Dialogue 2017

The RGS Old Guildfordian Magazine Issue #2 2017

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE LORD JUSTICE SALES The OG Interview

SIMON BLANCHFLOWER Transforming London’s Transport Infrastructure

JEREMY WHITTAKER Thought for the Day

SERGEI BOEKE Researching Cyber Security

PLUS OG News and Events School News Headmaster’s Address The Games Room

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DIALOGUE Issue #2 2017

FROM THE EDITOR

Philippa Green Editor

The Old Guildfordian community is thriving and our alumni programme continues to grow. 2017 has been a bumper year for firsts, with the launch of our new biennial Golden Garden Party for OGs who left over 50 years ago, our OG welcome reception for the Class of 2017 and the launch of our new digital network.

RGS Connect went live in May and already has over 900 members signed up and participating. It is a digital community for OGs and parents where you can catch up with friends, network among other professionals, offer mentoring, find work and offer careers advice. More information about this great new venture can be found on p.59.

While we see the OG network growing, we also face challenges. The impending changes to data protection legislation mean that we will be seeking your permission to write, email or communicate with you in the future – for sharing OG news and information, invitations to events, fundraising and even sending your free DialOGue magazine. Look out for our communications in Spring 2018; we would encourage you to take a moment to reply. Our message will simply be: “opt in or miss out”.

It has been great to see so many OGs back at the School throughout the year, be it for reunions, careers events, assemblies or talks, with others coming back just to enjoy seeing the place again.

Finally, thank you for sharing your thoughts, ideas and news with us throughout the year. We were particularly thrilled with your response to the first edition of DialOGue and hope this ‘second album’ will find an appreciative audience. Please do stay in touch as we enjoy hearing from you. It is a delightful reminder of how much the RGS means to you and what a wonderful School community we all belong to.

Editorial team and acknowledgments Editor Philippa Green Deputy Editor Helen Mack Communications should be addressed to the Editor: og@rgsg.co.uk or Royal Grammar School Guildford, High Street, Guildford GU1 3BB. Acknowledgements With sincere thanks to all those who contributed to this edition of the OG magazine and helped in its production.

We would particularly like to thank those not credited elsewhere: Paul Bridges Mary Buylla Peter Dunscombe Georgie Grant Haworth Phill Griffith AJ Moore Jimmy Pressley Jenny Rothwell Kathryn Sweet Alan Thorn Bob Ukiah Denise Walsh Our grateful thanks also to the Catering Team, Maintenance and Grounds Team and the IT Department who give us wonderful support throughout the year at our events.

This magazine was designed by Haime & Butler and printed by Lavenham Press. It is produced annually by the Development & Alumni Relations Office, Royal Grammar School Guildford.

Registered Charity Number: 312028. © Royal Grammar School Guildford 2017.

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CONTENTS

34

THE OG INTERVIEW: THE RIGHT HONOURABLE LORD JUSTICE SALES

46

SIMON BLANCHFLOWER: TRANSFORMING LONDON’S TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE

48

SERGEI BOEKE: RESEARCHING CYBER SECURITY

06 SCHOOL NEWS To the class of 2017 Academic Achievements RGS Boys: Where Next A snapshot of the 2017 leavers The Headmaster’s Address A Year in the Life of the RGS...

Building for the Future First Steps to the Moon...

RGS Partnerships: RGS & Kings College The RGS: Our International Partnerships RGS In Qatar: An Update Learning Habits: A Philosophy – Professor Guy Claxton Sport at RGS

06 07 08 09 10 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 32

34 OG COMMUNITY The OG Interview: The Right Honourable Lord Justice Sales OG Events Transforming London’s Transport Infrastructure Researching Cyber Security Gentleness: Thought for the Day Back to School TEDx Guildford 25 Years in the Making: The OG Relationship at the Heart of the Changing Face of Eyecare in the UK Q&A: Ten minutes with...

RGS Connect

34 38 46 48 50 52 54 56 58 59

60 OG NEWS

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: A VISIT TO THE CHAINED LIBRARY

OG News from Around the Globe Forthcoming Events RGS Calling Besisahar The Tudor Collection OG Sports Report Obituaries The Beckingham Society The Games Room From the Archives Grammar School Days: A Poem The Games Room Answers Friends of the RGS The Development and Alumni Relations Office

60 71 72 73 74 80 82 84 86 88 89 90 91

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DIALOGUE Issue #2 2017

The RGS Old Guildfordian Magazine

THE VIEW FROM HERE

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DIALOGUE Issue #2 2017

SchoolNews

To the Class of 2017 On behalf of OGs everywhere, congratulations on your results and all the best for the next chapter of your lives. Welcome to the community.

To find out where our most recent RGS leavers have gone to university, see overleaf.

The RGS Old Guildfordian Magazine

2017 A LEVEL RESULTS

% 100 7

PASS RATE

07

% 78

OF THE GRADES SECURED AT A* OR A GRADE

IN 7 SUBJECTS – INCLUDING ART, ENGLISH AND MUSIC – EVERY CANDIDATE RECEIVED AN A* OR A GRADE

The RGS was again ranked in the top three all-boys schools in the country

% 37

TOP 3

OF ALL GRADES WERE A*

boys achieved the extraordinary accolade of a clean set of A* and A grades ( 132 boys in the year group)

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM 2016/17 Academic development is much broader than grades and percentages. Once again RGS boys have nurtured and pursued their interests with notable success over the last twelve months.

RGS students continued to enjoy phenomenal success in the Mathematics and Science Challenges and Olympiads. Joshua Cudby OG 2017 and Cameron Gibson OG 2017 were top scorers in the Senior Maths Challenge; Callum Spencer OG 2017 and Thomas Spackman OG 2017 were awarded Top Gold in the British Physics Olympiad (top 50 in the country); Joshua Cudby OG 2017 was in the top 55 in the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge and won a Roentgenium Award.

A School record of 18 students were awarded their CREST Gold Award. Rory Hyatt OG 2017 and Oliver Platt OG 2017 advanced to the final of the prestigious Big Bang UK Young Scientists and Engineers Competition. At the competition the RGS Team won the IMechE Award for Engineering Design for their project, Remote Sensing of Hot-Tapping incidents.

COCK HOUSE CUP WINNERS The Cock House Cup is awarded to the RGS School House which has received the most house points throughout the year. These include everything from drama to chess, reading to rugby, and dragon boat racing to debating.

2017 Powell

Matthew Leslie (U6) won the prestigious Land Economy essay competition held by Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. Nicholas Ratcliffe (U6) won their inaugural Architecture competition, designing an extension for the College Library.

Two of our Young Enterprise Teams achieved great success across the board at national and regional level.

Edmund Milton-Seall (U6) won the acclaimed Arkwright Design Technology Scholarship. Luke Kelly (U6) received the award from The Furniture Makers’ Company in The Schools Design Prize.

Oliver Perkins (Fifth Form) published an online book entitled The Message of the Clouds, investigating how to use clouds to forecast the weather; the book is receiving rave reviews.

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RGS BOYS: WHERE NEXT

TOP20

2017 destinations by university

The Class of 2017 Bursary As the Class of 2017 head off into the next chapter of their lives, they are helping to open the door for a new RGS boy. Giving £7 per month for seven years, gifts from their families have secured a 15% bursary. In 2024, we will ask the Old Guildfordians from the Class of 2017, by then aged 25, to take over their family gifts to allow their bursary to help another bright local boy. On behalf of the boy able to take up his RGS place this September – thank you to the Class of 2017 and their families.

St Andrews 1

Edinburgh 1

Durham 8

Hull and York Medical School 1 / York 3 Central Lancashire 1

Keele 1

Leeds 2

Nottingham 6 Loughborough 2 Leicester 1

Birmingham 9 Warwick 1

UEA 1 Cambridge 13

Swansea 1 Oxford 6 Bristol 9 Bath 11

Royal Holloway 1 Imperial 5 / KCL 2 / UCL 7 St Georges Medical School 1 Reading 1

Exeter 11

Portsmouth 1 Southampton 3

22 boys have gone on to either study internationally or have chosen to travel, explore personal interests, gain professional experience or set out on their chosen career path.

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A SNAPSHOT OF THE 2017 LEAVERS MAX JAMES (SCHOOL CAPTAIN) A level subjects: English, Economics, Maths and Further Maths Extra-curricular interests: Playing 1st team rugby, football and cricket for the School was something I’m proud of, and I have a keen interest in sports statistics.

What are you doing this coming year: Gap year, working at a couple of different banks, and some other part time work. Potentially some travelling.

Post university ambition: I would like to get involved in finance, and try and make my way in the City.

ROB LILLIE (DEPUTY SCHOOL CAPTAIN & YEAR GROUP REP) A level subjects: Maths, Physics and Geography Extra-curricular interests: Mountain biking, reading, playing sports and keeping fit, cars and gaming. Enjoyed taking part on the Cambodia expedition, learning to ski on the School trips, 1st XV rugby, open days and School tours, being on the Yearbook committee, helping to produce the Charity Day video.

What are you doing this coming year: Masters in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering with Engineering Management at Southampton University (MEng).

Post university ambition: Gain my Chartered Engineer status and my MBA, combine both business and engineering in my career path.

ROB FRASER

PATRICK CROGHAN

ALI BAUMANN

A level subjects: Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Art & Design Extra-curricular interests: Part of the RGS team for the 2016 Student Robotics Challenge where we came first in a field of more than 40 schools. The competition required building and programming a robot to independently complete a series of tasks.

Passionate about my art and have used this in both set design for School plays and producing pieces for the School’s Illustroetry event. Interests outside School include painting and programming. Two-time winner of the junior category of the Warhammer Golden Demon painting competition and self-taught programmer. Have developed my own games programs and published some on the Google Play Store. Have also used computing skills in my art work to create ‘virtual galleries’ and animated pieces.

What are you doing this coming year: Studying Computer Science at Cambridge and hopefully finding time to keep up with my painting.

Post university ambition: To work in the software industry ideally something that combines my interests in art and computing.

A level subjects: Chemistry, Biology and Maths Extra-curricular interests: Sailing – was part of the UK National Youth Squad last year and competed in lots of national and international competitions. Competed for the School for seven years in Team Racing (2nd and 5th nationally in recent years), becoming double school’s national champion with James Dickinson (U6) along the way. Also Yacht racing on the Solent with RGS, winning the Solent Cup both times we entered it. Finally, took part in Match Racing (1v1) at Weymouth this year, beating many university and semi-pro teams to finish top school at the winter match racing event.

What are you doing this coming year: Medicine at University of East Anglia and maybe UEA sailing team.

Post university ambition: To be a doctor as soon as possible. Also to win the World Sailing match racing tour at some point in later life – this is the pinnacle of match racing in sailing and comes with a healthy £1million!

A level subjects: French, Latin and Music Extra-curricular interests: Football, tennis, cooking and baking, orchestras and choirs.

What are you doing this coming year: Gap year – September to December I will be working at St Thomas Choir School, New York. Hopefully finding work for the remainder of the academic year.

Post university ambition: Potentially music (orchestras) although may have to do something else in order to get a decent salary!

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The Headmaster’s Address On the occasion of Senior Prizegiving, Thursday 28 September 2017, at Holy Trinity Church, Guildford.

Lord Justice Sales, Mr Mayor, Madame Mayoress, Chairman, Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen. Thank you for celebrating Prizegiving with us, and particular thanks to our esteemed guest, Sir Philip – an Old Guildfordian of the highest repute.

It has been a very busy term already. Since the start of term, just three weeks ago, we have had 36 sports fixtures, 14 assemblies, our Commemoration service at the Cathedral, a choir and orchestra concert, the Societies Fair, a Model United Nations conference, three visits from local primary schools, a Geography field trip, a visit to the National Gallery, a meeting for Heads of Economics, the Parents’ Association dinner, an Old Guildfordians’ reunion, and we won the Eton Chess Tournament against 52 other schools. I think it’s called ‘hitting the ground running’.

perpendicular to the High Street with courtyards between them. Our plan is to construct a roof over both courtyards, one to become a study area linked to a new library on the ground floor, the other to become an extension of the dining room which will also be moving to ground floor.

But before we do that, we are putting another floor on the top of the middle corridor. And because of its central location the building work is, unfortunately, very intrusive. In the spring, when concrete foundations were being removed with pneumatic drills and deep piles were being driven, it wasn’t the most pleasant of experiences. Then came the two months of blissful silence during the public examination period, before the noise commenced again the day after the examinations had finished.

We can afford to be a bit eccentric, a bit unusual – if not, we settle for the ordinary and that is not the RGS. We have also been busy welcoming prospective RGS boys and their parents to a series of Open Afternoons; in fact, nearly 150 visitors have looked around the School in the past three weeks alone. Just before I send the families off on tours with one of our boys, I warn them that the New Building currently looks like a building site.

One could be forgiven for thinking that this is the usual description of a school of 950 untidy boys. But, in our case, it really is a building site as we construct the next phase of our building development.

The name of our New Building is a slight anachronism; it is sixty years old, which is why it is the current focus for development. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the layout of the New Building, we have three corridors

We are hopeful that such disruption is now behind us, and we look forward to the construction of our new facilities before our very eyes right in the heart of the School.

We have always been fortunate to have been granted the means to develop the physical aspects of the School when such developments were sorely needed. The Tudor building was built in the late sixteenth century, at the time of the Spanish Armada, using reserves prudently established by the trustees, supported by the Austen family. The science facilities (now our Art Department) and gymnasium (now our Sixth Form Centre) were financed through the sale of some of the School’s endowments in Victorian times. The purchase of Allen House and the building

of its replacement, our New Building, were funded through generous local authority grants. And in the modern era, the purchase of the school buildings when the School reverted to independence, the development of the sports hall, the Art Department, the Sixth Form Centre, the Music Department and, most recently, the John Brown Building, have come about due to the prudent financial management of our Governing Body.

And here we are again, looking forward to the current phase of building development which will provide us with some wonderful facilities. A new Learning Support Suite, study areas and breakout spaces, a large seminar and exams room, admin offices and, most exciting, purposebuilt Modern Language facilities consisting of nine MFL classrooms, a base for languages teachers and a new Language Lab. It is a sad fact that the opportunities to study a modern foreign language at secondary school and at university are diminishing year on year. At the last count, less than a quarter of state schools now offer languages as a compulsory subject at GCSE and universities are closing their modern language faculties at an alarming rate. We are proud of the fact that modern languages continue to be at the heart of our curriculum and that the number of boys studying languages at A Level and onwards to university has increased over the past few years. In today’s global workplace, such language skills are to be valued. Former US President, Bill Clinton, is quoted as saying, “in the global world of work, the mono-lingual CV will be at the bottom of the pile”. What better way can we support the linguistic education of RGS boys than to provide exceptional facilities in which to learn.

And that vision is at the heart of every building development at the RGS. We are not in an ‘arms-race’ of construction with

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Building relationships with our local schools is an essential part of our vision for the future. other independent schools, to build the most visually impressive new structure.

What is important to us in every plan for the future, is the positive effect which our developments have on the learning and experience of RGS boys. I would like, at this stage, to thank most sincerely, Mrs Creedy, the Chairman of Governors, Mr Peel, Chairman of the Finance Committee and all the members of the Governing Body, who have shared in our vision for the RGS of the future – an environment which will give our students every opportunity to make the most of their many gifts and talents.

It may not come as a surprise to you that I have caught the ‘building bug’. We are excitedly discussing the next phase of development, creating a study atrium in the East courtyard with a beautiful glass roof. Some would say that it is very easy to catch the ‘building bug’ if one’s office is isolated from building works on the other side of the High Street. And, to a certain, extent, that is true – but I have seen the wonderfully invigorating effect that our recent building developments have had on the life of our school, and I’ve seen similar benefits at other schools which have been brave enough to take the plunge and build right in the centre of their institutions. The American entrepreneur, Jim Rohn, avowed that “Whatever good things we build, end up building us”. Trust me, the disruption will be worth it.

Our current building development is not the only construction project over the past year. Our school in Qatar has also been

developing new facilities as it expands in numbers. We have supported RGS Guildford in Qatar through the first year of its existence. It has not always been plain sailing and we have faced some trials and tribulations along the way, but we are pleased to have made a difference to the educational landscape in Qatar. I was privileged to visit our Qatar school in May. I was very taken by the educational progress being made there and by the quality of teaching and learning on display.

And I am pleased to report that RGS boys here in Guildford are already benefitting from this project, in that a number of boys joining the School this September were able to do so because of bursary money resulting directly from our new school in Qatar. I’ll come back to the issue of bursaries a little later.

You will have in front of you a review of the 2016-17 school year and thank you to Mr Pressley and Mrs Sweet for creating another excellent booklet. It would take a

couple of hours to describe, even briefly, all the events and achievements of last year and I am minded that ‘no-one ever complains if a speech is too short’. So I will just focus on a few highlights that meant a lot to me personally.

I was delighted by our public exam results this year. Last year’s were, of course, a record for the School and one is always slightly surprised when one doesn’t trump that figure, but there is no getting away from the fact that our boys have done themselves and the School proud by the quality of their exam performances. The new linear A Level specifications mean that it is very difficult to compare this year’s results with previous years but we were pleased to achieve an A*/A percentage of 78.5% and a ranking of 14th in the country. More importantly, our pupils achieved the grades they needed to go on to the very best universities. The grades attained by the Fifth Form were also extremely impressive. In Mathematics

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We now need to aim for the Moon, so that every boy who deserves a place at the RGS can attend irrespective of financial circumstances. and Latin, over 90% of entries were at A* and no boy achieved less than an A grade.

Such results enabled the boys to make a very smooth transition to the Sixth Form, studying the subjects of their choice. Well done to you all.

This time last year we released our first ever promotional video. It is very hard to condense the spirit of an institution into just a couple of minutes but I knew that Mr Pressley and Mrs Sweet had come up with something very special when, within hours, we were deluged by positive reviews on the internet. After the first viewing by staff, many were actually very emotional about what they had just viewed, and told me how much the video had meant to them. That emotion and passion was also evident at a very busy Open Morning last October when, for the first time ever, we had to deal with a prospective parent who had been so overwhelmed by the School on her visit that she was in floods of tears. I am delighted that the RGS stirs such emotions in people. We are passionate about what we do here and to be able to convey that passion, when we open the school gates to the public or through video and social media is a real privilege. We were delighted, therefore, to win Best Facebook Performance by an Independent School 2017 in this year’s Edurank Media Awards.

All independent schools have a strong online presence these days but I am very thankful that prospective families still want to visit the School and last year alone, in addition to Open Morning in October,

we held 32 Open Afternoons, welcoming over a thousand visitors to the RGS on a normal school day to see us in action. We continue to be a very popular choice for parents and, with the demographics for Surrey showing a significant increase in the number of children needing school places over the next decade, I am confident that this demand will increase still further.

My personal highlights from the musical year? It’s a case of where to start, really.

The Concerto Concert, where, among others, Alistair Baumann played Elgar’s Cello Concerto with the Southern Pro Musica, Faure’s Requiem, the Musician of the Year competition won by pianist Simon King, evensong at Merton College, Oxford, open-air performances of Dido and Aeneas in the Quad and in July I was privileged to listen to the joint RGS-GHS choir sing mass in St Mark’s Basilica, Venice.

Last week I had a visitor to the Chained Library. As we sat drinking a cup of tea, our discussions were made all the more pleasurable because they were accompanied by the sound of Schubert’s Trout Quintet. It was so beautifully played that my visitor asked if we had some visiting musicians on site. He was astonished when I told him that he was listening to RGS musicians and that the pianist, Ruben Berstecher, was a Fourth Former. Sometimes one needs a gentle reminder from a visitor as to how wonderful the music is at the RGS. I have particularly enjoyed this year’s drama productions. The senior play was

Another Country starring Sam Reeves and Ben Hawken as public school boys struggling with the realities and cruelties of public school life in the 1930s. On a much lighter note, the junior play was The Thwarting of Baron Bolligrew, a ripping yarn of knights and dragons starring Ellis Baker and Jack Gamble. Smaller, and more intimate, was the Modern Languages Department’s production RGS Linguists and Other Animals in which Nick Hall gave an exceptional depiction of a paranoid madman – in Chinese. And our joint musical, West Side Story, with the High School showcased the talents of so many, and was proof, if any were needed, that teenage boys can dance. The star of the show was Myles D’Angelo, who surprised us all with his formidable singing and acting talent.

On the sports field, the endeavour shown by the boys is never less than 100% and they should be very proud of the successes they have achieved this last year. Playing sport encapsulates the skills which we are trying to inculcate in every RGS boy. That ability to work as part of a team, to be humble in success, to be accepting of defeat but resilient enough to bounce back. This spirit was perfectly encapsulated in the last two weeks by our 1st XV. Following a desperately disappointing defeat to Reed’s School where, after coming back from a deficit to lead by two points, they succumbed to a drop goal on the last play of the match, they picked themselves up and played magnificently to beat Caterham by 38–0 and a very good Wimbledon College team on Saturday by 16–3. If our

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boys can summon up that spirit to support each other through defeat and triumph, it will stand them in very good stead for the future. Congratulations to them, to our exceptional Sports Department and to our grounds staff without whom we could not run such an extensive programme of fixtures. To have one’s rugby pitches described as ‘carpet-like’ by a sports journalist this week is a great accolade to our Groundsman, Russell King, and his team.

The opportunities for boys to acquire those important habits of learning which will hold them in good stead in their lives don’t just come from the classroom, the sports arena, or the stage. The Field Day experiences, the chance to debate, to be a part of a Model United Nations delegation, to listen to King’s Lectures, to engage in research in support of a CREST award or an Independent Learning Assignment – these are just as important.

A new initiative in the Lower School was the Creative Disruptors programme, where boys were encouraged to become entrepreneurs. Their ideas were extraordinary, ranging from an ultrasound mosquito repellent, to a rechargeable banish box to encourage naughty children to behave, a fold-up table, a keyless lock, and a tent for homeless people made from carrier bags. With such great creativity, it was no surprise that, at the Dragons Den Project Final at Somerset House in London, RGS teams took the top two spots in the competition.

Our senior entrepreneurs were also highly successful this year. Young Enterprise company Go Billou published a foreign language cookbook which won the Guildford Dragons’ Den, the Y-Factor competition, West Surrey Company of the Year and Best Surrey Business, and they represented Surrey in the Regional Final.

Another company, Zenith wrote and published a GCSE revision guide which was so good that we bought a copy for every boy in the Fifth Form. Mrs Griffiths was instrumental in our Young Enterprise success and she also instigated and coordinated the Creative Disrupters project.

A particular thank you to her.

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playing schools. Such a successful year is richly deserved by the boys but also a great tribute to the hard work of Mr Thorn and I would like to thank him, personally, for all he does for the RGS. This School runs on the energy of the boys.

