Reigate grammar school pilgrim review spring summer 2017

S U M M E R / AUTU M N 2016

REVIEW THE PILGRIM

SPRING / SUMMER 2017

TOP CO-EDUCATIONAL DAY SCHOOL IN SURREY SUNDAY TIMES AND TELEGRAPH

RGS FEATURES ON THE BBC NATIONAL NEWS

NEW £8M SIXTH FORM CENTRE AND LIBRARY - ON TRACK FOR SUMMER OPENING

RECORD NUMBERS OF RGS STUDENTS SELECTED TO REPRESENT THE COUNTY IN SPORT

THE PETER HARRISON FOUNDATION CENTRE

DUE FOR COMPLETION SUMMER 2017 THE PETER HARRISON FOUNDATION CENTRE The construction of The Peter Harrison Foundation Centre is well underway and will be completed during this academic year. The building will house our new Sixth Form Centre and Library.

The live web-cam takes a new image every 15 minutes between 9.00am and 5.00pm Monday-Friday and can be found via the school website: www.reigategrammar.org/blog/2016/05/10/new-sixth-form-centre-webcam.

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WELCOME

“I had an amazing time at RGS - the best two years. Good atmosphere, great sport and great teaching. The lessons were interesting and engaging and whilst the teachers do put you under pressure, it’s not too much to handle. School took the necessary measures to keep me on track and help me get the grades I needed. They really did think of everything and the rest was up to me.”

James A, a 2016 Leaver who joined RGS Sixth Form and is currently at Exeter University reading Politics and International Relations

FROM THE HEADMASTER We fit the work in around the other important aspects of a great education – the life-long friendships, lifetime memories, trips, House activities, clubs, arts events and more. This Pilgrim Review captures just a selection of the extra-curricular opportunities that help children enjoy their childhood.

For older students, there is an enormous range of student leadership roles that open up as we help our students to prepare for adult life beyond RGS. You will see how active these young adults help the younger students to embrace all that is available at RGS. RGS is an HMC grammar school and achievement matters. Achievement matters in sporting, artistic, cultural and other arenas. However, there needs to be as many ways to achieve as there are students in the school. This balance of achievement, happiness and personal development is a balance typical of the very best schools in the country, many of which are members of

The Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference – The HMC. This is an organisation that, for 150 years, has been the voice of the worlds’ top schools and continues to work at the highest levels. As an HMC representative, I met with the Secretary of State for Education in early 2017 for discussions about educational reform. It is an honour to be a member of HMC and I am so pleased that the staff and students of RGS so naturally reflect the importance of a balanced, rounded education in preparation for a happy life.

I hope that you enjoy this edition of the Pilgrim Review, especially the student journalism contributions.

Shaun Fenton Headmaster

 @rgsheadmaster 01

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SCHOOL NEWS

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he First Form Welcome Party at the beginning of term was a huge success with nearly 140 young people playing team and form games and getting to know each other just a little bit better. By the end of their second full week at RGS it seemed as though they had been here a lot longer.

Having now completed their first term, they know their way around, have made new friends, learned new subjects and taken on sport and activities they previously may not have had the opportunity to do. This is a super year group and we look forward to seeing them develop in the years to come.

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SCHOOL NEWS

RGS IN THE NEWS

RGS ON THE BBC Friday 9 December was an exciting day at RGS with the BBC coming to the school to speak to our Headmaster, Mr Shaun Fenton and students regarding the ISC’s proposed new system of joint funding by independent schools and the government. This proposal could see 10,000 free new school places created every year.

Gershon Scholars, Mahin Uddin and Nicole James first appeared on the morning’s Radio Four Today Programme and were subsequently inter viewed in the Headmaster’s Study for the BBC National News, which aired at one and six o’clock.

Mahin and Nicole are compelling advocates

for the oppor tunities and culture of excellence that they are able to enjoy here at RGS. Nicole said “I feel I’m in an environment [at RGS] where everyone wants to do really well and everyone is trying to do the best they can do.”

Speaking about the day, Mahin said “It was a great experience. The inter viewer and cameraman put us at ease very quickly so I didn’t feel nervous. To start with it felt strange to have the camera and light in such close proximity but I soon got used to it. I loved being given the opportunity to speak about how grateful I am for the financial support I receive

to allow me to attend Reigate Grammar School.”

It is always fun when the TV cameras turn up, but this interview had a serious point as well. Mr Fenton is helping to lead the national campaign, which is asking for government support to help fund bursary places at top independent schools such as Reigate Grammar School which, through the RGS Foundation’s Changing Lives campaign, is taking the lead in bursary provision.

If you missed the live broadcast, a video of the news article is available in the News section of the RGS website.

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D OFE EXPEDITION

Words and Content by Luke Jones, 7SJG

“During my DofE experience, there were many ups and downs, the biggest of which was around 750m!” – Harry Lewin, 7KSH The aim of the Duke of Edinburgh Award (DofE) is to challenge and inspire students. The DofE has been a long-running activity at RGS, comprised of a skill, volunteering and expedition section, alongside a residential stay at Gold. Students have travelled all across the UK, with hikes having taken place in mid-Wales, the South Downs and in the local Surrey area. DofE at RGS strives to get the best out of the students. It is a challenge to which the students must commit and is an invaluable source of memories and moments.

GOLD The completion of a Gold DofE award is an outstanding achievement, as it reflects many years of preparation through Bronze and Silver, seeing students’ abilities evolve and enhance, and friendships in teams grow and manifest. Alongside the expedition, students must complete a residential field-course - a five-day excursion away from home, with the aim of developing independence and allowing the students to learn outside of the classroom.

Students participated in a whole host of activities this term, from head-start events at universities, to sailing courses and outdoor activities.

The August qualifying hike was accompanied by beautiful sunny weather, which brought with it an uplifting mood for the students. The mid-Wales terrain challenged both navigation and trekking skills, as unmarked paths and overgrown forests were an easy lure for getting lost.

The trek was capped off with group photographs at the top of Plynlimon, which provided the ideal opportunity for panoramic photographs across the River Dovey, Aberystwyth and Borth.

“The expedition was thoroughly enjoyable, as we were lucky enough to have only one day of rain across both the practice and the qualifying expedition. Hiking through mid-Wales has been the highlight of the entire experience. We were camping in very remote areas, but waking up to a massive lake on one of the days against the mountainous backdrop was well worth it. The sunny weather helped motivate the group, as well as being the perfect background for photographs, yet we were still challenged by the many bogs and streams we had to cross which inevitably left our feet wet. Despite the flies and blisters, camping out in the wild and relaxing in the evenings capped off everyday. I would 100% recommend this experience to anyone else, as it’s very fun to do especially with friends, plus DofE is highly respected by employers, as it shows perseverance and the social skills which are desired.” Rupert Heap, 7ALW

BRONZE

Bronze DofE this year saw just under 150 students engage in the programme. Throughout the process they were taught by a Sixth Form mentor, as they were introduced to the basics such as camp craft, navigation, and expedition training, skills which proved vital to them whilst hiking across Box Hill and the North Downs.

There is also the opportunity to canoe as part of your DofE, which a group of Bronze students took up, practicing at Tilgate Park in Crawley, and then paddling along Basingstoke Canal on the expedition. This just goes to show how DofE has continued to provide students with opportunities to explore and socialise outside of the school environment.

“Overall, canoeing was much easier than I expected because we did not have to carry any gear! It has given me an insight into the possibilities canoeing opens up in terms of expeditions, from exploring the river through Guildford, to using canoe chutes. The team morale was extremely positive, with a freshly cooked meal in the evening. Putting our gear in barrels was a pain, but it meant dry clothes. The hardest part was the first loch, because the canoe chute was shut. We then proceeded to spend at least 30 minutes pushing our canoes down the dry chute.

Overall, well worth the effort.” Tom Tatham, 4VLR “Our first day of training for our Bronze DofE canoeing was an exciting experience! We put wetsuits on and got in the canoes for the first time.

It was trickier than it looked as we spent the first few minutes going around in circles! We slowly got the hang of it and we were soon speeding over the lake at Tilgate. The day couldn’t end without us getting in the water, after our instructors told us to all get in the same canoe! I can’t wait for Silver and plenty more canoeing!” Mary Cruickshank, 4ARD

SILVER

The Silver DofE qualifying expedition which was completed in October, saw 80 students take to the South Downs and hike along the main trail. In total they hiked 50km over hilly terrain, from the small town of Lewes to Arundel. They were commended for their efficient navigation and high group morale throughout, in particular their camp craft was highly effective. Although rain accompanied them for many days, they were extremely well-prepared and deserved a well-earned rest on the train ride home.

