THE STANDARD The John Lyon School Magazine | SUMMER TERM 2019

In this issue

School Values celebrated by all pupils and staff Former Cabinet Minister talks Brexit to boys The Royal Academy displays John Lyon artwork 1st XI Cricketers cruise to county cup success

CONTENTS 1

Some things old, some things new

2

Arjun scoops Au79 in challenging Chemistry Olympiad Downing Street gets new residents as John Lyon students take charge for a day

3

Individual scores add up to gold rush in Maths Challenge Expert-led working lunch sees Lower Sixth geographers plan their own studies

4

There's no rain in Spain as Valencia welcomes John Lyon boys Pupils are on time - quite literally - on London visit

5

Brexit 'rocket' will deďŹ ne UK politics for generations, leading MP tells John Lyon

6

School values reinforced on afternoon of activity across the School site

8

The newest Old Lyonians pass the baton as they mark the end of an era

9

Pupils, staff and bees bid a fond farewell to Andrew John Lyon leads the way in UK school digital innovation

10

Music Junction school children hit all the right notes at ďŹ rst Harrow concert

11

Grand performance rounds off inspirational Junior Music Day

14

Human nature and tribalism explored in National Theatre backed performance

15

Artistic success sees John Lyon pupils make a summer exhibition (of themselves)

16

Award-winning author talks writing, bullying and football on John Lyon visit Booksmart John Lyon boys choose their favourite reads

17

New School ties celebrate effort and achievement

18

'Dare to be different', Old Lyonian diplomat urges John Lyon students

19

It's up hill and down dale for DofE expeditionists

20

The Standard long read - John Lyon's Houses

22

Cricket season ends with county championship victory It's 'anything you can do' for the brothers Jariwala

24

Hoop stars take Harrow Borough crown Ayaan takes Middlesex Tennis titles Sharp shooters rule the Hill once again

25

Dozens of swimmers make quite a splash for charity Sports Day 2019

26

107th Old Lyionian Dinner looks back to the 1980s

Front cover: Samarth Amlani (10TM), William Davey (10SGJ), Roshaine Wright (10KS) and Matthew Evens (9AJF) explore their innovation on Values Day in May

www.johnlyon.org/values

Some things old, some things new John Lyon’s traditions help shape the School we are and the School we aspire to be. Everything we do has a place and a reason.

of School ties that boys can wear with their uniform, most of which are earned through dedication and achievement in a range of disciplines.

Tradition, however, can be a double-edged sword. Relying solely on doing things as they have always been done can lead to stagnation of thought and action. At the same time ignoring what has influenced the present can betray important traditions and mask valuable lessons.

And this term’s long read focuses on the John Lyon Houses – Butler, Moore, Norwood and Vaughan – and the year-long multi-event competition that takes place to win the coveted Cock House Cup each July.

In this edition of The Standard you will see some of our heritage in action. The centre spread shows three whole School photographs, which cover a 100 year period, from 1919 to 2019. As well as being a memento purchased by parents, these photographs help us record and connect with our rich history. There is also a page showing the range

Our Values, listed opposite this page, are relatively modern, having been created in 2017, but reflect on the School’s past as well as looking to the future. Each carries equal weight and everything we do we hope speaks to one or more of the Values. We recently marked our third annual Values Day – the biggest and most successful to date – by engaging with our Values through an afternoon of activities,

Miss Katherine Haynes, Head which you can read about on pages 6 and 7. It was good to see boys from all years working with each other to achieve team goals, be expressive and add to the community. Shown in the picture above I was especially pleased to be able to pass on some knowledge of our memorial trees and plant life to pupils. Everyone at John Lyon is committed to maintaining our valuable traditions, as well as creating new ones. Being named a leading school in the UK for digital innovation (p.9) certainly gives us the enthusiasm to push ahead, creating traditions for tomorrow’s world that today’s pupils will look back on in years to come with a sense of great pride in their School.

Summer Term 2019

1

Arjun scoops Au 79 in challenging Chemistry Olympiad With an offer to study Chemistry at Oxford already under his belt, there was extra success for Arjun Cheema (U6TCF) in a nationwide chemistry competition, as writes Teacher of Chemistry Dr Simba Matondo

The Chemistry Olympiad is an annual competition for high performing A-Level students and we are delighted that Arjun achieved a Gold Award this year, a demonstration of his commitment, hard work and excellence. Many of the questions in the Olympiad are beyond the A-Level specifications where students should apply their

Arjun receives his certificate in the Chemistry lab

knowledge to unfamiliar situations. The questions in the 2019 paper ranged from treating nerve agent poisoning to bees and even Brexit! Many schools consider the Olympiad to be an ideal indicator of achieving the very top A-Level grades, as from over 7,000 who sat the paper this year only 8% achieved gold.

Downing Street gets new residents as John Lyon students take charge for a day

Many of the questions in the Olympiad are beyond the A-Level specifications where students should apply their knowledge to unfamiliar situations.

through a policy of fiscal austerity. Our students worked in teams with students from the London Academy of Excellence, Tottenham and were given expert advice by civil servants. Students had to make tough decisions about reducing government spending. Their choices would impact on class sizes in schools, hospital waiting times, energy efficiency and the continuation of the Red Arrows.

The civil servants then also took us to 10 Downing Street where we saw the inside of the house. Students sat around the Cabinet table and quizzed one of the Prime Minister’s experienced personal staff on some of his experiences working for the last four PMs. Students and staff agreed that it’s almost always interesting to hear about historical events from those who witnessed them at first hand.

The Challenge, based in Admiralty House on Whitehall, saw Upper Sixth students act as either ministers within various government departments faced with tough budgetary constraints, or as the Chancellor of the Exchequer forcing

Students worked through a negotiating process, building arguments for different policy options. We learnt more about working in teams, when to drive home a point in heated argument and when to adopt a more conciliatory approach.

You can read Politics student Javier D’Souza’s (U6AHR) reflections of the day on the John Lyon blog – www.johnlyon.org/blog

2

Economics and Politics students took part in the Whitehall Spending Challenge in April, a chance to make tough government spending decisions and get a behind-the-scenes look at the UK’s centre of government, writes Head of Economics Dr Morgan White

THE STANDARD The John Lyon School Magazine

Individual scores add up to gold rush in Maths Challenge Ten gold, 19 silver and 43 bronze was the overall medal haul as John Lyon’s Year 9, 10 and 11 pupils sat the UK Mathematics Trust Intermediate Challenge in February.

