The Columban 2020 by St Columba's College

Issue 19 Autumn 2020

The Columban

THE MAGAZINE FOR THE FAMILY OF ST COLUMBAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S COLLEGE

Welcome

ISSUE 18

Issue 19 Autumn 2020

Headmaster’s Welcome

The Columban Editorial Team

Contents

Sophie Skilton

College

Bella Frost

200 Years of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart

Design

Co-education at St Columba’s College

The Collective Design

Remote Learning

Columban Service During COVID-19

Photography Various

Prep School 18

Welcome from the Head of Prep

A Spectacular Prep School

co-education from 2021

Developing Life Skills

St Columba’s College

Senior School

Cover Picture St Columba’s is moving to

King Harry Lane

Exploring the World

St Albans

Sport for All

Beyond the National Curriculum

Careers

Hertfordshire AL3 4AW T: 01727 855185 E: collegeadmin@stcolumbascollege.org www.stcolumbascollege.org

Old Columbans

www.columbannetwork.org A Brothers of the Sacred Heart Foundation Charity No 1088480

Brother Clement’s Farewell Letter

Your Columban Community

Columban Doctor on the Frontlines

Welcome to this latest edition of The Columban which records life across the College community over the last year - and what a year it’s been! The coronavirus pandemic has forced all of us to adapt our lives and our ways of doing things. When lockdown began, the College switched, very successfully, to a full remote learning programme. ‘Necessity is the mother of all invention’ and lockdown education brought out so much creativity and innovation across the whole College. You can read about our virtual music productions and PE lessons, virtual school trips and the way in which the school community has rallied together to support those most affected by coronavirus, not least, by helping to provide PPE. Read also, the article by Nader Khan (CO9) a doctor who works in one of the busiest A&E departments in the country about the challenges that his team faced and the personal sacrifices that had to be made.

There will be a feature on Br Joe in the next edition of The Columban. Daniel and Clement have given so much of their lives to St Columba’s, particularly Brother Clement. At the end of his 60 year association with SCC, I know that Br Clement was so much looking forward to welcoming the first girls to the School in what is the next chapter of the College’s development. Unfortunately, that wasn’t to be, and health reasons meant he had to return home. When the girls arrive in September, I’m sure we will be able to Zoom him back virtually. More on our exciting move to co-education in the next edition. In the meantime, keep safe and I hope you enjoy reading this edition.

David Buxton Headmaster

Coronavirus also made saying farewell to people very challenging as we were unable to do this in person. Both Brother Daniel and Brother Clement moved back to the United States at the end of last term and Br Joe Holthaus has joined us as Dean, moving in the opposite direction.

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College News

200 years of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart The year 2021 marks the Bicentenary of the foundation of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart by Father André Coindre in Lyon Father André Coindre lived in France at a time of great social, religious and political upheaval. The silk and textile industries, the largest employers in and around Lyon, had been brought to the brink of collapse in the years following the French Revolution, and the Napoleonic Wars had decimated a generation of young fathers. Without parents to care for them, and with no other support system available, large numbers of orphans, some as young as eight, were housed in prisons and hospitals.

His journey from viewing the sufferings of the young people, to experiencing deep compassion and then acting to alleviate that suffering was recognised by the Church as a ‘charism’ – a gift given by the Holy Spirit to an individual for the good of the whole Church. Under Father André’s successor, Brother Polycarp, the Brothers of the Sacred Heart underwent a period of tremendous growth. In 1847 they established a presence in the United States, and by the time of his death in 1859, there were more than 400 Brothers in 70 schools. Today, Father André Coindre’s charism thrives in the educational tradition and communities of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart schools around the world.

Moved by their plight, Father André raised funds to help these boys and girls, and in 1821 he established a religious institute of consecrated men, the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, to serve them.

St Columba’s College

Bishop Guertin High School

St Albans

Nashua, New Hampshire

Saint Stanislaus College

Mount Saint Charles Academy

Bay St. Louis, Mississippi

Woonsocket, Rhode Island

Catholic High School

Msgr. McClancy Memorial High School

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

East Elmhurst, New York

Cor Jesu College

Brother Martin High School

Digos City, Philippines

New Orleans, Louisiana

E. D. White Catholic High School

Saint Joseph High School

Thibodaux, Louisiana

Metuchen, New Jersey

Vandebilt Catholic High School Houma, Louisiana

Co-education at St Columba’s College The year 2021 is going to be a really exciting one for St Columba’s as the College prepares to welcome girls for the first time ahead of a phased transition to full co-education. Our first group of ‘Pioneer Girls’ is starting in Reception in January 2021, followed by girls into Year 1, Year 2 and Lower Sixth. Some of our very first girls, the future Class of 2035, are following in the footsteps of their Old Columban fathers. We can’t wait to welcome more OC sons and daughters into our community over the coming months and years.

Discover more about co-education at St Columba’s www.stcolumbascollege.org/co-education

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College News

Brother Clement Retires after 60 Years Aptly, Br Clement arrived in England by sea on the Queen Mary in 1955 with the other three founding Brothers (Victor, Eugene and Peter) and left St Columba’s in September 2020 with a socially distanced guard of honour from the present College community. The 65 years between these two events speak for themselves – Br Clement’s presence at SCC has been foundational to the very bricks and mortar of the school community in both the physical and spiritual sense.

For four American Brothers to take over the running of St Columba’s in 1955 after Philip O’Neill founded the school in 1939 was an enormous leap of faith. As recent arrivals to the UK, the brothers knew little of the local St Albans area or the English educational system. It is testimony to the work of Br Clement and his peers that the school has grown to the scale that it has with its fine reputation for academic excellence and pastoral care. With confidence that the Lord and the community would provide, combined with a hands-on work ethic in which they asked nothing of others that they wouldn’t do themselves, St Columba’s College and the Sacred Heart Junior School were built. The positive impact on the lives of young men and their families over that period of time is immeasurable and I know that Clement always sought to make a Columban education accessible to as many boys as possible. For many young men, their school experience was truly transformational. So many Old Columbans and their families have remained in close contact with the College and Clement personally over the years. Page | 6 of 60

During the 65-year journey, Br Clement has held a variety of roles – teacher, Deputy Headmaster, Headmaster (1980-88), Careers Counsellor and, since 1995 right up until his very last day, the College Archivist. This is not bad for a 91-year-old. In all of these roles Clement played a key part in forming the distinctive culture of this school; intricately sowing the threads of the BSH charism throughout the whole community tapestry, its structures, its people and its practices. This is the powerful SCC community ‘intangible’, the ‘je ne sais quoi’, that is noticed and warmly commented upon by all those who pass through our doors and spend more than an afternoon here. In a world in which vocation and formation have been largely replaced with concepts such as transaction and targets, these essentials are all the more vital and intrinsic to who we are. We thank you Clement for allowing those of us who have followed you to be able to build upon this secure and very human foundation. Former students, staff and parents will no doubt have their own memories of Br Clement and their own stories of the significant impact he has had on the last 65 years of the school’s history – it would be too numerous to record here. However, for the present College community, Br Clement is by no means a brother who, with advancing years, has retreated back to Watling House never to be seen in the school. Far from it. Br Clement still attended our morning staff briefings, INSET days (he was still doing his own CPD). Up until last year, he inducted every new Form 1 boy into the history and ethos of the school, giving them all a tour. (Coincidentally, or call it providentially, Br Clement passed by my office as I wrote these lines). Br Clement was, in recent years, the College flag keeper; hoisting the correct flag up the College flag pole in accordance with protocol on the appropriate feast days.

It was always amusing for us to watch the way Clement, who became such a proud, adopted Englishman, gave such serious regard to these traditions. On further reflection this is no surprise for a man who took such meticulous care of the College Archives. Clement always knew the importance of history and the need to preserve it. Clement taught St Columba’s that each student’s historical relationship with the College does not just exist for the duration of his time at school, rather, each student was and is a Columban for life and therefore photos, cups and personal stories needed to be preserved for posterity. A strong community needs a story to live by. The honour of maintaining the College Archives is being taken on by Br Nelson. Br Clement tells me that he is very much looking forward to seeing the first pictures of the girls arriving at SCC in September 2021 as our history and story move forward in a new and exciting direction.

community. We thank you not only for the many things you have done and the roles that you have held here, but especially for the witness and role model that you have been to us. May we, the current stewards of the College, draw inspiration from you.

David Buxton Headmaster

We are all so sad to see Br Clement leaving us, and I know that this has been a very difficult decision for him too. For his own health care, we know that it is for the best and we know that he remains with us here in St Albans in spirit, willing us on and keeping us in his prayers. The abiding presence of the Brothers generally, and Clement in particular provide the school with the unbroken link of fraternal succession back to our origins and foundation. They remind us that we will always be a ‘Brothers' School’. I know that one day the visible presence of Brothers in the College will not be there (may that day still be a long way off). In the meantime, Clement we thank you for the blessing you have been to this school

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College News

Tribute to Br Daniel St Jacques position of allowing so many of us to process and share our hopes and fears and our joys and sorrows. We are deeply grateful to him for this. I’m sure he knows better than most the adage that ‘there’s now’t as queer as folk’.

Sadly for St Columba’s, Br Daniel returned to the United States in September for a new assignment as Counsellor at Vandebilt High School in Louisiana, USA. Br Daniel spent a total of 17 years at St Columba’s over three separate stints and he was deeply respected by staff, students and parents. Br Daniel worked most recently as College Dean and School Counsellor and was also a member of the College Leadership Team. With senior College students, Daniel developed our highly innovative, peer to peer, Mentoring Programme in which older boys are trained to support younger students who were struggling. Over the years, the Mentoring Programme has supported many Columban boys who were facing some kind of difficulty or crisis in their life. Br Daniel was the person who put the ‘community’ C into St Columba’s ‘par excellence’; always understanding that it is people, not processes or policies that make a place function. Daniel was always the man to arrange the social gathering in order to bring people together and to oil the community wheels. Unbeknown to him, it earned him the nickname Br Buffet.

In a world in which we hear so much said about mental health, stress and anxiety in society at large, the role of the School Counsellor is so important and to have a Counsellor like Br Daniel was a real gift. I always wondered how Daniel managed to keep his profound sense of calm? I never witnessed him stressed about anything and this calm disposition of a man at ease in his own skin and content with the world rubbed off on others. In Jungian terms, Br Daniel was certainly a man who had his ‘shadow’ well under control, though I suspect that his calm disposition was as much the product of his deep faith as it was good self-management. During his last week at SCC I happened to notice a book on Br Daniel’s desk entitled ‘Surrounded by Idiots’ and queried whether this was what he really thought of us? I was relieved when Daniel enlightened me that this was not the case, rather he was preparing himself for the crazy socio-political world of the deep south of the USA. Good luck with that Brother; their gain is certainly our loss. We all miss you.

