The Johnian Magazine 2021 by StJohnsLeatherhead

THE

JOHNIAN 2021

Cover Art Pupils from Lower Fifth 2020-21 created these fantastic pieces of art, based on the theme 'Forces of Nature'.

The Johnian 2021

Photograph taken by Tom Quickfall, Upper Fifth

CONTENTS From The Head’s Desk....................................................... 4

Montgomery............................................................................... 64

Farewell From The School Captains................................. 6

North........................................................................................... 68 South............................................................................................ 72

Valete..................................................................................... 8 September 2020 Back to School..................................... 10

Surrey........................................................................................... 76 West............................................................................................. 80

Lower School Lockdown.................................................. 12 House Debating.................................................................. 18

Chapel.................................................................................. 84

National Psychology Competition.................................. 20

Performing Arts...................................................................... 86

Farewell Summer Term 2021........................................... 24

Miss Saigon.......................................................................... 90

Academic and Exam Results............................................ 27

Outdoor Pursuits.................................................................... 94

Adversity Over the Years................................................. 28 Community......................................................................... 34 This Year in Lower School................................................ 36

Sports Review.......................................................................... 98 From the Archives................................................................ 106 Beyond the Classroom........................................................ 112

Houses

Poem – For a Teacher.......................................................... 114

Churchill...................................................................................... 44 East............................................................................................... 48 Gloucester.................................................................................. 52 Haslewood.................................................................................. 56 Hawkins....................................................................................... 60

The Johnian 2021

From The Head’s Desk

The Johnian 2021

From The Head’s Desk So here we are at the end of another year during which the global pandemic has remained more pervasive in our lives than we might have wished when we headed off into summer 2020, excited at the prospect of relaxing restrictions and full of hope for a more normal academic year to follow. If we have learnt anything this year, it has been to be adept at adapting. Talking to family, friends and colleagues about the last few months, we share a sense of blurred timelines about what happened and when. We have all become so good at simply getting on with it that we have absorbed each new regulation or restriction, accommodated it into our lives and carried on. Writing this article each summer reminds me that all of us at St John’s are part of something bigger. St John’s has been publishing The Johnian since 1886, capturing the triumphs and challenges of generations of pupils. During times such as this – when people around the world are going through a rare shared experience – chronicling how our community has thrived against the backdrop of such a significant global event takes on a different perspective. Looking through our school’s history – into our archives and past editions of The Johnian - the permanence of the indelible St John’s spirit shines through. Having lived through a time that future St John’s pupils will undoubtedly find hard to imagine, our stories add a new layer to that rich history. An editorial from The Johnian in 1938, when the prospect of World War II was looming, describes “a period of worldwide apprehension so intense that it penetrated very deeply even into a community so self-contained as St John’s.” What I particularly loved when reading this is that the author immediately goes on to say: “It is proof of the vitality of the School that no sense of hopelessness was allowed to interfere with ordinary routine.” The academic year 2020-21 began on a high with the sheer joy of having pupils back in school. It looked a little different but after months during which the classrooms had been empty, masks and socially distanced desks felt a small price to pay. Getting school ready had been a mammoth undertaking by our staff and it was impossible to know, until pupils arrived in September, how everyone would adjust. When the year began, it was wonderful to see how quickly plans slotted into place and I was particularly glad to see our new pupils, whose inductions had all taken place virtually, embrace their first experiences at St John’s with a confidence and enthusiasm that would surely stand them in good stead to make the most of their time here.

The Johnian 2021

As Autumn Term ended, the amount that had been packed into the weeks between September’s bustling return to school and the festive run up to Christmas, felt like a massive collective achievement. Inevitably, all manner of events shifted to virtual formats but school life was as busy, purposeful and interesting as ever. Within ‘bubbles’ we hoped pupils would find as much normality as possible, spending time with friends and benefitting from the pastoral care that time with tutors provides. Many of the occasions that usually welcome family and visitors into school moved online but, from Meet the Tutor sessions and parents’ evenings to open days and informal SLT chats, we maintained meaningful connections even while physical visits were impossible. Sport got back into the swing with a full games programme across all year groups. Saturday morning skills masterclasses, interhouse competitions, and an opportunity for every pupil - from the U12Es to the 1st teams - to represent the School, helped fill the gap left by the temporary suspension of fixtures. Music, dance and performance burst back onto the scene thanks to the determination of the Performing Arts Department to pursue their ambitious programme. From concerts to competitions, rock bands to choirs, the talent and passion was plentiful. Along with many other co-curricular opportunities, these vibrant aspects of daily life add so much to our pupils’ school years - the memories, shared experiences, sense of achievement and lifelong interests they can inspire are invaluable. Our Christmas 2020 celebrations were different but no less special. The SJPA’s much-loved Christmas Market moved online and for the first (and hopefully only!) time we quarantined our Secret Santa gifts before handing them out. We needed festive cheer more than ever and the desire to spread Christmas spirit led to some special moments: Lower School pupils wrote thoughtful Christmas cards for local elderly residents; the Brass

Group’s flash mob of carols surprised pupils on their way to lunch across the Quad; the Fourth Form drama club shared a filmed reading of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas; and Christmas jumpers brightened the last day of term. As we went our separate ways for the holiday, we knew that tier restrictions would mean smaller, quieter festive periods but anticipation of five days of relaxed restrictions over Christmas and the successful delivery of the first Covid vaccinations had brought a sense of optimism: things were looking up. Just days later, the five days of relaxed restrictions were cancelled and the government announced that schools would be lateral flow testing pupils from January. We had a new challenge – work out how to set up and staff a lateral flow test centre! I can honestly say that the effort and work that went into planning, creating and staffing our lateral flow test centre was one of the best examples of teamwork that I can recall. In a lesson we would all do well to remember, it demonstrated what is achievable when people are pushed out of their comfort zones and work to one another’s strengths to realise a shared goal. On Monday 4 January, we were feeling quite pleased with ourselves, ready and waiting to welcome the Upper Fifth and Upper Sixth, along with staff who would be working on site, the following morning. And then came another government announcement… schools would not reopen, we would be relaunching ‘virtual’ St John’s. Although with hindsight it was simply another twist in the rollercoaster ride of the pandemic, many of us were shocked at the time. It was undoubtedly a tricky moment for many of our pupils - beginning a new year in lockdown felt like a blow - but the speed with which they rallied was magnificent. As March rolled around, we marked a full year since the first lockdown. Although much of what had happened over those preceding twelve months had been difficult, I felt incredibly proud about how our community had adapted. With so many aspects of normal life in flux, it was particularly rewarding to see how pupils and staff kept the enriching aspects of St John’s cocurricular life flourishing within the peculiar blend of virtual and socially distanced reality. Beyond the much-loved strands of sport and performing arts, a multitude of initiatives and groups were contributing enormously to our pupils’ breadth of experience. From political insights in ‘The Eagle’ and brilliant photos in our World Book Day ‘get caught reading’ competition, to our Equality and Diversity Group’s research into perceptions and experiences relating to feminism and, of course, the (virtual) Pancake Race - which saw Surrey become the first house in seven years to retain the most coveted of trophies - our pupils were simply unstoppable. By that time we had had pupils back in school for three weeks and despite all the testing (the lateral flow test centre had finally come into its own!), social distancing, open windows and masks, being back on site brought a refreshing glimpse of normality. In other years, we have taken for granted the tangible sense of community and togetherness that comes from sharing our campus day in and day out. But this year we have learnt just how

precious seemingly mundane aspects of our lives are and that is something I hope we all hold onto as life returns to Read more from our normal. Seeing pupils back archives about St John’s in classrooms, on the sports spirit in challenging times fields, and laughing with their on page 28 friends was a positive note on which to end another unusual term. And so we made it to the Summer Term and a term which, I am thrilled to say, saw almost all of us in school almost all the time. When the sun made an appearance after a very chilly and wet spring, the entire school community seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and the mood became one of celebration. BBQ lunches, the Upper Fifth on an outdoor inflatable assault course, the Upper Sixth playing croquet on the Quad, glorious afternoons of cricket, and netball matches on warm summer evenings; creating those memories is such an essential part of what the Summer Term is about. I loved hearing the laughter, seeing our pupils having fun and relishing their time together. Speech Day could not happen in its normal form this year but we held smaller events to present prizes and mark our pupils’ individual and collective achievements. Our Upper Sixth, admirably led by School Captains Nick Boulton and Jess Craig along with their senior prefect team, have been exceptional. They have inspired younger pupils with their impressive attitude and played an important role in keeping morale high, while managing their own workloads and navigating the strangeness of their final years at school. We marked the end of their time at St John’s with a wonderfully celebratory Leavers’ Awards Dinner (despite the event unexpectedly having to compete with the England v Ukraine Euros quarter-final). I thank them all and wish them happiness and success in their futures. The year closed on a fantastically positive and upbeat note. A wonderful programme of musical and dramatic performances culminated in the astonishing production of Miss Saigon, which demonstrated the indomitable spirit of St John’s. And then we held our inaugural whole school Sports Day, which was an absolute joy and captured the special blend of optimism and friendship that says so much about our school. As we bid farewell to our leavers, and prepare to welcome another influx of new pupils in September, we are part of a pattern that has been repeating for over 170 years: that constancy can be incredibly reassuring in uncertain times. An OJ writing in The Johnian in 1945, with World War II finally over, reflected on his memories of working with local farmers to bring in the harvest, something many pupils did during the war years, and described a “comradeship amongst all concerned, seldom achieved in more normal circumstances.” I echo the sentiment and am so proud of how our pupils, staff and the whole St John’s community has made this year memorable for all the right reasons. Rowena Cole

The Johnian 2021

Farewell from the School Captains

FARE WELL FROM THE SCHOOL CAPTAINS

hese past five years have simply disappeared, and it is unbelievable that our time at St John’s has come to an end. Parents always say how quickly school flies by,

and it is only now that we have come to truly appreciate those words. Having arrived at St John’s as nervous Fourth Formers five years ago, we have learnt and changed both from success and failure, and now leave a school that on the outside is different to the one we joined. However, regardless of change to the buildings and staff, St John’s remains a school of opportunity and community, sending us off with the same enthusiasm as it welcomed us in. Considering how it has excelled through a global pandemic, what more evidence is needed to prove the strength of the St John’s community. Thankfully, most of our schooling experience was normal. Our Sixth Form experience is difficult to give a perspective on considering that half of it was behind a screen… but, irrespective of this, our time has been a blast and, if anything, it has made us appreciate how great our time at school was. The Upper Sixth, along with every year group,

The Johnian 2021

have thrown themselves (repeatedly!) into online learning and competitions such as the Prefects’ weekly challenges, house quizzes and school Strava. Nonetheless, it is not just the pupils who have had to adapt. Our teachers’ response to online learning and returning to school has been fantastic. In fact, even after 12 months of year group segregation, including the Quad being quartered into literal pens, this sense of community is still firmly embedded, which stands as a testament to the School. The supportive and accepting atmosphere on which the School’s foundations are built remain solidly intact. We believe the pandemic, though limiting our external contact with other year groups, strengthened our internal interactions within our own year groups and that is why this atmosphere has continued to thrive the way it has. So, in that regard, we guess the pandemic did something good at least!

We have been asked on occasion about our favourite memories created here at St John’s, and most are surprised with our reply: it is too difficult to create a list. It is impossible to summarise our time here through just a few memories. Instead, we believe a greater measure of how St John’s impacted us centres on the people we have grown to become. We are all so different from when we first joined the School and have learnt so much over our time here. However, if we were to pick a memory, it would have to be… One of my most powerful memories would have to be winning House Rugby for Monty in my first year. This was a very important moment, not just because of my competitiveness, but what it meant to me and my peers. Sadly, the father of a close friend of mine had unfortunately passed that year. Although he was hurting, he made sure he could make it just to come play in the final and we wouldn’t have won without him. We helped him through his adversity and he came and helped us in ours. If that doesn’t embody the spirit our school tries to represent then I don’t know what does. Nick

Being School Captains has been a privilege and is an experience that we will both look back on fondly. However, it would not have been possible without the remarkable prefect team there to support us. For everything that you did for us and the School, we thank you for your efforts and wish next year’s team the best of luck. We have also learnt a lot through undertaking the role:

My favourite memory has to be from a Gloucester challenge (a house 24 hour challenge to raise money for charity). As a naïve Lower Fifth, I decided to take the 1.00am lacrosse slot and you can imagine my surprise when an unnamed teacher pitched up in a pink onesie! Jess On behalf of the pupils we would personally like to thank all the St John’s staff for making our experience so memorable. It is hard to comprehend the true dedication of the teaching staff in moving to and from remote learning so successfully, but we need to recognise that this same dedication extends outside the subject classrooms. This commitment to both their respective subjects, but also wider school life is something that all pupils are grateful for. We equally thank our Senior Leadership Team in all their endeavours of managing the School. Our time working with them has arguably created some of our most enjoyable, and certainly most influential moments, we have had at St John’s. Additionally, we cannot overlook the essential work of the groundsmen, catering, cleaning, transport, estate and administration staff. Without their dedicated work each day the School would simply not function properly.

It is a responsibility I feel no one quite understands unless they undertake it themselves. Whilst everyone sees the speeches and duties the School Captains perform, one misses the underlying parts of the role such as daily meetings and dealing with issues as they arise. I have learnt that far more goes on behind the scenes than one would imagine in running a successful school. Jess The most important lesson that I learnt in the role of School Captain is perspective: perspective of both pupil and staff and knowing that everyone is going through something different and that every challenge and situation impacts people differently. This was very apparent in our role, even more so due to the pandemic, and so when action and decisions were made they were made in the best interest and betterment of the pupils and staff. Nick To the younger and new pupils, the best advice we can give you is simply to get involved. Throughout our time at St John’s, we have been amazed by the abundance of possibilities. We hope the extra co-curricular activities available, rather than being seen as overwhelming, are activities that you embrace. The list is so extensive – from debating and CCF to sports and drama productions – that there truly is something for everyone. St John’s ultimately offers opportunities for anyone to find and pursue their passion. We hope you find yours the same way we did. It has been an honour to be School Captains, and we wish those both leaving and staying the best of luck for the future. Jess Craig and Nick Boulton

The Johnian 2021

Valete

Valete Beate Davies Learning Development Teacher Beate Davies joined St John’s in 2003 as a physics teacher, with ‘a little chemistry’ and later some biology. Already a parent with a daughter in the Sixth Form and son in Fourth Form, Bea was a little familiar with the School; girls had just been welcomed into the Sixth Form. The School has undergone considerable changes since then. Bea has worked through four heads and watched the footprint of the School increase with the opening of the PAC, South House and the new stained glass windows in Chapel. She helped welcome girls into Fourth Form in 2010, and saw the opening of the rest of the girls’ houses - Haslewood, Gloucester and later Hawkins. She was here when the Henry Dawes Centre was finally completed, and when Churchill House opened. More recently she watched the transformation of the Old Chapel, the addition of the long-awaited new science labs, Lower School and finally the opening of the new swimming pool and gym facilities. Having witnessed such change it is hard to envisage the School that Bea joined and the School we have now, but I know she has many colourful memories of the many people she has known along the way.

Those who worked with her in the Science Department in her early days have described Bea as a ‘popular and capable teacher’ and as a teacher of ‘calibre, bringing a conscientious and professional approach to all her work’. Well respected by her pupils, Bea’s care of her pupils behind the scenes was well known and appreciated. She was ‘a source of real inspiration… encouraging new ideas and methods’. However, Bea was lured from science by Linda Culm. She qualified as a specialist teacher and assessor of pupils with specific educational conditions, such as dyslexia, and made the move to her existing role in the Learning Development Department. Over the years, Bea has watched this department grow from just two to a team of five, and she has helped to welcome and mentor many along the way including Ali Collier, Belen Carter and me. She is an excellent team player, careful to encourage and develop skills in others, but more than capable of sharing her expertise and advice. Her patience and humour are always appreciated by us all. Bea shows outstanding care of her pupils, but as much of her work is carried out quietly and patiently behind the scenes I would like to take this opportunity to express my deep felt gratitude for all the times she has gone ‘the extra mile’.

Behind this quiet exterior lies an adventurer, keen to travel, investigate and taste other places and experiences. Bea was robbed of her last foray when she narrowly missed her planned opportunity to make a comprehensive tour of East Asia last Easter as Covid-19 struck international travel. A keen and imaginative cook Bea has shared her expertise with both the Learning Development team - peaking with a tasting session of her homemade wedding cake samples - and her contributions to the staff wellbeing initiative. Her interests don’t stop there and those who work with her can feel humbled (or even exhausted) by the sheer breadth of her activities. They range from attending exhibitions, concerts and plays, book clubs, gardening, fitness and taster opportunities to grappling with almost anything from philosophy to astro-physics and current affairs. All this, but always at the centre, her family and now her new grandchildren. Bea is a rare gem within her chosen profession with a unique skill set and the pupils and teachers at St John’s have been fortunate to have had her on hand to support, advise and guide. She will be impossible to replace and sadly missed. As we watch her move on, we wish her every success and happiness. Jacqui Chaddock

Tom Leonard Teacher of Chemistry / Housemaster of Churchill Tom joined St John’s in 2013 straight from the world of industrial chemistry and his evangelism and passion for the subject have been a consistent theme throughout his eight years at the School. Upon meeting Tom for the first time, his pride in the love of chemistry he had generated in pupils stands out. He cares deeply that every pupil not only gets good results, but inherits a part of his love for the subject; the fact that all but one of his current Lower Sixth class are applying to study chemistry based degrees is a testament to his passion.

The Johnian 2021

After three years at St John’s, Tom applied the same energy to taking over the leadership of Churchill. His massively high expectations of the boys in his care has created a strong sense of drive and cohesion in the House, with his passion leading to enthusiastic (though not often winning) performances in the full range of house events. His management of the loss of half of his house to the formation of Hawkins was a testament to his professionalism and leadership, demonstrating the willingness of the boys to follow his lead in welcoming Hawkins to the building as well as his staunch opposition to any compromises on their behalf. He will be truly missed by all boys in the House.

Beyond his main roles, Tom’s full commitment to every aspect of school life is evident. From a string of highly successful rugby teams, to the lucky Sixth Formers who got to appreciate his taste in classic music albums, he wholeheartedly invests in every aspect of school life he is involved with and will flourish in a full boarding environment. He leaves St John’s for Christ’s Hospital to take up the position of Head of Chemistry. I have no doubt he will bring the energy and passion that has typified his time at St John’s to a new department. We wish him, Sarah, Imogen and Rosie all the best for the move. James Coote

James Brookes Senior IT Technician

Sophia Dee Teacher of Music

Lauren Bruce Catering Assistant

Jim Carter Minibus Driver

Alison Di Talamo Naia Edwards Assistant Catering Development Officer Manager – Hospitality

Emily Humfress Sports Assistant

Rebecca Cooper Smith Ashley Currie Akos Deberling Day House Matron Assistant Head (Pastoral) Head Food Services – Montgomery / Housemaster of West Assistant

Sally Foster Baptiste Physics Technician

Anita Freeman Lower School Matron

Joanna Gray Acting Head of Academic Music (Maternity)

Harry Johnson Teaching Fellow Classics

Mylie Jones Senior Sports Assistant

Viola Laczi Catering Assistant

Robert Herd Teacher of Computer Science

Gayle Hillman Day House Matron – Surrey

Holly Lafferty Teaching Fellow Biology

Silvina Lecointre Spanish Language Assistant

Laura Mott Personal Assistant

Sarah Naughton PA to the Deputy Head (Academic)

Craig Newby Director of Rugby

Peter Probert Assistant Sites Supervisor

Jane Sainsbury Day House Matron – Churchill

Teresa Smallbone Day House Matron – Haslewood

Sally Stuart Admissions Registrar

Ed Tait Chef de Partie

Peter Titmas Deputy Head of Mathematics

Luke Trimming Sports Assistant

Yvonne Littlewood Giulia Mauri Lisa Monroe Assistant Admissions Design and Boarding House Registrar Engineering Technician Matron – Gloucester

Toby Morrison Teacher of Economics

Jon Sawers IT Development Manager

The Johnian 2021

Our Virtual School

SEPTEMBER 2020

BACK TO SCHOOL T

he start of a new school year is always an exciting time but this year it was even more highly anticipated after months where most pupils and staff had

been working remotely.

A busy summer of preparations meant that St John’s was ready to welcome pupils and staff back to site – safely – to begin a school year that may have looked slightly different from normal but still encompassed the richness of St John’s school life. Extensive planning and preparations were undertaken during the summer to ensure that the site was adapted to accommodate our pupils and staff safely, while allowing as many normal elements of school life to take place as possible. At a practical level, classrooms were adapted for social distancing and we created designated areas to enable pupils to remain within their year group ‘bubbles’ for lessons, break times and lunches. Additional hand washing facilities and toilets were introduced around the site, cleaning increased in frequency and focus, and lunches were served across multiple areas.

The Johnian 2021

Although our pupils couldn’t mix across year groups within their houses for the time being, we remained committed to maintaining the pastoral care that is fundamental to life at St John’s. Pupils saw their tutors within year groups and the support structure of tutors and Housemasters and Housemistresses was as robust as ever. Until competitive sporting fixtures could be resumed, we enjoyed internal fixtures on Saturdays. Our co-curricular programme was adapted to operate within year groups and on rotation, and our Performing Arts Department found a number of creative ways to keep performance varied and vibrant. While it was under slightly different circumstances, the emphasis at St John’s is always looking after the safety of every pupil and staff member, while also delivering the exceptional educational experience that is at the heart of what we do.

Virtual Art EXHIBITIONS

e were proud and delighted to present the work of our

GCSE and A level artists from 2020

in our virtual exhibitions. Due to the Covid-19 restrictions, we were unable to display and welcome visitors to our annual exhibition in its usual format. The artwork depicted in these virtual exhibitions is just a small fraction of the work that our talented pupils created, and we are very proud of how determined they were during such a difficult time.

GCSE Art 2020

A level Art 2020

To view the galleries, scan the QR codes above. Alternatively, please visit: www.stjohnsleatherhead.co.uk/thearts

The Johnian 2021

Lower School Lockdown

LOWER SCHOOL LOCKDOWN

Bake Off!

Whilst ‘Lockdown 3.0’ and virtual St John’s was well underway at the beginning of 2021, the enthusiasm, creativity and intellectual curiosity on display amongst Lower School pupils remained as high as ever. The Lower School Enrichment Programme is designed to inspire pupils to be academically inquisitive and reflective, and to explore new ways of thinking about a whole range of topics and the world around them. While aspects of the programme were adapted to accommodate remote learning this year, the Lower School Challenge proved to be very popular with pupils and staff alike. Richard Harvey, Head of Lower School, explains: “Our Enrichment Programme in Lower School is all about encouraging pupils to think bigger, to be inquisitive and to be reflective in their academic and personal development. We want them to be excited about learning, so exposing them to a variety of ideas and topics, and giving them the freedom to delve further into the ideas that resonate with them, engages them while also equipping them with skills that are hugely valuable for the future. An added benefit this term is that working on these projects gives pupils some meaningful time away from screens during the virtual school week, an aim which our Lower School Challenge is also encouraging in a more light-hearted way!”

The Johnian 2021

You can read more about the fantastic Lower School Projects on page 16. The Lower School Challenge ran through the Spring Term and kept spirits high. Pupils scored points for completing challenges and these were collated to see which tutor group had amassed the highest total by the time we returned to school. The challenges provided a lot of fun, with ideas including making a time capsule, creating a photo wildlife diary, filming your own ‘Joe Wicks’ workout, rewriting the ending to a favourite book, designing a new sports-kit, and learning to sign the alphabet. There were also some very practical ideas such as decluttering your bedroom and doing chores you don’t usually help with at home, and baking cakes is one challenge everyone was happy to have a go at – the Great Lower Third Bake Off became very popular, and saw incredible entries!

