The Guildfordian 2021

THE SCHOOL MAGAZINE SINCE 1891 I THE ROYAL GRAMMAR SCHOOL

WE OVERCAME THE CHALLENGES

COMMITMENT I DILIGENCE I ENERGY I GOOD HUMOUR

2021

THE SCHOOL MAGAZINE SINCE 1891 I THE ROYAL GRAMMAR SCHOOL

Inclusivity We remain loyal to our founding principles to educate bright local students, irrespective of background or financial circumstances, and we inherently believe in establishing a culture of diversity and acceptance, and in educating our students in a welcoming, tolerant community where each individual is valued and enjoys a deep sense of belonging.

Scholarship We encourage the growth of intellectual curiosity, independence, creativity, innovation and habits of learning within a scholarly community through inspirational subject specialists who provoke and stretch the students’ minds and inculcate a lifelong love of learning.

Integrity We promote the development of self-discipline and responsibility, spirituality and a personal moral code, and cultivate an ethos where enduring qualities of decency, honesty, courtesy, humility and good humour are celebrated.

Respect We nurture an atmosphere of mutual respect between all members of our community, and foster self-respect and self-esteem in terms of physical health, emotional maturity and personal well-being, while establishing lasting friendships in a positive, happy environment.

Courage We develop leadership, teamwork, resilience and life skills through a diverse range of activities where all students, regardless of their talents and attributes, are encouraged to challenge themselves, take appropriate risks and work hard to fulfil their potential.

ŽůůĂďŽƌĂƟŽŶ We work closely with others for mutual enrichment, and encourage a spirit of generosity and service, a sense of perspective, and a firm belief that we can work in partnership with others, locally and internationally, to make a difference and have a positive impact on society.

HEADMASTER’S FORWARD

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or a publication simply jam-packed with words, a reflection on vocabulary would feel particularly apt. The last couple of years has led to an absolute explosion of new words and phrases, helping us all to make sense of the changes that have become established parts of our everyday lives. While the scope of lexical innovation in relation to coronavirus is unprecedented, this linguistic innovation is not unusual. We only need to look to other periods of history to see how such linguistic creativity manifests itself in times of serious social crisis: the World Wars, Vietnam and, more recently, Brexit have all sparked outbreaks of verbal innovation. The speed and reach of this have, however, been extraordinary, facilitated in part by the scale of our online connections which means that there are now far more opportunities for individuals to coin a new term and share it beyond their immediate local communities. Words which would have been nonsensical to a reader of The Guildfordian just a year or two back are now commonplace.

Established terms such as self-isolating, pandemic, quarantine, lockdown and key workers need no explanation nor do acronyms such as WFH or PPE; the virus even has entered established Cockney rhyming slang, a Miley Cyrus.

The outpouring of metaphors, neologisms and lexical innovations we have seen in the past few months points to the fact that linguistic creativity is a key part of language, reshaping our ways of engaging with the world. And yet as I read through this edition of The Guildfordian what strikes me is not so much the implications of the new norm, rather it is the spirit of energy and enthusiasm which has allowed our community – boys, staff and parents equally – to adapt and innovate to ensure our educational offering, both academic and co-curricular, is as rich and varied as ever. Rather than feeling that this was a year of disruption and challenge, the pages which follow highlight a genuine sense of achievement and opportunity, and this is a curve we certainly don’t want to flatten!

I offer my sincere thanks to all those who have contributed to such a fulfilling and varied year. I would also like to express my genuine gratitude to Mrs Webb who has produced such an inspiring and varied edition of The Guildfordian; she has managed to illustrate that, despite the challenges that we continue to face, this is a year of which we can all be proud.

Dr JM Cox Headmaster

C O N T E N T S 4

SALVETE New Staff

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COLLABORATION Outreach

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INCLUSIVITY Partnership Old Guildfordians

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ACADEMIC Roundup from the Departments

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MALLISON LIBRARY A Year in the Library

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THE CREATIVE ARTS Roundup from the Departments

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INTEGRITY Business Enterprise

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COURAGE Period 8 CCF

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HOUSES Roundup from the Houses

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SPORT Roundup from the Sport Departments

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SCHOLARSHIP Prizewinners Academic Scholarships

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UNIVERSITY DESTINATIONS For our 2020/21 Students

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VALETE Leaving Staff

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CAPTAIN’S FAREWELL Roundup from the School Captain

Cover Illustration by Michael Wu 5V ‘Cityscape’ With thanks to Mr JW Pressley, Mrs KL Sweet and Harry Boczkowski 5H Design, artwork editing by Mrs GM Webb Printing by A3 Design and Print

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SALVETE KIRSTIN ANDERSON

Chemistry What university did you go to?

The University of Cape Town and the University of Oxford.

What luxury item would you take to a desert island? A yacht; why not have a luxury boat to relax on while you’re on a remote island?

Favourite film? I don’t have a favourite film but can watch all 10 seasons of Friends on repeat.

Fun fact?

I think it’s important to keep a childlike spirit especially as one gets older. I do this by indulging my childhood love for climbing trees at every opportunity I get.

In one word, what do you live for?

Laughter.

Which book would you recommend to others?

Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss, a fascinating and incredibly useful little book on negotiation written by an FBI negotiator.

FEARGHAL EVANS

History What university did you go to?

UCL.

Fun fact?

I worked as a ski instructor in Japan.

What luxury item would you take to a desert island? Chef ’s knife.

In one word, what do you live for?

Food.

Favourite film? The Lives of Others.

Which book would you recommend to others?

How to Argue with a Racist by Adam Rutherford.

www.rgsg.co.uk

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SALVETE HENRY GRAY

Chemistry What university did you go to?

Oxford.

What luxury item would you take to a desert island? A coffee machine Favourite film? Inglourious Basterds or 2001: A Space Odyssey – although I’m not really sure!

Fun fact? I have rowed in The Blue Boat. Although sadly just during training, not for The Boat Race.

In one word, what do you live for?

Sport!

Which book would you recommend to others? The War of the Worlds, HG Wells.

ANDREW GYFORD

Mathematics What university did you go to?

UCL.

In one word, what do you live for?

Puzzles.

What luxury item would you take to a desert island? GCHQ Puzzle Book.

Favourite film? Back to the Future.

Which book would you recommend to others? Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett.

Fun fact? I have a world record for dancing the Charleston.

RIKE JONES

Counsellor What university did you go to?

I went to the University of Lueneburg in Germany, now known as Leuphana University – really enjoyed going to uni!

What luxury item would you take to a desert island? Mmm, that’s a difficult one. If it is allowed as a luxury item, maybe a chef who can prepare food for me, so at least the slugs and bugs I would have to eat are properly grilled and seasoned. If not, I’ll settle for a saucepan.

Which book would you recommend to others? Again, this is tricky- where to start? Let’s go with this one: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, a tale of two powerful magicians who continue their own rivalry through the next generation.

Fun fact? I’m currently trying to learn how to ride a unicycle.

In one word, what do you live for?

Curiosity.

Favourite film? The Time Traveller’s Wife – based on the novel by Audrey Niffenegger, my favourite book, which I own as a signed, first edition.

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JOSEPH MUCHMORE

English What university did you go to?

University of Warwick and University of Bristol.

Which book would you recommend to others? Any peer reviewed academic literature does the trick.

What luxury item would you take to a desert island? A Steinway Model D Concert Grand Piano. They’re just about big enough to sleep under; the strings would make excellent fishing line; the keys would provide ample kindling; and when all’s said and done, close the lid and you’ve got a nice roomy casket.

Fun fact? I once thought I was going to permanently lose my voice, so I recorded a complete reading of Ian McEwan’s Atonement.

In one word, what do you live for?

Words.

Favourite film? Forrest Gump. As well as being an amazing tragi-comic cultural potpourri of modern America, it’s a story of a pure and genuinely good man.

MOLLY O’GORMAN

English What university did you go to?

King’s College, Cambridge, though I spent most of my degree at home in Dublin due to the pandemic. Much like the students here, I’m very used to learning via Microsoft Teams.

What luxury item would you take to a desert island? A piano - all woes are washed away by music.

Favourite film? The Sound of Music - I can recite all three hours from memory, which is slightly embarrassing.

Which book would you recommend to others?

Les Misérables by Victor Hugo - a brick of a book and definitely a holiday read, but the writing is extraordinary and transforms the way you think about others and injustice. As relevant today as it was in 1862.

Fun fact? My home village features heavily in James Joyce’s Ulysses (another life changing book!), and I share a first name with the female protagonist.

In one word, what do you live for?

Stories.

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SALVETE PATRICK PALMER

Latin What university did you go to?

Durham University.

What luxury item would you take to a desert island? A fully charged kindle, with the capability of streaming live sport.

Favourite film? The Godfather.

Fun fact?

I am currently reading some modern books in Latin, having finished Harrius Potter et philosopi lapis and moving onto Harrius Potter et camera secretorum.

In one word, what do you live for?

Happiness.

Which book would you recommend to others?

Although it changes reasonably often, I would currently recommend Julian by Gore Vidal. It is a fascinating insight into the court intrigue, infighting and military difficulties that helped seal the downfall of Rome, written from the perspective of one of the final Roman Emperors, who was (shockingly at the time) a pagan.

NAISHAL PATEL

English What university did you go to?

I completed my undergraduate degree in English Literature at the University of Durham and a postgraduate Master’s degree in the field of Education at the University of Cambridge.

Favourite film? While certainly not a highbrow cinephile (as these films will no doubt testify!), it’s a toss-up between Goodfellas, Sin City, Moneyball, Creed, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Which book would you recommend to others? A question with infinite answers given my role as a Teacher of English in the School! I’ve lost count of the number of copies of Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children and John Kennedy Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces I’ve gifted to friends over the years!

Though, my tastes stretch across many literary periods. William Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida and Antony and Cleopatra define Renaissance drama for me while Restoration comedy is epitomised by Henry Fielding’s The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling. Also, I never tire of EM Forster’s work.

Most recently, I’ve found myself recommending a novel shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize: Burnt Sugar

by Avni Doshi. The author lives in Dubai, where I was able to meet her and discuss her motivations for writing the book. An autobiography I would heartily recommend is Mohsin Zaidi’s A Dutiful Boy; it’s very emotional but has an uplifting ending that leaves you feeling warm and more optimistic about the world in which we live.

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What luxury item would you take to a desert island? There are far too many! I recently returned to the UK after teaching in Dubai and needless to say, I became accustomed to a certain lifestyle whilst there! Coffee culture is a very popular pastime in the Middle East and my favourite coffeehouse in the UAE is called The Espresso Lab. I’d probably take as many of their Ethiopian coffee beans as I could fit in a suitcase, a coffee grinder, and my gold (very Dubai!) Bialetti cafetière.

This is all assuming I’m able to start a fire!

Fun fact?

As a teenager, I worked in a John Lewis department store in North London and once sold a kettle and a toaster to Rachel Stevens of S Club 7 fame! If my memory serves me right, they were both Smeg!

In one word, what do you live for?

As hackneyed as it may sound, probably teaching. It truly is a vocation you have to devote a lot of hours to so I think I’d be mad to say it doesn’t motivate me to wake up every morning!

www.rgsg.co.uk

JAMES STRATFORD

Economics What university did you go to?

University of Bath. Studied Economics and International Development.

Which book would you recommend to others? Battle Hymn of the Tiger Teachers: The Michaela Way.

What luxury item would you take to a desert island? A bottle of Robinson’s orange and mango squash.

Fun fact? The furthest distance a cow has travelled in a tornado and survived is 12 miles.

Favourite film? Jaws.

In one word, what do you live for?

Utility.

MICHAEL UNSWORTH

Physics What university did you go to?

Cardiff University.

What luxury item would you take to a desert island? My trusty hammock!

Favourite film? Jurassic Park. The legendary original – not the terrible sequels!

www.rgsg.co.uk

Which book would you recommend to others? A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson.

Fun fact? I trained as a surf lifesaver on Bondi Beach and had a (very, very brief ) cameo on Bondi Rescue!

In one word, what do you live for?

Experiences.

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SALVETE CHARLIE WAKELING

Mathematics What university did you go to?

The University of Warwick.

What luxury item would you take to a desert island? A knife.

Favourite film? The Shawshank Redemption.

Fun fact?

There is no such thing as ‘pear cider’, cider must be made from fermented apples.

In one word, what do you live for?

Fulfillment.

Which book would you recommend to others?

12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson.

THISHANI WIJESINGHE

English What university did you go to?

Oxford University.

Fun fact? I have taught in schools in Brazil, Peru and Sri Lanka.

What luxury item would you take to a desert island? Music.

In one word, what do you live for?

Laughter.

Favourite film? Bend it Like Beckham because it’s fun and uplifting and reminds me of growing up in London.

Which book would you recommend to others? Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel for pure escapism. The novel considers Tudor politics from the perspective of Thomas Cromwell. My favourite in the trilogy is Bring Up the Bodies because it’s about Anne Boleyn, but you have to read Wolf Hall first.

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COLLABORATION Orlando Meadowcroft 2R

“

you had to adapt to long distance friendships ĂŶĚ ƐƉĞŶĚ ŵŽƌĞ ƟŵĞ ǁŝƚŚ LJŽƵƌ ĨĂŵŝůLJ͕ ǁŚŝĐŚ ǁĂƐ ƐŽŵĞƟŵĞƐ ĚŝĸĐƵůƚ͘

”

COLLABORATION Charity and Volunteering In September, the school community voted to support the RSPCA, SOS and MSF (Doctors Without Borders) and despite the limitations imposed by the pandemic, we still managed to run many successful events.

Carol Singing at Pilgrim Wood

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altogether, £15,200 was raised for our nominated charities and every single one of our events embodied the School Value of Collaboration with involvement from the whole RGS community.

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he highlight of the Michaelmas Term was the Auction of Promises, with over 20 promises pledged by parents and staff. Members of the First Form also made Christmas cards and went carol singing in the garden of Pilgrim Wood Residential Home and boys in Second Form engaged in the Poetry Together event with Sunrise.

During the Lent Term and in lockdown, some 50 boys from four year groups took part in virtual entertainment events with two residential homes.

The talent on show ranged from musicians to magicians and helped to put a smile on the faces of the older residents. Jamie Stratford, Christian Moody and Theo Lakin ran a Charity Raffle with the

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opportunity to win a PS5, a haircut and a Happy Meal and raising over £3,000. Austen House climbed the equivalent of Mount Everest on their staircases, raising another £2,400.

THE GUILDFORDIAN 2021

Vitual Entertainment

Staircase Climbing

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The Trinity Term saw the most popular ever Bake Off with almost 40 entries, all thanks to Mrs Sweet.

We also launched the RGS Lockdown Cookbook with all recipes contributed by members of the RGS community.

Altogether, £15,200 was raised for our nominated charities and every single one of our events embodied the School Value of Service with involvement from the whole RGS community.

Our Period 8 Volunteering programme has run virtually all year in conjunction with Sunrise and Pilgrim Wood. The boys involved have shown patience, resilience and kindness engaging with unpredictable technology and delightful older people.

We also ran two virtual assemblies with inspirational speakers from MSF and SOS.

Bake Off Finalists: First Form - Alex Newman Second Form - Oli Cox Third Form - Shreyas Pasarkar Fourth Form - Oliver Gander Sixth Form - Jacques Pressley Staff - Miss Anderson Chemistry

Mrs RJ Rathmell

www.rgsg.co.uk

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COLLABORATION

Guildford Partnerships and Outreach It has been challenging to maintain partnerships and outreach activities in the Covid era. It was not just the restricted movement which rendered many of our normal activities impossible, it was also the mental space and energy required to rethink activities while simultaneously maintaining normal teaching and operations in a continually changing environment. The fact that I have anything to report here at all is testament to the enthusiasm and dedication of so many staff who have gone above and beyond to maintain, adapt and reinvent our programmes while maintaining their own professional balance in these ever-changing times.

Community Outreach Projects Primary Tudor Project

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t was a ‘here-we-go-again’ moment with School suspended for the second time just after Christmas 2020 – but this time without the novelty. Pleasingly, we were more ready to identify activities which could be tweaked or changed so they could still occur.

Particular highlights are the great success of the String Scheme - the work of Mr Chambers and his team of teachers is simply extraordinary and worthy of the recognition by the ISC; Mr Marchiafava continuing to teach French at Sandfield with recorded resources is a feat of incredible planning and hours of dedication; Partnerships such as the Enquiring Teachers Partnership and the Guildford 11-19 Partnership continuing to function with remote meetings is very pleasing; and the move to online provision for the Guildford 11-19 Partnership IMAG programme is really wonderful, as we found large number of students across Guildford with a thirst for learning and new experiences.

Once again many staff (thirteen) continued to be governors of other schools and this work obviously continued unabated. Yes, we are looking forward to getting back to normality, but it is worth noting that the disruption has not been all bad.

In the Michaelmas Term, following cancellation of all primary school visits, we applied ourselves to whether it would be possible to host a virtual Tudor visit for the usual schools. Mrs Timberlake led the project to try to adapt the programme to remote, on-line, live delivery. This live delivery proved very problematic with difficulties in terms of engagement with the pupils at the other end and also the timings of the events and reliability of the link. We therefore decided to adapt what we had for remote, off-line video delivery. By the Lent Term, a digital package of resources was sent to all schools we usually welcome to RGS. Particularly noteworthy was an excellent, newly devised session regarding Heraldry provided by Mrs Besly-Quick, Classics. Thank you to Mrs Timberlake, the Headmaster, Mr White, Mr Rosier, Mr Colebrook and Mrs Besly-Quick who all dedicated significant time to this project.

Mr TW Shimell

Mr TW Shimell, Assistant Head Partnerships

Heraldry Session by Mrs Besly-Quick

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RGS String Scheme Mr Chambers has achieved remarkable things to keep the Strings Scheme alive-and-kicking this year. Pleasingly, the efforts of Mr Chambers and his team were once again worthy of national recognition and the RGS String Scheme was included in the ISC 2020 Celebrating Partnerships Report.

Mr TW Shimell

ISC 2020 Partnerships Report

The RGS String Scheme is the flagship outreach programme of the Music Department and has reached its tenth birthday. Sadly, some of this was reached during the pandemic, but cometh the hour, cometh the technical and musical solution.

ways, the access was increased. January saw schools out and the String Scheme began delivering individual lessons via zoom to those that wanted them. Additionally, we were able to visit schools that had large groups of children attending (with parents in the essential workforce) and over half of the children in the scheme had some sort of lesson. The class teacher at Sandfield turned out to have studied the violin at school and so she took over the reins there for those children attending.

The Trinity Term saw a resumption of normal activity and, whilst we were able to give end of term concerts, these were recorded, rather than with a live audience. Happily, the Strictly Strings orchestra led the way with the first ever socially distanced and masked audience in the Recital Room – despite the unusual circumstances the children were magnificent and adaptable as ever.

None of this work would be possible without the generous support of our sponsors. The Friends of Investec International Music Festival support Sandfield, the Community Foundation for Surrey supports Boxgrove and the Strictly Strings and St Thomas’ schemes are supported jointly by the Mila Charity, Rhema House, Southern Pro Musica and Guildford Borough Council. The RGS runs the scheme but is hugely grateful to all of our supporters.

Mr DH Chambers

We started off the academic year with our normal pattern of teaching; 180 children in local primary schools being taught weekly in small groups by a team of dedicated and specialist string teachers. An orchestra of continuers, the ‘Strictly Strings’, meeting weekly for an hour each week at the RGS furthering their ensemble and individual skills.

November saw increasing restrictions. Sandfield began lessons at school, but delivered remotely from the RGS on a giant screen, Strictly Strings was unable to continue and the Christmas Concerts in each school were filmed without an audience. As a result of distributing the film to parents, everyone was able to watch their child perform and, in many

www.rgsg.co.uk

Primary Masterclasses Having planned for our usual Masterclass programme for Year 6 pupils in November, it was with great sadness that we cancelled these exciting sessions. Since, in large part, these Masterclasses for Technology, Science, Creative Arts, Humanities, Modern Languages and Mathematics rely on pupils physically coming to the RGS on Saturday mornings to meet and mix with their peers, and many sessions require group work, practical resources and facilities, we felt they would not translate well to remote provision. We will relaunch again in 2021!

Mr TW Shimell

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INCLUSIVITY Peter Lay 5P

“

ƐŽŵĞƟŵĞƐ / ĨĞůƚ / ůĂĐŬĞĚ ŵŽƟǀĂƟŽŶ ƚŽ ŐĞƚ ƵƉ ĞǀĞƌLJ ĚĂLJ͕ ďƵƚ ŬĞĞƉŝŶŐ ŝŶ ĐŽŶƚĂĐƚ ǁŝƚŚ ƉĞŽƉůĞ ŬĞƉƚ ŵĞ ŐŽŝŶŐ͘

”

INCLUSIVITY Philanthropy at the RGS Widening access and opening the doors of the RGS to every bright local boy is at the heart of our philosophy. In 2016, the Headmaster, Dr Jon Cox, announced the School’s long-term ambition to be able to offer a place to any boy who has earnt their place, irrespective of their financial means.

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e are thrilled to announce that we have achieved the first step on this journey.

In June we successfully completed our Twenty for 2020 Bursary Campaign goal with over 1,100 of our community including boys, parents and staff, past and present, now funding 20 transformational bursary places. This means 20 exceptional young men are now benefitting from an RGS education.

Our 2020 Giving Day focussed on uniting all our community; our digital School House themed competition encouraged an incredible 1,361 of you to raise over £100,000 towards the bursary programme and hardship fund.

Congratulations to Austen who topped the leaderboard for the highest number of donors, and Powell who took top billing for funds raised.

We are also extremely grateful and somewhat humbled to have been bequeathed £1 million by the wonderful widow of an OG who left in 1919. This is a significant milestone and has created the ‘George Pullen’ bursary which will fund a full 100% bursary at the School in perpetuity.

Thank you to everyone who has been a part of the story so far. The RGS is now in the top 7% of independent schools in terms of bursary expenditure. But the Twenty for 2020 campaign was just the first step in fulfilling our ambition of complete merit-based access and we hope you will continue to join us on the journey.

“I just wanted to say a deep heartfelt thank-you for making me more proud today of being a member of this School than at any point in my time here. Those boys will have their lives transformed... and in turn, the whole School will continue to be transformed by their presence here as we continue this journey.”

An RGS staff member reacting to the success of our 2020 Giving Day

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The House competition theme of this year’s Giving Day encouraged 1361 members of our community to contribute.

We welcome Monica Popa as our new Development Director, who joins us from the University of Oxford with time at St Peter’s, St Hilda’s, Oriel, Kellogg and Linacre Colleges.

THE GUILDFORDIAN 2021

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INCLUSIVITY

Old Guildfordians & the Wider RGS Community We regularly touch base with our 5,000 strong network of Old Guildfordians (OGs) with School and community news and events. Now spanning nine decades of leavers and located in over 40 countries worldwide, we look forward to continuing our programme of events.

O

ur digital community on rgsconnect.com is growing fast, accelerated by our younger OGs looking to learn from the experience of professional OGs. With over 75% of users willing to help, this really is the community hub for those seeking work experience and internship opportunities, careers and university advice.

With the world still shuttered, we moved all our events online, including a virtual pub quiz and the Breakfast Club, the thought leadership series forthe RGS community.

OG Highlights

The historic clock in Glasgow is a daily reminder of the climate crisis.

A brief snapshot of what some of our OGs have been up to over the last 12 months. You can read a more detailed OG review of the year in our alumni magazine, DialOGue, being published this December.

Angus Groom OG 2010 won Silver for GB at the Tokyo Olympics in the men’s rowing quad.

Henry Maxfield OG 2007 was awarded the Breakthrough Foundation’s 2021 New Horizons Prize in Fundamental Physics.

Environmental campaigner and nature documentary film-maker James Miller OG 2020 was part of the team behind the installation of the Climate Change Clock in Glasgow.

Jonathan Brundan OG 1988 and Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oregon, USA, was elected Fellow of the American Mathematical Society.

Three OGs brought books out: Adrian Mackinder OG 1996, Stan Lee - How Marvel Changed the World; Paul Kerensa OG 1997 - Planet Protectors: 52 Ways to Look After God’s World; and Dr Talha Sami OG 2007 - Take A Deep Breath: Diary of a Junior Doctor in the NHS During the Pandemic.

We were sad to say farewell to Laurie Weedon OG 1938 this year.

Laurie was a former glider pilot in Operation Tonga, part of the Pegasus Bridge landings in 1945 that launched D-Day and a much-loved friend of the School.

Miss HS Dixon

Jonathan Brundan OG 1988 elected Fellow of the American Mathematical Society

+HQU\ 0D[ÀHOG 2* won at “the Oscars of science”.

Staff Sargeant Laurie Weedon 1922 – 2020

Angus Groom OG 2010 (2nd from right) winning silver

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Adrian Mackinder’s book ‘Stan Lee: How Marvel Changed the World’

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Counselling at the RGS Since September 2021 RGS has introduced two new counsellors to the staff team, Ms Elena Jeffery - EKJ (Mondays) and Ms Rike Jones - RJO (Tuesdays am, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays).

R Ms Rike Jones

Ms Elena Jeffery

GS appreciates and acknowledges that everyone can go through challenging times in their lives, which can impact our ability to enjoy and achieve.

Counselling is therefore available to all students at RGS and if you feel this could be beneficial and helpful to your son you can get in touch with both counsellors on counselling@rgsg.co.uk You can also find the Counselling Referral form on ‘My School Portal’, for parental and self-referrals.

Counselling is a voluntary and non-judgmental, safe space for every student to express any worries or concerns, talk about challenges they face and find skills to improve their emotional wellbeing. The sessions are confidential, so no information from

the sessions can be shared with staff, family members or other students, unless it is felt that a student is at risk of harm or in danger. In this case, the Safeguarding Lead at RGS will be informed and further steps (e.g contacting parents) will be taken to ensure the safety and wellbeing of every student.

Elena and Rike will try their best to accommodate appointment times to fit in with students’ timetable and extracurricular schedule.

Counselling is offered as weekly sessions during the school day. All students are also invited to come to ‘Drop-In’ sessions on Mondays to Fridays during morning break in the Counselling Room in G26, for a chat, to get to know us and find out more about how counselling can help.

Ms R Jones

Counselling means being in this together

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INCLUSIVITY

Guildford 11-19 Partnership

This year Mr Shimell chaired the Guildford 11-19 Partnership steering group of Headteachers. Meetings were hosted remotely and all the usual joint programmes, discussions and sharing continued. This fantastic group has now been widening to GHS and Tormead who are welcome additions to this Guildford area partnership. The IMAG (Interested Motivated & Able Guildford) programme, which RGS organise and administer, has also continued albeit with a reduced programme. For more information visit: www.imag.education.

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ith no chance of face-to-face events we looked to see if online events would be popular. We launched the RGS Scholarship Conference as an IMAG event and I’m pleased to say that the engagement was very positive. Last year we were able to offer 10-20 places but this year an unlimited number were available and over 70 Year 10-13 pupils registered from Six different schools. In the Lent Term, Tormead hosted an online Facial Recognition workshop with 115 pupils attending from seven different schools. During the Trinity Term, we hosted an on-line entrepreneur minicourse delivered by the Children’s Business Fair organisation; the two sessions drew over 70 participants from Year 7 to 8 from six different schools. Next year the plan is to return to face-to-face events but the popularity of the online events should not be overlooked and we may continue some online delivery. Additionally, Mrs Webb has been instrumental in rebuilding and redesigning the website on a new platform (Wix) giving greater functionality and design flexibility for similar cost. All information and communication now handled through the website which is much more efficient and can now be managed by anyone at any school.

