Sherborne Newsletter Trinity 14

issue fourteen TRINITY TERM 2014

SherborneNews TEAM BUILDING

CCF

SPORT

COMMEM

Comment

BY REVEREND GORDON PARRY CHAIRMAN OF GOVERNORS

... a flourishing community of teaching, learning and achievement.

It is a particular privilege to have been asked to contribute to ‘Sherborne News’ as I come to the end of my first year as Chair of Governors of this remarkable school. I visit many independent schools and find much of immense value in all of them, but Sherborne has a unique blend of history and modernity which it combines with a sense of the importance of integrity of character and wide-ranging achievement. I have seen and felt this during the time I have been spending in the school. Shirburnians are highly regarded the world over for these qualities and I know that the school is every much as committed to them now as it ever has been.

Over the Trinity Term I have spent a considerable amount of time in the school because I regard it as vital that I get to know Sherborne as thoroughly as possible. This has included following a Fourth Former for a full day of his lessons and re-visiting concepts and principles in the sciences, English, Art and Drama which I had not encountered for some time! The techniques of the teachers, as well as the responses of the boys, have given me substantial and very positive evidence that the central activity of Sherborne is in good shape and the subject of continual professional reflection.

www.sherborne.org

Governors, with their legal responsibilities for Sherborne, are also servants of the school and are there to support the Headmaster and his staff in ensuring its ongoing progress and success. I know that the entire governing body is committed to do all in its power to focus resources on all those aspects of the school, human and physical, that contribute to its effectiveness as a flourishing community of teaching, learning and achievement. I know too

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that Sherborne continues to value not only individual and collective endeavour but also a sense of all those attributes that make for a holistic engagement with human personality and understanding.

I wish all readers of this Newsletter a summer that brings family life together and that furthers engagement with the extraordinary richness of human life.

Leadership and Teambuilding Course

GORDON MW PARRY CHAIRMAN OF GOVERNORS

Bow Award The Award is given to a boy who has made an outstanding contribution to the pastoral welfare of others at Sherborne and this year’s recipient is Ed Kennedy (U6f).

‘He is a genuinely nice person. Offered to help me out even if it doesn’t suit him many a time and he was one of the first boys I met as a new boy in the school. I’ve always had a lot of respect for him.’ Current Pupil

The Leadership and Teambuilding Course began with an inspirational talk from the partially-sighted, multiple medal winning, Paralympic Judo player Ian Rose, who spoke about dealing with adversity and the importance of leadership and teamwork. The Fifth Form boys were then put into groups for a series of leadership and teambuilding challenges on Brownsea Island over three days. As well as undertaking these challenges, the boys supported the National Trust with conservation tasks including moving an entire section of fence line. This is something the boys will be able to point to in future years if they go back and visit.

As important as tackling a variety of physical and mental challenges is the

process of reviewing and reflecting upon both individual and team performance.

Additionally the boys completed a communication style questionnaire which provided a real talking point for considering self-development. The school was able to link the leadership experiences on the course to the Level 3 Award in Leadership from the Institute of Leadership and Management and a large number of boys elected to study for this award. Most of the boys that went to Brownsea will have learned valuable lessons about their interactions with others, which will be of benefit long after they leave Sherborne.

BY ROB LE POIDEVIN CONTINGENT COMMANDER COMBINED CADET FORCE

Fourth Form University Trip to Oxford The Oxford trip was a chance for boys in the Fourth Form, to begin getting a feel for the kind of further education they would like to go on to. A group of about 20 boys had a guided tour of Merton College. This included various lectures from people attached to the college, either as tutors, or post and under graduates, as well as a brief outline on what an Oxford further education entails. It was indeed a very interesting experience that enabled us to decide whether an Oxford education would be the best option for each individual. Amusing anecdotes from Mr Crouch about his time as a mature student gave a personal, exciting and intellectually daring side to the university.

BY OSCAR FEARNLEY-DEROME (4e)

‘I feel Edward has shown his kindness and community attitude within the school, by being Head Chapel Warden. He is an inspiration; someone who is always willing to listen to you – a loyal friend.’

