SALVETE & VALETE

SALVETE We welcomed new members of staff in 2022.

Andy Hamilton – HsM and Teacher of Academic PE Matthew O’Neill – Teacher of Religious Studies Molly Orme – Teacher of Classics Michelle Leung – Teacher of Maths Bethany Ackerley – Trainee Teacher of Drama (New role) Lisa Packer – Netball Development Lead and Coach Max Gauntlett – Rugby Development Lead and Coach Valeria Goryun – Resident Sports Assistant Richard Staines – Resident Sports Assistant Finlay Boarder – Resident Sports Assistant Lydia Cotterell – Artist in Residence Sally Taylorson – House Parent (Sunday)

VALETE

RACHEL BEVAN Rachel is emphatic that she has not retired, and I would be the last one to argue. She has nevertheless stepped down from teaching singing at Downside after a few decades, in order to spend time on projects which her commitments to the School have prevented. And her commitments to Downside have been huge. She has been a highly successful singing teacher, hauling in Distinctions in examinations and choral scholarships by the skip-load for her pupils, as well as encouraging those of more modest ambition or ability to make good progress and surprise themselves in the process. Thanks to the firm technical and interpretative foundations established by Rachel, several of her former pupils have gone on to successful professional singing careers. Rachel also founded and led the Girls’ Chamber Choir, which made a regular, skilled, and valued contribution to the liturgy in the Abbey Church and elsewhere. She has sung countless solos in all sorts of concerts and services, as well as discreetly supporting the School’s choirs, sometimes at very short notice. Rachel served as a much-loved Assistant House Mistress in Isabella House for a few years; she taught the Monastic Novices how to sing and read plainchant; she led various Three Days in June projects, especially singing her beloved 16th century polyphony; and she organised and sang in the Christmas and

Easter music in the Abbey Church. As well as her musical skills Rachel is a skilled and hospitable cook, famously entertaining the Monastic Community to Boxing Day lunch for very many years. Rachel has been generous with her time and skills beyond Downside’s walls, especially by serving as a Mendip Councillor, and she brings tremendous energy and positivity to all that she does. She insists on high standards but is warmly forgiving of those who don’t quite meet them, and her great insight into the best and less impressive sides of human nature means that it is often to Rachel that pupils and colleagues turn, at difficult times, knowing they will receive a discreet and sympathetic hearing, as well as sound advice. These latter qualities mean that we’re not saying goodbye to Rachel just yet, as she will continue to serve our pupils as the School’s Independent Listener. But we can’t allow her stepping-down from the Music Department to go unacknowledged, and I thank her for all that she has given to our musicians, as well as to the wider School, Monastic, and local communities. Julian McNamara Director of Music

Julian McNamara Director of Music

TONY BEVAN Tony is retiring after close to 40 years’ teaching in the Music Department at Downside, and after a lifetime’s connection with it. Tony’s father was the Director of Music at Downside, and Tony came to the School as a music scholar following his time as a chorister at Westminster Cathedral. He went on to win a scholarship to read Music at St John’s College, Cambridge, then spent a few years trying his vocation to the priesthood before returning to Somerset and establishing himself as a professional musician. He has undertaken a variety of musical roles at Downside. Most recently he has been teaching the violin, viola, piano, and theory, but at various times over the decades he has conducted the orchestra and choral society, coached various chamber music groups, served as a piano accompanist, played the organ for services in the Abbey Church, played in the orchestras, and much else besides. Tony is a modest and unassuming man. He shuns the limelight, and he doesn’t want a fuss, but he is an immensely skilled, versatile, and generous musician and he has devoted his life to our department. He would be surprised, I think, to know just how immensely his colleagues like and respect him, and how much they value his experience, wisdom, erudition, and humour. His retirement brings an end - or at least, a temporary pause - to the Bevan family’s connection with Downside’s Music Department, which has lasted for several decades. On behalf of my predecessors and the hundreds of pupils he has taught, influenced, and inspired, I thank him for all he has given to Downside’s music and musicians, and I wish him a long, happy, and fulfilling retirement.

