School Magazine 2020-21

SCHOOL MAGAZINE

2020-2021

FAREWELL TO OUR FOUNDING HEAD

Welcome to the magazine, and farewell...

BY NIGEL WESTLAKE, HEAD OF PREP During an academic year of campus closures and

Term 2 started with 3 weeks of campus closure. Not

restrictions upon activities even when fully open,

what any of us wanted but, on the positive side,

it is heartening to leaf through the pages of this

both children and teachers were now making the

magazine and reflect upon all that has been achieved

most of the online learning experience, with ‘live’

despite the Covid challenges.

lessons and an array of Divisional challenges to help

Term

1,

happily,

was

‘normal’

and

saw

the

introduction of some key initiatives: more language choices, the addition of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Heads of Year to add another pastoral level of care, leadership courses, and a much-broadened Saturday Enrichment and Sports programme.

And what a successful Term 1 it was. We welcomed 52 new pupils to the prep school and 12 new teachers, and added another 5 classes. There were many memorable moments - not least the rousing Divisional Music competition, our whole school Remembrance Day service, the moving Year 6 musical “My African Dream”, the GBAC Athletics tournament in Bangkok with RST U9 and U11 champions and overall winners, the inaugural and edge-of-seat Divisional General Knowledge competition, contact rugby matches against Bangkok Lions, and our traditional end-ofterm Christmas concert and Carol Service.

maintain momentum. Happily the closure was brief and soon we were back at school and back in the swing of things. Highlights included the amazing Year 4 production of ‘Aladdin’, the inaugural Divisional Debating competition, a wonderful Roald Dahl World Book Day, the keenly-fought Divisional Basketball and Divisional Cross-Country events, and the first of our new Leadership courses.

And then Term 3. All online. Disappointment all round. But the children, the teachers and the parents all worked hard to make the most of a challenging situation. We still ran a colourful International Day, we still ran a vibrant Verse Speaking Competition, we still enjoyed great performances in our Virtual Concert, and we still held an end-of-term prize giving.

The children faced Divisional challenges in landscape painting, quizzes, geography, history, science, sport, DT, and drama. But, despite everyone’s best efforts, it was nevertheless a rather anti-climactic end to the school year.

And, on a personal note, it was certainly not the way that Jo and I anticipated that our final term would end. But our RST experience has been far more than just one term. The RST project started approximately 6 years ago and it has been wonderful to see the school flourish since its opening in September 2017. As these photos bear witness, a great deal has been achieved in a remarkably short period of time.

Already RST is recognised as one of the top day and boarding schools in Asia, and all the indications are that it will grow stronger and stronger in the years to come. How heartening it was to receive the COBIS accreditation report, confirming 20 commendations across the standards and to be ‘the first school in the world to be awarded two blue circles’ for its boarding and its co-curricular provision.

As Founding Head, I know that none of this could have been achieved without the wholehearted support from our parents - particularly those who took a gamble on us back in 2017 and spread the word; nor without the very special team of RST teachers who continue, willingly, to go ‘above and beyond’; nor without the commitment of the owners, the Governors, the invaluable behind-the-scenes teams, and Rugby School U.K. But, in the end, a school is about its children and, as a school magazine is intended to reflect their achievements, I’d like to finish by paying tribute to the talents and enthusiasm and camaraderie that the children/pupils/students of RST have displayed consistently over the past 4 years.

My thanks, in short, to one and all, and all the very best for the future...

Nigel Westlake,

Founding Head & Head of Prep

WHOLE SCHOOL

EVENTS

COBIS

In April 2021 we were proud to receive the Patron’s

ever to be awarded two Beacon School Status Awards; in

Accreditation from The Council of British International

the areas of Boarding and Extra-Curricular, Enrichment and

Schools (COBIS). As the first school to undergo a two part

Engagement, in one accreditation visit. What makes this

virtual accreditation process it was both a challenging and

even more remarkable is that COBIS acknowledged that we

interesting experience, and one that allowed us to evaluate

had achieved this in a short amount of time, having only

and reflect on our practice.

opened in September 2017.

We successfully achieved accreditation and compliance

Moving forward, we look with excitement to developing

across 10 standards and received 20 commendations

our working relationship with COBIS and to continuing

in many different areas of school life. Our proudest

building on the excellent foundations that have been laid at

achievement has to be that we were the very first School

Rugby School Thailand.

THAI EVENTS Thai New Year, Songkran Festival is full of joy and fun. This

SONGKRAN CELEBRATION

“

year, RST organised new normal Songkran events in all schools; Pre-prep, Prep and Seniors. Although there was no water play that everyone had been waiting for, there were many activities throughout the day.

One of the most important events was the Rod Naam Dum Hua ceremony, where scented water is poured onto an elder’s head. Students performed the ceremony on their teachers,

This is the event for both Thai and non-

“

Thai students as well as foreign teachers to learn and value Thai culture and belief at a deeper level harmoniously.

asking for forgiveness for mistakes made, and prayer for blessings to enable a great start to the year. The atmosphere was filled with cheerfulness, joy and compassion.

Moreover, entertainment and performances from both students and teachers brought smiles and laughter. In Preprep, a surprise from our foreign teachers participating in a dance show of Luk Thung, in Prep Language team performed Thai dancing performances, and in Senior, the sixth form students invited teachers to join in their modern dance.

In pre-prep and prep, not only did the children enjoy playing traditional Thai children’s games, like Pid-ta-tee-more, Wingkra-sob, Toy-sa-ba, and Dern-tok-tak, but they also enjoyed various other Thai activities like Thai painting, making animals from coconut leaves and Mar-kan-klauy from banana trees.

The Songkran Festival at RST is not only fun, but brings together Thai and non-Thai students and teachers to learn more about Thai culture and to gain a deeper understanding of Thai life.

LOY KRATHONG CELEBRATION Loy Kratong is an annual celebration on the full moon day of the 12th Lunar month which falls on October 30th. The RST Thai language department held an assembly, gathering Pre-Prep, Prep and senior pupils, teachers, and staff, who wore Thai costumes to participate and celebrate.

The students watched the different types of performances, such as the historical role of Loy Krathong played by F Block (Senior), the traditional Thai dance from Prep, and the cheerful dance from Pre-prep and Prep. Each school section also hosted different activities for students and staff to learn about Thai culture, for example, the Divisional Ramwong Competition.

It is important to highlight the production of the Kratongs (lotus-shaped banana leaf cups). Pre-prep and Prep are made of lotus flowers, and senior students use all-natural materials to create the original style of the Krathongs. The ideal of this year is to preserve the environment under the theme of an eco-friendly perspective. This celebration is not only for expressing the beauty but also to embrace the uniqueness of the festival as well.

WAI KRU CEREMONY The RST Wai Kru Ceremony was held on October 1, 2020. It embodies the splendid Thai culture, especially the way of respecting teachers to establish teacherstudent relationships. This is an important ceremony to express humility and gratitude by presenting garlands to them. For our Pre-prep, pupils have a cute video clip giving to our Pre-prep teachers. This year, Year 3 to Year 8 representatives expressed their gratitude and appreciation through poems in eight languages, including English by Andrew W. and Punyanuch K., French by Axel R., Spanish by Samara K., German by Helen S., Italian by Roberto R., Portuguese by Loren R., Mandarin by Tsun Yuen L. and Thai by Saksiri E. In the Senior school, the Anointing Books Ceremony took place, which was to bring luck and prosperity to the new academic year. The Wai Kru Ceremony is a great way to begin a fantastic upcoming year.

THE REMEMBRANCE OF THE KING BHUMIBOL ADULYADEJ CEREMONY

“

“

This ceremony reminded us that King Bhumibol Adulyadej

was the most beloved King among Thai people and as the person who invented wonderful innovations in the world.

On October the 12th, the Remembrance of

the

King

Bhumibol

Adulyadej

Ceremony was presented to express the gratitude of our beloved passing late king. The RST community shared a moment of mournfulness and presented His Majesty’s biography and devoted works in different sections.

project of the late king.

projects.

In Prep, pupils learned about the love,

In the Senior school, representative

careness, and compassion of the Late

students presented his biography and

King to his subjects through the explicit

devoted works as well as performed

and impressive storytelling of the Late

his composed song “Our Land” by

King’s biography by Thantheerath V.

Suphawinee J. (Vacal) and Worawarun J.

and Parisa P. as a grandmother talked to

(Piano) in D Block.

a grandchild. Year 3 and 4 learned and

In Pre-prep, teachers and pupils express

sang the song “The King in a fairy tale”

the gratitude of our beloved passing

to exhibit His Majesty’s self-sufficiency

late king by singing the Royal anthem.

project where his footsteps should be

Moreover, pupils in Pre-prep learned

followed. While Year 6 and 7 presented,

about

Bhumibol

His Majesty’s composed song “Love at

Adulyadej biography and also the Royal

Sundown,” and Year 8 presented his

His

majesty

King

This ceremony reminded us that King Bhumibol

Adulyadej

was

the

most

beloved King among Thai people and as the person who invented wonderful innovations in the world.

WORLD BOOK DAY World Book Day descended onto Rugby School Thailand on the

‘Magic, monsters and mischief makers’ took over the Prep, as

5th March in a flurry of flamboyant costumes, fresh books for

Roald Dahl’s more outrageous side was celebrated. The day

sale, fascinating literary activities and fun games.

kicked off with an assembly. After a hilarious costume catwalk

In the Pre-Prep, each year chose an author to explore for the day. The pre-Nursery learnt about Goose, through the books

by Laura Wall, Nursery read ‘Stickman’ by the incredible author Julia Donaldson, Reception focused on the tales of Beatrix Potter as Year One investigated the fabulous world of Eric Carle and Year Two and the Prep School delved deeper into Roald Dahl.

Pre-prep pupils also took part in a World Book Day Assembly led

by Miss Kirsty, a spellbinding book hunt in the library created by Miss Jemma and had several ‘book characters’ visit to share their chosen authors’ stories.

Having been encouraged to dress as their favourite character, the Pre-Prep then shared their love for literature by showcasing their amazing costumes during our Oval Parade. A huge thank you to all the parents for their hard work and efforts!

from teachers and pupils, Mr Stoker introduced a range of biffsquiggling words and everyone became cogs in Wonka’s factory, frantically transporting chocolate bars here, there and everywhere! Throughout the day, ‘mystery readers’ bamboozled pupils with bonkers accents as pupils guessed which teachers were performing. Cosy ‘bean bag’ story sessions were a real hit, with Dahl’s stories read aloud by staff and Senior students.

Year 3 played ‘Peachball’ with James and his insect friends, before making fantastic fox puppets. Year 4 designed a whizzpopperpowered car for Willy Wonka amongst other ‘windy’ inventions, as well as a recipe for frobscottle. ‘Nigel’s Nasty Noodles’ were on the menu for year 5, as they created a repulsive recipe and even made their own squiggly noodles. Year 6 became mice in the wicked world of the Witches. Wonka was under intense scrutiny,

as year 7 launched an undercover news report, scrutinising his behaviour. Year 8 created their own revolting rhymes, targeting teachers and their terrible traits.

The Senior School was abuzz with literary characters too, all in the name of raising funds for charity. Students were engaged in book-themed activities throughout the day, such as our ‘Bookface Challenge’ and a literary Q&A with our book-loving staff.

All in all, love of all things literary was the order of the day … and it was an absolute hoot! We can’t wait to see what next year’s Book Day will bring.

XMAS FAIR Our second Christmas Fair was in a new location up at Wisdom Valley – which made for another fantastic event! The walkways were lined with stalls selling beautiful products and artisan foods, while Santa made himself comfy in a grotto (which had its own tuktuk sleigh to take children there). Colourful fairground rides entertained the masses and our Senior School ‘RST Make A Difference’ team helped raise money with a variety of games and activities.

The day culminated in a brilliant raffle, where fairgoers won all sorts of incredible prizes that had been donated by generous event sponsors and RST families. The Christmas Fair not only brought the School and local community together, but it raised money for one of our charity partners, Take Care Kids. This Pattaya foster home provides a safe and happy home for those don’t have one, so our sizable donation contributed to an even happier Christmas for them all.

Marshall House To kick start the year in boarding there is often a magical buzz about the place, with new faces meeting old, a touch of nerves and an air of excitement. Boarders anticipate the huge number of games,adventures and events that help them settle into their home away from home, and this year didn’t disappoint.

Highlights for term 1 included the halloween party at the edventure camp and fireworks night. Both new experiences for many of our boarders but face painting, an encounter with a friendly snake, floodlit games, glow stick creations, roasting marshmallows around the bonfire and bucket loads of sweets made for memorable evenings.

To continue the term 1 festivities, we headed to Pizza Company and ten pin bowling for our annual Christmas party. This is always a highlight with boarders and was a fitting way to cap what had been a busy and rewarding term for all.

At the beginning of term 2 we began the highly anticipated Marshall

House

table

tennis,

table

football

and

pool

competitions. A highlight for many, as the competitive juices began to flow. While winning was the aim, stories of good humour and sportsmanship remain firmly entrenched in both the competitors and spectators memories.

On the weekends this year we enjoyed trips to the waterpark, cinema, and playing mini golf and ten pin bowling. We also visited an ethical elephant sanctuary, where pupils were able to feed the elephants and learnt how to make paper from elephant dung.

On weekday evenings, activities have included Chinese New Year crafts, disc golf, qr code scavenger hunts, coding, Spanish dodgeball and the most popular addition of laser tag. These all alongside sports, arts, crafts and baking. The evening basketball training on a Monday and Wednesday has also proven most popular with many of our yr 7&8 Marshall boys and girls.

Throughout the year we continued to award our ‘boarder of the week’ award. Where winners are taken to Scrummy cafe for a drink and snack of their choice. They were awarded for a range of contributions to the house and displaying positive character traits such as kindness, courage, resilience and good humour. Congratulations to all recipients.

Term 3 events such as the cinema night at Wisdom lake, staff pupils touch rugby and a formal dinner were unfortunately put on hold due to the campus closure. Keep an eye out for exciting events like these in the new academic year.

Tim Jones

BOARDING

Senior Boarding

The Senior Boarding houses, Rupert Brooke and School House, have enjoyed a highly successful year and continue to go from strength to strength. Our boarding community is central to the School’s success and sits at the heart of what it is to be a Rugbeain. The bonds of friendship and that sense of building relationships for life really do exist here. It is tremendous to see so many girls and boys from different cultures, countries and backgrounds share experiences that have so obviously led to personal growth in so many different ways.

This was the year in which RST boarding was internationally recognised through the COBIS Beacon Status award for excellence. But what does this really mean? It means that our boarding provision here is truly world class. It means that we are a flagship School for boarding and that boarding here at RST is held up as an example to other far older and some younger schools not only in Asia but also further afield. It means that as an example of a British Boarding School overseas, RST is sector leading and should be justifiably proud of its exciting growth, particularly set against the backdrop of the COVID pandemic.

In fact it was during the periods of online learning that the boarding community was able to provide a welcome home from home for our overseas community. These students enjoyed term time, Exeats and half term holidays here with the boarding Houseparents and took part in fun activities such as beach visits, cycle rides, theme park trips and lots more.

Boarding in the Senior School remains true to its aims and ethos; that a well rounded young person benefits from that sense of independence, from extra time away from the daily commute, from making the most of world class facilities and from being part of a community that is mutually supportive and appreciative of each other’s needs. The dedicated resident boarding staff and boarding tutors are experienced hands at providing the means to best support young people and provide an atmosphere and environment that is a real home from home.

David Ennis-Billing

ECO REPORT Our main focus this year has been to reduce waste, inspired by the arrival of the Zero Waste Shop at Wisdom valley. New recycling bins have been positioned around the school with labels based on a design by Senior School student, Dee-dee. The Prep School Junior Eco Club (Erin F, Elisha M,Aya L, Amelia M, Shaan S, Quinn C, Alie P, Hanae R, Daova S, Sieun P, Evie M, Taylor MP and Isla F) set up a recycling resources room for staff to source items for projects.

‘Rehoming shelves’ in the staff accommodation blocks continue to be well used.

We are very grateful to Cream Catering for their enthusiasm and cooperation in striving for sustainable practices in their choice of suppliers, their approach to catering and support of Father Ted Foundation so that food waste is minimized. A group of Senior School students (Book C, Pei-ing T, Lilia G, Arty S, Dee-dee R, Nakung K, Pun J, Max A and Chris D) made a presentation, highlighting the issues of food waste and encouraging staff and pupils to only take what they intend to eat.

Energy has been another area of focus, with a big drive to ensure air conditioners and lights are not left on unnecessarily. As part of the Y8 leadership programme, the Prep School now has Eco Power Rangers who check that this is the case in the Verhapan Building.

Jiew K and YeePoon C from the Eco Committee gave a presentation to their fellow boarders on energy and water saving practices that they could do as individuals to make a difference.

“

Looking ahead, we hope to have

projects

to

promote

sustainable practices involving the wider community.

“

No one is too old to learn and perhaps they have a lot to teach us.

In the Pre-Prep, pupils had a poster campaign to reduce energy waste and pollution by encouraging drivers to turn off their engines in the car park.

Following its official opening in September, the RST Eco Garden continues to flourish, growing a wide selection of plants, from luffas to long beans. Activity groups across the whole school are involved in its upkeep e.g. planting, weeding, harvesting. Rung, Pupa and Jean helped to design and set up a compost system. In Saturday Enrichment Activities, pupils have made pumpkins grown in the garden into soup and muffins and set up the mushroom house.

The garden is a wonderful resource to educate and inspire pupils, parents and staff on the wonders of the natural world. Looking ahead, we hope to have projects to promote sustainable practices involving the wider community.

I am inspired and greatly encouraged by the enthusiasm, passion

and

creativity

of

our

budding

young

environmentalists. No one is too old to learn and perhaps they have a lot to teach us.

Corinna Dawson

PRE-PREP

INTRODUCTION:

T

his year has been something of a unique year, not just for RST but for the whole world. We cannot

get away from the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on the pupils, the parents and the staff and it has changed the way in which we have learnt, taught and lived during the last year.

Good teachers are always learning and this year, just like the parents we have had to learn an entirely new set of skills- this has been easier for some than others!

Most children have seemed to take this in their stride, as children do, accepting and adapting with far greater ease than we have.

Who would have thought that we would be using green screens, adapting websites, setting up online Zoom lessons, sharing remote assemblies and reading bedtime stories in the ways that we have? Certainly not me! Teacher training college never prepared us for this (but perhaps now they will start to!).

Yet looking back at what we have achieved I see a mountain of fabulous things that have taken place both inside and outside of the classroom as evidenced in this magazine. How did we find the time? Well we can make things happen by pure determination,

Sarah Shuttleworth Head of Pre-Prep

passion and drive and that is what we have in bucket loads at RST. Pupils, parents and staff with the ability to keep going, resilience when it is needed, patience and dedication, love and care for each other, teamwork, compassion and a real positive “Go for it” attitude. These are the things that build character, that make us who we are and together we have proven what a tremendous team we are.

When we look back at what we have achieved this year I see what we always see, a busy school full of happy, smiling children, their laughter carrying throughout The Oval. This laughter keeps us all going along with the knowledge that we are part of something special – RST Pre-Prep- a place where learning begins and never ends.

YEAR GROUPS PRE-NURSERY ADVENTURES What a wonderful journey our little Pre-Nursery children have been on this year. They have achieved so many firsts; from saying “Good-bye” to their parents on the first day of school, learning to use the toilet all on their own and making new friendships. Safe to say they have worked very hard this year.

PRE-NURSERY HIGHLIGHTS People who help us, was definitely one of our favourite topics. We learnt about all the special people in our school community that help keep the school running. We learnt about the jobs that the School Nurse, Kitchen Helpers, Gardeners and the Security Guards do. We all had a big think about how we could say thank you to everyone that helps us and so we decided to make thank you cards to give out. Nurse Koy invited her friends from the hospital and they came in their ambulance, listening to the siren was very exciting. We finished this topic by visiting the gardener in the field and he took us for a ride on his tractor…amazing!

HONK! Can you guess our other highlight? Who says honk? Goose! That’s right. In Pre-Nursery for Book Week we studied the author Laura Wall who writes books all about a little girl called Sophie and her friend Goose.

Together they go on all sorts of adventures. We decided to follow Sophie and Goose on their adventures, having fun at the beach, on the farm and in school. We finished the week with some very exciting visitors; real life geese, ducks, chickens and tortoises. It was such an incredible experience for the children to be able to touch and hold these very special animals.

I wonder what more exciting adventures we will go on to do in Nursery next year…

Sophie Corr

NURSERY What a wonderful year Nursery have had at RST. We are so proud of how adaptable and resilient our students have been in a very unpredictable year. Here are some of our highlights from the year.

Living Things We were very excited to have a visitor from Little Big Wings in Term 1 who brought caterpillars, eggs and butterflies to school for us to study. We looked closely at how the caterpillars grew and changed into butterflies. The students were so brave and carefully handled the insects, ensuring to take care of their delicate bodies. Our visit ended with the release of hundreds of butterflies into our school grounds.

Throughout the year we have continued to look after many different animals. We were amazed to watch chicks and ducklings hatch out of their shells and then to take care of them for the first few weeks of their life. Visiting Ruby, the tortoise, in our school garden is always an enjoyable way to finish our week.

People who help us In Term 2, we set out to discover who helps us at school and what do they do. We were amazed by how many people work in our school. Each week we interviewed a new member of staff and offered to help. The students met the school nurse, the gardeners, the cleaning staff, the security guards and our school chef. They were excited to help out with different jobs, such as baking cookies, feeding our school pets, handing out security badges and checking their friends’ temperatures.

Learning new skills The Nursery children are growing up fast and have learned lots of new skills. Being a kind member of a group and taking turns are key skills to learn at this age.

Sharing ideas with other people and being confident to try new things takes time and practise. The students can now all take great care of themselves: dressing and undressing for swimming, putting on socks and shoes as well as washing their hands carefully. They can recognise their own names and have learned that letters make sounds. They are wonderful young mathematicians:

counting,

adding,

sharing

and

recognising shapes in the world around them.

Tracy Greening

“

“

Our Reception classes have blossomed into keen investigators, problem-solvers and courageous learners, ready to take on their new adventure in Year 1.

RECEPTION What a year it has been! We have had an awesome, busy and productive year in Reception. The children came from Nursery with excitement and eagerness to get stuck in, and to begin their next chapter at Rugby School Thailand.

Inside Me:

Let’s Go Shopping:

This topic began with exploring different emotions and

The children were delighted to see the classroom transform

using the ‘mood monsters’ to help learn about our own

into a shopping mall after the first half term. They got

emotions. Then we explored what foods we should eat to

to practise playing with money and acting out shopping

stay healthy. This coincided with their new adventure to

experiences with their friends. The children were then

eat lunch in the school’s dining room, where they learned

able to show off their new skills to their parents! Every

to choose a variety of nutritious foods for themselves.

class made yummy baked goods and put on a bake sale

The children also had the opportunity to put their good

and families came to buy the treats at pick-up time. The

manners into practice by saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ to

children added up prices and handled real money! The

the staff who helped them.

profits all went to ‘Take Care Kids’ charity.

Dinosaurs: We travelled back in time to the land of the dinosaurs, where the Reception children learned about the different dinosaurs that once roamed on earth. Our young paleontologists even had the opportunity to hunt for dinosaur eggs in the sand pit! After breaking the eggs open and cleaning the baby dinosaurs inside, the children were asked to take good care of their new pets. We then learned how volcanoes killed the dinosaurs, making them extinct.

Everyone loved building their own volcano and making them bubble and explode with our bicarbonate of soda and vinegar experiment!

The World: Term 2 started with online learning, but that didn’t stop the spark of interest from our keen Reception classes! They began by exploring the story of ‘The Snail and the Whale’ and their adventures around the world, so we made our own globes. After learning about our wonderful, they learned how to help look after it by litter picking and recycling. When everyone came back to school, we tasked them with being eco helpers, turning off the air con and lights at the end of the day, and turning off the taps to save water. Well done everyone for doing your part to save the world!