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Guildford Educational Partnership (GEP)

The RGS is a long-standing Associate Member of the Guildford Educational Partnership (GEP) Multiacademy Trust (MAT). This year, the GEP announced that it was formally merging with the Athena MAT, which is also Guildford-based.

This is welcome news for RGS as it widens the pool of schools with which we are formally linked and provides even more oppotrunities to work alongside our local community.

The Athena-GEP Trust now includes: George Abbot, Kings College, Fullbrook and Guildford County secondary schools and Boxgrove, Sandfield, Loseley Fields, Guildford Grove and Pirbright Primary Schools, Northmead Junior School and Shalford and Stoughton Infant Schools. With our recent merger with RGS Prep, there are also new possibilties for partnership working here too.

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Mr TW Shimell

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RGS Staff Out & About French @ Sandfield Primary School: Every Tuesday throughout the year, Mr Marchiafava continued to teach his Year 5 and Year 6 classes at Sandfield School despite not being able to visit in person.

His resources were extraordinary and he provided professional video presentations to guide pupils and staff through his normal activities as if he was present in the classroom.

STEM @ GEP Primary Schools: In a one-off event was invited to lead an activity as part of the ‘STEMfest’ event to inaugurate the new Loseley Fields Science building. With her usual creativity and flair Dr Patel created a circuit board Christmas card, with red-LED nose, for pupil designs using tin foil, LEDs, and a simple switch.

“I am writing to say thank you for your support in making our first STEMfest an amazing day for our pupils. The children thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience and talked animatedly about the day with their parents and carers.”

Later, in the Trinity Term, Dr Patel travelled to Boxgrove and Guildford Grove Primary Schools to lead sessions as part of Science Events, teaching about levers and moments by making balance toys from shapes of card, match sticks and paper clips.

Mathematics @ Busbridge Primary School: Mr Hanak-Hammerl travelled to Busbridge Junior School to deliver two sessions on Ancient Egyptian Mathematics to over 60 Year 6 pupils. He covered how we know what sort of maths they used, their number system, and what mistakes to avoid when trying to build a pyramid. At the end the students did a rope-stretching activity to form right-angled triangles to help them build a square based pyramid.

Classics @ Guildford County School: During the Trinity Term Mr Bush provided support to the Latin teacher at Guildford County School and helped to moderate their Latin Year 11 coursework and TAGs evidence.

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“I just wanted to say how immensely grateful I am for all your help with the Moderation of TAGs. I have really appreciated all the work that has gone into it, and it has been so good to have a second opinion.”

Additionally, an invitation was extended to the Guildford County School pupils to our Classics Society talks – via Teams: “Thank you to you and your department for arranging this.

It generated a lot of interest among my Years 10 & 11…

Dr Kearey (Oxford University) was really inspiring and thought-provoking, and I hope to incorporate some of the ideas she raised into our discussions of the text.”

Other Outreach by Department Physics: Dr Calverley arranged Oxbridge mock interviews for Physical Sciences across several independent and state schools (a huge task) including RGS, Winchester College, Charterhouse, GHS, Tormead, George Abbot School & Guildford County School.

Feedback from George Abbot School: “A big thank you for helping [our students] with their mock interviews. The feedback they’ve given is really positive and we appreciate your assistance. Interview preparation for our Oxbridge candidates is an area where we struggle for expertise.”

Feedback from Fullbrook School: “Thank you for your ongoing support…one of our Y13 students achieved an offer to study Engineering Sciences at Oxford which we are all delighted about.”

Mathematics: As usual in the Lent Term the Mathematics Department hosted a University of Surrey student teacher placement. We were nearly in the very odd position of a visiting teacher completing their placement without setting foot in the School having joined all of the lessons and meetings remotely; however, pleasingly, at the end of term they were able to actually see the RGS! English: The English Department donated four class sets of the text An Inspector Calls to Weydon School.

“I just wanted to write to thank you and the RGS very much for the donation of a number of copies of ‘An Inspector Calls’ to the English Department, here at Weydon. It means that we now have plenty of copies to go round, which will greatly improve the efficacy of our teaching”…. ”It is very generous and kind of you to think of us; it will be of real benefit to the students.”

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INCLUSIVITY Enquiring Teachers Partnership (ETP)

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a testament to the enthusiasm and dedication of so many staff who have gone above and beyond to maintain, adapt and reinvent our programmes while maintaining their own professional balance in these ever-changing times.

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The ETP is a teacher led action research programme to support teachers to develop new ideas and approaches and to assess their impact and efficacy. Teachers are encouraged to engage with evidenced based research and, with support from an external coach, to design and enact focussed research as part of their normal teaching in their school. Engagement with research and sharing of good practice is central to a successful school and our involvement and steerage of this programme is a testament our staff’s commitment to develop teaching and learning at RGS. During the Michaelmas Term Mr Bradford published the 2020 Enquiring Schools: A Journal of Evidence-Based Enquiry. This annual record is a wonderful publication bringing together all of the research from last academic year. Teachers from RGS, Epsom College, City of London Freemen’s and schools within Guildford Education Partnership presented the results of their research. Excellent RGS contributions from Mr Lythgoe, Dr Braithwaite, Mrs Thorpe, Mrs Walker and Mr Royds are well worth a read.

During the year, responsibility for the ETP passed from the departing Mr Bradford to Miss Hayes. Despite the difficulties of getting together for training and disrupted schooling, the ETP programme has continued but several of the planned projects has had to be postponed due to lack of face-to-face contact time. Across the ETP (RGS, Epsom, CLFS and the seven GEP Schools) eighteen projects were started. At RGS two projects were completed: Miss Hayes and Mr Spouge (History) undertook a project to assess Decolonising the History Curriculum: Why and How? And Mrs Ward (Mathematics) assessed the merits of different methods of electronic-assessment-for-learning for online mathematics teaching.

Kings College Partnership Good relations have been maintained with Kings College and further strengthened as, from September 2020, Mr Shimell became a Governor at Kings with oversight of Safeguarding. In this role, Mr Shimell visited Kings in October to conduct a Safeguarding audit. Although, all non-core activity at Kings was largely suspended meaning that the usual provision for Physics and Mathematics could not occur, Mr Hood and Dr Calverley did manage to continue some Physics provision for Year 10 and Year 11. When possible, they travelled to Kings to deliver in person, when this was restricted they delivered remotely. In the Trinity Term, Mr Hood visited to assist with student preparation and the TAGs assessment process for Triple Science Physics GCSE.

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International Links

With the departure of Mr Shakeri, International Links was initially overseen by Mr Shimell. In the Michaelmas Term we continued to plan ahead for the Cambodia Summer 2021 and Nepal October 2021 expeditions in partnership with Tormead and True Adventure. We hosted joint remote training sessions for the expedition pupils and also held regular meetings to discuss future plans with the Tormead staff. Very pleasingly, Mr Yardley was appointed to lead the International Links in a newly conceived role which combines the charitable links with the RGS International Schools links. Unfortunately, as the year wore on, it became increasingly clear that the planned 2021 expeditions would not be possible and with great disappointment they were cancelled.

However, in March, Mr Yardley with Tormead colleagues, put together a joint quiz night to raise money for our international charity Better Lives to help support their work in Cambodia. Tormead kindly hosted the quiz night via zoom and the evening proved to be a great success. With over forty families participating from both school communities, we managed to raise over £1000 for Better Lives. This was a fantastic achievement, and the boys should be very proud of their efforts in creating some highly entertaining quiz rounds. Families were tested on their knowledge of places in the world via a photo challenge as well as trying to decipher global airport codes. Perhaps the most entertaining round was the music round which saw many families singing along to some classics.

More surprisingly some were even able to remember Kim Wilde’s fittingly named Cambodia hit! Thank you to all the students, teachers and families who helped support this quiz and well done to our School Nurse, Mrs Pontin, whose family came runners up.

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Mr RG Yardley

Period 8 & General Studies Projects Unfortunately, all of our pupil-led outreach projects were suspended for the whole year as inter-school visits were not allowed. Next year we will relaunch the Period 8 options for Sports coaching, Primary Maths, and Kings College Maths.

We have also been working hard behind the scenes with GHS to expand the community outreach options within the General Studies Programme and it was disappointing to shelve these ideas until next year.

Mr TW Sh Shimell

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ACADEMIC Mathematics During a disrupted yet productive academic year, the Mathematics Department still enjoyed success. Unfortunately, we were unable to run many of our annual events and ventures, such as the school team competitions and our ever-successful primary projects; there was however lots of excellent mathematics that still took place, and heaps of success seen by the boys.

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Mathematics Challenges

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despite an interrupted academic year, Dr Jackson managed to organise each of the three competitions and the boys once again performed impressively.

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he UKMT Mathematics competitions are a chance for the boys to do Mathematics ‘just for fun’, encountering a variety of off-curriculum and puzzle-based problem solving.

Despite an interrupted academic year, Dr Jackson managed to organise each of the three competitions and the boys once again performed impressively.

Many of them achieved excellent scores, placing them in the top few

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percentiles nationally, and should feel very proud of themselves. Here are a few highlights: In the Senior Maths Challenge, sat by all double mathematicians and a few additional entrants, 32% of our boys achieved a gold certificate, 32% achieved a silver certificate and 25% a bronze certificate. These are awarded to the top 10%, 30% and 60% of participants respectively.

Four of these pupils qualified for the British Maths Olympiad Round 1 - Alex Thow (best in school), Henry Benett, Ben Watkins and Yuvan Raja.

There are 1,300 entrants selected for this competition out of the roughly 70,000 who undertake the Senior Maths Challenge, making reaching this round an outstanding achievement in itself.

In the Intermediate Maths Challenge, sat by all Fifth Form boys undertaking Further Mathematics and a few additional entrants, there were some fantastic performances. Michael Wu even scored full marks, a rare and remarkable achievement indeed!

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Michael Wu, Henry Franke, Yuvan Raja and Ronit Sachdeva all qualified for the Olympiad competition in their respective age groups. The Olympiad round invites approximately 600 students from each age group out of the 200,000 who sit the challenge, making qualification a significant achievement in itself.

Henry Franke was awarded a medal (top 100 nationally) for his performance, with Yuvan Raja additionally awarded a book prize (top 50 nationally).

In the Junior Maths Challenge, sat by all Second Form boys, 26 of the boys received a gold certificate placing them in the top 7% nationally.

This year we had six boys who were invited to the Olympiad round, Yuvan Raja (best in school), Ronit Sachdeva, Joseph Ryan, Abel George, Sebastian Welland and Oscar Gilliam. Given that only 1,200 students nationally are invited from around 60,000 entries, this is outstanding, and they should all be proud.

All of the boys who took the Junior Maths Olympiad achieved at least a Merit certificate, with particular mention to Ronit Sachdeva who achieved a distinction, and Yuvan Raja, whose score of 68 out of 70 is just incredible. This places him in the top 5 students nationally for his age group, and he is awarded both a gold medal as well as an additional book prize.

House Mathematics This year saw the return of the House Mathematics Competition, with over 50 pupils across the year groups participating. After several intense but enjoyable rounds or problem solving, Valpy emerged victorious, with Beckingham and Powell sharing the podium. Well done to all involved and we are already planning for next year!

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University of Lincoln Mathematics Competition On Saturday 13 February, Ben Watkins (U6-11) and Mr Black attended the virtual prizegiving ceremony for the annual University of Lincoln Mathematics Challenge. The ceremony commenced with a historical lecture on Lincoln, was inter-mediated by the reveal of the first, second and third place winners from the national competition, and concluded with a lecture on Algebra from Professor Khukhro. The challenge itself got pupils from all over the country to give answers to six maths problems, which were then marked by the Lincoln University Mathematics faculty. Ben came second overall which is a very fine achievement.

Oxbridge It was another successful year for Oxbridge Mathematics candidates, with Henry Benett, Kush Christie-Verma, Andrew Florescu and Ben Watkins all receiving conditional offers to read Mathematics at Cambridge. The boys not only had to attend their interviews remotely, but also are some of the few students across the country sitting actual public examinations (STEP) in the summer, conducted and invigilated remotely.

Mr SG Black

Coding Club Last year’s Covid restrictions meant that a number of clubs and societies could not take place in their usual form.

Pupils would meet every Thursday to try and crack the latest instalment of the National Cipher Challenge, a national code-breaking competition organised by the University of Southampton. The students puzzled over ciphers of increasing difficulty level, from simple Caesar and affine shift ciphers to Vigenère and Beaufort ciphers.

The Decrypters of the Galaxy (Yuvan Raja, Ronit Sachdeva and Ayaan Bhagat, all in Second Form) were unbeaten in the A challenges and they came in 79th place in the B challenges. With more than 1,800 teams competing, including Sixth Form students, this was a was a very respectable result. MVYMOGXK HYF!

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this year saw the return of the House Mathematics Competition, with over 50 pupils across the year groups participating.

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ACADEMIC English One of the aims of the English Department in 2020-21 was to enhance student engagement in literature and what follows are some examples of student work.

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n addition there was a re-vamped House Reading Competition with Houses creating short videos – this was incorporated as part of the school reading week. As I write the English Department is very different with more new members of staff than existing! It was a pleasure for me to act as acting Head of English for a year and I wish the department every success in the future.

Many congratulations to Kiki Akin-Olugbade who was a winner Barbara paused the TV. She heard a noise above her. She stopped and listened. She was in the Show Racism the Red Card babysitting, and sometime after midnight she’d go back home. She tried to resume her competition (see our Mallison Library episode, but the TV suddenly turned off. To her surprise, all the lights in the living room section). slowly turned off. It was pitch black, and silent. Suddenly, the landline phone started The Fourth Form entered the Young ringing. She froze. Slowly, she walked towards it, hesitantly picking it up. She saw that the Writers Unsolved competition. The task caller was calling from… the children’s bedroom upstairs. Silence. She heard an eerie deep was to write a brief story on this title. voice. ‘Have you checked on the children?’

31 of our students were selected for Dorian Sorensen 4B publication in the Unsolved Anthology of student work which is a very fine The rain was thrashing down, so I decided to try and wait for it to cease beneath the cover achievement and opposite are some of an archaic balcony in a secluded alleyway. All seemed fine until I began to notice a examples: truly repugnant odour. I investigated for its source; my curiosity had got the better of me.

Following a brief search around the area, I found it, a body: buried, beneath a pile of garbage. Overwhelmed, shocked and terrified, I fled the scene plagued with the fear of the crime being pinned on me. I have never looked back.

James Inglis 4B

Fourth Form writing composition in lockdown

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2020-21 was to enhance student engagement in literature.

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Mr GT Williams

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Classics This year was different in so many respects, due to the Covid pandemic, but our Junior and Senior Classics societies and Classics competitions continued as normal, albeit remotely.

Mattie Sutton giving a lecture to the Classics Society

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r Talitha Kearey gave the first lecture in the Michaelmas Term.

Her lecture, titled The Aeneid - a Ghost Story provided an in depth examination of the characters and themes in Virgil’s epic poem and gave invaluable additional material to our GCSE and A Level students, who are studying the Aeneid. The number of questions at the end of Dr Kearey’s talk showed that she had sparked the interest of the audience. Dr Karolina Sekita from St John’s College Oxford, gave the next senior Classics lecture in the Lent Term. Her Introduction to Greek Religion gave a fascinating insight into the religious customs and rites in ancient Greece. Dr Sekita showed that ancient and modern religions are in fact in many similar and that we have far more in common with the ancients than we might at first assume. Old Guildfordian Alex Norris, who is currently reading Classics at St John’s College Oxford, gave an informative talk on applying for and studying Classics at university.

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Mattie Sutton, in the Lower Sixth, gave thought-provoking talk titled From Classical to Colonial: Should we return plundered art? Seb Norris gave a talk to the RGS Classics Society on racism in the ancient world, a topic he had researched for an external Classics essay competition. Seb’s talk dealt with the topic both sensitively and intelligently. I particularly enjoy watching the boys give talks to their peers. The independent research needed for such talks is invaluable practice for their education, but more importantly giving a lecture to their peers increases confidence and ensures that they can think on their feet.

The Lent Term also saw the Guildford Classical Association (GCA) Latin and Greek reading competition. The GCA tirelessly run a programme of lectures and competitions for anyone in the local community who has a love of

Classics. They also provide bursaries to further pupils’ Classical studies and RGS boys have recently been awarded bursaries for the Bryanston Greek Summer School and I thank the GCA for helping our boys access such educational opportunities.

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Dr Sekita showed that ancient and modern religions are in fact in many similar and that we have far more in common with the ancients than we might at first assume.

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Seb Norris addresses the Classics Society

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ACADEMIC This year’s reading competition was run remotely, with the boys recording videos of their performance. I watched all the videos and was very impressed with the qualities of all the readings, but particular mention must go to Gabriel Meadowcroft who won the Intermediate Latin Solo, for his emotional and dramatic rendition of Cicero’s speech against Catiline, and to Oli Cox and Oscar Gilliam who were highly commended in the Transitional Latin Dialogue.

Congratulations must go to Mattie Sutton who won the RGS 4000 characters competition. The boys were tasked with creating a presentation in which they had to persuade Dr Cox which academic department he should save, and Mattie’s witty and imaginative presentation in which he convincingly sung the praises of Classics won the competition. Mattie also had success with Classics essay writing competitions. He was highly commended in both the St John’s College Oxford and Fitzwilliam Classics competition and was invited to attend a Classics day with the other prize winners at both colleges. Mattie also entered the Classical Association South West essay prize and his essay titled Do ancient historians tell us more about myth than real events? was chosen as one of the winners.

Oli Cox and Oscar Gilliam

Many congratulations to Mattie for applying for these extra-curricular essays and for researching the topics so effectively.

In the Trinity Term, as part of the Fifth Form’s enrichment week, Mr Nathan and Dr Fanti took a group of boys to the British Museum to visit the Nero exhibition. This was an exciting moment as it was our first Classics trip for well over a year due to the pandemic. The Nero exhibition was beautifully laid-out with artefacts from all round the Roman world.

It skilfully depicted the life of the most famous of Roman emperors and dispelled many of the myths that surround this enigmatic character.

My thanks go to both the staff and boys for their hard work and enthusiasm, both in and out of the classroom, which has made such a success of this most challenging of years. Particular mention should go to Mr Hillman and Mrs Lawrence who are leaving us this year. Both of them worked with dedication and enthusiasm in difficult circumstances and we wish them well for the future.

Mr EKD Bush

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particular mention must go to Gabriel Meadowcroft who won the Intermediate Latin Solo, for his emotional and dramatic rendition of Cicero’s speech against Catiline.

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Gabriel Meadowcroft

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Politics Trying to piece together a record of the last academic year has been incredibly difficult, and we all know why. There of course have been some highlights, although fewer than in a normal year.

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ive Lower Sixth boys, year are going on to study it – thus, Sebastian Dye, Freddie RGS boys will continue to populate E d g e c l i f f e - Jo h n s o n , the university communities of Oxford, Dominic Stagg, Oliver Cambridge, the LSE, Bristol, Durham, Robinson and Alex to name but a few. Perhaps the main Mitchell, represented the reason for this has been the febrile School superbly in the annual Dicey nature of politics around us. For good Conference. This normally entails a or for ill, the Trumpian years, the two-day residential visit to Trinity Brexit schism, the Covid nightmare College, Oxford, but this year it took have meant these students have lived the form of an online conference, an extraordinary political life already, discussing whether and whilst we Artificial Intelligence hope that these will make us happier. have given us a After the conference, great deal of food this has been a it was real delight for thought, they bumper year for to be contacted by have acted as the organisers, who genuine catalysts Politics students were effusive in politics continuing their studies in their praise of how classrooms across at university level. well all the RGS the land. We boys had conducted now appear to themselves. be heading into We also have had culture wars (real a resurgent Politics or imagined, Society in the Trinity Term of 2021, depending on your viewpoint), with boys eager to give lectures on and stark threats to our political various topics, Benji Chapman on landscape with populism surging and capitalist realism springs to mind, or capitalism being challenged – great to engage in open debate, The freer the for recruiting future RGS students, market, the freer the people, stimulating but deeply troubling for western a great deal of heated discussion. liberal democracies. I hope that these Finally, this has been a bumper year well-informed RGS boys will help to for Politics students continuing their temper some of this as they move into studies at university level – 65% of adult life, at university and beyond. those who took Politics A Level this Mr TJJ Owens

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ACADEMIC Modern Languages Even in a year hit by Covid, lockdowns and the cancellation of trips abroad, 2020-21 turned out to be a genuinely exciting and engaging year for all language students at the RGS.

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he creativity and RGS Upper Sixth Language students dedication of Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) staff provided a wide range of from Hampton and Farnborough e x t r a c u r r i c u l a r Sixth Form College. It was wonderful opportunities for our language to witness RGS students arguing so learners, as we saw a wide range of fluently and dynamically in German events, including success on a range of in national competitions, diversity linked debating excellence, topics which cooking experiences and demanded it was wonderful trips to galleries, to name d e t a i l e d to witness RGS but a few. research and students arguing Undefeated by an impressive lockdown, the Goethe linguistic range. so fluently and Institute moved its The RGS team dynamically. annual Sixth Form was strongly German debating commended by competition online, the judges on giving our Lower Sixth Form their passionate delivery.

Germanists the opportunity to pit In the Michaelmas Term, students their debating skills against teams in the Upper Sixth Form moved

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their cultural learning ‘online’ to watch a live performance of La Casa de Bernarda Alba, performed by the Cervantes Theatre. Conversation clubs also ran in person as language students played games, chatted and developed their confidence and fluency. National success then followed with Dev Atara’s winning entry into the National Environment Challenge (Business Language Champions).

Even as lockdown restrictions hit after Christmas, the French Department made the most of a return to online learning with a superb ‘crêpe’ lesson for the Sixth Form and an online cooking class in French for the Fourth Form.

Mr AR Lowe

Congratulations to our Sixth Form Germanists who participated in the Sixth Form German Debating Competition & received very generous prizes from the Goethe Institute

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Economics We are proud to say that studying economics at the RGS is never the same as we move from year to year.

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he first reason for this is external; we make it our duty to respond to the big issues that arise both locally and globally each year and thread them into our curriculum. An example of this was during 2020 was the in-depth analysis that took place within the topic of inflation. Our students explored how the extended periods of lockdown affected the accuracy of inflation figures, given that they were based on a pre-lockdown basket of goods.

The second reason our subject is so dynamic is driven by the boys themselves. Through their ideas, questions, and opinions, all our students help to shape our in-class discussions and influence the direction of how we extend our course. However, some go further, dedicating their own time to not only reading and learning about areas of Economics that are passionate to them, but volunteering to share their learning with the faculty through our Economics Society talks.

We would like to thank them all collectively for their efforts here and offer just a selection of the topics covered.

Early in the year, Tom Wright delivered a talk on nudges. Nudges, the use of cognitive biases to influence decisions, are present in all our lives.

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From which drink you choose to how a government establishes a lockdown; our decisions are constantly manipulated. The question of whether nudges should be viewed as marketing or mind-control has never been more important with the unprecedented growth of big tech firms. As nudges preserve freedom of choice and people are still happy with their altered choices, we can consider nudges as more of a marketing technique. But as nudges are increasingly becoming more effective, a change driven by the growth of AI, this conclusion will likely change.

In the Lent Term, Aradhya Soneja offered a particularly relevant talk, with the UK hosting COP26 in late 2021, on the feasibility of implementing carbon taxes. By considering empirical data from countries who have already implemented such a policy, Aradhya convincingly argued that they bring net benefits to society – both from providing an additional source of funding for governments to use on green investments, to effectively acting to internalise negative external impacts of carbon emissions, such as climate change, that are not accounted for in our day-to-day transactions.

The talk concluded with an engaging debate on the practical limitations of implementing carbon taxes due to possible political and international

hinderances.

In the Trinity Term, Teja Vejendla argued why the government should not increase its spend on Research and Development, even though it is known to be a vital part of a firm’s production process. He argued that the 1.77% of GDP the government spent was already enough. Given that innovation had historically occurred without state funding, many major breakthroughs come via large private firms investing their own money and this could be expected to continue. He concluded by offering the government still can play a role in focused R&D, but this should be limited to specific projects; those which would increase effectiveness of funding and accelerate advances in all fields.

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Mr JD Stratford

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the students taking the follow-on round completed the paper the day school broke up for lockdown, and their papers are awaiting results.

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ACADEMIC Geography Despite the trials and tribulations of lockdown, the Geography Department has endeavoured to get out and about. Fieldwork had to be closer to home for much of the year but it was fantastic to be able to return to Dorset for a residential trip in June.

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n Friday 26 June, Lower Sixth Geographers went down to Dorset to carry out fieldwork and expand their knowledge of coasts, as part of the A Level course. On the journey down, we stopped at Boscombe, where geographers undertaking a physical NEA practiced techniques on the beach and those doing a human NEA practiced sampling strategies and other methods which would be later useful for the data collection on Sunday. Another stop on the way to Weymouth was Furzy Cliff, where Mr Cowx described its formation and other interesting features along the beach. Each night, we were treated to an excellent dinner in the hotel, overlooking the sunset.

On Saturday morning we took a trip to Lulworth Cove where we could see rock formations which had been

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studied in the classroom the Geography earlier in the year. Thanks to Mr Cowx’s expert Department has navigation, we were able to endeavoured to get be situated with a view of out and about.

Stair Hole where formations such as the ‘Lulworth Crumple’ could be seen – being there in person really helped the understanding of how these processes worked and allowed us to visualise the scale they occurred on as well. We then climbed the hill to Durdle Door, a fine example of an arch, and again we were able to see a feature that we had formerly studied. The afternoon consisted of physical geographers collecting data and human geographers planning data collection techniques for the following day.

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We headed back to Guildford on Sunday morning, after stopping briefly to see defences which had been put in place along the beach to protect against storm surges which the area had experienced before. From School the physical geographers departed, while the human geographers collected the necessary data in Guildford.

Overall, the trip provided not only help in understanding coastal processes, but also entertainment such as visits to Durdle Door. Thanks must go to the Geography Department for organising the trip, as well as Mr Richards who gave up his time to come and ensure matters ran smoothly.

The Seymour Society The Seymour Society also had a fantastic year. Seymour Society, chaired by Leo Wang in the Lower Sixth Form continued to run for its third year and was a huge success.

The society met most weeks at lunchtime, with a wide range of talks from the Lower Sixth Form regarding geographical and socioeconomic topics.

This included talks from Leo Wang speaking on The Development Delusion, Theo Collins on the Latin American Refugee Crisis and Cam Allan’s Causes, Impacts and Future of Urban Mobility. A series of Geopolitics talks followed, including but not limited to China, The Middle East and even Northern Ireland, which was presented excellently by George McGrath.

The large and consistent weekly attendance reflected the Lower Sixth Form’s interest in both Geographical issues and topics, though this was also aided by the incentive of cookies and chocolate from Sainsbury’s! I would like to thank Mrs Waters, the Geography Department and all speakers that helped contribute to the success of Seymour Society this year, hopefully it will continue into next year.

Oli Rathmell Lower Sixth Form

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I would like to thank Mrs Waters, the Geography Department and all speakers that helped contribute to the success of Seymour Society this year, hopefully it will continue into next year.

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ACADEMIC History Despite all the challenges faced this past year, RGS History has remained strong, largely thanks to the excellent resilience, humour and flexibility of the boys.

