Issuu

E N S I G N Life at

Issue 1 2022

COMPETITIVE SPORT back on the fixture list

NEW ACTIVITIES EXAM SUCCESS in challenging times

go down a storm

W E L C O M E from The Head

In the context of the ‘bubbles’ and periods of isolation, the communal events we were able to hold were even more appreciated than usual: we had a series of excellent ‘Super Saturdays’ of sport which attracted nearly full participation; whilst whole-College parades were not permitted, the Upper Sixth paraded for Remembrance Day in November and on Founders’ Day in July – both were intimate but powerful events and the latter provided a fitting and memorable send off to our leavers after a disrupted Sixth Form. Academically, pupils and staff responded very well to the challenges. It was excellent to hear from the Cambridge Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring recently that the relative progress made by our A Level students since GCSE (known as ‘value added’) was better than 98% of schools. What’s more, 89% of our leavers achieved places at their firm-choice universities, more than half to ‘top 30’ universities including Cambridge, Durham (six), Edinburgh (two) and University College London. From a co-curricular perspective, the challenges

Welcome to the first Ensign since October 2020! The last academic year of 2020 to 2021 is not one that any of us is likely to wish to repeat. The disruption to normal school life caused by COVID-19 dominated everyone’s lives.

were significant, especially for music. Our drama

Even so, it was in fact a successful year for the

relaxation of restrictions and the cricket, tennis

College. Our control measures were largely

and boat clubs enjoyed more opportunities to

effective in minimising the transmission of the

compete, which for rowing included training

virus and the sense of teamwork among those

for Henley Royal Regatta through much of the

responsible for managing the crisis was strong.

Summer holidays.

production ‘The Radio City Diamonds’ had to be postponed from the Lent Term but the cast did very well to perform for a pupil-only audience in mid-June. In sport, the boys’ 1st XV and boys’ and girls’ hockey 1st XIs played only one match. Thankfully, in the Summer Term, there was some

4 We were able to implement some capital projects over the Summer, installing a new AstroTurf pitch and a new optical fibre network, both of which are already making a significant difference to our provision. In September, we returned a week earlier than planned and the first few days of term were focused on rebuilding the community spirit for which we are known. The atmosphere has been very positive,

pupil numbers are once again strong at 457, and things are slowly returning to normal. Our new website was launched in September and introduced our new strapline, ‘A community where you can flourish’. I am confident that this truly encapsulates what our parents and pupils value about Pangbourne College, and I’m sure that prospective families who are

considering Pangbourne will be impressed when they witness this for themselves. I hope you enjoy this edition of Ensign which provides an update on College life during Michaelmas 2021 and a few highlights from 2021.

Contents Sport 4 Activities & Challenges

Creative Arts

Boarding

Highlights of 2021

Founders’ Day

22 26 3

SPORT Rugby, Hockey and Dunbar Football by Mr Sam Hewick, Director of Sport What a busy term! Fixtures returned with full force and it has been great to see everyone enjoying competitive team sport again.

Boys’ Rugby

The rugby season has been typified by the effort, improvement and attitude across the club, which has resulted in some notable performances. I have been particularly impressed with the U16s’

Engagement in rugby has been at the highest level

development this term. They have committed

for a number of years, which does buck the trend

well and really earned some excellent results. The

of many other schools. This is combined with

U14s and U15s have learnt what it means to play

a number of boys achieving success outside of College with London Irish, Wasps, Berkshire, and Lambs Rugby. It has been great to see pupils enjoying the noncontact version of the game, as well. I do hope they have enjoyed this opportunity to represent the College in competitive team sport. I look forward to running a senior non-contact team next year. I would like to highlight Boys’ Rugby Captain Rory Hogan at this point, who after suffering a nasty injury in the first half of term, showed great resilience to return to captain the side in the night game against Shiplake. On that night, I feel we demonstrated what ‘Team Pangbourne’ truly means: epic heart and defence from the team, wonderful support from all pupils, and superb help from all the staff. It has meant events like this can happen again, hopefully with some working floodlights next year! We must say ‘goodbye’ and ‘thank you’ to Mr HC

in a Pangbourne side and I hope they continue to

(Mr Habasune-Cowdery) who left us at the end

progress. The senior teams have battled every

of the Michaelmas term. He has been superb

week, and in a different year we could have

working with the U14s and Dunbar rugby players

been looking at a very different set of results.

over the last few years.

