22 minute read
Welcome
From the Headmaster
Welcome to the second edition of our new-look magazine for the whole school community. What I really like about this magazine is the way it covers news and views from all parts of the school community – from those just joining the school who become new Elthamians, our current body of students, staff and parents, and also our wonderful network of Old Elthamians too, both young and old.
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While this edition covers the Lent and Summer Terms, it does in so many ways encapsulate the spirit of what has been a great couple of terms during which the school continued to throw off the shackles of Covid and then, especially since January, bounce back to the full bloom of normality with a great range of events and co-curricular activities.
This edition is full of news and updates about the achievements of your sons and daughters, some wonderful visits to the school by OEs, and brilliant examples of fundraising by the whole school community, pulling together for causes such as providing financial and practical relief to help address the emerging humanitarian crisis in Ukraine during the spring and early summer months, and fundraising for International Needs in Uganda.
The past two terms have also been full of anniversaries. First, our school turned 180 years old this year. We have, so far, commemorated that great milestone in school in various ways, and we have more events and initiatives planned for the Michaelmas Term. Equally, we marked the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee with a special whole school service in the Sports Hall, the planting of two lovely trees, and a barbecue on the playing fields for all students at the Senior and Junior Schools.
In early July, we re-opened our summer programme of events in the marquee. These included a wonderful ECCO concert and Speech Days and prize giving events for our Senior and Junior Schools. It was also fantastic to see OE events kick-started again, including through a wonderful reception on the terrace of the House of Lords in June that followed inspiring visits to the school by OEs, Chris Jagger and Faizal Khan. The sporting, musical, artistic and dramatic achievements of students at Eltham are too numerous to mention but this edition of The Elthamian highlights their successes individually and collectively in classes, groups, ensembles and teams.
In short, the school’s mission and aims have shone through brilliantly in day-to-day life this year. They are a testament to the opportunities that are on offer, and which your sons and daughters have grabbed with enthusiasm over the past two terms.
With best wishes,
GUY SANDERSON
Headmaster
From the Head of the Junior School
The Junior School has continued to flourish in so many ways over the past two terms – through its dynamic curriculum, the excellent pastoral care and incredible number of co-curricular opportunities and, as the Lent Term got underway, Eltham College celebrated the 180th anniversary of its foundation. The Junior School has never felt such a strong community. We are also reaping the benefits of our newly refurbished and hugely upgraded Science laboratory at Easter, with pupils enjoying an enhanced STEAM Week in June.
From Science to the Arts – the Gerald Moore Gallery was recently transformed into a wonderland of textiles for our biennial Art exhibition and in Music – the boys and girls have blossomed, both in skill and confidence with a wide range of ensembles concerts. In sport, pupils have played nearly 20 schools in a wide range of sports including rugby, netball, football, swimming, as well as participating in our own Sports Day.
I hope you enjoy reading about many of their exploits here in this edition of The Elthamian.
With best wishes,
VIKKI MEIER
Head of the Junior School
From the Chair of Governors
The past few months have been challenging both politically and economically. This is likely to continue for some time to come, but it is clear from reading the pages of this second edition of our new-look magazine that, over the past two terms, students and staff have remained focused on their learning and have been steadfast in their commitment to all that Eltham has to offer.
The school has learned to live with and adapt to constant change and ever-present uncertainty over the past two years. Our students have risen to the challenges they have faced magnificently. I believe they have learned lifelong lessons about resilience and adaptability in the process. What is more, during the course of the Lent and Summer Terms, their efforts have been rewarded with myriad activities in the classroom and in the resumption of a full programme of fixtures and events.
The College continues to nourish the potential of every student, and help them understand the volatile and fastchanging world around them which we are confident will set them in good stead for their future adult lives. Our values at Eltham are clear and strong and our mission continues to flourish.
As with the inaugural issue, I hope you enjoy this edition of The Elthamian.
Yours,
Welcome
From the President of the Old Elthamians Association
A reunion was long overdue this year and with thanks to our generous host, the Lord Knight of Weymouth, we were able to come together again as a group of Old Elthamians on a balmy night in June.
