School Review Magazine - Michaelmas 2018

Nursery & Prep

S CHO O L N E W S

M R S A STO A KLE Y, H E A DMASTER

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

1

S C H OOL N E W S

SCHOOL NEWS

GI LE S P ERRIN , P R I NCI PA L

AB RA STOA KL E Y, HE A DT E A C HE R

A Word from the Principal

Michaelmas at the Prep School There are many plans in the pipeline for improvements to the Prep School site, but in the autumn when the children returned it was clear that things already looked a little different. The American lockers have been a great success and, following suggestions from the Student Council, we planted the new Upper Terrace area with fragrant flowering plants and herbs for the kitchen to use. It is already a really popular place for the pupils to congregate.

Welcome to the Claremont School Autumn/Winter Review 2018-19, a new, bi-annual, whole school publication where you can read about the seasonal highlights and successes from the Nursery right up to Year 13, in one bumper edition.

What a great time it is to be associated with the School.

It has been a pleasure to welcome so many new staff to Claremont this academic year, not only into the area of teaching, but also to our administration and support teams.

Our new-found relationship with the International Schools Partnership is starting to take root and the benefits are really beginning to show. The ‘Octagon Project’ is gathering momentum, the construction of our new Dance and Music department is already underway and lots more new and exciting projects are waiting just around the corner. If you have not seen it already, I would encourage as many of you as possible to pay the Senior School a visit and see for yourself what’s happening up there.

We are fully aware that our attention now needs to focus on the magnificent Prep School site. Improvements to our car parks, development of our sports fields and the creation of fantastic new learning spaces are all under discussion and I hope to have more news on this in the very near future. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy reading all about some of the extraordinary achievements of students from across our whole school community.

Contents SCHOOL NEWS A Word from the Principal

2

Headteacher Introduction

3

Busy, Busy Nursery

4

Hot off the Press

6

Eco Warriors out in Force

6

Friends of Claremont

7

Head Boy Review

7

Pre-Prep Highlights

8

The Michaelmas Term may be the longest of our three terms, but I cannot believe how quickly it has flown by. We have enjoyed an incredibly joyous, fun-filled few months in which the staff and the children have added even more to an already jam-packed programme. Charity dominated the term, with the pupils raising money, and donating goods, to a wide variety of different good causes. ‘Dahlicious Day’ saw us dress up as our favourite Roald Dahl character. Our Harvest Festival appeal saw us collect a huge amount of dry and canned food for local charities, Seaview and the Hastings Foodbank. The bounty that greeted us as we arrived in Assembly was truly breathtaking. The Bike Challenge saw pupils in their different Houses cycle to raise money for Mental Health Research UK. Children-in-Need saw a huge array of fundraising ideas in the Pre-Prep and Nursery during November, during which the Prep School also raised money for Eastbourne Dementia Action Alliance.

Mrs Tuddenham’s hand-knitted poppies were a welcome addition for the school’s effort to raise money for the British Legion. Christmas badges raised a huge amount for St Michael’s Hospice – we believe that Claremont School sold more badges than any other comparable institution! We are really grateful for the energy and vision of both staff and pupils in dedicating time and effort to raising money for such a wide range of worthy causes.

ACADEMIC Year 3 given their Marching Orders

9

Year 4 Prepares for Battle

9

Bienvenue en France Year 5

10

STEMtacular start to the Year

11

Día de los Muertos

12

Year 6 Historians visit Brighton Pavilion

13

European Day of Languages

14

CO-CURRICULAR My World on a Digital Screen

15

Claremont Club Mix

16

From the Forest Floor

17

CREATIVE AND PERFORMING ARTS

We finished the term with a delicious Christmas lunch produced by the Pollen Partnership: turkey, pigsin-blankets, roast potatoes, carrots, peas, Brussels sprouts, red cabbage, gravy and accompanying sauces. Over 400 plates of food were served with generous helpings of conviviality and noisy Christmas songs.

Thank you to the kitchen staff for all of their hard work; indeed, all of our staff for making the term so joyful.

Gallery 18 Winter Warmer

21

High Notes from the Music Department

22

SPORT

f Raising the roo a2t the Octagon

Team Success on Dobson Trophy Day

24

‘Howzat’ for a Claremont Sports Club

24

Poolside Spectacles

25

Girls’ Games

25

Boys’ Games

26 CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

3

S C H OOL N E W S

SCHOOL NEWS

LAURA C HA N , N U R S E RY M A NA GE R

Busy, Busy Nursery After welcoming back lots of familiar faces and meeting our new families in September, the children quickly settled into their routines and classes. With winter wellie walks a-plenty, investigative trips outside to locate the signs of autumn and learning all about Diwali and Christmas, the Nursery quickly became a hive of activity. To celebrate harvest time the children enjoyed a whole host of activities including printing with vegetables, hammering golf tees into pumpkins to improve their hand and eye coordination (safety goggles were worn!) and lots of delicious autumn vegetable tasting.

In November, the children enjoyed plenty of Bonfire Nightthemed arts and craft projects including rocket making, firework-inspired art and lots of delicious cooking activities.

The Friends of Claremont School (FOCS) organised a fantastic Bonfire Party, where many of our families wrapped up warm and joined us for a spectacular firework display, hot dogs, burgers and mulled wine (for adults only!).

Happiness is cake!

Badgers and Foxes teamed up with children from Reception to perform their Christmas Nativity which was a huge success and enjoyed by all -

“...the children were still singing the songs right up to the end of term!�

Hedgehogs and Squirrels followed suit, but put their own twist on Christmas with a toe-tapping performance of a Christmas sing-along.

This was a hugely popular event where festive songs and mouth-watering mince pies came together in perfect harmony! A week later Father Christmas flew in to visit the children.

Starry-eyed and clearly in awe of their white bearded visitor, the children were treated to a story and an early Christmas gift before Santa said his goodbyes and headed back to Lapland. Later on, the children shared a delicious Christmas dinner together, pulling crackers, trying on hats and of course, wearing our favourite festive jumpers!

ffe!

Free range gira 4

!

Leaves.... sorted CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

5

S C H OOL N E W S

SCHOOL NEWS

CATH RY N K EMP, B E S T S E L L I NG A U T H O R

TRICIA EDWARDS, FOCS CHAIR

H OT OFF T HE P RE S S

Friends Indeed

Newspaper Club Publishes ‘The Arrow’ Michaelmas Term saw the publication of the eighth edition of The Arrow – Claremont Prep School’s very own student newspaper, and one that the pupils should feel justifiably proud of. Each edition is written and created entirely by Newspaper Club students, and for many of the pupils, it is the first time they have seen their names in print. The Club’s budding reporters, photographers, illustrators and quiz masters produce an engaging, vibrant and interesting read each term, writing about the issues and events that matter to them such as recycling and climate change. Each club member wears a Newspaper Club badge so that students can identify them and bring stories or ideas to them for publication. Look out for Joseph’s article later on...

Cathryn Kemp is a Sunday Times bestselling author, ghostwriter, former national journalist and the brains behind the Claremont Newspaper Club.

Michaelmas Moments Being Head Boy has given me opportunities I never believed I would have. One of these many opportunities came in December when I had the privilege of bonding with the Pre-Prep children as I joined in with the experience of performing in their Nativity.

I really enjoyed spending time with the younger ones - so much so, that I have now become one of their friends.

Over the last few months, I have also had many enjoyable duties which have given me the opportunity to build my confidence and to grow as a person.

For example this year I introduced the Winter Warmer to an audience of over 250 parents. I know that when I first joined Claremont I would have found this hard as I didn’t have so much confidence to speak out as I do now.

“There are so many wonders in Newspaper Club, and I go to it because when you publish the paper, you feel special, like you have changed.

It’s like being a writer and typing a book” Young reporter Melanie Clancy

Eco Warriors out in Force

6

L U C A S D, HE A D BOY

MARG ARET P ERRY, CO M M I T T E E CH A I R

Excellent!

The Claremont Eco Committee is now well and truly established with children representing every age group from Pre-Prep all the way up to Year 8! Children and staff at Claremont are extremely concerned about plastic pollution and the impact it is having on our world so this term, the Committee have produced an Action Plan, made pledges to help stop plastic appearing in our oceans and carried out a Beach Clean with the Marine Conservation Society. Reduction of waste continues to be our goal so during the last weeks of Michaelmas Term, the Committee also met with kitchen staff to discuss the reduction of disposable waste at meal times.

At the end of March and with plastic pollution still very much at the top of the agenda, the Eco Committee welcome the Charity, Orca to Claremont. Orca work for the conservation of whales and dolphins around our shores and will deliver an assembly, followed by workshops throughout the day. Through regular assemblies and events such as this we hope to further inspire the whole school community to help us in our quest for a cleaner, healthier planet for ourselves and our fellow creatures, now and for future generations to come.

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

With the weather on our side, the ever popular annual Bonfire Night celebrations enabled Robin and his team at Wizard Fireworks to produce yet another impressive aerial light display of flashes, whizzes, pops and BIG bangs! The roaring bonfire (expertly lit by Mr Brownbill and Mr Edwards) kept us all rosy-cheeked, and hotdogs and hot chocolates were flying out of the refreshment tent. This event is always a huge crowd-pleaser and this year didn’t disappoint. Thank you to our volunteers, Zeta Willard, Jo Rutherford, Albert Kemp, the brilliant Boarders from Clyde House, the whole Furnival Family, Mr Perrin, who always does a super job on the gate and the fabulous George Driver who makes everything possible. The annual Dobson Trophy cross country challenge gave us a wonderful opportunity to raise much-needed funds for the charity, Children in Need.

Thank you to all of our generous parents and those from competing schools who helped us raise over £200 in sales of cake and mugs of chocolates. Finally, The Christmas Bazaar proved itself to be a real crowd-pleaser this year with record visitor numbers, all tempted by our wonderful array of stalls and some fabulous raffle prizes to include a new BMX bike, a very cool sports camera and fabulous fire7 tablet!

Undeterred by the rain, it was wonderful to see the O’Byrne theatre packed to the rafters with Christmas shoppers from the whole Claremont community.

At Claremont we are very good at raising money for the less fortunate and we are always finding fun ways for the students to complete House challenges so that charity fundraisers are enjoyable for all. In the autumn, Mr Ware organised a cycling challenge. It was great with a lot of parents and students supporting the challenge by donating money to Mental Health charities. Each House had to cycle at least 400 miles by the end of the week and most of the Houses achieved this large target. I decided to join in as well and had a lot of fun racing to complete as many miles as possible.

As a School Prefect and Head Boy, I took part in a remembrance assembly for the First World War centenary.

Our aim was to help other pupils understand that soldiers lost their lives for us to have peace. Although I was talking with many others, all the words made images appear in my head of what the soldiers did. It also made me feel lucky to be here, in a modern world, and not in the past, watching my fellow soldiers sacrifice themselves to piercing bullets.

At one point during the assembly, there was a torrential downpour of rain and it made me realise that it was one of the conditions soldiers had to fight in, whereas we were all together, sheltered and in the warm.

Last year FOCS donated over £5,000 for a diverse range of items from a new overhead projector at the Senior School to animals for the Prep School Science department. We also funded books for the Prep School library, resource materials for the Learning Support department and gifted books at Christmas to our Nursery and Pre-Prep pupils. Here’s to another great year of fundraising …

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

7

S C H OOL N E W S

ACADEMIC

R ACH EL P O T T ER, H E A D O F NU R S E RY & P R E -PR E P

JACKY SMITH & MARIE PATEL, YEAR 3 TEACHERS

Working in a Pre-Prep Wonderland

Year 3 Pupils Given their Marching Orders

I was lucky enough to spend some time at Claremont prior to my appointment as Head of Nursery and Pre-Prep.

Walking into the amazing entrance hall in December, I was immediately impressed by the inviting fire welcoming everyone with its warmth and colour.

The students, from the youngest to the most senior, were overwhelmingly positive and enthusiastic about their school. They excitedly told me about forthcoming events such as the Nativity, with children happy to talk endlessly about their special parts in the production. The following week I watched

On a very cold January morning, Year 3 historians stepped back in time and immersed themselves in Roman culture. With the help of the ‘Hands on History’ team (and some very convincing period costumes and props), the children learnt about what life was like for a Roman soldier; from the weapons they used right down to the content of a legionary soldier’s marching pack. ‘Hands on’ was definitely the order of the day, as the children tried on traditional Roman costumes, organised artefacts by date, rolled out and held a very long timeline tape and took on a Barbarian horde using classic ‘shield wall’ tactics. Later on, the children were able to ‘meet’ a typical Roman family and their slaves and to find out about what treatment options were available if any of them fell ill.

both Nativities, and was inspired by the high levels of commitment from both staff and children. The children’s selfconfidence and sheer enjoyment in performing was almost palpable, so much so that I could easily have been watching a performance from children higher up the school. Needless to say, I really couldn’t wait to begin working in such a happy, positive and creative learning environment.

