The Dolphin - 2019 by King's Bruton

THE DOLPHIN 2019

Editor’s Letter By Emily Longman As this school year comes to an end, inevitably, teachers, parents, grandparents, and what feels like the whole world at times, all want to know our grand master plans for the future. But, as we enter the summer holidays and education begins to feel like a distant memory, I begin to question how necessary school and education really is. From age four we are told that to gain any sort of success we must go to school, gain IGCSE qualifications, A-Levels or BTECs. However, there are many successful people who had none of those things, yet did far better than many people with some of the best qualifications available. For example, Richard Branson is the founder of Virgin, and he dropped out of school at fifteen. The hugely successful Quentin Tarantino also dropped out at fifteen. When thinking of success, cheesy quotes involving determination, perseverance, and believing in yourself, come to mind. None of these qualities refer to staples of school life like chemistry revision, no nail polish, and history flashcards. One can argue that the main reason people might think education is necessary for success is because the education system has trained people to believe this, to ultimately reinforce the position of schools. Schools tend to rank us depending on our ability to absorb and regurgitate academic knowledge, which definitely doesn’t equal success. If anything, it’s one’s experiences that create the attitude which leads to success, and for some going to school only limits the number of experiences they need to create that attitude. Schools are becoming better at this now, with the introduction of BTECs but it is also possible to become successful in non-academic areas. We’re lucky to go to a school with such a wide variety of academic and non-academic subjects from design technology to art and food technology. But there are still many other niche areas to succeed in that schools don’t always focus on. For example, the number of people achieving success on social media is not only ever increasing, but also being frowned upon by many of the people we look up to to guide us to success. But I’m aware that both previously mentioned issues are anomalies, and that for the vast majority school does lead to some degree of success. It can be argued that without the correct guidance and training, even the most talented would not be half as successful as they could be without the added guidance of schools. Hypothetically, school gives us as many opportunities as it can to achieve individual success as well as expanding our knowledge and creating passion to once again prepare us for life outside school. Aside from education, it also provides the perfect environment for us to make our inevitable mistakes whilst having teachers and adults there to help us recover and teach us the skills needed to deal with those mistakes if they were to happen in real life later on. By producing intellectual and academic minds, it’s essentially a crash course to best ensure each of us achieve success beyond school. That is true, at least if we are defining success as gaining a degree, a job, a house, and maintaining a generally stable and normal life. But success is such a subjective thing and for some it might be defined as gaining fame or being incredibly rich, and for others it might be defined as being generally happy, or starting a family. As much as it’s true that school isn’t intrinsic to success, it certainly helps us find out what is.

The Dolphin Editorial CONTENTS 1.

The Dolphin Editorial

The Royal Visit, a day we will never forget: Ian Wilmshurst

10. Revealed: have we found the tombstone of William Chubb, the only boy in the School in 1811?: Dolphin editors tell Chubb’s life story 16.

How Commemoration, school food and the School uniform have changed over the years:

24.

The three surviving former Headmasters reflect on their time at King’s: Tony Beadles,

Will Dawe, Emily Longman and Jakob Wiegman

Richard Smyth and Nigel Lashbrook

26. Old Brutonian interview 1: Helen Smyth, the first female Head of School, talks to Honor Mant 28.

Old Brutonian interview 2: Poet John Mole reflects on an afternoon, as an Old House Sixth Former, drinking beer with novelist John Steinbeck

32. A 19th century King’s murder mystery story on Dartmoor: Sebastian Kingsberry 34. 500th Anniversary Day of Celebration 44. 500th Anniversary Photographic Competition 46. 500th Anniversary Choral Evensong at St Paul’s Cathedral 48. Abrahall Analysis 1: Why I can both believe in God and teach Physics: Stefan Davies 50. Abrahall Analysis 2: Wellbeing at King’s: Giovanna Hadju Hungria

da Custodia

52. A Day in the Life of George Beverly: Isabel Branagan

and Gabriel Rampton

54. King’s parent interview: Iwan Wirth discusses his world famous Bruton art gallery with his 3rd Form son, Bodo

ing’s archivist and former Priory Housemaster, Andrew Leach, needed every bit of his new heart valve as he watched his nephew Jack take part in an astonishing last wicket partnership with Ben Stokes to keep the Ashes alive at Headingley during the summer. Although Jack only scored one run that dramatic afternoon, his place in Test Match history is now assured. Around 208 years earlier, a seven-year-old boy called William Chubb also made history, or at least kept our now 500 year history alive, by submitting himself for examination at King’s. In the same way that Jack Leach was cheered on by his uncle, Master Chubb was also the subject of keen interest amongst the governing body who had been concerned for some time about the decline of pupil numbers. Indeed, when Chubb arrived that day to be tested on his Latin Grammar, the governors knew Chubb had to pass the exam if King’s was to stay open because, at that time, there wasn’t a single boy in the School. Chronicling the School’s history for its 400th anniversary, former Headmaster Geoffrey Sale suggested Chubb’s name should be held “in awed remembrance, for on such slender threads does continuity depend.” Just as Andrew’s nephew spun his own web, (he is a spin bowler rather than a frontline batsman), to ensure the continuity of the 2019 Ashes series, the thread woven by Chubb also glistens brightly today as we celebrate the School’s 500th anniversary. On pages 10 to 15, we publish the results of a two-year investigation into the identity of this, until now, mysterious saviour of the School. Although we still lack documentary evidence that he was educated at King’s, we are as certain as we can be that the boy we now remember with awe was born and died in the North Somerset village of Huntspill. A relatively well-to-do painter, glazier and owner of a beer shop, he died at the age of 38, having made a tidy sum, part of which, we think, helped set up a Methodist chapel in the village. There are many other Chubb-like threads that run through the tapestry of this wonderful School of ours. Over our 500 years, it’s difficult to single out too many individuals above others, but the principal weavers are commonly agreed to have been Richard Fitzjames, one of the three founders, followed by the Victorian headmaster, the Reverend John Charles James Hoskyns Abrahall, who did more than any other Head to set the School on the way towards its current prosperity, and James Lyon, a significant benefactor who ensured the continuation of Hoskyns Abrahall’s initiatives. The crowning glory of these 500 years of continuity came on the 28th March when Her Majesty The Queen spent a few hours at our School, opening The Queen Elizabeth Music School and generally making everyone feel infinitely taller by the time she waved goodbye from her helicopter a few hundred feet above the playing fields on Hyde.

56. 75th D-Day Anniversary: John Gadd 58. Love Island - positive or negative?: Honor Mant 60. Coffee Break 60. Community Service: Kiara Jones 61. Chaplaincy 64. Music 72. Drama 82. Overseas Trips 86. Combined Cadet Force

Where will the thread run over the next 500 years? Who will be on the throne, if there is one, the next time we dare to hope that the monarch might again come calling? Will a successor to Jeremy Corbyn have removed the charitable status of independent schools (if Corbyn hasn’t already done it himself by the time you read the next issue of The Dolphin)? Will King’s have by then merged with Bruton School for Girls, and perhaps other like-minded schools in the area? If the world has survived climate change in 500 years time, will the country then be gripped by a new Brexit-style fervour, this time a desire to end our relationship with Outer Mongolia, our chief trading partner for the last few hundred years?

88. House Reports 102. Valete 110. Sport 158. Prizegiving

Whatever the thread, we feel sure that given the right political climate and a continuing recognition that private education and high standards for all are not mutually exclusive, King’s, with its existing 500 years of deep foundations, will still be standing tall in 2519.

SPECIAL 500 ANNIVERSARY FEATURE

“WELL DONE, NOBODY DROPPED A PLATE.” ‘REMARKABLE’ QUEEN PROVIDES MOST MEMORABLE HIGHLIGHT OF 500TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR. Ian Wilmshurst recalls the phone call about “going for the top” that led to Her Majesty opening The Queen Elizabeth Music School. He also describes the months of planning that preceded perhaps the greatest day in King’s 500 year history.

y last summer, our plans to mark the School’s 500th anniversary were well advanced but one big question remained unanswered: who would open our new music school, the landmark building that would remind future generations of the extraordinary longevity of this outstanding school? Then the phone rang... “Ian, it’s Chris Rhys-Jones here…”

Chris Rhys-Jones

A former President of the Old Brutonian Association, a staunch supporter of the School, and a royal insider through his daughter’s marriage to The Queen’s youngest son, Chris was ringing for permission “to go for the top”, as he put it. I jumped at the opportunity, albeit with no certainty of success. Despite being a royal school, at no stage in our illustrious history had a reigning monarch ever visited this ‘royal and ancient foundation’. Was it possible, therefore, that a dream many Brutonians had been privately nurturing could conceivably now become a stunning reality? I didn’t have to wait long for an answer. Chris wrote his letter, and by the end of October, I knew for definite that the new music school would be opened in our quincentennial year by, remarkably, Her Majesty the Queen. Five months later, we at the School, together with members of the wider community, enjoyed one of the most extraordinary days of our lives. No-one will ever forget March 28th 2019, the day Her Majesty came to open The Queen Elizabeth Music School, and then spent several seemingly carefree hours talking easily to our pupils and showing enormous interest in every aspect of the School. When she finally left us with a wave from the royal helicopter a few hundred feet above Hyde, we all knew we had been part of possibly the most important historical moment the School had ever experienced.

Pupils from Year 3 Hazlegrove

Caroline Corr being presented to Her Majesty

Charlie Wildman

The Chapel Choir sang â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;King of Glory, King of Peaceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Official opening of The Queen Elizabeth Music School reception

The royal visit was the culmination of months of organisation between the Lord Lieutenant’s Office, Buckingham Palace and the School, but the concept of a 500th music school involved several years of planning and debate between me and the Governors. I first raised the idea of a new music school, to celebrate the 500th anniversary, to be built on the brownfield site of the derelict swimming pool, in 2014. The Governors had to be convinced that this was the right project and that it was affordable. It was made clear to me that in order to make the new music school viable that the fundraising target would be £1million. At the early stage of the campaign, we lacked planning permission and fundraising was slow, but gradually both the design/build and the fundraising gathered momentum. Once the building started, I knew that I had the story I needed to push forward with the fundraising. Despite several sleepless nights, I convinced myself, and as many others who would listen, that we would raise £1 million and we would build a legacy music school. Anthony Palmer, the Senior Warden, and Louis Tuson, the Bursar, were fully involved in the decision-making and the implementation of the new build. Their energy and expertise ensured success. Gilly Bunday and I worked with an excellent fundraising consultant and we started to enjoy the fundraising process as more and more people donated. We ‘crossed the Rubicon’ when Iwan and Manuela Wirth agreed that Hauser & Wirth would sponsor the recital hall. After this I knew that both the fundraising and the building itself would be successful.

Her Majesty chatting to BTEC Hospitality pupils

Rupert Leschallas holding the door open

Lauren Beaton served Her Majesty

Proud BTEC Hospitality pupils

The design, by the architects Levitt Bernstein, incorporated the historic architectural heritage of the existing buildings with a modern architecture. Acoustic engineers ensured that the building was designed to maximise the acoustics of each room, and in particular the recital hall, whilst also sympathetically refurbishing Old House yard and creating a river walk.

had no-one planned to open it until I received that phone call from Chris Rhys-Jones. I heard from The Lord Lieutenantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office in September that signs were positive that The Queen had provisionally agreed to our visit at the Royal calendar planning meeting in Balmoral. I received formal notification in late October 2018 that the visit was happening on the last day of our Easter Term.

There were delays to the construction caused by the weather (it was a very wet spring) and unreliable suppliers (the delivery of acoustic doors kept on being delayed), so the original plan of using the whole building in September 2018 proved unrealistic. We did not get final occupation until November 2018 although we had managed to get partial occupancy since the start of that term.

Planning started in earnest, although the fact that the guest would be The Queen and any idea of the itinerary had to be kept secret. We actually were only allowed to go public on March 20th 2019.

I had not made any decision on naming the building and we

I then decided to go direct to The Palace and asked if Her Majesty would agree to the music school being named The Queen Elizabeth II Music School. I received a reply quite quickly from The Palace with the wonderful news that

Avon and Somerset police horses

Her Majesty would be happy for the building to be named The Queen Elizabeth Music School. The itinerary for the day changed 14 times with regular meetings and emails between the School, the Lord Lieutenancy, The Palace and the police. Everyone the School dealt with were professional, proactive and above all great fun to work with. The School had developed a clear outline plan for the day, including hosting a lunch for 100 guests invited from organisations around Somerset, and this plan was only slightly adjusted. None of the invited guests had anything to do with King’s although it was agreed that I would invite 10 guests from Bruton. We had rehearsed all aspects for the royal visit and the staff teams at King’s had prepared professionally. The weather on the day was mild and sunny. The anticipation grew as more and more police arrived during the morning and barriers were put up along Plox. I did several TV and radio interviews

in advance of the visit and everyone started to move into their correct places. The close protection police were alert but relaxed and everything was ready for the arrival of Her Majesty The Queen. The Senior Warden and I met The Queen at the back of Old House and I escorted her to the music school past lines of King’s and Hazlegrove pupils waving Union Jack and King’s Bruton flags. I felt proud, nervous, excited, focused and determined that I would play my part in ensuring the day was a success. Her Majesty was remarkable in her energy and her willingness to engage with each pupil she met. She showed genuine interest and her smile was infectious. I chatted her through who she would meet next at each stage of her tour. The Queen was very easy to talk to and, probably understandably given her experience, she was very professional

and knew how to put people at their ease. The whole of the music school tour went smoothly, while the performance of the Chapel Choir in The Hauser & Wirth Recital Hall was outstanding.  The choir recital also gave Her Majesty the opportunity to sit - aged 92, she could not be on her feet for too long, so the plan was designed to allow her time to rest. The unveiling of the plaque was impressive whilst the signing of the visitors’ book left King’s with a historic memento of the Royal Visit. I will never forget looking over Her Majesty’s shoulder as she underlined her iconic ‘Elizabeth R’ signature. Head Girl, Poppy Boyden and Head Boy, Luke Tuckfield

The rest of the visit went exactly to plan. The BTEC Hospitality pupils were brilliant at the ‘county’ lunch and The Queen initiated a round of applause for them when I concluded the lunch with a short speech. The Queen was then introduced to all the BTEC Hospitality pupils after the lunch as they lined up in the Memorial Hall corridor. The first thing Her Majesty said, on greeting the pupils, was ‘Well

done. Nobody dropped a plate!’

The day formally ended at King’s with the whole School, and all the guests, positioned around the Memorial Hall lawn as The Queen named one of two Avon and Somerset police horses. The two female police officers were clearly enjoying the occasion (one of them was about to retire in April, so this was a wonderful way to finish her police career) and both police horses looked immaculate. I could not have been prouder. The whole School were together for the first time that day, with the Royal Standard flying above Old House and the Heads of School presenting a gift and giving three cheers for Her Majesty The Queen. All the planning had been worth it. All the Governors’ meetings and all the fundraising meetings had paid off. King’s Bruton had celebrated 500 years, on March 28th 2019 with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth officially opening The Queen Elizabeth Music School at the historic centre of our ‘royal and ancient’ school. The 500th campaign was a collaborative effort between the School, Old Brutonians, parents, past parents and members of the wider King’s Community who made the project a reality. For this, I am extremely grateful, as are the pupils of King’s whose teaching and learning experiences have been transformed.

Deo Juvante. Floreat Brutonia. 13

SPECIAL 500 ANNIVERSARY FEATURE

REVEALED: IS THIS THE MYSTERIOUS WILLIAM CHUBB WHO SAVED THE SCHOOL FROM CLOSURE IN 1811? After a two-year investigation, editors from The Dolphin follow a trail of leads to a churchyard in north Somerset to end, most probably, a 208 year mystery about the identity of a boy who kept King’s open by being the only pupil in the School.

eviewing the panoply of greats in the King’s Bruton story - Bishop Richard Fitzjames, the Reverend John Charles James Hoskyns Abrahall and James Lyon to name but three - there is one individual who is scarcely mentioned, partly perhaps because he was too young to warrant many plaudits. But when King’s aficionados describe the above as saviours of the School, they should really add a seven-year-old boy to that distinguished list. Without him, it’s quite possible that the School simply would not exist. It was back in 1811 when a presumably rather nervous William Chubb came to the School’s rescue by offering himself for an examination in Latin Grammar by a local clergyman. It was a critical moment with both the Headmaster, William Cosens, and the entire governing body anxious to hear whether the Rev Thomas Tucker, the Rector of nearby Kingsdon, was satisfied with the young scholar’s academic

Plaque from Kingsdon Church: Rev Thomas Tucker, Chubb’s examiner in 1811

aptitude. For if the exam had gone badly, the School would almost undoubtedly have been forced to close. In passing the exam - and it was not a fait accompli because he wasn’t strong enough to apply for an Exhibition - young Chubb became an overnight hero by becoming the only boy in the School, securing the Headmaster’s salary for another year, and enabling the governors to hold their annual Commemoration - featuring a knees-up at the Blue Ball - the following day. One boy was never going to help a King’s profile in a good school’s guide but at least, for the time being, it meant that our predecessors had survived to fight another day. Former King’s Headmaster Geoffrey Sale was certainly conscious of Chubb’s importance when, marking the School’s 400th anniversary a hundred years ago, he dedicated a section of his King’s biography, ‘Four Hundred Years A School’, to “Cosens and Chubb”, ending his account of the numbers crisis with the sentence: “The scholar’s name was William Chubb – a

name to be held in awed remembrance, for on such slender threads does continuity depend.” The cartoonist who came up with a

likeness of Chubb to illustrate this section in Sale’s biography could only use his imagination to help his drawing because literally nothing was known about this young man, other than his name, and the name of the clergyman who examined him. And that has remained the case until the present day, or at least until a few months ago when a seemingly moribund two-year investigation by The Dolphin into Chubb’s identity and origins started to pay surprising dividends. We can now reveal that William Chubb was, to the best of our knowledge, a relatively well-to-do painter, glazier and owner of a beer shop in Huntspill, near Bridgwater, north Somerset. He was born in Huntspill in 1804 and then, we believe, boarded at King’s - then Bruton Grammar School - in 1811 from the age of seven after his father had died when William was only three. His father’s early death would have made it more likely that he would have been sent away to boarding school, as were other boys in Huntspill during this time. One boy is believed to have been sent to Blundell’s at around this time. Certainly, the age of seven is right for a boy arriving at

King’s in those days. Although a “junior house” wasn’t established in Plox until 1902, there were numerous boys as young as seven or eight in the School before this. The 1826 Statutes stated that boys should be “at least seven years old” on entry. John Dyne, one of the sons of Edward Dyne, the local solicitor who lived in Berkeley House (now part of Priory House) was seven when he started in 1816, five years after Chubb, while RD Blackmore, author of Lorna Doone, was just eight when he arrived in 1833, making the journey from the Blackdown Hills, near Wellington. The journey from Huntspill to Bruton would also have been relatively straightforward in those days. According to a 1796 chart of direct and principle cross roads in England and Wales, Chubb would have travelled 20 miles by horse and cart to Somerton via Paulet, Pertington, Woolavington and Ashton, and then onto Bruton (today, that stretch of road is 17 miles). As part of our investigation, we now also have a family tree tracing Chubb’s family from his grandparents James and Ann Chubb as far as a Sylvia Coles, born in 1935, who married a Francis G Norton. As we went to press, in the hope of definitive confirmation that this William Chubb who lived in Huntspill was educated in Bruton, we were trying to track down this couple, or any family they may have had. The family tree, together with other documents we have seen, show that William had a sister, Sarah, three years his senior, who was a witness at William’s wedding to

The young Chubb cartoon

Charlotte Read in the nearby village of Axbridge in 1825. William died on 1st January 1842 when he was only 38, leaving his wife, Charlotte, and five children born over a 10 year period, William, Ann, Sarah, James and Catherine. The circumstances of his death, which seemingly required a Coroner’s Inquest, are a mystery – there is no record of the inquest, nor, surprisingly, of the death certificate which would have been required for the burial - but it is assumed he died from a sudden illness or, perhaps, an accident.

William Chubb’s tombstone

He was buried in the churchyard at West Huntspill four days later on 5th January 1842. This obviously suggests the inquest must have happened almost immediately. His name is engraved on a family tombstone that includes the names and dates of his parents, William and Ann â&#x20AC;&#x201C; who died aged 65 on March 4th, 1829, as well as his wife, Charlotte, and third child, Sarah Clouter, who died on February 15th 1882, aged 81. The tombstone, with about 20 others, was found in a pile near the church 30 years ago, presumably dug up to create more space in the churchyard and then left abandoned for decades. The Chubb and other tombstones were repositioned at the edge of the churchyard, as shown in our photograph. In his short life, it seems William Chubb had done well for himself. In 1832, he is listed as owning a freehold house and garden, totalling one eighth of an acre, along with another house and garden, used as a beer shop, totalling a fifth of an acre. The Lion Beer shop later became the Globe, the Scarlet Pimpernell and, today, the Pimpernell. He also owned an adjacent blacksmithâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shop. The porch and a fireplace - even some of the windows - of the present day Pimpernell are believed to have been the ones William Chubb would have known during his time. As a glazier, he may even have put in these windows.

Local historian, John Lamb, at William Chubbâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tombstone

Huntspill Church

The properties were listed in a late 1830s tithe map showing how much tithe, or tax, Chubb would have owed annually to the local Rector. The map shows the properties running at a slight angle to what was then known as the Turnpike Road but now the busy A38. As well as these various businesses, it is thought Chubb was also one of the founding fathers of a Methodist movement in Huntspill. The nearby Methodist Chapel is believed to have been built on his land. The family seems to have continued to do well for at least another 50 years. Chubb’s son, also called William, a painter and house decorator, died in 1899 leaving £482 in his will. William Chubb’s house

Chubb’s beer shop attracted media attention in 1831. According to a report in the Bridgwater and Somerset Herald on March 2 of that year, county magistrates Jefferys Allen Esq and the Rev. Dr Wallen heard that James Well, Thomas Hunt and William Palmer had been charged “with an assault and riot at the house of William Chubb, a licensed beer-seller, in the parish of Huntspill.” The report goes on: “Edward Saunders stated that on

Monday night last, between ten and eleven o’clock, he was passing William Chubb’s house, and heard a great noise in it. Witness went in and saw nearly twenty people in a room, some were quarrelling; he desired them to go home and be peaceable; witness told them he was a constable. Hunt and Wall said they would not go, they would stay as long as they liked. Chubb told witness he had drawn no liquor since a quarter before ten, and he could not get them to go away. Palmer asked who had struck him? Wall then took off his coat, put himself in boxing attitude, said he would fight any two men in the room, and if witness touched him he would knock him down. Witnesses told him he should take him before the Magistrates; he said he did not care a d--- for the Magistrates - Palmer was intoxicated, the other two were not. “Palmer and Hunt and Hunt’s son then got fighting. Witness and Deacon, another constable, tried to quiet them, and so did Chubb; there was then a general row, and Deacon, Chubb and witness endeavoured to secure them. Witness had a constable’s staff in his hand. Wall struck witness repeatedly, and Hunt tried to wrest the staff from him. Witness then called some other constables and took the three into custody. Hunt tried to prevent Wall being taken into custody. Palmer did not assault the constables nor obstruct them. “ Evidence from Deacon, the other constable, runs along similar lines, clarifying that Chubb had refused to draw any more beer when asked to do so. The witness had been “very much hurt by the blows he received.”

William Chubb’s front door

Our investigation into William Chubb started when Mr Oulton began researching the School’s history for the 500th anniversary book ‘Treasures of King’s Bruton’. Chubb was William Chubb’s houses with blacksmith’s house on left

the 1811 Chubb is not named Chubb. This is a hopeless cause in my opinion. There is no suggestion of any connection with the Bath & West.” A disconsolate Mr Oulton was on the verge of giving up when his 2019 team of 10 Dolphin Editors did their best to humour him when he suggested rather hesitantly that Chubb was still a story. Perking up, he said there were 100 Chubbs in the Somerset telephone directory and it would be a good idea if each of us rang 10 of them and asked them if they knew anything about William. The months went by and, to be honest, with exams underway, not many phone calls were made. There were, however, some attempts to break the deadlock. Emily Longman, the Editor, emailed Mr Oulton with the following news:

Dear Mr Oulton, I’ve just called the BBC with Freda (Emily’s deputy) and told them about the Chubb family and the boy that saved the School in 1811. The man I spoke to took my email address, asked a few questions, and said that he had a colleague that did pieces on local history and that he would pass it on to them. I’m not sure whether that’s an encouraging response or not... you’ll probably know more than us! But I’ll keep checking my emails. I’m planning on calling ITV tomorrow as well but at the moment, they’re just going straight through to answer phone. Methodist Chapel

supposed to be the 50th treasure - there are only 49 in the book - but Mr Oulton failed to make any headway, despite one golden clue. Andrew Leach, the King’s archivist, told him that about 20 years ago he had been approached at the Bath and West Show by a ruddy faced man, wearing a white coat. The man had spotted Mr Leach manning a King’s Bruton exhibition stand. Mr Leach said: “He said he was working on a cheese stand from

Not long afterwards, Freda Xiao arrived at a meeting with the news that she had just rung one of her 10 Chubbs and the voice at the end of the line had said something like: “Yes, that sounds like the William Chubb in my family” before hanging up. After one or two futile attempts to get the man back on the phone, the whole saga seemed to have ended in failure - until Mr Oulton, one day, decided to do what he probably should have done in the first place and tapped the words William Chubb 1811 into an online ancestry site. Suddenly, there was light at the end of the tunnel with only seven realistic candidates appearing on the screen.

West Somerset. I seem to remember that he said it was a cheese museum, but I may be wrong about this. He said his name was Chubb and did I know why I might be interested in this. I said ‘William Chubb 1811’ and he laughed and said, ‘so you know then’. He claimed he was a direct descendant of our 1811 Chubb.”

In his excitement, Mr Oulton had misread two of the names Cobb rather than Chubb - so we then only had five possible Chubbs to investigate. Of these, three hailed from Cornwall, Dorset and Devon at the time of the 1841 Census, leaving only two Chubbs who were living in Somerset at that time, and only one who had actually been born in the county.

After establishing that cheese museums in Amsterdam, Alkmaar and Wensleydale, Yorkshire had never employed this man with the white coat, Mr Oulton then asked the Bath and West Show’s PR man, Paul Hooper, whether he could throw any light on the possible whereabouts of this elusive gentleman. Mr Hooper sent Mr Oulton an email from the Bath and West archivist who said he had been unable to trace him, adding, “It is of course quite possible that the descendant of

An hour’s drive later, Mr Oulton was scanning the many tombstones in Huntspill, a forlorn exercise if he hadn’t chanced across an enthusiastic local historian, John Lamb, who was also in the churchyard that evening and wanted to know what Mr Oulton was up to. A few hours later, with light beginning to fade, Mr Lamb identified a tombstone on the edge of the churchyard with

the name William Chubb eerily highlighted by one of the evening’s last shafts of sunlight. A two-year search for this saviour of our School had finally come up trumps beneath a copper beech tree in a churchyard many miles from Bruton. How can we be certain that we have identified the correct William Chubb? John Lamb and another local Huntspill researcher, Wilma Picton, have spent some time on our behalf assessing the evidence of this particular Chubb and, importantly, in Mrs Picton’s case, other possible candidates that we might have missed. Both have been persuaded that we have, at worst, quite possibly, and at best, more than probably, identified the right man. Mrs Picton examined the credentials of the other Somerset Chubb Mr Oulton had come across but dismissed him.

“I don’t feel right about him. He was an agricultural labourer, he was born in Beaminster, Dorset, and he had a criminal record for robbery. The family tree and other information doesn’t give absolute proof that this is the correct William Chubb nor does it give any details of his time in Bruton. I certainly would choose him rather than the Beaminster family.” Mr Lamb agrees, pointing out in his first email to Mr Oulton that he had “found an extremely dilapidated

tombstone to the Chubbs: the only part that could be read commemorated William Chubb who died on the 1st of January in 1842, aged 38. This would most probably have been the William who was schooled - at least in part at King’s Bruton.” He also pointed

to the number of other boys from Huntspill who were educated away from home. “I must have a dozen at

least Huntspill lads archived somewhere here who were educated at some of the major schools in the country.”

Ultimately, although the editors are more than happy with the results of their investigation, The Dolphin will only be fully satisfied if and when someone comes up with a document stating this William Chubb was indeed educated in Bruton. If the man with the ruddy face wearing a white coat - or anyone who knows who he was - reads this article, please get in touch! William Chubb’s gravestone

SPECIAL 500 ANNIVERSARY FEATURE

COMMEMORATION, FOOD AND THE UNIFORM: HOW THEY HAVE CHANGED OVER THE YEARS. “King’s School, Bruton is remarkable in many ways, not least because it has lost so little of its 500 year heritage.” So wrote the Headmaster, Ian Wilmshurst, when promoting the anniversary book, ‘Treasures of King’s Bruton’. The book focused on much of this heritage, notably the wonderful buildings that remind us of the passing of the centuries while still serving a practical purpose today. In these three articles, two King’s pupils and a member of staff provide a personal perspective on three aspects of life at King’s that have changed significantly, although obvious comparisons can still be made. The first subject, the Commemoration Service, is very much part of our heritage, the other two – school food and the uniform - not exactly heritage, but certainly essential elements that can often characterise the way a school is perceived (particularly in the case of fare served up in the School’s dining hall). Will Dawe, the Second Deputy, talked about Commem in an interesting Assembly address to the School that we felt was worthy of re-issue to a wider public. In the other two pieces, Editor of The Dolphin, Emily Longman, discusses food at King’s over the last few decades with her father, uncle and grandfather, all three of them Old Brutonians, while Jakob Wiegmann, L6th Form, gives an interesting geo-political slant on the changing uniform, and, actually, why we wear it at all. 20

Commemoration Service By Will Dawe, Second Deputy

Kiara Jones carrying the altar cross

“I

want to take a few moments to talk about Commemoration or Commem. I am going to talk about its importance, its history and my personal reflections on Commemoration over 17 years. Commem is important. This Saturday at 11.00am in St Mary’s, the annual Commemoration Service takes place. The Commemoration Service is the most significant event in the School year. It is the occasion when we celebrate our history, now stretching back 500 years, and honour those founders and generous benefactors without whom we would not be here today. Commem was originally known as Corpus Christi because it took place on Corpus Christi Day, the first Thursday after Trinity Sunday. Originally, Commem involved a church service, a processions and then a feast, with plenty of wine, for the Governors and Headmaster, in the Blue Ball on Bruton High Street. Since 1976, the date of Commem has been fixed on the Saturday which signals the start of half-term.

On 29th September 1519, three men signed a document which started King’s School Bruton. The three men were:

Richard Fitzjames, Bishop of London. His nephew John Fitzjames, later Chief Justice of the King’s Bench, one of the country’s most senior judges. Dr John Edmundes, Chancellor of St Paul’s Cathedral. When these three men signed the Foundation Charter, the history of King’s Bruton was underway. The document gave the Abbot of Bruton money and land to build a free school in Bruton. Two more individuals were vital in the development of the School in the 20th Century. Lord Blackford and James Lyon. They both gave considerable sums of money and served the School for many years as Governors. These five key men in the School’s history could not have imagined the dark shadows and radiant successes which would accompany the School over the next five hundred years.

King’s has passed through sombre chapters over the past 500 years:

School’s history. This is my 16th Commemoration Service. Here are my memories over the years:

Henry VIII closed the School in 1540. Edward VI granted the re-foundation of the School in 1550. The School struggled for many years. Around 1750, it had no pupils at all while in 1811 it only had one pupil. John Hoskyns Abrahall, Headmaster from 1826-1864, saved the School and during his 38 years in charge, pupils numbers rose to 60.

There used to be a crèche in the Headmaster’s House where the children of staff were looked after during the service and lunch. I remember the children waving and smiling at the procession, many of them tots and babies being held aloft so that they could see.

The School lost 55 ex-pupils in the First World War.

For the Commem Rehearsal of 2003, I was on duty at the road crossing. A car screeched to a halt and the driver told me to get in. It was my next-door neighbour. My wife had gone into labour. An hour later my daughter was born.

By contrast, King’s has experienced many landmark and joyous moments. Few can beat 28th March 2019, the opening of The Queen Elizabeth Music School by Her Majesty The Queen. None of us will ever forget that day. It is important to commemorate the founders and benefactors of this School. It is our opportunity to remember and give thanks for the vision, generosity and courage of the founders and to give thanks for the countless Old Brutonians, staff, parents and governors who have shaped and made King’s Bruton’s history what it is. The whole academic community of the School - pupils, staff of King’s and Hazlegrove and governors have processed down Plox, all wearing buttonholes, since 1809. By continuing this tradition, we celebrate the School’s rich past and become worthy participants in the

In 2004, the heavens opened just as the procession left the Fitzjames Hall. We ran to the church, buttonholes flattened and hair bedraggled by the deluge. The Commem Rehearsal of 2005 was unforgettable for a different reason. The night before, Liverpool Football Club had done the seemingly impossible. Trailing 3-0 at half-time to AC Milan in the Champions League Final, I was in the pit of despair. I promised a colleague that if Liverpool turned the game around, I would wear an outfit of his choosing to school the next day. Liverpool won and I wore a mustard yellow suit, turquoise shirt decorated with pink seafood creatures and a red Liverpool tie. At the Commem Rehearsal

the next morning, I was in a tired and emotional state after a sleepless night. Mr Evans, Deputy Head, was not impressed: ‘Oh dear. Mr Dawe what are your wearing? Go back home and put something decent on.’ What will I be thinking on Saturday? My mind will wander to where the past 17 years have gone. I will think about those Old Brutonians who died far too young. I will remember those Old Brutonians who I knew personally and whose lives were tragically cut short: Alex Edwards, whose circular bench is by the 2nd XV pitch, David Dieppe, Rory Watson, Ben Conlin, Rob Bell, Yousuf Fouladinejad, Harry Corbett, and Alex Buckler: I will remind myself to put my flower next to Alex Buckler’s tree. Alex was a phenomenal squash player and so I promise myself to dust down my squash racket and start playing again. During the service I will look around at the staff, the pupils and guests and give thanks to God for all that he has done for King’s over the past 500 years and ask for his watch over the School for the next five hundred years.”

School Food By Emily Longman

The King’s Dining Hall in the 1950s

t’s safe to say that the phrase ‘school dinner’ triggers either nostalgia or (mainly) post traumatic stress disorder... Or at least it used to. There has long been a stigma around school food. However, as someone who eats three King’s Bruton meals a day, I believe this stigma is slowly fading. It’s difficult to know what kind of food students would have been eating at King’s in the 1500s although I believe their diet consisted mainly of bread, meat, fish and various stews. Thankfully, I can say our catering staff are now more creative with the menus than just bread and meat. I asked my dad, uncle, and grandfather (all of whom came to King’s) what the food was like in their day. While talking to them the first thing that struck me was the long lasting tradition of having a roast once a week, which, according to my grandfather, was one of the highlights of the week’s meals. But he said that the true luxury was ‘at weekends when we were allowed to cook a light meal on a portable gas cooker, great fun was had by all. Cooking our own food was a light relief from the school pilchards in tomato sauce and toad-in-the-hole.’ I’m not a very good chef but I can safely say that I would also rather cook my own food than eat sardine and tomato soup! Thankfully, a few decades later, food had improved slightly according to my dad and uncle, amounting to “basic

‘English’ grub-stews, macaroni cheese, spaghetti bolognaise

and crumble (I was never quite sure what kind of crumble it Some of the most special meals are those that are themed for was!). As for breakfasts ‘no particular meal stands out, but an occasion - you can see the whole dining room in paper fare such as cornflakes, toast, and porridge were the staples.” hats towards Christmas, and everyone reading their fortune So the meals had moved on from fish soups to unmemorable but traditional crumbles and pastas. Certainly an improvement. Unlike my father, the meals I eat now are delicious, some of my favourites being chicken chow mein, deconstructed sushi, pancakes, and (like my grandfather) an English roast on Wednesdays.

from cookies at Chinese New Year. The dining room itself is and always has been one of the School’s focal points for pupils and staff, now more than ever as the standard of food continues to improve.

School Uniform By Jakob Wiegmann

The King’s uniform in 1920

here are no records of King’s School uniform until 1880. However, it is known that the first public schools started introducing a school uniform in the 1820s. It is therefore safe to assume that pupils wore their own formal clothes from 1519 to 1820. Around 1820 most public schools formalised their dress code, standardising what upper class children would have already been wearing. It is likely that King’s was among these schools. The first school picture from 1880 shows King’s pupils wearing a grey sports jacket and waistcoat, and either a cricket cap or a boater hat. Seniors wore individual sport coats while the juniors all wore the same sport coats in different shades of grey. This uniform stayed the same until at least 1911. The sport coats changed between 1911 and 1920 where they have three instead of four buttons which leads to a larger lapel. There are only minor changes between 1920 and the 1960s such as the change from boots to shoes. Today’s school uniform was introduced around 1967. The breast pocket initially had a white border although this was quickly removed. The girl’s uniform was introduced when King’s became fully co-educational in 1997. The majority of England’s schools have a school uniform.

But why do we actually wear school uniforms? Is it a suppression of individualism or a symbol of community? England is one of many countries where school uniforms are the norm. In India, Australia or South Africa, school uniforms are just as common. However, many people criticise these uniforms. In my country (Germany), school uniforms are a rarity. The general dislike of school uniforms stems from their association with the Hitler Youth or the Free German Youth. This connection hits the problem that most critics have with school uniforms right on the nose: they suppress individual freedom and are therefore contradicting the values of a democratic society. Uniforms were an important symbol of fascism. Some believe that children wearing uniforms teaches them the wrong values. Freedom is an incredibly important right that all societies have had to fight for. Why, then, are schools not embracing and celebrating freedom by letting their pupils wear what they want? King’s answer to this question is simple: the uniform creates a sense of community and unity, creating a community without exclusion and bullying. The complete opposite of what critics say they do. Furthermore, uniforms prevent condescension and envy.

The King’s uniform in 1911

The King’s uniform in the 1880s

Children from less wealthy backgrounds do not feel the less worthy because of their cheap clothes while children from extreme wealthy backgrounds are not tempted to behave in an arrogant and condescending way. School uniforms also mean that every pupil represents the School when they go on external trips. This increases the impression that the public have of both the School and the individual pupil. Some pupils even enjoy the fact that a school uniform means that they do not have to worry about what to wear each morning. And although there is some legitimate criticism about how school uniforms supress freedom, pupils can still live out their freedom outside of school. The history of school uniforms is far older than any form of fascism.

The King’s uniform in 1957

SPECIAL 500 ANNIVERSARY FEATURE

ABSENCE MAKES THE HEART GROW FONDER King’s last three surviving former Headmasters fondly, and sometimes humorously, review their happy times at the best small boarding school in the country.

Tony Beadles - 1985 to 1992

ne young man in New House during my Headmastership used to spend every spare minute just outside the House and by the entry to my study talking to friends or anyone passing by. He always took care if he saw anyone who might be visiting as prospective parents to welcome them in a most mature way.

remember one set of parents saying: ‘Are all your pupils as pleasantly relaxed, confident and unpretentious?’ ‘Not all, but many I hope.’ Those three words are what I liked about King’s School. The size of the School, the unique, even quirky, surroundings, the involvement with an unusual town and a wonderful church, and the sense of history all contribute to a special community – what Basil Wright once called: ‘our funny, special School.’ At the Day of Celebration in June for the 500th Anniversary I was thrilled to find many that had been at the School in my time, now in their late 30s or early 40s, had come for the day, often with growing families. It was noticeable how many had strongly preserved their friendships made at King’s. When I asked some why they thought this had happened, they said that they had appreciated the community of King’s, sensed that they were known and valued as individuals and had felt comfortable in their surroundings. It reminded me that one excellent Head of School wrote in King’s Bruton Remembered: ‘There is an

air of relaxed confidence, historical stability and communal determination.’

I personally have treasured the varied history of the School, recently so well celebrated in the 500th Anniversary year and greatly benefitting from the establishment of proper archives. I have self indulgently enjoyed researching the Bruton Magna Carta, itself an eccentric story of acquisition and sale. I never found King’s to be inward looking. The links with the town and the other schools helped, and it was fun to work with the Heads of Sexey’s and Sunny Hill. I was responsible for three schools – King’s, Hazlegrove and Hillcrest, a prepreparatory in Castle Cary. It was a privilege to work with John Cann at Hazlegrove, that wonderful site acquired by King’s in 1947 and developed into a splendid preparatory school. Moving Hillcrest to Hazlegrove and building a new pre-preparatory there was a good challenge for my final year. And then personalities matter, and I was fortunate to work with some outstanding people who served King’s wonderfully well: many supportive Governors, and especially Tom Hobhouse and Charles de Salis, exceptional men; two talented Second Masters to stop my wilder and more stupid ideas – Basil Wright and Walter Jones; a wise, humorous and skilful Bursar in Ian Birkett; and five very loyal Housemasters all with a talent for good pastoral care. We returned to Somerset in 2000 after eight years at Epsom College, knowing that we loved the area and had many friends. It was a privilege to be asked to become a Governor and thus enjoy close contact with a school and community that I loved. When we left King’s after seven and a half years in December 1992, we went down the High Street to say goodbye to the shopkeepers that we had got to know. We collected a turkey from Bill the Butcher. He cried out to those in the back of the shop: ‘Come out everyone and say goodbye. The new Headmaster is leaving.’ Funny and special – as is King’s School.

Richard Smyth - 1993-2004

eturning for the 500th celebrations in June reminded me how privileged I am to have been Headmaster of King’s for 35 terms: I am thankful to have had the opportunity to have been part of the history of a school in a unique setting. The second emotion was one of joy to see so many Old Brutonians continuing to flourish in their chosen careers and returning for the celebrations because of their strong feelings for the School and their friends. I was also hugely encouraged to see the obvious progress the School has made in the last decade culminating in The Queen’s opening of The Queen Elizabeth Music School at the heart of King’s. King’s is full of memories for me. Memories involving strategy;

persuading the Headmaster of Hazlegrove, the preparatory school, to go co-educational in 1993. It took tea with the Senior Warden by his mulberry tree in Hadspen to decide girls should come to King’s at thirteen. Buying the solicitors on the Main Street was the crucial move to join Priory with the sanatorium and create a girls’ House. There are memories involving buildings. Piling the foundations to the extension of the design building for Physics and IT because it was so close to the Brue. Swapping poems with the Head of the firm building the Hobhouse Science Centre because he was concerned the Headmaster was looking around the site without a hard hat and his permission. (Neither of the two brothers could confront the Head about this so they wrote a poem of some quality, the gist of which was that the site was theirs and would appreciate it if I asked to visit. I returned this very diplomatic gesture by replying with my own poem.) But it was pupils and staff who provided most of the memories and excitement. I did wonder whether it was wise to be climbing onto the roof of the Headmaster’s House at 4am on the morning of prize-giving to remove a pair of boxer shorts hanging from the T.V. aerial. The culprit’s identity was uncovered by his Housemaster by asking him in front of his parents at tea after the speeches whether the Cambridge bound leaver was going “to scale the spires of Cambridge”. The boy went bright red. Chasing and confronting a gang of teenagers from the town after they had pointed a gun at one of our boys was a tense affair. Watching the 1995 and the 1999 rugby 1st XVs was just a pleasure. Enjoying Aidie Davis’ grounds was special. Nicole and I are so grateful to the staff as parents. Both Helen and Stuart were happy at King’s and gained entry to good universities. For me one of the features and strengths of the School was the kindness of the staff which seemed to come out of the woodwork. The Tyndalls, Basil Wright, David Hindley, Andrew Leach and many others were senior staff who cultivated very strong pastoral care. The Christmas pantomine when staff were prepared to be laughed at by the School at the end of a long, hard winter term said much for their holistic approach to a King’s education. May that education continue to flourish in the years to come.