Blessed with an outstanding setting on the riverside terrace of the House of Lords, a large and multi-generational group of OEs and guests conversed and reminisced over drinks and canapés in a way that took us back to 2019! It was fantastic to see the spread of ages in attendance with a mix of current pupils, parents, staff and OEs. A lucky handful in school blazers, together with a couple of executive hangers-on were even afforded a whistlestop tour of the House of Lords with Lord Knight. It was a super evening and a fitting start to OE activities following the lifting of Covid restrictions and we look forward to reconnecting our great professional networks from which we can all benefit.
The Chairman, Nick Byers, and I were also very pleased to catch up with the Elthamians Office and hear updates on their excellent work in helping connect today’s students with the Elthamians Network. OEs are kindly returning to give careers advice and talks in school, and the school’s work experience scheme with OEs and others has been properly restored over the past few months. The future is very bright.
I am pleased to say that this edition contains notable interest and information about OEs both recent and past and I hope you enjoy it.
With best wishes,
This academic year has been a busy one for the Parents’ Association in both the Senior and Junior Schools. In the Lent Term, we held another well-attended pop quiz, while at the Junior School, we held a ‘Grow A Pound Challenge’. Both of these events raised over £3,000, with half of the pop quiz money being donated to the Canterbury Oasthouse Trust, who hosted the quiz for us.
In June, The Great Gatsby ball was a huge success with more than 160 parents in attendance at a lovely event held at the school. We raised more than £3,000 valuable funds to put towards the purchase of a much-needed double piano for the school, while a social barbecue after the Junior School Sports Day was attended by almost 500 people. The Junior School has just taken ownership of a new grand piano for the hall, funded by us, and we hope to be working with the Sports Department next term to add to their facilities.
Flicking through the pages of this Elthamian, I am sure you will agree the school is flourishing and that, as parents, we have much to be thankful for.
Best wishes,
JENNY STONE
Chair, Eltham College Parents’ Association
Marquee Events
In the last week of the Summer Term – and for the first time since 2019 – end of year events were held in person in a marquee at the school. These included an excellent Junior School music concert, the fabulous ECCO concert in a new format, Junior School Prizegiving, Senior School Speech Day, and a wonderful ‘food festival’ for students, arranged by the Catering team.
That said, these events were on the verge of not happening at all: just a day before the marquee was due to be delivered and erected on site, the school received a phone call from the marquee company with the almost incredible news that the marquee had been ‘stolen’ from the lorry at its previous event! With a little persistence and ingenuity, Mr Martin and the Communications Department managed to arrange a suitable alternative which served the events well through the week.
Junior School Prizegiving and Senior School Speech Day were celebrations of individual and collective successes over the past 12 months. Both events attracted parents and visitors in far greater numbers than in previous years. As well the traditional awarding of prizes, trophies and cups, students performed drama and musical pieces and the audience also listened to inspiring talks by visiting speakers.
The speaker at Junior School Prize Giving was Rachel Smith. Rachel recounted how, having not been ‘sporty’ for most of her school days, she discovered kayaking in the Sixth Form. She then took up dragon boat racing, going on to win countless medals in World and European Championships. She was then persuaded to take on the challenge of rowing across the Atlantic as part of an all-female crew.
At Senior School Speech Day, Tori James FRGS spoke of how she discovered running and then climbing – a journey that would eventually take her to Mount Everest at a young age, becoming the first Welsh woman →
to conquer the mountain. She spoke in depth about the preparation and training involved and the sense of personal achievement in reaching and then descending from the summit.
Both Rachel and Tori had similar messages for students and staff: to take on new challenges and that, subject to good preparation and organisation, anyone can achieve to their best outside their own comfort zone.
About Rachel Smith, Explorer and Adventurer
Having tried a number of sports throughout her childhood, Rachel Smith took up kayaking in the Sixth Form and found that paddling was her perfect sporting partner. She went on to win 25 World and European medals in dragon boat racing, and rowed across the Atlantic in 76 days, picking up two Guinness World Records and raising over £65,000 for charity. All of this was balanced with a full-time marketing career. Rachel now works as a frontline paramedic and volunteers for Cheshire Search and Rescue team. She has also written a book, Antigua or Bust.
About Tori James FRGS Author and Adventurer
Tori is an adventurer and author from Wales and who was, at the age of 25, the youngest British woman (at that time) and the first Welsh woman to climb to the summit of Mount Everest in 2007. She is also the author of Peak Performance which describes her climb to the summit and part of the Pink Lady PoleCats – the first-ever all-female team to complete The Polar Challenge, a gruelling 360 mile race to the magnetic North Pole.
