ASA School Tie December 2019

SCHOOL TIE

ASA

THE

THE ALUMNI MAGAZINE OF ASHFORD SCHOOL

CLIMBING MOUNT KILIMANJARO CONDUCTING AT THE PROMS HOCKEY FOR SCOTLAND REUNIONS -

DECEMBER 2019

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NOTE FROM THE NEW CHAIR ONE YEAR ON

CONTENTS

ALUMNI EVENTS

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CAREERS & NETWORKING

ASA SUMMER LUNCH

8 A SA BACK TO

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UNIVERSITY BBQ

10 PRESIDENT’S LUNCH

12 EW S A LU M N I N

C LI M B IN G M OUNT K IL IM A N JA R O

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CONDUCTING AT THE PROMS

14 SCHOOL NEWS

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STAFF PROFILE

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NEWS

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DESTINATION OF LEAVERS

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FAREWELLS

H O C K EY FO R SC O TL A N D

18 DATES FOR YOUR DIARIES

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ASA

WELCOME FROM THE ASA PRESIDENT CAROLYN CHAMBERLAIN (NÉE NELMS, NIGHTINGALE, 1960) Dear Everybody, I hope it has been a good year for you, some ups and downs no doubt, but on the whole a good year.

The best thing to happen this year concerning the A.S.A. was moving the AGM to June. We had a very successful meeting on Saturday 29 June in the marquee on the front lawn at School, followed by a good lunch (see the report and accompanying photos in this magazine). 38 ex-pupils and ex-staff attended and the new Headmaster, Mr Michael Hall, kindly gave us an interesting talk on what the School had achieved over the past year and a rundown of his future plans which always interests the alumni. We look forward to seeing many of you next year on Saturday 4 July 2020.

This year Hannah Pinney (Squires, 2011) has taken over the reins, running the Alumni Office and all that that entails, and very successfully too. Thank you, Hannah, from us all. I should also like to thank Sarah Kershaw (Director of Admissions, External Relations & Communications) for all her hard work on our behalf over the previous year.

I also must thank Hannah for taking on the role of editor of our Alumni School Tie, a job I did myself for a good number of years, so can appreciate all the hard work which is involved. Please let her have news of any reunions you organise,

with photos, and any other events which would be interesting to read about, and of course the usual info on births, marriages and deaths.

Please email your news to alumni@ashfordschool.co.uk, or send back the form which accompanies our School Tie. I myself have kept up with friends, as always, and you can see my updates in the Alumni News section.

As for A.S.A events, please look under headings such as: A.S.A. Summer Lunch, ASA Back to Uni BBQ & ASA President’s Luncheon (in November every year at the Royal Academy) for a flavour of what we’ve been up to.

2020 looks equally as busy, with new and returning events to suit everyone, from music concerts, to networking events, to sporting fixtures – so please pop these dates into your diaries!

I think you are going to enjoy reading this magazine, and perhaps it will inspire you to put pen to paper (or fingers to pad?) and contribute yourself to our next one. I wish you all a very happy Christmas and everything you wish for in the coming year.

2020 LOOKS EQUALLY AS BUSY, WITH NEW AND RETURNING EVENTS TO SUIT EVERYONE

Carolyn Chamberlain Carolyn Chamberlain, President, A.S.A.

THE ASA SCHOOL TIE - THE ALUMNI OF ASHFORD SCHOOL

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ASA

WELCOME FROM THE NEW ASA CHAIR JULIE PIPER, (KNIGHTS, 1979) On behalf of the ASA Committee I would like to welcome you to the December 2019 edition of ‘The School Tie’. As you will read later on in this edition, it has been a busy year for the ASA and there are exciting times ahead, not only for the ASA as an association but also for Ashford School.

The ASA now has its own dedicated Alumni Officer in Hannah Pinney. Hannah, a former pupil at Ashford (Squires, 2011) has now been in post since April 2019 and since her appointment we, as a Committee, have seen a new lease of life injected into the ASA. There now seems to be an enthusiasm to see our membership and engagement grow. Just over a year ago Ashford School also saw the appointment of Mike Hall as the new Head and, as you will read later on, he has released his new Strategic Vision which will see the School continue to move forward in this ever-changing world, keeping up to date with modern practices in order to optimise potential and inspire minds.

As you are, by now, all aware, Ashford School operates across two sites – the Prep School at Great Chart, which was formerly Friars, and, of course, the Senior School on East Hill. As a result of our past merger with Friars Prep School we have recently co-opted representatives from Friars Old Boys onto the ASA Committee and through this we hope to broaden our membership by engaging with the Friars alumni community too.

The events we organise are varied and range from the ever-popular President’s Lunch at The Royal Academy to the Summer Lunch (which this year was combined with our AGM), to Networking

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Drinks at The Carlton Club in London to Carols

by Candlelight at Christmas (to name but a few). We really do cater for all ages, interests and budgets. Please remember, the events we organise are for your enjoyment and involvement, so tell us if there is anything you would like to see or do. Do you have an interesting job or work somewhere interesting that you think would offer the opportunity of hosting an event?

Whilst we still want to maintain the ‘catching-up with old school mates’ feel to our various ASA events, we also want you to see them as an opportunity to network with fellow alumni – sharing ideas and creating opportunities to broaden our own horizons! I’m a great believer in the philosophy that ‘you are always learning’!

We are also conscious there are many ‘private’ re-unions away from the ASA that take place and we would love to hear your stories, and receive your photos and news so we can include these in the next edition.

I’M A GREAT BELIEVER IN THE PHILOSOPHY THAT ‘YOU ARE ALWAYS LEARNING’!

THE ASA SCHOOL TIE - THE ALUMNI OF ASHFORD SCHOOL

Julie Piper

Don’t forget to keep us updated on your news especially if you have anything interesting to share, and please remember to keep us updated on your personal contact details so we can keep our records up to date and keep you informed of what is happening.

Finally, I would like to end by thanking the rest of the Committee for their time, support and dedication and I look forward to working with them over the next three years in continuing to build and grow the ASA. I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a Happy & Healthy 2020!

ONE YEAR ON

ONE YEAR ON

MICHAEL HALL, HEADMASTER OF ASHFORD SCHOOL I have been a Headmaster in three different schools for 10 years, yet the same expectations of the Head remain, not least the rightful need for the Head to set the tone and direction for the organisation. Having been Head of Ashford School for just over a year now, it seems like the right time to share my thoughts on the School’s future strategic direction with all of our community.

During my first year, I have extensively discussed and evaluated the School’s current positioning and future direction with governors, senior leaders, staff and alumni; in addition, we have conducted a survey of our current parents to better understand their views and priorities. Like any organisation, we must not rest on our laurels and can always do better. There are lots of example of excellent practice and activity within the School – you have every right to feel proud of your old School – however, there are some areas which we will be developing over the coming years.

every child should be the person they want to be, in order for there to be a culture of mutual appreciation and respect. Wrapping up all that we do, I aim that we optimise the potential of the pupils; not that we aim for academic outcomes (at all costs), but that we form well rounded and balanced adults.

It is clear from our evaluation that all the above points are commonly agreed and shared as the key priorities. Part of our work on partnerships is to leverage our network of School alumni to develop a mentoring programme giving our pupils access to careers advice and internships. We would be really interested to hear from members of the alumni who might be willing to support the mentoring of pupils as they begin their pathways through their chosen ambitions. This is a tangible way in which former pupils can make a real difference.

We have a new vision for the School which is to be ‘recognised locally, nationally and internationally as a centre of excellence, empowering young people to make a difference in their changing world’. It also seems necessary for Schools and organisations to have a strapline; our new slogan is ‘Inspiring Minds’ – I want to see this approach span across all areas of school life.

It is also important for us to continue to celebrate Ashford’s history, culture and ethos, and consequently I am committed to developing the School’s engagement with our alumni community.

We want to connect more effectively, to facilitate events which alumni want to attend, and to provide alumni with opportunities to support the School and its continued growth. Indeed we have many new and established events for the ASA coming up over the next year. I will be attending most (if not all of them), do please come along and introduce yourselves! I look forward to meeting you.

It is important that we are clear and proud of our identity. Academic rigour remains central to our purpose, this applies to pupils of all abilities, yet set in a context of adventurous learning where pupils are challenged to step outside their comfort zones whether on the sports field, on stage or in the classroom. We should celebrate individuality,

Michael Hall Headmaster

Our new School Development Plans are based on six strategic priorities: 1. One School – to be recognised as ‘one school’ and to be the School of choice within Kent for boys and girls 0-18.

2. Learning and Teaching – to inculcate a culture which delivers positive learning habits so that all students reach their full potential, achieve outstanding outcomes by national standards.

3. Well-being – to be known nationally and internationally as a centre of excellence for promoting and protecting positive emotional wellbeing among children and staff.

4. Sport and Performing Arts – to build a national reputation in hockey, cricket, swimming and biathlon. Ensure that music and the performance arts will be integral in the educational lives and development of all the pupils.

5. Partnerships – to establish sustainable partnerships with local schools and actively seek out more opportunities to support local good causes.

6. Facilities – a masterplan which creates a physical environment fit for an education in the 21st century, matching our ambition to be a school of local, national and international repute.

THE ASA SCHOOL TIE - THE ALUMNI OF ASHFORD SCHOOL

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ALUMNI EVENTS

ASA SUMMER LUNCH SATURDAY 29 JUNE 2019 Alumni old and new were greeted with beautiful blue skies and gloriously hot weather for the annual Ashford School Association Summer Lunch, hosted in the marquee on Somerville Lawn.

We were delighted to be joined by around 40 alumni from a variety of eras, many of whom had not returned to Ashford School since leaving. Our oldest attendee was Valerie Arends (nĂŠe Davies, Nightingale) who left Ashford School in 1954, whilst our youngest attendee was Juliet Arnold (Franklins) who left in 2015. We were also pleased to welcome back two groups of friends celebrating 25 and 30 years since leaving School!

It was also fantastic to see several current and former staff: Michael Hall, Tom Wilding, Nicky Timms (Pilgrims, 1996), Sarah Kershaw, and Tom Bragge joined us from the current staff team, and returning were Bob Wordsworth, Gill Miles, Shirley Goldwin, Margaret Williams, Flo Playford, Linda Diplock and Norma Smyth.

Special thanks must also go to our entertainers for the afternoon who delighted us with various well-known hits and jazz melodies, and the Ashford Youth Jazz Orchestra, who rounded off our afternoon in style, performing their popular set of smooth melodies.

We are already looking forward to next summer and hope to see many more alumni returning on Saturday 4 July 2020!

If you would be interested in attending, please do get in touch with Hannah Pinney (Squires, 2011) in the alumni office: alumni@ashfordschool.co.uk Don’t forget to view all our photos on the Ashford School Association Facebook page.

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THE ASA SCHOOL TIE - THE ALUMNI OF ASHFORD SCHOOL

ASA SUMMER LUNCH

ALUMNI EVENTS

ASA SUMMER LUNCH

EVENT ATTENDEES: • Alex Blincow (Squires, 2011)

• Alexandra Playford (Knights, 2007) • Alison Stern (Nightingale, 1989) • B ob Wordsworth (Former Staff & Former ASA Treasurer) • C arolyn Chamberlain (née Nelms, Nightingale, 1960) • Caroline Welling (Knights, 2011) • E lizabeth Forster (née Lowden, Merchants, 1989) • E loise Clark (née Collins, Somerville, 1994) • Fiona Coad (Alfred, 1989) • Lorraine Playford (Former Staff) • Gill Miles (Former Staff) • Gina Davies (Knights, 1994) •H annah Pinney (Alumni Officer, Squires, 2011) • Jessica Barnick (Knights, 2011) • Joanna Robertson (Alfred, 1969) • Julie Piper (Knights, 1979) • Juliet Arnold (Franklins, 2015) • Kylie Rogers (Alfred, 1989) • L ibby Lawson (née Webb, Knights, 1989) • Linda Diplock (Former Staff)

•M argaret Williams (Former Deputy Head) • Merry King (Alfred, 1994) •M ichael Hall (Headmaster of Ashford School) •N icky Timms, (Deputy Head, née Miles, Pilgrims, 1996) •N orma Smyth (Former Deputy Head) • Owain Thomas (Yeomen, 2011) • R achel Hardy (née Cecil, Brooke Place, 1962) • R ebecca Munnelly (née Inglis, Alfred, 1994) • S arah Kershaw (Director of Admissions, External Relations and Communications) • P rof Sarah Pett (Brooke Place, 1979) • Dr Shirley Goldwin (Former Staff) • S ophie-Anna Brough (Squires, 2011) • Thomas Barker (Franklins, 2013) • Tom Bragge (English Teacher) • T om Wilding (Head of Ashford Senior School) • V alerie Arends (née Davies, Nightingale, 1954)

ASA AGM

SATURDAY 29 JUNE 2019 The AGM was held at School, in the Marquee, on Saturday 29 June and we were pleased that so many of the alumni attending the Summer Lunch were able to join us.