Dunbar Football The Dunbar footballers (Year 7 and 8) have had a strong season in which they have shown good development across the season. For many, this is their first experience of Pangbourne sport and they have shown true spirit and sportsmanship particularly when they have faced some opposition who have not demonstrated similar values.

Looking ahead In the Lent Term we will be introducing Boys’ Football into the Senior school and for the first time ever will run competitive fixtures from Year 11 upwards.

SPORT

Girls’ Hockey

We had an extraordinarily busy season, with the 1st XI playing over 20 fixtures, and sometimes three in a week. They have battled well on several fronts including

and she is a role model for what can be done. She

national cup, county cup, and the block fixtures.

has signed a partnership with Grays Hockey and

Emily Cox has been named an outstanding captain

will be one of their school ambassadors - well

by her coaches, Mr Dan Paynter and Miss Pip

done, Megan.

Sanders, and has led the team brilliantly. It has been great to hear of the resilience, team spirit and progress made by the 2nd XI and 3rd XI, respectively. Furthermore, the reports from the U14s and U15s have been hugely positive; they play with enthusiasm, bring an excellent attitude, and are building strong team spirits. The Dunbar pupils have been awesome throughout and the learning going on has been incredible - the Hockey club is in a good shape for the future.

I would also like to highlight Mia Moore and Ellen Williams, who both went to the Futures Cup, which serves as a trial for England U16s. They both performed well, with Mia gaining selection. Well done to you both. We must also say goodbye to Miss Holly Hunt who has been successful in her selection for Team GB and now will go on to become a full-time hockey player, with hopefully a pathway

I would like to highlight a couple of individuals

to selection for the next Olympics. Thank you,

at this point. Firstly, Megan Fergusson. She has

Miss Hunt!

shown amazing resilience throughout her life

Equestrian Success by Mrs Stacey Mackie, Head of Riding It has been a busy term for the Equestrian team. We run two main teams: the Senior’s, made up of experienced riders, and the Grassroots team, who are generally new to competing. The Senior team competed at Hartpury where they came second and qualified for the NSEA National Schools Championships. There were multiple wins and placings in every class entered and the team went on to qualify for the Keysoe Plate. Our Senior team stole the show at the Keysoe Plate competition. The team won two classes, four national qualifications, and an individual title/win also. In October, the team represented Pangbourne at the National’s and finished with two top ten finishes and an individual prize. September saw our Grassroots team attend their first competition at Rectory Farm. They won and qualified for the finals, a wonderful achievement. In November, the Grassroots team attended their second show with more success, another win, and qualification for the finals. Following on from this the Grassroots riders attended their third show - the Grassroots Championships! They took a top ten finish in every class, including reserve champions in one of the finals.

SPORT

Rowing by Mr Charles Waite-Roberts, Director of Rowing

The Michaelmas Term provided our full-time Sixth Form rowers with a chance to revive their fitness after a short break given last Summer’s Henley Royal Regatta being held in mid-August. For the lower year groups, it provided a great opportunity for them to reacquaint themselves with their rowing skills. Over Half Term, Mr Richard Follett took an

November brought the first set of GB Junior trials

VIII to Putney to row The Boat Race course.

in Boston, Lincolnshire. Harrison Green raced

As none of the crew had ever rowed the stretch

over the 5km course in a single scull with the

from Putney to Chiswick, it was a baptism of

intention of gaining an invitation to the next set of

fire one way and ‘a travelator’ back because the

trials in February, and then crew formations over

crew was able to row with the turn of the tide.

the Summer.

This gave confidence for the Fours Head of the

Burway Small Boats Head would have seen rowers

River a week later and valuable experience for

from all year groups race but was unfortunately

the Schools Head later in the Spring.

cancelled due to adverse weather conditions.