H OLLY N EW T ON , T E S S S CH O F I E L D & L E I L A BR O W NBI LL, PR E -PR E P TE A CH E R S

‘Little eyes certainly widened when the leeches came out!’

PATRICIA CA S T R O, Y E A R 4 T E A C HE R

Year 4 Prepares for Battle In the autumn we visited the site of the Battle of Hastings - a wonderful piece of history right on our doorstep. We learned all about the events in the lead up to the battle with many of us being chosen to help act out the story.

Ava played Harold and Nik was William. We looked at the different helmets, shields and weapons and Mr Cook was challenged to hold a suit of mail above his head to prove that he was strong enough to be in William’s army.

Heading outside we made our way to the site of the battle where we attempted to recreate the action in slow motion. A brilliant day finished with a sober look at a stone that marks the place where Harold died.

In Reception, our fantastic outdoor spaces have once again provided a multitude of learning experiences and opportunities to put our wellies on and go off exploring.

So far this year we have been climbing and balancing on obstacle courses, crawling, rolling and sliding over different ground surfaces and through tunnels, under nets and over hills. We have built dens to hide in and used logs, planks, blocks and crates to construct challenging obstacle courses for our wheeled toys to negotiate. We have been developing our literacy and mathematics skills by chalking on hard surfaces, with sticks in the mud, with brushes in water and on large scale paper with paint. We have played number games using bats, balls, beanbags, hoops and parachutes and we have been developing our vocabulary and storytelling skills through oodles of imaginative play.

And if that wasn’t enough, we have enjoyed using small props to create miniature worlds for our little toys. Children in Year 1 have continued to learn through exploration and investigation this year. During the Michaelmas Term in Geography, we enjoyed plotting a route around the school using an aerial photo. In Science we delved into the world of animals, exploring 8

the different ways we categorise and identify them (it came as no surprise that one of the children’s favourite methods was to study the ‘animal poo’ - aka ‘Angel Delight’)! In English, Year 1 pupils created fabulous Christmas posters to warn Pre-Prep about our cheeky elf visitors and in maths, we set up a shop in our classrooms so that the children could practise using money. Suffice it to say, there were many deals on the table! For Year 2, whenever it’s been possible to take learning out of the classroom, the children have done it! The great outdoors has provided the perfect backdrop for tallying and fraction work in maths, hunting and foraging in the woods for our science studies, mapping our surroundings for geography, creative writing for English - and of course our PE lessons! In the autumn, the children made their termly visit to the Evergreen Care Home to chat and sing for the residents (they’ve been getting to know our faces well), and our autumn assembly presentation was a triumph of words and music! We have loved our art and drama and in music lessons we have been learning to play the recorder. It is noisy and we love it!

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

tle Let bat ce! n comme 9

A C A D E M IC

ACADEMIC

GE O RG IN A OSBO R NE , H E A D O F S PA NI S H

Bienvenue en France Year 5 The much anticipated trip to St Omer proved to be another wonderful ‘life experience’ for our Year 5 children. We were blessed with glorious weather and despite a small delayed departure, we soon made it through the tunnel to France. Indulging in all things cultural, historical, linguistic and gastronomic, the children took part in a number of activities at la Maison Claremont and in St Omer. Taking advantage of every opportunity to hone their language skills, the children enjoyed ordering and eating at various restaurants, completing grocery shopping tasks, visiting a typical French market, a night at a bowling alley and the highlight for most, a visit to one of Europe’s largest aquariums and marine biology centres. The children returned to Claremont far more confident in their French speaking abilities and, having been away from home for three days… a little older and a little wiser. The children were a real credit to the School and Mr Slattery, Madame Hood and I were very proud of them.

Everyone we met along the way commented on the children’s polite manners and how well behaved they were for such a young group.

We all have so many happy memories to look back on for years to come, so I would like to thank all of the Year 5 for being such great sports as well as all the staff behind the scenes such as Madame Cooper, the admin team and wonderful teachers who all helped to make this trip another fabulous success.

You said...

STUAR T WA R E , Y E A R 7 F OR M T U T OR

Your teacher said...

STEM-tacular start to the Year

“I am very proud with 5C group as they put their heart into trying to speak in French and worked nicely as part of a team. Well done for being such great ambassadors for Claremont on your first time at la Maison Claremont in Saint Omer.”

Madame Hood, Head of French

‘It was good to go with friends’ Oli H ‘In Decathlon I bought some super cool glow in the dark socks’ Esme B ‘Decathlon was really fun!’ Tom ‘I learnt how to ask for a baguette in la boulangerie’ Oliver H ‘I would love to go back because it was my very first time on a school trip’ Emily W

‘I loved the French trip and I learnt a lot’ Emilia ‘At the Eurotunnel we got a good behaviour certificate’ Ben F ‘I loved the French food’ James F ‘I was really excited and nervous.

I asked for une glace’ Ella

The Michaelmas Term heralded many new and exciting experiences and innovations in the STEM subjects at the Prep School. There is always something intriguing (and at times explosive) going on in the corridors of the First Floor. With this in mind the combined Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths subjects joined with other areas of Claremont in creating a new Instagram account to help ensure this was shared with those not lucky enough to witness them first hand. Families have followed, liked and commented on what has been a full and varied year already.

Those that haven’t found us yet do follow @claremont_stem if you have the opportunity The Science department ventured to Dungeness Power Station at the beginning of October with the Year 7 students keen to see the realities of their studies on power generation. Following discussions with staff about the nature of how power is generated using nuclear fuel the full extent and scale of the site was experienced with a walk around the perimeter and the requisite sterile zone. After lunch, the students were challenged to become engineers in creating ‘pylons’ to deliver 3 power cables…..(albeit using paper and string) across the table top rather than the countryside.

‘Elaborate and innovative solutions were trialled with varying degrees of success, but always with a smile and a positive attitude’.

‘We went to la Maison Claremont for 3 days. It was my fist time ever on the Eurotunnel’ James H ‘It was amazing! I loved Nausicaa, the sea lions’ calls were so low and loud!’

Izzy ‘There was so much to do.’ Katy ‘ I learnt so much French! It was the best trip ever.’ Sarah I absolutely loved the trip! Emily S ‘Breakfast was really nice’ Jack

10

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

The theme of power generation was continued later in the term with the Joules Island project that saw some wonderful and ingenious models filling every nook and cranny of the school. Students were challenged to design and model an island to be inhabited by a team of scientists powered only by renewable sources. Never have papier-mâché, egg boxes, glitter, hanging baskets and foil been so innovatively combined to create such beautiful representations of the imagined islands. Backed up by excellent supporting materials and verbal presentations our scientists really excelled themselves and I know staff and students alike will be sad to see the completed works leave school and make their final journeys back home.

However, hot on their heels more recently, we have seen equal vigour with the creation of models showing the human respiratory system. Inspired by lung dissection in our Biology lessons the models focussed not only on the function of the system but just as importantly on the form and texture of these human organs. Pop into the Junior lab for a closer look if you have the chance.

A mathematical challenge combined with physical effort saw our Quad-tandem inspired bike challenge. This pitted all three Houses against one another with the intention of not only cycling (on static bikes) as far as was possible in four days, but also to raise money and awareness for mental health charities. The children of the Prep School could not have demonstrated any better the team work, spirit and dedication that makes Claremont so special. Travelling in excess of 715 miles was inspiring, but not as inspiring as the spirit shown within each house to encourage and drive on all of the participants. It was wonderful to see and read messages of support written within the recording books for those that followed later in the day. Perhaps we should consider a Triathlon series later in the year?

11

A C A D E M IC

ACADEMIC

GE O RG IN A OSBO R NE , H E A D O F S PA NI S H

Día de los Muertos On November 2nd, Year 8 and 9 pupils joined forces for a workshop style morning learning about the renowned Mexican celebration “The Day of the Dead”. Spanish crosswords, Mexican culture-themed games and a trip to the Space Theatre to watch Coco, a film about a boy, Miguel, who finds himself in the land of the dead on ‘Dia de los muertos’, rounded off a perfect morning making new friends and celebrating cultural diversity. Pupils were able to practise their language skills in a number of Spanish themed activities, whilst at the same time Year 8 were given a flavour of student life at the Senior School. Congratulations to Tarran and Lyra who won the competition to design a Day of the Dead skull and thank you to Señora De Haan and Señorita Jacobs for all their help in making this such a success.

“I loved the idea of celebrating a foreign tradition that is unlike anything we have in Britain. It was also a great way fo r us to meet our future school mates …” Lizzie, Year 9 K ATE ALEX AN DER, HISTORY TEACHER

“The day was awesome and we learned a lot…”

Ella, Year 8

Year 6 Historians visit Brighton Pavilion On a slightly cloudier day than we had hoped for, Year 6 set off on a trip to the Royal Pavilion in Brighton. As part of their history studies, Year 6 pupils have been finding out about the Georgian era - in particular, the excesses of the Regency.

The Pavilion was built for the then Prince Regent towards the end of the 18th century and started life as a converted farmhouse. Prince George’s love of the Arts and all things Chinese soon took over and the Pavilion, as it stands today, is a magnificent example of extravagance and opulence. We began by looking at and sketching the magnificent domes and minarets, inspired by the Taj Mahal, (not somewhere that George ever visited, but he sent painters to India in order to stimulate the architects’ imaginations). Once inside we were all astonished by the incredible detail, luxury, richness and ‘over-the-top’ splendour of the Banqueting Room, with its 30 foot high, one-tonne chandelier; the Great Kitchen and the magnificent Music Room. The children asked some excellent and probing questions, and our guide was impressed by their knowledge and excellent behaviour.

Following lunch the sun came out and after the obligatory visit to the gift shop, we headed back to school, where the children embarked upon creating a joint art/history project on the Pavilion. Thanks to Ms Darlington and Mr Ware for accompanying us on this great day out!

12

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

‘The children asked some excellent and probing questions, and our guide was impressed by their knowledge and excellent behaviour.’

13

A C A D E M IC

C O - C U RR I C U L A R

GE O RG IN A O SBO R NE , H E A D O F S PA NI S H

J OS E P H P, Y E A R 8

European Day of Languages The Prep School came alive with excitement once again for our annual celebration of European Day of Languages. The children really got into the spirit of things by donning many a ‘European accessory’ and with the different languages being spoken throughout the school, the day served as a wonderful reminder of our rich cultural diversity here at Claremont. In assembly we learned about cultural influences from across the waters which paved the way for sampling French delicacies at a Café style trolley during break time and a mouth-watering European menu prepared by our Chef and his wonderful catering team.

In the classroom, special activities were in abundance. I was delighted to hear and see such wonderful activities.

In Spanish classes, the children took part in a treasure hunt themed European passport activity, later giving their creations to members of staff to hide in their classrooms.

There were special music lessons, a lesson in Dutch from our very own Dylan from Year 8 and as always, Madame Hood delivered some informative insights into everything European.

‘A special mention to Dylan in Year 8 who taught the whole school some Dutch.’

Children in Pre-Prep once again flew the ‘Language flag’.

Guided by the talented Madame Brownbill and her team, stumbling across the many decorated ‘Claremont Rocks’ hidden around the school certainly got everyone into the spirit of the day - a day of discovery and great joy. Year 5

My world on a Digital Screen

were lucky enough to experience European Day of Languages first hand on our wonderful annual trip to La Maison Claremont. It is clear we embrace all languages, which is what I love about being part of the Claremont family. Thank you everyone for all your support.

My name is Joseph. I am thirteen years old and to me, my phone takes up a massive part of my life. I want to write a story about my world on a digital screen especially on social media. Social media is very important to teenagers these days because they can communicate from one place to another, and they can keep up with their friends.

In my world of social media, people sometimes have groups they stick to.

our, j n o B lle e p p a je m’ er Oliv

I would like to talk about the effects of cyberbullying on young people and also the games that can have an age rating but people ignore them. I have a couple of friends whose parents purchase these games for their entertainment and long-lasting fun. People say the internet is a dangerous place, but to me, it just got tougher from all the cyberbullying and the hackers keen to collect data on you or take money from your credit card.

‘Newspaper Club’s Joseph P Enters BBC Young Reporter Competition.’

The BBC Young Reporter Competition is designed for children aged 11-18, and the winners will have a chance to work with BBC journalists and producers.

Great work Joseph!