THE LOWER SCHOOL PROJECT

he Lower School Project forms an important part of the Lower School Enrichment programme for all pupils. We have been incredibly proud and impressed by the hard work and creativity that the Lower School pupils have put into their projects this year, culminating in a wonderful array of submissions... The Project was launched following fascinating talks from experts in the Autumn Term on Equality and Diversity, Literature, Digital Footprint and Philosophy, and pupils could choose to base their projects on these topics, or venture into other areas of interest. A number of pupils took inspiration from these talks with themes as diverse as ‘Literature and the Hero’s Journey’, a philosophical discussion of ‘How do your actions define you?’, and a talk about understanding your digital footprint. The Project provides an opportunity for pupils to express their own passions and interests by exploring a topic of their choosing and, ultimately, creating a final piece of work in any medium, ranging from traditional written essays, to artworks, poems, science experiments and design & engineering builds. Following an exciting assembly to launch the Project, pupils used a number of suggested resources such as oxplore.org to research their ideas, and previous Lower School Project winners were invited to display and describe their projects to provide a great source of inspiration and advice to pupils embarking on the project this year. This year’s Lower School Project provided a fun and fascinating focus for pupils, especially while they were at home during our remote learning period in the winter lockdown. Pupils used their timetabled enrichment periods to work on the projects and were encouraged to use 'off-screen' time to research and create their projects at home.

The standard of submissions was amazingly high, and it was wonderful to see the projects coming into school after the long period of virtual learning. Richard Harvey, Head of Lower School and Rebecca Evans, Senior Deputy Head, had the tricky task of shortlisting the entries, and The Head, Rowena Cole, had the even trickier task of choosing the winners!

Richard Harvey, Head of Lower School commented:

"I have been amazed by the level of quality and effort that each and every project produced contained. Lower School pupils have gone above and beyond in terms of creativity and ingenuity in creating their final pieces and the range of projects, from the Black Lives Matter movement to the mental health benefits of owning a dog, was simply staggering. I hope that every pupil that submitted a project is proud of their efforts and it was almost impossible to pick winners from the year groups. Lower School projects will continue to be a cornerstone of our enrichment programme and I look forward to seeing what will be in the future."

The Johnian 2021

Lower School Lockdown

THE LOWER SCHOOL PROJECT Pupils were invited to present their projects to Lower School via a Teams assembly, and every project was put on display for pupils and staff to view in the dance studio. A record of each pupil's work and achievement was recorded for their Lower School Diploma and was celebrated at Prize Giving. The Head, Rowena Cole, was given the challenging and exciting task of choosing the final placings for the project, which were as follows:

Lower Third FIRST PRIZE

Holly – Obesity in Kids

For my Lower School Project this year I chose to do ‘Obesity in Kids’ because it is a serious matter that needs to be addressed. This is a growing problem which affects the global population. Obesity can affect children in many different ways and we must make people aware of the positives and negatives of children’s nutrition and the importance of exercise. It is very important to get the support of schools, government, parents

JOINT SECOND Georgia - London Landmarks Through the Ages Sam - Racism in Sport

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etc. so we can stop the trend of increasing obesity in children. Two of my close friends are Type 1 diabetic and it has highlighted even more to me the importance of nutrition and managing sugar intake. HIGHLY COMMENDED Nina, Eva, Jack, Daisy, Bibi and Ruby.

Upper Third FIRST PRIZE

Radha – Protest Lens

For my Lower School Project, Protest Lens, I decided to compare the recent US senate protests and the Hong Kong protests of 2019. I love how these protests are so similar yet, in half of a century, we may only be able to gather evidence on one of these scenes, making my project a time capsule. For Protest Lens I have selected the most powerful images from the Hong Kong and US protests and collaged them side by side into the form of a camera. The images revolve around the US senate and the LegCo. On either side you can see both figures that lead each of the protests. A Hong Konger stands up on a desk in front of a defaced Hong Kong/ China logo. On the other side there is a US protestor dressed in an animal skin hat and cow horns, his face is painted with the US flag. He is shouting angrily at the camera. Mounted to the top of the camera is a flash that can be activated by tapping on it; it is reminiscent of a CCTV camera.

JOINT SECOND Will - Soap Making for Charity Emma - Reclaim the Streets

As media feeds take over our lives, we must protect our access to non-biased news in Western democratic countries and work to bring awareness to those who live with government censored news feeds. Protest Lens is a time capsule that one day may be illegal to show in countries around the world.

HIGHLY COMMENDED Adam A, Petra & Bella, Heidi, Jemima, Chloe, Sophie, Niamh, and Lila.

Adam - Boat Model

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Return to school again!

Return to school AGAIN!

n Monday 4 January as a nation we learnt that we would once again begin virtual learning as we entered Lockdown 3.0. At the time – despite our

new-found experience of virtual learning – the weeks ahead felt somewhat daunting to us all, but as always, the fantastic effort and passion from our community saw us come together enthusiastically online to carry on regardless of the challenges the new lockdown provided. As we look back, we are proud and amazed by just how much has been accomplished, especially during a time that combined the restrictions of lockdown, darker days and gloomy weather, which all contributed to the feeling that this was perhaps the most challenging lockdown of the pandemic. Our community stayed #StrongerTogether and enjoyed a brilliant variety of activities and challenges that demonstrated the sense of camaraderie and fun that pervades St John’s. We were delighted to see our Prefects come together to set weekly Prefects’ Challenges. With two challenges a week, pupils enjoyed a wide range of activities from golf trick shots to photography, all with the aim of encouraging pupils and staff to keep active and excite their imaginations. Pupils may not have been able to physically come together with their peers in their house, but the competitive nature between houses certainly didn't dwindle! Whilst activities had to become virtual, pupils were enthusiastically taking part in the House Film Competition and the ever-competitive House Pancake Race. Houses also enjoyed some evening activities including live cook-alongs, which looked like great fun. The Lower School Challenge saw our younger pupils making time capsules, creating photo wildlife diaries, and rewriting the endings of favourite books amongst many other things. The Great Lower Third Bake Off proved a particularly popular challenge – and we were all left feeling rather hungry!

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In February, pupils from Fourth Form to Upper Fifth took part in the UKMT Intermediate Mathematical Challenge online from home. The multiple-choice challenge promotes a love of problem solving and precision of thought. The limitations of lockdown did not deter our vibrant Performing Arts Department, as they continued to provide an array of virtual performances and competitions. They continued with our weekly Congers by virtual means, provided beautiful lunchtime recitals, live cabaret and much more! Pupils also found time in their busy days to continue with their own endeavours, such as charity fundraising and sporting achievements. Although players, coaches and spectators were missing regular sports fixtures, our fantastic Sports Department were determined to keep everybody active, and they set the target of trying to collectively cover the distance from St John's to Everest Base Camp through a Strava Competition. We were pleased to see over 250 pupils and staff taking part in various ways – by running, walking or cycling and overall we accumulated an impressive 8000km. Alongside this and a ‘Sport at Home’ guide, the Sports Department provided live sessions within games lessons, including boot camps, multi-sport skills, a virtual run/walk/cycle group, and tactical analysis sessions for cricket and rugby.

I find I am appreciating these collective moments of teamwork and creativity more than ever this term because it is so rewarding to see how everyone in our community is pulling together despite being physically separated

The Head, Rowena Cole commented during virtual learning: ‘I find I am appreciating these collective moments of teamwork and creativity more than ever this term because it is so rewarding to see how everyone in our community is pulling together despite being physically separated.’ Absence certainly makes the heart grow fonder and time spent away from St John’s saw us all garner more appreciation for the time, friends, and facilities we share. We reflected on missing the sound of cheering that can be heard from the front of school as the seniors play a competitive fixture on the fields, the spine tingling echo of the choir rehearsing as you walk past the Chapel, the beat of pupils CCF boots as they march across the Quad, and ultimately the sound of laughter and conversation from our happy, thriving pupils. When the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, announced the plans to reopen schools from 8 March we were delighted. Whilst parents breathed a sigh of relief at the thought of pupils being back at school, staff set into action with plans to safely welcome our community back on site. We were astounded with the support, organisation, and incredible hard work of many members of St John's staff as we relaunched our lateral flow coronavirus test centre. As we settled safely back into school, we reflected on the resilience of our community and how we truly are stronger together and able to face any challenge with the support of one another. We were delighted to return to school, and resume daily life without facing the added challenges that came with virtual learning, and we all looked forward to the brighter days ahead of us. The Johnian 2021

House Debating

HOUSE DEBATING D

espite the best efforts of the coronavirus pandemic, pupils at St John’s managed to put on a fantastic show over the seven weeks of

House Debating, which took place in the second half of the Autumn Term.

The competition didn’t look quite the same as usual; we only enjoyed the company of audiences in the finals and thus floor speeches became a reality only for those houses who managed to fight their way to the bitter end. As usual, two members from each house debated in the time-honoured manner, taking it in turns with their opposition to set out their arguments, before crossexamining each other. The debates were judged by an enormous team of academic staff to whom the pupils and I are greatly indebted for giving up their time to facilitate the competition; the debates were all expertly judged by pupils from other houses. Special mention must go to Ms Clarkson for her formidable efforts to get timetabling and rooming challenges sorted out with impressive efficiency. However, I must also offer my thanks to all of the Senior House Staff and tutors across the School who helped organise teams, prepare them and came in their numbers to support the pupils in their debates. The competition would not have been possible without you.

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The competition began shortly after half term with the Fourth Form debating whether we should abandon the nuclear deterrent. Each house spent a week wrapping their heads around this tricky topic, not only understanding the arguments on their side of the debate, but also helping to ready their keen debaters for the potential questions their opposition could ask. It was a real team effort! The Haslewood Fourth Form girls managed to battle their way through two more rounds, debating whether prisoners should be allowed to vote before finding themselves facing Hawkins in the final. The final motion for the Fourth Form was a complex, yet important motion on whether we should cap the wages of high earners. Both sides made a fantastic effort with eloquent arguments on both sides with Hawkins just pipping Haslewood in the final. Once the Fourth Form competition got underway, the attention swiftly turned to the beginning of the Lower Fifth and Lower Sixth competitions, before the following week saw the commencement of the Upper Sixth and the Upper Fifth. Particularly impressive was how quickly the Upper Fifth got themselves ready in no time, after the end of their mock examinations.

The competition saw no fewer than fifteen motions debated on a huge range of topics. Lower Fifth pupils had some particularly interesting debates on whether we should re-join the EU, providing an interesting insight into the radical changes to that debate that have occurred since the referendum. One of my favourites to judge was the Upper Fifth debate on whether vaccines should be compulsory. A highbrow debate ensued with serious concerns over how far our freedom to determine what happens to our body must be weighed off against concerns about those not taking the vaccine risking the health of others. I was impressed from start to finish with how the pupils from the youngest to the oldest dealt with what were tricky and at the time, controversial subjects. In every debate they argued with admirable understanding of what was at stake and the importance of the issues they were discussing. House Debating provided the pupils with valuable opportunities to think about current issues facing our society in a different and more rigorous way. Debating techniques can also be said to help with writing excellent essays in working out how best to evaluate and critically assess arguments. Very well done to all of the pupils involved and my thanks goes out to all of the staff who gave up their time. We look forward to next year’s House Debating!

Toby Morrison, Teacher of Economics

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National Psychology Competition

N ATI O NA L P S YC H OLOG Y CO MP E T I T I ON

ower Sixth psychology pupils enjoyed participating in the Royal Holloway National Psychology Competition, during the Spring Term.

Three teams of St John’s pupils joined a total of 36 teams from schools and colleges across the country, to showcase their understanding of psychology with research and presentations. The competition was based around answering:

“HOW CAN PSYCHOLOGY HELP US TO CREATE A BETTER FUTURE?” Pupils were tasked with answering this question in an original way, using psychological research and theory. Each team had to create a two-minute video and a poster and present their work to a panel of lecturers from Royal Holloway.

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Pupils worked collaboratively in teams of up to five, focusing on the following three topics: • How psychology can help us create a future with less prejudice towards minority groups in society. • How psychology can help us create a future with less crime. • How psychology can help us create a future with less stigma surrounding mental illness.

The competition has seen pupils undertake psychological and theoretical research. Throughout the competition pupils have developed their knowledge beyond the criteria of their A level psychology studies. As a result, they have enhanced their understanding of the subject. Since they began working on their competition entries in January, pupils had to initially complete a lot of their work collaboratively over Microsoft Teams during the national lockdown, including creating their submission video. Pupils were also invited to attend a lecture on working memory, hosted as a taster session by a senior lecturer at Royal Holloway. The culmination of their efforts saw them present their work virtually to Royal Holloway lecturers on Wednesday 21 April. Pupils proudly presented their posters and answered questions about their research. They were commended on their impressive work. All three teams from St John’s placed in the top 10, and we are very proud of their efforts and achievements. Several of our pupils are intending to study psychology at university and the competition has provided them with knowledge and experience to make their personal statements stand out from the crowd.

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POLITICS

Political Magazine and Podcast

POLITICS MAGA ZINE AND PODCAST The St John’s Politics Department are proud to share the dedicated and ambitious work of pupils across the recent academic year. With the longstanding contributions to the St John’s Politics Magazine and most recently, the exciting new addition of ‘Politicised’ The St John’s Politics Podcast! The St John’s Politics Magazine, The Eagle has been published each term for the last eight years; the magazine has grown impressively over this time. The magazine is researched, written, and edited by pupils, and pupils from across every year group are welcome to write for the magazine. Most recently the interest has risen, with pupil features from Lower School through to Sixth Form! The pupil editors host meetings and manage the pupil additions, as well as writing pieces themselves. Features can be written on any topic – sport, culture, music, history, current affairs – if it has a political angle. We are thrilled to see so many pupils taking a keen interest in politics, and key topics. Every edition of The Eagle features a diverse and impressive array of contributions, with pupils showcasing their engagement in political topics and discussions. Moreover, the research, debating and writing skills required to create their feature broadens their future horizons, not just in politics but also across their school subjects. The latest edition of The Eagle looks fabulous and reads equally as well, and it includes our first feature by a Lower School pupil. This outstanding effort has a stunning range of articles including:

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• Safoah Ntiamoah challenges racism with “It was ok at the time”. • Ollie Smith reflects on the growth of nationalism in 21st century politics. • Radha Peratides takes a creative look at protests. • Shria Crossan looks at the response to Sarah Everard’s murder. • Izzy Khule and Ollie Latham look at both sides of the death penalty debate. • Luca Hatwell asks if it is time to abolish the monarchy. • Neve Hudson, Tali Gibbons and Eleanor Wilson make the case for their favourite US president Plus many more fantastic articles!

You can read this and previous editions on the magazine blog, here: https://theeaglestjohnspolitics.blogspot.com/

Head of Politics, Julian Thomas commented: The Eagle and the Politicised Podcast are fabulous examples of the independent learning skills that pupils develop at St John's, not just in politics, but across the School. The magazine is a high-quality publication, edited and written by pupils on a termly basis; an incredible achievement by itself. But it is the quality of the articles that is remarkable. Often pupils are producing original pieces of work to an undergraduate level. Pupils have set incredibly high standards in previous years that today’s pupils have matched and improved upon. Even the pandemic has not stopped their passion and academic flair! Over the last few years podcasts have seen a marked rise in popularity, as they have become a fantastic way to engage with news, topics and content whilst allowing listeners to keep busy. We are delighted to introduce a great new podcast to our community created by three Lower Sixth pupils. Politicised, the St John’s Politics Podcast was introduced in 2021 and was suggested and conceptualised by Eleanor, Oliver and Dan in Lower Sixth. Whilst staff assist with facilitating the podcast creation, the podcast project is managed, researched, and developed solely by the pupil team.

The podcasts see pupils debating topics and recent political news, and the quality of their arguments is outstanding. Through the Summer Term, pupils have produced a few podcasts this year, and in the new academic year they are aiming to produce one every half term. Going forward, the plan is to broaden the political input and invite guests to take part in the recordings, whilst leading the way for future year groups to take part in the leadership of the podcast. Whilst setting up the podcast has been a courageous and forward thinking move from Eleanor, Oliver and Dan, it is a great new challenge having to explore new skills such as podcast technology! Pupils have taken on the project independently and we are delighted that is has been well received across our community. Episode 1 ‘This episode, we discuss the inevitability of poverty; whether in the current system of capitalism the world is resigned to having a wealth gap and whether a different ideology would prevent this. Exploring the ramifications, reasons for, and the different aspects of poverty, this episode seeks to deconstruct this longstanding issue.' Episode 2 ‘In the second episode, we address the growing concern of the overgrowth of the state; especially when it comes to protecting our own rights and freedoms. With the recent Police and Crime bill in the UK, the response to Coronavirus restrictions in the United States, and the issue of the preservation of certain rights, but not others, the question is being asked more than ever. Are there alternatives? Does radical anarchism provide the answer? Or does the state actually have a duty to protect its citizens through law? Many thinkers, Thomas Hobbes to name one, have attempted to defend the right of the state to dictate its citizens' rights. However, with growing awareness of our own freedoms, are we more vulnerable than ever to tyranny? Politicised will delve deep into the differing viewpoints and face these questions in hope of understanding this complex issue.’

To listen to Politicised, please scan this QR code to visit the podcast homepage on Spotify. Alternatively, please search for Politicised on Spotify.

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Farewell Summer Term 2021

Farewell

SUMMER TERM 2021

As the Summer Term and academic year 2020-2021 drew to a close, we reflect on a remarkable year. With the return to school in the Spring Term, and moments that have felt ‘almost normal’, there is a strong sense that life is beginning to feel happier. Whilst we reflect on the end of term, we also look forward with optimism to the start of the new academic year in September when we will see the return of the much-loved and missed house system, among other precious elements that make St John’s a special place to be. When the sun finally made a bright and albeit brief appearance this term, the School community breathed a collective sigh of relief and contentment as we begun to hear laughter and enjoyment throughout the site again. Pupils were able to relish in fun moments together within their bubbles, with barbecue lunches, glorious sports fixtures, and an exciting range of events for all year groups. The Upper Fifth enjoyed a fun-filled couple of days preparing for life in Sixth Form and experiencing A level taster sessions. Alongside welcoming and getting to know our new pupils who will join in September, they enjoyed a tasty BBQ in the sunshine. The highlight was seeing the joy and laughter as pupils took part in team challenges on the thrilling assault course, group dance and rounders! The Upper Sixth celebrated a fantastic final two days at St John's preparing for life after Sixth Form: from cooking lessons with our wonderful catering team; first aid and CPR; money management; careers and renting advice; to fun on the assault course and playing croquet on the Quad! It was wonderful to hear the laughter and excitement during both the Lower Third and Fourth Form Familiarisation Days, which took place in the final week of term. Ahead of September, pupils were welcomed safely into school and alongside the excitement of activities and

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sports, it was a great opportunity for pupils to start making new friends, get to know their tutor and ask questions before September. Across the term, alongside our Sports Department we were thrilled to see the return of sporting fixtures, albeit mostly without spectators! With over 250 fixtures taking place, we were delighted to see more than 85% of our pupils taking part, including our departing Upper Sixth pupils embracing their final chance to represent their respective teams. Furthermore, we were pleased to welcome the OJ Cricket team back to St John’s for their annual fixture OJCC v 1st XI. The Performing Arts Department have been as busy as ever, bringing richness and excitement to St John’s in the most challenging of times – keeping the performing arts alive! With regular recitals, spell-binding concerts, virtual weekly congers, the Lower School Play, and the unforgettable musical Miss Saigon, which saw 1,600 viewings across four nights. You can read more about this on page 90. ‘Huge congratulations to everybody concerned with this vibrant, captivating and poignant production of Miss Saigon. Amazingly achieved despite all the challenges of the last eighteen months, it is inspirational to those of us who are still waiting to be able to perform again.’ – Audience Member Even though house life has been different this year due to year group bubbles, the sense of belonging they provide and the opportunities for competitions - from water polo and filmmaking to singing and virtual pancake races – remained. The culmination of the variety of competitions, saw the 2020-21 House Shield won proudly by Gloucester House.

ENRICHMENT DAYS In the final week of term, pupils were able to enjoyed two fantastic Enrichment Days! Lower School pupils enjoyed a day of fun at Chessington World of Adventures, followed by a day of activities based on their theme park experiences, including learning about motion, friction and G force by exploring roller coaster design, creating adverts for their own theme park and creating water rockets! Fourth Form spent time learning about the variety of inspiring A level subjects they can look to enjoy in years to come such as psychology and business, and on the second day enjoyed a thrilling time at Thorpe Park! Whilst Lower Fifth pupils went on their first CCF overnight camping adventure, Upper Fifth were also away from St John’s, completing their Silver Duke of Edinburgh expedition! Lower Sixth pupils spent time learning about their future options and developing their UCAS applications.

On Friday 2 July, the School year ended in real style at our first whole-school Sports Day. The competitive spirit was brilliant, and the cheering could be heard throughout the David Weir Centre. In a year where carefree fun, and opportunities to be together as a whole community have been in short supply, it was incredible to see such fun and enjoyment being had by both pupils and staff. With races for all abilities, from the egg and spoon race to the 1500m, the supportive atmosphere was a delight to behold – especially in the final two races of the day, which saw staff members race in a brilliant medley relay against pupils! Our thanks go to everyone who made the day such a success and special thanks to the Old Johnians and the SJPA for sponsoring this event. The SJPA provided an ice cream van, which was a real treat! ‘What a really fantastic way to end the school year - huge thanks for the massive amount of organisation that will have gone into this!’ – Parent

Whilst we hoped to have invited parents to celebrate the multitude of pupil successes achieved this year, the delay in easing restrictions meant that our plans were thwarted, and therefore prize giving took place in bubble formats over the final weeks of term. Our Upper Sixth leavers enjoyed their leavers dinner on Saturday 3 July, and it was specially adapted to feature the exciting Euros 2020 England fixture! Rowena Cole, The Head commented: ‘At the beginning of the year, I said that I did not want the 2020-21 academic year to be defined by the pandemic. While we cannot gloss over the impact of lockdowns, social distancing, bubbles and face coverings, I wanted the year to be about so much more and, thanks to the efforts of our staff and the wonderful attitude of our pupils, I believe we have achieved that.’ We look forward with excitement to the 2021-22 academic year.

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Academic and Exam Results

Upper Fifth - Ready for

the next challenge! The 2021 cohort of St John’s Upper Fifth celebrated fantastic GCSE results this summer. They experienced an unusual two years while studying their GCSE courses but demonstrated that adaptability, hard work and a positive attitude can overcome many obstacles. This particular year group holds a special place in the life of St John’s as it includes the founding members of St John’s Lower School, which first opened in 2016. As trailblazers for many St John’s ‘firsts’ – they were the first Lower Thirds, created the first U12 and U13 sports teams, and were the first Fourth Form to merge with new 13+ joiners – they might not have wished to also be the first Upper Fifth to complete their GCSEs under the TAGs process.

It has been a collective effort between staff and pupils to

Throughout their time at St John’s, they have shown each other friendship and compassion on their darkest and brightest days. This collective goodwill and determination has proved incredibly helpful in navigating the uncharted waters of learning during a pandemic.

enjoy their well-earned celebrations and a rest. We can’t wait to

Rowena Cole, The Head, commented: “All of our pupils have faced the challenge of adapting to remote learning for large chunks of the last two academic years, but the pupils who are in their public examination courses have really had to step up to the mark. To maintain their curiosity, enthusiasm and ambition with shifting goal posts has been an added pressure but one they have responded to admirably.

