Shamal 2014

DUBAI COLLEGE U.A.E.

DUBAI COLLEGE

A tradition of quality in education DUBAI COLLEGE U.A.E.

Shamal 2014

Contents

Staff Headmaster’s Photographs Foreword 4 3

Goodbye 6

Year Pages 10

Class Photographs 12

Open Day 38

Question of the Week 39

Activities 58

Music 66

Golf 73

Design Technology 76

Art & Design 82

Art Design Exhibition 90

Drama 92

D of E 94

Inter House Athletics 100

Inter House Swimming Gala 101

House Pages 102

Enrichment Days 110

Maths Olympiad 111

Don’t Forget the Caretakers 112

Charities 114

Sports 118

Alumni 191

Friends of Dubai College 195

Visitors 199

Awards and Results 201

Local and Overseas Trips 39

Destination of Leavers 212

A huge and sincere thank you to the many members of the Dubai College community who have contributed to this year’s edition of Shamal, whether it be in terms of co-ordination, articles written, editing or proofreading.

In particular, my gratitude to the following: Mark Donovan, Debra Harding, Andy Jones, Annie Kirkaldy and Sarah Lambert.

Gareth Case Chief cook and bottle washer

Shamal Foreword

Headmaster’s Foreword

The 2013-2014 academic year might have passed tremendously quickly but it has witnessed a whirlwind of activities and achievements.

Hardly surprisingly therefore the extent of our activities has necessitated one of the largest ever editions of Shamal.

Indeed, it is quite an eye opener when one compares the Shamal of say 1994 with its 144 pages with the 212 pages of this edition. Quite evidently the quality of what has been accomplished is as important as the range and the following pages positively pulsate with individual and collective achievement.

It was especially pleasing to see our new and expanded facilities being used so extensively.

The newly re-furbished Library has been used to the full providing a variety of learning environments from the traditional to the contemporary. Our new state of the art Learning Pods in the Sixth Form are designed to encourage collaborative and collegiate learning approaches and it is very encouraging to see them, and their associated IT facilities, being in virtually constant use. The wonderful newly laid school field is not only a fantastic teaching classroom environment but a great stage for the achievements of our sporting teams. It certainly provided an ideal surface to prepare our rugby players for their successes this year – whether the stunning Grand Slam achievement of the U18s

or, the U16s victory against Wellington College in the UK as well as significant football, athletics, cricket and rounders achievements (not forgetting, away from the field, our fantastic netballers, swimmers, gymnasts, golfers, tennis players and basketballers).

Utilising our more tried and tested resources has also produced fantastic outcomes whether we are talking about our best ever examination results (83% A*/A at GCSE and 74% A*/A at A Level), the quite remarkable Drama productions of The Tempest and Alice or our extensive and artistically challenging musical programme. Indeed, not many groups of students and teachers could present an annual musical cycle ranging from Dido and Aeneas to Pop Goes The Jazz Band and involve hundreds of students in the process.

Regardless of facilities, it is obvious that the passion, care, determination and intellectual endeavour of the students shines through whether taking part in global debates, competitions and expeditions, raising huge sums for charity, scoring for one of the largest golf tournaments or simply ensuring that individual members of the community are cared for. Crucially these qualities are ever present, day in and day out, in the core fundamental purpose of the

school – learning in the classroom. Indeed the quality of discussion, analysis and insight is often simply breath taking and something students, teachers and parents should be justifiably proud of.

Looking ahead: During the summer months significant work will be undertaken in the Sixth Form Centre, creating a much larger and refurbished Common Room, additional study areas and a modernised and uplifted learning environment. In other parts of the campus additional classroom space will be created and overall security improved with the addition of security fencing and specific points of entry for visitors to the College. During the next academic year, work will commence on the Sports Pavillion (part funded by the unstinting efforts of the FDC) and the very sizeable Science Extension, as well as a range of other initiatives awaiting final approval.

As always our thanks to all who have contributed to making this last year so succesful. Not least, by the way, to Mr Case who every May and June burns the midnight oil to ensure we have yet another superb Shamal publication, hopefully, produced bang on schedule. Our special appreciation to departing staff; Zoe Brenham, Alan Crawford, Keith Evans, Natalie Li Fook, Joanna Pruett and Delia Milner, and for all you have done for the DC community. We wish you well in your futures. We also wish our departing students all the very best.

And finally, there is obviously one individual in particular who deserves a huge vote of gratitude. As you know, after 20 years of loyal and distinguished service to DC, Captain Richard Higgins OBE RN is retiring this June. The success of the College is down to generations of passionate, skilled and dedicated individuals but without the guidance, vision, skills, determination and care of ‘The Captain’ the College would not be half the place it is today.

Captain Higgins’ ‘purposeful stride’- although deeply nerve wracking for the individual being strode towards – was a sure indicator that someone or something was getting in the way of the well-oiled machine which is DC. It is this attention and passion which has contributed so significantly to the success we enjoy today. On behalf of the thousands of students who have passed through the College since 1994, their parents and teachers, the Board of Governors, the administration and support staff – as well as the school cats – a very, very sincere thank you.

H.M. Sultan, Chair of the Board of Governors and Peter Hill, Headmaster

H.M. Sultan, Chairman of the Board of Governors

Shamal 2014

5

6

Shamal 2014

Front Row: Miss L John, Mrs E Adamson, Mrs M Doherty, Mrs J Bailey, Mrs R Dabbagh, Ms I Sabbagh, Miss C Carberry, Capt. R Higgins OBE RN, Mr P Hill, Mr M Hunter, Mr C Agent, Mrs S MacLaren, Mrs S Thompson, Ms H Othman Badran, Mr R Dennis, Mr J Bailey, Mr H El Taher, Mr M Lambert.

Second Row: Miss N Li Fook, Mrs W Davies, Mrs A Romans, Ms N Mallett, Miss J Din, Miss S Mennaai, Mrs G Malik, Miss T Johns, Mrs K Greenlees, Mr P Rivers, Miss M Parkes, Miss R Shah, Mr N Bernaz, Mr K Evans, Mrs A Ashby, Mrs S Henderson-Corless, Mrs R Hashem, Mr R Miles.

Third Row: Miss A York, Ms K Hill, Mr G Jeffcote, Mrs V Holmes, Mr J Croft, Miss L Clohesy, Mr M Wood, Mr A Crawford, Mr C Temple, Miss T Drake, Mr A Hann, Mrs J LeeFoster, Mr Shakil, Miss N Madison, Mr S Over, Mrs L Hodge, Mr J McIllveen, Mr M Donovan, Mr M Woolley.

Back Row: Mr G Case, Mr J Cottam, Mr R Verma, Mr P Sparks, Miss Z Brenham, Mr A Davidson, Miss D Foulkes, Mr B Christopher, Mr J Tate, Mr C House, Mr M Zambonini, Mr M Lavery, Mr L Ashmore, Mr R Ashby, Mr B Trivic, Mr P Flower, Mr G Roberts, Mr I Jones.

Teaching Staff Photograph 2014

Staff Photographs

Front Row: Mrs D Milner, Mrs K Smith, Mrs A Dunne, Mrs C Gbadamosi, Mr G Bhat, Mrs M Jallili, Mrs J Williams, Mrs V Banks, Capt. R. Higgins OBE RN, Mr P Hill, Mrs D Harding, Mrs M Redley, Mr A Mhanna, Mr T Quilang, Mrs A Kirkaldy, Miss M Barde, Mrs T Helsby

Second Row: Mrs A James, Mrs J Jago, Ms S Yip, Mr M Colaco, Miss L Simon, Miss V Gonzales, Miss E Soringa, Mrs R Aquino, Mrs D Fabito, Miss L Quinonez, Miss J Junio, Miss S Rodriguez, Mrs J Boquero, Miss M Tare, Miss M Buliag, Miss J Tilos

Third Row: Mr A Depagnier, Mr O Rodrigues, Mr K Sambandam, Mr H Mir, Mr G Kesavan, Mr J George, Mr M Fernandes, Mr M Shaikh, Mr R Govindagswamy, Mr S Manji, Mr M Naidu, Mr N Sharma, Mr S Shaikh, Mr C D’Souza, Miss R Jinan, Mr P Vallillath

Back Row: Mr A Kareen, Mr S Ahmed, Mr P Rodrigues, Mr M Bathrudeen, Mr M Arabath, Mr S Sunasara, Mr A Gomes, Mr K B Jainudeen, Mr S Karri, Mr H Singh, Mr M Gomes, Mr S Panchal, Mr J Hossain, Mr M Lukman, Mr B Nair, Mr D Canagasingam, Mr A Castro

Ancillary Staff Photograph 2014

Staff Photographs

Shamal 2014

7

Goodbye Salaam Auf Wiedersehen Au Revoir Adios Valete

Farewell Captain Higgins Captain Higgins, who joined us in 1994, received a wonderful standing ovation for his speech during Prize Day which we re-print here as a tribute and thank you for his last 20 years’ service as Bursar of the College.

I was born at the start of the Second World War and I remember as a small boy often looking up into the clear blue skies in England and seeing Spitfire and Hurricane aircraft engaged in what were known as dog fights with enemy fighter aircraft. I will also never forget the drone of enemy bomber aircraft engines in the middle of the night as they flew over my home in Essex on their way to drop their deadly bombs on London. This was a time when the whole world was embroiled in deadly conflict. It was not the best time to be born. I’m telling you this so that I may bring perspective to the rest of my speech.

I started school at the end of the war and there was not a lot of money around to be spent on education. At my school we did not have a sports field or swimming pool; no library; music centre; multipurpose hall; lecture theatre or indeed magnificent auditorium. However, we did have robust air raid shelters that seemed most beneficial at the time.

The enduring memory I have of my start at Dubai College is how happy all the students were and how they genuinely wanted to be in school. This surprised me very much because I did not enjoy being at my school at all. There was little rapport between teachers and students. I still remember one of my teachers who had lost a leg in the First World War. He was not a teacher that we respected, because he 8

Shamal 2014

dispensed regular canings with great vigour and effectiveness.

And I seemed to receive more than my fair share of this method of corporal punishment. But we always knew when he was close by because his artificial leg creaked as he negotiated the cavernous, echoing corridors of the school.

We were always warned of his approach by him rhythmically beating his long, willowy cane against his artificial leg as if beating a drum. And we quickly learned to avoid the cane’s radius of swing. The sad thing for me is that fifty-nine years later I remember him for all the wrong reasons. I regret I cannot remember what he taught.

useful citizens. I see a team of teachers who are all inspirational, teachers who YOU will remember with respect and affection throughout your lifetime.

But I see more than that. I see caring and supportive parents who are demanding and challenging in ensuring the best possible education for their children. But more than anything I see all of you. I see a large group of personable young people with intelligence, ambition and a great will to learn. You are eager, impatient and self-confident. That is a strong indication of success for the future.

You may not realise that you School is all about teachers, are going through a hugely students and learning. As I important part of your life and have said, I remember one of you get ONLY one chance at it. my teachers for all the wrong You are in full time education. reasons and I do not have You are in a superb school many memories of the others with extremely good facilities apart from an English teacher and dedicated teachers, teachand a Design and Technology ers who guide, encourage and teacher. They both took inspire. You are probI can the trouble to get ably not aware that to know me, they there are 121 million assure you encouraged me that this old dog young people in and they guided is ready, eager and the world that will me, they instilled never have the willing to start in me a thirst for opportunity to be learning new learning and a educated. So you sense of purpose. have to understand tricks.

They cared. Their inthat you are privileged spirational encouragement and you must not waste for has stayed with me all through one moment this great oppormy adult life and I remember tunity. You owe it to the planet them with great respect and and those less well off than affection all these years later. you to educate yourselves in I left school when I was 15, such a way that you can make joined the Royal Navy when I a difference. In the world of was 16 and thirty-seven years tomorrow, your world, the later I found myself in Dubai more highly educated you are College as the Bursar, that was the more successful you are over twenty years ago, before likely to be. However, educamany of you were born. tion alone is not enough. If you are going to be successful What do I see today? I see a you must be highly motivated, school that is blessed with a passionate and hard working Board of Governors that will in everything you do, and I accept nothing but the best believe you must have masses for all of you. I see a school of self-confidence. that is well equipped with all that is required to allow you I would like to say a few words to develop into well-educated, about the future. Your future thoroughly competent and is going to be very different

Goodbye Salaam Auf Wiedersehen Au Revoir Adios Valete

Captain Higgins’ 1st XI

from mine. When I left school I jumped off into a world that had just come through a world war. There was full employment and most youngsters could choose a job or profession and stick to it throughout their working lives. Your future will be different. A recent report from an educational think tank said the following, ‘We are currently preparing our students for jobs that don’t yet exist…using technologies that haven’t been invented… to solve problems we don’t yet even know are problems’.

If you add to this the fact that people are living longer, then you will find that you are all going to have a long working life, probably even longer than mine. The days of staying in one job or profession until you retire are coming to an end and you will find in the future that you will probably need to re-train and change direction in your employment on a number of occasions throughout your working lives.

I have been watching students in Dubai College for the past twenty years and I have seen all that I have just spoken about develop in them gradually through the passage of time as they progress through the school. My advice to you is do not waste a moment of your time; develop an enquiring mind, challenge everything that you are told; seize every

opportunity to learn something different; be responsible; care about others; work hard and then when you find yourselves on that spring board at the end of your A Levels you will be in an excellent position to leap into the big wide world with great ability and the confidence to succeed at whatever you choose to do in life. I congratulate all of this year’s prize winners and I wish all of our Year 13 students the very best of luck as they go off to university.

Finally, it is said that you cannot teach old dogs new tricks but I am about to disprove that as my wife and I head off into the sunset on our next adventure. We are very excited about it. It is called retirement and I can assure you that this old dog is ready, eager and willing to start learning new tricks.

My first recollection of Dubai College was in 1991 when we brought our children to see Mr Parton for an interview. It seemed that we were driving for miles into the middle of nowhere and we were rather late for the interview which wasn’t a good start. Anyway our son was accepted into the Sixth Form so that was where my connection with the College started. Years later in 2001 I came for an interview myself with Captain Higgins and was offered the position of purchasing secretary. It turned out that I lived in the same place as Captain Higgins in the U.K. so the interview was spent mostly talking about that.

When I began working in the office there were only five ladies and over the years they have left and been replaced and our numbers have increased to eight. When I first came to Dubai in 1991 I worked in Small World Nursery in the baby class and quite a few of them ended up at Dubai College and went all the way through to Sixth Form, on to university and are now working so that makes me feel extremely old!

So it’s probably time for me to retire now! I am going back to live in the Brighton area and spend time with my three grand-sons but my husband is staying in Dubai for a while so I’ll be back to visit.

I will miss Dubai College, the office staff, the teachers, the boys in blue (and girls) the students and the parents, some of who I have become quite friendly with over the years. It’s certainly been the nicest place I have ever worked.

Captain Richard Higgins OBE RN

Delia Milner

As for me, I have already changed direction many times in my life. I started my working life as an apprentice carpenter; I became a radio mechanic; I taught management, I taught digital weapons techniques; I ran a leadership school and I became a guided weapons specialist. I was responsible for all the maintenance and repair of warships in a middle-eastern navy and for the past twenty years I have had the privilege of being in Dubai College.

Mrs D Milner

Shamal 2014

9

Goodbye Salaam Auf Wiedersehen Au Revoir Adios Valete

Mr K Evans

I came, I saw, I did a bit in between and then I left! It was always going to be hard to leave DC because from day one I realized that I was privileged to be working in a school that was a bit special. Whatever that special quality was, I used to think, “If only I could bottle it and sprinkle it over schools in the UK – I could make a fortune.” I remember the first Group meeting on day one to discuss exam results.

The quality of the results was staggering and having come from a standard comprehensive school in the South Wales valleys I did not know what an A* was at that time! Well, our kids didn’t get any, that’s for sure, yet they seemed to be bestowed like confetti on DC students.

I arrived with a wife and two young boys of 4 and 9 years old on a three year contract and then 20 years later here we are, still here, with an extra child gathered along the way.

Dubai was a simpler more easy-going place in those days. Jebel Ali Village, where we were living, was out in the wilds. We were referred to as the ‘country cousins’ by those staff members living in the more cosmopolitan and exotic areas of Golden Sands, Satwa and Sky Towers. We loved living in Jebel Ali. It may have looked like the poorer district of a third world ghetto on a bad day, but it had everything a growing family needed with a swimming pool, village green and Jebel Ali Social Club, the cheapest place in town, just a stone’s throw away from your villa. It was a true village community, with JAPS, a lovely Primary School, at its heart.

Well actually Jebel Ali Club was at its heart if I am being completely honest, but I am trying to romanticise a little.

An old colleague (Sue Birch) always insisted that when the Queen referred to the ‘Global Village’ in her annual speech she was actually talking about Jebel Ali village!

The last three years in Dubai have gone by so fast! Time certainly does fly when you are having fun!

I still remember arriving here one hot night in September 2011, travelling down the Sheikh Zayed Road in amazement at the road, buildings and the plethora of four wheel drives everywhere!

Three years on I think Dubai is still an amazing place and will always think of it fondly.

Dubai College has been an incredible place to work. I have to thank the Science department for being so supportive, and a great bunch of people to work with. The new teacher will be in safe hands! I also have to thank everyone that works behind the scenes, as without them, I don’t think my transition to living here throughout the last three years would have been

Miss Li Fook

10

Shamal 2014

As far as DC is concerned, I have seen them come and I have seen them go. Many friends and colleagues, who I considered to be the life blood of the College, have come and gone, stalwarts, characters, many larger than life (some just large!). How would we manage without them? Things would never be quite the same again! But go they did, and manage we did, and DC continued to move onwards and upwards because that’s life and the world moves on with or without you.

I would like to thank and say farewell to all those teachers, students, office staff, bus drivers and caretakers it has been my privilege to work alongside all these years. I have learned a great deal from you over the years and will certainly miss your company. I will also miss the camaraderie and sense of family and belonging that goes with being a member of the DC community and I will be thinking of you all when the end of August comes around and, for the first time in twenty years, I will not be getting on a plane and returning to Dubai! It will be a strange feeling! I will always think of Dubai fondly, and with a degree of envy, on those extremely rare occasions when the sun decides to peak through the black foreboding and ever present clouds in Wales as I have come to take sunny days more or less for granted. Not anymore! My wife keeps reminding me of Billie Connolly’s line, “There is no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothes” – I am not convinced I’m afraid!

I wish you all well in your future endeavours and if you ever find yourself in South Wales…you have to ask yourself – why? Just kidding, it’s really very nice…honest!

Mr K Evans

so smooth.

The students at Dubai College are simply fantastic. You have exceeded my expectations of what teaching would be like in the UAE, and I will miss you all a lot! Please don’t ever stop being amazing and keep following your dreams.

To the best form class, I am sorry for leaving just before you start your GCSEs, but you will all be fine. You are the loveliest form class and whoever takes you next year will be lucky to have you! I am looking forward to hearing all about your achievements throughout school so stay in

touch!

Thank you to everyone who has made my time at Dubai College and in Dubai great! I will miss you all. Goodbye.

Miss Li Fook

Goodbye Salaam Auf Wiedersehen Au Revoir Adios Valete you but I could never stand on that stage at JC and do what you guys have done the last few years. My hats go off to you and I am thrilled Mrs Hodge and Miss Parkes are carrying Debate Society on – you’re in excellent hands.

As that rogue Claudius says Miss. Z in Hamlet, it Brenham is ‘with one auspicious and one dropping eye’ that I approach the end of my time at DC. In short, I’m feeling happy and excited and sad as well. It has been an incredible six years and here is a list of what has made it incredible: 1. You lot. The students. You’re a unique bunch – highly intelligent, polite, funny and motivated. I have loved teaching you so much. In fact, it has been a privilege. I think in some ways I’ve learnt as much from you as you have perhaps learnt from me.

2. Debating. I hadn’t ever done any formal debating before and rather casually thought ‘Why not?’ when JC sent the first invitation to Debate Dubai all those years ago. Who knew where that would lead? Well we didn’t win anything that first year and maybe we didn’t win the second year either, but we got there eventually and now we are definitely a force to be reckoned with in this city full of amazing debaters. Some of you, over the years, have floored me with your eloquence, confidence, wit, breadth of knowledge and ability to synthesise hundreds of bits of knowledge in limited time. I am not exaggerating when I say that maybe I’m OK at coaching

3. The cats. (Before the last public speaking contest Mr Dennis asked me what I thought made an outstanding school outstanding apart from its students and my answer was ‘coffee, cats and cheesy bread’).

There is no antidote to a rowdy Year 7 lesson like a quick chat with Alfie in Reception.

4.The English Department.

You’ve got an excellent English Department – look after them for me!

5. And last but not least…10ZB. What a journey we’ve been on!

I remember those days in Year 7 when you were seemingly unable to get through a day without breaking a light fitting, squashing pasta into the floor, spraying ink across a wall display and getting banned from B13. This year, I don’t think I’ve had to ban you once and sometimes, occasionally, all of you are wearing the right uniform including tucked-in shirts at the same time. You are shaping up to be a thoroughly likeable bunch and I will miss you. Be kind to your new tutor and please try to not attract quite so many ants next year.

So that’s it. I’m leaving Dubai for the green fields of Hertfordshire in the UK and an all boys’ school (Eeek…! I will miss you girls and your endless Bath and Body Works products which usefully override the infernal odour of AXE otherwise known as Eau de Year 10 Boys).

Fondly, Miss Z Brenham

Mr A Crawford

As this chapter of my life comes to an end I can genuinely say that I will look back with incredible memories of my time at Dubai College. Right from my arrival in 2010, having worked previously in the UK and in Singapore, I was immediately welcomed into the school community and, through getting immersed in the musical life of the college as well as DofE, I have experienced the very special DC Spirit – motivated, driven, talented and rounded students in addition to hard working colleagues who always push for the highest standards, so often giving way beyond what is expected. It has been a privilege teaching in a music department that is so committed to achieving excellence.

There are so many fond memories I will take with me from the music department from conducting the orchestra in demanding symphonic works, to working with A Level students in creating complex compositions, acting as repetiteur for the opera, Dido and Aeneas, coaching students in Hairspray, devising A Night at the Opera concert, and less glamorous activities such as crowd-controlling 250 students behind stage at the Music and Mince Pies Concert! I would like to say a big thank you to Marco, Jennie, Gordon and the instrumental staff…. it’s been wonderful working with you all.

Other highlights have been the many DofE expeditions to the desert, helping to lead the Mauritius trip, taking 22 students trekking to Nepal, being a Year 7 form tutor, mentoring and teaching on the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) and initiating a school research magazine. Thank you to Richard, Hani, Penny, the staff who went on expeditions, Martin, Mike and Pete.

I am looking forward very much to my new job as Head of Academic Music in Berkhamsted School, Herts, and continuing with some of the research I began when I did my MPhil at Cambridge last year. I know I will miss students, staff and friends from DC in the coming months.

I hope we can remain in contact for years to come....and it would be great to meet up with anyone if you’re passing by London at any stage.

Thanks for everything guys.

Mr A Crawford Shamal 2014

11

Year Pages

Year 7 Induction Day 2013

Thursday 5th September will be a day our 132 new Year 7s will remember for a very long time – their first day in secondary school! After a tour of their individual teaching rooms with their Form Tutor and Year 13 Liaisons it was time for a well-earned break before sitting through a whole series of speeches from the Head, Bursar, FDC and Head of Year 7. Hopefully, along the way, some useful information was shared. After lunch the new members of DC took part in a series of team building exercises which culminated in a rather dubious tallest tower building competition – at least five of the six towers remained standing long enough to be judged! The competition was fiercely fought, however, 7RV came out victorious with 7RG close runners up – well done to all concerned. We all wish Year 7 well as they start their DC careers. A big thank you to Year 13, the Form Tutors and Year 13 Liaisons for giving up their time on Thursday to make the event work so effectively.

Mr M Woolley Assistant Head of Lower School 12

Shamal 2014

Year Pages

Year 7 Barbecue 2013

The annual and much anticipated Year 7 BBQ took place on Thursday 7th November. This event is a true DC tradition having taken place for many years and the Sixth Form who help to organise the event, have many happy memories of their own Year 7 BBQ! The six Year 7 forms took part in six games during the first part of the afternoon. The competition was intense with each group trying hard to swim faster, score more goals, eat more doughnuts or throw more water balloons!

132 Year 7 students, 50 Sixth Formers and 12 staff members then made their way to the BBQ area to fill their boots with burgers and sausages. The afternoon finished in the Sixth Form common room with each form performing their prepared dance routines. Mr Woolley was amazed at the singing and dancing talent on show!! 7RG were deserved competition winners and collected the cup from the Head Boy and Head Girl.

Mr M Woolley Assistant Head of Lower School Shamal 2014

13

Class Photographs Mr A Crawford

7 AC

Back Row: Lucy Graham, Henry Tatham, Hamzah Raza, Oliver Garner, Ajay Anand, Ben Davies, Charlotte Hide, Rhea Kale.

Middle Row: Mr A Crawford, Rija Rao, Samuel Muller, Charlie McMillan, Sayaka Okada, Jack Craig, Ben Crowcroft, Raphaelle Landais, Almaz Razif.

Front Row: Suryansh Loya, Mahira Jethwani, Ross Vintcent, Sophie O’Keeffe, Nadir Mussa, Casey Maloney-Pinto.

Mrs J Lee Foster

7 JF

Back Row: Diptasri Gupta, Thomas Boers, Isobel Thompson, Disha Narain, Rima Makhoul, Sean O’Gorman, Joel Harrison, Angelica Slater, Casey Bell.

Middle Row: Ibrahim Afshar, Oliver Newton, Viraj Ramakrishnan, Zainab Kashif, Gabriella Helayel, Mihir Rajwade, Eóin Mountain, Krish Vithani.

Front Row: Mrs J Lee Foster, Jai Hindocha, Ella Verrall, Maria Iorini, Mahe Samee, James Morris.

Miss L Clohesy

7 LC

Back Row: Jaahnvi Shastri, Kyarash Aryanpad, Finn Page, Amy Storey, Jessica Passey, Ezra Midkiff, Rhea Javat, Benjamin Jagtiani.

Middle Row: Miss L Clohesy, Ciara Corroon, Ethan Goddard, Lana Al Hajj, Armaan Flisher, Gabriella Rajpoot, Cameron Walker, Sophie Bezzina, Ben Skelton.

Front Row: Joshua Paul, Gabrielle Tode, Zunaira Nader, Tom Jarvis, Charmaine Kee, William Allinson.

14

Shamal 2014

Class Photographs 7 LV

Mr M Lavery Back Row: Jacques Holmes, Alexander House, Nina Mul, Aryan Mehta, Kitty Davies, Inara Asaria, Krish Gupta, Wajih Zaman.

Middle Row: Sophiya Joseph, Aakanksha Deb, Anjali Menon, Shrey Chawla, Catherine Withers, Inayah Hussain, Katrina Webb, Jason Bushill, Maxwell See. Front Row: Seyhan Khan, Scott Stevens, Inayah Ahmed, Mr M Lavery, Noa Consiglio, Robert Stumbles.

Mr G Rodgers

7 RG

Back Row: Hannah Dawson, Sebastian Snaas, Omer Oce, Elle Macdonald, Gabriella Crick Lewis, Max Brett, Charlotte Haigh, Kathryn Beck.

Middle Row: Kiyomi Hanson, Ayaan Fazil, Jade Howard, Sean Alger, Daniel Martin-Williams, Rishi Barve, Tricia Chua, Front Row: Mr G Rodgers, Samar Aswani, Sara Ahmed, Zayed Doleh, Katie Mewawalla, Ali Tabba.

Absent: Jake Wade.

7 RV

Mr R Verma Back Row: Hannah Burton, Ritvik Ramnath, Elena Beer, Shehza Shafeek, Anahita Kashyap, Yun Soo Park, Nadia Shamsuddin.

Middle Row: Mr R Verma, Maya Sondhi, Jeremy Pontefract, Rory Jones, Max Ozden, Grace Williams, James Craine, Dimitri Shukla.

Front Row: Dana McCann, Sophie Newbery, Eugenio Vecchi, Oliver Reedy, Michael Murphy, Ryan De Sousa.

Absent: Roisin McElligott, Kaivalya Vohra.

Shamal 2014

15

Class Photographs Mrs W Davies

8 DV

Back Row: Serena Lambert, Anders Mahesan, Shaan Nathwani, Arman Jasuja, Cameron Matthews, Tamsin Rose, James Dare, Diya Malhotra, Lara Zaveri.

Middle Row: Mrs W Davies, Alysha Alimohamed, Alma Zickerman, Sahil Mordani, Polly Jones, Owen Palmer, Maisie Harvey, Yash Bhansali.

Front Row: George Gunn, Joonwoo Jeong, Rhea Ganguli, Etienne Tillon, Benjamin Avery, Emaan Ahmed.

Miss N Madison

8 MN

Back Row: Maryam Ahmed, Caitlin Hunter, Amun Chaudhary, Shumraze Fawad, Ishaan Arora, Cassia Middleton, Joni MacDonald.

Middle Row: Miss N Madison, Sophie Ingram-Johnson, Samuel Reedy, Hannah Nurmohamed, Harvey Bullock, David Hunt, Jasmine Liew, Brianne Riewer Front Row: Vishal Ayyagari, Hamilton Rogers, Kiara Whittle, Ammar Mooraj, Alisha Gupta, Shemica Adenwalla, Oliver Chohan.

Mr N Bernaz

8 NB

Back Row: Matthew Wane, Alexander Smyth, Natasha Nobbs, Geesue Abrichami, Khalid Belselah, Eman Zeeshan, George Gosling, Mustafa Lone.

Middle Row: Mr N Bernaz, Rhea Kotecha, Alizeh Yahya, James Caution, Sylvie Waft, Maryam Siddiqi, Ratan Kachwalla.

Front Row: Jacob Camilleri, Jade Fernandes, Lucy Skelton, Jamie MacKinnon, Jaimini Patel, Andrew MacIntosh.

Absent: Siddhant D’Souza, James Taylor.

16

Shamal 2014

Class Photographs 8 PS

Mr P Sparks

Back Row: Siena Gordon, Kasia Truscott, Vedant Mathur, Patrick Dowling, Jack Burrell, Annabelle Style, Hireena Hans, Emily Peck.

Middle Row: Mr P Sparks, Owen Wakeham, Tara Zadeh, Joseph Plumtree, Jason Pollock, Jack Norman, Kara CatchpoleKing, Samuel Burns.

Front Row: Rory Nisbet, Malika Alidina, Niamh Bone, Mehek Vohra, Navika Agrawal, Omar Khan, Meeran Fehmi.

Miss R Shah

8 RS

Back Row: Nitya Thawani, Thomas Plumtree, Anna Maureta, Lauren Johnstone, Benjamin Davidson, Gabriella Reynolds, Marco Gabriel, Adam Shah, Alberto Viel.

Middle Row: Miss R Shah, Anoushka Malhotra, Ella Nates, Naoise Morgan, Jawad Jafar, Rihana Al Nabhani, Brendan McCann, Tomos Roberts.

Front Row: Ibani Hattangadi, Sasha Verrall, Rebecca Wilding, Finlay Keegan, Caitlin Theocharis, Sebastian Webb.

8 WD

Mr M Wood Back Row: Jemma Shand, Edward Roy, Arya Flisher, Aleyha Hameed, Serene Sng, Benjamin Williams.

Middle Row: Mr M Wood, Simrin Vaswani, Tara Desai, Isabella Duthie, Francesca Hall, Holly Rhys-Maitland, Elliot Crossley.

Front Row: Hishaan Mahtani, Anise Noor, Mariam Khan, Aryan Oberoi, Kristian Kolandjian, Mark Baxter.

Absent: Layla Haider, Jordyn Hamilton, Harry Hughes, Michael Reid.

Shamal 2014

17

Year Pages

Year 7 raid the Drama costume cupboard!

18

Shamal 2014

Year Pages

8

Shamal 2014

19

Class Photographs Mr A Hann

9 AH

Back Row: Eleanor Reid, William Jones, Rhys Luke, Alexander Wiltshire, Mathieu Springuel, Amy Harrison, Jonathan Mulligan, Hugo Dolan.

Middle Row: Mr A Hann, Victoria Tode, Hayat Brannelly, Daniel Gibbons, Chiara Rehman, Georgina McBride, Rachel De Sousa, Vicky Stogiannidou.

Front Row:Kate Dodds, Maitha Price, Blake Murphy, Isla Stewart, Nimrah Siddiqi, Mikaeel Habib.

Ms A York

9 AY

Back Row: Thomas RyanMcGrath, Hasan Malik, Alex Smith, Ariyike Oyelola, Parmida Shoaei, Joshua Armstrong, Alex Newbery.

Middle Row: Ms A York, Meiha Raja, Toby Tatham, Luca Bott Parkinson, Daisy Kirkaldy, Robbie Pereira, Mariam Shaikh, Mayuri Vinod.

Front Row: Thomas Haigh, Devina Popley, Annabel Clifford, Kimberly Miranda, Ellie O'Keeffe, Rae Mitchell.

Mr C Temple

9 CT

Back Row: Seung Ho Lee, Max Holt, Arnav Lahiry, Angus Thompson, Alexander Hall, Oh Jun Kweon.

Middle Row: Mr C Temple, Kabir Nanda, Olivia Brown, Sophie Shamsuddin, Hannah Story, Maya Sandhu, Katie Gardner.

Front Row: Claudia Young, Chloe Elliott, Kristian Ryan, Kim Sparrow, Chloe Williams, Laura Murphy.

Absent: Sophie Scott.

20

Shamal 2014

Class Photographs 9 EA

Mrs E Adamson Back Row: Malaika Nanda, Matthew Denton, Murtaza Javaid, Amrita Vohra, Matty Russo, Ellen Holmes, Craig Buchan.

Middle Row: Mrs E Adamson, Sadhana Madnani, Lucas MoonAlmaraz, Yasmeen Mohajer, Julia MacKay, Olaolu Faniran, Georgina Holbrook.

Front Row: Hriday Mani, Tara Mewawalla, Safwan Malik, Sophie Rhys-Maitland, James Till-Nehme, Georgina Peck.

Absent: Janne Meijer.

Miss N Li Fook

9 NL

Back Row: Cameron Graham, Emma Janus, Joe Page, Francois Maureta, Ramzi Jalili, Anushe Sheikh, Hyunji Kim, Sophie Lewis.

Middle Row: Miss N Li Fook, James-Lachlan McCallum, Magen Chadha, Felix Firth, Jessica Pollock, Iysa Qureshi, Mina Jenkins.

Front Row:Harry Sheedy, Janvi Jetwhani, Ruby Mae Ebdon, Victoria Ewert, Rebecca Ludden, Thomas Williams.

9 TJ

Miss T Johns

Back Row: William Treston, Ethan Pearce, Euan Kennedy, Luca Sackeyfio, Oliver Tait, Barney Holt, Matthew Anderson.

Middle Row: Miss T Johns, Aleksandra Skroban, Eve Macdonald, Rachel Choi, Isabella Lahdo, Chantal Meyer, Emma Kelly, Josh Kotecha, Vanessa Sumners.

Front Row: Iman Shaikh, Zahra Mandviwala, Angus Benstead, Maha Masud, Devansh Popley, Chloe George.

Shamal 2014

21

Class Photographs Mr J Cottam

10 CJ

Back Row: Alec Bandy, Matthias Falzon Young, Aaron Camball, Oliver Boon, Rory Quick, Darius Afkhami.

Middle Row: Mr J Cottam, Frazer Hanson, Ali Malik, Helen Fergusson, Daniel Jhoolun, Isabel Snaas, Anjali Magecha.

Front Row: Rebecca Hamer, Blanca Pamias Lopez, Denia Loukous, Ceyda Davidson, Simren Nijhawan, Kirsten Drake.

Mr D Riordan

10 DR

Back Row: Felix Meijer, Yehia Islam, Joshua Devereux, Shahmeer Chaudhary, Jodutt Qudsiyeh, Siddharth Pillai, Jordan Russell, Juan Rivero Cruells.

Middle Row: Mr D Riordan, Charlise Koch, Charlotte Style, Matthew Baxter, Max Lovett, Shahmir Samee, Sarah Bolton, Ali Kapasi.

Front Row: Beth Jarvis, George Simmonds, Anushe Samee, Alison Tuffin, Rahul Lopez, Fatima Gheewala, Reeza Khan.

Miss E John

10 EJ

Back Row: Vikramaditya Jadeja, Oisin Morgan, Jeremy Clark, Adam Osborne, Eoin Brady, Mahnoor Kamran, Middle Row: Miss E John, Alex Faulkner, Min Ho Lee, Cate Waft, Jay Desai, James Lemon, Seรกn Mountain.

Front Row:Eleanor Roy, Alireza Chassebi, Jetasri Gupta, Alkis Loukos, Naina Grover, Corynn Foote.

22

Shamal 2014

Class Photographs 10 JS

Mr J Salisbury

Back Row: Issam Al Ghussain, Valentin Arstal, Kitty Willson, Owen Mul, Zachariah Davies, Rowan Weaver, Siddhant Jhurani.

Middle Row: Mr J Salisbury, Shenez Ahmed, Max Jones, Konstantine Skandalis, Scott Simpson, Becky Edwards, Zena Sharif.

Front Row: Rida Ali, Kirsten Holtby, Emma Taylor, Alexandra White, Kristi Flanagan, Richard Pickup.

Mrs S MacLaren

10 SM

Back Row: Angus Steel, Omar El-Ashmawi, Barnaby Brett, Saif Khawaja, Christopher Vail, Shaan Lalvani.

Middle Row: Mrs S MacLaren, Robert Hughes, Olivia Peacock, Jude Mahmoud, Miraal Ikramullah, Jonathan Lattouf, Alex Jarvis, Omar Malik.

Front Row: Kate Fisher, Alexandra Clements, Zahra Kapasi, Jason Daswani, Anaa Haider, Hannah Cleere, Olivia Peacock.

Absent: Alexander Cargill.

10 ZB

Miss Z Brenham

Back Row: Franciska Kundrak, Dharam Madnani, Dylan Russo, Kipngeno Chirchir, Alexandre Gheysen, Dushan Stembo.

Middle Row: Miss Z Brenham, Sakshi Gupta, Sabrina Daga, Rahul Samadhin, Cameron Hughes, Sally Marr, Noah Shariat.

Front Row: Madryn Riewer, Max Dennehy, Aleka Gheewala, Sophie Cameron, Oliver Dyson, Jet Biddle.

Shamal 2014

23

Year Pages

year nine selfies 1 posts

6

followers

Edit your profile

SELFIE: a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website. “occasional selfies are acceptable, but posting a new picture of yourself every day isn’t necessary”

24

Shamal 2014

14

Following

Year Pages

yearten 120 posts

126

followers

1024

Following

Edit your profile

Shamal 2014

25

Class Photographs Mr A Davidson

11 AD

Back Row: Arjun Dave, Kevin Peiris, Nathan Appleby, Thomas Webster, James Hoad, Thomas Murphy.

Middle Row: Mr A Davidson, Joanna Park, Cameron MacKay, Kristen De Sousa, Jessica Lattouf, Niall Moore, Emma Murray.

Front Row: Zahra Karmally, Sarah Khullar, Aoife Corroon, Sophie Shennan, Hannah Tayab, Jessica Ingram-Johnson.

Mr B Christopher

11 BC

Back Row: Francois Pieterse, Hannah Cassidy, James Thrower, Zak Wilke, Sandip Roy. Middle Row: Shehryar Haris, Hasan Masud, Robin Over, Loa Pour Mirza, Navya Kataria, Euan MacKinnon.

Front Row: Aiza Ahmed, Tara Chacko, Mr B Christopher, Holly Jhoolun, Alina Siddiqi, Absent: Ciara Bone, Ryan Evans, Ashna Gupta, Sara Kachwallaa.

Miss D Foulkes

11 DF

Back Row: Raahim Zafrullah, Aiden Wright, Jonathan Lahdo, Conor Kennedy, Liam Benstead, Lucy Bell.

Middle Row: Alana Rogers, Martha Gregory, Daniel Momeni, Sahil Badlani, Anneka Javat, Maha Shaikh.

Front Row:Harriet Brannelly, Beatrice Prosser, Alesha Gulamhusein, Miss D Foulkes, Pranay Jethwani, Beatrice Turner.

26

Shamal 2014

Class Photographs 11 KG

Mrs K Greenlees

Back Row: Mustafa Zaidi, George Ludden, Shan Maru, Adian Liusie, Aneeb Sheikh, Christopher Rose, Alexander Tait Middle Row: Mrs K Greenlees, Sacha Harding, Lachlan Whittle, Haren Bhavnani, Jessica Shaw, Layla Armstrong, Abhishek Nair.

Front Row: Pooja Daswani, Amy Henderson, Charlotte Baines, Serena Campos, Katherine Jones, Catherine Grimshaw.

Absent: Josephine Jagtiani.

Mr M Barrington

11 MB

Back Row: Cameron Afkhami, Oliver Fleming, Joseph Story, Patric Tinston, Ciaran Brady, Tamsyn Morfee.

Middle Row: Mr M Barrington, Natalia Adair, Tilsim Palfreyman, Albert Shehata, Kiana Simpson, Libby Johnson, Hayley Moore.

Front Row: Antara Jaidev, Jas Singh, Millie Ayres, Saava O'Kirwan, Erin Dawson, Margherita Vianello.

Absent: Ethan Ebdon, Jessica Evans.

11 MS

Miss M Mennaai

Back Row: Sarah Kashani, Matthew Dunne, Nicolas Bagatelas, Akbar Sardar, Aditya Prakash, Aniket Chandra, Sarah McKinney.

Middle Row: Ashling Murphy, Sheyan Adenwalla, Eilisha Hatter, Caitlin Janus, Rohan Gupta, Tabetha Davies, Saleena Nurmohamed, Tzeitel Degiovanni.

Front Row: Iona Stewart, Leah Mitchell, Miss M Mennaai, Anusha Aggarwal, Natalie Jalili, Absent: Anurati Sodani.

Shamal 2014

27

Year Pages

yeareleven 120 posts

126

followers

Edit your profile

28

Shamal 2014

830

Following

Class Photographs 12/13

Mr B Trivic

BT

Back Row: Eloise Bevan, Caleb Goddard, Andrew Refalo, Mr B Trivic, Samuel Ashby, Joseph Blakemore, Menrit Guirguis.

Front Row: Tara Burke, Urmika Mani, Harry Hardman, Jessica Sayer, Ellen Burley, Lauren Beattie.

Absent: Rishi Ganguli.

Mrs J Bailey

12/13

BV

Back Row: Karan Nair, Inaam Mian, Kathryn King, D’Arcy Anderson, Mark Gavigan, Jenna Pfeifer.

Front Row: Mrs J Bailey, Nadia Young, Noor Jafar, Olivia Dennehy, Yash Shankar, Giorgia Maccini-Hill.

Absent: Mohamed Bin Drai.

12/13

Mr C House

CH

Back Row: Brendan D’Souza, Parth Rajwade, Christopher Thorpe, Mr C House, Daniel Wakefield, Umer Shaikh, Sheamus Power.

Front Row: Gabrielle Guscott, Honor Nicholl, Raina Srivastava, Sofi Zickerman-White, Victoria Frost.

Absent: Alice Lovett.

Shamal 2014

29

Class Photographs Ms M Doherty

12/13

DM Back Row: Ms M Doherty, Oliver French, Adam Bilbey, Jack Jones, Joe Shamsuddin, Nicholas Hindley, James Ozden.

Front Row: Aishah Siddiqi, Aditi Nijhawan, Emily Dunne, Jemma Ansell, Yasmeen Salman, Tania Valrani.

Mr G Case

12/13

GC

Back Row: Mr G Case, Ali Chassebi, Yehya Al-Hafidh, Adil Saldanha, Adil Javat, Josh Blakemore, Rehan Ayrton.

Front Row: Hanna Salem, Hibah Hoque, Charlie Morfee, Cathrin Faria, Catriona Benson, Lizzie Adamson, Alexandra Mulligan.

12/13

Mr G Jeffcote

GJ

Back Row: Mr G Jeffcote, Lora D’Costa, Christopher Quelch, Alistair MacGillivray, Matthew Laven, Cameron Walker, Bethany Wright.

Front Row: Neha Narain, Imogen Lemon, Linda Bieleski, Jon Biddle, Shivani Maru, Alyzeh Jiwani.

