So, it’s been a year since we began and what a successful one it has been. We started with a basic idea, to bring former students back together and from the feedback we hear it seems to be working. We now have 4 Orlumni events (p54) planned for various alumni groups.
I’ve really enjoyed putting together these magazines and reading about how former Orley students are doing or their memories of their time at Orley Farm, as well as what is currently going in the school – please keep them coming!
Wishing you all a very peaceful Easter and hopefully the sun will begin to shine!
Tim Calvey, Stephen Bloom, Catherine godet, Rebecca Gascoigne, Keith ford, tanvi patel
https://orleyfarm firefly cloud net/membership/m embership-form
CHETAN SHAH Editor
YEAR 1 COMPLETED THEIR TRAINING TO BECOME KNIGHTS OF THE REALM THERE WAS JAVELIN THROWING, JOUSTING WITH RATHER UNRULY HORSES AND AN AGILITY TEST!
This time 3 years ago, Orley Farm had faced one week of remote teaching, and we were all desperately hoping that the Easter break would signal the end of this new ‘lock-down’ response –how little did we know!?! However, 3 years later and I’m delighted that we look back with increasingly distant memories on those times but also the sense that we really did make the best of it!
Our Y6 and Y8 students are in their final stages of preparation for moving on to their senior schools - I am always so impressed with the way that Orleyans go about facing adversity and challenge, I’d almost say that they go looking for it! As I write this, I’ve just come from talking to visiting prospective parents and I worry that some of them see their role as to reduce the challenges that their children face. I fear that this outlook cannot sow seeds of resilience in young people!
Talking of resilience, I hope that Orleyans enjoy reading the attached articles, especially those on the sports pitches. We continue to throw ourselves into every physical encounter with heart and soul. I was recently contacted by the Headmistress of a senior school who asked how we managed to get our girls to happily throw themselves into sport – her point was that many of her students were too worried about not getting sweaty!!!! I love that Orleyans don’t care about how they look, they’re too busy playing the game!
I am delighted that this publication appears to generate more and more contacts from former Orleyans who are able to share remarkable insights into life at OFS across different decades. I often wonder what recent leavers will recall in 30, 40 and 50 years from now; I do hope that they remain connected to friends from this period as these relationships become more and more important in the years ahead. Thank you again to Chets for getting this publication together, it’s invaluable in these times!
MR HOGG BROUGHT OUR YR8 PUPILS TOGETHER FOR A FORMAL DEBATE, TO ARGUE FOR OR AGAINST THE FOLLOWING
STATEMENT:
THE FUTURE OF TECHNOLOGY, BIG DATA AND AI WILL BRING ABOUT A SOCIETY WITH AN INCREASED EFFICIENCY AND IMPROVED QUALITY OF LIFE THAT OUTWEIGHS ANY PRIVACY OR ETHICAL CONCERNS
THE BOYS WERE ALLOWED ACCESS TO CHATGPT FOR THEIR RESEARCH! I HAVE TO SAY THAT THE QUALITY OF INFORMATION BEING USED FOR AND AGAINST WAS CERTAINLY MORE SOPHISTICATED AND DETAILED. HOWEVER, THE EVENT STILL BOILED DOWN TO WHO COULD CHALLENGE, REBUT AND ARTICULATE THE INFORMATION BEST.
A year has passed since the first issue and in that year Orley Farm has been awarded a Silver Status in School Mental Health, please take the time to read the article kindly written by Ms Gentles which talks about the award but more immortally what they as a school are doing to create a positive environment.
One thing Orley seems to be an expert in is instilling confidence in its students and you can see this in abundance on the stage – many of you may have taken part in some wonderful productions and Showcase events. There is a part for everyone – I recall one year my son was a tree – but a very confident tree!
I’ve also enjoyed over the years watching my children play in various sports teams and the roller-coaster of emotions that come with it as a parent. So, it fills me with great pride to see how well the sports teams at Orley have performed this year – I can sense the pride the parents would be feeling! Another comical recollection of a typical maths lesson by Jamie, you can see how the story will unfold but the way it does is something else – you can just imagine sitting in that classroom.
With all the confidence you would forgive a child if they lost themselves but through various activities, they are grounded by what goes on in their local community and how they can make a positive impact and the school enables this.