“DofE Silver has taught me how to push myself out of my comfort zone with people I wouldn’t usually socialise with. The immense sense of achievement after arriving at camp, navigating our way over the South Downs and overall completing the hike has made DofE one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life.” Louis Thomas, 5CLC “Despite difficult conditions we stuck together as a team and kept a generally happy mood. A tough but enjoyable challenge.”

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DRAMA

OUR FRIENDS IN THE NORTH

RGS

Drama’s second production of the year, Our Friends in the North, was created and produced by Mr David Jackson as a tribute to Victoria Wood, the national treasure and comedy icon who sadly passed away earlier this year.

Student host for the evening, Fourth Former Mary Cruickshank, was irreverently and precociously irresistibly funny. Her mannerisms, timings, innuendo and expressions set the highest of expectations for the excellent sketches that followed: the per formances were well-planned and inevitably hilarious.

All the most famous sketches were there including Woman’s Weekly performed by Sixth Formers Holly Bowling and Alex Pangalos who quite rightly brought the house down. The cast performed non-stop standup and songs from Wood’s writings and others that aped her typically ‘northern’

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themed humour. Third Former, Casper Meurisse, delighted with dance extracts from Billy Elliot, and he should know how as he has been performing in the West End production for over two years.

This was a fantastic opportunity for children from all year groups to experience Victoria Wood’s works and they performed them brilliantly. Thanks go to: Mr Jackson, for helping to inspire a new generation of writers and performers and to all the performers including Jo Amey, Tom Hindle, Kat Knorpel, Molly MacPherson, Mia Penfold and Amy Wickham.

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DRAMA

MONOLOGUE SLAM

In

the annual RGS Monologue Slam, students battled it out in front of a panel of theatre industry professionals, parents and friends, in the hope of being crowned Mono-Slam Champion.

This year’s judges were Matt Burns (Actor; RGS 2004-2011) and Will Eley (Guildford School of Acting) and the participants received indepth feedback before the winners were announced.

In the Junior Slam, the two winners were Tally Goss, who gave a powerful performance of a challenging speech from Dennis Kelly’s DNA, and Elliot Summons with a witty and well-delivered piece about Facebook. Runners up were Morgan Bowen and Naomi Lawson.

In the Senior Slam, Lily Watkins triumphed with a comic and moving performance. She was commended for her timing, excellent use of props and for her characterisation.

The standard was extremely high across both competitions and the support from parents, staff and students was fantastic.

EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FUNDRAISER At the beginning of the term, Old Reigatians Rugby Club hosted a special Gala Charity Performance of the smash-hit Edinburgh production, The Silence at the Song’s End. The students achieved a thoroughly welldeserved standing ovation for their five star show, exploring the life and passions of Libby Purves’ son, Nicholas Heiney.

Following what was a fantastic performance in front of a very enthusiastic packed house filled with alumni, staff, students and RGS friends, a total of £888.42 was rasied for the two charities selected by the actors - BEAT and CALM. 07

BRIEF ENCOUNTER “I’m a happily married woman. Or rather I was until a few weeks ago. This is my whole world and it’s enough, or rather it was until a few weeks ago.”

Your heart dances. The world seems strange and new.

You want to laugh and skip and fall forever… You are in love.

You are in love with the wrong person.

“That’s how it all began. Just by me getting a little piece of grit in my eye.”

Based partly on the 1945 film of the same name, and devised and adapted especially for this production, this proved to be a magical blend of acting, physical theatre and live music.

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et in 1938, Brief Encounter tells the tale of an ordinary married woman who finds herself in a dilemma when she meets dashing Doctor Alec Harvey. The students were outstanding in the production, which was adapted from the original film by Miss Hare who also directed. Katerina Davidson and James Ingram captivated audiences with their sophisticated and mature performances. Kat conveyed the vulnerability of Laura, beautifully depicting the moral dilemmas facing the character. James was compelling as Alec, dynamically and passionately conveying the character’s emotional turmoil. Camille Du Buisson, Izzy Radford, Isabelle Brotzel, Goya Verity, Harriet Tagart and Olivia Burgess were luminous as the Voices of Laura, expressing Laura’s inner thoughts and feelings. Their expressive and precise physical routines lifted the show into being a truly theatrical experience.

Musical Director, Mr Hare, led an excellent group of student musicians. Sophie Harding worked as his assistant MD, taking responsibility for organising and cueing the musicians in rehearsals. With Mr Hare on piano (playing the Rachmaninov with particular skill) and new DT teacher Mr Alvarez stepping in with his talent on drums, the rest of the band comprised entirely of RGS students. They accompanied the show fantastically. In particular, the Rachmaninov 2nd piano concerto brought poignancy to the soundtrack of the show.

The ensemble gave the show zest with their sparky set pieces, singing and dancing in style. A highlight of the ensemble team was their performance of ‘Call Me Maybe’. Ian White’s set design was original and Miss Branston’s costume designs brought the period look of the show together.

RGS students showed how extraordinary they are when it comes to teamworkwith students on costume, make-up, stage crew, front of house and of course on stage. They really are incredibly capable both practically and artistically.

MUSIC

ORCHESTRAL CONCERT AT THE HARLEQUIN In November, RGS gave a dazzling performance during the biggest concert of the term at the Harlequin Theatre, Redhill. Well over one hundred students provided an evening of musical entertainment in a concert which mixed up students from all year groups in a variety of orchestras and bands. The concert featured our Symphony Orchestra, Concert Band, Swing Band, Junior String Orchestra and Junior Concert Band, as well as a new jazz group and several soloists.

Students played with rhythmic zest and melodic finesse as they delivered the atmospheric highs and lows of famous film music, Sibelius Finlandia, and other memorable dance-like themes. A new group showed their improvising skill with Latin jazz with Nick Ingram, Milo Stephens, Estuardo Del Angel and Ben Silverman amongst the most promising all-round solo boys. Exquisite virtuoso solos from Isabel Ainsworth, Gabriele Brasaite and Yasmin Herbert, and a guest conductor appearance from Madeleine Withers leading Concert Band 2 balanced up the contribution from the girls.

We look forward to an exciting and expanded future of group music at RGS.

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MUSIC

ENSEMBLES CONCERT In November, as well as the incredible Orchestral Concert, RGS Music also treated us to a fabulous Ensembles Concert in the school’s Recital Room.

The performance featured our most senior musicians as well as many younger students.

Most notable was a First Form String Quartet that played with great confidence, especially impressive given the production comes at the end of only their first term at

PIANO SHOWCASE CONCERT During this term’s Piano Showcase Concert, piano soloists took centre-stage, performing on the grand piano in the Recital Room. Mr Hare co-ordinated the event to bring the focus onto the piano, and allow RGS players to benefit from hearing each other perform.

The music ranged from Scarlatti sonatas to Brahms and Liszt, a Rachmaninov concerto movement and contemporary Chinese pieces. It was particularly pleasing to see a number of new members of the school this term giving very accomplished performances.

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RGS. We very much look forward to following their achievements as they progress through the school.

There were a number of other fine performances by string players, including the Anderson Trio of Anna Anderson, Juliet Anderson and Rosalind Anderson and two further string quartets. Other performances came from the Clarinet Ensemble, Saxophone Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble,

Guitar Ensemble, Brass Ensemble and Junior Brass Ensemble.

The evening was a wonderful mix of a wide range of musical genres from James Bond to Handel. All the pieces were performed to a very high standard and show that music at Reigate Grammar School continues to go from strength to strength.

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MUSIC

CHORAL MUSIC It has been a busy term for choral singing at RGS. This year’s Choral Recital took on a different look with its theme of ‘Light’ bringing a new slant to the evening through combining poetry, readings and song. The music ranged from Renaissance to Pop – the Junior Boys’ Voices version of David Bowie’s ‘Star Man’ was a popular highlight and audiences were delighted to hear the first performances from a couple of newly formed a cappella groups, ‘Les Filles’ and the next generation of Barbershop.

The October half-term brought another new experience for singers at RGS – a tour of some of the most beautiful cathedrals in the country. Polyphony combined with the RGS Godfrey Searle Choir and visited the West Country, singing evensong at Wells, Salisbury and Sherborne Abbey. Staying at Salisbury’s Sarum College in ‘The Close’ allowed students to thoroughly investigate the history of this city’s stunning cathedral and get a true taste of what life would be like to sing in its choir. This was an unforgettable experience enjoyed so much by all that Mrs Glynne-Jones intends for it to become a regular feature in the RGS calendar for choral singing.