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The Lent and Trinity Terms saw t has been a real privilege for me to have recently joined the reintroduction of the Sixth Form such a vibrant community. History Society. This was a student Having taken over as Head of led society, put together by Freddie Department in the midst of a Edgecliffe-Johnson and Ben Yates, January lockdown and with a guided by Mr Holliday. Students large degree of uncertainty with what researched and gave presentations on a wide variety of was going to happen with summer exams, I despite the many topics, with some examples being: was somewhat daunted. difficulties, there a discussion on Nonetheless, supported have been a number the morality of by a great History team, and with stimulating of notable moments nuclear weapons, the evolution of and engaging lessons over the past year. the role of the with the students, albeit British Prime online for the first few months, I knew that we were in a strong Minister, and a consideration on the position pushing forward. We are legacy of Napoleon, to name but a extremely proud of the achievements few. Mattie Sutton gave a presentation of last year’s Upper Sixth and Fifth on his highly commended essay for the Form, as they coped excellently with Fitzwilliam College Essay Competition the demands we put on them and the on In the ancient world, the sea always changing exam landscape. I have to linked rather than divided people. There give thanks to the outgoing Head of were fascinating discussions after the Department, James Bass, for all his presentations and it was a real pleasure to witness the students engaging in work he put in to support the boys.

Despite the many difficulties, History beyond their A level studies. there have been a number of notable A particular thank you must go to Mr Holliday for supporting the students moments over the past year. in this.

Mr Holliday and Mr Dodd led a Lower Sixth Form visit to the British Museum for students to see the exhibition on Thomas Becket, Murder and the Making of a Saint.

The exhibition marked the 850th anniversary of Becket’s murder and students were able to explore Becket’s life and legacy

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through illuminated manuscripts, eye witness accounts of his murder, jewellery and sacred reliquaries. It was fantastic for both students and staff to take advantage of the reopening of museums.

A real highlight of the year for First Form and the department was the History Field Day in the Trinity Term.

The entire year group were taken to Bodiam Castle and Battle for them to experience the medieval battlefield and see a fine example of a 14th Century moated castle. Students receed the exterior of the castle, evaluating its defences and considering potential weaknesses.

They were then able to clamber up the treacherous stair cases, past roosting bats, to take in the spectacular views of the Sussex countryside from its towers.

At Battle students could clamber up Senlac Hill, noting the locations of the Saxon and the Norman armies and getting a first hand tase of the conditions that soldiers had to face one thousand years ago. It was brilliant working in partnership with Ian Wilkes to put on a memorable day for the boys.

Mr JM Davies

www.rgsg.co.uk

Biology Despite the challenges of learning remotely, Biology has continued to thrive at the RGS.

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taking the opportunity to learn more about the Covid pandemic, we altered the Second Form Biology course to allow our boys to learn about the specific nature of the virus.

Dilan Patel and Matthew Slominski (Lower Sixth Form)

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n the intellectually gruelling British Biology Olympiad competition, Daniel Cobley gained a Gold award (top 6% in Britain), Matthew Gray, Jack Doyle, Laurie Horgan, Suyog Naharki, Faaiq Ali, and Tom Ward all won Silver, and Tristan Krawczyk-Lee and Sebastian Evans both won Bronze.

There were also a large number of boys who obtained Highly Commended and Commended awards.

Taking the opportunity to learn more about the Covid pandemic, we altered the Second Form Biology course to allow our boys to learn about the specific nature of the virus, how it infects people, and the biological consequences of infection.

They also researched specific data on the coronavirus pandemic in different countries and the history of vaccinations. Boldi Paladi-Kovacs undertook an experiment to determine the most effective way of washing facemasks to rid them of bacteria; an apt scholarly undertaking given that facemasks were still enforced for everyday life at the time.

www.rgsg.co.uk

”

Biology teaching staff continued to help prepare Upper Sixth pupils for university interviews whilst working from home, and we are delighted to see so many pupils receive offers to universities to study medicine and dentistry. The Medical Society continued to run virtually, and we are grateful for the help from Mrs Pontin and the Old Guildfordians (who are currently at university studying medicine) for giving up their time to speak to our aspirational medics about life in the NHS and studying medicine at university.

Congratulations to Matthew Gray on winning the University of Gloucestershire’s Biosciences Essay Competition 2020. Over 200 entries were received, and the standard of writing and depth of understanding was very high. Matthew’s outstanding essay was selected by a panel of judges, and he won a cash prize. His work has also been submitted to the Unchained Library for publication.

We also said goodbye to the wonderful Mrs Crouch, who retires after her second stint at the RGS.

She will be missed by all boys and colleagues, particularly her Sixth Form classes who were particularly fond of her thorough teaching.

We look forward to getting back to ‘normal’. Our field trip is set to run again, and we have a plethora of fun and exciting practicals to do this year.

THE GUILDFORDIAN 2021

Mr S Burns

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ACADEMIC Chemistry

Gold winners in Chemistry Olympiad

RGS chemists have achieved remarkable and indeed unprecedented successes in this challenging academic year.

Distinctions in Chemistry Competitions

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e were amongst year. Alex has achieved the extremely the 666 schools rare distinction of representing the taking part United Kingdom in consecutive in the UK Olympiads. Salv and Alex are two of C h e m i s t r y the finest chemists that the RGS has Olympiad and ever educated, and we will no doubt be obtained six Gold and 10 Silver awards. hearing about their fantastic scientific achievements in Fifth Former Janek the years to come.

Czarnek took the 28 Fourth Years exam two years participated in the early and achieved Alex did superbly RSC Chemistry a brilliant Silver, in the gruelling Challenge this and Lower Sixth five-hour exam paper, year and they Alex Jones took a enjoyed Gold. Alex Thow achieved a stunning score greatly working through achieved an almost of 84% and was the a series of cryptic unbelievable score top Briton! puzzles. The top of 96%! He was team consisting of joined by Salvatore Nigrelli in Round Two to complete for Freddie Weir, Harry Shaw, Ollie Burne a place in the national team. Alex was and Joshua Inglesfield were awarded duly selected to represent Great Britain prizes from the Royal Society of in the 53rd International Chemistry Chemistry in recognition of their high Olympiad hosted by Japan. Alex did score. Unfortunately, the regional final superbly in the gruelling five-hour was cancelled due to the pandemic.

The Cambridge Chemistry exam paper, achieved a stunning score of 84% and was the top Briton! Challenge is the most demanding He won a well-deserved Gold Medal Chemistry exam designed for the having already secured a Silver last Lower Sixth and 7,270 students took part nationally. In total we Top Gold Awards and obtained six Gold and six Silver Round 2 Competitors Awards.

The 2021 Upper Sixth cohort is undoubtedly our very best in at least 15 years. It is therefore no surprise that they achieved record A level results, but their 90% A* grades is truly breath-taking! Five students won well deserved places at Oxbridge to read Chemistry or Natural Sciences. The Fifth Year

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cohort also achieved record IGCSE results with 66% Grade 9 and 84% Grades 9/8.

Mr WS Lau

Olympian Chemist After sitting the first and second rounds of the UK Chemistry Olympiad, I was lucky enough to be selected to represent the UK for a second time in the International Chemistry Olympiad. This time the competition was hosted by Japan; unfortunately, it was sat remotely due to Covid restrictions.

Despite this the experience was amazing. I received mentoring from some top academics in the country that will be invaluable in later life, and I met some brilliant other students who share my passion for the subject. As an added bonus I was able to walk away with a gold medal which I was incredibly happy about. I urge all those who have an interest in chemistry to give the Chemistry Olympiad (or C3L6 for those in Lower 6) a go. It is an enjoyable learning experience and a brilliant opportunity to show your talent in the subject.

Alex Thow - Upper Sixth Form

www.rgsg.co.uk

Would it be exciting to carry out scientific research that no one has done before?

You can if you participate in ORIS during the summer holiday of your Lower Sixth.

ORIS AWARD ORIGINAL RESEARCH IN SCIENCE ORIS, an RGS initiative, is an acronym for ‘Original Research in Science’. Students need to complete a minimum of two weeks of original research in any area of science at a university or in industry to qualify.

Unfortunately, the pandemic has made it nearly impossible for academics to offer projects this summer.

However, Ishan Nathan and Dilan K Patel have both managed to secure placements at Cambridge and London.

Ishan’s project Probing, Understanding and Optimizing Machine learning for Sparse data was supervised by Dr Gareth Conduit at Cambridge. Dr Conduit commented that: “he is an absolute credit to the school and his teachers.

Ishan proposed a formula to determine a key parameter for a computer program, Alchemite™, sold by Intellegens.

The importance of this work is underlined by the fact that the algorithm has already been implemented and rolled out in the Intellegens product Alchemite™. This real-world contribution is a significant success for Ishan, and so serves as a clarion call of his future potential in the sciences.”

Dilan did a four week placement at the Chest Unit in King’s College Hospital and was awarded an honorary contract. His project Effect of baroreceptor loading on the ventilatory response to chemoreceptor stimulation and submental electrical stimulation, was supervised by Professor Joerg Steier. Dilan was praised for his: “outstanding interest in medical research” by Professor Steier.

Hopefully, normality will return by next summer and a large number of the RGS boys can once again secure projects.

Mr WS Lau

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students need to complete a minimum of two weeks of original research in any area of science at a university or in industry to qualify.

”

www.rgsg.co.uk

THE GUILDFORDIAN 2021

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ACADEMIC Physics Despite the many challenges that the past year has presented, many of the regular Physics activities and successes have continued, including Olympiads for Astrophysics and Physics, Further Physics, Industrial Cadets Bronze projects and Junior Science Club. Some these have been adapted though the essence has remained and offered the same opportunities to those who took part.

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Industrial Cadets model sports facility

urther Physics in the Upper Sixth Form we had four boys achieve Top Gold in Round One of the British Physics Olympiad, placing them in the top 100 students in the country and qualifying them for Round Two. Of those four, two did well enough to make it to Round Three camp in the Easter holidays – Nathan Page for the Physics camp and Alex Thow for the Astrophysics camp. Alex went on to be accepted for the UK Astrophysics team, although Covid restrictions meant the international competition was postponed to November and so he will be unable to compete for us.

Additional success in the Upper Sixth was from Harry Cameron who came in the top five students nationally with a Distinction in the Astro Challenge.

The Further Physics course is very much embedded amongst our offering for Lower Sixth, with a small but committed group taking it this year;

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out of those, two boys were invited to and sustainability issues. Two teams the Senior Physics Challenge, run by worked with Balfour Beatty; the the University of Cambridge remotely team of Thomas Dowson, Phoenix at the beginning of July, where a total Kellah-Nash, Krish Lukha, Haytham of about 50 students nationally were Rayner and Leo Saarinen on: The Design given undergraduate level lectures on of Buildings for Climate Change and quantum mechanics based the team of Elliot King, Jasper upon how many tough O’Conor, Joe Thorneycroft, questions they had Harrison Way and answered on the Fraser Williams on: Isaac Physics Creating a Sporting website. None Venue. Starting with of the written the virtual launch papers aimed at in March, up to the this year group remote assessment were available panel the in May, both Rubber Egg this year, replaced teams showed excellent with a multiple-choice teamwork, produced test instead; we managed impressive reports, models of about one third of entrants getting a their designs and video presentations.

Gold, with notably two Fifth Form Junior Science Club First and Second amongst them – we are very excited Form boys had the opportunity to to see what they do in Sixth Form. In attend Junior Science club, in person the Intermediate Physics Challenge and remotely. Projects included almost every boy achieved a Gold or making kaleidoscopes, balancing toys, a Silver, with Janek Czarnek dropping ground effect vehicles, cotton reel only two marks across both tanks and cubic bubbles. We created Olympiad U6 top performers papers, putting him in the top a sunset in a jar, made rubber eggs, five nationally, and there was tested paper plane designs as well as a similar picture in terms of learning to program Edison robots.

Golds and Silvers in the Junior The team of Uman Atara and Stirling Physics Challenge too.

Gauld also completed Mission Zero Industrial Cadets Bronze and had their coded message played Project This year the projects on the ISS in June. were focused on environmental Dr D Patel

THE GUILDFORDIAN 2021

www.rgsg.co.uk

Religion and Philosophy Although trips and visiting speakers could not be a part of the Religion & Philosophy Department’s provision this year, there has still been plenty of activity outside the classroom.

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GS’s Junior Philosophers have gone from strength to strength this year, as they eagerly embraced the challenges of conducting philosophical debates and inquiries online and across year group ‘bubbles’. Boys in the First, Second and Third Forms have considered a wide range of metaphysical, epistemological and ethical questions, including: Can machines think?, What makes language meaningful?, and Can killing people ever be morally right?. The year culminated with our ‘create a utopia’ project, in which students grappled with nuanced philosophical questions surrounding ethics, economics and politics in order to create their own societies from scratch! The overall winners, Hendrik Heyl and Andrew Kuang, showed brilliant ingenuity and clarity of thought, and showcased a clear vision for how their philosophical values and principles would underpin their economic and political systems.

The brand-new Aquinas Society, dedicated to Middle School philosophers and theologians, has offered students opportunities to explore academic questions that lie far beyond any GCSE specification.

Over the course of the year we have discussed a wide variety of topics, including personal identity, libertarian free will, and the nature of knowledge.

www.rgsg.co.uk

We also completed our very own Quest for the Historical Jesus: this was a term-long project during which students explored the historical evidence and data surrounding the Biblical Jesus. The boys were then invited to lead sessions on topics that interested them the most, leading to

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Hume Society aims to offer members of the Sixth Form chances to engage with philosophical and theological issues that are not usually encountered unless and until one opts to study them at undergraduate level.

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thought-provoking discussions on religion’s role in society (lead by Boldi Paladi-Kovacs), whether or not animals are capable of reasoning (led by Stuart Brown), and crucially whether King Lear really is a better work of literature than Humpty Dumpty (led by Gabriel Meadowcroft).

Hume Society aims to offer members of the Sixth Form chances to engage with philosophical and theological issues that are not usually encountered unless and until one opts to study them at undergraduate level.

I am pleased to report that this society attracted a small but diverse group of students, ranging from those who had not studied philosophy academically since Third Form to those who are now reading philosophy at university.

This variety led to some excellent conversations that was informed by a wide range of experiences and subject disciplines, irrespective of whether we were discussing Fredrick Nietzsche, the sorites paradox, existentialism, or something else altogether!

Successful performances in external essay competitions continued, and worthy of particular note were Oliver Walsh’s impressive essay on the continuity of personal identity over time and Finn Gosling’s thoughtful assessment of the pursuit of happiness.

Together with the excellent engagement of boys with examined and non-examined courses, and the great efforts of those boys who study for the university entrance tests that examine critical thinking, it is very pleasing to be able to report that Covid has not diminished the enthusiasm and success of the department’s students.

THE GUILDFORDIAN 2021

Mr RB Meadowcroft

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ACADEMIC The Mallison Library The return to school for this academic year was never going to be ‘business as usual.’

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n the Michaelmas Term, social distancing protocols meant that boys could not visit the Library, and space had to be found to accommodate teachers so that they could work safely. But if boys couldn’t come to the Library, the Library could come to them (up to a point) and Mrs Farthing’s step count reached new heights as she operated the Click and Deliver service, carried book selections to Junior School

English lessons and delivered inductions and information skills lessons in classrooms throughout the school. We still managed to celebrate National Poetry Day and its theme of Vision, with some insightful and moving entries to the competition to write, illustrate or recite a poem, many obviously influenced by the experiences of the previous few months.

2020 Vision

The Forest of Knowledge

Pitch dark night engulfs me still, as I stand on the roof and try to distil acoustic pictures of my first day back: Laughter, banter and my tap, tap, tap.

The lockdown months have opened my eyes to millennial privilege, Netflix highs, but behind the mask of 2020 glitz, we’re a virus away from living the Blitz.

We should be watching the world at our feet, we’re modern kids, our futures are neat.

Instead we’re snapped in a deadly freeze-frame As primitive Covid plays its own shooter game.

Look! The air is sharp, nine months, no pollution.

We’re eating as families, a kind revolution.

We clap on the doorstep for brave NHS The day I get to meet friends…. OMG, YES! I have a vision where we move on from our past Remake and rebuild, the opportunities are vast Accept and learn from looking behind us Beauty and fame are ever superfluous.

My retinas burn with the truth of hindsight, A dreadful year now blazes in light.

I can see that we’re human, no cause for division, My cane tap, tap, taps, a boy’s perfect vision.

Joseph Ryan 2R

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The Forest is the Keeper of Trees, The Trees are the Keepers of Books, The Books are the Keepers of History.

The Forest is webbed with thousands of Paths, Some well travelled, others mere Trails.

Many Boughs are obscured by Ivy, Only to be discovered by the ardent Few. Many Leaves are hidden in Hollows and Caves, Moulding into Obscurity.

Some Explorers discover hidden Tomes, Others beat the worn-down Tracks.

Stay true to the Path, Lest you be lost.

Waver from the Path, And you shall see.

Aaron Venter 5N

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if boys couldn’t come to the Library, the Library could come to them.

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www.rgsg.co.uk

Mirror Poem The reflection paints a picture One of a thousand words Yet that picture is tainted Is what one sees truly what is there?

The mirror shines a light, Illuminating whoever stands before it Yet that light is a mirage Is that picture who one really is?

The vision portrayed before us Is never really good enough The vision causes changes Yet are these changes warranted?

We look upon ourselves and cast doubt upon our minds.

We never can satisfy our false wishes and desires Those inspired by tainted visions.

We know the story and how it all ends, So why do we follow the same script and expect a different ending?

Louis Wilby 5N

He Knows He sees their futures, Their deaths, their downfalls.

He knows every detail, Every second of their fate.

He weeps for them, Yet they will never know.

He is never wrong, The universe shares its secrets.

He wishes he could stop, For these men and women should not suffer.

He cannot tell them, For the gods took his voice.

He knows they live in ignorance, This soft, dumb bliss.

He feels their degradation, Their flesh and bones melting.

He has been punished, For trying to cheat death.

He is an old frail man, Just ignore him.

Ollie Lane 5P - Poem and illustration

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Luke Smith 3C - illustration of Insect day by John Fuller

The End or the Beginning What will the future be like, We don’t know, Will we live in bubbles, Or will we live alone.

We need a vision, we want an answer, Please solve the problem, or make it go faster.

Will it blow over like a small gust of wind, will it stay like a nasty stain, will we be happy with working from home, or will we be stuck or all sad and alone.

We need a vision, we want an answer, please solve the problem, or make it go faster.

Will we live, staying alone, or can we go out, to come back home.

We need a vision, we want an answer, Please solve the problem, or make it go faster, Is this the end, or only the beginning, we want to know, we need to be shown.

Ollie Lane

Luke Smith 3C

THE GUILDFORDIAN 2021

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ACADEMIC

In times where senses do not help, Thought prevails and man sees truly.

The raging quiet and the singing calm, the bruised resonating noise and the hollow world it leaves, The silence of the world, Leaves the mind to look inward, and fear itself.

Fear of the unknown.

The mind which, to itself, can never be understandable.

Deep it may delve but always, Deeper still lies the truth.

Fear of realisation.

Reality is a combination of senses.

When those senses are rendered ineffective, There is nothing.

No understanding without noise.

The Eye The eye, The spy, The lie, The one that sees the good, The bad, In people that we meet, The one that looks and peeks, And sneaks, And fibs, All in the eye the human conscience is, Shows fear, Deceit, Betrayal, Also frail, Weak, Of high, Of low, Of middle times, Always changing, Sometimes aiming, To find, The what, The where, The how, The who, Also you.

Your mouths, They say, Yours ears, They hear, But your eyes, Do so much more than peer, They spy, They lie, They try, To figure out the why.

Fear of purpose, or lack of it.

There is stuff, but what of it?

Why is it there?

In turn, why am I here?

The mind is at sea.

Zac Warham 3L

The bottomless cavern in the head.

The tragedy of thought.

Seb Angove 5P

VISION White is unsullied, clean, fresh and new, A sense of a watcher guiding you through, The velvet’d wing of a dove gently beating, But red is the throb of a heartbeat repeating, Drumming and thrumming, vital and deep, Not pausing nor ceasing in waking or sleep. Green tastes of life, of freshness, of hope, Grass slicked with dew, the strength of an oak, The creak of bamboo as it waves at the sky, Lush reeds in dance to the wind’s soothing sigh. Blue is the crash of the sea on the shore, A swirling and whirling of weeds on her floor, Taste of the air, the salt and the sky, The sound of a seagull’s piercing cry. Orange is warmth, an autumnal embrace, My blind eyes turn to the sun on my face, And just as a sunflower lowers her gaze, With the end of the light; the end of my days. For black is the absence of light and of life, An end to the struggle, an end to the strife, For some it is empty, for some it is dread, But always the darkness has dwelt in my head.

Felix Day 4H - illustration - The Road Less Travelled

Wilf Lingard 2C

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The return to lockdown halted plans for a partial reopening in January and we returned once again to remote support. Fortunately by that time Miss Varley had joined the Library staff. Her hard work promoting the Show Racism the Red Card competition encouraged some superb entries and we were thrilled later in the year to hear that Kiki Akin-Olugbade had been awarded a national prize for his poem Black. Miss Varley also did a lot of the work involved in organising virtual author visits for the First to Third Forms. Alex Wheatle was inspirational as he talked about his path from a children’s home, via the Brixton riots and prison, to his current status as a popular and award-winning author. Stand up poet Harry Baker demonstrated clever wordplay, humour and rhythm in two entertaining sessions. Both speakers answered numerous searching questions from the boys as they watched from home.

At long last we were able to allow boys to browse (in bubbles) and hold Library lessons in situ again from the end of April. No more carrying boxes up and down stairs, and able to talk more easily to boys about their book choices, and recommend titles from the full collection. We were also able to run The Lit Quiz Club and two keen teams of First Form boys took part in the first National Reading Champions Quiz, with the RGS-A Team finishing a close second in our regional heat. A small group of boys watched the Trinity Schools Book Awards’ first ever virtual ceremony from the Library, including the overall winner of the Best Review competition, Joseph Ryan. Nevertheless, despite the return of the physical Library, we have also continued to develop the digital service we provide, with additional resources and reading lists, and the introduction of Focus Boards on the Library catalogue for specific interest groups, e.g Staff, Sixth Form, LGBTQIA*, and this work will continue as we head into the next academic year.

Mrs TF Farthing

Pride Month display

SHOW RACISM THE RED CARD ART

First Form: Tom Crone 1P Second Form: Will Randles 2L Third Form: Charlie Everitt 3L, Archie Secrett 3S KS3 Winner: Charlie Everitt.

CREATIVE WRITING

First Form: Kiki Akin-Olugbade 1R Second Form: Angus Scott 2R Third Form: Harry Simmons 3R KS3 Winner: Kiki Akin-Olugbade.

National Reading Champions Quiz - RGS A

www.rgsg.co.uk

MULTIMEDIA

First Form: Anay Ghandi & Philip Alexiev 1P Second Form: Ryan Solomon 2L Winner: Ryan Solomon.

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ACADEMIC

The World is For Everyone To Enjoy I come to you today, not because I am told to, not because I am forced to, but because I want to. I have grown from a child, I have seen as a child and I have understood as a child. Every day I have walked to school and seen the world. Everyday I have thought to myself how privileged the world is to be able to blossom in nature and sun. Everyday however ended up with arguments and rude comments, words that in my eyes should never have been born. Every night I only thought about people being upset and hurt. Every night I wished I had acted differently and every night I lay awake and thought of how thing could change.

At primary school we were ‘one’. My peers were from a variety of backgrounds but it did not matter. We were all friends. Once primary school had hatched into secondary school I encountered the meaning of the human unease. Every assembly we were told to be kind. Every assembly people ignored the words. Every assembly was merely a needle in a haystack of anger. Every break we would be let out into the happy arms of nature, the birds would sing, the trees would sway and the sun would shine. Every break the human hearts started to freeze. Every break I would sit there and look around at all those angry stares and rude words. After days of sitting there I saw what I had to do. Every minute despite my surroundings I needed to follow my heart. Every minute I needed to make a friend.

Every minute I needed to think about the person, the kind person who was being hurt for no reason.

After I had finally realised what I had to do I did it. I did not walk into school and listen to the people who were hurting others. No! I went to the people who I could see needed a friend. I went to them because I knew they needed just a simple friend. Every lunchtime I would smile and talk to anyone who needed a friend. Every lunchtime I grew in understanding and every lunchtime a new tree of knowledge sprouted from my heart. Everyone is unique. Everyone is special.

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Today I look back not in sadness but in joy. I have joy that I could learn so much from those friends I made. I learnt languages, sports and many amazing things that I could not have guessed existed. Also these friends stayed with me no matter what, they were not scared, they were proud that they could live a fun and joyous life as everyone should be able to.

As I talk to you today I want you to remember three things.

The first is to follow your heart. It does not matter how others judge a person’s features or beliefs, it is how you feel about them inside. If you judge a book by its cover you can easily be fooled and if you judge it by how many people read it, you can also be fooled. Therefore you must follow your heart! The second is to not be afraid. No one can say they were too scared or frightened because you must follow your heart and put everything else out of the way. You may be frightened about making friends with them but take a moment and in that heavenly moment think how they are feeling. They are being picked on for no reason. Can you let this happen? How afraid are they? Finally ‘The world is for everyone to enjoy’. By this I mean that we as humans should not just respect others but also make friends with others. We all deserve to learn from others, grow up with others and make happy memories with others.

Angus Scott 2R

THE GUILDFORDIAN 2021

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Show Racism the Red Card There once lived together, on top of a hill, a rabble of malkaroos.

Their tails were stubby, and never still, and they always wore long-laced shoes.

They had long, curly necks, on which sat a head, that would sway in the morning breeze.

In all, the lives that each of them led, were generally filled with ease.

But, alas, one problem grew and grew, to do with a tuft on their head.

Some malkaroos had a tuft that was blue, and others had one that was red.

Now, this little thing that may seem so small, caused, between them, a terrible rift.

The blues thought that they were the best of them all which made all the reds feel miffed.

They treated the reds with general contempt, and life became really unfair.

From all of the fun, the reds were exempt, because of the colour of their hair.

Life went on and life got worse, for the red-tufted malkaroos.

The blues seemed hell-bent on putting a curse, on the reds, and their second-rate shoes.

Then one fateful day, one slur went too far, for the creatures of red-tufted kind.

Felix Day 4H - illustration - The Road They said, “How mean those blue tufts are, Less Travelled We must show them a piece of our mind.”

So together they chose to boycott the shops, the businesses, companies and clubs that were run by the ones with blue hair on their tops, and set up their own shops and pubs.

“From now on,” they said, “we won’t cower and shake, but we’ll stick close together instead.

We’ll no longer be left in the blue-tufted wake but show them the power of red.”

So they rose up and lived with boldness and pride, their lives became full of success.

They knew that they no longer needed to hide, and continued to grow and progress.

Charlie Everitt

The blues looked on with respect and awe, at what those red-tufts had achieved.

They didn’t shrink back or submit any more, and stood up for what they believed.

The blues soon realised, to their surprise, without them just didn’t feel right.

They actually missed those red-tufted guys, and they wanted to end all the spite.

So, heads hanging low, they went to the reds, They said, “We have something to say.

We should have embraced the hair on your heads Together is always the way!”

There once lived together, on top of a hill, a rabble of malkaroos.

Even, today they’re unified still as equals, the reds and the blues.

Harry Simmons 2R

www.rgsg.co.uk

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ACADEMIC

Black Black isn't a single colour its made up of many a shade, Someone does the same job but their race is how they're paid.

White privilege doesn’t mean white people won’t feel bad, It just means that your race is not the cause of you being sad.

Dead-end job or a life of crime, Non decisions – bigged up in rhyme.

These people didn’t see the different types of education, They didn’t see the people who made a great nation.

The death of a black child, his family cry, His mother, father, sister plead ‘why’d our kid die?’

The refrain is an age old lie - black on black Not structural, not systemic, not institutional lack

And all the news about black history in Britain, People just don’t know much, the history wasn’t written.

All this about white-freed slaves yet present here since 1950, Black people were roaming England before the tales of Canterbury.

Drugs, thugs and diamond rings, Apparent choices that life flings Bad man Roadman get your loot, Join mandem, learn to shoot.

