Ashford ASA School Tie Magazine 2017

SCHOOL TIE

ASA

THE

THE ALUMNI MAGAZINE OF ASHFORD SCHOOL

BEYOND THE SCHOOL GATES ICE MAIDEN SOPHIE TAKES ON THE ANTARCTIC

DECEMBER 2017

PRESIDENT’S LETTER I’m delighted to report to Members that the Ashford School Association is in fine fettle and that this year has seen still more Ashfordians becoming involved with the ASA whether by joining our mailing lists, following our social media channels on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, or attending events organised by the Committee or reporting back on privately arranged reunions and events.

As you will read further in this second edition of the new ASA School Tie Magazine, David Young and the Committee have further plans to expand the activities of the Association, arranging a programme to include sports and cultural events and trips to places of interest for our former pupils. The design of this programme is in the planning stages and I encourage each one of you to give us your thoughts about activities and events you would like to see offered by the ASA. The theme of this year’s School Tie is “Beyond the School Gates” and celebrates the outgoing nature of our School and its pupils and former pupils. Ashford’s tagline these days is “Adventurous Learning” and you will read about many exciting trips and journeys that Ashford children have access to during their school career. In this they are following in the footsteps of generations of Old Girls and Boys who left the confines of Ashford – evacuated during the War, travelled around the world, embarked upon challenging and unusual careers or pushed themselves to discover new horizons - taking full advantage of the confidence and independence that their schooling at East Hill instilled in them.

David asked us all during the course of the past year, to provide memories of our favourite School trip while at Ashford. I’m afraid I’ve cheated a little in relating the story of a reunion I helped organise back to Countess Weir for our wartime evacuees which we held in May 1995, celebrating 50 years since the end of the war. I’m still in awe of the organisational skills of Miss Brake (Cherub) and her team in moving our girls to Devon, keeping their education going and the girls happy in very difficult circumstances.

I hope you will all enjoy reading the Magazine; give us your thoughts and opinions and any suggestions for future issues. I would like to thank the current Editor, Liz Leonard, and David Young for their hard work and my thanks to ASA Joint Chairs Henrietta Oxlade (1984 Alfred) and Jane Druker (1982 Alfred) for successfully steering the ASA through another great year.

Carolyn Chamberlain (Nelms) (1960 Nightingale) President

CONTENTS

11

4

ASA NEWS ALUMNI NEWS 11-15

16

EVENT REPORTS

4

EVENTS PLANNED

8

COMMITEE NEWS

9

BEYOND THE SCHOOL GATES ASHFORD SCHOOL EXPLORING THE WORLD

16-17

TOM WATTS TRAVEL AWARDS

18-19

ICE MAIDEN!

20-21

25

STAFF PROFILES 22-24

22

FAVOURITE SCHOOL TRIPS 25-27 FO UN DATIO N NE WS 40 -43

40

20 SC H O O L N EW S 2 8 -3 9

28 DATES FOR YOUR DIARIES 44

44

ASA NEWS

EVENT REPORTS

ASA LONDON DRINKS PARTY 7 FEBRUARY, 2017

Lots of fun was had at the London Drinks Party at our discreet new venue at Keystone Crescent – a members’ club owned and masterminded by two former Ashford pupils, Kristie Bishop and Coralie Sleap. We had around 40 Ashfordians of all ages and backgrounds in attendance. While most were based in London, several Ashfordians came from far-flung places including Gloucestershire and Monaco.

BACK TO UNI BBQ 8 SEPTEMBER 2017

I DON’T CARE WHAT THE WEATHERMAN SAYS, IF THE WEATHERMAN SAYS IT ’S RAINING YOU’LL NEVER HEAR ME COMPLAINING, I’M CERTAIN THE SUN WILL SHINE “Jeepers Creepers” Louis Armstrong & Johnny Mercer 1938

Notwithstanding David’s determination that the dull weather at the beginning of September would miraculously disappear in time for the annual Back to Uni BBQ ,the heavens opened just as we were getting underway - a huge downpour – complete with the odd rumble of thunder.

In true Ashford style, however, we adapted and survived and had a great party thanks to the untiring efforts of Dave and Karen from our catering team, moving the party indoors to the Edwards Room.

Around 30 young Ashfordians braved the elements to come back to School and mix socially with their former teachers. It was particularly great to see so many of our first cohort of boys who are just finishing their university courses coming back to School encouraged by Suki Athwal (2013 Franklins) our first male alumnus on the ASA Committee.

As the wine and beer flowed and Dave’s delicious sausages and pulled-pork-topped hamburgers disappeared down eager student gullets we discussed new ideas about events and initiatives designed to keep younger Ashfordians in touch with the School and the ASA, including a trip to Twickenham to see a Premiership game at the end of the season and one to Hickstead for all the horse lovers.

Watch this space!

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THE ASA SCHOOL TIE - THE ALUMNI OF ASHFORD SCHOOL

Many thanks to Kristie and Coralie for hosting us.

Pictured above are some of the girls from 1972 who turned out in force: Top: Sally Wyllie (Watterson) (Nightingale) Fiona Nogawa (Dewhurst), Sue Newton (Hooker) (Nightingale) and Lindsey Eaton (Cummings) Bottom: Katie Lloyd-Nunn and Amanda Holloway (Bradshaw) (Somerville)

ASA NEWS

EVENT REPORTS

CLASS OF 1977 REUNION 20 MAY, 2017

We spent a delightful afternoon with Ashfordians marking the 40th year since they left the School with a Class of 1977 Reunion. Thanks to Tricia Morris (Timbers) (1977 Alfred) for helping to gather such a wonderful group of girls together. There was laughter, stories (some rather eyeopening) and lots of super food from our school caterers - the former boarders didn’t miss the former school staple of bread and margarine and tinned pilchards one bit (though did regret the passing of gypsy tart!). They talked of uniforms, remembering Sunday dresses with detachable white collars, suits, hats and white gloves, and of “putting a 2p coin behind your Liberty badge when you sewed it onto your blazer so that you’d be able to use a public telephone box in an emergency”.

Back row: Kate Hall-Tipping, Susan Payn, Sophie Hart, Sally-Ann Ardouin, Suseli O’Connell, Barbara Kenny, Lyn Otun, Wenna WhiteThompson, Anne Bond.

Front row: Elaine Thomas, Tricia Timbers, Rosie Biggs, Lizzie Skinner, Katy Tubb, Diana Webb, Jenny Smith, Alex Burnip, Jo Wicks.

ASA ASHFORDIAN SUMMER LUNCH 2 JULY, 2017 We were greeted with beautiful blue skies for our Summer Lunch, held in the marquee on Somerville Lawn. Great food, great company and lots of laughter. Especial thanks to our Catering Team, to the Year 11 and 12 students who served us and to Matt Nicholls (2016 Knights) who provided musical entertainment as we quaffed our prelunch prosecco and orange juice. Some 40 Ashfordians attended from many different generations of the School. Our oldest attendee was Peggy Lurcock who left Ashford in 1949 while our youngest was Juliet Arnold who left us in 2015.

The most prolific year group represented were the Class of 1987, back at School to celebrate their 30th anniversary.

We were particularly pleased to welcome a dozen former staff members, including Colin Howard, Shirley Goldwin, Gina Loughlin-Sims, Carolyn Ludlow, Corrie Butcher, Lucinda Allen, Norma Smyth, Angela Burrill, Margaret Nee and Jenny Watson-Bore. After lunch we went on an extended tour of the School with the last guest leaving at 5.30pm after exploring all the nooks and crannies of the School and Boarding Houses.

RESPONSES FROM MEMBERS' SURVEY 2017

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ASA NEWS

EVENT REPORTS

ASHFORDIAN SPORTS TOURNAMENT 24 MARCH, 2017

We held the annual Ashfordian Hockey and Netball Tournament on Friday 24 March with brave Ashfordian teams taking on the might of the current School first team squads. Many thanks to all Ashfordians, parents and staff who came to cheer along the teams on a rather chilly evening. The matches were pretty close this year: the School Netball VII won by just a single point 21-20 while the Boys' Hockey XI crept past the Ashfordian XI by 3-2. Salt was further rubbed into the wounds when the Staff XI defeated the (by now) tired Ashfordian hockey players who repaired, post haste, to Cameo for pick me ups.

Particular thanks to Suki Athwal and to Lana-Emily Foyle and Tom Butt from the School’s PE Staff for their tireless work on and off the pitch in getting the whole event together. The Ashfordian squads were as follows:

ASHFORDIANS VS SCHOOL FIRST XI 24 JUNE, 2017

Thanks to excellent work by Nick Egan, the School’s Grounds and Gardens Manager and his team, we were able to host the first ‘Old Boys’ cricket match against the School First XI on our new cricket ground at Great Chart on 24 June, 2017. The Ashfordians won a closely fought 20:20 game.

Thanks to strong hitting from Ben Perkins (22 runs), George Hansen (30), Ben Simpson (24) and Will Austin (27) the Old Boys put up a challenging score of 146 for 7. In reply, the School started strongly with steady scoring from Harry Stracey (17) and Matt Russen (22) but the pick of the batsmen was Ryan Williams who made a sparkling 54 not out off just 63 balls. However, despite their lacking a specialist wicket keeper and having a fluctuating number of fielders, the experienced Old Boys, under the captaincy of Joe Shields, strangled the batsmen. The Ashfordians gave the School progressively less to hit as the innings drew to a close, leaving Williams stranded on 54 runs after the late loss of Jack Price (15) in the 19th over.

Many thanks to Tom Butt, Head of Boys' Games, for bringing this fixture into being before he left Ashford later in the summer to start at the Royal Hospital School in Ipswich.

Netball: Lana Foyle (C), Lois Goodman, Sophie Howland, Charlotte Roberts, Ellie Semadeni, S-J Stewart, Jess Newall, Emma Levitt, Scarlett Spicer, Kara Costello, Jess O’Shaugnessey, Abi Ballard, Grace Nichols, Sophie Buchanan Hockey: Suki Athwal (C), Dom Savia Roscoe, Charlie Wraight, Tom Semadeni, Charlie Howitt, Toby Keet, Nathan Heathcote, Chris Rabjons, Lenny Maks, Will Austin, Max Nicholls, George Norris, Joe Shields, Geoff Perkins, Harry Grant, Euan Nicholls, Brad Gipson, Alex Linkins.

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ASA NEWS

EVENT REPORTS

DINING WITH DALI

OUR LUNCH GUESTS WERE:

ASA PRESIDENT’S LUNCHEON 18 NOVEMBER, 2017 A group of 15 Ashfordians, including several former staff members, met for the second year in a row at the Keeper’s House at the Royal Academy for the ASA President’s Luncheon. Again, there was a great atmosphere around the table and David (as the only man present) tried his best to hide his blushes at some of the stories of life at a girls’ school between the 1950s and 1980s. The ladies all took turns to tell each other a little about themselves and their lives after Ashford and we were quite staggered by the breadth and variety of careers and countries our alumnae had pursued and lived in beyond the school gates. Val Davies worked in the early 1960s for the Manhattan advertising agency on which the TV series “Madmen” was based. Jacquie Sasson, visiting her sister Rae from Canada, married a Canadian diplomat and had spent her life in exotic and far flung places around the world. Jean Calendar became an accomplished artist and illustrator, currently designing the Christmas card range for the Brain Tumour Research Campaign (after losing her husband to the disease). Sue Coldrey, who came down from North Yorkshire, told us a little of her travels abroad and of her plans to visit Babylon in Iraq next year.

Tricia Berridge told us about the chain of hotels that she and her husband bought and ran for many years in Southern Spain. These included the former holiday retreat of a Saudi prince which Tricia made into their home.