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minimise the impact of the pandemic’s disruption. I am thrilled that their hard work has paid off and they have the results they deserve. They have already experienced taster sessions in their A level courses, giving them a sense of what life in the Sixth Form will be like, so they’re ready to hit the ground running when the new school year begins. In the meantime, I hope they welcome them back in September to take the exciting next steps in their school lives.”

In the Summer Term, the Upper Fifth benefited from a series of events designed to prepare them for life in the Sixth Form. The programme saw them attend A level style lessons, participate in fun and challenging team building activities and get to know the new pupils joining the Sixth Form at a sunny barbecue. They are now ready for the next ‘first’ in their school journey as many of them become the first pupils to experience St John’s all the way from Lower School to Sixth Form.

Exceptional Results

FOR THE CLASS OF 2021 The culmination of two years in Sixth Form at St John’s has seen the Class of 2021 celebrating a stellar set of A level results. This exceptional year group previously achieved some of the strongest GCSE results in the School’s history, and they were determined that the disruption of the pandemic would not hold them back.

Rowena Cole, The Head, comments: “We are incredibly proud of how these remarkable young men and women have conducted themselves during their time at St John’s. They have made an outstanding contribution to our school, and all of the impressive characteristics we knew they exemplified have truly come to the fore over the last two years. We knew they were capable of great things and encouraged them to be academically ambitious. They responded fantastically well, setting their sights high and pushing themselves to accomplish brilliant results. I hope they feel pride in their individual and collective achievements, and a sense of ownership of their many successes. Despite facing real challenges during these crucial educational years, their spirit never dimmed. Their unstinting commitment to the School and to one another set an impressive example and they led the whole pupil body with kindness, humour and positivity. I congratulate them all and look forward to hearing what they do next - they are a

While the Summer was a little different this year, the Upper Sixth marked the end of their school years with a celebratory Leavers’ Awards Dinner. It was a wonderful occasion, providing the opportunity to reflect on the breadth of their interests, talents and many achievements at St John’s. Among the many individual success stories, this year’s leavers are pursuing a fascinating array of opportunities. From studying engineering at Cambridge, or linguistics and social anthropology at Edinburgh, to being accepted at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts or embarking on the pathway to becoming a doctor, the pupils are following their own passions. They leave St John’s well equipped to take the next steps towards realising their dreams.

force to be reckoned with!”

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ST JOHN’S spirit THROUGH THE YEARS Every organisation that has existed for as long as St John’s has experienced highs and lows. Sally Todd, School Archivist, has looked through our archives and found fascinating examples of how the St John’s community responded to and thrived during challenging moments in its history. A sense of working together, a spirited vitality, and the determination to remain positive and optimistic shine through. No matter what changes over the years, this resilient and reassuring foundation remains constant.

THE SCHOOL FIRE IN 1913 On 9 June 1913, a serious fire destroyed St John’s main building. It spread rapidly and dormitories, classrooms, assistant masters’ rooms, the headmaster’s house, the matron’s room, the big school room and the library were completely destroyed. Thanks to a regime of regular fire drills, no lives were lost, but the damage was extensive. A rebuilding programme was put in place and the Committee seized the opportunity to enlarge and improve the facilities.

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1913 Just over a year after the fire, Speech Day 1914 took place on 1 July, attended by The Duchess of Albany who opened the restored main building and presented that year’s prizes.

In his speech, the headmaster Edmund Downes asked his audience to think back to the previous year and recall the circumstances of their last Speech Day. At that time, they had the charred ruins of the old school around them and the smell of burning and ashes before them and about them. He thought they would acknowledge that things were now somewhat better. Thanks to the liberality of their old benefactors and of new benefactors, they had risen from their ashes far more glorious than they were ever before. A large number of improvements had been made, and he hoped the visitors would go around the new buildings and would see them. He commented that they:

“Had had a very unpleasant year, because they had been in discomfort, and it was never pleasant to live and work in

discomfort”. He had already thanked the masters privately,

and he would like to thank them again for the way in which they “had borne the necessary discomforts of living out and

of living in places where the water came up to the front door, and a few other troubles of that kind. They had borne it

smilingly, and had gone on with their work just the same.”

He did not think the work or the games had suffered in the

slightest degree from the past year of discomfort. In the same way, he wished to thank the School, and wished the captain

of the School (Gray) were there so that he could thank him for having led the School in the way he had done. He described

that the captain of the School had “made everyone follow his lead and be contented and happy and do his best, although things were not as they were accustomed to have them”.

Owing to this general cheerfulness, the headmaster considered that they had gone through their difficulties in what he might claim to be a thoroughly praiseworthy manner. Now they were going to enjoy the blessings, and he was looking forward to next term, when “everything would be pleasant around them”. They would have “a great and a glorious time, and the School would go forward in a way it had never gone before, because they had learnt from their experiences in the past year to hang together and to work together”. He concluded by saying that day would set the seal on the life of the School, and thanked the Duchess of Albany for making it a 'Royal' day in the history of St John’s.

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THE HOUSE SYSTEM DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR At the start of the Autumn Term 1914, a new tutorial system was set up with a house tutor in charge of each of the four houses. From 1914 onwards, every boy was a member of a house, rather than just those who played sport for a house team. In 1915, as the First World War meant that matches against other schools and teams became difficult to arrange or had to be abandoned, the new house system proved its worth. Suddenly, having a vibrant inter-house competitive life became valuable to the pupils and there was more interest than usual in the house ties. An OJ writing about his time at St John’s during the Great War said:

“What kept the younger ones going was their passionate interest in games – not especially the games they played themselves, but those of the older boys, the Senior and Junior House matches and school matches, all of which they watched with keen interest.”

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1938

ST JOHN’S DURING WORLD WAR II

EDITORIAL FROM THE JOHNIAN, DECEMBER 1938 At the time of writing, a fortnight has passed since the agreement of Munich ended a period of worldwide apprehension so intense that it penetrated very deeply even into a community so self-contained as St John's. During that period, the work of the new school year and the future of the 1st XV seemed of little importance compared with the sequence of historic events by which all of us were profoundly affected.

protected by ramparts of earth or sand-bags; gas-masks were fitted and issued to the School and Staff, and "air-raid practices" were carried out to test our emergency routine. In order that all this should be completed quickly, the School carpenter and the porters put in much strenuous work overtime, while both boys and masters sacrificed much of their spare time to pasting up panels, shovelling earth and moving sandbags.

It is a proof of the vitality of the School that no sense of hopelessness was allowed to interfere with ordinary routine. We emerged from the crisis with a satisfactory feeling that, in the event of a future emergency, we would be fully prepared. The basements were rendered gas-proof, their windows were covered with cellophane paper or wire netting to guard against splintering; vulnerable windows were

We may also claim that we did our bit to help the A.R.P. of the district. The Swimming Bath was emptied and made over to the Leatherhead U.D.C. as a decontamination centre; the Infirmary was appointed one of the district first-aid posts; and some of us spent an evening assembling gas-masks at the Council Offices.

Extract from The Johnian, December 1945

THE HARVEST CAMP

Despite a hesitancy amongst the uninitiated to volunteer, the peace of Headley Mill Farm was once again tumultuously disturbed for a fortnight last August by the influx of over twenty harvesters from St John's. Once again, the weather had been inconveniently arranged but this was counterbalanced by an entire absence of last year's plagues. As usual the whole success of the camp depended upon the incredible capacity for hard work, and unfailing good humour of Mr Grigg and Mr Murray.

Fortified by the excellent food provided by the young lady helpers, and decorated with clothes which no one would dream of wearing anywhere else, the campers substantially aided the harvesting over a wide area, and the testimonies of the farmers themselves are sufficient to prove the camp worthwhile… …For most of us the camp will remain a happy memory of a fortnight's worthwhile hard work, and of a comradeship amongst all concerned, seldom achieved in more normal circumstances.

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Adversity Over the Years

EXTRACTS FROM THE JOHNIAN EDITORIALS FOLLOWING VE DAY 1945 AND THE ARMISTICE, NOVEMBER 1945

EDITORIAL, JULY 1945 There is a strange tendency among all of us to look back on what we have avoided or endured, instead of what we are to meet with in the future. It is an expression of relief that at least one part of our journey is over. We take it for granted that there is more to come and are quite willing to face it: but we refuse to be glum at the prospect. That the second part will entail as much difficulty as the first is undeniable: yet we control our agitation, since we accept this as necessary and worthwhile. So we have felt about the past. Many have gone from us; we are proud that they have helped to bring us so far. Many more will go in the future, and we will think the same about them. These are our feelings now that there is peace in Europe. Everyone of us realises that it will be as hard to make a success of the peace as it is of the war. Nevertheless we are glad that at least some of the obstacles in our path have been surmounted;

we are not, as it were, withholding our applause until the final whistle blows. Our thoughts about the events in this school are similar. We have overcome much, and we have achieved something. We have met with a certain number of inconveniences, which we accept, although, true to our nature, we grumble at them; we are pleased that perhaps more are behind us than are to come. If one advantage disappears, we quickly seize upon another to replace it. It is essential that in some direction, whatever that direction be, we should excel, instead of having to our credit a modicum of everything which no one will respect. So long as we have retained some such quality on which to expend all the excessive chauvinism pent up within us, we can claim to have emerged with success from the shadow which war has cast over us.

1945 EXTRACT FROM THE JOHNIAN, MARCH 1946 The world and St John's School have at last begun the laborious return to peace conditions. We do not complain that there is no more food and less domestic help than there was twelve months ago. But we sincerely hope that soon we shall be able to consume unlimited supplies of petrol, paper and bananas. There are many who wish the shortage of gym-shoes to continue…

…To most boys of the School the fortunes of the 1st XV have become considerably more important than the fortunes or misfortunes of international politics. We are proud of another almost unbeaten rugger XV…

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… Both on the rugger field and facing unpeeled potatoes, a spirit of comradeship is essential. It is futile to quarrel with one’s partner on ‘flying squad’; quarrelling takes time, and so does washing up.

THE FLYING SQUAD John Meakin later described the ‘flying squad’ in his memories of St John’s during WW2: “One longstanding institution of the wartime and immediate post war years was the Flying Squad. Each house in turn missed the first period of the day to do the housework for a week. Some swept dormitories and corridors, and A & B blocks, and some cleaned tables, washed up and laid the next meal as well as preparing vegetables. Thus we all developed very useful domestic skills as a bonus on our education!” OJ Tony Fryer (West 1940-1944), head of the ‘Flying Squad’ at St John’s during WW2, also shared his memories: "At School, I was the head of the flying squad, organising cleaning duties in the dormitories and corridors, going into the town to collect fish, meat and vegetables, and so on, and doing preparation work in the kitchens. Constant air raids required us to sleep in the basement, changing and bath rooms.

Occasionally a Dornier ‘flying pencil’ would drop through low cloud and let fly with its machine guns. The old gym suffered – it was blown down by a parachute mine that dropped a little distance away. We had two or three incendiary raids when the School’s own fire squad went into action. We had front line seats for several days of the Battle of Britain and for the dreadful bombing and fire raids on London. Even at the time of Dunkirk we could hear the roar of guns and bombers across the Channel. We saw the early recruits to the Home Guard (Dad’s Army) drilling on the playing fields complete with broomsticks, though later the sergeant major of the OTC loaned them one or two Lee Enfield.303 rifles. Those of us deemed old enough were trained to drive tractors on the playing fields, so we could help farmers get in their hay. We also dug slit trenches in the chalk up on the Leatherhead to Dorking road close to the Beaverbrook estate, where we helped to plant many young trees. All in all it was a strange life. Memories were certainly made of these!” Sally Todd, June 2021

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Community

COMMUNITY HELPING OUR LOCAL COMMUNITY IN LOCKDOWN During the 2021 lockdown, when schools were closed from January until early March, St John’s School loaned Leatherhead Trinity Primary School 15 laptops. These were used by some pupils working at home, facilitating their online learning, and by some pupils of key workers learning at the school. Pupils also wrote cards to local care home residents, which was lovely during such a time of isolation.

COMMUNITY CRICKET COACHING During May and June, 58 Year 4 pupils from Epsom Primary School attended three successive cricket sessions at St John’s. They benefitted from the coaching of the sports staff and were able to use the School’s facilities and transport, including the sports hall and the main field. They enjoyed their involvement and the headteacher provided the following feedback:

The children have benefitted hugely from your generosity, enthusiasm and expertise. It has genuinely made such a difference to providing our children with rich experiences.

COMM 34

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St John’s Community Holiday From Saturday 14 August, staff and volunteers warmly welcomed 21 children and young people with special needs, aged 12-19, to participate in the St John’s School Community Holiday, a seven-day residential holiday hosted by the School. They were cared for by 42 present and former pupils, assisted by a small external team, all of whom are volunteers. The children and young people enjoyed a fantastic range of activities, including games, arts and crafts, swimming, a fashion show, a magician, and a disco on the School site. Off-site visits included cycling in Bushy Park, visiting Hobbledown Farm in Epsom, a trip to the seaside at Littlehampton, and a day at Chessington World of Adventures. Many of the participants have enjoyed previous holidays at St John’s, and we were delighted to welcome five new guests this year. The holiday’s registered manager, Neil Whitmore, a teacher at the School, commented ‘It’s been great to re-establish the holiday again after cancelling the 2020 edition due to the pandemic. It’s wonderful to see the children and young people enjoying themselves, as well as the volunteers gaining so much from the experience.’ The holiday was safely conducted in accordance with Covid-19 procedures, including regular lateral flow testing for staff members.

Another wrote, ‘I cannot believe this week was my daughter’s last St John’s Holiday! Having been there from the start in 2014, seven years on and it just gets better every year. My daughter will miss it terribly but what a fantastic opportunity you give our children and us!!’ The impact on the young volunteers is also significant, with feedback including, ‘It’s been great to see everybody again and wonderful to have such a strong sense of community.’ Another wrote, ‘I really loved it. And I will definitely apply again next year.’ Taking place at St John’s School and making use of the School’s boarding houses, the holiday allows parents and carers a week of much-needed respite safe in the knowledge that their children are being fully cared for, supported and having a fantastic time.

MUNITY Feedback from the parents of the children and young people has been wonderful. One parent commented that, ‘Words can't quite express our gratitude as parents, for giving children like ours the opportunity to feel so included, accepted and special, while allowing them to try new experiences in such a safe and cared for environment.'

Find out more about the St John’s School Community Holiday, here: www.stjohnsleatherhead.co.uk/charity

The Johnian 2021

This Year in Lower School

This year in

Head of Lower School Report

Lower School I

had hoped that when writing this article, the disruption to the end of the last academic year caused by Covid-19 would be a distant memory. Sadly, that wasn’t

to be the case and this year has been just as disrupted. Happily, as I write this, Lower School pupils have been safely back on site for many weeks and we are making plans for their return to the Lower School building and a more normal school experience from September. I would, at this point, like to take a moment to commend each and every pupil within the Lower School: they have demonstrated resilience in the face of unprecedented disruption to their education, the like of which has only been seen during wartime. They have not once complained, made the best of a very challenging situation and I hope that we will eventually all be able to look back on this time with a sense of pride about how our pupils and families responded so well to such adversity. I am incredibly proud of them all. Whether it was writing to local elderly people, creating ingenious videos, writing powerful poetry about the Black Lives Matter movement or baking industrial amounts of banana bread, they have embraced the values we hold dear in the Lower School of always trying to better oneself and maintain a positive attitude centred around our core value of kindness. It has been an exceptionally busy year and it has been a real pleasure seeing the Lower School community grow and develop. On a personal note, I would like to thank pupils and parents for continuing to support the Lower School. It is with a sense of genuine pride and satisfaction that I look back on everything that the pupils have achieved.

Whether it was writing to local elderly people, creating ingenious videos, writing powerful poetry about the Black Lives Matter movement or baking industrial amounts of banana bread, they have embraced the values we hold dear in the Lower School of always trying to better oneself and maintain a positive attitude centred around our core value of kindness. - Richard Harvey, Head of Lower School

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From the Head of Lower Third: Miss Hannah Rowell With the first national lockdown hindering our in-person familiarisation day, the first time the pupils were able to meet as a Lower Third group was during our activity trips to High Ashurst. Over both days, it was clear we were welcoming supportive, enthusiastic, and determined pupils we were welcoming into the Lower Third. I am pleased to say these qualities have remained, even in the depth of a second lockdown and a rather odd first year for the pupils! For most of the Lower Thirds, the competitions have been the highlight of the year. Our first competition was against the Upper Thirds, in the eagerly anticipated House Singing Competition. Our imaginative rendition of Walking on Sunshine, with both impressive vocals and imaginative dance moves, meant we easily took the win, and deservedly so! Up next was house

hockey, house rugby and house football, with Orange House taking the win in hockey, Yellow in rugby and Purple in football. No matter the result, it was so lovely to see the Lower Thirds proudly represent their houses, whether playing or supporting and coaching. Sadly, a second lockdown put an end to the in-school competitions, but the competitions continued from home. The inaugural ‘Great Lower Third Bake Off’ began, with over 65 entries from pupils. We hungrily looked at the photos of scones, cakes and cookies that were sent our way; our only disappointment being that we could not taste any! Tia Allen was crowned Lower Third ‘Star Baker’ by The Head and Richard Harvey for her impressive array of bakes titled ‘A full day of lockdown eating’, with Eve Fisher and Jack Snooks both taking the Runners Up prizes. In next year’s competition, I am hoping we can finally try the impressive bakes!

Read more about Lower School Bake Off on page 12

The return to school in March was welcomed by pupils, parents and teachers alike. We felt so lucky to see the pupils in front of us rather than on Teams! However, on that note, I would like to say a huge well done to the pupils for their continued resilience and endless enthusiasm through a tough period of online learning. Their smiling faces every tutor time really did bolster the spirits of the tutors and having over 200 credits enter my inbox during the eight weeks is testament to the pupils’ hard work. I would like to say a huge thank you to our wonderful tutors and Richard Harvey, who have worked tirelessly this year to support and guide the pupils and to Matron who is always there to find a missing jumper, offer some advice or give out emergency treats! I am extremely proud of the Lower Thirds and I hope they have thoroughly enjoyed their first year here. I cannot wait to see what they achieve as they head into the Upper Third and (hopefully) experience a first ‘full’ year at St John’s.

From the Head of Upper Third: Mr Tom Helliwell It is difficult to sum up the year without mentioning the obvious, but I will try, as instead I would like to focus on the continued energy and ‘can-do’ attitude that the pupils in the Upper Third have shown over the whole year. Settling in to their temporary new ‘home’ on a corridor in the Hamilton Building, the Upper Third adapted quickly to the changed routine. Not moving around the School as much for lessons had positives, and it has been lovely to see (and hear!) the enthusiasm

the pupils have maintained. The fact that the year group has amassed over two thousand credits over the course of the year speaks volumes (and not just to the size of my email inbox). Well done! It has been brilliant to see sports continue, whether through charity bike rides and compulsory family walks (!), or the more normal scene of Saturday fixtures in the last few weeks. I particularly enjoyed seeing pupils make the effort to come in for training sessions on a Saturday morning, even when fixtures against other schools were not possible.

Read more about Lower School Projects on page 13

I would like to say a massive well done to all pupils who contributed to the Lower School project this year. The standard was phenomenal, and I really hope that they continue to take a proactive approach to their learning. Thank you also to Janet, our Matron, and to all the tutors for their continued support of the pupils. There is no doubt the past two years have been an unusual start for the Upper Third pupils (and also for me!), but I have been so impressed by the energy and passion they bring to all that they do. I encourage them to use that drive and enthusiasm to make a positive mark on St John’s as they progress into Fourth Form.

The Johnian 2021

This Year in Lower School

INDUCTION DAY by Tiggy Beaumont and Alex Styche-Patel (Lower Third)

It was great to join St John’s and even though we couldn’t go on the usual residential trip we had an amazing start. We had two fun-packed activity days; one at an activity centre and one at school. The day at school was full of team building activities. I was in a group of four people, who were all from different tutor groups and we had not met before. It was a brilliant way to help us make new friends. In the morning, we had a competition to see which group could build the tallest spaghetti and marshmallow tower without it falling over. Our tower turned out not to be too stable and we didn’t manage to build a winning tower, but had great fun and even resisted eating the marshmallows! After a packed lunch on The Quad, we played ultimate frisbee. We were all mixed up again and we got to meet even more new Lower Thirds. The weather was great, and we had a specially designed St John’s t-shirt with our names on the back, which helped us and the teachers get to know each other’s names and is a great keepsake from the first few days here. The trip to High Ashurst was also really fun. We did some team building activities, including obstacle courses, balancing challenges and, in the afternoon, we did my favourite activity: the high ropes. It was funny to see teachers jumping off 10m high logs and we all encouraged each other to face our fears. It was a brilliant start to St John’s!

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The induction trip was a great way for people to get to know each other and make friends. The two activities we did were ultimate frisbee and building a tower out of spaghetti strips and marshmallows. Ultimate frisbee was a really fun and sporty game which involves teamwork, so a lot of people got to enjoy themselves with their team. We played outside in the beautiful sunshine and everyone was happy to be involved. To build our towers, we were put into random teams and instructed to build a tower as big and tall as we could in about ten minutes without it breaking or falling over. My teammates immediately thought of the same idea, which was to make the structure like a big cube so that it was even. Once we'd built the cube we decided to add a 3D triangle shape on top to make it taller. The target was to have the tallest tower, so we just kept building shapes on top of each other to make it really tall, and because of the cube base it didn’t fall over. Our team ended up winning because we had the biggest and tallest structure! This activity really needed teamwork, which helped people work together and make friends. It was a really fun experience for everyone, and everybody loved it.

LOWER SCHOOL SPORT by Holly Redwood and Ellis Woolrych

In September, we started the hockey season for the term. We have great sessions in the week and pulled off some brilliant weekend wins. Everyone gets to play from the A-D team. Unfortunately, this year because of Covid-19 we have not played as many matches but instead, played among ourselves in small matches and tournaments. After the hockey season, we moved on to netball. Again, unfortunately, we weren't able to able to play any matches, but the lovely coaches have made it enjoyable, and we even had a player from Surrey come and teach us some new skills. We finished with house netball, which was so much fun, and everyone enjoyed it!

We finished the year with cricket. Mr Hammond, Mr James and lots of other staff have been keeping us busy with new skills, in the nets and amazing drills including batting, bowling and fielding. We have been playing softball and hardball, which was a great experience. But this term we got lucky as we were able to play matches the whole way through. We have played amazing cricket and were almost undefeated. Cricket is my favourite sport and I was hoping we could play a few games and, luckily, my wish came true. The As played three games and three were cancelled because of rain, while the Bs have played two with other fixtures cancelled due to rain. I am writing this in the middle of the term so we have a few more games ahead, including a big one against local rivals Epsom College.

SPORT

The sport in Lower School this year has been a bumpy ride, but we have managed to get through it. Every week we have games twice, on Monday and Wednesday. We also have a PE lesson on Friday afternoon, including dance, swimming, and many more fun activities. Most Saturday mornings, we have a friendly match against other schools and occasionally throughout the week. I really enjoyed all of it, even though lots of it has been affected by Covid-19, with many games being cancelled and at one point we had to go home for a while with the sport teachers doing fitness videos to keep us productive. Even though Covid-19 affected our year, we still had great training sessions and a few games that we managed to play.

Throughout the year, everyone was free to sign up to any sports clubs that were on the list that term. You could see that it was very popular because most of the clubs were full after a few minutes. For example, I have done hockey club, rugby club, rounders club, football club and cricket club, all of which I have enjoyed, partly because of all the amazing teachers.

