The Johnian 2019

THE

JOHNIAN

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The Johnian 2019

CONTENTS 3

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

Performing Arts

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

Music at St John’s....................................................................... 66 Legally Blonde: The Musical..................................................... 70

From The Archives

Drama at St John’s..................................................................... 72

Meet the Artist.............................................................................8 D-Day 75........................................................................................9 7

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Beyond The Classroom..................................................... 76

The Fire Revisited...................................................................... 10 100 Years Ago............................................................................ 12 Girls Arrive at St John’s............................................................ 14 St John’s School and the Great War, 1914-1919................ 15

Trips Shamwari 2019........................................................................... 78 Exploring the World................................................................. 82 Outdoor Pursuits...................................................................... 88

Valete................................................................................... 16 Speech Day 2019................................................................ 20 6

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Community Partnership................................................... 90

Inspiring Academic Achievement.................................... 22 This Year In Lower School................................................ 24

Sport Director of Sport’s Season Review........................................ 92

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Houses

Hockey......................................................................................... 94

Churchill...................................................................................... 28

Rugby.......................................................................................... 100

East............................................................................................... 32

Netball....................................................................................... 105

Gloucester.................................................................................. 36

Football...................................................................................... 112

Haslewood.................................................................................. 40

Cricket....................................................................................... 119

Montgomery............................................................................... 44

Athletics.................................................................................... 123

North........................................................................................... 48

Swimming.................................................................................. 125

South............................................................................................ 52

Tennis......................................................................................... 126

Surrey........................................................................................... 56

Sailing and Water Sports....................................................... 126

West............................................................................................. 60

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15 1 Maddy Morgan U5; 2 George Thompson U3; 3 Sydney Chisholm U3; 4 Catherine Denyer L3; 5 Amber Hedges 4th Form; 6 Luke Rae U6; 7 Olivia Woodward L6; 8 Tishy Rao U5; 9 Emma Rickerd U5; 10 Holly Connor U5; 11 Thomas Knocker U3; 12 Milly Kraushaar L6; 13 Forbes Brickwood 4F; 14 Phoebe Simpson L6; 15 Megan Wrigglesworth U6

Chapel.................................................................................. 64 The Johnian 2019

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From The Head’s Desk

The Johnian 2019

From The Head’s Desk I

t is hard to believe that another academic year is over – our feet

have barely touched the ground during the last 12 months. We can never fully convey, in the pages of a magazine, the richness of life at St John’s but I hope that you do get a flavour of what makes this place so special.

With reports from our School Captains and House Captains, tales of enlightening trips, reflections on the many musical and sporting events across the year and a glimpse into our fascinating archives, The Johnian 2019 stands as a record of what 2018-19 looked like at St John’s.

Rather than duplicate stories you will read on subsequent pages from our pupils and staff, I would like to use my introduction to share some of the personal highlights that will linger in my mind when I look back on this year. I run the risk of sounding as if our days at St John’s revolve entirely around food, but many of my favourite moments seem to have taken place at meal times. I love the times I spend chatting with pupils, whether it is the Lower Sixth coming to my house for lunch or new pupils popping over for breakfast. General disarray and cake crumbs on the table of my study seem to have characterised the many happy occasions that I’ve welcomed pupils in to celebrate a host of achievements and I have greatly enjoyed spending time with them all.

You will read more about this elsewhere in The Johnian but I have to mention Legally Blonde: The Musical (read more page 70), which exemplified everything I have loved about this year. It was a production suffused with joy and fun but it was also outstanding, featuring highly accomplished performances that required hard work and commitment.

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now extends across the year groups, Anybody connected with St John’s There is often so much a new girls’ day house is essential will tell you how fundamental the going on at St John’s and we look forward to seeing how house system is to our daily school the first cohort of girls to enter life. Looking back over the year, that I wish I could be its doors begin to shape its unique I realise how frequently house in three places at once. place in school life. Seen in the short competitions – particularly favourites term, a new house might seem quite such as the pancake race and house a dramatic development but, as I croquet on the Quad – capture discovered from our School Archivist, St John’s actually the essence of St John’s in the way they combine loyalty, had nine houses over a century ago. In the intervening competitive spirit, a sense of fun and pride in tradition. years, the School’s structure has altered countless times They bring us together and cement what it means to be to suit the changing needs of its pupils and families. One part of this happy, purposeful community. hundred years later, we now have ten houses designed for our 21st century pupils but, it turns out, this is not quite as We were delighted to welcome members of our alumni revolutionary as we might have thought! community to a very special centenary OJ Day in June. The first OJ Day took place in 1919 to mark the end of the However, a development that is going to be revolutionary First World War and, 100 years later, it was a privilege to is the opening of our new sports centre. I had seen the have such a direct sense of connection to our own history. plans and artist’s impressions of this project and knew it The memories shared by OJs were fascinating for our looked impressive but - fully kitted out in hardhat and hi-viz current pupils and I was touched to see the affection and jacket - my first tour of the building was the moment that I pride that our former pupils have for St John’s; they have truly appreciated what an exceptional addition this space is a long-held appreciation of what St John’s stands for and for our school. they saw those values reflected in the pupils they talked to throughout the day. Through all the changes that inevitably I hope you enjoy reading about life at St John’s in 2018-19 take place over decades, there is continuity and a sense of and we look forward to everything 2019-20 will bring. permanence at the heart of our school that is precious.

The ebb and flow of school life also came to mind when we were planning the opening of our tenth house – Hawkins House. To accommodate the co-educational balance that

Rowena Cole, The Head

The sense of teamwork that surrounded this production sums up what we do best here. Staying with a musical theme, I will also never forget the first ever St John’s Staff Band performance at the Rock Concert! Amongst the brave colleagues who took to the stage was Will Turner, Deputy Head Academic, who we said farewell to this summer – St John’s will miss his many talents (read more page 16).

There is often so much going on at St John’s that I wish I could be in three places at once. Unfortunately, although all good teachers do have eyes in the back of their heads, we have yet to master time-travel. I’ve spent many happy hours supporting our teams at matches but it isn’t possible to be at every away fixture and yet, when our cricketers were at the National T20 Regional Finals this spring, I followed their progress via social media and felt as invested as if I had been there with them. It was a great reminder of how technology can keep us connected and allow us to share the highs and lows of school life with friends and family.

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Farewell from the School Captains

“The past five years have been filled with so many funny and unique experiences.”

Of course, none of this would be a reality if it wasn’t for our teachers. It is easy to overlook all the late nights, Saturday fixtures and other sacrifices that our teachers make to guarantee our school life runs like clockwork. We would therefore like to thank all our teachers for their dedication, inspiring words of wisdom and their pastoral care. Reverend Maloney, especially, has played a huge role in our school life. Week on week he has provided us with insightful Chapel talks which, although we may not always understand, have certainly provoked our thoughts over the last five years.

He has also been an approachable figure who is always there to talk and, most importantly, to listen. Another figure who cannot go unmentioned in Miss Hems.

As an excellent tutor and sports teacher, Miss Hems never fails to have a smile “What is so special on her face, whilst always being there for a chat. All the Upper Sixth will miss her about St John’s to generosity and all-round positivity enormously.

us is, of course, the house system. The sense of belonging and community is second to none.”

Being School Captains has allowed us to understand the intricacies of a senior school, allowing us to gain understanding of all the work that goes on behind the scenes. We would like to thank all the grounds, catering and maintenance staff for all the work they do, day in and day out. Whilst in these roles, we have also discovered the power of compromise and importance of ensuring everyone’s opinion in heard. We would like to hope that we have been able to help others in vocalising the changes or points they have wanted to voice. From a more personal perspective, our roles as School Captains have required us to take part in multiple public speaking scenarios. It is fair to say that we may not have started the year as the most confident public speakers, however, over the terms we have both improved in this field. Although there is always room to improve further, we know this is a skill we will take forward to university and beyond.

What is so special about St John’s to us is, of course, the house system. The sense of belonging and community is second to none, with countless competitions, gala-evenings and socials which help integrate the various year groups.

However, at the heart of every house is its matron. We believe it is important to recognise everything that each matron does for their respective houses. They not only provide us with bread every day but also play essential roles in the organisation of house events and caring for each individual pupil.

FARE WELL FROM THE SCHOOL C APTAINS

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s our time at St John’s comes to an end, we can reflect on the journeys and experiences that we have had at school over the past years. St John’s, and our

houses in particular, have been a home away from home where friendships have flourished and lifelong bonds have been formed.

Although we are excited to see what the future holds, we both, along with our peers, will undoubtably be sad to leave this school. However, staying with us will be a multitude of memories that we will never forget.

To recall all the amazing moments from our time at St John’s would be an impossible task; the past five years have been filled with so many funny and unique experiences. From successes on the sports fields to Legally Blonde: The Musical at the Leatherhead Theatre, we leave school with so many life experiences. St John’s has really allowed everyone in the year to explore their strengths and discover new and previously unknown interests. As well as this, the School has successfully facilitated the progression into Sixth Form. Whilst gaining a new sense of independence, we have been thoroughly supported by staff and fellow pupils, enabling everyone to approach the dreaded A levels without feeling alone.

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Fundamental to our year as School Captains has certainly been the prefect body. Without this group of individuals from across all houses, we would not have been able to fulfil our own roles. The support given by the prefects, even as we approached our vital A levels, has been exceptional. We cannot thank these pupils enough. Not only have they been excellent role models for younger pupils, but they have also been great fun to work with.

All schools look to the top for leadership and guidance and St John’s is no exception. By meeting with Dr Laurie daily and Mrs Cole weekly, we have come to recognise the strength of character needed to run a school. It is this devotion from The Head and the Deputy Head that we feel must be acknowledged as an integral part of our experience and time here.

Finally, as we reflect upon the speed with which our years at St John’s have flown by, it is easy to forget how much we have all changed. As a message to the younger pupils of St John’s, we would encourage you to make the most of your school years. Although there will be ups and downs, appreciate all the weird and wonderful moments that you may never relive outside of school.

Darcy Barnes and James Gardner

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From The Archives

FROM THE ARCHIVES

D-DAY 75 On the 75th anniversary of D-Day, 6 June 1944, we remembered two OJs who took part in the Normandy landings.

TAKE A WALK BACK THROUGH TIME

Captain Peter Woodhouse Smith On reading the article about Brenda Johnston and her paintings of the School in last year’s magazine (Mystery Artist Revealed), Geoff Rumble (Surrey 1949-52) got in touch to tell us her identity was no mystery and that Brenda is his sister! Brenda still lives in the local area and, thanks to Geoff, we were able contact her and invite her back to St John’s to see the paintings she created over 45 years ago.

Just a few weeks later, in November 2018, we had the privilege of meeting Brenda and hearing more about her career as an artist and why she chose St John’s as a subject to paint. Andrew Clegg, a local resident who owns two of her pictures (a view of the School from Linden Pit Path and a painting of Leatherhead Parish Church), joined us and brought these with him so she could see all three of her works together.

Meet the Artist!

Brenda told us that she studied at Epsom Art School between 1948-49 and 1955-60 where her teachers included the watercolourist Leslie Worth and landscape artist Michael Lawrence Cadman, who also had a special interest in architecture. Then, at Reigate School of Art from 1961-65, Brenda was taught by Eric Waugh, head of the painting and composition department.

Brenda enjoyed drawing and painting buildings (she remembers drawing houses as a child) and her distinctive style evolved, taking inspiration from old maps. Another influence was the work of David Hockney which she particularly admired. Her paintings of Hampton Court and Polesden Lacey were exhibited at the Royal Academy and her painting of Clandon Park is now held by The National Trust at Polesden Lacey. Brenda had an agent in Cobham and was successful in making a living out of selling her paintings, some of which went to America.

Describing how she came to paint the School, Brenda recalled that she had no particular connection with the School at the time (her brother Geoff had left St John’s nearly 20 years before she painted the view of the main entrance in 1971) but just liked the buildings and architecture. She made sketches with charcoal on paper, took photographs for reference and made notes on the colours she saw. Hours of work followed before the work was finally completed. Brenda said that she rarely finds out what happens to her paintings after they are sold, so we were delighted to be able to reunite her with these pictures once more.

Obstacle Clearing Unit, Royal Engineers Killed in action on 6 June 1944 aged 28 Peter Woodhouse Smith (East House 1928 – 1935), a School Prefect and a Corporal in the Officer Training Corps, was a member of the School’s Radio Society, Debating Society and the Scientific Society. He also joined the Shakespeare Society and the Literary Society. In 1935 he went on to St Edmund Hall, Oxford where he won Honours in Classical Moderations and achieved a second-class degree in English Literature. He rowed for his College and was awarded Leander Colours.

In a letter to his father, his Colonel wrote:

‘they were all proud of him and that in the landing he was carrying out his duties unflinchingly under very trying conditions.’

Captain Peter Woodhouse Smith

Peter Woodhouse Smith was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers on 11 May 1940 and was posted to the 11th Chemical Warfare Training Battalion.

Peter was killed during the landing on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, 6 June 1944 and is buried at Bayeux War Cemetery near Arromanches. He was posthumously mentioned in despatches, announced in the London Gazette of the 22nd of March 1945.

Captain John Vaughan Royal Army Medical Corps Charles John Rosser Vaughan (North House 1928- 32), was the Medical Officer during the operation to take Pegasus Bridge on 6 June 1944. At the last minute, Dr John Vaughan replaced an injured man in one of the platoons. He was one of the first 180 to land in France on D-Day. His story is told in the book Pegasus Bridge

by Stephen E Ambrose, who describes how, after his glider crash landed, Vaughan was thrown straight through the cockpit and was knocked out. After 15 minutes he regained consciousness and walked back to the glider, where he heard one of the pilots moaning and gave him a shot of morphine. He made his way to the Command Post where he found Major John Howard issuing orders. Howard instructed him to look after Lieutenant Herbert Denham Brotheridge, who had been taken by stretcher to a first aid post in a lane about 150 yards east of Pegasus Bridge. Vaughan gave Brotheridge a shot of morphine and dressed his wound. Soon after that Den Brotheridge died, the first Allied soldier to be killed in action on D-Day.

C J R Vaughan, 1929

After the war John Vaughan retired into general medical practice in a quiet country area in North Devon. In 1988 he published his autobiography, All Spirits.

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From The Archives

THE FIRE REVISITED fortune as a wool merchant, ship owner and finally a farmer. Accordingly, the family was very well off financially, which was unusual for ministers of the church.

Gary said that as far as his family knew: ‘a group of boys entered a master’s room, apparently the master had become indisposed and had been admitted to the School’s infirmary, to smoke illicitly obtained cigarettes. It was not long before the boys heard someone approaching and, in their haste to retreat to their dorms, one threw a lit cigarette under the curtains on a windowsill.’

Sometime later the smouldering cigarette caught the curtains and the fire spread rapidly.

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uch has been written about the fire which caused serious damage to the main school building on 9 June 1913, but

until recently little has been known about those most closely

The Fire, 9 June 1913

involved – the boys who entered a master’s sitting room during the night and accidentally started the fire.

One of the culprits, Arthur James Balfour Owen, was briefly the hero of the day as he is reported to have raised the alarm and his photograph appeared in national and local newspapers. The headmaster soon discovered that Owen was one of the guilty parties and a pencilled note in the School register shows that he was expelled just a few weeks later.

There, as far as we were concerned, the story ended. Arthur had been at St John’s for just over a year and, in April 1913, had performed well in the U14 category of the annual athletics competition, winning trophies for coming first in the cross country and the high jump. No further reference to Arthur appears in The Johnian although his younger brother, William Calder Owen, who joined the School with Arthur in 1912, remained at St John’s until 1916.

Then, in July 2018, Gary Owen wrote from New Zealand to ask if I could confirm that his grandfather, Arthur James Balfour Owen, was directly involved in the devastating fire which broke out at the School, as the family had long believed that that was the reason Arthur was sent to New Zealand.

Gary and his wife Liz were about to embark on trip to Europe and the UK, so we were delighted that they were able to visit St John’s at the end of August to see the rebuilt school and to tell us more about what happened to Arthur following his expulsion after the fire.

We heard that Arthur was known as the ‘black sheep’ of a very respectable family. Arthur’s grandfather, father and uncle were all ordained ministers of the church who ministered at various parishes throughout Wales. The Reverend John Owen (Arthur’s grandfather) became a minister at a later stage of his life, after making a very good Left: AJB Owen outside the Chapel, June 1913

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Right: Cross Country Cup, 1913

In disgrace, Arthur was sent home to his very unimpressed Surrey Advertiser 11 June 1913 parents, the Reverend John Caleb Owen and Mrs Mary Owen, and was soon sent to New Zealand. In July 1913 he was seen leaving the vicarage Persant attached to the church of St Afan at Llanafan Fawr, Brecknockshire, Wales, accompanied only by his mother and carrying a small suitcase.

On 31 July 1913, at the age of 14 and alone, Arthur was placed aboard the New Zealand Shipping Company RMS Ruapehu. The ship sailed from London and arrived in Auckland New Zealand eight weeks later, on 28 September 1913.

While on board ship Arthur sent a postcard to his brother William and wrote: Dear Will, I am enjoying myself on board although there are no amusements except concerts at night and I am in a four-berth cabin - there are some nice chaps on board. The scenery is beautiful, nothing but sea which is absolutely blue.

Love to all, Arthur In Auckland, Arthur was met by a missionary friend of his father and was sent to work as a Farm Cadet shepherd at the vast and remote Annadale Sheep Station in the Wairarapa, a district in the lower North Island.

Too young to serve in the armed forces when war broke out in 1914, Arthur remained at the sheep station until January 1917 when he travelled to Sydney and joined the Australian Imperial Expeditionary Force (AIEF), initially as a trooper and then as a private in the Imperial Private A J B Owen, Camel Corps. The following month he embarked 9th Australian Light Horse Infantry on the RMS Karmala. Arthur later transferred to the Australian Light Horse Regiment and served in Lebanon. At the end of the war he was formally discharged from the AIEF and returned to New Zealand where, in 1921, he married Edith Annie Schofield, with whom he had five children. For many years Arthur was the manager of Triangle Farm (owned by his mother-in-law Laura Eliza Schofield) and then in 1938 he purchased the 435 acre Thorpland Farm, just outside Tinui village in Wairarapa, in partnership with Laura Schofield. After her death in 1946, Arthur was able to buy out her half of Thorpland Farm.

Memories of the Second World War Over the years many OJs have written about their memories of being a pupil at St John’s during the Second World War and others have contributed stories and reminiscences of serving in the armed forces during this time. As we pause to remember the 75th anniversary of D-Day and the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of war on 1 September 1939, we feel that this is an appropriate time to ask all our OJs and their families to send us stories and photographs relating to life at St John’s in wartime and information about those who served.

We also extend this request to current Johnians and their families, who may have had relatives at St John’s during the war or who left prior to WW2 and served in any capacity in wartime.

The Roll of Honour for the Second World War, originally published in 1945, was updated in 2015 with the addition of the names of six OJs who were subsequently discovered to have died in the war. Short biographies have been compiled for all 96 OJs known to have died, but for many we have no photographs.

If you can help with supplying photographs or further personal information or reminiscences, we would be most grateful.

If you have a story to tell, please get in touch with the School Archivist, Sally Todd stodd@stjohns.surrey.sch.uk or the Development Office development@stjohns.surrey.sch.uk

Arthur Owen died on 6 November 1971 at Masterton Hospital, Wairarapa, New Zealand and is buried there in the Masterton Lawn Cemetery.

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From The Archives

100 years ago...

Peace Celebrations 1919

RUGBY RE-INTRODUCED AT ST JOHN’S In 1919 the School reverted to rugby football as the main winter sport. Rugby had been played prior to 1885 when the headmaster, the Reverend Arthur Rutty, decided that St John’s should switch from rugby to football. One of his boys was seriously injured in an accident on the rugby field the previous year, which may account for his decision.

Initially the change to football was not popular, but the School developed some excellent players who went on to achieve international or university recognition. So, between 1885 and the end of the First World War, only association football (soccer) was played.

Despite this, a number of OJs from the pre-war period played rugby for their country or won ‘blues’ at Oxford and Cambridge. These included English Internationals W A D Evanson and A M Evanson (who also won an Oxford Blue); Welsh Internationals W E O Williams and J Alban Davies and Irish Internationals L C Nash and J H Burges. At Cambridge, G L Colbourne gained his blue in 1883.

The Reverend Jenkin Alban Davies (St John’s School 1896-1902) played as a forward on seven occasions for Wales in 1913 and 1914 and scored two tries. He went on to captain Wales in 1914, the only Old Johnian to captain his country at rugby.

He captained the ‘Terrible Eight’ against Ireland in 1914 while playing Above: 1st XV 1919-20 for Llanelli RFC. Davies served Left: The Reverend Jenkin Alban Davies as a chaplain with the Royal Field outside the Episcopal Home in Alhambra, Artillery in the First World War. California After the war, he spent some years as a schoolmaster in Canada and then at Wellington College and Epsom College, before being appointed Vicar of Hook in 1924. He subsequently served at Pevensey and Bromley before ill health compelled him to move to South Africa and later to California, where he died in 1976.

By the end of the war, a number of schools (many of them St John’s competitors) were also switching to rugby and that certainly influenced the School’s decision. As in 1885 when soccer was introduced, the change to rugby was not greeted with enthusiasm, but the performance of 1st XV, who won their first fixture against Christ’s Hospital, helped to quell the criticism.

On 28 June 1919 the Treaty of Versailles, which brought the war between Germany and the Allied Powers to an end, was signed. Saturday 19 July 1919 was declared a public holiday and celebrations and victory parades took place in towns and villages across the country. In Leatherhead, St John’s hosted a lunch for 350 returning servicemen in the Dining Hall, as part of the town’s celebrations.

Above: Peace procession outside St John’s School, Epsom Road, Leatherhead, 19 July 1919. By kind permission of the Leatherhead and District Local History Society.

Following the lunch, a procession, which included the Leatherhead Silver Band, demobilised soldiers and sailors, St John’s School Cadet Corps and Band, the Red Cross Society, the Church Lads’ Brigade, Scouts and children from local schools, formed outside the School. Over 2,000 people made their way down Epsom Road on their way to Randall’s Park.

FESTIVAL WEEKEND FOR OLD JOHNIANS, 22 JUNE 1919

A month before the national Peace Day celebrations, the School extended a warm welcome home to OJs who had been on active service during the war.

Around 120 old boys accepted the headmaster’s invitation to spend the weekend of Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 June 1919 at their old school. The proceedings started with a short memorial and thanksgiving service in the School Chapel, followed by a cricket match between the School and the Old Boys. About eighty OJs attended a dinner in the Dining Hall in the evening and toasts were raised to ‘The King’ and ‘The Fallen’. After dinner, a concert was held in front of the pavilion, which was illuminated by fairy lights.

The festival weekend at the School was a great success. It was the first time that all OJs had been invited back to their old school. Plans were soon being made for another OJ Festival Day in 1920, with a chapel service, cricket match, garden party and OJ dinner in the evening. The Committee of Governors wrote in their report for 1920: ‘The institution of ‘Old Johnians’ Day’ as the annual School Festival at Leatherhead has contributed greatly towards fostering the continuing interest of old boys in the School, and the Committee propose to make it a permanent fixture.’

On 9 June 2019 over 200 OJs and their families returned to St John’s to celebrate the 100th anniversary of OJ Day. St John’s invitation for 21 June 1919

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From The Archives

30 years ago

GIRLS ARRIVE AT ST JOHN’S

St John’s School, Leatherhead and the Great War, 1914-1919

In September 1989 girls were admitted into the Lower Sixth. Twenty-one girls (11 boarders and 10 day girls) were based in Hallaton House in Garlands Road. Hallaton was the former home of Colonel Gillett, whose son, J C Gillett, was in West House from 1939-1943. It was subsequently left to the School and converted into flats for masters and then adapted to accommodate the first cohort of girls in 1989. Although the girls were based in Hallaton, they were initially attached to boys’ houses.

We have made very good progress on our book about the School and the Great War and it is now at the design stage where we are working hard on the layout, making sure that the text and numerous photographs flow seamlessly throughout. The front cover, based on a detail from the stained glass memorial window in the Chapel, has been beautifully designed by Alison Wren from a photograph by Rob Ambrose and we are now expecting the book to be available in the autumn of this year.

ABOUT THE BOOK… The story told in this book is one of bravery and service, of tragedy and loss. To set the scene, the text begins with a brief history of the School up to 1914, 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 Great War. First-hand accounts from OJs who were at school during the war provide a vivid insight into the challenges of daily life of a school in wartime. Food and the lack of it was uppermost in their minds. They describe lessons and learning and the excitement of taking part in or watching the various sports and team games.

In addition to their accounts, we relate tales of wartime heroes, including the two OJs who won the Victoria Cross, families who lost loved ones, and the young men who gave up the prospect of a university education to serve their country, only to be killed in action just a few months or years later. Many of the stories told here are enhanced by brief biographies giving further background information and celebrating the wide range of accomplishments and achievements of these Old Johnians.

HOW TO PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY

Above: Sample pages

Reflecting on her first year at St John’s, Sian Leary wrote: ‘It is an awe-inspiring thought, a year ago I would not have even contemplated going to a different school, let alone one for the boys. But here I am at St John’s, one of the last bastions of the independent schools to be invaded by girls. We may only be a small minority, but it appears that we have brought about some drastic changes in the infrastructure of the School.’

‘In many ways we are quite privileged. Our home, Hallaton, is luxurious and comfortable and we also manage to retain some privacy. After a hard day at school, it is always a relief to go back to Hallaton and escape from the boys for a while.’

‘In all, we have settled down well and are firmly implanted at St John’s. Girls are definitely here to stay. A year ago I would never have dreamed of being at St John’s, but now I could never imagine anything else.’

The girls played a variety of sports and formed teams for lacrosse, netball and swimming and hockey as well as playing squash and tennis. They also joined a number of clubs including horse riding, photography, shooting and sailing.

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Purchase your copy now and we will send you your book as soon as it is published. Alternatively, you may collect your book free of charge from the School. For further details contact: development@stjohns.surrey.sch.uk BOOK DETAILS Format: Hardback Full colour and fully illustrated Publisher: St John’s School Leatherhead Publication date: 2019 Dimensions: 280 x 220mm Pages: 152 pages approx Price: £25 P&P (UK only): £4.95 per copy

Sally Todd, School Archivist, 3 July 2019 The Johnian 2019

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Valete

Deputy Head Academic

Housemistress of South and Head of Wellbeing

Claudia Densham

Andrew King

Will Turner has achieved a significant amount in his relatively short time at St John’s. In his three years as Deputy Head Academic, his professional ability and clear-sighted approach has raised the academic profile of the School. Will gives generously of his time to mentor pupils and enable them to achieve everything they have aimed for; I know that they will miss both his challenge and his kindness. His talent as a cricketer and coach also led to him coaching the 1st XI cricket team and they greatly valued his knowledge and passion for the sport. Displaying the full breadth of his talents, Will also took to the stage in the inaugural performance by the St John’s Staff Band.