Pangbourne College Boat Club hosted Leander Club for a sparring session on the river. Not looking to show too much and keep the cards close to their chest, the senior rowers held their own against a leading junior crew and rose to the challenge of side by side racing. The last week of term was the annual Christmas VIIIs. Four crews with a mix of genders and age groups from Year 10 to Sixth Form took part. A short warm up and some practice bursts were all the preparation needed for these well drilled crews as they raced three times on our home stretch. In the final race, the first, second and third placed crews were separated by only a couple of feet. The fourth crew ran into some technical difficulty with the equipment but that didn’t stop them from racing all the way and finishing strong in true Pangbourne style! The Michaelmas term has proved to be a real springboard for the coming season and I am very excited to see what our pupils are capable of in the coming season.

Race podium places Wallingford Small Boats Head Open Quad - win J18 Double Scull - win

Reading Small Boats J18 Double Scull – win J18 Double Scull – second Intermediate Quad - third

ACTIVITIES & CHALLENGES

By Mr Richard Follett, Deputy Head Co-Curriculum Along with pupils returning from last year, September brought a fresh crop of new pupils to the College and with them the excitement of new opportunities to experience the wider life of Pangbourne. The Michaelmas Term Activities programme

complete additional academic enrichment in the

introduced a number of new initiatives, as well as

form of supervised private study for the older

the return of some old favourites for the first time

exam years, the vast majority of pupils seized

in some years.

upon the opportunity to get out of the classroom

Each week, pupils took part in one afternoon

and develop new skills with their friends.

of Activities which were in contrast to the

Of the new activities on offer, Rocket Building,

competitive team games they enjoyed. Each year

Orienteering and Clay Pigeon Shooting were

group had a broad variety of choices and this term

especially popular. Mr Adam Beake’s own

there were 41 different activities taking place

expertise in assembling and launching rockets

each week. Whilst there was still the option to

into the Berkshire skies ensured the pupils

were able to understand the stages of the build process, before completing their own rockets which had multi-stage launchers fitted to gain maximum height on the launch days. The ideal coaching combination of Head of Geography, Mr Tom Poynter, and keen runner and Teacher of History, Mrs Kristy Heaton, introduced Orienteering to a hugely enthusiastic Key Stage 3 group, with the College grounds making the perfect course each week to provide variety and challenge for the skilful and speedy navigators. The success of the group has led to the formation of the first Pangbourne College Orienteering team, which aims to compete in the Lent Term at some national competitions.

“Of the new activities on offer, Rocket Building, Orienteering and Clay Pigeon Shooting were especially popular.”

ACTIVITIES & CHALLENGES Whilst Clay Pigeon Shooting has been a College

Staying outdoors, the return of the Duke of

pursuit in the past, the Michaelmas Term brought

Edinburgh’s Award this term introduced all our

the sport directly to the College campus for the

Year 9 pupils to this multi-faceted approach.

first time with the establishment of our own

As is the tradition at Pangbourne, the first half

shooting school. Based down on Big Field, three

of the Michaelmas Term works towards the

groups each week were taught by instructors

completion of the Skills section of the Bronze

from Riverswood Shooting and their rapid

Award, with pupils learning to march as their new

improvement led to a large team competing at

skill, the double benefit being the improvement

their first competition, the Marlborough Sporting

of the school’s ceremonial parades. In the second

Clay Shield in October. Following this, there are

half of term, the year group focuses on service

several competitions on the horizon for the Lent

activities, and then later in the year, navigation

Term, including some home fixtures planned

and expeditions will come into play.

against Bradfield and St Edward’s School.

With the arrival of the new School Staff Instructor & Head of Ceremonial, Mr Andrew Davison, as well as the new Contingent Commander of the CCF, Mr Craig Wiles (who is also Head of DT), the weekly Thursday afternoon activities have been hugely enjoyable and energetic, highlighted in particular with the CCF Field Day just before the October half-term break. Pupils spent the day working in their respective groups on a variety of challenges, ranging from close quarter laser combat in the woods, tug of war, to archery tag on Devitt lawn, but the highlight for most was the competitive field gun

run, reminiscent of the Royal Tournament from years gone by. Working in their teams, the groups had to assemble and pull a field gun (cannon) across the parade ground, disassembling and carrying it across various obstacles against the clock. Mr Davison has now made some provisional bookings for residential adventure training weekends in the coming months, take-up for which has already proved to be very high. As we look back on the term just past, it has been wonderful to see the enthusiasm and engagement from the whole College community in the fantastic range of opportunities presented to them each week, with even more to come in 2022.