Overall, the pupils this year have done incredibly well despite the pandemic and have won and lost, but worked as a team and become stronger. We have all had a great time and can’t wait to start all over again in September.

The Johnian 2021

GIRLS

This Year in Lower School

Girls’ sport this year has been disrupted but we still maintained training sessions

and stayed fit. From September to Christmas, we were able to stay at school and complete a whole season of hockey training. Sadly, the Covid-19 rules restricted us from playing competitive matches against other schools in our area. Usually, we would be representing the School on Saturdays but, as we weren’t able to, the sports staff were very good at motivating us to come to the pitches for extra training. This was useful and enabled everyone to gain new skills and for us to practice as teams.

lessons online, and for sport there were Microsoft Teams sessions led by different teachers. Staff tried their best to make sure everyone was staying fit, and many people were going on runs, walks, cycles and doing workouts during their games lessons. Pupils were very good at staying in touch with sports staff and keeping them updated on what they were achieving.

Before Christmas there was a house hockey event and everyone in Lower School played as part of their house, against other houses in their year. Unfortunately, we couldn’t combine teams with the Lower Thirds as we had to remain in our year group bubbles. Everyone played everyone and, in the end, Green House came out on top!

We were at home for most of the Spring Term but made it back for the last three weeks before the Easter break. The Spring Term sport for girls is netball and everyone was excited to start playing again. Over the course of those last few weeks, we played a big house tournament, as we were still not allowed any competitive fixtures. Like hockey, we all came in on a Saturday morning to play more matches against the other houses. All the girls loved playing together as a team. Overall, Yellow House won the netball competition this year!

After the Christmas break, the country went into another lockdown, so this meant we were not allowed back to school in January. We attended

In the Summer Term, girls can decide between doing cricket or tennis as their summer sport. It was a 50-50 division and we were all eager to enjoy the summer sports that we missed out on last year due to the pandemic. I write this halfway through the term and our cricket teams are finally able to play matches against other schools for both soft and hardball. The teams are all doing well and have notched up some great results. On the tennis front, the U13A girls are so far undefeated, with girls even playing up with the U14s. The Bs have had an excellent start to the season and we are looking forward to playing more fixtures.

Every Friday throughout the course of the year, everybody has a PE session. Each half term a group will be doing a new activity and we rotate, making sure we all have a go at each activity. The PE sessions consist of swimming, athletics, dance, gymnastics, health related fitness, badminton, and basketball. This is a great opportunity to try new sports and give everything a go even if it may be out of some people’s comfort zone.

Overall, this year has been complicated but St John’s still managed to keep everyone active and outside playing as much sport and as many fixtures as possible and we are all really grateful. Matilda Harrison (Upper Third) 40

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After a long lockdown with lots of cycling and walks, it felt great to get back to school playing some sport. Going into pre-season training everyone was looking forward to getting out there and having fun. It was just great to be back on the fields with friends. We had lots to look forward to with cricket, football, rugby and many different PE rotations.

BOYS

Firstly, we would usually be playing rugby but because of coronavirus we couldn’t play contact, so we started with half of our sport still being rugby, the rest football. In Lower School we have games on a Monday and Wednesday, so we get the opportunity to do lots of good training. We tended to do drills towards the start of the sessions and went into fun games towards the end. As many of us had not done much sport for a while, we also had to do lots of fitness work. After doing lots of training and

internal Saturday sport, we finally had a competitive football fixture against our local rivals, Epsom. It was exciting to be playing a different school after so long and it was a close game. It came down to one goal in the end with Epsom scoring the winning goal. Nonetheless, it was fun to play a fixture again. Towards the end of the Autumn Term, we were able to do some contact rugby too.

While this had all been happening, we were also having PE sessions every Friday. On my rotation I did things including swimming and gymnastics. I enjoyed swimming lots and we played water polo in the last session which I really enjoyed. While we were in lockdown there was also lots to do online from Mr James, Mr Newby and Miss Goble.

We would usually move fully to the football season after Christmas. However, because of lockdown we couldn’t start the season or play any matches, so it was back to doing bike rides and walks for a few weeks. When we got back to school, we were able to do house football over the next few Saturdays. My house, Green, did well in most of our matches, losing only a few of them, and one went to an exciting penalty shootout.

After the Easter break, we started our first cricket season at St John’s. With cricket being my favourite sport, I and many others were excited for the season ahead. We began with some sessions in the nets before teams were selected. I was in the Bs. In the training sessions we did lots of fielding practice and many people learnt how to bat and bowl before the first match against Dunottar. We had chosen to bat first and put on 117-3 before we had some impressive bowling performances, winning by over 50 runs. The A team also had a great start to their season winning against Dunottar and Hampton the following week. The next few games were disappointingly cancelled due to bad weather but we had an exciting match the next week losing by one run on the last ball. In training, as well as all the nets and fielding, we have played some fun softball and hardball matches against each other. We still have a lot more cricket to play in the final half term of the year. Overall it has been a great return to sport as we have been able to get back on the fields and even back to regular fixtures in the Summer Term. Most importantly, we’ve all had lots of fun, from A team to C team everybody has enjoyed the sports this year.

Adam Vann (Upper Third)

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This Year in Lower School

PPER THIR

A YEAR IN THE UPPER THIRD by Reuben Costard and Tallulah Thompson

espite another year of uncertainty, Lower School spirit never failed. As the pandemic started to ease, the more optimistic the St John’s community were

about clubs, matches and other co-curricular activities. This has been a year of relief for friends after not being able to see each other for so long in 2020.

When we returned after the summer holidays, we were all excited to interact with one another and we were extremely fortunate to have an – as close to normal as possible – exciting Christmas experience at school. Despite many things being different such as the food, the Chapel service and the music, the atmosphere never wavered in Lower School because we were all ecstatic about Christmas! Missing Chapel for so long was a big change in our structure, so it was so pleasant to come back to school and have our minds stretched with large questions and though provoking ideas. Personally, the Autumn Term at St John’s is always one of my favourites because at the end of a long term you can feel the atmosphere explode with elation for a well-earnt break. When schools were not allowed to open for the brief time in the winter, the School was extremely good at keeping our mental health stable, especially with the long hours of screen time that we had to endure. This made an extremely different but more enjoyable time for us as pupils, because we did not have to worry as much about our mental health - our teachers allowed us to thrive in the best possible way. One of the most popular activities within Lower School over lockdown was baking. The enormity of baking became so large that eventually there was a Lower Third Bake Off! There were some phenomenal cakes that showed talent, enthusiasm and passion. Unfortunately, they had to be judged on their appearance because the teachers were not allowed to taste them. However, we were fortunate to get two thirds of the School year in person. It was the perfect opportunity to bring a celebratory number of cakes in! As restrictions began to lift, we were able to free ourselves from square eyeballs and take part in extremely enjoyable events such as cricket fixtures, cup matches and the Lower School project. The standard of every event was high in both the Upper and Lower Third, which is more than apparent in everything they do. Personally, the highlight of my year has been the return of cricket. Playing and winning cup matches has been a huge change from the lockdown summer that we all experienced last year. It has been incredible to get out and 42

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represent my school alongside my teammates. Sport plays a large role in Lower School because we have competitions, matches, and practice games that all enrich our drive and love for being out in the open air. The academic achievements have complemented the co-curricular activities extremely well because, despite yet another disturbed year, every pupil has persevered and carried on being as determined as ever to achieve. One clear representation of this is the enormity of credits that were being received. We accumulated a monumental total of 5, 912 credits across both year groups. A total of 71 pupils achieved bronze credit certificates, 105 pupils achieved silver and 15 pupils achieved gold. The determination to succeed has never failed. A huge success for some pupils in the Lower School was the Lower School Project. This was a chance to show what we have all learnt or been enriched by during lockdown. The variety of projects was extraordinary and the winners – Radha (Upper Third) and Holly (Lower Third) both produced outstanding projects on Hong Kong Politics and Obesity in Children. Throughout the whole year, everyone remained focused and dedicated towards learning, which has resulted in excellent outcomes. As we conclude yet another bizarre year, I think we can all feel optimistic about the future ahead for clubs, sport, activities, academics to name but a few.

CLUBS AND ACTIVITIES by Bella Coombes

t is safe to say that the sheer quantity and variety of different clubs on offer at St John’s is astonishing. From rounders and cricket on the field in the

summer, to musical theatre club in the dance studio, there really is an activity for every person to enjoy. It also puts on display the amount of diverse talents and interests that exist among pupils. Clubs give you a chance to take a break from academics and find pleasure in things you would not have otherwise thought to try. One thing that my friends and I really loved doing on a Thursday afternoon was geography film club, in which we watched a movie about a storm surge that was particularly engaging. The things I learned from the film came up often in our geography lessons too, so the knowledge I gained during my club, I could also use in lessons! And, not only did we learn something new, we had loads of fun too. It is so cool hearing from my friends about the clubs they love doing. In particular, one of my friends told me all about what they had learned in chess club, which is run by Mr Debney. It was so interesting hearing about the many intricate details and methods there are to chess - which I had never heard before – we now sometimes play online chess together, although I haven’t come close to winning against him (yet..!). St John’s is known for its amazing sports facilities and teams and let me say, the sports clubs do not disappoint! There are so many activities on offer such as touch rugby, rugby 7s, numerous football clubs, hockey, badminton, swimming, dance, netball, cricket, and rounders to name a few. And you don’t have to be a gold medallist to take part either! They are on offer to everyone, no matter ability, so when you’re out of classrooms, you can get straight outdoors to have fun outside with your peers.

I know that the sports teachers work hard to make all these clubs inclusive and fun. By signing up to a sports club you will undoubtedly have a great time and learn new techniques that you can take onto the pitch in matches and games. For people who are interested in the dramatic and musical aspects of life at St John’s, the performing arts opportunities put on offer by Mr White and his team are amazing. In the Lower Third I participated in the Lower School Ensemble, which acts as a young person’s orchestra consisting of many different instruments from trombones and violins to clarinets and even ukuleles. I was also a member of the Lower School Rock Ensemble, which was a small band who got together every Wednesday lunchtime and had a great time with drums, electric guitars, keyboards and more. The choir is also a great way to get involved, no matter your skill level or musical abilities. Lower School Choir, like music ensemble, is open to everyone in Lower and Upper Third, and is a chance to have a lot of fun singing with friends and others near your age group. In conclusion, I really believe that clubs in the Lower School are such a great way to get stuck into life at St John’s and I just know that pupils entering the Lower Third this year will have a blast!

Head of Lower School Report The tutor team have worked tirelessly to support the pupils this year and I am hugely grateful for all the extra hours that they give to the pupils to make sure they are happy and able to fulfil their potential. My thanks go to Mr Helliwell and Miss Rowell, who have been incredible Heads of Year and I know they would like to echo my thanks to their respective tutor teams. We are sad to be saying goodbye to Miss Lafferty and Mr Blatch. Miss Lafferty is leaving to study nutrition but we hope to see her back occasionally, and our longest serving tutor, Mr Blatch, is taking his wealth of tutoring experience to the senior school: they will both be missed. I am extremely proud of each and every one of the Lower School pupils and whilst it is with sadness once again that we didn’t have a formal opportunity to say goodbye to the Upper Thirds, I know that they will be a credit to the Houses they are going to and I hope that will come back and see us from time to time. I look forward to seeing what they will accomplish during the next five years. Richard Harvey, Head of Lower School The Johnian 2021

Houses Churchill

Houses

Churchill From the Housemaster

s Gwilym has put far better than I in his House Captain’s report,

the year 2020/21 has been a challenging one for us all, as well as for school and house.

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With almost more lockdowns than house events filling the year, it has not been until this most recent Summer Term that the flurry of house competitions has kicked in, with house sport competitions including: croquet, cricket, swimming, water polo, tennis and athletics suddenly all on a more normal horizon. Looking back over the course of the year with regards to house competitions, there were the usual disasters in House Singing Competition and the

House Pancake Race, but there were tremendous highlights too as the Lower Sixth proved all conquering in rugby, football (James Searle – 1st XI Goalkeeper Elect and Eden Jobsz – what a hit son!!!!) and water polo. The Lower Fifth also carried the flag, carving up their rugby opponents, Kyle ‘the fish’ McTurk devouring the pool, and there was special recognition for the House Film Competition entry – the first ever fully animated feature, masterminded by the Moore brothers and Zak Winefield. On the academic front, with so much uncertainty, as well as many indecipherable emails and assemblies to contend with, the Upper Sixth and Upper Fifth boys coped quite brilliantly with the shifting sands beneath their feet and I commend them on all of their efforts. With the end of the year in sight we looked forward to the farewells, prize-giving, and the return to the normality of everyday life over the summer to come. It has been a year that many of us will never forget, but also one where I think we will all try to forget its lows quickly. Churchill House has simply not been the same, with only the Upper Sixth calling it home and all other year groups spread about the School in their bubbles. The camaraderie, the contact, those cross-year connections that we strive so hard to build to make everyone feel a part of the House community have been largely non-starters. I feel for the Upper Sixth, who have been an outstanding year group, and had a great year, though I know how brilliant they would have been leading the House as role-models for their younger peers, but sadly they were denied the opportunity

to shine as brightly as they might have. One looks to the current Lower Sixth to take the reins and quickly set the tone for September. Finally, as for me, I would like to say how much I have loved being Housemaster of Churchill over the last five years. It is the role in any school that allows you to have, in my opinion, the greatest impact on the course of the young pupils who pass through the doors; celebrating successes, educating about mishaps and dealing with them as they occur. I have been fortunate to have the support of a fantastic tutor team, three Assistant Housemistresses and our wonderful House Matron, Jane, in my five years at the helm, and I thank them all for passing on their wisdom over the last five years; I merely hope I gave some back! In Reverend Moloney, I have every confidence that, the boys have someone who will do a great job as their new Housemaster and continue to drive the success of Churchill on all fronts. Whilst I am of course excited to be heading to Christ’s Hospital for the new challenge of being a Head of Department, there will always be a big piece of my heart here at St John’s. Having arrived in 2013, commuting from Battersea and living for weekends in London; to actually becoming a grown up; building a family/menagerie of three daughters and a dog with Sarah – it all happened here at St John’s and I shall always think of the School fondly, particularly Churchill House. I look forward to when I shall next round the corner of West by the Hamilton building and have the full beauty of The Quad come into view as the sun starts to set over the Chapel. I wish all of the boys who I have overseen in Churchill House the very best of luck in their future endeavours and I will enjoy hearing about their continued successes in the years to come. Tom Leonard, Housemaster

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Houses Churchill

HOUSE COLOURS

Finding a way to keep as a unit became another hurdle to jump. But this didn’t stop us! 46

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From the House Captain

020/21 will be, for many, the year that we all might like to forget. The year-long blur of dipping in and out of online schooling posed a

tough challenge for many of the boys in Churchill.

Lockdown introduced new problems that we had never faced before, technological issues were no longer classed as minor inconveniences, and the stress of trying new ways to sneak in breakfast during a lesson almost conquered many pupils. However, with an ounce of resilience and a fistful of determination, this was a challenge that every Churchillian evidently took in their stride. The Autumn Term began as semi-normal. The major difference being the physical disconnect in the House. With the boys being spread across the School with no physical connection, finding a way to keep as a unit became another hurdle to jump. But this didn’t stop us! The Lower Sixth and Lower Fifth both brought home House Rugby silverware, proving that our house spirit was far from broken. Connecting through a weekly Zoom call meant that house assemblies could go ahead as planned, with a familiar ‘press, press, press’ keeping morale high and spirits in check. The House Singing Competition was a resounding success. Whilst not placing a podium position, a special mention for best choreography was enough to put our singing on the map. The angelic Churchill choir sang Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up with every fibre of their being. It is fair to say that this performance proved that music may be unbroken ground to explore, and I have every confidence that this area of expertise will be explored thoroughly in the future.

On return to school for the Spring Term, House Football saw the Lower Sixth bring home more silverware, winning their year group competition with an absolute screamer from outside the box in the dying embers of extra time from Eden Jobsz. A touch of drama to round off a difficult year was fitting as we head into the final stages of the school year with a bang. Morale has remained high as the light began to show at the end of this very long and gruelling tunnel, and it would be fair to say that every boy wearing the blue and white hoops deserves a long and well-deserved break this summer. A special thanks must go to two very important Churchillians this year, Jane our Matron and Dr Leonard, our Housemaster. Jane has been our mother away from home in Churchill for the last 13 years, so saying goodbye will be done so with a heavy heart and a misty eye. Dr Leonard has never failed to keep morale at an absolute high, thus it will be an enormous loss as his journey as Housemaster of Churchill comes to an end. On behalf of the House, I would like to send our deepest thanks for their services as Housemaster and Matron, and we all wish them the best in the future.

Gwilym Davies, House Captain 2020-21

As the year progressed further into the Autumn Term, suspicions rose as to whether schools would remain open for much longer. It became quickly apparent that the connection in school would be short lived, and in the winter, these suspicions proved to be true, and the second major lockdown flung the boys back into their bedrooms for a second time. Proving to be another kick in the teeth, we carried on regardless, finding amazing success in the House Film Competition. With thanks to the efforts of Zak Winefield and George Moore meant that Churchill placed a special mention, for the first ever fully animated picture.

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Houses East

HOUSE COLOURS

Houses

East From the Housemaster

ne of my mantras has always been that it is not the physical space that makes the House but the people within it. While I retain such a belief, this year has

taught me that a physical space where we can all live together and see one another is fundamental to developing the sense of togetherness and camaraderie that makes a boarding house so special. There is no doubt that, despite best efforts, house assemblies, house competition and house events have all been devoid of the usual fervour lit by mutual support between the year groups. Microsoft Teams chat is no replacement for dormitory and day-room banter and attempting to bond over pixilated video calls has proved – to some extent – a futile process. Even the much-dreaded House Cross Country Competition of old, in which the more leaden-footed

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and heavy-legged amongst us were dragged round the cold, muddy course by the exhortations of others and a sense of communal pride, was sorely missed. It turns out that no-one really wants to get out for a solitary run on a dark and damp February afternoon, let alone record it on Strava for all to see (bar Liam Wade, perhaps, whose committed 10k efforts deserve a mention).

That the Fourth Form boys only recognise their outgoing prefects over video screen is another crying shame. The passing on of tradition and of values and the guidance of senior pupils is another part of our education that has been compromised. Nevertheless, I must thank Ollie, the prefect team and the rest of the Upper Sixth for all of your efforts this year and over the course of your school career. As a year group (in my time at least!) you have caused very few issues, going about your business with quiet determination and no ostentation. You have always been ready to support the House and each other with a minimum of fuss yet no less pride. The end was not what any of us could have imagined or wanted but how you took all vicissitudes in your stride really does say something about your resilience and equanimity. Tredge, as House Captain, you deserve a special mention for your unwavering enthusiasm and indefatigable attempts to get everyone involved in yet another quiz or challenge. We will miss this, if not the one-eyed support and constant trivia about the ‘Gunners’. Returning to the Fourth Form, I did have concerns that, not having stepped foot in the House and not having met any of their senior counterparts, they may suffer from a diminished desire to win for the House. My fear was soon rendered risible when House Rugby came along and, donning the green and black shirts for the first time, the boys showed real fire and definite passion in the face of some errant arbitration that cost us a chance of glory. Seeing the likes of Joe, Jack, Fin and Callum move the ball with pace and precision gives us great hope for plenty of trophies in years to come. The House Rugby Competition was also notable for the performances of the Lower Fifth and Lower Sixth. The Lower Fifth had been reduced to the bare bones yet pulled together in the face of adversity to claim victories over several much-fancied houses. The Lower Sixth went one better and, against all odds and expectations, came out on top after the round-robin matches only to be denied the trophy by a technical anomaly. The all-conquering Upper Fifth meanwhile were again showing their class but the change away from full-contact rugby was not wholly welcomed by our band of forwards and we were eventually pipped to the spoils by West. What has been noticeable this year has been the pulling together of individual year groups, forced to spend more time with one another. Whether it has been with the Lower Fifth being whipped into shape by Frau Sigusch, the Upper Fifth tackling Mr Morgan’s cryptic crosswords, the Lower Sixth being forced to appreciate Mr Sartorius’ eclectic music taste or the Upper Sixth learning to use their ‘head voices’ under our very own Sir Simon Rattle, Mr Wright the bubbled tutor rooms have become our hub. The rehearsals for the House Singing Competition were, as ever, a highlight and somehow, we cobbled together a passable version of Billy Joel’s Uptown

Girl…which was soundly beaten by – you guessed it – the uptown girls.

62 NUMBER OF PUPILS

As lockdown came and went, the end of the Spring Term provided just enough opportunity for a truncated football competition in STRENGTHS: which the Fourth Form Togetherness showed promise and the Upper Fifth, once again, Sports lost out by the narrowest Debating of margins and a penalty shoot-out in the final with Eden Barlow unable to repeat his heroics from last year. The Summer Term and the eventual easing of restrictions then finally gave us more opportunity for events and here the boys came to life. Fourth Form and Lower Fifth won their respective tennis competitions and then, quite unbelievably, the cricket team, made up almost entirely of Fourth Formers, defeated the muchfancied Monty and North teams to claim the spoils. Bruno Phelan’s bowling prowess was unearthed and Jack Prottey’s clean striking belied his Saturday form. This victory was followed by a brilliant day in the sunshine at the inaugural Sports Day where we could at last support one another and come together as a whole house. Just as poignant was the end-ofyear pizza night where we managed to get two year groups together and the Lower Fifth undertook a major art project under the aegis of Will Loth. The others nervously added brushstrokes to Will’s picture and in doing so will have their handiwork on the walls for years to come.

Significantly, the Summer Term and these events were a stark reminder of what our house system brings. The mixing of ages, the fun and a competitive spirit allowed to develop in a safe space where 60 odd boys are given a sense of belonging is a special thing and aren’t we just ready for it to return in earnest? I, for one, cannot wait for boarding to re-open fully, for the House to be packed with eager, smiling (and sometimes miserable!) teenage faces and to replenish that trophy cabinet. Thanks to all of the boys, the tutors and, of course, Jill for their for bearance and support this year. Let’s look forward to September and a new-look house. Guy Hicks, Housemaster

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Houses East

From the House Captain

ast has always been a house renowned for its tight-knit community and, despite all the changes that have happened this year, we have not let this

change. The House Singing Competition was as passionate as ever; we did our best to be on the side lines of all House Competitions supporting all year groups and, even if the outfit is getting a little snug, I expect to see the House Mascot back next year, Ibeson!

