath Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL53 7LD

FEATURES

Hong Kong Reunion By Ivan Yuen (H, 1986)

On 20 April 2017, around 20 Hong Kong OCs attended a reunion at the UBS Wealth Management office in Kowloon hosted by Greg Ng (L, 1995). UBS is well known for its modern art collection and the Kowloon office boasts a magnificent view of Victoria Harbour. Greg dug deep into the cellar to unearth some 2010 Réserve de la Comtesse for us to savour. Such irresistible temptations enticed many OCs to cross over to the Dark Side (as Kowloon is known to Hong Kong islanders). Giles Selby (H, 1994), who only moved to Hong Kong a few months before, made a flying debut; hope to see him more often at OC events. Making a fleeting appearance

was Charles Wong (Xt, 2010) who had to leave early to work on an IPO though his spirit stayed was us all night. Also with us in spirit was the Rev. Harry Ching (NH, 2002) who was serving the Almighty in the Gulf but was toasted to as it was his birthday. Lubricated by the fine 2010 vintage, conversations flowed. Greenites inevitably started talking about Nick Lowton who shone a light over the best boarding house in the universe. Greg arranged a General Studies talk from serial adventurer, Matt Prior, on his journey from UK to Mongolia and back again in a clapped out Jeep. His exploits reminded many OCs of Edward Wilson.

During the talk, Janet Fong (Cha, 2012) and Maggie Li (Cha, 2012) exercised their ladies’ prerogative to be a little less than on time. The ex-prefects present found it hard to resist giving them 4 sides each. After the talk, OCs from over three decades continued to mingle, exchanging tales from different eras. Older OCs learnt about Ashmead and Westal while younger ones heard about Cheltondale. While many things seemed to have changed for the better, certain traditions have endured. The evening ended all too soon. Special thanks go to Greg for hosting this complimentary event. ■

L to R: Sherlock Ng (L, 2000), Sam Lee (BH, 2009), Andy Wong (NH, 2010), Henry Chan (NH, 2008), Charles Wong (Xt, 2010), Ivan Yuen (H, 1986), Gavin Yeung (L, 2010), Greg Ng (L, 1995), Giles Selby (H, 1994), Jolyon Ellwood-Russell (NH, 1991), Marco Yeung (H, 2007), the speaker Matt Prior, Michelle Chin and Kevin Chin (L, 1992) 32

FLOREAT 2018

Memories of Shacks and Sweatrooms By Andrew Allen (H, 1972)

So whilst working on Court 2 this year I got talking to a chap who was wearing an OC tie. He turned out to be Rob Davies, son of Trevor Davies (S, 1984), who was Housemaster of Hazelwell during some of my time at College. Rob was at the tennis with his mother Anne who remembered me from my time in the House. This was quite amazing as we had not seen each other for some 45 years. Rob would also have lived in the house at the same time but was a small boy then. It was such a pleasure to see them both and to reminisce about life at College in the seventies. Dormitory My father Patrick Allen (H, 1945) had been at the College during the second world war and there is a picture of him in Then & Now wearing the regulation boiler suit, and making his bed in the Hazelwell ‘Zoo’. Some 25 years later I was also to sleep in that dormitory which looked very much the same as in the photo and so called, I believe, because it was also used as a through route to the sick bay and other rooms. You had to creep through at night to go to the loo and avoid disturbing the boys sleeping there.

When I joined College in 1968 modernisation was underway with fagging and the wearing of mortarboards recently abolished. In Hazelwell we had two long dormitories with iron bedsteads and sunken mattresses, in the day we used the junior and senior sweatrooms. After a couple of years you would progress to a shared ‘shack’ (study) before finally getting a single ‘shack’.

FEATURES

A chance encounter in 2017 at the Wimbledon tennis prompted me to write this piece for Floreat. It came about as, for the last four years, since retiring from full time work, I have been a member of the Association of Honorary Stewards at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships. We are there to help ensure the smooth running of the Championships including the operation of the big queue and stewarding the gates and show courts. It is always a wonderful experience to be part of the Wimbledon fortnight and the Stewards are a great team from all walks of life. But I didn’t expect to discover three other OC Stewards besides myself; James Dewar (L, 1964), Nick Lipscomb (L, 1968) and Peter Shepherd (NH, 1962). I understand Nick was a fag to James; this must have been just before the practice ended.

These shacks were generally furnished using items brought from home or bought from the previous occupants and decorated in gaudy colours with a variety of drapes and posters. I believe the terms ‘shacks’ and ‘sweatrooms’ are still used. I remember the process of getting up in the morning; the house bell was rung at 7.00am, 7.10am and 7.20am and you had to be at breakfast in hall at 7.30am. It was just possible to stay in bed till the last bell and still make it to breakfast. Retailing and retirement After College, I was very lucky to get a place at St John’s College, Oxford, and had a very happy four years there. I occasionally kept in touch with College via a few Oxford Cheltonian dinners held at St John’s. My working career took me to the John Lewis Partnership where I joined as a

“ It was just possible to stay in bed till the last bell and still make it to breakfast ”

Andrew Allen: at College (top left); and acting as a Wimbledon steward (above)

graduate trainee in computing expecting to stay a couple of years but to my surprise stayed 36 years. I joined at a time when retailers were just catching on to the fast developing opportunities opened up by IT and the combination of this with the ever fascinating retail scene held my interest for a long time. In my retirement, one of the interests I have is long distance walking and every year I walk a National Trail with a fellow John Lewis retiree. This year, back in June, I walked the Cotswold Way, end to end, and enjoyed the fine views of College as the path skirts round Cheltenham taking in Leckhampton Hill and Cleeve Hill, familiar to me during CCF exercises and Sunday afternoon bike rides. Very moving to look back on all of this after nearly 50 years since I first went to Cheltenham. ■ 33

FEATURES

Channel Swim Rematch By David Levin (Past Staff Member) Memories of an epic swimming challenge came flooding back thirty years on, when members of the two teams involved reunited at the Sandford Parks Lido in August 2017. The original Cross Channel Relay race took place on 4th August 1987, when the College team beat Cheltenham Swimming Club (CSC) by 29 minutes in the, then, sixth fastest relay crossing of the Channel ever. The idea came about from discussions between myself, the Second Master, and Dr Rod Jaques (H, 1978), then at Cheltenham General, later Medical Director of the England Institute for Sport. I then spoke to Duncan Heenan, of the CSC, whose immediate response was: “Lets make it a relay race against the CSC and raise funds for the National Star Centre at Ullenwood”. Duncan Heenan is probably one of only a very few people to have swum the English Channel Relay and solo, run the London Marathon and cycled from Land’s End to John O’Groats! The date for the race was fixed for the first suitable day after 31st July 1987. Rod and I decided that we would be part of the team, with six College pupils. As Master in charge of Swimming, I invited six Sixth Formers to join the team, and we trained for a year in preparation for the race. All those invited signed up enthusiastically.

Tim Dargie (NH, 1988), Anthony I'Anson (H, 1988), David Levin (Past Staff Member), Mark Coates-Smith (W, 1987), Rod Jaques (H, 1978), Alistair Nayler (H, 1987), Ian Powell (OJ & NH, 1988) & Faris Davidson (Xt, 1987) 34

They were: • Mark Coates-Smith (W, 1987) • Tim Dargie (NH, 1988) • Faris Davidson (Xt, 1987) • Anthony I’Anson (H, 1988) • Alistair Nayler (H, 1987) • Ian Powell (OJ & NH, 1988) Channel Swimming Association (CSA) rules forbid the use of a wet suit, only allowing a swimming cap and Speedo costume. Relay rules require a team of six to take it in turns to swim for an hour, accompanied by an escort boat for safety. Rod drew up a training schedule designed for performance to peak in early August 1987. This consisted of pool swimming, weight training and the occasional run, to increase both strength and aerobic fitness. Once the Summer Term arrived, Rod and I had the bright idea of swimming in the River Severn so as to get used to cold open water conditions. This was brought to an abrupt halt one evening, a dead sheep floated down the river with its stomach swollen with maggots! Luckily it burst 10 yards downstream of the swimming pack and not closer. Thinking like seals In mid July, the team went up to Lake Windermere with a view to intensive cold water conditioning. The Naylers very kindly placed their residential boathouse at the

team’s disposal. Successful Channel relay swimming basically involves swimmers being able to complete a controlled sprint for a full hour. On this basis, Rod devised a fiendish schedule consisting of a one and a half hour swim after breakfast at 08:30, sprinting between bouys for an hour at noon, some running in mid-afternoon followed by a one hour swim in the late afternoon. Between sessions we were free to water ski or kayak on the lake. Unsurprisingly, by the third day, sleeping between sessions was the preferred option! The other addition to the preparation was regular ‘carbohydrate overloads’ at meals, with the requirement to drink one and a half pints of milk stout to increase weight. The target was an additional stone and a half by race day. Long distance swimming is probably the only sport in which fat is more essential than muscle. Just think of a seal! At the end of the week, everyone had five days off, before leaving to stay at the Royal Marines’ School of Music at Deal. This venue was kindly offered by Major General Sir Jeremy Moore (Xt, 1946), an OC who had commanded the Marines in the Falklands campaign. We were joined there by the CSC team. Then followed five frustrating days in which the wind was never less than five knots, when CSA rules

Back two rows SWPC swimmers Dave Cummings, Duncan Heenan, Wesley Wright, Kevin Morris, Richard Sanders, Eddie Steele, Sue Sanders, Nick Hitchman and Matt Fletcher. Front two rows College swimmers, Anthony I’Anson (H, 1988), Ian Powell (OJ & NH, 1988), David Levin (Past Staff Member), Tim Dargie (NH, 1988), Faris Davidson (Xt, 1987), Mark Coates-Smith (W, 1987) and Alistair Nayler (H, 1987)

FLOREAT 2018

require a wind speed of less than 4 knots to negotiate the Channel safely, so we could not go. The time was spent by both teams swimming up and down Dover Harbour, much to the baffled amusement of tourists passing through to France! Several tourists in fact, offered to subsidise a more congenial way to cross the Channel, believing us bereft of travel funds!

Disaster then struck the Swimming Club after the sixth team swimmer entered the water. Apparently, some of the Club swimmers had been eating Mars bars to raise their blood sugar levels. The combination of a very sweet chocolate, eaten in the sun and followed by immersion in very cold sea water, greatly increases the risk of nausea and sea-sickness. Ten minutes into the sixth team-member’s swim, he started vomiting. To add to his misfortune, an oil

FEATURES

On the morning of the 4th August 1987, the wind dropped and, in near perfect conditions, Rod and his opposite number swam to the shore from their escort boats to await the starting pistol shot from the CSA adjudicator. The race was on and it was immediately apparent that it would be a close run thing, with Rod eking out a narrow lead which was later slightly increased by Ian Powell. The water was cold, despite the air temperature being very high. This is a dangerous combination, particularly for those swimmers on the boat swimming later. I swam third and lost most of the lead which was later restored by Faris Davidson and maintained by Anthony I’Anson.

tanker passed by a mile away, generating a sixfoot wake. This oily wave washed over the swimmer just at the wrong time, so a mix of oily sea water and vomit washed back down into his stomach. Although the swimmer was in dire straits, he continued to tread water and did not get out or touch the boat, thus avoiding the team’s disqualification. However, the College swimming team then pulled away and held on to their lead, to finish 29 minutes ahead of the CSC in a time of eight hours and 57 minutes. The then second ever, Cross Channel Relay Swimming race resulted in a College victory but, just as important, were the friendships and camaraderie built up over the year and the fact that the 1987 race raised some £8,000 for the National Star Centre. Thirty years later, on 7th August 2017 the CSC challenged the same College swimmers to another relay race, but this time in the Sandord Parks Lido. Each swimmer swam for ten minutes and Keith Norris, the Lido Manager, adjudicated by adding up the number of lengths swum by each team. This time the CSC were victorious, swimming 78 lengths to the College team’s 74. Anthony I’Anson kindly organised an excellent barbeque which stimulated reminiscences on times past, late into the night. Plans for the next anniversary are still to come ... ■

Alistair Nayler (H, 1987), CSC Swimmer, Faris Davidson (Xt, 1987), Ian Powell (OJ & NH, 1988), Rod Jaques (H, 1978 & Past Parent), Jon Coe, Duncan Heenan, Mark Coates-Smith (W, 1987), Anthony I’Anson (H, 1988), David Levin (Past Staff Member), Dave Cummings, Nick Hitchman, Matt Fletcher and Richard Sanders

FEATURES

From Chandos to Africa with love By Emma Judge (Cha, 1988) The autumn of 1986 brought an historic change to Cheltenham College for it was the first year that there was a dedicated boarding house for girls. Previously, the small number of female pupils had been housed in masters’ homes. The change wasn’t popular. Until then, the boarding wing at Chandos had been called Cheltondale and had housed the Sixth Form boys who had outgrown the strict rules and curfews of the traditional boarding houses, so, imagine the affront of losing that hard fought leniency to girls! There were definitely those who didn’t want us there (boys and masters alike for whom we were an inconvenience because we rocked the equilibrium of the establishment) but this was the eighties and life was very different then. Some lifelong friendships flourished out of the adversity surrounding us and I survived the gauntlet. While the Headmaster’s insight in my final report that I “could become leader of a trade union” never came to fruition, the principles instilled in me at College – never give up, there is always a way and always be inclusive – remain constant. Gorillas and guerrillas After I escaped the confines of College, I completed my law degree before travelling through Africa to see the gorillas in Zaire and the apartheid regime in South Africa. Both of these things had a profound impact upon me. In Zaire, a violent encounter with the other kind of guerrilla taught me that life

“ I wanted to help address the balance of this gross but silent injustice ” 36

Emma Judge in 1986; and (right) after becoming CEO of Sound Seekers

is very short, while the injustice of apartheid galvanised my resolve to help those with no voice. Combining the two has provided 20 years of adventure, challenge and fulfillment wrapped into an unconventional but meaningful career. After working on an overland truck transporting tourists through Africa, pulling pints in Guernsey’s pubs and a brief melee in the corporate world, I worked in marketing for two international development charities before moving to the shores of Lake Malawi where I set up a consultancy business providing strategic services to charities and governments across Eastern and Southern Africa. Something must have worked because I lived in a small fishing village at the southern most end of the Great Rift Valley for more than seven years and ran a very successful business for more than 11. While living in Malawi, I witnessed many injustices but the one that resonated with me the most was children being excluded from school simply because they had hearing loss, often caused by episodes of malaria and/or its treatment. When Sound Seekers (the trading name of the Commonwealth Society for the Deaf) advertised for a CEO two years ago, I applied, because I wanted to help address the balance of this gross but silent injustice. Undeveloped healthcare The World Health Organisation estimates that globally there are 360 million people with hearing loss. Two thirds of those live

in developing countries where access to healthcare and audiology services are usually limited or non-existent. Illnesses eradicated in the western world and medications used to treat malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS can all cause hearing loss. This, coupled with an undeveloped healthcare system and lack of health related education, are strong contributions to the prevalence of hearing loss in developing countries. Sound Seekers integrates ear and hearing care into existing healthcare systems, builds human resource capacity in audiology provision and improves access to education for those with hearing loss in Africa. In the countries where we work, the number of audiologists is akin to the football scores at the African Cup of Nations: Sierra Leone nil, The Gambia 1; Zambia 1, Malawi 2… It is beyond comprehension that there are only two audiologists serving a

FLOREAT 2018

FEATURES

Audio healthcare in action: (above) learning language at St Joseph's School for the Hearing Impaired in Sierra Leone; (right) a hearing screening at Faith Baptist School for the Deaf in Zambia population of more than 17 million. Sound Seekers sponsored these two Malawians who achieved the extraordinary by becoming the first ever Malawian audiologists. They are now delivering comprehensive audiology services to hundreds of patients a week from our audiology clinic in southern Malawi, which has been embedded into Malawi’s health system to ensure its sustainability. On their last rural outreach, they treated 152 patients in one day. That is 152 people who wouldn’t otherwise have access to ear and hearing care. In one day. Making a small change now – and that change may be as simple as having compacted wax removed or fitting a hearing aid – will change a person’s life and future prospects forever. Training teachers in deaf awareness and improving the school environment completes the circle as it ensures children with hearing loss can access education. Health practice In the last two years, we have trained nine health practitioners as hearing instrument specialists so they can identify and treat hearing loss. We have also trained more than 2,000 teachers in deaf awareness and we continue to implement prevention campaigns to try and reduce the amount of hearing loss caused by a lack of awareness and poor traditional health practices.