During the meeting, Julie Piper (Knights, 1979) was elected as our new ASA Chairman, and Hannah Pinney (Squires, 2011) was elected as Hon. Secretary.

We look forward to them bringing their enthusiasm to their respective roles.

Minutes from the AGM can be found online, or alternatively, if you would like to see a copy please email Hannah Pinney (alumni@ashfordschool.co.uk).

The next AGM is to be held on Saturday 4 July 2020.

Stay tuned for details closer to the time.

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ALUMNI EVENTS

ASA BACK TO UNIVERSITY BBQ FRIDAY 6 SEPTEMBER 2019 On the first Friday of the Autumn Term, we were delighted to welcome recent leavers back to Ashford School for the annual ASA Back to University BBQ. Held on the Edwards Lawn, the BBQ was a chance for our most recent Year 13 Leavers to catch up with each other before heading off on their next steps post-Ashford School, as well as for past year groups to come back and share their advice for studies beyond the School.

It was great to see students who left Ashford School from 2014-2019 in attendance and it was fantastic to hear everyone’s’ latest news, from the success of the past A Level Results, to news of acceptances onto MA courses, exciting travel plans and adventures, as well as new jobs!

We wish all those who attended good luck for the upcoming academic year, and we look forward to seeing you at future alumni events.

Thanks must also go to the current staff who attended, as well as to our fantastic catering & facilities team who helped make the event possible.

Photos from the event can be seen on the ASA Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ashfordschoolassociation

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THE ASA SCHOOL TIE - THE ALUMNI OF ASHFORD SCHOOL

ASA BACK TO UNIVERSITY BBQ

ASA BACK TO UNIVERSITY BBQ

ALUMNI EVENTS

Are there alumni events you’d like to see?

Get in touch with us and let us know your ideas!

THE ASA SCHOOL TIE - THE ALUMNI OF ASHFORD SCHOOL

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ALUMNI EVENTS

ASA PRESIDENT'S LUNCHEON

EVENT ATTENDEES:

ASA PRESIDENT’S LUNCHEON SATURDAY 16 NOVEMBER 2019 Another good reunion and lunch took place on Saturday and this year we were very happy to welcome the Head of the Senior School, Mr Tom Wilding and his wife Charlotte. It was good for us to hear about some future plans for the School, and interesting for Tom to meet a wide selection of ex-pupils for the first time.

It was great to see David Young again (former Director of Development) who couldn't make it last year. David was a key figure in transforming the ASA, so it was nice for him to meet lots of “girls” he had known over the years. Tom told us that Michael Hall, the Head, was unable to come this year as he was visiting Russia and Kazakhstan.

This year we were very lucky to have Beka Smith, the portrait painter, with us, a Merchants 1993 leaver. She has painted several of the Ashford School Heads over the years (we were sad Tatiana Macaire wasn't able to come at the last minute because she was one of the Heads Beka has painted). It was extremely interesting to hear how Beka approaches her portrait painting, she does not rush and enjoys getting to know her subjects well and how they approach life which she manages to incorporate into her paintings. I was, we all were, very impressed seeing her portfolio of photos of many of her paintings and hearing her “explanations” of who the people were. Thank you so much for coming and talking to us Beka.

Hannah has once again prepared a list of those who attended, and you will see we finally had an Old Boy among us, John Abadom, who had been a pupil at Friars. Thank you for coming John. Someone also realised that there were lots of ex-Nightingales present and took a photo of us!

I am lucky that several of my closest friends at School loyally come each year and it is good for us to meet up regularly.

Thank you, Hannah, for organising this event so well for us. Such an enjoyable day.

If you would like to attend any of these events, or want to find out more, please email: alumni@ashfordschool.co.uk

Carolyn Chamberlain, President A.S.A.

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• Beka Smith (Merchants, 1993)

• V alerie Arends (née Davies, Alfred, 1955)

• Norma Smyth (Former Deputy Head of Ashford Girls School, 1998)

• T essa Bradnock (née Hawkins, Nightingale, 1965)

Keeper's House at the Royal Academy

I'm sorry I cannot mention everybody who was there but thank you all very much for coming, we look forward to your coming again on Saturday 14 November next year, 2020.

• John Abadom (Friars,1987)

THE ASA SCHOOL TIE - THE ALUMNI OF ASHFORD SCHOOL

• C arolyn Chamberlain (née Nelms, Nightingale, 1960) • S ue Clarke (née Johnson, Cranmer, 1955)

• R ae Stollard (née Sasson, Brooke Place, 1964) • S ue Peckitt (née Coldrey, Nightingale, 1959)

• S ue Davies (née King, Nightingale, 1963)

• C harlotte Wilding (Staff Development Lead and MFL Teacher)

• R achel Hardy (née Cecil, Brooke Place, 1962)

• T om Wilding (Head of Ashford Senior School)

• P ippa Jones (née Amarantides, Nightingale, 1965)

• D avid Young (Former Director of Development, 2018)

•H annah Pinney (Alumni Officer, Squires, 2011) • A nne Shattock (née Garrett, Nightingale, 1964)

K E Y D AT E S F O R 2020 Thur

sday 5 March , Musicals Reun ion at Beauty and the Beast, Ashford School Thursday 19 M arch, ASA Lond on Networking Drinks, The Ca rlton Club Saturday 13 Ju ne, ASA Sports Tournament & Pavilion Ope ning, Ashford Prep School Saturday 4 Ju ly, ASA AGM Saturday 4 Ju ly, ASA Summ er Lunch Friday 4 Septem ber, ASA Welco me BBQ, Ashford Senior School

ALUMNI CAREERS

NETWORKING

LONDON NETWORKING DRINKS

YEAR 10 SPEED NETWORKING CAREERS DAY

THURSDAY 19 MARCH 2020

We are excited to be joining forces with the Senior School’s Career Department to organise a Year 10 Speed Careers Event and are looking for alumni volunteers to get involved.

Join us at The Carlton Club in London on Thursday 19 March, from 18:30 for our annual London Networking Drinks. Welcome drink & nibbles on arrival!

OPPORTUNITIES FAIR WEDNESDAY 25 MARCH 2020 Ashford School are hosting another Opportunities Fair in 2020, to which all pupils (and parents) in Years 9-13 will be invited, along with a range of other local schools. There will be a wide range of exhibitors attending including universities, training providers, and employers, and this year, we are excited to be inviting alumni to exhibit on behalf of their company or career sector.

The event will take place on Wednesday 25th March 2020 from 3:45pm - 7pm, and we are asking that those exhibiting arrive from 2.45pm, to set up and enjoy some drinks and nibbles beforehand.

WEDNESDAY 17 JUNE 2020

The event will run in the afternoon and will see the Year 10s rotate around 6 different sessions.

The format is for short, 15-minute talks (with time for Q&A), in which our alumni provide a brief overview of their career area, alongside their own personal experiences. If you have suggestions and opportunities for work experience or internships, this would be especially welcome.

We are particularly looking for alumni working within the following sectors: Medicine, Veterinary Medicine or Physiotherapy; Biomedical Science or Engineering; Politics or Law; Creative Arts; Computer Science; and finally, Sport.

BREAKFAST NETWORKING: We are looking to launch a series of London Breakfast Networking events for our alumni, with the first session focusing on those of you in the External Relations sector! Get in touch if you would be interested in getting involved, whether that’s attending, hosting, or speaking.

If you are interested in getting involved in any of the above Careers events or simply want to find out more, please get in touch with Hannah in the Alumni Office: alumni@ashfordschool.co.uk.

SCHOOL TIE BUSINESS DIRECTORY

LINKEDIN

Would you like to list your Business in our ASA School Tie? We’d love to help support our alumni community with their Careers, so if you have a Business that you would like us list, please get in touch with Hannah in the Alumni Office (alumni@ashfordschool.co.uk)

Make sure you’re connected to Ashford School on LinkedIn, by updating your education in your profile to Ashford School. This will help you to connect with fellow Ashford alumni! You can also join our Alumni Networking Group on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/groups/8595031.

THE ASA SCHOOL TIE - THE ALUMNI OF ASHFORD SCHOOL

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ALUMNI NEWS

ALUMNI NEWS A CREATIVE PILGRIMAGE ALEX LE ROSSIGNOL (FORMER TEACHER OF ART)

Former Teacher of Art, Alex wrote in to tell us what she’s been up to these past few years: “I completed three years studying with Iconographer Peter Murphy (who still mentors me) studying the Byzantine style of iconography.

As a stained-glass artist, I avoided figures and am now doing them all the time."

Last October I had a small solo exhibition in a pop-up gallery in Folkestone which showcased my work through stained glass to iconography with photography, drawing and printmaking alongside. In May this year, I exhibited my final show for iconography with two fellow students at Eastbridge Hospital in the heart of Canterbury. Following this, in the summer, I taught a week’s course in Iconography at St.Nicholas Ringwould and hope to run one or two courses next year.

In November I will be joining a group of Kent artists for a Creative Pilgrimage. We will be spending a year walking the 67-mile St. Augustine Camino, from Rochester to Ramsgate, in short bite sized bits. We will respond to the challenge and the concept of pilgrimage through different media aiming for an exhibition at the end in 2020. T​ he pilgrimage is timely as it coincides with the 900th anniversary of Thomas Becket's birth, and passes through Canterbury and the site of his shrine.

You can read more about the Creative Pilgrimage project here: https://liz0960.wixsite.com/acreativepilgrimage

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THE ASA SCHOOL TIE - THE ALUMNI OF ASHFORD SCHOOL

START-UP BUSINESS OF THE YEAR

Congratulations to AJ Sharp (Yeomen, 2000), whose business Sharp Relations won Start-Up Business of the Year at the Kent Business Awards this November! AJ was also shortlisted as a finalist for the Business Woman Award!

Sharp Relations is an award-winning Kent based PR & Communications agency specialising in food, drink and lifestyle clients. Based in Smarden, Kent, AJ’s company works with some of the most dynamic category changing brands, producers, growers and chefs across London and the South East.

AJ wrote to us to say: “We were absolutely delighted to be recognised in the Kent Business Awards. What we are offering is completely unique in Kent, we have brought together a team with big-brand London agency and media house experience and repackaged it to boost food and drinks business based in London and across the South East. A huge thank you to everyone in the team for being so dedicated, passionate and creative about the brands we represent. We wouldn’t achieved half as much without you, thank you. Here’s to another year of supporting and growing incredible food and drinks brands.”

BEKA SMITH (MERCHANTS, 1993) At our summer Prizegiving ceremony, Former Headmaster Mike Buchanan, unveiled the new portrait of him by the exceptional artist and alumni Beka Smith (Merchants 1993). This will hang in Brake Hall with the portraits of our former Headmistresses.

Beka was also our guest speaker at this year’s President’s Lunch, held at the Royal Academy in London.

ALUMNI NEWS

ASHFORD IN NIGERIA On the evening of Thursday 10 October Headmaster Michael Hall & Director of Admissions, External Relations & Communications Sarah Kershaw, hosted a Nigerian alumni reunion in Lagos with alumni from 2006-2014.