Current Pupil

JUNIOR SCHOOL POETRY RECITAL COMPETITION The Patterson Cup, named in honour of a former Head of English, Mr Robert Patterson, who retired in 2009, is competed for annually by all members of the Third and Fourth Forms, and is awarded for the best recitation from memory of a short poem. The winner of

this year’s final, held in the Powell Theatre and judged by Mr Patterson, was Joss Nelson (3e) reciting John Donne’s ‘Holy Sonnet 7’. Henry Dennis (4g) was second, and Jack Leigh (4g) third.

BY PATRICK HAIGH

Lower Sixth University Visits

T20, Somerset v Glamorgan

With the AS exams behind them, the Lower Sixth began a structured programme of individual interviews with a member of the careers department and workshops on how to write a UCAS Personal Statement and what to look for when choosing universities and courses.

Almost the entire L6 visited a number of different universities and art colleges. 86 Lower Sixth boys attended the School’s trip to the Open Day at Bristol University where they had the opportunity of attending lectures, visiting academic departments and speaking to Admissions Tutors, looking around the

accommodation and asking questions of the Bristol undergraduates who were acting as Ambassadors on the day. A group of A-level Philosophers visited Southampton University. The day was a great opportunity to see what tuition at university is like and to explore areas of Philosophy not on the A-level course, in particular political philosophy and epistemology.

BY KIM DUNNING MANAGER OF HIGHER EDUCATION

BY ANDREW GILLOTT HEAD OF THEOLOGY

©Alex Davidson (4f)

To most teenagers, the idea of going to see a cricket game does not inspire ideas similar to that of going to see a rugby or football game, however the 70 or so boys who turned out to watch the Somerset Sabres against Glamorgan Dragons proved otherwise. Before we had even sat down, we were treated to some incredible shots played by the guests, who started to put on a high run rate. Nearing the latter stages of their innings, we saw some inspirational catches by the likes of Peter Trego and Alfonso Thomas. The match really came down to the last moments; in the last over Somerset, at a push, could have won the game and Trego could have got his century. Unfortunately the Glamorgan bowling proved just too good for the hosts and they retired on 169 runs for 4. It was a fascinatingly close game, and even those who had honestly just come to have a good time, or were taking a break from exams, were interested and enthusiastic throughout the game.

BY MONTY PILKINGTON (U6f)

Travel Photography Competition Entries are invited for a Travel Photography Competition to celebrate the European Day of Languages. Deadline for entries is 9pm Friday 12th September. Please email your entries to Mrs Greenrod at cgreenrod@sherborne.org

German Exchange Return Visit

Sherborne School and Gymnasium Steglitz Berlin have an annual exchange programme and June saw the return visit of 11 German pupils.

They were hosted in boarding houses by members of the Fourth Form who study German and took part in all aspects of school life. The German pupils enjoyed the stimulating and interactive nature of lessons at Sherborne and took full advantage of the sports on offer. We look forward to next Easter’s exchange trip to Berlin for the current Third Form.

BY JUDY THURMAN HEAD OF MODERN LANGUAGES

Lower Sixth Interview Training A number of Lower Sixth boys were subjected to a morning of rigorous training in order to improve the way they come across at interviews, whether for a university place or a job. They were taught the importance of first impressions, body language and diction.

Other issues included how not to panic when faced with a difficult question, how to appear engaging and enthusiastic without going over the top and how to be comfortable with pauses. The Boys found it a thoroughly useful experience and look forward to putting what they learnt into practice.

BY TIM DAWSON HEAD OF SCHOLARSHIP

Army and Royal Marines Field Trip

SUPPORTING THE SCHOOL FOR 15 YEARS

SHERBORNE FOUNDATION

The Royal Marines and Army sections went to Woodbury Common by the Royal Marines’ Commando Training Centre (CTC) at Lympstone. The boys went on a number of night patrols with the aim of capturing the flag from each others’ base. They were put through their paces by the Royal Marines at CTC doing drill and physical training. As well as this they went kayaking on the River Exe and on Woodbury Common practiced newly acquired skills for the stalking, battlefield first aid and section attack activities. We shared the training area with Royal Marines that were going through training, giving the

boys an insight into the hard work and determination that has benefit beyond the military. At the end of the three days the boys were exhausted but they learned valuable lessons about perseverance and resilience. There were some fantastic displays of leadership particularly from our impressive group of Sixth Form boys whom enjoyed the responsibility of looking after the younger boys.