Food and wine were again excellent in quality and quantity and the day was rounded off by several diners with a visit to the Salvador Dali/Marcel Duchamp exhibition then on at the Academy, thanks to Carolyn, our President, who is a Friend of the RA. Dali and Duchamp were, of course, famous for their sly puns and subversive, surreal sense of humour - so a quick trip around the exhibition was a perfect conclusion to a splendid day out in the capital. Next year’s lunch is scheduled for Saturday 17 November, 2018, and a visit to the Klimt exhibition, then on at the RA will be on offer for diners.

Valerie Arends (Davies) (1955 Nightingale) Alison Blakely (Stowers) (1962 Cranmer) Carolyn Chamberlain (Nelms) (1960 Nightingale) Jane Druker (1982 Alfred) Tricia Goddard (Berridge) (1952 Nightingale) Tatiana Macaire (Headmistress 1984 – 1992) Henrietta Oxlade (1984 Alfred) Sue Peckitt (Coldrey) (1959 Nightingale) Julie Piper (1979 Knights) Jessie Redfern (Junior School Staff 1952 – 1958) Norma Smyth (Deputy Head 1974-98) Rae Stollard (Sasson) (1962 Brooke Place) David Young (Foundation & Alumni Office)

I ENJOYED A TRIP TO GERMANY TO VISIT THE CHRISTMAS MARKETS. AS A STUDENT FROM THE US I WAS EXCITED TO EXPERIENCE A EUROPEAN HOLIDAY TRADITION!

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ASA NEWS

EVENTS PLANNED

In October we sent out a survey to all Ashfordians by email to gauge how last year’s publications and events were viewed by our Members and to ask for suggestions and feedback on possible events for the future. Many of you took the time to respond to this survey and were kind enough to be very complementary about the ASA and the work that’s been done in the past year or so.

Based upon this feedback, the Committee intends to undertake the following programme of events between now and the end of the academic year 2018.

THE ASHFORD SCHOOL LONDON DRINKS PARTY – THE CARLTON CLUB, ST JAMES’ - 15 MARCH, 2018 AT 6.30PM

will be This year, the ASA London Drinks Party in taking place at the historical Carlton Club remit St James’ and we will be expanding our ity to invite all adults in the School commun nts, - alumni, current and former staff, pare us in members of the governing body - to join s and the Morning Room for drinks and canapé hips of to network and celebrate our members ent the Ashford community. Many of our curr , and university students are based in London e along to we hope that they will be keen to com ds in this mix with their former teachers and frien beautiful space.

ASA SUMMER LUNCH & DECADES REUNION (1958 ’08) – SCHOOL, 30 JUNE, 2018 FROM 11.00AM ONWARDS

This year we will be repeating the Summer Lunch in the marquee on Somerville Lawn just befo re the end of the School Term, but will be exte nding a special invitation to all those Ashfordians (alumni and staff) who left the School in 195 8, ’68, ’78, ’88, ’98 and 2008. If you and your schoolmates are marking a big anniversary this year and would like the Alumni Office to help put you in touch with those who have drop ped off your radar, please do get in contact with David Young to arrange to have tables reserved for this special day. In addition to lunch we will be entertain ed by current school musicians and will have a conducted tour around the School.

ASA VS SCHOOL CRICKET MATCH & BARBEQUE – GREAT CHART, JULY, 2018 Having suffered a stunning defeat at the hands of a determined Ashfordian XI, we’re anticipating that the School XI will be taking the next fixture against the Ashfordians a great deal more seriously. This year, we will be serving barbeque food and drinks to encourage more spectators to make the journey over to our fabulous new sports grounds at the Prep School in Great Chart.

y, but Formal invitations will go out in Februar please note this date in your diaries.

Cricket is a huge priority for Ashford School, with our girls now playing competitively for the first time, so it’s by no means unlikely that the sides will be mixed. If you’re interested in playing, please contact Suki Athwal or David Young.

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ASA NEWS

EVENTS PLANNED

AGM MEETING

ASHFORDIAN SPORTS TOURNAMENT – HOCKEY AND NETBALL

23 MARCH, 2018 AT 5.00PM Suki Athwal and Lana Foyle will again be working hard to put together a determined and battle-hardened squad of veteran hockey and netball players ready to take on the School teams (and possibly the Staff, depending upon levels of fitness!) at East Hill on 23 March. Spectators are always welcome and we will again be serving a finger buffet and drinks for supporters and players alike. In past years the exertions of the afternoon have led to the need for isotonic refreshment later in the evening at one of Ashford’s most famous of watering holes, so please be prepared and leave your car keys at home.

The AGM was held at School on Saturday 25 February, 2017 and we were pleased to have so many Ashfordians attend.

During the meeting Suki Athwal, Henrietta Oxlade and Jane Druker were formally voted onto the Committee by members. The meeting was notable for the announcement of the resignation of Alexia Padgham (Swatland) (1987 Merchants) who has served the Committee as member and Secretary for a decade. Alexia has been a wonderful leader and servant of the ASA, guiding it through a period of great change, always going the extra mile to help her fellow committee members and doing everything she can to further the interests of the ASA. Her attention to detail, professionalism and light touch will be greatly missed by all the Committee. Alexia is pictured above receiving flowers from fellow Committee member Nicky.

STAYING IN TOUCH In addition to the School Tie Magazine the ASA maintains contact with its former pupils, former staff and supporters of the Ashford School Foundation via email and social media channels. If you’re currently not receiving electronic messages from us and would like to be added to our distribution lists, send an email to alumni@ashfordschool.co.uk.

Our Facebook page, which has over 1500 followers, is an open group which can be found by going to facebook.com/ashfordschoolassociation/.

The dedicated Twitter feed is @Ashfordalumni. In addition we have a whole School LinkedIn networking group which can be found at linkedin.com/groups/8595031.

fti

I REMEMBER THE SUNDAY WALKS. ESPECIALLY HYTHE. WE’D BE DROPPED OFF AT ONE END OF THE PROMENADE AND MADE TO WALK IN OUR SCHOOL UNIFORM TO THE OTHER END WHERE THE BUS WOULD BE WAITING. EVEN IN WINTER! BUT THE BUS RIDES WERE FUN WITH SONGS SUCH AS “MY EYES ARE DIM....”

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ASA NEWS

TECHNOLOGY/SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS

ASA COMMITTEE NEWS We’re delighted that Jane Druker (1982 Alfred) and Henrietta Oxlade (1984 Alfred) have stepped forward to take on the role of Joint Chair of the ASA Committee. This is a huge boost for the ASA as both Jane and Henri bring a whole new set of skills and experience to the Committee.

Jane is an award winning journalist with over 20 years’ experience internationally having worked in Sydney and New York as well as London. Jane has written for publications including Vogue Magazine in the USA and Australia, InStyle, MarieClaire, The Guardian, Red, Woman Fashion, Grazia, and YOU Magazine. She has also written a book, The Go To Guide to Your Perfect Diet. Last year Jane wrote and helped cast the wonderful Marks & Spencer 2016 Christmas television advert about Mrs Claus.

Henrietta left Ashford in 1984 heading for the City. She has been an Independent Financial Advisor for 29 years and now works for Radcliffe & Newlands, one of the top 250 advisory firms in the UK. Henri’s clients are mostly in the media and the arts.

Firm friends since school, where they acquitted themselves as some of the naughtiest girls in Alfred, Henri and Jane share a great love of bringing together Ashfordians, they want the ASA to be a modern, exciting hub which offers fun events which everyone will want to attend, to keep the spirit of camaraderie and memories of Ashford School alive, to provide social and business networking opportunities and to help grow the School’s visibility.

Henri and Jane can be contacted by members via the Foundation & Alumni Office or directly at ASAChair@ashfordschool.co.uk

DATA PROTECTION MATTERS Ashford School maintains a database of contact details for its alumni and supporters to make it easy to keep in touch with them and send news of the School, the Association and the Ashford School Foundation. This data is held securely and is not disclosed to other people or organisations, except to specialist consultants employed to audit our data to ensure that it is as up to date as possible and stored appropriately on our system.

In May 2018 new legislation will come into effect in the UK which means we have to be doubly sure that we have a legitimate interest in holding your data for the above purposes and also that you are happy to receive electronic communications from us. In the New Year we will be sending out requests to all Ashfordians asking them to confirm whether they are content to remain on our database and to indicate whether they are happy to continue to be contacted by email or telephone. We hope that most of our members will indicate that they receive news electronically as this is the cheapest and most efficient way in which to contact our alumni and make sure that we stay in touch. We will, however, respect the wishes of all who contact us and, if you no longer wish to remain in touch with the School, Foundation and ASA we will ensure that you are removed from our listings.

For more information please contact David on alumni@ashfordschool.co.uk

Jane Druker (left) and Henrietta Oxlade (Right)

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ALUMNI NEWS

ALUMNI NEWS JOAN WILSON (1964 CRANMER) Joan writes: I left Ashford in 1964 to go to St Mary’s Hospital Medical School in London, qualifying as a doctor in 1969. My first marriage, to a South African doctor, ended in divorce in 1988. I met Mike Burley, also from St Mary’s, at a Medical School reunion in London in 1994, and came to join him in New Zealand in 2004. Mike and I were married in 2010. I am retired now, and busy travelling and looking after grandchildren and doing what retired people do - gardening, sewing and reading! I met Elizabeth Lewis (Drayson) when she visited New Zealand a year or two ago. She and I were at Ashford together, but she was in Somerville House.

BEKA SMITH Beka Smith (1993 Merchants) (www.bekasmith.com) has forged a successful career in portrait painting with her work being featured in “Artists and Illustrators” and in publications which include “500 Portraits”

by Sandy Nairne, Director of the National Portrait Gallery. Beka is based in London, where she has a studio at the esteemed Thames-Side Studios near Greenwich. Amongst Beka’s portfolio are portraits of esteemed teachers, Master of Colleges and Heads of Institutions as well as private clients such as well-known TV celebrity, Nick Hewer.

AMY HOLLANDS (2003 MERCHANTS) Congratulations to Amy who married William Hyde Parker on 6 May, 2017, at Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford.

The wedding was attended

by Ashford School friends Deborah Geering (Farrant), Kristie Bishop, Helen Fairly, Coralie Sleap and Shareen Patel.

Beka has been commissioned over the last few years to undertake a series of portraits of all the former Heads of Ashford School where she used to be a pupil. She will be completing this with a portrait of current Head Mike Buchanan and has painted the recently retired Head of Ashford Prep School, Richard Yeates (pictured above).

To talk to Beka Smith about commissioning a portrait please email or phone on enquiries@bekasmith.com or 07941 628641.

FIELD TRIP TO SHROPSHIRE!

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ALUMNI NEWS

DAN JOHANNSEN (2016 MERCHANTS)

ANNE TOMARKEN (PORTER) (1957 CHAUCER MERCHANTS) Although my husband and I are retired now, we still write and continue with research in our respective fields. We are both Honorary Research Fellows at the University of Kent at Canterbury.

My own writing continues to focus on sixteenth- and seventeenth-century French satire and humour, mostly, in recent years, in the context of the early French public theatre. My husband, who used to specialise in eighteenth-century British literature, is now working on his third book on literary theory and film - quite a jump.

Before that we spent many years working for universities in the USA. Our longest time was with Miami University of Ohio, located, confusingly, in Oxford, Ohio. This period of teaching and administration involved spending a number of years off and on in Luxembourg, where Miami has a thriving branch campus.

We are now living happily in Lenham, between Maidstone and Ashford and only about ten miles from where I grew up in Faversham!

I keep in regular touch with Dorothy Hamilton and, through Dorothy, with her sister Margaret. Sadly, I seem to have lost track of the other members of our little group, affectionately known as ‘the Gang”.