Absent: Kenny Fahim.

30

Shamal 2014

Class Photographs 12/13

Mr G Roberts

GR

Back Row: Mr G Roberts, Eleanor Proctor, Samuel Morris, Karan Talreja, Cameron Moffat, Prateek Nadkarni, Saskia Heyster, Ambre Battistella.

Front Row: Ayrton Loureiro, Sucheta Kinger, Hannah Holly, Joanne Mascarenhas, Clara Townsend, Daniel Adair.

Ms H Bastable

12/13

HB

Back Row: Ahad Basrai, Nazim Nauthoa, Lewis Streak, Amaan Khullar, Angus Maxfield, Mia Bazzoui.

Front Row: Ariana Bakhshandeh, Sara Ali, Sophie Burley, Ziyan Kassam, Taybah Siddiqi.

Absent: Ryan Underwood.

12/13

Mr I Jones

IJ

Back Row: Jonathan Sumners, Joe Singh, Tristan Ebdon, Mr I Jones, Oh Hyun Kweon, Waleed Malik, Daniel Shehata.

Front Row: Amna Ali, Olivia Needham, Zahra Bawany, Ella Vaux, Tania Zaidi, Radhika Bhatia.

Absent: Nimit Kataria.

Shamal 2014

31

Class Photographs Mr J McIlveen

12/13

JM

Back Row: Aly Ibrahim, Mohammed Hansrod, Emily Hoad, Mr J McIlveen, Harkirath Dhillon, Daniyal Malik.

Front Row: Kristina Serdyuk, Isabelle Haigh, Tanvi Bhatia, Perle Battistella, Pritika Mehra, Absent: Maisy Duncan, Shahryar Mooraj.

Mrs L Hodge

12/13

LH

Back Row: Helena Wick, David Culemann, Fraser Christensen, Mohammad-Wahid Ghaffari, George Kenaghan, Harriet Hamzelou.

Front Row: Mrs L Hodge, Vijay Gupta, Ryota Minagi, Drishti Masand, Rhianna Foote.

Absent: Joanna Summers, Chelsie Feather, Sarah Moore.

12/13

Mr P Flower

PF

Back Row: Mr P Flower, Joseph Taylor, Michael Foote, Conor Cassidy, Haider Mirza, Emma Britnor, Abhishek Belani.

Front Row: Urooj Ali, Finnian Ford, Aidan McBride, Constance Antia, Florence Prosser, Nermeen Islam.

32

Shamal 2014

Class Photographs 12/13

Mr P Rivers

PR

Back Row: Danyal Niazi, Stephan Koenigstorfer, Joseph Palubiski, Mr P Rivers, Christophe Rippon, Jonathan Mills, Zorez Haider.

Front Row: Zoe Curtis, Natasha Lopez, Kripa Venkatesh, Tanya Lalwani, Sanjana Daswani, Jessica MacCormick.

Mr R Ashby

12/13

RA

Back Row: Mr R Ashby, Shayan Momeni, Sophie Brown, Zohayb Shaikh, Michael Camball, John Devitt, Gaurav Lahiry.

Front Row: Emma Thrower, Summer El-Ashmawi, Devina Singh, Sa’ad Iqbal, Vishnu Tikku, Anya Malik, Bianca Pereira.

12/13

Mr S Over

SO

Back Row: Taimur Samee, Conor Merrigan, Jake Rogers, Mr S Over, Adam Andreani, Tasha Howard, Thomas Cleere.

Front Row: Daksha Agarwal, Imaan Ashraf, Miren Singh, Stefanie Watt, Saima Seer, Pooja Nair.

Absent: Arya Narasimhan

Shamal 2014

33

Class Photographs Mrs T Drake

12/13

TD

Back Row: Simran Kashyap, Rohan Padmanabhan, Tobia Culemann, Tom Harding, Dorottya Nagy.

Front Row: Mrs T Drake, Irina Hyndman, Mia ZickermanWhite, Nikita Tourani, Amiya Nagpal, Kelley Day. Absent: Ryan Harris, Benjamin Sparrow.

Mrs V Holmes

12/13

VH

Back Row: Mrs V Holmes, Lakshay Badlani, Nicolas Whitman, Jordan Fenton, Nathan Banks, Pierre Springuel, Padraig Ryan.

Front Row: Alia Mahtani, Jenna Denton, Madelaine Freeman, Anjali Garg, Azmina Gulamhusein, Biddy Fogg.

Absent: Saad Khan.

It is with some Let’s start with university the UK achieved 3.7 out of trepidation that I write applications. For Year 13, 5 offers, the fact that DC the summary of the applications to university students achieve 4.1 out past ten months in dominate the first term and of 5 offers really tells you the Sixth Form, this year our students something about the calibre simply because have notched up an of these students. This during the impressive 352 has been the second year These course of number offers of TopUP, which stands guys are this academic from 75 for Top University to gold dust. universities year the students have Preparation, and maximise achieved so much that I am bound in the UK both Year 12 and to miss something. The range of and 156+ their chances Year 13 students initiatives, events and personal and offers from have taken the of success with opportunity to collective successes in the Sixth Form remains 57 universities in as impressive as ever and whilst I would the States. When every passing enhance their like to take all or even some of the credit for you consider that applications to year. what’s been achieved, I cannot. These guys are on average HMC their personal top gold dust. and GSA schools in choices. This is an

The Sixth Form Year

34

Shamal 2014

Year Pages initiative which we hope will grow and grow as our body of resources increases and students should be able to maximise their chances of success with every passing year.

our hats off to the 1st the school and the glossy pages of the XV rugby team, ably Shamal will be a barer place without captained initially him.

The boys

by Conor won the rugby Cassidy and I would like to name and thank subsequently 7s, rugby 10s and every individual Sixth Form

by Tom student for keeping me on my the UAE schools toes Harding, for this year, but in particular tournament.

This has also been the their formidable the Sixth Form Management foundation year of the Sixth grand slam Team are indebted to Sarah Form Council and Conor during this year’s Moore and Rehan Ayrton for their Merrigan (Chairman) and rugby season. The boys excellent leadership of the students his team have established won the Rugby 7s, Rugby in their capacity as Head Girl and Head Boy, a lasting framework which 10s and the U.A.E. schools ably assisted by James Ozden, Honor Nicholl will give future Sixth tournament. Again. and the Senior Prefect Team. We wish all our Formers a real Special mention leavers every ongoing success and we (almost) student voice in particular cannot wait to see the Year 12s again in impressive for the years goes to Nathan September. Happy holidays. sums of money to come.

Banks because Elections have someone (120,000AED+) already taken Mr M Lambert raised for local and gave me the place for the wrong name Head of Sixth Form international second year to read out of the Council at Speech Day charities. and we are and so he was looking forward never able to bask to implementing their in his reflective glory for ideas both within the Sixth the all-round contribution Form and the larger school he has made this year. It community. is not only the winning which counts, however, it It is within the broader is the taking part and every school community that sporting ambassador of the Sixth Formers have the Sixth Form deserves really made their presence congratulations for Enrichment Day, Wadi Adventure felt, whether as Year 7 continuing to show the liaisons to our new arrivals, College and the wider Dubai helpers on Year 8 and 9 community why DC is such a fun days, co-ordinators of fantastic place to be.

Music Charity Love and World Food Day or as the Culturally we also owe much driving force behind the to the Sixth Form. Our impressive sums of money artists, musicians, dancers (120,000AED+) raised for and thespians have adorned local and international our walls, played music charities. Special to our ears, waltzed thanks must go to into our lives and Shayan Momeni suspended our It is not only Music Charity Love and Sanjana disbelief with as the winning Daswani for much vim and which counts, their excellent vigour as ever. custodianship however, it is the A special thank of the Charity you must go to taking part Committee this Yehya El-Hafidh year and we look (aka Yoda) who forward to an even has been the greatest larger team who will be photographer the school driving things forward next has even known. More of the year. pictures in this edition come from Yoda’s lens than any In the sporting arena we take other single contributor in Head Boy, Rehan Aryton at Founder’s Day Shamal 2014

35

36

Shamal 2014

Back Row: Jonathan Mills, David Culemann, Harkirath Dhillon, Jack Jones, Adil Saldanha, Prateek Nadkarni, Christopher Quelch, Alistair MacGillivray, Zohayb Shaikh, Jordan Fenton, Jake Rogers, Matthew Laven, Cameron Moffat, Samuel Morris, Pierre Springuel, Oliver French, Padraig Ryan, Joe Shamsuddin, Samuel Ashby, Stephan Koenigstorfer, Mohammad-Wahid Ghaffari, Waleed Malik.

4th Row: Kelley Day, Jenna Denton, Catriona Benson, John Devitt, Michael Camball, Eleanor Proctor, Joe Singh, Angus Maxfield, Tasha Howard, Michael Foote, Helena Wick, Joseph Blakemore, Saskia Heyster, Ali Chassebi, Mohammed Hansrod, Adil Javat, Saad Khan, Rohan Padmanabhan, Daniyal Malik, Karan Nair, Tristan Ebdon, Madelaine Freeman.

3rd Row: Sofi Zickerman-White, Gabrielle Guscott, Alyzeh Jiwani, Zorez Haider, Sa'ad Iqbal, Emily Dunne, Shivani Maru, Mia Bazzoui, Simran Kashyap, Isabelle Haigh, Perle Battistella,Joanna Summers, Alexandra Mulligan, Kristina Serdyuk, Aidan McBride, Jenna Pfeifer, Urooj Ali, Lizzy Adamson, Hannah Holly, Lauren Beattie, Biddy Fogg.

2nd Row: Jessica Sayer, Sara Ali, Constance Antia, Olivia Needham, Zahra Bawany, Ariana Bakhshandeh, Anya Malik, Hanna Salem, Bianca Pereira, Imogen Lemon, Pooja Nair, Natasha Lopez, Neha Narain, Zoe Curtis, Nikita Tourani, Aishah Siddiqi, Giorgia Maccini-Hill, Olivia Dennehy, Radhika Bhatia, Tania Valrani, Ellen Burley, Nermeen Islam.

Front Row: Ryota Minagi, Jemma Ansell, Brendan D’Souza, Nadia Young, Sheamus Power, Devina Singh, Caleb Goddard, Drishti Masand, Michael Lambert, Jonathan Tate, Finnian Ford, Daksha Agarwal, Thomas Cleere, Urmika Mani, Harry Hardman, Kripa Venkatesh, Joseph Taylor.

Absent: Alice Lovett, Ryan Harris.

Year 12 Photograph 2013-14

Class Photographs

Year Pages

yeartwelve 567 posts

1,000,345 followers

1

Following

Edit your profile

Shamal 2014

37

Year Pages

YEAR 13 KEEP CALM AND

38

Shamal 2014

Back Row: Conor Cassidy, Jonathan Sumners, Amaan Khullar, Lewis Streak, Tobia Culemann, Gaurav Lahiry, D’Arcy Anderson, Haider Mirza, Tom Harding, Karan Talreja, Daniel Wakefield, Chris Thorpe, Nathan Banks, Christophe Rippon, Nicolas Whitman, Oh Hyun Kweon, Nick Hindley, Nazim Nauthoa, Joe Palubiski, Kenny Fahim, Ayrton Loureiro, Yehya Al-Hafidh.

4th Row: Aly Ibrahim, Josh Blakemore, Emily Hoad, Hattie Hamzelou, Lora D’Costa, Alia Mahtani, Sophie Brown, Katherine King, Adam Andreani, Vishnu Tikku, Emma Britnor, Shayan Momeni, Cameron Walker, Parth Rajwade, Danyal Niazi, Dorottya Nagy, Abhishek Belani, Daniel Shehata, Umer Shaikh, Frasier Christensen, George Kenaghan.

3rd Row: Summer El-Ashmawi, Mark Gavigan, Vijay Gupta, Tara Burke, Stefanie Watt, Adam Bilbey, Daniel Adair, Menrit Guirguis, Ambre Battistella, Bethany Wright, Eloise Bevan, Rhianna Foote, Clara Townsend, Taybah Siddiqi, Yasmeen Salman, Ellie Vaux, Emma Thrower, Linda Bieleski, Charlie Morfee, Andrew Refalo, Victoria Frost.

2nd Row: Miren Singh, Tanvi Bhatia, Saima Seer, Sophie Burley, Hibah Hoque, Noor Jafar, Pritika Mehra, Aditi Nijhawan, Cathy Faria, Jess MacCormick, Sucheta Kinger, Ahad Basrai, Amna Ali, Amiya Nagpal, Irina Hyndman, Sanjana Daswani, Imaan Ashraf, Flo Prosser, Anjali Garg, Azmina Gulamhusein Front Row: Tania Zaidi, Jon Biddle, Yash Shankar, Lakshay Badlani, Raina Srivastava, Tanya Lalwani, James Ozden, Rehan Ayrton, Michael Lambert, Jonathan Tate, Honor Nicholl, Mia Zickerman-White, Ben Sparrow, Joanne Mascarenhas, Conor Merrigan, Ziyan Kassam, Taimur Samee.

Absent: Mohamed Bin Drai, Chelsie Feather, Rishi Ganguli, Sarah Moore, Nimit Kataria, Shahryar Mooraj, Arya Narasimhan.

Year 13 Photograph 2013-14

Class Photographs

Shamal 2014

39

Open Day 2013

Open Day 2013

DUBAI COLLEGE A tradition of quality in education DUBAI COLLEGE U.A.E.

17 December 2013 Re. Open Day Tour Guides Dear Sixth Form Students I just wanted to formally express my thanks for your support of the Open Day events this year. I say ‘events’ because there have actually been nine in total! As you are all aware, the original Open Day in its traditional format was due to take place on Thursday 21st November and staff and students put a huge amount of effort into their preparations to show our college at its best. Nearly six hundred students were due to take part including a hundred Year 12 and 13 students who volunteered to lead our prospective parents and students and other visitors around the campus.

Frustratingly the weather was against us on 21 November; all of the schools and colleges in Dubai were asked to close and send their students home. More frustratingly, the storms that hit Sharjah and Abu Dhabi stayed away from the city of Dubai and the cancellation of Open Day seemed doubly disappointing. We were then faced with the dilemma of arranging alternative opportunities to stage school visits…the following Thursday was too soon and then became a closed school day in celebration of the successful 2020 Expo bid...the week following that was shortened by National Day celebrations and there was precious little time left before the end of the Winter term.

In the end we catered for 600 visitors by setting up three after school Open Afternoons and five large group school tours – all led by our Year 12 and Year 13 students (almost 90 of you in total!). The feedback we have received from our visitors has been extremely positive and I want to share with you one common theme. Whilst many parents were impressed with the facilities or the extra-curricular activities or the openness and greenness of the campus, they were universally impressed with the confidence and pride of the tour guides. You really are excellent ambassadors and an absolute credit to yourselves and to Dubai College.

Thank you all once again.

Mark Hunter Deputy Headmaster

Photos: Sacha Harding 11KG

40

Shamal 2014

Question of the Week

Artwork: Mr M Wood

Shamal 2014

41

Local and Overseas Trips The night Barbados had finally Netball arrived.

After Tour two June 2013 gruelling months of GCSE exams, Wednesday night training sessions and endless bake sales, the countdown was over – we were finally going to Barbados! Despite the dauntingly long 24-hour journey that lay ahead of us, every member of our 22-woman squad could not have been more excited for what we were about to experience. After sailing through passport control in our sporty blue tops and trackies, eighteen overexcited girls and three equally excited teachers boarded the first leg of our journey to London Gatwick feeling pretty pumped. All feelings of exhaustion quickly faded upon arrival in Barbados after travelling for what seemed like a lifetime. When we finally arrived at our hotel in St James, we all decided to unwind in the pool before our first official meal together in the Caribbean!

We were woken up on Day 1 with a torrential downpour of rain; exactly what we didn’t want going on a boat trip on our first day exploring the island. However, after a few minutes worrying about the day ahead (and how we would possibly get a tan without the presence of the sun) the Caribbean rain disappeared as quickly as it had arrived and we enjoyed a fantastic day sailing around Barbados on a catamaran, snorkelling with fish & turtles and exploring shipwrecks. The crystal-clear water was breath-taking and the turtles in the sea were majestic and, despite Mrs Bell almost decapitating one on several occasions, friendly 42

Shamal 2014

enough to stroke.

An abrupt reminder of why we were actually in Barbados came the next morning when we all grumpily staggered down to the car park at 7am for our first training session.

Our first netball match, played in the afternoon against Newbury Netball Club, was highly competitive and proved to be a great challenge for both our A and B teams (partly due to the invasion of flying ants swarming the courts during the games). Both matches displayed high levels of athleticism from each club and proved to be incredibly tight and tense throughout, resulting in a 9-9 draw for the B team and a 15-28 loss for the A team.

The morning of Day 3 comprised of continuous training and, despite our best efforts to persuade the teachers it went against the ‘risk assessment’, we had to run at 7:30am. Harrison’s cave was our next destination (thanks Mrs Adamson for this great find!) where we boarded a tram and explored a cave 170ft deep, seeing some incredible land formations and unbelievable pools of clear water. In the afternoon we made our way to Waterford Netball Stadium where we faced our next opposition, the Barbados National Team

where the A team secured a win of 28-12 and, despite playing a well-fought match, our B team lost 11-20.

Following another early morning training session, we spent our next day on a bus exploring the island. This gave us the opportunity to visit each of the 11 parishes where we learnt a lot about the culture and history of Barbados. We ended the day at the Boatyard – a beach club with a water trampoline, a swing rope and a 10ft diving board into the sea, where we witnessed Mrs Bell execute an incredible back somersault into the sea while Mrs A and Mrs W ‘looked after the bags’…

For a change, our teams were mixed up for our match on Day 5 against C O Williams, which meant both teams had to adapt to their new team members. Despite this, both teams played exceptionally well and managed to win 20-6 and 21-16. Our penultimate match, played against Pinehill NC, was definitely one of the tour highlights. We arrived at the Waterford Stadium once again for our 4th match of the tour with our skin sun kissed from a day on the beach. Despite both mixed Dubai College teams winning with scores of 23-19 and 23-13, the matches were hard fought until the final whistle, and both teams played to the very best of their ability.

Our last match against the Barbados National Team took place on Day 7, after a morning of souvenir shopping in Bridgetown. Once we explored the streets of the capital (and stuffed our faces with Subway’s ‘special offer’ sandwich) we made our way to Waterford Stadium for the last time. Although we did not dominate on the netball court, the experience we gained from playing the Bajan team was immense; their style of playing pushed us to our limits and we developed hugely despite not being victorious.

Although we were defeated, morale was higher

Local and Overseas Trips than ever as we returned by bus to the hotel, belting out Whitney Houston classics at the top of our tired worn-out lungs (much to the driver’s dismay) followed shortly by a karaoke evening where Mrs Bell and Mrs Adamson rocked the stage singing 1980s classics. Everyone took part in this hysterical evening (and definitely heard us if they liked it or not!) – we were even joined by a lovely old gentleman who kindly sang us ‘Beautiful Barbados’, provoking tears of laughter from most of the viewers.

Overall, our netball tour in Barbados was definitely one none of us will ever forget. On behalf of our tour team, we would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who supported our bake sales, to the Toy Store for kindly sponsoring us, and last but not least, an enormous thank you to Mrs Bell, Mrs Adamson and Mrs Williams for putting an unbelievable amount of effort into making this trip possible. Their hard work and devotion towards the success of this tour definitely made it one of the best experiences of our lives so far.

Alice Lovett 12CH Hayley Moore 11MB

Photos: Mrs E Adamson

Shamal 2014

43

Local and Overseas Trips After many months of preparation the date finally arrived to embark on the World Challenge Expedition to Mongolia World during the penultimate week of last term. Pack inspections Challenge and final team briefings took place before saying farewells Expedition at the airport bound for a flight to Beijing and ultimately to Ulaanbaatar for three weeks of discovery and adventure.

Mongolia Two teams went their separate ways from Ulaanbaatar to experience trekking on horseback and on foot through some fantastic scenery which consisted of lush green rolling meadows as far as the eye could see under (mostly) blue skies. The teams quickly adapted to the rigours of camping and cooking on open fires, gaining an insight into Mongolian culture through the aid of their respective interpreters and took on responsibility for day to day planning. Leading on from the trekking phase both teams went to work on their allocated project which involved painting and general refurbishment of areas within local schools. The funds raised in the lead up to the trip provided numerous provisions of materials and equipment which will undoubtedly prove a great asset to the children attending these schools for many years to come.

The expedition culminated with two days sightseeing in Beijing, visiting the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and the Great Wall, as well as other cultural sites interspersed with some vital retail therapy. The whole experience was reflected upon with numerous highlights and personal achievements which underlined the success and value of the trip. It is safe to say that the memories gained will last a lifetime for all!

44

Shamal 2014

Local and Overseas Trips

For Team 1, our trek phase was filled with asthma attacks, falling off horses and breath-taking views as we followed our wranglers, who appeared to have been riding before they could walk, which is more than can be said for some members of our team. After three days we left our horses behind and battled the landscape on foot. Despite the blisters, the experience of trekking across the Mongolian plains, miles from anywhere (without any WiFi), was liberating and extraordinary.

We also sampled Mongolian delicacies such as lamb stew (not so delicate) and pastries that we made with our lovely translator Odko. We were also stunned by the hospitality we received from the local families, tasting their food, sitting in their homes and playing volleyball. Our trek phase ended with a lazy day by the river with birthday cake for breakfast and a slight sense of bittersweet relief that our days camping in our little orange tents were coming to an end. The next day we travelled to the school in Binder that we worked in for a few days before heading back to the capital and on to Beijing.

From a Challenger’s Perspective Sitting here revising for GCSEs, it’s hard to believe that it is almost a year since Dubai College sent two teams to Mongolia for three weeks on our World Challenge expedition. Both teams spent a few days in Ulaanbaatar collecting supplies and planning for their respective treks and project phase in the Mongolian wilderness, after overcoming the initial excitement of being so far from home.

The 13-hour minibus rides remain one of the most memorable parts of the trip, travelling along hundreds of kilometres of dirt roads without seeing another vehicle, watching the brightly coloured roofs of the villages and the vast expanse of wonderfully unscarred scenery pass by.

We would like to thank our expedition leader, Andy, and Mrs Phillips and Mr Roberts for making the trip so unforgettable, filling us with nostalgia as we think back to those three weeks last summer.

Jessie Ingram-Johnson 11AD

Photos: Mr G Roberts

Shamal 2014

Photos: Ms P Tradgett

45

Local and Overseas Trips On the 28th November, eight Dubai College students left Dubai’s thirty degree heat behind for England’s five degree chill.

We had devised a piece of children’s theatre – an adaptation of Little Red Riding Hood set in the streets of modern London – which we performed to eight different primary schools across Petersfield. The biggest challenge was the rehearsal process. When creating each scene we had to keep our target audience (children aged 8 to 11) in mind at all times and constantly ask ourselves whether they would find certain things as funny as we would.

The last week of rehearsing was hectic with us spending hours after school every day to perfect it.

Each performance was different as the children reacted differently in each school. Our work was always evolving and after every performance we would change things that didn’t work and emphasise the scenes that did, depending on what the children reacted well to. We would also do a workshop with them, teaching them rehearsal techniques and vocal and physical warm ups that we would use to shake off the nerves before performing. The whole experience gave us a glimpse into what the life of a travelling troupe of actors would be like.

Our accommodation in England was taken care of courtesy of Bedales School and so we got to experience boarding school life for a week, sleeping in the dorms of students and sharing bathrooms with twenty other people. We were also invited to take part in the Bedales ‘Christmas Pudding Bake Off’, carol singing and their Sixth Form social and we saw the Bedales School production of Shockheaded Peter.

On our weekend in London, we saw two West End shows: The Curious Case of the Dog in the NightTime, which had us all in tears throughout the first half, and Billy Elliot The Musical. We also saw a promenade performance called The Drowned Man, which was set in an abandoned warehouse in the centre of London. Each person shaped their own experience as you chose where to go and which actors to follow around the four-storey building. Audience members were made to wear masks and you really felt like you were part of the show rather than just watching it.

We also managed to fit in several shopping trips to Hyde Park’s ‘Winter Wonderland’, Camden Market and Oxford Street which meant we returned to Bedales with our suitcases heavier and our pockets considerably lighter.

By the end of the trip, we were exhausted and England had given us all something to remember it by; the flu! Literally, we were all sick. However, the trip also gave us some amazing memories and we all bonded throughout the rehearsal process

22nd Bedales Exchange

46

Shamal 2014

even though some of us barely knew each other before.

We met some incredible people at Bedales who are so different to anyone that we’ve met before and we would never have had the opportunity to do so otherwise. This was the 22nd year of the Bedales Exchange and it’s still going strong. Next year they will come to us in Dubai and we are looking forward to hosting them and showing them what a great place Dubai College is for Drama and performance.

Cathy Faria 13GC Gabi Guscott 12PF

Local and Overseas Trips

Roma Art Trip 2013

Photos: Yehya Al-Hafidh

Shamal 2014

47

Local and Overseas Trips Mr Case joked that whilst the rest of the art teachers got to go to Rome, he got to go to Al Quoz!

But our Year 11 artists really have enjoyed two fantastic jaunts this term, and whilst not quite Rome, the art scene in Dubai is certainly exciting and inspiring.

Our first trip was to the Black Palace beach opposite Dubai College where the students built Land Art sculptures inspired by artist Andy Goldsworthy – we had a gorgeous afternoon! The most recent gallery and drawing trip was to Alserkal Avenue and Safa Park. If you haven’t already been to Alserkal Avenue, we can’t recommend it highly enough. The Avenue consists of a cluster of small contemporary galleries – and we advise asking for a talk about the artworks on arrival. The gallerists were delighted to see the students taking such an interest in the artworks and their explanations made the artwork all the more meaningful.

After the galleries we visited the Archive in Safa Park for lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon making numerous drawings of the trees. We hope that the students enjoyed it as much as we did.

Mrs J Bailey

Photos: Mr G Case

48

Shamal 2014

GCSE Art Trips

Local and Overseas Trips

Art Trip to Art Dubai

I loved the feel of the location of Alserkal Avenue – it felt like a secret arty hangout in Dubai. Art Dubai at the Madinat was a massive contrast; a structured, organised area with patterned carpets where the art was evenly spaced out and divided into separate gallery spaces. It is the largest Art Fair in the Middle East, with more than 500 artworks on display.

There was something exciting and inspiring to find around every corner. At Art Dubai, I met one of my favourite artists who I had been exploring in a previous project. My conversation with him inspired me to persevere and push the boundaries of my own work.

and Alserkal Avenue

As we arrived in Alserkal Avenue I was instantly taken by the prominent warehouses that were bustling with creative activity and…people who looked important. Floors were vast and metallic whilst the towering ceilings gave a garage feel and minimalistic look to the gallery spaces. My favourite artwork was a large canvas that had been painted in a naïve and childlike manner. It boasted bold shades of the primary colours.

This piece also amused me as it felt out of place in a room with several black and white geometric paintings.

Eventually though, I ended up at a gallery where I was lucky enough to meet the artist Amir Hussein. Visually I had already fallen in love with his work; the subject matter; the texture; the colours. However, what made me even more in awe of his pieces was hearing him talk about the crisis between Iraq and Iran and the way in which that had given him his inspiration.

Sophie Burley 13HB Hibah Hoque 13GC

Tania Zaidi 13IJ

Shamal 2014

49

Local and Overseas Trips Forty eager Year 8 students left school bright and early on Thursday 16th January – destination Um Al Quwain Beach Club to try their hands at kayaking, canoeing and raft building. After a long hour on the coach, they were raring to go.

Military-style orders, sand monsters, and cat-walk shows worked up an appetite for a hearty lunch on the beach. The instructors were fantastic and guided events with good humour and energy. Next, we arrived at the Ecoventure’s desert camp with dusk gradually falling, along with the Year 8s’ energy levels. Students were perked up with traditional Middle Eastern fare, which they desperately needed for brain food. They were given a select few articles in order to safely transport an egg down from the dizzying heights of the tower. Many groups triumphed, however, a few were left with egg on their faces (!). Mrs Romans and Miss Shah hoped that a talent show AND marshmallows around the camp fire would be enough to tire the Year 8s out, but alas it was a long night! Nevertheless tents were emptied and cleaned bright and early, so that another day’s activities could begin. Our students tried their skills at rock climbing, archery, and the daring Jacob’s ladder. Year 8 returned back to school with fears allayed, personal targets met and best of all, as a team.

Year 8 Trip to Ecoventure

Miss R Shah

50

Shamal 2014

Local and Overseas Trips

ISMTF Senior Mathematics Competition, Waterloo ’14 Despite having been on two tiring flights, the DC mathematicians – Azmina, Amaan, Gaurav, James, Mohamed, Oh Hyun and Saima – marched through Brussels International Airport with an overwhelming sense of excitement and glee. Well, that was all but Mohamed, who was still traumatised from his experience in the dreaded Economy class.

Nevertheless, he made his recovery after a Quick Burger meal and we headed to St. John’s International School, where the competition was to be held.

We could immediately sense that the competition was fierce, as soon as we walked into the school; possibly due to the vast number of Koreans, and even a team who had decided to compete dressed to the nines in suits and ties. We were all given a welcome pack, which included a waffle and a Rubik’s Cube, a clear signature of where we had arrived. We then went to our hotel, which traumatised Mohammed once again with its merely adequate four-star rating. After an unfortunately disappointing lobster lasagne and sirloin steak for dinner, we went to bed early to rest for the big competition.

The competition itself was incredibly difficult yet interesting. The individual round consisted of ten papers, timed 10 minutes for five demanding questions on each paper. The team rounds followed, with 15 minutes for three questions per paper.

Individually, the highest DC finish was 20th out of 180 participants. In the group stages, the DC A team managed to finish 14th out of sixty teams.

The second day of the trip was more relaxed and consisted of a ‘fun’ task, where every team was split up into different groups with participants from other schools to engage in the newly formed ‘Technology Challenge’. Gaurav’s group managed to be placed third in the challenge, affirming his position as DC’s ‘Student Head of Computers and Stuff’, while Amaan’s group came first!

The most puzzling question of this trip, however, was not any of the Olympiad questions we encountered. It was something much, much more complex: how does Gaurav keep his hair so silky smooth? Every morning, in spite of the weather or our travel conditions, Gaurav would dazzle all with his impeccable hair. Any attempts at deducing how exactly he keeps his hair so flawless were futile, though there were many explanations. Even his roommate, Amaan, could not figure it out after the weekend together.

The trip as a whole was a great experience for us all. Not only was it intellectually stimulating, but it was also extremely enjoyable. Special thanks to Mr Croft, the Mathematics department and St John’s International School for making it all possible.

Oh Hyun Kweon 13IJ Saima Seer 13SO

Shamal 2014

51

Local and Overseas Trips

On the 15th February 2014 twenty Year 7 and 8 students embarked on a fantastic journey to Verbier, Switzerland, along with Ms Hill and Mr Woolley. We arrived at the airport at what seemed a ridiculous hour, however, it didn’t matter as we were bursting with excitement and

Ski Trip Verbier 2014

52

Shamal 2014

we were ready for an amazing holiday in Les Elfes, Verbier.

Once we arrived in Geneva we made a two hour long bus journey up the picturesque mountains into the small town of Verbier. The first sight of snow caused a buzz of thrill amongst us all, even though we were all shivering in just our DC ski trip shirts and jeans – we were eager to start skiing! However, first we had to get our boots and skis ready for the next morning.

The next day we embarked up the mountains for our first day of skiing. We travelled in chairlifts and gondolas (which soon claimed the nickname ‘The Death Traps’). It was tempting to look at the breath-taking views for hours on end, however, we had to actually do some skiing. This resulted in many crashes; we must have had at least ten in the first hour! Thankfully, we had no serious injuries – apart from Mark’s concussion…

After our skiing session we had an hour to cool down and have a drink of hot chocolate before our afternoon activities started. We had a variety of choices: swimming, shopping, outside games or staying inside. On the first day, we all went straight to town, ridiculously excited to

Local and Overseas Trips

buy souvenirs for our friends and family. We loved the supermarket, Migros, and we all stocked up on Swiss chocolate and Rivella before heading to the Milk Bar, an amazing crêperie at the top of a hill. We filled up on crêpes and hotchocolate-in-a-bowl before heading back to Les Elfes.

Dinner was always amazing and we tried so many new things, for example polenta and fondue. It was a great way to end the day and was always so much fun. After dinner, we

had the notorious ‘Ding-aling Awards’. This was when we had to nominate someone that had done something silly during the day. The winners would have to wear a cowbell around their neck for twenty-four hours, which was very irritating for the other people in their rooms. If they took it off, they had to do a forfeit.

These included singing ‘Royals’ or ‘Do you want to build a snowman?’ at the top of our lungs!

activity. It changed from night to night, entertaining everyone thoroughly. We went ice-skating one night (which caused many accidents as none of us could ice-skate very well!) and one night we made a hilarious music video to ‘What does the fox say?’. This ended with us in fits of laughter and finished the day nicely.

Looking back, it was an amazing trip and we all enjoyed ourselves so much! Despite our flight home being very delayed, it was the best experience ever and I returned with some incredible memories.

Sophie Ingram-Johnson 8MN

After dinner we had an evening Shamal 2014

53

Local and Overseas Trips The COBIS World Debate Tournament

Voorschoten, The Netherlands

On the 6th February 2014, Jas Singh, Antara Jaidev, Tom Murphy, and Harry Hardman departed for The Netherlands, accompanied by Miss Brenham. Morale was high but was slightly dampened on collecting our soaking suitcases at Schiphol Airport – only the beginning of a shockingly rainy weekend for five residents of Dubai. Big thanks to Miss Brenham for braving the veritable hurricane that was Amsterdam wind just to find our bus. We arrived at the lovely Hotel de Gouden Leeuw, where we spent a comfortable three nights watching Dutch MTV and were able to mingle with other students from the competition. After a satisfying breakfast, we decided to spend a fruitful day sightseeing at The Hague. These plans were slightly disrupted considering we got lost inordinately quickly and were persistent on entering areas in which we were not permitted. It did, however, prove to us how tolerant the Dutch people are of clueless tourists like ourselves. After visiting Humanity House, a museum of the International Court of Peace and Justice and a homely café, we made our way back to meet our competition of fourteen other schools at the British School of the Netherlands.

The competition began on the 8th February.

Although we faced extremely tough competition, we pulled through and were successful in all our three debates, propelling us to compete for the COBIS Debate Cup. The following day saw our final rounds. Winning the quarter final, we were pleased to have made it to the semi-finals.

Unfortunately, we were knocked out after attempting to argue that nature was more influential than nurture. We still managed to secure 3rd place and won the award for ‘Most likely to dominate next year’. The experience was still incredibly enriching, honing our debating skills and allowing us to meet some extraordinary people. It was with a heavy heart that we packed our suitcases, and bade adieu to the stormy skies of The Netherlands. Our hearts full of memories and our bellies full of stroopwafel, we boarded the plane back to sunny Dubai.

Dank je wel to Miss Brenham for being so supportive and making this trip as enjoyable as it was (and for ensuring Harry was not left behind every five minutes). We could not have done all of this without you.

Antara Jaidev 11MB 54

Shamal 2014

‘Don’t raise your voice, improve your argument.’

This is a very famous statement by former Debate Anglican bishop Desmond Tutu, who was a keen opponent of the apartheid regime in South Africa.

Dubai And over the years, the convincing arguments that DC students have presented whenever they have debated has continued to develop until the incredible standard we saw in the last academic year.

This year, debating has had a massive impact on the extracurricular activities of DC. The year started off with a new addition to the Debate Dubai scene, called Debate Dubai Junior, which attracted both primary and secondary schools from Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

DC A managed to bag the Runner-Up position whilst DC B finished second in their group; being unable to qualify for the knockout rounds. Well done to everyone involved.

From September to December, meetings intensified as squads were selected for the showdown at Debate Dubai, which attracted 130 teams this year from India, Kuwait, Bahrain and the UAE. We may have come into the tournament as underdogs, but we left the competition as arguably the most successful team, with our U14 B squad coming Runners-Up in the Cup Competition and U14 A winning the Plate competition. Our U16 A were the Cup Winners at Debate Dubai whilst the U16 B were semi-finalists. Our U18 A were also the Plate Winners and our U18 B came out as semi-finalists.

Congratulations to all involved because every single one of our teams made it far in the competition.

The next term of debating followed with interesting motions about sovereignty, animal rights, beauty pageants and other pervasive topics before a friendly competition was held at DC against Jumeirah College. Our final Debate Society meeting was held just before the term break, and after an enjoyable impromptu debate session in which teams had half a minute to prepare for each of their debates, we were sadly informed that Miss Brenham is leaving the college to go back to the UK. Miss Brenham has been highly motivational to debaters throughout her teaching career at DC but she is leaving the society in the incredibly capable hands of Miss Parkes and Mrs Hodge who will no doubt lead the squads and Debate Society to future successes in the upcoming years. Good luck to future debaters, and make sure you get your hands on another Debate Dubai trophy next year!

Shumraze Fawad 8MN

Local and Overseas Trips

Barcelona 2014

On Saturday 12th April 2014, fourteen Spanish students and two teachers set off to Barcelona for a week spent living with host families and filled with sightseeing and speaking Spanish.

Once in Barcelona, we immediately took advantage of the free Wi-Fi available on the bus (as it was for the whole week) meaning that right away everyone began Snapchatting and Instagramming non-stop (especially Dharam and Jodutt), taking our minds off meeting our host families. After a walk around Las Ramblas, we arrived at our base for the week, where in pairs or threes, we were allocated to our families, making us feel like evacuees from World War Two! Palm Sunday was spent solely with our families and the rest of the week we met up every morning to either get on the coach somewhere or take the metro (an apparently very scary experience we had been warned about constantly, fortunately no-one got mugged/pick pocketed). We spent two mornings in a language school where we discovered that being taught Spanish in Spanish schools was much harder than in English! We also visited a chocolate

factory where we stupidly ate everything, then wondered why we felt sick. On Thursday, after admiring Gaudi’s architecture with a tour of La Sagrada Familia and lunch in Parc Guell (we had also visited the Nou Camp the day before, much to the excitement of the boys), we still had about six hours to kill so Mr Trivic took us on a Magical Mystery Tour outside Barcelona itself. After lots of guessing we arrived in a forest for laser tagging! It was so much fun and very unexpected, so thank you Mr Trivic! On Good Friday we spent the day in a theme park with the highest roller coaster in Europe, a truly terrifying ride but fun nonetheless.

Furthermore, we witnessed a very solemn religious ceremony outside Barcelona Cathedral, marking the

important date, which sparked a DMC on the metro back home, featuring mostly Cate, Dharam and Cameron.

The whole trip was amazing, filled with Disney songs, The Spice Girls, the Conjuring, Instagram dilemmas, sombreros, ice cream flowers, annoying whistle things, interesting souvenirs, Mr Trivic’s hat, ice lollies, sandwich swapping, lo siento/sí/gracias and tricky translations. Thank you to Miss Mennaai and Mr Trivic for organising everything and being our unofficial tour guides; we’ll never forget this experience. ¡Muchas gracias!

Madryn Riewer 10ZB

Shamal 2014

55

Local and Overseas Trips

Biology Field Trip

Umm Al Quwain Mangroves

On Sunday 24th March a group of 19 Year 13 Biology students spent a day in the mangroves of Umm Al Quwain. The morning was spent ankle deep in mud counting mangrove plants and snails. The students discovered how harsh the conditions are in the intertidal zone and how well adapted an organism must be if it is to survive. They studied the adaptations of the only species of mangrove (Avicennia marina) found in the UAE. The mangrove forests serve as nurseries for many of the fish species and are among the world’s most productive ecosystems; there are currently about 40 sq km of natural mangroves in the UAE. The students practised the technique of random sampling and worked together to estimate the density of organisms in the sample area. After a very muddy couple of hours they had a snack in the dunes and prepared themselves for the next activity.

The early afternoon was spent in the upper mangrove belt where plants are only submerged

56

Shamal 2014

in water for relatively short periods of time. They looked at the zonation patterns of plants and animals using an interrupted belt transect.

Perfect weather and lunch at Umm al-Quwain Marine Club rounded off a successful day of field work before we headed back to College in the late afternoon.

Mr J Bailey

Local and Overseas Trips

Back Row: Josh Devereux, Max Lovett, Ciaran Brady, Oliver Boon, Euan MacKinnon, Kip Chrichir, Geroge Ludden, Joe Story, Aiden Wright, Liam Benstead, Cameron Afkhami, Francois Pieterse.

Front Row: Jack Burrell, Sam Reedy, Andrew MacIntosh, Owen Wakeham, Harry Hughes, Harvey Bullock, Finlay Keegan, Jamie MacKinnon, Ben Avery, Rory Nisbet, Matthew Wane, Jack Norman.

U13 & U16 Rugby 7s Rosslyn Park

This year, it was decided that the under 13 and 16 rugby 7s teams would go on tour to London, England and participate in The Rosslyn Park 7s. After months of training at lunch, after school and at the weekends, the squads left Dubai on an overnight flight to London. Upon arrival, we headed straight to the Oratory School in Reading to play our first match The under 16s faced a tough test, drawing two out of the four quarters in the game, and winning one. There were many positive signs to take from the game and the team was looking strong during the following days, in their final preparations for the largest rugby 7s tournament in the world.

The under 16s followed on from the under 13 boys’ successes in their tournament, knowing we were to face stern tests ahead. We got off to a flying start beating Wellington College 17-5, the first team to do so in 8 years - an amazing

achievement by the boys, proving that we can play with the best. We then went on to win two games and narrowly lose one, putting us joint top of the group. However, due to an unfortunate late change in the tournament rules, we just missed out on a place in day 2 of the tournament.

Overall it was a fantastic week of rugby, with great skills and character shown by both age groups. I’d like to take this as an opportunity to say a few thanks to everyone who helped out.

Firstly a big thank you to all of you who sponsored the boys, helping to raise money for this tour. Thank you to Jebel Ali resorts and hotels for you generous sponsorship, thank you to Mr House and Mr Mac for all your help during the tour, and last but not least the biggest thank you must go to Mr Barrington and Mr Jones for all your time, effort, support and commitment over the past 7 months. I think I speak on behalf of the team when I say we really wouldn’t have been so successful without you.

Liam Benstead 11DF Shamal 2014

57

Local and Overseas Trips Year 7 went on a wonderful trip to Dibba for 2 days.

We participated in various activities, such as rock climbing, abseiling, obstacle courses, canoeing, snorkelling and raft building.

Although all the activities were loads of fun, we all took a greater interest in the obstacle courses due to the instructor’s way of conducting the games! The rock climbing was enjoyable yet intensive too; the abseiling was terrifying at first but it was amazing as we went down. The obstacle course was, as we mentioned before, amazing because of everyone’s screaming. Although the water activities were amusing, the water was ice cold!

As we returned we went for a hike in the mountains at night. We learnt that every star constellation has a story behind it. On our way back we encountered a little scorpion! Although our bedtime was at 9:30pm we don’t think anyone slept before 1am. We don’t know about other cabins, but in ours we played truth or dare, chubby bunny and had several midnight feasts (we all went home weighing two or three kilos more)! Dibba was an amazing trip for everyone and we are sure that all the Year 7s next year will have as much fun as we did!

Year 7 Dibba Trip 2014

Maria Iorini 7JLF Gaby Helayel 7JLF

Photos: Mr M Woolley

58

Shamal 2014

Local and Overseas Trips Forty four Year 8 students accompanied by four staff went to Izmir in Turkey for the Space Camp experience.

At the camp they tried out the simulators used to train astronauts by finding out what it is like to walk on the Moon with one sixth gravity; or what it is like to work in space with apparent weightlessness. With every student assigned a role they brought the space shuttle in to land using a mock space shuttle and Houston command centre along with real computer simulations. Once space was mastered it was a trip back in time to the ancient city of Ephesus. Thanks to Mr Ashmore, Mrs Davies, Mrs Hashem and Mr Woolley for taking the trip.

Weightless

Houston? We have a problem!

Space Cadets

Mr L Ashmore Space Camp birthday girl

Moon walking

Space Camp Turkey 2014

Introduction Mr Woolley intoaRobotics spin!

Houston? We still have a problem!

Space Lab

Discovery

Mr Woolley in a spin!