It would mean a lot to share this story of mine because cyberbullying has become a massive part of a child’s life.

Anxiety hits the children who experience cyberbullying forcing them into a chain of locked away misery. It is this that I would like to stop and I would also like the age barrier for certain video games to be reinforced so that it stops online addiction and ensures children are playing with other gamers their own age.

It is important to share this story because I want the teenagers of this country to be aware of the dangers of the internet.

You’re amazing!

Anna I - Year 7, with her Chief Scouts Gold Award.

14

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

Eleanor S - Year 8, goes the distance, winning the Sussex Schools Championship at 3K, and with it, her place at the starting line of the eagerly anticipated English Schools Cross Country Championships in March.

Year 7 cyclocross rider, Mak L peddles hard to secure the Number One spot in the Sussex League. Next stop, more gruelling races, and ambitions to compete in the British Cycling XC Nationals!

15

C O-C U R R IC U L AR

CO-CURRICULAR

ABR A ST OAK L EY, H E A DT E A CH E R

RACHEL HOLMES, HEAD OF FOREST SCHOOL

Claremont Club Mix has something for everyone ...

From the Forest Floor

The release of the Prep School Club list and Enrichment activities at the beginning of the Academic year, again drew eager crowds. Zoology Club has continued to be popular with a polite queue of ‘clubbers’ happy to wait in the wings for their turn to tend and learn about our resident corn snake, water dragon, gecko and axolotl to name but a few. Some seriously hard-fought games have been won and lost in Mr Slattery’s Chess Club and Cathryn Kemp’s Newspaper Club has once again attracted a stream of budding reporters to write for The Arrow. Crafty pupils got creative in Needlework and Art Club, Musical Theatre has set the scene for our many natural performers, Yoga Club in the Chapel has been particularly popular on a Friday afternoon for pre-weekend ‘wind-downs’, with ballet, Tap and Modern Club completing the dance circuit. Due to high demand, Kickboxing Club opened its doors for the first time to Pre-Prep fighters and Mr Cornford’s Great Outdoors programme has given young explorers yet another excuse to venture out into our enchanted woodlands. Horse Riding Club has attracted a dedicated and committed group of

The little shoots of Forest School are really growing at Claremont and for the first time, the School has opened its doors to Year 4 pupils. In the autumn the pupils organised themselves into four separate ‘clans’ with each clan given the identity of a spiritual tree, namely Oak, Ash, Holly and Hazel. Inspired by the ancient beliefs that make each of their trees so special, our outdoor adventurers not only built clan dens, but decorated them with clay medallions using their tree’s leaf prints, and clay, tree guardian spirits to protect their creations! The second half of the Michaelmas Term followed the exciting traditions that make the autumn months so special - beginning with traditional games of Conkers and then broomstick and spider web-making for Halloween. As Bonfire Night loomed we learned how to make fire using flint and steel before finally constructing Christmas trees, hazel Santas and clay snowmen in readiness for the festive season. We love the great outdoors and look forward to watching the forest floor change with the arrival of spring! regular riders, Coding Club, Spanish Club and Mrs Cooper’s Discover Classics group have continued to attract a loyal following and Ms Schofield’s new ‘Positive Power’ sessions have proved character-building stuff for Year 2.

‘Our philosophy in Forest School is that unless children connect with nature how will they learn to take care of it and protect it for future generations?’

‘Ripple’ 16

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

17

C R E ATIV E & PERF ORMI NG ARTS

CR E ATIV E & P E R F O R M I N G A RT S

Gallery

LUC AS WI LLI AMS , R E CE PTI O N

JI AJI NG Y OU, Y EAR 4

I SAD ORA F IEL D U S , Y EA R 1

R IL E Y S M IT H , Y E A R 1 C OS MO MC K ENZ I E, Y EAR 5

NIA MH MCCORMAC K , R E CE PTI O N

NI K OLAS K I RB Y, Y EAR 4

HEN RY A N S L OW, Y E A R 3

ANNA B OURNE, Y EAR 6

SO P HI A GOY, YEAR 2

FREDDI E HOWLETT, YE A R 2

18

WI LLI AM S TALEY, Y EAR 5

MOL L IE BL A C KF ORD , Y EA R 3

C H ARLOT T E K ERMAN, Y EAR 5

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

GAB RI ELLE AUK S T I K ALNY T E, Y EAR 6

19

C R E ATIV E & PERF ORMI NG ARTS

CR E ATIV E & P E R F O R M I N G A RT S

Gallery

ALEX AN DRA J ACKS ON , HE A D OF DR A M A

Wondrous Winter Warmer for a Wet and Windy Night

ANEI RA BAR TON-DI B B L E , YE A R 7

TOM OWE N , Y EA R 7

DY LAN K I S T, Y EAR 8

R O M A N H A Z ELWOOD , Y EA R 7

I MOGEN LAURENS E, Y EAR 8

H A RRY KERMAN, YEA R 7

Children up and down the Prep School treated family and friends to a fabulously festive celebration of words and music at the ever popular, Winter Warmer. A packed programme (and theatre) featured everything from seasonal songs to send-up sketches of the teachers by our very talented (and cheeky) Year 8 pupils. There were terrific cameo performances from Mr Cook as a very bright and twinkly Star of Bethlehem and Mr Catt as an exceptionally grumpy innkeeper (who for any parent who grew up in the 1980s, bore a striking resemblance to Mr Baxter, the PE teacher from Grange Hill!).

Readers had the audience in the palm of their hands, our soloists and choirs raised the roof of the O’Byrne Theatre with their beautiful renditions of everything Christmassy whilst the raffle raised much-needed funds for local charity The Snowflake Trust. Thank you to Mrs Barry and Miss Rebbeck for all their hard work in putting together such a memorable night’s entertainment and to the FOCS team for keeping the mulled wine flowing!

All in all, another cockle warming celebration of Words and Music... with bells on!

Mr Catt

SEBASTI AN STARR, YE A R 7

20

A N IA M U N T EA N , Y E A R 8

ELI S AB ET H PARS ONS , Y EAR 8

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

21

C R E ATIV E & PERF ORMI NG ARTS

LOR RAIN E BARRY, H E A D O F M U S I C

High Notes from the Music Department What an exciting and rewarding first few months I have had at Claremont! New colleagues and pupils alike have made me feel so welcome and I am delighted that every pupil has embraced my personal motto of ‘Be A Musician!’

The kind donation of 18 ukuleles by the Friends of Claremont this year brought with it opportunities for some exciting new classroom projects in the Music department.

Year 7 has started learning to play the ‘Blues’, Year 6 a variety of Christmas tunes and we have been very excited about the growing number of pupils who have signed up to Mr McEwan’s ukulele club during Thursday break times.

Many pupils have been working hard for ABRSM exams and we are looking forward to some exciting and well deserved results. In preparation for their exams many of our young musicians also decided to host a ‘Pop Up Breaktime Recital’, which was so well attended that we have decided to make it a regular event.

We were delighted to welcome Mr Dan Jefferies to our wonderful peripatetic teaching team at Claremont Prep. Mr Jefferies is teaching electric and classical guitar and I am very excited about the number of children who have chosen to take up this instrument since his appointment.

Years 3 and 4 entertained us all with the Autumn Presentation of Words and Music. Both year groups sang their hearts out to ‘Crop Eating Crows’ and ‘The Dolphin Song’ and all deserve a huge congratulations for their performance of the short recorder pieces. I was very impressed with children’s ensemble skills and unison playing. Well done, Years 3 and 4!

Inspired by the 100th Anniversary of the end of the First World War, Year 8 Prefects brought together a very moving and thought provoking assembly of Remembrance. Ruby Cutbush gave a recital of the poem The Bullet and Anna Irvine-Cappel and Saffron Andrew sang a very poignant version of the song See You Again. Following a reading of For the Fallen by Laurence Binyon, Sebastian Starr gave an unfaltering performance of the Last Post. The assembly concluded with each pupil laying their own poppy on a table of Remembrance created by 5C. Well done to everyone involved. It was a very proud day to be at Claremont.

The last few weeks of the Michaelmas Term were filled with musical highlights including the Winter Warmer, two Nativities, a trip to Mallydams RSPCA Centre and the 22

n”

“Be a musicia

Head of Music at Claremont Senior, for bringing the Senior School Windband along to accompany our carol singing.

wonderful Carol Service at St Mary’s Church in Battle.

The service began with a candlelight procession by the Boys’ Choir during Once in Royal David’s City. Well done to Nik and Lucas for their angelic solos and to all the boys for keeping in straight lines! There were so many outstanding performances during the service. Congratulations to Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 for their excellent performance and well done to Austen Restell for his drum accompaniments. It was a delight to hear the Flute Group and Brass Ensembles play and the choirs sounded beautiful in the church setting. Saffron Andrew gave a sincere performance of the Christmas Lullaby and the whole school performance of Silent Night in French was very moving.

A debt of gratitude must go to Mr Eldridge for his support and help in bringing together the Winter Warmer.

The evening began with a short concert in the Chapel given by our brand new Chamber String group. Well done to Anna, Elena, Janina, Tarran and Elsie! This was followed by festive singing by Year 5 and 6 and The Chamber Choir opening the event in the O’Byrne Theatre with a beautiful performance of Bethlehem. There were many noteworthy performances throughout the evening, including instrumental solos from James Gardiner and Eva George, a lovely performance of We’re All Made of Stars by The Boys’ Choir and a first for Claremont was the addition of a ‘House Band’ to accompany some of the songs and Carols. Well done to all the musicians for learning the music so quickly and being so professional in rehearsals. Mr Eldridge and I were very proud.

Many thanks to all the teachers who came and supported the rehearsals, particularly Miss Jackson and Miss Rebbeck for preparing such excellent readings and to the children who behaved impeccably in rehearsals, waiting patiently for their turns to perform.

‘The carol service itself was an enormous success and the children should be very proud of themselves.’

In December, members of the Chamber Choir attended the Mallydams RSPCA centre Christmas Fair in Fairlight.

This was a magical experience, where the choir sang in the heart of the woods under firelight. Thank you to Miss Rebbeck, Madame Osborne and Mrs Ackerley for joining us and singing so heartily (and providing some light with your mobile phones). We must remember to bring some torches next time!

Thank you for all the lovely comments we received afterwards - all of our performers really enjoyed hearing their efforts praised. Finally, a special thank you to the wardens and friends of St Mary’s Church for all their help and support in bringing the service together. Congratulations to all of our musicians and singers who made the carol service such a special and fitting end to the year.

The Carol Service was a highlight and once again I must thank Mr Eldridge, and also Ms Skinner, Mr Ellis and Mrs Earls for their expert help and support in preparing music for the service. A special mention must also go to Mrs Bartle, CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

23

S PO RT

S P O RT

CHR I S C AT T, HEA D O F CR O S S CO U NT RY

CHRIS CATT, HEAD CO A C H - S WI M S QU A D

Team Success on Dobson Trophy Day

Poolside Spectacles We had five swimming galas during the Michaelmas Term, against some very strong opposition but the Claremont squads produced some fantastic results and impressive team performances in them all. Years 5, 6, 7 and 8 Girls triumphed against Bedes with a 211-165 win whilst Year 6, 7 and 8 took the win against St Ronan’s with a 226-183 victory and further win against St Andrews with a 230 -201 scorecard. A closely fought contest in the pool against Battle Abbey prompted noise levels from spectators to reach fever pitch, but Year 4, 5 and 6 didn’t lose their focus and managed to snatch the win by 159-157 points. Other notable performances this term were the U13 Girls squad who won all but one of their races this term and the U12 Boys, U13 Boys and U12 Girls Relay teams who remained unbeaten all season.

In pursuit of the annual Dobson Trophy, 350 runners from 16 schools across Sussex and Kent came to Claremont to take on one of the most scenic and challenging courses on the cross country circuit. With around 60 runners in each race, the standard of running was quite exceptional as competitors made their way over fields, around the lake and through our glorious woodlands.

There were some very tired legs at the end, high finishing positions all round, Claremont team wins for the U13 Girls and U13 Boys and a very impressive performance from Eleanor S in Year 8 who stormed home a good 200 metres ahead of the field, having set the pace from the outset.

In addition to Claremont Team wins, there were also some impressive individual performances. In the U9 Girls’ race Ella S finished 14th and Olive D - 17th. James R was placed 21st in the U9 Boys’ race with Cutler B and Leonardo H coming 22nd and 23rd. The U11 Boys were up against some tough competition in their race but Samie H was placed 24th with Will S close behind in 27th. With 65 competitors, the U11 Girls’ race saw the biggest number take to the start line.