Although this year has been different, there has still been a lot to celebrate. We started the first term by winning the overall House Rugby Competition, a title which we are used to winning by now! This was followed by a victory in the plate final for the House Quiz, with special mention to Barnaby Saville whose performance was nothing short of heroic. Away from house events, we also celebrated the birth of Mr and Mrs Morgan’s baby Lottie - congratulations and I hope you both are starting to get some more sleep! When I reflect on my time in East, the House events have always been a highlight but perhaps more meaningful – certainly something that separates us as a house – has been the boarding. Throughout my five years at St John’s, I have loved the boarding environment and I was a weekly boarder for my final years. As a boarder, you grow even more attached to your house and your friends through the high times playing corridor cricket or the famous Wednesday night board games and the quieter down times, watching midweek football or simply chatting in the dorms. One question I asked myself whilst writing this article is when did I know I belonged in East House? This was in my first year at the School, when I was once having a bad day and was sitting doing my prep in the evening in the study room with a couple of Upper Fifth boys at the time. These boys could tell I was having a bad day and instead of continuing with their work, which they could have easily

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done, they came over and spoke to me for about half an hour and even gave me a slice of their pizza to check that I was ok. At 13, this support from the older boys meant the world to me; the camaraderie the boys demonstrated is what East is all about. It has been a real shame that we have not had the opportunity to pass on such acts of kindness as easily this year and, although as seniors we have tried to convey some wisdom via Teams calls, my biggest loss has not been getting to know all the boys who will follow in our footsteps. Nevertheless, I know you will all wear the East shirt with pride and that you will look after each other as members of our East House community. A major part of this community is, of course, Mr Hicks and the tutor team and, on behalf of the boys I thank you for all your support. From my year, special thanks must also go to Jill who has been alongside us every step of the way. Jill, I don’t think any of the Upper Sixth would have been able to get through the last five years without you, whether it be supplying us with kit, keeping us out of trouble, kicking Harry out of bed or just being there to have a chat! I will look back very fondly on my time in East and I wish the very best of luck to everyone that the Upper Sixth leaves behind. Ollie Tredgett, House Captain 2020-2021

Competitions WON THIS YEAR:

Overall House Rugby

Exemplary, Ambitious,

Scintillating, Thoughtful HOUSE MOTTO

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Houses Gloucester

Houses

Gloucester From the Housemistress

t the start of this academic year I did not realise how similar it would be to the

last. We arrived in September full of optimism that the coronavirus pandemic was behind us and we would re-enter school life as normal. However, for the House the girls have had to go above and beyond to maintain that famous Gloucester House spirit.

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Despite operating in year group bubbles, the girls seem as proud as ever to be part of the House. As I have rushed round each tutor group every morning, I have managed to reach my 10,000 daily steps with ease, and the enthusiasm that has greeted me each morning reinforces the importance of what it means to be in Gloucester House. The Intra-House Singing Competition was a case in point. For the first few weeks of the year, there was much hilarity as each year group produced their video, with the Upper Fifth coming out as a year of much talent. Mrs Parker had definitely not kept her eye on the ball as this left the House only one week to rehearse for the actual Inter-House Singing Competition, and although this year Haslewood may say they were robbed, we came away with the trophy – I’m Still Standing was an inspired choice. During the Autumn Term, we ran a House Logo Competition, and this is very much where pupil’s artistic talents came to the fore. The winning entry by Hattie Coughlan will adorn the work room for years to come. The second half of term saw all year groups battle hard in the House Debating Competitions. The Lower Sixth were robbed, and the Fourth Form had their first introduction to the fire-pit. Well done to the Lower Fifth for reaching the semi-final stages, with the Upper Fifth and Upper Sixth managing to go one step further. Alas the Upper Sixth could not quite overcome Surrey but in the final competition with the Upper Fifth, the girls were triumphant – debaters extra-ordinnaire. The efforts of Amica van Strien were recognized as the first outside of the Sixth Form to receive full house colours for her contributions to debating over the past three years.

St John’s. Her end of term themes will be remembered as will her sense of good fun, and kindness that she showed to staff and pupils alike. The arrival of the Summer Term saw CAGs become TAGs and it was certainly a process that had to be endured by the Upper Fifth and Upper Sixth and is probably all that we can remember from the first half of term. The stoic manner in which they just got on with it will live in the memory. Their drive and determination, despite all the obstacles that were put in their way over the last eighteen months shows their strength of character. I cannot quite believe how much was packed into the last half of term. Zoe Donaldson and Daisy Murray giving amazing performances as Ellen and Georgie Philpott as Gigi, in Miss Saigon The Musical, with so many others within Gloucester in supporting roles. And then we ended with a glorious day at the David Weir Stadium for the inaugural Sports Day. In my final house assembly, I asked the girls to be involved, support and just give of their best. And in doing that we came away with the Lower Sixth winning their age group and Gloucester winning the overall athletics competition. To the outgoing House Captain Josie and Deputy Georgie I say an enormous thank you and we all look forward to a more normal 2021-22 year under the helm of Joint Captains Francesca Beech and Eleanor Wilson. Will they be able to lead us to yet another House Shield!? Lise Parker, Housemistress

As is tradition, House Hockey Competitions dominated the final weeks of the term and the Fourth Form picture encapsulates the house pride that is still being maintained – a year group that have yet to step across the threshold; but when that day comes… In the Spring Term we were all shocked with the return to lockdown teaching but house spirit was maintained by matron and Miss Ball who kept the intra-house competitions going by introducing the Easter Bonnet Competition; and Josie Keey led the way with her entry. At this point, I would like to say an enormous thank you for all the hard work that Lisa Monroe has put in over the past seven years to look after the needs of the Gloucester Girls, and it is with great sadness that she has had to leave

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Houses Gloucester

HOUSE COLOURS

We have made lifelong friendships and memories 54

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From the House Captain

his year has been far from normal. The girls have had to adapt to a range of extremely demanding situations including online schooling, social distancing

and coronavirus lateral flow testing - none of which anybody could have expected. However, no matter the challenges Covid 19 created, the Gloucester girl’s resilience and enthusiasm never faltered. Unfortunately, this year we haven’t been able to mix with other year groups within the School as we all hoped. It has been especially taxing on the new Fourth Formers who will have to wait to experience what it is truly like to belong to Gloucester House. Through these testing times, Mrs Parker, Miss Ball and Matron have gone above and beyond to ensure the morale of the House never dropped and elements of togetherness were sustained. Throughout lockdown we did many competitive bake-off challenges with Tati the standout performer throughout; it was great to see so many people participating. We also did an Intra-House Dance Competition, which was without doubt a highlight of this year. The girls thoroughly enjoyed themselves, but no one saw the funny side quite as much as Head Judge, Mrs Parker. Thanks to the efforts of many, we were able to change the formats of house events to ensure they still went ahead. House hockey was the first event in the calendar, and the girls headed off to the pitches with painted faces and high hopes. The Upper Fifth were victorious and all other years came close to the trophy. Next came the popular House Singing Competition. Our virtual performance of Elton John’s I’m Still Standing, was nothing short of impressive. Emily Winterbottom edited the song carefully, allowing all year groups to perform a different dance whilst singing. This was enjoyed by all that took part, and our efforts were rewarded with another first-place finish. The House Netball Competition came next and was another performance that the girls should be proud of. The Lower Fifth powered past all their competition and the Upper Sixth managed to beat their fierce rivals. Despite what happened on the court, the support on the side-lines was more impressive; the House flag was raised by many who came down to support even in the cold conditions, encapsulating the Gloucester House spirit. Despite the disruption of the year, the Parker Challenge still went ahead enthusiastically. We managed to reach a very impressive 1150km with participants cycling, running, walking and swimming to contribute. We raised an amazing amount of money to support our charity CPS Nepal. A special mention to Francesca Beech, who went above and beyond to create house merchandise, including hoodies, which helped to raise more money for our charity as well as allowing the House spirit to be felt around the School.

We would really like to thank Mrs Parker, Miss Ball and Matron as well as all the tutors for their efforts. They have given every girl so much support and made the year as engaging as possible despite the circumstances. Without their efforts, this year just wouldn’t have been half of what it turned out to be! I have absolutely loved my time at St John’s; it has been a pleasure to be House Captain of such an amazing group of girls and I am truly sad to be leaving. Throughout our time in Gloucester, we have made lifelong friendships and we will all look back at our time at St John’s with happy memories.

Beatrice Hewetson, House Captain 2019-20

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Houses Haslewood

Houses

Haslewood From the Housemistress

hroughout an unprecedented academic year, our pride of Haslewood Lions have exemplified

our house ethos of courage and kindness, continuing on the Haslewood tradition that began a decade ago in 2010! Although the Fourth Form through to the Lower Sixth have missed the physical house tremendously, as well as the chance to tuck into a cuppa and toast at break, our Upper Sixth prefect team, led by House Captain Extraordinaire, Georgia Kennefick, have sought to keep the House together even when year group bubbles, social distancing, and lockdown conspired to keep us apart.

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Creativity was paired with kindness from the outset of The year began with Rachel Menzies-Gow leading the House the year with our virtual Christmas Market stall providing in our first remote House Singing Competition, a rousing homemade festive crafts, ably led by our House Prefect version of Walking on Sunshine. Despite our tuneful chorus in charge of charity, Honor Grear. This year and the Fourth Form’s dance moves, the crown we have been working to support Oasis, a did not fall to us this year. However, I am hopeful NUMBER OF PUPILS locally-run charity which supports families that we can parlay our talent in this area into a in keeping vulnerable children out of social win in Autumn 2021. care and with their families. Thanks to our Christmas Market stall as well as generous House sport is always a chance for our Double support in sponsoring the girls in our House Blues to get involved and show house pride. Lockdown Decathlon, we have raised an House hockey kicked the sporting competitions amazing amount of money. We also have off with the additional challenge of year-group seen other amazing creative feats across the House with bubbles meaning that each year group had to field an entire Esther Winklehner being awarded runner-up and Hannah team. While all of the girls did Haslewood proud, special Wainwright named the winner of the Rotary Club Creative mention goes to the Lower Fifth, whose skill and ferocity Writing Competition for their original poems, which led to them missing the win by one goal to Hawkins. they were brave enough to share with the entire house In netball, it was particularly gratifying to see the girls in assembly. House Prefect, Emilie Norris, has gifted encouraging each other on the court, with the Lower Sixth Haslewood with the double blue lion that she created over soundtrack winning the prize for team spirit! In house lockdown, and it now has pride of place in our foyer. swimming, here again, our youngest Lions did us proud and dove right back into post-lockdown sport, with the Fourth At the core of Haslewood is kindness, so I am delighted Form placing second in water polo and the Lower Fifth that the Kindness Project has continued to flourish with taking the win in house swimming. random acts of kindness initiated by our Lower Sixth. Also, in the Lower Sixth, we have seen the advent of a new Regardless of the competition, our Lions’ approach is Haslewood initiative, a house magazine, the first issue of defined by grit, teamwork, and a sense of fun. The House which was published in summer 2021. Debating Competition was always going to be a challenge given that, once again, year-group bubbles meant that more I would be remiss in neglecting to note that this year we girls than usual would have to step up. Here, tremendous bid a fond farewell to Teresa Smallbone, the only Matron preparation went into researching each motion, and that Haslewood has known in its ten years. Generations impressive poise in delivery. Many thanks are due to Kayla of Lions have benefitted from Teresa’s wisdom, care and Vicente and Yasmin Osman for taking the lead on organising kindness, which is why we have instituted a new cup, the Upper Sixth, to Zara Evans and Emma Hull in the The Smallbone Cup for Kindness, to ensure that Teresa’s Lower Sixth, and Chloe Currie and Jessica Murdoch in the legacy remains central to Haslewood. Upper Fifth. A special ‘Holla!’ to our youngest debaters, Amelia Barrett and Tilly Hunt, who led the Fourth Form Finally, I would like to thank our Upper Sixth leavers, all of to second place in the finals and to our Lower Fifth dream whom themselves leave a legacy of kindness and courage. team, Katherine Vann and Hannah Wainwright, who In a remarkably unpredictable year, these young women clinched the victory for Haslewood for the second year have been nothing short of remarkable. Whether through in a row! I look forward to building on these successes to leading assemblies on sustainability and anti-bullying, protect our title next year. championing the younger girls in house and providing sage wisdom and mentorship, dominating in academics and The House Film Competition and the online production the visual and performing arts, our Upper Sixth leavers of Little Women brought Haslewood’s dramatic talent have set the bar high and will definitely be missed… and to the fore. Written by the Upper Sixth, our house film remembered. ‘Gumangi’ was a creative response to the challenges of Thank you! lockdown collaboration, telling the story of an online game gone awry, the Lower Sixth came to the rescue to play the second team stuck in the online ‘Gumangi’ Liz Pritchett, world, with acting talent from Shria Crossan, Zara Evans, Housemistress Neve Hudson, Emma Hull, and Susannah Klein and editing and sound expertly assembled by Bonnie Linkleter. And, after almost a year-long wait, what a delight it was to see Haslewood actors Elizabeth Connick, Georgia Kennefick, Susannah Klein, and Kayla Vicente shine in this longanticipated production.

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KIND Houses Haslewood

From the House Captain

t goes without saying that this year has had its

challenges. However, despite Haslewood dispersing

to different parts of the School and many events

compromised, the Haslewood girls have, as always,

shown their tenacity, passion, courage and kindness throughout the year.

The first big event of the year was House Singing and thanks to Rachel Menzies-Gow’s leadership we ended up with a stellar performance singing and dancing to Katrina and the Waves - Walking on Sunshine. While this event set the precedent for Haslewood being robbed of prizes for the remainder of the year, all Haslewood girls shone through in the competition and it was clear that our house was definitely the more spirited and exciting rendition compared to others...just saying!

and kindness. Anouska White organised a charity hot chocolate sale to raise money for our house charity Oasis, Rowena Fogarty started the first Haslewood magazine, and Susannah Klein has been leading the Kindness Project. The Upper Sixth also presented an important house assembly on anti-bullying.

Next was House Debating in which for the first time ever the Upper Sixth did not compete due to unforeseen events. However, the younger years of Haslewood collected major triumphs with the Fourth Form reaching the finals with Amelia Barrett and Tilly Hunt giving it their all. In addition the Lower Fifth snagged the House Debating win with Hannah Wainwright and Katherine Vann showing off their debating prowess.

There have been some hardships this year for Haslewood including the departure of our beloved house Matron Teresa Smallbone. Teresa has been an integral part of Haslewood for over a decade and her leaving will leave a hole in every Haslewood Lion’s heart. To commemorate her dedication to every girl that has walked through the Haslewood doors, we have decided to create a cup after Teresa’s legacy of kindness named the Smallbone Cup. We hope that she will go on to enjoy many more adventures but still find time for her love of gardening.

Despite all hopes, somehow House Swimming seemed to survive the Covid 19 cutting board unscathed. Haslewood continued to see achievements with the Fourth Form reaching the finals for water polo and the Lower Fifth winning house swimming with Eliza Klein, Olive Portlock, Kyarra Steele, Katherine Vann and Hannah Wainwright displaying Haslewood’s aquatic talents. One thing that never fails to make me proud is how Haslewood girls give every competition their all, showcased by House Hockey and Bonnie Linkleter’s fantastic editorial skills in House Film. Individual achievements include Esther Winklehner as runner-up in the Rotary Club Poetry Competition and Hannah Wainwright winning first prize. Furthermore, Molly Wolff was selected for the U17s England Hockey Performance Centre - part of the England Hockey player pathway. Haslewood’s determination continued unmatched when the Sixth Form day room became a sweatshop to turn out the handmade Christmas crafts for our chosen charity. Every single member of Haslewood has achieved above and beyond in a year of difficulties and we are proud of each and every one of you.

I won’t lie, this isn’t quite how I envisioned my year as House Captain unfolding and I sorely missed the “standingon-the-sofa conducting” experience that traditionally comes with the territory of House Singing. Well, just the sofas in general really. Regardless, it has been an absolute honour and privilege to serve as Haslewood’s House Captain. I remember sitting in the Fourth Form, knowing then that I wanted to give back as much to Haslewood as I could. It is impossible to put into words how much Haslewood has changed my life in the last five years and it has become a second home to me.

NESS As usual, kindness and courage have been consistently at the centre of Haslewood House throughout the year. Many acts of kindness and selflessness have been carried out and will not go unrecognised with Lower Sixth individuals taking the helm on Haslewood’s motto of having courage

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Thank you to the Upper Sixth girls, I honestly do not know what I would do without you. On behalf of the entire house I would also like to give a huge thank you to all of our amazing tutors and our Housemistress Dr P; Haslewood would not be Haslewood without you. You continually go above and beyond for us girls and I know I will never be able to repay you for everything that you have done for me. Finally, the Upper Sixth would like to wish everyone in Haslewood future success and happiness; we know we are leaving Haslewood in the hands of such amazing girls. Georgia Kennefick, House Captain 2019-20

To have courage and be kind in the futures we may find

HOUSE COLOURS

Competitions WON THIS YEAR:

House Debating House Swimming (Lower Fifth)

HOUSE MOTTO

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Houses Hawkins

Houses

Hawkins From the Housemistress

e can all agree that there’s no school like ‘real school’ and as I write this I feel very fortunate to be back in St John’s wonderful surroundings and the

Hawkins community, there is nothing better than being back together. With all of the ups and downs that we have experienced this academic year the Hawkins girls have once again made me proud with how they have dealt with everything thrown at them. They not only managed to ‘just keep calm and carry on’, but they kept up their motivation to keep learning and to stay connected throughout. Re-entering school under very different circumstances and being thrown into several lockdowns they all adjusted their mindset and took it in their stride. They have supported each other both on and off site using our online community to celebrate birthdays, academic successes, competition wins (and losses) and lockdown puppies! Hawkins girls show us every day that they are kind, intelligent and empathetic human beings and I and my team could not be prouder of them within such a difficult year for all.

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We started the year with an assembly on what it means to be a team and what legacy did they want to pave for the Hawkins' community and themselves this year. Ideas such as: an immersive shared community, giving back to others who aren’t as fortunate, and to not worry about where we have been but where we are going as creators, debaters, and forward thinkers. The House took a vote on our House Charity for 2020-21 and The Upper Room was chosen, a London-wide organisation who work with the homeless, migrant workers, ex-offenders and other socially disadvantaged people to improve their lives and conditions and give them the skills they need. Alice Moody, as Charity Prefect led the House by encouraging fundraising and the donation of luxury chocolates and biscuits for Christmas. Anna Stansfield also supported fund raising by running a Christmas Wreath making event where the Upper Sixth created and sold wreaths that they made. During lockdown, Zoe Noussis ambitiously pushed forward the idea of ‘elephant walking’ we collectively put our steps together to walk the miles an elephant would walk in a day (50 miles). Sadly, our fundraising opportunities have been less than previous years, but we have tried very hard to support such a good cause. Academically we had a strong representation at the School’s Duolingo Competition in the Autumn Term. Of the top seven places, six were taken by Hawkins girls. I would also like to congratulate Grace Kielstra and Hannah Sheppard for winning the Bowker Hope Prize competition. The annual House Singing Competition in October was led by the talented Poppy Parfitt. The theme was ‘80’s and after some interesting suggestions they plumped for Wake Me Up Before You Go Go by Wham. Obviously, we were the best by far but sadly the judges didn’t agree, a difficult competition to judge remotely and I will put this down to us not performing as an entire group in the Chapel. Thank you to Poppy and Alice Hanson for editing us all together to make it seem like a united effort! In November, our Fourth Form made their mark by winning their first ever Senior Inter-House Debate Competition. All the girls displayed tremendous comradery throughout the event. The Lower Sixth also followed in their footsteps by fiercely representing the House for the first time. One of my personal highlights of the Autumn Term when the Upper Sixth ran a whole house assembly, where they shared a poem ‘What if 2020 isn’t cancelled?’ and shared the global positives, personal positives and things we are looking forward to. Their key message to all was ‘keeping positive and look for the silver linings.’ This was a message that we tried to keep going throughout all of the lockdowns and tied in with the School’s overall support of mental health awareness and wellbeing. My other highlight was our Lip Sync Battle just before Christmas where the girls produced some brilliant, creative, and hilarious videos.

Spring brought around the annual House Film Competition directed this year by Alannah McMahon who worked with many of the Hawkins House community to produce a remote film, along with the help of Poppy Parfitt and Zoe Noussis as co-writers and producers, she created the idea of ‘being locked in Microsoft Teams’. Lots of the girls got involved across all of the year groups and the end product was a brilliant mark of the times we were living through. We also finally returned to school, and it was lovely to see everyone again. Although restrictions were still in place it meant that we could re-join in classrooms and on the sports pitches, laughing and chatting; just as things should be. In the Summer Term we were able to welcome the Lower Sixth and Fourth Form into the Hawkins House building for the first time, which was a joyous occasion. We had a socially distanced afternoon painting their mugs for use when they finally get back into house full time. The Fourth Form also went on to win house tennis setting NUMBER OF PUPILS the bar high for the years above to follow suit. I must commend the Upper Fifth and Upper Sixth for the difficult weeks of assessments and tasks they endured, they showed upmost resilience, motivation, and dedication after a tough year for their GCSEs and A level courses. The new addition of house water polo this year appears to be a strength for Hawkins with the Upper Fifth and Lower Fifth both winning in this arena, may this winning streak continue into next year! As a house we are very much looking forward to the Musical Miss Saigon that should have been performed earlier in the year. A wonderful finale to the year with many Hawkins girls performing in this love story that is universal in its emotional power.

After the turbulence of this year, I want to say a special thank you to the Hawkins' prefect team lead by Zoe Noussis our House Captain; your strong leadership skills and passionate drive kept us going through some tough times. To all of our leavers, we will miss you all and wish you the very best with your next adventures. Although this year has been testing in its own way, it is an honour to support and encourage the Hawkins girls on their journey and I hope they continue to thrive when we return to our Hawkins House setting together next year. Frankie Toloczko, Housemistress

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Houses Hawkins

From the House Captain

oing into this year, we were in a unique position with unprecedented changes to school life, however the Hawkins girls have always managed to adapt and thrive,

no matter the changing environments and circumstances. As a result, we have had an incredibly successful year, and I feel personally honoured to have been given the opportunity to lead such a spectacular Hawkins herd.

As the newest house at St John’s one of our main goals this year was to establish ourselves as fierce contenders in all areas of school life. The first term gave us a wide range of opportunities to display the wealth of talent that Hawkins has to offer, with the House Singing Competition being a highlight. Our confident and energetic rendition of Wham’s Wake Me Up Before You Go Go demonstrated powerful singing and killer dance moves, with many of the Fourth Form living out their pop star dreams. Despite not gaining any tangible reward for this event, Hawkins was a fan favourite among the pupils, and hearing the cheers and applause from other houses across the Quad was a true reflection of our efforts. Off the back of this success, and with academia being one of our greatest strengths, we were confident to tackle house debating. Most of our year groups advanced into the later stages of the competition, and ultimately with support from the Upper Sixth, the Fourth Form claimed victory to get us our first win of the year! This was swiftly followed by wins for both the Lower Fifth and Upper Sixth in house hockey. With Hawkins being a slightly smaller house and having WON THIS YEAR: two entirely new year groups, our success so early on was Fourth Form Debating commendable and filled me with Upper Sixth B's Hockey confidence that we could tackle any of the challenges Lower Fifth Hockey to come.

Competitions

Unfortunately, we faced a significant challenge sooner than expected; the second lockdown meant we were back to remote learning consisting of long days staring at screens and minimal social interaction. Undoubtedly, being separated from our friends and teachers took its toll. However, in true Hawkins style, we quickly snapped into a positive mindset of how we can make the most of a difficult situation. With tireless efforts from myself and Miss T, the Prefect team, and the tutor team, our positive trajectory continued. We set up a talent show, played games in our house families, shared challenges, quotes and riddles on our Teams page, and much more. Alice Moody launched ‘Walking Elephants’ which was a charity effort in which we walked 700kms as a house so that we could continue to donate to our house charity.