With all of this, the end of term concerts brought joy – literally performing pieces by Mozart and Beethoven. I now know the main piece for the summer concert and I can’t wait to hear it!
Zoolab - What a wonderful opportunity to connect with creatures who share our planet – greater knowledge might just deepen our appreciation for what we have and how to maintain it! It was lovely watching the faces of children interacting with a host of very different animals Regardless of age, everyone took something from the visit
"WHEN
ROBERT
We are delighted to announce that we have been awarded the Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools ‘School Mental Health Award’ – Silver Status for our wholeschool approach to the mental health and wellbeing of our pupils, staff and wider community.
The Mental Health in School Award was established in 2017 by the Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools – part of Leeds Beckett University – and social enterprise Minds Ahead. Schools are assessed against eight key criteria, with inspectors looking for examples of evidence-based approaches that align to the latest professional guidance surrounding mental health.
As a school, our focus, even prepandemic, was to ensure measures were in place to support pupil and staff mental health and wellbeing. The award has allowed us to focus
strategically on what we had done previously and what more we needed to do as we worked towards gaining recognition. In completing the initial diagnostic, we could take stock and realise that while it may not have been explicit, the emphasis of school life is very much focused on developing and sustaining positive mental health and wellbeing.
Gaining the award has highlighted the comprehensive mental health and wellbeing provision we offer and the critical part it plays in our commitment to excellence in teaching and learning.
During Cool to be Kind Week pupils reached out into the community spreading kindness
4O created kindness vouchers for their parents who were keen to cash them in
Underpinned by growth mindset principles and character development, this highly regarded branch of psychology focuses on building pupils’ wellbeing and the skills that will enable them to flourish.
We strive to equip our whole school community with positive mental health strategies drawn from the research of the world-renowned psychologist Professor Martin Seligman and his PERMA model (extended to the PERMAH framework) of wellbeing.
help brighten your outlook on the world
3O expressed their gratitude for the delicious school lunches we receive every day
As Mental Health Lead, I hold a Masters in Positive Psychology, which has provided a focus on how the whole school addresses mental health. An example of this is the introduction of a progressive scheme of the science of wellbeing lessons from Year 1 to Year 8. Topics include identifying character strengths, cultivating positive relationships, navigating emotions, how mindfulness can support us daily, and providing opportunities to be kind and experience the kindness of others.
Having supportive named governor, Carol Cliffe, means the broader governance of the school is also fully immersed in what we are doing to support all stakeholders.
As a result, policies are much more responsive to positive mental health and how it can be promoted and sustained throughout the school.
The Wellbeing Action Group comprises staff across the school from grounds, teachers and teaching assistants passionate about championing positive mental health and wellbeing. Alongside the staff group, the Pupil Wellbeing Ambassadors are responsible for leading and promoting wellbeing throughout the school. They drive the message forward, empowering pupils to speak confidently about their mental health, reducing the stigma around it, and positively impacting their ability to do well at school.
Our accomplishment validates all the outstanding work that every member of our school community has done, not just over the last year but in all the years building up to create the positive school culture we have today.
MELANIE GENTLES Head of Middle School & Positive Mental Health and Wellbeing Lead
U13 A Rugby Captains: Viraj Pathak and Oliver Hoskins
U13 A Players of the Season: Viraj Pathak (forwards) and Omi Raniga (backs)
U11 A Rugby Captain: Shai Nasim
U11 A Player of the Season: Shai Nasim
U9 Rugby Shield: Adam Durrant
U8 Rugby Shield: Anthony Dabi
St. Jude Cup (Most Improved Rugby Player): Aarav Bhundia (U10 D)
Golden Rugby Ball: Daniel Markham-Lee (U12 A – 90 points/18 tries)
Basketball Captain: Kumayl Nomoni
Basketball Player of the Season: Kumayl Nomoni
Despite some challenging weather, it has been an action-packed term of rugby at Orley Farm. As a school, we have played 66 matches (winning 40 of these), with every boy from Years 3-8 representing the school, and 133 different boys have combined to score the 444 tries/2220 points we have scored in these matches!