A Change in the Chair of Governors Although not a member of the College staff, on behalf of the College community I acknowledge the outstanding contribution that Jackie Harrison has made in an 18-year association with the College; as a parent and then 16 years as a Governor; the last 9 years as Chair of Governors. In an ever more complex environment for independent schools, stable governance is vital and Jackie has always provided this. She has led the Board wisely over this period of time, using the 3 Cs of courage, courtesy and compassion as her compass. The sheer amount of time she has voluntarily devoted to St Columba’s can only be comprehended as an expression of the devotion that she has for this community. It is ironic, as we stand on the threshold of the College moving to co-education, that Jackie has probably spent more time in this place than either Anthony, her son, or Giles, her husband, who are both Old Columbans. The role of Chair of Governors has now been taken on by Kevin McGovern, who has been a Board member for the last five years. Kevin knows and understands the College very well as well as the commercial context in which we operate. Kevin’s two sons, Rory and Jamie, were both SCC students. Kevin is very much looking forward to leading the Board and supporting the College in the next, coeducational phase of its journey.

David Buxton Headmaster

Br Daniel’s ability to attentively listen to people in a nonjudgemental manner and to put them at their ease was a remarkable skill. He always had time to give to people and modelled the virtue of availability which is so much part of our BSH charism. Over the past 17 years Daniel has been propping people up and putting them back together when they needed help. As Counsellor, he sat in the privileged

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College News

Thank You Marcos Ioannou At the end of the last academic year we said goodbye and thanked Mr Ioannou. Some of you may not realise that this is actually the second time we wave him goodbye and wish him well! Mr Ioannou joined the Prep School as a form teacher in 2001. He quickly settled in and despite his serious demeanour the staff soon found that it hid a man with a dry sense of humour. I can also tell you that he has an amazing knowledge of films and a particular love of the whole Star Wars franchise. However, in 2004, after three academic years, he was made an offer he couldn’t refuse and left us to take up a management position at a school in Warwickshire. All was not lost though as he must have missed us too much and decided to return to St Columba’s as the Pastoral Deputy in 2007. Since returning, Mr Ioannou has had the opportunity to show us the scope of his skills. He successfully managed and developed the ICT curriculum as well as ensuring that the pastoral care continued to be of a high standard. He is an excellent administrator and has an eye for detail for which the leadership team were very grateful. As an avowed Francophile Mr Ioannou and Mr Clarke soon bonded over trips to Lille and beyond; and older boys enjoyed the chance to practise their French on trips abroad. The highlight of the French café, introduced by Mrs Almond and later run by Mr Clarke, were the delicious snails in garlic butter cooked by Mr Ioannou himself. The annual fun trips to theme parks were also in Mr Ioannou’s remit and the necessary paperwork including risk assessments were managed by his watchful eye. Of course, he always joined the trips himself as he loves the adrenalin rush of the fast rides.

Merci Patricia Almond

During Mr Ioannou’s years as Pastoral Deputy, a role he held for some nine years, he aimed to balance encouraging the best behaviour from all with ensuring opportunities for fun. He developed the behaviour ladder so that boys and staff had a clear picture of ‘good’ behaviour but were also aware of the consequences of inappropriate behaviour. However, Mr Ioannou also introduced the biennial ‘Columba’s Got Talent’. He was always the host of this extravaganza where the boys, and sometimes the staff, were invited to show off their many and varied talents from acting to singing to magic shows and so much more. Here we saw the other side of Mr Ioannou. Who could forget his Elvis impression! The move to Academic Deputy and finally to acting Joint Head allowed all to see the breadth of Mr Ioannou’s ability. As the Academic Deputy and for a while also the SENCO, he was able to support pupils’ learning, helping them to achieve their own best standards. His own teaching was consistently well prepared and delivered with a demand for high standards. This last year has proved a testing time for all. The effect of the coronavirus and subsequent lockdown has meant many changes for everyone and has proved to be very demanding. I’m sure that, despite missing his fellow teachers and the community itself, this last year will mean that Mr Ioannou will be ready to take life a little easier and, whatever challenges present, none can be as tricky as this year. We wish him all the best in his retirement although, knowing him, I’m sure he already has plans as he is not a man to sit idly at home. We wish a final farewell to Mr Ioannou and look forward to hearing about the latest development in his plans.

Mr. K. Boland Deputy Head of Prep

Trish Almond joined the Prep School (then called Sacred Heart Junior School) some twenty-six years ago. Mrs Almond was able to bring her creative flair and innovative ideas, quickly becoming very popular with the boys who enjoyed her ability to teach a wide range of subjects from maths to English to art, French, Spanish and much more. For many years Mrs Almond was also the drama teacher who devised, managed and produced the Prep Six end of year play. At that time this meant rehearsals over weekends and half term; holiday time which Mrs Almond gladly gave to ensure that the plays

arrived as customers. Mrs Almond’s colleagues both then and now, acknowledge her commitment to be the best she can be. Lessons are prepared with confidence in subject knowledge and delivered with authority. She would always go the extra mile to ensure that the needs of each boy were accommodated so that those in her care made the best progress. Her lessons were fun as she would never just repeat last year’s course but always looked to revise and enhance what had worked well the previous year, discarding anything that she regarded as substandard.

Her colleagues found her to be supportive of them. She is a talented teacher able to turn her hand to the many varied demands of teaching. The school motto translates as ‘Heart Speaks to Heart’, and Mrs Almond lives out this motto as her heart has always been open to every pupil she has taught. She will be missed. However, we all wish Mrs Almond a welldeserved retirement with more time to walk the dog, read widely, travel abroad and at home; along with, after some 26 years, whole evenings with no marking or lesson preparation.

Mr. K. Boland Deputy Head of Prep

Tribute to Tom Clarke

Mr Clarke has been an integral part of our team at the Prep School for nine years. After a brief stint in finance and teaching in London for a year, he moved to St Columba’s where he completed his NQT year under the mentorship of Miss Leahy. During his time here,

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went ahead, even though it also meant bringing in her husband to help her paint scenery and prepare props. Another of her passions, her love of languages (she studied French and Spanish at university) meant she led the language teaching in the Prep School for many years. Her lessons were always highly interactive and it was Mrs Almond who introduced the French café which, every year, not only filled the school with the smell of garlic butter and chocolate croissants but also allowed the Prep Six to play the part of waiters (always with berets and fake moustaches) practising their French on the rest of the school who

Mr Clarke has shared with the boys his passion for languages and social studies; he is particularly passionate about creating wonderful trips and experiences which are often the memories that the boys hold with them long after leaving the Prep. Mr Clarke is responsible for introducing and organising the Prep Five French trip, the Prep Three camp out, the Lower Prep Tour de France and the annual trip to the Christmas markets. He is never short of staff who willingly volunteer to help him with organising these events

as he is such a wonderful person to work with! Mr Clarke shows true compassion to all and he is a brilliant role model for the boys in the Prep. Not only is he a kind and genuine man, but he is also an exceptional teacher who has taught across both the Upper and Lower Prep. In fact, the boys who were lucky enough to be in his Prep Two class will have moved into their final year at the Prep School. I have no doubt that for many of them, Mr Clarke will be a teacher that they will never forget.

Extremely versatile and unfailingly willing, Mr Clark is a true all-rounder who is just as at home in the English classroom as he is on the sports field. He is just as comfortable in a suit and tie as he is in rugby kit, football kit and cricket whites. It has been a privilege and a pleasure to work with this fine gentleman. He has left behind an incredibly positive mark on the Prep School and he will be truly missed by both boys and staff.

Mr. K. Boland Deputy Head of Prep

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College News

Remote Learning Prep School Reception Superheroes Our Reception superheroes helped out at home and completed their ‘super deeds’.

Lower Prep PE Lessons The Lower Prep kept active during lockdown with Mr and Mrs Batten’s virtual PE lessons.

EECA Day During the remote EECA Day, students took a virtual tour of the British Museum, listened to a talk from artist Martin Impey and received UCAS advice, amongst other activities. They also undertook a service activity, which included cooking for their family or neighbours.

Sixth Form Designing Theme Parks Prep 6 designed their own theme parks drawn to scale in Maths lessons with Mrs Lewis.

Virtual Musical Productions Mr Bailey produced online mini musicals with Prep 3 and 4, as well as an online musical production of ‘Porridge’ with Prep 5 and 6 for their end of year production. Learning from Home The Prep School got stuck into remote learning and were ready to learn from home.

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Senior School

Upper Sixth ‘Moving Up’ Programme The Upper Sixth took masterclasses in subjects and vocations they intend to pursue at university, including Engineering and Law.

Columba’s Got Talent The virtual Columba’s Got Talent competition saw students from across the College show off their talents, including singing, cooking and surfing.

DT Projects Design Technology students in the Senior School created prototypes and models from their homes.

Whole School Virtual PE Challenges The Columban community kept active through the PE Department’s virtual challenges, including the SCC Virtual Decathlon.

Pet Photo Competition The Prefect team organised a pet photo competition, with 70 entries of pets learning from home.

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College News

Columban Service During COVID-19 Lenten Appeal

Donating and Making PPE

Helping Neighbours

Volunteering for the NHS

The Columban community donated over 260kg of food and household items and over £1,700 to local foodbanks.

St Columba’s donated goggles and glasses to the NHS, whilst Ms Treacy, Mrs Lorman and students made approved PPE.

Pedro Gomez-Jones (Form 3) has been shopping and cooking for his elderly neighbours; Guy Prunty (Form 5) cleaned windows of his neighbours who were selfisolating; and Adam Cang (Form 5) volunteered in his community.

Ben Goldsmith (Lower Sixth) volunteered at Watford General Hospital, tidying the site. Cormac James (Upper Sixth) volunteered as an NHS Community Responder, and Mr Livesey gave over 1500 hours for the NHS.

Fundraising for the NHS

Acts of Kindness

Supporting Mental Health

Columban Key Workers

Dillon Smith (Form 3) completed the ‘Run 5, Donate 5’ challenge, Freddie Sparrow (Prep 6) cycled the 300km from London to Paris in 3 weeks and raised £1340 for NHS Charities Together. Miss Maton raised over £2500 for the NHS by cycling over 300 miles in 13 hours.

As part of their service activities for the remote EECA Day in May, students wrote letters to residents isolating in care homes.

Fundraising for Local Charities

Mr Livesey has been volunteering as a mental health mentor for MIND Mid Herts. The SCC pastoral helpline and other services including regular phone calls home provided key support for students during lockdown.

Old Columbans have been working tirelessly as key workers, including Derek Spranger C78 who is a Security Officer for the Red Cross in El Salvador.

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Tommy Harris (Form 1) completed a 20km cycle ride in aid of Herts Vision Loss, so that they could continue caring for people during lockdown. Ms Meigh has been making masks to raise funds for CAFOD.

Supporting the Local Community Ms Meigh helped to organise and deliver food to local families who normally receive free school meals.

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College News

AVERS E ’ L

Congratulations to the Class of 2020 on their A Level results and for progressing onto their chosen university. We are so proud of the resilience and strength that you have all shown during this unprecedented time, and we wish you all the very best for the future.

University Destinations 1. Academy of Contemporary Music 2. University of Aberdeen 3. Aberystwyth University

4. University of Bath

TIN A TIO N

5. University of Birmingham 6. University of Bristol

Prep Prefect Team

7. City, University of London

92%

8. University College London (UCL) 9. Coventry University 10. University of Edinburgh 11. University of Exeter

of students were accepted to their first choice university

12. Falmouth University 13. King’s College London, University of London

Prefect Teams In becoming Head Boy, it

Senior Prefect Team

is evident that my identity and other peoples’

Head Boy

Charles House Captain

Martin House Captain

14. University of Leeds

Ahmad Zargar

Riley Pullan

Matthew Turner

15. University of Liverpool

Deputy Head Boy

Guertin House Captain

McClancy House Captain

James Deeks

Cameron Meadows

Harry Lewis

Deputy Head Boy

Joseph House Captain

Stanislaus House Captain

use this influence to bring

Harry Preston-Jones

Paul McLeod

Eliot Hannah

about change in the best

16. Liverpool John Moores University 17. Loughborough University 18. University of Nottingham

perception of me has changed dramatically, in an inspiring way but also places responsibility on my shoulders. I aim to

interest of Columbans.