Shamal 2014

59

Activities

House Report

Dubai College not only produces outstanding academic results, but it also excels in providing a wide range of enriching and challenging opportunities outside of the normal classroom setting. The four Heads of House: Miss Foulkes, Mr Ashby, Mr Flower and Mr McIlveen, played a huge part in encouraging more than 750 students to take part in over 70 stretching and challenging, (and fun) competitions this year.

One of the school’s most enduring traditions, the House Competition, has had some exciting new additions, including Miss Foulkes (as Cousteau’s new Supremo) and an inspiring range of colourful house mascots!

The inaugural House Drama Competition was performed earlier in June, to rapturous acclaim by the students who had written and directed their own fascinating interpretations of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. We also had House Linguistics this year, and the beginning of the House Art Competition. From next term, we look forward to the House History, Science, Debating, Handwriting and Dancing Competitions.

Another innovation has been the introduction of ‘Epraise’: a colourful and inspiring new way for teachers to reward students for their efforts, and recognise their involvement in the House Competition. Students can now see a live update of their house points, and how they are contributing to the success of their house. At time of writing, Cousteau appear to be surging ahead in the House Points Competition and, as of Mid-May, an astounding 16,245 House Points have been awarded!

As I write this, the overall Champion House for this year has yet to be decided, but whoever wins, it is worth noting that this competition would not have been possible without the outstanding support of the PE department, the school caretakers, and the brilliant team spirit and commitment shown routinely by the overwhelming majority of the whole school community.

Mr R Dennis Activities Coordinator The House Competition forms just a small part of the school’s extra-curricular activities, and this year there have been well over a hundred clubs and societies to choose from, including a growing number of student-led activities. Entrepreneurship Club, Theology Society, Medical Ethics Society and Psychology and Philosophy Clubs were set up this year by students with a particular interest in that field and provided them with valuable opportunities to plan and lead their own projects. Other very popular additions to the activities programme have been Dancing Club, Trampolining, Craft Activity and Posh Paws.

Activities Round-up

I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the superb job that my colleagues, and an increasing number of senior students, do to provide really challenging, interesting and enriching experiences during and after normal school hours.

Mr R Dennis Activities Coordinator 60

Shamal 2014

Activities Team Tachyon Qualify for F1 in Schools World Championships!

Throughout the year, students from all years have been designing, testing and improving their model F1 cars in order to achieve the perfect racing machine. They sought out sponsors, designed and built pit displays, wrote and practised verbal presentations and compiled portfolios recording how the team had progressed. The process was even more educational this year as the students were able to use the school’s new 3-D printer and router and thus hone their computer aided manufacturing (CAM) skills. Three of our teams went on to the National Finals held in May at the Yas Marina Formula 1 circuit. In the Professional division twenty six teams entered from schools in the UAE and Team Doppler from Y12 were awarded the coveted

trophy for ‘Best team identity,’ and came fifth overall whilst our Y11 Team Tachyon’s pit display was given first place for the second year running and came second overall.

As a result of their success in the Professional class, team Tachyon have qualified for the F1 in Schools World Championships. These will take place at Yas Marina F1 circuit Abu Dhabi where thirty teams from around the World will compete for the World Championships. Tachyon will be collaborating with a team from Ireland.

Mr L Ashmore

F1 in Schools

Shamal 2014

61

English The Dubai College Writing Group was established in September 2013 with the aim of producing a ‘published’ book. Over the course of the year students of all ages have attended small writing workshops looking at ways into different types of writing, how to craft pieces and the process of drafting and editing. The range of stories, poems and non-fiction pieces which have emerged has been really impressive, not to mention entertaining to read. The group acted as critics for each other’s work which produced some lively debates.

A core group of dedicated writers recently submitted a range of eclectic pieces for our first publication. With no particular theme, students decided that they would have free reign in terms of what and how they wanted to write and it has certainly paid off. An editorial committee comprising four senior students is currently editing and designing the publication. ‘Faces’ by The Writing Society (as they have recently renamed themselves) will soon be available as an online e-book through

‘Faces’

by The Writing Society

62

Shamal 2014

the school library. So, watch this space!

The Editorial Team: Nermeen Islam, Jessica Lattouf, Sophie Shennan, Hannah Tayab Ms H Bastable

Science

DC Scicomp DC Scicomp is a fun competition where you make a video on your chosen science topic. We chose to do how a cake rises, however there were many different topics to choose from, ranging from the digestion system to the solar system. In fact, you can pick any scientific field that interests you! DC Scicomp is run over a period of 3 weeks. Over the course of the three weeks we had to research, plan, film and edit our video. We worked on it in our science lessons and as homework. During the first week we researched and planned our project. Then during the second week we filmed our video which took longer than we thought because it took more than one attempt! In the third week everyone was frantic because the videos had to be finished, edited and uploaded to the DC Scicomp YouTube channel before the weekend. Students were allowed to vote for their favourite online via the DC Scicomp YouTube channel. Then all of the teachers in the College were given an opportunity to vote. The votes were then counted and the winners decided. The winners were announced in the end of year assembly. 3rd place was presented with a big bar of Dairy Milk each, 2nd place won cinema tickets and 1st place won a trophy and book vouchers. Our video won 1st place in last year’s competition yay! We were presented with our prizes and our video was shown to the whole school. We really enjoyed DC Scicomp and we can’t wait to do it again this year and hopefully retain our title.

Emily and Siena Note from Mr Jeffcote By the time you read this, this year’s winners will have already been announced (you can see their videos on the DC Scicomp channel http://www.youtube.com/user/dcscicomp) The winners of the competition will also be entered into the COBIS International Young Scientists Science Video award, where the students stand to gain international acclaim and could also win more prizes!

Mr G Jeffcote

Shamal 2014

63

Activities

Dance

Contemporary

1

Back Row: Jemma Ansell, Kitty Davies, Olivia Dennehy, Caitlin Hunter.

Middle Row: Mrs G Williams, Hannah Burton, Disha , Laura Murphy, Rebecca Ludden, Aakanksha Deb. Front Row: Chloe Elliott, Sophie Bezzina, Gabrielle Tode, Sophie Newberry, Noa Consiglio-Cockle.

Dance

Contemporary

2

Back Row: Mrs G Williams, Niamh Bone, Cassia Middleton, Amun Chaudhary, Tara A H Zadeh, Laura Murphy, Drishti Masand.

Front Row: Tara Mewawalla, Chloe Elliott, Georgina Holbrook, Kiara Whittle, Inayah Ahmed.

Desert Dance Dance Street Street Back BackRow: Row: Disha Narain, Nina Middle Row: Mul, Jessica Shaw, Josephine Front Row: Jagtiani, Shehza Shafeek, Charlotte Hide.

Middle Row: Mrs G Williams, Chloe Elliott, Rhea Kale, Katherine Jones, Rhea Javat, Laura Murphy.

Front Row: Gabrielle Tode, Zunaira Nader, Sayaka Okada, Rebecca Ludden.

64

Shamal 2014

Activities Wow! What a year for Dance at Dubai College!

At the beginning of the school year Dubai College hosted a visit by members of the VIVA Dance Company (world champions of Ballroom and Latin dance style). This first workshop offered all students (boys and girls), the opportunity to participate and enjoy a taste of Ballroom and Latin dancing, which was complemented by additional after-school sessions for the most enthusiastic!

A second workshop, inspired by the Dubai Desert Dance theme for 2014, enabled DC students, along with students from many other schools in Dubai, to work with professional dance artists demonstrating a variety of dance styles, including African and Traditional Arabic dancing.

January saw Dubai College playing host for the second annual Dubai Desert Dance competition. The theme this year was ‘Our Global Community’. The competition was fierce with an array of different styles of dance, including ‘drumming’ and dancing in traditional Arabic dress, with the excitement and infectious enthusiasm of the event being felt by all.

However, DC was triumphant in winning the award for ‘Best use of Space’.

The DC Street Dance group performed a piece entitled ‘Techno -Takeover’, while the 1st DC Contemporary Dance group entertained everyone with ‘The Every Day Commuter’.

The 2nd DC Contemporary Dance group concluded the DC performance expressing

‘The Relationship between Mother and Daughter’. All the participating schools proved that hard work and effort can produce amazing and results.

The competition was a great experience for all the dancers and thanks must go to all the teachers involved.

Another highlight of the DC dance year was an event led

by Diverse Performing Arts School where many of the Dubai College dancers were invited to participate in the Meydan World Cup Opening Ceremony on the 29th March.

Although challenging at times, all the participants were congratulated on the dedication and professionalism demonstrated throughout many rehearsals and which culminated in a spectacular

and memorable performance on the night.

For the first time, DC celebrated International Dance Day this year on the 29th April with a professional hip hop artist delivering an exciting dance workshop to all students interested in dance – it was a really fun event enjoyed by all!

Looking forward to the final DC Dance event of the year, all three dance clubs are currently working hard to create new performances for the ‘Gym and Dance Display’ scheduled for June, and these promise to be as exciting as ever!

Reflecting on such a fantastic year, we can all look forward to the new challenges of Dance in the future!

Laura Murphy 9CT

Shamal 2014

65

Activities

Gymnastics

Back Row: Amy Storey, Janvi Jetwhani, Saif Khawaja, Yehia Islam, Jessica Passey, Tara Mewawalla.

Middle Row: Mrs G Williams, Blanca Pamias Lopez, Mina Jenkins, Sayaka Okada, Almaz Razif, Casey Bell, Joshua Paul.

Front Row: Lana Al Hajj, Ben Skelton, James Morris, William Allinson.

DC Gymnastics The DC Gymnastics Club has allowed us to progress and learn new skills in a safe and fun way. The skills we learn range from basic flexibility floor work to vaulting, trampette, advanced floor work, beam work and a tumble track that is supervised by Mrs Williams if needed. We also improve our team skills, coordination and strength when participating in whole squad routines.

Our first whole squad group routine was shown

66

Shamal 2014

at Repton School on 9th December 2013. DC had a friendly meet with Repton in their gymnasium, where both schools met in this gymnastics environment for the first time. The meet had a variety of routines, including; solos, duos, trios and group sports acrobatic routines. It was a fantastic experience with really

cool tricks and it allowed us to see what kind of standards the other schools are at.

Now, as we are drawing the school year to a close, there will be another DC Gym and Dance display, meaning more routines, music and flips to be wowed by.

Mina Jenkins, 9NL

Activities

Trampolining

Back Row: Mrs G Williams, Yehia Islam, William Treston, Ethan Pearce, Patrick Dowling.

Front Row: Daisy Kirkaldy, Kristi Flanagan, Tobias Tatham, Emma Taylor, Janvi Jetwhani.

Trampolining Club first began as a small scale club one lunchtime a week. Now 1 year on and the progress of the club has been amazing! We now have 2 trampolines and the club at its full capacity as an after school club so that we can maximise our time, as Trampolining is now more popular than ever! Every Wednesday after school in the Auditorium, Mrs Williams welcomes students from Year 7 all the way to Year 13 to come and enjoy themselves. Every person that comes along is able to learn and improve basic skills and routines in order to enhance their trampolining

abilities. Every week presents a new challenge to attempt and makes everyone learn something new every time.

From Pike shapes and Straddles, to moves such as Swivel Hips and Front Somersaults, Trampolining is always a fun experience and is

really worth a try.

The Auditorium is a great place to be able to come and have some great fun at the club as the spotlights are on the trampolines.

It’s a great way to meet and speak to new people from all years across the school and also to have fun with your friends.

The development of the club has been so vast that there is even a team being put together to perform at the second DC Gymnastics & Dance Display, which will be great to watch in the future. Also, thanks to Mrs Williams, the club will be presented with future trips and plan for further school competitions to look forward to, and the fantastic opportunity to go to a new professional centre within Dubai at the start of next term ‘Bounce’.

Trampolining is always a great laugh to go to and I can assure you, that every week, everyone in the club is buzzing for Wednesday afternoons so that the fun can begin. Hopefully, the club will continue to grow and become much more popular in the many years to come.

Kristi Flanagan 10JS

Shamal 2014

67

Music

MUSIC & MINCE PIES

The annual Music and Mince Pies concert was held on the 11th December 2013 in the auditorium and the students performed a variety of festive tunes and songs with great excitement and gusto.

Beginner Band started the concert with their debut performance of Up on a Housetop and everyone’s all-time favourite, Jingle Bells. This was followed by Junior Choir under the enthusiastic guidance of Mrs Dixon. They sang a nostalgic rendition of Let it Snow and Down, Down the Chimney. Next up was Junior String Ensemble who charmed the audience as did Brass Ensemble.

Intermediate Band entertained the audience with their more popular choice of We are Young and Do You Hear What I Hear? expertly conducted from the podium by the renowned Mr Zambonini.

Hedwig’s Theme was played beautifully by the String Quartet 2, while Concert Band warmed the hearts of the audience with their performance of The 3-Minute Nutcracker and All I want for Christmas is You. The Chamber Choir sang a jolly rendition of It Was a Lover and His Lass by John Rutter. To round off the first half Guitar Group played a delightful arrangement of Silent Night.

Senior Strings opened the second half with a bang playing Jig from St Paul’s Suite with Mrs Lee-Foster leading from the first desk of the violas. Senior Orchestra performed the renowned piece Adagio from Spartacus expertly conducted by Mr Crawford.

The Saxophone Quartet and Senior Guitars wowed the audience with their festive tunes and expert sense of ensemble thanks to the fantastic leadership of Ms Ledesma and Ms Tsvetkova respectively. Flute Choir and Clarinet Choir followed playing some jolly and festive pieces such as Sleigh Ride Samba and A Christmas Jazz Suite. The String Quartet 1 then played the challenging Haydn Fifths (first movement.)

Senior Choir added a real sense of drama with O Fortuna from Carmina Burana and an all-time classic: We Wish You a Merry Christmas. As always the Jazz Band ended the festivities with a beautiful Blue Christmas and The Most Wonderful Time of the Year whilst Year 7 students gave out candy to the audience from their Santa Hats!

A huge thank you and well done to all those students who took

Photos: Mr G Case

68

Shamal 2014

part and rehearsed all term to create such a successful concert. Our thanks also go to the support staff for serving delicious mince pies and refreshments during the interval.

Lastly a huge thank you to Mr Zambonini, Mr Crawford and Mrs Lee-Foster and all the other fantastic visiting music teachers for organising such a wonderful event.

Music

Dido Aeneas

&

The production from start to finish was a veritable feast of sound and spectacle as The Chamber Choir and String Orchestra combined forces for a one off, fabulous, staged production of Purcell’s early opera. The simple but very effective set design allowed for the focus to linger on the music and action. Florence Prosser sang superbly and convinced us whole-heartedly with her moving, elegiac arias in her tragic role as Dido. The chorus of singers remarkably embraced their roles as both singers and dancers and integrated

themselves graciously into the action of the story. Belinda, performed by Isabel Snaas and Second Lady in Waiting,

by Kiara Whittle, both sang beautifully and conveyed a true sense of style and courtly grace. Cameron MacKay played the handsome Aeneas and suitably charmed both his audience and Dido with his dulcet tones. The tricky

recitatives were mastered carefully by the soloists and with great sensitivity by the basso continuo player in the shape of Leah Mitchell. The Strings truly impressed us with an all student orchestra.

Congratulations to all who took part!

Mrs J Lee Foster Shamal 2014

69

Music

POP Goes the Jazz Band

Meanwhile, in the Music Centre something poptastic was afoot... It started at 7p.m. ... I’m late!

Photos: Mr A Davidson

The Music Department was recently transformed into a pop paradise for the Jazz Band’s signature concert, ‘Pop Goes the Jazz Band’. Blasting off to a rollicking start, the band opened with the classic funk hit ‘Vehicle’. The pace then slowed as Hasan Malik came to the stage to sing alongside the band, performing ‘Feelin’ Good’ in a soulful style. We continued with the Saxophone Quartet and an inventive arrangement of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’.

‘Man in the Mirror’ was one of Michael Jackson’s most popular hits, becoming an iTunes sensation in recent years. This was sensitively performed by our Jazz Band in an arrangement by Ralph Holmes. Next it was 70

Shamal 2014

a change of pace with two timeless ballads, firstly Joanna Summers with Don McLean’s immortal ‘American Pie’, followed by Cameron MacKay & Ethan Ebdon performing George Harrison’s ‘Something’, in its original setting.

Mia Bazzoui was next to sing with the Jazz Band, with her stunning version of ‘Skyfall’.

This was followed by Cameron and Joonwoo who played the 2Cello’s version of the recent hit ‘Viva La Vida’. Rounding off

proceedings, it was back to the Jazz Band for the thumping ‘Love Shack’ and a galactic encore, ‘The Final Countdown’.

Our thanks go to the FDC who provided delicious food for the evening which raised over 2000 dirhams towards their funds. We also congratulate the students on a simply superb evening of music making.

Mr M Zambonini

Music in the final, with three of the six finalists being from Dubai College.

This year the Young Musicians of the Gulf Competition returned to St Christopher’s School in Bahrain. Fourteen students from Dubai College attended the three-day festival of music which was presided over by four external adjudicators. Throughout the competition Dubai College students remained ahead. In both the Semi-Final and the Grand Final DC had more students than any other school. Indeed, we were the only school to have more than one soloist

The Grand Final took place in the ballroom of the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Manama and with over 500 spectators, it truly is one of the most prestigious musical events in the region. Representing Dubai College were Bethany Wright, Sandip Roy and Joonwoo Jeong, all of whom won their respective categories. We were also honoured to have our vocal ensemble perform in the final, after making it down to the last three groups.

Once again, Dubai College achieved more solo prizes than any other school and we offer our congratulations to our winners whose performances really were stunning. We also offer our sincere thanks to our hosts St Christopher’s School for running such a wonderful competition.

Results: Woodwind Prize Bethany Wright Plucked Strings Prize Sandip Roy Bowed Strings Prize Joonwoo Jeong

Shamal 2014

71

Music

AYO

Arabian Youth Orchestra

Dubai College’s Arabian Youth Orchestra is a week-long course which aims to bring together the finest young musicians from around the region to practice and perform together in an orchestral setting. Now in its fifth year, AYO has quickly established itself as the leading youth orchestra in the region, with members from all over the Middle East.

Alison Tuffin, a member of our violin section describes her experience: ‘Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue’ (well... purple).

During the first week of the Spring holidays, many students from around the Middle East and the United Kingdom gathered at Dubai College to take part in the Arabian Youth Orchestra.

During the course, the orchestra, conducted by Peter Currie, rehearsed music by some of the world’s greatest composers including Giuseppe Verdi and Edvard Grieg. The orchestra also performed a piece that premiered at the first concert, Heliosphere composed by Joanna Marsh, and a piece that has only been performed once before by the Surrey County Orchestra, The Captain and The Purple Lady.

We put on two concerts at the end of the course, one at Dubai College and one at British School Al Khubairat in Abu Dhabi. Both of the concerts turned out to be very successful thanks to the organiser of the course, Mr Zambonini. The course would not have been possible either if it weren’t for our sectional leaders who helped us through every note. We would also like to thank our sponsors and our conductor Mr Currie for supporting us throughout the week. The students thoroughly enjoyed the course and we look forward to gathering again next year.”

Alison Tuffin 10DR

72

Shamal 2014

Music Beginner the end it is worth it and we Band has always achieve something been an memorable. If you heard amazing Beginner Band at the very first experience practice (unfortunately Mr including Zambonini did) and compared the group it to where we are now, you lessons, would be astonished the band practice and by what we have ‘A generally learning achieved. band that our instruments.

Once again, thank From nervesmells good, you to everyone racking concerts who has supported sounds to Mr Zambonini’s us through this, good!’

‘HILARIOUS’ jokes, especially Mr Beginner Band has Zambonini. We will been an overwhelming all cherish our memories (yet exciting) opportunity of Beginner Band, and for all of us! To be part of remember, practise makes such a friendly ensemble, perfect and, famously said of different instruments,

by Mr Zambonini: ‘A BAND where everybody is at the THAT SMELLS GOOD, same level is an absolutely SOUNDS GOOD!’ wonderful opportunity.

We learn challenging but Rhea Kale 7AC manageable pieces to perform Lucy Graham 7AC for extravaganza concerts.

Beginner Band is a cake full of different ingredients.

There are the students that play the instruments which are the three layers of cake (woodwind, brass and percussion). Next there is the filling in the middle of each layer that brings it all together, they are the spectacular teachers that have to listen to our squeaks and wrong notes, but somehow manage to teach us and manage to help us improve. Then there is the icing that polishes and completes our beginner band family. It is of course Mr Zambonini. He can get annoyed, but it is for the best, and without him we wouldn’t sound so amazing. Finally, the cherry on top is the audience and parents that encourage us each nerve-racking performance.

Beginner Band has been a memorable experience from ‘Jingle Bells’ (with our Santa hats) at the beginning of the year, to the theme tunes of Batman and The Flintstones.

Band practice can be scary, funny, or hard work, but in

Beginner Band

Shamal 2014

73

Music

CONTEMPORARY CLASSICS Following on from the annual speciality concerts, A Night at the Opera and Rule Britannia!, this year Dubai College Music Department delved into the world of twentieth century music presenting Contemporary Classics on the 20th November in the Sir Maurice Flannagan Music Centre. This event explored an ambitious programme of diverse and technically challenging standards from the repertoire featuring many of the school’s most advanced instrumentalists and singers. To set the mood at the outset, the Chamber Orchestra gave an exuberant performance of Kenneth Leighton’s Festive Overture, a demanding work, with much dissonance, rhythmic vitality and contrapuntal textures. This was in contrast to the poignancy and lyricism of their other On Friday 2nd May, the Centre for Musical Arts joined forces with Dubai College for the annual ‘Brass Bonanza’. A whole day of activities centered around brass playing provided an opportunity for students from different schools to meet each other, gain valuable ensemble experience and attend performances and masterclasses. Ensemble playing is such an important part of learning an instrument and it was fantastic to get so many students together – 50 brass players made quite a sound!

Our brassers arrived at the DC Music Centre full of excitement. Each group worked hard to learn a piece from scratch that they would perform at the end of the day. There were great sounds coming from each rehearsal room, and a lot of energy being put into the music.

74

Shamal 2014

piece - the popular ‘Adagio’ from the suite Spartacus, by Armenian composer, Aram Khachaturian, showcasing many rich sonorities from the strings section and a menacing Soviet-style middle section driven forward by the brass and percussion. Another equally well-known ‘Adagio’, this time by Samuel Barber, was performed by the String Orchestra who delivered the piece with appropriate intensity and melancholy. This was followed by their spirited and robust performance of the ‘Jig’ from Holst’s St. Paul’s Suite.

A range of solo pieces added to the scope of the programme, including movements for oboe, trumpet and the ‘Animé’ from Ravel’s brilliant Sonatine for Piano intricately executed

by Bianca Pereira. Another exciting performance was that of the flute, oboe and piano trio by Madeline Dring, played by Helena Wick and Sophie Shams, sensitively

An exciting workshop involved a new work called ‘Spooked’ which was written by composer Joanna Marsh, especially for ‘Brass Bonanza’.

This used a graphic score and was a brilliant opportunity for our brass players to make music in a different way, introducing them to new musical possibilities.

In the afternoon we were treated to a performance by visiting French Horn player Dan Anthony. His repertoire included Arnold, Mozart and Vinter, as well as a piece for garden hose! Later some of our older students were also able to perform in a masterclass with him.

Despite coming at the end of a day full of hard work, everyone’s concentration levels were high during the performance. From our youngest ensemble giving their all in ‘Beach Huts and

accompanied by Mr Hardman.

A central aspect of the programme was the emphasis on choral music which has significantly developed at Dubai College over the past few years. Firstly, the Chamber Choir sang a sprightly arrangement of It was a Lover and his Lass by John Rutter, followed by an emotional performance of the famous unaccompanied piece Lux Arumque (in eight vocal parts) by American composer Eric Whitacre.

The concert ended with the Senior Choir delivering a performance of Stanford’s The Bluebird, proceeded by one of the most celebrated vocal works of all times – Carmina Burana by Carl Orff. The uncompromising ferocity and extended vocal range of this piece was capably managed by the choir, bringing the concert to a dramatic conclusion.

Mr A Crawford

Bandstands’; the primary ensemble swinging hard for ‘In The Mood’; the intermediate ensemble tackling the demanding Star Trek theme; to our advanced quartet giving a soulful rendition of ‘Sir Duke’; everyone was proud of what they achieved in a short space of time.

‘Spooked’ certainly lived up to its name and had the audience on the edge of their seats during the journey through a haunted house – particularly when the fangs appeared at the end!

The finale of the massed brass ‘Danserye’ by Susato had that rich brassy sound which filled the hall – all brilliant stuff!

Our thanks go to Mr & Mrs Cuthbertson for leading and organising this super event!

Mr M Zambonini

Brass Bonanza 3 Mass Brass!

Golf December marked the start of the Dubai Ladies Masters, and a wave of excitement for DC students. Once again, our students played a crucial role in ensuring that scores were accurately recorded by the walking scorers on the course.

At the same time, scoreboard helpers rushed to keep journalists and the public upto-date with the latest results at the various scoreboards around the golf club.

Year 9 student Harry Sheedy, a first timer, recalls his experiences: ‘As a keen golfer myself, I was looking forward to being a walking scorer. Due to heavy fog on the first morning, play was delayed by up to 45 minutes. This was quite annoying because we were all raring to get going. But the wait was worth it! I had nearly five hours of walking around with some of the best professional golfers in the world. And still had another three days of the same! Of course there was the pressure of the whole world watching and having to keep count of the amount of shots played, whilst still respecting the golfers during the game. But I was rewarded for my efforts with signed golf balls. Overall, it was an absolutely exhilarating experience! Bring on the Desert Classic in January!’

During the final presentation ceremony with tournament champion Thailand’s Pornanong Phatlum, who clinched victory at the closing hole, DC students were commended for their huge effort. Congratulations to all who took part.

Miss R Shah

Omega Dubai ladies Masters

Shamal 2014

75

Golf

All the former Omega Dubai Desert Classic winners including the likes of Ernie Els, Tiger Woods and Rory McIllroy took part in a special 25th Anniversary challenge. DC students provided their scoring expertise.

76

Shamal 2014

DC Scorers at the Dubai Desert Classic Champions’ Challenge

Golf

The buzz from the Ladies Masters tournament had barely died down, before the Dubai Desert Classic was upon us once more. This year was particularly special; it was the 25th Anniversary of the games and all the 21 previous winners had been invited to take part in the Champions Challenge.

Dubai College students were once again honoured with scoring for the world’s golfing elite, including Tiger Woods, Colin Montgomerie, and Ernie Els. Tuesday’s tournament saw Spain’s Rafa Cabrero-Bello and Sweden’s Henrik Stenson finish joint first in a grand ceremony on the green.

Thursday brought with it the chaos and excitement of the real event. Our walking scorers were out in force and the scoreboards all around Emirates Golf Course, with their ever-fluctuating names, looked magnificent. Two walking scorers – Dorottya and Jake – were even made minor celebrities of their own, getting caught in the media scrum for Woods and McIlroy.

Shehryar, Aiza and Alina, all in Year 11, worked alongside the world’s sports journalists from the heart of the Media Centre.

They were hugely successful in getting interviews with golfers and the public, as well as rightin-the-action pictures.

Once again DC students were commended for their professionalism, dedication and hard work. Stephen Gallacher reigned supreme, clinging onto his 2013 title, in a nail-biting final, being the only winner in the tournament’s history to do so. All in all, it was a fantastic event with staff and students alike waiting in eager anticipation for it to come around again.

Miss R Shah

Omega Dubai Desert Classic

25 Years

Twitter added a new flavour to the tournament; the @ DC_AtTheGolf tweets kept their followers up-to-date with minute-by-minute golfing action. Dedicated reporters Shamal 2014

77

Design Technology 1

3

2

4

5

6

7

8 9 11 10 GCSE Design Technology

1. Aiden Wright social lighting 2. Albert Shehata reading light and occasional table 3. Alesha Gulamhusein educational toy 4. Sahil Badlani educational toy 5. Anneka Javat desk light 6. Arjun Dave educational toy 7. Maha Shaikh educational toy 8. Cameron MacKay modular shelves with lighting 9. Aneeb Sheikh cricketing trophy 10. Kristen De Sousa runner’s light and storage pod 11. Niall Moore barbecuing light 78

Shamal 2014

Design Technology 13

12

14

16

17

15

20 19 18

22

21 GCSE Design Technology

12. Joseph Story student study light 13. James Hoad night light clock 14. James Thrower interactive mood lamp 15. Kevin Peiris night light 16. Haren Bhavnani student study light with storage 17. Francois Pieterse rugby trophy 18. Liam Benstead children’s night light 19. Shehryar Haris bedside light with storage 20. Eilisha Hatter keyboard light 21. Jessica Lattouf handbag light 22. Saleena Nurmohamed children’s night light Shamal 2014

79

Design Technology 23

24

26

25

28

27

29

31

30

33

32 GCSE Design Technology

23. Margherita Vianello children’s activity case 24. Natalia Adair student study surface with light and storage 25. Zahra Karmally children’s activity case 26. Harriet Brannelly educational toy 27. Sandip Roy student study light Senior Design Prize Winner 28. Millie Ayres interactive mood lamp 29. Akbar Sardar table tennis trophy 30. Tilsim Palfreyman childrens’ activity case 31. Pranay Jethwani bunkbed lamp with storage 32. Sarah Kashani coffee table lamp with storage pods 33. Zachary Wilke articulated solar study light 80

Shamal 2014

Design Technology 34

36

35

37

AS & A2

Design Technology

39

38

34. Joshua Blakemore portable playing card storage/ gaming table 35. Ryan Underwood 120° bold shelving (modular) 36. Ryota Minagi angular podium shelving (modular) 37. Chelsie Feather artist’s portable modular workstation 38. Giorgia Maccini-Hill walnut ‘waffle’ effect shelving (modular) 39. Nicholas Hindley secure bike rack for public spaces Shamal 2014

81

Design Technology 40

41

42 43

AS & A2

Design Technology 45 44

40. Kelley Day leathergrain shelves within shelves (modular) 41. Adil Saldanha flipping shelves (modular) 42. Clara Townsend ‘tactile tower’ contemporary bed-side unit Winner of the Godwin Austen Johnson Prize for Outstanding Design Talent 43. Hanna Salem skyline shelving (modular) 44. Constance Antia ‘L’ span shelving - walnut and card (modular) 45. Joseph Palubiski family shoe tidy includes storage for pocket items and seat/ footrest 82

Shamal 2014

Design Technology 46 47

AS & A2

Design Technology

48

49 50

46.. Emma Thrower outfit organiser - illuminated bedroom furniture 47. Rohan Padmanabhan corrugated card/ pine shelving (modular) 48. Danyal Niazi amateur film maker’s shoulder mounted camera jib/ crane 49. Ellen Burley industrial themed shelving (modular) 50. Cameron Moffat hexagonal pod wall storage for children (modular) Shamal 2014

83

Art & Design 51

53

52

55

GCSE Art & Design 54

57 59

58

56

60

51. Sarah Khullar 52. Iona Stewart 53. Amy Henderson 54. Joanna Park 55. Caitlin Janus 56. Beatrice Turner 57. Jessica Ingram-Johnson 58. Beatrice Prosser 59. .Hasan Masud 60Tabetha Davies 84

Shamal 2014

Art & Design 61

63

62

64 65

66

GCSE Art & Design 69 67

68 61. Serena Campos 62. Natalie Jalili 63. Ashna Gupta 64. Kiana Simpson 65. Alexander Tait 66. Sara Kachwalla 67. Arjun Dave 68. Tamsyn Morfee 69. Saava O’Kirwan Shamal 2014

85

Art & Design 70

71

72

73

74

GCSE Art & Design

76 75

77

78

70. Tzeitel Degiovanni 71. Layla Armstrong 72. Abhishek Nair 73. Alina Siddiqi 74. Aiza Ahmed 75. Anurati Sodani 76. Navya Kataria 77. Catherine Grimshaw 78. Jessica Lattouf 86

Shamal 2014

Art & Design 79

80

82

81

84

85

83

87

88

GCSE Art & Design

86

79. Aoife Corroon 80. Leah Mitchell 81. Josephine Jagtiani 82. Sacha Harding 83. Cameron Afkhami 84. Tilsim Palfreyman 85. Emma Murray 86. Loa Pour Mirza 87. Jessica Shaw 88. Patric Tinston Shamal 2014

87

Art & Design

89

90

AS Art & Design

91 92

93

94

95

89. Giorgia Maccini-Hill 90. Aishah Siddiqi 91. Imogen Lemon 92.Nadia Young 93. Alyzeh Jiwani 94.Alice Lovett 95. Joanna Summers 88

Shamal 2014

Art & Design

96

AS Art & Design

98

97

99

100

101

102

96. Nermeen Islam 97. Olivia Needham 98. Joseph Blakemore 99. Urooj Ali 100. Natasha Lopez 101. Eleanor Proctor 102. Helena Wick Shamal 2014

89

Art & Design

103

A2 Art & Design

105

107

109

106

104

111

108

110

103. Yehya Al-Hafidh 104. Mark Gavigan 105. Kathryn King 106. Emily Hoad 107. Sophie Burley 108. Noor Jafar 109. Hibah Hoque 110. Tania Zaidi 111. Chelsie Feather 90

Shamal 2014

Art & Design

114 112 113

115

A2 Art & Design

117 116

118

119

112. Azmina Gulamhusein 113. Menrit Guirguis 114. Bethany Wright 115. Clara Townsend 116. Emma Britnor 117. Imaan Ashraf 118. Yasmeen Salman 119. Stefanie Watt Shamal 2014

91

Art & Design Technology Exhibition The annual exhibition of GCSE, AS and A Level examination work, held recently in the Dubai College auditorium, seems to be enticing a growing spread of the DC community.

It was lovely to see so many of our previous students who found the time to visit, many of whom are still at University following Art / Product Design / Architectural courses. There were also some visitors from local industry who seemed startled with the “quality” and “raw creativity” on display. Also pleasing was the number of teachers, governors, parents and friends who brought along even more of their friends, many of whom seemed extremely design conscious and intent on purchasing an item or two. Some members of our Alumni, who live locally, were also in attendance and being able to track and catch up with their career paths proved to be extremely humbling conversations.

the world.

It is fantastic that so many of our students return to support and share in the success of our current crop, whilst the combination of current students, their families, friends and past students, provides a catalyst for further success and opportunity. Most of all, it has to be said, everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy the evening, aided by the subtle background music along with some delicious canapés prepared by our talented ‘behind the scenes’ culinary ladies and served so cheerfully by many of the artists and designers themselves.

Art & DT Exhibition

Inevitably, the work on display initiated most discussions, which so often became an exercise in genealogy followed by a series of commercial and professional case studies.

It also proved a very useful exercise in keeping tabs on current developments in higher education within the UK and in some other parts of

92

Shamal 2014

The Art and Design Technology departments would like to thank all those who came to experience the exhibition and particularly the students themselves who have worked tremendously hard during the year, enabling such a rich and varied exhibition to take place. Interest and support continues to blossom, so we look forward to the displays and discussions of 2015. In the meantime, the results ...!

Mr I Jones

Art & Design Technology Exhibition

Art & DT Exhibition

Photos: Mr I Jones and Yehya Al Hafidh

Shamal 2014

93

Drama Very few school plays are eleven months in the making.

And of those few, not many would reflect the incredible levels of commitment and creativity that our cast and crew of The Tempest managed to sustain.

The Tempest

With nine big scenes to bring to life and the challenge of interpreting the Shakespearian language, initially it felt as if the odds were stacked against us. However, not only did Dubai College’s November 2013 performance of The

Tempest defy all probability, pulling off three straight nights of spectacular drama, but it did so seemingly effortlessly. In truth, those three nights were the crafted result of months of tireless work and development from our fantastic directors: Mrs Henderson-Corless and Miss Madison. It was their extreme talent and dedication that streamlined a script of 17,219 ‘hasts’ and ‘thous’ into a captivating two hour performance, something which could rival even the best Shakespearian performances!

From those nervous first auditions in January, to the state of utter disbelief and euphoria after the last performance late on a Wednesday evening, the entire cast of The Tempest went on a journey – one filled with laughter, frustration and extreme exertion, yet one that was in the end defined by success.

James Lemon 10EJ

Photos: Yehya Al-Hafidh

94

Shamal 2014

Drama

Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass

9 weeks, 60+ cast and crew, two teachers and a lot of dedication!

Alice in Wonderland is a story full of nonsense and all things curious and so it clearly suited the Drama enthusiasts at DC. We knew the journey was going to be intense but despite that we came to each rehearsal with a cheesy grin on our faces and the determination to do this fantastic show justice. And I truly believe we did! Each individual played a massive role in making it a success and I think the end result showed just how much we all loved the experience. For many it was their first production at DC, but this didn’t deter them as they portrayed the professionalism of a West End actor.

I found the experience highly energetic and demanding and although coming into school on a weekend isn’t everyone’s dream each minute was worth it and it showed at the end. At the beginning of the process we stuck to our own year groups, but gradually we built relationships with people ranging from Year 7 right up to the Sixth Form. Thank you Mrs Henderson-Corless and Miss Madison for giving us this once in a life time opportunity and for seeing us through right to the very end!

Well done to everyone involved and know that you did an absolutely sensational job!

Alexandra White (Alice) 10JS

From the perspective of a Year 7, my first play at Dubai College, Alice in Wonderland, was truly an experience that I will remember for years to come. I loved everything – the rehearsing and the performing!

I think that not only has performing in Alice in Wonderland helped my confidence, but also that of the people around me as I was doing it.

At Dubai College lots goes on, so you don’t get to talk to members of higher or lower years other than your own; it has helped me make friends.

When it eventually came to the performance nights, nobody could believe how far it had come. All our hard work had paid off. The rush of running through backstage corridors trying to get to your places for your next scene was absolutely thrilling. The number of costume changes was unbelievable as well.

All in all Alice in Wonderland was my second home.

Photos: Yehya Al-Hafidh

Katie Mewawalla 7RG

Shamal 2014

95

Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award The expedition experience began early on a Friday morning, as our buses left promptly for the desert near Ras Al-Khaimah at 8 o’clock. Being January 24th, the air had a cold edge, giving us an ominous taster of the freezing temperatures that we were to later experience at the campsite. As the twohour long bus journey progressed, we traded the urban paradise of Dubai for the untamed sands of the desert. I optimistically viewed this time as a golden opportunity to claim back the lie-in that had been so compromised by the early start to the day. However, any hopes of sleep were in vain: the deafening cacophony of overexcited children made the prospect of meaningful rest no more than a distant fantasy.

My expedition group contained eight people, all of whom were competent in desert surroundings. One of our particular strengths was in the walking element of the expedition: we were all well matched physically, and so

Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award

96

Shamal 2014

could collectively maintain the same pace for prolonged periods of time. Also, we all knew each other very well, thus enabling us to keep one another entertained and occupied even during the most tedious stretches of the expedition. It was, however, communication with regard to organisation that was our group’s overwhelming weakness. A lack of carefully thought-out planning resulted in most people’s rucksacks being far heavier than necessary, which, along with soft sand under foot, made some sections of the trek extremely challenging.

The 24 kilometre route straddled mountainous terrain and sand dunes. The first day’s trekking began in the former, with the starting point surrounded by small rocky outcrops. Between the

first few checkpoints, the area was fairly built-up as we walked in and amongst rural farming villages that were set in front of the main mountain range looming over the horizon. It soon became clear that agriculture was not the sole local industry, as we passed a number of quarries that morning. The second half of the day saw us change direction, turning our backs on the mountains and heading out into the desert by way of a large town, which involved the crossing of a busy main road.

Before being able to penetrate deep into the desert, we had to struggle up an absolutely colossal sand dune. The hike was a gruelling test of our fitness and determination – at least everything afterwards seemed plain sailing in comparison! The rest of the day was incredibly warm

Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award

as the sun beat down on us relentlessly. We moved across the sand at a much slower pace than with rock under foot, meaning that by the time we got to the campsite, we were absolutely drained of energy and a little sunburnt. As campsites go, our one was ideal. It was located in a slight depression (so wind was minimal) far from roads with some shrubs and trees around for timber and enough rocks dotted in the sand for us to weigh our tents down with.

A dinner of noodles was much the same as the on-the-go lunch I had eaten earlier: adequate.

It performed the job of filling the ravenous void that was my stomach, but nothing else.

After a cold morning which desperately missed the warm fire we had had at our disposal the evening before, the blistering heat of the afternoon came as something of a shock. The only relief was that we were the first group to make it to the air-conditioned bus following a monotonous trek over sand dune after sand

dune.

The best aspect of the qualifying expedition was that weather conditions were much improved over those experienced in the practice, in that wind speeds were tolerable all weekend.

However, one element of the expedition that could have been improved was the blister situation. Despite having proper hiking socks and boots, I still got a painful blister on my foot. Because of this, for my Silver expedition, I think I might wear two layers of socks. As well as that, I know that my group needs to be better organised next year to reduce our collective rucksack

weight; having two first aid kits is unnecessary.

James Lemon 10EJ

Shamal 2014

97

Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award

Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award

Duke of Edinburgh Silver and Gold Local Expedition

From the 12th – 15th December 2013, some ninety-four Dubai College students travelled to the desert to complete an expedition as part of their Silver and Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award.

Without a doubt, this particular expedition was very strenuous. Tiresome and difficult at 98

Shamal 2014

times, as we were required to travel approximately eleven kilometres a day through barren landscapes including wadis, sand and mountainous terrain. In addition to this, we carried bags that ranged from 10-15kg, which weighed us down. Through this adventurous journey we put into practice many survival skills we had been taught, from

navigation and methods of camp cooking to setting up and dismantling a tent. Certainly through good teamwork, empathy, dedication and determination, our group was successful in navigating through wadis and completing a fruitful trek. Whether it was through carrying someone’s bag, offering someone a snack, or even telling a bad joke, we

Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award

inspired each other to persevere and reach the camp each day. Overall, not only did I gain a greater appreciation of life in general, I found that the expedition opened my eyes to the rugged, beautiful world around me, made me more alert and independent as a person. I am a firm believer that you learn as much outside the classroom as inside, and certainly in this case I have matured much as a person through this experience.

Shehryar Haris 11BC Shamal 2014

99

Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award

Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award Nepal

On Friday morning 4th April, after months of preparation – fundraising, a team-building weekend, improving fitness levels, and buying kit, some twenty two year 12 students along with four teachers set off on a nine-day Duke of Edinburgh Gold Expedition to Nepal. This trip was organised

by World Challenge Middle East and fulfilled the ‘adventurous journey’ section of our award.

For this trip, the larger group split into two smaller groups, which facilitated much deeper teamwork and gave each person significant leadership opportunities. There were three significant aspects of the trip – the 60 km expedition in the Himalayas, a short charity project in a rural school and finally some well-

100

Shamal 2014

earned rest and recuperation.

After arriving via FlyDubai into Kathmandu Airport, and filling out the necessary paperwork, we were taken to Thamel, the central backpacking and touristy area of the city. It was here that many of the students first experienced local culture as they bartered in the tiendas and stalls for the uniquely styled Nepali baggy trousers and shirts, in an array of bright colours and patterns. After a spending the night here, the two teams said goodbye to each other until their reunion on the last day.

Our project took place in a school located in quite a remote village about 2-3 hours from the capital. Upon

arrival we were struck by the basic facilities, from shabby buildings of bricks and mortar (with no electricity) to an overgrown playground.

Having surveyed the situation and discussed the needs, bearing in mind our allocated project time and budget, it was decided that we would focus on a number of areas: a) making some steps to provide a safe passageway between upper and lower outdoor levels; b) fixing some swings for the school pupils to play on; 3) painting a classroom block in a colour chosen by the school headmaster (pink!).

Due some excellent teamwork and arduous effort, we were able to achieve this goal, and

Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award then donated the remainder of the money to renovating the existing school library. With the first team completing their project, the second team then finished much of what was started by painting a mural of various iconic buildings of Dubai over the pink base colour on the classroom block. They also created an interesting (and educational) wall display of world flags in one of the classrooms.

For each team, four days were spent completing their trek. This was a mammoth task involving hours on end each day climbing up what seemed at the time like endless steps over mountains and then down the other side. Setting off early in the morning, by early afternoon, the teams reached their camp for the night and spent time putting up tents, reflecting on the day and helping to prepare/ serve dinner. As we summited hills and entered valleys it was impressed on everyone the stunning natural beauty of the country and the epic grandeur of the snow-capped Himalayas in the distance.