Navy Field Trip The Royal Navy section headed to the Britannia Royal Naval College at Dartmouth, where they went power boating from HMS Raleigh and finished kayaking in Poole Harbour.

BY ROB LE POIDEVIN CONTINGENT COMMANDER COMBINED CADET FORCE

Young Entrepreneurs PARENT LECTURE – TALKING TO CHILDREN ABOUT ALCOHOL

If there was one life lesson you could take away from the Young British Entrepreneurs Course, it would be that life, like business, is all about attitude; to be more specific 80% attitude and 20% skill. If you acquire the right attitude in identifying and then solving a problem you have a potential business model. In this respect there was a lot to take away from the course and apply it to life in general, however the course was also very informative in terms of how business works and its logistics.

There was a big practical element to the course which proved most fulfilling and rewarding, in particular, in the final task of pitching to an exclusive panel of Dragons. Team ‘Petcount’ won with their idea of a dog collar that monitors the health of your pet. The Dragons liked the potential for their idea, backing it up with credible and well thought out statistics.

BY JAMES ALLAN (5m)

Duke of Edinburgh Qualifying Expedition Congratulations to all six teams who successfully completed their expedition which took place on the Mendips Hills.

Teams navigated with impressive accuracy and the boys were in excellent spirits having thoroughly enjoyed their challenge.

BY LAURIE PHIPPARD MASTER IN CHARGE OF DofE

The school was very lucky to have Helena Conibear, Director of The Alcohol Education Trust, with us on Saturday 7th June to give the last in this year’s series of parent lectures. Helena very adeptly took those present through the science behind the Chief Medical Officer’s recommendation that children under the age of 15 shouldn’t be drinking alcohol.

As a parent of teenagers herself, Helena gave a brilliantly practical session full of exceptionally useful tips for how to manage those potentially tricky conversations about alcohol, parties and festival going.

The parents’ area of www.alcoholeducationtrust.org is very much worth visiting for advice and guidance. The Alcohol Education Trust also has a parental newsletter – May’s edition looks at post-exam parties and has a variety of helpful tips. We have another exciting programme of parental lectures planned for the next academic year.

Further details to follow……..

BY SUE SALMON ASSISTANT HEAD PASTORAL

Third Form history trip to Bovington Dartmoor’s Ancient Boundary Perambulation Over the second May bank holiday, an intrepid team of Lower Sixth boys set out on the 50 mile circumnavigation of the ancient Dartmoor Forest. The team opted for a clockwise journey from Princetown to Yes Tor before descending in relentless rain to sleep at Runnage Farm, ending a mammoth 14 hours of walking. With a true show of determination and perseverance the boys set out in ever improving conditions and made it to Princetown after a further 10 hours of hiking.

Congratulations to the team, a real achievement!

BY JAMES KIMBER HEAD OF OUTDOOR EDUCATION

On 3 June 2014 the Third Form embarked upon a day of history. We began with a lecture on ‘Aviation Technology and the Great War’ presented by David Morris, Head of Engineering at the Fleet Air Arm Museum. He portrayed a vivid image of the impact aviation had on the course of WW1. At Bovington Tank Museum, we had a stimulating tour in which we learned about the clothes soldiers wore and the conditions in the trenches followed by the opportunity to look at WW1 tanks, comparing the A7V German tank and the only Mark One tank in the world! We were lucky enough to go inside a Mark Four tank, enabling us to see what it would be like to work in the tank and opening my eyes to the harsh reality of what the soldiers endured.

BY DOUGLAS HICKLING (3c)

Parent and Son Clay Pigeon Shooting On the last Sunday of term, a group of 34 boys and parents met at the Southern Counties Shooting Grounds for the annual Parents’ and Sons’ Clay Shooting Competition in glorious sunshine. Members of the Sherborne squad were keen to show off their prowess and the parents were of equally high competitive spirit. The trophy for highest scoring boy was awarded to Felix Pinney (3a), highest scoring parent to Ben Baldwin and highest scoring team to Ben and Max Baldwin (4b).

