St Benedict's News - Lent Term 2022

ST BENEDICT’S

NEWS

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LEN T TER M 2022

Dance Show 2022 – Myths & Legends – pages 22/3

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M headmaster@stbenedicts.org.uk

F St Benedicts School, Ealing •

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HEADMASTERS’ INTRODUCTIONS Dear Parents, It has been another incredibly busy term, with many prestigious academic achievements, co-curricular triumphs, and memorable events. We have enjoyed a fabulous production of ‘Joseph’, an excellent Dance Show, and an uplifting 120th Anniversary Concert. There have been many sporting highlights, including the U16 rugby sevens team winning the All England tournament plate competition, the U12A hockey team winning the London area cup and the netball U12s winning the first Emmaus Schools tournament. The St Benedict’s Lecture series has continued, with talks on Afghanistan and climate change. Finally, it was wonderful to celebrate St Benedict’s Day again, which is a valuable opportunity to focus upon our values as a Benedictine school.

With my best wishes for a very Happy Easter,

Nursery children had fun baking delicious gingerbread this term.

Andrew Johnson Headmaster

Dear Parents, The children have been very busy, with school trips, and numerous music and sports events throughout the term.

It was so lovely to be able to welcome live audiences once more to the School Challenge Quest presentations, Dance Shows, Lenten Assemblies and Reflection, and the Spring Concert. St Benedict’s Day was a great success and thank you for supporting the charity fundraising for Downhurst Residential Care Home, Foundation of Goodness, and The Lily Foundation.

ST BENEDICT’S NEWS

I wish you a very peaceful and relaxing Easter and look forward to welcoming you and your children at the start of the Trinity term for what promises to be a wonderful summer.

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With best wishes,

Rob Simmons Junior School Headmaster

EPQ Success Upper 6th EPQ students who submitted their research projects last year have received outstanding results, despite the difficult circumstances of the pandemic. 80% achieved A* and 93% were awarded A*to A, with three students being awarded full marks: Stella Burgon (Female War Artists), Layla Ruffini (Racial Diversity in the GCSE History Curriculum) and Rhodri Darwent (Mental Health Provision for Young Adults in London).

OXBRIDGE NEWS

Five U6th students have received an offer of a place to study at Oxford.

Congratulations to: James Hunter Angelica Lawson Richard Mercer Jin Tao Wang Niall Wynne

Modern Languages at Christ Church Classics at St Anne’s College Geography at Jesus College Engineering at Lincoln College Physics at Corpus Christi College

Oxford University Computing Challenge Eight students have achieved Distinctions and Merits in the prestigious Oxford University Computing Challenge. This is an invitation event which aims to encourage students who have achieved a top 10% score in the UK Bebras Challenge to develop their skills further and produce programmed solutions to computational thinking problems.

Congratulations!

Lewis Hoffman (U4)

ST BENEDICT’S NEWS

Mehdi Darwish (Distinction; F3)

Freddie Ruzicka (U4), Gabe Soriano (L6), Lettie Stevenson (Distinction; U4), Freddie Lumsden (U4), Samuel Balogh (U5), Alfie Shilling (U4)

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THE JUNIOR SCHOOL SPRING CONCERT The Junior School choirs, orchestra and many instrumental ensembles performed a wonderful range of music with a 1990’s theme, alongside pieces by Mozart, Vivaldi and Bizet. It began with O Fortuna from Carmina Burana, used in many films, followed by A Whole New World from the Disney film Aladdin, produced in 1992. It closed with the iconic theme tune from the TV show Friends and two Britpop songs from Oasis.

ST BENEDICT’S NEWS

The children’s talent and sheer musical enjoyment shone throughout the evening, as their parents enjoyed a wonderful evening of ‘90’s nostalgia! Many thanks to all the music teachers, especially to Mr Field, Head of Junior School Music.