Today, Tori is a motivational speaker and consultant delivering leadership training, team and youth development projects in the corporate and charity sectors. She is President of Girlguiding Cymru, a Fellow of British Exploring and an ambassador for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award in Wales. She is married with two young children, aged two and four.
Senior School Speech Day
Peter Doyle, Chair of Governors, spoke about how the school had learned to adapt to enforced difficulties of the past two years, living and even flourishing through the pandemic.
In his address to students, staff and parents, Mr Doyle conveyed the faith he had in the school to continue to adapt and evolve through the emerging economic difficulties now faced in wider society: high inflation, a cost-of-living crisis and widespread industrial action. He felt that students had learned lifelong lessons about resilience and adaptability through the disruption to their learning during the two years of the pandemic. He thanked pupils for maintaining and upholding the school’s core values, and for their constructive challenge, freely and frequently given to the staff. In a message to those now leaving and soon to become alumni, he wished them well in flourishing in an uncertain world, imploring them to show tolerance to the views of others that may be unappealing and to debate and understand that nuance is important. Black and white thinking is an inadequate way to solve today’s problems, he argued.
He paid tribute to staff and governors leaving Eltham after a long period of service: to Vic Broncz, Teacher of Maths, who is retiring after 35 years teaching at Eltham; to Julia Gregory, who is also retiring after 24 years in the Science labs; and to Amanda Richards, teacher of art to scores →
of young artists over 28 years. Finally, he bid farewell to Graham Dransfield who leaves after 10 years’ service, as a governor. He welcomed new governors: Olu Obidipe, a nominee of BMS World Mission, one of the school’s founding societies; Ms Ali Harber, Deputy Head (Pastoral) at Winchester School; and Sarah Turner.
Mr Doyle thanked the Headmaster and the staff for their hard work and dedication in ensuring the school continues to thrive and succeed, as well as parents for their support for the school and generosity in supporting numerous causes, especially for the fundraising for the people of Ukraine.
In his speech, Guy Sanderson, Headmaster, said it was wonderful the whole school community could gather together again. He felt the skills of gardening and horticulture were a perfect parallel to running a school: just as gardeners have to decide what will make plants flourish and what will hinder growth, the school has to make decisions and provisions for every student to flourish during their time at the school.
FOOD FESTIVAL
On the final full day of the Summer Term, the school held a fabulous Food Festival for students and staff. It comprised a range of food sustainability talks, a street food fayre, offering an exciting and tasty array of plant-based dishes reflecting a range of cuisines from around the world. Organised by the school’s catering team, students took part in a ‘recycled rave’ at lunch and enjoy the plant-based food on offer. These were supplemented by fun activities on the field including a ‘junk’ orchestra with musicians using pots and pans, as well as a food market in the marquee. He used the 180th anniversary year of the school to reflect on factors that drive the success of students: excellent academic teaching, strong pastoral care, first class co-curricular provision for sport, music, art, drama and other clubs and societies. He concluded these all need careful nurturing and regular support.
He also highlighted the ISI Inspection report that the school received in March. He drew the audience’s attention to what the report said about the school’s outstanding pastoral care, in addition to the comments recognising Eltham’s reputation for academic excellence.
Returning to the gardening metaphor, the Headmaster concluded by saying that the school will continue to nurture its core focus on excellent teaching, outstanding pastoral care and breadth and challenge outside the classroom.
The ECCO concert adopted a new format this year with a stronger focus on music that encompassed traditional favourite elements with the performance of special music and commemoration of the school’s 180th anniversary this year
Junior School Prize Giving
Junior School Prize giving was held on 4th July and was very well-attended by parents as well as students and staff
Vikki Meier, Head of Junior School, began by acknowledging the strong recovery the school had made from the pandemic and how pupils and staff had navigated various Covid restrictions, especially during times of remote learning during the intense periods in the Michaelmas and Lent terms, very well. She felt that the school community had never been stronger.
Mrs Meier said the school was delighted that its rolling programme of building developments and renovations had seen the transformation of the Junior School Science lab into an innovative and inspiring learning space.