Most recently, all RGS choirs came together to celebrate Christmas in the traditional ‘Carols

by Candlelight’ service. St Mary’s Church was alive with flickering candles as hundreds of parents, staff and friends of RGS raised their voices to sing some of their favourite carols and hear the Christmas story, beautifully read by students. Over 100 voices in the combined choirs, accompanied by the sparkling tones of the brass ensemble, filled the church with a joyful sound and lifted everyone’s spirits as the festive season truly began in style.

CHRISTMAS CAROL COMPETITION On Sunday 11 December in the Christmas Carol Competition, new Christmas carols were brought to life by an expert group of singers.

Young composers from RGS, RSM and Micklefield School composed a total of 20 new works for the competition and a day of workshops, recordings and a concert were a fitting conclusion to this project. We were thrilled with the range and standard of all the entries and are sure that we will be hearing more from these composers! Congratulations to all who participated, including the following prize-winners: Janith Gabrielsen Zara Brotzel Lakith Gabrielsen Lauren Purves Lauren Cockerill Juliet Anderson Alex Pistell Yasmin Herbert 13

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ART

FIRST FORM HOUSE ART COMPETITION The First Form was set the creative brief of The World Around Us, the aim being for students to create a piece of work either through photography, drawing, painting, collage or mixed media which reflects the world around us.

Luc Genillard, 1REB 1st Photography

We were thrilled with the response. There were numerous fantastic entries, so many in fact, that we had to divide them up into categories: “Fine Art”, “Fine Art: Concept”, “Photography” and “Graphics/Illustration”.

Well done to all who took part.

Riley Neath, 1ERC 1st Fine Art

NOTABLE WORK FROM THIS TERM V&A MUSEUM VISIT On activities day, Sixth Form Art and DT students visited the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. It was a fantastic day out with the students being able to experience first-hand the elective mix of functional objects, design through history, fine art, jewellery, fashion, and printmaking, and to take in the amazing atmosphere at the museum.

The number of pieces within the V&A is awe inspiring and the students came away with a host of great ideas which they will be able to develop within their own practice.

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Kirsty Gaston, 6SLL

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ART

CHRISTINE HOPKINS WORKSHOP Local artist Christine Hopkins visited the school to run a one-day workshop with our Sixth Form artists.

Christine introduced the students to different ways to ink up their dry point etchings, exploring how to make their images more interesting and innovative.

Alice May, 7MJS

The students discovered that with some subtle alterations in the way in which they apply the ink, they were able to create exciting prints of quite simple dry points.

A great day was had by all and the students produced some lovely work for their coursework projects.

Max Ingleby, 7MJS

Millie Knibbs, 6STC

Max Ingleby, 7MJS

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R EI G AT E G R A M M A R SC H OO L

ENGLISH

FIFTH FORM VISIT THE GLOBE TO SEE MACBETH Over the course of three evenings, the whole of the Fifth Form made their way to Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London to see a compelling, captivating and charismatic performance of Macbeth. This core text forms part of the Fifth Form’s coursework and gave students the opportunity to see the play performed in an atmospheric venue.

This critically acclaimed production was received enthusiastically by students who have taken their experience and added it to their interpretation of the play.

Each Tuesday lunchtime of the Autumn term, a band of intrepid literary explorers has embarked on a journey through the canon of English Literature. Our literary group A Novel Approach has seen talks on vampire poetry, post-colonial literature, female war poetry, the poetry of Alice Oswald, literature and the Bible and Magi poetry. Every alternate week Mr Chevalier has led students through a challenging exploration of a chosen poem, bringing in poets from this year’s TS Eliot Prize shortlist.

SIXTH FORM LECTURES ON THE DUCHESS OF MALFI

NATIONAL POETRY DAY National Poetry Day, the annual mass celebration of poetry and all things poetical, took place on Thursday 6 October 2016.

This year, the RGS’ English Department created a pop-up poetry phenomenon in the playground where an erstwhile innocent enough tree was corrupted into a ‘poetree’ for the day.

Students were able to read poems hanging from the boughs, write their own lines and put them amongst the tree’s leaves, or just sit in the autumn sunshine discussing the merits of Wordsworth or Sassoon.

Mr Robert Shaughnessy said, “Poetry talks from the soul about the human condition in every sense. It is great to have an opportunity to promote the rich modern and traditional culture of poetry in the English language.”

This year’s theme was Messages, with students leaving their own individual poetic message hanging in the poetree for their fellow Reigatians. Messages left included haiku, some powerful metaphors from the First Form and a poignant musing in Korean.

Headmaster, Shaun Fenton said “It is the metaphysical poets that I remember most from my school days and it is good to see a bit of Donne still being celebrated by today’s teenagers.”

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A NOVEL APPROACH SPANS THE CANON OF ENGLISH LITERATURE

A group of Lower and Upper Sixth Form English students attended a series of university style lectures on Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi at the Central Baptist Church in London. The lectures on historical context, marriage and women’s position in Jacobean society were insightful and inspiring, and the students enjoyed their literary day out in the heart of Bloomsbury.

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ENGLISH

FIRST FORM STUDENT WINS THE GUARDIAN YOUNG CRITICS AWARD Iris Murphy has taken the impressive accolade of Guardian Young Critic of 2016. Her review of Bone Sparrow by Zaina Fraillon gave Iris the national title despite being in competition with many students much older than she is.

Iris’ initial success was reported earlier this term, however, at the end of November she attended the awards ceremony at The Guardian offices and had the chance to meet the authors on the short-list. Iris read every nominated novel and selected Bone Sparrow due to its coverage of world issues, rather than a localised concern.

She was awarded her prize by the titan of the young fiction world David Almond.

Although she admittedly felt a little nervous on the evening, she enjoyed meeting the authors, especially Zaina Fraillon. The English Department is extremely pleased to have such a rising star in our midsts and we are looking forward to entering the school in to the competition in 2017.

To find out more about this prestigous competition, please visit: www.theguardian. com/childrens-book s-site/2016/jul/08/ guardian-young-critics-competition-2016

SIXTH FORM ENGLISH STUDENTS SEE KING LEAR AT THE BARBICAN In a scene reminiscent of King Lear battling the elements on the heath, Sixth Form English students defied travel chaos to make it to The Barbican to see the latest production of King Lear.

The production did not disappoint, with the play opening on the famous test of how much Lear’s daughters love him; evoking a quasi-religious atmosphere. The Barbican was filled with incense as Lear arrived on stage carried aloft over his loyal subjects.

The impressive opening to the play was

echoed across every act. Henry McCann commented that Lear himself was particularly dramatic, but his favourite scene was the iconic, and gruesome, eye scene. Max Ingleby was also impressed by what he saw: “The staging was powerful and was emphasised by the black and gold colour scheme running through the costumes and scenery.”

King Lear is a set text for A Level English Literature and students will have the chance to develop this experience further when they visit the British Library in February for the text and context workshops.

THE MERCHANT OF VENICE WITH GUILDFORD SHAKESPEARE COMPANY On Tuesday 29 November the Third Form was transpor ted to Venice via the Sports Hall, to experience a live performance of The Merchant of Venice by the Guildford Shakespeare Company. Shylock, Por tia, Antonio and Bassanio were all brought to life to help students in their study of the text and their understanding of Shakespeare’s theatre.

Students became part of the cast and were given the chance to add their own interpretation to the pursuit of a pound of flesh.

on the key scenes. Third Former Harrison Barker said he enjoyed how interactive the show was and how students had the chance to be involved.

The afternoon’s events were described by students as ‘very engaging’ and they all agreed that after the event they felt more confident with the play as it really focussed

Following the session, students now have the opportunity to put these new insights into their writing about the play during their lessons.

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HISTORY AND POLITICS HISTORY AND POLITICS SOCIETY This term, the History and Politics Society wrestled with the big topics challenging western democracies and heard dynamic talks from students on ‘How and Why Trump Won the Presidency’, ‘Why We Voted to Leave the European Union’, ‘What the Supreme Court Ruling on Article 50 Really Means for the UK’ and ‘What is the Phenomenon of Populism?’.

There were also engaging talks on more traditional historical topics, such as ‘An Overview of American Politics Dynasties’, ‘A British History of Violence: The Battles of Orgreave and Cable St’ and a review of ‘The Historiography of Black History Month’.

The highlight of the year thus far must have been the compelling Brexit debate where Reigate Grammar School welcomed Crispin Blunt MP and OR Treveor Kavanagh, amongst others, in a compelling and vigorous open debate ahead of the Brexit vote, chaired by the Headmaster and organised by George Elliston and a group of Senior Prefects.

NEW YORK AND WASHINGTON TRIP 29 Upper Sixth Form students had a brilliant week away in the USA for the Politics and History trip this term. Amongst visits to Congress, the White House and the UN, the group also met with Andrew Sullivan (OR) who lives and works in Washington DC as a political commentator and journalist.