In May 2017, despite being a team of only four people, we helped lobby the World Health Assembly and were rewarded by the adoption of a resolution on the prevention of deafness and hearing loss. While this is a strong tool for advocacy, it is only the beginning of addressing these very basic needs. Despite the challenges of College, the simple truth is that I had a very privileged education, but if I hadn’t been to school I couldn’t do what I do. And the likelihood is neither could you. Imagine being

excluded from school because you lost your hearing. Imagine your life being over before it began because there were no audiologists, no ear and hearing care, no hope of an education and no chance of securing a livelihood for the future. I fervently believe that people with hearing loss have the same right to education and health services as each of us so they can live with the hope of securing a future as we all do. Yet, this is a freedom we take for granted. Perhaps it’s time to do so no longer. ■

and with communities to raise awareness of hearing loss and advocate for equal opportunities for people with hearing loss. Sound Seekers (the trading name of the Commonwealth Society for the Deaf) is a small UK charity working in some of the poorest communities in the world. Our mission is to support people with hearing loss realise their rights by enabling access to healthcare and education. We work in partnership with major hospitals and health service providers to improve the prevention, identification and management of hearing loss; with schools to improve the quality of education for children with hearing loss;

How you can help Sound Seekers: – £10 could pay for a hearing test; – £20 could pay for training a teacher in deaf awareness; and – £100 could pay for an otoscope for examining the ear. To make a donation, please visit www.sound-seekers.org.uk Thank you! 37

FEATURES

Junior School and a Career at Sea By John Lang (OJ, 1954) In early 1949 my family set sail for Sydney in Australia with the expectation of being there for at least two years but my father, a naval officer on loan to the Royal Australian Navy, was promoted after a few months and had to return home. We, of course, had to go as well which meant that my parents had to decide where I, a fairly unruly eight year old, should continue my education once back in England. Through family connections it was decided that I would go to the Junior School, Cheltenham College on the one condition that I knew my tables; a condition laid down by the then Headmaster Hugh Clutton-Brock (CB). We travelled back to England on the P&O liner Himalaya and I spent part of every day struggling to catch up with my reading and maths. The reality was that I was far more interested in the ship and the port calls than having to learn my tables. We arrived home just before Christmas, and within a month, I found myself at Paddington station waiting to catch the 2.15pm steam train to Cheltenham Spa, to start my new career as a boarder at an English prep school. The abiding memory of that awful day was being miserably home sick. Within two years, however, I was loving it. Memories The memories of the five years at the Junior (Prep) come flooding back. Of time in the class room, on the sports field, in the dormitories or cubicles, the twice a week baths, haircuts every third week and, the occasional stint in the sickbay. Other memories include Chapel on Sundays,

John Lang in Junior School: (left) at the front of the Tug of War; (right) second from left in a Sports Day group music, roller skating in the ‘yard’, the annual sports day, the periodic 16mm film evenings, the visit by HRH Princess Elizabeth in 1951, and Gilbert and Sullivan concerts in Thirlestaine House.

interested in History, loved reading and struggled with Latin. I enjoyed greater success on the games field and in the swimming pool, and was captain of the rugger 1st XV in my final year.

Every so often, a speaker would come and talk to us and I vividly recall a deep sea diver wearing an old fashioned diving suit and brass helmet clumping in with a stick of gelignite explosive in his hand. He proceeded to toss it casually from one hand to another while we all watched totally spellbound until he suddenly threw it to one of us sitting in the front row. There was a loud gasp and it was only then that he told us it was totally harmless without a detonator. To this day I don’t know if the ‘gelignite’ was real or not but the effect was mesmerising.

But it was among the extra-curricular activities that I derived the greatest satisfaction. I was an enthusiastic Cub and Scout, took to model ship building, relished the challenges of the Debating Society, developed a lifelong love of classical and choral music, and acquired an abiding interest in natural history. But the one thing that I have been grateful for ever since was being taught to read a lesson very clearly in Chapel. It overcame my fear of speaking in public.

I was no more than average in the classroom but did well in geography, was

As a solid foundation for everything to come in later life, Cheltenham Junior gave me the perfect start but, having already made up my mind that I wanted to follow

Naval scenes (l to r): P&O SS Singapore in Penang ,1960; HMS Auriga Off Aden (MoD Crown Copyright); and navigating HMS Revenge

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At sea (l to r): on SS Bendigo,1961 in Lake Timsah Suez Canal; CO of HMS Beaver 1985 (MoD Crown Copyright); onboard Britanny Ferry Mont St Michel in 2013

a seafaring career, I left the Junior, aged 13, and went on to the Nautical College, Pangbourne. Merchant Navy to Royal Navy From Pangbourne I opted for a career in the Merchant Navy. Aged 17, I became a Navigating Officer Apprentice with the P&O Steam Navigation Company, and during the next three years, made seven voyages in cargo ships to both Australia and the Far East before gaining my first professional qualification, a Second Mate’s Certificate of Competency.

in the Royal Navy relatively easy. My first complement appointment was to a minesweeper based in the Persian Gulf in the days when Dubai was just a few buildings either side of a dhow filled creek. I transferred to a permanent commission after five years and thereafter enjoyed what turned out to be an unbelievably rewarding and enjoyable career. I chose to serve in submarines and became a specialist navigator with some wonderful memories of time in the Far East based in Singapore and visits to places as far afield as Sydney, Bangkok and Hong Kong.

The only cloud on the P&O horizon was the slowness of promotion so, when the Royal Navy, sought to expand its seaman officer corps by offering Short Service Commissions, I decided to apply and see where it would take me. My application was successful and, having spent three years at sea in merchant ships, I found life

Whilst still a Lieutenant, aged 29 and just married, I qualified for submarine command and went on to command both diesel and nuclear propelled submarines. For two years I ran the Submarine Command Course, spent some time in Whitehall, became Captain of the Royal Navy’s Presentation Team, commanded the

Naval scenes (l to r): HMS Beaver, North Atlantic; and HMS Beaver (MoD Crown Copyright)

Frigate HMS Beaver and fulfilled two appointments running Naval Operations. Promotion to Rear Admiral followed in 1992 and my last three years in the Navy saw me as Deputy Chief of Defence Intelligence with a seat on the Joint Intelligence Committee with its remarkable insight into what was happening around the world. By the time I left the Navy I could look back on an extraordinary range of experiences that included steaming submerged across the Atlantic, flying with the RAF to the North Pole and descending to within 250ft of a submarine that had surfaced there, visiting St Helena in the Atlantic and giving a presentation on the Royal Navy to the inmates of one of Her Majesty’s prisons. I retired from the Navy in 1995 and, maintaining my interest in maritime matters, became the UK’s Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents. After five years I decided to retire to fill a range of voluntary appointments in, mainly, the maritime world, and to lecture on maritime history. I became a governor of a university, wrote a book about the sinking of the Titanic, served on the Operations Committee of the RNLI, received an Honorary Doctorate for Technology and, in 2008, was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Hampshire. I find now that I can look back on a life full of interest, adventure and deep contentment and reflect that it all began at Cheltenham nearly 70 years ago when I struggled to learn my tables! ■ 39

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College Memories By Tony Cotton (H, 1948) I was interested to read Robin Temple’s (BH, 1944) piece in the January 2017 issue of Floreat as I followed him to College and many of the names he refers to remain firmly in my memory. I have no recollection of any air raids in Cheltenham (I well remember being in London during the Blitz in earlier years) but I remember boys leaving the House the night of VE Day to celebrate in the Town. The Housemaster of Hazelwell was AE (‘Porky’) Rogers. If he knew about it he looked the other way. I also remember Mr Richie Williams and a number of the boys who benefited from his coaching of the 1st XV although I never rose to such heights. In fact I believe my third year, 1946, was the half centenary of College v Rugby – 50 years since William Webb Ellis who ‘picked up the ball and ran’ at Rugby then came to Cheltenham. Is

Tony Cotton (above), and a part of the Fougasse cartoon about College rugby there not a commemorative plaque on College Field? I believe we won. (Editor’s note – yes there is a plaque, College beat Rugby 13-5 and the match was played in February 1896.) I well remember the Headmaster Alan Guy Elliott Smith who told us on our first day that hundreds of boys “would give their eyes” for the education we were about to receive. I don’t remember him being unpopular although perhaps staff were unhappy at some of his new methods. He introduced weekly instead of daily ‘homework’ for the sixth form to get us used to university methods which I thought made a lot of sense. However, he was not popular for abolishing ‘pots’, the

The College cast of Loyalties at Liverpool Street station before starting their trip to Holland, 1948 – the cast included some Ladies’ College pupils

cups awarded for inter-house games competitions. I never quite saw the point of that for the competitions were always played as fiercely as ever! Indeed there used to be (on the wall of the Gym) a cartoon by Fougasse (CK Bird, H, 1904) the famous Punch cartoonist, making the point. I got on well with the Head. Somehow, friends of mine from Hazelwell were allowed, in return for cutting and rolling the beautiful College House tennis court, to play on it at weekends and his hospitable wife Ruth would bring us home made lemonade! I also got to know him because he produced readings in Big Classical of Dorothy L. Sayers’ A Man Born to be King and

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FEATURES College Fencing Team 1947: (l to r, standing) Sgt-Major Reardon, FCW Courtenay-Thompson (L, 1950), ALN Jay, formerly Goldstone (Xt, 1948), HSL Dalzell-Payne (H, 1947); (seated) AJ Cotton (H, 1948), DH Sim (H, 1947), JM Stubbs (Ch, 1948); (front) MP Lyon (H, 1949), DA Hustler (H, 1950) I read Barabass in a strong Cockney accent rehearsed in College House. This leads me to LID Davidson (‘LID’), remembered by Robin. LID was Housemaster of Boyne House but also produced the annual College play performed at half term. In my last term I was much occupied with passing A levels (then called ‘Higher Certificate’) and although I had acted in house plays, I had no thought of the school production Loyalties, the Galsworthy 1920s drama about anti-semitism among the English upper classes. LID was unhappy with the boy he had chosen to play the lead – the Jew De Levis – and asked me to take over. I sought advice and permission from ‘Porky’ and my gifted French and German teachers, Drs. Johnston and Muller. The wise advice that I received, has never been forgotten and has been passed on to children and grandchildren was that (as it was doubtful whether I was going to pass my exams anyway!) I should stretch myself and do as much as I possibly could. I am pleased to say that the play was well received and I managed to pass my exams.

More than that, LID had arranged, exceptionally, to take the play to Amsterdam and perform it to two Dutch schools. For that, he recruited charming young ladies from the Ladies’ College to play the female parts which had perforce been performed by young members of College. Friendships were formed (I think her name was Rosemary!) and a good time was had by all.

and introduce him to fencing. Allan fenced for the College and went on to represent Great Britain at five Olympics winning three silver medals and won the World Foil Championship in 1959. ■

I have hinted that my achievements at the major sports were modest but soon after I arrived I took up fencing. I have noted with sadness in recent years that fencing has long disappeared from College activities. In the forties and fifties, under the inspired tuition of Retd Sgt Major Reardon, College had a very successful fencing team, winning the Public Schools’ Fencing Championships (the Graham Bartlett Cup) several times and producing a number of individual champions who later won blues and international honours. However, perhaps my greatest contribution was to rescue (as he puts it) Allan Jay (Xt, 1948) from cricket, gardening and shooting

Signed programme for Loyalties, 1948 41

FEATURES

Our Travel Award to Florence By Cordelia Shorthouse (U6th, A) After winning the Cheltonian Endowment Trust Travel award to fund a cultural trip to Florence, my friend Jaime Carter (U6th, A) and I immediately booked our flights and finalised our exciting schedule for the trip. Both Jaime and I are students of History of Art A Level and have developed a great love and passion for the subject despite only reading it for a year. Therefore, we decided to venture to Italy and grow our knowledge as well as deepen our love for the art world in a place of such rich art and architectural history, and what better place to do this than Florence? Having never been to Florence before, we carried out plenty of research to determine where was best to stay in order to be walking distance from the majority of our sites of interest as well as a relatively cheap hotel. The Medici Hotel was a perfect solution and was just round the corner from the famous Florence cathedral, an architectural triumph displaying the Italian Gothic style of the 1400s. On the first day, after a café breakfast that became our local, we ventured to our first destination,

Santa Maria Novella’ Leon Battista Alberti 1360 (Romanesque architecture)

‘Musical Angel’ Rosso Fiorentino 1522 (Italian Renaissance)

Santa Maria Novella. Santa Maria Novella is a church situated just across from the main railway station named after it. Chronologically, it is the first great basilica in Florence, and is the city's principal Dominican church. This building is home to the first painting with perspective, courtyards and a breathtaking 30ft stain glass window depicting The Passions of Christ.

Rosso Fiorentino and a marble sculpture by an unknown artist that is known as ‘Cupid and Psyche.’

On day two we saw our first case study, Benvenuto Cellini’s ‘Perseus with the head of Medusa’ outside the Church of Orsanmichele. We also recognised other statues we have briefly looked at to increase our understanding of Renaissance Sculpture including Donatello’s ‘David’ and a replica of Michelangelo’s ‘St Mary’. A very busy afternoon In the afternoon we wandered into the heart of Florence to see the Ponto Vecchio, a beautiful closed-spandrel arched Italian bridge that crosses the river Arno.

‘Cupid and Psyche’ Unknown 1705 (Neo Classical) 42

The next day, and perhaps my favourite day, was visiting the renowned Uffizi Gallery. It was helpfully only a short walk from the hotel and home to an incredible 50 halls where numerous works of art were displayed. Here we were able to set eyes on some of the most important art works in history including Sandro Botticelli’s ‘The Birth of Venus’ and ‘The Battle of San Romano’ by Uccello. This experience was also unique as I discovered two artists and their works that I was not previously familiar with; these were the peaceful Renaissance painting ‘Musical Angel’ by

The next morning began with a journey to the Galleria del’Accademia where Michelangelo’s famous ‘David’ is found, it is also one of our case studies and so was really fascinating to see. After lunch we visited the Medici chapel, a place of high Catholic worship and home to various important religious work commissioned by the Medici family. The final day was still something to look forward to, as we saved the best thing until last; using our tickets to climb the bell tower of Florence Cathedral. This was ultimately incredibly exhausting as there were so many stairways to climb! But the reward was definitely worth it and we saw the most breathtaking view of the city from 114 metres above. The trip not only enriched my knowledge and understanding of Italian art even further, but also helped my independence and ability to plan ahead. I also learned how to be self sufficient and speak some very bad Italian to help me get about. I feel incredibly privileged to be awarded such a special opportunity so that I may do something I love, so thank you to the Trustees that interviewed me for allowing me to experience this special week. I have applied for a degree in Art History and hopefully this will end with a good degree to aid me in a potential career in the wonderful world of art. After-all; ‘Art is magic’, Silvia Hartmann. ■

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Travel Award to Mongolia & Beijing By Ben Kinsman (U6th, S) Mongolia Over the summer, I spent two weeks in Mongolia, working in the healthcare system, before visiting China. This was made possible by the generosity of the Cheltonian Endowment Trust (CET) who kindly awarded me a travel award.

I transferred to the hotel where I would spend the remainder of my trip and met up with the rest of the group as they arrived from all four corners of the globe. In the early evening we were all introduced to Nayomi, a third-year medical student who would be looking after and teaching us for the next two weeks. She took us out for dinner and, having wandered around the city for a short while, we finally found a restaurant that would fit us all in.

For the majority of the time I spent in Mongolia I was based in Shastin Central Hospital moving between departments observing and occasionally assisting the doctors. One of the main difficulties that I had was that the patients and doctors did not speak much English, however this language barrier was usually overcome through a quick game of Charades or Pictionary. I saw and took part in a number of things that I would have never been able to in a British hospital, such as standing in on multiple surgeries and with the help of a doctor setting up an ECG and then interpreting it. For the most part, the hospital was well equipped with many state-of-the-art pieces of equipment, I was particularly surprised to go in to the radiology department and find them doing CT scans. However, the hospital's main issue

Patients at the Mongolian hospital

The Great Wall of China

was that there was a shortage of specialised individuals due to many doctors moving abroad. In the evenings we had a variety of entertainment ranging from traditional Mongolian throat singing to visits to a traditional medicine museum. However, my favourite evening activity was going out with the ambulance crews and responding to emergency calls or doing house calls for the elderly. We went out in the ambulances twice during my time in Mongolia and both times I was fortunate enough to see a variety of cases including a possible appendicitis, a lady with ovarian cancer who needed transport to the hospital and a drunk man who had to be forcefully removed from the ambulance after verbally abusing the doctor who was trying to treat him. Beijing Having completed my time in Mongolia, I was set to fly back to the UK via Beijing, where I could spend a few days. At the Forbidden City, I learned about the various dynasties and emperors that had ruled over China. It was an enormous complex and the way that the buildings had been designed to withstand large earthquakes was fascinating. I also visited the Temple of Heaven, which was very tranquil, in sharp contrast to the bustling city that surrounds it. On my final day I went to the Great Wall and the Ming Tombs, all of which were in much better condition than the Forbidden City and allowed me an insight into the beliefs of the emperors and the lives of the men that lived and worked on the wall. The section of the wall that I saw was in the mountains and had extremely steep sections that were very difficult to climb; however the views were well worth the extra effort as I could see for miles into the distance. â&#x2013; 43

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My first impression of Mongolia was looking out of the airplaneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s window at the vast expanses of empty plains that were sparsely dotted with an occasional Gur (a traditional Mongolian tent). Soon after my arrival in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, I visited the Gandan Tegchenling monastery, where I saw the largest Buddha in Mongolia standing at an impressive 26.5m tall. I went to the National Museum, learning about the history of Mongolia from the stone age (c2000BC), through the Khan dynasty, all the way to gaining independence from the USSR in 1992. I also sampled Mongolian cuisine, consisting of a miniature mountain of unseasoned meat from a variety of animals including camel and goat.