CAROLINE BRAWLEY Caroline Brawley came to Downside as the Director of Human Resources in 2017, and whilst others may have given more years of service to Downside, there can be few who have matched her commitment and determination to support Downside through what has been a period of profound change. Utterly trustworthy and principled, I quickly came to rely on her judgment and advice, which was always thoughtful and entirely honest; and it was not just me. She provided invaluable support to staff and governors to navigate a route through the often turbulent waters of the separation of the School from Downside Abbey General Trust and was then pivotal to ensuring that teachers were fully consulted and engaged in the difficult decisions relating to the Teachers’ Pension. These are just two examples but her thoroughness and commitment to meaningful dialogue and communication between all those involved in any process ensured

that trust was maintained, and a constructive outcome was achieved. Whilst she never shied away from tackling the challenging issues, nor did she ever forget to care for or listen to the individual and everything she undertook was underpinned by her fierce sense of fairness.

After the separation of the School and Monastery she became the School’s Director of Operations, overseeing the support staff. In this role, she worked tirelessly to ensure the departments for which she was responsible felt valued and supported. She has handed on a team which has a hugely positive culture in which each member takes a pride in what they do.

I will miss her wise counsel and her ability always to maintain a positive outlook and find humour even in some of the most challenging situations. She is a fantastic colleague and very definitely someone to have alongside you when the going gets tough, fiercely loyal, and never afraid to provide her honest opinion. We wish her luck in her new role and thank her for her exceptional service to Downside.

Andrew Hobbs Head

JONATHAN BRIDGES Jonnie achieved an immense amount in his twoand-a-half years as Head of Academic Music at Downside. His arrival, still jet-lagged from his honeymoon, coincided with a complete revamp of the School timetable. This doubled the amount of time for music in the First to Third Form and required the music curriculum for these yeargroups to be completely re-imagined. In the process, Jonnie introduced a range of new topics as well as refreshing the approach to some of the old favourites. The term Academic Music might seem worthy, dull, and bookish, but a glance at his acquisitions will show that with Jonnie at the helm the subject was anything but. Classroom sets of ukuleles and bagpipe chanters appeared alongside his slick PowerPoint presentations and ‘how to’ videos, and there was always an excited buzz of purposeful participation in his classroom - and not only from Jonnie.

The new curriculum was running beautifully… and then Covid-19 hit, requiring another massive redesign of the whole operation. Here, Jonnie’s immense creativity and high-level IT skills allowed him quickly to develop new courses and topics suitable for remote learning, which kept pupils engaged and motivated in a subject that could easily have dropped off their radar.

These same IT skills found Jonnie regularly and generously assisting his less IT literate colleagues (including this one) as well as masterminding the weekly lockdown hymn. He wove together various individuals’ solo recordings to create a virtual congregation, mixing their audio and video with shots of the Abbey Church and other images to make a composite that was distinctively Downside’s, while sensitively reflecting the themes, seasons and topics that were covered week by week.

He also recorded and mastered the audio for our Virtual Carol Service. This would be an immense and highly skilled task at the best of times, but it became nightmarishly complicated alongside the Covid-19 restrictions on numbers and social distancing; but you would never guess this from listening to Jonnie’s outstanding soundtrack.

Jonnie is a highly accomplished practical musician, and his contributions outside the classroom were no less distinguished. He set up the Function Band, led the Concert Band, played the trumpet when- and wherever possible, sang in the Schola and Chamber Choirs, and accompanied our singers and instrumentalists in many varied performances. He has a good nose for a moribund music shop, and the department’s instrument stock was refreshed by some great bargains which he found at various closing-down sales. And if all that weren’t enough, then his additional skills and talents in DIY ensured that we had a sturdy and stylish set for our production of Little Shop of Horrors, designed and built, of course, by Jonnie.

Jonnie leaves us to become Head of Academic Music at Warminster School. We thank him warmly for all that he has given to Downside, and for the positive, amiable, and mischievously fun-filled spirit in which he has given it; and we wish him, Helen and their soon-to-be-born first child our very best wishes for a prosperous and happy future.

Julian McNamara Director of Music

RYSHA BURKE When we say someone is “part of the furniture”, it is rather ambiguous whether we mean this as a compliment or not; on the other hand, when we talk about a “national treasure”, we all know that we are talking about someone held in the highest affection. Although, I do not think anyone would say that Rysha is a national treasure, we would all agree she was, indeed is, a Downside treasure and part of the very fabric of the place; this, I feel, sits rather better than “part of the furniture”, which would suggest a passivity that most certainly does not reflect Rysha.