Pupils had enjoyed their enhanced STEAM week earlier in the Summer Term with special workshops and talks for every year group. The Gerald Moore Gallery had been transformed into a wonderland of textiles for the biennial Art exhibition, with sock monsters, Japanese silk prints and banners.
In Music, young musicians had shown great skill and confidence with ensemble concerts at St George’s Church and, most recently, in the marquee. Soloist concerts and informal concerts had also recently taken place.
The fitting of new lighting rig, staging and blackout curtains in the Rosemary Morgan Hall permitted more drama productions, including the Year 3 Nativity poetry recital, Year 4’s rendition of The Grinch at Christmas, the Year 6 ‘Fireside’, a series of abridged Shakespeare plays from Year 5 and, most recently, Year 6’s outstanding Canterbury Tales.
She noted the school’s strong sporting success and how the Junior School had played an impressive 100 fixtures and welcomed more than 20 different schools to the College to play Junior School fixtures in both competitive and friendly fixtures and inter-school tournaments. Internal events had included House rugby, netball and football as well as exciting swimming galas and a Sports Day that was very wellsupported by parents.
Mrs Meier also expressed her pleasure in welcoming parents back onto the school site including for Harvest, Remembrance, Christmas, Easter and end of year services while the expansion of the House system had permitted a focus on outreach, supporting charities and communities through events and fund-raising, all of which had been very much appreciated by the organisations supported.
Finally, she thanked parents who gave their time and energy to support the school through events and fund-raising, such as the ‘Grow-aPound’ initiative and fundraising for a new piano. ⬤
Speech Day
Senior School Prize Winners
LOWER SCHOOL FORM PRIZES
7ADM Academic Frank Plant Essay Prize Thea Hopley Academic Progress Hunter Caldwell All Round Contribution Calvin Agyeman-Botchey
7EMP Academic Academic Progress All Round Contribution
7HOB Academic Academic Progress All Round Contribution
7KMD Academic
Academic Progress Michael Feeney Prize for Debating Mervyn Peake Prize for Further Reading
All Round Contribution Rosie Davies Darcy Irwin Mert Karagoz
Alexandre Bosviel Jonny Brayford Lyra Pugh
Sanna Hjalm
Barney Devon
Melissa Tan
7MKC Academic Academic Progress All Round Contribution
7PJW Academic Academic Progress All Round Contribution Benjamin McLoughlin Riva Watkins Harry Sword
Xintian Li Tessa Chapman Aedan Lam 8ALT Academic Academic Progress All Round Contribution
8ATH Academic Academic Progress All Round Contribution
8BJK Academic Academic Progress All Round Contribution
8JYM Academic Academic Progress All Round Contribution
8LVC Academic Academic Progress All Round Contribution
8NJC Academic Academic Progress All Round Contribution
SPECIAL PRIZES William Gardner Memorial Prize for Design and Technology Jessica Shiu and Max Leek Lower School Singing Prize Michelle Teibo Lower School Scholarship Prize Michelle Teibo Tim Brink Roz Hunter Neal Vithani
Arnav Gupta Earl Bodemeh Roxolana Chaban
Emilia Loertscher Anastasia Johnson Florian Brasch
Katherine Adcock Tilly Stafford Henry Bell
Ellen Eburah Amelie Lai Iolo Mottershead
Mira Karthikeyan Aryann Verma Anya McNair
MIDDLE SCHOOL FORM PRIZES
9EJB Academic Frank Plant Essay Prize James Phillips Academic Progress Religious Knowledge Prize Victor Poon All Round Contribution William Forsdyke
9FNA Academic Academic Progress All Round Contribution Cyrus Buckman Matthew McLoughlin Phoenix Che-Lai