(10CJC), Roman Filippov (10KS) and Patrick Colson (10NGA), Arav Bhatia (11BRD), Dillon Nagda (11MWV) and Ethan Miller (11BRD).

The highest scorer was Yuvraj Dhunna (11ADH), who not only secured a gold with his near flawless paper, but was then invited to take part in the hugely challenging follow-up round, the Intermediate Olympiad.

The UKMT Mathematical Challenges are intriguing multiple-choice questions designed to stimulate interest in Mathematics and encourage students to think outside the box. They attract over 600,000 entries from over 4,000 schools and colleges. Students with exceptional performance are given awards and top scorers are invited to sit in the follow-on rounds.

Golds also went to Varun Valentine (9AJF), Josh Holloway (9FLE), Fares Shehata (10NGA), Aryan Pande

Yuvraj completed an almost error-free paper in the Mathematical Challenge

Expert-led working lunch sees Lower Sixth geographers plan their own studies Geographical Information Systems (GIS), designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyse, manage and present all types of geographical data were the focus as a leading Geography educator helped students plan their A-Level coursework. David Holmes came to the School in May to give students a wider view on the scope of GIS and ideas about how they could focus their non-examined assessment (NEA), which allows them the

scope to choose their own title, complete a literature review, plan an investigation, collect their data and analyse it. Head of Geography Mrs Amy Rankine said: “The students came away from the session full of ideas having grasped the fundamentals of using GIS including how it might be incorporated into their NEA, most of which will be done under their own steam and over the summer holidays.”

David Holmes leads the small group session for Lower Sixth students

After spending the nation's cash, students were given a tour of 10 Downing Street Summer Term 2019

3

The Spanish tourists soak up the Valencian sunshine

There’s no rain in Spain as Valencia welcomes John Lyon boys Sunshine, culture and a lot of new language skills were the highlights of an Easter holiday trip to Spain’s third largest city, as writes Varun Valentine (9AJF)

In the week we had language lessons at Taronja Language School. These were really interactive as we interviewed people on the street and went to different restaurants and took photos of the Spanish menus.

Nineteen of us in Years 9 and 10 had the time of our lives in Valencia. Whilst having a good time, we experienced a different culture and we learnt a lot of Spanish.

The best part about the trip were the exciting excursions to the old town, the aquarium,Valencia FC’s stadium, the beach and the biopark. The main highlight of the trip was a thrilling time at the beach where we played football and frisbee.

Everyone stayed with a host family, giving us the opportunity to enjoy the normal life of a Spanish person and helping us to improve our communication skills. We were also able to have Spanish food such as bocadillos and paella.

From fun lessons, to authentic food, to amazing trips, we enjoyed every minute of our trip.

Thirty Year 9 French students visited BFI Southbank in March to study several short films in French followed by a screening of Le Petit Nicolas. The interactive day saw pupils learning key vocabulary while giving their opinions on the films, becoming more confident in both writing and speaking. Aaron Esser (9RS) said: “The day was filled with not just learning on an impressive scale, but learning which was made accessible, interactive and fun.”

Pupils are on time – quite literally – on London visit The Royal Observatory Greenwich and the historic centre of global timekeeping was the destination for this year’s Learning Support visit, writes EAL Assistant Mrs Nicky Walker After previous successful visits to the Houses of Parliament and the RAF Museum at Hendon, Greenwich gave pupils the opportunity to explore many aspects of the school curriculum. Before the visit, the boys researched the solar system and space exploration; maritime inventions and the development of global trade; and the importance of the Docklands area of the River Thames. 4

THE STANDARD The John Lyon School Magazine

The boys showed excellence, ambition and resolve when planning the journey to include the Underground, Overground and the Thames Clipper, in addition to an impressive amount of walking. Enquiry and heritage also played an essential part in understanding this important historical site. The view across London from the Observatory at Greenwich was stunning

The Learning Support trip to Greenwich afforded some fine views of the Capital

and the boys all enjoyed standing on the Meridian Line. Reflections from two of the boys on the trip can be read on the John Lyon blog – www.johnlyon.org/blog

The Excellence Programme also welcomed His Excellency Mr Torbjörn Sohlström, Swedish Ambassador to the UK, as a guest speaker. Talking to Year 10 pupils, Mr Sohlström spoke with passion about his home nation and the enduring strength of the relationship between Sweden and the UK. Questions from pupils came thick and fast with lots of ground covered: everything from parental leave to PewDiePie, and from Ikea to Ibrahimović. New Head Boy Husain Abedi (L6CKL) welcomed former Education Secretary Nicky Morgan MP to John Lyon

Brexit 'rocket' will define UK politics for generations, leading MP tells John Lyon Brexit was firmly on the agenda as former Education Secretary Nicky Morgan came to John Lyon to speak to students about the state of UK politics and what it means for the younger generation Speaking to Year 10 and Lower Sixth students in June, The Right Honourable Nicky Morgan MP, Chair of the Treasury Select Committee, spoke about her role within parliament, before taking questions. With Brexit the main theme of the talk, she told students: "You are certainly living through a very interesting political time... Many things we thought we knew about UK politics are certainly being tested... It is very possible that we are going to see a very different political system and also party system in the course of the next few years." Despite the uncertainties and divisions over Brexit, Ms Morgan spoke of the importance of young people exercising

their democratic rights and being heard: "It's really important that you as a generation have a view on things and have a voice and make sure you engage." In her speech and during questions, Ms Morgan spoke on a number of topics, including the NHS and British Steel, as well as on a range of other areas, including technology and social media and diversity within Westminster. Speaking after Ms Morgan's visit, Head Boy elect Husain Abedi (L6CKL) said: "I found the talk given by Ms Morgan to be an interesting glimpse into the sentiments and attitudes in the House of Commons right now. Most people who I’ve talked to have developed an apathetic stance

Brexit has absolutely put a rocket under the UK political system.

towards Westminster and politics at large, citing detachment and ineffectiveness as hallmarks of the current government and Parliament's indecisiveness concerning Brexit. I therefore thought that the fact that boys were able not only to listen to a prominent MP but also ask questions about the Conservative leadership race, the NHS and British Steel to be not only an especially important experience for many in the room, but also an example of why our input is necessary and that our voices on key issues are being heard loud and clear, despite most people in the room being unable to vote."

