HEADMASTER’S LETTER SEPTEMBER 2017
T0 PARENTS Dear Parents I hope that by now all new Chigwell families feel at home here, caught up in the busy mix of activities that characterises the School. Equally, I hope that longer-serving families have enjoyed the last seven weeks too and that they have been highly productive. What follows is just a sample of some of the events that have taken place this half term.
Contents Page 1
Open Days
Page 2
Open Days
Page 3
AChapel Choir at St Paul’s Cathedral
Page 4
Prep and Primary Music Festival
Page 5
House Music
Page 6
Boarding Community School Shop
Page 7
Drama Arkwright Scholar
Page 8
Howard and Mitchell Essay Competition PHSE Dinners
Page 9
EPQ and HPQ Staff News
Page 10
Willaims Project Tim Pruss Presentations
Page 11
Chigwell Community Run for Charity
Page 12
Chigwell Community Run for Charity London Academy of Excellence
Page 13
Girls’ Hockey
Page 14
Girls’ Hockey
Page 15
Boys’ Football Twitter
Page 16
Dining Hall And Finally
Page 17
Message from the Chaplain
Page 18
Message from the Chaplain
Open Days
The admissions season began at the end
of September with the main open day. Thank you to all pupils who represented the School so well, acting as guides and
helpers. Once again, we received many
positive comments from prospective parents.
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Open Days
2
Chapel Choir at St. Paul’s Cathedral
At the invitation of St. Paul’s Cathedral, the
to perform with such zeal, maturity and
conduct Evensong at the start of term. The
Responses and Psalms resonated with
professional poise.
Chapel Choir returned to perform and
The Shephard
glorious beauty and clarity that exuded
building, with its famous dome, is one of
understanding way beyond their years.
the most iconic landmarks in Europe and it
The Canticles, The Gloucester Service by
was filled with hundreds of visitors from
Herbert Howells, an harmonic stalwart in
around the world coming in to hear the
the Anglican repertoire, was sung with
service.
conviction while the double motet, Faire as
The Choir, under the direction of Director of
the Heaven, provided the controlled
Music Mr Howard Ebden, and organist Mr
beauty and shade required of such a
Simon Winters, demonstrated their ability
colossal acoustic.
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Prep and Primary Music Festival
Children from a variety of local schools
a scratch orchestra that featured two
Schools Music Festival. Seventy three
Star Wars theme by John Williams. In
fabulous works by I McKenzie and the
came to Chigwell for the annual Primary
addition, all the pupils who were not in
children joined Chigwell pupils and spent
the orchestra had the rare opportunity to
the Saturday rehearsing for a concert at
experience
the end of the day which was performed
different
brass
instruments, a percussion workshop and
in front of several hundred parents and
music technology. The children showed
friends. A one hundred and sixteen voice
amazing concentration throughout the
choir learned and performed spirituals
day’s activities. They made new friends
and songs by Abba, the Beatles and Take That.
playing
and worked together very effectively
Meanwhile, the wide-ranging
to
talents of more than eighty students
produce
remarkably
polished
performances by the end of the day.
were woven together into
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House Music
The annual House Music competition
staff, especially the praefects in each
Capella performance of ‘Follow that
arrangements and choreography, and
took place recently. Item one was a
House
Star’ by Peter Gritton. The four Houses
who
organised
their
own
was greatly enjoyed by the parents who
treated the song in contrasting ways
packed New Hall to see it. The evening
with Swallow’s being judged the best
also raised £750 which will go to the Tim
for their accuracy and attention to
Pruss School in India.
detail. Item two was won by Penn’s with an acoustic performance of
Seasons of Love from Rent. This was beautifully sung by a choir of ten,
sensitively accompanied on the piano
and grabbed the audience’s attention from the start. The House song in item
three was also won by Penn’s with an old House Music favourite, Blame it on
the Boogie. This meant that Penn’s also won the Barnes Cup for the overall competition.
The evening was the culmination of a great deal of hard work from pupils and
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Boarding Community
We are delighted that our community of international Sixth Form boarders have
settled in so well. We aim to learn from them, just as they learn from teachers and fellow students at Chigwell. The Lower Sixth student mentors have been particularly supportive and have helped the boarders to feel at home.
School Shop
Over the half term break, the shop will be open at the following times: 23rd to 31st October
10am to 3pm
3rd November
10am to 3pm
1st to 2nd November
Closed
From the 6th November onwards, normal opening times of 12 noon to 5pm will resume.