TESTIMONY FROM A HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR On Wednesday 14 December, students from the Third and Fourth Forms were privileged to hear testimony from a Holocaust survivor, Dr Marcel Ladenheim, as part of a visit organised by the Holocaust Educational Trust.

It was a privilege for us to welcome Dr Ladenheim to our school and his testimony

will remain a powerful reminder of the horrors so many experienced.

We are grateful to the Holocaust Educational Trust for co-ordinating the visit and we hope that by hearing Dr Ladenheim’s testimony, it will encourage our students to learn from the lessons of the Holocaust and make a positive difference in their own lives.

Mr Llywelyn Morgan

WALKING TOUR AROUND WESTMINSTER Activities Day saw twenty A Level History and Politics students embarking on a guided tour around central London, Westminster and the West End. They were treated to tales of historical events and people that have impacted history and politics in this country.

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In the afternoon, the trip divided so that students could visit either the National Por trait Gallery or the Imperial War Museum.

This was a fantastic, educational day out in the Capital, greatly enjoyed by all.

Tahlia Carr-Stein and Charlotte Thompson in the Second Form have produced excellent work on the British Empire

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DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY ENTERPRISE PROJECT During the first term of the year, students in the Third Form embarked on an enterprise project where they designed, manufactured and marketed Christmas themed products in groups.

The students showed real enthusiasm and worked very well in their teams. There were some fantastic designs resulting in all the products selling out, with the all profits going to charity. Great work all round!

FOOD TECHNOLOGY CHOCOLATE MASTERCLASS A DELICIOUS SUCCESS! On Saturday 8 October, ten families came to the RGS Food Room with Mrs Emma Bader, Head of Food and Nutrition, to take part in a Chocolate Masterclass.

Hanna Wicks from Cocoa BomBon, an award winning chocolatier, carefully explained and demonstrated how to temper chocolate and form luxury chocolates.

Everyone left with a bag of divine chocolates and a large grin on their face and the event raised over ÂŁ500 for the Changing Lives campaign.

The students gave the day a 20 out of 10 and all were eager to return for the next workshop. Watch this space‌

HALLOWEEN COOKERY CAMP During October half-term, students had the opportunity to attend a Hallowwen themed Cookery Camp, hosted by Mrs Bader.

Students made macaroni cheese with slugs and snakes, mummified sausage rolls and Halloween cupcakes. Delicious!

The camp was a huge success with students already chomping at the bit for the future courses.

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R EI G AT E G R A M M A R SC H OO L

MODERN LANGUAGES BERLIN AND CHRISTMAS MARKETS This long weekend had it all: the magic of the German Christmas markets as well as the cultural and historical highlights of Berlin. We learnt about the Berlin Wall during the Cold War, saw remains of the actual wall and visited the Checkpoint Charlie Museum. We visited the Christmas markets on Alexanderplatz, Ku’damm and Potsdamer Platz, saw landmarks such as the TV Tower, Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church and the Brandenburg Gate, Holocaust Memorial and also learnt about Jewish life and traditions in the Jewish Museum. We even had a guided

tour in the Reichstag, the German Parliament.

Our evening activities included seeing a 3D cartoon movie in German and bowling. We explored the city using public transport which was a really good way of getting around. The Christmas decorations around the city were beautiful and the Christmas markets were very special.

All in all this was a great trip; we learnt a lot and had loads of fun practising a bit of German too.

AACHEN GERMAN EXCHANGE A group of eight RGS students spent six days with their German exchange partners in the historical cathedral city of Aachen, Germany.

They stayed with their German host families and spent time in lessons at our partner school, the Pius Gymnasium. The programme included visits to the cities of Aachen and Cologne as well as ice skating. Everyone enjoyed getting to know a bit of German culture and practised speaking German. The German families were very warm and welcoming.

At the end of November the German

students visited their RGS par tners for almost a week during their return visit. All students enjoyed weekend activities and trips with their host families, went bowling and took part in collaborative group activities in German lessons. The German exchange group also visited London. Everyone involved made the group feel very welcome!

Many thanks to all RGS participants and their host families as well as our German partner school, the Pius Gymnasium and the German families for making this exchange so successful.

FRENCH TRIP TO LILLE

LANGUAGE ASSISTANTS

Although my time in France was short, it was a great day to start the school year with many fun activities to do such as a friendly take on the classic game bingo, a wild trip to a French zoo and the Fun Olympics.

Henry Watson and Benedict Springbett report “An essential part of our A Level languages learning, is the opportunity to speak one-on-one for 20 minutes each week with the languages assistants; Gabrielle for French, Miriam for German, and Alvaro and Marta for Spanish.

In our “human” bingo we had to meet the French pupils and talk to them and find similarities between us. I met four pupils who I feel I could have been best friends with!

During the Fun Olympics we were all put into groups of three to six students with our pen-pals, we did a sack run, an egg and spoon race and a sprint width-ways across one of the French school`s fields!

In the zoo I saw many cool and interesting animals that would make an average child stare in wonder. By the end of the day I was immensely tired due to the amount of activities throughout the day, however I feel like everyone had bundles of fun!

Harry Hescott, 2RAP 20

As well as being invaluable practice for our A Level speaking exams, they are often training as teachers: Marta recently went back to Spain to take up a post to train as a full-time teacher.

It is through talking to Gabrielle, Miriam and Alvaro that we see the immediate effects of our learning – being able to speak to someone in a foreign language on a whole range of topics, which opens our eyes to the different cultural perspectives that make modern languages so important.

The language assistants normally spend one academic year at RGS and also help GCSE students practise talking in a foreign language to a native speaker.”

T H E PI LG R I M R E V I E W | S PR I NG / S U M M E R 2017

MODERN LANGUAGES JUNIOR LANGUAGE LEAGUE CLUB I think Junior Language League Club is a fantastic club, full of laughs and packed with learning led by Mme Brigitte Collett and with the participation of other speakers like Miss Carraro, Ms Sowa and our fun Languages Assistants Gabrielle and Miriam.

It takes place every Thursday lunchtime. We do lots of fun activities and it is a chance to socialise with people from different forms as well as learn a little about other cultures.

We have learnt how Italians use gestures when they speak, how to rap in Spanish, and

how to salsa dance. We have told spooky stories for Halloween and much more but my favourite session was the food tasting of specialities from around the world as it was delicious.

I really feel that going to JLL enables you to go around the world whilst staying in the classroom. The atmosphere is fun and welcoming. The main idea is to celebrate diversity and to break down stereotypes.

Jemima Hain and Madeleine Dent, 1REB

SPANISH TRIP TO LONDON On 7 October, a few of the Lower Sixth Form A Level Spanish students headed up to London for Activities Day. First, we stopped by the Spanish Education Institute to pick up some valuable resources that will help us in our future studies, and then travelled to Borough Market to have lunch at the authentic tapas restaurant, Tapas Brindisa. We managed to test out our Spanish menu ordering skills, plus the food was delicious!

Finally we concluded our trip with a visit to the Tate Modern, where we saw numerous works by Hispanic artists from the civil war era, including Picasso.

The trip was a fantastic way to gain knowledge for our studies into Hispanic culture and we would like to thank Ms Joanna Wright for organising such a brilliant and thought-provoking day out.

Emily White, 6FCC

GERMAN EMBASSY CAREERS FAIR

JUVENES TRANSLATORES

In November, Four th Form German students attended the German Embassy Careers Fair in London. The fair took place at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and was jointly organised by the German Embassy London and German-British Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

On 24 November, Upper Sixth Form linguists took part in this year’s ‘Juvenes Translatores’, a translation competition organised by the European Commission for schools across the European Union.

We had the oppor tunity to meet representatives of German companies as well as British companies, with important business links to German-speaking countries and to discuss employment opportunities at these companies. These people made us realise the global importance of German language skills in the career context. They also informed us of the details of German

language learning. Furthermore, we took part in a fun quiz about Germany and the careers fair.

Not only did we find this fair informative and useful, but we also really enjoyed the experience. It was a real pleasure and gave us a very useful idea of what we could do if we can speak German in our future.

Keeran Kirupakaran, 4BSE Of the 250 pupils who attended the Fair seven winners of the Quiz were selected who answered each question correctly.

Among the winners was Lauren Cockerill who was awarded a prize by the German Embassy, well done Lauren!

Clara Grinyer reported “I really enjoyed taking part in the competition. Offering translation into and out of a huge number of languages, the competition aims to promote language learning and translation in a really fun and accessible way. What’s more, the translation’s first prize - which includes a trip to Brussels - proves an exciting incentive for taking part!