What a sense of achievement we felt when, with legs aching, covered in dust and nursing dodgy stomachs, we reached the end of the trek! Of course many thanks must go to the wonderful team of porters who provided lunch and dinner, and carried many of our heavier team bags. Amazing to reflect on how tired we felt carrying just day bags, whilst these porters carried on their backs huge weights of equipment whilst running up the mountain path often in flip-flops!

Our trip to Nepal can be summed up in the words ‘Nine days and a lifetime’. Certainly it has tested our fitness levels, forged an incredible closeness

and interdependence of the teams, given us a taste of a rich cultural heritage and an awareness of some of the difficult social issues including poverty affecting such a warm-hearted population.

As we returned by plane, we appreciated much more how fortunate we were living in Dubai, but also felt the responsibility of the part we had to continue to play in supporting such worthy causes.

Mr A Crawford Duke of Edinburgh Silver and Gold Co-Ordinator

Shamal 2014

101

Inter-House Athletics 2014 This year’s Sports Day certainly lived up to the high standards of competitive sport that the students have become accustomed to expect.

Miss Foulkes, along with Mr Flower, Mr Ashby and Mr McIlveen had spent the previous weeks selecting and priming their teams and at 9am on Thursday morning the teams assembled on the field, resplendent in their House colours. The moment of truth had finally arrived.

From shot put to javelin, sprinting to long distance running, students battled it out for the next 3 ½ hours, to try to decide which house would win the right to lift the ancient (30 year old) trophy.

Throughout the day a team of senior students entertained the competitors with music and illuminating commentary on the PA system.

By midday, all the student events were complete, and while they all waited for the results to be added up, the pinnacle of competitive sport took place – the Staff 100m relay - which was the climax of the day. 16 teachers were brave enough to take part, and demonstrated some unorthodox running techniques, but in the final analysis, on the final straight, the crowd was amazed to see Mr McIlveen power past and defeat Mr Flower in a sprint finish!

Finally, just in time for registration, the overall results were announced… with Heyerdahl triumphing once again!

So, well done to all concerned for making it such a successful day. The PE department put together a brilliantly organised event, and the 102

Shamal 2014

Inter House Athletics 2014

Heads of Houses managed to organise hundreds of eager competitors. Special mention must also made of the sterling work done by Conceicao, Head Caretaker and his team, in setting up the field and supplying refreshments. Most importantly, however, the students themselves conducted themselves impeccably, and helped to create a really positive and fun atmosphere of healthy competition.

Mr R Dennis Extra Curricular Leader

Photos: Mr L Ashmore Mr G Roberts

Inter-House Swimming Gala 2014

Inter House Swimming Gala 2014

This year’s Gala, under the leadership of Mrs Adamson and Miss Clohesy upheld the strong tradition of impeccable organisation and whole-hearted competition that the school has come to expect. The House Captains did an excellent job of marshaling their swimmers and, with the heads of House cheering them on, no less than 8 records were broken! Congratulations to Heyerdahl House (again!) for finishing as overall winners, and to the Heads of House, the PE department and the teacher time-keepers and scorers who helped to organise such a popular event.

Roll Of Honour Swimming Gala record-breakers 2014 Zahra Kapasi smashed the Year 10 backstroke time by 1.2 seconds!

Julia MacKay knocked 0.17 seconds off the Year 9 breaststroke record!

Maisy Duncan improved on her own senior butterfly record by 1.5 seconds Cameron Matthews overcame the Year 8 record for butterfly by 0.03 seconds!

Ethan Pearce took the Year 9 butterfly record by 0.12 seconds!

Michael Reid gained the Year 8 front crawl title by 0.5 seconds!

Juan Carlos Cruells gained the Year 10 frontcrawl record by 0.3 seconds!

Martha Gregory smashed the 1999 record for senior frontcrawl record by 1.53 seconds!

Shamal 2014

103

House Pages

New

SUPER

Cause for Concern list

Barbarossa.

Barbarossa Shamal 2014 As I write this Barbarossa are in the midst of a late push for third place. The hapless Cousteau led by rookie Miss Foulkes are being caught in a year that started with so much promise.

Barbarossa dominated in the first term and it seemed to everyone that the dark days were over and we were destined to a return to the glory days of the past.

Then we had the house music competition. In the space of 3 torrid days we were brought crashing down from 1st to 4th place with 4 points from a possible 16.

However, ‘sans Music’ it seems that the era of

104

Shamal 2014

Barbarossa is just around the corner. It has been great to see the improved performances from everyone and I reiterate last year’s mantra - it can no longer be denied that the tide is turning in our favour!!

Dominant junior and intermediate sections will move through the year groups and with a strong new cohort of Year 7s the house looks strong in the upcoming Junior and Intermediate sections, the current year 10 will improve the seniors, morale is good, confidence is back (Yes Emma K it is!!!), quizzes have been won, merit tallies are good, there were no catastrophic fielding errors from Niall.

Mr Flower’s Hat Mr Ashby’s unsporting behaviour, abuse of referees, disregard for rules.

Cousteau Music

Next year I predict that we will be competitive once again. Karma will claim Captain Grumpy Cheat Mr Ashby and his Heyerdal posse. Hapless Cousteau will continue to struggle with their identity and lack of talent. Historical records show that Chichester House still remains the weakest house on paper and therefore once again they must be congratulated on their good performance this year.

PDogg & Urmikakakakaka, you have been superb HOH’s this year and I sincerely thank you both for all your efforts behind the scenes. You have been great.

We move on to the era of Liam Benstead and Natalia Adair as HOHs for the 2014-15 campaign. Two worthy Barbarossans who can drive this house to the next level. I predict a changing of the guard next year.

It’s time for the Musicians to step up!!

Onwards and upwards.

Chairman JM

House Pages When I first began my role as House Captain, I was, it is needless to say, unbelievably nervous. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to organise such a huge group of people, but rest assured, you all made it relatively easier for me by being highly co-operative, with a few annoying exceptions. There was undoubtedly great effort put in by the Barbies, which, resulted in us gathering an immense amount of merits, the highest number among all the houses in fact, which is very impressive.

Although we lacked consistency in our events, it was great to see a larger proportion of the house participating in the wide range of house activities, competing against Heyerdahl, Cousteau, and Chichester, who kept us on our toes.

To the junior years, I want to offer a big thank you on behalf of the whole house for your determined efforts to collect as many merits as possible, keep up the good work! To the intermediates, we have all noticed how you’ve upped your game this year, and for that we are appreciative.

And last of all, the seniors. You guys have been absolutely fantastic, stepping up for every single event. Year 11’s - Your committed efforts are very much appreciated, and despite GCSE’s demanding a lot of your time, you have always come through, for which I am grateful.

Last, but by no means least, I’d like to thank Mr Mac, without whom none of this would have been possible. You’ve been a great Head of House. I wish all the best to Liam and Natalia for next year; I hope you enjoy being House Captains as much as Prateek and I have. Thank you Barbarossa, for making this year one of my most memorable at DC. I have truly had a blast!

Urmika Mani 12BT We kicked off the year with a win in Senior House Volleyball.

Coming into the event as major underdogs, I thought maybe this would be symbolic of our campaign this year. On the back of many years of dominating 4th place, Barbarossa were certainly still considered the dark horse. With our strength in all categories and the determination throughout the age groups, maybe – just maybe – a fruitful campaign was in store for us this year. However just like Arsenal’s title bid this season, that was wishful thinking and we were probably a bit too optimistic – 4th place beckoned!

Despite keeping the 4th spot warm, Barbarossa has excelled in other departments. The effort that each and every Barbarossan made this year was tremendous. The enthusiasm and the commitment was second to none and it was particularly admirable how we clawed the points back in Term 2 with a huge amount of merits and with such a great return from most of the events. All this effort was then promptly undone when we were robbed of our win on Sports Day. I’m convinced that the counting was actually correct the first time around. But we’ll let Mr Ashby and co. have that one, they need the points anyway.

The job of being house captain with Urmika has really been a privilege for me. Seeing the excitement and involvement of especially the lower years in all the events was really refreshing to see, and I think that if that exuberance is retained, Barbarossa can go really far in the years to come (3rd place would be a nice change).

Finally, I’d like to give a massive “thank you” to the caretakers, students and staff who help in running every event, particularly to Mr Dennis and Mr Mac who make the job of House Captain so much easier.

Good luck to next year’s house captains and keep up the effort!

You stay classy Barbarossa.

Prateek Nadkarni 12GR

Shamal 2014

105

House Pages

CHICHESTER A View from the Bridge

This has been an intriguing year. Unusually, term 1 saw the lead alternate between houses almost on a weekly basis with the mighty Green team emerging from the pack to lead going into the holiday. Not being used to reaching such lofty peaks so early in the campaign, this rarefied atmosphere caused a temporary lapse in concentration and by the end of term 2 we had slipped one notch. Can we emerge victorious overall? As ever, the fate of this year’s competition rests in the hands of the younger members of the lean mean green machine!

Highlights for the year once again include music where a new format still couldn’t prevent our extremely talented instrumentalists from taking the spoils; will anyone manage to wrest the Ensemble trophy from our grasp? Sports Day as ever brought numerous individual performances of note from the boys and girls in green, encouraged in no small measure by our mystery mascot!

Gabby and Inaam deserve great credit for the manner in which they have cajoled you all into producing your best throughout the year; Inaam’s motivational speeches will be remembered long after he has passed on the baton to his successor.

As for the future? The recent successes in the pool surely point in the direction of Chichester dominance next year. Good luck to Libby and Aiden who will surely be holding the trophy aloft 12 months hence!

Mr P Flower

106

Shamal 2014

Roll of Honour Seniors

Basketball (boys) Badminton Football (boys) Music (Bethany Wright and Bianca Pereira) Ensemble Quiz Linguistics Rounders (girls) Athletics (girls) Swimming (girls)

Intermediates Football (Y9 boys) Rounders (girls) Water Polo (boys) Juniors Football (girls) Athletics (girls) Swimming (girls) Water Polo (boys) Water Polo (girls)

House Pages

Ch

It is quite fitting to say that throughout this year Chichester, for sure, have had our ups and downs. As the year began Inaam and I came to the conclusion that, in fact, our sporting abilities were perhaps not going to win the competition for us this year, despite having the whole senior girls basketball team on our side (yes we did come last in that competition but let’s just turn a blind eye to that). And although our year 9 girls netball team was a very strong side we only managed to win one out of the three games.

So as a result we collectively decided to swerve our attention to concentrate on the more academic and pastoral based side to the house competition. We incorporated a merit incentive to encourage the whole house (not just the very keen lower school) to work hard and gain merits to elevate our standings on the table. Everyone was asked to bring in one dirham and in the end we collected a total of 150 dirhams to give to the person who received the most house merits. This has kept us on the upper end of the merit table placing us 2nd (just below Heyerdahl) for the majority of the year.

Gabi Guscott

Ch House Captains We are all born with certain God given talents and abilities.

The definition of a true champion is one who works hard in preparation for the event in order to maximise his talents and one who leaves nothing behind on the day of the event and gives his 100% effort. The idea of this campaign was to help the house maximise its talents and contribute to the program collectively. I feel we have achieved this well throughout the year and we should be very proud of the year we have had.

The house program this year has been very successful overall and many thanks go to Mr Dennis and Mr Hunter for implementing their ideas and contributing a lot of time and energy to the program. Also, thanks to Mr Flower for his efforts and commitment to the Chichester house. Finally, thanks to every member of the Chichester house for helping us reach new heights this campaign.

"I'll do whatever it takes to win games, whether it's sitting on a bench waving a towel, handing a cup of water to a teammate, or hitting the game-winning shot." Kobe Bryant.

Congratulations Chichester house for putting this ideology into practice we should all be very pleased by our achievements this year.

Inaam Mian Shamal 2014

107

House Pages

Cousteau House Report My first year as Head of Cousteau is almost at and end and what a year it has been! Miss Woolcock did a splendid job for two years and I knew that I had a tough act to follow: I hope that I have managed to step up to the mark!

As I write this, we are currently in third place and there is a chance, with the last few house events, that we can overtake Chichester and come second which would be fantastic!

I have always said to you that taking part is the most important ~ I, like everyone else, love to win

108

Shamal 2014

but as long as you try your best, and continue to do so, then I am, and will be, a very happy lady.

We have had some amazing and unforgettable performances this year (and I’m not thinking about my “running” on Sports Day!) and the commitment of so many of you to the sporting, music, quizzes, speaking and linguistics events of the House Programme has been fantastic.

We came third at Sports Day and in the Swimming Gala and I would like to thank everyone, whether they came 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th ~ your participation was vital to Cousteau and showed great commitment; I especially want to thank those students who were willing to fill in at the last moment: YOU ARE ALL HEROES !

About half of you have joined Cousteau Edmodo which is great

but, next year, I would like to see everyone having joined and able to read all the messages / posts from the House Captains and myself AND respond to them!

Special mentions must go to Mr Ashby who, despite being the enemy (!) has been so helpful to me during my first year as Head of House. Thanks also to Mr Dennis who has been a brilliant boss! Last but not least, many thanks to my fantastic House Captains, Jenna and Michael, for all their hard work, excellent organisation and determination.

Next year, I look forward to even greater success.

COUSTEAU FOREVER Ms D Foulkes

House Pages

Well Cousteau, this year has absolutely flown by and what a brilliant year it’s been. We want to congratulate everyone who has participated in any event or supported throughout the competition.

Each year group has helped contribute towards a very competitive house program and provided some fantastic achievements both individually and collectively. Looking back, there are many memorable events and individuals we need to congratulate for their efforts towards the house competition.

Juniors, we hope you’ve enjoyed your first taste of the House Programme and want to say a huge thank you for your outstanding enthusiasm, particularly in the House Quiz where the girls came 1st in both year groups. Also congratulations to Kyarash, who won the Junior House Music Competition!

Intermediates, again we have to mention Sakshi’s brilliant performance in House Music which also put us at the top of that section. The boys water polo matches were of a very high standard as were the seniors’ who remained undefeated and we also must mention Abhishek and Lakshay’s superb badminton performances.

The two main events of the year are the Swimming Gala and Sports Day and although we came third in both, everyone that participated did tremendously well and we thank everyone for your efforts. With so many outstanding performances it’s impossible

to mention everyone but Jess Lattouf and Aneeb Sheikh, stepping in for the 1500m on the day was a life saver - thank you!

Also great determination was shown by Shahmir Samee in the IM, constantly cheered on by our greatest supporters Aakanksha and Maya.

Thank you also to Mr Dennis.

You have made the House Programme run so perfectly this year and without your input and organisation none of this would have happened.

Finally we would like to say a huge thank you to Miss Foulkes who has had an amazing first year as Head of House and has spent so much of her time organising events and supporting our teams. Good luck to the next House Captains and let’s continue the great efforts shown this year to push for even better success to come.

Jenna Denton 12VH Michael Foote12PF

Shamal 2014

109

House Pages

Heyerdahl

Another year of hard fought events and competition has flown by. Heyerdahlians throughout the school have remained determined, committed and full of enthusiasm to ensure that the House trophy remains ours for the third consecutive year. The transformation from five years ago is truly amazing; it was then looking like there was no hope and no chance of success, but now I see a battle hardened unit of young men and women who seem to have forgotten how to lose! The five year improvement plan (!) that I mentioned in the Shamal two years ago has been well and truly cemented: we are the team to beat.

The year 7 group when I first became Head of House are now in Year 11 and have been busy preparing their applications for the illustrious and coveted role of Heyerdahl House Captain. Reading their letters and listening to their presentations has highlighted the pivotal role that they play in the House programme. It has been a pleasure to judge the applications this year and I remain very proud of the Heyerdahlian spirit.

Highlights Of The Year • Seeing the smile wiped off of all the other houses faces when the true winners of sports day were announced. I never doubted us!

• The great relay debate involving Mr Hann, Mr Woolley and a baton; the argument as to who really dropped it still goes on to this day.

As for the competition…

Barbarossa: Rumour has it that Mr Dennis is thinking of giving them a hundred point head start next year Cousteau: Miss Foulkes, as great as she is, can only work with what she has got Chichester: Flower power seems to be wilting Thank you The annual Oscar bit: A massive thank you to Alice and Michael for leading the house with great success this year. I 110

Shamal 2014

couldn’t have wished for better House Captains.

A huge thank you to the year captains who do their job quietly but are so effective and absolutely essential to helping me and ensuring Heyerdahl’s success. And last, but by no means least, YOU Heyerdahl! Heyerdahl is more than a House; it is a group of people striving to be the best they can be, supporting and helping each other to achieve their goals. Thank you for being, well, you!

Mr R Ashby

House Pages

House Captains So this is it. We have reached the pinnacle of an exhilarating year.

Once again our fellow Heyerdahlians have proven themselves during a year where competition has been brutal. Both on and off the field, Heyerdahl has shown the same competitive spirit and determination that led us to last year’s triumph in the house competition.

The look of envy on the faces of the lesser houses as we strived once again to ultimate domination was, to say the least, satisfying. Despite constant pressure from the other houses, in particular Mr Flower’s “intimidating” interrogation, Heyerdahl was simply invincible.

Ok, so maybe not invincible as amply demonstrated by the Senior Boys who failed to come 1st or even 2nd in any of their events this year. In fact, the only time that our senior boys demonstrated their full athletic potential was when they fled upon sight of Mr Ashby or his specially appointed contingent of enforcers. Nonetheless the efforts demonstrated by the remaining majority of Heyerdahl made up for this abysmal performance, and orange shirts continued to prime real estate on the podium of sporting success.

Sporting success. Where to begin? After winning the two major sporting events twice in a row, the pressure was on to achieve the threepeat. Blood, sweat and tears were shed in order to achieve this feat and we finished 1st despite the tomfoolery displayed by the counting team when we were informed that we had in fact finished in 4th place. The success of the students clearly did not rub off on the teachers who finished third after a disastrous baton changeover between Mr Woolley and Mr Hann. Our victory at the swimming gala proved that our success was limited not only to land, but also to water, and that success for Heyerdahl has no boundaries.

We’d like to thank our fellow Heyerdahlians for their sheer determination and enthusiasm throughout this strenuous academic year. Thank you to our inspirational Head of House, Mr Ashby, whose passion and dedication has made Heyerdahl the remarkable house that it is today. It has been a privilege to work with such an enthusiastic (yet mildly dictatorial) leader; he has been the driving force behind this successful year and has inspired many

to achieve greatness. Good luck to next year’s house captains and also to the departing members of Heyerdahl this year. As the great Vince Lombardi once said, ‘If winning isn't everything, why do they keep score?’ Let’s hope the final result accurately reflects our efforts this year.

Peace.

Michael Camball 12RA Alice Lovett 12CH

Shamal 2014

111

Enrichment Days

Enrichment Days Our three Enrichment Days this year have achieved exactly what the title suggests

Team Building

– adding value in terms of skills and experiences above and beyond those delivered by the traditional academic curriculum. The vast majority of the sessions have been collaborative in nature resulting in passionate and engaged debate. Visiting speakers, outside agencies, our own teachers and students have all delivered talks and activities which cover the huge area of ‘Life Beyond the

Classroom’. As well as the inevitable ‘Don’t Do This’ sessions covering cyber behaviour, smoking etc far more positive topics were also explored including entrepreneurship, lateral thinking, team building, first aid, cooking and even how to rebuild society after a cataclysmic event! There were some intriguing titles too such as ‘Forensics’ and ‘The Game of Adolescent Life’. Our thanks to everyone who assisted with these important days. These Enrichment Days really do deliver sessions which are as important as traditional classroom learning, if not more so.

Team Building

What the papers say

Team Building at Wadi Adventure

112

Shamal 2014

Team Building at Wadi Adventure

Walkactive with Joanna Hall

Wednesday Projects

Team Building at Wadi Adventure

Mathematics Olympiad The Mathematics Olympiad continued this year with students finding the questions in the first two rounds much more difficult than in previous years. Over half of the students in the school entered the first round, each earning a House merit, of these entrants 71 were successful and progressed to the second round as well as earning two House merits.

Round two was successfully completed by just over 20 competitors; unfortunately not all these competitors decided to put themselves through the rigor of the final! The final was conducted under examination conditions (without a calculator) on Thursday 29th May 2014, with 16 participants.

Mathematics Olympiad 2013/14

Junior Category (Years 7-9): Winner: Vedant Mathur (8PS) Second Place: Jaimini Patel (8NB) Intermediate Category (Years 10 –11): Winner: Adian Liusie (11KG) Second Place: Arjun Dave(11AD)

Senior Category (Years 12-13): Winner: Oh Hyun Kweon (13IJ) Second Place: Matthew Laven (12GJ)

The rest of the participating finalists were: Yash Bhansali(8DV) Joseph Plumtree(8PS) Joonwoo Jeong(8DV) Emma Kelly(9TJ) Janne Meijer(9EA) Gabriella Rajpoot(7LC) Sandip Roy(11BC) Ryan Evans(11BC) Sahil Badlani(11DF) Dorottya Nagy(13TD)

Congratulations to the winners and all finalists, in particular Oh Hyun Kweon who has been successful in the senior category for two years consecutively. The winner in each category will be presented with a trophy during the final assembly of this year.

Shamal 2014

113

Don’t Forget The Caretakers It is probably Don’t safe to Forget the say that a very Caretakers large chunk of the things that you can read about in Shamal, would not be possible without Conceicao De Souza and his superb team of Caretakers.

From setting up sports day, examinations and school concerts, to running the tuck shop, directing the traffic and looking after the school cats, pretty much everything would simply grind to a halt if it were not for their efforts. Quite simply, they are central to the daily running of the school, but are so good at what they do that they are often not even noticed!

Mr R Dennis

114

Shamal 2014

Don’t Forget The Caretakers

and the Office Support

Shamal 2014

115

Charities

Charities

Charity Committee Reaches New Heights!

Over the past year the Dubai College Charity Committee has been working passionately to raise money for a variety of different causes ranging from educating underprivileged children in slums to tackling environmental threats to raising cancer awareness in our everyday society.

The charities we support consist of MSF (medecins sans frontières) a charity that provides immediate relief for current global issues such as the Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, PCRF (Palestine Children’s Relief

Staff Movember

Fund) that mainly aims to help underprivileged children in Palestine, RAEY School in Ethiopia, Harmony House Delhi, WWF, Breast Cancer Arabia, DCSN (Dubai Center for Special Needs) and AdoptA-Camp, a local charity.

The main aims of the charity committee are to raise awareness of these charities not only in DC, but in our local community, to raise funds and donations for these charities, and to encourage the students’ philanthropic endeavours in Dubai College.

Over the year we have held many successful events where we have raised a total sum of over 120,000 Dirhams for these charities. Some of our main events include: bake sales in school and during parents’ evenings; donation boxes for the Typhoon Haiyan; movie nights and dodge ball tournaments in the school; Music Charity Love concert,

which is where DC students sing and perform on a night for family and friends all over Dubai and World Food Day where students come in their traditional dress, make food from their country and perform some of their national dances.

We also take part in out of school events such as walk-a-thons and charity balls which are organized by the charities. We find that this is a great way for the students to learn more about the charities they’re supporting so that they have an understanding of what all their fundraising is going towards.

Additionally, we have had students from Year 12 and 13 visit charities in Nepal and Ethiopia to actually go and visit the children and helpcarry out tasks such as refurbishing schools and teaching the children songs and art.

Overall, we have had an extremely successful year in the charity committee. It is a tradition that DC holds close to its foundation and one that we hope all of you will continue to so generously support in the future!

We wish next year’s leadership team: Emily Dunne, Neha Narain, Radhika Bhatia and Zahra Bawany, the best of luck in their new roles.

Sanjana Daswani 13PR Shayan Momeni 13RA

Pink Day

Witches and Wizards Charity Halloween Party

Kristen De Sousa sets a new world record – and supports our school Charity!

Marathon Number 2, Australia

116

Shamal 2014

In January 2014, Kristen, posted these words on Just Giving: “My name is Kristen and I am in Year 11 at Dubai College.

I am attempting to run 7 Marathons on 7 Continents! I have already completed 5 out of the 7 Continents.”

This was a student, who, by her own admission, couldn’t even complete an 800 metres run on Sports Day just one year earlier!

By the end of January 2014, Kristen achieved a World Record as the youngest person to complete this amazing challenge, and set an inspiring example to the whole DC community.Well Done Kristen!

Mr R Dennis

Charities This year’s concert, performed in the grassy courtyard of C-block, very nearly didn’t happen.

It had rained steadily for most of Wednesday, soaking the courtyard, and the forecast for the big day – Thursday 27th March – was for heavy rain showers, starting at exactly the same time that the concert was due to commence.

Music Charity Love

Fortunately the forecast turned out to be completely wrong. The puddles from the night before dried out and the conditions were perfect for another very popular event!

Students from every age group literally queued up to perform their favourite songs to a packed and very appreciative audience and the auditorium caretaker Manuel made DC history by also performing on stage!

This event is generally considered to be the highlight of the Charity Committee’s fundraising projects during the year. This year they certainly managed to maintain that reputation, and they excelled themselves by organising such a successful evening’s entertainment.

The Charity Committee would like to thank Mr Zambonini and Mr Crawford for helping to audition the musicians and set up the music system. Special recognition must also go to the superb team of caretakers who not only set up the stage and seating, but who were on standby through the day, ready to relocate the whole event to the Auditorium if the weather forecasts proved to be true!

Altogether the concert raised an amazing 16,407AED, and this has been donated to The Children of the Mountain, a charity organisation that builds schools in Nepal, and to Harmony House, a charity school on the outskirts of Delhi.

Mr R Dennis

Photos: Yehya Al-Hafidh

Shamal 2014

117

Charities

World Food Day

World Food Day this year took place on Wednesday, 12th March. This proved to be another big success and it raised over 15,000AED for charity.

Once again, the students excelled themselves and put together an international experience that reached new heights. The Charity Committee, led by Sanjana Daswani and Shayan Momeni transformed the school’s picnic area into a vibrant “International Village”, complete with food from dozens of countries representing every continent, including snow cones from Antarctica! American pancakes competed for attention with English Scones, Indian sweets, and Thai Noodles. The most popular dish of the day, though, seemed to be the South African Boerewors, expertly cooked by Ayrton Loureiro.

118

Shamal 2014

Photos: Mr P Rivers

A new addition to the day was an amazing display of international dancing. Students, choreographed by Aiza Ahmed, had been secretly rehearsing for weeks, and helped to create a really fun atmosphere with their demonstrations of Bollywood and Irish Dancing.

The highlight of the day, though, had to be the surprise appearance of Miss Shah and Ms Yorke, Mr Zambonini,Mrs Redley and Mr Farmer, who showed us all how to expertly dance the Tango and Salsa!

Not only did the whole school community get to sample foods from around the world, they also were allowed to attend school in clothing that represented their countries of origin.

World Food Day, as well as being a charitable endeavour and a celebration of different cultures, is an opportunity for students to try other cuisines and, above all, to enjoy

themselves. It also provides the students of the Charity Committee an opportunity to demonstrate their leadership and organisational skills and, in this regard, they were outstanding.

The funds that were raised will soon be distributed amongst the charities of MSF and the RAEY School in Ethiopia. The Charity Committee would like to thank those students of the school who participated in the event, and hope that it was as enjoyable for those participating as it was for those who organised it.

Mr R Dennis

Charities During the Autumn half term break two Year 12 students, Emily Dunne and Jenna Pfeifer visited RAEY in Addis Ababa accompanied

by Miss John and Jenna’s mum. Both girls have been involved in fundraising for RAEY since Year 9 and the visit enabled them to see the

results of their hard work and commitment. During the visit Emma and Jenna played with children, helped serve lunch, taught the Grade 4 students a song and helped with Art and Maths classes. The visit was also an opportunity for them to meet Meheret and Nebeyu two of the students

sponsored by Dubai College. We also managed to interview and photograph all the pupils. The trip enabled us to bring down much needed milk supplies, vitamins, stationery and uniforms for the children. Thanks must go to Mr Tim Clark of Emirates for his assistance in this. Jenna and Emily were fantastic ambassadors for Dubai College.

Miss E John

RAEY

Shamal 2014

119

Sports

The Primary Athletics Championships of March 2014 were the most closely contested event ever with only a single point separating the top two teams. The stars of tomorrow showed their physical prowess on both the track and field. Many records were broken and the result of the competition was not decided until the final relay race.

Following a nail biting conclusion the top three results were: JESS 546 JAPS 545 DESS 542 Congratulations to all for participating and thanks to FDC for their assistance for providing refreshments throughout the day and to the Dubai College staff who made the event possible.

Mr A Jones

120

Shamal 2014

Primary Schools’ Athletics

Sports

Sports Overview

DC

“Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.” Pele

As we review this year’s successes it is worth looking at the above quote from the big man of football himself to illustrate that what we achieve is not by accident. Your superb efforts in training have ensured that our squads and teams have produced another outstanding number of successes during 2013/14.

As World Cup fever grips all four corners of the globe, I thought it would be worth comparing some of our successes to other football nations that will fight for global glory.

Swimming (Germany) I think the best comparison for swimming would be with Germany.

Technically perfect, ruthlessly efficient (as was exemplified in every age group winning their respective age groups) and a tendency to dominate their opponents.

Football (Holland) I believe Holland would be the perfect fit here with Mr Mac’s vision of ‘total football’. All teams impressed once again, although no teams won football’s ‘Everest ’ of the DASSA Football League! However, numerous tournaments were won,

Sport

the girls programme doubled in the number of participants and the future looks very strong.

produced another virtuoso display by completing the ‘Grand Slam’ of winning every trophy available.

Athletics (Argentina) The Athletics squads would draw a good comparison with Argentina as they were packed with excellent performers, were very successful again and now have a created a fearsome reputation. Performances were technically outstanding and the whole athletics season was dominated by DC squads at ‘Fab 5’ and full championships events.

Basketball (Belgium).

Understated, packed with talented performers and will be the College’s next ‘big hit’ on the sporting front!

Netball (Brazil) Netball fever within DC mimics the passion in Brazil for their respective sports to such an extent that we are close to running out of feline superlatives for the newly created teams. Where do we go beyond Cats, Kittens and Cubs??? The netball squads have played with flair and have yet again set the record for trophies won throughout the year!

Rugby (Spain) Spain provide a good comparison to another successful year for the rugby programme. Many trophies were won and the 1st XV

Cricket (Italy) The Cricket teams draw a good comparison with Italy as they have a history of magnificent victories, are technically very good indeed and can beat any team on their day. This became evident in the number of fine victories this year against overseas opposition.

Water Polo (Wales) This would be the perfect country to describe a team that is packed with talent but never seem to play any games!

Congratulations to all for a fantastic year and I look forward to more champions in 2014/15!

Mr A Jones Director of Sport

Shamal 2014

121

Sports

Sporting Achievements 2013/2014

“Work Hard, Play Harder” Athletics DASSA Girls’ Athletics Champions Fab 5 – U12 Division 1 Champions Fab 5 – U14 Division 1 Champions Fab 5 – U16 Division 1 Champions Fab 5 – U18 Division 1 Champions Fab 5 – Division 1 Overall Combined Champions DASSA Athletics Championships Winners Basketball U16 Girls DASSA League Champions Cricket Kasim Cup Winners Successes against overseas opposition Cross Country Hatta Run Champions Boys’ Football U12 Gulf Unity Champions U14 DASSA Football 7s Champions U18 DASSA Football 7s Champions U18 BSAK Football 7s Champions Girls’ Football U18 Gulf Unity Champions Netball U12A DASSA League Division 1 Winners U12B DASSA League Division 2 Winners U12C DASSA League Division 3 Winners U12 DC Tournament Winners U12A BSAK Tournament Winners 122

Shamal 2014

U12B BSAK Tournament Runners Up U14A DASSA League Division 1 Winners U14A DASSA Tournament Winners U14A DC Intl. Tournament Winners U14A BSAK Tournament Winners U14B BSAK Tournament Runners Up U14C DASSA Division 2 Winners U14C DASSA Tournament Runners Up U16A BSAK Tournament Winners U16A DASSA Tournament Winners U16C DASSA Division 2 Winners U18A DASSA League Division 1 Winners U18A DASSA Tournament Winners U18A DC Intl. Tournament Winners Desert Cats 2 - Dubai Ladies Netball League, Division 3 Winners Rounders U14 Latifa Tournament Winners U14A DASSA League Division 1 Winners Rugby U12 UAE Schools League Champions U12 UAE Schools Tournament Winners U16 DC 7s Champions U16 BSAK 10s Champions U16 UAE Schools Tournament Winners U18s Dubai 7s Champions U18 DC 10s Champions U18 UAE Schools League Champions U18 UAE Schools Tournament Champions U18 BSAK 10s Champions U18 UAE Inter schools Touch Champions Swimming DASSA ‘A’ League Winners U12 Champions U14 Champions U16 Champions U18 Champions DASSA Championships Winners BSME Muscat – 47 medals, 16 records

Sports

Boys’ Athletics Back Row: Daniel Adair, Lewis Streak, Josh Devereux, Aiden Wright, Saif Khawaja, Nathan Appleby, Nathan Banks, Matthew Laven, Jordan Fenton, Nick Hindley, Kip Chirchir, Joe Story, Liam Benstead, James Ozden, Sam Ashby.

3rd Row: Frazer Hanson, Patrick Dowling, Ali Kapasi, Max Lovett, Matthias Falzon Young, Yehia Islam, Mustafa Zaidi, Andrew Refalo, George Ludden, Matthew Denton, Issam Al Ghussain, Hasan Malik, Alex Cargill.

2nd Row: Etienne Tillon, Andrew MacIntosh, Sam Reedy, Seb Snaas, Tom Harding, Wajih Zaman, Jacques Holmes, Harry Hughes, Alex Newbery.

Front Row: Oliver Reedy, Jake Wade, Jeremy Pontefract, Oliver Newton, Sam Muller, Finlay Keegan

Girls’ Athletics

Back Row: Lana Al Hajj, Sophie Scott, Ella Verrall, Sophie Shams, Alana Rogers, Catriona Benson, Kitty Willson, Dorottya Nagy, Alice Lovett, Ariyike Oyelola, Martha Gregory, Victoria Frost, Caitlin Janus, Jenna Denton, Sarah Moore, Gabriella Reynolds, Anna Maureta.

3rd Row: Miss L Clohesy, Disha Narain, Kitty Davies, Amy Storey, Lauren Johnstone, Sally Marr, Cate Waft, Gabi Guscott, Olivia Johnson, Bethany Wright, Rhianna Foote, Hanna Salem, Arya Flisher, Isabel Snaas, Kate Dodds, Elena Beer, Roisin McElligott, Mrs E Adamson.

2nd Row: Jessica Passey, Cassia Middleton, Julia MacKay, Naoise Morgan, Siena Gordon, Alysha Alimohamed, Jessica MacCormick, Zahra Kapasi, Jessica Pollock, Kristi Flanagan, Beatrice Turner, Rachel Choi, Gabriella Crick Lewis.

Front Row: Tzeitel Degiovanni, Hannah Story, Angelica Slater, Blanca Pamias Lopez, Alesha Gulamhusein, Isabelle Haigh, Kiyomi Hanson, Pritika Mehra, Inara Asaria, Katrina Webb.

Shamal 2014

123

Sports Under 12 Fab 5 Athletics Sunday 2nd March 2014 was the day on which competitors in the Fab 5 U12 Athletics would face diverse competition. The field events were first. We were successful in the girls’ high jump: our A team came first, then in the long jump our A team got 2nd and our B team 1st. Our successes were infectious because the boys also achieved the same victory with their A team high jumper achieving first!

Now it was time for the track events...

Initially, the 1500m race took place; a thrilling event. Well done to Roisin who was first and Maria who was third! It was time for the 200m and running for the A team was Katrina Webb who came first and the B team runner was Jessica Passey. The boys 200m was another breathtaking race; well done to all the A team boys – Wajih Zaman, Oliver Newton, Sebastian Snaas, Joel Harrison and Jake Wade. After numerous races ‘it was anyone’s game’.

Fab 5 U12A Back Row: Wajih Zaman, Elena Beer, Inara Asaria.

Middle Row: Miss L Clohesy, Joel Harrison, Seb Snaas, Roisin McElligott.

Front Row: Oliver Newton, Jake Wade, Kiyomi Hanson, Katrina Webb.

Once the relays were complete we sat down waiting for the results.

All the schools had been read out apart from DC and Repton.

We waited with baited breath to hear that we were the triumphant school.

“In second place...Repton…and in first place...Dubai College!”

After a huge cheer from our many supporters, we enthusiastically collected our well-earned medals!

Thank you to all the P.E. staff for both training and supporting us, also a huge well done to all competitors.

Kiyomi Hanson 7RG

Fab 5 U12B Back Row: Gabriella Crick-Lewis, Sam Muller, Amy Storey.

Middle Row: Miss L Clohesy, Lana Al Hajj, Ryan De Sousa, Jeremy Pontefract, Maria Iorini.

Front Row: Ross Vintcent, Oliver Reedy, Ella Verrall.

124

Shamal 2014

Sports Under 14 Fab 5 Athletics

Fab 5 U14A Back Row: Miss L Clohesy, Ramzi Jalili, Euan Kennedy, Alex Newbery, Sam Reedy.

Front Row: Rachel Choi, Jessica Pollock, Hannah Story, Sophie Scott.

Fab 5 U14B

The Fab 5 Athletics Competition of 2014 took place at EIS Jumeirah.

The U14 team did an outstanding job of putting in all their effort into both field and track events, both boys and girls giving 100 percent in their events.

Fab 5 Athletics involves athletes taking part in both a track and a field event, so it is important that everyone in the team can do extremely well in both events in order for the whole team to win the competition. All U14 athletes managed to do this and achieved highly in all the events.

The overall results really reflect the amount of effort that the athletes put in. The U14A girls’ team came home with a trophy and the U14B girls came a close runner up. The U14 A boys came 5th and the U14B boys’ team came 4th, beating the A team!

The Fab 5 Boys’ B squad made a tremendous effort, showing the strength and depth now developing within the DC Athletics programme.

I would like to thank and congratulate all the athletes who took part in the Fab 5 Athletics this year, along with special thanks to all the coaches who helped the athletes attain their goals during the course of the season.

Hannah Story 9CT

Back Row: Miss L Clohesy, Francois Maureta, Matthew Denton, Kabir Nanda.

Front Row: Cassia Middleton, Anna Maureta, Siena Gordon, Tamsin Rose, Isabella Duthie.

Shamal 2014

125

Sports Under 16 Fab 5 Athletics On the 4th March 2014, Dubai College put forward their U16 Fab 5 Athletics A and B teams to compete in an afternoon of competition at EIS Jumeirah. Due to the great success of the Dubai College B teams at the same tournament the previous year, they managed to get promoted into Division 1 of Fab 5 and were able to perform brilliantly once again, rightfully earning their place in the higher division. The A teams performed amazingly in both track and field, gaining many first place positions thoughout the afternoon and ultimately both being victorious at the conclusion of the U16 tournament. This helped Dubai College to retain the Fab 5 Athletics trophy for the 5th year in a row.

Fab 5 U16A Back Row: Miss L Clohesy, Liam Benstead, Joe Story, Aiden Wright, George Ludden, Ali Kapasi.

Front Row: Catherine Waft, Caitlin Janus, Kristi Flanagan, Blanca Pamias Lopez, Libby Johnson.

The vast majority of the track events were won by the Dubai College A teams (however, in many cases closely followed by the B team in second place), the field events seemed to be the only weak spots of the day, nevertheless, that was not going to stop the Dubai College teams from still trouncing the opponents when it came to the final scores.

I would like to thank and congratulate all the athletes that participated in the tournament, as well as the P.E. department for all their support; their help has aided every athlete to become the champions they are today.

Kristi Flanagan 10JS

126

Shamal 2014

Fab 5 U16B Back Row: Miss L Clohesy, Issam Al Ghussain, Yehia Islam, Aaron Camball, Matthias Falzon Young.

Front Row: Zahra Kapasi, Sally Marr, Martha Gregory, Alana Rogers , Alesha Gulamhusein.

Sports Under 18 Fab 5 Athletics

Fab 5 U18A Back Row: James Ozden, Tom Harding, Lewis Streak, Daniel Adair.

Front Row: Jenna Denton, Victoria Frost, Jessica MacCormick, Pritika Mehra, Kelley Day.

Fab 5 U18B

For the Fab 5 Athletics this year, the DC Seniors were fortunate to be able to enter two teams into the A League due to such a successful season last year. Both the A and B teams set off to EIS Jumeirah on a very hot Wednesday afternoon to complete one track event, one field event and then the 5x200m relay to finish off the afternoon. On the field, Victoria Frost secured a 1st place in her high jump event whilst the boys dominated the track events. Tom Harding won his 400m, as well as a win from Dan Adair in his 1500m and no lower than a 3rd place for the rest of the boys. When it was time for the girls to take to the track, the success only continued. In the 1500m, 1st and 2nd place were secured. Meanwhile on the field, the boys were just as successful as they were on the track. The afternoon ended with the relay where each team member had to run 200m on a track. The boys dominated their race, each member winning their leg with a strong finish from Tom Harding. The girls also managed to pull through with an easy win, securing the DC A team first place in the A League. The overall effort of both teams that afternoon, as well as the efforts of the younger teams from earlier in the week, led to a Fab 5 Athletics win for DC yet again! Many thanks go to Mr Riordan and the rest of the P.E. staff for their endless lunchtime practices and I hope the future teams can carry on our success.

Jessica MacCormick 13PR

Back Row: Nathan Banks, Jordan Fenton, Nathan Appleby, Sam Ashby.

Front Row: Hanna Salem, Isabelle Haigh, Bethany Wright, Rhianna Foote.

Shamal 2014

127

Sports DC Swim Squad With another school year drawing to a close and another competitive season behind us, the DC Swim Squad can yet again boast of an impressive set of victories on both the individual and the team level. It wasn’t easy surpassing those ridiculously high standards we had set ourselves in previous years, but somehow we managed, emerging first place in the DASSA swim league for yet another consecutive year. In fact, we could barely go a few weeks into the new academic year before our smashing victory against the American School of Dubai in our annual October gala. Of course, the record breaking times achieved at the Nancy Crosser Memorial gala, and the handsome medal collections brought home from the BSME Muscat meet deserve a mention too.

How is this any different to our results and achievements in previous years? I hear you ask. Well, to this I have to say that the DC Swim Squad has, in fact, seen a great deal of change in the 20132014 season. While our performance at galas has been outrageously successful as per usual, we have welcomed new swim 128

Shamal 2014

U12 Swim Squad Back Row: Miss L Clohesy, Hannah Dawson, Finlay Page, Elena Beer, Henry Tatham, Roisin McElligott, Gabriella Helayel, Mrs E Adamson Middle Row: Ali Tabba, Ross Vintcent, Angelica Slater, Jake Wade, Kiyomi Hanson Front Row: Samuel Muller, Ella Verrall, Maria Iorini, Cameron Walker, Oliver Newton, Sebastian Snaas

U14 Swim Squad Back Row: Chantal Meyer, Tamsin Rose, Emily Peck, Joe Page, Chloe Williams, Caitlin Hunter, Aleksandra Skroban.

Middle Row: Miss L Clohesy, Julia MacKay, Anna Maureta, Yasmeen Mohajer, Katie Gardner, George Gosling, Geesue Abrichami, Mrs E Adamson.

Front Row: Etienne Tillon, Andrew MacIntosh, Tara Desai, Jasmine Liew, Alysha Alimohamed.

U16 Swim Squad Back Row: Sarah McKinney, Matthias Falzon Young, Kitty Willson, Matthew Dunne, Ali Kapasi Middle Row: Miss L Clohesy, Sheyan Adenwalla, Cameron MacKay, Kristen De Sousa, Alesha Gulamhusein, Mrs E Adamson Front Row: Zahra Kapasi, Martha Gregory, Daniel Momeni, Charlise Koch.

captains to the team, new events to the galas, and perhaps most significantly, a new coach, Miss Clohesy.

The reins of power were swiftly handed over

by Mrs Adamson at the beginning of the year, and our new number one rule was quickly established: absolutely no fraternising with members of the enemy teams. Team spirit all the way! Or rather, almost all the way.