6
Drama
The drama department began the term
briskly by going into London with the Middle Sixth to see the acclaimed
production of Tennessee Williams’ ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ starring Jack
O’Connor and Sienna Miller. This was a
really fascinating interpretation of the show that was enjoyed by all. Next, it was workshop season for the Lower Sixth who are exploring a range of
theatre styles with visiting actors and
with
professional
make-up
artist
Message’ and ‘Post Mortem’) and Kate
also the author of our course book for
andauthor, Rosemary Swinfield who is
authors such as Kate London (‘Death
make-up. These were really successful
Williams (‘Birds of a Feather’, ‘East
events that helped to deepen the range
Enders’ and many more). The Lower
of professional teaching offered to
Fifth GCSE costume and make up
students in the drama department.
students also enjoyed a day’s workshop
Arkwright Scholar
Congratulations to Abigail Whelan who was awarded a scholarship by the
Arkwright Scholarships Trust. Awards
are given by the charity, following a
rigorous selection process, to students who plan to become engineers. Abigail has sponsorship from Rolls Royce Aerospace Engineering.
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Howard and Mitchell Essay Competition Congratulations to all the Sixth Form
Woolf’s understanding and application
Howard (arts and humanities) and
develop the concept in her novels? Leah
of Ovidian metamorphosis: did she
students who submitted entries for the
Redmond - Should the NHS inject
Mitchell (science) essay competition.
additional funds into the future of
The winners, selected by a panel of
personalised medicine?
internal and external judges were:
Mitchell Essay
Howard Essay Winner:
Winner: Yasmin Antoniou - The Role of
Tomasz Cienkowski - What
the Placebo Effect in Medicine
happens to Venus when the marble goddess turns metallic? Transformation
Runner-Up: Isabella Clarke - To what
of physical materials and of visual models
extent is anorexia nervosa caused by
in the ‘Metallic Venus’ by Jeff Koons
nature not nurture?
Highly Commended (in name order):
Tomasz and Yasmin will present their
Erin Chakartash - To what extent was
essays at the Howard and Mitchell
Wall Street’s 2008 banking crisis
evening on 21st November.
inevitable? Imogen Osborn - Virginia
PSHE Dinners
Like House Music, the PSHE dinners are another regular feature of the Senior School
Michaelmas term calendar, designed to bring Remove pupils together as they work with the caterers to prepare a meal for parents and tutors. Thank you to all families who supported the dinners and the pupils who prepared them so well.
8
EPQ and HPQ Upper Fifth and Middle Sixth students who have completed their Extended Project
Qualifications and Higher Project Qualifications presented their research at the EPQ and HPQ presentation evening. Topics ranged from
literature to nano technology, psychology to legal history, with a great deal more besides and students shared their conclusions and
enthusiasm with members of the Lower Fifth
and Lower Sixth who have also expressed an interest in taking the qualifications.
Staff News
We send our congratulations to Miss Celeste Cassell and her partner Warren on the birth of
their daughter Freya; to Mrs Yasmin Hizer and her husband David on the birth of their son Zachary; and to Mr Damien Rabbitte and his wife Sarah Jane on the birth of their son
Tristan.
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Williams Project
Many pupils have enjoyed attending the Williams Project sessions this term.
Speakers have included Rick Findler who is a war photographer, and
Professor Ken Gemes and Dr Andrew Huddleston from the University of
London. If pupils have not attended,
please do encourage them to give the Williams Project a try
Tim Pruss Presentations Each year the Tim Pruss prize is awarded
Rohan Sharad and Erin Chakartash
volunteer work abroad.
Galapagos, Yasmin Antoniou helped in
to one or more students who carry out
volunteered in a community in the
The prize
winner Isabelle Kearin and other
a children’s home in Bali, and Isabelle
students who applied for the award
spent time in Calais with a charity
spoke about their volunteering recently.
preparing food for the refugees there.
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Chigwell Community Run for Charity The Chigwell spirit was on show as our
Simon
walk or cheer on others, for charity.
said “It is brilliant to once more see the
community came together again to run, Another
massive
team
of
Old
Chigwellians, parents, and staff ran the 13.1
miles
of
the
Royal
Foundation Half Marathon.
Parks
This
stunning central London half marathon, took in the capital's world-famous
landmarks on closed roads, and four of London's eight Royal Parks - Hyde Park,
The Green Park, St James's Park and Kensington Gardens. All the organising, training and running was to raise much
needed funds and awareness for Cancer Research UK.
Ledsham,
Director
of
Communities at Cancer Research UK, team from Chigwell School take part in the Royal Parks Foundation Half
Marathon in aid of Cancer Research UK.