My first experience of the Mongolian medical system was in a community centre where we spent the day assisting a doctor in the running of a clinic for homeless people where they would come to have a check-up and a hot meal. I was in charge of taking the heart rate and the blood pressure of the patients as they arrived before reporting the results to the doctor. Throughout the day I saw over 100 patients ranging from as young as four years old all the way through to 89. One of the patients had a seizure while waiting to be seen; the man suffered from anxiety and had been severely beaten.

FEATURES

The Prep Boarding House By Dickon Baird (Current Prep Houseparent, Head of Boarding and Head of History) When asked to write an article for Floreat on the history of the Boarding House, I had only been in position for less than a month. Fortunately, I do have a knowledge of the late 1980s and early 1990s, as my father, Stephen Baird, was Head of English and Drama at the Junior and we lived in Waterfield Close. I am also very privileged to have inherited a Boarding Team that continues to include John Baker, who runs an ever-popular Wednesday Evening Boarders’ CDT Activity. John very kindly pointed me in the direction of the Celebr08! book which has been incredibly useful in piecing together how boarders have lived at The Prep in the past. Tim Pearce’s Book comes highly recommended and I have included some of his superb research in the piece below. The Prep Boarding House has, in some form, existed since the beginning. When Cheltenham College opened at the end of July 1841, it was effectively a Prep School. From the start, there were boarders who lived at the school in a variety of small private boarding houses. As early as 1846, it was decided that Mr Margeaud’s House, Montpellier Villa, which had become licensed for 25 boys, would only accept boys up to the age of 12, so it became the first unofficial Junior Boarding House, but the plan did not last and older boys were being placed in it by 1848. The debate about the management of Junior pupils went on largely unresolved until the arrival

prowess in French, and is one of the more famous Prep Boarding House past residents!

Dickon and Lucy Baird of the Reverend Alfred Barry as Principal in 1862. He created a Junior Department with its own separate building which was ready for use in August 1865. At the same time, the Boarding Houses Company was created and was responsible for building three large new boarding houses: Christowe, Leconfield and Teighmore (now home to Newick House). In 1863, Barry appointed the first distinct Headmaster of the Junior Department, the Reverend Thomas Middlemore-Whithard. Middlemore-Whithard also became Housemaster of Teighmore, which was designated as the Junior Boarding House in 1866. It is said that Middlemore-Whithard was a fine teacher and as well as being a Latin Master, he was also a French scholar. When the young Prince Napoleon came to the College in 1883, although he was too old for the Junior Department, he lived at Teighmore due to Middlemore-Whithard’s

Headmasters of The Prep

Francis Joseph Cade 1896–1910

Charles Thornton 1911–1922

In 1896, Francis Cade, the first of three consecutive Old Cheltonian Headmasters of the Junior Department, was appointed and he was the Headmaster in charge when the new buildings were brought into use in 1909. At this time up to £35,000 was allocated for the building of the Junior Boarding House and classrooms. The building was started in 1908 and opened in 1909, and in 2008 the school celebrated the centenary of the laying of the commemorative foundation stone. From 1908 onwards the Boarding House was a part of the Junior Department and those housed in Teighmore moved into their new home. One of the first of these pupils was former College Council President, Ronald Ivelaw-Chapman, who entered Teighmore in 1906 and transferred into the Junior House when it opened. In 1933 William Donovan Johnston was appointed Headmaster and the Junior School began its life as a self-sufficient establishment, still under the governing body, but administratively separate from the Senior School. Johnston was fondly remembered, especially for his Sunday evening classic story readings to the older boys just before bedtime, and Mrs Johnston equally so for her bedtime readings to the younger boys. At this time

There are no surviving photos of the first Headmaster of The Prep, the Rev. Thomas Middlemore-Whithard (1863-1865).

Basil Allcot Bowers 1923–1933

William Donavan Johnston 1933–1946

Hugh Alan CluttonBrock 1946–1964

William Philip Cathcart Davies 1964–1986

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there were three types of pupil in the 1930s, Boarders, Day Boarders, who stayed for lunch, and Day Boys, who went home to lunch. Boarders had a regular Sunday afternoon ritual when the Duty Master took them for a walk up the Bath Road, Leckhampton Road, Daisybank and the Devil’s Chimney before returning via Sandy Lane and Charlton Park. They started at 14:00 and were back for Tea at 16:30. Boarders were also allowed to listen to the news every evening at 18:00 from the one radio in the Headmaster’s Study.

In more recent history, Derek Skinner was appointed Senior Resident Housemaster for ten years towards the end of his career. As well as the Boarding House going coeducational the baton was handed over to Jim and Mel Walton, who led as Houseparents for many happy years before leaving to lead Elizabeth College Junior School, Guernsey, and are set to return to the South West as Jim takes up the position of Headmaster of Clifton College Preparatory School. Bob and Faye Wells took the helm in 2013, with Faye then moving to become Head of Science and Bob as Deputy Head Operations, their

David John Allenby Cassell 1986–1991

Nigel Iain Archdale 1992–2008

experience has been invaluable and it is great to still have them on the staff. Myself and Lucy have been resident members of staff since 2014 and are thrilled to have taken on the role of Houseparents. We are indebted to our many predecessors who have helped make the Boarding House what it is today. While there has been a lot of inevitable and positive change, it is wonderful to see that many traditions are still honoured. These days there are a variety of boarding options. Currently there are 41 Full Boarders and in addition to this there have been 56 different pupils who have stayed as occasional or flexi-boarders for one or more nights during the Autumn Term. While we still don’t allow food to be brought into the House from outside, we do have a fantastic catering team who provide us with excellent food throughout the year and put on special events for the Boarders like the ‘Harry Potter Themed Evening’ and our annual Boarders’ Christmas Feast. Also, pupils are allowed onto Bath Road or into town on a Saturday afternoon to buy sweets after matches. Like in the 1930s, we have a Sunday afternoon trip organised for each weekend, although these days we do go a little bit further than those in the past; this term the Boarders have enjoyed excursions to the Cotswold Waterpark, camping at a Dorset Farm, visiting Drayton Manor Theme Park, as well as the usual activities of bowling, cinema

Adrian Morris 2008–2010

Scott Bryan 2010–2012

The opening of Junior School, 1909 and ice-skating. Boarders still regularly use the Barn and Mr Whybrow insisted that each Dorm should have its own radio! Boarders are still regularly read to in the evening, like in the Johnston days, by a superb team of Boarding Tutors, members of academic staff who live on site or nearby, and also eagerly anticipate watching movies on the weekends. I’m sure that Clutton-Brock would approve of the spirit of his vivarium living on through Mr Whybrow’s pigs and the Boarders love having access to extended visiting hours to the pen by the lake. I’m pleased to say that we have had plenty of visits from parents, as well as letters and parcels, and Boarders do now leave the school more than once a year, which has meant I’ve had time to finish this article! As a historian, it has been fascinating reading up on the history of the Prep Boarding House. It is great to see that boarding continues to thrive and we very much look forward to continuing this tradition in the years to come. ■

Noll Jenkins 2012–2013, acting HM

Jonathan Whybrow 2013–present

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Johnston carried on as Headmaster until July 1946. His successor at the Junior was Hugh Clutton-Brock. One of a number of his innovations was the establishing of a vivarium, near the lake, which housed a small pond, miniature conifers, slowworms, salamanders, snakes, frogs and small turtles! Clutton-Brock was also responsible for the creation of the Barn in 1960. In the 1940s, contact with the outside world during term time was frowned upon. More than one visit per term by a parent was thought to ‘unsettle the boy’. Parcels from the outside were treated with similar suspicion. There was also a ban on comics and on sweets. Boarders who lived further away from school usually went home only once a year.

The Junior School

FEATURES

OC Wins The RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award 2017 By Chelsea Walker (OJ & Q, 2007) The first time I directed a play was while I was at Cheltenham College. It was the Sixth Form production and we chose to do Loot by Joe Orton. At the time, I was convinced I was going to be an actor – and my happiest memories of College were of hours spent in Big Classical rehearsing or performing. But something about the experience of directing stuck with me: I loved being able to see the bigger picture, being able to communicate with every actor in the company, and being able to use my imagination to translate the script into a full stage world. In Sixth Form, I studied A Level Theatre Studies and was lucky enough to be taught by the brilliant duo of Mrs Cutts and Mr Llewellyn. Their classes were the highlight of my day. I remember them introducing us to the practitioner Peter Brook, whose work I have since seen in London, and it blew my mind. It opened up the possibilities of theatre for me – and I became particularly interested in exploring movement in theatre.

After College, I studied English Language and Literature at Keble College, Oxford University, and I spent most of my time acting in plays. At the end of the first year, I toured the country, acting in the drama society’s annual production. We ended our tour with a run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival where my eyes were opened to so many different types of work. I realised that being an actor would mean sometimes being in plays I didn’t believe in, and I wanted to have more control over the work I was creating. When I went back to university that September, I directed my first production – a stage adaptation of A Clockwork Orange. The following summer we took it to the Edinburgh Fringe – and I never tried to act again. I’d caught the directing bug. Seeking Direction After university finished, I had no idea how to break into directing as a career, so I moved to London and did a Masters’ at the Central School of Speech and Drama in Advanced Theatre Practice. I was on a course with artists from lots of

“ I was on a course with artists from lots of different backgrounds – puppeteers, opera singers, writers, directors, performers, sound designers – and we formed companies and made experimental, collaborative work ”

Chelsea Walker (OJ & Q, 2007) different backgrounds – puppeteers, opera singers, writers, directors, performers, sound designers – and we formed companies and made experimental, collaborative work. Once again, my idea of what theatre could be, expanded. I realised that I loved working with emerging playwrights, who I could help in developing their plays, and then direct them. I directed my first full length production Lean by Isley Lynn at the Tristan Bates theatre in London. It was a new play exploring male anorexia and the impact of the illness on a marriage – and it felt like an incredibly important, unusual piece of work to be staging. There’s no set path for directors, and it’s hard to juggle creating the work you want to make and turning that into a career. I spent the next few years directing new plays in studio venues and assisting well-known directors at bigger theatres. A highlight for me was visiting Johannesburg on a research trip. I was working with a South African playwright who’d written a play about the experience of growing up as part of the ‘born-free’ generation, and she showed me around the city. One of the elements I love most about my job is

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that I get to see the world through different people’s perspectives, and I’m constantly learning about a huge variety of different topics, places and people. Theatre is all about empathy, and it’s the director’s job to help the audience access and empathise with the characters they see onstage.

In the meantime, I’m rehearsing a new play called Yous Two at the Hampstead Theatre in London which runs from 18th January – 24th March! ■

“ I’ve just returned from a trip to New Orleans, where A Streetcar Named Desire is set, to research for our FEATURES

This year has been really exciting for me. In February, I directed a production of Low Level Panic by Clare McIntyre at the Orange Tree theatre in London. It’s a 1980s feminist play which explores the effect of objectification on the way women view themselves and their bodies. Sadly it still resonates very strongly today. The highlight of my year was winning the Royal Theatrical Support Trust Sir Peter Hall Director Award. It’s an annual award and it provides a rare opportunity for an upand-coming director to direct a fully

funded production of a play in the main space at a regional theatre. This year, I will be directing a tour of A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams in eight different venues across the UK: Nuffield Theatre, Southampton; Theatre by the Lake, Keswick; Malvern Theatre; Bristol Old Vic; Oxford Playhouse; New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich; Cambridge Arts Theatre and Theatre Clwyd in Wales. I’ve just returned from a trip to New Orleans, where the play is set, to research for our production. It’s an astonishing play – about how we treat the people who we consider to be outsiders, and it unpicks toxic ideas of femininity and masculinity. I’m looking forward to seeing what audiences around the country make of it.

production ”

Scenes from Low Level Panic (below, left), and Chelsea in the rehearsal room (below, right). Photography by Helen Murray

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The Formative Years By Jae Chalfin (OJ & L, 1996) I left College in 1996, without a care in the world, and no idea as to what I would be doing either. I arrived at Leconfield in 1991 having made the short-walk from Cheltenham College Junior School (CCJS). Most of my friends also came with me, which made it less daunting. Straight away I knew there was some fun to be had. The friends I made at College are easily my closest. I used to be able to tell who was entering my shack just by how the door was being opened (or kicked). Looking back, my only regret was not doing more with the many opportunities that College offered. Rugby was my favourite sport and winning the House Pots in my final year was a glorious moment. I recently went back to College for an open day and reunion. It was clear to see that a lot has changed but it was still the old familiar place where I spent most of my adolescence. I ended up going to university to buy myself some time. I started at Bristol and finally settled up doing Business & Economics at Warwick University, where I graduated with a 2:1. While I was unsure about going to university, it did allow me to develop further independence, as well as spending a few more extra years with mates. My first job after leaving Warwick was as a ship broker down in London. My reason for wishing to be a ship broker

was that at the time I had just read a book about Aristotle Onassis and that seemed good enough. Having applied for about 40 positions, I eventually got an interview. Back then I used The Yellow Pages to prospect my opportunities as the internet hadn’t got going. After working in the industry for a few years and being somewhat disillusioned, I decided to venture out on my own, as what is now commonly known as an entrepreneur. I started my business on the 8th of August 2007. There is an ugly truth about being an entrepreneur, and that is how difficult it is. More than that there were aspects that no one warned me about. Self-motivation One value that I did develop whilst at College was self-motivation. You’ll also need to be authentically curious about the world, with a thirst for solving problems. When you first launch a startup, you’re on your own. Eventually, you may grow your team and bring great people onboard to help, but for a while, you’ll be riding solo. My time at College undoubtedly played a crucial role in laying down the necessary foundations. GIVEMESPORT.com is a next-generation media company that creates content for sports fans around the world. We believe that to be successful; content has to be distributed to fans, has to be relevant to the user and has to engage them emotionally. That’s why, in addition to content creation, we invest heavily in

Jae Chalfin, now and then

disruptive technology, artificial intelligence (AI) and different thinking, so that we can deliver the right content to the right person in a way that connects to them. In April of this year, I sold the business (it was a reverse take-over), and it is now listed on the Canadian stock market. I am still very much involved and have become one of the principal directors. It doesn’t stop there, with fresh challenges and new lessons to be learnt. Growing a company is hard and ultimately depends on the team you build around you. Again, the fundamentals I learned at College, whether that was in the classroom, on the rugby pitch or just living in the boarding school environment. Right decisions ... Here is my advice about the secret of anyone’s success. “What is the secret to your success?” He said, “Two words.” “And, what are they?” asked the journalist. “Right decisions.” “But how do you make right decisions?” asked the journalist. “One word,” he responded. “And, what is that?” asked the journalist. “Experience.” “And how do you get experience?” “Two words.” “And, what are they?” “Wrong decisions.”

Jae Chalfin, left, in the Leconfield Rec Room in 1994 before the House Pots Competition 48

Jae Chalfin with Boris Becker

Note to younger self – enjoy every minute and take full advantage of everything College offers. ■

FLOREAT 2018

Facing Dunkirk: Our OCs By Rachael Merrison (College Records & Heritage Manager)

On land, the situation looked bleak for Allied troops and two of our OCs faced daunting odds in one small French town. Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather (both OCs) 24-year-old John Robin Gregson (Xt, 1934) had entered Sandhurst straight out of College. In 1939, as part of the British Expeditionary Force, he was deployed to the continent with the Durham Light Infantry, 2nd Battalion, but by May 1940 they were falling back as the Germans advanced. The 2nd Battalion were eventually evacuated from Dunkirk, but sadly, without Gregson, who died on 26th May of wounds sustained at StVenant near Merville. The death toll also included OCs with far more extensive military experience; with the fighting at StVenant also claiming the life of 44-year-old Herbert Berkeley Harrison (S, 1914). Despite his long service throughout the First World War, he was killed in action on the 27th of May. He was just one of approximately 1,200 men who died serving with the Royal Welch Fusiliers during the war. Barricades Elsewhere, as troops were attempting to reach Dunkirk, men were working to facilitate the retreat: Gerald Wilson French (OJ & H, 1935), serving within the Gloucestershire Regiment, along with the 2nd Battalion, the 4th Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, helped form a defensive screen around Dunkirk.

The Memorial Boards in College Dining Hall commemorate the OCs who died during the Second World War From 27th May 1940 the British successfully held the town of Cassel for three days, by barricading the narrow streets and setting up anti-tank guns, but they still suffered devastating attacks from the German air force and ground troops. Although most of the troops were killed or captured by the Germans (Gerald Wilson French died on 29th May) their action stalled the enemy advance during the evacuation; a major accomplishment. However, once troops had retreated and managed to reach Dunkirk there was still no guarantee of rescue; the transfer of thousands of waiting men to variously sized vessels would have been slow and the beaches offered little cover. The first full day of Operation Dynamo was 27th May and involved eight destroyers, one cruiser and over twenty additional craft. By 31st May, following a call for aid, almost 400 small boats had volunteered to participate, but were hampered by the Luftwaffe who bombed the town, dock installations and cut off the town's water supply. Approximately one thousand civilians were killed in addition to the military casualties, but tens of thousands of men did manage to escape (although, depending on the route taken by their vessels across the Channel, they still faced bombardment from on-shore batteries, mines, surface vessels, submarines and the Luftwaffe). The evacuation efforts continued until early June and fortunately, according to our current research, no OCs then serving in the Royal Navy were killed as a direct result of the Dunkirk evacuation.