CREATIVE ARTS

Art & Photography By Mr Iain Young, Head of Art In Art and Photography the Michaelmas Term was as busy as ever, although inevitably some COVID-related changes were necessary. Not all were unwelcome; the coursework

Although foreign travel has not been possible this

deadline for both A Level and GCSE students was

year, not all trips were cancelled. As restrictions

pushed back to the end of the Lent Term, avoiding

relaxed during the Autumn, it was with great

the pressure of a Christmas rush for another year.

relish that the Sixth Form took their first Art trip

Many Year 11 and Upper Sixth students took the

to London for some time. Visiting the Natural

opportunity to work on longer, more extended

History Museum, the Saatchi Gallery and enjoying

themes to make use of the extra time available.

some street photography, pupils enjoyed a fine

In the Lower Sixth, Art students undertook

and pleasantly sunny day in the capital.

commissions for work for the Health Centre

We plan to take GCSE pupils to the Tate Modern

and Sports departments, producing very large

in the Lent Term and hopefully they too will enjoy

scale canvases which we hope to be installed

a positive experience. Looking ahead, if travel to

soon after the beginning of the Lent Term. These

other countries becomes a little easier, we would

large and ambitious works will be on permanent

very much like to offer a trip to New York again

display for anyone who would like to see them.

in 2023.

Photographers will be undertaking a similar

With Scholarship exams almost upon us, it is

exhibition project this term.

good to see a number of Dunbar pupils putting

DT By Mr Craig Wiles, Head of DT

This term the pupils have been able to undertake a range of workshop projects across all year groups. The Sixth Form have experimented with silicone moulding, resin casting, spray painting and wood turning. The department took the Sixth Form students on a trip to the Design Museum and the Natural History themselves forward. We look forward to seeing both their portfolios and those of the external

Museum to gain inspiration for their assessed project work.

candidates in early February. Finally, we are all

Two pupils have been put forward for the

looking forward to a productive new year and to

prestigious Arkwright Engineering Scholarship,

producing many more artworks ready for

the largest national engineering scholarship of its

the Summer exhibition.

kind, and we wish them the best of luck.

CREATIVE ARTS

Music By Mr Chris McDade, Director of Music

During the Michaelmas Term, many pupils continued to rehearse and perform in ensembles and, despite the additional restrictions imposed on musicians for indoor activities, we managed to fulfil almost all of our planned calendared events. The exception to this was, of course, the much

and the concert was made available to view via

coveted Divisional Music Competition and we

the College’s YouTube Channel.

look forward to having this back in the annual

Michaelmas Concert

Music calendar.

Informal Concerts

What was billed as our major event of the term was, like other events, recorded. However,

Pupils performed in two informal concerts during

this concert also gave larger ensembles the

the term. The first event early in October enabled

opportunity to perform and we welcomed both

the performers to enjoy performing ‘live’ and the

junior and senior solo musicians, as well as larger

event was warmly received by a reduced, but

groups including the Chamber Choir, the Swing

appreciative audience. The second such concert

Band, and the Marching Band. With an eclectic

was during enhanced restrictions and was, like

mix of musical genres, the concert showcased

so many events last term, recorded. Nonetheless,

many of the College’s outstanding musicians and

the standard of performing was consistently high

it was fitting that, with many seasonal highlights

in the programme, this concert was aired just before the end of term.