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ST BENEDICT’S NEWS

Ex WINTER’S BITE VI Sun 13 – Tues 14 Feb 2022, Pirbright

Ex RECRUIT THUNDER I CCF HALF TERM EXERCISES

Many of Wilding had already passed their CCF (Army) Advanced Proficiency fieldcraft module, but those who achieved it on this exercise were:

Ex RECRUIT THUNDER I

LCpl Jenkins, Cdts Azar, Burke, Gould, Munier, Pereira L., Thornton, and Wilson.

Fri 11 – Sun 13 Feb 2022, Pirbright Congratulations to the 35 Recruits – mostly Year 9s – who completed Ex RECRUIT THUNDER I, which was a very challenging introduction to living in the field, with two nights sleeping in the open air. We know that they all learned a great deal about themselves and the other Recruits in their sections, and are proud of the way in which they stayed positive and enthusiastic under adverse conditions.

ST BENEDICT’S NEWS

On the basis of this exercise these Recruits have passed two modules of their CCF (Army) Basic Proficiency: Basic Expedition & Exercise, & Basic Fieldcraft.

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Well done to all who attended Ex WINTER’S BITE VI, the hardest exercise which our CCF conducts. Over three days and two nights, in the February cold and rain, 36 NCOs and Wilding Troop Cadets conducted advanced field training at Pirbright. Activities included setting up platoon harbours (and moving them when necessary), fighting patrols, recce patrols, observation posts, ambushes, section attacks, and night navigation, all whilst under unpredictable threat of attack from the seniors, acting as insurgents of the Stoney Castle Underground Movement. We were impressed by their determination and good humour.

LCpl Alice Jenkins (Year 12), Rcts Jake Bowden, Zac Bowden, Fedor Chilcott, Bennie Davis, Hannah Dormann, Samuel Egert, Manan Galoria, Isabel Girgis, Viliam Gordon, Isabel Hay, Alex Healy, Lewis Hoffmann, Tisha Maroo, Isabel Murphy, Henry Newman, Keigo Ong, Tommy Suckley, Sota Tanaka.

A further 16 Recruits from Cardinal Wiseman also passed.

This means that they are eligible to wear their Basic Fieldcraft qualification badge, and have also achieved their Half Red Star qualification badge. These were presented at parade on Mon 21 Feb. Cadets’ comments:

They therefore earned the right to wear their Advanced Infantry badge, which was presented at the next parade (Mon 21 Feb).

The CCF is nothing like any other club you can do as a school activity, and you get to share it with your friends. The best part of the exercise was firing the rifle and learning how to make our platoon harbour safe. The best instructor was Drum Major Ahmad.

Fedor Chilcott I got to try multiple new things I would have never thought of trying before. I didn’t enjoy the lack of sleep; however, I saw this as part of the fun experience. I would have liked to do more patrolling and fewer revision lessons. It was an amazing experience that I want to do all over again.

Thomas Suckley

I really enjoyed the fact that we were allowed to take greater control of the experience. It was really refreshing to able to control what we wanted to do. It was nice to feel as if we were making a difference, rather than just running serials. This really allowed us to build teamwork, and everyone felt as if they were valued.

Firing blanks was fun and I really enjoyed the long march through the woods. I think everyone did a good job on instructing, and I learned new things while I was there.

Hannah A (Cardinal Wiseman)

The safety staff made the event very enjoyable, making sure we were safe and had fun but not pressuring us into changing our plans to what they thought was best.

Cpl Christopher Vaughan (Year 12)

ST BENEDICT’S NEWS

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Ex WINTER’S BITE VI

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Collection for Ukraine The Chaplaincy and SVP teams sorted donations from St Benedict’s families for Ukrainians forced to flee their homes. Thank you to everyone who contributed tents, sleeping bags, first aid materials, toiletries and toys, which were sent to the Polish/ Ukraine border.

CCF Honour for Cdt Sgt Rami Ahmad Our citation for Rami reads (in part) as follows:

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Rami was a founder member of our Contingent’s Corps of Drums, & since taking over as Drum Major in September 2021 has led it with tact, stringent standards, & an attention to detail which has made it our School’s ‘goto’ group for public occasions; last term alone, the Corps of Drums performed at the Greater London RFCA Awards evening & two events for the School’s 120th anniversary, & attended the National Cadet Music Concentration in October.