Dora G, finished 12th with Tess R - 29th and Summer C 31st. Congratulations Team Claremont - a fine afternoon’s work ‘out in the field’.

WI NNI N G T E AM S U13 Boys’ Team: Charlie G (4th), Marley N (7th), Lucas de O (8th), Rohan S (9th), Mak L (10th) and Shamil S (11th) U13 Girls’ Team: Eleanor S (1st), Rowan B-D (3rd), Charlotte W (4th), Aneira (6th), Ruby C (16th), Rosie B (20th)

24

R A K PATE L, D I R E CTO R O F SPO R TS

‘Howzat’ for a Claremont Sports Club The Claremont Cricket Programme has attracted 28 budding young sportsmen and women, all keen to develop their batting, bowling and fielding skills. Sessions are led

by Mr Patel, Mr Williams, Ms Compton and Mr Fitz-Graham with all coaches remarking on the excellent attitude and commitment of their new apprentices, who make their way up to the Senior School every Monday and Wednesday for training. The programme will run throughout the first two terms to prepare players for the coming season which the coaches and players are really looking forward to. A special thank you to all the dedicated staff who, by giving up their spare time to coach players, are uncovering new talent and a love for the game. Thank you also to our spectating parents who come along to support the players each week ...and offer a lift home!

Mr Patel hones his coaching skills with ICC Academy’s Performance Pathway Lead, the Former New Zealand Black Caps Assistant Head Coach and Holland’s cricket director in a tutor group that will help him take Claremont Sports coaching to the next level.

RACHEL HOLMES, HEAD OF G IRLS’ G AMES

Football The U13 team played some cracking football over at Gildredge House and won 5-1. There was great team spirit, everyone played their best and they all demonstrated some lovely skill on the pitch. Eve S made some awesome saves as goalkeeper while Charlotte W, Alejandra, Izzy W and Amelia M scored some wonderful goals.

Netball Whilst the older girls were playing hockey, the younger girls immersed themselves in their netball season, which is just as well, as those icy months of January and February were tricky for catching balls with frozen fingers! All in all we had a great first term of netball. It is incredible to think that the Year 3 girls began the year with little or no knowledge of the game. Watching them progress every week has been a real joy to behold. They too show lots of potential for the future as we have lots of promising shooters in that age group.The U9A team not only went through the season undefeated but they also won every single match, scoring 31 goals and conceding only 7. The promise they showed last year really has carried through.

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

Hockey

In Hockey, Claremont fielded more teams than ever this season, with five U13 teams and four U11 teams (finding opposition for our fast-growing school comes with its challenges, however, it is a lovely problem to solve). In total each team played at least six competitive matches for their school. We played 63 matches in total and were undefeated in 35 of them. We are clearly building upon the success of last year which saw our U11A team come second in the County Championships and reach the Regional Finals; a first for the Claremont girls. Many of this team stepped up to the 1st VII this year and made a great contribution to a successful year for them. Many of our girls now play club hockey with South Saxons and we are encouraging as many other players as possible to follow their lead as it is not only great fun but makes a massive difference to their progress at Claremont. Not only that but it is led by our own Director of Sport, Rak Patel, who makes all sessions fun and challenging.

!’

an ‘These girls c

25

Senior & Sixth Form

S PO RT

M ICH A EL C O O K, CO LT S CO A CH

The Colts The Boys U11s had a positive first term of football in which we saw great effort and huge progress from the Colts Cs and Ds. The A & B teams are the youngest we have known with just ten Year 5 students playing across the two squads. Even though this meant we sometimes struggled to match the physicality of our rivals, we were more than competitive in terms of technical skill. The A team played some wonderful football and were often complimented on their skill in possession. Samie Haidar, Harvey Wheeler and Max Woodfear have been particularly consistent throughout the season. The younger Year 5 players should take a lot from this year’s performance and continue to build on their development next year.

D AN BRO W N BIL L , H E A D O F B O Y S ’ GA M E S

Football Claremont 2nds have had a superb season. They are as strong a 2nd team as we can remember, producing some really good football through a combination of hard work, commitment and some very skilful play. After a narrow (some might say self-inflicted!) loss to Dulwich Prep, the boys enjoyed notable victories against Vinehall, St Andrew’s, Marlborough House and Bede’s, to complete a subsequently unbeaten season. Congratulations to all of those players!

The 3rds were not far behind having had a very encouraging season. They started their campaign with a good win against Dulwich Prep and then had two challenging games against Vinehall and St Andrews, that both ended in draws, 1-1 and 0-0 respectively. Following a strong, winning performance versus Marlborough House, the boys

The 1st XI have had a fantastic season with 10 games played, 8 wins, 45 goals scored and 5 clean sheets.

This team has been the strongest team we have had in years, with the boys playing consistently stunning football throughout the season, often against some very tough opposition. The team is made up of Year 7 and 8 players (some of whom are members of the Football Academy). They have been a joy to coach and seeing their development has been remarkable.

Chris Catt, Sports Coach

faced their toughest match of the season against Bede’s. A resilient first half saw them even at 1-1, but the athleticism and skill of the opposition eventually won out to inflict a 4-1 loss. Nevertheless this was a season that saw us play some excellent football at times.

The 4ths have shown some really impressive moments of skill and determination on the field. They started off with an strong performance and win against Dulwich Prep, and then went on to record wins against Vinehall and St Andrew’s, before a tough final match against Bede’s, which they lost 4-2.

All the boys have worked really hard to improve their game this season and they have clearly enjoyed the experience of competing against other schools and each other in the U13 House football competition. Congratulations to Athens who were this year’s winning House!

CH R I S CATT, R U GBY CO A CH

Rugby Scrum Down...

26

Tough mud d

ers

The season kicked off with some solid performances by all of our teams with notable wins from our U13s against Ashford Prep and Vinehall. The U12s played some excellent Rugby in their opening matches with some narrow losses against Ashford Prep and Vinehall, and a very convincing win over Marlborough House. The U10s faced some tough opposition but showed considerable improvement in just three matches with some gutsy performances against Marlborough House, Vinehall and Ashford Prep. The U9s made a great start to the season with a 6-4 win in their only fixture against Vinehall.

Well done lads!

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

27

S C H OOL N E W S

SCHOOL NEWS

E D D IC KIE, HEA D O F S E NI O R S CH O O L

Contents

Always getting better The autumn and winter months are never easy at school.

The year starts in September with the days still long and the weather still balmy. Spirits and energy levels are high and the list of aspirations for the coming year is long and impressive. By the end of autumn it has changed somewhat!

The days have closed in, the weather has turned, some pitches are waterlogged and that list of aspirations has been revised here and there. There is no doubt that the winter terms are long and tough ones for the Senior School yet, as one reflects on the past few months, I can see a group of students that continue to work relentlessly on getting better in all that they do. Whether inside or outside the classroom, the last six months has been characterised by an attitude and spirit of activism. Students have been looking for opportunities to extend themselves and I have been particularly proud of the fact that many of the School’s successes have come from student-led initiatives. We have moved forward in so many ways and it makes me feel very positive about the future of our school.

Nowhere has this been more apparent than in the sporting arena. Our football teams have had an extraordinary run of success, losing only a couple of games across all age groups. These wins have come consistently against schools with huge numbers of boys to choose from yet Jim, Noir and Andy have fostered an atmosphere in their teams defined by collective responsibility and high standards.

The U18 side reached the last sixteen of the ESFA cup, an amazing achievement given our short history as a senior school, and are top of their league. The U16s became the last remaining school in the whole of the south of England at the quarter finals stage of the ESFA cup, Girls’ sport has also been in full swing with record numbers participating in both Hockey and Netball, and Rugby still has a voice in the junior part of the school where Tom Samuel and Jacob Ray achieved recognition with Saracens and Harlequins academies respectively. The winter months have not dulled the enthusiasm of our cricketers either with Monday and Wednesday net sessions often overflowing with talent.

Rak Patel’s new status as an ICC Level 3 coach (well done Rak!!) will allow us to develop both Boys and Girls’ cricket even further with proposed net sessions

The first issue of student magazine ‘The Beacon’ is published with Mollie Saunder’s ‘Trashion’ show featured on the front page.

28

SCHOOL NEWS

Senior School pauses for thought on the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War. planned for Sundays going forward. The Equestrian team continues to fly the flag impressively for the school and I am delighted that we will be reinforcing this provision with a new trainer and programme for our many able riders.

Beyond the sports fields the term has been punctuated with many successful trips and events. A wonderful first ‘Continental Evening’, Mollie Saunders’ fantastic ‘Trashion’ show, weekly careers talks from a wide range of industry experts, trips to Wakefield Place, Sissinghurst and New York City, political debates with Jacob Rees-Mogg and Chuka Umunna, life drawing workshops and Geography fieldwork in Brick Lane! These are just some of the things that have been going on and you can read about many of them in these pages.

Grace Spencer’s work for the STARS charity is perhaps the most vivid manifestation of the spirit of activism.

Looking for every opportunity to raise awareness for her charity, Grace not only delivered an impressive assembly to the whole school, but also organised a netball tournament. The fundraising model she has developed will be used by the students in the future, as they take on the challenge to propagate and fundraise for their chosen charities. Next term will see Naomi Sinclair leading a fundraising initiative for Mental Health amongst young people whilst Mollie Saunders will be raising awareness of women’s issues in West Africa. This element of service to others less fortunate than ourselves chimes happily with the values of the school. Huge numbers of our students are performing community service, week in, week out, from beach cleaning in Rye to supporting fun runners in Hastings.

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

Activities such as the visits to Hartley House Care Home are now so oversubscribed, students attend on a rota. Mrs Barnett has done an incredible job in developing this generosity of spirit amongst the students.

The end of Michaelmas Term saw offers start to flood in for those Year 13 students applying to university and once again we saw some of the world’s top institutions represented to include RVC, Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, Wellesley College in the United States and Edinburgh University. Sixth Form Scholarships also took place in November with a number of awards being handed to some remarkable young women and men in Year 11. Both Years 11 and 13 mixed revelry with revision over the Christmas break with Mock exams the first week back in January. We have high hopes for both year groups and hope these ambitions are matched by the students themselves. 2019 is certainly shaping up to be a very exciting year for the School.

Head of Seniors Introduction

2

Notes from the Sixth Form

4

A Continental Night to Remember

5

Students Reap the Rewards of Success

6

Lights, Camera, Action

6

ACADEMIC Something Wicked this way Comes

7

Team Success at UKMT Challenge

7

Year 11 Scientists head to Wakehurst Place

8

Careering ahead to A levels

8

Basement Discoveries

9

Up for Debate

10

Vive la France

11

CREATIVE AND PERFORMING ARTS Starstruck Students take a bite out of the Big Apple

12

Visual Arts in Focus

13

Spotlight on Drama

14

Musical Musings

14

CO-CURRICULAR ARTiculation Workshop

16

In Pursuit of Bronze

16

Battle for Bonfire Night

17

HOUSE NEWS Camber 18 Bodiam 19 Pevensey 20 Scotney 21 SPORT

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

Boys’ Games

22

Girls’ Games

24

The Last Word

25

29

S C H OOL N E W S

SCHOOL NEWS

AAR ON EC K HO FF, DI R E CT O R O F S I X T H F O R M

AARON ECK HOFF, DIRECTOR OF SIX TH FORM

Notes from the Sixth Form

A Continental Night to Remember ...

So far this year, Claremont Sixth Form has been a very vibrant and exciting place to study and socialise. From the launch of the new Enrichment Programme to a variety of memorable social events, the students and staff have been very busy. At the start of the Michaelmas Term, our Year 12 students arrived at school a day earlier than everyone else so that they could meet their new classmates, make final decisions about their academic programmes and get themselves organised for the following day. To help break the ice, the students and staff organised a ‘speed dating’ style introduction session, a scavenger hunt and lots of brilliant team building exercises which all the students really enjoyed.

On Thursday 29th November, the Prefect team at the Senior School, with the help of our new catering team, ‘The Pollen Partnership’, hosted an amazing and very well attended event for Sixth Form and Year 11 students entitled ‘Continental Evening’. To celebrate the great and vast cultural diversity of students in the school, the event showcased cuisine and music from various parts of Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean.

Returning after the summer holidays, the Year 13s had their traditional ‘wobble’ as they realised just how close they were to the end of their study days at Claremont, and with university application deadlines looming, how much hard work lay ahead. We continue to have students attempting to break into top universities throughout the world, this year being the most ambitious so far. A record number of students have applied for university places with the highest number ever applying to American universities. I am delighted to report that two times published novelist, Prabidhik KC has been offered a fully funded place to study at the University of Harvard in the US, which is an incredible achievement for Prabidhik and the School.

