The Cliftonian Magazine 2021/22

The Cliftonian

Together,

Thoughts from the year

Every couple of years I am lucky enough to be invited to attend an Old Cliftonian reunion hosted overseas.

We have met in Hong Kong, Singapore, the United States, and Israel. During Easter 2022 we were at last able to have the reunion in New York, postponed from 2020. While I was there I visited a local school and the drive back to the city took me through Times Square. As we crawled through traffic, my driver pointed up to one of the massive display boards showing

a picture of Kim Kardashian and she asked me if the Kardashians were as big in the UK as they were in the US. Now, I have to accept that if you were putting together a pub quiz team and wanted someone to sparkle on popular culture, I might not be best to have at the top of your ‘phone-a-friend’ list. So I made some mumbling noises and our chat moved on.

What I did remember about Kim Kardashian was that she entered Forbes’ billionaires list last year. In fact, that worth has now almost doubled on the back of a career as an influencer, with over 300 million followers, almost equal in number to the entire population of the United States. The rise of the influencer started some 10 years ago and the total influencer marketing business is a 14 billion dollar industry with a dramatic ability to shape people’s decisions and purchasing choices.

In the end, we are all influenced by those around us. I decided not to buy tickets at the Everyman Cinema to watch the latest James Bond film, No Time to Die, influenced by Mr Simmons telling me that both he and his daughter fell asleep and missed the last hour. It is worth pausing here as this may be the only time in history when a comparison is drawn between Mr Simmons and Kim Kardashian.

As leavers, all of the Upper Sixth will have been influenced by their parents and their home life, by Housemasters and Housemistresses and by life at this school, the values of this place, interactions with teachers, coaches and, of course, each other. This has been a remarkable year, not because it has been extraordinary in the way that the preceding years have been with periods of lockdown, but because we have had the opportunity to see afresh and be influenced by all that we once thought of as regular parts of the school year. I was delighted to see so many students take the new opportunity of completing an Extended Project Qualification, ranging from Amelia Campbell’s project to research, design and build her own surfboard, to Eric Ding who undertook a project on whether artificial intelligence could

replace teachers. Thankfully, he concluded that we might be necessary.

In sport, we had a year with some historic firsts. In April, Katie Dolman became the first girl ever to play for the first XI cricket side since Clifton’s earliest fixture against Sherborne in 1865. Her success and the amazing achievement of our Under 15 girls cricketers coming third at Lord’s in a competition that started with 900 other sides will have influenced other girls to take up the sport. In March, we had the first ever girls’ sevens tournament on the Close. We saw history being made when, following an amazing tackle by Kei Ki Chau, Tilly Edwards ran the length of the pitch to become the first girl ever to score a try on BS1, the main rugby pitch. Those girls, supported by coaching from staff and boys in the 1st XV, have already sufficiently influenced others for us to have had the first ever inter-House girls’ sevens tournament, which was won by Worcester House. Those of us lucky enough to be there for the boys’ 1st XV game away at Wellington watched that wonderful drop goal by Sam Worsley in the last few minutes to secure victory. Who could not be influenced by the feeling of achievement against the odds and the spirit of camaraderie both on the pitch and among the Clifton supporters? What a wonderful afternoon that was!

I have marvelled not only at the talent and engagement in sport but also in music, drama and throughout the cocurriculum. I think of Naomi Chung’s performance as soloist in Bach’s Concerto in D minor with an orchestra filled with so many brilliant musicians. We have had superb House plays and a wonderful week of The Addams Family musical back in Michaelmas 2021. I could

not have been more impressed with those who volunteered to help out at the Year 5, 6 and 7 triathlon charity event, where we hosted some 700 pupils from the region. And in the middle of the morning Alex Warren came hobbling towards me in his socks to let me know that the Ten Tors team had returned, having completed their 45mile hike with the second best time in their group. They had done 35 miles the first day and finished off the last 10 miles on day two in just under two and a half hours. On family walks I usually estimate about one and a half miles an hour and I am only carrying myself - although admittedly there is more of me now than there was when I was in the Sixth Form!

These are, of course, just a few of the many highlights that have lit up my year and you will all have your own. As the leavers of 2022, you move on with a range of capabilities - skills you have learnt, facts you have crammed for exams, some of which may not quite have made it into the exam room and some of which will stay with you for life. You also leave with a set of behaviours and it is these behaviours that will really shape the future of your lives. I hope that as you journey into your future you influence the behaviours of others. Aim, then, to influence those around you in terms of their character, to be inclusive, to be encouraging and supportive, and above all else, to be kind.

Dr Tim Greene Head of College

Heads of School Speeches

My first thought was, this isn’t good. Then I found out Shay Sainsbury received the same email as me… this definitely isn’t good. So the two of us anxiously went to Dr Greene’s office in the morning to find out the news that we would be the Head and Deputy Head of School. Who would’ve thought it. Ellis and Shay. Little and Large. Dumb and Dumber.

I joined Clifton five years ago with an abundance of expectation, but very little awareness about the journey ahead of me. What quickly became clear was the huge range of activities on offer

and the encouragement from teachers and other pupils to give everything a go, regardless of your ability. Take me for example, I can’t swim but was still allowed to be in the water polo team. I can’t act, but was given the opportunity to perform as Uncle Bryn from Gavin and Stacey. This leads me to the second thing that stands out about Clifton: the House system. One thing I will miss most is the camaraderie and spirit shown in the huge number of inter-House events. This is what makes the school so special. I feel very privileged to have had the experience of being a boarder here and I

The day I found out I was going to be the Head of School, I received an email saying, ‘Please come to the Head Master’s office tomorrow morning’.

want to thank all the boys in Moberly’s for putting up with me in the House. Many of my best memories are based around my House, such as teaching KB how to pass a rugby ball. It’s a shame we don’t have another five years to teach him how to catch it in the first place! Boarding isn’t just a chance to move away from your siblings, but it teaches you to stand on your own two feet. You learn a lot about different cultures as Clifton is so impressively diverse. I think this is shown by the three Heads of School being Chinese, Russian and, most importantly, Welsh.

Ever since I joined Clifton, it’s fair to say that I’ve been extremely prone to injury. I think I’ve spent more time on crutches at this school than I have off them, but at least it’s given me an excuse to be late for lessons. But putting injury to one side, the main factor in my decision to choose Clifton was because it would enable me to satisfy my love for sport. There is such a range of sports on offer here and you’d be foolish not to make the most of them. The memories we, as a year group, have made on the sports field over the years will last a lifetime.

There are so many valuable lessons sport teaches you: teamwork, leadership, confidence and resilience. Learning to bounce back from injuries or, in my case, get injured again. That feeling of winning a game in the last play, that moment in which you’re celebrating with your teammates. In my opinion, this feeling cannot be matched. The hunger and desire felt after one of Mr O’Sullivan’s pre-game speeches would get you up for anything, except perhaps Chapel on a Saturday. I’d like to thank Mr Salter and Mr Grewcock who have been instrumental in my development, not just as a rugby player but as a person; it must’ve been a coincidence how the school’s disciplinary record has improved ever since Mr Grewcock joined.

Throughout my time at Clifton it’s been great to see the growth and rise of girls’ sport. This year at the Rosslyn Park Rugby Sevens competition, the boys’ first team, as well as the U14s and Prep School team, were all standing along the touchline cheering on the girls’ first team. For me it felt like a historic moment in Clifton’s history. It epitomises what Clifton is all about and gives a sense of the family feel of the school. The support we give to all our sports teams is a real strength of our community and the nights I’ve spent up at Clifton Rugby Club at the Ryan Bresnahan Memorial Matches really show this spirit.

I would like to thank Mr Catchpole, Mr Lobo, Mr Harris, Lisa and Nia in Moberly’s. As we can all appreciate, looking after 60 teenage boys can’t be easy, but I truly believe you do a great job of turning young boys into gentlemen. I’d also like to give recognition to a group of staff whose contribution to running this school is so important but can easily be taken for granted: the cleaners, caterers, grounds staff and estates team. Your hard work and kindness does not go unnoticed and is appreciated by all of us. And my final thank you has to go to my parents. When I rang my mum to tell her the news about me being the Head of School, her first response was, ‘Are you sure they have the right Ellis?’. Thank you both for always having confidence in me. I hope I’ve made you proud. Lastly, I want to leave everyone with a final thought: wherever the future is taking you next year, be it university, a gap year or a few more years at Clifton, always look at the bigger picture and make the most of the opportunities you’re given, especially here, as when you leave you don’t want to have any regrets.

Ellis Davies (MH)

“Throughout my time at Clifton it’s been great to see the growth and rise of girls’ sport.”

Heads of School Speeches

Three countries, four cities and five schools later, I finally decided to settle on Clifton.

Straight away my parents thought this was the place for me, while I was just trying to figure out why I had to wear a kilt, sing songs every morning, play hockey on grass, memorise 12 Houses and their reputations, and understand how paracetamol could cure absolutely anything- all whilst remembering to put an ‘x’ at the

end of every text message. I have to say, I couldn’t quite get there at first, and maybe that’s why the start of my Clifton journey was a little tough. In my first year, I got told off every day for having my hair down, missed at least a third of all the buses, skipped class with the classic excuse, ‘sorry, the school is too big; I got lost’, and received four Saturday Night Detentions for things I’d rather not mention. Not exactly exemplary Head of School behaviour. I think this experience also enriched my stay at Clifton as I not only became familiar with terms like SND and MED but also experienced the Marshal’s intimidating stare

that everyone talked about, first hand. Not something to be proud of, but definitely part of the Clifton ‘bucket list’. But soon I adapted and settled into Clifton life. For the next three years I managed to stay away from Saturday morning visits to the Head Master’s office and the next time I was summoned there, it was no longer to be punished but, ironically, to be appointed as Head of School. So why am I revealing my far-from-perfect track record? It’s to make the point that Clifton gives you new chances every year, every month and every day to learn from your mistakes, pick yourself up and try again.

These past few years have been a turning point in my life; I started prioritising education, and valuing hard work, respect and integrity. Work and academic success started coming naturally, and Clifton teachers have always been there to support me and provide me with the best academic skills for the future, as they are for all pupils.

Clifton provides us with so many opportunities that it would be harder to say that you’re not involved in anything than actually be involved in something. Clifton pushed me to step out of my comfort zone- I performed on stage in plays, read my poetry during Arts Evenings, chaired debates, read in Chapel and sang in choir. The Clifton environment truly makes you strive for greatness and personal success, though I also understood that striving for excellence comes at a price - I learned that there is no such thing as ‘free time’ at Clifton and if you ever think that you have it, then you must be doing something wrong.

In the past year, I’ve done my fair share of tours with prospective parents and have often been asked about my favourite Clifton moment. I was considering whether it was performing in a play, or roaming the streets of New York on a school trip, Congers on a Saturday morning, Mr Harris’ English classes, House Song or every boarding night. Or perhaps it was something as simple as spending a sunny afternoon sitting with friends on the Close. There is really no correct answer; it’s the combination of everything put together that makes Clifton so special. Despite all my struggles to adapt, I got there in the end and for that I have my amazing friends and teachers to thank. Clifton has given me more than I can give back and I’m eternally grateful I joined a school with such good core values, people and opportunities.

I want to thank my friends and teachers for bearing with me and leading me towards the version of myself I am today. I want to specifically thank: Mr Harris, for making English fun, and inspiring me to study it further; Miss Atkinson, who’s been my teacher from the start all the way to the end, for always pushing me to succeed and giving me hope that I’ll someday master French (which probably won’t happen); Mr Siddons who spent his free time every Thursday morning discussing poetry with me; and finally Mrs Beever for playing the role of a second mother and most inspiring teacher in the world. I also want to thank the synagogue community for creating the most welcoming, warm-hearted and comforting atmosphere. A big thank you to all those who are part of Worcester for making it an empowering female ground

and an amazing second home. A special thank you to Dr Greene and the Senior Leadership Team for your commitment to constantly making this school the best place to be and, of course, having faith in me and trusting me with this role. I want to finish by dedicating this speech to my parents: without you none of this would’ve been possible. Thank you for putting so much time and effort into my education. I owe you everything for this opportunity and I’m sure you will see all that you’ve invested in me pay off in the future.

Anya Soldatova (WoH)

Heads of School Speeches

To put things into perspective, as international boarders, we leave our parents and our countries at a young age; we start to speak a foreign language 24/7; and we are exposed to a new environment, a new culture and a new education system; there are moments when homesickness gets really, really bad; there are moments when we try desperately to avoid making conversation or asking questions just for fear of saying the wrong thing. For international students, stepping into a school like Clifton is a big deal.

Since joining Clifton five years ago, I have grown so much as a person: my English has definitely improved; I was introduced to the multifaceted delight that is cheese; and I’ve had many happy hours observing and immersing myself in the unique qualities of British ‘humour’ at its finest.

Most importantly to me, despite not being classically trained and not having the slightest knowledge of classical music in my formative years, somehow Clifton made me a classical musician. Never in my life would I be able to explain how what is now my greatest passion just organically grew out of me. Who would’ve thought that after receiving four years of classical music education, this Chinese guy would get to conduct a piece of 20th century Western astrology-inspired entertainment in the chapel of an elite British Independent School?

As Cliftonians, we are flooded with opportunities to discover and unlock these talents and traits that perhaps were unfamiliar to us. Whether it’s 1st team rugby boys practising hard to win the annual Part Song competition, or a multicultural group making their debut on stage, Clifton encourages you to find areas of interest and develop them. It’s taught me that it’s OK to challenge accepted wisdom and, dare I say it, even get into passionate arguments about maths problems (and not just with my fellow mathematicians). We are motivated and supported

On a random morning in 2017, I decided that I would leave my school career in China behind and apply for this school called ‘Clifton College’ in ‘The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland’ - it was the biggest turning point in my life.

to become the best versions of ourselves. This is, in my humble opinion, what Clifton is all about: opportunity, diversity, and acceptance.

Nowhere in the school are these three traits more clearly represented than in the Percival Library. The current Head of House in Wiseman’s once said, “If you can’t find Benson in his room, he’s either in the Music School, or he’s probably in the library”. It has always been my firm belief that the Percival Library plays a central role at Clifton - the librarians’ involvement in the school is astronomical. Hence, on behalf of all the students, I would like

to show our appreciation to the librarians for all they’ve done to make Clifton a more delightful place to be, and, on a personal note, thank you for being my strong mental support over the last five years.

On behalf of all the leavers, thank you to all the Housemasters and Housemistresses, who have all played amazing roles in our Clifton experience, and dedicated many hours of their lives to us. Whilst there is one title in the school that will always be contested, and that is the best Houseparent, I thoroughly believe that, Mr Janke, you are the best

Housemaster that there is and ever will be - thank you for always supporting me and having my back. Another thank you to all the matrons for taking care of us and putting up with us. A big thank you to all the teaching staff for your hard work, generosity and patience. I would also like to give a special thank you to the only teacher who taught me all the way through my five years at Clifton, Mr Cross - it is a known fact that you are a genius - thank you for everything and for helping me through all the hurdles this year. Mr Robson and Mr Drinkwater, I will be forever grateful for the roles you’ve played to start my journey in

music. Finally, I’d like to thank all my fellow pupils. I’ve had so much fun around many amazing people, and accumulated so many invaluable friendships. You guys made the last five years of my life something truly, truly special. I wish you all every success and happiness in the years to come. It’s not a goodbye - it’s a see you later.

Benson Zhou (WiH)

Art

The morning was spent at the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square where we looked at paintings by the great masters in the permanent collection including Rembrandt, Titian,

Rubens, Velázquez, Raphael, da Vinci, Caravaggio and Michelangelo. Afterwards we walked down Whitehall past the Houses of Parliament to Victoria Tower Gardens to look at Rodin’s bronze sculpture The Burghers of Calais, which serves as a monument to an occurrence during the Hundred Years’ War with France. We proceeded to Millbank to look at a range of modern and contemporary art in Tate Britain. The collection includes works by Henry Tonks, Roger Fry and Peter Lanyon who were all once pupils at Clifton College! The trip gave the students a balanced exposure to both traditional and modern and contemporary art.

In September our A Level students enjoyed educational visits to the National Gallery and Tate Britain in London.

House Art Competition

On November 28th we had our House Art Adjudication with the Bristol-based artist Tom Hughes as adjudicator. Tom is an excellent painter who has exhibited with the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, the Royal Academy and the National Portrait Gallery in London. Tom had to make some difficult decisions and he was very impressed with all the pieces. Clifton is a diverse school with pupils of different nationalities and cultural backgrounds, which showed in the work, making the exhibition extremely varied and interesting. The recipients were as listed on the right.

The coveted House Art Trophy is a bronze statuette of famous Old Cliftonian artist and critic Roger Fry. It was a close-run competition this year and the adjudicator decided to award the House Art Trophy to Hallward’s House.

In May, the Fourth and Fifth Form GCSE students visited the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff. The museum houses an impressive collection of art and artefacts from ancient Welsh history and natural history, fine examples of French Impressionist painting and twentieth century and contemporary art as well as old master works. The students enjoyed their visit and spent some time sketching their favourite exhibits.

The academic year drew to a close with our first proper Commem exhibition for three years. It featured a range of diverse work produced by students in oil paint, watercolour, pastel, acrylic, colouring pencils, etching, life drawings, traditional and digital photography, pinhole photography, sculpture and ceramics in a range of genres including narrative, portraiture, genre, landscape and still life. Brian Kim was awarded the Commem prize for art this year for his outstanding large oil paintings of street scenes with

figures. We also contributed to the Arts Evening on 30th June with a display of scholars’ work in the Crypt. The Art Department always enjoys presenting our pupils’ work in these shows and we would like to thank parents, Old Cliftonians, members of staff and everyone else who supported our students by coming to see their work.

The David Cooksey Memorial Drawing Award

A prestigious new prize for drawing was inaugurated last year in memory of David Cooksey OC (WaH, 1983). David loved art and his brother Peter generously donated a trophy to be awarded in his name in the prize giving assembly at the end of the Summer Term. It is presented to the most outstanding draughtsperson in the school below the Upper Sixth, as the Year 13 prize is awarded at Commem. The David Cooksey Memorial Drawing Award has an elegant and apt quotation by Henry Matisse inscribed upon it: “creativity takes courage”. It is kept in the Head Master’s study and it is engraved with the names of the annual winners. This year it was awarded to Emma Guerman Guinzburg – well done to Emma!

Allan Wilkie Head of Art

House Art Prizes

Third Form Drawing

Alimat Albakova (HH)

Third Form Painting

Alimat Albakova (HH)

Third Form Ceramics

Florence Fraser-Hawkins (WT)

Fourth Form Drawing

Gabbi Phillips (WT)

Fourth Form Painting

Zoe Milligan (WT)

Fourth Form Ceramics

Chi Chi Sano (HLH)

Fifth Form Drawing

Florence Prole (WT)

Fifth Form Painting

Papa Obeng (SH)

Fifth Form Ceramics

Eleanor Patrick (HLH)

Lower School Photography

Joshua Hogwood (SH)

Lower Sixth Form Drawing

Elsa Wilkie (HH)

Lower Sixth Form Painting

Emma Guerman Guinzburg (OH)

Lower Sixth Form Ceramics

Mia Hodnett (HH)

Lower Sixth Form Photography

Rorie Johnson (NT)

Upper Sixth Form Drawing

Brian Kim (WaH)

Upper Sixth Form Painting

Lauren Franklin (WoH)

Upper Sixth Form Ceramics

Hannah Murray (WT)

Upper Sixth Form Photography

Haruhi Sano (HH)

Best House Display

Watson’s House

Best House Art Reps

West Town

Art showcase 2021/2022

Art showcase 2021/2022

Art showcase 2021/2022

After two years of Covidrelated disruptions, we were thrilled to return to a full programme of concerts, shows and events into which our exceptionally talented music scholars eagerly threw themselves. Here are just a few of the musical highlights from the year.

House Song

All the Upper School pupils took part in House Song 2021 and there were some top quality performances, a few dramatic moments and a great deal of good-natured fun. The standard in the Part Song competition was high and the hushed atmosphere in Chapel was testament to the quality of performances. In the unison competition we particularly enjoyed the sing-along numbers between each House, as well as the antics of one or two Houses. The adjudicators praised the overall standard of performance

and commitment, awarding the Part Song to Oakeley’s and the Unison to The South Town for a slightly raucous but fun rendition of Three Lions (Football’s Coming Home).

Autumn and Christmas Concerts

Two fantastic large-scale concerts at the end of the 2021 Michaelmas Term saw the return of live big-ensemble music for the first time since March 2020. Opening the Autumn

Concert with Eine Kleine Yiddishe Ragmusik, the Concert Wind Band combined the lively syncopations of Scott Joplin with the folk song of Jewish klezmer.

After music from eight other ensembles (featuring Boyce to Brahms), the 60-piece orchestra firstly paid homage to the Argentine tango-composer Astor Piazzolla, marking the centenary of his birth in 1921 with a new orchestration of his achingly beautiful Milonga del Angel. They concluded with the Mexican composer Márquez’s fiery Danzón No. 2, beloved of the world famous Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra.

Music

Only three weeks later, nine groups returned to entertain the whole school in the Christmas Concert on 8th December, the final night of term. Along with well known seasonal favourites from the Cello Ensemble, Chamber Choir, and Soul Bands, new arrangements were heard of Bach’s Sheep May Safely Graze for classical guitar and strings; Christmas Time Is Here for a jazz quintet of voice, violin, bass, keys, and drums; and White Christmas inspired by the violin virtuoso Heifetz’s arrangement, adapted for the combined forces of solo violin, the close harmony barbershop group the ‘Cliftones’, and the Orchestra. A wonderful way to end the term – well done to all involved.

Jo Cooper Concert

A thrilling evening in Chapel in late March saw a large audience enjoy performances of a wide variety of music accompanying film clips on a big screen. We opened with Holst’s Mars from The Planets, conducted by Benson Zhou, who not only produced a most exciting rendition, but directed entirely from memory! We had a number of very high quality smaller groups, including the Flute Ensemble with the theme from the 1959 film A Summer Place arranged by sax teacher Mr Miles, Pirates of the Caribbean from the Brass Ensemble, and an arrangement of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah from the Guitar Ensemble. The Oboe Quartet of Ella Robson, Sophie Chung,

Justin Chan and Yan Lee dazzled with a performance of an Allegro from Johann Baptist Vanhal, and Naomi Chung impressed us all with a J.S. Bach keyboard concerto movement accompanied by the String Ensemble.

On the lighter side, we had a superb rendition of When Somebody Loved Me from Toy Story 2 by the Cliftones; the Cello Ensemble gave us an accomplished and entertaining version of the Ghostbusters theme and the Sax Ensemble gave us Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody We ended with a sensational medley from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, played by the Concert Band – a fitting end to a superb evening.

“The standard in the Part Song competition was high and the hushed atmosphere in Chapel was testament to the quality of performances.”

Kadoorie Cup and Music in the Crypt

Both senior and junior rounds of the Kadoorie Cup Competition were wonderful evenings of accomplished performances. The junior competition was a really tough decision for adjudicator Anri Adachi, but special mention goes to Rachel Yuan and Runa Haruki for winning the instrumental and vocal awards respectively.

The Senior Vocal Kadoorie Cup competition saw music from Brahms’ Feldeinsamkeit to the Welsh song Calon Lân, while the Instrumental Round ranged from Dvořák’s Violin Romance to the drum solo from Black Sabbath’s War Pigs! Well done to Naomi

Chung and Nick Przemioslo for their performances of Liszt’s Liebestraum and Sinatra’s My Way, which were awarded the top prizes of the evening! Meanwhile ‘Music in the Crypt’ later in the month saw pop, rock, karaoke and indie groups gathering to perform numbers by Carly Rae Jepsen, Fleetwood Mac, and Hozier amongst many others.

Tuesday Arts Club

The Summer Term saw the introduction of an exciting new series of concerts and events featuring visiting artists and industry professionals. Events included a violin masterclass with the highly acclaimed Liv-Marie Kodurand; an actionpacked demonstration/lecture on the rich history of analogue recording and technology by BBC sound engineer Allen Harris; and

a recital of music for oboe, cor anglais and bassoon to inspire our double reed players from Prep School upward.

The final event on 21st June saw a Chapel packed with pupils, music students and guests from Bristol and beyond, who were treated to a virtuosic display of pianist prowess. Performing on the new Fazioli grand piano, the audience enjoyed the complete Op.10 Chopin Études, Prokofiev’s 3rd Sonata and Rachmaninov’s transcription of Bach’s E major Partita, performed by visiting artist Luke Jones, 1st prize winner in several European international piano competitions and Gold Medal Winner of the Royal Northern College of Music. The series will continue next academic year, so follow Clifton College Music Department Twitter for updates on all our new events brochures: @ccolmusic

Commemoration Concert

Highlights of the musical celebrations for this final Friday in May evening concert included: Amelia Campbell as vocal soloist in a new arrangement with strings of Adele’s All I Ask; the Upper Sixth graduating members of Jazz Workshop in their version of Pee Wee Ellis’s The Chicken; the Chamber Choir in Stanford’s Bluebird, with Poppy Crowther; and Cynthia Erivo’s Stand Up, fronted by Monique Konje. In June, the musical year concluded with the Summer Serenade at the Arts Evening (see p.35 for details). Well done to all involved with music this year.

Daniel Robson Director of Music

Drama

The Addams Family

Our musical for 2021 was the slightly off-the-wall The Addams Family, a comedy full of dark humour in which Wednesday Addams, having fallen in love with a ‘normal’ boy invites him and his family around to dinner at the Addams’ house. In an attempt to Covid-proof the production, the central roles were double cast, and a large ensemble of dead ancestors were presided over by Uncle Fester, who narrated and commented on the action. There were some standout performances from both Thomas Crook-Taylor and Malachy O’Callaghan who played

Gomez on alternate nights, and moments of pure genius from Llewellyn Evans, whose Uncle Fester was played with humour and a considerable amount of eccentricity. The musical was extremely well received, with Wednesday’s first solo Pulled and Uncles Fester’s The Moon and Me generating large laughs each evening. The considerable ensemble of dead ancestors were played by a range of Year 9 to 13 students and performed with energy and focus. This was the musical comedy production we didn’t know we needed as we emerged from the dark depths of the pandemic, and it was a real panacea for the soul.

Rhian Orzel Head of Drama

“This was the musical comedy production we didn’t know we needed.”

The Exam and Discontented Winter: House Remix

Throughout the Lent and Summer Terms, our Years 9,10 and 12 students were rehearsing for two separate plays. The Year 9 group were hard at work on The Exam by Andy Hamilton whilst the Year 10 and 12s were busy preparing for Discontented Winter: House Remix by Bryony Lavery. The Exam is a funny, fastmoving piece that focuses on three students who are resitting exams at the same time. The dialogue and character interplay in this production were firstrate, with superb ensemble work across the whole cast as they told the story not just of the students and the pressures they face but also the hopes

and dreams of their parents, as well as some staffroom shenanigans! Discontented Winter takes us back in time to a world in which technology and chaos meet self-serving royalty. The students dived into the anarchic style of the play, filling rehearsals with bold, brash characters and bringing this modern day Richard III story to life with energy and invention. The cast of characters were imbued with attitude and the brilliant physical performance skills of the students flourished as they worked hard to prepare for what was one of the busiest, most high-octane productions ever seen on the Redgrave stage. These two exciting but very different plays were performed on the same stage over two nights and were well attended by staff, students and performers’ families.

David Saunders

“The cast of characters were imbued with attitude and the brilliant physical performance.”

House Play Festival 2022

Watson’s House Animal Farm

The House Play Festival began with an ambitious take on George Orwell’s Animal Farm The challenge of playing animals was met with colour-coordinated costumes, animal masks, and a cacophony of farmyard noises. The set and direction had been thoroughly considered, and standout moments included the impressively choreographed fight sequence and the thoughtprovoking ending, where Napoleon’s human-like abuse of power was shown through the partial lifting and then removal of his mask. This serious ending was further juxtaposed with the confident singing of Stand By Me - perhaps a clever tactic to qualify for the Best Musical award? Or, a striking juxtaposition of an upbeat, heartfelt song with the abuses of power we saw Napoleon carrying out against his fellow animals?

Wiseman’s House Check Please

Wiseman’s showcased the difficulties of dating in their comical performance of Check Please. As anyone familiar with Channel 4’s reality show First Dates appreciates, blind dating can prove to be problematic. Such problems were shown to be especially true when the date happens to be a raging kleptomaniac, a mime, or even your grandmother’s bridge partner. Wiseman’s had the Redgrave in hysterics with their brilliantly timed one-liners and carefully considered costumes. The inflatable Zimmer frame highlighted the director’s awareness of dramatic detail, which carried right through to the well crafted programme. The judges appreciated the breadth of students involved in the performance, including a number of notable junior cast members, suggesting a promising theatrical future for the House.

“The inflatable Zimmer frame highlighted the director’s awareness of dramatic detail.”

School House

Alan Grimaldi and the 183

In School House’s Alan Grimaldi and the 183 the audience discovered that you can get into Heaven via the back-reception office. A well thought-out set did a brilliant job of transporting us to a stereotypical, shabby office. There we found the jaded Read siblings, playing an underfunded angelic duo, who have the pleasure of telling unlucky visitors that their death was unscheduled and is now causing a whole lot of extra admin.

Alexei Joukovski’s outraged Alan Grimaldi, one such unlucky visitor, bounced nicely off the calm and collected angels, Barry and Sandra, and the small cast worked well together.

West Town In the Mood

West Town’s hilarious portrayal of Frank Gibbons’ In the Mood invited the audience to Jeanie’s chaotic cafe, struggling to survive with its poor hygiene, inferior cooking and power supply malfunctions. Imagine the worst of Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares and then add a mischievous deaf cat with toilet troubles. West Town had a notably large ensemble, featuring pupils from across the House with a sense of spirit shining through. The thoughtful use of staging, props and costumes had been well considered, whilst the lighting effectively aided transitions.

Holland’s House Hard Candy

Holland’s Hard Candy a fastpaced interview style comedy, was a strong, well chosen production featuring plenty of talent from across the House. Scenes were punchy with jokes well delivered, keeping the audience engaged as we progressed through the many managers of Banff Enterprises and the deterioration of poor Linda the secretary. The full theatre was used to good effect to emphasise the dramatic entrance of one interviewee, Bluetooth speaker in hand, which added an extra dimension to the performance. The cast and directors were creative in their portrayal of the many persuasive techniques used to acquire a job and costumes worked well across the board.

East Town

All I Really Need to Know I Learned by Being in a Bad Murder Mystery

East Town adopted the role of a bunch of lovable yet impossibly inept thespians in this play within a play. The metadrama emerges as we meet the motley and slightly dishevelled group about to be cast in a new play. As the Director grapples with caffeine withdrawal, arguments ensue between cast members. East Town cleverly broke the fourth wall as the reluctant narrator emerged from the audience to lecture about bad theatre, awful actors and long-suffering audiences. The judges also noted the effective use of blocking and carefully considered lighting that aided this performance.