I chose to translate from French into English, and was faced with an amusing dialogue on the topic of travel and language itself. Other students translated from German and Spanish.

Although parts of the pieces were a bit tricky, the fact that we were given a dictionary enabled us to work through problems logically and creatively.

I would really recommend the competition to anyone studying languages - not only is it a really worthwhile, interesting experience but the opportunity to win a trip abroad is not one to be missed!”

Clara Grinyer, 7MJS 21

R EI G AT E G R A M M A R SC H OO L

THEOLOGY AND PHILOSOPHY

[“MARRIAGE IS FOR EVERYONE!”]

THE ACADEMY The Academy is a student led debate and discussion forum aimed at Fifth and Sixth Forms and is held weekly on Fridays at 13:30.

Students create and present a short lecture on a subject of their choice, leading to a debate on the ethical issues that arise from the topic. This has ranged from discussions on nuclear power to anti-ageing medicines, from digital telepathy to police brutality.

WHAT DO YOU THINK? COME ALONG TO THE ACADEMY FRIDAY THE 25TH AT 1 30 IN BL11

The group attracts a number of students from a range of disciplines who feel passionate about certain issues. This enables the students to develop skills in presenting, justifying opinions and independent research.

THE ACADEMY Friday 30 September BL10 1:30pm th

The Academy

Religion

is all in the

Mind

Nuclear Power: BL11

Friday 27th 1:30

15/04

An Open Discussion on the Phycology of Religion.

THIS FRIDAY LUNCH BL11

6th Form and 5th Form ONLY

RICHARD DAWKINS TRIP Lower Six th Form students recently attended a conference in London on religion.

The day began with an enthralling lecture on St Mark’s gospel, followed with a talk by the world renowned Richard Dawkins. His powerful speech gave us an insight into the mind of a notorious atheist philosopher, whilst also challenging our beliefs and perceptions.

Finally, we concluded with a short talk by Richard Swinburne, who combined maths and philosophy to give us an argument for the existence of God. All in all, the 22

conference was ex tremely useful in furthering our knowledge on this widely debated topic, and the chance to see Dawkins express his views so animatedly was unforgettable.

Aaisha Majid, 6FCC and Izzy Radford, 6KGC

Good or Bad? The Academy

T H E PI LG R I M R E V I E W | S PR I NG / S U M M E R 2017

MATHEMATICS

MATHSBOMBE Team Axiom came third in this National Competition run by Manchester University!

Four RGS Sixth Formers took on this Cryptography Challenge, tackling fiendishly difficult questions that tested their maths, logic and computer science skills to the max!

George Cull, Benedict Springbett, Marie Sparkes and Connie Bambridge-Sutton were invited to Manchester University to participate in a live competition, attend fascinating lectures and collect their team trophy and individual prizes.

To f ind out more about this great competition visit: www.maths.manchester.ac.uk/mathsbombe/

SENIOR MATHS CHALLENGE Congratulations to the 51 students in Fifth, and Sixth Forms who achieved Bronze; the 34 students who achieved Silver; and the 13 students who achieved Gold in this term’s Senior Maths Challenge organised by the United Kingdom Mathematics Trust (UKMT).

A special mention must go to: Thomas Hobden, Madeleine Withers, Joshua Van Der Meulen, Leo Nasskau, Eleanor Medcalf, Ashwin Bhat, Jasmine Hull, Daniel Muir and

Barnanby Collins who qualified for the next round of the competition which is the Senior Kangaroo.

Further congratulations go to: George Cull, Daniel Telford, Connie Bambridge-Sutton and Aaron Gilchrist who qualified for the 1st round of the British Mathematical Olympiad, a fantastic achievement! We wish them all the best in the follow up rounds.

HANS WOYDA The Hans Woyda Maths competition took place for RGS’s second year. Sutton High School, Nonsuch High School and Wallington County Grammar were our competitions this year, with one home match and two away to compete in.

All three matches proved to be an impressive and nail-biting set of challenging questions, testing our students on their quick reaction maths skills in numeracy, algebra, geometry and logic.

Our team captain this year was George Cull, along with Connie Bambridge-Sutton, Gabriele Brasaite, Ayan Shahid and Harry Armstrong. All members of the team worked hard to prepare for each round, winning against Sutton High School but narrowly missing out against Wallington and Nonsuch.

With another year of experience, the team looks set to do exceptionally well next year.

MATHS OLYMPIAD FOR GIRLS Congratulations to Sixth Formers Connie Bambridge-Sutton and Eleanor Medcalf who achieved distinctions in the Maths Olympiad for Girls, another UKTM run competition..

Maths

MATHS IN ACTION CONFERENCE Lower Sixth Form mathematicians visited University College London for the annual “Maths in Action” conference. Engaging, semi-interactive lectures were given on interesting topics, such as bad statistics in the news, code-breaking, and the origin of

numbers by a plethora of stars from the mathematical world, including James Grime, Michael Blastland, Sara Santos, Ben Sparks and Kyle Evans. A short exam technique tutorial was also provided which gave important information to the students.

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R EI G AT E G R A M M A R SC H OO L

HOUSE NEWS RUN REIGATE Once again, RGS Houses were on-hand in September to contribute to Run Reigate, the award winning, nationally recognised event now in its third year, by running the much needed water stations.

As the runners battled their way through, our crews were delighted to receive

appreciative comments from all who were grateful for our efficientcy and enthusiasm!

Each House was able to donate over £650 pounds to their appointed House Charity from last year - a fantastic sum which we hope to exceed in 2016-2017.

HOUSE SINGING

HOUSE ART

Year-on-year, the standard of the House Singing competition continues to grow. The enthusiasm for this event is infectious and the pride shown by all when singing for their House shows just how strong the RGS House Spirit is.

Our new First Form took part in the House Art competition, ‘The World Around Us’.

The numerous excellent entries were divided in to four categories: Fine Art, Fine Art Concept, Photography and Illustration and Graphics. Points were awarded for the number of entries per house and the placings for each category were totalled.

It was incredibly close with all students hoping to secure the victory.

The House harmonies were exemplary and the unisons loud and largely tuneful!

This fantastic event saw the unison award won by Hodgson and the harmony by Bird. The overall placings formed by a tally of the scores from both competitions placed Bird first, Hodgson and Williamson joint second and Cranston fourth.

The result was a close call, with the eventual result being Williamson in first, followed by Bird, Hodgson and f inally Cranston.

Examples of the artwork produced can be found in this publication’s Art section.

BAKE-OFF AND READY, STEADY COOK! The House cooking competiion is a favourite, especially amongst the judges! In the first round, sweet creations were made which were subsequently sold to raise money for the Houses’ sponsored endangered species.

Following the first round, two junior and two senior students were chosen from each House to go through to the finals where they par ticipated in a Ready, Steady, Cook! challenge to make a Pasta Dish.

Congratulations to Hodgson who tool the win, with Bird, then Cranston and Williamson close behind them.

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T H E PI LG R I M R E V I E W | S PR I NG / S U M M E R 2017

ANNUAL GUN RUN The first House competition of the term was the House Gun Run which saw our teams battle it out for this year’s Gun Run Crown.

Making their way round the obstacle course as quickly as possible, each heat was extremely close with plenty of action for the cheering crowds on the side-lines.

After all the Houses had competed against each other, the overall winners were announced: Williamson came in first, closely followed by Bird, then Cranston and finally Hodgson. Well done to all competitors!

WINTER HOUSE SPORTS A dreary weekend in December couldn’t dampen the spirits of our Houses as this year’s Winter House Sports day proved once again to be a resounding success. RGS Hartswood was awash with colour, cheering and enthusiasm.

There were many close fought matches and the competition was fierce. Cranston eventually took home the hockey trophy, followed by Hodgson, Williamson and Bird.

In rugby, Williamson left with the honours, closely followed by Bird, Hodgson and Cranston.

CURRENT RANKINGS As the Autumn term drew to a close, ever yone held their breath as the Headmaster revealed the results of this term’s events. Overall rankings for the Autumn term put Williamson just ahead with Bird and Hodgson in joint second and Cranston hot on their heels.

When the final figures for the term were added to scores from the summer, the current placings in this years’ House Cup were revealed as Hodgson and Williamson in joint first, followed by Bird then Cranston.

Congratulations to, especially Hodgson and Williamson for coming ot on top.

As we go in to the final term of the House Cup, to be concluded at Easter, everything is still to play for. With chess, the Senior Quiz, netball, boys’ hockey and golf all still to come, it really is anyone’s game.