19. Nottingham Trent University 20. University of Oxford 21. Oxford Brookes University

15 16

Jack Rogers

Daniel Baylis

Billy Gregory

Danny McDaid

Michael Hawker

Jack O’Kane

Harry Price

Conor McLeod

George Hall

William Toland

William Russell-Page

Ahmad Zargar, Head Boy

22. University of Reading

23. Royal Holloway, University of London

24. University of Sheffield

Prep Prefect Team

05 09

25. University of Southampton

26. Staffordshire University

20 21

27. University of Surrey 04

28. University of Warwick

Other Destinations

Army

Art Foundation Fire Service Flight School

I’m delighted to be Prep Head Boy. Although this year is

different to before I’ve had a good few weeks taking part 08

07 01

in Masses, assemblies and shooting a video for our virtual open day. It’s great to see everyone back at school, old and new, and we look forward to an enjoyable year together. Arthur Pitts, Prep Head Boy

Head Boy

Fisher House Captain

Arthur Pitts

Ollie Green

Deputy Head Boy

More House Captain

Jonathan Barton

Callum Robertson

Deputy Head Boy

Head Chorister

Shayan Desai

Otto Davis

Alban House Captain

Sacristan

Luka Seagrave

Charlie Lavin

Becket House Captain Joshua Allen

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Prep News

I would like to say that I am honoured to be offered this opportunity as Head of the Prep School, and I relish the new change and challenge that it will undoubtedly bring. The first thing that will spring to one’s mind is Sixth Form to Prep? From 18-year-old young men ready to embark on university courses or an apprenticeship to 4-year-old children worried about starting school and leaving their parents’ sides. Whilst it does appear one extreme to the other, I am delighted to keep working within the Columban community and feel privileged to be only the second person to oversee these different key stages, following on from Brother Roger who was also Head of Sixth Form back in 1980-1989 and subsequently Head of Prep in 1989-1995. I joined St Columba’s College back in September 2002 as a 25-year-old History teacher having just completed a year in Thailand teaching English, and I was delighted to join such an established and welcoming History team. I was enthused to be offered the chance to perfect my craft and see such passionate teachers who could inspire the students. I also led History trips to China, Russia, Germany and Senior Football tours to Valencia, Seville and even Bath. I accompanied other colleagues on magnificent and enriching trips to the USA, Canada, Brussels, Zambia and the Battlefields to name just a few. These experiences, coupled with leading the 1st XI football team for 7 years, gave me a chance to really get to know the students and see them in a different context. In 2005, the House system as we know it was created, and I was fortunate to be placed in the position of leading the newly established Guertin House. For 7 years I was leading the ‘Green Machine’ and it was a fantastic time. I was supported by so many helpful parents and students who helped us in the Columban Fayre and many other House activities. The greatest highlight was watching the pride the boys showed time and time again in their House activities. I enjoyed seeing those boys that joined Guertin in Form 1 develop into fine Upper Sixth students. After 7 years I felt it was time for a new challenge and I was appointed Head of Sixth Form in 2012. This role combined both academic and pastoral pressures, but it was made easier by such a fantastic group of boys. Their sense of humour and desire to lead different aspects of school life was a joy to behold. It is important to retain perspective at this crucial period in their life. They are growing up quickly and there is such a pressure on them to be the best. Societal changes have only heightened this anxiety in the last 3 years. We try and guide them to make informed decisions and to enjoy their daily experiences.

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Prep News

Welcome from the Head of Prep The truth is when you meet the young men at alumni events or by chance, we reminiscence over the good times but they don’t necessarily recall their actual A level results per se. The Brothers of the Sacred Heart founder Father Coindre was clear in one of his objectives. We must strive to ‘teach them how to make a life, not a living.’ Education and the Columban experience are much more than just academic attainment. I have always been so pleased to see the students grow into fine young men who are successful in their own areas whether it is fashion, banking, marketing, music, hospitality and events, gaming, law or even teaching!

the foundation of all learning. I look forward to witnessing and nurturing a child’s curiosity and zest for learning and turn that into something that lasts for life. I am very happy to keep working with many of my senior colleagues and friends, but also to get to know, and work closely with our great Prep staff. I wish to keep and enhance the ‘family feel’ and vibrant community that already exists.

I have excellent memories of my 8 years as Head of Sixth Form and the colleagues I worked with. However, I feel I have accomplished what I set out to do and sense it is time for fresh blood and new ideas. The human touch at St Columba’s has always stood out for me. The tireless dedication of staff shows that teaching is a vocation each day. The students attempting to break a World Record, along with their fantastic devotion to CAFOD and their collections for food banks or House charities speak volumes. On a personal note, I will never forget how both staff and students were so supportive to me in 2012 and 2013 when I lost two brothers prematurely and was simultaneously trying to run a Sixth Form.

St Columba’s has always been a second home to me since I arrived 18 years ago and it has provided me with fond memories, challenge and experience. I would like to thank all of my colleagues and friends I have had over this time and am grateful for the support that the Brothers, Headmaster and Governors have shown in me. I want to continue to help educate children on life, help create adventure and know that moving forward resilience and positive interaction will be of more significance than ever before.

I feel privileged to be joining the Prep School at this exciting time as we transition to co-education, and welcome girls into the Lower Prep from 2021. I can’t wait to know each and every student and parent in the Prep. Having two children aged 7 and 10, I am also relishing the chance to work in the embryonic stages of education,

I hope to bring my whole school expertise and link the 4 to 18 journey and understand that we need to ensure that children’s social and emotional wellbeing is as well catered for as their academic needs. I believe children learn better when they are happy and know they have a voice.

Mr. R. McCann Head of Prep Twitter: @StColumbasPHead

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Prep News

A Spectacular Prep School Science Week

Competition Success

Creative Arts Week

Vibrant Virtual World

Inter-House Cycling

Prep 6 displayed their work at the Science Fair, the pupils saw the stars in an observatory, took part in workshops and walked the catwalk in a recycled fashion show.

There was success for pupils at the Science, General Knowledge and Maths Quiz Club competitions!

The Prep School got stuck into beatboxing, dancing, graffiti art and creating a wonderful mural during Creative Arts Week.

Pupils adapted brilliantly to a successful remote learning programme, and then began to return safely back to school.

Pupils in school and at home took part in an Inter-House Cycling Competition, cycling the distance to Lyon.

Community and Spirituality

Columban Fayre

Football Champions!

Christmas Productions

Bringing Learning Alive

The Columban community has supported the charities Open Door and REDS4VEDS. We also celebrated Masses in school and virtually over the year with Brother Nelson.

Pupils helped to run the stalls at another successful Columban Fayre, and Becket House were the winners in the Prep.

The Colts A football team won the Wix 7-a-Side Cup final!

Christmas saw the Lower and Upper Prep Nativity productions, pupils singing carols in the community, and Christmas Jumper Day in support of Home Start Herts.

Learning comes to life in workshops and visits, including from the author of the Jamie Johnson football novels, Dan Freedman.

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Prep News

GREAT OUTDOOR LEARNING

STREAMED PHONICS

AFTER SCHOOL CLUBS AND CARE UNTIL 5.30PM Page | 22 of 60

WEEKLY SWIMMING LESSONS

HIGH QUALITY MATHS AND LITERACY TEACHING

DELICIOUS HOT LUNCH SERVED EVERY DAY

FOREST FRIDAY HIGH QUALITY PASTORAL CARE

LIFE IN OUR RECEPTION

SPECIALIST FRENCH, IT AND MUSIC LESSONS

BREAKFAST CLUB FROM 7.30AM

Prep News

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Prep News

Above and Beyond Prep 1

Prep 3

Prep 4 learning about teeth and which mouthwash is the best.

Prep 1

Prep 1 read ‘Bear Snores On’, which inspired them to write their own stories, researched endangered animals and made smoothies based on instructions they had created! Weekly trips to the forest enrich their classroom maths learning, and activities include making patterns, counting, matching and number stories.

Prep 3 studied soil on an exciting trip to Amersham field study centre!

Prep 4

Prep 2 Prep 2 designed and made their own Viking longships, learnt about the Great Fire of London and visited St Albans Abbey.

Prep 5 Reading ‘Bear Snores On’ in the forest!

Prep 3 In Science, pupils enjoyed learning about plants, wildlife, their own skeleton, the mysteries behind forces and became soil and rock detectives!

Prep 4 Prep 4 learnt about the digestive system, electricity, habitats, teeth (keeping them clean and what drinks are harmful!), sound pollution and made their own soundproof headphones!

Making smoothies

Prep 4 visited the Mitsubishi plant to learn about sustainability and also learnt about the Egyptians through workshops.

Working on story plans

Prep 6

Prep 5 Prep 5 became ‘BBC News’ correspondents and used green screens and creative scripting to produce stories, including how St Albans City FC won the FA Cup! Prep 5 also developed their coding skills and created their own games. Prep 5 studied a wide range of books that have developed their analytical skills. Pupils also enjoyed creating their own imaginary lands, turning them into real books!

Prep 2

Prep 6 Alongside the curriculum, Prep 6 have taken part in cool maths games including designing theme parks and ‘Murder Mystery Maths’. In the DC Beagle Maths Challenge, Prep 6 came 1st out of 59 schools! Prep 6 have learnt new skills, including: music producing, video editing, coding and creating trainers, clothing and collages. Prep 6 are well equipped to show anyone how to do many things on a computer!

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Prep News

Developing Life Skills At St Columbaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s we pride ourselves not only on academic and sporting excellence, but facilitating the formation of well-rounded young people who are equipped to deal with the many trials and tribulations which the modern world can throw at them. In the Prep, this is particularly visible through our Life Skills Programme. Staff work closely to ensure that the pupils experience a rich and varied curriculum which affords them many opportunities to try new things, acquire new skills and push themselves in often challenging circumstances, stepping out of their comfort zones and confronting their fears.

Sewing

Practical Skills

Lessons cover everything from sewing on buttons to simple seams, and making the ever-popular Sock Monkeys!

Essential practical skills including wiring plugs, fixing punctures, safe fire lighting and cooking are taught.

Once pupils reach Prep 5 they have a weekly timetabled Life Skills lesson, which covers a wide range of topics and culminates in the Prep 6 trip to the Lake District. Here, each pupil is encouraged to set their own goals and to reach (and in many cases exceed) their expectations, facing their fears and finding out who they really are and what they are capable of. It may be something of a clichĂŠ, but our Life Skills Programme creates true Columbans!

Mr. E. Sullivan-Pond and Mr. M. Turpin

Team Building and Problem Solving

Engineering Skills

Pupils work together to overcome a range of challenges and obstacles, whilst understanding how we all have different skills and abilities, all of which have value.

Challenges include building the tallest tower, the infamous egg drop challenge and other group construction projects.