True, our team spirits have never been higher, though we are still torn on the issue of choosing our mascot: the DC Dolphin or the DC Dragon. This one decision has proved to be too much for the team to handle this year. No doubt, a final verdict will be made next year, when we return as stronger, better,

faster swimmers.

The other big development we have seen this year is in the format of the DASSA swim league. All the events of these league galas got a thorough rearranging for the second year in a row, just in case anyone wasn’t confused enough from the changes made the year before. Relays at the beginning of the gala as well as at the end of it? A 200 IM for the Seniors instead of a 100 IM? An extra 100 freestyle event for all age groups? This may have thrown some of the lesser teams we were competing against, but certainly not us. Our relay changeovers were just as fast and flawless before our 200 IM races as they were after we had won them, and so we still

Sports managed to emerge victorious after just four nail-biting rounds.

This didn’t stop us, however, from giving our all at the league finals, which were held at the Hamdan Sports Complex for a change.

With the bleachers packed with swimmers and coaches from our rival swim squads, a proper call room, and a professional starter, it could have easily been an intimidating scene. Nevertheless, we kept our eyes on the prize – quite literally in this case, with the trophies to be won all neatly displayed on the opposite side of the eight-lane competition pool.

We took our marks... we got set...and we were off! Diving, splashing, kicking and turning until our hands were the first to touch the wall. When it was time for the award ceremony, the loudspeaker screeched and a hush settled over the bleachers, now packed with soaked towels and empty water bottles. ...the winner of the Under 12 age group is: Dubai College.

Under 14s: Dubai College.

Under 16s: Dubai College.

Under 18s: Dubai College.

U18 Swim Squad Back Row: Maisy Duncan, Jordan Fenton, Joe Shams Middle Row: Miss L Clohesy, Anya Malik, Jenna Denton, Elizabeth Adamson, Ryota Minagi, Mrs E Adamson.

Front Row: Emily Dunne, Shayan Momeni, Dorottya Nagy, Pritika Mehra

cheering ‘GO! GO! GO!’ were all worth it when we heard the words: ...and the overall champions of the 2014 DASSA swim league are: Dubai College.

Yes, DC can proudly claim it has the top school swim squad in Dubai in 2014. What’s more, we have an actual trophy to prove it!

Dorottya Nagy 13TD

The DC age group captains filed up to the podium, two by two, to collect their trophies and pose for their victory photos.

All our efforts during the year, the lunch times spent in the pool, the hours spent Shamal 2014

129

Sports

BSME Swim Squad Back Row: Tara Desai, Emily Peck, Cameron MacKay, Ryota Minagi, Joe Shamsuddin, Cameron Matthews, Matthew Dunne, Sheyan Adenwalla, George Gosling, Yasmeen Mohajer.

Middle Row: Miss L Clohesy, Gabriella Helayel, Angelica Slater, Hannah Dawson, Elena Beer, Julia MacKay, Tamsin Rose, Natasha Nobbs, Chantal Meyer, Chloe Williams, Caitlin Hunter, Jasmine Liew, Roisin McElligott.

Front Row: Maria Iorini, Ella Verrall, Jake Wade, Kiyomi Hanson, Ross Vintcent, Aakanksha Deb, Cameron Walker.

BSME Swimming Championships On the 28th April, the DC swim team boarded their Fly Dubai flight to Muscat to partake in the annual championships held at the Sultan Quoobos pool. It’s quite a relief that we no longer have to take the eight hour bus ride, the drive to the airport alone was enough to drive us Seniors crazy; I swear we were mellower in Year 7!

We were a motley group of kids ranging from the tiny Year 7s to us more ‘mature’ Sixth Formers, yet everyone seemed to bond and took great fun in teasing both me and Ryota Minagi...

We were ably helped by the amazing Mrs Adamson who, despite stating last year that it would be her final BSME gala, was persuaded to join us and pass the torch onto Miss Clohesy, not forgetting another veteran of the trip, Miss Hill.

The next morning, we were up at 130

Shamal 2014

the very uncivilised time of 5am in order to get breakfast and get to the pool to warm up, I still don’t know where those Year 7s get their energy from so early in the morning!

The swimming stadium was, as always, incredibly busy with swimmers, teachers, parents and pigeons. So much so that you needed to double check before sitting down! The calling area was a little more organised this year, but as with any swim meet it was still fairly chaotic.

As per usual, the competition was a huge success for the Dubai College participants and with a total of 29 swimmers, 47 medals is an achievement we can all be proud of. There was a total of 16 records throughout the day, most notably Cameron Matthews and Chantal Meyer who managed to get a record in every single one of their races.

Congratulations DC Dugongs!

Joe Shams 12DM

Photos: Mrs E Adamson

Sports

Senior Water polo Squad Back Row: Matthew Laven, Jordan Fenton, Christophe Rippon, Padraig Ryan.

Middle Row: Mr G Case, Samuel Morris, Stephan Koenigstorfer, Adam Andreani, Christopher Quelch, Jack Jones.

Front Row: Ryan Harris, Ryota Minagi, Joe Shams, Finnian Ford, Harkirath Dhillon.

It has been a successful year for the Dubai College water polo team. We started the year off strongly with great commitment from the team: Sunday, Monday and Tuesday sessions were jam packed with eager polo players.

Our first match was against DESC, which sadly was a defeat, although we did field the entire squad of 19 to give everyone some game time. We managed to hold them in the first half and I think we all learned some valuable experience on how to work as a team. After honing our skills, we were pitted against Doha College in the annual Doha Exchange, which despite the opposition having both an international polo player, and swimmer as well as other experienced players, we emerged triumphant after a tough game with a final score of 15-8. There was an astounding 11 goal haul by ‘hole man’ Padraig Ryan and some slick outside play from Samuel Morris and Jordan Fenton.

We had our fair share of games against teams we could never match.

The first was a session at the Hamdan Bin Rashid swimming complex where we were pitted against the Dubai Camels, a team with men who in some cases were double our weight and many of them ex-internationals.

Yet, despite being outmatched, we faced them with determination and we learned a lot about the game from these more experienced players. The other pasting was in the ‘Past versus

Present’ match where the squad was overcome by some very experienced DC Alumni, namely Sam Adamson, Michael Farid, Frank Ryan, and last year’s impenetrable goalie, Justin Govender. It is amazing to think that these incredible players were once just like us. It just goes to show that ‘mighty oaks from little acorns grow’ and one day we can aspire to be just as good as them, if not better.

The team can be proud of their achievements albeit slightly exposed, thanks to the now iconic water polo skimpies. With a strong squad to take into 2014/15, who knows, with enough training from the ever patient Mr Case, we might even be able to challenge the might of the Dubai Camels. All the best for next year boys, let’s hope it is as good, if not better than this one!

Joe Shams 12DM Shamal 2014

131

Sports

Hatta Cross Country

Back Row: Lucas Moon-Almaraz, Ali Kapasi, Sophie Shamsuddin, Finnian Ford, Joshua Devereux, Matthew Denton, Craig Buchan, Alexander Cargill, Olivia Johnson.

Middle Row: Mr A Jones, Alysha Alimohamed, Siena Gordon, Julia MacKayTamsin Rose, Kara Catchpole-King, Jessica Pollock, Isabelle Haigh, Annabelle Style, Mrs E Adamson Front Row: Sam Muller, Georgina Peck, Blanca Pamias Lopez, Maisy Duncan, Joe Shamsuddin, Etienne Tillon, Oliver Newton, Kiyomi Hanson, Jake Wade

As always, it was an early start for the long drive down to Hatta Fort for the annual Hatta cross country run.

The team was mostly still asleep so it was a relatively peaceful bus journey.

Upon finally arriving, we partook in the traditional pre-race lap just to make sure that everyone knew the course. The race started off with the senior girls, quickly followed 2 minutes later by the junior girls.

The minute the girls race came to an end, the boys set off to partake in the gruelling race.

The biggest challenge for all was the

infamous ‘Heartbreak Hill’ which might I add we had to tackle twice in the entirety of the race, a feat that we can all be proud of. Once all competitors had finished, it was time for the more enjoyable part of the competition. The food was as always exceptional and of course the archery and mini-golf was as fun as ever.

Overall, DC had huge success, managing to win the overall team trophy, and had some truly amazing feats from some individuals. In the junior girls, Tamsin Rose and Ellie O’Keefe managed to pull in second

and third place, and all of our senior girls managed to score in the top ten.

There was some tough competition for the boys but nevertheless, having three runners in the top eight is an amazing achievement for the senior boys.

In all, a truly amazing experience as always, thanks go to Mr Jones and Mrs Adamson for helping organise such a great competition. It was a truly fantastic competition and I wish you all the best next year.

Joe Shams 12DM

Photos: Mrs E Adamson

132

Shamal 2014

Sports

Golf Team

Back Row: Mr P Flower, Matthew Baxter, Matthew Laven, Rohan Gupta, Max Lovett.

Front Row: Mark Baxter, Kabir Nanda, Harry Sheedy.

A new season brought a wave of young talent to the DC golf squad who were looking to improve upon last year’s competitive 3rd place finish. All four events were played after school on the floodlit 9-hole course, ‘The Track’, at Meydan. The best four Stableford scores counted from a six man squad picked prior to each round – however, other golfers could play alongside the team to prove their worth and vie for a spot in the next event.

The DC team started convincingly, winning the first round by 4 points, and the second, by a narrower single point. The squad then faced a very windy evening for the third event, and scoring was noticeably lower for all schools in the difficult conditions. However, despite the wind blowing every shot on the range 50 yards off course, DC again prevailed by 2 points. With a significant lead over their nearest rivals, the team looked set for a comfortable victory in the closing round.

The final event was modified to a 4pm shotgun start which meant an early finish to the school day.

With DC in pole position, coach, Mr Flower, wisely told the squad, to play consistent and sensible golf to ensure victory. However, the team failed to follow orders, and instead racked up an incredible 73 point haul to win the day by 5 points, and the league overall by an amazing 24 points. A great dinner and prize giving followed, with fantastic prizes for notable performances during the season.

Well done to each player for their individual contribution to this outstanding team achievement, with a special mention to Matthew Baxter, who scored 19 points in the final round – despite being sick. The DC boys must also thank our dedicated coach Mr Flower and of course their parents for their continuous support. Let’s hope the squad can retain their title next year.

School

R1

R2

R3

R4

Total

Dubai College

64

63

61

73

261

JESS Ranches

58

62

57

60

237

Wellington International School

55

58

55

64

232

DESC

54

57

53

61

225

Dubai American Academy

60

55

59

45

219

American School Dubai

44

54

48

68

214

EIS Jumeirah

51

62

34

60

207

EGF

51

43

53

24

171

Jumeirah College

53

31

0

62

146

22

30

25

77

GEMS World Academy

Matthew Laven 12GJ Shamal 2014

133

Sports As this year was the 30th anniversary Doha of the Doha Exchange Exchange, there was a lot of hype surrounding the event. It was Doha’s turn to come to Dubai, therefore it could be argued that we had the strong home advantage.

Nevertheless, Doha put up a strong fight.

The weekend started off with the Senior boys playing water polo and

134

Shamal 2014

the girls playing volleyball. The boys managed to grab a 15-8 win, whilst the girls lost their volleyball 2 sets to 1. Shortly after, the girls had their water polo which Dubai dominated, the final score being 12-2. The boys’ high spirits were cut short as Doha won the softball 9-0, with no Dubai student getting past second base. The most intense game of the weekend came next with the Senior boys’ basketball. At full time the score was tied and both teams agreed to 5 minutes extra time. In those 5 minutes, the Dubai team managed to pull ahead with the final score

being 43-33. Meanwhile on the field, Hayley Moore was running circles around the Doha opponents as she scored 4 out of the 6 goals in the girls’ football, ending in victory (6-0) for DC. We finished the Thursday on an overall win and we went home to prepare for the following day.

Friday began with the boys playing volleyball, however, with volleyball being a strong sport for Doha they managed to win 2 sets to 1; the Dubai boys did put up a fight and it came down to the last point. The netball was dominated by Dubai for both the Junior and Senior girls’

Sports teams with the scores being 22-3 and 30-7 respectively. Straight after the netball, the Senior girls had rounders in the unbearable heat, however, they achieved a resounding victory of 16.5-2.5, despite missing our superstar Honor Nicholl. The afternoon proceeded with wins for the Dubai team in boys’ football (5-1) and girls’ basketball (42-9) where unfortunately we lost a key player, Alice Lovett, to injury. As always, the exchange ended with the swimming gala. Dubai College won convincingly with 221 points to Doha’s 147 points, meaning that overall Dubai had a

successful weekend and managed to attain the trophy yet again.

A great way to finish the weekend was with the beach barbeque day at the Jebel Ali Golf Resort and Spa. We were treated to an array of sporting activities such as beach volleyball, touch rugby and football, as well as a mean buffet. Overall, the exchange was a huge success and many thanks go to the P.E. department, the Dubai College staff and to those who hosted the Doha pupils.

Jessica MacCormick 13PR

Shamal 2014

135

Sports

Tennis Squad Back Row: Sadhana Madnani, Rehan Ayrton, Kenny Fahim, Alex Smith, Michael Camball, Sandip Roy, Rohan Padmanabhan, Zorez Haider.

Middle Row: Mr M Woolley, Magen Chadha, Devansh Popley, Sheyan Adenwalla, Vijay Gupta, Jamie Dare, Ritvik Ramnath, Simren Nijhawan, Aditi Nijhawan, Devina Popley.

Front Row: Oliver Newton, Seb Webb, Yash Bhansali, Tara Mewawalla, Sahil Mordani, Sasha Verrall, Ibani Hattangadi, Katrina Webb.

U12 Rugby Squad Back Row: Joel Harrison, Henry Tatham, Oliver Garner, Ajay Anand, Jacques Holmes, Alex House, Ben Davies.

Middle Row: Mr C House, Michael Murphy, Sam Muller, Charlie McMillan, Suryansh Loya, Sean O’Gorman, Max Brett, Cameron Walker, Jack Craig, Max Ozden.

Front Row: William Allinson, Ross Vintcent, Seb Snaas(capt), Oliver Reedy, Jake Wade, Eoin Mountain, Ben Skelton.

136

Shamal 2014

Sports Tennis Squad The Dubai College tennis squad have had a great year. All four teams – Junior Boys and Junior Girls and Senior Boys and Senior Girls have played matches against DESC, Jumeirah College and Repton School.

The senior boys have been the most

U12 Rugby As a team we have played many games and succeeded triumphantly!

Although we have lost a few matches in tournaments such as the 7s and 10s, we have still kept the DC pride and held our heads up high.

However, an astonishing outcome in the 15s (the main competition) left us being unbeaten for the whole year. I thank Mr House for working with the forwards and Mr Riordan for coaching the backs; when we come together as a team we were an unstoppable force.

Our biggest rivals are JESS and DESC, because they are the only teams to beat us! In all the tournaments we were finalists, but we never executed the win. Earlier in the year we played at the BSAK 10s in Abu Dhabi where we lost in the final to JESS. In the DC 7s it was DESC who we faced in the finals; we lost in a hard game. The

successful team winning every one of their 5 matches. Our other teams have had mixed results but it is safe to say that everyone has enjoyed their tennis this year.

Special mentions should go to Alex Smith who proved himself unbeatable in every match, to Katrina Webb who, although playing with a permanent smile is fiercely

competitive and to Mrs Smith our number one supporter and supplier of team oranges!

I would also like to thank the Year 13 students who played this year and wish them well at University. I hope that they continue to play tennis!

last tournament of the year was the DC 10s. As we sailed through our games to the finals we were looking like a good team and possible trophy winners, then there it was, the final against JESS. The game was intense and we started strong. Half time and scores were equal. Final whistle and scores were equal. It was down to a golden try. The first half we pushed strong and Sean O’Gorman was held on the line, however we all thought it was a try. The second half we were exhausted and JESS started strong, it didn’t take long and they had made a strong burst through our defensive line; it was over.

all year in 15s, but we had to work for it and train every Monday. I would like to thank Ryan, Nathan and George for training us every session, it really helped although some of the drills were tiring. We had a total of 25 people attend the club and I thank all of them for training and playing. We beat teams by an astonishing amount of points such as 40 points or 50 points. Some of our games were closer such as JESS, only winning by 7 points and DESC only winning by 22 points and JC winning by 20 points. 7 points was closest anyone came to beating us and that’s amazing. We won the regional finals and cup finals of the league and to conclude I would like to thank Mr Riordan, Mr House, Nathan , George, Ryan and the team again for everything this year and for making it memorable for us all.

15s was our strong point all season and our team was very well rounded.

The coaches took everyone for almost all the games, so that we could all have some game time and prepare us for the future. We started off strong, showing the opposition that we meant business. Our team makes it sound easy to be unbeaten

Mr M Woolley

Seb Snaas 7RG

Shamal 2014

137

Sports

U13 Rugby Back Row: Jason Pollock, Matthew Wane, Harry Hughes, Michael Reid, Patrick Dowling, Elliot Crossley, Jamie MacKinnon Middle Row: Mr A Jones, Ben Avery, Jack Norman, James Dare, Jack Burrell, Andrew MacIntosh, Rory Nisbet, Sam Reedy Front Row: Finlay Keegan, Tom Roberts, Harvey Bullock, George Gunn, Oliver Chohan

U14A Rugby Squad Back Row: Ethan Pearce, Rhys Luke, Oliver Tait, Euan Kennedy, Michael Reid, Matty Russo, Hasan Malik.

Middle Row: Mr J Cottam, Harry Sheedy, James Dare, Harry Hughes, Thomas Ryan-McGrath, Felix Firth, Robbie Pereira, Tommy Williams.

Front Row: Andrew MacIntosh, Blake Murphy, Jamie MacKinnon, Sam Reedy, Joshua Armstrong, Thomas Haigh, Finlay Keegan, Harvey Bullock, Oliver Chohan.

138

Shamal 2014

Sports

U14B Rugby Squad Back Row: Matthew Anderson, Matthew Denton, William Treston, Patrick Dowling, Cameron Graham.

Middle Row: Mr J Cottam, Blake Murphy, Jack Norman, Jack Burrell, Elliot Crossley, Matthew Wane, Jason Pollock.

Front Row: Ben Avery, Oliver Chohan, Felix Firth, Rory Nisbet, George Gunn.

U14 Rugby Report The U14 Rugby season has been a learning curve for the team, and through defeat the players have gained valuable experience, which will enable them to achieve further success as they carry on through the college. With many new boys coming in, the side struggled to maintain their consistent start to the league, but regardless trained to their full capacity, hoping and training for the best. The Rugby Union League commenced in October, after a friendly season opener against Jumeirah College.

The boys put all their pre-season hard work into a practice, battling hard to win convincingly 25-10. As November arrived, the boys were hoping to continue their winning start as they travelled down to Abu Dhabi, to play in the BSAK 10’s.

The tournament proved to be a good spectacle of Rugby, and a first competitive tournament for much of

the squad; however Euan Kennedy brought his experience with him as he scored an all-important try to help DC overcome the Group Stages, and put DC into the Semi Final. His partnership with winger Hasan Malik, accompanied by a strong forward pack led by Oliver Tait and Rhys Luke, and a skilful display of trickery by scrum half Tommy Williams gave DC the confidence to go all the way. Our semi-final clash against Repton proved to be a challenge for the players and unfortunately a final try in the dying seconds was vital to the game and Repton’s progress in the tournament, who proved to be eventual winners. The players knew they had to up their training in order to compete and contend as soon as the Rugby Union League took off. The first match of the season proved to be a clear message to the players regarding the competitiveness and progress of UAE Schools Rugby. A strong

Repton side, coached by Apollo Perelini, fought triumphantly to gain a 58-12 win over the team. This proved to be a wake up call, and the boys responded under the pressure by increasing the physicality and intensity of their training. The players were boosted in confidence when they were accompanied by the First IV to JESS Arabian Ranches, where they were cheered onto the pitch and won a well-deserved game of Rugby against our rivals, JESS. Two key tries from Hasan Malik, and leadership from the captain, Josh Armstrong, demonstrated the side’s improvement and ability to win by playing good Rugby.

The 28-0 win over JESS met the standards of Dubai College Rugby, but unfortunately the boys were not able to maintain their winning streak, by losing to league favourites, DESC. The boys got their heads back together and their hunger for winning as they beat English College, booking them a place in the UAE Shamal 2014

139

Sports Schools Finals Day. Two crucial tries from Euan Kennedy gave Dubai College a well-deserved, yet close, 31-29 win. The unity of the players remained as they took their growing passion and experience with them to UAE Schools Final Day. The team was boosted by the return of the Rosslyn Park players after their tour to London, and contested DESC, narrowly losing out on a place in the final to the eventual league winners.

After our narrow loss, the players focused on the next game against JESS, who they earlier beat in the league. Although the boys came into the game with a clear mind, they were beaten by a strong JESS side. Although the final game of the season ended in defeat, the boys were able to reflect on what had been an important season in terms of improving the players, and helping

them gain experience which will prove benefital next year and during their DC rugby careers. The boys look to next season with a focused view, and have already begun preparations

in order to make next season one to remember.

Josh Armstrong 9AY

U15 Rugby Squad Back Row: Eoin Brady, Oliver Boon, Dylan Russo, Zac Davies, Oisin Morgan.

Middle Row: Mr M Barrington, Cameron Hughes, Barney Brett, Rory Quick, Richard Pickup, Sean Mountain.

Front Row: Max Lovett, Rahul Lopez, Josh Devereux, Max Dennehy, Frazer Hanson.

140

Shamal 2014

Sports

U16 Rugby Squad Back Row: George Ludden, Zac Davies, Kip Chirchir, Dylan Russo, Aiden Wright, Conor Kennedy, Joe Story.

Middle Row: Mr A Jones, Rahul Lopez, Cameron Afkhami, Rory Quick, Oisin Morgan, Francois Pieterse, Eoin Morgan, Oliver Boon, Barney Brett, Euan MacKinnon, Max Dennehy, Mr M Barrington.

Front Row: Frazer Hanson, Sean Mountain, Cameron Hughes, Tom Webster, Liam Benstead, Robin Over, Richard Pickup, Max Lovett, Josh Devereux.

U16 Rugby Report It has been another sublime season for DC U16 rugby with a number of outstanding performances from the boys resulting in a variety of achievements. Training began back in October and after a few weeks we were faced with our first challenge of the year – The BSAK Rugby 10s Tournament. Feeling confident with the preparation we had completed beforehand, we headed down to Abu Dhabi, ready to get our season off to a flying start. We did exactly that.

We had passed our first major test of the year, finishing the tournament undefeated and returning to Dubai with our first trophy of the season.

Shortly after the BSAK 10s, came the DC 7s – our home tournament.

With this year’s tournament being the last DC 7s we would compete in, the boys were determined to retain what would be a 4th DC 7s title in 5 years. After a surprising defeat in the group stage, we managed to bounce back and advance to the final where we met the very team we had lost to earlier in the day. However, this time we knew exactly what was at stake and produced one of our best performances of the season,

winning the final 24-0. We were DC 7s champions once again and headed off into the Christmas break on a high.

The league began in January and we got off to a very strong start winning our first few games comfortably.

However, our tour to Rosslyn Park was on the horizon and we were forced to direct the majority of our focus towards the biggest schools 7s tournament in the world.

We continued to play well in the league and put on a good show in the DC 10s in February, but due to numerous injuries and our slight change in focus, we just missed out on complete success in the two competitions. The depth of squad was evident through the season and all players should be commended for their dedication and hard work.

emphatically, with a win. The boys did not disappoint, giving their absolute all and coming away as champions once again.

Overall, it has been an extremely successful season, once again, and I would like to thank the boys for all their commitment, passion and dedication. I would also like to thank Mr Barrington and Mr Jones on behalf of the whole squad for all their efforts in helping us to achieve what we have – something that definitely would not have been possible without them.

Hopefully next season will be just as, if not more, successful!

Liam Benstead 11DF

After returning from a fantastic tour in the U.K. we had to focus immediately for the cup tournament at the Sevens ground. The top four schools in our age group were playing for the right to call themselves the best and after winning our semi-final comfortably, we found ourselves in the final feeling the need to end our season Shamal 2014

141

Sports

1st XV Rugby Squad Back Row: Sam Morris, Nathan Banks, Jordan Fenton, Cristophe Rippon, Cameron Moffat, Lewis Streak.

Middle Row: Mr A Jones, Paddy Ryan, Vishnu Tikku, Pierre Springuel, Nick Hindley, Nathan Appleby, Saad Khan, Angus Maxfield, Mr M Barrington.

Front Row: Sam Ashby, Ryan Underwood, James Ozden, Conor Cassidy, Tom Harding, Andrew Refalo, Fraser Christensen.

1st XV Rugby Report Going into this season the 1st XV Rugby team had their doubters, with a number of key individuals leaving for university few fancied our chances. Undoubtedly we had a huge challenge ahead of us to keep up the strong reputation that the school beholds.

The season started on the first Thursday back with an intense Crossfit session, with a series of circuits devised by Crossfit mad Mr Barrington; the session proved a harsh introduction to some of the new members to the first XV. Nevertheless, the lads persevered and continued to attend the early morning sessions determined to improve our fitness.

The first real test came at the BSAK 7s tournament down in Abu Dhabi, whereby we lost our first group game to fierce rivals DESC. However, a much needed kick in the backside from Mr Jones gave us the 142

Shamal 2014

motivation to excel in the next game, making it into the final against JC. Luckily for us, our earlier lack of concentration had gone and the boys came out on top with a resounding victory.

From this point onward our sole concentration was on the prestigious Dubai 7s tournament, a competition in which the school had been so successful in previous years. As always, the pressure was on to deliver. The squad that made it to the 7s was an inexperienced one to say the least, with no less than five players coming from Year 11, a fantastic achievement on their part. Our chances at retaining the title took an early blow with the injury of Nathan Appleby, a key individual in the backs. However, despite the setback, this gave the younger members of the squad the opportunity to shine with both Aiden Wright and Liam Benstead producing outstanding performances. The time for the final came once again, 40,000 fans

awaited us on ‘Pitch One’. The final was tense to say the least, which came down to the final kick of the game. Fortunately for us the result went in our favour, enabling us to beat DESC 19-17. A fantastic achievement and a ‘3-peat’ victory for DC in the Dubai 7s.

With the 7s season behind us, we now turned our attention to XV’s.

Lacking the size of previous squads, as well as our Captain Conor Cassidy due to injury, our success would be down to our technical ability rather than brute force. Consequently, a huge amount of effort was put in on the training field, making sure our individual skills were ‘tip-top’.

The season got off to a flier against Sharjah, overcoming our opponents 62-5. Strong performances against JC, JESS and our best performance of the season against BSAK followed, with the crunch match against DESC still to come.

In between all of the above fixtures was the DC 10’s tournament, giving

Sports us a break from the big hits of the XVs game. Once again, following outstanding performances during the day we faced DESC in the final, expecting a similar, nail biting game that we experienced in the 7s.

However, we came out of the blocks flying and managed to score 4 tries in just 7 minutes leaving the DESC outfit knocked off their feet. Notable performers on the day were Jordan Fenton and Saad Khan, with an unbelievable step in the final to seal the victory!

that the result went right down to the wire. However, we managed to scrape a victory, winning 20-13.

Two weeks after the 10s, we faced DESC once again in a match in extremely tough temperatures. This was reflected in our relatively poor performance, which again ensured

Our final game for the school fittingly came against DESC once again, our closest rivals for the last few seasons. With emotions running high it promised to be quite an encounter. Indeed, the game was extremely close, with the boys showing defensive discipline when the pressure was on. The game was settled by an unbelievable solo effort from Nathan Appleby, chipping over the DESC back line and out pacing the fullback to score a try from our own 22. This brought the season to a close, winning a record 5 out of 5 trophies and achieving yet another

The 13th annual Dubai College DC Rugby 10s Rugby had a record attendance of 10s 780 rugby players participating over two grueling, but highly enjoyable days of rugby.

Our newest recruits, the Under 12 rugby squad came agonizingly close

to winning their respective Cup competition but lost on a ‘golden try’ in extra time to JESS Ranches.

Our Under 13s won their Plate final, whilst the Under 15 squad was losing finalists to JESS Ranches. The Under 18 boys produced another outstanding performance throughout Saturday by winning their pool games and beating Jumeirah College convincingly in the final. Following

undefeated league season.

Nonetheless, our success this season goes with thanks to Mr Jones, whose determination undoubtedly transformed this team into the formidable force that it became. Mr Barrington, whose technical knowhow has had a hugely significant impact on the forwards this season, and finally Mr Riordan, who has always been in the muscle factory when we needed him.

Tom Harding 13TD Conor Cassidy 13PF

a very intense 15 minutes, DC was victorious as Cup Champions against a resilient DESC team.

Sincerest thanks to the numerous DC staff, FDC and ‘Up & Running’ Medical Centre for making this another outstanding Dubai College sporting occasion.

Mr A Jones

Shamal 2014

143

Sports

U18 Rugby 7s Squad Back Row: Mr M Barrington, Liam Benstead, Nathan Banks, Conor Cassidy, Jordan Fenton, Aiden Wright, Angus Maxfield, Mr A Jones.

Front Row: James Ozden, Nathan Appleby, Tom Harding, Andrew Refalo, Joe Story

Dubai Rugby 7s Report Every year now the rugby season starts off in September with just one thing on the everyone’s mind; making the team for the Dubai 7s three months later. Straight off the bat this year the team was training hard, four or five sessions a week and even some mornings. By the time it came to picking the squad to play in the tournament there were many more players capable and deserving to play in it than there were spaces to fill. However, the team was picked and twelve of us headed off to the Sevens grounds on Thursday 28th November with high expectations and looking forward to a good weekend. We played two matches that day, and it was clear that all of our hard work was not for nothing after beating English College 45-12 and Al Yasmina School 47-0. We headed home that night to get a good night’s sleep and returned the next day to play just one match.

Our match the second day was not till 12:40, which left us all with a lot of time to watch the international rugby that was being played on the main pitch. When it came to it, 144

Shamal 2014

we were as focused as ever in the warm up and kept it up on the pitch, beating Al Ain Amblers 47-0.

Day Three was all about knock out rugby, and the whole team knew this was where it really counted. None of us expected the knock out games to be as easy as our pool matches and so we played every game like it was a finals match. This was evident as we beat the Abu Dhabi Harlequins in the Quarter Finals 31-7 and the British School Al Khubairat 38-5 in the Semi Finals.

After the Semi Finals everyone was excited, we had made it to the Final, we would be playing in front of thousands of people on the main pitch; it was what everyone had been looking forward to since our training had started months earlier.

We spent longer warming up for this match, starting off easy and building up to match intensity; the closer we got to the match, the more nerves began to kick in. We knew we were good enough but the thought of playing in front of so many people was daunting. DESC proved to be our toughest opponents yet, and the match was a fight from beginning to end; all through the match the game remained close, both teams always

within a try of each other. Despite a last minute try by DESC during the final play, we managed to win by just 2 points with a final score of 19-17.

The atmosphere amongst the team was euphoric; there were smiles glued on everyone’s faces as we walked up to the stands collect our trophies. For many of the team this would be the biggest competition we would ever compete in, and to win it means more than words can explain. After a brief chat with our coaches we changed and had the rest of the day to ourselves to watch the international rugby.

It was a fantastic weekend that was enjoyed by all, but it would not have been possible if not for the hard work put in by our coaches: Mr Jones, Mr Barrington and Mr Riordan, who had given up countless mornings, afternoons and weekends, pushing us to become the team we were during that weekend. A massive thanks to them from the whole team!

Conor Cassidy 13PF

Sports

Shamal 2014

145

Sports

U12A Football

Back Row: Mr P Flower, Max Ozden, Ben Davies, Alex House, Seb Snaas.

Middle Row: Sean Alger, Charlie McMillan, Joel Harrison, Michael Murphy, Ross Vintcent.

Front Row: Jake Wade, Oliver Newton, Wajih Zaman, Jeremy Pontefract, Will Allinson.

Under 12 Football A new year, the same challenge: create order out of chaos! Every September a new intake of Year 7 boys arrive at the first training session, eager to make an impression. What is 11-a-side all about? Offside, what’s that? Am I a defender, forward, goalkeeper, midfielder? And the coach must put faces to names ready for the first league match in 2 weeks time! It is hardly surprising under these circumstances that the Under 12 team does not immediately play ‘the Barcelona way’.

This has been a challenging year, beginning inauspiciously with a 3-3 draw against Wellington but which ended with an agonising last gasp extra time defeat in the U12 Cup Final.

In between, the squad put together an impressive campaign to finish runners-up in the league as well as reach the aforementioned final.

Silverware was duly achieved in the Unity Cup though, where the team remained victorious throughout.

As the year progressed, so the boys learnt to play to their strengths with outstanding teamwork being the order of the day; strong defensively, industrious in midfield, fleet of foot up front.

As ever, the assistance of senior students with coaching and refereeing has enabled the Under 12 boys to make considerable progress in terms of their skill level and their knowledge and understanding of the game.

146

Shamal 2014

Thanks are due to Tristan Ebdon and Angus Maxfield for volunteering their time each week; their assistance has been invaluable throughout the year.

Mr P Flower

Sports

U12B Football

Back Row: Mr P Flower, Neil Shukla, Sam Muller, Hamzah Raza, Shrey Chawla.

Middle Row: Ryan De Sousa, Tom Jarvis, Cameron Walker, James Craine, Krish Vithani.

Front Row: Robert Stumbles, Nadir Mussa, Daniel MartinWilliams, Ali Tabba, Seyhan Khan.

Goals Scored Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

For

Against

U12 A

20

13

4

3

45

19

U12 B

6

0

1

5

1

25

Shamal 2014

147

Sports

U14A Football

Back Row: Joshua Arrnstrong, Michael Reid, William Jones , Barney Holt, Hasan Malik, Jonathan Mulligan.

Middle Row: Mr A Hann, David Hunt, Blake Murphy, Harry Sheedy, Harry Hughes, Alex Newberry, Patrick Dowling, Harvey Bullock, Kristian Ryan.

Front Row: Mark Baxter, Sebastian Webb, Max Holt, Thomas Williams, Etienne Tillon.

U14A Boys’ Football As another Under 14 season comes to a close, we take a look back at how the season unfolded for the DC U14A team. With the heart-breaking defeat to JESS in the last game of the previous season, we were determined to put that loss behind us and win the title this season. After the first and second teams had been selected we began our much needed training to get us back to peak fitness. We had trained together as a team, we were in high spirits and we were now ready for the new campaign.

The season began with a trip to Wellington where we emerged victorious in a 4-2 win, giving us a well-deserved three points on the first day of the season. With the team’s confidence high, we were sure that if we played the second game like we played the first, we would again come out with a win. This was exactly the case as we dispatched EC in a 4-1 victory, again winning the game in a comfortable fashion and we were now sitting in the top end of the table after playing our first two games. Our third match was against DBS, which we believed we could win if we focused and played to our strengths. The game finished in a 2-2 draw with both teams having plenty of chances, giving us a total of seven points from three games.

The next team we had to face was JESS and we were keen to get back to winning ways, unfortunately we again came out with just one point in another 2-2 draw; the game could 148

Shamal 2014

have gone either way as both teams had chances towards the end of the match. But in the end, it was another example of individual errors costing us dearly. Next we travelled to DESC hoping to end our short win drought, but again we couldn’t score the decisive goal giving us another draw, this time with a 1-1 score line. We then had a match against JC where we were determined to pick up a win and that is what we finally managed to do in a 3-2 victory, giving us a much needed three points.

We took a break from the league and entered the DASSA 7s tournament hosted by JESS. We began the tournament with a draw to DBS, but after that we managed to win all of our remaining group games and were able to make it through the knockout stages to the final. Although it was a closely contested game against DESC, we controlled it well with our best performance of the tournament and emerged as the winners. We had won the DASSA 7s tournament!

Barney Holt was our player of the tournament with other stand out performances from Will Jones and goalkeeper Harry Hughes who kept clean sheets in every game. We left JESS with smiles on our faces, and filled with confidence ahead of our next league game.

We made the trip to EIS Jumeirah filled with hope and belief that we could win the game and emerge with the three points that we desperately needed to stay in the title race. The game finished with a 4-0 win for DC which was our biggest win of the sea-

son, it was the confidence boost that we needed before we played against the league leaders Repton. We entered the game against them knowing that it was going to be our toughest challenge yet and this was made more evident as we lost our first game of the season. We played our final game against Choueifat knowing that no matter what happened neither team could win the league, nevertheless both sides wanted to finish the season with a win so the match was still as competitive as every other game.

Unfortunately, injuries had left us with only one fit first choice defender.

Choueifat finished the game as victors in a 2-0 win leaving us feeling a little down about our final performances in the league.

In the final tournament of the season, BSAK 7s, we were unlucky to exit in the semi-final on penalties. Although disappointed not to win we were all happy to see Max Holt voted Player Of The Tournament by the referees. An individual honour to add to the team trophy won earlier in the season.

The season was an up and down rollercoaster with many highs and lows, even though we did not reach all of our goals it has made us more determined to win whatever new challenges come our way. On behalf of the team I would like to thank the P.E. department and Mr Hann for his commitment to the team; it has been a great season and well done to everyone who participated.

Max Holt 9EA

Sports

U14B Football

Back Row: Ben Williams, Matthew Anderson, Seng Ho Lee, Jack Burrell, Ritvik Middle Row: Ben Avery, Harry Sheedy, Jordan, Safwan Malik, Front: Mark Baxter, James Dare, Jonathen Mulligan, Jack Norman, Finlay Kegan.

U14B Boys’ Football As we come to the end of another football season at Dubai College, it’s time for the U14B team to reflect on the highs and lows of the past few months. The team of sixteen footballers was chosen from Years 8 and 9 and was very ably coached by Mr Jones, who put the squad through some tough practice sessions prior to the start of the season.

Our first match was away to JESS Arabian Ranches. It was a tough game, with goals coming early on from Adam Shah and Jonathan Mulligan , and a double from Mark Baxter which saw DC finish 4-0 up at the final whistle. We were happy with our win against a team who always play their best, and we were feeling confident going into our next match.

The second game of the season was at home to DESC. Play went back and

U16 Football Report Wow, what an emotional rollercoaster this season turned out to be. After starting the new season with a thrilling 5-1 victory over Wellington, our confidence was high and we looked forward to taking on our next opponents, EC, the following week. After starting the match with great intensity and playing some great football, we went into half time with a two-goal lead. With less than 10 minutes

forth, both teams being quite evenly matched until the last few minutes of the game when DESC scored, which gave them the narrow 1-0 victory. A little disappointing, but we felt that we had played well and had been a bit unlucky with the final result.

Our next fixture was an encounter with Repton. It was an away match which gave a slight advantage to our opposition. They were on form that afternoon and went into half time with a 2-0 lead. After a motivational team talk from Mr Jones, we started the second half strongly with a super goal coming from Finlay Kegan. We were still under pressure, but another great shot from Finlay went straight into the bottom left corner of the net.

With only minutes to go, most of our team raced up the pitch to try and score the winner. Repton intercepted the ball and made a fast break towards our goal beating our limited defence, leading to the winning goal!

Unfortunately, with only two minutes left there was no time for us to draw level again; we lost 3-2.

In our final match of the season we faced Jumeirah College. Our home advantage and great support from our friends on the sidelines saw us start off strongly, with goals coming from Sahil Mordani and Jamie MacKinnon. We went into half time with a comfortable 2-0 lead. But we didn’t stop there, in the second half we applied more pressure and saw two great goals from Adam Shah, which gave us a winning score of 4-0.

So, some ups and downs for the B team, but a very enjoyable season all the same! I would like to say a big thank you to Mr Jones for his fantastic coaching and support.

We had great fun and are looking forward to doing it all again next year!

Jonathan Mulligan 9AH

on the clock EC gave it everything and finally broke through our solid defence, scoring once then grabbing an equalizer with seconds to spare.

Raahim Zafrullah. Our confidence grew and this inspired us to win the next three league matches with an 8-0 thrashing against Repton and most notably a 2-1 away win over 3rd place Choueifat. As the league drew to a close we finished in 4th place and began to focus on the knock-out cup.

From this moment on our season began to take a turn for the worse as we went on to lose four games on the trot and put ourselves out of contention for the title. We ended this disappointing run with a superb 4-0 victory against DBS based on an outstanding performance from our two centre backs, Robin Over and

After first and second round wins against WIS and CIS, we faced JESS in the semi-finals, who had previously beaten us in the league.

Shamal 2014

149

Sports We went into the game determined not to lose to them for the second time this year and it was clear that every player on the pitch wanted to win as the quality of football that was played was top class. A man of the match performance from Ali Kapasi helped us to secure a very well earned 3-0 victory over our rivals. With this win we were into the final and playing against undefeated league

winners DESC who came flying out of the blocks and put us on the back foot, scoring inside the first minute.

We had to dig deep to try and fight back but after committing men forward they hit us on the counter with minutes left and finished the game off.

It was a great season but unfortunately not the ending we were

all looking forward to. On behalf of the team, I would like to thank Mr Trivic and Mr Lavery for their effort and commitment this year.

Top Scorer Valentin Arstal Player of the Season Tom Webster Matthew Baxter 10DR

U16A Football

Back Row: Adian Liusie, Mohammad-Wahid Ghaffari, Aiden Wright, Liam Benstead, Aaron Camball.

Middle Row: Mr B Trivic, Robin Over, Raahim Zafrullah, Barnaby Brett, Haren Bhavnani, Tom Webster, Juan Carlos Rivero Cruells, Ali Kapasi, Mr M Lavery.

Front Row: Valentin Arstal, Min Ho Lee, Matthew Baxter, Cameron Hughes, Frazer Hanson.

U16B Football

Back Row: Noah Shariat, Adian Liusie, Jeremy Clark, Rahul Samadhin.

Middle Row: Mr B Trivic, Alex Faulkner, Aniket Chandra, Min Ho Lee, Juan Carlos Rivero Cruells, Mr M Lavery.

Front Row: Alex Jarvis, Mohammad-Wahid Ghaffari, Haren Bhavnani.

150

Shamal 2014

Sports

1st XI Football

Back Row: Jon Devitt, Nathan Banks, Jordan Fenton, Sam Morris, Lewis Streak, Michael Foote.

Middle Row: Mr J McIlveen, Liam Benstead, Prateek Nadkarni, Pierre Springuel, James Ozden, Aiden Wright, Nathan Appleby.

Front Row: Sam Ashby, Angus Maxfield, Tom Harding, Brendan D’Souza, Daniyal Malik.

1st XI Football Report The football season for the first XI has been one of mixed emotions.

Despite failing to win the league, we continued Dubai College’s outstanding reputation as one of the best 7-a-side teams, winning both 7s championships this year.

Nonetheless, it would be wrong to suggest that our reputation as the school to beat has diminished, with every team that we find ourselves up against playing to knock us off our perch.

The league campaign was a frustrating one for us, winning all but two of our games with reasonable comfort. Beating the likes of Jumeirah College, JESS Ranches and DBS, who have all impressed this season. However, a defeat to bottom of the league DESC as a result of an outstanding performance from their

U12 Girls’ Football Report How the mighty have risen! After a wobbly start, the Year 7 girls’ football team powered their way to a successful season.

Our intense recruitment drive at the beginning of the season brought out many athletic and talented girls who, though never having had a try at football, turned out to be exceptionally good at this beautiful game.

captain and then a final defeat whilst chasing a six goal deficit at the hands of our ‘noisy neighbours’ Choueifat sealed our fate. I must highlight though the contributions of Adam Bilbey and Liam Benstead, playing a combined part in 500 goals this season, in addition to our rock at the back, Lewis Streak, who has been has undoubtedly proved his worth after a season blemished by injury last year.

Our style of play this season has often been referred to Arsenalesque by many, with some sublime team goals, most notably a well worked goal against Wellington that has resounding resemblance to that of Jack Wilshere’s against Norwich. The tic-a-tac style is largely due to the efforts of our coach Mr MacIlveen, with training sessions consisting of an hour of one touch football. However, as I’m sure Mr Mac would agree, our weakness this year has come in the form of our Throughout the season, we saw good swimmers become goalkeepers, talented netballers and gymnasts become strikers and midfielders, and agile hockey players turn into fantastic defenders. The team gelled together well and the talent shone through. Fortunately, under the skilful guidance of the coaches, Miss Clohesy and Mr Verma, the girls shaped up quickly and embarked on a winning streak that saw them score goals and beat formidable opponents

finishing. Even though Liam and Adam scored lots of goals this year, it could, and should, have been a lot more. Thus, towards the end of the season our training sessions began to be more and more focused on the final 1/3rd – shots, volleys and the cross bar challenge.