Our senior teams had another great term as they won 11 of the 16 matches they played. Our U13 A team had a clean sweep of six wins in regular matches and came runners up at the U13 Durston House 7s Tournament. Special mention goes to our U8 and U9 Middle School teams as they won all 19 of their matches! House matches rounded off the term with Julians winning the Senior Competition in Years 7 and 8, Hastings winning the Junior Competition in Years 5 and 6, and Hastings also winning the Year 4 Competition. Basketball has always been a huge part of Orley Farm sport with considerable success and this term proved no different. In our regular matches against other schools, we won all four of our matches with 15 boys representing the school in these matches.
The highlight is always the annual Orley Farm Basketball Tournament which this year involved six teams. Defending the title we won in 2022, we won all five matches and scored an incredible 112 points and conceded only 5 points as we stormed to success!
Mr Bloom – Head of Boys’ Games
The Girls' Games Department had a very busy term with fixtures against schools for all girls throughout the Spring term. This year the girls have been playing BEE Netball in Years 3 and 4 and a combination of BEE and traditional Netball for Year 5 and 6.
IA learning opportunity arose for the U11 A Netball Team during the Beechwood Park IAPS tournament. The other teams played a high standard of Netball and the OFS team had to change positions every 5 minutes. The OFS team showed resilience, adapting their skills and played with competitiveness throughout the tournament.
Despite losing 4 out of 6 matches the U11 A team realised that they had played their best Netball and were proud of themselves for not giving up during some tough matches.
Orley Farm school has hosted three Netball Tournaments this term with 8 other schools participating. These events each had a competitive Tournament and more fun Festival so that players of all abilities could participate with their peers. The highlight of these events would be the OFS U10 A Netball Team winning their competition over 5 other school teams.
Miss Godet – Head of Girls’ Games
The “New Classrooms” weren’t new at all. Situated between the back of the kitchens and on the way down to the pool, they were built long before I joined the school in 1966. Of course, at some time in the past they would have been new and, I suppose, the name stuck. The school now has so many new and wonderful buildings that the name of this block has probably, and rightly, changed by now. In the late 1960s we were very fond of the “New Classrooms”; they were light and airy, had green chalkboards and looked out on to, what it pleased us to call, ‘The Headmaster’s Lawn.’ It was on this lawn that the cricket teas were served and, as scorer for the school matches when I was older, I was fortunate enough to attend them many times during the Summer Terms – a great and jealously guarded privilege.
One of the two rooms in the “New Classrooms” had a piano on which I would sometimes practice after evening Prep before the “going-up” bell went for my dormitory. This was the wonderful Mr Redman’s classroom where he taught us Maths. We were all fond of Mr Redman; not only did he tell us interesting Maths things he also had a penchant for model railways and helped us with the model railway layout up in one of the attic rooms next to where our weekend bags were kept in the main school. Without doubt my continuing interest, even now, in Maths is entirely due to his engaging teaching. I have so much to be grateful about due to my time at OFS: encounters with Mr Redman are very near the top of the list.
He had the patience of a saint. And it was certainly gravely tested when he had to deal with me. No more than when it came to my introduction to algebra. He was never cross with me, or anyone else, frustrated perhaps but never really angry and I appreciate that more now than I probably did back then.
“SIT! EVERYBODY SIT! And turn to page 47 in the books. YOU BOY SIT!”
Mr Redman flung our marked exercise books back at us. The trick was to duck if your own name hadn’t been called and hold your hands out defensively if it had. Failure to follow this procedure might result in a face full of flapping paper and the sharp corner of a cover in the eye.
“Austin: good, Mitchell: just about OK, Trickey: appalling, Freedman: unspeakable, Maitland-Robinson: passable, Drinkwater: see me, Waring: not bad.”
“Which one sir?” (They were identical twins and great friends of mine.)
“What? Who called out?”
“Me sir. Which Waring sir? Me or him?”
“I don’t care! One of you! Other Waring: also not bad, Chippendale: don’t sit next to Freedman in prep Milsome: dear me ”
And so on until everyone was close to, if not in contact with, their own book. After some scrabbling about under desks and swapping around above them we all had our prep back in our own hands.
“Waring face the front. Now, are we settled? Half way down page 47, exercise 11b. Start at number one and come up to have them marked after you’ve done number ten. SETTLE DOWN!”
Mr Redman began marking another pile of books on his desk. Sometimes the number and height of unmarked maths books obscured his view of us completely but not so today.
“What is it Freedman, why are you waving your arm around?”
“Sir, please sir, I don’t get it sir.”
“What don’t you get?”
“Um, I don’t get how to answer the question sir.”