Nigel Lashbrook - 2004-2009

t was a very special period of my professional life: five years as Head of one of the UK’s best small co-educational boarding schools – no, let us be more accurate, The Best! From day one at King’s it was the mutually supportive nature of the community which had such a lasting impression

on me, and that went hand in hand with an incredible array of opportunities for Brutonians to find their niche both inside and outside the classroom. I will never forget the first day that Jill and I arrived in Bruton (long before our furniture!). We were met by the wonderful Andrew Leach who warmly invited all of the Lashbrook family to afternoon tea in his house (more of a feast to be honest!) – we could not have wished for a more welcoming start to life in Bruton and such kindness was something that we experienced time after time during our time at King’s. For a small school to provide such a rich tapestry of opportunity said a great deal about the commitment of the teaching and support staff to go the extra mile to make sure that, inevitably on limited resources, we could provide the best possible educational environment for each and every pupil. It was incredible week-in-week-out to see KSB teams punch above their weight on a Saturday afternoon, be it hockey, rugby, netball, cricket and we even had equestrian teams going out to fly the King’s flag and often very successfully. Saturdays were always concluded with the best sports post-match tea in the West – what incredible pork pies which have never been bettered (and I now live near Melton Mowbray)! The performing arts also left me with many special memories, be it an orchestral concert on a Friday evening in the Memorial Hall (now, of course, the School has the superb new Music School) or one of many incredible productions in the Fitzjames Theatre. Although I still remain scarred by the pre-Christmas Staff Pantomine (with an all pupil audience although parents would go to all sorts of lengths to get tickets!). The main objective of each pantomime seemed to be to find the most grisly way to dispose of the Headmaster! However, it was a great way for the community to end the long winter term. The real depth of the community at King’s comes from the Houses. Without excellent pastoral support it is impossible for any pupil to flourish in their learning journey through the School, both inside and outside the classroom. As Head, I was blessed with a superb team of Housemasters/Housemistresses who were all totally committed to the 24/7 boarding ethos which also had an enriching effect on our day pupils. I will always remember a pupil (who had been at Hazlegrove and then at 13 went to a much larger boarding school) coming to King’s for the 6th Form and after a week, he simply said that it was “like coming home”. It is the framework of Houses that create a genuinely “home” environment and that makes the School very special. As I look back on my time at King’s, I feel incredibly privileged to have had the opportunity to lead such a great School. Jill and I were both very proud to be back in Bruton for the 500th Anniversary celebrations in June 2019. Now for the next 500 – Floreat Brutonia!

SPECIAL 500 ANNIVERSARY FEATURE

Old Brutonian Interview # 1 KING’S FIRST FEMALE HEAD OF SCHOOL: “I DIDN’T WANT THE JOB AND DAD DIDN’T WANT TO GIVE IT TO ME.” In 2003, Helen Smyth created a stir at King’s by becoming the first girl to be appointed Head of School. It was also of some interest that the Headmaster who gave her the job was her father, Richard Smyth. Here, Helen tells Honor Mant how the appointment came about and what she gained from the experience.

n leaving King’s, Helen went up to New Hall, (now Murray Edwards), Cambridge, taking a degree in biomedical and biological science. After this she went to work as an apprentice in a church, where she met and married her husband, Edward Fenning. She then became a teacher, holding a range of jobs, including science teaching, learning support and assistant House parenting. Since moving to north London where her husband is studying at theological college, she has become a full-time mother to her three children and a cocker spaniel.

‘If you had told me this is what I would have been doing 15 years ago I would have not believed you! But I’m very grateful to God for it all.’

Did the fact that you were the first female Head of School present any unique challenges? In 2003 - 2004 I was appointed Head of School. This was indeed the first time there had been a female Head of School. I think that it was the seventh year the School had been fully co-ed but there had been girls in the Sixth Form for a lot longer. When I was made Head of School, I don’t think I did have any unique challenges except that it took some of the boys a little while longer to get used to the fact that the girl got the job! There were a few unique challenges for that year! Interestingly, that year, the prefects’ committee was made up of five boys and five girls.

I understand your father appointed you as Head of School. How did this come about, and did you feel it would have been a different experience had the circumstances been different? Yes, my Father did indeed appoint me, and it probably looked a bit like a fixed job for anyone that wasn’t there. I didn’t want the job and Dad didn’t want to give it to me. As Headmaster, he knew that I would lose some friends if I did the job properly and that it would involve a lot of time and mean that my last year was not as fun as he thought it could have been. If I had had to apply for the job, I would not have done so. However, five of us who didn’t apply were asked to interview. When Matthew Pentecost, the then Head of School, came to find me, at lunch time in the dining room, to ask me to turn up for interview, I thought he was joking and told him to stop being silly and walked off. The poor boy had to run after me to explain that it wasn’t a joke and I was expected to turn up. The Headmaster had always told his Heads of School that he didn’t want a ‘Yes Man’. So, I did think that I was at least on a winner with that. (If you want any more clarity, do ask Gareth Evans who was Deputy Headmaster at the time!)

Did you make any changes that are still around today? I have no idea apart from setting the trend that girls could be Head of School. I believe two years later, Kate Flavell was then Head of School.

Did being Head of School help shape you for With the insight and experience that you later life, and if so, how? gained from being Head of School, do you feel that this is a better system in comparison Being Head of School, I think, gave me some practice in standing up for what I thought was right rather than going to the Head Girl and Head Boy approach? with the crowd. The experience of Head of School taught me that if there was a problem, going to ask someone about it or trying to sort it out, is a more efficient way of doing things than just complaining about it. I also learnt that if you want to get something done, have a go. I seem to remember that many an evening was spent trying to stop food fights at dinner, which involved being proactive rather than reactive. This has been a useful skill. There were also a couple of occasions where I had to address the whole School or a specific year group which gave me valuable public speaking practice. Finally, having to balance my A-level work and being on duty taught me to be more efficient with my free time, and to prioritise my work.

Yes, after my experience, I would recommend that there should just be one Head of School and a Deputy Head Boy and Girl. I do know this is not a politically correct view as now we are much keener to see equal chances for both boys and girls. However, I think this is right as long as there are equal chances for the girls or boys to be given the role.

If you have revisited since you left, are there any changes that you have noticed? I have visited the School since I left, but that was back in 2010 as part of the Lenten address team. I have not been back to the School since, but I do know there are exciting new changes, especially the new music building!

Is there anything that you would have liked to know about being Head of School before Do you have any advice for any future Head Girls of King’s? you agreed to it? If I had known everything that it entailed, I probably wouldn’t have agreed to do it, but at the same time, Head of School is a position of service - you are serving the School and not yourself. I also learnt a lot about myself through the experience of serving others.

Serve well as it is not about you, it’s about the School. It is a privilege - learn as much as you can from all the people that you are privileged to work with.

Prefects in 2004. Head Girl, Helen Smyth, seated, third from the left

SPECIAL 500 ANNIVERSARY FEATURE

Old Brutonian Interview # 2 MY SUNDAY AFTERNOON DISCUSSING FILMS WITH STEINBECK A King’s pupil between 1955 and 1960, John Mole talks about his life as an award winning poet, telling Emily Longman about one highlight of his school career when he and two friends spent a Sunday afternoon in 1959 in the company of John Steinbeck, the American author of The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men who had moved to the area to write a book about the Arthurian legend.

What was your time at KSB like? It’s difficult to spot a single highlight at this distance. Memory of my time at KSB is more a glow of reminiscence. Friendships made, teachers’ personalities recalled, a combination of camaraderie and traditional public school discipline. My House was Old House, the Housemaster being John Tyndall who oversaw everything with a benign rigour, supported by his wife Mary. He later became the first Housemaster at Blackford, established just after I’d left the School. As L.P. Hartley writes at the beginning of ‘The Go-Between’

‘The Past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.’

For me they do and did, and perhaps what now comes to mind is likely to seem trivially incidental but there are certain moments that stick in the mind. The English lesson when Bruce Killeen, who also taught art, introduced us to Dylan Thomas’s ‘Under Milk Wood’, and pointed out to us what the village’s name ‘Llareggub’ became when read backwards. Or when Pat Richardson, just arrived in the School to teach history, came into our first lesson, announcing that we would be studying the French Revolution, ‘The Scarlet Pimp and all that’. Both were marvelously inspiring teachers who knew exactly how to grab a teenager’s attention. There was also Danny Walsh, whose soft Irish voice invited attention of a different kind. His English lessons were a continuous interior monologue or meditation on what we were studying. It was if we were overhearing his thoughts and that for much of the time he was hardly aware of our presence. He had a temper, though, and had no patience with anyone who interrupted his train of thought by fidgeting. I particularly recall him reading passages from William Hazlitt’s ‘The Spirit of the Age’ as if somehow they were portraits of acquaintances of his. Two other teachers whom I recall with affection and respect are Joe Wiles (Housemaster of Priory) who taught French, and Jock Morton (Housemaster of Lyon), an intense, scholarly classicist and seldom to be seen not wearing his gown. One extra-curricular highlight was the arrival of Stuart Keen, a film enthusiast who every so often would visit the School with his 16mm projector in a van with a screen rolled up on the roof. He set up in the gym and introduced us to some of his favourite films while every now and then a passing train from Paddington thundered past the blacked-out windows, contributing to the soundtrack. I certainly owe my lifelong enthusiasm for cinema to these occasions, to the films themselves and to Stuart Keen’s succinct introductory talks.

John Mole at Discove Cottage

And, as for music, which we’re about to come to – though perhaps on a more serious note, I shall never forget first

hearing Elvis Presley’s ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ on the juke box in the West End Café at the bottom of the High Street. I remember that as Sixth Formers we were allowed to hang out there, loosening our ties, and for a while not being bothered!

As a bonus, Pat Richardson would occasionally drive Tim and me up to Bristol’s Colston Hall to attend concerts given by, amongst others, Count Basie and Duke Ellington. Another great part of my jazz education and all down to the patience and indulgence of KSB for which I shall always be grateful.

I gather you enjoyed music at King’s as well as English; what inspired your interest in jazz? Do you ever combine music with poetry? Yes, I certainly enjoyed music at King’s. The Head of Music was Robert South who, with his wife Joan, often appeared on BBC Bristol to play duets. My own progress, such as it was, along with my introduction to jazz, was as follows. I took piano lessons until it became obvious that I wasn’t doing sufficient practice. Rather than rapping me over the knuckles, Mr South just took over the piano stool and played me a sonata – often part of what he was rehearsing for the BBC, as I recall. My father, getting wind of this, decided that such ‘wasteful’ (though, to me, enjoyable) lessons should be discontinued. By this time I had become a jazz enthusiast, and a particular fan of the clarinettist Wally Fawkes in the Humphrey Lyttelton Band. My father agreed to buy me a clarinet if I’d promise to learn it properly and to practise regularly. So, at the beginning of the summer holiday, I began to teach myself to play by ear, mastering the embouchure and developing ‘finger memory’ as I played along with my collection of Lyttelton 78s, copying and ‘conversing’ with Wally Fawkes. By the time the autumn term began I was ready to start proper lessons with Lamont Kennaway, the School’s other resident music teacher and a composer whose delightful ‘Caprice’ I play to this day. Supported by Pat Richardson, a jazz fan as well as being such a fine improvisatory history teacher, I and a few fellow fans (including, on trombone, Tim Blanning, later to become a distinguished author and professor of modern history at Cambridge) formed a band and even gave a performance in the Memorial Hall. In one of my earliest poems , ‘The Jazzmen - a verse epistle to Tim Blanning’, I recall our musical (or perhaps not so musical) time together. Here’s an extract to give the flavour: Honour, though, our little clique That dinned the Music Room each week, Us practising musicians who Thumped as grossly as we blew; Authentic every turgid sound Issuing from that hallowed ground – Your trombone, a chrome-plated relic Battered, crotchety and cholic. . . My clarinet, my vanity When it came to ‘High Society’, The pianist we never had, They’d got technique and that was bad, The concert where ‘God Save the Queen’ Proved trickier than ‘Wolverine’. . .

Yes, I have several times combined music with poetry, the words being mine, and the music the various composers I’ve collaborated with. My sequence of ‘Circus Songs’ has been set by both John Madden and John Kitchingman, and performed in a number of schools. In 2005 I was commissioned to write a cycle of songs for the opening of the Evelina Children’s Hospital to be set to music by Bob Chilcott. These became ‘Songs for Seven Storeys’, taking their subjects from the seven ‘themed’ floors of the hospital building which overlooks the gardens of Lambeth Palace. The décor of each floor is designed to reflect the natural world (ocean, forest, mountains etc.) and create a warm child-friendly atmosphere. Then, most recently, in 2009 I collaborated as librettist with the composer Tom Wiggal on a community opera Alban performed in St. Albans Cathedral and in St Albans Church, Holborn. I have written a number of poems about jazz and individual performers, a favourite of mine being ‘Fine and Mellow’, a response to Billie Holiday’s filmed version of the song which I find particularly moving. It can be found on YouTube and I urge you to watch and listen. I can think of no finer demonstration of why I love jazz, and Billie Holiday. As for poems in what I suppose might be called the jazz idiom, I have tended to leave that to others more fluent in free form and more versed in performance poetry.

What inspired your passion for poetry? What inspired me? Where did it all begin? From early childhood I have always loved words and the patterns they make, and in my poems for children I have always raided the wordhoard with a child’s enthusiasm and delight. A particular inspiration has been the Cornish poet Charles Causley, and I can perhaps best answer the question as to why I enjoy writing for children with Maurice Sendak’s response: ‘I was that child’. Or James Joyce who said ‘My childhood bends beside me.’ Mine certainly does. For me it is also particularly important not to sentimentalise childhood, which is a time when primal emotion, as it were, is first experienced. We grow up, as Wordsworth says ‘fostered alike by beauty and

by fear.’ 33

John Mole

Perhaps, t h o u g h , my greatest moment of inspiration to, as it were, take myself seriously as a poet came with a eureka moment when, the year after leaving school, I read twentyone poems by Robert Graves, published as

‘Symptoms of Love’ in The Observer to mark his becoming Oxford’s professor of poetry. Their passion, clarity, and ability to say so much in such a small compass, made a huge impression on me who had up to that point really only read prose. An almost simultaneous discovery was the poetry of Thomas Hardy with whose novels I was certainly familiar, but I was soon convinced that he was an even greater poet.

dependent on my writing. As a broadcaster, reviewer and coeditor of a private press, I have juggled my literary activities to fit in with my teaching. After retirement, I was for a while closely involved with the project Poet in the City – which began in 1998 and has gone from strength to strength – working with businesses and visiting London primary schools to encourage writing amongst pupils, many of whom have English as a second or third language. I found this challenge inspiring and energising. Now I’m fully retired. ‘Are you still writing?’ I’m often asked. ‘Yes’, I reply, ‘it’s what I do.’ ‘No poem is ever finished, but only abandoned’ said the French poet Paul Valery and ‘If there’s no surprise for the writer there’s none for the reader’ warned Robert Frost. True on both counts but I’m not yet ready to abandon poetry and I continue to surprise myself when I start to write a poem.

I did, incidentally and perhaps rather presumptuously, send the first little pamphlet of my own poems, written very much under the influence of Graves, to the master himself, and he replied graciously, even improving the syntax in one of my lines. It’s a letter that I treasure and that, looking back on it, probably set me on my way with a degree of confidence. As a young poet, Graves had visited Thomas Hardy at Max Gate and now here he was writing to me. Maybe I’m being immodest here, but it did feel a bit like a passing on of the flame, a kind of laying on of hands! As I get older I find myself becoming more and more a believer in the reciprocal community of poets over the age, and that when writing at one’s best one is, as W.H.Auden puts it, ‘breaking bread with the dead’.

Becoming such an accomplished poet must’ve been challenging, have you ever come across any hurdles in your career? No. I have never regarded poetry as a race. Therefore, no hurdles. Accomplishment, such as it is, at whatever level, must be its own reward. Besides, poetry for me has not been a career either. More an occupation, a calling, a craft. Obviously, there have been many rejections received from magazines and publishers but these have been balanced out with appreciation and acceptance. And, I suppose, a fair degree of luck. I’m also, of course, aware that as a school teacher for over thirty years with a decent pension lined up, I have never been wholly

A page from ‘Treasures of King’s Bruton’ in which a section of the poem appears

Do you have anything exciting planned for the future? On my own now, I tend to live from day to day, and sometimes think of the remark that was once made by Harold MacMillan. ‘What makes God laugh? People who make plans’.

How did you feel after winning your first award for your poetry? I won my first award, the Eric Gregory Award from the Society of Authors for poets under thirty when I was teaching in New York so was unable to receive it in person. My wife, Mary, and I certainly celebrated when we heard the news. In some ways I was even more encouraged by receiving the Signal Award in 1987 for Boo to a Goose, my first full collection of poems for children because it had been a collaboration between myself and my late wife Mary , such a wonderful illustrator – whose illustrations in that book were compared in a review by Charles Causley to those of Edward Ardizonne whom we both so admired.

In your poem ‘The Other Day’ you talk about meeting John Steinbeck in Bruton, what was it like to meet an idol so close to home?

Tim Blanning & John Mole in 1956

Peter Goodden

It was in the Post Office that also served as a small bookshop. Amongst the books on display were editions of the Penguin Modern Dramatists, several of which contained plays by Tennessee Williams. Steinbeck walked in with his wife Elaine to send some parcels, and noticed this. ‘Look,’ he said, drawing her attention to the books, ‘They’ve even got some of Tennessee’s shows here!’ Just for a moment I felt as though I was on Broadway. ‘Shows’ not ‘Plays’. That, I recognised, was the ease with which one great writer should refer to another. All a part of being in the same business!

What was it like meeting John Steinbeck? I can’t add much to what I describe in my poem ‘The Other Day’. It was wholly unexpected and amazing to have the opportunity to meet – in what were the idyllic surroundings of the garden at Discove Cottage – the novelist I most admired and to find him such a generous host. The contact was initially made through John Vallins, my A-Level English teacher, whose wife Sallie was approached by Steinbeck when he learned that she was a proficient typist. Apparently the first time he visited her and John he slapped down some bank notes on the table as an advance payment which was more money than they had seen for a while. When John Vallins asked Steinbeck if he would be willing to come to give a talk at the school, he declined, claiming that public speaking was his last virginity. He said, though, that he would be happy to meet individual pupils, which was where I came in. Steinbeck enjoyed the local life and could often be seen around town. I remember one occasion, before I had met him, so I kept a low profile. John Steinbeck and his wife Elaine at Discove Cottage

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POSSIBLY THE GREATEST KING’S HEADMASTER, THE REV JOHN CHARLES JAMES HOSKYNS ABRAHALL NONETHELESS HAD SOMETHING TO HIDE... Intrigued by a double murder and hanging with a King’s Bruton connection, Sebastian Kingsberry goes sleuthing on Dartmoor.

ot far from where I live, there is a small isolated town on the edge of Dartmoor called Peter Tavy. For a while, Mr Oulton had been telling me that a notorious double murder had taken place there in Victorian times, a crime with a King’s Bruton connection. Would I like to check it out? Initially, I was sceptical, but eventually I persuaded my parents to drive me to Peter Tavy to do some sleuthing. The King’s connection was certainly an intriguing one. According to local legend, controversy surrounded the grandson of probably King’s most important Headmaster, the Rev John Charles James Hoskyns Abrahall, the architect of the Hoskyns Abrahall Tower we all walk past at school every day (it was said that he only really built the tower to provide himself with a bolt hole from his five children, 60 pupils and assorted staff). This rather frightening but much loved Headmaster ruled the school with a rod of iron between 1826 and 1864, saving it from almost certain closure when he took over at the age of 25 at a time when there were only four boys at what was then “Bruton Grammar School”. Towards the end of his time, his reputation was dented when the numbers he had built up markedly declined, partly because he refused to take boarders, partly because he refused to widen the curriculum, sticking to scripture and the classics. However, he had done enough by then to be regarded as a particularly fine Headmaster who had seen some important pupils through the school, including R.D. Blackmore, author of Lorna Doone. None of Hoskyns Abrahall’s achievements were diminished by the Dartmoor story I was investigating, indeed, people at the time would have felt extremely sorry for this distinguished man who just happened to have a grandson who found himself embroiled as the innocent party in a rather dramatic double murder that people in the village still talk about today. Put simply, this grandson, Philip Hoskyns Bryant, seems to have been a bit of a ladies man who used to call in on a 17 year old girl when he was visiting his parents in Peter Tavy. This upset a local man who was in love with this girl and took exception to what Philip was up to. So much so that he eventually decided to kill him. When the day came, however,

Prothesa Roberts

Philip Bryant

he shot the wrong man by mistake and ended up on the gallows. The trial judge ruled that Philip could not be blamed for what happened, but the whole affair caused a mighty stir in the village, where Philip’s father, Hoskyns Abrahall’s sonin-law, was the vicar. When I arrived in Peter Tavy, I looked for any indication of the sinister events that had taken place, but couldn’t find any. So I decided to talk to a man in the local pub. Stereotypical? Yes. Useful? Definitely. Within minutes, I was on the way to the local church, St Peter’s, where I was told I would be close to the murder scene. As I made my way to the church, I was conscious how sleepy the town seemed to be, much the same as in the late 19th century when the event I was investigating took place. In those days, Peter Tavy was known, not for its violence or hustle and bustle, but rather for a serenity, a simple way of life that the people of Dartmoor have always enjoyed. However, that was to change on 13th November 1893 when the town was shaken to the core by a terrible crime of passion committed by a rather simple character called William Williams, 22, who was desperately in love with the 17 year old girl, Emma Doidge.

named Hoskyns, a family with a long lineage containing strains of families of historical importance, Chandos, Festing, Abrahall, all this is in Burkes Peerage and Landed Gentry. There was also a connection with Lord Churston’s family the Yarde-Bullers from whom the present Aga Khan is descended.” Some time after the events of the murder I was investigating, Philip wanted to marry a woman called Prothesa Roberts, a dressmaker, but his father refused to let him, presumably because of her social status. Philip had three illegitimate children with Prothesa who eventually left him when she realised she was pregnant with their third child. According to Elizabeth Vaughan-Robinson, Philip “had started off by being

the favoured eldest son but had then blotted his copy book early in life by involvement in what was known as the Peter Tavy tragedy, and had committed one misdemeanour after another until his father had crossed him out of his will and disowned him…Philip had had every advantage, a good education – Marlborough College – and influential family connections but he had thrown all his opportunities away, although his brothers had been successful.”

So to the double murder that had brought me to Peter Tavy. There is more than one version of events, one suggesting that the man Williams shot, William Rowe, 21, had also been courting Emma Doidge, which is quite possible. But staying with Leonard’s version, Williams had “built up an intense

hatred, and spoke threateningly to his friends about Philip Bryant. He bought a revolver from a gunsmith in Yelverton, and I was helped in my sleuthing by an account of the murder on a Sunday waited for the couple to pass down a lane after written by Philip’s grandson which Mr Oulton had come attending church, and in the darkness he shot them, killing Emma across on the internet. Writing on a type writer in 1979, and a young man named Rowe who was escorting her instead of Cecil Leonard, who said he and other members of the family Philip. had often wondered why no-one wanted to talk about his grandfather, ended his account with the words: “Although all

“To make matters worse an elderly man was first on the scene the participants in this affair are dead please be discreet if you and the shock caused him to have a heart attack from which he should discuss it. Some members of the family might be sensitive.” did not recover. Williams ran away and on the outskirts of the village shot himself in the head falling into a stream from which Deciding enough years had gone by since then for us to he was recovered still alive. He was taken to Tavistock Cottage write this article, it is certainly obvious why no-one in the Hospital and after being nursed for six months was taken to family liked talking about Philip Bryant. Leonard stumbled Exeter Assizes, found guilty, and hanged. on the explanation after meeting a woman in the Peter Tavy churchyard who turned out to be a grand-daughter of Hoskyns Abrahall’s son-in-law, the Reverend Doctor Francis Bryant, a former Rector of the church. Leonard wrote: “Although I felt

“The judge stated that Philip could not be blamed for what had happened, and that it had been a cruel premeditated crime on the part of Williams. Williams, however, had sympathisers locally a bit embarrassed, I remarked: ‘How strange, we might be related where it was looked upon as a crime passionel. On the day of because there was a romance between my grandmother and one execution curtains were drawn throughout Peter Tavy and of Dr Bryant’s sons.’ She seemed very amused, and exclaimed, Tavistock. The effect in the small village was terrible, the Rowes “that would be Philip, the black sheep of the family.” and Williams being large families. Shock and sadness prevailed everywhere.” This woman, Elizabeth Vaughan-Robinson, told Leonard that Philip was the eldest son of Dr Bryant and “a lady he

The Rev Hoskyns Abrahall was clearly a great Headmaster,

had met whilst holding an appointment at Bruton College after but if his five children were anything like his grandson, it was coming down from Wadham College, Oxford. [This lady was no wonder he decided to build that tower. one of Headmaster Hoskyns Abrahall’s five children]. She was 37

SPECIAL 500 ANNIVERSARY FEATURE

A DAY OF CELEBRATION FIT FOR A QUINCENTENARY

n Saturday 15th June, the School welcomed almost a thousand visitors to celebrate 500 years of quality education in this beautiful town. Old Brutonians of varying ages, parents (past and present), staff (past and present), governors, Friends and current pupils joined together as one. The day began with a Service of Thanksgiving in a packed St Mary’s Church, which included a beautiful rendition by the Chapel Choir of the recently commissioned anthem ‘King of Glory, King of Peace’, which was first sung at St Paul’s Cathedral earlier in the year as well as to Her Majesty The Queen when she officially opened The Queen Elizabeth Music School in March.

This year’s annual Day of Celebration was a festival of all that is good about King’s Bruton. ‘It was a privilege as Headmaster to welcome so many Old Brutonians, along with past parents and former members of staff, to our 500th Day of Celebration. I had the added honour of welcoming the previous three Headmasters and their wives. I was very conscious of all that they had done in their time leading King’s to make the School such a success. Gilly Bunday and Rose Vigers-Belgeonne organised a great day and I was even persuaded to sing ‘Sweet Caroline’ at the end of the Ball! We were fortunate with the weather and June 15th now sits alongside Her Majesty The Queen’s visit on March 28th as another unforgettable day in our 500th year.’ Ian Wilmshurst - Headmaster

Meanwhile almost fifty interesting and classic cars gathered on the Memorial Hall Lawn, many owned by alumni and parents. They were enthusiastically waved off on a ‘King’s and Castles’ Tour which took in several counties. Guests were invited to visit their former Houses, the new music school, Art and DT exhibitions as well as an exhibition of the School’s history, which displays many photographs throughout the years.

The sun shone and guests enjoyed picnics with family and friends before the Schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 1st XI took on the Rifles Cricket Club, whose forebears played against the School in the very first match on the Hyde Pitch in 1917. There was an additional cricket match for alumni and parents to play against the 2nd XI, whilst concurrently, there was a mixed hockey match between a team of Old Brutonians and parents against the Schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team.

Despite appalling weather earlier in the week, we were blessed with sunshine throughout the day which greatly enhanced everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s experience as they were able to stand surrounded by beautiful countryside, catching up with old friends and reminiscing. Meanwhile the catering Department and the BTEC Hospitality pupils produced a huge tea for everybody. This herculean effort was a feat of planning and organisation.

To round off the dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s celebrations, the 500 guests who were lucky enough to get tickets, such was the speed with which they were snapped up, gathered for drinks and canapĂŠs on the Memorial Hall Lawn, before retiring to a huge marquee for the 500th Anniversary Ball. A fantastic dinner, followed by dancing to live music, table top magicians and fairground rides before a spectacular firework display underneath an almost full moon with the Dovecote as a resplendent backdrop, ensured that all the guests had a truly memorable evening.

SPECIAL 500 ANNIVERSARY FEATURE

500TH ANNIVERSARY PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION

s part of our 500th celebrations at King’s we created the theme ‘500’ for our photography competition. Thank you for all the submissions this year in what has been a challenging topic. It has been wonderful to see so many imaginative ideas expressed, making the competition hard to judge. Junior Competition: 3rd and 4th Form 1st Place - Tia West 2nd Place - Anya Evans 3rd Place - Ellie West

Senior Competition: 5th and 6th Form 1st Place - Lara Milne 2nd Place - Rhodri Harper 3rd Place - Harriet Papenfus A special mention must go to the staff members who submitted entries. Many thanks to Mr Daws, Mr Jeffrey and Mrs Griffiths for their contributions - they were some of the best we have ever had from staff. The House with the best selection of photos and the winner of this year’s Photography Competition is Priory House.

Seamus Harkness

SPECIAL 500 ANNIVERSARY FEATURE

he Chapel Choir had a hugely enjoyable and memorable day at St Paul’s Cathedral on Monday 25th February.

It was wonderful to welcome back 12 Old Brutonians to join the Choir to make up to 50 voices – certainly needed to fill such a large building! The rehearsal in the Choir Practice Room was a breeze as the voices all blended together so well.

A DAY TO REMEMBER WHEN THE CHAPEL CHOIR SANG CHORAL EVENSONG AT ST PAUL’S CATHEDRAL It was fitting that our 500th celebrations started at St Paul’s Cathedral with the Chapel Choir invited to sing Choral Evensong. King’s Bruton was founded by Richard Fitzjames, the Bishop of London in 1519, and all the King’s pupils, staff, parents and Old Brutonians present in St Paul’s will always remember this most impressive occasion. Ashley Marshfield prepared the Choir with patience and skill, as singing in St Paul’s can be daunting. However, the Choir were superb throughout, receiving much encouragement from the St Paul’s clergy, and the Choir gave a wonderful, first public performance of the 500th commissioned anthem, ‘King of Glory, King of Peace’. It was a privilege to be Headmaster at such an uplifting 500th event in such a remarkable setting.

Music for the service included: a portion of Psalm 135, Richard Smith’s 5-part setting of the Preces and Responses, Herbert Howell’s setting of the Canticles Collegium Regale composed in 1945 for the choir of King’s College, Cambridge and, most importantly, the première performance of the specially commissioned work for the 500th celebrations: ‘King of Glory, King of Peace’ composed by Alexander L’Estrange. It was particularly pleasing to have the composer in the congregation to hear the first performance of the work; he was most complimentary about the performance. Aside from the performance of the commissioned anthem, one of the most memorable moments was enjoying the cavernous acoustic at the end of the Gloria of the Canticles – such a wonderful moment hearing the voices of the Choir come back as an echo of upwards of eight seconds in St Paul’s Cathedral. It was fantastic to have such a large number of supporters at the service including: governors, both current and former parents, staff, Old Brutonians and members of the public. The Cathedral Clergy were most generous in their comments following the service and commended the Choir not only on the quality of sound, but also how well the Choir adapted to working in an acoustically challenging building. Well done to all involved on a hugely successfully and memorable occasion.

Ian Wilmshurst - Headmaster

“Sir, how can you be religious and a Physics teacher at the same time?” This is the question that I have been asked most frequently over my last nine years as a member of the Physics department. The Physics GCSE has recently included a section on the Big Bang Theory and, as the evidence upon which it is based is introduced, it occurs to many an inquiring mind that it is rather strange that the man teaching this evidence is the same one that, during the previous day’s Chapel service, spoke of his firm belief in the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

Abrahall’s Analysis # 1 WHY I CAN BOTH BELIEVE IN GOD AND TEACH PHYSICS... As he leaves King’s for theological college and ordination, Stefan Davies, physics teacher and stalwart of the Chaplaincy team, explains why there is no contradiction between religion and science.

With so much vying for the attention of generation Z, perhaps it is not surprising that headlines and catch phrases like ‘science has disproved the existence of God’ or Peter Atkins’ assertion that “science and religion cannot be reconciled” seem enough to put the debate to bed. Think just a little deeper and the absurdity of such statements is quickly obvious. Another atheistic scientist, professor Brian Cox, gives a much more honest perspective when he says,

“science does not rule out the existence of a creator… all I say is that I don’t personally have any faith”. Meanwhile, many scientists through history demonstrate their own personal faith in direct contradiction of Atkins’ view: Lord Kelvin and Michael Faraday both lend their names to units of measurement used by King’s physicists, and both were devout Christians who saw their belief in God supporting and indeed informing their scientific work. Several eminent present day scientists would agree, including the Nobel Prize winning physicist Professor Bill Philips; Francis Collins, the man who directed the human genome project; and our very own head of the Physics department, Mrs Ashworth! Another popular line of thinking insists that scientific fact is the only truth that exists, and scientific evidence the only evidence that can be trusted. So, if something can’t be captured in a test tube in a repeatable experiment, then it is unimportant and can’t be believed. I imagine my colleagues in the English, History, Art and Music departments would have something to say about this, as the chemical make up of paint can tell us nothing about the beauty of a masterpiece, nor can the length and width of a poem tell us anything about its quality. If scientific evidence were the only kind that could determine truth, there would be no need for witnesses in a courtroom, and any analysis of the events of history would become a pointless exercise. If, when presented with a chocolate

brownie, my tutor group simply asked scientific questions about its density and molecular structure, they could exhaust the resources of the most advanced science, but they would be ignorant about such a simple (and yet fundamental) question as why I baked it! The answer, had they asked me, would be that I baked in the vain hope that they would have such a respect for their tutor’s generosity and culinary flair that any delay in the return of prep became unthinkable.

I am convinced that our universe looks considerably more like a carefully designed creation than an accident, and in order to account for the unimaginable extent of fine tuning that exists in our universe, those that wish to remove the need for a designer tend to find it necessary to suggest ‘multiverse’ – an infinite number of parallel universes for which there is no evidence.

For me, and the scientists of faith mentioned above, the study of science gains a whole new dimension as “The heavens

However, just as Atkins is foolish to attempt to use science to disprove God, those of faith are perhaps equally foolish to try to use science in an attempt to prove the opposite.

The study of the universe becomes that much more thrilling if, when new wonders are discovered, you believe them to reveal new depths of the wonder of a God you love.

a different, but equally legitimate type: historical evidence, concerning events which broke the laws of science, concerning a man who walked on water, healed the sick, and rose from the dead.

declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands” (Psalm 19 – the bible). The evidence that convinced me of the reality of God was of

n the last five to ten years, mental health awareness, prevention and treatment has become central to many schools’ pedagogy. In the UK, schools are “required to produce (and in some cases publish online) a range of policies which can be used to promote and support mental health”. This is as it should be, given the UK is ranked as having one of the unhappiest student population amongst all first world countries.

Abrahall’s Analysis # 2 KING’S STAFF DEDICATED TO MAKING SURE PUPILS FEEL SUPPORTED OVER MENTAL HEALTH Mental health has been one of the most pressing issues at HMC conferences for a few years. Here, Giovanna Hajdu Hungria da Custodia assesses the effectiveness of King’s in trying to protect its pupils from the ill effects of an increasingly pressurised world for teenagers.

In a poll carried out by the National Education Union (NEU), more than half (56%) of school staff said that their pupils have been self-harming or have expressed intent to self-harm. When asked what was contributing to pupils’ mental health issues, more than four in five (81%) said testing and exams, and more than two-thirds (67%) cited school pressure to do well. Exam stress is clearly an issue and, with the arrival of the new 9 (A**) at GCSE, the removal of the old AS and the increasingly competitive world of university entrance, it’s only going to get worse in the next few years. Like many schools, King’s is committed to the enhancement of its pupils’ academic performance. However, they also stress the importance of putting one’s mental health first. Indeed, when addressing the School at the beginning of every summer term, the Headmaster always stresses that it is important that we pupils do our best, whatever that may be. This helps alleviate some of the pressure from those taking public exams and the stress of school life in general. However, for those who do happen to experience exam stress, the staff are very happy and willing to help in whatever way they can. Indeed, when speaking about their experience, a current pupil at King’s said that, “once, when [they] had

a breakdown, a teacher sat with [them] for the entirety of her supper-time, just in the hope that it would calm [them] down”.

That in itself demonstrates the dedication of the staff here at King’s to make sure we all feel supported. A lot of credit must also go to the pupils for, in general, being very supportive of each other; mediators are always happy to have a chat and it is absolutely confidential. This attitude definitely shows at King’s and helps us to feel more comfortable and secure at School. For more serious conditions, the Health Centre are there to step in and offer their services, along with the School counsellor Jane. In the spirit of raising awareness for mental health care, the School organizes an annual Mental Health Week filled with fun and relaxing activities to help stress relief as well as having interesting tutor group discussion on the issue of mental health awareness and care. Furthermore, for a whole week every year, the 5th and 6th Forms regularly listen to talks about pressure and how to deal with it, along with other

mental health related seminars, with topics such as alcohol, drug abuse and depression. All in all, the School is very much committed to the betterment of mental health care and to raising awareness around the topic. That is not to say that it is perfect – it isn’t. However, as one pupil put it, “I can’t say that King’s has cured and ridden

me from my [mental health issues], but it has given me the tools to control it and keep it in check”.

King’s isn’t going to be able to solve everyone’s issues or alleviate everyone’s struggles, but one can be sure that they’ll try their best to.

r Beverly’s day starts at around 6.15 to 6.30am when he reads his Bible and prays for those he loves and cares about, including the School Community. He normally has a light meal of cereal or fruit and tea for his breakfast and listens to the Today Programme on Radio 4, but the School brunch on Sundays is still very much loved. Normally he walks the short distance into school (various sources say otherwise), however in moments of weakness he chooses to drive (allegedly he drives in all the time). He assured us that he only does this when he needs his car for later in the day, and that he does care about the environment. When it comes to work, Mr Beverly’s days are quite packed. In addition to marking and having departmental meetings, he also has to consider writing his much-loved weekly sermons. Despite having such a workload, he still finds free time for Breakout groups, TGI, SBS and other chaplaincy events for any pupils who are interested in the Christian faith.

An uncanny likeness: the “tall man in the small car” from the Simpsons!

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF...

When we mentioned lunch, Mr Beverly became incredibly enthusiastic about how wonderful the food is and how he has a “good ol’ feast”. He expressed how nice it is to be able to sit with friends and have a good meal, a rare occasion in most other workplaces, and how grateful he is for that opportunity.

GEORGE BEVERLY, THE KING’S CHAPLAIN Isabel Branagan and Gabriel Rampton sit down with Mr Beverly to find out what an “average” day looks like.

Once lessons are done for the day Mr Beverly is usually marking, but on Tuesdays he travels up to London to Ordination College in Kensington, which he describes as the complete opposite to quiet rural Bruton. In his free time, Mr Beverly visits his friends and family, works on college essays and reads; he is currently a big fan of Peter Mayle’s novels having recently raced through them. However, the life of Mr Beverly is not all sunshine and rainbows. His plight as a tall 7ft man is a struggle not known to many: at university he was given an extra long bed (despite not asking for it) and he regularly struggles to buy clothes that are long enough without having to go online and use specialist websites that sell clothing for the extra tall. It could be easy for Mr Beverly to get rather downhearted about his height, but instead he tells us that there are lots of fun sides to being so tall – not least of all the humour that comes with it. For example, Mr Davies, one of his closest colleagues and friends often jokes that Mr Beverly looks like the “very tall man in a small car” from the Simpsons – Mr Beverly showed us the clip; if you haven’t seen it, do watch it on YouTube! Mr Beverly also shared with us how he can face an excessive amount of questions pertaining to his height on a near daily basis. Do you play basketball? (he tells us that he is awful). Are your feet big? What’s the weather like up there? Do you bang your head all the time? Are your parents tall? Can I have a photo with you? Mr Beverly has heard all of these thousands of times and has learnt to warmly and jokingly bat away answers to such questions.

A tavern clock Mr Beverly recently built

Of course, Mr Beverly isn’t just a famously tall man – there’s a lot more to this Chaplain which we learnt about. He likes to make up for the difficulties in his life with an excess of condiments in his cupboard (which fellow staff berate him about) and a wide selection of ice creams in his freezer (although he profusely insists that the reasons for his tidal wave of ice cream was purely religious). He’s passionate about local history and has a growing collection of antique clocks (currently a casual fifteen!) such as his seven foot tall longcase clock (or a grandfather clock as us mere mortals would call it) which he is currently restoring (although members of the English Department would dispute the quality of his horological abilities). Above all, he describes following Jesus Christ as the greatest joy and hope in his life. Such a faith is foundational for him and he continues to warmly encourage many of us to dig deeper into exploring or developing such a faith. During our interview, we learnt that despite all of the struggles and ups and downs rampant throughout Mr Beverly’s 7ft tall life, he manages to remain as positive as ever, with a sense of unadulterated hope, rooted in his faith. This shines through in his final comments to us; our interview concluded with his profound statement that “what I’m trying

to say is: be a bit more optimistic each day. The news and social media can be very depressing, but life will go on, common sense will prevail with so much in the world around us.”

Thank you Mr Beverly: you are an inspiration to King’s Bruton.

BODO WIRTH IN CONVERSATION WITH HIS FATHER IWAN, A SWISS ART DEALER AND PRESIDENT AND CO-FOUNDER OF THE HAUSER & WIRTH ART GALLERY

What does the average day in your life entail? There is almost no typical day in our lives. We travel a lot so I would say on a travel day we would be picked up at 6 am to be taken to Heathrow where we once a month fly to NY to visit our gallery there. If we are staying in Bruton we would take our children to school, then go back to the farm, meet Paul the farmer for some farm business and then meet Alice our gallery director to discuss the next show at Hauser & Wirth Somerset. Usually on a day like that we would have lunch at Roth Bar & Grill and possible do a studio visit to our artist in residence in Bruton. When we are home in the evening we would all sit in the kitchen, talk about the day behind or ahead of us and cook together. The Wirth family loves cooking.

What keeps you motivated? There are Hauser & Wirth galleries across the globe, including locations such as London, I would say it is definitely the work with living artists. That is New York, Los Angles, Zurich and Bruton. In incredible rewarding and always a new challenge. 2015, Iwan and his wife Manuela Hauser were featured as “the most powerful and influential What’s your favourite piece of art? figures in the art world” according to ArtReview. They generously contributed to the development Very difficult question: there are some many works I love but of The Queen Elizabeth Music School, resulting maybe one of my favourites is Marcel Duchamp’s “Fountain” in the creation of the Hauser & Wirth Recital from 1917. It is to this day one of the most challenging and Hall. The following interview by his son Bodo, controversial works of art ever made. (Old House, 3rd Form) gives an insight into Iwan’s life. How do you decide which artists get displayed in your galleries? That is a combination of instinct and intuition. To choose an artist there is no exact rule book but the stars have to align. It is the work, the evolution of the work, its originality, the personality of the artist…These days we represent over 80 artists so it is indeed difficult to add another artist even if we wanted to.

With Hauser & Wirth in so many locations, what attracted you to Bruton? When in 2000 Tate Modern opened, Britain became a really interesting place for contemporary art and artists. Our artists wanted to show in London and so in 2003 we opened our first gallery in the UK. Bruton was a complete coincidence - if there is such a thing. We were looking for a weekend home and found a farm in Bruton, renovated it, and after four years loved it so much that we left London to live here. The gallery idea was born out of our love and passion for this area - and the fact we had those empty buildings at Durslade.