The South Town Shook

Shook brought us to a classroom within a young offenders institution. Witty one-liners from the well-meaning prisoners quickly got the audience on side as the polished performances outlined the relationships and tensions within the prison. Moments of brutal, vulnerable honesty from the characters of Jonjo and Cain were skilful in abruptly changing the tone of the performance. Most poignant was the revelation in the final scenes that the hopeful Riyad, awaiting his imminent release from prison, had hurt another prisoner in self-defence and was no longer going to be released. The performers and directors really did justice to this well selected and challenging text, resulting in moments of magic on stage. The ending, a slow fade as Jonjo cradled the dummy baby to the eerie start of Eminem’s Stan was poignant and touching.

Oakeley’s House Bad Auditions

The Redgrave was filled to the brim with Oakeley’s House spirit during Bad Auditions. The theatre was decorated with posters featuring a cameo from Mr Simmons and there was even a recruitment drive for the Oakeley’s Casting Agency before the performance began. The audience could feel the exasperation radiating off Bea Willis’ casting director character as she dealt with a procession of painfully poor auditions, the likes of which included an Instagram influencer, an overworked mum of teens and even a blow-up cow/dinosaur. Performances were polished and jokes were delivered with great timing, ensuring the audience had a great time throughout and were sent off into the night still chuckling.

“A well thoughtout set did a brilliant job of transporting us to a stereotypical, shabby office.”

North Town

Garth Marenghi’s Dark Place: Scotch Mist

A solitary chair was centre stage as the audience took to their seats in anticipation of North Town’s dramatic offering. As the house lights went down, and the stage lights came up, there appeared Garth Marenghi, played by Ned Blench, to introduce the audience to the next 35 minutes of surreal comedy featuring a strange killer mist accompanied by the sound of bagpipes. Strong performances from the cast combined with a great selection of costumes, a host of prerecorded interview clips cleverly projected onto the stage, and even a surprise musical number featuring the singing talents of Hector Wright and Luke Laredo. A unique and impressive production from North Town!

Worcester House Tales of Worcester House

The audience was transported into the not too fictionalised world of Worcester House on Wednesday evening, where the play opened to two parents planning to use the boarding House as a cover for their criminal activity, whilst the girls started scraps at the inter-House hockey tournament. There was inventive fight choreography in the hockey battle sequences, with the whole cast involved in the sporting slugfest. The original script written by the directors was well balanced with College-specific jokes, comic characters and quick pacing, all of which combined to tell a story that had the audience laughing throughout.

Hallward’s House The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon

The famous fairy tales were turned on their heads in this fast-paced, rollicking ride as two narrators and several actors attempted to combine all 209 stories ranging from classics like Snow White and Cinderella to obscure fables such as The Devil’s Grandmother. Hallward’s pulled off the wild, free-form comedy with dramatic flair, even engaging the audience up the aisle as Dr Greene was drawn into the drama. There were many moments of directorial brilliance, audibly appreciated by the audience.

Moberly’s House Gavin and Stacey

The Moberly’s boys took us to the world of Gavin and Stacey. We followed the young couple over a Christmas period and the surprise news of a new job for Gav. Smithy was in tears at the thought of losing Gavlar, not to mention the romantic entanglements of the love triangle with Nessa and Dave. The accents were solid throughout, with the cast playing the knockabout comedy with great energy. Fantastic scenic input from Mr Catchpole also resulted in not one but two cars on stage. This was a feel-good show which left the audience laughing from start to finish.

Charlie Callander & Charlotte Withey

House Play Judges

House Play Winners

Best Preparation

Worcester House

Best Costume Design

Holland’s House

Technical Achievement

North Town

Best Staging

West Town

Choreography

Watson’s House

Artistic Achievement

North Town

Stage Presence

Millie Campbell (WoH), and Ellis Davies (MH)

Best Third Form Performance

Danny Boyle (WiH) and Jodie Byas (HLH)

Audience Appreciation

Oakeley’s House

Rising Star

Alex White (NT)

Best Supporting Actor in a Drama

Ethan Thompson (ST)

Best Actor in a Drama

Malachy O’Callaghan (ST)

Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy

Stella Pikhulya (HH)

Best Actor in a Comedy

Velvet Cook (HH)

Best Director

Olivia White and Elsa Wilkie (HH)

Best Comedy

Hallward’s House

Best Drama

The South Town

Best Production

The South Town

“Strong performances from the cast combined with a great selection of costumes, a host of prerecorded interview clips cleverly projected onto the stage.”

The Summer Arts

Evening began with impressive performances of concertos by Naomi Chung, Sam Williams, Ella Robson and Henry Gittings, The orchestral music filling the Chapel for the Summer Serenade.

The steady drizzle did little to dampen the spirits of both audiences and performers during the drama and dance performances in the Quad. There were standout monologue performances from Rowan Read and Sephie Alexander who commanded the audience’s attention with their pieces. There was also a flash mob to Hamilton’s One Shot organised by Monique Konje, and featuring the rapping skills of a number of students who spanned Years 9 to 12. The Watson’s House dance team reprised their successful House Dance performance, and Monique Konje also performed an impressive solo dance. The Percival Library was the stage for engaging poetry and prose readings by the Creative Writing

Group and impressive musical performances by the Cliftones and the Flute and Clarinet Ensembles. Attendees also had the opportunity to peruse stunning artwork by the art scholars in the Crypt, support the Charities Committee in their Nearly-New Uniform Sale and enjoy a delicious ice cream. The evening continued in the Chapel with further outstanding concerto movements from Magnus Allen, Konrad Kurczynski and Sophie Chung. The night was rounded off perfectly with an hour of jazz in the Crypt. All in all, this was a beautiful evening to celebrate the arts, in spite of the rain!

Rhian Orzel Head of Drama

Library

A packed programme of literary events gave this academic year a real celebratory feel. Here are just some of the highlights:

Author Visits

We marked the start of Black History Month with a visit from spoken word artist and cohost of Bristol’s Raise the Bar Saili Katebe on 1st October. He addressed the whole school, discussing his life after moving from Zambia to the predominantly white city of Bath, and closing the service with a performance of his poetry. Saili also ran an engaging writing workshop with a group of Year 12 English Language students, using reworked idioms as inspiration. Black History Month continued with a visit from the award-winning novelist Alex Wheatle MBE Alex talked passionately about his writing influences: Brixton, where he grew up; his Jamaican heritage; his experience of living in a children’s home; and his involvement in the 1981 Brixton uprising. Alex’s early life was dramatised as part of Oscar-winning director Steve McQueen’s Small Axe film series for the BBC. Alex talked to Year 9 about his Young Adult novel Cane Warriors inspired by a 1760 rebellion in British-owned slave plantations in Jamaica, and spoke to the Sixth Form History and Politics students about structural racism, the Brixton uprising, and the importance of black history teaching not being limited to the transatlantic slave trade.

Sue Cheung joined us in November to give two terrific talks to Years 9 and 10 about Chinglish her semiautobiographical culture clash comedy. Though infused with humour, the novel deals with challenging themes and Sue left the students with some words of wisdom: “1. Everyone is always going through something; 2. Nobody can change your life but you; and 3. Writing is great therapy.”. The fabulous author and poet Louisa Reid joined us a few days later to run two thoroughly engaging sessions. The Creative Writing Group worked on rewriting fairy tales to subvert the traditional narrative, and the Year 10s were treated to dramatic readings from Wrecked Louisa’s gripping verse novel. The students then analysed protagonists Joe and Imogen in the context of a broader discussion on toxic relationships.

We were thrilled to celebrate World Book Day with Bristol City Poet Caleb Parkin in March (details on p.40). The celebrations continued into the following week with literary legend Sally Gardner who talked to students in Year 9 about her incredible writing journey. Sally spoke passionately about her dyslexia, which, having prevented her from being able to read until she was 14, resulted in harrowing

experiences at school. Sally no longer views dyslexia as a disability but as a creative gift and has since become a powerful advocate for dyslexic people. The Year 9s were treated to gripping readings from her Carnegie Medal winning novel, Maggot Moon. Our final author visit of the academic year came in the form of Kate Weston who spoke to Year 9 about feminism (and its popular misconceptions), mental health, and her fabulously funny Diary of a Confused Feminist series. The academic scholars finished the day with afternoon tea and a brilliant workshop on the cathartic power of journal writing.

Events & Competitions

Poetry Parties

The annual poetry festivities of National and World Poetry Day were combined with the celebration of Black History Month and International Women’s Day respectively. The Percival Poetry Party of previous years returned for the first time since October 2019 with a plethora of pupil poet performances. Alongside the library party, every member of Year 9 was provided with a Poetry Party Pack of literary goodies to complement a collection of thought-provoking spoken word performance videos featuring Hibaq Osman, Samuel King and Sophia Thakur, which were watched and discussed during English lessons. The poetry partying continued in March with a World Poetry Day celebration of the work of Shagufka K. Iqbal, Hollie McNish, Blythe Baird and Britta B to mark International Women’s Day.

Shoktoberfest XI

The Percival was transformed into a haunted house full of skulls, spiders and spine-chilling screams with a candle-lit screening of The Addams Family on 16th October. The Third Form disappeared into the night with disembodied hand cookies, just the ‘Thing’ to sweeten this year’s gloriously gothic ghoul-fest.

Winter Book Fair

Our Winter Book Fair Evening featured a wonderfully curated collection of books from local independent bookshop, Storysmith; a group of talented student carol singers; mulled cider and mince pies; and an enthusiastic group of guests. Thank you to everyone who supported the fair, which raised £356.90 for BookTrust’s Christmas Appeal, to provide festive book parcels for children who are vulnerable or in care.

Spelling Bee

Congratulations to sensational spellers Alexander Long (Block I) and Fergus Brown (Block II) who buzzed their way to verbal victory in the 2021 Inter-House Spelling Bee for East Town and North Town respectively. The winners saw off tough competition from nine other Houses and were awarded with beautiful bee-shaped trophies.

Read Off

The Year 9 competition kicked off with a celebration of classic literature in the Genre Battle Video Challenge. The fantastic winning film featured Dr Greene’s office as Ebenezer Scrooge’s counting house and BSK as the gruel serving parish workhouse. Students were then challenged to read as many books as possible from a wide range of genres over subsequent weeks. Congratulations to Mrs Walsh’s class who were crowned Read Off Champions 2022, and a huge well done to the top readers of the competition: Alana Peto, Dhaara Acharya, Jodie Byas and Joung Youn Hoang. The Third Form read and reviewed 487 books between them over the course of the Lent Term.

Lunar New Year

The Percival teamed up with the Pre-Prep for Lunar New Year stories for Nursery, Reception, and Years 1 and 2, read by Upper School students from Hong Kong, Mainland China and South Korea. After listening to the stories, the younger pupils turned their hands to Year of the Tiger mask crafting. There was also a tutor group tiger foldalong origami competition with Lunar New Year goodies, won by Miss Clarke’s tutor group, and an individual Best in Show prize for the top tiger of the contest, which went to Milton Mai.

Harry Potter Day

Niffler gold gathering, Mandrake making, Potter puzzling and lunchtime treacle tarts were topped off with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them on the big screen. Congratulations to winners Ollivander’s House AKA Oakeley’s for collecting a phenomenal 385.9g of Niffler gold, and to Wizardman’s House AKA Wiseman’s for their victory in the Harry Potter Escape Room. The teams were rewarded with a mountain of magical treats from Honeydukes.

“Alongside the library party, every member of Year 9 was provided with a Poetry Party Pack of literary goodies.”

Events & Competitions

World Book Day

We had a fantastic World Book Day with guest poet Caleb Parkin. Along with inspiring readings of his poignant, playful poetry, Caleb crowd-sourced a recipe poem with Years 9 and 10; was interviewed on stage by students for an inter-schools Pride event; and took on the role of (a very friendly) Jeremy Paxman for the annual Staff vs Students Literature Quiz. Despite a strong performance from finalists Hallward’s House, the teachers’ team retained their quizzing title for another year. There was also a whole school custom Wordle Book Day competition with a few randomly selected winners who figured out that prose was the answer (to all known problems!).

Mental Health Awareness Week (MHAW)

This year’s MHAW featured a Read-In in the library with hot chocolate, marshmallows and classical music; Everyone Reading in Chapel and the return of the Pop-Up Percival; a paw-some afternoon of dog walking on the Downs; and a special event for Year 13. During the latter, students were invited to the library to collect letters they’d penned to their future selves back in Third Form. There were tears of joy, confusion over having to translate from Elvish to English (shout-out to the Tolkien fans of 2017) and lashings of non-alcoholic Pimm’s for a terrific trip down memory lane.

Events & Competitions

Stanley Steadman Essay Prize

Congratulations to Lara Foster who won the 2022 prize for her beautiful appreciation of The Sea by John Banville and to runners up Jonathan Ambler and Charlie Davies. The judges were astounded by the extraordinarily high quality of essay submissions this year, which had a record 58 entries. The final stage of the judging was a viva voce in which Lara showed an excellent understanding of the text, and was able to convey her emotional response with great passion and eloquence.

Commem 2022: Nineteen EightyFour

We celebrated George Orwell’s dystopian classic at the Percival Library AKA the Ministry of Truth in the totalitarian state of Oceania. Thanks to everyone who ventured over to sip a Victory Gin(ger Beer), indulge in a weekly 20g chocolate ration and try out the memory hole incinerator challenge. Well done to our winner, Dong Ha Hoang, who did Winston Smith proud and won a classic Orwell collection.

Lauren Walker, Leah Shaw & Charlotte Withey

Percival Librarians

Jay Greengrass (HLH) won the 2022 Flash Fiction short story competition. Her story was inspired by a line from Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell: “Nothing was your own except the few cubic centimetres inside your skull”. The competition was judged by Amy Beashel, author of The Sky is Mine and We Are All Constellations. The Flash Fiction winner receives a literary poster of their choice plus publication in this very magazine.

Flash Fiction

Up, and Down

Nothing was your own except the few cubic centimetres inside your skull, that was what Mother had told me, her eyes wide with desperation to make my young mind understand.

“Protect it, child, and don’t let anyone or anything take what’s yours away from you.” As I lie here, her words come flooding back to me, a torrent roaring in my ears that joins the other conflicting currents that relentlessly batter my thoughts. I dwell on the words, riding the tempestuous waves. Up, and down. Up, and down. The rhythm unexpectedly soothing, the serene lull seemingly primordial, this state of being, limitless and homogenous. Up, and down. Up, and down.

A low rustle from a dark corner of my mind cuts through the chaos and drags me harshly back to consciousness, with such force that a strangled breath tumbles out of me. It pools above my face in the cool air, hypnotic and restless, a single writhing cloud that brings movement to a still landscape of vast and ungovernable mud, edged with foaming crystalline frost like that of a wave before it breaks.

Restless, unforgiving tides give way to a single thing. Small claws lacerate my consciousness, beady eyes scour my thoughts. Slight, twitching hands sort through my mind leaving no hope, dream, fear or memory untainted. Its garbled mutterings reverberate through my skull and each shuffled footstep causes me to convulse, the impact like a kick to the gut.

I had failed to protect the little I had been given and now it was over. There was nothing for me here or anywhere in this world; I would become one of the many names engraved in stone because after this day not a single thing could be mine ever again. I fall back and let dark and impossibly placid waves flow, consuming my conscious mind and leaving but a broken shell behind. The immense, remorseless swell rises gradually behind my eyes to an unbroken, all powerful rhythm. Up, and down it goes. Up, and down.

Judge’s Feedback

I was totally immersed in this piece, and I think that’s down to the beautiful rhythm and sentence structure, which work so effectively with the subject matter. The repetition is very atmospheric too - Up and down. Up and down - particularly at the end, it lulls you into a false sense of security, leaving you on a knife’s edge. It was very claustrophobic, which was perfect for the story it was telling. Brilliant.

Amy Beashel

Author of The Sky is Mine and We Are All Constellations.

“I was totally immersed in this piece, and I think that’s down to the beautiful rhythm and sentence structure.”

The experience of singing, whether in morning services or during the House Song competition, has drawn us together as a school and has done wonders to lighten our mood at various points through the year.

The pupils have led the majority of our weekday morning services, working together as a House or with academic departments. They have prepared a diverse range of talks, covering subjects such as climate change, how to be inclusive, the Christmas story, why we remember war, celebrating diversity, the beauty of foreign languages, chemistry experiments, remembering the Holocaust, and many other topics that have educated and challenged us. Our major services at Remembrance Sunday, Christmas and Commem have enabled us to reflect on the lessons of the past and look forward to the future with hope, acknowledging the responsibility that we each have

It has been so good to have had an academic year during which almost all of our planned services were able to be held physically in the Chapel again.

to make a positive difference throughout our lives. It was a privilege to host a confirmation service for the Diocese of Bristol in May, at which eight of our pupils were confirmed into the Church of England. The centenary of the opening of Memorial Arch was also marked by a special chapel service on 30th June, at which we heard from the grandson of Field Marshal the Earl Douglas Haig OC, who unveiled the names inscribed and opened the gates of Memorial Arch 100 years earlier, as the President of the College at the time.

This year has allowed me to say goodbye to the first cohort of pupils who have gone right the way through the Upper School whilst I have been Chaplain.

It has been fascinating to see the ways in which these young people have changed, individually and collectively, over the past five years as they have grown in confidence, knowledge and experience.

As I end my own time as College Chaplain in order to establish a counselling practice, I am grateful to the generations of chaplains who served the school before me and the foundation that they laid. This foundation allows both those with and without a religious faith to meet together to sing, learn, celebrate, mourn and pray for the events that occur in our world and in our individual lives. As a Christian, I believe that God sees all that we do and cares for every aspect of our

lives, the easy and the difficult. I reminded the pupils again this year that they will inevitably face challenging decisions that put them under pressure, both ethically and morally. My prayer is that, through their experiences in chapel and the wider school environment, each member of our community will be able to discern when they are facing decisions with a right and wrong course of action and they will find the moral courage to choose the right path. I wish you all peace and courage for the future.

Spiritus Intus Alit

Rev Simon Chapman College Chaplain

The

“It has been fascinating to see the ways in which these young men and women have hanged as they have grown in confidence, knowledge and experience.”

Synagogue

This was my third year as Jewish Chaplain and the first year we were able to celebrate all the Jewish festivals without interruptions from the pandemic. All of our Jewish pupils were here with us and we were able to sit back around the Shabbat table and celebrate our heritage at close quarters.

With Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) falling the day before the beginning of term, we were certainly thrown into the Jewish deep end, but the autumn festivals were well attended and the community soon started to feel like a family once again.

The highlight of the Michaelmas Term had to be our celebrations for the festival of Chanukah. It is very unusual for this festival to fall early enough in the secular

calendar for us to celebrate it at college. This year, it fell so early, that all eight nights were during term time, which gave us a unique opportunity to share this joyous and delicious festival with many different groups within the Clifton College community. Each night, different groups were invited to join in with Chanukah celebrations in different parts of the school, including the Percival Library, Wiseman’s House in the Upper School and Mansfield’s House in the Prep School. Each night, candles were lit, songs were sung and the delicious Chanukah foods, potato latkes and doughnuts, were enjoyed by all.

Another festival that brought the community and its friends together was Purim. The Jewish Sixth Formers prepared a hilarious and slightly irreverent Purim play that combined the Biblical story of the Book of Esther with 21st-century politics, Clifton humour and some very unusual costumes! The Catering Department provided an amazing buffet, including traditional Purim pastries called hamantaschen and a variety of other triangular foods.

We were delighted to be able to celebrate three long-awaited Bar/Bat Mitzvah services this year. Lea Fischer, Noah Lawrence and Tamara Fischer began working towards this Jewish milestone before the pandemic and had to adapt to online lessons and cope with many delays. All three were finally able to gather with friends and family from all over the world to read from the Torah as part of a Shabbat morning service and celebrate their achievements.

This year’s Heads of Synagogue, Grey Woolf and Josh Trackman, helped to lead service, plan events and galvanise the community. It was also an honour that one of the Heads of School was a member of the Polack Centre Jewish community. Anya Soldatova was a committed and respected Head of School and an active part of our Synagogue community, even playing Queen Vashti in the aforementioned Purim play! Overall, it has been a year of coming back together and rekindling the spirit of our unique community.

Rabbi Anna Gerrard Jewish Chaplain

In the Polack Centre Synagogue, we have enjoyed another cycle of the Jewish festival calendar.

Trips

An Alpine Adventure

On 29th July 2022, our pupils met to embark upon a lifechanging adventure to reach the summit of the Bishorn in the Swiss Alps, a mighty 4,000 metre peak. We arrived in the charming Swiss village of Zinal, at an altitude of 1,675 metres, to check into our hotel and meet our British Mountaineering Guides, Olly and Tom.

We travelled to the Moiry Dam (2,249m) at the head of the Grimentz Valley the next morning, the starting point of our five-day expedition. We enjoyed the stunning panorama of the turquoise lake waters, an amazing colour due to the

glacial flour in the lake. From here we started the steep hike up the rocky path to the Cabane de Moiry hut (2,825m), which overlooks the crevassed Glacier de Moiry. We were able to practise alpine skills, using crampons and ice axes to move confidently and safely on the glacier. The first day at altitude was difficult for most, with a challenging hike back up from the glacier

Continuing our acclimatisation, our next objective was to climb a peak. We headed up to the Col du Pigne (3,141m) and, using our new alpine rope skills, we practised moving together safely up the north ridge to the summit of Pigne de La Lé (3,392m). From here, we descended onto the glacier, roping up as two

teams to cross deep crevasses, practising our newly-learnt alpine skills, before returning to the Moiry hut for a second night.

The following day was a linking day, joining one valley to another. After a breakfast of bread, jam and Marche thé, we left the Cabane de Moiry hut and headed back up to the Col du Pigne. A long descent back down to Zinal gave us our first glimpse of the Bishorn, which was nerveracking yet extremely exciting. After descending 1,466 metres, we arrived back into civilisation to restock on supplies.

After a good night’s sleep in Zinal, we felt re-energised for the final part of our expedition. We began the long, steep ascent to the Cabane de Tracuit

Trips & Activities

(3,256m) which, with tiring legs, was gruelling for everyone. Anticipating the summit attempt, a sleepless night in the hut followed for many.

Saturday 3rd September was summit day. With a classic ‘alpine start’ and a breakfast of bread and jam, we stepped out into the darkness ready for the climb! Following a rough rocky path towards the start of the Turtmann Glacier, we roped up and split into two teams, witnessing wonderful views of the Bishorn unfold. We weaved through the intricate maze of the lower crevasse fields, both teams moving steadily up the glacier. Breaking trail in the snow was getting harder and, with heavy legs, the view of the summit was a great feeling. We reached the shoulder and

followed it up to a small col where the final steep slope led directly to the top. We left our walking poles and used ice axes for the short pitch to the summit, where we all congratulated each other. The mountain takes its name from the ‘Bise’, a cold wind that blows from the North East, which was certainly evident that day, so we took a very quick photo at the top. From the summit, we began a fast descent to the hut, skating down the snow, with a few crampons falling off on the way. We refuelled with a celebratory cheese and egg rösti before making a long descent back to the valley floor. At the hotel we bid an emotional farewell to our guides and enjoyed our final dinner, a chance to reflect on what was an incredible trip!

Jody Sumner

Trips

Ten Tors

On 7th May, a team of six Clifton College pupils took part in the Ten Tors expedition alongside 2,226 other competitors. The team navigated the 45-mile Route Q over North Dartmoor, visiting ten nominated tors and checkpoints in under two days. The team needed to be selfsufficient, carrying everything they needed to complete their route and stay out overnight safely.

The team summited their seventh tor at 7.07pm on the first day and continued on to camp at their eighth tor at 9pm. They were up early on Sunday morning, cooking breakfast and taking down tents at 4.20am, ready to get their control card stamped at 6am. They navigated

35 miles on the first day with a height gain of 1,396 metres. The team crossed the finish line at 11.21am on the second day, coming second in their category. They covered a total of 48 miles and an impressive 2,040 metres of ascent over two days.

The team showed great determination, resilience and teamwork throughout all the training and the event itself, which is what Ten Tors is all about. The group was led by the focused and determined Tom Murray with Jonathan Ambler as his deputy, both expertly navigating the team to success. Undoubtedly these pupils will remember this experience for the rest of their lives.

Jody Sumner

“They covered a total of 48 miles and an impressive 2,040 metres of ascent over two days.”

Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award

During summer 2022, four teams of Gold Duke of Edinburgh pupils successfully completed their Qualifying expedition in the Black Mountains, Wales. During this four-day expedition, the pupils navigated over 80 km, summiting peaks including Twmpa (690m), Hay Bluff (677m), Pen Allt-mawr (719m) and the Sugar Loaf (596m). The pupils documented memorable experiences on a t-shirt each day, creating a visual diary to wear.

Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award

The Bronze Duke of Edinburgh pupils successfully passed their expedition section, walking the famous Ridgeway over two days. The group navigated through the rolling chalk downland and explored many archaeological treasures, including Neolithic long barrows, Bronze Age round barrows, Iron Age forts and the famous White Horse cut into the chalk. They also walked to Dragon Hill, where, according to legend, Saint George slew the dragon. A bare patch of chalk upon which no grass grows is said to be where the dragon’s blood was spilled.

Jody Sumner

“Pupils successfully passed their expedition section, walking the famous Ridgeway over two days.”

Trips

Biology Succession Field Trip

The annual Lower Sixth field trip to Kenfig Nature Reserve in South Wales took place on 13th June, a gloriously sunny day. Following a long trek down to the beach, pupils conducted a transect of the embryo sand dunes to monitor the process of succession using quadrats and calculating percentage cover of various plant species. Topography of the landscape was also measured using ranging poles and a clinometer. Various skills were honed, such as collaborative teamwork, collecting reliable and valid data, and learning how to calculate the height change of the dunes using mathematics. Soil sample analysis such as pH and organic content were conducted back at school. The Year 12s were engaged and remained positive and productive throughout the day. Lilia Wolff’s beautiful winning shot in the wild orchid photo competition really encapsulated the trip: the sea, sand, embryo dune, marram grass, sea holly, transect, quadrat and, of course, a pyramidal orchid. Close runners-up were Kei Ki Chau and Charlotte Leith.

Biology Reaction Time Study

On 25th January, the Upper Sixth biologists participated in a reaction time study run by two final year students from the University of Bristol Ambassador Scheme. Pupils were asked to investigate the effect of exercise on reflex action (sight/sound)

in the biomedical physiology labs at the university. Baseline responses were recorded followed by a 10-minute keep fit exercise video and repeat measuring. In summary, brain derived neurotrophic factor and synapsin 1 increase with exercise, which stimulates spinal reflex excitability. The biologists also experienced a £40,000 life-like manikin that could be programmed to demonstrate different physiological processes in the body. An overdose of opiates was selected, with pupils analysing the effects from ECG, breathing rate and oxygen saturation level traces along with pupil constriction. Pulse rates could also be felt, with some lucky pupils attempting bag mask valve oxygen resuscitation.

Mal Grohmann

“Pupils were asked to investigate the effect of exercise on reflex action (sight/sound) in the biomedical physiology labs at the university.”

Geography Field Trips

The Geography Department was back in full swing, taking students out into the field. It is so important that students experience real life places to broaden their understanding of the world in which they live. Yes, field work also ticks exam criteria boxes, but it offers so much more in terms of helping to enrich students’ cultural, social and environmental knowledge.

Eden Project, Cornwall

A long day, but one of the more memorable trips for Year 9. The pupils learnt about sustainability and the use of our natural world. The biomes are amazing and it is staggering that Eden was a china clay mine just over 20 years ago!

River Holford

A classic adventure in the Quantock Hills for the Year 10 geographers to discover how the characteristics of a river change downstream. The weather held, data was collected and, grudgingly, an unnamed student volunteered, “I enjoyed that, Sir; I thought it was going to be boring”. Praise indeed.

Urban Bristol

Despite the fact that many of our pupils live in Bristol, most will admit that they have a narrow view of our city. A tour of Bristol from the outskirts at Cribbs and Filton back into the city centre and Harbourside certainly reveals the diversity of Bristol. Year 11 students used secondary data, such as Zoopla property prices and first-hand primary data at various places to discover place identity and characteristics.

Urban Bristol and Water/Carbon Day at Belmont Estate

In preparation for the A Level coursework project (non-examined assessment) both urban and physical environments were studied and data collection techniques were covered so that students could then apply them when doing their own projects. It was not all about work though; at the Belmont Estate, we benefited from a mindfulness session. The Year 12s also enjoyed the ‘safari walk’ wild food foraging, helping them to connect to nature. Food was a highlight; a barbecue with produce from the estate was both delicious and emphasised the importance of ethical and environmental stewardship.

Jonathan Hughes

“The Year 12s also enjoyed the ‘safari walk’ wild food foraging, helping them to connect to nature.”

Trips

Pen-y-Fan, Brecon Beacons

This trip was designed to help students understand our glacial landscape. And, of course, crucial in enabling the Upper Sixth to pronounce Llyn Cwm Llwch! Thank you to Ms Sumner and Mr Mitchell who were our mountain leaders on the day.

Jonathan Hughes

Photography Walking Tour of Bristol

This year the A Level Photography students were able to stretch their legs on a walking tour around Bristol. Conveniently, a number of galleries and venues in the city were hosting the Bristol Photo Festival and it was a perfect opportunity to see some projects by local photographers as well as an exhibition in Bristol Museum of work by photographers including Martin Parr, Sarah Waiswa, James Barnor and Sian Davey. Along with visiting a variety of different exhibitions, the Year 13 students were able to begin exploring

their own project themes in Castle Park and the city centre and the Year 12 students experimented with camera techniques and controls, getting to grips with depth of field, viewpoints and shutter speeds. Though not always apparent at the time, this trip influenced a number of students and all have gone on to produce some stunning work this year.

Paul Wigginton

The Beat of Our Hearts at the Northcott Theatre

In the Lent Term our Year 12 and 13 drama students visited Exeter’s Northcott to see The Beat of Our Hearts. This new play is a tender and poignant exploration of loneliness and belonging, a unique theatrical celebration of unheard voices and previously untold stories of LGBTQIA+ people, from South West-based playwright Natalie McGrath. Our students especially loved the passionate performances, inventive staging and the lyrical, poetic text used by the actors in their performance of the piece.

David Saunders

“This trip was designed to help students understand our glacial landscape. And, of course, crucial in enabling the Upper Sixth to pronounce Llyn Cwm Llwch!”