I was often in school during the summer holiday and, even though there are people on site, particularly with the on-going building works, the RGS felt very empty, without soul or spirit, without life. That changed on the 6 September when 950 spirited young men returned to the School.

But the School also runs on the energy of the staff who are willing to give up their

The RGS is about academic excellence, about high aspiration, about opportunities and experiences, about scholarship in the sense of intellectual curiosity.

Chess has always been popular at the RGS and we are very lucky to have some of the strongest young players in the country at the RGS. They come to this school because they know we take our chess very seriously and Mr Thorn’s contribution to chess at the RGS is the main factor. He can be very proud of the fact that RGS has a number of pupils who represent Great Britain, and the fact that we have two National Chess Champions this year, Armadip Ahluwalia and Harry Grieve.

In July, the RGS team became National Schools Chess Champions for the first time, against 15 of the country’s top chess-

time and effort because they believe passionately in what we are doing here.

Every pupil activity has to be overseen and managed by members of staff, whether that be a lunchtime rehearsal, a sports practice or a trip overseas and I am very grateful to them for their selfless contribution. Last year saw school trips to a host of destinations ranging from an afternoon of fieldwork on the River Tillingbourne to a four-week expedition to teach at our partner school in Cambodia.

In addition, RGS boys visited New York and Washington, NASA in Florida, Berlin, Madrid, Sri Lanka, Rome, Naples, Bormio,

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Tenerife, Cordoba, Nice, Iceland and the battlefields of France. It is an extraordinary fact that, during this year’s Easter holiday, a third of the Common Room were away accompanying boys on school trips.

of 2017, put into special measures by Ofsted. As an associate member of Guildford Education Partnership (GEP), our local multi-academy trust who have just taken on the management of Kings, I felt it

We believe in the excellence of our educational provision and we want to share that good practice so that others can benefit from our expertise.

I would like to thank all my staff for their energy and for all their talents and idiosyncracies which they share with pupils and with each other. We have expert musicians, athletes, artists, singers, poets, composers, photographers, conservationists, poker players, sailors, yoga exponents, scuba divers and swing dancers. Ours is a job which thrives on personality. When you bring such interesting people together, it is no wonder the School is a place of energy and excitement. It is a real privilege to work with you all. I love your eccentricities and the skill with which you bring those eccentricities into the classroom to make learning fun and inspirational. We can afford to be a bit eccentric, a bit unusual – if not, we settle for the ordinary and that is not the RGS. Nowhere was the calibre of our staff more obvious than in their response to our new partnership with Kings College, Guildford.

Kings is a state school which has struggled for many years and was, at the beginning

appropriate for me to investigate, with GEP, ways in which we could support Kings. As a result of those discussions, a new partnership was established between the RGS, GEP and the University of Surrey, to provide meaningful assistance to Kings to get it out of special measures. When I asked for volunteers from the Common Room just before the Easter holidays, I received offers of help from 21 members of staff. We provided science revision courses in the run up to the GCSEs and we are now in discussions with Kings as to how we can best assist them in the future.

It is right for the RGS to share its expertise in encouraging academic enquiry and aspiration with those who are less fortunate. And I feel very proud to be engaging in this project. Building relationships with our local schools is an essential part of our vision for the future.

You will have noticed that the theme of this address is building. Building facilities, building our public profile as a school, building opportunities and learning habits

for our boys, building relationships with our local partner schools.

Also important to me is building our bursary provision. We have made great strides in this respect over the past ten years. One in fifteen of our pupils is on bursary support, getting on for 8% of our pupils. But our ambition, which I have stated on a number of occasions over the last couple of years, is to become completely needs-blind – to have merit-based open access within 20 to 30 years. We have no endowments, we used most of our endowment money to build classrooms in Victorian times and, consequently, we need to raise money to create an enduring bursary fund. This will be a significant challenge. When, in 1961, John F. Kennedy announced that the United States would land a man on the Moon many thought it was impossible. But a team of great talent got together and in just eight years the ‘impossible’ was achieved. The RGS has made huge strides over the past ten years regarding bursaries, we have, perhaps, achieved the equivalent of putting an astronaut in low-earth orbit. We now need to aim for the Moon, so that every boy who deserves a place at the RGS can attend irrespective of financial circumstances. It’s a long-term project but we are starting to track a course whereby we can transform admissions to this school.

We have exciting times ahead. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the success of the School over the past 12 months. To our talented boys, who make this such an energetic and thriving

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establishment; to you, the parents, for your continued confidence in us to educate your sons; to our Governors, for having the courage and vision to engage in so many exciting projects; and, finally, to the staff, who are the guardians of our ethos, who gently imprint that ethos on all who work and learn here, and who are such fun to be around.

The RGS is about academic excellence, about high aspiration, about opportunities and experiences, about scholarship in the sense of intellectual curiosity. But above all, it is about relationships. The boys’ relationships with each other, their relationships with us as staff, and our collaboration, as staff, with each other. Sir Anthony Seldon, the former Master of Wellington College, wrote in The Daily Telegraph a couple of weeks ago that “Teachers have ten years before robots take over”. I couldn’t disagree with him more emphatically – because teaching is about caring, sympathising, advising, encouraging and inspiring. Learning isn’t just receiving information, it’s about sharing, excitement, enrichment, fun and taking the odd risk – characteristics which are promoted inside and outside of the classroom. Robots may be able to teach, but to inspire a young person takes a human, and a very skilful human at that. And our staff have the skills to encourage RGS boys: – to be strong, but not rude or over-bearing; – to be kind, but not weak; – to be bold, but not a bully; – to be thoughtful, but not indolent;

– to be humble, but not timid; – to be proud, but not arrogant; – to take setbacks, and to respond positively to them, – to have humour, but not folly.

These are the characteristics (more important, I dare say, than A*s) which will prepare RGS boys for their lives in the future. We are building at the RGS – in so many ways. But our most important building project is building fires in our boys. And every day at school we add more fuel so that, at just the right moment, we can light the match and stand back. And the results are extraordinarily exciting.

We have a wonderful school because of the input of each and every one of you and I thank you all for playing your part in building the RGS of the future.

Thank you for listening.  Dr JM Cox Headmaster (Reproduced in full)

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Learning isn’t just receiving information, it’s about sharing, excitement, enrichment, fun and taking the odd risk – characteristics which are promoted inside and outside of the classroom.

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DIALOGUE Issue #2 2017

A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF THE RGS...

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DIALOGUE Issue #2 2017

2016/17 has seen the completion of the second phase of the nine-stage building development plan for RGS and Lanesborough, creating a wonderful and much needed new learning space, the John Brown Building. The third phase is now underway and is set to be completed by the end of 2018.

Phase Three: architects impression

Building for the future

The RGS Old Guildfordian Magazine

The completion of the John Brown Building and the glass bridge linking it to the New Building marks an exciting phase for the RGS, providing a dynamic new learning environment for all RGS boys, irrespective of their academic interest and passions. The new building includes a stunning Design & Technology Centre, as well as creatively-designed classrooms and collaborative working spaces filled with natural light which house the Classics, Economics, History and Politics departments.

The care and attention to detail which have gone into every aspect of this project reflect the importance of delivering a building which inspires and connects the RGS to the wider community: from the views across the rooftops of Guildford – including such iconic landmarks as the Cathedral,

Abbot’s Hospital and Holy Trinity Church – to the quotations which adorn the glass panels of each room.

Phase Three continues with the interests of the students firmly at the heart of the strategy: further improving the quality of educational provision and maximising the potential of the RGS town-centre footprint. It includes the creation of a designated Modern Languages department on a new floor above the central spine of the New Building, the development of modern Chemistry labs, new seminar and study spaces and the refurbishment of classrooms along the first floor ‘F’ corridor.

circulation around the School as well as rationalising and improving departmental areas. It will also pave the way for future phases including the creation of a modern Library at the heart of the School.

To find out more about the capital development of RGS and Lanesborough, please contact Development Director, Georgie Grant Haworth: ggh@rgsg.co.uk

Phase Four is planned to start in 2020.

It will incorporate the East courtyard of the New Building into a usable inside area which will increase space, light and

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Developments have been sensitive to the historic environment, juxtaposing traditional stone and brickwork with modern steel and glass structures.

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DIALOGUE Issue #2 2017

FIRST STEPS TO THE MOON… As the Headmaster announced in 2016 and reiterated in his Prizegiving Speech (see p.10) this year, the RGS has set an ambitious goal to be needs-blind within a generation. This means that every bright local boy who earns his place will be able to take it up, irrespective of his family’s financial circumstances.

This vision for the future of RGS Guildford grows out of a specific campaign to widen access, which has taken place at RGS over the last decade. It includes a 57% increase in the number of boys receiving means-tested financial support since 2007. Nearly 40% of our boys now come from state primary schools and we award means-tested financial support to approximately 1 in 15 boys.

Ranging from 10% to over 100% (offering extras for uniform, meals, travel and trips as required), well over a third of the bursaries we offer are transformational, ie. offering fee assistance of 80% of fees or more. Bursaries are funded by the School, the RGS community through the RGS Foundation and – for the first time last year – from RGS Guildford in Qatar. But we cannot go further without the support of Old Guildfordians and the RGS community.

Our 20 for 2020 campaign aims to raise £1million by 2020 to create 20 transformational bursaries.

We have also created an endowment: the Enduring Bursary Fund, to protect the value of those bursaries in perpetuity. Pioneer champions and supporters in the RGS community have now donated and pledged over half of our £1million

total. Together, they are funding 10 of the School’s current 63 means-tested bursary places.

Today, we are asking Old Guildfordians to ‘pass it on’: to talk to other OGs about the School’s aspirations, to spread the word about the availability of bursaries at RGS or to make a gift to the campaign. There are lots of ways you can help us to open the door to RGS for a new generation of bright local boys.

Our very first King’s Benefactors, Kate and Ian El-Mokadem OG 1986 started to sponsor a 100% bursary in September 2017. Of their decision to give, Ian said: “I enjoyed my time at the RGS immensely and I will always be grateful to the outstanding teachers who inspired and taught me. More broadly, Kate and I believe that access to a great education should not be linked to financial circumstances. I am delighted to be able to support a talented young man as he starts his exciting RGS journey and, looking ahead, I hope we can help the RGS to achieve its longer term vision of access based on ability alone.”

Looking more broadly, the boys and families of the Class of 2017 have raised a 15% bursary and we are working with the Class of 1987 to create the first Class of… Bursary, funded by a year group of Old Guildfordians.

If you would like to find out more about our campaign and how to get involved, go online to the Support Us section at rgs-guildford.co.uk or contact Development Director, Georgie Grant Haworth, ggh@rgsg.co.uk / +44 (0)1483 887143

The RGS Old Guildfordian Magazine

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When, in 1961, John F. Kennedy announced that the United States would land a man on the Moon many thought it was impossible. But a team of great talent got together and in just eight years the ‘impossible’ was achieved...

Dr Jon Cox Headmaster

The RGS gave me a free education that provided the platform to build a successful career. I am delighted to make a gift that will open the door to deserving boys so that they can make the most of their talents.

Neil Fitzsimmons OG 1977

100% of every gift made to the School through the RGS Foundation is committed to the RGS Bursary Programme or the Enduring Bursary Fund.

Supporters of the 20 for 2020 campaign give at one of three levels:

• 1509: 10% Bursary • Patron: 1/3 Bursary • King’s Benefactor: 100% Bursary and are joined by more than 100 Friends of the RGS who give anywhere from £5 to £125 per month.

Our immediate target is to raise £1 million by 2020 for the provision of 20 new bursary places and the establishment of an enduring endowment fund.

PASS IT ON.

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DIALOGUE Issue #2 2017

PARTNERSHIPS: RGS & KINGS COLLEGE In December 2016, following a full inspection, Ofsted placed Kings College, Guildford into ‘Special Measures’, rating it ‘Inadequate’ in every category.

RGS Guildford is now collaborating with other local educational institutions to support Kings. Here, we talk to RGS Assistant Headmaster and new Head of Partnerships, Tom Shimell about the latest RGS partnership.

1. What is the RGS relationship with Kings College?

Following Kings being put into ‘special measures’ at the end of last year, the new Kings Principal, Alastair McKenzie, and the Guildford Educational Partnership (GEP), which is the local multi-academy trust responsible for the governance of Kings, approached us to ask if we would form part of an alliance of Guildford institutions to help return Kings College to ‘Good’ in the eyes of Ofsted.

2. What and where is Kings College?

Kings College, Guildford is a coeducational 11-18 secondary school with 336 pupils (current capacity of 1042). Located on the Park Barn Estate in North West Guildford, just five miles from RGS, it opened as Park Barn School in the 1950s, was renamed Kings’ Manor School in 1991 and rebranded again as Kings College in 2000.

3. Why does Kings need support?

Kings is a comprehensive school but, due to its location on the Park Barn Estate, does not have a ‘comprehensive’ intake: over 40% of the pupil body have special educational needs (SEN) against a Surrey average of 8% and more than 40% of pupils are eligible for the pupil premium against a Surrey average of 10%.

The School has experienced severe financial difficulties with just over 330 pupils, despite a capacity of over 1000. In Y7, a year group of 140 places, there are just 54 pupils. Kings was forced to reduce its teaching staff to 32 and maintain a skeleton support staff, with almost all admin done by the teachers.

Working with a committed staff team and building on the success of departments like History, the new Principal has already made a notable difference to the school however, introducing a reading culture, a focus on uniform and increased levels of discipline. This is reflected in the latest HMI report: “Senior leaders are determined to improve the school quickly.

They have taken useful first steps to address the areas identified for improvement at the previous inspection”.

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The rapid progress that has been made in the school is a strong indication and reflection of the whole school focus and drive for improvement.

One of the findings from an external review of Kings College Pupil Premium expenditure as commissioned by Ofsted May 2017

4. Who is involved & how?

The alliance includes Guildford Grove Primary School (main feeder primary), the University of Surrey, the Guildford College Group and RGS Guildford. Our focus is on providing practical help and support, as requested by Kings. The partnership is led by their needs, with all partners responding on the basis of a shared desire to provide the best education we can for pupils in the Guildford area.

The University of Surrey have posted one of their Widening Participation officers to Kings four days a week to work across Kings and Guildford Grove Primary. They have also recruited volunteers from their student body to go into Kings regularly to support students, particularly with numeracy and literacy.

Kings have asked the RGS to prioritise Science (Chemistry, Physics, Biology), English and Maths. We have been asked to provide activities or programmes which will support the teaching and learning of the more able GCSE pupils at Kings, working for A*-C grades – predominantly in Y9-11. In 2016/17, we ran a series of 15 Biology, Chemistry and Physics GCSE revision sessions for their Y11 students. In 2017/18, RGS teachers will also

deliver the extra content in Physics to enable students to study separate Science GCSEs. We will provide teacher buddies for certain subjects, create and share video resource for core GCSE content and provide expertise and advice in several areas, including English Literature trips, author visits and events, photography and marketing and leading PSHME (Personal, Social, Health and Moral Education) sessions. Offers of help have now come from 25 RGS staff.

5. How long will the partnership last?

GEP foresee supporting Kings at least until they exit special measures, which is usually an 18 month to two-year process. 

You can read more about the progress of Kings College, Guildford at kingscollegeguildford.com/ourimprovement-journey

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DIALOGUE Issue #2 2017

RGS: Our International Partnerships 2017 has seen the development of our international educational partnerships in Nepal and Cambodia.

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The biennial RGS Cambodia trip took place this year, and saw 36 boys and six members of staff visit our UWS (United World Schools) partner School, Tiem Kram, and Pea School, another UWS school.

2017 has also seen the continuation of a number of projects with our two Nepalese partner schools in Besisahar, Lamjung Province, a connection which began through Alex Ewart, OG 2003, and the Ewart family. The reciprocal teacher exchange visit by two Nepalese teachers to the RGS and a visit to the schools by three recent OGs, has maintained the strong RGS educational links to the area.

RGS International Links Co-ordinator, Ash Shakeri, reports on these partnerships.

Cambodia

Nepal

Much is often made of the ‘Surrey bubble’ and the need for us all to escape it from time to time to gain a greater perspective on life. This is exactly what 36 Sixth Formers at the RGS had the chance to do in July 2017 through their participation in the School’s biennial visit to Cambodia.

Spending a month there in small groups of 12 allowed the boys to immerse themselves in Cambodian history and culture, whilst developing their leadership and teamwork skills. For a country that underwent so much trauma and bloodshed under the Khmer Rouge, and so relatively recently, it is a fantastically vibrant, positive and welcoming place for travellers to explore.

International Communities week February 2017 saw two teachers from our Nepalese partner schools in Besisahar, Lamjung Province, visit the RGS for 10 days as part of the annual reciprocal teacher exchange programme. Our guests were Bikash Raj Paudel, Deputy Headteacher at Bhu Pu School, and a teacher of Health, Population & Environment, and Purna Devi Neupane, a teacher of Science at Janabikkas Government School.

In addition to sightseeing, the boys got the opportunity to complete a four-day jungle trek; sleeping in hammocks and cooking over open fires. The highlight for most on this part of the trip was swimming under and over waterfalls and ‘enjoying’ the local wildlife; whether that was tarantulas, dinner plate-sized yellow venomous spiders or eight-foot long pythons. The unanimous highlight of the whole trip, however, was teaching in the schools, one of which was built by RGS in 2010. Working for a week in these communities was itself a privilege and real reminder of the numerous privileges most of us take for granted in the West. As one Lower Sixth Former said, “Never have I seen so many people, who have so little, be so happy.” There is much to learn from their keen sense of community and hard work.

Whilst visiting the RGS the teachers managed to meet nearly every boy in a session, from teaching Nepali to leading PSHCE (Personal, Social Health & Citizenship Education) lessons. Our Nepali guests also managed to complete a range of lesson observations, some general and some tailored to match their subject expertise.

This year also saw the launch of the next phase in our partnership with Besisahar: the involvement in the partnership of Tormead School, with a plan to run a joint expedition to Nepal in October 2018. To facilitate Tormead becoming part of the full partnership experience, Bikash and Purna also joined me to deliver a number of sessions at Tormead during the week.

Looking back, I was stunned at how much we managed to fit into ten days and thrilled at the warmth of welcome that our guests received everywhere they went. I finished the week with a much clearer sense of where this partnership can go next and with genuine excitement about the chance we have to improve education in Nepal and give RGS boys a rich cultural experience. Bikash and Purna finished the week exhausted; amazed by what they had seen and somewhat intimidated by the task awaiting them back in Besisahar to improve the educational experience of their students. I would hope that they are reassured by the willingness of all staff at the RGS to help them on this mission. 

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DIALOGUE Issue #2 2017

RGSG IN QATAR AN UPDATE Responding to a demand for high-quality British independent education, in September 2016, the first of the RGSG international schools opened in Qatar.

RGS Guildford in Qatar (RGSGQ), which won the QBBF Best Start-up Business Award in November 2016, now includes a nursery and prep school. In 2017/18, the school has 110 pupils, up from 35 on opening. In due course, the school will grow to include two senior schools – one for boys and one for girls.

RGSGQ is the result of a franchise partnership between RGS Guildford International and a Qatari company, Al-Qamra. RGSGQ is owned by Al-Qamra with the RGS offering advice and guidance on all aspects of School life. The RGS Governors are represented on the RGSGQ board and directors of Royal Grammar School Guildford International (RGSGI) visit Qatar regularly.

Building a school worthy of the RGS name takes time and whilst finances played an important role in the decision to open RGS Guildford in Qatar, reputation and partnership were also key factors. RGSGQ is selective and RGS is committed to maintaining its high standards going forward. The Headmaster has committed the income from RGSGQ to securing the future of our School and widening access in particular. Funds from RGSGQ are already supporting a full 100% bursary at RGS Guildford and it is envisaged that this bursary investment will grow steadily as the Qatar schools reach capacity in five to ten years’ time. 

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“…and it’s goodbye from the RGS.” On 18 May 2018, the law regarding data protection in the UK is changing.

So next Spring, we will be in touch by email or letter to: – ask for your permission to stay in touch in the future – let you choose how we stay in touch – explain what information of yours we hold, what we do with it and how we protect it The new law means that you have to actively ‘opt-in’, even if you have been receiving communications from us for many years. So, if you don’t respond, we’ll stop writing. That means no School or OG news, no reunion invitations, no OG magazine.

Our privacy policy is available now on the Policies & Procedures page of the ‘About the RGS’ section of the School website rgs-guildford.co.uk or you can request a printed copy from Jenny Rothwell on jrr@rgsg.co.uk / +44(0)1483 880665

LOOK OUT FOR OUR LETTER OR EMAIL IN SPRING 2018 AND OPT IN OR MISS OUT!

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DIALOGUE Issue #2 2017

LEARNING HABITS: A PHILOSOPHY – PROFESSOR GUY CLAXTON The following is an edited transcription of Professor Claxton’s speech on RGS learning habits, given to RGS staff and parents in November 2015. The 16 indispensable learning habits can be found at: rgs-guildford.co.uk/about-the-rgs/learning-habits

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ould we not like young people to be taught in a way which improves their overall ability to learn, their learning habits? Obviously part of the job of the School is to cultivate learners – it’s just common sense, isn’t it? Well, it’s actually rather uncommon common sense. Many schools develop their students in ways which seem to diminish rather than improve their students’ mind-sets, they teach their students to be more frightened, less creative and less independent. So the work the RGS is doing is not always such common practice.

Firstly, language. Why are these called learning habits and not learning skills? Because skills are things you can do if you think of it, but they have to be consciously deployed. Habits are things you do all the time without needing to consciously think about it. They are part of what you are.

My work has involved finding out what is learnable about learning. When I was at school no one asked me to comment on the quality of the lessons I was engaging in. Rather than encouraging me to think about the quality of my learning I was told this was cheeky. That is now what I do all the time. I started out as a cognitive scientist and an academic, but the study of learning has become a much bigger part of my work and it is fascinating to work with teachers, pupils and students.

About nine months ago, I found myself at St George’s House in the grounds of Windsor Castle. It is a place

to discuss issues of moral worth. I was presenting at a seminar. The topic was Helping make education fit for the 21st century. A fellow at the seminar told me about meeting a director of a Google think-tank who was trying to imagine what the world would be like in 30 years’ time. The Google man was asked what advice he would give to a 17-year-old. After some prodding, the Google man eventually said he would quite strongly advise not to go into medicine or the law (the copper bottomed jobs!), considered outsourceable already, and more and more so in the future. So what is the best we can do for our youngsters given this level of upheaval?

Jean Piaget (a developmental psychologist and philosopher) was asked for a definition of intelligence and suggested, “to know what to do when you don’t know what to do”. When your stock of knowledge runs out what do you do then?

