The Ludgrovian - Spring 26

THE LUDGROVIAN SPRING 2026

‘Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might’ Ecclesiastes IX v.10

Contents • • • • • • •

Spring Term Highlights ‘The Greatest Show’ Magical World Book Day Cross-Country News Meeting Sporting Stars Barber Bistro Old Ludgrovian News

Welcome from the Headmaster We’ve been busy since the term kicked off in early January and I hope you enjoy flicking through this edition of The Ludgrovian. A sense of purpose underpins everything we do and these pages give a flavour of the breadth of education that Ludgrove life offers.

Academically we are as ambitious as ever and we also reach for the stars on the creative, dramatic, musical and sporting fronts. Amongst everything, we celebrate the scholarships and exhibitions our boys have been awarded so far this year in academia, music and sport and it is heart-warming to witness the pride that the boys take in the achievements of their peers.

We have had a concerted ‘push’ on ‘Standards’ - the importance of taking pride in your appearance, good manners, being on time, looking after each other and the school, as well as the value of ambition and teamwork. All

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are fundamental to a happy school. The 19th century author Edward Hale wrote “No one can do everything, but everyone can do something” and we encourage the boys at every opportunity to be the best version of themselves.

There have been many highlights of the term: The Townsend Warner History Prize, brilliant rugby and hockey matches, Enrichment Lectures, the UK Maths Challenge, World Book Day, Solo Singing Cup, the Speeches Competition, the IIIs’ performance of ‘The Greatest Show’, National Fives Champions, the Charity Concert, the Inter-Set General Knowledge competition and Mastermind…

I could go on.

There is a happy atmosphere around the School which enables the boys to thrive – a big thank you to one and all who work to make Ludgrove such a special place and well done to the boys for all they have achieved.

Simon Barber Headmaster

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Spring Term Highlights What an Easter term we have enjoyed at Ludgrove! From snow and icy conditions in January to the early promise of Spring with blue skies and sunny days later in the term, the School community enjoyed three months of fun and activities with a big helping of hard work thrown in for good measure. Take a look here at some of the highlights and find out more information in the pages of this edition of The Ludgrovian.

Handwriting Competition

Sunday Funday!

Guest speaker, George Fouche

Continued roll out of dorm refurbishments

Match ball from GB 7s star

Success in the Winchester Junior Squash Open

Winners of the Sets Cup - Haig!

Chinese Lunar New Year

IIs’ social evenings

Easter term’s Food Council

Top Year academic day at Downe House girls’ school

U12s win the Farleigh Sevens Rugby Tournament

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Swimming Gala v The Harrodian

Band of brothers on the School walk

Winners of the VIs’ Lego competition

Caldicott Maths & Science Olympiad

Sets’ Captains’ Pancake Race

Inspiring Ludgrove’s young scientists

The General Knowldge final

Div 1’s lecture on the Iranian Conflict

Verb Conjugation Challenge winners

1st VII v Staff Hockey match

Mastermind Final

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This was the ‘Greatest Show’!

Well the clue was definitely in the title for the Middle School Play. ‘The Greatest Show’ was a fantastic spectacle of song, dance, circus acts and rip roaring fun!

From the moment the stage lights went up, the audience was taken on a fast paced ride that left them clapping along and wanting more (luckily the cast obliged with an encore).

As well as catchy songs and choreography, the story showcased some unusual talents - who can forget the Cat Choir, Flea Show, Strongman, travelling salesmen and a whole host of mad, bad inventions?

Well done boys, your two performances were an absolute triumph… you certainly entertained us!

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Visiting author inspires the next generation Mechanics, navigation, physics and a big helping of children’s mystery stories set around the world… what more could the boys want from a visiting author?

The School was super excited when Sam Sedgman visited to talk about his series of books, Isaac Turner Investigates, that blends science with solving mysteries.

The boys were able to interact with the author, ask questions, have books signed and all while learning something along the way.

And to top it all, Mr Sedgman treated his audience to reading some passages from his book - all in a day’s work for a visiting author.

