LENT TERM 2016 NEWSLETTER
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ACADEMIC
ELEVEN STUDENTS SECURE OXBRIDGE PLACES
(Chemistry), Johanna Moiseiwitsch (English and French) and Alexander Norden (Physics).
Going to Cambridge are George Axton (Philosophy),
Michael Barbour (Philosophy and Theology), Claudia Campbell (Veterinary Medicine), Cici Carey-Stuart (Music), Conor Dumbrell and Mille Jaffe (Natural Sciences), Eliza Henning (Linguistics) and Martyna Wieczorek (Computer Science). The Oxford offers include Ollie Mears
SOUTHERN SCHOOL BOOK AWARDS
Awards (SSBA) ceremony in January at Roedean.
Five pupils attended the Southern Schools Book
Gigi Casey, Hugo Ciecierski, Amy Mills, Annabel Steedman
and Juliette Willis were rewarded for all their hard work since reading all the shortlisted books and voting for their favourites last July.
Eleven students are on track for Oxford and Cambridge next year following the offer of eight places at Cambridge and three at Oxford.
Mr Manly, commented, “Oxford and Cambridge are not the only Universities but it is good to see so many Hurst pupils on their way to these prestigious institutions.”
The event was hosted by author Sophie McKenzie, last year’s winner. Illustrator and Children’s Laureate Chris Riddell was also there, ‘live illustrating’ the ceremony. Bali Rai’s ‘Web of Darkness’ was named the winner of the competition, with Juno Dawson’s ‘Say her Name’, a runner up. These were our students’ two favourite books, so it was great to see that their opinions were shared. 2
MUSIC JAZZ AND ROCK CONCERT The recent Jazz and Rock concert was opened by the staff band, led by our Head of History, Jo Clark. The Prep School band took to the stage next, accompanied by Music Technology teacher, Will Carroll, on Bass. The Remove rock band ‘Rid
The Silence’ followed and performed with style and enthusiasm. The Fifth Form band, fronted by singer Georgia Keenleyside, performed a variety of popular music which included ‘9 to 5’, ‘Valerie’, ‘Mercy’, ‘Mustang Sally’ and ‘Feeling Good’.
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MUSIC
JAZZ BAND PERFORM IN BURGESS HILL In February, the Jazz Band held a performance for members of the public at the
United Reformed Church and then at Burgess Hill Football Club for members of the University of the Third Age.
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The music included ‘My Funny Valentine’, ‘I’ll Never Smile Again’ and ‘Fly Me To The Moon’.
MUSIC CHOIRS RECORD CD Over three consecutive Sundays in January, the Hurst Chapel Choir and Chamber Choir recorded their own CD. The CD will contain music performed by the choirs in services throughout the
liturgical year, including two IB MUSICIANS RECITAL works especially composed for the school by renowned composers Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, who sadly passed away recently, and Malcolm Archer. The CD will be released as part of Hurst’s Year of Music.
WINNERS’ CONCERT The Winners’ Concert took place at the end of February for the Prep and Senior School pupils who won their individual categories in this year’s Solo Music Competition. All competitors were adjudicated by external musicians and the winners were: Matthew Sheridan Intermediate Double Bass Emie Scott Intermediate Woodwind Isobel Bevan Beginner Piano Jonathan Gale Beginner Strings Lauren Gregory Intermediate Piano
Ella Higgins Beginner Woodwind
Annabel Steedman Advanced Violin
Grace Watson Advanced Brass
Phoebe Norden Advanced Woodwind
Alexander Edwards Beginner Voice
Katie Tuson Intermediate Cello
Matthew Gale Intermediate Brass
Alexander Hancorn Advanced Piano
Chloe Sweetland Advanced Voice
Thomas Bettle Rising Star Prize
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DRAMA
HURST IN REP 2016 Hurst’s Senior School pupils performed three plays as part of Hurst in Rep, including Agatha Christie’s classic ‘And then there were none’. The other plays were ‘So you think you’re a Superhero’ by Paven Virk and Journey to X by Nancy Harris. Performances took place over five nights, with the Saturday performance of ‘And then there were none’ open to the public.
THE LAST FIVE YEARS In January, the Music School played host to Jason Robert Brown’s musical The Last Five Years. The musical was directed by singing teacher Oliver White
and accompanied by a pit band of our musical staff. The show followed two characters, impressively performed by Sixth Form Music scholars Chloe Sweetland and Connor Dumbrell, through their 6
meeting, marriage and break-up. The audience were captivated by the maturity and expression of the two performers who managed to maintain the flow of the drama through over an hour of uninterrupted singing.
DRAMA CABARET THE MUSICAL Students performed in the musical Cabaret over five nights in early February.