ST BENEDICT’S NEWS

We are delighted that our Drum Major, Rami Ahmad (L6) has been awarded this year’s Cadet prize from the Worshipful Company of Tylers & Bricklayers.

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Every year a City Livery company presents an award to one member of adult staff and one Cadet, both belonging to any Royal Engineers badged Cadet unit within London District. The award consists of an engraved medal, certificate, cheque for £100, and an invitation to a formal lunch at Trinity House.

“Rami is one of only two members of his year group to have been appointed a Troop Sgt, in his case of Teeling (Recruit) Troop. The responsibility of leading a team of six members of his own year group as they have trained our 82 new Recruits from September 2021 has not daunted him; Rami has been active in allocating teaching to those best suited to deliver it, always willing to get stuck in himself when occasion demands. His bearing & turnout reflect his high personal standards, & he has proven excellent not only at drawing problems to our attention but also in helping to solve them. His popularity with his peers & juniors is a tribute to his fairness, competence, & natural authority.

“The past two years have not been easy, & one of the obstacles which Rami has faced in developing as a leader has been the cancellation of training activities & courses. He has attended every event which we have laid on, which has included an NCO Cadre (at which he shone in every assessment, including leading a section in the field); he has also completed his Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s Award with the Contingent. His willingness to learn, one of the key traits of a good leader, is evident in his approach to everything which he does. We value him very highly and he is a credit to the Royal Engineers cap-badge which he wears.

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On Saturday 12th March 2022 the day finally arrived for the German students and teachers to meet this year’s St Benedict’s exchange pupils.

The next day, after Mass at the Abbey Church, we were treated to drinks afterwards, where the newly formed duos chatted and were introduced to other participants in the exchange.

Some people then went to Westfield and played mini golf, some decided to venture into central London, and some relaxed.

On Monday, the German students had a tour of the school and attended lessons. For periods 5 and 6, there would be an exciting encounter, as the exchange partners would be taking on ‘Freddie Whyle’s XI’ in a football match at Perivale. The game ended as a 5-2 win for Freddie’s team.

On Tuesday we all met again at Park Royal for a meal at Nando’s followed by bowling. It was a brilliant evening, and we all enjoyed ourselves very much.

On Wednesday we all headed for central London, for a tour of Westminster Abbey and then a brilliant performance of ‘The Lion King’.

On Saturday, we bade our exchange partners a sad farewell. The German exchange was a brilliant experience, and we are all looking forward to the second leg of the exchange, when we shall travel to Meschede and experience life in a German school!

Ich freue mich darauf, im Oktober nach Deutschland zu fahren!

Joe Crammer (L5)

ST BENEDICT’S NEWS

German Exchange March 2022

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Fundraising activities

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Liz from the Lily Foundation talks about the charity’s work

ST BENEDICT’S DAY 2022 We enjoyed a terrific day on Monday March 21st for St Benedict’s Day, which is a valuable opportunity to focus upon our values and ethos as a Benedictine school. Bishop John Sherrington led our celebratory Mass. As it is our 120th Anniversary, students prepared material to be included in a time capsule, which we will invite our successors to open in 30 years’ time. In the afternoon, various fun fundraising activities took place, in aid of the Lily Foundation (which fights mitochondrial disease), Downhurst Residential Care Home and the Foundation of Goodness, a charity in Sri Lanka supporting rural communities. We raised an amazing £6,422!

ST BENEDICT’S NEWS

Preparing the contents for the 120th Anniversary time capsule

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ST BENEDICT’S

MUSIC FESTIVAL St Benedict’s Music Festival concluded with the Finalists’ Concert on Friday 4th March, with brilliant performances from the winners of each heat. It was adjudicated by Lucy Morris, Principal Conductor of the National Youth Choir of Great Britain Boys’ Choir.