Does Hauser & Wirth have any exciting new plans in the pipeline? Well… we always have new plans… one of them we just realised by opening a new - our 9th - gallery in St.Moritz, Switzerland. And last year we opened Hong Kong our first presence in Asia. Also exciting is our new Magazine URSULA that we publish quarterly in NY. This year we will announce our 10th gallery - where, is still a secret…

In your opinion, who is the best up-andcoming artist for 2019? If I only knew that … but certainly there will be more and more focus and interest in the work of women artists - a trend that is important and has thankfully been going for a few years now. There is also the Biennale in Venice that will typically show the work of upcoming new “stars”…Worth a visit!

How important do you think music is as an art form? Music is as important as painting, sculpture, literature, film… but more generally I think “art" is as important as food or nature …

If you could give your younger self any piece of advice, what would it be? Do not assume!

Do you have any inspiring words for our readers? One of my favourite artists, Francis Picabia said: “The head is round so that the thoughts can change direction”… I think that is great and an inspiring idea…

75th D-Day Anniversary

OLD BRUTONIAN RECALLS “THE MOST ASTONISHING SIGHT I SHALL EVER SEE”

most astonishing sight I have seen or will ever see”.

xactly what prompted him to cycle to the clifftop at 7am on June 5, 1944, John Gadd cannot recall, but what he saw when he got there remains imprinted on his brain. Sixtyfive years later, almost to the day, John, remembers it as “the

Although he spent much of the war at King’s Bruton after being evacuated from Kent, early June 1944 was half-term and John and his friend Terence O’Hara were staying at John’s family’s home in Bournemouth.

When Old Brutonian John Gadd stumbled across a fully fledged dress rehearsal for D-Day while cycling in Bournemouth during half-term while he was at King’s, he was sworn to secrecy by a vigilant policeman who had spotted the schoolboy intruder. Ten years ago, this is what he told Roger Guttridge about that extraordinary experience.

‘I don’t know why I went down to Overcliff Drive early that morning. Almost certainly someone must have rung me the night before to tip me off that there was something to see,’ says John. ‘But there was only one bicycle available so off I went about 7am before my guest was awake. There was a manned roadblock halfway along Meyrick Road and no view of the sea was possible. But I knew the houses along Gervis Road well and turned left, parked my bike by a wall, slipped through someone’s garden and so on to the Overcliff. Fortunately there was noone near my exit point and I walked up to the rail, and saw the most astonishing sight I shall ever see. The whole bay from Studland to Hengistbury Head was covered in hundreds of grey ships. Little tenders plied between them and I think I remember big naval vessels, warships even, further out in the bay.’ For the next three minutes John stood there in amazement, watching history being made. Then he noticed some men approaching.

‘I walked quietly back through a gate trying to look as if I lived there, and soon got back to my bike,’ he says. ‘Unfortunately a policeman spotted me. Now I’m for it, I thought.’ The officer asked for his name and address and where he had been.

‘Just to have a look,’ he replied. ‘Now listen to me,’ said the policeman. ‘You are to tell no-one what you have just seen. I’m letting you go this time and you are to go straight home and not even tell your mother, your sisters or your brothers what you have witnessed, not until tomorrow, anyway.’ John made to leave but the officer had not quite finished.

‘Wait a minute. What does your father do?’ he asked. ‘He’s in the army. Royal Engineers. He builds bridges.’ ‘Is he out there?’ ‘No, I don’t think so.’ ‘Two things,’ the policeman continued. ‘First, the lives of those out there depend on your keeping completely silent about what 62

you have seen. Men’s lives, remember. It’s just as important that were, would have been cut down on Omaha beach only a few you keep completely quiet about this as what your father does for days later, their lives ended. our King and country. Not a word to anybody. Can I trust you?’ Even now I can clearly remember their faces, all cheerfully ‘Yes, sir.’ crowded at those train windows. ‘Bridges, eh? That’s the biggest bridge you will ever see in your We didn’t hear the news of the slaughter on the American beaches life.’ for weeks afterwards but when we did, the memory of those noisy, laughing doughboys made me very sad, because I felt so close to It wasn’t until later that John realised the meaning of that last them.’ comment. He went home bursting with pride and longing to tell his story. But he kept his word and it was not until the following morning that he invited Terence to join him on another visit to the seafront. As they headed for the clifftops, dozens of aircraft flew overhead and out over the Channel. But there were no roadblocks, no police, and no more than two ships in the bay. The D-Day armada which John had witnessed was already in action on the Normandy coast. ‘Terence thought I was romancing at first. Then he demanded

to know why I hadn’t told him before. I said I couldn’t, that I was caught and had promised not to tell a soul if they let me go.’ For the few non-military people who were able to witness them, there were similar sights in Poole Harbour and at Weymouth, Portsmouth and other south coast ports.

‘It still amazes me that the Germans didn’t find out about such a vast invasion force,’ John adds. ‘I have never managed to find a photo of that staggering sight in Bournemouth Bay on D-Day minus one. Surely someone, somewhere took one?’

GODDAM AMERICANS! Those who sailed from Dorset and Hampshire on that historic spring day in 1944 would have included many whom John had previously seen passing through the station next to King’s School, Bruton.

‘In the days before D-Day, the main railway line was full of trains carrying tanks, lorries and military equipment,’ he says. ‘Quite a few of these trains carried American troops. One was held up opposite the School by a red signal. I remember them crowding at the windows and asking: ‘Where is this goddam place?’. The next question was whether we had any goddam sisters (everything was ‘goddam’) and how old they were. We responded in the affirmative, shouting ‘She’s 18’ and enthusiastically inscribing voluptuous figures of eight in the air with both hands. This prompted vociferous cheers and a flurry of ribald remarks. At least two doors opened and a couple of GIs fell out and had to be dissuaded from coming down the embankment and be hauled back in again. It was huge fun and it’s sad to think that some of those fresh, close-cropped, boisterous boys, barely older than we 63

LOVE ISLAND: POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE?

and former jobs for a shot at minor fame and a headline in The Sun is worrying, but nonetheless unsurprising.

Love Island in its rawest form exposes the goals of a generation

Popular culture didn’t exist, as such, when King’s was founded, but it’s certainly present today, and not always for the best. Here, Honor Mant analyses the effect of the popular TV programme, Love Island.

t was2019: the birth of Netflix, Tinder and Naked Attraction. In 2015, ITV2 bosses had the genius idea of combining all of these individual successes with the result being the ultimate reality show: Love Island, a documented dating show of young singletons hardly ever caught without their swimwear. The show has sparked a dedicated following of 3.4 million teens and adults who are eager to find out the latest gossip of coupling up, ‘grafting’ and an array of different challenges. Although the show was originally created for UK applicants, its success has also led to Poland, Norway, Sweden, New Zealand, America and Australia jumping on the bandwagon. To our readers who don’t tune in at 9pm every night, or simply have a life, Love Island is ‘a reality show where glamorous singles live in a beautiful villa under the watchful gaze of the audience at home, who have the power to decide who stays and who goes.’ Conveniently ITV2 forgot to include the realities of the lifelong mental health issues faced by islanders, brought sharply to light by the suicides of ex-contestants Mike Thalassitis and Sophie Gradon. At the same time, the show has been praised for breaking down difficult stigmas surrounding gender stereotypes, such as toxic masculinity and sexuality through showing the emotional and empathetic side of both men and women. Despite ITV2’s claims that they warn contestants about the likely mental health issues that the show can produce, it has done little to deter people from applying. The lure of the irresistible Instagram ‘blue tick’ (when someone has a blue tick, it means that Instagram has considered them a verifiable account; according to Instagram: the blue tick is provided for ‘An authentic account for the public figure, celebrity or global brand it represents’. The blue tick is awarded if the brand or person is well known enough for there to be a risk of impersonation, and thus it confirms to the followers that it is the real account), sponsorship deals and fame, on top of the £50,000 prize money, draws thousands of millennials to apply, with the hunt for love often taking a backseat. The readiness for 80,000 applicants to trade in their private lives

in which being a ‘celebrity’ has become an aspiration in itself. It has become the TV version of a fast food chain in which D-list celebrities and mediocre fame is mass produced without fail year on year. The resultant consequence of such rapid attainment and its inevitable fallout leads to a balancing act between the appearance of success and the realities of huge debts to the same degree. These new influencers have been fast tracked through the brutal world of fame, acquiring an ultimately unsustainable lavish lifestyle whilst simultaneously trying to come to terms with their new identity. Ex-Islanders are pressured into displaying their extravagant world of luxury hotels, fast cars and parties, when in reality they continue to promote air fresheners and their local Harvester. Against the harsh reality of being an influencer, the deterioration of self-worth and value seems inevitable. While the extract circumstances surrounding the tragic suicides of both Sophie Gradon (2018) and Mike Thalassitis (2019) remain unknown, the effects of fame on their mental health cannot be ignored. The description of Love Island as ‘a modern-day colosseum’ seems apt when considering the circumstances which people are thrust into, blissfully unaware of the life that they are binding themselves to. Suddenly, a ‘blue tick’ doesn’t seem as desirable. ITV2’s semi-voyeuristic documentation of almost every part of the islanders’ routines (including both bathroom and bedroom activities) does have its benefits. It is able to broadcast an image of both the male and female contestants as empathetic, caring and emotional individuals helping to undermine pervading stereotypes, as well as ideas of respect regardless of sexual history. The relationship between sexuality and self-worth is interesting given the nature of the show, especially considering the excessive confidence of contestants and the often-idealistic image they hold of themselves, with this year’s contestants Amber Gill describing herself as a ‘10 out of 10’ and Michael Griffiths as a ‘hero’. Whilst these self-professions don’t come naturally to many viewers, they are unapologetic about their opinions and personality, arguably presenting an image of power and equality that is often lost in ‘the outside world’. Therefore, I can see how these women can be seen as feminist (Feminist: the theory of political, economic and social equality of the sexes ) role models for the millions of viewers, and how they can be empowering for the many young girls who are struggling to find a voice.

The breaking down of stereo types surrounding men and women expose the islanders as helping the progression of equality, on a show that should, in theory, lead to objectification and toxic masculinity. It is arguable that Love Island plays a role in the promotion of a more equal society. In many respects Britain is a progressive country, however trying to promote an equal portrayal of both men and women cannot be enforced through the likes of government policies. We are reliant on the Beyoncé’s and YouTube influencers of the world to make a difference, purely because it takes an entire generation to change in order for a societal view to be changed. Therefore, it is shows like Love Island that can be helpful on the basis of its mass of followers. Whilst the emotional consequences on contestants are unequivocal, the show does, indirectly, promote the breaking down of barriers surrounding toxic masculinity. On ‘the outside world’ the image of the perfect man is advertised through the media, entertainment and in family life and until recently, it seems that focus on toxic masculinity has been dealt with as a second-rate issue. Barring the recent progress made by the likes of Gillette, when it tackles what it means to be a man, there has been very little focus on how the image of the ‘perfect man’ is forced down throats through the likes of the media. This has caused an immense pressure to be placed on young men to live up to this unattainable image. This ‘man’ has traits such as male dominance (both sexually and domestically), certain body types and, violent behaviour. Normal ways of expressing emotions such as crying or talking, have been alienised and labelled as the villain. This view has cultivated generations of men suppressing emotions, and consequently leading to a series of mental health issues such as anxiety, depression and body dysmorphia. This image of men being strong and unyielding has left boys and men across the globe feeling isolated unable to reach out for help,

reflected in the statistic that suicide amongst males in the UK aged 5-19 is held accountable for 10.4% of deaths. The role of Love Island in extinguishing this toxicity is that it does promote the breaking down of barriers surrounding toxic masculinity. It is able to undermine the unrealistic stereotype of what masculinity is and dissuades people from the twisted and corrupt version of masculinity that society portrays. It is able to prove that these men are just as attractive and respected even when they reveal their emotions. Love Island can be seen as advocating that it is healthy to have an intimate relationship with your feelings, as well as sharing them. All of the contestants seem to be actively promoting the idea that showing emotion doesn’t detract from masculinity but does quite the opposite. It is important to realise that the show is predominantly negative; its strain on the mental health of contestants, and unrealistic body images that it projects onto viewers is its primary effect. Moreover, we are gaining the positives of awareness around toxic masculinity and empowerment, but at the expense of contestants. It often gives a distorted image of what love is, and whist many of the couples on screen might be besotted with each other, the majority crumble in the outside world. It raises the questions of whether the show exposes what we value in society, and the sacrifices that people are willing to make in order to achieve their goal. The fact that the show is able to break down barriers on toxic masculinity and promote the empowerment of women is undoubtedly good, however, this isn’t its main purpose, and seems to be more of an added bonus rather than a guaranteed. Nor does its ability to promote progressive ideas exempt it from blame for the many negatives that it produces. The idea of placing a group of people in a remote villa for eight weeks is an extreme way to encourage equality, and whilst this is achieved, the bi-product is of permanent damage to mental health.

Love Island has thrown up many moral dilemmas, none of which we have a clear answer for. It is true that it has both positive and negatives bi-products, however the debate of whether viewers gain from the islanders’ losses seems counter intuitive, and feels like a modernised sacrifice. Surely there are more effective ways to achieve equality?

Kiara Jones (left) at The Mendip School

Coffee Break...

COMMUNITY SERVICE

In celebration of the fact that King’s was founded during the reign of Henry VIII, here is a Tudor themed wordsearch.

By Kiara Jones Community Service Prefect

t the beginning of my U6th year, I went to Mrs Wilson-Brown to find some work experience to study medicine. She said that she was actually looking at finding placements at The Mendip School for the Autistic and Deaf. I decided to take up this offer, and I’m so happy that I did. The first time I arrived, I walked into the classroom I was assigned to and a little boy called Scott ran straight over to me, having never met me before, grabbed my hand and asked me to come and play with him. We went to the whiteboard and drew pictures of Lightning McQueen and random animals. It was so nice to see the joy in his face and I realised just how valuable my time would be to these children. I absolutely loved it from the minute I started and it was always the highlight of my week. Fridays at The Mendip School were always the goofy days, where several times I would walk into the classroom to find them all dressed up if there was a theme, or watching a magic show, or even dancing at a crazy disco. Sometimes they would bring special treats into the classroom like flour (they loved playing with flour, and I loved sweeping it up!) or big dolls houses. Now to the present day, and Fridays in the summer term are assigned to studying, and of course I’d rather be with the children than with my head in a book! But I have learnt such valuable lessons, life lessons I will always appreciate from my time at Mendip School. Putting a smile on the faces of those children gave me the warmest feeling. It was so nice that they would remember you from the previous Friday - you genuinely felt that your time at Mendip was as useful as it could be.

The Christmas Term saw us during Wednesday Chapel Services dive into the gospel of Mark to examine the miracles Jesus Christ performed and consider what they teach us in 2019. It was great to be reminded that Jesus Christ didn’t perform miracles to simply heal people or impress crowds. The miracles are all signs pointing to epic truths about who he is, why he came and what he calls us to do today.

CHAPLAINCY By George Beverly, Chaplain

don’t believe in God is what some pupils will occasionally tell me. It’s great to encounter such honesty and I love to have these types of conversations. What’s my usual response? “I probably don’t believe in the God you’re imagining either. Let’s talk about Jesus Christ.” Those last five words in many ways encapsulate much of the Chaplaincy’s mission at King’s: to talk with pupils and staff of all backgrounds and beliefs about the good news of Jesus Christ in a warm and respectful way. It is our conviction that there is no greater message, no greater hope, no greater purpose to be found outside of Jesus Christ. Indeed, as I look back across the academic year there have been scores of opportunities from breakout groups, SBS and TGI through to whole school special services, where the Chaplaincy has sought to lovingly share this incredible news.

In October, we briefly paused from this sermon series to hold a Harvest Service for the first time in over 17 years at King’s. Many of our pupils come from farming families and regardless of that we all enjoy the most incredible food every day at King’s. Thus, it felt right to pause, reflect and give thanks to God for this amazingly generous daily provision we receive. During the service, Debra, our Catering Manager, and Tony, our Head Chef, came and shared with us where our food comes from and we then looked at Psalm 65 to consider the God behind it all. Finally, we welcomed Steve Hart from the Yeovil branch of CAP (Christians Against Poverty) and the Yeovil Foodbank. All pupils in their Houses had worked hard to gather food donations in the week leading up to the Harvest Service and it was incredible to see dozens of huge boxes overflowing with food. Steve spoke about the work of CAP and the impact our food donations would have. CAP is an organisation driven by compassion and excellence and it was eye-opening for us all to hear how prevalent food poverty is in Yeovil and wider Somerset. CAP gives financial support and food donations to people in desperate need regardless of their beliefs/faith. There is no compulsion or requirement to engage with anything spiritual, but if recipients wish to explore the good news and hope of Christianity then they are given the opportunity to do so.

Christmas term also saw the start of my part time training for ordination into the Church of England. It’s been touching to have so many of you show an interest and send me your best wishes for this area. One year in, I’m pleased to report that I’ve been loving my Tuesday evening training at St Mellitus College in London. I am being formed and taught in some incredible areas that are making a huge difference. Remembrance this year was especially poignant and prominent due to it being the 100th Anniversary since the end of the Great War of 1914-18. Our remembrance activities took various different forms. On the Battlefields Trip, we paused at Queens Cemetery, Serre to reflect on the staggering cost and sacrifice shown during WWI by millions of brave men, including dozens of Old Brutonians. Of the 282 Old Brutonians who served in the Great War, 55 were killed in action, or died of wounds or from disease or accident. A further 49 were wounded or gas-poisoned. We gave thanks for the freedoms we enjoy because of these men giving their today for our tomorrow, and we also meditated on the eternal peace that Jesus Christ offers. Back at King’s, in the week leading up to Remembrance Sunday, we held seven short Acts of Remembrance on the Memorial Hall Lawn. Every morning at 8:10am one boarding House would gather on the lawn, read out eight names of Old Brutonians who fell in the war, followed by placing crosses of remembrance in the lawn. This was accompanied by short moments of prayer, silence and Binyon’s famous words of remembrance. Inside the Memorial Hall, underneath each wooden panel commemorating a fallen OB from the Great War, their photo was placed. For many of us, seeing the faces of these brave men really brought home to sacrifices they made. In Reception, a remembrance display of OBs who fought in the war alongside the Roll of Honour was available for all the King’s Community to view. It was lovely to see each House

make the most of their own copies of the Roll of Honour (special thanks to Andrew Leach, the School Archivist for providing the historical text) and framed posters of the WWI OB fallen. Remembrance Sunday as always saw the School on fine form as we gathered in chapel where among many things we considered Jesus’ words, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” before we then joined Bruton Town to pay our respects at the Town War Memorial by Church Bridge. As always, the CCF and Military Band were exemplary. One regular highlight of the Christmas Term is our Confirmation classes followed by our annual Service of Confirmation. Pupils of varying levels of faith gathered every week on Friday breaktimes to consider Jesus Christ’s identity, mission and call before deciding for themselves whether or not this was a faith they wished to publicly confirm they believed in and thus whether or not they wanted to commit their lives to following Jesus Christ. It has always been the Chaplaincy’s approach that pupils remain in control throughout the process and decide for themselves. By the time we welcomed the Rt Revd Bishop Peter Hancock, the Bishop of Bath and Wells to the service in early December, we had eleven pupils choosing to be confirmed. Bishop Peter preached with energy and enthusiastically encouraged us all to wholeheartedly follow Jesus Christ. The final fortnight of the Christmas Term saw many festive events take place. Of note were the two visits to the mighty Hazlegrove Prep School to speak at their Advent Service followed by their Christmas Carol Service in Wells Cathedral. Without fail, the Hazlegrove pupils were keen to get involved and it was brilliant to share the amazing news of the one who is the “Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace”.

The School’s 500th Anniversary Day of Celebration on 15th June kicked off with a service of thanksgiving in the historic home of the School, St Mary’s Church, Bruton. It was wonderful to welcome hundreds of Old Brutonians for a service of excellent hymns, an outstanding performance of the Chapel Choir’s specially commissioned 500th Anniversary Anthem ‘King of Glory King of Peace’ and a helpful time dwelling on the truths of Deuteronomy 8, to ‘remember the LORD our God’ who has richly blessed us for 500 years and needs to be kept by us at the heart of our School as we go forward.

At King’s, our Carol Service marks the very end of the gargantuan Christmas Term. Singing the last verse of Hark the Herald, I know, fills many staff and pupils alike with a huge sense of relief: “We did it! We’ve got here! We survived all fourteen weeks of the term!” Alongside that euphoria there is the even greater joy of the gift of Jesus Christ, Emmanuel and Saviour! The Easter Term saw us consider The Lord’s Prayer from Matthew Chapter 6, one verse at a time, during our Wednesday Chapel services. We rounded off the end of term with two Easter themed services considering the implications and fantastic news of Jesus’ death and resurrection. The highlight of the Easter Term for the Chaplaincy remains the Lenten Addresses. The JDR was packed at our three evening addresses to hear Tom Barnardo, our visiting speaker talk on the theme of “Identity” from Mark’s gospel. It was also great to see many pupils stay after the talks to discuss what we’d heard over some good food and drink. One cannot doubt that there is spiritual hunger amongst young people in 2019. Indeed, it’s been great to welcome so many pupils, old faces and news faces, to TGI, breakouts and SBS this year.

The Summer Term is always a bitter-sweet moment as we bid farewell to many pupils and staff. We held our usual Chaplaincy Leavers’ Pizza Oven Party where we said “cheerio” to many pupils who have attended various Chaplaincy events over the years. Alongside this, we bid farewell to Will Dawe, the amazing 2nd Deputy Head. Dawesy, as he is known by most pupils and staff has spoken at numerous Chaplaincy events over the years and has been a regular attendee at out weekly Staff Fellowship gatherings. Furthermore, Stefan Davies heads off (booooo) to theological college (hurray) with his wife Charlie, to train for ordained ministry. Stefan (and Charlie’s) service and dedication towards the Chaplaincy ministry over his years at King’s have proven invaluable to countless staff and pupils. We wish Stefan, Charlie and Will all the best. The final chapel service of the year saw us hold a ‘Service of Thanksgiving’ where pupils from every House spoke about the numerous things their House is thankful for as they look back across the academic year. In the light of Psalm 104, we gave thanks to God for the innumerable ways he has blessed us throughout our 500th year as a school.

During the Summer Term, in chapel, we considered lifetransforming truths from the opening chapters of John’s gospel. We paused for Mental Health Awareness Week during which we looked at Jesus’ reassuring words from Matthew Chapter 11, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,

What about the forthcoming academic year? Will it be very different to the above? Well I doubt we’ll be doing much for our 501st year, and there isn’t a remembrance centenary to plan. The wider geo-political situation suggests 2019-20 could be a year of momentous change. Talking of momentous changes, we’re very much looking forward to launching our brand new, custom made hymn book in September!

gathered for games, food, drink and time to soak in some eternal wisdom from the Psalms.

My thanks to pupils, staff and in particular, Mr Marshfield, for all their input to ensure we have a hymn book bursting with all the songs we want to sing.

and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” TGI was more packed than ever as we

For Commemoration Day, we were pleased to welcome the Revd Bob Key, former Dean of Jersey and current Anglican Communion Lead for Thy Kingdom Come, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s prayer initiative. Bob spoke with great illustrative power and clarity as he encouraged the School to stick to its historical Christian foundations as we pass through our 500th Anniversary.

Whatever the next academic year has in store for us, one thing will remain constant, the Chaplaincy’s commitment to warmly and lovingly share, and live out, the good news of Jesus Christ!

VIP would open the Music School officially and it would be named after her….I mean him or her. When we heard it was a “her”, we thought the Magic Meghan Music School had a certain ring to it…..more hints were dropped and we began to think that it might be The Queen herself… surely not? The first concert we held in the new Music School was the Winter Concert and the Orchestra opened with Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance No. 4, which I’ve since been told was played in the first concert at The Queen Elizabeth Hall another coincidence and probably not true anyway. David Gorodi and Her Majesty The Queen

THE TRUMPET SHALL SOUND... By David Gorodi, Director of Music

he dominating factor was, of course, the new Music School, which I must say, at the start of the year, proved rather frustrating. In the first week of term we couldn’t use any of the building, then there were a couple of weeks when only the vocal and instrumental lessons could be given in the new school. A-Level and GCSE lessons were given in various rooms around the School which impacted on other departments. By the end of September we had the main teaching room and my office but concerts were held in the John Davie room or the Memorial Hall. In December, we were able to give our first concert in the Hauser & Wirth Recital Hall. The Music School was as yet unnamed. Speculation was high. Within the department, we began to hear rumors that a royal

It was in the Easter term that we were told it was going to be Her Majesty who would be opening the Music School. To be honest it didn’t really register at the time because we had so many other performances to prepare for, indeed we had 17 other concerts that term alone! There were three standout performances. The senior vocal concert was excellent - the acoustics were outstanding, I was really quite moved which doesn’t happen very often to trumpet players. Singing with the Chapel Choir at St Paul’s Cathedral was another amazing experience, it’s a huge building with (if I remember correctly) an eight second echo. Beating Retreat was another excellent event: it was performed in the Old House yard which has been completely revamped - we even had a flag to lower! And it was true, The Queen was indeed coming to King’s! The day started before I arrived. A couple of the security team who were checking for explosives had accidently locked themselves in my office, perhaps they had found my secret stash of dark chocolate digestives? The day passed in a warm glow. I felt how lucky I was to be part of King’s at this historic moment and to have met The Queen - King’s was a school when Queen Elizabeth 1 was on the throne! I could hear crowds in Bruton High Street cheer as she drove by on her way to Hauser & Wirth. What a day! In the Summer Term, pupils were beginning to use the recording studio more and by the end of term we had several outstanding recordings both from music technology pupils and from some individuals who were singer song writers. Having Lluc Tupman working in the studio full time is a huge bonus. The Summer Concert featured some compositions by pupils: George Little wrote a march which the Military Band performed and Felix Farrell wrote an excellent chart for the Big Band; the second half of the concert was a mini Last Night at the Proms - it seemed fitting to do something a little special. And that was it: after 13 years teaching at King’s and over 500 concerts, I have decided to retire. It’s been an amazing time - thank you to pupils, colleagues and parents, both past and present, for their support without which nothing would have been possible.

George Little, Joseph Loughrey and Felix Smith

Kiara Jones at the Last Night of the Proms Summer Concert

Winter Concert

Military Band - Beating Retreat

The Leaversâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Concert

a début appearance at King’s to lead dynamic workshops with all the choirs. So much was learned throughout the day about the importance of breath control, diction and blend. The conductor Dominic Peckham (who has visited King’s on several occasions before) was once again very impressed by the standard of the choirs and strongly encouraged pupils to audition for the National Youth Choir of Great Britain. In the evening, we were treated to a superb evening concert given by the Chamber Choir of London in a programme entitled Do Not Go Gentle with music on a theme of Remembrance. Dominic and The Chamber Choir of London were so impressed by the high quality singing of the King’s Chamber Choir that they were invited to perform the opening item of the concert with the group and then perform one of the pieces during the interval that they had worked on with the Chamber Choir in the earlier workshop.

LIFT UP THY VOICE... By Ashley Marshfield, Director of Choral Studies

In January, we welcomed the Chamber Choir of London for

The Easter Term saw the Chapel Choir head to St Paul’s Cathedral, London for a very special Choral Evensong to mark the 500th Anniversary of King’s. The music for the service included: a portion of Psalm 135, Richard Smith’s 5-part setting of the Preces and Responses, Herbert Howell’s setting of the Canticles Collegium Regale composed in 1945 for the choir of King’s College, Cambridge and most importantly the première performance of the specially commissioned work for the 500th celebrations King of Glory, King of Peace composed by Alexander L’Estrange. It was particularly special to have the composer in the congregation to hear the first performance of the work, who I am delighted to add, was most complimentary about the performance. The Chapel Choir numbering fifty singers including pupils, Old Brutonians and staff, took full advantage of the wonderfully generous acoustic at St Paul’s Cathedral. It was encouraging to have such a large number of supporters at the service including governors, both current and former parents, staff, Old Brutonians and members of the public. The Cathedral Clergy were most generous in their comments following the service and commended the choir not only on the quality and maturity of sound, but also how well the choir adapted to working in an acoustically challenging building.

The School Choir at the Spring Concert

In March the Chapel Choir, Chamber Choir and Soloists from within the choirs performed at St Thomas Church in Wells. It was a super afternoon, with an enthusiastic and supportive audience. The Chapel Choir performed three pieces within the programme including the 500th Commissioned Anthem, interspersed with several vocal solos and duets ranging from Handel’s De Torrente in Via Bibet from Dixit Dominus through to a performance of the duet The Movie in My Mind from the musical Miss Saigon. The programme also included instrumental soloists from Mozart’s Bassoon Concerto in B flat major to Liszt’s Liebestraum and Bernstein’s Rondo for Lifey. The Chamber Choir performed a light-hearted arrangement of Fascinating Rhythm and Arnesan’s atmospheric work Even When He Is Silent. An impressive £420 was raised in

018/2019 has been a year to remember at King’s and choral music has been no exception.

During the Christmas Term, the Chapel Choir visited Hereford Cathedral for the first time to sing a service of Choral Evensong. The music for the service included the Canticles by Heathcote Statham in E minor whilst the anthem was Bairstow’s Though I Speak with the Tongues of Men. In the meantime, the School Choir were kept busy preparing for the Winter Concert and for the Carol Service which is always a choral high point of the academic year. These featured Carl Rütti’s I wonder as I wander and Mendelssohn’s There Shall a Star from Jacob Come Forth (from the oratorio Christus). The Chamber Choir gave polished performances of Paul Edward’s No Small Wonder and Paul Manz E’en So Lord

Jesus Quickly Come.

a collection for the St Thomas Church Development Fund. The highlight of the year came at the conclusion of the Easter Term as the Chapel Choir were honoured and privileged to have performed in the presence of Her Majesty The Queen in the official opening of The Queen Elizabeth Music School. This was, of course, a hugely memorable occasion at which the Chapel Choir were once again augmented by Old Brutonians and numbered around fifty voices to perform the 500th Commissioned Anthem alongside Howells Magnificat from Collegium Regale. It was a nerve-racking performance, but the Chapel Choir were superb in their delivery of the music in the wonderful acoustics of the Hauser & Wirth Recital Hall. The start of the Summer Term saw King’s Chapel Choir sing a service of Choral Evensong for the first time in recent history at Exeter Cathedral. The Chapel Choir performed well, and it was good to have a large enthusiastic congregation to enjoy the service. There was no let up after this, with the annual joint King’s and Hazlegrove concert quickly upon us. The concert included individual performances from both schools and concluded with the combined forces of King’s and Hazlegrove performing Dig Deep composed by Pete Churchill and conducted by Vicky Sayles (Director of Music at Hazlegrove). Special mention must go to the Chamber Choir when their performance of Even When He Is Silent by Arnesan was interrupted by the fire alarm being sounded and a mass evacuation of the Theatre at Hazlegrove ensued. The concert later continued with the Chamber Choir impressively (and at the Headmaster’s request) picking up from the point at which the performance had been interrupted!

Joint Choral Concert at Hazlegrove

Summer half term is when the School celebrates Commemoration and the School Choir provided two contrasting anthems in the form of John Rutter’s joyful and rhythmically exciting O Clap Your Hands alongside the 500th Commissioned Anthem. This was an exciting service marking a hugely important milestone in the history of the School in its 500th year. Towards the end of term, the Summer Concert contained many choral highlights and was a fitting conclusion to another impressive year of choral music at King’s. The Chamber Choir were in top form and performed Andrew Wright’s setting of My Beloved Spake. Meanwhile, the School Choir performed a fun and light-hearted arrangement of The

Bare Necessities.

Well done once again to all in the School Choir, Chapel Choir and Chamber Choir on another outstanding year of choral singing – I look forward to more next year!

The Chapel Choir at the Winter Concert

ASHLEY MARSHFIELD INTERVIEW:

What are the clubs you are currently running? A: I run the School Choir, Chapel Choir, and Chamber Choir.

Were any of these clubs created by you?

Ashley Marshfield, Director of Choral Studies I started the Chapel Choir in 2012. and Housemaster of New House, joined King’s in September, 2010. What inspired you to start the Chapel Choir? Here he tells Freda Xiao what the School’s choristers can expect to achieve by the time they leave King’s.

King’s is a Christian foundation, which means we often have school services in St. Mary’s Church. I thought that there could be a group of singers who specialize in sacred repertoire, and that was when I created this ensemble. The Chapel Choir has grown since its inception and we now sing a service at Choral Evensong away from the School each term. Pupils are auditioned to keep standards as high as possible. What were the main events that the choirs have taken part in? Every other year, the School Choir goes to the Royal Albert Hall to sing Handel’s Messiah along with professional orchestras and soloists which is always a great experience for all the pupils and staff. The Chamber Choir have taken part in competitions such as the National Youth Choir of the year and we were nominated as Choir of the Day back in 2016. The Chapel Choir sings a service Choral Evensong each term. We have already been to nine cathedrals, some more than once, including Bristol Cathedral, St George’s Chapel, Windsor, Tewkesbury Abbey, Wells Cathedral, Gloucester, Winchester Cathedral, Chester Cathedral, Worcester Cathedral, and Hereford. We have also sung at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London to sing Choral Evensong as part of our 500th Celebrations.

What kind of pupils are encouraged to join the choirs? The School Choir is open to all pupils who have an interest in and enjoy singing. The Chapel Choir and Chamber Choir require singing at a particularly high standard. I am looking for pupils who enjoy singing and who are preferably able to read basic notation. Commitment is also essential for any choir. St Paul’s Cathedral, Choir Practice Room

What is your aim/goal for the choirs? For the School Choir, I want pupils to be able to have the chance to sing a variety of music from Baroque music to 21st century and to enjoy choral singing as much as possible. The aim for Chapel Choir is to maintain the choral tradition of the Church, and to support the Christian ethos of King’s by singing at our Chapel services and visiting cathedrals. Pupils should leave King’s appreciating the tradition of singing in services, including mastering the art of psalm singing. The Chamber Choir is for the best singers in the School to perform challenging repertoire that might be both secular or sacred. The Chamber Choir singers also get the chance to take part in competitions both locally and nationally.

The Chapel Choir at Hereford Cathedral

We also have links with professional choral singers/musicians, including Owain Park who founded the professional vocal ensemble The Gesualdo Six. The group came to King’s to run a series of workshops with both local prep schools and our choirs at King’s. They also performed an evening concert. Conductor and choral expert Dominic Peckham was recommended to me by the Headmaster after he attended the HMC (Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Annual Conference) in 2014 when he featured as the keynote speaker. He has already visited King’s on three occasions, but on his third visit, he came with his newly formed professional ensemble The Chamber Choir of London to hold workshops again for local prep schools and for all the choirs at King’s, which inspired many of our singers from all three choirs.

Dominic Peckham Workshop

The School Choir at the Winter Concert

The Chapel Choir at Exeter Cathedral

The School Choir at the Spring Concert

MUSIC PLAYS A VITAL ROLE IN THE LIFE OF KING’S. The combination of excellent teaching and training within the music department and that of the first-rate facilities in the new music school provides an astonishing grounding for music pupils at our school and, as showcased by the abundance of exceptional performances this year, music is flourishing, writes Felix Farrell.

hilst in previous years the quality of music had been despite the facilities, and not as a result of them, the construction of the new state of the art Queen Elizabeth Music School has opened new doors for music at King’s; a professional recording studio, performance hall, and fully equipped practice rooms allow for pupils to fully expand their musical capability. The new school year saw an influx of new talent into the music department at King’s. The ‘New Music Scholars’ Concert introduced particularly able performers, who showed excellent musicality and aptitude. Hugo Fisher, who demonstrated excellent intonation and tone on the flute, was particularly impressive, and Thomas Hyde showed great capability on the bassoon, with a rich lower register. The winter term included numerous other exceptional performances, including the woodwind concert, which featured remarkable recitals from Callum McFarlane and Alexander Baxter. The Chapel Choir, headed by Mr Marshfield, enjoyed outings to both Wells Cathedral and Hereford Cathedral, performing evensong to appreciative audiences.

The Military Band at the Winter Concert

The Winter Concert capped off a great term of music, with performances played to an outstanding standard; the Orchestra opened the evening with an impressive recital of Elgar’s Pomp & Circumstance No. 4. This was followed by the 1st Movement from Beethoven’s notoriously difficult 3rd Piano Concerto, with soloist Vki Chang; to execute such a challenging and demanding piece to such a high standard, demonstrating delicate phrase shaping and musical understanding, is particularly impressive. The Military Band was particularly enjoyable, performing a selection of music from the James Bond films. The School Choir were outstanding, and the combination of both the incredible acoustics of the new performance hall and Mr Marshfield’s excellent training made for an incredible sound. Both the wind and brass ensembles were particularly enjoyable, with both groups displaying incredible musicianship. The start of the Easter Term brought about the yearly focus towards the School’s annual Inter-House Music Competition; the highly competitive event, featuring two solo rounds, an ensemble competition, and a whole house sing-off, was, as ever, extremely spirited. The Junior Solo Round was deservedly won by Holly Millard from Priory House, who gave a precise and controlled performance on the flute, whilst the Senior Solo round was won by me, Felix Farrell from New House, who performed Liszt’s ‘Liebestraum’. The ensemble round included numerous other exceptional performances, but in the end it was New House who outshone the other houses with their extraordinary rendition of Benny Goodman’s ‘Sing Sing Sing’ – the standard of their performance was outstanding. As the results were announced, Priory and New House appeared as the main contenders for the title; the performances of the House Songs were to make all the difference. However, it was Lyon House who gave the stand out performance, and although Priory House and New House sung well, it was to no avail; Lyon outperformed all other Houses with their spirited performance of ‘Happy Together’ by The Turtles. As the scores were tallied, it was announced that Lyon house, for the first time in nearly a decade, were the champions of the evening. On the 25th February, the Chapel Choir travelled to London to perform choral evensong in St Paul’s Cathedral. Marking the commencing of the School’s 500th celebrations, it seemed fitting that King’s Bruton’s celebrations started at St Pauls; King’s was founded by Richard Fitzjames, the Bishop of London in 1519, making the momentous occasion particularly appropriate. Mr Marshfield prepared the Choir with patience and skill, and the Choir were superb throughout, receiving much encouragement from the St Paul’s clergy members. The Choir gave a wonderful performance, and executed the commissioned 500th anthem ‘King of Glory, King of Peace’ to an outstanding standard. The evening made for a historic start to the School’s 500th celebrations, and to perform in such a remarkable setting was astonishing.

The remaining Easter Term staged numerous concerts, boasting a wide array of musical talent. The senior and junior vocal concerts displayed incredible capability from the performers, and all singers demonstrated strong vocal ability. Worthy of particular mention are Kiara Jones, who demonstrated a strong and rich tone, and Freddie Goggs, who displayed a full and mature lower register. The 5th Form Concert was a great success, and showcased some excellent performances; Aidan McFarlane’s performance of Ireland’s ‘Sea Fever’ was outstanding, and the Boys’ Harmony Ensemble’s recital of Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shape of You’ was performed brilliantly. The Brass and Percussion Concert exhibited an array of musical and rhythmic ability from the pupils, and made for a particularly enjoyable concert; the ensemble performances stood out, with the both the brass and percussion groups performing professionally and precisely.

both King’s and Hazlegrove to perform together to perform ‘Dig Deep’, a piece composed by Pete Churchill and originally written for the London Olympics in 2012. The Chamber Choir stood out, and showed their versatility with a performance of Arnesan’s beautiful work ‘Even When He Is Silent’ alongside Andrew Wright’s setting of ‘My Beloved Spake’, featuring a strong baritone solo from Aidan McFarlane. The String and Piano concert also featured many excellent performances, and although the evening came at a particularly difficult time

Swing into Spring was a triumph, and allowed the King’s Vki Chang

with regards to the exam season, the pupils showed great musicality on their instruments; Zhaojingwen Li performed Wu Zhu Qiang’s ‘Water Plant’ beautifully, playing sensitively in the higher register of the piano, whilst I, Felix Farrell, gave a performance of Debussy’s

‘Arabesque 1’.

Swing into Spring

jazz groups to perform their repertoire; the evening featured a wide array of jazz, blues, and rock numbers from the Jazz Quintets, the Temperance 7 and the King’s Big Band. On the 28th March, Her Majesty The Queen was given a tour of the new Queen Elizabeth Music School, and met a handful of the School’s music pupils before hearing the Chapel Choir perform the commissioned 500th anthem ‘King of Glory, King of Peace’ and Howells’ ‘Magnificat’ from Collegium Regale. Thanks to Mr Marshfield’s superb conducting, the singing was exceptional, and Her Majesty seemed to greatly appreciate the performance. At the beginning of the summer term saw King’s host various excellent public performances. The term started with the Joint Choral Concert with Hazlegrove; both schools delivered excellent singing, with superb performances from the King’s School Choir, Chapel Choir and Chamber Choir. The concert allowed

The Summer Concert, carried out in the style of the Last Night of the Proms, was a huge success for both Mr Gorodi and the King’s musicians. The evening featured excellent performances from all three of the School’s Choirs and, as usual, the singers were conducted brilliantly by Mr Marshfield. The military band performed our very own George Little’s “Brigadiers Parade”, and the Big Band played Stevie Wonder’s “I Wish”. Following the interval, the orchestra performed Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance No.1” and a selection from “Fantasia on British Sea-Songs”, featuring solos from Kiara Jones and Samuel Loughrey; the audience appeared to greatly enjoy the evening, and the concert was a fitting end to Mr Gorodi’s time at King’s.

The Jazz Quintet

CURTAIN CALL...

This was the first time Will Stainton directed the main school play, and what a terrific job he did: the musical numbers were intricate and fast moving, and the singing top notch; thanks to Ashley Marshfield, Musical Director, for his expertise. It was evident the cast and crew thoroughly enjoyed being a part of this highly successful show.

By Maggie King Head of Theatre Studies

For us as a department, the Easter Termâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s focus is examination performances for GCSE and A-Level. Both year groups rose to the occasion, saving their best performances for the examiner.

We enjoyed excerpts from: Hymns, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, Love Song and Swallow, as well as the timely devised piece by the U6th on plastic pollution.

t has been another busy and fun-packed year in the Drama Department. As usual, the Christmas term was dominated by rehearsals and then performances of the School Production, Mary Poppins.

Added to this, we were thoroughly entertained by two

Mary Poppins JR

hilarious House Plays: Blackford’s masterly rendition of Fawlty Towers and Lyon’s Donkeys’ Years. As ever, new and unexpected talent was revealed both on and off stage. House Plays are hard work for those involved, however in terms of bonding, collective effort and cementing pride in the House, they are priceless. Special mention must go to Benjamin Fearn, who both directed and performed in Fawlty Towers, and was very impressive in both roles.

Fawlty Towers

As the examination pressure began to build, only the Junior Play cast and crew continued to work hard in rehearsal through the Summer Term. Their performances of The Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾ in the penultimate week of the School year were exceptional: they were a delight to work alongside and to direct, giving the promise of much more excellent drama in the years to come.

Donkeys’ Years

The Diary of Adrian Mole Age 13 3/4

was the cherry on top of an excellent performance. Alexia Smith and Rafe Burfield handled their roles with ease and experience beyond their years, while Ivo’s explosions onto the stage had everyone in hysterics. Kiara Jones’ beautiful singing stunned the audience, and the chemistry with Sam Horner’s laid-back attitude and humour was very strong. However, the greatest credit must go to both the show band, led by Mr Marshfield, who drove the whole performance forward and never missed a beat, as well as of course Mr Stainton, whose direction was the most important part of the play; the show could not have gone on without him.