A truly enjoyable & inspirational evening listening to stories of what our alumni are now doing - from law & banking, to marketing & entrepreneurship. Plus it was the perfect opportunity to hand out the last edition of the School Tie too!

A VISIT TO THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT NORMA SMYTH (FORMER DEPUTY HEAD, 1974-1998) Derek and I were delighted to be invited to The Houses of Parliament by Ashford School former student, Anna Turley (School Captain, 1997) who is MP for Redcar.

Her Research Assistant gave us a tour of some of the grander rooms and we watched PMQ from the Visitors' Gallery. It was

EVENT ATTENDEES: • Tosin Timitimi (Merchants, 2012) • Tosin Abdullai (Merchants, 2006) • Dapo Thomas (Squires, 2010) • Mayowa Ogunsanya (Knights, 2013)

• Kamilah Alegeh (Knights, 2014) • Subair Sanusi (Franklins, 2014) • Timi Bode-Ejiwunmi (Alfred,1999)

the Speaker, John Bercow's and Ken Clarke 's last PMQ which made it especially interesting. She rounded off the day for us with a splendid lunch when we reminisced about old friends with whom she is still in contact, such as Catherine Apthorpe and Gillian Andrews.

Anna was at Ashford in the nineties. She became School Captain and loved sport. I remember that she fenced for England. I taught her English at which she was excellent but I forgive her for reading History at Oxford! Anna loved Ashford School and particularly valued the way it encouraged girls to be aspirational.

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ALUMNI NEWS

CONDUCTING AT THE PROMS Laurel Neighbour (Knights, 2007) made her Proms debut this year at the Royal Albert Hall, singing in Prom 37 and conducting in Prom 66.

In 2014 Laurel entered UK chamber choir The Sixteen’s choral training programme, and alumni of the programme were invited back to sing at Prom 37! They formed the choir of Unseen Angels, singing from the gallery, creating an ethereal chorus floating down from on high, alongside Britten Sinfonia Voices and Halle Orchestra.

Laurel made her Proms conducting debut in Prom 66 conducting Victoria Park Singers, one of eight choirs, in John Luther Adams’ In the Name of the Earth. Alongside David Temple and Crouch End Festival Chorus she led her choir in the European premiere of the tribute to the earth, which included spoken passages of natural areas of beauty in North America, and culminated in the choir ringing bells

and moving from their positions around the Albert Hall onto the stage.

Laurel said: "After a week of rehearsals it felt incredible to take a bow on the stage, and the extra bonus was that because I was the only female conductor I had my own dressing room!"

Music making at Ashford School while I was a student 2005-2007 was absolutely fundamental to my career as a singer and choral conductor, as that’s where I started singing lessons with Mr Hill, joined Senior Chamber Choir, and took GCSE music lessons with Miss Tesh, playing

trumpet in various bands and hanging out in practice rooms at break-times. A fond memory is when Knights won House Music while I was there!’

TOUGH MUDDER SUCCESS Well done to a group of Ashford School alumni who together ran, and completed, the London South Tough Mudder course on Saturday 21 September 2019. The team was: Sophie Howland (Franklins, 2015), Charlotte Roberts (Squires, 2015), Ben Simpson (Squires, 2015), Emma Levitt (Franklins, 2016), Jamie Seamer (Knights, 2016), Jonny Stewart (Knights, 2016).

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THE ASA SCHOOL TIE - THE ALUMNI OF ASHFORD SCHOOL

ALUMNI NEWS

FRIENDS REUNITED: HEATHER PAYNE & ANNE SUDLOW It was wonderful to welcome mother & daughter alumni, Heather Payne (née Cavaghan) & Dee Anstice (née Gordon) back to Ashford School in June of this year.

Dee attended Ashford from 1967 to 1976, initially in Bridge House and then Brooke Place. Heather attended Ashford School just after the war when the school moved back to Ashford from Devon.

She was a full-time boarder in Brooke Place, as her parents lived in Trinidad. At that time, it was not possible to travel back to Trinidad for holidays and weekends (the only way was via banana boat which was too slow) and so Heather would stay with relatives in the North of England, Wales and Ireland.

Heather was under the Headship of Miss Brake and remembered her very fondly. She reminisced with us about the holidays to the Pyrenees that Miss Brake would take the boarders on! She was also particularly moved to see the drawing of the Ghost of Ashford by the Brigadier. It is something that she had spoken to Dee about before visiting, so she was particularly pleased to see that it is still hanging in Old Alfred. We were also able to show Heather & Dee their old dormitory in Brooke Place, and the Common Room which used to be a bedroom.

Whilst visiting, Heather told us she would like to reconnect with one of her contemporaries Anne Sudlow (née Bates, daughter of H E Bates). Anne was in Nightingale as a weekly boarder, and was a very good friend to Heather,

inviting her home for weekends. After they left Ashford Anne went on to Constance Spry Flower School and Heather went to St. James’s Secretarial College, the boarding branch down in Dorset.

Although they kept in touch after they left, Heather returned to Trinidad at the end of her year at St. James’s, where she stayed until she married Dee’s step-father in 1964 who was in the Foreign Office.

She then travelled with him to many different countries: British Guiana where they oversaw the independence and the formation of Guyana, then New Zealand, followed by a stint in the UK, after which they went to Bangladesh in the early to mid70s. This was followed by a posting to Bonn and then on to Botswana. Their last posting was to the Philippines. All the travelling that Heather did was probably the reason why she and Anne lost touch with each other due to living away from the UK.

two daughters, Dee and Emma Hearnshaw (née Sudlow). By coincidence it turned out that Emma and Dee were at Ashford around the same time. Emma, like Dee, left Ashford in 1976, but after her O Levels so was a couple of years younger than Dee. Emma was a day-girl in Knights whereas Dee was a boarder at Brooke Place like her mother.

They are hoping to meet again at the beginning of October.

It was wonderful to receive this news, and we were delighted to be able to help reunite the two friends.

Do get in touch with us if you’re looking to reconnect with old Ashford friends, or would like to come and visit the school again!

After putting a request out on social media for any alumni who might have connections to Anne, we are delighted to report that, thanks to alumna Judy Olsen, Heather and Anne were put back in touch, and were reunited this August in Hawkhurst!

They had lunch together at The Great House in Hawkhurst, with lots of laughter and reminiscing.

Anne & Heather were joined at their lunch by their

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ALUMNI NEWS

NEWS FROM THE 1950s FROM VAL ARENDS (NÉE DAVIES, NIGHTINGALE, 1955) Although we are all now 80 years old, we are mostly an energetic lot!

Lizzie Court who was on the school tennis team, still plays competition tennis at her club in Vancouver, Canada where she has lived for 50 years. She will be visiting fellow alumni Minnie Watt on her trip home this year.

The biggest news is from Jo Bennett’s regular Facebook updates, who was/is a successful Hollywood casting director, Johanna Ray, in Los Angeles. Photos of her with film stars are always fun to see!

Likewise I hear from Boo (Bettina) Dick on Facebook. She lives in Valencia, Spain, and has contributed many articles to academic magazines on raising children who are tri-lingual, as hers were, living in Geneva with a Spanish father and English mother. Her 2 daughters are both lawyers in Geneva and her grandson is a medical student there.

Celia Perham (Nightingale) is as intrepid as ever, living in Winchester but travelling to London to play bridge and go to the opera. She worked for the Royal Opera at Covent Garden for many years. Celia's elder sister Jenny celebrated her diamond wedding anniversary and lives in Wallingford. Jenny was my dormitory prefect in my first term at Ashford.

I met up with Mandy Taylor at the V&A to see the Christian Dior collection. Mandy is one of the few Oxford University graduates of our time and is now writing her second book.

I meet up regularly with Sandy Johnson (Cranmer, 1955) Lizzie Lee (Alfred, 1955) and Joey Waite (Alfred, 1955).

Sandy was delighted to hear that Diana “Madcap” Howard (Alfred) had revisited Ashford School from her home in Zimbabwe. Their parents were friends when they lived in Cairo, and since Diana’s visit have reconnected.

NEWS FROM THE 1960S FROM ROZ FIELD (ALFRED, 1967 & FORMER TEACHER OF ENGLISH) “News of my own years (1960 – 67) is largely limited to a small number of my own boarding friends from Alfred House plus day girls with whom I’ve come into contact by living locally. One such is Jane Deller, younger sister of Mark. She became a teacher, married a New Zealander and has lived there in the Bay of Islands for many years. We ran into one-another at this year’s Stour Music Festival – the last under the Direction of her brother and supported by multitudes of Dellers of all ages. I was walking into the big marquee as Jane was walking out. We both did a double-take and broke into smiles and animated conversation.

Of my boarder friends, the one I have most information on is Seona Stewart (as was), half sister of Melva Cromarty who also went to the school. Seona became a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, married Bill Stubbs, another medic whom she met on an Ashford School A level field trip(!) and moved to Rotorua, New Zealand, where she has recently retired. She played cello at school, sometimes accompanied by me on piano, and her daughter Siobhan is a talented cellist. Seona is actively involved in voluntary work, including housebuilding projects in third-world countries. Here is a paragraph from one of her letters: "I keep my retirement years exceptionally busy with my garden, grandchildren, cooking once a week for the lonely, dispossessed etc. and when I am asked I paint! Of the decorating variety and go into a happy mindless zone listening to complete operas on phone or CDs. The poor customers.”

FROM CAROLYN CHAMBERLAIN (NÉE NELMS, NIGHTINGALE, 1960) Personally this year I have kept up with several school friends as always, and in September went to visit Rachel Cecil (Mrs Hardy) ‘60 leaver, at home in central Birmingham. It was a lovely sunny day and we walked through the town to the canal area and had a good lunch in the sunshine, beside the canal. En route Eddie took a photograph of us under the sign for Chamberlain Square, Joseph Chamberlain being an ancestor of my husband’s!

This summer I stayed a few days with Val Davies (Mrs Arends) 50s leaver, who lives very near and is a member of the Hurlingham Club, and to my great delight we watched Nadal play in a pre-Wimbledon match, from very close quarters (the third row). I couldn’t believe my luck as he is my current favourite player. When at School in the 50s I made sure I got into the School Tennis team each year as we were always taken to Wimbledon. Does anyone remember my favourite player of those days, O. Sirolo, who played for Italy with the better known Pietrangeli.

Then there was the gorgeous John Newcombe!

Of course the Old Girl I keep up with most is my daughter Alexandra, and her friends such as Gina Davies and Sam Anderson (all early 90s leavers) all doing well with their families and careers. As a lot of you know, I live in South West France, so please feel free to come and stay with me if ever you are in the area or need a bed when passing through, I live in Villefranche du Perigord in the Dordogne (email: carolyn.chamberlain@wanadoo.fr).

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ALUMNI NEWS

FRIARS LONDON LUNCH JAMIE BURNETT (FRIARS, 1988) It was an honour for myself and a few Friars School old boys to have had the opportunity to spend some time with our former headmaster Mr John Stevens and his wife Mrs Jane Stevens in London on Saturday 9 November.

John’s attendance and timekeeping was prompt and impeccable as always because Jane and John were the first two to arrive followed by Gary McCartan (whose father Larry taught me in maths to a high standard), John Abadom, Hannah Pinney, Michael Anekwe, Ian BrownPeterside, then myself.

We all spent the afternoon reminiscing about the friendships, memories and fun times we had at Friars. It was also fabulous to hear what we’ve all been up to for the past 35 years since leaving, as well hearing more about the school as it is today.

We look forward to our FSOBs Luncheon with John and Jane in 2020.

‘Strenue Sed Aeque’

ATTENDEES: John Stevens (Former Headmaster of Friars Prep School), Mrs Jane Stevens (Former Staff of Friars Prep School), John Abadom, Gary McCartan, Jamie Burnett, Ian Peterside-Brown & Michael Anekwe

FIRST PLACE IN FSE NATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION Congratulations to Sonya Mazuryk (Squires, 2019) who won the FSE National Photography Competition with her photo ‘Looking Up’.

