Cabbages and King's 2024

CABBAGES & KINGS

EDITOR’S NOTE

There are times when the process of change comes into sharper focus: the first green shoots of spring, a baby’s first word or perhaps a newly-elected government. In fact, the latest incumbents of Westminster campaigned on this very notion with their one-word slogan, “change”. This magazine, now in its 62nd edition, serves to reflect on times of change, most obviously by commemorating our Third Form leavers. However, for the first time, this year’s magazine also celebrates our starters to the school, aptly named Transition, with a special feature.

Change is essential to all life on earth, from the molecular level of cellular metabolism to the tidal shifts of great oceans. The Ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus wrote: “Nothing is permanent except change”. However, it is understandable that when we face moments of significant change, we can experience a range of emotions: uncertainty, excitement, hope or even fear. Every academic year will see the start and end of something at King’s; however, it is right that we mark the more poignant and noticeable moments in this continual process of change.

The outgoing staff celebrated in this edition’s Valete section accumulatively accrued over a century of service; each has made a huge impact on the lives of pupils and changed the school for the better. They will never be truly replaced, and we wish them all the very best in writing their next chapters. Their departures make way for new staff to arrive and that inevitable process of change will continue; we look to the future whilst remembering and celebrating those who brought us to the present.

Here’s to one more year at King’s! Another philosopher, Dr Seuss wrote (more recently than Heraclitus) in One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish: “Today is gone. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one”. CN

CONTENTS

PRIZE GIVING

HEADMASTER’S SPEECH

MR LOUGHER

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to King’s for our annual Third Form Prize Giving event and thank you for being here for our most important evening of the year. Tonight, we gather to celebrate the Class of 2024 and commemorate their time in the Junior School.

Adventure featured prominently in our Leavers’ Service this morning and will be the thread that runs throughout this evening’s proceedings. I am delighted to be joined on stage by our guest speaker, Mr Bob Mitchell. Appointed as a Teacher of Chemistry in 1983 by Mr Robin Reeve (Dr Cotton’s predecessor by three), Mr Mitchell has also been a Housemaster, Contingent Commander of the CCF and an Assistant Head in a glittering King’s career spanning 41 years and, let me tell you this, he is no stranger to adventure.

In the most conventional sense of the term, Mr Mitchell has spent more nights under canvas and led more Duke of Edinburgh expeditions than most of us have had boil-in-the-bag foil packet dinners, but in a broader sense, Mr Mitchell’s time in education has been a great adventure, with a huge cast of characters, no shortage of plot twists and, most importantly, incalculable impact. We are very lucky that he will be sharing some reflections with you shortly, in what will be his last official duty at King’s. Thank you, Bob.

Last week, the pupils who sit before us spent three days in Devon on their PGL residential and I know that Mr Hipkiss and his team appreciated the enthusiasm, camaraderie, commitment and teamwork on show. Obstacle courses were navigated, campfires were inhaled, scooters were ridden, souvenirs were bought, rifles were shot and axes were thrown. An adventuresome time, no doubt, but this was the culmination of the Junior School adventure and not the adventure itself.

Each of you has trodden your own path to this point, whether starting with Dr Silverlock in Transition, behind a screen during the pandemic, or with me in First Form or Second Form. Each of you has learned new skills, cultivated new friendships, stepped beyond your comfort zone and made untold discoveries. As you receive your awards this evening, think about the journey that brought you here. The hard work and the great fun, the ups and the downs, the successes and the failures, for they are all building blocks of adventure.

And, my goodness me, to think what further adventures lie in store for this talented group of

fabulous young people. In Year 7, most imminently, in the Senior School, clearly, but also in the world beyond school. Dr Cotton and I are keen to ensure that our educational provision at King’s equips pupils for life at 25 and thereafter, furnishing them with the wherewithal to connect in positive relationships, contribute in the community and wider society and become whoever they desire to be, enriched and fulfilled.

Just as each of you has followed your own route through the Junior School, it is exciting to think of the myriad different courses you will plot from here. You are united in having amassed a firm foundation in the Junior School upon which to build a great future. You are in a position of strength but must remember that greatness lies not in strength itself but in using strength the right way.

So, having had this common grounding, what common principles can you all take from your time in the Junior School to shape your individual adventures? Which common values will continue to bind you, long after you shed your cherry-red blazers?

I hope that our core values are now so engrained in you that they go without saying. The honesty, inclusivity, patience, kindness and bravery that you have nurtured here will continue to serve you well as you tackle new challenges and make new friends. In the Senior School, your education will largely be framed against three pillars of mind, spirit and heart and, in the Junior School, I plan to attach three rallying calls to this same framework from September.

For the mind, try hard. Whatever you do, it is worth your full effort. Leave no stone unturned in doing the best you can. For the spirit, have fun. Take advantage of every opportunity available to you and remember to relish each moment. And for the heart, be nice. Being kind and respectful to one another is more important than anything else. As we heard in our service this morning: it’s not what you say or do that people remember, it’s how you made them feel.

Many of you will have read Wonder as part of the Third Form Reading Challenge, the book by RJ Palacio that describes the school experience of Auggie Pullman, a 10-year-old with a facial deformity. Towards the end of that story, Principal Tushman delivers his prize giving address and says something that really resonated with me as I was choosing my words for this evening.

If I may paraphrase: over the course of the year, you have all grown a little taller, a little stronger, a little

HEADMASTER’S SPEECH 2024

smarter (I hope); but the best way to measure how much you’ve grown isn’t by inches or the number of laps you can now run around the track, or even by your grades, it’s by what you’ve done with your time, how you’ve chosen to spend your days and whose lives you have touched.

And this brings me to legacy. Legacy is what results from adventure, when we look back and consider not just our achievements but our impact. We have a number of staff leaving us at the end of the year and we need look no further than to them for examples of adventure, impact and legacy:

Mr Yates, our first ever permanent Rushmere Assistant has made the position his own, inspiring our youngest pupils to start their own clubs and even write their own newspaper! Mr Patel, our graduate assistant, has not only wowed you with his table tennis at breaktime and his ability to play football in sliders on PGL, he has shown great dedication in his coaching, helping you to improve and share in his love of sport.

IMAGES POOR QUALITY

Mr Lyons, one of our music teachers, has introduced a generation of Rushmere pupils to the ukulele, shared his passion for basketball and ignited an enjoyment of contemporary music in members of Priory Choir. Mr Graham has created a magical sense of belonging in 2G, afforded many of you a magnificent experience in the Alps this Easter and connected with so many pupils through maths and cricket.

Mrs Phillips has taught in Rushmere for 13 years, dovetailing beautifully with Mrs Blight in their stewardship of 1BP. She has also been a great supporter of the Chamber Choir and run the Gardening Club with Mrs Walker, providing an invaluable space for pupils to nurture not just their plants but themselves. Mrs Richards joined King’s in 2007 and has been the Head’s PA and our registrar, all whilst running the school office and facilitating daily business for children, staff and parents alike. She has taken great care of all of us, radiating warmth and good humour from the heart of the school.

Over 21 years, Mrs Hamilton has taught Latin and Religious Studies and been a form teacher. She has been heavily involved in debating and, through her extensive knowledge and the introduction of Philosophy to her RS curriculum, has inspired you to think more deeply, beyond the limits of factual recall. Mr Baker joined us in 2001 and has since shepherded many generations of Transition pupils through their first year at King’s in TB. He has also created and led the Obera Schools Project, enabling Rushmere

pupils to raise over £400,000 for a group of primary schools in rural Kenya and for which he was recently awarded the MBE by the Prince of Wales.

Each of these colleagues has left a unique and indelible mark over the course of their King’s adventure, be it long or short. If I could ask them to stand, I think we should show them our appreciation by way of a round of applause.

So, to finish, Third Form Class of 2024, consider this: how will your adventure be reflected upon? I hope that, wherever you go, whatever you achieve and whoever you meet, you will be remembered for traits you developed in the Junior School: for giving your best effort, for spreading happiness and for being kind, connecting with others and picking them up when they needed it. The Junior School will always be part of your adventure and you will always be a part of ours. Wherever the road takes you from here, try hard, have fun and be nice; let this be your legacy. EHL

COMMANDER R J MITCHELL (CCF) RNR

Good evening everyone, and thank you for inviting me here this evening. It is a great honour to be asked, and I must thank you because as I look at leaving this school – on Wednesday – you have made me think about how I felt about coming here, and how I felt about joining my new school when I was 11.

41 years ago I was very excited. I was starting a teaching job at King’s College School, Wimbledon. I’d visited the school a couple of times and it seemed marvellous. I was a bit nervous. Thinking about the hard work that I knew was coming down the line. I know how many of you are feeling. The school was different to the school you are joining. For a start, we were a 6 day a week school, lessons on a Saturday morning, and then everyone had games in the afternoon. It sounds grim, but it allowed us to have a more relaxed start in the mornings – registration at 910am – and longer holidays at Christmas and Easter. And not only were there no female students, there were hardly any female teachers, one maybe two.

The school had just opened it’s new sports hall –what you might recognise as the old sports hall, not the fantastic building that now sits next to the cricket field. Fancy a swim? I bet you swim in that lovely pool – all those years ago the swimming wasn’t for the faint-hearted. The pool was an outdoor pool so for much of the year, the only people who used it were my CCF cadets in their canoes.

I didn’t have much to do with the Junior School, it was over there, by the dreadful 5th Form temporary form rooms, and on the other side of the old Junior School gym, all now long gone. In that first year, I found myself invigilating an exam in that gym in a rain storm. Sixth Formers were sitting their A levels - and it was leaking, dripping water onto their desks.

In those days, there was no fantastic music school for musical events, and no Collyer Hall for school plays and Junior School assemblies; all of these things had to happen in our wonderful Great Hall. You have been in there with the lovely wooden balcony and seating at this end underneath that glorious organ. 40 years ago, none of that existed - this end of the hall was a rather dreary stage which was used for all of the music and the drama and of course Senior School assemblies.

So in many ways the school has changed and you can look forward to spending these next few years in a wonderful setting with wonderful facilities. But in

other ways – the ways that really count – the school hasn’t changed at all. It is still a school that asks you to have high expectations of yourself, to value service to others in whatever form that might be, and, in a big school, to allow you to grow in the cosy atmosphere of your house and your tutor group.

So of course I know what it is like to be looking forward to joining this great school, but I also remember what it is like, as an 11 year old, to have butterflies about making that next step in your school career, to wonder what this great adventure is going to bring, and I know you have been talking about adventures at school. You can expect academic challenges. You have started Latin but I was only introduced to Latin as an 11 year old and I vividly remember that lesson - subjects and objects and verbs and mensa and mensam and mensas. ‘Don’t worry,’ my Latin teacher said to us all. ‘You will suddenly realise one day that this comes naturally and that you understand it.’ And I sat there, horrified, and I thought ‘never’. And yet weeks later I woke up looking forward to doing some Latin homework on a Sunday morning and it dawned on me that he was right. The number of times I have thought about that when presented with something which seemed daunting and overcomplicated I would just think about my Latin teacher – time, perseverance and eventually all will become clear.

I’m sure you will enjoy your lessons, but I really hope that you are bitten by one of your subjects. For me it was Chemistry. I wondered what the 11 year old Mr Mitchell was like so you got me to look at my old school books. 15 September 1970, laboratory rules in my science book, ‘There must be no rough behaviour in the laboratory’, which makes me wonder if we were allowed rough behaviour outside! I have lovely notes about my chemistry experiments, which frankly I don’t remember but I was obviously so excited about it that my father bought some chemicals from a local pharmacy and we did the experiments together in the kitchen. It all went wrong when we dried a product in the oven and we melted some of my mother’s kitchenware. She was very grumpy.

Next year, try new things, new clubs, new sports. You’ll try things that you don’t like. That’s fine. Boys join my CCF in the L5 – some love it, some find it a disappointment and move on. That’s fine. If you don’t try, you’ll never find out what suits you. In an essay to my English teacher my young self said that I was about to start athletics and I wondered how I was going to like it. Well, I can tell you I absolutely

GUEST SPEAKER’S

loved it! Throwing a slightly embarrassing light on my character, I also told my English teacher that I love my bike and cycle everywhere. I refused to go on a bus because I refused to pay the fares. ‘Very sensible’, 7/10 was the comment! For me, for hobbies, I know when I got older, my housemaster introduced me to a leprosy charity, and something caught my imagination and I got heavily involved with fund raising.

Coming here, I knew that teaching here would be part of the adventure and some of that was predictable – teaching chemistry with all those experiments is something that has never disappointed. But I also started something completely new. I joined the Combined Cadet Force, and some of you might remember that I spoke to you in an assembly about Admiral Nelson. I learned about life on the water and absolutely thrived on it. I learnt to sail, but discovered that what I really liked was driving a boat with an engine. My best hour and a half in the cadet force? Driving an aircraft carrier in the English Channel. Through the cadets I started the Duke of Edinburgh award at school and I’ve now spent over a year and half of my life on expeditions, getting on for 600 days. By venturing into the unknown, in every sense, I found something that has defined the man I have become.

A few weeks ago I had lunch with Gerry, a retired GP from north London and my daughter’s godfather. We used to do our homework together on the way home. Last week we had tea with Nick and Cordelia in deepest Warwickshire. Nick was a member of my prefect team when I was a senior prefect and I was the best man at their wedding during my first year here at King’s. I was also Steve’s best man that summer. We spent all our summer Saturdays at athletics matches and in August the families will be going on a weekend away together as we do every year. These are some of my old school friends. I hope you have a tremendous time in the Senior School. I hope you develop passions in the classroom, some that you know about now, some that will take you by surprise, and just as importantly, that you embrace life outside of the classroom. And I hope all of this is built on the warmth of friendships so that when you are my age you can look back with your old school friends, reminisce about your time at King’s and remember how fortunate you were to attend such a good school.