Finally, I would like to pay tribute to those who I have played alongside for seven years: Nathan Banks, Lewis Streak, James Ozden and Kenny Fahim. Together we have had an unbelievable run at DC and I wish you all the best in the future.

Tom Harding 13DT Tom, why is there no reference to your penalty?

Many thanks Mr J McIlveen

who had played together for years.

Besides constructive feedback from the coaches, the team’s success was a credit to the enthusiastic supporters and cheerleading on the side line!

The pinnacle of our success was no doubt the win over the DC Year 8 girls’ football team. Although it was only a friendly game, we thoroughly enjoyed the bragging rights afterwards. By the end of the season, we had enough players for two teams!

Shamal 2014

151

Sports

U12 Girls’ Football Back Row: Mr R Verma, Casey Bell, Nadia Shamsuddin, Inara Asaria, Hannah Burton.

Middle Row: Ella Verrall, Lucy Graham, Kiyomi Hanson, Dana McCann, Sayaka Okada.

Front Row: Almaz Razif, Katrina Webb, Angelica Slater, Casey Maloney-Pinto.

Besides winning most of our games, most rewarding during this season were the friendships made among our players both on and off the football pitch. The ‘sportwomanship’ displayed throughout the season was another highlight. We accepted defeat with grace and we enjoyed our wins with humility; we only boasted about our wins in the changing room!

People believe that boys’ football is more action-packed, but girls’ football is equally exciting with but with fewer theatrics egos. I encourage you to join next year whether you are a beginner or not; it’s the experience that counts.

Katrina Webb 7LV

152

Shamal 2014

Sports

U14 Girls’ Football Back Row: Julia MacKay, Sophie Shamsuddin, Rachel Choi, Jemma Shand.

Middle Row: Miss L Clohesy, Lucy Skelton, Alma Zickerman, Jessica Pollock, Siena Gordon, Nimrah Siddiqi.

Front Row: Maitha Price, Rebecca Wilding, Kate Dodds, Sophie Scott, Rihana Al Nabhani.

U14 Girls’ Football Report This season has been a very successful one for the U14 girls’ football team. We all played very well together and some great football was seen throughout the season, allowing us to win almost all of our matches. Excellent defence was displayed every game by Nimrah Siddiqi, Alma Zickerman and Rebecca Wilding while Siena Gordon, Sophie Scott and Rachel Choi showed their attacking abilities by scoring some fantastic goals in all our matches. Jemma Shand, Maitha Price, Jessica Pollock and Lucy

U16 Girls’ Football Report Considering we were a team consisting of girls of whom the majority had never kicked a football in their lives, the season was quite successful. Over the short period of time that we were together as a team we acquired new skills from our coach Derek, such as spatial awareness, ball control, goal scoring and not ‘moving like grannies’.

During the season we managed to win more games than we lost, which

Skelton showed some excellent skills in midfield, while Sophie Shams proved her versatility by making lots of great saves while in goal, and scoring many goals while playing outfield.

We trained together as a team on a weekly basis, doing drills that would improve our technique and playing matches against the other school squads to get used to each other’s style of game play. We learnt some useful tips from our coaches and after just a few weeks we were used to playing together as a team and in match situations, meaning we were was a shock for us, bearing in mind we didn’t have the best start. Our first game was interesting to say the least. Within the first 10 minutes Layla Armstrong managed a handball, Libby Johnson managed to trip over the ball and Alison Tuffin managed to get injured by the ball.

As the season went on everyone in the team improved their play, resulting in us becoming versatile players, examples being Corynn Foote scoring a hat trick and Caitlin Janus saving a goal.

now prepared for what looked like a tough season ahead with games of a range of difficulties.

All our hours of training together, hard work and effort paid off, and we finished the season as runners up, just missing the league title on goal difference. Overall, it was a great season for us as a team; scoring over 30 goals, and wining six out of eight matches. We are all looking forward to another great season next year.

Kate Dodds 9AH

It would be difficult to name the highlights of the season, as there were so many hilarious yet spectacular moments from every member of the team, especially Tamsyn Morfee. I would like to thank Miss Clohesy for supporting and putting up with us at every match, whether it be home or away, as well as all the girls for turning up to training and matches and always being enthusiastic and reliable teammates.

Bea Turner 11DF Shamal 2014

153

Sports

U16 Girls’ Football Back Row: Kiana Simpson, Tamsyn Morfee, Caitlin Janus.

Middle Row: Miss L Clohesy, Libby Johnson, Alison Tuffin, Alana Rogers, Emma Murray.

Front Row: Corynn Foote, Anushe Samee, Beatrice Turner, Denia Loukou, Iona Stewart.

1st VII Girls’ Football Back Row: Hanna Salem, Alice Lovett, Joanna Summers.

Middle Row: Mr A Hann, Gabrielle Guscott, Aidan McBride, Hannah Holly.

Front Row: Perle Battistella, Pritika Mehra, Rhianna Foote, Tanvi Bhatia, Cathrin Faria.

Absent: Hayley Moore.

1st VII Girls’ Football Report After saying farewell to the likes of Lauren Hindley, Yas Adib and the majority of last year’s team, we knew it would be a struggle to retain this year’s title. Ever since Year 7, Sundays after school have always been kept free for girls football for me and with this being my last year at Dubai College, I have to say it has been the best football season yet. A great amount of effort has gone in to improving girls’ football this year and with the help of our new coach, Mr Hann, as well as professional IFA training for the younger age groups, girls’ football at DC has slowly but gradually become a sport that has 154

Shamal 2014

been taken much more seriously.

This year, as Captain, I thought it would mean being able to boss the younger ones around: making them move the goalposts; take out the footballs and bring perfectly quartered oranges to every match.

But I soon found out this wasn’t the case and, on top of all that, organising enough players to play every match and tournament was more difficult than I anticipated.

However, it was definitely well worth it at the end of it all, after winning almost every single one of our matches this season. Unfortunately a draw against Wellington and a last minute shock loss to EC cost us the title, but we did manage to finish the season in style, coming away with

a new shiny trophy for Mr Hann’s desk, after winning the MEUC Football Tournament.

Winning our games wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for our superb goalies, Gabi Guscott, Pritika Mehra and, on one rare occasion, Jo Summers, who worked extremely hard not to let any goals in. Pritika also helped out in defence and midfield, proving that she could use her feet as well as her hands. Hanna Salem, Aidan McBride and Cathy Faria proved to be a solid defence, with Cathy coming forward at times and scoring our ‘goal of the season’ against Doha, in the Doha Exchange.

Almost as good was the great team move against DESC that finished with a thundering volley from Honor

Sports Nicholl; Mr Hann forgot to blow the whistle he was so stunned. Our goals were always well-assisted by our skilful wingers, Perle Battistella, Hannah Holly and Jo Summers, and were nearly always magically finished by Alice lovett, Tanvi Bhatia or Hayley Moore, our strikers who successfully managed to dribble their

way past most players in every game.

It has certainly been a joy playing with everyone that was involved in girls’ football this year, and I want to thank all the girls who participated in the matches throughout the year, despite having so many other responsibilities to juggle. A big thank you also goes to Mr Hann for putting

up with us girlies and for the Baskin Robbins cake after our big win. Good luck to everyone who carries on playing football next year and don’t forget before every game: 1, 2, 3...

DC!

Kitty Davies, Elena Beer, Nina Mul, Katrina Webb, Hannah Burton, Roisin McElligot, Sophie O’Keeffe, Hannah Dawson, Angelica Slater and Isobel Thompson. After few training sessions our team were ready for our first match at Jumeirah College.

As the game continued it was very tight and both teams knew that it could go either way. Throughout the final quarter it was a draw however in the last few minutes Jumeirah College scored triumphing DC by a narrow two goals. Although we

Rhianna Foote 13LH

U12A Girls’ Basketball Back Row: Roisin McElligott, Nina Mul, Elena Beer, Isobel Thompson, Hannah Burton, Hannah Dawson.

Front Row: Katrina Webb, Sophie O’Keeffe, Kiyomi Hanson, Angelica Slater.

U12A Girls’ Basketball Report Subsequent to U12 Basketball Trials a potent team was formed, consisting of: Kiyomi Hanson,

Shamal 2014

155

Sports lost this was enriching for our game teaching us additional techniques.

Following this game we played JESS Ranches, who had intrinsic value of some brilliant shooters, yet we still managed to achieve victory, winning 38 to 8. After great successes, we went on to play Emirates International School, Jumeirah and continued to play with phenomenal technique resulting in a win- 35 to 8. Wellington International School were our next competitors, who

were tough opponents, nevertheless we again took home a major win of 35-3. It was an extensive match in which we used to practise techniques to improve our game and teamwork. So far it has been an amazing season with three wins of our four matches and brilliant coaching from Mrs Kelly. Thank you to the excellent PE staff who helped to enhance our games and help us to get to our current position. The rest of our seasons consist of league

matches like Repton, GEMS World Academy and DESC. We all hope to remain dominant of other teams and additionally desire to come out on top of the league.

win. However the next match was a completely different story. We played against Deira International School.

As we warmed up we all felt confident and ready to work hard to win. As soon as we started playing it was clear that we were the stronger team and showed everyone in the stands so. All of our team tried their best and from the result our hard work was reflected.

The score was 34-9 to us (an amazing result in my opinion). If you would like to keep on following us on our road to success, visit the Sports Fixtures Diary on the Dubai College website.

Here are two of our team members thoughts: Anjali Menon: “ It’s not all about winning (but let me point out the fact that we’ve lost one game and won one

game), however it’s all about enjoying the absolutely exhausting game of basketball. On the whole, I’ve had a great experience and I am looking forward to the basketball trials next year.”

Ella Verrall: “Working as a team always helped us with stressful situations, however if we failed this then the game would be a failure.’

I would like to thank Tracey, Mrs Bell, Ms Nowacki and Mrs Pruett for helping us in training and for organizing all our games. I speak for the team that we are all grateful with how much you have all supported us.

Kiyomi Hanson 7RG

U12B Girls’ Basketball Back Row: Charlotte Haigh, Casey Bell, Jessica Passey, ShehzaShafeek, Anahita Kashyap, Lucy Graham, Anjali Menon Front Row: Sophia Joseph, Maria Iorini, Ella Verrall, Sophie Newberry.

U12B Girls’ Basketball Report Although our season has been short so far, our team has really progressed skill-wise and as a group.

We have learnt many different techniques during training and during matches. Our first match was against Cambridge International School. As they walked into the gym we were very confident in winning however as we played we realised that they were extremely aggressive and competitive! Sadly we did lose 18-20 but we had to go into extra time twice and didn’t stop trying our best until the last whistle was blown. The score was extremely close and the next time we play them we will definitely 156

Shamal 2014

Maria Iorini 7JF

Sports

U14A Girls’ Basketball Back Row: Mrs Nowacki, Emma Kelly, Sophie Shamsuddin, Hannah Story, Ariyike Oyelola, Anushe Sheikh, Julia MacKay, Jessica Pollock.

Front Row: Sophie Scott, Aleksandra Skroban, Blanca Pamias Lopez, Ellie O’Keeffe, Sophie Rhys-Maitland.

U14B Girls’ Basketball Back Row: Jemma Shand, Lauren Johnstone, Arya Flisher, Yasmeen Mohajer, Alysha Alimohamed.

Front Row: Isabella Duthie, Alma Zickerman, Amun Chaudhary.

U14A Girls’ Basketball Report

U14B Girls Basketball Report

The U14 A girls basketball team has had a promising start to the season!

We are currently half way through the league and we have thrashed every team so far. We went into the first match having only had a short training session right before but we immediately connected and played well as a team, this was evident as the score turned out to be 69-8 against JC. The next match was against JESS and again we had a brilliant score of 60-8. We have great hopes for this season and we have already demonstrated that we can win the league and take home the victory.

This season has been a very successful one for the basketball B team. We managed to win every game that we have been to, so far.

We didn’t play many games this season however we still won each one of them. Our first game was against JESS ranches. In spite of having a few fouls we managed to secure a great win, as we had won 32-10!

Blanca Pamias Lopez 10CJ

collective sense of achievement. Now we stand undefeated as we carry on our season whilst our heads are up.

To sum this season all up the most phenomenal characteristic of our B team this year, was teamwork. If we hadn’t worked together as a team we would have not been able to achieve this well in the season. Hopefully next season will be even more successful than this one!

Yasmeen Mohajer 9EA

Moving onto the next game, we were playing JESS again. With Miss Bell, Tracey and Miss Clohesy coaching us from the side we managed to defeat them again! The quality of our games and the great team spirit that animated each game gave us a great Shamal 2014

157

Sports

U16 Girls’ Basketball Back Row: Tamsyn Morfee, Franciska Kundrak, Kitty Willson, Kiana Simpson.

Middle Row: Mrs L Nowacki, Alana Rogers, Sophie Shams, Isabel Snaas, Julia MacKay. Front Row: Blanca Pamias Lopez, Natalia Adair, Olivia Peacock.

Absent: Hayley Moore, Hannah Cassidy.

U16 Girls’ Basketball Report The basketball season for the U16 girls has been one of success! Going from trials to training to matches all in the space of about two weeks, meant that we started off a bit unprepared, but that didn’t stop us! With a new and fresh team consisting of five Year 11s (Kiana, Hayley, Alana, Tamsyn and myself), as well as five Year 10s (Izzy, Kitty, Livi, Franciska and Blanca) and two brave Year 9s (Julia and Sophie) who stepped up to play U16 level, we went in full of enthusiasm and maybe with a little bit of aggression put in there too.

Throughout the whole season we were unbeaten. We began our pool matches with a game against EIS Jumeirah. The match was only a week after the team had been selected, yet we managed to beat them by a staggering 40-5!

Unfortunately, our following pool matches against Wellington and GWA were forfeited. Due to that, we became pool champions despite only playing 1 match!

We won our quarter finals against JESS with a score of 54-11, and semifinals against JC with a score of 2412; both were scores to be proud of.

Afters hours of training, our hustlers became ever more speedy, and our defence harder and harder to break through. Next thing we knew, it was league finals day. Since it was the finals we had to play at a neutral 158

Shamal 2014

ground; so EIS Jumeirah was chosen. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary on the way inside; however, what we weren’t expecting was to see a lion (yes, a real, live lion) in one of the classrooms on the way out!

I think I can say that neither I nor the rest of the team have ever seen something like that…so thankfully it was after the match had been played! The finals match was against DESC, who like us hadn’t lost a single match!

We fought hard, and although at one point they were ahead, we pulled through, scored lots of lay ups and jump shots, and became league winners with a score of 39-25!

I’d like to say a big thank you to Mrs Nowacki, because without her and her coaching tips, we wouldn’t have done nearly as well in the league.

Also, thank you to Mr Flower who turned up to almost all of our matches, to support us

and also give us a few more tips.

The basketball season this year was certainly an enjoyable one, where we bonded as a team and learnt how each player played and what skills each and every individual team member had to offer. Well done girls!

Natalia Adair 11MB

Sports

Senior Girls’ Basketball Back Row: Alex Mulligan, Ambre Battistella, Alice Lovett, Kitty Willson, Kelley Day. Middle Row: Mr P Flower, Lizzy Adamson, Sarah Moore, Lucy Bell, Gabi Guscott, Isabel Snaas.

Front Row: Bianca Pereira, Blanca Pamias Lopez, Jess MacCormick, Natalia Adair, Izzy Haigh.

Senior Girls’ Basketball Report We started off this year on a high with a win against Emirates International School with a score of 32-20, however, this streak was short lived with a close loss against Wellington. With their star player having played nationally for Holland, we knew this wasn’t going to be easy.

Our heads were lifted with a strong win against Doha College in the annual Doha exchange with the final score being 42-9. Unfortunately, our key player (Alice Lovett) tore her ACL and got taken away in an ambulance, only to be told she would not be playing any sport for the rest of the year. Playing to qualify for the quarter finals we managed yet another success against Dubai British School, despite missing Alice. There was exceptional play from Bianca and Hayley hustling up front against two of the tallest girls we’ve ever seen. It was a terrifying experience, but we managed to pull through!

The quarter final was easier than expected as DESC showed up with a team of only five players whilst we had the equivalent of three teams to choose from and we walked away with a win of 46-7. We knew the semi-final would be the toughest game yet as we faced JESS Arabian Ranches at their grounds; the exact same scenario we faced last year.

The game started off close but as our nerves from last year returned the game slipped away. We gave it all the effort we could, but sadly got knocked out of the league with the final score being 39-30. A

highlight of the year was definitely winning against Dubai American Academy who have always narrowly defeated us. The quality of American basketball was one we were definitely intimidated by before the match began (they train every day for two hours…). We’d like to thank Mr Flower and Ms Nowacki for their continuous effort throughout the year and I wish all the best for next year’s team.

Jessica MacCormick 13PR

Mr Flower’s Bit This has been a frustrating year for the girls. At times the play has been excellent but close games have not always gone our way. Unfortunately serious, season ending injuries to both Alice (in the game against Doha) and Alex (fell off her horse!) deprived the team of much needed experience at vital moments and the league title once again eluded us.

However, this misfortune enabled some of the younger girls to gain

useful senior experience earlier than might otherwise have been expected.

Kitty, Izzy S, Natalia and Blanca will have learned a great deal from their debuts as seniors.

Leading ably from the front, Jess exemplified the skill, effort and endeavour that gave the girls their best victories this year; against DAA, Doha and Old DC. Jess has been a key member of the squad for the past 4 years; her infectious enthusiasm and tireless energy will be sorely missed. Also, good luck to Ambre, Sarah and Hayley who will be leaving for pastures new.

Looking ahead, with the core of the team remaining, Gabby, Alice, Alex, Bianca, Izzy H and Kelley, to be complemented by the many talented younger girls coming through to the senior ranks, DC can anticipate a great deal of success next year and beyond.

Mr P Flower

Type

Venue

Opponents

Result

Score

League

Home

EIS Jumeirah

Won

32 – 20

Friendly

Home

JESS Ranches

Lost

13 – 15

League

Away

Wellington International School

Lost

20 – 28

Friendly

Home

Doha College

Won

42 – 9

League

Home

Dubai British School

Won

29 – 9

League

Home

DES College (¼ final play-off)

Won

46 – 7

League

Away

JESS Ranches (½ final play-off)

Lost

30 – 39

Friendly

Home

Dubai American Academy

Won

30 – 15

Friendly

Home

Dubai College Former Students

Won

34 – 12

Friendly

Home

American School of Dubai

Lost

28 – 41

Shamal 2014

159

Sports

U12 Boys’ Basketball Back Row: Wajih Zaman, Emre Oce, Alex House, Aryan Metha, Kaivalya Vohra, Krish Gupta, Ben Davies, Hamzah Raza, Oliver Garner.

Front Row: Ross Vintcent, Jake Wade, Sam Muller, Max Brett, Cameron Walker, Jeremy Pontefract, Michael Murphy, Ali Tabba.

U14 Boys’ Basketball Back Row: Francois Maureta, Max Holt, Matty Russo, Oli Tait, Bill Jones, Patrick Dowling Front Row: Matthew Wane, Sam Reedy, Luca Sackeyfio, Matthew Denton.

U14 Boys’ Basketball Report This has been an encouraging start to the season: with our team on a four game winning streak, nothing can shoot us down. We got off to a strong start by winning our first game against JC. Although not by a huge margin, we managed to maintain a high intensity level of play throughout the game. The same went for our next match against JESS. We were putting pressure on their offences and getting stops with strong performances from Max Holt and Oliver Tait, there was also a strong shooting performance from William Jones. With two wins under 160

Shamal 2014

our belt, confidence levels were rising and the team was getting used to playing as a unit. Unfortunately, over confidence almost cost us a game against EIS Jumeirah. A lot of turnovers, missed shots and lack of intensity, led us to be down in the first half. Fortunately, a motivational speech from Mr Riordan fuelled our third quarter comeback with an outstanding performance from our Year 8 backcourt. Sure they look scrawny, but boy can they finish, and finish we did. Although it was a close game, we won with a huge sigh of relief and our pride still intact. The next game against WIS was a toughie. We were lit up from outside early into the first quarter

and it took some hard basketball to bring us back. Once level, it seemed as though we’d either be tied or at a two point deficit. With morale boosts from the bench and a lot of shouting (my throat still hurts), we raised our intensity level and got to the free throw line and easy buckets.

We were playing fundamental basketball and with Oliver ‘Glass Eater’ ‘I Get Boards’ Tait grabbing every rebound that came off the rim, we were starting to look like a team.

Apart from that play that we allowed: a hundred thousand rebounds in one possession (I’m still shaking my head). Twenty seconds into the fourth quarter, WIS were three points from completely demoralising

Sports us and sending the game into overtime. Fortunately, they didn’t know Max Holt’s nickname was ‘Mr Clutch’. With two steals and a made contested layup, we won with a comfortable five point lead. As a team, we still have a long way to go, and it’s only going to get harder, but the team is like a brotherhood and we all play a part. Even Francois, who thinks he can shoot from behind the basket. Jokes aside, I’m looking

forward to finishing the season strongly and continuing our winning streak. Thanks go to Mr Riordan for coaching us and to JC, WIS, JESS and EIS Jumeirah for not giving us easy wins. Thanks also to everybody who came to watch the games and to our parents that keep our intensity levels high. A ‘shout out’ must go to Ramzi Jalili for producing off the bench with an ankle injury, and finally, to the team. When you go

two-for-six at the free throw line when you’re down in the fourth quarter, and your teammates have still got your back, that’s love.

Luca Sackeyfio 9TJ

U16 Boys’ Basketball Back Row: Mrs L Nowacki, Yehia Islam, Adian Liusie, Dharam Madnani, MohammadWahid Ghaffari, Shan Maru.

Front Row: Max Lovett, Christopher Vail, Kip Chirchir, Oh Jun Kweon, Ali Kapasi.

Absent: Shahmeer Chaudhary, Joshua Devereux, Luca Sackeyfio.

The season tipped off with what turned out to be our toughest match.

It was against our arch rivals, EIS Jumeirah, and the match was hyped-up due to the fact that in the previous meeting (last year’s final) we lost to them, but now the older boys had moved on and it was our turn to see if we were better than them. Unfortunately for us the game didn’t go in our favour, however, it was an excellent game that was quite close until about halfway through the second half when the game slipped away from us and they pulled away with a convincing victory. Not the greatest start to the season, but with this loss fresh in our memory we met at training, discussed the good and bad points, and were ready for the next game.

Motivated, we bounced back as a squad, because we were determined to meet them in the final and prove that their win was pure luck. Our next game was quite easy and we were able to get the win. We were full of confidence and were able to win the next three consecutive

games which put us second in the group (below EIS). Now we were in the semi-final of the cup. It was us against DESC, and what an intense match it was. For almost three quarters of the game, DC were in the lead by quite a few points. However, in the last quarter DESC were resilient in their attack and defence and were not only able to catch-up, but beat us by the most unfortunate, yet lucky, buzzer-beating three pointer ever. Although it must be mentioned that we weren’t playing with a full team: we were missing Yehia, a vital member of the starting team who was unavoidably absent, and Josh who was also missing. Now at this stage of the season we weren’t very successful and since we were knocked out of the cup, we were now into the plate semi-final and very determined to win it. The semi-final was against Repton and it was not as intense as the DESC game, however, we were somehow able to lose again.

During the game our defence was outstanding and so was our attack and by halftime there was nearly a

20 point difference between us. For the beginning of the first half we were able to maintain the lead, but as the time rolled on we somehow found ourselves level with them and suddenly we had to attack a lot more threateningly than we had been doing. Despite our best efforts it was all down to the last quarter of the game.

Repton were able to capitalise on our tiredness and that is when they were able to pull away with the victory. It wasn’t much (2 points), but nonetheless it was a loss. With this loss our season was brought to an abrupt end.

Excluding the three key losses we had a fairly good season and I enjoyed having a run out on the court with the lads. Congratulations to all those who took part in it this year and hopefully you’ll have better luck next year. Finally, a huge thank you to Mrs Nowacki for making this possible by turning up to training and matches to coach us. Good luck to all the boys playing next season.

Kip Chirchir 10ZB Shamal 2014

161

Sports

Senior Boys’ Basketball Back Row: Pierre Springuel, Shahryar Mooraj, Zohayb Shaikh, Karan Talreja, Aly Ibrahim.

Middle Row: Joe Singh, Prateek Nadkarni, Kip Chirchir, Adil Saldanha, Sandip Roy. Front Row: Karan Nair, Saad Khan, Amaan Khullar, Oh Hyun Kweon, Inaam Mian.

Senior Boys’ Basketball Report We kicked off the season with a 12-0 run against our formidable opponents, Emirates International School Jumeirah. From the early minutes of the game it was apparent that we couldn’t miss, and we grew accustomed to the repeated swishing sound of the net. After their slow start, EIS managed to rally back and cut their deficit to a single digit, however, Kareem Abdul-Mooraj’s (Shahryar Mooraj) ‘power moves’ were too much for them to handle and we pulled through with a 40-29 win. A great start to what was to become a great season.

Basketball is a game of runs, which was visibly apparent throughout the duration of the tumultuous game at Wellington International School.

Once again finding our rhythm in the first half, our momentum was brought to a grinding halt as the second half featured an 8 minute scoring drought that allowed Wellington to bring the game within 3 points. A refreshed squad rotation jumpstarted our locomotive offence in the final minutes and allowed us to secure a 28-22 victory. While it may not have been our finest performance, our win cemented our seed in the 2014 High School Basketball Championship.

GEMS World Academy. Those three words are infamous throughout Dubai’s basketball community.

Our arch rivals and reigning 162

Shamal 2014

league champions, GWA, stirred sour memories. With renewed determination, we hit the ground running with our suffocating defence and equally venerable offence.

Oh Hyun ‘Kweonsanity’ Kweon’s effortless playmaking abilities and Zohayb Shaikh’s towering inside presence solidified the strong performances of our entire supporting cast. As the clock ran down, it became evident that the outcome of the game would come down to the final minutes. After a few transition offensive plays, we truncated the GWA lead to 3, however, the game slipped out of our hands in crunch time: 27-34.

Prison-yard basketball depicts the

style of play that was prevalent during our matchup against the Rashid School for Boys. Scrappy play was abundant as both sides struggled to score for the better part of the first half. Emotions ran high as the sluggish pace of the game irked many, including myself (much to the bench’s amusement). Luckily, we were able to build up a lead late into the second half and secure a victory in one of our lowest scoring games of the season: 28-10.

Round 2 against Wellington International School was an exponentially more satisfying game. As I went for a career high 21 points, our juggernaut defence shut Wellington down as they only

Sports managed to score two points in the entire first half. Countless forced turnovers and automatic fast break plays led to our biggest blowout win of the season: 48-16. We were headed to the DASSA U18 finals!

Unsurprisingly, we found ourselves, once again, pitted against GWA. The game was reminiscent of a typical NBA playoff game, except with considerably less dunking and alleyooping. The game was neck-andneck for the better part of the first half and we managed to stay within 5 points. Unfortunately, as a result of costly turnovers, GWA built up a lead

that we were ultimately unable to equalize. Refusing to go out without a fight, we bombarded the opposition with high arching 3-pointers and utterly disrespectful blocks (our bench went crazy). Our breakout offence emerged a few minutes too late and we ultimately fell to GWA. While it wasn’t a storybook ending, we were all greatly satisfied with the enormous improvements we made as players and as a team, and looked to make our mark on the 3SM High School Basketball Championship in February 2014.

The team kicked off its season with a win at the JESS Netball Tournament in December, clinching our first silverware. The momentum was unstoppable; the team travelled to Abu Dhabi in January for the BSAK Tournament to compete against schools from Dubai as well as from the capital. Unbeaten throughout

Amaan Khullar 13HB

U12B Netball

Back Row: Mrs K Bell, Hannah Dawson, Kitty Davies, Elena Beer, Inara Asaria.

Front Row: Hannah Burton, Katrina Webb, Kiyomi Hanson.

The U12A squad have had a phenomenally successful season, winning every single match except one!

“To the last minute, to the last second, to the last man… We fight!

We fight! We fight!” - D. Wade

As my time at Dubai College comes

U12A Netball

U12A Netball Report

to a close, I would like to thank Mr Riordan, Mrs Nowacki, and the eclectic group of ‘DC Ballers’ for making the past few years of basketball the highlight of my high school experience.

Back Row: Disha Narain, Jessica Passey, Rhea Javat, Anahita Kashyap.

Middle Row: Miss L Clohesy, Gabrielle Tode, Roisin McElligott, Angelica Slater, Mrs E. Adamson.

Front Row: Maria Iorini, Nina Mul, Ella Verrall.

the tournament, we bagged another trophy.

The two tournament wins boosted the team’s morale as well as everyone’s belief that we could dominate the inter-school netball league. Brimming with confidence, we prevailed in our first league game against JESS Arabian Ranches with a whopping win of 13-2.

We did not disappoint our home crowd at the Dubai Collge annual netball tournament which was attended by more than twelve schools in Dubai. Amid shouts of

PASS! SHOOT! SCORE! from fellow students and nervous parents grinding their teeth, our team knocked all opposing teams out until we reached the final, facing the formidable Repton School team which had the advantage of height over our team. In the end, with good team work, a tenacious defence and speedy attack, we overcame our nerves to grab the prestigious Cup with a 5-2 win. YES, third one in our trophy cabinet!

Armed with surging confidence, we maintained our momentum throughout the season to beat all Shamal 2014

163

Sports other schools in the inter-school league, being crowned winner of the U12 league among Dubai schools.

The most valuable lesson I learned from this season is that determination and perseverance are keys to success.

The U12A team is a collection of players from various primary schools and therefore is slightly disadvantaged. However, we quickly learned each other’s style of play and were determined to play to the best of our ability. With each game, we came off the pitch knowing more about each other and our game than we did before.

No one stood out in the team as everyone was brilliant in their own way. There is no ‘I’ in TEAM! But none of this would have been possible without the help of all of our DC coaches – THANKYOU Katrina Webb 7LV

u12B Netball team

164

Shamal 2014

U12B Netball Report Our netball team has progressed massively throughout our time in Year 7. We have had so much fun going to matches and tournaments, returning overjoyed with our successes! As a team, we have got to know one another, and that really strengthened our chances. Over this netball season, we have played 14 games, won 11, drawn 2 and lost 1! (Which I might add was against DESC U12A.) As well as this, we have scored an amazing total of 124 goals this season; we’re super happy with the way things have turned out.

It’s incredible how fast the time went by, and it seems like just yesterday we were playing our first competitive match against JESS Arabian Ranches U12B team. We won by a whopping 21-0, a huge achievement for our first match. Once, we played the DC U12A team and nearly beat them!

We have played a series of tournaments. We came home as plate winners for our Dubai College tournament, and were runners up at the BSAK tournament in Abu Dhabi;

it was fitting that DC U12A were the winners of these cups.

Going from primary to secondary school has definitely changed our view of things. You take one for the team now, not for yourself. We have so many friendly rivals from our old teams too, which makes it so exciting to play them. We have played EC, Repton, DESC, JC, BSAK, and many others. Many of our old team mates go to these schools and we have played against lots of them!

Although we have had our ups and downs this year, we have made it through with a strong start and finish. It has been a great experience for us, and we’ll probably never get another one like it. Special thanks to Mrs Pruett, Mrs Bell, Miss Clohesy and Mrs Adamson for guiding and coaching us right from the start, and congratulations to our U12B team: Maria Iorini (Vice Captain), Rhea Javat, Anahita Kashyap, Jessica Passey, Disha Narian, Roisin McElligott, Ella Verrall, Gabrielle Tode, Hannah Dawson, Angelica Slater and myself.

We’re all looking forward to another year of netball. See you in Year 8!

Nina Mul (Captain) 7LV

Sports

U12C Netball

U12D Netball

Back Row: Charlotte Haigh, Isobel Thompson, Lucy Graham.

Middle Row: Miss L Clohesy, Sophie Bezzina, Gabriella Helayel, Mrs E Adamson.

Front Row: Almaz Razif, Casey Bell, Sophie Newbery.

U12C Netball Report It all started with our first match, which was actually against our own D team! That match really put us in the mood for our league as we managed to win 13-1. All of the girls couldn’t wait for the next match.

Next came DESC U12C team and again we won by 12-1. The team was definitely on the right track!

Our player of the match was Lucy Graham who played shooter. When we played JESS Arabian Ranches C Team the score this time was 13-1 and the player of the match was Isobel Thompson.

At the Year 7 Tournament, which was predominantly A and B teams, we still managed to turn in some encouraging performances with a couple of wins that took us through to the quarter finals.Everyone went up to the board and saw who we were playing. Unfortunately, it was a very, very tough team. Everybody went down to the field and started to prepare for our big game. The score at the end of the match was 6-1 to the opponents. Yes, everyone was disappointed that we had lost but we took consolation from the fact

Back Row: Rhea Kale, Gabriella Crick Lewis, Jaahnvi Shastri, Nadia Shams.

Middle Row: Miss L Clohesy, Gabriella Rajpoot, Rija Rao, Inayah Hussain, Mrs E Adamson.

Front Row: Zainab Kashif, Noa Consiglio Cockle, Charmaine Kee.

that the team that beat us went on to be the plate champions. If we lost to anyone we were happy that they were such a lovely team – our own Dubai College B Team! In the end, we were all very pleased to get so far in the competition and we went home happy and exhausted.

player when all of the girls in the team played fantastically throughout the season, but I’m sure that my team will excuse me for saying that Lucy Graham needs to be congratulated for all of her goals in each match that proved to be extremely valuable.

Our last match was against DESC D Team. We won 22-0 so it was an amazing finish to the season.

Our player of the match was Isobel Thompson, again!

Hope to see you all next year.

Overall, I think that the C Team did very well throughout the season.

Whether it was a tournament, a league match or even just a normal training session, we made sure that each individual put their all into the game. As well as learning how to play a good game of netball, we have become friends with people from different classes and everybody learnt how to play fairly but determinedly too.

Thank you to everyone in the team and to all the parents for cheering and taking us to matches, but most of all thank you to all of the coaches who helped us through matches, training sessions and tournaments.

It is very difficult to single out a

Casey Bell 7JF

U12D Netball Report During the Netball season the U12D team played four matches against many other teams. Our team consisted of: Rhea Kale, Jaahnvi Shastri, Zainab Kashif, Rija Rao, Inayah Hussain, Nadia Shams, Gabriella Rajpoot, Charmaine Kee, Gabriella Crick Lewis and Noa Consiglio Cockle.

Our first match was against the DC U12C team which we lost 13-1. Afterwards we all talked about some better tactics, which we planned to try out in the next game. Soon after that, we played against DESC. We were missing two players for the first half so we had a completely unguarded Shamal 2014

165

Sports WD on the other team. Charmaine shot some goals that were brilliant even though we didn’t win. Next we were meant to play Wellington but

they withdrew from the league so the match was cancelled. We were all very disappointed, as we wanted to try to play as many matches as

we could before the season ended because we all love playing netball.

Next up was DESC again, but this time we played their C team. Our defence had come a long way since the last time we played them and we only let in three goals. However, we still lost 3-1. In this match Gabriella scored a quick and successful goal.

Eventually we had our first win of the season against JESS Arabian Ranches. It was a tiring game for both sides but the final result was 6-3 to us! Rija scored some amazing goals even though it was the very first time she had played GS! It was the perfect way to finish the season (although it was a very hot way too!).

Overall, our season was extremely fun and we ended on a brilliant note, which we were all very proud of. We can’t wait for the netball season to come around again. We feel that we have grown together as a team in our confidence, tactics and assertiveness when we are playing. Of course none of this would have been possible without the help and encouragement of our coaches so a big thank you to them.

Noa Consiglio-Cockle 7LV

166

Shamal 2014

Sports

U14A Netball

U14B Netball

Back Row: Hannah Story, Eleanor Reid.

Middle Row: Mrs K Bell, Jessica Pollock, Julia Mackay, Emma Kelly.

Front Row: Rachel De Sousa, Sophie Shams, Aleksandra Skroban.

U14A Netball Report A new year, and for the first time since joining DC, we were at the top end of our age group. In the previous years, due to changes in the league structures, we had played netball up an age group and were always a year younger than most of the other teams. This year we had a chance to prove ourselves, and my goodness we went out onto the court and proved beyond doubt that we were the best in our age group.

We have had an absolutely brilliant season, winning every game except one (which we drew) by a large margin. As well as winning the DASSA league and schools tournament, we also won the Dubai College International tournament where we drew with a strong Millfield team in the pool matches but in the final where we faced them again, we stepped up to our true potential, beating them 10-7.

Overall, we won by a gap of 171 points with 250 points for and 79 against all season! Mainly due to the brilliant accuracy and skill of our star shooters, Emma Kelly and Jess Pollock. However, our shooters could only get the ball from the handwork

Back Row: Natasha Nobbs, Arya Flisher, Lauren Johnstone.

Middle Row: Mrs K Bell, Maisie Harvey, Sacha Verrall, Alysha Alimohamed.

Front Row: Holly Rhys-Maitland, Jemma Shand, Shemica Adenwalla.

and slickness of our central court players, Aleks Skroban, Rachel De Sousa, Hannah Story, Julia MacKay and Ellie O’Keeffe.

Throughout the season, our point difference in the league games were 155-39 points over a space of six matches thanks to Ellie Reid’s determination in the circle, not allowing any shots in.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mrs Bell and the talented Tracey Kelly who was always there with vital encouragement and advice.

My thanks also goes to our ‘posse’ of mother supporters with their food/ drinks on the sideline (even if they did get told off by another school’s coach for their ‘vocal’ support!) and the echoing words of “Up and in Em!” resonating around the court.

Our largest point difference during the league was 24 goals (we did this twice!).

We enjoyed our season immensely and we hope to go from strength to strength as we deal with the challenges next year, when we move up to U16 netball and also the adult netball league.

Sophie Shams 9CT

U14B Netball Report The netball season for the U14B team this year, has been both exciting and challenging. We were in a league comprising all A teams, which made us have to stretch and work our hardest. Although we did have some losses, we soon began to start playing better and building up our confidence. The season consisted of six matches, which resulted in four losses and two wins.

We started off the season by playing our very own Dubai College U14As. After the first quarter we were losing but still getting some goals in. In the end we didn’t quite get enough, so this made us realise that we needed to put all our effort in to playing well as a team in order to defeat others in our league. The next week we played Jumeirah College A; we wanted to put ourselves forward and win this match. We were winning with one quarter to go, however, we just lost it 7-6. Of course, we weren’t too pleased with the result, but we knew we had made a comeback and improved.

After that we went on to win two matches in a row, beating two A teams, which is a great achievement.

Shamal 2014

167

Sports We beat EC 13-12, and Repton 8-2.

We felt we had shown what we were capable of when we tried our best.

Our first tournament was with some schools that were on tour from England, including Millfield. We won two matches and lost three in the group stages, pushing us through to the next round. Unfortunately, we drew the match and JESS just managed to grab a goal at the end of extra time. We went home feeling good with the fact we had beaten schools from outside Dubai and knowing that we had shown our

strengths. Afterwards, we played a full 40 minute game against Millfield and beat them by a smashing 23 goals to 10; this was a remarkable result for us.

The next big day for us was the DASSA tournament at WIS. There were so many different teams there and we did very well as a B team.

First of all, we played five short matches against Uptown, Kings Dubai, JESS C, DESC D and JC. We won all of them and we were through to the quarter-finals. We ended up playing DC C and it started off very

U14C Netball

This year has proved to be an excellent year not only for the team, but for each individual player. From the beginning of the season until the end, throughout training, matches and tournaments, we’ve all got on very well with each other and have grown a lot from when we first started playing as a team.

We started off the season on a high with a 15-5 win against the JESS Arabian Ranches U14B team. In the first two quarters, our limited playing time together as a team showed significantly, however, as the match progressed we pulled together and settled a lot better into match play as a team. Our next 168

Shamal 2014

Huge thanks should go to our coaches Mrs Bell and Mrs Pruett.

Jemma Shand 8WD

U14D Netball

Back Row: Mrs K Bell, Kate Dodds, Ariyike Oyelola, Anushe Sheikh, Ellen Holmes.

Front Row: Katie Gardner, Rae Mitchell, Isla Stewart, Sophie Scott, Chloe Williams.

U14C Netball Report

well, with Sacha Verrell, Shemica Adenwalla and I getting the ball down the court quickly, then Alysha Alimohamed, Natasha Nobbs and Maisie Harvey shooting lots of goals.

Unfortunately, in the end, we lost in the last 5 minutes of the game.

We were disappointed to be out, however, we knew we had played well.

Back Row: Isabelle Duthie, Emily Peck, Caitlin Hunter.

Middle Row: Mrs K Bell, Naoise Morgan, Tara Desai, Hireena Hans, Francesca Hall.

Front Row: Caitlin Theocharis, Gabriella Reynolds, Mehek Vohraa.

match against Repton proved to be our best match with a 34-0 win leaving us very confident for our next matches against Jumeirah College and English College. Despite a lack of players due to injuries, the team pushed through, winning both matches with scores of 16-2 and 1812 respectively. Following on from these matches we played two other schools, both of whom we knew could be tough teams to beat. The first of these matches was against WIS U14B team, which proved to be a very good match for us, coming home with a 13-7 win. DESC U14B team was the last match of the season and there was no better way for us to end the season than with a 22-6 win, leaving us winners of our

league.

Between these matches we had two tournaments: our first was in Abu Dhabi which we marginally lost after a very close final against our own A team. Our next tournament, the DASSA tournament at Wellington, ended similarly following another very close final against our A team!

Overall we’ve had an excellent season and we’d like to thank Mrs Bell and Miss Clohesy for coaching us, umpiring our matches and also organising all our matches; we couldn’t have done it without you!

Isla Stewart 9AH

Sports U14D Netball Report During this season we have done remarkably well because we won five out of six matches. This is a good result for us as most of the schools we played against were C teams and we were the D team.

We didn’t start the season off very well: we lost our first match to our own DC E team by 5 goals, it was a close game and as a result it made us want to work harder in training in order to beat the other teams we were going to play against. The player of the match for this game was Izzy Duthie.

However, as the season went on we began to work together better as a team and didn’t make silly mistakes during our matches. Our second match was against JESS Arabian Ranches C team and we won that

game 13-5 with Emily Peck as the player of the match. Everyone was thrilled with this result as it was our first win of the season and we won by quite a lot.

We had a close game against EC C team winning by 11-7, during this match everyone worked extremely hard to ensure that we won.; Naoise Morgan worked hard to be player of the match.

Our most impressive win was against Wellington C, winning by an impressive 28-2. In the first quarter we were winning by 10-2 and everyone on the team was hoping that if we scored 10 goals in each quarter we would win by 40 goals. However, we only won by 26 goals but that is still quite impressive as they were a C team.

Our first tournament of the year was at WIS, we lost our first two games, however, we won the next and drew

Back Row: Cassia Middleton, Isabella Lahdo.

Middle Row: Mrs K Bell, Maya Sandhu, Emma Janus.

Front Row: Alma Zickerman, Maitha Price, Ratan Kachwalla.

As we come to the end of our netball season, it’s time to look back on some of the highlights. We started off the year with a strong win against our own U14D team! We were all very pleased with the outcome and our lively chant of, “Who are we...

DC... who are we... DC... who are we

Overall, it has been a great term of netball because we won the Division 3 League, and everyone on the team has learnt new skills and become better players. On behalf of the team we would like to thank all the netball coaches who helped us in training and made us better players, if it wasn’t for you we wouldn’t have done as well as we did.

Gabriella Reynolds 8RS

U14F Netball

U14E Netball

U14E Netball Report

the last one. Everyone was very surprised when we found out we had made it through to the finals, we managed to beat Repton in the last game and this put everyone in a great mood as we had won the Plate. It was a great experience and we all worked hard and became stronger as a team, everyone was also in a great mood as we got to miss that day of school and it was worth it because we came out with a bit of silverware.

Back Row: Polly Jones, Layla Haider.

Middle Row: Mrs K Bell, Lara Zaveri, Nitya Thawani.

Front Row: Rebecca Wilding, Victoria Tode, Ibani Hattangadi.

DC U14E team…” has been heard at every match since!