A Monster Calls at Bristol Old Vic

In the Summer Term the Drama Department ran a trip to the Bristol Old Vic to see the returning production of A Monster Calls. Patrick Ness’ piercing novel is brought vividly to life in this Olivier Award-winning production by visionary director Sally Cookson. A Monster Calls offers a dazzling insight into love, life and healing. The students enjoyed the emotional story of self-forgiveness and acceptance with the startling performances and beautiful visuals really making an impact with our Year 9 scholars, GCSE and A Level groups.

David Saunders

Bristol Aerospace

On 18th March, the A Level physicists visited Aerospace Bristol in Filton. As part of the trip, pupils engaged in a ‘Light Fantastic’ workshop during which they were able to make their own spectrometers, which could be used to analyse light. Such techniques are necessary to learn about the composition of stars and discover more about our amazing universe. Pupils also had the opportunity to look around the museum at their leisure, which included a tour of the famous Concorde aircraft!

Rebecca Luker

STEM Club Trip to Bristol University Wind Tunnels

On 6th June, a small group of Lower Sixth STEM Club students went to the University of Bristol’s Engineering Department to use their wind tunnel. The aim was to see how air flowed over a model F1 car design. The team created two car models to test and used a stream of smoke to identify any vortices in the airflow along the car bodies. The students are entering the ‘F1 into Schools’ regional competition and hope to get through to the national finals given all of their hard work so far. Pupils also have to create business and design portfolios to show the judges and, as part of this challenge, they’ve secured funding from local

companies and have had to get their heads around some rather complex computer software! Whilst the pupils were at the university, the rest of the physicists had the chance to observe a larger wind tunnel in action with a few PhD students looking at an aerofoil project to reduce noise and make flight more efficient. They also entered two room-sized wind tunnels which absorb as much sound as possible, used for testing noise emission from wings and rotary blades. The pupils had a great time and loved seeing what life after school could be like for them!

Rebecca Luker

“The team created two car models to test and used a stream of smoke to identify any vortices in the airflow along the car bodies.”

Trips

JET Nuclear Fusion Project, Oxford

On 17th June, our Lower Sixth physics students visited the Joint European Torus (JET) facility in Oxford. This is the UK’s main site for nuclear fusion energy, where two isotopes of hydrogen are forced together at high temperatures to produce a helium nucleus and a neutron. This process creates huge amounts of energy per kilogramme of fuel used, and due to the low risk nature of the reactants and products, is an exciting field of research for scientists looking to reduce our carbon footprint for a more sustainable future. Students arrived in the morning to attend a lecture on the physics behind nuclear fusion and then proceeded to have a tour of the site. Along the way they saw: the robotics control room, where employees were using a robot to move and change the inside of the fusion facility; the assembly room, where all reactions were being initiated and controlled; and the hall where the fusion torus is contained. Pupils also had the opportunity to observe a ‘pulse’, seen as a pink glow in the torus during a fusion test! These students will go on to learn more about fission and fusion next academic year - they have certainly whet their appetite for this topic!

Rebecca Luker

Third Form Camp

Year 9 enjoyed three days away at the end of term at the Ultimate Adventure Centre in Bideford, Devon. We spent a day coasteering and surfing at Croyde beach, as well as participating in a number of their onsite activities, such as the ultimate assault course, high ropes challenge, archery and rifle shooting. This was a well deserved end of exams break and a great way to end a busy year!

Sophie Cuesta

Psychology trip to Bristol University

The whole psychology cohort visited Bristol University on 30th November for a day of interactive activities aimed at increasing student awareness of various areas of psychology. Sessions included a lecture on the psychology of dance by a professional ballet dancer as well the psychology of magic by a professional magician. By far the most interesting session was given by Andrew Newton, one of the world’s leading authorities on hypnosis. Andrew gave a fascinating talk on the power of hypnosis before hypnotising a group of volunteers from the audience, including several Clifton College students!

Max Ernest-Jones

Eton and Wimbledon

Mrs and Mr Wagstaff took the school tennis team on a great trip to play matches at Eton and also watch tennis matches at Wimbledon. Playing at Eton against schools from across the country was an amazing experience and everyone enjoyed the competition. (see p.111 for details). The following morning, we were off to Wimbledon and it was incredible. We got to see so many amazing players and some very competitive and close matches.

Everyone loved it, and we got the full experience, watching Nadal on the hill, mixed doubles, and men’s and women’s singles. We couldn’t have asked for better weather and the experience was amazing. The whole trip was great fun and we all learnt a lot, not only from playing in our own matches at Eton, but also from watching the professionals at Wimbledon. Thank you to Mr Wagstaff for driving us and to Mrs Wagstaff who is a fantastic tennis coach.

Sophie Houghton (HLH)

“The whole trip was great fun and we all learnt a lot, not only from playing in our own matches at Eton, but also from watching the professionals at Wimbledon.”

Activities

Maths: A Year In Numbers

The 2021/2022 calendar of competitions and maths events began with the annual Bristol Schools Maths Competitions in October, which consisted of two separate rounds for Single and Further Maths and saw our brightest Sixth Form mathematicians pitting themselves against local opponents. The event was the first in-person team maths competition that our pupils were able to take part in since before the pandemic and it was made all the more special when one of our Further Maths teams stormed to victory.

The annual Maths Olympiad For Girls in October was also very popular this year, with 10 girls taking part across all year

groups. Sarah Ku, Qiqi You and Cici Pan all earned certificates of distinction.

In November, Clifton mathematicians enjoyed great success in the UKMT Senior Maths Challenge, with 23 Gold, 32 Silver and 45 Bronze Certificates awarded, and Sarah Ku achieving the best performance in the school with full marks. Ramsay Davis and Kihyun Song were joint best performers in Year 13, Jonathan Ambler in Year 12, and Peter Thyan in Year 11. Twelve pupils qualified for the first round of the British Mathematical Olympiad and Ramsay Davis, Jonathan Ambler and Kihyun Song were awarded certificates of distinction for their performances. Ramsay and Kihyun then took part in the fiendishly challenging second round of the BMO and in

February we were delighted to spot Ramsay’s name listed on the BMO2 website as one of the high scorers - his result was joint tenth in the country. Ramsay is moving on to read Mathematics at Oxford University and we wish him the best of luck.

Pupils taking part in the Intermediate Maths Challenge in February enjoyed just as much success, achieving an impressive 25 Gold Certificates, 37 Silver and 42 Bronze. An impressive 31 pupils qualified for the follow on rounds, the Kangaroo and the Intermediate Olympiads. Sarah Ku and Yohan Lee achieved Distinctions in the Hamilton Olympiad, while Milton Mai received a certificate of Merit.

On Pi Day (14th March - 3/14) mathematicians from all year groups and Houses took part in the now annual Pi Day

competition. The competition took the form of an online treasure hunt, with pupils having to crack a code to access pithemed questions and then race to submit the fastest and most accurate solutions. North Town and Worcester were joint winners of this event and enjoyed celebrating with some delicious pies.

The final event in the maths calendar was the first ever Junior House competition, which took place in May. In this competition Year 9 and 10 mathematicians from each House were invited to work together on a series of tricky mathematical problems. The competition challenged the pupils’ ability to work in teams and collaborate, as well as their mathematical skills. West Town and Holland’s were joint winners of this inaugural event.

Anastassia Myers

Institute of Economic Affairs

Sixth Form Conference

Halfway through the Lent Term, Clifton College once again organised and hosted an A Level economics conference in conjunction with the Institute of Economic Affairs. Our Sixth Form economists, along with guests from three other schools, both enjoyed and were challenged by topical lectures given by Dr Steve Davies, Matthew Lesh and Annabel Denham. The highlight for most was a talk about the economics of virtual worlds and the lessons about the real world that can be drawn from them. Overall, it was a fascinating day that led to many discussions and debates in the lessons that followed.

Graham Mallard

British Physics Olympiad

This year was a great year for British Physics Olympiad challenges at Clifton. In Block I, seven students took part in the BPhO ‘first round’, a fiendish paper designed to stretch the students on difficult problems, the likes of which they may not encounter in their studies. All students who took part were awarded a medal, a brilliant achievement. Ramsay Davis gained a silver award, while the following students were awarded a bronze II award: Jonathan Ambler, Thomas Underhill, Alisher Zakirov, Archie Calhaem, Jonny Cook, and Alexander Warren. The competition is aimed at the Upper Sixth, and so, Jonathan Ambler and Alex Warren, who were both in the Lower Sixth, did extremely well

to receive the awards they did. A number of Year 12 students took part in a slightly different format of the competition, the Senior Physics Challenge. Once again, all competitors from Clifton were awarded medals. Charlie Davies achieved a gold award, Philip Clark, Alex Warren, Kei Ki Chau and Maya von LilienfeldToal received silver awards, and Timur Yilmaz, Hannah Chung and Annie Shen all achieved bronze awards.

In Block II, the Junior Physics Challenge asks interesting questions on physics that are not like those that come up in normal exams. One question asked students to identify photographs of some famous physicists! All Clifton participants received a medal this year: Kun Liu and Michelle Arora gained bronzes; Edmund Hogg, Zeki Kam, Nicole Li and Avik Bahl gained silvers; and Nico Zhang, Milton Mai, Michael Lam, Alex Lahdiri and Patrick Hopkinson received gold medals. The Clifton Physics Department sends its congratulations to all participants and medal winners this year.

Alex Moore

Terriers

This year, Year 9 pupils have enjoyed a range of activities as part of Terriers, giving them a chance to hone existing skills, try new things and get to know a range of people across their year group. Pupils had the chance to do cookery sessions, play basketball and rackets, croquet, fives and rounders, undertake team challenges and problem solving activities, make ceramic sculptures, write poetry and much more! To celebrate a great year, we also had a Terriers’ Ball, in the Summer Term, a black-tie event with three-course meal, DJ, photos and dancing!

Sophie Cuesta

Drama Workshops: Stage Fighting and Frantic Assembly

In the Summer term, Year 9 scholars and Year 10 and 12 drama students participated in two workshops from visiting practitioners. The first, with Squire Stage Combat, was an intensive introduction to stage combat techniques and skills, starting with unarmed combat and progressing to the choreography of sword fighting. On this warm summer’s day, we finished the workshop with sword fighting on the Close, an impressive backdrop for the final sequence performances.

Our Year 10 and 12 students then took part in a workshop with a practitioner from Frantic Assembly, a physical theatre company. An extensive warm up primed the students for the range of physical tasks throughout the workshop, as they developed skills in movement, balance, and creating content from a place of random movement.

Rhian Orzel

Careers News

My name is Amy Penney and I started as Head of Careers at Clifton College just after Easter 2022. Prior to joining the College, I have worked within local authorities in Wiltshire and Somerset through roles in teaching and, in more recent years, supporting young people and adults through Careers, Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG).

As Head of Careers at Clifton College I am keen to build upon and develop the current programme to fully support all students in making the right decisions for their future. I will

continue to foster links with Higher Education providers and employers, as well as supporting students through the Old Cliftonian network. Students will be able to access one-to-one guidance appointments with me as a qualified Level 6 Adviser, as well as accessing work placements in the Sixth Form.

I look forward to the new academic year and I can’t wait to see how the CEIAG offer develops over 2022-2023. If you would like to get in touch please email careers@cliftoncollege.com.

Amy Penney

Careers Fair

On 1st July we were able to welcome back Old Cliftonians and employers to take part in the yearly careers fair. The fair was led by Emma Kenyon with support from Amy Penney, Lucy Nash, Jeremy Pickles and Jim Issacs. All Year 12 students were invited to access a series of Employer Insight talks linked to industries of their choice. These sessions included medicine, engineering, law, science and finance. We are so grateful to everyone who ran a session as the students gained such a lot from these insightful talks. It was lovely to welcome back some familiar faces from the OC community to share their journeys since leaving Clifton College.

Amy Penney

Bright Ideas for Tennis

Bright Ideas for Tennis is a charity supporting disadvantaged people and children from all backgrounds to access sports coaching, equipment and facilities. Last May we had a visit from two ex-GB tennis players who came to Clifton and delivered a doubles master class. Over the summer, we had to fundraise through holding cake sales and mini tennis competitions. In September, we were invited to attend the 24-hour tennis-athon at the National Tennis Centre, Roehampton. This was another great experience for some of our players who got to mix in with some ex-pros for four-hour slots at the home of tennis in Great Britain.

Kerris Wagstaff

Level 1 coaching qualification

After many years in the making, together with Bath University and LTA Educational Hub, Clifton College had their very own bespoke Level 1 LTA Tennis Coaching Assistant qualification. LTA instructors led a two day course in which all participants who completed the online testing and training attended both days and provided video evidence of them instructing;

17 pupils and five staff now hold their Level 1 coaching qualification in preparation for those summer jobs on court, something that is recognised worldwide and looks great on a CV. The instructors were so impressed with all the participants, commenting that the standard was high, not only in terms of tennis ability but in the way they managed and held themselves when coaching. We hope to hold a Level 2 course next summer.

“We are so grateful to everyone who ran a session as the students gained such a lot from these insightful talks.”

CCF

The CCF is embedded in Clifton’s calendar.

Highlights this year included: Remembrance Sunday; leadership weekends for the Year 11 cadre and Sixth Form at Dyffryn Crawnon Old School House in the Brecon Beacons, Inspection Day and the leavers’ parade; the regimental dinner for Upper Sixth and staff; the Commem Gun Run, which was won by the Navy Section; and Memorial Arch Centenary Remembrance on 30th June.

I would like to thank two departing members of staff, the Rev Simon Chapman and Ms Tamsin Cardale, for all their hard work and dedication to the CCF. Their work as volunteers has allowed our pupils to enjoy the full cadet experience. In addition, thank you and well done to all the staff who give up their time to enrich the cadet experience and to our set of NCOs who have worked hard as peer group leaders.

Jonathan Hughes

CCF Navy

Field Trip to the Forest of Dean, July 2022

Day one saw us kicked out of our minibuses…somewhere…in the Forest of Dean, while the Fourth Formers (under the supervision of some very capable NCOs) were left to find their own way to the camp. We spent the evening huddled by the fire, as Hannah Jones completed her fifteenth paracord bracelet. The next day we were divided into four groups, each to take part in trebuchet building, orienteering, mountain biking and baking.

Unfortunately only Toby Young was a match for the teachers’ impressive bike riding stamina, managing to reach the top of the hill without taking a break. We were once again let loose in the woods for orienteering, armed with maps, compasses, and our trusty radios, which emitted many incoherent, muffled noises followed by the word ‘over.’ Each group did a respectable job of assembling the catapult, but firing it was another story. We ended the day with a civilised game of capture the flag. During day three, the plan to canoe down the River Wye appeared to be a pleasant, peaceful, and not-in-any-way life-threatening pastime, involving scrambling into other canoes and a few innocent ball games. Although it was made pretty foolproof, Evie Calhaem, Shukuriyya Rabiu and I still somehow managed to fall stern over bow into the rapids, down some conveniently placed rocks. Later in the evening, we were joined by the RAF section and gave a series of short performances, including a poem of appreciation for the teachers; a very competitive ‘rock, paper, scissors’ battle brought to us by the Fourth Formers; a sketch by the NCOs imagining we were stranded on a powerboat; and a sea shanty sung by the teachers and their tuneful mini keyboard. We finished off the trip with a few more activities the following morning: camouflage, first aid, and a blindfold trail. As there were NCOs based somewhere in the woods for each one, it was perhaps finding us in the first place which was the main challenge for the Fourth Form, rather than the activities themselves. I think everyone was grateful to arrive back home, but all agreed that the trip was completely worthwhile.

Elsa Wilkie (HH)

CCF Army

October Field Day

The October Field Days give our Year 10 recruits the opportunity to test themselves in the field. All the basics are covered, such as basha building, camouflage and concealment, and living in the field overnight. The rest of the section deployed and, after rehearsals, put into practice some of the six section battle drills and other field craft. The weather was kind and the training time was effectively used.

Summer Camp, Forest of Dean

For once, the Army Section did not deploy to the field but instead based their activities at the Cinderford Cadet Training Centre in the Forest of Dean. On the first day, we fired live at Beachley Barracks, just outside Chepstow. The cadets got a chance to fire 65 rounds each and this was the first time firing live rounds for most of them. Bearing this in mind, a few showed some excellent marksmanship and all embedded and honed their weapon-handling skills on the Cadet GP Rifle. The next three days moved into a round-robin phase of activities: a day’s mountain biking, air rifle shooting, .22 shooting, mapwork, orienteering, first aid, and various sessions on field craft. The inter-section tug of war competition proved very popular and competitive! We were lucky enough to enjoy good weather and the luxury of an accommodation block, a TV room and showers. I am worried that the Army Section is going soft . . .

Jonathan Hughes

CCF RAF

CCF RAF Field Days

The RAF Section enjoyed two field days in October 2021. The first was based at school as it was arranged for two hot air balloon pilots to visit the College and talk about the physics and engineering of ballooning. They inflated and tethered two balloons on New Fields and there was also a remote-controlled balloon demonstration. Pupils were able to stand in the basket and ask as many questions as they wanted. That evening the Fourth Form went to join the Army Section up at BB to learn about fieldwork such as basha building, ration packs and fire building. Those remaining visited RAF Brize Norton the following day where they boarded a C-17 aircraft, visited the Air Training Corps and the Joint Air Delivery Test and Evaluation Unit, and received information about career pathways and the lifestyle in the military. The highlight for many was being able to test out the firehose on one of the new fire engines!

In July the RAF Section, now comprising just the Lower Sixth and Fourth Form due to public exams and study leave, completed four consecutive field days. The first day was spent at an airshow in Swansea at which students were able to view a wide range of aircraft take to the skies, including a Chinook, and some AeroSuperBatics

Wingwalkers! On 4th July, SOFly visited the school, bringing with them two commercial flight simulators for pupils to try, and explaining the principles of flight (part of the RAF theory syllabus) and what it takes to become a pilot. The remaining two days were spent in the Wye Valley with the Navy Section. Pupils camped overnight and engaged in daytime activities such as orienteering, canoeing and campfire building. They clearly enjoyed the time away from the academic timetable at the end of term, to unwind with friends but also to learn and master new skills.

Rebecca Luker

Pride Society

We began the academic year in bright and colourful fashion with a rainbow tye dye session with Ms Scott to create a fabulous array of clothing. Later during the term, we were lucky enough to Zoom chat with Addy Tyler and Ffion Evans, director and actor of the wonderful short film, Just Me. Being able to talk to Addy and Ffion about the process and experience gave us all some assurance that LGBTQIA+ friendly media

is on the rise. In the Lent Term we had a brilliant talk from acclaimed writer Dr Finn MacKay on feminism and the LGBTQ+ community. We also hosted the first BEP Pride event with students from City Academy, Redmaids’, Fairfield High, QEH and Colston’s. Our special guest was the poet Caleb Parkin, the most vibrant, delightful and enthusiastic speaker. He shared his poetry with us and we had an insightful chat with the aid of some questions provided by the audience.

Societies

In the Summer Term, we ran a special ally event, a screening of Happiest Season (or, as we called it, ‘Christmas in May’!). The whole community came together to make snowflakes and paper chains and we even found a lovely rainbow Christmas tree for the occasion. We hope that this will be the first of many events to encourage allies to support the school’s LGBTQIA+ community. We were also joined by Pride almnus Briden Whitbread, who spoke about the science behind being transgender. She explained everything in a concise and accessible way and we came away feeling informed and validated. Thank you, Briden, for being so incredible at dumbing down biochemistry to our level! After half term, we hosted our third ‘Pronoun Ambassadors’ presentation. Many pride members were courageous enough to stand up in front of a whole lecture theatre of teachers and educate them on how to use and respect trans and nonbinary pronouns.

We celebrated Pride Week at the end of term with the mighty Progress Pride flag flying from the Wilson Tower. We had a ‘make your Pronoun Badge’ station in the library and the Head Master allowed us to wear rainbow laces in our school shoes all week. We sold these laces on the Quad, with all proceeds going towards local LGBTQIA+ charity, Freedom Youth. The Pride Society also hosted Chapel, performing a court scene about the effect of using ‘gay’ as an insult. There was also a delicious Pride Lunch in BSK and pride flags everywhere. Tutor groups

took part in a flag Kahoot quiz and watched a video starring Pride members, both old and current. As the editor, I shed a few tears at seeing some of my oldest friends and hearing their words about what pride means to them, their experience in the school, and advice they would give people to be a good ally. On Thursday, Dr Poland presented ‘Scientific Society x Pride: Gender and Sexual Diversity in the Animal Kingdom’. Not only was the message hugely positive, but Dr Poland was passionate and fun in her presentation, which included audience participation and videos set to perfectly suited soundtracks. On the final day of Pride Week, we worked with the Charities Committee and hosted a rainbow themed home clothes day. In the evening, we held a karaoke night, the highlight of which was Ms Walker and Miss Atkinson’s duet! Speaking of Miss Atkinson, we had to say goodbye to her on the final day of term. We had a wonderful farewell breakfast in the morning followed by cheers (and tears) when she walked out of Chapel for the final time. We’re all so grateful for everything the amazing Miss Atkinson has done for us over the years. And of course, we can’t talk about Pride Society without mentioning Ms Walker: kind, compassionate and in possession of the only strand of sanity in the society, Pride simply wouldn’t be Pride without her. The Clifton College Pride Society is everything from hectic and chaotic to passionate and devoted to making this school a better place, in which we are free and proud to be who we are.

Tara Madan (WT)

The Clifton Herald

The hallowed halls of the Clifton Herald (also known as Mr Lane’s Computer Science classroom) are filled with dedicated student journalists on Monday afternoons. We had a mass exodus of our Year 13 cohort in the Summer Term and our team now consists of Daisy Whittard, Jasmine Holland, Isabelle Wilkinson, Callim Powlesland and me, plus some much valued guest contributors. There is never a dull moment, with discussion about new articles or edits that are necessary for the paper to ever see the light of day. At the end of the academic year, we were

delighted to be able to publish a real paper edition for the first time since 2019. We work independently (with guidance from Mrs John and Miss Shaw) and do everything from writing and editing to designing and marketing. The only thing we don’t do is pay for the printing! The summer edition includes articles on the climate crisis, conspiracy theories, feminism, and the oft-controversial topic that is school uniform. Look out for our next issue soon!

Piers de Voil (ST), Clifton Herald Editor-in-Chief

Pride Action Group

At the start of 2022, the Pride Society expanded with the creation of Pride Action Group. Officially, this is an EDIB focus group which has created a space for LGBTQ+ activism in the school, leaving the evening Pride Group for social events. Although Pride Action started off slowly, it quickly picked up speed, enabling us to make a real impact. We have worked closely with the English Department and we’re pleased to report that

Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin will be included in the Year 9 English syllabus in the coming years. This novel tells the story of Riley, a person who is gender fluid and has just joined a new school. It’s a thrilling and heartwarming (and sometimes heartbreaking) story, portraying how great but also how difficult it can be to be a transgender person in modern society. This is just the start of integrating and usualising understanding and acceptance into our school and society as a whole.

Tara Madan (WT)

Science Society: Crime Scene Investigation

The Upper Sixth biologists investigated a crime scene, working in individual teams to fathom the cause of death. Wearing forensic suits with the correct ID, they explored the evidence along with interviewing a suspect. What happened on that fateful night?

Who committed the crime and why? Forensic entomology helped to link the evening with their A Level biology course. After pulling their conclusions together, the teams presented their findings. The winners were awarded CSI lanyards for their efforts!

Mal Grohmann

Origami Club

A group of Cliftonians were busy practising the art of paper folding during the Michaelmas and Lent Term, with the aim of developing mathematical reasoning, sequencing skills, attention and patience, as well as having some fun at transforming a piece of square paper into something entirely different. Their beautiful creations included origami flowers, Christmas decorations, and animals. The ninja stars and flexagons were a big hit too!

Yan Turnock

Environmental Action Group

The Environmental Action Group have been busy this term, with a number of events and collaborations set up both within school and as part of the Bristol Educational Partnership (BEP). The students have shown themselves to be motivated leaders, so watch this space for further environmental action next year!

BEP Eco Week Plans

Since the beginning of the year we have been hoping to create a presentation for tutor groups as well as an assembly for the Prep School regarding the impacts of climate change. As part of the BEP Eco Week, we created a dramatic presentation showing the impacts of climate change if action is not taken. At the end of the presentation we will also ask students to consider what they will do to help. We hope this presentation will persuade many students and teachers alike to take responsibility for climate action. We are very excited to have this presentation shown next academic year.

Alexei Joukovski (SH) and Ollie Sakpoba (WaH)

Sodexo Meeting

A key event for this term was a Q&A with Sodexo, the school’s caterers. From this meeting, it was clear to us that the catering team have already taken a number of progressive steps towards cutting down food waste and emissions in general. For example, as much of our food as possible is sourced from local and sustainable farmers, with a clear chain of traceability. Sodexo also has an Environmental Policy, which includes reducing plastic use and increasing the number of plant-based meals on offer. It was really encouraging to hear how much the Catering Department are already doing, so please pass on your thanks to the staff next time you see them!

Ned McKinlay (ST)

DT Department Visit

Another exciting collaboration began when the team went to the DT Department to look at the new plastic-reusing machine they have invested in. We found out how the machine works and had the chance to use the machine ourselves. Afterwards we had a quick briefing on how we could use this machine to recycle our plastic and what we would have to keep in mind and look out for in order to be able to do so. One of the ideas that we came up with was to have a Frisbee making competition in collaboration with the DT Department where each House would compete by collecting reusable plastic. We hope to launch this competition early next academic year.

Lola Barber (OH) and Maya von Lilienfeld-Toal (HH)

“Their beautiful creations included origami flowers, Christmas decorations, and animals.”

Kendrew Society Dinner

Following their outstanding performances, the musicians competing in the fabulous Kadoorie Cup at the beginning of May joined the Sixth Form academic scholars for the annual Kendrew Society Scholars’ Dinner. A black

Christian Forum

Christian Forum has restarted in person this year and it has been so pleasing to see the group begin again in earnest. We have been looking at Jesus bringing good news from the book of Mark and Matthew. It has been great to see a variety of Houses and students represented at the meetings, and enjoying good discussions with the speaker after talks. Speakers have come from a range of churches and have engaged us in the passages. It was fantastic to hear a conversation about the style of churches in Asia, Africa, Qatar and Yorkshire. We are a group who encourage people to look at the claims of Jesus in the Bible over a few snacks. All who are willing to think are welcome to attend. The pizza supper with a Christian holiday presentation and the summer barbecue were lovely occasions.

Jay Gardner

tie event at which the food was outstanding and the entertainment came in the form of a Mr Mills quiz, a Dr Turner address and brilliant company, a great evening was enjoyed by all. It was a fitting way to celebrate the achievements of our Sixth Form academic scholars throughout the academic year.

Graham Mallard

Student Librarians

We welcomed some brilliant new student librarians to the team at the first event in the literary calendar, the Bristol Bookshop Tour! On a sunny September Saturday, the group ventured to Bristol’s best independent bookshops to browse, buy books and eat ice cream. As well as all their usual library duties, they have teamed up with the Creative Writers for author workshops, had a lecture on the history of the library from former Percival Librarian David Reed, helped plan Harry Potter Day (they’re worth their weight in Niffler gold!), taken over the Library Instagram account for a week, and joined the DT Department for the magical Warner Bros Harry Potter Studio Tour featuring duels, dragons, Gringotts and more! We are so grateful to library legends Rowan Read and Benson Zhou, our Year 13 student librarian leavers; part of the team since Third Form, they have done so much to make the library such a vibrant, creative and fun place to be.

Charlotte Withey

Creative Writing Group

Clifton College’s wonderful wordsmiths were on fine form again this year. The writers read their original work to the whole school in Chapel, took part in workshops with amazing authors like Alex Wheatle and Louisa Reid, attended the Bristol Poetry Institute’s Annual Reading with special guest Roger Robinson, and shared their beautifully eclectic poetry and prose at Commem and the Summer Arts Evening. We also welcomed new creative talent

Perhaps Paris?

to the group at our regular Tuesday evening sessions in the library, including the brilliant Miss Clarke who joined us for the year. We bid a fond farewell to Llewellyn Evans who has been our resident poet since Year 9 (or, in fact, since he attended a taster workshop with us when he was in Year 8 and was sold on the cookies) and thank him for being such an inspiration to students and staff. Here is one of Llew’s most recent poemswho needs Paris when you have Clifton Village?

Leah Shaw

Perhaps, for a moment, I’d found Paris. Not in the truth of a grey riddled city, but in the stone coloured facades, the literature ladled coffee shops and the feeling of being something of purpose and beauty. And, perhaps the strangest thing, is that I’d found Paris in a rainy hour of Bristol. Where music, traffic, rain, all turned the voices I knew, into a foreign language which so confidently let me go.

Llewellyn Evans (MH)

Philosophy and Law Society

Legal debates continue to be at the centre of high-profile news events, whether the acquittal of the ‘Colston Four’ in January 2022 or the monumental overturning of Roe v Wade by the US Supreme Court in June. These issues were reflected in the various pupil presentations given this year. That given on civil disobedience by Steven Yao considered the boundaries between terrorism and justified violent resistance, cases ranging from Maquis resistance to the Nazis, armed civil rights protest groups, damage to property, and 9/11. Alex Long considered the various conflicts between parents and children in terms of legal rights, including medical treatment and international relocation issues in custody battles. Theo Claeseen surveyed the ways lawyers justify themselves when defending the guilty and prosecuting the innocent. Wider experiences this year included presentations on ‘life lessons’ from the Scottish Enlightenment philosopher David Hume, an enrichment afternoon led by Professor Antonio Layard of Oxford University, a mock trial based on a case of firearms possession, and a resumption of our annual Bristol Crown Court visit, where students saw barristers in action in three real-life criminal cases focused on the Kill the Bill rioters. Well done to all involved.

James Drinkwater

AniManga Club

A new club for anime and manga fans was set up in the Summer Term by Tammy Ogunbajo and Amon Tamnarnchit. The group have discussed their favourite manga series, suggested books and DVDs for the library, and watched and analysed some classic anime shorts. The highlight of the term was the manga drawing workshop, led by the supremely talented Tammy, who also designed the promotional poster for the club. Tammy and Amon are looking forward to recruiting even more students next academic year.

Leah Shaw

“The highlight of the term was the Manga drawing workshop, led by the supremely talented Tammy.”

Charities

Michaelmas Term saw the Committee vote for TEMWA as our main charity for the academic year. Their aim is to sustainably develop remote, rural areas of northern Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world. We also chose Action Against Hunger, a charity committed to saving the lives of malnourished children and supporting their families to beat hunger. Alongside two home clothes days, we held a hot chocolate and gingerbread sale in the JCR, where stock rapidly sold out, and also offered a Christmas card delivery service. Over 140 students purchased cards as it was a great opportunity to show their appreciation for friends or teachers. In total we raised over £3,200 by the end of term, a fantastic achievement.