HEAD BOY SPEECHES

OSCAR HINXMAN

Thank you Mr Lougher. It was a great honour to serve as Head Boy in the Autumn Term, and I am delighted to be up here giving this speech today. I have been asked to say a few words about my memories of Rushmere, and when I reflect on my time at King’s, the one thing I see, above all, is community.

Rushmere’s independent building, with its own playground, garden, dining room, and teachers, immediately created a nurturing cocoon away from the rest of the school until we had grown old enough to make the big leap out of the nest into Priory. The form teachers taught most lessons, and most activities we did as a class. Remembering that most boys came knowing nobody or very few people – this was immediately welcoming. The community that we created in the first term carried us through the second lockdown and a challenging term of remote learning during Covid.

Whether we were reciting the nine-times-tables or who won WWII, the teachers were always instilling a desire to learn and a thirst for knowledge which carried us forward. This created a community in lessons as we were not afraid to make a mistake or to push our boundaries. The community stretched beyond the

classroom too; our sports, music and drama activities create separate communities which we each became part of. One particular example is the Rushmere production each year… this was incredibly joyous and brought us together as all of Rushmere joined forces to stage a thoroughly enjoyable performance of What A Knight!

What life lessons has King’s taught me? The five core values that our school follows so closely: Honesty, inclusivity, patience, kindness, and bravery or ‘HI PKB’, helped make Rushmere a kinder and better place to be. They helped enforce the meaning of never giving up and trying your best, they taught me to look out for and care for others, and to be charitable to those less fortunate than ourselves.

As we advance on our next adventure, we do so knowing that our community of friends will help us through the challenges and opportunities ahead together. And finally; remember my motto: “Always create your own sunshine!”

HEAD BOY SPEECHES

BENJAMIN GUSSAGO

Afew weeks ago, I was asked by the Yearbook Committee to create a profile for our yearbook. One question asked us to summarise four whole years into just four words… HOW DO YOU DO THAT???

Here I was, poised to do a “point, evidence, explain” paragraph to explain my four words, only to realise that I was not given the space to do so because if everyone wrote an essay to explain their choice of words, the yearbook would be the size of a double decker bus. So I shall take this opportunity to explain why I have chosen these particular four words by taking you on a short trip down memory lane to recall the good times at the Junior School but in particular, in Priory.

At the beginning of Second Form, I recall all of us trooping into the “big boy” dining hall, all wide-eyed and gawping at the sheer size and scale of the massfeeding operation taking place around us. Thankfully, the teachers were dutifully standing by, welcoming us into the hall and showing us where to receive our food. We sat down like penguins, comforted by the presence of our teachers and each other. For the first few weeks, all of us would have experienced being lost in the maze of corridors - I was incredibly late for my first Geography lesson because I couldn’t find the classroom as I didn’t realise there was actually a third floor to Priory. The sympathetic teacher said to me, “It’s okay Ben, it’s your first time”. Only one word - WELCOMING.

As we blossomed in Priory, it became ADVENTUROUS. Mr Lougher would say: “Give everything a go!” and a teacher once said: “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”. We started to experiment - in art, we tried wire and clay instead of traditional pot and paintbrush. In sport, we were introduced to squash, table tennis, basketball and water polo. Then there was DE, where we experimented with soldering, laser cutting and plastic moulding. In English, imagine our sheer panic when we were asked to speak publicly for the first time and to close the chapter on Priory; we were all challenged beyond our comfort zone at our recent residential with activities such as axe throwing (thankfully at a board) and real rifle shooting with lead pellets. One word - adventurous.

Along the way, we had a lot of fun experiences, which can be best described as HILARIOUS. Many of you will recall the moment when normal form time was made very interesting by the introduction of a cricket bat and a tennis ball. You can see where this is going… The batter had incredible skill and the origami paper boat that decorated the classroom just about survived

as did the glass windows. In Latin, we had a hilarious time translating interesting sentences like “the spears lick the cheeses” and “the tadpoles cook the pirates”. We also read entertaining Latin stories about huge slaves, small slaves and muscular slaves. By Hercules! There is only one word to describe it - hilarious.

Finally, our experiences in Priory can be summed up with one last word - REWARDING. Every medal, badge, every pink distinction, gold community merit, every trophy, certificate, prize, every win at a fixture or competition and every round of applause is a testament to the students’ hard work and how we celebrate each other’s success as if it were our own. And when things don’t go exactly as planned, we accept it with grace and we learn from our mistakes and from each other. Mr Lougher always reminds us to work hard, because when we work hard, the results will come as long as you don’t give up. He also reminds us to play hard, which we will certainly do in the coming holidays. One word - rewarding.

Every story has a beginning and every story has an end. Thank you to all the students for being the main characters in our story and thank you to the parents for devoting your time to support us on our Junior School journey. Lastly, thank you to all our teachers and staff for helping us write our own Junior School story from start to finish. I do not wish to see this as an ending to a story, but rather the end to a chapter. In September, all of us will be turning the page to begin a brand new exciting chapter but all of us will re-read with fondness over and over again, the special chapter marked Junior School, which each one of us has written.

HEAD BOY SPEECHES 2024

JACK VINCENT

Good evening, I echo the thoughts that Oscar and Ben have shared. I feel privileged to have had my time here at King’s College Junior School. Privilege has been adopted negatively in the election, but, standing here, I feel privileged in a positive sense, and as you sit in these beautiful grounds listening to me, you may well find yourselves feeling privileged also!

The last three years have been a hectic mix of work, sport, and fun. There are too many highlights to list them all, but here are some of them.

Firstly, quiz club with Mr. Baird as well as being in his form. I thoroughly enjoyed the quiz club, and I can now name all the monarchs of England since William the Conqueror and I am still trying to get the big number, 197, on the countries of the world quiz.

Secondly, all the trips that I was lucky enough to go on. These include the Hastings tour in Second Form, in which we went down to the battlefield field where the battle took place in 1066 and even had our own battle! Also, the Guernsey cricket tour in which a squad of 24 boys went to Guernsey and had two cricket games. And finally, PGL, in which the entire year went to Torquay for four days and had a heap of fun there!

I have taken part in the Community Ambassadors’ group; this is a group that tries to do volunteering to help the local community. Oscar and I have also held charity events such as a sponsored walk and we are grateful for everyone who took part. I am glad to be able to do something for the local community and being part of this group helped me realize how privileged we all are to be in such a good school and community.

My third and final highlight is being the head boy. It has been a great term, and I am sad that it is coming to an end, but happy that I can have the memory of being a head boy. It has taught me many things such as being a leader and listening more than speaking.

I feel like I also must give thanks to Mr. Lougher, who helped me through my Junior School years, as well as all the incredible teachers who have given me the knowledge and confidence to proceed into the Lower School.

And finally, thank you to all my Third Form friends. It has been the ultimate privilege getting to know you all and I am looking forward to continuing my King’s College School journey with you. Thank You.

HEAD BOY SPEECHES 2024

PRIZE GIVING

HEAD BOYS

AUTUMN TERM: Oscar Hinxman

SPRING TERM: Benjamin Gussago

SUMMER TERM: Jack Vincent

SCHOOL PREFECTS

Reggie Blayney

Joseph Bouch

Barnaby Cartledge

Viaan Chaturvedi

George Cotton

Nikita Evseev

Vishwam Gupta

Benjamin Gussago

Oscar Hinxman

Francis Long

Ved Neoliya

Saam Roohpour

Ethan Spahr van der Hoek

Jack Vincent

Sholto White

Daniel Xu

HOUSE CUP WINNER

TUDOR HOUSE

RUSHMERE

RUSHMERE PRIZE FOR ART

Timothy Gussago

RUSHMERE PRIZE FOR ICT

Richard Zhao

ACTING CUP FOR THE RUSHMERE PRODUCTION

Leo Hewitt

JOHN EVANS PRIZE FOR RUSHMERE MUSIC

Alex Liu, Jerome Collins, Advay Singh, Conrad Collins, Jasper Howard

MOST PROMISING SOCCER PLAYER CUP

Harry Glynn

CRESSWELL-EVANS CUP FOR MOST PROMISING RUGBY PLAYER

Noah Awopetu

TENNIS CUP FOR MOST PROMISING TENNIS PLAYER

Kemal Koseoglu

MOST PROMISING SWIMMER CUP

Timothy Gussago

WESTON CUP FOR MOST PROMISING CRICKETER IN RUSHMERE

Yash Malhotra

LUDDINGTON CUP FOR ALLROUND CONTRIBUTION TO SPORT IN RUSHMERE

Noah Awopetu

CHESS PRIZE

Ethan Bogerd

PRIORY

11+ ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIP

Viaan Chaturvedi, Aryan Singh-Raj, Samuel Brooks, Nikita Evseev, Benjamin Gussago, Ved Neoliya, Euan Parker, Charles Russell

11+ SPORTS SCHOLARSHIP

Woody Guest, Alexandros Vanezi-Saffrett, Sholto White

11+ MUSIC SCHOLARSHIP

Sebastian Weech, Bryan Lin, Samuel Chu

VIKRAM SINGH PRIZE FOR THIRD FORM ENGLISH

Woody Guest

MICHAEL SMITH PRIZE FOR THIRD FORM SCIENCE

Viaan Chaturvedi, Xavier Monaghan, Oscar Hinxman

PYTHAGORAS PRIZE FOR THIRD FORM MATHEMATICS

Charles Russell

CECIL VENNER FOR THIRD FORM MUSIC

Sebastain Weetch

THIRD FORM FRENCH PRIZE

William Durrleman

THIRD FORM LATIN PRIZE

Aryan Singh-Raj, Oliver Bath, Daniel Xu

THIRD FORM GEOGRAPHY PRIZE

Aryan Singh-Raj

THIRD FORM HISTORY PRIZE

Saam Roohpour

THIRD FORM RELIGIOUS STUDIES PRIZE

Ved Neoliya

THIRD FORM ART PRIZE

Reggie Blayney

THIRD FORM DESIGN & ENGINEERING PRIZE

Felix Garcia Oliver

THIRD FORM DRAMA PRIZE

Oscar Hinxman

NICHOLAS D’ALOISIO MONTILLA CUP FOR TECHNICAL INNOVATION (THIRD FORM ICT PRIZE)

Stanley Chen

COLLYER HALL PRIZE FOR THE PRIORY PRODUCTION

Nathan Gao, Viaan Chaturverdi

THE MORREN CUP FOR COMMUNITY MERITS

George Cotton

LINDON SPEAKING CUP

Benjamin Gussago

PRIZE GIVING

JOHN EVANS PRIZE FOR PRIORY MUSIC

Bryan Lin, Sebastian Weetch, Samuel Chu

HAMPTON & SONS LEADERSHIP

HEAD BOYS’ AWARD

Oscar Hinxman, Benjamin Gussago,

Jack Vincent

HENNESSEY CUP FOR BEST BATSMAN

Shayan Patel

BEST BOWLER

Kasey Burrows

BEST ALL-ROUND CRICKETER

Woody Guest

KNOX-MURRAY CUP FOR BEST RUGBY PLAYER

Sholto White

BEST SOCCER PLAYER

Alexandros Vanezi-Saffrett

RICKY BARTLETT PRIZE FOR SPORT

Alex Gawley

SWIMMING CUP

Benjamin Gussago

ORTIZ WATER POLO CUP

Reggie Blayney

BOLT CUP

Nikita Evseev

DOUGLAS TENNIS PLATE

Jack Doran

SAMIR SHEIKH CUP FOR ALLROUND CONTRIBUTION TO SPORT IN PRIORY

Sholto White

OLD KING’S CLUB AWARD

Barnaby Cartledge, Oliver Bath, Elliot Booth, Jeremy Leese, Ethan Spahr van der Hoek, Mark Andreottola, Joseph Bouch, Vishwam Gupta, Francis Long, Daniel Xu, Hadi Ridge, Tim Gao

MUSIC COLOURS

Samuel Chu, Sebastian Weetch, Bryan Lin

ART/DE COLOURS

Reggie Blayney, Samuel Chu, Bryan Lin, Felix Garcia-Oliver, Rafa Garcia-Davis, Alex Gawley, Benjamin Gussago

JUNIOR SCHOOL LEAVERS 2024

THIRD FORM PUPILS

Ronav Agrawal

Faris Ahmed

Mark Andreottola

Vihaan Arora

Oliver Bath

Elias Bennani

Anmol Bhatia

Reggie Blayney

Elliott Booth

Joseph Bouch

Samuel Brooks

Kasey Burrows

Barnaby Cartledge

Viaan Chaturvedi

Sheldon Chen

Stanley Chen

Rishi Chordia

Samuel Chu

Christian Conroy

George Cotton

Ethan Crews

William Durrleman

Nikita Evseev

Nathan Gao

Tim Gao

Rafael Garcia-Davis

Felix Garcia-Oliver

Alex Gawley

Luke Gherghetta

Alexander Gibbons

Ivan Gosling

Woody Guest

Aurin Guharoy

Vihaan Gupta

Vishwam Gupta

Aariv Gupte

Benjamin Gussago

Oliver Hill-Wood

Oscar Hinxman

Miles Jarvis

David Kamplade

Joonwoo Kang

Rohan Kapila

Ayden Khan

Kiaan Khosla

Jan Sen Lee

Thomas Lee-Petersen

Jeremy Leese

Leo Li

Bryan Lin

Harry Liu

Francis Long

Alexander Lueth

Dawud Mallik

Ellis Medimorec

Xavier Monaghan

JUNIOR SCHOOL LEAVERS 2024

Harry Moore

Ved Neoliya

Ray Nieminen

Zion Oyediran

Oliver Paik

Rohan Papadakos

Euan Parker

Shayan Patel

Aarav Rastogi

Hadi Ridge

Saam Roohpour

Charles Russell

Ishan Sarin

Anay Singh

Aryan Singh-Raj

Ethan Spahr van der Hoek

Teddy Thwaites

Rohan Tokhi

Alexandros Vanezi-Saffrett

Jack Vincent

Sebastian Weetch

Moyi Wei

Sholto White

Daniel Xu

Nathaniel Yang

TRIPS & EVENTS

AUTUMN TERM HIGHLIGHTS

GODSTONE FARM PAINSHILL PARK

Transition pupils got the chance to get to know one another and their farmyard counterparts with a trip to Godstone Farm.