Ruvimbo Tanaarwo has been offered a fully funded place at Wellesley College in the US, which is the institution featured in the Hollywood Blockbuster Mona Lisa Smile. It is also where US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton spent her undergraduate years. Nischal Poudel has been offered a fully funded place at the University of Pennsylvania, rounding off a very successful cohort. There have also been some notable wins from the previous year’s cohort with Aamir Ansari accepting a fully funded place at the University of Lincoln and Martin Namukombo accepting a fully funded place at the University of Edinburgh. Other successes include two students being invited to interview for places at Oxford and Cambridge, Nicholas Huang (Trinity College Cambridge for Engineering), and Alfie Marshall (St. John’s College Oxford for French), and offers and invitations to interview for other ambitious courses; such as Chloe Manning (Medicine) and Molly Newton’s offer to study Veterinary Science/Medicine at RVC. The UCAS process is a very daunting task for all involved with this year being the busiest it has ever been. The success of the applications thus far shows that the individual attention given to those applications has led to excellent outcomes for our students.

There have been a string of unconditional offers, taking the pressure off some students as they prepare for their upcoming summer exams and allowing them to focus on learning for learning’s sake, rather than simply preparing for

30

With 160 students, staff, and parents in attendance, the Prefects were able to raise over £500 for two local charities close to Claremont’s heart; The Manzi Foundation and Pestalozzi International Village. Bernice Ramirez, Kevin Manzi, Tom Pitts, and Nabeed Ahmed all deserve special recognition for their contributions to the planning of the event as well as the ‘The Pollen Partnership’ led by Dale Robbins and Nathan Cadey, who both generously gave up their spare time to ensure the evening ran smoothly.

ent ‘That momams when dre e.’ come tru an exam. Some of those who have received unconditional offers include Mollie Saunders (De Montfort, BA Hons Fashion), Jessica Hulley (Art and Design Foundation), and Victoria Nard (Nottingham Trent, Fashion Management).

Seven students have foregone the university application process electing to embark upon the rigorous process of finding and applying for Degree and Higher Apprenticeship opportunities. I am very excited for this cohort of students as they are showing equal ambition in their plans going forward. With university fee increases, and an ever changing world of work and careers, it has been vital for Claremont Sixth Form to adjust to the increased demand for alternative study routes. Launched in September, The Sixth Form Enrichment Programme has been a driving force in helping to develop students’ so called ‘soft skills’ to help prepare them for alternative study opportunities such as Degree Apprenticeship schemes. Initially, the Claremont Enrichment Programme focused on preparing students for the transition from GCSE study to A Level as well as developing Year 13 students’ levels of self-confidence and resilience. In the Lent Term Year 13 students began to explore interview techniques whilst Year 12 concentrated on building up their CVs and creating professional profiles to help market themselves online. There are plans for more external speakers to work with the students as they prepare for the world of work to include helping Sixth Formers develop their ‘networking’ skills so that they connect and engage with other professionals.

Exit polls revealed that the ‘Goat Curry’, served in the African room, was the most popular dish of the evening, closely followed by the Tom Yum soup, in the Asian themed room. The award for ‘Most Enthusiastic Group’ went to the

boys who camped out in the African room all evening. Their dancing, chanting, and singing were infectious and certainly drew the crowds whilst our runner-up was the ‘Russian’ contingent which took over the Asian room with a mixture of ‘mosh-esque’ dancing and, what could only be described as high pitched ‘vocal exercises’!

In the coming months, there will be opportunities for students and parents to get involved in more school events like the ‘Continental Evening’. A Quiz Night hosted by the Prefect team and featuring a silent auction is already planned to help raise more funds for our chosen Claremont charities..

The generosity of spirit and drive amongst Sixth Form students and staff is inspirational and makes coming into work every day a real pleasure. It is why the highlight of the year for me so far, has without doubt been the ‘Continental Evening’ as it truly captured the essence of Claremont as a culturally diverse and vibrant centre of learning.

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

31

S C H OOL N E W S

ACADEMIC

LE A O W EN , ASSO CI AT E H E A D R E WA R DS & SA NCTI O NS

SIN EAD HEMSLEY, HEAD OF EN G LISH & MEDIA

Students Reap the Rewards of Success

Something Wicked this way Comes ...

Team Success at UKMT Challenge

This term, Year 10 and 11 English Literature students have immersed themselves in all things Macbeth. In October, students travelled to the Barbican to see the RSC production starring Niamh Cussack as Lady Macbeth. The three witches were played eerily by little girls dressed in red party dresses. We enjoyed how the Porter chalked up a tally of Macbeth’s murders on the wall at the back of the stage.

After half term, Bowler and Crab Theatre Company visited the school to perform a few key scenes. It was fascinating to see the impact various different directorial interpretations made to our audience’s understanding of the same scene, as well as the use or exclusion of props.

Nine students took part in the UK Mathematical Trust, Senior Maths Challenge. Team Claremont competed alongside over 80,000 pupils from up and down the UK, all in pursuit of Gold, Silver and Bronze certificates which the UKMT award to the top ten, twenty and thirty percent respectively. Our team brought home an impressive three Gold, three Silver and three Bronze certificates with Year 13 students Olivia Marito, Zihan Huang and Tenzin Jampa going on to compete in one of the follow-on competitions, the Senior Kangaroo paper. Olivia, Zihan and Tenzin were among just 5,500, from 80,000 Senior Challenge participants invited to take part in this event. This year the top score was 80 (out of 100) and just three students achieved this.

The average score was 24 and the top 25% of scorers (35+) received a certificate of merit. Zihan’s score of 55 put him in the top 25%. I now look forward to fielding a team of Year 11 students in the Intermediate Challenge and Year 9 students for the Team Challenge on Wednesday 20th March.

Our first House Cup Celebration Assembly was a wonderfully joyous event with Pevensey crowned our first House winners.

The vision of Mrs Barnett running down the steps of the theatre (supported by Mr De Pleave brandishing his arms in excitement) when Pevensey were announced the Michaelmas Term House winner has been ingrained in our memories! It was as if Mrs Barnett were a contestant on the game show ‘The Price is Right’! Well done Pevensey.

The Michaelmas Term also saw the launch of ‘The Claremont Senior League’, a new rewards scheme to encourage students to develop a greater sense of pride and achievement in all areas of school life; academic, pastoral, individual and community. Students can gain merits or commendations from a variety of means; ranging from excellent work in the class to showing initiative in their co-curricular programmes. Being a good citizen or friend to a fellow student is also just cause for recognition.

Awarded points accumulate over each half term and rewards are given, these include the much-coveted lunch queue ‘Fastpass’ for the top five scoring students, ‘Rewards

Alfie said...

“It encourages you to do more and get better”

Grace said...

“I was proud of myself, as it was a big thing for me to stand up in front of the whole school. I was glad to be recognised and enjoyed the chocolate too.”

Day’ trips off site (this year we’re heading to Thorpe Park), Amazon vouchers, trays of Krispy Kremes and certificates of recognition awarded by Mr Dickie to four students who have excelled in the individual categories of Academic, Pastoral and Co-Curricular. The Claremont Senior League has certainly got students thinking more about their contribution to school life, and as competition for rewards heats up in the months ahead, we look forward to seeing some new prize contenders emerge.

Niamh Cussack as Lady Macbeth

ff!

stu Dramatic

MARK WOOD, HE A D OF M AT HE M AT I C S

P OPPY PAY N E & H E S T E R CA R P E NT E R

Lights, Camera, Action

Olivia said...

On 11th December international lighting designer, Robert “Bob” Bryan came to talk to a group of GCSE and A Level Drama students about lighting and its impact on a theatre production. First he introduced all the types of lighting to us and explained their uses. We learnt about projecting images, gobos, different gels and all the advantages of using LED lights. Robert demonstrated the different lights using a lighting board, then, referencing last year’s production of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’, he was able to put what he was explaining into real context.

the lighting ideas we have been exploring for our Year 12 Devised pieces.

We asked Bob some questions about lighting from past productions we had seen, including War Horse at the National Theatre this year. We also got to ask his advice on

Overall, it was a very useful experience as we got to talk to a professional about a key element in our GCSE and A Level Drama courses.

32

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

“The Club has been built to capture the attention of people who are interested in deeper mathematics and problems connected with it. Our goal is to win the UKMT Senior Team Challenge so in preparation for the competition, we met for an hour each week to practise solving different types of Maths problems. The UKMT Senior Challenge is a one-hour, multiple choice paper and preparing for it was not only a great opportunity to improve our maths problem-solving abilities,

but it also brought team members closer together.

Although we have team solidarity, it has also taught us about good sportsmanship when we compete against each other. We narrowly missed out on a top three position. The chance to enter the next competition, Senior Kangaroo Maths Challenge, was an honour for me. I would like to thank the people and the organisations who have enabled this competition to take place.“

Olivia Marito, Year 13 Pestalozzi student and UKMT Senior Challenge Competitor.

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

33

A C A D E M IC

NE I L BURROW S, H E A D O F S CI E NCE

Year 11 Scientists head to Wakehurst Place

ACADEMIC

LEA OWEN, ASSOCIATE HEAD REWARDS & SANCTIONS

J ON ATHAN PETE R S , S C I E N C E T E A C HE R

Careering Ahead to A Levels

Basement Discoveries at Natural History Museum

As part of their GCSE Science course, Year 11 students visited Wakehurst Place in Surrey.

Wakehurst Place is home to the Millenium Seed Bank which is the largest wild seed conservation project in the world and aims to maintain a store of seeds from all UK plants and 25% of the world’s most threatened species. Run by Kew Gardens, the estate enabled students to carry out two of their required practical investigations; to study diversity in managed and unmanaged coppiced woodlands.

A pair of footsteps encourages visitors to stand directly above the seed bank, otherwise known as, the most bio-diverse spot on the planet! The students took part in a workshop to learn how cloning technology is used to propagate rare plants such as orchids. They were able to then apply these techniques to clone samples of cauliflower, some of which are still growing back at Claremont.

The Science department are quietly confident that the GCSE Biology exams in the summer will focus on these ecology-based practical investigations and we hope that our students will be able to showcase the knowledge and experience they gained by carrying out their studies in a real context at Wakehurst.

Fiona Allman-Treen, Director of Fat Ltd web design and Dr Katherine Dickinson - Consultant Cardiologist at the Conquest.

With the retirement age rising to 67 by 2026-28, young people will soon work for 50 years of their life or more. The likelihood that our current students will have more than two or more different careers during that time is also higher than ever, which makes choosing A Levels and university courses even harder for students. This year, to support our students making these important decisions, Year 11 has been engaged in our ‘My Future’ careers programme. The aim of this programme is to allow students to explore their individual skills and interests and inspire connections with different career pathways.

‘Thanks to the Friends of Claremont for supporting travel costs for the Pestalozzi students on this trip.’

In January, Year 12 and 13 A Level biologists visited the Natural History Museum in London. We were able to go behind the scenes to view the Spirit Collection of preserved specimens, including samples collected in the Galápagos Islands by Darwin, an 8.6m long giant squid and many more slightly grotesque examples of preserved animals stored in the museum’s basement. In a ‘meet the scientist’ lecture by a parasitologist, we learned about her work combating outbreaks of schistosomiasis in the tropics and the new problems she faces now the disease is spreading into Europe. These activities linked very well to our A’ level course and although the students returned home with some very tired feet, they were very enthusiastic having developed a better understanding of classification, evolution and the importance of the museum’s work in the current climate.

The students started the programme reflecting on career choices using different questionnaires to explore their personalities, skills, interests and motivations. With the help of some of our amazing parents, we have been able to assemble a rich and diverse roster of speakers to talk to Year 11 students about many of the career options that await; from Medicine to Engineering; Sales and Procurement to Film Directing; Commercial flying to Dentistry and from Entrepreneurship to Sports Science and Marketing. Along the way, the students have been exposed to developments in anti-doping tests using genetics-based technology; engineering feats used in Taiwan High Speed Rail; the discovery of Factor VIII for Haemophilia and they even found out what reinsurance is!

I would like to thank all those parents who have been involved in this programme thus far. With their support, knowledge and wealth of experience, we have been able to give our students invaluable insights into the diversity of today’s career options. Thank you to Mrs Heather Black, Mrs Katie Williams, Mrs Julie Bann, Mr Gavin Bann, Mrs Ruby Norm, Mr David Sinclair, Professor Yannis Pitsalidis, Mrs Lindsay Shaw, Mr Simon Lee, Mr Stewart Guy, Mr John Spencer, Professor Edward Tuddenham, Mrs Bindu de Stoppani, Mr Alan Nicolle, Dr Katherine Dickinson, Professor Nicola Fear, Mr Tim Shaw, Mr Andrew Owen, Mrs Fiona Allman-Treen and everyone else who has helped launch this vitally important careers programme for our students.