As ever, a range of extremely impressive performances, on piano, woodwind, strings, percussion, guitar and voice, presented the adjudicator with a formidable challenge in deciding the winners.

The annual Music Festival is a great opportunity for all our musicians to develop confidence and performance skills. In the preceding week the Heats adjudicator – Tomas Leakey, founder of the Mahler Players chamber orchestra, and Diploma Examiner for ABRSM – heard and gave feedback to over 240 solo entries from pupils in Form 3 to the Sixth Form.

ST BENEDICT’S NEWS

In addition to the 21 solo performances, the audience enjoyed wonderful ensemble performances throughout the evening.

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WINNERS Flohouse Cup Rory Johnston (U4; Saxophone): Sonata – Victor Morosco Senior Section Cup Ned Watts (U5; Cello): Vocalise Op. 34 No. 14 – Rachmaninoff 2nd: Lucas Holmes (U6; Voice): Music of the Night (The Phantom of the Opera) – Lloyd Webber/Hart/Stilgoe 3rd: Risindu Samarakkodi (U5; Drumkit): Hall of Fame – The Script Intermediate Section Cup George Majcherczyk-Olczak (U4; Voice): Nuit d’etoiles – Debussy 2nd: Helena Ramsden (L5; Violin): Sonata in A minor ‘Arpeggione’ (1st movement) – Schubert 3rd: Luke Crown (U4; Percussion) ‘Mia and Sebastian’, theme from La La Land – J Hurwitz Junior Section Cup Jake Toynton (L4; Clarinet): Allegro (1st Movement, Clarinet Quintet K. 581) – Mozart 2nd: Aimee Paget (Form 3; Voice) She used to be mine from Waitress – Sara Bareilles 3rd: Jessica Williams (Form 3; Piano): Jazzin’ Grace – Wilkinson

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ST BENEDICT’S NEWS

St Benedict’s students, alumni, staff and professional soloists gave a wonderful concert to mark the School’s 120th Anniversary on Saturday 26th March in Ealing Abbey. In the opening words of the Director of Music, Mr Eastwood, the evening was “a wonderful celebration of music, faith, hope and joy”, as musicians from the age of 11 upwards came together to perform three major works.

The concert opened with Haydn’s Symphony No. 104, its dramatic fury, lyricism and exuberance beautifully conveyed by the St Benedict’s orchestra.

Next came the premiere of a new commission: ‘Soul’, for choir, chamber orchestra and organ by alumnus and composer Samuel D. Loveless (OP 16). “‘Soul’ is a work that looks at the essence of what it means to be part of the St Benedict’s community”, said Samuel, who is in his final year of a Masters in Composition at the Royal College of Music. “It’s a celebration of people, friendship and family, and what we can achieve together. The text is minimal in length but vigorous in substance – hope, faith, life, love and dream, joy, truth and soul, from E.E Cummings’ poem ‘Hope’”. ‘Soul’ is influenced by the wide range of choral music Samuel sang as a chorister at Ealing Abbey, from plainsong to Poulenc.

Reflecting St Benedict’s motto, A minimis incipe, the piece grows “from small beginnings” to an exuberant finish dominated by the joyful harmonies and rhythms of African music.

Finally, the St Benedict’s Consort Choir and Orchestra returned to the music of Haydn, with a wonderful, uplifting performance of his Nelson Mass (later catalogued as the Missa in Angustiis). They were joined by four excellent soloists, soprano Iúnó Connolly, mezzo-soprano Rebecca Stockland, tenor Tom Cragg and baritone Theo Perry.

ST BENEDICT’S NEWS

The Headmaster, Andrew Johnson, said: “This was the most wonderful concert for the School’s 120th anniversary, with amazing performances by our talented musicians. It was made even more special by the premiere of ‘Soul’, an intriguing, beautiful piece which was perfect for the occasion.”

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TH ANNIVERSARY

ST BENEDICT’S NEWS

CONCERT

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AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOUR DREAMCOAT Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat (3rd–5th February) was an enchanting and uplifting display of the best of St Benedict’s music, dance and acting.