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DANCE A-LEVEL DANCE SHARING Our A-level dancers recently performed their exam pieces in front of an audience in the Moore Hall in March.
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ART ARTISTS UNVEIL TEXTILE HANGING Our young artists unveiled a special textile hanging at the Scholars Art Show earlier this month. The contemporary hanging was designed and created by Hurst students, led by visiting textiles artist Mandy Bangerter. The work celebrates girls’ involvement in college life since Hurst became co-ed, 20 years ago. The hanging was put together by Senior School and Sixth Form students in just one week and they were joined by parents at a ‘sew-in’ weekend. The work combined pupils’ photography screen-printed onto fabric, with hand stitching and free machine stitch techniques.
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SPORT NETBALL Our U14 team has been the most successful of the Hurst teams this term by achieving the treble. They won the Sussex Round of the National Schools Competition, the Sussex Independent Schools Netball Association (SISNA) Competition and the Sussex Knockout Cup.
The girls were unlucky to miss out in the regional final especially as they didn’t lose a game all day. The U15s added to the silverware when they also won the SISNA tournament. They were also runners-up in the Knockout Cup. Their best achievement was reaching the quarter-final of National Independent Schools Cup. The U16s made it a hat-trick of SISNA wins and were also runners up in the Knockout Cup. Their strength was evident as many were often asked to play in the 1st VII. The 1st VII had an exceptional season. They are a young side who will develop even further next season.
RUGBY We repeated our feat of the County hat-trick this year. The U14, U15 and U16 teams all won their respective finals in tight games. The U14s scored a try with two minutes to go to take them to a 22-20 win over Christ’s Hospital. The U15 team put in a very mature performance to beat a physical Cardinal Newman side 29-7. Hurst’s U16 team made it three from three when they held off a second half fight back to beat Forest 17-14. 10
They won their National Schools County round and reached the regional final. They were also runners-up in both the SISNA competition and the Knockout Cup. Their highlight was reaching the semi-final of the National Independent Schools Cup.
SPORT BOYS’ HOCKEY
GIRLS’ HOCKEY
on penalty strokes after the game.
Our U13 boys took out strong opposition on their way to winning the Sussex Hockey Competition. It was tense at the end as we beat St Andrew’s on penalty shuffles to lift the trophy.
The U13s were crowned County Champions after a dominant 2-0 win over Ardingly.
It was not our day as both teams finished as runners-up.
On the same day, our U15s and U19s were competing in the Sussex Knockout Cup final against Eastbourne.
The boys’ 1st XI had another good season to back up Both games were fiercely last year’s National Schools contested and were settled Competition third place. This year they reached the quarterfinals of the Nationals, sadly losing on penalty strokes after drawing 3-3 in normal time against Portsmouth Grammar School. They still have the chance to collect some silverware when they take on Lancing College in the Sussex Cup this summer.
JONTY WINS SPORTS PERSONALITY AWARD 2015 Sixth Former Jonty Jenner recently won the Channel Islands Sports Personality of the Year 2015 for his cricketing achievements.
Table-Tennis Champion Alice Loveridge, who competed in the 2014 Commonwealth Games and top 25 world ranked Squash player Chris Simpson.
RUGBY PLAYER SELECTED FOR ENGLAND SQUAD James Hadfield has been selected to represent England Counties U18 in their upcoming matches. This was after strong performances for the England divisional team.
The ceremony was broadcast on ITV CI at the end of January.
Lewis Jones was also part of the same divisional team.
The 18-year-old, who plays cricket for Jersey, was up against strong competition from England Netballer and Olympian Serena Guthrie, 11
SPORT CROSS COUNTRY RACERS WILL REPRESENT THE COUNTY Three students qualified to represent Sussex in the Inter-Counties Cross Country Competition. They qualified after great performances at the Sussex Schools Championships in January. QUEST FOR SKIING SUCCESS Barnaby Gray began his competitive ski season with a victory in Les Houches. Barnaby beat strong competition in the Anglo-Scottish Championship to win the U14 Slalom gold medal.
A team of 20 students represented Hurst at Waterhall in Brighton.
This is one of four national competitions that Barnaby will enter before the selection All individuals beat their for international skiers takes personal best times or came place, and Barnaby is hoping close to doing so. On the day to represent Great Britain. temperatures peaked at just three degrees so the runners did particularly well to achieve their times.
U15 GIRLS TAKE SECOND The U15 girls took part in the Lady Taverners indoor cricket tournament this term. The girls won all three games in the area round and went through to the County semifinal. They won both games in the semi-final and qualified for the Sussex finals at Bede’s. In the final they played Bede’s, Robert Woodward Cricket Academy and Oathall Community College. It was an exciting day with all games going down to the last over and in some, the last ball.