Claudia came to St John’s as a fresh faced teacher obviously destined for big things. Starting her career as a tutor in North House and a Religious Studies teacher, Claudia threw herself into school life. It was no surprise that Claudia’s potential was quickly recognised and she was asked to become one of the Assistant Housemistresses in the newly formed girls’ house, Gloucester. Indeed, her time at Gloucester holds many fond memories personally for Claudia, as it was during this period that she married Charlie and had their two gorgeous children, Monty and Clemmie. It was not long before Claudia’s talents were fully recognised and, after three great years in Gloucester, she left to join arch rivals South as Housemistress. She took on this role only five months after the birth of her daughter, yet you would not have known. Distinguished, organised, empowering and proactive are words we can use to describe Claudia’s reign as she took to the job with ease. Balancing parenthood and the responsibility of being housemistress was made to look easy and she set a very high standard for anyone to follow.

Andrew King, an avid Norwich city supporter and all-round Norfolk aficionado, joined St John’s School in 1985 after three and a half years at King William’s College on the Isle of Man. He was appointed by Ted Hartwell but has now worked under Chris Tongue, Nick Haddock, Martin Collier and Rowena Cole in his 34 years of service to the School. He has contributed, and enthusiastically so, to three main areas of school life: to sport, to the English Department and, of course, to Churchill House.

Valete

Will Turner

It goes without saying that Will is also renowned around St John’s for his sartorial elegance and has single-handedly brought about a resurgence of interest in the three-piece suit. Behind his serious and professional outward appearance lies a brilliant sense of humour that is appreciated by all who know and work with him. As popular as he has always been at St John’s, he could be forgiven for feeling slightly affronted that his popularity the arrival of his gorgeous black Labrador puppy!

Will leaves St John’s to take up the headship at UWC Adriatic. As beautiful as our site is here at St John’s, an Italian castle overlooking the sea obviously does hold its own appeal. We will miss Will’s insightful, thoughtful approach and wish him every success for the exciting move.

Rowena Cole

But it isn’t just as a pastoral lead that Claudia will be missed. She was dedicated on the sports field, whether coaching boys’ rugby or girls’ hockey. Having never played netball, she also decided to help out by taking a team and demonstrated that her blood was always running green. Claudia could be found at every event supporting her South girls in everything they wanted to do. A sociable member of the common room, she would often be the first in (and last to leave) after match refreshments. One thing is for certain, her absence in the common room will mean a lot less gossip but her presence is sure to be truly missed. Claudia has headed off to Haileybury and we have no doubt that she will continue to be a forward-thinking housemistress, just as she was at St John’s. I only hope their gin cupboard is as well-stocked as ours!

Teacher of English

Andrew has coached a plethora of sports teams at St John’s. From rugby, where he ably coached a number of teams including the U15A team, to cricket, where he attended two tours to Barbados, and to football where he led the 4th XI for ten amazing years. Andrew’s dedication to sport is admirable and something for which many of the boys were, and indeed are, extremely grateful.

Secondly, Andrew is a constant in the English Department where Heads of Department and teachers have come and gone over the years.

Andrew’s subject knowledge is truly epic and his love of literature saturates his classroom. He helped on a number of trips to the battlefields, to Ypres and the Somme, which he thoroughly enjoyed and still talks about with enthusiasm. He also ran The Johnian magazine for over ten years, changing its format in 1986 to the one that we still see today.

In the pastoral sphere, Andrew also left his mark.

Andrew became Housemaster of Churchill in 1992 in the days when it was a boarding house, where Gloucester now stands. He led the House with such patience, poise, respect and kindness that it is repaid in buckets by OJs who always ask how ‘the King’ is.

Andrew will be sorely missed at St John’s School; he is looking forward to a relaxing retirement, spending time with his family and some good books.

Lauren Moors Kate Symes-Thompson

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Valete

Huw Jones

Adrian Gale

Housemaster of West & Head of Boarding Huw was a member of staff who genuinely made an all-round contribution to the many facets of school life at St John’s. As the Housemaster of West, he built a strong community that creates opportunities for all the boys to thrive during their five years at St John’s. His success with the House led to West winning the House Shield last year.

The boys in West will particularly remember Huw for the way in which he took an interest in each of them as an individual. He helped them through any bumps in the road with a sense of compassion and helped them to learn from their experiences.

As a former international player, Huw also made a big impact on the hockey pitch at St John’s. He coached the 1st XI girls and the junior boys and, under his coaching, the 1st XI girls won the U18 Surrey County title.

Huw leaves St John’s for a well-deserved promotion to become Deputy Headmaster at Warminster School. We wish him every success for the future.

Laurence Bruggemann

Siobhan Alderson Head of Psychology

James Bannister Graduate Assistant

Tanya Bateman Head of German

Graham Beauchamp

Aaron Blumfield Teacher of D&E

Head Chef

Teacher of Physics

Adrian Gale is the epitome of the utterly dedicated and committed all-round schoolmaster. He is a man of complete integrity and personal honesty, qualities that have informed his long and distinguished career at St John’s. His commitment has encompassed the pastoral, the co-curricular and the academic. In 1980, he was the resident assistant in East House, then became Housemaster of South, before, when South was closed, taking on Monty. His support for members of his house was unswerving.

The list of co-curricular involvements is extensive.

In the 1980s, 2nd Lt Gale was fully involved with the CCF and, for a while, ran the DofE scheme. Later on, quizmaster Gale ran events for the Parents’ Association before taking on the Inter-House Quiz competition. He also showed himself to be no mean actor in the days when the Common Room put on Christmas entertainment for the boys, most notably as Jack in The Importance of Being Ernest.

The major part of his co-curricular commitment has been on the games field – notably cricket, which he ran for 30 years. At the start, he ran the firsts and then it was junior sides, but there was no difference in approach. He offered the same encouragement, the same inimical communication of a passion for the game and the concomitant demand that it be played properly.

Laurence Bruggemann

Jonathan Davies

Teacher of Chemistry

Eleanor Ferguson Teaching Fellow

Tom Gardner

Graduate Assistant

Teacher of Mathematics

Andrew Hoyland Teacher of Physics and Chemistry

Lyn Kirton Vaughan Laundry Supervisor

Grace Lawes

Teacher of History

Sue Medland Matron - West

Jean-Pierre Sutcliffe

Teacher of Music Technology

For 40 years Adrian has been a very successful physics teacher; even in the laboratory cricket featured through display articles on the physics and maths of swing bowling. He now retires and goes with the thanks of St John’s for a lifetime of dedicated service.

Andrew Phillips

Beth Tiller

Teacher of English

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Kerry Walsh-Jones Director of Netball

Jason Ward Head of D&E

Nathalie Webb Matron - North

The Johnian 2019

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News Roundup Speech Day 2019

SPEECH DAY 2019 The 2018-19 academic year came to a close with the annual Speech Day on Saturday 30 June. As the sun shone on the Quad, pupils, parents, staff and governors joined to celebrate the year, present prizes and bid farewell to the departing Upper Sixth.

We were delighted to welcome OJ, Leah Chowdhry, as our guest speaker. Leah left St John’s just a decade ago and what she has achieved since is outstanding. Not only the first British Asian woman to swim the English Channel, a feat of endurance that raised over £150,000 for charity, but she has also been named Woman of the Year 2018 at the Asian Business Awards and Most Inspirational Young Person 2019 at the Asian Voice Charity Awards. Leah talked about how a trip to India as a child motivated her to do something positive in response to the shocking poverty and suffering she had seen. She began raising money for charity and has since pushed herself through increasingly gruelling challenges. When facing a new challenge, Leah believes that having a ‘can do’ mind-set is something that you should work on every day. From setting up her own business, to marathon running and swimming the English Channel, she says she has learnt to dream big and be bold and brave in everything she does. She told the audience that it does not matter how old you are, everyone can make a difference in people’s lives. In her closing comments, she explained that her next challenge would be writing a children’s book for Barnardo’s and she asked the pupils, staff and parents listening to think about what they will do next summer or next year.

John Willis, Chair of Governors, opened the event by reviewing the rich offering of St John’s – from the range of subjects at A level to the diverse activities in the co-curricular programme – and the many ways the School is investing in its future, including major projects such as the new sports centre and the creation of Hawkins House. John commented on the sense of enthusiasm and interest surrounding the School, from both current and prospective families, and thanked Rowena Cole for her vision and leadership as The Head of St John’s.

In her annual address, Rowena Cole commented that it is easy, on occasions such as Speech Day, to focus on the big events of the year but that it is the smaller interactions along the way that give an academic year its colour and its character. She shared some of her favourite memories of the year and thanked the pupils – the heartbeat of the School – for their contribution to the academic year. Reflecting on the enduring nature of the values that sit at the heart of St John’s, Rowena commented that the School has evolved and developed in many ways since 1851, from the development of its estate, the age range and gender of its pupils, to its offering and its size but that, in essence, nothing has changed. A desire to work hard, an ability to have fun and live life to the full and, above all else, to contribute to and appreciate the strength that comes from being part of this very special community remains at the core of St John’s.

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Before Saturday’s Speech Day, the Lower School held its own Speech Day on Friday 28 June. Richard Harvey, Head of Lower School, said what a tremendous pride he feels and the happy, successful and productive community that Lower School has become. He commented on what excellent role models the Upper Third have been and wished them well as they move up to Fourth Form. Rowena Cole said that the Lower School pupils are rays of sunshine and their zest for life adds immeasurably to the life of St John’s and a number of Lower School pupils then reviewed their highlights of the year. They talked about the friendships they have formed, the laughter, the sense of belonging, the teamwork and collaboration they have enjoyed through sports and the Lower School play, and how much they are looking forward to the next stage in their St John’s education.

Both events were wonderful celebrations of the School community and created a welcome moment of reflection before the summer holidays began.

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News Roundup Inspiring Academic Achievement

Across the academic departments, in both examined and non-examined subjects, pupils are encouraged to develop confidence and flexibility in their approach to learning, and are equipped to adapt to whatever the future may hold for them.

Academic achievements come in many shapes and sizes across the course of the year but the culmination of many hours of hard work from pupils and staff comes in August with the announcement of GCSE and A level results.

2019 is the first year in which all GCSE grades have been awarded in the new 9-1 grading system. The numerical grading system has been implemented to allow greater distinction between top performing candidates and St John’s pupils have risen to the challenge with a quarter of grades being at the demanding grade 9 level. Over three quarters of results are grade 7-9 (the equivalent to A grade and above). Within these strong GCSE results, some outstanding departmental performances include nearly 50% of English language grades received being a 9, history receiving nearly three quarters of grades at an 8 or 9 and 80% of GCSE mathematics grades being at 7-9.

St John’s departing Upper Sixth were also celebrating when they received their A level results in mid-August. Almost half of grades achieved were A*/A grades, with well over a quarter of pupils receiving straight A*/A grades (an impressive increase from 2018). Four out of five grades were A*-B and the pass rate was 100%.

Economics, English, geography, history and psychology remain popular degree courses for our leavers. Pupils are also taking up places on a diverse range of courses including languages, mechanical engineering, criminology, medicine, dentistry and film and television. Furthermore, this cohort achieved the highest number of Oxbridge and Ivy League places in recent years.

InspiringACADEMIC

Rowena Cole, The Head, commented: “When public exam results are published, it is all too easy for individual success stories to be lost amongst the percentages and statistics. When I look at our pupils and reflect on the grades they have achieved, they should feel pride both collectively and individually in their strong results. Our pupils fully embrace the rich educational experience on offer at St John’s and they combine their commitment to academic work with contributing enormously to every facet of school life from music and sport to leadership and community work. We look forward to hearing all about the adventures our departing Upper Sixth have as they move on to the next stage of their lives and we look forward to welcoming back our new Lower Sixth pupils who will be embarking on their own next steps as they begin their A level studies.”

ACHIEVEMENT

As you browse the pages of The Johnian, the breadth of experiences and range of activities available at St John’s seems so vast that you could be forgiven for wondering when our pupils find time to be in the classroom. But it is our fundamental purpose to challenge our pupils intellectually - inspiring them to become successful learners - and this is what happens day in and day out in the life of our school.

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This Year in Lower School

LAND AND WAVE

by Amelia Barrett and Kenzie Armstrong

HOUSE SINGING COMPETITION

by Daisy Beckett

Let me tell you about the coldest weekend of my life, but also the funniest weekend I’ve had all year - our Land and Wave trip to Swanage. The weekend started with a big group of staff and pupils sitting on a bus together, some of us were strangers to begin with but, by the end of the weekend, we were all friends.

We had a great time on our first day doing team building activities including raft building and kayaking. It was great fun except that the water was very cold, but in the end, we were all having fun trying to climb across kayaks and trying not to sink our rafts. We had a couple of topples, which were rescued by fellow kayakers and many paddles were saved in the process. We wore life jackets as dippers and raced our way along the beach, the embarrassment of it gave all of us some funny and embarrassing memories. In the evening we sat around the campfire and sang songs and chanted rhymes, some more gruesome than others!

House singing was fun this year with a Disney-themed selection of songs. From the rehearsing to the actual performance, everyone really enjoyed taking part and it was an excellent way. Blue House won singing Under the Sea. Green House sang Hakuna Matata, Red House sang I’ll Make A Man Out Of You, Yellow House sang Love Is An Open Door and last, but most definitely not least, Purple House sang A Whole New World. All the houses sang their hearts out and it was definitely not easy to pick a winner.

HOUSE CHARITY ‘MAKE-A-WISH’

by Hana Blackman and Rosie Brickwood

This year in

Lower School T

he Lower School has now been open for three years, with last year’s Upper Third pupils having joined the new joiners in the Fourth Form this year. This has been

an exceptionally busy year and it has been a real pleasure seeing the Lower School community grow and develop.

On a personal note, I would like to thank pupils and parents for making me feel so welcome and it is with a sense of genuine pride and satisfaction that we look back on everything that the pupils have achieved.

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The second day was filled with more team building activities, like bomb avoiding and keeping everyone on an island. But what better way to make friends than making sure a fellow class mate doesn’t go out with a bang? We learnt how to carry the injured up and down a hill without causing any further injuries. Personally, I preferred the role of the injured to that of the carrier. That evening we played tug of war and had a talent show. In different teams, we danced and pulled our way to victory.

That night we sat around the camp fire again and sang more songs, luckily less gruesome than before. We made smores but, unlike the paddles in the water, we couldn’t save the marshmallows from the fire. Though the ones that did survive were very delicious and very messy.

Overall, we had a great time and I think I made some lifelong friends, all because I saved them from exploding!

The teachers were very happy to play along but I will challenge them to join us in the water next time. The main thing I learned from this trip is that we are amazing if we work together as a team.

This charity, which was chosen by the Lower School pupils to be our house charity of the year, helps children who have a life limiting illness and gives them one special wish. In 2017, they granted over 300,000 wishes. The wish can be anything within reason, for example over the year John Cena has granted 600 wishes and Justin Bieber came in second with 250.

We raised over £5,000 for Make-A-Wish this year, which beats last year’s total. Issy Baileff and I did a sponsored silence for 12 hours and raised £530. We both succeeded and found it very hard but we had great support and managed to get through it. There are always bake sales and things to raise money throughout the year and we all love taking part in activities such as the fundraising we did in Leatherhead High Street. We did a 1-hour slot in groups and collected money, with a Costa in one hand and the collection tin in the other!

The Charity Dinner was our final big fundraising event of the year and was an amazing evening featuring impressive performances from some of our Lower School pupils and a raffle for the parents. The parents were also subjected to a tricky quiz by Mr Harvey!

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This Year in Lower School

SPORT

MUSIC

by Josh Tredwell and Hannah Wainwright

by Louis Jeffcott

year and I am hugely

their skills and foster new friendships.

The U12As and Bs had great first seasons for St John’s rugby and had the opportunity to develop their tackling and rucking skills. By the end of the season, the coaches noted impressive development in both teams’ defence and attack. Both teams won the majority of their games. Notable victories for the U12As were against strong rugby-playing schools: Hampton (20-15) and City of London Freemans (40-5). A pleasing victory for the Bs was against local rivals Epsom College (40-5).

The football season started after Christmas with some of the pupils enjoying a preseason training trip to Manchester City.

In training, we focused on winning the ball, maintaining a good work rate and passing to space.

The U13Bs in particular had a very successful season, with an amazing 60 goals scored over the whole term. There were some very big wins with a 9-0 victory over Cedars School and an 8-0 victory over Dunottar. The U12Bs had an equally strong first season of football with a virtually clean sheet, bar one narrow 2-1 loss to Gordons School. Highlights of the term were a giant 10-0 victory over Cedars School and a 7-0 win over Epsom College.

The U13As had a strong season as well, with only a few narrow losses due to some good play by the opposition and some questionable on pitch decisions. As in rugby, the season ended with a pleasing and unexpected win over Epsom College who beat the team convincingly last year. The U12A team faced some tough competition and came away with some pleasing

worked tirelessly to

support the pupils this

The Lower School sports teams have had enjoyable seasons with many opportunities to develop

For the boys, the rugby season started with strong performances from both the U13As and Bs. Over the season, the U13s worked on their basic rugby skills of passing and tackling, which really brought the teams together. This hard work and some excellent teamwork paid off with some amazing wins over tough opponents. To finish off a great season of rugby, both teams beat our biggest rivals Epsom College, with the As winning 45-5 and the Bs winning 45-20.

T

he tutor team have

grateful for all the extra hours that they give to

high scoring wins against City of London Freeman’s (9-0) and Cedars School (6-1). The boys showed great teamwork and strong spirit in both defeat and victory.

the pupils to make sure they are happy and able

In every sport, there has been some amazing coaching which all the boys benefited from greatly.

to fulfil their potential.

Sport has also been a prominent part of St John’s life for the girls this year. There have been great success and some losses but all the girls have enjoyed the sports offered and have continued to develop their skills.

We started the year with the hockey season. This allowed the new pupils to connect out of the pitch through working together on it. The Lower Third girls had a good start, in which they won a large percentage of their matches. They achieved a very respectable fourth place in the county tournament and I’m sure they will improve in the years to come.

The Upper Third girls equally did well in their matches across the season. However, the A team really shone in the county tournament and qualified for the regionals. They went on to become one of the top eight in the South East, after being knocked out by the eventual winners.

After the hockey season ended, the girls went on to netball.

Netball did not end quite as successfully as hockey across the board, but all the girls really worked to improve as a team and we had lots of fun.

To end the year, had cricket season. It was lovely to see more Lower School girls get excited about the sport and I’m sure we will achieve good results. For those less into cricket, we also play tennis and it’s always nice to play when the sun comes out.

Overall, girls in Lower School, had some wins and some losses but we all enjoyed it as a team no matter the result.

This year in the Lower School, music has played a big role in school life, with multiple concerts, lunchtime recitals and competitions taking place which the Lower School choir, ensemble and pupils have taken part in.

The first major concert of the year was the Michaelmas Concert in the lead up to Christmas. It was a very entertaining night with over 60 performers and an audience of 200.

Towards the end of term, during the Lower School Carol Service, parents and pupils enjoyed a lively performance by the Lower School choir, and the debut performance of the Lower School Ensemble, playing Away In A Manger, putting everyone in a good mood for Christmas.

The next term kicked off with the Forbes Music Competition, where a great number of talented musicians competed against each other in categories. The winners had the opportunity to play their piece of music in front of a great audience.

Furthermore, my thanks go to Miss Toloczko, who has been an incredible Head of Lower Third and who leaves us to be the Housemistress of Hawkins; I have no doubt that the girls in Hawkins will be well looked after with Miss T as Housemistress and Michelle, our wonderful receptionist, as their Matron.

We wish Mr Hughes the best of luck in his new role as Assistant Housemaster of South and both Hayley and Razzie will be sorely missed around Lower School. It is with sadness that we will say goodbye to Miss Tiller who leaves to travel round South America and I know ‘Team Tiller’ will miss her very much. We also say goodbye to Mr Morgan and Mrs Dewhurst who are moving on to pastures new within the Senior School and will also be missed.

Last, but by no means least, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank our Matron, Anita, who has been an invaluable support to all in Lower School and her unflinching care and support that she gives to everyone is one of the main reasons why the Lower School is the successful place it is today.

I am extremely proud of each and every one of the Lower School pupils and I look forward to seeing what they can accomplish during the next five years.

Richard Harvey Head of Lower School

Another huge evening for the school was the ´License to Trill´ event, celebrating the film music of James Bond. The Lower School choir took part, performing The Writing´s On The Wall as well as some fantastic solo performers in front of a packed audience.

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Houses Churchill

September, a lifetime ago, saw the arrival of the new Fourth Formers; they have settled-in very well, a number of them being the ‘first batch’ to have come through the Lower School. Each has played their part in dominating time on the table tennis and pool tables, but one special mention goes to Joe Akhurst who achieved a remarkable 40 credits in a term! The Lower Fifth have continued well, raucous as ever without the pressures of being new and having to please or impending GCSE examinations! The Upper Fifth, who have embarked on study leave as I write this, have been the stand out year group – there is real grit and determination there and one has high hopes for how they will fare come August and beyond as they progress onto A levels.

NUMBER OF PUPILS

The Lower Sixth have grown into their suits and grown up a lot over the course of the year – they are poised to take on the leadership of the House and really looking the part.

To the departing Upper Sixth it is time to say goodbye. Having taken the year group as U14 and U15 rugby players in my first years of teaching at the School, I do feel a real affinity for them as a collective. I would like to thank them for all they have done for the House, and we all wish them the very best of luck with all their future endeavours.

It was not a vintage year for house competitions: House Singing saw us truly robbed in part song, before being lucky to finish last in the unison. The curse of defending the House Rugby title befell us at the end of the Autumn Term. Though worse was to come in the Pancake Race, where the House was disqualified in each and every race! House Football saw us go out to a golden goal in the seniors in the 64th minute of extra time and other semi-final defeats in House Debating and House Croquet rounded off the year, before a stronger showing in the House Athletics. A real highlight of the year was the Gala Charity Evening.

The House raised over £4,000 for the Community Holiday – a fantastic achievement! The launch of the House Activity in the Summer Term has been a success and I have high hopes that the committees formed out of it will prove invaluable in driving the House forward.

Houses

Churchill

Finally, it has been a year of announcements of change. We all look forward to the addition of Hawkins House from September 2019. We are going to be at the forefront of the ongoing co-education drive, becoming the busiest, most inclusive corner of the School in the process!

Dr Tom Leonard

From the Housemaster

A

nd so, another academic year comes to a close as I write this piece for

The Johnian magazine, a year which saw the longest Spring Term in the history of schooling – all who survived it, “Bravo!”.

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Houses Churchill

From the House Captain

T

he past year in Churchill House has been an eventful and exciting journey.

From the Pancake Race to House Rugby, this year has brought us closer than

ever, and as House Captain, I will be very sad to leave my second home behind.

HOUSE COLOURS

MASCOT House competitions are central to life at St John’s and the array of events began with the most prestigious: House Singing. After successive years of not even placing, the boys were fully determined to warm the hearts of the audience, or at least entertain them with our brash and brazen voices. Yet despite the efforts of the whole house, again we were unable to appeal to the unsympathetic standards of the illustrious judges. This was followed by the part song; excellently led by Alex Semple and Arthur Lewis, mixed with the youthful voice of Jacob Costard, Churchill had hope of defeating the other houses. But again, despite charming the Chapel with an awe-inspiring rendition of Hey Ya by Outkast, we failed to place in the top three. The House Debating competition is one where Churchill House thrives, with a series of successful campaigns in previous years.

Our joy in this competition ceased this year, even with the admirable efforts of Tom Wood and Scott Parker, as a result of winning the amusement of our opponents, rather than impressing the judges, with multiple ill-advised floor points over Brexit and questionable theories over animal testing.

The House Charity Night took place just before February half term. This year we raised money to contribute to the School’s annual Community Holiday. The eventful evening featured Alex Semple on his renowned violin and ended with the amusing auction in which Dr Leonard and an Upper Sixth parent table got a little too excited.

Churchill House is seeing major change over the summer, with the introduction of Hawkins House – a new girls’ house – which opens in September. Much to the elation of the mischievous members of our House, Dr Leonard and Jane will see a new set of challenges in the coming year. But I am sure the House will welcome everyone with open arms and embrace this opportunity.

The boys and I would like to thank all the tutors, cleaning staff and in particular our Housemaster, Dr Leonard, for enduring another year with the endless annoyances of running a boys’ house. With a special thanks to our all-important Matron, Jane, who has continued her role as a second mum for everyone in the House. The Upper Sixth and I wish the rest of the boys all the best in their future endeavours and hope they can have as much fun as we have had over the past five years.

Ben Bound House Captain 2018-19

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Houses East

From the Housemaster

W

hat is it to be in East House?

Well, as all the houses

will probably tell you, it is about togetherness, collective spirit and a tight-knit community that strives to do

Competitions

its best. It is about people looking after each other and working together and

WON THIS YEAR: 1ST PLACE:

not about bricks and mortar.

Junior House Rugby Senior House Rugby

The growth of green and black pride has been seen in any number of successes throughout the year but most of all in the everyday interactions: the singing on the landing to Mr Sartorius’s eclectic music choices; the jungle that has become the Upper Fifth rooms; the deference for Thursday morning speakers and, of course, the endless games of ping-pong. The competition wins are great and worthy of mention but what makes the House are these banalities, the dubious repartee and the joy of spending time together… I am sure there’s some schoolwork that happens too!

On academic endeavour, it would be remiss not to mention the Upper Fifth boys for, despite the mess, their attitude has been exemplary. Together, they have pushed each other along and we will hope that this results in the exam grades they deserve. They have shown the importance of a united approach and this was perhaps most stark in the senior debating competition. The Lower Sixth boys, under the formidable leadership of main speaker, James Perkins, are yet to lose a debate and they pulled together, cajoling the Upper Sixth into action with a determined aim to claim the trophy. With House Captain, Charlie Bennett, and Harry Mead ably partnering James, well-researched and erudite floor points and a rousing chorus to boot, they did not disappoint and the victory is hopefully the start of a debating dynasty in the House. The junior team – led by Harry Young and Harry Lawes - certainly took up the mantle manfully, just missing out after a split decision in their final.

NUMBER OF PUPILS

Houses

East STRENGTHS:

Unrivalled camaraderie Jovial and inclusive Resilience Competitive attitude

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Music has also become a big part of the House with the hallway karaoke and regular tickling of the ivory (a larger repertoire would be nice next year, please, Dexter!). Toby Gray and Rob Butler have been real inspirations with their love and talent for all things musical and, talking of musicals, we must mention Michael Georgiou’s performance in Legally Blonde. It would be great to see more boys treading the boards and following in his ‘flawless’ footsteps (Michael’s words, not mine!).