ST BENEDICT’S NEWS

Narrators Lucas Holmes (Act 1) and Elena Russo (Act 2) brought to life the biblical story of Joseph and his jealous brothers. Rhodri Darwent’s performance as Joseph was outstanding, and his powerful delivery of ‘Close Every Door to Me’ left the audience in awe. Equally impressive were the brothers, Potiphar (Elikem Nornoo) and the Pharoah (Theo Zachariou). Their rendition of ‘Go Go Go Joseph’ exuded sheer joy and enthusiasm and exhibited the talents of the wider cast.

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Special mention must also go to the chorus and band, who brought energetic vibrancy to the classic musical numbers. No less than professional in quality, the set design and costumes provide a further dash of West End glamour.

This production was not only the swan song of the class of 2022 but also of Ms Ravenscroft who, for many years, has staged memorable performances.

Given the breadth of talent on display, the future of St Benedict’s productions looks bright.

Catriona Edwards (U6)

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ST BENEDICT’S LECTURE SERIES ‘Afghanistan: Hope or Despair after the Western Evacuation?’

Shabnam Nasimi

(Monday, February 28th)

‘Climate Change’ David Saddington ST BENEDICT’S NEWS

(Tuesday, March 22nd)

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Climate change activist and enviropreneur David Saddington engagingly informed us of the history of the earth’s climate which he then linked to the world we live in today. He emphasised the importance of saving the planet and made us all aware of the steps we must take to be as eco-friendly as possible. This is something the school is striving towards, with new

recycling strategies, energy saving tips and encouraging sustainable transport. One of the most important steps Mr Saddington advised us to take is to cut down on our meat consumption – something the school is attempting with our ‘meat-free Mondays’.

As aspiring climate activists, three of us had the opportunity to chair the discussion. Mr Saddington helped encourage us to make small changes to our school life to reduce our carbon footprint.

Henry Rust (L6)

Science Week at the Junior School

ST BENEDICT’S NEWS

Exciting workshops were held throughout Science Week, with all classes from Nursery to Form 2 encountering some new aspect of the scientific world. Children learnt about electromagnets, transistors, engineering, rainbow bubbles and much more. Thanks to Professor Renaud and his team from UCL.

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THEOLOGY AND PHILOSOPHY CONFERENCE As part of our 120th anniversary celebrations, a Theology and Philosophy Conference was held at St Benedict’s on Friday 28th January, for all students in the Upper and Lower 5th, and those studying A Level Art and Religious Studies.

We were delighted to welcome keynote speakers Dr Gabriele Finaldi, Director of the National Gallery, and Professor Christopher Megone, Professor of Interdisciplinary Applied Ethics at Leeds University.

Dr Finaldi gave an insightful tour of ‘Spiritual passion in National Gallery paintings’. This was followed by a talk on ‘Faith, Reason and God’s role in a sustainable future’ from Professor Megone.

ST BENEDICT’S NEWS

Mark Wallinger/St Paul’s Cathedral

Dr Gabriele Finaldi

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Competition Debut for the ‘Benebots’ Robotics Team St Benedict’s new Robotics Team took part in the VRC Tipping Point – Vex Robotics Competition – on 29th January at Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet, where the ‘Claw’ stormed into action!

Congratulations to team members Gabe Soriano, Thomas Gordon, Jonathan Cronin, Savo Stojsavljevic, Ryan Carter, Robert Jeffries, Haaris Noordin, Aamile Depal and Andrew Khadouri.

Tipping Point is essentially a complex, two-on-two game where you hoard as many objects on the field as you can. A total of twenty-two teams took part, some seasoned veterans and others new players like us. With a win-loss count of 6-4, our team placed 8th out of 22. Our robot’s strange design made it a crowd favourite and many could not figure out how to deal with our unorthodox strategy. However, due to a field issue, we had to redo our Semi-Final round and sadly lost when it really mattered.