Magical World Book Day at ‘Hoggrove’ School Ludgrove (or should we say Hoggrove) was full of magical moments when staff marked World Book Day with a full immersion into the wonderful world of Harry Potter.

The boys had huge amounts of fun being taught by their favourite characters, including using wands to cast spells... in Latin, of course. They even enjoyed a menu fit for the Great Hall at Hogwarts.

Well done to our fantastic team of wizarding characters, including the Housekeeping and Dining Room staff, who gave the boys a day to remember.

Just before the end of term, the Fab five results in prestigious Townsend Warner History Prize results were received with news that the Townsend Ludgrove’s candidates had done Warner History Prize exceptionally well.

Over 1,000 pupils from around the country sat Paper 1, with only 250 going on to qualify for Paper 2. Impressively, this year 16 Ludgrove boys booked their spot in the second round, with five going on to place in the top 100! They are: Oliver - 36th place Adrian - 48th place Henry - 87th place Kai and Tim - joint 93rd place Well done to the 16 boys who made it through to the second round and huge congratulations to our final fab five!

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Inter Set Cross-Country is a celebration of team spirit and determination Ludgrove’s annual Inter Set Cross-Country races had all the ingredients for a great afternoon of running - sunshine and soft conditions, boys chomping at the bit to win points for their Sets and hundreds of supporters cheering them on.

Crowd favourites Nicko and Arlo claimed gold in the Junior and Senior races respectively, but the out-and-out winner of the day was the team spirit of the boys supporting each other for their Sets with juniors cheering for the seniors and then vice versa.

Everyone was incredibly proud of the runners, whether they crossed the line first or last. All the boys completed the course and in doing so, earned valuable points for their Set. Congratulations to Kitchener for totting up the most points.

U9s win at the Oratory School prep and primary school event The boys finished this year’s cross-country fixtures on a high by celebrating the U9s win at the Oratory School Cross-Country races that fielded 12 prep and primary schools!

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Giving it their all at the Nationals!

Well done to all the Ludgrove boys who ran in the National Prep Schools Cross Country race at Malvern College on Sunday. Having ‘warmed up’ at Ludgrove’s Inter Set Cross Country event the day before, our team of U13s and U11s gave it their all on the unforgiving, hilly course at Malvern.

The boys clocked up a great set of placings, most notable being Saturday’s Junior race winner Nicko, who was placed 7th at the Nationals. Fantastic effort one and all!

U12s Fives National Champs There are two national champions in our midsts!

Congratulations to Sebastian and Oliver, the new U12 Fives National Champions.

All Mr Smith-Bingham’s team of 12 boys were outstanding at the competition held at Eton, including Plate winners Raffy and Monty. Well done to all competitors - the Ludgrove boys and staff couldn’t be more proud.

Prep Schools Cross-Country Relay success at Ludgrove Speed, stamina and teamwork - all the ingredients were evident in bucket loads when Ludgrove welcomed 10 schools to compete in the Prep Schools Cross-Country Relays.

Over 100 boys and girls tackled the challenging course that was chock-a-block full of puddles, slippery inclines and boot-sucking swamps. A tribute to their determination is that every runner completed their leg of the relays.

Well done to all the runners who braved the muddy conditions, thank you to the enthusiastic support from spectators and congratulations to the age group winners: U13 Lambrook U11 Ludgrove U9 Elstree

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Well done to our new scholars Mengze (top) has been awarded a Music Scholarship to Brighton College in recognition of his significant growth in both his technical ability and musical maturity.

Solo Singing Cup Little did Alex Leadbeater, Director of Music at Downe House, know when he agreed to judge the Solo Singing Competition that he would have an almost impossible job on his hands to choose a winner! Luckily he was more than up for the task and after our seven outstanding soloists had performed, declared Adrian the winner and Milo the runner up. Well done to everyone who braved the stage including Alfie, Freddie, Luffy, Noah and Ralph - and thank you to Mr Leadbeater for doing the honours.

Thank you for the music of the Charity Concert The School community came together to ‘Hear the people sing’ at the Charity Concert in aid of Home Start Wokingham.