To infinity and beyond: Term 3 took us all back online… but luckily the topic still captured the imaginations of our little learners at home!

What’s not to love about making space dens at home? The parents got fully on board and everyone loved imagining what it would be like to live in space and become a real life astronaut. The children even got to meet a real astronaut, who told them a story from space and showed them what it is like to live out there!

Summary: This year may have brought challenges with spells of online learning, but that hasn’t stopped the passion and love for learning these children have. Our Reception classes have blossomed into keen investigators, problemsolvers and courageous learners, ready to take on their new adventure in Year 1. We wish you all the very best in your new chapter.

India Collings

“

Year 1 is a time of play-based learning combined with increasing formal structure. We learned about environmentally sustainable choices including the 3Rs: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

“

YEAR 1

Year 1 is a time of play-based learning

and bodies for the deeper learning

and compared climate and seasonal

combined

with

which followed.

patterns across the globe.

structure.

Highlights

In second term, we studied Fire! Fire!

Our longitudinal Topic, Going Green,

The children learned about fire safety

runs all year. We studied the life

and protective behaviours including a

cycle of plants and spent time in

visit from the local Fire Department.

the RST Eco Garden growing our

We looked at historical events such as

own sunflowers. We learned about

the Great Fire of London. There are

environmentally sustainable choices

wonderful links with Art and Design

including the 3Rs: Reduce, Reuse

projects with this Topic.

and Recycle. Finally, we explored the

increasing of

formal

the

year

include visitng the ‘Nature Camp’ and our Topic ‘Hooks’. Students and families should be proud of how they navigated the necessary remote learning periods. Well done, Year ONEderful!

Our first Topic was Sensory Scientists.

We learned about the body’s 5 senses (sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste) and how to be observant. Our ‘Hook’ was a day of exploring sensory workshops which engaged our minds

Our Topic in third term was Wild Weather. We became meteorologists (weather scientists) and made daily observations and weather forecasts.

We learned about the geography

animal kingdom. We found out about different types of animals and what we can do to protect our world’s precious natural environments.

Margo Donaldson

YEAR 2

I can honestly say that this year’s

stories, onomatopoeia poems and

known as Maths Mastery, delving

cohort of Year 2 children have been

even persuasive letters during our

into not only the methods of maths,

exceptional and an absolute pleasure

Talk for Writing lessons.

but also the reasoning and problem-

to work with. They have risen to the challenges given to them in the classroom and become masters at technology when tackling their online activities. Their positive attitudes to life are infectious and our classrooms have been full of laughter, hard work and a determination to succeed.

From

their

spectacular

I can definitely say that this has been a year group who thrive on competition both academically and in our afterschool activities. The Year Two teachers have been incredibly proud of our football team, who have shown great teamwork and sportsmanship

Christmas

during

the

many

solving challenges associated with them. As always, the Year 2 children have risen to the challenge of change and approached their lessons with a smile, knowing how they can succeed and become more independent in their learning.

We of course cannot forget the

matches they have played this year.

learning

production and class assemblies to

Within

positive

completed online during our remote

their keen interest in nature at our

competition has also been a driving

learning periods. The support from

Outdoor Education Centre, the Year

force

our parents was phenomenal and

Twos have shown a love of learning

to

and

greatly appreciated, and the standard

beyond their years. Looking back

weaknesses and understand how to

of work created by our students

over the year, memories that I hope

challenge themselves to the highest

was above and beyond what was

will stay with them forever include

level.

expected of them at such a young

our hunt for a dinosaur in school(!), learning how to use money in our trip to Scrummies and arguing over who had the correct fraction during our pizza making at Wisdom Valley.

our with

recognise

classrooms, the

children

their

learning

strengths

During our Jigsaw (PSHEE) lessons, we have studied the importance of being different and accepting that this is ‘normal’. I can say with great delight,

that

these

children

age. Although an unusual time, once again the Year 2 cohort rose to the challenge and were a pleasure to see everyday in their Zoom lessons.

that these students have embraced

It has been a fantastic year, full of

It has been a delight to watch these

this learning whole heartedly and will

exciting learning opportunities and

children

readers

become a generation of adults who

challenges and it is with great pride

and writers, embracing the high

are kind with their words, accepting

that I send this wonderful cohort

expectations

of

and

of children up to the Prep school,

teachers and seeing them learn how

understanding of the need to break

where they will begin a whole new

to challenge themselves and support

down stereotypes and assumptions.

adventure.

grow

as

both

provided

by

their

one another. If you ever want to delve into a good book, then Year Two is the place to go: these children are fantastic authors and have produced excellent

examples

of

adventure

change

and

difference

A strength of this year group has been their mathematical learning. This year they have learnt a new approach to understanding the world of maths,

I

can

confidently

say

that they will be a great addition to their new teachers, and I know that they will continue to grow both academically and as individuals.

Kirsty Burkhill

MFL FRENCH AND ENGLISH What a year of fun and achievement this has been for our talented and hardworking linguists in Pre-Prep. In Reception we made colour potions in French in the witch’s den, travelled under the sea where we learned to share our colourful scales with the Rainbow Fish and practised greetings making our own ‘Deux Petits Oiseaux’ puppet show. We even planted our own giant beanstalks to learn about the cycle of the plant and climb up to rescue Jack from the Giant’s castle! In remote learning we have continued our learning by playing numbers tennis, doing colour scavenger hunts around the house and playing interactive games together. Special mention to Ellie, Ryutaro, Dimond and Ian who joined every single lesson while learning online!

In Year 1 we love to play and move around while we learn French and Spanish. We have enjoyed learning farm animals with actions, dancing to the rhythms of the fruit song in French, working together to solve numbers puzzles, making colour by numbers art and making our own ‘Brown Bear’ story book! During remote learning Year 1 learned about the parts of the house in Spanish by making their own colourful paper houses. A big thanks to the Year 1 parents who have been so patient and helpful during remote learning. I am confident that you can all count from 1-10 and know all the colours in French and Spanish!

Year 2 have worked incredibly hard this year and they are ready to bring their multilingual skills to Year 3 where they can continue their languages’ journey. Year 2 have enjoyed using technology to learn new vocabulary and we have learned to really get the best of ourselves by working collaboratively and helping each other to achieve our common goal. During remote learning Year 2 produced some outstanding work introducing and describing a family member all in Spanish.

Particular congratulations to Thiago and Valeria for working so independently during online learning in Spanish as native speakers. Well done Year 2, I will miss you.

THAI There were many ceremonies in our Pre-prep from Thai language Department. The first one was RST Wai Kru Ceremony. This was a lovely ceremony, pupils offered the garland to our Preprep teachers with their kind and respect. That was adorable.

MANDARIN In Term 2, we celebrated Chinese New Year with a variety of performances and activities from our

Next one was the Memorial Day of King Rama

students studying Mandarin and teachers in Pre-

9 ceremony. Our Pre-prep expressed to the late

prep. Our students learned the meaning behind

king by singing the Royal anthem.

the Chinese calendar and how the animals came

The following ceremony was RST Loy Krathong.

to be chosen. Our Language department teachers

For this year we had an idea to save and protect

and Year 1 student performed a traditional

our Earth so our Krathong were made from a

dragon dance, and we had a fantastic Kung Fu

natural material, lotus flowers. Pupils enjoyed

demonstration. Coming together like this really

making Krathong and floating Krathong in the

shows what an internationally-minded school we

water.

are.

And the last big ceremony was Songkran. There were

Song-Nam-Pra,

Rod-Nam-Dum-Hua

to

teachers, making sand pagoda, Look Toong dancing and Thai traditional games such as Wing-kra-sob and Kee-ma-garn-kluay. Our Preprep liked and enjoyed with the activities. It was really fun.

OTHER AREAS OF PRE-PREP LEARNING CO-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES The Pre-Prep activity programme runs for children in Reception to Year Two from Monday to Thursday. We ensure that all children get a mixture of academic, sporting and exploration opportunities in their after-school activities. We enable this to happen through the talents of our own staff who offer activities in areas that they are passionate and skilled in. External coaches are also recruited to teach specific skills for our activity programme.

Mark Symmonds

GOING BEYOND THE CLASSROOM WALLS We identified the passion of our children to make a difference beyond what we do in school. We keep our three termly topics and then run an extra overarching topic which runs over the entire academic year in Years 1 and 2. In Year 1 we focus on ‘Going Green’ and for children to investigate their own carbon footprint and what can be done to remedy this.

This topic has children creating real ways to help clean up the planet, and one of the highlights is learning how to plant and

grow our own food in our own Eco Garden. In Year 2 the children look a little closer to home via the topic ‘Taking Action in my Community’ their lines of investigation are how we can assist others less fortunate than us and putting together real action working with local children’s charities and schools within the area to support them. This academic year much of this has been hampered by the restrictions with the pandemic but the children have still gained a huge insight into what can be done beyond our school walls.

ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES The academic side of activities will allow children who are either achieving a high level of attainment or confidence within a subject to push themselves further. An example of this is our Rapid Reader programme where Miss Kirsty has taken a range of confident readers from Years 1 and 2 and given them further skills such as inference in texts as well as understanding word choices an author may use to create a certain scene within a story. Another example is the Maths Challenge activities which were run by Mr Sizer and Mr Symmonds where children were given scenarios where they had to use their learnt mathematical skills as well as teamwork to solve problems.

Our academic activities also support children who may need further support within their learning. Phonics is a key component within any Pre-Prep school to ensure that children are given the skills to be able to read in English. Miss Naomi and Miss Wendy ran two clubs where children who needed a little further support were able to learn phonics in a fun, exploratory and challenging environment.

We were really pleased with the progress of the children within these activities.

Languages are a big part of our programme and an area we feel children should explore within their development in the Pre-Prep.

Each term we have offered Thai for native and non-native speakers, as we have done with Mandarin. Japanese was also added to our activity programme and it was great to see a number of children who had never spoken Japanese before take part.

SPORTING ACTIVITIES It goes without saying that the facilities here at Rugby School Thailand are exceptional and football is clearly a very popular sport within most schools. So, we wanted to cater to the varying abilities of our children. We have a foundation football activity for children who wish to develop their basic skills as well as a girls football activity to promote the love of football for girls. Mr Allen has developed our Pre-Prep football team who have gone on to achieve some great progress, and in Term 3 we were proud to promote our first girl, Itim from Year 2, from our Girls Football activity into Mr Allen’s invite-only Pre-Prep football squad. We have also offered a range of other sports such as cricket, dance, rugby and more specialised sports. We want to keep our activity promgramme free for all, there are, however, sports where we do require external coaches. For this, we have recruited exceptional coaches from around the local

area to come into the Pre-Prep and teach their sport. We have a snag golf activity where our coaches teach the foundation of golf in very creative ways. We have a tennis programme which also has a tennis academy for the children who excel in the sport. We have ballet for our children which we also offer to our Pre-Nursery and Nursery children.

We offer Taekwondo as part of our activity programme which is coached by Mr Sam who coaches on the Thailand national team. We have a gymnastics teacher who comes in to train our children on the varying elements of gymnastics, and we have a Jazz Dance group, also. Our paid activity progamme also includes a range of activities such as robotics, Lego challenge, and 3D pen art which have been very popular and successful this year. Finally, with our expansive facilities we are developing our swimming programme during our activities. Miss Philippa has run a Reception develop to swim

programme this term and we are excited to expand our swimming activities next academic year.

Mark Symmonds

EXPLORATION ACTIVITIES In Pre-Prep we see one of the main goals of our activity progarmme being where children can explore something new, something they have yet to try to potentially spark their interest. We always give our children a grace period where they can change their activity but what has blown us away has been the demand for activities such as science, and cooking within our activity programme. Miss Kirsty and Miss Margo have run very popular science and STEAM activities this academic year which have explored a range of fields in science. We also ran a STEAM for girls activity to encourage girls into science of which this activity was oversubscribed each term. Our talented music department has offered a range of opportunities to our children from a Key Stage 1 choir, to a boomwhacker, and recorder ensemble. Art is always popular and children have had the opportunity to explore watercolours, painting, arts and crafts, handicrafts, mandala, as well as developing children as artists. The cooking and baking activities have also been greatly oversubscribed with new children each term getting the opportunity to learn how to be safe in the kitchen as well as learning new skills to, hopefully, help at home. We have offered an Eco Club where children learnt how to look after our planet as well as an Eco Garden club where children learnt how to plant and grow their own food.

To ensure we offer exciting activities, we listen to feedback from parents and students, and constantly review the activities we offer as part of our co-curricular programme.

PI DAY ACTIVITIES Pi Day is celebrated on March 14th (3/14). Pi (Greek letter “π”) is the symbol used in mathematics to represent a constant — the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter — which is approximately 3.14159. Pi Day is an great opportunity for maths enthusiasts to celebrate everything to do with circles and that is what we’ve been doing in Pre-prep. The children have enjoyed engaging in different types of circle activities, including circle artwork, circle hunts and parachute games. Why not try to go on your own circle hunt in your local environment this weekend?

Debbie Fineburg

PE In PE we have had a great time developing our FUNdamental movement skills. We focus on enjoying sport whilst learning the building blocks of physical literacy – agility, balance and co-ordination.

Pre-Nursery and Nursery love to practise their balancing skills on the balance beam (known as the Great Wall of China!) and began participating in fun team games such as ‘What’s the Time Mr Wolf?’ We have made links with our class topics, such as Fairy Tales, playing chasing and fleeing games all to do with ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ and ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears.’

In Reception we began to develop our throwing, catching and rolling skills and learned new chasing games such as ‘Stuck in the Mud.’ After Christmas we played basketball for the first time and showed amazing skills, bouncing and dribbling like basketball stars!

In Key Stage 1 we start our journey towards Prep sport, learning all the important movement skills we will need as we get older. We improved our basketball skills and loved shooting hoops in the CGA! During our online learning in January we prepared ourselves for the Reception and KS1 ‘Virtual Sports Day.’ There were great levels of participation and we had an enjoyable time doing the athletics events at home. We visited the CGA plenty of times to play some of our favourite invasion games, such as football, and we loved the ever-competitive Benchball tournaments!

In our final term we were back online but that didn’t stop us doing PE as we put our gymnastics sequences together step by step. It was great to see so many rocks and rolls, balances and holds and jumps! We are lucky to have very creative and impressive athletes in Pre-Prep!

The inaugural RST U7 football team played their first three fixtures for the school and performed superbly, losing one game and winning two, in fixtures against Planet Football, Pattaya Academy and RST Year 3s.

Unfortunately the season was cut short by the restrictions, but the team will be ready for the challenge of U9 football next season!

Well done all Pre-Prep children for a great year of PE! Dan Allen

T

he children have enjoyed a fantastic year of music making. With flexibility and creativity weaved into every lesson, pupils have embraced a fun and creative curriculum both in the classroom and throughout online learning.

Our youngest pupils in Pre-Nursery and Nursery demonstrated such enthusiasm and an eagerness to sing, dance and play percussion instruments, whilst Reception embraced their love of circle games, expanded their knowledge of rhythmic patterns and explored the masters including favourites Mozart and Vivaldi.

A guaranteed favourite for all was dancing to ‘Tap Your Sticks’ and the excited sound of laughing put a smile on everyone’s face as they mastered the tricky rhythms whilst coordinating arms and legs in time!

Choirs have rehearsed after school and the discovery of melodies, scales and rhythms have been created on the colourful boomwhackers.

Singing from a huge repertoire of songs, both solo and in a group has been a continual focus, and pupils have gained confidence on the stage performing in front of friends and family through regular assemblies and performances.

This is something we encourage wholeheartedly and the show-stopping Christmas production was an opportunity to sparkle and capture the magic. From dancing Christmas trees, to a visit from Rudolf, performing snowflakes and singing snowmen, the children beamed as they admired their standing ovation.

In Reception, the children dressed as furry, nocturnal animals whilst retelling the story ‘One Snowy Night’ by Nick Butterworth. ‘Look at the Snowflakes’, performed by the ‘Frogs’ was delicate and magical and the ‘Giraffe’ class tapped perfectly in time to ‘Rat-a-tattat’, whilst the Pandas treated us to a beautiful and sensitively performed lullaby called ‘Sleepy Head’. EYFS raised the roof with a rousing, percussive finale with all time favorites ‘Jingle Bells’ and ‘We Wish You A Merry Christmas’.

KS1 parents were also in for a Christmas treat with ‘Lights, Camel, Action!’ As a musical triumph with a groovy twist, this was a definite highlight of the year expertly and enthusiastically performed.

With fun songs such as ‘The Innkeeper’s

Tango’, ‘Disco Star’ and ‘Bethlehem Hand Jive’, this ambitious show demonstrates the growing musical talent that we have in the Pre-Prep.

In lessons, pupils have been exploring elements of music, with a focus on using musical terminology, dynamic variation, tonality and performance directions. Each student has had the opportunity, both inside the classroom and remotely, to compose

their own short pieces and perform them on a variety of percussion instruments. They have also taken turns in conducting their class ensemble through a variety of music games which the children thoroughly enjoyed as well as exploring ‘Carnival of the Animals’ in all its glory.

Huge congratulations to one and all for a productive and music-filled year!

JCW

MUSIC

STEAM ACADEMIC

STEAM is an important aspect of the Key Stage One

activities are popular and have provided the pupils with

curriculum, where it plays a vital role in allowing our

many challenges and instilled a set of skills that are

students to develop key skills that they are likely to build

becoming necessary in the real world such as problem

upon as they move into adult life. Broken down into five

solving and teamwork. Given the popularity of these clubs,

areas, STEAM allows our pupils to delve deeper into the

we are extending our offering to Reception as well.

worlds of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Maths.

Some examples of activities that the children have been

With boys often naturally drawn to these areas, STEAM

involved in include: coding opportunities using ipads and

learning opportunities can often become dominated

the Beebots; science investigations looking at how plants

by them. As part of our Jigsaw (PSHEE) curriculum, we

survive, or clouds are formed; the artwork of Picasso; the

work hard to support our children in understanding that

engineering difficulties of tower and bridge building;

both genders can be successful in whatever they choose

examining insects and arthropods; making shadow puppets

to do, and as such one of our after-school activities this

and moving light projections; building working 3D hand

year has been ‘STEAM for Girls’. This has provided an

models; and the solving of mystery themed maths problems.

excellent opportunity for our Year One and Two girls to feel empowered to tackle STEAM related issues, without feeling overwhelmed.

With our children growing up in an ever-changing world, developing their passion for the areas of STEAM remains key and will therefore continue to be included in both our

There is, of course, always a place for boys in our STEAM

daily lessons and after school program. We look forward

themed after-school activities and it has been a delight

to seeing more children develop their skills in next year’s

to see the volumes of children signed up to our ‘Kitchen

STEAM related after-school program.

Chemistry’,

‘Science

Club’

activities.Our

after-school Margo Donaldson & Kirsty Burkhill

RUGBY RASCALS This year saw Rugby Rascals grow into two sessions with Monday’s Mini Rascals group for the under twos and Thursdays for the over twos. This was a chance to focus each Rascal playgroup a little more on the set of skills suited to their ages. Topics this year included Nursery Rhymes, Bears and Camping Adventures. We explored baby yoga, parachute games and had some fantastic story boards with Miss Hannah where the stories and songs came alive with flowers and water and balloons.

Lots of sensory play and fun was had. Both Rascals groups love exploring the Nursery playground and the ride on bikes and the sand and water areas. They have gained so much confidence using the big slides too as the year has progressed. We have begun to established good relationships with the children and the parents and we really do enjoy seeing you each week (when we are allowed to open).

Thursdays Rascal group got to go swimming this year in our heated Splash pool which was so much fun. Boat rides in the big pool, finding treasure in the shallow pool and playing in the water fountains soon tired everyone out- especially Miss Hannah and Miss Sarah!

We also visited our Outdoor Education Centre for an Easter Egg hunt and story time which was eggstra special. Two hundred eggs had to be found hidden all over the camp, but luckily we had our Mums and Dads to help us. We had snack and bubble time before we had a story and a ride in the school mini buses! It was super exciting to visit here and we even got to see the wild horses.

We look forward to welcoming some of our Little Rascals into School next year and we hope we have some new Mini Rascals joining us in September.

Sarah Shuttleworth

PRE-PREP PHOTOS

Pre-Nursery Bears

Pre-Nursery Bees

Pre-Nursery Fish

Nursery Elephants

Nursery Monkeys

Nursery Parrots

Reception Frogs

Reception Giraffes

Reception Pandas

Year 1 Sharks

Year 1 Turtles

Year 1 Wombats

Year 2 Butterflies

Year 2 Cheetahs

Year 2 Kangaroos

Year 2 Rabbits

PREP SCHOOL

ACADEMIC It has been another jam-packed year in the Prep School with all our pupils embracing a broad and varied curriculum. In Term 1, we welcomed our new Year 3s, who quickly settled into life in the Prep School and adapted well to a bigger building with new specialist subjects, such as science, drama, art and DT. Term 2 was full of academic events across the subjects, including World Book Day, Divisional Debating, Aladdin Production and Songkran.

This term also saw our first accreditation visit from COBIS, which culminated with 20 commendations and 2 blue beacons, an achievement that has only been realized by one school in the world – Rugby School Thailand.

Sadly, in Term 3 we returned to remote learning with pupils accessing live lessons from home.

We are very proud of our pupils for embracing the challenge of working independently at home, taking part in the many divisional challenges, and adapting to using Google Classroom and Google Meet to communicate with their teachers and their friends. Our teachers continued to provide an excellent allround learning experience throughout but we cannot wait to see everyone back on site in the new academic year.

Sara Howell

“

I love Year 3 because we have different games to play and learn lots of new things. Year 3 2020/2021 has been the BEST ever!

“

YEAR 3

The pupils this year have taken the transition from Year 2 to Year 3 completely in their stride. Impressing all of their teachers, 3F, 3J, 3R and 3W have made leagues of progress in their learning and formed some strong friendships in the process.

Remote learning proved to be somewhat of a steep learning curve in their first year of Prep School, but the Year 3s truly rose to the occasion. Their impeccable manners and “netiquette” were unwavering. Reflecting on the year, this is what some of our Year 3s had to say:

“I love Year 3 because we have different games to play and learn lots of new things.

In art we learnt about Monet, Kandinsky and Van Gogh. In DT we made puzzles, plus in online drama we had fun warming up to do. Furthermore, in science we learnt about lots of things like bug hunts, teeth and plants.”

Phuri, 3W

“I really enjoyed getting to try new activities like Lego club because it was really exciting.”

Porch, 3F

“Year 3 2020/2021 has been the BEST ever! There have been many events such as the Halloween party, World Book Day and so many more!

There have been a lot of fun Divisional competitions too, such as Divisional music, geography, science, and more!

Year 3 has been my favourite year at Rugby School Thailand, I have loved it!”

Emmet, 3J

“I like being at school because there is yummy food in the cafeteria. There is so much to learn in school like maths, English, drama, computer, Thai and lots of fun things to do!

The playground is really big, so you can play everywhere.”

Bamboo, 3R

Despite the challenges our youngest members of the Prep School have faced this year due to the various remote learning stints, they have taken it all in their stride and should all be congratulated on their positive attitude to their learning. Many thanks must go to our fantastic teaching assistants who have supported the Year 3’s this year, Mrs Forshaw, Mrs Fellows, Mrs Watson (Term 1 & 2) and Mrs Bowyer (Term 1).

FPJ & CRCW

MATHEMATICS At the start of the year the Maths department were delighted with the performance of a number of our pupils who

competed

in

the

International

Maths Challenge. A number of special mentions

and

bronze

medals

were

awarded alongside silver medalists: Kai Yi N, Xander M, Si Eun L, Andrew B and gold medalists: Pat A and Kun A. The divisional maths competition in Term 2 was tightly fought as always, with only one point separating Webb Ellis in 2nd from Beauclerc in 1st.