Black people's lives matter just like everybody else, Your skin colour should never determine your wealth.

If you’re that then you’re this, No. Just be yourself.

Kiki Akin-Olugbade 1R

Archie Secrett

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Inkling A little splotch, An evasive meal, A puppy dear, A lucrative deal, A friend's gadget, A part that’s new, An unfair cheat, Or a pal for you.

A pet to care for, A mate to help out, A lunch to eat raw, A toy to live without, An unjust abomination, A memory of a wife, A valuation, A splotch with life.

Inkling!

Yuvan Raja 2R

Now or Never Zac Warham

TRINITY SCHOOLS BOOK AWARDS TSBA 2021 COMPETITION WINNERS Best Review

Joseph Ryan 2R – Nowhere on earth Best Creative Response

1. Zac Warham 3C – Now or never 2. Angus Scott 2R – The Island At The End of Everything 3. Yuvan Raja 2R - Inkling

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THE GUILDFORDIAN 2021

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ACADEMIC The Island At The End Of Everything Coron Island The Orphanage Dear Mother, How is your broken arm? I hope it is healing quickly and not causing you too much inconvenience. I wish I could come across to you but my work has become increasingly harder since the changes to the touched colony. You remember when I told you about them a few letters ago, well it has become very different. I hope in this letter I can tell you about it because I feel like I need to tell someone to lift the awful weight off my shoulders.

It all started when the invasive, insolent, imperious Mr Zamora flamed into power. He studies lepidoptery (the study of butterflies) but personally I think he needs to study manners first. Anyway back to the story, he wanted to rip the untouched people away from the touched people on Culion. This ripping process results in poor young children being un-weaved from their parents and brutally dumped in the orphanage. Mr Zamora, who I have already told you about as the awful person who goes around with a net capturing butterflies, decided to ruin my life even more by strutting into my orphanage, where I hasten to add I have successfully brought up many children, and take over. Suddenly I had to work for this buffoon even though he knew less about children (and liked them even less) than he knew about manners. It was alright at first because I kept on with my normal job but then the untouched children arrived. Oh the despair I felt.

The buffoon decided, stupidly, that all these untouched children were touched. I mean even a baby could work out that if his own doctor thought they were untouched then they were untouched. However, he acted horrifically around these poor children. I felt especially sad for them when their tired bodies slumped out of the cart and I could hear their fear and dread. Some of them looked so small. They aged from 6 to 10. As they took their belongings I could see that they had been pushed out and that they needed love and affection. Unfortunately Mr Buffoon was not having that and so I was only able to introduce myself and say goodnight before they left. Luckily for me though I was able to get back at Mr Zamora. This happened when he asked me for his quarters (he thought of himself like a king whereas he was more like an ape) and I had to inform him that unfortunately for him they were not built. You should have seen his face! He looked like his eyes had been drawn like squares and his mouth dropped. What a night!

The next morning I gently woke all the poor, tired, dishevelled children up and then did a wakeup roll call. One girl, who I learnt was called Ami, said in a singing voice ‘Yes Sister Teresa’ which enlightened my day. How nice it was to have a girl like that who was happy to say good morning and it made my life become easier. However, her, like many other of the untouched were soon churned into sadness by Mr Buffoon. He thought, by which he was much mistaken, that he could not eat the same food as the untouched because then he would become ‘touched’. In not eating the food he turned from the size of an ape to the width of a giraffe (and the brain of a microorganism)! As the lessons went by I thought I taught them something but really, can you ever tell with young children? One unsurmountable problem occurred which made me want to throw Mr Zamora into the darkest pit on earth. He decided (after some of the students saw butterflies hatching) to teach the children lepidoptery. I mean what on earth would you do that for? Not only are these children but also ones who need to know science and maths so that they can learn the basics rather than studying flying insects. I tried to tell him but Mr Zamora was not going to have it. In fact he just mocked me when I tried to tell him. Then in one of his lessons he showed them how he killed the butterflies to study them. Can you believe it? He was happy to show innocent children how to torture butterflies in a lesson. I thought I would faint.

Well, that is it. I am sorry my news is not full of joy but I know that you will understand. I am afraid I am extremly busy now and so I must conclude my letter there. I hope that I can write again soon but I may have trouble as more children arrive each day.

Love Your beloved daughter, Sister Teresa Angus Scott 2R

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Nowhere on Earth – Book review For a lockdown-crazed, action-starved male teenager, Nowhere on Earth starts with a promising near-fatal air disaster. Add to this a gutsy girl stowaway, Emily, and an intriguing mission to save her not-as-he-seems young brother, Aidan, and the story twists into action. The book unfolds in sixty-one action-packed short chapters, staccato in punch and near-constant in threat. Having rescued the pilot, the children are pursued by unknown men in white, the author simultaneously revealing Emily’s backstory in tantalising crumbs. A recent unwanted move from Minnesota to Alaska; pushy outdoorsy parents who don’t understand their daughter’s love of dance; a locker room culture in her new high school and a recent suspension for arson reveals Emily as a heroine in the making. The ‘brother’ turns out in fact to be an alien (‘aren’t they all?’ asks my own sister) who needs to reach a remote Alaskan facility to contact his mothership for rescue. He has a special power of appearing as the young of whatever species he is facing, in order to engender feelings of protection towards him. After disposing of several pursuers in James Bond-type action scenes, Emily’s parents finally catch up with them and aid their eventual escape to the research facility where Aidan is saved by his extra-terrestrial family. Emily finally heads off to Juilliard dance school reconciled with her parents, her view of her future and an eternal friendship with Aidan who watches over her.

The theme of love permeates the book: parental love and how it can be misread and mis-signalled; platonic love between friends and how sustaining that is; self-love and Emily’s refusal to be abused by Brad, the football jock; and the most complex love, that with Aidan which is part-genuine sibling affection and part-an artificial manipulation by this alien. And if that wasn’t enough, in the final chapters Nick Lake adds in the meaning of life, loss and love conundrum, with Aidan showing the narrow-minded humans the perspective on life and how we never lose anyone but life is eternal and the future is ours to make. Is there no topic that’s too big for this book?

Like the suitcase of a quarantined tourist, the plot is crammed with something for every eventuality.

The book is richly cinematic in style but is more Disney than Netflix in feel, with Emily more Moana in my mind than Katniss Everdeen. However that does not take away from the ambition of the story in its pace and scope.

Moreover the emotional geiger counter of the book crackles throughout with the intensity of the heroine’s love, fear, anger, and determination. The chapter structure and well-honed balance of dialogue and action draws the reader in easily. If Nowhere on Earth were a sandwich it would be a Triple Decker Special, heavy on meat and carbs, with plenty of mayo and relish for a sweet aftertaste. For a hungry reader, it is a satisfying read.

Joseph Ryan 2R

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the creative Art

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n a tumultuous year for us all, naturally the Art Department was not unaffected by lockdown, remote learning, blended learning, Covid protocols, et al. However, we have still managed to have a very successful year in terms of increasing the range of work (particularly for junior years) and producing a very high standard of artwork at GCSE and A Level. Losses of momentum, very real difficulties of providing specialist equipment at home and giving instructions on technique via Teams calls, were among the barriers to success that were regularly placed in our way.

I am very happy to say that we have cleared all these hurdles and the beautiful displays of work in our main teaching studios showing mixed media, prints, wonderful abstracts, and highly accurate technical architectural drawings are a great testimony to the efforts of the boys and the fantastic, enthusiastic, and highly able teaching staff. The gallery space is filled with marvellous paintings and drawings in a wide range of styles, mediums, and scales, which will be on display for students and visitors to the School from September.

We have increased our focus on Ceramics and expanded our range of techniques and practices greatly and to accommodate the beautiful ceramic creations we have invested in additional display cabinets to show them off to best effect. We have also invested in three new potter’s wheels, for student use primarily although many staff from various departments have expressed an interest in ‘having a go’.

I would like to thank my wonderful team in the Art Department, Mrs Shepherd, Mr Trim, Mrs Wood, and the best Art Technician on the planet Mr Davidge, for all their hard work, commitment, professionalism, and sense of fun evident throughout one of the toughest teaching years ever.

Mr AN Rozier Head of Art

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A Level

1 When Life Gives You Lemons by Kasper Wiltshire 2 Bittersweet by Michael Gatzoulis 3 Suns Out Guns Out by Cameron Philp

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GCSE 1

1 China Doll by Ben Edwards 2 Abstract by Alessandro Harker 3 Union Jack by Ben Edwards 4 Still-life by Harry Boczkowski 5 Abstract by Emre Ozkan

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GCSE 6

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6 English Landscape by Mark van Eykenhof 7 Folded by Luke Coulson 8 Dramatically lit Still-life by Jasper Hilton 9 These Boots Were Made For Walking by Harvey Laing

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GCSE 10 Still-life with Scull and Lily by Mattia Santoni 11 Seahorse by Max Deacon 12 Still-life with Grapes by Michael Wu 13 Cityscape by Michael Wu 14 Ornate Metal Vessel by Michael Wu 15 Study of a Bronze Jug by Michael Wu

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GCSE 16

17 16 6WXGLHV RI D .LQJÀVKHU E\ Michael Wu 17 Still-life with Flowers by Noé Findji 18 Rooster by Robbie Timberlake 19 Portrait by Oliver Lytle 19

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20 Still-life with Paints and Brushes by Will Eyles 21 Still-life with Lilies by Yingji Li 22 Wooden Bird by Yingji Li 23 Landscape with Silver Birches by Yingji Li 24 Self-portrait by Yingji Li

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1 Self-portrait byWilliam Morrow 2R 2 Pointillist by Alex Pinhey 1S 3 Still-life by Dorian Sorensen 4B 4 Wire Faces by 2E and 2R 5 Abstraction (left to right) by Krish Amin1P Cam Boston1P Philip Cordwell 1P William McEwan-King 1S

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1 George Wilson 3E 2 Alfred Hong 3L 3 William Holmes 3R 4 Will Judd 1R Cheng Liang 1R Andrew Kuang 1R Edward Hewlett 1R Zac Warham 3C 5 Arthur Taylor 3S

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6 Ben Kamstra and Raul Murphy 3C 7 Sascha Coombs 3S 8 William Bayne 3S 9 Zac Tinkler 3C 10 Ruvin Meda 3R 11 Arthur Taylor 3S 11

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Design and Technology A Level

The students this year did a remarkable job in Design and Technology in taking their designs to fruition despite not having all of the usual access to resources due the pandemic. This meant that the boys did not have to build the final artefacts in the same way as they usually do. In many respects though this was a harder challenge than usual as the exam board’s emphasis was more on ensuring that every element/feature and aspect of their designs was planned, designed and resolved fully even if it were not finally built. This is actually hard as often the final act of building a prototype can help resolve many questions and decisions that without so doing one has to do solely by thinking everything through.

CAM PHILP

My project approached the problem of short and long-term fatigue and injury to soldiers and how I could solve it. After months of research and initial idea development, my expert and I settled on an aerial unmanned vehicle which would be capable of delivering supplies to soldiers, thus reducing the weight of kit they had to carry. Following the design process and using CAD, physical modelling techniques and many paper aeroplanes, I reached a final design which in a non-Covid world I would have gone on to make and hopefully demonstrate successfully as an effective solution to the problem. The images show part of the fuselage design on Onshape (one of the CAD systems I used) and then making an actual-size model of this fuselage frame out of wooden dowel and 3D printed connector pieces.

DANIEL PRICE

This is a computer model of an A Level Design and Technology product. The project was centered around reducing food waste and the final product was an improved compost bin with temperature and moisture sensors also the ability to spin on its axis to allow air into the compost, and three separate bins to prevent cross-contamination. The wooden exterior and cardboard insulation make it more sustainable than current compost bins.

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A Level

CHRIS WRIGHT

Design a guitar chair which will aid the practicing experience. It will both maximise the comfort for the user whilst also preventing both short and long term health complications.

The chair will have an accompanying footstool as well as a stand which allows the use of pedals whilst sitting down.

Finally, the chair will have sufficient storage for the everyday accessories needed by guitarists.

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ETHAN GAME

This was my final design for an adjustable armature with a clamp on the end to hold electronic components, delicate assemblies in place and simplify the complicated individual processes in a workshop. It uses a double-cross linkage to be configured forward and back, up and down and side to side, and can be fixed in any position along the edges of the workstand I also designed, or in the pin-slot board across the surface. The clamp also locks into place.

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Design and Technology

A Level

ELLIOT LATHAM TOP VIEW

WALL BASED WORKSURFACE

SIDE VIEW

LATCH MACHANISMS

IN STORAGE ORIENTATION

SAM VALENTINE

I am going to design an original instrument for the use in horror movie soundtracks. This instrument should produce ‘scary’, ‘eerie’ sounds to help the composition of these soundtracks. It should have foldable or detachable elements to allow the instrument to be ‘flat-packed’, making it easier to store and transport. The instrument should be able to fit in most recording studios where my client and other composers record their soundtracks. The sound of the instrument should be able to be outputted straight into recording software on a computer.

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A Level

SERGEY VOLKOV

A design for a compact product that is suitable for camping. It will be able to illuminate an area around a tent, whilst also being able to illuminate the inside of a tent too. To add to this, it will be able to be hung up, and will be able to be transported with ease and comfort. It should also be able to resist some damage.

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Design and Technology

GCSE DYLAN SAHOTA

JOE PERRY

A product that promotes social distancing in public spaces such as a town centre.

SEBASTIAN STUART-RECKLING

Monitor paddle

Main body 3D printed ABS plastic

Silicone strips to stop phone falling

Charging ports I will put a plug extender into the gap to allow plug usage Bottom paddle

Wireless charger

Stationary holder

I will feed female USB to USB adapters in via the bottom holes

Lower support

The picture, a PowerPoint slide from my project, shows the working drawings, close-ups and exploded views of the significant parts of my project. Modeled using a CAD platform called Onshape. They are labelled to show how with other equipment they will function and what materials will be needed for this. On the left is the 3D exploded view of my final design, labelling each part and showing how they slide in and fit in with each other. Overall showing the reader how each part will work and how all will combine.

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This is a CAD model of a hedgehog house made using onshape for my GCSE NEA. The different colours help to distinguish between each individual part, making the designing process more streamlined. Although none of the parts will be 3D printed, a CAD model allows for me as a designer to easily make changes as well as fully understand exactly what my product will look like, something that is difficult to do with a drawn design.

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GCSE

FREDDIE CHENG

This is the exploded drawing of the final design of my GCSE project. The design is a desk organiser which can be clipped onto a table. From there various attachments can be slotted in place to accommodate different types of items. For example, number 3 can house post-it-notes whereas number 4 is for headphones. I tried to make this design appeal to a wide range of people not just the client I was designing for, by separating the product into lots of smaller attachments. The user can then add the attachments which most suit their needs in a variety of configurations. This design is also portable due to its small size and is more effective than a drawer or cabinet because in my design there are specific places for certain objects, forcing the user to tidy up properly rather than just tipping everything on the desk into a drawer.

EFE GÖRGÜNER

This is a shower timer which aims to decrease water wasted in the shower by young children.

The product times the length of the shower and activates a bubble machine at the end of the shower, and the time is uploaded to a website with a leaderboard of points. The image shows a 3D CAD model of this product which I designed for my GCSE project.

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Design and Technology

GCSE OLIVER LYTLE

All the sewing in this design was with a T 400 polyester as shown Here I made a large-scale model of how my bag would look and be shaped, including the rigid structure on the inside out of paper and copper wire:

Here I presented the skateboard backpack’s main body through an exploded view, showing each of the layers and pieces of materials with their varied widths. I created it in such a way that each of the pieces were positioned in a similar arrangement to how the backpack would be constructed and colour coding them to how they would be in the real design. I did all this using CAD (computer aided design) on a website called Onshape to portray my ideas in a 3D presentation.

7KLV ' GUDZLQJ VKRZV VSHFLÀF overall dimensions of each component of the whole design.

PARUS MEHRA

My design allows the tabletop on a bedside table to be folded away and hence is quite compact. It would also have caster wheels making it portable and easy to transport around if need be. The picture shows the dimensions of the design of my bedside table. The left-hand image shows a 2D digital sketch showing dimensions and how long each part should be and the right-hand side gives an understanding of the final 3D design.

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7KLV ' PRGHO SRUWUD\V P\ ÀQDO design and how each part comes together:

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GCSE SAM BANKS 2

3

1 This design is inspired by De Stijl. It has two cuboids connected with an interesting arm rest that also serves as two of the chair legs.

Client Feedback: When I asked my client,he said that his favourite design was design 3. He complemented the stability that the model had,as well as the slight lean that the back support had. However,he said that the back legs sloped too far,and may be a trip hazard. He said that it would be better to have them more upright.

After drawing some initial designs, I chose three designs to pursue further. I made models of each design using cardboard to test the stability and strength of each chair. By making models, I could also develop the designs, as seen in design 1. I also made some annotations to briefly describe how the designs could be manufactured and how certain parts were to be joined. Lastly, I showed all of the drawings and models to the client, and he gave me some feedback on which designs were best and why, as well as some improvements that could be made.

WILL EYLES

The sheet shows my final stages of designing for my GCSE DT coursework project, a desk fan-plant pot hybrid.

Using online CAD (Computer Aided Design) software, I created a 3D model of my design which allowed me to accurately depict my final design, including cutaway views of the inner workings of the design, as well as being useful to ensure the shapes and sizes of parts were correct. Using the model I was able to create images of what my design would look like along with writing written descriptions of the different features that it includes.

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Drama Overview

O

nce again a difficult year for practical arts subjects that are predicated on collaborative and community events! In Michaelmas Term, year bubbles meant a postponement for the planned production of Around the World in 80 Days and also to the RGS and GHS joint school musical; both productions rescheduled for 2021 and 2022.

Practical performance work still needed to take place for both GCSE and A Level cohorts and, to mitigate against any disruption, the boys embarked upon creating monologues for their devising component.

Their stimulus boiled down to creating a character from Elizabethan society, real or fictitious, then researching, developing, improvising and finally performing this for examination purposes. What a fascinating range of roles emerged, including John Dee (alchemist and occultist), Sir Francis Drake, Tarleton (a court jester), a barber surgeon, a witch, a ferryman and an executioner! I was proud to see the boys relish the challenge, produce such imaginative work and learn something of the Elizabethan era into the bargain. Their performance of script extracts was started in the Lent Term lockdown with virtual rehearsals in Teams meetings, culminating in a race to perform in the three weeks back in School before Easter. Which they did brilliantly!

In the Lent Term lockdown classes were adapted to remote teaching with Third Form boys enthusiastically making set design model boxes at home for imagined productions based on their favourite book or film.

The First and Second form learnt about puppetry and were delighted to be able to create their own shadow puppets to perform live in front of their peers in the Hansford Room just before Easter. In some ways the lockdown has allowed the Drama teaching to explore new areas of the discipline that previously we tended to save until GCSE level however we intend to retain these skills as part of the new Third Form Drama curriculum. A silver lining out of the Covid cloud.

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In Trinity Term we managed to stage three thirty minute Year ‘bubble’ shows; First Form in Us and Them directed by Mr Meadowcroft and Mr Dunscombe, Grimm’s Tales for Grim Times directed by Ms Cox and Macbeth directed by Ms McClean. The enthusiasm and joy at being back in a rehearsal room and then onstage for their peers and families, was palpable.

So, we look ahead and hope, this year, for full normal service to be resumed. I have to applaud the willingness of the pupils over the weeks of uncertainty in being engaged and enthusiastic in all their drama activities!

LAMDA Results Despite the inevitable move to online LAMDA teaching during Lent 2021, Mrs Phillips skillfully shepherded her cohort of 53 boys through an impressive set of results. The First Form boys, particularly are to be commended as their face to face ‘live’ teaching was severely restricted by the post-Christmas lockdown.

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Ms NC McClean

“

I was proud to see the boys relish the challenge, produce such imaginative work.

”

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Third Form Macbeth

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ight from the harsh, aggressive cacophony of the very opening scene, framed by a stack of corpses, the Third Form production of Macbeth had a deliciously raw intensity to it. The rhythmic drumbeat provided a sinister soundtrack that maintained the pace and drama alike right through to the bitter end, as Macbeth hurtled to his inevitable doom. The relentless aural background, including ominous percussion, and the moody atmospheric lighting meant the audience remained on the edge of their seats throughout. Macbeth was suitably complex and Lorcan Read gave a commanding performance as he captured with maturity the journey from loyal soldier who instinctively inspires trust to desperate tyrant. Felix Johnson provided an earthy realism to the manipulative Lady Macbeth and there was assured support from Harry Simmons as Macduff, Alex Evans as Malcolm, Elliot King as the astute Donalbain, and Alex Judge as the gracious Duncan. The witches – James Nicholas, Fraser Williams, and Joel Sellers – were suitably unsettling and unnerving, as they lurked on stage mischievously. The choreography of the fight scenes, the slickness of scene changes, the simplicity of staging, and vibrancy of lighting all added to the poignancy and emotive feel of the play.

Despite the challenges of rehearsal, it was clear that

hours of toil and trouble had been invested in this production, where the remorseless rapidity allowed the audience to see Macbeth’s inexorable journey, his rise and inevitable fall. A talented cast delivered verse with an ease and presence not always seen in productions of Shakespeare and as the audience’s sustained applause continued, this impressive production had more than delivered its malicious intentions, with murder and mayhem in abundance.

Simple yet terrifyingly effective.

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Mr JW Pressley

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Drama Second Form Grimm’s Tales for Grim Times

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hose expecting Grimm’s Tales for Grim Times to be a downbeat commentary on the current climate would have been sorely disappointed, as the Second Form drama production transported the audience to a magical world where happy endings were certainly the order of the day. Right from the opening scene where the beaked comedy duo of Elliot Butler and Peter Hallas bemoaned the wearing of masks, humorous digs at the world of Covid simmered close to the surface.

Firstly, we were whisked deep into the belly of the dark, sinister forest as Orlando Meadowcroft (Hansel) provided the protective, caring foil for the vulnerable Brendan Clarke (Gretel). Archie Cowie captured beautifully the nagging, miserable mother with Ollie Southwell kind and suitably sympathetic as the woodcutting father. Topical references continued: Will Gossage as the witch encased within a sumptuous, sweet-tasting cottage showed a social conscience by welcoming Hansel and Gretel into her childcare bubble, despite panic buying and hoarding toilet rolls! Inigo Schybergson sparkled (as did the audience) as the fairy godmother with sanitising powers immersing all in Flash! Saviour of the universe. Save every one of us!

“

classic, timeless fairy tales, indeed, proved the ideal tonic to see us through troubled times.

”

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The audience was then drawn into the ultimate Cinderella rags-to-riches story as the evil, spoiled sisters, Hugo Dunfield-Prayero and Will Gossage, proved to be irresistible baddies even demanding the engaging Yuvan Raja (Ashputtel) to take their Covid home tests for them!

With well-choreographed dance scenes, toe-tapping tunes including Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up, golden, spangly slippers, an eccentric cameo from Laurent Spilstead as royalty, and plenty of comic turns the feel-good positivity continued right to the very end. The strong story-telling and impressive imaginative touches sprinkled with a succession of moments of lightness, topicality and humour made this a perfect evening of escapism. Classic, timeless fairy tales, indeed, proved the ideal tonic to see us through troubled times. Grim? You must be joking!

Mr JW Pressley

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Drama First Form Us and Them

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iven the energy, enthusiasm and relevance of the First Form Drama production of Us and Them, one would never guess that this play about two sets of explorers building a wall to keep the other group off their land was written in the 1960s.

Alex Power gave a nuanced performance as the laconic, ‘seen it all before’ historian commenting on the events, as he and his more positive and hopeful sidekick, William Jones, led us through the groups’ collapse into paranoia and violence.

The assembled cast was given much to do, and all should be congratulated on the rapid-fire delivery of their lines, getting the balance between humour and pathos just right. The face-off between the two sets of Spokesmen allowed Hendrik Heyl, Umun Atara, Jack Thomson, Calum Badenoch, Deshan Pethiyagoda and Jonny Postance to create scenes of political posturing that were all too recognisable from the real world.

The interplay of mundane concerns and genuine political worries over borders was remarkably well played: Koko Hristov gave a brilliant turn as a chicken obsessed settler, while Oscar Tooze and Kiki Akin-Olugbade convincingly portrayed those who are always ready to fight for land.

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“

with so little chance to perform this year, it was fantastic to see so many boys seizing this opportunity.

”

Every boy took his opportunity to shine, from the convincing portrayal of the woodcutting, sheep herding pastoral life mimed by Noah Luu and Finn Shotbolt, to the terror on the faces of Oliver Marsh and Victor Dalgaard as they were about to die.

With so little chance to perform this year, it was fantastic to see so many boys seizing this opportunity and doing so with such gusto and success. At the end there was no ‘us and them’, just a single group of 25 boys who had worked so well together and who thoroughly deserved their applause.

Mr RB Meadowcroft

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Drama Set Design Model Box - Lockdown Drama

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n Lent Term 2021 whilst we were in lockdown again our Third Form studied set design and made excellent to scale model boxes for a play, book, or film of their choice. Special mention should go to Zac Warham for his design of Spellslinger, Tom Donnelly for his Harry Potter model box, Lionel D’Souza for his design of The Time Machine, Raul Murphy for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightime, James Richardson for The Tempest, Jacy Williams for Gladiator and Ed Berry for The Building Site.

We were blown away by their creative and enthusiastic designs.

Ms SJ Cox

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1 Spellslinger by Zac Warham 2 Gladiator by Jacy Williams Background The Building Site by Ed Berry

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5 3 Harry Potter by Tom Donnelly 4 The Time Machine by Lionel D’Souza 5 The Curious Incidence by Raul Murphy 6 The Tempest by James Richardson 6

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Music Year Group Bubble Ensembles

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ith many Covid guidelines in place regarding musical performances, the traditional schedule of rehearsals had to be torn up and a new one put in place. Confined to rehearsing in year group bubbles, with ensembles often capped in the number of participants allowed to be involved, boys worked hard to maintain their levels of playing and commitment to School music making throughout the year.

Market Day Concerts The tradition of the RGS performing a lunchtime concert in Holy Trinity to coincide with the monthly Farmers’ Market continues and throughout this year it has been a fantastic showcase for some of our ablest musicians. Despite taking place without an audience this year, recorded concerts have been released to the wider school community and there have been many memorable performances from boys across the entire age range of the School. These virtual concerts continue to be supported by a loyal, as well as hugely appreciative online audience.

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this was a true celebration of Music, performed at the highest level by some incredibly talented young men.

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Charlie Robertshaw Solomon Poole James Dicker

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Musician of the Year The final of the RGS Musician of the Year Competition, The Steynor Prize, has undoubtedly become one of the highlights of the RGS musical calendar.

Held in front of a capacity audience at Holy Trinity Church on Wednesday 30 June, this incredibly special concert proved to be an astonishing evening of music which had the appreciative audience captivated from start to finish. The finalists, taken from a preliminary round of sixteen hopefuls, were Alex Thow (Piano), Joe Ryan (Violin), Henry Forrest (Saxophone), Johnnie Matheson (Piano), Stan Lawrence (Trumpet) and Ruben Berstecher (Piano). Together they performed a recital that was remarkable, not only in its breadth of musical programme, but for the outstanding levels of musicianship on display. The School was honoured to welcome as adjudicator Mr John Holmes, Chief Examiner of the ABRSM music exams. He had the unenviable task of selecting a winner and admitted that the decision was made all the harder as the standard was exceptionally high. Mr Holmes commented that each of the performances demonstrated astonishing virtuosity and was hugely impressed by the astonishing talent of the boys. By the narrowest of margins, Mr Holmes awarded The Steynor Prize to a performer who exhibited both technical prowess and conveyed a fantastic musical connection with the audience, Stan Lawrence. Mrs Newman’s faultless and sensitive accompaniments of some astonishingly difficult music was, as always, a highlight of the evening. This was a true celebration of Music, performed at the highest level by some incredibly talented young men, and I can think of no better way to mark the end of such a difficult year. Congratulations to all involved.