Senior Debating Of course, sport remains a 2ND PLACE: uniting force in the House House Drill and the first two terms Junior House Football ended with clear evidence of this. While the Spring Inter House Football Term ended bathetically, Inter B House Football losing four football finals, Senior House B Football the Autumn Term was a real Senior House Hockey highlight with senior and junior rugby wins. The Fourth House Debating Form performance, including House Pancake Race Magnus’ miracle tap-tackle, showed how quickly they have learnt the East House way, while the senior win against Monty was a triumph for togetherness, discipline and no little flair. The Summer Term saw further success with victory in the senior and intermediate house tennis, yet another second place in the senior athletics and a clean sweep in the new-look House Cricket. We thought that Will Johnson’s winning runs on the penultimate day of term might have been enough to clinch the House Shield but, alas, the fateful football losses to North meant that they pipped us. Nevertheless, to end second overall and to share the Cultural Cup was a fantastic result and testament to the all-round talents of the boys.

I would like to thank the boys for their camaraderie throughout the year and the senior boys for their leadership of the House. Special mention must go to Charlie Bennett for his consummate organisation and helping me through my first year. We wish Charlie and all the leavers the very best for the future and trust they will leave us with fond memories of their time in East. The House will move on but your spirit (and dents in the wall) will surely remain!

Mr Guy Hicks

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Houses East

From the House Captain

I

t feels somewhat nostalgic, reflecting on what was an incredibly successful year for the East community. The year had it all, from triumph in the gamut of house

events and £5,000 raised for charity, to boisterous renditions of timeless classics from the comfort of the landing.

East is very often characterised as a house with an unwavering sense of camaraderie, an inclusive nature and a jovial atmosphere: the 2018/2019 academic year was no exception. I hope that this piece not only celebrates achievement, but also gives you a flavour of what life was like representing the green and black.

The year began with a great deal of change. The departure of Mr Vargas saw the role of Housemaster filled by Mr Hicks, who had previously headed Monty (a wise move, might we add!) and new Lower School boarding rooms reducing East’s space – they were certainly changes to be adapted to! As well as continuing to instil the values and ethos that Mr Vargas had left us with, Mr Hicks also took the opportunity during our first House Assembly to remind us that it isn’t the physical space that defines a house, but rather the strength of its character. It is clear that this lesson was taken on board, and it is a real testament to the boys that, despite the reduced space, house spirit remained strong.

Before we knew it, the first house competition was upon us: House Singing. We showcased a ‘surprisingly tuneful’ rendition of Wonderful World by Sam Cooke, in keeping with the swinging sixties theme, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to impress the judge. In the part song, solos from Toby Gray, Rob Butler, Lewis Moir, Charlie Bennett, Michael Georgiou and James Perkins impressed the judge and this secured us third place. Though a great achievement, such is the character of an East boy that the principal reaction was ‘next year is our year’. Victories in both the junior and senior House Rugby kick-started our sporting campaign, and the spontaneous pitch invasion following the Fourth Form win spoke volumes about how united we are as a house. The Charity Evening was an overwhelming success and we raised over £5,000 for the Leatherhead Youth Project - yet another aspect of East House of which were are proud.

Following the success of the Autumn Term, the Spring and Summer Terms followed suit, the highlight being our triumph in the senior debating campaign. The rest of the year, frustratingly, was characterised by the suppositious remark of ‘if only’, with second places in four out of the five House Football competitions, junior House Debating, senior House Hockey, House Drill and the infamous Pancake Race… Not to be despondent though, as these results really demonstrate the range of talent in the House.

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HOUSE COLOURS

Individual successes were also in plentiful supply, epitomised by the announcement of four new School Prefects for the coming year: James Perkins, Sam Smedley, Toby Gray and Chris Munro. They will take over from the current East School Prefects Charlie Bennett, Harry Lynn and Nikhil Patel and will continue to represent the House in the wider St John’s community.

For those of us in the Upper Sixth it is a time of mixed emotions. I would like to wish the other year groups all the best for the years ahead and thank them for making our final year an extremely memorable one.

To conclude, I would like to thank Mr Hicks for not only leading the House from a pastoral perspective, but also for always being fair-minded and fighting our corner on all matters. We also say thank you to the tutor team, our focal point of contact when it comes to any issues we may have.

They show time and time again that they truly care about us, and I know the boys always appreciate that. Of course, this paragraph would be unfinished if it were to miss out Jill, without whom we would likely be ‘lost, late and in the wrong kit!’ It can’t be easy keeping order in the quotidian chaos that is East House and, although we may not always show her, we are forever grateful for all she does for us.

It was a tremendous year for the green and black and it was a privilege for me to lead the House and share in all of its achievement.

Charlie Bennett House Captain 2018-19

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Houses Gloucester

From the Housemistress

F

or this year’s Johnian Magazine I have been asked to look back over the year and recall what my highlights of the academic year of 2018/19 have been.

I started the year with a House Assembly emphasising the need to be involved there is so much going on within St John’s and so many opportunities for girls to take and challenge themselves with - being passive was to be avoided at all costs.

What has impressed me is that so many Gloucester girls have risen to this challenge and involved themselves in different areas of school life, as well as contributing to various events beyond the School gates. Girls who do so much within school, still find time to sing in musical productions, perform in major ballet productions, represent their country in equestrian events and biathles, as well as gain scholarships across the pond and win national competitions. One has gained entry into Oxford, whilst another has scaled the heights of Kilimanjaro and another has represented GB – what talented girls and staff we have within Gloucester. Within school, some have taken up the opportunity to learn new sports such as rugby, or to involve themselves in learning new games such as chess.

Houses

Gloucester HOUSE MOTTO

Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.

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The start of the year saw the House unite as they prepared for house unison, choosing Be My Baby. The girls donned pink and blue ribbons and gave a wonderful performance, coming away with the top prize. Although we did not make it through to the final rounds of the Senior Debating Competition, the support that the girls gave from the floor to the House speakers was most impressive. This certainly has been as aspect that has impressed me in other events too. How the girls worked and supported each other through the charity evening, the friendly chats that go on through prep break across year groups – these all serve to highlight how united and supportive the girls are of each other.

The end of season inter-house hockey tournament was another major highlight for the House. All the girls gave a splendid account of themselves in the inter-house hockey matches, and what an atmosphere the girls created in the finals of the inters’ tournament that was held on the final day of term. In the past Gloucester has not had a good track record in working with film, but the Lower Sixth did the House proud with their offering for House Film and were awarded best cinematography. I am not sure that I will win any awards for my cameo performance but Matron might. In debating, with their well-researched speeches, the girls managed to convince the judge that it is fine to legalise drugs in the sporting world. The Forbes Music Competition saw two Gloucester girls win their respective

categories, and in House Golf, as well as winning the girls’ competition, a talented pair beat four boys’ houses along the way.

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Although not a house event, one cannot fail to mention the School’s production of Legally Blonde: The Musical, with which so many girls from Gloucester were involved. It was a night that the whole school should celebrate with so much talent on display.

The year ended with another annual event, the House Barbecue, which saw more money raised for the Community Holiday and served as another example of how well the girls work together to create a memorable event. At this time it was also highlighted that individuals continued to raise money for other charities outside of school through moon walks, and others gave selflessly of the time through volunteering.

I would like to thank the Upper Sixth for all that they have done throughout the year in leading the House and acting as wonderful role models to the younger years. All that is left for me to say is “tutty bye, ladies” and let’s look to next year being as good as the last.

Mrs Lise Parker

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Houses Gloucester

From the House Captain

G

loucester House, with the mighty mascot of the Unicorn, has made my time at St John’s. Not only is it a place of relaxation between lessons but it is also a

place of extreme enjoyment and endless energy.

HOUSE COLOURS

MASCOT From the very first day of Fourth Form, I have had the best time and made many unforgettable memories in this house. There are numerous things which represent Gloucester for me: the endless amounts of toast and coffee; House Unison practice with Mr Mortell’s warm ups; the famous Easter egg hunt; house sport competitions; our yearly 24-hour challenge; and, of course, our Matron’s amazing displays for each of the seasons.

With 75 girls in the House, Gloucester has always provided never-ending entertainment and everyday chances to speak to the other year groups. With our ‘snack times’ in boarding, and Mrs Parker’s crazy Christmas parties, each year group has got to know older or younger girls and we are able to support one another.

For me, the highlight of my time in Gloucester has to be leading the House Unison to victory this year alongside the Deputy Head of House, Martha Hansford. With our rendition of Be My Baby by the Ronettes, whilst proudly wearing the House colours of pink and blue ribbons in our hair, we were victorious and got our hands on the unison cup for the second time during my St John’s journey.

With a feisty and strong group of girls, not only have we dominated House Debating competitions, we have also dominated the sports pitches, holding victories of House Hockey during my first three years and victories in House Netball every year. I hope the Gloucester girls can keep up this reputation.

We take pride in our fundraising for a number of different organisations, from hosting a charity dinner and barbecue each year, to girls running stalls at the Christmas Fair. A

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particular mention must go to our amazing Matron, Lisa, for her incredible climb of Mount Kilimanjaro, raising over £1,000 for the Chilton’s Centre for Disabled Children. This year, for our renowned 24-hour challenge, we returned to Mrs Parker’s favourite sport of netball, where we saw the girls put the balls through the hoop all through the night, with hot chocolate and snacks pulling them through.

Altogether, we have raised an astonishing amount of almost £5,000 in support of St John’s very own Community Holiday.

I would like to give a special thank you to our Housemistress, Mrs Parker, who has undoubtedly shaped the House into what it is today. Over the years, she has encouraged us to always take part in competitions, passionately instilling house spirit into each of us. Her famous quotes of ‘happy clappy’ and ‘tutty byes’ never leave anyone surprised, unless her ‘little black book’ is not in her hand. I would also like to thank all the other staff who do so much for the House. When coming into house at the end of a long day, we are always greeted with familiar faces and cheerful questions, asking how our day was, and by Miss Hems who always has some kind of joke up her sleeve and never fails to put a smile on our faces.

I hope that Gloucester stays the strong community that it is today and I wish all the Gloucester girls every success throughout the rest of their school careers.

Sanne Senior House Captain 2018-19

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Houses Haslewood

Throughout the year it has been my pleasure to award so many academic engagement prizes to Haslewood girls, particularly in the Fourth Form and Lower Sixth.

However, it is important to note, that our Upper Sixth drama pupils Talya, Lily, Izzy and Libby have been outstanding throughout their final year. Whether it is setting the tone for their examination piece or performing some of the main roles in the School musical, they have been exceptional role models for our younger members.

Houses

Haslewood From the Housemistress

T

here is no doubt that this year has been one of Haslewood’s most prestigious

to date. Not only have the girls excelled academically, but they have won a number of sporting and cultural accolades as well.

On the sports field, Haslewood girls have performed consistently well throughout the year. We started brightly with a brilliant performance from our senior hockey team, showing teamwork and passion can rule above skill. Going into the competition as underdogs, Haslewood showed their strategic maturity to take the final game to flicks and be crowned champions. In Spring Term further significant sporting performances were achieved by our valiant lions. Two second places in the junior and senior A netball, plus a win in the senior B, gave us some valuable points. However, it was the infamous pancake result that provided the biggest highlight of the term. What can only be described as epic flipping and running from our 12 runners meant we came first overall. Watching Amy Currie fly down the steps will stay forever in my mind. Culturally, we have also been outstanding. Libby Thornton and Lilia Evans must be congratulated for their excellent leadership in the House Debating final. Pipped by East, a phenomenal run saw them deliver their arguments both elegantly and decisively throughout every round. Once again, Haslewood’s reputation in the House Singing remains untouchable. A third place in unison was the supporting act to our phenomenal part song piece, Crazy. Our Haslewood girls managed to blend complex melodies, with some heart-beating harmonies that were irresistible to the listener. A truly inspiring performance meant we were crowned overall winners.

But it hasn’t just been in competitions where Haslewood girls have excelled. The House Charity Night by all accounts was one of the best to date. Our Sixth Form showed off their creative flare by producing an Alice in Wonderland themed event to raise money for El Shaddai, our chosen charity for the year. Thank you to those generous parents who helped us raise an amazing amount of money, but also well done to all our exceptionally talented girls who performed so well on the night.

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Did you know?

The House is named after the School’s founder, Ashby Haslewood.

The building used to be the medical centre.

HOUSE MOTTO:

Have courage and be kind

There have been many moments for us to be proud of Haslewood girls across all school life this year. However, Haslewood’s involvement in the School musical was simply superb. Whether it was backstage or as a main character, the presence of the ‘double blue’ could be felt everywhere. I congratulate all those girls who took part and thank those who came to support.

Finally, all that is left for me to say is goodbye to our leavers. It has been a pleasure to get to know such a strong, cohesive and entertaining bunch of girls. Even through the pressure of examinations, they have never failed to make me smile. As a collective, there is so much talent and diversity, that I look forward to reading of your successes in years to come. A huge thank you to Lily Wolff for being an outstanding House Captain. You have made the job of housemistress very easy with your organisation, determination and incredible house spirit. Thank you to Teresa, our Matron extraordinaire, and to all the girls for an incredible 2019. #doubleblue Miss Lauren Moors

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Houses Haslewood

MASCOT

From the House Captain

H

HOUSE COLOURS

aslewood started the year as the underdogs but it is safe to say that, after the amazing year we have

had as a house, we have proven ourselves to be more

Competitions

than just great singers!

House Singing – part song

WON THIS YEAR: House Hockey Pancake Race

STRENGTHS: From the beginning of the year, we set the bar high.

Haslewood’s rendition of the Jackson 5’s Want You Back was highly successful at House Singing and we took first place in part song with our arrangement of Crazy. This success was then taken out onto the hockey pitch where the Haslewood A team stripped South of their title on penalty flicks. In Haslewood, the girls’ determination across the board in debating, netball, croquet, cricket and chess have made me proud to play my part.

Our Alice in Wonderland themed charity night raised a staggering amount for El Shaddai charity, a charity that helps underprivileged girls in India. Our house band proved highly successful, playing Stevie Wonder’s Master Blaster with girls singing, playing drums, guitar, bass and saxophone. It was amazing to see girls from every year group come together to create a magical evening which was described “the best charity night yet” by some (arguably biased) parents!

This year, we have introduced House Families, involving girls from each year group with an Upper Sixth ‘mum’. It has been a lovely way to get to know the other year groups and has encouraged competition in activities such as our Easter quiz and photo challenge.

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After hearing Mrs Dixon’s baby news, the House waited anxiously for the announcement of our new Housemistress. Miss Moors has looked at Haslewood from a new angle, bringing new ideas and energy to the House, which has subsequently continued to go from strength to strength. On behalf of the whole house, thank you. We are so grateful for everything you have done and continue to do for us.

House Singing Sense of community Determination House spirit Kindness

Teresa, our Matron, is kind, caring and an all-round legend.

Each and every girl in Haslewood relies on Teresa for things from a hug, to a cup of tea, to a spare skirt. She really is the heart of Haslewood and the House wouldn’t be what it is without her.

Finally, none of this year would have been possible without the help and support of the Haslewood prefect team. Molly Saunders, Freya Scarry, Izzy Mogridge, Libby Thornton and Livvy Gamber have been the best team I could have asked for and I am so lucky to have shared this experience with them. It has been a pleasure to lead Haslewood House this year and I wish the House luck in the future.

Lily Wolff House Captain 2018-19

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Houses Montgomery

From the Housemaster

W

here has this year gone? I cannot believe that

NUMBER OF PUPILS

my first year as Housemaster of Montgomery

has flown past so quickly.

I would like to start this review by paying tribute to House Captain Josh Boulton and his team of prefects who have led the House so brilliantly throughout the year and have made my first year in charge so enjoyable. It is hard to sum up the achievements of a whole house in a few paragraphs, but hopefully, this will give you an insight into what a successful year it has been for Montgomery!

Houses

Montgomery Competitions WON THIS YEAR: 1ST PLACE: Inters Touch Rugby Senior House Hockey House Golf House Chess

Achievement in the form of academic success has been fundamental to this house over the years and the boys who sat public exams during the summer of 2018 were no exception. Exceptional results are a by-product of a dedicated tutor team, guiding and supporting the boys at all times, but this success also comes from the boys’ own ambition and determination to succeed at every level.

I have no doubt that the boys sitting public exams this summer will continue in this vein.

House competitions run throughout the year, with varying degrees of success for the Monty boys! The hugely anticipated House Singing was without doubt a highlight – the part song version of Bastille’s Bad Blood was simply outstanding and I still find it hard to believe we didn’t win (not that I am at all bitter!). Our unison was not quite up to the same standard, nevertheless the Monty rendition of Ain’t No Mountain High Enough by Marvin Gaye received rapturous applause from the whole school. Other notable performances throughout the year include our junior debaters, victories in House Golf, senior House Hockey and House Chess, House Film and admirable performances in House Rugby, Football and Athletics. The Montgomery trophy cabinet may not be as bulging as previous years, but the time and dedication the boys have shown to these events across the year demonstrates how important representing Monty remains.

The charity we chose to support this year was Prostate Cancer UK and the continued support and fundraising ideas the boys have been involved with have made me extremely proud. From the joint Monty/North charity evening, to the numerous cake sales and everything in between, we have raised nearly £5,000, which is a fantastic achievement. The Monty boys also took huge pride and a willingness to help the local community with a Christmas toy appeal for The Royal Marsden Children’s Hospital. They can be very proud of their efforts.

This year’s Upper Sixth have been custodians of Monty and its ethos and values. I am hugely grateful to them for their support and contribution to the House and well aware that I am their fourth Housemaster! I hope they have enjoyed their final year as much as I have and I wish them all the very best as they embark on the next stage of their lives. I sincerely hope they stay in touch.

Named after Field Marshall Montgomery Finally, I must pay tribute to my amazing tutor team and the quite incredible Becky. Without doubt, the House would not survive without them! The extra time outside of school hours and tireless support they give to ensure that the boys’ experiences at St John’s are positive ones should never be underestimated. Becky and the tutors play vital roles in the Montgomery team and I will be forever grateful.

Did you know?

It has been a pleasure to lead the claret and blues this year; I thank the boys who have done themselves and the House proud.

Mr David Hammond

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Houses Montgomery

From the House Captain

I

mmediately after making the short journey from Downsend to St John’s and, more importantly,

to Monty, I knew I had made the right choice. The Housemaster at the time, Mr Bass, sat my parents and me down in his office during the first week and warned us: “The next five years will fly by”. At the time, we laughed. But now, as I approach my final few weeks in Monty, I can safely say that he was right.

HOUSE COLOURS MASCOT

The immediate immersion into the House spirit with the coveted House Singing competition really opened my eyes to what this house had in store for my peers and me.

This is why, when I was nominated the position of House Captain, I knew I had to continue this sense of excitement through my final year and aim to inspire it amongst the younger years, who have yet to discover just how fast their time in Monty will go by.

Although the performance on the sporting field has not been our strongest this year, Monty’s commitment to all of the other events has been outstanding. Throughout my time in Monty, we have excelled in our performances in part song, House Film and, most importantly, House Chess.

This year we placed a proud second in part song, with our School Captain, James Gardner (another example of how great Monty is), leading the beautiful accapella cover of Bad Blood. Felix Boothby and Freddie Barnes both gave strong performances and the rest of the House hope for further success in future years. But it is our house’s diversity in skills and passions that sets us apart from the rest and this is illustrated perfectly by our performance in House Chess.

The Cavanagh brothers led the House in their respective year groups and saw that we were undefeated across the board with a clean sweep victory, highlighting a strong connection between the year groups.

During house assemblies this year, Mr Hammond has encouraged members of the House to stand up and speak about issues close to them. This has encouraged the great feeling of integration throughout the House, whilst allowing the boys to convey important messages on mental health, bullying and charity work.

As House Captain, I feel great pride whenever the boys step up for all the events that the School throws at us; be it the coveted House Rugby or the less enjoyable, dreaded, House Debating, the boys always give their best and, despite their best efforts, do Monty proud. This year’s

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House Charity night saw a moment of pride in its purest form – right down to shaving your head. Austin Bell faced the clippers in order to spur the parents on to donating to our house charity and helped raise a magnificent sum of over £5,000 for Prostate Cancer UK. Without a doubt, the highlight of my time here at St John’s was my appointment as House Captain of Monty. From the start, Monty has been the largest part of my experience here and getting a chance to lead from the front and leave my mark on the House has been a rewarding experience. As the House has grown over the past five years, we have seen it become closer to our neighbouring house of North. I hope to see this grow as the School continues to evolve. Most importantly, I hope that the feeling that Monty carries with it doesn’t change and that the strong sense of community that the house breaths continues for many years.

It is the dynamic duo of our beloved Matron, Becky, and Housemaster (be it Mr Bass, Mr Platt, Mr Hicks or the current Mr Hammond) that has always provided an extraordinary amount of support to ensure that our time at St John’s has been the best it can be. Both visibly and behind the scenes, they do so much - be it getting us out of trouble with the maintenance staff after breaking the new sofas for the fourth time in three weeks, or making sure the Fourth Form aren’t getting lost on the way to lessons, no task is too big or too small for them. I want to wish Mr Hammond the best of luck in his, hopefully, many years as Housemaster. Even before this year, he played a big part in the running of the House and I’m sure that his passion for Monty will drive the House to much success in the future, backed by the vital support of the tutor team and Becky.

Joshua Bolton House Captain 2018-19

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Houses North

The boys never cease to amaze me, and although I am always proud of their victories and accomplishments, I am most pleased to see their character shine through in both their achievements and failures. They have supported each other like a family, they have been passionate about every competition, from football to croquet, and they have kept their integrity by wining with grace and losing with dignity.

We started the year off with our favourite competition: House Song. Our part song team impressed us with one of the most technically difficult songs of the event - Goodnight Sweetheart. Our unison performance was a mild improvement on last year’s with the Beatles’ classic I Get

By With A Little Help From My Friends. We thought the 60s moustaches and dance moves from our Fourth Form might mask the quality of singing. It didn’t, but we still had fun.

Did you know?

North was the first boys’ house to have a Housemistress.

HOUSE MOTTO: As defending champions of the Pancake Race for two years running, we thought we Passion, Integrity, were unbeatable, but we were proven wrong this year. There was some pretty erratic Perseverance (PIP) and risky pancake flipping from the North boys that day and we lost the cup. We made up for it that term with what we now call ‘Terrific Thursday’ where we won four out of the five football finals. The whole house sat through some nerve-racking games that ended in extra time or penalty shootouts. The atmosphere in the House that day was electric. North has also brought the cups back for the junior debate team, the cross country, house drill and intermediate hockey. We are particularly proud of our croquet team, who took the event way too seriously and won a hard fought battle against Surrey in the final.

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Houses

North From the Housemistress

T

his year I have had the pleasure to see North House’s true values shine. Our motto - Passion, Integrity and

North House has done a lot for charity this year. We had another Christmas toy appeal for the Royal Marsden with Monty. We collected an entire minibus full of gifts for the children there and took a group of boys to deliver them, along with some goodies for the staff there too. The toys are opened at the hospital’s Christmas day party with families and staff. We also had our joint Charity Hoedown. We all enjoyed a lovely cowboy themed BBQ dinner, line dancing and music. The two houses raised over £8,000 for Prostate Cancer UK and the Princess Alice Hospice. Luke Hailstone even sacrificed a full head of hair for the cause!

Within North we like to have our own quirky internal competitions. We have trialled vertical tutor groups this year and staff have had some good laughs judging gingerbread houses, pumpkin carving and clean limerick writing. We are looking forward to building on this next year and having these groups run and organised by our own Sixth Form, who have already been planning some great activities. We have enjoyed many socials this year, largely based around food. We have had pizza socials, a Christmas party, barbecue, Sixth Form curry and our traditional North House formal. Nathalie and Becky continued to provide us with cupcakes for holidays we didn’t even know existed.

Competitions WON THIS YEAR: Senior As Inters A and B

Perseverance - has been evident throughout all aspects of

Junior As Football

the House and school life.

Croquet Inter House Hockey Cross Country Junior Debating CCF House Drill

North House wouldn’t be the success that it is without the incredible team behind it. The boys are so driven and passionate, but an equally passionate tutor team, who are kind and caring and always put the boys’ needs first, also supports them. Thank you to Neil Whitmore, Julian Thomas, Tom Parry, Alison Abbott, William Marshall, Andrew Debney and my wonderful assistant, Craig Newby. My Sixth Form and particularly my prefect team have also had such an impact on North House and I am so proud of the work they have done. They have left an incredible legacy and we are going to miss them, but we also wish them the best of luck in the future.

We will have a huge loss next year as Nathalie leaves us for a brilliant opportunity. She has been the heart and the life and soul of North House and has cared for all 77 boys. She has been there for the laughs and the tears (by which I mean my own). We are going to miss her greatly, but thank her for everything she has done for us in North. We wish you the very best of luck and look forward to hearing all about the new role.

Mrs Catie Moon

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Houses North

From the House Captain

O

n our Fourth Form induction day five years ago, our Matron said,

“Boys, get to know each other well because you will be spending the next five years together”.

Well, I can safely say those five years have flown by and here we are just about to leave the School and house that we know so well. It was clear when I entered North that the comradery and sense of being in the House is unmatched by any other and for this reason it has helped me grow into the person I have become today.

Being House Captain has gifted me the opportunity to give back to the House that I love so much. I took this role determined to lead the House as best I can, but without my fellow Upper Sixth none of what was achieved this year would have been possible.

If I could do this all again in North, I would.

Since the first moment I entered North, I was able to understand just why North had that something which no other house does. The sense of community is unrivalled and the way the boys are able to integrate between the years follows suit. This is greatly aided by the vertical tutor group system, introduced last year, which has enabled boys across the year groups to integrate with each other in a way that they have never done before. The boys are what makes this house what it is and they should take pride in how they continue to do so after I leave.

MASCOT No house would be where they are now without the dedication that the tutors, Nathalie and Mrs Moon put into our home away from home. They do so much work behind the scenes that does not get the recognition it deserves.

From the simple things like letting us know what we need to do in the morning, to digging us out of trouble when we most need it; speaking on behalf of all the boys I can truly say we appreciate all that they do for us. They go above and beyond for all of us, truly showing why they are a fantastic tutor team and why this house stands out above the crowd.

Without sounding too arrogant, we won everything this year! Ok, perhaps a little over-exaggerated, but it has been a fantastic year to end on in North House. From House Croquet champions, to Junior Debating champions, and even CCF House Drill – we like to think we’ve been ‘around the block’. And that is without even mentioning

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‘Terrific Thursday’ where we won not one, not two, not even three, but four House Football titles in the same day.

Behind the scenes, our greatest moments had their ‘foundation’, without which they may not have been so great. Mrs Moon’s regular ‘bribing’ moments were the right amount of motivation needed to drive the boys to success.