34

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

35

A C A D E M IC

ACADEMIC

The Ayes have it!

M IMI MC N AL LY, PO L I T I CS T E A CH E R

HEST E R C A R P E N T E R , Y E A R 1 2

Up for Debate: Politics Students discuss Brexit Britain.

On a blustery December day when the torrential rain reflected the storm of disagreement still raging over Brexit, our A Level politics students joined the ‘Britain at a Crossroads’ conference in Westminster to hear the whole spectrum of Brexit views, direct from their chief political proponents, including Jacob Rees-Mogg, Nigel Farage, Sir Vince Cable, Chuka Umunna, Nicola Morgan, Sir Alan Duncan and Emily Thornberry. Speaker of the Commons John Bercow called for ‘Order’ more than once, to the delight of the thousand-strong student audience ready to put Nigel Farage and Jacob Rees-Mogg through their ideological paces. Contrasting arguments from this impressive line-up of speakers were robust; questions and points raised by the students were respectful but unforgiving and the core issues of parliamentary sovereignty, representative democracy and national leadership and positioning in the 21st century were agonised over during the course of the day – not unlike a typical day in the Commons! While many students came away as conflicted in their views on Britain’s future as before, all recognised the precious and fragile privilege we have of living in a liberal democracy in the UK where these views can be aired and debated without fear or risk – something we must surely keep hold of, whatever the outcome of Brexit.

Vive la France In January, A Level French students took a very busy threeday trip to Paris. Accompanied by Mrs Armstrong and Mr Medleycott we did a lot walking around the city, but it was certainly worth it; we saw the Eiffel Tower which was as magical as in all the pictures, visited the incredible and historic Notre Dame, saw some of Monet’s best work in the Musée d’Orsay, took the ‘Batobus’ (a bus-boat hybrid) along the Seine where we saw some of the most beautiful landmarks of Paris and still managed to fit in some shopping in the Galerie Lafayette. During our trip we also had the opportunity to see the Sacré-Cœur, one of the most famous features of Montmartre, the region we were staying in.

We also walked through a Jewish part of the city, which was very interesting as it relates to a book we have been reading for our French A Level. Being in Paris also gave us an opportunity to improve our French speaking skills, each of us taking turns to buy tickets at the Metro station, order food at restaurants and chat to Phillipe - the owner of a charcuterie we visited in Montmartre. The trip as a whole was an absolutely amazing experience and really enriched our knowledge of French culture.

‘Sixth Form politics students watch the Supreme Court and the Commons in action’ A Level politics students were up in Westminster again in February to watch the Supreme Court judging on a patent case involving Unilever, and to visit the Houses of Parliament. Students watched from the public gallery as MPs in the Commons Chamber debated antisocial behaviour legislation, then crossed the lobby to the House of Lords where Labour peer Lord Browne took questions from them in a discussion on the issue of reducing the size of the Lords and the further phasing out of hereditary peerages. The visit finished with a workshop on debating and the legislation process where students played the role of government and opposition in debating the legalisation of assisted suicide.

‘It’s safe to say we’ll all remember it as one of the best trips of our school careers.

Jusqu’à la prochaine fois…!’

36

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

37

C R E ATIV E & PERF ORMI NG ARTS

AM Y B AR T L E, HEA D O F M U S I C

Starstruck Students take a bite out of the Big Apple In the autumn, Performing Arts students from Year 11-13 embarked on their first ever international trip - and it couldn’t have been more perfect for our group of aspiring performers and technicians. In a packed three-day programme, students were given a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience the life of a stage performer by taking part in a Broadway workshop. They learned about life backstage in a ‘behind the scenes’ tour of the Lincoln Center and Frozen the Musical, watched the Broadway production of School of Rock and still found time to soak up many of the sights and sounds that make New York one of the most vibrant cities on the planet. It would be safe to say they well and truly caught ‘the bug’ so keep an eye out for Claremont students at an Oscars ceremony in the future!

CR E ATIV E & P E R F O R M I N G A RT S

Students’ View The Performing Arts trip to New York City was one of the best experiences ever! We all had an absolutely incredible time, and we’ll remember it for the rest of our lives. The first night we arrived a little weary after almost twenty four hours of travelling, but walking starry-eyed into Times Square with all its bright lights and thousands of people, it was hard not to feel wide awake. There were so many highlights on the trip. The Broadway performing arts workshop was truly inspiring. We were able to mix with theatre professionals who happily shared their industry knowledge and experience with us. The journey to the Top of the Rock, left us all stunned by the incredible views of Central Park, the Empire State Building, the Hudson River and many other famous New York landmarks - it was so beautiful. Watching ‘The School of Rock’ on Broadway was a jaw-dropping experience, and we were particularly drawn to the flawless performances from the twelve year-old actors who nailed the choreography and music we’d learned, sung and attempted to get right several times that day at the workshop. Our tour of the Lincoln Centre was fantastic and Ellen’s Stardust Diner was a brilliant surprise. It was so much fun seeing the waiters and waitresses perform whilst serving customers - they were so talented we had a hard time figuring out why they weren’t performing in Broadway shows themselves. We also all loved the backstage tour of the ‘Frozen’ set, and it was fascinating to see the technical aspects of how things work on the stage of a Broadway show. The last day began with a very emotional visit to the World Trade Centre site which made us all realise just how lucky we were to be on the trip, followed by a ride on the Staten Island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty and the unmistakable Manhattan skyline. Before leaving for the airport that evening, we had the opportunity to do some last minute shopping and see any sites we had left on our wishlists. The trip ended perfectly with an impromptu flash mob in JFK airport. Now we just want to go back and do it all again!

VICTORIA S T E WA R T, HE A D OF A R T

Visual Arts in Focus A busy few months in the Art, Design and Photography department has brought many creative highlights.

‘Baby girl’

by Mollie Saunders

Year 13 Photography student Mollie Saunders had the amazing opportunity to spend five days working in Togo for the charity Compassion taking test shots for an awareness campaign for pregnant women living in poverty. The trip was especially relevant for Mollie’s A Level Photography project - ‘Personal Investigation’, and will be used as part of her preparatory work. Inspired by the stories of the women she met, Mollie also took some shots of her own to help tell their stories back at home. Mollie plans to apply to study a BA Hons Degree in Fashion at De Montfort University where she has already completed an interview and secured a conditional offer.

Year 12 and 13 Fine Art students spent a day honing their figurative drawing techniques at The Beacon in Hastings with the uber talented local artist, Crawfurd Adamson.

Working directly from a female life model in charcoal, the students learned about proportion, joints and scale before taking on a sustained life drawing. Being confident and able to draw the human figure is a particularly useful skill.

Some of the Year 13 Fine Art students plan to take their life drawings along to portfolio interviews for University.

Students have already received positive feedback especially linking fashion degrees.

Our Year 11 Art students have completed their mock exams in which they had to create a final self portrait. They have worked tirelessly; experimenting with various styles and colour schemes in a final push before exam day so we feel sure they will produce some more wonderful work.

Finally, Mr Dickie and a selected group of talented art and photography students joined me in helping to design our fabulous new Art Department. Aided by my foam board scale model of the new department, Charlie Saunders, Millie Park, Poppy Payne and Isobel Burrows have now made decisions on carpet choice and wall colours! The team have also discussed options for raised flower beds, communal seating, outdoor sculptures and new walkways around the ‘Octagon’ so watch this space!

Crawfurd Adamson workshop.

I want to be a part of it...

38

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

Year 11 self-portrait mock preparation.

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

39

C R E ATIV E & PERF ORMI NG ARTS

POP P Y PAY N E, Y E A R 1 2

CR E ATIV E & P E R F O R M I N G A RT S

A M Y BA R TLE , H E A D O F M U SI C

Spotlight on Drama

Musical Musings

In the last few months the drama students have been lucky enough to see two plays at the National Theatre in London.

We had a busy Michaelmas Term in music, not least because we have been sharing the theatre space with the drama department whilst we await the completion of our fabulous new performance spaces (being consulted on soundproofing is a sure sign that our new ‘home’ is beginning to take shape).

In October we went to see War Horse. The day consisted of us arriving, eating our packed lunches along Southbank and then with some time to spare before the show, we visited Tate Modern. War Horse was an action-packed performance, displaying all the best features of an amazing theatre production.

The puppetry work was seamless, so much so that we all completely forgot the horse wasn’t real. Harris’ and Elliot’s directorial take on Michael Morpurgo’s well known book, brought the story of Joey and Albert to life, providing a more mature and gruelling take on the much loved children’s novel. Seeing War Horse was a truly once in a lifetime experience and I encourage everyone to go and see it.

In January we were back in London again to see the National Theatre production of Anthony and Cleopatra.

I think it’s safe to say that the majority of people when told they would be watching a three hour Shakespearean play, we were a little apprehensive, but we left the theatre pleasantly surprised.

The play starred Ralph Fiennes as Anthony and Sophie Okonedo as Cleopatra, both West-End and on-screen legends. So seeing them perform in the flesh was honestly captivating and I don’t think any of us will experience anything quite like it ever again.

Nevertheless, students have been fully immersed in musical opportunities - not least of all the Performing Arts trip to New York in October (see separate feature). In November, our A Level Music students enjoyed a fascinating BrightSparks seminar held by the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, which is part of the Southbank Centre. The seminar featured works we have been studying at A Level including the music of Mozart and Haydn. Our students claimed their highlight was to witness first hand an excellent coloratura soprano singing excerpts of Mozart’s The Magic Flute. “Those top F’s were ‘epic’” so sayeth Bruno...!

Community carols always get Bodiam village into the festive mood so the Claremont choir, students, parents and staff made their annual pilgrimage to the Castle Inn to sing our favourite selection of Christmas tunes. Accompanied by the wonderful Bodiam Band (with whom we have a long association), it was a ‘standing room only’ affair with much jollity - helped along by the consumption of mince pies and glasses of mulled wine!

With Christmas fast approaching, our Wind Band went on tour…... to Battle, where we had been invited to join forces with musicians at the Prep School for their carol service at St Marys. Julia Malcolm, Emily Winter (flutes), Elena Barry (oboe), Erin Winter (clarinet), Archie Wilson (cornet) and Matthew Whiteley (saxophone) thoroughly enjoyed getting into the Christmas spirit, also relishing a cheeky hot chocolate stop at Costa during the rehearsal break!! Thank you Mrs Barry for inviting us…same time next year?

As ever, in the Music Department, we do the exact opposite to other departments towards the end of the Michaelmas Term by winding up, not down. We held a very successful carol service at St Nicholas’s church in Sandhurst on the last day and all who attended couldn’t speak highly enough of our musical group performances and readers. It was a

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

wonderful way to mark a busy term in music involving the culmination of hours of rehearsals from the school choir, wind band, Pestalozzi vocal group and not forgetting some hearty congregational singing too. The staff chamber choir (with guest soloist Mr Perrin) opened proceedings with our traditional haunting introit of Vaughan Williams’s Truth from Above, followed by a candlelit procession by the choir of O come Emmanuel. Some fantastic solos were performed by Lucy Butterworth and Georgia Tipping in Once in Royal and Marcus Kent in the choir’s version of In the Bleak Midwinter

by Harold Darke. We also enjoyed a moving performance from the Pestalozzi vocal group singing a beautiful a capella version of O Holy Night - a very poignant moment as this is the last year we will have Pestalozzi students at the Senior School. We were then transported to the sunshine of Hawaii with a gentle version of Silent Night, sung in Hawaiian by the choir and accompanied by the warm twang of ukukele (Mr Bartle), guitar (Mr Mousley) and bass ukulele (Bruno Dickie).

All congregational carols were accompanied by our wind band and Mr Eldridge on organ. Archie Wilson performed a beautiful descant to Mary Donnelly’s choir item Follow the Wondrous Star. The service was led by ALM Worship Leader Lyn Hayes.

Finally, as the cold bites and we head towards formal music exams,

‘….4 clarinets, 3 french horns, 2 saxophones and a singing Headmaster

called Ed…’

Apart from the flawless acting, I would have to say it was the set that really stole the show. With the average set piece standing at 12 ft and tallest at 20 ft, it really was an impressive feat. Simon Godwin’s take on the play was also very interesting. Setting it in the modern day allowed for younger audience members like us to be able to relate to the play on a deeper level. Seeing it set in the time period for which it was written, not only would have made it harder to understand but it’s possible we wouldn’t have sympathised with the characters as much as we did. It also allowed for some comical moments, such as seeing Charmian - one of Cleopatra’s servants - flossing. The play ended its run on the 19th January so we were very lucky to be able to see it before it closed. It was a really wonderful performance.