During remote

learning some great work was produced and the pupils particularly enjoyed their end of term projects on Board Games in Yrs 3 & 4, Cupcakes in 5 & 6 and Financial Literacy in 7 & 8.

WJH

ENGLISH This year has been unconventional. In the English Department, we believe that a dollop of ‘unconventional’ and a pinch of ‘peculiar’ is no bad thing. We have adapted our teaching and learning to suit these times, whilst ensuring that the foundations remain stable, and the results have been very pleasing.

We have sought to strike the right balance of ‘looking out’ with hope and ‘looking in’ with self-reflection this year.

Pupils have relished the chance to connect deeply to the world around them.

At ‘Radio RST’, year 6 created content that showcased and projected a full range of writing purposes and performance styles in one hub that pupils could listen to at their leisure. By studying key ‘changemakers’ and influencers, year 5 connected to the environmental challenges that we face, by writing persuasively to make a difference to their world. Year 7 pupils delved deeply into the complex web of multi-media communication, examining bias and reliability, as investigative journalists and lawyers. Building empathy and acceptance have been the focus of two of our units that follow the trials and tribulations of migrants.

‘Poetry is like a bird. It ignores all frontiers.’ Yevtushenko’s words have never felt more pertinent than during year 8’s spoken word poetry unit. Pupils channelled their physically solitary, yet digitally-connected situations into their art; with some stunning results. Through this self-expression and by studying contemporary and historical sources, year 8 have learnt a lot about how they fit into society, in terms of gender and race. With novels such as ‘A Monster Calls’, ‘Rooftoppers’ and ‘Skellig’, pupils have connected to their own sense of self through rich imagery, lyricism and powerful storytelling.

And finally, it was going to take more than remote learning to stop the Prep Verse Speaking Competition in Term 3. All prep pupils eagerly explored, selected, rehearsed and performed a poem from the comforts of their own homes. Far from the bustling classroom, bright lights and a hushed audience, our performers honed their skills alone and presented to the camera. From these confines sprung some magical moments. The Verse Speaking Final was watched live by a rapt Prep School. Special mention must go to all finalists and the winners of each category: Bella, Evie and Xander.

Will Stoker

READING Reading successfully plays a fundamental role in a child’s academic progress; it underpins everything they learn and everything they do.

Reading widely for pleasure also has the ability to improve pupils’ self-esteem, ability to empathise, concentration and knowledge of the world; it opens doors to unknown possibilities and endless adventure.

In a time where so many are ‘locked down’ or learning online, reading offers limitless escape, and a chance to take a break from screens.

For these reasons, this year at Rugby School Thailand we have set sail on a quest to help every child LOVE reading for pleasure! To do this, we asked the most important people in the school for advice: our pupils. Questionnaires were sent to every pupil in our Prep school and their responses have helped shape the huge changes we have made to our reading provision at RST. Firstly, we addressed the issue of time; our pupils wanted to read more, but they said they were struggling to find quality time to read in what can be, at RST, a very busy week! From the start of the next academic year, reading for pleasure has been timetabled into the school day.

Pupils will have 10 minutes a day to relax, find a comfortable spot and pick up their chosen book.

Secondly, ‘selection’. Our Prep library has a wealth of fantastic books to choose from, but pupils were struggling to find something they wanted to read. We have since reorganised our library by genre rather than by alphabetical order, making our library pupil-centred and more easily navigable. We have also taken care to provide a range of exciting books in Thai; with plans to further expand our non-English (Thai, Mandarin, Russian, German, Spanish and French) library choices in the near future.

Pupils’ reading is then recorded on a centralised reading record for our Prep school, so that we can ensure weekly reading check-ins with pupils are productive and that each child is reading a range of texts of different styles and genres.

At Rugby School Thailand we place tremendous emphasis on reading for pleasure and have cultivated an environment in order to allow this to thrive for many years to come.

Will Stoker

The ‘English as an Additional Language’ (EAL) team has had an outstanding year working with wonderful Thai, Russian, Chinese, Korean, Swedish and Japanese EAL pupils. Each week, we have celebrated the success of one EAL pupil (from a programme of 40) for his or her hard work and enthusiasm. A certificate is presented to the pupil and a copy displayed for the whole school to see.

Thanks to the regular half-termly EAL pupilprogress assessments, RST’s rolling ‘withdrawal programme’ has graduated 23 successful EAL students this academic year– 8 in Term 2 and 15 in Term 3. In many cases their English reading and writing abilities advanced by as many as two years in just two terms!

As well as creating a tailored learning plan for each pupil based on his or her initial placement test and subsequent progress rate, each term the EAL Department followed a different overarching focus linked to the UK’s National Curriculum for English. In term one, the pupils built greater detail into sentences using a variety of sentence constructions. In term two, pupils worked hard on correcting their tenses and spellings of irregular verbs, along with the use of accurate paragraphing and punctuation. In term three, pupils read and practised exam style comprehensions, improved their vocabulary and developed their written analysis of literature.

During the on-line campus closure, EAL ran an after-school drop-in clinic three times a week for any non-native English speakers to help them with their assignments in all of their subjects. We served a number of pupils who benefitted from the advisory help and catch-up sessions.

EAL Pupil of the Year is awarded to the child who has made the most progress over the year. There were many outstanding candidates and this year the accolade goes to Helen Yudina Yr7. The EAL team, Mrs Symmonds, Miss Simi, Mr Keane and Mr Campbell, join with me in wishing all our hardworking students a lovely summer.

Rebecca Shaw

“

Their English reading and writing abilities advanced by as many as two years in just two terms!

“

EAL

Science is taught as a specialist subject from Year 3 in dedicated facilities and our small classes allow for every aspect of the subject to be thoroughly explored, through carefully-crafted practical experiences to open-ended, pupil-led investigative work. Our work often gets us out of the laboratories to take advantage of the richly-equipped campus. Year 3 made mini gardens after learning about plants in the Ecogarden. While not every experiment has been possible during our periods of remote learning, it has been a good opportunity to focus on the writing and communication skills that are so vital to science.

Pupils have become adept in a vast number of apps and web services in order to realise their increasingly creative visions. Year 4 made their own musical instruments, creating amazing videos of their method and results. Year 5 had to use their detective skills to investigate a (fictitious) insurgence on the campus by unknown animals. Most animal detectives might look for tracks but these brave scientists had to examine their brown and smelly remains; fortunately these too were fabricated and harmless by mischievous Miss Arnold!

Year 6 pitted their scientific skills against the climate by trying to construct a container to store ice outside in the blazing sun. Not every material provided was a good choice so there were some watery results, but plenty was learnt along the way about thermal insulation. While studying forces, Year 6 investigated parachutes, taking advantage of the open design of the Veraphan building; their aim was tested too but it was a great opportunity for them to show resilience, collaborate and share solutions to problems. Year 6 also build periscopes which were unsubtly ‘tested’ on several prep school classrooms.

Year 7 and 8 have worked hard to ensure smooth progress though the curriculum and a successful transition to Year 9 and the senior school. Among other things, they extracted dyes from plants to see how they were affected by pH, used chromatography to solve a crime, and presented to the class on conservation efforts around the world. Many of them were also entrants to Miss Arnold and Mr Ortiz’s divisional dessert competition, where prep school pupils were challenged to make something delicious with a scientific theme.

There were some truly amazing creations, some as horrific looking as there were, no doubt, delicious. To name but a few, there were brains, periodic tables, food chains and planets and our glorious winners were Beatrice T (Y3), Bella S (Y4), Maxi T and Vasilisa Z (Y5), Aya M (Y6), Ethan L (Y7) and Jayden K (Y8). There were also special ‘connecting prizes’ for Hayden and Irene L, and Si Eun and Si Hyun L who collaborated on their creations. Well done to Baeuclerc for scoring the most points from the judges with their entries.

This year we welcomed our science technician Khun Gae to play a bigger role in the prep school and we all look forward to getting back into the classroom to deliver exciting and memorable practical experiences over the next three terms.

JACG

SCIENCE

LANGUAGES We have had an amazing year in the Languages

International and Divisional Competitions via EP,

department with the successful introduction of new

placing ourselves in the 147th position out of under two

languages programmes and the recruitment of more

thousand schools and achieving 1st place for French

outstanding and impressive teachers, making it the

in Thailand! Our pupils achieved a total of 73 awards

biggest department in the school. We celebrated great

and answered over three hundred thousand questions.

successes this year with special mentions to Chonlaya

Special mentions to Hayden, Si Eun, JSierry and Vincent

N., Paramee J., Kantanat L., Pimpitcha T., Sathipaj W.

for their effort. A real achievement.

and Pavarisa R. for their contributions in Thai; to O.B., Iyara, Xander, Jada and Tanat for Mandarin; to Sammy, Aya, Roberto, Beatrice, Patricia and Haha for Spanish; Samara, Prym,Loren and Rodion for French; and Patrick, Kevin and Matti for German.

We celebrated Languages Day in September by presenting an assembly to each year group. Our pupils took the lead by creating the programme, reading poems in a range of languages and presenting the importance of learning languages. Special mentions to Prinn, Lucas, Max, Audrey, Owen, Minseo, Amelia, Daniil, Beatrice, Si Hyun, Amelie, Chawin, Max, Rico, Sion, Lily for their contributions.

We have also taken part in two major Languages

During International Day, students had the opportunity to do exciting activities such as reciting a poem, research countries around the world which have the Target Language as an official language or cook a traditional dish. Some exceptional work was produced

by Paiwann, Matty, Alice, Lena, Rosa and Minjae.

We delivered a new programme called ‘Language Leader Award’ during activities, where pupils learn leadership and intercultural skills and we are hoping to continue developing this programme in the years to come. Special thanks to Elliot, Jenis, Jiew, Iyara, Pair, Tanat, Chennai, Patricia for producing outstanding work.

Languages Department

GEOGRAPHY

HISTORY

Throughout the year, the geography department has tried to broaden the horizons of our pupils and enable them to be more globally minded. It is important, especially in the age of globalisation and the advancements in technology, that our children are aware of the world around them and how we connect to countries that not only border us in Thailand, but those on the other side of the world.

We have been developing pupils’ knowledge, historical skills and cultural capital through a broad scheme of work that has a chronological and thematic approach and emphasises progressing key areas of continuity and change, cause and consequence and methods of historical enquiry.

This global mindset also applies to the changes in our world and the impacts that humans are having on our environment. Our pupils will inherit this world from us, so it is important that in our geography lessons we teach the pupils about the changes to our climate and start thinking about how to be more sustainable. The geography assembly in Term 2 focused on David Attenborough and his message of ensuring we become more sustainable by reducing our waste. Not only in terms of the things we throw away, but in all areas of life - water, food, energy, waste etc. This involved educating the pupils about the 6 R’s - refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, repair and rethink.

An important website for all of us to look at is https:// worldslargestlesson.globalgoals.org/. Mrs Dawson will leave a big hole after her contribution to the eco-club and messages of ‘zero waste’ that she has tried to establish in our school.

Some of the highlights of the year: The Year 8s developed soft and hard engineering methods to protect Pattaya Beach from coastal erosion. The Year 7s’ thought-provoking solutions of how WE can help slow down climate change. The Year 6s discovered ‘economics’ and the term ‘globalisation’ and began to think about how we can classify countries of the world. In Year 5, the pupils researched the different biomes of the world and more recently investigated the mountain environment and what it takes to climb Mount Everest! The Year 4s produced some fantastic displays and videos on how meanders and oxbow lakes are formed. In Term 1 the Year 3s learnt about weather and conducted a small microclimate study of RST. More recently, the Prep school participated in a divisional competition. The theme was maps! A couple of standout maps are showcased below Matt Mann

The Year 8s produced some fantastic written pieces: Xander M’s analysis of Empire, Prinn J’s erudite assessment of the American War of Independence and Ysabel M’s evaluation of the lives of Slaves were particular highlights. There were also notable research projects on Mongol Expansion and Shogunate Japan.

The Year 7s have also explored a range of topics, with Max A’s description of the Battle of Culloden, Teddy R’s overview of the Industrial Revolution and Don S’s piece on changes in transport being particular highlights.

Research projects on the Ancient world and the Angkor/ Khmer Empire have also been undertaken.

History in the junior Prep School investigated and discussed a wide range of topics this year, and in Term 3 the Year 4s have been investigating the culture and religion of the Shang Dynasty. The Year 5s looked at the evolution of ‘crime & punishment’ from Roman times onwards. The Year 6s finished their Tudor topic with a depth study on the Spanish Armada, followed by comparing and contrasting Mayan, Incan and Aztec cultures.

Charles Rowe

COMPUTING It’s been another unprecedented year in technology.

Google and Microsoft being the two stand-out companies that have kept almost 50% of the world’s education system running. There have been unrivalled challenges in taking the world’s schools online and we’ve come a long way since this time last year when, for many countries, including Thailand, we were just beginning this remote learning journey.

I have been immensely impressed at how well almost all of Rugby School Thailand’s pupils have risen to the challenge of using technology in new ways for remote learning. I have been equally impressed by the work produced when our pupils have been in the classroom too.

Year 3 started their journey into the difficult but rewarding world of animation through coding using Scratch and then on to filmmaking. We just had chance to use the professional Rode equipment we have in school before the campus closed and the pupils did a superb job of making the most of their home environments to finish their videos. Of note were Rosa B, Aya L, Katherine D, Keigo D, Vincent M-V and Andrey K. Year 4 built on their animation experience last year but leveling up their coding experience via Scratch to include that of game making including the safety challenges we face when playing games. We’ve also explored the creative potential of producing digital music and the age appropriateness of content in that and other digital fields. Pupils really getting their creative flare going included Leo L, Finlay D, Sun E and Helen S.

ourselves from digital art, to robots, to Virtual Reality worlds. More recently discovering website creation and the amazing opportunities and dangers this can present.

Ha Ha B, Lucas L and Kate E really getting to grips with the coding and designing of the sites.

Year 6 has been focusing on a whole app development project from pitch, design, building and testing. The year-long project had to undergo some rather significant modifications to deal with the campus closure but all have done remarkably well. Monty M, Ko W, Arlie K and Lily O’B particularly rising to the challenge.

Year 7 met the challenge of coding websites using the industry languages of HTML, CSS and JavaScript incredibly well. They have since been exploring this development in relation to 3D world sets and design.

DD A, Phud S, Bai-Toey R and Jada F showing some real determination and creativity.

Finally, Year 8 has also undergone some rather large development projects of web apps, mobile apps and databases. We have more recently started to explore image manipulation and what we need to be aware of in terms of determining fact from fiction and image safety online with Pat A, Leon K, Korya N and Peace H finding their coding rhythm.

All this, along with activities including drone piloting, VR world creation, gamified coding and more has made for another busy year though, for all the amazing achievements and advantages in 2020 - 2021, I do hope next year is a little more ‘normal’.

Richard Burkhill

Year 5 underwent their biggest project yet exploring the many ways a computer can allow us to express

PRS (Philosophy and Religious Studies) This year saw the introduction of Philosophy & Religious Studies as an exciting new subject offered to Year 7 & 8s at RST. In Philosophy we have explored the ideas of Plato and David Hume, as well as looking at issues such as the value, meaning and purpose of life, the ethics of ‘Just War’, Punishment and Capital Punishment. We have been delighted to see the increasing confidence, critical thinking and reasoning skills the pupils have employed with their studies. They were also at their creative best when devising and delivering a school assembly on the subject at the end of the year.

The main aim of RS is to encourage

discussion and respect among the students, together with increased understanding of the beliefs of others.

We have had two lively and motivated groups, launching straight into studying the beliefs and practices of Judaism, the oldest monotheist religion. With the focus being on points which unite rather than divide us, the students were interested to discover that the roots of Judaism, Christianity and Islam are closely woven.

The body of each lesson has focused on discussion and examination of beliefs and practices, and the students have researched and learnt in a variety of ways. They have enjoyed working collaboratively on

slideshows to explain things to other students, and have taken the opportunity to practise peer assessment. In addition, It has been an important part of the course to relate religion as far as possible to world events; to make it real and relevant.

New topics next year include the life and thoughts of John Stuart Mill and Martin Luther, evaluating the ethics of prejudice, discrimination and freedom, as well as the ethics of human treatment of the environment. The focus in RS will be on Eastern religions; Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism.

DT Development of the Puzzle project As a subject new to our Year 3 pupils, Design & Technology was an exciting experience for all. Term 1 allowed them to try a range of practical manufacture tasks and learn many new skills. After being taught how to work safely in the workshop, tool handling, and basic design skills, they were ready for their first mini-project - The Wooden Puzzle.

Pupils designed their own 4 part puzzle, cut and sanded the shapes by themselves, built their own frame, colour stained their wood, and then learned the process of understanding how nets can be folded to create a sizeappropriate box for their work, complete with their own rendered label.

This initial hands-on experience set the tone of project-based work and prepared the pupils to begin their first real project. The resulting design and development work from the pupils was exceptional and it is clear that the initial practical experience in Term 1 had helped to raise standards.

Production set and props The Design & Technology department has continued to support the productions in the Prep school through prop and set design and manufacture. This year saw the production of My African Dream as well at Disney’s Aladdin Jr. The latter took place under challenging circumstances this year, coming out of a 4 week period of remote learning. This presented some challenges for the design and manufacture of the set. After a few meetings and some careful design consideration, a scaled down version of the set for several scenes was decided upon.

The outcome of the set was still very good with the highlight being the large cave entrance for the desert scene.

Development of Google Sites In Design & Technology, we have been working towards the goal of reducing the use of paper and printing and looking towards the modern approach of all pupils generating digital portfolios. This year has seen this approach develop to new levels of success with all pupils developing a website digital portfolio to showcase their work, through the use of Google Sites. This approach is at the cutting edge of digital technology use in schools and enables all pupils from year 3 up to produce a professional record of their project work and skills development over time.

Lamp project and the development of the use of Onshape The year 8 pupils have been worked really hard to learn 3D Computer Aided Design (CAD) skills. Using the 3D parametric modelling software, Onshape, Year 8 developed some excellent models of their lamp designs. This method of design development allowed the children to virtually test their designs before manufacture and output to different types of Computer Aided Manufacture (CAM) such as the 3D printers, or generate drawing templates for traditional manufacture.

Katy Douglas

ART We have had a fabulously creative year right from the start with our exhibitions at Wisdom Valley in the Micro Gallery: our first featured quirky collage insects from year 4 and then our second show by year 7 and 8 demonstrated their excellent technical skills in charcoal drawings and clay coral sculptures. Our competitions have also been a huge success with some amazing digital collages. Well done to Sophie Miller for her winning entry of Donald Trump in a tutu.

Year 5 and 6 have wowed us with their paintings, linked to the theme of Africa (for the year 6 school play), inspired by the landscapes of South Africa and the colourful work of Katharine Ambrose. They have developed their perspective drawing skills by looking at Chinese temples and mastered the skills for drawing in pen.

Our youngest pupils have studied a wide range of famous painters - from Monet to Kandinsky, but their van Gogh textured landscapes and their spectacular castles are definitely my favourites!

Linked to their English work, our year 7 and 8s have learned the processes of printmaking. Their posters on the theme of feminism are bold and powerful. Overall, the work this year has been of an exceptional standard and we cannot wait to share it with you in our big exhibition - coming soon!

Ellie Barnes

In Term 1, Year 6 breathed life into Mr Donaldson’s, ‘My African Dream’ as the audience was transported to South Africa as soon as the lights lit up the village. Eva C. played Minor and Sion K. played Kusasa both who immediately hooked us into their youthful idealism on their journey to find Kusasa’s father.

Kai Yi played Oomkulu, their

grandfather, with unexpected authenticity. The pair find Kusasa’s father In the city prison played by Roberto R. and his exuberant fellow prisoner Goodwill, played by Andrey who elects to remain in prison as it is all he knows. The two characters tackle the hard-hitting social issues in South Africa before the end of Apartheid with well timed comedic breaks woven in by the talented Mr Donaldson.

A greek chorus of four fellow prisoners on blocks, played

by Louisa, Nadia, Lena and Rachel, were exceptional for their synchronised performance. Trevor played the chief of police

and his endearing villain sidekick, played by

Harry W. ensured the play never became too dark in theme. Harry ensured that his portrayal of the drunken jailor was more comical without veering into slapstick. It is a play about a terrible historic episode in South Africa’s race relations, and it contains an on point message for Prep school about strength of

character. The set was

purposefully understated yet powerful thanks to Mr Douglas’s hard work.

Just before the end of Term 1, pupils were surprised with a Panto put on by the staff. Harry Potter (played ably by Mr Stoker) saved Christmas from the evil BaldeMort (Mr Dawson).

Thankfully, Harry had two friends, Ron (Mr

Watson) and Hermione (Miss Arnold) to help him rescue Santa Claus (Mr Rodriguez Perez) from BaldeMort and his terrible friends, Snape (Mr Gore), Pettigrew (Ms Keane) and Prof Moody (Mr Collings). Thankfully, all ends well when the stunningly beautiful Dame (Mr Driver) teams up with the young people to secure Santa’s release. A highlight of the performance was the comedy duo in the shape of a reindeer (Mr and Mrs Westlake) who brought mirth and merriment to all. As has been the tradition, all students and staff joined in a sing song at the end of the performance. A great way to end the term!

Despite the return to remote learning in Term 2, Mrs Barnes and Mrs Westlake were able to ensure that the spectacular Year 4 production of Aladdin was performed in front of audiences. Jasmine (Bella S.) and Aladdin (Nanon C.) were electric as they lit up the stage with the magical story of the fabled city of Agrabah where the evil Jafar (Reiko C.), advisor to the Sultan (Finlay K.), and his parrot Iago (Si Hyun L.), seek to retrieve a magic lamp hidden in the Cave of Wonders. The magical genie (Marla D.) is Aladdin’s sidekick throughout their journey from the slums to the Palace. All of Year 4 created the cast for

DRAMA

this ambitious play, with guardians of the cave, skeletons, townspeople, beggars, princes and lamp vendors. The costumes and set were stunning thanks to the hard work from Mr Millard and the DT department. Miss Falconer, Mrs Ellis, Mr Bovee, Miss Watt and the Year 4 team all rallied together to make it a successful performance that captivated audiences.

Sadly, the return to remote learning for the entirety of Term 3 meant that the Year 8s could not perform Shrek.

Mr Collings had worked tirelessly with all members of the cast on the music - he and Mr Pye had even worked with Carlos, T, and

Ta-Ong to rock the audience with

I’m a Believer to end the show. Xander was a convincing Shrek, able to jump between endearing and humorous with ease. Herbert had the mannerisms of Donkey perfect and we were all sad to miss the duet between Olivia as the Dragon and Donkey, coupled with the skeleton knights: Rico, Jiew, Woody and Fourth. Tanya was a fantastic Fiona and would have wowed audiences with her solo performance of ‘I Know It’s Today’. One of our favourite performances in rehearsals was ‘Story of My Life’ where Lucas as Pinocchio stole the show. All of the fairytale characters were lively; the three bears (Sophie, Chennai and Dragon) were particularly cute, and the Germanic little pigs (Patrick, Leon and Kevin) provided comedic relief. We appreciate all of the hard work pupils put into learning their lines and songs and we wish them all the best for next year.

Over the past two years, Mrs Furness has built up the LAMDA programme in the Prep school from the ground up. This year 20 students in Year 3-4; 15 students in Year 5-6 and 15 students in Year 7-8 took LAMDA lessons.

In spite of remote learning, examinations were held remotely in Term 3 and we look forward to the results in due course. We wish all candidates every success in their studies.

Antoinette Keane

Extraordinary resilience and creative thinking has been in abundance throughout the year, and despite the challenges of school closure, the music department has continued to thrive.

Back in September, momentum was strong and pupils were excited to be working towards performances, musicals, competitions and even music exams! A real sense of buzz and energy bounced around the corridors, classrooms, and practice rooms. Informal concerts featuring soloists and our very own Year 8 band entertained everyone during break times.