The way in which students, parents, staff and alumni unite behind this common goal each year is remarkable
and it is difficult to overstate the positive
impact that this act of community, togetherness and fundraising will have,
not just on the work carried out by Cancer Research UK, but on the younger generation at the school. Our ambition is that by 2034 we will see three quarters of
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Chigwell Community Run for Charity people diagnosed with cancer survive the
This is the fourth time that the Chigwell
that you have demonstrated to both
over the last three years it has raised
disease. The support and commitment
Cancer Research UK and active, healthy
lifestyles is an essential part of making this ambition a reality. I hope that you all
feel a genuine sense of pride and accomplishment and what you have achieved and I can’t wait to see what’s
team has taken part in this event and £240,000. We are very proud of our
intrepid Chigwell team who have wholeheartedly given their time, energy
and enthusiasm to raise money and awareness for this very worthy cause.
next for the Chigwell School Team.”
London Academy of Excellence
Like nine other independent schools around London, Chigwell has helped to support this new sixth form college in Tottenham, the aim of which is to provide support for A level students in the area hoping to go on to selective universities. LAET admits
students from less affluent backgrounds, 60% from the most deprived postcodes
around Tottenham. Earlier in the term, some students and staff spent the day with Chigwell students sharing experiences of starting A level.
12
Girls’ Hockey
With the start of another new school
of Kayuki and Karobi Sen demonstrate
season. Last season was one of, if not,
commitment to school and club hockey.
year, comes the start of another hockey
the skills they have acquired through
the most successful season for girls’
The U12s have enjoyed the addition of
hockey and has set the benchmark for
many new girls who have joined the
seasons to come. Not only were lots of
School this year. There have been girls
teams playing at all levels but our 1st XI
who have never played hockey before to
were Essex Indoor and Outdoor Champions
girls who are regular participants in the
and made excellent progression through
sport, but all have worked really hard
national competitions.
and thrown themselves into school
In terms of participation, this year has
fixtures. We have regularly fielded four
again started with the School fielding an
teams from this age group with the A
impressive number of teams for our size.
team in particular being very successful,
In the Junior School, there have been
winning all their matches against tough
thirteen teams from U10 to U13 age
opposition from Brentwood, Forest and
groups, playing in fixtures. The U10s are
St. Edmunds.
still relatively new to hockey and are
The U13s have been very committed to
working hard to develop their skills and
their hockey this year, and through Mr
techniques. They have been very keen
Tomsett and Mrs Bint’s guidance, are
to play their fixtures, with the whole
starting to apply the skills and
year group enjoying fixtures against
techniques they have learnt into more
Forest, New Hall and Belmont. The
effective team play. They regularly turn
U11s, despite being a small year group,
out in large numbers to after-school
have acquitted themselves well again
training on Wednesdays and have been
this year. They had a sleepy start to the
rewarded with improvements in their
season, with both A and B teams losing
performances. They may not have had
to Bedford, but have since then awoke
all the results go their way but they are
with the A team in particular putting in
an up-and-coming year group.
some good performances to beat
The U14s have not only made their
schools such as Forest and New Hall. It
transition from Junior to Senior School
has been impressive to watch the likes
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Girls’ Hockey
this year, but have also had to adapt to
although they sometimes question
played the previous season. With a
have thrown themselves into it and are
11-a-side hockey from the 7-a-side they large and strong squad of intelligent
players, their team has enjoyed a great start, winning convincingly in their first fixture against Forest.
The U15s have made significant
improvements in their hockey this year. They have shown a greater enthusiasm for the sport, committed in numbers to training and as a result, are playing
much better. They opened the season with a win over local rivals Forest but
have since lost narrowly to St Edmund’s and
Brentwood.
Despite
being
disheartening, it is pleasing to see that they have stuck with training which will
hopefully help them in their respective Essex tournament.
Last year, as previously mentioned,
was an excellent season for Chigwell’s Senior Girls 1st XI, with this year’s
cohort having some big shoes to fill.
The season started well for the girls with them winning the inaugural Chigwell
1st
XI
Tournament,
convincingly beating their local rivals
Forest, Brentwood and Bancroft’s. The squad has shown a good dedication to both pitch and fitness training, and
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their participation in the latter, they starting to become a tighter knit group
as a result. A special mention at this point should go to the captain Pena
Iiyambo, who has worked tirelessly to
improve herself as a player and set an example for all to follow in the team.