If any of your current pupils ever want to know about studying in the US, please feel free to get in touch via the Alumni Office.

Since February this year Dan has been working with the Folkestone Fringe Edge: Push/Pull - that ran alongside the Folkestone Triennial, an international arts festival that comes to the town every 3 years. Dan managed and coordinated three projects for the Fringe: Stone-to-Sand, Fanplastic & Porous, also managing the outward communications for the Fringe, including managing website content, social media and writing a weekly newsletter.

It was towards the end of the Festival that Dan secured the coveted role of Young Producer at the National Gallery. In this role, it is his job to change young people's perceptions of the Gallery and make it a place that they would choose to go to by putting on events, activities and creating opportunities that will interest young people. To find out more about Dan’s work please take a look at the YouTube Young Producers video trailer: youtube.com/watch?v=7A2n5Zgk8Lw

SARAH SMITH (1995 ALFRED) Sarah has written in to let us know that she is living in London with her partner, Elios, and their children Dylan (7), Maxwell (5) and Bronwyn (3). Sarah is a Midwife but is currently on a career break. Last year Sarah trained as a Sling Consultant with Slingababy and set up Greenwich Slings, supporting people and families to carry their babies and children safely.

She has started training in Rebozo techniques which links her two passions – baby slings and Midwifery. More information about Sarah’s business can be found at facebook.com/southeastlondonslingers/ and facebook.com/greenwichslings/ Sarah is a member of the Greenwich Maternity Voices Partnership and aims to be trained as breastfeeding advisor and eventually as an IBCLC (Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultant). Sarah is politically engaged, attending marches and petitioning her MP in support of maternity services and to call for the pay cap for Midwives and Nurses to be scrapped.

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ALUMNI NEWS

BAY LEES FORMER HEAD OF ART Our former Head of Art Bay Lees had a successful exhibition of her work Particular Places at Keynes College, University of Kent from October to December 2017 as part of the Canterbury Festival.

Details of Bay’s work can be found on her websitebaylees.co.uk.

Bay’s recent work involves printmaking as she has a superb old Kimber press in her studio. She retains, however, a thirst to learn new processes and to experiment with mixed media. Particular Places was inspired by a trip to Southern India to visit the tea and coffee estate where generations of Bay’s father’s family lived.

She was thrilled to discover that one of her prints has been bought by the Indian owner of the estate. She commented that “it feels as if it is truly going home”.

DANIKA SCHRADER (2016 KNIGHTS) Danika took part in the Edinburgh University Students’ Charity Appeal by participating in the Race2Paris 2017 raising money for ‘Médecins Sans Frontières’, the medical charity which operates in over 65 countries.

She had just 48 hours to hitch hike to Paris from Edinburgh together with her friend Phoebe and made it in just 35 hours.

Donations to MSF can still be made by going to https://race-nation.com/sponsor/t/4369

LORNA MORRIS

(2002 PILGRIMS)

Over the last couple of years Lorna, who works as a freelance graphic designer, has run an event in Ashford called the Kent Collective (kentcollective.co.uk/) which endeavours to bring together a community of change makers and inquisitive thinkers in Kent. Their Facebook page is now a resource for all thought provoking events happening in Kent. Alongside this Lorna helps run The Kent Foundation’s networking event ‘The Next Big Thing’ which encourages young entrepreneurs to work together and support each other in the development of their businesses.

She is also working with the TEDx Folkestone team to develop a range of events for those who wish to improve their speaking and one day give a TEDx talk. Applications for 2018 are due by 31 December. Lorna can be contacted at lornamorris.co.uk

t@lornamorris 07736 049136

CERTAINLY NOT THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH SILVER EXPEDITION IN DERBYSHIRE. I’VE NEVER BEEN SO COLD!

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ALUMNI NEWS

PETA STAMPER

(2015 KNIGHTS)

Peta wrote in to let us know about her involvement in Amnesty at Edinburgh University: I am one of two elected fundraising officers on the Amnesty International Society committee, and each semester we aim to organise two large events, as well as other smaller fundraisers (usually bake sales!). This semester we started off with a bang - our ‘Autumn Ceilidh’ - which was a big success with us raising over £1300!

Ceilidhs are a particular favourite up here in Scotland, especially early on in term when the freshers haven’t had the full Scottish experience yet. Half of all proceeds go to ‘Mother Amnesty’, and we get to choose where we send the rest. As we run 3 campaigns each year, often these campaigns can suggest a group/project which would benefit from the money made at these events, and so the Refugee Rights group suggested we send it towards a local organisation who are buying a truck for transporting essentials to the various campsites. Our target for fundraising later in the year is BiD, the law support for refugees and asylum seekers, trying to help them keep out of detention centres and basically get the treatment they deserve as humans (which is sadly not often the case).

Amnesty Society at Edinburgh is a great community and I am already finding it a central part of my experience here. It ties in well with my current studies which are looking at the lived/living experience of human rights abuses in Latin America and the study of social memory. So as you can see, I am fully immersed in the world of human rights at university.

Gay Hollywell (Tarrant) (1970) would like help in getting in touch with former School Captain Jane Cheape (1969), whose maiden name was Jane Stanley. Jane was in Chaucer Pilgrims and her elder sisters, Sarah and Mary, are also former pupils.

Jane was listed as a correspondent in the OGA Magazine in 1969 and went to Edinburgh University. She later married, and when Gay’s husband went to Edinburgh he tried to trace her on her behalf, but lost track at her last known address, which she had left 6 months earlier. If any Ashfordians are in touch with Jane, please could they contact Gay or pass her email address (gayhollywell@hotmail.co.uk) on to Jane.

BLETCHLEY CONNECTIONS Following last year’s School Tie article on Lorna Fitch (Cockayne) (1942 Somerville) and her wartime work at Bletchley Park, we were contacted by Enid Anderson (1943 Cranmer) whose best friend at Ashford, Heather Lovesy (Rule) (1943 Cranmer) also worked on the Colossus machines at Bletchley.

Sadly Heather passed away in January 2015, but Lorna and Enid have been in touch with each other from their respective homes in Dorset and Essex to swap stories about their time at Ashford and down in Countess Weir during the evacuation of the School.

Peta pictured left at the Amnesty Autumn Ceilidh

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LOST AND WONDERING

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ALUMNI NEWS

OBITUARIES

MARIE-CLAUDE HILL Marie-Claude sadly passed away on Boxing Day 2016. M-C was Head of Modern Foreign Languages at Ashford, retiring in 2009 after a distinguished career teaching in a range of schools in Kent. She led many exchanges and was a very talented teacher. She was loved and respected by many pupils and staff alike. Those members of staff and pupils who knew her remember her acute sense of humour, passion for teaching and for life. The eulogy at M-C’s funeral was delivered by her son and her former Ashford colleagues, Lucinda Allen, Moira Metherell and Lesley Evans.

IRENE DAWSON (1934) Jo Rado (Headley) (1961 Pilgrims) has sent us news about the death of Irene Dawson on 10 August, 2017 at the age of 100. Irene was at Ashford School between 1930-34 and was a School Prefect. She took the University of London Schools Certificate with four credits, in English, French, Botany, and Geography.

Irene was confirmed with other girls of the School in Ashford Parish Church on 1 April, 1933 and took her first Communion on the following day. We understand from her family that Irene formed lifetime friends at Ashford and had very happy memories of her time at School.

MOLLY DE COURCY We were very sorry to have to report the passing of Molly de Courcy on 3 August 2017 after a short period of illness. Molly was an Ashford stalwart, joining the Board of Governors in 1984 and becoming Chairman in 1987. At her memorial service at St Stephen’s Canterbury, led by Tatiana Macaire who, as Ashford Headmistress benefited so much from Molly’s friendship, support and business expertise, we heard about her tireless work for the School, Kent County Council and the numerous charities she served and supported. Deeply committed to the cause of good schooling for all, Molly served the KCC on three separate committees involved with education, working closely with Heads throughout Kent and serving on the boards of Simon Langton School, Parkside Community School, St Nicholas School for children with physical and learning difficulties and The Kent Association for the Blind in Ramsgate. In retirement Molly worked for several more years for organisations as diverse as the Kent Community Housing Trust and the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, for which she was Chairman of the Kent organising committee. Latterly, Molly became a Patron of the Ashford School Foundation, bringing her back to play a role in the School where her daughter Sally had been a pupil and which she served faithfully until her end.

In her address at the memorial service Tatiana Macaire paid tribute to Molly for her especial ability to combine extraordinary gifts of organisation and management with warmth and sympathy in even the most difficult of circumstances and her determination to make life better for those with whom she came into contact.

MARY BELL (SIBSON) (1934) Mary passed away in 2016 at the age of 100. She boarded at Ashford School before going up to Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford in 1934 to read Modern Languages. In 1960 she and her family returned to Kent where, until 1979, Mary held a full-time post at Ashford Grammar School for Girls, teaching modern languages to A level. In 1983 she and her husband retired back to Cumbria.

MISS VAN VELSEN (1970s CRANMER MATRON) We were informed of the passing of Miss V-V (as she was commonly known) by her colleague Jo-An Baxter.

GINNY BLOND (THOMAS) (1955 SOMERVILLE) Ginny died peacefully on 1 November 2017 after the bravest of battles. Ginny was the beloved wife of Peter, adored mother of Rebecca, dear sister to Caroline and wonderful friend to many.

She will be greatly missed.

HAUNTING TRIP TO THE BATTLEFIELDS OF THE SOMME AND YPRES IN 2004. TRULY MEMORABLE

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ASHFORD SCHOOL: EXPLORING THE WORLD BEYOND THE SCHOOL GATES As with every good school, much of the best learning at Ashford School, both today and in past times, takes place outside the classroom – Beyond the School Gates – where our pupils learn about themselves and the world in which they live by immersing themselves in different challenges, cultures and experiences.

This year the School timetable has been jam-packed with trips, both at home and abroad. The Biology Field Trip has evolved over the years to become home-grown. This year saw the scientists explore sites at St Margaret’s Bay near Dover and Port Lympne Zoo. Senior physicists enjoy an annual trip to Iceland in search of the Northern Lights and they also go to CERN in Switzerland to learn more about the Higgs Boson particle. Sportsmen and women enjoy the Junior Sports Tour as well as a trip to Holland. The art department organised a truly memorable tour of the significant art galleries in Madrid with the Prado being a particular favourite with students spellbound by Goya and Velasquez. They also visited the Thyssen Bornemisza, the Reina Sofia and enjoyed an architectural walking tour around the city.

Closer to home our students make regular use of our proximity to London and Canterbury with numerous outings to theatres and museums. Our music students have participated this year in both large external events, (including singing at the England vs Australia Rugby League international at the Olympic stadium and the première of Wassail ! at Southwark Cathedral, a new piece by the renowned composer Alexander L’Estrange) and smaller trips, including a Chamber Choir trip to Canterbury Cathedral in the summer term.

Ashford's commitment to Adventurous Learning is also embodied in our Duke of Edinburgh and CCF activities, in which we are partners with Wye School.

MY FAVOURITE SCHOOL TRIP DURING YEARS 1958 - 1963 WAS THE WIMBLEDON OPEN TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS. I WAS DELIGHTED TO SEE FOUR UBIQUITOUS SCHOOL BLAZERS ENTERING THE GROUNDS TOWARDS THE END OF A TV DOCUMENTARY LAST YEAR!

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TOM WATTS TRAVEL AWARDS Congratulations to Nick Smelt (2015 Yeomen) and leaving students Harry Lancaster (2017 Yeomen) and Georgia Stokes (2017 Squires) on being jointly awarded the Tom Watts Travel Award for 2016/17.

expedition to Kenya and Uganda. Both are engaged in community and conservation projects as well as undertaking some very arduous trekking and, if they survive their respective ordeals (!), we’ll report back on their experiences next year.