“Which one boy?”
“The first one sir.”
“Right, everyone look up, for Freddy’s benefit we’ll do the first one on the board.”
I should explain that “Freddy” was, one of, the nicknames I went by at school. It had some difficulties attached to it which got me into trouble occasionally, but I will tell you all about some other time. He flung his pen on his desk and picking up some chalk rose to the blackboard.
“Question 1, Exercise 11b, Find x.”
He wrote the question in a stabbing action on the green chalkboard.
“Sir, sir!”
“What is now Freddy?”
“It’s there sir.”
“What? What is where?”
"MATHEMATICS IS NOT ONLY REAL, BUT IT IS THE ONLY REALITY."
MARTIN GARDNER
“The answer sir. I could do it on the board sir jus’ not in the book cos you can’t write on the book sir.”
“You speak in riddles boy. What are you going on about?”
“Sir, I can’t write it on the book sir.”
“That’s right. Absolutely not. You may not write on the text book.”
“Yes sir, but sir how do I do the answer then sir?”
“You do it in your exercise book. What’s the matter with you?”
“Sir, so can I just copy it out and then put a circle round it Sir?”
“I flatter myself, Freddy, that, having spent so many years in the company of small boys, I have gained some skill in communicating with them however, you are making no sense to me today whatsoever. I am forming the opinion that what little sense you arrived here with this morning has abandoned you completely and that you have transformed into a perfect idiot.”
Everyone, except me. found this very amusing and indicated so by generating much laughter at my expense.
“BE SILENT! I am not in the habit of casting my pearls before swine! Tut tut!”
I was pretty sure that, if I had owned any pearls, I wouldn’t have adopted that habit either but couldn’t see the relevance of the remark in the present circumstances; perhaps it was a life tip. Clearly, I would have to explain my approach in greater detail and make sure he understood what I was planning to do.
“Sir!”
“Freedman? BE SILENT THE REST OF YOU! We’re trying to help Freddy at the moment.”
“Sir, would it help if when I’ve copied the whole thing in my book I draw a circle round X and then put an arrow and write here it is?”
“WHAT!?!”
“So you can see my answer sir. If I jus’ underline it you might not see it sir.”
“There is nothing wrong with my eyes, Freddy, work out what X is and then write the answer down, under your working, underlining it with a rule.”
“But sir there’s nothing to work out. I can see it immediately sir.”
“Nevertheless, you need to show your working boy.”
“But sir, there is no working out sir, it’s jus’ there on the page sir. X is just there sir; at the beginning of the question sir; it’s easy to find X cos it’s always at the beginning sir jus’ before the equals sir.”
He stood quite still back to the board, chalk poised, eyes wide.
“I have no idea what you’re going on about! Just try to get on with it!” I copied out all the questions as neatly as I could and then, to make sure he knew I could do this stuff, underlined X with a ruler, drew a circle round it, drew an arrow (with my ruler) pointing at the circle and wrote in my best handwriting by the arrow ‘here is x’. Though what this had to do with maths escaped me; this was more like English. The bell went before I got to the end so, as instructed, I left my book on his desk for marking. I reckoned, in spite of the slight set-back today, I’d get some good marks for my maths when I got my book back; I’d found all the X’s in all the questions I’d attempted and without much difficulty once I knew how to show my answer.
Three Years ago, our current Year 8 pupils rehearsed all term for their Year 5 Showcase performance of ‘The Witches’. Their moment in the spotlight was unfortunately snatched away from them at the very last minute, due to Covid 19. However, three years on, our current Year 5 have been putting their own stamp on this weird and wonderful play. On 29th March, Year 5 took the audience on both an exciting and terrifying adventure as they told the story of how a brave boy, with the help of his beloved grandmother defeated the Grand High Witch of the World! It was fantastic to see how each class portrayed the different roles with enthusiasm and commitment, from the scary mask-clad, bald-headed Witches to the wonderfully endearing Boy and Grandmother (and so many more in between). What makes the Year 5 Showcase so impressive each year, is that it is entirely run by the pupils from backstage and this year was no exception. Year 5 used their initiative to improvise round missing mouse ears and wayward wigs and the audience were none the wiser (almost). What better way to test out our ‘Thinking Skills’!