The air battle The same cannot be said for OCs involved in the conflict from the air; pilots faced the Luftwaffe, in addition to risking a crashlanding in the Channel should their aircraft run out of fuel during the crossing, a danger dramatically highlighted in Nolan’s Dunkirk. Maxwell Charles Pearson (OJ & Xt, 1934) was one such Flight Lieutenant who took part in the air operation over the Belgian Coast. Before the war he'd had success at College, coming 2nd in the Challenge Cup for Sports, and had left with a good record to train at RAF College Cranwell in 1935. He'd also known John Gregson particularly well: both were made House Prefects in 1934 (their last year in Christowe). Now fighting for King and country, his objective was to protect the exposed troops as they lined up awaiting transport. By 27th May 1940 the RAF could claim over 30 kills while losing just 14 aircraft, but unfortunately, despite his prewar training, one of those lost aircrafts was piloted by Pearson. Over the course of the Second World War, over 350 OCs died during their service in the army, navy and air force, but their contribution has not been forgotten, particularly not by those who survived. The sacrifice they made is commemorated in our College Dining Hall (with the Memorial Boards installed in 1950), and we look forward to the continued retelling of their stories by film-makers, authors and many others, to pass on our shared history to the pupils entering College today. ■

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FEATURES

With Christopher Nolan's recent critically acclaimed film Dunkirk hitting the headlines and bringing home the sheer terror many of the soldiers would have faced, we thought we’d take the opportunity to investigate and share the hardships that some of our OCs experienced during that harrowing episode. Code named Operation Dynamo, the Dunkirk evacuation of 1940 has been retold and commemorated innumerable times. Surrounded by German troops, the British Expeditionary Force, and the French and Belgium armies were at breaking point and were forced to evacuate from the harbour and beaches of Dunkirk in an operation from 26th May to 4th June 1940.

FEATURES

The Birth of an Actor, a Vet and a Minister of Magic! By Tony Stevens (L, 1959) Many of you may not know that the actor Robert Hardy who passed away on 3rd August 2017, was born in College House (now Southwood) on 29th October 1925. Tony Stevens He was the son of our 10th Headmaster, Henry Harrison Hardy (Headmaster 1919-1932). Robert was a well known British character actor, instantly recognisable as Siegfried Farnon in All Creatures Great and Small and to the younger generation as Cornelius Fudge in the Harry Potter films. Away from acting, he was a leading authority on the longbow, writing two books on the subject, Longbow in 1976 and The Great War-Bow in 2004. He was a member of the Battlefields’ Trust and its patron since 2010 and served on the Battlefields’ Panel of English Heritage. Additionally, he was a trustee of the Royal Armouries from 1984 to 1995 and in 1988 1990, master of the Worshipful Company of Bowyers.

Henry Harrison Hardy: (above) in his Major’s uniform; and (right) in his portrait as Headmaster of College 1919-1932 College House (now Southwood) (right) where Robert Hardy was born 50

Robert’s elder siblings Richard and Arthur attended College, however Robert did not as his father moved on to become Headmaster of Shrewsbury in 1932. During World War Two, College was evacuated to Shrewsbury for the Michaelmas term of 1939 as College was informed that the buildings may be required as emergency accommodation for the civil service. Henry Hardy seems to have made a lasting impression during his tenure as Headmaster, supported by his wife Jocelyn. They certainly made a great team, their leaving entry in The Cheltonian makes reference to the comradeship of the Hardys, instead of punishing some pupils for an episode of high jinks they instructed them to meet at their home the next day where to their surprise they were offered tea and cake and were guilted by Mrs Hardy, who was an excellent hostess, into behaving. We are currently looking into the opportunity of having a blue plaque installed at College House to mark the site of Robert Hardy’s birth, and linking him to College for future generations. ■

Robert Hardy: (top) photo portrait taken in his later years; (above) playing Cornelius Fudge in the Harry Potter movies; and (below) at Buckingham Palace after receiving his CBE in 1981

FLOREAT 2018

Sailing through Life

After College I went to London to study architecture at the Architectural Association in Bedford Square and ended up designing floating offices in Canary Wharf as well as restaurants, clubs and offices. The client was Olympia and York but unfortunately their projects never materialised. Eventually I settled down in 1992 in St Johns Wood with my now exwife and two boys Alexander and Lucas. I had set up a small property investment company and my work was dealing with rental and management with great help from Brian Lack and Winkworth agents. We left London in 2003 and moved back to live in Hong Kong having been away since 1973, but of course we had frequently visited HK during that time. Today I run a company called Sunseeker Asia, which is the distributor of Sunseeker Yachts for the Asia region; including Singapore, Maldives, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Philippines, Korea, Japan and China with our head office based here in HK. But how

Gordon giving daughter Victoria a lesson

their Asia distributor when I moved back to live in HK in 2003 with my fourth Sunseeker Predator 55. During all this time, boating has given my two older boys Alex and Lucas the opportunity to experience water sports with their friends. They have also learnt how to handle performance boats.

Gordon’s sons, Alex and Lucas in 2004 did I become a luxury yacht distributor from being an architect? An early passion My boating experience began when I was about three years old, a young boy growing up in HK. Even today decades later, I still have many fond memories of spending weekends with my parents out boating. Activities such as swimming, dinghy sailing, water skiing and snorkelling were wonderful especially for young and active children like my brother and me. My passion of power boating began when I was about 8 years old, the popular boats in the 70s used to range from the high speed Cigarettes power boats to various American built and HK built cruisers. My parents had a wooden displacement trawler yacht called American Marine; she was steady but very slow. However, they also had a 17ft ski boat and a 20ft Cigarette power boat so we grew up learning how to handle these small speed boats and we became attached to boating from a young age. Sadly after my father passed away in 1992, the family sold the slow displacement yacht and I was introduced to a high performance power boat called Sunseeker from Poole with their new Tomahawk, Apache and Superhawk models whilst living in London. Sunseeker was a breath of fresh air with its speed and high performance that blew me away, even better than the already amazing American power boats such as the Cigarettes and Donzi. My passion continued, as I was their customer from 1992 till 2002 and I eventually ended up representing them as

I am married to my second wife Joey and we have a three year old daughter called Victoria. We are planning to offer her the same experience especially when she is a little older and learns how to swim properly. Sunseeker Asia began with six boats imported into HK in 2003 and slowly over the years we have reached 204 Sunseekers in Asia with 124 units in HK, sizes ranging from 40ft to 131ft. The most popular place for boating is still HK, with other ports in China such as Hainan, Shenzhen, Xiamen and ports in Thailand, Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia also popular. I never expected my passion would turn into a business which is challenging at times but very enjoyable. It’s great to see our brand advancing constantly with new design and technology surging ahead but we mustn’t forget the great founder Robert Braithwaite MBE the innovator who started with the Sovereign 17ft speed boat and who is still playing an active role. Today’s 131ft Sunseeker motor yacht is very complex to operate and manage which is an amazing comparison to how they all started in 1992 with their 37ft Tomahawk. ■

Gordon, Victoria and Joey 51

FEATURES

I attended Cheltenham College from 1975 till 1980. Prior to College I had spent two years at a Prep school near Rugby called Dunchurch Winton Hall which eventually closed down and became an old people’s home, it had perfect and beautiful surroundings for a home. During my time at College I enjoyed playing rugby and rowing in the A team and had fun in the CCF. Boyne House was a great house with a nice building and the closest to College. Five years flew by and I had thoroughly enjoyed my time there and, thanks to Facebook, I have managed to find quite a few of my long lost friends from those days.

By Gordon Hui (BH, 1980)

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Three Weeks in the West Bank

By Ellen Arthur (Cha, 2013)

During the long months of dissertation monotony in my last year at the University of Edinburgh, I decided I needed an exciting project for the summer to keep me going. With my History of Art degree I had learnt about the problems facing cultural heritage around the world such as illicit smuggling of antiquities in Italy and the destruction of heritage sites as a result of conflict, and I was keen to learn more. So before I knew it, I was booked onto a flight to Tel Aviv to spend three weeks volunteering in Nablus in Palestine for UNESCO World Heritage. I had always been very intrigued by Palestine ever since first learning about the region in Third Form History classes and the UNESCO initiative seemed like an ideal opportunity to explore the region as well as getting hands on experience in the world of cultural heritage. One morning in early August I arrived at Ben Gurion International airport. Before travelling I had been briefed not to mention at passport control where I was going and what I would be doing to avoid any complications but I was also advised not to lie. Passport control went smoothly and by the end of the trip I realised that it is actually harder to leave than it is to enter Israel. The cultural centre where we would be based in Nablus had organised a taxi from the airport to the West Bank for myself and two other volunteers. The original plan was to have ten international volunteers but due to various issues, including visa problems, I shared the taxi with two girls, one from Budapest and one from Paris. The city was a lot larger than I expected, covering the whole valley and with tall apartment blocks climbing both of the The Wall, Bethlehem

surrounding mountains, Mt Gerizim and Mt Ebal. Mt Gerizim is home to one of the largest remaining Samaritan communities in the world, as Samaritans consider Gerizim to be the site of the Binding of Isaac and their holy site. An Israeli settlement has developed on the other side of Gerizim, so there are three different communities living in such close proximity of each other, all three with their own claims to the right to the land.

neither the Municipality nor the Ministry thought they should be held responsible for the upkeep, resulting in a heated argument and the representative from the Ministry walking out in the middle of the meeting. In spite of this, we managed to produce some important initiatives; most of them were long term requiring the cooperation of the Ministry and the UNESCO Ramallah office. We created some projects that we could initiate the following week, mainly revolving around youth engagement to raise awareness about the city’s heritage. With the local volunteers we carried out guided tours around the Old City, highlighting to the children the key architectural features and historic points. We also began the extensive process of site maintenance at Tel Balata, working with the Palestine Red Crescent Society.

We were staying and working in the Old City, which was coined ‘little Damascus’ due to its importance as a trade centre during the early Islamic rule. The Multipurpose Community Resource Centre in the Old City had organised the camp with the UNESCO office in Ramallah and is one of the many cultural centres in the city, working closely with the Municipality and local architects to conserve the city’s heritage. Our first few days were spent visiting the key landmark sites namely Tel Balata archaeological Park, the Roman mausoleum and amphitheatre. The Roman sites had been completely neglected; the mausoleum was overgrown, vandalised and used as a rubbish tip for the surrounding high-rise buildings. Our guide explained that there were no regulations in Palestine restricting building near to or even on archaeological remains. The amphitheatre is situated behind one of the main fruit and vegetable markets and is easy to miss; it was unrecognisable due to the large amount of litter and foliage.

At the end of our three-week stay we had a leaving ceremony attended by all the people with whom we had worked, including our friend from the Ministry. Highlights of the event were performances by Nablus’ favourite oud musician Ali Hassanein and consuming large quantities of a cheese delicacy, kunafeh.

A local high profile television reporter interviewed us asking our impressions on the state of the two sites. The workers at the centre and the local volunteers were upset by the reality of what they saw and they explained that although there were regular volunteering initiatives to clear up the sites, the litter would soon find its way back. Our team leader stressed that we needed to voice our opinions on the dire state of the sites in the meeting with the representatives from the Municipality, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and local NGOs. The aim of the meeting was to create a course of action for the conservation of Nablus’ heritage yet we soon realised the primary problem;

It was a very special three weeks during which we were able to explore other historical cities such as Jerusalem, Nazareth and Bethlehem. The highlight for me was definitely Bethlehem as it has two contrasting sides to it; the Holy site of the Church of the Nativity in the Old City, which attracts thousands of pilgrims each year; and the other side of the city, portrays the harsh reality of the conflict with the Wall and the highly emotive murals. There are many other parts of the two regions that I would like to explore and I look forward to planning another exciting trip in the near future. I would like to thank the Cheltonian Endowment Trust for the award of a travel bursary. ■

FLOREAT 2018

A long walk to Santiago de Compostela By Orlando Janes (BH, 2015)

I’d left College a couple of years earlier and had completed a BTEC in Information Technology at our local college. Various friends had gone off travelling (the usual; Thailand, Australia, etc). I wanted to do something different, and I definitely didn’t want to ‘find myself’. The previous summer I’d been with my family in Northern Spain and had seen people walking the pilgrim

So, I started. I walked towards Poole, camping in woods and fields. I stopped occasionally in pubs to wash and dry clothes, eat properly and give my blisters a rest. I began to enjoy the rhythm of walking, and the time to think and appreciate the beautiful English countryside. From Poole, I caught a ferry to the Channel Islands and nearly missed the onward boat to Le Havre, where I met my next challenge; I don’t speak a word of French. Everyone I met was exceptionally kind and generous to me, from a woman in a bar giving me food just because they thought I was doing something wonderful, to a driver who gave me a lift over a bridge for cars only, who then spent two hours describing the naval action that took place at Saint-Nazaire. France was beautiful, at times quite lonely, but I also relished the freedom and was beginning to get fit! I would sometimes take a couple of days off to recover in a pretty town, but mostly it was long days of walking down the west coast (there’s less map reading to be done if you just keep the sea on your right!). A wonderful group Soon enough I reached the Pyrenees, and the whole character of the walk changed. I found the first of many auberges set up specifically to cater for the needs of

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In May 2016 I walked out of our home in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, and headed for Santiago de Compostela in Northern Spain. It felt as though it might be a bit of a challenge, and I’d delayed my start for a couple of weeks while I plucked up courage to begin. For the next two days, it rained pretty much solidly, and my newish boots ripped my feet to shreds. I very nearly gave up there and then. I also realised that I was carrying far too much weight and started jettisoning kit; the expensive spirit stove, cooking equipment and dry food.

route to Santiago de Compostela, called the Camino de Santiago and felt that I wanted to give it a try – not through any religious conviction, but just because it was there. And rather than just walking the last 100 kilometres, I wanted to walk the whole way from home.

Orlando Janes, then and now

Orlando enjoying a well-earned beer pilgrims, and in the first few days on the official route I fell in with a wonderful group of people; Spaniards, French, Italians, Argentinians. As we walked together, ate together and slept in beautiful churches and hostels we became close friends – sharing music and songs, political and religious views. I learned a smattering of Spanish, but they all wanted to practise their English! Walking across the plains of Northern Spain was a high point for me; Pamplona, Burgos, Leon. These are incredibly wonderful towns, steeped in history, but seeing them as a pilgrim, staying in the local auberges some of which are freely provided by the townsfolk, was a magical experience. Finally, I made it to Santiago de Compostela – a beautiful and ancient city – where the whole place is filled with Pilgrims. Even there, though, no one could quite believe that I had walked all the way from Cirencester – 2,000 kilometres in roughly 100 days. ■ 53

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Early Adventures in Film By Louis Taylor-Baggs (OJ & S, 2015) Leaving Cheltenham College in 2015, I would never have guessed that within two years I would have a hand in a major Hollywood movie. This is a short article on how I got to that point – it’s not quite as it seems… Currently, I am in my second year at Reading University, studying Film. I recently returned to Cheltenham College in connection with a short film project that they are helping with. I was asked to write about the choices I have made and my experiences to date. At College I discovered my passion for the film and television industry. I made short films with my school friends at the weekends, mainly of us all hurtling down Leckhampton Hill on our mountain bikes. I also directed and edited the Cheltenham College Prefect 24hrs video. From an academic perspective, I wrote an independent project exploring whether cinema had a future and whether copyright piracy might lead to the end of the major studios.

between the film studio and the production teams on site. I did not want this experience to end, and so I printed off some business cards (in hindsight they weren’t particularly professional, but they worked). Through this I made a contact who put me in touch with the production coordinator on the Warner Bros film King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. The next thing I knew I was being interviewed at Elstree Studios and I was offered a job working on additional photography for the film. This is where the crew do ‘re-takes’ and ‘pick-ups’ to correct mistakes and make improvements following on from principal photography. This was a brilliant entry point – I helped prepare our shoot days (including locations) for the extra filming and ‘wrapped’ the film, all in three weeks. The production team from King Arthur asked me to join them on their next film and I worked on additional photography for The Jungle Book (Warner Bros. 2018).

Inspiration When the writer of Chalet Girl, Tom Williams (Xt, 1978), came to the school to speak about the film industry, I learnt about the enormous team effort that goes into the production of a film. Tim Bevan , cofounder of Working Title, (H, 1976) also visited the school and spoke about the great films that he has worked on and the success that his business has experienced. I was inspired to learn more. Upon leaving College I went straight on to study a BA in Film at Reading. This course promised a split between practical film production exercises and academic analysis of film genres and directing styles.

University Having enjoyed the experience so much, I decided to take a year out of university to see whether I could get more work through the contacts that I had made. My university and my family were very supportive of this leap of faith. Fortunately, I was offered a job on a production for Warner Bros entitled The Flash that was ultimately closed down after creative differences between the studio and the film’s director. Even this negative ending taught me a lot about the film industry. I finished my time with the studios working on Solo: A Star Wars Story (Disney).