Over fifty pupils recorded performances for ABRSM and Trinity exams resulting in 80% Merit or Distinctions. Congratulations to high scorers, Xander, Ruda, Herbert, Si Eun, Si Hyun, Alvin, Kendo, Sean, Shirley and Emily who did particularly well.

The Prep School Divisional Music Competition took place offering a fantastic showcase of some of our finest instrumentalists in the prep school, including fabulous performances from Sammy and Peter on their trombones displaying their talent and skills in front of a live audience.

The competition culminated in a vibrant and uplifting whole school extravaganza. It was

highlights were a superb duet performance

by Sion and Eva, and a rousing live African drumming from our year 6 percussionists.

The term ended on a high with the Prep School music

department

performing

their

full-

scale Christmas Concert, including numerous ensembles, percussion, brass, clarinet, string, guitar,

flute,

choirs

and

the

ever-growing

Concert Band. We were delighted to see so many parents attend our traditional Carol Service featuring soloists Bai-Toey and Iyara.

fantastic to see each and every member of the

Online learning took place for the first month

prep school giving their all on stage.

of Term 2 and the music department continued

Year 6 treated us to ‘My African Dream’, featuring an eclectic mix of African vocal, instrumental and contemporary popular music. Each cast member performed

brilliantly,

demonstrating

the

tremendous emerging talent. Particular musical

teaching our full curriculum. A large percentage of Prep pupils took instrumental lessons online thanks to our talented team of visiting music teachers.

Year 4 engaged beautifully and whole-heartedly during Google meet rehearsals to prepare for the musical ’Aladdin’. Thankfully school opened in time to perfect the amazing choreography, perfect the songs, and raise the roof with ‘Arabian Nights’, ‘One Jump’ and ‘Prince Ali’.

Superb strength and volume from one and all.

The instrumental programme has continued throughout the year and, as we find ourselves ending the academic year in live remote learning again, we must give a huge round of applause to all the musicians who have continued to progress, practise, prepare for scholarships, pass exams and provide the RST community with first class virtual concerts. Such talented children!

Joanah Westlake

MUSIC

“

Over fifty pupils recorded performances for ABRSM and Trinity exams resulting in 80% Merit or Distinctions.

“

DIVISIONS

“

The pupils gained gold and green points for their divisions through their hard work and exceptional behaviour.

“

This year we were proud to

creative streaks were tested with

appoint 2 divisional captains from

Landscape Art, Christmas Card

each house. Arnold were lead by

making, Digital Collage, Swim

Pair P and Tanat T, Beauclerc by

logo creation and DT machine

Georgia D and Vincent T, Hardy

making. The pupils performed

by Jane Y and Xander M and Webb

amazingly

Ellis by Miki C and Ryan T. These

music, verse speaking, comedy

eight led their divisions in a huge

and Lip Sync challenges. They

number

and

tested themselves academically

activities over the course of the

in maths, languages, geography,

year, both in school and remotely.

Thai and History competitions

The

as well as the amazing General

of

competitions

sporting

competitions

were highly fought as all pupils

Knowledge

took part in divisional football,

such

table

tennis,

basketball,

at

the

quiz,

aplomb

by

divisional

hosted Mr

with

Lindop.

cross

The pupils even baked amazing

country, swimming and online

science desserts, the brain cake

fitness

was particularly impressive!

challenges.

The

pupils

Alongside all of these, and many more, the pupils gained gold and green points for their divisions through their hard work and exceptional behaviour. The Term 1 winners were Hardy, Term 2 saw Beuaclerc triumph and Term 3, despite the closure of the campus was won by Hardy.

Will Howell

DIVISIONAL GENERAL KNOWLEDGE Following a competitive first round

might of Beauclerc, led superbly

the US Election in particular to lead

sat by all, pupils were selected to

by Axel R and Ha Ha B, proved just

their team home in first place.

represent their Divisions in two live

enough as they ended up winners

finals (Lower and Upper).

by the smallest of margins, winning

The Lower Prep School Final (Years

by five points.

Congratulations to all those who took part and to the finalists for showing such bravery to answer

3, 4 and 5) was a tight affair as

The Senior Final (Years 6, 7 and 8)

questions

in

front

of

a

large

Arnold, inspired by Talia F-P and

was also won by Beauclerc. Kai Yi

audience. They can be very proud

Sergey P, fought gamely against

and Max showed a commanding

of their efforts.

Beauclerc. In the end the collective

knowledge of current affairs and

LOWER PREP SCHOOL DIVISIONAL GENERAL KNOWLEDGE TEAMS

Arnold - Andes G, Rihanna D, Oscar A, Talia F-P, Sergey P, Kaofang N

UPPER PREP SCHOOL DIVISIONAL GENERAL KNOWLEDGE TEAMS

Arnold - Tono C, GP B, Alan B, Wynn Y, Sammy D, Matti H

Beauclerc - Risa P, Alex R, YaYa R, Shaan S, Ha Ha B, Axel R Hardy - Aya L, Catherine D, Leo L, Siku L, Woody J, Mizuki K Webb Ellis - Preme L, Owen?, Sun E, Si Hyun L, Jae Young C, Isla F

Beauclerc - Kai Yi N, Andrey T, Max A, Iyara M, Rafferty H, Peter S Hardy - Jason N, Tora W, Don S, Matthew P, Xander M, Elliot A Webb Ellis - Sean C, Melon S, Teddy R, Narna J, Patrick W, Prinn J

DIVISIONAL DEBATING Divisional

Debating

saw

pupils

explore a range of topics that included the removal of certain statues,

compulsory

organ

donation, the death penalty and vegetarianism.

speech to convince the judges in

Team Erasmus and Team Turing

his team’s favour.

respectively. This was their first

The affair

final and

was both

a

high

quality

teams

showed

significant improvement on their previous round performance. Both

experience

of

a

formal

debate

and all participants rose to the occasion. their

All

pupils

arguments

researched

effectively

and

spoke with increasing confidence

In the semi-finals, Hardy triumphed

teams engaged with each others’

over Beauclerc with well structured

arguments,

speeches from Elliot A and Herbert

Points of Information. Xander M

W. Max A spoke with passion and

spoke with a convincing style and

energy for Beauclerc. In the other

provided sound logic with a clear

semi-final, Webb Ellis overcame

rationale to produce the best speech

Congratulations to all those who

Arnold. Jada F impressed for Arnold,

and lead Hardy to the trophy.

participated - a fantastic effort and

showing poise in delivery. However,

The school’s other debaters also

a richly rewarding experience.

Prinn delivered an excellent final

took part in a debate representing

offering

effective

and clarity. Team Turing ultimately proved

victorious

with

Si

Eun

delivering a fine speech to help her team to victory.

TEAM Arnold - Tate B, Pair P, Jada F Hardy - Elliot A, Herbert W, Xander M Webb Ellis - Patrick W, Prinn J, Jaa J Beauclerc - Ysabel M, Max A, Olivier VdL Turing - Teddy R, Si Eun L, Ethan L Erasmus - Andrew B, Don S, Patricia W

SPORT This year sport has yet again seen

opportunities for all abilities and to

Leaders Award has challenged our

a

and

ensure that pupils have an extensive

Y7 & Y8 pupils to understand how to

commitment from all those involved

range of sports they can choose from

organize and lead sports sessions for

in the Prep School. We have seen

and participate at any level they feel

pupils in the Pre-Prep. These life skills

some great team achievements in

comfortable at. A special mention

will transfer into their day to day lives

various tournaments / events, for

needs to go to the team of sports

and help promote good leadership

example U9 & U11 Athletics Teams

teachers and coaches that makes

and role models around the school.

both winning the GBAC Athletics

this happen throughout the year

Finally, and most challenging for

title and the U14 Boys & Girls

supporting the pupils and creating

everyone,

GBAC Football teams winning their

the environment for them to succeed

learning

respective tournaments. As well these

– thank you!

periods have seen our pupils at their

high

level

of

dedication

achievements we have also seen some standout at

the

individual ‘Thai

performances

National

Swimming

Competition’ from Georgia Dunn, Jada Festor and Andrew Baek and internally in the Divisional Cross Country with new course records set by Samara Kennedy (U9 Girls – Arnold), Jamie Rowe (U11 Boys – Webb Ellis), Georgia Dunn (U13 Girls – Beauclerc) and Carlos Sandroussi (U13 Boys – Arnold).

Pupils have once again been able to participate in a whole host of sports – basketball, football, swimming, cricket, athletics,

hockey,

cross

aquathlon,

country,

badminton,

volleyball and rugby. In all of these, there has been an opportunity to participate either within a Divisional competition or in a more competitive environment, against one of the many international

schools

in

Bangkok.

As always, RST aims to provide

Due to the challenging circumstances we have been faced this academic year, we have developed a wide range of Divisional competitions that the pupils could participate in. We have had Divisional football, basketball, cross

country,

swimming,

step

challenge and Knock Out. As well as these being competitive sports, there is an emphasis on teamwork and doing your best for your Division.

have taken place this year are the Prep Aquathlon, Sports Leaders and learning

Aquathlon

challenges.

competition

(Swim

been

periods.

the

remote

However,

these

most creative, as they’ve adapted and changed to their surroundings in order to take part in various activities.

It has been great to see. The highlight for me has been watching Mrs. Ward and Mr. Jones taking live online lessons and seeing how excited the children were to engage in physical activity not only with the teachers, but with their peers as well.

Congratulations to all those pupils

Other events and opportunities that

remote

has

The –

Run), introduced this year, has gone from strength to strength, with more pupils each time wanting to take part.

It is an opportunity for all age groups and abilities to demonstrate their

who

have

participated

in

sport

at any level this year; there have been

fantastic

individual

team

performances

and

throughout.

This is a culmination of hard work and dedication across the whole academic year. Being able to commit to something and see it through, alongside the demands of a busy school life, is the hardest challenge!

ability at swimming and running over an extended distance. The Sports Ben Ward

Despite the impact of COVID 19 on our

pupils should not be unrecognised.

school community, the RST football

Notable performances include high

teams

programme

finishes in the Harrow Cup for both

were able to continue their steady

boys and girls alongside the U14

growth and development across

boys and girls being crowned GBAC

the whole year. This year our teams

champions. This academic year also

have played in many friendly fixtures

saw the creation of our Pre Prep U7

against local Thai opposition as well

football team who have shown great

as competing in school tournaments

potential to become football stars

in Bangkok such as the BKK Prep

of the future. RST looks to again

Bulldog Cup and Harrow Youth

build on these achievements in the

Cup. Whilst we missed out on many

next academic year alongside the

fixtures in Term 3, the hard work,

exciting arrival of our new football

effort and achievements of our

team kit.

and

football

FOOTBALL

John Holland

ATHLETICS

ability has greatly improved.

This year ‘Athletics’ in the

pupils worked hard at trying

Prep School has been one

to reach their bronze, silver

of

the

most

Throughout the term the

successful

and gold awards in the

and busiest sports. With

different age groups within

dedicated

various different running,

PE

lessons

devoted to the techniques

jumping

of

events

the

various

different

and in

throwing

athletics.

athletics

‘Games’ lesson to support

with the Sports Days and

putting

the GBAC Athletics event.

these

skills

into

action, the pupils’ athletic

term

The

athletics disciplines, and a

culminated

At the end of Term 1 pupils

they have been doing in

took part in their respective

PE and Games. As always

Sports Days, which were

there was great Divisional

run in the following age

team

categories

showing

-

U9

(Y3

&

spirit,

with

pupils

determination

Y4) / U11 (Y5 & Y6) / U13

to do their best. On this

(Y7

pupil

occasion Beauclerc were the

competed in 5 individual

successful Division, but it

events (running / jumping

was a close competition. A

/ throwing) and 2 team

special mention should go

events (tug o war / shuttle

to the following pupils who

relay). Sports Day provides

were awards the Victor &

a valuable experience for

Victrix Ludorum awards for

all the pupils to put into

the best athletes on the day:

&

Y8).

Each

practise all the hard work

Victor & Victrix Ludorum Sports Day Winners: U9 Boy - Charlie Dunn

U11 Girl - Arlie Knifton

U9 Girl - Samara Kennedy

U13 Boy - Willie Suksawad

U11 Boy - Seb Mann

U13 Girl - Georgia Dunn

SPORTS DAY

GBAC ATHLETICS U9, U11, U14 AT BRIGHTON COLLEGE BANGKOK An early start could not lower

the day. RST ended up as the

the enthusiasm and excitement

U9 and U11 champions and

in our pupils taking part at

also taking home the overall

the GBAC Athletics event. The

winners trophy. Well done to

competition involved 9 other

all the pupils involved: Vincent,

schools in a range of track and

Charlie, Jack, Nanon, Daova,

field events at Brighton College.

Lilly,

It was great to see pupils

Jamie,

from across the Prep School

Tomoko,

supporting each other in the

Carlos, Miki, Chaaim.

different

events

Imboon,

Seb,

Andrey, Eva,

Sergey, Paiwann,

Arlie,

Ryan,

throughout Boys Medals: U9:

Vincent Marko-Varga – 1st Relay; 1st 200m; 2nd Long Jump Charlie Dunn – 1st 60m Sprint; 1st Relay; 1st Triple Jump Jack Rennoldson – 2nd 400m; 1st Relay; 1st Basketball Push Nanon Chaowanakul – 1st Relay; 3rd High Jump U11: Seb Mann – 1st 100m Sprint; 1st High Jump; 3rd Relay Jamie Rowe – 3rd Triple Jump; 3rd Relay; 1st 400m Sergey Pershukevich – 1st 200m; 3rd Relay Andrey Tantsyura – 3rd 600m; 3rd Relay U14: Ryan Tuit – 2nd High Jump Girls Medals: U9: Lilly Phuangthong - 1st 600m; 2nd Vortex Throw; 3rd Relay Imboon Prachumsuk - 2nd 400m; 2nd High Jump; 3rd Relay Daova Sanguanchartisorakrai - 1st 200m; 1st 50m; 3rd Relay U11: Eva Koblychenko - 1st Relay; 3rd Triple Jump Arlie Knifton - 1st Relay; 1st 400m; 1st High Jump Paiwann Borriboon - 1st Relay; 1st Basketball Push; 2nd 100m; 2nd Vortex Throw Tomoko Kokanutaporn -1st Relay; 1st 200m; 3rd Long Jump U14: Miki Chaiseree - 2nd 200m U18: Chaaim Kullanutsiri -1st Relay Ben Ward

BASKETBALL Basketball has once again

Games lessons. With regular

grown in popularity this

fixtures in all age groups

year with over 40 boys and

against MIS (Mooltripakdee

girls signing up to each age

International

group in the schools sport

and entry into the GBAC

activity

The

Tournaments in Bangkok,

opportunity to train once a

the RST pupils have the

week throughout the year

chance

is supported by a term of

various

basketball in the pupils’

levels.

programme.

to

School)

participate

different

at

ability

DIVISIONAL BASKETBALL In March the Prep School

The

held

Divisional

U9 / U11 / U13 were then

tournament,

combined together to give

its

first

basketball which

involved

from

across

teams

an overall winner. Bonus

(boys & girls) from each

points were awarded for

Division.

sportsmanship,

Each

3

scores

week

the

fair

play

pupils participated in two

and playing within the spirit

matches with a total of 6

of the game.

matches for each Division.

DIVISIONAL BASKETBALL RESULTS: 1st - Webb Ellis

3rd - Beauclerc

2nd- Arnold

4th - Hardy Nate Chisholm

SWIMMING The ‘Rugby School Swim Journey’ focuses on providing a complete learn to swim programme, which will give our pupils an excellent life skill. Our newly formed curriculum swim programme will provide a clear pathway from Nursery up to Y8. Outside of the curriculum pupils have been invited to attend squad swimming, which takes place four mornings a week and four afternoons during the activities programme. Our dedicated squad swimmers are required to attend a minimum of two sessions a week, to enable them to be adequately prepared for any inter-school competition or club meets.

Since the start of the academic year the numbers wanting to attend the RST Swim Squad have increased, with everyone extremely eager and ready to compete! The swimming team is ready to go again, as soon as Covid restrictions are lifted.

On the 13th March the Aquatics department ran a PE/ Swim staff education session. The aim of these clinics is to focus on the fundamentals of the Learn to Swim (teaching swimming) and the Learn to Compete (coaching swimming) programmes.

Sebastian Marko-Varga

Whie the first half of the year provided a normal rugby

RUGBY

season, from January onwards, unfortunately our rugby events and fixtures were cancelled due to Covid. Regardless of the shorter season, there were still many positive highlights to be mentioned.

The Prep School has had 60 pupils (boys and girls) across the three rugby teams (U9, U11 and U13) coming to every rugby activity. They have all worked hard, showing their commitment and dedication to learning and understanding rugby, which was new to most of them.

We have established great links with schools and clubs in the Bangkok area, which provided opportunities for friendly matches, rugby festivals and competitive fixtures.

In all the games played during this year, our rugby players demonstrated great passion and a fantastic attitude. There were some wins and some losses, but pupils gave it their all while playing. They showed a huge spirit of fair-play and performed some impressive attacking skills to score some spectacular tries, as well as some extraordinary teamwork in defence. It was great to watch!

I would like to thank all U9, U11 and U13 players, our rugby coaches (Mr Matt Mann, Mr Steve Dunn, Mr John Gore, Mr Christopher Ellis) and all the parents for their support and involvement during this year. I have seen a great level of hard work, dedication and enjoyment in rugby training and hope everyone keeps up the energy, interest and momentum next year.

Andres Moreno

CRICKET The cricket provision at Rugby School Thailand continues to develop and grow. This year has seen the introduction of the RST Premier League, where four teams battled it out, to be crowned Champions at the end of Term 2. Players from Y5 to 8 were split into four teams of seven or eight, and named the Vipers, Pythons, Cobras and Kraits. The format of the competition involved players batting in pairs for three overs each, each time they were out they would lose three runs from their total and swap ends; the team with the most runs at the end won the game.

Teams

received bonus points for every ten runs scored and every wicket taken.

There were lots of positives taken from players playing

would take all. The victors, by the narrowest of margins (six

matches every week and the coaches certainly saw some

runs) were the Kraits! This means Andrew B (Y8), Woody K

fantastic progress being made with the batting and fielding.

(Y8), Sophie M (Y8), Matty D (Y6), Taeva S (Y6), Rodion G

There were lots of huge sixes hit, some amazing catches

(Y6) and Jonty D (Y5). Runners up (Vipers): Jago D (Y7),

taken and awesome ground fielding. The league went to

Hayden L (Y7), Steve K (Y7), Harry W (Y6), Tomoko K (Y6),

the final round of games with Kraits and Vipers playing

Ryan D (Y6) and R.Tong T (Y6) were all crowned champions

each other, which in essence was a final, and the winner

of the first Cricket Premier League!

Ryan Driver

The

Co-Curricular

activity

programme

has

continued to grow throughout the year with over 130 different options for Prep pupils to choose from, offering fun and dynamic alternatives to classroom lessons and furthering the school ethos of ‘the whole person, the whole point’. It was gratifying to see the scope of the programme and the efforts of the staff acknowledged by COBIS in being awarded ‘Beacon School Status’ for our CoCurricular programme.

The children have enjoyed the many new activity additions this year, including: Our new Disc Golf course, Gardening in our Eco-garden, German for native speakers, Jazz and Contemporary Dance, Inventing machines, Drone piloting, Mountain Biking, STEAM challenges, Upcycle crafts, RST Union (Debating), Warhammer and our fastexpanding

Leadership

programme.

All

this

alongside perennial favourites such as Bushcraft, Sailing, Kayaking, Riding, Table Tennis, LEGO and LAMDA.

CO-CURRICUL AR ACTIVITIES

The Saturday Enrichment Programme has become increasingly popular this year and complements the Saturday Sports programme that runs earlier in the mornings. Children have flocked to sample the culinary delights of Baking, ‘Garden to table’, Pasta making and Thai cooking, as well as the intrigues of Among Us and Escape Room. Lasertag was a firm favourite, along with Messy Art, Urban sketching, Kha Thok Thek, Thai crafts and VR worlds. We plan to further expand our offerings next year.

Charles Rowe

PREP CHARIT Y REPORT Take Care Kids was the chosen charity for the Prep School this year. At Christmas several Prep children adopted a child from the Pattaya foster home to buy Christmas presents for. The Charity committee also selected Take Care Kids to be the primary recipient of the proceeds from the Christmas Fair. The 16 children also came to the Fair and enjoyed Runes Pizza. RST made sure that all children had tokens to enjoy the many activities on offer. Khun Taya visited the home to give Take Care Kids a cheque for 120,000 baht from the proceeds from the Fair.

Prep children also raised 18,000 baht on World Book Day for charity. Mr Stoker presented the money to Take Care Kids along with a number of donations. Throughout the year, staff have donated clothing, toys and books to Take Care Kids to support all of the community work they do throughout Pattaya slums and the greater Chonburi area.

This year has seen the introduction of a partnership with www.sportsleaders.org who offer Qualifications and Award Programmes for a variety of different areas within schools. We started in Term 1 by offering the Young Leaders Award to Year 7, and twelve pupils took the first step on their Leadership journey. The Young Leader Award is a games based activity (run primarily by the pupils) that gives learners knowledge of how to organise and lead small games and activities. Successful candidates will be called upon to help and assist in formal and non-formal school activities, such as helping with PrePrep and Prep Sports Days. The Young Leader Award aims to help learners develop leadership skills such as organisation, communication and teamwork, as well as helping to build confidence and self-esteem as they take on the responsibility of leading their peers and younger children. These Leaders completed their training from PE staff for half a term and they offered fun sporting games based sessions to Year 2 pupils. The uptake from Year 2’s was very encouraging and 24 of them ventured from Pre-Prep up to the CGA each Wednesday, where our Leaders were ready to take charge and run the session. It was a hugely successful Programme with all candidates passing the course. Click this link for a video of the pupils’ experience.

during Term 3. The Maths, English and Languages Leaders planned sessions for Year 3s and Year 4s to deliver a variety of sessions during their prep time. We also offered for the first time the Playmaker Award to Year 6 pupils, which will run in Term 3 and again next year. This is a games based activity that is an introduction into the Leadership Programme and a fantastic first step for the pupils to develop their self confidence and start their Leadership journey.

Expansion of the Leadership programme was inevitable based on the success of the Young Leaders Award and pupils were offered, in Term 2, the Sports Leaders Award Level 1 (Year 7 and 8), Maths and English Leaders Award (Year 8) and the Languages Leaders Award (Year 8). Pupils experienced a term of crafting their Leadership skills which included planning, organising and developing their communication skills. The Sports Leaders split into groups of 5, planning 2 sports sessions to deliver to Y2s through to Year 6s during the newly launched “Sports Stars” Activity

Maths/English Leaders: Achira A, Pat A, Andrew B, Joey B, Tate B, Sha Sha H, Jaa J, Prinn J, Jiew K, Namhom K, Ysabel M, Lucas R, Korya S, Chennai T, Oscar T, Andy W, Jerry X

PUPIL LEADERSHIP

Along with the Sports Leaders UK initiative, we also offer various Leadership opportunities throughout the school, including sports teams, the Divisional System and the Year 8 Community Service programme. We are planning to continue to develop and enhance the Leadership opportunities at Rugby School Thailand across a range of areas, so watch this space.