Our success in this competition was a great display of our potential and I am very much looking forward to the future of robotics at St. Benedict’s.

Gabe Soriano (L6)

Chemistry Olympiad Gold Awards Felix Mac-Fall, Jin Tao Wang and Niall Wynne (U6) have achieved Gold awards in the first round of the 2022 Chemistry Olympiad. Only 8.9% of almost 9,000 participants achieve Gold, which places them amongst the top Chemistry students in the country.

ST BENEDICT’S NEWS

Niall Wynne, Dr Ragga, Felix Mac-Fall and Jin Tao Wang

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DANCE SHOW 2022 MYTHS & LEGENDS Over 100 St Benedict’s dancers, from Pre-Prep to the Sixth Form, performed in a dazzling dance show on 17th and 18th March.

Coralie Payne (OP) was a very special, and unexpected addition to the programme: the war in Ukraine forced her urgent return from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy, Moscow, where she is in the first year of a four-year diploma course.

Her journey, complicated by flight bans, included a 700 km taxi to St Petersburg, and a further 400 km by bus to Helsinki.

With thanks to Ruth Kestenbaum and Christopher Aguilar for producing such an excellent show.

Superheroines (F1 & F2)

The Jester (PP2)

ST BENEDICT’S NEWS

The Leprechaun (PP3)

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Coraline Payne (OP)

Order and Chaos (L5, U5) Queen Midas and her Golden Touch (LP)

Mythical Beasts (L4)

Reign (Sixth Form)

ST BENEDICT’S NEWS

Fountain of Youth (F3, L4, U4)

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SPORT ST BENEDICT’S

RUGBY

FENCING

Following a very successful Michaelmas Term, with the 1st XV finishing 3rd in the National Daily Mail Merit Table and our U12s winning the Middlesex Cup, this term has seen further progression. There was another notable 1st XV victory over Northampton School and the 2nd XV came 3rd in the Calm Cup (which supports the mental health charity, Calm.) 15 St Benedict’s rugby players are now involved in the London Irish DPP and Academy programmes, with Tyler Offiah and George Simpson representing London Irish Academy U16s vs Bath earlier in the year.

It has been a busy term with 151 fencers representing St Benedict’s at over 50 matches, fixtures and events.

The most impressive results include: winning six out of seven matches against Latymer Upper, five out of six against Eton, seven out of nine against Highgate and all four matches against Westminster. The U15 and U13 Foil A squads have manged to remain unbeaten throughout the season!

Twelve fencers qualified to the National Championships with Jake Bowden, Zachary Bowden (U4), Oubai Chbib (L5), Dexter Shelmerdine and Christopher Vaughan (L6) all medalling at the London Youth Championships.

Special congratulations go to U15 Foil captain Tom Dobbin (L5) who has gained two national circuit bronze medals this term and signed to join the Fencing Academy.

U16s All England Plate winning 7s squad

ST BENEDICT’S NEWS

Half term saw the return of the rugby 7s season. The U16s won the All England Plate Competition; the U14s came 2nd in the Orleans Park 7s Tournament; and the 1st VII achieved an impressive quarter final place in the U18 Surrey Sevens Competition, losing to a well-established Harrow side.

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Rounding off a successful season, the U12s have continued their journey with the U12Bs 7s winning the Reigate 7s Bowl Competition (beating several A team sides in the process) while the U12As have won both the Dulwich U12 7s competition and the London Oratory 7s competition coming from two tries down to beat Whitgift 15-10. In the Rosslyn Park National Schools 7s, both the U14A and the 1st VII managed to progress to ‘Day 2’, reaching the quarter final stages of the National Plate Competitions.

Mr James Coles (Director of Rugby)

Meanwhile, we are looking forward to our first ever fencing tour to Paris in December.

Mr H Sadiq (Head of Fencing)

JUNIOR SCHOOL SPORT HOCKEY U11 London Area Finals – Monday 14th March Results: Won 1-0 vs Holy Cross (Scorer: Kanika Sandhu) Lost 2-3 vs St Thomas’ Clapham (Scorers: Kanika & Miyabi Said) Won 1-0 vs Broomwood Hall (Scorer: Miyabi Said) Player of the tournament was Lois Hand. Special mention to our goalkeeper Mia Sonahee Winter who made lots of important saves throughout.