Who knew pizza could inspire such greatness!

Without a doubt the opportunity to lead this house and the boys within it has to be one of the highlights of my time at St John’s. From the start of Fourth Form until today, I have been able to experience just what its like to have a home away from home. There aren’t words to explain what this house offers to a pupil; not only does it afford them the opportunity to be in a place where they can feel at home, it is a place where you can grow from strength to strength and come out a better person than you came in. The bonds formed with the boys you spend five years with is like no other and it is for that reason this house is so special and I hope it continues to live and breathe the values it holds.

Did you know?

Despite being called North we are the most central house in the School!

I am, again, lost for words for the thanks I would like to extend to everyone here in North. The North tutor team is second to none to have to put up with us over the years. We really do greatly appreciate your efforts in attempting to right our many wrongs, and sticking with us through the good times as well as the bad. To our legendary Matron, Nathalie, as much as we joke around, I don’t think you realise how much we appreciate you and everything you do for us; you are a key cog to the North machine and we wish you well in your future endeavours – North will not be the same without you. Finally, Mrs Moon, I think its safe to say you have turned this house into a home and people would be jealous not to be part of that. You deserve all the praise you get and I hope you can continue to run our home the North way and let the legacy we have left in the Upper Sixth live on.

Luke Trimming House Captain 2018-19

HOUSE COLOURS

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Houses South

The Autumn Term started with a sense of pace and the girls were soon working towards the first house competition of the year - the House Song competition. The whole house came together to work on You Can’t Hurry Love for the unison and the Upper Sixth girls expertly led the rehearsals, resulting in third place. Emma took the reins for the part song, aided by Phoebe, for which they sang an arrangement of Lorde’s Green Light beautifully.

From music to sport, the girls have thrown themselves into every competition, always putting themselves forward to take part. We have had some successes along the way with a win for the juniors in both hockey in the Autumn Term and netball in the Spring Term. As well as this, four fantastic girls went on to take the House Cross Country cup at the end of a busy spring term. Never failing to show their enthusiasm for all house events, the Summer Term has seen House Croquet, House Chess and House Golf competitions take place, with South establishing themselves as firm favourites in the competition early on and were the first team in five years to peg-out during a group game.

It is not just in house competitions that the girls have shown their pride for South House. The charity dinner is always a fantastic evening and it was lovely to see all the year groups get involved with an aim to raise as much as possible over the evening. The evening was based on the murder mystery ‘Who Killed Mrs Densham?’ (to many girls’ surprise – it was Mr Coote!) and was a wonderful evening to toast Mrs Densham and say farewell after her nearly three years as South Housemistress. The girls also provided great entertainment, including the Upper Sixth rendition of Annie and It’s A Hard South Life. Smaller events have been held throughout the year, including the South Christmas party with plenty of hot chocolate and party games and the South House barbecue at the beginning of the Summer Term.

There have been some tremendous moments of pride watching the girls in other activities around the school. A highlight in most people’s year was the performance of Legally Blonde in Leatherhead Theatre. A number of South girls took part in this across several year groups with Phoebe McCutcheon taking the lead part of Elle, ably supported by Phoebe Simpson as Vivienne, Genevieve ten Have as one of her Greek Chorus alongside Sarah Nelson-Jones and Jess Hall. There have been some NUMBER OF PUPILS individual successes too including Sofia Riome, who took her interest in CCF and flying with the RAF further with a BA internship, which I hear she thoroughly enjoyed. In the Summer Term, Phoebe Simpson heard she had been accepted into the National Youth Theatre and we look forward to seeing her on the stage with them soon.

Houses

South From the Housemistress

T

his has been a fantastic year for South House with tremendous moments of

pride, achievements and a wonderful number of house events.

The House has been through its first year without Hallaton, and although the girls had to initially get used to being in one building, they have enjoyed all being based in Fairfield. The girls have worked hard to keep the House running in such a positive and friendly way. Special thanks must go to Anya Cooper and her team of prefects, the South tutor team, our wonderful Matron, Karen, and the cleaners who keep the House running; it a true team effort which makes South a happy house of which all the girls can be proud.

Mrs Isabel Morgan

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Houses South

From the House Captain

T

his has been another successful year

for South House. We welcomed lots of new faces at the start of the year into the Fourth Form, the Sixth Form and some new members of staff. At Easter we said goodbye to Mrs Densham, who departed for Haileybury, and welcomed Mrs Morgan from Bryanston. In addition, we bid farewell to Miss Lawes at the end of this year.

Competitions

WON THIS YEAR: Junior Hockey Junior Netball Cross Country

HOUSE COLOURS

After catching up after the summer holiday we marched straight into our first inter-house competition: House Drill.

Nine cadets volunteered to be put through their paces and, avoiding the wall they failed to avoid in the previous year, managed to come third - the highest placed girls’ house.

South then began practicing in earnest for the House Singing competition and gave an excellent performance of You Can’t Hurry Love, which was enhanced by some mesmerizing choreography. In part song the girls gave a wonderful rendition of Green Light. South’s hard work paid off to achieve third place in both.

South then prepared for action on the hockey pitch with determination (and of course the purple and black face paint). Ready to win. There is no doubt that the girls in South have talent when it comes to hockey and, despite fierce competition, South came second in both the inter and senior competitions; huge congratulations to the Fourth Form on their convincing victory.

As Autumn Term progressed, the girls in the Upper Sixth started to turn their attention to UCAS applications and completing their personal statements. With the arrival of the festive season we had the boarders’ Christmas dinner, the Christmas party (with some amazingly awful festive jumpers) and, this year, South had a stall at the Christmas Fair, ideal for those with a good aim and a steady hand.

After Christmas, South House swung into action yet again.

We steamed on with another fantastic win from the Fourth Form in House Netball, setting them off for a successful South career. In the inter competition, South came second after a narrow loss in the final and the senior team… well, we tried our hardest but the odds were not in our favour.

Nonetheless, we brought great enthusiasm and team spirit!

Next came cross country, with South managing to place first despite not having a full team, and with four girls

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placed in the top five. A special mention to Caroline Webb who ran incredibly well and, despite being in Lower Fifth, came first beating the Sixth Formers.

Our Charity Night followed the half-term holiday and, in a break with tradition, was a murder mystery evening, which managed to raise over £11,000 for the children’s charity Momentum, our house charity for the year. It was a fun evening, thanks in part to stellar performances by the members of South, the dynamic duo of Mrs Densham and Miss Moors and truly murderous performances from the Lower Fifth singing Man In The Mirror and Upper Sixth with an interesting take on It’s A Hard Knock Life.

As the Spring Term came to an end, exam pressures began to rise for those taking GCSEs and A levels in the summer and university places were being discussed. A special mention has to be made to Lia and Kate on receiving offers from Oxford. As we began to turn our attentions to Easter, South put up a good fight in the annual Pancake Race and in House Croquet. We were the first team to peg-out in five years during a group game. At the final house event for the year, House Chess, we managed to place fourth despite the tough competition.

This year has gone incredibly quick and while I look forward to life at university, I will be sad to say goodbye to St John’s and particularly to South House. I will miss the team spirit, enthusiasm, the fun and the gossip. I would like to say a big thank you to all my tutors, Mrs Densham, Mrs Morgan and, of course, Karen for all the support. Being House Captain this year has been an absolute pleasure and it has been an honour to lead South through such a successful year.

Anya Cooper House Captain 2018-19

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Houses Surrey

From the Housemaster

O

ne of the first pleasing moments, in terms of house competitions, came in the form of the intermediate House Debating.

In an enthralling final against East, our main speakers Tristan Coetzee and Ben Webb performed admirably and applied significant pressure in the cross examination. Unfortunately, East just pipped us to the post thorough the floor comments, but we showed a great level of maturity to put up a good fight. Pupils such as Luke Akam-Taylor and William Turnbull deserve a mention for their diligence and meticulous preparation for lead roles in the early rounds despite being in the Fourth Form.

Houses

Surrey

NUMBER OF PUPILS

The senior B football side also deserves a mention. The boys took to their field in the pool games demonstrating true team work and secured a notable victory against Churchill to send Surrey through to the semi-finals. The semi-final against East was a close game that survived the pressure of the golden goal extra time and went to penalties. Despite not progressing any further, the wave of energy that the boys created, through their desire to represent the House and enjoy playing, was infectious and spurred on all around them.

The senior House Croquet competition saw JJ Hayter, Joe Watson, Dominic Blackmore and Angus Rose transform themselves into gentlemen with sartorial style, and beat Haslewood, South and East to reach the final against North.

A well-supported final meant that Surrey were able to apply significant pressure and the final was a very close affair, with North pegging out just before Surrey to clinch the trophy.

Pupils pitched their ideas for the House charity in September and pupils voted for their choice. Ben Lucas’s presentation on Parkinson’s UK was selected as the charity for the year. Money has been raised through various means including mufti days, but the majority of money raised was gained from our House Charity Night. The night consisted of quizzes and games led by Connor Cloughley and Christo Handy, musical accompaniment throughout by Patrick O’Neill, Philip Webster and James Pashley and it was entirely organised by pupils. There was a lot of planning and work Surrey was the first boys’ behind the scenes including Conor Frow and Luke Swaine who executed their roles as day house at St John’s maître d’hôtel to perfection.

Did you know?

HOUSE MOTTO:

Belong Believe Achieve

I have been so proud to see the hard work that pupils put in to events such as this, from the selection of our charity to hosting our charity night. Watching pupils, parents and staff working together to generate a significant amount of money for our charity was rewarding. An additional moment of pride this year was seeing a large number of Surrey pupils come out onto the Quad to cheer on our croquet side. Despite losing, we showed the strength of our support and really epitomised the House motto - Belong, Believe, Achieve.

I would like to thank the Upper Sixth pupils for their time and dedication to the House over the past few years. Special mention must go to the prefect team in their roles organising pupils for house events and promoting the spirit of the House. I wish the all the Upper Sixth the best; they will always be welcomed back into Surrey at any point.

Mr Ian White

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Houses Surrey

From the House Captain

S

tarting St John’s in September of 2014, a quiet, reserved individual joining a house

with none of my former friends, made me apprehensive and nervous when the first day of school came along.

Strolling in on my first day, wearing nothing that fitted - an oversized blazer, trousers, shirt and backpack - standing at a mere five foot tall, I set out on the adventure which I would undertake for the next five years.

What I can remember from the start of my time in Surrey is the first word in our motto, to belong. A mix of young lads embarking on their individual quests but with the knowledge that you always had people to help and encourage you.

HOUSE COLOURS

From the outset as the youngest boys in the House, you admired and looked up to the Upper Sixth, for us, a sea of giants. With the likes of Freddie Felton, the 6 foot 6 inches sprinter who you were sure not to mess with, mixed in with comforting and friendly faces such as Joe Baxter. It really fulfilled the atmosphere a senior school boys’ house should have. We quickly gained respect for these characters as they ran the house with Mr Johnston-Jones, the housemaster at the time. As the first house events approached, announced in house assembly, the second word in our house motto became clear, believe. The unbelievable number of volunteers for all the events showed the willingness of all those to contribute in events and the real excitement as we were always in with a chance of winning.

The best times at St John’s often revolved around these house events.

Significant moments include watching the junior team win the House Football last year, which elicited some of the best celebrating from a house since I’ve been at the School. Still no one knows who set off the red flare and who led the charge onto the pitch when the winning penalty was scored. Moments like these really brought the House together. How I wish everyday would unfold like this, but during times of hard studying near exam periods, it is key to be surrounded by those who will not only be there for you in the ups but also the downs.

MASCOT

The staff that run Surrey are a great example of these people. The tutors who you see day in day out to help you stay organised. Mrs Bateson has been in Surrey for the STRENGTHS: last four years and will sadly be leaving us this year. So my first thank you would have Sport to be to her for all the hard work she has put in, going out of her way to help every Community feel person in the House. Another mention must go to our Matron, Gayle. After taking over from Angela at Christmas, she managed to integrate smoothly into life in Surrey.

Whether it is making toast - vital to keep us going throughout the day - or helping find lost equipment, she really has been a great addition to Surrey House. My final thank you has to go to Mr White, the current Housemaster of Surrey who took on the position at the start of the year. It has by no means been the most comfortable or easy job to step into, but he has acted calmly and always with the best interest of the house. Sadly, I am unable to thank each individual member Surrey staff, but they have all been a great help in making Surrey what it is today.

I hope that Surrey will grow and be a stronger contender in all house events in the future as the Upper Sixth move onto new places. As well as always fulfilling the final word in our motto, achieve, for many years to come. The whole of the Upper Sixth of Surrey hope we have steered Surrey in the right direction and hope that success will come quick and fast in the future.

Joseph Watson House Captain 2018-19

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Houses West

From the Housemaster

W

est House continues its drive towards delivering on a range of fronts; yes, we want success, but most importantly, there remains the burning

desire to create successful 25 year olds, ready to face a changing world with confidence, enthusiasm and a slight sense of trepidation as they step outside their comfort zone.

West has strong foundations and a history of which we can all be proud, but it is also about creating one’s own legacy; as such, it is always about leaving the House in a better position than one found it.

There have been many highlights this year, as the competitions started with a narrow loss in the House Singing, coming close to retaining our unison title. The competition is always a great way to open the house competitions, with boys from all years coming together, this year to belt out 60s classics. Success came soon after with the inters A rugby and the senior B touch rugby - fitting ways to end a season which had seen many boys represent the School across the age groups. It is always such a pleasure to see so many boys put themselves forward for selection and show leadership on the pitch. A similar story was seen in the football, where the boys made several finals and took the senior B title. However, the greatest successes remain away from the field of competition; the speed at which our new Fourth Form settled, the way in which the House welcomed New Zealand exchange Flynn Dudson or the support given to those enjoying success in the classroom or the School musical have set the boys apart from others. These moments demonstrate the sense of community and pride and are pillars from which we grow.

Houses

West

This year, West supported a local charity, B@titude. Based in North Leatherhead, the charity has community at its heart, something that West House prides itself on also.

We have been looking at the sense of community beyond the four walls of the House and this charity was a perfect match. We also felt we could make a real difference and see the effects on our doorstep, which was really pleasing.

We are happy that with support from boys and parents we were able to help generate substantial funds.

Competitions WON THIS YEAR:

Inters House Rugby Senior Bs Football Senior Touch Rugby 2nd House Unison

This year saw the departure of Huw Jones after four and a half years as Housemaster, and Laurence Bruggemann after two years as Resident Boarding tutor and, most lately, the Fourth Form tutor. Both have been dedicated to the West House cause and been keen to set high standards. As school masters, they have contributed to many areas of school life,

NUMBER OF PUPILS but West has, quite literally, been home and the heart of their work at St John’s.

We wish them both well at Warminster and Bradfield College, respectively.

Did you know?

West is one of the original four The Upper Sixth houses at St John’s founded in 1874 have been a real treat across their five years in the House and we will miss STRENGTHS: them greatly. They House Singing have been strong role Sport models for the younger years: hard working, Tight knit community committed and Academics dedicated to the House beyond themselves as individuals. They have created life-long bonds and we know they will stay in touch with each other and us in the years to come. They set high benchmarks for themselves and delivered time and again, making life easy for the staff in house. As they move on to pastures new, we know they will carry a part of this with them through life; we absolutely wish them all the best for all that the future holds.

Mr James Kidd

2nd House Cross Country 2nd Senior House Football

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Houses West

From the House Captain

I

can confidently say that my time at St John’s has been the best five years of my life and a large part of this has been due to my experiences in West House.

I joined West in Fourth Form, knowing very few others in my house, but I settled in very quickly - ultimately that was down to the friendly community of West.

From the start, the Sixth Form were very welcoming and the staff helpful in everything from organisational advice to academic support and, even more importantly, the staff were always genuine and easy to talk to. Some of my fondest memories have been sitting on the landing during boarding, having discussions on hilarious topics ranging from Mr Jones’ break-dancing abilities to Mr Pepper’s golden football prospects for future years.

HOUSE COLOURS

West has a reputation of being a very strong sporting house across all terms and age groups, with appearances in finals being a normality in recent years. This was epitomised by our performances last year, across all sports and age groups, gaining West the house sport cup, in addition to the house shield. However, our talents are not limited to sport as we also have a reputation for being the loudest singing house at congers each week. Our singing prowess was cemented by winning house unison last year and achieving a very respectable second place in this year’s competition.

The main reason that West is such a great house is because of the tradition and community that has been maintained, mostly through the abundance of whole-house interaction, MASCOT including house assembly every week, boarding and the various whole-house events such as House Debating and the previously mentioned House Singing competitions.

House spirit is consistent across all years and there has been lots of integration between age groups. It is very common for younger West House pupils to have conversations with West Sixth Formers around the School as they feel comfortable talking to them, despite the age difference, purely because of the interaction created within the House environment.

HOUSE MOTTO:

Honesty Resilience House-First Courage

However, for me, our house spirit was perfectly portrayed in our leaving video for Mr Jones. I had a huge number of pupil requests to participate in filming the clips, so much so that I could not include them all, and this enthusiasm demonstrates the level of support that makes West such a great community. As House Captain, one of the things of which I am extremely proud is our fundraising ability through our annual charity night. As always, we raised a lot of money for our house charity, B@titude, and our parents had a great time generously donating to this cause, as did the boys making our famous parody videos.

In the future I hope that West maintains its philosophy of being a ‘home away from home’ and that its members continue to grow into decent human beings. I would like to thank Mr Kidd, who has played a huge role in the management of the House for many years - from his tutor role helping Fourth Form adapt to life at St John’s and as a Housemaster leading with passion - look no further than Mr Kidd for an exceptional example of leadership and commitment. Given the title of ‘West House Legend’, Mr Kidd is a dependable character I can always rely on: your efforts are greatly appreciated. Mr Bruggemann and Mr Pepper do much towards the everyday running of the House, which needs to be commended, and also support us as tutors, helping pupils with individual concerns. Mr Bruggemann has been a great influence on the Fourth Form, helping them to settle in quickly and setting the standards for years to come, whilst Mr Pepper has been fantastic in the UCAS process, making sure the Sixth Form are thriving in potentially difficult exam years. Finally, Angela, our Matron, the unsung hero of West without whom the House would not function. She ensures the amazing upkeep of the House and makes sure that every West House pupil is organised. I would also like to extend a warm welcome to Mr Currie who will be joining West next year as the new Housemaster; I am confident he will steer the House on the right track to further success in the future. To all my fellow West pupils I have been with over the past five years, thanks for all the amazing memories and support; it has been a pleasure knowing you and all the best for the future.

Daniel Craig House Captain 2018-19

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Chapel

T

his year, our House Chapel services have been molded on the ancient prayer routine that places a focus on the breath.

The modern phenomenon of mindfulness finds its own roots in this ancient practice, which causes the individual (and in this case the house) to focus firstly inward, then outward and finally around oneself.

During the first term, there was a focus in Chapel on awareness of our own mental health, which I addressed along with the Deputy Head, Mr Pepper and in House Chapel. As our understanding of this area of our own health increases, Chapel is certainly a place where this can be considered with the gravity the issue is due. Alongside this, we also considered coping with failure and the imperative to address the burgeoning climate crisis.

As ever the Carol Services and Remembrance Sunday were extremely well supported and pupil contribution to Sunday services continues to be nurtured. Our service of Remembrance, as with recent years, focused on the impact the Great War had on our own school community. This was also reflected in the Old Johnian Day service, as this year was the centenary of OJ Day, the first being held after the end of the war in 1919. The Autumn Term concluded with the popular rendition of the Twelve Days of Christmas, during which I attempted to explain the spiritual significance of each of the gifts mentioned, whilst each house took a line of the song, creating an upbeat finish to the year!

In Wednesday morning Chapel there was, as usual, a vast array of topics covered through a number of themes which ran throughout the year and provided a focus over a half term. In our first half term the nature of belief provided the focus. The writer Andrew Brown, in describing Britain, wrote: Christianity, in this sense, is not a label. It is not even a set of beliefs to which people may assent or not. It is much more like a very long marriage – 2,000 years of braided arguments: a shared world to disagree about together.

CHAPEL Chapel continues to provide the moment of stillness to life at St John’s. As the School changes, Chapel is one of the constants in a pupil’s life alongside house, sport and lessons.

As Chaplain this definition of religion is close to my own and the idea of reflecting, questioning and growing our own beliefs is central to all that we do in Chapel. The aim of coming together in Chapel is to help build our own narrative of faith and belief that is more grounded than when we joined our community at St John’s, whether as a pupil, parent or member of staff.

It was this same focus on belief that provided a thread to lead through the focus on stories after Christmas, both as we reflected on novels and, in the final term, on the four stories at the start of the book of Genesis. Telling stories is a fundamental human function. It is something we have done for as long as we have existed. Stories bring us together, they create bonds, whether fictional or based in reality, sharing stories is something every era and age of humanity does. Stories: teach us something about ourselves they teach us something about the world we live in stories teach us something about the human condition they change the way we see the world and on occasion they can even change the world As we left Chapel on Speech Day, some were leaving the daily tie they have to the School community but they do so as part of an ongoing narrative. We are all inextricably linked to the community at St John’s and, whilst our individual stories will take us to a vast array of places, we go out into the world as part of a community that is founded on the of love and acceptance of all displayed by Christ to the end of his life.

Rev’d Charlie Moloney, School Chaplain

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Performing Arts Music at St John’s

MUSIC

MASTERCLASSES

at St John’s

This year saw the introduction of our Masterclass series, which allowed our pupils to work in detail with expert practitioners and then present a recital showcasing what they had learned.

The inaugural event provided our pianists with an opportunity to explore the art of accompanying. Libby Burgess (one of the country’s leading accompanists) was engaging and encouraging whilst guiding our pupils though some of the challenges of accompanying singers and instrumentalists.

It was a pleasure to welcome back OJ Dominic Sedgwick (currently working at the Royal Opera House) to work with a number of our singers on a variety of repertoire.

It was particularly interesting for the pupils to work with somebody at the start of his professional career.

I

The level of string playing at St John’s is rightly a point of pride for the Music Department and so it was a delight to welcome Jon Thorne (professor of Viola at The Royal Academy of Music) to work with our soloists and string ensembles. The players reacted with maturity and flexibility to some inspiring direction and suggestions.

The final masterclass of the year followed on from the success of the School’s musical, Legally Blonde. We were thrilled to welcome Rosemary Ashe (West End star and Olivier Award nominee) to work with a number of our singers on their songs and craft. Pupils ranging from the Lower Third to Upper Sixth enjoyed an energetic and enthralling masterclass.

t has been a busy and rewarding year for music at St John’s with an enormous number of pupils involved in an eclectic mix of events and it has been

wonderful to see pupils playing with such passion and a sense of fun.

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Performing Arts Music at St John’s

COMPETITIONS

On Thursday 27 September, nine of our exceptional musicians took to the stage, backed by a professional orchestra, to play a movement from a major piece of the concerto repertoire in the Concerto Competition. The performances were utterly outstanding, demonstrating both dazzling technical prowess and deep musical understanding. The adjudicator, Neil Matthews (Director of Music at Hurstpierpoint College), admitted to having been given an almost impossible task. Any one of the nine players was worthy of being awarded the prize and he was keen to stress this point whilst offering insightful feedback for each soloist. In the end, Alexander Semple was awarded the prize for his scintillating performance of the Symphonie Espagnole by Édouard Lalo.

On Tuesday 26 February, the Forbes Music Competition saw 120 of our pupils from across all year groups performing an eclectic mix of repertoire with commitment, energy and passion.

Pupils competed across Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced categories for three external adjudicators and the feedback received highlighted the wonderful spirit in which everyone approached the event. We were delighted to be able to welcome the winning performers back to the stage for our Winners’ Recital on Tuesday 19 March, including the winning band from the inaugural Battle of the Bands. The performances were fantastic, but even more importantly the recital was an opportunity for us to showcase the achievements of some of our finest musicians across all year groups, ability levels and musical genres: a real celebration of the musical life of the School.

The performances were utterly outstanding, demonstrating both dazzling technical prowess and deep musical understanding.

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CONCERTS AND RECITALS In addition to our regular series of lunchtime recitals, we were delighted to offer a number of major concerts and recitals throughout the year showcasing a large number of pupils playing in a wide range of musical styles and genres.

The Autumn Term saw many of the School’s ensembles come together to perform a concert based around the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams and associated composers. All of the performers contributed excellently and it was a particular delight to welcome the Lower School Choir for their first concert performance: the future looks bright! Towards the end of term, our growing number of rock bands presented a fantastic concert, full of energy. This was another event involving performers from across the year groups and it was wonderful to have so many from the wider community come to support.

The Spring Term offered the chance for our acoustic performers to shine and there were some outstanding

solo performances alongside polished ensembles. On Wednesday 6 March our musicians presented a thrilling evening of music from James Bond films to a packed-out Old Chapel. The pupils were resplendent in black tie and an array of wonderful dresses, the catering department had produced classy ‘mocktails’ and a vintage Aston Martin had made the journey from Plymouth to be parked outside - all of which made for a very special evening.

The pupils hit the ground running for the first few weeks of the Summer Term preparing for our Summer Concert in the second week back. The Saint Nicolas cantata by Benjamin Britten was sung and accompanied entirely by the pupils; this was a remarkable achievement and required real determination and nerve from all of the players. Both our String Quartet and Wind Quintet took to the stage to produce outstanding recitals – a fitting end for some of our Upper Sixth pupils who have given much to these ensembles over the years.

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Performing Arts Legally Blonde: The Musical

LEGALLY BLONDE

T H E M U SI C A L

The end of March saw St John’s return to the world of musical theatre with a bang, after a ‘hiatus’ of eight years, with two hugely successful performances of Legally Blonde: The Musical. This wonderful production brought the entire school community together in a musical celebration that blended talent, energy and joy and had us humming tunes for weeks afterwards.

Preparations began as far back as twelve months ago when Legally Blonde was chosen as the piece best suited to kick start the renaissance of this fantastic musical and dramatic art form.

Casting began in September 2018, as the staff scoured the hidden talents of the pupil body from Fourth Form upwards to find two winning romantic and comedic leads and a vibrant and vivacious supporting cast. External choreographers were drafted in, including a member of the original West End cast and the School’s very own Lily Wolff doing a superlative job as Dance Captain (while also giving an amazingly energetic performance as Brooke Wyndham), and the rehearsal process began with slowly learning the challenging but rewarding music and gradually piecing together routines.

The staff began searching the country high and low for the most suitable sets and costumes and collecting the never-ending list of props, which were all necessary to make the show go with a zing. As the performances drew closer, the commitment, energy and enthusiasm of our talented cast never waned, despite long rehearsals at weekends and into the evenings.