Kiara Jones flying above the rooftops of Bruton

A review of... MARY POPPINS JR: - THE SCHOOL PLAY By Alexander Baxter

n December, the School Play, a performance of Mary Poppins JR, was performed in the Fitzjames Theatre. The story follows two children, Jane (Alexia Smith) and Michael (Rafe Burfield), who live with their kind mother (Katie Proctor) and strict father (Ivo Wright) in their grand house, Cherry Tree Lane. When they start searching for a new nanny to look after the children while their father is at work, Mary Poppins (Kiara Jones) miraculously appears out of nowhere to come to their aid. She takes them on adventures from the park to the rooftops, through which they meet Mary’s old friend Bert (Sam Horner), who is a jack-of-all-trades. After their father makes a bad decision in the bank that nearly costs him his job, and the children get upset at Mary Poppins, she disappears, and the terrifying Miss Andrews (Daisy Turner), who raised their father, is hired and the mood of the house sours. However, Mary soon returns and saves the children from Miss Andrews, while it is revealed that their father’s decision at the bank actually made them millions and he is rapidly promoted; all is right in the world. Her job done, Mary leaves as the family go out and fly a kite together for the first time. This play was across the board one of the best the School has put on in recent years; the acting, singing, and choreography from the entire cast were stellar (there were even somersaults in one scene). The set transported the audience from the bank to the rooftops of Cherry Tree Lane with ease and its quality

Kiara Jones and Sam Horner ‘Stepping in Time’

Katie Proctor and Ivo Wright

The Ensemble at their best

Rafe Burfield, Kiara Jones and Alexia Smith

The Ensemble led by Charlotte Dick

Chimney sweeps on the rooftops of London

The Ensemble singing ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’

direction of Benjamin Fearn, who was undoubtedly key in the ultimate success of the play. Other hysterical performances came from Theodore Morgan as the Major, Huw Downes as O’Reilly, Ben Vallings and Charles Cross as Miss Tibbs and Miss Gatsby, Benjamin Fearn and Samuel Houldsworth as potential Hotel Inspectors and Toby Crossfield as Murphy.

Lluis Montalat Verheyen, Luke Tuckfield & Sam Houldsworth

A review of... FAWLTY TOWERS: A PLAY FROM THE BOYS OF BLACKFORD HOUSE

Luke Tuckfield silencing Ben Fearn

By Gabriel Rampton

he Blackford House production of Fawlty Towers was a resounding success, with stellar performances all round, including exemplary cross-dressing from the dramatic powerhouses of Sebastian Kingsberry and Hector McAfee as Sybil Fawlty and Polly.

Lluis Montalat Verheyen

The production recreated two very well-known episodes of the series: “The Builders”, in which Mr Fawlty tries to remedy a failed renovation from O’Reilly, and “The Hotel Inspectors”, where Basil tries desperately to please those who he believes to be the hotel inspectors. The ensuing comedy is hilarious: an incredible rendition of traditional slapstick comedy that was unrelentingly funny from start to finish, remaining true to the source material while incorporating some far more topical jabs towards New House and other people in the Sixth Form. Some standout performances came from Luke Tuckfield as Basil Fawlty, Sebastian Kingsberry as Sybil Fawlty and Lluis Montalat Verheyen as Manuel, whereas the standout moment of the performance came in the form of a fully-fledged onstage brawl between Basil and Manuel at the end of “The Hotel Inspectors”. The set design was flawless, encompassing the entirety of the lobby, the dining room, and the office of the hotel. Another behind the scenes triumph came from the

Sam Houldsworth delivering Bertie Haywood

Sebastian Kingsberry as Sybil, keeping Hector McAfee and Luke Tuckfield in line

Huw Downes (centre) the cowboy builder

The lovely ladies Charlie Cross and Ben Fearn

The Irish Builders

Polly and Manuel

Ivo Wright leading the reunion

A review of... Robert Harris as Lady Driver

DONKEYS’ YEARS: A PLAY FROM THE BOYS OF LYON HOUSE By Sebastian Kingsberry

he Lyon House play had a high bar to aim at after the Blackford House performance of Fawlty Towers and they certainly rose to the challenge.

Ivo Wright and Jacob Ide - a barrel of laughs

Donkeys’ Years is a story of the graduates of an Oxford college coming together for a reunion. Past memories are recounted and various acts of school boy mischief are recreated by these now senior and important old boys. The performance of Donkeys’ Years immediately sent the audience into laughter with the characters in the play bearing a remarkable resemblance to the actors playing them. This aside, the fantastic performances from Ivo Wright and Robert Harris with his bicycle kept the audience laughing throughout the play. The story line complemented the actors brilliantly with the hectic nature of the play displaying what most people imagine life in Lyon House is actually like.

Jakob Wiegmann and Luke Hyde

Jacob Ide, Edward Bascombe and Ivo Wright gaze into their memories

Alex Baxter comforts Robert Harris

Robert Harris administering first aid to Ivo Wright

Ivo Wright and Jacob Ide set the world to rights

Rachel Tudhope excelled in their cameo roles of supporting characters. As ever, the back-stage crew are crucial to the smooth running of any show: the junior crew were thorough and efficient throughout. Unusually for a junior play, this was a full-length performance: a measure of the talent and commitment in the younger years. As a director, this was one of the most enjoyable junior plays I have worked on in all my years at King’s Bruton. I look forward to seeing the talent develop further when they take to the stage once more.

Hannah Branfoot and Gabriel Galley

A review of... THE SECRET DIARY OF ADRIAN MOLE AGED 13¾: THE JUNIOR PLAY By Maggie King

The Mole Family - Gabriel Galley, Charlotte Burton, Hannah Branfoot and Amelia Warren

ue Townsend’s timeless classic was revived by a talented group of junior actors and crew during the final weeks of the summer term. The cast had been rehearsing steadily throughout the spring and summer terms, showing impressive levels of commitment and dedication. On stage, all cast members rose to the challenge of performance and gave their two audiences an evening to remember. Hannah Branfoot gave an energetic and heart-warming performance as Adrian, showing his vulnerability and mischievousness in equal measure. Charlotte Burton was a thunderous Grandma, cheering and obliterating everyone in her path. Mathilda Best relished her role as Bert, the hilarious toothless old man who benefits from Adrian’s community service. Toby Proctor menaced as the school bully, Tia West sizzled as the would-be paramour of Mrs Mole, Ellie West played the downtrodden wife (opposite her sister) to perfection. Jemima Hurst was suitably snooty and superior as Pandora, overcoming her injured knee to give a lively performance. Amelia Warren and Gabriel Galley gave fine, convincing performances as the unhappy Mr and Mrs Mole, whilst Felix Smith, Edward Burgess, Charlotte Dick, Alexia Smith and

Jemima Hurst protesting to the Headmaster

Charlotte Dick

Hannah Branfoot feeling sorry for herself as Adrian Mole

Rachel Tudhope

Toby Proctor

Samuel Loughrey

Alexia Smith

Mathilda Best

Tia and Ellie West

the Canadian National Vimy Memorial later that morning. As part of the Battle of Arras, the Battle of Vimy Ridge is notable for being the first occasion where the four divisions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force fought together. Due to the preserved trenches, the pupils were able to explore the same trench lines which the Canadian Corps captured from the German 6th Army in April 1917. At the close of our visit, the pupils read a short section from Scott Fitzgerald’s Tender is the Night, which details a similarly costly attack. The protagonist explains that the cost of advancement in war is ‘twenty lives a foot.’ As the pupils looked out at the distance from the original Canadian position to the German trenches, they were able to consider how those lives were spent.

La Targette French Cemetery

Away from Home...

Monday was spent in Belgium at the Tyne Cot Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery and Memorial to the Missing which made a huge impression on all pupils present. A former German fortified position which changed hands multiple times over the course of the war, the cemetery projects an aura of solemn dignity. After walking between the gravestones and past the former pillboxes, which have since been transformed to monuments to those lost in the fighting, the pupils read The Soldier by Rupert Brooke. In the poem, Brooke explains to his mother that, if he dies, ‘there’s some corner of a foreign field that is for ever England.’ Before leaving, the pupils again walked through the nine thousand corners of Tyne Cot that remain ‘for ever England.’

3RD FORM TOUR OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR BATTLEFIELD SITES By Duncan Ericson

his year’s Battlefields trip set off on a rainy October morning. Despite the weather, spirits were high amongst both the combined strength of the History and English departments’ staff and the pupils of the 3rd Form. The venture promised to be a great opportunity to explore the historical and literary significance of the Great War, while also reflecting on the enormous sacrifice it entailed. We arrived at

On Tuesday, we arrived at ‘the greatest executed British work of monumental architecture,’ the Thiepval Memorial. The fortythree metre-high, Accrington brick structure honours those who fell in the Battle of the Somme but were not granted the peace of recognised burial. The list of seventy-two thousand, three-hundred-and-thirty-seven names carved on the edifice

Mr Bunday at Vimy Ridge

Vimy Ridge in the preserved trenches

Wellington Quarries Museum, Arras

Wellington Quarries, Arras

made a powerful impact on the visitors from Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. Our visit coincided with the inspection of an installation by a Somerset artist. Last year, Rob Heard crafted seventy-two thousand, three-hundred-and-thirty-seven shrouded figures to commemorate those lost at the Somme. The work had been adapted slightly when we saw it in October. Heard organised the figures to represent each day of the war, and each figure held a sign with the date and the casualty figures from that day. Seeing the human cost of each individual day laid out in front of them elicited strong reactions from all present. The final day of the trip saw the pupils learning the fascinating story of ingenuity and bravery of the British offensive during the Second Battle of Arras in the Wellington Quarries. In groups of eight, the pupils were taken eighteen metres underground to explore the system of natural caves which were expanded by British miners to hold twenty-four thousand soldiers before the battle. In a colossal effort, miners from Glasgow, Edinburgh, Yorkshire and Crewe carved an underground city, with its own tramway, hospital and kitchens, out of the chalk. On leaving, many pupils remarked that it was the high point of the trip. We returned to Bruton late on in the evening of the 17th October. The staff wish to extend their gratitude to all those on the trip who conducted themselves well Bertie Hopkins at throughout. Louverval Memorial, Cambrai

Thiepval Memorial

After touching down in Schöenfeld Airport, dropping our bags at the hotel and having some lunch we headed to the Tränenpalast (The Palace of Tears). This is a former border crossing point between East and West Berlin during the years of 1962 and 1989. It has now been converted into a museum. It contained a number of artefacts from the Cold War and it was fascinating to experience the checkpoint booths and learn about how the border security read the body language of people crossing. After this we Sachenhausen headed for supper at the Hofbräuhaus where we were submerged into German culture though the beer and schnitzel.

Sachenhausen

Away from Home... SENIOR HISTORY TRIP TO BERLIN By Honor Mant

n the 13th February 2019, 46 senior History pupils set off at 3:30am to begin the iconic annual history trip. This year it was to Berlin, a place rich in history from the Cold War period to the devastation of both the First and Second World War. None of it would have been possible without the combined organisation of Mr Fletcher, Mr Beverly, together with Mr and Mrs Bunday.

On the second day we were given a sensitive guided tour of Sachsenhausen Concentration camp. This was one of the first Nazi concentration camp that was used for political prisoners from 1936 to 1945. It was a chilling tour that offered a glimpse into the lives of those who were imprisoned there, from the death marches to the cruel living conditions in the huts. The tour was an eye-opening experience, essential in remembering and learning about the countless victims of the Nazi regime. After visiting the Holocaust Memorial and Museum, we had an evening visit to the dome of the Reichstag. Its contribution to such a vast range of history made it an interesting and thought-provoking tour. The next day consisted of a guided tour of the Berlin Wall Documentation Centre, Mr Beverly’s struggle with public transport and a visit to the German Russian Museum in Karlshorst. This is the location where the Germans signed the unconditional surrender on May 9th, 1945. It explores the consequences of the Second World War from the perspective of both Russia and Germany, as well as their rocky relationship from 1917 to 1990. We then went out for dinner at the Ambrosius Restaurant and enjoyed exploring Berlin at night.

Finlay Pender-Cudlip and Jack Fowler-Baxter

On Sunday we visited Sanssouci which was the summer palace of Frederick the Great (King of Prussia) in Potsdam. Frederick the Great’s passion for art, architecture, music and literature meant that the palace was full of priceless artefacts and monuments. After this we ventured into Potsdam to arrive in Cecilienhof. It is most famous for being the location of the Potsdam conference in 1945 when the Big Three discussed

the peace settlements in Europe after World War Two. After this we went to the Topography of Terror which allowed us to explore how the Nazi terror machine developed and saw the foundations of the Nazi Gestapo. On the fifth day we had a guided tour of the NKVD (a law enforcement department in east Germany for the Soviet Union) where we were able to experience and explore the horrors of the communist regime, from the cramped cells, to the phycological torture methods.

Berlin Wall Memorial

Even when a tour guide wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t on hand, we always had Mr Bunday, Mr Fletcher and Mr Beverly who treated us to a speciality tour of the former Nazi Government Quarter at Wilhelmstrasse. They had brought with them numerous photos of the Government Quarter under the Nazis which we were able to match up with the current buildings. It was eerie to visit all the places where the Nazis had planned and executed many of their policies. After this, we headed to Route 66 Diner to conclude the trip with dinner.

Bernauer Strasse

The history trip is a great way of visiting so many different places in such a short space of time, as well as socialising with friends across all year groups - for these reasons, I thoroughly recommend it.

Cecilienhof Potsdam

Sans Souci, Potsdam

Group photo at the Brandenburg Gate

the Inspection, displaying the skills that they had learnt throughout the activities undertaken during the year and the Inspection culminated in a very close and exciting Gun Run which the Army section narrowly run. This was then followed by a superb Beating Retreat in the new Old House Yard by the Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bruton Military Band. The Army had a busy year with the annual range day at Yoxter Ranges, Priddy. There was some excellent shooting from a great many cadets. The RN had an exciting year with sailing at Cheddar Reservoir and a visit to HMS Raleigh where they were able to experience Fire Fighting, DRIU Training (Damage Repair Instructional Unit) & Sea Survival.

COMBINED CADET FORCE

In early May, the Ten Tors Challenge was undertaken by two 35-mile teams who completed the Challenge as a full-teams of six and getting back to Okehampton Camp in very good time. The 4th Form Cadets had a hair-raising Field Day in the Summer Term on the Dorset Coast with a day of High Ropes and Leadership tasks.

By Major Craig Barrow, Contingent Commander

he Combined Cadet Force (CCF) offers all pupils at the School the chance to undertake a variety of adventurous activities, and aims to develop resilience and teamwork. More importantly, it aims to put responsibility into the hands of senior pupils, and for those who assume roles as NCOs and help to run the Contingent, it offers unparalleled opportunities to cultivate leadership and planning abilities. This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s NCO cohort have been very good, led by Anna Wilmshurst who has been the epitome of enthusiasm, knowledge and organisational excellence. The highlight of the year was the Biennial Inspection in March, when the inspecting officer was Major General Colin McClean MBE. The cadets were excellent in all aspects of

Anna Wilmshurst

There was a fantastic Snowdonia Summer Camp at the end of the Summer Term when the cadets took on Snowdonia, Tryfan, Carnedd Dyfed and Carnedd Llewellyn & Zip Wire at Zip World. The CCF could not run without the support of so many volunteers amongst the Staff Officers and the NCOs. I am indebted to the quality and enthusiasm that exists in our leaders and having attended two CCF conferences during the year I am increasingly aware of how fortunate I am to be able to call on such a committed body of people. My thanks to all. And the future? Preparations are underway for the Isle of Wight Summer Camp 2020, two 35-mile teams are preparing for the Ten Tors Event in 2020, Army and RN Field Days are planned which will challenge the cadets and teach them new skills, there is the annual CCF Formal Dinner in November. It promises to be a full and exciting year.

CCF Day - The Gun Run

Sailing at Cheddar Reservoir

DRIU Training

Yoxter Ranges

CCF Officers Lunch

CCF Day - Beating Retreat

Ten Tors Challenge

HMS Raleigh Fire Fighting

CCF Formal Dinner

Summer Camp to Snowdonia

CCF Day - Biennial Inspection

Snowdonia Zip Wire

and Sue our matron worked amazingly together and all three of their bubbly personalities brought lots of smiles to an already cheery and loud House! Sadly, we had to say goodbye to Miss LG at the end of the Christmas term and although many of us were quite teary we were all excited for this new chapter in her life. Mrs Griffiths returned in January and her lively energy was brought back into the House. Along with this, Miss Wilkinson moved into the House along with her guitar and amazing singing voice that is heard around Arion at all times. With the addition of the youngest Arion girl, Connie, I am sure that Mrs Griffiths would have been relieved to have a House filled with able babysitters! Mrs Griffiths is known to all of us as Griffo and I am certain that I speak for everyone when I say that she has definitely been a major part of our time here at King’s. She acts as a mother figure when you need her, a friend and is also someone who you can spill the gossip with after a night at Sixth Form Club or JCR! During my five years at King’s Griffo and Sue have made myself and everyone in the House feel at home and the U6th Form will definitely miss the warm environment that Arion House brings.

Boarding Houses ARION HOUSE By Esther Adenuga

his has been a successful year for Arion House with many achievements in all areas. Successes in many of the Inter-House events as well as another year of the renowned charity netball tournament have made this year enjoyable for everyone. At the beginning of the academic year, we welcomed Miss Liddell-Grainger as acting Housemistress whilst Mrs Griffiths was on maternity leave. This was a great change for the House - we all enjoyed our time with LG. As well as this, Miss Wilkinson was Miss LG’s assistant - her positive and joyful personality was welcomed warmly. Miss LG, Miss Wilkinson

This year, we have had many achievements and lived up to Arion’s reputation of having the best House nights! From pamper nights to nacho nights to house barbecues we do them all. On the sporting front, we won senior badminton, senior girls’ football and senior and all stars Inter-House netball. We also came 2nd in the senior Inter-House hockey. It’s clear that we have very strong senior members of the House but we are certain that the juniors will step up next year as many of the seniors are leaving. In addition to the sporting achievements, we were in the Inter-House debating final for the 3rd year in a row which I had the honour of leading this year. Whilst many believe that the 3rd time is the charm, we narrowly lost

Start of term - icebreaker challenges

and came 2nd respectively. We also went through to the final of the Inter-House science quiz for the first time in many years and came 2nd and 3rd in the ensembles at Inter-House music. Taking charge of the Inter-House music this year was a real challenge and there was pressure as we won the event last year and have always done very well. Although we didn’t place overall, the achievement with the ensemble and the amazing solos were a great thing to be a part of. Arion have taken up skipping as an activity in House to help with mental health and we hope to challenge other Houses in this event which will be called ‘The Great Arion Skip Off’. Other activities around the House include lots of colouring in, enjoying brownies and other baked goods made by Sue every Friday. One of the highlights of the year has to be the Royal Visit that took place in March this year. Queen Elizabeth II visited the School to open the new music school and many of the girls in Arion were involved in this event. Poppy Boyden, Head Girl, presented The Queen with a ‘Treasures of King’s Bruton’ book, Natalie Wilmshurst was honourable poo collector for the horses that were to be named Jubilee and Windsor, Constance Pollard sang in the choir for The Queen, I held open one of the doors for The Queen, Lauren Beaton personally served The Queen at the lunch and Henrietta Campbell was able to show The Queen one of her musical pieces. This was a memorable year for the

Inter-House Senior Netball Champions

whole School and was a great event to be a part of due to the School’s 500th year. Overall, this year has been a great year for Arion. On behalf of the House, I would like to say a massive thank you to all the tutors, cleaners, our lovely matron, resident tutor and of course our incredible housemistress! Sadly, we are saying goodbye to Mrs Kirk who is the L6th Form tutor and we are loaning Mrs Wilson-Brown to Priory for one term. We wish Mrs Kirk all the best and we want Ms Wilson-Brown back after her term away from us! As I end my five years at King’s, I take away a lifetime of memories and experiences that I will cherish. The best decision I ever made was choosing to come into Arion: the smallest House is honestly the best House!

Ready for the Inter-House Singing Competition

There have been so many highlights in a year where Blackford have had such success. The reason why there has been such success is that everyone in the House has played their part and given their best when required. Blackford boys have excelled at sport and have made the most of their talents often beating other Houses who had more ‘A Team’ players. However, sport is not everything and our boys have worked hard in the classroom and accrued a pleasing number of Commendations (although not as many as I would have liked!). A special highlight was the winning of the inter-House debating trophy for the third year running, by the closest of margins. For me, the highlight of the year was the House play – Fawlty Towers. This funny play was delivered with real aplomb and great comic timing. The boys had woven in some of their own humour too which served to make the funny even funnier. The real triumph, though, was not the final product but the manner in which Benjamin Fearn took command of the situation early, ensuring that the lines were well learned, as well as directing and taking part in the play himself.

Boarding Houses BLACKFORD HOUSE By Nick Bunday, Housemaster

his year has been truly memorable, not just for the School, but for Blackford House in particular: in the quincentenary year it was wonderful to win the Bailey Beak Trophy. We in Blackford were well aware of how good a year we were having but to be confirmed as the top performing House at the Presentation of the Governors’ Prizes on the last day of term was a fitting way for the House to complete this special year. It is always a privilege to be a Housemaster, but particularly so this year when Blackford has been blessed by an exceptionally strong senior year at the top of the House, who set the tone so well. The Head of House Samuel Houldsworth and his Deputy Charles Cross, supported by the House Prefects, decided early on that they wished to end their time at King’s on a high, and set about doing just that as early as the first week of the academic year. Quite simply they have been the best role models for the junior years to emulate in the future.

This year we have welcomed Oscar Cheffings, Angus Evans, Bertie Haywood, Thomas Hyde, Samuel Loughrey, Luis Puig de la Bellacasa Vallejo, Benjamin Sheldon and Harvey Weekes into the 3rd Form. They are a terrific bunch of young men and we are excited about the future. The House also welcomed two exchange pupils for a term a piece, namely Charlie Hall (from New Zealand) and Benjamin Forsyth (from South Africa) and the alacrity with which they settled in says much about them and the welcome they received from the Blackford boys. At the end of the academic year there are always a huge number of people to thank and this year is no exception. The boys are indebted to the Domestic Staff who are the envy of every other House in the School; Amy, Hayley and Kirsty work tirelessly and always in such good humour. We have had a number of matrons this year including Debs, Ros and Lisa. The lion’s share of the Matron work however is done by Janice who cannot be thanked enough by the boys or indeed me. The tutors continue to encourage the boys to greater efforts in their academic work as well as supporting them in their aspirations both in the classroom and further afield. They are Mrs Vigers-Belgeonne, Mr Walker, Dr Kirk, Mr Barrow, Mr Davies and of course our Resident Tutor Mr Corbin O’Grady, who does a great deal in the House as well.

Sam Houldsworth and Ben Cross receivng the George Bailey Beak Trophy from OB Dr Mark Lloyd Davis

Finally, a special vote of thanks goes to Gilly, who in the busiest of years has done so much for Blackford, often in the margins and behind the scenes. The basis of Blackford’s success this year has been teamwork and nowhere is this more evident than amongst the entire staff of the House.

as a Resident Tutor. He leaves us to undergo training for ordination, but we hope that he and Charlotte (a Blackford Old Girl having grown up in the Housemasterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Residence!) will drop in regularly to see us. This term we have said goodbye to Toby Ker as well as the U6th Form namely Jonathan Boyle, Jacob Burgess, Charles Cross, Huw Downes, Benjamin Fearn, Alexander Firmstone, Samuel Houldsworth, Lluis Montalat Verheyen, Jan Roding, Luke Tuckfield, Daniel Wang and Jinyuan Zhang.

As ever we have had to say some goodbyes this term and I will begin with the staff. Dr Kirk has been a fantastic house tutor in Blackford for four years and leaves us to take up a new appointment in China with our very best wishes for the future. Mr Davies is also leaving us having been a fixture in Blackford for nine years, a good number of them

Blackford has had an extraordinarily good year and I thank each and every member of the House, be they staff or pupils, for all they have done. Everything that happens in this special place has been underpinned this year by a feeling of polite positivity â&#x20AC;&#x201C; long may it continue. Well done everyone and thank you!

The U6th Form Leavers with their Housemaster, Resident Tutor and Matron

Nothing could be a better advert for Lyon than our preparation for the House singing and music competition. Despite winning it, I as Housemaster had nothing to do with this success story. This group of young men organised themselves, booked rooms, incentivised practices and motivated a group of fifty teenagers to get excited about not just singing but representing something bigger than themselves. In a world of Fortnite and Clash of Clans, the ability for a small group of 17/18 years olds to produce such a groundswell of enthusiasm without fear of sanction or raised voices tells you a good deal about the quality of leadership we have been lucky enough to have in the House this year.

Boarding Houses LYON HOUSE By Dan Hodder, Housemaster

his has been a hugely successful year for Lyon which has seen trophies and commendations aplenty; however, it has been the community spirit, and warmth of our small community which has for me made such an impression. This has come from an outstanding set of U6th Form pupils who have set a tone and instilled a culture of understanding, approachability and fun into the House. From the first week in September Toby Rogers, Ivo Wright, Toby Doig, Hugo Taylor, Rhodri Harper, Jake Jiang, Edward Bascombe, Luke Hyde, Sean Lock and Jacob Ide have set an extremely high bar which will take some beating from our current L6th Form.

Elsewhere my battle against the label ‘The Sporty House’ also bore fruit. Alexander Baxter, Isaac Baxter, Llewelyn Harper and Jakob Wiegmann worked long into the evening on a number of Sundays to ensure we progressed to within one point of the final of the House Debate. Elsewhere no House has been able to field quite as many musicians. Hugo Fisher has wowed audiences with his singing and flute while James Black has represented both the Military Band and the Brass group with his French horn. Frederick Goggs and Edward Bascombe have been stalwarts of both the Chapel Choir and the School Choir and both sung for The Queen at the end of the Easter Term alongside performances at St Paul’s Cathedral. Alongside our music and outstanding showing in the debates Lyon also put on Donkey’s Years, our House play. Credit must go to Mr Ericson as without his energy and insight I know the boys, and I would have been lost at sea. Again our Sixth Form demonstrated just what a remarkable group of young men they are. Robert Harris, Edward Bascombe, Alexander Baxter, Luke Hyde, Jacob Ide, Oliver Pick, Rian Upton, Jakob Wiegmann and of course Ivo Wright invested all the energy they had over twelve weeks, and one of the longest and most

Winning the Inter-House Singing Competition

The Choral Concert

New 3rd Form pupils settling in

stressful Sundays ever as we all tried to put the finishing touches to the performance. Over the two nights, the boys grew in confidence and anyone who witnessed either of the evenings, I am sure, would have come away impressed by the quality of the comedy and drama on show. Trying to get everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s achievements into this short text is hard, however. Our amazing 3rd Form has settled wonderfully well and with good humour, excelling on the sports field. Special mention to Hugo Fisher, Jay Terry, William Owen, Hugo Fisher, Archie Macer, Archie Martyn-Smith, Thomas Hodge, Oliver Lock, Charles Binns and Patrick Dick-Read who have all represented the School at A Team level with many going one better to represent either the County or the Region in one or more sports. Elsewhere no House put more people into the Ten Tors team with Isaac Baxter, Oliver Gasson-Hargreaves, Max Hayward and Freddie James all walking the full distance on Dartmoor this summer. Joeseph Gartell in our 5th Form has played 1st XI hockey and cricket this year and also represented the County. Alongside Angus McDermid with his hockey and Rian Upton in athletics who have both excelled on the games field and won honours far beyond both their age group and school.

much success but more importantly the community spirit we all work so hard to cultivate. I would also like to thank the boys. Lyon is an extremely happy place at the moment with a group of young men that would be the envy of many in my position.

Reflecting on a busy year with so many highlights I would like to thank my tutors who have been the bedrock of so

More than any time in my teaching career I have felt humbled by what they achieve both as individuals but even more so as a group. A very special vintage â&#x20AC;&#x201C; well done everyone!

Man of the moment - Ivo Wright

Enjoying the snow

House put their best foot forward, but special mention goes to those with particularly outstanding performances: Matthew Scott (L6th Form) 400m, Jake Saunders (L6th Form) Shot Put, Finlay Spilsbury (L6th Form) 100m and Ruben Dicker (3rd Form) Shot Put.

Boarding Houses NEW HOUSE By New House L6th Form: Benjamin Davies, Felix Farrell, Aaron Gu, William Harrison, George Little, Oliver Sampson, Jake Saunders, Matthew Scott, Finlay Spilsbury, Jake Tadhunter, George Turton & Charles Wildman

t has been another successful and prosperous year for New House with our most recent success being the Intermediate and Senior Inter-House Athletics competition. New House also maintained the Challenge Cup for the highest number of points scored in the competition overall for a third consecutive

New House have also performed well in other Inter-House sporting events and were placed 2nd in the Senior Inter-House Hockey with an outstanding win against Lyon House with courageous performances coming from Callum McFarlane (U6th Form) and William Sandy (U6th Form). In the InterHouse Rugby Competition, we managed to get in the top three Houses in challenging conditions. New House were placed 2nd in Senior and 3rd in the Junior Inter-House Football competition. New House have performed well in racket sports in recent years and in Badminton, we were placed 3rd in the Senior and 2nd in the Junior competition. Finally, in Tennis we once again came in the top three in both the Senior and Junior competitions. At the time of writing, New House are hopeful of a strong performance in the upcoming Inter-House Cricket event with a desire to repeat the victory performance last year! Every Thursday at Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s each House will have a House night. This is a time when the House gets together to do either an activity or even join with other Houses. This year we have played football, held BBQs, movie nights, a French themed night hosted by Wellesley House, a Mexican themed night hosted by Priory House, Rhino Society talks (a presentation to the House on an interesting topic), and we have also joined Old House to put together one-minute plays and skits. At the beginning of the academic year, we have fun quiz evenings with mixed year group teams.

year. Special mention goes to Aidan McFarlane (5 Form) and Felix Farrell (L6th Form) who won the Intermediate and Senior Victor Ludorum cups respectively. New House also won the Medley Relay, with team members Edgar Firth (3rd Form), William Cundy (4th Form), Aidan McFarlane (5th Form) and Felix Farrell (L6th Form). All the boys representing New th

In the Summer Term we held a New House Rounders charity event. Occasionally, we join with the other Houses to have a fun whole school House night, this is good because it allows us to have more fun, and it encourages pupils to spend more time together. At the end of Christmas and Summer Term, we go out for a whole House meal. In Christmas Term, we went to ZaZa Bazaar in Bristol, Old House joined us for this,

Inter-House Athletics 2019

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Inter-House Soccer

Inter-House Athletics - Aidan McFarlane

and at the end of the Summer Term, we made a return visit to The Montague Inn for supper and played boules in the beer garden! Music is also a strength in New House. Not surprisingly, the Inter-House Music Competition proved to be as hotly contested as ever. The Solo Rounds went well for New House, with Felix Farrell (L6th Form) winning the Senior Solo and William Bird (3rd Form) performing brilliantly on behalf of the Juniors. The number of pupils from New House playing in school ensembles is greater than ever, and as such our Inter-House Music Ensemble was made up of a large majority of the Big Band. This meant the ensemble brought home a hands-down victory, which put us in good stead to win the overall competition. However, we were pipped to the post at the last opportunity by Lyon House and lost our winning streak, having won Inter-House Music competition for the previous two consecutive years. Nevertheless, we are sure that New House will come back stronger than ever next year to hopefully rekindle our winning streak! The end of the academic year marks the end of another era of New House U6th Form as they leave school and move on to the next stage in their lives. They will leave a huge gap for the younger boys to fulfil. The Head of House and Deputy Head of House, William Sandy and Callum McFarlane respectively, have positively impacted the House through their dedication and leadership skills along with their welcoming presence. Deputy Head Boy Harry MacLeod-Ash has taken great responsibility in his role around School as well as his captaincy of the 1st XI Cricket team. School Prefect Samuel Innes has contributed massively to New House in his pivotal role within the New House Debating team alongside Callum. Sam Horner took a leading part in the school play and his jovial presence will be missed around the House. Peter Jenkins represented the School as 1st XI Hockey Captain and led various Inter-House sporting events with aplomb. Jacob Sykes took the role as head of the Rhino Society with great pride and honour. Finn Weatherheadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s involvement in House has shown immense kindness and he has ably supported at many House events. Finally, last but by no means least, Fionn Mohanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s handiwork around House will be sorely missed

Inter-House Athletics - William Sandy

End of year meal at the Shepton Montague Inn

along with his kindness. We also bid farewell to leavers in other year groups, with Gabriel Ruiz Herranz leaving the 4th Form alongside his brother Rodrigo leaving the 3rd Form. We wish all the New House leavers well as they head on to pastures new.

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Summer 2019 Leavers

Heads of House and Matron with The Royal Standard

Boarding Houses

to help us and to sort out any issues. Mr Stainton has been here for quite a few years now and he is moving to another House to help the boys there. Hopefully he will come back and join us for the One Minute Plays in the future, we know how much he enjoyed them!

OLD HOUSE By Malcolm Jeffrey, Housemaster

he Boys of Old House would like to start this report by saying how grateful they are for all the efforts that the staff put in. We have the best Matrons in the school and both Mel and Julie have worked so hard to keep us tidy, on time and happy. They have to put up with a lot from us and we really appreciate their patience and their never-ending sense of humour. They really do go above and beyond, and they deserve a medal at times, but we think they know that we appreciate them. We are losing Mr Stainton and Mr Howarth this year to other Houses. Mr Howarth has only been with us for a year, but he has been a great tutor on a Friday night and always there

This year, as usual, the boys have given their all to every competition and they have had some real battles on the rugby, cricket and hockey pitches. They have crossed swords with the other Houses on the debating floor (robbed at the last!) and on the tennis court, the Inter-House music competition, the golf course, five-a-side football and of course the dodgeball court. Every boy has entered everything with passion and with a burning desire to do well for the House and their friends. The boys were once again successful in the Inter-House rugby, with the Inters winning, this was a good start to the year, and its slightly depleted Senior team came close to victory as well. The senior indoor football team retained the trophy and there were strong performances all round.

Inter-House Athletics

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Senior Inter-House Football

The Royal Standard over Old House

Rupert Leschallas - Head of House

Inter-House Rugby 2018

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Tuson and Isabella Bird all in senior teams.

Boarding Houses PRIORY HOUSE By Harriet Papenfus

riory had another year of amazing achievements, both individual and collective. Priory girls were really strong in the inter-house events, be they sporting, or singing in the House for the music festival. We started the year well with a fantastic Inter-House Badminton competition, which our senior girls won. Throughout our Inter-House events, Priory team spirit was always fantastic. In the Inter-House Hockey our senior girls won and our junior girls came second - our purple triangle chant, wearing purple war paint and purple House t-shirts, created an strong collective spirit in these Inter-House events. There were commendable performances from Sophie and Olivia Hamilton, Molly Hunter and Anna Wilmshurst in the U6th who will be really hard to say goodbye to at the end of this year. Some 5th Form also stepped up to help the seniors to victory, with Emily Von Mellenthin, Julie Groos, Harriet

Inter-House cross-country was a fantastic event; whilst running isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, we all came over the finish line with a large grin on our faces. Georgina Woods finished the second placed junior girl and first 3rd Form girl. In the senior girls race we had first, second and third places from Sophie Hamilton, winning her 5th Inter-House cross country, Ella Docherty and Harriet Tuson. The Inter-House Athletics was a great day: the entire House was involved and participated in an event whether it was the prestigious 1500m or the Parlauf relay race. With glorious sunshine enhancing the atmosphere, it was uplifting to watch the Priory athletes competing so brilliantly. Overall, we had an amazing day with many successes. Rosanna Wakelin, Anna Wilmshurst and Georgina Woods all won their hurdles races, Lillian Crossfield won both the junior girls 100m sprint and the long jump, Amelia Toulson-Clarke won the senior girls’ discuss, Harriet Tuson won both the 300m and 800m and Katie Proctor came 2nd in the 100m. Additionally, Priory won the relay which is one of the day’s most fun and exciting events. Overall, as a House, Priory came an amazing and very well deserved 1st place girls House. The team spirit, support and enthusiasm of everyone in Priory was incredible. In other sports Priory has had a particularly busy year, with girls being selected for amazing things which deserve recognition. Amelia Toulson-Clarke took part in a variety of riding competitions, and competed in Badminton Horse trials where she finished 27th overall in show jumping and a cross country course. Marcia Kennard and Amy George have also been doing very well with their riding, competing for the equestrian team on numerous occasions. Sophie and Olivia Hamilton both played hockey for England with Sophie being invited to remain and play for the U21 squad whilst continuing to play alongside Olivia in the U18s. In the Inter-House music competition, Priory demonstrated its excellent abilities, with first place in the solo round going to Holly Millard playing her flute with real grace, second place to Clara Bracey playing bassoon, and Holly Baker, Harriet

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and a perfect revision break. The Priory kitchen is always alive with delicious baking smells and never-ending cups of tea and toast.

Enjoying a picnic in the Priory garden

Papenfus, Anna Wilmshurst, Clara Bracey and Amelia Warren finishing second in the House ensemble with the piece “Love” by Lennon and Maisy. The girls put this song together using only a guitar, violin, xylophone - with two stunning voices, they produced a great harmony. All the girls really enjoyed coming together and singing as a House. Clara Bracey led us all at the front with her constant smiles urging us on, with all girls singing enthusiastically. We were very pleased to get a ‘good luck’ tweet from Rami Malek aka Freddie Mercury from the new film Bohemian Rhapsody. Even though we finished third overall, we couldn’t have been happier. A few other notable achievements were Anna Wilmshurst completing her Gold DofE award receiving her certificate at Buckingham Palace: well done! Jessica Hayman cut off her hair for the “Princess Trust” raising money for a great charity. House nights in Priory were full of smiles, laughter and new friendships, from movie nights to obstacle courses, yoga and pancakes! During the cold Christmas term Priory girls were found snuggled up on movie nights with hot chocolate and playing a fun game of sardines around the House. The Sixth Form decorated the House with the Christmas Spirit whilst others slept, leaving a perfect surprise for everyone to awake to! Priory House is constantly moving and the pictures around the House show it all! Achievements, theme nights and party photographs adorn the walls, which also include our own artwork.

Amazing bakers created fabulous cakes for Wednesdays, budding chefs created mouth-watering dishes adding to the homely feeling. Netflix was enjoyed by all, in any weather, a time to chill with friends, share great food, enjoying a film or series. Thank you so much to Mrs Simper, Miss Hoskins and all the tutors, giving all of us so much support, and always offering encouragement. Another big thank you to all the U6th, to Clara Bracey for all the Inter House music events, to Holly Baker for helping with the debating sessions and to Sophie Hamilton, Olivia Hamilton and Molly Hunter for helping us win all of the sport fixtures with your amazing all round skills. Also to Vki Chang, an amazing pianist for House music, Hilary Ding for being a lovely smiling face around the House, and finally Harriet Papenfus our Head of House for always being a helping hand to all the Priory girls. We will all miss you so much: Priory is going nowhere so please come back and visit us. Overall Priory is by far the best House in the School! Thank you all for an amazing year.

During the summer term, outdoor House nights included yoga to de-stress followed by pancakes made by the girls. On the last House night, the U6th Form ran challenges enabling and encouraging teamwork, including an obstacle course around Priory lawn. Sundays are such an important part of boarding life, a day that is free to catch up and chill with friends. In Priory House we’ve done so many great activities; blessed with a beautiful garden, summertime saw sunbathing, reading books, revising or just listening to some music, and, most importantly, hanging out with friends. BBQs were a great hit, enjoyed by all. During the snowy weather, Sunday was an excuse for whole House snow angels. Trips are important such as to “On the Brook”, a short walk away from Priory, where as a group we enjoyed afternoon tea in the sunshine

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Ready for the 5th Form Ball

House themed night

competition. Our rendition of “Wouldn’t it be nice” was sung passionately by the whole House and conducted by our very own King’s Choir Prefect Kiara Jones. Kiara also took the lead part in the school musical “Mary Poppins”, playing the part brilliantly. Our Junior girls have had a great year with some amazing victories in the Inter-House sport competitions. We were placed first in the Junior Hockey, Netball and Cross Country with Anya Evans and Isabella Jones achieving the top two places. As well as thriving in the Inter-House cross country, Anya ran for Somerset at the Schools Cross Country Championships as well as competing in the Regional Swimming Finals. Congratulations Anya on your great achievements.

Boarding Houses WELLESLEY HOUSE By Ella Hanegraaf

s my final term of my King’s experience comes to a close, I look back on all the amazing memories, people and experiences I have had at this School but in particular, in Wellesley House. Wellesley is full of powerful, independent and outgoing young women who all make our House into a home. The Wellesley girls have achieved a great amount this year and I thank everyone for making it such a special one. After hours of hard work and determination the Wellesley girls placed second in the fiercely fought inter-House song

This year, Johanna Bastian, Annelotte von Velsen, Kiara Jones, Elena Hijmans van den Bergh, Millie Venner-Coombes and Sophie Gould have all contributed to the 1st Teams in Hockey, Netball and Tennis, and enjoyed attending the King’s First Team Dinner. Johanna and Annelotte have thrown themselves into hockey at King’s, and outside of School, taking part in National and Regional Indoor Hockey tournaments as well as playing for the Bath Buccaneers team. As well as team sporting success there has also been a large amount of individual success for the Wellesley girls, from academics to debating, drama and music. Charlotte Rundle and Amelia Blunden were awarded the highest amounts of commendations throughout the School in a week and our debating team of Amelia, Laila Squire and Narnia Wilmot achieved great things making it into the semi-finals of the Inter-House Debating which took a huge amount of effort and passion.

A trip to the coast

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This year there has been a large amount of Wellesley girls taking part in the Silver Duke of Edinburgh Award - Freda Xiao and Honor Mant are currently in the middle of working towards their Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award. Three of the Wellesley 4th Form, Rosie Longman, Anya and Millie Venner-Coombes (Team Captain), successfully completed the physically demanding 35 Mile Ten Tors Challenge, a huge achievement. Inter-House Athletics

As many of you will know, Her Majesty the Queen visited King’s for the opening of The Queen Elizabeth Music School. Poppy Turner, Hayley Clarke and I had the honour of serving at the Royal Lunch. This was an amazing opportunity that we are so thankful to have experienced. As my final term at King’s is nearly at an end, it has been lovely to reflect on what an exceptional year we have had in Wellesley and think about the exciting future that Wellesley holds. We are all incredibly excited for our amazing Dr Corrigan after the birth of her beautiful baby girl, which we are all so thrilled about. As we say hello to a new arrival in the House, we sadly say goodbye to one of our hugely supportive and hardworking tutors Mrs Atkinson-Kennedy (a.k.a. Mrs A-K) - we will miss her tremendously and wish her luck for the future, wherever it may take her. I also want to take this opportunity to wish this year’s leavers good luck with the next chapter of their lives. I think we can all agree that King’s has been a great experience that we are so lucky to have shared with some amazing people – all of which we will miss. Thank you to all the incredible Tutors, our loving Matrons - Donna and Debs - Mrs Loveless, our brilliant Housemistress, and, of course, to all the Wellesley girls that make Wellesley House so extraordinary.