On Thursday 14 September, First Form went to Painshill Park in Cobham for a lovely day getting to know each other better. The sun shone all day and they enjoyed their activities and the beautiful surroundings of the parkland.

AUTUMN TERM HIGHLIGHTS

BATTERSEA POWER STATION

On Monday 25th and Tuesday 26th of September, the Third Form travelled to Battersea Power Station, where they learnt about its history and development, and urban regeneration.

DAY OF LANGUAGES

Junior School pupils had a wonderful time enjoying the fun-filled Day of Languages on Tuesday 26th September. Pupils made a brilliant effort with their inventive and colourful costumes.They also participated with enthusiasm in the morning quiz during the assembly which was delivered in a multitude of languages by ten bilingual Priory pupils.

AUTUMN TERM HIGHLIGHTS

AUTHOR M G LEONARD

M. G. Leonard, author of Twitch, Beetle Boy and Adventures on Trains visited King’s on 22nd September. Throughout this amazing visit she gave pupils a host of writing tips and a sneak peek of her newest book in the ‘Twitch’ series.

TRANSITION VISIT TO NATIONAL ARCHIVES

At the National Archives,Transition explored documents that were centuries old; they used evidence to figure out how old documents were, who wrote them and what they are about.

AUTHOR CHRIS BRADFORD

Priory had the excitement and pleasure of seeing the samurai warrior and author Chris Bradford deliver a danger-filled author talk.

AUTUMN TERM HIGHLIGHTS

TRANSITION LOCAL HISTORY WALK

On Friday 10 November, Transition were taken on a fascinating trip around Wimbledon, looking at local history.

FIRST FORM ROMAN WORKSHOP

First Form’s Roman Workshop in the Rushmere Dining Hall was a hit. Mr. Dilly’s dramatic storytelling and interactive demonstrations about Roman soldiers and legends captivated everyone. Highlights included marching drills, weapon displays, and tales of Romulus and Remus.

AUTHOR GUY BASS

Guy Bass, the award-winning children’s author delivered a fascinating author’s talk. He shared funny moments about his childhood and revealed his secret about an imaginary friend he used to have which led to his magnificent Skeleton Keys series.

COMMUNITY

AMBASSADORS VISIT

KEW CARE HOME

The Community Ambassadors and Third Form Junior College Singers walked down to Kew House Care Home to spread some Christmas cheer to their neighbours. The Community Ambassadors delivered their Christmas hampers and the choir members sang Christmas carols beautifully.

SPRING TERM HIGHLIGHTS

AUTHOR CAROLYN ELLIS ANDREW BAKER MBE

On Thursday 7 December, the adventurer and author Carolyn Ellis came to talk to the Second and Third Forms about her epic journey across the Taklamakan Desert, nicknamed the Desert of Death. The boys were in awe of her story of bravery, teamwork, and determination.

EX-PROFESSIONAL RUGBY

PLAYER CHRIS YORK

Chris York took the pupils on a detailed journey through his career as a professional rugby player, describing his time with England U21s, Harlequins, Newcastle Falcons and Ealing Trailfinders. Chris shared his love of school sport and the important lessons he learnt as a child and his most recent career change to become a close protection operative.

Many congratulations to Mr Baker, who received an MBE from HRH The Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle just before half-term. This was in recognition of his services to education through The Obera Schools’ Project, which he established in Rushmere eighteen years ago. Since that time, the project has raised more than £392,000 for a remote and impoverished community in rural Kenya - an area Mr Baker knows well having taught at a school there in his gap year. As a direct result of The Obera Schools’ Project, this community has benefitted from the rebuilding of two schools, with a third school in progress - so far 30 new classrooms, two libraries and two computer suites have been opened. The community now also has a borehole providing fresh water and a porridge kitchen ensuring that the neediest children start the day with food. The children in Rushmere benefit too - live video links with Kenya in assemblies and periodic visits by Mr Baker to Kenya and the Kenyan Headmaster to King’s ensure that the boys here develop a greater appreciation of the inequalities of the world and the impact their collective action can have.

SPRING TERM HIGHLIGHTS

RAF HENDON

First Form visited the wonderful RAF Museum in Hendon to get up close to the aircraft flown by brave pilots during the Battle of Britain. They also experienced what life was like in a 1940s classroom. All agreed that it was a fascinating visit.

Third Form had an assembly led by City Pay It Forward, a grassroots organisation made up of business professionals and educators who collaborate with schools to teach children the basics in financial literacy including savings, budgeting, borrowing and investing.

SPEAK UP

As part of the Speak Up Year 6 Challenge, in partnership with the Speakers’ Trust and Wimbledon High School, Third Form pupils completed a series of workshops in their English lessons to help them work on their skills as public speakers. Aryan Singh-Raj and Ray Nieminen made it through to the Grand Final, held at the end of term at Wimbledon High School. They did themselves, and the school, proud, and it was a fantastic celebration of all the skills that pupils learnt throughout the term.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

Friday 8th of March was International Women’s Day. We celebrated in the Junior School with an assembly led by the Sixth Form girl ambassadors and this was followed by focused PSHE lessons. We discussed females that inspire us and reflected on some of the challenges women still face today.

FRENCH WORKSHOP MAJOR ALEX YOUNG

Priory pupils took part in drama workshops in French. Second Form enjoyed participating in interactive retellings of Boucles d’Or et Les Trois Ours and Les Trois Petits Cochons. For Third Form, Alexandre Dumas’s classic tale Les Trois Mousquetaires was brought to life with lively audience participation and some brilliant improvisation.

As part of our Cavan Taylor series of visiting speakers, Major Alex Young came and spoke to the Junior School about his time in the military. He talked us through the role and structure of the armed forces in the United Kingdom and shared some tales of his journey from officer training at Sandhurst to earning his wings as a paratrooper by passing ‘P Company’ with the Parachute Regiment.

NATIONAL QUIZ CLUB COMPETITION

In March, Ethan Spahr van der Hoek, Humphrey Warrick, Saam Roohpour and Samuel Brooks competed in a national quiz club competition under Mr Jay’s lead. They did very well and came second in their heat of 251 schools and went through to the semi-final. All of the team came in the top twenty individually, with Humphrey from 1N finishing in second.

SPRING TERM HIGHLIGHTS

CAROLINE LAWRENCE LE PETIT DÉJEUNER

Caroline Lawrence, an amazing writer of mystery stories set in Ancient Roman times came to talk to pupils about how to write a book using her own special techniques.

ENIGMA

Dr. Singh came to talk to First Form about codes and the Enigma cipher machine. Dr. Singh brought his own Enigma machine to show pupils; they were ecstatic at seeing a real German code machine for the very first time.

Third Form pupils treated their parents to a French Breakfast in Collyer Hall. Some pupils, dressed in magnificent bow ties, took orders in French and served croissants and pains au chocolat whilst others performed various songs, sketches and even a fashion show.

WIMBLEDON SYNAGOGUE AND WIMBLEDON COMMON WINDMILL

Transition went on an engaging trip to the Wimbledon Synagogue and the Wimbledon Common Windmill.

WORLD BOOK DAY

The Junior School enjoyed World Book Day and, as ever, the costumes were a treat to behold! In the playground, a whole library came to life, with Paddington, Pooh and Potter playing alongside Mr Toad, Mr Tickle and Dr Frankenstein’s monster. It was a fun day and the pupils loved creating their own wooden characters over the lunchbreak and joining in the Shelfie Selfie competition, matching the teachers to their bookshelves.

FIRST FORM

CHURCH VISIT

As part of their study of Christianity in RSP, F irst Form visited Christ Church in Wimbledon.

SCIENCE WEEK

The theme of 2024’s Science Week was ‘Life’, and the pupils were treated to a variety of talks, events and a photography competition. Mr Hipkiss and Mr Baker presented quizzes to both Priory and Rushmere, and pupils in the First Form were entertained by Christopher Lloyd of What on Earth Books, who took them on an evolutionary journey from the first signs of life on earth through to the present day.

SPRING CHURCH SERVICE

SKI TRIP

Forty

and

Third Form pupils

five of their teachers had a wonderful time skiing in Les Deux Alpes over the Easter holidays.

ALL ENGLAND

LAWN TENNIS & CROQUET CLUB

Second Form took a tour of the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club as part of their study of urban planning in Geography.

HOUSE BOOK QUIZ

The first ever House Book Quiz was held for Priory in Collyer Hall at the start of the summer term. Well done to Ethan Spahr van der Hoek, Arjun Patnaik and Krish Rai who demonstrated that careful and conscientious reading reaps rewards. However, their excellent team performance was not quite enough to secure victory for their house: Norman came first, Windsor second, Stuart ended up in third place, with Tudor bringing up the rear.

BRITISH MUSEUM

ransition joined the crowds at the British Museum to marvel at the Ancient Egyptian exhibits.

WALK TO SCHOOL WEEK

This year’s Walk to School Week also included a group walk; over one hundred pupils, parents and staff from the Junior School community assembled at the Windmill on the Common to walk into school together.

Total distance - 3492.69 km

Emissions reduction - 663 kg of CO2

Winning Form - 2Z (290 km)

Top pupil - Daniel Holmes 1HM (137 km)

Top staff - Mr Fernandes (167 km)

Winning House - Stuart (858 km)

Second Form had a wicked time taking in this fabulous West End Show.

CANNIZARO PARK

The pupils in First Form enjoyed a trip to Cannizaro Park to immerse themselves in nature for their study of science.

The award-winning, best-selling author and artistic director Sharna Jackson paid the Junior School a visit to share her love of books and reading.

SHARNA JACKSON WICKED

HAMPTON COURT

Third Form pupils visited Hampton Court on 5th and 6th June to celebrate their study of the Tudors; a fabulous day of maze running, palace touring, and world exploration was had by all.

EMERGENCY LIFE SKILLS

The King’s medical team delivered a training session to First Form pupils to equip them with the essential skills to deal with a medical emergency.

HOUSE DEBATING MOCK

GENERAL ELECTION

Eight keen Priory debaters took to their lecterns for the annual House Debating Competition, which this year was a Mock General Election special to coincide with the rest of the country going to the polls. After hard-fought campaigns from each house, Norman, whose pledges included investing in green energy and ending inhumane animal captivity, won the debate with Nathan Gao and Rohan Tokhi receiving an overall majority of the votes.

SUMMER TERM HIGHLIGHTS

RUSHMERE FAMILY FUN DAY

CURIOSITY CAROUSEL

HOUSE CHARITY FAIR

FIRST FORM PGL MARCHANTS HILL, SURREY

ACTIVITIES WEEK 2024

THIRD FORM PGL BARTON HALL, DEVON

COLLABORATION DAY WITH WIMBLEDON HIGH AND THE STUDY

TRANSITION CANNIZARO PARK

SECOND FORM HEADMASTER’S HIKE

TRANSITION WISLEY GARDENS

SECOND FORM HASTINGS BATTLEFIELD

TRANSITION’S REVIEW

In June, TWL devoted their class assembly to reflecting on their first year at King’s and sharing their highlights. Here they are:

WHERE HAVE WE BEEN ON TRIPS?

Idris: My favourite trip was to the British Museum because I love seeing mummies! The best part was looking at the Rosetta Stone because of the interesting words on it that helped us decode hieroglyphics.

Boyang: I loved the history walk around Wimbledon Common.The walk was packed with eye-catching things but my favourite was the well. I was so surprised to see it because it was well-hidden! I was also surprised that it supplied local households with all their water rather than them having running water from taps like nowadays.

Alfie: I was really excited watching The Snow Queen at The Polka Theatre. At first it was kind of relaxing but then

I got scared because the music became a lot creepier in the second part of the show. It was really good.

Jamie: I enjoyed the National Archive. The first thing I spotted was the huge grey building with small slits for windows. Inside we surveyed a picture, described what was in it and why. We examined old objects, answered questions about them and happily walked back to the coach.

Chris: Welcome to Godstone Farm! It was very smelly, but it was worth it. My favourite part was the adventure playground.

WHICH CLUBS HAVE WE ENJOYED?

Kasper: I enjoy Gardening Club because I care for the environment and planting more plants helps make the planet greener. In addition, I feel relaxed because I love working as a team. Our greatest achievement was

TRANSITION’S REVIEW OF THE YEAR

planting a variety of vegetables, such as peas, squash and carrots.

Arjun: I have done many clubs over the past year but my favourite was Chess Coaching. I like the fact that it teaches you techniques and my favourite part is that you can earn prizes for your hard work.

Kinley: I attend a variety of different clubs but my favourite club is Cricket Club because I get to spend time with my friends.The best part of Cricket Club is all the matches we play! My goal in cricket is to be the best I can be so I can help my team win more matches.