“I had always enjoyed studying Art but it was thanks to my teachers Mrs Rayner, Miss Spires and Mr Rayner that I have started experimenting with photography. At the beginning, it felt unusual because I had not practised it before. However, I was advised to take part in FSE National Photography Competition and Mrs and Mr Rayner helped me to choose the photograph. I was 100% sure there was no chance of me winning, so it was a big surprise when the results were published.

I still remember Mr Rayner telling me “You won the prize!” and initially not understanding what was happening!

I am now studying BA Fashion Photography in London and absolutely loving it! I have met so many interesting people and my course is so enjoyable and exciting. I cannot imagine myself doing something else because this course fits me so well. I am so thankful for all the support I had at Ashford, from my Art teachers, to my Houseparent Mrs Williams, and of course Ms Miller.

I feel like because of them I am on the right path and have chosen the right course. They made my studying at Ashford School very fun and I am so lucky to have such amazing people surrounding me!

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ALUMNI NEWS

ROB TURNER

VOICES FOR THE WILD Alumni Sophie Montagne (Merchants, 2001) was a panelist for the talk 'Voices for the Wild', hosted at the Royal Geographical Society in London! Sophie (who has featured in past editions of the ASA School Tie) was part of the first female team to ski across Antarctica using muscle power alone! At the talk, she was in conversation with explorer Ben Saunders & Mike Gunton, BBC producer of Planet Earth II, talking about wilderness, frozen places and what they mean to us. The event featured a great line up of speakers: a celebration of wilderness, exploration and nature’s value to the human spirit.

HOCKEY FOR SCOTLAND

Congratulations to alumni Hamish Roberts (Knights, 2017) and his fellow Scotland U21 Hockey teammates, who won gold at the U21 Men’s European Hockey Championship II in the Czech Republic back in July. The tournament started on 14 July and saw the team take on Russia, Portugal and Italy in Pool B before the latter stages of the tournament. Hamish was one of the 18 hockey players selected for Head Coach Graham Moodie’s squad. He scored the winning goal in the semi-final, which saw the Scots take on Ireland, and also scored in their victory against Russia in the final, which ended in a 9-0 win. After his success in the Championships last week, he now has his sights set to play for Great Britain. We wish him every success as he pursues this dream!

(FORMER HEAD OF BIOLOGY, 2012) When Rob Turner retired as Head of Biology at Ashford in 2012, he harboured an ambition he’d held since being a teenager himself – becoming a writer. Despite some early interruptions (an unplanned return to teaching to cover a maternity leave, moving to a converted barn in the depths of the Cornish countryside with an acre and a half of land to tame, a year plus working on the house) he was finally able to get down to work, and in the intervening time has published three novels. The two books of the Perception series, Inward and The Knowing, were released in 2016, and Rob’s latest, Calling Me Home, has just been published. It tells the story of a teenage girl’s coming of age in a post Brexit, post Trump world in which billions are starving and mass refugee movement threatens to engulf the whole of Europe.

Troubled, bullied Christine Mackenzie, a solitary outsider haunting the Welsh forests and hills, wary of friendship, angry at everything, is hitch hiking home from an anti-war demonstration in London, while half a world away incoming fire forces Carrie Cunningham, a bomber pilot, into an emergency take off. Their stories interweave and converge as world events move inexorably towards endgame, challenging the very foundations of their lives. Described by an early reader as ‘A brilliant read and a real page turner. Thoughtfully and passionately written, its vivid imagery and likeable characters captivate and remain with you each time you put the book down,’ Calling Me Home has been gaining promising early reviews, but further interest is always welcome!

PEP TALK WITH PEPPITT Maisie Peppitt (Squires, 2016) has created a new podcast called 'Pep Talk With Peppitt', which features episodic interviews with young entrepreneurs, many of whom are also Ashford School alumni. The podcast includes young achievers drawing on their own personal experiences with A-Levels, choosing a university, starting a company and securing a job, as well as sharing advice and tips on how to do it right. It aims to inspire and motivate young idealists and creators.

Fellow alumni contributors this year have been: Jesse O’Shaughnessy (Franklins, 2016), Anna Peppitt (Squires, 2012), Jess Newall (Knights, 2016) & Sophie Peppitt (Squires, 2010) You can find and listen to the podcast on Spotify.

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THE ASA SCHOOL TIE - THE ALUMNI OF ASHFORD SCHOOL

ALUMNI NEWS

JANE WISELY (SQUIRES, 1999) Jane Wisely (Squires, 1999) will be returning to Ashford School in February 2020 to perform with the Whitehall Symphony Orchestra, playing a programme including Bernstein’s Candide Overture and Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the Left Hand. Jane has written in to tell us about her career to date: I took up piano at the age of seven by dint of random chance. One day my class teacher at school announced that the peripatetic piano teacher had some spare slots for lessons and would anybody like some. I put up my hand immediately, without thinking in the least, only because I wondered what a ‘peripatetic’ teacher looked like. My decision was also especially uninformed because at the time my parents didn’t have a piano. Luckily, bemused, they indulged my ill-conceived whim, and a piano was swiftly purchased. I took to the piano: playing it was something I loved to do.

I came to Ashford School when I was eleven and took piano lessons with Stephen Dandridge.

I developed a love of thinking about the expression of music – of music as a spiritual entity because it was about something beautiful, something transcendent. As a romantically minded teenager, I delighted in every little curl, every nuance of my pieces, and my scores were a complete mess because, pretty much every bar had an idea written down for it. I performed a lot at school and won several local piano competitions.

I always imagined I would want to be a concert performer, but I didn’t take a university degree in music. I chose philosophy because I loved abstract conceptualism and idealism, and hated aural, four part harmony, score analysis and the

idea of having to write essays about Bach. My musical world was thus all my own imagination and no discipline. Mr. Dandridge had attempted some measures of pianistic improvement via discipline in musical thought, but I recall I was not overly partial to discipline in those days.

I graduated from Cambridge, and some years later turned back to my music and pursued a career in piano performance. I enrolled to study under renowned Bulgarian concert pianist Lora Dimitrova with whom I continue to work. Through Lora I came to meet and work with Russian concert artists Mikhail Kazakevich and his wife Elena Zozina.

I made a special study of the sound world in Prokofiev’s strange and elusive “Visions Fugitives”.

These are distinct and mercurial pieces in a Kafkaesque idiom. I particularly took to this Russian music. Perhaps I’ve always had a natural affinity for it, as when I was a child, I went one better than “War and Peace” with my own saga, “Life and Death” which included the account of a man “of melancholy disposition who lived on cabbages.” On a serious note, when I was about eight, we had staying with us for a few days a Czechoslovakian doctor. He had a terrifically sad face which I’ve never forgotten, and I sometimes recall it for my interpretation of Russian pieces.

I have toured to Germany as concerto soloist playing Mozart in Leipzig and Berlin, and have performed in London at Steinway Hall, the Yamaha Centre and the Bluthner Centre.

I made my Fairfield Halls debut in the Lunchtime Concert Series and have been invited to return.

I am delighted to be returning to Ashford School to perform concertos with the Whitehall Orchestra and the London Mozart players.

You can come and listen to Jane perform at Ashford School on Saturday 8th February 2020 with the Whitehall Symphony Orchestra and again on Saturday 3rd October when she performs with the London Mozart Players. We look forward to seeing alumni there.

I TOOK TO THE PIANO: PLAYING IT WAS SOMETHING I LOVED TO DO. Jane Wisley

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ALUMNI NEWS

FRIARS BOYS REUNITED AT ASHFORD PREP SCHOOL Friars Old Boys Reunited! We were delighted to welcome three Friars Old Boys back to Ashford Prep School in July: John Abadom, Tim Amos & Michael Anekwe. Organised by John (Friars, 1987), we toured around the Prep School, before heading to the Swan & Dog for more of a social. It was a pleasure to hear their memories of the school and former teachers, and be able to show them archival material too.

Tim Amos (Friars, 1987) speaks of the visit: “Whilst recently at what was Friars School now Ashford School, I was amazed at how much the school that I learnt so much at has changed. So many different aspects which are good for the education of young people.

While at Friars we built many good memories, and as our character developed we built the foundations and stepping stones for the rest of our lives. The school has changed physically to a certain extent, with new buildings providing better education to all who attend with potential for all to excel.

“Hide not your talents they for use were made what is the use of a Sundial in the Shade ? “

AN UPDATE FROM TONY HUNTER (FRIARS, 1956) We were delighted to hear from Friars Alumni Tony Hunter, who got in touch with us recently when he sent us a copy of the 1952 Friars Prizegiving Programme.

“Although I live in California, I had heard from my mother that Friars School had merged with Ashford School in 2005, and, because I was a pupil in the “kindergarten” at Ashford School for a year in 1949 before I started at Friars in January 1950 (I was the 14th pupil enrolled). I am presumably one of the very few people who is an alumnus of both Ashford School and Friars School! After Friars, I was a boarder at Felsted School in Essex from September 1956 until December 1961. After a gap” year", I went up to Cambridge University in October 1962, graduating with a Natural Sciences degree in 1965. I then stayed on in Cambridge to carry out my PhD in the Department of Biochemistry. After getting my PhD in 1969, I was appointed as a Research Fellow of Christ’s College in Cambridge. Then in October 1971, I moved to San Diego in California for postdoctoral studies at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, where I was appointed as an Assistant Professor in 1975.

I have been at the Salk Institute ever since, and remain a faculty member (https://www.salk.edu/scientist/tony-hunter/).”

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THE ASA SCHOOL TIE - THE ALUMNI OF ASHFORD SCHOOL

CONGRATULATIONS TO...

Doreen Davis (née Evans, Alfred, 1937) who celebrated her 100th birthday this year! Doreen has many happy memories of her time at Ashford during the early 1930s with her sister Peggy who was in Somerville House.

Our very own Alumni Officer, Hannah Pinney (Squires, 2011) who has recently got engaged to her partner Jack Thomson. Hannah & Jack met at Ashford School back in 2009, whilst performing in the joint Ashford School Norton Knatchbull Musical Sweeney Todd! Hannah was Ensemble Captain, and Jack played the part of the Anthony!

Frances Jones (née Edwards, Yeoman, 2008) on the birth of her first child Theodore on 24th January 2019.

OBITUARIES We were sad to hear of the passing of:

VALERIE LIPSCOMB (née Bucknell, 1955)

DR JOHN STONEHAM We wish to send our condolences to Valerie Stoneham (née Jenkins) whose husband John passed away after a very short illness in July of this year. John was an anaesthetist at the Royal Surrey Hospital, and with the local Ambulance Service. His memorial service at Guildford Cathedral was attended by over 600 mourners, and featured three very moving tributes from his professional colleagues. Our thoughts go out to Valerie and her family.

TOM WATTS TRAVEL AWARD

TOM WATTS TRAVEL AWARD The ASA Tom Watts Travel Award is an annual travel award in honour of the School’s former bursar and benefactor Mr Tom Watts. The Award provides financial assistance to Ashford School pupils and alumni who are considering undertaking challenging journeys or expeditions during their gap year, university vacation or similar period. The planned expedition or journey should embody the spirit of Adventurous Learning.

APPLY NOW FOR 2019/20 AWARDS! For 2019/20 the total award available is £2000 (rolled over from 2018/19). Where two or more applicants’ cases for support are meritorious, the award may be divided between them in such proportions as decided by the ASA Committee.

The deadline for applying for the 2019/20 Award is Wednesday 8 January 2020. Applicants will be notified of the Committees decision by Friday 7 February 2020.

You can apply online or alternatively by sending a letter to the ASA Committee via alumni@ashfordschool.co.uk . The letter should contain the following details: • Proposed dates of travel and countries visited • Name of expedition or charity/community to be supported • Description of nature of travel, and critical dates (e.g. sign-up dates, application dates, etc.)

• A brief analysis of costs of travel and how these will be funded • A Case for Support setting out the merits of the travel to be undertaken (approx. 300 words) • The contact details of the applicant and website details of any organisation involved.