The ASA Committee was deeply impressed by all the applications received from current pupils and young Ashfordians seeking to undertake challenging journeys or expeditions during their gap year, university vacation or similar period. Each of the winners' planned journeys truly embody the Ashford spirit of Adventurous Learning and Tom's strongly held belief that those who receive the benefit of an excellent education should work to help others less fortunate than themselves.

Earlier in the year Nick went to Lusaka with his university tennis team to help coach the next generation of players there. He reported back as follows:

At the time of writing Harry will be in Operation Raleigh in Costa Rica and Nicaragua and Georgia is on a Camps International

I was incredibly lucky to be given the opportunity to spend six weeks at the Olympic Youth Development Centre in Lusaka, Zambia, this summer coaching tennis to young people who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to play the game. I travelled as part of the Wallace Group of universities, forming a part of a five strong team of sports coaches from the University of St Andrews. As part of the project, we were required to fundraise to cover the costs of our trip,

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and thanks to the generosity of the Ashford School Association, I was fortunate to receive support from the Tom Watts Award.

Upon arrival in Zambia, we realised just how challenging it would be to organise sessions for the players, whether it be due to the disorganisation of the local coaches, or ‘Zamtime’ – whereby everyone appears two hours after the agreed time! However, we eventually managed to organise four hours of coaching a day for the players, many of whom had some of the best natural talent I’ve seen, but are frustratingly held back by a lack of equipment and coaching. The players were also fascinated by the wheelchair I use for playing and coaching tennis as wheelchair tennis has never been played in the country, but after discussions with the local coaches during the project, it is hoped that a wheelchair tennis programme will soon be launched in Zambia, which is very encouraging!

Throughout our time in Lusaka, the players improved significantly and were very grateful that the ‘muzungu’ (an affectionate term for a white person – or at least that’s what we were told!) had given them the opportunity to play tennis.

As well as the tennis coaching sessions, we also took the opportunity to explore both Lusaka and Zambia more widely, with visits to rural villages and Livingstone. Crossing the border into Zimbabwe whilst witnessing the sheer power of Victoria Falls, and going on safari in Botswana were definitely two highlights of our time in Africa!

All in all, my time in Zambia was one of the best experiences in my life so far, but it certainly wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the Tom Watts Award from the Ashford School Association. I’ve gained a new understanding of life in a different part of the world and grown to realise just how privileged my life really is.

Nick Smelt

Applications for 2017/18 Awards 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 leavers and recent past pupils 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. Any Ashfordian interested in applying for the Award should contact David Young in the Foundation & Alumni Office on alumni@ashfordschool.co.uk

(2015 Yeomen)

VISITING KNOLE IN JUNE 1979, IT STILL REMAINS MY MOST FAVOURITE STATELY HOME.

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ICE MAIDEN! SOPHIE MONTAGNE (2001 MERCHANTS)

Sophie is a marketing consultant by profession but also a Lance Sergeant in the Honourable Artillery Company. She is currently part of the 6 woman British Army Exercise Ice Maiden Expedition attempting to ski coast-to-coast across the Antarctic. No team of women, from any nation, has completed this formidable challenge. It is the ultimate opportunity to show that women have the mental strength and physical endurance to operate in the most hostile environment on earth. The Ice Maiden team will cover 1,700km using muscle power alone, pulling sledges and battling temperatures of -50°C and wind speeds of over

60mph during their three-month journey. Unsupported, and with only two resupply points along the route, they are carrying all the supplies and equipment needed to survive for up to 600km at a time. Sophie’s progress can be followed on Twitter at

t @icemaidensophie

or on the expedition website https://exicemaiden.com. #AdventurousLearning at its most extreme!

The Ice Maidens are supporting two charities during their expedition, Breast Cancer Care and the Army Cadet Forces Association. Details can be found on their website.

GEOGRAPHY SCHOOL TRIP TO SWANAGE IN 1984 - THE HOTEL ASKED FOR US TO LEAVE AS WE WERE SO NAUGHTY, THE COACH GOT STUCK IN SHINGLE ON CHESIL BEACH AND HALF THE YEAR GROUP SPENT FAR MORE TIME IN THE PUB MEETING LOCAL BOYS THAN DOING ANY WORK. THE ASA SCHOOL TIE - THE ALUMNI OF ASHFORD SCHOOL

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MHAIRI EVANS

ASHFORD SCHOOL SPORTS DEPT Just how do you cope with the pressures of being an elite athlete?

This is a question being addressed at Ashford School as we see an increasing number of our pupils aiming for the very top in their sports.

Many of them are already representing the area’s top clubs with several playing at county level and a good few representing GB. A couple of years ago, we saw Nick Smelt playing tennis for Great Britain and recently the roll-call has included Hamish Roberts winning a place in the England Hockey Team, the Wilton brothers (Tom and James) representing the country at biathlons across the world, and two of our girls, Megan Bell and Emily Brightling, being called up for the GB Touch Rugby Teams.

A few years ago we were exceptionally lucky in being able to secure the talents of World Champion Pentathlete Mhairi Evans.

In 2012 she won the Modern Pentathlon World Championships in Italy and went on to represent the UK at the London Olympics in the same year.

Now she is not only training our pupils to reach their full potential, she is offering the very best advice on how to reach the top and how to cope with the demands it brings.

“I will always tell a pupil to never give up,” she said. “Try everything to discover what you love.

If a child wants to aim for the Olympics I say go for it. There is no reason why they can’t.

“I am not from an affluent background but there is so much support and funding out there for talented athletes.

Passion drives determination. If you are passionate enough, you can find a way to make it work.”

Mhairi knew from age eight that she was aiming for the Olympics after watching the Sydney Olympics and being inspired by British athletes. She was already a keen horse rider and soon started competing in Pony Club tetrathlons (swimming, running, riding and shooting). It wasn’t long before she was training in at least one of the sports every day after school.

She chose to study at Bath University which is the National Training Centre for Modern Pentathlon and, after graduating in 2008, stayed in the city and trained full time, funded by UK Sport.

The pinnacle of her career came at the Modern Pentathlon World Championships in 2012 where she started by competing against 100 other pentathletes, only to win the competition. That qualified her for the London 2012 Olympics.

At the age of 30 she retired and is devoting her time to passing on her passion and skills. “Now it is time for me to pass on my experience to the next generation” she said.

“Doing it in a school with so many facilities means that we can give children the chance to try different things. I love the sport and I want children to experience what I did.

It is a great life and a great career.”

Ashford School has been competing in Biathlons (run and swim events) for a number of years but it was in 2014 that the School became more closely associated with Pentathlon GB (the National Governing Body of Modern Pentathlon). A 10-week introductory taster session for air pistol shooting under the Sportivate Initiative supported by Kent Sport was delivered with the sessions open to Ashford School pupils as well as the local community.

From those humble beginnings the School now offers a Modern Pentathlon Pathway for pupils which includes weekly shooting, fencing, running and swimming sessions at both the Prep and Senior School.

The Saturday Pentathlon Community Club (supported by Kent Sport via the Satellite Club Initiative) is open to all and offers weekly shooting and fencing with an emphasis on the Combined Event (run and shoot).

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S TA F F P R O F I L E S

RICHARD BELLAMY We are delighted this year to welcome our new chaplain, the Reverend Richard Bellamy, who is also parish priest at St Mary’s Church in the town.

Many of us will remember the twice-termly march from School to the church in a tradition which dates to the very beginnings of Ashford School. The link with our community is something we have long held dear and our new partnership with Rev Bellamy promises exciting times ahead.

Richard is also excited about his new role, one which broadens his scope as a priest and gives him the opportunity to fulfil his vision of promoting listening and empathy, a better understanding of each other, and of helping to make Ashford and the School a true community.

“I am here for the people,” he said.

“For the staff, the parents and the pupils; to help guide the School through the Christian year. The church’s work is in the community and that is why I am here.”

Although he didn’t become a priest until he was 48, Richard’s outreach work has taken him across the world. From reporting on conditions in warzones and famine stricken countries in Africa, to helping those experiencing homelessness closer to home in Folkestone and Shepway district, he has been involved in some challenging situations and has had to develop strength of character to sustain the work of supporting people in the darkest times of personal crisis and help enable new beginnings.

“I have always had a strong conviction that

I needed to spend my life with people who were finding life hard or unbearable,” he said.

“At The Rainbow Centre in Folkestone I spent six years with people who had lost all sense of dignity and self-worth. It was the most demanding job I had ever done.”

if the Christian faith held any value for a person so completely disorientated. I used to sit and ponder that as I worked on college assignments and strangely enough one of the churches I could see was Holy Trinity, Folkestone, where I later served as a priest.

Before that Richard spent almost 21 years working with the Mission Aviation Fellowship which took him to countries across the world.

During his curacy in the Trinity Benefice in Folkestone his main focus was helping people out of destitution and homelessness and helping the Rainbow Centre into a new phase of development in the changed circumstances of severe austerity.

“There was a Christian colleague on the course who listened to how I was feeling. His support and kindness were so profound that it altered the course of my life and I started going to church and it wasn’t long before I felt there was something coming that I was meant to do.”

However, although he was brought up in the context of a Christian family, it wasn’t until a year after his father died that Richard found personal faith. In fact, he had trained as a graphic artist and was working in commercial art and design until he was ordained in 2011.

“I was 19 when he died suddenly,” he explained. “I was suffering grief and found it hard to speak to anyone about it. I was at art college at the time and buried myself in my work.

“The floodlit church towers were a familiar sight from my room and I began to wonder

Richard went on to get confirmed at Canterbury Cathedral in 2005 at the same time as his eldest son James. The vicar at St John's Folkestone, where the family worshipped, asked him if he had thought about ministry in the Church of England.

Two years later Richard took his first steps on a journey towards ordained ministry.

As a member of the Ashford Parish ministry team and as Chaplain to Ashford School, Richard is looking forward to developing these roles and playing his part in helping everyone to be able to grow spiritually and enjoy fullness of life through the provision of pastoral care and support.

A CONCERT AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL – MY FIRST TIME IN THIS AMAZING SPACE. BEETHOVEN’S PASTORAL SYMPHONY NO. 6. IT’S BEEN A FAVOURITE EVER SINCE!

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TONY WILDE This year has seen the creation of a new role at the School: the Deputy Head of Co-curricular and Community Partnerships and with that we welcome an internal promotion for our Director of Sport, Mr Tony Wilde.

Tony is tasked with developing our links beyond the School gates in a move that promises new opportunities in leadership and teamwork for our pupils, whose education goes way beyond the classroom.

“It is all about finding and making the most of opportunities for our pupils to engage in the community and it’s a really exciting time,” he said.

“The benefits to our pupils – and to those externally – are enormous. Ashford School is situated at the heart of the local community, so it’s vital that our role extends beyond the school walls”.

Tony is now developing a programme that will see links with local primary schools, predominantly through Drama, Art, Sport and Music.

Our Learn to Swim Programmes for primary Schools and the local community have proved incredibly popular, with approaching 1,000 young children accessing the programmes regularly. We have fantastic facilities here at Ashford School and more importantly a highly motivated and skilled staff, who are keen to provide opportunities that some may have found difficult to access in the past.

Following on from the success of our Primary school touch rugby festivals, we have introduced similar festivals for hockey and cricket. Again, these will make best use of our

fantastic sports facilities and will also now include a coaching clinic for Primary school teachers. In line with our Adventurous Learning approach, our senior pupils will deliver coaching and officiate matches at these festivals. Whilst some have felt this is outside their comfort zone, the benefits to all involved are huge.