Charlie: I tried out Cricket Club and Football Club. I liked Football Club the most because you improve your football skills and play exciting matches. My favourite bit is the matches because they are competitive and fun.

WHICH SPORTS HAVE WE PLAYED?

Danila: When I started playing football at King’s, my favourite fixture was against Shrewsbury House because I scored two goals. My biggest achievement was getting into the Centenary Tournament and winning some matches. It was all possible because of friendship and amazing teamwork.

Isaac:The rugby team was amazing! I learnt how to spin pass brilliantly and I luckily ended up in the A team. I also

won House Rugby with Windsor, which was great. My proudest moment was scoring an unbelievable try away at King’s House.

Divij: My favourite sport is cricket. My happiest moment was when we came second in the Shrewsbury House tournament. This was possible as we worked together and were positive and confident.

WHAT WERE OUR FUNNIEST MOMENTS?

Seby: On my very first swimming lesson at King’s, I got very excited to get into the pool. When I jumped in, I was horrified to find the water had pushed my trunks down! When I got home, I told my mum off for buying trunks that were too big for me!

Labib: Once on a rainy Wednesday, the author Guy Bass visited our school. While he was talking about his books, he said: “When I was little, if I did something wrong, my mum would tell me off and I would playfully say ‘why?’”; most of us laughed heavily - I can definitely relate to that.

WHAT WERE OUR PROUDEST MOMENTS?

Nicholas: There have been lots of special moments for me like going to Narnia, getting my first ‘Star of the Week’ award, receiving my community merits and opening the

TRANSITION’S REVIEW OF THE YEAR

Beginner Groups’ Concert. My proudest moment was when Mr O’Sullivan told me I made the swim squad.

Okito: One of my proudest moments was doing rounding work in maths because I answered lots of questions. I’m also proud of my treasure map in English. I loved drawing the places on, especially Lake Lava.

Zain: My proudest moment was when I received the ‘Star of the Week’ award. I got this for making a positive start at my new school by being kind and brave. This made me feel very happy.

Olly: My proudest moment was representing King’s in the grand final of the London League Swimming Gala. Overall, I am most proud of coming second in my butterfly race and first in the freestyle relay.

WHAT ARE WE

MOST

LOOKING FORWARD TO IN FIRST FORM?

Idris: Meeting different teachers.

Boyang: New mental arithmetic challenges.

Alfie: Fixtures against St. Paul’s.

Jamie: Meeting the new Transition pupils.

Chris: Learning about lots of new things.

Kasper: The Painshill Park trip, where we get to build a river.

Arjun: Going on lots of new trips.

Kinley: Not being the youngest in Rushmere.

Charlie: Reading longer books in the library.

Danila: Having lots of fun on the residential.

Isaac: Another Rushmere production.

Divij:Taking on bigger challenges.

Seby:Taking part in more fixtures.

Labib: Playing contact rugby.

Nicholas: Learning about the Romans.

Okito: Getting my pen licence.

Zain:Trying out new clubs.

Olly: Meeting my new form teacher.

HOUSES

HOUSE RESULTS

HOUSE RESULTS

HOUSE RESULTS

SUMMER TERM RESULTS

TERM SPRING TERM

SUMMER TERM

STUART HOUSE

AUTUMN TERM

SPRING TERM

SUMMER TERM

TERM SPRING TERM

SUMMER TERM

AUTUMN TERM

SPRING TERM

SUMMER TERM

SUMMER TERM

ART & DESIGN

Nicholas Suppan TWL

James Jagger TDM

Jayden Lin TB

Labib Kamhawi TWL

Ningtao Ju TB

Oliver Watson TDM

Arjun Patel TWL

Isaac Lumby TWL

Olly Casey TWL

Ishaan Bhagat TB

Jamie Boyes TB

Yoonki Choi TDM

Alfie Oulidi-Wernicke TWL

Baxter Zee TB

1CM group working on a large Aboriginal painting

Carl Messing 1CM

1HM masks

Jermone Collins 1BP

Timothy Gussago 1HM

Leo Flouch 1N

Oliver Tsang 1HM

Jermone Collins 1BP

Souki Fukuzawa 1N

Rory Simpson 1CM

Thomas Aitken-Davies 1N

Josh Yuan 1N

Kemal Koseoglu 1N

René Uzdin 1HM

Hector Pirrie 1N

William Farstad 1BP

1CM group working on a large Aboriginal painting

SECOND FORM

Kalrav Agrawal 2Z

Lucas Ginzburg-Maly 2Z

Sean Oh 2F

Adam Li 2Z

Matthew Cook 2G

Francesco Cavaliere 2Z

SECOND FORM

Oscar Ballance 2Z

Leo Gomez-Franqueira San Pedro 2G

Alexander Plith 2F

Edoardo Maraffino 2M

Hiroto Tamura 2M

William Zhu 2F

Sebby Hidalgo 2F

Long Nguyen 2G

Sholto White 3RA

The Great Wave of Plastic 3MH group work

Samuel Chu 3MH

Dawud Mallik 3VA

3VA’s lost underwater building

Leo Li 3MH

Joseph Bouch 3OH

Sheldon Chen 3OH

THIRD FORM

Reggie Blayney 3VA

Alex Gawley 3VA

Euan Parker 3RA

Jeremy Leese 3RA

Vihaan Gupta 3RA

3MH’s Japanese kites

Tim Gao 3RA

3OH’s coral mosaics

Barnaby Cartledge 3RA

THIRD FORM: DESIGN ENGINEERING

Harry Liu 30H

3OH Illumination Project

3RA Wooden Toy Project

Zion Oyediran 3MH

3OH Illumination Project

THIRD FORM: DESIGN ENGINEERING

3MH Wooden Toy Project

Kasey Burrows & Oliver Hill-Wood 3MH

Woody Guest 3RA

Leo Li 3MH

Zion Oyediran 3MH

Alexandros Vanezi-Saffrett 3MH

3RA Wooden Toy Project

Rohan Papadakos 3MH

ART CLUB

JUNIOR SCHOOL ART CLUB

Junior School Art Club has been exploring many mediums and materials this year. They began the year making papier mâché seagulls for the Junior School Christmas Show, then explored the world of Polynesian printmaking for the Priory Moana production. They also made felt ears for the Rushmere production, Fantastic Mr Fox . Their final project has been making a large scale junk model of King’s College School. It has been a joy seeing their dedication and creativity flourish this year. Well done from Ms McIlroy!

COMPETITIONS

Junior School pupils took part in many competitions and exhibitions this year. In November, a good number were selected to exhibit at the We Will Remember Them exhibition at the Wimbledon Museum. The Junior School House Art Competition was an enormous success. We also had many pupils enter the Royal Academy Young Artists’

Summer Show as well as the Fourth Plinth Competition. In April, it was wonderful to see our fantastic work at the 2024 SATIPS (National Prep Schools’ Art Exhibition) at Moreton Hall School. Finally, the summer term Rushmere Drawing Competition demonstrated, once again, the great level of creativity of our pupils.

JUNIOR SCHOOL ART SHOW

JUNIOR SCHOOL ART SHOW: UNDER THE SEA

Congratulations to every pupil in the Junior School for their significant individual and group contribution to the Under the Sea art show. The artwork presented was the culmination of a term’s worth of art navigation and discovery. I am extremely proud of the atmospheric, fun, skilful and thought-provoking results. This included a stunning protesting blue whale, a terrifying kraken emerging from the deep, lost ancient treasure, Davy Jones’ locker, giant seaweed, a rediscovered underwater city, collages, papier mâché clams, paintings, prints and much more. Under The Sea was an opportunity

to explore important environmental issues. Furthermore, all the strange, unexpected and lost stories that lie under the ocean were a great source of inspiration. What was seen in the show is only part of what happens in the Art Department. The pupils must plan, test and develop in order to create work. Getting to this point involved pupils looking at other artists’ work, developing skills and understanding and working through ideas. Remember: look beneath the surface and life becomes even more interesting! NAP

JUNIOR SCHOOL ART SHOW

MUSIC

YOUNG MUSICIAN

RUSHMERE YOUNG

MUSICIAN

The Rushmere Young Musician competition final was held on 8th February, showcasing the exceptional talent of Rushmere pupils. With a diverse range of musical styles and instruments, the competition was a celebration of musical excellence. The adjudicator was Claudia Myles, opera singer and singing teacher, who was impressed by the standard of musicality of the pupils.

FINALISTS 2024 - RUSHMERE

Strings

Woodwind & Brass

Voice

Piano

Carl Messing 1CM

Conrad Collins 1CM

René Uzdin 1HM

Sam Jones 1N

Advay Singh 1CM

Jerome Collins 1BP

Kai Sayed 1HM

Fyodor Wilson 1HM

Nolan Scott-Wilson 1CM

Baxter Zee TB

Alex Yau 1HM

Charlie Xiao TWL

Alex Liu 1BP

RESULTS 2024 - RUSHMERE

Winner

First Runner-Up

Second Runner-Up

Alex Liu 1BP

Jerome Collins 1BP

René Uzdin 1HM

Violin

Baritone horn

Clarinet

K D Blackwell: Clare’s Song

Trad. arr. A Althouse: Scarborough Fair

J Kosma: Autumn Leaves

T Minchin: When I Grow Up

Trad.: Santa Lucia

W A Mozart: Voi che sapete

C H Tan: Jester’s Jig

V Capers: Billie’s Song

J S Bach: Prelude in C minor

L v Beethoven: Sonatina in G major

M Clementi: Sonatina Op. 36 No. 1

M Mrvica: Croation Rhapsody

I Albéniz: Rumores de La Caleta

Piano

Voice

I Albéniz: Rumores de La Caleta

W A Mozart: Voi che sapete

Clarinet J Kosma: Autumn Leaves

YOUNG MUSICIAN

PRIORY YOUNG MUSICIAN

The annual Priory Young Musician competition was held on 11th December with ten finalists shortlisted for the competition prize. The adjudicator was the renowned violinist, Ruth Rogers, leader of the London Mozart Players.The preparation by young King’s pupils in leading up to such an event as this is equally important and valuable as the competition itself, so, many congratulations to all pupils who prepared for auditions and set this event in their musical sights.

FINALISTS 2024 - PRIORY

Strings

Woodwind & Brass

Piano

Samuel Chu 3MH

Lucas Ginzburg-Maly 2Z

Bryan Lin 3RA

Jan Sen Lee 3VA

Affan Khan 2M

Sebastian Weetch 3RA

Jacob Dyakonov 2F

Ethan Geng 2F

Louis Gu 2F

Sebastian Weetch 3RA

RESULTS 2024 - PRIORY

Winner Sebastian Weetch

First Runner-Up

Second Runner-Up

Jacob Dyakonov

Louis Gu

Bryan Lin

Violin C Bohm: Bolero

Cello G Goltermann: Capriccio

Violin J S Bach: Concert 1

Guitar P Desmond: Take Five

Clarinet I Müller: Troubadour

Trombone G & I Gershwin: ‘S Wonderful

D Kabalevsky: Variations

J P Johnson: Over the Bars

M Clementi: Sonatina Op. 36 No. 3

F Chopin: Mazurka in A minor

Piano F Chopin: Mazurka in A minor

Piano D Kabalevsky: Variations

Piano M Clementi: Sonatina Op. 36

Violin J S Bach: Concerto 1

PRIORY YOUNG MUSICIAN WINNERS AND RUNNERS UP

uth Rogers celebrates with Bryan Lin, Sebastian Weetch, Jacob Dyakonov and Louis Gu.

PIANO HIGHLIGHTS

KING’S PIANO COMPETITION 2024

The final round of the annual Junior and Lower Schools King’s Piano Competiton took place in the Concert Hall on Wednesday 24th April. Dr Liezl-Maret Livingstone (Assistant Lecturer in Piano at

Rushmere Category

Winner Alex Liu 1BP

Runner-up Michael Qu 1HM

Commended Souki Fukuzawa 1N

Commended Victor Wu 1CM

Priory Category

Winner Sebastian Weetch 3RA

Runner-up Louis Gu 2F

Commended Jacob Dyakonov 2F

Junior School and Lower School Novices Category

Winner Leo Kou 2M

Runner-up LS pupil

Duets Category

Winners LS pupils

Runners-up LS pupils

Commended Alex Liu 1BP and Jacob Dyakonov 2F

Commended Sebastian Weetch 3RA and Daniel Xu 3OH

Commended LS pupils

TU Dublin) adjudicated. She was delighted with the performers and gave detailed, helpful feedback to every competitor.

A Mozart: Allegro from Sonata in F major, K332

F Spindler: Sonatina Op 157 No 1

M Cornick: In the groove & D Cimarosa: Allegro from Sonata in C major, C 68

M Clementi: Spiritoso from Sonatina in C Op 36 No 1 & D Kabalevsky: Variations on a Russian Folk Song, Op 51 No 1

F Chopin: Mazurka in A minor, Op 68 No 2 & I Albeniz: Rumores de la Caleta from Recuerdos de viaje, Op 71

F Kuhlau: Sonatina in C major, Op 55 No 3

L v Beethoven: Allegro, ma non troppo from Sonata in G major, Op 49 No 2 E Grieg: Puck, Op 71 No 3

JS Bach: Polonaise in G minor & A Elmenreich: Spinning Song, Op 14 No 4

G Faure: Berceuse from Dolly Suite, Op 56 & C Chaminade: Rigaudon from 6 Pièces Romantiques, Op 55

C Chaminade: Primavera and La chaise à porteurs from 6 Pièces Romantiques, Op 55

CHAMBER CHOIR

CHAMBER CHOIR HIGHLIGHTS

This year, the fourteen Junior School pupils singing as part of the chamber choir have sung several Evensongs locally as well as in Guildford Cathedral, St Paul’s Cathedral and Hampton Court Palace; a concert of Handel’s Messiah, a Christmas concert in Piccadilly; the Remembrance Parade, two carol services, the Christmas Fair and a Summer Soirée.