A choir made up of parents, staff and Chapel Choir took to the stage in front of an audience of hundreds to perform a medley of songs from and Les Misérables and Mamma Mia! The concert also highlighted the incredible talents of our senior

musicians and was the perfect opportunity for our advanced musicians to take centre stage and show the School community their amazing talents.

They performed with such confidence and aplomb that it is easy to forget that some of these boys are only in the IIIs, going through to the Top Year. It is clear to see the musical future at Ludgrove is bright with these stars in our midst.

Lawrence (middle) has been awarded a Music Exhibition by Radley College. He has grown enormously over the past year, developing into a thoughtful, expressive and assured musician.

Tim (bottom) has been awarded the Radley Sewell Scholarship.

This prestigious academic scholarship is given to the boy who had the best overall performance in the 12 exam papers.

Home-Start is a local community network of trained volunteers and expert support, helping families with young children through their challenging times.

Home-Start works with families in homes and communities right across the UK. The approach is individually tailored to the family. No judgement, it’s just compassionate, confidential help and expert support.

Last year Home-Start supported 76,750 children in 58,938 families, across the UK.

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Harlequins rugby training inspires the U12s team

It was a day when sporting dreams came true for the U12s rugby team (and Mr French and Mr Albert)! This lucky group visited the Harlequins training ground to watch the Premiership rugby squad training… and they even got involved with the drills, adding some extra weight to the scrummage machine.

Thank you to England stars Marcus Smith and Cadan Murley, and so many other players, for being generous with their time chatting to the boys and signing kit.

And thank you to the Club for giving us the chance to peek behind the scenes. Is it a coincidence that the very next day these boys won the Farleigh Sevens Rugby Tournament? It certainly looks like the Quins players inspired the boys to raise their game (and the cup)!

Cricketer Tawanda Muyeye presents Tour kit Professional cricketer Tawanda Muyeye made a surprise visit to Ludgrove with a special mission to complete - presenting the boys with their kit for the Pre-Season Cricket Training Tour to Desert Springs in Spain during the Easter holidays.

And the fun didn’t stop there - the Kent cricketer, who was part of the Oval Invincibles who won The Hundred 2025, lived out a personal dream of his own by playing Stump!

The boys were thrilled to include him in Ludgrove’s eccentric cricket game, although a fluke rebound off the Sports Hall roof meant he didn’t stay long at the crease.

Mr Muyeye’s visit made the day really special for the Touring Team, and the rest of the School, by delivering an inspiring sermon in Sunday Chapel, spending time with the boys and signing endless kits, bats and balls.

We look forward to seeing him back on the Top Yard for more Stump soon!

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Thrilling Speeches final for 26 boys

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After weeks of preparation and performance, the whole School gathered to listen to the 26 brave boys who had made it to the final of the Speeches Competition.

With topics as varied as ‘If Boys Ruled the World’ to ‘Pineapple on Pizza’ and ‘The Middle Child’, we really don’t know how judge Mrs Hayes could differentiate between all the boys’ offerings.

We’re just glad we didn’t have to do the job!

After much deliberation and guidance from Mrs Gore, Head of English and competition

organiser, the prizes were announced to those named in the box below.

Well done to all the boys in the top four years who researched, wrote and delivered their speeches during the heats and a big round of applause for the finalists who stood up in front of their teachers and peers and did themselves proud.

Thank you Mrs Hayes, judge (left) and Mrs Gore, organiser.

Speeches Cup Winner - Hugo dB with How to Turn Your Grub Into a Million Dollars Runner up - Monty T with Animals in Warfare IIs Winner - Patrick G with The 1976 F1 Season Runner up - Theo S with The Battle of Thermopylae IIIs Winner - Rory C with Everest Expedition IVs Winner - Arlo with Atlantic Salmon

In harmony with Downe House girls The Easter term saw a trio of events that reinforced the close academic, pastoral and social ties between Ludgrove’s top two years and their equivalent cohort at Downe House girls school.