After 25 years at Downside, I know the place well, but have always still felt like a newbie when in conversation with Rysha; her knowledge of not only the School, but the whole organisation and community never fails to amaze me. For someone who could quite easily forget to lock her front door or in which classroom she should be teaching, her recall of past events, pupils and staff is staggering, and if you have a few hours to spare, sit down with her and a stiff G&T, and let her regale you with anecdotes (all of which true and delivered with delightful understatement) which will leave you aching from laughter. The phrase “It could only happen to…” has never been more apt for anyone than for Rysha.

Rysha arrived at Downside in 1975, which makes her one of the longest-serving members of staff in the School’s history. Her roles have been manifold, from running the School shop to pioneering the position of House Mother, a role we all take for granted now, to teaching EAL and, in later years, being a key member of the Learning Support Department. What defined every one of these roles, though, are Rysha’s care and compassion. As someone who is sometimes prone to muddling up instructions (I still recall the morning she phoned to say she couldn’t come into work as she had just accidentally taken the dog’s chemotherapy medication), her empathy with pupils struggling to find their way at Downside, either literally lost in the corridors or finding it difficult to cope with their academic work, has brought great comfort to many; I say pupils, but Rysha extended this compassion also to her colleagues, whether that be the newest and youngest member of staff or the Head. Even when dealing with difficult issues in her own life, Rysha is unfailingly able to help others regain perspective when they are faced with problems, not making light of them, but by sharing and, therefore, lightening the burden.

It would be something of a fool’s errand to try to list every area of Downside life that has benefited from Rysha’s work and contributions, and I am not convinced it would capture the essence of her time here to do so. Countless past pupils will have memories of weekend outings with her, not least because of the extraordinary way in which she handled the School’s minibuses; others will recall impromptu quizzes during prep sessions, or her patience and support in EAL and Learning Support lessons. What better captures her essence, I believe, is simply the beauty of her personality, her generosity with her time, her readiness to step in whenever needed, and her genuine concern for, and interest in, every person here.

Rysha leaves Downside with our love, our gratitude and our very best wishes, to her and to her partner, Michael, for a long and happy retirement.

Richard Rawlins. Head of Sixth Form & Head of Languages

ALEX BURNS During the Michaelmas Term of 2018, the 1st XV completed a successful season under the leadership of Mike Baxter which saw them win nine of their 11 fixtures, with a positive points difference of +192. As Mr Baxter departed to take on the challenge of a new role at Millfield, we set about appointing a talented individual to continue the development of the sport throughout the School. Having received over sixty applications there was undoubtedly one which stood out. Alex Burns had attended the Royal School Dungannon, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, where he earned four A grades at A-Level in biology, geography, ICT and physical education, before moving to the University of Bath where he gained a 2:1 degree in Sport & Exercise Science.

Alongside this academic study, Alex had completed two overseas rugby coaching internships (Grey High School, Port Elizabeth in South Africa and Dilworth School in Auckland, New Zealand) as well as a year’s professional placement at Millfield as part of his degree. A qualified RFU Level 3 coach, Alex was also by that stage Lead Coach for the U15 Bath Rugby Academy Development Playing Programme and Head Coach of the Somerset U16s. Having most recently worked alongside Lewis Moody as Head of Rugby for the Mad Dog Sport programme at Royal Wootton Bassett Academy, Alex impressed with his ambition and the strength of his vision for the sport of rugby. It was clear that he had a genuine desire to support each player to be the best versions of themselves.

With the 15-a-side season concluded by the time Alex took up the position in January 2019, it was to be the sport of Rugby Seven’s which would enable him to make his first impression. Tournaments at Canford and Surrey Schools in Richmond would be excellent preparation for the National School’s Tournament at Rosslyn Park in March. Playing ten fixtures and only losing three on route to achieving qualification to the day two of RPNS7’s for the second successive season represented a hugely successful introduction for Alex and the rugby playing boys at Downside. This was a successful partnership which would, (despite the Covid-19 enforced disruption to the sport over the next two years) continue to see Downside rugby grow in strength, reputation and most importantly, an increase in the number of pupils playing the sport. The chant of “kick it forwards, pass it backwards – rugby!” being heard on the sports pitches almost every day, alongside an ever-increasing variety of musical sign- offs and innovative coaching sessions left pupils and coaches in no doubt why they loved the sport so much. Above all Alex instilled a love of the game and a desire to always keep learning and improving.