Summer Term 2019

5

School values reinforced on afternoon of activity across the School site John Lyon’s annual Values Day proved the biggest to date as every pupil from every year group took part in four special activities

In their House groups – Butler, Moore, Norwood and Vaughan – boys put both their bodies and minds into action in May to explore and challenge their Resolve, Heritage, Creativity, Community, Enquiry and Innovation.

Soham Muley (7LA) gets advice from teammates in the Tower of Hanoi challenge

John Vazquez-Torrez (7JNL), Abbas Asaria (8GES), Anay Jariwala (7SRP) and Yash Patel (9PWM) get to work on the John Lyon mural

6

THE STANDARD The John Lyon School Magazine

Outside on the practice pitch, boys were challenged to complete a giant version of the fiendish Tower of Hanoi game, a challenge to move a tower of numbered boxes to a different position, but only ever moving one box at a time and without placing higher numbers on top of smaller ones. Given just 20 minutes, the boys had to work in teams and show their RESOLVE to overcome the challenges in front of them. It was impressive not only to see so many teams working tremendously well to complete the challenge, but also to see the number of groups who showed the togetherness and resolve to persevere right to the end.

To celebrate the centenary of the 1919 School photograph that proudly adorns the wall of the New Memorial Dining Hall, boys and staff channelled the School’s HERITAGE and used their CREATIVITY to produce a mural of John Lyon himself, based on the image of him in stained glass in Harrow School’s chapel. Measuring more than 6m2, the mural was a photomontage of John Lyon pupil faces, both old and new. Using stamp-sized ‘selfie’ photos, boys from Year 7 to the Upper Sixth glued hundreds of tiny images of themselves alongside photographs of historical Lyonians. The finished photomontage truly celebrated the heritage of John Lyon as a school and the creativity of our pupils.

Three separate outdoor activities saw students use their ENQUIRY to engage with the COMMUNITY. The importance of pollinators was explored in the first activity, with boys planting seedlings in various areas of the School to support our insect populations. They then used a mobile application to identify some of the flora on the John Lyon campus and gain an appreciation of the diversity of our floral community. Finally, they designed and created bird feeders, making use of recycled products, which now hang around the School site, promoting native birdlife. Digging for victory: Moaaz Nagib (8JEB), Tanveer Kapoor (8JEB), Kai Buckley (9LHF) and Arusan Ul Haq (7SRP)

Working together with pupils of all ages has told me that we can all improve our social skills through compassion and teamwork, developing a sense of community and responsibility. Rishi Luthra (L6PDB)

Boys explored their

INNOVATION through

Innovation across year groups: New Head Boy Husain Abedi (L6CKL) works with Dehan Wickramasinghe (7JNL) and Damhiru Wijesinghe (7JNL)

the use of their own mobile technology. Challenged to capture their own unique view of the School, they used just their mobile phones to take photographs and then share them by uploading them to the School’s Firefly cloud, along with an engaging caption. Boys explored many different areas of the School, both inside and out, that had a particular meaning to them, being creative and innovative in taking images of buildings, themselves and their friends. These crowd-sourced images will now form an ‘alternative’ John Lyon prospectus, which will give a new and unique student’s-eye view of life at John Lyon.

Summer Term 2019

7

Prefect Team 2019-20 The fun before exams: Upper Sixth leaversenjoy their final full School day

Brothers in arms: Suleiman Shurafa (U6SJA) and Arshan Shroff (U6AHR)

The newest Old Lyonians pass the baton as they mark the end of an era Hijinks, shenanigans, laughs and memories see Upper Sixth students mark their final School day in May, while the Lower Sixth step up to fill their shoes Ahead of going on A-Level study leave, students gathered for a barbecue on Red House lawn to say goodbye to the School and the teachers who had helped get them to the point of their final exams.

September, a process which saw Husain Abedi (L6CKL) given the role of Head Boy, with Patrick Miles (L6PDB) and Vivek Nanwani (L6KML) as Deputy Head Boys.

The traditional ‘muck-up’ day saw a few interesting costumes and antics, but afterwards it was soon back to study for the 72-strong year group, before sitting their exams.

On being elected Head Boy, Husain said: “In this role I intend to further increase the degree of student action in the community. With a reformed Student Council, more involved prefects, and expanded volunteering and social action projects across the School, there will be no shortage of engagement and new initiatives.”

At the same time, interviews were taking place to select the Head Boy Team and Prefects for the School year beginning in

8

THE STANDARD The John Lyon School Magazine

Head Boy Husain Abedi (L6CKL) Deputy Head Boys Patrick Miles (L6PDB) Vivek Nanwani (L6KML) Monitors Shiv Lakhani (L6MEW) Liam Velani (L6CKL) Heads of House Asher Ahmed (L6CKL) (Butler) Niale Emmanuel (L6ND) (Norwood) Dhanesh Jegatheesan (L6ND) (Moore) Julian Smith (L6REM) (Vaughan) Charity Prefects Shyam Borkhatria (L6MEW) Rishi Luthra (L6PDB) Deven Ruparelia (L6CKL) Events Prefects Jay Desai (L6SOM) Joshan Dodhia (L6CKL) Adnan Kachwala (L6ND) Toby Newton (L6SOM) Aakash Patel (L6KML) Oliver Rhodes (L6REM) Oldfield Prefects Edward Benjamin (L6ND) Josh Beresford-Smart (L6REM) Maazin Fazil (L6PDB) Shaurya Garkhel (L6ND) Christopher Lau (L6SOM) Jack Salter (L6CKL) Sajan Sandhu (L6PDB) Subject Prefects Joe Calvey (L6REM) (Music Technology) Sebastian Clifford-Varley (L6REM) (Music) Maazin Fazil (L6PDB) (Art) Dhanesh Jegatheesan (L6ND) (Sport) Omar Mustafa (L6ND) (Drama) Digital Ambassador Prefect Ygor Colmerauer (L6ND) Eco Prefect Ken Houghton (L6KML) Library Prefect Sebastian Clifford-Varley (L6REM) Peer Mentoring Prefect Marco Viscito (L6REM) Social Prefect Dilair Deu (L6CKL) Thomas Blackwell Prefect Dhruv Patel (L6MEW)

Pupils, staff and bees bid a fond farewell to Andrew John Lyon’s second longest serving teacher, Mr Andrew Westlake, hangs up his gown after 21 years on Middle Road. Strategic Operations Officer Mrs Lynne Plummer writes Andrew joined the School as Head of Religious Studies in September 1998, the small department growing under his leadership to be one of the most successful in the School. More than two thirds of boys would choose RSP as one of their GCSE options and the results were outstanding, leading to substantial numbers continuing at A-Level where, once again, the results were impressive. Over the years a significant number of our successful Oxbridge candidates benefitted from studying Philosophy and Ethics under Andrew’s guidance. In addition, Andrew became Assistant Head of Oldfield with responsibility for what was then known as the First Form.

