The Johnian 2018

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CONTENTS Welcome to The Johnian Magazine 2018

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From The Head’s Desk Interview with Rowena Cole, The Head Farewell from the School Captains Johnian Editorial From the Archives Valete Library H OU SE S Lower School Churchill East Gloucester Haslewood Montgomery North South Surrey West

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FE ATU R E S Music Chapel Review Drama Debating and Public Speaking School Trips Speech Day Army Navy RAF Community Service Unit Report

SP ORT Hockey Football Rugby Netball Shooting Cricket Athletics Sailing Tennis Swimming

FROM THE HEAD’S

DESK I am writing this during the summer holiday as I reflect on the excitement, achievements and challenges which have made my first year as The Head of St John’s so interesting and enjoyable. It would be impossible for me to list all of the highlights of the past academic year – they have been too numerous and too varied to name – and I wonder how we fitted it all in to one academic year!

When I arrived at St John’s I knew that I was joining a school which prides itself on the strength of its community.

My family and I were immediately made to feel at home and the sense of belonging which I experienced personally is one of the characteristics of St John’s of which I am most proud. Our house structure, and the way we involve families in school life, gives pupils and their parents a connection to St John’s which is genuinely special. This is a school with such a strong sense of identity that we know our values and ethos hold true, even as we innovate and adapt to ensure that we deliver the very highest standard of education for pupils in today’s shifting landscape.

Towards the end of the academic year I gave an assembly about the importance – and satisfaction - of hard work.

It was timed to encourage those who were preparing for exams to understand that there are times in life when you have to put in the extra effort to achieve your goals, but it is a useful reminder for us all. While there will always be some for whom success comes more easily than others, we only uncover the true extent of our potential when we commit and put in the work. I was delighted that our Upper Sixth heeded this advice and achieved impressive A level results: the cohort of 126 pupils achieved 47% A*/A grades, 31% of pupils received three or more A* or A grades, a total of 81% of grades were A*-B and the pass rate was 100%. We were equally pleased that the Upper Fifth performed so well and achieved the School’s best ever GCSE results. The upheaval to the examinations brought challenges which the professionalism of our teaching staff helped to mitigate, giving our pupils the best possible

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chance. They outperformed expectations with an impressive 74% A*/A (9-7) grades, 38% of grades awarded being A* and 30% at grade 9. Seven pupils achieved straight A*s/9s, and a sixth of the whole year group achieved eight or more A*s/9s, while a third of the year group achieved five or more A*s/9s. Amongst the overall success, there were many individual stories of outstanding dedication, effort and excellence and I congratulate them all. While academic outcomes should always been viewed in the broader context of a truly rounded education - something St John’s does very well – strong examination results can unlock opportunities and choices for young people. For our Upper Sixth leavers, this means pursuing their first choice higher education courses and embarking on careers in the sectors they aspire to; while, for our Upper Fifth, it means they are entering the Sixth Form with a strong academic foundation on which to build.

The breadth of a St John’s education is outstanding and you will get a flavour of the variety and scope of our cocurricular activities across the pages of this magazine. Over the last year, I have thoroughly enjoyed cheering on our teams at sports fixtures, although the weather occasionally tested even my spirits. The artistic life of school, from artworks adorning the walls to dramatic and musical performances, have delivered colour and vibrancy. And I have been deeply impressed by the ingenuity, spirit of adventure and the willingness to give back which are evident every day through charity fundraising, community projects and activities such as CCF. As we embark on a new academic year - full of potential, opportunity and new experiences - I would like to thank everyone who contributed to making last year so special and to extend a very warm welcome to everyone joining our school.

Mrs Rowena Cole The Head TH E J O HNI A N M A GA Z I NE

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INTERVIEW with Rowena Cole, The Head

What attracted you to St John’s?

I grew up in Surrey and have known St John’s since I was a pupil at a nearby school – we used to come to Chapel for our carol service – so I’ve always been aware of the School.

Working as a teacher and then a headteacher in the local area, I was interested in the way that St John’s has adapted over the years without losing its core values. When the opportunity arose to become The Head, I was excited about the potential of leading this amazing community.

First impressions of the School?

The strongest first impression was one of warmth and welcome. It is an overused phrase, but at St John’s there is a deep-rooted sense of community which extends across pupils, staff, parents, OJs and beyond.

Favourite area of the School?

It is hard to choose just one but, if I must, I would say the Quad. It is a brilliant vantage point and, standing in the Quad, I love the sense that every aspect of school life is happening around you and everything is within reach.

Best and worst part of the job?

There are many ‘best’ parts to the job, especially watching fantastic performances in drama, music or sport, informal opportunities to talk with pupils and watching great lessons. The ‘worst’ aspect of this job is really that there just aren’t enough hours in the day!

Have you always wanted to be a teacher?

At school I loved the sciences and decided to pursue that field at university. I also knew that I really wanted to work with young people and therefore teaching seemed to provide the way to combine these important aspects.

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Do you prefer teaching or being The Head?

Teaching is hugely rewarding; being able to impart a concept or idea to a pupil and watching them master a topic and take pleasure in learning is why we become teachers.

But being The Head also brings other rewards and I love how unpredictable each day can be; it allows me to shape how this whole community will develop and there is a sense of satisfaction to that.

What did you study in university? Did you enjoy it?

My degree was in Biological Sciences and I loved it – and still do.

Favourite part of biology? Why? Genetics. I still find it awe inspiring that all the differences that exist in the natural world are caused by tiny variations in the DNA. What do you like to do to relax?

I really enjoy spending time with my family and walking our three dogs.

Favourite type of food?

Cake!

Did your previous school have prefects? If so, how do the St John’s prefects differ from them?

We had a school captain team at my previous school. The way that pupils with leadership roles behave and undertake their duties varies to suit the needs of their particular school but there are many consistent factors. All pupils with leadership roles need to embody their school’s ethos and values, to care about the community they belong to and set a good example for those who follow in their footsteps.

Do you like the traditions of the School? Like the prefects, house system, Christian-foundations, or is this something you would like to change?

Traditions are really important in a community like ours.

I love the House system and believe it immeasurably enhances life at St John’s, being in Chapel is one of my favourite times of the week, and our prefects make an enormous contribution to our school. Over time, schools do need to evolve and adapt to meet the changing needs of pupils, but that doesn’t mean discarding the traditions, values and ethos which are at their heart.

Where do you see St John’s in five years’ time?

I would like St John’s to be capitalising on its excellent reputation in areas such as pastoral care and making a contribution to national discussions in these areas. I would like to feel we can become a school that other teachers come to in order to learn about outstanding practice. But most of all, I hope it will retain its purposeful, happy atmosphere and continue to provide outstanding opportunities for young people in the local area.

What key values do you want a St John’s pupil to take away from their time here?

I am immensely proud of the young men and women I see growing up at St John’s. I want our pupils to be open minded and open hearted, with a strong sense of their own values so that they have the confidence to be guided by their convictions and to live their lives in a positive way.

Courtesy, respect and tolerance are core values at St John’s, but I also want our pupils to be brave and ambitious, willing to try things beyond their comfort zone, because it is only when you push your own personal boundaries that you achieve real satisfaction and realise your true potential.

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FAREWELL FROM THE SCHOOL

CAPTAINS

The end of this academic year has been a bitter sweet moment, not just for us, but for all those who are leaving behind St John’s. On the one hand, we are starting exciting new chapters in our lives, but on the other hand we are leaving behind a memorable place where we have spent a significant part of our lives thus far.

Throughout our time at St John’s we have had experiences that have defined our time at the School. Whether it has been representing the School on the sports fields, in musical performances or on the stage, we have been given endless opportunities to discover our talents and to create long-lasting memories that will connect us to the School.

We have been on incredible trips which have enabled us to visit places for the first time and to have experiences that we will never forget. Precious hours in our houses bring us truly close together and we, in common with so many others at St John’s, have made friendships which will last far longer than the brief years we spend here; these are friendships and bonds that we will treasure for many years.

On behalf of the pupils of St John’s, we would like to thank all of the members of staff who work tirelessly behind the scenes to keep the school running the way it does. To the catering staff - who not only provide an assortment of curry for every day of the week, but also prepare breakfast and dinner for boarders, provide those much needed donuts after Tuesday games and produce match teas for every sport - we would like to say thank you for how much time and effort you put in to making us delicious food all day every day. Furthermore, thank you to the groundsmen who sort out the fire alarms when the toaster overloads and who keep every part of the School looking immaculate all year round. We don’t think you get half of the recognition that you deserve.

While we are reflecting on unsung heroes, what would a school be without its teachers? An empty vessel, a printer without its ink, a pie without its pork! Teachers are the people who selflessly give up their days to help us excel, not only in the classroom but in all aspects of life, and who have supported us through all the difficulties we have faced as teenagers. It is very easy to take what teachers do for granted. They can give the wisest pieces of advice to the class but they have no idea whether anyone has bothered to take note of it. Pupils don’t always appreciate the level of patience required to deal with us on a daily basis, and while some may think it is easy for teachers to come to class and teach from a lesson plan, what we don’t always understand is how they come to school each day in the hope of making a positive impact on our lives. Therefore, for all the hard work and time they have devoted to us, thank you. Thank you for being there for us through the easy and the difficult parts and supporting us no matter what.

We would also like to extend our appreciation to our parents. They are the ones that have been there for us through it all and supported us through all the questionable decisions we have undoubtedly made. They have loved us, cared for us and pushed us to be the best we can be. We don’t always recognise the sacrifices they make for us, whether it be giving up weekends to drive us to matches and concerts, listening to all our pointless drama and, of course, picking up the bill and making our experience and education at St John’s possible. Thank you for giving us the best possible start for our future. Even though we don’t always show it, we are truly grateful for all that you do.

During our final year at St John’s we have not only been supported by staff and teachers but also by the prefect body. Whilst many other pupils may only see prefects on the lunch queue or walking down Chapel, they do so much more than meets the eye and we could not have carried out our responsibilities as School Captains without their support and commitment. Thank you to all the prefects for making our experience as smooth as possible and for being outstanding leaders and role models for the School.

The last person we would like to thank is Mrs Cole.

This has been Mrs Cole’s first year at St John’s and so she stepped into her role at the same time as we stepped into ours. During her short time at the school, Mrs Cole has created a caring ethos second to none and it is easy to see that she takes great pride in the School. Not only will you see her on the side-lines on Saturdays, or in the audience at concerts and drama performances, but she has made time to get to know each pupil. She has created a very warm and welcoming atmosphere and I don’t think our journey as School Captains would have been nearly as enjoyable or memorable without the help and support she has given us.

We want to thank Mrs Cole for making our last year one to remember and we hope she continues to enjoy her time at St John’s and fulfils her ambitions to make the School the best it can be.

As we move on to pastures new, we will leave you with a final thought that sums up our feelings towards our time at St John’s. In the words of A.A. Milne (or, more specifically, Winnie the Pooh): ‘How lucky we are to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.’

For all of you still lucky enough to be at St John’s, and for those just starting their journey at the School, we urge you to make the most of every opportunity and every moment. For everyone embarking on the next stage of their lives, we wish you the very best of luck and every success for the future.

Fin Deuchar and Katie Littlewood School Captains 2017-18

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JOHNIAN

EDITORIAL

Five years ago, a young girl walked into a big school, staring up at the angry red bricks, and feeling very small indeed. She knew no one. She had left behind what she was familiar with, to dive into the unknown, and try something different. She was too innocent, and very shy, far preferring books to people. She was one of 18 firstgeneration Gloucester girls, green tartan well beneath her knees and drowning in her pristine blazer.

Today, she moves on leaving behind five years of what has become known, for a world of unknowns. She can hold her faithful books close, but has learnt to find faith and joy in living moment by moment, and not feeling like she has to escape her world. For, for five years, her world has not been something to be ashamed of or feared. To work for joy alone is enough; people can be as books once were. No longer so shy, she can proudly turn her head and walk out of those grandiose oaken doors for the very last time as a St John’s pupil, soaring on eagle’s wings to seek those things above.

And so it goes. Five years flies by. Perhaps it is only in the last few moments that what that means really hits. There is a gut-wrenching twist as you realise that this is the very last time you will sing Jerusalem in Chapel, or hear a mob rendition of Libera Me in the Dining Hall. The last time you will stand before the altar in the Martyrs’ Chapel to receive communion. The last time you will be in a house assembly, a Head’s assembly, a service of School Evensong. The last time you will stand together with all your peers in these hallowed walls. The last time you will take out and return a library book. The last time you will don a CCF beret. The last time you will score runs on the cricket pitch, jump that final hurdle. The last time you will eat St John’s famed curries. The last time. The last time. Each moment seems precious, special, final. You close your eyes, and try to cherish it, holding on. And so it goes. You say goodbye.

This, I leave you behind, but I also know that everything this school is, and has been, I will harbour with me, long after I leave this place, and as I journey on a new path.

‘There’s a road we must travel, there’s a dream in the future, a struggle that we have yet to win. But I’ll give thanks to my God, because, Lord knows, I know where I’ve been.’

I will always be a Johnian. And that is a start to life, a preparation for life, that will give me great strength in this next chapter. In a year that has seen yet more political and domestic upheaval, leading to an uncertain and turbulent future, having a sense of identity in where we are, and where we’ve come from, seems never more important.

It has been my privilege to write for the Johnian for five years and to lead the pupil editorial body for the past two. I hope this publication will be able to give you just a glimpse of the strength, solidarity and success. A glimpse of the faith, friendship and fun. A glimpse of where I’ve been.

May St John’s be for you, all that it has been for me.

Catherine Perkins

I say goodbye; a moment where both excitement and anticipation for the future are intertwined with an underlying sense of loss. Yet, it is truly a special thing to walk out of this school proud as I do. It is special to have had such a wealth of opportunity, from music, to drama, debating, academics, service, sport and more. To have been underpinned by a net of such infallible support, humour, grace, faith and mercy. To have been uplifted when I have fallen. To be carried when I saw no way to go on. To have succeeded and failed, and to have been encouraged to bear both with grace and humility. To have continually been encouraged to seek things higher, to have lived some extraordinarily divine moments.

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From the

ARCHIVES TA K E A WA L K B AC K T H RO U G H T I M E

MYSTERY ARTIST REVEALED! In the late 1990s a large oil painting of the front of the School and the Old Chapel was spotted at a local antiques fair and subsequently acquired for the School. No information about the artist or date of the painting was available – just the words ‘Artist: Johnston’ on the back. For many years, this painting hung in the front office, then in 2009 it was transferred to the School Archives.

The identity of the artist remained a mystery until local resident Andrew Clegg contacted us in the summer of 2017 with details of a painting of St John’s, which he had recently purchased from a gallery in America. This unusual view of the School from Linden Pit Path showing the back of the Dining Hall and the Churchill (now Gloucester) House building bore a striking resemblance to our painting by ‘Johnston’.

With great excitement, we compared the two paintings side by side and, with details of the artist named as

Brenda Johnston on the second picture, we realised that we had a match and at a stroke, our mystery was partially solved.

Brenda Johnston studied at Epsom School of Art in the late 1940s and again in the 1950s. She attended Reigate School of Art in the 1960s, had a number of solo exhibitions and showed her work at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.

From 1970 – 1980 she was a member of the Leatherhead Art Club.

We still do not know the exact date ‘our’ painting was created, but it may predate the view of the rear of the School which we know was painted in 1973. We would love to find out more about these two paintings of St John’s and discover why Brenda Johnston chose the School as her subject.

Andrew kindly agreed to lend us his painting of St John’s

by Brenda Johnston for our Heritage Day exhibition in September 2017.

HERITAGE DAY 2017 Visitors to the Heritage Day event on 9 September were treated to an exclusive exhibition of rarely seen original paintings, drawings and prints of the School, spanning over 160 years of history.

Featuring paintings and drawings by former local artists Geoffrey Fletcher and Brenda Johnston, together with those of renowned artists and etchers including Edward J Burrow, Dennis Flanders and Bryan de Grineau, these images trace the growth of the School from its small beginnings as a Choir School for the Sons of Poor Clergy attached to St Mark’s, Hamilton Terrace in 1851, through its various locations in London until it finally became established in Leatherhead in 1872. Views of the School before and after the fire of 1913 show the small but significant architectural changes made to the main building as it was rebuilt in 1914, and officially re-opened by HRH the Duchess of Albany on Speech Day, Wednesday 1 July 1914 just a few weeks before the outbreak of the First World War. Limited edition prints of various views of the School, commissioned in the 1980s, 1990s and 2012, were also on show.

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The decision to form an Officer Training Corps (OTC) at St John’s in 1912 was made possible by the return in 1911 of former pupil Lancelot Townshend Driffield, a Captain in the Special Reserve, to teach at St John’s.

Cyprian Bourne: Assistant Master, died of wounds in 1917

Victor Bedwell: Albany Scholar, and winner of the Craven Scholarship at Exeter College, Oxford, killed in action in 1916

Joseph Gedge: the first officer killed in WWI

Frank Allan: school captain, scholar and athlete, died of gas gangrene in 1916

Forthcoming Book: St John’s School Leatherhead and the Great War, 1914-1918

Lessons, sports and games, school meals and the newly introduced House system will all feature, illustrated by some of the wonderful lantern slide images taken by one of the masters, Eustace Coddington.

To mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War in November 1918, we plan to publish a fully illustrated book to commemorate those OJs who served at home and abroad.

Stories of those who died and those who survived will be told and illustrated with firsthand accounts and images from the School Archives.

In total, 769 Old Johnians, 21 members of staff and three governors are known to have served in the First World War. Of these, 162 were killed in action or died of wounds. This book will be a tribute to a generation of pupils and staff who were called to serve their country, and the sacrifices they made.

His military experience gained at Cambridge, at Derby School and St Edmund’s, Canterbury, enabled the headmaster to obtain the consent of the Army Council to provide an OTC contingent. Service in the OTC was compulsory for all boys over the age of 14 and as the war progressed, training and drill occupied much of their time outside the classroom. The impact of the war on school life is told in this book through letters and stories from former pupils and the pages of the Johnian magazine which chronicled the events of the war years.

Lieutenant Commander Eric Gasgoine Robinson VC

HOW YOU CAN HELP We aim to publish and print this book in the autumn of 2018, initially as a limited edition run of 250-300 copies. This large format illustrated book will be a further memorial to those Old Johnians, both pupils and staff, who served their country at home and abroad in the First World War. To help with the financial expense, we are seeking donations to help with the costs of this publication, which include professional book design, copyright costs and printing costs. We welcome contributions from OJs and friends of the School and hope you will be able to help us.

All donors will have their names inscribed on a page within the book. Additionally, benefactors who make a contribution of at least £100 will be recognised by the School with the gift of a first edition of the book. We anticipate that the selling price of the book will be around £25, but the final price will be confirmed nearer the time.

If you would like to support this project, please contact the Development Officer, Naia Edwards:

nedwards@stjohns.surrey.sch.uk

2nd Lieutenant Geoffrey Harold Woolley VC

The book is the result of many years of meticulous research into the lives of those OJs whose names appear on our Roll of Honour Boards in the Old Chapel.

Included in the text will be a brief history of the School up to 1914, details of the formation of the Officer Training Corps in 1912, the devastating fire of 1913 and the re-opening of the buildings by the Duchess of Albany on Speech Day, 1 July 1914, just a few weeks before the start of the First World War. The book will contain original documents, anecdotes and photographs, many of which have not previously been published. School memorials to the First World War will feature, and an updated list of the Roll of Honour will be published.

Victoria Cross winners, GH Woolley and EG Robinson, will be remembered, together with tales of other young officers who gained distinctions and medals for their leadership, courage and perseverance in the face of adversity.

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1st XI Cricket 1912 Back row: GS Middlemiss; CEVK Peberdy; KC Gill; VLS Bedwell; SC Squire; LPS Bourne.

Front row: CLN Roberts; CFE Clarke; WH Round; HJ Barnard; EWC Turner

At first sight, I thought that our negatives were damaged as I could see what looked like greasy finger marks around the faces on the emulsion side of the plate. Abby explained that this was a common re-touching process before the advent of photoshop, where the photographer applied ink, either with a brush, or smudged quite literally onto the surface of the plate with a finger which actually served to enhance the portraits. The results when professionally scanned are remarkably good as you can see from this image of the 1912 1st XI team (left).

The further significance of these previously unseen photographs lies in the fact that nearly all the boys who appear in the photos later served in the First World War. Those in the 1912 1st XI cricket team all saw active service and seven were killed in action.

Biographies of Godfrey Stewart Middlemiss, Kenneth Carlyle Gill, Victor Leopold Stevens Bedwell, Stanley Charles Squire, Cecil Llewellyn Norton Roberts, William Haldane Round and Eric Walter Carpenter Turner can be found on our commemorative War Memorial Archive website at www.stjohnsleatherheadatwar.co.uk

100 year old glass negatives found in a skip!

This was a hugely valuable donation as we have very few original photographs from that period, possibly because of the School fire in June 1913 which destroyed much of the main building, including the library where all the School photos were held. We found that we now had photographs of the 1st XI cricket and football teams for 1912, the 1st XI football team 1914 and the 2nd XI cricket and football teams for 1912 – 1914 and the Prefects in the Summer Term 1912.

On closer examination I realised that they also formed part of a large photographic archive of over 10,000 glass plates which belonged to photographic artist David KnightsWhittome, as I had spotted a couple of similar photos on Flickr in 2016.

David Knights-Whittome owned shops in both Sutton and Epsom from around 1904 until 1918 and took thousands of photographs of local people, places, institutions and schools.

He was granted a Royal Warrant and photographed members of the Royal Family, describing himself as ‘Photographer to the King’. In 1918 he gave up his photographic business and moved away from the area. His huge collection of glass plates

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was left in the cellar of his shop and was acquired by Sutton Archives in 1978. The plates then remained untouched in a basement store for over 35 years, until in 2014 Sutton Archives was awarded £95,900 by the Heritage Lottery Fund to clean, rehouse, digitise, catalogue and research the collection. Details of this project can be found on the Past on Glass blog: www.pastonglass.wordpress.com and the photographs they have digitised are available on Flickr: www.flickr.com/people/pastonglass I made contact with Abby Matthews, the ‘Past on Glass’ project officer, at Sutton Archives who kindly offered to scan the glass plates we had been given.

Old glass negatives are fragile and need to be scanned with a large flat-bed scanner with a transparency lid or by using a camera and a light box to produce the best results.

Leonard Percival Spencer Bourne was one of four brothers who attended St John’s, three of whom served in the First World War. His brother 2nd Lieutenant Austin Spencer Bourne was listed as ‘wounded and missing’. Austin died of wounds on 23 April 1917, but his body was never identified and today his name is on the wall of the Arras Memorial, along with 35,000 other men with no known grave.

Leonard won an exhibition to Sidney Sussex College Cambridge to read Classics in 1913, enlisted in 1915 and gained promotion to Lieutenant in the 3rd Battalion, Manchester Regiment. After the war, he was a merchant in India and East Africa and then Senior Partner with the Mackinnon, Mackenzie Company, Calcutta. LPS Bourne was awarded the CBE in 1949, in recognition of services to the UK Community in India. He died in Southwark, London, in 1970.

Charles Edward Vernon Kingsbury Peberdy served as ‘Acting’ Captain in the 4th Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment and was wounded six times. He was mentioned in despatches and awarded the DSO and MC. Appointed manager of the Rugby Boys’ Clubs in 1937, he later served in the Royal Pioneer Corps, with the rank of Major, during the Second World War. He remained a keen sportsman all his life and was a Vice President of the Old Johnian Rugby Club.

RESCUED FROM OBLIVION: In February 2018 I was surprised and delighted to be given a set of nine glass photographic plates dating from 1912 – 1914. These old glass negatives of St John’s School cricket and football teams and a prefects group had been rescued from a skip many years ago, together with those from other schools in Sutton and Carshalton.

The four young men who survived the war went on to have varying careers. Their names are recorded on the 42 illuminated handwritten panels, produced in 1918, listing Old Johnians who served all the armed forces up to and including the First World War.

The Revd Harold Jeune Barnard was a School Prefect, Captain of East House, a member of the choir and played 1st XI football and cricket from 1912 – 1914. When war broke out he joined the Royal Irish Fusiliers, being promoted to Lieutenant in 1916 and Assistant Staff Captain in 1918.

After the war, he gained a BA in 1925 from Christ’s College Cambridge and was ordained in 1926. In 1929 he was appointed Organising Secretary to the Church of England Waifs and Strays Society in the Diocese of Canterbury and in 1931 was appointed Chaplain to the Forces, stationed at Woolwich. He regularly played cricket for the Old Johnians and the Army and in 1937 was awarded his Army Cricket Cap.

Photographer David Knights-Whittome by kind permission of the London Borough of Sutton Archives

Charles Frederick Empson Clarke came to St John’s in 1906 and played for the 1st XI cricket team in 1912. He left the School in 1912 for All Hallows School, Honiton.

During the First World War he was a Lieutenant in the 9th Gloucestershire Regiment and was awarded the MC. In 1939 he was promoted to Major in the Royal Artillery. Charles Frederick Empson Clarke died in 1969 in Derbyshire, aged 73.

Sally Todd, School Archivist War Memorial Panel 1918

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IN BYGONE DAYS

25 YEARS AGO St John’s welcomed a new headmaster, Chris Tongue. Following the opening of the Sports Hall in 1992, the old gym was transformed into the ‘Anthony Hope Theatre’ with a new façade. The School play, Timon of Athens, was directed by Brian Joplin, with Andrew Noble taking the leading role and a new school uniform was introduced.

a journey through the pages of the Johnian Magazine

75 YEARS AGO Major D A Seagrim VC Early in the term there was announced the posthumous award of the Victoria Cross to Major D. A. Seagrim for conspicuous gallantry at the Mareth Line. A special holiday was given in his memory. The headmaster wrote to Mrs Seagrim on behalf of the School and received the following letter in reply:

A memorial service was held in the School Chapel for OJ Billy Rivers (1912 – 1917) who offered his services free of charge to the School as Bursar during the Second World War and later was a member of the School Governing Council.

7, Nelson Terrace, Westward Ho. Dear Mr. Carter, I am very grateful to you and the School, and in this I know his brothers join, for your kind letter and sympathy. My son Derek and his two elder brothers have very happy memories of St John’s and I know he would feel glad and proud to know you were all remembering him in such a happy way.

There were just 32 girls in the Sixth Form, but the netball team had an outstanding season: ‘The first team won nine out of twelve matches.

Our most glorious moment being the win over Charterhouse, whom St John’s had never beaten at netball before. We also won the runners up plate trophy in two tournaments.

In the Eastbourne tournament we beat Charterhouse again by one goal in the final.’

Johnian Summer 1968 (cover page1968)

Yours very sincerely, A. H. Seagrim The following announcement in the London Gazette is quoted from The Times of 14 May 1943: The King has been pleased to approve the posthumous award of the Victoria Cross to Major (Temporary Lieutenant Colonel) Derek Anthony Seagrim, The Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales’ Own Yorkshire Regiment)

BUILDING THE FUTURE CCF 1968 - inside page with news re CCF and cartoon

50 YEARS AGO From the Johnian 1968: Membership of the CCF became voluntary, over 100 boys volunteered for the new style CCF and Fred Jode, Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM) of the CCF, retired after 22 years’ service.

St John’s School 1851-2018 An illustrated time-line charting the growth of the School through its buildings was installed in May 2018 on the hoardings along Linden Pit Path and Garlands Road, which surround the building works for the new swimming pool.

Using images from the School Archives, this display shows how the School has transformed from a small choir school with just eight boys attached to St Mark’s Church, Hamilton Terrace, north London in 1851 to a fully co-educational school in Leatherhead with 770 pupils in 2018.