Ready for the 5th Form Ball

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Kiara Jones as Mary Poppins

VALETE Will Dawe By Charles Oulton

hen Will first left King’s in 2005, Nigel Wilson-Brown wrote a fulsome tribute in The Dolphin, describing his friend’s many talents and eccentricities including a disciplinary moment – close your eyes, any pupil reading this – when he was hauled before the Headmaster to explain his Mourinhoesque touchline antics during a 2nd XV match against Dauntsey’s. In his second invocation at King’s, which started a year after a stint at Gresham’s, there was a similar encounter with the authorities over a referee who significantly extended the time of another 2nd XV match to allow the opposition to draw ahead before conveniently blowing his whistle. Dawesy, as we all know him, is still mildly narked at the thought of this ref who would be well advised to stay clear of Millfield – Dawesy’s next place of work – until the dust has truly settled. For the last four years, Dawesy has been spending much of his time in charge of pupil discipline as Second Deputy Head, no doubt appreciating being on the right side of the law on these occasions. With nine years of Housemastering behind him in New House, he wasn’t exactly new to this type of work, and, not surprisingly, he did it extremely well. Slightly more surprisingly, he was also a dab hand at organising seating – a customary deputy head’s pastime - although it took us a while

to reconcile the Dawesy we knew with Dawesy the Seating Tsar. We were also unfamiliar with the Dawesy who had to bone up on uniform regulations, trying to remember what kind of sweater was permitted – no round necks, Dawesy – or whether girls were allowed to wear make-up in the 5th Form. When he looks back over his teaching career, I imagine this lovable man will reminisce about his time as Second Deputy Head with some fondness. He isn’t a natural committee man, and he will often have preferred to have been watching Liverpool play football than discussing development plans with the SMT. But he is a wise old bird who enjoys analysing a problem – he has a sharp mind honed during his time as a solicitor - and the School will certainly have run more smoothly thanks to his work behind the scenes. However, it will be for his tenure in New House that Dawesy fans become dewy eyed, particularly the boys who spent five of their most formative years in his care. Our son was in New House and I’m forever grateful for the way Dawesy looked after him. I also saw his work close up as a fellow Housemaster, and then a tutor in New House in my last few years at King’s. I was always impressed with the way he addressed the boys in assemblies, talking to them as he would talk to his own family. There was often a steeliness in his eyes when misdemeanours had been committed, but even then, the dressing downs always ended on a positive note. He always saw the best in every boy, and in every situation. He had a particularly good relationship with his resident

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tutor, George Beverly. The two dovetailed nicely, particularly during the filming of the legendary New House Christmas comedy videos where the two went round the House hilariously sending up the pupils - and themselves – in Laurel and Hardy-esque capers. George reminds me of many Dawesy moments, like the time he drove his family around in the middle of winter with zero tread on his tyres, claiming “oh, they’re still legal”, despite wire mesh showing through the almost non-existent rubber. And who can forget the inset where Dawesy introduced the visiting speaker as Steven when he was actually called Dave? Only a few were privileged to have first hand knowledge of the day his Spanish pupils – my daughter being one of them – locked him in a cupboard when he should have been teaching them. When his Head of Department became aware of the incarceration, he was almost as cross with Dawesy as Dawesy himself had been with that rugby referee. But this story, and countless others, are part of the Dawesy legend, one that Millfield will have been conscious of when they appointed him as their new Head of Spanish, football coach and general educational guru. Ian Wilmshurst thinks he has only gone there to do missionary work, perhaps sensing there could be a second return to King’s on the horizon. Here’s hoping. In the meantime, amigo - adios and gracias.

Camilla Oulton By Sharon Carpenter

amilla Oulton joined King’s in 2005 as Assistant Registrar working under Andrew Leach. At that time I shared an office with Andrew in what is now the Marshfields’ sitting room in New House, and Camilla’s office was upstairs in the tiny box room above the New House porch. Working so closely with the admissions team I quickly noticed that, as well as being an excellent administrator, Camilla had exceptional people skills and she quickly established herself as integral to the admissions process here at King’s. However,

sharing office space with Camilla wasn’t always a pleasure and there were certain occasions where her people skills did not extend to me. Those occasions were the All Rounder scholarship days when dozens of would-be scholars would turn up in the office with their musical instruments, sports bags, art folders etc. Camilla thought it highly amusing to direct the lot of it to my desk so that by the time all the candidates had arrived, I was walled in and could not leave my chair! In 2008 the Admissions office had moved across the road to the newly completed Basil Wright Building. By this time Andrew Leach had retired as Registrar and Camilla had worked with his successor, Tori Helmer, for two years. Following Tori’s departure, the “new” Headmaster, Ian Wilmshurst, suggested to Camilla that she might take on the role. Camilla was slightly reluctant at first but the Headmaster assured her that if she took on the position he would get her some admin assistance. Duly persuaded, Camilla became Registrar in November 2010 but, interestingly, it was noted by Camilla some nine years later - during the week of her departure from King’s in fact - that she was still waiting for this assistance to arrive! Having worked so closely with Camilla for 14 years it became clear to me – as it evidently did to the Headmaster – that she didn’t actually need assistance. She is remarkably efficient and well-organised, as well as very hard-working, and these attributes helped to make her an outstanding Registrar. I worked out that, during her time in the post, Camilla organised upwards of 650 prospective parent visits, around 30 new pupil events and 27 open mornings, not to mention all the Scholarship and Common Entrance examinations. All these things she has done with good humour, whilst at the same time showing incredible warmth, compassion and empathy when dealing with prospective pupils and their parents. A smooth transition process is incredibly important for every child when they move to a new school and Camilla has been a beacon of reassurance to so many new King’s parents during her time as Registrar. As such a popular and highly regarded colleague, Camilla will be missed enormously by all of us at King’s and we wish her continued success in her new role with RSAcademics. For me, she has quite simply been the very best work colleague I could have had, and I consider myself very fortunate to have in Camilla a friend for life.

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Charlotte Davies

Stefan Davies

By Emilie Loveless

By Charles Oulton

harley was a pupil at King’s, living in Blackford with her family, the Oultons. I knew of Charley when I started as she was a Tickner graduate and the stuff of Dawesy legend (locking pupils in the cupboard). I had also heard rumours that she was the girl trying to tame Stefan’s heart. I was really excited to hear that in her final year at Newcastle, she had succeeded and was looking for a possible languages teaching role. I knew that anyone that was loved by Stef would be an asset to my department and I wasn’t wrong. Charley was an absolute pleasure to train, she brought fresh and exciting ideas, as well as a calm and solid influence amongst the loose cannons of the males in the department. She has been incredibly popular with the pupils and was a beloved tutor in Wellesley. I’m only sorry she left her role before I had the chance to work with her in the House. One of her other roles in school has been within the Chaplaincy team, speaking at TGI and running Bible Studies. She’s helped lead the pupils through some difficult life questions and has allowed them to think about the Christian faith for themselves. I have no doubt that she will make a wonderful Vicar’s wife. Thank you from us all Charley for your good humour, your empathy and your professionalism. You will be hugely missed.

hen Stefan landed his job at King’s in 2010, Ian Wilmshurst told me he wanted this First Class honours graduate to join me in Blackford House as my resident tutor. Although the Blackford appointment was by then a fait accompli, I duly interviewed the youngster, asking him at the end of our meeting, I seem to recall, whether there was anything else he would like to know about what lay before him. I don’t think he did have any questions, but, in retrospect, he probably should have taken up a bit more of my time. A question he might have asked, for example, could have been along these lines: “I wonder, Mr Oulton, if you could tell me something about your two children – in particular, about your eldest child, a daughter, I believe, named Charlotte.” In the event, not only did he not show any interest in my daughter at that interview, he later steadfastly refused to respond to a bit of matchmaking that both Nigel WilsonBrown and I later indulged in when we thought we saw potential in a future liaison. I reckon there was at least one wasted year when both Stefan and Charlotte chose to totally ignore each other rather than go along with our whim. But in the end, some time after I had left Blackford, Stefan clearly felt there had been some method in our madness and started to court his former boss’s daughter, a process that duly and wonderfully ended at the altar rail in 2015.

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Mind you, in the end, the poor man had to work hard to obtain my approval, chasing me round Somerset one evening to formally ask for my permission. He arrived at our home a few miles outside Bruton only to be told by my wife that I was on duty in New House. By the time he had arranged for someone to finish my duty night and give me enough time to get home so he could fulfil his formal obligations, he only had a short time to do the deed before he himself had to be back in Blackford. And even then, he had to put up with his future father-in-law leading him down some conversational blind alleys while he was desperately trying to ask: “ Would you have any objections if I married your daughter?” Since that evening, Stefan and Charlotte have packed a great deal into their lives together, starting after their marriage with a year in Stefan’s flat in Blackford, their move to their present house in Bruton, the birth of their beautiful daughter Aphia, and the prospect of the birth of their second child in October. As the Headmaster remarked at Prizegiving, Stefan had to change his bachelor ways pretty quickly after the wedding, particularly the way he used to treat his bedroom as a dumping ground for items like bicycles, a tendency that made me instantly regret the moment I looked into his room one day when trying to track him down. I vowed never to look into his bedroom again! My final year as a Housemaster was easily my happiest, thanks mainly to my new dream team of Janice Jeffery and Stefan. I know Janice felt massively let down when Stefan abandoned her to marry my daughter, but she knew deep down that her boy was doing the right thing, starting a new life that is now headed for ordination after two years of theological college in London. It is, perhaps, a calling he was always destined to follow, although his vocation for school-mastering was also evident to me from the moment he started his time in Blackford. In particular, I remember watching him talk to some of his tutees in an early Activity’s Convention where it was hard to know who was the teacher and who were the youngsters, so entwined did they all appear to be. He loved his time in Blackford with his boys, and they were all extremely lucky to have him as a tutor. The boys and girls who were taught by him were also fortunate to have a Physics and Maths teacher who was so passionate about his subject – particularly the Brownian Motion - and so inspirational in the way he led them down various paths of discovery. Not that there weren’t some hazardous moments along the way. His Head of Department, Angela Ashworth, recalls the fire alarm going off when Stefan failed to spot a mountain of chips that his pupils had set on fire, while there was also the moment when a model steam engine blew up when he failed to check whether it had any water. He loved being on the rugby field, and his players loved his coaching, particularly the 1st XV who saw this Wells RFC

He-Man (Stefan’s nickname amongst the Butleigh rugby fraternity, according to Seamus Harkness) as a sporting role model as well as a man with the ability to put a coaching point across. Above all, however, Stefan will, I imagine, look back on his time in the chaplaincy department as being the most rewarding. He was assistant chaplain to Nigel Wilson-Brown and George Beverly, delivered many powerful sermons and spent countless hours encouraging the Christian faith of pupils and staff alike, whether at bible study groups, TGI or Lenten addresses. When he starts looking for jobs in two years time, we all hope he finds a parish somewhere in the west country. Personally, I’m thrilled that even if he ends up ministering in Outer Mongolia, he will always be in touch with his former boss and now proud father-in-law. May God speed him and Charlotte in the years ahead.

John Slingo By Gareth Evans

ohn Slingo, JBS, John Barrie Slingo; so there, the secret’s out, no longer will Brutonians guess at what that middle letter stands for. Suggestions like Baumol (contestable markets, transactions demand for money), or Bernanke (former Chair of the US Federal Reserve) were typical, but John kept this card close to his chest and indulged his pupils as they sought economics and business studies terms, or personnel, to fit the capital ‘B’. I think this example illustrates much of John’s teaching technique in those two fast-changing subjects. He encouraged pupils to see these A-Levels in the context of the evolving economic and business environment; the ability and willingness to reference a topic, or a theorist beginning with ‘B’ was just a first step in a much longer process. The classes he taught were exposed to the living world of business and economics from the moment they arrived in the Wyndham Building to the day they left. His pupils were kept up to date with news from government and markets through daily briefings of the most important bulletins. He ran the Young Enterprise Scheme, introduced share games and Target 2.0 (an interest rate challenge set for Sixth Form pupils by the Bank of England and The Times) to deepen and widen interest, and took trips to a variety of organisations such as Mini at Cowley, the Bank of England and Twickenham, but never, interestingly, to his beloved Elland Road. To help keep his pupils at the cutting edge of the subjects, he also developed an extensive blog, which linked with a plethora of other websites of benefit to his A-Level pupils. Indeed, it was one of John’s boasts that his

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blog was so radical that it had been banned by the Chinese government from the internet in China. His classroom was a mass of colour, with posters, charts, advice and reminders for pupils, as well as being adorned with the flags from the many countries from which his pupils came. His office, on the other hand, was a minefield of files, old text books, nets (containing mud-plastered footballs) and his suits, shirts and games kit for the week. It was, accordingly, extremely difficult to enter John’s inner sanctum and I remain amazed not only at how he managed to change in there, but by the rapidity with which he could do it, from sober business suit to games kit. John was Head of Economics and Business Studies from his appointment in September 2002 until September 2018, when Marie Goffe was appointed to the post, as John took a step back for his final year before retirement. As a head of department, he was knowledgeable, encouraging and supportive and displayed a great sensitivity to the needs of his colleagues (of which there were many), as well as his pupils. He quickly came to see which examination boards were best suited to King’s boys and girls and the Department under his leadership produced some outstanding results. John came to Bruton from Ladies’ College Guernsey, where he was Head of Department between 1998 to 2002, coached hockey and introduced association football to the girls. Although his path into teaching was not a conventional one, it was ideally suited to the teaching of economics and business. Raised in Wellington in Shropshire, he left school at sixteen to work for GKN before taking his degree at Aston University and going on to work for KPMG as an auditor, prior to working at Lloyds Bank (where he met his wife, Diane). Disenchanted with the treadmill of targets, he studied for his PGCE at Manchester Metropolitan University and was then appointed to Bedford Modern School, where in addition to his teaching and sporting commitments, he served as a residential house tutor and lieutenant in the CCF.

His great passion away from the classroom was association football (known to some, apparently, as ‘soccer’). Unfortunately, John was unable to master an understanding of the great oval ball game, but kept working at his chosen sport, generating some good teams which were always capable of producing upsets against more eminent local rivals. He managed and coached, with Arron Steeds, two tours to Barcelona with the King’s Soccer 1st XI, which his players claimed were great successes in terms of results. Did they really beat Barcelona Under 21s, or did they lose to Barcelona Under 12s? Unfortunately, the answer has been lost in the mists of time. John also organised and refereed the Inter-House soccer tournaments on a couple of Sundays a year. These were greatly enjoyed by the boys and girls and House staff found them invaluable. His extra-curricular contribution was not confined to football, of course. He was able to indulge his other great sporting love, cricket, by helping coach a variety of teams including the 3rd and U15 XIs. He even managed one term of netball and contributed to the recreational sports programme. In addition to all of this, John also found time to run the School’s Sixth Form Lecture Programme for a number of years and to act in Blue Remembered Hills, a staff play. In addition, John managed to reprise one of his roles from Bedford Modern. No, he did not take the Queen’s Shilling again (although he helped with the Community Service programme for a long time), but he was a valued house tutor in both Blackford, under Charles Oulton, and then in Priory, with Janette Shepard and later Emily Simper. One of my abiding memories is hearing the shrieks and squawks which emanated from his Priory tutor groups and his long-suffering expression in the midst of it. John is also a great believer in the collegial nature of teaching. As well as being an encouraging and supportive head of department, he was also a great listener and a thoughtful support to colleagues who were struggling. It is perhaps fitting therefore that he was President of Common Room for three years and was able to put those skills to great use in that time. His speeches at the Common Room Christmas Dinners in that role, gave him the opportunity to display his great sense of fun, his encyclopaedic knowledge of pop music and his love for a quiz. So, after seventeen years as a teacher at King’s and as the father of an Old Brutonian (daughter Chloe), he has decided to call it a day. I am sure that he will miss the comradeship of working at King’s and the humour arising from unexpected situations (he still chuckles at the time when an inspector fell asleep in one of Nigel Watts’s lessons). He will miss, too, the pupils and his role as a missionary trying to convert King’s from rugby to association football; he, too, will be missed by colleagues and pupils. Retirement will provide compensations

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however: the ability to travel (John and Diane are in Australia as I write) especially to Alaska, Japan and Rio, where he hopes to excel at association football on Copacabana Beach; the ability to pursue business opportunities; and the ability to choose what to do when he wants to. Indeed, as I contemplate John’s retirement, the words of Ella Harris come to mind: “A retired husband is often a wife’s full-time job.” Good luck, Diane.

David Gorodi By Ashley Marshfield

avid joined King’s back in 2008 when he was appointed as Assistant Director of Music on his return to the UK from working at schools overseas. He quickly found his feet, establishing the Big Band and initiating the teaching of A-Level Music Technology. Following Glynn Jenkins’ move to Gordonstoun, David became acting Director of Music before being formally appointed as Director of Music in the Easter Term 2010. The rest, as they say, is history. The Music Department has undoubtedly come a long way under David’s dedicated leadership over the past ten years. He has been influential in the creation of many ensembles, including smaller Jazz groups such as the Jazz Quintet and Temperance 7. His work with the Big Band has been second to none, and the flagship Swing into Spring events have been legendary over the years. His enthusiasm has also shone through the orchestra, having tackled a huge variety of repertoire, enabling various U6th Form musicians to perform concertos with the orchestra ranging from a Bach Brandenberg Concerto, to a Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto and everything both after and in between.

shone through the entire process. The phrase ‘what will King’s want to have available in 25 years time?’ would often be at the fore of planning conversations. As a result, King’s now have a state-of-the-art Music School including a recording studio, with capacity for the continued growth of technology as the modern age advances rapidly. David has supported drama at King’s by rehearsing and often arranging the music for the show bands, either playing his trumpet, or providing a bass line on the electric keyboard. Over the years, David has worked on Little Shop of Horrors, The Pirates of Penzance, Anything Goes, My Fair Lady, Oliver, The Wizard of Oz and last year Mary Poppins. He also provided a Jazz Band for a performance of Twelfth Night set in a jazz club. Outside the Music School and Drama productions, David has been a House Tutor since joining King’s. Firstly, in Lyon House and then from the Christmas Term 2012, in New House. David has been a committed House Tutor, mostly tutoring Sixth Form pupils who have appreciated his guidance and support. On a personal note, I shall miss David hugely. It is not often you find two musicians who are able to get along so well together. The times when David has called me in to listen to a composition and asked me what a piece needs to be improved, only for me to come up with the same suggestions as him, and for pupils to think we had previously discussed their work, will be sorely missed. Outside academia, David has been a loyal and hugely supportive friend and colleague to me and of course to many staff. He has a tremendous sense of fun that will be sorely missed. We all wish David and Clare well as they head to Spain to enjoy their new home together.

David has always worked hard to ensure that every GCSE and A-Level pupil has met their potential with performance and composition. Departmental results have been strong over the years and this is as a result of David’s unending energy and enthusiasm. David has also thrown himself into supporting choral music at King’s. Nine years ago I would never have predicted that I would be writing that King’s will miss what can only be described as David’s basso profundo contribution to the School Choir and Chapel Choir – in fact, it will take a lot for anybody to become anywhere near as confident and loud with their diction as David! David was influential in the planning of the new Queen Elizabeth Music School and his passion and enthusiasm for safeguarding the longer-term future of music at King’s

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Debbie Kirk By Mel Bowes Lyon

t the end of this academic year we are sad to say goodbye to Debbie Kirk, fantastic maths teacher, kind and caring Arion Tutor, and badminton player extraordinaire! Debbie is a serial traveller and world explorer. All staff, and most of the pupils, know what an incredibly interesting person she is with many anecdotes to share from her times working at International Schools across a broad range of countries. When she does eventually retire, we will look forward to the publication of her travel memoirs and wonder how she will write up King’s Bruton when compared with Asia, China, Southern Europe and South America? When Debbie first arrived at King’s, as Graham Saunders’ replacement, she set about the challenge of adjusting to life in rural Somerset from Spain and Thailand and to the pleasure of those of us who have worked closely with her, she has stayed here at King’s for four fabulous years. She is a remarkable colleague and friend who is admired greatly by her pupils and those of us who have been lucky enough to team teach at A-Level with her. Her big personality and professionalism make a huge impact, for good, in the Maths department. A few of Debbie’s lasting memories from her time here are as follows: Enjoying the annual maths department trip away to the Maths Inspiration Lectures in Bath; Wednesday lunch roasts; working out in the King’s gym and enjoying the walks around this lovely town; being able to teach many fantastic mathematicians who have developed into such promising problem solvers and pleasant young adults; enjoying becoming proficient in Badminton (she won badges in days gone by apparently); at least once, beating Tim Walker to be the first one of us to solve the Radio 4 Mathematical Puzzle of the day! Those of you who know Tim Walker will know what an achievement this is; the fact that The Head Girl has always come out of her tutor group since she has been

here; enjoying walking round the school and appreciating the environment that we work in. When her pupils were asked about their lasting memories of this fantastic teacher they said: giving her time freely and unconditionally to help us improve; unending patience that she has needed with us lot; and from her Arion girls they say that they love how down-to-earth and genuine Debbie is. She is cheerful, hugely experienced, friendly, reliable, persistent and energetic. She is also the ultimate team player, willing at the drop-of-a-hat to support colleagues when they need help and guidance. One-of-a-kind, Debbie is a member of staff who will truly be missed and we wish her all the best for her next move to China.

Martin Kirk By Sadie Osborne

artin joined King’s from Shrewsbury International School in Bangkok where he was Head of Chemistry in September 2015. Having previously worked in Dubai and Spain, Martin was keen to return to teach Chemistry up to A-Level in the UK so that his youngest son could pursue his education here in a local college. As a tutor in Blackford House, Martin’s nicely understated sense of humour and his desire to do his very best for his tutees and the wider House were much appreciated. He was approachable to the boys and Wednesday nights in Blackford were always better for him being there. Alongside his Chemistry teaching, Martin loved every aspect of sport. As a result, over his time at King’s, Martin’s sporting ability became very well respected by both staff and pupils. He was involved in coaching various rugby teams, where he introduced the 2nd team to and joined in with Fitness Tuesdays (running rings around the pupils, beating them in sprints and fitness training), and cricket teams. This year Martin very much enjoyed being in charge of the Gentlemen’s 3rd cricket team where all members enjoyed wearing blazers, cricket jumpers and boat shoes to every match and sang a hymn when a pupil was dismissed. His regular gym sessions ensured that his high fitness levels served him well when he eagerly went out with the cross-country team, regardless of the weather, to complete all the runs during the Easter Term. He is also a very keen cyclist and rower and was at one stage the record holder for the fastest 10 kilometres row in the School – a target the Blackford boys in particular were keen to beat. This year Martin enjoyed running the badminton sessions, especially on Saturday afternoons where paired

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with his wife he beat the School badminton champions in a closely contested match. Martin will be remembered as a stalwart of the King’s Cavaliers (the staff cricket team). His wily medium pace bowling and his ability to move the ball both ways ensured that he took plenty of wickets. His big hitting meant that he cleared the boundary more than any other player in the team, but sadly for him, his batting will be most remembered for a top edge into his eye and a great deal of blood ……. but he did not go down! Over the last three years Martin was also vital to the King’s Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award programme walking groups which he tirelessly organised and ran. During his time in charge, many pupils benefitted from Martin’s outstanding, eternally patient, approachable and unflappable guidance on both a weekly basis and whilst out on an expedition. Martin’s love of tea shops and his insatiable desire to stock up with cake and tea on the expeditions seem to have driven him and the accompanying staff onto numerous expedition successes, despite the occasionally atrocious weather. Of particular note was the very challenging practice expedition to the Brecon Beacons in March 2018, where temperatures plummeted, and snow lay all around from the Beast from the East. It was evident that even under what were gruelling camping conditions, Martin remained calm and cheerful, before having to abort the expedition for safety reasons. This was followed by the real expedition later in the year that took place during a heat wave, in which Martin and the accompanying staff had to carry suncream and walk miles with gallons of water to replenish the pupils’ stocks. Martin, I hope that you look back on your time at King’s with fondness and remember all the great times and the good friends you have made here. We will miss you and your eclectic music choices playing in your classroom and your interesting, good humoured, common sense, no nonsense, gentlemanly, calm and professional approach to all aspects of boarding school life and your support as both a colleague and a friend. We wish you all the best for your next adventure in China and hope that it does not make you angry or disappointed!

just about anything school-related and, despite sharing her tiny office in New House with a very large photocopier, a franking machine, the main school switchboard, and hoards of postal deliveries - not to mention the constant stream of staff and pupils all needing assistance - Juliet’s efficiency, patience and good humour were unfailing. In 2007 Juliet took on the additional role of House Tutor in Priory and, two years later, she was appointed Housemistress of Wellesley. Juliet took to this new life like a duck to water and proved to be an outstanding Housemistress. Whilst running a highly successful and busy boarding House, she was simultaneously fulfilling a vital administrative role and it was a constant source of amazement to us all that Juliet managed to undertake two such important jobs so brilliantly. It would have been easy for her to prioritise one role over the other, but this never happened. Ever calm and efficient, Juliet was always able to ensure that the Wellesley girls were her top priority whilst at the same time giving invaluable support to the Senior Management Team. Her knowledge of iSAMS, and before that Hebron and SchoolBase, the Timetable and ISI compliance, was excellent and she was a crucial part of school management. Juliet was always great fun to be around and she made time for everyone. She was also exceptionally hard-working and was always prepared to go the extra mile, even when it meant working long hours. After 13 years Juliet made the difficult decision to move on from King’s in order to have more time with her family – she’s the newest ‘granny on the block’ these days! – as well as supporting husband, Mark, in their exciting business, HeliOperations. I clearly remember Juliet’s departure being announced in a Common Room meeting and the looks of despair and even horror on staff faces. King’s without Juliet was unimaginable! We all miss Juliet enormously and we wish her every happiness and continued success for the future. On a personal note, I would like to thank Juliet for her friendship, her thoughtfulness, her incredible kindness and her wise counsel, and I know I speak for us all when I say it was simply a pleasure and a privilege to work with her.

Juliet Deaney By Sharon Carpenter

uliet Deaney joined King’s in December 2005, initially as School Secretary. Her daughter, Emily (now Dr Corrigan, our Head of Geography), had joined the 6th Form the previous September and Juliet’s two sons, Edward and Tom, were to join them at King’s a few years later. Juliet quickly brought the school office into the 21st century and made the school administration far more efficient and streamlined than it had been previously. She was soon the ‘go-to’ person for

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make a statement. We started well and never gave Clayesmore a chance in the game. This was the first time the new structure had come into effect and offloads just before contact broke down Clayesmore’s defence. The likes of Hector McAfee, Ivo Wright and William Sandy worked hard and tired out the defence and the backs finished well. Final Score 49-5. Man of the Match was again awarded to William Sandy for his support play.

RUGBY 1st XV

The 1st XV grew as a squad and demonstrated good skill and heart in a successful season. It started with a pre-season trip to Exeter where they played Exeter Chiefs Academy, taking on a well drilled and skilful side. After just one day of training and adding a completely new structure of rugby, the boys held strong throughout the game and their defensive display was praised by international and Exeter Chiefs superstars Sam Skinner and Sam Simmonds. We then travelled back and hosted Topsham RFC, Wells RFU and Sherborne RFU in a three-way tournament. The boys were confident after an impressive performance against Exeter Chiefs Academy, playing some superb rugby and coming away feeling positive for the season ahead. The first match of the season against Dauntsey’s proved to be a challenge against a much bigger and physical team. We lost a lot of our set pieces which made it hard to gain any type of momentum. Our defence was strong throughout but not being able to exit properly gave them more ball and therefore more chances to score. We dug in deep and a good performance from Peter Jenkins, Jack Glydon and Rian Upton meant that we gave them a hard-fought win. Man of the Match went to William Sandy. After taking a step back from pre-season, we were eager to

Wellington was the highlight of the season. After an emotional week in school, the boys training was raised by 10% - Mr Davies and myself were very excited before the game. In terrible conditions, we knew we had the advantage with our forwards. Yet again the forwards trusted the new system and perfected it well. They worked tirelessly around the park and had that desire to win every ball. Wellington scored first through their backs, but we kept our composure and battled on. Jake Saunders scored a well worked try from the backs in the corner. Ross Tudhope had the daunting task to make the kick in the heaviest downpour of the year and managed to convert to make the final score 7-5. Man of the match was awarded to Oliver Barber for his work rate and his ball carrying ability. After a superb start to the season, we knew the next four games were going to be challenging. Exeter School were a big team who had a very successful driving maul. We competed in areas but found the combination of their big forwards and their skilful backline too much to handle on the day. The 1st XV found it hard to build any type of momentum in the first half due to giving away seven penalties in the first ten minutes. We didn’t use the wind in the first half and made some dodgy decisions in our own 22. However, the second half was much better, and Harry MacLeod-Ash controlled the game extremely well at 10. Once we stopped conceding penalties and started playing rugby in their half, the likes of Toby Rogers, Ivo Wright, Lluis Montalat-Verheyen and Peter Jenkins looked dangerous in attack. The final score was 5-27. A special mention here for Toby Phillips who was making his 1st XV debut. King Edward’s Bath and Bryanston were two very difficult fixtures - we learnt a lot from them. KES were dominant throughout the game and didn’t allow us any momentum. They were ruthless in attack and we lost the ball too much in contact. The final score was 5 – 46. The Bryanston match was a much tighter affair and we competed well at times, but they had some very quick and skilful backs, who finished off some well worked tries.

Ivo Wright

We had hoped to come back with a win against Monkton Combe, but in probably the most physical game of rugby in the season, it wasn’t to be. However, we broke down their defence numerous times and played some fantastic rugby in parts. The last 10 minutes of the game was played with pure

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physicality and belief and we looked like we were set for a comeback. The final score was 17-32. After three defeats we had a point to prove against Clayesmore. We started off very slowly but after 20 minutes we finally got into our stride. Some great performances from the likes of Toby Rogers, Peter Jenkins, Hector McAfee and Rian Upton saw us break away from the opposition. Harry MacLeod-Ash finishing off a superb team try to finish the game 46-10. The target for the team was to back up their strong performances and start to build some momentum in the second half of the season. King’s started off well against Prior Park and kept applying pressure in attack, playing a good brand of rugby. The forwards yet again worked tirelessly around the park and earnt some good ball - our backs were on their best form of the year. The intensity didn’t drop and we pulled away in the last 10 minutes to win the game 24-13. Man of the Match went to Theodore Morgan. The 1st XV travelled to Tavistock on a wet and cold day to play three games against Mount Kelly, Tavistock RFC and Milton Abbey. We started slowly against Mount Kelly, our poor discipline giving the game away in the last minute. The final score was 18-20. However, the boys battled on and finally started to look alive in the second game. Good goforward ball from Ivo Wright, Peter Jenkins and Toby Rogers really helped to build momentum. The final score was 14-5. The final game was against Milton Abbey and we looked the better team for the whole of the game, playing some fantastic rugby. It was good to see a whole L6th Form backline which look promising for next year. The final match against Downside was a close affair. We showed grit and determination and our forwards were immense in attack. With their team full of Bath Academy players, we had them on the back foot for most of the first half. The Downside number 10 controlled the game extremely well and put in some superb kicks throughout. We had plenty of chances but sadly couldn’t convert them all. Unfortunately, the game didn’t reflect the score. The final score was 10-33.

Leading Try Scorer - Toby Roger x 9 Players’ Player - Ivo Wright Player of the year - Peter Jenkins Most Improved Player - Jack Glydon

2nd XV

It has been fantastic to see the development of such a great group of young men in the 2nd XV rugby squad. Having started the season with some of the 2nd XV performing well in pre-season training in Exeter, the squad was boosted by the arrival of the remaining boys for the first game of the season. The annual ‘trial’ game against Dauntsey’s is always a very strong fixture, but the boys demonstrated great resilience and strength in both attack and defence. While recording a narrow loss, the team demonstrated huge potential against strong opposition. This set the squad up well for a trip to Blundell’s, where the team demonstrated some great attacking play in torrential rain and recorded their first win of the season. The 2nd XV have really worked hard on being ambitious with their rugby and this has meant that they have developed a game which is free flowing, exciting and full of creativity. When you put that alongside the structure and game play that has been developed, a very strong brand of rugby has been played. The next two fixtures saw incredibly close contests against KES Bath and Exeter school in which a single score separated the teams at the end of the game. Both fixtures were a huge physical contest against very evenly matched teams. However, having played two very competitive and big rugby schools, the 2nd XV took great confidence from their performances and went on to record excellent victories against Monkton Combe, Bryanston School and Millfield. Amongst these victories were huge performances from the team and individual players. Finlay Spilsbury demonstrated great strength with his boot and positional play, whilst Felix Farrell and Robert Harris demonstrated excellent attacking flare and ran in numerous tries. The team was incredibly well

Overall, as a squad, were happy with how the season went and have built some good foundations for next year. My stand out performers of the season were Lluis Montalat Verheyen who filled in at prop, No 8, Peter Jenkins who controlled the lineouts, Toby Rogers who always gave us go-forward ball in the backs, and Oliver Barber who played a whole season a year up. My final mention goes to Ivo Wright who stepped up as captain at the last minute and did a superb job. He led from the front in the matches and was voted players’ player of the season. Played 12 - Won 6 - Lost 6 Felix Farrell

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led by Samuel Houldsworth and it was fantastic to see boys from different year groups playing so well together and forming such a strong team. The 2nd XV deserve plenty of praise for the way in which they have approached their rugby, their fantastic team spirit and the excellent performances that they recorded this season.

U16A

In a year that sees the transition to senior rugby, the U16A squad have enjoyed some excellent results in the midst of a season where 50% of games have been won. Whilst the team has often been a little slow off the mark in the first half, their performances in the latter stages of the games have been to their enormous credit. In the first game of the season, against Dauntsey’s, the team were slow out of the blocks, conceding 12 points in the first 10 minutes. However, they bounced back impressively, and the opposition did not even look like scoring from then onwards. The second phase of the match saw five unanswered tries for King’s, who gained belief and shape as they progressed. Superb support play and some powerful, pacey running resulted in some quick breaks, with the whole squad playing their part. A final try in the last few minutes was just reward for an outstanding first performance. Scorers were Aidan McFarlane, Oliver Luck, William Bartlett and Samuel Rabbets. The final score was 38-12. The team continued their winning start to the season with

a 31-17 victory over Clayesmore. The scoring started early with Oliver Enderby on the end of some good back line passing to score in the corner. Aidan McFarlane soon followed, accelerating around the outside of the defensive line to race over. Next up, Oliver Luck showed some super skills to collect his own kick and score, which he also converted. Try of the day followed some heads-up rugby from Liam Ward, who took advantage of sparse blind side defence, releasing Samuel Rabbets to score with a beautiful back handed off load. Charles Wichary finished the scoring on his season debut, muscling over from close range. Man of the Match was Liam Ward. Against Wellington, the team started off really well, putting them under pressure and King’s were unlucky not to make it over the line in the first five minutes. Unfortunately, Wellington seemed to handle the wet conditions better, and two missed tackles allowed them to score two tries in quick succession. The second half started in the same vein, with Wellington scoring first. Then suddenly the boys realised that they could tackle the big Wellington lads and put them under pressure. They were duly rewarded for their step up in play, scoring two well-worked tries through Toby Phillips and Jack Fowler-Baxter, both converted by Oliver Luck. Two stand out players were Joshua Blunden, and Adam Barrett-James, his first game of the season. Against Exeter, the U16s faced what Exeter regarded

Jack Fowler-Baxter

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as one of their strongest teams. Taking full advantage of the strong following wind and a few bounces in their favour, the opposition scored several tries in the first half. The second half was a much closer affair with the King’s team very close to breaching the opposition try line on several occasions. Unfortunately, they did not get the try they deserved, but nevertheless played the game with unrelenting effort and determination. It was particularly pleasing to see some new players making a mark on their debut. Hugo Burgess starting and Charles Bascombe, Thomas Horner, James Richmond, all coming on as replacements. An excellent performance by the U16s led to a tight contest against KES Bath. Having withheld some early pressure, an excellent set of support plays and quick picks led to Clifford Christianakis scoring under the posts, which he duly converted. After such a good try, we switched off and KES quickly scored in the corner. Credit to the U16s, they came back hard, working field position to the left corner before Samuel Rabbets went over to draw King’s seven points up, and were unlucky not to score through a late Toby Phillips surge in the first half. The second half was a tense affair, with both teams threatening the opposition line. Five minutes from time, KES stole a try against the run of play to make it 12-12. What followed was the best set of Under 16s phase play seen so far this season, as they patiently built through to a score from Samuel Rabbets again. A well-deserved 17-12 win to King’s, with special mention to James Richmond, Charles Bascombe and Oliver Sykes in their first starts.

a tight 7-7 score line at the break. The second half, however, was all King’s, who linked well and played excellent phases to score five more tries in the second half. Aidan McFarlane scored four of the six tries for King’s with some outstanding pace and strength, deservedly getting man of the match, though notable mention should go to Ben Burton as well. A cold afternoon saw the routine slow start for the U16s in their final game of the season against Prior Park. Prior Park used their strength and direct running to score too easily in the first half, with a solitary penalty being the only points in King’s favour. This all changed at half time, however, with an outstanding kick and chase: William Bartlett showed his pace to follow up Oliver Luck’s deep kick, hacked the ball on only for Oliver to finish it off by the posts. With confidence restored, King’s scored another soon after with a lineout drive finished by Clifford Christianakis in the corner. Smelling a potential draw, King’s kept the pressure on with some outstanding rugby, only for Prior Park to score in the final seconds against the run of play. An excellent game overall with King’s U16As showing their resilience to the end. All together, the season showed a team with real potential as they join the U18 squads (with several already having made appearances for the 1st XV). It was very much a season for a squad of players, with 27 representing the A side at one stage or another, ably captained at various stages by Oliver Barber, Toby Phillips, Thomas Jones and Jack Fowler-Baxter. The 27 boys who represented the U16A this year:

Against Bryanston, the U16s mixed with some 2nd/3rd team players to create an U17 team. A very good game followed, between two well matched teams. Scorers on the day were Ben Burton, Aidan McFarlane and Adam Barrett-James. A conversion by Oliver Luck proved to be the final difference between the two teams, with King’s winning 17-15. With a lot of players out because of injury, King’s lost by an uncomfortable margin to Monkton. A poor and complacent performance, King’s did not seem to be able to look after the ball or tackle, allowing Monkton to run in three easy tries in the first half. The second half did not start much better, though towards the end King’s did start to play to their normal quality, but by then it was too late to stop a Monkton victory. The team showed a much improved approach against Clayesmore in their second leg of the block. With a few changes to the A team, including a debut for Leo Haywood, the U16As performed well winning 36-7. As often seemed to be the case, it took a while for the U16s to get going, with Clayesmore scoring early and playing a deft kicking game which pegged us back. A late, first-half try for King’s brought

Liam Ward, Oliver Enderby, Josh Blunden, Aidan McFarlane, Thomas Jones, Adam Barratt-James, Rowan Oliver, Oskar Lefebvre, Jack Fowler-Baxter, Llewellyn Harper, Ben Burton, William Bartlett, Toby Phillips, Jago Cole, Oliver Barber, Pyalyang Dorji, Charles Wichary, Frederick Goggs, Oliver Luck, Oliver Sykes, Jasper Tomas, Charles Bascombe, Clifford Christionakis, Thomas Horner, Samuel Rabbets, James Richmond and Hugo Burgess.

Played 10 - Won 5 - Lost 5 Leading Try Scorer - Aidan McFarlane x 9 Most Improved Player - Joshua Blunden Player of the Year - Jack Fowler-Baxter

U16B

A rather curtailed season, with many schools being unable to honour their fixtures, meant that the U16B XV only played three matches in their own right. Two strong wins against

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Clayesmore and Monkton showed the attacking flair that we possessed but it was, surprisingly, the loss to KSB which best showed the huge determination and resilience the team had. An excellent display from both teams resulted in the game of the season for the spectators. Special mention should go to Harry Farragher, Jake Woods, Oliver Enderby and Luca Hutchison for their skill and leadership.

Leo Haywood

U15

Cometh the hour, cometh the man, cometh the U15A XV. This season has been defined by unrelenting teamwork, bravery in the face of adversity, and a willingness to change and improve. These boys shook off their prep school shackles and played with fluidity and courage that showed how much they have improved. The squad showed resilient determination to overcome much larger opposition and indeed play this wonderful game on our terms and not theirs. We are so proud of their efforts and the way they played the game, never say die, always giving the opposition a battle all over the park. The first half of the season was tough with close loses to Dauntsey’s, Gillingham and Wellington but some good performances, especially wins over Clayesmore and Exeter. We were very grateful to have Archie Waddington back in the squad with his superb handling and running. Also Murray Hendrie, our dynamic open side, who was a pain to the opposition all season. His gutsy approach to the game

inspired all around him and he was a talisman in the pack. Oliver Gasson-Hargreaves was another welcome newcomer to the squad who proved his worth early on with some strong running and front up tackling. As the season continued it became apparent that we had to change our game plan. Executed perfectly against Clayesmore the blitz defence put the opposition under so much pressure that they simply didn’t know how to react. This coupled with excellent tackling by the captain James Newcombe and loose play from Isaac Pugh helped us build up a healthy lead. There was no coming back for them. It was a pivotal moment in our season as it gave the boys the belief that they were searching for. This was also a strong performance from scrum half Freddie James and the ever dependable full back Kit Wood. The team continued to grow and we had many players fill in throughout the season as injuries took their toll. The final game against Downside was the best of the season. Both sides threw everything that they had into the tackles and rucks. Neither took a backward step and it was an excellent advertisement for schoolboy rugby. Although Downside edged the win that day, rugby was indeed the winner. This close-knit group will continue to thrive next season. They will know each other’s game better, be bigger and stronger and have the knowledge that when it comes down to it they are Lionhearts and simply won’t relent. We thank them for their hard work and commitment and look forward to watching them next season.

U14A

The playing record does not represent the terrific journey and development the U14s went through in their first season at King’s. With a total of 16 prep schools represented, the challenge was to bring the squad together despite different experiences of rugby in the previous year. The entire squad were receptive to coaching, eager to learn and implement the exciting brand of rugby that King’s aims to play across the board. Through the expertise of Mr Barrow during training sessions and skills training in PE lessons with Mr Hawley, the U14s soon developed a clear enjoyment of rugby and showed a real dedication to the term and their own personal development. The first match of the season involved all 36 boys playing rugby away at Dauntsey’s. It was an exciting afternoon which was focused on training and experimentation for both teams. We played four quarters, and this allowed teams to be decided and positions to be changed around.

Kit Wood

The first home game of the season was against Clayesmore

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Oscar Cheffings

School. The U14s struggled with the pace and fitness of the opposition and despite tackling well, they were able to break through and around to score five tries. The following game was a similar result, however, there were more moments to celebrate and therefore the team were continually improving. The whole team tackled well and significantly reduced the numbers of missed tackles and times the opposition broke the gain line. The following weeks showed vast improvements and a home win against Gillingham School, with Archie Macer scoring four tries. Unfortunately, injuries began to take their toll on the team, but this also allowed for players to step up into different positions and to allow other players the opportunity to play in the U14A team. Special mention to William Riley and William Bird who joined the team, and by the end of the season were starting and finishing matches. The team saved their best game of the season for the away fixture at Clayesmore. It was an excellent game of rugby and proved how far the team had come since their first game against Clayesmore in September. The boys showed great improvement and dominated the play and possession. The forwards were quick to the breakdowns and stole several scrums from the opposition. The backs passed the ball very well and hit the defensive line at pace resulting in well worked tries utilising two kicks with successful chases. Overall an incredibly positive and promising start to the U14s rugby at Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. It will be exciting to see where this talented and hard-working group of men get to.