You must be between the ages of 18-22 on 1 July 2020.

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TOM WATTS TRAVEL AWARD

CLIMBING MOUNT

KILIMANJARO

BY SOPHIE HOWLAND (FRANKLINS, 2015) & CHARLOTTE ROBERTS (SQUIRES, 2015)

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THE ASA SCHOOL TIE - THE ALUMNI OF ASHFORD SCHOOL

Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro was a challenge we had been dreaming about since our time at Ashford School.

So, when we were given the opportunity to not only climb the mountain, but to raise money for the charity Hope for Children, we jumped at the opportunity. We climbed as a part of Loughborough University’s Rag Department, and with thanks to the Tom Watts Travel Award, and many months of fundraising, we were able to raise a combined total of £6832.

TOM WATTS TRAVEL AWARD Before we set off on our climb we were given the opportunity to visit the Amani Children’s centre in Tanzania, which is a project funded by Hope for Children. The centre rescues children from extreme poverty, neglect, and from the many dangers of homelessness. Amani works tirelessly to provide the children with a safe home and care, and an education all the way to University level. Visiting the centre was humbling, and to see where some of our money might be spent put the upcoming challenge into perspective.

We began Day four facing the 257m Barranco Wall, this was a very challenging climb which involved a lot of scrambling and took us to an elevation of 4600m.

At this point in the trek members of our team began to be evacuated due to the dangerous effects of altitude sickness. This was a moment we really had to come together as a team to maintain a positive attitude - helped by lots of singing and biscuits. After a gruelling 16-hour day we arrived at base camp with mixed emotions, knowing that we only had three hours sleep before our only attempt at the summit.

Day one of the trek began with signing in at Machame Gate, where we were greeted by black and white Colobus monkeys. We began walking through dense jungle and, after five hours, arrived at Machame camp, which is at an elevation of 2980m.

The three hours’ sleep was the coldest three hours we have ever experienced, with windchill at around -25 degrees Celsius. As our group was the largest we woke up last, and could see headtorches in the distance, dotted along the climb to the summit.

Mentally summit night was tough as we had to walk in single file in almost pitch black. However, we were rewarded with the most beautiful sunrise which illuminated not only the mountain, but the surrounding plains.

Our second day began scrambling up the mountain and hiking through the clouds. We had to clamber up boulders and face sheer drops which proved, at times, to be very nerve-racking. After a challenging walk the clouds broke for the first time, and we were rewarded with our first view of the summit.

This gave us a real sense of purpose, finally being able to see our end goal. We arrived in camp (now at 3840m) to watch the sunset, and we were able to see the stars for the first time which was like nothing we’d ever seen before.

After an early start, on day three we began to see the most dramatic change of scenery as we trekked closer to Lava Tower. The Tower and surrounding scenery were formed when Mount Kilimanjaro was still an active volcano, and consequently the landscape is very barren with plant and rock formations – it looked like something from a sci-fi film! We reached an altitude of 4,600m, but to help our bodies acclimatise, after lunch we began returning down the mountain to sleep at a safer altitude. The pressures of high altitude began to take a toll on our group with members starting to suffer from altitude sickness.

Our group arrived at Stella Point a lot later than anticipated, and even though the summit was only 170m away, due to exhaustion and effects of the altitude, it took us a further two hours to reach Uhuru peak. The summit was covered with hundreds of shards of ice, and the gap to walk through was extremely narrow so that meant walking through them was gruelling. We finally reached the summit (5895m) which was an incredibly emotional moment, looking down at the mountain below and seeing everything that we had worked so hard to achieve.

Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro was by far the best and most inspiring experience, and we are still so grateful for everything we learned and managed to achieve. Our team was incredible, and we met such inspirational and positive people which has completely changed our outlook on life. Once again, we’d like to thank everybody who supported us through this challenge, and for helping us to raise a combined team total of £100,008 for Hope for Children.

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FROM THE ARCHIVES

THE ORIGINS OF BROOKE PLACE We are very lucky at Ashford School to have a wealth of material in our School Archives, from material objects such as bowls, to old copies of School Ties and photographs.

Every week, a group of current students make the most of this material through the ‘History Around Us’ activity, run by EAL Teacher & Head of Alfred Boarding House Nicu Munteanu.

This term they have been researching the origins of the name of one of Ashford School’s Boarding Houses – Brooke Place. Brooke Place and The Refuge was bought by the School in 1932. At the time, the School was 350 pupils strong, with around 250 boarders. It was used first for Junior School lessons, but soon became the fifth boarding house.

Between 1932-1987 the name of “Brooke Place” Boarding House was said to derive from the poems of the war poet Rupert Brooke. Brooke was know for his idealistic war sonnets written during the First World War, especially "The Soldier". He died in 1915 en route to Gallipoli. The House was also home to his portrait, which, in turn, inspired spooky Halloween stories and led to decades of the tradition of ‘Carols on the Stairs’!

Despite the story and link to Rupert Brooke, the History Around Us students discovered that the name of the boarding house actually had a very different origin as a Brooke Place was mentioned in records more than 300 years before Rupert Brooke was even born! They discovered that the Ashford School site was in Tudor times one whole estate, which centred around a residence called Brooke Place.

The name of the Brooke Place building appears for the first time in the will of a certain William Woodward, written in 1584:

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“[I] give to Edward Woodward my sonn my messuage or dwelling house with the appurtenances in Ashford that I nowe dwell in called Brooke place & all the freehold land therto belonging & the fild called broke fild lying in Ashford aforesaid, to have & to hold to him the said Edward my sonn & to his heiers" According to local Victorian historian, Rev. A. J. Pearman, the Woodward family owned Brooke Place until 1757.

Indeed, in the copies of the School Tie around the purchase, the House is always referred to as Brooke Place. It would be interesting to know

where the myth of the link to Rupert Brooke came from! So if any alumni know, do get in touch with Hannah!

Archivists Needed!

We are in need of some volunteer archivists, to help us organise and catalogue our wealth of archival material. This would be the perfect opportunity for a budding historian to gain archival experience, or for a former member of staff who has an expanse of knowledge about the school. If you would be interested in getting involved, please contact Hannah in the alumni office alumni@ashfordschool.co.uk

Above: (Original) Will of William Woodward of Ashford 1584, Kent History and Library Centre PRC/16/85/W/3}

THE ASA SCHOOL TIE - THE ALUMNI OF ASHFORD SCHOOL

SCHOOL NEWS

S TA F F P R O F I L E

TOM VAFIDIS

HEAD OF PILGRIMS HOUSE & TEACHER OF HISTORY (FRIARS, 2006) We sat down to chat with current History teacher & Friars alumnus Tom Vafidis for this edition of the ASA School Tie. Tom joined Ashford school back in September 2014 for his teacher training. As well as teaching History, he is also Head of Pilgrims House, and the lead in charge of High Potential Learners and Challenges.

What are some of your first memories of Friars?

My first memory of Friars is stepping through the heavy white door of the old Rectory (then the main entrance) into a dimly lit room and the wonderfully cloying scent of old polish.

Surrounding me were mounted a series of wooden boards with handsome gold lettering charting the school's great and the good.

Looming out of the dark carpet, a bright crest set in the middle drew the eye. I didn’t perhaps have the smoothest of starts. Having been ushered into the office, I was politely informed that my parents had in fact sent me in a girl’s blazer (the buttons were on the wrong side and this was a world where such things were noticed). It was therefore with justifiable trepidation that I remember entering the IIIB (Year 5) form room for the first time, where I was met with an alien world of wooden desks, blackboards and flannel blazers. I must admit (girl’s jacket or not) that I loved it from day one – coming from a local primary, the school had a huge impact on me, and I still very much consider myself a Friars boy!

What are your favourite memories of being a student at Friars?

Too many to list here; the plays, adventure trips to Wales, evensongs at Hurstpierpoint, even occasionally lessons!

There are a few involving writing lines which I won’t go into! A few memories really stand out: a very retro science lab, stuffed with artefacts, burn marks on the benches and interesting smells.

Lunch was always a particular highlight; you can never have too many ‘seconds’ and the three course (and 3 hour) French Lunches were a real treat. Even better was when the gas went and the whole school had chips from Marino’s!

I also have very fond memories of the music; there was a fabulous music room with huge serlian windows overlooking the fields. Being able to sing in a proper chamber choir, play in an orchestra and even go on tour to Barcelona was just fantastic.

MY FIRST MEMORY OF FRIARS IS STEPPING THROUGH THE HEAVY WHITE DOOR OF THE OLD RECTORY (THEN THE MAIN ENTRANCE) INTO A DIMLY LIT ROOM AND THE WONDERFULLY CLOYING SCENT OF OLD POLISH.

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STAFF PROFILE INSPIRING MINDS I think above everything my favourite memory of the school was the grounds, especially the old cricket pitch, and top field. I remember being bowled over by the space; the place felt more like being a guest in a small stately home than a school. I have a particularly vivid memory of sitting on top of the long stone wall that runs along top field in the summer of 2005, looking out over the pitches; I think that might encapsulate Friars best, the feel of the place and the grounds in the summer was quite special, especially around top field and the old cricket pitch.

A true family school, with all the trimmings of an old-style prep; flannel blazers, a close-knit culture, and iron discipline. I think I’m right in saying that the old Latin motto translates as ‘hard but fair’…

What was your favourite subject?

And who was your favourite teacher?

Not History strangely! I think a close call between English, Science (the old lab was like something out of the 60s which I thought was fantastic), and of course, Music.

There were quite a few teachers that genuinely inspired me; Mr Newton was the only person that I ever enjoyed Maths with: Mr Smedley for unrivalled scientific monologues; and Mrs Ashley for her use of terror to impart a love of English Lit. Another particular favourite was Mrs Cantor, who famously dished out bon-bons when we wrote essays. I suppose being taught by Mr Vafidis Snr was tolerable, and yes, he did once give me lines!

How did your time at Friars impact you?

At Friars, I learned how to work- having been, bluntly, seriously all over the place when I arrived aged 9. Within a month of being there, a fairly withering report said ‘Tom has potential but always goes for the gap’. More prescient words were never said. From that point I learned to knuckle down and how to get the best out of school. By the time I left at 13, I held scholarships to my senior school and went

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on to study History at Oxford. I firmly believe that if I’d been to school somewhere else, my life would have been very different. That’s why what we do here, at Ashford, matters so much.

You were studying at Friars during the time of the merger, what do you remember?

When the merger with Ashford and the creation of a new school was announced in 2004 it was both unexpected and controversial.

I was a member of the last year 8 at Great Chart, no new girls joined my year- and as Common Entrance students- we mostly retained our old teachers. From this rarefied perspective, pupils of my vintage got a ‘birds' eye’ view of the new school forming below us. The most noticeable differences were initially cosmetic- a flurry of summer activity saw the place fitted out with new interactive whiteboards, bright colours and new carpets. A more modern, practical uniform replaced the gold buttoned flannel

THE ASA SCHOOL TIE - THE ALUMNI OF ASHFORD SCHOOL

and a modern screen replaced the (slightly ostentatious) plaster Friars crest that formerly hung in the hall. Those of us who were used to Latin graces, standing when staff entered a room, and the omnipresent threat of lines found ourselves blinking in the newfound freedom of a new, more permissive setup. Be in no doubt this was a brand-new school.

As with all changes, teething problems came and went, but new opportunities also quickly emerged. For example, a games department formerly dominated by cricket and traditional sport gave way to a plethora of new activities, cross country, biathlon, an extensive swimming programme as well as traditional sports played to a high level - all distinctive hallmarks of the school’s success today. Creative arts also boomed as Friars’ choral tradition met with the dynamism of Ashford’s drama department. To my mind, 2005 is the moment which best distils just how different the two schools were. In the light of the tremendous success Ashford School

STAFF PROFILE INSPIRING MINDS has enjoyed, the scale of the task faced ten years ago is easily underestimated.

What has it been like returning to Ashford School to teach?