As I reached the end of my first year I started writing to production companies to fill my summer with as much work as I could possibly get. I received many rejections, but a positive reply from Warner Bros led to me spending a week working in their sales and operations team where I learnt a different side to the film industry. It was fascinating to learn the dynamic

On each film I set out to learn as much as I could. Hours were typically very long as I opened up and closed the production office each day. My days could be spent on a whole range of tasks: I would make tea and coffee for everyone but would also have tasks with more responsibility, such as making sure that cameras and other equipment were in place on key filming

Bleep camera tests at Panavision

days and ensuring the footage from the days filming made it to the lab. Short films Whilst working on the Jungle Book, I got to know an aspiring director and we set about working on some short films together. So far, I have produced two short films. One of them is Meet Cute (3 minutes) and the other The Sandman Wakes (7 minutes). I am now developing another short Bleep that will shoot in January 2018. I met the crew on these films whilst working at the studios. So far, The Sandman Wakes has won an award for Best SFX Makeup and Meet Cute has been selected to be screened at the Golden Movie Awards. After a lot of thought and discussion with colleagues, I decided to return to university to complete my degree. While studying I am doing what I can to keep in touch with the contacts I made by working during the term holidays. Having had a year away from university I now appreciate the experience an awful lot more. When I was working on the re-shoots for King Arthur, it was necessary to shoot the end scene where King Arthur is handed his sword before a cheering crowd. The Assistant Director was looking for someone to hand Charlie Hunnam the sword. It was a question of right place and right time. Look very carefully in the final scene of King Arthur and my hands can be spotted presenting Excalibur to the King! ■

FLOREAT 2018

Day Boarding to Snow Boarding By Jack Taylor (OJ & H, 2006) I was at Cheltenham College for five years, under the care of Nicholas Lowton in Hazelwell. I have just taken on my first ski chalet in Morzine – and this is my journey.

After College and before university, I took a two week cooking course at Orchard Cookery School in Evesham, and that helped me get my first ski season job aged 18. The course was amazing for someone that hadn’t had much cooking experience. It covered all the basics, sauces, breads, baking, preparing fish and meat, and it was perfect. Most chalet companies like their staff to have some experience of hospitality or kitchen work so it was great to attend. I spent my first season working in my own chalet in Val-d’Isère and loved every minute. It was a steep learning curve and pretty daunting cooking for people with all sorts of dietary issues, plus meals at odd times of the day for children but it was also very rewarding. Missing the mountains I loved my three years at Nottingham Trent University and spent two summers in Scotland as an Assistant Gamekeeper on an estate in Perthshire and a summer in France working in a friend’s hotel. With my degree I took a job in London. Obviously there were lots of good times, and it was nice to put a suit on every day but I knew pretty early on that that wasn’t the life for me. I missed the mountains, skiing and the relaxed lifestyle. After a year I decided to take some time out to think about what I wanted to do, so I got a job in Morzine working for a small independent chalet company as a ski guide.

Jack, Wendy and their dog Am

For the last five years, my partner Wendy and I worked as the resort managers for an award winning company, looking after 30 staff across 11 chalets in the village and we have had a fantastic time. Each week presented different problems and organising staff can be challenging but we always found time to ski. Les Portes de Soleil is one of the biggest linked ski areas in the world, so there were always guest questions and recommendations on the best places to explore and to improve. The winter runs for 16-18 weeks for guests and is tiring but very rewarding personally and professionally. In the summer the resort opens again and tourists return. Morzine is huge for road cycling, down hill biking, hiking and many other outdoor pursuits. We have come to love the summer as much as the winter season and we go for hikes on the mountain trails, or swim in the lakes. It is exquisitely beautiful and we never get tired of the mountains, the wild flowers, the cow bells and the extreme weather. It is just a very beautiful place to live and experience over the year. We always wanted to run our own business and this summer we managed to find the ideal chalet and set up our company, Northstar Chalets. Chalet de Coffy is right in the heart of the village, a three minute walk from the Pleney, Morzines main mountain and the lift over to Les Gets as well as lifts up to Avoriaz and over into Switzerland. The location of the chalet couldn’t be better. A short hop to the lifts, the village

elie

center and some of the best bars and restaurants all a stones throw away. The chalet has just been refurbished – so it's a lovely blank sheet for us to put our own mark on. Right now we have masses to do furnishing and equipping it as well as menu planning and sorting out partnerships with local food producers. We want to try and use as many local suppliers and as much local produce as possible. Carefree holiday With 16 years in the industry between us we feel we know what our clients want – cosy, home from home comforts, delicious cooking, comfortable beds, and people who know every inch of the resort. Having been locals for a while now we can arrange good prices for ski and boot hire and for airport transfers. If our guests want yoga, we arrange yoga, if they want a massage after a long day of skiing we organise that. Our aim is to give guests an absolutely carefree holiday. Even the non-skiers in the party, or those taking care of small children need to have an equally good time – so we have books and games, Netflix, and of course the large outdoor hot tub. We are really excited about welcoming our first guests – and maybe some fellow College friends. Morzine is our home and we look forward to sharing its beauty with you. Chalet Le Coffy is online at www.northstarchalets.com or contact Jack or Wendy on bonjour@northstarchalets.com ■ 55

FEATURES

I had a great time at College – it was nice to be a day boarder and get a taste of both sides of the school. I spent as much time as I could in the DT labs. DT was my favourite subject and my favourite teacher, Mr Cutts, was a big influence on me and taught me many really valuable lessons on and around the subject.

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Aloha From Hawaii By Sammi Mercer (née Berlet, We, 2011) From the moment I can remember, I have always loved the ocean and always dreamed of training marine mammals. As I grew up, so did my passion. I learned that if I was to turn every girl’s dream of being an animal trainer into my own reality then I needed to be a stand out. Studying science at A Level was an easy choice. I was determined to study Biology at university and pursue research as a starting point. I graduated College in 2011, moved back to America, and attended Pennsylvania State University to obtain my BSc in Biology. After graduating, I was faced with navigating my next steps in the field. While I entertained pursuing graduate school to earn a Master's degree, by what I can only describe as random luck, I came across an 'Animal Care and Husbandry' internship close to family in Florida. My childhood dream was in the making. Even if only for three months, I eagerly said yes! That was the beginning of the path to my career as a Marine Mammal Specialist. I completed three internships before I ended up with my first permanent job with Dolphin Quest on the Big Island of Hawaii, exactly 7,221 miles from Cheltenham College. At Dolphin Quest, a conservation company owned by two marine mammal veterinarians, the top priority for a Marine Mammal Specialist is

to provide the highest standard of animal care. On top of animal care, our mission is to educate and inspire conservation efforts by creating a personal connection between guests and animals. Here was my chance to make a difference! Dolphin Quest In the late 1980s, world renowned marine mammal veterinarians, Dr. Rae Stone and Dr. Jay Sweeney, created the first Dolphin Quest facility in which guests could learn about and interact with dolphins in large natural, ocean-fed lagoon environments. Fish and other species also call the dolphin lagoons home which creates a naturally enriching environment. The dolphins move between the different lagoons throughout the day for stimulating environmental and social variability. Our dolphin habitats mirror the shallow water bays and estuaries these coastal variety of dolphins inhabit in the wild. The dolphins are adored and well cared for at Dolphin Quest, where they receive the very best veterinary care, restaurant-quality food and lots of love and attention. Animal training and care Training at Dolphin Quest focuses on a lifestyle of positive reinforcement. This means presenting something valuable or motivating following a desired response to increase the likelihood of that response occurring again. For example,

you ask a child to do a task. The child completes the task. If you give the child something meaningful (such as money), the child is more likely to complete the task in the future because of the positive consequence that followed. Money would not work with the dolphins, just like fish would most likely not work with the child. The reinforcer following the completed behavior must be something specific to the animal’s interests or needs. Along with fish, some dolphins are reinforced with ice, toys, play, and even unflavoured and unsweetened gelatin! Dolphin Quest trainers have a mutually beneficial and collaborative learning style with the dolphins. Cooperative behaviours are mentally stimulating for both the trainer and dolphin. As trainers, we aim to keep each day different, not only to provide variability to the dolphin's day, but also to our day. Training also provides physical stimulation and problem-solving opportunities. The dolphins’ days are filled with lots of variability including mutual discovery between the trainers and the dolphins. These sessions are fun and build trust between the dolphin and human. My favourite kind of sessions are the play sessions, during which I provide an assortment of toys from which the dolphin chooses. Having marine mammal veterinarians as owners means Dolphin Quest provides state-of-the-art veterinary care. The high level of preventative health care provided at Dolphin Quest relies on the strong relationships that trainers develop with the animals over time. This relationship is the foundation for everything, especially when it comes to teaching the dolphins co-operative behaviours to participate in their own medical care. With this relationship, husbandry samples can be collected more readily and easily, which in turn makes providing state-of-the art care more effective and immediate. This allows the trainers to obtain blood, urine, fecal, gastric, respiratory and milk samples which provides baseline information for the species and ultimately increases longevity. Daily animal care also involves

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preparing diets, checking over the dolphinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s body, record keeping and cleaning everything you could imagine. Other care includes tooth brushing, collecting morphometrics and routine ultrasound examinations. Scientific studies and conservation To better understand and conserve marine mammals, the oceans, and the Earth, Dolphin Quest has donated over $3.8 million in funding, in-kind support and resources to a variety of university level scientific studies and conservation programs. The three Dolphin Quest facilities provide scientists with safe environments to study dolphins and collect data that would be nearly

impossible to collect in the wild. Dolphin Quest is a pioneer in neonatal care through their own Project Newborn. The project focuses on collecting blood samples and morphometric data from calves during the first year of their life. The data collected provides a baseline for comparison and designated milestones to ensure the calf is following normal, healthy trends. To date, Dolphin Quest has supported over 120 published scientific studies that are providing new insights into how we can better protect marine mammals in the wild. The relationship I have developed with each dolphin is unique to me and inspires me to be a better ocean conservationist.

Sharing this special relationship with each guest I meet encourages others to do the same. By offering a safe and fun environment in which people can interact with and learn about dolphins, we are inspiring the next generation of ocean stewards. Common bottlenose dolphins are a shallow-water species and are under constant threat from human activity close to the coasts such as entanglement, boat strikes, and pollution. Our dolphins are ambassadors for their wild counterparts, allowing people from all over to create connections and learn how to act to preserve the ocean environment. It truly is a privilege to work with and learn from these dolphins. Finally, my dream has come true! â&#x2013;

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Not Too Shabby By Emlyn Rees (H,1989) Whenever I think about College these days, in addition to the great friends I made there, and the good times I had, it’s the books I remember most. I was lucky enough to encounter a series of inspiring teachers during my time at College, but none more so than in the English department. I’d always enjoyed reading, but I caught the creative writing bug first hand from the published poet Duncan Forbes, who was Head of the Department at the time, and the inspirational Jonny Eminson, who taught me English four out of my five years. My first ever published work appeared during my time at College too, in The Cheltonian. It was a short piece about the perils of eating sweets in class, written under protest in Sunday detention, which then got secretly handed into the magazine’s editor by the Master who set it. I remember my friends taking the mick when it came out, but I was secretly proud. I liked seeing my writing in print. I was hooked. By the time I left College, I’d branched out into working on an alternative school magazine, and writing articles, short stories and (excruciatingly bad, in retrospect) poetry. In large part thanks to this, I went on to study English at university and later got my first job in publishing at the well known London literary agency, Curtis Brown. More books followed. I had my first novel published aged 24, and have since written several race-against-the-clock thrillers, and co-written many comedies and, more recently, parodies with my wife, Josie Lloyd, including, Come Together, We’re Going on a Bar Hunt and The Very Hungover Caterpillar. A typical ‘Shabby’ home

Our latest book, published in December 2017, is called Shabby – The Jolly Good British Guide to Stress-Free Living. It’s another parody, this time aiming to lampoon the recently popular slew of Japanese and Scandinavian lifestyle trends – like Hygge and Lagom. Along with other branches of minimalism, the aim of these movements is to transform us into a state of zen-like bliss through such apparently life-changing activities as decluttering, rolling our underwear, lighting scented candles and distributing folded cashmere blankets throughout our homes.

Shabby, published in December 2017

Being Shabby Shabby, instead, describes what we hope is a much more realistic and attainable British lifestyle, which I suspect many of us are already familiar with and can easily achieve without making many (indeed any) changes to our daily routines.

But as with most parodies, there’s a serious point lurking beneath the jokes as well. In our Instagrammed world, where image feels like it’s everything, it’s become normal, even addictively so, to worry about our appearance and what others think about us.

It’s founded on the Four Central Pillars of Shabbism, being: Messiness, Dilapidation, Clutter and Bodged Works, which should easily, of course, be found occurring naturally in most British homes.

Being Shabby is all about letting go of that stress and learning instead to relax. It’s about not trying to be that perfect family in that perfectly decorated sitting room that looks like it’s just been tidied up before the estate agent comes round. It’s about resisting that Evian-esque tide of cleanism lapping at the shores of our homes, clothes and very beings. And it’s about always wearing your shoes inside, no matter how new your carpet is, because your house is not a temple, it’s your home.

The guide itself is full of practical tips for you and yours on how to achieve that perfect Shabby aesthetic. Because, deep down in our hearts, don’t we all know Shabby when we see it? It’s that welcoming pair of pants drying on the radiator. That half-mouldy, but perfectly gin-and-tonic worthy lemon on display in the fruit bowl. That tin of plum tomatoes in the cupboard with a sell-by date of 1983. It’s always remembering to flip the babymilk-stained sofa cushions over to the cleaner ‘guest’ side whenever your parents come round. And, of course, it’s never

dusting higher than your tallest friend’s line of sight.

Shabby, in other words, is a quintessentially British way of life that’s been tried and tested for generations. So what if your paintwork is chipped, the carpet is threadbare and there’s a damp patch on the ceiling? Or your cupboards are messy and the fridge is crammed with jars that are glued to the shelves by their own sticky residue? That’s just real life for you. And real life’s just too short to waste striving for perfection and keeping up appearances. Real life is much better spent spending less time fussing, clearing up and getting stressed about stuff that doesn’t really matter anyway, and more time hanging out with family and friends. ■

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From Chapel to Fine Dining By Rachael Merrison (College Records & Heritage Manager)

The Chapel The building that we now know as the Dining Hall was originally constructed as a Chapel in 1858. When the College was founded, boys had worshipped on Sundays in the gallery of Christchurch (a 20-minute walk away at 15 shillings per annum) and later at St Luke's Church, just to the north of College, which had been built on the understanding that it was, in part, a College Chapel. Unfortunately, some disagreements between our Principal, Rev'd William Dobson, and the Dean Francis Close led to a proposal to build a Chapel onsite, which won by eighty-one votes to forty-one. Designed by Mr D.J. Humphris, who was also responsible for the adjacent racquets courts block, for some reason it was never consecrated, despite being in use for over thirty years. By our 50th Anniversary, we can see a shift in attitude towards the Chapel. There were complaints that the room was poorly designed – sermons were often inaudible due to poor acoustics – and the Chairman of Council, Sir Henry James (PB, 1845) Q.C., M.P. proposed that the most appropriate way to commemorate the College's Anniversary was to relocate the Chapel to a more fitting new building. A subscription was raised and within five years the beautiful exterior of our current Chapel (orientated east to west, rather than the original building's north to south) was built for just over £12,000.

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As many of you will know, 2017 has seen Cheltenham College embark on a significant project to upgrade and improve the dining facilities for the Senior School. With the new girls’ house, College Lawn, opening last year, works are well underway to ensure that the Dining Hall and adjoining kitchen facilities can fully cater for the increased numbers of pupils! Looking back through our maps, plans and photographs we see that this same room has undergone many changes over the years, and reveals a College which has been more than willing to adapt to meet the needs of its pupils over the decades.