Intelligence is the ability to “flounder intelligently”.

Are young people being taught in a way which enables them to flounder intelligently or being taught in a way which leads to ‘well-rehearsed performances of understanding’, also known as exam success.

Importantly, the development of academic knowledge (or ‘well-rehearsed performances of understanding’) and of learning habits is not an either-or proposition. Developing students’ ability to learn can be done alongside the accumulation of knowledge and students can be taught in ways which both ensure their academic success and help them stretch their learning habit muscles.

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“Rigour in the curriculum is only part of the solution. A culture that extends rigour beyond the merely academic also needs to be part of the solution. This involves defining the whole person we want to develop, and [designing forms of] accountability that assess schools on a wider basis than the narrow measure of exams.”

John Cridland, ex-Director General of the CBI

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DIALOGUE Issue #2 2017

LEARNING HABITS: A PHILOSOPHY – PROFESSOR GUY CLAXTON

The general view in the educational trade is that grades are necessary but not sufficient. They are extremely important keys to certain doors. But the evidence suggests that once students are through those doors and engaging in whatever lies beyond, usually university or employment, the extent to which they are thriving depends upon other personal characteristics they developed as they went along.

“Achievement tests predict only a small fraction of the variance in later life success. [This is because] they do not adequately capture such characteristics as perseverance, self-control, attentiveness, resilience to adversity, openness to experience, empathy and tolerance of diverse opinions... [These] characteristics have strong effects on educational attainment, but also have additional effects on important life outcomes beyond their effect on schooling... These strengths can be enhanced, and there are proven and effective ways to do so.”

Professor James Heckman, University of Chicago We know that the ability to concentrate and manage one’s attention is as learnable as the muscular skill of a gymnast. Minds are collections of habits which were stretched and strengthened through experience. Educational establishments are very strong at stretching and developing these.

Developing a student’s learning habits has strong, positive effects on educational attainment, but also has additional effects. Heckman’s data supports this and I am convinced that you can develop both, that improving learning habits not only doesn’t damage academic achievement, it improves it.

These habits can be enhanced and there are proven and effective ways to do so. That is very important because if you start paying attention to the process of developing learning habits, some have argued that there must be some conflict between developing habits and grades. Some people have insisted on sticking an oar between grades and habits. Some have assumed that by considering learning habits you are taking your eye off the ball academically. That is simply not true. It is a kind of reaction which is not borne out of Heckman or others’ evidence.

Of course, business people will be familiar with these habits, it is unexceptional to have those expectations. It therefore seems puzzling that schools aren’t doing more to deliver them.

The business of character has always been schools like the RGS’ business, but sometimes that character hasn’t always covered all the suits in the pack, preferring in some cases to leave character to the co-curricular areas of the School. What is new about this kind of language is that this is being cultivated in lessons. You can teach the Tudors in a way, a little at a time, so that they become a little less credulous, a little more critical and a little more empathetic.

Isn’t that useful in a world where you want young people to be sceptical of Wikipedia and other things they read online? To be mindful that there could be alternate perspectives?

I’ve recently watched a teacher ask his students to write three essays based on three different perspectives in history as a way to teach the Treaty of Waitangi in New Zealand. The topic is being used as an exercise machine to help stretch the critical muscles. Is that a contribution to Heckman’s call to develop multiple perspectives? I think one can see in that a training exercise to developing the habit of perspective and a tolerance of diversity. Is that too fanciful? Providing they are getting the marks they need at the same time why would we not want that?

It’s interesting that from all kinds of different angles people are interested in cultivating these values.

There is the philosophical debate and the scientific debate that intelligence is comprised of a constellation of habits.

No less a mind than Lauren Rosen said, “Intelligence is the sum total of your habits of mind.”

Of course, your genes will define a broad envelope as to where your intelligence might lie, but where it lies within that envelope is a product of your experience.

Ideas can spread like viruses, and one virus that has taken hold in some students’ minds is that if you are a bright, intelligent student, that means you don’t make mistakes. That is a highly dysfunctional virus because anything that discourages you from reflecting,

The RGS Old Guildfordian Magazine

drafting and redrafting and from being critical will damage your ability to learn. Beethoven, Einstein and Mozart all made mistakes, if you don’t think this is part of what your work involves then it is obvious that you will shy away from errors. And you won’t flourish at Cambridge if you shy away from errors.

In terms of successfully enabling the gradual accumulation of these habits it is the way that you are taught that is more important than what you are taught.

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Intelligence is the sum total of your habits of mind.

The take home from me is that the how of what you learn is as important as the what you learn, it is the warp and weft of intelligence. The knowledge runs one way, the habits run the other and together they build intelligence.

You can feel the change when a school makes that transition. Shifting from a position where bright and successful means error free, to a school where learning is a challenging pursuit which involves grappling with learning in a way which stretches and strains the learning muscles along the way.

I believe unacceptable levels of students at university are seeking counselling: 10-15%. I believe one of the reasons students are struggling is because they feel fraudulent and feel unable to cope. Because of the way they have been taught, a way which avoids the struggle of learning, the only way they construe this challenge is by feeling ‘unmasked’. But they shouldn’t be upset with themselves, they should be upset with their teachers for not helping them to develop these habits so that they were prepared for the challenge.

Learning habits are not set in stone, the RGS habits are being refined over time as we are learning what works, what small tweaks help steer learning.

The RGS is not experimenting, this is the way that education is going. Mr Gove used to speak admiringly of the Singaporean system and their Pisa score, but if you now go to the Ministry of Education website in Singapore you will see their core ambitions are learning habits. It’s true also in Finland, South Korea and Australia, all top educational systems. They are doing well academically, but are aware they need to do more. 

Guy Claxton is Emeritus Professor of the Learning Sciences at the University of Winchester, a post he took up in September 2008 when he also co-founded the Centre for Real-World Learning (CrL). He previously held the same title at the University of Bristol Graduate School of Education. He has a double first from Cambridge and a DPhil from Oxford, and is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society and the Royal Society of Arts, and an Academician of the Academy of the Social Sciences. Guy Claxton is the author of more than 20 books including the bestselling Building Learning Power. His practical ideas about how to expand young people’s appetite and capacity for learning have influenced educational theory and practice across the world.

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DIALOGUE Issue #2 2017

SPORT AT RGS

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1st Teams Sports Results 2016/2017 Sport 1st XV Rugby Union 1st XI Football 1st XI Cricket 1st XI Hockey

Matches 12 18 15 23

Won 5 2 7 14

Lost 1 5 2 4

Drawn 6 11 6 5

INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS The range of choices of sport available at the RGS – and the specialist coaching on offer – allows the boys to find their passions and pursue their interests at and beyond the School, to regional, national and international success.

EVENTING Joseph Lethbridge (U6) took the top spot at Aston le Walls Horse Trials in the British Eventing 90 on Maris Piper III with a dressage score of 21. Joe and his horse Mr Madagascar also won the BE100 class at Wellington.

FENCING Leo Kamstra (Third Form) wore national stripes in the England Fencing Under 13 Épée in Poland, finishing 22nd of 208 competitors.

HOCKEY Fraser Boulton (U6) was selected for the Wales Under 18 hockey development squad. Josh Powell (U6) was selected to represent England at Under 18 hockey at the UK National School Games. The England team beat all opposition to win the Tournament Hockey Cup and Gold medal.

ICE HOCKEY William Lawson (Fourth Form) was selected for the Under 15 England team.

ROWING Joseph Bryant (Fourth Form) was part of the quad representing the Thames London region which won the Junior Rowing Nationals to be crowned Junior National Champions.

SAILING Olly Perkins (Fifth Form) was selected for the Great Britain Optimist sailing team and was also selected to sail in the GBR Team at the Laser 4.7 World Championships in Belgium in July. Patrick Croghan OG 2017 was selected for the UK National Youth Sailing Squad for 29ers, as he finished third overall at the National Grand Prize down in Weymouth.

SCUBA DIVING Dimitri Perricos (Fifth Form) achieved the status of Master Scuba Diver, the highest level qualification for recreational diving.

SHOOTING In the Imperial meeting Miles HortonBaker (L6) reached the final stage of the Queen’s Prize, a feat which was last achieved by an RGS cadet some 30 years ago. Alex Jones OG 2017 was selected for Surrey and the Home Counties at small-bore, and for Wales at full-bore.

SKIING Marcus Hinton (Fifth Form), Sam Hinton (Second Form), Charlie Aldridge-Bate (Third Form) and George Kemkers (Fourth Form) competed in the English Alpine Championships 2017. All of the boys qualified for the British Championships.

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DIALOGUE Issue #2 2017

The OG interview

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE LORD JUSTICE SALES The Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand

A couple of photographers idle outside, their lenses trained on the steps of the Royal Court of Justice, as I cross the Strand on a hazy afternoon in late July. Summer vacation is a week away and an unhurried air pervades the sun-warmed Victorian Gothic Great Hall. A charming Clerk guides me through labyrinthine corridors away from the law courts and public spaces to the administrative heart of the building. The East Wing includes the offices of the Lord and Lady Justices of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales and I am here to meet one such Justice – Philip Sales OG 1979, member of the Privy Council and, according to the Daily Mail, sometime ‘enemy of the people’.

As the second most senior court in the land, the work of the judges of the Court of Appeal is complex, intellectually demanding and occasionally controversial. With a planet-sized brain, a love of the common law and a healthy respect for history, The Right Honourable Lord Justice Sales is ideally suited to it. In recent years, his name has hit the headlines in connection with high-profile cases, from the plight of Charlie Gard to the contentious 2016 ruling on the ability of new Labour Party members to vote in the Labour leadership election.

Sir Philip’s study is ordered, calm, elegant. When the tea arrives he pours, giving me an opportunity to admire a number of remarkable sculptures on his bookshelves and the view out over the rooftops of King’s College London and across to the dome of St Paul’s. He gives little away, as you would expect from a judge, but admits to “some surprise” at the Daily Mail’s infamous ‘enemy of the people’ headline back in 2016. As a public rebuke to the court ruling that an Act of Parliament was required to trigger Article 50 (following the UK’s decision to leave the EU), it shocked many. It was, he says, a “tense time”, which included a review of the security of the Sales family home by anti-terrorism police. Thankfully, the story soon moved on.

It was not his first time on the front pages. In 1997, Sir Philip’s appointment as ‘Treasury Devil’ to the government, then led by Tony Blair, also caused a stir. The Treasury Devil (more properly known as First Treasury Counsel) is the advocate retained to represent the Crown in the courts in common law litigation – effectively a private practitioner barrister on permanent ‘callout’ to the government’s legal department. Unlike the ‘cab rank’ principle which usually applies to barristers (where you take whatever case comes up next), Treasury Devils are instructed only by the government. “As a barrister”, Sir Philip explains, “… you often have to become an expert in something very quickly. You can become thoroughly conversant with an aspect of life – commodities, trading, whatever – and once the case is gone, you discard it.” The Treasury Devil is a barrister on warp speed, making regular and dramatic shifts from one topic to another.

“Sometimes at the end of the week, I wouldn’t remember what I had done at the beginning; sometimes in a day that could happen, taking four or five meetings on different topics.”

Sir Philip held the position for over ten years, longer than the traditional tenure for the role. It was, he says, “super-stressful” but “fantastic”, combining ´

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SOMEBODY ALWAYS WINS AND SOMEBODY ALWAYS LOSES. IT IS A BIT LIKE PLAYING A GAME – IT IS A FORM OF MENTAL SPORT, BUT HIGHLY STRESSFUL.

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his love of advocacy work and an opportunity to work on the “fringes of politics, with a grandstand view of national life”, including the introduction of the Human Rights Act in 1998. For Sir Philip, the human rights cases were particularly interesting with highlights including the Belmarsh case (antiterrorism and control orders) and the Alconbury case (human rights legislation and the UK planning system), both of which occupy the space between law and government.

It is clear that Sir Philip loves the law, but for him it was a passion that arose relatively late in life and it is thanks to his father Peter Sales OG 1953, that Philip came to it at all. A bright child, and the only boy to go from Bushy Hill to RGS in 1973, Philip was soon moved into what was then the express form at RGS (taking O-levels and A-levels a year early). As a chemical engineer, Peter Sales was keen that Philip do something practical. “My primary interest was in the humanities, which made me a bit of an odd fish in my father’s eyes”, he says. They struck a deal; Philip would give up the violin and take up maths.

“It seemed a good deal to me as I hated the violin and was appallingly bad at it. I am immensely grateful to my father, because I think maths is an excellent foundation for law. It is logically focused, structured. Combined with history, …it makes an excellent base, with the history creating a sense of hinterland, the story of man, which is so essential for working with the law.”

Guided again by his father, Philip went up to Cambridge (Churchill College) to read law in 1980.

“I didn’t think it would be for me, because I am quite shy and found public speaking difficult, but I was incredibly lucky because I enjoyed it from the start… it was so stimulating and I did well and (after the first year) I thought Yes! I am good enough at this and I love the law.” We discuss the parallels between law and the stage. “I am no theatrical barrister,” Philip says, “I am law geek, if you like. I was never performing in court, it was always more like a conversation with the judge. When I received the RGS King’s Tie from former Headmaster Tim Young in 1998, which was a real honour, I had to give a speech at School assembly and, absurdly, it felt the most nerve-wracking thing I’d done in a while.

I barely slept the night before I was so nervous.”

Called to the bar in 1985, Philip was a barrister for 23 years before becoming a High Court Judge in 2008 and a Lord Justice of Appeal in 2014, aged just 53. The shift from advocate to referee is a sharp one and not for everyone. “Barristers are naturally competitive animals. You are in direct competition with another barrister. Somebody always wins and

I would like to have left my thumbprint on the law of this country, to have added in some small way to this living, evolving animal that is common law, to leave something useful for other judges and to have been a part of this tradition that goes back hundreds of years.

A lawyer as public benefit.

somebody always loses. It is a bit like playing a game – it is a form of mental sport, but highly stressful. As a judge in the High Court, you are by yourself; the barristers present to you, advocating for their client.

Your own experience as a barrister is vital. In a court of first instance, you have live witnesses, you are listening, looking, testing evidence, but in the Court of Appeal, witnesses are unusual. The evidence comes packaged from the court below, you are looking at a set of facts.”

The neutrality and independence of the judicial role is perhaps the hardest aspect for non-lawyers to grasp, particularly in an age where opinion is so widely sought and broadcast. I ask Sir Philip how he separates personal feelings from professional work, most particularly in challenging cases like that of Charlie Gard. “If you are a serious lawyer, you are shielded and guided by the law. It works for you personally in the face of the public. You are following in the footsteps of others. That is part of your professionalism, it is an essential element of your job.

Consciousness of your social role is very important.

That key question for criminal lawyers and how they defend someone who they know to be guilty of something horrible; that is the process – the legitimacy of the system that we believe in.”

Sir Philip is interested in the hardwiring of how society works, motivated by the balancing of competing interests and how one finds sustainable solutions. As a young barrister in chambers he started out in employment law, but increasingly took on more commercial and chancery work before switching to judicial review cases when he became Treasury Devil. When he applied for the bench he was appointed as a chancery judge but, unusually, he also did public law (judicial review) about a third of the time. The chancery side is more ‘black letter’

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(referring to the basic standard elements or principles of law, which are generally known and free from doubt or dispute). “Like a crossword puzzle, it is very logical. You read the rules in a statute or a contract... then as a judge, you try to make sense of what it says and apply it to the problem that has arisen between the two sides.

Public law is different, less rigidly black letter, there is more scope for argument in a given context. For example, the right to a family and private life is not black and white, it is open textured and it evolves over time. Applying that legislation on the ground requires more nuance. What unites both chancery and public law, when done well, is a sense of the people that stand behind them.” It is the balance of that detailed analysis and the human impact which is at the heart of Sir Philip’s passion for his job. “I love the common law,” he says, “it is technical, built up over centuries and we are taking it and trying to make it coherent for the current human situation in front of us. Trying to do what is fair.”

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About his own private life, Sir Philip is naturally circumspect. He reads avidly – legal articles, history, politics and philosophy, but “novels are only for holidays”, when he can “properly engage”.

A “modest hiker”, there is now time for more adventurous holidays since his children left home and he and his wife are keen open water swimmers.

I imagine it is an opportunity for his brain to switch off. “Mostly I am just wondering if I can keep up with Miranda”, he says. At 55, Sir Philip has 15 years before retirement. He admits to being ambitious, in “a relatively low-key way”, but when I ask about the future, he diplomatically sidesteps the question, “I’ve plenty of time”. On his legacy, and with a little coaxing, he is clearer. “I would like to have left my thumbprint on the law of this country, to have added in some small way to this living, evolving animal that is common law, to leave something useful for other judges and to have been a part of this tradition that goes back hundreds of years.

A lawyer as public benefit.”

After nearly two hours in Sir Philip’s company my time is up. I am loath to leave; the way he talks about the law, about its living, breathing nature is enlivening and I find myself wondering about paths not taken.

On 28 September, Sir Philip will serve as the special guest speaker at RGS Senior Prizegiving. I am already looking forward to his speech. I find myself again reflecting on the immense value of bringing OGs and current RGS boys together, for the ability to share knowledge, wisdom and passion. Like Emily Young, the sculptor whose work adorns his study in the Royal Courts of Justice, Sir Philip is engaged in a process of revelation, working with a material that seems fixed and immutable but that responds, when handled with skill and care, to reveal something vital, human and beautiful. That Daily Mail epithet could not have been further from the truth. ¾ Georgie Grant Haworth

SIR PHILIP SALES OG 1979 1973

Bushy Hill Junior School

1979

RGS Guildford

1983

BA (Law): First Class Honours - Churchill College, Cambridge

1984

Bachelor of Civil Law (BLC): First Class Honours – Worcester College, Oxford

1985

Called to the bar at Lincoln’s Inn

1997

Becomes First Junior Treasury Counsel

2006

Made a QC

2008

Judge of the High Court of Justice (Chancery Division)

2014

Lord Justice of Appeal, England and Wales

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DIALOGUE Issue #2 2017

OG EVENTS

OGCommunity

With the new programme for OGs taking shape our events over the past twelve months have aimed to engage the entire RGS community, from our newest OGs to our most senior.

Here is a snapshot of the year.

A ‘GOLDEN’ GARDEN PARTY Headmaster’s Lawn, 10 June 140 OGs and their guests were welcomed back to the School to celebrate over 50 years since they attended the RGS. Guests enjoyed Pimms on the Headmaster’s Lawn and afternoon tea in Big School, and were then able to rediscover the Old Building, sharing memories with friends and classmates, some of whom had not seen each other since their days at the RGS.

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OG UNDERGRADUATE DRINKS The Albany, 4 January Over 60 OG undergrads got together for a post-Christmas drink and catch up at The Albany pub in Guildford before heading back to university or gap year projects.

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REUNIONS Over the last year we have welcomed back the Classes of 1986 & 1997 for a tour followed by curry and beers in Big School. The Class of 1987 enjoyed a morning tour and pub lunch in Guildford.

The Class of 1986 – 12 November 2016

The Class of 1997 – 4 March

The Class of 1987 – 10 June

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CAMBRIDGE DINNER Robinson College, 4 February Hosted at Robinson College, in the Crausaz Wordsworth Building, the dinner was a great evening for both OGs and RGS staff.

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LONDON DINNER Langan’s Brasserie, Mayfair, 21 June The London Dinner for OGs was once again hosted at Langan’s Brasserie, Mayfair, with tables from the Classes of 1991, 1995 & 2002. We also welcomed OGs from the Classes of 1957 to 2006 for an enjoyable evening catching up with old friends and RGS staff.

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HEADMASTER’S XI VS OG XI CRICKET MATCH AND RGS COMMUNITY DAY Bradstone Brook, 2 July To support the annual Headmaster’s XI vs OG XI Cricket Match and the start of the RGS Cricket Festival (this year hosted by RGS Guildford) we invited the RGS community of parents, staff, OGs, former parents and former staff to the glorious surroundings of Bradstone Brook. With an exciting cricket match, beautiful weather, a bouncy castle and a bar it was a wonderful day for all the family. See p.74 for a full listing of the team and match report.

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CLASS OF 2017: THE NEXT GENERATION OF OLD GUILDFORDIANS Big School, 8 September Over 100 leavers from the Class of 2017 were welcomed back to the RGS as OGs to collect their yearbook, OG tie, and enjoy a drink with friends and staff.

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DIALOGUE Issue #2 2017

Transforming London’s Transport Infrastructure Simon Blanchflower OG 1981 studied Civil Engineering at Southampton University and is Programme Director for Thameslink, responsible for delivering one of the biggest rail projects of recent years.

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ittle did I think, when I left the RGS back in 1981, that I would be involved in helping to lead the transformation of London’s transport infrastructure. I joined British Rail as a fresh faced 18-year-old on their Engineering Sponsored-Student Scheme and after nine months of basic engineering experience, I took up a place at Southampton University studying Civil Engineering. The terms of the deal were that in return for being sponsored at university, I worked for BR for ten weeks every summer rooting the knowledge that I gained in the reality of maintaining and renewing Britain’s railways. Then, on graduation, I joined BR’s Engineering Graduate Scheme to gain the experience and knowledge I needed to become a Chartered Civil Engineer.

In the ‘80s the country’s railways were still in decline with some routes being downgraded to single lines and very little government investment – it really was an age of make do and mend. It wasn’t until the ‘90s that the picture significantly changed. By then I had left BR and was working for a firm of civil engineering consultants and got a taste for what major rail investment could look like, with work on the design of the Channel

Tunnel Rail Link and West Coast Route Modernisation schemes. But it was in 1997 that I got the break I needed. I went to work at Heathrow, initially on the original Heathrow Express scheme and then leading a team to design the railway systems for the Heathrow Express and Piccadilly line extensions to Terminal 5.

From there it was onto Crossrail to lead the rail systems and operations development team in bringing to life a scheme that had been dormant for far too long.

By then I had got an appetite for working on major rail projects and so when the opportunity arose to join the leadership team of the Thameslink Programme, I leapt at it. Ten years later I am now in my last year on the Programme and can look back on the delivery of some iconic structures, but more importantly, the delivery of a rail investment programme that will transform north-south rail travel across London.

In my early years on the Thameslink Programme I played a key role in securing key planning permissions, including for London Bridge station, and post the 2010 general election worked with the Department for Transport during the comprehensive spending

review to secure the future investment in the Programme needed to see its full scope delivered. Since 2014, I have provided the overall leadership for this £5.1bn programme as Network Rail’s Major Programme Director.

Phase one of Thameslink, completed in 2012, saw the complete rebuilding of Blackfriars station to become the first station to span the Thames, with the new south bank entrance acting as a regeneration catalyst for the area surrounding it. The new ticket hall at Farringdon provides not just for Thameslink services but for future Crossrail services as well, and the re-signalling of the central London section of the route has laid the basis for the implementation of digital technology.