Fred Jode, Malta 1967

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valete

SCOTT LOMAS

CONSTANCE CHAPMAN

TEACHER OF MATHS

TEACHER OF CLASSICS AND HEAD OF WELLBEING

W E B I D F A R E W E L L T O T E A C H E R S L E AV I N G ST JOHN’S FOR PASTURES NEW

CAR OL INE T OWNS HE ND

MARTIN CLARKE DEPUTY HEAD

HEAD OF LOW ER SCHOOL

At the end of every academic year, we have to bid farewell to a number of members of staff who have served the School with dedication, intelligence and generosity. We would like to thank all our departing staff and wish them well for the future but I would also like to mention some individuals here.

Nick Smith departs after 14 years at St John’s. He joined in 2004 as Director of Music and Assistant Housemaster, later becoming a Housemaster, before relinquishing his pastoral role to focus on developing the School’s music provision.

As Director of Music he has overseen a wonderful array of musical talent at St John’s and he has contributed further to school life by coaching 2nd team rugby and 3rd team cricket, in addition to being Common Room President for the last three years. Simon Bland leaves us with an extraordinary musical legacy and we also owe him a debt of gratitude for his enthusiasm for croquet which has established the popular house croquet competition on the Quad! Constance Chapman has only been at St John’s for two years but has left her mark having been involved in every aspect of school life as a tutor, a valuable member of the Classics Department, leading the wellbeing programme and even coaching and umpiring sports teams. Richard Gregory, who leaves the Chemistry Department, has contributed widely to the outdoor education provision of the School, notably DofE, and will be pursuing his passion for skiing by becoming an instructor in the Austrian Alps. Gary Wade, a man of kindness and intellect who will be sorely missed in every aspect of school life, leaves us to study for a PhD. Housemaster of East and Head of Boarding, Ash Vargas, has provided pupils with an exceptional level of care over his decade with St John’s.

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Finally, I would like to express my particular thanks to Martin Clarke. Martin intended to retire at the end of last year but postponed his retirement to support me in my first year as The Head of St John’s. He has served St John’s for 28 years and I have learnt a lot from him and have greatly appreciated his wisdom, guidance and experience. Martin has a no nonsense approach and high expectations because he has always wanted pupils to be the absolute best they could be and I know many OJs credit him with playing a part in the success they have had in their adult lives.

St John’s will miss him.

TIM COOK PART TIME ENGLISH TEACHER

GARY WADE TEACHER OF RS

HA RRI ET PA SK ELL

REBECCA DAVIDSON

H E A D O F G E O G RA PH Y

TEACHER OF BIOLOGY

Rowena Cole The Head

SIMON BLAND

STEF JONES

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF MUSIC

TEACHER OF ENGLISH

CL AR E GR E E NWOOD

ED SYKES TEACHER OF CLASSICS

TEACHER OF ENGLISH

NICK SMITH

RICHARD GREGORY

DIRECTOR OF MUSIC

TEACHER OF CHEMISTRY

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Gone

by Michael Grant In the blink of an eye, all the adults disappear in a small

Library He re are s o me of t h e mo s t p o p ul a r fi c t i o n b o o ks in St Jo hn’ s L i b ra ry t hi s y ea r.

town in Southern California and no one knows why. Cut off from the outside world, those that are left are trapped, and there’s no help on the way. Sam Temple and his friends must do all they can to survive.

Private Peaceful

by Michael Morpurgo Told in the voice of Private Tommo Peaceful, the story follows 24 hours at the front, and captures his memories of his family and his village life.

This Mortal Coil

by Emily Suvada

One

by Sarah Crossan

Three billion lives at stake. Two people who can save them. One

Grace and Tippi are conjoined twins, united in blood and

secret hidden in their DNA. One girl’s quest for answers in a

bone. But a heart-wrenching decision lies ahead. One that

genetically and technologically advanced future.

could change their lives more than they ever asked for...

Wonder

by R J Palacio

Stormbreaker

by Anthony Horowitz

Born with a facial abnormality, Auggie has been home-schooled

Fourteen-year-old Alex Rider finds his life turned upside

by his parents his whole life. Now, for the first time, he’s being

down on discovering that his late uncle wasn’t a mild-

sent to a real school - and he’s dreading it. All he wants is to be

mannered banker, but instead a field agent for MI6.

accepted - but can he convince his new classmates that he’s just like them, underneath it all?

I Have No Secrets

by Penny Joelson

Noughts & Crosses

by Malorie Blackman Sephy is a nought but her best friend Callum is a Nought.

Fourteen-year-old Jemma has severe cerebral palsy. Unable to

Two young people are forced to make a stand in this

communicate or move, she relies on her family and carer for

thought-provoking look at racism and prejudice in an

everything. When she is confronted with this terrible secret, she

alternate society.

is utterly powerless to do anything. Though that might be about to change...

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

by Douglas Adams The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

by Mark Haddon

One Thursday lunchtime the Earth gets demolished to

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a murder

just had his house demolished, this is too much. Sadly, the

mystery novel like no other. Christopher has never gone further

weekend’s just begun.

make way for a hyperspace bypass. For Arthur, who has

than the end of the road on his own, but when he finds a neighbour’s dog murdered, he sets out on a journey that will turn his whole world upside down.

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houses BEING PART OF A HOUSE COMMUNITY IS ABOUT IDENTITY, PRIDE, A TREMENDOUS SENSE OF BELONGING... AND WINNING THE HOUSE PANCAKE RACE!

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LOWER SCHOOL head of lower scHool report

Matron report

With the Lower School welcoming its second cohort of pupils, the 2017-18 year saw the Lower School housing both a Lower Third and Upper Third for the first time in the School’s history. The Lower School pupils continued to provide a tremendous energy around the School site and have certainly added an extra dimension to the St John’s community.

Lower School - what can I say? Loud, exuberant, full of expectation and excitement, fun and never a dull moment.

The role can be challenging, demanding, emotionally draining but always extremely enjoyable. When the pupils are in House the most popular word you hear is ‘Matron’ followed by ‘can I have?’, ‘have you seen?’ or ‘do you know?’

All of which I am expected to know all the answers to. There is of course a down side to everything, and mine is dealing with lost property and padlocks!

The co-educational nature of the Lower School House is an exciting place for anyone to be and the Lower School tutor team certainly have felt lucky to be part of such an historic process. The pupils themselves continue to throw themselves into every aspect of school life. Events such as the Lower School play - which was an exceptional feat - and the House fundraising for Marie Curie are merely two examples of how diverse their skills are.

As the Lower School continues to grow and establish itself even further, the possibilities as to what the pupils will achieve next year are endless, and I for one look forward to being a part of it.

Ian White Acting Head of Lower School

I think it is great that they have a space that still allows them to be children, especially in a very adult environment.

My favourite time is when the pupils are in house and I get the chance to just sit and natter with them. They are often performing their dances or drama pieces they have been practising, telling me riddles or just sharing their free time with me, which is very special. I am fortunate to be included in whatever they are doing and I consider myself very lucky to be part of Lower School.

Anita Freeman Lower School Matron

pupil reports Coming into St John’s at Year 7 I was particularly nervous and scared because I didn’t know anyone. But as the academic year went on, I realised that not knowing anyone coming to this school from your previous school, doesn’t mean you won’t make friends quickly. Looking back on it everybody was so kind and nice to everybody else and friendships and bonds were made instantly. This school has changed my life not just in academic focuses but with friendships and confidence.

James Burfield I have absolutely loved life in Lower School. It has been such a privilege being the pioneers of St John’s. I have met amazing people and we have all settled in extremely well. I am sure we will all love going into Houses, although it will be nerve-wracking. I would like to thank all the tutors, and particularly all the help Matron has given us.

Zoe Ryan Despite being new to the School in September, I now feel very much part of it. The days at first were tiring because I was not used to them being so long and I did not know anyone else. Within the first week or so, with the help of tutors and teachers, I felt I adjusted completely and have gained some amazing friends.

Academically, all of my lessons have been really fun but the highlight for me has been the co-curricular side of school life. The chance to have some great coaches and play exciting fixtures has been great for my development, and I look forward to continuing next year.

Hannah Wainwright

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charity reports The chosen charity for the Lower School has been Marie Curie. The charity is very close to several members of the Lower School and helps to provide night nurses to the houses of sick patients. This allows family members to get a good night’s sleep safe in the knowledge their loved one is being cared for.

For me in particular, Marie Curie helped assist my dad in the night with his needs so that my mum could get a good night’s sleep, which then helped my mum take care of my brother and I including taking us to school then looking after my dad during the day.

Throughout the term we have held Swimathons, sold daffodils around Leatherhead High Street and school, as well as numerous yummy bake sales. The end of year dinner additionally helps add to these funds. It is so good to see so many people raise such a large amount of money for a charity that does so much to help patients and families in such and dark and tough times.

Ella Bromfield

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LOWER SCHOOL YEAR

REVIEW

By Daisy, Grace, Asantewaa, Osian and Will

London Zoo On 20 April 2018 the Lower School went to the London zoo. My highlight from this trip was seeing penguins being fed, I don’t think they were the penguins from Madagascar though.

The information we learnt on site about the food chain was invaluable for end of year exams and the ice creams were delicious too!

Science museum One of our recent trips was to the London Science Museum to study maths. First of all we looked around the history of engines and space. Then we had lunch and a milkshake. After that we visited the specially booked Wonderlab. In the Wonderlab there were over 50 interactive activities including a tesla coil and some grass slides. I think everyone enjoyed this trip!

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On Sports Day the adrenaline was high. You could feel the tension.

Parents were extremely supportive. The races got harder and harder to win. As a member of the Yellow house team moral was high and everyone congratulated each other despite where they placed. The food was great as the catering staff kept the table packed and everyone enjoyed the burgers and ice lollies. In the end we all had fun and enjoyed the races and the day out in the sun and on the fields. Purple house came in overall first, Blue was second, Yellow was third and Green came in last. Everyone was proud of their house and nobody was disappointed, no matter where they came.

Our charity this year has been Marie Curie, which is an incredible charity that supports those suffering with a terminal illness and their families. As the charity has been very important to several of those in Lower School we have raised lots of money. We have a had two bake sales, sold dafodills throughout the School and on the streets of Leatherhead, donated our time and had an amazing charity dinner which was huge success and raised lots of money.

One of the House competitions that we competed in was house singing. Each house picked a song out of a hat and we had to practice this song with our house. The theme was “Songs from the Movies”. Yellow house sang “The Circle of Life” from The Lion King. Green house sang “A Whole New World” from Aladdin. Purple house sang “Bare Necessities” from The Jungle Book and Blue house sang “Consider Yourself” from Oliver Twist. The Houses put so much effort into the competition, there were actions, conductors, stunts and solos in the performances. Mr Smith found it really hard to choose a winner. But in the end Purple house won the competition. It was really fun and something we will all remember.

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CHURCHILL I WOULD PART ICULARLY L I K E TO T HA N K A N EXEMP L A RY UPPER SIXT H YEAR GROUP, W HI C H HA S L ED T HE HO US E I N EV ERY AS P ECT, CULMINAT I N G I N T HE S UP ERB DEL I V ERY O F T HE HOUS E C HARIT Y NI GHT I N A I D O F YO UN GMI N DS .

Having reached June, one can look back on an exceptionally busy year, and what a great year it has been for Churchill! From a personal perspective, the second year in post, I have loved every minute of this year as Housemaster – suddenly a steady hand on the tiller! The tutor team and Matron Jane have excelled at making the place even easier to run, working tirelessly to support the boys in all of their endeavours and I thank them for their immense efforts.

As well as being a home from home during the school day, providing a strong sense of community and shared existence, the mood and pride in the House is to some extent always defined by its performances in house competitions. Strong performances in many of these this year has been a theme. In house singing back in October we progressed from a consecutive run of ninth places to finish a healthy sixth! The seniors led a strong showing in part song and we were unfortunate not to place. Debating remains an area of strength as Doug Simmonds and Elliott Needham in the seniors, Charlie Collins and Scott Parker in the inters and Lucas Patel and James Searle in the juniors demonstrated their ability. Finally, Oliver Gordon has excelled, balancing his A levels with numerous choir and drama commitments – indeed it was a pleasure to see him star on the stage – and his creative vision, the house film, won numerous plaudits and awards.

I would particularly like to thank an exemplary Upper Sixth year group which has led the House in every aspect, culminating in the superb delivery of the house charity night in aid of YoungMinds. A gamble-a-thon in the form of an assault-course race, as well as a stellar range of auctioned goods fetched over £5,000 for this very worthy cause.

I finish by thanking Mr Howell who departs to take up his position as Assistant Housemaster in Montgomery House – I am sure he is rueing his poor fortune…he had formerly been a tutor in Churchill House after all! And I am pleased to highlight the appointment of Miss Symes-Thompson as Assistant Housemistress of Churchill from September.

With familiarisation day done and 13 new Fourth Formers joining us in September, we look forward to all giving it our absolute best in 2018-19.

Tom Leonard Housemaster, Churchill

The pancake race continues to elude us…perhaps one day we will grasp the principle of stop and flip a little better!

The standout performances this year have been the large inter-house events including the glorious house athletics where numerous Churchillians won their track and field events and the seniors’ victory in the inter-house rugby competition. I am proud of all these achievements but also of the real sense of house passion and support from all year groups toward those representing the blue and white.

On the academic front, the House is on the up-and-up, amassing an incredible 913 credits in the year – more than any other boys’ house – long may this continue!

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CHURCHILL

10 things that make churchill great

House Captain Report Churchill House, with Dr Leonard in his second year commanding the blue and white ship, has been successful academically, theatrically and sportingly.

The term started with house music and a valiant effort which was unlucky not to earn a place. André Sanderson worked hard to ensure an impressive Part Song with notable mentions to Deputy House Captain Patrick Gilbertson and Arthur Lewis. The event was thoroughly enjoyable, especially the Unison where we got to sing our hearts out and show the Churchill House passion.

With five Churchillians representing in the 1st XV Rugby during the first term, and many other members of the Sixth Form being important players for the 2nd and 3rd XV, we were undoubtedly favourites for the prestigious house rugby competition. After convincing wins in the group stages against North and Surrey, we faced a tough match against East and came from behind to score a crucial try in extra time, which secured us a place in the first senior final since a time that only Mr King can remember! A tough match against West drew at full time and led to extra time and golden point. Magic from Ben Bound with a grubber kick through to Will Sanders meant we became senior house rugby champions.

On the music and drama fronts, the House has been led to dizzying heights by Alex Semple and Oliver Gordon respectively. Alex continues with the NYO and retained the Forbes Senior Music title, whilst Oliver has starred in both school and devised examination productions as well as carrying the house film.

The Spring Term was significant in the Churchill calendar, with the house charity night, house film, house football and house hockey to name just a few. The House was proud to have a number of individuals captaining teams, with three Churchillians representing the 1st XV for football, and two for hockey.

Churchill received acclaim in the house film competition, with Oliver Gordon’s well put together film, James Watkins claiming best actor, and Charles Watkins, Elliot Needham and Jamie Philips placing first for sound. All participants’ efforts have been recognised and greatly appreciated by the House.

from mental illnesses. George Edkins and I were responsible for hosting the night as Masters of Ceremonies, accompanied by other members of the Sixth Form working hard selling raffle tickets, manning the bar and interacting with parents.

An evening of entertainment included the house part song, the house film, a spectacular Violin performance from Alex Semple, an enjoyable performance from Sam Turner singing a Lennon-Harrison medley of Imagine and Something, and finally the Sixth Form assault course. This was accompanied by a three course meal, a raffle and an auction with an incredible array of options ranging from a Anthony Joshua signed glove, a backstage tour of the Royal Opera House, and a holiday for eight in Spain. We raised an outstanding £5,000 for an incredible cause.

The Summer Term brought career defining examinations for the Upper Fifth and Upper Sixth, and I have no doubt that Churchill participants will put their all into making their house and school proud.

As the year comes to a close, thanks must be given to the Prefect Team and the whole Upper Sixth who have done an incredible job assisting in the running of the House, devoting time and effort while setting high standards and acting as role models. Dr Leonard and the tutor team have been extremely supportive in what has been a stressful last year and our Matron Jane has been an extremely important support and without her Churchill House would undoubtedly be a different place. Her work is most certainly not overlooked by Churchillians who have the utmost respect for an incredible woman. Leaving a house with cohesion such as Churchill will be difficult for the leavers, but we will leave with fond memories and pride. It has been a pleasure to be part of, and be appointed House Captain of, this monumental, successful House.

Ben Tudor House Captain, Churchill

INTELLECTUAL CURIOSITY NEVER REGRETTING GIVING ONE’S BEST GENTLEMANLY CONDUCT EXTREMELY SUPPORTIVE MATRON AND SENIOR HOUSE STAFF UNDENIABLE HOUSE SPIRIT FRIENDLY TO ALL THOSE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE HOUSE ENVIRONMENT RESPECT FOR EACH OTHER SOLIDITY AND INTERACTION BETWEEN YEAR-GROUPS ACCEPTING OF ANYONE AND EVERYONE WILLINGNESS TO ACHIEVE GREATNESS AS INDIVIDUALS AND AS A COHORT

The charity night was an enormous success, raising money for Churchill’s nominated charity YoungMinds who raise awareness for youth mental health and help those suffering

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EAST In t he Sp ring T erm t he b oys hel p ed ra i s e ov er £5 , 0 0 0 fo r t he Co mmunit y Ho l i day at t he a n n ua l c ha ri t y ev ent. We are hugely a p p rec i at i v e to t he pa ren t s fo r t heir k i n d gen ero s i t y.

East House were able to add a certain flair to the House Singing competition, the first house competition of the year. This year, the part song choice was Feeling Good

by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse, in which Toby Gray and Rob Butler sang spell-binding solos, backed by Alex Shepherd, Luke Read, James Perkins, Harry ForsterScorgie and Ben Stefanik. Four members of the Upper Sixth (Luke Grob, Hugo Coughlan, Ben Howe, Hector Keighley Elstub) ably added a unique twist to the song as they strutted down the Chapel aisle, dressed up as a velvet flight crew, re-enacting the Virgin Atlantic flight advert.

This fun piece of choreography was a hit with the judge as well as the crowd, helping East secure second place. In the Unison, East sang Do You Hear the People Sing from Les Misérables very well, but unfortunately they were not placed.

Following postponement due to frozen pitches, East House were eager to get the house rugby tournament underway.

The senior team narrowly lost to West in a tough first match of the group stage; however, the boys were eager to fight back and ultimately ended up thrashing Monty 40-0, finishing second in the group. Unfortunately, the team lost out to Churchill in the semi-finals, a disappointing result, given the strength of the team. The Inters (Fifth Form) played well, taking their match against West to extra-time with the scores level at 14-14, however, they were unable to overcome the opposition. The Juniors (Fourth Form) also managed to progress through to the semi-finals, but disappointingly lost out to the overall winners, North 2617, in their competition.

The St John’s Golf Open was a fiercely competitive tournament with a number of East Boys representing.

Most notable was Luca Williams who took part in his first open at the School and finished a strong third place in the handicap competition. James Allan also played tremendously well, coming fourth in the handicap competition. The winner of the competition was an East boy, Ben Howe (Upper Sixth), who won both the scratch and handicap competitions.

On the cultural front, Luke Grob, House Captain, performed exceptionally well in Oedipus, as the main protagonist. Set in the year 2050, following Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement, global warming has escalated exponentially and the people of Thebes turn to Oedipus to lift this terrible curse. He consults the oracle and learns he must drive the man who killed the previous king out of the city in order to save Thebes. Throughout the play, he learns the terrible truth, which leads to a savage conclusion to the piece. Luke’s performance was a highlight of the cultural calendar at the School.

Charlie Bennett, Alex Felstead, and Harry Lynn spoke very well in the senior house debating competition, producing convincing and articulate arguments in all rounds of the

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competition. In the inters debating competition, James Perkins and Harry Young spoke very articulately and thoroughly deserved to achieve first place, with the help of excellent contributions from the floor. The junior debating saw speakers Ollie Karmel and Edward Jennings perform well, with some excellent contributions from others in the floor too.

Alex Shepherd and James Perkins led the House Drill Squad well.

Well done to East House’s cross country relay team which achieved second place overall. Particular commendation goes to Harry Lawes (Lower Fifth), who finished fourth in the School over the 2km course. Other team runners were Hector Keighley Elstub, Ryan Hanratty, Matthew O’Neil and Toby Smedley. Well done to East’s film producers and actors in the Lower Sixth, who won the best cinematography award: Charlie Bennett, Adam Goldsmith, Nikhil Patel, Harry Lynn and Sam Attard.

In the junior house squash competition, East claimed second place; in the play-offs East played Surrey with Jack Spurgeon winning an excellent contest against this opponent. In the house football, hockey and junior cricket competitions, unfortunately, East did not fulfil their potential. However, the senior house croquet team of Hugo Coughlan, Ben Howe, Hector Keighley Elstub and James Allan retained their much-coveted title by beating West in the final.

In the junior tennis competition, East’s team of Alex O’Brien, Matthew O’Neil, Oliver Latham and Tomas Cabrelli came third and in the Seniors, Michael Georgiou, Hugo Coughlan, Sam Attard and Harry Forster-Scorgie came second. In house athletics, East achieved fifth position but there were some excellent individual performances: Jonny Lack won both the 100m and 400m for the seniors; Harry Lawes came first in the 800m and 1500m for the Inters; Billy Mardon was second in the Inters A javelin; Louie Fronzoni took third in both the B 100m and long jump; Lewis Moir came second in the high jump; Ben Stefanik was second in the boys B 100m; Josh Newby was first in the Inter Bs 400m; Oliver Karmel came third in the junior long jump; James Perry took third in the junior shotput; Dougal Storrar was second in the junior javelin.

Luke Grob led by example throughout the year as House Captain (and School Prefect). I would like to wish the Upper Sixth leavers luck in the future and thank them for their contributions and support throughout the past five years.

A.C.M. Vargas Housemaster, East

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EAST

what make s east hou se great

House Captain Report This year has been memorable for East House with new additions in Fourth Form and a couple of new faces in the Lower Sixth.

During the first term, East took part in many house competitions, the most prestigious was the house singing competition which included the house unison (conducted by Luke Grob and Hugo Coughlan) and the house part song. This year was a little different from previous years as we were not able to choose our unison song. East were given Do You Here the People Sing from Les Misérables. Despite a powerful performance, East were unable to place in the top three but they were commended for their efforts. In the past East typically performed better in the unison than in the part song, however not this year. We sang Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse’s Feeling Good better known to us as a song by Michael Bublé! This was masterfully directed by music scholars Toby Gray and Rob Butler who both performed incredible solos accompanied beautifully by the rest of the ensemble. Not only was the singing excellent, but Luke Grob, Hugo Coughlan, Ben Howe and Hector Keighley Elstub enhanced the performance with additional choreography inspired by Virgin Atlantic cabin crew! Due to the singing and the ‘spectacle’ East placed second in the part song. This was a tremendous achievement and all contributors deserve huge congratulations.

Unfortunately other competitions did not go as well.

East did not place in the house rugby; however, there

were some impressive performances throughout the year groups and all the boys should be proud of their commitment. Sadly, this was also the case in the house hockey where we did not reach any of the finals but again it was a strong effort from everyone involved. In the football, the Inters were able to reach the final but lost narrowly to North House after a tough battle. The Inter boys played well and were very close to securing a victory.

A significant highlight of this year was the East House Charity Night. The Masters of Ceremonies made sure the evening ran smoothly and successfully with close to £5,000 raised funds raised for the Community Holiday and we hope that the holiday is as enjoyable as it has been in previous years. All year groups from the House teamed up for special performances throughout the evening. Every house member should be commended for their efforts and helping to raise money for such a good cause.

This year has been tremendous for East House; the work ethic, positive attitude and enthusiasm has been evident in all house events. Every member of East has given their all this year and everyone deserves a much-needed rest in the summer.

Luke Grob House Captain, East

STRONG SENSE OF CAMARADERIE TREAT EVERYONE EQUALLY ALL MEMBERS CONTRIBUTE TO HOUSE EVENTS WHERE THEY CAN EVERYONE GIVES THEIR MAXIMUM EFFORT REGARDLESS OF YEAR GROUP EVERYONE SOCIALISES WITH EACH OTHER SUPPORTING SENIOR HOUSE STAFF AND MATRON WELCOMING TO NEWCOMERS POSITIVE CONTRIBUTORS TO ALL ASPECTS OF SCHOOL LIFE ATMOSPHERE THAT ENSURES EVERYONE ACHIEVES THEIR FULL POTENTIAL LOOK OUT FOR ONE ANOTHER

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GLOUCESTER The Summe r T erm hous e B B Q p rov i ded a wo n derful opport unit y to s ay fare w el l to t he Up p er Fi ft h a n d Up p er S ixt h as t hey depa rt ed fo r s t udy l eav e.

This was always going to be a special year as the first set of Fourth Form girls to have joined Gloucester House are now in their Upper Sixth year and looking forward to the adventures they will have as they enter university life. They all have contributed much to Gloucester over the past five years, helping to shape and drive the House forward and all embody the spirit of Gloucester – “be yourself, as everyone else is already taken”. Thank you, girls, for all that you have done, for all the support you have given to house events over the years, and for being such good fun and company to have within Gloucester.

The Gloucester Challenge had a twist to it this year when the girls were asked to play 24 different sports over 24 hours. So many girls rose to the challenge but the stand out moments were Jess’s lack of co-ordination in rounders, Georgia and Annabel’s look of total despair during the 4.00am stint of basketball, Mr Bland crawling behind the mattress trying to retrieve the lacrosse ball and the dedication of Dr Bastin to cycle at 3.00am. Well done to Ella Perry who raised the most and to Kirsty Hawker for her levels of endurance. The two charity events held thus far had secured a total of £3,500.

The first house competition of the year, introduced by the CCF, was the house drill. Although at first reading it seemed a rather daunting affair, Ellie Grove learnt the commands off by heart and instructed her squad superbly through the course. The first major event though was the house singing competition and under the direction of Eleanor Chalk and Isobel Galloway the whole House was galvanised to give a wonderful performance. Gloucester gained a placing in both the house unison and the part song competition – special thanks go to Eleanor Holley for the time she must have spent over the summer in the arrangement of The Birdie Song.

Both the juniors and intermediates gave good accounts of themselves in the house debating, and although there were no placings in the house pancake race, I think that good fun was had by all who participated. Kyra Le Quelenec of the Fourth Form has led the way within the UK Maths Challenge achieving the highest score in the intermediate age group. Snow days came and went and the cross country relays saw Francesca Beech of the Fourth Form leading the Gloucester girls in. The final house event of the Spring Term was the inter-house netball tournament.

Three competitions saw all year groups fully involved, and for a Saturday competition the girls’ commitment was first rate.

The start of the second half of the Autumn Term is always a busy time, with preparations to be made for Gloucester House Charity Night. This year we returned to supporting CPS Nepal and our Guest of Honour was Janice Hall, one of the charity’s trustees. We were very grateful to Mr Smith for standing in last minute for Mr Bland as our inhouse accompanist. The night allowed parents to watch and marvel at the fantastic musical abilities of the girls.

Eleven acts intertwined the three course meal and, by all accounts, it was the best charity dinner run so far.

Sophie Mosselmans led the charge in the house debating and once again we reached the finals of the competition in what was the first ever all-girls final. South proved to be just that little tougher in the speaker challenges, but well done to all the girls for really moving house debating forward. The house competitions ended on a definite high through the hockey tournament where, once again, the standard of play amongst all houses was of the very highest order. Being winners of both junior competitions and the senior Bs enabled Gloucester to secure the hockey cup – fantastic.