During his tenure as Head of Rugby at Downside, many pupils achieved representative honours. Ethan Morgan (Bath & Wales U18s) and Gregor Gaggero (Gibraltar U21s) both achieved International honours, largely in part to the support and mentoring provided by Alex. We also had more players than ever in the Bath Rugby Academy during Alex’s tenure as Head of Rugby - Kofi Barton-Byfield (B21), Max Surry, Zak Dinning, Charlie Boarder (Bath U18), Luke McGarry & Nic Viljoen (Bath U16) as well as Abdul Khalik Akenzua Al-Kareem who earned a professional Senior Academy Contract with Bath Rugby and begins training full-time with the Blue, Black and White 1st team squad from July 2022.

After four years at Downside, during which time he also coached 2nd XI Hockey & Cricket and managed our Strength & Conditioning programmes, Alex moved on in December 2022 to take up the role of DPP Manager, U16s Head Coach and Academy Coach Development Officer with Wasps Rugby. All involved with rugby at Downside wish him every success as he embarks on this coaching journey within the professional game.

Richard Jones Director of Sport

DOM JAMES HOOD There can have been few people who have given more to our school community or exerted a greater influence on it than Dom James and so it was with enormous sadness that we bid him farewell in February after his more than forty years of service. He served as Teacher, House Master, Bursar, Chaplain and Master of Ceremonies in the Abbey Church and, whatever role he was given, he performed to the very best of his ability, with absolute commitment and unwavering loyalty. Safe to say, he will be remembered as one of the greats.

But I have to admit that when I arrived at Downside, as the new Deputy Head in 2008, I thought Dom James was a little mad. He had recently returned from Chile where he had been visiting the three Manquehue Schools in Santiago, with whom Downside had a growing association. He had been deeply impressed and affected by his visits there, by the relationships he had developed and encounters he had experienced. He presented me with a document entitled ‘The development of Tutoria at Downside.’ This document described how pupils and staff at the Manquehue schools are fed and nourished on the Word of God, through Lectio Divina and older pupils encourage, support, and guide the younger pupils on their spiritual journey. ‘Each person’, he wrote ‘is made in the likeness of Christ: Christ lives in each person. As each person travels on their spiritual journey, they need the guidance and support of others: Tutoria is about giving each person that guidance and support so that they can grow in the love of God and neighbour: it is about “spiritual mentoring.”

I’m embarrassed to say that I was not really familiar with what Lectio Divina was, and Tutoria seemed to me not just to be a foreign word, but also an extremely foreign concept. Fine for South America but somehow not quite Somerset. The thought of teenagers voluntarily and with any degree of sincerity, forming groups to engage in prayerful reading of the gospel and then, on top of that, being prepared to share their personal reflections with one another was, in my opinion, verging on delusional. It was also not the way that the teenagers I had come into contact with in my nearly twenty years of teaching had behaved up till now. I was not optimistic!

It didn’t take me long to realise that Dom James was not a man who allows his expectations to be set by what others normally do and fourteen years on I am delighted to admit that it was my expectations which were wrong. Lectio Divina, along with spiritual mentoring and friendship, is now at the heart of the school community at Downside thanks in large part to Dom James’ vision and leadership of the Chaplaincy. His caring presence and constant encouragement, accompanying pupils and staff in their journey through Downside helped them to recognise the importance of the faith which lies at the centre of the community and to engage with it. He is a contagious Christian whose authority comes from the fact that his actions match his words, but unlike other contagions we will continue to encourage the spread of the epidemic for which he was responsible! Generations of Gregorians have been impacted by Dom James. His affection for Barlow remained obvious but as Chaplain his visits to all the Houses was cause for celebration and the demand for the roles serving at Mass on a Sunday or on Feast Days were always oversubscribed. Our community has been enriched by Dom James in so many ways and we will do our very best to build on the legacy with which he has left us. It was entirely fitting that he should have been a winner of the Old Gregorian Medal in July and that it was his words, humble and down to earth as always, which ended our Prize Day ceremony.