Andrew Westlake sits on a new bench, gifted to him by the School on his retirement

This was a role in which his gentle manner and patience were much appreciated in dealing with the daily challenges of managing the youngest pupils in the School. This role included springtime camping trips to France that he enjoyed rather less as it was very cold when sleeping on the ground under canvas. He became a member of the Senior Management Team with responsibility for staff in 2009. He has been heavily involved in the recruitment of staff members, instrumental in staff professional development and has also managed the annual appraisal process. He is often spoken of in the most complimentary terms by colleagues, a measure of the high regard in which he is held.

John Lyon leads the way in UK school digital innovation

His keen interest in gardening has seen his involvement in Co-Curricular and Values Day projects where he has supervised the raising of plants for a local nursery school and for the School site. Andrew has also been instrumental in the introduction of the John Lyon beehives, but sadly retires before the first honey has been harvested! Andrew has been a much valued teacher, mentor and colleague and we wish him all the best for the next stages of life.

Practicalities around bringing their own device, maintaining it, and using it appropriately has fostered close staff/student collaboration, including providing a springboard for discussions around online safety and healthy device use.

An EdTech list of 50 schools at the forefront of digital innovation in education has included John Lyon, praised for its successful use of technology in the classroom Created by the Education Foundation and backed by industry and the government, the list of 50 schools released in May demonstrates and celebrates the pioneering use of technology to support learning and make a difference to the success of each child in the classroom. The EdTech report said: “John Lyon School’s digital strategy is informed by its wider values. It fully embraces technology, but it is only used when it enhances learning outcomes.

Aymen Kirmani (9PWM) and Gurtaran Punni (9PWM) use their devices in a Physics lesson

“The school has successfully implemented a Bring Your Own Device policy for all students, with content increasingly delivered and assessed online with a wide range of media. General impact on

learning has been positive at a number of levels, with students taking more ownership and responsibility for their learning."

Summer Term 2019

9

John Lyon, Cedars Manor, Kenmore Park Junior and the LCO were harmonious in Harrow's Speech Room

Music Junction school children hit all the right notes at first Harrow concert The project aimed at bringing together young people in North West London to make both music and friends gives its first concert to a rapt Harrow audience To end the first year of the three-year partnership project, the professional musicians of the London Chamber Orchestra were joined by pupils from John Lyon, Cedars Manor School and 10

THE STANDARD The John Lyon School Magazine

Kenmore Park Junior School for the special evening of music making in May, in the grand surroundings of Harrow School’s Speech Room. Supported by John Lyon’s Charity, the LCO’s Music Junction Project has seen the orchestra, John Lyon and Harrow Music Service work together on the unique outreach and education project enabling the children to come together to go on a journey through many different styles of

music, learning new instruments and skills along the way. Throughout the project a number of John Lyon boys acted as mentors to the younger children, encouraging and enthusing them as well as developing their own leadership and project management skills. The full story and more pictures can be seen at www.johnlyon.org/musicjunction-concert

Following last year’s successful Evensong at St Paul’s Cathedral, the destination for 2019 was St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle. The royal chapel saw the Motet Choir sing music by Stanford, Harris and Cleobury, enjoyed by a large congregation, including many parents and other John Lyon supporters.

The Motet Choir pose on the steps of St George's Chapel after Evensong

Harsh Hingorani (10CAB) said: “The trip to St George's was really fun. It gave me more knowledge on how chapels look and how they are laid out, and it gave the choir a chance to explore the amazing acoustics of a royal venue.”

In May, Graham Parker (OL 1988) took time out from his busy life in New York to speak about his route from John Lyon to becoming a President at the largest music company in the world, Universal Music Group. After his visit he said: "It was tremendous to be back at School, seeing how much has developed and changed for the current boys. John Lyon seems ever more on the current edge yet retaining its core values that seem exactly the same as when I was there.”

Graham Parker OL spoke with passion about his work in the music industry

Grand performance rounds off inspirational Junior Music Day John Lyon’s annual Junior Music Day proved a success once again as 174 children from 10 schools gathered for a grand performance in the Boyd Campbell Hall. The day-long event in May saw the children take part in either the choir, orchestra or percussion group, before coming together for the concert after learning a range of new pieces from scratch. It was good to welcome many very proud parents to the concert, where lots of photographs were taken.

Proud parents filled Boyd Campbell Hall for the annual Junior Music Day

Summer Term 2019

11

100 years of John Lyon in three photographs: 2019 led by Miss Katherine Haynes, 1969 led by Mr G V Surtees and 1919 led by Mr E H Butt. A century has seen the School grow to its current roll of 600 pupils. The 2019 photograph has been reproduced by kind permission of Gillman & Soame photographers and can be ordered online at

www.gsimagebank. co.uk/johnlyon (token: 2k7zdf2019)

This was a very enjoyable, funny and pacey production with clear story-telling, some wonderful individual performances and an excellent overall ensemble performance.

The ensemble cast of Flesh perform in the Boyd Campbell Hall

Human nature and tribalism explored in National Theatre backed performance John Lyon pupils are stranded on a Scottish island as they join thousands of other students across the UK in a gripping new production as part of the National Theatre Connections programme The production of Flesh, a new play written by Rob Drummond, saw boys in Year 10 to the Upper Sixth come together in May to give life to the story, which sees a group of teenagers wake up in a forest, before being separated into two teams and play a game to survive. Unclear of the rules, it is a question of how far they will go to survive. Staged first in the School’s Boyd Campbell Hall, the play then moved to artsdepot in Finchley for the main performance. A National Theatre Connections director commented: “There was an excellent standard of performance from the entire company especially given the range of experience on the stage. They were brilliant at maintaining energy, picking up their cues and keeping the story flying forward."