Since 2012, the focus has shifted to London Bridge and its environs. We have successfully rebuilt the fourth busiest station in the country, used by over 50 million passengers a year, whilst keeping it open and, as far as practicable, minimising the impact on customers. It is worth reflecting that when I first started on Thameslink in 2007, only 37 million passengers a year were using London Bridge, which shows the scale of rail

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usage growth, but also the level of challenge we have had to keep the station functioning as well as we have.

But it isn’t just about building an iconic new station at the foot of the Shard to transform the passenger experience. It is also about the connectivity that the new street level concourse, which is the size of the pitch at Wembley Stadium, provides north-south across the station, giving significant benefits to the local business community and aiding the regeneration of the area. Outside of the station itself, we have completely re-signalled the London Bridge area, built a new viaduct through Borough Market and a graded separated junction at Bermondsey that help to untangle the tracks and provide the additional capacity and reliability that is needed for the step up in service planned next year.

However, it is not all about traditional railway infrastructure. The Thameslink Programme is at the forefront of new digital technology. It will leverage additional capacity through the centre of London to give 24 train paths per hour between Blackfriars and St Pancras and will be the first to deploy an Automatic Train Operation system, based on European Train Control System in-cab signalling.

Now, with over 35 years of experience in railway engineering and major project delivery, my thoughts are turning to what I will do when Thameslink is finished next year. As yet there are no firm plans but, unlike when I first started out, transport investment is booming so I don’t believe that there will be any shortage of opportunities. ď Ž Simon Blanchflower CEng FICE OG 1981

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DIALOGUE Issue #2 2017

RESEARCHING CYBER SECURITY

BY SERGEI BOEKE OG 1994

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yber-attacks, hacks and data-leaks regularly make the headlines. In May 2017, over 40 NHS hospitals were struck by a ransomware called ‘WannaCry’. A month later, another type of ransomware briefly disabled Maersk, the world’s largest shipping company, and hit many other victims across the globe. Cyber security has been a hot topic for several years, and shows no sign of abating. This is reflected by a huge shortage of IT professionals.

Computer wizards do not need to find a job: a good job will generally find them.

Next to technical specialists, cyber security understanding at a strategic level is also in high demand. Companies and organisations need employees who can translate complex ‘cyber’ issues into language and policy choices that directors and board members are able to understand. This, in short, is the field I have been working in for the last four/ five years. I had certainly not expected to work on this topic when I left the RGS in 1994. At that time I still had trouble switching my computer on; today’s digital natives find it difficult to switch theirs off.

After A-levels, I chose an unusual path: I joined the Royal Netherlands Navy.

Upon completing three years of officer training I studied law in Amsterdam and enjoyed the rather luxurious but perilous combination of student life with an officer’s salary. Having obtained my law degree, I immediately distanced myself from anything legal, fearing that a shortage of military lawyers would lead me to a stuffy desk job. In the end I was posted to several warships, completed mountain and arctic training with the marines in Norway and was deployed

with a Marine battalion to Southern Iraq in 2003. After 12 years in the Navy, I moved to the diplomatic service. While I enjoyed a short stint in Tehran and the political element of diplomatic work, I was accustomed to a military culture where much is said using few words. In diplomacy, of course, the inverse often applies. Missing the aspect of teamwork, I moved to military intelligence where I became deputy head of a large Afghanistan/Pakistan team. In 2008, around 2000 Dutch troops were deployed to the Afghan province of Uruzgan, and more than 8000 British soldiers in neighbouring Helmand. It was a great time to learn how the world of intelligence and espionage functions, even though things in Afghanistan have since not turned out as many had hoped.

A nine month course at the Ecole Nationale d’Administration (ENA) in Strasbourg broadened my horizon beyond the ‘intel bubble’, and significantly improved my French in the process. With defence cuts again looming – a recurring theme during the past twenty years – I decided to switch to academia. In 2013, I joined the University of Leiden, Holland’s oldest university (but still a few years more junior than the RGS). My initial research focus lay in the field of counterterrorism, and I discovered many parallels between the work of an intelligence analyst and an academic researcher. The main difference was that at university I had to set up my own information infrastructure to obtain data and had much less time to write articles/reports, but that, worryingly, these were subsequently read by many more people. When the university decided to set up the Cyber Security Academy (CSA) in The Hague,

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After leaving the RGS in 1994, Sergei served in the Royal Netherlands Navy as an officer and later joined the diplomatic service of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Moving back to the Ministry of Defence in 2008, he was involved in supporting the Dutch comprehensive approach mission in Afghanistan. Now lecturing at the University of Leiden his areas of interest include cyber governance/cyber security, and terrorism in the Sahel.

my professor asked if I wanted to join the team. Unburdened by any prior knowledge of the subject I immediately said yes. I have not regretted it since.

There is a large divide in the field of cyber security. On the one hand there are the IT specialists, who think in bits and bytes and for whom a problem generally has one correct solution.

On the other hand there are those from the social sciences (like me), who are used to working with problems that have a multitude of potential solutions, none of which are ideal. Bridging the culture and language gap between these worlds and faculties is not only fun but essential: researching cyber security can only work through a multi- or interdisciplinary approach. There are many other challenges for researchers, including a scarcity of primary source data. When companies are hacked they are keen to keep it out of the news (to avoid nosediving share prices), and governments have a natural reflex to classify anything related to cyber as secret. This is in part because much government cyber capacity has been invested in the intelligence services, and in particular the signal intelligence agencies. My background in the national security sector has therefore been quite helpful.

My research focuses on cyber security, public policy and international relations.

Fortunately, the academic debate has matured much since the first alarmist pieces on cyberwar that predicted ‘cybergeddon’. Research has become more conceptual, focusing on the influence of cyber in fields such as defence, deterrence and hybrid conflict.

As the provision of public services

becomes more interconnected, and more people attach their appliances to the internet (the so called ‘Internet of Things’), risks for society will further increase. How to mitigate these risks and who should be responsible are extremely policy relevant questions, differentiating our field from a traditional university faculty where old books and abstract theories dominate.

Work is characterised by a bustle of interaction between academia, government agencies and companies.

This is not to say that old books and abstract theories do not apply; a popular approach in academia is to show how something that is perceived as hype actually has a strong precedent in the past. In this field of study a good grasp of history and a fine control of language remain indispensable for crafting a message and then getting it across.

While joining a university mid-career has the advantage of bringing in practical experience, there is also a rather timeconsuming disadvantage to contend with: a PhD dissertation must be completed. Investing in a traditional 400-page doorstopper on a dynamic topic runs the risk of having to rewrite the first chapters once the last ones are finished. In addition, very few people read dissertations anyway, let alone lengthy ones. I am therefore writing several academic articles for peerreviewed journals, to later join them in a coherent research project. Together with a book that I am writing on cyber espionage, there seems to be no shortage of work. From this perspective, I am not at all worried by the growing number of cyber-attacks, hacks and data-leaks. But everyone else certainly should be. 

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DIALOGUE Issue #2 2017

Gentleness

By Jeremy Whittaker This is a reproduction of RGS English Teacher Jeremy Whittaker’s Thought for the Day, given in June 2017. A Thought for the Day is given during each Thursday assembly by a Sixth Form student or member of staff and is a reflection on a weekly theme. Speakers are given the freedom to reflect in any manner which they choose, thereby producing original, diverse, insightful and often topical interpretations of the weekly theme. To see the Thought for the Day archive visit rgs-guildford.co.uk/school-life/pastoral

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e have a nickname for my friend Julian, Gentleman Julian. He is a successful lawyer: strong, competent, not afraid of conflict, but he also has a sort of old-fashioned courtesy about him, a sense that he will always be willing to help those around him, whether by carrying a bag or driving them 30 miles if they have a sudden family crisis. He is a gentleman, and a gentle man. I would like to explore that word ‘gentle’.

Try this: We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile, This day shall gentle his condition; And gentlemen in England now a-bed Shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here, And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.

Some of you may recognise that. It’s from King Henry V

by Shakespeare, and before the Battle of Agincourt Shakespeare has Henry promise that everybody who fights with him that day will be raised to the level of gentlemen.

To be gentle in those days meant to be a member of the gentry, a member of the upper classes. It was thought that there were certain qualities of morality, courtesy and honour possessed by the upper classes, but missing from the dirty, common, vile lower orders. This was very personal to Shakespeare, because his father, the glove maker John Shakespeare, despite his success in business and the respect in which he was held by everybody in Stratford, was not technically a gentleman. There was always a glass ceiling that he couldn’t shatter. Shakespeare enjoyed depicting a King with a vision of a democratic gentleness where the qualities that had been valued in the upper classes and thought to be lacking in the lower classes became open to everybody.

I wonder if we can learn anything from literature about what is really important in life, and what ‘gentleness’ really means?

250 years later Charles Dickens also had a vision of a more democratic view of gentleness. In his novel Great Expectations, the main character Pip, becomes obsessed with becoming a gentleman. He has been raised, as an orphan, by his sister and her blacksmith husband, Joe

Gargery. In his desperation to be accepted as a gentleman, he turns his back on his friends and those who have been kindest to him. He becomes a snob. It is as if the lessons that Shakespeare tried to teach about a more democratic view of gentleness have been lost. After various adventures, at the end of the novel Pip is left bankrupt and extremely ill.

The person who nurses him through his illness until he has recovered, and then slips quietly away, is Joe Gargery. Joe the blacksmith is strong as an ox, loyal, someone who would never use his strength in violence against another human being. At the end of the novel Dickens puns on the word gentle. Pip thinks about Joe, and describes him as a ‘very gentle man’. At last Pip realises that the qualities that really matter are not those that necessarily give you respect in the highest echelons of society. Pip realises that all his life he had the right sort of role model that he should have aspired to in Joe Gargery.

In the Bible, Saint Paul lists the fruits of the Holy Spirit as love, joy, gentleness and self-control. The gentle life he has in mind does not involve scoring points off other people all the time, or seeing life as a constant battle for dominance.

However, it does involve the willingness to stick to your guns when something is important. It prefers peacemaking to power games, and could be mistaken for weakness by those who value wealth and success more than integrity. It involves the sort of loyalty to your friends that Joe Gargery showed to Pip. People with this quality of strength of will without the need to dominate, of firm convictions married to tolerance for others, are very likeable. Literature and film abound with such figures, because writers have seen that they represent something of the best that humanity is capable of. Joe Gargery, Hermione Granger, Master Yoda – possess that quality they do. But there are also plenty of real-life examples. Think of Nelson Mandela or Martin Luther King, or Malala Yousafzai, the schoolgirl shot in the head by the Taliban who has become an activist campaigning for peace and women’s rights. For that matter, think of my friend, Gentleman Julian. Such people have a gentleness about them that is not weakness. That strikes me as a way of life worth pursuing.  Jeremy Whittaker RGS English Department

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AT THE END OF THE NOVEL DICKENS PUNS ON THE WORD GENTLE. PIP THINKS ABOUT JOE, AND DESCRIBES HIM AS A ‘VERY GENTLE MAN’.

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DIALOGUE Issue #2 2017

BACK TO SCHOOL

Tom Cowie OG 2013

We want to say a special thank you to all those OGs who have been back to the RGS over the past year to take part in a variety of activities ranging from King’s Lectures to careers seminars, field days to subject talks. Here is a snapshot.

The RGS Old Guildfordian Magazine

Careers in Engineering: (left to right) Joe Waugh OG 2014, Peter Dunscombe (Director of Studies & Head of Careers and Higher Education) & James Wright OG 2008

King’s Lecture: Dr David Flood OG 1973 & Peter White (Director of Music)

Careers in Finance: (left to right) Peter Smith OG 1989, Jon Dawson OG 2001, David Wright (Head of Economics), Peter Dunscombe & Oliver Bazin OG 2007

Lewis Allen OG 1990

Ken Joyner OG 1941 & family

Sergei Boeke OG 1994

Tim Allen OG 1987 & Dr Jon Cox

Remembrance: (left to right) Top row: Roger Nicklin OG 1966, Pete Wells (CCF School Staff Instructor), Dr Jon Cox (Headmaster), Dominic Masters OG 1996, Andrew Kirkpatrick OG 1991, John Downham OG 1943. Front row: Ken Joyner OG 1941, Robert Strick OG 1949, John Crathorne (former staff), Laurie Weeden OG 1938

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DIALOGUE Issue #2 2017

TED is a non-profit organisation devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less), available online, for free. TED.com is building a clearinghouse of free knowledge from the world’s most inspired thinkers and a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other, both online and at TED and TEDx events around the world.

The TEDx Programme is designed to help communities, organisations and individuals to spark conversation and connection through local TED-like experiences. In April 2017, the RGS was proud to host the launch of TEDx Guildford, in conjunction with Blue Sky (a performance management company based in Shalford).

Titled “Be the Best You Can Be”, the first TEDx Guildford brought together an exceptional group of nine speakers to share their work, vision and ideas, including three Old Guildfordians (see opposite).

In his welcome, the Headmaster said of the event: “TEDx is all about innovation, thinking outside the box, looking at issues from new

and diverse perspectives… and reassessing opinions in light of others. This epitomises the culture we are nurturing among our students at the RGS.” The philosophy of TEDx is very much a community initiative and the RGS was overwhelmed by interest in the event, both from those who wished to participate as speakers and those who wanted to attend the conference.

Organised by RGS Senior Master, Jimmy Pressley, Head of Admissions (Registrar and Marketing), Kathryn Sweet, and current parent and Blue Sky Events Manager, Claire Davies, the event proved to be an inspiring and thought-provoking afternoon for all involved.

You can catch all nine of the “Be the Best You Can Be” TEDx Guildford speakers online at tedxguildford.com

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A platform for thinkers, visionaries and teachers, so that people around the globe can gain a better understanding of the biggest issues faced by the world, and feed a desire to help create a better future.

Thomas Bryans OG 2002: Architecture’s ripple effect: designing for big impact Thomas Bryans is a designer and cofounder of IF_DO, a London-based architecture practice dedicated to creating projects with a positive impact on users, the environment and the surrounding community. The firm constantly seeks to make their projects do more, working to create buildings that are not just beautiful, but that deliver wider social, economic, and ecological benefits throughout their lifespan.

Thomas studied at both the University of Edinburgh and Harvard University Graduate School of Design, where he gained his Master of Architecture.

He has written extensively on issues of architecture and sustainability, and is passionately committed to improving the diversity of the architecture profession.

Henrik Kiertzner OG 1973: The joy of risk Henrik Kiertzner enjoyed a long military career, specialising in Intelligence, before launching into the heady world of corporate and governmental security and risk consulting, in which capacity, among other efforts, he helped develop the London 2012 Olympics security masterplan, designed a border security organisation for a (now failed) state, re-engineered the electronic and physical security infrastructure of a major East Asian gaming and sporting enterprise, advised foreign governments on cyber security and found time to spend three years as IT Director of an international engineering company.

Russell Dean OG 1984: Puppets and perception Russell Dean is artistic director of Strangeface Theatre Company. He is a writer and maker with a particular interest in cognition and what masks and puppets reveal about the way we perceive the world. He has made masks and puppets for Trestle, Geese, Vamos, ITV, Channel 4, and is responsible for the large Mrs Thatcher puppet in Stephen Daldry’s Billy Elliot. After touring nationally and internationally with Strangeface, his recent work has focused on using puppets in workshops with vulnerable adults, families with children in hospices and fathers in prison. He designs and sells masks that are used around the world. Currently he is engaged on a Wellcome Trust funded project exploring the phenomenon of cognitive dissonance via a semi-clothed puppet hitman with obsessive compulsive disorder.

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DIALOGUE Issue #2 2017

25 YEARS

IN THE MAKING: THE OG RELATIONSHIP A T

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In November 2016, Specsavers announced a major investment in a partnership with one of the UK’s largest independent ophthalmology providers to the NHS, Newmedica. This ground-breaking collaboration is linked to an OG relationship that started in Guildford 25 years ago.

In the autumn of 1992, fresh out of RGS, Darshak Shah began a six-month gap year placement at the Eastgate Court, Guildford offices of KPMG, right next to the School and overlooking the playground. Facilitated by RGS Industrial Fellow, Fred Bailey, Darshak was only the second OG to win the coveted placement, following in the footsteps of Tom Pugh OG 1991. Three months in, working as the ‘gappie’ on the audit of a cosmetics

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company, he met Peter Counsell OG 1985 who had joined KPMG in 1988, having spent a summer working for the firm there during his time at Bristol University.

In the typical understated fashion of an RGS boy, Peter notes Darshak had a “very decent brain” and “more of a grip of what was going on than some of the people studying for their accountancy exams”. Peter took Darshak under his wing. As Darshak says, “I was in an environment I didn’t completely fit in to, working with people much older than me and it was very useful to have someone looking out for and guiding you”.

Peter’s mentoring skills came in useful again 18 months later when Darshak left LSE after a year. Having

The RGS Old Guildfordian Magazine

Newmedica’s Darshak Shah (third left) at the announcement of the new partnership with Specsavers

discovered that he “didn’t particularly enjoy the course”, he briefly joined Peter in KPMG’s corporate finance team, by then based in Crawley, while he reevaluated his options. The time out was invaluable, giving Darshak further exposure to another aspect of finance and accountancy and allowing him time to earn a place on the newly launched Economics and Management course at Trinity College, Oxford.

The two fell out of touch until an OG London Dinner in 2006. In the interim, Darshak had travelled the world as a management consultant and met a Bristolbased eye surgeon called Jeremy Diamond. Together they founded the Consultant Eye Surgeons Partnership (CESP), out of which Newmedica grew. Peter, meanwhile, had left KPMG to found his own corporate finance firm, Meta.

Newmedica now operates from 25 sites across England which include community and GP sites, NHS Trusts, private hospitals and mobile clinical units. The services that it delivers covers a wide range of ophthalmology, including outpatients and surgery, adult, paediatric and neonatal ophthalmology. Set up in 2007, specifically to clear a backlogged waiting list for Bristol Eye Hospital, Newmedica were quickly fielding calls from other hospitals keen to see the same results.

The company soon needed capital investment and Darshak turned to Peter. Nothing came of those early conversations, but a few years later Peter and Meta stepped in to help negotiate the buyout of Newmedica from CESP by Darshak, Jeremy and two other doctors.

It was a challenging time, balancing financial issues with personal and professional relationships.

process with financial investors, conversations were also initiated with interested parties in the eyecare sector. One of these was Specsavers. Selecting the right partner was an iterative process between Newmedica and Meta, working towards an opportunity that would deliver on all the factors that mattered to the Newmedica team.

As Darshak said, “what was interesting about the process was that we started the journey looking for finance, but as we went through the process, our evaluation criteria changed. We were looking for the option that gave the highest probability of success, not just for the shareholders, but for the company and, ultimately, the patients we are seeking to serve”.

Referring to the deal, Peter says, “we do all sorts of deals, moving and transforming wealth but this one was different, because in working through it, we had a very small involvement in something that potentially has a massive impact on the man and woman in the street with eye problems. When this works to its fullest extent, it will mean that people won’t go blind sitting on waiting lists, that they have better eye care than they would have otherwise”.

Meeting in 1992, at that time unaware of their shared RGS past, Peter and Darshak had no idea of the journey they would take together in the years to come.

A series of fortunate incidents and crossed paths (Darshak himself was diagnosed with an eye condition during his time at Oxford by Guildford optometrist and much-loved OG, Roger Nicklin) led ultimately to the 2016 partnership.

As Peter says, “the money side of it is one thing, but the people thing is probably more important. Our role is to balance the relationship between buyer, seller and possibly a funder as well. There are things that need to be negotiated, relationships that need to be preserved, there are things that need to be done now but with a view to what is happening in the future.”

Both Darshak and Peter recently joined RGS Connect and talk warmly about the benefits it can offer to younger OGs and future students. “Our situation didn’t come about through RGS Connect because it didn’t exist in 1992, but in an informal sort of way it did, because if it hadn’t been for RGS, for Fred Bailey, for those connections”, says Peter, “this wouldn’t have happened.”

Following the transaction, Darshak and Peter met regularly, exploring opportunities to grow Newmedica, but also dealing with periods of uncertainty in the public-private partnership landscape. In 2015, keen to scale up from a successful business operating within its own resources to bringing in external finance and support, Darshak turned to Peter to look for formal funding opportunities. As part of the fundraising

• Find out more about Darshak and Peter’s work at newmedica.co.uk and metacorporatefinance.co.uk • Share your OG / RGS connections with Philippa Green, Alumni Relations Officer: pmg@rgsg.co.uk / +44 (0)1483 887 143 • Sign up to RGS Connect via the OG pages in the Our Community section of rgs-guildford.co.uk or directly at rgsconnect.com

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Q&A

Ten minutes with

Umesh Trikha OG 2000

1. You studied at the College of William & Mary in Virginia after leaving RGS. Why America?

I always wanted to move to America at some point; the question was for university or thereafter. Economics was available as a degree at W&M, which I thoroughly enjoyed studying at A-Level under Mr Corthine and Mr Attenborough.

It was a great opportunity to explore a new culture.

4. Forbes recently rated you in the top ten of America’s Top Millennial Advisors, how did it feel?

It was a tremendous honour and one I appreciate very much. It also made me feel excited about the future, since ours is a world that marries traditional financial needs with amazing technology and millennial values. When you put those three things together, I think the future looks really bright.

2. How long have you lived in New York and what is your favourite thing about the city?

I’ve lived in New York City for over 14 years now and it’s hard to be concise about everything I love about it – the energy, the hustle, the possibilities. There is always something happening and there are always interesting people to meet.

The art, culture and restaurant scenes are phenomenal. Not only is it the financial centre of the world, but it is also one of the most diverse places in the world.

5. What do you do when you aren’t working?

Happily obsessed with silly jokes, I grew up doing magic shows for friends and am still a ‘wannabe entertainer’. I love music, mostly rock, and have to be physically restrained not to hit the dance floor on a night out. Even when I don’t have to, I still find myself working – I actually love my job. But I do love to travel; this year I was in Kenya for the first time and it was spectacular. I love ping pong, attempt to play and follow tennis so the US Open is always a summer highlight. Spending time with friends over good food and a few cheeky drinks is always a delight and Broadway and reading are a constant must; just finished I am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes and Principles by Ray Dalio, which I highly recommend.

3. Where do you work and what do you do?

I work at Merrill Lynch as a senior international advisor in our foreign office, servicing both domestic and international clients on all aspects of their financial affairs including multi-generational, cross-border investment and estate planning needs. Our clientele consists of C-suite executives at Fortune 500 companies: technology entrepreneurs, private business owners, physicians, financial industry executives, and large re-insurance companies.