Joe Ryan Alex Throw Johnnie Matheson Henry Forrest Ruben Berstecher

Winner Stan Lawrence with Head of Music, Sam Orchard and Adjudicator, Mr Holmes

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INTEGRITY Vincent Conquest L6

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Business Enterprise & Social Enterprise

House staff in YE House Hoodies

A definition of Enterprise: a project or undertaking, especially a bold or complex one.

The roots of the word lie in the French word entreprendre (from prendre), meaning ‘to undertake’, which in turn comes from the Latin “inter prehendere” (seize with the hand).

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The Young Enterprise Company Programme – UK Winners e were astounded and delighted in 2020 when RGS YE Team Vertex made it through to the UK Finals, in 2021 RGS YE Team Firefly went one better and represented the UK at the European Finals. This was a phenomenal achievement and showed an extraordinary focus and determination in the most testing of times.

Lockdown clearly disrupted the programme with limited selling opportunities and was disheartening to many of the other RGS YE companies. It must be said that there was still a drive to push many products out to the wider community and we had a host of popular products; House hoodies, sustainable gift boxes, RGS branded and personalised surface covers, seed cards in gift boxes, and environmentally focused recycling stickers for bins. A wealth of ideas that won awards and, in some cases, made a much longed for profit. There was an amazing sense of teamwork that shone out in their ability to face the challenges and push themselves to achieve their goals. Whilst I would like to sincerely congratulate and thank all boys for their commitment to the YE Company programme, I would like to single out Noah Campbell for his beautifully crafted and highly emotive advert. A plasticine animation that took over 1000 takes to create. It was worthy of an Aardman Animations production.

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RGS YE Team Firefly showed the true Do not Deskturb sign spirit of a start-up company – belief. Their Do not Deskturb signs responded to the needs of a new working environment by designing and manufacturing their range of technically complex smart signs from scratch – a fully integrated web-abb linked to your calendar – which automatically lights up whenever users are in a meeting, solving the frequent problem of being interrupted, whether working from home or in an office. The RGS team was judged against a strict set of criteria including innovation, sales, marketing, financial performance, social impact, and teamwork.

Despite the challenges posed by Covid, the RGS team created a strong business plan, managed their finances, and sold their products to Dear Mrs Timberlake customers ranging from individuals to companies and even Well, this morning I have discovered that it was not all a to an MP. dream as I first thought when I woke at 4:30am! The boys As a team they initially doubted themselves but this really did win the YE UK finals! excerpt from their company report shows the true I wanted to thank you so very much for all the support and passion for the project: care you have given them. XXXX has certainly recognised “Since September we have met every how much you have done and has really appreciated single week without fail - mainly your involvement and support. And thank you because those meetings are fun. for facilitating things so that we could be in We’ve learnt the technical skills school last night – it really was an evening underpinning the design and to remember! manufacturing of a product. We Our thanks again for all you have done changed our mindset on failure for us. and learnt how to network. We were those that other teams had OMG! Massive congratulations to the ignored. We were stragglers. Then team - they must all be thrilled, I know we became a team. That team is XXXXl is!!! I bet the room went crazy when Firefly Technology.” their name was read out!!

I would like to congratulate Thank you for all your support for them them all: Matt Gray, Ashley Chan, Bruce Behn, Cam Allan, Seb Evans, Yoel SUPER SUPER SUPER proud of you all, you are Goldberg, Hassan Ishaque, Daniel Cobley, simply on another level.

Growful advert Ollie Matthews and Lawrence Duggan. It was Right from the start each of you have shown an an absolute pleasure working with these young INSANE level of resilience and tenacity to just build men and truly wonderful to see them have their a product, let alone one as innovative and crucially, efforts rewarded. The change in their confidence popular, as you have. and self-belief has been transformational and I hope they Being incredibly serious here, every single person in this team can carry this forward in whatever they chose to do next. has the ability to be the very best in the world at whatever you I am especially proud that Matt Gray was awarded a much do in the future and if you have ever questioned that, today coveted Leadership award at the European finals, his style should leave you in no doubt. was always one of an inclusive and supportive team leader – Max Beech OG and mentor for Firefly Technology qualities that many people could learn from.

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Firefly – Our Young Enterprise Journey

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Young Enterprise has been an incredible experience for our team, Firefly Technology and we have learnt so much, from day one right through to ending up representing the UK in the European finals.

Back in September 2020, we went into the process with one key objective: make a good product. We had a team with a diverse range of skills, thanks to which we could go on to create and market an innovative product.

We struggled initially in envisioning a product, with ideas such as smart fridge monitors, environment focused card games and even customisable mugs thrown around for weeks. We then found an issue needing to be solved – the struggles of home working and interruptions when people are disturbed during video calls. After countless hours of designing and testing, we had created our range of smart Do Not Disturb signs, aimed at those working from home struggling with other family members being around. These 3D printed and laser cut signs are mounted on the door,

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illuminating when the person working in the room is busy. This is controlled via a smartphone app, Alexa/Google Assistant, and our custom calendar integration, turning on during scheduled meetings.

With a innovate product we were proud to sell, marketing ideas were plentiful.

Everything including posters, emails to schools, social media marketing and targeted LinkedIn messaging was considered and tested.

Whilst some think Young Enterprise is just about getting money, it is actually a chance to gain life skills you won’t get doing any other activity at the school. Sales calls, finance management, writing reports, business planning, customer interactions, interviews, adverts. Every single one of us learnt new skills we did not have before we started.

After selling large amounts during the holiday season via newsletters and social media marketing, sales slowed down in January, which we picked up on with our expansion into business-to-business sales, offering bulk

discounts and our desktop version of the sign over business calls to CEOs. With an innovative product and a passionate team, we focused our attention on the upcoming competition for Company of The Year. The competitions consisted of a 10-page business report, an interview and a one-minute advertisement. We were able to get a practise for our interview and feedback on our business model in the Surrey YE festival, which we won Most Innovative Product and Best Overall Company in.

With our successful expansion into business-to-business sales and continued innovation (with a model with battery recharging in the works), our hard work paid off. We won the Surrey Finals and were through to the South East finals, with RGS team Growful joining us as runner up in Surrey.

We continued to work on our business plan and our interview technique and in a tight South-East final we won Best Overall Company.

We had become one of only two RGS team to have ever reached the UK finals and the first from Surrey in 17 years.

We also won best website in the South East for our custom programmed website.

Yet our team’s effort didn’t stop there.

Faced with our end of year exams only weeks away, we met regularly, adding, and improving on our business plans and reports, practicing interviews, and editing adverts.

The highest moment for our team was the UK Finals. We faced 12 excellent teams from across the country, each having won their respective competition for each region.

This concluded in a virtual event in June. By a unanimous decision, with judges from companies such as HSBC, we were awarded Company of the Year 2021.

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We would now be representing the UK at the European finals, facing the best companies from over 40 countries.

We were astounded to have won the UK finals but didn’t stop there and persisted to work to do our best at the European finals.

We faced various virtual interviews over two weeks as we looked to get awards at ‘Gen-E’, Europe’s largest young e n t re p re n e u r s h i p competition, hosted this year by Lithuania.

After being interviewed, Matt Gray won one of only five ‘JA Alumni Leadership Awards’ for his excellent leadership, an outstanding achievement.

We did not get any podium positions at the European finals; however, we are proud to have been awarded best company in the UK from over 7,500 pupils, and walked away with 10 awards. My team are thankful to have gained a plethora of skills to ready us for the world of work and business. A massive thanks must go to our business advisor Max Beech (OG 2015) and Mrs Timberlake, for all their advice and work to help us, without whom our team would not have gone as far as we did.

Sharon Davies, Chief Executive of Young Enterprise:

“Reaching the Young Enterprise Company Programme National final represents an inspirational journey for young people with many months of hard work, teamwork, creativity and resilience; congratulations Firefly Technology. The experience and skills that young people from every team will have developed will stay with them for many years to come and will make a tangible difference to their futures. All Young Enterprise Companies have shown particular resilience with their product development and sales throughout this challenging time.

We were incredibly proud to watch Firefly Tech represent the UK at the JA Europe awards, and it was wonderful to see Matt Gray’s leadership recognised through the Alumni Leadership Award.

Truly well deserved. “

Dr Jon Cox, Headmaster:

“I have spoken frequently about the fact that success in public examinations is just one part of a fully rounded education which prepares students for the world beyond our school gates and the challenges of the 21st century. In the current climate it is the spirit of enterprise and innovation, creativity and risk-taking, the willingness to fail, try again and fail better each time, and a steely determination to solve problems and to be the very best you can be: all of these qualities are not merely rhetoric but have been the basis upon which Team Firefly’s success has been built this year. As a school we are extremely proud of them to represent the UK at the European Finals.”

Mrs Liv Timberlake, Head of Business Enterprise:

“It is a wonderful result for RGS Team Firefly Tech who have worked tirelessly to elevate their product over the past nine months. The spirit of teamwork, collaboration and resilience has been clear to see in these challenging times.

To see the boys grow in confidence and character shows the positive impact of taking part in the Young Enterprise Company programme. It has been a journey they will never forget.”

Ashley Chan, Firefly Technology

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The Tree Climateers - RGS Earthshot Challenge

Social Enterprise Whilst our focus has been on Business Enterprise for many years at the RGS it is increasingly important that we lead our students to invest thought, time and energy into the social impact that they can make.

With the current climate crisis one of the most vital issues to be addressed, the RGS launched its own ‘RGS Earthshot Prize’ to the entire Third Form. Based on The Earthshot Prize, launched by HRH Prince William and Sir David Attenborough, we challenged the boys to come up with creative, engaging solutions tackling environmental issues in the Guildford area. In teams of up to four, the boys needed to pick a topic from: Protect and Restore Nature, Clean Our Air, Revive our Local Water, Build a Waste-Free World or Fix Our Climate.

We invited an external panel of judges to decide the winners, including James Miller OG who is a prominent environmental activist, and they were hugely impressed with the quality of the submissions. Shortlisted down to

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three teams were; Pollution Control who focused on installing more water fountains in the town and addressed the importance of these to vulnerable groups and the benefit to health whilst reducing single use plastic, The Earth Avengers with a plan to rid the rivers of waste with specially designed barriers and pump systems and The Tree Climateers with a range of ideas to tackle traffic pollution in Guildford.

The winners were The Tree Climateers comprising of Zac Warham, George Christiansen and Thomas Dowson.

They showed in-depth research to highlight the issues of pollution in the town and came up with a wide range of solutions such as pedestrianisation areas, solar powered cars, electric bikes and trams. The Guildford Environmental Forum asked them to write a piece for their publication and have expressed interest in helping move their ideas forward.

The Earthshot Prize is £1 million but the budget wouldn’t stretch to that for the RGS Earthshot Challenge, instead £100 was the incentive – what was touching was the boys wanted to donate their winnings to charity.

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The European Commission has defined a social enterprise as being:

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an operator in the social economy whose main objective is to have a social impact rather than make profit for their owners or shareholders.

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Business/Social Enterprise Field Day – Second Form

Field Day - Dragons Den

An environmental twist on Dragon’s Den, this high impact event unlocks entrepreneurial flair when students are challenged to invent or innovate an ethical product.

Working in teams, students challenge themselves to develop their ethical product and business model: from the drawing board to the business pitch, teams join together their skills and ideas to develop new and innovative ideas.

Each mission builds on the last, culminating in the teams going head-to-head as they present their ideas before the notorious Green Dragons. This programme inspires students to be enterprising within the context of being environmentally and socially conscious. Students develop key employability skills as well as their understanding of pressing environmental issues. Well done to all the boys for coming up with some fantastic ideas and committing to a full day of environmental/social focus.

Mrs OL Timberlake

Winners Field Day

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COURAGE Zed Law 5A

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COURAGE Combined Cadet Force We were not able to run the Monday Period 8 programme for much of the year, but when it was possible we were pleased to welcome back the Fourth Form, with the Lower Sixth Form re-joining later in the Trinity Term.

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t was pleasing to be able to restart the Field Days (FD) in the Trinity Term and also run an Army summer camp, open to all sections at the start of the summer holidays. I thank the NCO team for engaging when possible, including stepping up to the mark with some online sessions when they were not able to attend in person. Thanks also to the staff for adapting as required.

Lt Cdr (CCF) SJH Yetman RNR, Contingent Commander

Royal Navy Section (RN) FD4 - Cadets from the RN Fourth Form went to Southampton Water to spend the day training in small powerboats to achieve their RYA National Powerboat Level 1 certificate. The boys performed well and experienced a large variety of weather as all other groups, as they practised both their low and high-speed manoeuvres. Due to forecast strong, gusty winds we cancelled the planned dinghy sailing at Papercourt and headed instead to Woodmill Activity Centre in Southampton for Watch 2’s first Field Day as Navy Cadets. The cadets lashed Canadian canoes together to form rafts and spend the first half of the morning learning to paddle as a team and learning the core strokes to manoeuvre their craft before spending the rest of the morning undertaking a mini-trip up-river. The cadets all came back reassuringly wet (not the rain!) and ready for lunch. After a break in the sun/rain we moved to the low-ropes course where the boys were put though their paces learning about teamwork, communication including Kolbe’s learning cycle. The boys impressed despite the weather.

On FD5, members of the section went to Southampton to visit the Seacity Museum in the Southampton Civic Buildings before going on to undertook canoeing, high ropes or archery. All of the activities were worthwhile and the engagement of the cadets was good. It was a timely reminder of how valuable this type of physical activity education

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can be. At the start of the day cadets did now know how to hold or use a paddle or how to get into and out of the canoes safely, let alone how to work together to travel in the desired direction. Although, some made more progress than others, by the end, all had managed to complete a river tour including porterage, negotiating fishing lines and some fast flowing water. It was also a reminder of how much we have missed this year and certainly looking forward to resuming activities again next year.

At the end of the year, we said goodbye to S/Lt Nathan after numerous years’ service to the RN section and thank him for his contribution.

Lt (CCF) Shimell, i/c RN Section

Shooting on the Range

Army Section On FD4, the Fourth Form Army section completed a day’s training run by a team of keen L6 NCOs and staff in order to prepare them for their FD5 blank firing battle exercise on Bramshott Common. The training package saw the boys working on their marksmanship skills firing the CSBTR on the school’s indoor range, learn how to build Army BASHA shelters, taste the delights of issue 24hr operational rations packs, carry out final preparation on the

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Testing BASHA Shelters

In the Field

L98A2 cadet general purpose rifle before carrying out the required skill-at-arms weapons handling test and a session on correct wearing of the uniform. Finally they had an introduction to parade drill so they were ready for the end of day parade and debrief.

All cadets passed their weapons handling test; constructed some excellent shelters that even survived the maybe not required artificial deluge test, in addition to the naturally provided rain and hail, enjoyed the rations; shot well; looked fairly smart and turned in sync on the parade.

FD5 was the first time since November 2019 that we have had the cadets taking part in battle skill fieldcraft training, so we were very pleased to return to Bramshott Common with 40 members of the Fourth Form, 10 L6 NCOs and 10 staff. The day started with the issue of equipment and the weapons system before the obligatory safety brief. The L6 NCOs then delivered an introduction to movement in the field, camouflage and concealment and field communication. There was then ample time to have lunch (15 mins) before these new skills were put into practice with both pairs and section fire and manoeuvre. The finale of the day came when the ammunition was issued and each section alternated between friendly and enemy forces and carried out a deliberate attack. Pleasingly the skill-at-arms taught on FD4 and before seemed to have embedded itself sufficiently for all 2000 rds to the expended in a

semi-organised attacks. Communication in the heat of the moment can always be a challenge, but with some rousing staff assistance all was well. The troops departed the training area at 1400 to return to school and clean their rifles. The boys worked well and between 1440 and 1545, all rifles were stripped, cleaned and reassembled ready for their next outing. The final parade finished as planned at 1600 and all boys walked away, with a job well done.

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Capt SG Black, i/c Army Section

Rations

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COURAGE

Royal Air Force Section (RAF)

Omid Hariri and Mr Bush on Armed Forces Day

The RAF activities this year have unfortunately been very much affected by the Covid pandemic. There were no CCF Monday Period 8 activities in the Michaelmas Term, and all but the final three weeks of the Lent Term were taught remotely. It was a great relief to begin face to face RAF Monday Period 8 sessions during the Lent and Trinity Terms. There were also no flying or gliding activities which was a great shame as it is always my fundamental aim to give flying experience to as many RAF cadets as possible. I am hoping that flying will resume in the next academic year as this is what gives the RAF section its identity and what the boys really look forward to! Once the Monday period 8 activities resumed, the cadets were keen to learn about the RAF and Sqn Ldr EKD Bush, Pilot Officer I Busby and our NCO team, ably led by O Hariri, taught the RAF syllabus on Monday afternoons. The various topics covered by the cadets included: flight simulator training, airfields and aerodromes, principles of flight, ranks of the RAF, the history of the RAF, aircraft in the RAF, aircraft recognition and flight safety.

Field Days commenced in the Trinity Term. For Field Day 4, the RAF cadets went paintballing in Cobham and completed the Wild Wood high ropes course at Stoke Park.

These activities relied on the effective teamwork of the boys and they rose to the challenge and had a thoroughly enjoyable day. For Field Day 5 the cadets visited the Royal Air Force Museum at Hendon. The boys learnt a great deal from the static aircraft and the historical displays which supplemented the classroom work they had done on the history of the RAF. Corporal Omid Hariri joined Squadron Leader Bush on Armed Forces Day in June for the Guildford flag raising ceremony. Ceremonial duties such as this are really important to cement RGS’s position in the community. My thanks go to the NCOs and my team of officers and of course the cadets for their enthusiasm and passion for aviation.

Sqn Ldr EKD Bush, i/c RAF Section

Summer Camp - Survival

CCF Summer Camp During the first week of the holidays we were pleased to be able to offer a summer camp run by the Army out of Longmoor and open to cadets from all sections. The cadets returned home each night and took part in a series of activities including, water sports, climbing, mountain biking, rafting, stand up paddle boarding, clay pigeon shooting, live firing on the range, an exercise in the urban training area, escape rooms, paintballing, and survival skills.

Lt Cdr (CCF) SJH Yetman RNR, Contingent Commander

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Summer Camp - Contingent Photo

Summer Camp - Contingent Photo Right - Escape Rooms Top Right - Team Building Bottom Right - Paintball Background - Urban Training

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Shooting When I wrote my shooting report in September 2019, reflecting on the culmination of many years’ work to achieve the top prize in cadet Shooting, the Ashburton Shield, I had no idea that I would have so little to report over the course of the next two years. Balazs Rigo and Sam Cherry had been to Canada with the Athelings and performed with distinction, and we were all looking forward to another successful season.

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aving started the smallbore season of 2019/20 with some success – fourth in the BSSRA Winter league Division 1, fourth in the BSSRA Winter Open, and success in matches against St John’s, Lancing and Bradfield but losses against Epsom and Wellington – the Lent Term was plunged into chaos as the effects of Covid began to enter our lives: small bore fixture began to be cancelled, the BSSRA league were left incomplete, and fullbore shut down completely. But for a temporary resurgence in the BSSRA postal leagues in the Michaelmas Term 2020, in which our ‘A’ team finished second in Division 2, no other competitive shooting took place at all during 2020/21.

With School resuming in March this year, some form of practice was started again, although this was restricted within year group ‘bubbles’. Finally, we were able to get outside in the Trinity Term to re-acquaint boys with fullbore shooting, and as I write, we have been able to arrange shoulder to shoulder matches, now that ‘bubbles’ have been dispensed with, league teams have been entered, and we intend to run a complete programme of shooting fixtures and competitions.

It cannot be overstated the damage that the past two years have done to the continuity and thus strength of this sport, not only in our school but in every other school which takes part in shooting. No First Year air rifle last year and extremely limited opportunities for the Second and Third Years to continue air rifle or start .22 shooting mean that a re-building process will undoubtedly be taking place over the coming years to restore the skill levels which have brought

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us so much success in recent years. To cap everything off, we have not been able to have a Shooting squad photograph, displaying our trophies for the past two years as well!

Fortunately, there are encouraging signs that we are getting back ‘in the groove’: boys appear keen to start in the shooting clubs in the first three years, and we still have a small core of firers willing to compete as best we can in the fixtures and competitions ahead. The staff - Mr Black, Mr Whicher and Mr Underwood, who give up copious amounts of time to give the boys the opportunity to develop their skills - are keen as ever to get back into the swing of things, and it is always appreciated when other staff, Mr Bush, Mr Yetman and our new SSI, Mr Black, help out to ensure that we can fulfil our commitments.

As I finish this report, I am doing so, not just at the end of perhaps the most extraordinary times as far as shooting is concerned, but at the end of my time as Master-in-Charge of Shooting. From January 2022, the baton passes on to Mr Black, and I wish him every success in his efforts to take this sport forward. I would obviously have liked the sport to be in a better position than it currently is, but, as I reflect on the past twenty one years in which I have been involved with the sport at this school, there is no doubt that we are in a much better state: we are the most successful sport in the school, and the number of participants has grown significantly; we have more fixtures, compete in more competitions, and we have, rightly, developed a strong reputation in the shooting world for providing top class shooters who go on to represent their country; and what please me most about all of this is that the talents of all of our shooters are all nurtured and developed exclusively within the school – what other sport can say that!

For the final time, I wish to put on record my genuine thanks to the staff, all mentioned above, who have provided expertise, friendship and dedication during my time at the helm; however, above all, I would like to thank the countless number of boys who have given me so much pleasure, and made my job all the more worthwhile.

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Mr DJ Woolcott

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Climbing

Left: Crack climbing Below: Cold gully

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ith the discovery of Giant Skittles being a large part of the entertainment for the journey down we were eager to start climbing. However, last year’s climbing Field Days were not for the faint-hearted, with rain persisting throughout the drives down to the picturesque Harrisons Rock. Fortunately, lady luck was on the side of the RGS climbers, and the weather cleared up just in time for the days’ play to start on time.

With the typical English weather playing a large part of both field days the rock was predictably greasy but importantly still dry enough to climb on.

With a mix of new and experienced climbers, Harrisons Rock posed a challenge for all abilities. The damp sandstone was tricky to climb and so refreshingly challenging. With most of the climbers never having climbed outside before, many of them were discovering the new techniques and strategies to combat the challenging routes.

As we got more experienced and began to understand the wall the difficulty of the climbs soon increased. The new climbers began to find their feet, making good progress up the wall with even the more experienced climbers able to push out of their comfort zone, challenging themselves on tough climbs such as the ‘Unclimbed Wall’. A tough yet rewarding climb with techniques of gripping the wall that not even a monkey would think of. With clouds rolling back in it was time to head home, excited with the prospect of a good sleep on the way back.

Many thanks to Mr Royds and Mr Bradford for the enjoyable experience.

Mr MRF Royds

Long Layback

High on Zig Zag

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with the typical English weather playing a large part of both field days the rock was predictably greasy but importantly still dry enough to climb on.

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Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Last year, large numbers of boys continued to make good progress with their DofE Awards at all three levels, with many of them taking advantage of the Award Scheme’s DofE with a Difference campaign. This allowed them to modify their activities so that they could continue with them during lockdown periods. The biggest change was allowing participants to volunteer within their own homes and I hope that this would continue in future for Bronze level, as it created some fantastic opportunities to assist parents and siblings with activities pupils may not ordinarily engage with. The Award also made changes to allow for expeditions to take place to take into account the various regulations in force at the time and we used all to ensure that participants could achieve the award. We created a whole new programme with lots of new expeditions within the new formats.

A wet day on the Greensand Way

Day Trip only Gold Qualifying – Greensand Way

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uring October half term, 20 members of the Upper Sixth completed their Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Qualifying expedition. This was postponed from the previous April, when they would have completed it in the Lake District. The expedition was modified to fit with Covid procedures, taking place on the Greensand Way that stretches across Surrey into

Which way to go

Kent, with the Teams returning home each evening. The Teams walked in excess of 100 km over the 4 days and impressed the assessors with their expedition skills and camaraderie, especially on the very wet second day. It is worth noting that although the Greensand Way is much less mountainous than in the Lakes, due the undulating nature the overall height climbed is actually very similar and the navigation is also a challenge in places.

Expedition Completed

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Day Trip only combined Silver Qualifying/Gold Practice – Greensand Way In April, we completed an expedition which counted as both the Silver Qualifying and Gold practice expedition for 29 members of the Lower Sixth. The Teams met on the first day at Bradstone Brook after completing all of the final planning via an MS Teams site. Following a full day of both day and night navigation training on Blackheath, the teams returned home before a three day expedition along the Greensand Way. As with the October expedition, regulations did not allow overnight school trips, with the pupils going home each evening.

km first day to the grounds of Walliswood Village Hall. Having enjoyed great walking weather on the Sunday, the Teams woke to a wet second day, however, having had breakfast and cleared the campsite they all left in high spirits. After some tricky navigation Field Day 4 Third Form across Blackheath, the Navigation Training teams found themselves 21 km later back at school, Third Form Navigation tired but mostly satisfied after the Training venture. The boys generally impressive FD4 was our first Field Day in over and rose to the challenge, achieving a year and provided the opportunity their expedition in the required to carry out a day’s Navigation Covid-secure manner. training for all members of the Third Form in preparation for their Bronze Qualifying Expedition planned for FD1 once they have progressed to the Fourth Form. All the Teams proved to be proficient on their journeys through the Surrey Hills.

Overnight Bronze Expedition – Surrey Hills

Above: Silver Qualifying Gold Practice April 21 Training on Blackheath 6RPH WHDPV DW WKH ÀQLVK

Bronze Qualifying June 21 - Cheerfully cooking in the rain

June saw our first school residential trip in over a year as the regulations changed just in time for all of the Fourth Form to complete their postponed Bronze Qualifying Expedition from the previous September. 157 members of the Fourth Form arrived in staggered format at Bradstone Brook to begin their 36 hour self-sufficient overnight expedition supervised by 19 different staff who were present at various stages of the expedition.

Having been issued their maps and compasses, the 24 teams passed through a few preparatory stations to ready their kit before Above: setting off on their 20 Teams enjoying the rain Sheltering from the rain

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COURAGE Silver Practice and Qualfiying Back to Back - Exmoor We then moved to our final expedition of the year, which was a combined Silver Practice and Qualifying Expedition with a night and day in a bunkhouse between the two to recuperate. 38 boys from the Fifth Form took part, split into six different teams. Again, all participants rose to the challenge and completed their qualifying expedition.

Next year’s expedition include the Qualifying expedition for the Fourth Form in September and both a Gold practice and Gold Qualifying in Brecon in the October half term, before falling into almost normal routine (from a time, not location) of another Gold Qualifying in April 2022.

Thanks must go to all of the staff involved in running the expeditions who have adapted to all of the ever-changing regulations.

In the last 12 months, we presented 43 Certificates of Achievement (24 Bonze, 14 Silver and 5 Gold) as well as 54 full Bronze certificate, 24 Silver and 18 Gold. 50 Bronze, 13 Silver and 11 Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards full awards have also been presented to RGS boys in the last twelve months.

6LOYHU 4XDOÀ\LQJ *ROG 3UDFWLFH June 21 - The expedition begins

Cooking on Exmoor

A Happy Team

Mr SJH Yetman The Bunkhouse drying room

Assessors brief

Breakfast in the Bunkhouse

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This has been an unusual year for outward bound activities in general but eventually we were able to run trips. Here is a snapshot of some of what we were able to get up to this year.