“The skills our pupils will learn from these events are invaluable,” said Tony. “Teaching, how to find solutions to problems, how to relate to young children and adults, teamwork, confidence – the list goes on.”

The Combined Cadet Force at Ashford School is another example of an excellent community partnership as, under the direction of SSI Simon Burke, the School has seen the establishment of a proper CCF unit which is run in conjunction with Wye School. Each week, the children from Wye are collected and brought to our site for a programme of training involving everything from navigation to safe weapon handling.

They have taken part in parades, special community events in the town such as the commemoration of the Battle of Cambria where four of our cadets read poems, and activity weekends away.

Simon Burke has also devised an engaging and hugely popular bushcraft day that our prep school pupils and 1 local primary school thoroughly enjoyed last summer.

This experience will be accessible to even more young people in the summer of 2018 as others, including our own CCF, are trained to help to deliver bushcraft skills.

Also in the offing are a ukulele workshop and concert with local primary schools which will again be led by our students MY FAVOURITE SCHOOL TRIP:

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S TA F F P R O F I L E S and staff, food studies and art workshops.

Many of you will remember the excitement of the annual musical and we continue to welcome boys from the Norton Knatchbull Grammar School to tread the boards with our pupils.

The co-curricular programme – which now offers an enviable choice of 100+ activities for our students to choose from – aims to make the most of every opportunity we’ve got.

“We see annual concerts for the whole of Year 7, competitive sport for all and an incredible breadth of opportunity,” explained Tony.

“If a pupil wants to get into the England hockey team we will support them in that; for others it’s just about doing something fun with their friends – and that is equally important.”

So watch this space in what is a very exciting time for the pupils of Ashford School and the local community.

FAVOURITE ASHFORD SCHOOL TRIPS & EXCURSIONS

NORMA SMYTH

(FORMER ENGLISH TEACHER AND DEPUTY HEAD)

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glass over Mrs Riddel and me and the Stratford wedding party in our hotel who provided our girls with some unexpected drama.

Here’s a conundrum: how can I choose between Alex Palmer’s wonderful holidays in Israel and Margaret Bee’s exciting trip to Moscow? The English Department’s passion was, of course, theatre - a passion we hoped, with missionary zeal, to pass on to our students. Who could forget the excitement of piling into the coach for one of Mrs Watson’s trips to Stratford?

These were unforeseeable crises that all ended happily. Some risks are more deliberate.

It is not exactly wise, for example, to go on a day trip to Stratford but one could act spontaneously in those days before elaborate form-filling became the order of the day. The 6th Form were all for it ; the M25 behaved itself and we saw a superb performance of, I think, The White Devil summed up in my theatre diary as ‘dark and bloody’.

What I tend to remember most vividly, however, are the risky ventures. The all-toorealistic glimpse of the hell that awaited Dr Faustus proved too much for one girl who ended up in St Thomas’s. Thirty girls back at the Young Vic waiting to go home; thirty parents back at School waiting for their beloved daughters; no mobile phones in those days. What do you do? You get the Head out of bed to warn everyone!

It was one of those trips, and they are the very best, that transform a student’s perception of a play. Images from such productions remain in my memory: a glittering black and white Twelfth Night; Ian McKellan as Iago sitting at a desk behind Othello, every emotion of hatred, envy and malice crossing his face as he dupes his vulnerable superior officer; the extraordinary dolls’ house set of An Inspector Calls that is still impressing audiences.

Then there was the girl who disappeared at the Barbican and the student demo that made us miss the vital first scene of The Tempest. I have never felt the same about the distinguished actor who refused the management’s request to delay the opening. And then there was the coach window that shattered and shed broken

You might be thinking that life at Ashford School was one long entertainment. Well, it was in some ways, but it inspired a great deal of hard work from staff and girls and a great deal of support from parents. Our holidays and theatre-going increased our knowledge and understanding and were truly life-enhancing.

Ricky and her daughter Pippa Tuke (1981) at Bodiam Castle

RICKY BEETS (SUREN) (1954 MERCHANTS)

One School trip is as clear to me now as if it happened yesterday: we went by train to Exmouth, the weather was glorious and we spent the afternoon on the beach, afterwards we were all treated to ice creams. Am I the only one still on the receiving list of the School Tie who remembers, I wonder? With me on that trip were friends that I retain to this day, including Judy Richards, Dinah Moss (Cooper) & Gillian Le Ray. The second school trip that I remember clearly was when, in 1953, those in the Lower 6th doing A Level English Lit. went to London to see Michael Redgrave and Peggy Ashcroft in Anthony & Cleopatra at the Princes Theatre. This awakened my love of Shakespeare which I have retained until this day. I’m not sure which member of the English staff organised it, but could it have been Miss Churchill?

ATTENDING INTERNATIONAL SPORTING EVENTS SUCH AS WIMBLEDON AND WEMBLEY STADIUM (WOMEN’S HOCKEY).

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BEYOND THE SCHOOL GATES ANNE GOODLIFFE (1990s STAFF)

My most memorable trip was the Hockey Trip to Canada in 1988.

A member of staff who had retired to Toronto invited us to visit.

Unfortunately, she died just before we arrived in July. However, all was in place and with the great help of parents (Phillip LeCamp), friends and the PE Department, 24 girls arrived to play Hockey for a fortnight against clubs in Toronto and a school in Oshawa. This School later returned to Ashford the following year. Whilst in Toronto we went up the CN Tower and then later we took a visit to the Niagara Falls. On flying back to England, I remember thinking that we had such a warm welcome I could easily have stayed. In fact, Melissa LeCamp later married someone she had met on this hockey tour!

VALERIE WALKER (1949 SOMERVILLE)

Valerie’s best remembered trips out from School were in her first term at Ashford.

She wrote to her Mother as follows: Late September 1946: “Yesterday, Saturday, we went to a super place - Wye Downs. We went in buses which had Private on the front.

There is a crown marked in chalk above a chalk quarry. Some of us climbed up the quarry but someone had to help me down.

We also tried to catch butterflies”.

11 October 1946: “On Friday we had a simply smashing time. We had a free day to celebrate because two of the mistresses have been here over twenty years (Miss Haffenden 25 years and Miss Salmon 21 years). We got up at 7.30 instead of 7.00 and had breakfast at 8.30 instead of 7.50. We got ready and we walked up to where some buses were waiting to take us to Hythe. It took us about 20 minutes to get to Hythe where we walked over the road to “The Smallest Public Railway in the World”. We got on the tiny platform

JAN CAMPAILLA (COLES) (1962 ALFRED)

School trips were rare during my era at School. We did go to Wembley to watch hockey which was somewhat of a riot with thousands of screaming girls. However, one trip I do remember well in 1961 was to Flatford Mill in Suffolk for a “September Ecology Course” for those of us taking A-level Botany and Zoology. Apart from the work which involved, inter alia, itemising every plant and animal found in a section of stream, the most exciting part was staying in Willy Lott’s Cottage, the one depicted in Constable’s “Haywain” and some of his other paintings.

Part of the cottage is 16th century and the mod cons were very limited necessitating going out into the cold to another building for washing facilities. Lectures and meals took place in the Mill which was much more comfortable. I remember there were always artists on the edge of the water with their easels trying to recreate Constable’s view.

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and there were about 30 little carriages which took about 8 people each. It is awfully sweet. We went at about 20 mph - quite good for two wee engines pulling along 10 coaches full of school girls. It took about an hour to get to a place called Littlestone where there is a holiday camp with about a thousand little huts with beds and cupboards in. We looked around and then went down to the beach. About forty yards out to sea there is a giant big reel with the pipes which belonged to Pluto.

It’s enormous. We had a lovely cold lunch an apple, a jam tart, two pieces of bread, a tomato, sausage roll, 4 biscuits each and a glass of lemonade".

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BEYOND THE SCHOOL GATES CAROLYN CHAMBERLAIN (NELMS) (1960 NIGHTINGALE)

In early May 1995, to celebrate 50 years since the end of the war, Mary Reader and Carolyn Chamberlain (the then Chairman and Hon. Secretary of the Old Girls' Association) decided to organise a return to Devon with a group of ladies who had spent their schooldays as evacuees in Countess Weir with Miss Lilian Brake (Cherub), as Headmistress. Carolyn (now President of the ASA) recounts her memories of the trip below: “We gathered together 56 ladies from all over the world, and all stayed in a hotel nearby.

The current owner of Clock House, the large house which had accommodated the girls, was very interested to go round his house with the ladies who could tell him what the house had originally been like..... he was a builder and was sure walls had been put up when the house became a nursing home after the war and he was keen to return it to its original state.

We had a "School photograph" taken on the lawn in front of the house which can be seen, together with a report, in the 1995 Old Girls' School Tie. Apart from visiting Countess Weir we also spent an afternoon at the nearby village of Topsham where the Junior School had been evacuated, and again were kindly taken round by the current owners.

COLIN HOWARD (STAFF)

Probably one of my most memorable school trips was the year I took my A level biologists on a field trip to Arran and we unusually had a whole week of glorious weather. After completing a day of freshwater ecology we cooled off in a natural Jacuzzi pool which was part of the mountain stream we had been studying. Every single member of the group including the tutor from the centre and all the fully clothed Malaysian scholars jumped in!

One nice story was the one about "the boys on the bikes". The Mayor of Exeter generously offered us a reception in the Town Hall and at the entrance an elderly man approached me saying he was one of the wartime boys on the bikes and explained to me what he meant.

Apparently on Sunday morning the girls walked up from Clock House to the church for morning service, and he and a friend cycled beside the crocodile trying to catch a conversation with them, but failed every time due to staff patrolling the girls and preventing any communication! When he had read in the local paper about our proposed visit back to Devon including a reception at the Town Hall (is it called the Guild Hall?) he thought that would be a good chance to finally talk to some of them!! His friend had sadly died so could not accompany him. I am not privy to any conversations that took place that morning, but this is a story with a happy ending and, I think, worth retelling! We went down to Devon in a coach from an Ashford firm with ASHFORD written on the side so no doubt other memories were stirred upon seeing that in the vicinity of Countess Weir for a few days. "Nighty" (Miss Mary Nightingale, ex-headmistress of Ashford in the 50s/60s and science teacher at Countess Weir) accompanied us and didn't look a day older than in the wartime photos! Of course it was lovely for her to meet up with so many of her pupils again!�

ON VE DAY WE WENT TO THE BEACH AT EXMOUTH, I THINK IT WAS. WE HAD ICE CREAM, AN EVERYDAY EVENT NOW, BUT NOT TO MY GENERATION. WE WENT BY TRAIN FROM TOPSHAM. I ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT DAY AS IF IT WERE YESTERDAY. THE WEATHER WAS BEAUTIFUL! IT WAS PERFECT! THE ASA SCHOOL TIE - THE ALUMNI OF ASHFORD SCHOOL

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S TA F F V A L E T E S

HELLO...

Over the course of the last year or so I have spent a great deal of time away from Ashford School in my role as Chair of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' conference (HMC). The HMC is the heads' association of the leading independent schools in the UK and around the world. The position as Chair has given me the opportunity to spread the word about Ashford School and also to engage very specifically about the role of independent schools in the UK. A large part of my year has been to impress upon the Government and others quite how much schools like Ashford contribute to the UK economy and the communities beyond our school gates.

My year started with the publication of the education green paper in which the government sought to force independent schools to support state education by sponsoring academies and threatening sanctions such as the removal of charitable status if schools such as Ashford did not comply.

The current position of the government is to work collaboratively with independent schools in order to raise standards in state schools. This is a laudable and entirely supportable position but I do wonder how much impact the 2,500 independent schools, with our 600,000 pupils can really have on the quality of education in over 25,000 state schools, with nearly 9,500,000 pupils?