Mr J Nijhar (Head of Hockey) Greater London Tournament – Friday 4th March The U12s played mature hockey to become champions, defeating Highgate 4-0 in the final. They now progress to the London area tournament.

(Scorers: Saoirse Field, Iona Keenlyside and two from Arabella Wiseman.)

Mr B O’Hara (Acting Head of Girls’ Games/Deputy Director of Sport)

UP netball festival UP netball festival

U16 National Finals day – Nottingham, Monday 7th February 2022 After winning the London ‘sub area’ Finals (formerly Middlesex) and then the London Area Finals, the U16 girls successfully qualified for the National Finals in Nottingham.

They finished 7th in the country which is an amazing achievement. An exciting future for this age group!

Mr D Condon (Hockey Coach)

NETBALL

ST BENEDICT’S NEWS

The U12 netball team, winners of the first Emmaus Schools tournament

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Ten children from Lower Prep to Form 1 shared their enthusiasm and knowledge in a wide range of topics in this term’s School Challenge Quest. Having carefully researched their chosen subjects they gave polished presentations to an audience of parents, pupils and staff and were awarded Gold, Silver and Bronze certificates.

THE SCHOOL CHALLENGE QUEST

Presenters and chosen subjects: Why smoking should be completely banned (Gold) Evie Beake (LP)

Why do people need Sport? (Silver) Naomi Pantea (LP)

The mystery of black holes (Gold) Aayushmaan Choudhry (UP)

The Tudor Period: what else was going on in the world?

(Silver) Becky Ramsden (F1)

Nuclear Power versus Renewable Energy (Gold) William Pokorny (F1) How our lives have been influenced by the Ancient Greeks (Gold) Claudia Scott (F1)

ST BENEDICT’S NEWS

Animals in Greek Mythology (Silver) Wilfred Holland (F1)

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Plastic in our oceans (Silver) Niamh Kelly (LP)

What was life was like for a Roman soldier and how does it compare to today? (Bronze) Martin Bittini-Berrocal (LP) Motor Sports: Should children be allowed to take part?

(Bronze) Nathanial Hodge (LP) Master of Ceremonies: Zak Vosser (LP) Technical assistance: William Pokorny (F1) Adjudicator: Mrs Clemency Stimpfig

NEWS DEVELOPMENT & ALUMNI RELATIONS

Dear Parents,

Thank you for your tremendous support of the St Benedict’s Giving Week.

With your generosity we have now raised just over £100,000 for our Bursary Appeal, Music and Cricket projects.

We are very grateful to everyone who participated in this Week of Giving, including all our parents, Old Priorians, staff and students who all helped to make this year’s Step Up to Support campaign such a success.

For anyone who hasn’t yet seen our thank you message please do so here.

SPF Quiz Our popular parental quiz returned this term and congratulations to the Gould family table who are our 2022 winners. All proceeds raised from the evening are being donated to the Ukraine crisis.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our families a happy and peaceful Easter break.

Best wishes,hes,

Save the Date: Bursary Ball On Saturday 25th June we will be hosting our first ever Bursary Ball.

The Ball will be held at Perivale and promises to be a wonderful evening. Tickets and further information will be available shortly.

Annual OPA Golf Day Our very popular St Benedict’s/OPA golf day will be held on Friday 10th June at Ealing Golf Club.

Tickets can be purchased via our online booking system. All levels of golfers are welcome.

There are also separate tickets available for the post-golf BBQ.

Heads of School Dinner In early February we were delighted to welcome back former Head Boys and Head Girls to School for a 120th Anniversary celebratory reunion Dinner. It was lovely to welcome and meet Heads of School from 1954 to 2019.

ST BENEDICT’S NEWS

Tara George Development & Alumni Relations Director

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