The competition for the Charity Cup, awarded annually to the House with the greatest engagement in the Committee’s fundraising events throughout the Michaelmas and Lent Term, was in full swing after the winter break. House representatives showed extra effort in selling Krispy Kreme doughnuts, with a huge 576 glazed treats purchased. The Committee focused on associating our events with the theme of love during the Lent Term. Our home clothes day theme was red, white or pink and we also set out to sell chocolates to give people an opportunity to write a note to someone special, whether a partner, friend or teacher, thereby giving the day the name ‘Love Day’ to generalise the interpretation of love. After two terms of exceptional work, Jacob John led Watson’s House to Charity Cup victory. We reached a Lent Term fundraising high this year, matching the Michaelmas Term with over £3,200 raised, this time to be split between Diabetes UK and TEMWA!

The Summer Term saw the majority of the team leaving for exams, presenting us with the opportunity to select a new Committee Chair and other leadership positions. We held our final two home clothes days of the year and also hosted our third second-hand uniform sale at the Summer Arts Evening,

during which pupils and parents had the chance to buy cheaper uniform in great condition, and contributed to us raising £600. Everyone pitched in, with shifts throughout the evening, perhaps incentivised by the free ice cream ticket received as a reward for volunteering. On the topic of ice cream, the Committee decided to sell ice lollies to help students cool down during the heatwave. These events helped create awareness of our Summer Term charity, the World Wildlife Fund, and our continued support for TEMWA. We were delighted that our Summer Term fundraising totalled £2,700.

Thanks to an incredibly generous OC benefactor, we secured match funding up to a specified amount for our charity TEMWA. Due to this, we have raised, at the time of writing, an enormous £12,600 this academic year! None of this would be possible without the help, support and generous donations of the Clifton College community, including, of course, Mrs Ardrey and Miss Withey who coordinated the Committee, which led to the success of the planned events.

The Charities Committee representatives started the year full of enthusiasm and quickly became brilliant collaborators, planners and fundraisers.

Nell Lane (HH) and Mackenzie Jenkins (MH)

Enrichment Programme back in full swing this year.

With over 70 Sixth Form pupils volunteering in charity shops, primary schools, nurseries and food banks in the Bristol area to offer their time and give something back to the local community. A real highlight was the silent auction event that Clifton pupils helped to run at the Bristol North West Foodbank. Some pupils waited on tables serving cream teas to guests, whilst a group of talented musicians provided the entertainment for the afternoon.

The Enrichment Programme also continues to offer a variety of school-based activities from: Model United Nations, for those with an interest in global politics and human rights; to a gardening group, which aims to redevelop the school’s pond

area; and a beginner’s sign language class in which you can gain a qualification in signing.

Here are some pupils’ accounts of their experiences in the Enrichment Programme this year.

Lydia Hawkins

Peer Support

We have explored what it means to be a peer supporter, learning how best to help students with any issues that they may face. We are given a platform to work closely with the school counsellor on a weekly basis, suggesting ways to improve student wellbeing. We discussed internal exam weeks and how we felt the school could better support us during these times. Having the opportunity to change school policies based on personal experience is an amazing opportunity. In House, the Peer Supporters are always available to speak to anyone about any problems they’re facing, without judgement and with a deeper understanding of their circumstances as

a fellow pupil. In sessions we have discussed active listening, confidentiality and communication to better our supportive skill set.

Lara Foster (WT)

Ashton Gate Primary School

We were placed with Year 1 students and we had the opportunity to teach them basic French by playing games with them. This included a version of ‘Duck, Duck, Goose’ in French called ‘Le facteur n’est pas passé’ in which we had to sing with the students as ‘le facteur’ (the postman) is chased around a circle. Another game we played was ‘un, deux, trois, soleil’, which is like ‘What’s the time, Mr Wolf?’, and which the children really enjoyed. They also loved learning the colours in French. Some of us also supported students with their reading. It was a pleasure for us all to be able to visit the school and teach French to the pupils.

Toby Chung (OH)

Bristol North West Foodbank

We helped to sort out and date food donations, and pack boxes of toiletries and cleaning products for families who had just moved to the area, as well as packing snacks and toys for families with children. Working at a food bank are fulfilling and rewarding as you see the packed boxes, full of food, treats and other essentials stack up for those in need. The main things to be taken away from volunteering at a food bank is that you are doing good for others; the ability to give to those who are less fortunate and the knowledge that you are committed to a cause that helps individuals in crisis. Of course, other valuable skills such as working as part of a team, organisation and communication are also developed.

Claudia Lee Calvo (WoH) and Hannah Chung (HH)

It has been great to see the Sixth Form

Model United Nations

Model United Nations is a competitive role play game, in which students represent countries and attempt to find resolutions to real-world issues. We have learnt a range of highly transferable skills, such as the ability to debate complex and challenging topics, and the ability to research and develop arguments and ideas. These skills serve students greatly, not only during their time at school but after, at university and the world beyond. As a result, universities admire applicants who were a part of this organisation.

Over the past year, the society has had a number of great achievements. In November, the club represented Bhutan in the Bristol School Climate Conference to model COP26. In the Epsom Conference this year, Sam Bailey and Cici Pan won the best delegates of their committees; Louis Afford Lessof and Sveva Roma were highly commended; and Luca Blann was mentioned in the closing ceremony for his impressive performance in the debate. We also had a range of individual achievements, including Konrad Kurczynski vice-chairing the Economics and Finance Committee at a university-level conference, ScotMUN, in Edinburgh. Additionally, we undertook a variety of in-school activities, including a Chapel day dedicated to MUN, and a special MUN event at Commem.

Cici Pan (WoH) and Sam Bailey (NT)

Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (EDIB)

Two years ago, we wrote to all members of the Clifton College community to introduce the EDIB vision and mission. We detailed what we wanted to achieve and how we were going to achieve it. A clear vision for a clear purpose: to become a fully inclusive organisation. As the two-year EDIB action plan comes to an end, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for supporting the EDIB initiative. Now it is time to reflect on our progress and celebrate our successes.

EDIB achievements so far:

∙ EDIB Committee with representatives from Council, Old Cliftonians, teaching and support staff, and pupils

∙ Parent Focus Group (Pre-Prep & Pre School)

∙ EDIB drop-in sessions for staff and pupils. An opportunity to ask any questions and learn about EDIB in general

∙ Whole school survey via Flair Impact. We hope to conduct the second survey this academic year

∙ Staff training: Anti-Racism Journey; Conscious/ Unconscious Bias; The Use of Pronouns

∙ EDIB website

∙ Cross-College gender-neutral uniform

∙ APP Anti-Prejudice Programme (a programme to tackle prejudice through education)

∙ Whisper (anonymous platform to report incidents)

∙ EDIB entry category on the school system to clearly identify EDIB incidents

∙ Diversified curriculum (a work in progress with the Deputy Heads Academic)

∙ Increased cross-College collaboration

∙ Partnerships with Bristol City Council for the ‘Stepping Up’ programme

∙ Collaboration with EDI experts (Diverse Educators, Representation Matters, Flair)

∙ Celebration of key events (Black History Month, Stephen Lawrence Day, Pride Month, Juneteenth, International Women’s Day, Ramadan, Diwali, etc.)

∙ Creation of an ‘EDIB Environment’ (boards and displays in most areas of the College) We are currently seeking participants for the Upper School Parent Focus Group, which will launch next academic year.

Geraldine Maringo

Sport

Boys’ Rugby

1st XV

A challenging fixture list set by Mr Salter ensured there were no easy games and the boys had to be at their very best from the start of the season to gain any level of success. The opening matches started with two tough physical encounters at Llandovery and Sir Thomas Rich’s, where both teams stopped us getting the ball wide and made for heavy contact in the midfield. We learnt quickly from these challenges, ensuring we kept the width in our game, leading to exciting victories over Rugby in the Ryan Bresnahan Memorial Match. Local rivals Bristol Grammar School (BGS) and Cheltenham delivered tough matches but we finished the first half of the season in a positive fashion, having played well. The second half of term looked daunting, with a step up in competition, facing two unbeaten teams in Wellington and Millfield. The Wellington match day started

with traffic jams on the M4, but good sporting conduct from our hosts accommodated a kick-off as late as the light would allow, enabling a comprehensive warm up and for the full 70 minutes to be played. The game was predictably tight with the lead changing several times but it was a Sam Worsley drop goal that sealed the win for Clifton, creating wild and jubilant scenes from the players and supporters, including an ecstatic Dr Greene who had wisely selected this away fixture for a historic win. We continued to make good progress in our remaining games against Marlborough, retaining the Governor’s Cup. Unfortunately, with only 70 minutes separating us from an unbeaten season, we faced a superb Millfield team in the same situation. It was a fantastic match during which both teams showed their class, but in the end Millfield came away victorious.

Danny Grewcock

Boys’ Rugby

2nd XV

The squad met in early September for our pre-season trip up to South Wales. We did various activities before a practice game against Llandovery where we really began to see the team’s potential. In our first game we came up against Sir Thomas Rich’s and a dominant performance saw the term kick off with a resounding Clifton win. This game was followed by two very tough games against 1st XVs: Old Swinford House and Richard Huish College. The games were close but we fell short in both. Regardless, it was a great experience for the side to play on the 1st team pitch in front of a sizeable crowd. After a relatively comfortable win against Cheltenham, we clashed with BGS in the toughest game of the season. BGS defended passionately and continually pushed the offside line, making any continuity in play very difficult, but eventually Clifton walked away with a deserved 12-7 win. The final game of the half term was against King’s Taunton 1st XV, which was undoubtedly our best performance of the season. Clifton produced some exhilarating rugby, dominating possession and highlighting the depth of talent in senior rugby, with a hugely impressive resulting score of 33-20.

The first game after half term was against Sherborne, a straightforward 32-0 win despite some poor discipline seeing Clifton reduced to 13 men for a significant period of the game. Wellington was always going to be the game that would be the biggest test and unfortunately we fell short at 20-10, largely as a result of conceding two early tries and multiple injuries. Next up was Marlborough which turned out to be a comfortable 31-5 win for Clifton. Sadly our final game of the season, and last opportunity to play on the Close, against Bromsgrove, was cancelled due to Covid, so our final game was against a very strong Millfield side. Despite

having arguably our strongest side so far in the season, we ended up losing 39-5, a huge disappointment. It was a shame to finish the season with a loss but the 2nd XV can hold their heads high having ended with a 60% win ratio, losing just four games (two against 1st teams), with some performances of which we can be extremely proud.

This has been the best rugby season I have experienced at Clifton, particularly having played no competitive rugby last academic year. We had a good bunch of very talented players and although we lost a few games, we were always playing and training in great spirits whether we were losing or winning. Good luck next season to the Year 12 players and I will keep a close eye on the results.

Ben Paine (2nd XV Captain)

3rd XV

This was an excellent season for the 3rd XV, not only in terms of results but also, more importantly, in the manner in which the team played and the camaraderie that was present throughout the Michaelmas Term. Superbly led by number 8 Jonny Cook, the attitude of both the 3rd and 4th XVs was fantastic during training and this shone through with some fine performances against Cheltenham College, BGS and Sherborne School in particular. A tough last third of the term resulted in losses to Wellington College and Millfield School by nine and 10 points respectively, interspersed with a resounding victory against Marlborough College on the team’s spiritual home of BS3 on the Close. Sadly, the final opportunity to represent the school at rugby on the last Saturday of term for the departing Upper Sixth players, at home against Bromsgrove School, was spoiled by a Covid outbreak at our opponents’ school. However, the turnout at the end of season dinner was strong and a clear indication of the fine spirit that existed in

the group. Thanks go to all the players who represented the 3rd XV with such commitment during the season and also to Mr Janke and Mr Simmons for their knowledge, enthusiasm and sense of fun during a long and enjoyable term.

Jim Williams

4th XV

The 4th XV squad was characterised by strength and depth this season, but in true 4th XV tradition, this did not mean that match days were ever straightforward in getting the team together and out there on the pitch. Sadly the season finished as early as 13th November with a comfortable win for Wellington College on their patch. Thanks must go to those boys who found some kit and got on the bus to enable that to happen, despite not playing for the team regularly that season. Integrity, spirit and resilience were certainly on display that day. No further fixtures occurred due to cancellations, one due to Covid, but the others almost certainly came about as a result of rumours of our devastating potential due to our expansive brand of rugby reaching the

opposition. Working backwards from then, New Field saw three encounters, the November fixture of the three being an epic 12-12 draw with Sherborne. A memory that lingers here is more of an administrative one, when it appeared that the other senior teams had managed to arrive at Sherborne School for their away matches before some of the 4th XV squad completed the arduous journey from Wiseman’s House to their home pitch. The preceding game was a narrow 10-19 loss to Taunton School 3rd XV, which commenced with the most extraordinary try by Clifton from the kick off, with the ball

passing through multiple pairs of hands with exquisite offloads before the final touchdown.

The first game of the season saw a comfortable win over Cheltenham College, featuring a hat-trick from Demi Azeez. Other notable performances in the season were notched up by AY Ogunbajo and Ore Wright, and the majority of the leadership was ably provided by Max Hanson and Hector Wright. As pleasing as it is to be able to mention these players, the most important thing to do in conclusion is to thank the squad for their dedication and good humour in training and matches.

Gilbert Simmons

“Clifton produced some exhilarating rugby, dominating possession and highlighting the depth of talent in senior rugby.”

U16A

The season was extremely successful, not just in terms of results but also in terms of how the personalities in the year group came together as young men. Early wins against Tommies and Taunton were only an indicator of what was in store for the team, and the Ryan Bresnahan Memorial Match against Rugby School brought with it a genuinely outstanding performance that, regrettably, we failed to replicate until later in the season. The matches against BGS, King’s Taunton and Cheltenham were easily won, but we had the feeling we could and would have to play better after half term if we wanted to win more matches. Thankfully, Marlborough and Sherborne were matches in which we were pushed and actually behind for a time, but emerged as convincing winners, playing some great rugby. It was the confidence taken from these performances, both away against historic rivals, that set us up for the big three games to end the season. Wellington were always going to be a huge challenge, but they rarely threatened and we dominated the game, running away comfortable winners on the Close by a score that did not flatter us. Millfied were next and though they were dangerous early on with the ball in hand, by half time we assumed control and by the end were again comfortable winners.

The last match was Bromsgrove away, a repeat of three years previous, which we had won in the last minute to go unbeaten. We were well prepared and would have taken some beating, but Covid got the better of Bromsgrove, so the game was cancelled. A sad way to end a superb season during which we played 10 and won 10. As ever, I mention no names as we were a proper team that had some exceptional players in key positions. Everyone played their part and it was a season of achievement and enjoyment for everyone involved. Thank you to all those who played for the side, plus staff such as Dr Patrick who blew a whistle for us. Lastly, thanks to Mr Harris for being Mr Harris and to Mr Hughes for his work helping us develop some depth in the group; and to Mr Slym, not only for his technical input, which was outstanding, but also for being such a great support to all the boys and to me in running the side.

Alan O’Sullivan

U16B

It was fabulous to get back on the pitch and play under nearnormal conditions, despite a certain respiratory illness. The team thought so too, and they approached everything we did with enthusiasm and energy. The three College core values of spirit, integrity and resilience were shown all season and everyone can be proud of their contribution. Twenty-six players represented the team in all and it was not uncommon to take a squad of 20+ to a match. What was most encouraging for the squad was the fact that anyone included on match day would play. There were some frustrations: the first was that some schools were not able to field a team at B level; the second was that with a different bounce, a couple of games (Marlborough and Sherborne, both away) could have been wins. Such is life.

I would like to thank Mr Harris for all his hard work coaching and for his refereeing when called upon. I would also like to thank all the parents for their support - it really does make a difference to the players. I do hope that many of them continue to play and enjoy rugby in the Sixth Form.

Jonathan Hughes U15A

With a long period away from contact rugby, the season got underway with the boys itching to make tackles, hit rucks and play as much as possible. The first game against Sir Thomas Rich’s suggested that they should stick to touch as they convincingly won the touch game and controlled tackle game but lost the contact period. Having said that, the opposition did have six boys over six foot and probably 100 kilos! Not to be perturbed by this warm-up match, all the future matches took the full format and the boys truly showed what they were capable of. The team was led by Harry Delaney and Ollie Taylor and the first four matches were convincing wins, including victories over Cheltenham College and Sherborne. With some matches cancelled, the team were perhaps a couple of games lacking in prep before facing Wellington College away and the five minute warm-up did not help matters. The boys went two tries down before fighting back. Matty Dixon was a warrior and as a scrum half showed his forwards how to tackle, and with a superb individual try from

“Thankfully, Marlborough and Sherborne were matches in which we were pushed and actually behind for a time, but emerged as convincing winners.”

Fin Kandavanam-Lovell, the boys were back in the game. It finished four tries to two and this performance spurred the team on to beat both Marlborough and Millfield.

The National Cup was something of a walkover as we found ourselves in round 4 without having played a match. We faced Sherborne away and managed a gritty 15-0 victory, which took us into the Lent Term to play the next round. Before this we were away at Bromsgrove, and the writing was on the wall when I walked out to see the boys warming up with one ball rather than their usual three. A heavy defeat was not ideal before facing King’s Taunton away, a very tight match. With the scores tied at 19-19, the message was to kick the ball into touch as the away team would win. This easy option was not taken and two missed two penalty kicks allowed King’s to counter attack, but Harry Delaney finally kicked the third penalty to win the game outright.

The quarter-finals of the National Cup took us to Radley College, away. Confidence was high until the warm-up when the boys saw the size of them! They played a rather boring forward-dominated game and mastered the driving maul from their lineout, which contained a 6ft 7in player. The team scored some fantastic tries when they had the chance to attack, notably from Player of the Season Austin Rowe. Unfortunately we were well beaten but this did not mar what had been one of my best seasons as a coach at Clifton (I think there have been 18 so far). Credit must be given to this team who did not rely on superstars but came together as a tight squad and aimed to play some creative rugby and scored some superb tries, with Ollie Harris top try-scorer.

Andrew Wagstaff

U15B

The season began with a mixed format match against Sir Thomas Rich’s. The lack of rugby from the previous year was evident in some unfamiliarity with the rules, such as conversions following tries, but the hard pitches and reduced numbers suited the fast and expansive game the team were looking to play. Some fine team tries and a couple of outstanding individual efforts from Ricardo Thompson demonstrated that there was plenty of talent and potential within the squad. A close defeat to Old Swinford Hospital followed, the teams separated by a single conversion, with Clifton again producing some excellent handling in the backline led by George Herring, and supported by strong performances from the forwards, with Paul Finlay and Oliver Donoghue to the fore. However, a trip to Cheltenham brought the team down to earth despite some determined performances in defence, most notably from Josh Hogwood and Ben Russ. Unfortunately Covid then intervened, leading to the cancellation of a number of fixtures in the run up to half term.

The second half of the season was always going to be demanding, with away fixtures at some of the country’s traditional rugby strongholds. The challenge was compounded with injuries and resulted in two of the side’s most reliable performers, Alex Phelps and Josh Litt, being promoted to the As, an opportunity they grabbed with both hands. Despite heavy defeats to both Sherborne and Wellington, the team continued to produce bursts of exciting attacking rugby, with Barney Pridmore and Billy Rowe developing an effective half-back pairing. To their credit, the squad regrouped admirably to push

Marlborough all the way in their next match before a late try secured it for the visitors. It was a great shame that indiscipline then saw Clifton unable to secure what could have been a memorable victory against Millfield, though some valuable lessons were learned. Throughout this difficult run, the whole squad showed tremendous resilience and perseverance and it was fitting that their effort was rewarded in the final match of the season at Bromsgrove, where a hat-trick from Henry Packham helped Clifton clinch a hard-fought victory.

Clive Jones

U15C

A good term for the Under 15C team in terms of training and development of players. There was a growth in skills across numerous boys in forwards and backs. The awareness of the game of rugby union really improved over the term; they were generally an absolute pleasure to coach and they should be delighted at their efforts. Sadly, we played superior opponents at several schools. Some would not have been able to play us if weight limit rugby was present and we have played lots of teams whose boys have played the sport for more years than some of us. Our results have therefore been disappointing and do not tell the full story. The application, spirit and enthusiasm of our boys at the matches has been outstanding and says a lot about the character within the group. The last 10 minutes away against Wellington, where we restricted their team to their 22 and scored on the five-metre line, is an example of such endeavour. The wins against Taunton and Bromsgrove away have shown our true potential. I would like to thank in particular Marcus Whittley, Tom Weston and Charlie Read for leading the boys in their commitment in matches, Alex Babich for his tackling prowess, and Kun Liu for his running skills. If you keep trying you will improve year on year. Well done!

Jay Gardner & Bogdan Dumitrascu

U15D

It has been a fairly good term for the Under 15D team. There have been several boys who have progressed from the Ds to the Cs as they have learned the basics and shown pleasing ability at rugby as novices. The attitude in the group has been good and the performances against Marlborough and Wellington displayed guts and ability at times. I hope the boys have enjoyed the fitness, games and drills of the sessions as much as their coaches in seeing them develop. Well done!

Jay Gardner & Bogdan Dumitrascu

U14A

Having not played competitive rugby for a couple of years, there was a thought that this year’s Yearlings would take a few weeks to find their feet. The coaches needn’t have worried as this cohort announced themselves onto the circuit with an exciting brand of mature, running attack and bonecrunching defence. Sir Thomas Rich’s and Old Swinford Hospital were victims to Matt Small’s devastating finishing, with eight tries to his name after only two matches. The Ryan Bresnahan Memorial Match against Rugby unfortunately succumbed to Covid but a hastily arranged match against Clifton RFC allowed a few more boys to experience A team rugby and become part of a cohesive and close group. Comfortable wins away to BGS and Cheltenham, including a Will Brown hat-trick, brought the first half of the term to a close.

A memorable tour to Kingsbridge, where the boys enjoyed the delights of South Devon weather in October, proved to be a valuable team building experience.

A match against the hosts was a dominant affair, with Small and Logan Bowden running in four tries each. After the break, the ferocity of the opposition turned up a notch by welcoming Sherborne and Wellington to Clifton. Sherborne raced into an early two-try lead, and the team showed remarkable resilience to fight back to a 30-15 win. Wellington at home was the boys’ first experience of a game on the Close. With Max Jones leading from the front, the team came out 30-10 winners, surely the first of many victories. A trip to old rivals Marlborough brought a 50-15 win before the crunch game against Millfield. Millfield raced into an early lead, but tries from Lewis Popple, Jones and Small secured a famous win. The final challenge was Bromsgrove at home, and on BS1 for the first time. A large and vocal crowd saw Bromsgrove dispatched with the most complete performance of the term and the unbeaten season was achieved! Huge congratulations to all the boys but a special mention to Max Jones for demonstrating superb leadership throughout the season.

Charlie Balfour & Charlie Callander

“ The application, spirit and enthusiasm of our boys at the matches has been outstanding and says a lot about the character within the group.”

U14B

This was a really talented group of players who enjoyed an outstanding and unbeaten season. They trained with dedication and great determination and gained hugely by training with the U14As throughout the term and this highlighted a super talented squad of players rather than just the success of the two teams. Early matches were won with conviction and some ease, with the team racking up the points. However, in the second half of term the true calibre of this team emerged. Impressive wins over Sherborne and Wellington College were followed by two fantastic away matches against Marlborough and Millfield. In both the games the boys went behind and looked to be in real trouble, but the resilience shown was superb and those who witnessed it will never forget the try that won the game against Millfield. The boys played a fast-paced and largely passing game, aiming to use the width of the pitch wherever possible. The result was great schoolboy rugby and a real pleasure to witness and coach. They are certainly a set of players to watch over the coming years.

Simon Tait

U14C

The U14C team had a tough season in that they played on a strong circuit and, given the disruption of playing various formats of the game due to Covid, it was hard to get momentum going. The boys all stuck at matches well and trained hard together to really bring on their individual and collective skills. They showed enthusiasm and always gave it their all. Many of the boys showed great resilience when things were not going well and tackled their hearts out. Michael Germaine-Coyne, Hugo Averis, Tom Flavin, Halbie Wagstaff and Ben McKinlay all stand out in this regard. They were very much supported by some strong passing from Oli Hosier and Dylan Danhawoor. Bradyn Chan’s game came on hugely in the forwards and he will certainly be one to watch in the future. The boys played as a team and supported each other throughout. We hope you enjoyed the season and enjoy more success next year - well done!

Nick Luker

U18 Rugby Sevens

The U18 boys finally got their Rosslyn Park squad together the week before the tournament. Sometimes you are a victim of your own success, and with many boys involved in academy rugby, nailing down the squad for the National Schools Sevens proved a difficult task. However, we were good to go and looked good. The draw proved somewhat unkind with our first pool match being against our arch-rival Wellington College, who eventually went on to win the tournament. Sevens is a game of fine margins and having this opening match proved a challenge that came too early, Wellington winning the match 17-10. All now rested on the next match, which needed a big score to put us in with a chance of progressing as best runners-up. A big scoreline of 33-0 against St John’s Leatherhead set up a final match against Eton College. A scoreline with a difference of more than 30 points would secure us a best runners-up. The game was so tense throughout, with the points gap growing with each minute. In the last play of the match, Clifton secured a score of 38-7 and moved into the next day of the competition. The next day’s pool saw us join

Hampton and Ipswich. In order to progress to the semi-finals we needed to win both matches. First up was Hampton and the boys’ best performance of the tournament with some amazing defence to come away winners 28-14. Ipswich then beat Hampton to set up a final pool match with the winners moving into the semi-finals.

With a number of injuries our squad was beginning to become stretched, but the group never failed to surprise the coaches and the game proved a tense, tight affair with both teams looking very tired. It was Ipswich, however, who managed to take the spoils, winning by one score. To come one game short of reaching the semi-finals of the Rosslyn Park Sevens was an outstanding effort and a notable mention must go to Sam Worsley who put in the most amazing sweeping performance in sevens I have seen from a school boy. Well done to the squad of Tomoya NeuwendijkAdachi, Pete Carter, Joe Wooler, Gruff Lloyd, Eamonn Rogers, Sam Worsley, Ellis Davies, Shay Sainsbury, Sam Homer, Tom Gardner, Will Windows, Ollie Buckle and Magnus Allen.

Matt Salter

Boys’ Rugby

My final thanks, of course, go to the players. It was a privilege to share their journey and I hope all would do it all again if they had the chance.

Jonathan Hughes

U14 Rugby Sevens

U16 Rugby Sevens

What a roller coaster of a season. We started on a real high in a friendly triangular tournament at BB against Cheltenham and Millfield. We then fell away for much of the term without being able to play with any consistency or form. Finally, we hit the heights again at Rosslyn Park, especially on that first day.

The West of England and Gloucestershire Schools tournaments did at least give us game time, but without our strongest 12 at any time. I must give a ‘shout out’ here, to all the players who did not make the final RP7 cut (you know who you are). All improved as players and they performed with heart and desire. However, rugby sevens is a very tough game to adapt to in such a short space of time. I hope that they enjoyed giving it a go and took happy memories with them.

At Rosslyn, due to our indifferent form going into the national competition, expectations were modest. It was a super effort to win our group, and Eastbourne, our toughest opponents, really made us sweat in a tight 19-17 game to decide the pool. What was pleasing about the group qualifying matches was the fact

that all 12 players performed at their best and finally we played to our system (as Pat Lam would say). Our elimination game at the end of the first day against another group winner (Reed’s School), was actually quite a comfortable win (26-7). We had achieved our goal to get to the finals day and be in the top 24 schools out of 192 starting the competition. More significantly, the team were now able to enjoy a relaxing Lido pool session, a trip to Nando’s and a second night at the Travelodge - how memories are made! The second day was a tough experience, injuries played their part, but to be fair to our round-robin opponents of St Paul’s and Harrow (eventual finalists), we were not at the races and were well beaten.

My thanks go to all the parents, who gave up their time to share in our journey; they provided wonderful support through both tough and good times.

A massive thanks to Mr Slym, who did the lion’s share of the coaching, and without whom, the team would not have enjoyed the success that they achieved. Thank you too to Mr Salter and Mr Grewcock who provided all the logistic support, and without them Rugby 7s at Clifton would not be flourishing.

The successes of the Michaelmas Term’s rugby prompted a little more organisation to the sevens programme for the U14s. Weekly training sessions with Mr Balfour, Mr Grewcock and Mr Evans alongside their major sports brought a level of fitness and discipline that was going to serve the boys well in the competitions. The first was a trip to Dean Close. An eagerly awaited match against Radley in the group went Clifton’s way and the boys progressed as the topseeded side into the semi-finals. Monmouth provided a match of exceptional sevens with great skill on show from Danny Boyle, Vinny Sims and Lewis Popple in particular leading Clifton into a final against Cheltenham. With no rest between matches, Clifton started strongly, going up 19-5 at half time, before starting to tire. Cheltenham scored early in the second half, and then scored as the final whistle blew. A successful conversion would have taken the game to extra time but it drifted wide. The first piece of silverware was won. Next up was the Bristol Schools Sevens on a cold, windy Monday at Colston’s. Clifton made light work of the group stage, before meeting the hosts in the final. Learning lessons from the week before, the side was well rested going into the final and produced a convincing display to allow captain Lewis Popple to collect the second trophy.

With Rosslyn Park now looming on the horizon, the team went to play an invitational at Sherborne. Again, the group stage proved straightforward

enough, as did the semi-final against our hosts. Millfield awaited in the final. A very well drilled Millfield side took the win and with that, the boys experienced the disappointment of losing for the first time in Clifton colours. The following week provided a chance to right the wrongs. The South-West Sevens was called off at the last minute, so a trip to Millfield gave us the opportunity to do so on their turf. Order was restored and the team left with two victories against our esteemed hosts.

Rosslyn Park was the culmination of all of the work that the boys had put in. Group game wins against Campion, Oundle and Pangbourne set up a qualifier for day two against Eton College. In front of the Seniors, U16s, girls and Prep

School, Clifton played the best sevens of their season to win and progress. It was one of my personal highlights of the season and demonstrated the camaraderie within the school. Day two would see Wellington on the main pitch, and a game broadcast to the world via YouTube. A few fingernails were lost as the match went back and forth but in the end Wellington held on for a 10-7 win. A consolation win against Ipswich meant we finished the day on a high but the boys left with a sense of “what if?”. I am so optimistic for this year group as they progress through the school and it was a pleasure to support them through their first sevens season.

Charlie Balfour

Girls’ Rugby

With two teams entered into the Rosslyn Park sevens (U15s and U18s), the girls started the term with enthusiasm to learn the game and show how good they could be. The U18s were well supported by talented girls from netball, hockey and cricket, but also girls who had taken to rugby as their primary sport. The U15s were a good team with Bea Willis holding the experience for this group whilst the majority of her teammates were Year 9s with excellent enthusiasm for a new sport. Mr Salter organised a warm-up tournament on the Close for both year groups in a competition we hope will be the premier South West sevens tournament for our neighbouring schools. Both teams gained valuable experience, although we lost two key players to injury.