GUILDFORD CATHEDRAL

Early on in the year, Guildford was the venue for our second Evensong. The pupils much enjoyed singing some of their favourite repertoire in this cavernous space, which included Vaughan Williams’s rousing setting of Let all the world.

CHRISTMAS IN PICCADILLY

Always one of the choir’s favourite concerts of the year, the annual Christmas concert in Piccadilly was again a huge success and much enjoyed by the appreciative audience.

ST PAUL’S CATHEDRAL

This Evensong is always a real treat and enables the choir to enjoy singing in this glorious setting. Stanford’s Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in B flat sounded magnificent and reverberated around the Cathedral.

CHAMBER CHOIR

For the final Evensong of the year, the choir traditionally sings in the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace. The choir tackled the demanding Chichester canticles by William Walton singing with confidence and energy, together with a contemporary anthem My heart, O God is steadfast by Lucy Walker.

HANDEL’S MESSIAH

The choir sang eleven of the best-loved choruses from this well-known piece of choral music in a concert in St John’s Church in March.

RSCM CHOIR SINGING EXAMS

All six Third Form pupils sat their bronze award choir singing exams in the summer term and all successfully passed with flying colours, enabling them to wear medals with their choir gowns. Many congratulations to them all.

HAMPTON COURT PALACE

YEAR HIGHLIGHTS

MUSIC EXAMINATIONS

In the 2023/24 academic year, we ran 544 instrumental lessons on a weekly basis in addition to 36 pupils involved in the beginner group scheme for the Junior School.

ABRSM & TRINITY EXAMINATIONS:

ABRSM & TRINITY RESULTS:

ADVANCED PIANISTS

MASTERCLASS AND CONCERT

On Sunday 10th March, 15 of our most advanced pianists were privileged to receive a most wonderful masterclass from Prof. Ronan O’Hora, the Head of Keyboard Studies and Head of Advanced Performance Studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Alex Liu 1BP joined 14 of his fellow Senior School pianists and performed Sonata in F major, K332, 1st mov. by Mozart.

PIANO MASTERCLASS FOR INTERMEDIATE PIANISTS

On Friday afternoon, 17th May, 17 of our keenest intermediate pianists (approximately grades 5 to 8) from across the whole school played in a four-hour masterclass with the highly gifted pianist and teacher, Julia Chaplin. Our pianists here were very lucky to have this special experience with her; we all thoroughly enjoyed this masterclass. The following five Junior School pupils performed with their repertoire:

Louis Gu 2F F Kuhlau: Sonatina in C major, Op 55 No 3

Benjamin Gussago 3OH E Milne: Indigo Moon from Pepperbox Jazz, Book 2

Bryan Lin 3RA G Grovlez: Les Marionnettes from l’almanach aux images

Sebastian Weetch 3RA F Chopin: Waltz in D flat major, Op 64 No 1

Daniel Xu 3OH J Haydn: Finale: Tempo di minuetto from Sonata in E flat major, Hob 16 No 49

THE AQUINAS PIANO TRIO

The Aquinas Piano Trio performed to Priory in the summer term, showing them the very highest level of chamber music playing. The group was led by Ruth Rogers, violinist and leader of the London Mozart Players, who previously adjudicated the Priory Young Musician competition this academic year. Pupils heard a lively take on Irish music from Martinů and an amusing Mendelssohn Scherzo.

CHARLOTTE SCOTT

Charlotte Scott, a West End performer who has been the understudy for Elphaba in Wicked, and who starred in Guys and Dolls, spoke and sang to pupils in preparation for their trip to see the musical Wicked in the summer term.

CONCERTS AND PERFORMANCES

RUSHMERE AND PRIORY CONCERTS

CONCERTS AND PERFORMANCES

SOLOISTS’ RECITALS

We had two soloists’ recitals each half term for both Rushmere and Priory pupils.These recitals are the ideal opportunity for pupils of all abilities to present their musical offering to an

audience in concert conditions. Throughout the year we were surprised by many exceptional performances and also were able to hear how much the pupils have developed musically.

CONCERTS AND PERFORMANCES

RUSHMERE BEGINNER

GROUPS’ CONCERT

Rushmere pupils performed in the annual Rushmere Beginner Groups’ Concert to a packed Concert Hall of parents, siblings, and teachers. This was the culmination of all their hard work on the Rushmere Beginner Group Scheme, a scheme for Transition and First Form pupils to trial an orchestral instrument in 20 beginner lessons. Each pupil gave a very strong performance on the oboe, cello, trumpet, French horn, trombone, clarinet, violin, double bass, flute, or viola. From solos to playing in quartets, improvisations to funky dance moves(!), every pupil showcased all they had learnt and, most importantly, had fun in their performance.

VOICE AND PIANO

CONCERT

On 7th February 2024, the Junior School and Lower School combined forces to present the annual Voice and Piano Concert in the Concert Hall. A wonderful evening of varied and emotional music was performed with great skill.

JUNIOR COLLEGE SINGERS

JCS have had their usual busy year singing at numerous concerts, events, school services and two charity events. Well done to the singers who gave so much of their time and talent.

DRAMA

FANTASTIC MR FOX

Rushmere pupils worked as fantastically as Mr Fox himself, acting their socks off and singing their hearts out to some well-known tunes. It was a pleasure to have parents, friends and staff join us as we discovered how Fantastic Mr. Fox devised a plan to ensure full stomachs for his family and friends, and the ways in which teamwork really can make the dream work!

PRIORY PLAY

MOANA

Forty-four pupils from Priory took to the stage with their fun-filled production of Moana

Originally a Disney blockbuster, this musical is a voyage of discovery and friendship, following a chief’s daughter (Moana) who is drawn to the ocean, despite the dangers that lurk beyond the reef. When her home island is threatened, she sets off to find the demigod Maui and convinces him to embark on a journey to complete the quest of her ancestors. Moana’s quest was enlivened by a host of characters, including villagers, ocean waves, ancestors, and puppetry ninjas. Among their challenges were navigating the ocean on a wheeled canoe, transforming from demigod to hawk (and back again!), facing the giant claws of a kleptomaniac

crab and attempting to tame a malevolent lava demon. Sitting atop a magnificent set, the props were especially impressive and courtesy of the Art Club, one of our lunchtime activity groups.

As ever, Mr Weber did a great job with a talented band, Mrs Howcroft and her team harnessed all of Collyer Hall’s technical powers to great effect and we benefitted from the experience and expertise of several Senior School pupils, who more than lent a hand. Special credit must go to our Assistant Director, Aarush, from Year 8 and the creative force behind the operation, Director Mrs Zeqiri. Congratulations and thank you to all involved.

LAMDA

We had another enjoyable and industrious year of LAMDA delivered by our Drama department. Doing LAMDA at school gives students the experience of speaking and acting exams where they work one-to-one with a LAMDA coach practising and perfecting two pieces. Many students participated in a range of grades

LINDON SPEAKING CUP

Priory pupils gathered in the Concert Hall to listen to the seven Third Form finalists of the Lindon Speaking Cup just before the Easter break. Each delivered a poem by heart, followed by a two-minute speech on a life-changing moment. Highlights included Ved Neoliya’s humorous speech about his sister, George Cotton’s environmental call to action, Benjamin Gussago’s historical insight,

over two exams this year: ‘Speaking Verse and Prose’ and ‘Acting’. As well as all passing their exams with impressive results, so much was learnt along the way, from memorising lines by heart and discussing poetry and prose, to building confidence and even some time-management skills! Well done to everybody who participated!

and Hadi Ridge’s plea for pigeons; Rohan Tokhi emphasized cherishing moments, Rohan Kapila spoke about his self-discovery through skiing, and Joonwoo Kang reflected on life’s pivotal moments. Judge Iain Jones named Rohan Kapila and Ved Neoliya as runners-up, with Benjamin Gussago as the overall winner. Congratulations to all participants for their exceptional performances.

SPORT

From back row left:

U8A Football >

L Ellis, K Chen, H Barton, Mr L Yates, H Chockalingam, I Lumby, J Boyes, A Thiele, I Choudhry

U8B Football > A Tavakkoli, A Oulidi-Wernicke, J Nutt, L Anatriello, Miss A Livesey, D Ranjan, Z Xu, D Vidyaev, J Lin, A Gilbert

U8C Football > K Goval, J Thwaites, L Lawrence, Mr L Yates, O Mori, B Long, S Makwana

U8D Football > K Kaushal, O Casey, B Zee, C Xiao, Mr T Brooker, Y Choi, S Fellowes, K Bhattacherjee

FOOTBALL - U8

U8 Lions Football > K Leung, B Cai, J Jagger, O Watson, R Xia, Mr L O’Sullivan

U8 Leopards Football > A Ukolov, N Yang-Feng, L Kamhawi, Mr L Yates, J Wong, Z Pesnani, H Ding

U8 Pumas Football > J Howard, A Amin, K Vasudevan, Mr T Brooker, R Gold, N Suppan, C Simonson

U8 Tigers Football > N Paice, E McLoughney, C Tan, Mr T Brooker, N Ju, I Bhagat, A Patel

U8A

U8C

U8 LIONS

U8B

U8D

U8 PUMAS

U8 LEOPARDS

U8 TIGERS

FOOTBALL - U8

TABLE OF RESULTS:

SPECIAL MENTIONS:

U8A Jamie Boyes, Kimi Chen, Aryaan Thiele

U8B Divij Ranjan, Alfie Oulidi-Wernicke

U8C Okito Mori, Lewis Lawrence, Kashyap Goyal

U8D Baxter Zee, Olly Casey

U8 Leopards Labib Kamhawi, Nathan Yang-Feng

U8 Lions Ryan Xia, Boyang Cai

U8 Pumas Charlie Simonson, Rafe Gold

U8 Tigers Ishaan Bhagdat, Eoin McLoughney

From back row left:

U9A Football > D Evseev, H Glynn, K Koseoglu, R Uzdin, Mr A De Havilland, O Korde, D Turner, H Pirrie, N Awopetu, Y Xiong

U9B Football > S Edmondson, J Ansbro, J Coretki, Mr H Manger, S Fukuzawa, R Singh, M Wong, W Ye, X Sarkari

FOOTBALL - U9

U9C Football > K Sayed, T Gussago, L Cordoni, K Khowaja, Mr D Cheers, O Tsang, N Patnaik, T Aitken-Davies, L Hewitt, V Wu

U9D Football >

J.J. Cartisser, E Bogerd, R Zhao, C Messing, Mr S Lyle, N Thomson-Hing, F Wilson, A Singh, A Singh, D Pataki

U9 Lions Football > V Haldea, N Scott-Wilson, L Flouch, A Golubev, Mr T Patel, A Beddoe, V Kanodia, A Fernandes

U9 Leopards Football > A Mishra, J Ji, S Naeem, Mr C Norman, M Semiletov, N Hughes, S Jones, Y Malhotra, H Warrick

U9 Pumas Football > N Dippel, A Yau, M Alcover, J Storey, Mr C Beck, C Patel, C Collins, D Holmes

U9 Tigers Football > M Qu, R Simpson, G Turner, W Farstad, M Long, Mr B Tibble, J Yuan, A Ram, A Liu

U9 LIONS U9B

U9D

U9 PUMAS

U9 LEOPARDS

U9 TIGERS

FOOTBALL - U9

TABLE OF RESULTS:

SPECIAL MENTIONS:

U9A Harry Glynn, Hector Pirrie, Dylan Turner

U9B Gabriel Rochu, Xavi Sarkari, Ravi Singh

U9C Thomas Aitken-Davies, Kai Sayed

U9D Carl Messing, Advay Singh, David Pataki

U9 Leopards Aman Mishra, Humphrey Warrick, Yash Malhotra

U9 Lions Adam Fernandes, Alex Golubev, Leo Flouch

U9 Pumas Alex Yau, Alfie Sargeant, Cayan Patel

U9 Tigers George Turner, Magnus Long, William Farstad

From back row left:

U10A Football >

H Stehn, I Porteous, A Aydin, J Doran, T Rowe, Mr D Cheers, B Andrews, S Oh, L Nguyen, H Tamura, N Gosling

U10B Football >

K Rai, A Chockalingam, X Etienne, F Casey, E Das, Mr T Patel, H Mansfield, Z Ali, A Plith, R Guest, G Das Wermes

U10C Football > Mr P Chevassut, T Cristofoli, J Lajumoke, K Kerman, D Pandey, Mr N Jay, A Chow, S Pidkuyko, R Bourne, L Del Zompo, E Maraffino

U10D Football >

N Thomas, F Cavaliere, F Dadashev, J Hauviller, J Dyakonov, Miss A Livesey, R Takhar, A Trzinski, L Monaco, A Kjaer, Z Mohan

U10E Football >

L Gomez-Franqueira San Pedro, E Lovett-Turner, A Dahlstrom, L Ginzburg-Maly, M Tedeschi, Mr C Fernandes, W Zhu, D Patel, V Narula, S Lee, R Bhimjee

U10F Football >

N Au, A Tull, M Cook, I Mallick, S Hidalgo, A Khan, D Ang, L Branca, S Bedekar Phatak, T Le Coguic, O Buckney

U10G Football > S Ghosh, E Geng, F O’Connor, O Ballance, J Paice, Mr T Patel, J Selvachandran, D Besser, J Na, L Kee, A Garagnon