Honestly, ‘returning’ to Ashford was a bit of a non-event for me, my cohort were the last of the Friars boys that stayed on to Form VIII and our counterparts at East Hill were the last to have girls-only teaching. Because of that I was never based over at the Senior School, and never really thought of myself as an Ashford student. Going back the Prep was initially very strange. The modern school is amazing but almost unrecognisable. It takes a bit of time to reacclimatise, and eventually to spot familiar parts of the old school that remain. I’ve always been very strong advocate for Friars (as anyone who has mentioned the F-word in my presence knows to their cost), but I’m equally passionate about the school as it is today. Comparison between the two is like chalk and cheese, and would be a fool’s errand. However, as a proud ex-Friar, it’s a delight to see threads of the Friars’ legacy integrated so well into an institution that is now so confident, dynamic and distinctive in its own right.

What made you decide to teach History?

Like any good history essay, I think there are a range of factors. I have always been fascinated by the way in which the past can be used to inform the present. I also think that history is incredibly important as a subject discipline.

If you want to be able to argue - study history.

If you want to be able to evaluate the evidence in front of you and decide what to trust - study history. These skills strike me as particularly vital in the 21st Century, as dodgy news outlets, and expedient readings of the past become increasingly commonplace in everyday life.

...THERE WERE QUITE A FEW TEACHERS THAT GENUINELY INSPIRED ME: MR NEWTON WAS THE ONLY PERSON THAT I EVER ENJOYED MATHS WITH: MR SMEDLEY FOR UNRIVALLED SCIENTIFIC MONOLOGUES; AND MRS ASHLEY FOR HER USE OF TERROR TO IMPART A LOVE OF ENGLISH LIT...

Above all, history is also visceral, exciting and great fun. Generations of Year 7s will attest that no other subject features anything like the same quantity of blood and guts.

What is your favourite thing about your job?

I am somewhat infamous for working my way into just about every aspect of school life that I can and the breadth, scope and scale of what goes on at Ashford School itself is a huge part of what makes my job so enjoyable. There is a huge amount of diverse expertise here, but I have come across few schools where the faculties are so well-integrated and the school so institutionally strong.

If pushed to choose a couple of favourites, I would probably go for the following the first being VI form history teaching. My side of the A Level course looks in-depth at 20th Century Britain, which is particularly fascinating in

drawing out the complex strands that lead ultimately to our current political situation.

I am very lucky to teach such interested and capable historians, and it is always a privilege to watch these students evolve into university standard analytical thinkers.

My other great love is school music. I think that a musical education is fundamentally important and its rude health at Ashford School is an essential barometer for judging what we do here. A particular privilege is conducting the Ashford Youth Jazz Orchestra; this comprises the best jazz musicians from school in partnership with the highest-level young players around the Ashford area.

We’ve toured internationally, appeared in a range of festival concerts and have even appeared live on BBC1 in the last year.

Leading such an accomplished group is immensely rewarding but we also have great fun. The term ‘licenced hooliganism’ has in the past been bandied around. I shan’t comment.

Is there a particular moment in your teaching career that has been most rewarding? What is it?

Some of the larger achievements have been fantastic; helping a student win their place at Oxford is a particular highlight, as was performing live on BBC1 with the Jazz Orchestra. Great as such things are though, this isn’t really what makes the job rewarding.

Infinitely more so, are the snippets day to day. If a class leaves a lesson discussing what they’ve just done, when a student particularly ‘gets’ a complex issue, or when year 7 write their first extended essay and realise it is not, in fact, a form of torture. In my book, these everyday accomplishments are the true measure of what makes teaching worth doing.

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SCHOOL NEWS

MY YEAR AT ASHFORD SCHOOL SEBASTIAN KAU (PILGRIMS, 2019) Every year Ashford School welcomes a Scholar to join the School for a year as part of the Dresden Scholarship Scheme.

Sebastian Kau (Pilgrims, 2018) wrote in to tell us about his time at the School during the last academic year 2018-19.

Over the last year I have been studying at Ashford School in Year 12, and will soon return home to Germany, where I will finish school after another two years. Behind me lies a great year of meeting new friends, new experiences (most importantly living away from home) and learning many things, which I never would have learnt without coming to Ashford School.

This amazing and exciting year would be reason enough for me to write this article to thank everybody who welcomed me so warmly and helped me throughout the year. However, there is one additional reason: I was able to attend Ashford School through receipt of a Dresden Trust Scholarship. The Dresden Trust is a British Charity dedicated to fostering good relations with the city of Dresden in Germany, and was founded in 1993 by the British historian Dr Alan Russell as an act of friendship and as a response to the ‘Call from Dresden’ to help rebuild the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady). The aim was to help rebuild the city which had been destroyed when it was bombed by the Allied forces during in February 1945 during WWII.

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2019

Today, the trust seeks to fulfil its mission of reconciliation through educational and cultural initiatives of which the Dresden Scholars Scheme is one. The scheme allows boys and girls from Germany to receive scholarships to attend independent schools in Britain, of which Ashford School is one.

Throughout my year here, many people have asked me why I was spending a year of my life doing A-levels, especially as I would not finish the course. Although there certainly is an argument for that, I believe that the Dresden Trust Scheme offers a wonderful opportunity for students to improve their language skills, to experience a different school system and to learn about the English culture.

I must say it was absolutely worth it!

I learnt a lot about the United Kingdom, which I never would have had the opportunity to study in Germany. For example, I found it interesting to look at past UK Prime Ministers from a political, historical and economic perspective, which in turn gave me a detailed knowledge about the last few decades of the United Kingdom. Although this was partially the result of my personal subject combination, it was also the consequence of having brilliant teachers, who knew how to succeed in connecting their own subject well to others, and who always supported me and gave me advice on how to improve and challenging me further.

Besides the academic aspect of the year, I also discovered swimming as a sport for myself and played Clarinet in the Ashford Youth Jazz Orchestra, which helped me discover a different genre of music that I had not had the opportunity to perform before.

Last but not least, I cannot leave one experience unmentioned: my time spent boarding in ASIC

THE ASA SCHOOL TIE - THE ALUMNI OF ASHFORD SCHOOL

(Ashford School International Centre).

It was amazing to meet so many different people of various nationalities and talents, and yet find that we had many similar interests.

Furthermore, for a student from a ‘normal’ school in Germany it was completely new to me how teachers interacted with us. They were like a family: I knew that I could always talk to them about everything or have a good time with them along with my friends, for example watching a movie.

My year in England is only part of a bigger picture. Since the German aggression in the Second World War, there have been many improvements in the relations between the United Kingdom and Germany. A small symbol might be that Coventry and Dresden became twin cities in 1959, or that the United Kingdom eventually joined the European Union in 1973.

This friendship should be important to all of us and will surely not end after Brexit. I believe that the possibility for me to study in another country has been a huge privilege which should be kept for future generations. In my individual case this was made easier by Dresden Trust, and I am very grateful for that.

Special thanks to all my teachers, the ASIC staff and Ms Ball who helped me write this article. article

2019

THE ASHFORD SCHOOL FOUNDATION Patrons: Mrs Jane Loudon, Dr Amanda Cottrell, Mr Peregrine Massey, & Mr John Hosking

SCHOOL NEWS

SWIMMING AT ASHFORD SCHOOL DENISE WALSH (DIRECTOR OF SWIMMING & MULTI-SPORTS)

The Ashford School Foundation was launched back in November 2016 and continues to go from strength to strength.

Back in 2015, Ashford School reinvigorated its swimming programme – and what a journey it has been since… The school has a long and proud history in supporting a ‘sport for all’ ethos, a community outreach programme and support for sporting excellence amongst its pupils. By building on these traditions, today, we now teach swimming to 1600 external pupils on a weekly basis, provide curriculum lessons to our own pupils from nursery through to Year 10, provide swimming lessons for 12 local Primary Schools and have produced 2 international level pentathletes, 2 national level swimmers and multiple county and regional finalists!

The Foundation held a successful Patron’s Lunch at the start of November, at which Mike Hall was able to share the school’s new strategic vision with the Foundation’s Patrons. We are looking forward to more events in 2020, including our Lilian Brake Society Lunch. The Society is for those who have chosen to leave a legacy in their wills to Ashford School or who are considering doing so. If you are considering leaving a gift to School and would like to attend the Lunch, please contact Hannah Pinney on: alumni@ashfordschool.co.uk or 01233 625171.

We are lucky in that we have two swimming pools which are fully utilised early morning to late evening, and a fantastic team of swimming teachers. The programme is led by a highly qualified and experienced swimming coach and Swim England tutor supported by a Modern Pentathlon Coach who is an Olympian and several Level 1, 2 & 3 coaches for Swimming, running and strength & conditioning. This team has produced the international and national level swimmers, pentathletes and greatly increased the school’s competitive reputation. With their good water confidence and stroke skills pupils are also being introduced to a number of different water-based sports like waterpolo, synchronised swimming (for both boys and girls), triathlon, modern pentathlon and competitive swimming!

Our Trustees continue to meet once a term and award the Foundation Assisted Places bursaries to deserving pupils.

Over the coming years we aim to increase the available resources of the Fund so that more students may benefit from a life-changing Ashford School education, irrespective of family circumstance. We are also currently planning a new fundraising campaign, which will launch in summer 2020 – so stay tuned for more news on this early next year. As such we are looking out for new trustees, who can focus on fundraising, to join our ASF committee. If you would be interested in getting involved, please contact Headmaster Michael Hall: hallmm@ashfordschool.co.uk.

The Swim Programme team are looking forward to developing swimming at Ashford School further, and look forward to keeping our alumni up to date with progress.

Our goal is to build a competitive standard 25 meter pool with a viewing gallery at the Senior School in the near future.

Trustees: The Ven Stephen Taylor (Chairman), Mr Michael Hall (Headmaster of Ashford School), Mrs Nicky Brightling, & Mr Rory Montgomerie

We would like to finish by thanking all our donors who support the Ashford School Foundation. Every single donation makes a difference to the school and its pupils.

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SCHOOL NEWS

2019

FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD

THE JUDITH WEBB HOUSE

The highly-anticipated Junior Drama production of Lionel Bart’s Oliver! opened to a packed hall on Tuesday 25 June 2019, when a cast of 57 Junior Dramatists took to the streets of 1830’s London.

Initially home to Bridge Nursery, ASIC Boarding House was renamed at the start of this academic year as the Judith Webb House.

Judith Webb was a long-serving Governor of Ashford and worked with the Ashford School Foundation. The renaming of ASIC was in recognition of all Judith did to contribute to the School and its community.

Among the solo performances, Oliver’s ‘Where is Love?’ was captivating in its clarity and expression, whilst Nancy’s ‘As Long as He Needs Me’ was particularly touching. Fagin’s humorous rendition of ‘Reviewing the Situation’ was also greeted with enthusiastic applause!

Highlights included the energetic ensemble numbers ‘Consider Yourself’ and ‘You’ve Got to Pick a Pocket or Two’, as well as the choreography for ‘Be Back Soon’. A special mention must be given to the only four-legged member of the cast, Jess, who was line-perfect.

‘The cast worked tirelessly to produce the performance-ready show.

All students came to life on the stage, and their performance was certainly something to be proud of.’

Leanne Dinsdale, Head of Drama and Show Director

NEW ARTIST IN RESIDENCE ANNOUNCED Ashford School was delighted to announced the appointment of Joseph Dunkerley as the School’s Artist in Residence for the academic year 2019-2020.

Joseph is a multi-disciplined artist who specialises in digital art and animation. His background lies in independent video game design, and his portfolio includes work as a 3D artist on the 2016 voxel based fast-paced shooter ‘Critical Annihilation’.

You can see some of Joseph’s work at https://shallow-lagoon.itch.io/ https://giphy.com/ShallowLagoon

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THE NEW SPORTS PAVILION OPENS The Sports Pavilion at the Prep School in Great Chart is officially open for business! May we have many happy sporting teams through its doors.

Alumni are warmly invited to join us at the official opening on Saturday 13 June 2020. This day will also see us hold our annual ASA Sports Tournament, which sees alumni compete against the current 1st teams, and staff.