Alannah McMahon led our House Film Competition which saw great acting performances from members of all year groups, but most notably from our Housemistress and Poppy Parfitt, whose facial expressions and immense passion never failed to make the rest of us look like amateurs. Our submission, ‘Trapped in Teams’ was once again a fan favourite. Overall, we had a very successful term, however this could not have been achieved without the willingness and ability of the Hawkins' girls to throw themselves into any task they are given. Unphased by being behind a screen, each and every member of the House contributed to trying to keep us connected; we all maintained the understanding that this was a challenge that we were all facing together. As House Captain it was a moment of immense pride to know that despite being separated, our community was arguably closer than ever. It goes without saying that all of the girls in Hawkins are incredibly grateful to the staff in house that continuously, and unconditionally take care of us so that we can thrive. Our tutors always pick us up when we are down and praise us in our successes. Our Matron, Michelle, will never fail to make us smile and is an endless source of giggles and great advice. Finally, our Housemistress, Miss T, has fearlessly led us all through a difficult year while always maintaining the qualities we as Hawkins' girls aspire to have confidence, kindness, and generosity, all accompanied with an infectious smile. After all the uncertainties of this year, the Upper Sixth are leaving St John’s with very bright futures, and thoroughly look forward to returning and seeing how our influence helps Hawkins House grow. I, of course, must thank my Prefect team for all of their efforts, and we wish the very best of luck to the future Captains and Prefect teams. Zoe Noussis, House Captain 2020-21

The Johnian 2021

HOUSE COLOURS

Unity, commitment, kindness, passion HOUSE MOTTO

The Johnian 2021

Houses Montgomery

Houses

Montgomery Competitions WON THIS YEAR:

Senior House Hockey Best Cinematography (House Film)

The Johnian 2021

From the Housemaster

he academic year of 2020/21 has certainly been a year like no other! Lockdown after lockdown has tested every single one of us but I can honestly say that I

have been more impressed than ever with the 66 young men in Montgomery House. From their camaraderie in year group bubbles to their ability to deal with continual change, I commend every single one of them.

There were limited House Competitions this year due to Covid-19, but nonetheless, we have fared well overall. After our usual slow start in the House Singing Competition, we were victorious in the House rugby, largely thanks to our Fourth Form winning their competition and our Lower Fifth coming an agonising second! We then won two categories in the House Film Competition thanks to a quite brilliant piece ‘Milk’ directed by Ollie Langlands and our Upper Sixth. Credible finalists in the Senior House Debating was another highlight, along with victory in the first ever edition of the Upper Fifth House Water Polo Competition; Archie Humphrey scoring four crackers in the pool! Special mention must go to our Fourth Form on the competition front this year. As a year group they have won house rugby, house football and house water polo and contributed brilliantly well in their first year in Monty, although they have not actually physically been in the House yet - fingers crossed for September! At the time of writing, there are still some Summer Term competitions to be completed along with the eagerly anticipated school musical of Miss Saigon. Best of luck to William Churchill who is performing. On the academic front, I have been hugely impressed with the way in which the Upper Fifth and Upper Sixth have coped amidst such uncertainty around examinations. Every single one of them deserves an enormous amount of respect for their flexibility throughout the process. Our Lower Fifth and Lower Sixth are in the middle of their internal assessments and I look forward to hearing about their hard work paying off over the final couple of weeks of term.

in year group bubbles. I feel very much for our Upper Sixth, they are a year group who have been simply outstanding, and I thank Michael Anderson and his team of prefects for leading the House with such distinction this year in very difficult circumstances. I now look to our equally impressive Lower Sixth to take up the reins and act as the role models for our younger pupils. Special congratulations must go to Daniyal Khan on the news that he will become School Captain next year. Daniyal will be Monty’s third School Captain in the last four years, following in the footsteps of James Gardner and Nick Boulton, who has done such an impressive job this year. I think that speaks volumes about the type of young men that Montgomery House continue to produce and how they are viewed by the rest of the School. I would like to finish by thanking my tutor team. Nick, Paul, Andy, Rob and Tom have all performed their roles as tutors incredibly well and work tirelessly to ensure the boys in Monty House make the most of their time at St John’s. Of course, the support of the parent body continues to be fantastic and I thank them all for their efforts over the past year. It has been unbelievably frustrating at times but I am the eternal optimist and cannot wait to share a glass of wine with parents soon! David Hammond, Housemaster

It has been a year of emotion for many, and at Easter we said goodbye to our incredible Matron Becky after 12 years of outstanding service. The House will simply never be the same and I was very touched by all of the effort both our boys and parents went to for an appropriate send off. I hope that when time allows, Becky will come back and say hi, she is welcome anytime. As we reach the end of term, we look forward to the hopeful return to normality. Monty House has simply not been the same this year, with only the Upper Sixth calling it home and the other year groups spread around the School

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Houses Montgomery

HOUSE COLOURS

In Monty we like to pride ourselves on having the highest standards both in and out of the classroom 66

The Johnian 2021

From the House Captain

ur final year at St John’s has been far from what we could have imagined. Covid-19 has meant large parts of the year were spent at home with remote

learning. Despite these tough times Monty House has remained in great spirits. During the national lockdowns, as a house we have engaged in many competitions and activities to maintain the strong sense of community, which has been prevalent in the entirety of my time in Monty. These activities have included quiz nights, a fantasy football and rugby league and an exercise challenge to see who could cover the largest distance each week by running, cycling or swimming, in which we discovered Mr Howell may as well be training for a Tour de France! Despite the circumstances there have still been many House Competitions this year. The year commenced with House Singing which was quite different to previous years with all of the years singing our song Word Up separately and then being edited and comprised together by Joel Harris to make the final product. Although, we didn’t finish quite where we wanted to in the final rankings, the House thoroughly enjoyed producing our rendition of the song and coming together for the first time in about seven months. Slightly more success came in the House Film Competition event where our film ‘Milk.’ won both the Best Film Cover award and the Best Cinematography award. Success also came in the House football where the Upper Sixth won the plate and the Fourth Form won the cup. The Fourth Form also won the House rugby and the House water polo reassuring the older years that the House will be left in safe hands; continuing the legacy of sporting success. The seniors also put in a great effort to reach the final in the House Debating. In Monty we like to pride ourselves on having the highest standards both in and out of the classroom, this has been reflected in us having the fewest number of academic concerns, behaviour concerns and detentions in the School! On top of this Monty has produced another School Captain in Daniyal Khan who will be following on from our own Nick Boulton who has done a fantastic job in such challenging times. This is the third time a School Captain has come from Monty in the last four years demonstrating our ability to develop role models and well-accomplished individuals. In addition to these achievements, we held an incredible House Charity evening in February 2020 where Monty OJ James Phelan performed an unbelievable magic show. On the night we managed to raise over £5,000 for The Royal Marsden. In house, the pupils and staff have a great relationship, everyone works hard to support each other and ensures we all have the best experience we can at St John’s.

On behalf of the Monty Boys I would like to thank Mr Hammond, Mr Howell and all the tutors for their fantastic efforts in supporting us and guiding us through all the challenges we have had this year. The year would not have been nearly as successful without their great work. Furthermore, this year the House has lost one of our most important figures in Becky. Becky has been Monty’s Matron for twelve amazing years and has put in huge amounts of effort to support the boys in this house. It truly will not be the same without her, we are all extremely sad to see her go and wish her all the best in the future. For me, it has been an absolute pleasure to be the House Captain of such a great group of boys. Throughout my time here I have met so many great people and made fantastic memories, I would like to thank the boys for the part they have played in making Monty such a great community. Although I will miss the House and the School hugely, I know the House has been left in extremely capable hands and that the success will continue for many years to come. Michael Anderson, House Captain 2020-21

The Johnian 2021

Houses North

Houses

North

The Johnian 2021

From the Housemistress

e are nearing the end of yet another extraordinary year. Covid-19 brought with it several challenges for North House but also created unique

opportunities for the boys. The bubble system physically separated the year groups but the sense of house spirit and belonging never wavered.

After winning the House Shield two years in a row, the boys in North proceeded to work hard to retain their title. They continued to show consistently high standards across the sport, academic and cultural competitions. We started the year off with a unique version of Africa, by Toto, with each year group recording their part for the virtual House Singing Competition. The Fourth Form added some dance moves and the Upper Sixth, an attempt at harmony. Alex added the clarinet, Mark and Zach created some excellent 80's music video scenes and Fred edited it into a real work of art. Unfortunately, the judges, while impressed with our creativity, were less dazzled with our musical talent. We carried on the year with some fine performances in house rugby by individual year groups. We have always been a strong contender in house debating as well. Although there was not a floor this year, our speakers once again shone. A huge congratulations particularly to our Lower Sixth team who won again this year. House football also brought many successes. The Fourth Form and Lower Fifth ended up in third place despite being the underdogs entering the competition; our Upper Sixth lost in extra time during an exciting final match, but our Upper Fifth won on penalties! As I write this, our boys are competing in house swimming and a new addition to the House Competitions - house water polo. So far, the Fourth Form have made it to the final! Equally the Lower Sixth and the Lower Fifth came first in swimming; the latter also being in a water polo final. The Upper Fifth put a joint North-Monty team together for water polo and beat West in an exciting final. We missed out on a few of our normal charitable events this year but the boys still wanted to do something for the community. We took the opportunity to have a Secret Santa during December to also raise money for The Royal Marsden, who we have supported at Christmas for three years now. We also held a family virtual quiz night with Mr Parry as quizmaster in which we raised money for Prostate Cancer UK.

unity showed by North House. They continued to engage together as a whole house while also making stronger bonds within their year groups. The boys have displayed resilience under difficult circumstances and kindness towards each other when circumstances got tough. I must specifically praise the Upper Fifth and Upper Sixth who worked hard and with such positivity, despite their examinations being cancelled and missing out on many important milestones they would normally have had; I am so proud of what they have accomplished this year. It would be impossible for me to fit in all of the boys' successes in this space, but our pupils never cease to amaze me across all aspects of school life. There have been celebrations of academic and sporting achievements and we have enjoyed so many performances within the various aspects of the performing arts. Finally, I would like to thank my Upper Sixth and Prefect team this year. They really do lead the House by example and carry the ethos and values that we hold dear. They will be missed, but I know that our Lower Sixth will make them proud next year. I also must thank our amazing tutor team, who have worked very hard behind the scenes to support the boys and me daily. Jennie has joined us this year as Matron and she has been an incredible addition to the team and has looked after the North boys so well. We owe her a huge thank you for everything she does to keep the boys going each day, even if it’s a cup of tea and a doughnut! Finally, I would like to thank Craig Newby on behalf of all of us in North; he has played a huge role in shaping the House as Assistant Housemaster and on a personal level, he has supported me throughout the last three years. He will be hugely missed, but we all wish him the best of luck in his new role with Ulster Rugby. Catie Moon, Housemistress

Although we have not been together in the physical North House this year, and spent some of our time apart during lockdown, I could not be prouder of the strength and

The Johnian 2021

Houses North

From the House Captain

arrived in the Fourth Form and quickly came to grips with the dynamics of North House, this being: having a close relationship with the House next door (Monty)

and a love for buttery toast! The House was very welcoming, and the spirits were always up. We delved right into the deep end with house singing, which overall at St John’s was a real highlight of mine, with North House’s famous dance moves. I was fortunate to be part of a very successful house when it came to winning the House Shield, winning in three of my senior years. North usually win house football but unfortunately, we came runners up in my final year. When I joined the School, North was an emerging house, which wasn’t very competitive in the House events, but I have seen the House excel in every aspect of school life and it is now strongly competing for (and winning!) the House Shield year on year.

I have a tight knit year group in North House so the years in the dayroom were very enjoyable, with highlights of table tennis in the Fourth Form and rapping in the Lower Sixth! My Upper Sixth year was mostly spent tucked away in the so called ‘boardroom’ hard at work, where we spent most of our time in house. In my Upper Sixth year I was privileged to be appointed the House Captain of North, although my experience this year was different to other years, without direct access to the other year groups, only via Microsoft Teams. The House Prefect team and I still aimed to integrate the entire house by encouraging participation in Intra House Competitions, which were done within year groups. These events ranged from Fantasy Football to ‘Guess the Teacher’, adding a sense of competition to bring the other year groups together. North’s key words that we want all pupils to stand by are Passion, Integrity and Perseverance. What’s great about North House is that all pupils uphold these standards and

it is the main reason the running of the House, in such strange times was relatively stress free because everyone persevered together. Something else I admire about the boys in North is their willingness to get involved in any house event that comes up, from the House Pancake Race, and sports from football to swimming. Mrs Moon, Jennie, the tutors and the Prefects are extremely supportive in North House. They are always there for you when you most need it. I unfortunately had tonsillitis for the first week of my A levels, I was worried as to how I was going to complete all the catch up required. However, the support from Mr Parry and Mrs Moon was amazing. They both came up with strategies to make my situation as stress-free as possible for me, and Jennie checked up on me on Microsoft Teams, as did my friends in house. This all shows the immense support the House provides you when life at school isn’t going too well, and I’m sure any pupil in North would have the exact same support and guidance. There are two occasions that spring to mind when talking about moments of pride in North House. One of these is the yearly donation and visit to The Royal Marsden Hospital at Christmas, which I am very proud of. The second one is the ‘North House Gentleman’ presentations that the Upper Sixth pupils in North give to the younger years lessons on how to be as respectful as possible and to show the pupils how exactly they should act in different situations, which I take real pride in. My time at St Johns has been one to remember and one of the most significant parts of my time is being in North House. I would like to thank all the tutors, Jennie and the previous Matrons I have been supported by, for making it such a great experience. Finally, I would like to thank our Housemistress Mrs Moon for being there for everyone and working so hard to keep the House running smoothly alongside myself, the tutors, and the Prefects. Mrs Moon does so much for all of the pupils in North House and she really cares for everyone. I can see North House going on to win many more house shields in the future, with the support of Mrs Moon. James Merry, House Captain 2020-21

HOUSE COLOURS

The Johnian 2021

Houses South

Houses

South From the Housemistress

he girls in South House have demonstrated great perseverance

and resilience during a very different and challenging year. They have certainly kept the House spirit alive and achieved many successes in all areas of school life.

The Johnian 2021

Our House Captain Emma Rickerd organised a book of recipes for girls in all year groups to submit a photo of themselves cooking or baking their favourite dish alongside their recipe. Rose Deakin, Deputy House Captain, arranged a decorating competition for images to be used to illustrate the recipe book. South has had a most impressive sporting year, achieving many victories. The Lower Sixth, Upper Fifth and Fourth Form won their respective house netball competitions convincingly. The Upper Sixth A team had a tough battle against Gloucester during house hockey, but Olivia Hedges managed to lead the team to victory scoring the only goal! Our Fourth Form girls secured a convincing win overall

done by Cerys Love and Ava Umpelby, whilst Zoe Spanswick chaired the event.

Competitions WON THIS YEAR:

House Hockey This year, the focus of the House has very much been on House Netball reaching out to the community during the pandemic. Mrs Rickard arranged for the girls to write Christmas cards to the nearby Beeches Care Home; the residents were delighted to receive their cards. During the Spring Term lockdown some of the girls participated in a competition called the Good Samaritan Challenge, which required them to complete a list of ten charitable activities for their local community. Phoebe George won this challenge with Naomi in second place, and Saskia and Lucy tied in third place. Weekly boarding has been very popular, and South House has been filled to maximum capacity. The girls have thoroughly enjoyed having consistency and routine in these strange times; it has been a great opportunity for the younger pupils to integrate with the older girls. A favourite evening activity has been all year groups and House staff exercising together to Just Dance on YouTube with many laughs had by all.

with goals scored by Phoebe George, Bea Crumby and Madi Fewings. The Lower Sixth also won their age group with Flo Holder, Bella Fewings and Amelia Feltham scoring their goals. The Upper Fifth may not have won their tournament, but the girls put up a good fight with plenty of goals, which were scored by Maya Cripps, Zoe Ryan, Josie Heap and Naomi George. The Lower Fifth also showed their perseverance and determination. South has had a great year off the sports field too, singing has been a popular activity with the girls and South was awarded second place for their version of 9 to 5 by Dolly Parton in the House Singing Competition. The Fourth Form won our Intra-House Singing Competition, in which Mr White had the difficult job of choosing the winning year group. Molly Warner and Tishy Rao enjoyed leading a team across the year groups for the House Film Competition and produced a most entertaining production showcasing their sophisticated technology skills. Our house quiz team performed well reaching the final.

Well done to Emma Rickerd and Louise Orr for being awarded full House Colours. Both girls have involved themselves as much as possible with house events and demonstrated great loyalty to South; they have been admirable role models for the years below. It has been an honour and a privilege to have had the opportunity be the Acting Housemistress for South; it has been a real joy being able to watch the girls mature and progress. I have greatly appreciated the support from our Matron Karen Young, Assistant Housemaster Steve Hughes, the South tutor team and from parents, for yet another positive year in South. Andrea Davies, Acting Housemistress

The House performed well during house debating. Well done to Hannah Bareham for preparing such excellent speeches for the Fourth Form, Katie Denyer for being an impressive speaker, and Rosie Brickwood, who was named as best speaker during round one. The girls reached the semi-final but unfortunately did not manage to proceed further. The Lower Sixth continued the winning streak for South securing their place in the semi-final with both Lucy Dwan and Izzy Vickery delivering convincing arguments. The Lower Fifth did very well too, and it was a close competition for them. The judge was most impressed with the research

The Johnian 2021

Houses South

HOUSE COLOURS

If you are doing your best, you won’t have any time to worry about failure 74

The Johnian 2021

From the House Captain

outh House have had a wonderful year despite difficulties faced with lockdown and life being far from normal. Each girl has shown great perseverance through academics, a competitive side in house events and a strong sense of community, whilst above all remaining hopeful and positive. All the South girls should be incredibly proud of their achievements and for the resilience shown this year to overcome many challenges.

For me what makes South amazing, is the vibrant, welcoming, and happy environment filled with fun, optimism, compassionate girls, and supportive staff who are always there for us. What makes our house great is that everyone involves themselves in a variety of things, including those outside their comfort zone, showing team spirit, courage, and determination. The sense of community throughout the years has been inspiring and in particular this year, which has shown a real group effort throughout the House. South has allowed me to grow and develop myself to my full potential. The memories and friends I have made will last a lifetime and I will always look back on my time in South with fondness and a fierce sense of loyalty! It has been a privilege to be the House Captain. On the sports field, South girls once again geared up with purple face paint, ribbons in their hair and bucketloads of house spirit, ready to unleash our competitive sides and win yet another house competition. No matter what the outcome, every girl who took part in the various sporting competitions, persevered until the end, showing a great sporting attitude. A highlight was winning Upper Sixth A team house hockey against Gloucester in a tough, yet rewarding, match. This winning streak continued in the Fourth Form and Lower Sixth. House netball also saw exciting and competitive matches with several other wins. Unfortunately, in house croquet we did not manage to progress far enough but nevertheless played a strong game. South girls can always rely on sideline supporters to chant and cheer on the players, providing unrivalled encouragement and house spirit. South girls never fail to show commitment and enthusiasm in everything they do and being a part of that feels unique and special. South girls also have a plethora of talents and strengths across the arts. The virtual House Singing Competition saw us put forward a rendition of 9 to 5 by Dolly Parton. Whilst our singing and dance moves did not secure us a win, it was clear from our string of recent wins, we were giving the other houses a chance to enjoy first place! Our musical skills continued in an Intra-House Singing Competition between year groups. This was great fun and showed the rest of the House some stars in the making. I

loved watching each girl take part, admiring the standard and efforts of all. The Upper Sixth year comes around so quickly and passes in the blink of an eye, making every moment at school suddenly seem more important and precious. Therefore, it felt even more disappointing to be back to virtual school. Despite the struggles of online learning and missing being on the School site, everyone managed to channel through with huge determination, working hard to achieve their best. With our morning tutor sessions, we were able to catch up on newfound talents, sharing activities done in our own homes. Lockdown provided South House with many obstacles; together we were able to overcome them and think outside the box. Creating a selection of fun opportunities to showcase our skills and provide time away from the screen, South girls participated in events and challenges, including ‘decorating’ competitions, creating a house recipe book, quizzes, house 'Strava', House Film Competition and even a Good Samaritan Competition to help the wider community. These activities kept our house spirit alive and communication strong. Despite the uncertainty and stress of examinations, the Upper Sixth and Upper Fifth girls showed great determination to achieve their personal best. A sad but hopeful ending came all too quickly, as the Upper Sixth said their goodbyes to the School. The Leavers’ Tea was a lovely way to end the examination process and celebrate all our hard work. A big thank you to Miss Davies, and Mrs Morgan before her maternity leave, for being wonderful Housemistresses and supporting us through a tough, challenging period in our lives. We are so grateful to you for being so encouraging and supportive. To all of the tutors, for keeping us on track and always making us laugh in the mornings and to Karen, the best Matron ever! Thank you for being our surrogate mum for five years and for always having our backs. We will miss you hugely. I know we will look back on our time in South with a great sense of fondness and pride, lucky to have been a part of the best house at St John’s! Emma Rickerd, House Captain 2020-21

The Johnian 2021

Houses Surrey

Houses

Surrey

The Johnian 2021

From the Housemaster

particular highlight of the 2020-21 academic year was the success of Surrey House in the annual house pancake race. Having negotiated the Chaplain’s

strict officiating system, Surrey managed to win the event meaning that they have secured this victory twice in as many years. This is particularly pleasing given that the 2021 pancake race was performed remotely and showed a clear commitment from all in the House to ensure that the victory was possible.

Equally impressive in the eyes of the House staff was the virtual House Singing Competition entry of Gold by Spandau Ballet. Despite the success that the House was hoping for not being forthcoming, the ability for all year groups to combine whilst still maintaining their respective bubbles was truly impressive. Many a tutor time was spent rehearsing, whilst many also took it upon themselves to practice at home. It is this type of dedication that really demonstrated what it means to be a Surrey pupil. The strength of the House during all lockdowns/virtual learning periods, was evident through the House winning four out of a possible five competitions during this time. The value that our pupils place not only on the House but each other within the House is often immeasurable, but this was a perfect example of pupils doing their best for their friends in Surrey and receiving a positive outcome as a result. Moments of pride as a Housemaster in Surrey come in various guises on a daily basis, however it is often pleasing to see the pupils representing the House in the wider capacity of school life. Whether it be Ben Webb with debating, Luke Knowles and Josh Philips in their superb work in the School production of Miss Saigon, or the particularly summery Surrey was the first ever California Dreamin’ Concert in day house of St John’s. which Luca Hatwell, Will Smith, Louis Jeffcott, Ali Wilson, Luc Martinez and Patrick O’Neill performing with passion and exuberance in equal measure never fails to provide a moment to reflect on the plethora of talent that the House has.

Did you know?

some spectacular offers when the level of competition externally was also very high. A particular mention must go to Tristan Coetzee for his Cambridge offer to study engineering, which is no mean feat at all! Whilst all pupils must be given credit, the Upper Sixth must not be left out of a further special mention. The Upper Sixth year is always a challenging one but faced with the uncertainty of your last year being overshadowed by a global pandemic is a very tough one to take indeed. What is certain however, is that all pupils in the Upper Sixth have not just survived the experience but thrived, and it will undoubtedly contribute to making them even more successful then they may well have already been. The Prefect team of Mustafa El Barky, Will Payne, James Twist, Henry Walton and Sami Zubaidi have been immense in helping to organise teams for events and fixtures, and have been led equally impressively by the Deputy House Captain Patrick O’Neill and House Captain Ben Webb. All have shown Surrey House their incredible leadership prowess and have continued to help the Surrey community grow and shine.

Competitions

Ian White, Housemaster

WON THIS YEAR:

House Pancake Race

It cannot go without note as well, how proud house staff are with pupils' ability to adapt to the ever-changing conditions surrounding Covid-19, and this is particularly pertinent with regard to the academic prowess that they have shown and achieved. The Upper Sixth negotiated the uncertain times with significant maturity and their UCAS applications were of a high calibre opening them up to

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Houses Surrey

From the House Captain

t the heart of Surrey House is our motto of ‘Belong, Believe, Achieve’, and in this year more so than any other, this motto can occasionally be tested. With

the House physically separated across different parts of the School because of the Coronavirus restrictions, it was perhaps hard to imagine that same communal sense of belonging would be at the fore. However, like always, the strength of the Surrey House community has prevailed, with our successes landing us multiple wins throughout the year from a whole range of activities, from rugby, football, debating, quizzing, croquet, the list is endless. These successes have served great testament to all of those things we hold most dear in our community, yet they are buoyed on by all of the small achievements that we have been able to make together.