Unfortunately, we didn’t keep our winning streak in the second match losing 18-4 against the U14C team from English College. Even though this loss was going to affect our place in the league, we all remained positive and aimed to finish with a blast! We would have to WIN,

and that is what we did. With the amazing centre court play of Chloe George, Ratan Kachwalla, Emma Janus, Cassia Middleton, Alma Zickerman and Isabella Lahdo, we managed to bring the ball to our shooters (Maya Sandhu and myself) for the point! We won our next two games; these were against JESS Arabian Ranches U14C team (8-4) Shamal 2014

169

Sports and Wellington International School (11-4)!

I just want to say a huge thank-you to Tracy Kelly and Mrs Bell for being our coaches and encouraging us at the toughest times. I would also like to give another big thanks to my fellow team mates because without them we couldn’t be the U14E team!

Maitha Price

U14F Netball Report The U14F netball team (consisting of Emaan Ahmed, Lara Zaveri, Ibani Hattangadi, Nitya Thawani, Layla Haider, Claudia Young and me) has had a great season winning most of our matches, sometimes winning closely by one goal or by nine goals.

We have played against English College, Dubai English Speaking School,

U14G Netball Report G team for: Good Teamwork Empowered And Magnificent All the words I can think of to symbolise a team bound together by spirit (and sweat). We may not be the best, but we are strong and powerful, winning all our matches bar one.

However, what does one matter in the grand scheme of things? We had ups and unfortunately a few downs, the rain, and the day of the orange just to name a few, through all this we have made friends had improved our netball skills. With help from our amazing coach Tracy Kelly, Miss Clohesy and Mrs Bell, we have grown as a team and created memories that will last forever. We sped down the court, made some amazing shots, had narrow misses with referees and most of all had fun.

Our team worked together really well; we knew all our strengths, weaknesses and names. We were able to work with these to play some amazing, astonishing and awesome games of netball. Our team spirit and victory cry overruled our opponents 170

Shamal 2014

Wellington International and JESS Arabian Ranches. The whole team has had great fun playing against other teams and it has been a great experience!

Before the start of the school year, I did not know half the people on my team as we were in different year groups (Years 8 and 9). But throughout the netball season we became close and by the end of the season we were almost like family.

Throughout the season, we’ve had our ups and downs, wins and, unfortunately, losses, however we came through in the end, winning our last match against JESS Arabian Ranches by one goal.

Everyone on the team has been so supportive and encouraging. It was tough being captain and trying to make time for rehearsals for Alice in Wonderland, which were almost every day, lunch and after school, and helped us to succeed. Our favorite game of the season was most definitely our away game at JESS Arabian Ranches, as the D team welcomed us warmly as old friends, it was a thrilling match with help from Mrs Adamson we won an overwhelming victory.

for nine weeks taking up most of the netball season, but I’d like to thank Polly Jones for being vice-captain and always being there to help out.

I would also like to thank Mrs Bell for arranging our matches and Tracey Kelly for coaching us and helping us when something went wrong.

Special mention goes to Polly Jones, Emaan Ahmed, Nitya Thawani and Lara Zaveri for winning ‘player of the match’ accolades during this season!

The U14F team has had an amazing and exciting year together and hopefully we won’t forget each other next year. All of us worked so well together and we couldn’t have done it without one another. And to finish it off, a famous sports saying: ‘Good players inspire themselves; great players inspire others.’

Victoria Tode 9AH

U14G Netball

Unfortunately, Back Row: Aleyha Hameed, Annabelle Style, Eman Zeeshan. we think that Middle Row: Mrs K Bell, Hannah Nurmohamed, maybe Mother Joni MacDonald, Serene Sng, Rhea Kotecha, Niamh Bone.

Nature was Front Row: Rebecca Wilding, Ella Nates, Brianne Riewer. against us, as she tried to stop us with rain.

However, we carried on strongly and waited 24 hours for the rain and Thank you to everyone in our team then played a rescheduled match and everyone else who supported us which went successfully. Our strong throughout the year. team spirit has proven that we may be the bottom team, but we are the Ella Nates 8RS strongest! So come on next netball Joni MacDonald 8MN season we are ready and hoping to move up the alphabet slowly but surely!

Sports

U16A Netball

U16B Netball

Back Row: Kiana Simpson, Lucy Bell, Caitlin Janus.

Middle Row: Miss L Clohesy, Kristen De Sousa, Emma Murray, Beatrice Prosser.

Front Row: Natalia Adair, Iona Stewart, Beatrice Turner.

U16A Netball Report Unfortunately, our school netball season hasn’t been that long this year, however, we’ve made the most of our short time together by putting our full effort into each and every one of our matches. Overall, it has been a great season thanks to the contribution of every single squad member.

The season started just two days after the Christmas break with a hard fought victory over the Dubai College B team. These matches are always tricky with the added rivalry of playing against your friends and a real determination from both sides to win.

Next up was DESC where with some brilliant play we recorded a 32-9 victory which turned out to be our most impressive result of the season.

Our winning streak continued with an 18-7 victory over JC and this was followed up with victory in our only away match of the season at JESS Arabian Ranches, where we started off behind but went on to record what turned out to be a brilliant 2414 victory.

We went into our last match of the season full of confidence that we could complete a whitewash, five

Back Row: Miss L Clohesy, Charlotte Styles, Kitty Willson, Sabrina Daga, Isabel Snaas.

Front Row: Olivia Peacock, Charlise Koch, Sally Marr, Blanca Pamias Lopez, Zahra Kapasi.

wins out of five. EC have for the past few years always provided us with the fiercest competition and this year was no different. In a hard fought match, despite our best efforts, we unfortunately came up short, finally losing 13-19.

It was a disappointing end to the season but we can look back with a lot of pride in achieving four wins out of five and playing some brilliant netball in the process.

We would like to thanks Miss Clohesy for all her hard work with us.

Iona Stewart 11MS

U16B Netball Report Keep Calm and play netball! And that is exactly what we did! Two tournaments won and 3rd in the league – what a great year for the U16Bs! A total of seven league matches played and five won.

The two matches lost were by a frustrating two goals a piece. Twohundred and six goals in seven league matches played. The tightest victory was 22-16 against JESS Arabian Ranches and the biggest win was 34-3 against DESC.

The first tournament won was the BSAK tournament in Abu Dhabi, gaining victory after winning six matches, including the final against a strong JESS Arabian Ranches team (2-1). Victory came again in the DASSA tournament at DESC, through seven matches won with the final against our rivals, EC; with an emphatic win at 7-1.

Despite starting off the league with a narrow loss against our own A team, 16-18, we were quickly able to regain ourselves by going on to win 23-7 against JC. Unfortunately, we then lost to our biggest rivals, EC, in a nail-biting match with a final score of 13-15 with Blanca being the chosen player of the match. Thankfully, it was our final loss of the season and we then went on to win every other match. Blanca was named player of the match again against Repton, with a final score of 39-4. Our match against Wellington International School showed yet again how strong our defence were, and how many goals we could score, as our final score was 29-2, and Blanca received another player of the match! Our final two matches were played on consecutive days, so we were hoping that fatigue wouldn’t kick in! Luckily, we were able to walk away with two more victories against JESS Arabian Shamal 2014

171

Sports Ranches with a score of 22-16 and against DESC with a score of 34-3.

The team were privileged to play two visiting British schools. One against St. David’s from Wales and the other, having to give up our Saturday morning to play, was against Wellingborough School from England and we were happy to win

both matches.

Overall, this season has been extraordinary for the U16B team; however, we couldn’t have achieved anything without the help of three people along the way! Firstly, thank you to Mrs Bell and Tracy Kelly for always coaching us on a Monday after school and transforming us

Back Row: Miss L Clohesy, Franciska Kundrak, Hannah Cassidy, Corynn Foote.

Front Row: Kirsten Holtby, Kristi Flanagan, Alexandra Clements, Beth Jarvis.

The U16C netball team has had an amazing season. With a lot of hard work, commitment and determination we have managed to win all of our league matches and ultimately win our division. For our first match of the season we played the DC D team and achieved a comfortable win of 18-2. Even though this match was played against our own school and felt just like a training session, the girls played to the best of 172

Shamal 2014

Sally Marr 10ZB

U16D Netball

U16C Netball

U16C Netball Report

into proper netball players. Finally, thank you to Miss Clohesy for attending every one of our matches, umpiring for us, coaching us from the sidelines, and most importantly, making sure that everyone knew they had a match to play in!

Back Row: Becky Edwards, Alana Rogers, Alexandra White.

Middle Row: Miss L Clohesy, Joanna Park, Libby Johnson, Emma Taylor.

Front Row: Ceyda Davidson, Zahra Karmally, Saleena Nurmohamed, Fatima Gheewala, Charlotte Baines.

their abilities resulting in us starting the season on a high. In the weeks to come the Cs had two difficult matches to play: the first was against the DESC B team. Even though for the first half the scores were tied, we managed to take the lead and be awarded with a winning score of 16-7. However, we still had one of our hardest games the following day, where we narrowly beat JC B by a score of 9-8. In this match all of us had to fight hard to stay in the lead because both teams were equally matched, but with a lot

of determination and encouragement from our coach Mrs Phillips we emerged victorious.

In the following weeks we had two more challenging matches.

The first match was against JESS Arabian Ranches B, where the girls proved themselves once again with an impressive score of 39-11.

Nevertheless, we stayed focused and prepared ourselves for what we later found out to be our hardest match yet. When playing the match against

Sports the Wellington B we had a strong start, (even with only 6 players on court), although when one of our team members had to leave the task of keeping our lead seemed near impossible! However, we rallied round to win the match 7-5. In our final league match we faced EC B. It was neck and neck for the entire game but to our surprise when the final whistle blew we had successfully won our last match of the season with a score of 16-9.

At the U16 DASSA netball tournament there were highs and lows. Our first match was against DC A, and even though we lost, the girls were still in good spirits and looked forward to the matches to come. We later played JESS Arabian Ranches B, DESC B, DBS as well as JC B. Many, if not most, of these matches finished as a win and all our hard effort was rewarded as we made it into the plate finals! Here we played the DBS A, but sadly we were defeated. All of us have enjoyed this years’ netball season and are looking forward to playing again in September. We would like to thank Mrs Phillips for all the encouragement, support and advice which played a big part in our many successes this year.

U16D Netball Report This season has been an interesting one for the U16D team. Despite finding it extremely difficult to field a full team to play each match, we managed to get through the season and our netball skills greatly improved by the end. From being one player short in our first match, we managed to have a full turn out with a sub by the end of the season; so it is safe to say that we became more committed and bonded as a team. We had lots of new players on the team this year so that was fun and even though we lost each match, we worked hard to reduce the

goal difference. We had quite a tough season as we played several B teams, which was challenging, but we tried our best in all of our matches. The 14-6 win to the Wellington B team was a proud moment for us as we actually managed to almost score half the goals of the opposition. A special mention goes to Alana Rogers who managed to play each position over the course of seven matches and to Libby Johnson for being named player of the match twice. Our team would like to thank Mrs Phillips and Miss Clohesy for their support and encouragement throughout the season.

Saleena Nurmohamed 11MS

Axie Clements 10SM

U18A Netball

Back Row: Mrs K Bell, Sarah Moore, Alice Lovett, Alexandra Mulligan, Elizabeth Adamson.

Front Row: Gabrielle Guscott, Jessica MacCormick, Hanna Salem, Mia Zickerman-White, Catriona Benson.

Shamal 2014

173

Sports U18A Netball Report After welcoming a host of new Year 12s onto the team in the form of outstanding shooters Catriona Benson and Hanna Salem, and perhaps the strongest defender in Dubai, Gabi Guscott, it was time to get to work. Quite frankly, 2014 was the year of the Dubai College U18A netball team. We were on fire. The new year marked the start of the success with our first match against our own B team. Although we were able to joke and get along with each other on the court, our eyes were truly fixed on the prize and we managed to beat them. Next

was an international game against Bradfield College from the UK. Despite being incredibly nervous about the game and what to expect from the visiting team, we went into the match confident and came out victorious with great performances from each and every member of the team. Next were a host of league matches against JC, EC, DESC and JESS Arabian Ranches. We came out of these matches as champions with a massive 94 goals for us in total.

succeeding in trying to make netball as enjoyable as possible for all of us girls. From my experience this year, it is clear to see that there is a bright future ahead for all aspiring netballers at Dubai College. I wish all the new players that are heading up the school all the best of luck for the future. It has been a pleasure. Thank you!

Honor Nicholl 13CH

We, as a team, would like to take this opportunity to thank Mrs Bell, Tracey Kelly, Miss Clohesy and Mrs Adamson for their tireless efforts in

U18B Netball

Back Row: Mrs K Bell, Clara Townsend, Emma Britnor, Saskia Heyster, Helena Wick, Joanna Summers.

Front Row: Jenna Denton, Natasha Lopez, Elizabeth Adamson, Brigid Fogg, Madelaine Freeman.

U18B Netball Report After possibly the worst ever start to a netball season – which involved a match against JESS Arabian Ranches A with no shooters, no substitutes, Helena playing a half as centre and Saskia testing her shooting skills – it was clear that it could only go upwards from there. This match was followed by a close loss to our own A team. Our two biggest highlights of the season were our wins against JC A (22-7) and EC A (19-14) which I don’t think any of us thought would have been possible.

Then came the annual DC U18 International Netball Tournament which meant us coming together as a team quite early (ish) on a Saturday morning – with some more willing 174

Shamal 2014

than others – and playing our first two games against schools from the UK who displayed an incredible level of talent (….meaning that we unfortunately lost). However, with spirits still high after grabbing a shwarma to eat, we continued with our group matches against JESS Arabian Ranches with a nail biting draw (7-7). Somehow, with a draw and two losses under our belts, this managed to secure us a place in the Plate semi-final against DESC. After our loss to them in the ladies’ league, I think it is safe to say that we were determined to win, and this purpose definitely paid off; resulting, for us, in a win (11-8) and a place in the plate finals against JESS Arabian Ranches. This was possibly the most exciting part of our season, showing

how closely matched the two teams were. With the whole match going goal-for-goal, when the final whistle went we were still at a draw. After a short change over, we played a few minutes of extra time which also ended in a draw. Now, we were of course, exhausted and about to go into another nail biting final part of the match waiting for a golden goal to name the winner of the Plate.

After maybe the closest final anyone had seen, and definitely not what any of us expected, we were not the ones to score that golden goal; it was not meant to be. However, our spirits were still high and we all congratulated each other on the amazing skill shown in the match, no other match could compare.

The rest of our season concluded

Sports with a league loss to DESC and a final international match against St David’s School that were touring all the way from Wales, which we won by a fantastic stretch of 30-7. I think that this has been one of the best

seasons as an U18 team, considering we were quite a miss-match of players put together at the beginning of the year. We’d all like to especially thank Mrs Adamson, Mrs Bell, Tracey Kelly and Miss Clohesy, for all of

their help this season as coaches and umpires and, in Mrs Bell’s case, the providers of comfort food on Saturday mornings. Thank you!

Lizzy Adamson 12GC

U18C Netball

Back Row: Mrs E Adamson, Linda Bieleski, Emily Dunne, Emily Hoad, Tasha Howard, Sara Ali. Front Row: Drishti Masand, Jemma Ansell, Olivia Dennehy, Tanvi Bhatia.

U18C Netball Report The C team has proved to be very successful this year, despite our doubtful beginnings. Out of the five matches we played, we won four and unfortunately lost one.

Our season began with a derby game at home against the Dubai College U18D team; the match was very close with some fantastic shooting by Kelley Day. Playing with our friends as our opposition proved to be quite enjoyable and many of us agreed that it was the most fun match we played all season!

We then went on to play against Jumeirah College, which proved to be a very tough match with exactly seven players and no substitutes.

We played as a team and motivated each other to keep giving it our best.

The first two quarters of the game were very tense as it was a very close match. After a quick half-game ‘pep talk’ we managed to strive on the court and won the match 1710. Well done to Shivani Maru and Aditi Nijhawan who displayed some brilliant defensive skills throughout the match to secure our victory.

Our next game of the season was against DESC’s U18B team who we unfortunately lost to by one goal.

However, this game was probably the most important and fulfilling experience as we learnt a lot from the game and from our opposition, managing to improve our individual skills a lot; this game really did push all of us to our limits! A special mention to Connie Antia who played fantastically on court and who was essential in our perseverance throughout the game to have come so close to winning. Ariana Bakhshandeh also played some terrific netball, almost never missing a shot!

The Wellington U18A team proved to be challenging for our team as we barely managed to have enough people and the kit needed! In the end we came together as a team, borrowing socks from one and trainers from the other, to display some excellent netball that helped us really prove the brilliance of Dubai College netball. This match was again a particularly intense game as we managed to clinch a one goal win in the last few minutes of the game!

Bianca Pereira managed to keep her ground and displayed some superb attacking skills to quickly feed the ball into the circle.

Rhianna Foote and Beth Wright have been our key centre court players as each of them probably played an entire game as centre during our matches – nobody knows how they managed to do so in this heat, but they did! Rhianna, Aditi and Beth will be leaving for university this year and we wish them all the best and we will miss them next year!

Overall, we have had a tremendously successful season; especially considering this was our first year as a team together. I wish next year’s U18 up and coming netball teams every bit of success! A big thank you to Miss Clohesy for coaching us and motivating us to go even further.

Neha Narain 12GJ

Shamal 2014

175

Sports

U18D Netball

Back Row: Mrs E Adamson, Rhianna Foote, Bethany Wright, Kelley Day, Shivani Maru.

Front Row: Bianca Pereira, Neha Narain, Ariana Bakhshandeh.

During this season the U18D team has faced some very challenging opposition. Despite being defeated on numerous occasions, we certainly improved as the season went on and managed to gradually lessen the goal differences. Regardless of the recurrent losses, our team willingly participated in all of our matches and we were able to hone our skills against some strong A and B teams who arrived at DC with everything they had and a determination to

176

Shamal 2014

conquer.

In spite of the losses, every team member played with a smile on their face and no matter how great the loss all members made sure to have a laugh. This was certainly one of the most admirable qualities of our team: the ability to keep smiling and keep playing. As captain, and on behalf of the team, I would like to give a huge thank you to Mrs Bell, Mrs Adamson and Tracey Kelly for coping with our lack of players (I

believe we only played one game with a full team and substitute) and teaching us many new skills and tactics to improve our performance, as well as helping us to work together to produce a better team. We have all enjoyed the season and hope to continue playing and progressing in the future (you haven’t got rid of us just yet).

Olivia Dennehy 12BV

Sports

Desert Cubs 1

Desert Cubs 2

Back Row: Hannah Story, Eleanor Reid.

Middle Row: Mrs K. Bell, Jessica Pollock, Iona Stewart, Emma Kelly, Chloe Williams.

Front Row: Rachel De Sousa, Sophie Shams, Aleksandra Skroban.

The Desert Cubs 1 Netball Report The Desert Cubs 1 team this year has had an unbelievable season up at Sports City playing against teams we don’t play in school leagues, giving us a wider range of competition and a better knowledge of netball. After tough match play, we managed to finish virtually undefeated, improving not only as individual players but also, more importantly, as a team.

The team (consisting of Emma Kelly, Isla Stewart, Jess Pollock, Chloe Williams, Aleksandra Skroban, Sophie Shams, Ellie Reid, Hannah Story and I) dedicated ourselves to endless matches every Monday for the duration of just under two terms. The leagues consisted of three separate competitions: the youth league itself; the cup league (where every quarter counted as its own mini-match beginning each quarter from 0-0 again); and the handicapped round.

We began the first league with a tremendous start (being one the older teams in the league for once) and fought our way through tough matches in order to place first over-

Back Row: Emily Peck, Arya Flisher, Anushe Sheikh.

Middle Row: Mrs K. Bell, Natasha Nobbs, Jemma Shand, Caitlin Hunter.

Front Row: Maisie Harvey, Julia Mackay, Holly Rhys Maitland.

all and win the first league successfully. We then launched into the second round of the season which was considerably more difficult as it was essential we won every quarter of every game, starting each one with a 0-0 score, in order to win overall. After immense difficulty, we managed to achieve first place once again; well fought and well deserved. Lastly, we commenced into the final round of the season and consequently, the most difficult. We started each match behind our opponent by numerous goals and aimed to not only catch up these goals but also overtake in a space of 12 minutes! In some cases we were 10 goals behind our opponent! This proved very difficult but we fought through every minute of every match and managed to win the majority of our matches, sometimes by only 1 or 2 goals. Unfortunately, after hard fought final matches, we narrowly lost out on first and second by just 1 point behind Desert Cubs 2 and Repton, finishing third.

Overall, it was a terrific season and we would like to thank Mrs Bell and Tracey Kelly for coaching us through every moment on the court and keeping us focused throughout every match. Ultimately, this year’s season was filled with not only challenging

competition and match play, but also an amazing learning experience to grow and improve as netball players as well as create a family-like bond between each and every one of the team members. We have all become strangely close towards each other through all our time spent together and our weirdly unusual memories with one another. I look forward to playing yet another season with these girls next year and hope to continue to develop further and enhance our talent as netballers.

Rachel De Sousa 9AH

The Desert Cubs 2 Netball Report At the very beginning of the season, our team was thrown together and practically shoved straight onto the court, told only that we would be playing netball. We barely knew each other, let alone had played together as a team before. We were also a mix of year groups, proving to be yet another barrier between us; but that barrier quickly came down.

Despite how quickly we were put together as a team, we were just as quick to get into the tempo of Shamal 2014

177

Sports the league. Over the first couple of weeks, after only a few matches and training sessions, we not only had found the rhythm of our own and each other’s netball, but we had bonded as friends as well. I was especially proud to say that I knew everybody’s name by the end of the first week (a daunting task at first), but felt like I had known them for much longer. It’s amazing to look back now on those months of playing netball together and how close we have become both on the court and off.

If our netball season together taught us anything at all, it is that every one of us was unique, and all we needed to do to figure that out was to play netball. So from these past few months filled with mad netball with these crazy, awesome girls, I’ve learned a few things. I’ve learned that we can always rely on Arya Flisher’s long limbs to turn the ball back over to us, and that she is way too polite and personable to our opposition, whoever it may be. I’ve learned that Caitlin Hunter is an astonishingly good wing attack as far as defenders go, with a surprisingly good taste in sweaters (even when it’s not cold). I’ve learned that it’s impossible to know where Ellie on

the court at the present time because, of course, she is everywhere all at once. Maisie is always there if anyone needs her and is way too shy compared to the level of netball she plays at. Jemma Shand is an extremely competent netball player, and hustles it out no matter what position on the court she is playing in. Anushe Sheikh is an excellent, competitive defender, who is constantly doing everything (and more) a defender should do, perfectly, and has a unique way of subtle eye communication when she wants to pass the ball. I’ve learned that Emily Peck would own any position on the court thrown at her due to her long arms and fabulous, all-rounded talent. Holly Rhys Maitland is our fastest, most determined player on the team, who passes the ball like a rocket and is constantly sneaking up and flying out of nowhere to intercept. I’ve learned that, despite her attractive technique, Natasha Nobbs is an amazing shooter, moves like a pro, and was there for me so many times more that I was for her; I know we will all miss her like crazy as she pursues her dreams and netball career at a very, very lucky boarding school in the UK. So most of all, this netball season has taught us not to judge anybody, especially when you

Desert Cubs 3 Back Row: Mrs K Bell, Rae Mitchell, Ariyike Oyelola, Ellen Holmes, Kate Dodds.

Front Row: Georgina Peck, Katie Gardner, Sophie Scott, Maitha Price.

178

Shamal 2014

aren’t close to them, because it is impossible to even fathom what kind of person they are until you get to know them.

Though our friendship felt like so much more than the medals we were rewarded with, it still fills us with pride to see, imprinted on them, ‘Youth League, Runner Up’ on one, and ‘Youth League, Winner’ on the other. It was fantastic to have these medals presented to us in front of coaches, players and parents.

Massive thanks should go to our coaches Tracey Kelly and Mrs Bell.

Without them DC netball would not be what it is and we wouldn’t have been able to enjoy this league and develop as much as we did. Thank you!

Julia MacKay 9EA

The Desert Cubs 3 Netball Report At the beginning of this year lots of girls tried out to be in the netball Cubs teams. As there were so many the P.E. Department opened it up to allow four teams into the league; this shows how many more girls

Desert Cubs 4 Back Row: Mrs K Bell, Elena Beer, Kitty Davies, Inara Asaria, Nina Mul. Front Row: Hannah Burton, Katrina Webb, Kiyomi Hanson, Hannah Dawson.

Sports wanted to play netball! We all drove to Sports City every Monday night for one match in the first two terms and three shorter matches each Monday in the third term. Our team, Cubs 3, lost two of our good players to injuries mid-way through the first term and we had no subs. Due to this we might not have done as well as we may have done had they been with us all the way through, but we all tried our hardest!

All of the other teams that we played against were very good opponents and all were good sportswomen. The girls were very friendly on the courts but there was a lot of competitiveness too!

All of the coaches were supportive and encouraging and on our last day of Cubs, as our team didn’t win a medal, we all got lollipops! The practice for Cubs was on Sunday lunchtimes every week and was run by Tracey Kelly who was a very big help to our teams throughout the whole experience. All of the girls in Cubs really improved their netball skills and all the match play and practice has been a big help in our normal school netball teams.

Although we didn’t win any medals or trophies we did win some games but most of all we enjoyed the experience of playing so many more

matches and having the opportunity to play so much more netball. Well done Cubs 3 for all of your hard work and commitment and to Tracey Kelly and Mrs Bell for the coaching and organisation.

Katie Gardner 9CT

The Desert Cubs 4 Netball Report Cubs 4 enjoyed a tough yet successful season playing among older teams. Not only were we the Plate Winner in the U14 Youth League, the team finished the season playing a much higher standard of netball than the beginning; every team member ended the league a much more accomplished and confident netball player.

As expected, Cubs 4 consisted of mostly 12-year old Year 7 students.

During the six-month-long U14 league, we fought in numerous tough and demanding games against players older, taller and more experienced than us, testing our stamina, agility and character to the limit.

Inevitably, we had our ups and downs. We were elated when we squeezed a win against tough opponents; we felt deflated when the scores against us were in the twenties and thirties (thanks to Cubs 1 and Cubs 2). However, we learned from our defeats and viewed all games as learning opportunities.

Our defence was hardened and our offence sharpened (thanks again to Cubs 1 and Cubs 2!).

I believe that playing in Cubs made the team gel together, allowing us to understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses. With a tight weekly fixture, we had a sharp and steep learning curve.

The team benefited immensely from the patient coaching of Mrs Bell and Mrs Pruett who sacrificed their personal time to guide us throughout these months.

In summary, we had a great season of high-standard netball that is sure to come again next year. I am proud to be the captain of a team known for its toughness, perseverance and above all, positive attitude.

Katrina Webb 7LV

Shamal 2014

179

Sports

Desert Kittens

Back Row: Miss L Clohesy, Olivia Peacock, Charlotte Style, Sabrina Daga, Isabel Snaas.

Front Row: Sally Marr, Charlise Koch, Kitty Willson, Blanca Pamias Lopez, Zahra Kapasi.

The Desert Kittens Netball Report During the course of this year the U16B team has been representing Dubai College as the Desert Kittens up at the Sevens; we played once a week against school and women’s teams, starting at the end of September and playing until the middle of April. Thanks to last year’s Kittens, we started in Division Two for the seeding, however, the skill and experience of the women’s teams left us last in the seeding thus we were demoted to Division Three.

For the first round we played well keeping very close to the top of the division, however, we were still not ready to move up to Division Two and so continued to play on a Tuesday night. Despite this we managed to keep our heads high and in the second round really came together as a team, this was very clear by our performance and the fact that we finished top of Division Three in the second round; this meant we could now move up to Division Two. We were now playing on Wednesday nights and as we went for our first game with our heads held high and our hearts full of ambition, we soon learned the difficulty of the higher division. This was a hard league and was made up of mainly women’s teams and so we were not expected to do well, however, despite the odds we were able to stay quite close to 180

Shamal 2014

the other teams and by the end of the round we were a mere two points off beating one of the teams.

The season was a great experience.

It really brought us together as a team, and as well as gaining some experience and getting to play more often as a team we also earned a free manicure and pedicure! This was due to the Dubai Netball Leagues festive spirit as all teams were given the option to send in a netball and Christmas themed picture and the

best one would receive a prize, and thanks to the amazing props provided by all the team and the editing skills of Blanca Pamias, we won! Over all it was an incredible experience that would not have been possible without the dedication put in by all the netball coaches, so on behalf of the Kittens team huge thanks go to Mrs Bell, Tracey Kelly, Mrs Adamson, and Miss Clohesy.

Kitty Wilson 10JS

Sports

Desert Cats 1

Back Row: Mrs K Bell, Kiana Simpson, Alice Lovett, Caitlin Janus, Catriona Benson.

Front Row: Gabrielle Guscott, Jessica MacCormick, Mia Zickerman-White, Hanna Salem, Beatrice Turner.

The Desert Cats 1 Netball Report The netball this year for Cats 1 has been outstanding. Whilst at the beginning of the year many of us were anxious as to how well our team would do in comparison to the previous year, it was not our playing ability we had to fear.

Shockingly, every single person on our team has been injured at some point throughout the year, whether ankles, shin splints, or broken arms and knees. However much that may seem shocking, these injuries only come out of dedication to our sports and, despite these injuries, we have continued to play (once recovered, in most cases) and flourish as a team.

Having made it into Division One of the Dubai Ladies’ Netball league, not

only has our ability to co-operate as a team developed, but also our netball skills in general. Although we may have had some losses, the majority of our matches were a success and deserved. We have experienced easy wins and tough losses, playing against a range of different age groups and abilities, each testing us in different ways and each time proving to each of us how we do have outstanding talents in some shape or form. Some of our matches have been intense, one in particular being our tournament final against Nottingham Trent College from the UK, with our Desert Cats 1 team walking away with a marginal yet superb win of 10-9. Playing a number of schools from across the globe we have come to realise how the standard of our netball is not far

off some of the best sporting schools in the world, in particular the UK. A huge thanks has to go towards our two coaches, Mrs Bell and Tracey Kelly, for all your help and support, whether in training, or up at the Sevens ground. We could not have done it without you.

To the team: each and everyone of you has played amazingly the whole year and I owe you all a HUGE thank you for making it such a fun and successful year of netball! I wish you all the best of luck next year and hope you accomplish as much as we have this year: DESERT CATS HOO HA HA! Mia Zickerman-White 13TD

Shamal 2014

181

Sports

Desert Cats 2

Back Row: Miss L Clohesy, Helena Wick, Jenna Denton, Emma Britnor, Lucy Bell, Mrs E Adamson.

Front Row: Elizabeth Adamson, Natalia Adair, Clara Townsend, Iona Stewart, Maddie Freeman.

The Desert Cats 2 Netball Report This year Desert Cats 2 was made up of players over three year groups, bringing new people into the team.

With players from Years 11, 12 and 13 we all managed to fit into our positions, interacting as a team as well as playing to our individual strengths. After a few rounds of seeding tournaments we were placed in Division Three, where Cats 2 have been placed for the previous two years. Although we were originally hoping to have been placed in Division Two, we decided to try and finally win Division Three.

The highlight of the first round was undoubtedly winning against Aquarius, a team that we have

Desert Cats 3

Back Row: Miss L Clohesy, Corynn Foote, Ariana Bakhshandeh, Hannah Cassidy, Saskia Heyster, Emma Murray, Mrs E. Adamson.

Front Row: Natasha Lopez, Kristi Flanagan, Joanna Summers, Biddy Fogg, Kirsten Holtby, Beatrice Prosser.

182

Shamal 2014

previously lost to by one point every time. We then gradually overcame many of our other tough opponents to start Round 3 with hope of winning the division.

The beginning of 2014 brought a new method of netball training, waking up at 5:30 in the morning to do training before school. I can’t say our team were initially very excited about the new session, however, we all managed to get stuck in thanks to a bit of motivation from Mrs Bell and Tracey. This led us to the start of the final round in Division Three and some of our members’ last round of playing netball for Dubai College.

We fought as a team through every game, always managing to keep our lead. This resulted in us ending

the year undefeated, with the most points in our division.

Throughout this year we have all had our fair share of comedic moments, with Maddie Freeman falling to the floor, Lizzy Adamson leaving her shoes at the center pass and Clara Townsend running straight into a pole, definitely adding to the enjoyment of our games! Our thanks go to Mrs Bell, Tracey Kelly, Miss Clohesy and Mrs Adamson who have all dedicated their time and effort to coach us throughout the season, as well as the ‘long suffering’ parents who came out to cheer us on every week from the sidelines.

Clara Townsend 13GR

Sports The Desert Cats 3 Netball Report Cats 3 began this season as the underdogs; we had very few players, little to no experience playing with each other, and I think it’s fair to say no one expected us to win any of our matches. However, we beat the odds and on the glorious night of April 1st 2014, we annihilated Al Ain 15-0. Now, this may have been the only match we won all year, and it may have only been because the opposition didn’t turn up, but that didn’t stop us wearing our sleek, stylish, red netball dresses with pride. They say it’s about quality not quantity, right?

In all seriousness, Cats 3 may not have learnt a lot this year about what it means to win, but we certainly learnt volumes about what it means to be part of a team. Girls spanning four academic years, many hardly knowing each other, pulled together to support one another every single week; whether that meant playing in a new position for the first time, encouraging one another through

my grueling warm ups (sorry guys!) or simply sticking a bib on their team mate’s back. Whether we were two goals up or ten goals down, the screams from the sidelines to “Settle” or “Keep your heads up” never ceased (much helped my our amazing cheerleaders, the mums), and whether someone had played three quarters or one, the ‘three cheers’ and hand shaking at the end of a game never lost its sincerity or its enthusiasm. I’ve been playing netball at Dubai College for six years now, and I have never played in a team filled with such good sports(wo)manship.

Due to a variety of dress, shorts and hair band malfunctions, as well as countless dodgy passes and butter fingers, I’m sure we were not always the easiest team to coach, so a massive thank you to our ever persevering coach, Miss Clohesy.

Due to a combination of her vigorous training, and our pure sentimental bonding time, Cats 3 transformed unrecognizably from September to April; if the Dubai Netball League gave out points for effort (which sadly they don’t) we’d have finished in first place!

It has been a pleasure being the captain of this team, and I just hope next year’s Cats 3 team can keep up the legacy we’ve left behind. Whether winning, drawing or losing, Cats 3 2014 never lost their ‘fire in the belly’! Well done, girls, see you next year.

Jo Summers 12LH

Action at BSAK Invitational Netball Tournament

Success at the JESS Tournament for U14A & B Netball Squads

The coaches

Action at BSAK Invitational Netball Tournament

Receiving trophies at the DNL Prize Giving

Netball Gallery Dubai Ladies Netball League Div 3 Winners

Sophie Scott, receiving Player of the Tournament Award

Shamal 2014

183

Sports

U12A Girls’ Rounders

U12B Girls’ Rounders

Back Row: Mrs E Adamson, Maya Sondhi, Inara Asaria, Nina Mul, Disha Narain, Ella Verrall.

Front Row: Zainab Kashif, Katrina Webb, Hannah Burton, Sophie O’Keeffe, Kiyomi Hanson.

U12A Girls’ Rounders Report The A team have improved amazingly this season. At the start there were more dropped balls than there were caught ones! Now, there are hardly any at all and we seem to have understood that trying to throw the ball to a teammate at the other end of the DC field isn’t such a good idea!

Katrina’s encouraging words always managed to keep our heads up even in the worst of situations. Disha’s quick thinking and reliable catching on first base helped us get many people out before any rounders could be scored. Putting Kiyomi onto second base has ensured success and her teamwork with Katrina makes it very hard for the other teams to score that important half a rounder.

Sophie’s accurate throws are very reliable when we need the ball in quickly and we recently discovered her abilities as a bowler too. Our batting has been one of the main things to focus on. Maya’s ability to hit what seems like every single ball with such force, often makes up many of the rounders we score.

Nina’s caught pretty much all of the balls that came her way, Ella’s speed 184

Shamal 2014

Back Row: Miss L Clohesy, Lucy Graham, Elena Beer, Isobel Thompson, Casey Bell.

Front Row: Sophie Newberry, Anjali Menon, Charlotte Haigh, Hannah Dawson.

came in very handy and it’s always great to know that Zainab will be there backing up. Last but not least Inara can hit the ball a really long way but she’s also a really good fielder.

This season has been a great learning curve and culminated in a close win against WIS to lift the plate trophy.

I’d like to thank Mrs Adamson for coaching our team and taking us to our matches (and for putting up with our terrible singing on the bus). Also, thank you to Miss. Clohesy and Miss.

Jones for coaching us too.

Hannah Burton 7RV

U12B Girls’ Rounders Report The U12B rounders team has a verbous start to the season. In our first match, we felt a lot of pressure and we became fairly nervous. In the second half we calmed our nerves, and certainly performed better, although it was just a little too late.

However, the unlucky rough start did not bring us down, and the following week we were raring to go. The next match was a local affair against the highly rated DC C team! In an excit-

ing match, we emerged victorious having set a high score in the first innings.

Anjali Menon, consistently hit the ball far, and was able to score us several whole rounders, whilst our backstop, Kitty Davies’ accurate throwing to the appropriate bases was a key factor in our win.

The most recent match was played against the School of Research Science. We were the first team to bat and scored many great rounders due to big hitting, strong running between bases and capitalizing on misfielding by the opposition. When we fielded, we found that our opponents had quite a strong bat so we realized that we would have to really step up our game. We took a calculated risk and made our opponents bat again. We more than doubled their score and thus maximized our points haul.

Rounders this season has been hard work, but extremely enjoyable! The team showed real passion and commitment regularly practicing at lunch times, despite the heat, to improve their game. As individuals and as a team, we have learnt many new skills and discovered how much fun rounders can be.

Charlotte Haigh 7RG

Sports U12C Rounders’ Report The under 12C team began the season with an exceptional match against the School of Research Science. This match was most probably the easiest match in the season as we won 12.5 – 10. Our team did spectacularly in this match!

We then went on to play the B team of DC where, we unfortunately lost 6-20. Regardless of whether we won the match, we still gave it our best effort.

The week after that, we went to Repton to play their B team. In this match we were so close to winning.

They had chosen to save the innings, they had 13.5 rounders, and we had to then go again. We increased our score to 12 we only had a rounder and a half to go and then our balls finished. So in the end we lost 27-12.

Soon after the exams had finished we had our final match, which was against DESC. We were all worried as DESC had played the B team of DC who lost to them. We played well and everyone gave it their best but we lost the match 22-8.5.

This has been an amazing season even though we lost a few matches and we always learned from our mistakes. Like Denis Waitly famously said: “Success is almost totally dependent upon drive and

U12C Girls’ Rounders Back Row: Miss D Jones, Gabriella Rajpoot, Gabriella Crick Lewis, Shehza Shafeek, Nadia Shamsuddin, Kathryn Beck Front Row: Sophiya Joseph, Sara Ahmed, Mahe Samee, Aakanksha Deb.

persistence. The extra energy required to make another effort or try another approach is the secret of winning”.

I would like to give a special thanks to Ms. Jones for coaching us along the way and Ms. Clohesy who took us to Repton.

Mahé Samee 7JLF

U14A Girls’ Rounders Back Row: Emma Kelly, Eleanor Reid, Chloe Williams.

Middle Row: Miss L Clohesy, Maitha Price, Jessica Pollock, Rae Mitchell, Aleksandra Skroban.

Front Row: Devina Popley, Julia MacKay, Sophie Scott.

U14B Girls’ Rounders Back Row: Anna Maureta, Ayra Flisher, Gabriella Reynolds.

Middle Row: Miss L Clohesy, Rihana Al Nabhani, Mehek Vohra, Alysha Alimohamed, Natasha Nobbs.

Front Row: Rebecca Wilding, Sasha Verrall, Maisie Harvey.

Shamal 2014

185

Sports

U14A Rounders Report This season of rounders has been an amazing success. Our team emerged triumphant winner from both the Latifa tournament and the league overall. We arrived at every match (each one hotter than the last) with confidence, skill, quick thinking and our “DC rangers, unite!” cheer.

After some good fielding, batting, decision-making and whopping score-differences, we had reached the semi-finals to play against DBS, we found our win in the toss going horribly wrong. Fielding first, we let 8 ½ rounders slip by. Seeming an impossible feat at first, we batted next, scoring 10 ½ rounders. This boosted our confidence and fielding skills, resulting in winning the match 15 – 18 ½ . Going on to play in the finals about 30 seconds later, we found ourselves playing against Repton, whom we had previously beaten 24 – 5 ½ . Losing the toss (as usual) and batting first, we scored 8 rounders. Fielding next, we managed to hold their score down at 2. Using the rules to our advantage, we forced them to bat again and they scored another 2 ½ rounders. Because of the heat, we decided to end the final there and simply double our score; winning 16-4 ½. By the end of the 186

Shamal 2014

season, we had learned more than ever about the game thanks to our amazing coaches, but most of all, we all gained trust, confidence and friendship in each other, which made us unstoppable until the very last good ball.

Julia MacKay 9EA

U14B Rounders Report We were thrilled to begin our season with such a fun experience at Latifa.

We were successful in several games however did not qualify for the semifinals. This team has been an example of determination, with not a single loss damaging the spirit that we have shown throughout the season.

Our first game was against the skilled British school Hawthorn’s and despite our fantastic playing we had a close loss with only half a rounder separating our final scores. Our next game took us to EIS where we fought hard against their phenomenal playing. Unfortunately, their great hitting was too challenging for us and we came away with an undeserving 9-11 ½ . Our next few games ended with similar results, yet we swung back in the semifinals of the plate.

With our spectacular win we charged through the finals against our

previous opponents, where we could almost taste success. However, we lost by just half a rounder! This team has been brilliant and the solid friendships that have been built throughout the season is a testament to our character.

Not only this, but there have been many hilarious memories to take away.

For example, when Rebecca dived for a catch she missed by miles and instead resulted with the ball smacking into her face – what a laugh! Also our top batters Mehek and Alysha did not disappoint with their long range hitting, stunning the other team and granting us an uncountable amount of rounders. Alma’s banana muffins were the perfect touch even though Tash was convinced that they had worms inside them! Arya and Jemma’s deep fielding was certainly amusing (especially trying to stop the ball by kicking it), although they did prove to live up to the team expectations with a series of great catches. Thank you to Anna for continuously backing up second … Without Maisie and her lightning fast throws to fourth base we would never have made it so far. Lastly, thank you to the coaches. This season has been a unforgettable, enjoyable experience , and I’m sure everyone in our team would agree.

Sasha Verrall 8RS Rebecca Wilding 8RS

Sports

U14C Girls’ Rounders Back Row: Miss L Clohesy, Sophie Shamsuddin, Ellen Holmes, Ariyike Oyelola, Anushe Sheikh , Kate Dodds.

Front Row: Isla Stewart, Rachel De Sousa, Katie Gardner, Victoria Tode, Mina Jenkins.

U14C Rounders Report At the beginning of this term, there were rounder’s trials for girls who wanted to be in the teams and play matches most Wednesday evenings.

There are four teams who are in a league to play lots of matches throughout the term. Our team has had three matches so far and we will have our final rounder’s game at Cambridge next week. We have won two of our matches and lost one. It has been very hot during all of our matches and I’m very proud of all of the teams that have had to play in the heat, everybody has played very well throughout the whole season. I would like to say a big thank you to Mrs Bell who has been our coach and who has been with us during every match and all of the practices in the heat of the sun on Wednesday lunchtimes and also during the matches after school. After all of the drills and techniques we have done during the practices, the team improved dramatically compared to when we all first started playing together. Our team, of eleven people, have worked very well, enjoying great teamwork and I think we will do very well in the tournament next week. Well done to everybody in our team and the other teams too and I hope everybody will be in the rounder’s teams next year too!

Katie Gardner 9CT

U14D Girls’ Rounders Back Row: Annabelle Style, Lauren Johnstone, Cassia Middleton, Alma Zickerman.

Middle Row: Mrs E. Adamson, Polly Jones, Nitya Thawani, Hireena Hans, Francesca Hall.

Front Row: Holly Rhys Maitland, Naoise Morgan, Caitlin Theocharis.

Rounders U14D Report This season of rounders has been very intense and exciting. It was tough being a D team, and having to play only A teams and a B teams, but nevertheless we were quite successful.