Zain Nusairi-Hughes (10TM) and Usmaan Khan (U6LH) on stage in the National Theatre Connections performance

John Lyon’s participation in National Theatre Connections was made possible by funding from the School’s 1876 Fund. The 1876 Fund makes it possible to support exciting opportunities beyond the standard curriculum and departmental budgets. These projects enrich learning experiences with an immediate and direct impact on pupils that will stay with them for a lifetime. For more information on how you can support John Lyon, please contact the Development Office or visit the website at www.johnlyon.org/support Khadija.Ansari@johnlyon.org | 020 8515 9449

14

THE STANDARD The John Lyon School Magazine

Artistic success sees John Lyon pupils make a summer exhibition (of themselves) Summer Term has proven busy and rewarding in the John Lyon Art Department, with artistic success for the School's Art Scholars in the Royal Academy's newest exhibition Works by both Zak Samak (U6LH) and Fritz Storp (10CAB) are currently being displayed on the Royal Academy's website as part of its first ever Young Artists' Summer Show, a new initiative inspired by the Academy's world-famous Summer Exhibition, which has run every year since 1769. Designed to showcase artworks by talented artists aged 7-19 from the UK and beyond, the online display contains 329 works, which were chosen from more than 6,200 submissions. The display will run at youngartists.royalacademy. org.uk until the last day of 2019. And there is extra artistic success for Fritz, whose work Anatomical Stitch-Up has been chosen as one of just 139 that will go on physical display in the Royal Academy this summer, in a special exhibition in central London from Saturday 13th July to Sunday 4th August. It is also somewhat of a family affair, as his parents' company, Storp Weber Architecture, has a work on display in the main Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. Both Zak's and Fritz's works are based on images of themselves. In submitting Charcoal Self-Portrait, above

right, Zak wrote: "In this piece I have used charcoal to create a self-portrait reflecting the complexity of human emotion. The sketchiness of the charcoal and the dark tones reflect the ambiguity of the self in adolescence, and the focus on selected expressive points of the face conveys a sense of vulnerability." Of Anatomical Stitch-Up, right, created with embroidery on linen, Fritz wrote: "I wanted to change the way people viewed the insides of our bodies from something that can be gory for some to something unique and pleasing to look at, yet still semi accurate. The idea behind the piece was to bring what is on the inside of the body to the outside." Yasseen Hassan (10TM) and Dhanesh Jegatheesan (L6ND) were also shortlisted for the show, making it to the final 700, but narrowly missed out on being part of the final exhibition. A competition to celebrate the best young artists in Harrow Borough has seen more artistic success for Zak, as he was named overall winner. The Whitefriars Art Competition in June, run by Whitefriars Studios in the old Winsor & Newton Building in Wealdstone, saw Zak take first place with his Mediterranean Landscape, above, winning a cheque for ÂŁ400 and a further ÂŁ150 worth of art supplies. There was also a commendation for Dhanesh's Portrait of Fritz.

Summer Term 2019

15

I loved hearing about Alan Gibbons’ childhood and stories… and look forward to reading my new book.

Daniyal Zia (8JEB), Finn Hardy (7SRP), Yannis Djin (8GES), Demos Nicola (7LA) and Ahwaan Sharma (7LA) quiz Alan Gibbons on his numerous books.

Award-winning author talks writing, bullying and football on John Lyon visit A leading light in UK children’s literature, award-winning author Alan Gibbons talks about his life writing more than 70 books to a packed audience of John Lyon pupils and children from other schools

Speaking in March to an audience of more than 250, which included children from Quainton Hall School, Roxeth Primary School and St Anselm’s Catholic Primary School, Mr Gibbons gave a whirlwind 90-minute account of his life, from growing up in the North West of England,

and to books tacking difficult and often emotional subjects including Whose Side Are You On? which tackled racism and bullying, and The Edge, about a boy and his mother escaping domestic violence.

to becoming a teacher and ultimately moving into a career as a prolific multi-award-winning author of children’s literature. In the fast-paced talk, which was funny, thoughtful and moving in equal measure, Mr Gibbons talked about a number of his books including his 2000 fantasy thriller, Shadow of the Minotaur, which won him the Blue Peter ‘book I couldn’t put down’ award, beating a certain J K Rowling and her story about a boy wizard to the title. What struck the audience of pupils aged from nine to 13 was the sheer range of books Mr Gibbons had written, from adventure novels to books about football

The talk was rounded off with a Q&A session and a book signing. After the visit Finn Hardy (7SRP) said: “I loved hearing about Alan Gibbons’ childhood and stories… and look forward to reading my new book." Ismael Doghem-Rashid (8RAR) added: “He was so enthralling that many in the audience could have listened to him all day.”

Booksmart John Lyon boys choose their favourite reads As the winner of the prestigious Carnegie Medal for children’s literature was being announced in a ceremony at the British Library in June, John Lyon boys travelled to Northwood College to give their own opinions of the eight-book shortlist. In conversation with Year 7 to 9 pupils from Northwood and St Helen’s School, members of the ‘Carnegie Club’ discussed the themes, styles, characters and plots of the shortlisted books, eventually deciding on their favourite title and giving reasons for that choice in a presentation. The pupils’ winner was Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds. But, as 16

THE STANDARD The John Lyon School Magazine

with the previous year, the real competition’s judges did not agree, choosing The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo as the winner.

the

Demos Nicola (7LA), pictured, said: “I found the Carnegie Club trip enjoyable, and it was nice talking to a bigger group who had more ideas and theories as well as different perspectives. Listening in depth to the other groups about how they felt about their book, you could see that they were all clearly passionate.”