Andrew Hobbs Head

NICOLÁS ANDRÉS MENEGHELLO MATTE Nicolás arrived at Downside in February 2018, when a male group of the Manquehue Movement took over from the women who had started St Scholastica Community early in 2015.

Nicolás oversaw St Scholastica in its work at Downside School and worked hard from the beginning to discover a structure for Lectio Divina Groups that would work best. He wanted to be sure that every single student in the School was invited to join a Lectio Group, to encourage and improve the leadership of older students, to offer students a path on which they could progress as missionary disciples of the Lord through Lectio Divina, community and friendship. Nicolás’ approach was focused and effective. He also emphasized the importance of sharing about the work of St Scholastica with other members of the School community in a consistent and clear way.

A good example of Nicolás creativity to reach out to all pupils was ‘Titans Cup’, a football tournament where the younger ones could meet their Lectio leaders in a different context. The pandemic of course brought unprecedented challenges for the work of St Scholastica at Downside. The online “Lectio Divina Workshop” and the whole school event “Light your Lockdown” were some of the creative ways in which Nicolás managed to put this special time to good use.

Many young people experienced Nicolás’ welcome in Christ at Downside and his zeal to share the gift of friendship with the Lord with everyone. His manifold talents, for work and organisation alongside others not less important as his virtuous guitar playing and cooking, were always at the service of sharing the Good News. He left Downside in November 2021 when he was called back to Chile to serve in a new development of Manquehue in the southern city of Valdivia.

Cristóbal Valdés Raczynski St Scholastica Community Manquehue Apostolic Movement GILES MERCER This is not the first time we have said farewell to Giles Mercer. The fact that this is the case is testimony to his extraordinary commitment to Downside and his preparedness to provide support to our community when it was most needed. After an earlier stint on the board during which he served as Deputy Chair, Giles returned as Chair of Governors in 2020, following the sad death of Adrian Aylward, to provide a steady hand on the tiller and navigate us through some tricky waters.

This was an extraordinary act of generosity and demonstrates his selfless dedication and enthusiasm for Catholic education especially as the School, so newly separated from the Monastery was then faced with the challenges of the Covid Pandemic. Giles’s credentials are impeccable, having led two Catholic Schools as Head for a combined period of twenty-four years and having already served as a governor in eight Catholic schools. His experience and wisdom are second to none but even more importantly, his deep humanity and care for each and every person in the community provided us with the confidence and belief to continue to build and develop the School purpose and maintain our direction and momentum.

His deep understanding of and long-standing relationship with Downside was particularly important leading up to and following the departure of the Monastic Community from Somerset. Nobody knows our history better or respects our tradition more, but he was always focused on our future rather than on any attempt to return to the past. Amidst all the change we could all be confident that maintaining our strong relationship with the monks would remain a priority and that Downside would retain and reassert its vision to be a Catholic and Benedictine School, with Christ at its centre. At Prize Day in 2021 Giles expressed the importance of stepping up, each in our own way and taking ‘ownership of the mission of the School and living it out responsibly and creatively’. We owe a debt of gratitude to Giles for leading us through this

chapter of the School’s journey and setting our course so clearly. We also thank Caroline, his wife, for loaning him to us at this critical time. We wish them both well in their next endeavours and hope we will have the chance to welcome them here on many occasions in the coming years.

Andrew Hobbs Head Andrew Hobbs Head

JAMES SCOTT-GATTY Joining the board of Governors in 2014, serving as Deputy Chair and Chair of the Governors’ Finance and Resources Committee, James ScottGatty has loyally guided and advised the School through many pivotal transitions. With a long and successful career in wealth management and previous experience as a charity trustee and school governor, James brought a huge amount of knowledge and skill to the board. James always exuded a composed confidence, and his sense of humour was always evident even when the waters got choppy. His observations and advice were never other than insightful and constructive, and his calm authority meant his opinion was always carefully listened to but never imposed. His leadership always brought out the best in others.