Trips and Visits In November, the A Level musicians and Music

Services

Scholars enjoyed a visit to the Cadogan Hall,

Always a highlight of the year, we have continued

Sloane Square to hear a performance by the

to rehearse and present music of the highest

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. It was good to

order and, while the rousing sounds of a full

be able to attend a ‘live gig’ again after so many

Chapel congregation in full voice have yet to

months of watching these events online. With

return, nonetheless, both the College Choir

a well-known programme of Beethoven and

and Chamber Choir have continued to lead the

Rachmaninov, the students and staff very much

worship in our services. Highlights included

enjoyed this excellent concert by a first class

some moving performances in the annual

orchestra. Another trip is planned to the English

Remembrance Day service. While the Carol

National Opera in the Spring and these visits

Service was very different to what we would

to see and hear world class musicians will now

usually expect to hear, it was equally uplifting to

be a permanent feature of the Music Scholar’s

have the whole College community, accompanied

Enrichment programme.

by the Brass Ensemble, singing carols on the Quad at the end of term.

CREATIVE ARTS

Visiting Music Teachers It has continued to be a challenging time for

which have all been, by necessity, recorded exams

Visiting Music Teachers and I have been so very

and my thanks especially goes to Mr Andrew

grateful to my colleagues in the department

Thornhill for his technical expertise and time in

for their hard work and perseverance in their

recording these performances, and for the many

delivery of the one-to-one teaching programme.

hours spent uploading them to the exam board

In what has been such a challenging time for the

sites. While this facility has enabled so many

performing arts, their diligence and stoicism

pupils to continue to take graded exams, we are

has enabled so many pupils to continue to learn

also looking forward to returning to some face to

to play a very broad range of instruments and I

face sessions later this year!

express my sincere thanks to them.

Practical Exam Success Many pupils have continued to prepare for and take practical music examinations offered by the ABRSM, Trinity and RockSchool during the term and we have celebrated many successes. It has been good to see the range of both advanced and less experienced musicians taking these grades,

Drama By Ms Rebecca Atack, Head of Drama

The Drama Department was busy in the Michaelmas Term. We started the year with auditions for the College production, ‘Great Expectations’ by Charles Dickens. This was a new adaptation of the infamous novel,

of Nutting’. Nutting is a town where nothing

written and directed by Miss Rhiannon Bland.

extraordinary happens until it’s too late and, of

We ended up with a cast of 26 and five pupils

course, it is full of Nutters!

crewing the show. It will be performed in Drake Hall in front of parents and pupils before the February half-term break. It will be wonderful to be able to perform to a full in-person audience,

We did have a high absence rate in both 7B and 8A but the pupils coped beautifully. The pupils had great fun with their ensemble performances and it was a lovely way to end the term.

at last!

In Year 9, our pupils have been exploring ‘Face’ by

We also welcomed our very first Visiting Drama

Benjamin Zephaniah and their production of this

Teacher, Mrs Deborah Fallon, in September. She

play will be in Drake hall on Thursday 10 March.

visits once a week and is currently preparing 13

We ended the term on a high with the livestreaming of the Dunbar production. It was made up of three plays: Form 7A kicked the afternoon off with ‘The Guru of Nutting’; Form 7B followed with ‘The Guru of Nutting Returns’; and both Form 8A & and Form 8B rounded off the occasion

pupils for their Trinity Drama, London exams. The grades range from 4 to 7 and we hope they will ‘break a leg’ when the external examiner visits on 17 March. It is proving very popular and we look forward to welcoming more pupils to the department as time goes by.

with their wonderful performance of ‘The Witch

BOARDING By Mr Tom Cheney, Head of Boarding It was fantastic to have all pupils across the year groups back together in their Divisions last term - there was a real buzz and energy across all of them. The full programme of boarding activities took place in the evenings and over the weekends. These included trips to the cinema, bowling, trampoline park and various restaurants, but the highlights were a day out in Windsor and a visit to the Christmas Market in Winchester. There were plenty of activities on campus too, including Divisional Sports, chocolate-making and the now infamous ‘Come Dine With Me’ event. Everyone was delighted that we could reinstate this annual competition which involves day pupils as well as boarders. On a chilly evening in December, each Division created a tasty dish or drink for our panel of judges to enjoy, along with some interesting entertainment. A video of the evening can be viewed on the College’s YouTube channel. The Divisions with the highest scores were Port Jackson in third place, Hesperus in second, and St George as the overall winners. Well done to everyone who took part in a really enjoyable evening, demonstrating ‘Team Pangbourne’ at its best. Also in the Michaelmas Term, the Divisional Chiefs took some time to prepare and deliver a presentation to the younger pupils on the topic of managing life at Pangbourne. The presentations were well received and the pupils enjoyed being part of the discussion which was led by their peers, rather than staff. There were also a number of charitable activities which included a cake sale by Illawarra, raising

over £300 for Marwa Nursing Home. There was also a charity headshave, where pupils from across the boys’ Divisions shaved their heads for Oddballs, which aims to raise awareness of testicular cancer. The boys sold raffle tickets, with