Demos Nicola (7LA) discusses one of the Carnegie Medal nominated books

More pupil reflections can be read on the John Lyon blog - www.johnlyon.org/ blog

New School ties celebrate effort and achievement Colours ties awarded in Sport, Art, Drama and Music have been presented to pupils, joining School, House and Scholars ties as part of the John Lyon uniform Handed out for the first time in Autumn Term this School year, 21 new colours ties not only denote the individual discipline, but the age group of the recipient. Common to all ties is the diagonal John Lyon blue stripe. For Art this is accompanied by a light blue stripe, for Music a purple stripe and for Drama a pink stripe. For Sport, all ties have a white stripe, with the addition of a thinner third stripe to denote the sport: red for Football, green for Cricket, purple for Hockey and mustard for Minor Sports. Junior ties have the thinnest stripes, Colts ties thicker and Senior ties the thickest. On the face of it a complicated awards system, the ties have been a huge hit with pupils. Deputy Head Mr Jonathan Pepperman, said: “It has been great to see pupils wearing their

colours ties with pride around School and wearing the relevant ties for the matching events such as Music ties at concerts or Cricket colours on match days. The ties are something to which boys aspire and, now they are clearly linked with a specific area of School life, people know where each pupil has achieved. To be able to celebrate each individual’s success and contribution not just at the moment of the award, but every time a pupil wears the tie means we can all join him in enjoying his success.” The number of official School ties now stands just below 30. But the full range doesn’t end there. Ties from sporting tours and some given to pupils in swaps with pupils from Harrow International Schools are also regularly seen. Sporting their new colours: Oliver Castell (9AJF), Minor Sports, Remi Onabanjo (9RS), Football, Romesh De Silva (9RS), Cricket, Ali Malik (9FLE), Hockey, and Tristan Doyle (9FLE), Minor Sports

Summer Term 2019

17

The temperature went past 30C for Association Day as pupils, parents, OLs and other members of the School community enjoyed an afternoon of sunshine, sport and picnics. For the first time in a number of years, all three School Cricket teams beat their Old Lyonian opposition.

‘Dare to be different’, Old Lyonian diplomat urges John Lyon students John Lyon Sixth Form students should “dare to be different and want to make a difference” when thinking about their careers, a former pupil and leading overseas diplomat has said Nikesh Mehta (OL 1995) returned to School in March to speak to students about his role as Deputy Ambassador at the British Embassy in Seoul, and also his previous roles within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and also within British intelligence. Nikesh spoke about his route from school to where he is now, firstly completing a Chemistry degree before teaching English in Japan and then entering the diplomatic service, which took him to Iraq, Uganda and then Malaysia, before returning to the UK to work in the intelligence services at deputy director level, focusing on 18

THE STANDARD The John Lyon School Magazine

Nikesh Mehta OL gave an inspirational talk about his work in diplomacy and intelligence

international cyber-security. With broad experience in both diplomacy and intelligence, Nikesh said both were career options for candidates from all backgrounds and that government departments and intelligence agencies look for people who can think differently based on their own experiences – people who want to make a difference, will dare to be different and who will take a risk in their careers. He couldn’t, he said, have imagined where his work would have taken him since

leaving school, but that what he had achieved and the opportunity to both protect and promote the UK had made him feel extremely proud and lucky. Reflecting on the talk, Lower Sixth student Patrick Miles (L6PDB) wrote: “What stuck with me was how someone of his stature who had experienced wartorn countries and crises of international magnitude still remains humble. Mr Mehta left me thinking of what a job in the Foreign Office could offer to a person who, as he said himself, “wants to make a difference”.

The views in the Peak District were stunning

Boris Chuykov (11JAA), Ibrahim Mansour (11JAA), Joshua Halpern (11JAA), Talvin McClunie (11JAA), Francis Boland (11BRD) and Daniel Bristow (11JAA) take a break from the long walk

Silver Award pupils gather to plan their route

It’s up hill and down dale for DofE expeditionists A mainstay of the School’s extra-curricular activities for decades, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award has seen its latest group of John Lyon pupils navigate their way around the UK countryside, as writes Gold and Silver Award Coordinator Mr Rob Ellis-Paul

The assessed expedition in early May was an even greater success with all teams building on valuable lessons and experience gained during the practice. Their navigation around the Chiltern Hills was an enjoyable adventure for all involved with a few individuals already looking forward to progressing to the Silver Award next year.

navigation skills only recently learned in class.

Just prior to the Easter break, all Year 10 pupils undertook their practice expedition for the DofE Bronze Award. We were very fortunate with the weather, experiencing mild and dry conditions throughout, although many felt a chill as temperatures plummeted overnight.

This year’s Silver and Gold practice expedition took place in the Peak District. Whilst the Gold group disappeared over the horizon, the Silver boys had the benefit of an initial training day. This was incredibly valuable and enabled boys to fine tune their compass work and apply

All of the groups rose to the challenges presented by the unfamiliar landscape and completed the expedition successfully. We are all hoping for similarly pleasant conditions in Wales’ Brecon Beacons for the assessed expedition in July.

The walking was pleasant with warm sunshine and a refreshing breeze throughout, however some of the campsites were rather cold and damp overnight, with a thick fog persisting well into the morning.

Summer Term 2019

19

The Standard long read

John Lyon’s Houses “Now slip me snug around your ears, I've never yet been wrong, I'll have a look inside your mind And tell where you belong!” A feeling of belonging is incredibly important, especially when joining a new school aged just 11 or 13. And while the allocation of a House to each pupil at John Lyon doesn’t involve a sorting hat and is a little less magical than at Hogwarts, being a member of one of Butler, Moore, Norwood or Vaughan – allocated either through lottery or family connection – gives each boy an identity he will carry with him throughout his time here. England’s school House system is as old as the schools themselves. Borne out of the most famous boarding schools, including John Lyon’s closest neighbour on the Hill, each pupil’s House was their actual house,

where they would live during their time at school. This continues to be the case, with Harrow maintaining 12 boarding houses, the most recent, Lyon’s, built as recently as 2010. The strong link between the schools is shown well in the name of John Lyon’s four Houses, all renamed in the 1960s after Head Masters of Harrow School, having originally been simply titled North, South, East and West. It perhaps seems strange that this House system would be used in day schools, which have no physical houses. Looking at the difference in the lives of John Lyon and Harrow pupils in his history of the School, John Lyon’s Dream, Michael Burrell writes: “Much the greater part of a Harrow boy’s life centres on his House. That is where he lives, sleeps, baths or showers and takes much of his recreation. A John Lyon boy would identify with his School to a much greater degree, with his House rather less,

because he sleeps, does his homework, watches television and the rest, in his own family home.” More than half a century later, this still rings true, but the House system at John Lyon continues to matter and be relevant to boys thanks to a sense of belonging, of community, and the opportunity for younger pupils to look up to and learn from older students who are on the same team and pulling in the same direction. Moreover, Houses aren’t just the preserve of older independent schools; even modern maintained schools use the same system, as do schools around the world. In the greatest part, pupils represent their Houses through competition. At John Lyon upwards of 20 disciplines are contested each year. Most of these are sporting competitions: individual pursuits such as Golf and Archery, team sports including Football and Cricket, and mass

Clockwise from top left: 2019 House Archery was won by Vaughan, Boys in Year 7 run for all four Houses; Alexander Rothwell (8RAR) competes in House Tennis for Butler; Emmanuel Wang (8RAR) performs in House Music for Butler; Rahul Patel (L6KML) plays a shot on the Harrow School Golf course for Norwood; Usmaan Khan’s (U6LH) photograph of protests in London won House Photography for Norwood; Lami Mabifa (OL 2018) lifts the Cock House Cup for Norwood.