Young Leaders: Amara B, Ning Ning B, Alan B, Narna C, Jago D, Nudi J, Rio K, Iyara M, Aden O, Thada R, Bai-Toey R, Teddy R Sports Leaders Level 1: Ning Ning B, Alan B, Jeong C, Miki C, Narna C, Bomin C, Manfah C, Jago D, Georgia D, Maya G, Oliver G, Nudi J, Tanya J, Rio K, Ailbe K, Iyara M, Pai N, Lucas R, Bai-Toey R, Willie S, Peter S, Tanat T, Chennai T, Vincent T, Ryan T, Pear W, Wynn Wynn Y, Jane Y, Emily Z, Shirley Z

Languages Leaders: Narna C, Jiew K, Si Eun L, Iyara M, Pair P, Tanat T, Chennai T, Vincent T, Patricia W, Patrick W, Kevin , Rico W, Rick W, Elliot A Divisional Captains: Hardy - Ah Ra R and Xander M, Beauclerc - Vincent T and Georgia D, Webb Ellis -Miki C and Ryan T, Arnold - Tanat T and Pear L Ryan Driver

SAILING, KAYAKING AND STAND-UP PADDLE BOARDING Sailing

Kayaking and Stand-up Paddle Boarding

We have continued to go to The Royal Varuna Yacht

The water sports have struggled this year. A mixture of

Club for our sailing activity which has proved a great

COVID and drought has limited the time on the water.

success with much more consistent conditions - we

We are hopeful that with more consistent water levels

have not once had to cancel because of lightning or a

in the lakes next year this activity should return to the

lack of wind, which has been a big bonus. COVID has

previous levels of activity.

actually helped the activity as it has meant the roads are

(flat water race kayaking), SUP as a Saturday Extension

much quieter so our journey time has been manageable

Program activity and we now have access to surfskis

allowing the pupils to get a good 45-minutes on the

(through the Coach) which can be used by older pupils

water. From next year the water levels at School should

to race in but also for use in the sea and for expeditions in

be consistently higher. This will allow more time on the

rivers or around islands. It is hoped that these activities

water. Thank you, as always, to The Royal Varuna Yacht

will become more popular in the coming years.

Club for making us so welcome.

We continue to offer K1

David Dawson

3F

3J

3R

3W

4B

4D

4E

4R

5A

5T

5W

6D

6H

6L

6S

7C

7D

7F

7O

8E

8K

8M

8P

SENIOR SCHOOL Kirk Peter Green Acting Head of Senior School

INTRODUCTION: It is stating the obvious that this year has been a year like

year before any of the rest of us, Mr Ball paved the way for

no other, but it is worth taking stock of both the challenges

the outstanding school we have today. He trusted his staff

and successes that we have faced in equal measure.

to know how to do their jobs without excessive interference,

Back in September, which seems a long time ago now, we excitedly moved into our new, purpose built Senior School Building. The troubles of COVID seemed to be mostly behind us and everyone was looking forward to a ‘normal’ school year once again.

Term 1 was just that, a school full of life, lessons and activities running full steam ahead, House competitions taking the stage and restrictions easing. Things were going so smoothly that Mr Ball decided that the end of term was the perfect time to retire, leaving the school in the capable hands of Mr Ennis-Billing for term 2.

We gave our thanks and farewells to Mr Ball at the end of that term, but I would like to take this opportunity to thank him once again for all he did for the Senior School. Here a

but was always at hand to give direction and sage advice.

This can be uncommon in school leaders across the world, but the best schools will always be led in this manner.

Alan Ball

Over the Christmas holidays, COVID cases returned to the news and, come January, schools once again had to resort to remote learning. By this point we were well experienced in this and the school worked like a well oiled machine delivering online lessons. Thankfully, the closure was short lived and we were back seeing the students’ smiling faces again in person by February and normality and a busy school resumed. Again, I thank Mr Ennis-Billing for taking the reins during this time, not the easiest task, but one he carried out with aplomb, not just treading water but leading the school forward.

When term 2 ended, I was looking forward with some excitement to being Acting Head for term 3. However, COVID once again started raising its ugly head over the course of the holidays. Four days before the start of term I was taking a conference call from my car with the Cambridge examination board about the cancellation of their exams.

Shortly after we were informed that school would again be

and Sheriff House. He moves to Shore School, in Australia.

Ms Lister came to our aid in term 2 of our first year when our original art teacher had to leave. The turnaround in the art department since then has been amazing to see and she has also been hugely valued as Dean of Tudor. She moves to Bolton School in the UK Ms Hanly has been with us since the start, leading the English department. Her high expectations, excellent teaching and kindness have been hallmarks of her leadership and leave the department in a very strong place. She moves to Brentwood School in the UK Also with us from the beginning are Mr and Mrs Devesa.

Both excellent and valued teachers in their respective areas who will be remembered both for this and, particularly by the Rupert Brooke girls, for their caring and dedicated commitment to boarding. The Devesas move to Christ College Brecon, also in the UK.

closed for on-site learning. Whilst this was obviously very

I thank Jon, Anna, Claire, Vanessa and Richard for helping

disappointing, I knew that both students and staff would

make RST Senior School what it is today.

work tirelessly to manage this.

Finally, we also say goodbye to some of our students.

The closure and exam cancellation meant we had to

Moving on is part of growing up and I wish them all the

develop a new way of not just learning, but of assessing

very best in their future endeavours. Our XX students in

this learning at lightning speed. Some of the exam boards

particular will have new and exciting adventures to look

placed requirements on school assessed grades that were

forward to on progressing to university. On these occasions

obviously not designed for the situation in Thailand.

it is traditional for the Head to give some parting words of

Parents and students of D Block, LXX and XX will know the

wisdom to those making that step to the next stage of their

amount of work the students had to put in this term, with

lives. So, I end with some advice from Dr Kent M Kieth,

seemingly endless online assessments, in order to generate

called the Paradoxical Commandments:

the evidence required for the school assessed grades. What

People can be illogical, unreasonable, and self centred.

Love them anyway.

you may not have seen is all the work behind the scenes from the teachers to generate this. It is not an exaggeration to say that their workload for the examination year groups increased tenfold compared to what would be expected in times when the external examinations run as normal. As a school, we are indebted to these teachers for this work, and I thank them earnestly.

Unfortunately, we were not able to return to ‘normal’ this term and the year finished remotely. However, the remote learning provision has ensured that all students still have had the opportunity to progress academically and I have been astounded by the levels of resilience and maturity that has developed in our students over the past year. Challenges really do make us stronger, and I am completely confident that this is the case for all of us this year.

At the end of the year it is inevitable that we are saying some goodbyes. This year 5 valued members of staff are moving on.

Mr Mayall joined us in our second year and has been a valued source of experience in both the English Department

If you do good, people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.

Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies, Succeed anyway.

The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow.

Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness can make you vulnerable.

Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.

Think big anyway.

People say they favour underdogs but only follow the top dogs.

Fight for the underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.

Build anyway.

Even when people need help, they may attack you when you help them. Help people anyway.

If you give the world the best you have, you may get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway.

PRI Z E G IVIN G SPEECH DAY Despite the school closure, Speech Day 2021 was delivered at the end of term to celebrate our students’ achievements, albeit remotely.

awarded to:

conceptualism as well as how fear and hope are reflected in today’s world in

Georgia Chapman Citation:

The

House

of

Bernarda

Alba was written in 1935 by Federico

order to successfully apply this to her practical studies and written work. Her completed GCSE portfolio is what one

We welcomed 3 guests of honour -

Garcia Lorca, a Spanish playwright

Peter Green, Executive Headmaster of

shot by Nationalist forces just a year

the Rugby Group, Khunying Kasama

later at the beginning of the Spanish

chair of governors of RST, and Bruce

civil war. Georgia Chapman’s essay is

Grindlay, our incoming Principal. I

linguistically and structurally first rate.

thank them all for giving their time

The content shows an undergraduate

Maria Denisova

so generously. We also heard from

level of understanding of the text,

Citation: Maria has been awarded

our

School,

characters, and plot, with a generous

a

Georgia Chapman and Michael Barrett,

dose of creative thinking in linking it

submission in Art. Maria spent one

whom I thank for their service, and

to specific stages of Greek tragedy, a

year working on the completion of a

welcomed their able replacements,

style which inspired Lorca. In short, it’s

major project based upon her interest

Jean Wongvanichchot and Alex Faquet.

the type of essay response which could

in portraiture. As well as developing

Congratulations to the both of them.

be used by the examination board to

her skills in painting and drawing

exemplify a top grade.

significantly through the commitment

Departing

Heads

of

Our student awards are split into three sections, Academic, Citizenship and

Pun Jaratjitwilai

House, and Co-curricular.

Citation: Pun has been awarded a copy

In addition, I am delighted to announce that, in term 2, we awarded our first ever ‘Copies’. A Copy is

the highest

academic award granted at Rugby School

Thailand

for

an

individual

piece of work or project. These were

for her recent portfolio submission in Art. Pun spent one year working on the completion of a major project based upon the theme of fear and hope. She spent a huge amount of time developing her understanding of

would expect to see of a high grade A-Level student and evidences a very mature ability to think creatively as well as impressive technical skill.

copy

for

her

recent

portfolio

of an enormous amount of time both in and outside of school hours, she has developed her ideas through significant contextual study and research. She has done particularly well because of her willingness to step outside of her comfort zone, take risks and try new things.

Nicholson Prize for Music. Criteria: student who has demonstrated the highest level of commitment to the positive performance of music. Selection: Director of Music.

Macready Prize for Drama. Criteria: student who has demonstrated the highest level of commitment to the positive performance of drama. Selection: Head of Drama.

Blomfield Prize for Art. Criteria: student who has demonstrated the highest level of commitment to their development in Art and Design. Selection: Head of Art

2020 / 21 … NON-ACADEMIC PRIZE WINNERS SENIOR NON-ACADEMIC PRIZES: RST Citizenship prize. (one student per year group).

Criteria: student who has demonstrated the highest levels of support to those around them, to the values of Rugby School Thailand and to the community as a whole.

Selection: Nominations from staff to SMT. House Spirit Awards. (one student per house). Criteria: student who has contributed the most to the positive spirit of the house. Selection: HM, Assistant HM, House tutors and Head of House.

Heads of House Awards. Criteria: Outgoing Heads of House. Selection: n/a Heads of House investiture. Criteria: Heads of House appointments. Selection: n/a Head Girl / Head Boy Awards. Criteria: Outgoing Head Girl / Boy. Selection: n/a Head Girl / Head Boy investiture. Criteria: Head Girl / Head Boy appointments. Selection: n/a The Elizabeth Cup for Girls Sport. Criteria: Girl who has demonstrated the highest levels of commitment to sport at school throughout the year. Selection: Head of Sport The Poulton-Palmer Cup for Boys Sport. Criteria: Boy who has demonstrated the highest levels of commitment to sport at school throughout the year. Selection: Head of Sport

MATHS

Another very strong year from the

delayed arriving in Thailand. Together

results at both IGCSE and A-Level

Mathematics

even

with Mrs de Villers and Mrs Roberson,

have been amongst the highest in the

with the interruptions to classroom

all the staff have worked tirelessly

school, with the advanced IGCSE set

teaching.

was

matching the enthusiasm and appetite

achieving eight grade 9s and eighth

bolstered with the arrival of two new

of the students to master maths in this

grade 8s. A clean sweep of A* in ‘old

teachers, Dr Millard and Mr Miller, who

most challenging time. There have

money’.

hit their classrooms the day after being

been many individual highlights from

released from quarantine having been

all year groups at all levels. Academic

Department,

The

department

ENGLISH

In a time when international

Brooke, an old Rugbeian and

travel is restricted, books are a

war poet; Nina read Brooke’s

wonderful way to explore new

famous poem ‘The Soldier’.

places and experience different cultures. Over the course of this year, students across the Senior School studying English have travelled to Jamaica, America, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Greece, (to name but a few!) in their literary adventures. They have met with the Proles of Oceania, the Duke of Verona, passengers

on

MV

Empire

Windrush, and the three sisters from Greek mythology. It is our hope that through these literary journeys

and

interactions,

they have learnt to question,

The first competition of the year was the 50/50 short story competition. Students in the F, E, and D Blocks were given one word, ‘home’, which had to be included in their fifty word stories. Mr Ennis-Billing kindly judged the competition and

the

best

overall

short

story was awarded to Maeyls Agoundou. The winners of their respective year groups were: Maria Denisova (D Block), Nele Hellman (E Block), and Maelys Agoundou (F Block).

to challenge and to form their

In

own opinions about the world

Department collaborated with

in which they live. Most of all,

the English Department in a

we hope that these adventures

poetry competition to celebrate

will inspire a lifelong passion

World

Poetry

Day.

Students

for

were

given

the

stimulus

reading

and

encourage

Term

2,

the

‘RESILIENCE’

creatively.

point for their poem. Teachers

the

English

organised

Department competitions

has and

events over the course of the year. The first of such events was

the

Remembrance

Day

Service. Two of our F Block pupils, Nina Sethanandha and Jesse Cooper, spoke at this event. Jesse introduced Rupert

as

Languages

students to think critically and In the pursuit of creativity,

Christopher Sudding

a

starting

had a tough job deciding the overall winners. The following students won their category: Best English

First Language

poem - Maddox Hitchmough, Best Thai First Language poem - Lalin Ukrit, Best Mandarin First

Despite the uncertainty due to COVID-19, this year has been a successful one. This success is down to the determination and dedication of staff and students alike. All of the competitions and events have been approached with enthusiasm and a ‘cando’ attitude. There are lots of exciting changes ahead for the English department and we wish our leaving staff a fond farewell, as we prepare to welcome the new team!

Language poem - Xiochan Luo,

While this ‘new normal’ continues beyond what

and Foreign Language poem -

was expected, we hope that you find comfort in the

Georgia Chapman.

incredible adventures that await in so many books.

Keep reading!

Claire Hanly

SHORT STORY ENTRIES Home Home

“Home isn’t a place.

“Home is a fire. Raging with love

Singing to the bonfire,

and emotion. Capable of destroying

laughing underneath the sunset sky.

and mending one’s mind. It’s a fiery

Time with friends, family or alone,

furnace, a forest destroyer and a gold

All can be home.

refiner. A spark that ignites our soul

Small moments, never ceasing to exist.

and warms our hearts. It’s a blaze

And I hope when the day comes,

capable of great things, if kindled

You’ll remember my words;

with the right hands.”

I’ll always be waiting for you, Underneath the sparkling stars.”

Maeyls Agoundou (50/50 Short Story Winner - Overall, and Best F Block Entry)

Nele Hellman (50/50 Short Story Best E Block Entry)

Cupid’s Messenger “The string wove loosely around the bird’s dainty foot, not tight enough to hurt but able to withstand the winds of the journey which would accompany it home.

Spreading its wings, the bird dove onto an incoming gust of air and soared swiftly yet gracefully, as expected of Cupid’s messenger. ” Maria Denisova (50/50 Short Story -

Lalin Ukrit (E, Southfield -

Best D Block Entry)

Winner: Thai First Language)

La temporada de Iluvias - Georgia Chapman Xiochan Luo (E, School House - Winner: Mandarin First Language)

(XX, Tudor - Winner: Foreign Language)

SCIENCE The senior science department

and Medsoc, but we have also

has had a lot of growth over this

introduced a brand new subject

academic year. Not only have

- Psychology, which has been

we introduced a range of new

very popular with our 6th form

STEM activities with the Vex

students.

robotics club, Physics Olympiad

VEX ROBOTICS CLUB

Two teams of five students

few

designed, built and programmed

including Leon T., Kohei T.,

their own robots in preparation

Nicki J., Meme B., Lily S., Ohm

for the ‘Battle in Bangkok’ VEX

C., Leticia R., Adam Y., Nara D.

VRC robotics competition at

and Melody C., showed great

NIST. This was to be the first

collaboration,

tournament of its kind that RST

and a willingness to learn from

entered and the students were

their mistakes as they put many

very excited to be a part of an

hours

event

many

testing their robots. Although

other top international schools

they have been disappointed by

in Thailand. Unfortunately the

not being able to compete, they

tournament was postponed a

have learnt a huge amount and

number of times and has still

developed

not taken place due to the

and programming skills over

school closures over the past

the course of this year.

which

included

months.

into

The

students,

commitment

developing

their

and

engineering

PHYSICS OLYMPIAD The British Physics Olympiad is

students had to complete under

a set of competitions aimed at

timed conditions. We had a large

the brightest physics students

number of students receiving

from the UK and international

awards for their outstanding

schools

performances.

around

the

world.

A

special

This year, students in LXX, D

mention should go to Maria D.

block and E block have taken

and Tetsuo P. who both finished

part in the competition. The

in the top 2% of students

competition this year consisted

who entered the Intermediate

of two online tests which the

Challenge competition.

Award winners LXX (Senior Challenge Competition) Silver award: Tan T., Grace P. and Bogdan Z. Bronze award: Alex F., Mikoto A., Eduard D. D Block (Intermediate Challenge Competition) Gold award: Maria D., Tetsuo P. Silver award: Ohm C., Pun C., Trophy M., Eiji P., Pun J., Butu P., Chanya S., Titan T., Val E., Karylle M., Albert S., Mateo T. Bronze award: Leo I., Katie S., Moo-Dang C., Grahame W., Melody C., Pupa M., Polina P., Adam L., Mingming S., Rew J., Zia J., Rung C., Ana D., Jess F., Boo K., Arseny S. E Block (Junior Challenge Competition) Gold award: Memee B., Alan P., Pann V. Silver award: Irina V., Hele H., Jayreece W., Leticia R., Kei M., Buggy R., Pinnapath S., Zaia W., Katherine Crabb., Kip S., Sea J., Trin N., Trin P. Bronze award: Mark R., Moji C., Ross L., Wathanya A., Keira M., Nara D., Niki J., Owen Y., Heewon P., Maddox H., Max F., Ronnie N., Dyllan K., D’Artangnan R., Kasira P., Sathang. I., Supichaya S.

Medsoc This is the first year that the science department has run our MedSoc as part of the activity program at Rugby School Thailand.

The aim of the activity is to help develop the skills of students looking to apply to medical fields at university. Along with skill development, we also work on building their application for the specific university and country they are applying to as well as preparing for any required examinations such as the BioMedical Admissions Test (BMAT). Even though it is in its first year we already have two students, Nene W. and Lily A., successfully achieve a place to study Dentistry at Thammasat University.

James Rees

LANGUAGES The Languages department has been

to learn more about Buddhist beliefs,

A Level students have gone more

fortunate

new

etiquette, and art, and had the chance

in depth with Lorca’s classic 20th

Kru

to see various relics and a replica of the

century play “The House of Bernarda

Gwang took over the reins as Head of

footprint of the Buddha. Earlier in the

Alba” and Almodóvar’s classic film,

Thai, bringing a wealth of experience

year, our Mandarin students visited

“Volver”. In Chinese Culture Club

in

teachers

in to

welcoming our

international

two

Department:

with

the Anek Kuson Sala (Viharn Sien)

and Calligraphy Club, students have

which to enthuse our students, and

education

museum. As the only location outside

enjoyed

Miss Tam joined our Mandarin team,

of China with a permanent exhibition

traditional Chinese calligraphy, as well

teaching First and Foreign Language

of Terracotta Warriors and artefacts,

as making Moon cakes for the mid-

Mandarin, but is also a fluent speaker

and

best

Autumn festival. The HSK (Chinese

of Cantonese.

Chinese art collections in Thailand,

Proficiency exam) group continues to

British in nature, RST is a culturally

this is a culturally significant site at

support students in working towards

rich environment, with over sixty

which to appreciate Chinese heritage,

the official HSK Chinese language

different nationalities! Learning about

which everyone in the RST community

qualification,

the culture and language of Thailand

is encouraged to visit.

Chinese university applications which

is something our students are actively

Within the classrooms, our students

also allows students to apply for

encouraged to do, and our F Block Thai

have been busy, too, taking advantage

scholarships in China.

Language & Culture students enjoyed

of the opportunity to gain exposure

Wittgenstein famously said that “the

a trip to two of the most significant and

to language beyond the curriculum,

limits of my language are the limits of

unique cultural sites in the local area,

through extracts of film, literature,

my world”. Here at RST we are working

namely Wat Yansangwararam, built

poetry

In

hard to help expand the world of each

under the patronage of His Majesty

French, our E Block students have

and every one of our students and

King Bhumibol, and Khao Chi Chan, or

been introduced to Jacques Prévert

help them grow into confident global

Buddha Mountain. Students were able

and Victor Hugo, while our Spanish

citizens.

possessing

and

one

other

of

the

activities.

developing

a

their

skills

prerequisite

in

for

Andy Maguire

GEOGRAPHY What better introduction to the relevance of geography

able to act, we encourage them to gather reliable evidence,

than a global pandemic? Throughout the summer of

and be careful with their analysis. We then support them to

2020 Thailand appeared to present an oasis of normality

look at the whole picture, from perspectives beyond their

continuing within closed borders. However, the impact of

own experience and finally to suggest actions that make

the crisis is clearly visible, in the emptier businesses, and a

sustainable change. D-Block geographers produce their

piecemeal hospitality sector, alongside other less obvious

own research as coursework, and fortunately they were

impacts.

able to investigate the impact of tourism on a coral island.

So our study of the world adapts as does the

world.

The methodology remains the same: CAUSES, IMPACTS and HUMAN RESPONSE. These are now the mantra of the F-Block geographers 2021. In term 1 the students were in school,

The traditional findings are that the environment largely suffers, yet this year’s dramatic absence of tourists allowed the students to suggest alternative findings in that the absence of tourists was perhaps more damaging.

and studied a variety of natural hazards, shortly before the

E-Block have looked at population and migration, as

eruption of Iceland’s Fagradsfjall volcano exemplified their

the world focuses intently on demographics: deciding

learning so spectacularly. The impact of the world’s food

how to vaccinate its increasingly ageing and vulnerable

demands attempted to show how significant change can

populations. It is startling to realise that the world is

occur with collective individual responsibility. The students

heading towards a global population of 8 billion, yet many

were able to reflect on their dining habits, and contribute

countries are planning contingencies for lowering fertility

to the schools “zero waste” and “no food-waste”efforts.

rates and chronic under-population.

The topic of inequality allowed the students to research issues of their own choosing, such as piracy, civil-war and housing. Most striking again is the realisation that small actions can have far reaching impacts, such as bicycle relief allowing the medical health of Zambia to improve, or the introduction of reliable electricity into a Nepalese school, raising the economic aspirations of a whole valley.

In this unique exam-year it is hoped that our older geography students gain more than just good results, Thailand offers a brilliant perspective on so many of the taught topics, so it is hoped that their application of understanding continues. It has been rewarding to see that regional and local examples are quoted in their exam responses, and often in a positive light- development of infrastructure, preservation of marine

The message is one of optimism, there is no doubt that we

habitats, diversifying economic growth. In these times, how

are more interconnected, and we all therefore face threats

nice to have blue sky thinking, a reminder of our fantastic

that are global in nature. Our students are informed and

environment.

Andrew Fellows

HISTORY RST Historians this year have

From witnessing the end of

covered a vast, enriching and

the British Empire in India,

varied range of events. From

to the end of the Romanov

studying

have

Dynasty in Russia. Continents

changed over time, to the

have been covered; wonders

life of prisoners of war on the

have been explored; stories

Death Railway, to debating

have been told; individuals

the morality of the dropping

scrutinised, loved and lost

of

and

the

how

atomic

toilets

bomb

on

importantly,

students

Japan in 1945. From learning

have developed valuable life

about the rise of fascism in

skills to take with them into

Germany, to the division of

the next academic year and

Berlin during the Cold War.

beyond.

Donna Ennis-Billing

POLITICS

The RST politics students have keenly followed a range

being toppled and tossed. Against this background, a

of political events over the course of the academic

beacon of tolerance and diplomacy could be found at

year, from the glamour of the nail-bitingly close

the inaugural RST Model United Conference which was

American Presidential election, to the more mundane,

expertly planned and executed by our politics students

but equally intriguing, Hartlepool by-election. A year

and the MUN society. The passion and sincerity with

most remembered for lockdowns has also somewhat

which our students discussed, debated, and voted on

paradoxically been a year of political protest around

their draft resolutions proved to all in attendance that

the globe, culminating in a range of peculiarities from

the pen remains mightier than the sword.

short-lived autonomous zones to the sight of statues

In academic year 2021-22, XX students of Computer Science will sit a practical programming examination in front of a computer with a keyboard and a mouse.