James was instrumental to the separation process of the School from Downside Abbey General Trust to become its own Trust, with the energy and tenacity to ensure the finer details were considered, whilst navigating the delicate course through what was a momentous and sensitive stage in our history. He briefly took up the reins as Acting Chair after Adrian Aylward so sadly died and oversaw the transition to Giles Mercer’s taking over the position of Chair. It was never about him and as always, his priority was the stability and development of the School.

James’s connection with the School goes far beyond his involvement as a governor, being educated at Downside between 1971 and 1976 and also as a parent. This allowed James to offer a unique perspective when considering the strategy and direction of the School and we are immensely grateful to him for his commitment and input in shaping our future. We will miss him and very much hope that he will visit in the years to come.

GEORGE SETTERFIELD Following the departure of Alfonso Thomas to a professional coaching role with Hampshire Hawks, Downside sought to appoint a new Head of Cricket Development to join the School in September 2019. Whilst George’s passion, personal qualities and coaching abilities were evident on interview, it is fair to say that some pupils took a while longer to recognise the quiet and understated nature of George’s coaching style. That George was an excellent coach and communicator was evident from the outset – it just that his detail was going to be presented in a different way than they were used to!

Educated at Katherine Lady Berkeley School in Gloucestershire, where he gained four A-Levels in physical education, English, music and film Studies, George then achieved a First-Class Hons degree in Sport, Coaching and Physical Education from Oxford Brookes University. An ECB Level 3 cricket coach, George also held coaching awards in basketball, football and rugby – adding to his versatility and making him the leading candidate in a strong field of applicants.

George had combined his degree studies alongside a role as Head Coach of Oxford University Women, recording successive Varsity wins against Cambridge University at Lords. Upon completion of his degree course, George was appointed as Cricket Development Manager for Oxfordshire. Overseeing the strategic development of 80 affiliated clubs, George was also the Head Coach for the Oxfordshire Girls U15s. It was beyond the sport of cricket where perhaps we

can learn how George’s wider interests and talents made him able to build such strong relationships with all pupils at Downside. He was in the OTC for two years at Oxford Brookes, captaining their Rugby Seven’s team and he reached Grade Six in clarinet – something which he kept secret from most until his debut performance in the School orchestra during the end of term celebrations for Christmas in 2019.

Whilst the Covid-19 enforced lockdown of 2020 deprived George of his first cricket season at the School, George continued throughout his time at the School to drive the highest standards and was an excellent role model to all sports men and women who were fortunate enough to be coached by him. Under his leadership Girls Cricket, went from strength to strength, with the establishment of competitive hard ball teams at both U14 & U16 level, as well as a successful indoor programme throughout the winter. Thankfully the summer of 2021 saw the return of limited Inter-School sports fixtures and George was at least able to experience his first competitive season, albeit somewhat differently. The highlight of the season was the return of fixtures against visiting adult sides in the final week of term, with the 1st XI playing Hawkesbury CC, South Oxfordshire Amateurs and Midsomer Norton CC, the later initiating a lasting and mutually beneficial partnership between the two which has seen Downside pupils experience adult club cricket alongside their school programme and the clubs’ Youth sides in turn using our indoor nets for winter training.

A Tutor in Powell House, hockey coach and rugby referee extraordinaire (with an extensive collection of fluorescent socks!), George made a lasting impact during his brief time at Downside. None more so than on Nicolas Viljoen, who George continued to coach 1-to-1 and was instrumental in Nicolas’ development within the Somerset Cricket Academy, progressing him to be one of only seven players across the County training twice weekly in Taunton with Somerset’s Head of Performance within the Emerging Player Programme.

Ultimately, the turmoil of a pandemic meant that George (like all of us) missed two and half term’s worth of sport due to Covid-19 lockdowns in the two years and one term he worked with us. Initially the plan had been to relocate from Oxfordshire, where his partner worked in a Prep School. Unfortunately, this did not materialise, and George left Downside in December 2021 to return to Oxfordshire to be closer to family. George will be remembered at Downside as a kind, considerate and fiercely competitive individual and he moves on to a similar role at Bloxham School with our best wishes for the future.

Richard Jones Director of Sport