U14B

On paper, the U14Bs rugby season does not look that impressive. However, looking beneath the surface, one sees a string of very courageous performances, individual moments of brilliance, and a term of real improvement as players and people throughout the squad. Following an encouraging trial game against Dauntseyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s School, the 14Bs were unleashed for the first time against Clayesmore. Battered by a physically stronger and quicker side in the first half, the team bounced back winning the second half with an exceptional team try finished by James Black. This was followed by another extremely difficult test against Exeter School: Alvaro Muniz Cabrera and Bertram Hopkins showed real heart but the U14Bs were no match for a much stronger side. Following the half-term break, the U14Bs began to play some excellent rugby. Following a narrow loss to a strong Bryanston side, the team had its closest game of the season against Monkton Combe. Tom Hyde quickly went over the whitewash, and James Black would have gone clean under the sticks if it hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t been for a monstrous tackle from a Monkton Combe player. The game was finished with some lovely attacking rugby which culminated with a scything run and try from Benjamin Sheldon. Monkton Combe was followed by a rematch against Clayesmore. Our opponents raced ahead in the first half, but the U14Bs played their best rugby of the season during the second half. Thomas Hyde played like a man possessed, Angus Evans was tackling everything, Alvaro Muniz Cabrera made countless breaks down the left hand side of the pitch while Tyler Hodgson was bursting through tackles like never before. The U14Bs convincingly won the second half by four tries to none. A final game of the season against Downside promised much in the training sessions leading to it but a performance akin to the previous two failed to materialise. Player of the term goes to Thomas Hyde for a string of outstanding individual performances from fly-half.

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Rugby Teams

1st XV

3rd XV

Standing (L to R): Mr Hawley, T Morgan, S Horner, L Montalat Verheyen, O Barber, H MacLeod-Ash, H McAfee, P Jenkins, R Upton, R Tudhope, L Tuckfield, T Phillips, Mr Davies

Standing (L to R): I Boswall, H Sanford, A Mickleburgh, M Mason, T Crossfield, A Innes, J Jiang, S Finch-Hatton, J Longman, W Harrison, A Jones Sitting (L to R): S Love, T Read, N Geach, B Fearn (vc), H Taylor (c), J Ide, R Wood, O Smith, J Tadhunter

Sitting (L to R): H Brown, J Glydon, J Saunders, T Rogers, I Wright (c), G Pugh, R Leschallas, W Sandy, B Vallings

2nd XV

U16A

Standing (L to R): O Pick, L Hyde, J Smuts, A Waterfield, G Matthews, F Farrell, R Harris, G Rampton, A Baxter, S Kennard, F Spilsbury

Standing (L to R): J Blunden, L Harper, C Wichary, H Burgess, A Barrett-James, J Fowler-Baxter, O Luck, J Cole, O Lefebvre, O Sykes

Sitting (L to R): F Weatherhead, J Sykes, J Boyle, C Cross, S Houldsworth (c), J Roding, E Bascombe, R Harper, C McFarlane

Sitting (L to R): B Burton, T Horner, S Rabbets, L Ward, T Jones (c), R Oliver, C Christianakis, A McFarlane, J Richmond

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U16B

U14A

Standing (L to R): F Goggs, J Thomas, F Pender-Cudlip, L Alderton, W Bartlett, D Wang, L Haywood, T Robinson

Standing (L to R): P Dick-Read, B Dickson, T Hodge, F Stephens, W Riley, J Moore, A Macer, W Owen, J Terry, A Towler, O Cheffings, A Frost

Sitting (L to R): C Bascombe, O Enderby, H Farragher, L Hutchison, A White, P Dorji, J Woods

Sitting (L to R): B Haywood, T Quaile, E Firth, C Binns (c), H Love (c), W Bird, H Weekes, H Fisher

U15

U14B

Standing (L to R): O Mepham, G Ruiz Herranz, M Hendrie, H Wareham, F Chetwode, F Smith, M Wong, A Waddington, J Southall, A Downes, F James, E Weekes

Standing (L to R): G Jebb, A Evans, L Puig de la Bellacasa, A Martyn-Smith, O Merrony, B Sheldon, T Hyde, A Muniz, A Petherick, R Ruiz Herranz Sitting (L to R): B Wirth, T Hodgson, T Curry, B Hopkins, J Black, O Lock, J Binns

Sitting (L to R): K Wood, F Hayward, S Corrigan, I Pugh, J Newcombe, I Luque Sanchez, W Cundy, O Price, E Badenhorst

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1st XI

The 1st XI had yet another fantastic season in which they reached the last 16 of the England Hockey National School Cup, as well as the quarter finals of the Independent Schools’ Hockey Cup (ISHC). This season also saw both Sophie and Olivia Hamilton capped by England at U18 level, with Millie Walters achieving the same feat for Wales U18s. Sophie was also called up to an England U21 camp which is an outstanding achievement.

GIRLS’ HOCKEY I am very pleased with the performance of the girls’ hockey club this season, writes Henry Eriksson. Whilst the focus is not on results, but that of player development and producing teams who play attractive and exciting hockey, I am impressed with the 54% win ratio of the club as a whole. Equally, if not more impressive, is the high participation levels of our girls’ hockey teams as we do incredibly well to consistently field eight teams, which for a school of our small size, is something I am proud of. As always, I want to thank the pupils, staff and parents for what was yet another wonderful term of hockey at King’s.

The season started positively, with a well-attended pre-season trip to Cardiff to play in the Cardiff Met Schools’ Invitational. Having won their group easily, defeating Pangbourne, Christ College and Kingswood along the way, they played the final versus Canford. Despite dominating the match, two late goals conceded handed Canford the win, however, the King’s girls could go into the season on a high having gelled as a group and already started playing some exciting attacking hockey. The first game of the season saw King’s defeat Prior Park with ease, scoring seven goals courtesy of Sophie Hamilton (5), Anna Wilmshurst and debutant Sophie Gould who was also voted player of the match. In their next two matches, King’s continued their run of good form, beating Bryanston 6-0 and Kingswood 3-2 with Millie Walters scoring in both matches and with Harriet Tuson and Johanna Bastian picking up the player of the match awards respectively. An 8-0 victory versus Downside saw Isabella Bird and Julie Groos get their names on the scoresheet for the first time of the season

Sophie Hamilton

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and which gave them confidence going into the first cup match of the season versus Sherborne Girls. In this match, King’s produced some simply outstanding attacking hockey as they won 9-0 with Ziska von Mellenthin and Jasmine Spilsbury being amongst the goals and with Klara Strack being named player of the match on her 1st XI debut. To finish a highly impressive half term of hockey, the team defeated Taunton School 6-0 and Queen’s College 6-0 in round 1 of the National Cup. After half term, a 6-1 victory versus Clifton College was followed by an 8-0 win versus Bradfield College in the ISHC, a match which was the team’s best performance of the season to date and one in which Constance Pollard was named player of the match after yet another clean sheet in the King’s goal. With a tough away match versus Blundell’s in round 2 of the National Cup, the girls played exceptionally well, winning 6-1 with captain Olivia Hamilton leading her team with maturity and skill, Julie Groos scoring an excellent goal and Emily von Mellenthin being named player of the match, with Annelotte von Velsen also having an excellent game at right half. In their remaining block fixtures of the term, King’s continued their unbeaten form by defeating Clayesmore 5-1, King Edward’s Bath 6-0, and grinding out a 2-2 draw with Queen’s College. With a 3-0 victory versus a resolute Dauntsey’s team in round 3 of the National Cup and in which Molly Hunter starred at the heart of the King’s defence, this meant that the team secured themselves more hockey after Christmas with a round 4 National Cup match and ISHC quarter final, both against Millfield. The first match versus Millfield in the National Cup was played away and despite the majority of the match being played in the middle of the pitch, Millfield defended their ‘D’ very well and were clinical with their chances as they won 4-0 to hand King’s their first defeat of the season. Olivia Hamilton led by example as she was outstanding and the best player on the pitch.

my six years at King’s and I am so grateful to the whole team for making it such an enjoyable season. Olivia Hamilton was an outstanding captain, demonstrating natural leadership abilities and Sophie Hamilton should be congratulated on scoring 31 goals in 15 matches. I would like to say a huge thank you to the U6th leavers, Sophie Hamilton, Olivia Hamilton, Molly Hunter, Emma Walker and Anna Wilmshurst for their contribution to King’s Hockey. The team were quite rightly named team of the term which was a fitting end for such a talented squad.

2nd XI

Kirsty Hoskins and Tim Fletcher reflect on a difficult yet enjoyable season. The 2nd XI girls’ hockey team had a tough set of block fixtures but showed real character in everything they did. The season started with Prior Park and the game was end-to-end with both teams having chances. However, it was Honor Mant with a one touch goal in the last minute of the game that secured us a 1-0 victory. As the season progressed the girls continued to work on their goal scoring abilities, however it was always this issue that meant that games were close. Against Bryanston, the girls nearly scored on a number of occasions but as luck would have it the ball never found the back of the net and the game ended 0-0. Against Kingswood the girls battled not only a good team with good tactical moves, but the elements too, with bitter winds and constant rain. They showed true character but unfortunately again could not score, despite Charlotte Latham using her speed and skills down the right-hand side of the pitch and looking very dangerous. Next saw another close encounter with Taunton School. The game was close with Sophie Gartell making some superb

With King’s looking for revenge in the ISHC quarter final as they welcomed Millfield to Tyndalls’ astroturf, the team produced a superb performance. Racing into a 2-0 lead courtesy of goals from Klara Strack and Sophie Hamilton, King’s couldn’t quite hold on as they allowed Millfield back into the game to eventually lose 3-2 in a game which could very easily have gone the other way. Emma Walker showed her quality in defence as she had a great game and Sophie Hamilton was instrumental in all that King’s did well. I couldn’t be prouder of the way the team acquitted themselves against one of the very best sides in the country. This is the most successful Girls’ 1st XI I have coached during

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Esther Adenuga

saves. However, the scored ended in a 3-1 loss to a strong side. The highlight from that game was Esther’s goal where she eliminated three players and the goalie to put the ball in the back of the net. At the end of the first half of term we came up against a skilful Sherborne Girls side; we were successful in numerous attacks but couldn’t get the ball in the goal once again. It finally came in the later stages of the game with an excellent pass from Millie Toulson-Clarke down the line to Kiara Jones who drove the ball in and managed to selflessly make a pass to Charlotte Elway on the penalty spot, who with her first touch put it into the back of the goal. As we entered the second half of the season, the girls matured in their hockey abilities and were starting to play proper hockey. Their next opponent, Blundell’s, was a tough one, where they had to work hard in defence, which all the team did. Kiara Jones was able to score two fantastic goals on the counterattack. The girls then bounced straight back after their loss to Blundell’s and were able to play some great forward-thinking hockey to put six goals past Clayesmore. KES Bath were a clinical team who were quick to move the ball, however they found it difficult to do as much as they would have liked due to Florence Cobb the captain having a superb game where she intercepted balls and controlled the game from the back of the pitch. This, along with help from the calm and collected Poppy Boyden, meant that the score ended in a commendable 3 - 1 loss. The highlights of the term came in the last two matches, with a 3-0 win for the team against St Mary’s Shaftesbury with Amy Ruddock scoring her first ever goal for the School. The Queen’s Taunton match was a game full of emotion as it would be the last game for many of the team. The girls played some of the best hockey they had done all term. A few silly mistakes cost them their 1-0 lead, ending in a 1-1 draw, however it was one of the best team performances of the term.

3 XI rd

Sophie Liddell-Grainger looks back on a challenging season. The team trained hard and improved their gameplay. During their first match the team came away with a win. Clara Bracey did a good job leading the team as captain in this game. They all bonded well and worked hard to play as a team having only just had a couple of training session. During the season the team came up against some hard

Harriet Papenfus

opposition. Overall the team played well even if the results do not reflect how well the 3rd XI did during the season. Elspeth Cooke was a formidable defensive player. In goal was Katie Ruddock, who was outstanding every game and came away as player of the match on numerous occasions. Isabella Hawkins and Eleanor Gibbs did so well in defence as well, working hard to keep the ball out the defending end. In the front we had Hayley Clarke and Harriet Papenfus working to move the ball up to the attacking end hunting for goals. Atlanta Ross was another forward who worked hard and really improved her game during the season. The whole team did well during the season, it is just a shame they did not get more wins which they definitely deserved. It was great for the team to end on a good win against King Edward’s Bath where they won 3-2. It was a pleasure to spend my last season of hockey and my last term at King’s coaching this wonderful team.

4th XI

Kate Flavell reviews a season full of enthusiasm, hard work and energy. The 4th XI Girls Hockey team started the season with enthusiasm and vigour. For many, it was their first year of playing senior team matches and we had several overseas pupils who had not played hockey for a long time. However, looking at the girls on the pitch you would not have known this, as they were keen to learn and played with energy and determination. The first match of the season was against a strong Bryanston side, which was a tough game resulting in a 1-6 loss. It became evident that we had a lot of areas to improve on, however the girls were keen to work hard in training and so

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U15A

seemed inspired by their first match.

Nick Bunday and Josh Godfrey describe what will go down as one of the best for an U15A team for a long while. The fact that they clearly enjoyed their hockey so much and played with huge determination, as well as smiles, made the season the great success that it was. In a season that spanned eleven fixtures over three months it is hard to pick out highlights but there are a number that will linger long in the memory. The first fixture is always crucial in any season as the team strives to gel and create some early momentum to their season.

Scarlet Yeandel

Cressida Bird, Scarlet Yeandel, Ella Docherty and Juliane von Lochow proved to be a strong combination at the front, attacking with pace and skill. For the first two matches we played hard opposition and although we didn’t win, our attacking players still managed to score some excellent goals. The match against Taunton School was a particular highlight of the season. The attacking players, supported excellently by Poppy Turner in midfield, scored early in the match and the team went from strength to strength. The defensive players of the team - Lara Milne, Juliette Webb, Santina McKechnie and Amy Hurst - led by Isabel Branagan were formidable in defence. They helped prevent the opposition from scoring and the result was a 5-0 victory to King’s. The 4th XI really started to improve as the term progressed. The midfield players, who were quite inexperienced at the start of the season, really started to shine through with Amelia Drew, Elena Hijmans van den Bergh, Megan Sewell and Julia Hassler giving it their all on the pitch. The continued improvement, great team work and enthusiasm shown by the girls during training resulted in them winning their final match of the season and ending it on a high. They beat Clayesmore 2-1 in a closely fought match and it was lovely to see them come out on top.

This year the first fixture was away at Prior Park, a notoriously difficult place to play, and given the fact that the team’s best player had been taken to play in the 1st XI, the girls did not travel expecting a win. They found themselves a goal down for much of the match, but they all showed true grit and determination to score twice in the last five minutes. This never say die attitude was a feature of many of the fixtures when the girls kept working hard right to the final whistle to conjure up a result that perhaps did not look likely. The effect of this was that four out of ten of their victories were by a single goal. Perhaps the most outrageous goal of the season was Emily Gilmour’s chip of the Clifton goalkeeper from the top of the D which enabled the team to win 1 – 0. The best goal was probably Olivia Wastell’s excellent strike following a flowing move in the 3 – 1 victory over Blundell’s – it was rightly described as ‘champagne hockey’! The only loss was against Taunton away in a game where the girls failed to get going: this uncharacteristic performance cost them their unbeaten season

The girls and I were extremely grateful to Rebecca Pick for standing in as goalkeeper on a couple of occasions – she played with confidence and was superb. Also, a huge thank you to Ella Hanegraaf for stepping in as goalkeeper and captaining the 4th XI in a positive and professional manner. All in all, the 4th XI had an enjoyable season. Although we didn’t win every match, the girls’ skills and confidence improved no end and they were enthusiastic throughout, even playing in the most miserable of weathers. I look forward to seeing this young side back out on the pitch again next year! Played 7 - Won 2 - Lost 5

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Charlotte Dick

and the sad fact is that the girls had beaten better teams earlier in the season. It was a huge shame but a valuable learning experience for this group of talented girls – every game has to be approached in the correct manner to ensure that they give of their best. This should not however detract from the girls’ achievements this season where they have improved immeasurably and proved beyond peradventure that they are a talented hockey team. There is great potential here for the future. The girls had an awards ceremony and tea during the last week of term, and in amongst the vast amounts of chocolate cake and laughter, Klara Strack and Charlotte Dick were chosen as the Coaches’ Players of the Season, whilst Elizabeth Ingvaldson was selected as Player’s Player. The award for the most improved players went to Sophie Doig and Mathilda Best. Throughout the season the team was captained with great maturity by Millie Venner-Combes. It seems invidious to choose individuals from a team such as this as they all contributed to a great season. For completeness the U15A squad was: Sophie Doig, Millie Venner-Coombes (Capt), Martha Bartlett, Mathilda Best, Charlotte Dick, Elizabeth Ingvaldson, Kitty Walker, Isabella Jones, Klara Strack, Rosie Longman, Olivia Wastell, Emily Gilmour, Charlotte Burton, Olivia Nicol. Mr Bunday and Mr Godfrey thank them all for their enthusiasm and good humour, not to mention their skill and commitment that have all combined to make this a season to remember.

U15B

Lillian Crossfield

Gabriella Howard-Harwood proved to be a formidable line of defence and their ability to transfer the ball around the back was very slick by the end of the season. The girls trained hard every week, and it was great to see the support they gave some of the less experienced players. Neither Felicitas Schmidt-Warneke nor Isabel Hancock had played hockey before this season and they both ended up making valuable contributions during the matches. Having watched most of these players at the U14 level, it has been brilliant to see how far they have developed at the Junior level. Well done to the whole team on an outstanding season.

U14A

Isabel Brearley and Emilie Loveless reflect on a fantastic season of Hockey for the U15Bs with Louis Corbin O’Grady looks back on a fantastic the team winning six out of eleven matches and first hockey season for this team. drawing one. They showed great enthusiasm and started off with a dominant win vs a strong Prior Park determination throughout the season and were We side with Georgina Woods scoring the first goal of the season, rewarded with some resounding victories. followed by Tia West finishing another chance to make it We started the season with a 2-0 victory over Prior Park and a special mention must be given to Elinor Harper who volunteered to play goalkeeper only two days before our first match. Elinor made some fantastic saves and continued to be an excellent goalie throughout the season. Two particular highlights of the season were the matches against Taunton and Clayesmore where we won 5-0 and 7-0 respectively. Goal scorers included: Lulu McDade who scored a magnificent five goals against Clayesmore, Isabella Andrew, Lilian Crossfield, Amelia Ballinger and Holly Millard. Credit must also be given to our defensive players who worked hard all season. In the six matches we won, we also maintained a clean sheet. Charlotte Burton, Freya Smith and

2-0; Lucy Hackney was named Player of the Match. We then went to Bryanston and despite having 20 penalty corners and 25 shots on goal, we failed to score. Bryanston scored with their only shot on goal of the game, leaving the score line 1-0 to Bryanston and a goalscoring focus during training from then onwards. Millie Medlicott and India Finch Hatton were our Players of the Match. Next we played home against another strong Kingswood side and Jess Vallings scored the only goal of the match leaving it as a 1-0 win, Catherine Robinson was named Player of the Match for her sheer determination and effort. Next on the fixture list was an away match at Downside, where our class really started to show and we finished the fixture as 7-0 victors. The goals were shared by; Milly Medlicott x 2, Tia West, Davina Ellis, Molly Wootton, Catherine Robinson and Jessica Vallings.

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U14B

Milly Corrigan and Olivia Wilkinson review an outstanding first season of junior hockey for the new 3rd Form as the U14Bs. Played 9 - Won 5 - Drew 2 - Lost 2 Having never played together before, the newly formed U14B team got off to a strong start, securing a 4-1 win against Prior Park. In the following weeks, the matches proved a real challenge as they faced some well-rehearsed opposing sides. Despite two losses against strong Bryanston (0-2) and Clifton College (0-4) teams, the girls continued to work hard and remained in high spirits during training with improved communication on the pitch.

Davina Ellis

After a hugely dominant performance at Downside, we faced Taunton School at home. This was a very physical and competitive game with two of our players being injured by being hit with either sticks or the ball. Even under difficult circumstances we dominated and scored a fantastic opening goal before Taunton scored a counter attack goal off our attacking short corner. Davina Ellis and Jessica Vallings were sensational in this match. Our county tournament was next and we entered the top tier of the competition with Millfield, King’s College Taunton and Taunton School. We lost two and drew one to leave us placed 4th in Somerset, learning a great deal from the day. Clifton College was away was the next fixture on the list and we knew it would be a very difficult one. We lost 6-1 but we learned some great lessons from a team with some fantastic individuals, some of whom represent England. The girls played fantastically to hold their own against a side who went on to finish 3rd at the Nationals. Helena Griffiths was Player of the Match for some fantastic saves.

The rest of the season saw an improvement in their strategy and skills and the girls went on to use these talents in the games to follow with the score lines reflecting their continued positivity. The girls went from strength to strength winning all of their final four matches of the season against Blundell’s School (3-1), Clayesmore (4-1), St Mary’s School (3-1) and Queen’s College Taunton (5-1). Looking back over the season the girls should be proud of themselves and their achievements on the pitch. We are sure that their enthusiasm and skill will stand them in good stead to win many more matches during their hockey careers at King’s. A particular mention should go to the following girls for consistently working tirelessly both during training and in matches throughout the course of the term: Grace Tillman, Ellie West and Ebony McGlynn-Fry who all received player of the match at least once.

After Clifton came Blundell’s at home and we were hugely dominant throughout the game and should have won by 3+ goals, however the game finished 2-2 because we weren’t clinical enough. Player of the Match was Marcia Kennard for beating four players and the keeper to score the equaliser. Our penultimate game was against Clayesmore who again we dominated and beat 3-0. We finished with a fantastic performance against Queen’s College, beating them convincingly 4-1 with Olivia Hooker Player of the Match. Player of the Season was shared between Molly Wootton, Marcia Kennard, Georgina Woods and Jessica Vallings who were all outstanding in everything they did this season. Most Improved Player was shared between Maya Wigram and Charlotte Rundle. This team will be very special in years to come and I am grateful for their engagement and efforts this term. Ebony McGlynn-Fry

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Girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Hockey Teams

1st XI

3rd XI

Standing (L to R): I Bird, A Von Velsen, A Wilmshurst, J Groos, H Tuson, E Walker, J Spilsbury, M Hunter, J Bastian

Standing (L to R): A George, I Dawe, E Gibbs, K Edgell, A Ross, E Longman, V Janes, H Papenfus

Sitting (L to R): M Walters, E Von Mellenthin, S Gould, O Hamilton (c), S Hamilton, Z Von Mellenthin, C Pollard

Sitting (L to R): H Clarke, I Hawkins, L Purefoy, C Bracey (c), F Fearn, E Cooke, K Ruddock

2nd XI

4th XI

Standing (L to R): N Stocker, A Ruddock, R Wakelin, P Boyden, K Jones, J Fricke, E Adenuga, C Elway

Standing (L to R): L Milne, J Hassler, S Yeandel, E Hanegraaf, E Docherty, J Von Lochow Sitting (L to R): C Bird, A Drew, J Webb, P Turner, E Hijmans Van Den Bergh, M Sewell, S McKechnie

Sitting (L to R): N Wilmshurst, H Mant, K Proctor, F Cobb, L Latham, K Wootton, S Gartell

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U15A

U14A

Standing (L to R): R Longman, C Burton, O Nicol, M Best, S Gould, C Dick, M Bartlett, L Ingvaldson, O Wastell

Standing (L to R): J Vallings, G Eleanor, D Ellis, I Finch Hatton, C Robinson, L Rundle, L Hooker

Sitting (L to R): A Evans, K Walker, K Strack, M Venner-Coombes (c), E Gilmour, I Jones, S Doig

Sitting (L to R): L Hackney, G Woods, M Wigram, M Wootton, T West, M Kennard, H Griffiths

U15B

U14B

Standing (L to R): F Schmidt-Warnecke, A Mackintosh, L McDade, J Hayman, G Howard-Harwood, I Unwin, A Warren

Standing (L to R): A Smith, A Blunden, J Hurst, I Mason, C Martinez, E McGlynn-Fry, R. Thornton

Sitting (L to R): H Millard, A Ballinger, L Crossfield, E Harper, I Andrew, F Smith, I Hancock

Sitting (L to R): M Chubb, E West, R Pick, E Middleton, G Tillman, R Tudhope, L Squire

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BOYS’ HOCKEY The King’s Bruton Boys’ Hockey Club enjoyed a good season which saw each of the teams make pleasing progress and improvement as the season wore on, writes Henry Eriksson. I am proud to say that we continue to consistently put out eight boys’ teams, four on the senior and four on the junior side, which means that the majority of boys at King’s Bruton are playing competitive hockey. My aim for the season is a 50/50 win loss ratio across all of our teams and despite falling very slightly below this, I am encouraged by where our boys’ hockey is at the moment. As ever, I am indebted to the fantastic support and expertise offered by members of staff and I am grateful to the boys for all of their efforts and making the season such an enjoyable one.

1 XI st

The 1st XI had a successful season in which they reached the last 16 of the Tier 2 National Cup as well as securing some very pleasing performances and victories in their regular block fixtures, which saw them lose one match all season. The season began with a well-attended and enjoyable preseason which gave the side the opportunity to gel and get a good number of matches and practice sessions under their belt. Having trained hard at school they travelled to Cardiff Met University to play in their annual Schools’ Invitational Tournament where they faced competitive matches versus Pangbourne, Denstone, Kingswood and Stamford. These four days set the tone for the season ahead and the boys improved as the weekend went on. In their first match of the season, King’s travelled to Dauntsey’s which is notoriously a closely fought fixture. However, a solitary Leonard Mons debut goal was enough to secure a pleasing 1-0 victory. This match was closely followed by

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Peter Jenkins

round 1 of the Independent Schools’ Hockey Cup (ISHC) a few days later where King’s travelled to Bryanston. A fiery game ended 2-2, Bryanston going on to win 5-4 on penalty strokes to progress to the next round. However, the boys put this disappointment behind them as they went on to beat Clayesmore 6-1 on the Saturday, courtesy of goals from Leonard Mons (2), Angus McDermid, Theodore Morgan, Samuel Rabbets and Toby Rogers with Samuel Stockton being named man of the match. This victory gave the team confidence going into a tough away match with Exeter School which ended 0-0 in an entertaining draw where Toby Phillips in the King’s goal was outstanding. A comfortable 8-0 victory versus Downside followed in a game which was very physical and saw King’s lose their discipline at times. However, good performances from Theodore Morgan, Gabriel Pugh and Michael Harvey guided King’s to victory. Having lost on penalties earlier in the season, King’s had the opportunity for revenge versus Bryanston as they faced them again in Round 2 of the National Cup. Despite King’s creating a greater number of goal scoring opportunities, the game ended 1-1 and, on this occasion, the resultant penalty strokes saw King’s win 5-4 with Jake Saunders scoring the all-important winning penalty. This victory gave the boys the boost they needed for their difficult Round 3 tie at home versus a strong Monkton Combe team. This match saw King’s produce their best performance of the season as they won 4-2 with Toby Phillips yet again being outstanding in the King’s goal and with goals being scored by Theodore Morgan, Samuel Stockton and Leonard Mons (2). The consistent Michael Harvey was awarded man of the match after another excellent performance at centre half. With three tough games to prepare themselves for their last 16 cup match, King’s played some good hockey and demonstrated the progress they had made by drawing 2-2 with KES Bath and defeating Sherborne and Queen’s College 3-1 and 2-1 respectively. In these matches, the King’s defence of Peter Jenkins, Angus McDermid, Samuel Houldsworth, Charles Hall and Jake Saunders started to provide the attacking platform

and outletting that the team required going into their very tough cup match with King’s Gloucester. Their opponents from Gloucester, armed with a couple of internationals and good club players, gave King’s a stern test; despite going 1-0 up through Leonard Mons, King’s succumbed to a respectable 3-1 defeat to be eliminated from the competition. Unfortunately, this loss meant that King’s went into their final block fixture of the season slightly deflated and this showed as they lost 2-1 to Prior Park. However, this defeat did not detract from the brilliant season that the boys had, and I am proud of what they achieved and the progress they made both as individuals and as a team. I would like to thank Peter Jenkins for leading the team so well, as well as the other departing U6th players, Samuel Houldsworth, Samuel Innes and Jan Roding for the contribution they have made to King’s Bruton hockey in their time at the School.

2nd XI

Mr Fletcher and Mr Godfrey enjoyed a very successful season with the 2nd XI, with only one defeat, a draw and seven victories. Our success was built on a miserly defence, orchestrated by Liam Ward and Luke Tuckfield, which conceded a mere six goals all season. A large part of this was thanks to Oliver Luck in goal, who made some outstanding saves during the term, notably at KES Bath. William Sandy also played a key role at left half in neutralising opposition attacks down the right wing. Our right half was used as a more attacking role, and Rian Upton, Archie Jones, Oliver Sykes and Harry MacLeodAsh all played well in this position. Our best performance of the term was probably at Exeter, the only day we managed to score three goals in a match. It included the goal of the season, set up by Luca Hutchison and tapped in by Jacob Sykes and the comedy moment of the

term, Lluis Montallat Verheyen’s attempted reverse strike on goal. He missed everything, but it was the only blemish that day in a masterclass at Inside-Right. Benjamin Fearn was always to the fore at centre-half and it was he who both protected the back four and made us tick going forwards. Scoring goals was a challenge and we cannot be described as prolific. Aidan McFarlane scored some good goals at Downside, and Joseph Gartell scored the decisive goal late against Queen’s but it was an area we struggled with all term, and never quite found the solution, although Jacob Sykes was lethal from two yards and had that crucial knack of getting himself in the right place at the right time. Injuries to Benjamin Davies and Joseph Gartell kept them out for most of the first half of term, and whilst our enormous squad was a benefit in many ways, we also lacked a little consistency especially up-front. Finlay Spilsbury provided a cutting edge going forwards but needs to work on his finishing, (although he did nearly score the goal of the decade against Prior Park in the final match) and Samuel Innes enjoyed himself up front having been released by the 1st XI. This group of boys deserves enormous credit for the way they played and trained all term. They were perpetually enthusiastic, saved their arguing with the umpire for training matches, and displayed a remarkable level of patience and maturity at times in the way they played their hockey. The whole squad (and there are too many to mention here) contributed much. Above all they had fun, a crucial ingredient at 2nd team level, especially on a cold, gloomy, January afternoon. Thanks must go especially to Mr Corbin O’Grady for all his expertise in taking training sessions and to Mr Eriksson for all his umpiring, despite stopping our final short corner routine of the season mid-flow.

3rd XI

Will Daws and Tim Walker look back on a season whereby the 3rd XI had a good season which is perhaps not truly reflected in the stats for the term. Our strengths of a quick and fit attacking line and a solid defence meant that we spent much time in the opposition half and if we had found a natural goal scorer, we might have run up some impressive scores. As it was, we scored 20 goals and conceded 11 (Sherborne aside) which is a very pleasing summary of the season. Dauntsey’s was a good fixture to get everyone going at the beginning of the season; we came back from 3-0 down to draw level before losing it at the very end. If there was one game that perfectly illustrated the season it was against Clayesmore. Despite having 80% of the possession and territory, spending almost the entirety of the game in or close to the opposition 22, the team couldn’t quite convert this into

Finlay Spilsbury

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Oliver Barber

a score, even missing open goal opportunities. Inevitably, the team were hit with a sucker punch break away late on and lost 1-0, completely against the run of play. Against Blundell’s (5-1), Kings Edward’s Bath (6-0), and Monkton Combe (20) we managed to change this run and achieved good wins. The team benefitted from some particular strong individual skills, be that the upfront threat of Aidan McFarlane, Oliver Enderby or Oliver Pick, the driving wing play from Archie Waterfield, the midfield skill of Alexander Mickleburgh, Freddie Comer and Oliver Smith, or the defensive strength of Joseph Loughrey and Alexander Baxter with Edward Geach also growing in stature through the season, but overall the key to the successful games was teamwork. Clean passes and good link play rapid converting defence to attack were key to the successful games. The team played well in these games and started to show some real quality, with the impressive Samuel Love and Toby Crossfield pulling off some key saves to keep clean sheets in two of these games. Queen’s Taunton and Prior Park were excellent, competitive games, where both teams had the chance to make their possession count and win, though a draw and a one goal loss were the end outcomes. Overall the team performed well and enjoyed the freedom to play and enjoy their hockey. Whilst the players know that there were two or three games where they could have snatched the win, nevertheless they improved through the season and showed both resolve and resilience. Rory Wood led the team well and the spirit was always good.

to record some big victories against Clayesmore, Queen’s Taunton, Prior Park and KES Bath, scoring 16 goals whilst only conceding two. In amongst those results was a draw away at Monkton Combe in difficult conditions and this was very much a game the 4th XI thought they should have won. A strong Sherborne team showed the King’s 4th XI the importance of using width and the team are already looking forward to the return fixture next year to see if they can overturn the result from this season. The team demonstrated great flair in attack and have demonstrated real commitment going forward. Oliver Barber, Rowan Oliver, Clifford Christianiakis and Oskar Lefebvre were amongst a number of players who really threatened the opposition in every game. It was fantastic to see so many players step up to represent the 3rd XI during the season and this was a very promising first season of senior hockey for many of the boys.

U15A

Kirsty Hoskins enjoyed the challenge of working with the U15As this season. The boys worked hard throughout the season to work on individual skills and team game play, which showed by the end of the season. All their hard work had paid off as they were able to play some excellent hockey but unfortunately, they would not be able to get the results they had wished for. The season started with a well fought match versus Dauntsey’s. The boys were not matched in size, but they managed to hold their own throughout the game and Kit Wood was able to defend well making sure Dauntsey’s were not able to put more goals in the back of the net. Next up was Clayesmore which was an emotionally draining game for them. This was shown in the first two minutes of the match where through a lack of concentration we went 2-0 down. The boys carried on playing some good forward-thinking hockey but the early goals were hard to come back from and in the end the match ended in a 4-1 loss, with Oscar Price scoring the only goal from a short corner. Exeter School was always going to be a hard match, but the boys were quick to go out fighting and ended up with a 2-0 win, with Aled Downes the captain

4th XI

Dan Cupit and Stefan Davies reflect on an enjoyable season of 4th XI hockey. The 4th XI hockey team made fantastic progress this term. It was fantastic to not only see the progression in terms of individual skill acquisition and game understanding, but also in the development of team work and cohesion. The season started well with a committed performance that ended in a well-earned draw at Dauntsey’s. The 4th XI then went on

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Isaac Baxter

using his pace and skills early on in the match. Overall the match was evenly played with some fantastic hockey being played from all the boys. With the success of this match the boys were in good spirits and were able to get two draws from Downside and KES Bath. James Newcombe was able to score the equalising goal in the final few seconds of the match to ensure a draw vs Downside. It was Aled Downes who scored all three goals in the King Edward’s game. The last few matches of the season were challenging and the boys were able to again show how far they had come with their hockey. Looking dangerous at times, but just unable to score goals. Murray Hendrie made some superb saves throughout the season to ensure that the games were closely contested.

Felix Smith. However, for completeness sake, the remainder of the squad were Thomas Bickerton, Benjamin Fry, Max Hayward, Bosley Thomas, James Newcombe, William Cundy, Joel Southall, Gabriel Ruiz Herranz, Edward Burgess, Ignacio Luque Sanchez, Oliver Gasson-Hargreaves, Moritz von Langen. I would like to pass on our thanks to Mr Stainton who umpired most of our fixtures, to Mr Cahill for his assistance on Mondays and finally the boys themselves for such an entertaining season.

U14A

Louis Corbin O’Grady had a very enjoyable season with the talented U14A team.

U15B

Nick Bunday contemplates a season of close defeats but huge hearts. The U15B comprised a squad of some 16 young men who readily bought into the team ethos of enjoyment and the fact that everyone deserved an opportunity to play. The result was some fluid combinations of players on the pitch and some novel tactics – including the use of the now famous ‘up-side down Christmas tree’ formation which two players cooked up one Friday evening. Edward Weekes and Joel Southall (the cocaptains) were so convincing in the face of my consternation that it was decided to try it out – naturally it resulted in our first victory! With only a mere 33 years experience since I qualified as a coach, I was certainly put back in my box – perhaps this ‘old dog can be taught new tricks’! This is just one of many examples of the entire squad having fun with their hockey and actually thinking about what they were trying to achieve.

The U14A made a good start to their season with wins against Dauntsey’s, Clayesmore and Exeter School. Archie Frost scored both of the goals to win us the Dauntsey’s game, but player of the match went to Samuel Loughrey for many goal saving tackles. Jay Terry scored both of the goals against Clayesmore which were assisted by Oliver Lock, however Hugo Fisher was player of the match who gave an exceptional performance at centre half. We then moved on to playing Exeter School and stand out performances came from William Bird, Jack Binns and Patrick Dick-Read during our 2-1 win.

The win – loss ratio does not make good reading as we won two fixtures (against Downside and Queen’s Taunton), drew one (against Exeter) and lost the remaining five. Several of those losses were incredibly close but what is most important is that the boys enjoyed their hockey and never gave up. The stand out players this season were Edward Weekes, Toby Proctor and

We then moved on to our county tournament and had a great day of hockey, with some very competitive games and some narrow defeats to Taunton, Millfield and King’s Taunton. Player of the tournament was William Owen for his work rate and competitive nature. We then moved on to playing Downside and our boys simply did not match the physicality and competitiveness of Downside as we went 1-0 down early on. After a serious talking to at half time, the boys came out ready to put up a good fight and played superbly. We had countless chances, but weren’t clinical, meaning the game finished 1-0. Samuel Loughrey was Player of the Match. Our next match was against KES Bath, and we played fantastically to tie the game 1-1; Hugo Fisher was player of the match and wouldn’t have looked out of place in the 1st XI.

Isaac Pugh

Hugo Fisher

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Next in our campaign was Queen’s Taunton and our aims were to create a disciplined and clinical performance. We did just that, as Jay Terry smashed home a reverse and Kristian Quaile got the best assist of the season in setting up Felix Stephens at the back post to finish the game as 2-0. Oscar Cheffings and Felix Stephens were joint players of the match. We then went on to play Prior Park and with three of our best players out injured, it was always going to be a tough match. We started amazingly and missed three open goals in the first half. Prior were much more clinical, and the score ended as a 5-0 loss due to some very tired legs. Player of the match was Vice Captain Kristian Quaile for his efforts on the pitch. All in all, the U14A hockey team had a fantastic first season of hockey at KSB and their future is very bright.

U14B

1st XI

Will Stainton reflects on a difficult season for the U14B hockey team as they were learning a new game, developing new skills and playing against teams that had spent several years together. That being said, it was an incredibly successful season.

Standing (L to R): A McDermid, L Mons, S Rabbets, C Hall, A Barrett-James, G Pugh, J Saunders, B Vallings, S Stockton, M Harvey Sitting (L to R): S Innes, S Houldsworth, T Rogers, P Jenkins (c), T Morgan (vc), J Röding, T Phillips

Despite the results not being in our favour, the progress of the team was brilliant none-the-less. With a large training squad of 23, they were able to experience a lot of game specific drills which prepared them for their weekend fixtures. I was impressed by the desire to succeed and implement the week’s work on a Saturday. Finding a goalkeeper is always the first difficulty of the season but this was overcome almost immediately. Having played a lot of football in Spain, Alvaro Muniz Cabrera stepped up, put the kit on and the rest was history as they say. He was excellent in goal, playing for the U14As several times, but certainly kept us in the match week in, week out. I must almost mention the leadership of our captain, Bodo Wirth, who led from the front throughout the season. His enthusiasm was infectious, and the rest of the team followed his drive to win and keep trying even in the darkest of moments. We cannot name a leading goal scorer for the season, as the total was shared between so many people. However, goals from Harry Love, Edgar Firth, Archie Martyn-Smith and Thomas Hodge were among my favourites.

2nd XI Standing (L to R): L Hutchison, J Sykes, F Spilsbury, A McFarlane, R Upton, A Jones, S Kennard, O Sykes Sitting (L to R): J Tadhunter, L Montalat, L Ward, W Sandy (c), K Garnon, L Tuckfield, O Luck

The highlight of the season for me was the 2-2 draw against Sherborne School at home. It was an interesting afternoon that saw sunshine, rain, hail and more sunshine, but the boys battled against the elements to clutch a draw from a bigger side. I would like to thank Mr Godfrey and Mr Gibbins for their support this season; without them it would not have been possible. Finally, a big thank you to the boys for their enthusiasm and energy.

3rd XI

Bold Akpolagha Dickson

Standing (L to R): O Lefebvre, O Enderby, A Waterfield, O Barber, F Farrell, J Richmond, O Pick, F Comer Sitting (L to R): T Crossfield, J Loughrey, N Geach, R Wood, O Smith, A Baxter, S Love

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Boysâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Hockey Teams

4th XI

U14A XI

Standing (L to R): R Gibbs, A White, C Christianakis, R Oliver, G Matthew, W Bartlett, G Turton, M Mason, J Glydon, B Woolley

Standing (L to R): J Binns, O Cheffings, P Dick-Read, K Quaile, W Bird, F Stephens, W Owen, B Haywood, A Frost, S Lock

Sitting (L to R): B Burton, J Cole, J Wiegmann, T Ker, W Harrison, T Horner, J Burgess

Sitting (L to R): S Loughrey, A Evans, C Binns, H Fisher (c), J Terry, T Hyde, R Dicker

U15A XI

U14B XI

Standing (L to R): H Wareham, M von Langen, J Muminov, I Baxter, F Chetwode, J Newcombe, S Corrigan, F Hayward

Standing (L to R): B Hopkins, T Hodgson, H Love, A Towler, A Martyn-Smith, A Macer, O Merrony, W Riley, E Firth, L Puig De La Bellacasa Vallejo, A Muniz, K Akpolagha Dickson, A Petherick

Sitting (L to R): T Matkevich, O Mepham, F James, A Downes (c), K Wood, B Thomas, M Hendrie

Sitting (L to R): G Jebb, R Burfield, D Moore, T Hodge, B Wirth (c), H Weekes, T Curry, J Black, R Ruiz

U15B XI Standing (L to R): B Fry, E Burgess, G Ruiz Herranz, W Cundy, M Hayward, T Proctor Sitting (L to R): I Pugh, T Bickerton, J Southall (c), E Weekes (c), O Gasson-Hargreaves, F Smith

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NETBALL Millie Venner-Coombes

The standard of play across the teams at King’s Bruton continues to strengthen, with representation at regional level and performances beyond expectations across all teams, writes Alex Ireland. We have fielded 12 teams throughout the School for the first time ever, with five senior teams and six junior teams, giving almost every junior girl the opportunity to represent the School. Overall, we finished with a 56% success rate which is fantastic with so few fixtures, meaning every game is more significant. Before half term, we also took a trip to Bath University to watch Team Bath play. It was an exciting game, despite Bath finishing the wrong side of the score line, and the girls took full advantage of an opportunity to learn from some exceptional players. It was then fantastic to see the girls putting into practice what they had seen in that game. All term, the girls have worked so well to refine their skills and improve their strategy. The higher standard of the opposition has led to determination and dedication from all of the team players, a fantastic lesson for life!