The Summer Term house BBQ provided a wonderful opportunity to say farewell to the Upper Fifth and Upper Sixth as they departed for study leave. Garden games, tombola and the last supper beautifully cooked by Mr Bland and Miss Jones also enabled us to finalise our fundraising total to £5,000. This is our highest total yet, so thank you all. In the final house competition of the year the inter girls ran, threw and jumped superbly to win their section.

My thanks go to all the girls for making this such a wonderful year. Sadly we are having to say some farewells within the House. To Mr Bland, UCAS reference writer extraordinaire, who has been in Gloucester from the start and Miss Jones, who manages to keep the incoming Fourth Formers in tow, I say thank you. And Mr Blumfield, who has been with us for a year, moves onto Haslewood as Assistant Housemaster.

The first lifecycle has passed through Gloucester’s door, and what will the next five years bring?

Lise Parker Housemistress, Gloucester

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Gloucester

what make s glouce ster great

House Captain Report As the first House Captain to attend Gloucester since it opened its doors, I have been able to see it go from strength to strength and this year has been no exception.

The Gloucester spirit was on display at the first major competition of the year - house singing in October.

Maximum vocal effort was applied behind both Singing in the Rain for unison (an impressive second place), and Wings by Birdie for Part Song (a well-deserved third place).

Shout outs must go to Eliana Boateng and Isobel Galloway for their performances. This proved to be an early indication of this year’s artistic talent and countless Gloucester girls have given outstanding performances in recitals and drama productions throughout the year where individuals such as Imogen King, Sophie Mosselmans and Imogen Mingos have excelled.

Gloucester also shone on the sports field, kicking off in the Autumn Term with hockey wins in Junior A, Junior B and Senior B competitions - three cheers for Sophie-Rose Russell and Esme Cosham for their outstanding captaincy.

Many great sporting performances followed, the highlight of which (especially for Mrs Parker) has to be the clean sweep (well almost) in house netball, which included wins in the Intermediate A and B, the Senior A and B and a very close second in the junior competition. It was a huge achievement, with particular credit going to Ellie Grove for captaining the Senior A team and helping all teams throughout the competition. Ellie has also thrived in her individual sporting career, whilst captaining the girls’ athletics team she also medalled at the English Schools’ Championships. Many other Gloucester girls have been selected for national and county teams including Eliana Boateng, Jodie Brine, Sanne Senior and Martha Hansford.

The girls in Gloucester have excelled academically: Kyra Le Quelenec produced the best Maths Challenge performance in the School and Safoah Ntiamoah became a finalist in the annual poetry competition. Our seniors fought incredibly hard in the house debating and came close second to South.

we have raised over the year. However, the most notable fundraising event was the annual 24 hour challenge. This year we decided to take on 24 sports in 24 hours, which the whole house did with enthusiasm, even those playing badminton at 3am! Special mention for this challenge goes to Kirsty Hawker for completing the most sessions and Ella Perry who raised the most money.

All these achievements are important, but for me the most important thing is to have been part of such a great house with an amazing group of girls – it has been an honour.

We cannot go without thanking our fantastic tutors who help us all on a day-to-day basis, Matron, who is always there to put a smile on our faces and spoil us with her outstanding displays and, of course, Mrs Parker, who leads Gloucester House so amazingly day in day out. We all wish Mr Bland and Miss Jones well in their new adventures, the House won’t be the same without them to make us laugh.

I wish the House the best of luck in the years to come and hope it carries on with the same fun and camaraderie that I have had the privilege to experience.

Eleanor Chalk House Captain, Gloucester

BEST MATRON BEST HOUSE COLOURS BEST HOUSE MASCOT BEST HOUSE SPIRIT BEST LOCATION WE’VE WON THE HOUSE SHIELD TWO YEARS IN A ROW! BEST CLEANERS BEST TUTOR TEAM BEST DECORATIONS IN HOUSE thanks to matron!!

BEST FUNDRAISING EVENTS

Gloucester’s charity work has always been of primary importance, and this year the House supported CPS Nepal.

Our charity night was a success, raising a lot of money and providing an enjoyable evening. Alongside this, we sold many gifts made by children from Nepal at events such as the Christmas Fair and this has all contributed to the money

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HASLEWOOD The Ho use c ertainly p ut i t s b es t fo ot fo rwa rd i n t he fir st t erm w it h t he Hous e S i n gi n g c o m p et i t i o n, w hi c h i s a lways a favo urit e f o r Ha s l ewo o d. T he un i s o n s aw a l l o f th e girls wo rk ing together a n d t hei r p erfo rma n c e o f ‘ W E G O TOGET HER’ fro m Greas e, c o mp l et e w i t h da n c e m ov es wa s so me t hi n g to b e p ro ud o f.

It has been a pleasure to see the Haslewood community grow and reach their potential this year under the leadership of House Captain, Hope Macmillan, and passionate Deputy, Isabelle Hammersely.

The House certainly put its best foot forward in the first term with the house singing competition, which is always a favourite for Haslewood. The unison saw all of the girls working together and their performance of ‘We Go Together’ from Grease, complete with dance moves was something to be proud of. The part song performance of Dog-Days are Over by Florence and the Machine took first place and Haslewood will certainly be striving to dominate this competition next year.

The CCF drill also saw a very strong performance from the Haslewood team and the girls took second place out of the nine houses. While the trophy cabinet has been somewhat lacking in sport cups this year, there have been excellent performances across the various competitions and Haslewood had many close finishes. The most impressive part, however, was the constant support that the Haslewood girls gave to one another; the House spirit was clearly evident on the pitch and the side-lines with girls covered in blue face paint and ribbons and a willingness to fight with all they had against formidable opposition. This is greater than any victory and I hope to see this perseverance and passion sustain the House in future years.

Throughout the year, Haslewood has been bolstered by a dedicated team of prefects. As always, our matron, Teresa, has been an invaluable support to all in the House and I thank her for the love and care that she gives to Haslewood each day. Furthermore, my thanks go to the tutor team, in particular Miss Toloczko who has been a force of nature in the House and who leaves us this year to take on the role of Head of Lower Third, Constance Chapman who has been a constant source of support to the Lower Sixth and who leaves St John’s this year to start a career in coding and Mrs Lane who steps down as Assistant Housemistress after years of hard work behind the scenes to keep the Haslewood running smoothly.

I am extremely proud of the Haslewood girls and I am looking forward to seeing what they can accomplish next year.

Danielle Dixon Housemistress, Haslewood

Fundraising for Woking Hospice kicked off with Haslewood girls putting on an exciting charity evening for parents. The dining hall was transformed into a haunted gothic castle and parents got involved in the ‘wrap the mummy’ competition, with many of them ending up wrapped from head to toe in toilet roll. Alongside this, resourceful Sixth Formers have had great success, raising money through many initiatives, and the girls should be proud of their total of almost £4,000. The hospice are enormously grateful for the support they have been given.

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HASLEWOOD

why our hou se is great

House Captain Report September began by welcoming a new and energetic Fourth Form, keen to start life at St John’s, as well as some new Lower Sixth girls who immediately threw themselves into Haslewood life.

in the result! More recently, the house netball competition was closely fought against Gloucester and South. A one point loss against the winners, Gloucester demonstrated Haslewood’s teamwork at its finest.

Our chosen charity for the year was Woking and Sam Beare Hospice, and we raised just over £3,000 from the Halloween themed charity night in October which included performances, games, auctions, raffles and plenty of food. Throughout the year our Matron, Teresa, has been continuing her 50p tuckshop during break (and occasionally lunchtime if we are feeling particularly greedy), and thanks to our never-ending appetites, managed to raise a significant amount to add to our total.

Sporting events aside, the house debating was excellent, with nearly all the girls stepping up to give their views and helping us to excel on the floor point section of the competition.

In October we also took part in our favourite event – house singing. Despite being the favourite to win the unison, our rendition of We Go Together from Grease was not enough to get us a place in the top three. However, we excelled in the part song led by Isabelle Hammersley, aided by Talya Chambers, Chloe Gardner and Yvette Murphy, and to our surprise we came first! This resulted in the whole house singing The Dog Days are Over under our breaths for the next couple of weeks.

At the end of the Autumn Term we took part in house hockey led by Chloe Carter, who after managing to persuade some of the girls to dust off their hockey sticks and find a pair of shin pads and a gum shield, was able to keep all the girls in high spirits throughout the event. We played a close game against both houses, even though we lacked many high team players it was excellent to see the House either getting involved in the game or cheering on the side lines complete with face paint and chants.

Other house events included the cross country, where we secured second place (thankfully no one went the wrong way this year!). We also came runner up in the house drill competition led by Alicja Makowaksa in a well-deserved placement, after all the practice this year.

Of course we cannot speak of the house sporting competitions without considering the aggressively-fought annual pancake race. Despite being disqualified in the senior race, we managed to achieve fourth place in the Inters, leaving us with fifth overall – unfortunately the effort and determination that went into the race does not show

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In the house film competition, Libby Thornton and Izzy Mogridge created a spooky yet humorous film about a Haslewood cult. Elsa Edwards performed the main role and deservingly won best actress – no doubt a highlight of her acting career!

Haslewood are never without an event in the calendar – whether it be our Christmas ice-skating jaunt (which went down excellently this year, with a Christmas buffet in house before heading to the rink), or our film night (with plenty of pizza!).

It has been a pleasure leading Haslewood this year, and being part of a house which never fails to fulfil our house values in everything we do. Thank you to Miss Dixon for always being Number 1 supporter at the house events, and for always keeping us on track as Housemistress and never letting us leave house with a rolled skirt or too much makeup! And thank you to Teresa, for always being there as a shoulder to cry on, or letting us borrow a spare piece of sports kit. Lastly, thank you to the prefect team for helping me to lead the house; Izzy, Chloe, Jemima, Alicja, Rosie, Molly and Yvette, I could not have done it without you. I wish Haslewood all the luck in the future, keep making yourselves and others around you proud.

Hope MacMillan House Captain, Haslewood

OUR CONSISTENT TEAMWORK OUR DETERMINATION WHEN FACED WITH A CHALLENGE OUR ABILITY TO BE GRACIOUS IN DEFEAT OUR SUPPORTIVE NATURE WHEN IT COMES TO HOUSE EVENTS OUR COURAGE WHEN TRYING SOMETHING NEW OUR UNITY AS A HOUSE OUR STRENGTH TO STEP UP AS LEADERS OUR NATURE OF BEING A HOUSE OF INTEGRITY OUR CAPABILITY TO ACT WITH KINDNESS NO MATTER THE SITUATION OUR WILLINGNESS TO STAND OUT TH E J O HNI A N M A GA Z I NE

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find time for two hours of Fortnite and occasionally even some prep remains a wonder! Individually, Andrew Sargent continues to forge a martial arts career, this year claiming his black belt, while Toby Rackett’s fledgling rowing squad finished second in the national regatta. Cameron and Alasdair Wilson remain at the musical heart of the House, putting in virtuoso performances thanks to their endless hours of practice. Alasdair and Cameron were integral to the entertainment at this year’s charity gala night which, together with proceeds from Becky’s tuck shop and cake sales, raised over £3,000 for the St John’s Community Holiday. This was a fantastic effort but it is an even greater source of pride that so many of our Sixth Form volunteer for the project. This summer, Matt Evans, Stephen Harman and Ariyan Makhecha take up the mantle but throughout the House, Monty boys show themselves aware of their privileges and many contribute to charity projects and service to the local community.

montgomery “What I lik e abou t M o n t y i s t hat t here a re no ego s – eve ryo n e j us t get s a lo n g. ” This was the overwhelming response the boys gave when asked what makes Monty what it is when I joined the House in September – and they were not wrong.

The boys – and notably the departing Upper Sixth – have created a place free from pretence and arrogance, where each is allowed to follow his individual path. Take the leavers as an example; a tighter bunch of friends you are unlikely to meet but they all hold individual interests and follow individual pursuits.

Charlie Townend has dedicated much of his time to music and won colours for his contribution to the choir, Jack Rickerd has performed expertly on the rugby field – not least in the sevens team, while Kieran Davidson has complemented his design and technology ideas with tennis excellence. Bruce McCormick has been part of the allconquering swimming squad, Sam King has won awards for his service to the community, and Matt Thomas has led academically to earn a place to read medicine at university.

Harry Robertson has livened up the foyer with political debate and insight (as well as some less erudite musings about Chelsea FC) while Michael Hagon and Tom Rogers have continued to offer their services to coach football at their clubs. Nathan Bradshaw has blossomed in the classroom with quiet determination while Jacob Stevenson puts great effort into supporting The Children’s Trust, Tadworth. Ben Harries has led the RAF expertly, Angus Lonsdale has lived and breathed Monty House, and House Captain par excellence Ali Blair has done it all.

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Together they embody all that St John’s has to offer and have led by example, never shouting from the rooftops but always committed and unfailingly supportive. They leave a legacy of inclusion and effort without conceit and we thank them for their dedication to both the School and the House and revel in what was perhaps their crowning glory – winning the house film competition!

Tom Rogers’ portrayal of Kim Jong Un will live long in the memory in this light-hearted and, at times, outright odd vignette on the North Korean’s autocracy. Josh Boulton must take much of the credit for the success which owed a great deal to his camerawork and production. Josh takes over the reins as House Captain next year, leading a fine group of prefects and peers who have impressed in their Lower Sixth year and not least, James Gardner who was duly appointed as School Captain. James consistently tops engagement scores, represents the 1st XI in football and athletics and he played a major role in the senior school production of Oedipus.

Joining James and Josh as a School Prefect is Jack Potter who has shown real leadership in the House and on the rugby field. Together with Josh Williams, Jack helped coach and cajole the intermediate rugby team to victory in December. The side was expertly captained by Ed Timpson and Will Farnsworth while Owen Thomas, Luke French and

Finlay Hurree were instrumental in despatching all-comers with relative ease. The Fifth Form have led the way on the sporting front with other victories in competitions coming for the Intermediate B team football with James Bonner, James Berry and Austin Bell starring and the Intermediate athletics. Even without star turn, Michael Anderson, the boys outran, outjumped and out-threw the opposition with Omar Matthias, Patrick Boothby, Oliver Langlands and Nick Boulton to the fore. But for the bounce of the ball, we could have won many more trophies, losing out in any number of finals by the narrowest of margins with the lottery of golden goals, last-minute winners and penalty shoot-outs going against us.

Away from the sports field, there is perhaps work to be done to develop the cultural side of the House but, equally, other judges may have seen our performances differently and we should certainly be proud of our efforts. The house part-song was quite spectacular with a complex and highly-accomplished rendition of Lennon’s Imagine while Ariyan Makhecha’s forceful speeches in the senior debating competition showed real passion. Joel Harris also shows promise as a debater, as do Sami Berendji and Daniyal Khan in the Fourth Form, who showed great poise when they won their first ever debate. Sami and Daniyal also ran out triumphant in the Spanish Spelling Bee to prove their linguistic prowess.

Community means much to the boys and, as ever, a report such as this picks out individuals and the highlights when it is the small everyday events and the collective effort that truly makes the House – it’s the smiles, the laughter and the day-room banter – the table tennis, the chess and even the work – the moans, the groans and the little mistakes (if not the holes in the walls, the broken desks and the footballs through the window, Nathan!), and it’s Lower Fifth music and the Lower Sixth flat (RIP).

Monty is all this and more, and it has been a pleasure to lead the claret and blues for a year. I hope that the monologues continue and improve and I hope that the new logo gets some use. I know that the place will move on and camaraderie will stay strong. I thank Becky and the tutor team for all their support and hard work and wish Mr Hammond the very best as he takes over as Housemaster.

Most of all, I thank the boys who have done themselves and the House proud.

Guy Hicks Housemaster, Montgomery

If it is modesty in endeavour that has become a hallmark of Montgomery, then we must not overlook the many successes that come outside of competition and often outside of the school day. That the boys manage to fit in so many clubs and activities after long days at school is testament to their energy and aspiration. How they still

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MONTGOMERY

why our hou se is great

House Captain Report

The beginning of the 2017-2018 academic year welcomed the Monty boys back with open arms. With a new Housemaster, a new logo, a pristine refurbishment of the first floor and a new cohort of Fourth Formers, Monty was set for an exciting year.

We kicked off the term with a new house event – house drill.

Perfection and composure were delivered by the team, all of whom left the competition with their heads held high, despite the result.

Then came the event of the year – house singing. With a slightly new format, the part singers were determined to place this year. After endless evenings of rehearsals, the day was upon us – we were robbed! Special mention goes to James Gardner and Freddie Barnes who delivered excellent solos.

Then came the unison. Despite a slightly dubious song choice, we worked hard to serenade the adjudicator with our angelic voices in a rendition of A Whole New World - but there is always next year!

As the first term drew to a close, the house rugby competition was upon us. With passionate and enthusiastic contributions from the house on the field and the touch lines, the Fifth Form boys romped home to victory. The final against West proved Monty’s dominance as we scored five unanswered tries under the leadership of Ed Timpson – a great way to end the first term.

After a long and well deserved Christmas break, the boys were back in full swing into Spring Term. The panic to meet the deadline of the house film loomed over the fantastic director, Josh Boulton; however, Tom Roger’s academy award-winning portrayal of Kim Jong Un led us to victory. Our exclusive screening of the motion picture, as well as an entertaining Lower Sixth film, was enjoyed by the parents on a successful charity night, raising money for the St John’s Community Holiday.

Over the course of the year, the boys have taken part in cakes sales to raise extra money for the charity - not to mention the

highly successful Monty Tuck Shop run by the everhelpful Becky.

What is a private school without a momentous event like the coveted house pancake race? This year the senior team raced home by a huge margin in the annual frenzy, however, the juniors slip sadly saw us lose out on the golden frying pan to close neighbours - North.

We got our own back against North in the senior house hockey competition despite taking a respectable second place to West in a 6-6 nail-biting – a painful loss for the boys and Mr. Hicks. Then came the dreaded cross country relays, but with excellent runs from the boys, we finished in 3rd place.

As the days became longer, the weather became warmer (despite a total white out closing the School), the term drew to a close. However, house football was still on the cards. The Monty boys reached three finals across the board (with the juniors losing out in the semis), but it wasn’t our day despite an excellent effort from the boys involved.

We had reached the Summer Term, after grinding through the dark, cold days of winter, and the boys were set for an exciting term of sport and sadly, exams.

As another year draws to a close and the sun sets on what was an exciting and busy academic year, Monty has upheld its values to offer a close-knit sense of community. Such values have been supported by the all-round nature of the boys in House, ranging from sporting tacticians to academic whizzes who rake in five credits on a weekly basis!

Finally, I would like to thank Matt Thomas and the team of House Prefects for aiding in the smooth running of the house, as well as the Upper Sixth for leading by example. On behalf of all the boys in house, I would like to thank the supportive group of tutors, our selfless and helpful matron, Becky, and of course Mr. Hicks who has ably guided Monty from strength to strength.

COMMUNITY SENSE OF HOUSE SPIRIT ALL-ROUND ABILITIES PASSIONATE SUPPORTIVE TEAM OF STAFF CONSTANT LAUGHTER ENTHUSIASM BEST MATRON (BECKY) INTEGRATION BETWEEN YEAR GROUPS MONTY TUCK SHOP

I wish the house the best of luck in all its endeavours for the years to come.

Alistair Blair House Captain, Monty

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north I a m very grat ef ul to a l l t he b oys i n N o rt h Ho us e, but especially want e d to s ay a b i g t ha n k yo u to my fi rs t U pper S ixt h year group. T hey hav e s up p o rt ed m e a l l t he way through t his ye ar, ma k i n g m y l i fe a l i t t l e ea s i er w hi l e a lso giving me many me m o ri es a n d l aughs a lo n g t he roa d.

I have made it through my first year as Head of North House! Despite the somewhat daunting combination of a new role and the very big and much-loved shoes of Mr Wade to fill, the North House boys welcomed me and immediately made me feel part of the community. Mr Wade handed over a House full of boys who live up to their motto: passion, integrity and perseverance. Their antics and sense of humour have brought me a lot of joy this year and, although it has not always been easy, every day has been a great adventure with these boys, making it an absolute pleasure to be the Housemistress of North.

The current Lower Sixth set the bar high from the very beginning with an outstanding set of GCSEs in the summer - North House had already started as it meant to go on.

Throughout the year, boys from all year groups and with a wide array of talents put themselves forward for each and every house competition. We have enjoyed many semifinals and finals and our trophy cabinet has slowly but surely filed over the year. We are very proud of all who took part, from our debaters to our tennis players, our croquet players to the squash players (although, maybe not our golfers…). We had particular success in the junior house rugby, senior house touch rugby, inter football, Junior debating and the junior cricket. However, the pinnacle of the North House success this year was clearly winning the coveted pancake race – the competition that makes the House.

We have also had some wonderful socials throughout the year. The Fourth Form gave Zac Taylor a send-off to remember with some very competitive bubble football, where we all ended up on the receiving end of Mr Parry’s tackles. The Sixth Form also got together for pizza and laser quest, which ended in a battle of the year groups, with the Upper Sixth finally emerging victorious. We ended this summer with a sunny Monty-North BBQ to send our Upper Fifth off with our best wishes for their examinations.

The North House formal dinner was another memorable event, with a classy meal and speeches from the youngest and oldest in the House. We also had a hugely successful Charity Night where we raised almost £5,000 for the Community Holiday and Shooting Star. During the evening, we enjoyed magic tricks and talent from the Fifth Form, quiz shows and creative films that included our version of Taken, but the highlight had to be the breaking of the Guinness World Record, by Luke Trimming, for the most number of hugs given in one minute.

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In North House, we take pride in the boys’ sense of camaraderie, and this includes their willingness to help in the wider community. We had an incredible toy appeal for the Royal Marsden Children’s Hospital at Christmas, and the boys brought in 80% more toys than our original target.

We also sent out Christmas cards from each boy to elderly residents in the area. The boys have been involved in bake sales and other fundraisers for our charities, and I could not be more proud of their continued generosity.

I am very grateful to all the boys in North House, but especially wanted to say a big thank you to my first Upper Sixth year group. They have supported me all the way through this year, making my life a little easier while also giving me many memories and laughs along the road. It has almost become the norm for random furniture and trophies to disappear from my office, only to later reappear in various studies, and I fear I will be a little lost when this stops next year. A special thank you to all of my prefect team, and also my deputies and House Captain; Harry Russell, Sam Serfozo and Alfie Parker. They have made sure that North House keeps its traditions and have been great role models for the upcoming year groups. I am looking forward to our Lower Sixth taking up the mantle.

Finally, I have a deep sense of gratitude for an amazing tutor team: Mr Parry, Mr Debney, Mr Davies, Mrs Abbott, Mr Marshall, Mr Reid, Mr Whitmore and Mr Thomas.

They have all put their tutor groups first and played very influential roles in the amazing young men they are becoming. Of course, my final gratitude is for Nathalie, our matron, and now my partner-in-crime. She always has the wellbeing of the boys at the core of everything she does – from cupcakes and terrible serenades, to a cup of tea and tissues, depending on the situation. The wonderful heart and soul of North House truly is the combination of outstanding boys and staff that make it so special.

Catie Moon Housemistress, North

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NORTH

what make s north hou se great?

House Captain Report This academic year North House has strived to uphold its core values: passion, integrity and perseverance. The spirit of the North community has been noticeable around school since the start of the year and has been evident throughout all year groups including the Fourth Form who have adapted confidently to life at St John’s.

The singing competition kicked the year off with Sam Serfozo leading a talented group of singers to an unjust fourth place, whilst the unison rendition of Joseph’s Technicolour Dreamcoat has not been spoken about since for a number of reasons. Second came house CCF drill in which Joe Davies lead an able group of cadets to a very respectable third place. The first term was rounded up by house rugby, admittedly not North’s forte, in which our spirit was undoubtable but our talent was very questionable in all years but the Fourth Form with the likes of Josh Shaw and James Martin fighting hard for an impressive debut win. We excelled in the senior house touch with the likes of Ben Geddes and Tom Lambert shining with the title sealed for the second year running by Sam Serfozo in a golden try finish.

The Spring Term included house football, hockey and film competitions. Despite our football team being rated the best, with five of our starting eight including Alfie Parker, Stuart Shannon, Olly Wilson, Luke Trimming and Ben Geddes who have all played first Xl football, we underachieved, only reaching the Sixth Form semifinals. Nevertheless, our Fifth Form team made up for it, by winning their competition through a nervy penalty shootout.

House film was undoubtedly one of the most enjoyable house events I have participated in at St John’s, with all the boys getting involved from across the year groups. We based our film on George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones, and captured some stunning footage with William Groothedde’s drone.

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The Summer Term, for the Upper Sixth, signals the last ever term at the School and as part of North House. Each and every member of the Upper Sixth are grateful for the support of our three Heads of House throughout the years, Mr Allan, Mr Wade and Mrs Moon. Mrs Moon has been a fantastic Housemistress, always encouraging all the boys to do their best, while having a highly likeable and approachable personality. I know I speak on behalf of all the boys in saying we are very lucky to have her.

Our Matron Nathalie is a motherly figure to all the boys in the House and her positive energy and compassion are infinitely appreciated – she is the heart of the House.

Mr Thomas, the Upper Sixth tutor, has helped guide us through the two toughest years of our lives and is a perfect example of the outstanding tutor team North House has, something for which all the boys are grateful.

As House Captain, I would like to say thank you for all the opportunities North House and the School have given to me during my time here. I would also like to say thank you to my prefect team and Deputy House Captains Sam Serfozo and Harry Russell. The North House we leave behind this year has true community spirit and togetherness, with honest support for each other. I have no doubt that the House will continue to go from strength to strength in the future.

Alfie Parker House Captain, North

OUR ABILITY TO ALWAYS SEE THE BRIGHT SIDE TO ANY SITUATION OUR AFFINITY FOR PANCAKES (RACING) OUR CAKE AND CUPPA MORNINGS OUR SOCIALS-PARTICULARLY THE TRADITIONAL NORTH HOUSE FORMAL OUR CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH MONTY TUTORS THAT CARE AND GO ABOVE AND BEYOND OUR COMMUNITY SERVICE AND CHARITY EVENTS OUR NEWEST REFURBISHMENTS AND OPEN SOCIAL SPACE OUR VERTICAL TUTOR GROUPS AND INTERHOUSE COMPETITIONS. THE GINGERBREAD HOUSE COMPETITION MATRON! IN ANDREW DEBNEY’S OWN WORDS: “THIS HOUSE IS BEAR GOOD”

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SOUTH At the e nd o f t he t e rm w e w ere t reat ed to t he M i ddl e Sch oo l P lay of t he Lio n t he W i tc h a n d t he Wa rdro b e.

Sofia Riome, Jess Hall an d K at y Ha rdy w ere a del i ght to watch o n stage and t hey mus t b e c o m m en ded fo r t hei r t ime given ov er to rehea rs a l s .

The past academic year has been an absolute success.

I would like to begin this report by thanking House Captain, Rhianna Hyde, and her team of prefects who have led the House superbly throughout the year. It is difficult to sum up the success of the year in a few words, but hopefully this will give you a brief snapshot of what a fantastic year it has been for South House!

The competitions got off to a fantastic start with the perhaps the favourite of all - house singing. South were certainly tested with the unison song, Seasons of Love from the musical Rent. However, as South girls do, we rose to the challenge and gave a phenomenal performance, even nailing those high notes!

As we began to settle into the year, the Sixth Form entered into the debating competition, and what a fiercely fought event this was. Rhianna Hyde and Megan Wrigglesworth worked incredibly well as a team and demonstrated themselves to be strong female role models. South went on to win, and the trophy sits proudly in the cabinet. The Autumn Term ended with house hockey tournaments where the seniors put in a strong performance and won the competition, with Emily Roe, Macy McCutcheon and Christina Georgiou displaying excellent leadership and skill.