Key among the many things that clients look to us for, is a sense of direction to interpret today’s volatility and identify a path to preserve and grow wealth; a unique perspective to make visible what usually goes unnoticed; a focused mindset to filter what’s most important; and an understanding of the bigger picture to answer questions such as what does it all mean and how do I invest? In helping each client explore and identify their life priorities, the team and I take a holistic, goals-based approach to addressing our clients most urgent concerns and directives.

6. Of what are you most proud in your life to date?

Making £1000 a week selling printer cartridges, aged 16, on a £10 per cartridge commission! Seriously though, it taught me so much about being a salesperson, about conversing with people and establishing connections. It gave me the skillset of what I do today.

7. What advice would you give to young OGs interested in a career in finance?

Speak to as many people as you can in different careers and companies, and ask questions. Keep your options open, and learn about the different jobs available in finance. Work hard, but work smart; take every opportunity to learn and improve, network, network, network, and always prepare by doing your homework.

To quote Winston Churchill, “Preparation is – if not the key to genius – then at least the key to sounding like a genius.”

Always stay intellectually curious, and

I’ll leave you with the following wisdom that has served me well: “Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.”

John Wesley  UMESH TRIKHA OG 2000 1990 – City of London Freeman’s School 1998 – Royal Grammar School, Guildford – The Economist Intelligence Unit, London (Fifth Form work experience) 2000 – College of William & Mary, Virginia.

BA Economics with Finance and Marketing – Merrill Lynch internships, Williamsburg & NYC and American Express internship, Rockville Maryland 2003 – International Financial Advisor at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, NYC Currently – Managing Director at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, NYC Awards – 2015 & 2016 – On Wall Street’s “Top 40 Under 40 Advisors” – 2015 – The Financial Times “Top 400 Advisors” – 2017 – Forbes #4 “America’s Top Next Generation Wealth Advisors”

The RGS Old Guildfordian Magazine

RGS CONNECT: THE POWER OF RGS CONNECTIONS In May 2017 we launched RGS Connect, a digital space for the OG community.

Powered by leading alumni network specialists Graduway, and sponsored by OG 1966, Mark Betteridge & Associates (MBA), RGS Connect is the answer to your calls for a social and professional network, available online and working for the benefit of all. Open to the whole RGS community – Old Guildfordians, parents and staff past and present - RGS Connect now has almost 900 members.

Socially: RGS Connect enables you to search for old friends and classmates, share and tag photographs and advertise your own reunions and events. It offers a space where OGs can engage with each other – through the online forum or via direct messaging.

Professionally: RGS Connect brings the wealth of knowledge, skills and experience of the entire RGS community into one place, accessible online, from anywhere in the world. Whether you are looking for informal careers advice, internships, mentoring or workplace opportunities, are keen to share your skills with younger OGs and current pupils or advertise a job, RGS Connect is the place for you.

OG connections have incredible professional potential. In the two years since leaving RGS, Max Beech OG 2015 has been hired to work on three different tech projects as a direct result of School connections. For Max, who is currently studying Computer Science at Exeter University, “these projects, completed alongside my degree, have given me the chance to develop my skills further, leading to opportunities I wouldn’t have thought possible.”

Most recently, Max has worked with current RGS parent, Richard Game, at Richard’s Guildford based firm, Cressive Digital, a digital strategy consulting company specialising in SEO and digital architecture. Max reflects, “from personal experience, RGS Connect provides an astounding level of access to top professionals in virtually any field... The platform is unrivalled for anyone looking to build their network, receive truly relevant, valuable advice or get a foot in the door of many leading companies worldwide.”

For more information or to share your RGS Connect experiences or feedback, please contact Communications Officer, Helen Mack: hma@rgsg.co.uk

‘‘

I have no doubt that RGS Connect will unearth tremendous potential currently parked in the network of those who want the School to prosper on every level.

I see many ‘aha moments’ in the near future!

Mark Betteridge OG 1966

This site should really help to keep the network alive – great idea – more than ever life is a contact sport.

OG 1974

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OGNews

Catch up with OGs from across the generations and around the globe.

RAY COOPER OG 1932 was born in October 1914 and is 103 years old. He travelled to RGS by steam train from nearby Witley Station.

He was a fast bowler in the School Cricket Team. Also, he was in the School Chess Team (playing No.3 board), often beating the Headmaster when he played the annual match against the staff. He says, “I first came to the School in 1925. The Headmaster, Mr Green, was very strict. The first thing in the morning was “Prayers” in the Upper Schoolroom with the whole School. Before Prayers commenced, the Masters came into the Upper Schoolroom and it was accepted that there would be total silence immediately when the Headmaster entered.

All the Masters were very good, but at the end of my time at School two impressed me very much because their teaching helped me in later years. The first was the Master who taught Maths (“Taffy” Jones). The second was the Master who taught Physics (“Jonnie” Walker). I went to Northampton Polytechnic where I gained a Diploma in Electrical Engineering. I then worked for Sangamo Weston for 41 years on the design and manufacture of all types of electrical instruments.”

There Ray helped to design a range of military instruments during WW2: voltmeters and ammeters for tanks and ships; and altimeters and horizon instruments for aircraft. During those war years over 100,000 instruments passed through the department where he worked.

He has enjoyed retirement longer than his working life!

LAURIE WEEDEN OG 1938, who was a member of the Glider Pilot Regiment and participated in the 1944 D-Day airborne landings in Normandy and Arnhem, marked his 95th birthday by joining the veterans who travelled to Northern France to commemorate the 73rd anniversary of the D-Day landings on 6 June 2017.

Laurie Weeden OG 1938 (front row, far right) commemorating the 73rd anniversary of the D-Day landings with other WWII veterans.

ARTHUR BOULTER OG 1945 visited the School with his wife Margaret in March 2017. He shared memories of his School days, prompted by the Nineteen Forty-Four Remembered painting by Andrew Kneen OG 1950.

Arthur Boulter OG 1945 with his wife Margaret in the Austen Room, with their Diamond Wedding anniversary congratulatory letter from the Queen dated 16 March 2017.

TED TIMS OG 1945 After RGS and a spell in the Army and university, Ted worked, all his life, alongside the animal scientists, Dr Polge and Dr Joseph Edwards, at the Milk Marketing Board and Avoncroft Cattle Breeders, expanding the development of the artificial breeding of cattle (AI) and the promotion of cryogenics to the preservation of sperm and embryos, which opened up a new market in overseas countries where liquid nitrogen could be supplied. He retired to be with his family and follow his interest in photography and a lifelong love of the countryside of England and Wales.

The RGS Old Guildfordian Magazine

The “Old Codgers“ Lunch – May 2017

BRIAN CHUDLEY OG 1947 served two years National Service in the RAF on accountancy duties and entered the NHS in 1950 at a hospital in Surrey where he met his future wife. He progressed through posts in Worthing and Basingstoke and after obtaining a Diploma in NHS Management and further training, he became Administrator of the West Wales District Hospital in Camarthen. In 1967 he moved to Torbay and in 1973 was appointed Chief Administrator for all NHS Centres in South Devon.

On retiring from the NHS, Brian became the founder chairman of a trust set up to transfer patients into homes in the community from hospitals for the mentally ill. He also served on the board of the West Country Housing Association for 29 years, with nine as chairman. He became president of the Torbay Disabled Association and has been involved with Torbay Rotary Club since 1973, and served as president.

Brian writes: “The RGS had a marked effect on my attitude to life (my father was away for the War) and I like to think that my own contribution to society in general was modelled by staff and fellow classmates.

This exercise has led me on to seek where you obtain this knowledge and whether we should all be encouraged to broadcast this aspect of our education at RGS.” RONALD GERALD (GERRY) MILLS OG 1948 His brother David (Michael) Mills OG 1995 writes: “After RGS Gerry went to Jesus College Cambridge to read Engineering. He changed to Maths and achieved a Double First within two years (after completing his first year in Engineering). He was selected

as one of the wranglers and was awarded a Half Blue for table tennis. He also achieved his MSc from London when he was 23-24.

Gerry went to Russia many times with work as a designer and installation manager. He later was involved with the design and supervision of the computer controlled steel rolling mill for RTB in South Wales. In 1962 he formed, with Pat Shackleton, the first independently owned computer service bureau in the UK – Mills Associates, which is still trading today under the same name.

At this time, he wrote, in conjunction with A J Burton, the first book attempting to explain how important computers were to become to business – Electronic Computers and their Business Applications. He had an uncanny ability to reduce the complex to the simple very easily and cogently.”

“OLD CODGERS“ LUNCH On 21 May 2017 a biennial gathering of OGs who left in the 1940s/50s was organised by Kenny Wyatt OG 1952.

ERNIE ROBERTS OG 1953 who lives in Upstate New York was visited by Michael Edwards OG 1951, who is based just across the river in Canada.

MARTYN MOORE OG 1956 played rugby for Surrey. He was selected for an England trial but injured his back playing for the county and never got his cap. However, his brother Graham Moore OG 1958 played cricket for England Schools.

KENNY WYATT OG 1952 received his certificate for 50 years as a member of the Chemistry Society.

Martyn Moore OG 1956 and Graham Moore OG 1958 (front row, far right) in the 1955 Cricket XI team photo.

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CLIVE SMEE OG 1960 hosted a Class of 1960/61 Reunion on Saturday 24 June.

PETER GRIFFITHS OG 1961 went to St John’s College Oxford, gaining both a bachelors and a doctorate in Chemistry. He then was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship to study at the University of Maryland. This was only intended to be for one year but circumstances changed and he is now in his fiftieth year living in the USA! His time at the RGS engendered a love of sports that remains to this day. He played for the 1st XV in rugby and the 1st XI in cricket and also captained St John’s in both sports.

He continued to play rugby in the USA, playing for the University of Maryland, Philadelphia RFC and Ohio University (where he started his academic career) until 1974. However, he really missed cricket and, to his lasting regret, never touched a bat again after leaving the UK. It was, therefore, wonderful that a trip to Europe in summer 2017 coincided with the annual RGS Headmaster’s XI v OGs XI Cricket Match at Bradstone Brook. Peter came to the match and also attended the informal Class of 1960/61 Reunion the previous week at the house of Clive Smee OG 1960.

RICHARD KEMP OG 1961 writes: “On 18 August 2017 I was extremely fortunate to experience a flight in a two-seater Spitfire with full dual controls. Its unique number is NH341, named ‘Elizabeth’ – my younger daughter’s name – and had previously been flown in action in the Normandy landings campaign by Canadians in 1944.

The 20-minute flight took off from our local Headcorn airfield in Kent at 12:30 hours and took us to the Battle of Britain Memorial at Capel-le-Ferne, Folkestone and back.

My pilot was Flt Lt Charlie Brown who often flies at Duxford displays. By coincidence we discovered that he was a close associate of my old RGS chum, Air Chief Marshal Sir John Allison OG 1961. My memories are of

Richard Kemp OG 1961 (left) and Spitfire pilot Charlie Brown

an exciting adventure, to be highly recommended, and being rather scared at the prior briefing to learn about the bail out procedure with the parachute I was sitting on.”

TIM EWERS OG 1965 ran the 2017 London Marathon aged 70 with his grandson for Guide Dogs for the Blind. Any donations to the charity would be gratefully received, thank you.

CHRIS KLEWE OG 1962 achieved a scholarship to Churchill College Cambridge to read Maths and Theoretical Physics. After graduating he joined the CEGB research division working on a variety of projects until 1993, when he took early retirement.

He then changed to financial administration in local Southampton schools, and retired again as Bursar in a large secondary school in 2005. He married in 1969 and has three children and two grandchildren. His main interest outside of work was boating and over the years has owned two sailing boats followed by two power boats.

ALAN LOVELAND OG 1965 and ex-England Fencer, attended the Public Schools’ Fencing Championships at Crystal Palace in March 2017 to referee and support the RGS Fencing team.

MARTIN TYLER OG 1964 won the Commentator of the Year award for a fourth time at the annual Football Supporters’ Federation awards on 6 December 2016.

Tyler, who has been at Sky for 26 years, said: “Television, like football, is a team game, so I must thank Sky Sports for continuing to pick me week in, week out in their exceptional team. It’s a great group to be part of. I must also thank Leicester City for giving us a wonderful year to commentate on, and also the excitement of this new season, with the top clubs going hell for leather at the top, it does make it much easier to commentate on. It’s a great privilege, support from the supporters is really special in my job.”

GEOFF RICKETTS OG 1965 left RGS to go to Sussex University, and in 1968 moved to Exeter to do a PhD. He then went to work for a branch of the Civil Service in Cheltenham. “In those days, they wouldn’t tell you anything about what they did until you arrived, and even then you weren’t allowed to know what the people in the next-door office did! GCHQ is a little more open now, but old habits of secrecy die hard.

There I stayed till retirement at 60, when I at last had time to enjoy my garden, until we moved to Wiltshire to be near our children and grandchildren”.

ANDREW HALL OG 1972 starred in Ray Cooney’s Out of Order at Guildford’s Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in March 2017, followed by a nationwide tour with excellent reviews.

The RGS Old Guildfordian Magazine

DAVID FLOOD OG 1973 Director of Music at Canterbury Cathedral, was the guest at the Desert Island Discs King’s Lecture hosted

by Peter White, RGS Director of Music, at RGS in January 2017. A fascinating evening of music and stories covered David’s early years as a budding organist at RGS and then St John’s College, Oxford, then onto his professional career which took him from Canterbury to Lincoln and back to Canterbury.

The musical journey went from Gilbert and Sullivan to Elgar, from Bach to Handel, and finished with his own recording from Canterbury Cathedral of O magnum mysterium by Morten Lauridsen. David regaled the audience with colourful anecdotes of the irony of his name during the great floods of Guildford, of playing at the Maundy Service in the presence of the Queen during her Golden Jubilee and of life as an Organist and Music Director at one of the great cathedrals in the world.

(BDIA) in recognition of his outstanding innovation and contribution to the dental industry.

With a degree in Business, he has dedicated over 30 years to dentistry in a successful career spanning dental engineering, manufacturing and export. Richard took the helm at Prima Dental in 1998 and under his stewardship the company has grown to become one of the world’s largest dental instrument manufacturers. It is a winner of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade, reflecting its focus on quality and innovation as the hallmarks of dental manufacturing.

RICHARD COLLINS OG 1975 is currently in Riyadh, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, having accepted in October 2016 an appointment as the Head of Compliance at the Public Investment Fund, the newly re-energised Sovereign Wealth Fund of the Kingdom. This role involves ensuring the alignment of the business conduct of the Fund to internationally accepted standards and helping build the Fund into an organisation which can take its place on the world stage of Sovereign Wealth Funds.

He would be delighted to connect with any other OGs in the Kingdom or in the Gulf – and if there are enough for a reunion, perhaps a regional one could be held! If you would like to get in touch with Richard, please do so via og@rgsg.co.uk.

RICHARD MULLER OG 1974 As Group Managing Director of Gloucestershire-based Prima Dental, Richard has won an award from the British Dental Industry Association

RICHARD TILBROOK OG 1979 went on to read Classics at Queens’ College Cambridge, where he gained a First and sang countertenor in the Chapel Choir. On graduating, he joined GCHQ as a codebreaker before being seconded to the Cabinet Office to write intelligence-based assessments for the Joint Intelligence Committee on the political situation in South and East Asia.

He later transferred to the Department for International Development, where he ran the UK aid programmes in the Ukraine, Moldova, Afghanistan and Burma. A return to the Cabinet Office saw him take up his present positions, running the honours system, advising the Prime Minister on the appointment of Bishops, Deans and LordLieutenants, and serving as Clerk to the Privy Council. Outside work, he continues to sing (reasonably well), rings the church bells (badly), gardens and enjoys village life.

TIM NORMAN OG 1987 delivered the address at the School’s Commemoration Service at Guildford Cathedral in September 2017, 30 years after leaving the RGS.

Richard is pioneering new technologies in digital dentistry with the team at Prima Dental and recently oversaw the successful launch of Prima Dental in India and Brazil, the very first dental bur manufacturer in South America.

STEPHEN WALDRON OG 1973 was conferred a Fellowship of RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) in November 2016, the first ones granted since 1976, and the only one of 16 awarded last year in Wales. This was for his work in international aid and community-based design (mostly Bam earthquake, Iran, and an HIV orphan village, Uganda).

He previously spoke at an RGS Morning Assembly in 2010 about his work in Uganda.

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ROBERT INNES OG 1978 is Bishop in Europe, based in Brussels and also Chaplain to the Queen. He divides his time equally between Belgium, the UK and supporting Christian communities around Europe and beyond.

JAMES SUNDERLAND OG 1988 Lt Col James Sunderland took CCF Parade on Field Day 2 in November 2016 on his last day in Command of 27 Regt RLC. LEWIS ALLEN OG 1990 came back to RGS to give a powerful Thought for the Day at School Assembly on 26 January 2017. In 1996 he joined the ministry and in 2010 set up a church in Huddersfield which he continues to run today. His inspiring talk was about the challenges life throws down and his belief in the message of hope which we can all find in the Bible.

SERGEI BOEKE OG 1994 came to talk at Sixth Form Assembly on 3 May 2017.

Having served for 12 years in the Dutch Royal Navy, he took a diplomatic posting in Tehran followed by several years working in Intelligence in the Netherlands. He now lectures in cyber security at Leiden.

Sergei gave a fascinating insight into his career in such a topical field of work, and how it relates to RGS students today. His early career in the Navy enabled him to take on exciting challenges such as arctic training and he shared invaluable experiences about the world of diplomacy and intelligence. After the discipline of Navy training (“it’s all about planning”), his message was one of loyalty, patience and resilience with a dose of good luck.

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JAMES DANIELS OG 1996 won an “Emmy” in October 2016 in Phoenix on behalf of Arizona State University. The award was given for the film Salute to Service filmed in 2015 at Arizona State University, to honour the US armed forces taking part throughout various conflicts. James is a Senior Director in the Enterprise Marketing Hub at Arizona State University, the largest public university in America with over 85,000 students.

Prior to joining ASU in 2012, he worked at the BBC for eight years as a Producer and Director for BBC Sport, working on football programmes such as Match of the Day. From 1999-2002, his first job in the industry was working for ITV Sport on their football programmes, following a degree in Journalism at the University of Central Lancashire. Perhaps his most notable achievement while at RGS was starting the first School football team under Tim Young.

He is settled in the US and happily married with two young children.

DOMINIC MASTERS OG 1996 A former Major in the British Army, Dominic gave a thought-provoking and moving address at the School Remembrance Service, 11 November 2016.

MATTHEW STEYNOR OG 1997 has been Director of Music and Organist at Trinity Cathedral, Miami since 2007. As a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists, he has performed in many US states and countries; notable venues include the New World Center, Washington National Cathedral and a solo recital at St Paul’s Cathedral in London.

DAVID ALDRIDGE OG 1998 married Jessica Rickard on 25th March 2016 in the blue mountains an hour outside of Sydney. In attendance were nine RGS leavers from 1998, 20 years on and still the best of friends.

JULIAN ELLIOTT OG 1999 and TOM HIGGINS OG 1984 Julian joined Tom Higgins at Gold-i in November 2010 as Operations Manager. During that time, they have achieved much success including the Queen’s Award for Industry for the fastest growing company in Surrey with a turnover of under £5m.

Gold-i also now has an office in China and sponsored INNOVATE GUILDFORD 2017.

Over the last three years, Julian gained an MBA through the Open University and received an alumni award for using the knowledge from his MBA studies in Gold-i’s business. He also represented Gold-i at the RGS Careers Convention in January 2017.

UMESH TRIKHA OG 2000 has been named as one of America’s top 10 millennial advisors by Forbes. Umesh works for Merrill Lynch Wealth Management in New York.

(Left to right: Ross Cooper, Tom Metcalfe, Mike Deane, Oliver Gee, David Aldridge, David Reep, Murray Paterson, Rupert Stokoe, James Jenkins, James Barlow.)

MAXIM MCDONALD OG 2001 Radio 4’s Today Programme interviewed Maxim, a director with Gerald McDonald and Company Ltd, on Wednesday 23 November 2016 as part of a feature on local businesses and whether they will still be able to trade as they do today after Britain leaves the European Union.

WILLIAM OLDROYD OG 1998 His first feature film, Lady Macbeth, premiered at Toronto International Film Festival 2016 and was subsequently chosen as a top ten pick of the festival in both Variety and Rolling Stone. BAFTA, Variety, The Observer and Evening Standard have identified Will as a director to watch in the future.

Dominic Masters OG 1996 and Laurie Weeden OG 1938 at the School Remembrance Service 2016

PAUL KERENSA/YOUNG OG 1997, comedian and writer, launched his latest book Hark! The Biography of Christmas in September 2017. Two children’s books, Noah’s Car Park Ark and Moses and Exodus Express, will be out in early 2018.

His short film, Best, won the Sundance London Short Film Competition in 2013 and was then invited to be screened at the Sundance Festival in 2014. Previously he had worked with film and video at art college before becoming a successful theatre and opera director in the UK and abroad.

As Director in Residence at the Young Vic Theatre, London he staged contemporary adaptations of European classics such as Ghosts by Ibsen. Subsequently he directed adaptations of Sartre in Tokyo, Beckett in Munich and Shakespeare in the UK for the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Complete Works Festival. Opera productions include works by Pergolesi in Portugal and Donizetti at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London.

Maxim McDonald OG 2001 with BBC’s Nick Robinson

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SIMON BIRD OG 2003 starred in The Philanthropist at the Trafalgar Studios Theatre production, directed by Simon Callow, from April to July 2017. They were both on The One Show on 13 March 2017 to discuss the play. Simon starred as Will McKenzie in the comedy The Inbetweeners and subsequently won the 2008 British Comedy Award for Best Male Newcomer and the 2009 British Comedy Award for Best Actor. He has kindly provided the voiceover for the current RGS promotional film.

JAMES “JUMBO” CLARK OG 2003 is in the cast and is also understudy for several roles in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at the Palace Theatre, London. His stage name is James McGregor.

MARK LAMBERT OG 2003 played his 200th match as tighthead prop for Harlequins Rugby Club on 29 October 2016 beating Worcester Warriors 36-14, 12 years after making his debut professional appearance against the same opponents.

“To still be here and reach this milestone is massive for me. I’ll look back on it in years to come with a great sense of pride”. He supported the club as a boy and undertook a trial at Quins for the U19s side while still at the RGS. The Harlequins Academy continues to develop 1st team players and internationals and Mark is very proud of its track record and support in producing such talented players.

For Mark, two highlights in his long playing career stand out: “The Aviva Premiership and Challenge Cup wins were great days but lifting the Anglo-Welsh Cup in 2013 was one of my favourite moments…the other was Toulouse away in 2011. We’d seen our unbeaten run of 14 matches at the Stoop come to an end the previous week…seven days later we went to Toulouse where they’d won more than 30 consecutive home games and we beat them. It was a very special night.”