With greater knowledge and playing experience under their belts, both teams entered Rosslyn Park with confidence and trepidation in equal measure. It was an impressive start for the U18s, with Tilly Edwards running rings around the opposition and Grace Harwood putting the team plays into action with a performance that showed the exciting potential of this young group. It was also pleasing to see the other Clifton teams cheer on the senior girls’ fantastic win and exciting play. The U15s were quickly into the action in their opening game with a steep learning curve, but Bea Willis quickly started to score some tries. The other girls were soon inspired and we saw Isabel Snowden show her speed and Hattie Wells deliver some excellent passes to show that the future is bright for the Clifton girls.

Danny Grewcock

“It was also pleasing to see the other Clifton teams cheer on the senior girls’ fantastic win and exciting play.”

Girls’ Hockey

1st XI

It was great to be playing school hockey again and the enthusiasm was certainly there from all members of the squad. After a successful pre-season trip to Cardiff, the block fixtures and Tier 1 cup matches soon began. Highlights through the first few weeks of term were an impressive 6-0 victory over Malvern College and a gritty performance to secure a 4-3 win away at Canford School. The team was also crowned county indoor champions in November as they convincingly swept aside the opposition.

The challenge of Saturday club fixture clashes meant that many players represented the firsts throughout the season. A special mention to Greer Barnes, Nys Fry, Cerys Jones, Amelia Mackay, Sofia Trujillo, Mia Rawlins and Gwen Morris who featured consistently throughout the year. Other notable results include a spirited win over BGS. Having trailed by two goals, the team fought back to win 5-2. They narrowly missed out on a national finals berth, with one goal between Clifton and Dean Close over the course of the league stage. Coming so close was a tough pill to swallow and will only serve as motivation for next year. Millie Isaacs led the team as captain from the front and her presence will be missed. Also, a special mention goes to Clemmie Houlden and Eloise Moat who represented England and Wales age group sides respectively.

Adam Dixon

2nd XI

A superb term for the 2nd team hockey squad, full of nerveracking matches and games which easily could have gone either way. A steady 1-1 draw with Marlborough was a fair reflection of the start of the season. As new players settled themselves into the team, it was a solid team performance with Katharina Heidersdorf shining in defence. After another full week’s training, we were ready to take on Malvern College and secure a convincing win of 3-1, which was closely followed by a superb 5-0 win over Kingswood School, with top goals from Jessie Auty, Gabby Whittley, Izzy Donovan-Conway and Charlotte Macfarlane. The team consolidated their efforts with a midweek win over Llandaff Cathedral School.

The next two fixtures against Cheltenham College and BGS are always tough, and Cheltenham College were well drilled. They took an early lead but excellent defending and goal-keeping from Tara Madan kept this to 2-1 at half time. With a determined team effort led by our midfield (Evie Calhaem, Eva Culley, Georgina Soloman and Ella Robson) and finished off by Giulia Cimmino and Sophia Jurtin, we gained a draw of 3-3. This score gave the team confidence against BGS, where we dominated from the first whistle to win 3-1; the team were chuffed! Our defence were also outstanding, led by Aimee Milner and Lauren Franklin. We finished the season with two of our hardest games against Dean

Close and Taunton and although the Clifton team gave it their all, we lost both games 2-3.

I thank all of the girls and congratulate them on a superb season. They played with determination and team spirit, yet most importantly they enjoyed themselves. A special thank you goes to the Upper Sixth girls who will hopefully continue their hockey in the future.

Charlie Graveney & George Carson

3rd XI

The third team cannot be faulted on their enthusiasm during the season as they faced some tough opposition and some horrible weather! Despite an initial run of losses, they made significant improvement across the term, working hard in training sessions and coming together as a team. Every goal was hugely celebrated by the girls with high fives all round. The highest scoring game was the 4-0 win against Taunton School, which was gripping to watch. The team ended on a high with a 2-2 draw against Dean Close, which was so close throughout.

Louisa Hume

“The third team cannot be faulted on their enthusiasm during the season as they faced some tough opposition and some horrible weather!”

U16A

An U16 team was assembled from a combination of Year 10 and 11 players, led by captain Annie Nichols. However, with a number of Year 11 players deemed talented enough to represent the 1st XI, the result was a U16A squad consisting almost entirely of Year 10 students. This percentage increased further when Emily Murray sadly sustained a seasonending injury in the second game.

The season began with a seesaw match that resulted in a 3-3 draw with Marlborough. It was clear that two Covid-impacted years had led to a shortage of 11-a-side experience and this was the perfect match for the U16s to find their feet and their belief. This was no more evident than when the two teams met over two months later in the National Cup, Clifton easing to a 4-1 victory with a mature and controlled display. The team had visited Redmaids’ in the previous round of the National Cup and, despite Redmaids’ fielding some high quality players, Clifton played with control, patience and electrifying pace, finishing off opportunities to devastating effect and securing a

5-1 victory. By the time the team sat down for a pre-Christmas end-of-season reflection dinner they were unbeaten, having won every match since the 3-3 draw on the opening day of the season.

Given the binary nature of the tier 1 cup competition, the overall season is always destined to end up with defeat or being first in the country. Sadly it was the latter for Clifton as the team lost 2-3 to a Dean Close U16 team. It was a game they were very much capable of winning but the team could never quite hit the heights of the performances they produced in the Michaelmas Term and they failed to convert the opportunities they created for themselves. While there is always disappointment in such defeats, the players should take great pride in their performances over the course of the season.

It was the youngest U16 squad that Clifton has fielded for some years, so to reach such an advanced stage of the National Cup and to produce some of the displays they did across the season, was an excellent achievement, of which they should all be very proud.

Mary Beever & Gary Catchpole

U16B

This 16B team underpinned the true values of Clifton College. They regularly played U15A teams or senior 3rd opponents and although wins weren’t frequent, the team demonstrated resilience, integrity and were continuously positive. The team, captained by Nina Nissim, were always able to smile, have a laugh, and eat plenty of sweets at half time.

A close 2-3 loss against Taunton’s 2nd team was an outstanding effort, considering the size of their opponents. Ishbel Bird was an integral part of the match and all fixtures with her relentless and physical defence.

The team also had a close loss to Dean Close, in the last match of the season, 0-1, against their 15A team. The highlight of the season was the thrilling match against Millfield. The scores were level at half time, in what was an extremely physical match. In the last minute of the game, it looked like a 1-1 draw were inevitable but, with some efficient, fast passes, Clifton was able to score a goal, with 13 seconds on the clock. It was like the team had won the Olympic gold medal, a win that was well deserved, by a fantastic team performance. A special mention goes to Lara Poulson, Jemima Thefaut and Lexie Pearce-Lynch who were able to score goals throughout the season.

Claire McCormack

U16C

Covid was not going to get in the way of a successful hockey season for the Under 16Cs and what I most enjoyed about coaching this team was seeing the ways in which all the players developed in confidence and learned to play with strength in their positions during the season. We had many enthusiastic forwards, a strong midfield and some determined backs to take us to our opposition and Victoire Berjonneau and Amy Miles’ dependable hits at goal helped our scoreline. Our larger squad meant it was competitive and difficult to manage the substitutions but it also allowed for further development as members of the team “coached” from the sidelines, thereby improving their own performance; it also allowed for much fun and a strong team morale! A memorable moment of the season was taking on Millfield where we won convincingly (5-1) - did we really need to worry so much? The team dug deep in the last game versus Dean Close where we led both on the scoreboard and in terms of our on-pitch etiquette to finish the season with a convincing 2-1 win. I will be most sad to say goodbye to this team who have both entertained me and made me proud.

Vanessa Walsh

U14A

The team got off to a flying start with an intense and productive pre-season tour to Cardiff. The team gelled together well and had some fantastic results, including a 4-1 win against a much more senior (and physical) Cardiff Met side. The fixture list continued in similar form with many scorelines bringing tears to opposition eyes in September: Marlborough 6-0 and Malvern 9-0. As the season progressed, injuries occurred

and the competition stiffened with Cheltenham (2-3) and Kingswood (2-2) proving good tests ahead of the county and regional tournaments. Despite drawing with Kingswood the weekend before, Clifton dominated the game when it mattered, winning 3-1 to take the trophy and qualify for the regionals in first place. The regionals were played at Millfield and the 14As faced the host team in the first match of the day. After some consistent possession, Clifton slotted home the winner and then went on to secure wins against Bryanston and the strong Cheltenham side to whom they had previously lost. They qualified for the semi-finals first in the group. Despite prolific and continuous fire power in the Blundell’s D, a single break in the final minute of the game saw Clifton concede and their ticket to the final and hope of nationals disappear. The following Saturday, to right the tournament disappointment, the 14s left nothing in the tank against Millfield (the eventual regional winners), beating them 5-0 and cementing the game

as the definite highlight of the season. Special mentions go to our player-of-the-season, Emilia Puddicombe, and most valuable player (and captain), Jemima Windows. An extremely talented year group who have an exciting hockey future ahead of them.

Christa Clark & Stuart Loughrey

U14B

It has been brilliant to get back to fixtures again after last season, which definitely suffered at the hands of the pandemic, and what a fabulous group of students to coach! The first match of the season is always against Marlborough, a tough fixture and a long journey. The positivity and resilience of the students prevailed, and this match was very much a case of ‘start as you mean to go on’, demonstrated on the pitch but also in their attitude to training. A 0-0 draw was hugely impressive against Marlborough, and despite some early opportunities, the second half was very much a defensive game for us, soaking up a barrage of attacking play, but we held strong! The first home game against Malvern was full of excitement and goals, with the girls securing an impressive 4-2 win. This set the tone for the next two matches against King Edward’s and Kingswood. The girls not only battled hard against the Kingswood players but also against the horizontal rain and wind, and a 2-1 win and a delicious hot dog was their reward, along with some interesting karaoke on the journey home!

A definite highlight was the home game against Millfield, in which there were some exceptionally strong performances from all the girls, and many opportunities to score. The Millfield goalkeeper stood strong and as the game approached the last few minutes it looked as though it would end goalless. However, there came a wonderfully well worked goal from our defence towards our

attacking D, Aspen Prole then passing the ball just outside the 23m line to Lousia Hall who calmly lifted the ball into the goal past the goalkeeper to clinch a much deserved 1-0 win. In all, four wins, two draws and one loss rounds up a very fine season indeed!

Here are a few highlights shared by some of the girls, some hockey related, some not directly! In the match versus Taunton, Alana Peto was blown away by Maddie Savory’s deflected goal into the top corner of the opposition’s goal, especially impressive as we had only just been working on this in training. Emmerson Herbert was mightily impressed by Joung Youn Hoang’s defiance, reliance and literal bounce back ability after Dean Close did their best to stop her pivotal play! Amelie Webb was really impressed by Maddie Savory’s superior sporting conduct when she let the umpire know the ball had hit her foot before it was converted into a goal. The delicious match teas at BB also had frequent mentions! Aggie Campbell was pleased that the season finished on a high with a strong performance against Dean Close, but the “Christmas disco tunes on the coach journey home made it even more fab!”.

Sarah Johnson

U14C

The U14C team showed resilience, enthusiasm and great teamwork during their very successful debut season, resulting in some notably big wins against Malvern (6-0) and Dean Close ( 4-1). Between matches, the team worked hard to develop new skills in training and, as individuals, have gained lots of good hockey experience to carry into their next season. We had students in the team who had never played hockey before but who took to the game very quickly. One such student, Vicky Goetze, demonstrated natural flair in defence with a strong sweep pass that was unrivalled all season. The defence row demonstrated great teamwork and communication

skills during the match against Milfield and they successfully managed to hold off the attackers from scoring, resulting in a close but well deserved 1-0 win. Not easy, particularly when the water base sprinklers decided to start up mid-match! In mid and attacking positions, Dhaara Acharya, Millie Smith, Bea McEwan and Tilly Alkin were our top goal scorers and Millie definitely wins the award for most positions played in the season, credit to her adaptability and willingness to support the team. Angel Tolchard and Sasha Horwood could often be found providing sideline support and entertainment, which spurred their teammates on through some of the colder winter matches.

Tamsin Cardale

“The team gelled together well and had some fantastic results, including a 4-1 win against a much more senior (and physical) Cardiff Met side.”

Boys’ Hockey

1st XI

A hard-working, committed and fun group of players made up the 1st XI this year. With a small group having trained throughout Michaelmas Term, the team were well prepared for the main season in January, but there were two cup matches to play in November. Firstly, a long away trip to Canford that will be remembered more for Rui Palmer’s lack of appropriate clothing and Will Windows’ cover drive than it will for the result of the match (0-3). This was followed up by an outstanding 4-1 win over Warminster School. In January the squad was reassembled and beat Queen’s Taunton (6-0) in the opening block. There followed a tough defeat at the hands of Taunton, which was quickly put to bed by arguably the best performance of the season against Millfield. Although a draw, it was nothing short of outstanding. Will Maloney’s goal will be spoken about for some time. Pete Carter’s marshalling and influence in the midfield was exemplary and both Sonny Walton and Zaki Adamson’s goalline clearances showed just how committed they were to the team. The latter stages of the season were challenging and it wasn’t until the Kingswood game (a 6-4 win) that results started to pick up again. Tom Kipling won the coach’s player of the year after performing consistently in goal. On occasion he single-handedly changed the course of the match with some fine saves and bravery. Zaki Adamson received the player’s player award for his ability to tackle any player who dared take him on, even if it did result in a head injury.

Adam Dixon

2nd XI

This year’s 2nd XI saw an able group of players who were keen to play a good standard of hockey and enjoy their games, which are the key priorities at this level. The first half of term saw some high-scoring encounters, resulting in an average scoreline over four fixtures of 4.5-3.75 in our favour. In reality this was due to three comfortable wins by Clifton, and one humbling 1-12 defeat at Taunton School. Our goal was a good one though…

In the second half of term we unfortunately had to wait until the final fixture for a fourth win of the season, but this one was completed in style, with a 5-0 defeat of Prior Park away in Bath. I would like to commend the squad for their approach to training and matches. We were lucky to have a very consistent squad, and this helps to create a cohesive and supportive environment. Shay Sainsbury was kept busy in goal, and Fraser Davis, Ollie Hunter and Will Stoodley tended to marshal the defence, albeit sometimes in an unconventional manner! Jacob Thompson, Adam El Kilany and Tom Dyer were dependable forces in various areas of the pitch, and we were blessed with plenty of skill and pace from Oscar Wang, Sam Russ and Josh Paulin. A special mention goes to Ryan Kilmister for his captaincy and obliging sweeping in front of the defensive line. One highlight for me as a coach was to have Greta Alfes and Orla Oswin-Heritage join us for the last three fixtures, which further improved the dynamic of the squad, and was an appropriate nod to Clifton’s co-educational values. I thoroughly enjoyed the season, finishing with four wins and four losses, none of them particularly close! I am confident all the players did too.

Gilbert Simmons

U16A

As the Lent Term arrived, a squad split between Year 10 and 11 players was assembled with the majority slightly in favour of Year 10 due to the promotion of some talented Year 11 individuals into the first XI. The season opened with a 10-1 win against Queen’s, Taunton. It was a match not representative of the tough fixture card that was to follow and the team came back to earth with a bump as they lost 0-3 to Taunton School. However, this match was a tremendous fixture with Clifton going toe-to-toe with a highly skilled and very talented Taunton side. Lessons were certainly learnt as the team continued their excellent level of hockey from the previous match into the next fixture, a National Cup Tier 1 match against King’s Bruton. Recovering from conceding the first goal, a devastating five-minute period at the start of the second half saw Clifton score three goals and move into a 4-1 lead. Eventually this high tempo game, which was exhausting enough for those watching, ended in a 4-2 victory for Clifton.

As March arrived, the team began a set of three difficult fixtures in seven days. Coinciding with a spate of Covid infections, injuries and other school commitments, the squad was left thin and the players were pushing themselves towards their limit. The fixtures started well as Clifton beat a strong King Edward’s School U18B team with almost the final hit of the match, to huge on-pitch celebrations. Next up was a talented Millfield line up in round 4 of the National Cup. They would have proved formidable opposition at the best of times, but the absence of key Clifton players was challenging. Despite showing plenty of heart in the first half, it was all Clifton could do to try and end the match with 11 able players, most of whom were playing out of position. The result was a comfortable and deserved Millfield win (5-1) but the team should be very proud of all they gave to the Clifton jersey that day.

Supported from the sidelines by a number of injured and recovering players, a further depleted team produced a truly

special performance as they pulled off another outstanding last minute 3-2 victory against the Kingswood School U18B XI. It was thoroughly inspiring to see the extent to which the team were willing to go for each other.

Overall, six wins and only two losses provide impressive stats for a difficult fixture card but stats do not tell the full story. The season should be celebrated for performances of stamina, technicality and heart from

the first to the last minute of every single match. The level of hockey from Clifton and some of the visiting teams made it an absolute pleasure to spectate and, ultimately, observe a team of talented players learning, developing and improving together. This is what sport is all about.

Gary Catchpole

“Overall, six wins and only two losses provide impressive stats for a difficult fixture card.”

Boys’ Hockey

U14A

The transition from 7-a-side to 11-a-side can be tricky, but not for the U14A team. Strangely enough, the game of the season was their first, against Queen’s, Taunton. The game was a competitive end-to-end thriller that finished 3-3. The distribution from the back four, in particular Eddy Muggridge and Mac Isaacs, was very impressive. Unfortunately this game also marked the start of our injury-plagued season and the last time the boys played as a full-strength squad. We lost five players due to injury, which led to a few disjointed performances, but on a positive note it enabled a wider squad to experience a variety of positions and also included a handful of talented Prep School pupils. Three wins against Malvern, Bromsgrove and KES Bath were great team performances with key goals coming from Mac Isaacs, Rhys Baker and Nathaniel Phillips in each game. Losing to Kingswood and Taunton by one goal was a great learning experience as the team had a few chances to win both games with lots of lessons learnt. On the whole, this was a solid season with a very talented bunch of boys with a bright future ahead of them.

Stuart Loughrey

U14B

There was a point somewhere at the start of the Lent Term when it looked unlikely that we would be able to field a competitive 11 hockey players for the B team. As it turned out, that fear was never realised. Often we look to measure success through the eyes of wins and losses. However, this method is incredibly crude and fails to take into account some much greater attributes that come from taking part in team sports. It is against these metrics that this team should be measured. The nature of the team meant that there was a huge variety of experience and skill sets. Five of the players had never picked up a hockey stick before and a number had some excellent and instinctive playing ability. To put them in a team should be a tricky square to circle and yet due to the excellent individual attitudes, players of all standards played and learnt together. As a result, not only did the team improve the quality of their game stratospherically but they enjoyed their time together. Most importantly, they

learnt about themselves and their character. For that, I was immeasurably proud to stand on the sideline with them. Of the seven games played, we drew two. The 2-2 draw against a decent Taunton School side was a season highlight, a thriller of a game that went to the wire in the final moments of the match.

My thanks go to Matthew Lane, Ben McKinlay and Archie Johnson, who as senior players showed not only great skill, but helped nurture less experienced players. Their patience, leadership and positive attitude was commendable. Thank you also to the less experienced players who showed unwavering determination to improve and enjoy training and competing while representing the College. I hope you all continue to enjoy the game. Thank you also to Harry and Fraser for their support, encouragement and coaching.

Ben Bates

“On the whole, this was a solid season with a very talented bunch of boys with a bright future ahead of them.”

Netball

1st Team

There is no hiding away from the fact that this was a particularly hard season for the 1st VII, and although we didn’t get the results we wanted, the girls made significant improvements, individually and as a team. The positivity amongst the group was fantastic and the players’ grit and determination to stay in a game no matter what the score was incredible to see.

Millie Isaacs led the shooting circle all season long. Her strong leads and movement off the ball made her an easy option for her attacking unit, and her ability to turn and score from anywhere and everywhere helped instil confidence in her teammates. Her attacking partner in crime was Mia Rawlins, whose speed, strength and timing meant she was always an option. Mia’s ball placement was brilliant, finding the shooters with ease. At the defensive end, we had the incredible Georgia Culley who was solid every single game. She could have set a record for the number of ‘Player of the Match’ performances awarded by the opposing teams. Her timing for the two-handed interception was excellent, helping the team regain possession on multiple occasions and making the shooters constantly have to think of different ways to get free. Alongside her, Tara Madan’s energy and speed to close down space limited the other teams’ time to analyse their options and helped force them into errors. Sian Ellis, who was selfless all season, covered the WD/WA positions. Her fitness levels and energy in every game was top level, making her a coach’s dream and a real team player. A special mention must go to Sofia Trujillo, who was an exceptional captain. She was the driving force behind the team and the engine on court. Her end-to-end play was fantastic, and she was the perfect link between our defence and attack.

At the end of January, after a fantastic Regional Championship run with the talented U16A team, we welcomed Grace Harwood, Annabel Nichols, Isabella Maloney, Tilly Edwards, and Milly Thomas into the team. All players slotted in beautifully. The shooting duo of Grace and Annabel is truly exciting; they complement each other so well and have great connections. Issy and Tilly brought versatility and more attacking options to the team, and along with Grace and Annie, are a phenomenal attacking unit for the future. Milly joined forces with Georgia in the defensive circle and made an immediate impact with her hands over defence.

I was really proud of how the players adapted to the changes made to the team and how they made improvements

game by game, scoring more and conceding less. With performances improving, we felt a win was coming. And with continued belief and hard work, they finally got a well-deserved win against Prior Park College. The girls took a commanding lead from the get-go and never looked back. Grace made herself available in the shooting circle with her well-timed baseline drives. The defensive pressure of Tara, Milly and Georgia was relentless and helped secure a 42-18 victory. It was great to finish the season on a high. Well done all and thank you for making me feel so welcome as a new coach to the College.

Chantelle Wopara

2nd Team

Due to the success of the U16A team, the 2nd team formed after the Regional Championships. This team was formed in February with a combination of original 1st, 3rd and U16A players. After not having played netball for two years, the team’s cohesion is a true testament to the leadership of co-captains Gwen Morris and Katie Dolman who made the players vocal in their support of each other and encouraged everyone. The team’s first match against King Edward’s School was an absolute thriller. The girls trailed behind by four goals at half time, but managed to come back and

win by one, with a final score of 17-16. It was a whole team effort to get across the line, but congratulations must go to Nina Nissim who was named the player of the match for her defensive skills.

The team had comfortable wins against Colston’s, Cheltenham Ladies’ College and Dean Close. The match against Dean Close was won by eight. Nell Lane was named player of the match for her excellent movement in mid-court and Jessie Auty, who claims she is not a shooter, was put into goals (in most games) to nearly always seal the victory for the team. Her agility, positioning in the D and her shooting accuracy was a large contributing factor to the team’s success throughout the term. Whilst we had a close 23-17 win against Prior Park, our girls continued to excel in all aspects of the game: from Fleur Wagstaff’s defence, to Jemima Thefaut’s intense work-rate in the mid-court, to Olivia Egerton’s height and success shooting in the D. The diversity of this team means that Clifton College netball can only continue to grow, with exciting times ahead for the sport and the College!

Claire McCormack

3rd Team

The season started with what can only be described as torrential rain. There were very few complaints and the players just got on with the game. I knew at this stage that it was going to be a great season. The grit and determination that I saw in that first game set the scene for the rest of the season. The girls lost just one game against King Edward’s, and even that was a very close game at 12-16. Our centre court players, Eva Cully, Issie Hoddell, Nuala Lixton and Amelia Mackay, were unstoppable: their movement around the court was fantastic, and they really kept us in the

game. In the middle of the season we had close games against BGS, Marlborough and Kingswood. However, towards the end of the season our shooters really stepped it up, Paige Cox and Lauren Franklin winning against CLC and Prior Park (25-4). Our defenders, Gabriella Whittley and Cerys Jones managed to keep most of our opponents’ scores very low; their determination in the D was simply brilliant. This has probably been the most successful 3rd VII team I have coached, their energy both on and off the court was fantastic and their competitiveness in every game was phenomenal. What a dream team.

Kath Jeffery

4th/5th Team

The 4th and 5th team squad was incredibly strong. In most other schools, these girls would have been playing in higher teams, which is testament to the strength of netball at Clifton. In addition to their obvious strength as a squad, they should be praised for their approach to training and matches throughout the season. Always enthusiastic, they applied themselves wholeheartedly and made excellent progress in terms of their technical skills and understanding of the game. With regard to competitive fixtures, highlights were a good win in the first game of the season against Taunton, followed by strong victories against BGS,

Kingswood, Cheltenham and Prior Park. The season closed with an emphatic victory against Cheltenham Ladies’ College when, pleasingly, everything that we had been working on in training came together in a superb display of netball. Isabel Bevan and Monique Konje combined superbly to form a formidable defensive unit, while Rosie McCorry, Madeleine Farmer and Livvy Owen

dominated the centre court. In attack, Freya Haddon and Alexandra Pearce-Lynch were absolutely superb.

All the girls who represented the 4th and 5th teams should be commended for their effortswell done.

Gavin Turner & Tamsin Cardale

U15A

It was a top-class season for the U15A team, who formed slightly later in the term due to the success of the U16As at regionals. With a whopping 173 goals scored and only 68 conceded they performed superbly all season. It was clear that this team had talent and were keen to progress as a squad, and that they did. Winning every game bar one draw, they really did have an outstanding season. They started their campaign against KES Bath away, and as it was the first game with the new squad, it took five minutes to settle, but then they really found their rhythm. Sophie Langley and Victoire Berjonneau holding well in the circle and Megan Whatley playing the moving GA proved too much for the KES defence, and Clifton took the win (20-12). The team were confident heading up to Cheltenham to play Dean Close, and from the first whistle

Clifton took charge. With Anika Tildesley, Martha Barratt and Bea Willis very much in control of Dean Close’s defensive circle, they really struggled to convert their chances. As always, it’s a physical game against tough opposition, but Clifton stood their ground and came home victorious with a 20-11 win. As the term continued, the team grew on and off court and really showed what they were made of.

Josie Wong, Sophie Houghton, Connie Wedlake and Eloise Moat were dominant all season in the mid-court and their speed of movement on and off the ball left most opposition for dust.

Beating BGS (35-9), Colston’s (19-4), Prior Park (38-8) and CLC (32-15) showed some real talent indeed.

A special mention must go to the whole squad for being truly fabulous to coach; they really are a talented group of pupils who will go far on a netball court. A truly enjoyable season for an outstanding team. I hope I have

the honour of coaching them again as they progress through the school.

Charlie Graveney U15B

The U15Bs were a pool of talent, fun and bounce this season. However, at the beginning of the fixture list they failed to translate their prowess into the desired results. Being slow to start in the first quarter each week resulted in three losses in a row, which were only two points short. And then there was a midweek Marlborough away game, which is best we don’t speak of further! Frustrated but motivated, the team focused their efforts and worked hard on some attacking set plays and came back fighting in the latter half of the season. A tight and feisty draw against Monkton Combe as well as convincing wins against Colston’s, Prior Park and Cheltenham Ladies’ saw them turn their fortunes

around. Special mentions go to Evie Edwards who was exceptional in all six positions she played throughout the season, and to captain Helen Jones who dominated from the back, scooping several ‘player of the match’ awards. A strong finish for a talented and fun team.

Christa Clark

U15C

The U15Cs had a great season. It kicked off with a couple of tough fixtures against Taunton and Marlborough College, but once they settled as a team and put the hard work in at training, both the performances and results started going in our favour. The girls got their first win against a strong KES side, with Rosie Marson putting in a fantastic defensive display. From that point on, the team went from strength to strength, with great wins against Cheltenham College (21-8) and Cheltenham

Ladies’ (14-9). A special mention must go to Florrie Walsh for her energy and enthusiasm and accuracy with ball in hand. The team created a lovely training environment, which was full of laughter and team spirit. They improved so much as a team and were an absolute joy to coach. Well done all and thank you for a fun season of netball.

Chantelle Wopara

U14A

Although the major netball term falls in the Lent term, the A teams start their season during Michaelmas with the county tournaments. The U14A were excited to play their first competitive netball for a long period of time. They spent the afternoon getting to know each other on the court and really started to gel as a team. Sadly, they didn’t progress to the county finals but, importantly, they had started to lay the building blocks for the Lent Term. There were some close games to start the term. Against Taunton School it was going goal for goal, and the U14A suffered from a few mistakes made in the third quarter and couldn’t quite do enough in the last quarter before the final whistle, losing by only two goals. It was a similar story against Marlborough the following week but they secured a strong win against Bristol Grammar School (17- 12). The team grew in strength in every game they played, becoming more tactical and precise with their skills. Such improvement was reflected in three out of four wins in the second half of term. Their only loss after half term was against Redmaids’, a team who progressed to the regional finals. The U14A went into this game fighting and with much team spirit. It was a fantastic display of netball from both sides and a respectable score line of 18- 26. A highlight was their last game of the season against Prior Park. From the starting whistle, all players were in fine form, play throughout the court was slick and Prior Park

found it hard to get through our defence. The final score was a 31- 16 win for Clifton and an excellent showcase of how far each player had come during the term. Special mentions go to Matilda Mortimore for her superb shooting, Hattie Wells for her interceptions and defensive work, and Emilia Puddicombe for her relentless through court play. The whole team progressed immensely and will continue to do so next year. A wonderful term of camaraderie and determination!

Kirsty Willis

U14B

After a shaky start, the U14Bs found their feet and had some absolutely incredible wins and tight draws against some very tough opposition. A storming win, 25-6 against Colston’s, and a 21-13 win against Dean Close were particular highlights. Our core defensive trio of Tilly Alkin, Mabel Moloney and Amy Fowler were ably supplemented by the versatile Bea McEwan (who also played a key role in the shooting team) and members of the centre court squad of Darcy Shields, Jaimie Roberts and Meg Titcomb who proved a formidable trio in getting the ball from defence up to our super attack squad of Aspen Prole, Emmerson Herbert and the team’s ultimate all-rounder, Polly Lloyd. I cannot praise the girls’ enthusiasm, resilience and team spirit enough. They were a glorious team to coach and a real credit to the school.

Anne John

U14C

The U14C team started the season on fire, securing three straight wins against Taunton, Marlborough and BGS. Unfortunately, King Edward’s Bath put a stop to their winning streak, but not their enthusiasm and commitment to the game. The combination of Mitzeeé Taylor, Madi Savory, Izzy Hambley and Flo FraserHawkins as shooters proved to

be a formidable force all season, as did the defensive work of Alana Peto, Olivia Grewcock and Olivia Breakwell. Millie Smith and Amelia Lucas were unstoppable in the centre, with Joung Youn Hoang and Jodie Byas supporting brilliantly in the wings. With such a big squad, training and matches were bundles of fun, energy and cooperation. Well done on a great season!