The Spring Term saw rather a lot of cold weather but this did not deter South House spirit. Whilst we were due to have our charity night in March, this was unfortunately cancelled due to the inclement weather. Nonetheless, Bella Eperon made fine use of the European snow and partook in the inter-school ski competition in Pila, coming ninth in the Giant Slalom under 21 category.

Isla McDonald came runner up in the RAD London and Middlesex Awards and has been accepted into the English National Ballet Summer School. Also, Flo Holder received the news that she had been confirmed for the GB Ladies U16 Ice Hockey squad. Grace Sullivan has continued to excel in netball and has played for the U21 Surrey Storm Squad all year – I look forward to watching her netball career progress, and hopefully one day, will see her playing for the England 1st team. What a talented bunch of girls we have in the House!

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This year’s Fourth Form have been a brilliant addition to the House and their enthusiasm, perseverance and commitment were exemplified in the debating competition. All girls spoke confidently from the floor and lead speakers, Lucy Dwan, Louise Orr and Izzy Vickery were fantastic. We went on to win the competition which shows what a little bit (or a lot in this case!) of team spirit and determination can do! The Fourth Form were also successful winners in house netball with all the girls in the tutor group taking part and sharing in the victory. At the end of the term, we were treated to the Middle School Play of the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Sofia Riome, Jess Hall and Katy Hardy were a delight to watch on stage and they must be commended for their time given over to rehearsals.

Summer Term brought with it warm weather and we were able to enjoy drinks on the Quad during the rearranged charity evening. The night was, as always, a highlight of the year; it is so lovely to see the girls take charge of the evening, preparing music, dance performances and fun and games for parents. The contributions of all the girls and support from parents made the event the success that it was and allowed us to raise a brilliant sum of money for Basingstoke Hospital.

South House also dominated summer sport, winning the house tennis and house athletics competitions.

The tutor team have worked tirelessly to support the girls this year and I am hugely grateful for all the extra hours they give to the girls to make sure they fulfil their potential. This year we say goodbye to Mr Tunnacliffe, Dr Pritchett, Miss Davidson, Miss Tiller and Miss Greenwood – South will not be the same without you.

Thanks also must go to Karen, who gives the girls so much time, care and kindness – goodness knows where we would be without her!

Claudia Densham Housemistress, South

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SOUTH

what make s s outh s outh!

House Captain Report South House has had a year of great prosperity with inter-house competition victories and many individual successes throughout the year groups.

The house song and part song in September was memorable, with special mentions to Millie Butler and Phoebe McCutcheon for brilliant performances, and led to many successes in the first term, including a senior debating competition win, senior house hockey, Fourth Form house hockey, house squash, coming second in Fifth Form house hockey and putting our best foot forward in house drill.

Sporting competitions have always been a huge part of South House life. Our teams always put up a formidable front, particularly as we have our strongest teams for hockey and netball since the Upper Sixth began. The Fourth Form sprang into action despite only being fresh recruits and put up an admirable fight in the hockey; however, it was the Fifth and Sixth Forms who stole the show, bringing second and first place trophies back respectively. Special mentions must be given to Holly and Amy Hume and Meg Perry in the Lower Fifth who led their team well, and Macy McCutcheon who not only headed the 1st XI this year, but also led the South team to success.

Having returned to the brisk weather after Christmas, January proved to be the start of what would become an outstanding second term. The rapid speed shown in the pancake race and great athleticism, while aggressively flipping pancakes around the Quad, placed us third overall. This was shown again when house cross country returned and South took first place, with a special mention for Charlotte Cole.

The Fourth Form proved their excellence and dedication to the House in the academic sphere taking first place in the junior house debating competition, lead by Lucy Dwan.

With much success in such a short period of time, it is no wonder that South House remains a strong competitor in all areas of St John’s life, from academia to music to sport to art, and this is down to the dedication of all the girls throughout the year.

As House Captain, it has been an honour to see the House flourish from the girls hard work, strong leadership from Mrs Densham with the aid of Miss Lawes, constant support from the tutors, and of course continuous laughter from our wonderful Matron, Karen. It is with sadness and joy that this year draws to a close but I wish the best for the House in its many years to come.

Rhianna Hyde House Captain, South

DEDICATIO N HOUSE SPIRIT FAMILY FRIENDS HIP KAREN LAUGHTER SILLINES S LEADERS HIP STRO NG INDEPENDENT

The warmer months brought the film competition in which South proved that, although you may have artistic ability, sometimes it isn’t always shown. In house netball however the girls’ ability was proven, taking second place in intermediate and senior competitions aided by the outstanding leadership of Katie Littlewood.

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surrey “ B e lon g , B e lie ve , Ac hie ve ”

Our motto, “Belong, Believe, Achieve” attempts to distil Surrey’s unique spirit. From day one the boys truly belong and exhibit a fierce loyalty to the House, manifest in fierce loyalty to each other. It is a real pleasure to witness each year’s Fourth Formers arrive, shy and tentative initially, but immediately embraced by the others, quickly forging the life-long friendships that will be the greatest legacy of their time at St John’s.

They believe - often against heavy odds - in the always present possibility of success, relishing their underdog status in the beefier sporting contests, and frequently outfoxing the opposition by creativity, guts and sheer tenacity. And they learn not just the sweetness of hardfought victory but the pride of hard-fought defeat.

Achievement in the form of academic success is one of the pillars of the House, with exceptional results year after year. For this the boys owe much to a dedicated tutor team, guiding, cajoling and supporting them at all times, but also their own ambition and determination.

The culture of the House celebrates this spirit, coupling it with a sense of joy in the humour and camaraderie of the boys as they negotiate this journey.

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This, finally, is where Surrey’s DNA derives: in laughter, companionship and shared endeavour. No year group embodies this better than the Upper Sixth, for whose leadership and example I am profoundly grateful. I pay tribute especially to Seb Carley and Fin Deuchar, House and School Captain respectively, and the outstanding prefect body they have led. But I also want to pay tribute to the oddballs and mavericks we have cherished over the years. So I close with the words of an Apple commercial from my distant advertising past: “Here’s to the crazy ones; the misfits; the rebels ...” Surrey has always been a house with something of that quality: a house where everyone can belong, contribute, feel valued and happy amidst the stresses and strains of those crazy teenage years. Long may it continue.

Nick Johnston-Jones Housemaster, Surrey

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SURREY

facts about surrey

House Captain Report This academic year was undoubtedly one of the most successful years for Surrey and the boys have done have lived up to the great successes of last year.

In September, we were excited to welcome our new cohort of Fourth Formers. This year offered more strengths and diversity than ever before, promising success in sport, music and many other areas of school life.

The first big event to hit this year was house singing. After weeks of deliberation over song choice, we finally cracked on with perfecting The Bare Necessities. On the day, we gave a confident and powerful performance enhanced by the theatrics of our banana props. On the part song side, Magnus Merryweather superbly put together an arrangement for James Bay’s Hold Back the River that brought out the very best of Surrey House singing. Well done to first time part song singers Will Smith and Luca Hatwell for stepping up to the mark.

Next was the senior debating. Both the floor and our speakers Harry Edwards and Oliver Bell were exceptional, picking apart any opposition that came our way. A string of clinical performances in early rounds sent us to a semifinal clash against South. The motion was that ‘this house believes the public was misled in the referendum and as a result there should be a second referendum on leaving the EU’. We were to oppose the motion, and during the debate, felt we had the upper hand after providing accurate and logical answers to all of South’s claims. However, unfortunately the judges felt otherwise and gave the win to South. Without doubt, the house will not wait long to return to winning ways in this prestigious event.

The end of Autumn Term brought the inter house sports events. First the squash where the seniors Finlay Deuchar and Nico Orr only lost one game in the entire tournament.

Equally successful was the junior team of Will Payne and Patrick O’Neill who were also crowned squash champions.

Finally for 2017 was the rugby. The senior boys thrashed North in a convincing victory followed by a valiant effort

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against Churchill. Unfortunately, we lost that game but had done more than enough to make it to the semi-final where we faced West. With the support of the whole house pitch-side Surrey fought valiantly, forcing West to give it all they had however fell just short. Most memorable was a beautiful breakaway try scored by Harry Edwards.

In the Spring Term, we held our fundraising evening for the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. Huge thanks to our Matron, Angela, for organising such a brilliant evening which was enjoyed by all. A great speech by OJ James Biggar reminded us why supporting this charity is so important and what an amazing job they do in research and care for cancer sufferers. The sum raised of over £5,000 was amazing and more than doubled the takings from last year. Thanks to all parents who helped us support such an amazing charity.

The focus turns toward exams for the Upper Fifth and Upper Sixth where we are hoping for excellent results. But unfortunately, we also prepare ourselves to see JJ step down as Housemaster. We will all be sad to see JJ step down after he has led the House with such kindness and passion and hope all the values he has instilled in the House are upheld. I’m sure that many of the rituals brought to Surrey

by JJ will last forever, as I’m not sure anyone would like to stop flinging KitKats around in house assembly. We wish him all the best.

Sebastian Carley House Captain, Surrey

MOST COMMITTED HOUSEMASTER BEST JUNIOR FOOTBALL TEAM BEST AT CHESS BEST HOUSE MASCOT MOST ENTERTAINING HOUSE SINGING PERFORMANCE BEST AT GOLF BEST AT SQUASH BEST MATRON MOST IMPROVED CHARITY FUNDRAISER BEST TUTORS TH E J O HNI A N M A GA Z I NE

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WEST We h ave be en bless ed wi t h b eaut i ful w eat her i n t he fi n a l weeks of t he acade mic y ea r, a fi t t i n g en d to w hat ha s bee n an o ut s ta n di n g y ea r!

It is always a pleasure for me to spend time reflecting as another academic year draws to a close, though it is always difficult to comprehend where the time goes! In September, my first Fourth Form group begin their final year at the School. I remember our first meetings vividly; the young boys who stepped into the Duty Office for the first time in 2014 are now young men who will soon be ready to take on the challenges of adulthood... time certainly does fly!

I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the boys this year, they are incredibly passionate about West and their role in continuing to drive the community forward.

They have approached every aspect of school life with focus and enthusiasm and deserve huge credit for their progress and achievements.

All the boys have managed to navigate through a period of either public exams or internal assessments. I was impressed by the purposeful working atmosphere that was palpable in and around the House during what was hectic and pressurised period. I wish those who will receive results in August the very best of luck!

It is always sad to lose senior pupils. This year’s Upper Sixth have been custodians of the West House ethos and values; I am hugely grateful to them for their support and contribution. I wish them the very best as they embark on the next stage of their lives and I sincerely hope that they keep in touch with the House. However, it is important we look to the future. Fourteen new Fourth Form pupils join West in September; the life cycle of the House continues!

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Mr Kidd steps down at the end of this term after 12 years of devoted service to West. I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for his help, support and guidance. He has been a rock, a constant around which the recent history of the House has been built. He has continued to be an outstanding tutor while balancing his significant whole-school roles and responsibilities, his devotion and commitment to the boys has never waned nor wavered. So it is with a heavy heart that West says farewell to JBK; there is no doubt that he will be sorely missed (though we hope he pops up the stairs to see us from time to time in-between scuttling around making sure the School runs like clockwork!).

Sue, Laurence, Joe and the West tutors have continued to provide me with invaluable guidance and scaffolding, I am extremely fortunate to live and work with such a fine group of professionals. I have reminded the boys to show their appreciation for the unconditional care and support they receive from house staff.

It has been a fun packed year full of success and achievement; West House continues to go from strength to strength!

Huw Jones Housemaster, West

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WEST

what make s we st hou se great

House Captain Report West House has undoubtedly gone from strength to strength this academic year in house events, on the sports field and through individual successes – West pupils have consistently worked to improve performance in all aspects of school life.

The first event was particularly significant – house singing. The new format of the event meant that we were unable to choose our unison song so we were very lucky to have been given the iconic Circle of Life from the Lion King. Despite some tricky parts everyone was able to learn it thanks to Charlie Joyce and Anthony Kiely leading from the front. Jack Musk also had an important role to play as he bravely sung the intro in front of the entire school. Due to the hard work put in by everyone, we managed to win house unison for the first time since the Upper Sixth started at St John’s. The house part song unfortunately did not yield any awards but the entire group worked hard after school for several weeks and huge thanks is due to Scott Driscoll, Max Simpson and Richard Kenyon who stepped up to do solos.

Another house event we were successful in during the first term was house drill. The hours of preparation by Cameron McKenzie were definitely worth it as we placed first.

The end of the term brought house rugby, an event in which West house normally perform well. This year we made several finals through the dedication of many players, but we were ended coming away from the event without a trophy.

The Spring Term brought house hockey, football and the house film competition. House hockey was fiercely competitive, with a strong senior team being led by Anthony Kiely. The final against Monty went to golden goal which was well executed by Sam Laslett. The house film was led by Laurence Deakin and Charlie Joyce and was focused around West House and the various staff members who make the House what it is.

The final and most enjoyable event this term was the house football. West managed to make it to the juniors final and played cohesively as a team for the duration

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of the game. This resulted in penalties against Surrey, which easily could have gone either way but was won by Surrey on this occasion. West also managed to make the senior A and B finals, both of which were against Monty.

The B’s final was first and despite going 1-0 down, the team persevered and won the game 2-1 thanks to an extraordinary finish by Ross Adams, who managed to surprise teammates and spectators alike. The A team was missing some key players in the final and were the underdogs heading out against Monty. The game was fiercely competitive and went to penalties following a great save by Ethan Heard, with the game-winning penalty by Jamie Hewson.

As we now go into the Summer Term it is sad to participate in our final house events but we will continue to put in the same intensity and work rate to ensure a great finish to the year. The achievements of West this year are hugely due to the support and leadership of Mr Jones, Mr Pepper and Mr Bruggemann who have helped co-ordinate teams and support pupils to succeed. Our Matron, Sue, plays an understated but pivotal role in the running of the House as she gives sage advice to those who need it. Fundamental to this final year’s success has been the enormous contribution from the House Prefects all of whom have devoted so much time and effort to assisting in the running of the House. In all our time at St John’s, our last year has been our strongest and as House Captain, I am sure the House will continue to win more events thanks to the attitude of the younger years and the legacy left by our year and all the previous years who mentored us.

Cameron Brassington House Captain, West

CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN YEARS WE PUT MAXIMUM EFFORT INTO ALL HOUSE EVENTS WE PERFORM WELL IN ALL VARIETIES OF SCHOOL LIFE, INCLUDING MUSIC, SPORT AND ACADEMIC WORK PEOPLE HAVE DIFFERENT INTERESTS WHICH THEY BRING TO THE HOUSE EVERYONE’S OPINIONS ARE RESPECTED WE MAINTAIN AND UPHOLD THE HOUSE ETHOS OF BEING ON TIME, POLITE AND SMART FIRST BOYS HOUSE TO WIN HOUSE UNISON FOR A LONG TIME VERY SUPPORTIVE MATRON AND HOUSE STAFF WE ACT AS RESPONSIBLE ROLE MODELS TO YOUNGER YEARS WE ARE ABLE TO LEARN FROM OUR FAILURES AND MISTAKES AND IMPROVE ON THEM TO BECOME BETTER INDIVIDUALS

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PERFORMANCE THIS HAS BEEN A BIG YEAR FOR BOTH DRAMA AND MUSIC - WITH AN EPIC NUMBER OF PLAYS, PERFORMANCES AND CONCERTS, BOTH IN SCHOOL AND OUT

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first movement of Beriot’s Violin Concerto, played by Jimena Rodriguez-Foronda. Her playing was truly outstanding for someone of such tender years and she commanded the performance from start to finish with beautiful phrasing and dexterous virtuosity.

The string quartet then played a movement from Mendelssohn’s String Quartet No.2 in A minor. This ensemble is fast gaining notoriety for their playing and this performance was no exception. The concert finished with the mighty Pastoral Symphony by Beethoven, which pushed the players’ ability to the extreme. The performance was professional in all aspects, with some outstanding individual contributions from members of the woodwind and brass sections especially.

MUSIC

Director of Music, Nick Smith commented, “Yet again, the Sinfonia proved that strong individual musicians are a formidable force when they combine their talent and musicianship. This was a beautifully crafted concert that demonstrated the very best from our instrumentalists. Bravo!”

Success at Barnardo’s National Choir Competition The Schola Cantorum has achieved remarkable success in the 2018 annual Barnardo’s Choir Competition. Chosen as one of seven senior choirs, from hundreds across the country, the choir was awarded a trophy and commendation for second place at the finals, which took place on Monday 12 March at the Royal Festival Hall in London. It is a wonderful testament to the dedication of all the pupils who have worked so hard over many weeks to perfect a beautifully mature sound.

Concert at Cadogan Hall A large audience gathered in gleaming Cadogan Hall on Friday 4 May, a glorious spring evening, for the School’s second Celebration of Music in as many years. The breadth and depth of pupil musicianship and endeavour shone through a concert that was a testament to the hard work and diligence of the superb body of people who make up the music department.

First among them must be the Sinfonia. Playing Beethoven to Bruch, via Beriot and Mozart, it is extraordinary to think that the group was formed but three years ago. Ismael Rodriguez-Foronda led the orchestra brilliantly, and for the first time, whilst his sister - Jimena Rodriguez-Foronda dazzled the audience as the violin soloist in Beriot’s Violin Concerto No. 9 in A minor. Alex Semple, winner this year of both the Concerto Competition and the Forbes Senior Music Competition, gave a heart-rending account of the middle movement of Bruch’s famous Violin Concerto in G minor. The Lower School Choir, on excellent form, sang two movements from Andrew Carter’s Benedicite, which propelled the first half towards a confident display of musical fireworks from the Swing Band, together with soloists Isobel Galloway and Eddie Jones.

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The concert’s second half proved no less enthralling. The Schola Cantorum have, perhaps, had their finest year to date and proved as much with a beautifully measured and serene performance of Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs. The string quartet played a movement from Mendelssohn’s String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, before the massed voices of the Chapel Choir and Choral Society engaged fulsomely with Mozart’s Vesperae Solennes de Confessore.

We are proud of all those pupils who participated in what was, at turns, enchanting and mesmeric. It comes toward the end of a busy year, upon which we might look back with joy and a deep sense of satisfaction. What a time this is for music at St John’s!

Sinfonia Members of the Sinfonia played with style and maturity to an appreciative audience on Tuesday 20 March in the Old Chapel at St John’s tackling some extremely demanding repertoire. The concert opened with Mozart’s overture from The Magic Flute, and was followed by the

The Schola performed twice during the day. First, at the afternoon competition, at which they sang Mother of God by John Tavener and Sure on this shining night by Morten Lauridsen. Second, at the evening performance in front of a capacity audience, at which the winner and runner up choirs were announced. Many commented on the poise and sophistication of the final performance that was, indeed, the summation of so much hard work. It is an exceptional achievement.

Tenebrae The visit of Tenebrae, for the second time in as many years, proved one of the highlights of what was a special year for music-making at St John’s. The internationally renowned a cappella group spent two days with the choirs of St John’s in masterclasses and workshops, concluding their stay with a spectacular concert on the Friday evening.

The packed Chapel heard a concert of spell-binding precision and interest, which took remembrance as its theme, including works by Howells, Elgar, Tavener and Schoenberg.

The latter’s Friede auf Erden was an earth-shattering rendition, testing the human voice to its known limits.

During their residency, Tenebrae – and the director Nigel Short – worked with the Lower School and Chapel choirs as well as the Schola Cantorum. In the evening concert, the Chapel Choir sang alongside Tenebrae in Footsteps, a new work composed

by Owain Park, and the Schola Cantorum sang Tavener’s Mother of God, here I stand – alone and conducted by Nigel Short.

It was extraordinary to watch the pupils gain so much from Tenebrae’s time here at St John’s. They are the finest of ensembles and are an excellent witness to the very best of choral music in the country.

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CHAPEL R EVIEW

This year, perhaps more than any in recent memory, has seen the most dramatic changes to our Chapel routine. As before, we gather as the main school on a Monday morning to listen to the Head, the Chaplain now leads our reflections on a Wednesday, whilst the joy of congregational singing practice remains simultaneously a preparation for the week ahead and a time of joyful spirituality.

Part of the change facilitated the movement of House Chapel to a morning slot, as the School continues to evolve and changes to the school day meant that the traditional end-of-day house service was no longer apposite. House Chapel is an opportunity to reflect in a slightly more informal way compared to other mornings, it also allows for a more specifically tailored address to each house. The three House Chapel Services for each

house have followed the same general theme of ‘Self’ in the first term, followed by ‘Others’ and then ‘The World’. Within these reflections, there has been a breadth of subjects touched upon, from quizzes on tutors, the biological changes within our brain, the Sex Pistols’ impact upon culture and Pablo Picasso’s painting of Guernica as a political statement. The Chapel calendar has been characterised by the usual array of services and events, and we have been delighted to welcome a host of parents, Old Johnians and visitors to the Chapel for Sunday services. As ever the annual service on Remembrance Sunday was one of the busiest of the year. Our focus continued to be on the impact of the Great War as we remembered, 100 years on, those killed in action in 1917. We were moved as a school, remembering the singularly most tragic year in the history of St John’s when the death toll of 52 previous members of our community

eclipsed that of any other year. The challenge was to use our remembrance as a spur toward seeking freedom and tolerance in our own lives. At the end of the first term, our Festivals of Lessons and Carols moved us toward the celebration of Christmas, before we finished the term by holding a slightly alternative nativity; Miss Jones and Mr White made a lovely couple as Mary and Joseph!

The choir this year has, as always, supported and uplifted the worship and reflection of our community. In particular, the singing at the new service of commemoration in November provided an opportunity for all who attended to remember those held dear, but sadly no longer with us.

The Chapel is often the place where we learn most about ourselves and our nature as a school and, for both the Lower and Senior School, the Chaplain has led a reflective journey throughout the year. A spiritual reflection on our history and the Last Words of Christ have been the focus for all, amongst themes tailored for each age group.

The Seven Last Words of Christ on the cross mirror the movement in Chapel. Timothy Radcliffe writes that “these sayings of Jesus show us the successive steps in the deepening expression of his love for us.” By extension they

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move us in our spiritual journey from our own needs to face those of the world around us.

Jesus in his last words entrusts not only himself to the Father’s care but also all of humanity. He realises his purpose on earth has come to a completion, and on the cross, the centre-point of the Christian faith, Jesus again shows the humility that has been central to his time on earth. Whatever our religious views, fear and worry are a challenge to us, and Jesus’ words on the cross challenge a lifestyle which is all about control. Who do we trust and do we live merely ourself? Or, or are we willing to take the risk of trusting others?

As the words of Jerusalem reverberate around the Chapel walls on Speech Day and we gather together for the final time this year, the many words heard in Chapel may not always spring to mind. The very act of gathering as a community reminds us that we go out into the world as part of a community which is founded on the love and acceptance of all displayed by Christ to the end of his life.

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DRAMA Senior School Play Oedipus On 6 and 7 December the Senior School gave an impassioned and impressive performance of a reinterpretation of Oedipus by Sophocles. Earth in the future is a barren wasteland ravaged by climate change. At a press conference Oedipus declares he will remedy the environmental curse; a quest which ultimately leads to his destruction.

Chorus groups mastered the growing unease of the play and the curtain fell on the broken and haunted Oedipus accompanied by Neil Young’s After the Gold Rush and the lyric Look at Mother Nature on the Run in the 21st Century.

Luke Grob’s performance in the lead role was masterful. The chilling portrayal of Tiresias by Harry Edwards was full of venom. Isabelle Hammersley gave a shocking representation as The Messenger, Megan Wrigglesworth’s emotionally conflicted Shepherd gave the final scene tremendous pathos and Oliver Gordon was comically sycophantic as The Stranger.

Libby Thornton’s and James Gardner’s powerful performances (as Jocasta and Creon) were incredibly mature from Lower Sixth pupils.

The entire ensemble was phenomenal and the Drama Department is very proud of all involved.

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Upper Sixth practical exam The Upper Sixth A level drama pupils provided audience members with some truly outstanding performances for their practical scripted examination on Thursday 8 March.

The evening began with a sequence of monologues each taken from a wide range of plays, from Shakespeare to contemporary 21st Century texts. This was then followed by the performance of two group pieces.

The first was Attempts on Her Life by Martin Crimp: a mosaic of scenes, stitched together by the many pressing, contemporary issues of our modern day society. The second group performed Five Kinds of Silence by Shelagh Stephenson, which tells the story of a family living under the power of vicious Billy who physically, emotionally and sexually abuses his wife Mary, and their daughters, Susan and Janet.

Director of Drama, Jamie Garbett, commented, “The power and detail of these performances was highly impressive and the pupils should be commended on

their effort and hard work, both in the preparation and execution of these pieces of work. This is the final time these pupils will perform at the School and we would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their commitment to school drama throughout their time at St John’s.”

The pupils who performed their examination pieces were: Harry Edwards, Oliver Gordon, Luke Grob, Isabelle Hammersley, Estella Jones, Imogen King, Grace Sullivan and Darcy West.

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The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe The snow had melted across Britain but it was still very much present in St John’s PAC for the Middle School play of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

We were taken aboard a miniature steam train, carriage windows lit, with the evacuees escaping the city to the Professor’s house. The Pevensies journeyed into Narnia through the Wardrobe, past the fur coats and to the lamppost. Toby Smedley captured the spiteful Edmund lying to his brother and sister about his first encounter into Narnia, and indeed his meeting with the White Witch, that Georgia Kennefick so wickedly portrayed in a menacing manner. They came across a Beaver comically played by Luca Bindi who, with Mrs Beaver, led us to the great Aslan himself. Disguised and hidden by a chorus of creatures and protected by his loyal Leopards throughout, the first glimpse was astonishing with a creative design by Sarah Jones wowing the audience. An eye catching Nymph, Zoe Donaldson, gracefully transitioned us through the snowy land into the witches’ lair with pirouettes and turns, where we witnessed frozen statues being brought back to the life and the Giant Rumblebuffin blowing down the castle walls before the battle scene finale. Tommy Haines impressed with his fierce weaponry skills as the

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courageous Peter, fighting off the Witch once and for all, only to return moments later with her army of Uglies.

The battle commenced, but in the end, good conquered evil and the Pevensies were crowned rulers of Narnia.

They fall back through the Wardrobe once again, back to reality; however, the Professor left them and us with a heart-warming message, “And remember, once a King or Queen of Narnia, always a King or Queen of Narnia!”

Upper Fifth scripted practical performances The Upper Fifth drama pupils produced a striking, impactful and entertaining evening through the performance of their GCSE scripted exams.

Texts were as varied with extracts from 4.48 Psychosis

by Sarah Kane, Heritage by Dafydd James, Be My Baby

by Amanda Whittington and the evening concluded with a performance of Cagebirds by David Campton.

The pupils should be congratulated on the determination, skill and bravery throughout all the rehearsals and in their final execution of their performance in the exam.

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Alice@Wonderland The Lower School put on a marvellous performance of Alice@Wonderland, an imaginative update of Lewis Carroll’s much-loved classic which saw Alice enter a virtual world and embark on a quest to complete a series of challenges as she met a host of fascinating characters. The production showcased the performance abilities of the Lower and Upper Third pupils and was much enjoyed by the packed audience.

DEBATING

A N D PU B LIC SPEA KIN G It has been another excellent year for debating at St John’s. As usual, our inter-house debates have been of an extremely high quality with some very exciting finals.

The pupils have argued articulately on issues ranging from whether homework should be banned in schools to whether civil liberties are of the utmost importance in comparison to our national security. Congratulations to South for winning the debate competition in the Sixth Form and Fourth Form, as well as to East for winning it in the Upper Fifth and Lower Fifth.