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R EI G AT E G R A M M A R SC H OO L

MODEL UNITED NATIONS GOES INTERNATIONAL! In November, 18 students travelled to The International School of The Hague in The Netherlands to participate in one of the most highly regarded MUN conferences in the world.

Weeks of preparation took place during which outstandingly good r esolu t io ns we r e composed, discussing subjects such as the mistreatment of the Yazidi people, destruction of World Heritage sites and how to deal with ISIE/DAESH. The debate was of a very high standard and despite the fact 26

that this conference does not hand out prizes, our student representatives still managed to shine! Aaron Gilchrist, Lucia Dunn-Flores and Joanna Welsh had their resolutions approved in committee and Joanna went on to present hers in the General Assembly where it passed again.

Well done to all for such great par ticipation and for representing RGS so well; your trip leaders could not have been more proud of your contribution and hard work.

T H E PI LG R I M R E V I E W | S PR I NG / S U M M E R 2017

MODEL UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE In September, students from 25 schools with 300 delegates representing 70 countries gathered at RGS to make the 20th annual Reigate Model United Nations (ReiMUN) our largest conference in 15 years!

Upper Sixth Former, Charles Lee writes: “With high quality debate in all six committees across a wide spread of topics, ranging from drone regulations to the status of Kosovo, many successful resolutions were passed and problems solved… delegates were challenged to solve the issue fairly and diffuse international tensions.”

Headmaster Shaun Fenton said: “The students have worked incredibly hard on organising this conference for months and it has been a wonderful opportunity for them to

develop their international-mindedness and leadership skills. This conference has made them recognise just how hard the job of the United Nations is – attempting to reach agreement and consensus for the good of humanity between 200 countries is seemingly impossible but ultimately doable with diplomacy and determination.”

Thanks go to all involved who made ReiMUN20 such a success, particularly Joint Secretaries General Benedict Springbett and Charles Lee, Head of Admin Henry Watson, Miss Williams, Miss Hollis and Mr Sergeant.

RGS’ capable and experienced chairs Tom Rowell, George Colvin, Joanna Welsh, Fraser Cadman, Ben Adey, George Beglan, Jasmine Hull, Aaron Gilchrist, Oscar Subuh-Symons

and Ben Dunn-Flores managed high-level debate throughout the day in their committees; and the press team of Alexa Dewar, Bryony Sheridan, Laura Hawrych and Madeleine Withers worked hard to produce a fantastic newspaper of the day’s highlights.

Kat Davidson organised the admin team which was extraordinarily helpful throughout the day with note-passing and logistics.

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R EI G AT E G R A M M A R SC H OO L

In

2016, the year the GB Women’s Hockey team took Olympic Gold, RGS girls were inspired and brought home a record number of Golds for a single season.

It all started in the very first week of term with the U12As winning the Lingfield Notre Dame tournament after being in the school for just one week. An amazing start to their hockey journey at RGS - the magic had clearly already started to rub off on them!

Success followed success with intensive training throughout the season soon paying off. Hot on the heels of the U12A’s success, the U16s came third in the Surrey Tournament. The team progressed to play in the Regional Finals and achieved a well deserved third place - just missing out on a National Finals place.

The half-term holiday saw the boys start their pre-season training - joining the girls on

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tour in Jersey. An amazing week away saw the girls win all their matches and the boys work really hard, improving in every game.

Towards the end of the term and not to be out done, the U15 team won the County Tournament to become Surrey Champions.

The younger students have clearly been inspired by their older role models in the school; the U13s played some impressive hockey this season, going unbeaten in to the East Grinstead Tournament Final and narrowly losing by just one goal to come home as runners-up.

The season was brought to a close by our Seniors qualifying for the U18 South Indoor Finals. The competition was fierce and, although they didn’t qualify, they played extremely well.

Next it was the turn of the U14s who, having won their County Round quite impressively to become Surrey Champions, went through to the South Finals. They too gained third place, narrowly missing out on going to the National Finals.

In summary, this has been the most successful season to date for RGS Girls’ Hockey with the U14s and U15s becoming Surrey Champions, and U14s and U16s coming third in the South of England, placing these two age groups in the top 16 schools for Hockey in the country - an amazing achievement.

T H E PI LG R I M R E V I E W | S PR I NG / S U M M E R 2017

HOCKEY OLD REIGATIAN PLAYS FOR ENGLAND IN THE WORLD CUP Former student Harriet Mitchell (RGS 2015) represented England U21s in the Junior Women’s World Cup in Chile in November.

Region. Harriet then went on to trial for England.

Harriet is our highest ever performing Hockey player and we are of course extremely proud of her.

This year in October, three RGS students were selected to play for the highest level they can for their age on their player pathway.

England successfully beat Chile and the USA, drew against RSA and Australia and then sadly lost to Spain and Germany, placing them seventh place in the world - an amazing achievement for such a young squad.

Amy Wickham was selected to play for her region with Saxon Tigers and attend the U15 HiPAC (High Performance Assessment Camp). Here, 72 girls play in their regional teams, observed by England assessors.

To get to where she is now , Harriet was first selected for her Country then her

As with Amy, Stephanie Weber and Taylor Weber were also selected to play for Saxon

Tigers, in their case U16 at the Futures Cup. In this competition, the top 72 girls’ playing squads from every region including Scotland, Wales and Ireland are assessed by England officials. Both girls did incredibly well and congratulations go to Stephanie who was selected for NAGs (National Age Group Assessments).

Stephanie now goes on to attend further assessments and training sessions with the ultimate aim of being selected for the England U16 squad - the same route followed

by Harriet. We look forward to following her progress.

REPRESENTATIVE SUCCESS - FUTURE STARS At the start of December, Surrey Hockey announced the names of pupils who had gained county selection for which they had been trialling all Summer. This year has seen

a record number of representatives with 24 RGS students being selected to play at either County, Performance, HiPAC or Futures Cup (regional) or NAGS assessment

(National Age Groups). We are very proud of them and their achievements are testament to their hard work and dedication to the sport.

Back row L-R: Sophia Clark (RSM) – County U13; Ellie Heron – County and Performance U14; Stephanie Weber – NAGS and Performance U16; Peggy Winterborn – Performance U14; Scott Jones – Performance U17; Taylor Weber – Futures Cup and Performance U16; Ella Woods – Performance U15; Amy Wickham – HiPAC and Performance U15; Matthew Wickham – County U13. Sitting front row left-right: Joshua Harvey – County U14; Lily Grant – County U15; Zoe Mitchell – County U15; Libby Shepherd – County U15; Katie Mackison – County U15; Sophie Nathan – County U16; Bernadette Cheng-Whitehead – County U14; Issy van der Spuy – County U14; Izzy Cooper ­­– County U14; Alice Nicholson – County U13; Kathryn Boyd – County U14; Benjamin Turrington – County U14. Missing from photo: Aisling Slater – County and Performance U17; Timea Culverwell – Performance U16; Freya MacTavish – County U15.

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R EI G AT E G R A M M A R SC H OO L

The

RGS Rugby programme has continued to take great strides forward this season. A large, exciting group of First Form boys joined the school with a very healthy appetite for rugby and resulted in the school being able to field A-E sides for the first time in its history.

The competition for places was very high, every training session and match was hugely enjoyable and they really do promise great things to come.

In the Second Form the development of skills and game understanding continued.

The boys worked exceptionally hard on their fitness, defensive structure and individual abilities. It was a season to remember following a slow start and the side finished with seven wins on the trot including a 60-10 win over Caterham.

The Third and Four th Forms endured frustrating seasons but the will and endeavour was never in question and will serve them well for years to come. The Third Form went on tour to Biarritz during the October half-term, playing fixtures at Hernani in Spain and Biarritz in France. It was a hugely successful trip and a fantastic experience for all.

The Fifth Form had a season of ups and downs, playing some excellent, free-flowing rugby mixed with some defensive frailties. It could so easily have been a very different

30

year with many of the results coming down to a score or less. However with four out of the eleven games being wins it was wonderfully competitive and the boys are rightly proud of such a great effort.

Senior rugby this year got off to a shaky start with several injuries in the first two matches followed by several more in the following weeks. At one point the side was without 11 of the starting 15! However, this would be a chance for many younger and squad players to step up and take their chance.

Despite a disappointing loss in the first round of the NatWest Cup to Christ’s Hospital and a heavy loss to Seaford, the squad battled amazingly to record excellent wins against Wallington, Wor th, Glyn, Eltham and Colfe’s. The squad then found some fitness again and soon started playing the kind of rugby they displayed last year.

This time however, the high tempo and slick

handling was combined with some bruising, powerful, physicality.