U10H Football >

K Agrawal, D Hewitt, I Zulfiqar, Miss A Livesey, P Borges Lima, D Mahajan, A Li, N Sumanth, A Ozen, Y Su, A Patnaik, V Lu

FOOTBALL - U10

FOOTBALL - U10

TABLE OF RESULTS:

SPECIAL MENTIONS:

U10A Theo Rowe, Ben Andrews

U10B Alexander Plith, Rafferty Guest

U10C Leo Del Zompo, Severyn Pidkuyko, Tommaso Cristofoli, Ryan Bourne

U10D Francesco Cavaliere, Zachary Mohan, Faraj Dadashev

U10E Sean Lee, Lucas Ginzburg-Maly, Leo Gomez-Franqueira San Pedro

U10F Sebby Hidalgo, Dylon Ang, Oliver Buckney

U10G Oscar Ballance, Finlay O’Connor

U10H Vince Li, Daniel Hewitt, Arjun Patnaik

From back row left:

U11A Football >

A Gawley, W Guest, N Evseev, A Vanezi-Saffrett, I Gosling, Mr L Yates, S White, T Lee-Petersen, F Garcia-Oliver, E Crews, T Gao

U11B Football >

L Li, H Moore, R Blayney, B Cartledge, Mr D Cheers, A Singh-Raj, S Weetch, H Ridge, S Patel, R Papadakos

U11C Football >

H Liu, I Sarin, N Gao, V Arora, Mr D Cheers, J Bouch, F Long, M Andreottola, R Garcia-Davis, K Burrows

U11D Football >

M Wei, O Hinxman, E Spahr van der Hoek, V Neoliya, Miss A Livesey, E Parker, R Kapila, O Hill-Wood, J Vincent, J Kang

U11E Football >

T Thwaites, S Roohpour, E Bennani, R Agrawal, B Gussago, Miss A Livesey, J Leese, D Kamplade, R Tokhi, O Paik, W Durrleman

U11F Football >

V Chaturvedi, A Bhatia, S Brooks, E Medimorec, G Cotton, Mr D Cheers, D Mallik, K Khosla, B Lin, S Chen, A Rastogi

U11G Football > Mr P Chevassut, Mr P Brady, Z Oyediran, A Singh, R Nieminen, E Booth, X Monaghan, A Lueth, J Sen Lee, C Conroy, D Xu, S Chen, A Gibbons

U11H Football >

M Jarvis, O Bath, C Russell, Mr T Patel, V Gupta, A Guharoy, R Chordia, A Gupte, A Khan, N Yang, F Ahmed, V Gupta

FOOTBALL - U11

FOOTBALL - U11

TABLE OF RESULTS:

SPECIAL MENTIONS:

U11A Tim Gao, Sholto White, Nikita Evseev

U11B Woody Guest, Sebastian Weetch

U11C Kasey Burrows, Ishan Sarin, Joseph Bouch

U11D Ved Neoliya, Moyi Wei, Rohan Kapila

U11E David Kamplade, Ronav Agrawal

U11F Samuel Brooks, Anmol Bhatia, George Cotton

U11G Zion Oyediran, Daniel Xu, Christian Conroy

U8 RUGBY

TABLE OF RESULTS:

SPECIAL MENTIONS:

U8A Hugo Barton, Isaac Lumby, Zhongheng Xu

U8B Aryaan Thiele, Alfie Oulidi-Wernicke, Hari Chockalingam

U8C Aiden Tavakkoli, Eoin McLoughney

U8D Olly Casey, James Jagger

U8 Bears

U8 Falcons

Ishaan Bhagat, Jonathon Wong, Nicholas Paice

Lewis Lawrence, Keshav Vasudevan, Boyang Cai, Nathan Yang-Feng

U8 Sharks Nicholas Suppan, Rafe Gold, Bohan Long

U8 RUGBY

< U8A Rugby

J Boyes, B Zee, Mr B James, J Nutt, H Barton,1 Lumby, K Chen, L Ellis

< U8B Rugby

Mr T Patel, A Oulidi-Wernicke, A Thiele, D Vidyaev, H Chockalingam, D Ranjan, I Choudhry, J Lin, L Anatriello

< U8C Rugby

K Goyal, S Makwana, E McLoughney, C Xiao, Y Choi, C Simonson, A Tavakkoli, Z Xu

< U8D Rugby

N Ju, J Jagger, O Casey, J Thwaites, J Gu, O Mori, A Gilbert

< U8 Bears Rugby

Miss A Livesey, N Paice, A Amin, C Tan, O Watson, I Bhagat, A Ukolov, J Wong, H Ding

< U8 Sharks Rugby

K Kaushal, N Suppan, B Long, Z Pesnani, K Bhattacherjee, R Xia, K Leung

< U8 Falcons Rugby

Mr S Lyle, N Yang-Feng, L Kamhawi, L Lawrence, K Vasudevan, S Fellowes, B Cai, A Patel, J Howard

U8A

U8C

U8 BEARS

U8B

U8D

U8 FALCONS

U8 SHARKS

From back row left:

RUGBY - U9

TABLE OF RESULTS:

Thomas’s Fulham

Cranmore & Parkside Cancelled

SPECIAL MENTIONS:

U9A Noah Awopetu, Leo Hewitt

U9B Miles Wong, Leo Flouch, Khizer Khowaja, George Turner

U9C Nicholas Dippel, Thomas Aitken-Davies, Ravi Singh

U9D Humphrey Warrick, Xavi Sarkari, Alex Yau

U9 Bears Adam Fernandes, Advay Singh

U9 Falcons (Touch) Conrad Collins, Gabriel Rochu

U9 Sharks (Touch) Oliver Tsang, Yichen Xiong, Timothy Gussago, Jerome Collins

U9 Tigers (Touch) Souki Fukuazwa, René Uzdin

RUGBY - U9

< U9A Rugby

Mr D Cheers, J Coretki, S Edmondson, C Messing, D Turner, L Hewitt, N Awopetu, O Korde, K Sayed

< U9B Rugby

H Glynn, K Koseoglu, Mr H Manger, G Turner, L Flouch, D Pataki, K Khowaja, J Storey, D Evseev, M Wong

< U9C Rugby

Mr C Beck, A Singh, J Ansbro, S Jones, F Wilson, A Golubev, D Holmes, M Semiletov, N Thomson-Hing, M Long, T Aitken-Davies

< U9D Rugby

Mr C Norman, J J Cartisser, A Yau, R Zhao, R Singh, N Dippel, N Hughes, A Ram, N Patnaik, X Sarkari, H Warrick

< U9 Bears Rugby

Mr T Patel, A Singh, S Naeem, J Ji, R Simpson, V Haldea, A Fernandes, A Sargeant, M Qu, A Liu

< U9 Sharks Rugby

J Collins, E Bogerd, Mr I Tabor, A Mishra, T Gussago, O Tsang, Y Xiong, V Wu

< U9 Falcons Rugby

Y Malhotra, L Cordoni, Mr A De Havilland, W Farstad, C Collins, V Kanodia, G Rochu, A Beddoe

< U9 Tigers Rugby

C Patel, R Uzdin, Mr A De Havilland, M Alcover, N Scott-Wilson, S Fukuzawa, W Ye, J Yuan

U9A

U9C

U9 BEARS

U9B

U9D

U9 FALCONS

U9 SHARKS

U9 TIGERS

From back row left:

U10 Storms Rugby > Mr D Cheers, A Chockalingam, A Dahlstrom, D Patel, J Selvachandran, L Branca, D Pandey, S Ghosh, A Garagnon

RUGBY - U10

Downsend Cancelled

MENTIONS:

U10A Long Nguyen, Hiroto Tamura, Gabriel Das Wermes

U10B Lucas Ginzburg-Maly, Rohan Takhar, Harry Mansfield, Nikolai Gosling

U10C Matthew Cook, Edoardo Maraffino, Alex Trczinski, Joshua Hauviller

U10D Oliver Buckney, Sebby Hidalgo, Ismail Mallick, Joshua Lajumoke

U10E Avik Tull, Nathan Au

U10 Touch Jacob Dyakonov, Zachary Mohan, Devansh Pandey

U10 STORMS

From back row left:

RUGBY - U10

From back row left:

< U10A Rugby

G Das Wermes, R Guest, R Bourne, Mr L Yates, A Plith, H Tamura, H Stehn, L Nguyen, D Hewitt, X Etienne, A Aydin, T Rowe

< U10B Rugby

J Doran, F Casey, Mr C Beck, L Ginzburg-Maly, E Das, A Chow, N Gosling, S Oh, R Takhar, H Mansfield

< U10C Rugby

Mr N Jay, A Kjaer, J Hauviller, M Cook, E Lovett-Turner, L GomezFranqueira San Pedro, E Maraffino, T Le Coguic, L Del Zompo, A Trzcinski, D Ang

< U10D Rugby

J Lajumoke, S Hidalgo, Mr C Fernandes, F Dadashev, I Mallick, F Cavaliere, B Andrews, O Buckney, F O’Connor, S Pidkuyko, V Lu

< U10E Rugby

Mr D Cheers, A Khan, A Ozen, I Zulfiqar, A Tull, K Agrawal, Y Su, N Au, J Paice, S Bedekar Phatak, A Patnaik

< U10 Bears Rugby

Mr S Connolly, I Porteous, P Borges Lima, T Cristofoli, L Kou, M Tedeschi, E Geng, L Monaco, D Besser

< U10 Falcons Rugby

Mr D Cheers, V Narula, D Mahaian, N Thomas, K Rai, Z Mohan, S Lee, Z Ali, R Bhimjee, W Zhu

< U10 Pirates Rugby

Mr T Patel, A Li, K Kerman, J Dyakonov, A Totsky, L Gu, O Ballance, N Sumanth, L Kee

U10A

U10C

U10E

U10B

U10D

U10 FALCONS

U10 BEARS

U10 PIRATES

W: 15 D: 4 L: 7

Colours awarded to:

Sholto White

Alexandros

Vanezi-Saffrett

RUGBY - U11

TABLE OF RESULTS:

Danes Hill Cancelled

Fulham

Newland House Cancelled

King’s House Cancelled

King’s House Cancelled

SPECIAL MENTIONS:

U11A Woody Guest, Alex Gawley

U11B Reggie Blayney, Rafa Garcia-Davis, Ved Neoliya

U11C Harry Moore, Oscar Hinxman, Nathan Gao, Christian Conroy

U11D Oliver Bath, Xavi Monaghan

U11 Touch Francis Long, Euan Parker, Elliott Booth, Viaan Chaturvedi

RUGBY - U11

From back row left:

< U11A Rugby

Mr D Cheers, Z Oyediran, A Vanezi-Saffrett, S Roohpour, N Evseev, B Cartledge, W Guest, J Bouch, E Crews, S White, A Gawley, T Lee-Petersen

< U11B Rugby

R Garcia-Davis, T Thwaites, R Blayney, Mr P Brady, F Garcia-Oliver, V Neoliya, J Leese, M Andreottola, I Gosling, M Wei, A Singh-Raj, S Patel

< U11C Rugby

Mr S Connolly, L Gherghetta, H Moore, N Gao, O Hinxman, S Brooks, C Conroy, S Chu, J Sen Lee, J Vincent, A Gibbons, R Papadakos

< U11D Rugby

K Burrows, J Kang, D Mallik, Mr Cross, R Nieminen, O Bath, E Bennani, B Gussago, X Monaghan, B Lin, M Jarvis, A Bhatia, O Hill-Wood, A Khan

< U11 Chiefs Rugby

Mr M Hortin, A Singh, C Russell, A Guharoy, S Chen, R Tokhi, H Ridge, D Kamplade, A Gupte

< U11 Hurricanes Rugby

Mr M Hortin, V Gupta, E Spahr van der Hoek, V Arora, N Yang, W Durrleman, V Chaturvedi, G Cotton, S Weetch

< U11 Highlanders Rugby

Mr M Hortin, A Lueth, D Xu, I Sarin, R Agrawal, O Paik, S Chen, K Khosla, F Long, R Kapila, E Parker

< U11 Crusaders

Mr M Hortin, H Liu, E Booth, E Medimorec, A Rastogi, F Ahmed, L Li, R Chordia, V Gupta

U11A

U11C

U11 CHIEFS

U11B

U11 HURRICANES

U11 CRUSADERS

CRICKET - U8

From back row left:

U8A Cricket >

Mr T Patel, H Barton, B Zee, L Ellis, Mr L Yates, D Ranjan, A Patel , Z Pesnani, H Chockalingam, K Bhattacherjee

U8B Cricket > J Nutt, O Casey, K Chen, Mr I Tabor, I Choudhry, A Thiele, J Boyes, K Goyal, K Kaushal

U8C Cricket >

A Oulidi-Wernicke, J Jagger, S Makwana, Mr S Lyle, J Lin, L Anatriello, I Bhagat, A Tavakkoli, C Simonson

U8D Cricket > J Thwaites, N Paice, L Lawrence, Mr B James, D Vidyaev, Y Choi, I Lumby, R Gold, Z Xu

U8 Lions Cricket > N Suppan, A Amin, E McLoughney, Mr C Beck, A Gilbert, O Watson, H Ding, R Xia, J Howard

U8 Leopards Cricket > B Long, N Yang-Feng, Mr D Cheers, B Cai, J Wong, K Vasudevan, S Fellowes, O Mori

U8 Pumas Cricket >

A Ukolov, L Kamhawi, Mr A De Havilland, C Tan, C Xiao, J Gu, N Ju, K Leung

U8A

U8C

U8 LIONS

U8B

U8D

U8 PUMAS

U8 LEOPARDS

CRICKET - U8

TABLE OF RESULTS:

Shrewsbury House

King’s House

King’s House

Rokeby

SPECIAL MENTIONS:

U8A Hugo Barton, Divij Ranjan

U8B Idris Choudhry, Kashyap Goyal

U8C Charlie Simonson, Aflie Oulidi-Wernicke

U8D Lewis Lawrence

U8 Leopards Keshav Vasudevan

U8 Lions Nicholas Suppan, Harry Ding

U8 Pumas Zhongzeng Xu

U9A Cricket >

Mr C Beck, V Kanodia, A Ram, K Sayed, H Pirrie, N Patnaik, T Aitken-Davies, Y Malhotra, K Khowaja, S Edmondson, A Singh, L Flouch

U9B Cricket >

Mr H Manger, X Sarkari, N Awopetu, O Korde, M Wong, D Turner, A Singh, L Flouch, R Uzdin, T Gussago

U9C Cricket >

Mr B Tibble, H Warrick, R Singh, L Hewitt, V Haldea, F Wilson, J Coretki, K Koseoglu, H Glynn, L Cordoni

U9D Cricket >

Mr D Cheers, V Wu, N Hughes, A Fernandes, O Tsang, D Holmes, W Farstad, J Store, J Ansbro, C Messing, Y Xiong

U9 Leopards Cricket >

Mr D Cheers, M Semiletov, N Scott-Wilson, A Sargeant, J Yuan, S Fukuzawa, S Jones, R Simpson, R Zhao, A Mishra, E Bogerd

U9 Lions Cricket > A Beddoe, J Collins, Mr A De Havilland, D Pataki, A Liu, N Thomson-Hing, M Qu, A Yau, D Evseev, A Golubev

U9 Pumas Cricket > C Patel, G Rochu, Mr I Tabor, C Collins, M Long, N Dippel, J J Cartisser, G Turner, J Ji, M Alcover, S Naeem, W Ye

CRICKET - U9

U9 LEOPARDS

U9B

U9D

U9 PUMAS

U9 LIONS

From back row left:

CRICKET - U9

TABLE OF RESULTS:

SPECIAL MENTIONS:

Yash

U9B Advay Singh, René Uzdin, Leo Flouch

U9C Leonardo Cordoni

U9D Vihaan Haldea

U9 Leopards Josh Yuan, Alfie Sargeant

U9 Lions Danya Evseev

U9 Pumas Victor Wu, Conrad Collins

U9 Tigers Yichen Xiong, Souki Fukuzawa

U9A

Malhotra, Hector Pirrie

From back row left:

U10A Cricket >

B Andrews, R Guest, D Pandey, Mr D Cheers, H Stehn, S Ghosh, H Mansfield, L Nguyen, A Chockalingam, F Casey, D Patel, M Tedeschi

U10B Cricket >

Mr D Cheers, G Das Wermes, S Oh, N Gosling, Z Mohan, R Bourne, T Rowe, N Thomas, J Hauviller, X Etienne, J Doran, D Patel, V Narula

U10C Cricket >

Mr S Connolly, T Le Coguic, H Tamura, S Lee, S Bedekar Phatak, O Buckney, N Au, Z Ali, E Lovett-Turner, F Cavaliere, T Cristofoli, L GomezFranqueira San Pedro, E Das

U10D Cricket >

Mr L Yates, A Garagnon, A Chow, A Trzcinski, L Kou, A Totsky, Mr N Jay, D Besser, K Rai, A Khan, A Aydin, I Porteous, F O’Connor, L Del Zompo

U10E Cricket >

Mr C Beck, R Takhar, E Maraffino, A Plith, S Pidkuyko, F Dadashev, D Hewitt, K Kerman, M Cook, I Zulfiqar, A Dalstrom, J Dyakonov, A Kiaer

U10F Cricket >

Mr A Dean, L Gu, L Monaco, J Selvachandran, N Sumanth, L Kee, R Bhimjee, O Ballance, A Tull, I Mallick, L Ginzburg-Maly, A Ozen, A Patnaik

U10G Cricket >

Mr B Graham, Y Su, L Branca, D Ang, W Zhu, V Lu, J Paice, E Geng, K Agrawal, P Borges Lima, S Hidalgo, J Lajumoke, A Li

CRICKET - U10

U10G

U10F

TABLE OF RESULTS:

(W)

Danes Hill

Sussex House

Broomwood Prep

King’s House

Shrewsbury House

Newland House

Danes Hill

(W)

CRICKET - U10

SPECIAL MENTIONS:

U10A Long Nguyen, Ben Andrews

U10B Gabriel Das Wermes, Noah Thomas, Dhruv Patel

U10C Zayne Ali

U10D Alexandre Garagnon, Alex Trzcinski

U10E Kareem Kerman, Daniel Hewitt

U10F Lucas Ginzburg-Maly, Roshen Bhimjee

U10G William Zhu, Jonathan Paice

From back row left:

U11A Cricket >

A Gawley, S White, V Chaturvedi, O Bath, O Hinxman, W Guest, O Hill-Wood, Mr D Cheers, A Singh-Raj, J Vincent, R Agrawal, S Patel, K Burrows

U11B Cricket >

A Rastogi, R Papadakos, T Gao, R Tokhi, T Lee-Petersen, E Crews, A Singh-Raj, Mr D Cheers, F Long, O Paik, V Arora, S Weetch, G Cotton

U11C Cricket >

Mr D Cheers, J Bouch, C Conroy, I Gosling, M Wei, A Vanezi-Saffrett, V Gupta, H Ridge, A Bhatia, N Gao, R Blayney, V Neoliya

U11D Cricket >

R Nieminen, H Moore, V Gupta,N Evseev, F Garcia-Oliver, Mr P Brady, D Mallik, R Garcia-Davis, J Leese, K Khosla, M Andreottola

U11E Cricket > S Chu, Z Oyediran, A Singh, L Li, E Bennani, B Cartledge, T Thwaites, Mr T Patel, S Roohpour, B Gussago, D Xu, S Brooks, H Liu

U11F Cricket >

Mr S Connolly, A Lueth, E Medimorec, E Booth, E Spahr van der Hoek, A Guharoy, R Chordia, W Durrleman, A Khan, B Lin, S Chen, E Parker

U11G Cricket > J Kang, J Sen Lee, Mr E Bowden, N Yang, S Chen, R Kapila, A Gupte, Mr L Yates, F Ahmed, A Gibbons, C Russell, X Monaghan, M Jarvis

CRICKET - U11

U11B U11D

U11G

U11F

CRICKET - U11

TABLE OF RESULTS:

SPECIAL MENTIONS:

U11A Alex Gawley, Oliver Hill-Wood

U11B Sebastian Weetch

U11C Joseph Bouch

U11D Alexandros Vanezi-Saffrett, Ray Nieminen

U11E Barnaby Cartledge, Zion Oyediran

U11F Rishi Chordia

U11G Rohan Kapila, Nathaniel Yang

Colours awarded to:

Woody Guest

Shayan Patel

Kasey Burrows

TENNIS

Colours awarded to:

Ishan Sarin

Ellis Medimorec

Moyi Wei

Jack Doran (Second Form)

TENNIS

SPECIAL MENTIONS:

U8 Danila Vidyaev, Baxter Zee, James Nutt

U9 Kemal Koseoglu, James Coretki, Victor Wu

U10 Francesco Cavaliere, Gabriel Das Wermes, Hugo Stehn

U11 Oliver Paik, Mark Andreottola, Viaan Chaturvedi

FIXTURES

U8 Cranmore, Shrewsbury House, Harrodian

U9 Cranmore, Shrewsbury House, Rokeby, Wimbledon High, Harrodian

U10 Harrodian, Cranmore, Shrewsbury House, Rokeby, Wimbledon High, St Paul’s

U11 Harrodian, Cranmore, Shrewsbury House, Rokeby, Wimbledon High, St Paul’s, Dulwich

SWIMMING

FIXTURES

Wimbledon High Won

Cumnor House Lost

Garden House Won

Westminster Won

Parkside School Won

London League 4th out of 24 schools

IAPS NATIONALS FINALS RESULTS

U10 medley relay

U10 freestyle relay

Finlay O’Connor, Jacob Dyakonov, Freddy Casey, Faraj Dadashev 3rd out of 102 schools

Finlay O’Connor, Joshua Hauviller, Freddy Casey, Faraj Dadashev 6th out of 126 schools

U11 medley relay Ved Neoliya, Reggie Blayney, Alexander Lueth, Benjamin Gussago 3rd out of 115 schools

U11 freestyle relay

Alexandros Vanezi-Saffrett , Reggie Blayney, Alexander Lueth, Benjamin Gussago 7th out of 129 schools

U10 50m butterfly Faraj Dadashev 20th out of 65 schools

U10 50m backstroke Finlay O’Connor 16th out of 116 schools

U10 50m breastroke Jacob Dyakonov 10th out of 124 schools

U10 50m freestyle Freddy Casey 4th out of 152 schools

U11 50m breastroke Reggie Blayney 7th out of 124 schools

Colours awarded to:

Alexandros

Vanezi-Saffrett

Benjamin Gussago

Alexander Lueth

Reggie Blayney

ATHLETICS

RESULTS

Thomas’s Athletics

U8s 2nd overall

U9s 1st overall

U10s 1st overall

U11s 1st overall

National Prep School Athletics (Birmingham)

R Garcia Davis 800m Qualified (West Surrey)

R Blayney Shot put Qualified (West Surrey)

Colours awarded to:

Rafa Garcia-Davies

Reggie Blayney

Nikita Evseev

CROSS COUNTRY

RESULTS

Danes Hill Cross Country

U8s 1st overall

U9s 1st overall

U10s 3rd overall

U11s 3rd overall

SPECIAL MENTIONS:

U8 Jamie Boyes, Hugo Barton, Leo Ellis

U9 Harry Glynn, Joshua Storey, René Uzdin

U10 Oliver Buckney, Theo Rowe, Jack Doran, Izaia Porteous

U11 Nikita Evseev, Woody Guest, Rafa Garcia-Davis

CHESS

CHESS

Chess continues to thrive in the Junior School, with more players than ever playing the games necessary inside and out of school to achieve national (rather than online) ratings.

The chess season got underway in earnest in September with the Rushmere Championship. With over a quarter of Rushmere involved, the competition was fierce, and for the first time there were joint winners: Ethan Bogerd and René Uzdin both scored 4.5 out of 5 and couldn’t be separated even on tie-break.

Meanwhile, the Chess Ladder has continued to produce excellent chess every week, with the best Lower School and Junior School pupils battling it out. It is a great sign for the future that, as the year wore on, the Junior School pupils increasingly occupied places towards the top of the table.

Six Junior School pupils played in the U13 team we entered into the Surrey Schools’ U18 league. The team’s extraordinary performance, finishing third in division one, and only one place behind the Senior School ‘A’ team, will be difficult ever to match. Although second seeds, the U13 team travelled with some confidence to Aston in April to defend the national title. After a tense day of chess, the team finished as runners-up but should be stronger for the experience.

Disappointingly, especially for the U9 team which won the competition last year, no national U9 or U11 competitions took place this year. King’s did their best to fill the gap, inviting ten schools from as far afield as Birmingham to gather to compete in a Champion of Champions event. Ethan Bogerd, René Uzdin, Yichen Xiong, Ravi Singh and Daniel Holmes conclusively proved that the Junior School still has the best U9 school team in the country, winning six of their seven matches by the maximum 5-0 score.

SPORTS DAY

RESULTS

27.77 R. Philpott W 2014

N Evseev

Vanezi-Saffrett W Guest

2.04.86 A Vanezi-Saffrett T 2024 2.04.86 A Vanezi-Saffrett W Durrleman T Lee-Petersen

2.38.19 R Garcia-Davis S 2024 2.38.19 R Garcia-Davis N Evseev R Blayney

5.14.32 W. Belton T 2016 5.41.44 W Guest K Khosla F Long

Jump 4.22m T. Thompson T 2014 1.20m W Guest F Garcia-Oliver R Blayney & A Gawley

Jump 1.30m T. Thompson T 2014 3.68m N Evseev S Chen & E Crews Vortex 9.78m A. Adams T 2016 43.90m S White A Vanezi-Saffrett E Bennani Med Ball 47.50m M Rawlinson W 2019 6.60m I Gosling N Evseev G Cotton Tennis Ball 6.91m William Ritchie T 2022 36.27m A Gawley E Crews R Blayney Shot Putt 34.42m Zaal Owen N 2022 8.47m B Cartledge R Blayney S White

VALETE

ANDREW BAKER

Andrew Baker joined us twenty three years ago from Bishop Gilpin school. Those of you who know Andrew’s classroom will have seen that he has a small walk-in cupboard. In this cupboard are class photos of every form Andrew has had. The pupils have changed markedly over the years; AB or Mr B hasn’t. He has been the silver fox from day one. Speaking of day one, one of Andrew’s first days at King’s saw him join the Chamber Choir. In those days, teachers’ language was a little “fruitier” than nowadays and the Welsh Head of music made it very clear what he thought of the choir’s performance that day. I can still see the look of incredulity on Andrew’s face as if it were yesterday. As a Welshman, I was astounded that Andrew spoke Welsh. His late wife was from Llanelli and Andrew had made the effort to learn Welsh and to learn it well.To this day we greet each other with “bore da” (good morning), “mae’n oer” (it’s cold)! Andrew’s language skills were not limited to Welsh; his French is of an excellent standard and he accompanied many school trips to a Château in Normandy.