We’re looking forward to the opening of the new café (located where the Uniform Shop used to be), hopefully at the end of the Lent Term. This

Congratulations to all the boarding houses for all the money raised for their different charitable causes.

will be a social space for both boarders and Sixth Form students to mix with each other outside of lessons. Finally, we’re also looking forward to another packed programme of activities for the boarders including a Comedy Night, Silent Disco, trip to Reading Climbing Centre and a Sunday Escape Room trip. the prize being the honour to hold the clippers and shave a head! At last count they had raised over £2,000, smashing their target of £1,000. Looking ahead, we’re delighted that improvement works will be taking place in Port Jackson and Hesperus over the next couple of terms. There will be new toilets and showers in PJ and improvements to the day space in Hesperus, along with a corridor refit.

HIGHLIGHTS OF 2021

Exam Success

Students overcame the challenges of COVID-19 to achieve exam success. Despite the upheaval that pupils faced in 2021, we are pleased to report that our A Level, BTEC and GCSE students achieved results which have thoroughly reflected their capabilities and academic potential. The overall pass rate (Grades 9-4) for GCSE was 97% and 46% of the Grades were 9-7. The percentage of A Level A*- A grades was 45%, evidence of the wealth of talented students in this year’s cohort. The vast majority of our A Level students have progressed to their firm-choice universities. Amongst the success stories was that of Music Scholar, Grace Spalton, who achieved A*A* A in her A Levels. Grace has since accepted a place at the University of Cambridge to study Natural Sciences.

Black History Month

October is Black History Month, dedicated to acknowledging and celebrating the achievements of black people throughout history. Our Racial Diversity and Inclusion Working Party, which helps international pupils and pupils of colour come together and share ideas to make Pangbourne a more inclusive and safer environment, decided that we needed to be more vocal about Black History Month and how it is celebrated. As a result, there were a series of activities and celebrations, including a study of Frank Bowling and Sonia Boyce in Art, an investigation into the lack of cultural diversity in Psychological research, and a study of the history of the Black Lives Matter movement in PSHCE and RS.

Sponsorship for Illawarra CCC Upper Sixth student, Megan Fergusson, has been offered an incredible sponsorship opportunity with top-class sports equipment company, Grays International. As a Grays Team Sports Brand

Learning the art of adaptability,

Ambassador, she will also be a

she has never let this hold

Grays Hockey Sponsored Player.

her back.

As part of her newfound

“I’ve never let my disability hold

responsibilities, Megan will

me back in life and in hockey,”

spend time in schools and

explains Megan. “I’ve adapted

hockey clubs, helping players to

and have come through

build their confidence.

stronger as a result and I

Megan’s hockey career has gone from strength to strength over the years, despite being born

believe that I can achieve what those with two hands can achieve.”

without her lower left arm.

HIGHLIGHTS OF 2021

Podium Potential Pathway for Josie

In May 2021, Upper Sixth student, Josie Symons, was selected for the Podium Potential pathway level of the World Class programme that is part of the Olympic Development Squad.

Josie will receive the finest international

her time here. From providing Josie with the

coaching, human sports science expertise, a

flexibility that she needs to train, to ensuring that

sport psychologist, a specialist saddle fitter,

she does not miss out on other aspects of College

and much more. Recognising Josie’s immense

life, such as her studies and time with friends.

capabilities and talent, the College has

Congratulations to Josie!

continuously strived to support her throughout

Calum wins London Irish contract

In April 2021, we were delighted to announce that Upper Sixth student, Calum Scott, had secured a 2-year professional contract with London Irish Senior Academy. He was also confirmed as captain for the London