Hurst won against Oathall, the previous winners of the National final, and against Robert Woodard but lost to Bede’s by three runs on the last ball to finish second.
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Tina Towler, Head of Girls’ Cricket, said “The girls were disappointed as it was so close, but we are now really looking forward to the summer.”
ACTIVITIES KITING AND BUGGY BOARDING TRIP
DUKE OF EDINBURGH SERVICE DAY (FIFTH FORM)
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ACTIVITIES NIGHT-TIME STEALTH EXERCISE The Fifth Form CCF stealth exercise was designed to help cadets consolidate their advanced infantry skills. The evening focused on camouflage and concealment, movement over ground, patrolling, radio communications and signals.
The aim was for the six patrols to locate six caches (flashing beacons), disarm them (turn them off) and carry them to six new locations without being observed.
teams and failure to remain covert resulted in flares or shots being fired. All 29 cadets received their Advanced Army Proficiency Certificate.
Teams consisted of 8 to 10 cadets and the exercise was carried out under a full moon to make it harder for the cadets to go unnoticed. Officers patrolled the grounds trying to catch and spot the SERVICE WEEKEND The Fifth Form CCF (Army) service weekend was a 24-hour exercise held in Mereworth Woods, Kent. The weekend included setting up ‘bashers’ and sleeping under the stars, night navigation patrols and a stealth exercise. It culminated in four individual section attacks early the following morning, followed by a full
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platoon attack to eliminate the enemy. 2000 rounds of ammunition, 20 smoke grenades, 20 thunder flashes and 17 flares were used. Several cadets took great pleasure in defeating the ‘evil enemy’ also known as Second Lt Mott, who arrived under the cover of darkness.
ACTIVITIES
RANGE DAY All 71 CCF cadets from the Army, Navy and RAF sections attended Crowborough camp for an opportunity to live fire on the 30m barrack range. Our cadets shot ten 5.56mm
rounds, with Matthew Dandy and Tom Marsh jointly winning the Shooting trophy, with impressive 40mm groupings. Other stands on the day included the obstacle course and a CQB paintball lane. AERONAUTICAL EXPERIENCE Lower Sixth RAF cadets were fortunate enough to visit the Quadrant Systems flight simulator on two occasions. Our cadets took the controls of a Boeing 737-300. They were able to select their departure and arrival airport and whether they flew day, night, dawn or dusk.
CCF (NAVY) STAY ABOARD HMS BRISTOL The Fifth Form CCF Navy contingent went to Portsmouth to stay aboard HMS Bristol. The ship was the Navy’s flagship during the Falkland’s conflict and is now used as a training vessel.
The cadets went to HMS Phoenix, the Navy’s firefighting training facility, and learnt about the different types of fires and how to deal with them. Dressed in fireproof overalls, they tested different types of fire extinguishers and hoses on simulated fires. They also used thermal imaging cameras and helmet 15
Members of the PWRR Reserves (Brighton) also supported the day running their own observation challenge, and by providing a general interest stand laden with some of the latest military hardware.
During their simulated flights the cadets encountered turbulence which helped them understand the challenges of flying. The Flight Sim Technicians and Operations Director also explained the steps and courses needed to become a pilot.
radios and entered one of the Navy’s model ships to extinguish a mock engine fire. The cadets were also taken around the Damage Repair Instruction Unit (DRIU) to learn how these vital skills are taught in a three deck model ship which rocks and can be flooded.
ACTIVITIES NATIONAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING FINAL Two of our teams reached the final of the National Science and Engineering Competition (NSEC). The final took place last week over two days at the NEC, Birmingham. Teams competed for the title of Young Engineer of the Year. Team Geco worked with the company WesternGeco on a project called ‘Fibre Optic Connectors: Cleaning and Inspection’. Team HOP worked with Hemsley Orrell Partnership on their project titled ‘Building a
better floating home’.
HOUSE FILM COMPETITION
Judging took place throughout the day, with three panels of specialists interviewing the teams for up to 30 minutes at a time.
The House Film Competition took place this term with the help of Playwright-inresidence, Mike Carter, and his film crew.
The media also attended the event and interviewed selected teams in the afternoon.