Clockwise from top left: Ground plan of College, c.1889; Old Chapel, 1858-1891; Dining Hall with memorial panelling, c.1940-onwards; and Library, 1897-1939 The Library However, the creation of a new building was also an excellent opportunity to reimagine the space vacated by the Old Chapel! The School Library had been situated in a room at the top of the stairs in the old Junior School (alongside Big Classical), but with a much larger, grander room available it was able to expand considerably as we entered the 20th Century. The improvement of the Library went hand in hand with the development of the other rooms within this central block. A Museum of natural history, with its collection of animals, birds and geographical specimens, had been situated just next door to the Chapel since 1870, and from June 1897 both took advantage of the newly vacated space. It was planned that the west end of the room, which joined the Museum, was to be filled with cases containing a variety of specimens, while between the space to be utilised as part of the Museum and the Library itself are two large sculptures, The Laocoon, and The Wounded Gaul (Cheltonian, June 1897). In 1902 the Museum doubled in size to encompass the Yard (an old racquet court) and, alongside the Library, it was a valuable resource which came to influence the great polar explorer, Edward Wilson, when he came to College as a Day Boy (DB, 1891). This arrangement continued until 1922, when the Museum was relocated to Big

Modern to make way for additional science and form rooms. The Library, however, remained and took full advantage of the available space, until 1940. The Dining Hall But finally, with the Second World War we see the former Chapel become the Dining Hall we know and love today. Following our temporary decampment to Shrewsbury School at the beginning of the war, the Council was forced to review the school's finances and during the exile the library was transformed into a dining room. Simultaneously, the science rooms alongside it were converted into a kitchen, sculleries and an office for our caterers, who fortunately, according to contemporary reports, were a great success! The Dining Hall was also enhanced by new panelling, tables and benches, and in 1950 the Second World War Memorial was installed above the High Table, where the altar of the Old Chapel was originally situated. Today pupils, staff and our many visitors can appreciate this impressive space which began as a place of worship, changed over the decades as the College responded to pupils' needs, and became the grand room where we still congregate as a community. The refurbishment of the dining facilities is but one new chapter for our built heritage, and we look forward to the works being completed! ■

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Three OCs on HMS Queen Elizabeth By Jeremy Brettell (BH, 1997) HMS Queen Elizabeth is the largest and most powerful ship that the UK has ever built. Capable of carrying 36 aircraft and with up to 1600 personnel onboard she is 280m long, has a beam at the flightdeck of over 70m and a top speed of over 25 knots. She is four acres of UK sovereign territory able to deploy anywhere in the world. For the past 6 years she has been put together in Rosyth before heading out on sea trials in June 2017. During her recent period at sea conducting trials of weapons and sensors RAdm Henry Parker CB (OJ & W, 1982), Lt Col Mark Searight RM (L, 1983) and Lt Cdr Jeremy Brettell RN (BH, 1997) were onboard HMS Queen Elizabeth at the same time at sea and the opportunity for a photo to mark the occasion was not to be missed. All three OCs have been intricately involved in the project over the past few years. Henry Parker is the Director of Ship Acquisition, Defence Equipment and Support (DE & S), responsible for the procurement of Surface Warships. He served in the Royal Navy for 34 years as an Engineering Officer including serving in HMS Invincible one of the previous generation of carriers. He retired from the Navy in 2016 but continues his role as a senior civil servant. His earlier Naval career was mainly in the field of nuclear submarine acquisition but he also served as Controller of the Navy (2012-2013), Assistant Naval Attaché in Washington DC (2005-2007), as well as ‘bag carrier’ for the Chief of Defence Staff (2001-2003). He is married to Kat, the daughter of John Bristol (OJ & Xt, 1956; Modern Languages and Officer in CCF 1964-1976). Mark Searight was one of four Searights who attended College (Leconfield), all of whom went into the Armed Forces (Nick – Army, Jim – Marines, Sean - Army). He left College in 1983 having captained the XV and joined the Royal Marines in 1986. He has served in various roles in command and in staff appointments. Exchange posts in the US, NATO Brussels and Toulon, France, have been interspersed with deployments to Belize, Kosovo and 60

Lt Cdr Jeremy Brettell RN (BH, 1997)

RAdm Henry Parker CB (OJ & W, 1982)

Afghanistan. He has latterly been involved in the amphibious role in the Corps, serving on most ships. Now currently embarked on HMS Queen Elizabeth as the Amphibious Operations Officer, he is responsible for ensuring the ship is ready to receive Royal Marines and their helicopters for future deployments. He is married to Serena and lives in Devon; their two children live and work in London. Jeremy Brettell has been part of the project as the Navigating Officer since January 2016, bringing the ship out of Rosyth where she was built, onto sea trials and into her homeport of Portsmouth for the first time. He was the fifth generation of Brettells to go to College and was a member of the naval section of the CCF although he never had any intention of joining the Royal Navy. At university he studied Veterinary Medicine and Electrical and Electronic Engineering (completing neither!) before joining the RN after a year in Australia. He is a specialist navigating officer and navigated several minehunters and frigates as well as commanding the patrol boat HMS Charger based out of Liverpool and the Liverpool University Royal Naval Unit (URNU) before conducting his warfare training and

Lt Col Mark Searight RM (L, 1983)

HMS Queen Elizabeth joining HMS Richmond as Gunnery and Operations Officer. The chance to be the first to navigate the country’s biggest warship was one not to be missed and has provided many proud moments, not least bringing the ship into Portsmouth for the first time and being master of ceremonies at the commissioning ceremony with Her Majesty the Queen. He moves on in March 2018 to become second in command of the Type 45 Destroyer HMS Diamond. Serving with HMS Queen Elizabeth has been a fantastic opportunity for all three OCs and with her expected to be in service for another 50 years they will look on with pride at what was achieved so early on in the ship’s life. ■

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A Running Reunion in Rhossili

By George Hazell (L, 2010)

Whilst you are at school, you have a core group of around 10-20 friends. After you leave school, you will remain in regular contact with 5-10 of them. By the time you’ve started full-time employment, you will probably only see 5 of your school friends regularly.

However, if there’s one of your school friends you can count on to push a plan through, it’s probably your old Senior College Prefect. To our horror, the morning after said drinks, we awoke to the following message from Nic Robbins (L, 2010), “Lads, great seeing you last night. On the back of George’s suggestion to have a proper catch up session, I’ve booked 8 entries to the Gower Trail Half Marathon in November. Get training and send me £40.” Wow. Last minute replacement Fast-forward to October and more or less all eight of us are on board and training. We lost Charlie Stuckey (NH, 2010) to a gammy knee that’s been “holding me back since Junior Colts B” and James Croft (NH, 2010) who was snowed under revising for his CFA. Nonetheless, as the race date approached the weekend was actually shaping up to be good fun, if you forget the fact we’d be running 13 miles over a mountain, in Wales, in November. Max Arthur (L, 2010) ambitiously booked a tee time at a local golf course for the Sunday morning, Will Unwin (S, 2010) earmarked a local pub to watch the Wales v Australia match after the run and Hugo Snell (L, 2010) booked a table for 8 at the local curry house for after that. As we entered race week, Nic decided to tell us that he’d managed to persuade

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This is the theory that everyone claims does not apply to them. They would claim they are in touch with many more than 5 of their school friends. Certainly for myself, living in Wales and with most of my school contemporaries in London, the theory barely applies. Which is why when I eventually joined some of them for a drink or two back in April, I suggested that we should perhaps make more of an effort. At the time, I did not realise how hollow my words might have been.

(above, left to right) George Hazell (L, 2010), Charlie Stuckey (NH, 2010) and James Croft (NH, 2010)

(left to right, together with College photos) Nic Robbins (L, 2010), Freddy Braithwaite-Exley (H, 2010), Mat Harber (L, 2010), Henry Hazell (NH, 2012), Max Arthur (L, 2010), Hugo Snell (L, 2010), Will Unwin (S, 2010) & Joss Cheli (L, 2010) Mat Harber (L, 2010), Joss Cheli (L, 2010) and Freddie Braithwaite-Exley (H, 2010) to join us for the weekend. They however, having just completed an ironman, had signed up for the full marathon to put us all to shame. At this point, I had to pull out. Training hadn’t been optimal and my younger brother Henry (NH, 2012) was roped in to replace me at the last minute. The fact that he was happy to sign up for a half marathon the week before tells you that he was infinitely more qualified than me anyway. As the lads arrived in the Rhossili Bay car park on a wet and cold Saturday in November, they were kept warm by the cerise & black college tops kindly sent by Rebecca Creed and were an instant conversation starter with the fellow runners. They soon realised that they had signed up for a run a lot tougher than a normal halfmarathon. They spent the first half an hour walking single file up a vertical hill into the driving rain, they then spent the following half an hour negotiating coming down the other side of the hill without doing themselves any harm. Somehow, they all managed to finish, and in roughly the same time. My younger brother Henry managed the best time having only had a week to train. Mat Harber came 4th in the full marathon, well ahead of his fellow Kenyan Porcherite Joss Cheli. This was something that Cheli was not allowed to forget as the

lads reconvened in the Rose & Crown in the Mumbles to watch some rugby and swap stories from their time at College. Of the 8 that ran on the Saturday morning, only 3 made it to the first tee at Langland Bay Golf Club on the Sunday morning. The 5 withdrawals refused to state whether their legs or their heads were sorer. All in all, I’ve been told that the weekend was a resounding success. I was told this by Robbins, who had forced them all to participate, but nonetheless all those involved actually said it was a great idea to force fellow OCs to get together in a time when it’s all too easy to make your excuses to not meet up on a Saturday evening in London. One thing I can safely say is that it’s a lot less stressful to just pitch up to see your old schoolmates in the pub once in a while rather than be forced into a weekend in Wales by your old Head Boy. That doesn’t mean that we have ruled out doing the same thing again next year and this time perhaps myself, Croft, Stuckey and even a few more might make the run and the tee time. Well done to Nic for forcing (most of) the lads to follow through all the way to the finish. They have all told me that it was an overwhelming success of a weekend and that they would recommend any OCs to organise similar weekends to catch up properly with their contemporaries. ■ 61

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House and Society Talks, Sixth Form lectures and interviews – and a flying visit By Sebastian Bullock (Deputy Development Director) Over the course of the year a number of OCs, parents and friends of College, representing a cross section of the entire Cheltonian Society community, came to College to deliver invaluable talks, lectures and interviews. A few highlights are below. The Economics Society heard a talk by the CEO of Associated British Ports, Mr James Cooper (NH, 1979, James Cooper second generation (NH, 1979) OC and current College parent). Mr Cooper spoke about the future of UK trade in the context of Brexit and wider global political and economic developments. He set out what he thinks life outside the Single Market will look like, in terms of ‘cliff edges’ and ‘cakes’ as well as with charts and statistics. Will Hardy (S, 2017), who has an offer to read Economics at the University of Cambridge, said, "Mr Cooper, through providing us with an insider's view into the complexities of Britain's international trade environment, expertly took us through the potential future of British trade. Moving beyond the political white noise, Mr Cooper explained in depth the economic possibilities of future UK trade with both the EU and the world outside the single market, though acknowledged the danger that selfdestructive political decisions posed to free trade in the future. Overall, it was a thoroughly interesting and enjoyable evening." Mr Cooper also addressed the group of Lower Sixth students involved in the College’s Mini MBA Programme. For these students, there was some invaluable guidance about managing a business and creating a culture of success.

Charlie Bennett (H, 1980)

Charlie Bennett (H, 1980), gave a lecture to Sixth Form students about his career in banking. Charlie is a Managing Director of Credit Suisse

based in London. He studied Archaeology and Anthropology at Pembroke College, Cambridge and then spent five happy years in the Grenadier Guards before swapping his uniform for a life in banking. Charlie talked to students about his time at College, life in the Army and his career in banking. He highlighted five mistakes that he had made along the way and how he had learnt from these. One of his key messages was to consider your team and the wider picture, something he felt he hadn’t done when he made the five mistakes he talked about. Cheun Leik Low (Xt, 2017) commented, “I believe I speak for all of the Upper Sixth when I say Mr Bennett’s talk was an enlightening experience. He told us of his own time at school and how he went on to achieve many great things in life, a goal which many of us here at College undoubtedly share. Mr Bennett spoke with an air of confidence and remarkable eloquence, imparting some of his invaluable experience to everyone in attendance. If there’s one thing I learnt from him that afternoon, it would be that there is no substitute for passion and enthusiasm on the path to success.” Christiaan Bruins (BH, 2017) also said that “I maintain that Mr Bennett’s talk was the most interesting and enjoyable talk that I have ever been to on a Friday afternoon at College. I am certain that his vast experience and advice will come in handy in the future as I hope to take a more entrepreneurial approach to life after College. It is also very uplifting to hear from someone who’s somewhat mischievous College life seems to be quite relatable to my own; I must say that his stories highly impressed me and my peers. I was particularly inspired by his comparison to life as not being a dress rehearsal and therefore to make the most of it so that we have no regrets in later life. This I will definitely always keep in mind.” An Army Air Corps Apache helicopter landed on College Field in June, to the delight of pupils, staff and many passers-by. It was piloted by OC, Captain Olly Snell (L, 2004), who gave Combined Cadet Force (CCF) pupils a tour of the impressive helicopter and talked to them about the

capabilities of the Apache, his time at College and his subsequent career in the Army. Contingent Commander of the CCF, Mr Ben Rees, commented, “It was a fantastic spectacle; these events are rare given the demand for the helicopters but we were very lucky to have the support of Capt Snell and his Regiment in what has been a highlight of the year for the CCF and College as a whole.” Designed as a tank hunter, the Apache helicopters have seen action in Afghanistan and Libya and one was once flown by Prince Harry. Their maximum speed is 330kph and they weigh 7,746kg! Fashion designer Beatrice von Tresckow (Past Parent) came to Ashmead to talk to interested pupils Beatrice von Tresckow from the Third Form (Past Parent) to Upper Sixth about her business and career as a highend womenswear designer. Beatrice has stores in Montpellier in Cheltenham, Portobello Road in London, Kitzbühel in Austria and Berlin in her native Germany. Pupils were regaled with colourful stories of her eclectic upbringing in Afghanistan, India and Africa; the influences of which are clear to see in her designs. She talked about the risks that she took; some worked, some didn’t, and the overriding message was one of opportunities and making the most of those presented to you. There were photos and questions and even the opportunity for one of the pupils to model some of her outfits. It was an informal, inspiring and informative evening. On Wednesday 18th October, College welcomed back Bruce CarnegieBrown (H, 1973) – Chairman of Lloyd’s Bruce Carnegieof London and Brown (H, 1973) Moneysupermarket Group, Vice Chairman of Banco Santander and President of the Chartered Management Institute – to give an interview-style talk to the College’s Business

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and Economics students. Responding to questions asked by Immy Williams (U6th, Cha), Harrison Campbell (U6th, L), Zara Qadir (U6th, Cha) and Seb Villars (U6th, S), Bruce spoke about banking and insurance in the UK, his career in the financial sector and his time as a student at College. It was fantastic to hear first-hand from someone with such extensive experience of the financial sector, particularly the ways in which the uncertainty surrounding Brexit is affecting both the economy and the banking sector. It proved to be a truly valuable and enjoyable evening.

Leconfield welcomed back Robert Marshall-Lee and Paul Robert Marshall-Lee and Sedgwick (both L, 1991) to talk Paul Sedgwick (L, 1991) to the pupils about their time in Leconfield, and their careers since leaving College. Robert works as a Fund Manager for Newton Investment Management and Paul is the Deputy Ranger at Windsor Great Park, reporting directly to HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. They reminisced about their years as ‘shack-mates‘ and Robert found his name on the Heads of House board. Their talks were interesting and amusing and they passed on some important tips about

OCs inspire and support the next generation of College entrepreneurs Apocryphal though it may be, the story that more Old Cheltonians have been eaten by tigers than from any other school, suggests a certain adventurous spirit in OCs. There is rather more evidence to support the claim that there is a greater degree of entrepreneurialism amongst OCs than alumni of other schools. Last year saw a number of these OC entrepreneurs coming back to College to talk about their experiences of setting up and running their own business. These talks were part of the new Mini MBA course that was launched in September 2016 and culminated in 5 groups of students presenting their business plans to a highpowered panel of judges (Current Parent Touker Suleyman, OC Bruce Carnegie-

Brown H, 1977 and the Head) in the boardroom of a FTSE 100 Company in London in March 2017. The winning pitch secured a cheque for £1000 to help get the business started. Tom Smith (U6th, BH) and Kieran Thorley’s (U6th, BH) business proposition was to produce a re-usable and collapsible water bottle. Despite A Level exams being on the horizon, Tom and Kieran have achieved an enormous amount since making their pitch in March. Tom Smith reports that “We have trademarked our brand name (Aquari) and logo and advanced a huge amount with the designs and are only a couple of prototypes away from completing the design work (which was a longer road than we initially expected). We are registered at Companies House and have written up a shareholders’ agreement.” Do find out more at www.aquari.org. Kieran Thorley also reflects on what the Mini MBA Programme has meant to him “From my experience of the Mini MBA Programme we got to independently organise a project as a pair. I felt that from this set up the course let us develop entrepreneurial skills unlike any other course in College. I am grateful to have done the Mini MBA as it has taught me how to source

working in their respective industries. They also highlighted how important it is that pupils look at the bigger picture in terms of their career and consider taking the path that may not give instant gratification in terms of salary or position, but might have long-term prospects or lead to ‘the dream job’. They stressed that as we work for over half of our lives, it is important to find the right career. John ChatfeildRoberts (L, 1980) returned to College in September to be interviewed by members of the John ChatfeildUpper Sixth in The Roberts (L, 1980) Chatfeild-Roberts Library about his memories of College and career in Financial Services. This proved to be a very informative insight into the world of high-finance, as well as providing some invaluable guidance for those considering embarking on a career in this sector. ■ market information and develop valuable skills that are difficult to teach in any subject.” It would seem as if there is a massive potential market for re-usable water bottles. Bottled water is now a $100bn business; 81% of the bottles are not recycled and water is only 1.5% of the price of the bottle. There is also a compelling environmental case here given that it is estimated that by 2050 there will be more plastic in our oceans than fish – which will mainly be down to disposable water bottles. The College Mini MBA programme is helping to ensure that the green shoots of entrepreneurialism continue to be cultivated at College. The second year of the programme has already seen a group of College and All Saints Academy students hearing first hand from OCs about the different aspects of running a business. OCs George Smith (BH, 2010), Richard Hine (H, 2011) and Sam Clarke (Xt, 1999) have given talks at College and the group has also visited the Commercial Group Foundation in Gloucester. In the New Year, the students will start developing their own business start-up ideas culminating in a presentation to a panel of judges in the boardroom of Smiths Engineering Group in London. There is a substantial cash prize available for the winner to go towards the business start-up which this year has been kindly donated by Jae Chalfin (L, 1996). ■ 63

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OC Grace Knudsen (Q, 2012) returned to Queens for a highly informative evening to talk to a group of students Grace Knudsen about her studies in (Q, 2012) Medicine at Bristol University, and her successful application to join the Army as a Doctor. She talked of her experience since leaving College and

answered many questions from the students in 5th form to Upper 6th about the realities of studying medicine, the course content at Bristol and the demanding and highly competitive application process to join the Army as a Medic.