Legally Blonde: The Musical took place over two sell-out performances on the evenings of Thursday 28 and Friday 29 March at Leatherhead Theatre. The two standing ovations received by the cast, combined with rapturous and prolonged applause, were heartily deserved in recognition of the sophisticated, intelligent and polished performances. Phoebe McCutcheon simply shone in the central role of Elle Woods, displaying every emotion with sincerity but also lovely comic timing. James Gardner performed with exceptional skill and professionalism rarely seen in someone of his age and made every single member of the audience take him to their hearts. Isabel Mogridge was a paragon of comic timing and completely convincing as the lovable hairdresser, Paulette. Michael Georgiou brought suitable swagger to the role of Callahan and Lower Fifth pupil, Eddie Jones, revelled in the character of the heart-throb Warner. Daisy Murray, Talya Chambers and Genevieve ten Have led the Greek Chorus and Delta Nu girls with energy that simply flew through the fourth wall and the entire ensemble quite literally raised the roof of the Leatherhead Theatre.

A musical celebration that blended talent, energy and joy

Ollie White, Director of Performing Arts, said: “All members of the Performing Arts Department are justly proud of their cast and hugely grateful to the staff at the Leatherhead Theatre for their expertise and to the band who helped lift the cast for the final push to the finishing line. Many members of the audience, including professional performers in music and theatre, and many Drama and Music staff from other schools claimed that it was the best school production they had ever seen; we may have set the bar high but we like a challenge.”

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Performing Arts Drama at St John’s

DRAMA at St John’s

THERE IS A WAR The first drama production of the academic year - There Is A War by BAFTA nominated writer Tom Basden (contributing writer on Peep Show and creator of Plebs) - saw pupils from Lower Fifth to Upper Sixth lead the cast in a dark comedy about the absurdity and savagery of war in early December.

Visitors to the performances were greeted by the impactful set design, recreating the blasted landscape of this war that juxtaposed effectively with a pre-show comic routine, devised by the cast, which served to introduce the world of the play.

The play follows Anne Croft, played with skill and great control by Sophie Mosselmans, an army doctor who finds herself lost and abandoned in a battle-scorched wasteland, desperate to find her way to a hospital and those most in need of her help. In a world where war has distorted social norms and clouded the idea of who is in actually in control, she encounters dance teachers, colour-blind troops, entertainers and anti-war tradesmen. The cast was completed with three music scholars forming a marching band, whose rendition of Pack Up Your Troubles became ever more comically distorted and warped as their

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instruments gradually disintegrated across their various appearances. The play climax occurs when Anne finally finds the hospital she has been searching for, only for the war to invade the ward in a battle sequence executed with physical dexterity and great comic timing from the whole cast.

This Senior School Production provided great comedic value with excellent performances provided by the stellar cast. A lot of hard work, dedication and preparation went into this production and we are very proud of what the pupils achieved. Head of Academic Drama and Director of the production, Mr Garbett, said: “In what is a challenging play, the cast rose to the occasion delivering sharply defined characterisation and excellent comic timing. We are lucky to have so many talented actors and the fact they have collaborated so well is testament to their professionalism.”

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Performing Arts Drama at St John’s

DRAMA ASSESSMENTS Between January and March, the St John’s Drama Department was a hive of activity as pupils from both GCSE and A level cohorts tirelessly rehearsed and prepared for their practical exam assessments.

On Thursday 28 February, the GCSE drama pupils produced outstanding performances for their practical exam assessment. Pupils performed from a wide range of texts such as Contractions by Mike Bartlett, The Wardrobe by Sam Holcraft and Metamorphosis by Steven Berkoff amongst many others. Head of Academic Drama, Mr Garbett, commented: “The pupils have worked extremely hard throughout the rehearsal process and produced sophisticated and powerful performances in front of an external examiner. We hope that they are justly rewarded for their efforts and that the Lower Fifth drama cohort, who were in attendance as an audience, are inspired to create their own performance work with the same level of skill and diligence that these young actors have shown.”

On Wednesday 6 March, the Upper Sixth drama pupils gave a sensational, ensemble performance of Mark Ravenhill’s seminal play Pool (No Water) in which a famous artist invites

her old friends to her luxurious home and new swimming pool. For one night only, the group is back together, pretending to be bohemian and carefree even though they’re all older now and the rest of them don’t have pools. But a horrific accident brings an abrupt end to the nostalgia.

ROALD DAHL’S REVOLTING RHYMES

The group worked tirelessly to weave the complex and sophisticated subject matter of the play into a performance that was by turns powerful, philosophical and provocative.

Following the group performance, each pupil performed a monologue to an engaged examiner and audience from such varied texts as Love of The Nightingale, Fleabag, People, Places and Things, Posh, The Laramie Project and Spidermen. Mr Garbett commented: “The pupils are to be congratulated on their dedication, hard work and creativity in what was their last academic drama performance at the School.”

In addition to this, as part of curriculum drama, the Lower Third have investigated the fear and horror genre through exploring Gloom Manor, the Upper Third have researched the challenging social and historical context of World War One and the Fourth Form have produced sophisticated physical performances using Trestle Theatre masks.

A stunning triumph and a fantastic showcase of the Lower School pupils’ many talents

This academic year’s final major project was the Lower School Play, a chance for our youngest pupils to shine as they brought the inspirational imagination of Roald Dahl to the Performing Arts Centre Auditorium with his children’s classic Revolting Rhymes on 18 and 20 June.

The challenge of delivering this larger than life collection of poems brought an array of obstacles, which the cast tackled with energy and enthusiasm.

Dahl parodies six classic fairy tales, ridding them of their happily ever after endings for some surprising conclusions, including a bratty turn from Cinderella whose prince has a tendency to chop of heads, a collection of gambling addicted dwarves, a foul-mouthed Goldilocks and a pistol wielding Red Riding Hood.

A talented group of pupils devised a wraparound story, allowing the individual tales to interweave seamlessly and creating production that was unique to St John’s pupils’ interpretation. The production closed with a fabulous rendition of Revolting Children from Matilda the Musical, performed by the Lower School Choir, with additional showstopper elements by some fantastic gymnasts.

The Lower School play was a stunning triumph and a fantastic showcase of the Lower School pupils’ many talents, allowing the St John’s Performing Arts Department to end the year on a real high.

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Beyond the Classroom

Beyond

JUNIOR AND SENIOR HISTORY SOCIETIES

THE CLASSROOM

We are passionate about encouraging our pupils to try new things, broaden their horizons and have fun. Each term, pupils select activities from the rich and interesting co-curricular programme. The breadth of activities available reflects the varied interests of our pupils and staff, and creates opportunities to enhance academic study, develop new skills and acquire new hobbies. Here is a snapshot of just a few of the activities pupils have enjoyed this year.

ACADEMIC SCHOLARS This year has seen the further development of the scholars’ programme with weekly sessions for the Lower School, Fourth Form and Lower Fifth. Each week the pupils have taken on challenges themed around national and international awareness days or events to develop new skills and thinking pathways. We have learnt basic sign language, braille and Chinese; tasted chocolate and debated the merits of fair trade; discussed the ethical issues of resurrecting mammoths from the permafrost; and written mini-apocalyptic sagas (many of which were published) for a young writers competition. The pupils have developed their intellectual curiosity and challenged one another along the way to think and learn beyond their classroom lessons.

CHESS

CLIMBING During this year, climbers have enjoyed an outing to Stone Farm, East Grinstead.

It has been fantastic to see climbers attempting routes graded 6b+ on their first foray into Southern Sandstone climbing. In Summer Term, climbing has moved to outdoor locations, venturing further afield to explore new routes and environments to challenge the pupils and build on their skills.

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The senior chess club re-started in the Spring Term with 28 members ranging from beginners to skilled players. With occasional games on the grass outside the Chapel, the pupils played competitively and considerately. House chess, organised by Mr Johnston-Jones, was a close fought competition that Monty won, with Surrey coming second. A separate junior chess club ran in the Autumn Term and we hope that St John’s chess will continue to flourish.

BUILD A COMPUTER This activity saw Fourth Form pupils have fun unclipping, unscrewing and unplugging the internal components of a computer system. After discussing what role these components have within a computer system, the race was on rebuild it. Starting with a blank hard drive, the pupils experienced what happens to a PC without an OS installed. Then they were tasked with installing a Windows OS onto their PCs and going through the various settings to setup their own usernames, software updates and network sharing permissions. One of the groups also delved into the more advanced features of a standard home broadband router (‘a superhub’) and the respective settings for securing a wired and wireless network.

FRENCH COOKING The pupils are given a recipe in French (with English translations available just in case) and they are let loose in pairs in the kitchen and they have to try to end up with a dish that looks like the real product by the end of the activity. Thoroughly delicious recipes - including croque monsieur/madame and apple pie - have been cooked with no major disasters other than confusing flour with sugar! The pupils not only test their French vocabulary but also learn basic cooking skills like peeling vegetables, weighing ingredients and breaking eggs.

FRENCH DEBATING Debating is never an easy task but doing it in French is even more challenging. Our debaters have continually risen to the challenge with a little bit of help. They have enjoyed a variety of debates ranging including topics such as ‘Should we close the borders?’, ‘For or against Brexit?’ and ‘Should we ban social media?’. Two teams were eager to show their knowledge of key French vocabulary and grammar. It was a very entertaining activity with only some ideas occasionally lost in translation!

JUNIOR CLASSICS SOCIETY In junior classics society, we have covered two main topics this year.

In the Autumn and Spring Terms we traced the adventures of Alexander the Great as he conquered Asia and explored as far as Afghanistan and ancient India. In the Summer Term we have been looking at Greco-Roman myth and comparing its themes and archetypes with other mythological traditions.

Members of the junior history society have covered a wide range of topics this year, including investigating the history of the School and compiling a quiz about it. The pupils have also created their own board games based on historical events or periods. The senior history society members have studied the historiography of the First World War and have now moved on to looking at the Nuremberg trials that followed the Second World War. They are also investigating the history of the genocide at Srebrenica and are looking into creating an informative video project based on this.

KNITTING AND CROCHET The knitting and crochet club has pleasingly proven to be very popular for both boys and girls at St John’s (despite some accidental sign-ups for a knitting and croquet club in the first term - an interesting but incorrect combination!). Pupils initially learnt to make headbands using techniques such as casting on, knit stitch and casting off. Once the pupils had achieved this milestone, they selected colours and patterns to make scarves and blanket squares. It was so lovely to see that some even asked to take the needles away to continue at home or in their boarding house. Bring on the knitting revolution!

OXBRIDGE Prospective Oxbridge applicants have been working to expand their appreciation for their subjects via a series of presentations. They have been engaging with a range of literature outside their A level courses – whether studies, academic articles or opinion pieces – and have synthesised their findings into presentations to share with the rest of the group. This has generated some interesting discussions on a wide range of topics, from Brexit, to the definition of architecture, to the state of the Spanish economy. Pupils are broadening and deepening their interests in order to expand the pool of resources from which to draw for personal statements and at interview.

“The breadth of activities available reflects the varied interests of our pupils and staff.”

MINDFULNESS We really enjoy our mindfulness group because there are so many benefits.

One of our favourite benefits is that we can decrease stress with a few minutes of sitting and focusing on our breath. This really helps if you have had a busy day or you feel stressed about something that has happened or might happen. Mindfulness is really about focusing on the present, accepting the past, not regretting it but also not worrying or working yourself up about the future. Another thing mindfulness has helped us with is to be more aware and we are now worrying much less about exams.

Mindfulness has really helped us mentally be ready for, to prepare for and to take our exams. Ellie Armiger and Emma Ames, Upper Third

TOUCH RUGBY Touch rugby has been a huge success over the course of Summer Term.

With over 25 boys from Fourth Form to Sixth Form playing with freedom and enjoyment, whilst using the session as a way to improve their skill goal they have set. The matches have been self-refereed and have used a multitude of rules and challenges to set individual and team objectives to bring out the best possible learning and focus from the high tempo matches. The energy and high tempo has made this activity both enjoyable and productive and the mixed ages has been a huge success to both develop relationships across year groups.

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Trips Shamwari 2019

The annual Shamwari trip is an amazing experience for a group of Lower Sixth pupils to learn about challenging conservation issues and the tasks faced at Shamwari Conservation Experience game reserve in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Shamwari is one of the largest conservation initiatives in South Africa, with over 25,000 hectares of landscape in which wildlife, including the coveted Big 5, roams freely under the African sun.

“We left the lodge to go elephant monitoring and it didn’t take us long to find an entire family of elephants. We found M Group, which contains a bull, one sub-bull and two females, along with a newborn that we named Mango (it was the first time this elephant has been seen on the reserve).”

Shamwari 2019 DAY 1 Our first day has been spent travelling and settling in to our accommodation with great anticipation of what is to come.

DAY 2 On our first full day, we woke early and had a quick breakfast to be ready for our introductory talk about Shamwari and our stay. This was followed by our first real look at the reserve on which we are spending the next two weeks. Within 30 minutes of our first safari this morning, we had spotted the northern pride of lions and other sightings during the day included a couple of white rhino, a distant giraffe, a pair of hippos and the southern pride with their new cubs. After such an incredible morning, we returned to base for lunch and a very quick and cold swim. This afternoon, we were tasked with cutting down and poisoning the stumps of eucalyptus; it is an alien plant that has no native predators and so it thrives and has an adverse effect on the natural plants. We went to work and spent three hours cutting and hacking away at the trees and their saplings with our saws and machetes, making noticeable progress on the size of the clearing. We enjoyed a welldeserved dinner this evening as we watched the sunset over the hills that surrounded our camp and sat around a campfire under the stars. What a first day on Shamwari!

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Trips Shamwari 2019

DAY 3

DAY 9

We woke this morning to sunshine and began our day by learning about the lion trade in South Africa, watching a documentary ‘Blood Lion’ that showed the effects of canned hunting. After lunch, we headed off into the bush in our trucks to monitor predators in the park. By using a tracker system that beeps when tagged leopards and cheetahs are near, we were able to locate two brother cheetahs and took some excellent photos. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find any leopards but we’ll keep on the lookout. We’re looking forward to another exciting day tomorrow!

We left the lodge at 8.00am today to go elephant monitoring and it didn’t take us long to find an entire family of elephants.

We found M Group, which contains a bull, one sub-bull and two females, along with a newborn that we named Mango (it was the first time this elephant has been seen on the reserve). After we had recorded the identity of all the elephants that we had seen, we headed back for lunch. This afternoon we debated ways to control the elephant population in South Africa. We used three points: culling, trans-location and contraception. We didn’t come to a conclusion about which one was best but it seemed that the team led by Jake (who supported culling) came out on top.

DAY 10

DAY 4 Today began with cutting down parts of Spekboom trees, so that they could be used in the garden of Shamwari’s new wildlife rehabilitation centre. The leaves on the plant tasted similar to sour apples. In order to transport everything we had cut down, we filled the vehicles with plants, meaning that everyone was sitting amongst all the Spekboom. When we arrived at the rehab centre, we planted the cuttings to form trees around the watering hole where the sick animals will graze. At lunchtime, a cake for Martha’s birthday was a lovely surprise that everyone enjoyed. After the morning’s hard work, we had a well-deserved afternoon off, so we relaxed by sunbathing around the pool and swimming.

After supper, we wrapped up warm and headed out on night patrol. As the sun was setting, we went onto the reserve to observe the animals and to be a presence on the reserve - reducing chances of poaching. Those in the front row of the vehicles used a spotlight to help identify any animals. We saw nothing for a while but remained patient and excited and were rewarded when a lion emerged from the bushes; it walked right past the side of the vehicle, shocking everyone. Soon after that sighting, we spotted the first elephants we have seen since we arrived, as well as a mother hippo with its child and many zebras.

DAY 5

The first task for today was to remove alien vegetation. This consisted of finding a plant called the Devil’s Weed, uprooting it, removing its spiky seed shell and collecting them in buckets. When these seeds fall out they spread rapidly and, although rhinos eat them, they use up the nutrients in the ground and there are few predators to them. In the afternoon, we went to the local community to meet the school kids. The boys in our group helped clear a valley full of rubbish - by the end there was a significant difference - and the girls got involved with the girls’ club and helped with activities such as sewing. We ended the day with dinner at the lodge and a campfire. It had been a great day and many of us have said it has been our favourite so far.

A very informative talk from Colleen about rhino poaching got our day off to an interesting start. The talk was followed with a documentary on the subject, which focused on the journey of rhino horn after being poached, and it was an emotional film to watch which elicited quite a few tears. Our plan for the afternoon was to visit the local community to have a sports day, playing football and netball with the kids. Unfortunately, the intense heat meant the event had to be cancelled. Instead, Colleen and Chanel took us for further predator monitoring. Although we didn’t see any predators today, one group spotted a large herd elephants and another saw a crash of rhino.

DAYS 6 AND 7 Through to Port Elizabeth for a spot of shopping and go-karting as the weather forecast had not been great.

DAY 8 Today was Wab’s birthday and we started the day with erosion control in the southern part of Shamwari. This involved cutting down branches, with machetes, loppers and saws, which were then used to fill in a gulley that had formed. This is most likely to have occurred due to irrigation from previous farming on this land, as there are many of these straight gullies, which suggests they are manmade. We filled five truckloads of vegetation, with a few people going in the trucks each time to pack the gulley, whilst everyone else kept cutting; we did this to prevent animals trampling, wind and rain from removing more soil and making the gulley bigger. While working, we spotted six white rhinos on the hill opposite us grazing. We spent the afternoon bird watching, with one truck spotting 28 bird species, as well as rhinos, and the other truck seeing two different types of eagles. The weather became a bit grey and cold this evening but we enjoyed celebrating Wab’s birthday with a big chocolate cake made by the lovely chefs.

DAY 11 Today began with a lot of activity on the radio: there had been a sighting! We quickly got on to the vehicles and down to the south of the reserve and there, lying behind a bush just off the side of the road, was a male cape leopard - we have now seen the Big 5! We visited Born Free, a rescue centre for Big Cats from across the world, this morning and saw lions rescued from circuses and a leopard. For lunch, we had wraps and pasta overlooking a tower of giraffes. The afternoon was spent driving around the reserve for general monitoring, with most of the animals seeking shelter from the weather.

DAY 12 Road maintenance was the focus for us this morning and we planned a general game drive for the afternoon. Unfortunately, one of the cars kept overheating, so the other group unpacked all the tools to prepare for road maintenance but this was swiftly abandoned due to being mock-charged by three black rhinos! Instead, we went around looking for more Devil’s Weed to remove, as well as enjoying a general game drive. We saw two different families of elephants, as well as Mango, the new baby elephant.

By the pupils on the Shamwari 2019 Conservation Experience Trip

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Trips Exploring the World

SRI LANK A CRICKET TOUR October half term saw a number of exciting excursions and adventures for St John’s pupils, none more so than the Sri Lankan Cricket Tour! The ten-day trip saw the team of 15, with accompanying staff, jet off to the warmer climate of Sri Lanka.

Before embarking on their trip, the team received messages of support from Nasser Hussain and Joe Root, wishing them well in their fixtures and inspiring them to make the most of every moment of this fantastic experience.

Ensuring that every St John’s pupil has a global and local perspective is an important element of creating well-rounded, open minded and curious young adults.

By arranging high-quality trips and expeditions, we aim to add value to their education, whilst cultivating a great spirit of adventure. This year has been no exception, and pupils have enjoyed a great number of experiences which have taught them lifelong social skills, teamwork, time management and a real chance for personal challenge. With such a diverse variety of trips and expeditions, both day and residential, overseas and local, our pupils have enjoyed some unforgettable moments this year. Here is a snapshot of just a handful of the trips pupils have enjoyed this year.

GREAT BRITISH BEACH CLEAN UP A group of St John’s pupils visited West Wittering beach early in the 2018-19 academic year for the ‘Great British Beach Clean Up’.

Organised by KBR as part of their ‘One Ocean’ launch, the pupils attended alongside Therfield School to take part in the national event.

The opportunity was described as the chance to learn something new, and give something back.

The morning involved taking part in a National Trust experiment. The aim was to dig into square metres of sand, to discover how much plastic is hidden beneath the surface layer. On a wider scale, the plastics found will now be sent away for analysis. This was a valuable learning experience for the pupils, as it became clear that plastics threatening the environment are not just visible items such as litter.

Head of Physics, Mr Bastin said: “The teams enjoyed sampling plastics in West Wittering. This was a great start to an important project for the future of #Engineering and maybe the world!”

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To ensure they were prepared for playing in the humid climate, the team had worked hard in training including wearing bin bags under their kit and playing in a heated sports hall to simulate the conditions they would face. Mr James, Director of Sport, said beforehand: “The conditions will test every ounce of the boys’ resilience and mental strength but it will be worthwhile!” During the tour, the team played at international venues including the P Sara Oval in Colombo. One highlight of the tour was an impressive win against The Foundation of Goodness, a team which had been unbeaten until they played St John’s. The effort put into pre-tour training certainly delivered results, as the team ended the tour having won five of their seven matches.

Mr Hammond, Director of Cricket, commented that the team enjoyed “creating memories that, without doubt, will last a lifetime.” The pupils and staff immersed themselves in Sri Lankan culture during the trip, with excursions which included visiting a local family for a traditional Sri Lankan barbecue. The team also thoroughly enjoyed watching the England vs Sri Lanka T20 International and spending time at a local orphanage coaching under privileged children and donating cricket equipment and clothing.

Throughout their time in Sri Lanka the team represented St John’s well and had experiences they will never forget. The touring party would like to thank everyone involved in making the trip possible and the parents and families who visited to support them on tour.

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Trips Exploring the World

GEOGRAPHY NETTLECOMBE TRIP A group of 29 Lower Sixth geography pupils, accompanied by Mr Hughes, Miss Clarkson and Mr Howell, journeyed to the Nettlecombe Field Studies centre in Devon to complete four days of fieldwork as part of their geography A level course.

PUPILS HUNT FOR THE HIGGS BOSON AT CERN Pupils started by exploring the coastal town of Watchet and examining how the physical geography has shaped the character of the place. Many of the pupils remarked about how the theory discussed in lessons could be applied so easily to varying locations. On the second day, pupils were introduced to data collection techniques related to the water cycle, including various methods of measuring infiltration. In the afternoon, whilst exploring native English Oak trees found in Kings Wood, pupils learnt how to measure the carbon content found in various tree species. Next, pupils explored the coastal town of Minehead and examined how the coastal protection methods have worked to protect the town.

A group of our Lower and Upper Sixth pupils were inspired by their visit to CERN, home of the Large Hadron Collider, in February. During the trip, the pupils discovered how CERN is helping to answer some of the most fundamental questions: How did the universe begin? What are the basic building blocks of matter?

Scientific breakthroughs, such as the discovery of the Higgs boson, require experimental machines on the large scale, and the pupils gained an appreciation of the technical and engineering challenges that the multinational experimental collaborations at CERN face.

Pupils visited some of the key facilities, including going into the belly of the ‘Anti-matter Factory’, observing the functioning of CERN’s world leading computer systems and seeing the nerve centre of the ATLAS experiment. The highlight of the trip for many was the opportunity to meet academics from Royal Holloway, KCL and Oklahoma University to discuss their work and careers. That and seeing Mr Rogers and Dr Bastin trying to play an Alpine Horn in a Geneva restaurant!

The remainder of the trip was given over to pupils planning their own data collection for their individual non-examined assessment (NEA) projects. These projects are worth 20% of the geography A level and pupils were required to design their own enquiry question and collect the data required to answer this question. Pupils were able to return to any of the locations examined earlier in the week to collect data. The pupils were able to spend the remainder of Autumn Term writing up their projects.

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HISTORY IN HARLEM! During the February half term break, the St John’s history and politics departments took 30 Sixth Form pupils to the United States. Through their history and politics A level courses, these pupils had been exploring different aspects of the political system and the economic and social changes which took place in the USA during the 20th century and this fascinating trip was designed to give insights into many of those topics.

The first adventure of the trip was a walking tour of Harlem with a highly knowledgeable and well-connected guide, who took chance opportunities to introduce the pupils to a local politician and a pioneering hip-hop musician.

The first day also saw pupils visit the top of the stunning Empire State Building.

During the rest of the stay in New York, the pupils had the opportunity to visit the city landmarks, including the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island Immigration Museum, the 9/11 memorial and Central Park.

A coach transfer to Washington DC followed, with a brief stop in Philadelphia to view historical sites such as Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. Unfortunately, a snowstorm in Washington meant tours of the Capitol building, the Supreme Court and the national museums were cancelled. However, the pupils made the most of the day and were able to see the White House and explore a nearly deserted National Mall.

The final morning saw a guided tour of the National Mall, with pupils visiting stunning landmarks such as the Lincoln Memorial and the Martin Luther King memorial. Despite the weather, it was a fantastic trip with the pupils enjoying visiting the historical and political sites that are so relevant to their A level studies.

During the end of term Enrichment Week, pupils went on many trips including destinations as diverse as Winchester Cathedral, Marwell Zoo, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, Thorpe Park and the battlefields of France

Embracing New Cultures A group of Lower School pupils went to Loire-Atlantique in France, and despite a long journey to get there, they had two full days in Pornic and Vendée, where they were fully immersed in the French language and culture. The pupils spent a day in a French school (Notre Dame de Recouvrance), where the French teachers and pupils warmly welcomed them for a variety of lessons. They then had lunch in the canteen amongst their peers. The afternoon was spent learning how to play handball. St John’s pupils were praised by the French teachers for their impeccable behaviour and politeness, and they were a credit to our school.

The next day was equally busy, with a visit to the historical theme-park Puy du Fou, where pupils saw falconry shows with 600 birds from 80 different species flying overhead.

One of our pupils even had the experience of a bird of prey perching on her head before flying off! Pupils also watched a re-enactment of a Viking invasion and the destruction of village, complete with exciting stunts, before they saw a Roman show featuring gladiators fighting on chariots or fighting for their survival. They were absolutely fascinated by the displays of bravery – despite the very hot weather.

The trip concluded in a restaurant on the marina of Pornic, enjoying the local speciality of savoury and sweet crêpes.

Elsewhere during Enrichment Week, a group of Fourth Form and Lower Fifth pupils visited Valencia in Spain, to meet Spanish families who provided them with local food and welcomed them into their homes. Pupils took part in lessons, learnt about Valencian culture and language, and enjoyed exploring the city by foot, bike and boat.

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Outdoor Pursuits

COMBINED CADET FORCE ROYAL NAVY SECTION The cadets have been ably steered through the year’s programme by the Coxswain Cadet Petty Officer Antonia Campbell, who commanded the Divisions with distinction in terms of the discipline and dress code. Mention must also be made of the rest of the senior cadets, including the Lower Sixth cadets, who delivered lectures and helped manage an interesting programme.

October Field Day saw the Section stay overnight on HMS Bristol and then experience excellent conditions on the Solent; I believe many were pleasantly surprised by how much fun sailing can be. The biggest challenge was getting everyone through the swim test, so that they could sail, without a school pool!

In February we visited HMS Collingwood to see what service life may entail and took a trip to the Naval Dockyard and Submarine Museum. The programme included team-building exercises on the low ropes and the cadets then worked as teams to complete ‘command tasks’.