This cross-curricular performance saw the Year 5 choir give us an eerie musical interlude with a Witchy song, arranged by Mr Ford and accompanied by Thomas Bartlett (yr7). The pupils all wore their own purposely revolting witch masks, which they had created in their Art lessons with Mrs Walsh. Thank you to both the music and Art Departments for getting on board to help create this immersive experience for Year 5.
I thoroughly enjoyed directing this year group and I have no doubt that the current Year 8’s would have been impressed by their performances!
Just before we broke for the half term holiday, we had a drive to help add to the Harrow food bank who contacted us to request help in these impossible times A huge thank you to everyone for joining – Mrs De Freitas was so impressed with members of the School Council who really got behind this and we were able to take over 200kgs of food to the Harrow depot
The music department’s big event for the spring term was our Year 3 and 4 Concerts, which took place during the penultimate week of term.Our theme this year was joy, with the main song being Ludwig van Beethoven’s song, Ode to Joy. All songs and pieces chosen chimed in with the theme, with the Junior Wind Ensemble playing Soldier’s Joy, a traditional military march, the Junior String Ensemble playing To Joy by Mozart, and Junior Brass playing the ultimate road trip song: Shotgun by George Ezra. All the children memorised seven songs for the concerts, and two of these songs were accompanied by a brother and brother duo on the tabla and the bansuri. We finished the term with our Easter Service, where the Chamber Choir sang an arrangement of the Appalachian devotional song What wondrous love is this, and our two hymns, All heaven declares and Great is Thy faithfulness, were accompanied by a small student ensemble of flutes, guitar and clarinet.
In the Upper School, we have been preparing ensembles for the upcoming Summer Concert in July, which this year will take place out in the quad with a custom-built stage. The main piece for that concert will be All Night Long by Lionel Richie, and that piece will be performed by the Senior Band with the Senior Choir singing along.
Mr Ford – Director of Music
quiz Night
The School Quiz Night was a first time experience for many of us. What an atmosphere! We had a full house, raising a staggering £6,100 in a fifteenminute auction held by Mr Calvey for Evelina London Children's Hospital.
Easter Bake Sale
Despite the down pour, the bake sale went on and the bakes were a real treat.
A big shout out out to all the young bakers for the yummy treats and a massive Thank You again to all the parents who volunteered their precious time to make this event a success. These events are only possible with the help and support from Orley parents.
Along side the bake sale we ran 2 competitions:
1. OFA Bake Off - we had some creative entires. Thank you to the Kitchen Staff for judging the competition.
2. Guess how many eggs in the Jar? So impressed with the estimation skills.
Congratulations to all our winners.
The Spring term began with the OFA reflecting on our first term on the committee and organising OFA events. Thank you to our Orley community who have provided feedback to help improve our future events.
This term we introduced Breakfast time, which shall be hosted every first Friday of the month - term time only!
It was our initiative to provide parents with more opportunity to network and rebuild our Orley community, whilst making the most of the breakfast club with our children.
We had a great turnout and look forward to seeing more parents come together at the next breakfast on Friday 5th May.
Preparations for our Summer and Autumn events are under way.
We look forward to you joining us on Saturday 17th June for the OFA Summer Fair. Happy Easter!
J U L I A N SH O U S E W I N N E R S
Friday 26th May 2023
6pm-8pm
This is only for those who left OFS in 2022 (current Years 7&9) and their parents: Entrance via Kitchen Drive
RSVP: orlumni@orleyfarm.harrow.sch.uk
Saturday 8th July 2023
1pm-4pm
This is for all alumni: Meet at the Pavilion - Bring your own picnic
RSVP: orlumni@orleyfarm.harrow.sch.uk
RECONNECTION FOR STUDENTS BORN 2004/05 ACADEMIC YEAR
Tuesday 22nd August 2023
6pm-8pm
This is for those students who left Orley Farm and are now continuing their journey.
Entrance via Kitchen Drive
RSVP: orlumni@orleyfarm.harrow.sch.uk
CLASS OF 2003 - 20 YEAR REUNION EVENT
Saturday 2nd September 2023
6pm-10pm
Entrance via Kitchen Drive
RSVP: orlumni@orleyfarm.harrow.sch.uk
Saturday 17th June 2023
11am-2:30pm
@ORLEYFARMSCHOOL
WISHING OUR WHOLE COMMUNITY A HAPPY EASTER BREAK.