Mark Lambert OG 2003

GARETH DAVIES and RICHARD SEARS OGS 2003 co-founders of Yagro, a Cambridge-based agtech company, received a personal invitation from the UK’s highest profile farmer, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, to visit Duchy Home Farm.

The Prince, accompanied by Jes Staley, CEO of Barclays, met Yagro founders Gareth Davies (CEO), Daniel Jolly and Richard Sears at Barclays Eagle Lab in February 2017, to discuss the financial sustainability of the farming sector and the role technology and innovation will play in its future. Yagro is a trading platform connecting suppliers and farms, helping them to do business.

ROB DONKIN OG 2005 and JOHN DONKIN OG 2002 Rob started making Flash games in 2008 while studying at Southampton University. After graduating he set up a company, Bad Viking Ltd, and soon after persuaded his brother John to join.

Rob writes the code and John adds the artwork, they both work from home and chat on Skype. Collectively they have made more than 30 games, some of which have been collaborations with other developers.

Their biggest success came with a game called Bad Eggs Online, a multiplayer artillery game that has been played by millions of people around the world.

As Flash games have slowly become less popular Rob and John have moved some of their games to mobile and are now working on a multiplayer game in Unity for the PC marketplace, Steam. Their latest game will be the biggest project they’ve worked on to date as they build on the experience they’ve gained from working on multiplayer games in Flash. Find out more at badviking.com

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MICHAEL WILSON OG 2006 is a freelance musician and Musical Director of the Milestone Big Band, a 17-piece big band based in Charlwood. He studied Music (clarinet and saxophone) at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, and since graduating in 2010, he has been working as a freelance musician in London and the South East.

The Milestone Big Band are currently enjoying an ever-increasing performance schedule, including a gig at the Savoy in December, and have performed at corporate functions for clients including Wilberforce Chambers, MetLife UK, The Surrey Oaks Country Pub, Guildford Jazz and for the London 2012 Olympics.

ADAM TYLER OG 2006 won a BAFTA at the British Academy Children’s Awards in November 2016 for his film Refugee, which he co-wrote, directed and produced for pioneering education charity TrueTube.co.uk. The 12-minute film beat three BBC nominations to win Best Drama and can be viewed at truetube.co.uk/film/refugee.

Chris Milton OG 2010 with the Varley Memorial Trophy A still from Adam Tyler OG 2006’s BAFTA winning film Refugee

JOE LYONS OG 2007 has been named on the Radio Academy’s 30 Under 30 for the second consecutive year. He is Senior Creative Producer on the Capital Breakfast Show with Roman Kemp, having previously produced the Capital Evening Show with Roman. Having gained an MA in Radio Journalism he was a producer for LBC and Classic FM before joining Capital.

JON STONE OG 2007 is now Europe Correspondent at The Independent, based in Brussels.

HARRY LAUGHLAND OG 2008 is working as Associate Director at Cahiers d’Art in Paris, originally a French artistic and literary journal/publishing house which now also has a gallery and exhibition space.

TOMAS CHRISTMAS OG 2010 At the start of his second year at university, Tom thought he might try to get involved in something social justice related. He gathered a group of people together to start Just Love and now, post-university, he works for the charity as Just Love looks to expand across the nation.

ANGUS GROOM OG 2010 won the B finals race in the men’s double scull for the Great Britain team at the World Rowing Championships in Sarasota-Bradenton,

in September 2017, having been injured for most of the year. He was part of the GB quadruple scull that raced to fifth place in the Olympic Games in Rio 2016 and will be looking to build on that experience during the Tokyo 2020 Olympiad.

CHRIS MILTON OG 2010 won the prestigious Varley Memorial Trophy at the 148th National Rifle Association Imperial meeting this summer, held at the National Shooting Centre, Bisley. The trophy is for the highest aggregate points over the longer distances of 900 and 1,000 yards. He also competed in the South African Open Rifle Championships, shooting with the GB U25 rifle team and won the U25 Gold Medal.

He is the youngest wind coach in the GB set-up.

The RGS Old Guildfordian Magazine

EMMANUEL BACH OG 2011 is gaining recognition as a concert violinist and chamber musician and has performed at the Wigmore Hall, St Martin-in-the-Fields, St James’s Piccadilly and the V&A Museum. He has been a finalist in several international competitions and won a Durand-SalabertEschig award at the 2017 Mirecourt International Violin Competition in France.

He recently played in a live-streamed masterclass conducted by Maxim Vengerov on the Brahms Violin concerto. A dedicated chamber musician, Emmanuel was a Fellow in the Norfolk Festival 2016 in the USA working with the Artis, Brentano and Emerson String Quartets. A recording of his début CD in the UK, for Willowhayne Records, comprising miniatures and encore pieces, will be released soon and future concert details are on his website emmanuelbachviolinist.com PETER BAUMANN OG 2012 With an MA in Music Production from York University, Peter composed the soundtrack to the nature documentary The Evolution of Madagascar, which was awarded first prize in the Student category at this year’s Wildlife Conservation Film Festival, in New York. Peter is now collaborating on a new project, High Water Common Ground – a documentary about natural flood risk management. He was also first runner up in the 2017 Marvin Hamlisch Film Scoring Contest which promotes up-andcoming composers.

TOM CALLAGHAN OG 2012 has graduated with a First in Theatre Production. He worked at the Theatre Royal in Winchester whilst studying, and on the strength of his work there was asked to apply for a job at The Mayflower in Southampton, which he got.

Tom Callaghan OG 2012 at the Big Bike Bash (photo by Aidan Hampson Photography)

JAMES FARR OG 2012 After graduating in June 2016 from Cambridge with a First three years Maths and a year on a Masters in Astrophysics – James worked for six months at Plural Strategy Consultants in London, then spent three months travelling in Cuba and South America. He is now starting a PhD in Astrophysics at UCL. MATTHEW GOODBOURN OG 2012 has been awarded a full Platinate for sailing at Durham University, the highest sporting award which Durham confers. He has also

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been given full college colours for sailing and rowing by St Cuthbert’s College and a Vice President’s award for his contribution to Team Durham. The annual university yacht racing championship took place in the Solent in April 2017 using a fleet of Sunsail yachts. This was the first time that a Durham team, with Tom Goodbourn OG 2015 at the helm and Matt trimming and in the ‘pit’, had won the yachting championship and it was also the first British Universities Sailing Association (BUSA) gold medal for the Durham University Sailing Club.

JOE FELL OG 2013 organised a concert for Epiphany in January 2017 at St Mary’s Church in Guildford, given by the Exon consort from Exeter College, Oxford University. He has been teaching English in Japan this year.

ERIC FOSTER OG 2013 has been appointed Assistant Organist at the church of St Pauls Within the Walls in Rome. He continues to conduct the Guildford Youth Symphony Orchestra, with another concert in August 2017.

TIM GRATTON OG 2013 and former RGS sailor is now a Cambridge Blue and came in first place at the university team racing finals. He was also fifth in both the J70 Euros and the RS800 Nats.

Matthew Goodbourn OG 2012 and Tom Goodbourn OG 2015 with the Durham sailing team

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DIALOGUE Issue #2 2017

MATT VENNER OG 2013 was always a keen rugby player and when he arrived at Southampton University in September 2013, not wanting to be involved in serious contact rugby, he found that the Touch Rugby Club was just where he wanted to spend his down-time. Playing for Southampton University team led to selection for the England Scholars squad which represented England at a tournament in La Rochelle, France in July 2017.

Following four years at the University of Southampton, Matt graduated in July with a First class honours in Master of Engineering (Ship Science). He is continuing his love of Touch Rugby now playing for South West Saxons and training in Bournemouth with the team. Matt tells us that he is starting work for a yacht design consultancy based in Southampton.

Alex Hartley OG 2014

MAX BEECH, TOM PHIPPS and CAMERON BALLARD OGS 2015 won a worldwide internship competition with the top prize being a fully-sponsored, once in a lifetime internship in New York. The students’ entry was a fast-paced, upbeat, 60 second video capturing what it meant to them to travel, study and intern.

ALEX HARTLEY OG 2014 co-founded a small theatre company, The Wax House, in 2017, specialising in sociable theatre with a social message. They devised and performed their first play, Columns, at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where it was described as “a masterclass in conversational theatre”. They included specially adapted relaxed performances, which are designed to be accessible to people with an autism spectrum condition, sensory or communication disorder, or special educational needs.

During the video, they were able to call upon the wide range of opportunities they had whilst at the RGS, including teaching Cambodian children fundamental life skills during their RGS trip to the country in 2013 and their success setting up their own company, Allumez, as part of the Lower Sixth Form’s Young Enterprise scheme.

MATT COCKERILL OG 2015 has been appointed Blues captain for Cambridge University Hockey Club for the 2017/18 season. He has already represented the University 33 times and currently wears shirt number 15. Matt was Deputy School Captain and captained the School 1st XI hockey team. He is now studying engineering at St John’s College Cambridge.

It is likely that he will be one of three Old Guildfordians playing in this year’s Varsity hockey match.

Matt Cockerill OG 2015

Alex got his start in theatre at the RGS and the Yvonne Arnaud Youth Theatre in Guildford. When he left the RGS, he set up the Eliza Fund to support any and all students who want to put on their own theatre productions. He encourages any current RGS boys reading this to consider making use of that support.

TOM GOODBOURN OG 2015 won the BUSA Sailing yachting finals in April 2017.

DANIEL SUTTON OG 2015 has been made Captain of the Oxford Varsity Chess Team 2017-18. Tim Foster OG 2015 is also in the team.

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The OG All Stars team (left to right) Luke Jones OG 2015, Duncan Ashworth OG 2016, Sam Jelley OG 2015, Alex Sweet OG 2016, Rohan Browning OG 2015, George Mackenzie OG 2015.

JAMES WARD OG 2015 has passed the Royal Navy’s Admiralty Interview Board and will enter Dartmouth for his initial officer training in January 2018.

RGS 1ST XI V OG ALL STARS CRICKET MATCH took place at Bradstone Brook on 13 April 2017.

RGS SHOOTING VIII travelled to Cambridge in January 2017 to shoot against the University team in a 10-bull match firing two cards each. In a very competitive match against a team containing three OGs, Will Johnson 2015, Rupert Fitzsimmons 2015 and Nick Lehrter 2016, RGS won by 1516 points to 1512.

JAMIE HANCOCK OG 2016 has been in Nepal working at a monastery in Pokhara before visiting the RGS partnership schools in Nepal on his way back to Kathmandu.

His poem My Hurricane won a Highly Commended award in the Young Poets Network’s I Am the Universe Challenge. He was also one of the winners in The Great Fire Poetry Challenge with his entry, An Evening in London. See ypn.poetrysociety.org. uk/workshop/the-great-fire-poetry-challenge.

ARAN MACFARLANE OG 2016 has succeeded in gaining an IET Jubilee Scholarship, worth £1,000 a year.

He follows a growing number of IET Scholarship holders: 2015 Matt Cockerill and Elliot Thomas, 2014 Sam Congdon and Anthony Weedon ALEX AND DAN OSBORNE OGS 2016 were awarded their Duke of Edinburgh Gold Awards at the presentation at St

James’s Palace in March 2017, where Aran Macfarlane OG 2016 also received his award. After Prince Philip had spoken to all the groups, handing out the certificates was choirmaster Gareth Malone who, after his congratulatory speech, conducted all those assembled in the Picture Gallery in an impromptu “singing in the round”!

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DIALOGUE Issue #2 2017

WILLIAM ASHWORTH OG 2017’s great grandfather, OG Harry Leslie Wells, was given the General Progress Prize in 1915.

William was awarded the same prize in 2014, as a Fourth Former. William’s mother, Dalene, writes: “It was my grandfather and William’s great grandfather who went to RGS. My grandfather went on to be a civil engineer and build dams in India and then after the war, in Harare, Zimbabwe where he spent the rest of his life. He died in the early 1960’s. Here is Harry’s certificate”.

Eddie Way OG 2016

ALEXANDER SWEET OG 2016 made his 1st team debut for Guildford Cricket Club, playing against Cranleigh in the Premier Division fixture, building on his previous cricketing excellence as RGS 1st XI captain, scoring a total of 2,381 runs playing for the 1st XI.

MARK THORNTON OG 2016 has been awarded the “BP Prize for the most outstanding performance in part IA Chemistry” at Cambridge University, where he is studying Natural Sciences.

EDDIE WAY OG 2016 was selected for the England U21 World Cup Hockey squad, to play in the Junior World Cup in December 2016. The tournament took place in Lucknow, India, with the top sixteen U21 sides in the world, and he was the youngest England player. Eddie then played in the European Championships in Spain over the summer and has been picked for a Six Nations competition in Malaysia in the Autumn 2017.

Harry Leslie Wells’ General Progress Prize awarded in 1915

GEORGE MARCHANT OG 2017 has left Wimbledon AFC to take up a sports scholarship at Colorado University where he will study mechanical engineering.

Keep up to date with all forthcoming events on the OG Events page at: rgs-guildford.co.uk

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FORTHCOMING EVENTS OG EVENTS Class of 2007 Reunion 6.30pm, Thursday 23 November 2017 at the Duke on the Green, London SW6 4XG. Pub drinks and social gathering.

OG Golfing Society Christmas Meeting Friday, 15 December 2017 at Guildford Golf Club. Contact John Allen OG 1971 for more details: 07831 750285 / allenjp@talk21.com OG Christmas Shoot 10.00am, Saturday 16 December 2017 at RGS Rifle Range. If you’ve not been before and would like to come along, please contact the Alumni Office at og@rgsg.co.uk Thames Alumni Cross Country Race 2.30pm, Saturday 16 December 2017. For more information contact og@rgsg.co.uk Boxing Day Run 10.30am, Tuesday 26 December 2017. Now an annual tradition, meet at the entrance to Pewley Down to run (or walk!) the School’s Cross Country Course. Friends and family welcome. Come along or for more details contact: Tom.Lingard@stevens-bolton.com

Welcome Drinks for the Class of 2018 Friday 7 September 2018 at RGS (provisional date). Welcome to our newest OGs. Collect your OG tie and Yearbook and catch up with friends and staff over a beer.

Class of 1998 Reunion 6.00pm, Saturday 13 October 2018 (provisional date). A tour of the School followed by drinks and dinner at RGS. A great opportunity to meet former classmates and staff, and see the School again.

Reunion for Classes of 1978/79 We are considering a reunion for the classes of 1978/79; if interested, please email og@rgsg.co.uk

SCHOOL EVENTS Chamber Choir Evensong at St Paul’s Cathedral, London 5.00pm, Monday 27 November 2017. All welcome to attend the service.

RGS Christmas Fair 5.30pm, Thursday 30 November 2017 at RGS. Ends 8.30pm.

Cambridge Undergraduate Dinner 7.00pm, Saturday 3 February 2018 at Queens’ College.

School Orchestral Concert 7.30pm, Wednesday 6 December 2017 at Holy Trinity Church, Guildford.

Oxford Undergraduate Dinner 7.00pm, Friday 2 March 2018 at Hertford College.

RGS Musician of the Year February 2018 at RGS. (Details to follow.)

Class of 1988 Reunion 6.00pm, Saturday 3 March 2018 (provisional date). A tour of the School followed by drinks and dinner at RGS. A great chance to catch up with friends and see the School again.

Arts Festival The RGS Arts Festival takes place in late June and includes the Art Private View (a fabulous display of A level and GCSE work), various concerts, recitals and drama productions.

Varsity Hockey Match 3.30pm, Sunday 11 March 2018 between Oxford and Cambridge University 1st XI hockey teams at Southgate Hockey Club, Barnet EN4 0PS. Contact og@rgsg.co.uk for more information.

Headmaster’s XI v OG XI Cricket Match Trinity term 2018 at Bradstone Brook sports ground. Bring a picnic and enjoy a family day of fun at the Cricket.

Undergraduate Drinks 6.00pm, Monday 16 April 2018 at The Albany Pub. All current RGS undergraduates and staff are very welcome.

OG London Dinner 6.00pm, Thursday 17 May 2018 at Langan’s Brasserie. Back by popular demand, more details will follow. Early booking is encouraged to avoid disappointment.

Heritage Day 9.30am to 4.30pm, Saturday 8 September 2018. As part of the nationwide Heritage Day, the Chained Library and Big School at RGS will be open to visitors. Half hourly guided tours of the Chained Library will take place throughout the day.

Open Day 10.00am to 12.30pm, Saturday 6 October 2018. This is for prospective parents and pupils to view the School and meet staff and pupils.

Supporters Summer Reception 6.30pm, Tuesday 5 June 2018. An evening to thank RGS supporters.

Beckingham Legacy Lunch Tuesday 19 June 2018. The Beckingham Legacy Society meets for lunch with the Headmaster for a review of the year and future plans.

For more information or if you would like to attend any of the events listed here, please contact Philippa Green on +44 (0)1483 880665 / og@rgsg.co.uk

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DIALOGUE Issue #2 2017

RGS CALLING BESISAHAR Michael Downes & Ben Morse OGs 2013 report on their 2017 visit to the RGS Nepalese Partner Schools.

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here to start? We spent five weeks in Besisahar, Nepal during our five and a half months travelling. Our time at Bhu Pu and Janabikash schools in Besisahar included meeting excellent people, energetic children and once in a lifetime experiences.

Spending so much time in one location makes it hard not to fall in love with it.

After a certain amount of time even the little quirks, such as the poor roads or the blistering heat, endear you to the place.

encapsulated the spirit of Nepal. They were enthusiastic in the lessons, as well as outside the classroom. They were always willing to share a joke or have a conversation with you. The teachers at both the schools also could not have been more friendly or willing to offer a helping hand when Michael or I required assistance. Special mentions must go to Chandra and Kamlesh at Bhu Pu, and Perna, Hom and Binod at Janabikas for making us feel comfortable in an alien environment.

The opportunity for us to teach in Nepal came when we were planning our travelling and wanted to do some volunteer work. We remembered that when we left the RGS, other boys had gone out to Nepal to volunteer so we sent an email to Mr Shakeri inquiring whether we could follow in their footsteps. His reply was filled with the enthusiasm that made us want to go and teach at the schools and also made the planning go very smoothly. He even arranged for us to meet some of the teachers when they came to visit the UK, which whetted our appetite even more to get out to Nepal and start teaching, as they were so friendly and kind.

Mike and I taught English during our time at the schools and the eagerness from the students to learn a foreign language made life a lot simpler. As they always brought a high level of enthusiasm to the lessons, we could cover more topics in depth. This also permitted us to make the lessons more enjoyable for them which hopefully led them to look forward to our lessons.

As for the schools themselves, our main takeaway was that the students

Teaching-wise we were thrown in at the deep end: pretty much placed in front of a class of as many as 60 students and left to get on with it. Luckily for our first week we had a secret weapon in Jamie Hancock OG 2016, who was visiting the schools after spending a month teaching at a monastery in Pokhara. He was able to pass on a month’s worth of experience and tips to us during

our first week that helped us deal with the challenges of teaching in Nepal. These included dealing with the high range of ability in each class as well as teaching a language when you yourself do not speak the local one. We felt we were able to get significantly better at teaching over our five weeks, gaining an appreciation for teachers that can only come from trying to teach and finding out how tough a job it can be. It is fair to say that if we could be transported back to the beginning of our time at RGS with this appreciation, we would be model students!

It’s hard to pick some highlights from our time in Besisahar because the whole experience was so fantastic but if we had to pick a handful they would include: being invited to Nepali weddings, the greeting and farewell ceremonies at both of the schools and the weekends spent hiking in the hills (they would be mountains in Britain!) with the students.

Teaching at these two schools really was a once in a lifetime experience.

Hopefully in the future we will get the opportunity to return to Besisahar and see some familiar faces, who we now think of as friends for life. ď Ž

The RGS Old Guildfordian Magazine

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RGS MERCHANDISE

THE TUDOR COLLECTION

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he Tudor Collection – a bespoke selection of merchandise exclusive to the Royal Grammar School, Guildford. Timeless gifts and accessories designed to appeal to those of all ages who have a connection with the School or with the town of Guildford, including RGS cufflinks, rugby and footballs, golf and folding umbrellas, a range of specially commissioned prints and postcards of the School, the new RGS scarf, and a new silk tie for Old Guildfordians.

Further to consultation with pupils and Old Guildfordians, we are delighted to introduce the new OG tie. Produced in silk, the new design features the RGS colours and a shadow weave of the School crest, echoing the popular RGS games staff tie: a lovely addition to any OG’s collection.

Visit our online shop at rgs-guildford.co.uk/our-community/ the-tudor-collection Or contact merchandise@rgsg.co.uk / +44 (0)1483 880665 to place your order.

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DIALOGUE Issue #2 2017

OG SPORTS REPORT OG CRICKET Headmaster’s Cricket Match v OGs 2 July 2017 The annual Headmaster’s XI v Old Guildfordians XI Cricket Match at Bradstone Brook took on a special atmosphere this year, as it heralded the start of the 30th anniversary of the Royal Grammar Schools’ Cricket Festival hosted by RGS Guildford. A very competitive match ensued between the two teams, evenly balanced throughout, with the Headmaster’s XI taking the victory by just four runs in the final overs.

It was a gloriously sunny day and the whole RGS community was invited to attend. Picnics, a bar, a bouncy castle and more added to the spectacle of the match. After the close of play Chris Sandbach, RGS Head of Cricket, welcomed players from the five visiting schools and launched the Cricket Festival. Special thanks go to Ant Drake OG 2007 who organised and captained the OG team.

Old Guildfordians XI: Alex Brown 2011 Alex Sweet 2016 Ant Drake 2007 Charlie Homewood 2008 Charlie Warren 2013 Duncan Ashworth 2016 Louis Smith 2016 Nick Cooper 2010 Rob McClellan 2011 Tom Hartley 2016 Zach Burrage 2016

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OG GOLFING SOCIETY

CROSS COUNTRY FOR OGS

As I write this note the Golf Society is three quarters through its year with just the Christmas Meeting at Guildford (15 December) to complete – something as ever that we look forward to.

For those of you who don’t know about us – and I would suggest that is quite a number – we are a small band of golfers (mainly OGs but complemented by a number of ‘friends’) who meet five times a year within the Guildford area to play golf, dine together, drink together, and (of course) socialise together. We have a wide spectrum of golfing abilities – with handicaps ranging from 1 to 24 (the most we allow, but believe me there are those who crave for a higher number), so we are not an ‘elite’ bunch of golfing enthusiasts, more a group of ex Grammar School boys who enjoy the social nature of our meetings, whilst still revelling in the competition for one of our most sought after trophies.