Communication During the remote learning programme, pupils explored cryptography, using semaphore and Morse Code to effectively send and receive messages.

Orienteering and Map Reading

Exploring our Natural Surroundings

The pupils learn to navigate, orienteer and read maps using coordinates and compass bearings.

Pupils learn to identify trees and plants, conduct tree surveys, grow herbs using homemade propagators, and explore the medicinal properties of herbs and spices in the now infamous tasting session.

First Aid The pupils are equipped with the knowledge to deal with a range of emergencies, including CPR, the recovery position, bandages and rapid response treatment.

Harrison and Oscar in Prep 6 show their models of the respiratory system

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Prep News

Prep Sport

Rugby

This was a fantastic year that was cut short from an incredible finish. Unfortunately, the entire cricket and athletics seasons and some of the rugby and football seasons were cancelled. Football We had some excellent fixtures throughout an exceedingly busy football season, with all boys from Prep 3 to 6 taking part. The Colts A team had a fantastic season; they were runners-up in the ISFA Herts Regionals and qualified for the ISFA National Finals, to be held at St George’s Park (England’s training centre).

In rugby we managed to complete a whole season before unfortunately losing our 7s season to the pandemic. The major focus in all of the age groups has been to equip boys with the fundamental skills to make good decisions when under pressure, and then to apply this learning in inter-school fixtures. A major highlight of the rugby season continues to be the annual Prep 6 non-selective, five-day Dublin Tour. All the boys improve their skills with extended training sessions and matches against three fantastic rugby clubs: Navan, Malahide and Coolmine. On the tour, the boys also had the opportunity to learn some traditional Irish games, including Gaelic football, Hurling and Handball!

Later in the season they faced Wheatfields in the St Albans area final of the Wix 7-a-side Cup competition. This was a tight affair and was 0-0 at half time, before the teams exchanged three goals in 7 minutes with St Columba’s taking a 2-1 win! The team’s other success was in the Wix 9-a-side County Competition. They played a tough semi-final at King James School that was deserving of a final; at full-time the teams were level at 2-2. In extra time the boys finished the game winning 4-2, securing their place in the final. Unfortunately, the Wix 9-a-side final was also cancelled, but nevertheless what a season the boys had!

List of Prep Sports:

Cross-Country The cross-country season was a successful one with our U11 team winning three of the five races and coming second in the other two, which was good enough for them to be announced as overall winners of the St Albans District league!

List of Prep After School Clubs:

Football

Hockey

Art

Gospel Gang

Rugby

Rugby 7s

Basketball

LAMDA

Cricket

Tennis

Brainiac

Mindfulness

Swimming

Cross-Country

Chess

Mini Enterprise

Athletics

Fencing

Coding

Musical groups (Strings, Choir, Band, Samba, Bells & Ukulele)

Basketball

Computer Construction Cooking Fencing Funky Fingers Golf

Swimming Our swimming team hosted a large number of strong swimmers in Prep 6 who put in some excellent performances at various galas. However, the season was cut slightly short, but our Prep 6 team would have been very close to winning this year.

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Puzzles Rugby Tots Science Quiz Warhammer

Mr. M. Turpin Head of PE & Games, Extra-Curricular Activities Co-ordinator Twitter: @StColumbasPSpo

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Prep News

Prep Music and Drama The sound of music can always be heard in the Prep School, and boys enjoy music making, learning through a broad range of practical musical experiences drawn from different times, places and cultures. All pupils sing in various year group choirs and give at least two major performances in the year. Many join the extra choirs and bands that rehearse during lunchtime and take part in extra performances at concerts and events.

Prep News

Choirs and Bands: Bell Choir

Prep Choir

Chamber Choir

Samba Band

Guitars

String Ensemble

Lower Prep Choir

Ukulele Group

Orchestra

Wind Band

Prep Band

Instruments: Bassoon

Oboe

Cello

Percussion

Clarinet

Piano

Djembes

Saxophone

Doods

Toots

Double Bass

Trombone

Drum Kit

Trumpet

Flute

Tuba

French Horn

Ukulele

Gamelan

Viola

Guitar

Violin

Music goes beyond the school as we venture out to watch musical performances, or to give them in the local community. Visiting professionals also join us to engage the boys, such as during Creative Arts Week, which this year featured street dancing and beatboxing.

Carol Service

Recital Evening

Creative Arts Week

Lower Prep Nativity

Prep 3 and 4 Nativity

Young Shakespeare Company performing The Tempest

Music during remote learning

Prep 5 Music Taster in the Senior School

This year, we also had two wonderful nativities from the Lower and Upper Prep. They performed brilliantly whilst also learning about Advent. Sadly, the Prep Concert and Inter House Music Festival were cancelled. However, this didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stop the music making as the pupils still engaged in practical tasks at home. They sang songs, learnt mini-musicals and had weekly family junk band performances of famous pieces of music, including the Can Can, William Tell Finale and Baby Shark! Prep 5 and 6 learnt and recorded their end of year musical, Porridge, and the recordings were mixed together to combine vocals for a virtual performance of the show.

Mr. B. Bailey Head of Prep Music

Michaelmas Concert

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Senior News

English at St Columba’s

Drama We are very pleased to have Mr Dameon Garnett join St Columba’s College this year as our new subject leader for Drama. He is an experienced Drama teacher and playwright, and has exciting ideas for both curricular and extra-curricular opportunities for our students.

It is said that “a reader lives a thousand lives before he dies… the man who never reads lives only one”. Here at St Columba’s, we relish the opportunity to expand our students’ understanding of the world, enjoying a wide variety of novels, drama and poetry that cover different cultures, times, perspectives and ideas. We also encourage our students to develop their own creativity through reading, writing and speaking. Our vision for Forms 1-3 is to develop insightful and confident readers, assured speakers, sensitive listeners and creative and versatile writers. We read a range of great world literature from Shakespeare to Armitage, from plays to poetry to novels. We are supported in this by our fantastic library, with knowledgeable staff who are on hand to encourage and make informed recommendations to all our students.

Public speaking competition - Grant, Form 3

I really enjoy how we can all share our ideas, listen to other people’s ideas and develop other people’s ideas in group discussions without anyone judging you. - Ben Edwards, Form 3

Every Friday, the school takes part in ‘Drop Everything and Read’. Students are encouraged to develop their own narrative voice through creative writing and become confident speakers, which culminates in a House public speaking competition for each year group.

We are very proud of Form 3 student Ben Edwards, who performed as Friedrich Von Trap in Bill Kenwright’s UK and Ireland tour of ‘The Sound of Music’ earlier this year. Although the tour was sadly cut short in March due to the Coronavirus, Ben should be commended for juggling schoolwork, rehearsing and performing at numerous national theatres alongside West End professionals.

Form 3 student Ben Edwards performed in ‘The Sound of Music’

Beyond the Classroom

Forms 1-3 took part in the Inter-House Public Speaking Competition virtually this year - Josh, Form 3

The department supports opportunities for extra-curricular activities, including theatre trips, lecture days, LAMDA lessons, public speaking workshops and creative writing club. We encourage students to appreciate how English fits into the wider world and broaden their perspectives. The library provides fantastic resources for students, and organises many events throughout the year, including author visits.

In Forms 4 and 5 for the Language and Literature iGCSEs we carefully choose texts that are accessible and engaging, but also offer a suitable degree of challenge. We are very proud of the All English teachers are kind results our students and good listeners. achieve, but more - Lorenzo Delcore, Form 1 importantly of the knowledge and passion for English they have acquired by the time they finish Form 5. English Literature A Level offers the chance to read some of the greatest works of the literary canon. They visit other worlds vicariously, live other lives, and experience and debate the struggles of humanity. By the end of the course students have developed a range of transferable skills, such as the ability to research, analyse critically, craft an argument and to communicate persuasively and clearly. No wonder English Literature A level is looked on so favourably by universities!

Studying GCSE and A Level English has nurtured my passion for literature, developing my critical thinking skills which has encouraged deep analytical thought on every word I read and write. - Alistaire Welch, A Level English Literature student

Author Ali Sparkes gave a talk to Forms 1 and 2

St Columba’s hosted the St Albans Schools Book Awards, where author Lisa Thompson visited the school.

Talk the Talk: Confident Communication Masterclass

In March, we had Talk the Talk come in to help us develop our presentation skills. It gave everyone a variety of new or improved skills and helped to build our confidence. We participated in many fun, skill-building activities which helped us all to feel relaxed in a ‘scary’ setting of having to speak in front of others. It was a brilliant day! - Louis Williams, Form 3

Mrs. R. Barley Subject Leader of English Page | 32 of 60

Twitter: @StColumbasEng

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Senior News

Exploring the World The Geography Department is a busy and thriving hub within the College. We study a range of traditional topics such as glaciation and settlement, whilst including more contemporary units such as plastic pollution and climate change. Students learn key analytical skills and are introduced to GIS in Form 1, which they refine and become experts at throughout their time at St Columba’s.

Climate Change Conference Form 3 students were invited to the annual Haberdashers’ Climate Change Conference, where they heard from climate scientists who highlighted the importance of making local changes to make positive impacts against climate change.

Fieldwork is an integral part of the Geography curriculum, and we incorporate local fieldwork as well as residential fieldtrips further afield to enhance students’ understanding.

St Columba’s achieved second place in the Model United Nations after an excellent speech by Louis Williams for Team Nigeria.

Visits from the Royal Geographical Society We invite ambassadors from the Royal Geographical Society into our lessons, who run seminar style sessions and discuss their experience of studying Geography at university.

Geography is a great transferable subject that is well-respected and allows you to further yourself in all fields, whether towards university or career placements. Euan Chisholm, A Level Geography student

Experiencing Geography in the Field The Upper Sixth trip to north Devon strengthened their understanding of the units we study whilst at different field sites, for example kayaking down the River Torridge and traversing the coastal landforms at Hartland Quay focussing on the effects the coast is having on the local geology. International trips have included The Azores in October 2018 and Iceland in October 2019. In Iceland, students climbed Solheimajökull, an outlet glacier which was covered in ash from the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption.

Form 5 studied Urban Regeneration and the global impact of TNCs whilst visiting Barclay’s Bank in Canary Wharf and carried out fieldwork to compare it with the environment at Canning Town.

Geography in Lockdown

St Columba’s is an Eco School!

Since the Covid-19 lockdown, fieldwork has continued with students carrying out infiltration rates in their gardens and using GIS to map where clothing items at home are made. Online tutorials and getting the students safely outside experiencing the geography of their limited environment has been an important part of keeping their passion for the subject alive.

In 2019, St Columba’s joined the International Eco Schools Green Flag Award. Through this we are raising environmental awareness at the College and have implemented significant changes.

Form 3 Eco Schools students have been attempting to increase our biodiversity through the allotment; and planted vegetables kindly donated by Mr Loughrey before the lockdown began.

Each student has been supplied with a reusable water bottle; preventing almost 12,000 bottles being sold every academic year in the canteen and reducing our impact on the environment.

Sixth Formers and staff are encouraged to bring in re-usable lunch boxes; preventing the use of sugar cane take away boxes being used and reducing our carbon footprint.