In the space of just one week: l the IIs (Year 7) enjoyed an Advanced Strings Day at Ludgrove led by our Music Department and featuring Alex Leadbeater, Director of Music at Downe House as guest conductor. l the Top Year (Year 8) was hosted by Downe House for a social evening with pizza, games and dancing. l the Top Year then returned for a Day of Enrichment when the groups explored themes across Business, Politics, History of Art and Music under the title of Moments That Made Modernity.

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Barber Bistro opens its doors for four sittings That most exclusive Berkshire restaurant, the Barber Bistro, opened its doors for just four sittings in the Easter term.

The guest list was limited to VIP guests only... the Top Year boys.

Mr and Mrs Barber hosted the groups for an evening of delicious home cooked food and lively conversation reminiscing over their years at Ludgrove.

After dinner it was then on to the main event - party games including the ever popular ‘Empire’ that involved intrigue, deception and lots of laughter!

Always a favourite event in the calendar for hosts and guests alike, it sadly marks a milestone in the boys’ last few months at Ludgrove. A core memory for them to remember forever.

G’day Gappers!

Having left +40°C temperatures behind them in Australia for the sub zero chill of Berkshire, our new Gapper recruits deserved a very warm welcome to Ludgrove - and they got one!

Quila is a finalist in the People’s Choice Awards Quila was named as a finalist in the People’s Choice Award category at this year’s BSA Brufts!

This is in recognition of her role at the heart of the School and bringing a little love into the lives of everyone at Ludgrove.

A good reminder to us all that she truly is a ‘Wonder Woofer’.

Messrs Albert, Cross and Kings, and Misses Beveridge and Howell joined us for three terms when they will be helping on the pitches, in the dorms and in the classrooms.

Welcome aboard!

Top 100 best schools Ludgrove is proud to announce that once again we have been included in the Spear’s Magazine Schools Indices, as one of the 100 leading private schools in the world. The indices have been drawn up by Spear’s, their expert partners at Thuso and a panel of independent educationalists from around the world.

Spear’s says: “What distinguishes the schools on this list is not simply rigorous teaching, though that is a given. It is the breadth of what they offer alongside it: sport, music, drama, pastoral care that goes beyond the perfunctory.”

We are one of 23 UK Prep Schools that are featured in the prestigious listing and the only single sex, full boarding prep school - something of which we are very proud.

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Update details

OLs get together for Annual Drinks When you gather Old Ludgrovians together for a party you know it’s going to be a very entertaining and loud occasion!

OLs representing cohorts from the 1950s through to 2016 met for their annual drinks at The Walbrook Club in London, run by OL Philip Palumbo.

And what an evening it was with

old friendships rekindled and new connections made. Despite age differences, a common thread bound them all - a shared deep rooted bond with Ludgrove.

With the phrase “the best five years of my life” echoed around the venue, it’s heart warming to know our alumni are still very much Ludgrovians at heart. Until the next time gentlemen…

Contact us: For enquiries regarding registrations for OL events, to update your contact details, or to send us news, please get in touch.

Telephone: 0118 978 9881 Email: development@ ludgroveschool.co.uk Website: www.ludgrove.net Address: Ludgrove, Wokingham, Berks, RG40 3AB

Join us on: Ludgrove_School @Ludgrove

OL is a double World Champ!

OL Will Hopton (fa left) won the US Rackets Open Singles (the cup he is holding) and US Rackets Open Doubles (which his partner Ben Cawston is holding).

Save the date!

An important date for your diary - please make a note of Thursday 21st May for the annual Parents’ Drinks Party at The Bluebird, Chelsea, 6.30-8.30pm.

Invitations have been sent in the post. Please RSVP to development@ludgroveschool.co.uk.

We love keeping in touch with Old Ludgrovians through the pages of this newsletter to keep them abreast of developments at their prep school and notice of events throughout the year. This is only possible, however, if address and email details are up-to-date. If you have moved in recent years or have changed email address, email development@ludgrove school.co.uk.

Always a joy to see OLs thriving at their senior schools