9HGS Academic Academic Progress All Round Contribution
9JXC Academic Academic Progress All Round Contribution
10ATD Academic All Round Contribution Austin Chan Charlie Randles Uzo George-Amadi
Daniel Harrington-Hill Oliver Robinson Olly Buck
Tristan Sezgin Hakeem Drammeh
10AHH Academic All Round Contribution
10CCQ Academic All Round Contribution Bleddyn Mottershead Daniel Egan
Zac Devon Kevin Cao
SPECIAL PRIZES Frank Plant Essay Prize Middle School Singing Prize Mervyn Peake Prize for Wider Reading 10GOH Academic All Round Contribution
10JNS Academic All Round Contribution Vieshal Gandeepan Oliver Murray
Thomas Lewis Thomas Whatling
11EXB Academic Atharv Gupta
Academic William Gardner Prize for Design and Technology Theo Treadwell
11JCP Academic All Round Contribution Nkosie Mswabuki Kieran Malcom-Smith
11MAC
Academic Michael Feeney Prize for Debating Middle School Scholarship Prize
All Round Contribution Rohan Apte
Alex Trifonov
11THB Academic All Round Contribution
11VLB Academic All Round Contribution Thomas Riley Tom Woodhams
Tom Mortimer Ethan Chaplin
Seth Pierce Damian Sparks James Johnson
LOWER SIXTH PRIZES
SUBJECT Art Biology Chemistry Computer Science and Further Mathematics Design and Technology and Physics Drama Economics English French Geography Geology German History Latin Latin and Religious Studies Mathematics Politics Psychology Spanish
UPPER SIXTH PRIZES
PRIZE
Meryvn Peake Memorial Prize for Art Salters’ Prize for Chemistry
John Pike Art Prize David Allen Memorial Prize for Service
Art Sculpture Prize
Hancock Prize for Biology J Slader Memorial Prize for Geography Senior Psychology Prize
Nicola Culshaw Prize for Chemistry Senior Mathematics Prize
Martin Taylor Memorial Prize for Biology Harold Occomore Prize for Physics Senior Physics Prize Nigel S. Pont Prize for Applied Mathematics Senior Spanish Prize
Senior Computer Science Prize Pure Mathematics Prize
William Gardner Prize for Design and Technology Antony Barnard Memorial Prize for English Senior Politics Prize Christy Lord Sophie Walker Nathan de Carle Ben Robinson
Oli Deal
Ethan Fiore Timothy Oyewole Amrit Kallar Niall Sherwell Bijan Davis Blue Collard Charles Thompson Yahia Zayed Matthew Massey Alexander Golshan-Ebrahimi Ludovico Jones David Colwell Isabel Adcock Grace Robson
Ben Chamberlain
Freya Burton-Franklin
Will Tregear
Imogen Grenyer
Nadia Khan
Ashvin Kumarathan Samuel Caschetto Alex McInerny Velican Kuyumcu
Hashir Majeed
Sam Hubner
Zain Syed
UPPER SIXTH PRIZES CONTINUED
PRIZE Extended Project Qualification Anthony Callard Memorial Prize for a Geography Project Paul McCartney Geology Prize F W Scott Memorial Prize for History Nigel Pont Memorial Prize for Religious Studies Griffiths-Bakker Prize for Modern Languages Somerville Meikle (pronounced Merkel) Prize for Latin Otto Maehler Prize for German DS Moss Prize for French
John Morris Prize for Music Woodwind Prize Lily Chatterjee Christopher Lefebure Tobi O’Brien Pelin Kural Lucy Gardiner Matthew Hobbs Hanoj Mohan Sangaran Rory O’Donohue Ellie Stocks
Emily Barnett
Singing Prize Percussion Prize
Brass Prize
Winifred Howat Prize for Piano Strings Prize The Maher Prize for Personal Courage Miles Smith Memorial Prize G R Higgins Memorial Prize AWD James Prize
Alex Ludlow Prize for Academic and Sporting Achievement Senior Economics Prize Ojorumi Edozie
Tommy Samani Oscar Geh
Vanya Artiukhov Emily Hoang Jake Lumbis Gavril Ierotheou
Charlie Reynolds
Senior History Prize: Michael Reidy Rose Bowl for Debating Nick Biddle Michael Feeney Memorial Cup for Debating Thomas Brex Douglas-Fairhurst Shield for Services to School Drama Charlie Smith and Lauren Chaplin