The loss to Christ’s Hospital in the first round of the Cup had given an opportunity to progress in the NatWest Plate and impressive wins against The Portsmouth Grammar School and a thumping away win over Downside led to the side reaching the quarter-finals. Here they faced a physical St Colomba’s who started strongly but fell away and the class of RGS shone through, ending in a 53-19 victory.

The semi-final is to be played in late February in the midst of Sevens season so there is plenty more yet to come from a very talented bunch of Reigatians. Whatever happens this group should be enormously proud of such a hugely successful time spent at RGS where they have represented the school magnificently.

T H E PI LG R I M R E V I E W | S PR I NG / S U M M E R 2017

RUGBY

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R EI G AT E G R A M M A R SC H OO L

SWIMMING AND BIATHLON NATIONAL SWIMMING SUCCESS In November, RGS Swimmers travelled to the Olympic Park in Stratford to compete in the English National Swimming Relays. The event invites the top 30 schools in England in each race category.

RGS first qualified for the competition in 2014 achieving a place in two of the twelve events and in 2015 we secured one spot.

2016 has been our most successful year yet

with our swimmers qualifying for five of the twelve events and the Junior Girls, Junior Boys and Intermediate Boys achieving a much sought after top 30 placing.

All the swimmers swam well with placings ranging from 27th to 13th in England. Our most successful race was the Junior Boys Medley Relay.

The success in this year’s English Nationals reflects the growing strength of swimming at RGS. With over 270 schools entering some events we are very proud to be joint top in the South East for the number of qualifications by a Co-Ed School. This is a tremendous achievement and a testament to all our swimmers’ determination and hard work.

RGS BIATHLON TEAM GOING FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH. Last term our Biathlon competitors got off to a flying star t at the Surrey Schools’ Biathlon Championships in which RGS students gained a haul of medals and top ten finishes. Team medals were awarded to our U12 Girls (Silver), U13 Girls (Bronze) and U14 Boys (Silver).

In addition to the team medals, individual top ten placings were gained by: Eva Marsh (2nd), Owen Knowles (2nd), Lucy Broderick (5th), Patrick Florida-James (5th), Tomos Knowles (6th), Juliette ChengWhitehead (6th), Clara Alston (7th) and Machayla Dewdney (10th).

Following on from the success at the Surrey Schools Biathlon the following students qualified for and took part in the Nationals in Solihull. There were many successes with students gaining the following placings: Owen Knowles (8th), Eva Marsh (11th), Patrick Florida-James (11th), Clara Alston (19th), Tomos Knowles (19th) and Machayla Dewdney (38th).

Results have just been released for the National Schools’ Biathlon in March and the following students should be congratulated on their achievement: 32

Eva Marsh, Juliette Cheng-Whitehead, Gemma Swinn, Olivia Mulligan, Elsie Halliwell, Elis Knowles, Ioan Knowles, Clara Alston, Sara Malik, Lily Florida-James,

Machayla Dewdney, Jemima Potter, Tomos Knowles, Henry Mortimer, Lakith Gabrielsen, Thomas Elkeles, Lucy Broderick, Theo Lewis, Owen Knowles and Patrick Florida-James.

T H E PI LG R I M R E V I E W | S PR I NG / S U M M E R 2017

OTHER SPORT NEWS EVO HOCKEY Our partnership with EVO Hockey has gone provides RGS students with access to the best players and coaches in the world.

EVO Hockey’s ethos of a multi-national approach and modern style of coaching brings expertise from around the world.

Students have had the opportunity to not only be coached by, but also mentored by Olympic medallists, as well as two World Player of the Year winners.

COUNTY NETBALL SELECTION This year, six RGS students have been selected for the Surrey Netball squads. Sofia Gibbon joins the Surrey U16 Elite Netball Academy; while Lucia Burton, Bernadette Cheng-Whitehead and Brianna Edmunds go into the U16 Netball Development Academy.

Simone Kellard and Tally Goss have been selected for the U14 Development Academy.

This is a great achievement for the girls as well as Netball at RGS - well done and good luck to all!

WORLD CUP WINNER COACHES AT RGS

COUNTY CRICKET SELECTION

Performance Director and former Wasps player Richard Birkett was joined by his former team mate and 2003 World Cup winner, Joe Worsley, to run a coaching session for the school’s rugby players.

Congratulations to those who were selected for Surrey County Cricket Club’s Academy and Performance squads this winter and who have started their winter training. They will be working towards potentially representing the county in their respective age-groups during the Summer:

“It is fantastic to see such a high standard of coaching across the school, superb facilities and so much enthusiasm from the players. No wonder Reigate Grammar School is seen as a centre of excellence for Rugby.” Joe Worsley

Sam Hall - Academy Class Programme, Lucy Allen - U14 Elite Girls Performance Programme, Adam Chladek and Malin Wade - U14 Performance Ben Butterfield, William Day, Harrison Lewis, Jack Sadler and Matthew Wickham - U12 Performance

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R EI G AT E G R A M M A R SC H OO L

CAREERS

T

hroughout this term RGS students have had numerous opportunities to hear from and talk to industry experts regarding their future. What follows are some of the many highlights.

ENGINEERING EVENING In September, RGS Careers held an engineering specific evening - an opportunity for anyone interested in any one of the many areas of the field, to find out more about entry routes and career possibilities.

We were delighted to welcome speakers Tim Woolman from Southampton University and Sue Caccavone from local engineering

firm Black and Veatch. Special thanks also go to Phil Tarrant, Tom Beazley and Tony Cockerill who took questions from students on a one-to-one basis.

This event was attended by around 150 students and parents from the Second to Sixth Forms, and was a very useful evening for those considering careers in engineering.

MEDICINE AND ALLIED CAREERS EVENING This event was run for RGS students with invitations also going to local state schools.

It was lovely to see former students, Daniel Beasley, who addressed students about studying medicine at university, as well as Aman Jain, who spoke about being a junior doctor. In addition, we were very fortunate to be able to welcome Dr Lucy Rawson, who presented on her life as a GP. We were also very grateful to the following parents and former students, who took questions on a one-to-one basis from our

students: Alice Redfern (OR medicine at Oxford University), Maddie Fisher (OR medicine, Imperial), Sally Stimpson (nursing: lead for children’s safeguarding), Caroline Marshall (critical care nurse), Amanda Boodhoo (consultant nurse), Dr Simon Parrington (hospital consultant), Dr David Moore (infectious diseases and tropical medicine), Rosaleen Jackson (midwifery), Dr Kristina Bull (anaesthetist), Dr Pat Morgan (anaesthetist), Jonny Lavington (OR dentist), Alison Prosser (optometrist), Gareth FloridaJames (physiotherapist), Mrs Jane Dawson

(speech therapist), Dr. Adrian Mor ton (psychologist).

In addition to the above, Mrs Jean Bull and the Upper Sixth Form medics were kind enough to pass on their expertise about the application process, information that will prove to be extremely useful to all when the time comes.

This was a brilliant and highly informative evening and thanks go to all who took part.

PWC EMPLOYABILITY WORKSHOP

CAREERS TALKS Throughout the term, we have had speakers coming in to the school to talk about their careers. Special thanks go to Steve Brooks for presenting on ‘Life as a Vet’, Jonny Lavington (OR) on careers in dentistry, Rosie Proudfoot (OR) on art and design careers and setting up a business and Dr Sandeep Cliff on medical interviews.

Miss Viv Godbold and Miss Anna Vaughan also presented on ‘Studying in the US and Canada’ and Miss Godbold ran a trip to Hampton School to hear from Princeton University.

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We were delighted to welcome representatives from PwC to run a workshop on employability and to make Sixth Form students aware of the career options that are available in Accountancy.

T H E PI LG R I M R E V I E W | S PR I NG / S U M M E R 2017

PFA

As always, the PFA has been incredibly busy this term! Our aims continue to be: TO ENHANCE THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY TO PROVIDE SOCIAL LINKS FOR THE PARENT COMMUNITY TO UNDERTAKE FUND RAISING ACTIVITIES TO FUND QUALITY EXTRAS TO BENEFIT THE WHOLE SCHOOL The PFA has run a wide variety of events and is incredibly proud of what has been achieved to help raise funds for a number of projects at school.

In October we kicked things off with the New Parents’ Party held in the Sixth Form Centre. This was very well attended and many parents commented on the fact that not only had they enjoyed the event they had found it a really useful way to meet other parents.

year the theme was The Great Gatsby and as always parents entered into the theme with enormous enthusiasm! There were well over 300 parents there on the night and a good time was had by all. The PFA Ball subcommittee is a fabulous team which manages to organise the event superbly well every year.

Finally, as always we provided the interval drinks service for the most recent drama production – the excellent Brief Encounter.