“

“

Joseph Simpson

COMPUTER SCIENCE This year in Computer Science sees the end of the Cambridge CIE 9608 syllabus for A level. Finally, Cambridge have caught up with the 21st Century and starting at RST in academic year 2021-22, XX students of Computer Science will sit a practical programming examination in front of a computer with a keyboard and a mouse. This, ofcourse, is too late for this year’s XX class. Anja M struggled bravely in the face of Recursion-On-Paper,

Insertion-Sort-On-Paper

and

Queues-On-Paper. Ben W sought manfully to build a solid understanding of Stacks-On-Paper, Bubble-SortOn-Paper and Linked-Lists-On-Paper. Chris D battled fervently with Hash-Tables-On-Paper, Linear-SearchOn-Paper and Instantiating-Objects-On-Paper.

These three students mark the end of an era in Computer Science at RST and we all wish that their success in the subject takes them to where they want to get to as their tertiary education kicks off at the end of summer.

Meanwhile, here at RST, we will be doing most things “on-computer”.

John Blofeld-Watson

DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY BLOK: the development of a modular product for creative learning The BLOK is a project that started out as a simple cube tutorial to support 3D printing and sketching in 2 point perspective.

Over several months of development, and

numerous 3D printed prototypes, we finally had a simple versatile snap together component that is the BLOK. The BLOK has a dual purpose. It is a versatile component that can house other parts or be used as a building block.

Simple characters could be developed with it at Prep level, with electronic and mechanical systems introduced later to add further complexity. With sufficient challenge introduced to design-based tasks, it could even be used in advanced level teaching.

Additionally, it represents a fully realised product that can be used as a case study for covering many aspects of the D&T curriculum such as concept design and 3D sketching, 3D printing, 3D CAD modelling, packaging, materials properties, mass production techniques and many more.

Students learn a wide range of industrial design processes

continued learning, a remote learning system was

and we give them the skills to develop and 3D print their

introduced at Rugby School Thailand. What we were

own unique parts in the classroom.

soon reminded of was that Design and Technology is one

BLOK has been great fun to design and the numerous prototypes and posters around the workshop always catch the eyes of students and visitors. There are many opportunities to refer to it as a ‘product’ when teaching, as well as using the 3D outcome itself as a component for further design and development.

We are now in the process of developing a range of teaching resources that use the BLOK as a starting point and exploring options for crowdfunding to make it into a commercially manufactured product. Again, this process would be useful for teaching innovation, enterprise, copyright and IP (Intellectual Property) as elements of Design and Technology, and we believe it is good for students to see the development and potential launch of a product from their classroom.

The USB lantern: A project for a new way of learning We reflect on a project that the D&T department created in response to the lockdown that caused so much disruption in the spring of 2020 and through 2021. At this time, students were not allowed into school so, to ensure their

particular subject that benefitted from regular contact with students and access to specialist machinery, tools and resources. So, we applied a little lateral thinking and separated the equipment we had access to and what students had access to and came up with the idea of giving the students a taste of what it might be like to be a designer in the real world, working with prototype studios to realise their designs in response to a client’s needs.

Students had free access to software such as Photoshop, Illustrator, SketchUp and Onshape but nothing to make their designs. We had access to all of that in school but no students to work with in the workshops. From that, the USB Lantern project was devised and developed into a glue free, low-cost, flat pack solution where all the design work could be submitted as a set of files ready to be laser cut and 3D printed.

To begin with students investigated a period of 20th Century design and produced some amazing zentangle designs which would later be laser engraved onto frosted acrylic or printed onto tracing paper to create a diffuser

Skateboard activity Many F and E block students selected the skateboard activity in the first term which involved them designing and manufacturing their own skateboard from Canadian Maple veneer. Following the moulding of the wood the students then set about adding graphic imagery to the deck, through the use of laser engraving, spray painting, resin pouring, hand painting, and even hydro dipping. The results have been very impressive and those students that have completed have taken their skateboards home.

D block Coursework major projects Despite the heavily punctuated year with remote learning there was some outstanding work produced by some of the IGCSE D block students this year.

Projects ranged from products to help students learn to read music to water purification devices, air purifiers, an iHub (for all Apple devices), a solar lamp, a home plant watering system as well as many more.

Despite the obvious difficulties faced by the students there was some excellent digital design work produced (Serafima Stolynokva) as well as some high level 3D CAD development using Onshape. This resulted in some of the students being able to remotely 3D print parts for their major projects. Sadly, due to the third period of remote learning the students were not able to fully realise their final prototypes however we did manage to virtually render a number as you can see in the attached images. to stop the glare of the LED’s. Zentangles are effectively shapes full of detailed patterns, much like the adult doodle / colouring books that are so popular. Next, the students started working through a digital design booklet and we provided tutorials in the use of Onshape along with supporting booklets for all aspects of the project. We decided to share all of this work with teachers around the world and made the resource freely available online. After just a few weeks, it had been downloaded 3000 times and reviews and feedback were very positive. This year it was shortlisted for an International Schools Award and has been downloaded nearly 18000 times!

During the past two terms we have developed this project further with the return of the students in the workshops.

We have fully integrated the use of digital sketching, through using the Procreate App on the iPad Pro’s we have in the department, and this has taken some of the design work to new heights. Students have created stunning Zentangle designs; layered design ideas and two point perspective renderings so that their design work could be evaluated before committing to 3D CAD. Students worked through the 3D CAD tutorials during our second period of remote learning in January and upon return to school they completed the CAD work and we manufactured their

lantern parts with many assembled before Songkran.

Stuart Douglas

DRAMA

Drama’s place in a pandemic

our favourite song. We load Spotify or iTunes or listen to

The coronavirus has sadly threatened theatre everywhere.

audiobooks. And we laugh and learn and we cry sometimes

Worldwide, theatre’s have been closed. The West End has

and we sit on the edge of our seats and we dance to our

ground to a halt. Broadway has shut its doors. For some,

favourite songs. Because the things that we ‘don’t need’

it’s a case of sitting tight and hoping that they’ll make it

are actually some of the things we need the most. Without

through the storm. For others, permanent closure is certain.

all of the people who have been cast aside, theatre makers,

Theatre makers around the world have struggled to make ends meet, with ‘retrain’ being thrown around like it’s a

producers, screen writers and directors, we wouldn’t have the experiences that bring us so much joy.

simple answer. Actors, directors, stage managers, costume

So we hope and pray that theatres will open again soon,

makers, set designers, lighting operators, dancers, singers,

that audiences will be back in the stalls and those working in

circus performers have been largely unsupported, often

the industry will be back on stage, or behind it. Because life

excluded from crucial financial assistance that others so

without theatre, without stories being told and emotions

readily received. The lives of those in creative professions

being felt is life without joy, without empathy and feeling.

- theatre, film, television, music - have been pushed to the

And what good is that?

breaking point as the industry comes close to collapse.

But for now, we keep it alive in our students. We rehearse

Yet whilst we sit at home and wait and wish that life will go

and watch what we can and sometimes we even perform,

back to normal, we put the TV on. We open our computer

through a screen. We have adapted, so that when we arrive

screens, turn on iPads, unlock our phones. We load Netflix,

back in school or can go to the theatre, we are ready. We

Disney + and Youtube. We binge on box sets and seek out

are ready to pass on the joy.

the latest films. We turn on the radio, asking Alexa to play

F Block

IGCSE performances

Students in the F Block were thrown into academic drama

D Block students began the year excellently, impressing

this year as they started with a project which required

invited audiences with hard-hitting devised performances

them to devise their own original piece of theatre,

which had been developed for their coursework. Katie S,

based on a range of photographs. Working in groups,

Ana D, Grahame W and Delight B devised a raw and stark

students developed their work and then performed it to

performance about refugees, focusing on three different

a small audience. As we approached Christmas, students

stories from around the world. The way that they contrasted

embarked on another group project which saw them

stereotyped and often ignorant opinions of members of the

apply their knowledge of verbatim theatre to a short

public with the true, poignant stories made the audience

performance. As lockdown hit, we travelled virtually to

reflect on their own prejudices and opinions on this very

Germany to learn about Brecht and the Berliner Ensemble,

important topic. The true story of the murder of the Black

before heading over to the UK to begin creating a design

Dahlia was explored by Zia J, Scarlet C, Arseny S and Val E,

concept for Face by Benjamin Zephaniah. We were

who proposed that George Hodell was the real killer. They

lucky to be back in school just in time to use the Black

competently demonstrated a wide use of drama techniques

Box to experiment with lighting design. Whilst back in

to persuade the audience that their theory was true, using

lockdown, students chose monologues from Face which

some really gruesome moments to portray the darker side

required them to develop their characters, rehearse and

of the murderer.

perform. Despite lockdown, it has been fantastic to see these students getting up on their feet, performing on screen and keeping theatre alive.

During our scripted performance evening, the audience

Whittington. They multi-rolled effectively to play a range

was treated to a range of genres and styles. Arseny S and

of characters and their portrayal of a challenging topic was

Grahame W performed a dark and gritty scene from Martin

very well received. To end the evening, Zia J, Delight B and

McDonagh’s The Pillowman. They left the audience with a

Ana D performed Once We Were Mothers by Lisa Evans. This

real feeling of unease as they played on the sinister aspects

piece had the audience laughing one moment and crying

of the roles, which were developed very well. Scarlet C,

the next as they took us on a sincere and emotive journey

Val E and Katie S invited us to join them in a mother and

through motherhood. All students performed extremely

baby home as they performed Be My Baby by Amanda

well and they should be very proud of their efforts.

Felicity Passmore

House Music Competition

MUSIC

In early November the entire Senior School performed house songs and many varied ensembles in the third annual Senior House Music, now a regular and popular fixture in the school calendar. This year was adjudicated

by Khun Pook from our music staff. The event was the first of its kind in the new Webb Ellis Centre and showcased a great effort from all Houses. The event saw Rupert Brooke House claim best overall House, plus the House Song award with ‘We’ll Go Together’ from Grease. Tudor House received best Ensemble with ‘Someone in the Crowd’ from La La Land. The audience was also given the opportunity to vote for their favourite House Song, with School House taking the prize with

Senior Music at RST 2020-2021

‘Dancing in the Moonlight’. Town House’s ‘Lemon

It has been a busy and successful year in the Music

Tree’, Southfield’s ‘Rumour Has It/Someone Like You’

Department despite the Covid lockdowns. Below are

and Sheriff’s ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ all showcased

some of the many highlights:

great musical talent from across the school.

New department

Christmas Concert

We were excited to move into the new state of the

RST’s Senior Christmas Concert 2020 took a new Covid-

art music and drama department in September 2020,

friendly format and was recorded in the ‘Black Box’ and

having been housed in the Veraphan Building whilst

watched by the whole school in house bases on the last

the Senior site was completed.

In addition to large

day of term. The concert included a large repertoire of

traditional teaching spaces, it encompasses 17 Practice

both the Senior Orchestra and Senior Choirs. Mr. Costin

Rooms (with larger ensemble teaching spaces and

directed orchestral music ranging from Beethoven’s

a dedicated drum room), a professional standard

5th Symphony, Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance No 1,

recording studio and control room, a music technology

Grieg’s ‘In The Hall of The Mountain King’ and the Thai

suite with iMacs utilising Logic Pro and Sibelius, a Dance

National and King’s Anthems. The choir then performed

Studio, Drama teaching spaces and a Black Box Studio

several Christmas Carols and more contemporary

(complete with catwalk professional lighting grid). The

pieces, including a Disney medley.

department equipment also developed, with many new instruments both in Orchestral and Pop/Rock Guitars, Drums and keyboards.

Recording Studio RST’s professional standard recording studio has already proved to be very popular. Karma Studio sound engineers worked with students in December 2020, recording our students in the purpose built space. The department has invested in the highest quality microphones and recording interface in a dedicated Mac Logic X Pro studio. Students wishing to record their own bands can now be trained up, and this will form a significant part of the future co-curricular programme. In addition to the pre-amp, control surface and mixing desk, our new studio also boasts dedicated sound isolation for vocals and flexible monitoring options. In addition, on the ground floor there is a fully soundproof drum room with an interface to the main studio. The entire studio is fully equipped with professional monitors, headphones and a DI Box. The adjoining Music Tech Suite has an additional ten iMacs with the latest sound and composition tools. The Pre-prep Rap Group, Staff Band and Choir have begun using the facilities; watch out for future recording opportunities.

Lunchtime concerts Our regular Lunch Time Concerts this year showcased all year groups both informally and in preparation for ABRSM and Coursework submissions. All music students attended these concerts, which showcased RST’s wide variety of styles and talent. Particularly outstanding performances included many high level pianists taught

by Khun Kwan, our Head of Keyboard Studies. These regular and popular events are recorded and can be viewed online.

ABRSM exam results With many aspects of assessment adapting to online and remote methods, we were pleased to have some excellent ABRSM Examination results. This required online submissions across all instruments and included three Grade 8 pianists.

Andrie Oca - piano 2 distinction, violin grade 3 pass Annie Forshaw – guitar grade 2 distinction Pei-Ing Thapanapong – flute grade 2 pass Ana Devesa – singing grade 3 distinction Buggy Rungturakit – cello grade 3 merit Molly O’Brien – singing grade 3 distinction, piano grade 1 merit Rebecca Ronconi – violin grade 3 merit Endoo Chawandit – flute grade 4 pass KhaoHom Hongsawet – piano grade 6 distinction Rew Jitkanaekarn – piano grade 8 merit Charm Pornvattanakit – piano grade 8 distinction Pleng Saeheng – piano grade 8 distinction, violin 3 meri Songkran and Christmas Fair Throughout the School Year the many Thai Festivals were celebrated through Musical performances at Song Kran and Loy Krathong. This included several student bands performing ‘Just The Way You Are’ and popular Thai songs ’ขอจองได้ ไ หม’

by Aueyauey, ‘ฝนตกไหม’ by Three man down and ‘ฤดู ร ้ อ น’ by Paradox. The RST Christmas Fair at Wisdom Valley included several Senior Ensembles playing at the Bandstand to create a Festive atmosphere for the various activities.

High School Musical RST’s first Senior Musical High School Musical made an incredible start in Term 2, with Students from F and E Block taking on the roles of Troy, Gabriella, Sharpay, Ryan and all the other Wildcats.

The show was only weeks from performance dates before the restrictions due to Covid halted rehearsals but we hope to bring you some highlights and even more exciting musical activities next School Year.

Robert Costin

Despite intermittent periods of remote learning, this year has been a busy one in the senior art department. We were excited to move into our new studio spaces in September, and it has been wonderful to see them fill up with exciting artwork throughout the year and the floors become messier! Between periods of school closure, many of the students have enjoyed art enrichment trips out of school. In October, some of our GCSE and A Level students visited Elsie Evans at her studio in Rayong - Elsie guided them through a life drawing class from a live model, as well as a workshop on sketchbooking. Later in the month the D Block and sixth form art students spent a day drawing at the Sanctuary of Truth and Anek Kusala Sala.

The F Block students have been working through various units of work including abstract portraiture, David Hockney inspired landscape, food art, art inspired by science and art and activism. Within these units they have explored various media including sculpture, drawing, painting, printmaking, fashion design and photography. The purpose of the F Block art unit is to introduce the students to the range of possibilities within the subject and provide them with the opportunity to work independently and express themselves. It is fantastic to see so many of the students this year have opted to continue their study of art to GCSE level and we can’t wait to see them back in the studio next year!

The GCSE and A Level students have been working hard on their independent portfolios - working in wonderfully individual and original ways. The new studio spaces have allowed for students to explore larger scale works which has been fantastic to see. A particular congratulations to Tanya Kevrukh and Anja Manalastas who have completed their A Level Art course to an impressive standard and are off to pastures new. Tanya has chosen to continue her study of Art to degree level, taking up a place on the Visual Arts course at Chulalongkorn University - this is an incredible achievement with only 12 other students being accepted onto the course and we look forward to hearing how she gets on (and hope that she may one day return to RST as a visiting artist!).

In March we held our annual scholarship assessments, and am pleased to have awarded Art and Design scholarships to the following three students: Annie Forshaw (F Block), Arty Sophathawonkit (F Block) and Dee-Dee Rohazlan (E Block).

In April we were delighted to announce that two of the three copies awarded this year went to two of our GCSE students for their art work. A copy is a reward recommended by a teacher and conferred by the Headmaster for an exceptional piece of academic work, exceptional behaviour or exceptional contribution to extra-curricular life.

Copies are very rare

and are recognised at Speech Day. An enormous well done to Maria Denisova (D Block) and Pun Jaratjitwilai who have both developed their skills and understanding in art through commitment of an enormous amount of time both in and outside of school hours. Their major projects were of A Level standard and demonstrated mature understanding of conceptualism.

Anna Lister

ART

CO-CURRICULAR T

hroughout much of 2020/21, the Senior school operated a thriving co-curricular programme of activities for all students. Across the broad activities categories of Service; Sports; the Arts; STEM and Language and Cultures, students from all Houses and year groups have used the activities programme to broaden their horizons while developing their existing passions and interests.

One highlight of the STEM category was the VEX Robotics team, who spent terms one and two preparing for national robotics championships in Bangkok. Unfortunately the event has been postponed, but will hopefully be rescheduled in the near future.

Sporting activities continued to be as popular as ever, providing opportunities for athletes of all levels to develop their skills and fitness. The swim squad swam, the basketballers bounced and the croquet club enjoyed the delights of Mozart played through Ms Pearce’s phone speaker while enjoying a round on a Wednesday afternoon.

It has also been immensely pleasing to see students take so enthusiastically to touch ‘rugby football’, as the game is known at Rugby School. Boys and girls have come a long way in their co-ordination and understanding of the game throughout the year.

It is fantastic to see co-curricular arts continue to grow at Rugby School Thailand. Mr Costin and Ms Passmore write about the superb concerts and productions that the School has put on this year, despite the obvious challenges, as well as the excellent inter-House music and drama events.

Furthermore, visual arts continues to thrive. Staff and students have been treated to displays of artist work of exemplary quality when walking through the Art area of the Senior Building. Work exhibited for inter-House Art was of a particularly high standard, with Southfield coming out on top as the deserving winners.

Senior students this year have taken full advantage of cocurricular opportunities to develop their understanding of

languages and cultures. The Thai Language and Culture (TLC) activity for F Block students has helped to organise Thai cultural events and hoped to take our students to visit a local temple. In Chinese Culture Club, participants continue to work on their calligraphy, whilst in HSK a number of Seniors have made great progress towards their Chinese language proficiency examinations. Ancient cultures have not been forgotten about, with the Historical Society devising a podcast about Helen of Troy, which was commended by (virtual) visitors to the School.

Service activities in Senior continue to go from strength to strength with the #RSTmakeadifference work deepening our ties with a number of extremely good causes, including the Baan Jing Jai orphanage, Take Care Kids and Hope for Strays.

Plans are afoot to develop ever more ambitious projects, particularly pertaining to supporting underprivileged Thai children, which we hope will come to fruition in the coming months.

Sixth Form specific activities have been very successful.

Numerous students have completed IELTS to standards necessary to access the Higher Education programmes they are aiming for, while others have successfully completed the International Project Qualification (IPQ) to the highest standards. Research questions include the future of financial security by Georgia (XX, Tu) and applied game theory by Lindsay (XX, So). Moreover, MedSoc, the School Medical Society, has supported the successful application to dental school by Lily (XX, So).

The School is delighted that the breadth and the quality of co-curricular provision was formally recognised at our recent inspection by the Council of British International Schools (COBIS), which awarded co-curricular a ‘Blue Circle’, their highest accolade. This is solely down to the hard work of staff who create and deliver such an ambitious and successful programme.

Tom Spreyer

DUKE OF EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL AWARD The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award is available

Georgia Chapman (XX, Tu.), our outgoing Head Girl, has

for Senior students from E Block upwards. During 2020/21,

successfully completed the Silver award in its entirety, and

around twenty students have diligently worked towards

in doing so, has become the first RST student to complete a

achieving the Bronze and Silver awards through completing

Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.

the award’s four elements of sport, skill, service and an expedition. This has been a difficult task due to restrictions imposed to limit social interaction. Many participants have had to modify their goals and in some cases, change their activity entirely. It is therefore even more impressive that

The younger students undertaking the Bronze award are not far behind, with many having completed all the requirements save the final ‘qualifying’ expedition, which will take place once schools are permitted to run residential trips once again.

Maya (E Block So.) describes how the award works in practice: Last term I chose the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award (DofE), as my Tuesday activity. This award involves helping the community and our environment, becoming fitter, developing new skills, planning, training for and completing an expedition and, for Gold only, working with a team on a residential activity. Any young person can do their DofE – regardless of ability or initial talents, as long as you are motivated. Achieving this award can help you develop skills, confidence and can even be shown in your application for college or university. During the DofE weekly activity we also prepared for our big expedition.

We learned how to set up tents, cook using a camping stove, to read maps, to work as a team and much more.

There are a huge variety of activities you can choose for your DofE. To complete Bronze you have to do at least 13 hours of two of those activities and 26 hours for the main activity you choose. Each progressive level demands more time and commitment from participants - Bronze: 3-6 months; Silver:6-9 months; Gold: 12-18 months. I am, personally, working on bronze and have had some really great experiences so far. I really enjoyed our practice expedition we had so far, and I am looking forward to completing the final expedition.

Maya Hellman, E Block So. For Nele (E Block, So.) the highlight of the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award has been the expedition, which she recounts here, with some words of advice for future participants: On the two days of our practice journey, we walked around 25km through the forest Khao Mai Kaeo. The whole time we had to continue keeping track of where on the map we were, as to not take any wrong turns, which we luckily all avoided. Very important, bring two bottles and snacks for the way! Regarding carrying the special equipment, stove, pan, tent, gas, etc., discuss with your partner who takes what beforehand. For example one person takes the food and the other person takes the tent.

We learned that for the next time we have to remember not to bring too many unnecessary things, like too much food that you aren’t going to eat. However you should bring a headlight instead of a hand torch (hands free to do something else) and to take along a pair of flip-flops, for the tent area. During the walk, you should also take along snacks for yourself, although you might think you won’t need them, you will be hungry!

We learned how to:

We learned to appreciate:

Set up a tent

Soft bed and blanket

Read a map

Air Conditioning

(mostly) how to pack your bag

Cold water

Use a stove without burning ourselves

Shower and toilet

Use a compass

Clean clothes

For dinner we learned that the easiest solution was to simply bring cup noodles (or rice). However, some people also managed to make pesto noodles despite not knowing how to cook noodles. In short: if you decide to make something complicated, make sure you know how it’s done! For the next day, our different breakfasts had a wide range of things; sandwiches, cookies, applesauce, cereals, apples and triumphantly above all, simple raw tuna out of the can by using chopsticks. If your group is going to have a bonfire, it’s always nice to not only take marshmallows but also Haribo along, so you can melt them and enjoy sticking your mouth shut!

During the long walk, the best thing to do is to simply appreciate the landscape and to chat with your friends. You don’t have to rush the trip, however depending on your destination, make sure you arrive at the given time. Take breaks and make sure that everyone is still present. Please note not to run ahead or split your group up, if there’s a junction and you don’t know which way the others went, you will have trouble finding each other!

Hellman, E Block So.

CO-CURRICULAR MUSIC This year’s House Music Competition was adjudicated by Khun Pook from our music staff. The event was the first of its kind in the new Webb Ellis Centre and showcased musical talents from all the Houses. The event saw Rupert Brooke House claim best overall House, plus the House Song award with ‘We’ll Go Together’ from Grease. Tudor House received the best Ensemble award with ‘Someone in the Crowd’ from La La Land’ and School House won the new Audience Prize.

The Senior Choir has rehearsed every Tuesday and has learnt a wide range of repertoire ranging from Vivaldi’s Gloria to California Dreamin’. Performances included the recorded Christmas Concert and Remembrance Services. Choir numbers have increased significantly this year, including boys and girls.

The Senior Orchestra has similarly grown in size with more Woodwind and Percussion. This has allowed for weekly rehearsals of more challenging repertoire, ranging from Sibelius and Beethoven to Star Wars.

In our activities program, Mr Woodward has led the Acoustic Guitar group through different levels of chords and songs.