We are encouraging parents who collect their sons from school to help us create an Idle-Free Zone. Not only is this reducing their own fuel usage but also allows us to create a healthier environment for the students by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We hope to progress through the Eco Schools Award, installing a passion for our students to care for and nurture our environment. Form 5 students carried out a river study in Epping Forest.

Miss. E. Brown - Subject Leader of Geography Twitter: @StColumbasGeo

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Senior News

Senior School Music The Power of Music Music – “it’s transporting … it’s uplifting, it’s encouraging, it’s strengthening”. This quote from Aretha Franklin aptly summarises the power of music and its potential to inspire the development of musicianship in our students. The Music Department continues to offer

Solo Performance

a multitude of opportunities through solo and ensemble performance, through rigorous academic music study at GCSE and A Level as well as through trips to live performances by professional musicians and orchestras in London.

We continue to cultivate the musical talents of all our solo performers whilst arranging additional opportunities for our top performers to challenge their musicianship. We were able to hold two Scholars’ Recitals, a combined Prep-Senior Recital as well as a GCSE-A Level Recital by the time we reached early March. Three of our top Music Scholars also got through to the final of the St Albans’ Young Musician Festival in February, performing in the St Albans Cathedral. The three performers, Samuel Balchin on piano (F5), Cameron Magson on drum kit (F4) and Henry Mauldridge with voice (F4) performed brilliantly. Sam won his category performing Chopin’s Nocturne in E flat major on piano.

Barbershop Ensemble The Barbershop Ensemble, directed by Mr Brown, has had a busy year entertaining both in and out of school. Their first gigs of the year involved provision of entertainment at the Lions Club Senior Citizens’ Supper at Homewood Road URC, followed by the annual performance as part of the Jingle Ball in November 2019. Then there were the usual performances at the Michaelmas Concert in November and the Gin & Jazz evening in March. A great supporter of the Barbershop Ensemble over the years, Jim Lewis, retired from his post at SCC; so to salute him in his work Mr Brown arranged for the boys to present him with a private performance in honour of his years of service and support for the Music Department. The final performance of the year was recorded for the Headmaster’s final Trinity Term Assembly broadcast, singing Three Times a Lady by Lionel Richie.

Big Performances

Concert Experience Series New to the Music Department’s offering this year were organised trips to concerts in various venues in London. Though four were planned we managed to achieve two before performance venues were closed due to the pandemic. Twenty students together with Music Department staff had a great time at the Barbican Centre in January listening to the London Symphony

The Prep-Senior Michaelmas Concert, Carol Service and Gin & Jazz evening all went ahead as planned, though sadly we had to put plans on hold to run a joint concert with Thornton College. We are hoping to reschedule our joint performance of Vivaldi’s Gloria for Spring 2021.

Orchestra perform Prokofiev and Shostakovich. The second trip in the series was to see Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s on Haymarket. Once performance venues are fully reopened we look forward to offering more trips to professional performances in London, to engage students in wider musical experiences.

It’s Academic Summer 2018 and 2019 saw our A Level musicians go off to study music at university or conservatoire. The Music Department continues year-on-year to inspire it’s A Level musicians to take music further, with the 2020 cohort being no different: Neel Anand goes off to Royal Holloway to study Joint Honours Mathematics and Music while Luca Ellis will study Creative Music Technology at the University of Surrey. Congratulations must also go to Form 5 student, Samuel Balchin, who has been offered a place at the prestigious Royal College of Music Junior Department. Samuel commenced the programme in September 2020, which takes place every Saturday.

Final live performance before Lockdown The Schola managed to squeeze in one final performance before lockdown, singing Evensong at St Alban’s Cathedral. Mr Brown directed the choir, singing music by Ayleward, Dyson and Wood. It is always a pleasure to sing at the Cathedral and it was particularly poignant this time, as it turned out to be the final sung service before the Cathedral closed. Page | 36 of 60

Moving forward Whilst we have had to make some adjustments to plans, we are ready after this lengthy pandemic period, to re-start our Music Programme with increased energy and purpose to transport, uplift, encourage and strengthen our students through musical success.

Mr. S. McCall Director of Music Twitter: @StColumbasMus Page | 37 of 60

Senior News

Sport for All Below is a set of reports from each of the sports played as well as an overview of the unique situation we all faced during the later stages of the school year.

Senior News

Golf The golf season was set to be one of the crowning jewels in St Columba’s competitive sport schedule. The season started off with a narrow loss to Haileybury at Verulam Golf Club in the National Cup which then placed us in the plate competition, where we beat New Hall School at Porters Park GC. Oliver Ball, James Hanna and Joshua Lim also won the Arkley Golf Club Senior School’s Challenge against strong competition.

Remote PE & Sport Rugby The season comprised of over 100 fixtures played across 14 teams from the U12Ds to the 1st XV, with over 250 students representing St Columba’s. The enthusiasm and commitment of the Form 1 and 2 teams, and their ability to adapt to situations and scenarios, enabled them to develop at a great rate. Their performances in matches were brilliant and they won many games, whilst Forms 3 and 4 also had great success. Of the senior teams, the U16As finished the season with only one defeat with the highlight being a 38-27 win over St Albans School, whilst the 1st XV best performances came against Roundwood Park in the National Vase and a 27-5 win over Haberdashers. Captain of Rugby, Daniel Twigg, should be commended on his drive and commitment. The Senior rugby boys also made an appearance on BT Sport’s ‘Rugby Tonight’ in November and performed a demo with rugby legends, Stuart Lancaster and Brian O’Driscoll, on live TV.

During lockdown the importance of physical activity and mental wellbeing was magnified as everyone became accustomed to the new ‘normal’. The PE programme provided a variety of challenges and tasks that engaged a large number of the Columban community, using great imagination and ingenuity to keep active and take a break from academics.

Gaelic Football Congratulations to the Form 1 and 2 team who came second in the Hertfordshire Gaelic Football county bowl competition, demonstrating their excellent skill level.

Table Tennis Well done to our Junior and Senior table tennis teams who finished 3rd and 4th in the District competition this year.

Fencing It is great to see so many students represent St Columba’s as part of the PDFA programme. The Lent term saw the inaugural fixture with a victory over Caldicott Prep School.

SCC Virtual Decathlon

Football The U15A team finished the season with the strongest competitive record. Notable performances included results against Bishop’s Stortford HS, Bedford Modern and Latymer Upper. They also reached the District Cup semi-final before the season was curtailed. Both the 1st XI and U16s awaited opponents in the final stages of the District Cup before the season was suspended. Lower down the College, the commitment and success of the junior teams should be commended too.

Basketball The school entered the normal county competitions at all age groups, alongside the national games at U14-U19, but this year the U12s and U13s also played national matches in the JrNBA leagues. These competitions were just about to happen when COVID-19 hit so we were sitting waiting to play county finals, national semi-finals and JrNBA finals games. Despite this disappointment, we reflect on another successful season with a win ratio of 73% across all age groups.

Swimming St Columba’s came 4th out of a possible 12 in the Senior division and 5th out of a possible 12 in the Junior and Intermediate division. They should all be extremely proud of their efforts. A special mention goes to Louis Robson in Prep 6 who swam two years above his age group and held his own against some fantastic swimmers. I would also like to congratulate Owen Strakosch who has been a brilliant swim captain and a great role model for the younger years.

A highlight of lockdown was the SCC Virtual Decathlon! With ten challenges - plus a bonus challenge - the Columban community was encouraged to submit scores and distances to earn points for their House. Back gardens turned into makeshift gyms and the parks and roads of Hertfordshire and beyond became popular with Columban runners and cyclists! It was Martin who finished on top of the virtual podium but the most positive thing to report is the level of participation and engagement. Over 2000 scores were submitted, galvanising and igniting House spirit as well as challenging individuals during this unique situation.

Leaderboard Martin - 21846

Charles - 18416

Guertin - 21712

Joseph - 15675

Stanislaus - 18894

McClancy – 14196

Mr. E. Lowe Director of Sport Twitter: @StColumbasSport Page | 38 of 60

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Senior News

Beyond the National Curriculum

Combined Cadet Force St Columba’s prides itself on its diverse and challenging co-curricular programme and all students are encouraged to participate in a wide range of SHAPE activities. Last year, we introduced the SHAPE Award for lower school students, with many achieving awards in all five aspects to achieve the overall award, despite the challenge of lockdown. In this article we provide a snapshot of three specific areas of college life beyond the curriculum: CCF, DofE and Careers.

Art Club

Cooking

Geography Clinic

Rugby

Astronomy

Cricket

Golf

Sciences Clinic

Barbershop

Cross Country

Guild of St Stephen

Scrabble Club

Basketball

Design and Technology

Jazz Band

Senior Choir

Bell Choirs

Drama Club

Senior Orchestra

Biology

Duke of Edinburgh Award

Junior Leadership Programme

Brass Ensemble

Economics

Kickboxing

Sociology Club

Business

Engineering Club

Library Mentors

Stretch & Challenge

Chemistry

English Club

Maths Challenge

Strings

Chess Club

Fencing

Maths Club

Student Voice

BBC News Reporter

Film Club

MFL Clinic

Swimming

Bell Choir

Financial Studies

Mindfulness

Tennis

Careers Guidance

Fitness Suite

Politics Club

Warhammer

Football

Public Speaking

Wind Band

Gaelic Football

Recycling

Yoga

Combined Cadet Force Computer Science

The CCF is one of the great pillars of the College, providing students with a range of life skills. Alongside weekly trainings and weekend training camps, the CCF led the Remembrance Sunday parade in Park Street, celebrated the growing success of the CCF at the annual Regimental Dinner and virtually honoured the 75th anniversary of VE Day.

The St Columba’s CCF led a Remembrance Sunday parade.

CCF’s Regimental Dinner with awards presented to students, including Sgt Ben Hopkinson who was awarded the Philippson Cup.

Shooting

Careers This year’s Careers Week included a thought-provoking presentation to Form 5 by the University of Leicester on making an “Informed A-Level Choice” complementing an earlier talk by Old Columban, Luke Houghton, on his experiences as an apprentice at AECOM. Form 3 undertook the Morrisby Aspirations assessment to help them make appropriate GCSE choices, and Form 5 completed Morrisby Aptitude assessments and individual interviews on post-16 choices. Form 3 completing their Morrisby Aspirations assessments

Mr. J. Tatham Assistant Head – Student Formation

of career roles within their organisations. Columbans were particularly drawn to the Renault Sport Racing and SportPesa F1 Team stands, although the “major flex” possibilities of the latest Tesla vehicle model stole the show.

Duke of Edinburgh St Columba’s College is a leading independent school for the DofE Award in Hertfordshire, and we are proud of our students’ success rates. Form 4 participate in the Bronze Award, whilst the Gold is very popular among Sixth Form students. The DofE awards are greatly beneficial to students, enabling them to develop key life skills to become wellrounded and confident young people.

The companies included:

Nigel Futter from EDT inspires future engineers

AECOM, Aon, BP, BT, HMGCC, ICAEW, Network Rail, PwC, Renault Sport Racing, SportPesa F1 Team, Tesla and Unilever.

St Columba’s is a sponsor of the respected EDT educational STEM charity and they inspired students with the possibilities of engineering, and the opportunity to apply for the excellent Headstart Summer courses run at universities throughout the country. Students also participated in a STEM careers evening at Thornton College in January, which included two workshops. One run by AECOM focused on civil engineering, with bridge building and retaining wall challenges. The second by PwC presented on how technology is employed in their sector as well as interactive group activities. Following this, students visited eighteen companies’ display stands showcasing the wealth

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Students taking part in a STEM workshop evening with Thornton College.