OC SPORTS

Old Cheltonian Sailing Club: The Arrow Trophy 2017 By Toby Francis (NH, 2009) The 2017 Arrow Trophy took place over the weekend of 14th & 15th October with the Old Cheltonians putting out a team for the third successive year. The age range was not quite as great as in the first year (52 yrs) however, we had a good range of ages and experiences, some having seen more ‘choppy seas’ than others (we’ll leave it at that!). Alastair McRobert and I took over from Andrew Gossage who was the mainstay over the first two years and certainly was a constant help to us during the planning stages. We had the usual meet up in Port Solent, Portsmouth on Thursday night to take over the boat and catch-up over a few beers. For some, Port Solent was a long distance from home, with Paul Koch again travelling from Holland to be with us. For another, Fred Scheerer, his trip down the A34, from Oxford, clearly wasn’t sufficient so he took the car ferry to Cowes and then back to Portsmouth. He perhaps felt his extra “sailing” miles on the solent, would come in handy over the weekend. The following morning, the remaining crew arrived and the safety brief was conducted professionally by our skipper,

Andrew Kenyon (BH, 1979) Andrew Gossage (H, 1981) Paul Koch (H, 1981) Fred Scheerer (H, 2001) David Miller (L, 2005) Alastair McRobert (NH, 2009)

Main Trim Tac/nav Pit Cockpit Skipper Cockpit

David Miller (L , 2005). As has been customary, the OC boat has taken an extra day (Friday) to prime our manoeuvres, get to know the boat and most importantly enjoy some additional hours on the water. As the sun was setting over Cowes, we pulled in for the evening and made our way to the Coast Bar and Dining Room, where we recharged, rehydrated and recounted stories from Cheltenham, some more appropriate than others. Saturday started early with a bacon and egg bap ahead of the 8am race briefing. A total of 25 boats then assembled on the start line in extremely different conditions to the previous year – namely, we could hear ourselves speak/think (the 2016 weather was ferocious with one boat losing a mast!). The four races of the day followed the standard format; start, windward mark, leeward mark, twice. The well qualified and well guided OC team gelled well and we managed to finish 3rd

The crew (l to r): Fred Scheerer (H, 2001), Eoin Hughes (S, 2015), Alastair McRobert (NH, 2009), Toby Francis (NH, 2009), Andrew Gossage (H, 1981), Jack Forrester (BH, 2015), David Miller (L, 2005), Charlie Ball (L, 2009), Paul Koch (H, 1984), Andrew Kenyon (BH, 1979), Will Ripley (S, 2009) and Ben Laidlaw 64

Toby Francis (NH, 2009) Charles Ball (L, 2009) Will Ripley (S, 2009) Ben Laidlaw (Alleyn’s School) Jack Forrester (BH, 2015) Eoin Hughes (S, 2015)

Cockpit Cockpit Cockpit Foredeck Foredeck Foredeck

in each of the first three races. This was then outdone by our last race where following a strong start we managed to head round the windward mark in second. During the downwind leg, we expertly followed a superior line and we managed to pull in front of Roedean and hold off our challengers to cross the line first, which is also a first for College! The committee boat looked slightly perplexed when Stevie Nicks’ Edge of Seventeen started sounding out of our speakers but again, this was a first for Cheltenham at the Arrow Trophy and a cause for celebration. Overall we were lying second for the day (behind Norwich school) and claimed a spot for the match racing the next day, which is reserved for the top four boats. Following a de-rig and a few choice Dutch beers on the way in, we were back in Cowes and got ready for the formal dinner later that evening. This year, the dinner was

Skipper and tactician trying to work out what to do next, now that we are in the lead!

FLOREAT 2018

Day 1, Race 4, You can only take a photo like this if you're in the lead! We won the race

held in the Cowes Yacht Haven Event Centre, which was much more equipped than the RORC which had been used in previous years. The dinner was excellent with a lot of discussion about what match racing entails!

Going forward, we have put our names forward to organise the regatta for the OCs again next year, pending any other nominations. We would therefore like to encourage any OCs interested in participating to contact the Cheltonian Society or either of us. You can then be added to the circulation list and we will be in touch when the 2018 details are finalised. ■

OC SPORTS

Sunday morning was all about finding out how to match race. While the back of the boat struggled to work out the pre-start timings and how to get out of ‘coffin corner’, the front of the boat began to realise how much hard work was involved. The windward/leeward course is very short and hoisting, gybing, dropping and repacking the spinnaker was a sweaty affair. We were pipped at the finishing line a few times and after a good competition (a very competitive 3rd/4th play-off ) we came 4th to Abingdon, Charterhouse and Norwich. The result meant we had won the ‘Radley Shaker’ to be collected on 13th November at the Royal Thames YC, and again at Arrow Trophy 2018. A fantastic result after only 3 years in the competition; some schools have been waiting more than 10 years for a place in the final four.

We would also like to thank the Cheltonian Society who have been strong supporters of the event that has meant a range of novice and more experienced OC sailors (20-30 to date) learn a huge amount about sailing whilst enjoying the camaraderie of the OCs.

Time for a team selfie from the foredeck crew during Saturday morning’s racing

Awards Jack Forrester – First aider (head, shoulder, knee and ankle – nothing too serious hurt, except his pride!) Paul Koch – Amber fluid sommelier Ben Laidlaw – DJ Fred Scheerer – TomTom We would like to extend our wholehearted thanks to Andrew Gossage who, although hanging up his coordination boots last year, was on hand throughout the process of recruiting/ organising the 2017 boat, as well as being a shrewd tactician throughout the racing.

Arrow Trophy Crew 2017 about to leave dock before it got serious! 65

OC SPORTS

OC Rackets By Mark Briers (Current Staff Member) The 17th Old Cheltonian Rackets weekend began on Friday 10th March with a coaching class from the Ladies’ World Champion Lea Van der Zwalmen. She gave a lesson and insight into the game followed by the College senior girls playing doubles alongside her which hopefully gave them confidence and encouragement for the future. The girls’ game is a rapidly growing sport at College which now boasts over twenty girls playing every week. On Saturday morning the tournament began in earnest and once again proved what most regard as one of the season’s major weekends outside the main blue ribbon tournaments. Sixteen pairs, consisting of an OC partnering a non-OC and for the first time a Ladies’ pair with present pupil Rose Jones (U6th, Q) partnering the Ladies’ World Champion Lea Van der Zwalmen (Clifton) competed. A high standard of Rackets was played. Saturday night’s black tie dinner was a chance to catch up with OCs and reminisce about College memories. Players, partners and guests were treated to Rhodri Hande’s (S, 2016) magic tricks preceding dinner. Current Staff Members Karl Cook (Master in charge) and Mark Briers (Professional) reported on the College season so far and this was followed by Nick James (BH, 2006)

for the OCs who announced that Tom Floyd (Xt, 2005) would be taking over from Charlie Liverton (BH, 1992) as the OC representative. Nick thanked Charlie for all he had done for the OC Rackets club. Nick confirmed that The Noel Bruce Cup had been successfully defended but this time by the pairing of Richard Owen (L, 2011) and Alex Duncliffe-Vines (NH, 2013). Another first was Jamie Stout (H, 2002) who alongside Jonathan Larkin (Eton) won the World Doubles Championship in November. However, all the speeches were completely outshone by Reg Williams (Clifton Professional) who sang (accompanied by a ukulele found in the boarding house) a thank you with some very interesting lyrics that left guests in hysterics or completely open-mouthed. A fabulous, raucous and funny dinner was followed by the usual trip into town and Cheltenham’s nightspots till the wee hours! Sunday morning somewhat bleary-eyed, saw two plate semi-finals and the final. The Plate Trophy was won by George Key (H, 2015) and Tom Shields (Tonbridge) who beat the girls pairing of Rose Jones and Lea Van der Zwalmen. Karl Cook presented the plate on behalf of the Floyd family who had kindly donated it the previous year.

OC Hockey

OC Cricket

By Chris Sandbach (NH, 2004)

The OCs travelled to Marlborough in June for the first round of the cricketer cup in high spirits and a confident mood. Batting first we lost wickets at unfortunate times throughout the innings and our final score of 241 was probably below par despite a great knock from Guy Brothwood (L, 2012). Early wickets was the key against an impressive Marlborough top order, however this proved tricky and an excellent 140 not out from their opener George Adair meant we were blown away. Sometimes you have to give credit to the opposition and we were certainly outplayed on this occasion.

By Gwyn Williams (Current Staff Member) Dean Close hosted their annual Old Girls’ 6s competition in which College entered a team. With a late drop out the team needed a goalkeeper and former Head of Girls’ Games Caroline Park stepped up to the plate and volunteered to go between the pipes. The team was captained by Pip Mitchell (A, 2008) and other team members consisted of Robyn Stovold (Q, 2011), Lisa Nahorniak (A, 2008), Yvie Seville (Cha, 2010), Georgie Blumer (Cha, 2016), Jamie Chadwick (Cha, 2010) and Frankie Hall (Q, 2009). Other teams that entered were Bloxham, Canford, Dean Close, King Henry VIII (Coventry), Malvern College,

The OC Gold Racket final saw James Rock (NH, 2006) Radley professional and Jono Jamieson-Black (H, 2017) the 2017 College Captain who kindly stepped in for the ‘under the weather’ Toni Morales. They played Alex Duncliffe-Vines and Mike Henman (Malvern College). The DuncliffeVines and Henman pairing proved too strong in the end winning comfortably 2-0. Karl Cook presented the OC Gold Racket trophy to the victorious pair. This was followed by Sunday lunch at the Beehive to round off a very enjoyable weekend. We look forward to the 18th Gold Racket on the weekend of 9th - 11th March 2018. ■

Frankie Hall (Q, 2009), Lisa Nahorniak (A, 2008), Pip Mitchell (A, 2008), Robyn Stovold (Q, 2011), Yvie Seville (Cha, 2016), Jamie Chadwick (Cha, 2016), Former Staff Member Caroline Park & Georgie Blumer (Cha, 2016) Marlborough College, Sedbergh, St Edwards (Oxford) and Rendcomb. Unfortunately, the team did not manage to get out of their qualifying pool. ■

The game was played in good spirit throughout and thank you to Marlborough for hosting us so well. Thanks to everyone who made the effort to play and of course to our supporting contingent - it certainly makes a difference to the players when we have an enthusiastic gathering behind us. We look forward to taking on Sherborne at home, in the first round in 2018, on Sunday June 17th. Please come along and support the troops no Father's day excuses! ■

FLOREAT 2018

The Old Cheltonian Golfing Society By Simon Collyer-Bristow (BH, 1977)

Cheltenham qualified for the finals of the Grafton Morrish at Denham GC. Only 47 public schools, plus the holders, out

Family Affair at the Autumn Meeting. Dan Rees (Xt,1955) Morgan Rees (OJ & Xt,1988), Henry Rees (Xt ,1959) and Aled Rees ( OJ & Xt,1982) of 106 progress from the regional qualifying rounds. This indicates the competitiveness of the Grafton Morrish compared to the Halford Hewitt which comprises the same 64 schools every year. In the first round of the finals at Hunstanton GC Cheltenham lost ½ -2½ to Loughborough GS. Sadly it was not a full strength team as only three Halford Hewitt players were available. For senior OC golfers the G.L. Mellin Salver team (age 55+) lost to Loretto 1-2 in the first round. The Peter Burles team (age 65+) had more success with wins against both Loretto 11⁄2 -1⁄2 and Sherborne 1-1, winning on the first sudden death hole, before losing to Bedford 1⁄2 -11⁄2 in the semi-finals. The Edward Harris Cup is played for

About the OC Golfing Society Open to golfers of all abilities, the OC Golfing Society is one of the largest and most active of the OC Sports Clubs. Most of the Society’s fixtures are open to all members and offer an excellent opportunity to meet other OCs and play on some of the country’s best courses. It is relatively inexpensive, as most golf clubs offer us preferential rates against those normally charged to visitors. Our Under 30 members are eligible for a subsidy from the Cheltonian Society which reduces the cost of participation still further. We boast a membership from recent leavers to those with seven decades of experience and with a wide range of handicaps. The Society enter teams of our best players to represent College at the major meetings of the Public Schools’ Golfing Society and the Public Schools’ Old Boys Golf Association being the Halford Hewitt and Grafton Morrish. We also enter teams in the G. L. Mellin Salver for senior golfers, Edward Harris Cup and Midland Public Schools’ Meeting. We have informal matches against other public school golf societies and a match against College. At the annual Autumn Meeting there is the opportunity to duel for some marvellous and historic silverware. For more information or to join, please contact: Angus Baillie (L, 1994) on angus.baillie@me.com

annually by the Welsh Public Schools’ Old Boys (and their neighbours who border Wales). The venue this year was Ross-on-Wye GC in Herefordshire where Cheltenham finished 4th. The Autumn Meeting took place at the picturesque Huntercombe GC near Henley-on-Thames in aptly autumnal weather conditions. There were a good number and age-spread of OCGS members, together with three College boys and Jon Mace, the Master in Charge of Golf. The course was in excellent condition with some very fastrunning, undulating greens. Morgan Rees (OJ & Xt, 1988) won the individual Lysaght Cup with 36 stableford points with Hugo Snell (L, 2010) and Alistair Thomson (L, 1967) winning the Founders Cup afternoon stableford foursomes over 11 holes with 25 points. Alistair won the prestigious Jumbo Trophy for the best aggregate on the day with 65 points. The OCGS retained the Peter Gale Salver at Huntercombe GC following a wellfought halved match 4-4 against the Old Marlburian GS. For the first time in a number of years the Peter Currie Plate was not retained losing 1-3 to the Old Shirburnian GS at Tidworth Garrison GC. There were also enjoyable but losing matches against the Old Wellingtonian GS and Old Decanian GS. The final match of the season was a convincing 4-0 win by a young OCGS team against the College at Cotswold Hills GC. Angus Baillie (L, 1994) has taken over as Hon Sec of the OCGS and our thanks to Charlie Elliott (H, 1989) for the many years he has done this job. ■ 67

OC SPORTS

The Golfing Society has enjoyed a full list of fixtures but with only modest success in the leading public school tournaments. The Halford Hewitt team was led for the first time by Andrew Morris (Xt, 1992), who took over the captaincy from Peter Richards (H ,1988), and included two new players, James Rock (NH, 2006) and Harry Brothwood (L, 2014). Cheltenham won their first round match against the Leys 3-2 but then lost 1-4 to a strong Repton team. Both James and Harry acquitted themselves well and will be strong members of the team for many years to come. At the other end of the scale Jeremy Caplan (Xt, 1959) was playing his 88th Halford Hewitt match in the first round, an astonishing 55 years since his debut in 1962. As in past years two or three first team players were not available, but a Cheltenham team at full strength, with some very good young players coming through, can be a major force in the Halford Hewitt and Grafton Morrish in the years to come.

EVENTS CALENDAR

Cheltonian Society Events Calendar 2018 Dates for your Diary 22nd February London Drinks at Davy’s Wine Bar

Join us from 6pm at Davy’s Wine Bar, Crown Passage, 20 King’s Street, St James’s, London, SW1Y 6QY. We look forward to seeing you. 13th March Cheltenham At The Races

16th March College performance of West Side Story

Enjoy the Cheltenham College Production in Big Classical, 6.45pm – 10.30pm. Cost is £10pp for refreshments, to book, please contact Rebecca Creed on 01242 265694.

5th May South West Luncheon

Ian Moody (Ch, 1946) once again opens the doors to his home Queen Anne House, Lympstone, Devon, to all those living in the South West. Guests are asked to make a contribution to a buffet luncheon and pay £5 per head for drinks. Invitations will be sent shortly. Please contact Ian on 01395 263189 or ian@moody2eclipse.co.uk

28th April Girls’ Houses Reunion 21st June Reception on The House of Commons Terrace

Enjoy Champion’s Day at the National Hunt Festival, the first day of the Races. Use the Society’s private marquee with cash bar as your base for the day. For ticket costs, further information and to book, please contact Rebecca Creed on 01242 265694.

House Reunions Dinner at College for Ashmead, Chandos, Queens & Westal. Put the date in your diary and get your year group together for what promises to be a fun evening. There will be a charge for tickets, invitations will follow. To register your interest, please call 01242 265694.

Join us for drinks & canapés on the Terrace of the House of Commons. Details and invitation to follow. Please call 01242 265694 to register your interest. Price is £40pp.

See the Events section of the Cheltonian Society website for updates www.cheltoniansociety.org You can join our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/cheltoniansociety 68

FLOREAT 2018

5th July Througham Court Garden Tour & Tea

Join us for an afternoon at Througham Court. There will be a tour of the garden at 2.30pm followed by refreshments in the Garden Room. Ticket price is £30pp. To book please contact Rebecca Creed on 01242 265694. 22nd July The Brewin Dolphin Cricket Festival

We are very excited to host a Charity Dinner at The Imperial War Museum to commemorate the centenary of the end of WW1. This will be the first Society event our new Head Nicola Huggett will be attending. Join us for a drinks reception on the Terrace followed by Dinner & Speeches in the atrium. Tickets will be around £100pp. Places are limited so please register your interest with Rebecca Creed on 01242 265694.