Field Day 5 Surfers-Cornwall

A group of intrepid Lower Sixth Form boys (Ashwell, Buckland, Casale, Latham, Pressley and Woodfine) headed to Cornwall in the rain for surfing lessons.

Mr Casale, Mrs Wilson and Mr Crew accompanied them to provide the minibus driving and the cooking required for hungry surfers. We camped inside the Mawgan Porth village hall and had 3 days of small but entertaining surf. The cooking was amazing, the weather improved and the boys behaved impeccably as always and showed us all how its done on the water.

Field Day 4

H

alf of our Lower Sixth Form group headed off to Poole Harbour for kitesurfing lessons. The weather was variable but proved to be perfect for learning. Mr Vickers and Mr Casale were able to lead by example and crashed the kites only a few times more than the boys.

Lawence Duggan impressed everyone with his no fear approach and champion sailor Ben Mueller showed us how it should be done. McDonalds on the way home and some interesting minibus reversing by Mr Casale completed a very entertaining day. Thank you Mr Vickers for your support and for taking over the driving!

The other half of the group enjoyed learning to windsurf at Queen Mary reservoir. Mrs Wilson and Mr Crew took charge and although the instructors were very strict, the boys still found ways to relax. Charlie Woodfine and Toby Perryman were particularly enthusiastic and certainly learned a few lessons that day. Their windsurfing improved too.

It was so good to be back doing real field day weekends again: Well played RGS. Thank you Mrs Wilson and Mr Crew for your fantastic support and thank you to Mr Yetman for approving the trips.

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Mr JA Casale :LQGVXUÀQJ

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COURAGE

Outdoor Pursuits Sadly, the ongoing pandemic had a significant impact on co-curricular activities during this academic year and Outdoor Pursuits was no exception.

Although we were unable to offer online alternatives, the Fourth Form did manage to participate when we were back at school.

A

n amended programme saw the students undertake: Street Dance, Ultimate Frisbee, Team Tasks, and some even managed Cooking and Climbing. Furthermore, as restrictions eased, all were fortunate to enjoy two Field Days during the final term!

Field Day 4 Normally the sunny, summer weather over Thorpe Lake provides a ‘party-like’ atmosphere for the boys to learn wakeboarding skills, not to mention enjoying banana boat rides and the hilarity of the inflatable water park. However, this year, the low temperatures, rain, and even hail, made it a challenging day! Nevertheless, the stoicism was admirable, and the majority braved the conditions to enjoy ‘mastering’ skills on the lake.

wrapped in foil. The results were very impressive indeed, and with a desert of toasted marshmallows sandwiched in chocolate biscuits, the boys were ready for the afternoon’s shelter building. All three shelters were, largely, successfully built, and withstood some enthusiastic water testing by both staff and boys alike. Under the able guidance of Mr Baker, his group were declared the winner – for getting the most in the shelter and keeping them dry!

My sincerest thanks to all the Outdoor Pursuits staff for their enthusiastic efforts and helping to deliver a successful programme. A special mention must also go to Mrs Clarkson who has been fantastic over the last few years, particularly during the cookery rotation. Her enthusiasm and experience will be sorely missed!

OP FD4 - relaxing in the rain

OP FD4 kneeboard shelter

Mr KP Tayar

Field Day 5 With the threat of heavy rain looming in the air, 50 Fourth Form students and six brave staff, headed to Bighat Bushcamp in Surrey for a day of outdoor survival. After being shown the basics of fire-lighting, the students had to put into practice their newly formed knife and axe skills, to light and tend to the fire-pits. Eventually, (with only one group needing paraffin aid) the fires were ready for BBQ pizza! After mixing and kneading the ingredients in a bag, the pizza was suitably topped before being cooked on the embers,

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Above: OP FD5 - shelter winners Right: OP FD5 - successful pizza

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Chess RGS Chess wasn’t quite able to operate in its usual manner last academic year, with the Surrey Schools League and National Schools Chess Championship both not taking place.

Despite this, we were able to keep the chess going in some form throughout the year, both in the traditional over-the-board format and the slightly more modern online game.

Weekly Chess Club

D

uring the Michaelmas Term, RGS Chess couldn’t quite operate it in its normal manner due to restrictions. We did however manage to offer fortnightly year group specific Chess Club in which pupils within the same year could play over-the-board chess against one another. Although it didn’t quite have the same buzz as the traditionally multi-year group lunchtime club, it was still nice to see pupils enjoying the ‘physical’ form of chess!

“

I hope these masterclasses will have developed and encouraged many RGS players for the future.

”

An example of this is above: A total of 54 boys signed up and participated in at least one of these tournaments throughout the term.

Live Chess Masterclasses

On Friday lunchtimes each week through the Lent Term, boys, and sometimes teachers, participated in a remote blitz tournament whereby players had the chance to compete against each other and scores points on a leaderboard, playing a number of fast-paced games within a 30 minute period.

It was nice to see both familiar and new faces throughout these tournaments, and a weekly ‘Top 10 Leaderboard’ was posted in the RGS Today each week.

Both Mr Foster and Omeet Atara (1st VI Captain) hosted some hourly chess masterclasses afterschool on Tuesdays.

These sessions were open to all ages and abilities and covered a manner of chess topics: from basic principles to specific openings and theory, with the opportunity to complete puzzles and test out new ideas against each other through Chess.com during the sessions too. Both the boys and I were extremely grateful to both of them, not only for the planning and delivery of these sessions, but also for their extensive expertise in the game. Numbers were strong on the whole, with up to 20 boys tuning in simultaneously for some sessions. I hope these masterclasses will have developed and encouraged many RGS players for the future!

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Weekly Remote Chess Tournaments

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COURAGE Chess Simultaneous Displays

Looking Ahead

During Lent Term we also hosted two simultaneous displays on Chess.com, one against Mr Foster and one against Omeet Atara. Boys (and staff members) had the chance to tune in and play a game against them while they live streamed their thought processes and reactions. Both players did well, despite having to play against around a dozen players at the same time.

The Surrey Schools Chess Committee met during Trinity Term and are hoping that over-the-board matches can resume between schools at some point in the next academic year. RGS Guildford have agreed to host the annual Russell Trophy in October, a jamboree format tournament among several schools traditionally at the beginning of the chess season.

Mr AWJ Jessett

Mr Foster versus the School On Thursday afternoon, Mr Foster conducted a chess simultaneous against a number of RGS pupils. Excluding a few Chess.com defaults, RGS pupils beat Mr Foster 6-3, through a combination of strong play (and a few technical mishaps)! Special mentions go to Omeet Atara, Dev Atara, Stuart Brown, Adit Ghandi and Andrew Zhang for playing excellent games. After his win in the most recent Friday tournament, Mr Foster hopes to continue his redemption story with a stronger performance in his next simultaneous display!

“

RGS pupils beat Mr Foster 6-3, through a combination of strong play (and a few technical mishaps)!

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Omeet versus the School After a gruelling 70 minutes of intense play, Omeet emerged triumphant in RGS's second simultaneous fixture, coming away with a convincing 10-4 victory. Omeet managed to see off numerous would-be winners, including the host of the last simultaneous display: Mr Foster! The game of the day, however, has to go to Robin Chapple, who demolished Omeet's defence and put on a tactics clinic to win a fantastic game. Well done and thank you to everyone who took part!

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HOUSES Cock House Cup Results ACTIVITIES

AUSTEN

BECKINGHAM

HAMONDE

NETTLES

POWELL

VALPY

Position

Points

Position

Points

Position

Points

Position

Points

Position

Points

Position

Points

Sports Day

1

12

6

2

4

6

2

10

3

8

5

4

Badminton

3

4

4

3

1

6

6

1

2

5

5

2

Basketball

3

4

5=

1.5

5=

1.5

2

5

4

3

1

6

Chess

1=

5.5

5

2

1=

5.5

6

1

4

3

3

4

Cricket

1

3

2=

2.25

5

1

2=

2.25

6

0.5

4

1.5

Cooking

5=

0.75

5=

0.75

3=

1.75

1=

2.75

1=

2.75

3=

2.75

Fencing

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

Football

3

8

6

2

1

12

4

6

5

4

2

10

Hockey

1

12

2

10

5=

3

3

8

5=

3

4

6

Quiz

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

Reading

6

1

3=

3.5

1

6

5

2

3=

3.5

2

5

Rugby

5

4

4

6

3

8

1

12

6

2

2

10

Shooting

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

Softball

2

2.5

6

0.5

5

1

3

2

3

4

1

3

Maths

5=

1.5

2=

4.5

4

3

5=

1.5

2=

4.5

1

6

Swimming

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

TableTennis

5

2

4

3

1

6

6

1

2

5

3

4

Tennis

1=

5.5

1=

5.5

6

1

3

4

4=

2.5

4=

2.5

X Country

1=

11

4

6

5

4

1=

11

3

8

6

2

Totals Final Position

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76.75 1st

51.5 6th

65.75 4th

69.5 2nd

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58.75 5th

68.75 3rd

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HOUSES Austen

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icing on the cake. Rapturous support paired with the winning mentality of the athletes secured us the overall victory of both the day, and the year.

Thanks must go to Mr Dubois, who, after 25 years of dedicated service has left Austen firmly in the lead and has inspired many boys to try new things, support each other and create an environment of fellowship.

We welcome Mr Vickers, and Mr Eburne into their respective roles as Housemaster and deputy Housemaster and have little doubt that they will fill the sizeable shoes of Mr Dubois.

his year was not without its struggles, but yet again, under the leadership of Mr Dubois we managed to overturn some considerable odds to conclude the year by welcoming the sight of our new House Captain, Matthew Kassir lifting the trophy (albeit virtually) into the history books.

Austen has been enjoying some modest success the last few years, however, had lost possession of the Cock House Cup the year before. Regardless of the challenge of regaining the Cup ahead, this year really epitomised what it meant to be an Austen House member.

We began perhaps… shakily. Fifth in rugby and mathematics, and a sixth in Shooting symbolized to some, the doubters, that Austen would struggle to contend, but of course things were just getting started. At the end of the first half term, things began to take off, with a monumental and deserved win in Cross-Country, an event of grit and determination: synonyms of Austen House. Chess followed on, another victory, symbolizing the wide range of talents found in Austen.

Later in the year, we

maintained our efforts, with a win in the hockey, and middle standings in both the basketball and football. In the Summer, with the end in sight we pressed on, taking a win in the tennis, the cricket, and a second in softball.

However, Nettles were still jostling at our side, and heading into Sports Day, all was to play for.

Alas… for Nettles, this is where Austen truly stood out. A double points competition, yet again we struck when it mattered most to retain our exemplary record on the track and field. Perhaps however, the feeling of community was a bigger success. Both current and prior House Captains could be seen jogging the track, encouraging, and organising.

Boys tried new events, and sometimes lost, but with a smile on their face.

The relays were (although a cliché) the

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Toby Perryman Austen House Secretary

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Beckingham a normal year of House activities in September and I am sure our new leadership team of Kiran, George and Faaiq can lead us to (even more) glory.

Mr DN Holliday Housemaster

W

ell, we thought last year’s House competition was unusual.

This year has certainly been a challenge but one that has brought out the best in many of the Beckingham boys.

I would like to thank the Beckingham leadership team, who have been heroes this year. 12 months ago none of us knew about doing virtual assemblies, and while we never quite hit Netflix quality levels of production, I certainly could not have done it without their assistance. Captain George’s rousing speeches, Aman’s sporting displays, Josh’s wit and Chan’s encouragement, all played a big part in rallying the boys of Beckingham this year. While Covid prevented any in person cross bubble support, all the leaders did all they could to encourage the boys.

Thanks for all your support this year.

Beckingham flew out of the traps early in the Michaelmas Term and were able to rack up some excellent results in Table Tennis, Hockey and Rugby. It was an excellent swansong for the Upper Sixth who dominantly

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took apart all opponents on the Rugby field, backed up by some excellent efforts from the First and Second Form. Chess, often an Achillies heel, proved a great challenge but we unlucky to lose narrowly on several boards, which meant we didn’t quite do enough to reach the top three.

Football as well was a game of close margins. Fifth Form were unfortunate to lose their final on penalties and a number of other games were decided by the odd goal.

The return of lockdown, saw the return of lockdown competitions. The boys did a great job with the inaugural cooking competition, with special mentions to Sam McDermott (First Form) and Ayaan Bhagat (Second Form), who both produced incredible dishes.

We were all delighted to be back in School and diving headfirst into newly available House activities.

The first Form stormed straight back with a huge Basketball performance, with another special mention to Jola Akin-Olugbade for his excellent hoop shooting.

Hopefully not jinxing things, we can look forward to a full return to

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HOUSES Hamonde Next year I know we will build on this years successes. Go Hamonde, go! Honours ties have been awarded to our Upper Sixth: • • • • •

T

his year has seen Hamonde put in its strongest performance for several years.

We were in contention throughout the year being consistently one of the top three Houses and with two weeks remaining of the Trinity Term we were in First place! It was not to be however as we were pipped to third place by Valpy and Nettles and thoroughly trounced

by Austen. Well done those Houses and particularly Austen who won overall, by miles.

We can celebrate some fine acheivements in badminton, chess, football, reading, and table tennis.

We can also celebrate commitment, comminication and camaraderie. This year above any other there has been a great sense of purpose and House spirit. Our great team of tutors have been inspirational for the boys and Mrs Wilson (Assistant Housemaster) has worked tirelessly for Hamonde both on and off the sports field. Her IT skills have been invaluable for organising events and for recoring our socially distanced assemblies.

• • •

Ben Watkins (House Captain) Barney Dunnett (Deputy House Captain) Will Brown (Deputy House Captain) Chris Ratcliffe (Hamonde Sporting Hero) Harry James (Hamonde Sporting Hero) Christian Moody (Hamonde Sporting Hero) Stan Lawrence (Hamonde Hero - Jazz) Ed Wilkinson (Hamonde Hero - Chess)

And also to our Lower Sixth: • Austin Humphrey (House Captain) • Lawrence Duggan (Deputy House Captain) • Barney Doyle (Deputy House Captain) In addition to these fine men we have our year group leaders: Ben Wilce, Joseph Ryan, Daniel Krikorian, Max Hackett and Ed Eves.

These fine young men have been the backbone of our stoic and determined House this year. Many thanks to all of them.

Ben Watkins our departing House Captain led the House very confidently and with good humour.

Thank you Ben. He has handed over the reins to Austin Humphrey, who has all the qualities to make a superb House Captain and I wish him well.

Perhaps Austin can make Hamonde the new Austen!

Mr JA Casale Housemaster Photographs by Mrs N Wilson

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Nettles Update

B

efore returning in September, the annual House competition for this school year looked bleak; social distancing and the separation of year groups placed obstacles on the usually varied mix of year groups in typical competitions, particularly Sixth Form sports. However, brief lapses of restrictions allowed for a toughly contested competition, with Nettles commanding an early lead through some success in events of chess, reading and table tennis. In particular, the House Rugby competition saw the reintroduction of some familiar faces, ‘retired’ from school rugby, back to Bradstone Brook after being reduced from full contact to a touch competition. Due to the disruption to live, in person assemblies, the opportunity for recorded assemblies by each year group was taken, with some great efforts in conjuring up creative ways to present each cohort to the rest of the House over Microsoft Stream.

The running of cross country saw a smaller group of contestants this year, primarily motivated by the promise of donuts towards some very strong results, leaving Nettles as a force to be

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reckoned with by Christmas 2020.

The final school year for many Upper Sixth Formers brought the opportunity for rightly earned House ties to be given out, seeing James Jenkins, Anish Goel, Tom Hemsworth and Solomon Poole rewarded, followed by a handful more in due course. The search to fill new roles of House Captain and deputies began at the end of the term, with Matt Slominski, Matt Lovell and Dylan Toulson filling the boots of myself, Muhammed Hussain and Charlie Bird for the upcoming year. After events of basketball, football and cooking, Nettles found itself at the top of the table, three points clear. Honourable mentions to Sam Chapman, Dan Hitchcox and William Chantry must be made for their cooking videos that would rival The Great British Bake Off. The Trinity Term now brings the final push for Nettles, and I want to wish the best of luck to Mr Tayar, Matt and the team in fighting to put Nettles back on the winner’s board of the Cock House Cup after the finale of Sports Day to come near the end of term.

Good Luck!!!

After some excellent sporting results in the latter part of term, Austen’s meteoric rise meant they rose to the top of the standings with the big finale of Sports Day the final hurdle in their attempt to regain the trophy.

The outgoing Mr Dubois must have been worried when he saw the superb performances of the Nettles athletes – numerous victories in various events gave us a fighting chance! Whilst the likes of Matt Ashwell, Sam Hinton, Tom Humphreys, Joe Thorneycroft, Luke Song, Will Houghton, Eddie Wilson, Ted Edwards-Davies, and Abdul Rafah were unstoppable in their events, it was fantastic to see the shear determination and effort by all the Nettles team – not to mention the cheering from the stands. Eventually, after accumulating 954 points, we just missed out to Austen by only 10.

And so, the writing was on the wall! A second place for Nettles in the overall standings, something to be very proud of – next year it’s coming home!

My sincerest thanks to all the students in the House for their enthusiasm and professionalism, and to the staff team for all their support and encouragement. A very successful year – we should be very proud!

Mr KP Tayar Housemaster

Jack Gamble House Captain 2020 - 21

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HOUSES Powell

D

espite the last academic year posing its challenges due to the ongoing struggle with Covid, the members of Powell continued to compete with good-spirit and determination across a range of House competitions. Even under the circumstances, the enthusiasm, teamwork, and commitment of all the boys was unmatched and truly epitomises Mr Cowx’s winning mentality.

The year got off to a slow start, with the dragon boat competition not being able to take place, an event that Powell usually highly scores in. This was coupled with a disappointing sixth place finish in House Rugby, despite a memorable victory for the Lower Sixth not being able to drag us higher up the rankings. The Michaelmas Term ended with strong performances in Table Tennis, in which we finished second.

Again, unfortunately the shooting was not able to take place, a competition in which we have secured many points in previous years.

We entered the Lent Term in a full lockdown in accordance with the Covid guidelines, but this did not stop House competitions, as the new House Cooking was introduced.

Several impressive entries across all the year groups led to a well-deserved

first-place finish – certainly a positive sign for the future. The reading was also able to take place online and a strong performance across the year groups saw us take home a third place.

The return to School also saw the return of a House favourite, the cross country in which Mr Cowx’s words of wisdom guided the Powell cohort to a pleasing third place finish, an excellent result for a House event which is arguably the hardest both physically and mentally. The Lent Term was rounded off with a second place in badminton, and a second place in the new House Maths, which set Powell in fighting contention for the cup going into the Trinity Term.

It was unfortunately this term that led to the fall to fifth place overall, by no means a fair reflection of the commitment and time the Powell boys put in. Weaker than average performances in the cricket and tennis (two high scoring competitions) meant that we fell out of contention

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for the cup, with Austen storming into the lead. Nevertheless, the boys ended the term on high spirits, with an excellent display of sportsmanship and determination on Sports Day to earn Powell a third-place finish. The House swimming regrettably could not take place either, an event which Powell are used to winning, which would have undoubtedly been a welcome boost at the end of the year.

I can confidently say, after over six years of experience with the House, no matter what obstacles may come in their way, the Powell boys are willing to give their all, always in high spirits, and with a desire to win. This being said, I am sure the 2021/22 season will be undertaken in the same manner, and we will see many exceptional performances from the boys in maroon.

Oli Rathmell House Captain 2021 - 22

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Valpy in a row in a very solid third place in the Cock House Cup. Valpy has been more consistent than ever this year and has seen some phenomenal triumphs along the way which bode well for us – well done everyone and let’s do even better this year!

Seb Norris House Captain 2021 - 22

With House events back in full swing, it has been an eventful year for Valpy. Despite many changes taking place in how competitions were run, we adapted well and continued to have a great turnout. While some of the House competitions were virtually unchanged, there were some that were drastically different to usual, such as House Chess in which competitors sat in separate rooms playing each other virtually on chess.com! Despite these changes, we were unfazed and thanks to the commitment of everyone who represented Valpy over the term, producing great results such as second place overall in House Rugby, we finished Michaelmas Term in a solid third place.

Going into Lent Term in lockdown put a damper on our efforts as we missed a few House competitions which could have gone really well for us, but that didn’t stop us from taking part in House Cooking where we had the largest number of entries out of all the Houses and came third overall.

Congratulations to Hugh Jones who was a fantastic House Captain during lockdown and Seb Harrower who

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supported him fantastically as Deputy House Captain; both of them had to contribute a lot in the production of House assembly videos during lockdown. Raring to go once we were finally back in School in person, we channelled our drive and commitment into House Football which was another double points competition. Therefore, it was a great achievement to come in second place overall after some intense and exciting games. We managed to hold our ground in House Hockey as well which left us, once more, in third place by the end of the term.

Valpy was really in its element at the start of Trinity Term with House Basketball where we dominated the competition, winning overall by a clear margin; the pressure was on, and we continued our successes, also coming first in House Maths. After many other House competitions, we finally came to sports day where we tragically met the demise of our ambitions for first place in the Cock House Cup, coming fifth in what was a crucial competition despite some very strong individual performances. Consistent until the very end, we finished the third term

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Hockey Ehsan Anwar-Khan and Daniel Hitchcox have been selected for England U16 and U18 assessment groups

Old Georgians and Woking are just a few of the fantastic clubs well supported by RGS students and staff. This additional time on the pitch, training and competing at varied levels, adds another layer to their development. Toby Perryman, Chan Thilakawardana, Henry Turrell, Nick Latham and Christian Moody represented Guildford Mens’ 1st and 2nd XI’s. Finn Cooper was an instrumental member of the Surbiton 2nd side and Ben Jansen played for the Old Georgians 2nd XI. It is encouraging to see some of our younger players taking part in high level club hockey too.

D

uring the Michaelmas Term 2020, the hockey programme at the RGS was able to continue with scheduled training sessions and internal House matches, facilitating an as close to ‘normal’ season as possible, under the circumstances.

However, in line with Government Guidelines, external fixtures against other schools were put on hold, which was unfortunate for those who love a good competition. Despite this, attendance was remarkably high across the board, and the spirit and attitude of the boys was as good as ever.

Several RGS boys had the opportunity to represent their respective external club sides in the local leagues, albeit in what was a shortened season. Guildford Hockey Club, Surbiton, 2021 leavers team vs Charterhouse - the only game of the year

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Toby Perryman, Dan Hitchcox and Ehsan Anwar Khan all played in the Futures Cup competition which is the pinnacle of school boy hockey in the UK. Dan and Ehsan have been selected for the England U18 and England U16 age group assessment groups. We congratulate them on this achievement and wish them good luck for the season ahead.

The Lent Term was all but complete with only two weeks to go when restrictions were reinforced. However, even though not all of the House Hockey competitions went ahead, the boys’ enthusiasm went undeterred, and what was played was as enjoyable as ever. Thanks to all the House Masters and staff who helped run these competitions to such a high standard. It was fantastic to see so many boys playing hockey after an extended period away from the sport.

It would be remiss of me not to mention two of our past RGS staff members, Mr Rupert Shipperley and Mr Gareth Furlong, who both represented Wales at the Euro Hockey Championships in June.

Mr Shipperley went on to represent Great Britain at the Tokyo Olympic Games, which I’m sure was a source of great inspiration and pride for many of our boys who were taught by them. I certainly enjoyed supporting the $Q HPRWLRQDO ÀQDO men through the summer. team talk for the leaving U6 The RGS hockey program is so fortunate to have access to so many amazing coaches who are actively involved in the sport in and beyond school. We welcome back Josh Powell (OG 2016) to the coaching team as well as some new hockey coaching staff for the 2021/22 season. I am exceptionally grateful for the effort and commitment of all staff involved and look forward to a successful 2021/22 hockey season.

First team hockey squad team building session learning how to play squash

“

fixtures against other schools were put on hold, which was unfortunate for those who love a good competition.

Despite this, attendance was remarkably high across the board, and the spirit and attitude of the boys was as good as ever.

”

The new AWTA in action on a hot summers day

Mr C Mullon Head of Hockey

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106

Football

The U17s working hard to put training into SUDFWLFH LQ WKHLU ÀUVW HYHU\ JDPH

A

s the challenges of Covid and school sport became clear over the summer, the 2020/21 season of RGS Football was not looking too promising. However, after excellent work from the Covid planning team and Director of Sport, Mr Cover, it was with much relief that we managed to get over 120 RGS footballers playing on weekly basis.

Although things were a little different, with multiple bubbles and litres of hand sanitizer, it was great to have U15s, U16s, U17s and U18s training and playing before and after school throughout all three terms. The standard of football on show was impressive, as was the progress made across all age groups. 1st XI Football Captain James Robinson set the standard for the U18 group and the attitude of all the footballers was superb.

After 18 months of disruption and cancellations, far and away the best thing about the year was seeing so many footballers, running around outside with smiles on their faces, and enjoying playing the game with their friends.

Although fixtures were not possible for the majority of the year, before the end of term we did manage a first and final fixture of the 2020/21 season. The U17s travelled to Hampton and it really was great to see the boys putting all their practice into action with Charlie Aldridge-Bate grabbing the only goal of the RGS Football 2020/21 season.

I would like to thank all footballers for their commitment and superb attitude during a very challenging period. For those that have left, I really hope you have enjoyed your football at the School and that you continue playing at University and beyond. For the footballers still at the RGS, here’s hoping the 2021/22 season returns a little more to normal… and that West Ham break the top four!

Mr AR Lowe Head of Football

“

after 18 months of disruption and cancellations, far and away the best thing about the year was seeing so many footballers, running around outside with smiles on their faces, and enjoying playing the game with their friends.

”

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Cricket Cricket

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Cricket vs Hampton

RGS 1st XI Cricket ith sports fixtures having been cancelled all of last year, an easing of Covid restrictions gave the RGS 1st XII Cricket unit an excellent chance to showcase their full potential.

The squad consisted of 25 boys from Fifth Form, Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth, with Tom Humphreys accepting the responsibilities of captain and Henry Turrell as his vice-captain.

Limited time for pre-season training meant that the season was soon upon us and two separate teams stepped up to take on Charterhouse and St John’s in their pre-season encounters. Two early wins were testament to the strength and depth in the side. A solid all-round performance against Charterhouse led to a convincing victory, and stand out performances from Rohan Gupta and Zain Hafiz making 77 runs and taking 4-32 respectively resulted in the RGS coming out on the right side of a closely fought game against St John’s.

The squad then continued their momentum in the first competitive game against Trinity by chasing the 157 posted with 10 overs to spare. Another tightly contested game against the prestigious Marylebone Cricket Club was to follow. The guests posted 210/9 on a good wicket in their 50 overs, Cricket vs Hampton providing the 1st XI with our first serious challenge of the season. After many batsmen made starts but failed to capitalise, it was up to the lower order to take the side over the line. RGS won by one wicket with just one over remaining, a testament to the courage and resilience of the team.

KCS were next on the fixture list, put in to bat, the RGS were in trouble at 87-5 but an outstanding captain’s innings from Tom Humphreys making 110* led the side to a total of 279 in our 50 overs. A destructive spell of swing bowling on behalf of Henry Turrell and Seb Stuart-Reckling reduced KCS to just 79 all out, achieving a 200 run victory.

A tough game against Hurstpierpoint was to follow. The RGS were again put into bat in swinging conditions but

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this time were bowled out cheaply, the guests making light work of the total. This was a hard defeat to swallow as it dismissed our chance of an unbeaten season. A further loss to an impressive Cranleigh side was a great disappointment as our batting failed to back up a good bowling performance.

Having fought back in the middle overs after a destructive start, a strong St Pauls batting unit were restrained and a 50 and 49 from opener Dilan Patel and Tom Humphreys respectively held the game in good poise. A six hitting display from Adit Gandhi in the last few overs guided the RGS to their sixth win of the season. Unfortunately, a loss to Hampton in the next calendar fixture with the RGS Cricket Festival just around the corner was a setback to the team.

