sports round-up

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.

by Jamie Freedman

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?”

“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.

Year 5 Showcase – The Witches

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!

Mrs Gascoigne – Head of Drama

Harrow Food Bank -

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