Over and above all of this of course the PFA has launched the easyfundraising.org.uk link where parents can raise funds for the PFA whilst shopping online, and the LoveLight photo offer which many parents have already taken up.

What are we raising all of this money for?

Well this term alone we have paid for a heat

The PFA also ran the Junior Disco in November and had an almost unprecedented number of students attend. Another great evening with money raised for the school.

This was followed by the Nearly New Sale in the PMH. This event is run by an amazingly dedicated team of PFA volunteers who collect, sort through and make ready for sale items of uniform donated or consigned by parents. This event raised more for the PFA than almost any other sale!

In November we held our biggest single annual fundraising event – the PFA Ball. This

Finally, in November we held the Magic of Christmas shopping evening. With more than 45 stalls in the PMH there was a huge variety of goods and gifts on sale. This event certainly helped quite a few shoppers who were struggling with what Christmas presents to buy!

December brought the ever popular Christmas Tree Sale. This year we managed to sell even more trees than last year, a sure sign of both the quality of the trees themselves and of the brilliant reputation that they have.

press for the art department as well as committing funds to two new outdoor classrooms, commissioned after the success of the original next to the netball courts on Broadfield. This term we have also allocated funds for a unique style of classroom in the new Centre of Learning. This will be an Innovation Room, a cutting edge style of classroom aimed to create a space where innovation can flourish. This is a first for RGS and the PFA is proud to be helping the school create such an exciting learning space.

Thank you to all parents who support us in whatever capacity.

Joanne Packham PFA Chair

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R EI G AT E G R A M M A R SC H OO L

FOUNDATION

HENRY SMITH LECTURES LORD COOPER (RGS 1974-1981) In the first of this term’s Henry Smith Lectures, RGS welcomed back Andrew Cooper who gave a fascinating talk about the political geographies of Britain today and the dynamics of voting behaviour. In front of an audience of 260 students and staff, he provided many insights into the world of Westminster, the key characters in British politics today and the science behind voting patterns.

Returning to RGS for the first time since he left, Lord Cooper enjoyed a tour of the school, attending lessons and meeting members of staff. He took the opportunity

to join in with a Sixth Form Politics lesson on the theme of ‘What will be Obama’s legacy?’

Following his RGS education, Andrew Cooper went on to study Economics at the London School of Economics. His career has taken many paths but politics, strategy and research have remained at the centre of his interests and passion. In 2003, he created the research and strategy consultancy Populus and was also Director of Strategy to David Cameron at 10 Downing Street between 2011-2013.

The late New Labour strategist Philip Gould

Lord Cooper

(Lord Gould of Brookwood) wrote of Cooper (The Times, 2 March 2011) that “he is without doubt the best political pollster of his generation, and one of the few who knows how to fuse polling and strategy”.

Current Sixth Form student George Colvin gave the vote of thanks and said, “…we are all extremely grateful to you for taking time out of your busy schedule to return to RGS today and give us such an interesting insight into the world of political strategy. We are all inspired by what you have achieved since leaving the Grammar. Thank you!”

Sir Peter Lampl

SIR PETER LAMPL (RGS 1959-1964) Distinguished Reigatian, Sir Peter Lampl provided the second of this term’s Henry Smith Lectures, the theme being “Giving yourself a chance to get lucky!” Whilst acknowledging the value of a good degree, he stressed the impor tance for the workplace of broader skills provided in great schools such as RGS, where value-added experience develops character and confidence.

Sir Peter Lampl is acknowledged to be the UK’s leading educational philanthropist. In 1997 he founded the Sutton Trust which is dedicated to improving social mobility through education. Sir Peter has given over £50 million to the Trust to achieve this aim.

The Trust is a ‘do tank’ supporting 4,000 students per year on programmes, producing 15 research studies per year and influencing government policy.

“You need to be confident and have self-belief but also the drive and commitment to work hard and achieve your goals. Funny, the harder I worked the luckier I became.”

A key theme was the issue of social mobility and education policy in the UK. This brought great debate during ‘Question Time’ par ticularly on the theme of Grammar Schools. Sir Peter said, “The evidence is clear that establishing Grammar Schools now would have limited effect on social mobility in this country. The key is to make top performing schools ‘open access’ and acknowledge the important impact independent schools such as RGS can play in tackling this issue.” He stressed that a key issue for state schools was that they are ultimately judged on results

To a captivated audience he impressed students with his ability to recite the full list of classmates from his first form! This included Sir Peter Gershon, who is President of the Henry Smith Club. It is impressive to think that two members of the same form went on to receive knighthoods.

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meaning little emphasis is given to those wider skills mentioned that develop the individual.

As part of his introduction, Sean Davey (RGS Foundation Director) stated from the recent ‘State of the Nation 2015’ report by the Social Mobility and Child Pover ty Commission, that although as a country we have become wealthier, we have struggled to become fairer. RGS, through its commitment to wider access is driving forward with its Changing Lives campaign and looking to offer increasingly more places to children from disadvantaged backgrounds based on ability and potential.

Sir Peter summed up the mood brilliantly when he quoted Winston Churchill: “What is the use of living, if it be not to strive for noble causes and to make this muddled world a better place for those who will live in it after we are gone?”

T H E PI LG R I M R E V I E W | S PR I NG / S U M M E R 2017

FOUNDATION

CLASS OF 2012 – GRAD BRUNCH The class of 2012 returned to RGS this term for their Graduation Brunch. There was a fantastic atmosphere with over 80 in attendance and it was clear that, four years on, this is still a particularly close year group.

With an embarrassing sideshow of photos tracking their journey through RGS in the background, RGS Headmaster, Shaun Fenton, spoke to the ‘class’ about the current

state of the school; excelling on the stage and sports field, in music, CCF and DofE, whilst at the same time reaching new academic highs.

Many stayed on to watch the RGS 1st XV beat Wallington County Grammar School and later made the shor t trip to Old Reigatian RFC to continue their socialising.

RGSLP – THE READING ROOM ‘Do you trust Big Data?’ This was the question posed by Adam Sefton, Reading Room’s Head of Strategy, at this RGS London Professionals event.

Adam spoke of the dangers associated with accepting big data by its face value, the process of collection, interpretation and how data can be misused and misunderstood.

Using examples from recent political campaign polls, the book Spurious Correlations and even Star Wars: “Sir, the possibility of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately 3,720 to 1” C-3PO Adam highlighted how we should perhaps be wary of the growing reliance on what is often fiction masquerading as fact.

RGS PROFESSIONALS CHARITY GOLF DAY 2016 Thank you to all those who attended the highly successful RGS Professionals Charity Golf Day at Royal Ashdown Forest Golf Club in aid of the Changing Lives campaign.

Please get in touch If you are interested in entering a team or wish to enquire about sponsorship.

Congratulations go to Barry Devine (’90) and his Gracilis team for winning this year’s tournament. The longest drive was won by international rugby referee JP Doyle and nearest the pin went to Alan Bennett.

A fascinating topic and one that affects us all, it was great to see so many RGS Sixth Form students connecting with members of the RGS Professionals group. Our thanks go to James Elliot (’97) and Polly Lygoe for their kind hospitality.

If you are not a member of our RGS Professionals Group, you can find us on LinkedIn. If you are interested in hosting an RGS Professionals event, please contact foundation@reigategrammar.org

The RGS Foundation is grateful to the Royal Ashdown Forest Golf Club and all who supported this superb day. An amazing £10,000 was raised as a result of the generosity of the group, with all funds going to the Changing Lives campaign.

RUN REIGATE 2016 WELL DONE EVERYONE! Reigate Priory Park was bustling with excitement in September as runners prepared themselves for the third annual Run Reigate event. The combination of live music and a supportive crowd created a wonderful atmosphere. This award-winning event is now firmly on the calendar and regarded as one of the best in the country with people of all shapes, sizes and ages running for their individual best and with many for their chosen charity.

An enormous “thank you” goes to all those who ran for the RGS Foundation. All money raised went to the Changing Lives campaign,

providing bursarial support to gifted young children whose potential is far greater than their financial means.

RGS Foundation Team Members: Shaun Fenton Sean Davey Alex Boothroyd Jonny Hylton Lucy Hylton David Wigfield Andrew Diggles Lindsay Middleton-Scarr Paul Morris Huw Jones Isaac Osterreicher 37

RGS Hartswood Sports Ground

CATCH UP ONLINE As this publication illustrates, RGS is an action-packed school with a wealth of news and activities happening around the clock. To keep up to date, please visit our website or join in with RGS online via the below channels: www.reigategrammar.org

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facebook.com/reigategrammarschool

 Follow our news and views on Twitter: Headmaster @rgsheadmaster

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