On the days leading up to this greatly anticipated event, several senior members of the 1st XI contracted Covid. A new challenge faced the side and three younger members of the squad were called upon to head up to Newcastle for a week of cricket. After rain cancelled the first two fixtures, the squad dominated competition for the rest of the week and won the whole festival, bringing the silverwear back to the RGS Guildford trophy cabinet. This was a brilliant way to end the successful cricket season. With so many of these players in Lower Sixth and Fifth Form, the future of 1st XI cricket at the RGS bodes well.

Mr RC Black Head of Cricket

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Athletics

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hat a joy it was to be out on the track again after such a long break: Covid last year, and the Spectrum track being relaid the year before, meant that this was the first full athletics season we have had at RGS since 2018. There were still frustrations, such as having to limit the number of year groups at training and having no spectators for our early matches, and in the middle of the season we went through a rough patch with the weather, where in a 9-day period four of our five competitions were cancelled due to torrential rain. However despite these setbacks we managed a larger number of fixtures than in previous years and our First Form in particular were incredibly keen, which bodes well for the future of RGS athletics.

We were particularly delighted that this year we were able to host not one but two after-school athletics fixtures at Spectrum, which included the inaugural RGS Combined Events competition. Stirling Gauld, Ben Goldsmith, Jamie Withers and Charlie Jonkergouw in the First Form, and Senon Perera, Daniel Hartmann, Inigo Schybergson and Luke Mills-Hicks in the Second Form battled it out against five other schools for points based on their performances, and were rewarded with a team placing of second for the First Form and Third for the Second Form in the Combined Events match in June. We hope this competition will become an annual affair and will eventually breed a generation of decathletes from RGS. Our Thursday and Saturday fixtures at Claremont, Lord Wandsworth College, Epsom, Charterhouse and Tonbridge gave opportunities for personal bests to be set and friendships to be forged. Matt Ashwell (L6-8) in particular had a superb season, soaring over 1.75m in the HJ and improving his track times no end. Especially pleasing was the team-spirited camaraderie shown by boys in all year groups at fixtures, cheering each other on, coaching each other and in some cases joining forces to create last minute mixed relay teams.

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Sports Day was a glorious occasion, with superb weather and an almost festival-like atmosphere; there was noisy cheering from the crowd and there were some exciting performances on the track. Joe Thorneycroft 3C deserves a special mention for having returned from serious injury at the start of the term to record wins in the 800m and 200m – the latter of which was a school record of 23.65 seconds.

In the field events school records also fell to Luke Griffiths 4B - 26.40m in Discus – and Charlie Jonkergouw 1E – 1.39m HJ. The only slight downer on the day, to Mr Williams’ dismay, was the lack of ice cream van…but you can’t have everything!

A trip now to the world of international athletics. Will Barnicoat U6 4 was selected to represent Great Britain at 3000m in the U20 European Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, on 15 July, where he came a creditable fifth. While we cannot claim much, if any, credit for his athletic prowess, we are nevertheless incredibly proud of him and would like to take this opportunity to celebrate his selection and to wish him all the best for his future athletics career beyond the RGS. Thank you to all the staff who have made this season possible: Mr Lythgoe in particular, who has been at nearly every fixture; Mr Wilkes, Mr Remke, Mr Mullon and Mr Perceval for their expertise at after-school training sessions; the Games Athletics staff; and all the other staff who have given up their time to officiate at our fixtures with patience and good humour.

Mrs GM Richards Head of Athletics

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Badminton

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his year there has been a strong squad of players most notably made up of Surrey County players: Chris Chong, Sam Baker and Anish Goel. Before all matches and tournaments were suspended last year, Chris Chong won the Surrey U16 Boys Singles title and paired up with Sam Baker to win the Surrey U16 Boys Doubles tournament.

During this year the Badminton Club was restricted to year group bubbles. However, over fifty boys from the Third Form regularly participated in the club on alternate Friday afternoons. As more indoor sport started to return in the Trinity Term we were able to run separate House Badminton competitions for some of the year groups.

Powell were the winners of both the Lower Sixth Form and Second Form competitions. Powell was represented by Sam Baker, Ali Stenning, Jiaqi Zhang and Tom Osmond.

Hamonde players demonstrated their strength by winning both the Third Form and Fourth Form competitions. The Hamonde team members were Safi Baloch, Robert Storey, Jonathan Lee and Denver Zhang.

For their contribution to the school’s badminton teams over the last two years, half colours were awarded to Sam Baker, Faaiq Ali and Pravinth Aravinthan. Full Colours were awarded to Chris Chong and Anish Goel. In recognition of Chris Chong’s commitment and leadership of the School badminton team he was awarded the Lawson Cup for services to Badminton.

“

during this year the Badminton Club was restricted to year group bubbles. However, over fifty boys from the Third Form regularly participated in the club on alternate Friday afternoons.

”

Mr AB Kirkland Head of Badminton

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Fencing

Freddie Cheng and Zed Law in practice

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The sport has gained much interest with the GS Fencing has just resumed new boys joining the school. The arrival of after a break of 18 months Valentine Wallin (brother of Xavier), the former due to the pandemic. We have U10 Surrey Foil champion, is a fine addition reopened Fencing Club to the team. and the boys are We are extremely fortunate really excited that Mr Marc Bengry, a former by the competitions ahead.

British Champion, and four The fencers were out times Commonwealth in force in the Men’s medallist, is now the RGS Cadet (U17) and Fencing coach. He has been Junior (U20) ‘A’ British training the RGS fencers in Ranking Competition Cobham Fencing Club and in both épée and foil. has already played a key role They achieved very in our fencing success. pleasing placings and they I have every confidence that all succeeded in gaining our incredibly dedicated Fencing ranking points. In the British Felix Johnson (R) taking a lunge Captain, Leo Kamstra, will work tirelessly Championships, Xavier Wallin to consolidate the RGS’s reputation as a achieved an excellent top fencing school in the country.

12th place in the U17 We approach the new season with renewed foil and Freddie Cheng also energy, enthusiasm, and optimism. making the last 32.

Mr WS Lau Head of Fencing

Xavier Wallin and Freddie Cheng with Mr Bengry, our Fencing Coach

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Sailing

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Winning the Easterns

ailing at the RGS finally resumed after a long break of 54 weeks! Everyone was excited to get back in the Fireflys and out on the water at Easter training. Many thanks to Mr Yetman (and his clipboard) for ensuring Covid was well and truly blown away. When we finally got back to racing, no one could be sure how we would match to the other schools after such a long time away, but with the help of some virtual sailing from January to March and lots of time on the water after Easter the RGS Sailing team had the most successful season to date.

The first event for the team was the BSDRA Southerns, as is typical for a lake, there were random, gusty conditions, but the RGS team was able to win all their races and the event. Riding high on the success of the Southerns, the team then travelled to Bristol for the Easterns. The team put on another thrilling performance and won that event as well! After this early success, the winds of change began to blow, and due to a few key players being missing we finished in sixth at the Hoad Shield. After this setback, the team was on the home waters of Papercourt Sailing Club for the Thames Valley. An early start for students and staff alike was rewarded with another event win. Many thanks go out to all the staff and

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parents with special mention to Mr Witts, Mr Yetman and Mr Shimell for helping to organize RGS’s first ever home event for over 11 teams from eight schools.

Winning the Thames Valley (with Mr Witts)

After a season of such high success, Mr Witts was particularly excited about the team’s prospects going into the National Schools Team Racing Finals. As the team arrived, everyone was thrilled to find a perfect breeze and sunshine.

RGS brought a full contingent of three teams totaling 18 sailors and after a tough day on the water the School’s A-Team consisting of Matt Shaw, Henry Hawkes, Sailing Captain Ben Mueller, Joe Brackstone, Chai Irvin-Sellers, and Tom Wright had made the quarter finals! After the team breezed through the quarters, they faced the formidable Rutland Sailing Club who somehow managed to enter a school’s event.

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Matt and Joe sailing to the Finish at the Finals

About to launch at Hayling Island

It was a race where RGS’s extensive team racing knowledge was unable to outwit Rutland’s superior speed and after being beaten the RGS raced in the final.

RGS kept their wits about them and reset to claim third overall. The team matched their best-ever performance at the Finals by finishing as second placed school, with the School’s National Champions being RHS who were also promptly beaten by the speedy Henry A picture of focus at the FInals Rutland sailors in the Final.

Itchenor School’s week, which is normally the highlight of the calendar, was cancelled due to Covid restrictions but thanks to some speedy rebooking the team still took advantage of having organised to spend the last few days of term in Chichester Harbour. We instead took part in some training and racing against several boats from Tonbridge School. It was a great few days for the team and everyone got along really well, even though Mr Witts almost sank the rib!

This year we are looking forward to a full season of racing and sailing.

Ben Mueller L6

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Middle Right: Ben and Matt getting rather ZHW ZKLOH VXUÀQJ WKH waves in Chichester Harbour Right: Joe and Luke enjoying the sun at Hayling Island

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Skiing Skiing

Squad photo at the top of the slope Course Inspection

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e were very pleased to be able to start ski race training at Aldershot in the Trinity Term. 23 boys from all year groups took part with varying amount of prior experience. All skiers developed into racers and we look forward to the restarting of the ESSKIA racing next term.

Waiting to race

Mr SJH Yetman Master i/c Skiing

Peer coaching Race Training

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Tennis Skiing

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GS boys are sporting at all times and not least at tennis this year! Our overall win percentage was only 50% but all played in fine spirit.

We do not have the ‘Academy’ status that many of our opponent’s schools can claim nor do we have as many courts to practise on as they do. However we do now have some resurfaced tennis courts at Bradstone Brook. This is a fine facility for both weekly practices and matches. Thank you Headmaster and Governors for this investment.

It has been a delight to have fixtures at all this last year.

Many schools decided to have none. The RGS has been determined to keep the show on the road, even if that has meant extra transport issues for staff and boys and extra administration. On this note, I would like to thank Mr Cover for providing all the taxis and minibuses that we have needed to keep the boys and the staff Covid safe in their bubbles both for matches and for the social club nights throughout the year.

My thanks also go to our professional coach Mr J Thomson for his tireless enthusiasm and knowledge and to all the teachers that have driven minibuses and coached this year.

For the U12 and the U13, weekly training on the AWTA and at Woking Lawn Tennis Club provided the opportunities they needed to perfect their art. But sadly we were not able to go to Cornwall for pre-season training as we normally do due to Covid. Whilst we have been away though, the tennis centre in Cornwall have got planning permission to build some Padel courts.

This is a great new sport that is sweeping Europe and the British Isles and is half tennis and half squash. It will be a treat to have these courts available to us next Easter.

There have been many great performances throughout the year, however the U13 deserve special mention for their unbeaten record: Oscar Gilliam, Alex Talbot, Ollie Southwell, Eddie Banks, Will Hopwood, well done!

And in terms of best individual performances the U15 team of: Gabriel Correia, Ethan Newbold, Luc Pressley, Ollie Binns, Dominic Moore, Mat Luther, Isaac Game and Malachai Irvin-Sellers have epitomised what it is to

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be an RGS tennis ‘star’. This talented group shone brightly throughout the term and was particularly noticeable in the RGS Tennis House Competition, where the matches were fiercely contested in a atmosphere of high quality tennis and camaraderie.

In the U14 age group, Harry Caulton, Ethan Davey, Aidan Crouch, Joel Sellers and James Trowbridge have greatly impressed.

I would like to thank all the staff who have helped keep the season running so smoothly: Miss Goul-Wheeker, Mr Presley, Mrs Wilson, Mr Lemaire, Mr Yardley, Mr Rumble, Mr Eburne, Mr Thomson (LTA coach) and Mr King the Grounds Manager.

This term we are running team training sessions for the First, Second, Third and Fourth Formers on Tuesday after School and a social club session on Thursdays after School for the First and Second Form. The Raducanu and post lockdown effect has meant that these sessions have been heavily oversubscribed.

THE GUILDFORDIAN 2021

Mr JA Casale

Boys at tennis club

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SCHOLARSHIP

SCHOLARSHIPS Shaoyon Thayananthan 5P

“

ĂůƚŚŽƵŐŚ ǁĞ ŚĂĚ ƚŽ ƐƚĂLJ ĂƉĂƌƚ ĨƌŽŵ ĞĂĐŚ ŽƚŚĞƌ͕ / ĨĞůƚ ŵŽƌĞ ĐŽŶŶĞĐƚĞĚ ǁŝƚŚ ŵLJ ĨƌŝĞŶĚƐ ĂŶĚ ĨĂŵŝůLJ ƚŚĂŶ ĞǀĞƌ͘

”

ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIPS 11+ Scholarships 11+ Academic Scholarships - King’s Scholar Theo Odhams 11+ Academic Scholarship Dillon Naik George Pocock Karan Vaish 11+ Honorary Academic Scholarship Joseph Abdul-Rassak James Kelynack Ethan Logue 11+ Music Scholarships - - King’s Scholar Julian Zou 11+ Music Scholarships Adrian Bahari Arthur Ford

13+ Scholarships

James Kelynack

13+ Academic Scholarships - King’s Scholar

Frederick Masefield

Adrian Groenewald

Robin Moggs

13+ Academic Scholarship

Nicholas Yang

Cameron Brown Toby Jones Yann Rudman 13+ Honorary Academic Scholarship Charlie Clyde Saul De Gruchy Spandan Sahu 13+ Music Scholarships Ralph Moggs Ben Dinenage 13+ Art Scholarship Laurent Spilstead 13+ Sports Scholarship Sam Bagley Thomas McMurray 13+ Honorary Sports Scholarships Harry Chilcott Ollie Crawford Alex Jourdan Will Mellor

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SENIOR PRIZE WINNERS Academic Prizes

Special Awards

PRIZE

YR

NAME

PRIZE

YR

NAME

Art (Powell)

U6

Cameron Philp

U6

Hugh Jones

Biology (Robins)

U6

Ruben Berschtecher

Outstanding Academic Achievement: Arts (Simpson)

Chemistry (Mellersh)

U6

Alex Thow

Outstanding Academic Achievement: Humanities (Simpson)

U6

George Hargreaves

Classical Languages (Bishop)

U6

Tom Hemsworth

U6

Alex Thow

Design and Technology

U6

Daniel Price

Outstanding Academic Achievement: Sciences (Simpson)

Economics (Leech)

U6

Jack Donnelly

Co-curricular Contribution (Young)

U6

Jack Gamble

Electronics (Lazenby)

U6

Alexander Watson

Service to the School (Bowey)

U6

Christian Moody

English (Simpson)

U6

Hugh Jones

Service to the School (Hardy)

U6

Jamie Stratford

Geography (Feaver)

U6

Jamie Stratford

Service to the School (Daniel)

U6

Theo Lakin

History (Green)

U6

Devesh Mistry

Mathematics (Bailey)

U6

Alex Jenkinson

Further Mathematics

U6

Henry Benett

Modern Languages (Broadbent)

U6

Christian Moody

Music

U6

Stan Lawrence

Physical Education

U6

William Lawson

Physics (Morden)

U6

Nathan Page

Politics

U6

Tom Welsh

Religion and Philosophy

U6

Oliver Walsh

Co-Curricular Clubs and Societies (OG Memorial) U6

Callum Gordon

Drama

U6

Alex McKenzie

Major Sport (Peel)

U6

Joe McMurray

Minor Sport

U6

Chris Chong

Music

U6

Solomon Poole

Service

U6

Christian Moody

Austen

U6

Omeet Atara

Beckingham

U6

Josh Lavery

Hamonde

U6

Barnaby Dunnett

Nettles

U6

James Jenkins

Powell

U6

Salvatore Nigrelli

Valpy

U6

Seb Harrower

School Contribution

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Academic Prizes PRIZE

YR

NAME

Art

L6

Alexander Braithwaite

Biology (Badham)

L6

Matt Gray

Chemistry (Jones)

L6

Dilan K Patel

Classical Languages

L6

Mattie Sutton

Design and Technology

L6

Seb Burrage

Drama

L6

Ronan Lenane

Economics

L6

Aradhya Soneja

Electronics

L6

Alastair Stenning

English (JF Brown)

L6

Ollie Liversedge

Geography

L6

Leo Wang

History (Knight)

L6

Ben Yates

Mathematics (Stovold)

L6

Tristan Kawczyk-Lee

Further Mathematics

L6

Sam Astles

Modern Languages (Magnus)

L6

Matthew Warner

Music

L6

Noah Campbell

Physical Education

L6

Jack Doyle

Physics (Brown)

L6

Alex Jones

Politics

L6

Alex Mitchell

Religion and Philosophy

L6

Matthew Scully

Clubs and Societies

L6

Matt Shaw

Major Sport

L6

Oli Cronk

Minor Sport

L6

Ben Mueller

Music (Bentall)

L6

Seb Dye

Service

L6

Lawrence Duggan

Co-Curricular

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Academic Prizes

School Contribution Austen

L6

Matthew Kassir

PRIZE

YR

NAME

Beckingham

L6

Kiran Wright

Art

4

Haris MacNicol

Hamonde

L6

Austin Humphrey

Biology

4

Magnus Borissow

Nettles

L6

Matthew Slominski

Chemistry

4

Jonny Kershaw

Powell

L6

Oli Rathmell

Classical Languages

4

Jasper Morris

Valpy

L6

Seb Norris

Design and Technology (Binfield)

4

Harry Shaw

Drama

4

Oliver Godkin

Academic Prizes PRIZE

YR

NAME

English (Davies)

4

James Majumdar

Art

5

Mattia Santoni

Geography

4

Safi Baloch

Biology

5

Aaron Venter

History

4

Xavier Wallin

Chemistry

5

Janek Czarnek

Mathematics (Gillingham)

4

James Inglis

Classical Languages

5

Henry Parker

Modern Languages

4

Rish Das

Design and Technology (Binfield)

5

Efe Gorguner

Music

4

James Dicker

Drama

5

Charlie O’Conor

Physical Education

4

Andrew Brett

English (Davies)

5

Max Monjauze

Physics

4

Thomas Postance

Geography

5

Kai Phillips Mateo

Religion and Philosophy

4

Gabriel Meadowcroft

History

5

Ed Eves

Mathematics (Gillingham)

5

Michael Wu

Modern Languages

5

Dev Atara

Clubs and Societies (Hore)

4

Thomas Dowdeswell

Music

5

Cole Powell

Major Sport

4

Johnny Kershaw

Physical Education

5

Tom Bamber

Minor Sport

4

Alex Jackson

Physics

5

Thomas Thevenon

Music

4

Oscar Trott

Religion and Philosophy

5

Boldi Paldi-Kovacs

Service

4

Rishikesh Mistry

Co-Curricular

School Contribution

Co-Curricular Art

5

Louis Wood

Austen

4

Ethan Newbold

Clubs and Societies (Hore)

5

George Hewitt

Beckingham

4

Malachy Talty

Major Sport

5

Matt Reed

Hamonde

4

Robert Storey

Minor Sport

5

Alessandro Harker

Nettles

4

Stuart Brown

Music

5

Robbie Mackay

Powell

4

George Aspden

Service

5

Dev Atara

Valpy

4

Hugh Cruttwell

Austen

5

Ollie de Gentile-Williams

Beckingham

5

Tom Bamber

Hamonde

5

Ed Eves

Nettles

5

Louis Wilby

Powell

5

Zack Kennedy

Valpy

5

Tommi Nebuloni

School Contribution

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JUNIOR PRIZE WINNERS Special Awards

Special Awards

PRIZE

YR NAME

PRIZE

YR

NAME

Tutor’s Award for Scholarship

3

Oliver Billingham

Tutor's Award for Scholarship

2

William Bell

Tutor's Award for Scholarship

3

George Christiansen

Tutor's Award for Scholarship

2

Jago Halliwell

Tutors Award for Contribution to the School

3

Luke Smith

Tutors Award for Contribution to the School

2

Brendan Clarke

Tutor's Award for Scholarship

3

James Richardson

Tutor's Award for Scholarship

2

Alexander Kay

Tutor's Award for Scholarship

3

Marcus Woodhouse

Tutor's Award for Scholarship

2

Samuel Nnabuife

Tutors Award for Contribution to the School

3

Toby Rathmell

Tutors Award for Contribution to the School

2

William Mellor

Tutor's Award for Scholarship

3

Charles Everitt

Tutor's Award for Scholarship

2

Ryan Solomon

Tutor's Award for Scholarship

3

Leo Saarinen

Tutor's Award for Scholarship

2

Samuel Wilkinson

2

James Webster

Tutors Award for Contribution to the School

3

Alexander Evans

Tutors Award for Contribution to the School

Tutor's Award for Scholarship

3

George Fowler

Tutor's Award for Scholarship

2

Oscar Gilliam

Tutor's Award for Scholarship

3

Alexander Mann

Tutor's Award for Scholarship

2

Zaib Hossain

Tutors Award for Contribution to the School

3

Mahil Vasanth

Tutors Award for Contribution to the School

2

Lawrence Brooks

Tutor’s Award for Scholarship

3

Samuel Thevenon

Tutor’s Award for Scholarship

2

Gavin Sivakumaran

Tutor’s Award for Scholarship

3

Nikita Zubkov

Tutor’s Award for Scholarship

2

Daniel Ward

Tutors Award for Contribution to the School

3

Harry Simmons

Tutors Award for Contribution to the School

2

Oliver Southwell

Tutor’s Award for Scholarship

3

Thomas Bull

Tutor’s Award for Scholarship

3

Raoul Malik

Tutors Award for Contribution to the School

3

Krish Lukha

Co-Curricular

Co-Curricular Art

3

Joseph Thorneycroft

Art

2

Oliver Cox

Design Technology

3

Zac Warham

Design Technology

2

Elliot Butler

Drama

3

James Richardson

Drama

2

William Gossage

Music

Music

Excellence in Music

3

Ruvin Meda

Contribution to Music

2

Angus Scott

Contribution to Music

3

Felix Johnson

Excellence in Music

2

Joseph Ryan

Sport

Sport Sportsman of The Year

3

Thomas Bull

Sportsman of The Year

2

Samuel Bagley

Sporting Excellence

3

Zachary Tinkler

Sporting Excellence

2

Thomas McMurray

School Contribution

Co-Curricular Austen

3

William Holmes

Austen

2

Adebajo Loye

Beckingham

3

Navin Sivayoganathan

Beckingham

2

Ayaan Bhagat

Hamonde

3

Daniel Krikorian

Hamonde

2

Wilfred Lingard

Nettles

3

Tobias Earl

Nettles

2

Sebastian Welland

Powell

3

Noah Bourne-Waterhouse

Powell

2

Senon Perera

Valpy

3

Jasper O’Conor

Valpy

2

Thomas Radforth

2

Angus Scott

Service

Service Service Beyond the School www.rgsg.co.uk

3

Zac Warham

Service Beyond the School THE GUILDFORDIAN 2021

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Co-Curricular

Special Awards

PRIZE

YR

NAME

PRIZE

YR

NAME

Art

1

Krish Amin

Tutor’s Award for Scholarship

1

Patrick Cooper

DesignTechnology

1

Andrew Kuang

Tutor's Award for Scholarship

1

Percy Fisher

Drama

1

Alexander Power

Tutors Award for Contribution to the School

1

Umun Atara

Tutor's Award for Scholarship

1

Samuel Leonard

Music Excellence in Music

1

Benjamin Robertson

Tutor's Award for Scholarship

1

Oscar Liu

Contribution to Music

1

Deshan Pethiyagoda

Tutors Award for Contribution to the School

1

Noah Luu

Tutor's Award for Scholarship

1

Benjamin Robertson

Sport Peter Hosier Prize for Sportsman of The Year

1

Henry Tabberner

Tutor's Award for Scholarship

1

Jamie Withers

Sporting Excellence

1

Edward Wilson

Tutors Award for Contribution to the School

1

Jonathan Postance

Tutor's Award for Scholarship

1

Cameron Boston

School Contribution Austen

1

Charlie Jonkergouw

Tutor's Award for Scholarship

1

Theo Damaskos

Beckingham

1

Okikiayo Akin-Olugbade

Tutors Award for Contribution to the School

1

Anay Gandhi

Hamonde

1

Benjamin Wilce

Tutor's Award for Scholarship

1

Harry Griffiths

Nettles

1

Connor Kruger

Tutor’s Award for Scholarship

1

Andrew Kuang

Powell

1

William Jones

Valpy

1

Samuel Pyecroft

Tutors Award for Contribution to the School

1

Ayush Jena

Tutor’s Award for Scholarship

1

Dylan Wall

Tutor’s Award for Scholarship

1

Akshay Wechalekar

Tutors Award for Contribution to the School

1

James McIntyre

Service Service on Behalf of The School

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1

Umun Atara

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UNIVERSITY DESTINATIONS LEAVERS DESTINATIONS Ashfaque, Aman

Warwick

Economics

Atara, Omeet

Cambridge, St Catharine's

HSPS

Bailey, James

Bath

Economics

Baker, Ellis

Cambridge, Queens

Natural Sciences

Banks, Ben

Bath

Natural Sciences

Barnicoat, William

Birmingham

Electronic and Electrical Engineering

Beaghan, Samuel

Exeter

Exercise and Sport Sciences

Beedie, Luke

Bath

Economics

Benett, Henry

Cambridge, Trinity

Mathematics

Berstecher, Ruben

Imperial College

Medicine

Bird, Charles

Manchester

Economics

Boon, Freddie

Manchester

Politics and Data Analytics

Brown, William

Post A Level

Brown, Daragh

Newcastle

Economics and Finance

Bull, Sebastian

Leeds

Physics

Cameron, Harry

Manchester

Physics with Astrophysics

Chong, Christopher

UCL

Economics and Business with East European Studies

Christie-Verma, Kush

Warwick

Mathematics

Cliffe, Freddie

Warwick

Physics with Business Studies

Cooper, Finn

Exeter

Business Economics

Crookenden, Adam

Bristol

Economics and Management

Delaney, Calum

The Academy of Contemporary Music

Music Production

Dobinson, Jake

Exeter

Flexible Combined Honours

Doce Sainz, Alvaro

Southampton

Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering

Donnelly, Jack

Warwick

Economics

Drayton, William

Post A Level

Dunnett, Barney

Birmingham

Criminology with Year Abroad

Farman, Mylo

Southampton

Electronic Engineering with Artificial Intelligence

Farrant, Jack

Durham

History

Ferry, Jacob

Warwick

Economics

Field, Joe

Exeter

Conservation Biology and Ecology

Fitchie, Thomas

Imperial College

Computing

Flint, Leon

Durham

Geography

Florescu, Andrew

Cambridge, Clare

Mathematics

Forrest, Henry

Nottingham

Economics

Forsyth, Archie

Warwick

Mathematics

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LEAVERS DESTINATIONS Gamble, Jack

Durham

Philosophy

Game, Ethan

Bath

Integrated Design Engineering

Gandhi, Adit

Bath

Economics (with placement)