20

THE STANDARD The John Lyon School Magazine

events such as Cross Country. Beyond Sport, boys compete in Debating, Music, Singing, Maths, Art, Photography and Chess. For Year 7s there is also a Spelling Bee. House Drama has been trialled this term for the first time. The mix of events is important in allowing all boys to participate and contribute, both in their areas of interest and those in which they have less strength. As Senior Teacher Mr Ian Parker says: “Our House competitions allow a greater number of boys to experience different activities. They may not be of the standard to represent the school teams but House competition gives them access to take part.” The scoring system is complicated, with a hierarchy of disciplines (Football has a higher maximum points than Golf, for example), and the prospect of points being deducted as well as awarded – turning up on time and fielding a full team are important. And at the end of each School year, after three terms of activity, one House stands above the others and their Upper Sixth Head of House raises the grand Cock House Cup, a trophy which has the same name in many schools, the term ‘Cock’ historically used to describe the proudest House of the day, the overall winner.

Looking at records back to 1960, Norwood stands some way above the other Houses, winning 24 times, including every title so far this decade.Vaughan and Moore are equal on 11 wins, with Butler on seven. At the time of writing, the current House Championship is yet to be decided, with many points on offer in the last two weeks of Summer Term. The grand trophy is being polished and prepared, ready to be taken by the 2019 champions.

Priestly Classicists: The John Lyon House Harrow Heads The Very Reverend Dr Charles John Vaughan (Head 1845-1859), a churchman who became Dean of Llandaff after Harrow, and who laid much of the foundation for the creation of the new John Lyon School. The Very Reverend Henry Montagu Butler, pictured above, (Head 18601885), Head of Harrow at John Lyon’s opening in 1876. He would go on to become Dean of Gloucester. The son of a previous Harrow Head and cathedral dean, the Very Reverend George Butler (Head 1805-1829). Sir Cyril Norwood (Head 1926-1934), a classicist son of a priest who as Head of Harrow as well as Bristol Grammar and Marlborough College. The Norwood Report, which transformed education in the 1940s, establishing three secondary school types: grammar, technical and secondary modern, was named after him. Ralph Westwood Moore (Head 1942-1953), a classicist who became Head aged 36. To impress on his boys the importance of being x-rayed for tuberculosis they were all tested. The only negative result was his own. He died of lung cancer while still in post after 11 years.

Summer Term 2019

21

Clockwise from main picture: The 1st XI with their championship medals; Captain Abhay Hirani (U6ASL) lifts the trophy; Dhaneesh Jegatheesan (L6ND) who scored 75 not out.

Cricket season ends with county championship victory

take him to 75 from just 57 balls, assisted by Advait Sundaram (11ADH) with 20. The opening batsmen remained unbeaten as they reached the target of 108.

The School’s 1st XI play one of their finest matches of the year to take the Middlesex crown with a thumping win After an often outstanding but mixed season that had seen six wins, six losses and six matches lost to the weather, the 1st XI’s English Schools Cricket Association’s and Schools Cricket Association of Middlesex final against long-time rivals, St Benedict’s Ealing, was a hard one to call. But the final played on Monday 1st July at Merchant Taylors’ School saw John Lyon 22

THE STANDARD The John Lyon School Magazine

play their finest match of the summer, dominating their opposition to win by a full 10 wickets. Having lost the toss and been asked to bowl, the School’s front line attack tore through the top order, reducing St Benedict’s to 24-3 before sustained pressure restricted the opposition to 107-7 at the end of the 20 over innings. The pick of the bowlers was Aryan Sutaria (11JAA) with two wickets for just 11 runs in his four overs. Chasing a realistic but tricky target, John Lyon did not hang around, with Dhanesh Jegatheesan (L6ND) leading from the front with powerful but sensable hitting to

The county win was the first in over a decade for John Lyon, and the sixth time the School has lifted the trophy in the competition’s 50 years. Immediately after the game, John Lyon Director of Sport, Mr Shane Cloete, praised the performance: “An amazing game and what a win for the boys. They were clinical in all they did. We are all really pleased with their performance.” Head of Cricket Mr Adam Ling, added: “Today reinforced just how far the 1st XI has come in the past 12 months and their strength and depth with both bat and ball.”

The U12 team in a practice session

The ďŹ nal capped a good summer of Cricket across the School, writes Head of Cricket Mr Adam Ling Once again we have seen in excess of 100 fixtures this Summer Term and despite the poor weather at times, it has been a relatively successful campaign. 1st XI Captain Abhay Hirani (U6ASL) passed 1,000 1st Team runs; an impressive stat which included three half centuries. Rahil Thapar (U6JWP) has also led with both bat and ball and although only joining in the Lower Sixth has scored 290 runs and taken 34 wickets. The U14s also had a trophy winning season, lifting the County plate. Shayen Vaid (9LHF) and Yash Patel (9PWM) had particularly impressive seasons, scoring 380 runs and taking 23 wickets between them;Yash with a superb knock of 91 against Westminster. The U15s enjoyed good results, winning seven fixtures and reaching the semi-final of the county cup. The U12s have been the most consistent of all the age groups and it is pleasing to see so much raw young talent. George Allen (7LA), Jack Ellis (7SRP), Jaynil Patel (7LA) and Anay Jariwala (7SRP) stand out. Cricket Week once again allowed us to add further experiences to the usual Summer fixtures and we were pleased to welcome three Australian touring teams and a Paiwand XI to Sudbury, while taking our top Year 7 and 8 cricketers on a mini tour to Hampshire.