Emma Kenyon

“Frustrated but motivated, the team focused their efforts and worked hard on some attacking set plays and came back fighting in the latter half of the season.”

1st XI

After the enforced hiatus from competitive football in 2021, there was much anticipation as Lent Term 2022 approached and the 1st XI took to the pitch once again. The majority of the team already had a full term of football under their belts, having been involved in Development Football in the Michaelmas Term, and this certainly showed in the first fixture of the season against Wycliffe. With captain Ben Kellaway leading by example, Clifton raced into a comfortable 3-0 lead in the first half, blowing the opposition

away with their slick passing and excellent wing play. The game finished 4-1, with Charles Rendle putting in a man-of-the-match performance on the left-hand side. A tough, rainy mid-week fixture against Monmouth followed in which the boys had to dig deep and defend stoutly against a well drilled opposition. A cagey game from start to finish, Monmouth scored midway through the first half and were looking good for the win until a late rally from Clifton resulted in Henry Davis deftly vollying in a cross from close range after tremendous trickery down the wing from Rendle.

The local derby was next, which was arguably the highlight of the season. The 1st XI played some of their best football of the term to beat local rivals BGS (5-2), with Mika VorenkampBeriro, Clifton’s new signing from Spain, showing his class in front of goal with two second-half strikes to put the game beyond the opposition’s reach. The only loss of the season (against another school) came in the next match against Marlborough, a torrid affair in which both teams struggled to play proper football due to the extremely windy conditions. Shay Sainsbury, making his debut in goal, saved

a penalty in the first half, but Marlborough managed to nick a goal late on to secure a 1-0 win. The remaining four games produced four wins, 12 goals scored versus three conceded, and two hat-tricks (Rendle and Vorenkamp-Beriro) in a series of dominant performances where Clifton demonstrated both their defensive solidity as well as their attacking guile. A hard-fought 2-1 win against Bromsgrove preceded a 5-0 thrashing of an unusually uncompetitive Sherborne before a comfortable 3-1 victory against a scrappy Taunton team who seemed more intent on kicking the Clifton players than the ball.

“The 1st XI played some of their best football of the term to beat local rivals BGS.”

The final game of the season against Malvern produced a fantastic comeback. Malvern were 1-0 ahead with five minutes to go, but Clifton had been piling on the pressure and deservedly equalised with one of the goals of the season, a wonderful strike into the top corner from 20 yards out by Andy Small. Not content with the draw, Clifton continued to pour forward and their front-footed approach was rewarded in the last minute of the game when Ewan Bullough was on hand to bundle home a rebound from close range; cue wild celebrations from the home side/supporters and a fitting end to a highly successful season.

It truly was a whole team effort in securing such a successful run of results but Ben Kellaway deservedly took the playerof-the-season award. A box to box midfielder with immense versatility who played every fixture, Ben led by example and was an excellent ambassador for the school, both on and off the pitch. Players’ player of the season was a close-run affair, but the award went to Henry Milne, whose stellar defensive performances and strong leadership skills were instrumental in securing positive results in several matches. Overall, the boys should be commended for their sporting conduct, as well as their hard work on the pitch and the strong sense of camaraderie that ran through the team. The mixture of talent, workrate and team spirit was a recipe for success and the boys should be proud of their achievements.

Liam Bull

2nd XI

This was, by far, the most successful football season for the 2nd XI for a number of years. The boys were not only a joy to coach, but also the definition of what is needed to work collectively towards a common goal. The team had a lot of talented players but their real strength came from their motivation to work together, work for each other, and in how they wore the Clifton College shirt with such pride. They repeatedly challenged the 1st XI and even beat them on a few occasions, which added to the fun in training. It is important to note that this team went unbeaten throughout the entire season, scoring 28 goals and only conceding four, keeping five clean sheets. The highlight of the season must be the impressive 5-2 victory against a strong Bromsgrove side with a hat-trick from Jack Goodwin. All the players in the squad were responsible for the success of the season but Cameron Longman was voted the Players’ Player of the Season and Jack Goodwin was the Player of the Season. This was a hugely enjoyable term and all the young men deserve to be congratulated, not only for their success but for the way they conducted themselves both on and off the pitch; you all did the school very proud indeed.

Dan Janke and Nick Luker

“This team went unbeaten throughout the entire season, scoring 28 goals and only conceding four.”

3rd XI

From the moment the 3rd XI ambled onto the hallowed turf of the Beggar Bush 3G pitch, it was clear that the pandemic’s role in turning more young people to YouTube football skills videos had paid dividends. Papa Obeng made it look like opposition defenders were still fighting lockdown lethargy, while Louis Afford Lessof’s ability to poach would have had Cristiano Ronaldo taking notes. The season was remarkable for a number of reasons. Firstly, the 3rd XI’s winning record was immaculate - but only when Oscar Green, the most valuable player, took to the grass. It was a blessing that the 2nd XI had not tried Oscar Green at central defensive midfielder; Oscar - like an untalented drummerconstantly disrupted any rhythm of the opposition.

Perhaps the most memorable moment of the season, due to an unprecedented mix-up, was the 3rd XI unknowingly passing the Marlborough 3rd XI on the M4; this was the closest they got to each other all season. While Marlborough’s mistake led to them playing a triangular with Clifton’s 4th XI, Clifton’s 3rd XI were left to either bolster the numbers of a 5th XI match in Marlborough, have a friendly kickabout, or complain relentlessly about the poor organisation of the fixture. As a mature group of players, led by Oliver Simcox, they most thankfully opted for the kickabout. A testament to their resilience, spirit and integrity.

A season highlight swiftly followed, with the 3rd XI being treated to a cold, wet and windy match on the 1st XI grass pitch. At 1-0 down, Sam Neil seized his first opportunity in the 3rd XI and scored two excellent goals in a 5-3 win - a match in which Oscar Green scored a 40-yard screamer.

With several committed players, like captain George Smith and the defensive rock Simon Koupparis, it was a pleasure to coach the 3rd XI this season.

Stephen Cross

4th XI

It was a season of mixed results for the 4th XI, who started brightly in an away match at Wycliffe with a Jack Bayliss hat-trick, a screamer from Oscar Wright and a clever finish from Max Gillings, resulting in a 5-2 victory. The team then won 3-1 away at Monmouth with another Jack Bayliss hat-trick, prompting his well deserved and swift promotion to the 2nd XI.

Unfortunately, there followed a series of postponements, narrow 1-0 defeats to Marlborough and Malvern, and an edge-of-theseat clash with Sherborne in which Sebastien Haddon scored early on with a fantastic effort from the edge of the box and Ahmed Syed added a quick-fire brace to ensure a 3-1 half-time lead. Playing into the wind in the second half, the team rallied well. However, with seconds left to play and the scores level at 3-3, the Sherborne captain let loose a 40 yard thunderbolt freekick to break Clifton hearts.

So the season had mixed fortunes, but the spirit of the squad was positive throughout, with many encouraging individual displays as well as some positive moments of team play. All of the students should be proud of their efforts and how well they represented the College, a particular example of this being when playing three halves of football against two different Marlborough opposition after a team mix up! Well done the mighty 4ths!!

Matt Deacon & Charlie Balfour

5th XI/ Development

This group of players should take enormous credit for their commitment to training, which they clearly enjoyed. They were fun to coach and the development was obvious to see; by the end of the season they had established a decent pattern of play and made huge improvements in their passing game. Results in the school fixtures did not go their way, but this did not appear to diminish the enthusiasm and willingness to represent the school. It was a real pleasure working with this group and many of them can look forward to the next football season and the chance of playing at a higher level.

Simon Tait

U15A

The U15As bonded quickly owing to many of them playing rugby during the previous season together. Despite the results not always going their way, the boys played with fantastic spirit and camaraderie. Even when the team were a few goals down, this didn’t stop their optimism or enjoyment of the beautiful game. Notable results were a 1-0 victory over Marlborough College thanks to the excellent football wizardry of Adam Davison and a 3-1 victory over Sidcot School led by the highly experienced Ricardo Thompson. The boys can look forward to building on the positioning skills and technique learnt in training sessions when they move up to the seniors next season.

Dom Harris & Max ErnestJones

U15B

The U15Bs began the season promisingly with an opening-day win, but as is often the way with B teams, this resulted in some of the star performers being poached by the As. A few defeats followed, including one against an alarmingly mature-looking Oratory School (“Sir, we’re not playing against those men over there, are we?”). However, the team did eventually rally, ending the season with two excellent victories.

The season’s standout player was Alfie Bilney, who lived out most of Gareth Bale’s career in just three months, progressing from dynamic left-back to freescoring forward (we assume he’ll spend next season being paid millions to sit on the bench).

Toby Young was tenacious and skilful at right-back, while centre-back Arthur Haimes, who kept on insisting that he didn’t know anything about football, nevertheless managed as many clearances as a Next store stuck in a Boxing Day time loop.

Captain Rio Wardzala pulled strings in the middle of the pitch, while Tom Bilney was everreliable both as a goalkeeper and centre-back.

The overriding impression I’m left with is of a squad filled with enthusiasm, good humour and camaraderie. I still hear shouts of “U15Bs” sometimes when I bump into a group of them together, which is a mark of how much we all enjoyed this season.

Greg Laing

U14A

From the first training session, it was clear that the U14As would be a competitive side; skill levels were high and there was an understanding of tactics and positional play not often seen at this stage. With lots of competition for places, a large squad was selected for the opening game, which saw a very positive start to the season, bringing an 8-0 victory over Wycliffe College. However, the first half against The Oratory School brought the team back to earth with a bump as a skilled and physical Oratory side took a 2-0 lead into half time. Clifton dug in to limit the lead and in the second half their resilience was rewarded as they mounted a spirited comeback that saw them achieve a hard-earned draw. The remainder of the season saw some disruption, due to the legacy of Covid, with only three more fixtures being played. These were completed in style, three wins bringing a rare unbeaten season for the U14As, including a 1-6 victory at Sherborne that was the highlight of the season. All of this was achieved with an impressive goal tally of 30 scored to only five conceded, a testament to both the attacking prowess and solid defending of a team that will be looking to go from strength to strength.

Clive Jones & Charlie Callander

U14B

The boys of the U14B team bonded quickly and developed a strong team spirit, which grew week-on-week. The team’s approach and their attitude to training made them a real pleasure to coach. Their season started off with a flurry of goals, leading to an emphatic 8-0 win over Wycliffe College. However, despite scoring eight goals in the first match of the season, Clifton’s spirits were dampened the following week when they conceded eight in a heavy 8-2 loss against The Oratory School. After a high-scoring start to the

season, Clifton played Cathedral School, Llandaff, in a tightlyfought match and emerged 2-1 victors after going a goal behind. The following week, a sloppy start against Sherborne School saw Clifton concede four goals within the opening 10 minutes in a match that finished 1-6. Having so far won two and lost two, the team were looking for a win from their final match of the season. Hosting Malvern College at home, Clifton had a spring in their step and put right their previous losses in a masterful 2-0 victory. Well done on a successful season!

Patrick Jones & Kate Dodd

“Clifton had a spring in their step and put right their previous losses in a masterful 2-0 victory. ”

Boys’ Cricket

1st XI

For the second September running, a programme of cricket was put together at the start of the Michaelmas Term. This initiative over the last two seasons has been welcomed by many of the school’s top cricketers who can continue to excel at the game throughout September. Fixtures were played during this period with the highlights being a win over a combined Gloucestershire and Somerset Academy side and a loss by one run to Glamorgan Academy. The September cricket programme has certainly been a great success and I hope that this will continue in the future.

Having had October through till half term with no cricket, the winter training programme was certainly busy. Many of the top cricketers now have to balance winter training with the expectations of their cricket academies and the winter training period has become an essential part of each cricketer’s development.

There was a short pre-season prior to the Summer Term, starting with fixtures against a Cardiff Metropolitan University side and Marlborough College. Both fixtures were played without many of the academy players who were playing representative cricket during this week and both games ended in narrow losses as a result. The first competitive Saturday fixture of the term was on the Close against Wellington School. Signs through the winter would certainly have indicated that this would be a strong 1st XI and it was not unexpected that a nine wicket win against Wellington School was secured on this opening Saturday. Next came the opportunity to play against a touring side from New Zealand. No touring side had been able to visit Clifton since the summer of 2019. Once again,

the side played some excellent cricket and won the game by five wickets.

The T-20 season starts early in the term and there were resounding victories over Blundell’s, Wellington School, South Gloucestershire and Stroud College before a frustrating loss to King’s Taunton, meaning that Clifton would not reach the latter stages of this competition. It is certainly tough to proceed to the quarterfinal stages when it is necessary to secure victories against King’s and Millfield, but this is a target for the future.

The standout performance for the 1st XI came against Malvern College on the second Saturday of the term. Clifton batted outstandingly to post 257 for nine in their 50 overs, much because of a wonderful

innings of 136 from Captain Ben Kellaway. The Malvern chase started very positively, Clifton taking key wickets at key moments in the game. Eventually Clifton produced an exceptional bowling performance to win the game by 19 runs.

As mentioned earlier, it was disappointing not to be able to beat King’s in our T-20 clash, but it was also disappointing not to perform at our best when playing them in a full 50 over game on a Saturday. King’s is a tough place to go away to and win but on this occasion the side did not perform anywhere near the level they would have hoped. This was followed by an under-par performance on the Close against Millfield School who coasted to an impressive 112 run win.

“The standout performance for the 1st XI came against Malvern College on the second Saturday of the term. Clifton batted outstandingly to post 257 for nine in their 50 overs.”

Public exams have certainly had their effect on school cricket in recent years and this year was no exception; the pressures of playing during the tough exam period can certainly affect individual performances. As the exam season wanes the two day game against Rugby School becomes a highlight of the season. This year Clifton made all the running in the fixture, winning all of the six sessions played. However, as is the quirkiness of cricket, the game ended in a draw, despite Harry Robbins taking three wickets in the final over of the game, meaning that the Rugby School number 11 had to survive the final delivery in order to secure a draw.

It is always interesting to compare yourselves with sides from other parts of the world and it was also a unique opportunity to play against Rhonda Bosch High School from Cape Town on a Saturday. Having been in an excellent position to win the game with 20 overs remaining, the side struggled to maintain the required run rate and a subsequent collapse under pressure resulted in a disappointing Clifton loss.

Unfortunately the latter part of the season was affected by some inclement weather but a very convincing win against Abingdon School on the last Saturday of the term set up what looked to be a promising fixture against Magdalen College School in the final week of the term. As with the Rugby School fixture, this was to be a two-day game with 100 overs being bowled in each day. As the second day unfolded, the drama of timed cricket became apparent, something the players do not experience enough. Magdalen were in no position to declare on day two and so attempted to bat as long as they possibly could. Clifton bowled 68 overs in the second innings with Ryan Kilmister remarkably bowling 30 overs consecutively. Eventually the

last Magdalen wicket was taken with Clifton being set a target of 70 to win. In very contrasting fashion, Clifton scored the 70 required from just 12 overs, securing a 10 wicket win. It was a brilliant day of attritional cricket.

Looking back, it was probably a season in which there was a huge amount of expectation about what the 1st XI could achieve and perhaps the side will reflect on not quite living up to this expectation. Our season and the success of it will always be based on whether or not we are competitive and beat King’s Taunton and Millfield and though this year we fell somewhere short, there is always this goal going forward. I have greatly enjoyed my 19 seasons overseeing the cricket at Clifton College and I am very proud of how the cricket has improved in that time. Clifton is certainly on the map as a strong cricket school and I very much hope that there will be more success in the future.

John Bobby

2nd XI

It is a rare thing to have such a pool of talented cricket players representing a school. To this end, the nomenclature of the side needed reviewing, as this is no ordinary 2nd IX. Another strength of the team was that the rich seam of talent came from no one year group and throughout the season it has been great to see players from across the year groups working together and learning from each other. As in all talent pools, there has been much flux into the 1st XI and the team has offered 32 students the opportunity to represent senior cricket. A huge amount of cricket was played too. Thirteen games were played and fixtures versus Bromsgrove, Abingdon and Exeter were cancelled or abandoned due to rain.

A season opener against Cardiff Metropolitan University 2nd XI provided a good opportunity to develop our limited over game. Although a loss, it was a close game. Cardiff Met posted 120 and Clifton’s chase reached 116. The next two Saturday fixtures against Kingswood School and Malvern allowed us to post some large batting targets, scoring 183 and 223 respectively. Ted Philips scored 58 and Marcus Allan 57 against Kingswood with some tight bowling, particularly from Daniel Broome (3-1) and Katie Dolman (2-22). Malvern saw some more impressive batting performances with Jonny Sadler (114) taking advantage of some fast outfields, hitting 13 fours and Will Windows (67) not requiring use of the outfield by hitting three sixes. Jacob Stevenson, Daniel Broome and Charlie Allen all bowled extremely well to keep the visitors’ run rate down and take regular wickets. Prior Park provided more opportunity for an on form Sadler to score another 50 and we posted 146-6 and were able to restrict Prior Park to 104 with both Philips and Irfan taking two wickets apiece. King’s College, Taunton provided a competitive game, eventually

winning by one wicket. King’s won an important toss and sensibly elected to bat. Dolman, Broome and Stevenson all bowled well to take two wickets each and kept a very good King’s batting line up to only 151. After a good start we were not able to manage a controlled chase and the balance slid towards King’s. Convincing wins against Monkton Combe, Taunton School and Queen’s College, Taunton led to the final game of the half term against Millfield. A frustrating game where a good Millfield side forced some poor batting performances. Only Marcus Allan (30) and the extras total (42) were able to make significant gains. Millfield chased us down for only the loss of three wickets. The game against Cheltenham allowed us to reorganise and demonstrate some cool batting to chase down the Cheltenham total of 188. Aaron Davies was the pick of the bowlers, taking (3-25). After a shaky start losing some early wickets, Marcus Allen (31), Sam Brooks (48) and Joseph Davis (39) all contributed to a successful run chase. Hereford Cathedral School provided our last competitive game, despite a heavy rain burst on arrival at the ground. Hereford won the toss and set a total of 88 in a now shortened 20/20 game. There was excellent bowling from Teddy Hallett (3-12), Will Maxwell (2-18) and Will Windows (2-2) and sharp ground fielding, creating and taking chances. Both Syed brothers set the ball rolling and contributions from Windows and Fielder set up the win.

Thank you to all those who have contributed their time and positive attitudes towards the team. Some excellent performances from all who played but particular mentions go to Jonny Sadler, the highest run scorer with 302, and Dan Broome who contributed 12 wickets. Thank you also to Mr O’Sullivan who has umpired many of the games.

Ben Bates & Alan O’Sullivan

“Both Syed brothers set the ball rolling and contributions from Windows and Fielder set up the win.”

3rd XI

It has been a great season for the 3rd XI. Although not the unbeaten season to which we were all aspiring, the boys can hold their heads up high as the two losses went down to the final over and both matches could have easily gone in our favour. Further highlights include a 42 run victory over King’s Taunton and a superb last ball win over Cheltenham where Will Faulkner drove a huge six back over the bowler’s head. Throughout the season there were some fine individual performances: Archie Symonds and Fin Fielder achieved half centuries on several occasions; Felix Willis and Arran Sen made important contributions with the bat; with ball in hand, the Neil brothers were a constant threat; and Rui Palmer’s pace struck fear into the opposing batsmen. A special thank you to Will Maloney and Oli Neil who co-captained the 3rds this year. Their enthusiasm and energy on the long Saturday afternoons propelled the team on a regular basis.

Adam Dixon

4th XI

First up for the 1862s was Wellington on the Plateau. A huge six from George Millet (‘Steak’) early on in the innings looked promising, but a full collapse of the batting lineup saw the fall of the middle and bottom order in a matter of minutes despite resistance from Jacob Thompson, hitting a glorious cover drive for four. However, the seam attack of Will Stoodley and Scott Wilson made light work of the Wellington lineup, bringing home the first win of the season.

BGS away began with some good runs from our batting lineup. Zaki Adamson and Joe Naughton made 40 odd for the first wicket before George came in for a big biff making, accompanied by Sonny Walton and a brief moment of Tom Murray swinging like a rusty gate. We defended the total comfortably and a special mention goes to Scott for taking a 5-for (the first in the 1862’s history), accompanied by the big quicks of Alex Warren and Will to dismantle the BGS lineup on the way to victory.

The winning streak continued against King’s, Taunton. A superb bowling performance skittled King’s for a low total of just over 100, which gave us an easy chase. After a tidy start from our openers, a classic mid-innings collapse was halted by Sam Russ hitting a few boundaries and the entry of Scott at number 11. He went on to hit winning runs at last man - 4* (2)with a glorious cut off a full ball to see the team home.

Next was BGS on the Close. A good start was created by Joe and Zaki, followed by great runs from Steak and finished off with a huge six from Will. The rest, as they say, is history. We defended the total well in front of the whole school. Special mentions go to the pace attack of Alex, and to Will and Scott for some very tight bowling. A comfortable win meant we won the series 2-0 against their 3rd/2nd XI.

“The attitude to training was positive too, with bowlers charging in the nets and batters grooving the game.”

The match against Taunton saw us lose the toss and go out to field, bowling our opposition out for just shy of 100. Ned McKinlay nicked off several batmen before the balls were helped on their way to the boundary rope by Sonny behind the stumps.

Zaki’s spell of googlies made it tricky for the Taunton batsmen throughout the middle overs after one over from Alex where the batsman played and missed at all six balls on fifth stump. Tom and Will were sent out to the middle to open the batting. Will played a fine innings to take a chunk out of the total, followed by a classic 1862s batting collapse. Joe played a reverse sweep/switch hit on his first ball, going for two, and then his second ball went straight into the hands of cover, leading to the entry of Alex at the crease. It only took him one ball to win the game and lose the ball, giving himself a season strike rate of 600. For the second time in the season (first by Alex and this time by Captain Max Hanson) someone managed to get out twice in two balls.

Our next match was against Millfield, a team who had evidently spent longer coming up with sledges than they had batting in the nets. The 1862s didn’t have a brilliant innings with the bat, leading to us being 86-8 after the front row bowling areas for 16 overs, but a great innings from Will and an amazing tenth wicket partnership between him and Alex led to a respectable 134 off 20 overs. At the break we weren’t too confident, considering the potential hitting ability of the opposition. Cue Zaki Adamson. Having been given the chance to bowl fast for the first (and only) time this season, he tore through the Millfield batting lineup, claiming a season’s best of 6 -11 from his four overs. This allowed the 1862s to bowl out Millfield for 38, claiming a 96 run victory. One win away from an unbeaten season…

“Brothers,

Our final away game of the season was at Cheltenham.

Tom moved up the order to form a new opening partnership, which did not disappoint. Tom and Zaki made 100 for the first wicket of eight overs, with Zaki making the team’s first ever 50 (63) and Tom making 43. When Will and George got together in the late middle overs the fireworks began with sixes all around the ground. This momentum was carried forward by Ned, making 23 off not many deliveries, even bringing out the reverse paddle for four. The team finished on a huge 200 off the 20 overs. Cheltenham 3rds looked to have a sturdy batting lineup but tight bowling from Ned, Alex and Will secured a convincing victory, with lightning fast stumpings from Sonny.

“Tour next lads?” - Max Hanson

“Strength and Honour”

Max’s Army

Sonny Walton (ST), Tom Murray (ST), Zaki Adamson (ET) and Max Hanson (ST)

U15A

A very good season for the U15As. Losing the first game narrowly to Malvern by nine runs, the team bounced back and were on a winning run, playing against a tough circuit of schools. The U15s love their cricket and are always in the nets or practising their fielding and have a good work ethic. This showed in the results against King’s Taunton, Millfield, Marlborough, Cheltenham, Winterbourne in the Area Cup Final and Marlborough in the Regional Cup Final. Zaman Shafi was an inspirational captain, leading from the front. His field placings, bowling changes and encouragement for his teammates was excellent. The brilliance of his wicket-keeping and batting at three meant that he scored important runs. Syed, Brooks, Hallett, Warby and Shafi have been a strong top five, getting valuable runs over the course of the season. There were outstanding hundreds from Syed against QEH, Brooks against Cheltenham and Davison against Hereford, whilst the wickets

were shared equally among Litt, Moloney, Read, Martin, Willis, Brooks, Hallett, Warby and Herring. The boys have shown great character, composed and calm under pressure. The players who stepped up from the Bs all played their part and the culture between the As and Bs was good.

Reggie Williams

U15B

A fantastic season for the U15Bs. We saw a high level of performance from various players and the team as a whole that was unmatched in previous years. The opening bowlers of Unwin, Weston and Dixon left opposition sides reeling, middle overs spin from Delaney and Bahl bamboozled, and the batters, often Fraser-Hawkins, Davison and Hammond, came out to send the ball to all parts. Others contributed so much in runouts, catches, and death

bowling, batting steadily to allow the others to shine and so these names are just a few of the stars in the group. Wins against Millfield, King’s Taunton, Cheltenham College and Malvern show the high ability in this set of cricketers. It would be a mistake not to acknowledge the fantastic contribution of Adam Davison in this report. He averaged 116 as an opening bat for the first half of term and kept wicket admirably, contributing stumpings over the course of the term that would grace an A team. The attitude to training was positive too, with bowlers charging in the nets and batters grooving the game. Club cricket helped them to put lessons learnt into practice and benefitted the group. The area for this group to work on for senior cricket is fielding, which can be inconsistent. Well done for your excellent cricket and for bringing many a smile to the faces of parents and coaches alike.

Jay Gardner

what we do in life echoes in eternity”

U14A

The U14A team had a fantastic first season at Clifton. Early fixtures against Malvern and a cup game against Kingswood demonstrated the batting prowess of Lewis Popple and captain Logan Bowden as well as a very handy bowling attack led by Rhys Baker and Mac Isaacs. The first challenge came at King’s, Taunton. On a very batting-friendly pitch, the hosts scored 260-5 off their 30 overs. The enormity of the chase was met head on by Popple who scored an aggressive 120 off 80 balls, ably supported by Baker and Seb Bowen. Unfortunately, Clifton finished 18 runs short but it was a brilliant effort and one that gave the coaches plenty of confidence for the season. Next up, Taunton School and it was the turn of Bowden to raise his bat, with a 120 leading the team to a comfortable victory. A trip to Millfield always prompts some nervousness from the coaches but the team had a new sense of togetherness and brought up a five-wicket victory. Harry Brunskill and Oli Hosier were the pick of the bowlers, with runs from Popple and supported by Nathaniel Phillips.

A couple of 20/20s bookended half term, with a victory against Marlborough resulting in yet more runs for Popple (88*), and a first appearance on the Close against local rivals QEH in the cup. A bowling performance to remember saw Taylor Hodgson, Rhys Baker and Rhys Davies keep the opposition to 77 all out, before Popple and Phillips steered the team to victory.

Cheltenham were next to visit the Plateau and were restricted to 142/6 off their 30 overs following excellent bowling by Toby Littlejohn, Brunskill and Baker. Baker then showed off his allround talents with an unbeaten 40, along with Bowden (40*) to win with five overs to spare.

The final of the regional cup was against Beechen Cliff on the Close. Clifton batted first and saw contributions from Bowden and Sai Kollareddy to

take the score to 126/6 off their allotted 20 overs. A nervous crowd watched the visitors’ openers race to 25 off the first three overs before Seb Bowen was able to pocket a catch and remove their danger man. After that, tight bowling by Baker, Davies and Littlejohn ensured the cup win in what turned out to be the final game of the season as rain denied the team of games against Bromsgrove and Abingdon.

A superb and thoroughly enjoyable season, this team have shown excellent spirit and resilience and we fully expect that their cricketing journey at Clifton is only just beginning.

Charlie Balfour & Charlie Callander

U14B

Despite the season being bookended with fixtures cancelled to ‘rain stopped play’, the spirit of the U14B team couldn’t be dampened. From the initial training sessions, a strong team morale was forged among the boys, and this grew when the term started with a victory against Malvern College. A superb bowling display from

Ben McKinlay saw him picking up wickets with a caught behind, knocking over a stump, and trapping a batsman for lbw. This bowling was helped with Will Brown hitting a masterful 39. However, with the next fixture against the stiffer competition of King’s College, Taunton, Clifton were undone. This was despite the over of the season from Will Jephcott (. W W 2nb W .) and Vinnie Sims hitting a skilful 25. A victory the following week at Taunton School was sealed when Eddy Muggridge finished with fantastic bowling figures of 4 for 8 from two overs. However, the term ended with three losses in a row against Millfield School, Marlborough College, and Cheltenham College, and the final two matches of the term (Bromsgrove School and Abingdon School) being rained off. An honourable mention to Matthew Lane for returning to wicketkeeping after a two-year hiatus and taking a catch behind the stumps in every match! Among the challenging matches, the team showed great sporting conduct and camaraderie throughout the season and they have been a real pleasure to coach. Well done, and thanks.

Patrick Jones

U14C

This was a great season for the U14C squad and the spirit in which the game was played was superb. The team was made up of boys who had played a fair bit of cricket and others who were new to the game and it was excellent to see the boys bring on and help the less experienced players. Charlie Williams did a great job of creating a positive team atmosphere as captain. They trained well in the week and took on board the feedback given to them. The highlight of the season must be the final ball victory against Taunton School where Clifton needed just one run to win. Archie Johnson got bat on ball and set off, passing Peter Yang running flat out to the other end to scramble home! This was a great day out in the sun. We hope that boys enjoyed their cricket and some of the new players have enjoyed learning the game. Please carry on playing and loving the game, win or lose!

Nick Luker & Dom Harris

Girls’ Cricket

It has been a season of firsts for girls’ cricket at Clifton: the first season of a full fixture list on a Saturday, regularly fielding three teams, with all girls representing the College during the term; the first time the girls have played on the Close; the first time the girls have qualified for the National Indoor Finals; the first time the girls have played at Lord’s; the first girl - Bea Willis - to hit 100+ at the College in the U15 cup competition; and the first time we have entered all three cups and progressed to at least the fourth round. However, it is the second time the U15s have qualified for the final stages of the National Schools Cup.

Sarah Johnson

1st XI

The 1st XI had a busy season with a full set of fixtures, the U18 National Schools Cup and the 100 competition. The season began with the traditional trip to Marlborough College, this time sporting a brand new first team kit. The Clifton team came out attacking and batted with great intent. The top scorer was Bea Willis with 44, but the girls ran well between the wickets and dominated the game throughout, scoring a total of 138. This performance was matched well with impressive wickets caught and bowled by Taylor Hodgson, Megan Cook catching their opener from a far-too-tempting delivery by Issy Maloney. Megan went on to claim two wickets and caught their number two from

Georgie Simpson’s delivery. There were further wickets for Grace Harwood and Jemima Smith. Blundell’s was another match highlight, playing a livestreamed game on their first team pitch, the Clifton girls again proved a force to be reckoned with, scoring an impressive 151 from 20 overs, with Josie Wong as top scorer with 60 runs. A strong bowling performance saw wickets for Taylor Hodgson and Jemima Thefaut, with agile and fearless fielding by Tilly Edwards, which kept Blundell’s to 103 runs.