Our first match together as a team was against Hawthorns School in England, which went well. This was not a league match, but we won, which gave us confidence for the upcoming matches. However, our first match was against Latifa, a school which excels at rounders.

The game was quite challenging and very close, and it ended up a draw, 11.5-11.5! The next match was against WSO, and it was a high scoring game; the final score being 23-15 to us. We continued to win by beating SRS 17-9.5.The same thing happened in this game as the Latifa game – only a couple of players (Lauren, Cassia and Polly) were still in for the last few bats so they had to do a lot of running!

Our victories in the league landed us a place in the semi-finals at Latifa School, where we played WSO A. We had already played their B team easily so we stood a chance.

However we were lacking Hireena, Caitlin and Nitya so we had no subs.

We did put up a strong fight but we threw away a lot of half rounders, and many of us got out early due to their strong catcher. We ended up losing, so we then played WSO B team in the 3rd/4th playoff, which we were very tired for and not playing our best, so we unfortunately lost that game too.

This left us 4th overall in the league.

We had a lot of laughs and fun along the way, like our games at Latifa with the loud, scary peacocks, and when a big hitter from WSO hit the ball on to the roof and got a rounder because it wouldn’t come down. We became closer as a team and we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. I am proud of the U14D’s as we have accomplished so much this season.

Also, I would like to thank Mrs Adamson on behalf of the team for being our encouraging coach and umpire. Well done everyone!

Naoise Morgan 8RS

Shamal 2014

187

Sports

U16A Girls’ Rounders Back Row: Kristen De Sousa, Kiana Simpson, Anneka Javat Middle Row: Miss L Clohesy, Maha Sheikh, Emma Murray, Katherine Jones.

Front Row: Iona Stewart, Natalia Adair, Erin Dawson.

Rounders U16A Report The Rounders season this year has been successful overall. We began the season with a match against DIS. The first innings went very well, however DIS picked up their game and although we won, it was very close, with a final score of 18-16, thanks to some excellent fielding from the team and some essential rounders scored.

Continuing on from this, we played JESS. After a great hit from one of their batters to start off the match, we knew we would have to really step up our game. We fielded very

well, and managed to stop them from scoring much more. We ended the game with a respectable score of 15 – 8. Everyone played fantastically, and there were some key catches as well as rounders that made the game.

Thanks go to Emma who stepped up to play backstop which she had never played before!

This meant that we were top of the pool table for the U16 and in to the finals. By now one of our injured players, Hayley, still had a soft cast on, yet she managed to play for us as backstop. The semi-finals were against SES. We managed to stop some key rounders from being

scored, meaning that we won the first innings 8-7. Unluckily, SES pulled through and beat us with a score of 11.5 – 10. Sending us in to the play-offs and therefore leaving us in 3rd place overall.

A big thank you goes to Miss Clohesy, Mrs Adamson and Mrs Bell for umpiring as well as coaching our matches. The team should be very proud of themselves, as everyone played exceptionally. I’d also like to wish one of our best players Hayley, good luck in her new school in America, she will be sadly missed!

has had a triumphant season!

Initially, as last year we were not the strongest team in Dubai, our

goals were set low as within our pool we had two of the toughest teams from the league last year and then

Natalia Adair 11MB

U16B Girls’ Rounders Back Row: Charlotte Style, Kitty Willson, Sabrina Daga, Isabel Snaas.

Middle Row: Miss L Clohesy, Zahra Kapasi, Kristi Flanagan, Sally Marr, Charlise Koch, Corynn Foote.

Front Row: Alexandra Clements, Olivia Peacock, Blanca Pamias Lopez.

Rounders U16B Report This year the U16B rounder’s team 188

Shamal 2014

Sports our first game being against one of them, English College A team.

During the game the team played with such confidence and skill that we came out of the first innings leading by over half of their score, but in the end we defeated them by an impressive score of 16-6½. This way of play carried on through all of our pool matches where we did not have to finish the final innings as we were beating every team by a lot, the scores against EISJ was 24-6½ and for GWA it was 33-9. Throughout

the pool games the girls played terrifically and really deserved to come out on top. We were then put into a semi-final where we played against DESC and again, the tradition continued of us not having to play our final batting innings as we had beaten them by a score of 21-7½ and thus we were placed in the final against SES who had emerged out of nowhere this year but we were very weary of them as they had just beaten our very strong A team. Through a very intense and

close match, in this game both teams were a force to be reckoned with however within our final innings of the match, Sharjah narrowly beat us by 1 rounder making the score 15-14 thus meaning that the U16B team came out 2nd in the league. It was a great season for us girls and we’re all excited to take on the challenge of coming out 1st in the league next year!

On the 24th of March we met our biggest competition yet, DBS. Unfortunately, we weren’t enough of a match for them and we crashed out of the semi finals meaning we finished a well-deserved fourth position in the DASSA rounders league.

All this success – or perhaps lack of – could not have been possible without the inherent efforts from Miss Clohesy, umpiring the majority of the games and then Mrs Adamson for managing to cheer us all up when we were down and pull us through (even when she didn’t intend to!).

The now U18A team is comprised of girls who I have been friends with for all of my DC career and I know now that I can quite firmly say that we have some of the most talented rounders players in Dubai.

U18B Rounders Report

Olivia Peacock 10SM

U18A Girls’ Rounders Back Row: Miss L Clohesy, Rhianna Foote, Clara Townsend, Catriona Benson, Gabrielle Guscott, Hanna Salem.

Front Row: Jessica MacCormick, Biddy Fogg, Madelaine Freeman, Tanvi Bhati, Pritika Mehra.

U18A Rounders Report This year’s rounders season got off to the best start any of us could have asked for. We stormed through the first league rounds leaving JESS, Cambridge and Wellington in our wake with a measly 9 rounders between them compared to our unstoppable 43. These successes placed us into the Cup semi finals.

Great hits from Clara Townsend and Hanna Salem made the oppositions fielding incredibly difficult and the strong bowls from Pritika were no match for their strongest of batters so much so that we had to have an amazing backstop, Biddy to catch all the balls the opposition couldn’t get a bat to. Jess, Rhianna, Tanvi, Gabi, and Maddie filled the field making it impossible for balls to get past the diamond and when they did, Catriona was always there making some amazing catches on second.

The U18B rounders team started the season with a bang with a 12-8.5 win against Dubai English Speaking College. However, unfortunately lost games following that, although spirits were always high within the team! I’d like to thank our coach Miss Clohesy for always sticking by us as a team and giving us constant support throughout.

Emma Britnor 13PF

Honor Nicholl 13CH

Shamal 2014

189

Sports

U18B Girls’ Rounders Back Row: Miss L Clohesy, Kristina Serdyuk, Elizabeth Adamson, Saskia Heyster, Jenna Denton, Sarah Moore.

Front Row: Aditi Nijhawan, Joanna Summers, Emma Britnor, Bethany Wright, Bianca Pereira.

U13 Cricket

Back Row: Oliver Newton, Siddhant D’Souza, Vedant Mathur, Aryan Mehta, James Dare, Krish Gupta.

Middle Row: Clint Berkenshaw, Jeremy Pontefract, Mustafa Lone, Jacques Holmes, Wajih Zaman, Shrey Chawla, Rishi Barve, Vishal Ayyagari.

Front Row: Ross Vintcent, Ali Tabba, Sahil Mordani, George Gunn, Meeran Fehmi.

U13 Cricket Report At DC we have a great amount of cricketing exposure. Our coaches make sure we at least get 15 fixtures a season along with a tapeball season to round off the year. The first two terms of the year are packed with hard ball cricket matches and tournaments. We also have two cricket training sessions a week with our coach Clint training us. This season has been very special seeing the talent of the Year 7 and their positive attitude towards cricket.

We had our ups and downs as any sporting team has but we fought 190

Shamal 2014

through it and never gave up.

As the season progressed and we became more familiar with everyone’s strengths we started playing with more cohesion. Our skills continued to develop and our coach Clint helped the Year 7’s feel comfortable being part of the team. Our first terms fixtures were pleasing as we beat Repton on a couple of occasions and came close to clinching another win at Repton’s home ground. We also defeated English College by big margins in our fixtures against them.

This year we also participated in a Repton Cricket Festival with all

members of the A and B squads producing strong individual and team performances. In the last two years I’ve been part of many victories and losses. No matter how we faired in any match our DC spirit was never lacking. I am very grateful for these two years filled with opportunities, exposure and coaches willing to enhance our cricketing ability. Its been a great experience and I’d like to say that Clint and our squad have been absolutely brilliant! Good luck Year 7’s and keep up the DC tradition boys!

Sahil Mordani 8DV

Sports

U15 Cricket

Back Row: Rahul Samadhin, Adam Osborne, Barney Brett, Ali Malik.

Middle Row: Clint Berkenshaw, Ali Kapasi, Vikram Jadeja, Omar Malik, Devansh Popley, Jason Daswani.

Front Row: Kabir Nanda, Sid Jhurani, Iysa Qureshi.

U15 Cricket Report Dubai College cricket enjoyed one of the most successful seasons ever played at the school, especially at intermediate level. This is partly due to the very talented crop of players that, collectively, made up the under 15 team, as well as the continued support and belief of the staff involved with the sport in the PE Department.

Our season kicked off in early October when we played a touring side, Buckinghamshire County from the UK. Being put in to chase, a respectable bowling performance was backed up by a poor batting card, resulting in a loss by a close margin. Shahmeer Chaudhary, our opening bowler, had standout figures of 3-25 in 5 overs, which gave us a fighting chance in the game however unfortunately we came out on the losing side.

Soon after our Bucks game, we entered an indoor tournament that took place at the ICC Academy against different schools from the UAE. We hit form in this tournament winning all four of our group games. Jason Daswani, a usual bowler, surprisingly excelled with the bat and consistent bowling

performances from our off-spinner Omar Malik helped us dominate our group. We unfortunately narrowly lost our semi-final match and came out 3rd place.

From one tournament to the other – we entered the Repton Super Sixes tournament, a competitive but friendly platform for schools to show off their skills. Once more, we excelled at the group stage winning all our group games.

Wicketkeeper Devansh Popley stood out of the rest with outstanding batting performances. Once again, unfortunately, hosts Repton got the better of us in the semi-finals, and they went on to win the tournament.

Our next encounter was against another touring side – Cottesmore School. Winning the toss and batting first our top 3 batsman, Vikram Jadeja, Raahim Zafrullah and Sid Jhurani all posted scored of 30 and above, resulting in an easy victory for our side.

Fresh from our victory against Cottesmore, the side went into what was to be the most entertaining match against rivals Repton School of the season. Dubai College won the toss and batted first. With opening batsman wicket keeper Devansh Popley’s wicket falling early, Vikram

Jadeja and Sid Jhurani got together in the middle and with destructive and effective stroke play, tore apart the Repton bowling attack. Our run rate rose to 9 an over and ending on a massive total of 172, Vikram and Sid showed what DC was capable of with scored of 58 off 41 and 69* off 38 respectively. Despite a good fight from the Repton batsmen, the twin brothers, Ali and Omar Malik’s bowling performances sealed a convincing victory for Dubai College.

To conclude our season we played a double header against the DESC 1st XI and Maxtalent Academy, where scores of 46 and 48 from captain Sid, figures off 3-10 from Adam Osborne and an impeccable fielding effort let to convincing victories in both.

Special mention to Jeremy Clark, who stunned us all with his quick learning of the game and sensational catch vs Repton.

I would like to thank Mr Sparks and Mr Berkenshaw for all their commitment and support to intermediate cricket at DC, and sincerely hope they carry the success on to next year’s Under 15s.

Sid Jhurani 10JS U15 Captain

Shamal 2014

191

Sports

1st XI Cricket

Back Row: Adil Saldanha, John Devitt, Vikram Jadeja.

Middle Row: Clint Berkenshaw, Adil Javat, Rohan Gupta, Zorez Haider, Brendan D’Souza, Mr P Sparks.

Front Row: Ahad Basrai, Sa’ad Iqbal, Rehan Ayrton, Sid Jhurani, Abhishek Nair.

1st XI Cricket Report This was yet another successful season for the Dubai College 1st XI cricket team. The key behind the team’s success this season was our ability to play as a cohesive unit, with several members of the team stepping up at crucial stages to turn our fortunes around. We managed to remain unbeaten against all international teams this season; a commendable achievement for a team with only two ‘senior’ players.

Although our campaign started off on a dispiriting note with two losses against Repton and Jumeirah College, the boys were able to quickly find form and won the next 8 matches on the trot. This included victories against Jumeirah College in the Kassim Cup, Dubai English Speaking College (DESC), Repton, British School Al Khubairat, Kings Grammar (UK) and the Loose Cannons (Men’s team).

Unfortunately, in spite of beating the tournament winners, we only managed 3rd place in the annual Arch Trophy Cricket Tournament in which we played with a combined DC- Repton team.

There were a few individual performances that deserve special mention. Brendan D’Souza was in 192

Shamal 2014

great form throughout the season with the bat and played many matchwinning innings including his 91 in the Kassim Cup. Vikram Jadeja, one of the team’s most promising young talents, was unbeaten on 70 against the Kings Grammar School (UK).

Sid Jhurani contributed significantly with both the ball and the bat, picking up crucial wickets and accelerating the run rate towards the end of the innings. John Devitt, DC’s most economical bowler was also definitely DC’s most unlucky bowler and deserved to pick up more wickets for his opening spells. Sa’ad Iqbal was not only brilliant with the ball but also our ‘go-to’ man when we needed a breakthrough this season.

Adil Saldanha played some crucial knocks with the bat with a few handy 40s and also with his 4-wicket hauls.

Other notable performances wereRohan Gupta for his 40s and Rehan Ayrton for his 60* and for taking the most wickets this season and Ahad Basrai for his wicket keeping prowess behind the stumps.

I would like to thank every single member of the team for the passion and dedication that was consistently demonstrated throughout the season both in matches and in the net sessions. I would like to thank Mr Barrington for taking the time to organise all our fixtures this season.

I would like to thank Mr Woolley on an individual note for dedicating his time towards coaching me over the years and for giving me the opportunity to play for the senior team very early on. I would also like to thank Clint on behalf of the entire team for all he has done for us over the past two years. Your passion and love for the game is infectious and what you have managed to achieve in such a short space of time with such a young team is truly phenomenal.

I would lastly like to thank DC for honing my skills and giving me the opportunity to play against so many top teams. I have made some amazing friends over the years and I will sorely miss the ‘banter’ on the bus. I wish next year’s squad the very best of luck and am certain that the team will continue to achieve more successes.

Rehan Ayrton 13GC

Alumni

London ‘Silver Alumni Reunion Anniversary’

On Saturday, 30th November, former students and teachers (past and present) attended the annual UK reunion at the Slug & Lettuce, Leicester Square, London. There was a particularly strong contingent from the “class of 1993”, who made a point of flying in from as far afield as California, Beirut, Norway, Washington DC, Dubai and Switzerland, amongst other places, in order to celebrate together the fact that it’s been 20 years since they finished at DC. The large number of alumni spanned the decades with representatives from the early 1980s as well as from those who left last summer. Ex students, teachers and admin staff all seemed to have a remarkably good time – if it was only trying to recognize individual faces after all these years. A special thank you to Bernie O’Connor and Ian Brookes, two teachers who left in 1989, for their unstinting support of this event.

The passion and pride connected with DC is evidently very much alive and kicking judging by the superb reaction to the news that the current U18 Rugby squad - that very afternoon – three thousand miles from Leicester Square had won the U18 Dubai 7s Rugby Championship for the third year running.

There seems to be some interest in establishing an ‘up north’ alumni event and we will investigate the possibility of holding an additional event ‘north of the Watford Gap’ in the foreseeable future.

The Headmaster briefly addressed the alumni about developments at the College and provided some suggestions as to how UK based alumni can assist both present and past students. We are especially interested in providing summer Internship or work programmes for our Sixth Form students who return to the UK during the summer holiday. In

addition we are keen to link our younger alumni, who are completing their final year of their degree, with alumni who are ‘seasoned veterans’ in the field the younger alumni are attempting to break in to. A brief email or chat providing some suggestions and help would go a long way in the current challenging employment market. If any UK alumni are willing to help in the above areas please contact headassist@ dubaicollege.org By the way, the ‘Headmaster’ (who at heart remains a History teacher) was delighted to meet with so many of his exstudents – thank you!

As always a huge thank you to Mike Deelman for organising this highly successful event.

Peter Hill

Shamal 2014

193

Alumni After a very successful London ReUnion in November it was time for the local UAE based alumni social this term. The event took place at the Rivington Grill, Madinat Jumeirah in January and attracted Alumni from across the years from the 1990s to the 2000s. It was fantastic to see so many teachers supporting the event also. The Headmaster interrupted the reminiscing to briefly address the assembled group. He thanked the Alumni for their continued support and outlined some of the plans for the future and the role the Alumni could play in facilitating this.

Alumni Dubai Reunion

194

Shamal 2014

Alumni On the evening of opportunity to learn Wednesday 5th a little about us A February thirtyand what we were Business two members of planning to do in the Sixth Form the future.

Focused suited up and By the time we Dinner headed to Flow were invited into Kitchen at The the dining hall our Fairmont Hotel, Palm conversations had Jumeirah to have a 3 course become a lot less awkward and meal with guests of the the chat was really flowing, school, many of which were the alumni in particular were DC alumni. The purpose eager to hear about what of this dinner was for us to was new at Dubai College network with the guests, and to see if they could still who were all professionals in remember anyone! Before their chosen fields, to try and we started our dinner we learn a bit more about what were given a speech by the our lives might be like when Head of Human Resources we graduate from university. for Standard Chartered Bank Prior to the event we had all and she gave us an insight into signed up to be seated on what an employer is looking one of 5 tables (Economics, for when they are hiring Finance, Engineering, Law, someone, and pointed out Entrepreneurship) depending some small things we could on what we were planning all do to make our future CVs on studying at university. As stand out. we all arrived we met outside Throughout the dinner the hall we would be eating we talked about a whole in and introduced ourselves range of things and asked to the guests and found out them a ridiculous number a little about them and what of questions. We learnt of they do; likewise they took the the guests’ best and worst

decisions, their biggest achievements and regrets, whether they enjoyed what they did now, and many many other things.

At the end of the night we thanked everyone for giving up their time and coming down. Everyone left that night having learned something, for some people what they had heard made them more certain that their chosen career path was for them, for others it made them think that they might not enjoy the career as much as they first thought. One thing is for certain though, the food was delicious and we all had a great time that night and were truly thankful to everyone that came and for all of the organisation that had gone into it.

Conor Cassidy 13PF

Shamal 2014

195

Alumni Past versus Present

On the penultimate day of the Winter Term, DC enjoyed an afternoon of fierce, festive sporting competition between the Past pupils (or the sporting ghosts of DC past) and the current crop of the senior school sporting elite.

The afternoon got off to a predictable start with the ‘Past’ Water polo players providing a flawless example of how to assault somebody whilst swimming. Their skill and ferocity were far too intense for our current crop of swimming pool dwellers. However, the same was not true of the older basketball and netball squads who lacked the cardiovascular prowess to keep up with our current group of players.

On the field, a mighty battle commenced between yesterday’s rugby greats and the current crop of Dubai 7s winners. Ultimately, ‘brawn’ beat ‘brains’ into submission and the current squad were dispensed off in bruising fashion. The current 1st XI continued the fine tradition of running the ‘past’ legends off the park and were far too slick for the older team that appeared to lack fitness, formation,

196

Shamal 2014

structure, discipline and game ‘know how’!

The final event of the day was the festive barbecue which provided an opportunity for both groups to socialise and for the ‘fledgling alumni’ to re-live and over inflate past sporting glories!

A huge thanks must go to FDC who generously provided the barbecue for the end of day celebration.

Mr A Jones

Friends of Dubai College

Year 7 Fun Day

Although the Year 7 Fun Day was held on the inauspicious Friday, 13 December, it did not put off the 350 students and family members who turned up for the hotly contested interclass competition. What a fun-loaded, sundrenched and soaking day they all had.

The unnerving date did nothing to dampen the competitive spirit of the participants who wore shirts of a designated colour according to their class - 7RG (white), 7RV (blue), 7AC (red), 7LF (yellow), 7LV (green) and 7LC (black). All competition was keenly fought over, whether it was the three-legged race, passing elongated balloons with knees, carrying passengers on wooden benches or running relays on a soapy tarpaulin.

The noise from the eager, zealous and excited participants regularly drowned out instructions given by compere Andy who had to muscle all his vocal prowess to calm competitors. Unsurprisingly all teams tried as hard as they could to come first and their competitive streak came out in full force.

The competition finished with a fun-for-all slipping and sliding on the soapy tarpaulin, leaving all students drenched on their way home.

After six rounds of team games, 7RG beat the other classes to clinch the trophy, followed closely by 7RV. Thanks must go to all the class liaisons for their strategic planning which helped draw out large crowds from the classes and devise tactics for each game.

Class 7LV had the most participants among all classes with 65 students and family members in total. The success of the Fun Day also came from the combined efforts of FDC members, the PE department and the school’s support staff. Special thanks goes to Ashlee and her team who provided food and beverages to all participants throughout the day.

Shamal 2014

197

Friends of Dubai College Thanks to the ongoing cooperation Year 8 between Fun Day the FDC and the school, 75 Year 8 students were treated to an enjoyable afternoon of fun sports, a BBQ feast, lots of ice-cream and, surprisingly,

198

Shamal 2014

some dangling doughnuts.

Most Y8 students had been to the Y7 Fun Day last year but this time, to their delight, they were not accompanied by parents. And what a difference it made when parent-induced inhibitions were gone.

Students’ competitiveness was most apparent at tug-ofwar as the relentless tugging of the enthusiastic Y8s broke

the rope, ending the game abruptly. Soon after, their energy was channeled to the slippery-run relay on a soapy water-drenched tarpaulin, with water-balloon-missiles flying across all lanes. In the last game, students shed all fears of embarrassment and chewed on dangling doughnuts on a string without using their hands.

Needless to say, the game provided numerous bouts of laughter and photos that will be sure to trigger more chuckles. In the end, 8WD claimed the title as the winner of the Year 8 Fun Day.

Friends of Dubai College

Im a DC Student... GET ME OUT OF HERE On 1st May, a Thursday afternoon, Year 9 following Fun Day a lunch of pizza and shwarmas, the horn was blasted and 9 teams of Year 9 Students scattered over the school to 9 different locations where they were to compete in games of strategy, stamina, testing your senses, and brain puzzles. The FDC had arranged something for everyone.

The second blast of the horn sent them scattering again, each game timed, they were up against the clock.

After the games were completed it was back to the canteen for plenty of water and donuts to await the results.

The winning team scoring 37 points was 9CT, the losing team, 9EA boys, had the humility of serving the winners their prize the following Sunday; pizza in the canteen!

In the end all teams were very close, only a few points between them.

It was a hot day but very exciting, fast and a real giggle.

To see the students blindfolded in the blind taste and blind touch games, especially when they took their blindfolds off to find Mr Hill staring at them, was hilarious, the Marble and Pipe game presented a real

test of strategy and team work, the 'Bin Bag Tennis' brought out a whole array of different ways of getting balls between two bin bags without touching them! The Students were an inspiration to the College!

We were so fortunate to have the help of volunteer 6th Formers who had taken time from their important studying to escort the teams and keep them on track. They also provided some amusement along the way!

Many thanks to all of the parents, teachers, FDC members and 6th Formers who helped out at the event. We couldn't have done it without you.

Thinking caps on for the Year 10 event next year!

Year 9 Event FDC Sub-Committee

Shamal 2014

199

Friends of Dubai College the key sponsors of the event.

The Annual Parents/Teachers Social Evening

Against a backdrop of a starlit sky and the luminescent Dubai skyline, over 200 participants at the annual parents/teachers social evening gathered at a poolside terrace and enjoyed a night of wonderful scenery, relaxing atmosphere, a delicious international cuisine and dance music by DJ Shayne.

This year’s parent/teacher evening, held on 25th April at JW Marriott Marquis Hotel, was well attended by parents, new parents of the upcoming Year 7 students, teachers, Board of Governors and VIPs from Emirates Airlines, one of

Before the dinner and dance, guests were treated to a wide selection of canapés, followed by speeches from the chairlady of Friends of Dubai College Mona Gulamhusein, and Peter Hill, Headmaster of the College, who highlighted the school’s successes including the sports results this year, a tradition to be further enhanced by installing a pavilion on the sports field.

Mr Hill officially announced the initiation of the pavilion and marked the beginning of this eagerly-awaited project with a cake-cutting.

200 Shamal 2014

We look forward to organizing next year’s social event for the community of Dubai College once again. See you all there!

FDC Committee

All monies raised from this event will be used to help fund Project Pavilion. The evening would not have been successful without the support of the main sponsors – Emirates Airlines (who donated 2 business tickets), African & Eastern (who subsidised the evening’s beverages) and Anatara Hotel (who donated a two-night

FDC’s social calendar for 2013-2014 kicked off on 9th October with a laughter-filled family quiz night that saw the auditorium heave with 22 aspiring quiz teams totalling over 140 contestants. Parents, teachers and students competed fiercely over five rounds of brain-teasing questions including a hilarious round of “headless celebrities” and numerous “soft-drink blind tasting” and chocolate-tasting challenges.

The fun evening culminated in the triumph of the only teachers’ team – the deftly alliterated “Ken Dodd’s Dad’s Dog’s Dead!” – taking home the trophy with a whopping 46.5 points. Coming second and losing by only half a point to the teachers’ team was an all-students’ team

FDC Family Quiz Night

stay for four people). All these donations were among the prizes for the raffle held on the night.

“The Secret Seven” --comprising mostly of senior year students. Ironically, team “Mastermind” unceremoniously scooped the loser award after the minds in the team mastered only a dismal 28 points.

“It was a fantastic event that brought together the Dubai College community. I am delighted that FDC’s first social event this year was well attended by parents, teachers and students alike,” said Mona Gulamhusein, the newly-elected Chairlady of FDC. She said the high turnout was a credit to the FDC’s increased use of emails and the DC Communicator to share information within the DC community. If you would like to challenge the teachers from their current tenuous grip on the Quiz Cup, make sure you check the DC Communicator or your emails for our next Quiz Night.

FDC Committee

Visitors Joanna Hall, Diet and Movement Specialist introduces the Sixth Form to Walkactive.

Adrian Hayes, record-breaking polar explorer & adventurer.

Visitors Anne Woolley, Mr Woolley’s mummy, talks to the Sixth Form on her experiences during ‘Operation Babylift’ associated with the Vietnam War.

Geoff Shewry Executive Director of Transguard Themis.

Samuel Hayes, Vice Consul, British Embassy Dubai.

The Red Arrows’ Pilots James and Ben.

Oliver Burkeman , Guardian Columnist.

Navin Valrani, CEO at Al Shirawi and DC Alumni.

Image by Senior Aircraftsman (SAC) Adam Fletcher RAF

Shamal 2014

201

Visitors

Bradfield College Millfield Prep

Caterham Prep

Marlborough College

Visitors

Millfield Prep Ysgol Dewi Sant

Visiting Sports Teams Bedfordshire CCC Bedford School Bradfield College

Brighton College

Caldicott Prep Caterham Prep Cottesmore School Hawthorns School King’s School, Grantham Lady Manners School Millfield Prep Millfield Skillz Academy SKRCC St Dunstan’s College Trent College Ysgol Dewi Sant Wellingborough School 202 Shamal 2014

DC versus Trent College

St Dunstan’s College

Marlborough College and DC Netball Captains

Lizzy Adamson and Ysgol Dewi Sant U18 Netball Captain

Awards and Results

Examination Results

GCSE Advanced Level No. of Candidates 106 No. of Candidates 80 2004 A* and A passes 71.3% A and B passes 72.4% A* to C passes 98.2% A to E passes 100% No. of Candidates 106 No. of Candidates 93 2005 A* and A passes 62.6% A and B passes 82.8% A* to C passes 99.6% A to E passes 99.8% No. of Candidates 108 No. of Candidates 87 2006 A* and A passes 77.5% A and B passes 84.4% A* to C passes 99.3% A to E passes 100%

No. of Candidates 111 No. of Candidates 91 2007 A* and A passes 78% A and B passes 82.3% A* to C passes 99.8% A to E passes 100% No. of Candidates 112 No. of Candidates 100 2008 A* and A passes 80.5% A and B passes 85.8% A* to C passes 99.6% A to E passes 100% No. of Candidates 113 No. of Candidates 99 2009 A* to A passes 83.1% A and B passes 89.7% A* to C passes 99.6% A to E passes 100% No. of Candidates 108 No. of Candidates 99 2010 A* to A passes 85.6% A* to A passes 63.8% A to C passes 99.7% A to E passes 99.7% No. of Candidates 108 No. of Candidates 97 2011 A* to A passes 82.2% A* to A passes 58.8% A to C passes 99.5% A to E passes 99.7% No. of Candidates 112 No. of Candidates 101 2012 A* to A passes 86.7% A* to A passes 68.6% A to C passes 99.6% A to E passes 99.4% No. of Candidates 227 No. of Candidates 134 2013 A* to A passes 88.3% A* to A passes 74.4%

A to C passes 99.7% A to E passes 100%

Shamal 2014 203

Awards and Results During the evening of 9th June we celebrated the fantastic achievements of our Y9 students in gaining their CASA Certificate. The award acknowledges and celebrates the CASA the students have made to community and Presentation contribution social developments over the course of the year. As well Evening as devoting their time and energy to worthy causes it also has hopefully developed and embedded a range of skills and interests which will remain of relevance throughout their lives.

The evening was given additional significance by the fact that it was Mr Evan’s last such event as Head of Lower School. In addition we must thank the excellent musical input of Ruby Ebdon, Rae Mitchell and Vanessa Sumners and the passionate and heartfelt speech from Mr Merrigan of our Board of Governors.

Photos: Bethany Reid

204 Shamal 2014

Awards and Results

GCSE Presentation Evening

The annual GCSE Certificate Presentation Evening took place on Monday 3rd March. It was a wonderful opportunity to congratulate our Year 12 students on their fantastic GCSE achievements last summer. Students and proud parents were entertained by the superb musical talent of Tania Valrani, Oliver French and Joe Shams and also the insightful contributions from Perle Battistella, Drishti Masand and Rohan Padmanabhan.

Our thanks to Mr Edward Quinlan, vicechairman of the Board of Governors, for presenting the certificates.

Shamal 2014 205

Awards and Results

Prize Giving and Founder’s Day Thursday, May 8th 2014

Guest of Honour

Captain Richard Higgins RN OBE Bursar Dubai College

Junior (Years 7-9) Subject Prizes Subjects

Winners

Special Mentions

Arabic

Josh Kotecha 9TJ

Yasmeen Mohajer 9EA Isabella Lahdo 9TJ

Art

Janne Meijer 9EA

Luca Sackeyfio 9TJ Annabel Clifford 9AY

Design & Technology Annabel Clifford 9AY

Sophie Rhys-Maitland 9EA Angus Benstead 9TJ

Drama

Angus Benstead 9TJ

Katie Mewawalla 7RG Luca Parkinson 9AY

English

Aleksandra Skroban 9RJ

Kimberly Miranda 9AY Harry Sheedy 9NL

French

Ciara Rehman 9AH

Isabella Lahdo 9TJ Arnav Lahiry 9CT

Geography

Josh Kotecha 9TJ

Ellie O’Keefe 9AY Mikaeel Habib 9AH

History

Angus Thompson 9CT

Oh Jun Kweon 9CT James Till-Nehme 9EA Ellen Holmes 9CT

ICT Islamic Education

Katie Gardner 9CT

Aleksandra Skroban 9TJ

Mikaeel Habib 9AH

Iman Shaikh 9AH Maha Masud 9TJ

Quran Recitation

Safwan Malik 9EA

Iysa Qureshi 9NL

Mathematics

Oh Jun Kweon 9CT

Josh Kotecha 9TJ Murtaza Javed 9EA

Music

Angus Thompson 9CT

Sophie Shams 9CT Vanessa Sumners 9TJ

P.E. (Girls)

Julia MacKay 9EA

Sophie Shams 9CT Chloe Williams 9CT

P.E (Boys)

Thomas Williams 9NL

Josh Armstrong 9AY Hasan Malik 9AY

Science

Tom Jarvis 7LC

Navika Agrawal 8PS

Spanish

Mikaeel Habib 9AH

Mina Jenkins 9NL Malaika Nanda 9EA

206 Shamal 2014

Awards and Results

Shamal 2014

207

Awards and Results

Senior (Years 10-13) Subject Prizes Subjects

Winners

Special Mentions

Arabic

Raahim Zafrullah 11DF

Ciaran Brady 11MB Albert Shehata 11MB

Art

Mark Gavigan 13BV

Azmina Gulamhusein 13VH Kathryn King 13BV

Biology

Dorottya Nagy 13TD

Linda Bieleski 13GL Ziyan Kassam 13HB

Business Studies

Alesha Gulamhusein 11DF

Lucy Bell 11DF

Chemistry

Adam Andreani 13SO

Dorottya Nagy 13TD Saima Seer 13SO

Design & Technology Sandip Roy 11BC

Natalia Adair 11MB Rohan Padmanabhan 12TD

Drama

James Lemon 10EJ

Siddhant Jhurani 10JS Ethan Ebdon 11MB

Economics

Lakshay Badlani 13VH

Mark Gavigan 13BV

English

Antara Jaidev 11MB

Jas Singh 11MB Tom Murphy 11AD Tom Webster 11AD

French

Bea Prosser 11DF

Bethany Wright 13GJ Sandip Roy 11BC

Geography

Jenna Denton 12VH

Cameron Walker 13GJ Lora D’Costa 13GJ

History

Pritika Mehra 13JM

Daniel Wakefield 13CH Taimur Samee 13SO

ICT

Lakshay Badlani 13VH

Conor Merrigan 13SO Emma Britnor 13PF

Islamic Education

Urooj Ali 12PF

Alidad Chassebi 12GC Nermeen Islam 12PF

Quran Recitation

Mohammed Hansrod 12JM

Inaam Mian 12BV

Mathematics

Charlie Morfee 13GC

James Ozden 13DM Sarah Moore 13LH

Further Mathematics Dorottya Nagy 13TD

Oh Hyun Kweon 13IJ Joe Singh 12IJ

Music

Bethany Wright 13GJ

Oliver French 12DM Cameron MacKay 11AD

P.E.

Lewis Streak 13HB

Physics

Pritika Mehra 13JM

Adam Andreani 13SO

Spanish

Stefanie Watt 13SO

Ryan Evans 11BC Margherita Vianello 11MB

208 Shamal 2014

Awards and Results

Shamal 2014 209

Awards and Results

Endeavour Prizes Awarded to a pupil who has made an outstanding effort across the curriculum, or who has made a very determined effort to overcome problems by a diligent approach to his or her studies.

Winners

Special Mentions

7 Year

Eugenio Vecchi 7RV

Hannah Dawson 7RG Noa Consiglio 7LV Maria Iorini 7JLF

8 Year

Rhea Kotecha 8NB

Niamh Bone 8PS Caitlin Hunter 8MN

9 Year

Hyunji Kim 9NL

Ethan Pearce 9TJ Chloe Elliott 9CT

10 Year

Mikaeel Ikramullah 10SM

Corynn Foote 10EJ

11 Year

Arjun Dave 11AD

Aneeb Sheikh 11KG

Pastoral Prizes Awarded to a pupil who has made valuable contributions to PSHE and the House Programme, is consistently well-organised, has shown care and consideration to members of tutor and year groups and has a positive attitude to school life.

Winners

Special Mentions

7 Year

Katie Mewawalla 7RG

Grace Williams 7RV Charlotte Hide 7AC James Morris 7JLF

8 Year

Mariam Khan 8WD

Hamilton Rogers 8MN

9 Year

Ellen Holmes 9EA

Rebecca Ludden 9NL Alex Newbury 9AY

10 Year

James Lemon 10EJ

Simren Nijhawan 10CJ

11 Year

Pooja Daswani 11KG

Natalia Adair 11MB Saava O’Kirwan 11MB

12 Year

Alice Lovett 12CH

Emily Dunne 12DM Sa’ad Iqbal 12RA

13 Year

Ayrton Loureiro 13GR

Conor Cassidy 13PF Conor Merrigan 13SO

210

Shamal 2014

Awards and Results

All-Rounder Prizes Awarded to a pupil in recognition of his or her all-round academic and creative talent, social contributions and extra curricular participation.

Winners

Special Mentions

7 Year

Katrina Webb 7LV

Casey Bell 7JLF Kiyomi Hanson 7RG

8 Year

Mehek Vora 8PS

Kiara Whittle 8MN Jamini Patel 8NB

9 Year

Ellie O’Keefe 9AY

Joe Page 9NL Julia MacKay 9EA

10 Year

Cate Waft 10EJ

Barney Brett 10SM Charlize Koch 10DR

11 Year

Bea Prosser 11DF

Olivia Johnson 11MB Iona Stewart 11MS

Shamal 2014

211

Awards and Results

House Captains 2013-2014

Barbarossa

Urmika Mani 12BT

Prateek Nadkarni 12GR

Chichester

Gaby Guscott 12CH

Inaam Mian 12BV

Cousteau

Jenna Denton 12VH

Heyerdahl

Alice Lovett 12CH

Michael Foote 12PF Michael Camball 12RA

Special Prizes The Ernst & Young Prize for Literature Awarded to a pupil who has shown an excellent degree of critical awareness and a genuine interest in exploring the complexities and subtleties of meaning in the language of literary texts.

Taybah Siddiqi 13HB

Florence Prosser 13PF Cameron Walker 13GJ

The Godwin Austen Johnson Prize for Outstanding Design Talent Clara Townsend 13GR The ‘AAA’ Service Centre Prize Awarded to a Sixth Form Pupil (other than Head Boy or Head Girl) who has made the most significant contribution to the Sixth Form in terms of academic endeavour, active support of the Sixth Form community and who has a genuine concern for the welfare of others.

Shayan Momeni 13RA

Pritika Mehra 13JM Ahad Basrai 13HB

The Prize for Academic Excellence at GCSE Awarded to a GCSE pupil who has performed at an outstanding academic level.

Sandip Roy 11BC

Ryan Evans 11BC Anusha Aggarwal 11MS

The Most Outstanding Performance in a School Production Award Loa Pour Mirza 11BC 212

Shamal 2014

Joseph Taylor 12PF Cathy Faria 13GC

Awards and Results

Founder’s Prize for the Most Promising Musician (Under 14) Joonwoo Jeong 8DV The Prize for Sporting Excellence 2013-2014 (Girls) Jess MacCormick 13PR

Honor Nicholl 13CH Mia Zickerman-White 13TD

The Prize for Sporting Excellence 2013-2014 (Boys) Tom Harding 13TD

Nathan Banks 13VH James Ozden 13DM

The European Council of International Schools Award for International Understanding Awarded to a student who is a good representative of his or her own country, with a positive attitude towards the life and culture of others, able to converse in at least two languages, a contributing force in the life of the school, with the ability to bring people together into a sense of community, thus furthering the cause of international understanding.

Sanjana Daswani 13PR

Neha Narain 12GJ

Deputy Head Girl 2013-2014 Honor Nicholl 13CH Deputy Head Boy 2013-2014 James Ozden 13DM Head Girl 2013-2014 Sarah Moore 13LH Head Boy 2013-2014 Rehan Ayrton 13GC

Shamal 2014

213

Destination of Leavers Reuben Abraham Wharton Business School, UPenn

Engineering & Management Eleanor Abu-Nimeh Nottingham, Psychology Joanne Adib Nottingham, Management Studies Yasmin Adib LSE, Politics and Philosophy Anuj Aggarwal Oxford, Hertford College Mathematics Florence Antia Newcastle, Biology Samer Ashur LSE, International Relations Asena Ayan Southampton, Ship Science Pauline Bagatelas Brown, Medicine (PLME Programme) Elliot Barker York, Electronic Engineering with Music Technology Systems Frederick Bennett Brunel, Physiotherapy Prianka Bhatia Wellesley, Economics (French Minor) Rory Blincow Winchester, Drama and Performing Arts Holly Brannelly UCL, Maths With Economics Sam Bullock Glasgow, Business And Management James Bywater Herriot Watt, Business Economics Rhys Casey Manchester, Criminology Vansh Dassani Cornell, Electrical And Computer Engineering Jack Denham Loughborough, Product Design Engineering Simran Dhillon Oxford, Hertford College Mechanical Engineering Emily Donovan Loughborough, Design Ergonomics Callum Duncan Stirling, Economics Yasine El-Ashmawi St Andrews, Physics Mary El-Rashid Bristol, Medicine Talia Elsener Exeter, Accounting and Finance Kirstin Engelmann Central St Martins, Art Foundation Dominic Flower Leeds, Chemical Engineering Joseph Flynn Leeds, Economics and Management Elliott Fogg St Andrews, Physics Ewan French Oxford, Lincoln College Engineering Samuel Gardner Nottingham Trent, Product Design Justin Govender Cape Town, Medicine Joseph Graham Loughborough, Mechanical Engineering Ashwin Gupta LSE, Economics Shanzeh Hameed, Georgetown, International Political Economy William Hammond Edinburgh, Econonics And Economic History Joanna Hartley De Montfort, Art Foundation Callum Hatter UCL, Information Management For Business Imogen Hawksbee Loughborough, Computer Science Chloe Heard Manchester, English Literature with Creative Writing Grant Heath Aberdeen, Politics And International Relations Joanna Helsby KCL, Medicine Lauren Hindley British Columbia, Psychology Andreas Hodgson Leeds, Chemical Engineering Yusra Jafar Durham, English Literature Lisa Janus Gap Charlotte Johnson Salt Lake City, Ballet West, Ballet School Danielle Jones Northampton, French and Tourism Management

214

Shamal 2014

Samuel Jones Lancaster, Physics Shannon Juneja Warwick, Psychology Shaurya Kalsi Berkeley, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Ronit Karamchandani NYU, Economics Anisha Kataria NYU, Business And Economics Shivank Keni UCL, Neuroscience Shanzeh Khurshid Imperial, Mechanical Engineering Aaroosh Kohli Cornell, Maths And Economics Rayhaan Lone Cass Business School, City University London Business Studies Lavanya Malhotra Cambridge, Trinity, Medicine Eleanor Mallon Leeds College Of Art, Art Foundation Ziyaad Massoud Warwick, Engineering & Business Studies Harvey McAdam Clark Edinburgh, Geology And Physical Geography Ellie McBride Warwick, PPE (Deferred Entry) Robert McConney Southampton, History Joshua McNicholas Bath, Economics James McWhirter Gap Year Saniya Mediratta Imperial, Medicine Gayatri Mehra LSE, Management Adam Melone Nottingham, History Niamh Merrigan Southampton, Biomedical Sciences Aarya Mishra Cambridge, Downing, English Literature Veljko Mladenovic Bath, Architecture (Sandwich) Lydia Morgan Gap Year Alexander Mowat Durham, History Connor Murray Oxford Brookes, Physiotherapy Tushaar Nadkarni LSE, Maths And Economics Veronika Nagy Durham, Psychology Bami Ogunyoye Birmingham, Physiotherapy Owen Over Oxford, University College, Physics Adam Patel

Sheffield, Dentistry Junaid Patel Birmingham, Dentistry Rhea Patel University Of Southern California, Business Adminstration Suprojit Paul Sheffield, Aerospace Engineering (Private Pilot Instruction) Robert Powell Glasgow, Economics and Geography Farynne Reader Instituto Marangoni, Fashion Business Wiliam Roderick Glasgow, Economics and Politics Ella Rogers Warwick, History Saif Sarwar Manchester, Philosophy And Politics Henri Schomper Cape Town, Psychology Matthew Scriven-Baker Cardiff, Economics And Finance Siddharth Sehgal Imperial, Physics with Theoretical Physics Kelly Shuttleworth UCL, Law Sahas Singh Georgia Institute Of Technology, Mechanical Engineering Jessica Snaas Barts and the London, Medicine Danielle Soares Michigan, Business Adminstration Smriti Talreja Warwick, International Business

(4 Years Inc Year Abroad) Isabel Taylor Bath, Mathematical Sciences Alexandra Thomson Leeds College Of Art, Art Foundation Anna-Louise Williams KCL, Physiotherapy Madeleine-Louise Wilson Boston, Physiotherapy and Nutrition Alexander Young St Andrews, Economics and International Relations