This has proven to be one of our most popular activities and has enabled students at all levels to develop their guitar skills.

Music Technology has created a variety of projects with Mr Maurice with students using Logic and Sibelius to create challenging projects as well as take further their Music Coursework.

Music Recording has been run with Mr Buckle and has recently included learning about using various Microphones and DI recording techniques.

Music Ensemble has seen several bands and individual practice sessions come together every Wednesday during Activity Times. This has been showcased recently in our House Music and Assemblies.

Musical Theatre and School Production have been working on Matilda and High School Musical with rehearsals taking place twice a week with Mr Furness and Ms Passmore.

The music department has also included solo practice sessions this year which has enabled students to use the practice rooms and continue their lesson work and towards the Duke of Edinburgh Awards. Additionally, boarders and staff have made evenings a useful rehearsal period with Houses rehearsing for House Music and House Drama performances.

The Staff Band has also recorded its first Album and Music video showing what a great array of talent we have at RST! Robert Costin This year’s House Music Competition was adjudicated by Khun Pook from our music staff. The event was the first of its kind in the new Webb Ellis Centre and showcased musical talents from all the Houses. The event saw Rupert Brooke House claim best overall House, plus the House Song award with ‘We’ll Go Together’ from Grease. Tudor House received the best Ensemble award with ‘Someone in the Crowd’ from La La Land’ and School House won the new Audience Prize.

Tom Spreyer

CO-CURRICULAR DRAMA Opening of the MDA Rugby

School

commitment

Thailand to

takes

dedicated drum room), a professional

tools. The Pre-Prep Rap Group, Staff

arts

standard recording studio and control

Band and Choir have begun to use

seriously, and there is no clearer

room, a music technology suite with

and watch out for the future recording

demonstration

opportunities.

the

iMacs utilising Logic Pro and Sibelius,

opening of the recently completed

a Dance Studio, two drama studios

Music

With

and a Black Box Studio (complete with

creative thinking and communication

professional catwalk lighting grid).

skills fimly at the forefront of desirable

Both drama and music equipment

attributes sought by employers, it is

has also developed, with many new

no wonder that students and parents

instruments in Orchestral and Pop/

are increasingly beginning to seek

Rock Guitars, Drums and keyboards,

an education in drama and music.

alongside staging, lighting and sound

Worldwide, an understanding of how

systems.

and

of

performing

its

this

Drama

than

Building.

important these skills will be for future

The Black Box Theatre has been put to excellent use already, with Girls Like That opening in December 2020, followed by the Christmas Concert, multiple IGCSE performances, House Drama and rehearsals for High School Musical Jr, all squeezed in between lockdowns. The space was built to be flexible - responsive to the needs of

RST’s professional standard recording

students and productions - and this

studio has already proved to be very

has widened the scope for dramatic

popular. Karma Studio sound engineers

potential

worked with students in December

The fully curtained space can be

2020, recording our students in the

transformed into different settings

The opening of the MDA has proved

purpose built space. The department

with ease, thanks to the moveable

to inspire students in a multitude of

has invested in the highest quality

rostra seating. The catwalk lighting

disciples. This facility has pushed every

microphones and recording interface

rig, which boasts a fully functioning

student actor, singer, dancer, writer,

in a dedicated Mac Logic X Pro studio.

set of professional lights, has enabled

director, composer, public speaker,

Students wishing to record their own

students to learn how to move, plot

innovator and potential creative leader

bands can now be trained up, and this

and use lights whilst the sound system

to rise to the professionalism of their

will form a significant part of the future

has helped us to teach them how to

surroundings. It has given them the

co-curricular programme. In addition

create and operate sound. The Dance

opportunity to be more creative with

to the pre-amp, control surface and

Studio has also been an inspiring space

their ideas as they are able to realise

mixing desk, our new studio also

to teach dance. With a focus on ballet

concepts instead of just imagining

boasts dedicated sound isolation for

and musical theatre this year, students

them.

vocals and flexible monitoring options.

have benefited from the professional

In addition, on the ground floor there

standard sprung floor, mirrored walls

is a fully soundproof drum room with

and large, light space.

employment is growing rapidly, and we are proud that music and drama students at Rugby School Thailand are ready to embrace this.

Having been housed in the Veraphan Building whilst the Senior site was completed, we were excited to move into the new state of the MDA Building in September 2020. In addition to large traditional teaching spaces, it encompasses 17 Practice Rooms (with larger ensemble teaching spaces and a

an interface to the main studio. The entire studio is fully equipped with professional

monitors,

headphones

and a DI Box. The adjoining Music Tech Suite has an additional ten iMacs with the latest sound and composition

at

RST

immeasurably.

We feel extremely lucky to have such an incredible space to learn and work and we are excited for all that is to come.

GIRLS LIKE THAT THE PROBLEM WITH GIRLS LIKE THAT IS THEY RUIN IT FOR EVERYONE. THE PROBLEM WITH GIRLS LIKE THAT IS THEY GIVE ALL GIRLS A BAD NAME.

The new, state-of-the-art Black Box hosted its inaugural production on 2nd December, 2020. The D Block and 6th Form tackled the mature play Girls Like That by Evan Placey, which explores how feminism has changed over time and what it might mean to young people today. Gender issues, group dynamics, friendship, social media and bullying were examined through a series of flashbacks, whilst the use of direct address underlined the theme of collective responsibility and the benefits and pitfalls of running in the pack. However, this play was ultimately about learning that part of growing up is coming into your own as an individual and realising that a person is more than the group of which they are a part.

The cast were superb. It would have been easy for them to shy away from a play with such challenging themes, however, demonstrating maturity beyond their years, they fully embraced the gritty and complex script. The play was a fantastic example of ensemble theatre, making this the most physically demanding performance that RST has seen yet, as students were on stage throughout, in scenes which required a fast-pace and high energy. To add their stamp to the performance, the cast choreographed their own TikTok style dances to transition between key scenes, further situating the play and its themes in the lives of pupils everywhere, today. The quality of acting was excellent and the standard of technical production was very impressive, showing off the very best of the new facility. These pupils deserve a great deal of credit for their commitment and sensitivity towards this project; I feel very lucky to have been able to direct them in such an important piece.

Miss Passmore

CAST AND COMPANY LIST Preferred Name & Last Name Ana Devesa Delight Boriboonluck Grahame White Karylle Matibag Katie Stewart Pun Jaratjitwilai Rew Jitkanaekarn Roonmai Jaroeysuk Scarlet Corr Val Erlikh Zia Jovellanos Ronnie Narang Maelys Agoundou Nina Sethanadha Thomas Corr Milly Hitchmough Mook O-Apirat Nadine Irnesberger Tim Bykov Charlotte Crabb Christopher Draper Peem Hirunyawasit

YearGroup D Block D Block D Block D Block D Block D Block D Block D Block D Block D Block D Block E Block F Block F Block F Block LXX LXX LXX LXX XX XX XX

Academic House Tudor House Rupert Brooke School House Tudor House Southfield Southfield Rupert Brooke Rupert Brooke Southfield Southfield Tudor House School House Tudor House Rupert Brooke Town House Rupert Brooke Southfield Tudor House Sheriff House Southfield Sheriff House School House

House Drama The annual House Drama competition was back in force this year. After cancelling last year’s performance due to lockdown, COVID threatened our theatre making yet again in January as the campus closed for a second time. However, the reopening in February meant that we were back up and running for performances at the end of Term 2. Although restrictions meant that this couldn’t be performed live, we were able to video and stream performances in an Oscar worthy viewing.

This year, nothing was going to stop House Drama from making its energetic, fun and, often, downright ridiculous comeback.

Our student directors led the way in creating performances based on the stimulus of stories from Ancient Greece. Directed by Delight B, Rupert Brooke took first place, with their excellent performance combining three short stories into a clear narrative.

Their creation of set, props and tech complimented some really well developed acting skills and their performance was further enhanced by a very impressive selection of live and recorded music. In second place was Tudor, directed by Ana D, with a modern and very clever interpretation of Pandora’s Box which allowed us to reflect on the importance of maintaining hope despite the struggles that the world has experienced this year. Tudor also won the prize for most effective realisation of the brief. Southfield was awarded third place for their traditional retelling of Hercules, which was directed by Charlotte C and utilised some lovely moments of Greek chorus. The prize for originality and creativity was won by School House, who also won the people’s choice prize.

Their performance, which was directed by Grahame W, used characters from Ancient Greece to tell the story of how School House became Hell House, had everyone laughing throughout. Sheriff made a terrific effort in staging the tragic myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Director Tim B incorporated some lovely ensemble moments into the piece and Town House, who also devised a performance about Hercules which was directed by Andrei O, pulled together to create an engaging performance.

All students should be congratulated on their excellent performances. A special mention, however, should go to the directors, who committed so much time and effort to ensuring that their House’s performance was a success. Thanks also must go to Mrs Furness for judging the competition and providing such thorough and thoughtful feedback.

Drama Scholars

LAMDA

F and E Block Drama Scholars were invited to perform

Despite

at the Intercontinental Hotel in Bangkok, representing

methods, two students managed to continue with their

RST at a large, prestigious Education Fayre. The piece,

LAMDA exams. Led by Mrs Furness, these students achieved

which was called, ‘Why Choose RST?’ was fast paced and

outstanding results. Another full set of exams will be taking

served to explain the very best aspects of our school. This

place in June and again in November.

challenging performance required the students to learn a substantial amount of material in a very limited time frame and, in order to achieve this, they committed to several

assessments

moving

to

online

and

remote

Ana Devesa - Grade 5 Acting - Distinction Ronnie Narang - Grade 4 Acting - Distinction

hours of weekend rehearsals. They were creative during the rehearsal process and extremely professional when performing; in fact, out of 36 school presentations, RST’s was described as ‘the highlight of the day’. Their attitude towards the performance was exemplary and it resulted in them representing RST superbly.

All six scholars were awarded distinctions for their considerable efforts. Congratulations to Andrei O, Molly O, Sasha S, NaKyung K, Katie C and Ronnie N.

High School Musical Having cast the production, rehearsed songs, learned dances, practiced lines, developed characters, built set, sewn costumes and designed lighting, High School Musical was well on the way to becoming a real success. Unfortunately, lockdown meant that we had to put a pause on our plans. It is hoped that we may be able to revive the production once restrictions are lifted and, if not, we are already excited to be looking ahead to our next theatrical project.

CO-CURRICULAR SPORT Interhouse This year as any other has seen fierce competition

to complete several tournaments this year and

between our houses in several sporting disciplines.

the competition, sportsmanship and passion

This year we have had a ‘sport for all’ approach to

has been nothing short of excellent. Particular

the competition where each student in the house

highlights for me were the sports day, where the

would compete, whether in the A, B or C team in

houses battle over various athletic disciplines. So

that sport. We feel that this has been an important

in true Olympic spirit, our students strived to be

aspect where each student contributes to their

‘citius altius fortius’, which literally means to be

house success. COVID aside, we have managed

faster, higher and stronger than their peers.

2020-21 Results Cross Country

Athletics

Football

Basketball

Badminton

Boys - School House

Boys - School House

Boys - Sheriff

Boys - School House

Boys - Sheriff House

Girls - Tudor

Girls - Tudor

Girls - Southfield

Girls - Tudor

Girls - Rupert Brooke

Fixtures It

has

been

another

interesting

year,

with

won the tournament with our girls not conceding

the COVID pandemic affecting fixtures and

one goal. We hope that next season we will have

competitions across the whole world. Many

created a local sports partnership that will enable

restrictions have been in place from postponed

more frequent and consistent fixtures for RST.

tournaments, school closures and no crowd fixtures. That being said, if life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Despite having these restrictions our students still focused on their games training and Saturday morning practices to ensure that when restrictions were lifted we would be ready.

Basketball has gained momentum this year and again we have been working with local academies to challenge our students to a more elite standard.

We have also managed to secure more fixtures with BISAC schools such as Traill, NIST and ASB who are some of the best teams in Bangkok. This

In football we have taken the approach to play

has proven to allow us to see the standard we

local academies to enable a higher level of

want to be in the coming season.

competition and this season we have won all of these games and they have prepared us well for school tournaments such as the Harrow Cup and GBAC. We had particular success in the GBAC football where both our boys and girls teams

Thank you to all the students and staff who have been dedicated in helping this programme continue despite some of the challenges we have faced.

Kieron O’Brien

SIXTH FORM T

he 6th form is a busy place.

chosen to stay for the duration of

well being course we introduced.

Many of our students study 3 or

6th form even though they did not

This is based on a popular course

4 A-levels, also study for additional

need to. Many students have chosen

run by Laurie Santos at Princeton,

qualifications such as BMAT, IETLTs,

us over traditional UK schools that

and looks at what actually makes

SAT, IPQ and MAT and, in addition,

they had attended. This is a strong

us happy rather than what we think

do 5 hours of activities and 2 hours

indication we are now established

makes us happy. Having completed

of 6th form enrichment each week.

as a credible alternative to a UK

the course myself I can attest to its

Somehow they also find time to

based boarding education.

efficacy.

Our

represent

the

school

in

sport,

form leadership councils, mentor younger children, read to the preprep, gain work experience and plethora of other activities.

enrichment

We also had our first Model United

programme goes from strength to

6th

form

Nations. This was run by the students

strength and the 2 hours a week

with the help of Mr Simpson, our

specialist time we have with the

politics teacher. Students gathered,

students is so much more than

representing different nations, to

It was a pleasure to welcome so

university

live

discuss important issues like global

many new faces to the 6th form at

by the mantra of ‘not just getting

warming. The process follows the

the start of the academic year. The

into top universities but doing well

way the United Nations in New

first year we had our own students

when we get there’. In the first year

York is actually run. I can see this

moving

LXX

of our existence, we had students

growing each year, and forming a

and they were joined by 14 new

visit from Cambridge University

center piece for the many academic

joiners. Our A-level offering proved

and we asked them what they

enrichment programmes we run.

popular, once again. Unusually we

wished they had known before they

also had 3 students join the XX.

went to university. Surprisingly, no

We would not normally consider

one mentioned anything academic,

students to join mid course but

so we put a programme in place to

this has been no ordinary year.

prepare students more broadly.

from

D

Block

to

Whilst this was challenging, it was impressive to see staff step up and provide catch up and transition classes in addition to their other responsibilities. One of these students already has a place to study dentistry and they are all scoring A grades on a regular basis.

It’s amazing how quickly students adapt to the strong and positive culture we have developed.

applications.

We

It is a year that has been pandemic adjusted. It never ceases to amaze me how resilient our students are.

Exams cancelled last minute... Not a problem. Online learning... Not

Our enrichment programme now

a problem. Back in school at short

covers budgeting, eating healthily,

notice… Not a problem. Regardless

cooking (to mention a few) as well

of the situation, our students’

as all the study skills that students

grades keep improving and their

need. Our enrichment programme

outcomes (see article on university

has focussed on mental health

offers) remain exceptionally strong.

even more than normal, and has

The staff here have a cando spirit

ranged from using mobile phones

and the students are buoyed by this.

healthily to getting a good night’s

Whilst we are all looking forward to

sleep. The importance of exercise is

a ‘normal’ year, reflecting on the

something we stress and 6th form

successes of this year, has made me

We had 4 students in the LXX who

students are becoming increasingly

appreciate how much we can learn

joined us for a temporary period,

active. This is something that will

through adversity. I am very proud

either through exchange or because

be developed even more next year.

of our students who have amply

of the covid situation. It has been rewarding to see that all 4 have

Perhaps

the

most

innovative

addition has been the science of

demonstrated that ‘where there is a will, there is a way’.

UNIVERSIT Y OFFERS UK Aston University Bath University Bristol University Cardiff University Durham University Edinburgh University Ernst and young Glasgow University King’s College London Kingston University Lancaster University Loughborough University Northumbria University Nottingham Trent Queen Mary University of London

Royal Holloway, University of London Swansea University University of Derby University of East Anglia University of Essex University of Hull University of Leeds University of Leicester University of Manchester University of Nottingham University of Sheffield University of St Andrews University of Surrey University of Warwick

NEW ZEALAND Otago University

CANANDA University of Saskatchewan Toronto

THAILAND Chulalongkorn University King Mongkut Institute of Technology Thammasat University

A huge congratulations to all the

students to receive more offers

and I am encouraged to see that

students who already have offers

from universities in New Zealand,

next year there is an increasingly

and a massive thankyou to the

Australia and Japan in due course.

more diverse list of subjects.

The

many staff involved in supporting the process. We have 6 members of staff who support different regions of applications and they have all been busy this year. The average student has secured 3.5 offers with many students applying to multiple locations. Covid has had a profound effect on decision making with many more students choosing to apply to universities much closer to home.

It is pleasing to, once again, see so many Russel group universities on the list. The application cycle is still running and we are expecting

also

We have already started work on the

pleasing to see with students getting

variety

of

next year group who are considering

offers in subjects from Art to Physics.

applications

Our whole person, whole point

countries. The specialist university

philosophy really does come into

application staff will be even busier

its own when students are filling

next year. It is never too early to

in their varied applications. We are

think about university. It is a family

delighted to have our first 2 medical

decision that has large financial

students

who

subjects

will

be

is

to

25

different

studying

and emotional consequences and I

dentistry at Thammasat University

have been pleased to start offering

next year. This is a testament to

support to students and families

the medical programme we have

further down the school. If you

established at RST. Sciences and

would like to have any questions

Economics remain strong favourites

please do get in touch.

Lee May

HOUSE REPORTS

RUPERT BROOKE In barely two years of existence,

that home from home experience that

responsibility within each house in

Rupert Brooke continues to grow

was always our prime intention. A

the fields of sport, service, art, drama,

strongly, not just in numbers but also

special mention here must go to the

music and academia. In the same

in status, establishing itself firmly on

lovely Khun Aim, RB’s matron, as she

order as above, I would like to take this

the RST map as a girls’ boarding house

has played a significant role in always

opportunity to thank Suhavi S, Jessica

which provides a welcoming, caring

willing to give up her time to listen to

F, Polina P, Delight B and Nene W for

and fun environment to be proudly

and help the girls no matter how big

volunteering to take on these roles and

part of. The threat and obstacles that

or small the problem may be.

working hard to prepare and organise

COVID restrictions have thrown at

Looking back at this year, the girls

events pertinent to their field.

all of us during this challenging year

can hold their heads up very high

As Head of House, I would like to thank

have certainly not hampered our aims

for their achievements on the house

Milly H for taking on her role with such

and achievements, which have been

competition front, putting life and

confidence, patience and efficiency.

abundant!

soul into events through a strong

She has been an approachable, reliable

When Rupert Brooke opened in August

sense of team spirit and passion, not

and respected leader of this house

2018, my main goal was to promote

only in the long hours of preparation

and I wish her all the best for her final

a fun and vibrant atmosphere for the

beforehand, but more importantly in

year at RST where she will continue

girls here, not forgetting of course the

the competition itself. A clear example

to represent Rupert Brooke as Head of

importance of developing a strong

of this most recently was the inter-

House. My heartfelt congratulations

sense of community where the message

house drama in which, aside from

also go to Jean W whose caring and

of respect, trust and tolerance were

winning first prize, the judges noted

empathetic nature will make her a

also immediately prevalent. Suffice to

Rupert Brooke’s abundance of devotion

most charasmatic Head Girl for next

say this is by no means a one-person

and energy. It is precisely this sense of

year. What an honour indeed!

job and without the pillars of support

unity and fervour that has helped forge

Although perhaps not mentioned by

that have been my deputy, Claire

our identity, something the boarding

name, I am grateful to every single girl

Hanly, my matron, Khun Aim and the

staff and I have encouraged the girls

in Rupert Brooke for their contribution

magnificent tutor team, Mrs Miller,

to consistently work towards. There

to making the house what it is and for

Miss Tam, Mrs Devesa, Kru Nam-Aoi,

has, quite honestly, never been an

all their personal achievements which I

Mrs Rees and Miss Robinson, I would

occasion, win or lose, where I have not

am sure will continue to flourish.

still be floundering! I am immensely

felt an immense sense of pride towards

In this relatively short space of time,

proud of the boarding staff team and

the girls for giving their absolute best.

it has been so rewarding and a true

cannot begin to thank them enough

In the academic field, the tutors have

privilege to see our girls grow in

for all the hard work they have done to

been invaluable in working alongside

maturity, confidence and character

make Rupert Brooke what it is today.

their tutees, supporting and guiding

whilst

The

true

spirit

of

some

amazing

Brooke

them to achieve their own potential.

moments, many more highs than lows

however lies with the girls, who despite

Like life itself, it can be a rough ride

and certainly a lot of fun and laughter

having so many work and wider school

at times when there is so much to

along the way! I know with hand on

related

learn, revise and apply. It is, however,

heart that Mrs. Devesa and I will miss

time, always seem to fill the rooms and

a battle worth fighting for!

this house dearly. We wish everyone

corridors of the boarding house with

This has also been the year which,

at Rupert Brooke the very best of luck

fun and laughter. It is very rewarding

in line with Rugby School UK, the

in the future.

to see them feeling comfortable and

positions of House Sixth have been

relaxed in their surroundings, creating

introduced.

commitments

Rupert

sharing

during

term

These

are

roles

of

Richard Devesa

SCHOOL HOUSE It has been really good fun being in the boarding house again this year and especially good because I have been able to enjoy leading the boys as Head of House. This is something I am really proud to have done and it has given me great experience of working with so many different people in different areas of boarding and school life. I am pleased I took this role and pleased to have worked with Mr Ennis-Billing in the biggest and best house in RST. Some of the best moments of our year together in School House has to be the house competitions and also the events that we have been able to enjoy. In Sports Day (House Athletics), School House were completely victorious with memorable races including the final of the 100m, when School House had almost all of the finalists, and the 100m and 400m relays, which the School House boys dominated with pace and sprinting power. There were excellent performances from Tan Tharahirunchot, Sean Barrett and the winner of the 100m, Pico Suthumpun.

House Basketball and House Cross Country were other really good successes for us, winning both and enjoying working as a team in these sports. Kei Pohl broke records in the cross country and the boys really supported each other with their performances. In House Drama and House music, we also enjoyed preparing, practicing and working as

a team, led by Pun and also Grahame. Our house song won the ‘people’s choice’ prize which we loved because we put so much work into it and we also showed the other houses what incredible dance moves we have, led by me of course.

We have also enjoyed movie nights and Prefect Team dodgeball. We have had prefect team quiz and also trips to Wisdom and the Outdoor Camp. Most of all we have enjoyed each other’s company and learning about different people in different year groups who come from different places, and we think that is probably what boarding is able to provide.

My time in School House has given me good friends and this year has been good even though we have been off school for much of it.

I would like to thank the staff in the house for giving up so much of their time. Khun Joop, the Ennis-Billings, Miss Passmore, Mr Lindop and all of the tutors are really good to have around the house and they have made this year a time we can be ourselves and help get better at supporting other people.

Overall, I want to say thank you to all of the School House boys who it is great to share a house with. Also, well done to Tan who will be Head of House next year. He will do a great job. I will definitely come back and see the house next year and hope the house can keep doing as well. Well done everybody!

Tim Denisov

SHERIFF Once again the year was disrupted by Covid-19 and as such

a safe space to “chill out” during the day. It became our

we spent a great deal of time away from the RST campus.

home and we were proud to be in it and call ourselves

Although there were many highlights and some fantastic

Sheriff House.

achievements both individually and collectively from the

The sixth formers did a tremendous job of decorating and

Sheriff boys. I was very proud of the efforts they maintained

arranging the room as they saw fit - the trophy cabinet

despite difficult circumstances. At the commencement of

taking pride of place at the top of the room. This turned

the year we forged our identity based on the concept of the

out to be important as we added no less than three trophies

“wolfpack” and the convergent ideas that; “no one gets left

to our cabinet during the year. Sheriff won the Inter-House

behind” and “everyone has a job within the house” - no

football, badminton and table-tennis competitions and

matter how big or small - all contributions counted. This

while the junior basketballers won their league games, the

manifested itself in the smaller moments of peer to peer

seniors could not repeat the heroics of last year.

interactions and also with older boys setting the example

Perhaps most notably however was our performance in

for younger boys. Gradually as the year progressed and the

the House Drama competition. Which this year took on the

absences from school due to various lockdowns continued,

theme of Greek tragedy. Sheriff told the tale of Orpheus

I was uniquely impressed with the dedication and

and Eurydice with literally every boy in the house involved

application the boys showed to their learning away from

in some way on stage. Although not victorious, it was this

school. Building on resilience, and fortitude in overcoming

dedication to teamwork and the “wolfpack” mentality that

the remoteness of online learning and the physical isolation

garnered my utmost respect for the boys. The highlight

of being away from school will serve them well in the years

being the expert student leadership from our LXX director

ahead.