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Senior News

Welcome from Head of Sixth Form It is a real privilege to be leading the Sixth Form at St Columba’s. The College is a place of sanctuary, calm and vitality. We have very much enjoyed welcoming students back to study this Autumn term as we share their journey with them at the top of the College. It is a journey of academic and personal challenge as well as enrichment, with a range of extended leadership opportunities available. My role is to nurture the students’ development, as they travel that journey, providing reassurance and guidance, and making sure they

stay on track! We are blessed with a fantastic team of tutors and specialist staff in the Sixth Form, who can inspire the students and lend their expertise to ensure they can flourish. The Sixth Form at St Columba’s is, in many ways, a College within a College. It is renowned as a place where we develop young men of character, and of course, from 2021, young women too. Like many of my colleagues at St Columba’s, I have extensive experience of co-education, and am excited by all of the potentialities that this strategic change will bring.

It is a time of dynamic change, yet of course, a time of continuity. In the Sixth Form, learning environments, teaching approaches and the curriculum will all inevitably become enhanced, but the College will remain true to its values and foundations. In the Sixth Form, we will continue to equip all of the young adults in our care with the resilience and skills needed to thrive in the changing world we face.

Mr. D. Waters Head of Sixth Form

Life in Sixth Form

Boat Social In December 2019, the Sixth Form Boat Social took place along the River Thames. The journey commenced from Bankside Pier, overlooked by Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, before making its way west and then east past Canary Wharf and the O2. The views, entertainment and company made for a night to remember for all.

Guest Speakers We feel it is vital to expose students to a wide-range of issues and causes which exist in society today, and our eclectic range of speakers is designed to do just that. Guest speakers this year have ranged from ‘Snake Dave’, through to John Levy from the Friends of Israel organisation.

Professor Malcolm Murfett from Kings College London

Abbie Sheppard, COO at Cameo

Prefects At Easter we remotely thanked the outgoing Prefect team for their hard work over the year, and welcomed in the team for the upcoming year. Despite the challenges faced by remote learning and social distancing, the new Prefect team have hit the ground running, including organising the Columba’s Got Talent competition and helping to set up Student Voice.

During this unprecedented year, our Sixth Form students adapted extraordinarily well and attended all of their lessons remotely as they continued their A Level studies. Prior to lockdown, our students enjoyed a variety of extra-curricular activities. Here are some highlights from the year:

Enrichment The Sixth Form were involved in a wide range of events that have developed their leadership skills. Lower Sixth attended Watling View on Wednesday afternoons, and a new initiative saw students work on the Abbey Line Community Rail Partnership, helping to decorate and maintain platforms.

James, Deputy Head Boy

Ahmad, Head Boy

Harry, Deputy Head Boy

Thank You Mr McCann

Mock Election The snap general election in December 2019 meant a mock election for SCC. Lower Sixth students participated in hustings and campaigning throughout the school. The debates showed how well informed the Sixth Formers were with the issues of today.

Mr McCann left his role as Head of Sixth Form at the end of the academic year to take up his new role as Head of Prep. Mr McCann is a stalwart of the College, having been a member of staff for 18 years and counting. I can tell you from first-hand experience of the warmth and compassion with which he treats every student, and the fondness with which many Old Columbans remember him. His overriding mantra is that, as a College, we must do what is best for the students, and I am confident in saying that through his many years as Head of Sixth Form, and in his previous role as Head of Guertin House, he has done just that. As a Sixth Form we wish him well in his new role in the Prep School.

Mr. C. Sheils Deputy Head of Sixth Form

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Twitter: @StColumbasSixth Instagram: @stcolumbassixth

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Senior News

Careers

Virtual Events

The main focus of the Careers Department is to help our Sixth Form students make the most appropriate and well thought out individual school leaving choice. Careers Events The 2019/20 programme began with an Upper Sixth EECA day in October with our partners at Thornton College imitating the demands of an assessment day centre. Tom Toumazis MBE opened the proceedings urging students to be evangelists for the word “yes” and to seize every opportunity life can give them. To the amazement and delight of student and staff supporters of Arsenal, he illustrated the point by bringing along his friend, David Dein MBE, who he had met through a shared enthusiasm for film. Old Columban Neil Gregory gave valuable CV

tips to the students and Cassie Hicks demonstrated some inspirational LinkedIn profiles before the students embarked upon some assessment exercises with Network Rail. Their EECA day in early March, with Thornton College’s Lower Sixth, provided opportunities to experience master classes and taster sessions exploring Liberal Arts and Natural Sciences options at Nottingham and Social Science degrees at Leeds.

After the abrupt school closure on 20th March, it became clear that the move to online provision did offer certain advantages. The rescheduling of events allowed the Careers Department to hold a virtual post-18 application day in May. Speakers from the University of East Anglia ran workshops on personal statements, Lancaster shared STAR technique interview advice, whilst City and Dundee Universities discussed choosing degree courses, Bath and Newcastle explained student life and placement prospects. Amazing Apprenticeships introduced the different demands of that path. A request was made to Old Columbans currently at university to make short films about their courses and experiences. The response was overwhelming and the candid comprehensive responses from the old boys was touching. This year’s Lower Sixth now have a library of snapshots of universities and experiences to draw upon over the next twelve months which they can access again.

The Zoom evening talk with Paul Drinkwater from the University of Southampton was extremely useful. The chance to ask questions about the application process and the university experience to someone with specific expertise was a great opportunity.

The greater freedom and flexibility of the virtual world was also shown a few days later by a major Zoom presentation and questions held in the early evening. Paul Drinkwater from the University of Southampton was able to give an in-depth overview of the higher education sector and what it offers today to both students and parents, as well as taking their questions afterwards. Online provision has also enabled the Careers Department to organise several individual student Zooms with experts in fields to help them make more informed decisions. This bespoke support has greatly helped decision making despite the very real restrictions under which we have operated.

My Zoom meeting with Professor Karagiannis allowed me to recognise that there is a plethora of diverse routes that one can take with a medical degree. This meeting made me realise that as a doctor you can get the best of both patient level care as well as research for potential treatment Ahmad Zargar, Sixth Form student

Harry Preston-Jones, Sixth Form student

Marrily from Network Rail

Tom Toumazis MBE and

Students taking part in a

Students putting valuable

gave students an insight

David Dein MBE inspired

workshop with Thornton

CV tips into practice.

into assessment centre

students to seize every

College.

exercises.

opportunity.

Mr. P. Kelly Head of Careers and Higher Education Twitter: @StColumbasCaree

UCAS and University The Upper Sixth completed their UCAS applications in the Michaelmas term, taking advantage of the support available and the dedication of their reference writers. All Columbans secured university offers including from the universities of Oxford, UCL and the ever-popular Nottingham and Nottingham Trent. A determined, talented, commercial music student impressed with his audition at the prestigious Academy of Contemporary Music. Another student turned his offer into an unconditional place from the renowned Oxford Brookes Real Estate course after enthusiastically discussing his successful property work experience at interview.

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The Lower Sixth students began their detailed introduction to post-18 applications in the new year as usual with a visit to the UCAS Exhibition at Surrey University with over 100 universities and employers present. Before this they had benefited from two very inspired talks, one from Abbie Sheppard of Cameo, an intriguing American internet StartUp, showed how to effectively use sandwich year opportunities regardless of the university you attend. In the second talk from the University of Sheffield, they were invited to play the role of careers advisers themselves.

Various universities took part in our virtual events, including:

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Welcome

Welcome to the Columban Network Thank you to the members of the Columban Network for making me feel so welcome. I look forward to meeting more of you in person when we are able to. As you will see from this year’s edition of The Columban, in 2020 we’ve found new ways of keeping in touch with each other and supporting St Columba’s. Hopefully in 2021 we will be able to resume our group events that have been the touchstone of the Old Columban community calendar for so many years.

I count myself extremely fortunate to been able to make his acquaintance, even for a short time, thanks to our socially distanced chats in the Archive. Since then many of you have told us what an enormous difference Brother Clement has made to your lives. I hope you will enjoy reading a selection of the OCs’ tributes. (And I hope he will forgive us for making a fuss!) Next year sees the Bicentennial of the Founding of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart. Together with the alumni associations at our sister schools around the world, we are planning lots of activities for this landmark year. These will offer many opportunities to support St Columba’s and get together with friends so please do keep an eye out for updates via the Columban Network.

Thank you very much to all the Old Columbans who took the time to complete our alumni survey. We will be acting on the results over the coming months.

Catherine Lawson

This summer we bade farewell to Brother Clement as he returned to the USA for a well-earned retirement.

Director of Communications, Admissions and Development

About the Columban Network

Brother Clement Brother Clement Pelletier and his fellow Founding Brothers, created the wonderful school we are all now a part of.

Students from the Prep and Senior schools provided a socially distanced Guard of Honour for the Brothers as they departed.

We were lucky enough to share a final Mass with Brother Clement and Brother Daniel St Jacques just before they returned to the USA. Brother Nelson celebrated Mass outdoors, with the College’s academic and support staff gathered in the playground. It really was a very special event.

Since then we have received many messages of thanks and affection for Brother Clement from Old Columbans of every age. We passed all of them to Brother Clement, and he was very touched.

Here are just a few of your tributes.

You and St Columba’s have had a positive impact on all our lives, and we are very grateful. What a wonderful legacy you and the school have on young lives preparing them for life. … I just wanted to say, Thank You, and wish you well in retirement.

Brother Clement is a truly outstanding character who has given so much for so long to the College and the wider community. … What an incredible and outstanding legacy the founding and subsequent Brothers as well as the lay staff have all left or leave behind them.

Every day I carry my education from SCC and the guidance from Brother Clement as my headmaster dear in my heart. In these times, more than ever, I feel thankful for having been brought up in their love and stewardship.

Thank you for making me who I am today.

The Columban Network welcomes alumni, parents, staff and friends of St Columba’s College. When our students leave St Columba’s they automatically become part of this network as an Old Columban (OC), a lifelong member of a global community. More than 6,000 alumni across the world have stayed connected with St Columba’s and each other through The Columban Network. We offer friendship and support, plus excellent mentoring and business networking opportunities. There are Old Columbans forging successful and worthwhile lives in every field imaginable: we know, because they come back and tell us, passing on their experience and sharing their passions.

Brother Clement is a truly inspirational leader and a lovely man.

I didn’t come out with straight ‘A’s but the life lessons of respect for others and knowing good from bad have been the cornerstone of my whole life. ... On behalf of so many boys, now and then I say, enjoy your retirement Brother Clement, it’s truly deserved.

They inspire and support our young people in many ways: as career and education role models, mentors, work experience providers, governors, donors and fundraisers. The Columban Network exists for both the Old Columbans and the College. We organise events and social occasions year-round including networking evenings, class reunions, formal dinners and sporting events. These are hosted at venues in central London as well as at St Columba’s.

Keep In Touch

I was so privileged to have been taught by and cared for by so many good people. And Brother Clement was up there in the front row of exemplary teachers and more importantly exemplary human beings. He will always be in my prayers – prayers of gratitude. And I wish him every good thing in his well-earned retirement.