The girls then began their cup campaign: The Hundred and T20. Facing BGS away in the first round of The Hundred, Katie Dolman and Emily Murray made an excellent partnership of 94, both just shy of claiming their

50s. Clinical bowling and agile fielding meant that BGS were reduced to scoring 58. Katie went on to claim 53 not out against Wellington College in the next round, with a strong partnership with Bea Willis, who scored 73. Wickets for Greer Barnes and a superb instinctive run out by Grace Harwood saw another win for Clifton. The Close beckoned, history in the making, and the first game played by the girls on this majestic pitch, but this was not quite the fairytale ending for which we had hoped. Fielding first, there were wickets for Emily Murray and Bea Willis, but this left Clifton chasing a tough 149 runs. After an early wicket, the partnerships of Bea Willis and Josie Wong notched up some important runs, followed by Taylor Hodgson who was top scorer, which included five boundaries, but sadly this was not quite enough to match the tough runs total laid out.

The T20 Cup proved to have some impressive match-winning highlights. The dangerous duo of Bea Willis and Katie Dolman demonstrated great prowess with the bat, notching up 130 between them, with Bea 74 not out. This skill level was continued with the ball, Georgie Simpson taking three wickets, Jemima Smith two and Taylor Hodgson an impressive ‘caught and bowled’. Onto the next round and a long hot trip to St Helen and St Katharine in Oxford saw Clifton batting first, scoring 148-3, with Bea Willis scoring 71 not out. Stepping up again with the ball, Jemima Smith and Taylor Hodgson scored three wickets each, along with Issy Maloney, Greer Barnes, Georgie Simpson and Katie Dolman, who restricted them to 67 all out, and a place in the next round. Bradfield’s damaging spinners in the fourth round meant that we lost some early wickets. Jemima Smith and Emily Murray did their best to improve the run rate, scoring 30 and 24 respectively, but there was far too much to do with the ball. Unable to break up the partnership of their openers for too many overs meant that Bradfield claimed the victory.

A hugely memorable season, nonetheless, and great testament to the players, nine of whom were also managing an intense GCSE and A Level exam timetable. There were some impressive personal highlights, but also for the team as a whole; their spirit and energy was evident throughout the matches, and there will be many exciting seasons ahead. We look forward to seeing Katie Dolman back on the Close as an Old Cliftonian and, in the near future, another first for Clifton - heading up the first all-female Old Cliftonian team!

Sarah Johnson & Lydia Hawkins

2nd XI

It was a top-class season for the 2nd XI. Due to the structure of the cricket this year, the 2nd XI were made up with our new U14s and a couple of senior pupils. From the start of the season they gelled superbly, and though their first two games resulted in a loss against Marlborough College and BGS (by only nine runs), they quickly learnt from their errors and didn’t look back. With strong allround performances from Emilia Puddicombe, Harri Taylor and Jemima Windows, who acted as the driving force, it was a full team effort in every match to

achieve the results. Tara Madan showed grit and determination in the field and Matilda Mortimore picked up the gloves for the first time and showed she is a real talent behind the stumps. Polly Lloyd, Tilly Alkin, Meg Titcomb, Mitzeeé Taylor and Izzy Hambley performed brilliantly throughout the season. It was extremely exciting to see all players progress, and for some it was their first season of hard ball cricket. They were a super team to coach and I have no doubt that we will be seeing them play brilliantly on the Close again next year.

Charlie Graveney & James Evans

3rd XI

It has been a great season for the 3rd XI, with every single player improving week on week. The energy and positivity levels were always high, and the girls were a joy to coach. A special mention to Olivia Grewcock and Isabel Snowden, who have made great improvements to their all-round game and are the most enthusiastic players to have in a team. They never fail to make their teammates feel included and opposition teams feel welcomed. Kei Ki Chau captained the girls tremendously well, always offering words of encouragement and support. Kei Ki’s batting partnership with Franny Wu always got the team off to a strong, confident start and helped secure wins against Cheltenham College and Queen’s College. Throughout the season there were also some great individual performances, including Llywela Kenyon scoring high runs in every game, meaning she had to retire in each of them. Lucy Greene also impressed with her speed and accuracy when bowling. Well done all.

Chantelle Wopara

U15 Indoor Cricket

Winter training and tireless practices saw the development of a great group of players, many of whom were new to the indoor game.

Having knocked Redmaids’ High out of the preliminary round, next came the county round and the girls played what proved to be their most competitive match first: Pate’s Grammar School. Taylor Hodgson and Josie Wong opened the batting solidly, both retiring at 15 in the first few overs. The girls lost only one wicket in the innings with solid batting performances, scoring a total of 86. Pate’s started hitting more big-scoring shots and getting lots of singles, resulting in them needing 10 from the last over; tight bowling and slick fielding ensured the Clifton girls claimed a nail-biter of a win. Having learnt valuable lessons from the first game, the ensuing two matches against Castle School and Denmark Road were not as close. The girls played with great confidence and energy and Harriet Taylor and Jemima Smith were forced to retire. There was strong bowling from Taylor Hodgson, Matilda Mortimore and Harriet Taylor,

accompanied by moments of genius like the great run out from Mitzeeé Taylor and instinctive catches by Tilly Alkin and Polly Lloyd.

The stakes were raised in the regional finals, but so too was the determination and skill level of the whole team. The girls were clinical throughout, and impressive with bat and ball. They did not drop a game out of the five matches played and there were strong performances from the many-matches-retired Bea Willis, Taylor Hodgson and Jemima Smith. There were also great spells of bowling from Jemima Windows (with a fourwicket over), Taylor Hodgson and Emilia Puddicombe; and ruthless wicket keeping by Josie Wong, with a superb catch off the back wall. Some superb fielding and bowling, coupled with intelligent running between the wickets by the squad as a whole showed absolute depth and class throughout; they just got better and better!

They batted, bowled and fielded their way to secure a place in ‘the home of cricket’, the majestic Lord’s! Nine hundred teams had taken part in the competition, with five qualifying for the final,

so just getting to this point was a tremendous achievement. The girls settled their nerves by securing two wins against Repton and Ipswich. The St Helen and St Katharine game is where Taylor Hodgson claimed the catch of the tournament, diving and catching the ball three centimetres from the floor after her own delivery. However, it was not enough to secure the win. In fact, this was the first game the girls had lost throughout their whole journey to Lord’s. Sixes scored by Bea Willis, Josie Wong and Taylor Hodgson helped to claim victory over Ipswich. The scores were extremely tight throughout but the girls knew they needed to beat the eventual winners, Ashford. After a more tentative batting performance, the Clifton team stepped up in the field, Mitzeeé Taylor claiming an impressive catch. But alas, after initial hope, Ashford’s tailenders held their nerve. The girls finished in a three-way tie on points and, going on runs scored, we claimed third place, with only three runs determining the second and third position! Third in the country and another first for Clifton College. Well done to everyone involved in this momentous achievement.

U15 National Schools Cup

The U15 girls’ team’s quest for finals day began with a cup draw against Colston’s. With the U18 team having successfully played them earlier in the week, the U15 squad had high hopes, and this game did not disappoint. Clifton opted to bat first, Bea Willis hitting her first 100 for the College, and indeed the first 100 for girls’ cricket at Clifton, ending up with 155 not out, and hitting 29 fours and two sixes! The girls knew that they needed to remain focused with the ball. Jemima Smith claimed the wicket of Colston’s opening batter, and two wickets from Meg Titcomb and one for Sophie Murray were to follow. Clifton secured the win with an impressive 124 runs!

We hosted Denmark Road in the next round, who won the toss and elected to bat. Here, Taylor Hodgson made her mark, ripping through their batters with four wickets in four overs for only eight runs! Jemima Smith took the next two, with wicket keeper Josie Wong taking an impressive catch off Harri Taylor’s tempting delivery. With a total of 66 needed to win, Jemima Smith and Joise Wong took to the crease and notched up the runs with relative ease, scoring 28 not out and 21 respectively, with Taylor Hodgson topping up the score to claim the win.

A long trip to Bradfield College ensued for the next round, the last 16 in the country. Bradfield won the toss and put us into bat first, early wickets fell, and the team needed to find a way to steady the ship. Up stepped Taylor Hodgson who did just that, in an impressive and commanding performance, playing the field intelligently and claiming 15 fours and one six, to take her score to a mighty 82 not out. Clifton finished the overs with 162/8, a hugely impressive scoreline, but this was the quarter final and Bradfield came out fighting. It is true to say that this fielding innings really tested the girls’ resilience and team

effort, and everyone played their part. There were wickets for Jemima Smith, Bea Willis, Harriet Taylor, Emilia Puddicombe, Tilly Alkin and catches for Matilda Mortimore and Meg Titcomb. In a tense finish, Bradfield scored 142, meaning we progressed to the quarter final. Unfortunately, the June weather played a part and the match against Canford School had to be abandoned. Due to the lack of time to rearrange the fixture, the semifinal place was determined by a coin toss, and the place was secured for Clifton.

The team faced Repton in the semi-final, having previously played them in the indoor finals at Lord’s and won; they definitely put their all into securing a victory this time around. After winning the toss, Clifton elected to field, and hope prevailed with some early wickets, with catches by Emilia Puddicombe and Josie Wong, from the bowling of Jemima Smith and Bella Herring respectively. A cracking start, but then up stepped Repton’s number three batter who proved a force to reckoned with. She eventually notched up 76 runs before being bowled by Taylor Hodgson. There was a further wicket for Jemima Smith, caught by Josie Wong, but by then Repton had scored an impressive 141. This was a tall order for Clifton, doable, but also with so many variables. Some relatively early wickets saw the run rate increase as the overs decreased. Taylor Hodgson helped to steady the ship, but it was the intelligent batting by Emilia Puddicombe that frustrated Repton. Despite scoring 24 not out, we had left ourselves too much to do and lost the game by 49 runs.

The third place play off against Kingston Grammar came next, and the girls were like a different team, demonstrating great confidence. There were great performances with both bat and ball, Bea Willis scoring 70 and Taylor Hodgson four. There were also some great fielding performances: Bella Herring took three wickets and Taylor Hodgson two, and a great catch

from Sophie Murray, which secured a well deserved win and third place in the country. Huge thanks to Miss Graveney and Mr Evans for their excellent coaching and guidance.

What a remarkable year for the Under 15 girls’ teams: third in the country for both the indoor and outdoor competition, and fabulous inspiration for girls’ cricket at Clifton College.

Sarah Johnson

Clifton secured the win with an impressive 124 runs!

Tennis

Avon Schools Senior Competition

Clifton entered three boys’ pairs and two girls’ pairs into the competition, which was highly contested, and the standard was very good. Clifton are very proud to say that our Boys’ A (Jack Goodwin and Tom Rayson) and Girls A (Giulia Cimmino and Annie Nichols) are Avon Schools Champions, winning both events. Well done to Ollie Hunter, Matt Simms, Simon Koupparis, Fraser Davis and Finn Nunes who also competed well, and to Amelia Campbell and Jessie Auty who reached the finals and played Giulia and Annie to finish as runners up.

Juniors Singles and Doubles

U15 Team Tennis

Senior Students National Competition

Over the winter months we have always entered the Senior Students National Competition. This year we entered two boys’ teams and one girls’ team. Our Boys’ A team narrowly lost to Colston’s Senior boys on a damp, dreary night. The match went on so long that we had to move to the slightly worse-forwear Astro. A special mention to Harry Cox who played his first rugby match of the season and then caught an Uber straight over to BB to play in his singles match!

The girls won their league matches convincingly, which meant that for the third year in a row they were through to the regional finals, which were played in March at Exeter University where they faced Cheltenham Ladies’ in the semi-finals, in which the Clifton players won four matches to two. In the final, the girls had to play St Swithuns, Winchester, which they also won 4-3 on a championship shootout. They held their nerve beautifully, and they should be very proud! Giulia Cimmino, Annie Nichols, Georgia Culley, Johanna Schuberth, Mor Gispan and Sveva Roma are the Regional Champions of the LTA Senior Students for the third year in a row. A great achievement - well done!

Our junior teams did equally well. The Junior Avon Schools Singles and Doubles was held more on an individual basis, unlike the senior team event. Our U15 boys (Junsei Yasuda, Milo Lankester, Halbie Wagstaff and Adam Wyatt) all took part. Playing against some tough county, regional and national standard opposition, the boys did well, with Halbie finishing third after losing to one of his older training partners. The girls were equally brilliant and won their first round matches, which meant that they were then up against some extremely tough competition. Alicia Milligan won a couple of matches in the consolation draw, Megan Whately won her first-round match and then had to play a regional-standard player, and Sophie Houghton had to play a young lady from Montpelier High who was off to Belgium the following day to play in a Tennis Europe tournament to help improve her world-ranking number. Sophie competed well and made Sophia work hard for every point. A great experience for all. Well done.

For the first time, Clifton managed to enter two boys’ teams into the competition. Both teams were placed into different boxes of four or five teams. Our Boys’ A team consisted of Halbie Wagstaff, Adam Wyatt, Junsei Yasuda and Milo Lankester and they comfortably beat every opposition team. Our B team consisting of Billy Rowe, Henry Wilkinson, Plato Lam, Wilf Gemmill and Jake Northover comfortably won all their matches, which meant that both teams are through to the area final against each other. Our Clifton A boys beat our Bs in the final week of term and therefore are through to the regional finals. Our girls also dominated their box and had to play CSET in the area finals. Sophie Houghton, Megan Whately, Alicia Milligan, Julia Fuerst and Andrea Jove Cinca lost narrowly, four matches to two. A great tournament which continues into next academic year.

Mixed Doubles Championship

The inaugural Mixed Doubles trophy was introduced at Clifton this year. Players were sent an entry form and asked to find a friend to be their mixed doubles partner. Over a week, all pairs were put into a draw consisting of tennis team players or non-team players so everyone had a competitive match. The tournament was a great success and had the added bonus of a consolation draw so every pair could play at least two matches. The finals of the main and consolation draw were played at Commem, Libby Laredo and Halbie Wagstaff beating Milo Lankester and Megan Whately, and Amelia Campbell and Jack Goodwin beating Mor Gispan and Fraser Davis on Chapel Court. Consolation winners Lola Barber and Finn Nunes beat Erik Lippert and Shuying Zhang and Eloise Moat and Xander Tate claimed victory over Millie Smith and Wilf Gemmill in the juniors.

Kerris Wagstaff

Eton

It was an honour to travel to Eton on the final Sunday of term and a great way to finish the season. Taking four senior boys, four senior girls and four junior boys, we had a fabulous day of tennis. So much tennis was played, with the junior boys playing a minimum of eight on-set matches. Halbie Wagstaff and Milo Lankester finished second in their box and therefore went through to the main draw. Losing in their first round meant that on the second day they were put into a consolation box where they had to play a further match, which was an eight-game pro set. Junsei Yasuda and Adam Wyatt lost three out of four matches though they were all very competitive. The boys went into a consolation box where they came second, winning two out of four matches. The senior girls were in two separate boxes. Amelia Campbell and Jessie Auty had really tough opposition in the form of many first pairs from tennis schools. They lost all but one match. Annie Nichols and Sophie Houghton had slightly more success, winning three out of four and therefore going through to play in the main draw box. They needed to win the final match in the box to go through to the following day, but the girls lost in a championship tiebreak (10- 8). It was a tough but fun day for the girls. The senior boys were in a different format where two pairs made up a team: Jack Goodwin, Harry Cox, Tom Rayson and Ollie Hunter. Beating Yarm on the first day, the boys were up against the number one seeds, Reed’s. Reed’s are a tennis school and many of their players are either professionals and have world rankings or have once had world

rankings. Our boys competed every step of the way but sadly, lost both doubles. This was a really great tournament which I am already looking forward to next year.

Glanville and Aberdare Cups

The U19 National Glanville Cup (boys) and Aberdare Cup (girls) is a tournament we enter every year in which we usually come up against the best of the best tennis schools. This year, after beating QEH girls, Giulia Cimmino, Georgia Culley, Annie Nichols and Sophie Houghton had to face tough opponents Millfield. Our boys’ teams, however, had a slightly more competitive time. Our senior boys’ B (Matt Simm, Fraser Davis, Simon Koupparis, Alexander Long and Finn Nunes) beat Westonbirt School and Colston’s B to end up meeting Dean Close in the semi-finals of the regional event. Our boys’ B sadly lost to Dean Close but this did give our A team a little insight into who Dean Close were.

After beating three schools including Colston’s A, Clifton A (Jack Goodwin, Tom Rayson, Halbie Wagstaff, Harry Cox and Ollie Hunter) had to face the might of Dean Close. Going into the doubles, we were tying 2-2, with their 1st and 2nd players being dominant and our 3rd and 4th players equally dominant. At 3-3 it came down to a championship shootout tiebreak to see who would go through to the national finals. Jack and Halbie stormed to victory 10-1 to secure a place in the national finals and a place in Clifton College history. What a huge achievement.

National Finals

Nottingham: National Finals

It was just an amazing honour to even get this far. Having experienced playing Reed’s at Eton, we knew we were up against it. With their ‘Mr England’ at no.1 and their French world-ranked player at no.2, Jack and Tom knew they had a lot of work to do! Halbie and Harry’s matches were equally tough but they felt as though they had a chance to do rather well. Jack played some sublime tennis to compete with Mr England. Winning five games was inspirational and Jack’s attitude was exemplary. Tom had the tough ordeal of just trying to get his racket onto the serve, with balls bombing down at about 120mph, so he was happy wth any form of return.

In the consolation round we had to play an equally challenging match, which was actually a lot closer than it should have been on paper. St Peter’s no.1 and 2 were obviously once full-time tennis players. Their no.3 was a big Year 13 boy who must also play a lot. Harry played a terrific match, winning comfortably. Jack had an immense match, winning on a tiebreak in the third set. After two matches all, it went into the doubles where 1 and 2 lost but Halbie and Fraser took it all the way to a tiebreaker where they were 8-4 up. Sadly they couldn’t hold it together long enough and nerves took over a little and they ended up losing 11- 9.

On Friday we were a player down as Jack was going on holiday. Luckily we were playing schools similar to ours. And we won, four matches to two, with Harry Cox and Halbie Wagstaff winning their singles and both doubles! We were heading into the last day with a victory under our belts. Saturday saw our team down by yet another player with only three being able to play. We were up against it and had to win all four matches. Harry at no.3 lost in an incredibly tight third set championship tiebreak with the rallies hitting 20/30 strokes at a time. Tom had an equally

tough game, just losing out in another tiebreak. Fourteenth in the country overall sounds a little unimpressive until you see the standard of play the boys were up against. The ‘tennis schools’ are just a different class and even the likes of Millfield did not compete for the top spots. It was an outstanding experience and I was honoured to be there with a special bunch of players.

Kerris Wagstaff

Boys’ Tennis

The 1st, 2nd and 3rd teams were rather busy during summer 2022. There were lots of fixtures, lots of training and, surprisingly, a lot of sun (with the occasional light drizzle). As a result, the boys were drilled hard in training, which put us in a solid position for taking on schools like Sherborne, Blundell’s and Taunton. The 1st team established itself very quickly but it was the depth and enthusiasm that ran through the 2nd and 3rd teams that truly surprised us all. Outstanding debuts (Erik Lippert and Szymon Malinka) were made and some boys were certainly putting in a strong case for moving to the 1st team when the time comes. Well done to Matt Simms (captain) and Sonny Taylor (vice-captain) for leading this merry bunch of boys to a resoundingly joyous Summer Term of tennis.

Noel Doran

Senior Development

The Senior development team worked hard to hone their tennis skills. They developed their serve, volley, cross-court hitting, overall movement and doubles positioning. We even managed to fit in doubles and mixed doubles championship tournaments where these skills were enthusiastically showcased. A thoroughly enjoyable term on the courts!

Yan Turnock

U15A

The U15As had an action-packed and highly enjoyable season of tennis this year. This cheerful squad of young men certainly developed as the season progressed with notable wins over local rival schools. It was pleasing to see Milo Lankester having made so much progress on court since last season leading him to be a regular player for the 1st pair. Junsei Yasuda built on his leadership skills from last year by remaining as captain and was supported in this role by Henry Wilkinson as vice-captain. Overall, a delightful term of tennis.

U15B

The U15Bs were ceaseless in their drive to improve their oncourt skills with many hours put in by the boys trying to perfect their serving game. The team responded well to the absence of their captain Freddie Clarke (due to injury) who had made an instant impression when playing against Sherborne in the first fixture of the season. The Arver boys became an unstoppable force towards the end of the season owing to their athleticism and knowledge of the game. Overall, a successful term of tennis thanks to the positive attitude of all the boys involved.

Max Ernest-Jones

U15C/D and Development

The U15Cs and Ds summer season consisted of just two fixtures, one of which we lost and one of which we will count as a victory (Malvern withdrew at the last moment). In training we saw great progress from a number of players, including Francis Allen, who had become a winning machine by the end of the season; and Tom Bilney, who got to the final of the internal boys’ doubles competition after starting the term with limited experience of the sport. Overall, the boys consistently brought enthusiasm to the training sessions and the weather was kind, making it a very enjoyable term.

Greg Laing

U14A/B

The boys had an eventful start to the Summer Term. While Pimm’s-drinking parents watched on, the boys got stuck into their first match: Sherborne at home. As the relentless play of the A team, led by Wilfred Gemmill, allowed them to grind out a deserved 5-4 win, the B team had an especially tough opener and suffered their first

bagel. The B team consisted of stalwarts Leo Yang and Steve Wan, as well as Cyrus Fong, but it is noteworthy that many of the team had played very little - or even no tennis at all - prior to this summer. As a result, the matches proved to be exercises in resilience and optimism, in addition to loyalty to Clifton and each other. When knowing it was likely they were about to get a free lesson in how to play tennis, it might have been easier for their heads to drop; however, indicative of the spirit within the team, Tom Flavin and Ed Tomlinson had some exceptional rallies and a great time away against Millfield on a particularly hot Saturday afternoon. In the rest of the season, more wins followed for the A team, with talisman Halbie Wagstaff unbeaten on the tour. Adam Wyatt joined Halbie on one of the many extra playing opportunities that the Under 14s had this season, including Avon Schools’ Tennis Championships (see p.110). With an excellent showing from both, the future of Clifton’s tennis looks bright.

Stephen Cross

U14C/ Development

The U14C team and the Development team had a very promising season of tennis. They brought a wealth of enthusiasm to every session. Despite many of the boys being absolute beginners, their resilience and determination saw them all make huge improvements in their skills and understanding of the game. Particularly of note was Aiden Jim’s ferocious forehand, while Jason Chan impressed with his calm and precise serves. But the U14 Development student of the season had to be Ethan Ho, who never failed to bring humour and bags of enthusiasm to the courts. All the boys put in excellent performances in the junior and mixed doubles tournament.

Amy Jenkins

Girls’ Tennis U15A/B

The U15 As and Bs have had a successful season of tennis, and a very high standard has been seen. Each week the pupils have remained enthusiastic and dedicated to their sessions, and their matches have been well contested. One of their most successful fixtures was against Taunton School, where the As celebrated a 7-2 win, in which Megan Whately and Sophie Houghton dominated, only dropping a few games across their matches. The Bs also had great success, winning 9-0, with every pupil showing resilience and determination. The As have also had great success in their team tennis matches against Colston’s and Redmaids’, winning these in a combination of singles and doubles. Congratulations in particular to Megan, Sophie, Alicia Milligan and Julia Fuerst. Well done to everyone who has represented the school for the U15s.

Grace Ball

U15C/ Development

A great season of tennis in which the girls have been enthusiastic and motivated in each training session, which has led to great progress in their tennis. I have been impressed by their persistence on aspects such as the serve and volley, which has led to huge improvements in their general consistency and match play. There were a few super matches against other schools for the C team, which were very close, as well as a junior and mixed doubles tournament, which was enjoyed by all.

Lucy Dales

U14A/B/C

The U14A & B team went from strength to strength this year. With some challenging fixtures, the teams were still able to improve with practice and match experience. The U14A team had close fixtures against Taunton School, losing 4-5 and were able to win comfortably against Millfield, 11-2. Andrea Jove Cinca and Darcy Shields led the team as first pair, a fantastic match up, considering Darcy had only previously played tennis with her family. The team should be really proud of their improvements and commitments to tennis.

The U14B team had quite a few successes against Bromsgrove, Taunton School and Dean Close. The team were able to adapt to various pairings throughout the season. The pairs were always cheering each other on and improving their shots at the net and down the line. Well done to Sasha Horwood, Libby Laredo and Bea McEwan who all played consistently well and were always committed to the team.

The U14C team played two fixtures during the Summer Term, losing to Cheltenham College, but winning 3-1 against Dean Close. Olivia Breakwell and Joung Youn Hoang played some fantastic tennis, both at practice and in matches. Well done to all the girls who played for the U14s this term; for many of you it was the first time playing tennis and you competed well and made the College proud.

Claire McCormack & Kirsty Willis

Rowing

In March of 2020, with a week to go before the Schools’ Head, Covid struck. It was to be the first time in over 20 years that Clifton College had been in a position to enter a boat into the event and it was a great blow to the crew when the race was cancelled. However, it is with great dedication and determination that two years later, the boat club still found itself in the position to race. And what an experience it was. Leaving the confines and relative safety of the river in Bristol, the crew found the Tideway in London a whole other beast. As we pushed them off at Barnes Bridge to head to the start, there was clear nervousness but an hour later they raced past looking strong and in control; another hour later they returned to the landing stage, full of smiles and stories. Their result was, in many ways, secondary to the positive experiences and foundations that their achievements were to lay. Well done to all who raced and challenged for a seat in the boat.

On return to Bristol, the crew set about leading and improving the dynamics of the club, realising that it is possible to mix with

the best and hold their heads high. It was with this in mind that we headed to Avon County Regatta and Bridgnorth Regatta. At both events, many new members were racing for the first time. There were finalists in J16 2x, WJ15 1x, J18 4+ and more firsts when we were able to boat a WJ15 4x for the first time. At Bridgnorth Regatta, Poppy Janke and Louisa Hall capitalised on having a total of nine races across the day, and won their WJ15 2x event. Henry Packham and Edoardo Giovarruscio also reached the final in their event having never raced together before.

As the club rebuilt after Covid, it was clear that there was a real desire to push the club forward. The leading members for next year, Evie Calhaem, Izzy Copeland, Philip Clark and Harry Huby all attended Henley Royal Regatta for an inspirational day out. Conversations on the way home spoke of early morning ergos and extra gym sessions, something that can only help to move the club forward. Girls’ rowing has also really taken a step forward over the year, and hopefully with Evie and Izzy at the helm, this will continue.

Thanks must go to all the coaches. Unfortunately we lose two this year as both Simon Hewitt and Hannah Clarke move on to new jobs. Their help has been greatly valued by all and they will be missed. Well done again to all members of the club. Rowing is a demanding sport that takes much time and effort. All members make a commitment away from the main buzz of the College, but it is the sanctity of the water that many enjoy. It has been a hard year: the challenges the students faced taught them humility and the need to subsume individual egos for the sake of a boat as a whole. Here’s to next year and further success.

Rob Beever

Awards

Captains 2022/23

Novices:

Evie Calhaem and Philip Clark

Seniors:

Izzy Copeland and Harry Huby

Oarswoman of the Year

Poppy Janke

Oarsman of the Year

Harry Huby

Novice of the Year

Louisa Hall

Cox of the Year

Evie Calhaem

Rackets

It has been an enjoyable season in spite of the results. The enthusiasm and energy from the whole squad has been terrific. A squad of 31 pupils went to Queen’s in March for the boys’ doubles and girls’ singles, all competing well. Jake Davies captained the side and was top drawer in creating a good atmosphere. Jake and his partner Joss Plummeridge led from the front with their motivation and passion and they had some good battles throughout the season. Jake, Joss and Luke leave this year, having been good role models to the rackets squad. I will miss their music on away trips and the amount they eat at Maccy D’s!

The second pair, Will Windows and Marcus Allan; third pair, Luke Sutor and Wilf Murphy; and fourth pair, Joe Naughton and Simon Koupparis, all worked hard at their game and put in good performances. The Colts pair, Archie Campbell and Toby Denner, showed good promise, as did the Junior Colts’ A pair, Zaman Shafi and Alfie Moloney. A good number of Junior Colts and Yearlings, both boys and girls, spent considerable time on court working on their game. Sofia Trujillo, Millie Isaacs, Gwen Morris, Georgia Culley and Amelia Campbell all leave this year having played a big part in Clifton girls’ rackets.

Reggie Williams

The fencing team have had a good season. A team of ten pupils went to the Public Schools Fencing Championships to represent the College and came up against some tough opponents, some of whom fence at GB level. Undeterred, team captain Alice Li continued to drive the team forward and everyone made the most of all their matches. Inter-House Fencing was a huge success and The South Town had great representation in épée and foil. Harry Wong represented School House really well and he was undefeated in the sabre weapon. But it was Julius Diem who brought Moberly’s House to victory with strong scores across all three events, a huge achievement.

Sammy Palmer

Fencing Shooting

A very quiet term for shooting, we are still waiting for the .22 Range to come back online for us. Meanwhile, we have been shooting air rifles on an improvised range in the CCF corridor, with Siripatt Chuleekorn and Alex Ayers improving their skills tremendously. We are looking forward to getting our .22 target rifles out next term and recruiting a few more shooters.

Chris Hughes

Golf

The school golf team have enjoyed some excellent success this year. We qualified for the independent schools national finals for the second year running and became area champions by beating Stonar School, Warminster and then a very strong King’s Taunton at Weston-super-Mare Golf Club. The finals were held at the stunning Formby Golf Club in Liverpool and the team, consisting of Jerry Fang, Finn Ellis and Nik Allen, did extremely well to finish twelfth out of 21 schools, improving upon our fourteenth place last year. In the individual competition, Finn Ellis finished fifth, a fine achievement in a field littered with England Under-18 internationals.

Individual Achievements

Finn Ellis: Gloucestershire Under-16 champion and runner-up in the Gloucestershire Under-18 championship.

Taylor Hodgson: Gloucestershire Ladies nett champion. A national schools finalist, having qualified through Avon and then the South West.

Improvers’ Group

Alongside the elite group, we run a recreational/improvers’ group who go to Tickenham driving range. Many pupils have taken advantage of the chance to go and work on their swing and receive some coaching to help them improve. My thanks go to Mrs Kenyon, Mr Mather and Mr Bobby for their help with this group.