Joe White Technical Theatre Prize Porteous Bowl for Science Blackheath Cup Turberville Cup Headmaster’s Prize: Lower School Headmaster’s Prize: Middle School Headmaster’s Prize: Sixth Form Chaplain’s Prize Chairman’s Prize Ben Edwards Lucy Baker Samuel Rushton Charlotte Watts Jessica Shiu Ishan Bhasin Carla Morin Matthew Hobbs Ben Lewis
Head Prefect’s Award Charlie Smith and Tara O’Sullivan
Junior School Prize Winners
YEAR 3 FORM PRIZES
PRIZE
FORM NAME Academic 3HS Aaron Fang All Round Contribution to Form Life 3HS Olivia Cayley Academic 3NC Arzoyi Bansal All Round Contribution to Form Life 3NC Toby Palmer Academic 3SO Yueci Li All Round Contribution to Form Life 3SO Hamish Schumacher Science Prize 3NC Hugo Lall Music Prize 3HS Karamveer Bal French Prize 3HS James Metherell
Computing Prize
Art Prize Design Technology Prize Laurie Wrafter Prize for Creativity in Writing Elocution Prize Drama Prize 3HS Artyom Yarmukhametov
3SO Olivia Zhang 3SO Max Urban
3NC Kitty Lindner
3SO Melis Karagoz 3NC Natalia Deligianni
YEAR 4 FORM PRIZES
PRIZE FORM NAME
Year 3 & 4 Anne Pain Citizenship Prize 4TL Rhea Ranjan
Academic 4BF Evelyn Xu All Round Contribution to Form Life 4BF Morgan Booth Academic 4EW Ishaan Narayana All Round Contribution to Form Life 4EW Helena Cao Academic 4TL Aayat Lal All Round Contribution to Form Life 4TL Odette Atkins Science Prize 4EW Azeem Mohoboob Music Prize 4EW Albert Yang French Prize 4EW Elena Khoo Computing Prize 4TL Lowri Potter Art Prize 4BF Sienna Rodriguez Design Technology Prize 4BF Harriet Allen Elocution Prize 4BF Samarth Jain Drama Prize 4BF Anikaa Selot
YEAR 5 FORM PRIZES
PRIZE FORM NAME
Academic
5ND Zakariyya Adegun All Round Contribution to Form Life 5ND Alex Clarkson Academic 5MJ Aadi Raj All Round Contribution to Form Life 5MJ Charlie Dolan Academic 5IW Danya Dowling All Round Contribution to Form Life 5IW Thomas Linford Science Prize 5MJ Sam Cartwright Music Prize 5ND Alex Urban French Prize 5MJ Ernie Dyer Mandarin Prize 5IW Seiryu Yoneya Computing Prize 5ND Sasha Sislo Art Prize 5MJ William Knobel Design Technology Prize 5ND Leo Dekkers Laurie Wrafter Prize for Creativity in Writing 5MJ Sebastien Holowaty Elocution Prize 5IW Santi Harrison Drama Prize 5MJ Frank Tinsley
YEAR 6 FORM PRIZES
PRIZE
FORM NAME Academic 6AC Alex Dascalu All Round Contribution to Form Life 6AC Daniel Bill Academic 6WS Joshua Kaye All Round Contribution to Form Life 6WS Oliver Withnell Academic 6HM Aaron Crossan All Round Contribution to Form Life 6HM Isaac Brown Donegan Science Prize 6HM David Poynter French Prize 6AC Raphael Leppard Mandarin Prize 6HM Nathan Crossan
Computing Prize Sloan Prize for Art 6HM Siddharth Kanswal 6WS Asad Zohidov
Design Technology Prize Mathematics Prize English Prize 6HM Joshua Flynn 6HM Hayden Sanders 6AC Noah Loertscher
Drama Prize Elocution LAMDA Prize 6AC Thomas Forsdyke 6WS Sulayman Rabbani
Marlow Citizenship Prize
6HM Solonas Palimeri-May Wells Religious Education Prize 6WS Holden Mody Geography Prize 6AC Ethan Wu History Prize 6WS Tom Grainger Cartwright Prize for All Round Contribution 6AC Harvey Lucas
Hughes Prize for Overall Progress 6AC Matei Moatar Charlick Prize for Cricket 6WS Cassius Perrott
Whitehead Prize for Excellent Contribution to Sport Community Prize Lawson Memorial Prize for Personal Achievement 6AC Oscar Cadman
6AC Hunter Hinde
6HM Ralph Murphy
Best All Round Athlete Prize 6AC Monty Brown Jaishankar Music Prize 6HM Aaron Tian
Cavendish STEAM Prize (for achievement across the S.T.E.A.M components) 6HM Thangchin Vualnam