The pupils have also participated in a good range of external debate competitions, starting with the Debating Matters Competition in January. We took a team of six pupils including Libby Thornton, Charlie Bennett, Catherine Perkins, Charlie Hellier, Raef Murphy, Sophie Mosselmans and James Perkins to compete. We vied against 11 other schools for a place in the national final and the pupils gave a strong effort. In the group stage, Libby Thornton and Charlie Bennett beat Stationers Crown Woods Academy fairly convincingly. In the second group match against Godalming, it was an incredibly close and fiercely fought debate. Catherine Perkins was outstanding and she was ably supported by Charlie Hellier.

The judges were split and unfortunately came down 2-1 for Godalming. This meant Godalming went through to the semi-final and later qualified for the final. Whilst it was close, we were unlucky not to get the decision. As a result, Raef Murphy and Sophie Mosselmans did not get to compete in the semi-final despite weeks of preparation.

They, however, both spoke multiple times from the floor in a number of debates, along with all the other St John’s pupils, including James Perkins, the only non-Sixth Form pupil competing in the competition.

In the same week, three members of our Lower School, Jacob Costard, Amica Van Strien and Zoe Ryan, competed in the first round of the Youth Speaks Junior Rotary Competition with much success. Our team, having competed against five other schools, were named the winners of the round with their engaging and thought-

provoking presentation on ‘The Illusion of Palm Oil’.

In addition, our main speaker, Amica Van Strien, was singled out for special mention by the judges for her excellent performance. The team progressed through to the semi-final round at Oxted School and put on an equally admirable performance. Unfortunately our team was not selected as the overall winner of this round, but Zoe Ryan won an individual award for delivering the best ‘Vote of Thanks’.

Finally, at the beginning of the Summer Term, pupils from the Fourth Form to the Sixth Form, including Daniyal Khan, Alexander Corbett, Megan Wrigglesworth, Charlie Hellier, Charlie Bennett, Libby Thornton, Sophie Mosselmans and James Perkins, participated in a friendly debate competition with CLFS Ashtead. Again, the quality of the debates was high, given the pupils all had only 20 minutes to prepare their speeches. Sophie and James teamed up as one of the pairs and should be commended for a particularly outstanding performance. After some close debates, St John’s were named the overall winners and all pupils should be very pleased with their performances.

We hope to build on these achievements next year and to continue the outstanding calibre of debating and public speaking at St John’s, both internally and externally.

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SCHOOL TRIPS TO SKI, OR TO SAFARI? ST JOHN’S PUPILS GET THE OPPORTUNITY TO TRAVEL ACROSS THE WORLD...

AND THEN GET TO WRITE ABOUT THEIR ESCAPADES FOR THE JOHNIAN!

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Cambodia Expedition 2017 Eighteen St John’s pupils spent four weeks over the summer on an expedition to Cambodia. The trip fully immersed them in the local culture, one so far removed from their own. They embraced the physical and emotional challenges with impressive determination.

GAME RESERVE, south africa The 2018 trip to Shamwari, a game reserve in South Africa, was once again an amazing experience and a fascinating immersion in running a wild conservation area.

Conservation involves more than preserving endangered species – it is also fostering an understanding of local concerns, issues and threats. The pupils learnt about the lion and elephant industries, including animal poaching and discussed the impact on communities surrounding the conservation areas. They were also involved in manual operations including road maintenance and alien vegetation removal.

The group stayed in rural communities where the average earnings are just one dollar a day. They helped with projects including building a concrete tiled area for a school, digging wells and planting trees to help develop the sustainability of the local villages. A visit to a local school to help teach English to the children was a highlight of the trip for many.

Cambodian cultural experiences included marvelling at the splendour of the Royal Palace and Angkor Wat, one of the seven wonders of the world, to appreciating the simplicity of the rice paddies. A visit to the S:21 genocide

as pupils disembarked the coach, they enjoyed a picnic lunch with the backdrop of the Corfe Castle countryside, before heading down to the beach for an afternoon of paddleboarding and sea kayaking. The highlight for one group was undoubtedly the moment the pupils managed to push Mr Bennett off the giant paddleboard and into the water without anyone else going in. Captured on camera, a printed canvas of the moment is sure to make its way onto the Lower School wall!

Finally, the pupils spent time in the community playing football against the Paterson team and then helping to make and distribute soup to the elderly and young.

Lower Third Induction Trip On Thursday 7 September, 55 pupils and five members of staff set off on the Lower Third Induction Trip to Swanage for a three-day trip aimed to encourage pupils to build new friendships, develop new skills and bond as a year group.

After a busy first week learning how to find their way around the School site, the pupils were excited to head off with their new friends for a few days of fun. As soon T H E J O H N IA N MA G A Z INE

Every pupil emerged from the trip feeling grateful for the once in a lifetime experience, with many already planning future adventures. Teacher Clare Greenwood commented, “It was a privilege to see the pupils grow and reflect on their experiences, which I hope will be something they take with them as they move through the School and beyond.”

A jungle trek through the Kulen National Park provided encounters with an unusual array of wildlife. A local monastery provided the accommodation and the opportunity to participate in meditation. Beds were hammocks under the stars. The group scaled the Kulen Mountain to watch the sunrise.

The pupils took part in monitoring drives, which brought them up close with lions and elephants and sparked lively competition to see which vehicle could spot the most bird species in a single afternoon.

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museum and the Killing Fields afforded an insight into the terror and trauma of the Khmer Rouge; a regime from which the country is still recovering.

After warm showers and getting back in dry clothes, the pupils unpacked and settled into what would be their home for the next few nights. They enjoyed an early evening mass game of football and rounders before a hearty mac and cheese supper. The rain held off for evening activities and pupils continued to enjoy participating in a number of sports and games including ‘zombie crawl’!

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activities. Pupils mastered archery, built traps and, most successfully, started their own mini fire while learning about science in the woods. Luckily, after dinner, the rain stopped and the clouds cleared a little, making way for a beautiful sunset over the camp as pupils enjoyed games and storytelling around the campfire. Pupils then took part in a group general knowledge quiz to complete the evening; there were some tense moments as pupils competed for the much desired prize of marshmallows and biscuits. Staff opted for the ‘guess the chocolate’ quiz which needless to say they won with ease!

On Saturday morning pupils were treated with beautiful sunshine as they packed up camp and prepared once more to head down to the beach. The sea was perfectly calm as the groups took part in more paddleboarding and sea kayaking. Whether they were racing through the paddleboarding course, balancing on the giant paddle board as their instructor tried to knock them off, or practising their yoga moves, the pupils all had smiles on their faces and all were having a great time. Throughout the morning the waves picked up and one group had endless fun bodyboarding – so much so they nearly missed the coach home!

After a warm shower and quick lunch, everyone boarded the coach for the return journey, which was unsurprisingly much quieter than the way down to Swanage! Excited to be reunited with their parents, exhausted pupils crawled off the coach and into their parents’ arms, looking forward to a warm bath, comfortable bed and well-deserved rest after a busy first week as a St John’s pupil.

STEM Trip to the ICR Girls from the Lower Sixth recently took a trip to the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR). The day focused on encouraging girls to take up STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) careers.

The first talk from Professor Raj Chopra explained what the ICR do and how they have contributed to breakthroughs in cancer treatment. He explained that advances in technology have meant the time it takes to sequence the human genome has gone from 10 years to two hours. Malfunctioning genes can be pinpointed, and a genetic predisposition to cancer identified. The ICR develops therapies to treat cancer at a cell protein level.

The second speaker, Dr Olivia Rossanese, explained how school level biology feeds into the work of the ICR to develop new medicines.

The third speaker, Dr Florence Raynaud, spoke about the role of chemistry in developing new treatments. She highlighted professional avenues to work with the ICR and advised the girls to study something they were passionate about as specialising comes later. All specialisms were represented at the ICR. The girls then went on a tour of the Medical Chemistry, Molecular Biology and Cell Screening labs and got the chance to see experiments in action. They also used microscopes to examine living human cells.

Eight A level art students had four wonderful days exploring the art galleries of Berlin with highlights including the private Sammlung Boros collection inside a World War II bunker and the Hamburger Bahnhof Gallery inside Berlin’s old principal train station. The pupils also got to watch the Germany vs South Korea World Cup football, which was thrilling.

The good weather made it a pleasure to wander through some of Berlin’s biggest parks and also take a stroll along the River Spree.

All in all, a very enjoyable trip for everyone involved!

The campsite staff, Land and Wave team and the catering company all complimented our pupils on their excellent behaviour and manners. The St John’s staff thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the pupils better. Thank you to Mr Hughes, Mr Blatch, Mr Bennett and Mr Scott for accompanying the trip.

Caroline Townshend Head of Lower School

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I’ve always enjoyed science fiction writing, and last summer I decided to write a story, Wasteland of Sand and Ice, for Nature Futures. Nature Futures is a short science fiction section at the back of the weekly science research journal, Nature and describes itself as a venue for hard science fiction (no Force allowed, unfortunately) vignette stories under 1000 words.

The section is non-exclusive in who can submit, the applicants ranging from amateur writers to published science-fiction authors, however due to the high number of entrants, slots are highly contested. Nature Futures got in contact to inform me that they would be publishing my story.

The storyline of Wasteland of Sand and Ice revolves around the well-known scenario of governments’ reactions to an extinction-level asteroid heading on a collision course for Earth.

The story’s premise is similar to Deep Impact and Armageddon, but by contrast is set in the future and focuses heavily on the responses made by autonomous military satellites, each one representative of their respective world power. But as the object hurtles nearer, can they really be sure it’s truly an asteroid?

‘The military satellites turned away from their endless showdown amidst their ruined brethren to gaze up, into space above. The plan was simple: if KD managed to get to Earth, it would have to dance through hell to do so.’

Tomás McMahon

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Autobiographical squib:

By Tomás McMahon.

Until located, it can be presumed he is both sketching and out cycling in the Surrey hills at the same time.

precious time.

Far simpler for both parties that way.

autonomy is a beautiful thing.

06:00 The time of rising, not the best time to be informed of an asteroid hurtling past Uranus at over forty-million metres per second.

06:30 The time of bathing, AbyssRho’s computer monitors awash with triangulation data and extrapolated vectors. The results were in, the likelihood of terrestrial impact looking shockingly like the percentage of bacteria a good hand soap claimed to kill.

07:00 The time of breaking fast, the time to break old rivalries. One of the benefits of the DSIN being a multinational project: that NASA and Roscosmos received exactly the same data. An agreement was made and the asteroid finally dubbed. 2037 KD.

GUATAUVA, Lei Gong, turned away from their endless showdown amidst their ruined brethren to gaze up, into space above. The plan was simple: if KD managed to get to Earth, it would have to dance through hell to do so.

On any other day, three major superpowers relinquishing possession of their military satellites’ kinetic warheads should have been seen as a sign of imminent world peace. That day, however, was not any other. Meanwhile, against the Bay of Bengal, unnoticed, a hurricane began to build.

14:00

The Post-War Asian Union wires the money and takes a step back from whatever AbyssRho does with it. Far simpler for both parties that way.

The time to return to work, and they definitely were rewarded. Distant and low resolution, it was around Saturn that KD had been imaged, initially appearing almost as an anti-climax. After all, the asteroid wielded no scythe nor rode upon an ashen horse, however, upon closer inspection, its true deadliness became soon APPARENT. A smaller package simply meant a smaller mass and, in turn, a smaller likelihood of interception.

08:30

17:30

It was now that the morning was well upon them and it became the time for toiling, preparing for the inevitable, missile codes requested, authorised thrice and ultimately given. PerUN,

The time KD passed Jupiter, about time the button was pressed. By the number of warheads up in the air, anyone could have thought that a nuclear apocalypse had somehow snuck up on them.

Their city of smoke pillars rapidly dissipated by the winds of the encroaching storm, many wouldn’t make it past the vast swathes of debris in Earth’s orbit. Those that did would bear all of humanity’s hopes of preservation. It was just a good thing they were machine and not mortal. GUATAUVA automatically receiving data from the Deep Space Identification Network, no input required, certainly saves NASA plenty of

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22:55 An insignificant time. 2037 KD’s sudden deceleration came as a surprise, and not unjustly. Dodged by the bullet is an uncommon phrase for obvious reasons, however here it was most appropriate. How else would one describe a body decelerating from one-sixth the light speed to oneforty-millionth?

23:00 The time of rest. The Torino level slashed, just like most of AbyssRho’s funding. That’s for wasting the Union’s warheads. Indeed, they floated aimlessly in the void of both purpose and atmosphere, a waste of the taxpayer’s money. Adrift within the spacecraft graveyard of Earth’s orbit, its solar-sail finally fully collapsed, from the darkness, KD 2037 gazed down, towards the blanketed planet beneath.

00:00 The time of sleeping soundly. Dashed upon the Himalayas, the storm presently smothered the entirety of central Asia in anarchic maelstrom. Above the chaos, KD fragmented, two, smaller objects splitting off. Within the opaque clouds, they fell gracefully, explosively stabilised with fire, and wind-torn parachute. Like marionettes on unseen strings, the two were dragged off course, plummeting into sand and ice.

The DSIN reports potential asteroid threats and justifies PerUN’s possession of kinetic warheads, in turn making it technically not a military satellite.Far simpler for both parties that way.

In the predawn hours of the following morning, the hurricane had torn itself apart and after flying into a debris cloud without subsequently exiting out the other side, it had been assumed that the orbiting body of KD had also come to a similar fate. As the

last wisps of the ultimately short-lived storm spiralled beneath, a surveillance satellite, one of the last few

left in operation, imaged an abnormality in the Siberian permafrost. Shallow but nevertheless noticeable, a crater, far north of lake Cheko, thin tracks leading off to the southwest and, at their end, 2037 KD-01.

03:00 The time for toiling had come early.

When the recovery teams at last cleared the snow aside, approximately half the fragment’s mass was found left behind at the site of its initial impact, what crawled out having only recently stilled, hull shattered and frozen. Only a few hours later, at the bottom of a furrow dug into the leading edge of a sand dune, the second fallen object finally revealed its metallic self. In comparison with its twin, 2037 KD-02 had enjoyed a soft landing, the Gobi Desert acting to cushion its fall, allowing it to remain in operation for several hours—at least until the dune swallowed the second of the two rovers.

Autonomy truly is a beautiful thing.

06:00 The time of rising, tension, suspicions, most of all, a search for any sort of explanation. Disassembly and reassembly on the Union and Russia’s behalf, those actually in possession of a fragment, whilst NASA, through gritted teeth, was already planning a mission to salvage what they could of the orbiting body. As for missions themselves,

the probes’ certainly had ended in failure. The planet was clearly a wasteland of sand and ice, covered by an atmosphere of opaque gases and extreme winds, 2037 KD transmitting back as follows:

No life on Earth.

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p e ace be within t h y walls a reflection on peace, what it means to be peaceful, and to choose to be at peace.

Catherine Perkins

Guildford Cathedral: it is still. There is an hour to go before Eucharist begins. The white walls are blank canvasses, gently splashed with honey golden sparks where the early morning light peeks in through the dusty windows, adorning the soft arches with a gilded halo. A soft breath and a floating whisper are the only hints of life in the transept. I stop. A paradisal, divine moment. Gently, slowly, the choir begins to rehearse: “O, pray for the peace of Jerusalem, ye shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, and plenteousness within thy palaces.” Herbert Howells.

They seem so sure. I cannot help but question: Is this a foretaste of the promised celestial peace? I begin to cradle peace in my hands. This strange thread which binds us together, yet fragile, frayed.

In many ways, we may seem to be far from peace. And peace may seem far from us.

Peace, where are you?

It is easy to say ‘find time for peace.’ It is much harder to do, especially today where the joy of modern technology brings a daily battle between a sense of peaceful detachment, and the attraction to news that can be with us in an instant: Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram, Snapchat. We are never more than a tap away from what we want to know. So are we never more than a button press away from turning that phone off, and taking a moment for peace. But that peace is all too often thrown away. The addiction to knowing everything in a moment is unrelenting.

On average we check our phones 150 times a day, and are online for 31 hours per week. When a notification pops up, we respond instantaneously. Being in a girls’ house makes it all too clear: when the boy she likes is not texting her back, she is constantly checking to see if she’s missed something. Is he online? Is he ignoring her? Why hasn’t he responded? It’s been two minutes since she sent the text. It is a vicious cycle.

I start to think. The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the most renowned global awards, given to an individual or organisation promoting peace. In October last year, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons was laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize, ‘for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons.’ It is perhaps ironic that, the previous year, the now President of the United States, Donald Trump, was nominated for the same prize, a President who has threatened, not obscurely, the ‘total destruction’ of North Korea in retaliation to the nuclear threat posed. Are the current ‘peace talks’ between the countries lasting? I have doubts.

For, despite the work of the Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, we are far from such prohibition.

Indeed, we may even seem to be at a point of nuclear crisis. For those who lived through the Cold War period, the feeling is all too familiar. But nuclear war is not the only weight on the world at the moment.

We are under threat from supremacist politics. We are victims of barbaric terrorism. The Skripal poisonings remind us that peace is threatened as we live out our lives on a quotidian basis.

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And we suffer trials with peace not only as a society, but as individuals. Every day I try to seek a moment for that inner peace I so crave. Perhaps turning off the alarm and lying in the stillness and blackness of the morning, the blankets wrapped around me like a cocoon, holding me as I live precariously, breath by breath. Perhaps a stolen moment in the cloister, watching the sun cast the radiant solstice on the sky, buildings becoming silhouettes against a sky which fades from a burning red to a halcyon blue. A momentary peaceful escape from such a world as ours, which daily descends into a deeper political spiral.

Both on a personal, and worldwide scale, today’s populations are never at peace. Yet Christ promises: “peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you.”

So what is peace? A difficult equilibrium between the various languages, cultures and outlooks, the different situations and the millions of hopes and desires in the minds of civilisation. A wide-ranging, desirable and

unclassifiable concept. Indefinable. In its exchange it demands of us understanding, tolerance, humility, reconciliation and strength. But therefore, peace is an energy deeply rooted in ourselves; a tool we choose to use, and to give to others.

How can we live peacefully? Perhaps all we can do is start by being at peace within ourselves.

Giving a Chapel talk, I once described personal identity as a Rubix cube: different categories of our identity are like colours on a Rubix cube. All the six colours can be randomly mixed up, just like parts of identity are in our personalities. A mix of our different identities shapes our thoughts, speech and actions. But when we think about our identity, we can also categorise it into sections and focus on one particular type at a time.

Either way, discordantly mixed up or harmoniously separated, it still makes a cube - you - just one set of identities is clearer than other. Perhaps when we seek to be at peace with ourselves, these constituent parts of our identities are in the process of being shifted, from the jumbled multicoloured faces, to the distinct sides.

Sometimes the solution is easy. Sometimes it takes far longer. Perfect peace is a moment of transitory solution.

How long does it last? How long does a Rubix cube stay solved? Not long at all. A brief, intangible, ephemeral but transcendent time. Something, someone comes along, and suddenly we return to a state of melted and mutually-influential identity. But that moment can be returned to, if we are willing to choose to work for clarity, for harmony. If we are willing to choose to work for peace.

Again, it is easy to say, and harder to do. Indeed, though I see its necessity, it’s a concept that I, in my own way, struggle with. In April I became critically ill, and spent a week in ICU, before being diagnosed with a chronic illness. I came out of hospital and I didn’t know where to turn. I felt like my world had been flipped upside down, like all the colours on the cube were irreparably jumbled, and the colours were blurring one into another. I felt as far from individual peace as I have ever done. I frequently asked the question: who am I? I didn’t feel like I was myself anymore. I felt defined by my condition, and I lost that sense of peaceful equilibrium. I couldn’t find the peace to reflect, to think, to work through my own identity. I had lost peace with myself. I couldn’t understand how Christ could leave us peace, and yet, that I could not grasp it in those dark weeks. We all fight battles, where peace seems very distant indeed.

tell us how to use it, or reassure us that it is always evident in the world. But he gives it to us, as a tool for reconciliation, and for forgiveness. I had to seek out peace for myself. I had to take those moments to be still, though all I felt like doing was shouting and screaming. I had to hold on to peace in torment. I had to seek light in darkness. I wanted to make war with myself. I had to consciously choose peace, forgive myself, and reconcile myself to my future. Sometimes I failed to choose peace. I was headstrong, foolish, selfish.

And those days too were allowed, because it provided a striking foil to the days I chose peace. The days of peace were the days I found plenteousness; the days I was able to flourish again. We may not be at perfect peace every moment of every day, but we should aspire to strive, daily, for moments of extraordinary celestial peace, in the ordinary and mundane world around us.

I am reminded, as I grasp at this thread of peace, of visiting the installation at Salisbury Cathedral following the Skripal poisonings. A flock of 3000 origami doves, flying through the Cathedral, some inscribed with messages and prayers for peace. Breath-taking, and uplifting, ‘Les Colombes’ speaks of the choice of peace and solidarity, in torrid moments of despair. It was particularly striking to see the doves’ reflection in the baptismal font – a reminder that even when we look down, peace from above is never far away, reflected all around us. Look, and you will find it. Choose peace, and flourish. We cannot solve world peace alone; we can only live at peace with ourselves, and so encourage others to choose peace. We can be those flock of doves, flying through life, with grace, with hope, with peace.

We harbour our own Christ-given inner peace, though the world around us may seem peace-less. It is Christ’s peace that we must strive to live out in our lives. We must find peace, use peace, and seek peace, not war. We must pursue peace, in the darkest of darkness. We must be a peaceful people. We must rest in the assurance that Jesus gave us this peace to use in the world, and pass on to others, living at peace with everyone. With that divine peace, we will never let our hearts be troubled, or be afraid.

Go forth into the world in peace; be of good courage; hold fast to that which is good; render to no one evil for evil; strengthen the fainthearted; support the weak; help the afflicted; honour everyone.

Peace be within thy walls, and plenteousness within thy palaces.

May the peace of the Lord be with you.

Now, as I sit here, toying with peace, I see that Christ gives us the power, the energy of peace. He does not

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SPEECH DAY Speech Day 2018 On Saturday 30 June, in glorious sunshine, the School gathered to mark the end of the academic year. Following the final Eucharist of the year in Chapel and The Head’s Assembly, we held our last house assemblies of the term before congregating in the marquee for Prize Giving.

Lower School Speech Day On the sweltering afternoon of Friday 29 June, St John’s Lower School assembled in a marquee on the Quad for Lower School Speech Day. The marquee was packed with proud parents and teachers keen to see the pupils being rewarded for exceptional work and to celebrate the end of a successful year.

Established in 2016 to welcome boys and girls to St John’s from age 11, the last academic year has been fantastic for the Lower School which has developed significantly to become a vibrant, active part of St John’s. Addressing the audience, Rowena Cole, The Head, pointed out that this was both her first and last Lower School Speech Day because, next year, Lower Third and Upper Third pupils will be part of the main Speech Day, creating one whole school celebration at the end of the academic year.

Mrs Cole explained how important the younger year groups are to St John’s life, reflecting that the thriving Lower School was one of the aspects which attracted her to the headship of St John’s and commenting that the enthusiasm, appetite for new experiences and energy of

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St John’s youngest pupils is truly something special.

In reviewing the numerous highlights of the last year, a number of Lower School pupils spoke about their experiences ranging from the fun of the Induction Trip in Swanage last September and a vast array of house competitions to a plethora of sporting triumphs and the innovative staging of Alice@Wonderland. The pupils recounted tales of impressive charity fundraising and talked about the interesting trips they have taken to support their studies this year. It was wonderful to hear the pupils demonstrate the enthusiasm they feel for the packed co-curricular timetable, their academic lessons, their friendships and the Lower School values of integrity, empathy, excellence, collaboration and resilience.

Speech Day is a special moment in the School year as it allows us to pause, reflect on everything that has been achieved and celebrate the St John’s community. Chairman of Governors, John Willis, welcomed parents, pupils, staff and governors to the event and gave an insight into the numerous ways in which St John’s continues to develop and innovate every year in order to deliver the best possible education and school life for its pupils. Reflecting on her first year as The Head of St John’s, Rowena Cole then gave a compelling speech which highlighted the vast array of events, activities and accomplishments which pupils, staff and the wider St John’s community have enjoyed this year. She praised the pupils for all their achievements, whether they were major successes which grab the headlines or smaller personal triumphs which take place in so many different ways every day throughout the School. In thanking all the staff, including those who are leaving the School this summer, she reflected on the generosity of spirit they demonstrate in their approach to

education in its broadest sense, always being willing to give extra time, effort and care to enable pupils to achieve more and aim higher.

We were delighted to welcome, as this year’s guest speaker, the four times Winter Olympian and one of Britain’s greatest ever skiers, Chemmy Alcott. Chemmy’s speech was moving and motivational in equal parts; she talked about the importance of being brave enough to take risks, committing entirely to your goals and learning – then persevering - when things don’t immediately go according to plan. She stressed the importance of having a ‘growth mindset’, being willing to challenge yourself and push boundaries in order to give yourself the chance to be the very best possible version of yourself, whatever your dream may be. It was a message which resonated well with the adventurous, enthusiastic, ambitious attitude that is at the heart of so much of St John’s life.

With prizes presented, a wonderful performance of ‘And so it goes’ by the Schola Cantorum and a charming final speech from the departing School Captains, Fin and Katie, the School attended an end of year service in the Chapel and the formal part of the day came to a close.

The afternoon was filled with house receptions and the day ended in style with a fabulous black tie Leavers’ Ball attended by Upper Sixth, parents, staff and governors.

Closing the afternoon’s ceremony, Chair of Governors, John Willis, thanked parents and pupils for the commitment they have demonstrated to the School and remarked that it is the trust they placed in St John’s when the Lower School was established which has made their children’s achievements and successes possible.

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vocational our pupils work hard to EXCEL outside the classroom.

Getting lost in the lake district and sleeping out on the quad are OPTIONAL, but ADVISED.

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ARMY The army section has grown from strength to strength this academic year, starting with the Upper Sixth NCO appointments and introduction of the new Lower Fifth in September. Things got off to a great start with some amazing enthusiasm shown by the new Lower Fifth cadets and a focused mindset for those in the Upper Fifth and Lower Sixth with promotion and NCO appointments in the not too distant future. Each year group had a specific goal and the year was spent working toward this, with specific training cadres and programmes: the Lower Fifth focus was initially gearing them up for their first overnight exercise; the Upper Fifth spent time advancing their training and principles; the Lower Sixth began the year taking part in their method of instruction course which put them on the path for further leadership roles and promotions; the Upper Sixth spent their time training the lower years.

For most of their first term, the Lower Fifth were learning basic principles of the CCF and bushcraft skills in preparation for their overnight exercise, which was a resounding success. They then progressed to focus on marksmanship principles and lessons in safe handling of the cadet GP rifle so they could spend their next Field Day out on the ranges at Bisley. Finally, after some further training in their last term, all of the skills that they had so far acquired were put to the test in a final overnight exercise conducted by the teaching staff and new Lower Sixth NCOs. The Upper Fifth spent much of their time advancing the skills that they had been taught in the previous year and began to build on leadership principles in preparation for the promotion that is available in the Lower Sixth. Under the strong leadership of Rhianna Hyde, the Upper Fifth have had a very strong year and we look forward to what the future holds for them as they progress on to the Lower Sixth.

NAVY sure they will be making excellent leaders and examples of themselves in the near future.

Additionally, this year the School underwent its biennial inspection and received a fantastic report from the visiting inspector. Other highlights included the march down Dorking high street as part of a farewell parade for the Headley Court rehabilitation centre, the Chapel remembrance service and the annual regimental dinner which observed the traditions of the Coldstream Guards this year. This year, Josh Williams and I were the first to take part in a regional leadership course and hope to promote further participation in the coming years to obtain further degrees of leadership.