1Withst aVII high percentage of Sixth Form contesting for places

in the 1st VII squad, competition this year was very tough. Unusually there were seven members of the U6th in the team, balanced by two 5th Form and one 4th Form. The squad consisted of Sophie Tyack, Lauren Beaton, Florence Cobb, Isabella Hawkins, Molly Hunter, Anna Wilmshurst, Esther Adenuga, Pandora Cobb, Harriet Tuson, and Millie VennerCoombes. The season started with Sophie Tyack leading the squad as captain, but sadly due to major injury she only managed the start of the first game. Lauren took over the leadership and despite losing a few silly games, inspired the team to some fantastic results, with a 55% win rate. The season started on a sad note, when in the first game

of the season we lost Sophie Tyack, and also both of the matches that we were playing against Blundell’s and West Buckland. Having been drawing when the injury occurred we then quickly lost 10 goals in the aftermath, and despite a fantastic effort to regroup by all the players, we couldn’t quite get the result back. This then fed into the second game, also resulting in a close defeat. The following weekend we played King’s Taunton, with a very strong win in the final quarter. A highly intimidating game away against Downside and then Sherborne led to two losses, but inspired the girls to work on their focus and the ability to maintain a calm composure in all competitive situations. After a long journey to Bryanston, a new block fixture for us, we had an equal and well contested game, after a slow start, going 4-0 down. We then competed well throughout the court to gain a two goal victory. A very strong Kingswood team were our next opponents; having just missed out on qualification for Nationals they are playing at a very high level. This was a fantastic opportunity to play at a higher level and although we lost the game, there was much to be learnt from this standard of play. The final three matches were against Clayesmore, Prior Park and Monkton Combe, resulting in three victories. The final two games were played with immense enthusiasm and effort from all the girls, with the strong teamwork and camaraderie shining through to end the season on a high. Well done to all those who have played, a fantastic squad of players.

nd 2It was VII Kate Flavell a thoroughly exciting season for the 2

VII Netball team this term and they were a complete delight to coach. All the girls played with enthusiasm and determination and their standard of play as a team went from strength to strength. nd

The season got off to a slow start; after a very long coach trip to West Buckland our first competition was a triangular tournament in which we lost narrowly to both the host school and Blundell’s. If we had played them later in the season,then it would have been a very different story but we put the first two losses down to nerves and the fact the team had never played together before. The season then picked up dramatically after some productive mid-week training, resulting in the 2nd VII having three impressive wins over King’s College, Downside and Sherborne Girls (winning 25-13, 24-10 and 33-6 respectively). Emma

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Amy George controlled the centre court and by the end of the season were dominating the possession whilst the highlight has to be the defence where Atlanta Ross and Daisy Turner learnt to defend as a pair and by the end of the season they were swapping and taking interceptions at will. This all led to a tremendous finish to the season winning the final four games.

Walker proved to be an exceptional captain, setting an example to the team and she was formidable in defence, making life very difficult for the attacking opposition. Despite then losing against strong Bryanston and Kingswood sides, the girls soon picked up their play and peaked for their performances against Wells Cathedral School (33-20), Clayesmore (52-9), Prior Park (25-10) and Monkton Combe (31-12). The girls worked incredibly well together, putting their weekly drills and coaching into practice and moved the ball at pace down the court to the consistent shooters – Amy Hurst, Amelia Toulson-Clarke, Millie Walters and Charlotte Latham. The 2nd VII were spoilt for choice this season with shooters, all of whom were able to offer another position on the court, which enabled versatility amongst the team. The shooters scored 318 goals between them this season, which is an incredible achievement. The girls really united as a strong side this season, and they established some exceptional relationships on the court. Jasmine Spilsbury’s feeds into the attacking circle were exemplary and she proved a crucial player at Wing Attack. Centre was taken by Rosanna Wakelin and Millie Walters this term, and both girls played the position brilliantly – really controlling the ball in the centre third and maintaining possession in closely fought matches. Wing Defence was played by Isabella Bird and Katharine Wootton this term, both new to the Senior Squad and both played with determination and finesse. The girls improved hugely throughout the season and intercepted many a ball into our defensive circle. Also crucial to our defence, who worked alongside Emma Walker, was Kit Edgell. New to King’s this year, Kit played with tenacity; she never gave up, even in the more aggressive matches, and her zonal marking was superb. All the girls should be really proud of their season, they approached it with smiles and determination and proved that hard work pays off. I am already looking forward to seeing them out on the court next year. Played 13 - Won 8, Lost 5

Imogen Dawe

4ThisthwasVII Angela Ashworth one of the busiest seasons that the 4

VII have faced in several years - the girls from King’s rose to the challenge as I have come to expect! For the first matches of the season, the 4th VII faced Blundell’s and West Buckland in a triangular fixture in what proved to be closely fought games on a very slippery court. The team played well together, maintaining pace and momentum keeping pressure on both opposing teams both in attack and through some superb defence. Despite their best efforts, they were pipped to the post in both games losing 9-11 against Blundell’s and 9-14 against West Buckland. The following weekend found the 4th playing some great netball against a very strong team from King’s Taunton. To their credit, they kept the pressure on, defending extremely well and communicating clearly. Nevertheless, they were unlucky in their own D, failing to find the net as often as they might. As a result, they narrowly lost 6-10. th

Just before the half term break, the team faced their match against Bryanston with good humour and dogged determination. The opposition proved to be well drilled, and our defence were up against quick and incredibly accurate shooters, so it was little surprise that the team suffered a 10-27 loss. It was to their credit that the 4ths consistently demonstrated great sportsmanship, never giving up.

3Therd3 VII Paul Brice VII had a difficult start to the season, moving the ball rd

well through the court but struggling to convert the possession into points. The players in defence were individually strong but did not work as a team. During the season the possession in the final third improved dramatically with Clara Bracey, Imogen Dawe, Natalie Wilmshurst and Charlotte Latham all combining well. Violet Leveson Gower, Elsie Gibbs and

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Charlotte Elway

Looking back over the season, I believe that the 4ths played some of the best netball of their season against Kingswood. Despite facing well drilled and highly skilled opponents, the 4th kept up their pace, defending extremely well. Nevertheless, they couldn’t quite match the accuracy of the opposition’s amazing shooters and lost 11 to 24. The following weekend saw Clayesmore fielding yet another strong squad who proved that bit quicker across the court, leading to another defeat, this time of 11 goals to 17. Just when the girls were starting to become disheartened, their luck changed, playing superbly against Prior Park. They kept up the pace through the whole game, passing with incredible accuracy despite the best efforts of the wind. Not only did our defence manage to intercept the ball on a huge number of occasions, but the attacking players were on their best form yet. The team thoroughly deserved their first victory by 24-6. Fresh on the back of this victory, the squad took on Monkton Combe for the final match of the season. The accuracy of our shooters continued, and the defenders intercepted countless attempts by their opponents to get close to shooting and their efforts were rewarded with an impressive 14-4 win. All members of the squad should be proud of the improvement in the standard of their netball over this term – well done from an immensely proud coach! Hayley Clarke, Amelia Drew, Charlotte Elway, Freya Fearn, Ella Hanegraaf, Violetta Janes, Emily Longman, Katie Proctor, Laura Purefoy, Amy Ruddock, Natasha Stocker and Juliette Webb

inspiring the girls to rebuild their team for the future games. The second half of the season started with a tough game against a strong Kingswood side, losing 18-24, however the higher standard of play from the opposition allowed the girls to show their true potential. From this point the girls really got into their stride and found their confidence. They began to gel as a team, work for each other and both shooters found their form. A very good performance against Clayesmore resulted in a 47-16 win, even with players playing out of position. A new fixture against Prior Park played indoors allowed the girls to play a good level of netball and gain another fantastic win. This left two final fixtures against Wells Cathedral and Monkton Combe. By this stage the whole squad were at the peak of their performance and confidence and were a pleasure to watch. They won both games comfortably finishing a fabulous season for this team. The girls also played in the Somerset County Cup in Taunton. They took on the best teams from across the county and after some tough games and fantastic performances they finished the tournament in second place, bringing the Runners-Up Cup back to Bruton. The squad consisted of Kitty Walker, Lillian Crossfield, Olivia Nicol, Mathilda Best, Anya Evans, Isabella Jones, Sophie Gould and Emily Gilmour. This is a fabulous squad of netball players and we look forward to them progressing into the senior squads next season.

U15B Olivia Wilkinson The newly formed 4 Form team faced a number of challenges th

U15A VII Beth Griffiths The U15 team had some changes to work with this season

as some players moved into the senior squad, others changed positions and some came up from the U14B squad. With such versatile and athletic players the squad could play a range of positions and inter-changed with ease in different matches. With the changes the girls struggled for the first games of the season in a triangular against West Buckland’s and Blundell’s. Despite some strong play through the court at times, the consistency was not quite established and we lost both of the games. With some team changes and intensive training the girls worked hard over the following weeks. With only two matches left before half term (due to cancellations by the opposition) against King’s Taunton and Bryanston, the team worked hard and gained two well earned victories. This was fantastic for restoring confidence within the team and

at the beginning of the season. Despite a few narrow losses in the first few games against West Buckland School, Blundell’s School and King’s College Taunton, the team learned from their early mistakes and began to communicate and work more cohesively as a squad. The girls picked themselves up after these matches and worked extremely hard in training sessions to refine their ball skills and work on their on-court strategy. We were very impressed with the whole team’s determination to improve and their positive attitude. In the matches that followed, the girls demonstrated an improved ability to read the game and anticipate the movements of the opposition. They used the channels on the court and passed the ball from our defensive back line to the attacking circle in a much stronger and more streamlined manner. An excellent use of space and tight marking secured the team a fantastic win against Sherborne Girls (17-14) in the middle of the season and then the girls ended the season with four fantastic back-to-back wins against Clayesmore School (36-5), Prior Park College (25-5), Wells Cathedral School (25-12) and Monkton Combe School (30-2). Throughout the season,

Holly Millard

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there were individual moments of brilliance from each girl in the team. Olivia Wastell must be congratulated for her phenomenal shooting and Charlotte Burton for consistently high-quality play and rapid improvement.

U14 A VII Alex Ireland The 3 Form is always an exciting age group to coach, with rd

girls arriving from various schools and with varying degrees of netball experience. A very enthusiastic and capable squad of girls began training in September in preparation for the County tournament in October, with plenty of players determined to gain a place in the A Squad. The final squad consisted of Isabella Mason, Millie Medlicott, Maya Wigram, Davina Ellis, Jessica Vallings, Marcia Kennard, Molly Wootton, Georgina Woods, Jemima Hurst and India Finch Hatton. The girls focused in training and worked hard to develop their teamwork in the short time available. At the tournament they performed very well in the first game, beating King’s Taunton. They then had a tough game against Millfield, which they contested well until half time. The final and critical game was against Taunton School and the winner would qualify for the regional finals. We played very well, dominating the court play, and although the pressure to win built through the game, the girls managed their nerves and we won by two goals. This meant the girls qualified to play at the regional tournament in Bournemouth in January. Training continued throughout the Christmas term with the focus on building experience and understanding of the standard of the game they would experience at the regionals. The first matches of the season were against West Buckland and Blundell’s in a triangular. With final squad places still to be secured the girls played exceptionally well in both games, against good squads, winning 15-10 and 32-2 respectively. Further match play was gained in a friendly against Wells Cathedral U15A team. Strong attacking play secured an efficient start and with the defensive play developing well, as a team and particularly in the circle defence, they claimed a strong victory. Bournemouth was the next destination, with an excited bus full of girls, and the weather looking pleasing. We arrived with all the other teams, found a base camp and warmed up ready to play. The pool group was tough, with the girls only managing two wins. The standard of netball was exceptionally high and we were very proud of the effort and improvement they made over the day. Following this experience the team returned to training with new aspirations and tactics.

They had games against Sherborne Girls (won 22-7) and Bryanston (won 25-14) and then Kingswood, which was a fantastic game, winning 25-17. With only three games left to play in the season the team travelled to Clayesmore and following a slow start and a change of players on court, the girls could not quite recover from a slow start and lost their first and only game of the season. With the final two games against good Bath schools the squad regrouped and trained hard to play exceptionally well against Prior Park to win 3017 and Monkton Combe to win 35-17. We have been very pleased with the team work, camaraderie, effort in training and performances on court from the girls. They should be proud of themselves and we look forward to seeing them develop as they move through the School.

U14B VII Isabel Brearley The first weekend of term saw the U14Bs face both West

Buckland and Blundell’s schools for their first fixture as a team at King’s. The West Buckland side were very strong, and were probably our toughest opponent of the season. We lost 4-17. The team did not stay disheartened for long and came back strongly against Blundell’s showing some good areas of play and were rewarded with a 14-2 win. The first half of term saw some close fixtures and the excellent defensive play from Grace Tillman, Rebecca Pick and Catherine Robinson allowed narrow wins against King’s Taunton and Sherborne. The final match before half term was against Bryanston. Both teams were evenly matched in terms of skill, however, Bryanston were a more physical side and ultimately won 20-14. The second half of term saw the U14Bs play four more matches, winning each one. The shooters Tia West, Charlotte Rundle, and Ebony McGlynn-Fry really came into their own, scoring some fantastic goals. Some notable scores were: 27-6 against Clayesmore and 28-16 against Prior Park. One area that we focused on in training over the term, was being able to move the ball down the court quickly. Our centre court players, Rachel Tudhope and Olivia Hooker demonstrated good speed and agility and their reading of the game improved considerably over the season. Overall, this was a very promising season from the U14Bs, showing great determination and aptitude. Well done all! Played 9 - Won 7 - Lost 2

Jess Vallings

Olivia Hooker

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Junior C Paul Charlton

This group of girls are a fantastic asset to the junior netball squads. They train together across both 3rd and 4th Form interchangeably, and have had the opportunity to represent the School in a small number of games. Their first competitive game was against Sherborne Girls School, and we played them at both U14C and U15C level. This age group includes almost every girl in the year group for us, compared with Sherborne who have much larger numbers to select their teams from. The girls played very well and worked very hard to adjust to the competitive nature of the game. Unfortunately they both lost, despite their determination and rapid improvement during the game.

1st VII Standing (L to R): H Tuson, M Venner-Coombes, P Cobb, F Cobb

We then played Bryanston School, who again have much larger numbers than we do. This was a much closer set of games and the U14C team came away with a very pleasing win.

Sitting (L to R): E Adenuga, A Wilmshurst, L Beaton (c), I Hawkins, M Hunter

The two remaining games were against Kingswood and Clayesmore schools. Kingswood were very strong and we couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t match their skills and speed of play. However the end of the season was much more positive, with a fantastic win against Clayesmore 20-2. Well done to all the girls who played in the Junior C. There are too many to name but it is a great achievement that nearly every girl in 3rd and 4th Form has represented the School this season.

2nd VII

Standing (L to R): L Latham, K Edgell, A Hurst, M Toulson-Clarke, R Wakelin

Well done to all of you.

Sitting (L to R): I Bird, M Walters, E Walker, J Spilsbury, K Wootton

3rd VII Standing (L to R): N Wilmshurst, V Leveson Gower, A George, V Janes

Hannah Branfoot

Sitting (L to R): I Dawe, D Turner, C Bracey, A Ross, E Gibbs

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Netball Teams

4th VII

U15C VII

Standing (L to R): J Webb, L Purefoy, E Longman, F Fearn

Standing (L to R): I Hancock, A Mackintosh, A Ballinger, F Schmidt-Warnecke

Sitting (L to R): C Elway, H Clarke, E Hanegraaf, K Proctor, A Drew

Sitting (L to R): I Unwin, H Branfoot, E Futter

U15A VII

U14A VII

Standing (L to R): M Medlicott, I Mason, J Hurst, I Finch Hatton, M Wigram

Standing (L to R): T Best, L Crossfield, M Venner-Coombes, E Gilmour, S Gould, K Walker

Sitting (L to R): M Kennard, G Woods, M Wootton, D Ellis, J Vallings

Sitting (L to R): S Doig, E Ingvaldson, I Jones, O Nicol, A Evans

U15B VII

U14B VII

Standing (L to R): C Burton, E Harper, C Dick, I Andrew, M Bartlett

Standing (L to R): R Pick, G Tillman, T West

Sitting (L to R): H Millard, R Longman, G Howard-Harwood, O Wastell, F Smith

Sitting (L to R): C Rundle, E McGlynn-Fry, R Tudhope, C Robinson, O Hooker

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than we have had in previous years. The first match of the season was played at home against Clayesmore in dry but windy conditions. All of the teams gave of their best, putting into action the tips they had picked up during coaching and providing fearsome opposition to the opposition.

GIRLS’ TENNIS

The A team played some outstanding tennis, giving away only 16 games over all 9 sets. India Finch Hatton and Jemima Hurst proved unstoppable, closely followed by the other pairs, leading to a very comfortable 8-1 win. The Bs and Cs also played extremely well, giving away only two sets against Clayesmore’s strong 1st pair in both matches. The pairings communicated well, played some lovely volleys, resulting in two 7-2 victories.

Senior Girls’ Tennis Emilie Loveless

This year the Senior Girls have had a mainly wet and windy but not unsuccessful season. The 1st VI Girls, led by Captain Kiara Jones, won their first three matches against Leweston, Clayesmore and Downside but felt frustrated by the lack of difficulty in their victories. These victories were followed by some tough fixtures against Bryanston, Dauntsey’s and Prior Park but the girls really enjoyed playing some high level tennis. Wells Cathedral School and St Mary’s Shaftesbury saw a return to form with 8-1 victories and the final triangular in Taunton against Taunton School and King’s College Taunton was enjoyed by all, particularly because the sunshine had arrived! The 2nd VI only lost one fixture this season and were deservedly crowned Girls’ Sports Team of the Season with consistent play from Anna Wilmshurst, Elspeth Cooke, Violetta Janes, Amy Ruddock, Natalie Wilmshurst, Laura Purefoy, Millie Walters and Isabella Bird. Their attitude was excellent and despite most of the girls being in the middle of GCSEs and A-Levels, they gave every match their all. Despite a more limited number of fixtures, the 3rd VI were also very successful, winning four out of five matches. They improved their movement on the court and their net play in particular and we look forward to seeing many of them back on court next year. Very many thanks to all of the girls this season, particularly those who played their last season with us.

Junior Girls’ Tennis Angela Ashworth

This was an incredibly busy season for the Junior Girls, with a record numbers of girls playing tennis and with more fixtures

The next match saw the girls facing Downside away. Impressive volleying, great attack at the net and sheer determination saw the As securing a 6-3 victory and the Bs battling to the end to win 5-4. The sun was shining as we began the next fixture against Bryanston and the girls were mentally prepared for a tough fight. Whilst all three teams lost (1-5, 1-8, 1-8), there was some excellent tennis played in all squads, with the final scores not really reflecting the standard of play. The As, in particular, kept pressure on their opponents through excellent play at the net, having taken on board coaching on volleying. Unfortunately, the A fixture was disrupted when Jemima Hurst sustained an awful injury to her knee, being rushed off to hospital. Thankfully she is well on the road to recovery now. Thursday 16 May saw all three Junior squads travel to Dauntsey’s, where they faced strong opposition. All three matches were fought well with both the B and C teams winning comfortably 8 sets to 1. The As were incredibly evenly matched throughout their games, with many points going to deuce/advantage. It all came down to a tense final set between the 2nd pairs; despite some excellent serves, volleying and superb rallying, we were unlucky to lose 4 sets to 5. Saturday 18 May saw all teams facing incredibly tough opposition at Prior Park, as well as play being disrupted by some medical issues. Unfortunately, luck was not on our side and whilst all pairs played very well, all teams were unable to secure a victory with final scores being 3-6, 1-8 and 1-5. The first Saturday after half term saw the teams travelling to Wells Cathedral School for what we anticipated would be a challenging match. The girls rose to the challenge, playing some of their best tennis to date. Indeed, their efforts were praised by the Wells coaches, who were highly impressed with the standard of tennis being played.

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Nevertheless, the opposition proved too strong, and all three squads lost 3-6, 2-7 and 1-8. The Junior Tennis teams travelled to St Mary’s Shaftesbury on the following Saturday afternoon. Despite driving through dark clouds in the way over, we were pleasantly surprised when the sun came out within a few minutes of play beginning. Our girls played very well indeed with many evenly matched games. As ever, the KSB girls maintained a superb level of sportsmanship, being gracious in victory and defeat. Mrs Ashworth was particularly proud to have so many of the spectators, both St Mary’s staff and parents, commenting on how lovely our girls were and how well they were playing. The final scores (2-7, 5-4, 2-7) did not reflect how close the matches were.

Glorious sunshine greeted the Junior Girls’ Tennis pairs as we pulled into Taunton School for an unusual triangular fixture against King’s Taunton and Taunton School for our final fixture of the season. Our 12 pairs were split into two groups to play at different locations in an extremely well-planned afternoon, where pairs played four time-constrained sets. Some fantastic tennis was played by all, with many sets being very tightly contested. Mrs Ashworth also received quite a shock to find that a parent from King’s Taunton was actually an old school friend who she hadn’t seen for 28 years! Counting up all the points won in every game saw KSB with 156 points in total, placing them only a little behind King’s Taunton and comfortably ahead of Taunton School.

Girls’ Tennis Teams

1st VI - Summer 2019

Junior B - Summer 2019

Standing (L to R): A Von Velsen, K Strack, P Boyden, E Hijmans Van Den Bergh, A Martinel

Standing (L to R): M Kennard, J Beylouni, G Woods, F Schmidt-Warnecke

Sitting (L to R): M Walters, K Jones, S Hamilton

Sitting (L to R): G Howard-Harwood, E Gilmour, L McDade

Junior A - Summer 2019

Junior C - Summer 2019

Standing (L to R): H Grillier, I Jones, L Rundle, B Grillier

Standing (L to R): J Vallings, C Dick, I Andrew, J Hayman, A Blunden Sitting (L to R): M Wootton, L Hackney, H Millard

Sitting (L to R): S Doig, I Finch-Hatton, L Nicol

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The 2nd VI lost a nail-biting final match and deciding game, falling to a 5-4 loss. However, the boys were able to leave the court with their heads held high, knowing they had given their all.

BOYS’ TENNIS

On Saturday 11th May, the Senior Boys travelled to Queen’s College in Taunton, playing in glorious sunshine. The 1st VI, having gone into the final round of matches tied at 3-3, prevailed 6-3 thanks to some excellent net play and intercepting volleys. The 2nd VI won in convincing fashion 7-2, thanks in no small part to their excellent consistency from the baseline. A special mention to Christopher Hohler and Lluis Montalat Verheyen, in the 1st VI, who won all three of their matches as well as Come Tardy and Oskar Lefebvre, in the 2nd VI, whose energy on court was to be admired.

Senior Boys’ Tennis Daniel Cahill

This was another good season for the Senior Boys’ tennis teams, both ending with winning records. The 1st VI won five of eight matches played and the 2nd VI won four of seven matches. The Senior Boys’ first match of the season was away at Monkton Combe on their grass courts. Despite the challenging conditions, incredibly strong winds and playing on an unfamiliar surface, both boys’ teams won; the 1st VI won 6-3 and the 2nd VI won 8-1. A special mention to Sebastian Finch Hatton and Christopher Hohler who dominated all three sets that they played. The next match saw the boys taking on Downside with the 1st and 2nd boys’ also winning in convincing fashion 8-1 and 7-2, controlling from baseline and winning the majority of exchanges. The first midweek match of the season saw the 1st and 2nd boys’ playing against Prior Park at home, with the 1st VI continuing their winning start to the season, prevailing 8-1.

Thursday 16th May saw the Senior Boys take on a strong Dauntsey’s in both the 1st and 2nd teams. The 1st team suffered their first defeat of the season, losing 6-3, however despite the loss the boys played some of their best tennis, just coming out on the losing side in a couple of tight sets, with the 2nd VI also tasting defeat losing 5-4. The boys returning of serve, in the face of strong accurate serves was outstanding. The next match saw the 1st VI boys lose a close fought match 5-4 against Clayesmore, with several sets lost on a deciding game. The boys all performed admirably. The 2nd VI boys, also playing Clayesmore, won 5-4. The boys had some well-deserved victories over their 2nd and 3rd pairs, however they had some tough matches against the Clayesmore 1st pair. Some great rallies and exceptional net shots meant the matches were great to watch. Well done on a solid victory. On Saturday 8th June the 1st VI played against King’s College Taunton, and despite changes in personnel due to availability, those who played were exceptional in all aspects of their play, very consistent, making very few unforced errors, winning 7-2. The final match of the season was at home against Bryanston in very trying conditions, high winds and frequent heavy showers. The boys stuck to their task, though, looking to apply pressure at the net at every opportunity. The 1st VI lost 5-4, but a special mention to Christopher Hohler and Sebastian Finch Hatton who won all of their matches convincingly. The 2nd VI also lost a closely fought match 4-3.

Lluis Montalat Verheyen

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Senior Boysâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Tennis Team

Oskar Lefevbre 1st VI - Summer 2019 Standing (L to R): S Kennard, C Hohler, K Garnon Sitting (L to R): C Cross, S Finch-Hatton, L Montalat Verheyen

Max Mason

Charles Cross

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ATHLETICS By Pip Atkinson-Kennedy On the first Saturday in the Summer Term the King’s Bruton athletes competed at the Castle Track Taunton in a meet hosted by Blundell’s School with King’s Taunton, Taunton School and Wellington School also competing. Unfortunately, typical British summer weather prevailed and the hurdles events were cancelled due to gale force wind. The weather had also taken its toll on the Somerset Combined Events Championships where Rian Upton, Harriet Tuson, Archie Macer and Dimitri Moore were due to compete. Harriet and Rian however got back to school and jumped on the coach down to Taunton. With strong opposition and strong winds our boys and girls did remarkably well, gaining numerous top two podium places: Toby Phillips 1st 100m 2nd Shot and 2nd discus Oliver Barber 1st Javelin Rhodri Harper 1st 400m Aidan McFarlane 1st Long Jump 2nd 100m Rian Upton 1st Discus 2nd Javelin 2nd High Jump Huw Downes 1st 1500m 2nd Triple Jump

Seamus Corrigan

Rian Upton

Rowan Oliver 1st High Jump Seamus Corrigan 1st Javelin Oliver Luck 1st Triple Jump Max Mason 1st High Jump U17 Boys relay team 1st BenJamin McClean 2nd 1500m Javdat Muminov 2nd 800m Benjamin Davies 2nd 400m Bertille Grillier 1st 800m Millie Medlicott 1st Javelin Harriet Tuson 1st 400m Esther Adenuga 1st Triple Jump new Personal Best 11metres Kitty Walker 1st High Jump Tia West 2nd Discus Atlanta Ross 2nd High Jump Martha Bartlett 2nd Shot

Our next meet was the Kitty King’sWalker Bruton Home Athletics Meet

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but we decided to decamp to the tartan track at Yeovil Arena rather than the grass track on Hyde which unfortunately had taken the brunt of the previous weeks torrential rain. Sixty athletes and eighteen staff travelled over to Yeovil to compete, officiate, help, score, time keep, commentate and fire a starting gun. We welcomed teams from Dauntsey’s, Kingswood, Blundell’s and Bryanston, all of whom are much bigger than King’s, but we held our own admirably. Some truly outstanding performances were witnessed, most notably Hortense Grillier winning a tightly fought race in the Under 16 800m and achieving a Personal Best time of 2.38. Rowan Oliver jumped an incredible 1.75cm, 7cm over his last season’s PB, Millie Venner-Coombes who had just returned after a nasty shoulder injury threw a season’s best of 9.99 in the Under 16 Shot and also won the Discus. Maya Wigram jumped another amazing 1.45 in the under 16 High Jump. Other podium places were: U16 Girls Sophie Gould 1st Hurdles 1st 100m and 3rd 300m Isabella Mason 1st B string Hurdles Maya Wigram 1st B string 100m 1st Long Jump Millie Medlicott 2nd Javelin Georgina Woods 2nd Triple Jump Lillian Crossfield 3rd 200m Davina Ellis 3rd 200m and 2nd B string Triple Jump Rachel Tudhope 1st B string shot Tia West 1st B string Discus

Sophie Gould

Under 16 boys Isaac Pugh 1st Hurdles Murray Hendrie 1st 1500m Seamus Corrigan 1st Javelin with an impressive 40.82m Javdat Muminov 1st Discus 3rd Javelin Dimitri Moore 3rd Long Jump 3rd High Jump Alexander Towler 1st B string Javelin Joel Southall 2nd B string Discus

Open Boys Robert Harris 1st 800m with a season best performance of 2.13 Felix Farrell 1st Long Jump and 3rd Triple Jump Max Mason 1st B string High Jump Thomas Jones - having sustained his horrendous elbow dislocation in the Rugby season - threw a season’s best of 28.53 in the Discus Rhodri Harper 2nd 400m Huw Downes 3rd 1500m Open Girls Esther Adenuga 1st Triple Jump Natasha Stocker 3rd 800m Katie Proctor 3rd Hurdles These were fantastic achievements and there was amazing team spirit on a cold but beautifully sunny afternoon. The following Saturday, an Inter Girls, Inter Boys and a Senior Boys team competed on Dauntsey’s new tartan athletics track. It was the first meet they had hosted on their new track. The boys’ teams competed against Canford, Kingswood, Sherborne Boys and Dauntsey’s. There were outstanding achievements throughout the afternoon by: Toby Phillips 1st 200m 2nd Shot Oliver Barber 1st Shot, 2nd Javelin Matthew Scott 2nd Hurdles Felix Farrell 1st Triple Jump and 1st Long Jump Rowan Oliver 1st High Jump Aidan McFarlane 2nd 100m Archie Macer 3rd 400m ( competing as an U17 when he’s only U14!) The Inter Girls were against Sherborne Girls, St Mary’s Calne, Canford, Kingswood and Dauntsey’s. Top performances of the afternoon were: Harriet Tuson 1st in both 300 and 200m Sophie Gould 1st hurdles Hortense Grillier 1st 800m Kitty Walker 1st High Jump Maya Wigham 2nd High Jump Davina Ellis 1st Triple Jump Molly Wootton 2nd Triple Jump and the 4x100m winning the final event of the afternoon. The Inter Boys and Inter Girls teams competed at Millfield at a mid-week ESAA

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Harriet Tuson

Track and Field Cup County round. The boys’ team comprised of 14 athletes and one reserve while the girls had 12 athletes and one reserve. Each athlete had to do a track and a field event, with their results equating to a points table. All the points were then added up for an overall team score. This year was the first year that King’s Bruton boys and girls qualified for the Regional Finals; the boys travelled to Exeter Arena for the ‘B’ Finals (Top 24 schools in the South of England) and the girls to Millfield for the A Finals (top 10 schools in the South). King’s fielded five teams, junior girls, senior girls, U16 boys, U17 boys and U20 boys at the big prestigious ‘10 Schools’ meet at Millfield, competing against Millfield, St Benedict’s Ealing, King’s Taunton, Taunton, Sherborne, Wellington, Kingswood, Blundell’s, Queen’s College, Taunton. Matthew Scott started the afternoon in fine form, hurdling brilliant and achieving a well-deserved 2nd. Rowan Oliver increased his PB, jumping 1.76cm in the High Jump while our two captains Rian and Esther led by example, with both of them achieving season’s best performances in their events. Max Mason competed against a GB Decathlete who jumped 2.05 in the High Jump and Sean Lock and Seamus Corrigan were inspired by competing alongside the British Javelin Champion. Harriet Tuson ran brilliantly over the 200m and 400m and again Hortense Grillier ran an incredible 800m. Millie Venner-Coombes threw a season’s best in the Discus. Davina Ellis, Maya Wigram and Georgina Woods all had a busy afternoon, gaining competition experience which will

Hector McAfee

have helped them when they competed in the Yeovil Athletics Championships. The afternoon finished with King’s relay teams running the 4 x 100m to gain valuable team points with some interesting characters making up the team, but true King’s team spirit showed and we finished the afternoon getting the baton around safely and showing to many of these bigger schools we can punch way above our weight on both the track as well as in the field events. At the warm sunny Yeovil Area Championships our athletes did brilliantly and 39 King’s girls and boys were selected to represent Yeovil at the Somerset Schools Championships held at Yeovil Arena. The day started off brilliantly with both Hector McAfee and Rian Upton competing in their first competition in their new events, Hammer and Pole Vault. With each throw Hector threw a new PB and likewise Rian kept vaulting higher and higher. Hector to all our amazement won the Senior Boys competition and therefore was crowned County Champion, with a throw of 32.60 and Rian came 3rd with a new PB of 2.70.

Anya Evans

Our Other County Champions were: Thomas Jones Inter Boys Discus, Anya Evans Inter Girls 1500m Huw Downes Senior Boys 1500m.

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The overall points were tallied up and each section awarded impressive silver cups. We welcomed Mrs Boyden and Mrs Tuckfield to present the cups to the winning captains. In the Boys’ competition Junior Boys - 1st Blackford, 2nd Lyon, 3rd New, 4th Old Inter Boys - 1st New, 2nd Old, 3rd Blackford, 4th Lyon Senior Boys - 1st New, 2nd Lyon, 3rd Blackford, 4th Old Boys’ Relay Cup 1st New, 2nd Blackford, 3rd Lyon, 4th Old Parlauf Relay Cup 1st Blackford Overall Challenge Cup 1st New (543) 2nd Lyon (476) 3rd Blackford (474) 4th Old (442) In the Girls’ House competition The Junior Girls’ competition 1st Priory, 2nd Wellesley, 3rd Arion

Thomas Jones

The Senior Girls’ competition 1st Priory, 2nd Arion, 3rd Wellesley

The other podium places were :Matthew Scott 2nd Senior Boys 400m Rowan Oliver 2nd Inter Boys High Jump Toby Phillips 2nd Inter Boys Shot Harriet Tuson 2nd Inter Girls 300m Amy George 2nd Senior Girls 200m Lillian Crossfield 3rd Inter Girls 200m Millie Venner-Coombes 3rd Inter Girls 200m Javdat Muminov 3rd Inter Boys Discus

The Girls’ Relay Cup 1st Priory 2nd Arion 3rd Wellesley Parlauf Relay Cup 1st Arion

Anya Evans, Harriet Tuson, Hector McAfee and Thomas Jones were selected to represent Somerset at the South West Schools Championships at Exeter Arena and the following week Rian competed for Somerset in a Decathlon over two days at Exeter in the South West combined Events Championships. Rian finished his first full Decathlon with an impressive 4311 points which qualified him for the English Schools Championships in September. On Friday 24th May we hosted our Inter House Athletics Finals on Farr Field in glorious sunshine and perfect conditions for some superb performances both on the track and in the field. Five school records were broken during the afternoon by:

Overall Challenge Cup 1st Priory (431) 2nd Arion (332) 3rd Wellesley (331) The Individual Victor Ludorum trophies were won by: Junior Girls - Millie Venner-Coombes Senior Girls - Esther Adenuga Junior Boys - William Owen Inter Boys - Aidan McFarlane Senior Boys - Felix Farrell Another great season of athletes and the last one for Mrs AK.

Harriet Tuson: Senior Girls 800m 2.26.59 and 300m 43.67 Millie Venner-Coombes: Junior Girls Discus 28.42 Anya Evans was the inaugural winner of the Junior Girls 1500m 5:10 Toby Phillips: Inter Boys Shot 11:43

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Athletics Team

Athletics - May 2019 Back Row (L to R): T Read, I Pugh, M Medlicott, N Stocker, K Walker, D Moore, P Venner-Coombes, I Mason, M Venner-Coombes, S Corrigan, A Evans, D Ellis, A George, J Blunden, I Boswell, M Hendrie Back Row (L to R): J Muminov, G Tilman, M Mason, G Galley, T West, O Grillier, S McKechnie, A Downes, B Burton, D Millard, O Barber, H McAfee, M Scott, T Crossfield, J Boyle, W Cundy, S Lock, A Ross, T Proctor, J Southall, O Luck, H Downes, R Oliver, H Love, A Towler, E Harper Front Row (L to R): B Kawar, B Griller, A Evans, M Bartlett, R Tudhope, W Riley, R Wakelin, A Macer, L Crossfield, R Upton (c), E Edenuga (c), T Phillips, H Tuson, T Jones, K Proctor, E Futter, E West, H Griffiths, W Bird, S Gould Kneeling (L to R) G Woods, M Wootton, M Kennard, T Curry, J Vallings, M Wigram

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Ben McClean, Anya Evans, and Poppy Boyden all qualified for County honours. Huw and Anya also qualified and competed in the English School’s National Cross-Country Championships, representing Somerset. The event was held at Temple Newham Park in Leeds. Huw finished 293rd while Anya was placed at 304. It is a wonderful achievement to qualify for a National event – the standard was remarkably high.

CROSS COUNTRY

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Huw Downs (Captain) along with Ben McClean and Holly Baker (Vice Captains) for their service this year, but also for their unstinting enthusiasm, commitment, and good humour over a number of years. They have been fabulous role-models, gritty runners and represented the very best spirit of King’s Cross-Country.

By Mark Hambleton The Cross-Country season got off to a strong start with King’s runners performing well at a fast and unforgiving Downside course. A brutal easterly wind was enough to make the runners think twice as the minibus doors opened.

My thanks extends also to Malcolm Jeffrey for his invaluable hard work and selfless service over the course of the year.

But, as ever, the tough got going and after a Huw Downes special warm-up they were ready for action. Despite the course not really playing to their strengths, the Senior Boys and Senior Girls teams both ran brilliantly to finish 2nd overall. Standout performances of the day came from Lulu McDade (5th) and Isaac Boswall (making his debut) finishing 7th. The Inter-boys committed themselves well to the task and were a little unlucky to finish 4th in a very competitive field. The second fixture of the season was The Sherborne Trophy. This has become something of a firm favourite amongst King’s runners and again this hilly and lengthy course provided a stern challenge. Despite some key absences King’s runners performed well on the picturesque Sherborne Castle course. Anya Evans stepped up to Senior Girls, finishing an impressive 5th – the team (Poppy Boydon, Honor Mant and Kiara Jones) finished 3rd overall. The Senior Boys team (Huw Downes, Benjamin McClean, Hugo Burgess and Isaac Boswall) also came in at 3rd place overall.

Anya Evans

Poppy Boyden

A number of key cancellations this season hit the calendar hard. The popular Clayesmore Relays fell victim to the weather, while other King’s events meant that it was not possible to enter a team for the Milton Abbey fixture. However, the team did get out to the Ken Baily Races at Bryanston. Here, teams acquitted themselves well, with the Senior Boys finishing 4th overall. Some solid individual performances came from Anya Evans (8th) and Ella Docherty (29th) while in the Senior Boys Huw Downes and Benjamin McClean finished a respectable 10th and 13th respectively in what was a large and competitive field. Aside from the standard fixtures, King’s enjoyed a strong year of representation at County and National level. Huw Downes,

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Huw Downes

On the Thursday of half term the King’s Bruton Show Jumping teams competed in the British Showjumping ‘Just for Schools ‘competition at the Royal Bath and West Show. The team in the 80cm was Cressida Bird riding Misty, Natalie Wilmshurst riding Mini Man, Marcia Kennard on Rhuby and Patrick Dick- Read on April. Patrick rode a brilliant clear round and achieved an individual 4th place, with the team being awarded 5th.

EQUESTRIAN By Pip Atkinson-Kennedy The King’s riders competed at Moreton Equestrian Centre on 20th January in a National Schools Equestrian and Windsor Horse Qualifier in both the 90cm and 1M classes - we were one of 30 teams competing from all over the South West. Marcia Kennard rode Rhuby as an individual and Kizzy in the team. In the team, Sam Kennard rode Olly, Patrick DickRead rode April and Amy George rode Heigh Ho Silver. The team scored finished four faults in the 90 cm class and narrowly missed out on qualifying as five teams also finished on four faults. The accumulative time pushed the team to 6th place but it was still a very impressive achievement against tough opposition. Amy, Marcia and Sam then competed in the 1m class. It was a tough course with a number of related distance fences that unfortunately caught us out, but everyone finished positively and enjoyed the experience in a very big competition.

Patrick and Marcia rode the same ponies but Natalie changed horse and rode Cymonds Ollie in the 90cm class. Also riding in this class were Kitty Walker on Montana, Marcia on her second pony Kizzy and Millie Toulson-Clarke on Wizard. Marcia and Kitty achieved a well deserved 4th and 6th individually and the team of Patrick, Marcia, Millie and Kitty were second overall. This team then went into the last class with the course now going up to 1m. With the team equal on points, we missed out on 1st place due to a slower accumulative time, so had to be satisfied with another 2nd team achievement while Millie this time achieved a 4th individual place. A great day at a prestigious event with lots of rosettes won!

King’s Bruton show jumping team also competed in a NSEA Qualifier at Pontispool Equestrian Centre. Patrick Dick-Read rode an individual round in the 80cm class on his pony April. Marcia Kennard rode two fantastic double clears on Rhuby and Kizzy in the 90cm class. Sam Kennard rode as an individual in the 90cm and then in the team in the 1m class. He again rode two superb double clears helping the team of Amy George and his sister Marcia who again achieved a double clear, securing a very commendable 5th overall in the team event.

Sam Kennard

The first Sunday in the summer term saw the King’s Bruton Equestrian team compete at Millfield School in another NSEA Qualifying competition. Marcia Kennard rode Rhuby as an individual in the 90cm class, then rode Kizzy in the Team along with her brother Sam on Olly and Amy George on Silver. Marcia was 6th individually and the team came 6th overall. The team also competed in the 1 metre class. Marcia Kennard

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Robinson in the 50m Breaststroke, Toby Doig in the 50m Freestyle, and the Girls 4 x 50m Freestyle team consisting of Amelia Drew, Sophie Tyack, Katie Ruddock and Amelia Toulson-Clarke.

SWIMMING

The Millfield team were winning overall on points before the final event – the mixed Cannon relay. Excitingly the determined King’s team made up of Amelia Toulson-Clarke, Charles Bascombe, Isabel Branagan, Thomas Robinson, Sophie Tyack, Llewelyn Harper, Amelia Drew, Harry Farragher, Katie Ruddock and Toby Doig pipped Millfield to the victory. For their outstanding contribution to the team Sophie Tyack and Thomas Robinson were awarded swimmers of this match.