The individual talent within the House is staggering, with musical performances, drama recitals, sporting contributions, and academic prowess shining through in all that we do, and it’s through our welcoming and close-knit attitude that makes us stand out. If you were to ask what makes Surrey House unique? Every Surrey pupil would almost certainly give a different answer, which is entirely the point! Our varied and diverse pupil body is made up of individuals who feel comfortable enough to reach NUMBER OF PUPILS their goals, rooted in the belief that through belonging we can achieve all.

Success and belonging go hand-in-hand in all that we do in Surrey House, and these successes are greatly STRENGTHS: highlighted through the Friendship, achievements of our Upper Community and Sixth, all of whom have gained fantastic results in their Commitment university applications; praise must go the way of Tristan Coetzee who gained an offer for Engineering at Cambridge, alongside the tenacity of so many other Upper Sixth pupils who all look to the future with the highest of hopes. As a House Captain with a house so spread apart, it has sometimes been challenging to maintain the same motivation to uphold the virtues of Surrey, yet throughout the year I have been continually blown away with the spirit of all those in our community, with the leagues of contributions, effort, activity, and belief remaining the most inspiring part of my time at St John’s. When I look back at my time at the School, my sense of belonging to a small house spirit will forever be what I remember most fondly. Surrey is a place

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of nurturing and growth, and the strength of its family feel helps all who join discover their unique place in the School. With all of the fond memories and great experiences I have had in a Surrey shirt, it has been my greatest regret that I have been unable to directly show the new house members what it truly means to be a member of Surrey. However, their input in house singing, their support for house croquet, and all of their contributions for their year’s house events, the community lives on and will live on for many years to come. It has been my greatest pleasure to help steer the House through the pandemic, and I am sure that through the next academic year things will be restored to the strongest heights of the Surrey community. Surrey has helped shape me and root me in such a unique culture, and I owe all of my successes, experiences, and passions to the lessons learnt from all of those in Surrey, through all of the years, teachers, our Matron, and the experiences shared along the way. Throughout my time in Surrey I have given my whole heart, and every time the House has given 100% back. I’d like to thank everyone who has been with me throughout my whole school journey for all that they have done. Ben Webb, House Captain 2020-21

Belong, Believe,

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Houses West

Houses

West From the Housemaster

his year has shown the very best of the West House spirit. After months in lockdown, the boys returned in September, ready to commence their

schooling amidst national uncertainty. The lockdown itself had thrown up

a variety of challenges and opportunities. HOUSE COLOURS

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A number of West boys completed impressive physical challenges, and some took up new hobbies. The most notable achievement during lockdown can be attributed to Harry Threapleton who wrote his first novel, Circle of Saints, which has been published on Amazon; it’s a gripping story from start to finish. During the first term, West House retained its hardcore group of weekly boarders. The House hasn’t quite been the same without the hordes of boys careering through the corridors, but the weekly boarders have developed a lovely community so that boarding remains an integral part of the identity of our house. The West House landing remains the hub for those long evening conversations and debates that make our community so welcoming. With restrictions preventing many of the traditional house competitions, we had to really focus on the ones we could run. West House dominated the House Rugby competition in the Lower Fifth and placed in the top three in all other year groups. We came third in the House Quiz and won the Senior House Football Competition. Perhaps our greatest success, off the sports fields, came in house film where we were the winners of Best Picture, Best Sound and Best Performance. In addition to these magnificent achievements, West We have won the House defied the House Sports Cup odds to place third more than any in the annual pancake other house. race; we are normally disqualified on dubious grounds by the overly officious School Chaplain. Elsewhere, it is worth mentioning Jonny and Will who both performed well in the annual Forbes Music Competition.

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The Spring Term brought a second school closure, but the boys of West House continued to remain involved in house.

We held a virtual quiz for boys and families with Zac and Oliver taking the win. Mr Pepper ran a magnificent Ready, Steady, Cook evening where many of the boys cooked along with him, preparing a rather lovely chilli. House chess nights proved popular, with lockdown bringing a renewed enthusiasm for the ancient game. Our Upper Sixth boys have been champions throughout the year. Despite not being able to physically lead West House as they had hoped, they have led by example, throwing themselves into their academic study and competing ferociously for the House. They have a range of exciting offers at respected universities to look forward to and I wish them every success for the next stage of their lives. I would particularly like to thank Jack Goodman, Joe Moss and Jack Sumpter for being excellent leaders of the House. Jack Goodman has been an outstanding House Captain. Between them they have planned and organised many house events and competitions despite not being able to have close contact with the other year groups. As ever, the West House community is influenced hugely by the House tutors. We have had such a dedicated team, and, on behalf of the boys, I would like to thank Mr NUMBER OF PUPILS Holland, Mr Revelant, Miss Stavrianoudaki, Mr Pepper, Mr Barber, Miss Jackson, Mr Johnson and of course our wonderful Matron Angela. As we come to the end of the year, I will be leaving St John’s for pastures new. I wish Mr Pepper every success in the role for the years to come. He has a fabulous group of boys to help mould into young men. Their potential is limitless, and I shall miss each one of them very much.

Competitions WON THIS YEAR:

Lower Fifth House Rugby Senior House Football Best Picture, Best Sound and Best Performance in House Film

Ashley Currie, Housemaster

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Houses West

Manners Makyth Man HOUSE MOTTO

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From the House Captain

hen I reflect on my time in West House, participating

in house events has always been a huge highlight for me, with the House Singing Competition, sports events and more. Before even joining the House, West was known to win many house events and I think it is fair to say that this tradition has continued throughout my time at St John’s as well.

One of my definite highlights was when we scored the winning, golden goal against North this year, in our last house football event. I have also really enjoyed boarding throughout my time in West. I believe it is in this environment where many strong connections amongst boys in house are made, and I think this is reflected in our overall success as a house in general. I would lastly like to thank all of the staff in West, including our Matron and tutors, but namely Mr Currie and Mr Pepper as without their drive and support West House could not have achieved as much as it has in the last five years. Jack Goodman, House Captain 2020-21

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Chapel

CHAPEL Like every other part of school and wider society, Chapel has remained significantly changed this academic year. With only one year group allowed in the building at a time, social distancing maintained and hymns prohibited, it has created a rather different feel. However, for much of the time it has created a perhaps less formal environment and, with a little more time to deliver the morning talk, the message has taken on a slightly different format. Between Christmas and Easter, as school was again remote, Chapel consisted of a weekly email and on occasion a recorded message by the Chaplain. The Music Department also supported us, as ever, with plenty of recordings, both of hymns and anthems.

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Thankfully, through the majority of the School year we were able to hold Chapel twice a week, although that meant fewer services than usual. In the first half of Michaelmas Term our focus was on Art: this kicked off with one of my niche interests in cave art and we went on to explore some of the influence of art on religion and religion on art.

Art is an expression of our self. Spirituality is also an expression of our self, the American Spiritual writer Rob Bell repeatedly writes that everything is spiritual. In context, I think this is better stated as everything can be spiritual and this is certainly the case with art. We meet in Chapel to reflect on our connection to the world and art is a visual stimulation to this reflection. Of course, we can appreciate art for merely the ability of the craft on display, but it is usually much deeper than this. The insight that is afforded into the way of the world from someone else’s perspective.

This picture reassures me. Of course, there is the unknown but when faced with great changes humanity has found a way to build and adapt, to strengthen communities and celebrate. Every Christmas we hear the following words, from St John’s Gospel read at the end of our Chapel service: And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. A more modern translation:

Some of the most influential artists have seen the world in dramatically different ways. A photo of a picture can never do justice to the real artwork and for me this is in part about the connection of the spiritual - seeing just what the artist expresses of them self. I have often mentioned in Chapel the ancient Christian practice in prayer of focusing on the breath, which dates back to at least the Sixth Century, and is often associated with the Eastern Church, particularly Greek and Russian Orthodox. The prayer reminds us of the need to focus threefold Inward, Outward and Upward (or beyond). This is very much what is happening when we look at art that moves us; the inward movement of the artist is given a material presence which causes us to reflect inwardly. To illustrate this further, one of the pieces of art we looked at was Caravaggio’s Supper at Emmaus, which hangs in the National Gallery. The artist through his use of light, dark and shadow focuses on the act of Christ breaking the bread, but the painting is as much about the other characters in the picture as it is about the focus. Cleopas and the unnamed disciple respond to what they see whilst the serving boy continues unaware of the impact. Whether we are religious or not this is at the heart of our focus in Chapel, whether we are present and attentive in our daily lives. The second part of this series moved from the connection with others which art give us, to a focus on the insight art creates as we see the way others want to express the world they themselves see and how this in turn can cause us to consider the way we see the world. Art is an expression of our world, what we cherish and what we want to see change, this second motif is central in so many forms of art. Seeing how change was dealt with in the past can also help us deal with the change we face. The final painting I would like to turn our attention to is Casper David Friedrich’s Wanderer above the Sea of Fog. Here we see a man staring into the future and considering the unknown, there is the contrast of mastery over a landscape and insignificance of the individual within it. Friedrich himself said: “The artist should paint not only what he has in front of him but also what he sees inside himself.”

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. However dark it may seem the light cannot be overcome; it cannot be put out. Even though Christmas remains shrouded with uncertainty these words give me hope, we will not be overcome. As it transpired, Christmas was an unusual one. We were able to hold a short service for the Upper Sixth only – not singing carols was perhaps one of the things many of us missed the most at school this year. However, through Chapel we were able to mark the usual festivals and seasons and the second lockdown gave me, as Chaplain the freedom to write a series of talks on another personal passion, poetry. It seems right to conclude here with the words of one of these poets. Although Maya Angelou’s poem was written about the inequalities of race, this poem not only took on a fresh resonance in a year where equality was again pushed to the fore, but her poem about freedom took on a special resonance for us all. Reverend Charlie Moloney, Chaplain

The caged bird sings with a fearful trill of things unknown but longed for still and his tune is heard on the distant hill for the caged bird sings of freedom. Maya Angelou, “Caged Bird” from Shaker, Why Don't You Sing? Copyright © 1983 by Maya Angelou

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Performing Arts at St John’s

PERFORMING

Arts at St John’s

Oliver White, Director of Performing Arts

he past academic year has been one of ‘thinking outside the box’ for the Performing Arts Department, and largely to work out how we could present

our programme from within another ‘box’ – a laptop screen! The pandemic has rent asunder the performing arts internationally. As I write this, the first professional theatres have started to reopen with social distancing, but within schools we will have faced a period of 18 months since any major ensemble has been able to play together, and we will enter the next academic year having to face a substantial period of rebuilding.

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ARTS

Never a department to be deterred, and with true determination to keep ‘live music live during lockdown’ the Performing Arts at St John’s embarked on a rollercoaster year of technical glitches and successes, but continuous enthusiasm. Our mission was to stream, stream and stream again, but this required equipment and many, many metres of cabling! In the last week of the Summer Term we were finally able to stage four live performances in stereo HD of Miss Saigon streamed from the St John’s Performing Arts Centre into family homes, with four different cameras in use. It took many hours of practise, tweaking and learning the hard way to have achieve it. Whilst there have been bumps along the way, and some of our prototype streams have not always worked, we are proud that we have presented almost our complete programme this year and much of it has been performed live. We started by splitting our lunchtime recital series into year groups, so that we could invite their ‘bubble’ peers to watch and Covid-19 cleaning was kept to a minimum. Apart from the first few recitals and the lockdown period in late winter when concerts were recorded, these were all streamed out live. The Autumn Term saw us first experiment with streaming for Remembrance Day. A Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth Schola (courtesy of a special risk assessment) joined the Chaplain, CCF and the Upper Sixth on The Quad, whilst the service was streamed to the rest of the School community in bubble zones.

The annual House Singing Competition continued with videos edited together from the individual year groups of each house, and adjudication was carried out live by Mr Andrew Kennedy, the Director of Music at Uppingham. The whole school watched this from their respective bubble zones, and it was the first time the entire community was galvanised together since the end of March. November saw us present a Reflections in Water Concert with a stitched together video of Sinfonia playing Handel’s Water and several live performances beamed from different locations across the School site (to enable us to keep bubbles apart). This was followed by a live stream of our annual Concerto Competition, which featured a sizzling rendition of the Walton Violin Concerto which seized victory from the jaws of an extremely accomplished Strauss Horn Concerto. We followed this with a live stream of our Christmas Rock Concert, and on a not too chilly day managed to get our Brass Group together outside for some flashmob carols to entertain the lunch queue in December. We were able to hold a short carol service for the Upper Sixth featuring the Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth from the Chapel Choir, which we released as a recorded video at the end of term. The choral singing at St John's really has found form again, and it has been quite dispiriting to think that many of our fine, Upper Sixth singers will have missed out on the services and concerts that the choir could have taken part in this year.

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Performing Arts at St John’s

Then just as we felt we were gaining some momentum lockdown struck again, but we were on the front foot this time. Congers immediately returned to videos of pupils singing from home, lunchtime recitals were edited together from files, the entire Forbes Music Competition took place remotely (with over 100 entrants) and each category and adjudication being viewed over Vimeo, our ill-fated and much rain checked production of Little Women was presented as a film with the cast filming themselves and edited together by staff, the House Film Competition was streamed out live at the end of half term, and all of the films had been available to watch for the preceding week, dance routines were recorded and sent out, a trailer to advertise the new dates for the musical (which was due to be staged in early March) was filmed and edited together, our California Dreamin’ Concert was streamed out featuring edited performances from ensembles (taking full advantage of there being no need for bubbles) Swing Band, Schola, Sinfonia, the Lower School Choir and Rock Groups and we presented two different live musical theatre cabarets streamed directly from pupils’ homes. We finished the term with a passion-tide anthem recorded by the Sixth Form members of the choir.

When we came back at the end of the Spring Term, we had to hit the ground running to get the Miss Saigon musical back on its feet and quickly rehearse pieces from scratch for our early Summer Term concert, Into The Unknown. This streamed out live just over two weeks into the term, again from various locations across the School, and it was the perfect opportunity to get our Fourth Form and Lower Fifth members of the choir singing together properly for the first time this year. Lunchtime recitals have continued live from the Chapel.

"We are enormously proud of the fact that we have kept as many performance opportunities alive as possible for our pupils, and the spirit and buzz of the pupils has remained as effervescent as ever."

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DRAMA

We were both thrilled and delighted to proceed with a number of fantastic live steamed performances in the Summer Term, including the Lower School Play – An Evening at the Theatre, and four incredible sell out performances of Miss Saigon The Musical, which you can read more about on page 90. Dance continues to grow at the School and we now have our very own employed dance coach, Becky who is fresh from many years as a leading West End lady. Next year we hope to further develop our offering with some evening syllabus classes. We are looking to expand across the department next year; we will stage more co-curricular drama than in recent years with five productions, double the number of cabarets and we hope to return to Cadogan Hall in London with our musicians. While it has been the most frustrating year, we are enormously proud of the fact that we have kept as many performance opportunities alive as possible for our pupils, and the spirit and buzz of the pupils has remained as effervescent as ever. Their determination and desire to get involved has never waned and our concerts have been well attended despite their virtual existence, but we cannot wait to welcome you all back to experience live performing arts once again.

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Miss Saigon

MI SS SAIGON W

ith almighty effort and determination, the Performing Arts Department

staged four live, sell out performances of the long-awaited musical, Miss Saigon. The Musical was streamed into family homes across the last week of the Summer Term, by four cameras in stereo HD.

Alongside the truckloads of equipment which was brought into the PAC, professional TV producers and cameramen, a professional orchestra (joined by our very own Jimena on violin), lighting and sound technical support all helped make the experience as fabulous as possible for the pupils after 18 months of ‘tempered’ and unusual performances. The leading players of Hannah, Will, Tommy, Josh, Harry and the double cast Daisy and Zoe gave astonishing, polished, nuanced and emotionally mature performances; indeed every member of the cast gave their all and committed as if there were an audience in the room with them.

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Wow – this was a fabulous show with some very talented young performers and musicians! Huge congratulations to all involved. Audience Member

It was incredible! I totally forgot I was watching a school production; it was West End standard acting and singing! – Audience Member Huge congratulations to everybody concerned with this vibrant, captivating, and poignant production of Miss Saigon. Amazingly achieved despite all the challenges of the last eighteen months, it is inspirational to those of us who are still waiting to be able to perform again. – Audience Member Director of Performing Arts, Ollie White was brimming with pride, and commented: ‘It is rare to find a performance from a school that has such balanced performances; there was not one weak link among the cast and it was possible to become absorbed in the performance and forget that you were watching school pupils. The experience was dramatically compelling and highly emotional for the audience, pupils and staff alike. The talent of our pupils and the committed staff in the department are truly making the performing arts fly at St John’s’. We are very much looking forward to seeing what the next academic year has in store for the Performing Arts Department.

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Performing Arts Drama at St John’s

DRAMA Through painstaking work and rehearsal they created original performances that shocked, engaged and thrilled the watching audience.

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A level devised examination

A level scripted examination - monologues

In an examination that should have occurred last academic year, the Upper Sixth revived their devised performance work for their performance on Thursday 12 November. The ideas of theatre practitioner Alecky Blythe, whose methodology involves taking dialogue from interviews with real people and turning this into verbatim dialogue within a play context, engaged the group’s interest. Both groups conducted detailed research into two separate events, the Grenfell tragedy and Chernobyl disaster. Through painstaking work and rehearsal they created original performances that shocked, engaged and thrilled the watching audience.

Social distancing became an important factor in drama performance this year and, to that end, the Upper Sixth dramatists prepared a monologue instead of a group performance. As ever, the pupils work with diligence and focus and, on Thursday 6 May, gave outstanding performances from such texts as Julius Caesar, Things I Know to Be True, The Trench, Gut Girls, Two, Bull, The Vortex, People, and Places and Things. In what was their last academic drama performance at the School, I would like to take this opportunity to thank these pupils for their outstanding contribution to St John’s drama.

GCSE devised examination

Upper Fifth GCSE pupils also gave excellent performances in their final assessment of the year during the last week of May. In a talented year group, there were a number of outstandingly focused and powerful enactments. These pupils should be commended for their bravery and determination to deliver such excellent work under difficult circumstances.

GCSE pupils had spent the previous academic year creating their devised pieces, only to have their creativity interrupted by the national lockdown. However, they returned to their work with focus and skill and on Wednesday 14 October delivered performances of real power, tackling such material as child refugees in Syria, family conflict and peer pressure with sensitivity and sophistication.

GCSE scripted examination - monologues

Lower Sixth devised examination On Tuesday 15 June, the Lower Sixth cohort delivered an unsettling and immersive performance to a rapt audience of their peers. Having been inspired by Euripides’s Medea and by the methodologies of Antonin Artaud, over many weeks the A level drama pupils created a piece that focussed on ideas surrounding consent, gender bias and stereotyping, and the fall out that this can create. The pupils worked excellently throughout the research phase of their work and this resulted in a piece that was empathetic but also striking in its theatrical impact on the audience. Lower Fifth devised examination On Monday 21 June, the Lower Fifth pupils performed an impressive and thoughtful selection of pieces and it was even more of an achievement as this was the first public acting performance for many of the group. Subject matter across the cohort was broad, but all of the pupils gave their best and produced performance and design work that showed a real sense of creative and theatrical vision.

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Outdoor Pursuits

COMBINED CADET FORCE

Lower Fifth

CCF in the Fourth Form This year, Fourth Form pupils were invited to get a head start in their CCF service at St John’s by getting a taste of the APC (Army Proficiency Certificate) syllabus. A small group of 15 cadets undertook skill at arms training, drill, marksmanship and fieldcraft lessons. These cadets, several of whom achieved promotion at the end of the year, will take on junior leadership roles when the rest of their peers join them at the start of the Lower Fifth.

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Having taken on the CCF in January 2020, a lot of plans for the year were affected by the pandemic and the ways in which schools were forced to operate. As a staff team we have, despite all the hurdles, been able to deliver quality training and experiences throughout the year which culminated in our Lower Fifth and Lower Sixth pupils taking part in Field Days at the end of the Summer Term. With the restrictions imposed and updated by the Government, it was touch and go in the weeks beforehand as to whether these adventures could go ahead but it came as a huge and exciting relief to be able to deliver these as planned!

The Contingent marked Remembrance Day in a different way this year due to the restrictions in place. A wreath laying party consisting of the Contingent Commander, School Staff Instructor, Cadet Heads of Section and senior army cadets provided a Guard of Honour on The Quad in front of the Sixth Form and staff. The entire school community watched through live video link and our whole-hearted respects were paid despite the challenges we faced; these do not par with the sacrifices made by the many who we came together to remember.

In the absence of an Annual Inspection, CCF Dinner or Summer Camp this year, the big event turned out to be the Contingent Field Day at the end of the Summer Term. An ambitious plan involving all Lower Fifth pupils across the three sections was carried out, deploying over 140 cadets to Mereworth Woods in Kent. Both the Army and RAF sections were involved in 36-Hour field exercises challenging their individual skills and drills and pushing the new cadets outside of their comfort zones. The Navy Section enjoyed a taste of field skills, learning about battlefield first aid, administration in the field and camouflage and concealment as part of their activities on the first day. On the second day, Navy cadets were able to develop their leadership skills at school with the support of their Lower Sixth NCO’s. Throughout the exercise the Contingent were ably supported by staff from Royal Russell CCF, Hurstpierpoint CCF, Greater London and South East ACF, the Grenadier Guards and 256 Field Hospital. The exercise was a resounding success, which enabled us to finish off the year on a high. We are all looking forward to a better start to the year in September!

CCF The Easter holiday arrived after a shortened Spring Term, which included missed field days. We were delighted that the Navy Section were able to hold a fantastic two-day leadership course with the help of the CCF RN staff team. Lower Sixth cadets developed their leadership and team development skills and undertook Field Gun training in anticipation of upcoming competitions next year.

Throughout most of the year, year groups alternated taking part in CCF each week which meant that we were tight on quality time. The Sixth Form NCO’s led by George Haymes, Jamie Bloomfield and Jack Sumpter performed admirably, considering they were unable to mix with the lower year groups. This meant that for our dedicated academic staff team across the sections, they stepped up to deliver the core syllabus to our new cadets, a job they performed exceptionally well given the additional pressures this year. The team consisting of Henry Howarth, Alex Kendall, Nicholas Burns, Mia van Diepen, James Coote, Tom Dawson, Tom Parry, Tom Helliwell, Rob Ross, Emily Humfress, Katie Barrow and Aaron Mooney are all to be thanked for their tireless efforts this year.

As always, I must thank the efforts of my SSI Steve Vine and Quartermaster Pat Noble, both stalwarts of the CCF; their efforts and flexibility have allowed the CCF to operate safely and in a way which maximises the cadet experience. On top of this, Flt Lt Chris Butler (OC RAF) and Lt Cdr Piers Vaughan (OC RN) have led a steady ship this year and provided me with great support. I look forward to seeing the Contingent continue to strengthen and return strong, as we approach the light at the end of the ‘Covid-19 tunnel’. Major James Hewitt Contingent Commander and OC Army Section

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Outdoor Pursuits

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DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S AWARD GOLD From 5 to 11 July, 19 pupils from the Lower and Upper Sixth headed to the Lake District to complete their back-to-back Gold Duke of Edinburgh practice and qualifying expeditions. Training began in Coniston, Cumbria, where the groups completed walks around The Old Man of Coniston Massif and Grizedale Forest, before starting their qualifying expedition with a long hike into the Langdale Valley. Subsequent days walking over the Pikes of Blisco and Rossett proved to be challenging, with a wild camp at Cosedale Tarn above Grasmere finishing off the camping experience before a final walk back to Ambleside over Loughrigg Fell. Pupils did very well to manage a total of six nights camping and seven days walking to finish their expedition section, during this year of disruption.