It's 'anything you can do' for the brothers Jariwala Cricket season began with a bang for Anay Jariwala (7SRP). Having only joined the School in April, it took the young batsman just ten days to hit his first century, from 61 balls, for John Lyon in an U12 match against UCS Hampstead, the first Year 7 century for more than a decade. But with plaudits flowing for the new superstar batsman, older brother Kahil (9LHF) gave a reminder that there was more than one skilled sporting Jariwala, scoring a masterful 106 against Kingsbury High School in the U14 Area Cup quarter finals. Aged just 14, Kahil is already a regular in the John Lyon 1st XI as well as in hit U14 year group team. We can't help but feel 11-year-old Anay won't be far behind. Summer Term 2019

23

Hoop stars take Harrow Borough crown

John Lyon’s U14 Basketball team ended Spring Term action with a thrilling Harrow Borough tournament victory. Playing at home in the match against Whitmore High School in April, the squad of ten Year 9 pupils took an early lead in the game and managed to keep their opponents at arm’s length until the final whistle, eventually running out 36-26 winners and being crowned Harrow champions. Team coach Mr John Blenkinsop reflected on a successful term for the School’s star Basketball team: “The season

The winning Basketball team after their triumph in the final

has been one to remember with wins against Pinner High School, Nower Hill High School and Rooks Heath College in the regular season before meeting Park High School in the borough semi final. The win in the final was testament to all the boys' hard work across not only this year but since they first attended the club. A superb and deserved win."

Congratulations to the whole squad: Abhay Gill (9AJF), Taranvir Bansal (9PWM), Tobi Ladipo (9PWM), Ayman Kirmani (9PWM), Shayen Vaid (9LHF), Yash Patel (9PWM), Miraaj Rahman (9PWM), Oluremi Onabanjo (9RS), Ashley Goodman (9AJF) and Nikaylen Reddy (9RS).

Ayaan takes Middlesex Tennis titles

Notable individual success has come the way of Ayaan Haneef (10SGJ), with a number of tournament victories, including becoming U16 Middlesex county champion in both the singles and doubles. At time of writing Ayaan has won one and been runner-up three times in his last four tournaments. Ayaan prepares to receive the ball while playing House Tennis

Sharp shooters rule the Hill once again

He is now ranked 105th best U16 in the country and is inside the top 250 at U18 level.

The annual Silver Arrow archery competition between John Lyon and Harrow Schoolhas been won by John Lyon for the Sixth consecutive year. Shooting on the Harrow School playing fields, the team of Julian Smith (L6REM), Husain Abedi (L6CKL), Abbas Asaria (8GES), Ygor Colmerauer (L6ND), Joseph Calvey (L6REM), Alexander Minasian (L6SOM), Sajan Sandhu (L6PDB), Yuvraj Dhunna (11ADH) and Adam Zoromba (L6CKL) took a narrow 930 – 890 victory.Ygor proved the sharpest shooter of them all with a score of 241. 24

THE STANDARD The John Lyon School Magazine

The Archery team retained the Silver Arrow on Harrow's sports pitches

Dozens of swimmers make quite a splash for charity A School-wide sponsored swim week in June saw pupils and staff complete hundreds of lengths, writes Head of Aquatics Mr George Seller As we approach the end of another incredibly busy year, boys all across the school should be extremely proud of their achievements in what was a major Summer Term charity event. The sponsored swim has been an overwhelming success with the total

distance covered surpassing 200km – equivalent to crossing the English Channel six times! Thanks to the enormous generosity of pupils' friends and families, the total so far raised is over £2,300. This significant sum of money will go a long way towards supporting the Schools’ chosen charity, Brain Tumour Research. Special mentions must go to John Vasquez-Torrez (7JNL), Alexander

Rothwell (8RAR), Oliver Castell (9AJF) and Jason Mahmutoglu (10KS) for achieving the highest individual distances in their year groups. Also a huge well done to Adam Jalsi (7SRP), Ali Rajpal (8JEB) and William Mitchell (9FLE) who each managed to raise over £150. Truly outstanding achievements.

SPORTS DAY 2019

Clockwise from top: AJ Agbede (L6MEW) leads home the 100m race, one of three performances that saw him named Outstanding Athlete of the Day; Kylron Pierre (10SGJ) finsihes the relay; Taranvir Bansal (9PWM) competes in the discus; George Allen (7LA), Bartosz Slupikowski (7JNL) and Micah Johnson (7SRP) in the 100m; David Pruteanu (10TM) competes in the high jump

Summer Term 2019

25

107th Old Lyonian Dinner looks back to the 1980s The annual evening of food, drink, nostalgia and friendship in March welcomed a large group from the Class of 1989, celebrating their 30 year reunion, writes Alumni Relations Coordinator Mrs Suzannah Chirnside

The Class of 1989 turned out in force on their 30 year anniversary

Katherine Haynes addressed the OLs at dinner in the New Memorial Dining Hall

We were delighted to welcome back more than 30 OLs from the Class of 1989 to the dinner, with Dave Berman deserving of the credit for doing an amazing job to gather his year together with countless emails, tenacity and perhaps the odd threat. OLs came from across the decades, with Alan Bennett who joined in 1946 and David Muriss, Paul Montague and George Done who all joined in 1947. They caught up, shared memories and enjoyed a great supper with plenty of wine to keep them going. While the Class of 1989 definitely took the prize for rowdiest on the night, the Class of 2009 were certainly warming up for their 10 year reunion, which took place in June. Although the evening was markedly light-hearted and jovial, there was a more

serious note, when Michael Foster and Mike Geelan appealed to fellows OLs to join the campaign to provide a bursary in memory of Mike's brother, Jeremy Geelan. More information on the Jeremy Geelan Bursary Appeal can be found at www.oldlyonians.org/supportus An impromptu speech by Paul Frampton really captured the essence of the evening, giving thanks for the friendship around him. We very much hope that more friends will come back next year. Full details of the Lyonian Association and OL events can be found at www.oldlyonians.org

Miss Katherine Haynes Head head@johnlyon.org

Mr Andy Sims Deputy Head AJS@johnlyon.org

Mr Jonathan Pepperman Deputy Head JOP@johnlyon.org School Open Day Saturday 28th September 2019 9.30am - 12.00pm Sixth Form Open Evening Wednesday 9th October 2019 5.00 - 7.00pm

www.johnlyon.org/opendays Mr Michael Gibson Bursar Michael.Gibson@johnlyon.org Miss Rebecca Davies Registrar Tel: 020 8515 9443 admissions@johnlyon.org John Lyon Middle Road Harrow-on-the-Hill HA2 0HN 020 8515 9400

www.johnlyon.org @johnlyonharrow