By Sadie Osborne After a long year of training hard in the pool the swimmers finally got to showcase their many talents in the pool. The first fixture of the year was away at Queen’s College Taunton. For this match a number of swimmers were welcomed on to the team, including Laurie Alderson, Rafe Burfield, Jack Fowler-Baxter, Olivia Hooker, Finlay Pender-Cudlip, Toby Proctor and Catherine Robinson. As always, the team excelled in their team spirit and a number of fantastic second place performances were achieved. These included Amelia Toulson-Clarke in the 50m Butterfly, Hector McAfee in the 100m Breaststroke, Jack Fowler-Baxter in the 100m Freestyle, Toby Doig in the 100m Individual Medley and Laurie Alderson in the 100m Backstroke. The highlight of the gala was Toby Doig coming home in first place in the Senior Boys 50m Butterfly and for this he was awarded our Boys swimmer of the match. The Girls award went to Katie Ruddock for her determination and commitment to her three individual swims and both the Freestyle and the Medley relays. All in all it was a brilliant afternoon in the pool. For the second match the swimmers headed to Taunton School. Sadly, the match was lost, but every swimmer competed very well against some very formidable opposition. Two hard fought second place performances were given by Amelia Toulson-Clarke in the 100m Individual Medley and Sophie Tyack in the 50m Freestyle. The team welcomed new recruits Emily Gilmour, Murray Hendrie (who swam with the U18 team), Archie Macer, Angel Mackintosh, Jasper Thomas and Jessica Vallings. The swimmers of this match were Amelia Toulson-Clarke and Murray Hendrie. On Saturday of this week the swim team competed superbly away against a very strong Millfield School side. Overall the match was a draw with both teams attaining 27 points. The gala included some incredible wins from Amelia Drew in the 50m Butterfly, Sophie Tyack in the 50m Backstroke, Thomas

During the fourth week of term the swimmers again competed in two matches. The first gala away at Downside School was conclusively won. Jasper Thomas’ victory in his 50m Freestyle began the team’s winning streak. This was followed up by individual wins from Sophie Tyack in the 50m Freestyle; Catherine Robinson, Thomas Robinson and Amelia ToulsonClarke in the 50m Breaststroke; Anya Evans in the 50m Backstroke, 25m Butterfly and 100m Individual Medley; Harry Farragher in the 25m Butterfly and Archie Macer in the 100m Individual Medley. All the relay performances were outstanding with excellent take overs helping the teams extend their lead against a strong Downside team. There were too many awesome performances to mention them all, but congratulations must go to the entire swim squad. Swimmers of this match were Amelia Toulson-Clarke (for the second gala this season) and Jasper Thomas. For the second gala of week 4 the girls’ team travelled to the Oxley Sports Centre to compete against Canford, Leweston and the hosts Sherborne Girls School. There were some exceptional swims, including those by Catherine Robinson, Katie Ruddock and Amelia Drew in both the Individual Medley and Butterfly, Olivia Hooker in the Backstroke, Breaststroke and Freestyle, Hayley Clarke in the 50m Butterfly, and Amelia Toulson-Clarke’s hard fought second place in the 50m Freestyle. Overall the Junior Girls came fourth by a small margin, but we were extremely proud of the Senior Girls who finished a very respectable third overall. Swimmers of this match were Amelia Toulson-Clarke (for an unprecedented third gala this season) for the Senior Girls and Olivia Hooker for her excellent performances as part of the Junior Girls team.The swimmers were ecstatic to be awarded the thoroughly well deserved team of the week award for their results in both the Downside School gala and the Sherborne Girls School match. What a way to end the season. Congratulations must go to the whole Swim Squad for retaining their unbeaten home record this season and on such a successful year, culminating in another term of outstanding swimming, commitment and team spirit – without you,

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it would not happen and it would certainly not be half as much fun. Special thanks must be given to the captains Hayley Clarke and Jacob Longman who have encouraged all the members of the team to participate whilst enjoying the experience. Finally, the Swim Squad would like to thank Madame Webb for her selflessness throughout this year and for being the team’s most enthusiastic, smiley and dedicated supporter.

Swimmers who were vital to this year’s Swim Squad and who will be very much missed next year are Hayley Clarke (Girls Captain), Ella Hanegraaf and Sophie Tyack (joint Girls Vice Captains), Toby Doig (Boys Vice Captain), Alice Corlett, Thomas and Catherine Robinson and Jasper Thomas. As always, I hope you all keep enjoying your swimming beyond King’s.

The Swim Team 2019 included: Hayley Clarke (Girls Captain) Toby Doig Ella Hanegraaf Sophie Tyack Isabel Branagan Amelia Drew Giovanna Hajdu Hungria da Custodia Emily Longman Jacob Longman (Boys Captain) Hector McAfee Amelia Toulson-Clarke Laurie Alderson Charles Bascombe Alice Corlett Pyalyang Dorji Harry Farragher Jack-Fowler-Baxter

Llewelyn Harper Finlay Pender-Cudlip James Richmond Thomas Robinson Katie Ruddock Jasper Thomas Charles Wichary Anya Evans Emily Gilmour Murray Hendrie Angel Mackintosh Toby Proctor Rafe Burfield Olivia Hooker Archie Macer Catherine Robinson Jessica Vallings

Standing (L to R): R Burfield, E Longman, M Toulson-Clarke, K Ruddock, J Thomas, C Bascombe, H Farragher, T Robinson, J Richmond, I Branagan, O Hooker Sitting (L to R): A Drew, E Hanegraaf, H Clarke, J Longman, S Tyack, G Hajdu Hungria da Custodia

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before bowling them out for 60 (Ross Tudhope 3 wickets). We moved on to playing Blundell’s in what would be one of our toughest games. Joseph Gartell batted beautifully for his 34, helping us to 121-8 off of our 35 overs. We knew this wasn’t enough, so we set very aggressive game plans and they were executed perfectly as Blundell’s lost 8 wickets. Unfortunately we couldn’t dislodge their number 7 batsman who carried them home with his 49*. Next up were the MCC, which is always a great fixture: they scored 230 and we were bowled out for 152. Peter Jenkins took 4 wickets and Ross Tudhope was awarded the ‘Spirit of Cricket’ cap, for taking a great one handed catch, bowling well, and scoring 32.

CRICKET I st XI

Louis Corbin O’Grady The 1st XI started our term with a series of pre-season matches against Wellington School. This was a great opportunity for both sides to try out some new ideas and stand out performances came from Ross Tudhope 53* and Michael Harvey 42. We played Kingswood next and Adam Barrett-James’ 38 was enough to help us win the game. We then played a declaration match against the Wiltshire Queries and both sides struggled to get going with the bat, resulting in a slow draw. Next was Downside, and this was anything but a slow draw, as we batted first to achieve 140 (Michael Harvey 40)

Sherborne 2nd XI were next, and we had a great match, scoring 139-5 from our 20 overs with Toby Rogers scoring 69*. We then bowled well to restrict them as a group to 1217 with wickets shared throughout the team. We played Wells next and again bowled very well to restrict them to 139 all out, a 5 wicket haul coming from Peter Jenkins, 34 from Joseph Gartell and another 69* from Toby Rogers. We then travelled down to Queen’s and bowled well to bowl them out for 114, Samuel Rabbets taking 4 wickets. We managed to chase those runs down for 5 wickets with William Sandy and Ross Tudhope steering us home. We then played Canford, who we knew were much stronger than us, but we did not give a good account of ourselves, and were bowled out for 72. Canford chased them down comfortably.

Joseph Gartell

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On to hosting The Rifles for our 500th Day of Celebration which was an amazing experience with 1000 people watching on the boundary. We bowled well again to restrict The Rifles to 118, Leo Haywood and Peter Jenkins sharing 3 wickets a piece. We chased them down with 4 wickets in hand, Toby Rogers scoring 38. Next we played Monkton in a T20: we batted first and scored 114, Harry MacLeod-Ash making 28, and bowled well again to contain them to 94-7 with 3 wickets for Samuel Houldsworth. Next we played Clayesmore and batted first making 139, Michael Harvey scoring 63*. We then bowled with poor discipline, bowling 31 extras, but 4 wickets from Joseph Gartell and 3 from Benjamin Forsyth helped keep the game tight. Very tight in fact as Monkton got to 138, needing 1 run to tie and 2 to win, before Finlay Spilsbury stepped in to take the last wicket and win us the game. Next up was Exeter in a T20, who batted well for their 140 from 20, Ross Tudhope taking 4 good wickets. We then couldn’t muster much of a response as we slumped to 97-9. We then moved into our 1st XI cricket festival at the end of term. We played St Albans first, who achieved 276, Peter Jenkins taking 4 wickets. We only made 138 against a strong bowling attack, but our weak top order batting performance was more to blame. We were 47-7 at one point, before Samuel Houldsworth and Ross Tudhope decided to dig in and save our blushes, Ross Tudhope making 30 with Samuel Houldsworth left stranded on 47* with no more partners to help him lead the resistance. Unfortunately it was not enough, and despite their efforts, we finished on 138 all out. Day 2 saw us play Christ’s Hospital. We had a great morning session against them, as we had them 60-5, but some resilient batting ensured they made a target of 157. Samuel Houldsworth took 6 wickets. This should have been easily chaseable, but our top order again failed, resulting in us being 36-6. Samuel Rabbets (34*) railed the tail but we could only limp to 103 all out. This was a disappointment as we all felt we under performed in this game. Our final game of the year was against Plymouth College. We batted well, getting 157 from our 30 overs - Ross Tudhope, Toby Rogers, Samuel Rabbets, Michael Harvey and Archie Frost all batted well for 20s but no one went on. Plymouth responded with 148 all out, losing by 10 runs, despite one of their batsmen making 80 not out. This was a result of some fantastic captaincy from Harry MacLeod-Ash and 3 wickets each were taken by Benjamin Forsyth and Jay Terry. Jay Terry and Archie Frost are both in 3rd Form, so it was brilliant to see them achieving this feat so early on in their cricket careers at King’s.

Junior Girls

Anya Evans

This year, we founded a Junior Girl’s cricket team at King’s. We had loads of interest and regularly had 16 or more girls at training. With this much interest, we needed some matches, so we played Queen’s College and Millfield in soft ball, pairs cricket. We had a brilliant time in the sun, and we will look to play more matches next year.

2nd XI

Daniel Cupit The 2nd XI made excellent progress throughout the summer term. Despite being a relatively young team, they demonstrated great flair, energy and a love for the game. Whilst the team recorded excellent victories against Wells and Queen’s Taunton, the most impressive performance with the bat came against Sherborne. This was a great display of batting that demonstrated not only skill and perseverance, but also trickery and plenty of ‘power’ shots. Whilst it was disappointing to lose this game with the last ball of the match, the 2nd XI demonstrated great skill with the bat and learnt about the importance of bowling tight and fielding as a team. As the season progressed the 2nd XI became much more confident with their bowling tactics and field placements and this helped them see out close games. The team demonstrated

Finlay Spilsbury

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great ability with the bat, this was most noticeable through Samuel Stockton’s mature and disciplined innings against a strong Canford team. Liam Ward and Jake Saunders showed great flair with the bat and they were well supported through some tight bowling by Rupert Leschallas and Sam Horner. Sadly the 2nd XI lost a couple of games at the end of the season due to opposition teams pulling out of fixtures. However, it was great to see many of the boys perform well in other teams before the end of the season. A very promising season from a young team and it is exciting to see the cricket potential in this great group of boys.

3rd XI

Martin Kirk The gentlemen of the 3rd XI took their particular brand of exciting, attractive cricket on the road this season, after netting well earlier in the term. A somewhat restricted fixture list was further affected by rain and other opposition teams running scared, but the strolling players still managed to play three or four (yet to be determined at the time of writing) admittedly low-scoring games in their own inimitable style. Drawing from all three year groups in the senior age bracket, the opening game against Blundell’s was notable for the willingness of the batsmen to go for their shots, even when a little more circumspection may have paid dividends, with only Ben Vallings reaching double figures and Finn Weatherhead looking threatening – until he ran out of partners. Everyone else chipped in with something however, we took to the field with some confidence, boosted after an early wicket in Ivo Wright’s first over and a tight opening spell from Finn. However, some lusty hitting from a (slightly fortunate) Blundell’s player took the game out of reach, although William Bartlett and Hugo Burgess bowled well to drag the game out. A slightly changed team moved onto Sherborne and again we batted first. On a cold, blustery day, Ben and Ivo once more gave us a good start, after Oliver Enderby was unlucky to thin an edge to the keeper, but then there was a middle order collapse until Hugo brought some resemblance of respectability to the score. Once again, more judicious shot selection would have served us well. Sherborne were made to work for their runs, with James Richardson, Thomas Horner and Hugo being the pick of the bowlers. Thomas also featured in the ‘O’Neills magic moment’, running 20 yards (at least) around the boundary to take a fine catch. Finn took a wicket with his first ball and then bowled one of the longest overs in the history of the game, beaten only by one of Ivo’s earlier on. And so to the next stop on our tour of the South West,

pitching up at Monkton Combe, where we bowled first on an artificial wicket. Wickets were spread throughout the team: Samuel Innes bowled his own particular brand of magic, Toby Ker threw in a double-wicket maiden, Finn and Jamie picked up a couple each and all bowled a disciplined line that restricted the opposition – well, not that disciplined as wides were top scorers for Monkton. Callum McFarlane, to whom the captaincy had been handed, rotated the bowling well and came up with some unusual field placings; catches were held, ground fielding was sharp and, as usual, celebrations after a wicket were varied, inventive and practised. When we batted, Toby Ker was undone by a snorter off the pitch, but Toby Doig, then Jamie accompanied Archie White (who carried his bat) to the winning score. At the time of writing the soon to be traditional ‘Dads vs Lads’ cricket game, run under the auspices of the GCC was in the planning stage and much anticipated. Hopefully the sun will shine and the U6th cricketers will enjoy a final, social game on Abbey. Thanks go to all of the 3rd XI / GCC for their efforts this season, especially those who have supported the net sessions but not played, or been mentioned in dispatches, and also to Mr Dawe for his guest umpiring at Monkton (although Ben Vallings is still adamant that he should have had a couple of stumpings).

Junior A Nick Bunday

It was a really memorable year of Junior A Cricket where this predominately U14 team effectively played a year up and produced some very good performances. However, despite this and being very impressive this year, the future is certainly bright and there is real excitement about this particular group of young men. The team was comprised of Freddie James and Dylan Millard who shared the captaincy duties, Benjamin Fry, Archie Frost,

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Oscar Cheffings bowling

Charles Binns, Harry Love, Jay Terry, Patrick Dick-Read, Oscar Cheffings, Bertie Haywood, William Owen and Edgar Firth. Benjamin Sheldon, Archie Martyn-Smith and Oscar Price also played a game or two as well. We were also lucky enough to have a South African exchange pupil but sadly, owing to an injury, we only had his services for part of the second half of term. The pre-season out of the way the first ‘proper’ fixture was against Kingswood away where the team held their nerve to win by 3 runs. This demonstrated a certain strength of character which saw this team never give up and fight even when they faced bigger and better opposition. With further wins against Sherborne (U15B team), Wells Cathedral, Clayesmore and a very emphatic victory against Bryanston, the team enjoyed a 50/50 domestic season. What was impressive is that the runs and the wickets were shared about and thus one player was no more valuable than any other and this made for a great team ethos. Most of the team had their ‘day in the sun’ but they also had the odd disappointment too but that is very much the nature of cricket. Having therefore had a pretty good domestic season the boys then took to the road to compete in the festival which this year was hosted by Merchiston Castle School. In the first game we were put into bat on a typically Scottish sticky wicket by our first opponents, Glenalmond College. In our 35 overs the boys managed to score 198 based mainly on a very solid 79 by Archie Frost who carried his bat through the innings. Glenalmond were surprised by the strength of the King’s bowling and were bowled out for 27. The wickets were shared between William Owen, Bertie Haywood, Benjamin Forsyth and Freddie James with two a piece with Jay Terry and a run out accounting for the others. The following morning King’s took on the hosts in the high pressure fixture (our Headmaster having taught at Merchiston!) In a superb bowling performance King’s ripped through the Merchiston batsmen bowling them out for 31. Freddie James and William Owen took two wickets a piece but the plaudits really belonged to Benjamin Forsyth who took six wickets for one run, including an all bowled hattrick. In the final game against a very strong Nottingham High School side they elected to bat first. Despite struggling initially against our attack, they had two players who ‘teed off’ and put on 43 runs very quickly which swung the momentum in their direction. They ended on 153 for 8 off their 35 overs, however mention must be made of two fine diving catches from William Owen and Freddie James. In response the King’s boys managed only 109 in the 35 overs as they were ‘strangled’ by some fine spin bowling which made it difficult to score quickly. Jay Terry top scored with 31 with Millard making a useful 23. All in all it was a really good season and one that bodes well for the future. Finally, the boys have much to be grateful for to Mark Davies who has been an excellent and patient coach:

they are blessed to have a coach of his calibre and we thank him for all that he has done for this team.

Junior B Dan Hodder

Archie Martyn-Smith

The Junior B cricket side enjoyed a fantastic summer of sport playing twelve fixtures and competing in every single one. More than any side I have coached at King’s the Junior Bs this season contained a real group of cricket enthusiasts who would arrive well before nets and frequently play into the evening well past the end of our formal session. With the ball and in the field the Junior Bs developed quickly. Oscar Price, Benjamin Fry, Samuel Loughery and Isaac Baxter all bowled well over the summer, and Thomas Matkevich settled into the role as captain and set attacking and wellplaced fields to support his bowlers. Kit Wood and Aled Downes in the field (Aled as wicketkeeper) took key catches, and it would not be too much of a push to say these two could take the title of best fielders in the School given both of their exceptional athleticism and hand-eye coordination. Elsewhere Jack Binns and Archie Martyn-Smith represented our spin twins with Jack picking up the season’s best figures for a bowler at Wells with 2-1-1-4. Anya Evans, Angus Evans and Will Bird completed our extensive bowling line-up. Sadly we struggled with the bat. With the cricket World Cup and IPL on the TV during our season, the Junior Bs had a habit of running before they could walk and, reviewing the stats, over 90% of our wickets fell to catches. Too often Junior B batsmen would be eyeing up the fame and fortune (a can of coke) which came from putting a ball cleanly into the railway line or St Mary’s graveyard, which cost us. Archie MartynSmith topped the batting averages with summer with 20, however the likes of Aled Downes, Oscar Price, Kit Wood and Thomas Matkevich all had innings in which they could have converted starts into big runs. Overall an exceptional summer, spent with some delightful

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young cricketers who never gave up and always provided good humour and a love of the game.

Junior C

Peter Howarth

The Junior Cs overall had a very successful season, gelling together as a squad effectively despite movement between teams, and achieving some very impressive victories against traditionally strong cricketing schools. The season opened with a genuine thigh-rubber against a strong Blundell’s XI as the game came down to the final over. King’s batted first, Freddie Chetwode opening the batting very capably with a determined knock before James Newcombe stole the show with his maiden half-century of the season. Thomas Hyde very ably contributed as well scoring 30 not out. King’s finished on 148/4 from their 20 overs. Blundell’s began their attack well, slowly accumulating a score despite good bowling. Angus Evans was the pick of the bowlers with 3-21 off four overs. In the final over, King’s required just one wicket to win the game, but Blundell’s only needed six runs. Edward Weekes stormed in with the first ball of his over and skittled their No.11’s stumps. An excellent start to the season from this ambitious King’s side. Another tough fixture against a Sherborne side followed. Both sides were very impressive with the bat. King’s again batted first and racked up a strong total for 128/4. Thomas Hyde was the pick of the batsmen, scoring 45 before being caught at midwicket. King’s defended their total very well but the Sherborne batsmen were strong and they accelerated towards victory. However some excellent bowling at the death from Edward Weekes and Frederick Hayward brought the game to the final over, and indeed the final ball. Sadly, with the last ball of their innings, Sherborne scored a boundary taking them past the total set and winning by 1 run.

caught behind by Reuben Dicker. More high quality bowling particularly from Freddie Chetwode saw King’s limit Wells to 121-2 from the 20 overs and win the match. A hard fixture against a very strong Queen’s Taunton Junior Bs side was up, in which the team were ruthlessly crushed. But they bounced back strongly against Canford. In a match interrupted by short periods of heavy rain, the Junior C XI prevailed against a Canford team with several very strong players. Playing 25 overs, Canford batted first scoring 114-9 off their 25. Strong bowling from Bertram Hopkins, taking 3-21 off 4 overs, and Felix Stephens, taking 3-14 off 3 overs, limited a strong Canford batting line-up. The King’s top order collapsed in response with the wickets of Freddie Chetwode, Thomas Hyde, Oliver Gasson-Hargreaves and Edward Weekes falling in quick succession. Two of their wickets were unfortunate with one fielder taking two ‘Ben Stokes-esque’ catches at cover. Good batting from Max Hayward and James Newcombe steadied the ship before an excellently paced 60+ partnership from Benjamin Sheldon and Harvey Weekes brought the side home with 8 overs remaining. Our final game of the season saw us host Clayesmore. Clayesmore opted to bat first and with quality throughout the order, scored 142-6 off their 20 overs. King’s responded very well with Thomas Hyde, scoring 26, and Edward Weekes, scoring 38, kicking off the innings well. Isaac Pugh, on his debut for the season, played an excellent well-paced innings to see King’s home within 16 overs. James Newcombe very generously blocked three balls, allowing Isaac Pugh the strike to score the winnings runs and also make 50 not out. A fantastic ‘team of the term’ season for the Junior Cs and one hugely enjoyed by Mr. Dawe, Mr. Gibbons, and myself.

Next up was a fixture against Well’s Cathedral School. Captain Weekes won the toss and opted to bat first. Thomas Hyde and Freddie Chetwode started the innings very well as the scoreboard ticked over. Hyde scored 45 before being bowled out. A solid unbeaten knock from George Jebb was accompanied by a quickfire 31 from Edward Weekes. King’s finished on 142-3 from the 20 overs bowled. It very quickly became apparent that one of the Wells opening batsmen was of a high quality. Patient, solid bowling from Tyler Hodgson and Bold Akpolagha Dickson reaped rewards, however the opposition batsman accelerated into the 70s with no sign of stopping. At 10 overs in, the game looked good as lost. An excellent two over spell however from Thomas Hyde saw him

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Cricket Teams

1st XI - Summer 2019

2nd XI - Summer 2019

Standing (L to R): L Haywood, S Rabbets, R Tudhope, A Barrett-James, W Sandy, F Spilsbury

Standing (L to R): J Richmond, J Saunders, C Christianakis, L Ward, A White

Sitting (L to R): T Rogers, S Houldsworth, H MacLeod-Ash (c), P Jenkins, M Harvey

Sitting (L to R): F Spilsbury, S Horner, R Leschallas, S Stockton, T Morgan

Junior A - Summer 2019 Standing (L to R): J Terry, W Owen, N Firth, B Forsyth, D Millard, C Binns, P Dick-Read Sitting (L to R): O Cheffings, B Haywood, F James (c), A Frost, H Love

Junior B - Summer 2019

Junior C - Summer 2019

Standing (L to R): J Binns, O Price, A Downes, A Martyn-Smith, I Baxter, O Gasson-Hargreaves, S Loughrey, B Hopkins

Standing (L to R): M Hayward, H Wareham, J Newcombe, F Chetwode, A Downes, T Hyde Sitting (L to R): A Evans, F Hayward, E Weekes, B Sheldon, O Mepham

Sitting (L to R): H Weekes, W Bird, T Matkevich, K Wood, A Evans

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of Sweet Caroline. It wasn’t quite Glastonbury, but there was a sea of mobile phones filming me, including my wife, so if you want a laugh it will be on the dark web somewhere. I’d like to take this opportunity to publicly thank Rose and the BTEC Hospitality staff and pupils who have excelled throughout the 500th celebrations - can you please give them a round of applause? I’d also like to thank Gilly Bunday, not just for masterminding the Day of Celebration, but also for working closely with me on the successful Capital Campaign to fundraise a £1 million for the music school. We employed an expert consultant, but Gilly did all the groundwork. I think it’s fair to say that Gilly and I had no idea how to fundraise, and we just followed the consultant’s advice, but for two people winging it for the first time, it went pretty well.

Senior Warden, Anthony Palmer and Ian Wilmshurst

PRIZEGIVING Headmaster’s Speech

enior Warden, Governors, Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Prizegiving in this, our 500th year, and a particular warm welcome back to King’s to our guest today, Mark Lloyd-Davis. As you can see from the programme, Mark is an Old Brutonian and I am most grateful to Mark for flying in from work in Switzerland, especially for today, before flying back home to Belgium this evening. Mark is a great supporter of the School and I look forward to him presenting the prizes and then addressing the School. Well, what a year that was. An inspection in September, which proved more complex than anticipated, but went very well, the Chapel Choir singing evensong in St Paul’s Cathedral, with the first public performance of the 500th anthem, King of Glory, King of Peace, a packed Day of Celebration, and obviously the historic visit of Her Majesty the Queen to officially open The Queen Elizabeth Music School. Music has been central to the 500th celebrations with the building of a new music school, but the 500th celebration really started in St Paul’s Cathedral. St Paul’s is an intimidating place to sing, I’m sure, although thankfully for Ashley Marshfield, I was not asked to sing. But I know that it is an intimidating place to do a reading, given the building’s scale and the remarkable eight second echo. The Chapel Choir were outstanding and it was a privilege, as Headmaster, to be present at St Paul’s that late afternoon in February.

And finally, to March 28th and the visit of Her Majesty The Queen. I still have to pinch myself to believe that we hosted probably the most famous person in the world, and our longest reigning monarch, for nearly three hours at King’s Bruton. It was a perfect day, and it was so successful because all the teams at King’s worked to the highest level - the Senior Management Team, the Houses, Estates, Administration, Catering, Domestic, Grounds - they were all amazing. The pupils were outstanding, the Chapel Choir again excelled, the food was incredible and the King’s campus has rarely looked more impressive. There are too many people involved to thank individually, but I’d like to pick out one member of staff who was integral to the success of both the Royal visit and the construction of The Queen Elizabeth Music School. I would like to take the maybe unusual step of thanking the Bursar, Louis Tuson, as few people ever thank a Bursar, for all that he did to ensure that The Queen’s visit and The Queen Elizabeth Music School design and build, were both so successful.

The Day of Celebration was one of the largest events, if not the largest, organised at King’s. The Chaplain started the day with a moving celebration service in St Mary’s. There were tours of the boarding Houses, the Art and DT departments, as well as a display of the history of the School in the John Davie Room. Rose Vigers-Belgeonne organised our biggest classic and interesting car display, while Gilly Bunday was the mastermind behind the outstanding 500th Ball for 500 guests. I was even persuaded (or forced) to sing a poor karaoke version

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Development Director, Theresa Preston, is already building on the 500th campaign and we have started planning the fundraising for an extended and refurbished cricket and rugby pavilion on Hyde. The current 1920s pavilion is much loved, but very tired, and requires extensive refurbishment. The Governors have agreed an exciting and ambitious plan to extend the pavilion to create more internal space as well as building a first floor, viewing gallery. I was delighted yesterday to receive a significant donation towards the pavilion and I’ll be working closely with Theresa to ensure that the fundraising campaign is another success. Choir singing ‘And So It Goes’ by Billy Joel

Louis had many private meetings with high ranking security officials, and he was the only member of the School community fully aware of the security measures taken by the police and the Royal protection officers to ensure that the visit passed off safely. I have to be quite careful here, because the Bursar sent an email last week warning staff about the School policy on receiving gifts at the end of term to ensure that we stayed compliant with the Bribery Act, but I would like to thank Louis and ask him to come forward to collect a small token of gratitude from me - and I reassure him that the gift is not very expensive, but expensive enough. I decided nine years ago to introduce choral performances at Prizegiving. Music is clearly thriving at King’s, and I will thank David Gorodi in due course, but nine years ago the boys and girls decided to sing ‘And So It Goes’ by Billy Joel, and there is some symmetry here as members of our leaving U6th have also decided sing ‘And So It Goes’ for us. I invite them to come forward.

King’s, and indeed Hazlegrove, are in very strong positions with high pupil numbers and healthy finances, but I’m sure you’ll be aware that the independent school sector in the United Kingdom faces probably the greatest external threat for many years. The employer contributions to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme have increased dramatically and this has resulted in an extra £200,000 staff costs per annum at King’s. The Governors are looking at all strategic options to increase non-fee income. We understand that it is paramount that we ensure that the high-quality education we offer at King’s is affordable to our parents, and we must keep fees as low as possible. Therefore, I made difficult decisions this year, to ensure that we were staffed as efficiently as possible, but in doing so we have created exciting options in sport and the creative arts, with Art benefitting from the new appointment of an Artist in Residence, in association with Hauser & Wirth. I am looking forward to our creative arts - Music, Music Technology, Performing Arts and Art working closely together in the future.

The Queen Elizabeth Music School was only possible thanks to the generosity of many in the King’s community. I’m very grateful to all those who supported the capital campaign. The planning for the music school started in 2014 and one of the aims was to regenerate the fundraising foundation, including the role of Development Director, which had become dormant since 2010. Successful, sustainable development, friend raising and fundraising will be vital to the ongoing success of this School. Our new

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Throughout this year pupils and members of staff have continued to excel in so many areas, both in and outside the classroom. It would be impossible to mention everybody and everything, and so I’m going to simply thank our dedicated staff, for all that they have done in many different ways to ensure that your sons and daughters receive a high-quality education. I was delighted at the last church service of this term when the Chaplain asked the pupils and staff to say what they were thankful for this year. The pupils were thankful to their teachers, but all Houses mentioned the pastoral staff and particularly the House matrons and the cleaners. Please could I ask parents and pupils here to give all our King’s staff a round of applause in appreciation. Sadly, in the Houses and Common Room thanksgiving, there was no mention of thanks to the Headmaster... Inevitably at this time of year, we say goodbye to several members of staff who have given so much to the School.

very best wishes. Please can you join me in thanking Rebecca, Debbie and Martin for all that they have done for us at King’s. It was quite strange for me to appoint Charlotte Davies, given that she was in the U6th in my first year as Head here at King’s, but I was not surprised that she has proved to be an outstanding languages teacher and a much-loved Tutor. Charlotte was brought up in King’s as a member of staff’s daughter, and she was educated here, so she understands the School, but she’s also a natural teacher with empathy for the boys and girls in her care. Charlotte has also taught with great patience, which is just as well, given that she is married to Stefan. After they got married, Charlotte moved into Stefan’s resident tutor flat in Blackford. Before they were married I toured the flat with Stefan. The flat had been exposed to several years of Stefan’s bachelor living, and it looked a bit like the set of Men Behaving Badly. I looked around at the mess, looked at Stefan, and asked one, simple question:

“Stefan, as a matter of interest, how long are you planning on staying married to Charlotte?” “For the rest of our lives, Headmaster” “Well Stefan, if that is your plan, I would industrially clean this flat before she moves in!” Stefan followed my advice, helped by the Estates team, and they are still happily married. I appointed Stefan as a graduate Resident Tutor and, to be honest, I didn’t expect him to be here for more than one year. However, it quickly became apparent that Stefan was a natural schoolmaster, an outstanding Resident Tutor, a talented Physics teacher and also a member of staff fully involved in the extra-curricular life of the school, be it sports or CCF. Stefan has also developed into an excellent member of the chaplaincy team and preacher, so there was no surprise that he is starting his road to ordination. We wish Stefan and Charlotte the very best of luck for their new life in London.

Old Brutonian Dr Mark Loyd Davies

Rebecca Johnson leaves us as a teacher in Food Technology and Hospitality, a much-respected Tutor and above all a member of staff who has been heavily involved in the successful hospitality behind the Royal visit and the day of celebration. Debbie and Martin Kirk were appointed to teach Maths and Chemistry respectively. I interviewed them on Skype, which in my experience has been strangely a very successful way to recruit new staff. Debbie has been an excellent Tutor and a highly skilled and experienced Maths teacher. She is capable of teaching Maths to all levels, but she is particularly skilled in a demanding task of teaching A-Level Maths. Debbie accompanied Martin on the recent Duke of Edinburgh expedition, and DofE is only one of Martin’s many contributions to school. Martin is an outstanding sportsman and experienced games coach; he is also a much-respected Chemistry teacher. Martin and Debbie return to teaching abroad, this time in China, and do so with our thanks and

I think David Gorodi was my first appointment as Head when he was promoted from Assistant to Director of Music. David has transformed music at King’s. He encourages new pupils to perform in public and their musical development, which takes place over five years under David’s care and support, is remarkable. Swing into Spring concerts have been amazing occasions for both our musicians and for the guests entertained all evening by the Big Band. David has ensured that there is variety and quality in our music. It was David’s hard work and patience that helped the design of the Music School, and the smooth transfer of the department into the new building over the course of last Christmas Term. David’s legacy will be the strength of the department that he leaves behind and the state-of-the-art facilities available for pupils. You will find David in future playing his trumpet in disreputable bars all across Spain - please join me in giving David a round of applause. John Slingo has been at King’s for 17 years and has been

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Head of Economics and Business Studies for 16 years. He has ensured that it has always been one of the highest performing departments in the school. John was in charge of King’s football for many years, and I remember when I joined the school hearing stories of how King’s beat a Barcelona team on tour in Spain. Being new, I didn’t want to challenge this by asking what team they played, but regardless of the truth of the story it was a great tour. John has been a dedicated tutor, particularly of late in Priory, and he held the important role of President of the Common Room for several years. It is to John’s credit that he leaves a very strong and popular department and we wish him the very best for his retirement.

in this very busy 500th year. George Beverly as Chaplain has also ensured there continues to be a vibrant Christian ethos here, whilst masterminding both the important 500th services and our 500th print and media coverage.

Will Dawe is not retiring but, as I said at Commem, he is going to do missionary work as Head of Spanish at Millfield. Will has been a great support to me in his role as Second Deputy Head where his understanding of teenagers, and in particular teenage boys, has ensured that our pastoral support and, where necessary, our sanctions are sympathetically employed. Will has always given a huge amount to King’s, ranging from some of the mundane but necessary Deputy Head chores, to games coaching and Spanish teaching. Will was also an outstanding Housemaster in New House for nine years and he clearly had a huge influence on the lives of all the New House boys in his care. Will has been a great servant to King’s. Please join me in wishing him the very best for his new career at Millfield.

My final thanks to all the Governors for the commitment and dedication they show in supporting both King’s and Hazlegrove.

Unfortunately, neither Wayne Spilsbury or Pip AtkinsonKennedy can be with us today, but both have championed their respective departments in Art and Sport. Many of our pupils have gone on to work professionally in Art or Architecture, inspired by Wayne’s passionate commitment to Art and Art History. It was Wayne’s idea to create an art gallery and, to his credit, he kept pushing this with several Headmasters, and obviously me included, as he rightly knew that a new gallery space would make a huge difference to the art department and the pupils’ ability to exhibit their art.

I know that George would want me to thank Naomi Warren who joined King’s this year as Marketing Administrator. Naomi has been integral to the remarkable print and social media output of the School. Naomi would not expect, and probably does not want to be publicly thanked, but I will do so now because those of us who work with Naomi are very grateful for all that she has done for us this year.

I would like to personally thank Anthony Palmer, who as Senior Warden has been my boss. Anthony is passionate about education and he is passionate about King’s. Anthony has always given me wise counsel, a listening ear and much good humour. I’d like to present this gift to Anthony to thank him for all he has done for us. I would also like to acknowledge Harriet Palmer’s support for the school. I would also like to give Anthony an extra personal present as Anthony always wants to talk to me about football, never rugby, and mostly about his beloved Southampton FC. So my present to Anthony is a 1960s Southampton Football Club shirt with his name, or rather Senior Warden, on the back. My ongoing thanks go to Sharon, my PA, who ensures that everything in my office goes so smoothly and to my wife, Helen, for all that she does for me and for Anna and for Natalie. Thank you all for ensuring that our 500th year has been such a success.

Pip was initially employed to develop girls’ sport at King’s, but she was so successful that it seemed inevitable that she would be asked to take on the role of Director of Sport. Pip has the ability to relate to the most talented sports boy or girl, but at the same time to encourage and support those less able so that all can enjoy sport and exercise. It is under her leadership that King’s sport has developed to such a high level and I know that she was justifiably proud when the U16 girls were crowned National Indoor Hockey Champions. I also know that Pip has been a committed and dedicated Tutor in Wellesley, and both Wayne and Pip leave King’s with our very best wishes. Please can we give them both a round of applause in their absence. I’d like to thank the members of SMT - Alison Grant, Dan Cupit and Will Daws for their outstanding service to King’s

Head Boy, Luke Tuckfield and Head Girl, Poppy Boyden

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Lower Sixth Form

Subject Prizes Biology Amelia Drew Chemistry Amelia Drew Hospitality William Harrison Further Mathematics Freda Xiao Geography Rosanna Wakelin Economics Jake Tadhunter Mathematics Hamish Sanford Physics Hamish Sanford Latin Hamish Sanford Business Studies Samuel Stockton Design & Technology Isaac Boswell History Alexander Baxter English Gabriel Rampton French Giovanna Hadju Hungria da Custodia Physical Education Michael Harvey Philosophy Jack Glydon Psychology George Little Spanish Millie Thornton Enterprise Millie Thornton Sport Violetta Janes Theatre Studies Violet Leveson Gower

Cups and Prizes Third Form

Achievement Prizes for academic excellence Bodo Wirth Laila Squire Amelia Blunden Rebecca Pick William Bird Tia West Commendation Prizes for sustained hard work India Finch Hatton Angus Evans Ellie West Rachel Tudhope Jemima Hurst Charlotte Rundle

Fourth Form

Upper Sixth Form

Achievement Prizes for academic excellence Isaac Baxter Elizabeth Ingvaldson Thomas Matkevich Thomas Bickerton Klara Strack Matilda Best Commendation Prizes for sustained hard work Millie Venner-Coombes Isabella Andrew Holly Millard Sophie Gould Anya Evans Christopher Wood

Fifth Form

Achievement Prizes for academic excellence Adam Barrett-James Constance Pollard Katharine Wootton Harriet Tuson Rory Gibbs Frederick Goggs Commendation Prizes for sustained hard work Julia Hassler Natalie Wilmshurst Llewelyn Harper Emily von Mellenthin Joseph Gartell Laura Purefoy Ziska von Mellenthin

Subject Prizes Biology Geography Physical Education English French History Business Studies Chemistry Design and Technology Economics Physics Further Mathematics Mathematics Philosophy Hospitality Health and Social Care Psychology Spanish Sport Theatre Studies Enterprise

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Poppy Boyden Sophie Hamilton Sophie Hamilton Holly Baker Holly Baker Callum McFarlane Benjamin McClean Jinyuan Zhang William Sandy Ning Ding Samuel Innes Samuel Innes Emma Walker Esther Adenuga Lauren Beaton Isabella Hawkins Poppy Turner Luke Tuckfield Olivia Hamilton Sam Horner Clara Bracey

King’s Baccalaureate

The King’s Baccalaureate was established in 2017 and provides pupils with a structured programme for their Sixth Form education. Pupils are rewarded for achievement in the following areas: Effort Academic Leadership Lifestyle Employability Pupils in the Sixth Form can achieve King’s Baccalaureate grades ranging from a Distinction* to a King’s Award. Distinction*

Poppy Turner Luke Tuckfield Samuel Innes Emma Walker

Distinction

Ning Ding Callum McFarlane Harry MacLeod-Ash Kiara Jones Samuel Houldsworth Anna Wilmshurst Holly Baker Sophie Hamilton Ella Hanegraaf Jonathan Boyle Poppy Boyden Harriet Papenfus Elspeth Cooke Eleanor Gibbs Olivia Hamilton

Music Prizes

Art Prizes Junior Award

Katharine Wootton

Senior Award

Eleanor Gibbs

History of Art

David Wirth

The Worshipful Company Ella Hanegraaf of Painter-Stainers School Prize in Art Bruton Art Society Award Narnia Wilmot

Named Prizes Strayt Prize

Constance Pollard for Biology (Junior) EPQ Prize

Giovanna Hadju Hungria da Custodia

Third Form Reading Prize Amelia Blunden

for outstanding performance in the Accelerated Reading Scheme Davey Prize

Grace Eleanor

for creative writing Mary Tyndall Prize

Amy Ruddock

for continued academic improvement Fleischmann Prize

Gabriel Galley

for excellence in a second language

Headmaster’s Prize for Music

Vki Chang Clara Bracey Emma Walker

Most improved English

Slogrove Trophy

Kiara Jones

Most improved English

Moore Cup for Choral Music

Kiara Jones

as an additional language (Senior)

as an additional language (Junior)

OBA Prize Bill Gordon Jazz Trophy Henrietta Campbell

for excellence in GCSE

Band Shield

Viney Prize

Callum McFarlane

Alvaro Muniz Cabrera

for achievement in GCSE beyond expectation with continued progress in L6th Form

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Juliane Von Lochow

Alexander Baxter

Honor Mant

The Tremlett Prize for Historical work

Jonathan Boyle

Headmaster’s Prizes

Henry Deanesley Prize

Kiara Jones

For Outstanding Academic Achievement

David Wirth

For Deputy Head Boy

Harry MacLeod-Ash

For Deputy Head Girl

Kiara Jones

For Head Boy

Luke Tuckfield

For Head Girl

Poppy Boyden

for Chemistry in the Sixth Form OBA Progress Prizes

for progress not exclusively academic

Hugh Sexey’s Memorial Prizes

Isabella Hawkins Elspeth Cooke Ella Hanegraaf Hayley Clarke Benjamin Fearn Ivo Wright Callum McFarlane

for contribution to School life outside the classroom

Rupert Leschallas Toby Rogers Harriet Papenfus Samuel Houldsworth

Alex Edwards Cup

Anna Wilmshurst

George Bailey Beak Trophy Blackford For the top performing house

for loyalty and service to the School community Sir David Allen Prize for public speaking

Luke Tuckfield

Sloman Cup

Sam Horner

For Outstanding Academic Achievement - David Wirth

for contribution to the dramatic arts Gibbs Cup for Drama

Huw Downes

Galbraith Cup

Sophie Hamilton

for contribution to girls’ sporting achievement both in School and at representative level Coney Cup

Molly Hunter

for contribution to girls’ sport on and off the field Pineo Bowl

Michael Harvey

for contribution to boys’ sporting achievement both in School and at representative level Ridley Cup

Peter Jenkins

for contribution to boys’ sport on and off the field George Bailey Beak Trophy - Blackford

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Editors: Standing: Felix Farrell, Sebastian Kingsberry, Jakob Wiegmann, Alexander Baxter, Hamish Sanford, Honor Mant, Emily Longman, Charles Oulton Sitting: Gabriel Rampton, Isabel Branagan, Giovanna Hajdu Hungria da Custodia, Freda Xiao

Acknowledgements: The Editors would like to thank the following for their contributions to the production of the 2019 issue: Naomi Warren for production; Tracy Shean for her careful proof reading; Andrew Leach for his constant archive support of the Editors; Mark Pickthall for taking some of the photographs shown in this magazine of Her Majesty The Queen’s visit; Jon Edkins for the sports team photographs (info@davidwiltshire.co.uk); Richard Snart for the House photographs (richard@groupphotos.net); the staff for their reports, and our excellent printers, Aurora Print and Design Ltd, Wincanton (T: 01963 33755; E: sales@auroraprintanddesign.co.uk)

King’s Bruton appoint a new Editor of The Dolphin

King’s Bruton is an unusual school in many respects, not least in the way The Dolphin has only had two editors during the last 50 years. David Hindley produced the School magazine for 31 years between 1968 and 1999, handing over to Charles Oulton who has edited it to Changing the this day. This is his last issue, and he hopes very much you enjoy reading it, particularly Ian guard: Wilmshurst’s account of the meticulous planning that went into the visit of Her Majesty The Charles Oulton Hindley, Queen, and the results of a two year investigation that led a few months ago to the discovery and David 1999 of, almost certainly, the tombstone of William Chubb, the mystery boy who saved the School from closure by enrolling as the only pupil in 1811. The 500th anniversary of the School is a good time for Charles to bow out, ushering in a new dawn represented by his successor, Naomi Warren, who has designed this issue, and done so particularly well. David, Charles and now Naomi hope that The Dolphin continues to compete strongly with the demands Naomi Warren of the digital age, continuing the noble tradition of pupil-led journalism initiated by an and Charles Oulton, energetic member of staff called Mr Compton, Christian name unknown, in 1892. 2019

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