The end of term Carol Service will be at 2pm, join us for mince pies & mulled wine in the Dining Hall afterwards. Invitations will be sent out in the Autumn. 15th December Christmas Ball

17th November Boys’ Houses Reunion

House Reunions Dinner at College for Boyne House, Cheltondale and Day Boy Houses. Put the date in your diary and get your year group together. There will be a charge for tickets, invitations will follow, to register your interest please call 01242 265694. 25th November Christmas Fair

6th October 1993 Yeargroup Reunion

This year’s reunion is for those that left in 1993. Invitations will follow, please contact Malcolm Sloan, m.sloan@cheltenhamcollege.org for more information.

14th December Society Carol Service

Join us for the 7th annual Christmas Shopping Fair, a fantastic opportunity to start or continue your Christmas Shopping or treat yourself. Ticket price remains at £5pp (free for U16s) and if bought in advance comes with a complimentary glass of Prosecco. Invitations will be sent out in the Autumn.

Save the date as the Christmas Ball is back by popular demand! Invitations and further details will be sent out in the Autumn.

If you have any suggestions for future events, we would love to hear from you. Contact Rebecca Creed, Society Manager, at r.creed@cheltenham college.org or call 01242 265694 69

EVENTS CALENDAR

Gloucestershire v Durham Ticket price will include entrance to the festival, lunch and afternoon tea and will be £60pp. Invitations will be sent out shortly. To register your interest please call 01242 265694.

8th November Dinner at The Imperial War Museum

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Announcements Marriages Matthew Hall (L, 1989) married Genevieve Kwintner (née Brown, Cha, 1990) on 11th March 2017. Andrew Saitch (H, 1989), Neil Pedoe (BH, 1989), Tom Forbes (S, 1989) and Rebecca Faskin (Cha, 1990) attended. Lulu Pearson (Cha, 2006) married Harry Hayes on 8th April 2017. Lottie Yarranton (Cha 2006) was Maid of Honour and Miranda Mason (Cha, 2006), Lauren Creed (Cha, 2006), Henrietta Jerram (Cha, 2007), Zara Smalley (Cha, 2004), James Young (NH, 2003) and Tom Hughes (Xt, 2003) attended.

Will Davies (NH, 2005) married Alexia Massey at the Rukiya Safari Camp, Hoedspruiton, South Africa on 4th May 2017. David Davies (NH, 2007) attended.

Congratulations to all from The Cheltonian Society! Please let us know of any announcements for the 2019 issue of Floreat. Contact Rebecca Creed, Society Manager, at r.creed@cheltenhamcollege.org

Harry Osborn (NH, 2007) married Kia McLean (Cha, 2007) on 3rd June 2017. Emma Seccombe (Cha, 2007) and Georgina Davies (Cha, 2007) were Bridesmaids, Jack Avery (NH, 2007), Hugo Lear (NH, 2007), Ben Nelson (NH, 2007) and John Archdale were ushers. Will Sandbach (NH, 2007), Ben Lyon (NH, 2007), Henry Larthe (NH, 2007), Simon Kenyon (NH, 2007), Alistair Frost (NH, 2007), Ned Collins (Xt, 2007), Henry Cruickshank (Xt, 2007), Charlie StrakerNesbit (Xt, 2007), Murray Able (Xt, 2007), Ross Crane (L, 2007), Jack Boone (L, 2007), Chris Palmer (H, 2007), Josh Fernhert (L, 2007), Max Lopez-Valido (L, 2007), Edward Kennedy (S, 2007), Amy Cosgrove (née Griffiths, Cha, 2007), Jessy Harrison (A, 2007), Katie May (Q, 2007) and Gigi Dey (Q, 2007) attended. Richard Watton (OJ & H, 2008) married Rebecca Campbell on 17th June. William Holmes (S, 2008), Peter Evans (W, 1991) and Current Staff Member Matthew Gotrel attended. Joseph Arthur (L, 2007) married Aimée Knight on 15th July 2017. Max Arthur (L, 2010) was Best Man, Ellen Arthur (Cha, 2013) was a Bridesmaid and Murray Abel (Xt, 2007) was a Groomsman. Cecily Weinberger (A, 2006) married Charles-Louis de Potesta in Salzburg, Austria on 15th July.

James Stumbles (Xt, 2006) married Nicola James on 22nd July. Michael HumphreysDavies (H, 2006) was Best Man and Gareth Crossley (L, 2006), Richard Wand (NH, 2006) and Edward Clarke (L, 2006) were Ushers. Richard Kirtley (H, 1998) married Camilla Baker (Cha, 1998) on 6th August 2017. Craig Short (S, 1998) performed Master of Ceremony duties and Justin Rodley (L, 1998), Will Simmons (Xt, 1998), Caroline Benson (Cha, 1998) and Jonathan Hill (Xt, 1998) attended. Joanna Beetson (Cha, 2003) married James Jones on 18th August. Family members included Tim Beetson (Father of The Bride & H, 1962) and Will Beetson (Groomsman & H, 2005). Jen Stewart (née Boyens, Cha, 2003) & Rosie Watts (née Lucas-Scudamore, Cha, 2003) were Bridesmaids. Mark Stewart (H, 2003), Oliver Dupenois (OJ & L, 2003), Rupert Green (Xt, 2003), Andy Macleod (OJ & BH, 2003), Tom Bischoff (BH, 2003), Alex Wigzell (NH, 2003), Tom Hughes (Xt, 2003) and Will Dixon (Xt, 2002) attended.

James Stout (H, 2002) married Tina Rix on 19th August 2017 in Bermuda. Michael Stout (H, 2001), Andrew Stout (H, 2006), Christopher Stout (H, 2012) and Mark Briers (Current Staff) attended and Past Staff Member Reverend Nicholas Lowton performed the ceremony.

FLOREAT 2018

Josh Baldwin (OJ & Xt, 2011) married Victoria Moore (We, 2011) on 19th August 2017. Guests included Best Man Harry Rodney (Xt, 2011), Ollie Baldwin (Xt, 2013), Lloyd Moore (S, 2011), Thomas White (Xt, 2011), Gus Slator (Xt, 2011), Tom Dessain (Xt, 2011), Alfie Gilbert (Xt, 2011), Pete Wild (Xt, 2011), James Kirkpatrick (L, 2011), Joss Cheli (L, 2010), Rich Hine (H, 2011), Emma Beresford (Q, 2011), Camilla Hewens (We, 2011), Harriet Slator (A, 2011), Tilly King (Q, 2011) and Jess Shepherd (Q, 2011). Chris Tanner (OJ, & BH, 2001) married Agata Banaszewska in Bydgoszcz, Poland, on 26th August 2017. Alastair Orr (L, 2001) was Best Man and Alexander Kerr (OJ & S, 2001), Andrew Makintosh (OJ & BH, 2001) and Chris Woodall (L, 1999) attended.

Samantha Puttick (OJ & Cha, 2002) married Adam Jay Le Grand in Portugal on 9th September. James Puttick (OJ & S, 2008) walked Samantha down the aisle, Holly Thomas (Cha, 2004) was Maid of Honour and Kathryn Hunt (née Waller, Cha, 2004), Katie Ellis (née Smith, Cha, 2004) were Bridesmaids and Jamie Orme (OJ & S, 2017) attended. John Mills (NH, 2006) married Katie Bilton on 23rd September 2017. Toby Smith (NH, 2006), Richard Wand (OJ & NH, 2006), Charlie Hall (NH, 2006) & James Shackleton (NH, 2007) attended.

Births Alexander Rose (OJ & S, 2003) and his wife Jessica are pleased to announce the birth of their daughter Jasmine Catherine, born on 6th May 2016. Henry Harrison (Xt, 2003) and his wife Alexandra are pleased to announce the birth of their son Fergus Charles David on 30th November 2016. Tom Carpenter (Past Staff Member) and his wife are pleased to announce the birth of their son James Alexander born in January 2017. Wandrille & Will Bates (Current Members of Staff) are pleased to announce the birth of their daughter Eloise on 13th February 2017, a younger sister for Eleanor. Polly Michael (née North, A, 2011) and her husband Hamish are pleased to announce the arrival of Montgomery Webb Michael on 17th April 2017. Alex Kerr (S, 2001) and his wife Nicola are pleased to announce the birth of their son Benjamin born on 26th April 2017. Thomas Hendriksen (Xt, 2004) and his wife Joanne are pleased to announce the birth of their daughter Liliana, born on 7th May 2017. Jeremy Tong (H, 1995) and his partner Georgina Harlow are pleased to announce the birth of their son Gabriel Owen on 21st May 2017. Charles Peck (L, 1997) and his wife Helen are pleased to announce the arrival of Constance (Connie) Elizabeth, born on 9th June 2017.

Ed Holland (Xt, 2003) married Sarah Moralee on 2nd September 2017. Bobby Holt (H, 2003) was Best Man and Rupert Green (Xt, 2003) attended.

Victoria Cadbury (OJ & A, 2005) married James Kendall on 15th December 2017. Charles Cadbury (OJ & S, 1998), Tim Cadbury (OJ & S, 2000), James Bull (Xt, 2006), Nicholas Bull (OJ & S, 2008), Philippa Bull (OJ), Katarina Pahlson-Moller (Cha, 2005), Lucy Squire (née Watkins, A, 2005), Daisy Wallis (OJ & Cha, 2005), Rosanna Moseley (Cha, 2005), Henrietta Harford (Cha, 2005), Olivia Swainson (Cha, 2005), Bridie Bischoff (Cha, 2005), Sam Mason (H, 2005), James Smallwood (H, 2005), Andrew Baillie (OJ), James Holding (L, 2004), James Carter (L, 2005), Jamie Dey (OJ & H, 2005), George Hughes (Xt, 2005), David Hughes-Jones (Xt, 2005), Hannah Richardson (Cha, 2005), Ali Sherwood (L, 2005) & Ed Robinson (L, 1994) attended.

York Eaton (Xt, 1995) and his wife Fiona are pleased to announce the birth of their twins, Betram Redfus John Joseph & Theadora Barbara Rose, born on 9th October 2017. Tim Mockridge (L, 1996) and his wife Helen are pleased to announce the birth of their son Angus, born on 6th November 2017. Jonnie Clough (OJ & S, 2001) and his wife Karen are pleased to announce the arrival of Joshua Lee who arrived a month early on 29th December 2017. Dominic Bland (H, 2005) and his wife Eniko are pleased to announce the birth of their son, Alfred (Alfie) Rowan, born on 31st December. A younger brother for Edward. 71

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Alister Sherwood (L, 2005) married Charlotte Fryer on 2nd Septmber 2017. Ed Kennedy (OJ & S, 2007) & Ryan Faries (OJ & H, 2005) were Ushers and Nigel Sherwood (Groom’s Father & Ch, 1973), George Hughes (Xt, 2005), Sam Mason (H, 2005), James Smallwood (H, 2005), Jamie Dey (OJ & H, 2005), David Hughes-Jones (Xt, 2005), Georgia Messer (A, 2008) & Andrew Baillie (OJ) attended.

Paul Murphy (L, 2002) and his wife Holly are please to announce the birth of their son Alexander Louis, born on 2nd September 2017.

ASSOCiATiON MERCHANDiSE Clothing & Accessories 1. Flip Flops £2.50 Prep sizes, 3, 5 & 7 SS Sizes, 5, 7 & 10 2. Rugby Shirts £15 1 Ladies M & L Mens S, M & L 3. Socks £2.50 5 Size 4-7 4. Ladies’ Boxer Shorts £2.50 6 S (26’) 5. Prep Cufflinks £25 10 6. Small Umbrella £15 7. Large Umbrella £20 8. Girls’ House Friendship Bracelets £5 9. House Towels £18 10. Pewter Trinket Box £8 15 11. Chrome Key ring £8 12. OC Tie £10* 13. Self Tie Silk Bow Tie £15* 14. Ladies’ OC Silk scarf £10* 15. OC Woollen Scarf £18* 16. House Trackies £25 17. Reversible Beanie £8 18. Striped Beanie £8 20 19. NEW House Cufflinks £25 20. NEW House Bow Ties £22 21. NEW House Rugby Balls £8 22. NEW House Charms £25 23. NEW House Flags for Boys’ & Girls’ Houses £22 * OCs Only

To order by post: Send a cheque payable to ‘Cheltenham College Services’ to Rebecca Creed, Society Manager, Cheltenham College, Bath Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL53 7LD. To order by phone: Call 01242 265694 with card details. 2

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Stationery, Books & CDs 24. Sheaffer Fountain Pen & Pencil Full Set £35 24 25. Paperweight £6 26. Celebr08! By Tim Pearce £8 27. Portraits of British Schools by Distinguished Artists £5 28. Cheltenham College Chapel by Nicholas Lowton £8 25 29. Then & Now by Tim Pearce £8

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30. College Chapel Choir 1999 CD £2.50 31. College Chapel Choir 2007 CD £2.50 32. Coeperunt Loqui Chamber Choir CD 2009 £5 33. Salve Puerule CD £2.50

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Michael Aubery £95 (inc p&p) 19” x 22” mounted

Ian Weatherhead Limited edition prints (300), choice of: Birds’ Eye View of Cheltenham, Chapel Interior, Rugby At The Prep, Cricket Festival, Leavers’ Ball, Rugby, Dining Hall Framed £189 (p&p £15 – UK only) Print Only £120 (p&p £6 – UK only) Frame Choice: Silver, Natural Ash, Gold Ian Weatherhead Pack of Notelets £10

Ken Messer Watercolour Prints Limited edition prints (250), choice of: View Over Chapel & Library Cheltenham College – The Main Building Print Only £8

College Cards £1.90 Pack of College Cards (choice of 6) £10

Please note there is a one-off charge of £3.50 per order for UK postage and packaging. Overseas postage cost will vary. This excludes College prints which are charged as indicated. 72

Saturday 3 February from 9.30am

A chance to see our school in action, meet pupils and key staff, and tour our beautiful grounds and facilities.

Saturday 12 May at 9.30am

A smaller version of our Open Morning, join us to chat informally with staff over coffee before enjoying an individual tour of College with one of our current pupils.

Saturday 12 May at 10.30am

Our Boarding and Day Houses are at the heart of College life. Discover what gives each House its unique character and which is right for your child.

visits@cheltenhamcollege.org

Fun Friday: Come and Play!

Friday 19 January, Friday 2 February, Friday 23 February and Friday 9 March at 9.00am

Meet other mums and dads, and bring your children (aged 3 or under) to play in our garden, make little (and grown up!) friends, have coffee and cake, enjoy our Rainbow Room and lots more.

Thursday 1 February & Thursday 26 April at 9.30am

Come and join us for a morning of discovery as you explore our Nursery and Pre-Prep (ages 2¾ – 7), led by our pupil guides.

Saturday 3 March, Saturday 12 May & Saturday 20 June at 10.00am

Enjoy a tour of our school with current pupils, meet the Head and get a taste of life at Cheltenham Prep for boys and girls aged 3 – 13.

prepadmissions@cheltenhamcollege.org

Feedback on Floreat 17 ... (L, 1988) Harry Whitbread uch for Thank you very m ways the Floreat 17. I al enjoy it!

Andrew Allen (H, 1972 ) Many thanks for the lates t edition of Floreat which I really enjoyed reading. Even though I left Hazelwell in 1972 there were still a few faces I recognised.

nt) Melissa Mee (Past Pare We do enjoy Floreat and t think the sections abou so s past pupils’ career path l far are particularly usefu es and inspiring for the on u yo k an just setting out. Th for producing such an d interesting magazine an in for keeping everybody touch.

Cheltonian Society Cheltenham College Bath Road Cheltenham Gloucestershire GL53 7LD 01242 265694 r.creed@cheltenhamcollege.org www.cheltoniansociety.org Editor: Rebecca Creed, Society Manager

Keith Cottrell (OJ & H, 1967) I do enjoy the link this publication provides.

Zoe Bond (Past Prep Staff Member) Thank you so much for my copy of the Floreat 17 that arrived today; I have not been able to put it down. I have so many happy memories teaching in the Prep school and it is wonderful to see the school and read the variety of experiences and opportunities pupils, staff and parents are participating in.

Dennis Dunn (Past Staff Member) Thanks for Floreat 17 which I am enjoying reading, catching up with College news and finding out about people I knew.

Yanin Baydili-Sch lafstein (Cha, 1997) Thank you for the latest edition of Floreat, I enjoyed reading it.

Sophie Minter I have finally had a chan ce to see a hard copy of Flo reat 17 and I would like to th ank you very much for the obituary you wrote abou t my father George Truell (OJ). The piece is written with a sensitive mix of factual content and warmth, drawing wisely from a range of sources for wh ich we are most grateful.

Stephen Clark (Past Staff Member) late I would like to congratu read you on what a fantastic in t en Floreat was. The cont rb, the latest edition is supe of n giving a great indicatio t. what College is all abou

Please let us know what you think of Floreat – or if you have good ideas for articles. We’d love to hear from you!