Every HMC school has at least one partnership with a state school.

We estimate that the number of state schools in these partnerships is about 10,000 and that about 180,000 pupils benefit as a result. The partnerships range from academic programme, sports and music or, in a limited number of cases, the sponsorship of a state school Academy. In our case, we run programmes that mean that over 400 primary school pupils attend the swimming lessons every week at Ashford School as well as providing lessons and opportunities in outdoor education and character development such as our joint CCF with Wye School. These activities have direct benefit to our own pupils and those of our partners. That's why we get involved!

Independent schooling in the UK is under threat from political parties of all colours. My mission has been, and will continue to be, to demonstrate and grow the benefits of collaboration. I see those benefits daily in my work with other United Learning schools.

GOODBYE... > CATHERINE LE Catherine and I started working in Ashford together two years ago. I distinctly remember connecting with her as a language teacher (in different departments) when we were discussing the best way to teach EAL pupils in other subjects.

We have been working more closely together during this academic year. She is an excellent teacher who always went the extra mile for her pupils, giving them extra lessons when they needed it, coaxing and prodding them into doing their vocabulary revision so they would stay on top of it, and giving them words of encouragement before speaking exams to boost their confidence.

Catherine could always be counted on to sweeten everyone’s day with her positive and cheerful nature, but if that weren’t enough, one of Catherine’s hobbies is baking, and she makes the most wonderful baking goods… some of you may have enjoyed the gingerbread men that were making the rounds at sports day.

In September, Catherine took up a post teaching French at St Paul’s Junior School, where she is teaching children younger than ours, as this is her true passion. On behalf of the department and the School as a whole, I would like to wish her the absolute very best in her new adventure.

Paola Sagastuy

Mike Buchanan

Faculty Leader - Languages

Head

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SCHOOL NEWS

S TA F F V A L E T E S

>OLIVER (OLI) THOMSON Palpably passionate about all things mathematical, Oli joined Ashford School in 2010 on the Graduate Teacher Programme. From day one, he has applied himself rigorously and unflaggingly to his teaching, demonstrating exemplary practice in the classroom and demanding precision not only of himself but of his pupils and of his fellow colleagues in the Maths Department too. He is a key member of the Maths Association and serves on the national education committee, contributing regularly to the annual conference and constantly looking for ways to forge new contacts here or within the Cambridge Maths education project, always with the underlying aim of bringing new ideas to teaching practice and invigorating our students’ experience of maths.

Oli took over the leadership of the Sixth Form in 2013, revitalising it with his fresh approach. Committed to high standards, he only ever wants what is best for the students in his care and always does everything in his power to make that happen. He has always embraced school life to the full, leading by example in seizing opportunities and running with them, whether it be leading the School’s Debating Societies (he loves to play devil’s advocate!), accompanying ski trips or establishing and playing in the original staff rock band. His enduring love of learning has also spurred him on to learn how to play the piano and how to draw and he thrives on the high-stakes of competitive pub quizzing! He is an asset to any school and our loss is certainly Guildford High School’s gain: as one colleague puts it, ‘Your life is just a little bit richer if you’re lucky enough to have Oli in it ’We wish him every success and happiness.

Tom Wilding Head of Senior School

>ED WILSON Ed Wilson joined the English Department in 2013 after a successful editorial career at Penguin Books. Even within the first year of his teacher training, Ed demonstrated considerable flair as a classroom practitioner.

With a deep-rooted passion for his subject, Ed delivered consistently outstanding lessons, always promoting the importance of a conscientious and proactive approach to pupil learning in English.

In particular, Ed has brought rigour to ‘A Level’ English Literature teaching at Ashford School, and he has been instrumental in developing challenging resources for the new GCSE specifications.

He has led several extra-curricular Sixth Form trips, such as to The Globe in London and the regional finals of the Poetry by Heart competition at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury. He has also arranged for inspirational outside speakers, such as poets, to talk to GCSE English students. In turn, we are delighted that, upon leaving Ashford School, Ed will himself be a guest speaker at Literary Society events in future years.

Beyond the English Department, Ed has proved himself to be an innovative teacher of Drama at A Level, and he has also been a very supportive and popular Form Tutor within Franklins House.

We wish Ed well as he embarks on his doctoral research at the University of Kent, and thank him for his significant contribution to English teaching at Ashford School.

Ms J Russell Faculty Leader – English

A TRIP ON THE HYTHE/DYMCHURCH RAILWAY TO DUNGENESS IN 1946/7.

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SCHOOL NEWS

S TA F F V A L E T E S

>JOHN HALL

JASON WOOD

I feel privileged to have worked with John Hall since he arrived in September 2014. Since then, his passion and unrelenting energy has not gone unnoticed, and he has had a profound impact on the students and staff at Ashford School in a comparatively short time.

Dr. Jason Wood has led both the Geography Department and the Humanities Faculty with great facility and success over the course of 7 years. He achieved a strong rapport with students, based on a skilful combination of allowing independence and providing adept and wellmeasured support. A similar approach for his department and faculty allowed staff to develop and flourish, which has directly benefited the students as the subjects in his charge have thrived with new staff and new courses. Jason’s own teaching is founded on a remarkable subject knowledge, best seen, perhaps, on the numerous field trips he has introduced and run. To hear him use his knowledge of Geology in explaining the details of the local coastline is to be inspired by his enthusiasm and grasp of the topic. On these days, he has demonstrated almost magical skills to motivate students to shrug-off truly horrible weather conditions in the pursuit of critical data, and he has not shirked himself as he stood chest-deep in a rampant River Darenth with a tape measure and an expression combining a wry smile and a grimace.

Additionally, his interest in collecting the fossils that have filled up his classroom cupboards has given his students a direct link to past ecosystems. Jason's hobby of collecting early copperplate prints has also come in handy in Humanities: for the past seven years, History students have written controlled assessments on one such print, depicting Rochester Castle. Jason’s enthusiasm has always benefited much wider circles of students than just those studying Geography.

From the moment John arrived he has organised and supported a plethora of musical experiences in addition to what would, for many, be the norm i.e. peripatetic music lessons along with Choir and Band rehearsals. Here are just a few: In November 2016 the Sopranos and Altos of the Chamber Choir were invited to join professional soloists and orchestra in a performance of the oratorio Elijah by Mendelssohn at the Collyer-Fergusson Hall in Canterbury.

Also in November 2016 John took a group of musicians to the Olympic Stadium to perform along with approximately 450 singers drawn from the United Learning Schools group. Whilst there the group sang the National Anthems for England and Australia for the Four Nations Rugby League match, another unforgettable moment for many of our students.

Closer to home, John’s enthusiasm and commitment to music and learning can be seen through the teaching of the Year 7 instrumental scheme whereby all students in Year 7 have the opportunity to learn to play an instrument of their choice. Now in its fifth year, students in Years 7-9 give a performance in the Trinity term, an event which many of our parents attend and thoroughly enjoy. John has also directed the orchestra, which often comprises of professional musicians, for the annual School musicals, these include We Will Rock You and Little Shop of Horrors and, most memorably, Chicago.

As he heads into retirement, John will be greatly missed by all at Ashford School. However, our human dynamo will, I'm assured, still pop up in Brake Hall as John continues to direct the Ashford Youth Jazz Orchestra, an ensemble which gives so much pleasure to the whole School community.

Jason’s broader contributions to the School have been many and varied.

He has been the lead teacher for badminton over many years, whilst also taking a key role in Duke of Edinburgh expeditions. He has also been an integral part of the Alfred House boarding team. Many students will always be grateful for the numerous adventurous trips that he organised and led, including trips to Borneo, Iceland and Morocco. The hard work and commitment to such ventures are outstanding, and the impact on the School’s broader culture has been tremendous. He will also be remembered as the only member of staff with a microwave oven in his classroom: all in the pursuit of volcano cakes and bringing the subject vividly to life.

Adrian Barnett

Paul Limmer

Faculty Leader - Creative Performing Arts

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Geography and Business Studies

SCHOOL NEWS

S TA F F V A L E T E S

JULIA DAVIDSON

RICHARD YEATES

Julia came to Ashford School in 2011 as part of the GTP programme, being a Cambridge Physics graduate with an additional MSc and 5 years' experience in industry. She has proven to be a great colleague and teacher. She has high standards in all that she does, achieving the highest possible grades in her own professional studies which has included a masters level Diploma in Education, and expecting the same in the their own context from the pupils. The teaching materials that she has produced for use within her own classes and to be shared with others have been both varied and inspiring. Her work within the physics extension programme across the years has been innovative and challenging, drawing an enthusiastic response from the pupils involved. Julia is making a move to Harrow School, Hong Kong, taking the Ashford School emphasis on adventure to her own heart, and she will of course be a great success in all she does there. We will miss her very much within the department and hold out hopes of her perhaps returning in a professional capacity in a few years' time. Of course we hope to see her on her visits to the UK and to hear about her new life overseas, and we may even get to hear her sing once again! Our appreciation and very best wishes to her for the future.

I was fortunate indeed to serve as a Governor throughout Richard's time as Headmaster of the Prep School, most of that time as Chairman. I was therefore able to observe at close quarters the subtlety of his leadership, the sympathetic way in which he encouraged colleagues, his empathy in particular towards those who were coping with professional or personal difficulties, and his deep understanding of the children placed in his care - and all carried out

Ralph Cowan Faculty Leader - Science

with the self-deprecating humour that enabled him to appear to succeed despite rather than because of what he contributed.

At this distance I can safely say that the merger with Friars at Great Chart which spawned the success story we now know as Ashford Prep School could not have been achieved so seamlessly and with such goodwill on all sides without the exemplary leadership of Richard, aided and abetted by his constant support and ever willing foil, his wife Sue. At times impulsive, at others measured, his approach was always one of sensitivity to the needs of those involved, but with the underlying interests of the School very much to the fore. And it is that sensitivity coupled with sense of purpose that is captured so well by Beka Smith's portrait (featured above in this School Tie).

Richard's legacy is reflected in many of his Prep School colleagues who have honed their skills in his shadow. He chose his colleagues well, and his successor, Penny Willetts, who served as Richard's deputy for his last few years, will continue to build on his success. In wishing Richard an enjoyable and happy retirement, perhaps with his love for music and cricket once more indulged in equal measure, I have no doubt that all of us who care for Ashford School owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude.

Peregrine Massey

FIELD TRIP TO SHROPSHIRE!

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SCHOOL NEWS

S TA F F V A L E T E S

>ELIZABETH HAWKER

>SOPHIE BUTT

Liz joined School in 2012 as an NQT and in those 5 years has contributed massively to all aspects of the School, most notably to the MFL and English departments, and also to the AEN and Music Department, singing in the Chamber Choir and setting up and running Ashtones with Tom Vafidis.

Sophie joined us 6 years ago soon after qualifying and at very short notice. She very soon made her mark and became a key part of the Key Stage 1 team, eventually rising to be its leader. Sophie has been part of a team which has introduced several new and highly effective initiatives with regard to improving teaching and learning. She has helped oversee the introduction of the new National Curriculum and assessment in this part of the school and she has been professional and thoughtful in her care of children and links with parents.

Liz is a wonderfully creative person – she has led projects including the annual Easter egg painting for the German Easter tree, the huge Berlin Wall, graffitoed with Padlet (my favourite!!), a colossal Gaudi-esque mosaic reptile and stunning Carnival masks.

Sophie has relocated with her husband, Tom, who has taken up a position in Suffolk. They will be a significant loss to the School. Excitingly, Sophie gave birth to her first child, Phoebe, in the Summer and we wish her, Tom and their daughter every success and happiness in the future.