Gandhi, Yuvraj

QMUL

Dentistry

Gatzoulis, Michael

Bristol

Economics and Management

Geoghegan, Joseph

Leeds

History and Sociology

Gibson, Joseph

Nottingham

Philosophy

Goel, Anish

Warwick

Economics

Goldring, Charles

Durham

Mathematics

Gordon, Callum

Bath

Politics with Economics

Grewal, Hari

Bristol

Economics and Management

Hargreaves, George

Cambridge, Trinity

Law

Harrower, Sebastian

Post A Level

Haynes, Greg

Bath

Economics

Hemsworth, Thomas

Cambridge, St John's

Linguistics

Hickey, Julian

Nottingham

Liberal Arts

Hill, Harvey

Birmingham

Business Management

Hill, Lewis

Nottingham

Civil Engineering

Hill, Robbie

Newcastle

Medicine

Hodge, Harry

Bristol

Economics and Finance

Hussain, Muhammed

LSE

Mathematics and Economics

James, Harry

Cambridge, King's

Economics

Jansen, Oliver

Post A Level

Jenkins, James

Bath

Civil Engineering with placement

Jenkinson, Alexander

Warwick

Economics

Jones, Hugh

Cambridge, Magdalene

English

Jones, Oliver

Bristol

Economics

Jones, Thomas

Warwick

Economic Studies and Global Sustainable Development

Kemkers, George

Durham

General Engineering

Khan, Nafis

Southampton

Aeronautics and Astronautics / Aerodynamics

Kim, Kawon

Post A Level

Lakin, Theo

Durham

Natural Sciences

Latham, Elliott

Imperial College

Design Engineering

Latham, Nick

Leeds

Natural Sciences

Lavery, Joshua

Exeter

Business and Management

Lawrence, Stan

Manchester

Music

Lawson, William

Exeter

Psychology with Study Abroad

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LEAVERS DESTINATIONS Levasier, Joshua

Durham

English Literature

Macdonald, Sasha

UCL

Economics and Business with East European Studies

Manders, Oscar

Nottingham

Religion, Philosophy and Ethics

Manolis, George

Bristol

Economics and Management

Marlow, Thomas

Bristol

Economics and Finance with Study Abroad

Martin, Samuel

Bristol

Economics

Matheson, John

Imperial College

Physics with Theoretical Physics

McCallion, Thomas

Exeter

Economics

Mcintosh, Harry

Loughborough

Geography with Economics

McIntyre, Andrey

Nottingham

Industrial Economics

McKenzie, Alex

Essex

Theatre Arts

McMurray, Joseph

Exeter

Economics with Econometrics with Industrial Experience

Meadowcroft, Sasha

Oxford, Somerville

French and German

Mellors, Jack

UEA

Medicine

Meyer, Oskar

Bristol

Economics

Mistry, Devesh

Edinburgh

Politics

Moody, Christian

Bath

International Management and Modern Languages

Murphie, Alastair

Cardiff

Psychology

Nigrelli, Salvatore

Cambridge, St Catharine's

Natural Sciences

Norbury, Gus

Post A Level

Page, Nathan

Cambridge, Corpus Christi

Natural Sciences

Patel, Kishan

Bristol

Economics and Mathematics

Pearson, Alexander

Post A Level

Perryman, Ben

Durham

Natural Sciences

Philp, Cameron

KCL

International Relations

Poole, Solomon

Manchester

Architecture

Price, Daniel A

Exeter

Flexible Combined Honours

Price, Daniel C

Bath

Mechanical Engineering

Price, Oliver

Post A Level

Qureshi, Bilal

Southampton

Medicine

Ratcliffe, Christopher

Bristol

Aerospace Engineering

Reed, Cameron

LSE

PPE

Reid, Jim

Post A Level

Rezai-Kalantary, Arvin

Durham

PPE

Roberts, Thomas

Exeter

Economics and Finance

Robinson, James

Bristol

Management

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LEAVERS DESTINATIONS Salmons, Joshua

Bath

Shah, Eishiv

Post A Level

Sharpe, Edward

Durham

Natural Sciences

Sherwin, George

Newcastle

Economics

Smith, Arran

Bristol

Economics

Smyth, James

Durham

Natural Sciences

Stratford, Jamie

Exeter

Business Economics with Industrial Experience

Thilakawardana, Chan

Post A Level

Thompson, Oliver

Exeter

Medicine

Thow, Alex

Cambridge, Trinity

Natural Sciences

Timberlake, Duncan

Post A Level

Tingay, Alasdair

Bristol

Economics and Econometrics

Tregear, Guy

Exeter

Politics and International Relations

Tudor, David

Bristol

Mathematics and Physics

Turner, Daniel

Warwick

Modern Languages and Economics

Turrell, Henry

Nottingham

Psychology

Tyndale, Oliver

Nottingham

Economics with Hispanic Studies

Valentine, Sam

Loughborough

Product Design Engineering

Varoujian, Casper

Oxford, Brasenose

Law with German Law

Vary, Jaxon

Bristol

Politics and International Relations

Volkov, Sergey

Nottingham

Economics

Walsh, Oliver

Oxford, Christchurch

Philosophy and French

Watkins, Ben

Cambridge

Mathematics

Watson, Alex

Bristol

Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Welsh, Thomas

Oxford, Christchurch

History and Politics

Wilkinson, Edward

Durham

Natural Sciences

Wilkinson, Peter

Durham

Natural Sciences

Wiltshire, Kasper

UCL

Medicine

Wood, Felix

Exeter

Accounting and Finance

Wright, Christopher

Bristol

Finance

Wyllie, Luke

Oxford, The Queen's

Chemistry

Yeend, Alex

Nottingham

Politics and International Relations

Young, Sebastian

York

Biochemistry

Zhang, Jie Chen

Imperial

Mathematics

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Economics

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ED BATCHELAR

Chemistry

Ed Batchelar joined the RGS in 2010 with a perfect academic record. He obtained the top grade in five A level subjects, and graduated from Oxford University with a first-class degree, a DPhil and a PCGE. It was obvious to everyone that we have hired a very special teacher and there was little doubt that he would progress to a Senior Leadership role in due time.

Ed established himself as a very popular teacher with the boys and made an immediate impact on the department.

He has an incredible capacity for hard work and is remarkably calm when

CHRIS BRADFORD

Physics

Chris was a friend to me and to many in the staff body. It is difficult to think of him without smiling over some escapade, small or large. He joined us relatively early in his teaching career with a buoyant appetite for www.rgsg.co.uk

under pressure. Ed is the undisputed departmental ICT supremo and was instrumental in developing the Chemistry section on Firefly and then on SharePoint.

Indeed, he and JLB started a GCSE coding course from scratch in the RGS. Ed contributed to Oxbridge teaching by taking the Biological Organic Chemistry sessions and has also shared the Pre-U teaching. He has developed numerous experiments and devised the enjoyable Second Year Concrete Project.

Ed’s faith is a cornerstone in his life, and he ran the RGS Christian Union for many years. He has also been involved in numerous Christian camps for youngsters.

Perhaps his most impressive quality is his ability to find time to help anyone despite his many commitments. Ed is always there when a boy or colleague needs his help or advice! He was deservedly promoted several times in the RGS. Ed’s tremendous organisation skills made him the natural choice as the School Timetabler. He played a key role in the School’s building work project, offering many insightful suggestions. Ed has also

travelled to the RGS Qatar as an adviser.

His contributions to the RGS resulted in his promotion to the Assistant Head (Teaching and Learning) and he has also been acting Director of Studies. It is so impressive that Ed has remained first and foremost a classroom teacher even after joining senior management. His classes will always get an excellent deal no matter how senior he becomes.

Ed always has the best interest of the School at heart, and he even persuaded his wife Ruth to teach RGS, in addition to GHS, when we needed additional staffing. This was naturally enormously demanding on Ruth, and we are truly grateful for her help.

Ed now moves on to becoming the Deputy Head (Academic) in Oxford High School. They are indeed fortunate to have gained such an impressive educator.

He will be sorely missed by both the boys and staff in the RGS. We wish him and his family every success and happiness in Oxford.

Mr WS Lau

camaraderie, for fun and for free thinking.

I had the privilege of working closely with him in the Physics Department, where his company and conviviality kept the weather in the base sunny even when the clouds of admin loomed.

A man of broad wingspan as well as heart, Chris gave himself generously to the Climbing life of the School. Considerable numbers of boys will recall his gregarious enthusiasm at the climbing wall; a fortunate few will take from further-flung trips the memory of his epicurean approach to climbing and culture, his humour and his disdain for constraint. His unperturbed cheerfulness on trips was a tonic when wading through logistics, boarder control and snow.

Perhaps his most valuable gift to the department, after his friendship, was Chris’ delight in pushing himself and the boys intellectually. His belief in the value of academic éclat leaves its legacy in the Scholars Program, as well as in the minds of many boys who have inherited his love of learning and of thinking for oneself.

Chris would want to acknowledge his thanks to the RGS for the many opportunities that it gave him. He felt strongly that his enjoyment and success at the School were testament to the warmth and support of the common room. For his part, he has demonstrated the same to many.

Mr MRF Royds

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VALETE JOANNE CLARKSON

English

When Ms Clarkson joined the RGS she immediately got involved with the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award expeditions at both Bronze and Silver levels assisting with training, supervision and assessment.

On learning that she needed to be a qualified Mountain Leader to assist with Gold expeditions, she set about getting the experience and training required for assessment and qualified a few years later. This is a phenomenal personal achievement alone but combined with the fact that she walked in almost all of the mountainous areas of the UK makes it even more special. Joining the core DofE team, Ms Clarkson took on the lead for

Silver expeditions as well as training and assessing at Bronze and Gold level, staffing trips locally in the Surrey Hills, in the New Forest, on Exmoor in the Brecon Beacons and also in the Lake District.

Ms Clarkson’s experience and knowledge, combined with her ability to offer advice to the teams both subtly and in a more direct manner when required made her a great asset to the team. Pleasingly, Ms Clarkson is continuing to use her ML qualification in retirement leading adult holidays and is also continuing to work with the School on future DofE expeditions. I thank her for giving her time freely for the benefit of the boys and their DofE progression.

Mr SJH Yetman Joanne Clarkson joined the RGS September in 2016 from Sutton High School and during her five years at the school made a significant impact on the English Department and DofE, in particular. In my year working with Joanne as acting Head of English I was particularly struck by her kindness and generosity – little touches like bringing ‘non-secco’ to our first department meeting and a bunch of flowers after we

hosted a department BBQ at our house.

Professionally Joanne shared resources willingly and offered helpful challenge to views in meetings with the intention of making things better. She has a good relationship with the boys, particularly those in her Form and she was known by many boys as the ‘Chief Munchkin’! She was very keen on organising theatre trips, which was one of the many ways in which she showed how willing she was to give of her time to enrich the boys’ education.

Joanne’s English colleagues appreciated her qualities very much – in particular her caring nature and the fact that she was always a willing ear to chat about any topic. They will miss a very dear and great friend. Joanne was very active outside of the department with DofE and she gained the Hill & Moorland Leader certificate in 2017 and Mountain Leader in 2018.

Joanne gave her farewell speech to staff from the Golf DofE expedition via Teams and shared how much she appreciated being a part of that team, and she was back with us helping at Field Day 1. We wish Joanne all the best in her retirement and look forward to keeping in touch through her DofE work.

Mr GT Williams

JENNY CROUCH

Biology Jenny is an exceptional teacher and biologist. The breadth and depth of her subject knowledge have always been admired, and her meticulously planned lessons always brought out the best in her pupils (in particular, we love her whacky props!). Jenny has been involved in many aspects of school life: athletics meeting, Duke of Edinburgh trips, running General Studies, and judging the RGS bake-off competition. She has been an invaluable member of our team, and we will miss

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her humour, her brilliant resources, and her incredible ability to take pupils on a journey well-beyond the core material and to harness their enthusiasm into the subject. Her lessons were not just about passing exams, but to look at biological problems in different ways and for learning to love the natural world. After many years of teaching in different schools across the country, Jenny now goes off to enjoy a well-deserved retirement. We will miss you, Mrs Crouch!

Mr S Burns

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RACHAEL EMSLEY

School Counsellor Rachael came to the RGS with a huge amount of experience having recently worked with CAMHS. She immediately began implementing ways to improve the wellbeing of pupils and staff with innovative ideas and an approachable manner. She became a valuable member of the pastoral team and a real advocate for the wellbeing of all. From promoting ‘Mental Health Awareness Day’ where her workshops included stress ball making

and board games to providing continued online support during the pandemic, her professionalism was constant, and her support for all invaluable. Her contribution over two and half years to not only the pupils but also the Heads of Year team has led to positive changes going forward. Personally, I have worked closely with Rachael and benefited greatly from her knowledge, expertise, and friendship.

I wish her well in her new venture where she takes on the counsellor role at her old school.

Mrs SB Pontin

STEPHEN GRACE

Chemistry Stephen returned to the RGS under rather unusual circumstances. A last-minute visa issue delayed the start of KPCA, and we desperately needed to find a good temporary Chemistry teacher within just a fortnight. By chance, Stephen’s industrial placement has also been postponed by the pandemic and he was suddenly available for the Michaelmas Term. The department was well and truly saved by Amazing Grace.

I taught Stephen IGCSE remembered him as a keen and hardworking student. It

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is a real delight to see that he has developed into a charismatic and confident young man ready to take on any challenges.

Stephen planed his lessons meticulously and developed great relationships with his classes. It was indeed a real privilege to observe his lessons. His students even handed him a ‘petition’ to continue teaching in the RGS, when they realised he needed to start his industrial placement!

We are very grateful to Stephen and wish him every success and happiness in the future.

Mr WS Lau

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VALETE GEORGIE GRANT HAWORTH

Development Director 20 transformational bursaries by 2020 (80% fees or more to enable bright boys to take up their place at the RGS regardless of their financial circumstances). Georgie’s previous experience as Development Director at St George’s Chapel, Windsor (2004-2010) and Head of Development & Communications at LAMDA (2010-2013) brought a new exciting dimension to fundraising at the RGS, and chimed very well with the Headmaster’s vision for the School to become ‘needs-blind’ in a generation. The Bursary Campaign which she created as the first step in this vision encompassed

an increase in regular giving, engagement from many more donors across the School Community, two highly successful Giving Days (the first school in the country to hold these), the 7 for 7 ‘class of …’ bursary supported by both leaving parents and OGs, a City Fundraiser Lunch and a Telephone Campaign with young OGs as callers. The result, an amazing £2.2million and counting for the Bursary Fund.

Georgie is now freelancing in the world of Development and Fundraising, sharing her expertise, energy and knowledge with other institutions. Thank you, for everything.

Mrs PM Green

Charlie joined RGS as Deputy Head of English in September 2019 from Highgate School. Charlie had a passion for English and the profile of the subject in the School and had very high expectations as to what it was possible to achieve. Charlie was very keen to promote reading and poetry and within only a few weeks of arriving

he presented an initiative to Heads of Department to run a reading week. This was supported and is now in its third year. Last year Charlie also presented an idea of Housemasters about the reading competition and that led to a significant transformation of what had happened in the past to make a much more engaging competition. In the classroom Charlie gave the boys high aspirations and supported them in achieving excellent results.

In my year as acting Head of English I appreciated Charlie’s support enormously and am very thankful for what he did.

We divided things up such that Charlie led on all subject- related and curriculum

issues – and in a year of TAGs there were rather a lot of those! Charlie did a fantastic job in co-ordinating the assessment data and ensuring a fair and accurate TAG. He clearly demonstrated his skills and will no doubt be a very efficient Head of Department at Godolphin and Latymer.

Outside of the classroom Charlie helped with CCF and took the U15C Rugby team. His colleagues commented on his healthy appetite (!), clear vision, love of uniform (he liked a medal) and his very shiny shoes…

We are sure that Godolphin and Latymer will benefit from Charlie’s high standards and many other qualities and wish him very success in his future career.

Mr GT Williams

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Georgie Grant Haworth joined the RGS as Development Director in the Development & Alumni Relations Office in January 2014, and left in July 2021 having led and completed a hugely successful fundraising campaign to create

CHARLIE GRIFFIN

English

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ANTHEA LAWRENCE

Latin Anthea has worked part-time in the Classics Department for one year and in that short time she has shown herself to be an invaluable member of the team. Her good humour, her enthusiasm, her passion for Classics, her impressive organisational skills and her attention-grabbing resources have made her an excellent addition to the department. After just a term at RGS she had to adapt to the challenges of remote teaching but Anthea seamlessly adapted her teaching and inspired the boys remotely as she had done in the classroom.

She has worked tirelessly with her First and Second Form classes and her lessons are full of enthusiasm and passion for the subject and the numbers of boys in her Second Form classes who have opted for Latin and Greek are testament to the quality of her teaching. Despite only being at RGS for a relatively short period of time, Anthea was very much part of the team and we will miss her greatly. We have appreciated her cheerful and bubbly personality and wish her and her family well for the future!

Mr EKD Bush

EMMA NEWTON

English Emma joined the RGS in September 2014 from Ashcroft Technology Academy and enjoyed a very successful seven years at the school. She cared passionately about her subject and had a high level of appreciation of the complexities and subtleties of literature. She stretched and challenged the most able students and was supportive to those who did not find the subject as easy. Emma was full of useful resources and had a range of ideas to help improve lessons. Her colleagues commented on her fierce intellect and lawyer's forensic approach to things such as schemes of work (everything rooted in supporting evidence). Emma was able to share her own excellent practice as she worked with trainee teachers on the teacher training team. Within the department Emma was collegiate, friendly and collaborative and she developed and maintained great

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relationships with pupils and staff alike. In my year as acting Head of English I really appreciated Emma’s willingness to help.

At short notice she took on an extra class which involved significant amounts of preparation and extra work. She also led a number of initiatives in the department, particularly around effective teamwork and peer observations. Emma took on all these projects with her customary efficiency and energy. Emma was involved in a huge number of areas outside the department and her lunchtimes were very full. To name a few she ran Junior Debating, founded Sceptics and was also chair of the Common Room and steered the development of the organisation to the more inclusive Staff Forum. Emma will be much missed and we wish her every success at City of London Freeman’s.

Mr GT Williams

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VALETE LYN ROBBINS

6FKRRO 2IÀFH

Lyn has been part of the RGS for twenty years and it is difficult to imagine school life without her reassuring presence; always willing to help you out, ready to field those tricky parental phone calls or stop for a little chat. Few who visited the office can have failed to experience her warmth and generosity, and I know

that in retirement, as she spends time with her precious family whose smiling faces adorned her office wall, she will be sorely missed by us all. Lyn’s friendliness and approachability have been a constant amidst the daily rush of school life, as she calmly managed the demands of her role whilst welcoming students and staff who sought her help and expertise – and there really was very little she did not know the answer to. Pupil registration was one of Lyn’s behind-the-scenes responsibilities and she managed this with patience and dedication, gently negotiating with those whose registers were not as punctual as they might have been and carefully completing lists until everyone was – eventually – accounted for. This

was typical of Lyn’s work in the office: efficient, dependable, and without any fuss. And few will be aware of the extra mile she would go to, often staying late to help locate Junior boys who had not returned home and were instead enjoying an after-school activity they insisted they had told mum about… Nothing was too much trouble for Lyn (she could never say no!) and her commitment and dedication were proven time and time again; even in the most difficult situations she remained calm and smiling. But Lyn has typed her final detention list and a well-deserved retirement awaits. It will not be quite the same without you Lyn: thank you for your wonderful service to the RGS. Mr NE Wild

JENNY ROTHWELL

Development Executive Govenors’ Secretary

Jenny Rothwell retired from the RGS Development & Alumni Relations Office in August 2021 after 16 years as our Development Executive and Governors’ Secretary. During this time, she played an essential role in the growth and development of the Foundation, taking the database digital and interactive, which has led to a great rapport and increased

connection with OGs, parents and former staff across the world. She was an integral part of the OG Reunion and Events Programme, hosting OGs at these and numerous School occasions with warmth and professionalism. Jenny was also a vital link in the Fundraising Campaign, nurturing and stewarding donors to great effect. She launched the Merchandise Collection which sells a range of OG memorabilia, raising money for bursaries and gave dedicated support to careers, initially through the Skills Exchange and later the popular Careers Seminars programme.

Mother to Tim OG‘03 and Andrew OG’07, Jenny’s first contribution to the RGS was through the Parents Association

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from 1997 – 2005 and as a member of the Foundation Board in its early days. She was also Governor’s Secretary from 2005 to 2021, and provided invaluable support to the Governing Body throughout this exciting time in the School’s recent history. Jenny was the beating heart of the Foundation Office, the first point of contact and a welcoming presence for OGs and parents over the years, many of whom came to treasure her knowledge and willingness to always go the extra mile in providing support, connections and answers to questions about the School and OG news and history. We wish her all the very best in her well-deserved retirement.

Mrs PM Green

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JAMES RUMBLE

Economics James joined the RGS from TFL and immediately found his feet in the Economics team.

As a keen Liverpool fan, his pupils enjoyed their class interactions and his ‘Liverpool red’ shirt that might not have looked out of place at Halloween trick or treat. Known as the nice guy of the department he contributed across the School even in the Covid world he joined us in. James’ Lower Sixth classes in particularly appreciated his enthusiasm for the subject which has seen many turn to Economics for their university options.

A good tennis player, keen cricketer and club hockey player he threw himself into all the cocurricular options that the School has to offer. James leaves us to join Reed’s to continue his teaching journey, which fortunately for those of us in the Economics Department means that he is close enough to keep in touch, as we will enjoying following his progress in the years to come. He will best be remembered by the team for his kindness, conscientiousness and strong moral compass. Best of luck James in the future.

Mr NW Gough

KATHERINE WALKER

Biology

This year the Biology Department said farewell to Katherine Walker: a genuine loss to both the department and the School. Katherine joined us in September 2013 and from that moment on became a fantastic source of energy and enthusiasm. She has been an inspiring, incredibly hard-working and extremely well-organised teacher: always the first to share resources and knowledge both with staff and students, helping to prepare numerous boys for Medical and Oxbridge interviews in addition to her outstanding lessons. Her infectious smile always got the day off to a good start and she could

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always be relied upon to provide plenty of much-needed pastoral support in the department.

Her passion and enthusiasm for helping students to learn and enjoy their lessons were clearly demonstrated in the completion of her two ETPs: one on co-operative learning and the other on metacognition, research work that changed not only her own lessons but also helped many others to develop into even better teachers. A strong believer that education goes beyond the classroom Katherine helped organise Field Day visits to the Science Museum and Marwell Zoo. Indeed, during lockdown she did experiments in her kitchen so that students would not miss out and set them ecological experiments to complete in their own gardens.

Beyond the base and Biology, she was an outstanding Form Tutor, dealing with a wide range of challenging issues. She will be remembered for her incredible

feats of long-distance running (winning the Fox Ultra, long-distance ski races and other similar gargantuan tasks!): a passion she shared with the students during cross-country and early-morning runs on the Biology field trip to Pembrokeshire.

Katherine was always keen to support others and to support the charity work of the RGS. She founded The Great RGS Bake Off which is a huge feat of administration and logistics, but exactly the sort of activity that makes the RGS such a special place to work. At school musical events she would be front and centre playing her saxophone in the Big Band and orchestra.

A true all-rounder, Katherine will be sorely missed by both staff and students but our loss is certainly her new school’s gain and we have no doubt she will continue to shine and make a lasting impact on all those whom she encounters.

Dr EJ Hudson / Mrs JSR Thorpe

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VALETE HELEN WARD

Mathematics

Helen joined us in 2018 having previously taught at Trinity School in Croydon after a career as a trader in the City. She was immediately at home in the academic environment of the RGS and threw herself with vigour into all aspects of school life from the classroom to the sports field.

She was a much-loved member of the School community who ensured that pupils were thoroughly prepared and reached their full potential both in terms of examination results and mathematical talents. Outside the classroom Helen was a keen motivator and coach to our nationally successful cross country team – but also effective at encouraging the back markers during games sessions who had to respond to her relentless positivity and enthusiasm.

Within the department she was particularly active in sharing resources and discussing new ideas; she was such a whirlwind of activity that sometimes one felt exhausted just from a short conversation. I recall a meeting one morning which concluded with a request that she develop a support scheme for Lower Sixth pupils: I had expected this

to take a couple of weeks but with Helen it had been organised, set, planned and staffed by lunchtime. As an outstanding classroom practitioner she kept abreast of all the latest developments in educational research and technology and would be quick to implement new ideas and track their efficacy. It is therefore fitting that she moves on to a well-deserved promotion as Head of Mathematics at Cobham Free School where she will no doubt lead staff and pupils to great heights.

Helen will be missed for her engaging conversations, great sense of humour, commitment to the School and all-round energy; we wish her all the best and look forward to seeing her again at local Mathematics competitions.

Mr SG Black

JANET WARD

Senior School Secretary Deputy Head’s PA

Janet gave 19 years to the RGS. For many years Janet worked alongside Lyn Robbins in the Front Office and together they formed a fine partnership as they tackled the challenges of the day with warm camaraderie and good humour.

Working to tight deadlines, Janet was a dedicated and proficient Senior School Secretary and a dependable support to many colleagues. There were few features

of the copying machines that lay beyond her expertise, indeed she could give the service technician a run for his money when it came to fixing the dreaded paper jam error codes, and her knowledge of the idiosyncratic workings of the legendary ‘Oscarbase’ (the old school database) was equally invaluable to those left mystified!

In addition to matters of day to day administration, Janet was responsible for organising a number of set piece events in the School and she demonstrated a high standard of professionalism and eye for detail in all aspects of this work.

Alongside her calm efficiency in running the Front Office, Janet also showed a sympathetic side when students came in search of help, and many Junior boys have reason to be grateful for the laundry service she offered on Upper Sixth

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Leavers’ Days of old, when battle-scarred blazers needed urgent sponging to be restored to pristine condition.

In addition to her work in the Front Office Janet also worked as my PA. In this role she was efficiency and calm personified. I would readily admit to having some ‘bonkers ideas’, some of which needed Janet’s input without seeing the light of day! She was an expert in word and excel and her proof reading was incredibly thorough. We had a very good partnership for a number of years and I kept trying to dissuade Janet from retiring – though accepted that the time would inevitably come. We thank Janet for all she gave to the School and wish her a very happy retirement.

Mr GT Williams

www.rgsg.co.uk

CAPTAIN’S FAREWELL

A

fter six years of school at the RGS, the very last thing I expected for our final year was a global pandemic. That being said, the unique thing about it is that we have all had to adapt to change. This has been challenging at times, but also rewarding. The distance has brought the school community closer in so many ways, finding methods to connect and inspire via the power of the internet, which we are so lucky to have had during this time.

In the words of Bear Grylls, “Improvise, Adapt, Overcome”.

Online learning, competitions and weekly activities were among a few of the things available.

It has also been somewhat bizarre time to be part of a Senior Prefect Team. It has allowed room for plenty of creative freedom. With the great shame of no duties such as running the lunch queue, or organizing detentions, we have had a chance to make our own impact in novel, exciting ways. The RGS Last Week was our weekly newsletter to the School, which featured teacher interviews, inter class quizzes, music and more. One of our competitions during

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the year and a notable highlight for many was the Connect 4 Cup, an online Connect 4 tournament which involved over 100 boys and staff. Seeing what boys at the School have achieved during my time here has been incredible, and I feel lucky to have been a part of such a motivated community. The positive attitude of the boys, not just towards their endeavours, but towards one another is something truly great about the ethos here.

Being part of the Senior Prefect Team has been an honour, and leading the team could not have been easier thanks to the invariable dedication of the rest of the Prefects. I want to thank them for their service and ideas which contributed to our success as a unit, in the face of some challenging times. I also want to give thanks to the Senior Management Team for their support and advice throughout the year, it has been a pleasure to work alongside them.

As my seven year experience at the School comes to a close, I find myself reaching a dichotomy. Whilst I am excited to go to university and what the future holds, part of me also does not want to leave! I am so grateful for all the School has done in preparing us for this next stage in our lives, with particular thanks to the brilliant Mr Dunscombe who has played a huge role in all of this with various seminars, online letters and private meetings.

To Ishan, the new School Captain, I would like to wish you and your team the very best of luck in leading the School this year, you will do a fantastic job. I want to wish the rest of the 2021 Leavers all the best in their future plans, and I look forward to still being connected with you as part of the Old Guildfordian community.

Theo Lakin School Captain 2021

THE GUILDFORDIAN 2021

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RESPECT Eddie Banks

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