Andy Rudge

Athletics

The athletics squad have had a successful season, partaking in five different fixtures at Millfield and Marlborough, as well as sending two athletes (Joshua Schrijver and Clemmie Houlden) to the South-West Schools Championships and one to the English Schools Championships. Unfortunately the Bristol and Avon Schools Championships were not held this year, though competition was strong in our fixtures, enabling students to challenge themselves and continue to set new personal bests alongside many podium position finishes. There were many highlights and the athletes can be proud of how well they represented the College.

The students have also taken part in weekly training sessions at WISE Campus Filton on their competition standard athletics track, which has been used by many great Olympians in the past. They have visited

the National Indoor Athletics Centre track in Cardiff, where the squad spent the afternoon using the world-class facilities to help supplement their training programmes.

Cross Country

Of special note is Joshua Schrijver who qualified for the English Schools Championships once again by winning the shot put and discus events at the South-West Schools Championships. Well done to Josh, a phenomenal achievement!

Matt Deacon

We had a small yet elite group of runners this season. With the freedom to take the minibus out for our pack runs, we explored much of the beautiful countryside surrounding Bristol, including runs in Weston and Easton-in-Gordano, Flax Bourton, Ashton Court, Blaise Estate and even one particularly memorable run from Winford all the back to school, which started with an ascent of Dundry Hill! Jonathan Ambler and Charlotte Warren performed particularly well in our fixtures and both won their respective

races at the Pens up at Ashton Court. Charlotte was placed first intermediate girl at Marlborough’s meet and second at Sherborne School. Jonathan was second senior boy at Downside and third at Sherborne. Halbie Wagstaff should also get an honourable mention for getting through both the Bristol and Avon schools heats to compete at the Somerset school level, representing the College.

Louisa Hume

Archery

All pupils have developed their archery techniques well this year in terms of aim, reference point and release of their arrows. They have enjoyed shooting at various picture targets, bags of sweets, balloons, plastic milk bottles, cups, apples and foam blocks, whilst at the same time sharpening skills to increase accuracy. The mini competitions were also enjoyable, with maths skills being challenged on more than one occasion.

Mal Grohmann

Badminton

This year badminton has remained as popular as ever, with pupils developing key skills to help with match play. In November, Clifton faced their first fixture since 2019, playing Sherborne School at home. Our team, consisting of Benson Zhou, Leon Cheng, Harry Su, Tom Underhill, Lucas Cheng, Nic Long, Alexei Joukovski and Tonnam Saritwetworakul, faced some incredibly tough opposition, and managed to secure victory by one match. A huge thank you to everyone who remained enthusiastic this last year; we hope to see more success in future years.

Grace Ball

Basketball

Whether you were a seasoned pro or picking up a ball for the first time, there was something for everyone. For the beginners, we started with the basics of passing, dribbling, shooting and lay-ups but very quickly built up to 3v3 gameplay. To get them exposed to a higher level of basketball, we had some sessions in which we played mixed ability games with everyone getting involved. The more experienced players practised their gameplay skills with a mix of 4v4 half-court as well as full-court games. We had a one-off fixture with Millfield, which ended in a loss, but the team took away many positives from the experience. The year ended with the high energy of House basketball. School House won both the senior and junior competition, Hallward’s the junior girls’ competition and Holland’s the senior girls’ competition.

Arnold Lobo

Valete

considered and then used in her teaching. Being a pupil in her classroom must have been a wonderful experience - indeed my daughter, amongst many, chose to read English Literature at university entirely because of Sarah’s inspirational teaching.

edited the Cliftonian magazine, overseen external exams, and coached netball, swimming, badminton and rounders. For many years she ran the Public Reading Competition and she set up the McTaggart Society.

Sarah Clarke

Sarah joined Clifton in 1986 following a PGCE at Durham and an MA in Shakespeare Studies at Sheffield University. She arrived just as co-education at Clifton was being introduced, and her descriptions of that time are interesting to say the least! In the following 36 years, Sarah has made an indelible mark on life at Clifton as an inspirational teacher, outstanding head of department and one supportive of so many aspects of school life, dedicating herself to the school and her colleagues.

On first arrival, Sarah quickly established herself as a superb classroom practitioner whose knowledge of and passion for literature was boundless. Consequently, she has inspired generations of Cliftonians and fellow teachers with her love of the subject; above all has been her passion for enthusing this in others. This is a rare skill. She has guided pupils through texts with clarity, ease, rich subject knowledge and a huge sense of fun. She has led dozens of trips to plays and productions and always seemed to have another theatre trip planned. Each experience was carefully

Anastassia Myers

Stassia joined the College in 2010 and during her time has flourished into an exceptional teacher and Second in Mathematics. Her level of professionalism and organisation is exemplary and she is always looking to bring out the best in all her pupils. Both her pupils and colleagues have benefited from her warm and supportive nature as well as her exceptional subject knowledge and baking skills. She introduced

Inevitably Sarah went on to run the English Department for many happy and successful years. Her colleagues speak about her in the most glowing of terms and refer to her caring approach and hugely supportive leadership. Her successor described his anxiety at taking over from such an experienced and respected head of department, but his fears were short-lived; Sarah welcomed him with open arms and provided him with every support. In all ways, her primary interest was the English Department, the people in that department and the pupils they taught. This was her legacy. It’s a sobering thought that every English teacher at Clifton only knows a department with Sarah at the heart of it. What a gap she will leave.

Sarah’s contribution to the pastoral life of the College has been enormous. She has been a tutor in five different Houses and she spent seven very happy years as Assistant Housemistress in Worcester House. She has directed school plays, adjudicated House plays,

the first Pi Day celebration and competitions at Clifton and her Pi bunting continues to brighten up the Maths Department.

During her time at Clifton Stassia has taken on a variety of co-curricular roles, including imparting her love of Taskmaster to Year 9 Terriers, managing and coaching swimming, and modernising the school’s organisation of activities. She extends her commitment into the pastoral side of education, and has been a valued tutor in

Sarah loved a school trip and none more so than to the First World War battlefields. She became a stalwart of these trips and took part in the first ever one in the early 1990s. Her knowledge of the conflict was incredible and she always argued that she was a frustrated historian at heart; but of course she brought her English teacher skills too - it will be hard to forget the service at St George’s Chapel in Ypres as the Clifton plaque was unveiled or the poignancy of Noel Hodgson’s poem read aloud to an enraptured Year 10 group at the Devonshire cemetery on the Somme at the end of a long day of battlefield touring. She brought to these trips the most irreverent and infectious sense of humour.

It is hard to imagine Clifton without Sarah. She has been such a loyal, kind and outwardlooking colleague who has given so many years of outstanding service to the school and all her pupils. She will be sorely missed and we wish her all the very best for a happy and busy retirement.

Simon Tait

both Holland’s and Hallward’s House. Ever generous with her time, sympathetic, and able to offer sage advice, she has offered support and encouragement to her tutees and others in the House. A truly dedicated teacher, and friend, she will be greatly missed as she leaves Clifton to take on the position of Head of Mathematics at Badminton School

Helen Evans

Llewelin Siddons

Llew joined the College as Head of MFL in 2003 from Felsted School with a degree in Classics and Medieval and Modern Languages from Cambridge University and a Masters from Birkbeck. He brought the department into a new era by introducing so many initiatives. He promoted annual trips and exchanges to France; established festivals to celebrate culture through language; set up debating in a foreign language against Badminton Girls’ School; ran poetry recitations; and even Sixth Form wine tasting, with Llew delivering esoteric tasting notes about “jambes” and “larmes” in French.

Llew taught French and Spanish from beginners to A Level and was always willing to help

prepare the brightest Clifton linguists for Oxbridge entrance, especially by sharing his genuine love of poetry with them. Llew’s approach to teaching the Sixth Form is thorough and academic. For example, he produced his own detailed notes on the French Second Empire to accompany his teaching of Maupassant. Llew also took summer courses in Italian in Perugia and then promoted Italian, which became a Sixth Form option. At various times he also taught Latin and Greek. Yes, you read correctly, that makes five subjects.

Llew spent a year in Paris as a professional violinist before coming to Clifton and whilst here he sang for many years in the College choir and still plays in the New Bristol Sinfonia. He was thoroughly involved in Clifton life, coaching rugby, helping

with sailing, teaching chess and taking students to teach French at Ashton Gate Primary School. He was also a tutor in Watson’s House, Hallward’s House and The South Town.

Llew has a very friendly, encouraging, supportive manner with students and colleagues. I’ve never met anyone more considered, both in terms of approach to teaching and in words of comfort and wisdom when difficulties arise. I will remember Llew for his calmness, honesty, integrity, hard work and classical music (any visitor to ML31 was transported into a concert auditorium). Llew leaves Clifton to spend retirement with his wife, Pat, and to devote more time to his many interests and especially to long distance walking.

Owen Lewis

Eleven years is not an insignificant time to spend in one role, and Tom certainly made an impact in this period. Tom joined Clifton in 2008 and took over the Classics Department three years later, bringing a fresh and youthful approach, and soon introduced systems and order that he was happy with. He took pride in the performance of Clifton classicists and would always promote their case, whether in the subject choices for Oxbridge potential applicants, or the provision of Latin and Classics in the Prep School. He was passionate about his subject, and took particular pride in exposing students to the ancient world through the medium of overseas trips, and has a reputation as a tour guide of the highest quality! He showed impressive commitment to the co-curriculum while at Clifton, supporting Under 14 rugby, cross country and athletics for many years. He was an accomplished and qualified rugby referee, in demand for top-stream games, and also a strong (and competitive) runner himself. He leaves us to start a new chapter with his family in the United States, and despite the many holes that he leaves here, these are exciting times for him and we wish him well for the future.

Gil Simmons

“ I will remember Llew for his calmness, honesty, integrity, hard work and classical music.”

Thomas Patrick

Sarah Atkinson

Sarah joined us as a teacher of French and Spanish in 2011 with a degree in French and Spanish from Cambridge University and a specialist interest in film and linguistics. She very quickly got involved in Clifton life and became Assistant Housemistress in West Town, Assistant Housemistress in Hallward’s House and then Head of French. Sarah has made significant contributions to the College through EDIB, the Environmental Action group, Pride Society, Junior Debating, Staff Meditation and through her tutoring. Sarah has a very friendly, encouraging, positive manner with students and because of this they adore her lessons; many pupils have told me that Sarah has been their favourite Clifton teacher. Some of these students then chose her subject at A Level and continued it at university because of her. Careful planning is one of Sarah’s many great strengths; as Head of French she is incredibly clear in the way she communicates, leading the department with detailed schemes of work and through resource sharing. Sarah has also run French inter-schools debates and helped run trips to Spain and France.

I associate Sarah with honesty, integrity, laughter, conversations about travel and film, the antics of her beloved cat, live music and awesome taste in shoes. Sarah leaves Clifton to run the MFL Department at St Dunstan’s in London. She will be greatly missed.

Owen Lewis

Jenny Piddock

Jenny joined Clifton as a teacher of MFL in 2015 from Cambridge University with a specialist interest in film and linguistics. She taught French and Latin to the lower school and German to university entrance before taking over the running of the German Department in 2017. Speaking and teaching German is in Jenny’s DNA: both her parents were language teachers so she spent a lot of time in Germany when growing up and still maintains many links with the country. She doesn’t just teach German, Jenny loves the language, the wider culture of the German-speaking world, and the music.

Jenny has always been a reliable and respected colleague. This respect has been earned in part by her careful running of the Clifton in the Community programme which sends 360 students into 23 external organisations across Bristol every week. Jenny also enjoys planning schemes of work, monitoring results, and the logistics of organising overseas trips. She takes great care in her preparation of lessons and has created banks of new resources on every aspect of the new IGCSE and A Level. Her balanced perspective, her passion for developing the department and initiating change, and her brilliant sense of humour will be very greatly missed. We wish Jenny well as she moves to London with her family to teach languages at Halliford School.

Owen Lewis

Louisa Hume

Louisa has been an exceptional member of staff since joining the College in 2012. She is a teacher who puts her students first and always makes her lessons as fun and engaging as possible to ensure that all her pupils are enjoying and progressing well in chemistry. A superb classroom practitioner, her students always speak so highly of her, not only as a teacher but also, quite simply, as a lovely person. Louisa has taken charge of cross country during her time at the College and has worked tirelessly to provide students with a comprehensive range of running sessions and fixtures. The organisation of the Pens whole school cross country race is by no means an easy task, but Louisa has thrived under pressure and has produced some excellent events that will be fondly remembered by many Cliftonians. You could not wish to work with a more positive, enthusiastic, encouraging and supportive colleague. Louisa will be sorely missed at Clifton, but we know that she will enjoy spending more quality time with her husband and daughters, as well as possibly becoming a primary school teacher in the near future.

Matt Deacon

Liam Bull

Liam joined the school in 2015, bringing with him many years of experience teaching EAL abroad as well as in England. During the ensuing seven years, Liam has established himself as a passionate teacher of English Language, primarily teaching English to EAL students.

Students will miss his enthusiasm for the subject and the knowledge and experience he brings to each lesson. Outside of the classroom, Liam is Head of Football; he has been unparalleled in his commitment to students’ sporting endeavours whilst working at Clifton, and I know the students are immensely grateful.

He will be sorely missed by the school community, as well as by the students and staff in East Town (not to mention those of us at 4-5 Worcester Road!) and we wish him all the best in his new role as lecturer of ESOL at Bristol College.

Emily Vicary

Iwan Thomas

Iwan joined Clifton in 2018 from his position as Head of English at Bristol Free School. The author of this valete knows this all too well, as Iwan taught both his children there, and to great effect in each case with two very different learners. This characterises Iwan’s strengths - an outstanding teacher, able to inspire pupils and help them progress whoever they were. He has run a cohesive and forwardthinking English department, working closely with the EAL and LS Departments and leading by example, inspiring excellence in teaching and learning. A passion for his subject imbues each and every one of his lessons.

His work with the Bristol Education Partnership as lead for Clifton was key in forging relationships across the city and helping us to continue modernising our education and sharing and taking on board ideas and initiatives. The mentoring and

oracy programmes he has pioneered whilst at the College have reached far beyond Clifton’s boundaries. He has also run Senior Debating at the College, expertly guiding Sixth Form students through a series of challenging and frequently contentious topics and setting the debating bar high. As a Sixth Form tutor in Moberly’s, Iwan has been a highly effective and knowledgeable mentor, inspiring the boys to aim high at all times. His calm and collected demeanour has been particularly successful in encouraging a positive working atmosphere during prep time, and any student who claims not to have prep will be presented with a book!

Backwell School are very lucky to have next use of his knowledge and skills, and we wish him all the best for his future career.

Gil Simmons

Simon Chapman

Simon joined the College in 2016, having previously been Chaplain at Aldenham School. This was, however, just one of his former careers, which included police officer, emergency department staff nurse and a chaplain in the armed services. When speaking in Chapel, Simon has drawn on this rich background and his talks are always at once engaging, interesting and thought-provoking. It is a rare skill to be able to address pupils who can range in age from the Nursery to the Upper Sixth and find a way that connects with them.

During his time at the College he expanded his role, both inside the school and in the wider community. He qualified as a Mental Health First Aid instructor and was then able to train many of our pastoral staff, as well as some of the

pupils. He also trained as a cognitive behavioural therapist and a relationship counsellor. Outside of school, he was a Royal Navy Reserve Chaplain, based at the Royal Marines Commando Training Centre and the RNLI Portishead Chaplain. Most recently he became Chairman of the RNLI Portishead Lifeboat Station. In all these outward-facing roles, he has been extremely impressive but perhaps the real strength of a chaplain is the support that they provide to individual members of our community in times of difficulty and challenge. Here, Simon has excelled and I know that many who read these words will have been helped and supported by him.

We will all miss him a great deal but we wish him well as he develops his own counselling practice and continues to support those in need of help. Thank you, Simon, for all you have done for us.

Tim Greene

“A passion for his subject imbues each and every one of his lessons.”

Matthew Deacon

Matt came in 2018 from Nailsea School where he was Assistant Curriculum Leader for Science, to take on a Teacher of Chemistry role as well as Head of PSHE here at Clifton. It wasn’t long before he started to gather more roles: Head of Chemistry, Head of Science, Assistant Housemaster of South Town, Master i/c Athletics and PGCE Professional Tutor being fairly prominent ones. In all his roles he displayed efficiency and accuracy in his work, and could be relied upon to finish tasks promptly and effectively. As Head of Chemistry and Science, Matt promoted university visits, chemistry competitions and trips

Alex Moore

Alex joined Clifton as a teacher of physics in September 2020. He threw himself into the wider life of the College straight away, taking an active role in the Music Department by leading the Cliftones. He has also reestablished fives and challenged our physicists with some exciting Stretchy Physics sessions and British Physics Olympiad preparation.

He has been a positive and enthusiastic member of the Physics Department, always willing to lend a hand and

to different shows. He brought to Clifton many displays covering the Chemistry walls; colourful chemistry posters, history of elements ‘Periodic tables’ of differing types, and chemists and their findings, have all made appearances. Novel demos and other displays have been a regular feature of his department meetings. He has been an enthusiastic and supportive teacher and head of department and will be greatly missed. He will be remembered for his enduring smile, and unusual dress sense, often featuring a bow tie. We wish him the best of luck in his new role at Kingswood School.

Gil Simmons

wanting the best for his students. Alex has also been a tutor in West Town, offering pastoral and academic care to a Fourth Form group. He showed resilience and creativity during lockdown periods, developing resources to inspire, encourage and engage pupils. Alex is moving to London to support his partner to take up a doctorate and has secured himself a role at Kingsdale Foundation School. We wish him all the best for the future and will miss him greatly.

Becca Luker

Tamsin Cardale

In her two years at Clifton, Tamsin has made a tangible difference to the College’s culture and to students’ lives. As Head of the PSHE Department, she has led the PSHE and RSE curriculum, working incredibly hard to develop Clifton’s provision in this area; it is now sector-leading, with superb resources. Such work has perfectly complemented her role as Year 10 Senior Tutor and an EDIB Committee member. As a tutor in Worcester House, she has gone beyond what is required, and she places the well-being and mental health of students at the centre of everything she does. Tamsin is a wonderful role model; she leads by doing, and her involvement in both sport (especially hockey) and CCF have allowed pupils to grow and challenge themselves outside the classroom. In both geography and PSHE, students have benefitted from well planned and resourced lessons taught with enthusiasm and empathy. She has given so much to Clifton in such a short space of time; colleagues have been heard to say, ‘What would Tamsin do?’ when presented with a problem. Tamsin will be missed across the College as she departs to teach geography at QEH. We wish her every success and happiness.

Jonathan Hughes

Johanna Ungersböck

Johanna came from Vienna to Clifton in 2020 to be the German Language Assistant and a resident tutor. Organised and thorough, she has enjoyed taking on the beginners German classes, urging them to learn vocabulary rigorously, and has been willing to track down any student attempting to skip a speaking session. Keen to participate in all department matters, she has kept the German noticeboard updated with interesting news and language facts from the Germanspeaking world, joined in with lessons on German culture, a lockdown Zoom Fasching party, the Easter Egg Hunt and a Third Form zoo trip. Johanna leaves us to return to the University of Vienna to complete her bachelor’s degree in the teacher education programme to become a teacher of English and Geography. We wish her all the best!

Jenny Piddock

Will Stacey

Will, a very talented polyglot, joined the MFL Department in 2021, mainly as a maternity cover for German. He immediately began demonstrating his superior language skills by teaching A Level German and A Level Italian to native speakers as well as Prep School French and Spanish! Students have appreciated his passion for learning languages for the sake of enjoyment and his interesting nuggets of grammar. Keen to participate in all activities, he also supported the Third Form German trip to Bristol Zoo and German Easter Egg Hunt. Outside of the classroom Will has supported the co-curriculum by running the public speaking club and helping to coach tennis. He has been a Sixth Form tutor in The South Town and it is perhaps in his role as tutor that his true generosity of spirit has been the most visible. Will leaves Clifton to teach A Level Spanish at Bolton School. We will miss him greatly and wish him well.

Owen Lewis

Bogdan Dumitrascu

Bogdan joined the Maths Department in 2019, fresh out of university having just received a first from LSE in Economics. As a home grown talent, his mathematical knowledge was excellent and he was keen to get involved in all areas of school life, taking on the position of School House resident tutor and rugby coach from the beginning. After having experienced two of the strangest years of teaching due to Covid, he is leaving us to pursue a career with McKinsey & Company, a Global Management Consulting Firm which will result in him flying all over the world, but keeping Bristol as his base.

Helen Evans

“She has given so much to Clifton in such a short space of time; colleagues have been heard to say, ‘What would Tamsin do?’ when presented with a problem.”

Zhenya Shkil

Zhenya joined Clifton as our teacher of Russian in 2018. Her role was to prepare native speakers for the new A Level and for GCSE. She introduced her students to the Russian Booker Prize nominated novella Sonechka and to Russian history and film. Though teaching Russian was Zhenya’s role, she did far more than teach. She celebrated Maslenitsa (Slavic pancake day) with all the Russian-speaking students and baked countless bliny (Russian pancakes) for students to share. She encouraged her students to enter our poetry recitation competitions and to debate competitively in Russian. She succeeded in creating a space for Clifton students from across the Russian-speaking diaspora to meet and celebrate shared culture. Zhenya was juggling Clifton teaching with running a language school and undertaking interpreting work for the police, and she leaves us to dedicate more time to running her school and to her work helping Ukrainian refugees to settle in the UK.

Owen Lewis

Amy Jenkins

Amy’s year at Clifton has been a delight to lovers of mixed metaphors everywhere: she has risen to impressive heights in the History and Politics Department, having thrown herself in at the deep end in each aspect of her co-curricular life, and used her heart of gold as a tutor in Worcester to support her tutees and other pupils with care. During her short time at Clifton she has helped teach old dogs some new tricks for recall practice and dual-coding, and braved the unchartered waters of A Level teaching with gusto. Not one to blow her own trumpet, I will happily do it for her: her cheery disposition, continuous desire to improve and contagious laugh have been invaluable this year.

Sinéad Lynch

Kimshi De Sa

Kimshi joined Clifton in 2021 as our new French Language Assistant. The year has been a real adventure for Kimshi, who came to the UK for the first time last year, having grown up in Paris and spent the previous two years studying for her university degree from home due to Covid restrictions. As a result, boarding school life was certainly quite a change for her! Nevertheless, Kimshi threw herself into teaching students from all year groups in one-toone speaking lessons. She has really enjoyed learning about UK life and culture, and has shown herself to be an incredibly dedicated teacher, preparing helpful resources and tailoring her lessons with real care. Kimshi has really grown in confidence through exploring Bristol and the surrounding area; having grown up in an urban setting, she was really excited to go for her first ever walk in a forest when visiting Owen’s home in Monmouthshire! We wish Kimshi all the best as she returns to Paris to continue her studies. Merci!

Sarah Atkinson

Shannon Schrijver

Shannon returned to Clifton Prep School in 2013 and was the Housemistress of Mansfield House, where she looked after girls in Years 4, 5 and 6. In addition, she taught ICT and assisted with the sports programme of netball and hockey. In 2017 she moved to the Upper School and rejoined the Business Department where she taught GCSE, A Level and BTEC Business. She has a wealth of knowledge and has been a real inspiration to her students and colleagues. Always keen to put her students first, she put on additional revision clinics and exam technique lessons in order for them to achieve their very best. Shannon also played an integral role in basketball coaching and Fifth Form Business Enterprise, as well as being a dedicated tutor in both The South Town and Worcester. Her experience and expertise in pastoral care was truly valued as she helped guide her tutees through their university applications. Shannon has moved on from Clifton to return to the United States. We wish her the very best in future endeavours, and she will be truly missed here at Clifton.

Kath Jeffery

Julia Folland

Julia has been an enthusiastic and passionate Head of Business. Having joined the College in 2019, she has worked hard to drive forward the department, placing emphasis on the pupils’ experience and their outcomes. She has supported the growth of the subject in terms of pupil numbers, and has worked tirelessly to embed the BTEC as a rigorous alternative to A Level Business at Sixth Form. She has always put the pupils first, and worked diligently in supporting them to achieve their personal best. Julia has been a loyal and dedicated tutor in Oakeley’s for four years and has inspired the girls with her chats on duty, support for UCAS applications and infectious love of all things equestrian. Away from the classroom and the boarding House, she has been the College’s equestrian lead, enhancing this area of school life through passion and enthusiasm. She has also played an instrumental role in the development and implementation of the Fifth Form Enterprise Programme, an initiative which has piqued the interest of a number of Year 11 pupils, encouraging them to choose the subject in the Sixth Form.

Julia leaves Clifton to take up post as Head of Business at Redmaids’ High School - our very best wishes go with her.

Gavin Turner

Hannah Clarke

Hannah joined the Classics Department in 2019, quickly establishing herself as a passionate and devoted teacher of Latin, Greek and Classical Civilisation, not only at the Upper School, but also at the Pre. Her enthusiasm, creativity and dedication have never waned, even through the remote learning and hybrid lessons which have occupied a significant portion of her time at Clifton. Hannah’s contributions to the department have been considerable: from redesigning the Year 7 course to helping prepare candidates for Oxbridge; and from celebrating Virgil’s birthday to organising the school’s first residential trip after lockdown, a tour of Roman Britain.

Liz James

Liz joined Clifton from Teddy’s, Oxford in 2021, where she had been a housemistress. Since taking on the role of Housemistress of Worcester in 2020 in the midst of Covid’s reign of terror, Liz has been a bastion of resilience and calm for both the pupils in her pastoral care and in her history classroom. Steering the House through lockdowns, quarantines and distance learning became the norm in her first term, when on one memorable occasion the House was released from lockdown at the start of period 1, only to be put back in by the end of it. Following her son Arthur’s arrival this academic year, Liz leaves us to enjoy a different pace of life with her family. Liz will be missed by her colleagues and we wish her all the best for the future.

Sinéad Lynch

Hannah has made an equally large impact on the pastoral side, starting as resident tutor in Oakeley’s before moving to Worcester House as Assistant Housemistress, a reassuring and reliable presence throughout a time of uncertainty. She is generous with her time for both pupils and colleagues alike, and is always ready and willing to go the extra mile. Social responsibilities feature prominently in who Hannah is and how she engages with the pupils; she brought the groundbreaking Black Classicists exhibition to Clifton, and has been a driving force in the Amnesty and Peer Support groups.

Hannah is heading to Malvern College to be Head of Classics, and we wish her all the best.

Tom Patrick

Ellie Hall

Ellie joined the College in 2021 on a one-year contract to step in and complete the teaching for the GCSE Dance course. Whilst also teaching at St Brendan’s Sixth Form College, and not having taught GCSE Dance for several years, Ellie picked the class up with barely a blink of the eye, and has worked tirelessly throughout the year to ensure that they are well prepared for their exam. Ellie has shown a high level of skill and dedication in the role, always looking to bring out the best in her students, whilst retaining her good-humoured and cheerful demeanour.

Rhian Orzel

Karen Whishaw

Karen joined us for just the Lent Term in the Business Studies Department, bringing with her a wealth of knowledge and experience in teaching both GCSE and A Level and BTEC Business. In her brief time at Clifton she contributed to the resources for the department and offered great assistance and help to the students she was teaching. She has our very best wishes for the future and we could not be more grateful for the support and guidance she gave us.

Kath Jeffery

“She is generous with her time for both pupils and colleagues alike.”

Development Trust

It is my pleasure to address our community in my second year as your Development Director.

The last few years have been very productive for the Clifton College Development Trust (CCDT). Despite nearly two years of Covid, which limited traditional fundraising methods, we are now able to revert to meetings in person, which is much preferable.

Bursaries for qualified meanstested pupils remain a priority of the College. Over the last two fiscal years, we have raised in excess of £1,000,000 in bursarial funding for parents who simply could not otherwise afford full fees at Clifton. In fact, the need for bursarial funding continues to grow and shows no sign of abating. As such, the CCDT will continue to fundraise for something parents and OCs believe is a charitable priority.

At Clifton we receive many requests for bursaries. All applicants are carefully scrutinised to ensure only those pupils most deserving are chosen and bursaries awarded to those who can demonstrate exceptional talent in a variety of areas, including academics, sports, music, and theatre. Pupils are also selected if they display talents in a combination of disciplines. Bursarial recipients are very important to Clifton, as they enable the school to enhance and broaden our College community.

Over summer 2022, we conducted our first calling programme for a number of years. Twelve recent leavers and Sixth Formers spoke to parents and OCs over a twoweek period. The majority of the charitable funding was attracted towards our bursary scheme, thanks to the CCDT matched gift funding initiative. We wish to thank all those parents and OCs who generously contributed to our calling programme. Regardless of the size of your gift, the combined might of your generosity truly does make a difference.

It gives me great pleasure to report a significant individual gift to the College. Since the publication of last year’s magazine, Clifton has received one of the largest single gifts from a single benefactor in recent independent school history. Mr Lal Chellaram has helped fund the (soon to be constructed) Chellaram Sports Complex and grounds located on Clifton’s Beggar Bush site. Clifton is extremely grateful to Mr Chellaram for his charitable leadership. Our new sports complex will undoubtedly put

Clifton at the forefront of sports provision amongst our peer schools. Clifton already sits in the top tier of independent school sport and this new complex will play an integral part in ensuring the future of Clifton sport. This facility is, however, not just for elite sport: each and every pupil will benefit from this facility, as will the greater Bristol community.

Speaking of tremendous benefaction, I am continually amazed by the generosity of our 1862 Club members, increasingly made up of parents. In the past year, we have received £400,000 from those who have remembered Clifton in their will. The combined might of these gifts is very important to Clifton, and we are eternally grateful.

We are delighted that the Head Master has approved a new donor board, acknowledging members of the 1862 Club who have made such bequests.

Over the past ten years, the Head Master and the CCDT have hosted a number of breakfast events in the Cricket Pavilion, which are open to all parents and local OCs. These events bring together

the Clifton community to enjoy a complimentary breakfast, whilst hearing speakers of note discuss a variety of topics. In the last year these talks have included the importance of regular exercise, the STAR scheme (supporting children to build inner strength through sport), counselling psychology, the law online and the art of auctioneering. We hope you will continue to support these Breakfast Club events.

In conclusion, the CCDT Chairman, Simon Brewer, and our trustees wish to thank all those who are currently supporting Clifton charitably. Further, if you are considering a gift, please contact the Development Office so that we can discuss the merits of supporting the College. The College receives no public funding other than the charitable benefaction of our parents and Old Cliftonians, and your support, regardless of its size, is vital in keeping Clifton at the forefront of education in the UK and abroad.

John Rolfe

Development Director, Clifton College Development Trust

“Clifton has received one of the largest single gifts from a single benefactor in recent independent school history.”