A passionate linguist – a Germanist, Francophile, lover of linguistics and Japanese – Liz is a brilliant, dedicated, caring and professional teacher. She organised a highly enjoyable and successful MFL day for the Year 6 pupils, a Tour de France event with exercise bikes and pain au chocolat, and a German baking day. Not to mention the Christmas markets trip to Cologne in December.

Richard Yeates Head of Prep School

>TOM BUTT Having gained promotion to Assistant Director of Sport at the Royal Hospital School in Holbrook, Ipswich, we say farewell to Tom Butt. Tom joined the school as the boys’ games programme was in its infancy, Tom provided the energy, determination and ambition to progress our sport to the next level.

Having played National League Hockey for several years, Tom has overseen huge development in this sport over the last 6 years. With an increasing number of pupils gaining County, Regional and now National selection, Tom has helped to pass on his coaching expertise to others in the department to enable all pupils to reach their potential. Tom wanted to go out on a high and this was certainly the case when the Under 18 boys were crowned County Champions earlier this year.

We thank her from the bottom of our hearts for everything she has done in her time at Ashford, and wish her every success and happiness in her new job at Kent College, Pembury.

Paola Sagastuy Faculty Leader - Languages

Despite his work in the PE department and boarding, Tom pursued his own sporting ambitions and continued to play National League Hockey for Canterbury. Although we did have to search on google to check if it was a real sport, Tom also found time to represent England in Beach Hockey.

Tony Wilde Deputy Head - Co-Curricular

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SCHOOL NEWS

U N I V E R S I T Y D E S T I N AT I O N S

DESTINATIONS OF YEAR 13 STUDENTS STUDENT

SUBJECT

UNIVERSITY

Alegeh, Ochuwa Hareera

Law

University of Warwick

Amey-Wilkes, Bradley

Apprenticeship / employment

-

Askey-Brown, Isabella

Popular Music

Kingston University

Berti, Jamie

Biological Sciences

Oxford Brookes University

Boucher, Jordan

Gap year

Applying 2018

Brightling, Emily

Sport Coaching (2018)

Cardiff Metropolitan University

Carter, Scarlett

Psychology (2018)

University of Liverpool

Cho, Chun Ming (Jonathan)

Electronic Engineering with Artificial Intelligence

University of Southampton

Dale, Joseph

Zoology

University of Reading

Dewey, Isabel

Psychology (2018)

University of Surrey

Dhiman, Govind

Music Performance

Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance

Fox, Megan

Bioveterinary Science

University of Lincoln

Gabashvili, Tinatin

Psychology

University of St Andrews

Haque, Nabeel

Business Economics

University of Lincoln

Hong, Zi Chen (Andy)

Biology (2018)

University of Kent

Howitt, Max

Mechanical Engineering

University of Bath

Hu, Xinrui (Riley)

Natural Sciences

University of Cambridge Clare College

Huang, Ziyue (Moon)

Engineering

University of Warwick

Ip, Cheuk Wang (Gideon)

Mechanical Engineering

University College London

Jeffery, Theodore

Biosciences with Foundation Year

Canterbury Christ Church University

Jin, Yuhong (Rainie)

Biochemistry

Imperial College

Ke, Danfeng (Fontaine)

Biomedical Sciences

Durham University

Ketchen, John

Mechanical Engineering

University of the West of England

Kulikov, Alexander

Electronic Engineering

King’s College London

Lam, Chak Wang

Actuarial Science

London School of Economics & Political Science

Lancaster, Harry

Gap year

-

Liew, Kin Yu (Benjamin)

Product Design & Technology

Loughborough University

Lin, Zhan (Jason)

Film & Media Studies

University of Leicester

HYTHE EACH YEAR TO CELEBRATE MIS BRAKE’S BIRTHDAY; SANDWICHES IN THE SAND!

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SCHOOL NEWS

...CONTINUED STUDENT

SUBJECT

UNIVERSITY

Liu, Meichen (Kristen)

Economics

University College London

Liu, Xiaoshen (Caroline)

Gap year

-

Lui, Chun Yin (Kenneth)

Economics

University College London

Marchant, Dexter

Quantity Surveying

University of Portsmouth

McArthur, Saskia

Gap year/Employment

-

Murvanidze, Zurab

Computer Science

University College London

Newall, Matthew

Environmental Management

University of Reading

Ng, Chong Wing (Savio)

Biology with Psychology

University of Lancaster

Oh, Jong Chan (Jason)

-

University in South Korea

Oh, Myung Chan (Frank)

-

University in South Korea

Padgham, Francesca

Early Years Development & Learning

Norland College

Patel, Nikeen

Computer Science

Cardiff University

Pinney, Sophie

Foundation Diploma in Art & Design

University for the Creative Arts, Canterbury

Piper, Lucy

Gap year

Applying 2018

Pitt, Milly

Gap year

-

Polonetskaya, Maria

Liberal Arts

New York University

Pondeca, Yuki

English

University College London

Ramsey, Charlotte

Fine Art

University of Northampton

Rashid, Abdullah

Ancient History

King’s College London

Rayner, Amira

Middle East Studies

University of Exeter

Roberts, Hamish

Geography

Loughborough University

Russen, Matthew

Sport & Physical Education

Cardiff Metropolitan University

Shah, Jai

Chemical Engineering with Management

University of Edinburgh

Shi, Yawen (Judy)

Accounting & Finance

Durham University

Shields, Ella

Creative & Professional Writing

Canterbury Christ Church University

Short, James

Music

University of Oxford, Exeter College

Smelt, Rebecca

Adult Nursing

Canterbury Christ Church University

Smityukh, Oleksandra

International Relations

London School of Economics & Political Science

Stratford, Charles

Gap year/Sports Internship

-

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SCHOOL NEWS

STUDENT

SUBJECT

UNIVERSITY

Tan, Yinglu (Charlotte)

Art Foundation Diploma

Central St. Martins

Tang, Yiqi (Yvonne)

Business Management

Newcastle University

Tudball, Ryan

Primary Education (Upper Primary)

Canterbury Christ Church University

Turton, Rebecca

Modern Languages & Cultures

Durham University

Walker, Anna

Human Geography (2018)

University of Reading

Wei, Jervis

Hospitality Management

Hotel Institute of Montreux

Wei, Runsheng (Leo)

Electrical & Electronic Engineering

Cardiff University

Williams, Georgina

Zoology (2018)

University of Exeter

Woods, Henry

Sports Management & Development (2018)

University of Portsmouth

Wu, Kefei (Amanda)

Mathematics

University College London

Xu, Jiayu (Claire)

Mathematics & Economics

London School of Economics & Political Science

Yang, Yanji (Dorothy)

Theoretical Physics

Durham University

Zhang, Zhiyuan (Odelia)

Physics

University of Manchester

Zhu, Jie (Jay)

Biochemical Engineering

University College London

> FACTS...

56 students have taken up a place at a UK university 4 have a place at an international university 1 has a place at a Conservatoire 2 have gained a place on a Foundation Diploma in Art & Design

OF THE STUDENTS WHO APPLIED TO UK UNIVERSITIES: 73% gained a place at their firm choice university 52% gained a place at a Russell Group university 38% gained a place at a UK top 10 University 5% gained a place at a World top 10 University

MY FAVOURITE TRIP TOOK PLACE IN THE LOWER 6TH WHEN MR PAYNE, THE ART TEACHER, TOOK HIS LIFE IN HIS HANDS AND TOOK THE O AND A LEVEL DRAMA GROUP TO THE NATIONAL THEATRE. WE HAD A `BEHIND THE SCENES` TOUR OF THE THEATRE AND THEN SAW A PRODUCTION IN THE AFTERNOON.

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SCHOOL NEWS

AN INFLUENTIAL ROLE IN EDUCATION A well-deserved and exceptional opportunity to influence the education of children across the country was presented to our Head, Mike Buchanan, when he was elected to Chair of the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference, the HMC.

NEW HEAD MAKES AN IMPACT The Prep School welcomes Deputy Head Penny Willetts as its new leader and she’s already made an impact by abolishing homework.

Both her children were educated at the Prep School.

In her spare time, Penny is a very keen and talented golfer and, having travelled the world as an expat, she enjoys going on holiday to places she hasn’t been before.

Penny originally trained in Sydney, Australia to be a PE teacher and her first job in teaching was Head of Games at a small school in the centre of London.

She decided she wanted to be more involved with school life and to influence more children so she went back to studying and did her PGCE. After having two children she returned to work at Ashford Junior School as it was then. She taught a Year 2 class and fell in love with the school and its ethos.

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This prestigious post saw him representing the leading independent schools in the UK and around the world and gives the Chair a real chance to impact on government policy.

He explains: “As Chair of the organisation I'm able to set a theme for the year. In my case it was creative leadership, in other words the promotion of creativity and the creative and performing arts in schools. I chose this area because it is the most obvious way that many young people have for exploring who they are and what they might be. Experience of the creative and performing arts can be transformational and that goes to the heart of what a great education should be.

SCHOOL NEWS

BLAST FROM THE PAST Founders’ Day is one of the most popular discussions at alumni events and there was a throwback to the past this year when the School staged its first Adventure of Endeavour.

In the style of the traditional Founders’ Day which saw music, art and sport displays as well as academic work on show, the event celebrated and made public all the wonderful and creative things that go on daily at the School.

There was a parade from the newly-formed CCF, sport and art workshops with students painting live on stage, musical performances and an academic display from every subject.

Foundation Director, David Young, hosted an event for those interested in the work of the Foundation and there was an opportunity for parents to find out how they can support it.

WE HAD VERY ENJOYABLE TRIPS TO DAWLISH WARREN IN THE SUMMER WHEN WE WERE EVACUATED TO COUNTESS WEIR. WE WERE QUITE SORRY TO RETURN TO ASHFORD. AFTER SCHOOL I BECAME A PHARMACIST, ORGANISED BY MISS BRAKE, TO WHOM I SHALL ALWAYS BE MOST GRATEFUL.

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SCHOOL NEWS

LEAVERS PRIZES...

