out aNd about

Theatre Society

On Thursday 27th September sixty students from Years 7 to 9 travelled to The Haymarket to see a production of Michael Morpurgo’s ‘Private Peaceful’. This was a successful introduction to the theatre for many of the younger students. In February, eighty members of the Sixth Form Olavian Theatre society went to The Duke of York Theatre to see ‘The Judas Kiss’ and then saw ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night time’ at The Apollo Theatre, which was a truly amazing production. In February there was also a drama trip to take students in Year 9 and 10 to see ‘Liar, Liar’ at The Unicorn Theatre. The play focused on a girl struggling to cope after her mother leaves home. Aimed at a student audience, the play used contemporary music and audiovisual techniques. The students enjoyed the production and discussed the themes and issues covered with intelligence and maturity.

Young Writers’ Award 2012

Many congratulations to Jack Bradfield (11L), who attended the ‘Wicked Young Writers’ Awards’ ceremony, after being shortlisted, on Thursday 6th December at the Apollo Victoria Theatre in London, the home of Wicked The Musical! Hosted by Wicked star Louise Dearman, the prizes were presented by the renowned former Children’s Laureate and Wicked Young Writers’ Award Chair Judge Michael Morpurgo.

Shakespeare: Staging the World

Just before half-term, Year 13 enjoyed a day in London to a preview screening of a new film version of ‘The Tempest’ followed by a Q&A with the Director Rob Curry and some of the cast members. After lunch the British Museum’s exhibition ‘Shakespeare: staging the world’ proved a rich source of artifacts, video clips and stage design that enriched their understanding of the period, its politics and adventures, as vital context.

Romeo and Juliet at the Globe

Recently Year 7 attended a modern, updated production of this famous tragedy at the Globe in London. Earlier in the term one of their Drama Practitioners had visited St Olave’s to run a series of workshops exploring the language through Romeo’s first speech and the later fight scene with Tybalt.

National Theatre performance of Othello

On the 4th July a small group of English and Drama students saw a superb performance at the National Theatre of ‘Othello’. Rory Kinnear played Iago and Adrian Lester Othello. Nicholas Hytner set this powerful psychological drama in a desert army camp with the cast in combat gear and helicopters delivering new arrivals. The staging was particularly impressive with a rolling set that shifted between office, washroom and bedroom. The students thoroughly enjoyed the evening with several enthusing that it was the best Shakespeare production they had seen!

Speak Out Challenge

Year 9 and 10 students were privileged to take part in two SpeakOut public speaking workshops on Monday 3rd and Friday 7th December, run by external professionals and the Jack Petchey foundation. William Adams (10K) then went on to represent Saint Olave’s at the Bromley regional final where he spoke with great passion on the topic of celebrity. The event was also hosted by Matthew Roberts (11M) a SpeakOut national finalist from the previous year. Two year 9 boys also took part with Samson Woodley (9C) creating an emotive vision of London and Luke Smith (9B) delivering a thought provoking speech exploring the dangers of fanaticism.

arouNd sChool

Utopia Day

On Tuesday 13th November the whole of Year 7 took part in Utopia Day which was a cross curricular event jointly involving the Humanities and English Faculties. The day was launched with an assembly discussing the meaning of ‘Utopia’ and then forms enjoyed a rotation of English, Classics, History and Geography before coming together in groups across the forms to create their own Utopian society, flag and main settlement.

Senior Debating

Raring to go at the start to the debating season, the St Olave’s senior team were keen to demonstrate their oratorical excellence on the motion “This house would abolish the UN Security Council Veto. Two pairs: one from Year 12, Lucas Bertholdi-Saad and Timothy Adelani, and one from Year 13 Aish Pai and Oliver Hamlet at the Cambridge Regional Final at TWIGs on Thursday 7th Feb who acquitted themselves well but got no further. St Olave’s was also represented with two teams in the local round of the Oxford Schools’ Debating Competition and an inter-house competition in the VI Form.

Junior Literature Society (JLS!)

Sinead O’Connor (12I), Camila Arias (12I) and Cameron Garrett (12L) have been running a Junior Literature Society for Years 7-9 in the Main School Library. They have led fun quizzes and lively discussions every week on all eight books shortlisted for Carnegie Children’s Book Award.

Year 7 Inter-house Balloon Debate

On Wednesday 1st May, the Year 7 English house competition took place. Three students from each form represented their house by delivering a speech as their chosen historical figure, persuading listeners that they should be the only survivor in a hot air balloon. We heard from a host of famous names including Charles Darwin, Leonardo Da Vinci and Dora the Explorer, and we were all impressed by the extensive research evident in the speeches and the quality of their delivery. Congratulations to all who competed!