BY NEIL BRADSHAW AND NICK HENDERSON MASTERS IN CHARGE OF CLAY SHOOTING

Music The Unplugged, just before Half Term, displayed the huge musical strengths of the current Upper Sixth – something of a vintage year in the Music School. There is less of the original composition than has been the case in recent years, but cover versions have been superbly performed and the wealth of instrumental and vocal talent is undoubtedly inspiring for younger musicians.

A Prep Schools’ Jazz Day saw participants from Sunningdale, Mount House, Sherborne Prep and Fulham Prep taking part in a day of improvisation and blues.

The transformation of improvisation style between the beginning of the day and the end of it was something of a marvel.

THE ANNUAL PATRICK SHELLEY COMPETITION FOR ADVANCED INSTRUMENTALISTS WAS THIS YEAR ADJUDICATED BY ALAN GOUT. • • • • • •

Winner of the Patrick Shelley Cup: JAMES RICHARDS (L6a) (piano, clarinet, cello) Woodwind: CHARLIE SMITH (L6m) (flute) Strings: THADDY MULLER (U6a) (cello) Piano: DOUGLAS MAK (4c) Brass: ROBERT HAM (L6e) (tuba)

BY JAMES HENDERSON Singing: ROBERT FOLKES (U6a) DIRECTOR OF MUSIC

Drama

RABBIT The Fourth Form GCSE Drama group performed, a play called ‘Rabbit’ by David Foxton. This short, highly dramatic piece is set in a post-apocalyptic world and centres on a group of boys who, having been left parentless, must fend for themselves. Foxton’s piece focuses on whether the boys can find a sense of common humanity sufficient to protect the vulnerable in their group, despite the incredibly difficult circumstances they find themselves in.

The play’s naturalistic style is a tremendously challenging one for any year group requiring as it does, subtlety, a high level of concentration and consistency of characterisation.

FIFTH FORM GCSE PERFORMANCES The Fifth Form produced two extraordinary pieces this year.

The first was the ‘Tell Tale Heart’ by Steven Berkoff and the second was ‘Bouncers’ by John Godber.

Berkoff, our practitioner for ‘Tell Tale Heart’ devised a new approach which became known as ‘Total Theatre’, where the actor uses their entire body to narrate the piece and create the environment, instead of using props or a great deal of technical resources.

Although the boys took all of Berkoff’s sometimes eccentric ideas with a pinch of salt, their levels of confidence and their belief in each other was a real testament to the Fifth Formers’ commitment and the hours they were happy to spend in the rehearsal room perfecting their work. ‘Bouncers’ benefited from the same absolute dedication and was a superbly-timed, highly-controlled piece which also happened to be very, very funny.

BY IAN READE - HEAD OF DRAMA

Stop Press 25 boys took LAMDA Speech and Drama awards and 16 of those were awarded Distinction.

Sports Day

Despite the weather, the school congregated on mass for Sports Day. Unfortunately, after the medley relays had taken place the weather worsened further leaving no option but to abandon.

Visiting speakers Claudia Sturt (ex Governor of Dartmoor, Winchester and Belmarsh prisons) and The Rt Hon Lord Powell of Bayswater KCMG both inspired and encouraged boys and parents, while the Headmaster and two Heads of School provided insight and reflection on the school year past and hinted at exciting plans for the future.

As ever the quality of the music was exceptional, led expertly by the choir, augmented generously by volunteers from the Sherborne Girls School choir who had stayed behind after the end of their term.

Commemoration

SATURDAY MORNING'S COMMEMORATION CELEBRATIONS GOT UNDERWAY AS HEAVY SHOWERS PROWLED THE WEST COUNTRY. MUCH TO EVERYBODY'S REGRET THE WET WEATHER PROGRAMME HAD TO BE CALLED, BUT THIS DID NOT DETRACT FROM THE GRANDEUR OF THE PROCEEDINGS.