40

Two days later, we held a pop-up lunchtime concert which was a wonderful opportunity for students to perform to a familiar audience in an informal setting. We were treated to an eclectic mix of musical highlights including the dulcet tones of Georgia Tipping on the flute leading into two songs from Wicked which were performed by Sixth formers Daisy Underdown and Soraya Khalesi. Orange Lu entertained with her rendition of The Old Castle on violin accompanied

by A Level music student Kaylorise Jin on the piano. Jack Cutbush brought a tear to the eye with his self-accompanied singing performance of Freya Ridings’ Lost without You. Accompanied by our resident guitar tutor, Mr Josh Jewsbury, international students Sissy Lyu, Vicky Zhu and Flora Yang all impressed us with their guitar skills in what was their first ever Claremont live performance. Bill Li showed off his new violin playing ability performing in preparation for his violin exam next term, Pedro Fernandez (our ISP Laude exchange student) performed a wonderful piano piece and Year 9 music scholar, Elena Barry gave us a stunning rendition of A Sky full of Stars on her violin.

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

I am pleased to report that all of our Theory candidates have passed with flying colours; 85% of students gaining Merits and Distinctions.

Congratulations!

As ever, a huge thank you to our Performing Arts Assistant Mr Mousley and our wonderful team of peripatetic teachers who keep the department ever growing and expanding - Mr Bartle, Mr Newman, Mr Jewsbury, Mr Eldridge, Ms Earls and Mr Hall.

41

C O-C U R R IC U L AR

CO-CURRICULAR

S AR A H C AK EBREA D, H E A D O F DR A M A

FRAN COISE ARMSTRON G , ASSISTAN T HEAD (IN TERN ATION AL)

Battle for Bonfire Night

ARTiculation Workshop

On Saturday 1st September, both of our boarding houses were buzzing with excitement, as corridors were filled with massive suitcases and students navigating their way through a maze of stairwells. It is always a joyful time of year for Pyke and Clyde House as they open their doors to some very excited Boarders, all ready for the new academic year. Some of our new residents had little or no experience of living in a Boarding community, dealing with their laundry and even making their own bed, but under the careful watch of their respective Housemasters, Mr Kirkwood and Mr Tayson, everyone soon fell into a routine.

about the artwork she had seen. Timothy Revell from Sculpture UK, who led the session, commented “A very talented group; Jessica Hulley in particular stands out as a fantastic candidate for the ARTiculation National Competition!”

Well done Jessica!

‘tune’ of some VERY loud background fireworks. A very British tradition, giving our Boarders something to really write home about!

The first term for Boarders is always about forging what often become, life-long friendships across different cultures and age groups. This year, our Boarders have come from as far afield as Japan, Iran and Canada. We have welcomed our first student from Gambia and continue to have a strong presence from Nigeria, China, Spain and Germany amongst others. A highlight so far has been the Battle Bonfire display during which all the Boarders were able to get their first taste of local tradition and British culture.

Clyde students were invited over to Pyke House for the evening so that both could enjoy some delicious spicy spare ribs before watching the bonfire parade from the ultimate vantage point - namely Pyke House’s front door! For the older students it was an opportunity to get together (in their best party clothes!) within the safe boundaries of the small, historic town of Battle, whilst for the younger ones, all they had to do was stand at the Boarding House entrance to watch the “odd” display of grown-ups in scary, fancy dress costumes, carrying ceremonial torches and marching to the

Three Year 13 Gold Arts Award students were lucky enough to attend an ‘ARTiculation’ workshop day at the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill. ARTiculation Discovery Days are designed to develop and support students’ understanding and engagement with Art and where they are able to explore art works through personal observation, discussion and primary research. The students were encouraged to think independently, analyse information, and ask informed questions. They also learned how to conquer nerves, physically prepare and successfully deliver a presentation to a large audience of industry professionals and students from other schools. The girls all presented with great clarity and confidence on the day, especially Jessica Hulley who spoke without notes and with such ease and warmth

M ARK W O O D , D o E AWA R D M A NA GE R

Well done...

In Pursuit of Bronze...

This year, 29 Year 10 students have taken on the challenge of Bronze level, Duke of Edinburgh Award. The award consists of four sections: Physical, Volunteering, Skills and Expedition but it is up to the students to decide which activity they want to do in each. During the Michaelmas Term the students embarked on an introductory camp. Mary Woodfear & Julia Malcolm have written about their experience:

as we will do our walks on our own. When we arrived at the campsite, we could choose where we wanted to camp… so we decided to have a whole field to ourselves! Just before it got dark, we set up the tents and then our trangia camping stoves. We cooked hot dogs, before boiling some water to make hot chocolate. We spent the rest of the night chatting and having a good laugh together before heading back to our tents to sleep, and get ready for the walk back in the morning.

“On 12th October we left our lessons, and in fine weather, packed up the bus with our equipment and bags. When we arrived, Mr Wood showed us where we were going and the route we would be taking before we organised ourselves into three groups of six. Then we set off on a 5km walk which took about 2 hours to complete. It was fun as you could be with your friends, but it also helped us with our map reading as we had to work as a team with no guidance from the teachers. It was good practice for the expeditions,

The next morning, everyone was up by 7:00am. We set up the trangias again and boiled some water to make porridge for breakfast. We left the campsite at 9:00am and walked back in different groups, with Mrs Saunders’ group going first then Mr Wood and Ms Hurton’s group next. As we will have to read maps, cook and put up tents by ourselves on our actual expedition, I think the camp really helped us prepare. Our teachers also gave us lots of freedom and independence, which was great”.

42

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

Mr Burrows’s tremendous moustache and cake sale raises over £400 for the Movember Foundation.

George H is selected for Sussex County U16 Squad.

Well done Mr B! CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

43

HO U SE N E WS

HOUSE NEWS

OLI V ER BUT C HER, H E A D O F CA M B E R

REB ECCA HUR T ON , HE A D OF BODI A M

Camber Michaelmas was a busy term for Camber with lots of events organised by the House for the whole school. A number of Year 13 students chose to plan and deliver an event to raise money and awareness of a cause as part of their Extended Project Qualification (EPQ). Head of School, Amelia Phipps organised ClaremontFEST in July in aid of Project #WalktoTalk and the School was treated to Mollie Saunders’ (Bodiam) ‘Trashion Show’ to raise awareness of the damage the fashion industry does as the second biggest polluter on the planet, in which our very own Ruby Bowyer did a wonderful job as one of the Trashion models on the catwalk The ‘House Trip’ is always a brilliant bonding experience for the students and this year we indulged in a fun day of iceskating and Christmas shopping in Tunbridge Wells, but not before having the customary House Secret Santa. For some of our international students, this was the first taste of classic British customs and traditions in the lead up to Christmas!

Ignacio D, a Year 10 student from Spain joined Camber House and Mrs Constable’s tutor group at the start of the term. When Ignacio joined the junior basketball group, Mr Fitz-Graham could have been forgiven for thinking he was an assistant coach, such is Ignacio’s talent for the game!

“After three weeks of watching Ignacio’s ability grow, and at such a rapid rate, he was quickly invited to join the Senior training squad. In his first session he played with such confidence, showing that he wasn’t fazed by other players his own height or taller. Ignacio worked hard, and as a result earned his place in the Senior basketball team. In one game he played as confidently and calmly as ever but hit a magnificent ‘lay-up’ that shocks me still to this day. The team went on to break a school record of ‘Most points in a Game’ ending 63-35 to Claremont. We wish you all the best for the future Ignacio - you will always be welcome in our team”.

Finally, Year 13 Camber students have been busy selecting subjects they want to study to degree level and whittling down their favourite universities to just five. Since October, UCAS applications have been steadily submitted, along with a broad range of chosen courses. Kay Lorise Yin is looking at studying music at an American University, Ruby Bowyer is thinking of photography or psychology at Reading, Nabeed Ahmed (Head Boy) has two unconditional offers to study Automotive Engineering at Coventry and Hertfordshire. But, not everyone wants to go straight to university! A number of Camber students are choosing to take a gap year and apply post-results; whilst others are exploring apprenticeship and work experience opportunities in fields as diverse as Digital Marketing (Jacques Clemson) and Events Organising (Amelia Phipps, Head of School).

We wish them all well in their chosen path.

l Mode r iou behav uby R from

Bodiam In September we welcomed our new Year 9 students; Xander, the most enthusiastic member of Bodiam, ‘Tega the Tardy’, Ogum our future football star, Christina - a potential leader of the world, Ned - our cheekiest chap, ‘Elena the Studious’, ‘Philosophical Molly’, ‘Cheng the Passionate’, ‘Pedro, the All-Round Superstar’, ‘Oliver the Loyal’, and ‘Joe the Brilliant’.

Bodiam students have loved the new tutor group and House League, with 9DR peaking early and topping the premiership from weeks 1-3 (although sadly, relegated to Division 1 by the end of the first half of the Michaelmas Term). 11LO were strong challengers to the title, topping the League in weeks 7 and 10. There have also been strong individual performances from Ogum and Pedro with 73 merits each; in Year 10, Jacob Ray with 50 merits, Leon with 57 and in Year 11, Naomi Sinclair with 55 and Léa-Lyne Rongier with 60 merits. Well done everyone, and thank you for your valuable contribution to the House. A special mention must also go to Mollie Saunders for her incredible work with pregnant women and their families in Togo alongside the charity, Compassion. We look forward to the upcoming talent show Mollie is organising to raise further awareness of this amazing cause. On top of that, Mollie presented her incredibly slick and profession, EPQ charity show, “Trashion” which highlighted the environmental impacts of ‘fast fashion’!

The Michaelmas Term came to a festive, wintry end for Bodiam with the much anticipated Bodiam ‘Bop to Brighton’. The morning got off to a soggy start with ‘Bodiamites’ having to wait in apocalyptic rain for well over half an hour. On arrival at Brighton Pavilion Ice Rink we could see that the weather conditions had certainly taken their toll with skaters facing more precarious conditions than usual... an inch of water sitting on the ice! Needless to say, only the brave put on their skates to include Miss Owen who was the only teacher at the starting line! Ice skating awards of the day go to: Isabella Zhang, who turned up with her own white boots and performed perfect double axels on the ice, whilst the ‘Competitive Spirit Award’ went to Isobel and Bert Burrows, whose sibling rivalry resulted in Bert’s own face making contact with the ice! Skating completed, the house headed off to Donatello’s for pizza and ice cream. Delicious!

Finally, in addition to all the wonderful university offers Bodiam students have already received, Naomi Sinclair (Year 11) has been raising awareness of the Sam West Foundation, in order to promote diagnosis and treatment of mental health issues affecting children, young adults and their families. Naomi has combined the topic of body image, and mental health as the theme for her HPQ. She has put together an exhibition of her photography “Perfect Insecurities”, at Smallhythe studio from the 22nd February, to the 1st March 2019. On top of that, she is organising various fundraising events. Her activism stands her out as real role model and asset to the House.

Jermaine Fitz-Graham, Head of Basketball Senior School

44

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

45

HO U SE N E WS

HOUSE NEWS

WE N D Y B ARN ET T, H E A D O F P E V E NS E Y

LYDIA G RA N T, HE A D OF S C OT N E Y

Pevensey Once again, Pevensey pulled out all the stops, and won the first ever League Championship at Claremont! We have been extremely fortunate with our new Year 9 students, who have thrown themselves into the action, taking part in assemblies and regularly winning the tutor group competition. Special mentions go to Lyra Cookson and Matt Brand who gave beautiful poetry readings during our whole school Remembrance service; Jack Cutbush for winning the individual competition and Rachel Hargreaves for her confident presentation on Sebastian’s Trust during one of our House meetings.

During Michaelmas Term, many of our students excelled both in and out of school. Mary Woodfear in Year 10 had a tremendous few months representing Claremont in the NSEA Equestrian Championship, being a sterling Duke of Edinburgh volunteer at weekly Park Run events, not to mention consistently gaining merits for her excellent work in class. Tom Samuel is to be congratulated on being selected to play rugby for Saracens Kent U15 team as well as giving a moving account of SUDEP, a charity close to his heart, during a House meeting. Year 11 students had a great start to the year, rising to the challenge of GCSEs and working their socks off. Edris Mah deserves a special mention for impressing us all with his politeness, determination to succeed in the Individual League competition and his request to take on additional work in RE and Music.