Once again, St John’s Navy Section was well represented at HMS Dartmouth for the annual Navy Summer Programme. This is an excellent week of diverse and intense training and experiences. Our cadets performed well, which was reflected in the reports from CCF RN HQ. St John’s is fortunate to have a number of cadets who are keen Yachties.

Each Thursday afternoon, we carry out practical leadership training and cover the theoretical elements of the syllabus. Cadets are encouraged to attend naval camps and courses including power boating, windsurfing, first aid, sailing, leadership, navigation and adventure training, gaining qualifications and enjoying challenging experiences all at little or no cost to themselves.

The fact that events have run so smoothly this year is due in large part to the team of staff supporting the CCF. Thanks are owed to Lt Col Ainsley Rawlings for her command of the contingent, as well as to her supporting officers, Lieutenants Gary Swinchin Rew, Lucy Hems and Second Lieutenants Alice Anderson, Tom Parry, Kate Symes-Thompson and James Coote. We are also very grateful to Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Noble for his continued work behind the scenes. Above all our gratitude goes to WO2 Stephen Vine for his tireless effort, patience and meticulous planning.

ROYAL AIR FORCE SECTION This year the Section has been ably led by Cadet WO Maximilian Grzinic who has played an ever-increasing role in the success of the Section. Cadet WO James Perkins in the Lower Sixth has ably assisted him.

Wing Commander Gould continued the mission to build upon the work done last year.

Mrs Edwards and Mr Ross worked hard to add fun and energy to the Flight. The new syllabus has breathed life into the Section and it is easier to see how to progress. Many of the qualifications are now much easier to access for the cadets as well.

NCO training continued in the capable hands of Liaison Sergeant Gary Grinham of the SAS. Activities have included Air Experience Flying at RAF Benson, flying in the new virtual reality Flight Simulator, teamwork and leadership training and basic fieldwork.

For the second year, the Section competed in the Royal Air Squadron Trophy competition and gained another fourth place. We have had cadets attend camps in Cyprus, Germany and Gibraltar, as well as camps and courses held across the country.

DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S AWARD

ARMY SECTION Under the leadership of Cadet Regimental Sergeant Major Kate Fraser-Ker and the NCO team, the Army Section has had another busy and successful year. The inter-section competition continued to provide new Lower Fifth and Lower Sixth cadets with a focus over the course of the year, with sections fighting hard to beat each other in a variety of tasks. Over the course of this year the Lower Fifth cadets have been working towards their Basic Common Training, which also ties in with the Army Proficiency Certificate; a number of Upper Fifth cadets have combined army skills with Duke of Edinburgh training, with the remainder participating in Continuation Training. The Lower Sixth completed the Methods of Instruction Course in preparation for their promotion to NCO rank.

On 4 October, Wing Commander Helene Gould, was received by a Sixth Form Guard of Honour before carrying out the Annual Inspection. The Army Section put on a wide range of activities, from drill manoeuvres to basha building and shooting competitions in the indoor range. The afternoon culminated in the keenly contested Field Gun competition, in which the Royal Air Force Section emerged victorious.

Field Days across the year have seen Army cadets participating in a wide range of military activities including camouflage and concealment, movement with and without a weapon and live firing of the L98A2 cadet rifle. June’s Field Day for Lower Fifth cadets involved an overnight camp, complete with sentries and night patrols, followed by a day of section battle drills on the Longmoor training area. As ever, we are very grateful for the support we receive from 11 Brigade Cadet Training Team in providing these exciting and demanding activities.

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This year has seen the uptake of DofE at both Silver and Gold level remain buoyant at St John’s. With 130 Upper Fifth pupils working towards their Silver Award and approximately 50 pupils working towards their Gold Awards across the Sixth Form, DofE is a popular and valued aspect of the co-curricular programme.

Expeditions to the New Forest, the Peak District and the Lake District have provided both valuable outdoor instruction and character building challenges and have been very well received by all those who have attended – despite the weather being less than ideal on some of the expeditions! Some even did their expedition while sailing, showing a truly adventurous spirit.

With activities as diverse as cake making, learning to drive, playing an instrument, rock climbing, brewing beer, CCF and drama all being undertaken by the pupils, it is clear that the Award is enabling pupils to expand their horizons by taking on something new, as well as rewarding participants for the things they already enjoy.

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Community Partnership

Community

PARTNERSHIP

During the 2018-19 school year, the Community Service Unit (CSU) has facilitated 40 Sixth Form pupils volunteering in the local community.

Placements have included assisting with clubs in a local primary school, assisting at a local school for children with special needs, visiting residents in local care homes, helping sort goods in a local charity shop, plus gardening for local residents.

Other pupils have volunteered with the YMCA. Fifteen pupils hosted 65 local residents for the annual Community Christmas Lunch and 60 local residents attended the Community Summer Lunch. These annual events bring together a number of local associations, including The Fairfield Centre, The Royal British Legion and The Beeches Care Home in Leatherhead, Ashtead Good Neighbours, local residents and the Queen Elizabeth Foundation. At Christmas our guests were served a fantastic festive feast and joined in with carol singing while, in the summer, they enjoyed sandwiches, scones and a summer-themed quiz. Most of all, our visitors and pupils enjoyed the opportunity to chat together.

“I should like to thank you for the excellent Christmas lunch put on by St John’s. Everyone must have given a great deal of time and effort both on the day and in the planning of it.”

Ashtead Good Neighbours Links with primary schools are strong; children from Leatherhead Trinity and St Peter’s have enjoyed science sessions throughout the year, with each school bringing one Key Stage 2 year group (Years 3-6) each half term.

Science staff at St John’s have led sessions on a range of subjects, including electricity, forces, light, sound and animals. The School’s Head of Classics has also taught an after school Latin class to some Year 5 children at Leatherhead Trinity throughout the year. Secondary schools links are also positive. Pupils from St Andrew’s participated in mock Oxbridge interviews in November and staff from the two schools have met to share ideas and practice, notably with regard to provision for gifted and talented pupils.

Connections with the local community are also developing, in particular with the Leatherhead Youth Project. The School provided catering and facilities for the project to host a fundraising dinner in October, plus some members of the teaching staff assisted local pupils at after school sessions at the project’s centre.

Fundraising for the annual Community Holiday for children with special needs has once again proved successful thanks to the energy and generosity of many members of the School community. Churchill and Gloucester House chose the holiday as their charity of the year, and a Sleep Out on the Quad event witnessed 35 pupils and three staff members brave freezing temperatures in early April. The annual fundraising dinner welcomed parents of children on the holiday, parents of past and present pupils, pupils and ex-pupils, plus various friends and family members for a curry and quiz night, with live music and entertainment. Other parents and friends of the School have also contributed through external events and the Development Office helped raise a generous donation from the Tim Henman Foundation.

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Community Holiday 2019 In August 2019, 24 children with special needs participated in the annual Community Holiday at St John’s. This annual event offers the visiting children a week of enjoyable activities and provides their parents with respite, while also being a rewarding and valuable experience for the 39 current and former St John’s pupils who assisted and cared for the visiting children throughout the week.

Most of the helpers worked one-to-one with the children, assisting them throughout the day and caring for them overnight.

Six of the former pupils managed groups of helpers, gaining leadership experience, whilst a further two were part of the senior team that organised activities and helped out as required.

The children enjoyed a packed week of varied activities. These included dancing, cooking, arts and crafts, a fashion show, denbuilding, sports and games on site, plus the opportunity to participate in a circus skills workshop and to touch rare animals, including snakes. They also enjoyed a magic show. Trips included swimming at Downsend School, companion cycling in Bushy Park, gymnastics at Leatherhead Gymnastics Club, horse-riding, plus Hobbledown Farm in Epsom and Chessington World of Adventures. One of the best days out was to the seaside at Littlehampton, where all enjoyed the sandy beach, beachcombing, playing in the sea, circus games and going on funfair rides.

Once again the holiday proved a great experience for all involved. The children had an enjoyable week, caught up with old friends and made new ones. The children’s parents enjoyed a week of respite and the volunteer helpers gained from the responsibility of looking after a child. We thank everyone involved in making this annual event such a success, including the Tim Henman Foundation which made a generous funding award to the holiday this year, and look forward to 2020.

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Sport Director of Sport’s Season Review

DIRECTOR OF SPORT’S

SE ASON REVIEW

It has been nothing short of a privilege and honour to lead this very talented group of pupils and staff in my first year here at St John’s School.

It was San Francisco 49s coach, Bill Walsh, who said: “The culture precedes positive results. It doesn’t get tacked on as an afterthought on your way to the victory stand. Champions behave like champions before they’re champions: they have a winning standard of performance before they are winners.” I feel that we can all take something from that; it’s not just within our sport that we set out our own building blocks to achieve.

Greatness is a lot of small things done well, day after day, practice after practice, week after week. Being a champion is not about the size of the trophy cabinet or how many national titles we have. Our greatness is about a culture that we are creating: a culture where we enjoy our success but reflect, where we learn from our mistakes but do not dwell. Our sporting ethos is about creating an environment where we give every pupil the foundation, confidence and opportunity to achieve beyond their potential.

The 2018/2019 St John’s sporting season can be summarised by some key statistics:

163 teams engaging over 85% of our pupil body from Lower Third to Upper Sixth have competed across 14 different sports. As a school we have played 1459 fixtures this year.

By the end of this year, pupils will have represented a St John’s sporting team in five countries.

I. 1st XI Cricket – Sri Lanka II. 1st XV Rugby – Ireland III. U14 Hockey – Holland IV. Senior Hockey and Netball – South Africa V. Senior Football – Gothia Cup, Sweden On the following occasions, current pupils have gone onto senior further representation, some at the highest level currently possible for their sport.

I. Molly Saunders: England Women’s Rugby U18s and GB Beach Volleyball II. Ben Geddes: Surrey County Cricket Club 2nd XI III. Ryan Trevitt: England U19 Futsall IV. Josh Clarke and Filip Lissah: Chelsea FC U15s V. Henry Jeffcott: Arsenal FC U18s Across five sports, we have reached the latter stages of both county and national tournaments.

I. U19 Netball National Plate Semi Finalists II. 1s XI Cricket – HMC National T20 Regional Finalists and Festival Winners III. 1st XV Rugby – England Schools Rugby, Champions Trophy National Quarter Finalists IV. U14 Girls Hockey – Surrey County Champions and Regional Finalists V. Senior Girls Swimming – Bath and Otter National Cup (small schools) freestyle and individual medley relay winners. This team were also crowned County Champions.

I have been simply blown away by the passion, drive and the level of pride that our pupils have shown in representing our school at no matter what level. Come rain, shine, hail or snow, in a national cup or an E-team friendly, our pupils, staff and parents have shown a resilience and sense of pride for our school of which we can all be immensely proud. With the development of our programme, investment in facilities, staffing and structure, I have no doubt that we will achieve well beyond our potential across the coming years. I hope that you enjoy reading the reports from our major sports and look forward to our future successes together.

Gareth James, Director of Sport

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HOCKEY

H

ockey at St John’s School is flourishing; the depth and strength of the girls has improved over the year and shows the excellent work done by all the pupils and coaches combined. This season we have run 19 hockey teams, played 222 fixtures against some of the other top South hockey schools and St John’s has firmly cemented itself on the hockey map as one of the top schools in Surrey for hockey. The teams have been part of a newly set up Independent Schools Hockey League and finished 3rd in its inaugural season - a great result which they will try to better next year.

The U14A team where the team of the year becoming Surrey County Champions at the first time of asking. The U13A finished 2nd in Surrey and the 1st XI finished 3rd. All teams beat some other highly notable schools in the route to their success. The other great success was the 2nd XI becoming Surrey plate runners up, a feat not achieved before. It has been exciting to see the development of the indoor programme, advanced goalkeeper clinics and more pitch time with 1-1 training and activities slots, allowing great time on the pitch. We are excited about taking 50 girls to South Africa on a joint hockey and netball tour in August 2019, which will be a great sporting and educational trip.

Aaron Blumfield

1st XI It was a season of change for the 1st XI but a brilliant one none the less. A fantastic preseason tour to Framlingham College and Royal Hospital School gave the girls the opportunity to be ready for the hockey season. Good early victories were a great grounding but they suffered when their captain, Sanne, was unavailable because of illness. However, they are a team with passion and energy and rallied to put together some more excellent performances. They qualified for the finals in the Surrey Cup; an excellent result for the weakened team. Playing Reigate they narrowly lost 1-0 and went onto play Cranleigh. Winning 9-8 on strokes, they finished 3rd in Surrey. Over the season, due to illness and injury, 21 players where used which shows the fantastic depth available here. The girls also entered the South Indoor for the first time in a few years, where they qualified for the finals, which was a fantastic achievement for the limited time spent playing.

2nd XI The 2nd XI had a mixed season, with some big highs and some lows. The highlight of the year has to be the Surrey trophy, where the girls performed exceeded expectations and secured some great results including a 2-0 win against Tormead in the semi-final, and two 4-0 wins against St Teresa’s and Nonsuch. They lost narrowly to Woldingham 1st XI in the final. Throughout the season, the girls gave every effort in all their matches, they were fun and at times challenging to coach but always stepped into matches ready to play aggressive, fast hockey

U15A For a team that was the cause of so much frustration and consternation in midweek training, Saturdays were a revelation! Perhaps the method was to conserve energy in the week so that they were ready to go come match day, as game after game the girls ran tirelessly to pull together as a team. Peculiarly, this was perhaps best epitomised in the loss to Sevenoaks, where the work rate of the side kept us well in the hunt against a team who were technically far superior. Chesca Beech, Shria Crossan and Caroline Webb must have covered every fibre of the astro to defend and attack in equal measure and, in other tight games, it was this willingness to work for each other which made the difference. Of course, we should not overlook the robust defending of Daisy Deuchar, the mazy runs and classy passing of Flo Holder, nor the opportunistic goals of Bella Fewings, but really it was the team desire that carried us to wins against Bradfield, Downe House and Ardingly.

Perhaps the most memorable victory came away from home against Surbiton High. After defeat to them last year, there was a certain trepidation on the journey from St John’s but any fear was soon dispelled as the girls turned in an outstanding display of clinical hockey. They pounced on any mistake, harried at every opportunity and attacked with flair and creativity. Player-of-the-season, Louise Orr, was a constant threat and Izzy Kuhle once again came to the fore as master poacher in front of goal. The improvement the girls showed across the term was stark and credit must go to them all. At the start of the season, we would have taken the final tally of four wins and only three narrow losses (by a single goal each time) but as it was, the four score draws will remain a frustration as we dominated the ball in all four games and a couple of further wins would certainly not have flattered.

It was great to see a number of the girls rewarded for their efforts with a berth in the 1st XI at the end of the season and it will be exciting to see how they develop in the senior sides next year.

U15B The U15B hockey side had a tough season, with games against strong opposition that made goals were hard to come by at the beginning of the season. As time progressed, the development of both individual skills and decision making ability on the pitch made games far more competitive. A tight fixture against Epsom was lost only 1-0, before the first win came with a mighty 3-1 victory over St George’s College. A season of great progress, if not necessarily great results.

U15C The U15Cs showed great willingness to learn throughout the season, despite having players who hadn’t played any hockey before. Particular mention to Neve Hudson for developing greatly from the start of the season, from never having picked up a hockey stick to being an integral part of our defence. The U15C goalkeeper, Ava Gilbert, played outstandingly all season, saving countless goals each match. Overall, it was a tough but rewarding season.

3rd XI The season started well with a 3-3 draw against City of London Freemen’s and our forwards, Jemma Bessinger, Georgina Holden and Poppy Macfarlane, scored the majority of goals from the very first game. The mids worked continuously to assist the forwards with work around the D and short corners and special mention goes to Elsa Rogers for her determination to win tackles. A stand out game for us was our 3-0 win against Reeds seconds, with exceptional goals from our two mid field players, Iona Cochrane and Amelia Rees. Lilia Evans worked effortlessly to help both defence and attack, with some great runs down the pitch resulting in a 3-1 victory against Brighton. The defensive team, consisting of Anya “This season St John’s has Cooper, Alex Grant, Eva Nightingale and Aurelia Loth, not only stopped many potential goals, but they also provided stability and reset the play firmly cemented itself from the back. Special thanks goes to Amy Brunton and Jaimee Burrage on the hockey map as for stepping in to goal and saving many short corners that could have cost one of the top schools in us games. Overall, we won five and lost five matches through the season, with the highlight being our final match against St George’s College with an Surrey for hockey.” impressive 5-3 victory after a 2-2 draw at half time.

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“The improvement the girls showed across the term was stark and credit must go to them all.”

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“Our girls had grown over the season and understood that it wasn’t just what you did on the ball that was important, but also off it.”

U13A U14A Three years ago we set ourselves the target of becoming Surrey U14 County Hockey Champions. Knowing the girls we already had in Lower School, but with an abundance of talent also joining in the Fourth Form, we were ready for an exciting season. The target was simple: always focus on process rather than outcome in order to be crowned Surrey Champions. Domestically we wanted to make sure we were encouraging depth and, with an incredible 18 girls having represented the A team this year, we can be very proud of achieving our goal.

A 6-1 victory versus City of London Freeman’s showed us early on just how fast this team could play. Instead of opting for a traditional midfield of three or four, we went for five, which created strength in defence plus width to beat around the outside. It was our first game but everyone in this talented team understood their role. The goals kept coming and expert defending from Siena, Eloise and Sophie made us a force to be reckoned with. Victories followed against Bradfield, St George’s College, Prior’s Field and St Teresa’s and, before we knew it, we were the favourites to be crowned Surrey Champions.

A tough semi-final against Reigate Grammar saw us secure our place in the final, which would be against our old competitor St George’s College. Having played them nine times in the past three years, we knew what to expect. Our girls had grown over the season and understood that it wasn’t just what you did on the ball that was important, but also off it. Their work rate was phenomenal, but St George’s took an early lead. We bounced back with an excellent converted corner by Naomi. St George’s continued to press, but we also had our fair share of chances. The final score 2-2. A nail-biting climax was not over as we went to flicks. Heroically, Naomi, Claudia, Sophie, Eloise and Molly stepped up. Each effort as good as the last. The first round of flicks was inconclusive, so we went to sudden death. At 8-7 St John’s were the winners! Some outstanding saves from Jaimee supported a truly excellent team performance. Our Eagles showed that winning isn’t just about skill, but team ethic, discipline and fun. We are Surrey Champions!

The U14A side can proudly say they are one of the top eight teams in the region. But the proudest moment for the coach came against Cranbrook when in an effort to encourage squad rotation, I sat on the sidelines and watched four members of the team, manage and coach to a 2-1 victory. Player led development at is best! Many would pick the 42 goals scored as their favourite statistic but look deeper: we conceded just two short corners all season; had two outstanding keepers in Amy and Jaimee; Sophie T represented the 1st team; Poppy, Molly, Naomi and Eloise represented the U15 team; nine different players received players’ player of the season votes; and 18 players put on the jersey... what an incredible year!

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U14B

U14C

With seven wins, one draw and three losses, the U14Bs had a brilliant season and are a force to reckon with in years to come. They won their first three games, beating City of London Freeman’s, Bradfield College and Surbiton High by scoring six goals and conceding just one. The winning run came to abrupt end when they were convincingly beaten 6-0 by an exceptional Sevenoaks side, but they rallied to push aside Ardingly and Downe House. A succession of injuries to the A team saw us lose captain, Maddie Foster, play-maker Josie Heap and top goal scorer, Olivia Newby, resulting in a three game duck. The girls then capped off the season in style with a 2-0 win over Epsom College and a 9-0 thrashing away at St George’s College. There were some exceptional performances throughout the term; Chloe Currie was the coach’s player for consistent fearless defending, while Jess Murdoch made tremendous progress and was named most improved.

A season full of positives for the U14Cs, with lots of wins and a drastic improvement in their hockey. We started with a tough few games but came into our own with some excellent wins against Cranleigh, St Benedicts and Epsom. The 2018 U14C team were the most successful girls’ junior C team ever at St John’s and this is testament to their energy, hard work and positive attitude at every game. A special mention to our wonderful goal keeper, Eliza Sewell, who was awarded player of the year.

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After an outstanding year, this is definitely a team on the up and one to watch. Narrowly losing to a team who got to the national finals shows how strong the girls are. A strong start against local schools was a great way to show the dominance this team could have. Notable wins at St Teresa’s, KES Southampton, Royal Russel and Sevenoaks was a fantastic achievement and coming 2nd in the Cranleigh invitational and 2nd in the Surrey Cup qualified them for the regional finals. On a wet and windy day, the girls battled hard and made it into the cup quarter-finals. This was a stage further than last year which shows the fantastic development the team has made; it will be great to see what they can achieve when they step up to 11-a-side.

U13B The U13Bs played 16 matches and a tournament this season and became a really close-knit group. A string of challenging fixtures, in which the girls showed promise and worked tirelessly, began the year. Incremental improvements throughout the season, resulted in our strongest victory of the year, a 9-1 victory against Royal Russel. There were some very good goals scored by our attack and, by the end of the season, we were much better in the transition out of defence, passing out to the wing and not down the middle. This continual focus and desire to improve culminated in a great end to the season, with only one loss in the final six fixtures. Special mention to Farah Patel who has captained the U13B side all year and stepped up to play for “This continual focus and the U13As when required. Well done to Izzy Wright, our goalie, who desire to improve culminated saved many goals and really helped the team. Overall, a brilliant allround team spirit which we hope will carry the girls forward to many in a great end to the season.” victories and a highly successful season next year.

U13C The 13Cs were a wonderfully enthusiastic and energetic bunch throughout the 2018 season. The girls trained hard all season, working to help each other out and were constantly cheering each other on, led by captain Ellie Armiger. All players developed incredibly over the season with Yasemin Ozderici and Darcey Harrison scoring incredible goals over the matches. The U13Cs were an adaptable team, each giving their best to whatever position they played, which resulted in some excellent wins including a 7-5 win against Hurstpierpoint and 3-0 win against Sevenoaks. Overall, a successful and enjoyable season.

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Sport Hockey

Boys 1st XI

Boys U15

A good balance of players with hard work, determination and natural skill, set the 1st XI boys up for a productive season. We started off slowly with only one win to Caterham in the National Plate during the first half term.

However, the second part of the term saw us lose only one game to a strong Trinity side in the second round of the plate. Three other wins on weekend fixtures showed much better progress and teamwork. The season’s highlight was the champion’s league double header versus Harrow School. The first leg drew 1-1 away and then the return leg ended 6-1 at home. It was a great way to finish the season and send off the Upper Sixth, showing us what the boys could do when they passed the ball quickly and connected well. Our record for the season stood as four wins, four draws and four loses, which was pleasing considering they played a university side and other strong schools.

This is the first time we have seen the U15 age group play without the support of the year below and it was nice to see the boys come together as a team.

Results may not have gone our way but this should not take away from the progress made.

The control and technical ability improved greatly over the term and some of the interplay in the season’s latter stages was very good. Tom Shaw started to develop a range of passing and Tom Sutherland will be a sound addition to the senior squads with his backhand strike. Olly Latham also showed touches of class in midfield and Josh Karmel will surely become a threat with his athleticism and willing running. James Watkins, deprived through injury of playing outfield, became a most able keeper and this allowed Nick Clark to show what he could do when given the chance to run. Nick will show his class in goal next year but it was nice to see his outfield flair. Ed Jennings will become an energetic fullback as time goes on and huge praise should go to Dan Botoulas, whose defending was impeccable throughout. Dan was ably supported by Ben Parker at the back and, ahead of them, George Lewis showed a good deal of trickery.

Final mentions must go to speed duo James Smith and Freddie Barnes, who tried all season to break our goal duck. Freddie finally managed this in the game against KES Southampton…unfortunately at the time he was helping make up the numbers for the opposition!

Despite the results, the boys’ efforts cannot be faulted and much enjoyment was had along the way. I very much hope that the lads continue to play next year and we will watch with intrigue to see how they fare.

Boys 2nd XI

U12A

U12C

U12A girls this season were full of energy and talent, leading to an enjoyable coaching experience and I hope it made their first experience of St John’s hockey very enjoyable. The highlight of the year has to be a great 1-0 win against Cranleigh and an outstanding effort at the Surrey County finals finishing with a respectable placing.

The talent this team has is a very exciting prospect for the future of St John’s hockey. I look forward to seeing them progress through the years.

This year with the U12C team has been amazing. We have enjoyed every single moment and highlights included beating our rivals Epsom Collage 4-1 and working very well as a team to win 4-1 against Wimbledon High. In some of the matches we lost we had worked exceptionally well, for example when we lost against St George’s College 6-0 in our last match. We have won six matches and lost five. The end of season’s awards were won by brilliant people! Player of the season went to Tilly Hunt. Most improved player went to Emilia Ward. The best sportsmanship award went to Amelia Barrett, and captain’s choice went to Evie Perry for moving up from the D team. I have loved leading the C team to victories. All the players have been so supportive through the bad times.

U12B The U12Bs have had a fantastic season and the girls battled hard in a number of closely fought matches to make considerable progress from game to game. Hannah Bareham did a superb job in goal and saved the team on a number of occasion to allow the attackers to capitalise in the opposition net. Stand out players include Jess, Delphi and Sophie for their speed, energy and overall attitude.

Well done to all for their involvement and contributions to the team this year!

“The determination, high-spirits and hard work of all the girls was admirable.”

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U12D Over the course of the Autumn Term, the U12Ds played with unending enthusiasm through adverse weather conditions at fixtures home and away. They improved significantly in their hockey skills, learning how to use space effectively and developing their fierceness in both attack and defensive positions. One of our most exciting matches was a win against Wimbledon High School, where the teams were evenly matched, but our girls brought it back for a 5-2 win in the second half. The determination, high-spirits and hard work of all the girls was admirable and I hope they look forward to their next season of hockey in Upper Third.

This team went into the season with the knowledge that much of the core of the previous year’s squad were still here and that a new generation of talent was rising up the School.

A tough fixture card meant that the quality of hockey required was high from the outset and the first two fixtures saw tight draws including fixtures against the 1st XI sides of other schools. The main highlight was the progression of individuals throughout the season. Oli Timpson’s eye for goal and positional play led to some high scoring wins later in the year and the midfield of Luke Read, Sam Tait, Marcus Murphy, Martin Vogel and Luke Francis developed the composure and decision making ability to implement some patterns of play that wouldn’t look out of place in a national league game. At the back the Upper Fifth stepped up to fill some large gaps left form the previous season, with Tom Winchester standing out to stake a future claim on a 1st XI place. Overall, a good season in which the team did well to produce a winning record against a tough fixture list.