SILVER At the end of June, 75 Upper Fifth pupils and six staff members headed to the Peak District for back-toback training, practice and qualifying expeditions for their Silver Duke of Edinburgh Award. After a training and practice phase based in Hope Valley, the 11 groups made their way over to Edale for their qualifying expedition. With ascents of the Great Ridge of Mam Tor and Lose Hill, the groups headed up to Kinder Scout, scene of the famous 1932 mass trespass that led to an Act of Parliament and the creation of the Peak District National Park. After a difficult summer assessment period, this trip proved cathartic for many concerned. Steve Chalk, DofE Coordinator

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Sports Review

Sports

‘Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair.’

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Nelson Mandela I thought of these words from Nelson Mandela as we planned our sports provision for 2020-21 and the integral role our programme and staff would be in the reintegration of our pupils into school and competitive sport. September started with caution as we prepared for some normality into the fixture programme. It was full of hope for what the terms ahead would bring; county and national competitions, a cricket tour

to St Lucia, Rosslyn Park 7's and so much more. We adapted our games programme and introduced both rugby and football for the boys and started our outstanding hockey programme in hope of competitive fixtures soon. Following some weeks of internal training and inter-house matches we were delighted to have the opportunity to compete against another school… Epsom College. A special thank you to everyone that made this possible given the constraints and procedures involved, to ensure this fixture was possible and most importantly, safe. Once again, we were filled with hope as we approached the Christmas break about the return to a normal fixture card for football, rugby, netball, and hockey from January onwards as well as a winter cricket programme. Sadly, the events that unfolded with national restrictions meant that this was not possible, and we lost much of the remaining term to school closure.

Gareth James, Director of Sport

LOCKDOWN SCHOOL

& Virtual Sport Throughout the School closure and move to virtual learning in January and February 2021, alongside launching an online sports platform, providing every pupil with a fitness programme and Sport at Home booklet we launched our first virtual challenge, the Everest Challenge. Our community of pupils, parents and staff were encouraged to take part each Saturday, and collectively log the kilometres they walked,

swam or ran as we attempted to complete the 7,542km distance from St John's School to Everest Base Camp. The response to the challenge was incredible, with so many participants from across our community logging their distances covered every week. As a school we completed the distance on the final weekend before the February half term break, just in time for the return to school!

The Johnian 2021

Sports Review

Summer Term

CRICKET

Cricket had an extremely busy term with 18 boys’ and girls’ teams in action. Although we lost out to poor weather on two full fixture block weekends, much of the season was still possible. For the first time we were able to put out girls’ U12A/B, U13A/B, U14A, U15A and an U16A XI with the hope of our first XI senior girls next summer. The girls’ teams saw much success across the summer with the standout team being the U13A who reached their county cup final. The team were simply outstanding throughout the cup competition beating both Feltonfleet and St George’s, Weybridge to name but two en route.

The team were led fantastically well by captain Lily Mauleverer who was also their leading run scorer, she was well supported by Vice Captain and leading wicket taker Carla Myles. The girls lost their final with just seven balls remaining against Surbiton High, but should be very proud of their effort and determination. The boys’ season saw a record number of teams represent the School. Sadly the 1st XI season started with disappointment as their pre-season festival was cancelled due to Covid-19 restrictions. They had a mixed season with outstanding wins against MCC, CLFS and XL Club, though some disappointing losses on the regular fixture card and a challenging end to the year losing out at the cricket festival in the final over against Brentwood School. Highlights for the boys’ seasons included the U13’s reaching the county cup quarter final following wins for Hampton and Rokeby School. Sadly, a semi-final place wasn’t to be, losing out to Feltonfleet in the final over by just four runs. Another highlight included the introduction of an U14D team, to have over 50 boys playing cricket at this age puts the club in an outstanding position moving forward. The most exciting fixture of the boys’ season is yet to come. The U15s reached their county cup final following wins over Reed's, Tiffin and RGS Guildford. Outstanding performances from throughout the campaign came from Luke Patterson and Adam Geddes, these included a 150+ opening stand in the quarter final v Tiffin School. Their T20 final will be played in September against Whitgift School.

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Cricket

TENNIS The School tennis season saw a record number of teams and pupils participate. The emergence of a full Lower School programme including U12A/B and U13 A/B teams for both the boys and girls has set

Tennis

an excellent foundation for years to come with the sport.

The senior boys teams achieved some excellent wins including victories over Hurst and Caterham School. There are exciting times ahead for the programme moving forward with a newly appointed Head of Tennis along with the support of James Starr and the Oxshott Tennis Pro coaching team.

We also hope to join the AEGON Schools Cup in 2022 which I have no doubt will bring more success and some great competitive tennis.

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Sports Review

LEGACY FIXTURES Legacy fixtures were introduced to ensure that departing pupils in their respective senior teams had the opportunity to wear their ‘hoops’ and play first team sport in a competitive environment before their time at St John’s ended. Many of these pupils had much of their leagues as well as their county regional and national cup competitions cancelled due to the pandemic. Legacy fixtures were played in hockey (Girls’ 1st XI), Ready4Rugby, football and netball.

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INDIVIDUAL SUCCESS Throughout the course of the Summer Term we learnt of some outstanding individual achievements for some of our current pupils as well as recent OJ’s. These included: Michael Anderson – Team GB Student Athlete (Long Jump) Loughborough Meet Ryan Trevitt – Football Professional Contract Brentford FC Josh Clarke – Football Academy Contract AFC Bournemouth

Hugo Few – Football Academy Contract Wimbledon AFC Filip Lissah – Football Academy Contract Swansea FC Ben Geddes – Cricket Professional Contract (T20 and First Class Debut) Surrey CCC

NEW BEGINNINGS Craig Newby, the former Leicester Tigers Captain, Commonwealth gold medal winner and All Black, has been an integral part of our Sports Department and family for some time now. ‘Newbs’ passion, dedication and drive to ensure that every pupil achieves beyond their own expectation has been nothing short of an example to those around him. Under his guidance, the rugby club has achieved national semi-final appearances and produced current professional players such as Jack Musk at Harlequins. Whether it be on the 1st XV pitch, in the cricket nets or on the netball courts the energy that he has brought to every practice and fixture has been infectious and he will be sorely missed. We are delighted to announce that former Director of Rugby at The Perse School, Liam St John joins us in September. Mr St John has an outstanding reputation on the schools circuit and enjoyed much success within his time at the leading independent day school in Cambridge. We look forward to the next chapter of St John's School rugby and what can be achieved with a very talented and driven group of boys and girls. It is also exciting to announce the newly created Rugby Professional role at the School which has been taken up by current coach and former London Irish and England Rugby player Topsy Ojo.

stage success. Mr Pepper’s character, sense of humour and passion for school sport has created a culture which has been the platform for great success. We are very excited to have Joe Butler joining us – a UEFA qualified and current lead coach of the U18 Chelsea FC women’s programme. Joe has been part of our coaching set up for two years and the transition into leading the programme has been seamless. We look forward to an exciting year ahead for both boys and girls ISFA football. We would also like to say a big thank you to sports coaches Mylie Jones and Luke Trimming who move on to progress their careers within teaching. Gareth James, Director of Sport

Although the infamous Joe Pepper, often affectionately known as ‘Dr Pepper’, isn’t leaving St John’s, his recent internal promotion to Housemaster of West House has meant that he has had to step away from his much loved role as Director of Football. Throughout his stewardship the programme has produced professional and academy players and enjoyed national cup later

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Sports Day

Sports Review

2021

The School's inaugural sports day was held at the David Weir Stadium in Sutton. The day saw over 500 pupils from across the Lower and Senior School compete in the traditional track and field events as well as some more inclusive fun races which included wooden spoon, bean bag and sack race. Pupils competed for points in their houses, with many going on to set new house and school records for individual times and distances. The day gave an opportunity for all pupils and staff to come together across their houses in a way that we had not been able to do for over 16 months. The atmosphere was simply outstanding with pupils cheering every athlete as they competed for the newly created trophies with the results as below:

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Lower School Cup – Purple Fourth Form Boys' Shield – East Lower Fifth Boys' Shield – West Lower Sixth Boys' Shield – West House Fourth Form Girls' Shield – Gloucester House Lower Fifth Girls' Shield – Hawkins Lower Sixth Girls' Shield – Gloucester House Senior School Boys' Cup – West House Senior School Girls' Cup – Gloucester House

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From the Archives

FROM THE ARCHIVES The Tenner Bell The sound of the ‘Tenner’ bell calling pupils to breakfast, morning chapel, the start of afternoon school and the end of the day, is an enduring memory of school life for many Old Johnians: ‘Jackson the Bell-Ringer ruled our lives, though he may not have seen it that way. It was his duty to sound the Tenner and Fiver before meals - we were literally summoned by bells to these important occasions.’ (The Johnian 1996) Robert John Jackson (1881 – 1950), one of seven children born to William and Betsy Jackson of Dorking Surrey, joined St John’s School, Leatherhead as a School Porter in 1907. Among his many tasks he was responsible for ringing the ‘Tenner’ bell, housed in the tower of the main building, by tugging on the bell rope which soared up into the bell chamber.

Front of school c.1905

Jackson retired in 1947, after 40 years of service, and was presented with a cheque in recognition of his long term of office. A familiar face to many generations of Old Johnians, he died in 1950 and his obituary in The Johnian said:

‘Many can testify to his genial good nature and his wonderful memory for faces.’ Peter Byles (South House, 1945-1950) wrote: ‘We were awoken by a bell, sprinted down two floors to the changing rooms in the basement and listened for the "tenner'', the bell in a tower over the main entrance, rung ten minutes before breakfast by the school porter, Jackson. The "fiver" was a handbell, and you were in trouble if you didn't make it to the dining hall before the door was shut.’ Following electrification of the school bells in the 1950s, the shape of the bell tower was altered and nowadays the timing of the bells is controlled by computer software. The bell rope is a thing of the past, but a couple of hand bells have survived and are still occasionally used.

Robert Jackson ringing Tenner Bell c.1920

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Robert Jackson with hand bell c.1920

Front of school 2017

1950s and 1960s

Memories of the neutron source at St John’s Nick Clube, son of Alan Clube (Surrey 1949-1955) has sent us an extract from his late father’s memoirs describing life at St John’s in the 1950s. In the following paragraph, Alan Clube recalls the scientific research instigated by Tom Peacocke using a neutron source from Harwell: ‘While at St John’s my interests in the sciences and mathematics developed. Our Chemistry master, Tom Peacocke, was a particular influence encouraging us to undertake all sorts of investigations which included going to Harwell to collect an active radioactive source for research purposes. We scoured Leatherhead to trace sources of lead to make the necessary container, but I am sure ‘Health and Safety’ would lock us up today! Our Physics teacher, W O Clarke, was another enthusiast and between them they set examples to which I could only get fractionally close in my own teaching career.’

Science Exhibition 1961: Mr. Peacocke explains the old and the new pictures of molecular structure

In 1959, a building to contain the neutron source from Harwell was constructed by boys in the Field Club as the Ministry of Education required that a brick and concrete building should be constructed around the tank in which it was held.

Neutron Source Building 1959

The pioneering research work carried out by Chemistry Teacher Tom Peacocke and the boys at St John’s featured in article in The Times newspaper in 1961. Reporting on the Science Exhibition and the new science wing at the School (opened in 1957 by Field Marshal Montgomery), the headlines ran:

AN ATOMIC PILE IN THE QUAD

Schoolboys are using radioactive material. Head of Science, Mr Peacocke said: ‘I think this is one of the most modern science labs in the district now, it caters for more than 250 serious science students. We study several unusual subjects here apart from radioactivity.’ ‘The atomic pile is in the form of a neutron tank sunk three feet deep in the quadrangle. With a neutron source obtained from Harwell, we can produce radioactive material and isotopes. The three foot depth of water gives the equivalent protection of three inches of lead.’

Science Exhibition 1961: Separating thorium 234 from uranium by ion exchange

A journal article that same year headed ‘Radioactivities in a School’, described the 1961 Science Exhibition as a ‘remarkably ambitious affair’ and commented on the research problems being carried out for the Atomic Energy Research Establishment (AERE): ‘Mr Peacocke, with the help of the most senior boys and, at a rather different level, with help and advice from AERE - is investigating the Szilard-Chalmers effect in phenyl iodide, attempting to discover the mechanism of retention of active iodine, and making distribution studies of certain activated rare earths between nitric acid solution and a special solvent developed by Harwell. A young scientist here can therefore hope to assist at genuine research before he leaves school.’ Tom Peacocke retired in 1970 after 32 years at St John’s. Some years later, rumours of a secret radioactive room at St John’s prompted an article in the 1980 Johnian Magazine to dispel these fears. The authors explained that the neutron sources themselves were allocated to Mr Peacocke, and not to the School. When Mr Peacocke left, the sources had to go with him. ‘The hot lab was decontaminated by the army, and then dismantled, to make room for a classroom. There need be no fear of any residual radioactivity as any contaminated articles were removed by the army.’ The Johnian 2021 107

From the Archives

Noah Matthew Amos, 1875-1961 Groundsman – St John’s School 1901-1942 Amos, and his horse, were the connecting links between the age of ‘mowing by sheep’ and ‘mowing by motor’. EMP Williams The Quest Goes On. 1951, p40.

Old Johnian cricket team 1922. Amos standing on far left of back row.

Noah Matthew Amos, fifth son of George Amos, a carter and coal merchant, and his wife Jane (née Darrell), was born in Wye, Kent in 1875, where he lived until his marriage on 11 November 1900 to Frances Rhoda Butcher, just a few months after the death of his father. Amos and his wife moved to Leatherhead where Amos, aged 26, joined the staff at St John’s in 1901 as a groundsman. He continued to serve the School for a further 41 years. Noah and Francis Amos lived at 2 Queen Anne’s Terrace, Fairfield, Leatherhead, Surrey and they had three children. Eveline May, born 1902, Ivy Margaret, born 1906 and Arthur, born in 1916. During his first 25 years as groundsman, the playing fields and quadrangle were maintained by a horse drawn mower and roller but in 1925 the Johnian magazine tells us that: ‘A motor-pusher, attachable to either mower or roller, has been provided for work in the field and the quadrangle. Amos will now be able to save a considerable amount of time in mowing, and Moggy's duties will presumably be confined to the carting of coal.’

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Amos retired in 1942 and he wrote the following heartfelt letter to the editor of the Johnian:

Dear Editor, I have been a Porter, Carter, Stoker and Groundsman at St John’s School for 41 years but never have I had such a hard duty as writing these few lines. During this long period I have watched many changes and made many friends, but I still have one ambition left and that is to see once again the Old Johnian Cricket Week after the war. With best wishes to Johnians throughout the world. Yours etc., N. M. Amos.

Old Johnian, EMP Williams, wrote a tribute to Amos in his centenary history of St John’s, The Quest Goes on (1951) saying: ‘For fifty years his seat has been the stables at the south-west corner of the Senior Field. Here he used to offer the courtesy of the horse-box to those in need of a cigarette, the while he kept suitable ‘cave’. Here he can still be seen on any Match Day, communing with the past, and thinking of the days when his coat was white and his word was law. Amos was ever a stern umpire as well as an original one; his LBW decisions were, in my opinion, well in advance of the existing rules but, whatever the out-going batsman might think, it was LBW in the score-book!’ ‘His pride and interest in St John's is nothing if not wholehearted.’ Ten years later OJs mourned his death at the age of 86 and the following obituary appeared in the Johnian for 1961: AMOS ‘During this term, Amos quietly gave up the struggle with age and ill-health, and so deprived the School of yet another of its links with the past. He will be missed by a large number of older OJs. Noah Matthew Amos came to St John’s as groundsman in 1901. For over 50 years he laboured lovingly, with horses, mowers, and whitewash pot to keep grass and wickets trim. Of recent years, a tired shadow of himself, he used to like still to come and watch the cricket. He was a true servant to the School, and he will be remembered.’ We don’t have any photographs of Amos with his horse or mower, but an archive photograph dating from the early 1900s shows two gardeners at St John’s standing proudly beside their lawnmower.

Gardeners with lawnmower outside the Old Chapel in the 1900s

Manufactured by Thomas Green and Sons and patented in 1859 this is a 'Silens Messor' (Silent Cutter or Silent Mower), the first chain driven lawnmower, and was available in cutting widths from six inches to 48 inches, which would be pulled by a horse. The business started in Leeds and later had a large engineering works in London. In 1902 they opened purposebuilt premises in Southwark Street, known as the ‘New Surrey Works’. 120 years on, the modern mowers and machinery used to maintain our lovely grounds and gardens in the 2020s would be marvelled at by Amos and the grounds staff of those early days.

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From the Archives

70 Years Ago St John’s celebrated the Centenary of its Foundation in 1851. A hugely successful Centenary Appeal raised £35,000, largely due to Field Marshal Montgomery’s untiring efforts. As Chairman of the Governing Council, he organised a series of memorable events. A Mansion House dinner attended by the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, was held in March 1951 to raise funds for the School. Lord Rank gave all the proceeds of a film premiere, The Lavender Hill Mob, to St John’s. The screening, attended by Queen Mary, was held at the Odeon Cinema, Marble Arch in June 1951. Field Marshal Montgomery presented the School Captain, Pat Bird, to Queen Mary while other pupils formed a guard of honour.

Mansion House Dinner menu

Lavender Hill Mob programme

Field Marshal Montgomery presents the School Captain, Pat Bird, to Queen Mary

Speech Day was attended by The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and the following day a congregation of nearly 1000 people, including local residents who took an interest in the School, were present at a thanksgiving service on the Quad. Articles appeared in the national press and a three-page spread was published in the Illustrated London News, all of which helped to publicise the School and its centenary. The Centenary Year was deemed a splendid success which, to quote the Field Marshal ‘put the School on the map.’ Centenary Thanksgiving Service 1951 110 The Johnian 2021

30 Years Ago 1991 – Opening of the Sports Hall Her Royal Highness, the Duchess of Gloucester was welcomed by the School on 17 October 1991 to open the new Sports Hall.

Sports Hall construction 1989

Sports Hall February 2017

Sports Hall opening 1991

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Beyond the Classroom

Space Cadets

We are passionate about encouraging our pupils to try new things,

Space Cadets allowed our Lower Third pupils to explore beyond the constraints

broaden their horizons and have fun. Each term, pupils select activities

of the physics syllabus. Through the

from the rich and interesting co-curricular programme which includes

Summer Term, our budding intergalactic explorers enjoyed a variety of design

activities such as cryptic crosswords, podcasts, circus skills, dance,

and engineering activities, including

current affairs, water polo, debating and much more!

creating landing craft and mars rovers to safely transport cargo. Pupils also

The breadth of activities available reflects the varied interests of our

got a taste of some of the challenges

pupils and staff and creates opportunities to enhance academic study,

astronauts face when they completed rounds of astronaut selection testing

develop new skills and acquire new hobbies. Here is a snapshot of just

and had to build a working electrical

a few of the activities pupils have been able to enjoy this year.

circuit with gloves on, just as astronauts would on a spacewalk.

Photography

Girls' Power Hour

During the Autumn Term, Lower Fifth pupils produced some interesting shots in the Beginner's Photography Club. They applied themselves to specific topics each session, such as black and white photography, portraits, flash photography and perspectives. Pupils spent time learning how to do some simple editing of their photographs, using basic software. Due to Coronavirus restrictions, pupils were only able to safely access certain areas around the School within their Lower Fifth bubble. This presented a challenge, as well as the fading light outside, however they still managed to take plenty of interesting photos, aided by their imagination!

Girls’ Power Hour gave Upper Third pupils an opportunity to research and celebrate strong females in the public eye and their achievements. Pupils discussed Michelle Obama, Serena Williams, Jameela Jamil, Ellen DeGeneres and Lady Gaga to name but a few, whilst pupils were encouraged to explore their own identities and had great fun discussing their own personal goals.

Nature Club Through the Summer Term, Upper Third pupils had the opportunity to learn more about the wildlife that lives within the School grounds. Nature Club saw pupils spending most of their time outdoors and allowed them the independence to discover and engage with wildlife, with the hope of increasing pupils’ understanding of the natural world. Pupils enjoyed learning about bird identification by sight and sound, searching for invertebrates, and learning about woodlouse behaviour. With the support of the design and engineering staff, pupils also had the chance to make bird boxes to take home, to help encourage more wildlife.

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Science Club This year Lower Third and Upper Third science clubs have enjoyed some exciting experiments and dissections. Their interest and enthusiasm in all things science have been enhanced through this lunchtime activity. The Lower Third investigated air resistance with delicate egg parachutes, designed bath bombs and balloon rockets, created ice cream using salt and ice, as well as sherbet and slime! Pupils really enjoyed the dragon’s breath experiment, which included investigating the colour of flames with different metals, but nothing could top their fizzy coke and mentos display! Dissections have included a rat, a frog, and a starfish, which gave pupils a real appreciation for the anatomy of living things. Other activities for the Upper Third included creating methane bubbles, fire writing, and a real emphasis on experimental design.

Calligraphy In this activity, Fourth Form pupils explored hand-lettering and illustrated hand-lettered designs as well as an introduction to simple calligraphy. The techniques were then applied to projects such as writing their name in an illustrative manner, graffiti posters, and creating greeting cards designs. Calligraphy and lettering are also amazing ways to relax, practice patience and develop skills to make beautiful artwork. Pupils found calligraphy to be an enlightening activity, that often helped to improve their handwriting skills as well as their imagination!

Art Club Lower Third Art Club pupils have been working on their mixed media skills during their maps and journeys collage work. Pupils brought an individual element to their final piece by researching their own maps to include in their work. They have learnt several skills along the way as well as having fun exploring new ideas and experimenting with layering, stencils, patterns, and textures. After completing their initial response in muted tones, they had the opportunity to translate their ideas into colour.

Laser Shooting Throughout the year, pupils in the Lower and Upper Third have been getting a taste for the sport of shooting by developing their skills on a Friday lunchtime in the CCF shooting range. A keen group of pupils learnt how to use the laser rifle kit, which enabled them to learn about the art of marksmanship whilst also having fun and competing against each other over the course of the year! As our pupils develop these skills, it is hoped some will develop an appetite for shooting and take it on when they enter the senior school and try small-bore rifles!

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For a Teacher

Poem – For a Teacher

by Rory Davidson, Lower Fifth

If you can keep your head when all are in distress Are shouting and screaming for you If you can guide those below to success When all those doubt them too If you can listen to cries for help And nurture and care to their needs If you can lead others to great wealth Or stand and tell others of great feats If your tests come in at either triumph or disaster, And meet those two contraries with cool If you can put up with waves of uncontrollable laughter But still keep control of your school If you can walk in the staffroom, clutching your classes A* scores But keep your virtues in the gossip of break If you can walk through your class doors And turn off the inside riot Yours is the future, and everything inside it, You’ll be a teacher, my friend!

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St John’s School T +44 (0)1372 373000 school@stjohns.surrey.sch.uk stjohnsleatherhead.co.uk Registered Charity No: 312064

The Johnian Magazine 2021

Articles inside

Hawkins

Gloucester

Surrey

Montgomery

South

Churchill

North