It has been a year to remember. The army section has progressed massively, with each cadet gaining so many new skills and developing new talents whilst having such a fun time. I cannot truly express how proud I am about how the army section has developed and I am sure that the legacy we have built this year will bring forth new strengths and challenges alike to each new generation of cadets. I am also very proud of the NCO team that I have worked with this year and I have great confidence in the new NCOs that will take our place. Thank you also to the teachers and staff that make CCF possible. It is an experience that can so greatly benefit not only the experience you have at St John’s, but it also allows you to build and grow as a person. In summary, this year for the army section has been truly outstanding and I have every confidence it can only improve.

Elliot Needham CCF Army Section CSgt

The St John’s Royal Navy section has worked tirelessly to create as many opportunities for the cadets as possible and the results speak for themselves. The NCOs have continued their hard work and perseverance, resulting in several junior cadets progressing rapidly through the ranks to AB 2-star over the course of the year despite tougher tests. Furthermore, a group of St John’s cadets were invited to attend a tour of the new carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth along with a few other schools. It was an exceptional experience and allowed the cadets to ask hundreds of questions to the ever-patient ship’s officers. The scale of the carrier was immense, and we were honoured to have the opportunity to see the cutting edge of the Royal Navy.

The CCF in general is an excellent opportunity to step outside your comfort zone, be it in the classroom, in the field or out on the water. Both senior and junior cadets have plenty of opportunities to practice leading their peers, as well as working in a team, through practical leadership tasks, delivering presentations or during activities on Field Day. Field Days are traditionally the highlight of the term for the cadets, and past ventures have included visits to Naval establishments such as HMS Excellent, our parent establishment - HMS Collingwood and Longmoor training grounds. Activities ranging from assault courses to sailing and powerboating are always thoroughly enjoyed by all.

expeditions. All courses and qualifications run by the CCF are heavily subsidised by the MoD, including scuba diving, first aid, and competent crew/day skipper sailing qualifications. The opportunity for cadets to gain worldclass qualifications at very little expense is one that cannot be ignored; all you need to do is find the time to apply.

The School also runs a Summer Camp at Jersey Camp on the Isle of Wight for cadets from all three sections.

Pupils participate in a wide variety of field techniques during the day and spend the evening participating in various activities such as laser tag in the nearby woods.

The camp builds up to the very competitive and fast-paced competition at the end of the week which tests the cadets on all the skills they have learnt.

The Navy Section, and indeed the entire CCF at St John’s, is improving every year, and with new opportunities presenting themselves, the future of the section is very bright indeed.

Cameron McKenzie CCF RN Section PO

There are also ample opportunities for cadets of all ages to attend Summer Camps, no matter their previous experience. Courses range from leadership courses at HMS Raleigh to powerboating qualifications and yacht

The Lower Sixth began by working towards the completion of their method of instruction course. This year a record number of cadets not only took part but completed the course, thus giving the CCF army section a huge wealth of trained and capable cadets that are taking over the leadership roles. As a group, the Lower Sixth have worked very hard and I am very proud to say that I am

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RAF importantly, all the Sixth Form have passed the Method of Instruction Course (MOI), allowing them to teach the younger cadets.

During the holidays we offer a broad range of camps.

There are opportunities to go to camps held on operational RAF bases in the UK and abroad in places like Cyprus, Germany and Gibraltar.

Although the RAF is the smallest section in St John’s CCF, with around 70 cadets, we get the most amazing opportunities. Throughout the year, cadets meet for an hour a week. Activities are largely led by the Sixth Form and supervised by staff. The section’s aim is to give everyone a flying experience every year. However, occasionally the weather has other ideas…

Every term we have a Field Day, where cadets spend a day off site and extend their learning beyond what can be done on a normal weekly basis. This year the Lower Fifth cadets had lessons on flight simulators, fieldcraft and undertook leadership exercises. Meanwhile the Upper Fifth focused on training and completing their Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards.

The highlight of this year for me was the Royal Air Squadron Trophy (RAST). This year marked the second year we have been able to enter a team into the competition. It takes place over a weekend and examines the team’s drill, first aid skills, teamwork, RAF knowledge, aircraft recognition, shooting and fitness. The team of 14 put in a lot effort, reaching a very respectable fourth out of 11 teams in the regionals, narrowly missing out on going through to the nationals by one point. We came first in fitness and second in shooting. The fitness squad (Sgt. Perkins, Sgt. Deakin, CWO. Harries and led by Sgt. Armstrong) did an amazing job in representing one of the many strengths of St John’s School. In addition, the shooting team (Sgt. Armstrong, Sgt. Morcombe, Sgt. Holley, FS. Hawkins and led by Sgt. Deakin) came second. This good result shows we are a strong section with enormous potential for the future.

During my four years in the RAF section I have seen many improvements and I’m sure the section will continue to go from strength to strength.

Benjamin Harries CCF RAF Section Flt Sgt

This year the section has seen the introduction of the new progressive syllabus, allowing cadets to learn in stages. On top of the required classifications, the Lower Fifth all completed their blue Heartstart (first aid) award. Furthermore, some Upper Fifth earned their blue wings for the flight training they completed. But most

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CSU Community Service Unit report During the 2017-2018 academic year, 49 Sixth Form pupils participated in a variety of voluntary roles to help the local community. Several pupils helped children at local primary schools and at a local school for children with special needs, notably with reading and at after-school clubs. Other pupils assisted in charity shops on the high street, sorting stock and helping the managers as required. A small number of pupils worked with visually-impaired adults, while others assisted at local Brownies and Rainbow groups.

A group of pupils took left-over food to the local homeless shelter each lunchtime and two others helped local residents with their gardening.

Besides this regular involvement, the School hosted its annual Christmas Community Lunch and Summer High Tea. Both events welcomed over 80 local residents to the School, where they were well-fed, enjoyed the company of Sixth Form pupil volunteers and were entertained by various musicians and a quiz.

N Whitmore

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“Words can’t express our gratitude and thanks for all the hard work, love and care you have given our children. Thank you for the last five years.”

“Once again I would like to thank you for giving my son the most amazing holiday. Your staff and volunteers constantly amaze me by their generosity of spirit, time, patience and the size of their amazing hearts.”

Community Holiday For one week in August the annual St John’s School Community Holiday took place, during which 22 children with special needs enjoyed a residential holiday at the School. On-site activities included games, art, a treasure hunt and a drama workshop plus evening performance.

Away from the School, the children enjoyed horse-riding, a day at Littlehampton seaside, a visit to see the Lion King in the West End and a day at Chessington World of Adventures. The children were cared for by 37 present and former Sixth Form pupils, including 16 pupils now entering the Upper Sixth.

The carers embraced their roles well, accepting the responsibility of looking after another human being. By the end of the week, the children had experienced a good holiday and the helpers had grown in maturity and no doubt looked forward to a few days’ well-earned rest.

“Heartfelt thanks for another amazing week at the St John’s Community Holiday, my daughter had the time of her life.

The energy you bring and genuine love and care you show our children is appreciated more than you’ll ever know.”

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SPORTS

by Lauren Moors The 2017 season was one for the St John’s history books and to match it would be an incredible feat yet this is exactly what our Eagles aimed to do.

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Impressive starts for both the hockey and rugby clubs was just what we had hoped for. Particular mention to our U12 hockey girls who were regional finalists and our 1st XV rugby team who made the National Semi-Finals of the Champions Trophy before losing narrowly to eventual winners Dulwich College. This was further supported by an excellent Rosslyn Park Cup run.

In the Spring Term we achieved very exciting results on the court, in the pool and on the pitch. Our 1st VII netball team was unbeaten domestically, whilst our swimmers, both Senior Boys and Senior Girls, were crowned Bath and Dunelm National Cup Winners – these results make us officially one of the top four swimming schools in the country.

However pride of place has to go to our football club who produced our most successful season ever. Particular mention to our U15 side who were not only Southern Independent League Champions without conceding a goal but also National Futsal Champions for the first time in our history. On the slopes, on the range and on the biathlon circuit we continue to develop at an excellent rate.

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hockey sea so n r e port s 1st XI The 1st X1 team started with a strong 10-0 victory against CLFS and 8-0 against Lord Wandsworth College. This year’s team came from a mixture of age groups including the Fourth Form and showcased the talent of St John’s hockey players. We were lucky to qualify for the Surrey Cup finals, but the girls were overcome in a tight match against Reigate Grammar but came 4th in Surrey – a great achievement. Half way through the season the 1st team began to face tough opposition; however, the team showed great dedication and commitment particularly our greatest rival, Epsom College.

The resilience shown with a 2-2 draw showed how far the team has come.

Players’ player went to Abbie Tait and coaches’ player went to Christina Georgiou.

Played 10

Won 3

Drawn 3

Lost 4

Goals For 26

Goals Against 21

Goals Difference 5

2nd XI The 2nd XI team’s season has been full of lessons with a win against Lord Wandsworth College and draws against Bradfield College, Downe House, Reigate Grammar and Epsom College. Each game was incredibly close and presented opportunities to win. A close draw against Epsom was a highlight, fought with determination and sustained periods of pressure but the team were not to capitalise on this. Overall a superb performance.

Played 10

Won 1

Drawn 4

Lost 5

Goals For 9

Goals Against 20

Goals Difference -11

3rd XI The 3rd XI had a season of big wins, notably against Lord Wandsworth College, Ardingly College, Reigate Grammar and Brighton College. After a tough two loss start to the season the team rallied, the play focus was shifted to cohesive play which yielded outstanding results. The strongest win came against Ardingly College in a 6-0 victory. A well rounded season and fantastic building block for next year.

Played 10

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Won 6

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Drawn 0

Lost 4

Goals For 29

Goals Against 15

Goals Difference 14

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4th XI

U14A

In a fantastic start to the 4th XI the team won 6-0 vs Lord Wandsworth College and went unbeaten before half term.

However, after half term the results were less favourable with a draw against Brighton College. This season has given the team a range of new skills and taught them how to play against tough opposition which is an excellent starting point for next year.

Two strong draws set the season rolling and a win against Lord Wandsworth set the girls up for their county round where they qualified for the Surrey cup finals, narrowly losing to Reigate Grammar in the play offs 2-1. The girls bounced back from this frustrating defeat with Louise Orr and Tali Gibbons running the midfield and Izzy Kuhle and Francesca Beech scoring throughout the season. Two exciting wins vs Ardingly College and Cranbrook School showed their play capacity, however the final vs Epsom College resulted in a 2-2 draw.

Played 8

Won 3

Drawn 2

Lost 3

Goals For 15

Goals Against 12

Goals Difference 3

U15A

Played 12

Won 3

Drawn 4

Lost 5

Goals For 19

Goals Against 22

Goals Difference -3

U14B

This season has been a challenge for all team members with a significant player changeover and some major highs and lows. After a successful tour in Holland and Germany, September was an adjustment with a new coach, new captain and new girls on the team. The challenges were met with resilience and every team member put in 100%. Individual achievements included improving fitness, finally scoring a goal, moving up to the As and changing position on the pitch.

All the players should take pride in their performances. The highlight of the season was a 2-0 victory over rivals Epsom College. Players’ player went to Molly Warner and most improved went to Anna Stansfield.

The first match against CLFS, a difficult opponent to face so early in the season, became a highlight of the season, even with a 4-1 defeat because the team worked together to score a brilliant goal. Another highlight was the 3-1 victory over Cranbrook School – the season’s turning point with huge improvement in match play. The energy was electric throughout the very physical match, but the girls played clever hockey and scored the impressive three goals.

Overall, the girls worked incredibly hard this season and their improvement is phenomenal. The whole team should feel proud of their achievements and ability to work incredibly well as a team, becoming a great group of friends.

Played 11

Won 1

Drawn 3

Lost 7

Goals For 13

Goals Against 32

Goals Difference -19 Played 10

Won 3

Drawn 0

Lost 7

Goals For 9

Goals Against 30

Goals Difference -21

U15B The season had a fantastic start with wins against CLFS, Lord Wandsworth College and Sevenoaks School. The team showed great determination and spirit despite a reconfiguration and loss of three players to the A team. With India Howard in goal and Georgie Philpott, Yasmin Osman, Lydia Sandwell, Alice Moody and Emilia Hay defending the girls were a force to be reckoned with. Mid-fielders Tilly Thomas, Primrose Lenon, Zoe Noussis and Lottie Douglas were tenacious in attack and defence. Forwards Molly Brassington, Tishy Rao, Emma Rickerd and Charlotte Winslet seized every opportunity to score, showing perseverance against tough opposition.

With five out of ten matches won by the season’s end the U15Bs claimed an impressive 5-0 victory against rivals Epsom College in their final match. Overall the team showed a positive attitude and kept their heads up in defeat.

Played 10

Won 5

Drawn 1

Lost 4

Goals For 15

Goals Against 22

Goals Difference -7

Junior C The team had not played much hockey and the start of season was difficult with a 0-4 loss. Coached by Miss Hems and Miss Chapman the team progressed and won their last game vs Epsom College 8-0. Victoria Bond scored five goals in the final game and no player ever gave up which is a credit to their dedication and commitment.

Played 9

Won 1

Drawn 0

Lost 8

Goals For 11

Goals Against 48

Goals Difference -37

U13A A thrilling and fast season with plenty of goals showed this team’s potential. Huge wins included 9-0 vs Lingfield College, 6-0 vs St Benedict’s and 7-0 vs Epsom College giving an outstanding goal total of 50 in 12 games.

The season showed what teamwork and hard work can do.

Played 12

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Won 7

Drawn 0

Lost 5

Goals For 50

Goals Against 29

Goals Difference 21

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U13B

12C

It was a great season for the U13Bs with a 50% win ratio. A tough 4-1 loss to Lingfield College gave the girls drive to improve and play tougher hockey. They bounced back with wins against Kingston Grammar School, Lord Wandsworth College and St Teresa’s School. Maddie Foster was a rock at the back and Jaimee Burrage in goal was the basis of a great defensive unit. The determination they showed during the Cranleigh tournament where they narrowly missed 3rd place on penalty shuffles made the girls dig deep and come away with two exciting wins vs Hurstpierpoint College and Epsom College. Well done to all involved for a season of determination and well fought fixtures

A new team with new hockey skills proved a tough affair. They battled well and developed new skills and won their final game vs Christchurch. A narrow loss to Epsom College showed how far the team has come.

Played 12

Won 6

Drawn 0

Lost 6

Goals For 24

Goals Against 25

Played 6

Won 1

Drawn 1

Lost 4

Goals For 3

Goals Against 21

Goals Difference -18

Goals Difference -1

U13C This season the team has improved tremendously through the ups and downs, developing tactics and strategies to put into a game situation after initial losses. Drawing matches increased confidence and a high of the season was vs St Benedict’s School when the first goal of the season was scored. Another highlight was beating Epsom College 3-0 in the final match of the season. Every match was played with a positive attitude, whether won or lost.

Played 8

Won 1

Drawn 4

Lost 3

Goals For 10

Goals Against 23

Goals Difference -13

12A The U12A had plenty of fixtures in which to progress over a short period of time, starting at the Lingfield and Cranleigh competitions. These were followed by wins against Lord Wandsworth College, St Benedict’s and Epsom College. The county finals was vs St George’s to determine second and third place and a narrow 1-0 loss meant the team finished third, which was an excellent result.

Played 7

Won 3

Drawn 1

Lost 3

Goals For 13

Goals Against 11

Goals Difference 2

12B There were some exceptional wins this season against Kingston Grammar School, Lord Wandsworth College and St Benedict’s with some close losses for the remainder. The team worked hard work and never gave up.

Played 9

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Drawn 0

Lost 6

Goals For 12

Goals Against 24

Goals Difference -12

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FOOTBALL sea so n r e port s

able to slot it home, which meant that we needed to beat Harrow to remain in the hunt for first place. The game started well with St John’s scoring the first goal but sloppy game management and possession ended in a 4-1 loss.

Thankfully, the side bounded back with mightily impressive victories against Radley (6-1), Berkhamsted (5-2) and Tonbridge (4-1) to secure Second place in the League for the second year running. A very impressive achievement.

2nd XI The St John’s 2nd XI started the season with promise after a 2-1 victory against Dulwich College with goals from Captain Serfözo and Tom Rogers, however, the season was to be one of missed opportunities. Against Haileybury the side had fantastic opportunity to win but ended up with a 3-4 loss. James Robinson provided resilience and good distribution, Seb Hommasi’s addition to the team provided creativity and Max Simpson worked tirelessly out wide. However, the side were not able to create enough chances or work cohesively. The season’s highlight came in the penultimate game where the team came back from being 3-0 down against Tonbridge but unfortunately ended up losing 5-4.

4th XI The 4th XI, skilfully led by George Emerson, had a very enjoyable and successful season with four wins and only two narrow defeats. The reliable back four – Ollie Bell, Michael Hagon and Joe Watson - provided a rock-hard shield for goalie Ben Greenbury. Midfield was shared between Frank Dwan, Dan Barnham, Scott Driscoll, Ed Beech, Dominic Blackmore, Luke Swiss, Tom Lambert, Freddie Shearer and Charles Watkins; not once were these skilful players overrun by the opposition. Up front, Ben Gosling was a deceptively quick and mobile target man.

The team won all away matches despite some gruelling journeys, with the highlight a 3-1 win against Harrow.

Eighteen goals were hammered home, with Ben Gosling top scoring five, Dominic Blackmore (four), Ed Beech (three), Freddie Shearer (two), and one each from Tom Lambert, Michael Hagon, Charles Watkins and Dan Barnham. Every team member deserves credit for a memorable season.

3rd XI

1st XI This 1st XI played attacking football and defended with commitment. The side were ably led by Captain Hugo Coughlan and Vice-Captains Alfie Parker and Ben Tudor who demonstrated the hard graft and communication skills required to create a cohesive unit. After a fantastic preseason camp at Manchester City Academy, the season started in earnest against Dulwich College with a 1-1 draw.

The League season got underway with a 2-1 victory against Haileybury. After dominating the play in the first half, the side went 1-0 down, but St John’s did not stop pressing forward and just before half time, Captain Coughlan, who was instrumental in midfield,

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duly slotted home a penalty. In the second half Sanders and Tresidder broke up the play, allowing the back four and Coughlan to create chances for Tudor, who linked play superbly with Shannon and Sellick; it was Sellick’s delivery which gave chance after chance. Coughlan eventually directed a header into the bottom corner from Sellick’s in swinger to take a 2-1 victory. The season continued with an impressive 2-0 victory against St Paul’s with Luke Trimming’s repeated saves in goal.

In the local derby which ended the first half term, the 1st XI started sluggishly and gave Epsom’s striker opportunity and a freekick took the score to 2-0.

Thankfully, we rallied to draw level and, in the second half, started to attack. With just 10 minutes of play remaining, Sellick scored taking it to 3-2. Unfortunately, with seconds to go, Epsom booted a ball long and were

St John’s 3rd XI started the season with a convincing 2-1 win over Dulwich College, showing strength in attack and consistency from the back four. This debut win was followed by a victory away at Haileybury, with a memorable equaliser from Heard giving the team drive to win. The third game of the season saw St John’s remain unbeaten in a 2-2 draw at home against local rivals: Epsom College. The game was optimised by Hanratty’s goal line clearance, keeping the Eagles in the game at 2-1 down. The unbeaten streak was finally broken by Harrow; St John’s showed promise in the first half, only to run out of steam in the second.

The team was disappointed to lose the talented Sebastian Hommasi to the 2nd XI, but was fortunate to welcome Dom Blackmore in number 10 who supplied Hanratty expertly, resulting in brilliant goals. Finn Nicholson consistently caused midfield problems for opponents with cool ball control. The defence was lead valiantly all season by Ethan Heard, whose crunching challenges and aerial clearances are sure to propel him into the 2nd and 1st XI next season. Every player gave their best and showed improvement over the season.

5th XI It is an odd thing to have a season where a team plays more competitive matches on grass than it has training sessions on grass, but so it was for the 2018 5th XI. The cancellations were a real shame for the most talented 5th XI team that this commentator has seen in his five years at St John’s. There was Sam ‘self-styledkamakazie’ Hunt in goal (or occasionally in midfield) and solidity at the back from skipper Adam Goldsmith supported by Nikhil Patel and Hugo Carpenter. The TH E J O HNI A N M A GA Z I NE

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dynamic midfield included Scott Driscoll and George Myers supported by Angus Lonsdale, Luke Swiss, Angus Rose and Filitino with stopper Jacob Stevenson.

Up front, Ethan Binns was ably supported by Nathan Bradshaw and Freddie Shearer. An early season set back against Dulwich was followed by convincing wins over Haileybury (at their lido), and Epsom (at our own lido). A moral victory from a 3-2 defeat away at Harrow saw the team face Radley (our toughest opposition of the season) and finish on the wrong end of a hiding!

After the Pools Panel said “away-win” for our cancelled game at Tonbridge, the season ended on a high with a convincing 5-0 win away at Abingdon. Congratulations to all who have represented the 5th XI this season!

16A The season started with a number of boys travelling to Manchester to train at the Manchester City training complex in a mixed side against strong local teams. It was the last match George Sellick would play and we certainly missed his striking prowess, but our loss was the 1st XI’s gain.

Friendly matches against Dulwich and Sevenoaks saw Tom Marvin take a number of excellent shots; however it was Harry Mead in the midfield three which set the tone for strong possession based play.

St John’s dominated the first two league matches against Haileybury and St Paul’s, but could not quite score despite creating opportunities, so started the season with a draw and a loss. A 2-0 defeat to Epsom followed and the last game before half term produced a 1-1 draw against Harrow.

The half term break, snow and the loss of Captain Ethan Salter to the 1st took the wind out of our sails and, despite a great team effort, defeats to Radley and Tonbridge followed, before we had a win against Abingdon.

Honourable mentions go to Jonny Pagett and Aron Tubman who provided excellent width down each flank, and Chris Ballard who battled against some excellent wingers. Our player of the season was Will Farnsworth, who made numerous saves and ensured opposition goals were kept to a minimum. I wish the boys the best as they move into the senior teams.

16B The U16B side should be pleased with the progress they have made this year. Although the season’s results were mixed, the side played attacking football and worked tirelessly in defence beating Epsom College (4-1) and Abingdon (9-1) and securing a 1-0 win against Harrow with a notable performance by Sam Laslett. The team were ably led throughout this season by Sam Smedley who continues to flourish in leadership roles.

16C It has been a pleasure to captain the U16C team. After last year’s impressive and consistent campaign we had high hopes under our new coach, Mr Ross. Our first game was a test of strength and after going 1-0 down in the opening stages, the game ended in a well-deserved 3-2 victory thanks to outstanding goals from Jonah Cobham, Sam Turner and Max Howe. Our next game saw a 3-3 draw against Haileybury.

In the following weeks, games were cancelled, and with injuries and waterlogged pitches, we had some inconsistency. The lack of structure in our play left us with consecutive defeats against Harrow, Epsom College and Tonbridge. We played our last game together against Abingdon and, after a shaky start, Fin Hurree saved us with an excellent stop from the penalty spot.

We regrouped and Austin Bell scored four goals in quick succession and further goals from Sam Smitherman and Austin Bell (taking his tally to five for the game) ended the match 8-1 to St John’s – a strong way to finish the season.

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15B After an unbeaten season as U14s, the side had high hopes and stayed positive throughout but faced many challenges this season, including losing players to the A team and inclement weather disrupting training.

The U15 team started the season by placing in the top 16 of the Investec ISFA National Cup and ended the season as National ISFA Futsal Cup and Southern Independent Schools’ League Champions.

A tough first fixture against Dulwich resulted in a 2-3 loss but proved to be an excellent warm up game and was preparation for the league season. Victories against Haileybury (10-0) and Epsom (2-1) were followed by a draw against St Paul’s.

The team, captained by Jack Goodman, were crowned National Futsal Champions after knocking out Hampton School 3-2 and winning their semi-final against Brighton College 2-1. The final against reigning champions Repton School was intense but the team were able to score two quick goals to win and take the title.

After half term, the side faced tougher opposition but a victory against Radley and a draw at Abingdon were highlights. Despite losing to both Harrow and Tonbridge, the side played well and made real progress over the season.

This success was followed up with the U15 side becoming Southern Independent Schools’ League

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winners after finishing their League season unbeaten, scoring 40 goals and conceding only two. Ryan Trevitt and Braiden Hall proved difficult for the opposition to stop and notable wins included Harrow 5-0, Epsom College 11-0, Tonbridge 4-2 and St Paul’s 3-0.

15C With strong team performances the U15Cs won two and drew one from the six games played. Captained

by Henry Corbett, the team beat Haileybury, had a fantastic 3-0 win away to Epsom College and a 2-2 draw against Harrow. Unfortunately, two poor first-half performances followed against Dulwich and Tonbridge which could not be recovered despite solid secondhalf performances. St John’s controlled the final fixture against Abingdon but a lack of killer instinct in the final third and conceding two sloppy goals resulted in a loss.

Omar Matthias was top scorer for the season with seven goals. Performance-wise, it was a good season with an excellent team. With only one or two tweaks, the boys have a great opportunity next season to play to their potential.

15D In a tough season, the highlight was a 7-4 victory against Epsom. Despite having 95% of the possession, St John’s found themselves behind continually until the end of a peculiar first half, with chances not capitalised on. The outstanding first half player was Wilf Morris who dominated midfield. With a few changes, the second half was a much better performance with Twist

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and O’Brien on both wings and de Leo up front, Epsom could not keep up. Zach Hill was the U15D version of a battering ram and quickly netted the ball twice. The defence played well with Patrick Brown, Charlie Collins, Josh Hack and Ryan Want showing skill impressive for a D team. Ben Grear’s performance was like watching Liverpool in the late 80s with Bruce Grobbelaar as he committed to slide tackling the opposition well outside of the 18 yard box! A mixed season but an enjoyable one.

14A The team started strong with impressive wins against Dulwich and Haileybury. Henry Boyle scored 14 goals for the season and Jake Bartholomew captained the side impressively from centre of defence, marshalling the side to four clean sheets out of seven. The second half of the season saw a stout defensive performance against Harrow yielding a high-scoring draw. Berkhamsted was a physically intimidating side, and St John’s struggled to compete effectively but never gave up and the loss highlighted areas for future improvement. The season finished on a high with a 7-0 win against Abingdon School.

14B The 14B had a successful season with five wins, a draw and one unfortunate loss, but only six players from the original team remained during the season which hampered progress. Everybody played a key role, spurred on by half-time Haribo, combined with the fitness training, there were many comebacks and strong second halves with Dan Geddes becoming top scorer.

We began the season with three 4-1 wins and the loss to Glyn, followed by close games including two narrow victories and a draw which highlighted the team’s determination to fight until the last, especially in the game against Berkhamsted, where we recovered from a 3-1 deficit to draw in the final moments. Other games were cancelled due to bad weather. Well done to everybody who contributed to the B team this season and a big mention to the coaches.

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14C

13A

12A

An impressive season saw four out of six wins and over 30 goals scored. The highlight of the campaign was undoubtedly a commanding 12-3 victory against Epsom College. The U14Cs were captained by Bertie who was supported by Rocco, while Poppy and Rose in full-back developed confidence and skill during the season. The midfield maestros were Toby and Finn (both deserved their call-ups to the B team) and Ben, Toby and Matthew developed a telepathic understanding of each other’s games and scored plenty of goals. Goal of the season was by Toby, who weaved through the Harrow midfield before unleashing a mercurial ping into the top corner.

The only loss came to Abingdon in the final game. The team should be immensely proud of their effort and progress.

Performances improved dramatically from the previous season and the highlight came against Glyn with a 1-0 win thanks to a superb goal from Filip Lissah who scored the greatest school boy football goal many observers had ever seen. The ball came at him about 40m out from goal and with his heel he set the ball. The approaching defender saw Filip flick the ball over both heads as he spun towards the goal. Without hesitation, he volleyed the ball and, in almost slow motion, the ball looped over the goalkeeper and into the goal: simply amazing.