Tim.

We were able to begin the year appropriately and welcome

Of course there were other notable individual efforts

our newest members of Sheriff, the new F-block students.

during the year, Tiger achieved outstanding final results

We also relished the chance to explore and entertain

culminating in offers to Warwick, Manchester and London

ourselves with our delightful new homeroom which the

universities. Chris, our other XX student and Head of House,

boys of Sheriff affectionately entitled “the Den”. Set across

played a special role in Sheriff all year and his academic

two entire classrooms, the room came equipped with

efforts were rewarded with an offer from the University of

a table-tennis table, foosball table and loads of comfy

Nottingham. However perhaps it is better to let the boys

lounges and chairs to hold our daily meetings. After many

speak for themselves, below are some quotes from various

days of playing rounders out in the hot sun, we now had

chaps in the house about their most memorable experiences

a dedicated space of our own with ready made activities

throughout what was a challenging year. I wish them all

to boot! After procuring some plants and beanbags, it was

the very best for their bright futures ahead, it was a joy and

not long before we all felt at home in the den. It became

a privilege to serve them as their leader over the past two

an epic battleground of table-tennis maestros. It became

years.

Charlie This year there were a lot of sports and events but the main one I was looking forward to the most was a Football tournament called Harrow cup. This is a pretty big event for school football that’s why I was looking forward to it. The event happened about a month or two ago. There were a lot of big schools in Pattaya and Bangkok that were in it.

The tournament was quite hard we started off not so well by losing our first game the main reason we lost the first game was because we got there within five minutes to our first game have time to warm up but then after that it started getting better for games in our group we even though we lost our first game we came back stronger and one of her games to play second in our group which put us through to the semi finals.

Unfortunately we lost the semi finals so we did not have a chance to play first or second so we went into the third and fourth playoff restart it again why well it was very even it was no Nella until the last five minutes where we gave away a free kick in a dangerous position and we got punished for it we lost one now so overall it wasn’t a bad tournament as we have only started playing with each other not too long ago we were quite a new team compared to other schools and I think it went quite well.

There were so many memories in F-Block and it’s kind of hard to pick. My proudest moment would be getting selected for the Art competition. Also the sports day when I competed in the 200M sprint. I was proud because I was competing against E-Block girls and they are in the basketball team. I came 3rd which was unexpecting but I’m glad that I at least got a medal and that I have tried my best.

Leo The 1 significant moment of this year was finding cards in the Sheriff house base. When we started the year, we were playing a lot of table tennis. It was fun for about half a term but then we got bored.

One day, I decided to look through our empty cupboards and I found a stack of board games. I saw some interesting ones but then I found the cards. These cards made me bring back memories from my Year 7 field trip where the teacher would play “Cheat” (a fun card game) every lunch break. For the whole Term 2, we would play Cheat in our break times and it’s surprisingly not boring.

Nick I think one of the most memorable moments in school this year for me was in the first term when we had the inter house football. Our sheriff team was very determined to win this event as a lot of our team is in the school football team. Also since football is my favourite sport and the sport I focus most on, I was very determined to win this event. The team worked very hard and we didn’t lose a single team due to our communication and our teamwork. No one was blaming each other and it felt really good winning since the other teams were also consisting of good football players.

Out D to 20 students also won the inter house football and overall we won the whole competition. The team spirit in both teams was amazing and there was a game where we were losing but we bounced straight back up and won the game which gave us a lot of confidence to win the rest of the competition. These wins are also really good because it gives us quite a lot of points for the divisional cup at the end of the year.

Alex Compared to the previous year, this year went by very quickly. The amount of events and fun activities was very big, but the activity I enjoyed the most was house music. In house music i liked the way we all communicated with each other building stronger friendships and meeting new people. During the rehearsal time, me and Zlatan became very good friends which i find really amazing. I always look forward to making new connections but sometimes it can be quite challenging. It was very difficult to make something at the beginning because nobody knew what to do, but it got better every week. Tim took the role of the leader, which meant he was mentoring every rehearsal and practise, giving us tips and feedback which was very helpful.

I got the role of forest nymph which was quite small but fun. Zlatan was in the same scene as me so we spent a lot of time rehearsing together. Finally , when everything was ready, the props, the actors, the music we did our last rehearsal and started preparing for the main performance. Before we started everyone was very nervous and scared but as we performed it went really smoothly. Everyone was very happy with the end result, and it was a great adventure.

Luke It all started on one fateful day, that day was the day that planners would be checked, and I had forgotten to get mine signed. Dreading the punishment I would receive, I slowly walked down to the Webb Ellis centre, where I would have tutor time and be asked for the non-existent signature that should have been on my planner. When I arrived, I sat down and stayed quiet, hoping he would forget, about it, sadly, he did not. And when it came to be my turn to show my signature, 2 other people had forgotten to get it signed, for a total of 3, the magic number, the number of little pigs, the number of porridge’s, and the number of heads on Cerberus. That was my punishment, to be Cerberus in the school play, along with Gain and Jesse, who had also forgotten their signatures.

It was the day of the play, and I had luckily not had to put any hours out of school time into this role and hadn’t had to learn any lines, so it was not a terrible punishment, I performed, and I performed as best I could, always aware of the spotlight, and the eyes staring at me out of the darkness, judging my every move, waiting to pounce on my failures and tear me down for it. Luckily, I got through it unscathed, I was not torn down. I mentally erased the memory of it ever happening and continued life as though it has never happened. But then we had an assembly, a few days later, and in it we would be rewatching our performances, and I had to watch myself from a new perspective, it was very hard to watch, as were the girl’s performances because the girls screamed so much it hurt my ears. I watched myself, it was cringy, but I got through it and never looked back, the same as the cross country.

Sense Consisting of F and E block boys in the team, we had won the boys house football competition, winning the competition with two penalties. Before the match, we had some pressure as the other two houses were skilled players, I had doubted the thought of winning but in the end, we were all there to have fun. The games weren’t as stressful as I thought they would be, our opponents made the match truly entertaining for both us and the staffs as they were enjoying themselves so much that it made me ease up and started playing more efficiently.

Johathan Gillis Mayall

SOUTHFIELD We are a house based on fundamental principles of kindness, fairness and caring. It has been great to have our own ‘house base’ that we have been able to call home.

Well what a year for Southfield, despite it being a tough one in terms of the online learning and restrictions that Covid 19 has brought. We have excelled in many areas of school life. Perhaps the most important is how we have all contributed to the ‘feel’ of the house not only in terms of our new physical space, but also our emotional well being, inclusivity and togetherness. This is a great photo of us all on World Book Day:

It has been a great sporting year for the house

Harry Potter Fans one and all.

OVERALL SENIOR CROSS-COUNTRY RESULT Southfield = 2nd place

The year started with the new F block

OVERALL SENIOR BADMINTON RESULT Southfield = 2nd Place

students joining us and what an asset

OVERALL SENIOR FOOTBALL RESULT Southfield = 1st Place

they have been. Little did we know that

Many students excelled in Sports Day. It was a hot day but at least we were all

the talent extended so far and wide. Most notably our influx of great musicians including KhaoHom H, Charm P and Pleng S. They have been very successful in sports, in particular football, where they should be proud of winning an inter-school competition in Bangkok. Mai N, Minnie N and Victoria A. Participating

sensible with our suntan lotion! These were some of the highlights: OVERALL SENIOR SPORTS DAY RESULT: Southfield = 2nd Place SHOT PUTT Tanya K - 1st place (7.28 m) NEW SCHOOL RECORD JAVELIN Nele H- 1st place ( 17.54 m) NEW SCHOOL RECORD 400 METERS Maya H - 1st place (1.25.00) 1500 meters Victoria A - 1st place (6.48.65) NEW SCHOOL RECORD 1500 meters Katie S - 1st place (7.04.79) NEW SCHOOL RECORD

well in house music and drama saw

Each year the talent within the house seems to grow and grow, we were

good leadership skills from Sasha S.

magnificent in the Art Competition winning it overall with brilliant entries

Perth L was awarded a distinction for her

from Anja M, Pun J, Neney A and Mrs J De V. All remarkably brilliant as you

writing skills in English.

can see

It

is

difficult

to

name

all

the

Sea J and Grace P are off to Bangkok

successful students in the house

to follow their heart to be medics.

but one that should be mentioned

We are sad to be losing our XX this

is Pun J, the 1st student at RST to

year as they have been the glue that

be awarded a COPY for incredible

holds the house together. They are

work in Art, a remarkably brilliant

all incredibly accomplished students

achievement.

that will make their way in the world

It has been a tough finish to the year for all the students but in particular the D block, LXX and XX all of

with kindness, joy and love. We will miss Anja M, Lindsay L, Mayu W, Charlotte C and Lily A.

whom have had to sit their external

Another year over in Southfield,

examinations remotely, to enable

we have had an opportunity to

teachers to provide evidence to the

shine individually and as a house

exam boards. Congratulations to

in all manner of activities. But what

them for their effort, commitment

must stand out for us is the way in

and dedication.

which all the members of the house

We say a fond farewell to Nele and Maya H, both of whom are returning to Germany to finish their education,

have coped with the adversity of Covid. Onwards and upwards for 2021/2022.

Carolyn Susan Pearce

TOWN HOUSE Floreat!

A

Rugbeians understand.

Latin

word

come

to

In

Rugby

that

know

second, we did set an astounding number of new records. Andrew M.

the

set records in Discus, 5 stride jump,

Floreat is the name of the official

and 100m. Louis S. set a new senior

School song, sung enthusiastically

record in the Discus. Vsevolod K. set

at

throughout

a new record in the 400m. Arseny S.

the year. Floreat is used to end

set a new record in the 1500m. In

speeches, and to wish students

other inter-House events we came

well. Floreat embodies the ‘Whole

tantalisingly close to victory, and I

Person’ philosophy which is at

take solace in the fact that the boys

the heart of all that we do. Floreat

were consistent in giving 100% and

recognizes the hope that what we

showing great sportsmanship at all

endeavour to instil in our students

times.

various

events

UK,

all and

will continue to bear fruit for many years to come.

Outwith the significant academic and sporting aspects of life at RST,

This academic year has provided

Town House boys got behind the

the boys of Town House with

RST Make a Difference campaigns

many opportunities, as well as

in a big way, with the driving force

some obvious challenges. At the

of Leon T. who is our Service Sixth.

beginning of the academic year,

In the Rice Appeal the boys and

we were delighted to move in to

tutors brought in a considerable

our new House base. Decked out in

amount

Town House red and black, the boys

House raised the most funds on

quickly made the space their own,

World Book Day, thanks in part to

with a table tennis table, a foosball

additional contributions for Louis

table, and a range of board games.

S. dressing as Captain Underpants,

Inter-House

got

and the final appeal for Baan Jing Jai

under way, with Arseny S (D Block)

Children’s Home was so admirably

coming in first by a significant

supported

margin in the Cross Country, our

received the annual Service Award

first event of the year.

for its support of charitable events.

One of the key highlights of the year

Life at Rugby is busy but immensely

is always Sports Day, and this year

rewarding. The boys in Town House

was no different. The atmosphere

are tremendously involved in many

was fantastic, enhanced by the witty

areas yet are fully supported by

commentating of Messrs Maurice

their tutors in striking the right

and Mayall, and the sun shone,

balance in all that they do. It is this

but not too much. Although Town

balance that defines us and helps

House did not take home the overall

each child flourish. Whole Person,

winners’ trophy, coming a close

Whole Point. Floreat!

events

quickly

of

foodstuffs,

that

Town

Town

House

Andrew Maguire

It was fantastic to welcome the girls into the new house base in September. It is great to have a space within the school building that the girls can retreat to during the day, and we have also used it for various house events and house time. Our first house time of the year saw lots of creative mess as the girls used the time to create artwork

TUDOR

to display in the space. In December we enjoyed a mock christmas morning, complete with gifts, christmas cookies and hot chocolate!

This year has been a fantastic one for inter-house competitions, the

Cross-country - 1st place

results of which can be seen here. Our trophy cabinet is filling up

Basketball - 1st place

quickly and the bets are on as to when we will need to place an order

Sports day - 1st place

for a second one! I’ve been very proud of the spirit and teamwork

Badminton - 3rd place

that the girls have shown at these events, so many often pushing

Football - 2nd place

themselves way out of their comfort zones in order to support each

Art - 2nd place

other.

Music - 2nd place (1st place ensemble) Drama - 2nd place

The girls have worked enormously hard in

And lastly, a message from our 2020-21

all their studies across the year despite the

Head of House, Tanya:

disruptions that have come as a result of the pandemic. We have remained in either first or second place in the credit scoreboard throughout the whole year, with 3 or 4 Tudor girls consistently remaining in the top 5 credit scorers in the whole school. Again, I have been proud of the way they have worked towards this as a team. A particular well done is deserving to Maelys, Memee, Annie, Nicki, NaKyung, Karylle, Leticia, and Rebecca. The introduction of the house spirit award, whilst disrupted by school closure, has worked as an incentive for this.

I would like to thank the Headmaster, House Dean, and girls of Tudor for trusting me with this role and giving me the opportunity to contribute to the success of Rugby School Thailand. It is an honor and a privilege for me to have been elected as the Head of Tudor House. Through the challenges that we went through as a house have obtained us with strong friendships that would last a lifetime. One of the challenges that we had to face as a new house has been developing house

spirit

and

working

together

to

achieve our best as a team. I have enjoyed

In addition to academic studies, the girls

being able to support each girl in the house

have continued to involve themselves in

to become stronger. I have developed not

the co-curricular side of school and it has

only leadership skills but also life skills.

been great to see so many challenging

As a house we have obtained a significant

themselves to take part in new activities.

amount of trophies for winning multiple

One stand out event from this year for me

house competitions through which we

was the school production of Girls Like

have made a lot of memories and strong

That - an incredibly powerful and thought-

friendships. I have personally led Inner-

provoking performance. Well done to Zia,

Art Competition for Tudor House and been

Karylle and Ana who worked so hard in its

responsible for students of each year within

preparation. I have also very much enjoyed

the house to submit their best in artworks

attending the lunchtime concerts that the

leading us to be top 2. Lastly, I would like to

music department have put on routinely

thank everyone again. I hope that the next

throughout the year and various Tudor girls

girl chosen for this role will understand the

have taken part in.

value of education and life skills imparted

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my lovely XX for their contribution to the house this year. Tanya, Hinako, Georgia,

here

at

RST

and

in

Tudor,

especially

that giving back is the most rewarding experience.

Prae and Greta - what a year to finish! Your resilience and determination has been an inspiration.

Anna Lister

RST MAKE A DIFFERENCE CHARIT Y DRIVE

This year saw the launch of the RST MAD

In this way, RST MAD students developed a

activity. Making a small difference in the

healthier sense of self.

lives of deprived people and animals was the founding principle of this initiative. Each term, three local charities were nominated by MAD students, such as children’s homes, dog shelters, people made destitute by Covid and also specific charities like the Chonburi Cancer Unit. In every case and in every place, the need was great. Meeting just once a week, our MAD students designed creative ways to intervene positively, from food donations and paid dental check-ups for orphans, to cash donations and supplies of toiletries and Christmas gifts.

Using the house system and the house Heads of Service, the MAD team reached into the entire senior school body, parents, students and teachers, who in turn responded with overwhelming generosity. The Rice Appeal in Term 1 and the Toiletries Appeal in Term 2, brought forth a huge donation of supplies to local children’s homes, Father Ray Foundation, Take Care Kids and Baan Jing Jai Foundation.

The Hope for Strays and Falko Duwe shelters benefitted from regular supplies of dog food and money. In supporting bake sales, charity

Importantly, our students visited these places

MAD runs and dress-up days, our students

and met underprivileged people and animals.

enabled the MAD team to raise close to 100

If the founding principle was to make a

000 baht in only the first year of operations.

small difference, the essence of MAD was to transform student attitudes and develop lifelong altruism. Students would first arrive for MAD meetings with hesitation at the start of each term and leave with big hearts at the end of it. They came to know that helping one person might not change the world, but it could change the world for that one person.

Our hope is that the spirit of charity will become permanently infused in our school community, and that the associated good feeling that comes from assisting those in need will flow richly through the arteries of the student body, in the years ahead.

Carl Pohl and Judith de Villiers

FAREWELLS musicians and choristers.

The Christmas and Summer concerts, alongside the Carol Service, have become highlights of the school year for many.

Similarly, we have seen excellent results in the ABRSM and Trinity music exams, not least thanks to the individual care and attention paid by Jo and the extra weekend practices that she has willingly offered. And, of course, as Musical Director of the David Dawson, Deputy Head Pastoral

likes of ‘The Lion King’ and ‘Aladdin’, Jo has helped so many

David Dawson joined RST at the very beginning, September

performers to sing with such confidence and joy.

2017, as the Prep School Deputy Head Pastoral, and he has been

Beyond the music department, Jo has been an invaluable member

instrumental in the school’s success.

His sense of humour,

of the Prep Senior Management Team. She has taken the lead

his empathy, his common sense and his willingness to tackle

in organising the whole school International Day celebrations,

pastoral concerns with fairness and understanding have been

coordinated events such as Hallowe’en, and has chaired the

the hallmarks of his very significant contribution to the RST

Food Committee. Jo can return to the UK with her family secure

community.

in the knowledge that she has encouraged and inspired so many

He has provided support and encouragement to his colleagues

children to begin their musical journey, and that the prep music

and he has guided the behaviour of prep pupils with wisdom,

department has been one of the key elements in RST’s success.

care and clarity. As the prep Safeguarding lead he has he has played a key role in ensuring that pupil well-being is prioritised throughout the school. His multi-faceted role also included the organisation of the hugely popular residential trips, and it is thanks to David’s enthusiasm that sailing, kayaking and many other activities have flourished.

The prep children will also remember him for his excellent teaching of Geography and Maths – though perhaps most

Corinna Dawson – Head of Support for Learning

fondly for his performances in staff pantomimes as the ‘oh-so-

Corinna has led the Prep School Support for Learning at RST

beautiful Snow White’ and ‘Baldimort’! David returns to the UK

since the school’s opening in September 2017. Initially her tole

to be closer to his family – not least his new grandson – and

was part-time, but Corinna would invariably work above and

leaves RST in the knowledge that his presence and personality

beyond her allotted hours in order to ensure that her SfL pupils

have made a real and positive difference to the lives of all at RST.

were fully supported. She has a talent for understanding the needs of each student and developing both academics and wellbeing in an enjoyable and caring way.

Beyond SfL, Corinna is passionate about the environment and has led the prep schools eco-drive from the outset. Her Eco-Fair was a huge success and the Eco-garden has been a wonderful addition to the school grounds. As ever, Corinna ensured the children were fully involved at every step of the project – most

Jo Westlake, Director of Music

recently building their own mushroom house.

When the Prep School started there were 67 pupils of whom

Corinna’s

only 4 played an instrument. And, yet, by the end of the very

memorable costumes – not least Mr and Mrs Dawson dressed

first term Jo Westlake orchestrated the first of many wonderfully

as the grandparents from Charlie and the Chocolate factory -

inclusive concerts. The whole school took part and a truly

and who can forget her glorious performance as Dopey in the

impressive xylophone ensemble stole the show. Since then,

first staff pantomime?! And it is that sense of fun, and Corinna’s

thanks to Jo’s passion, commitment and ambition, the music

raucous peals of laughter, that have lifted spirits and entertained

at Rugby School Thailand has grown, not only in the number

RST children and colleagues alike on so many occasions. She

of participants (over 200 prep pupils learning instruments now

leaves to return to the UK with our sincere thanks for all that she

and 12 active ensembles), but also in the quality of the young

has done for the school and its pupils.

creativity

also

extended

to

producing

some

also helped raise the profile of RST prep sport. She successfully coached several girls’ teams, coaxing the best out of her pupils and motivating them to achieve more and more. She has also played a key role in the Young Sports Leaders course, mentoring the participants and encouraging their leadership skills.

We wish Ben and Anna every success at their new school.

Tim Jones - Houseparent and PE teacher Fliss Jones - Year 3 teacher and Houseparent Boarding Housemaster, Acting Director of Sport, PE Teacher, Computing teacher, trombonist, RST Disc Golf course record holder…and new Dad! What a multi-talented chap is Tim Jones, and what a broad and significant contribution he has made to RST over the first 4 years of its existence.

Laura Falconer – Year 3 Teacher

Known for his calm, measured demeanour, Tim’s involvement in

Laura’s contribution to RST as a Year 3 teacher was much

two important area of RST life – boarding and sport – has made

appreciated by pupils, parents and colleagues. She sparked the

a meaningful difference to many. When called upon temporarily

imagination and enthusiasm of her Year 3 class with her creativity

to lead the sports department, he willingly stepped up to the

and her knack of inventing fun games for learning. She was a

plate, and when the opportunity arose to take on the Boarding

fine sports coach and a keen supporter of divisional events. And

Houseparent role, he didn’t hesitate. And in both roles, he has

she was always swift to volunteer to assist with school plays.

led tirelessly and professionally.

Though with us a relatively short time, Laura cheerful, positive

As our first Year 3 teacher, Fliss Jones played a crucial role helping

personality has added a great deal to the RST community and

so many new 7-year-olds thrive in the prep school. She set up the

she will be missed. We wish her well.

Year 3 curriculum and very effectively combined high academic aspirations with a kind and caring approach. Her displays, both in her classroom and Marshall House, are an example to all and create a very welcoming class base for her pupils and boarders.

As Pastoral Head of Year 3 and Boarding Houseparent, Fliss has taken many a pupil under her wing and helped them grow and settle. And, never one to miss an opportunity to dress up, Fliss has somehow found time to produce many wonderfully imaginative

Steve Reid – Year 3 Teacher

costumes, not least as some very colourful characters for World

As an experienced practitioner, Steve brought a great deal to RST

Book Day.

during his brief spell as a Year 3 teacher. Popular with pupils

Tim and Fliss return to their native Australia, with their son

and colleagues alike, he was known for his sense of humour

Freddie, and all at RST wish them and their growing family a

and imaginative teaching. His ‘times table race board’ was

happy and successful future.

particularly effective, and his class loved becoming authors and illustrators for his newly born daughter. His football coaching was first class. We wish him and his young family all the very best as they return to the UK.

Ben Ward – Director of Sport Anna Ward – PE teacher As Prep Director of Sport, Ben Ward played a key role in evolving the sports timetable to accommodate the growing number

Hugh Atkinson – Graduate Assistant Teacher

of pupils, and he has dramatically increased the prep school

Hugh has been an enormously helpful and conscientious

Saturday Sports offering. Other initiatives include the very

Graduate Assistant Teacher over the past year. He had an

successful Aquathlons and the development of comprehensive

immediate and natural rapport with the prep pupils, and he has

websites for Divisional events. As an inspirational coach, one of

willingly given of his time to support his colleagues in all areas of

his sporting highlights must surely be the victory of RST’s U9

school life. He has shown great potential as a sports coach, and

and U11 athletics teams in a recent GBAC event against many

he has displayed his own sporting talents in the many evening

Bangkok international schools.

sports sessions for RST staff. He returns to the UK to qualify as a

Anna Ward’s energy and enthusiasm for all aspects of sport has

teacher, and a very successful career in education surely awaits him.