Year 8 Inter-house Story Competition

On Wednesday 25th April three Year 8 finalists from each form represented their house delivering a short story that encouraged listeners to view well known characters in a new light. This included the truth about the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, Rudolph the Reindeer and many others. Particular congratulations go to 8C who won the group prize with their fine storytelling, and to Cian Donovan Taylor (8B) who won the individual prize with his story.

Book Character Day

On Friday 26th April we had ‘Dress Up as a Book Character’ day. For the second year, the school was full of exciting characters from literature, with both staff and students entering in to the spirit of the day. As well as having some fun, we were also raising money for literacy charities and have raised nearly £1500. Thank you to all who took part and supported the event - now start planning for next year’s Book Character Day!

Withwell-stocked libraries in such a school, you might think that one merely sits back and lets the pupils avail themselves of the excellent resources. Not so – quite apart from the ever-used stationery department –librarians are on hand to suggest, locate, talk about, and, of course, buy, books, as well as running a series of extracurricular events. Year 7 were introduced to the library (“It’s so huge!”) in the customary fashion, with lessons including the Dewey decimal system, as well as the now-established reading bingo. Some read more than others, but a substantial number are now to be found regularly within the library. Both libraries continue to be a hive of activity and are very much in use throughout the school day, with some already using the VI Form Library by 8am and others not leaving until required to do so near 5pm, while the Main School Library is now a Year 11 form room, and is used for VI Form lessons, as well as being open to all at Break and Lunch.

This year saw the launch of a Junior Literature Society for Years 7 to 9, led extremely impressively by Lower VI Formers Sinead O’Connor, Camilia Arias and Cameron Garrett. They led fun quizzes and lively discussions every week. We thrived on disagreement - when one person loved a book, another hated it! Whilst reading through all eight books shortlisted for Carnegie Children’s Book Award, we uploaded reviews onto the Carnegie shadowing website. Two days before the award was announced, we conducted our own St Olave’s vote. Our winner was Weight of Water by Sarah Crossnan and we waited in suspense for the judge’s choice. It was controversial. Some were disappointed that Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner was the Carnegie winner and others were delighted. The heated debates (and chocolate) will most certainly return in Autumn.

Friday 16th November also saw eight Bromley schools participating in the Bromley & Bexley ‘Fully Booked’ Literature Quiz. With Olave’s having been reigning champions for seven years out of the last eight, there was considerable pressure on our joint Year 7 & 8 team of Jonathan McCabe, Thomas Halton, Daniel O’Driscoll, Jordan Adesina, Alexander Martin and Rory Yeates Riddoch. They did not disappoint, and, after a brilliant performance, the boys came through victoriously to take joint 1st Place. Congratulations to the team, and many thanks to Mr Budds for his support. We look forward eagerly to returning to the competition in 2014.

Celebrating World Book Day, meanwhile, was an opportunity for a competition which saw many from

Years 7 to 11 discussing books wherever they went. How good are you at identifying the faces of your favourite authors? It sounds easy, but was in fact very tricky. Authors ranged from Austen, Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie to the more contemporary Muchamore and Suzanne Collins. This called for teamwork – or rather, as people realised that the prizes were for individuals, a certain amount of secrecy. In the end, the clever winner was Peter Maslin (Year 10) who won a cinema token and an Easter Egg. Two runners up, Boyan Popov & Ammar Kisat (both Year 8) also won an Easter Egg.

In these straitened times, all departments, sadly, must tighten their belts, and the Library is no exception to this rule. Towards the end of the year, we said goodbye to Mrs Sebborn, and wish her the very best in her new job in Bexley, as she returns from Library work to school administration. She will be greatly missed by all, especially those who were frequent visitors to the Main School Library. Sadly, she will not be replaced – thus saying that she is irreplaceable is literally true, for once! –as one librarian will now oversee both libraries.

In addition, as I write this in November of 2013 – thus breaking my own rule that The Olavian should strictly keep to the one year – we have also, sadly, come to the end of an era, with the departure of Mrs Humphries. Joining the school in 2006 as the VI Form library was about to open, originally under Mrs Lodge, Mrs Humphries later rose to become Senior Librarian and will be remembered by many VI Formers as someone to whom we could always talk, and, in particular, from whom we could always ask for and receive lots of advice about universities and careers –which, over the years, she had become an expert in.

After October half term in 2013, an interregnum, which will last for a month or so, now occurs, before we welcome the new full-time librarian from Croydon Libraries. It must be emphasised that the library would simply not be able to continue without its many Library Assistants from Lower and Middle School. Helping out ‘behind the desk’, they have been – and continue to be, especially at present – invaluable. The year 2012-13 saw a vast team of Years 7 to 11 help as assistants, and many have continued into the new year. Their names are a tad too numerous to print here, but we are enormously grateful to them all.

Floreat

Bibliotheca!

Peter Leigh Student Assistant Librarian