This year we have already enjoyed four meetings: Betchworth Park near Dorking, West Byfleet, Bramley and Farnham where good weather, fine courses and splendid food have provided the background for the social experience we enjoy. Amongst our participants we have seen some spectacular shot making from Martin Farmer (our man with the low handicap), some solid performances from our current captain Brian Marshall and a string of consistent results from our current ‘top of the leader board’ member Tony Knights to mention but three.

So all in all a good year so far with a consistent attendance of around 16 to 20 at our events from an active membership of around 60 souls.

But there is the rub – we grow old together. To my knowledge we have not seen a ‘new’ Old Guildfordian for some 20 years. Surely this cannot be right.

With at least 100 folk leaving the School each year that’s 2000 who have managed to avoid the lure of our society and its camaraderie in just that short period.

So – onwards – as I mentioned above our final fixture this year is at Guildford on 15 December. All are welcome, it is a guaranteed enjoyable occasion.

More importantly however, if you do want to join us to enjoy a round of golf and come along to our social events, email or call me and I will be more than happy to enrol you into our small (but hopefully soon to grow) membership.

Interested in taking part in OG Cross Country? The annual Thames Alumni Race will take place at 2.30pm on Saturday 16 December 2017. A number of OGs are planning to take part in an RGS Alumni team – if you would like join them please email og@rgsg.co.uk for more information. Booking opens in late November so do sign up!

John Allen OG 1971, 07831 750285 / allenjp@talk21.com.

Boxing Day Run – now in its 13th year, Tom Lingard and other OGs from 1995 run the School Cross Country course on Boxing Day. They will meet at 10.30am at the entrance to Pewley Down (where the School Cross Country starts) and all are welcome to join them.

OG FOOTBALL The Old Guildfordians Football Club plays in the Amateur Football Combination, one of the biggest adult football leagues in Europe, with around 100 clubs and 350 sides playing on Saturday afternoons in and around London, from September through to May. OGFC currently have two OG teams that play home games at Stoke Park, Guildford, where they share a clubhouse with the OGRFC. Away games are across Surrey, South London and the home counties.

It was always going to be difficult for the 1s to top their incredible 2015/16 season, especially since they were moved up not one but two divisions to the 2nd South Division due to their imperious form last season. After a tough start to the season, they really turned it around after the Christmas break, picking up 10 points out of a possible 12 from their four games in January. They finished the season in seventh position, safely mid-table, and were only seven points off fourth place which could be an attainable target for next season. The 1s also took part in two cup competitions, the AFA Junior Cup and the LOB Junior Cup. 1st XI Player of

the Season was Andy Elkerton OG 1996 with Josh Harrower voted 1st XI Most Improved Player of the Season.

The 2nd XI had a difficult 2016/17 season with a succession of injuries and departures. However, a number of new recruits joined the team and the 2s finished the season well, winning three of the last four games, including beating League champions Wandsworth Borough 3-2. The improved performances from the last three months of the season give the team hope that they can bounce straight back up from the 8th South Division with plenty to play for.

Old Guildfordians is sociable, thriving football club which is always keen to welcome players whatever their level of expertise or experience. If you are interested in playing or supporting, please email og@rgsg.co.uk for more information.

Fixtures also take place between the School Football Teams and OGs, and in January 2017 the following results were recorded: RGS 1st XI v Old Guildfordians: 2 – 0 RGS 2nd XI v Old Guildfordians: 3 – 5

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DIALOGUE Issue #2 2017

OLD GUILDFORDIANS RIFLE CLUB Dressed in official OG team kit (thanks to some help from the School’s Development & Alumni Relations Office) and with our traditional bucket hats, we embarked on our mission...

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he Old Guildfordians Rifle Club is a club that spans the ages and is intended to be open to all ex RGS shooters as long as you don’t have a criminal record!

We have close ties to the School with two members actively coaching the School’s shooting team, and we share a clubhouse at Bisley, all of which benefit both old boys and school boys alike.

Last year’s report left off with a couple of matches to go in the 2016 season. As seems to be traditional for OGRC, most of the regulars made themselves unavailable for these so we ended up coming an agonising second in the Surrey club championship, but we do need to let some other teams win once in a while... it’s polite.

However, this attitude does not exist all the time, and certainly not in relation to our international ambitions. Having made the decision at the end of last year to scrub our West Indies tour for 2017 (which would have coincidentally coincided with the terrible hurricanes we have just seen) we became focused intently on wresting the initiative back from Jersey in their Spring Meeting.

JERSEY Some people may scoff at the thought of Jersey being a competitive challenge, but in reality they have one of the strongest teams outside of the UK and are worthy adversaries.

The Old Guildfordians Rifle Club has had long links with the Channel Islands with many of the team having toured here previously either as individuals, with the GB development team or the OG team. We last visited Jersey in 2011 as part of their 150th anniversary summer meeting. During that year’s team match, we managed a close second place but that meant we were hankering after a win this year.

Dressed in official OG team kit (thanks to some help from the School’s Development & Alumni Relations Office) and with our traditional bucket hats, we embarked on our mission. The first two days consisted of individual shooting during which Jon Underwood OG 1988 excelled winning five competitions, including the coveted “Grand Aggregate”, and coming second in another three. Other OGs also featured with Oliver Russell OG 2003 coming

third in the Edna Parker cup (won by Jon) and Paul Wheeler OG 1998 coming seventh in the Grand Aggregate. A sign of the strength of the team is that a total of six OGs were in the top 20.

On the day of the “big match” the OGRC turned out one of the strongest touring teams we’ve seen since the heady days of our world club champions in SA ‘09 only to be met by the infamous Jersey fog... in fact, it was so foggy that we couldn’t see the targets from 100 yards away! Not conducive for a match shot at 300, 500 & 600 yards.

After some considerable time, a small parting in the fog allowed us to start at 300 yards but it was stop and go due to very poor visibility, which made older eyes see things which were not necessarily in the centre of the target!

With the visibility really closing in the last shooter, David Armstrong OG 1986, had to stop with only one shot to go.

After 20 minutes of David lying in the mud a gap appeared for long enough for him to get his last shot away ... scoring a centre bulls eye (worth the wait!). The team had only dropped six points in total in what were very difficult conditions.

The RGS Old Guildfordian Magazine

The only problem was that the other teams had only got about half way through and so we crossed our fingers that the weather would a) not deteriorate so much that the match was called off and b) it didn’t improve too much so that the other teams had an advantage!

Luckily neither a) nor b) occurred and all teams completed 300 yards.

However, with the weather not easing up (it started to rain whilst still being foggy - a real speciality of Jersey) it was enough to call off the remainder of the ranges (which were even further away and where the targets were almost invisible).

As a full range had been completed, the match result could be declared. The result was that the OGs were victorious with the JRA second and other teams (NRA and Army) making up the numbers.

The official result shows another team second (Celtic Flagons) but on closer inspection it appears to be a team of ringers, including some of our own team members whose granny once visited Wales/Scotland and hence makes them eligible for Wales or Scotland! Overall, Paul Wheeler was the highest scorer in the match with a 50v9, which was

quite awesome given the conditions.

Our thanks go to the RGS for their support in the tour, Paul Wheeler for his organisation, and to the team mascot, Geoffrey the Pineapple (cruelly kidnapped and run over by the Army following our victory) whose motivation throughout spurred us onto victory!

CLUB MATCHES The 2017 season kicked off with a fun ‘plate’ competition where teams of three shoot in a knock out format. The result of this was a win for the OGs, hopefully a good omen.

The Surrey League matches this year were treated as development matches for our various less experienced members (and in more than one case included a member of the existing School team). Whilst we were not quite so successful in results, this was more than made up for in experience gained.

Mention should be made of Paul Wheeler who sponsored any OG shooter who was under 25 by covering their costs... a generous gesture, and beneficial to the team as a whole.

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The Surrey Schools Veterans resulted in another OG win and in early June we shot in the heats of the UK club championships, a normally closely fought match.

This was possibly one of the most difficult matches we have had for many years as the wind was atrocious. A really good gust at 600 yards can move the bullet up to five feet by the time it reaches the target, and this can be a serious problem when the bulls-eye is only 13 inches wide. Some awesome coaching and shooting meant that the team managed to hold on to a narrow 300-yard lead at 500 yards and then extend it at 600 yards to give us a slim but convincing win, qualifying OGRC to represent Surrey in the UK Club Championships final.

SCHOOLS VETERANS There is a lull in team matches from early June to mid-July whilst the Army and schools take up the ranges but we returned on the last day of the schools meet to compete against 40 odd other schools veterans teams in a match shot late into the evening. This year, the Captain made his normal knee jerk

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reaction of substituting people left, right and centre based on the fact that they hadn’t turned up by 6 o’clock.

However, his persistence, and ability to substitute himself, finally paid off when the ‘A’ team managed a score of 250.44 out of 250.50 which is truly amazing. The ‘B’ team suffered a couple of ‘issues’, whilst the ‘C’ team (which suddenly had some more experienced shooters in it following B team melt down) put in a solid performance. A number of others shot alongside as well, with 20 old boys shooting in total.

Of the 20, three managed to get the highest possible score of 50.10, namely Messrs Armstrong (A), Wheeler (A) and Whicher (C). One person getting this score would be great ... but three on the

same day was awesome!

The result was never in much doubt after that, with a win for the ‘A’ Team. The ‘C’ team came second in the ‘B’ team match and the ‘B’ team came second in the ‘C’ team match... do not ask how that works! Not only this, but the Old Guildfordians won the aggregate competition by a significant margin.

The winning ‘A’ Team scores: David Armstrong 50.10v, Paul Wheeler 50.10v, Derek Lowe OG 1991 50.9v, Jon Underwood 50.8v, Oliver Russell 50.7v The AGM that night was enjoyed by all, and included the traditional pavlova eating by Graham Atkinson OG 1988.

You need to attend to truly understand what this entails, but as a hint, it usually has a very messy ending.

UK CLUB CHAMPIONS The following morning the team turned out at 7.30am for the final of the UK Club Championships in their usual state of bleary eyed post AGM ‘what are we doing up this early’ness.

Ably coached by Matty (Matthew Ensor OG 1997) and Wheely Bin (Paul Wheeler) they made a solid start at 300 yards but were still a couple of points off the lead; at 500 yards the team pulled back a point but still needed to do more.

At 600 yards the experience of both the shooters and coaches started to tell and a total of two points were dropped at this range, but had we done enough?

The answer was yes, just! Many other teams had equalled or beaten the individual range scores but none could

The RGS Old Guildfordian Magazine

beat the consistency over all three ranges. Old Guildfordians were UK Club Champions again, by one whole point!

Old Guildfordians (Surrey) Captain: Oliver Russell. Coaches: Matthew Ensor, Paul Wheeler.

300x 500x 600x Total David Armstrong 35.7v 35.7v 35.5v 105.19v Jon Underwood 35.6v 35.6v 35.4v 105.16v Archie Whicher 35.4v 35.5v 35.4v 105.13v Graham Atkinson 34.5v 35.6v 35.1v 104.12v Peter Savage 35.4v 34.4v 33.3v 102.11v Derek Lowe 32.3v 34.5v 35.5v 101.13v Totals: 206.29 208.33 208.22 622.84v During the Imperial we managed to pick up another significant pot, The Marlingham, for the best School Veterans team in the Grand Aggregate with the team made up of David Armstrong (697.92v), Paul Wheeler (696.97v), Jon Underwood (694.82v), Matthew Ensor (693.85v) and Oliver Russell (687.84v) AND FINALLY Thanks to both Oli Russell and Paul Wheeler for their persistence this past year in badgering people to come along, David Armstrong (aka “Milko”) for his hard work on ‘Jabba’ the hut (our Bisley club house), Oli Russell for the ammo production, Jon Underwood for keeping all the admin to himself and to all those who turn up... it wouldn’t be the same without you!  Martin “Archie” Whicher OG 1984 Captain Old Guildfordians Rifle Club

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENTS Every year when I write this report, I get to this point and try to work out what to say and who to mention. To be honest, almost all the members of the club have achieved excellence over the year, and to document these would therefore run to pages. I’ll keep it brief this year and just mention significant results, international honours and other appointments. Apologies to anyone I miss (it’s inevitable I will!)

We had four members represent OGRC in the ‘Queens Prize’ final this year: Jon Underwood, David Armstrong, Chloe Evans and William Livesey OG 2013.

Derek Lowe, Matthew Ensor and Jon Underwood represented England and Chris Milton OG 2010 represented GB Under 25’s in the South African championships in Bloemfontain in March 2017.

Paul Wheeler, Jon Underwood and Chloe Evans have just finished a GB Tour of Canada.

David Armstrong, Matthew Charlton OG 1989, Matthew Ensor, Jon Underwood and Chris Milton (reserve) have been selected to represent Great Britain in the 2019 World Championships to be held in New Zealand.

Derek Lowe, Oliver Russell and Liam Cheek OG 2012 (reserve) have been selected for the 2018 Great Britain Team tour to Canada.

Paul Wheeler has been selected captain on the NRA Team to the Channel Islands 2018. Chris Milton and Liam Cheek have also been selected for this team together with Michael Boucher OG 2012 and William Livesey as reserves.

Derek Lowe coached the winning England team in the Match Rifle ‘National’ match – called the Elcho.

Matthew Ensor coached the winning England national team in both short and long range, and David Armstrong and Jon Underwood shot in both; Derek Lowe was a coach in the long range match. In the same matches Matthew Charlton coached for Scotland, Liam Cheek shot for Ireland, Oli Russell, Alex Jones (short range only) and Chloe Evans shot for Wales.

Outside of the main meeting, Jon Underwood cleaned up in the Surrey Open during which William Livesey found his mojo with a fabulous 150 out of 150 in the long range shoot despite not having a pineapple at his side.

It would be remiss of me not to mention Miles Horton-Baker who as a Fifth Former capped an impressive performance from the school boy contingent during the Bisley meeting by making the Queen’s final and coming a very credible 74th. Excitingly we also saw great success from Fourth Formers Balazs Rigo and Tom Randell in the Cadet Imperial (the junior event shot with Cadet Target Rifles) …some future members of the OGRC hopefully!

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OGOBITUARIES It is with great sadness that we acknowledge the passing of OGs and other members of the RGS community over the past year. We rely on information coming to us from the OG and RGS community and every possible endeavour is made to ensure accuracy. Wherever possible we have included valete information from our School records.

Brian Chase OG 1939. Hamonde 1938-39.

Died in October 2016.

An Appreciation: Roger Nicklin OG 1966

Eric Dabney OG 1943. Hamonde 1938-43.

School Prefect 1943. Matric 1942. Cert “A” 1942. JTC Sgt 1943. King’s Silver Medal Imperial Challenge Shield Competition 1942.

SMRC Silver Medal 1942. Empire Marksman 1941. Member School Shooting VIII 1942.

Member “Country Life” Cup Team 1942-43.

Assistant Scoutmaster 1940. 2nd Class Scout 1938. Member “Gordon Whale” Cup PT Team 1939-40. School Colours: Football 1942; Rugby 1942-43; Swimming 1942; Shooting 1943. House Colours: Football 1941; Rugby 1941; Cricket 1942-43; Gymnastics 1942-43.

Member of following committees: General Games 1942-43; Magazine 1942-43. Member House PT Team 1941-42-43. Died on 18 February 2017.

Roger Nicklin OG 1966. Chairman of the OGA from 1997–2015 and Member of the Foundation Board.

Brian Mounter OG 1944. Austen 1938-44.

Matric 1944. King’s Scholarship 1939. Died on 13 October 2016.

Roger was a renowned and respected figure in Guildford and a cherished member of the RGS community, serving as Chairman of the Old Guildfordians’ Association for over 18 years. He joined RGS in 1959 and left in 1966. Whilst at school he enjoyed rugby, athletics and gymnastics, and took an active part in the CCF as a Corporal. On leaving school Roger went to Dartmouth Naval College (Fleet Air Arm) and then to University of London where he joined the air squadron. He also served in the RAF reserve (photo reconnaissance). He qualified as an optometrist and became well known in the Guildford area, working next to the School in Nicklins Opticians, the family business. Many grateful and appreciative customers benefitted from his expertise in this field over the years and he was planning to retire in 2017.

Roger became Chairman of the OGA in 1997 and served in this capacity until 2015 when the OGA was formally dissolved and absorbed into the School. He worked tirelessly and with great energy, organising the annual OG Drinks and Dinners, bringing OGs back in touch with the School and spreading goodwill and bonhomie

throughout the OG community. He was also a loyal and very supportive member of the Foundation Board and was a generous supporter of the School for years, giving both time and money.

Our thoughts and wishes are with his family – his wife Carolyn, their three children, Olly OG 1992, Edd, and Jane, who had Roger and Caroyln’s second grandchild shortly before he died, and his brother Giles OG 1963.

Roger epitomised the title “Mr Guildford”, one of those people who everyone knew either through his work, the RGS or his long-standing association with Guildford Round Table and later the Rotary Club which he also supported for years. Friends spoke of his love of flying, motor biking, skiing and making music, playing the guitar with a regular group of friends. He was always ready for an adventure.

Unbeknown to all except his family and a few close friends, Roger had suffered periodically from depression for many years and sadly took his life on 29 May 2017. He is missed hugely by all those whose lives he touched and is remembered for his great friendship, loyalty and sense of fun. Life was never dull when he was around.

Philip Byrne OG 1945. Beckingham 1937-45.

Matric 1944. Magnus Art Prize 1943. Cert “A” 1944. JTC L/Cpl 1944. Signals Assistant Instructor 1945. Empire Marksman 1945.

School Colours: Swimming 1945. House Colours: Swimming 1944, capt 1945; Chess 1944. Member Natural Science Society Committee 1944-45. Member House PT Team 1944-45. Died on 17 October 2016.

George Brown OG 1946. Hamonde 1938-46.

School Prefect 1946. Matric 1945. Assistant Scoutmaster 1944-46. King’s Scout 1946. Red All-Round Cords 1946. Member “Gordon Whale” PT Team 1941. School Colours: Football 1945; Rugby 1945-46; Cricket 1945-46; Boxing 1945 (Winner Class “B” 1945); Gymnastics 1945 (School Champion 1946); Athletics 1946. House Colours: Football 1945; Rugby 1944-46; Cricket 1944-45; Boxing 1941-43, capt 1945 (Winner Class “F” 1941); Athletics 1942-44-45; Chess 1944. Member General Games Committee 1946. Member House PT Team 1942-44-45.

Died in May 2017.

Donald Bullen OG 1947. Hamonde 1942-47.

Matric 1947. King’s Scout 1946. Green All-Round Cords 1946. 1st Class Scout 1945.

Patrol Leader 1945. Died in December 2016.

The RGS Old Guildfordian Magazine

Bernard West OG 1948. He moved to Australia and died in 2013.

Anthony Balchin OG 1950. Hamonde 1943-50. Higher Cert (Inter BSc) 1950.

County Major Scholarship 1950. Matric 1948. CCF A/Cpl 1950. Cert “A” 1948. Class Signaller 1949. Assistant Instructor 1950.

Empire 1st Class Shot 1948. 2nd Class Scout 1944. Scout Second 1945. Died on 4 April 2017.

Daniel Weller OG 1950. Nettles 1942-50.

Gen School Cert 1950. CCF L/Cpl 1948. Cert “A” 1948. Empire 1st Class Shot 1947-50; Marksman 1948. Classified Signaller 1950, Assistant Signalling Instructor 1950. Scout P/L 1946-47; King’s Scout 1947. School Colours: Cricket 1948-50; Cross-Country 1948-49; Chess 1949-50; Boxing 1948; Table Tennis 1949. House Colours: Cricket 1946-47; Football 1948-50; Athletics 1946; Chess 1948; Cross-Country 1950; Gymnastics 1950; Fives 1949; Boxing 1947-49. General Games Committee 1950. Member House PT Team 1949-50. We were notified in December 2016.

Nick Howard OG 1951. A war evacuee, Nick joined the RGS on a scholarship and left aged 16 to join the merchant navy.

He was working as a ship’s officer and navigator on the Suez Canal on the day the Egyptian leader nationalised it. This and other experiences politicised him and he eventually signed up for a Greek ship travelling to Havana, where he met Che Guevara and other leaders of the Cuban revolution. He then worked for a maritime library before studying at the LSE where he joined the International Socialists, forerunner of the Socialist Workers Party.

On graduating in 1964 he taught in Sheffield and helped build an active branch of the International Socialists. He became involved in strikes and tutored/lectured in adult education at Sheffield University until 1997.

He researched the maritime industry and wrote essays on the history of the steelworkers’ and ironworkers’ unions, as well as research on the blockade of Germany after the first world war and the history of the labour movement, which are held in a collection by Sheffield University.

He died in 2016 (taken from obituary notice in The Guardian).

Terence Young OG 1954. Beckingham 1948-54. Scout Patrol Leader. CCF Cert “A”, EICS, Empire Marksman. Died on 15 June 2017.

Michael Brocklebank OG 1955. Died on 18 April 2017.

Cyril Alesworth OG 1956. Beckingham 1952-56. GCE O Level 1955. CCF L/Cpl 1956.

Empire 1st Class Shot 1952; Marksman 1953-56; Member School Shooting VIII

1953-56; Winner of Imperial Challenge Shield Silver Medal 1956; Section Leading Course 1954. House Colours: Chess 1954.

Died on 28 September 2016.

Peter Hatley OG 1958. Austen. GCE O levels 1956, A levels 1958. R.O. Griffiths Memorial Prize 1958. CCF Cert “A” (Part II) 1956.

Classified Signaller 1957; Assistant Signalling Instructor 1957; 1st Class Shot 1958. School U14 Cricket Team (capt).

Gymnastics Display Team. Athletics Team.

Half Colours: Gymnastics 1953-57; Athletics 1953-58; Rugby 1957. House Colours: Gymnastics 1953-58 (capt); Athletics 1953-58 (capt); Rugby 1956-58; Soccer 1958; CrossCountry 1958. Died on 25 November 2016.

Andrew J Smith OG 1964. Nettles 1957-64.

School Prefect. 1st and 2nd Rugby XVs. Scouts P/L 1960. His close friend Martin Tyler OG 1964 wrote, “His great claim to fame was, as the youngest boy in the school, he cut the first sod of turf at the start of the ‘New Building’. Andy was a gifted sportsman and though a true football fan, represented the school at rugby with some style.” Died on 17 June 2017.

Rupert W S Butterfield OG 1965. Hamonde 1958–65. A-level Botany prize 1965. Rugby 1st XV. House Colours: Cross-Country; Swimming. House Athletics capt, 1963–65; Prefect 1963–65. CCF Proficiency 1962.

Outward Bound Sea School, 1964.