Thank you so much Brother Clement for being one of my teachers. I have never forgotten your excellent teaching skills, kindness and wisdom which we received from you as pupils. All of these things are such wonderful gifts.

Email: sccnetwork@stcolumbascollege.org Website: www.columbannetwork.org Facebook: @ColumbanNet Twitter: @ColumbanNetwork

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Old Columbans News

Brother Clement’s Farewell Letter It is with a heavy heart and deep regret that I must come to you, for probably the very last time, to share a rather personal dramatic circumstance in my life. My superiors have decided to reassign me to our retiring and fully accredited nursing home in Rhode Island, USA for serious health reasons. I am now obliged to leave my beloved adopted country, where I have had the tremendous privilege to serve, to the best of my limited abilities, for some 65 years. Age and the deterioration of my health have forced me to face this daunting reality. From the very start, in September 1955, I and three of my colleagues were received with open arms and given constant support taking over the existing college of St Columba which had been founded in St Albans by a valiant and courageous Irishman, Philip O’Neill. This was a considerable challenge to say the least. It was a new country, practically a new language, a differing currency, and more importantly another system of education. Allow me to relate a first experience upon arrival. Mr O’Neill proudly paraded us with great pride to the nearby King Harry pub. Just imagine the amazement of the usual faithful being treated to the spectacle of four Catholic blackrobed Americans, introduced as the Brothers of the Sacred Heart coming to run the school. The story moves on to how we managed to be accepted and succeeded to build on the original foundations and managed to develop the school to its present achievements beginning with some 70 students in our first year with four masters to over 800 pupils and some 140 staff. Someone asked me recently how I was able to carry on as part of this fine institution for such a length of time. As so many in our profession eventually suffer from an alignment called ‘burn out’. Well, truth to tell, I had the wonderful opportunity to be given varied tasks over all this time. I started by becoming responsible to what was then the whole Prep Department of 24 boys aged 5 to 11 and wonderful they were…teaching me as much as I taught them. Several now quite elderly and remaining in touch to my great happiness. I soon moved on to establish the French Department and became Head of Sixth Form for 10 years. This was followed by ten years as Deputy Head of the school followed by Headship until 1989. After a short gap in Australia, I returned to look after Careers Guidance to be followed by my more recent responsibilities in Archives, Old Boys’ Association and joining the College Development Team. Each of these tasks brought their differing challenges and satisfaction.

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I must also note that in my semi-retirement since 1993, I took on a precious affiliation to our great Abbey of St Albans. First as a ‘Welcomer’ and then a Guide followed by Friday Chaplain being honoured by being installed as the first Roman Catholic Canon in the year 2000 and finally and presently Canon Emeritus. My 25 years with the Abbey have been a value-added to my ecumenical faith. May I share another anecdote? Upon the announcement that I was appointed a Canon, one of our retired Brothers in America exclaimed: “What is this…Clement has became an Anglican. I knew that would happen if we sent Brothers to England”. This did the rounds throughout our congregation. To look back upon our arrival, we were surprised to be informed about this noted original building whose name had been changed to Iona in honour of St Columba. It had been secretly affiliated to Winston Churchill who had been sheltered on this estate which was controlled at the time by the Ministry of Defence during the severe bombing of central London. Little wonder that the property still had several pillboxes and had a substantial reinforced shelter. This was proudly boasted about by locals. At this stage, I wish to pay due tribute to so many who have been my help and sturdy support throughout and often prepared to turn a blind eye on my mistakes. Be they, Brothers, colleagues, parents, students and friends. I cannot be silent about the overwhelming affirmation received over my recent 90th birthday, which coincided with my 70th anniversary of Brotherhood and 65 years of service to the school. I shall ever carry with me the great affection and love given to me by so many who rallied around me for the occasion. I was able to invite representatives from every aspect of my years as a Columban. I express my sincere gratitude to those who worked so tirelessly to organise these celebrations. They could not have been more successful. Finally, I must extend apologies for the length of this extensive message. I felt the need to open my heart and soul upon the proposed departure. I leave you thanking you and asking forgiveness if ever I have wronged you by word or deed but never intentionally, however. I expose my sentimentality by these words but that is me to the core. I had the grace of God in loving you and being loved by you. You will ever remain in my esteem and more importantly, in my prayers.

Brother Clement Founding Brother

Thank You Brother Clement benefit from it? We made a certain amount of progress as we advanced upwards towards “O” levels in the Fifth Form and “A” levels in the Sixth Form. This is where my memories of Bro Clem start. “O” level French was a success but “A” level French was a disaster. In fact, I am rather surprised the “O” level was a success when I look back on that time and recall a French lesson one Monday morning. Monday’s French lessons usually began with a recital in French of what we did over the weekend. “Nouvelle, Monsieur Jones”, was the usual brief request “What do you Americans to start the conversation. think you can teach us?” was Awkwardly, but with a apparently the retort made great deal of feigned by the immigration officer panache, I blurted out, when Brother declared the “Samedi j’ai visite mon oncle purpose of his visit to the en Sudfin” – (English: On UK back in 1955. They were Saturday I visited my uncle not the friendly words of in Southend). This raised encouragement sought eyebrows from Bro Clem but by a young Brother with laughter from the rest of the overwhelming feelings of Chris Jones C71 sits on the right-hand side of Brother class. As did an admission trepidation and anxiety at Clement at the ‘Over 65s Afternoon Tea’ in 2019. that my aunt and cousins the prospect of teaching had been excluded from upwards of 78 boys. the conversation because the French vocabulary didn’t Regardless, those feelings were matched by anticipation extend that far! But, as I say, I got my “O” level in French and hope for the start of a new career in a new country and thank you Brother for that; we will forget about the “A” and in what was to become a new school, living out the level. But you were lucky with others, including with an old charism and ethos of Andre Coindre, the founding member colleague Tom Brialey who you met not so long ago and of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart. Despite set-backs and who remarked that there can’t be many people of 65+ who opposition from some quarters over the development of still have the opportunity to meet their old French teacher. an “upstart college”, the school flourished under Brother Tuesday 8th September 2020 is the day when Brother Clement (‘Clem’ to many of us) checks out from the Watling Hotel (AKA Watling House) to return to the US and take up residence with a community of elderly Brothers at Provincial House, Rhode Island, USA. Still of sound mind and with good mobility for his 91 years Bro Clem will check out on “the dreaded day” with a heavy heart but with fond memories of all that has happened before, and since his arrival at St Columba’s in 1955 – 65 years ago.

Eugene’s headship and soon after my brother and I arrived as Prep school new boys following the dedication and blessing of the college by Cardinal Godfrey in May 1961. I have no recollections of Bro Clem in those early days probably because his subject “French” was not on the Prep School curriculum. However, I have since discovered he also taught maths under the guidance of the Mercy Sisters of Maryland who gave him special lessons to overcome his bewilderment with pounds, shillings and pence! But he was much enamoured by the use of “guineas” and welcomed the advice the school was given by the Cardinal not to restrict term fees to £15.00 but rather 15 guineas! So that is what my parents were paying for my education and a similar sum for my brother. Did we

So, here we are 50 years on and still meeting and chatting which does say something about the special nature of the Columban community and the spirit of Fr Andre Coindre that lives on in the community and doubtless will continue to do so. The American Brothers that arrived in 1955 – yourself and Brothers Eugene, Victor and Peter – have taught us so much the immigration officer should recoil from his words. But now you return to the US on your own – the last of “the few” – and on behalf of myself and my brother, Simon, who, incidentally, is fluent in French and has been living in Paris these past 12 years, may I wish you all the very best and conclude by saying “Good-bye” or better still, “Au revoir”.

Chris Jones C71

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Old Columbans News

Your Columban Community Columban Golf Day

Columban City Drinks

Old Columbans ‘Over 65s’ Lunch

Columban Requiem Mass

Columban Fayre 2019

The Columban community had a great day out playing golf at the Old Fold Manor in October 2019.

Our Columban community of parents, alumni and staff had a wonderful social evening in the city.

The ‘Over 65s’ gathered together for a tour of the College followed by a wonderful performance from the Barbershop Ensemble and threecourse lunch, catching up with friends and former teachers alike.

The Columban community gathered in November to remember friends and family who are sadly no longer with us.

Always a highlight of the year, the community gathered for the Columban Fayre, where we raised £25,059.14 for charities and the school.

OC Football

Class of 2019 Reunion

Basketball Tournament

Columban Ramblers

The OCs Football team were promoted for the third consecutive season to Division 2 of the Arthurian League!

It was fantastic to catch up with the Class of 2019 at The Beech House in St Albans and hear about life at university.

The annual Basketball Tournament was a great afternoon with students and Old Columbans. We were delighted to welcome back fourteen OCs from a range of years.

The Columban Ramblers meet once a month, either on a Wednesday or Sunday morning at 10am. All members of the Columban community are welcome! Sign up to the email newsletter by contacting Giles Harrison at gpharrison13@gmail.com.

Virtual Careers Event with Old Columbans

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Old Columbans at university filmed short videos for the Lower Sixth, providing insight to life at university and careers advice.

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Life After SCC

Columban Doctor on the Frontlines One’s health is often said to be one’s greatest asset. Thus, by taking care of your body - you’re building on the only place you have to live. An age-old proverb but one that resonates deeply amongst all healthcare professionals who experience the highs and lows of life and death on a daily basis. Throughout my education, I was always drawn to the intricacies of how the human body functioned and whilst studying the science behind it all; I dreamt of somehow being able to have an impact on making sure the body was restored to its optimum when health was compromised. “I solemnly pledge that I will do my best to serve humanity - caring for the sick, promoting good health and alleviating pain and suffering”, the opening words of the declaration I made during my graduation ceremony in finally becoming a Doctor. Fast forward a few years, I find myself working in one of the busiest A&E departments in the UK. The work is fast paced, the patients ever demanding and the satisfaction level high. Day-to-day my role consists of assessing and examining patients who are acutely unwell

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and providing them with treatment to stabilise their condition. Being able to give the best possible patient care is the goal and is something that can only be achieved by working in unison with nurses, healthcare assistants, porters, admin staff and many more. A global pandemic is a term we heard often during our studies – a worldwide outbreak of a highly infectious disease – but was considered so rare it was almost an urban myth! So, when the first whispers of Coronavirus were heard there was a mild interest in how it would progress. When the scenes from Italy surfaced, the department began to prepare for the virus’ arrival - it was a case of when, not if. Every day we were receiving new information regarding how it could present and what to look out for and a COVID zone was created for patients with suspected symptoms. The cases began to ramp up and we began to understand the full scope of the deadly virus - although the majority of cases were in those with existing health conditions and the elderly, it was the completely fit and well patients who would go from speaking

fine to requiring intubation and assisted breathing that was concerning. Ongoing PPE struggles were prevalent, especially at the start, and often the conflicting advice from the Government and local bodies left hospital staff only donning PPE for patients with suspected COVID - when the larger majority of COVID possible patients were attending the department with no symptoms! In layman’s terms - it was the equivalent of sending military troops out to war with no weapons or armour - except our enemy was an invisible killer we knew very little about. Despite these initial concerns, our mindset never wavered or feared. At the end of the day, this is what we had trained for; dealing with anything that comes through the doors of the hospital no matter the circumstance. The routine of going into work, understanding the new protocols, treating patients and working with my colleagues in order to reassure the public that this was a battle that could be won, was something that filled me with pride. Every day the

numbers would increase, staff members would also contract the virus, yet the team always found a way to make up the numbers to provide the care required. The challenges of wearing PPE (including visors and masks) meant non-verbal cues, which we took for granted, were no longer an option. The comforting smile or face of empathy to make a patient feel at ease became redundant - thus we were forced to adapt to try and assure patients that behind the hazmat suit was another human! The pandemic has improved some of the interpersonal skills that often can get lost with the relentless strain of a pre-COVID NHS.