This is an incredible opportunity for Calum, who

Irish U18s for the 2021/22 season and has been

has been in the London Irish Academy since the

selected for the England U18 training squad.

age of 13. Initially coming through the London

Irish Developing Player Programme, he also played club rugby for both Tadley RFC and Newbury Blues. When asked what he values most about Pangbourne College, Calum said, “I really value the effort the teachers have put in driving my sporting performance. In particular, Mr Hewick, Mr Hawthorn, and Mr Thompson have really supported me along my journey to this point, and I would really like to thank them.” Mr Hewick, Director of Sport said, “This opportunity will allow Calum to train and play as a full-time professional rugby player, as well as integrate with his England age group selections. He has worked incredibly hard for this, and has displayed many of Pangbourne’s Flag Values throughout his journey to this point. I am sure that

Lower Sixth tackle taking responsibility Each year, as the Summer term comes to an end, Lower Sixth students embark on our Taking Responsibility course. Established over 20 years ago, its aims are to provide students with the necessary knowledge and skills for leading the College in their final year. This year, following 12 months of lockdowns and distant learning, it was great to enjoy face-to-face activities in the extensive grounds of the College, as well as at the Boat Club on the River Thames.

he will continue with the same determination and

The week encompassed an array of activities, from

resilience in the next stage of his rugby journey.”

leadership tasks, to community service, to networking exercises. The Taking Responsibility course is a key event in our calendar year, instilling team-building, leadership, and communication skills into our forthcoming heads of College. Well done to all of those who took part.

FOUNDERS’ DAY

After 18 months of disruption, we had been hoping to celebrate Founders’ Day in the usual way for 2021. Unfortunately, the anticipated relaxation of the Government’s COVID measures were delayed, and we were forced to rethink our plans (again). Even so, we managed to lay on a very special event for our Upper Sixth leavers and their families. The Leavers’ Ball became a Leavers’ Festival, the

treated to a wonderful performance of ‘Concertino

night before Founders’ Day, but everyone was

for Flute and Piano’ Op 107 by Cecile Chaminade,

still on the Parade Ground in good time, ready for

with the flute performed by HMC Scholar, Lucia

their last parade as Pangbourne students.

Burić. This was followed by an inspirational

Whilst the Prize Giving audience in the Chapel was limited to those parents of the prize winners, we were able to livestream the event on the College’s YouTube channel. The audience was

speech from our guest of honour, Lord Dr Michael Hastings of Scarisbrick CBE. His speech covered many topics, but his overriding message was that the wisest person is the one who recognises that

they do not know everything, and the best advice he can give is to “keep looking for what you don’t know”. The ceremony was followed by the Upper Sixth Final Parade, watched by their families who were seated around the parade ground in a sociallydistanced manner. After a brief break, there was Beat Retreat followed by the Flag Ceremony. It was a shame that our students and families had to leave soon after, rather than continue the celebrations, but after so much disruption and uncertainty, everyone was grateful for the opportunity to say farewell to our Upper Sixth students in the traditional Pangbourne way.

Prize Winners Headmaster’s Prizes:

Expressive Arts Prizes: Marcus Graham Art Prize: Bella Kent Music Performance Prize: Lucia Burić

Open Prizes:

Wesley Castelain Natasha Lethbridge-Freeman Henry March Alexander Nicholson

Paravicini Shield: Matthew Stanley Trinity House Prize: Daniel McMeekin

Grace Spalton Jocasta Symons

Ambrose White Prize: Ava Kite

Headmaster’s Tankards:

Chris Mullins Prize: Cherise Lamptey-Palmer

Edward Carter Keall - Harbinger

Keith Evans Prize: Kit Hayes-Newington Nigel Hollebone Centenary Prize: Bonnie Jackson Austin Anderson Prize: Emily Greenwood Thornley Language Cup: Emily Greenwood

Hamish Bamforth - Hesperus Lara Thomas - Illawarra Jake Alexander - Macquarie Calum Scott - Port Jackson Poppy Wright - St George

Jude Memorial Prize: Georgia Paterson Old Pangbournian Prize: Andrew Mullins Founders’ Prize: Matthew Stanley Her Majesty The Queen’s Gold Medal: Elise Szala

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