12A have shown considerable promise in their first season although their results were a little disappointing.

The boys performed with a sense of purpose and a pleasing work ethic. A victory against St Dunstan’s was encouraging and they utilised the use of the wings well with hard running full-backs. Luc Bird opened the scoring with a neat finish into the bottom corner. Rory Davidson caused the opposition problems with his winding runs and pace and was rewarded by scoring twice. Harry Barker made impressive passes around the pitch. Jamie Ruscoe was the out-field performer of the afternoon with a hat-trick, but the goal of the day goes to Joe Willis for a fine effort from the edge of the box.

Man of the match votes went to Henry Emerson for a clean sheet and a fine goal-keeping display. A side with promise moving forward.

14D The season was hampered by the weather but the team still played their best. With James Perry and Adam Rustom in goal, Leyton Tribe and Tomas Cabrelli up field, Poppy Power, Oran Murphy and Andrew Yi in defence, the team played well and were unlucky to not capitalise. However, this did not deter their spirits and they played well throughout.

14E Out of a scheduled nine matches, the team played only four due to the bad weather. In a difficult fixture against Dulwich College, the opposition ran away with the match in the second half, scoring 11 goals. The fixture against Epsom College proved more balanced with two goals each but whatever encouragement this provided was quashed against Harrow in a 1-10 defeat. In what turned out to be the final fixture against Berkhamsted, both teams scored one goal each, until the last few minutes when Berkhamsted scored the winning goal.

The season further improved with a resounding 7-1 victory against Epsom. The focus shifted to width and depth while playing in position and this paid dividends, with Filip Lissah getting on the score sheet and unlucky not to add another with a stormer hitting the crossbar.

Lucas Atkin followed suit with a well-worked goal, before Jacob Costard’s pace made it 5-1. Another great shot from Lissah took it to six and Costard finished the scoring to see the final total 7-1. A slow start but a fantastic second half, with the squad rotating well and all boys playing as a team. Clearly the side are showing promise for next season!

13B

12B In a season hampered by adverse weather, the team showed skill and teamwork. Returning to Epsom hungry for revenge after being beaten 3-0 earlier in the season, they put together a fantastic performance, securing a 3-1 victory. Although unlucky in their last game of the season, all involved should be pleased with what they achieved and look forward to returning to the pitch next year.

The U13Bs endured some tough weekends but responded with enthusiasm, heart and a positive attitude. Twin fixtures against local rivals Epsom brought out their best, with goals from Joe Mullen and Thomas Peel in the respective fixtures. The team developed defensively over the season, with Captain Rhys Venmore acting as a defensive midfielder in front of the back four to great effect. While the boys consistently demonstrated togetherness and resilience, a special mention must be made for the last game of the season vs Abingdon. A severely depleted side ran their socks off, despite the big pitch and the injuries suffered during the game. So long as this attitude remains in place, the results will surely follow as the boys move up through the School.

The team was ably captained by Daniel Rindfuss who led the team to give their best and show grace in defeat.

There were notable signs of disappointment, especially in the closely fought fixtures, but the players are to be congratulated on representing the School well and playing very much as part of a team.

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RUGBY sea so n r e port s

2nd XV

U16B

The Second XV enjoyed an excellent season with seven wins out of 11 and scored over 200 points. The season started well with an impressive performance against Wimbledon College which ended 34-14. This followed losses in tough games against Cranleigh and Brighton, but the subsequent game against Hurstpierpoint College was a highlight of the season with an impressive 36-17 win. This was due to more aggression in the tackle and at the breakdown, with the forwards leading the way, and included stellar performances from Josh Williams and Josh Hay. A long run of wins followed against difficult schools such as Haileybury and an impressive 20-12 victory against RGS. Narrow losses followed against Seaford 10-24 and Epsom 12-19 and ended the season on a lower note.

Free-flowing, fast and ferocious epitomises the team’s brand of rugby this year, playing 32 over the last three years with 30 victories and two narrow defeats. It is a mightily impressive achievement and well-deserved from this talented bunch of players. The season opened with convincing victories against Wimbledon College and Hurstpierpoint. After leading 7-0 at half time against Cranleigh, the boys defended with bravery and skill guaranteeing the win.

The Second XV proved a great team, particularly as players were being selected for the 1st XV due to injuries which meant it was difficult to cement a starting XV each week. With excellent coaching from Mr Evans and Mr Smith, the Second XV was a difficult team to beat.

The season-defining game came against Epsom College.

Despite dominating the ball in the first five minutes, Epsom College made a breakthrough with a blind side move from beyond our 10 metre which led to the opposition flanker flying over the try line. St John’s went into halftime 14-0 down following another breakaway try. If St John’s were to win this, they really needed to bring their ‘A’ game. The Eagles came out with fight and tenacity and pressed hard as they battled up the slope, similar to William the Conqueror as he faced Harold in 1066. Unfortunately, the Epsom defensive line stood strong but finally St John’s scored.

1st XV The pre-season training started by empowering players to be involved in the planning and detail of play and a leadership group of mixed ages thrived taking the lead.

The players’ dream goal was to win the Champions Cup, supported by home fixture wins and these were to be achieved by focusing on smaller process goals. Strong pride based themes were introduced and player led in the area of expectations and standards.

Over the course of the season, the players had tremendous results in a very competitive fixture list with 15 played: seven won, seven lost and a draw and strong performances against the likes of Wimbledon, Tonbridge, Trinity, Leeds Grammar and KCS Wimbledon.

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A highlight of the season had to be hosting Dulwich in the Champions Cup semi-final, in front of the entire senior school, which included a temporary stand and live streamed video coverage, and was a fantastic show of St John’s Rugby even with the loss.

Four of the First XV players represented the school for Harlequins U18 side – Jordan Bond, Thomas Davison, Jack Potter and Captain, Jack Musk, who also earned a full contract with Harlequins Premiership side.

Flanker Raef Murphy was selected into the Irish Exiles U18 squad, while Jonny Lack and Charlie Hellier will represent Surrey U18.

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Luke Reed made an excellent line and grounded the ball and in the final few minutes of the game, the score was deadlocked 14-14. St John’s were dominating territory and possession throughout the second half and had numerous scrums and free-kicks, but it looked as though the score would remain even. In the final play, with a penalty advantage to St John’s, Austin Bell exclaimed “we will take the penalty please ref”. Lukas Bednall stepped up and kicked through the posts on the final whistle. St John’s won 17-14 over Epsom College a tremendous game and season.

U14A The U14A side had a very positive and successful first season. Despite not having played together before they bonded quickly and a strong opening victory against Wimbledon College showed the team’s talent. The next game against Cranleigh was challenging but the team remained in contention, scored in the final play and secured a draw.

U13B The U13Bs got off to a flyer at the start of the season, winning three of their opening four games and putting in some very strong performances along the way.

Victories against Dunottar, City of London Freeman’s and Claremont Fan Court allowed the St John’s boys to gain much needed momentum.

As the season progressed, the team spirit was higher than ever and the enthusiasm shown throughout the squad was fantastic. A combination of pace on the wings, provided by Venmore and Norris, and powerful ball carrying from Mullen and Sumpter created the perfect recipe. Special mention must also go to Brown, Chan, Clogston, Daniells, Illsley, Phillips, Shelley, Evans and Macateer, all of whom played their part in a fantastic all round season. I look forward to seeing their progress next year in the U14s.

The side went into the mid-season break undefeated but KCS proved to be the toughest side of the season. After a close game, St John’s unfortunately lost to a last minute try but it was a positive experience as the team was tested at a much higher level.

After that defeat, the side came back strong and beat Seaford College 43-0 before ending the season with a 38-10 victory against Epsom. It was a pleasing season for the U14A side, winning all but one of their games.

They have the potential to have a strong rugby future at St John’s and I hope that they can build on this season’s success in the coming years.

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1st VII Katie Littlewood

NETBALL sea so n r e port s Director of Netball: Mrs K Walsh-Jones

The 1st VII once again were undefeated in their season netball fixtures. This is a great achievement and means that some players have gone three years unbeaten.

During this season, the team delivered some outstanding performances with a particular highlight being the 5026 win against current Surrey County champions, St George’s College. The team also convincingly beat local rivals Epsom 44-18 and recorded an excellent away win at Wellington College. Another significant success was the pre-season tournament at Hurstpierpoint, with great wins against Eastbourne, Brighton College, Cranleigh, Seaford and Reigate Grammar.

Our defensive duo of Grace Sullivan and Ellie Grove were extremely impressive throughout the season as they used their height and speed to their advantage, gaining lots of possession through remarkable interceptions. In the centre court, our quartet of players, Pippa Hansford, Molly Saunders, Ruby Breakspear and Izzy Hammersley were rotated to great effect to make sure we transitioned the ball effectively through court.

Netball is the main sport for girls during the Spring Term but also acts as preparation for the A team squads in the National Schools Tournament and county preliminary rounds. The club operates six senior teams, two U16 sides, ten junior teams and eight Lower School teams. The netball club has 26 teams competing for the School in any given week, which is outstanding for a school of our size.

The club ran a number of trips in the Autumn Term; the U12 pupils travelled to Shropshire on the JCA tour and the U19A and U16A competed in Loughborough and York. The senior tour took place in November and the team made the most of the opportunity to pit themselves against the Northumbria U19 NPL side and the 2018 U19 National School Champions, Queen Ethelburga’s College.

Each team trains three times a week and participates in fixtures against other schools in Surrey, Central London, Hertfordshire, Sussex, Kent and Berkshire. This year the St John’s U19A VII and U13A VII sides competed in the county finals which is an excellent achievement.

We are looking forward to some exciting events coming up in summer 2018. Members of the club will be attending a Surrey Storm Superleague match and the Storm players will be also be coaching Lower School netballers.

Across the age groups, St John’s girls represent their county, club and also the Surrey Storm NPL sides. We currently have three Surrey Storm NPL players at the school including one Premier League level player, three players at Regional Level and five part of the Surrey County set-up. Over 30 girls regularly compete at Club Level outside School.

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Our attacking side consisted of Ellie Mills and Katie Littlewood who combined superbly in the circle to score a high percentage of goals. Unfortunately Kirstin Hume, who has been a key member of the squad over the years, missed most of the season due to injuries.

In the National Schools’ Qualifiers in November, we got dealt a tough pool and narrowly lost to Coloma in a critical match. Once again in the Surrey finals, we drew Coloma in our group and a repeat of losing by just one point prevented us from reaching the semi-finals.

On behalf of the team, I’d like to thank Mrs Walsh-Jones for being a really inspiring coach these last three years; it is with her guidance and support that we have achieved the things we have during our time at St John’s. It has been an honour being captain and I will deeply miss representing the School.

I am very fortunate to be supported by a committed and highly talented group of coaches, including coaches who train at Superleague and Premier League level. All players have the opportunity to represent the School in competitive fixtures at junior and senior level and we are proud of our ability to cater for both elite athletes and all other participants.

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2nd VII Connie Chapman At the beginning of the season we had a fresh new 2nd VII who were yet to get used to playing together. In our opening match against Epsom, the girls showed potential but were unable to secure the win. This gave us determination for the rest of the season, which saw only one further loss against Brighton.

Our stand out match came in the final domestic fixture of the season and was a clear example of the improvements that had been made. St John’s came from being six goals down at half time to drawing the match in the final seconds. The teamwork and spirit to achieve this result was phenomenal and the team drew much of their energy from Captain Macy McCutcheon. Macy was our most improved player this season and has been instrumental with her speed through the mid-court and her feeds into the circle.

Our final test came in the U18B Country Finals in which the girls fought hard in many games, with only a single goal separating winners and losers on a number of occasions. The girls can be proud of having come second in their pool at this event.

Every player in the squad deserves praise for their efforts and achievements this season, from our dependable GS Ellie Chalk, to our unceasingly determined GD Carolina Bond. However, our player of the season, as voted by the girls, was Sanne Senior, who has played at WA, C and WD this season, bringing energy and vision whenever she was on the court.

3rd VII Darcy Barnes Despite the number of match cancellations this year due to extreme weather, the netball season for the 3rd VII team was brilliant, with many prominent improvements made.

As a team who had never previously played together, we bonded quickly, with positions and tactics being forged early on. Our first match was at home against Epsom College, a strongly contested match which we were eager to win. However, after our narrow loss of 17-20, we were determined to claim a victory despite the hard set of fixtures ahead. Unfortunately, the incredible defensive skills and interceptions coming from Jem Clemett (WD), Anya Cooper (GD) and Georgie Smith (GK) were not quite enough to secure a win until slightly later in the season and, even though the score sheet may not have always gone our way, each member of the team was intent on securing victory by the season’s end.

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Eventually, our patience paid off as we dominated against Reigate Grammar in a 29-7 victory. A definite highlight of this match was Hollie Ford’s debut as GS, alongside consistently great mid-court play between Zanna McMahon and Rhianna Hyde. It was rewarding to leave the court with such a significant victory, in what would be the last match we would all play together for St John’s.

4th VII Claudia Densham This has been a challenging season for the 4th VII team; however, the girls’ unfailing positivity and genuine enjoyment of netball shone through in both matches and training. Whilst we experienced a loss against Epsom’s 4th team, we then went on to face their 5th team. This was a hugely competitive game and with our fitness and determination, the end score was 8-8. On a very rainy day we faced Bradfield College, a highly skilled team.

Issy Cooper was strong in defence along with Sophie Mosselmans fighting at centre but we were unable to gain frequent possession, ending the game 6-22. Our final game was against the very strong Brighton College, and despite our best effort and smiles, we lost 2-32. Our most valuable player this year goes to Freya Scarry, who has not only played extremely well, but has motivated the team throughout the season!

U16A VII Kate Symes-Thompson The U16As have had an excellent season, winning five out of seven matches and demonstrating enormous improvement from Fourth Form where we won only two matches. We have exceeded expectations as a team and individually we have all excelled while developing skills and teamwork. This was highlighted in our first match against Epsom College, where we won 30-22. This determination and team cooperation continued to our last match against Latymer Upper School, where we won 52-8. It has been the most enjoyable season, despite the injuries and match cancellations along the way. We all look forward to future seasons representing St John’s School.

U16B VII Rebecca Davidson The U16Bs were already extremely strong, starting the season as an unbeaten team. This season was similarly successful considering the big step up to senior level and the unfortunate loss of a key member of the team very

early on. The highlight was winning against St George’s 40-8 in treacherous conditions. The team worked well together using attacking plays from the centre passes and the back line passes, keeping possession for the majority of the match and making excellent passes into the circle.

Team training sessions were fun and full of energy with lots of fitness! The entire team kept me motivated and it was a pleasure to coach them. I wish them every success next year. Special mention goes to the MVP of the season, Jemima Good.

U15A VII Clare Greenwood

thanks to her excellent shooting and well-timed movement in the shooting circle. Both Tishy and Emilia Hay worked strongly together in attack throughout the season.

Josie Keey and Sophie Rose Russell also played consistently well throughout the season, maintaining a strong hold over the centre court. With solid defence from Georgie Philpott, Lara Quickfall and Georgia Kennefick, it is clear to see why there were only two losses throughout the season. The team had a successful, fun season which culminated in a huge victory against Latymer Upper School at 32-9.

U15C VII Sophie Westerby-Jones

We had a strong start to the season and the team constantly worked hard in training to improve results for our weekend fixtures. The effort put in was outstanding and we became physically and mentally stronger than many other teams that we faced. Moreover, having Miss Greenwood as a coach really helped us to improve and pushed us to win, even in extremely tough matches. A highlight of the season was our match against Bradfield.

Our scores were almost level until the third quarter where we had made a few careless errors and suffered the consequence of being seven goals down; in the last quarter St John’s turned things around and played amazing netball, with impenetrable work in defence and uncountable interceptions throughout the court, with every player stepping up to play their best netball and showing resilience, which led to a very close result of 25-26 to Bradfield. This resilience under pressure came to typify our game and mindsets and we had several close matches throughout the season with a nail-biting draw against St George’s and a win against Brighton College. After half term we were unbeatable, playing fluid and skilful netball.

The team should be very proud of all their hard work and achievements this season, resulting in us winning over half of our fixtures and, more importantly, building strong foundations for moving into the senior set up.

U15B VII Siobhan Alderson This was the second season that the team have played together, following a very successful season last year as the 14Bs. The girls had a strong start to this season with a convincing win against Epsom College. We went on to win four more fixtures out of a total of seven games played due to cancellations as a result of bad weather. All players listened to coaching advice and there were outstanding individual performances throughout the games. Tishy Rao was awarded player of the match in a number of games

The 15Cs had a successful season with five wins and two losses. This included convincing wins against Churcher’s and Epsom. The losses were to Bradfield and a nail-biting 13-12 defeat to Reigate. The squad consisted of Rose, India, Alice, Emma, Cecily, Olivia, Molly B, Molly W and Poppy was Captain. The girls were a pleasure to coach, training was lots of fun and every girl made great progress throughout the term. Rose, despite being the nicest girl you’d ever meet, displayed impressive sass as goal keeper.

India rose up from the E team but played so consistently well that no one would have ever known. Alice displayed great pace as wing defence and could always be counted upon to keep going despite her reluctance to remove her jumper. Emma, as shown by her MVP award, was consistently excellent and worked tirelessly in training and matches. Cecily had to balance netball with external hockey commitments but, when she played, she was a powerhouse of energy in the centre court. Olivia was not always available to play but when she did, she played with great enthusiasm and willingly played a range of positions.

Molly B was new to St John’s in Lower Fifth but her netball talent stood out from the first session and she was an excellent acquisition for the 15Cs. Molly W rarely came to training as she was so busy with her other sporting commitments but every Saturday she would arrive, score some outstanding goals, run around the court and more often than not, walk off with player of the match. Poppy has been fantastic in the semi-circle and as the team captain. As a captain, I knew I could rely on her and she did a great job organising the team and making sure that everyone was in the right place at the right time. She also led by example on the court and was a great ambassador for the School when taking the lead in meeting opponents.

I had great fun coaching the 15Cs but the highlight of the season had to be the game against St George’s. At the end of the third quarter, we were winning 28-5. In the break St George’s coach asked that we swap positions to make the game more competitive for his team. I was reluctant

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to do this but he insisted his girls would be happier if we did. My girls were delighted as we frequently swapped positions in training and also spent a lot of time playing shooting games so the non-shooters wanted to have a go.

Emma, Cecily and India all had a go at shooting and they scored some outstanding goals. The game finished 34-7 and the fans really enjoyed seeing the girls play with such delight.

U15D VII Tanya Bateson The U15Ds were consistent and always played to their best. They started strong and won 31-5 against Epsom.

However, the second match against Bradfield College was the toughest of the season and both teams played exceptionally well which resulted in a draw. The U15Ds won every match after that to achieve an undefeated season. Aurelia Loth was the MVP with some outstanding shooting throughout the season and Lottie Douglas remained a strong centre throughout. Zoe Noussis was our most improved player and moved from defence positions to shooting once Poppy Parfitt was injured. Bella Oakley was also a strong player and all the girls have been enjoyable to coach!

U15E VII

from home in the first match. This was of course an enormous success for the girls and fuelled the motivation to win another. The team then went on a winning streak, beating every school they came up against, including Bradfield College, Churcher’s College and Reigate Grammar by impressive margins.

The team seemed unbeatable but a disappointing match against Wellington College soon broke the streak. It was a frustrating game for the girls, unable to keep possession and unfortunately losing 27-21. Despite the loss, the girls kept their heads held high and looked forward to getting back on top form the following Saturday. The team worked very hard in training that week, before facing Latymer Upper away from home. The girls used all their frustration from the Wellington match to guarantee a win. It was a strong performance, their play becoming better and better, and the score difference growing larger and larger as the match went on. To the delight of the team, the girls went home with a well-deserved 36-16 victory. This was another great highlight for the team, and was a fantastic match to wrap up the season.

Overall, it has been a brilliant first season for the U14A netball team, with each girl developing as an individual player, as well as the team as a whole. The amount of effort put into each match was excellent to see, as was the enjoyment in their play. The girls should feel very proud of their achievements and I know we are all thoroughly looking forward to the netball season next year.

Tom Parry The U15Es had a strong start to the season, performing well against Epsom, Bradfield and Brighton. Whilst the results were not always in our favour, the girls still performed very well and have demonstrated a noticeable improvement as the season progressed. There were many contributors throughout the season, all of whom brought something different to the versatile team! During training they brought positivity and were very enjoyable to coach.

MVP was Charlotte Winslet for her work in Centre.

U14A VII Lise Parker It was an impressive first season at St John’s for the U14A netball team. The girls went from strength to strength, improving each week as they became more familiar with each other’s play. Our first game was an extremely important grudge match facing Epsom College, a side we knew would be strong. The girls came out fighting and in it to win it. It was a very fast and competitive match, neither side wanting to be the one to lose. St John’s came out on top, in a huge 37-20 win. This was one of the highlights of the season, beating our biggest rivals away

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U14B Jasmine Lane The U14B team have worked hard this season and pulled together as a team. There have been tough losses, but the girls have given it their all every single match and never lost motivation. A particular strength of the team has been giving encouragement to one another, which has really made a difference on match day. A particular highlight was our win against Churcher’s College 19-10. This convincing defeat was down to great teamwork, with the girls moving the ball smoothly down the court to the attacking end when in possession and some lovely defence and shooting.

Another highlight was drawing against St George’s College.

For the first three quarters the girls were trailing behind but, with some great improvements in tactics, St John’s managed to pull back in the last quarter, scoring the drawing goal in the last minute of the match to finish 1313. The input of every player has made a difference this season, but special mention must go to the MVP, Anouska White, who has worked tirelessly as an invaluable GD for the team. Her positive ‘can do’ attitude has been infectious in training and matches and was much appreciated by the team. Well done to all the girls for their efforts this season.

U14C VII Karen Young It was a pleasure to work with the U14C team this season even though the results went against us. We always put up a good fight and the girls playing their best and working hard right until the end of every game. They worked well as a team and managed to put together a brilliant performance to beat Latymer Upper School away in the last game of the season.

What was really pleasing to see was the team cohesion and how they never gave up in the face of adversity. A special mention goes to Izzy Kuhle for achieving MVP of the season due to her positive approach to every game she played for us. I wish the girls good luck for next season and may they continue to enjoy the game of netball, to be played with determination and enthusiasm.

U14D VII Nikki Dewhurst At the start of the season the U14D team worked hard in training to practice drills and match play to bring the team together. After an initial loss against Epsom, the team grew stronger, culminating in a win against St George’s College.

The positive spirit and enjoyment of the game made this an enjoyable season. Our MVP was captain, Faith Ruoff who showed great determination as Centre to drive the ball forward. Other players who brought a consistent positive energy to each session were Susannah Klein and Emma Hull. Ella Horvat is to be commended for her goal shooting.

U13A VII Olivia Newby This year the U13A team has experienced both victories and losses, and from start to finish, the team has shown dedication. Not only do we work to the best of our abilities, we work as a team and have a family-like bond.

We had so many achievements as a team, including

making it to the county finals – a great achievement.

Another excellent achievement was beating rivals St George’s in the counties. This year the U13A team have had an outstanding coach in Miss Swift who has helped and given us courage when we needed it.

U13B VII Sue Cornish From the very beginning of the season, the U13Bs were full of smiles and enthusiasm, working as a team and supporting each other during every match. With two cancelled matches due to the bad weather, they had a great season, winning six, drawing one and losing four. MVP for the team was Sophie Clemett who was solid in defence.

U13C VII George Tunnacliffe The girls had a great season with many promising performances, ending with a record of played ten, won five, lost five. Losing our first game to Tormead was a tough start to the season but led to a four match winning streak. The girls finished the season with our best performance against Tiffin, with the dream duo of Victoria Tyshchenko and Jaimee Burrage having an unbelievable day helping the team win by 18 goals!

Asantewaa Ntiamoah caused chaos in defence all season, with many opposition coaches commenting on how well she read the games. Llinos Davies and Maddie Foster were crucial to our link play in midfield and without them our shooters would not have had as many opportunities.

The side was expertly led by the trio of Amica Van Strien, Grace Levasier and Amy Brunton. What was most pleasing about this team is how well they worked together and played in a positive manner, it was an absolute pleasure to coach them. A final mention must go to Grace Levasier, MVP for the season, for her brilliant interception play – well done, Grace!

U12A VII Hannah Rowell The season was full of ups and downs but we are really happy that it was many more ups than downs! We had several highlights, the first being pre-season training in January, where the team was formed and Miss Rowell was introduced. The team have become friends both on and off the court and we have worked hard to form a whole-team bond and positive mindsets on court. We have had some really well fought games – winning by one goal against Royal Russell, two against Reigate Grammar and three against Tormead.

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Beating Reigate Grammar was a particularly great moment for the team, we went out there wanting to prove that we could beat them and we played with true determination throughout. Our real turning point of the season however, was when we beat St Teresa’s as we had lost a few games in a row, and we put real effort into trusting the process and preparing. The team brought music and sweets and we had a fun and fast warm-up before playing a fantastic game.

The season finished with a win against Tiffin School, which for Miss Rowell was the season highlight. All the girls played with a smile, we had a fun quarter where we played versatility and in the last quarter we pulled away to win by our biggest margin of the season. We are so proud of how much the team has improved this season and are already looking forward to playing next season!

U12B VII Craig Newby The U12B team has shown fantastic growth throughout the season after starting on the first day as new St John’s girls and a new to netball coach, Mr Newby. All the players had plenty of energy, and openness to learn.

Developing a player input culture was paramount, with all the girls encouraged to lead in areas of both comfort and discomfort instead of having a set captain. This established a level playing field and a group of girls that worked their socks off for each other throughout the season. Highlights included injured players still coaching and supporting, strong friendships developing and amazing progress. All the girls made such dramatic improvements that to single one or two out would be unfair, but from a player vote,

Darcie Slatter was named MVP. Thanks to all the girls, parents and opposition for such a wonderfully positive start to their St John’s Netball journey.

U12C VII Phoebe Sharman This season was amazing with fun training and great matches against other schools. Playing at St John’s has been exciting and a really good experience. I’m looking forward to the next netball season. I have played for the U12C team, and it has been so fun playing netball with the team. It was really good when we played matches against other schools because we worked so hard to get the ball across the court and score goals.

Training was really fun because we did lots of different netball exercises to help us get better. We also did fitness activities which were good for us. I have learnt how to play GD better than I could before because at my old school I played WD. I really enjoy playing GD as you get to work with GK when the opposition is attempting to score and I enjoy jumping to intercept the ball. I think I need to improve on holding my place when GK is doing a backline pass.

I have enjoyed playing with the team as, even if we lost a match we wouldn’t be upset, we would think about what we did well and what we need to improve. I think the team has done really well on intercepting the ball but I think we need to improve on passing into space.

Playing for St John’s U12C has been really fun, the team has done really well and we have definitely improved throughout the season.

SHOOTING TEA M R EV IEW

This year has seen some changes and a few new faces for the shooting team, but we have adapted and have continued to improve, making this year one of the most successful in recent years.

points and a respectable 7th place finish. This however was only the warm-up.

At the start of the year, we said goodbye to the No. 8 cadet rifles as the new No. 9 cadet rifles were introduced for the small-bore season. The No.8s were used for the last time in our match against RGS Guildford; both sides posted personal bests and a total of three perfect scores were recorded across the board, with numerous other shooters only dropping a few points. It was a fitting send off for such a venerable rifle.

The second competition of the season was the Surrey Schools’ Shoot. Despite a number of great scores, such as George Moore with 65.07 and Captain Cameron McKenzie with 67.04, equipment failure meant that the main team only scored 456.25 points. George and Josh Karmel stayed focused and had a series of excellent shoots to win the Hawkins Cup in the pair competition. This is a fantastic achievement, especially considering that the pair are still relatively new to the full-bore scene and will only improve as they gain more experience.