The films were screened at the Orion Cinema in Burgess Hill and the following awards were made:
The 200 finalists were selected Mike Carter’s award: from the regional competition 3.43, Eagle House last June. Film crew’s award: Delete or Cancel (Woodard) Results haven’t been Best Screenplay: announced at the time of When One Door Closes going to press. Another Opens, written by Harriet Woodhams and Johanna Lawless (Phoenix) Best Individual shot: Max Newitt’s glasses, I Prefer Being Me (Chevron) Best Supporting Actress: Izzy Monaghan, Mission Implausible (Shield) Best Supporting Actor: Oliver Price, One Game Too Many (Red Cross) Sam Griffiths Award for the most promising newcomer: Emily Roser, Just Dance (Pelican) Best Actress: Alabama Jackson, Martlads (Martlet) Best Actor: Max Newitt, I Prefer Being Me (Chevron) Best director: James Clements, One Game Too Many (Red Cross) Best film: I Prefer Being Me, written and directed by Harry Drew (Chevron) 16
COMMUNITY
20 YEARS OF GIRLS CELEBRATION DINNER Current girls celebrated 20 years of co-education with a formal dinner at the College in February.
CHINESE NEW YEAR Our Chinese students and the LVI English as a Second Language (ESL) group celebrated Chinese New Year together in early February. The students welcomed in the Year of the Monkey with party food, including dried cuttlefish, seaweed, prawn
crackers, lucky candy, candied fruit, egg rolls and lemon tea. All students received a red envelope, as is customary on New Year’s Day, to bring happiness and good luck. Theirs contained sweets rather than the traditional money!
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COMMUNITY video entitled EUptown Funk, while the leave camp starred in a satire of Brussels bureaucracy.
MOCK EU REFERENDUM Senior pupils voted in a mock European Union referendum at the end of term.
Head of UVI, Brian Schofield commented, “This EU referendum follows a hardfought mock election in 2015.”
The campaign to remain in the EU was lead by UVI student, Emily Roser, whilst the leave campaign was led by Fifth Former, Dylan Wallis. Students voted for England to remain in the EU, with Emily winning 69% of the vote. The referendum was the climax of a passionate campaign season: the two camps produced posters and leaflets, the leaders addressed the whole school, and a
parliamentary debate was held in the Chapel, when statistics and pithy putdowns were hurled across the chamber with goodhumoured venom. The most successful votewinners were the online campaign videos; the remain campaign produced a music Hosted at Hurst College and organised by the Hurst Parents’ Association, on behalf of Hurst Society, the event theme was ‘The Big Apple’.
HURST SOCIETY RAISES £20,000 FOR CHARITIES Hurst Society raised more than £20,000 for three children’s charities at the Spring party earlier this month.
The silent auction was a highlight of the evening with a variety of lots ranging from a villa stay for seven in Slovenia to an ultimate Porsche experience at Silverstone, donated by Porsche Centre Mid-Sussex.
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“With a thriving Politics Society in place, Government and Politics A-level launching in September and David Cameron’s biographer Sir Anthony Seldon visiting the school next term, student interest in current affairs and politics is at an all time high at Hurst.”
The raffle provided another opportunity to win some amazing prizes including four tickets to the June Derby meeting at Hickstead and a sports massage. College caterers’ Sodexo were amongst an amazing group of sponsors who helped to achieve the final fundraising amount. The beneficiaries of this event were Brainwave, Starr Trust and Winston’s Wish.
TEAMS OF THE TERM
BOYS 1ST XI HOCKEY
U14A NETBALL TEAM 19
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY EASTER LITURGY Sunday 27th March in the Chapel 6am start, finishing with a ‘Champagne Breakfast’ Everyone is welcome to attend our Easter Liturgy. The service follows the ancient pattern of worship on Easter Day: Before dawn - Service of Light: Candles are lit from the bonfire in the Inner Quad and the new Easter Candle is taken into the darkened chapel.
Dawn Vigil: We wait and then readings from the Old Testament are given.
ADULT LIFE DRAWING CLASSES
Sunrise: Easter proclamation with as much noise as possible (bring something to make a loud noise!)
Peter Harrap will be holding Life Drawing workshops for adults on Saturdays throughout the Summer term.
Baptisms: for those preparing for their First Communion and Confirmation Eucharist: We give thanks for our faith, hope and new life in the Risen Christ We finish with a ‘Champagne Breakfast’ at 8am in the College Common Room.
To find out more visit the Events page on the Hurst website: www.hppc.co.uk/events.asp To book a place please print and complete a booking form from the website and return to The Lodge.
HURST STAGE MONDAY 22ND - FRIDAY 26TH AUGUST FOR CHILDREN AGED 9-18 Following the success of our first Musical Theatre Summer School, we will be holding our second week-long course this summer.
You can download a flyer from the College website: www.hppc.co.uk/events.asp or for further information please contact Lorna Coward, Marketing Assistant at
Lorna.coward@hppc.co.uk or telephone 01273 833636. Please book early to avoid disappointment.
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