There has been a lot of learning and
adapting throughout the season, with some tough tactical concepts being
taught which is resulting in progress but not always results. This year
unfortunately the girls finished 4th in a fairly evenly matched and competitive Essex
Tournament
progress any further.
and
will
not
Boys’ Football
We have had a successful start to the
U15s narrowly lost to Ardingly College.
results for the senior sides in the early
will play Haileybury Turnford School in
The U14s remain in the ESFA cup and
2017 season with lots of encouraging
the next round. The U13s won their
part of this term. The 1st XI had notable
IAPS regional tournament and will now
results against Sutton Grammar and
compete in the national finals on 5th
John Lyon. As a very young team, the
November. In the ISFA Cup the U13s
1st XI has worked hard this year and is
reached the fourth round, losing in a
building for the future very nicely. There
close game against Whitgift School.
have been new initiatives such as strength
and
conditioning
and
Individual success has come in the
specialists clinics introduced to improve
involvement of Oliver Irow and Blake
work rate and professionalism of the
Irow continuing at Tottenham Academy
senior sides. More exciting news has
and Louie Gibbons at Arsenal. There
been the introduction of a Leyton Orient
have also been a large number of
coach who has worked with KS2 players,
nominations of Chigwell School boys to
U13 and U14 C teams, and the 4th and
ISFA
5th XIs. This has been of great benefit as
and
Herts
and
Essex
representative teams and we wish all
this will offer more specialised coaching
nominated every success
alongside the extremely strong staff.
The ISFA cup has sprung its usual
surprises with the 1st XI being drawn away at Leeds Grammar. In a close
were victorious running out 4-3 in extra
started using Twitter to publish very
fought end to end game Leeds Grammar
As mentioned previously, we have
time. The U16s have got off to a great
brief details and pictures of some of the
events around school, tweeting several
start in the ISFA cup beating a usual
times a week. We now have over 1600
finalist in the first round, Harrowdian
followers and please join them if you
School 4-2, an impressive debut hat
have not already done so by following
trick from Sam Blackshaw having
here.
secured the win. In the ISFA cup the
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Dining Hall
Work on the Dining Hall continues and, as I write, the roof is going on in the extension linking it to the Swallow Room.
We are looking forward to completion,
the improved space and the return of the Swallow Lawn between the Dining Hall and New Hall.
And Finally
Thank you to all families for your support
over the last half term. I hope the coming
fortnight provides some much-needed time to rest and prepare for the second
half of term. We also hope that pupils enjoy their tour to Madrid, Gold Duke of Edinburgh training expedition in Scotland,
and the philosophy trip to Worksop College. Beyond this, I look forward to
seeing you again on Monday 6th November or soon afterwards. With best wishes Yours sincerely
Michael Punt
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Message from the Chaplain
It is remarkable how quickly something
new and slightly bewildering becomes completely normal. Having joined the
staff at the beginning of term the set up at Chigwell seemed designed to catch out
the unwary. Year groups are disguised
under names such as ‘Removes’, ‘Middle VI’ and so on. ‘School Houses’ can be the
places where the boarders live; Harsnett,
weekly treat is to visit the Pre-Prep for an
student groups; Caswalls’, Penns etc.
link with the children’s work in class. All
assembly with the little ones where we
Hainault and Church or possibly the
ably supported by Chapel mascot – Arthur
Context is all important! Eight weeks
the dog!
later it all feels very different and
everything makes sense (mostly). The Chigwell family has a way of drawing new
people in and very quickly feels that I’ve never been anywhere else.
This first part of the Michelmas term has been very busy in Chapel and at St Mary’s with a series of services on PSHE themes
such as individual responsibility, self-
confidence and personal values. Leah
A huge thank you goes to all those who
the feast of Sukkoth and between now
collection this year. Mr Richbell, Sophie
contributed so much for our harvest
Redmond helped us mark Harvest and
Tilbrook and Olivia Drabwell took a
and Christmas we have a planned
loaded mini bus to deliver the gifts to the
programme of student-led chapel talks.
Streets2Homes charity in Harlow. The
Topics will cover charities, social and
staff explained the importance of
moral issues and festivals such as Divali
donations like those from Chigwell to the
and Advent. Each service has readings
work of the charity but more particularly
and prayers led by students from a highly
to the lives of individuals receiving
efficient rota organised by Chapel
support. The school Charity Committee is
Praefect Immy Osborn. On Thursdays my
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Message from the Chaplain now planning activities for Charities Week in December.
Coming to Chigwell has been a steep
learning curve but very quickly I have realised what a special place this is. We
share a community where people
genuinely care for each other and want
nothing more than the best for students, staff and the wider school family. We are richly blessed. Rev Scott
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TERM DATES Half term: Saturday 21st October to Sunday 5th November Term ends:
Wednesday 13th December
2018 Lent Term Staff meetings and INSET on Wednesday 3rd January First day: Thursday 4th January Half term: Saturday 10th February to Sunday 18th February
2018 Trinity Term (Easter Day is 1st April) First day: Wednesday 18th April Half term: Saturday 26th May to Sunday 3rd June INSET Day Monday June 4th
Term ends:
Term ends:
Wednesday 28th March
Wednesday 11th July