This year we are looking for alumni (Ladies & Men) to represent us in Hockey & Netball. Drop Hannah an email: alumni@ashfordschool.co.uk if you would like to play in a team.

2019

DUKE OF EDINBURGH SUCCESS The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme has been offered to students at Ashford School for more than 50 years, starting in 1965 before becoming a Directly Licensed Centre in 1995.

Since that time, hundreds of pupils have gained Bronze, Silver and Gold awards and the scheme has become an integral part of life at Ashford.

STAFF COMPLETE GOLD DOFE CYCLING EXPEDITION Congratulations to the team of staff members Kirrily Jackson, Jess Wilson, Danni Cox (Franklins, 2015) & Harry Lancaster (Yeoman, 2017) who have successfully completed their Gold DofE expedition.

The four staff members planned an expedition to Arnhem in Holland, the site of one of the most famous operations of the Second World War. While they explored whether Operation Market Garden was a strategic success, they cycled a total of 348km and burned a whopping 4550kcal per day. Their route took them to some of the key sites, including the parachute landing site, strategic German locations, Oosterbeek front line and the Arnhem War Cemetery.

PE Teacher and Gold DofE participant Kirrily Jackson said, "Being a teacher is an incredibly rewarding job, but to actually have the chance to complete the Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award has really made us realise how our students can benefit from such an amazing scheme.

The Gold DofE Award sets out several challenges, both physical and mental, and is completed by only the most dedicated of participants. Ashford School has become one of the first in the country to successfully see a team of staff members through the challenging Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award.

SCHOOL NEWS

BRONZE & SILVER AWARDS FOR STUDENTS Last academic year Ashford School celebrated the achievement of an impressive 31 Bronze and 13 Silver Duke of Edinburgh awards. Ashford’s community has benefitted from 870 hours of voluntary service by the 44 students; this includes visiting the elderly and helping the local church.

They have learnt new skills including first aid, modern pentathlon and line dancing. Amongst the tasks undertaken was also the completion of a national teaching qualification!

Mr Ed Gaskin, DofE Operations Manager for the South East, said the School’s provision of the DofE award scheme was 'the best DofE experience offered at any School in Kent'.

Such is the popularity of the award, that another 38 students should complete theirs before Christmas and all 13 Silver award holders have progressed to the Gold level.

The 44 students who are receiving these awards should be incredibly proud of themselves. They have demonstrated dedication and perseverance to a scheme which is often challenging, to say the least.

Mr Tom Wilding, Head of the Senior School,

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SCHOOL NEWS

2019

GREASE IS THE WORD! On Thursday 7 March 2019, the curtains of Brake Hall drew back onto the corridors of Rydell High in the opening night of last year’s musical production, Grease.

A cast of 30 students, supported by a 6-piece band, performed the classic over the course of three evenings.

Ophelia Shaw-Bourne (Knights, 2019) played bright-eyed ponytailed Sandy, while the renowned T-Bird leader, Danny Zuko, was played by Sam Lebeaux (Franklins, 2019). Other members of the cast included Marguerite Scully (Pilgrims, 2019) as Rizzo; Olivia Denis (Merchants, 2019) as Frenchy; Annabel Hoskins (Squires) as Jan; and Kimberly Joe-Ejim (Yeoman, 2019) as Marty. Ethan Rayner (Knights, 2019), Ryan Philpott (Squires), Dubie Joe-Ejim (Yeoman, 2019) and Toby Coleman-Nye (Pilgrims) swaggered in their leather jackets as Doody, Roger, Kenickie, and Sonny.

Congratulations to the all the cast involved!

WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE 2020 MUSICAL PRODUCTION OF BEAUTY & THE BEAST. Based on the Academy-Award winning animated feature, the stage version includes all of the wonderful songs written by Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman along with new songs by Mr. Menken and Tim Rice.

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THE ASA SCHOOL TIE - THE ALUMNI OF ASHFORD SCHOOL

WE ARE EXCITED TO INVITE ALUMNI TO JOIN US FOR OUR VIP EVENING ON THURSDAY 5 MARCH. PLEASE GET IN TOUCH WITH HANNAH IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO COME ALONG.

SCHOOL NEWS

2019

PREP SCHOOL ANNOUNCES NEW HOUSE NAMES ROSIE CLIFFORD (ACTING HEAD OF THE PREP SCHOOL, TEACHING & LEARNING) From September 2019, the Prep School has adopted new names for each of its four houses.

The existing houses of Nightingale, Lendrum, Headley and Mountbatten were an amalgamation comprising two houses from each of Friars and Ashford Prep at the time of their merger. It was felt that now was an opportune time to move forward and relaunch the houses. Accordingly, & in part to align ourselves with the Senior School, we selected key historical figures with strong links to our local area and, in particular, Canterbury. The following house names have been adopted on behalf of their namesakes:

BECKET Thomas Becket (1119 1170), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas Ă Becket, was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion.

CHAUCER Geoffrey Chaucer (1343 – 1400), was an English poet and author. Widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages, he is best known for writing The Canterbury Tales.

TRIVET NAVARRE Joan of Navarre (1368 - 1437), has the most famous woman's tomb in the cathedral. She was wife of Henry IV, beside whom she is buried. She served as regent of Brittany from 1399 until 1403, whilst her son was in minority. Then, in 1407, she arranged a peace between England and Brittany and persuaded Henry to release Breton prisoners. Joan was also involved in politics during the reign of her stepson Henry V, acting as regent for him while he was away fighting the French, and accompanying Henry during his triumphant entry into London after the Battle of Agincourt.

Lady Elizabeth Trivet (1358 - 1433), was prominent at the courts of Richard II and Henry IV, therefore, she would certainly have known Joan of Navarre. As Henry IV usurped the throne from Richard II in 1399, the ability of these women to maintain their positions at court is impressive.

Both Joan and Elizabeth were made Ladies of the Order of the Garter, the highest order of chivalry in the country, in 1384 and 1390 respectively. She is also buried in the crypt of the cathedral.

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SCHOOL NEWS

2019

WHICH HOUSES TRIUMPHED IN 2018-2019?

COCK HOUSE:

HOUSE DRAMA:

HOUSE DEBATING:

KNIGHTS

YEOMEN

HOUSE SCIENCE:

HOUSE GENERAL KNOWLEDGE:

YEOMEN

KNIGHTS

SPORTS COMPETITIONS

HOUSE SPORTS DAY:

FRANKLINS

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FRANKLINS

HOUSE MFL:

KNIGHTS

RUGBY:

BOYS HOCKEY:

BOYS CRICKET:

Junior: Franklins Inter: Merchants Senior: Yeomen

Junior: Yeomen Inter: Merchants Senior: Yeomen

Junior: Yeomen Inter: Merchants

GIRLS HOCKEY:

GIRLS CRICKET:

NETBALL:

Junior: Yeomen Inter: Knights Senior: Knights

Junior: Knights Inter: Yeomen

Junior: Yeomen Inter: Yeomen Senior: Merchants

TENNIS

SWIMMING:

ATHLETICS:

Junior: Yeomen Inter: Yeomen

Junior: Yeomen Inter: Squires Senior: Pilgrims

Junior: Yeomen Inter: Yeomen Senior: Pilgrims

THE ASA SCHOOL TIE - THE ALUMNI OF ASHFORD SCHOOL

SCHOOL NEWS

2019

DESTINATIONS OF 2019 YEAR 13 STUDENTS SUBJECT

UNIVERSITY

SUBJECT

UNIVERSITY

Architecture

AA School

Business and Finance

University of Greenwich

Air Transport with Commercial Pilot Training

Buckinghamshire New University

Architecture

University of Greenwich

Natural Sciences

Cambridge University, Clare College

Architecture

University of Greenwich

Multimedia Journalism

Canterbury Christ Church University

Human Geography

University of Kent

Applied Criminology

Canterbury Christ Church University

Financial Economics

University of Kent

Architecture

Cardiff University

Psychology

University of Liverpool

Natural Sciences

Durham University

Biomedical Science

University of Manchester

Accounting and Finance

Durham University

Criminology (Deferred)

University of Manchester

Business and Management

Durham University

Business Studies (with Foundation Year)

University of Northampton

Drama

Guildhall

History

University of Plymouth

Digital Culture

KCL

Geography (Human)

University of Reading

Accounting and Finance

KCL

Museum Studies and Archaeology

University of Reading

Physics

KCL

Politics

University of Southampton

Film Music (with foundation year)

Leeds College of Music

International Relations

University of Surrey

Fashion Photography

London Metropolitan University

Veterinary Medicine and Science

University of Surrey

Mathematics, Statistics & Business

LSE

Geography (with Foundation year)

University of Sussex

Fashion Business and Management

Manchester Metropolitan

Primary and Early Years Education (QTS)

University of Sussex

Cinema di Animazione

Nemo Academy

Art Foundation

University of the Arts London

Accounting and Finance

Newcastle University

Drama

University of the West of England

Business and Management (with Foundation year)

Economics

University of Warwick

Oxford Brookes University

Electronic Engineering

University of Warwick

Computer Science

Oxford Brookes University

Digital Media and Communications

University of Westminster

Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Queen Mary

University of Westminster

Mathematics with Management

Queen Mary

Business Management (Entrepreneurship)

Medicine

Queen Mary

Business and Management

University of York

Law

The University of Law

Art and Politics (Combined BFA/BA)

Tufts University

Computer Science

UCL

Nutrition and Medical Sciences

UCL

Biomedical Sciences

UCL

Cancer Biomedicine

UCL

History

University of Aberdeen

Physics

University of Birmingham

Architecture

University of Dundee

Natural Sciences

University of Exeter

Business and Management

University of Glasgow

History

University of Glasgow

Accounting and Finance

University of Greenwich

D 42% GAINE A A P L A C E AT OUP RUSSELL GR UNIVERSITY

22% GAINED A PLACE AT A UK TOP 10 UNIVERSITY 2% GAINE D A PLACE A T A WORLD T 10 UNIVE OP R (OR G5) SITY

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FAREWELL TO STAFF

ANGELA WILLIAMS

ANNE RYLANDS

DEPUTY HEAD OF BOARDING, TEACHER OF BUSINESS & ECONOMICS

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO THE HEADS

2014-2019 Since joining the school in January 2014 as an Assistant House Parent in Alfred, Angela has been meticulous in her care for the students in boarding. In 2017 she became Deputy Head of Boarding, cementing her commitment to ensuring the best possible boarding experience for the girls. In addition to her role in boarding, Angela has also been a popular teacher of Business.

Her lessons were always meticulously prepared and delivered with great energy and enthusiasm, always pushing and supporting her students to produce their highest possible standard of work.

Angela is probably one of the most stylish people we have ever worked with!! Angela’s aesthetic sense could always be relied upon to jazz up a Powerpoint presentation or improve the impact of a Young Enterprise merchandising stand. Angela felt that school trips were of great value to our students, and frequently participated in, and led, Business visits both in the UK and overseas.

Angela never believed that education only took place within the classroom. She unfailingly modeled what a moral, resilient and creative teacher should look like, and expected her students to mirror some of these attributes in their own behavior and conduct.

It is a mark of the respect and affection that Angela’s students had for her that so many of them chose to stay in touch with her after they had left Ashford School.

We would like to thank Angela for all that she has contributed to the department & boarding and wish her every success in her exciting new role at the Yehudi Menuhin Music School. ~ Jason Kendall (Business & Economics Teacher) & Nicky Timms (Deputy Head of Ashford Senior School)

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2003 - 2019 Anne Rylands is an outstanding servant of Ashford School and I am pleased to write about her contribution to its reinvention.

Anne was there to greet me on my first day as Head designate in early 2005. She had herself recently joined the secretarial team at the school, having worked at Brakes for some years beforehand. I’m not sure which of us was more apprehensive: me as nervous, new Head or Anne as someone knowing she would have to train me in how to be successful. For sure, both of us were apprehensive knowing how pivotal the relationship is between a Head and his or her closest colleague!