“Rupert was an RGS sports all-rounder, and outstanding at middle-distance events. His records in 220 & 440 yards at Guildford & Godalming Athletics Club held for 50 years and he was English Schools U15 880 yards (800 metres) champion in 1962. Sport and the outdoor life, the latter inspired in part by our family’s Welsh connection (mountains), moulded his post-school career too. After graduating from the Regent Street Polytechnic (Zoology), he did his PGCE in PE, Biology and Education at Loughborough College of Education. Thereafter, he initially taught PE, Biology, and Science at George Abbott School, Guildford. Subsequently, he was head of PE at John Hampden Grammar School, High Wycombe, Bucks for many years. He was immensely proud that John Hampden teams under his supervision achieved consistent success nationally.

Rupert played rugby for the OGs 1965–1981 (Secretary 1974–76) and is remembered for his lightning speed on the wing. A keen blues/R&B musician (drums, guitar) since schooldays, he was famous locally in Bucks for gigs he organized and sometimes jammed in, and for his website encouraging local blues music-making: the local paper called him a “blues guru”, and a gig was organized in his memory. All those who knew him professionally or socially remember fondly his outgoing personality,

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enthusiasm, and wicked sense of humour.

He died on 20 December 2016, and is survived by his beloved wife Pat, and children Katie and Thomas.”

Tribute by Jeremy Butterfield (brother) OG 1968.

Ian Howard OG 1966. Died on 30 August 2016. His friend Graham Snell OG 1966 shared some of his memories with the congregation.

Roger Phelps OG 1968. Brother of Bernard Phelps OG 1962, he died on 12 February 2010.

Richard Tiner OG 1968. Beckingham 1961-68. Prefect. Member of Debating Society, Chess Club and Scouts. Cross Country and Athletics; 1500m and 5000m Champion 1968. Died suddenly on 23rd February 2017.

Gary Stockbridge OG 1975. Awarded OBE in 2007 for managing the delivery of the Highways Agency National Traffic Control Centre. Died in January 2017.

Jeremy Deller OG 1990. The youngest son of Simon Deller (former Headmaster of Lanesborough School), Jeremy died unexpectedly of a heart attack whilst asleep on November 13th 2016.

Michael Nicholson, RGS Governor 2001-09, and former parent. He reported as a war correspondent for Independent Television News (ITN) for 40 years, covering conflicts ranging from Vietnam in the 1970s to the Falklands campaign in 1982. He served as the staff nominated Governor, representing the staff on the governing board of the RGS for eight years. Died on 11 December 2016.

RETRACTION - Philip Lingard OG 1983 is alive, and practising as a medical doctor in London. Having worked in journalism and then TV, he retrained as a doctor and now works as a GP. We offer our sincere apologies for having included his name in last year’s obituaries in the 2016 DialOGue magazine.

To submit an obituary or notice of death, please contact Philippa Green on: +44 (0)1483 880665 / pmg@rgsg.co.uk

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“ P ass the parcel. That’s sometimes all you can do. Take it, feel it, and pass it on.

Not for me, not for you, but for someone, somewhere, one day. Pass it on, boys. That’s the game I want you to learn. Pass it on.”

F rom The History Boys by Alan Bennett, who briefly attended RGS Guildford

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THE BECKINGHAM SOCIETY & THE NEW ENDURING BURSARY FUND The Beckingham Society recognises and celebrates the support of those in the RGS community who have chosen to follow in the footsteps of RGS founder, Robert Beckingham, by leaving a legacy to our School.

Founded in 2010 by a small group of loyal Old Guildfordians, including Ken Joyner OG 1941, gifts from members of the society have contributed over £600,000 to the School in the last seven years.

These gifts have been used to support every aspect of School life, from the development of the RGS campus to bursaries.

Each summer, the Headmaster invites members to join him for lunch in the Old Building to be updated on the events of the last School year and to look ahead to future plans and activities.

In 2016, the Headmaster announced his ambition that RGS be needs-blind within a generation, so that every bright local boy who earns his place can take it up, irrespective of his family’s financial circumstances. As part of our journey to full merit-based open access, we have now launched the Enduring Bursary Fund. Like an endowment, the fund will grow capital to produce revenue, securing bursaries in perpetuity and giving Beckingham Society members the opportunity to support generations of boys in the years to come.

Richard Tilbrook OG 1979, is a member of the Society. Speaking about his decision to remember the School in his will he says, “As one of the old grammar school boys*, I was lucky enough to receive an entirely free education at the RGS. I want all local boys to have that opportunity, regardless of their family circumstances: it’s really important to me that academic potential is the key criterion for entry, not parental income. So I’m delighted that the Headmaster has set out a vision for needs-blind access and I’ve left the RGS a legacy to help that ambition become a reality.”

The Society welcomes Old Guildfordians and parents and staff, past and present with gifts of each and every size. If you have left a legacy or are thinking of doing so, join us.

For more information see the Ways to Support/Remember Us section under Support the RGS at rgs-guildford.co.uk Alternatively, if you have already remembered the RGS in your will and you would like to join the Beckingham Society, or to find out more about the new Enduring Bursary Fund, contact Jenny Rothwell on +44(0)1483 880665 / jrr@rgsg.co.uk *RGS Guildford was part of the state-maintained system from 1945-77. During this time all boys received their education free of charge.

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THE GAMES ROOM Chess Problems with thanks to Alan Thorn These two positions are in games from our current top school players: Harry Grieve* (captain) (L6) and Alex Golding (Third Form). In the first diagram can you see how Alex (playing white) was able to force checkmate? In the second diagram can you see how Harry (playing black) was able to win material?

Answers on p.89 * Harry Grieve was crowned 2017 UK Junior Chess Champion after seeing off the challenge of 45,000 participants in the Delancey UK Schools Chess Challenge.

Maths Conundrum: Pent Up by Mash Clues give the prime factorisation of answers to be entered. Each letter within a clue represents a distinct prime number, but not necessarily the same one throughout the puzzle. Factors are given in order of largest powers rather than size.

Thus p alone means a prime number, p 3 would be the cube of a prime, and p 2q is a prime squared multiplied by another prime, such as 18 or 28.

No clued answers have leading zeros, all entries (clued and unclued) in the initial grid are distinct and all entries have at least two distinct digits.

The completed grid contains five distinct digits twelve times each. Further bars must then be inserted along gridlines to divide the grid into twelve distinct pentominos (see below) such that no digit is repeated within each. The bars already provided are the only ones from the final pattern that fall diametrically opposite each other.

F

I

Answers on p.89

L

N

P

Solvers may wish as a finale to highlight eight digits in two symmetrically placed sets of four (involving five pentominos).

The difference between these two sets (an anagram of one unclued entry) can be entered in the central square to commemorate a recent event.

T

For anyone unfamiliar with pentominos, the full set is shown below, using their standard letter codes for reference.

Rotations and reflections are allowed in this puzzle.

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

1

2

3

4

5

6

13

14

7

8 9

10

11

12 15 17

16 18

19

20

21 22

23

Across 1 pq 8 p5q2r 9 p3q3r 11 pqr 13 p2q 15 p 17 pqr 20 p2q2 21 p2q 23 pq

Down 1 pqrst 2 pqrs 3 p9 5 pqr 6 p 7 p4 10 p5q2r 14 p2qrs 18 p3 20 p3qr

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The RGS Old Guildfordian Magazine

Crossword by Jeremy Whittaker Across 1 Season an unusual tart using mace, nutmeg for starters (6) 4 Dance after school; missing the start, Mike butts in – what sentimentality! (8) 9 Tattooed, squealed like a pig with its head cut off (5) 10 Scandal involved in higher purchase results in sign of agreement (9) 11 Smell of crushed gnat (4) 12 1 across, across the pond (4) 13 Compound found in small oyster (5) 15 Survive, leaving building after everyone else (7) 16 Trick bird (4) 19 Page may 12 in 1 across (4) 20 Shocked to see Capone with weapon (7) 23 Broadcast Tosca of course (5) 24 Positioned horizontally in country road reportedly (4) 25 Crazy bird (4) 27 Still popular and less affected by 19 12 (9) 28 I bail out, with excuse for absence (5) 29 Sort date out – have trial run (4,4) 30 Mel, demure on the outside, is pretty (6)

1

2

3

4

9

6

7

8

17

18

10

11

12

13

14 15

16

19 21

20

22

23

24

25 26

27

29

Down 1 Pursuit of high-flyer (8) 2 Study how to receive message (4,4) 3 Form of fashion (4) 5 Convict and female prisoner take part in fire (13) 6 1 across term for daisy, perhaps (10) 7 Responsible for spreading a libel (6) 8 Finding unknown record (unknown in personnel department) is a breeze (6) 10 Producing well-being in NHS – he’s late – flu is rampant (13)

5

14 With target fixed, it’s foolproof (10) 17 Crazy Naomi met an old fossil (8) 18 Self likeness (8) 21 Trade in speed (6) 22 Skin disease of old mother we are told (6) 26 Clousseau’s servant, a well-known public speaker (4)

Answers on p.89

28

30

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DIALOGUE Issue #2 2017

FROM THE ARCHIVES

A VISIT TO THE CHAINED LIBRARY Exquisitely preserved and one of only a small number of such libraries remaining in the UK, the Chained Library at the RGS is a national treasure.

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John Parkhurst (c1511-1575), Bishop of Norwich, was an avid collector of books and involved in the early days of modern print culture. He bequeathed 83 volumes of the Latin section of his book collection to the RGS and this forms the core of the Chained Library, built in 1586, as we know it today.

The oldest book was printed in Venice in 1485 and is still clear and legible to the reader. Bound volumes are chained through the cover of the book or box casing, and secured to the bookshelves, an Elizabethan technique for keeping the books safe.

Parkhurst’s books are mainly theological texts, but the collection numbers many more books now, donated to the RGS Library over the centuries and covering topics such as law, astronomy, geometry and scientific exploration.

Others treasures include a wonderful atlas, showing a map of the world as understood in the 18th century, including “places as yet unknown”; an early copy of Newton’s Principia; medieval illustrated fragments of parchment and vellum dating from the 12th-15th century, and fragments of school-boy jottings from centuries past. 

Pictured top: A polyglot bible Bottom: Early copy of Newton’s Principia (including a diagram of ‘Newton’s Cradle’)

DIALOGUE Issue #2 2017

GRAMMAR SCHOOL DAYS

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Time haunts this place. These deep steps worn By strong young feet along five hundred years.

This small stone arch built before men were tall Was a forbidden place when I was here, Allowed to masters, prefects, predators.

We minnows crammed the strait gate at the side.

Blue blazered boys buzzing like summer flies We clogged the High Street at each change of class.

Most in those simple days were very proud To wear the blazoned badge upon our chest.

The Royal Grammar School, built by a king, This was the thing. Our school had history.

For centuries it turned its clever hand To raising Englishmen for good or bad.

Its ways had not changed much. Its intake had.

We new boys, winnowed by the eleven plus, We came from nowhere and from everywhere.

Ambition was our goad, sometimes our snare, That blind desire to run from where you are And rise. To leave the class in which you’re born, And join the lucky winners in life’s race.

The school was geared to learning and to this.

Reasons for combat reared on every side.

All was uncertain, fought for, from the start.

Our place in class, selection to the teams, Admission to the sixth form, making Prefect, Captain of Cricket, being top Cadet, Keen Head of House, or steady Head of school.

These were the glittering prizes to be had.

At last came entry to the Dreaming Spires And if you’d won quite often through the years, A failure here could be a crippling blow.

And certain, too, without a lot of “O’s”, You’d leave the grammar school at sweet sixteen.

The arena for this gladiatorial show: The Tudor school. It faced a Georgian house Across the busy street. The odd pair overlooked A rat run between revving cars on which We dodged, or bumped long suffering citizens, To be on time for class in Allen House.

Its classrooms had bare boards, and smoky stoves, Its garden was a sports field leading on To prefab huts. In winter all was cold, In summer, very hot; asbestos greenhouses Crowded and torpid on long afternoons Home to the music and geography I failed to learn. Quite soon it was replaced, Dull modern stuff less beautifully faced.

The old school was a battered treasure house.

The quad had leaded windows tilting down.

On the first floor the schoolroom spread out wide With painted Latin mottos round the sides.

Here were Assemblies, beginnings, ends of terms.

We sang “To be a pilgrim,” to our tune Our dropping voices in rough harmony.

We always knew that we must learn or go.

The old chained library groaned with precious tomes They leaned aslant, chained tight to penal shelves, They smelt and knelt, monastic in their roots.

These manacled denizens, stubbornly alive, Delivered homilies in spidery script.

Those rich and ancient sages all ignored Their lovely modern sibling filled with light, Pristine, so clean, her tables bright,

She was a curiously female influence.

You simply knew you had to be quite quiet, To put books back, straighten the comfy chairs As if to please a kindly maiden aunt.

Her laden shelves were part of Mally’s realm.

He, her creator, and her leading light Made her just right. His quiet tale’s to come.

A labyrinth of corridors twisted, bent, Led to dark fusty classrooms each one filled With the sense of what had been, and what could be When teaching did what it’s supposed to do.

Sometimes, in winter, huddled round coal fires We could forget our chapped and freezing hands, And fly to Arthur’s court, or Caesar’s camp, Or Summer breezes slipping through open casements Woke us to listen and to understand.

We never knew we learned, but learn we did The school’s domestic heart, the small staff room, Was just downstairs, behind its solid door, Seething with smoke, awash with politics.

Here the tired teachers lurked. They took their tea, Enjoyed small comforts, planned the disciplines That ordered us and kept us at our tasks.

These men who nurtured us, they were all men, Were most good scholars, though not all could teach.

My favourite teachers truly loved their jobs.

Dan Sturley was the driven History Man. His book on Russia’s still a bracing read.

He taught us worldly ways and politics, Schooled us to see the blaggers, spot the lie.

He was the Prince, Renaissance man in tweed His mentor, Machiavelli, would be proud!

Dan made his own luck, and he polished ours.

The best of us could run a City State, Thanks to his deep, relentless tutelage.

Old Mally, Mr Mallison, taught us English, My first and greatest love, and also his.

He opened up the classics page by page.

By gentle steps he led us through the door Into a quiet, lifelong reading room Where no book’s out of fashion, all is new.

He helped us to respond to woven words.

He is the one who Chaucer’s words should grace: ‘Sounding in moral virtue was his speech, And gladly would he learn, and gladly teach.’

What did I take from this old grammar school?

I truly grasped the need to work, and then That over work, with effort misapplied Can dull us, slow us, even make us fail.

I learned that I loved sport, the spell of speed, The spring of turf on frosty Rugby days, The sound of bat on ball, long afternoons, The taste of cake and tea and captaincy, Those first decisions on the playing field, My second home for years of Saturdays.

I learned to strive and win, and also found That I could trip and fall like other men.

I left as learning’s friend, prepared for strife, Equipped with skills I’ve used to live my life. 

By John Shearer OG 1961

The RGS Old Guildfordian Magazine

THE GAMES ROOM

RETRACTIONS

Chess answers

Crossword answers

1) 1. Rxb6+, Kc7 (if 1 ….. axb6 2. Qxb6+, Nb7 3.

Qxb7# ) 2. Qxa7+, Kd8 3. Rb8+, Ke7 4. Ne4# or 3.

Qb8+, Ke7 4. Nf5# 2) 1. …….Nf5 2. Bxf5, Qxe1+ 3. Kh2, Bxf5 4. Qxe5, Re6 and white is in a mating net and will lose his queen. e.g. 5. g3, Qxf2+ 6. Kh3, Qf1+ 7. Kg4, Rg6+ 8. Kh4, Qh1+ 9. Qh3, Rh6+ wins the queen.

Across: 1 Autumn, 4 Schmaltz, 9 Inked, 10 Handclasp, 11 Tang, 12 Fall, 13 Alloy, 15 Outlast, 16 Gull, 19 Leaf, 20 Alarmed, 23 Ascot, 24 Lain, 25 Loon, 27 Evergreen, 28 Alibi, 29 Road test, 30 Comely.

Down: 1 Aviation, 2 Take note, 3 Mode, 5 Conflagration, 6 Michaelmas, 7 Liable, 8 Zephyr, 10 Healthfulness, 14 Watertight, 17 Ammonite, 18 Identity, 21 Career, 22 Eczema, 26 Cato.

Maths conundrum answers The central cells of the top and bottom rows reveal the dates 1509-2009, recalling the recent 500th anniversary of the founding of the RGS.

9

2

1

5

0

9

1

2

0

0

2

1

2

5

0

0

1

5

1

2

9

5

9

1

2

5

0

9

2

5

5

9

9

500

0

9

1

9

1

1

0

1

5

2

1

9

2

5

5

2

9

0

2

0

5

2

0

0

9

5

1

Logical solution path 3d can only be 512.

Only primes between 59 and 97 can have a fourth power fitting at 7d, and of those, only 67 and 97 contain no more than two digits on top of 1,2,5. 20a is a square, so cannot end 2, making 7d 20151121, and adding 0 to the list of digits used. 18d can now only be 125.

Note that a bar must now be inserted between the pair of 1s to obey the pentomino rules, which also forces a bar two above and one below the cell marked 14. Hence there can be no bars diametrically opposite these according to the given instructions, which restricts possible entries at 1d and 2d.

89

9a cannot be a multiple of 5, and including 73 will be too large, so has to be 23 x 33 x 7 = 1512.

To fit its profile 13a must introduce one of 3,4,7 or 9 as the final digit. Which means that 20a must be 1521 to avoid using either 6 or 8 and 20d therefore has to be 120.

This forces the L-pentomino to occupy the bottomright corner which surprisingly completes the entire pentomino puzzle using the rules given. The X and U have to go above the L and the F to its left.

Opposite-bar constraints position the N middle top, and then only V and Z can occupy top-right.

Only T can sit top left with I below to the left and W to the right. Finally P and Y fill the remaining space.

Some digits can now be placed, such as zeros in cells 4 and 22, to avoid clued entries starting 0.

6d is prime so cannot end 5, putting the 5 of the V-pentomino to its left. Also 6d cannot end 1, which is forbidden by the contents of the V-pentomino, so the final digit in the puzzle must be odd. Whatever the entry at 13a, the cell at 16 must contain 0.

8a ends 0, so must contain both 2 and 5. In fact, one of them must be the fifth power as 3 would be too small and 7 too large. Hence 8a is one of 212500, 215200, 311200 or 912500.

11a cannot therefore contain 2, so of the few possibilities available, only 3531 and 9591 fit the factorisation profile. Similarly only 355305 or 955905 can go in 5d, forcing 8a.

14d confirms the final digit as 9, and must be 29205 not 20925 to save 16a being entirely zeros.

21a can only be 921925 or 925529 leaving a zero second in 23a in either case.

To fit the space, the fifth power prime in 10d can be no more than 5, and it must not end 0 as 23a has a clue given. Thus it cannot contain both 2 and 5, so in fact even 55 is out. There turn out to be no viable options with 243 either, so it must be a multiple of 32, ending 2 and therefore containing no 5s.

In other words, one of 100512 and 109152. But 15a is prime which rules out the former. Then 21a is also fixed.

15a can only be 599, and so 2d can only be 20559.

1a is now 921509 and 1d has to be 90125990.

We offer our sincere apologies for any errors in last year’s publication.

In particular: We omitted to include John Saxton (History), Alastair Rozier (Art) and Dale Chambers (Head of Strings) in the list of current staff who have served 20 years or more at the RGS, an extraordinary length of service.

Tim Drake OG 1975 and former parent was listed in the OG team playing the Headmaster’s XI at cricket last year and we omitted to include his OG details.

In Catherine Moorehead’s article, the printed version had altered her original correct punctuation to incorrect punctuation. In several instances where the words inside brackets constituted a complete sentence, the full stop was placed outside rather than inside the brackets. As she was an English teacher with a well-deserved reputation for grammatical accuracy, we fully appreciate that this should not have happened.

90

DIALOGUE Issue #2 2017

FRIENDS OF THE RGS

Become a Friend of the RGS and transform a life

Our Friends are at the heart of the RGS, sharing success and helping to open the door to a new generation of the brightest RGS boys.

Our Friends offer support to the RGS where it is needed most. Our current priority is the RGS Bursary Programme and 100% of every donation goes to helping another bright local boy take up his place.

The support of our Friends ranges from £5 up to £1509 per annum. Made as monthly or annual gifts, this regular giving is particularly important for bursaries, allowing us to plan ahead and maximise income. In addition to offering life-changing opportunities to RGS boys each year, Friends receive:

• recognition in our annual Supporters Review • an invitation for you and a guest to attend the RGS Supporters Summer Reception • advance communications and invitations to special events

There is no doubt in my mind that without the RGS, I would not have achieved the things I have today.

OG 2013 & Bursary Recipient

For at least a decade I have been supporting the Foundation because I believe strongly that boys brought up in Guildford, as I was, should have the chance, if able enough, to attend an excellent school like RGS Guildford, regardless of their parents’ means.

Carl Dore OG 1957

HOW TO JOIN Download your standing order form from the Support the RGS section of rgs-guildford.co.uk or look out for our new Direct Debit facility, coming to the website soon.

Alternatively, you can apply for a pledge form from Jenny Rothwell on +44 (0)1483 880665 / jrr@rgsg.co.uk

The RGS Old Guildfordian Magazine

91

THE DEVELOPMENT AND ALUMNI RELATIONS OFFICE

Georgie Grant Haworth Development Director

Philippa Green Alumni Relations Officer

Helen Mack Communications Officer

Jenny Rothwell Development Executive and Governors’ Secretary

 ggh@rgsg.co.uk

 pmg@rgsg.co.uk

 hma@rgsg.co.uk

 jrr@rgsg.co.uk

 +44 (0)1483 887143

 +44 (0)1483 887144

 +44 (0)1483 880665

 +44 (0)1483 880665

With over 5000 OGs in over 40 countries, the OG community is a strong and growing international network. Keep in touch to receive the latest OG and School news and events updates.

Development & Alumni Relations Office Royal Grammar School High Street Guildford Surrey GU1 3BB  +44 (0)1483 880665  og@rgsg.co.uk  @RGSGuildford  rgs.guildford #AlwayspartofRGS

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A DIGITAL SPACE FOR THE OG COMMUNITY CONNECT SHARE PAY IT FORWARD RE-CONNECT Join today at

RGSCONNECT.COM

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‘‘

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OG 1985

OG 1965

OG 1987

WHAT A GREAT IDEA, THE RGS NETWORK JUST GOT A WHOLE LOT MORE VALUABLE.

GREAT SITE TO GROW A NETWORK OF BUSINESS COLLEAGUES AND FRIENDS.

BRILLIANT INITIATIVE. WISH IT HAD BEEN AVAILABLE YEARS AGO!