In addition to being a wonderful, welcoming figure to generations of Transition pupils, Andrew will be best remembered for two things: firstly being an excellent Professional Tutor, welcoming new staff to King’s and making sure that those who needed to pass their GTP or their probationary year(s) were guided through the process in the same way he has guided all his pupils; secondly and most obviously is the work for the Obera Schools, raising over £300,000. Andrew spent a gap year in Kenya and the experience persuaded him to do everything he could to make life better there.

I’ll finish where I began, with the photos in the walk-in cupboard. Not only does he have the class photos from when the pupils were in Transition but it has now become a tradition that those same pupils come back to have the same photo taken as they leave the Senior School at the end of Upper Sixth. The pupils have changed but Andrew is still Andrew.

This is not adieu but au revoir as Andrew will continue being a link between King’s and the Obera Schools. Andrew Baker MBE, it’s been a pleasure. DJ

When I joined King’s in 2012, Andrew said that I could ring him day or night if I needed help or advice. I’m pleased to report that I didn’t take him up on the nocturnal offer, but as a former Head of Rushmere, he has given me so much valuable advice and guidance over the years.

Andrew has guided the many Transition pupils in TB or TBR and given them the best start at King’s. We could not be prouder of Andrew when he received his MBE from Prince William in February. The huge difference that he has made to children in Kenya with his fundraising since he visited there in his gap year, is outstanding.

One particular memory of Andrew that we will certainly miss is his Rushmere Science assembly during Science Week. The egg being sucked into the jar experiment was rarely successful, but he always whipped up a storm of excitement to the delight of the Rushmere pupils.

Andrew will be greatly missed by all the staff and particularly by the Rushmere team. He has enormous integrity and a huge heart. We all wish him well on his next adventure. CSM

Andrew has been a stalwart member of the tenor section of the chamber choir throughout his time at King’s, virtually never missing an Evensong, concert, choral society event, carol service or tour to Paris, Venice, Barcelona, Austria, Seville and Granada and, most recently, Suffolk. Whether being an efficient bank manager sorting the euros from the pounds on choir tour, serving squash and cakes between a rehearsal and Evensong or taking orders for staff teas and coffees, Andrew has been utterly reliable, professional, a loyal team player and a great contributor vocally. He will be very much missed by generations of King’s parents, pupils and staff from the Chamber Choir family. We all wish you well for the future. DGP

TB 2015-2016 RETURN

One of Andrew Baker’s old forms return for a reunion photograph.

Olwen Hamilton joined the Junior School in April 2002 from Old Palace School in Croydon. Switching from teaching ‘A’-Level, Olwen has taken delight in introducing decades of younger pupils to the delights of the Latin language and classical civilisation, instilling her love of Greece and Rome in them. As an Oxford classicist, Olwen has always found her timetable filled mainly with Latin, but she has also been an energetic Head of RSP (formerly RE), which has given her the chance to encourage pupils to develop critical thought and build logical arguments. Olwen has offered pupils similar opportunities through the popular and successful Junior School Debating Society. Alongside a classicist’s precision, she has always placed proper emphasis on thinking rather than rote learning.

Olwen’s time at King’s has been marked by unstinting dedication, above all to the pupils for whom nothing was ever too much trouble. Whether at a concert, play, chess tournament, or (as a stalwart of many memorable Junior School classics trips) on an overseas residential trip, Olwen has always been primarily concerned with enriching our pupils’ experience. In the common room we will miss her greatly, and pupils entering the Third Form will no longer be able to benefit from her caring presence as form teacher.

If a plan to help out in the school’s archives comes to fruition, Olwen will continue to pay us welcome visits next year, but we wish her every happiness as new opportunities open up to devote more time to herself and her interests. Whether musical or linguistic, church- or garden-based, Olwen is sure to make the most of them.

An enormous thank you, Olwen, from your colleagues and pupils alike, and good luck. Not for more than 15 years has the word “vale” been more appropriate in our magazine. MJH

APRIL HILLIER

April Hillier joined King’s College Junior School in November 2002 as a part-time admin assistant in the school office. Her role included, amongst many other tasks, making up the prospectus pack to send to prospective parents and dishing out 10p coins to pupils who needed to use the pay phone to call home. Of course, these tasks no longer exist now that we are more conscious of our impact on the environment and payphones requiring coins can only be found in museums!

In the summer of 2015, April increased her hours and became a school secretary. She also increased her responsibilities and was invaluable in assisting in every area of the work in the office and the admissions department.

April was a rock-solid colleague. She was very calm, efficient, reliable and hardworking. She never appeared flustered and was able to cope with all sorts of new challenges which were sent her way. When her workmates were tearing their hair out and panicking about how we would get everything done, April would appear with a cup of tea for everyone (she made the best tea) and, of course, at the end of the day all was done and all was well.

April retired in December 2023 to spend more time with her family. We miss her so much and wish her health, happiness and good fortune in the future.

SR

OLWEN HAMILTON

RICKY ANDERSON

Ricky Anderson, who returned to his native South Africa to be with his family at the end of the Christmas term, spent 14 years over two separate stints as a member of the Junior School Common Room.

His first incarnation was as a teacher of maths and sport (and, like so many of his countryfolk, he was hugely gifted on the sports’ field and passionately supportive of the Proteas or the Springboks) and Head of House.

His second incarnation was as Head of Maths, evangelical not just about the curriculum but about how maths should be used for solving problems in the real world. During these times, he never once lost his cool (though, heavens, did we try to wind him up!), his dazzling smile or his dedication to ensure that all our pupils understood the “point” of maths. During these times, too, he underwent the highest of personal highs and the lowest of personal lows – but if you hadn’t known, you would never have known. He was guided at all times by his faith and by his love for and the love of his family.

The words of Kipling have come to mind as I write this: “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two impostors just the same;…you’ll be a Man, my son!”

Ricky isn’t just a man, he is a good man. There is no higher praise. DJ

Mrs Suzanne Richards joined King’s College Junior School in April 2007, becoming PA to the recently appointed headmaster, Dr Gerard Silverlock who was two terms into his fifteen-year tenure. She had previously been School Secretary at The Study for seven years and was already very familiar with King’s, having sent her two sons through the Senior School from thirteen.

Remarkably, she added the role of registrar to her duties and, for many years, has been the first point of contact for prospective parents and pupils as they make their first enquiries about a future at King’s. Her warmth, kindness and empathy have smoothed the process for countless families, many of whom remember her help at the beginning of their journey.

All colleagues appreciate Suzie as the fount of knowledge. Alongside her other responsibilities, Suzie has managed the Junior School office, operating with great efficiency at the nerve centre of the school and coordinating daily business not just for the head but for colleagues, pupils and parents alike. Since 2021, Suzie has helped me enormously in settling in as Dr Silverlock’s successor, offering wise counsel and generally taking great care of me.

Underpinning all of Suzie’s work at King’s has been her tender care and genuine affection for the pupils. She has seen thousands through the door from her vantage point in Priory Entrance and has been a regular attendee at plays and concerts, taking real pleasure from the exploits of our young people. They have been very lucky to have such a guardian, just as we have been lucky to have such a colleague.

Suzie departs to become Assistant Events Manager at the Independent Association of Prep Schools, based in Leamington Spa, which is nearer her home in the Cotswolds. I have no doubt that she will be incredibly successful in this role and that they will benefit hugely from her extensive knowledge of prep school life, her unstinting commitment, her tireless efficiency and her terrific humour. She leaves King’s with our very best wishes and undying gratitude for all her support. EHL

SUZANNE RICHARDS

SARAH PHILLIPS

Sarah Phillips began teaching at King’s in September 2011, sharing responsibility for TBP and then 1BP with Juliet Blight. She had eighteen years of full-time teaching experience under her belt and it was immediately apparent that she was set to become a highly regarded and valuable member of the Rushmere team. Sarah threw herself into getting to know her pupils and using her many skills to make learning a big adventure for thirteen Rushmere forms.

Sarah understands the world of an eight or nine year old boy and has always thought up inventive ways to present lessons. Who could forget the inaugural Fractions Feast or the annual Chocolate Cake poetry recital? She is a great proponent of disguised learning and, although holiday homework was not really encouraged, she would bend the rules and get the boys to write in their diaries: ‘read, play board games with your family, go for a walk, do some cooking.’ Sarah’s no-nonsense approach was intermingled with her great sense of humour. She also insisted on good manners and values that would shape the pupils in her care, definitely preparing them for life at 25!

Beyond the classroom, Sarah joined with Sam Walker in resurrecting the Gardening Club. It has become a therapeutic and much-needed resource in Rushmere; not only has it created a number of enthusiastic gardeners, but it has also provided a space where students can decompress and where Sarah has been able to gently encourage those who are finding things hard. No wonder many previous club members make it a priority to attend, well into the Senior School.

Sarah was also very involved in Chamber Choir in a pastoral role. Countless concerts, services and six tours as first aider and matron can’t have been easy. Yet, as she was genuinely interested in each of the pupils in her care, she appreciated the chance to support them over their whole King’s journey and to enjoy some fine choral music. At the end of term, many in the chorister community were keen to express their personal thanks and appreciation for all that Sarah had done for them over the years.

It is hard to believe that all this was achieved over only two days a week.

Sarah is not retiring and has many ideas of what she wishes to do next. She will spend much of her time helping others (including leading a dementia support group and visiting the elderly) sustained by her strong Christian faith. As we say goodbye, it is good to know that Sarah aims to come and visit us in the garden and in assemblies from time to time. CSM

Four years as a member of the Junior School Common Room for Bertie have flown by, and at almost the speed with which he flies around the school site! Mr Graham is the living embodiment of the old adage more speed, less haste, bringing verve and enthusiasm to all he involves himself in.

As a teacher of mathematics at King’s, Bertie has needed to be on his toes: not only in keeping up with but rather in setting the pace for the able young mathematicians that have passed through his classroom. His passion for economics, his efficiency and, above all, his pragmatism have gone some way in moulding the latest generation of cherry-red-blazer-wearing Einsteins that is our school’s legacy. He has worked under two Heads of Department, having to hit the ground running in navigating the tricky world of remote and socially distanced learning whilst simultaneously supporting them to deliver and shape the maths programme, ensuring it remains relevant and future-proof. To say he has achieved all of this with aplomb would be an understatement – a view clearly shared by his soonto-be new employer Brighton College who have asked him to lead the maths department at their new Prep School in South Kensington.

Equally capable as a teacher of Games, ‘coach’ Bertie has taken like a duck to water to the programme at King’s. A tilt at the U11A Team in his final term was just reward for four years at the helm of twelve separate Second and Third Form teams in football, cricket and, of course, his new-found love: touch-rugby! Added to that his involvement in lunchtime and after-school clubs and you have the picture of a man who has done as

much as anyone to give our pupils the opportunity to embrace all that school life has to offer.

Away from the classroom, Mr Graham’s list of hobbies and interests is long: already an accomplished cricketer, golfer, squash player, skier, cyclist, wedding guest…, Bertie added the extreme sport of nappy changing to this ever-growing list when his daughter Sasha was born last November. Not only has this made him someone who is interesting to get to know, but it has undoubtedly served to enrich the experience of the pupils passing through his tutelage as 2G’s form teacher, all of whom emerge from a year well-spent with greater worldliness and strength of character.

Mr Graham has been a great colleague and a fantastic friend. His bubbly, kind and unerringly positive personality is infectious, and the Common Room will not be the same without him. Bertie – you will be sorely missed by all of us here at King’s, and we wish you every success for your future. NAJ

BERTIE GRAHAM

ZAK LYONS

Mr Zak Lyons has taught at Kings for this past academic year. He will be moving on to Oasis Academy Shirley Park where he will continue his teaching career with secondary school pupils. The quality of his teaching, his subject knowledge and rapport with the pupils have been excellent. He has seen to the teaching of music to all Transition and First Form pupils, as well as teaching Third form, Year 7 and 8 classes. His provision of music for the Rushmere production, Priory Choir and numerous concerts throughout the year has been greatly appreciated. His calm manner and high expectations have been valued by pupils and staff alike and we wish him well as he continues his teaching career. RW

TRISHAN PATEL

Trishan joined us at the start of his placement year at Bath University where he is currently studying Sports Management and Coaching. From the beginning, Trishan was eager to showcase his sporting expertise. The pupils in Rushmere and Priory warmed to him quickly, due to his care for others and love of sport. Across the year, Trishan played an important role in helping the Junior School PE department flourish, providing quality coaching sessions, leading U8 cricket, encouraging positive fixture experiences and helping to create unforgettable memories on sports tours and extracurricular trips. In addition to his Junior School responsibilities, Trishan helped coach the U15Bs in the summer term, enhancing the pupils’ experience with his innovative coaching style.Teaching across both schools,Trishan has been a valuable member of the department, and will no doubt effortlessly transition into teaching, should this be his choice of career. We are sad to see Trishan leave us but have no doubt that he will go on to do great things, in any line of the sporting world. DAC

THOMAS YATES

The role of a full-time Rushmere assistant was a new post this year. It has certainly been a varied role, including playground duties and many school trips! As a former Senior School pupil, Thomas knew the school which was an advantage for him, and he was instantly a hit with the younger pupils.

Thomas has been so adaptable and really made the role his own, facilitating the Rushmere Quiz Club, producing the 1BP newspaper and taking every opportunity to be involved in Rushmere life. As a keen historian, Thomas also contributed excellently to the History Department. His enthusiasm and knowledge of the subject made a huge impact on pupils across the Junior School.

Thomas leaves King’s to study History at St Hugh’s College, Oxford University. He has been an absolute star and will always be remembered as the first fulltime Rushmere assistant. We wish him good luck for the future and thank him for fully participating in Rushmere life! CSM