After an adjustment period with the new and unfamiliar No. 9s, St. John’s were soon back to top form and ready for the Country Life competition. The team did exceptionally well, coming second in the first round of the competition but unfortunately didn’t quite make it to the top spot in the final round. I am sure that the team will look to do better for the next season.

All of this means that the team is confident moving into the final, and the most important, competition of the season: The Ashburton Schools’ Meeting. The high standard of shooting displayed so far has already meant that this year has been more successful than previous years and the Ashburton shoot is the opportunity for the team to win some even bigger prizes and finish the season in style.

Moving into the full-bore season, several new faces joined us and most of them had never fired the 7.62 cadet rifles before. Many had been with us for the small-bore season and were excited to try out with the bigger rifles.

The first competition of the season was the Clayton Cup and it was a strong start for the St John’s team. The top scorer of the competition was Vice-Captain Ben SomnerBogard with a score of 65.02 and most of the team were not far behind. This led to St John’s scoring a total of 458.22

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CRICKET sea so n r e port s

victory against the last of these (Jonny Pagett 136*) was potentially a school record win! The only blemish was coming up short against an Eastbourne team containing several first teamers. Skipper Wood led the side with the gloves and the bat, twice moving past 50 with able support provided by Rob Butler, Sam King, Matt Evans and Will Ferguson throughout the season. Sam Bennett led a tight bowling group in terms of wickets with Jonny Pagett, James Robinson, Luke Read and Blake Fildes as reliable as ever. All in all, a fantastic season, played in a great spirit throughout. Well done to all who have represented the 2nds this season!

Robbie Dennis and Freddie Simpson led the way with the ball, forming a good opening partnership which made it difficult for opposition teams to get off to a quick start.

James Searle had some good performances with the bat, narrowly missing out on a half century against Epsom when cementing together an impressive run chase. Highest score of the season went to Daniel Geddes who scored 83 to end the season against Caterham.

3rd XI

U14B

This was a season where early promise was not quite fulfilled. One match was cancelled because of weather and another because the opposition could not raise a team; three matches were won and the two lost matches could/ should have been won.

With Mr Gale’s catching drills fresh in the mind, the U14Bs entered the season in good spirits. After a tough start against impressive opposition, solid wins against Reigate Grammar, Eastbourne and Caterham meant that the season ended on a high and Mr Hammond remained employed for another year. A huge amount of progress was made throughout the season, and credit must go to all the boys for their commitment.

The first match was against a strong Reed’s team and, having been put in, sensible batting by Will Ferguson and Seb Carley ensured a reasonable total on a poor pitch. Rob Butler with two early wickets and Ben Geddes who took 5 for 20 ensured victory. Against Trinity, Lewis Moir and Ben Geddes bowled well to limit Trinity to 111. Owen Thomas and Martin Vogel batted well, but the luck did not go with us and we ended 7 runs short.

1st XI Mr Hammond had a new assistant coach this year in the form of Mr Turner, a partnership that proved fruitful as they guided the boys to a hugely successful season. A young side, led admirably by Ben Geddes, were able to win 8 out of their 13 matches played. Notable victories against Epsom, KCS Wimbledon and Whitgift were particularly satisfying. The season culminated with the boys winning the end of season festival shield against a strong Abingdon side. There were numerous highlights, including maiden 1st XI centuries for Trimming and Bond, another festival ton for Geddes, 5 wicket hauls and a hat-trick for Sanders and the emergence of some hugely talented U5th boys. Farnsworth, Mead, Tubman and Pagett acquitted themselves brilliantly and with those boys available for another two years, exciting times lay ahead.

Hunt, Simpson and Hanratty all bowled with great skill

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and guile whilst Matt Evans chipped in with some very significant partnerships in the latter part of the season.

Special mention must also go to Jack Potter, who picked up player of the tournament in the festival for his three half centuries in a row. Jack was at his destructive best that week and can take apart any bowling attack on his day.

My thanks must also go to the parents who came to watch every game without fail throughout the summer. Your support is greatly appreciated and I am looking forward to next summer already!

2nd XI The 2018 2nd XI were without doubt one of the strongest teams to have ever donned the green and white in the 2nd XI guise. The season opened with a draw against Reed’s before the team hit its stride with wins against KCS Wimbledon, Epsom, Trinity and Caterham. The 273 run

The match against Epsom was won comfortably with Epsom restricted to 110 and JJ Hayter taking three wickets, but a strong opening partnership between Dan Craig and Owen Thomas and some poor bowling from the opposition ensured a win with 10 overs to spare.

The two matches against KCS were very similar. We batted first in each and set competitive totals, with good batting from Ben Bound, Owen Thomas, Ethan Heard and Seb Carley. We bowled well to start with and in both matches they needed 100 off the last 10 overs. At this stage the bowling and fielding deteriorated and we lost in the last over in the first match and just managed to win by two runs in the second.

U14A Although the U14A team results were mixed, the side has made excellent improvements as the season has progressed. The team took a few games to find their feet as a squad, but victories against Caterham and Epsom in the Cup demonstrated the progression the side had made over the first half term. After half term, the team struggled to manage the close situations and disappointing losses against KCS and Eastbourne left the team knowing they could have won. The season ended with a pleasing victory against Caterham.

Overall, the side will know they have the potential to have a string of impressive results next season if they can build on the foundations they have laid this year.

U14C Taken at face value, it has been a difficult season for the U14C cricket team. However, scratch a little beneath the surface and there has, in fact, been much to celebrate.

Most of the U14Cs came into the season as cricketing novices. In our first fixture against Reed’s we suffered a number of run outs, which hampered us on a flat pitch.

However, since that first innings of the season, we did not lose any wickets to run outs for the rest of the year. It has been these progressions which have been so rewarding to observe in the U14Cs. With tough defeats against excellent cricketing schools such as Reed’s, Trinity and RGS Guildford, the U14Cs have faced a superb level of competition throughout the season. The season culminated in a home fixture against Eastbourne. Though we were not able to register a maiden victory on the final day of the season, every batsman from 1-8 scored a run (9, 10, and 11 did not bat) and we posted a season high score. This improvement demonstrates the hard work that has been made over the course of the term and I hope that the boys take this into their Lower Fifth year.

U15A The U15As have had a thoroughly enjoyable season of cricket which has seen numerous highs and lows. The boys have worked hard on their batting and Braiden Hall, Charlie Wolff, Wilf Morris and Joe Moss secured 50s (x2) TH E J O HNI A N M A GA Z I NE

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with several additional notable performances, such as Ethan Macallister’s winning runs in the quarter final cup match against Whitgift. The quality of bowling on display was, at times, particularly intimidating for our opponents, and Ben Stefanik must be congratulated on taking five wickets in an early game against Reed’s. Above all else, this season will be remembered for bringing a squad together and fostering a supportive and unified sense of team spirit.

The boys should all be proud of their efforts and I look forward to seeing them compete at the top levels in the near future.

U15B The 15Bs dramatically increased their win rate this year, from last season’s admittedly low baseline of zero. The victories over Epsom College and Caterham were well deserved and highlighted the significant improvements that were made across the course of the season. This was particularly evident with players such as Sami Zubaidi, who began the season by insisting that he bat at number 11, before progressing to opening the batting and finishing the season as the top scorer. An innings of 50 against KCS was a real highlight and he also became one of the best bowlers, taking 6-6 against Eastbourne; he was a deserving winner of the player of the season award. But this was a genuine team, with an excellent ethos and attitude shown throughout. Harry Young was a very steady opening batsman and wicket keeper, whilst Ben Webb played some very aggressive innings, effectively winning the match against Caterham. The bowling attack was well led by Matthew Shadrack, with Jonah Webster also providing some pace. The slower bowlers such as Tom Winchester performed excellently in several matches, with Olly Tredgett and Ben Potter also bringing good game management skills with them from the A team. Luca Bindi captained well for much of the season, before passing the mantle on to Olly Tredgett. Fielding remained an issue, with potentially winning positions squandered in at least two games. Overall, it was a pleasure to coach this team and they should be proud of the big improvement on last season’s results.

to rack up the runs to take the win. Charlie Collins and Mustafa El Barky both bowled well and Payne took three catches on top of his two wickets! The short season for U15C team ended away at KCS Wimbledon where, despite scoring well and starting the bowling well, St John’s slipped away and allowed KCS to take the game at the end. A very short season in all but one that was enjoyed by all and possibly a school first (?) in fielding an almost gender-balanced side against!

U13A The season for the U13A team has been mixed. Having played 11 games, the boys won just the single game. A convincing win vs Dunottar started the season very well and the next game vs St Thomas saw some good individual performances - George Perry hit 53 and Max Gray made a valuable contribution - but we were just beaten to the line. The rest of the season was one for reflection and development. The team saw close losses to Trinity and The Cedars, where the games could have gone the other way, but playing a top four team in the country - Cumnor House - was always going to be a tough affair. In the season’s last game vs Caterham the boys looked to really dig in and improve; they battled well and batted with heart and it was another very close match which could have gone either way. A season for reflection and building.

U13B The U13B squad has had a topsy-turvy journey this year.

Our aim from the outset was to learn, experience and be constantly challenged and the players did their best at every training session and game to achieve this. Winning was never mentioned, only improvement.

U15C

We had some fantastic games and performances over the season, from a nail-biting loss by one run to Dunottar and a close loss to St Thomas’s, to a worthy performance in the final game of the season away to Caterham defending 70, bowling them out for 29 in 8 overs. All 17 boys of our B squad got game time over the season, and we saw some outstanding individual performances, with 10 players scoring double figures and over 10 players getting their first wicket or run out.

The U15C team had a dramatic start to the season with a final ball win against Reed’s. Zak Winefield threw the ball from deep in the field and hit the stumps out with one run needed. Jack Sumpter scored 29 while Zak Winefield and Will Edmunds both took four wickets each.

The support from parents and players for the process and the enjoyment was so positive and made this season one full of improvement and character. Thanks to them for this support.

In the second game against Trinity, the team included five girls. Despite good scores from Will Payne and Amy Hume, St John’s ran out of experienced bowlers and limited experience in the home side’s attack allowed Trinity

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U12A The U12As have had a mixed season with some close losses and some big wins too. In swapping the captain round every week we have sought to give everyone an opportunity to lead the side with the intention of improving their cricketing knowledge as a result of this. Standout wins include a 6 run win against Caterham in a high scoring game and winning the derby game versus Epsom by 86 runs.

Special mentions go to Luke Patterson and Reiss Campbell for scoring 50s and Cameron Sim for being leading wicket taker of the season. The boys have a lot of potential and hopefully lots of them will be gracing the 1st XI in years to come.

U12B The U12Bs had a very encouraging first cricket season with three good wins against Dunottar, Epsom and Caterham and some tight other matches. The standard of the fielding was high and Henry Emerson particularly excelled at short mid-on. The bowling of the team improved steadily over the season and Ethan French, Jack Smosarski-Wright, Joseph Willis, Jake Loy and Rory Davidson all look fine bowling prospects for the future.

Batting was probably the weakest element of the game for the boys but, as players gained in confidence, there were some great shots played by the likes of Jake Loy, Luc Bird and Josh Tredwell. Playing pairs cricket most of the time meant that losing wickets was often crucial and it was great to see players like Ewan Collingbourne, Joseph Lee and Luc Martinez valuing their wickets and seeing off the opposition’s best bowlers.

The final match against Caterham was our finest hour with a superb partnership of 63 between Louis Jeffcott and Matthew Shilton finishing the season off in style with a six wicket win.

Credit should go to all 20 boys who represented the team during the course of the season. All the matches were played with a great level of sportsmanship and enthusiasm. My thanks also go to the parents who supported the boys throughout the season, particularly to the three dads who came and fielded in our Saturday practice match!

Girls’ Cricket 2018 The summer of 2018 may be remembered for football coming home, however for St John’s cricket, it will be the summer that girls’ cricket in the Lower School truly took off.

Though many of the girls had played cricket before, the majority of them came into the Summer Term as cricketing novices. Weekly cricket sessions, open to all Lower School girls, has allowed their cricketing abilities to soar, in no small part due to the boundless energy and enthusiasm that the girls have demonstrated for the sport.

The season began with fixtures for the U12A and U13A teams versus Dunottar in April and concluded at Epsom College in July with fixtures not only for our A teams, but for our U12Bs and U13Bs too. The U12As notched up impressive victories against Dunottar and Sutton Valence.

Their enthusiasm has been infectious throughout the term and the two victories have been just reward for their energy. Meanwhile, the U13As picked up a maiden victory away at Epsom, having previously come close in the previous fixture against Sutton Valence.

Fielding four sides on the last day of the season was a testament to the effect that cricket has had on the Lower School this year, and as these girls move up through the school, girls’ cricket will only grow at St John’s.

While the results have been encouraging, the girls’ cricket programme is focused less on winning individual fixtures and more on instilling the girls with a love of the sport. With that in mind, this has been a monumentally successful season for Lower School girls’ cricket.

TH E J O HNI A N M A GA Z I NE

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CRICKET R E S U LT S

1st XI

2nd XI 3rd XI

U15A

U15B

U15C

U14A

U14B

U14C

U12A

U12B

U13A

U13B

U12 Girls

U13 Girls

Reeds

Lost

Draw

Lost

Lost

Won

Lost

Lost

Lost

Dunottar

Won

Won

Won

Lost

Won

Lost

XL Forty Club

Won

Reigate

DNP

DNP

DNP

DNP

DNP

DNP

St Paul’s

DNP

Trinity

Lost

Lost

Lost

Lost

MCC

Draw

St George’s

Lost

Lost

DNP

Lost

Trinity Croydon

Lost

Won

Lost

Lost

Lost

Lost

Lost

Lost

Lost

Epsom

Won

Won

Lost

Lost

Reigate

N/R

N/R

Lost

N/R

N/R

DNP

N/R

Won

DNP

St Paul’s

DNP

DNP

Lost

Lost

Epsom

Won

Won

Won

Lost

Won

DNP

Won

Lost

Lost

Cedars

Won

DNP

Lost

DNP

KCS Wimbledon

Won

Won

Won

Won

Lost

Lost

Lost

Lost

Lost

Caterham

Won

Won

Lost

Won

Lost

Won

Eastbourne

Lost

Lost

DNP

Lost

Lost

DNP

Lost

Won

Lost

Kingston Grammar Lost

Lost

Caterham

Won

Won

Won

Won

Won

DNP

Won

Won

Lost

Sutton Valence Won

Lost

Brentwood

Won

Abingdon

Won

Cheadle Hulme

Won

DNP

Won

DNP

DNP

DNP

DNP

DNP

DNP

DNP

Hinchley Wood Won Whitgift

Won

Won

Played

13

7

6

9

7

3

7

7

6

TOTAL

65

Played

6

5

6

6

TOTAL

23

Won

8

4

4

4

2

1

2

3

0

TOTAL

28

Won

4

3

1

1

TOTAL

9

Lost

3

1

2

4

4

2

4

4

6

TOTAL

30

Lost

2

2

5

5

TOTAL

14

Tie

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

TOTAL

0

Tie

0

0

0

0

TOTAL

0

Draw

1

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

TOTAL

2

Draw

0

0

0

0

TOTAL

0

N/R

1

1

0

1

1

0

1

0

0

TOTAL

5

N/R

0

0

0

0

TOTAL

0

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TH E J O HNI A N M A GA Z I NE

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ATHLETICS h ighl i g h ts The 2018 athletics season has seen tremendous success in many aspects both on and off the track.

The junior age groups have made a positive impact in their first season together as an athletics squad, many of whom were competing in events they had never done before. In a very small amount of time, they gelled as a team and found each other’s strengths and weaknesses, which they used in fantastic fashion. The first record of the year was Isabelle Benson’s discus record with a throw of 18.34m, the second was Caroline Webb’s 1500m record of 5 min 35 sec. It was also amazing to see some Lower School athletes step up to the mark for this team with three Upper Third girls in particular, Poppy McCutcheon, Claudia Phelan and Molly Wolff, all competing so enthusiastically (and voluntarily) a year ahead of themselves. In fact they competed so well that they almost qualified for the Surrey Championship Finals for the year above and Molly Wolff even ended the year with a school record in the triple jump for the age group above. The junior boys also proved a formidable team, particularly in victories against the likes of strong rivals Epsom and Cranleigh, with leading performers including Henry Boyle, Josh Shaw and Luke Genco taking the reins of the team.

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The intermediate age groups repeated their incredible successes from last year. The intermediate boys became the first St John’s age group to successfully defend their Surrey District title, something not achieved in the history of the club. A very well established group sees so many of the boys backing each other in their events, their support for one another is one of their main strengths. Michael Anderson has continued his jumping form from last year, with another school record in the triple jump of 13.12m and Jack Goodman, Braiden Hall and Pat Boothby have become District Champions. The girls, despite being fewer in numbers than the boys, have achieved equal success.

Finishing 3rd in the Districts, their highest place ever, the intermediate girls have seen one district champion in Charlotte Winslet (equalling the school record in the process), and two further records broken. Team Captain Phoebe McCutcheon has led by example in breaking the girls’ triple record with a leap of 9.87m, and has provided a solid presence in the girls’ team both in track and field competitions. India Howard claimed the 1500m record very early on in the season with a run of 5 min 54 sec.

Other stand out performers include Lara Quickfall, SophieRose Russell, Georgie Philpott, Eliana Boateng and Lana Finnegan.

pupils year and a willingness to step up to events that they have never done before in the pursuit of team points. There is no better example of this than the likes of Charlie Hellier and Jonny Lack competing in the 2000m steeplechase and Arthur Lewis tackling the senior boys’ hurdles (no small feat) in our campaign against Tonbridge School – disciplines none of them had even come close to before.

The family of the athletics team has grown this year, a fact highlighted quite literally by three Whites being the first three brothers to compete for the same St John’s team.

James (Sixth Form), Michael (Fifth Form) and Tom (Fourth Form) have managed to cover such a range of events from shotput, to hurdles, to high jump, to discus, all in the same family.

The main event for most of the athletics club was the Surrey School Championships. Thirty-seven of our athletes qualified for this and of the 22 athletes who made the final (or top 8s) in their competition, six came away with medals.

Luke French threw 10.71m in the intermediate boys’ shotput, and Josh Shaw set a PB of 39.25 in the 300m, with both claiming silver medals. Emily Roe in the senior girls’ 800m, Megan Wrigglesworth in the senior girls’ 100m, and Charlie Townend in the senior boys’ shotput all achieved 2nd places and walked away with well-deserved silver medals. Henry Boyle claimed the junior boys’ 80m hurdles title in 11.87 - a time which not only sets a new school record but also makes him eligible for qualification to the English Schools Athletics Championships in mid-July.

Outside of the regular school fixtures, Henry Boyle and Lara Quickfall demonstrated their all-round prowess in the Surrey School Multi-Event Championships. Lara, competing a year ahead, finished in 5th place, with Henry winning the junior boys’ title. His score placed him top 10 in the country and qualified him for the English Schools’ Championships in the holidays.

The seniors this year were ably led by captains Tom Lambert and Ellie Grove. Consistently being the supportive and passionate face of athletics they helped lead not only the Sixth Form but the lower years as well. The largest number of school records this year came from the senior girls, with Ellie Grove breaking her own 200m record with 24.6, Lucie Bishop setting the 400m hurdles record in 74.58 and Alexa Eichelmann breaking her own pole vault record with a massive leap of 3.62m. Outside school fixtures Ellie and Alexa have continued their successes with County Championship titles to their name and qualifications to the South of England Championships. An excellent spirit has developed throughout the Sixth Form TH E J O HNI A N M A GA Z I NE

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SAILING sea son r e port s

Sailing has grown at St John’s and there are now 12 pupils taking their qualifications. The sailing club widened its breadth of activity over the last year and on days with less wind the pupils SUP (stand up paddle boarding), windsurf and kayak.

The beginners’ crafts are Laser Picos with pupils progressing to an RS Feva – a common choice for schools’ racing. A third second-hand Feva was acquired in the spring and Mr Mooney was busy getting the new addition to the fleet sea-worthy. The sails and rigging on all the vessels have been replaced and three new masts have been installed ready for summer. The three remaining Picos were put on a triple-stack-road trailer to make the sailing club more transportable and we hope to re-join Emsworth Sailing Club, Hants and take part in race training and competitions, providing pupils with the opportunity to sail on open water and learn to navigate tides, winds and currents. The sailing club is for all pupils in all year groups and we are always looking for new people to start sailing, regardless of sailing experience.

The year started with a cross channel expedition to the Channel Islands after a group of Upper School pupils decided they wanted more of a challenge (see account below). Several pupils continue to sail with the Rona Sailing Project and Martha Hansford has started her Watch Leader training, with several trips on the Donald Searle and Merilyn and a place in the Small Ships Race from Cowes.

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Sail Training Expedition 2017 Passage Portsmouth – Cowes – Weymouth – Alderney – Guernsey – Jersey – Cherbourg – Portsmouth The St John’s Sail Training Crew: Jack Perry, Millie Bowles, Charlie Joyce, Patrick Gilbertson, Izzy Mogridge, Martha and Pippa Hansford, Ella Cawthra, Ellie del la Vera.

After a quick kit check we set off to Portsmouth to join Challenger 4, a 72’ yacht. With our kit stowed, the induction took place and the skipper announced that he wanted to do a short crossing to Cowes for the evening and the plan was to leave on the morning tide to Weymouth.

We rose early to leave Cowes and before long were moving past the Needles Lighthouse where we spotted dolphins. The wind was reasonable and this gave the opportunity to get used to the yacht’s rigging and sails.

With the crew divided between two watches, Port and Starboard, the schedule was set for the week and Watch Leader was allocated. It was agreed that five pupils would be going through their RYA Competent Crew qualification and the remaining crew would be taking on more of the challenges of becoming a watch leader.

We arrived late afternoon after an easy following wind along the south coast. With the yacht put to bed, we looked for a place to swim and relax so we made for Weymouth beach, returning to the yacht for the evening meal. The skipper agreed that the competence of the crew was sufficient to make for the Channel Islands. The wind had shifted to the northeast and was ideal to head

south. We crossed the busiest shipping lane in the world and arrived in Alderney by afternoon. We anchored and headed ashore to swim off the beach and visit the one ‘shop’. Alderney is a quiet back water of the Channel Islands where the pace of life is almost at a standstill.

The next morning was the last leg of our journey to Portsmouth. The French coastline gradually disappeared as we sailed north, crossing the shipping channel again and by mid-afternoon the Isle of Wight was within sight.

Leaving Alderney after breakfast the following day, we headed to Guernsey through Sark and as the winds were light we motor-sailed. It didn’t take long to get there and with some free time the pupils walked around the town of St Peter Port and swam off the beach nearby, with icecreams all round before heading back to the yacht.

We departed for St Helier, Jersey the next morning. The winds were light once again so we motor-sailed south to the furthest of the Channel Islands. There were lots of questions about passports and currency and where exactly Jersey was! The sail was easy and it allowed the pupils to take some time out, relaxing on the deck listening to music and touching up their tans.

On approach to Portsmouth the crew was tired but the mood was buoyant. There was a real sense that we had achieved so much in one week sailing on this worldclass racing yacht. Although the weather conditions were light and we didn’t see how impressive this type of yacht can be, it was a wonderful chance to see how quickly the pupils adapted to their watches, cooked for the whole boat, made tea and cleaned without a complaint.

We arrived at St Helier in late afternoon – it is a beautiful city, buzzing with activity. The marina was filled with yachts from all over Europe and the streets were lined with hanging baskets giving the port a European feel. The pupils headed, you guessed it, to the beach and had a swim.

Above all else the pupils will have learnt how to work together as a close unit and I hope will look back on this sail training expedition with fond memories. Total nautical miles completed 428Nm which is quite an achievement in the conditions. My thanks to the St John’s pupils that made this trip so worthwhile.

Mr A Mooney MIC Sailing

Shock hit that evening when the skipper announced that to get north before the tide turned, we had to get past a race at Alderney which meant a 3.30am departure! After an enjoyable evening meal, the pupils had an early night.

At 3.30am we were on deck, readying the sails to leave without complaint, and slipped out of harbour with the first fishing vessels, watching the sun rise as we travelled north. One watch returned to their bunks for more shut-eye before they had to be on deck.

Winds were light again and we made Cherbourg, France by mid-afternoon with a chance to spend some euros on presents and try out the local pain au chocolat. It was Mike’s (watch officer) birthday and as a surprise the pupils bought two cakes to celebrate the event; he was very touched by their thoughtfulness. After a relaxing afternoon and an excellent supper, we settled down for the night.

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This year the tennis club saw a few changes to the regular fixture list, with more block fixtures across the board. Thanks to the help of our external coaches, the clubs saw wins vs Epsom and Freeman’s. The U15 teams, both boys and girls, had strong performances also beating Cranleigh and putting in good efforts against a tough Bradfield side.

In the Rootham Shield, the boys U18 side progressed through to the quarter finals after beating George Abbot and Grey Court School. The boys and girls U13 LTA teams won both of their respective groups and will progress to the regional finals day next term - a fantastic achievement for these young eagles.

Key highlights of the season include the internal singles tournament - which was won by Louise Orr (Senior Girls), Nico Orr (Senior Boys), Alex O’Brien (Junior Boys) and Yasmine Ozredici (Junior Girls).

To finish off the season, the inaugural mixed doubles tournament showcased the high standard of tennis on offer at St. John’s. With some impressive performances, the winners were Nico and Louise Orr, with runners up, Axel and Alexa Eichelmann. Well done to all on a fantastic season.

We took to the London Aquatic Centre again for the Bath Cup – one of the most historic and famous school championships in Great Britain. Although the boys returned to successfully defend both the Dunelm and Aldenham cups, their drive to improve meant that something else had to go, so they went ahead and broke the records this time. Bruce McCormick, Ben Simpson, Tom Stansfield, Ed Reed and Josh Shaw deserved to stand on that top podium.

The Eagles chased their prey in the water again this year with more historic wins in the pool than ever before.

Despite having to travel from pool to pool to satisfy their training needs and being one of the smallest teams in the country, St John’s has become a powerhouse in the world of English School Swimming. Early on in the year, the senior boys swept both wins at the Surrey Team Championships to win their place at English Nationals.

Vyncent Lowery, Bruce McCormick, Ben Simpson and Tom Stansfield swam a strong 4x50 freestyle relay to get us into the final event in the evening. After looking at their splits, they each told me, without an ounce of doubt or hesitation, that they would swim a personal best in the final. With the Olympic pool stadium full of spectators watching the fastest eight teams in the country, each of our boys flew through the water and kept to their word to come fifth and give St John’s its highest National rank ever.

At Surrey Individual Championships we watched our Water Eagles shine on their own. Medallists included Josh Shaw, Anna Stansfield, Ben Simpson, Tom Stansfield, Bruce McCormick and Ed Reed. The senior boys once again brought the shield back, placing first in Surrey.

This year the girls were not to be outshone and took St John’s swimming to a whole new level. Charlie Cole, Martha Hansford, Anna Stansfield and Aurelia Loth also made the final in both events. The girls’ final had the crowd on their feet in an event that came down to the final touch at the wall and a moment of silence while we all looked at the times. The girls had done it – a historic win of both the Dunelm and Aldenham cups, as well as a new record to call their own. Not only is this the first time in St John’s history for us to bring back all four cups, but it is also the first time it has ever been done by one single school at the Bath Cup. The girls came back beaming with their medals and after many photos and hugs from the whole team, they requested one thing – a celebratory McDonalds. It became a moment that sums up a St John’s swim team: nine boys and girls of all ages sitting together, four big silver cups on the table, enough food to feed an entire army being shared amongst them and the biggest grins you’ll ever see across each face.

This year has seen St John’s become a powerhouse in the world of English School Swimming.

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