With the public going into lockdown, the main aim was to reduce the strain on the NHS to allow a focus of resource towards fighting the pandemic; and it was a great success. Our busy A&E numbers had massively dwindled; allowing us more time on potential COVID patients, ensuring we treated and then provided better levels of communication with family members – who were no longer allowed into the hospital with their loved ones. The introduction of the Clap for NHS/ Keyworkers was great in boosting morale - hospital staff were greeted by flashing lights of the Police, Firetrucks and claps of the

public every Thursday night. This was supplemented with daily food packages from local outlets to ensure we were getting the adequate nutrition during shifts. The staff were extremely grateful for the public’s efforts and we will greatly cherish the moments of appreciation going forward in life. Lockdown itself has put many things into perspective – with family and health awareness at the forefront. We have seen mental health cases rise exponentially due to a lack of community support throughout the pandemic for these vulnerable people, as well as the economy taking a turn for the worst for the longest time. Our

current stage is one in limbo – with lockdown restrictions lifted for the most part, schools due to restart and initiatives to encourage the public to invest back into society – the road to recovery is one that will have to work alongside dealing with the pandemic but one I am sure we will be successful in.

continue working in A&E over the next few years and hopefully continue to stem the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Again, thank you to the public for your ongoing efforts and sacrifice – the support has been immense and may it continue!

Nader Khan C09

After being able to visit my family for the first time in over 6 months, it was a much-needed time of reflection. Thinking about the tough scenarios and recharging the batteries after spending almost 4 out of the last 8 months being nocturnal was a welcomed break! After some rest and relaxation, I plan to

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Life After SCC

Charity

Managing a Care Home during COVID-19 Working in the family care business was something I had a keen interest in from a young age. Following 7 years in the Police, it finally became a reality in 2016 when we took over an existing care home in Norwich. The home was formerly part of a large group and was somewhat neglected. Over the past 4 years, huge amounts of time and effort have been put into developing the facilities and overall appearance of the home that benefits both residents and staff. Extensive refurbishments have been completed both inside and out and continue to take place, creating a better environment for all. The learning curve has been steep and the challenges many, but none more than the past 6 months. On Friday 13th March 2020, it seemed obvious that COVID-19 was well and truly here and unless we took swift action it would decimate the home in no time at all. Closing the doors to the home some 11 days before the national lockdown began seemed like a big step and one that was understandably difficult for families to fully understand when guidance from the government was different at the time. With hindsight, it was without a doubt one of the biggest steps we took to minimise the tragic effects that COVID-19 could have had on the home. Whilst the rest of the country came to a standstill, day-to-day life inside Carleton House Care Home continued, albeit with new rules in place. Enhanced PPE was now standard practice along with temperature checks, weekly testing and heightened infection control measures. The challenges faced by the staff and residents have been huge, ranging from communication difficulties for those who lip read to the mental effects of being isolated and without loved ones visiting. Staff have had to cope with the ever-real threat

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that they could unwittingly bring COVID-19 into the building and the obvious consequences of that. All the staff, without thought for themselves have continued throughout and delivered exceptional levels of care whilst managing their own lives throughout the pandemic. Stress has been at an all-time high for many and even when some form of normality did begin to resume, the challenges faced by the staff remained. With that said, we have kept spirits high with regular video calls during lockdown as well as activities including our VE Day celebrations and traditional programme of events led by our activities co-ordinator. Much to the delight of all, a purpose-built area has recently been completed which allows indoor visits between families and residents. This sealed and divided room will be a huge step forward in giving both our residents and their families time together in a safe environment without the need for PPE. The last 6 months have been full of lessons for us all. Working in a care environment has been more challenging than ever but with foresight, planning and attention to detail we have minimised the effects of the virus on the home. We are well aware of the challenges ahead but remain positive for the coming months.

Ben Jourdan C06 Website: https://www.mintoncare.co.uk Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mintoncare

OC Completes Nepalese Marathon and Expedition I stumbled into my Mumbai hostel after completing a gruelling 30km run in 35°C heat. Every step was agony, and I collapsed onto my bunk dehydrated and drenched in sweat. This was the culmination of my training, and now I just had the wind-down to look forward to. I had been travelling around Asia for five months now, with my trail runners also having touched ground in the countries of Malaysia, Vietnam and Japan, among others. Until two years ago I had been on about a dozen runs in my life when I accepted the challenge of a high-altitude marathon in Kenya. Now I had foolishly agreed to do it all again, this time in Nepal, and this time it was to be followed by a two-week trek to Everest Base Camp. Two weeks later I found myself in Kathmandu visiting the two charities I and the few dozen or so other runners would be raising money for; Childreach Nepal and Burns Violence Survivors. The former aims to combat child trafficking and abuse by keeping kids in school through sport, and the latter helps victims of domestic abuse and acid attacks in a country with only one burns unit, which we were able to visit. These few days really helped me to grasp the impact we would be able to make, and I’m eternally grateful for the donors that contributed to the £2,500 I was able to raise. Shortly after this, we made our way to the rural village of Kakani, where we spent a few days enjoying the Himilayan vistas, repairing a local road, and acclimatising to the thin air at 2,000m. Race day snuck up on me, and before I knew it I was on the start line ready to set out on what would be an eight hour journey. But today wasn’t about speed, there was no timekeeping whatsoever, it was about having fun,

running through incredible scenery, and making an impact. With 2,000m of altitude gained throughout the race, the real test for me was abating the cramps and blisters which were constantly trying to hamper my progress, but they were no match for my running playlist filled with bangers ranging from Vengaboys to Mulan to Hamilton. I was able to power through the final 5km, which included a 600m altitude climb, and finished with a final 200m sprint to the cheers of onlookers and those who had already finished. The sense of accomplishment that comes with finishing a marathon is like nothing else, and I hope it won’t be my last. The hardest was yet to come, however. Back to Kathmandu we went, before six of us boarded a small plane to fly into Lukla, the most dangerous airport in the world. A short time later we commenced our two week trip to Everest Base Camp, which sits at an altitude of 5,364m. Highlights of the fortnight include 8 hours of trekking per day, 2 hot showers (at a cost of £5 each), and balmy days followed by nights spent in unheated guesthouses with temperatures as low as -12°C. Despite the harsh effects of the thin air at these altitudes, we all made it to Base Camp and celebrated by dancing on the ice, a day I’ll never forget. Looking out the window across the Himalayas on the flight back to Kathmandu I thought back to who I was when I left SCC, someone who had never been on a run or stepped foot in a gym, and how far I’d come since then.

Kit Garnett C12

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The Columban Network

Announcements Marriages

Congratulations to Simon Fraser C04 and Rosie McMullen

Congratulations to Stephen Mears C14 and Louise

Congratulations to Jordan Sandford C10 and Chantelle

Congratulations to SCC staff member Sam Moore and Agne

on their marriage on Sunday 27th October at All Saints

Crabtree on their marriage on Saturday 28th September

Thomas on their marriage on Sunday 22nd September

Gvozdeviate on their marriage on Friday 17th July in Oxford.

Church, Hertford.

at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Harpenden.

at Hotel Corrijo Brava in Nerja, Spain.

Congratulations to Nick Lyes C01 and Liam Chapman

Congratulations to Toby Schogger C08 and Simone Aline

Congratulations to Jonathan Valentine C98 and Ros Kings

on their marriage on Friday 6th September

Alves Nunes on their marriage on Friday 11th October

on their marriage on Saturday 30th November at St Jude on

at The Woburn Hotel.

at Nutfield Priory.

the Hill, Hampstead Garden Suburb. To the left of Jonathan is Christopher Bass C98, who was one of two best men (the boy in front of Chris is Chrisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s son, who was a page boy).

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The Columban Network

Births Congratulations to Michael MacCarron C04 and wife Lauren on the birth of their daughter Mia Grace MacCarron born on 21st November 2019, weighing 6lb 9oz.

Congratulations to Jim Heatley C02 and his wife Charlotte

Congratulations to Odili Cliffe C04 and his partner Charline

on the birth of their daughter Ada Laura Heatley born on 9th

on the birth of their daughter Jasmine Cliffe born on 25th

on the birth of their son Edward David Grainger born on

October 2019, weighing 7lb 6oz.

February 2020, weighing 7lb 2oz.

3rd January 2020, weighing 7lbs 13oz.

Congratulations to Paul Grainger C04 and wife Rosie

Congratulations to Robert Hare C05

Congratulations to SCC staff members

Congratulations to Riccardo Timanti

and his fiancée Catherine on the birth

Nick and Charlotte Batten on the birth

C05 and his wife Chloe on the birth of

Congratulations to Keith Cotter C96 and

Congratulations to SCC staff member

Congratulations to Jack Sotiriou C07

of their son Alfie James Hare born on

of their son Francis Laurence Batten

their daughter Mila Luna Timanti born

his wife Artemis on the birth of their

Anna Rowe and her husband Ali on

and wife Kat on the birth of their

4th February 2020, weighing 6lb 10oz.

daughter Olivia Rose Cotter born on

the birth of their daughter Jasmine

daughter India Rose Sotiriou born on

22nd March 2020, weighing 9lbs 5oz.

Amber Rowe born on 28th April 2020,

28th August 2020, weighing 4lbs 4oz.

20th April 2020, weighing 6lbs 15oz.

born on 20th January 2020, weighing 5lb 9oz.

weighing 8lbs 10oz.

Congratulations to Rob McLellan C04 and his wife Polly on the birth of their son James Thomas Maxwell McLellan born on 20th December 2019, weighing 8lb 4oz. James is pictured with his older brother Henry Gordon Robin McLellan, born on 28th June 2017, weighing 6lb 11oz. Congratulations to George Moore C08 and his wife Hannah

Congratulations to Seb Croft C05 and his partner Anna on

on the birth of their son Leo Moore born on 29th July 2020,

the birth of their daughter Maizie McKechnie-Croft born on

weighing 7lbs 4oz.

19th July 2020, weighing 6lbs 9oz.

Congratulations to Kevin Burke C86 and his wife Carrie on the birth of their son Edward “Eddie” Jun Burke born on 26th November 2019, weighing 7lb.

Page | 58 of 60

Page | 59 of 60

Dates for your Diary

Tuesday 2nd March 2021

Prep School Open Afternoon Tuesday 8th June 2021

Prep School Open Evening Friday 18th June 2021

Senior School Prize Giving Thursday 30th September 2021

Bicentennial Celebration Saturday 2nd October 2021 (Provisional)

Whole College Open Morning Tuesday 9th November 2021 (Provisional)

Sixth Form Preview Evening Saturday 20th November 2021 (Provisional)

Columban Fayre

The Columban 2020

Articles inside

19

16

Other Destinations