UPPER SCHOOL CITIZENSHIP PRIZES

YEAR 13 Art Prize

Francesca Padgham

Knights

Emily Brightling

Biology Prize

Yuhong Rainie Jin

Merchants

Abdullah Rashid

Business Studies Prize

Amira Rayner

Pilgrims

Lucy Piper

Chemistry Prize

Yuhong Rainie Jin

Squires

Georgina Williams

Design Technology

Kin Yu Benjamin Liew

BOARDING CITIZENSHIP PRIZES

MFL Prize - French

Jordan Boucher

Alfred

Chong Wing Savio Ng

MFL Prize - German

None

Brabourne

Oleksandra Smityukh

MFL Prize - Spanish

Rebecca Turton

Brooke and Refuge

Aleksandr Nazarov

Economics Prize

Kefei Amanda Wu

SCHOOL CAPTAIN

Engineering Prize

Jai Shah

School Captain

English Literature Prize

Yuki Pondeca

DEPUTY SCHOOL CAPTAINS

Further Mathematics Prize

Kefei Amanda Wu

Chung Ming Jonathan Cho, Tinatin Gabashvili, Sophie Pinney

Geography Prize

Sophie Pinney

HOUSE CAPTAINS

The Pat Earlam History Prize awarded by The Ashford School Association to

Georgina Williams

Mathematics Prize

Chak Wang Lam

Music Prize

James Short

PE Prize

Emily Brightling

Philosophy

Yuki Pondeca

Physics Prize

Yanji Dorothy Yang

Psychology Prize

Tinatin Gabashvili

Theatre Studies Prize

Charlotte Ramsay

Sylvia Perry Memorial Prize for School Captain

James Short

Clow Cup for Speech and Drama

Jai Shah

Klopper Trophy

Govind Dhiman

Cooper Piano Cup

Govind Dhiman

Orchestral Cup

James Short

School Choir Prize

Sophie Pinney

Wilson Cup for Drama

Dexter Marchant

Leonardo Prize for Creative Arts

Isabella Askey-Brown

Davidson Cup for Technical Theatre

Harry Lancaster

Debating Cup

Jordan Boucher

Academic Achievement Prize

Xinrui Riley Hu

SPORTS AWARDS Senior Boys' Hockey Cup

Hamish Roberts

Senior Girls' Hockey Shield

Sophie Pinney

Hooker Cup for Senior Netball

Lucy Piper

Senior Girls' Sports Cup for All Round Excellence

Sophie Pinney

Senior Boys' Sports Cup for All Round Excellence

Max Howitt

Senior Swimming Cup

Emily Brightling

Franklins

Jamie Berti

Knights

Amira Rayner

Merchants

Megan Fox

Pilgrims

Lucy Piper

Squires

Charlotte Ramsey

Yeomen

Jordan Boucher

Boys' Boarding

Yuki Pondeca

Girls' Boarding

Xiaoshen Caroline Liu

TEAM LEADERS Team 1

Jamie Berti

Team 2

Isabel Dewey

Team 3

Francesca Padgham

Team 4

Nikeen Patel

PREFECTS Isabella Askey-Brown

Emily Brightling

Scarlett Carter

Joseph Dale

Max Howitt

Alexander Kulikov

Chak Wang Lam

Dexter Marchant

Matthew Newall

Abdullah Rashid

Jai Shah

Oleksandra Smityukh

Rebecca Turton

Georgina Williams

Kefei Amanda Wu

Zhiyuan Odelia Zhang

Ochuwa Hareera Alegeh

LONG SERVICE AWARDS Charlotte Ramsey

Max Howitt

Jai Shah

Francesca Padgham

Nikeen Patel

Joseph Dale

Emily Brightling

Milly Pitt

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James Short

SCHOOL NEWS

A FUNRAISER Our wonderful PTA organised a memorable fundraising event this year – Ashfest – which aimed to be more of a funraiser than a fundraiser.

It was a beautiful sunny day for the event which was held in the grounds of the Prep School and featured live bands, boutique stalls, a carousel and workshops. It was well-attended and enjoyed by staff, pupils and families.

SCHOOL TRIPS IN THE FIFTIES WERE FEW APART FROM THE SATURDAY AFTERNOON BUS WALKS FOR THE BOARDERS WHATEVER THE WEATHER! MY FAVOURITE WAS WALKING ALONG THE SEAFRONT AT HYTHE CLOSELY FOLLOWED BY WALKING ALONG THE PILGRIM’S WAY NEAR WYE!

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FOUNDATION NEWS

S

ince the launch of the Ashford School Foundation in November last year we have been very busy creating the infrastructure which goes with forming a successful development charity.

With the support of Mike Buchanan and Tom Wilding from the School we have begun the task of supporting deserving pupils through the award of Foundation Assisted Places, supplementing the scholarships and bursaries already on offer via United Learning and building a shared platform for assessing need and monitoring performance. At present the School and the Foundation combined support 40 pupils on means-tested Assisted Places. This is some 8.7% of the current Senior School pupil base.

Our aspiration for the future is that any pupil who is suited to an education at Ashford be able to attend the School without regard to the income of his or her family. I’ve no doubt that the journey towards this “needs blind” admissions policy will be a long and hard one but every long journey starts with just a few steps and I’m very pleased with progress we’ve made in the past year. I continue to be struck by the depth of affection people feel for Ashford, and the recognition that, in challenging times, fee income alone is not sufficient to maintain, let alone enhance, the high quality of education which we rightly expect the School to continue to provide - and to provide it for a broad range of boys and girls as possible.I am delighted that so many Ashfordians have chosen to support us as we continue to honour the legacy of our predecessors at Ashford and cherish long held values into the twenty-first century. Thank you for your continuing support of your School.

In the year to 30 September 2017 the Foundation has received gifts and pledges to the value of £91,055 (£102,146 with Gift Aid) from 136 past pupils, parents and other supporters, with gifts ranging from £5 to £10,000. Every single donation to the Foundation makes a difference to the long-term future of the School and its pupils; and I therefore want to thank each and every one of you for being part of this story and helping the Headmaster and Governors to realise their ambitions for the School.

The Venerable Stephen Taylor MBE Chairman, the Ashford School Foundation

MY FAVOURITE SCHOOL TRIP:

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THE ASA SCHOOL TIE - THE ALUMNI OF ASHFORD SCHOOL

AT PRESENT THE SCHOOL AND THE FOUNDATION COMBINED SUPPORT

40 PUPILS

ON MEANS-TESTED ASSISTED PLACES.

THIS IS SOME

8.7%

OF THE CURRENT SENIOR SCHOOL PUPIL BASE.

OUR ASPIRATION FOR THE FUTURE IS THAT ANY PUPIL WHO IS SUITED TO AN EDUCATION AT ASHFORD BE ABLE TO ATTEND THE SCHOOL WITHOUT REGARD TO THE INCOME OF HIS OR HER FAMILY.

FOUNDATION NEWS

FOUNDATION SUMMER TELETHON For a fortnight at the beginning of August we held the Foundation’s first major fundraising exercise: a telephone calling campaign in support of the Foundation’s Assisted Place Fund.

With the help of Buffalo Fundraising consultants and 9 former students we managed to reach our target of raising £50,000 in donations and pledges from Ashfordians and parents and were delighted by the response from the people we called, whether or not they were in a position to support the campaign. Our callers really enjoyed chatting with past pupils and swapping stories about their respective school days at Ashford.

Favourite memories we heard in the campaign included that of the girl who was asked by the Headmistress where she lived, only to receive the answer “Wye”, and then to be promptly dismissed from Miss Brake’s office with a flea in her ear for being so rude.

On behalf of the School and Foundation I’d like to thank all Ashfordians who participated in the

campaign. Your generosity and humour made it a great experience for our callers and gave great impetus to our campaign to make an Ashford education available for those who cannot afford to pay full school fees.

My thanks also go to our caller group pictured below (from left to right): Will Threlfall (2013 Yeomen), Dan Faehndrich (2013 Squires) , Chloe Anspack, Ted Learmont (2015 Franklins), Nick Smelt (2015 Knights), Will Austin (2015 Yeomen), Elizabeth Threlfall (2016 Yeomen), Joe Shields 2014 Squires), Sam Keet (2014 Knights). Our callers worked very hard over the course of the two week campaign, making nearly 4,000 call attempts (Ashford people are clearly very busy!) and speaking to just under 400 Ashfordians and parents. I’m very grateful for their efforts and great teamwork.

David Young Foundation Director

HELLO

HI! WE MANAGED TO REACH OUR TARGET OF RAISING £50,000 IN DONATIONS AND PLEDGES FROM ASHFORDIANS AND PARENTS AND WERE DELIGHTED BY THE RESPONSE FROM THE PEOPLE WE CALLED, WHETHER OR NOT THEY WERE IN A POSITION TO SUPPORT THE CAMPAIGN.

TRIPS TO SEE PERFORMANCES BY THE ENGLISH NATIONAL OPERA AT THE LONDON COLISEUM IN THE 1970S WITH MRS HARRISON, OUR MUSIC TEACHER. WE SAW CARMEN AND WAR AND PEACE AND I HAVE TO THIS DAY A LOVE OF OPERA AND REGULARLY ATTEND PERFORMANCES IN LONDON AND AT GLYNDEBOURNE. THE ASA SCHOOL TIE - THE ALUMNI OF ASHFORD SCHOOL

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FOUNDATION NEWS

FOUNDATION DONOR CELEBRATION EVENT 3 NOVEMBER 2017 Our Patrons, Trustees and Donors came into School to help mark the first anniversary of the launch of the Ashford School Foundation and to thank all those who have made donations and pledges in support of the School.

Stephen Taylor and Mike Buchanan gave speeches of thanks and Richard Black, Head of Cricket introduced the Cricket Project which will be one of the chief focuses of this year’s Annual Fund (see opposite).

Ashfordians came from all ages and stages of their relationship with the School. Pictured in deep conversation are donors Juliet Arnold (2015 Merchants), Nicky Brightling (Clarke) (1986 Knights) and Valerie Arends (Davies) (1955 Nightingale).

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LILIAN BRAKE SOCIETY LUNCH – THE CARLTON CLUB 16 JANUARY, 2018 We will be holding the first Lilian Brake Society Lunch at the Carlton Club in St James’, London for those Ashfordians who have chosen to leave a legacy in their wills to Ashford or who are considering doing so. A legacy is one of the simplest and most flexible ways of making a gift and may allow you to support the School in a way which you may not be able to do during your lifetime. A gift in your will can help secure Ashford’s future for generations to come.

If you are considering leaving a gift to Ashford and would like to attend the Lilian Brake Society lunch please contact David Young on: foundation@ashfordschool.co.uk or 01233 619 525

FOUNDATION NEWS

ANNUAL FUND PRIORITIES 2017/18 In addition to our focus on raising funds to support means-tested Assisted Places at the School, this year we will be fundraising to support new cricket equipment at Ashford.

School of girls’ cricket for the first time in Ashford’s history, something that many former pupils we’ve spoken to are delighted about.

two of which came into limited service last summer for the first time.

We aim to fundraise to purchase sightscreens, covers and tarpaulins, nets and astroturf strips to ensure that our lovely new grounds are made full use of in the seasons to come – whatever the weather has in store for us.

Next year we’re expecting two significant new developments at Great

If you’d like to support the Ashford Cricket Project, please

Chart. The first is the construction of changing rooms and a pavilion

get in touch with David Young in the Foundation Office on

for players and spectators waiting to play or sheltering from the rain

01233 619 525 or foundation@ashfordschool.co.uk or Richard

as the case may be! The second is the introduction into the Senior

Black, Head of Cricket on blackr@ashfordschool.

Cricket is thriving at Ashford thanks to an excellent coaching team and the laying of three new cricket squares at Great Chart, the first

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43

DATES FOR YOUR

DIARIES JANUAR

Y

RAKE LILIAN B LUNCH, SOCIETY N CLUB TO THE CARL 018 R Y, 2 16 JANUA 0PM AT 1 2 . 3

MARCH

ASHFORD SC HO LONDON DR OL INKS PA R T Y, T H E C A R LT O N C L UB 15 MARCH, 201 8 F R O M 6 .3 0 P M

JUNE

LUNCH R E M M U ASA S NION, U E R S E D A AND DEC ILLE LAWN, SOMERV SCHOOL ASHFORD 8 201 30 JUNE, .00AM FROM 11

FEBRUA

RY

ASA ANN MEETING UAL GENERAL , THE A S H F O R D O C TA G O N , S 24 FEBR U A R Y, 2 C H O O L 0

1 8 AT 1 1 .00AM

MARCH

AS HF OR DI AN SP OR TS TO UR NA ME NT , EA ST HI LL , AS HF OR D SC HO OL 23 MA RC H, 20 18 AT 5P M

JUNE

ASHFORDIA N VS SCHOOL CRI CKE M AT C H & B B T Q, G R E AT C H A R T TB D JU N E , 2 0 1 8

NOVEM

SEPTEM

BER

BACK TO BBQ, ED UNIVERSITY WAR ASHFORD DS LAWN, 7 SEPTEM SCHOOL B ER FROM 6. , 2018 30PM

BER

THE ASA T ’S PRESIDEN , N LUNCHEO L T H E R OYA Y ACADEM , 2018 EMBER

17 NOV PM AT 1 2 . 3 0