Boys U14 It was a season of highs and lows but one in which the squad made tremendous improvements and of which they can be very proud. Victories over King Edward VI, Southampton (twice) and very creditable draws against Harrow School and King Edward’s, demonstrated an attractive blend of attacking hockey and a team capable of resolute defending when required. I have no doubt that the squad will go from strength to strength next season and the main area of focus ought to be trying to be more clinical in front of goal. It has been an absolute pleasure to coach this group of players and Archie O’Hanlon, as captain, and Jacob Costard, as vice captain, have been outstanding leaders on the field. I wish them every success next season.

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RUGBY

U16A The U16A rugby team continued their development in what proved to by a physically demanding and challenging season. Some of the fixture highlights of the season include beating a strong Tonbridge team and narrowly losing to Hampton in an opening triangular fixture, beating Seaford and then putting nearly 60 points on Haileybury at home. The team faced truly high quality teams in the forms of Wimbledon College, Trinity College and Hurstpierpoint, all performing very highly at national level. Whilst many of these fixtures did not end with the results the team desired, the boys showed heart and determination in their rugby. They frequently faced up against bigger teams, matching their physicality and aggression, and demonstrating passion and tenacity for their sport that earned a few U16 boys a spot in the 1st XV during the season.

1st XV The season started with a seven-day tour to Limerick, Ireland. The tour was designed to set standards on and off the field, planning on field tactics and training in preparation for the season ahead. The squad played two matches against local rugby clubs and the progress over the week was pleasing. We got off to a great start with wins against Wimbledon and Tonbridge, and a narrow loss to new rivals Hampton. The highlight of the middle part of the season was the home top 16 match in the Champions Cup versus traditionally strong Blundell’s School. After a tight match, our boys won 20-5 and advanced to the quarter-finals. We continued to be competitive in matches against Epsom, Brighton College, Trinity and Hurstpierpoint. The season ended with eight wins and four losses, but the great strength of this group is their ability to work together with a common goal in mind. They played hard and attractive rugby while fully encompassing our rugby values of pride, respect and enjoyment.

The season saw over 30 players represent our 1st XV and the depth shown has been impressive, with some notable individual achievements: Charlie Hellier, Jonny Lack and Josh Williams are all playing for Surrey, Jack Potter impressed for Harlequins in their U18 Academy league and Ed Timpson did well to be added to the group following his Harlequins trial.

2nd XV It was an impressive season from the 2nd XV in which they played play 11 matches, winning eight and with the three defeats all by less than a score. Hard fought victories over Hurstpierpoint, Trinity and an Eastbourne 1st XV were fantastic, as well as crushing wins over Hampton, RGS Guildford, Wimbledon College, Haileybury and KCS Wimbledon. The team was brilliantly led by swerve-maestro-captain James Gardner (M), backed up by stalwarts Sam Smitheman (E), Sam Turner (C), Josh Hay (E), Harry Mead (E), Will Ferguson (W), Sam Hunt (C) and Ryan Hanratty (E). Defeat to Epsom in the final game of the season was hard to take, though the team performed brilliantly, going down 8-3 in horrid conditions. Congratulations to all who played a part in this excellent season!

3rd XV If you attended training on a Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, you would question how this bunch of unstructured, meatobsessed and manic gentlemen formed one of the greatest 3rd XVs in the country. Undefeated against 2nd XVs (thanks to the a 46-12 demolition of Eastbourne College), undefeated at home to 3rd XVs after scintillating displays against Hurstpierpoint (33-12), Haileybury (56-10) and KCS Wimbledon (44-12), and undefeated against 3rd XVs at neutral venues after a tense and enthralling 14-12 win over Brighton “They played hard and College. If training felt like an overcooked pork chop, when game day came the attractive rugby while boys pulled out all the stops and were transformed to a wagyu steak. Lukas Bednall was sublime at 10, supported by the nippy Seb Hommasi at 9, the front fully encompassing our row of Hurree, Hailstone/Kelland and Slatter were meatier than any England rugby values of pride, front row seen in the professional era and Will Alridge-Bate left everything on the field. A thoroughly enjoyable and impressive season! respect and enjoyment.”

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Key performers of the season include Ryan Trevitt at fly half, who not only has the vision for our back line to follow but also the best boot on the team. Some of the key men in the back line were Jack Goodman, running in some of our best tries from 30m or so out from the try line, and captain Ben Stefanik who broke hard lines throughout the season. The forwards were led by Joe Moss, who often displayed the best hands of any player on the pitch, and he was backed up by the physicality of Billy Mardon, Zach Hill and Henry Corbett when it came to scrums and rucks.

“It was undoubtedly a tough season but this is one of the best teams I have coached at St John’s when it comes to grit, determination and camaraderie.”

U16C The U16Cs were poised for an outstanding season.

With a quality roster, led ably by Harry Young, the initial matches were a close call but the team was quickly depleted due to injury. Morale never dropped and the tight knit team played on for the rest of the season, taking on opposition such as Wimbledon and Epsom in a 10s format. Whilst victories did not roll in, the most important game was a crushing victory against Epsom.

The team often faced much bigger opposition but never shied away from the task in hand. It was a season of attrition but, despite this, all available able-bodied young men attended every training session and we powered on for the rest of the season. Very often, the outstanding parental support on the sidelines buoyed the confidence of the team, which particularly helped in those harder matches when it was cold and wet. It was undoubtedly a tough season but this is one of the best teams I have coached at St John’s when it comes to grit, determination and camaraderie.

U15A The U15A side were keen to build on a successful previous season in which they lost just a single Saturday fixture. After a productive and positive pre-season trip to Leicester, the side demonstrated that they were in a good position with a pleasing opening performance against Wimbledon College (49-0). This was backed up by four more wins, including an excellent victory away at Tonbridge. The Natwest Cup was a key priority of the year but it did not go to plan. After being dragged into a physical encounter away at Reeds, the team lost by one point, but there is no doubt that much was learnt about how to manage tight situations. The side bounced back with victories against RGS and Trinity to end the first half term on a high.

The second half of the season started well with a number of victories leading into the biggest match of the season. With KCS being the only loss of last season, the squad were keen to set the record straight. In a high-paced encounter, KCS could not live with the power and structure of the team and we came away as 50-17 victors. This performance was most pleasing as the side found themselves down in the early stages but held their nerve to stage a comeback. In the National Plate competition, victories against Hurstpierpoint and Howard of Effingham set up a visit to St Paul’s. The first half was evenly contested but a sluggish second half led to a disappointing result, although a lot was learnt from this match. The season ended with the traditional derby match against Epsom College. It was a tight match in which defences dominated until St John’s broke the deadlock in the second half. We were leading 7-0 until the final play, where Epsom were able to score in the corner, but the kick was wide allowing St John’s to record an unbeaten set of Saturday fixtures. There is much to come from this talented side and I hope that they are able to continue to kick on next year.

U15C It was a mixed season within which the team won three matches handsomely, narrowly lost three and lost another three by a large margin. The convincing wins were against Hustpierpoint, Eastbourne and Haileybury. The team played some decent rugby, led by captain Dan Khan, assisted by Toby Miller, Ben Yiannakou and Chris Caird in the backs, plus Ben Maher, Ollie Karmel and Martin Scruton in the forwards. The close losses were against Wimbledon College, RGS Guildford and King’s Wimbledon, all the more frustrating as two of these fixtures had been won the previous season. The three heavy losses were against Tonbridge, Trinity Croydon and Epsom. The team suffered from regular personnel changes and often lacked consistency but the named players persevered and led the team with positive intent.

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U14A

U13A

The U14As had an excellent introduction to senior school rugby this season, with a team comprising Lower School pupils and new joiners. After a tough start, the squad came away with excellent wins against RGS Guildford (15-12), Eastbourne (22-10) and Seaford (32-0), as well as a hard fought draw away at Hurstpierpoint (7-7). Jacob Costard’s 9 try-haul for the season is a notable achievement, as is the leadership of Otto Dent, Joe Campbell and Archie O’Hanlon.

There is much to come from this side in the years to come!

Following the challenges of last year, we had a fantastic opportunity to show our development across a busy season of 13 fixtures. Although we lost our first three fixtures, the third match was set to turn our season around. The 25-20 defeat to Hampton gave the boys a lot of confidence in their skill set and ability to score against a strong and well-organised defence.

This led to us convincingly winning five of our next seven matches which included RGS Guildford, Christ Hospital and St Bede’s. Our final match of the season, against local rivals Epsom College, did not disappoint. The boys were calm and executed their skills perfectly, as well as staying disciplined in defence, to secure a final game win of 45-5. Stand out performers across the season were Josh Tredwell, Reiss Campbell and Rory Davidson as well as the emergence of both Felix Oakley and Luke Patterson.

U14B

“There can be no doubting

As far seasons go, this year’s U14B team efforts will swiftly fade into the effort or commitment the history books. However, there can be no doubting the effort or commitment by the boys throughout and that will stay with me as a by the boys throughout.” coach for a long time. Results wise, the season ebbed and flowed with some fantastic wins and some disappointing losses. Following the first two fixtures of the season, the boys had yet to record a victory and had just one try to show for their efforts. However, an inspired hat-trick by Owen Crawford away at Hurstpierpoint led the troops to victory and allowed the boys to record their first win of the season. Sadly, the lads were unable to string a run of victories together as the following week saw RGS Guildford come out on the right side of a close game in what can only be described as Biblical rain. As a coach, one of the most pleasing things is when a team rallies and fights their way out of a rut and I have the pleasure to say that this is what the boys did after half term. A rejuvenated team, with Magnus leading the charge, enjoyed two strong wins against Eastbourne College and Haileybury on consecutive weekends, and then turned our attention to KCS Wimbledon. None of us is quite over the utterly undeserved loss we suffered that day. The loss was made somewhat easier by winning the following week against Seaford College, before losing our final game of the season to Epsom College. It was a pleasure to coach this young group of lads, with each individual standing out on various occasions. However, I must mention Roman Hunt-Turner, Joe Mullen, Magnus KempPedersen and Owen Crawford for their performances throughout the season, and Max Gray for his leadership, which helped ensure the squad remained a close-knit environment.

U13B This was a season that included three wins, six losses and many memorable performances. Victories against Dunottar, Cedars Croydon and an epic final win against Epsom College, meant that the boys finished on a high. The team were a pleasure to coach, enthusiastic and willing to learn, I hope the boys enjoyed the ride!

U12B The U12B side had a fantastic first season representing the School. With 10 matches played, they ended up winning seven, drawing one and losing two, which was an excellent effort from all boys involved. Highlights included big wins over strong schools such as Epsom, City of London Freeman’s and a thriller against RGS Guildford which ended as a 25-25 draw in treacherous conditions. As the season progressed, the boys grew in confidence and played some outstanding rugby with the parents on the sideline watching in awe, as the tackling and passing skills were unrecognisable from what was on show at the start of the year. This progression in skills and working as a unit led to an unbeaten second half of the season and some of the best stats throughout the School. There is no particular player of the season because all the boys played equal roles in a great and thoroughly enjoyable season.

U18 Boys VII We entered the Hampton Sevens for the first time this season and took a young side, led by captain Jack Potter, to a tough pool in which we won two and lost two matches. However, we scored enough points to make it through to the plate final, where we beat RGS High Wycombe to win the Plate and start our sevens season positively. The next tournament was Surrey Sevens, hosted at Richmond Rugby ground, where we again had a difficult pool, meeting Abingdon in the last match, the winner advancing to the Cup draw. A strong second half saw us win narrowly and play Henley College in the top 16. We came up a short by a close margin but, again, this young side was showing signs of form.

Entering the main Cup draw in the National Rosslyn Park Sevens day 1, we had a strong win in our first match, following by close losses to Whitgift and Wellington. Our last game was a good win against a travelling welsh school and we finished third in a strong pool. Standout performers were Ed Timpson, Chris Ballard and Peter Sinclair.

U18 Girls VII

U14C The U14Cs had a difficult 2018 season. Although scoring at least two tries in the majority of games, they only managed to secure one win. Nevertheless, the attacking flair and the defensive effort from the boys was fantastic to watch. There were some unbelievable individual tries from Teddy Malby-Nightingale, as well as a handful of great team tries. All the boys involved showed a continuous improvement as the season progressed. Player of the season was George Taylor due to his consistent performances and brilliant attitude. The Eagle award went to James Shelly for most improved player.

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Enjoyment would be the word that would best describes the St John’s girls’ sevens squad this year. Over 20 girls, many newcomers, got to grips with rugby over an 11-week period to prepare for their first taste of rugby sevens. They eagerly said goodbye to their earrings and said hello to gum shields and tackle bags. Led fantastically by England U18 player Molly Saunders, a win in the Reigate Sevens and fantastic performances from Bea Hewetson and Millie Turner, showed how much passion the girls had for rugby. As the girls grew in confidence, they moved onto the eagerly anticipated Rosslyn Park Sevens. A brace of tries from Molly Saunders and Sophie-Rose Russell saw the girls produce a 29-7 win over Trinity School in their first game of the day. Full of confidence the girls narrowly lost to a last minute try from eventual finalist Exeter College in their final game of the day. The application and attitude of every member of the girls’ squad must be commended. With many smiles on faces, the girls cannot wait to get their teeth into next season.

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NETBALL

U16A Boys VII Rain cancelled the U16 boys’ first tournament, so they went into Rosslyn Park determined to impress but having only trained at school with the U18 boys. Placed into a very strong group, our first game was Halliford and we scraped a 12-10 win, after a great conversion from Ryan Trevitt. We played four matches and only lost to Clifton College. After a disruptive lead in, we can only be proud of the boys’ efforts.

Stand out players were Patrick Boothby for his tackling, Joe Moss for winning the battle in the air all day, Jack Goodman and Harry Lawes who moved well into space scoring some brilliant tries and Lower Fifth player Josh Shaw for his allround effort in both attack and defence.

N

etball 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 five senior teams, two U16 sides, nine junior teams and seven Lower School teams. The netball club has 25 teams competing for the School in any given week.

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 U15A VII sides competed in the county finals, which is an excellent achievement. Across the age groups, St John’s girls represent their county, club and the Surrey Storm NPL sides. We currently have one Surrey Storm NPL player, Saffy Lewis-Collymore, as well as nine girls who play in the Surrey County set up. Over 30 girls regularly compete at club level outside school.

U13A Boys VII The U13A boys showed fantastic progression and enjoyment throughout their sevens campaign this year.

Starting with a difficult draw at the Surrey Sevens, the boys went unbeaten though the group stages and produced a polished displayed against a strong RGS Guildford side.

Moving into the knockout stages against Whitgift, Dulwich and Trinity, the young eagles learnt some tough lessons that would stand them in good stead for future tournaments.

After losing in the final last year to Hampton in their own tournament, the boys set out to go one better and win the inaugural St John’s Sevens trophy. In a round robin format, the boys produced some outstanding play, which saw victories against Reed’s, St Bede’s, Salesian and Hampton.

The boys remained unbeaten throughout the day, including an impressive 35-5 win over last year’s victors Hampton.

Standout performances included the strong running of Monte Gatta-Smith and Henry Emerson, accompanied by the flair of Rory Davidson and Adam Geddes. At the Rosslyn Park Sevens, the boys produced their best sevens of the year with ruthless displays against Uffculme School, Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital (QEH), and Stanwell School. However, a 35-10 win against Dulwich College proved the victory of the year. Fine performances from Reiss Campbell and Josh Tredwell allowed the boys to flourish with both enjoyment and fine rugby skill. It was a fantastic season, during which the boys represented their school in outstanding fashion, and the young eagles deserved their victories and the St John’s eagle trophy.

The netball 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 Leeds Rhinos U19, an U17 NPL side and the 2018 U19 National School Champions, Queen Ethelburga’s College. This set us in great stead for the regular season, where we won over 110 games and had some very narrow loses to strong opposition. This year, I have been fortunate to be supported by a committed and highly talented group of coaches, including coaches who coach at 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.

A big thank you must go to Mrs Walsh-Jones for all of her efforts in developing netball at St John’s in recent years and we wish her and her new family all the best for the future. It has been a pleasure for me to cover the role this year, and see the players and netball develop over the term. The School looks forward to welcoming newly appointed Katie Goble as Director of Netball from September 2019.

Hannah Rowell

U13 Girls VII It has been exciting to see how quickly rugby sevens is growing amongst these girls. This season we had over 25 Lower School pupils training weekly to learn and develop their rugby skills. Led well by Farah Patel and Hana Blackman, we hosted the U13 Girls’ Surrey tournament. We had a mixture of U12 and U13 girls and entered two teams. Both playing three games each, our green team lost just one match to finish second, while our white team ended fourth. All girls played with smiles and determination and with real pride in their team. The standout performers were Farah Patel for her powerful runs, Hannah Wainwright for her superb tackling, Elsa Shortt for her outstanding all-round game and Phoebe Sharman for her ability to run into space using her speed.

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1st VII The season started with warm up game wins against Reigate Grammar, Wellington and Cranleigh School which provided quality preparation ahead of the county cup tournament in November. The team played some outstanding netball and finished second, qualifying for the next stage of the conversation.

Within the Spring Term fixture programme, the side was very successful. The side, which was a good mix of Lower and Upper Sixth, gelled well and were ably led by captain Molly Saunders. When Molly picked up a month-long injury, Eleanor Mills was outstanding as vice captain. The team had winning streak which saw them beat Bradfield College, Brighton College, Sevenoaks and local rivals Epsom College.

The highlight of the season has to be the side’s run in the National Cup. Following convincing early round wins over Bedales (65-12) and Churcher’s College (41-26), the team headed to Brentwood School, Essex for the quarter final. In a fiery encounter, the girls played as a team, kept their calm, were well disciplined in defence and devastating in attack recording a 49-35 win. This set up a National Cup semifinal versus Woodhouse Grove, Yorkshire. In a performance of which the girls can be extremely proud, they fought hard but lost 61-37 against the tournament’s eventual winners.

Following qualification earlier in the year, the girls went to the county finals in March with hopes of finishing in the top two and progressing to the regional stage. Gaining early points in the day against Royal Russell, Caterham and St Catherine’s, it all came down to a final showdown with Alleyn’s School. Unfortunately, the girls ran out of steam in a physically demanding encounter and finished third. The final friendly match of the season saw some redemption for the girls, when they beat beating Alleyn’s 40-30.

Sadly, we say goodbye and thank you to Upper Sixth leavers Molly Saunders, Eleanor Mills and Philippa Hansford who have all played a huge role within the side on and off the court over the past two years. Congratulations to next year’s captain, Saffy Lewis-Collymore, who has been selected to the Surrey Storm performance pathway.

2nds

“The girls played as a

The 2nd VII had an excellent season filled with fun, laughter, some lows team, kept their calm, were but a lot of highs! We had a solid season building on our success as an well disciplined in defence U16A team and coming together with some players who played for the and devastating in attack” 2nds last year. An early win against Bradfield College set us up nicely for the Epsom College game. We played well, with excellent shooting from Bo Shields, Phoebe McCutcheon and Darcy Barnes but unfortunately came away with a loss at 26-28 – five more minutes and we would have clinched it! We continued our success, however, with solid victories over Brighton and Reigate and finished the season in excellent style by winning the Plate competition at the county tournament. As well as those named above, Jemma Bessinger, Sanne Senior, Zanna McMahon, Annabel Jennings and Lily Wolff must also be applauded for working so hard every game and still managing to finish with smiles on their faces. A lovely season with lovely ladies.

3rds The 3rds had an exciting season with the highlight being the last match of the season against Beneden. The game was evenly matched with both teams determined to win but, to the delight of the home fans, St John’s won the game 21-18. Elsa Edwards was the player’s player with many of the opposition picking her as player of the match. The coach’s most valuable player went to Georgina Holden who played every match and moved from defence to attack when injuries struck. Special mention to Anya Cooper and Freya Scarry, who leave St John’s this year for university and who played netball with great enthusiasm throughout their time at school.

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4ths

U16A

The 4th VII fought hard all season, playing some excellent games which ended with very close results. Notable games included a fantastic win against Brighton College (19-15) and a 1 goal loss against Hurstpierpoint. Captain Sophie Mosselmans, who fed some lovely balls into the circle to allow the shooters plenty of opportunities to score goals, superbly led the team. Real progress was made over the season, with significant improvement in defence and many more goals being scored in the shooting circle. Most importantly, the team had lots of fun over the season and it was great to see the girls play as a very cohesive team as the weeks went on.

After a challenging start to the season, the 16As steadily grew in confidence - match by match, training session by training session – and, by the end of the season, they had not only grown into an accomplished team but also formidable opponents. Through their dedication to training, they were able to improve every aspect of their game as individuals and as a team, and developed a wonderfully supportive team spirit.

Win, lose or draw (latterly mostly win!), the 16As played with passion and a desire to win, while always exhibiting great sportsmanship and good humour.

U16B

“It was great to see the girls play as a very cohesive team.”

5ths The girls worked together extremely well throughout the season and made a very good team. They communicated excellently and their support for each other was evident in both training and games. The first game was sadly lost to Epsom College, though the shooters made some fantastic goals. The most exciting game played was a very close game against Bradfield College, in which all the players showed great skill and which ultimately resulted in a draw.

It was a turbulent season for the U16Bs, one that featured high winds, skinned knees and true grit and sportswomanship. With five losses and a draw, the girls fought hard for their three wins and they would have added to their total if not for an unfortunate combination of poor weather and some other schools being unable to field an U16B team, which resulted in cancelled fixtures. Flexibility and versatility were key when injury struck and the girls demonstrated their ability to play in all positions around the court. The team’s main success this year (something regularly commented on by the opposition coach) was their humility, kindness and ability to stay positive even when the score line wasn’t going their way. Captain Sophie-Rose Russell was player of the season.

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U15A This was a long season for the U15As, with Monday night training sessions during the Autumn Term in preparation for the county tournament at the end of October. The opening match of the season saw them convincingly beat Epsom 59-21, and this was followed with a 61-31 victory over Bradfield College. Brighton College provided sterner opposition. With injury to Francesca, Molly stepped in from the U14A team, and had a fantastic debut performance. St John’s led at the end of the first and second quarter, and the third finished all square. The depth of the Brighton squad finally showed but it was a fantastic game and St John’s only loss of the season. Annie and Daisy dominated the attacking play against Reigate and a runaway 35-20 win gave confidence to the team as Wellington and Hurstpierpoint lay in wait. At U14 level, this team’s only loss was against Wellington, where the girls had been very much outplayed, but not this year. In a tight, competitive game, it went goal for goal throughout. It did both teams credit that despite the closeness of the match, the game was played in excellent spirit with the girls managing to snatch a 39-36 win.

There was a little bit of trepidation as the girls entered their match against Hurstpierpoint as their track record was formidable. In the first quarter, St John’s came out of the blocks flying. In defence everyone was tight on their players and in attack great drives were made throughout the attacking two thirds. By the end of the first quarter a 15-9 lead had been hard fought. Despite the enforced switch at half time, Caroline led the centre circle play and, with tight defending from Bonnie and Amelia and devastating shooting by Annie, another winning quarter extended the lead at half-time to 32-24.

By the end of the third quarter, the lead was only four goals but Daisy saved her best until the last quarter where her drives into the circle were devastating and Caroline and Bella piled on the pressure in the centre court. The final scoreline read 52-47 – a thoroughly deserved win.

The season was drawing to a close when Latymer Upper faced the wrath of Annie and Daisy in the shooting circle and a comfortable 47-22 win was achieved. Alleyn’s was to be the last match of the season and, following a tight first quarter, Alleyn’s should have moved away but such is the tenacity of the girls they kept themselves in it and at the whistle found themselves 9-8 up. Taking confidence in this, with some excellent rebounding in defence and superb shooting in attack, half-time saw the lead extended to 19-15.

Rub of the green was going St John’s way, with Alleyn’s influential centre injured at half-time, and how the girls took advantage of this. Their level of play kept rising and the second phase attack play was wonderful to see. In the end a convincing 39-28 win was achieved – a great way to end their wonderful season.

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“Great team spirit all season, every player progressed and showed versatility.”

U15B The U15Bs had quite a tough season with a string of defeats, however, spirits remained high and the girls always played to their best. The highlight of the season was the final match against Alleyn’s which resulted in a 25-25 draw. Well done to the girls and all their efforts this season.

U15C This year the girls did themselves proud through perseverance, team spirit, friendship and love. Training focus was always based around learning and fun and, although it took a while to get used to, the girls got stuck in and worked hard. Selection was based upon effort and character, and ultimately this shone through and our second to last game ended with a brilliant and first win against Latymer Upper School, after seven warm up matches! The girls were both humble and proud at that moment and Mr Newby was speechless the end.

Highlights throughout the year were many: Eleanor Wilson’s tenacious defending; Susannah Klein changing from defence to attack; and Izzy Kuhle shooting at a high percentage. Izzy Vickery worked hard at centre all year, Lizze Connick was an absolute rock at wing A, Neve Hudson - in her first ever season at St John’s - got numerous intercepts and never ever gave up. Emma Porter defended well all year and Ella Horvat’s improvement at goal shoot was wonderful. A tough year of netball fixtures but it was full of amazing girls and they were a credit to themselves and St John’s.

U15D The U15D netball experienced a few tough defeats this season, but grew stronger as a team and built upon the number of goals they scored each match. A particular highlight was our final match against Cranleigh, when the girls got into an excellent momentum at the end of the match and managed to score four goals in the last five minutes. A great way to finish the season. A special mention must go to Safoah Ntiamoah, who was named the coach’s player at the end of the season; she gave it her all in every single match and was great addition to the defence side.

U14A

U14D

The Under 14As were a delight to coach and watch develop this season. This year’s team was extremely versatile, with all individuals being able to play numerous positions which meant we were able to put out a strong team for every game. Against some extremely tough competition, the girls always held their own and fought back for some tremendous victories including their 28-14 win against Bradfield and 3119 against Manor House. Another great triumph was the 1817 victory against Cranleigh - the girls fought tooth and nail to the very last second of that match to secure the result.

Every girl in the team played a crucial role: Molly, Naomi and Maya brining strength to defence; Ella and Zoe scoring goal after goal; and Olivia and Poppy bringing grit and control throughout the court. Particular mention goes to this year’s captain, Jess, for her excellent ability and leadership of the team. The girls should be extremely proud of themselves and we are excited to see how they progress further.

The girls played as a very effective team from the beginning of term, improving their skills with every game. We played eight games - won six, drew one and lost one - all in all a very successful term. I was particularly impressed with how the girls looked to improve their individual skills, asking how to improve all the time. Our defence players were amazing, keeping so many goal attempts out of the D – the highest score against us all season was 22. Mid-court dominated in so many ways, we did sustain a few injuries due to the determination of our players. Our attack display started with a few nerves but, by the end of the term, we were dominating our opponents and were confident in our skills.

Player’s player was Chloe Currie and most improved player was Katie Milton.

U14B U14Bs were a joy to coach. Everyone progressed throughout the season and there was always great team spirit. It was a mixed season (with very mixed weather conditions!) with three wins, six losses and two cancellations. The most memorable games were against Epsom College and Bradfield College at the start of the season. We won both games and these were convincing wins against strong opponents.