We’ve also been very proud of our Pevensey Sixth Formers, particularly Kevin Manzi and Poppy Pearce who have been fantastic Prefects and instrumental in helping to organise the brilliantly successful ‘Continental Evening’, whilst being ably assisted by Pevensey’s Tom Pitts, Lemson, Aashish and Marion. Our four new House Prefects Emily and Abi have already proved themselves to be invaluable admin assistants in the Medical Centre and E Block, our Football Academy members have had a typically busy term, Tom Goodwin has taken a lead role in mentoring younger students, George Cochraine–Rice will be organising the first Pevensey auction and Emily Bewsher successfully organised a weekend netball competition.

‘Our highlight of the Michaelmas Term was our House trip to Guildford.

Despite the rain, we had a marvellous time browsing around the shops before hitting the ice-rink at Spectrum Leisure Centre.’

It was brilliant fun watching people like David Emodi and Leke venture onto ice for the very first time and bravely wobble around the edges whilst more seasoned skaters like Axel, Millie and Mrs MacNally stylishly whizzed around.

Sarah Wright was on stand-by to help should anyone injure themselves - Theo Levitin, in the end, being her only customer. Other Pevensey teachers were determined to show off their skills: George Hayter almost took me out, mid-pirouette, who then narrowly avoided crashing into Maddy and Poppy, Anselm de Pleave perfected his ice–walk technique and Zoe Ovenden, clearly benefiting from her one-to-one tuition, managed to skate without damaging her snow-white coat. Happily there were no broken bones!

The coach journey home was a mixed cacophony of gentle snores and spirited carol-singing, which even Roger the driver seemed to enjoy, and we all arrived back at Claremont tired but happy!

A few honourable mentions for Scotney students who have excelled themselves these last few months: In Year 11, equestrian team member Millie represented Claremont in the 90cm and 1m class at the Plate Championships at Keysoe. Millie and her team finished 4th out of 23 teams across the country, which is an amazing achievement. Many congratulations to Team Claremont. In Year 9, Tallulah participated in her youth theatre club’s production of Private Peaceful and Guthrie won a skateboarding prize for his ‘front side disaster’ at the Halloween Jam, hosted by the largest underground BMX and Skateboard Park in the world – Source Park! In Year 10, Lucia started coaching gymnastics, sharing some of her expertise with younger students, AT THE SAME TIME as overcoming her own gymnastics injury.

Grace, in Year 11 raised over £300 for the STARS charity (Syncope Trust and Reflex anoxic Seizures) by dyeing her hair red, organising a netball tournament and having a Superhero Mufti Day. Grace added to the incredible £2,200 she has already raised for STARS via her Just Giving page.

Our very own Year 9 tutor, Mr Burrows also raised money and awareness of the Movember Foundation, by painstakingly growing a splendid moustache and organising a cake sale.

Finally, we said a fond farewell to Patricia in Year 10 who is returning to Spain. We hope Patricia will come back to study at Claremont again in the future.

Scotney Scotney House has had a very busy few months, both in and outside of school. We have consistently been in the top two Houses for the number of merits received and at the start of term gained the most points in House competitions! Our Year 9 Tutor groups have relished the League Tables and found themselves in the ‘Premier League’ every week of the Michaelmas Term. In the final School assembly, Scotney won the House League with the most merits, which was an AMAZING end to the term and testament to the continuous hard work of our pupils.

December ended on a festive high with our annual Christmas trip, which this year took us to Bluewater. After a soggy start to the day we were all pleased to be undercover and start shopping … and ice skating!

‘While we were there many students donated gifts to ‘The Giving Tree’... ...a charity that organises presents for children who will not otherwise receive any at Christmas. A lovely way to round off the Michaelmas Term.

Pevensey pupils care about wildlife and the environment and plan to run a Hastings ‘Beach Clean’ session in June.

46

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

47

S PO RT

TOM IRELAND, HEAD OF BOYS’ GAMES & RUGBY

Rugby Highlights The U14 and U15 mixed Rugby teams welcomed some new members and had a productive season playing against a number of strong school sides. This year we tried to play a different style of rugby involving a more structured attack.

This allowed us to draw the defence in close and give our backs the space to attack at pace - a strategy that saw performances improve throughout the season.

Our first game was against a very physical Heathfield. We started the game well, keeping possession and looking after our ball. The forwards attempted to draw the defence and give our backs a bit of space by running hard lines into a strong, defensive Heathfield wall. Despite many brave attempts, fatigue eventually got the better of the boys and Heathfield were able to come away with the win. Our next match was against the very well drilled, Sutton Valence. We had a strong first half, scoring three good tries, all of which were expertly finished by Harlequins academy player Jacob Ray. The boys put in a solid defensive effort and kept Sutton Valence at bay, however at half time, our opposition made several changes which strengthened their side and although Claremont battled on to the final whistle (playing 20 mins a player down), we were unable to see the game out. Our last game was a close encounter against Bethany. Claremont started off slowly and allowed Bethany to take an early lead, however, 15 minutes into the game Claremont took the lead with some expansive rugby and keeping the ball alive through some very handy offloading out of the tackles. Our game plan was working, and we played some aesthetically pleasing rugby. The boys fought on bravely but towards the last ten minutes of the match we allowed Bethany to come back into the game and snatch victory at the end. An encouraging game which showed just how far the boys had progressed throughout the season.

S P O RT

JI M CO LSTO N, FO O TBA LL A CA D E M Y D I RECTOR

Football News

U13s - Captain, Will de Wilde The U13 team has been very successful having remained unbeaten all season, reaching the semi finals of both the County Cup and National Cup as well as winning the regional league. We look forward to seeing how far these boys can go.

The Claremont Academy This term the Academy curriculum has focused on creating ‘overloads’ in different game situations. The boys have also worked to improve ‘first touch’ and technique and how to ‘turn’ defenders effectively. All of our age groups have had a large number of competitive matches so far this season, so they have been able to put their learning into practice in a real game environment, along with the exercises they have done to improve teamwork. Advanced ‘Speed School’ sessions have improved player agility and a full Futsal and One Touch programme has also helped our players make quicker decisions on the field, and improve awareness both with and without the ball.

U15s - Captain, Nicky Dias The U15s secured the position of runner-up in the League and made the last 16 of the ESFA National cup before losing by a single goal. They are also in the quarter finals of the County Cup on return from the Christmas break.

U16s - Captain, Brad Kipps U13 squad

The U18s sit at the top of the Sussex Colleges League as they await their opponents in the last 64 in the U18’s Schools Trophy. Like our U13 and U16 teams, they have remained unbeaten so far this season.

U15 and U16 squad

Fancy ! ork footw

U18 squad 48

The U16s were unbeaten all season. They have secured the Regional League title already and reached the semi finals of both the ESFA National Cup and the County Cup.

U18 - Captain, Emmanuel Paulker

Special mentions should go to Tom Samuel and Jacob Ray on their continued improvement and successes through the Saracens and Harlequins academy respectively. Another special mention needs to go to James Thorne. James had never played rugby for Claremont before, but he showed great improvement, no fear in the tackle and some solid, penetrative runs.

‘I look forward to working with the boys again next season and continuing where we left off.’

Claremont Senior School Teams

A full programme of training and fixtures has certainly kept our Football Academy boys and school teams on their toes this season.

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

Our First Team at pre-season training weekend.

49

S PO RT

THE LAST WORD

R AK PAT EL , D IRECT O R O F S P O R T

N AB EED AHMED, HEAD B OY

Building Bridges, Teams ... and Classrooms

Girls’ Sporting Highlights The U14 Hockey season started with some challenges in that the team was made up of inexperienced players, many of whom had never played on a full astro in an eleven-aside team with some having never played the game at all! Once the squad was assembled, the girls’ positive attitude and work rate was second to none. Although their run of matches began with a loss against Eastbourne College, the girls did not give up, went back to the training ground to work on their game and as a result enjoyed three fine victories over Battle Abbey U15s, Bedes and King’s Rochester. The squad also took part in a 7-a-side tournament where they gained further match experience against some of the bigger schools in the South East.

AMELIA PHIPPS, HEAD OF S C HOOL

PI PPA BLA CKM A N, H E A D O F GI R LS’ GA M ES The Senior Hockey squad now comprises 20 talented players. At training the girls have worked hard on ‘keeping the pitch big’ and pre-scanning before passing the ball and as the season has progressed the players have settled into their positions and are really taking on board advice from the coaches. Unfortunately at the start of the term several of our games were cancelled, however the girls had an impressive 2-1 win over Eastbourne College in their first game with excellent goals from Tabitha Wylie & Ruby Bowyer. Closely fought games against Battle Abbey and Ashford which although ended in losses, did not deter the girls who regrouped and went on to win their next two consecutive matches with a 3-0 and 3-1 victory over Bethany and King’s Rochester. Victoria Nard has been a strong captain offering feedback to players, discussing tactics with the coaches and exhibiting great leadership on the pitch.

Year 11 and 13 girls have spent their pre-season training working on their ball handling skills with lots of passing and drills to improve their footwork and fitness. These players have committed to training every week after school on Tuesdays, which is an optional session and the results are starting to show. With the girls’ commitment and impressive work ethic, Miss Blackman will be heading into an exciting netball season with a great squad.

On 29th November the Prefect team (alongside the Pollen Partnership) held the first ever charity ‘Continental Evening’. The evening aimed to celebrate the cultural diversity at Claremont with various food cuisines and music from many different parts of the world. One of our key aims as a Prefect team is to promote further integration of international and domestic day students, and in doing so, during ‘Continental Evening’ we raised over £500 for local charities, Pestalozzi and The Manzi Foundation, both of which are located near to Claremont. Inevitably the planning for this event came with its challenges, but as a Prefect team, we learnt some teamwork skills that we will no doubt find valuable in the world beyond Claremont. After the event, we reflected on what went well; things we could have improved upon, and how we could work even more effectively as a team in the future.

The past few months have also been an exciting time for the new Octagon development which has really progressed. Over the past few months it has been fantastic to watch the new building get to the stage it is at now. It has created a real buzz of excitement amongst everyone at school.

On a final, personal note, it has been an absolute honour to be Head Boy so far this year. Working alongside Amelia Phipps, we have enjoyed hosting and helping out at various events, as well as touring prospective parents and students.

The Michaelmas Term certainly flew by.

As the excitement of Christmas lights, carols and feasts seemed to creep up on us all so quickly this year, it’s the perfect time to reflect on all the thrilling events, experiences and opportunities we have had so far this year.

We kicked the year off with a Sixth Form movies evening, filled with snacks and horror films. To mirror what Nabeed has said, the wonderful Continental Evening driven by Bernice Ramirez and Kevin Manzi and hosted by the Prefect team was a huge success with three regions of the world presented in the best way possible … FOOD! At the end of last year, the new team of Prefects were lucky enough to be taught and enlightened by an inspirational man named Andrew Wright who works for a company called ‘Inside Knowledge’. Being awarded the role of Prefect has been the first leadership role for many team members so although it has been very rewarding, we have also been on quite a steep learning curve. Needless to say, Andrew’s help was gratefully received and as we have settled into our new roles as Prefects, we have been able to put into practice much of his advice for improving our presentation and interpersonal skills. Our aim for the coming months will be to provide more opportunities for international and domestic students to work together and to continue to promote greater integration between older and younger students by rebooting the House competitions. Personally, I cannot wait to take part and try my hand at dodgeball amongst other games.

Even though I’m just halfway through the school year, Head Girl has proven to be an incredibly fulfilling role; I have really enjoyed spending time with students in the lower years during the various activities we have hosted, as well as getting to know many of my international peers on more of a personal level. I look forward to what Spring and Summer will bring.

“Well done to all. It’s been a great season and you have been a pleasure to coach!” Miss Blackman.

PI P PA B L AC KMAN , E Q U E S T R I A N M A NA GE R

Equestrian Team back in the Saddle 2018 was a successful year for the equestrian team with teams qualifying for a variety of championships. A junior & senior team competed at the Hickstead championships in the summer, a team qualified for the NSEA championships and a further two teams qualified for the Plate championships.

The NSEA Plate Championships were particularly successful for Claremont with the 90cm team comprising Millie White, Leah Faircloth, Tabitha Wylie & Mary Woodfear finishing 4th against a strong field of 23 other teams from schools across the country (before they made it to the championships, the team had to win their class at a qualifying event).

50

2018 also saw the introduction of team training at Petley Wood with the Swedish Olympic and European event rider, Anna Hilton. Claremont Equestrian is constantly growing in numbers which is great to see and as we continue to develop the team further, our sessions with Anna will give us plenty to work on in the coming months.

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

CLAREMONTSCHOOL.CO.UK

51