It was not long before Anne had skilfully guided me into some sort of workable routine and a highly productive, complementary relationship that would last for over thirteen years. It was not long before I recognised that Anne had skills, knowledge, foresight and wisdom in abundance: so much so that her role morphed into that of Executive Assistant over time.

If you wish to know how something works at Ashford School, ask Anne.

If you wish to know what the mood is at Ashford School, ask Anne. If

you wish to test out yet another crazy idea, ask Anne first. If you wish to be told not to enact a crazy idea, ask Anne. If you wish to share your personal doubts, share them with Anne. If you wish to implement a demanding, new requirement from United Learning or elsewhere, ask Anne. If you wish for honesty with integrity and helpful criticism, ask Anne. If you wish for solutions to problems, ask Anne. If you wish to be protected to have time to think, ask Anne.

If you wish to keep people at bay, ask Anne. If you wish for someone to act and think for you as if they are you, ask Anne.

Anne Rylands is one of life’s doers.

Without complaint, almost always with enthusiasm, she gets on with what needs to be done. She shies away from nothing even when it is personally uncomfortable. She is loyal, honest, humble, focussed, imaginative, hard-working, clear, precise and concise. These are all qualities I admire which, perhaps, explains why we got on so well.

She frightened some people and was stern with people who she thought were wasting my time.

She worried endlessly about making mistakes or upsetting

F A R E W E L L T O S TA F F

people. She was and is a perfectionist; a quality for which the school can be forever grateful given her assiduousness in overseeing the endless and vital safeguarding checks for employees and volunteers. On a few occasions Anne came into my office to ask to “have a word”.

On those occasions, I knew I should listen carefully because it was Anne using her welltuned antennae to warn me of a potential car crash coming down the road.

Thank you, Anne.

Anne never promoted herself, yet she promoted everyone around her to me. One of my greatest pleasures was seeing Anne respond so positively to the opportunities that were offered to her, whether that was leading the administrative team at the Senior School, overseeing the appointment of staff or the myriad other statutory requirements involved. Never did she fail to grasp the essentials of these and others areas and lead them successfully.

When asked, Anne would give her carefully balanced opinion on the candidates for jobs at the school often based on her one-toone conversation with them on the sofa in reception on arrival. People who were abrupt or otherwise self-obsessed were quickly ruled out of consideration. People who were nervous were given the benefit of the doubt and the genuinely inquisitive were strong contenders. Ultimately, Anne judged people on their civility and invariably she was correct.

I trusted Anne, and her dog, with my life and my career. There was nothing I did not share with her. She repaid me and the school in huge measure. Thank you, Anne.

LUKE KADINOPOULOS EAL TEACHER & HEAD OF ASIC 2013-2019 I remember the day I met Luke. It was March 16th, 2015: he gave me my first tour of the school. I was impressed with his enthusiasm and energy, which have continued to be his signature throughout these years we have worked together.

Luke’s heart is huge, and this makes him an amazing form tutor. Although somehow, he has managed to work his way backwards… He started as a 6th Form Tutor, went through a spell in Year 11, and has managed to be “promoted” to Year 7!

Luke played an enormous role in building the ASIC programme from the ground up. From the early planning discussions, to organizing staff training, to implementing and executing, his impact has been felt. Former ASIC students have written to Luke since leaving to say how much they enjoyed their time in ASIC and how important it has been in their lives. What has he done with the ASIC cohorts over the years? Well, teach them, of course, but so much more.

For instance, he organized a cycling tour of the Biddenden vineyard where they all got to sample the best vintage… of apple juice. With Andrea Dengate, Luke also put on a very successful multilingual production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which they were invited to perform in Stratford-upon-Avon at the festival!

As a Pilgrim, Luke is always willing to jump in and participate in House events. From playing Minute to Win it during a House Charity event to his most recent portrayal of the Big Bad Wolf in Grandma’s costume, he doesn’t shy away from the stage or the field.

Luke has made his mark in Pilgrims, in ASIC, in EAL, in boarding. We will miss him and wish him all the best for the future.

~ Paola Sagastuy (MFL Teacher & Head of Brabourne)

~ Mike Buchanan (Former Headmaster of Ashford School, 2005-2018)

THE ASA SCHOOL TIE - THE ALUMNI OF ASHFORD SCHOOL

37

FAREWELL TO STAFF

RALPH COWAN

SUE CHILDS

HEAD OF SCIENCE, CO-HOUSE PARENT OF ALFRED BOARDING HOUSE 2010-2019

HEAD OF MATHEMATICS 2005-2019

Ralph has led the Science faculty for the last nine years.

Underpinning his approach to all things in school has been his core belief that all pupils should be valued equally. He has enthused chemists of all ages, prepared scientists for Oxbridge interviews and brought his humility, sense of fairness and unique brand of humour to his lessons, his tutor group and to all whom he encounters as he is out and about around the School, and as co-Houseparent of Alfred boarding house.

He has a sharp intelligence and a quick and ready skill for processing and applying data usefully. His affinity for ecology in particular, spills happily beyond the classroom, recently leading the establishment of a wildlife activity, a lizard sanctuary at our Great Chart site and engaging pupils in several twilight “newt hunts”.

Sports day is undoubtedly the pinnacle of each year for Ralph.

Even after 10 years in shot put corner, he readily admits he still doesn’t know what he’s doing, but he is very happy with that.

Ralph, I am very grateful to you. We will miss you and wish you well at your new school. Mayfield will benefit enormously from your expertise in so many areas. ~ Tom Wilding (Head of Ashford Senior School)

Sue has been a lynchpin of the Maths department since 2005.

From creating the intricate patterns of coral in crochet to illustrate tessellation, looking at fractals across Biology and Art departments, to moulding and firing sliced cones to look at their diameters and introducing Maths journals, Sue communicates her joy in mathematical patterns and problems to all her pupils and colleagues.

Sue has strongly advocated the importance of supporting Maths competitions in local schools, including building strong links with the Prep School. She has helped to develop House Maths as a regular fixture on the House competition calendar and has introduced Pi Week in recent years. Sue has spearheaded a strong and successful representation of our students at the UKMT Mathematical Challenges. She has also produced 14 timetables (even 1 is no mean feat!) since joining, but I have no idea how many versions she has created altogether.

A ready risk-taker, she combines that rare knack for loving Maths in all its guises, recognising and wholeheartedly respecting those whose mathematical skills might be superior to hers in tiny, limited areas and rendering Maths understandable to those who may be less mathematically inclined.

She has been a wonderful form tutor, guiding and supporting mathematicians applying to the most competitive universities.

She has led countless ski trips and I understand she is an amazing skier, even at skiing backwards – intentionally!

I know she is looking forward to her retirement, not least to be able to pursue some of the other interests in her life, which of course include keeping her hand in the mathematical world. Sue, we will miss you. I thank you wholeheartedly for all you have done for the School and wish you all the very best for your retirement.

~ Tom Wilding (Head of Ashford Senior School)

38

THE ASA SCHOOL TIE - THE ALUMNI OF ASHFORD SCHOOL

WELCOME

F A R E W E L L T O S TA F F

CHARLOTTE GRAY HEAD OF ACADEMIC PE, TEACHER OF GIRLS SPORT 2013-2019 Charlotte joined us in the January of 2013 as a netball specialist. Her interview lesson was impactful, as she mistakingly taught the wrong topic for ‘3rd stage defence’. However, her enthusiasm and potential shone though and the job was hers, so she left her School in Sittingbourne to join our team on a two-term maternity contract.

This maternity cover proved to be a precursor for greater things; as she made such an impression that she secured a newly created role as Head of Academic PE. Over the next 7 years her achievements were many, most notably orchestrating the switch from A’Level to BTEC. We continue to witness daily the positive impact this has on many of our students.

Her senior netball team made fantastic progress and they particularly loved that she always wanted to be inside in the warm. I’m not sure if they felt the same about her HIIT sessions though, which were particularly punishing!

7 years on, Charlotte decided to take on a new challenge and come full circle, heading back to Sittingbourne, teaching much closer to home and working at an infant school, as the PE lead.

We will miss her, we are sure she will miss us, but we know for certain that she won’t miss the 50mph speed limit on the M20 twice a day! I have no doubt that she will be amazing in her new role and hopefully her new students won’t need to know what the 3rd stage of defence is!

~ Caroline Morris (Head of Girls Sport)

….AND WELCOME TO: Philip Bubb - Head of Academic PE Melissa Clark – Executive Assistant to the Heads Daisy Davidson – Prep School Registrar Laura Dixon - Early Years Practitioner (The Stables Nursery) Joseph Dunkerley - Artist in Residence Juliet Dymond - Teacher of Mathematics Kirsty Grennan - Speech & Drama Teacher Samantha Hook – Early Years Practitioner (The Stables Nursery) Rhys Langford - Teacher of History Gina Lapsley - Teacher of EAL Nick Lord - Teacher of Computer Science & BS Hilary Ndongong - Teacher of English

WE ALSO SAY GOODBYE AND GOOD LUCK TO THE FOLLOWING STAFF:

Maria Pope - Teacher of Geography (Maternity Cover)

ANDREA DENGATE (Speech & Drama Teacher)

Pamela Spicer – Assistant Houseparent

LUCY HAYWOOD (Teacher of Girls PE)

Callum Thomas - Basketball Coach

DANIEL KIRKPATRICK (HE Advisor & Research Leader)

Sue Williams - Bursar

ANTHONY MASKELL (Teacher of English)

Rachel Smith - Faculty Leader: English

Matt Worrell - Faculty Head of Science & Teacher of Chemistry

CHRIS SARGANT (Teacher of PE) CHLOE WHITELAW (Head of Knights House, PSHE Coordinator & Teacher of History)

THE ASA SCHOOL TIE - THE ALUMNI OF ASHFORD SCHOOL

39

DATES FOR YOUR

DIARIES ARCH AY 5 M THURSD

2020

THURSD

SICAL U M I N M ALU AUTY E B : N O I REUN E BEAST & TH SCHOOL

, ASHFORD L L A H E K BRA FROM ECEPTION R S K N I R D ARDS 18:00 ONW

OR, 12:00

HOOL ASHFORD PREP SC

BRAKE HALL, ASHFORD SCHOOL, 15:45 – 19:00

A S A A G MSCHOOL

LILIAN B SOCIETY RAKE LUNCH EASTWEL L MAN

Y A S A S P O R T ’S DRAE P & A S H F O R D P IO N S C H O O L PA V IL O P E N IN G

AS HF O RD SC HO O L O PP O RT UN IT IE S FA IR

SA

2020

3 JUNE 2020 SATURDAY 1

W E D N E S D AY 2 5 M A R C H 2 020

20 JULY 20 4 Y A D TUR

AY 12 M ARCH

S AT U R D A

LUNCH ASHFORD SCHOOL 12:00 ON WA R D S

SENIOR ASHFORD 11:00

DON’T FORGET TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

ASA LONDON KS R IN N E T W O R K IN G ,DLONDON UB THE CARLTON CL 18:30 ONWARDS WEDNESD

ASA CAREER S SPEED NETWORKIN G ASHFORD SE NIOR SCHOO L

PTEMBER FRIDAY 4 SE

|

D AY 1

EMB 4 N OV

ER 20

20

T ’S N E D I RES ASA P NCHEON N DO LU Y, L O N

SATUR

EM 00 ACAD M 12: L O A R Y F O R KS E DRIN M O C WEL

i : ASHFORDALUMNI q : ASHFORDALUMNI l : GROUPS/8595031/ f : ASHFORDSCHOOLASSOCIATION

alumni@ashfordschool.co.uk

2020

BBQ A S A W E L CO M E

Ashford School • East Hill • Ashford • Kent • TN24 8PB Tel: +44 (0)1233 625171

AY 17 JU NE 2020

, ASHFORD EDWARDS LAWN N WA R D S SCHOOL, 17:30 O

Y 4 J U LY 2020

ASA SUM MER

20 9 MARCH 20 THURSDAY 1

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