Sport

round up

BY DAVID GUY DIRECTOR OF SPORT

“ANOTHER BUSY TERM OF SPORT AT SHERBORNE HAS SEEN A HUGE NUMBER OF BOYS ON THE LAKES, COURTS, SQUARES AND TRACK. THE DAMPNESS OF EARLY WEEKS HAS GIVEN WAY TO GLORIOUS SUNSHINE AND THE BOYS HAVE TAKEN FULL ADVANTAGE OF EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO PRACTICE AND COMPETE. WELL DONE TO ALL WHO HAVE REPRESENTED THE SCHOOL WITH SUCH DISTINCTION THIS TERM!” SAILING

ATHLETICS

Athletics: In addition to the recent good weather there have been many highlights on the athletics front this term. Amongst other notable team performances the Fourth Form squad won the North Dorset Schools’ Team Championships, while the Third Form finished second, and more recently won their competition at Canford School. Individual success has been attained too with a number of boys being selected to compete at the County Championships, where Christian Pugsley (U6d) won the Senior Boys long jump and Tom Lewis (5a) won the Intermediate Boys 400m. From this, Tom and Christian qualified for the South West Championships.

LOOKING FORWARD...

28 June - CCF Summer Camp 28 June – DofE Canoeing Expedition 28 June – World Challenge Expedition to the Himalayas 30 June – Swing Band tour in Barbados 26 August – DofE Silver qualifying walking expedition, Peak District 31 August – Travelling day for new boys 1 September – Travelling day for all other boys Friday 19 to Sunday 21 September – First Exeat Saturday 4 to Sunday 5 October – Second Exeat Wednesday 22 October to Sunday 2 November – Half Term

Sailing: The boys have enjoyed the fine weather, pushing on with developing their skills on a range of the School’s boats. They have been rewarded with success in the variety of competitions held this half of term, most notably 9th position at the British Schools Dinghy Association Thames Valley Regatta.

Stop Press - Ben Poe (5d) finished fourth in the RS Tera Pro European Sailing that took place in the Netherlands. Meanwhile, Ben Childerley (3f) was competing in the Europa Cup in Weymouth where he successfully came seventh.

The 1st VI hosted Millfield School on June 14 and rose to the occasion by winning 7-2. Victory on the superb Sherborne grass backed up last season’s hard court win at home. Charlie Symonds (3c) and George Clifford (3a) progressed to the Under 15 County Finals. They both won their first matches in Bournemouth, and Clifford a further match in the main draw consolation. The Under 15 team won both of their recent matches against QE Wimborne and Twyham School in the Aegon Dorset League 2.

WATERPOLO Hugo Houlton (5d) has been selected for the Under 16 Dorset County team. He will be playing in the South West Waterpolo championships at Millfield in September.

POLO Guy Young (3c) captained the Novice polo team for a tournament at Kirtlington Park Polo Club near Oxford. For team members James Thorne (5e), Charlie Barker (3b) and Vincent Hagg-Davies (3f) it was their first polo tournament. The team played well in the scorching heat to win two games, draw one and only narrowly lost one to a much more established team, placing them in joint second.

CRICKET

• • • • • • • • • •

TENNIS

Since the past update we have seen some major events on the cricket front here at Sherborne. The Under 14’s have been crowned the County Champions with a fantastic victory over Canford at Dean Park, whilst the Under 15’s were runners up in the County Cup T20 respectively. The Under 14’s have also seen two centurions, Harry Fisher (3m) 108 v Taunton, and Dominic Prest (3d) 106 v Cheltenham College. The 1st XI senior cricket has continued to flourish, with wins over Taunton School and Blundell’s, and an epic game against local Dorset rivals Canford that ended in the first ever tied match between the two schools. The final week of term sees Sherborne cricket welcome King’s Parramatta and the Singapore CC, as well as the annual OS game on the Saturday of Commem.

SHERBORNE SCHOOL ABBEY ROAD SHERBORNE DORSET DT9 3AP T: 01935 812249 E: enquiries@sherborne.org www.sherborne.org Registered Charity No. 1081228

Photographs: Harry Lane, Kenny Primrose, Ian Reade, Laurie Phippard, Alex Dunham, James Kimber, Alex Davidson (4f), Tim Dawson, Rachel Hassall and others