The U14Bs had great team spirit all season, every player progressed and showed versatility, and the whole team should be proud of their efforts and achievements. Well done!

U14C

U14E

The U14Cs had an excellent season, going from strength to strength with every game played. Our first game saw us beat Epsom in a close game full of grit and determination, winning 19-18. We continued this winning streak with some fantastic games (and victories) against Bradfield, Reigate Grammar, Manor House, Hurstpierpoint, Latymer and Alleyn’s. The team showed versatility, with many girls playing different positions and sometimes even at different ends of the court! Our player of the season went to Skye Sewell, for some excellent attacking and defensive play and overall determination to win ball and change the game.

The U14Es enjoyed a positive season, winning five matches out of eight. The girls enjoyed their netball and worked hard, making visible progress as the season progressed.

Our penultimate match, against Latymer, was a particular highlight as the girls brought to play the skills on which we had focussed in training and their efforts paid off in a solid 18-8 win. It was, throughout, a joy to see them pull together as a team, competitive but always putting fair play and each other first.

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U12A The U12A netball season was simply a delight. A strong team of nine, the season consisted of finding our identity, finding our feet and then putting it into action. Our first match, versus Epsom, showed us all how much work we had to put in on the training field in order to catch up with our local rival. But the girls did not disappoint. Sophie and Delilah were regulars at extra practice on a Monday afternoon and improvements were being made. By week three, we had our opportunity to rematch Epsom at the Cranleigh tournament, having successfully made it to the final. Some epic shooting from Flo and some solid defending from Phoebe meant that we took on Epsom right to the very end. The final score was Epsom winning by one, however it is fair to say we had found our footing and now knew exactly how we wanted to play: fast and aggressive, but with an element of coolness. The team’s goal was to make sure we won more games than we lost. Some close fought matches and some nice easy wins allowed us to achieve this... just: six won, one drawn, five lost. A special mention must go to Ella Bailey for leading the team so exceptionally well.

U12B

U13A The U13A had another excellent season, starting with an extremely close game against Epsom. The girls played exceptionally well and it truly was a preview of positive things to come across the season. Our game against Cranleigh was a real highlight; in the previous year, we had lost by a few goals and we took the victory by 10 goals this year. All the girls supported one another and played with excellent sportswomanship. The girls worked consistently hard in training and matches, with some girls supporting their training in school with Surrey Netball training and club training.

We unfortunately struggled with several injuries, causing some inconsistency, however we were fortunate to be able to bring up some wonderful, hard-working players from the Bs. In our last game of the season, we took an emphatic, well-deserved win against Alleyn’s. It has been a pleasure coaching the girls for the last two years and we look forward to seeing them continue to develop as wonderful The girls demonstrated a netballers.

U13B

real drive to improve and to compete to the final whistle of every game

The 13Bs played eight games: winning four and losing four, with some consistent players playing every week. As all good B teams, we are here to support the A team and push girls to play in that team. We had Darcie, Izzy Wright, Annabel and Taylor all play for the A team this year - well done girls. I have enjoyed coaching these girls and look forward to seeing them progress next year. We gave some awards for the U13Bs this year: the Eagle award was given to Olive for playing on despite injury and showing courage in the game against Dunottar. The players’ player of the year was given to Hana Blackman for her consistent energy and skilful game play throughout the season.

U13C

The U13Cs may not have won too many fixtures but they did show significant progress! The girls demonstrated a real drive to improve and to compete to the final whistle of every game. Yasemin Ozderici was a standout player for both her attitude and her progress as a netballer. A huge well done to all the girls involved. Memorable moments of the season include the victory against Feltonfleet School and the celebration of the goal scored against Reigate Grammar School after 31 goals against!

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The 12Bs had a hugely successful season, scoring 117 goals and numerous wins. The team was a very enthusiastic and energetic team, always supporting each other and cheering each other onto victory. Some noticeable wins were against Epsom (1610), Cranleigh (13-7) and Lingfield (10-2).

Despite some changes to the team, the girls performed excellently across any position they tried their hand at and discovered new positions for themselves as a result. The whole team should be extremely proud of their first season together at the School and should be excited for how they will progress over the coming netball seasons.

“The whole team should be extremely proud of their first season together.”

U12C The 12Cs had a brilliant season, making lots of progress. The team had some hard fought wins and some very close losses. The most notable game of the season was against Cranleigh, which they won 10-7. The girls had excellent ball control and concise, accurate passing. The U12Cs also recorded wins against Lingfield, Hurstpierpoint and Dunottar.

They regularly borrowed players from the Ds, which shows the strength in depth that we have in the U12 sides. A wonderful season for the girls with lots of promise for next year.

U12D The U12Ds entered their first term of netball with enthusiasm and a sense of enjoyment.

Many of the girls had never played netball before but they listened to advice and learnt the rules in no time. They had no expectations in any of their matches, other than to play as a team and have fun, and when they won their first match against Lingfield, after four consecutive losses, no one was more surprised than they were! They won one other match against Dunottar towards the end of the season and the matches they lost were very close indeed, which showed how much they had improved. A great first season and we look forward to their progress next year.

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FOOTBALL

T

2nd XI

he last weekend of the season, with fixtures against Epsom College, was the perfect climax to a season that saw 200 fixtures take place, with over 350 pupils playing in 23 teams.

The 1st XI led the way on that final weekend, battling to a hard fought 2-1 victory that was sealed by a stunning strike from midfielder Lukas Bednall. It was a fitting end to a pleasing season for the senior side who have played an attractive brand of football leading to impressive wins including Whitgift, Tonbridge and Charterhouse under the lights at Leatherhead FC. In addition, the 2nd XI have had a fantastic season. Superbly led by Captain Tom Stansfield, they reached the semifinals of the London Independent Schools Cup and came third in their league. The spirit and camaraderie of this team has been exemplary. The 3rd XI also grasped their league title on the last day of the season but missed out on being crowned champions by one point.

The Under 16A side, having won their league last year, were rewarded with six players from that side making 1st XI debuts, demonstrating genuine promise for the future. Braiden Hall, who has been outstanding in midfield for the 1st XI, has represented the Under 16 ISFA National Team with distinction, having scored four times against Australia. Success has also been seen in the U15A side, which reached the last 16 of the ISFA Investec Cup and came third in the National Futsal Championships, a feat also completed by the U14A side who won all but one game this season, including a 2-0 victory against St Paul’s and 5-0 win against Epsom College. Our U12 and U13s have had significant success, with the U13Bs amassing 60 goals in nine games, including a mightily impressive 19 goals for Monte Gatta-Smith.

We are exceptionally proud of the achievements of Henry Jeffcott (Arsenal), Josh Clarke (Chelsea), Filip Lissah (Chelsea) and Hugo Few (AFC Wimbledon) who continue to make great strides at their respective academies and are on track to join Old Johnian Joe Haigh, who signed his Scholars contract with Chelsea recently.

Director of Football, Mr Pepper, comments: “We are exceptionally proud of the sheer number of pupils who have represented the School this season and who have scored over 480 goals. Football at St John’s is focused on enjoyment and pride in the sport and our school and these figures clearly show the continued joy and development of football at St John’s.”

“I am also delighted that this season has seen our U15As reach the last 16 nationally, alongside them and the U14As coming third at the National Futsal Championships, which demonstrates our ability to perform at the highest level.”

1st XI It has been a season of ups and downs. Ably led by Captain, Ben Bound, and Vice-Captain, Stuart Shannon, six U16s featured in the team this season and made their mark on senior football. After an intensive preseason, the boys made an impressive start with victories against a strong Whitgift side (2-1) and Dulwich (3-2). The character to come back and win against Dulwich was superb and Ryan Trevitt and Michael Anderson combined well to create numerous chances, with both boys getting on the scoresheet.

“The whole team should be extremely proud of their first season together.”

Impressive victories under the lights at Leatherhead FC followed, with a pleasing 1-0 victory against Brighton and a mightily impressive 4-0 win against Charterhouse. The football played in these games was composed and focused with strong ball retention and willingness to go forward; Stuart Shannon was unplayable, creating opportunities with his creativity and pace. Before half term, the 3-2 victory against Radley was impressive, not for the result, but for the desire shown to come back in tough conditions.

The second half of the season was mixed with uncomfortable losses against St Paul’s, Abingdon and Harrow. However, pleasing results were also seen against Haileybury (7-1), Tonbridge (3-1) and, on the final day, Epsom College (2-1) thanks to a wonder strike from Lukas Bednall.

From sublime to gut-wrenching moments, the football played this season was bold, courageous and, at times, effortless. We thank Ben, Stuart and the rest of the outgoing Upper Sixth and we wish Jack Goodman, Captain of Football 2019-20, Ethan Salter, Vice-Captain of Football 2019-20 and their side all the best in the season ahead.

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The 2nd XI had many excellent performances this season, culminating in a cup run to the semi-finals.

The team, ably led by Tom Stansfield, gelled well as a defensive unit with the commanding Will Farnsworth, in goal, keeping the team in many games with some superb saves. The emergence of Chris Ballard as an attacking left back with Joe Genco, Robin Jones and Andrew Caird provided the team with strong foundations on which to play fine possession-based football. Lukas Bednall held his own in midfield, until his selection for the 1st XI, and his hat trick of penalties in the win against Berkhamsted was a highlight. However, Max Simpson was not to be out done with his memorable free kick against Abingdon and he, alongside the energetic Seb Hommasi and Titus Tresidder, ensured the team competed for every loose ball in the key areas. Up front, the 2nd XI drew upon the physicality and pace of Ben Fitzgerald, Louie Fronzoni, Tom Marvin and Archie Stevens to cause problems for any defence they faced. The squad should be pleased with their efforts to get to the semi-finals of London Independent Schools’ Cup, beating St George’s Weybridge 6-2, and overcoming a stubborn Dulwich College 2-0 in extra time. Sadly, the run ended against a strong team from the Forest School.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable season – I would like to thank Tom Stansfield for leading the team, and wish him, Robin Jones, Max Simpson, Seb Hommasi, Titus Tresidder, Louie Fronzoni and Archie Stevens the very best for the future.

3rd XI It was a fantastic season for the 3rd XI who narrowly missed out on the league title on the last day of the season. Captain and stalwart Ethan Heard, who commanded the defence, alongside Lewis Moir, with tenacity and calmness, led the team superbly.

A standout performance was coming back from 3-1 down against Berkhamsted to secure a 4-4 draw. The goals flowed this season, with Blackmore and Potter forming a deadly partnership and fantastic supply from Ed Beech who was a creative tour de force.

Undoubtedly, the highlight of the season was the 1-0 victory against Harrow with heart, guts and hard tackling a plenty stealing a victory against this impressive side. At the last game of the season, St John’s needed to win by four goals but it was not to be and the league title went to Berkhamsted. A terrific season played in fantastic spirits.

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4th XI

U16A

Uncharacteristically dry weather led to a fuller fixture list of matches and training sessions and, perhaps as a consequence, all of our games were closely contested. Although we drew nearly half of our matches, there were plenty of ups and downs to enjoy (or endure!) during a long term.

After having two mightily impressive seasons, the focus turned to development with four boys moving to the 1st XI to allow for those previously in the B team to develop. The season started with a well-fought 2-0 victory against Bede’s 2nd XI (a side two years the boys’ senior). The team showed plenty of heart and skill, ably led

by Charlie Few who was the standout performer throughout the season. It was most certainly a season of fine margins, with 1-1 draws against Berkhamsted, Radley and away at a strong Harrow side. However, the standout moments came against Tonbridge with a 3-2 victory and a 2-0 win against Epsom on the last day of the season.

Captained for most of the season by the stalwart Frank Dwan, the 4ths got off to an impressive start, beating RGS Guildford 3-2 thanks to a Joe Baker hat trick. Even here, however, a pattern for the term was establishing itself, with excellent build-up play often squandered in front of goal. From then on, we saw a positive tsunami of our best players being poached from above with never a drop coming back down! A narrow defeat to Dulwich was followed by a series of draws, during which the backbone of a settled team began to assert itself: the mercurial Sam Hunt as goalie/sweeper behind Luke Hailstone, Frank Dwan and Angus Rose; Scott Driscoll, Sam Smedley and Dan Barnham in a very competitive midfield; and Freddie Shearer, Ben Gosling and Luke Swiss taking on the main attacking duties. Others came and went, with Joe Brown and Michael Haddad finishing the season strongly. Our best performance came in the 4-1 victory over Abingdon, when Scott Driscoll scored our second hat trick of the term. Our final match perhaps best summed up the season, when Epsom scored an equaliser deep into stoppage time to prevent us from finishing the term with a winning flourish.

U16B It was a tough season for the U16B team. A pleasing 0-0 draw against Bede’s 3rd XI started the year but goals proved to be the real problem – few goals were conceded but we lacked the ability to convert chances. There is no doubt that the man of the season goes to Billy Mardon who was outstanding between the sticks, frequently stopping the opposition in their tracks. Strong results came against Radley and Haileybury with 2-1 victories in both. It was a tough year but these boys have hearts of gold, which will hold them in good stead as they compete for senior spots next year.

U16C The U16C team had an inconsistent season, with several superb performances mixed with some heavy defeats.

Captained by Harry Young, the boys began the season positively, with strong victories over Dulwich College and Radley College in the first three games. The Radley game was a highlight of the season, with Alex O’Brien playing brilliantly on the wing. A series of defeats against strong teams followed, but it was notable that the boys were competitive for nearly all of the fixtures. A thrilling 3-3 draw against Epsom College, in which Olly Tredgett scored a fantastic goal, gave us a positive end to the season.

Along with Harry Young, Olly was at the heart of the team’s midfield all season. Ben Grear was a reliable goalkeeper, making an unfathomable save against Epsom and saving a penalty against St Paul’s, and the uncompromising tackling of Charlie Collins and Michael de Leo, both at centre back all season, protected him. Barnaby Saville was a late addition to the team and was invaluable for team morale. Despite the mixed results, it was a pleasure to coach the boys and they should be proud of their progress.

Pupils with Old Johnians Football Club

5th XI The 2019 crop of the 5th XI played some of the best football seen at this level for many a year, winning five and losing three over the season. An impressive 30 goals were scored – five in one game by Shaw. Stalwarts in the form of Myers, Patel and skipper Goldsmith led the way, ably supported by some very enthusiastic Lower Sixth players – most notably, Tudor, Garlick, Smitheman and Dale. The most impressive result was a hard-fought 2-1 victory away at Berkhampstead, though the 7-1 thrashing of our local rivals from Epsom on the last day of the season will perhaps live longest in the memory. Well done to all who represented the 5ths this time around!

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U15A After a successful cup run, and then losing to Royal Russel 2-0 in a tight fourth round game, we went hopefully into the Spring Term. In the first game, against Whitgift, we started slowly and conceded two goals from set pieces in quick succession. However, we demonstrated excellent resilience and determination to pull back as 3-2 winners. The next two games, against Dulwich and Berkhamsted, saw similarly slow starts but we were unable to overcome the early deficits. The match against Radley College saw a return to form accompanied by some flowing football and ended a comfortable 6-0 to St John’s.

On a Tuesday night under the lights, we faced a strong Hampton side and, although we played well, did not reach our best and failed to find the back of the net. Our next fixture against St Paul’s, the team at the top of the league, was always going to be a difficult game. We threw players forward to try to equalize the game after they had scored twice, but their counter attack was too strong and the game finished 4-0 to St Paul’s. A 1-1 draw against Haileybury was followed by a 2-0 loss to Abingdon, which was partly the result of Mr Moloney and Mr Cross experimenting with formation and positions before our next league match.

We were determined to turn the season around in our fixture against Harrow. This match saw the best football we had played all season and were the better side. Unfortunately, a Harrow goal from a set piece left it 1-1. Tonbridge came to visit with a strong record and both teams took the upper hand at different times. However, neither side were able to grab a goal and it finished 0-0. The last game of the season, against Epsom College, was set to be a competitive affair. The game could have gone either way with plenty of goals and narrow misses from both sides. The scoreline belied the strong defending as both teams scored some superb goals and this great match finished 3-3. While the season was not as successful as we would have liked, the camaraderie of the team shone through and the team proved hard to beat against some tough opponents. Josh Clarke was named Player’s Player of the Season and Jackson “The camaraderie of the Rudd Manager’s Player of the Season, with Ethan Causer and Ollie Smith team shone through.” receiving awards for development.

U15B

U15C

The season started with a 1-0 away win at Dulwich, Toby Smedley bundling the ball over the line from a corner. The match was hardfought but St John’s came away with the victory. A 2-2 draw away to Berkhamsted followed, very much a game of two halves, as the home side scored two with the wind in the first half, only for St John’s to equalise in the second period. The first half of the season finished with a comfortable 6-0 home win against Radley, with Smedley, Dan Geddes and Ollie Karmel scoring impressive goals.

The U15C team had a successful season but the results fall into two halves. In the games before half term, the team played good football but lost to St Bede’s, Berkhamsted and Abingdon, with a draw at Dulwich College. After half term, we enjoyed wins against St Paul’s, Haileybury, Abingdon and Epsom College, with a draw against Tonbridge. The team was built on a strong defence. Alex Lucas made excellent saves in goal and scored the winner from his own box against St Paul’s. James Glover, Matthew Read and Tom Cabrelli were tidy full backs.

There were commanding centre back displays from Bertie Dunster Ross, Oran Murphy, Matthew Carter, Ollie Armitage and Adam Shearer. Hugh Conboy, Eddie Jones, Ben Yiannakou and Oscar Manners marshalled the midfield. Daniel Rindfuss and Ollie Saarinen provided width on the wings.

Up front, Billy Proudfoot, Toby Miller, Sam Agambar and Toby Smedley scored the goals.

The second half of term was rather more mixed. An away fixture against St Paul’s saw the team struggle to create clear-cut chances, where the home side proved far more clinical, winning a relatively close match 3-0. A weak Haileybury side were then dispatched 7-2 at home; but this was followed by a 3-0 home loss against a ruthless Abingdon side that netted chances when St John’s did not.

A mid-week fixture against Harrow was a great contest, the home side taking the lead twice, only for Casper Walker to peg them back on both occasions. Two very late goals saw the home team take the victory 4-2. A 0-0 home draw against Tonbridge ended the concession of goals and the final match was a thrilling 5-4 away loss to Epsom. The results were mixed but the team was ably led by Dan Khan and played some impressive football at times.

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U14A It was an excellent season for the U14A team. With a strong core from goalkeeper to attack, they have the potential to be dominant in years to come. It was a tricky first game against an established Whitgift side; despite never having played together prior to this game, the boys put in a brilliant performance but lost 2-1 following a late Whitgift goal. The following Tuesday, the boys played under floodlight on a cold evening at Leatherhead Football Club against Brighton College. Despite having the lion’s share of possession and clearly being the stronger team, the stalemate could not be broken and the game finished 0-0.

Thereafter, the boys found their feet, winning the remaining seven games. The highly talented back four proved difficult to break down and the centre-back partnership of Perry and Ridgewell looked as though they had played together for years. The defence demonstrated tremendous confidence within their impressive goalkeeper, Crawford, and he directed and communicated with his back four tremendously. As such, only five further goals were conceded within those seven games. The midfield were highly diligent, working hard for every ball; Kemp-Pedersen was simply superb in the holding role, allowing Few to freely roam in the attacking midfield role. His winding runs drew in defenders to create space for the strikers. Goals came from all areas – from Perry’s head at set pieces, to Malby-Nightingale getting in front of the defender from the right hand-side. As the season progressed, the boys improved with every game. Their season was capped off with their best performance of the season: a 5-0 thrashing of Epsom College. Well done to all the boys involved.

“In a string of challenging fixtures, the boys showed promise and worked tirelessly.”

U14C The U14Cs played ten matches this season and worked fantastically for one another to develop into a close-knit group. In a string of challenging fixtures, the boys showed promise and worked tirelessly. After a difficult start, the team showed incremental improvements, developing their skills that resulted in our strongest victory of the year, a 4-0 victory against Mill Hill and Belmont. There were some skilful goals scored by our attack and, by the end of the season, we were much better in the transition out of defence, passing out to the wing and not down the middle.

This continual focus and desire to improve culminated in two good victories at the end to the season. Special mention to Ollie Montgomerie who has captained the side all year and was fantastic in goal. Overall, a great allround team spirit that will carry the boys forward to many victories next year.

U14B For the U14Bs, this was a season of development and learning. With a tough fixture list, the team fell the wrong side of a handful of results. However, admirable draws against Berkhamsted and Haileybury, combined with a thumping 4-0 victory against Mill Hill, provided evidence of how far the team had come. There is plenty of potential in this group and I am sure, with more refinement, they will achieve great things moving forward.

U14D It was an exceptionally difficult season for the U14D side who faced tough opposition such as Dulwich College, Berkhamsted, Mill Hill and Haileybury. However, in amongst quite a few goals conceded and defeats, there was plenty of development individually and as a side. The highlight of the season was the 3-3 draw away against Haileybury where the boys were impressive in their efforts.

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U13A Rumours of Klopp and Guardiola sending scouts our way may have been far-fetched, but this was a team with style and passion to rival the best of them. Victories were achieved playing ambitious, attacking football, and rare defeats toughened the team and stung, driving the boys’ desire to improve.

Luke Patterson’s first taste of football saw him develop into a commanding goalkeeper, and the trickery of our full-backs, Luc Bird and Joe Lee, placed us well within the modern trend of rampaging defenders. The solidity of Thomas Knocker and Luke Ruoff at centre-back was complemented by the midfield trickery of Oscar Walker and Jack Smosarski Wright, and the combative class of Reiss Campbell and Felix Oakley (captain) meant we were never out-fought. The front three of Rory Davidson, Jamie Ruscoe and Josh Tredwell blended pace and power with a dogged determination to harass and chase. A tally of 28 goals from ten matches is testament to the attacking intent of the squad.

The highlight of the season was, fittingly, the final match against Epsom. Overturning two thumping defeats against the same team last year took every ounce of effort from each player. Harry Barker stepped up from the Bs, and the whole team fought for each other and thoroughly deserved their 2-1 win. A thrilling climax to a superb season, with thanks going to the dedicated parental support throughout.

CRICKET

CRICKET 1st XI 2019 will go down as one of the very best in St John’s School history. Nineteen games played and only two matches lost reflect the quality cricket on show from this special group of young men.

Unbeaten in Saturday block fixtures, particular highlights include brilliant victories against strong Eastbourne College and St Paul’s sides and the retaining of the annual end of season 1st XI festival. Special mentions must go to Ben Geddes and Sam Hunt for their outstanding captaincy across all formats and Harry Mead for a very impressive return of three centuries during the year. We say farewell to 1st XI coach Mr Turner who has played a pivotal role in the success of this team over the course of his three years. Bring on 2020!

U13B 2nd XI What a season it was for the U13Bs scoring a mightily impressive 60 goals with 37 from their deadly striking partnership. Their season started with fantastic 9-5 and 5-2 victories against Halliford and Wilson’s respectively. The goal scoring form continued with a 9-0 win against Gordon’s and a 7-1 victory against Dunottar. The wins and goals kept flowing, with Monte Gatta-Smith bagging himself 19 in the season, although defeats against Hampton and Latymer showed there is still work to be done. Impressive victories came against Christ’s Hospital, with a 6-4 victory for the young eagles thanks to four from that man, Gatta-Smith. The season ended with a resounding 6-3 win over local rivals Epsom thanks to a hat trick from Henry Emerson. An outstanding season!

U12A After a tough start to the season against strong Halliford and Wilson’s sides, the U12As got into their stride with a quite brilliant performance and dramatic 5-4 victory away at Latymer Upper. A mixture of performances followed with notable victories against Cedars, St John’s Beaumont and a thrilling 9-0 win away at CLFS. I am sure the boys will learn from their experiences during this season and their attitude to disappointment will be the part of their progress that I will look out for in the coming years. The team was led admirably by Jarrod O’Keefe who showed bundles of commitment and desire.

U12B The U12Bs opened the season with a bang: a 2-1 win away against Halliford. Starting how they intended to go on, they had determination in their stride and their sights set on victory. Winning 90% of the games played (losing reluctantly 2-1 to Gordon’s in treacherous conditions), the mighty Bs were just one goal shy of 40 scored in the season, having conceded only five. The boys developed their skill set and gameplay over the weeks and offered a spectacle of play for parents on the sidelines. The tremendous 12Bs closed on a high, with a 7-0 win away at Epsom. Captain William Kelly comments: “Thank you to Miss Ball for coaching us and to leading us to an almost unbeaten season.”

U12C It was a mixed season for the U12Cs, with plenty of impressive victories and opportunities to learn and react. The victory against Wilson’s (7-2) was a pleasing win for the boys, partly thanks to two hat tricks from Thomas Shelly and Archie Savage respectively. Wins also came against Gordon’s (6-1), Dunottar (5-4) and St John’s, Beaumont (5-1). It was very clear that the side has plenty of potential going forward and we look forward to seeing how they develop next year.

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The 2nd XI enjoyed an unbeaten campaign, played six won six, with one match cancelled. Memorable victories were won over Epsom (by just three runs - the tightest of the lot), St Paul’s (a four wicket win over tough opponents) and Eastbourne (a stunning effort, chasing down 140 in just 16 overs). The other three games were one-sided affairs with the bowling attack severely restricting Trinity, Reigate Grammar and Caterham to scores that were straightforwardly chased. It was remarkable that only one fixture was called off given the amount of rain throughout May and June, though it must be mentioned that the 3rd XI had already beaten the opponents we missed our match against.

The team was led from the front by the stalwart Upper Sixth contingent of skipper and leading run-scorer Tom Wood (C), pace-man Blake Fildes (W), hockey player Harry Bulkeley (Sy) and spin-sensation Sam Bennett (E). Rob Butler (E), Waasi Uddin (W) and in particular Luke Read (E) wreaked havoc with the ball, meanwhile Will Ferguson (W) got every innings of the season off to a flyer at the top of the order. Late season cameos for Edward Timpson (M) (returning from injury) and Jonny Pagett (W) (too injured to play 1st XI) helped hugely, as did those stepping up to senior cricket - Ethan Macallister (C) and Oliver Timpson (N), both of whom impressed with the ball. Well done to all who represented the 2nd XI in this fantastic unbeaten season!

3rd XI The 3rd XI played only four fixtures when several fixtures were lost due to inclement weather or study leave selection issues.

The first match, against St Paul’s, was a fine start to the season: openers Charlie Wolff and Wilf Morris gave the side a good start, before an explosive 33 from Harry Bulkeley led to a total of 93 that St Paul’s were unable to chase down after some fine bowling, particularly from Ethan Heard, Ben Geddes and Oliver Langlands.

We confined Trinity Croydon to just 95, after a fantastic four over spell with five wickets between JJ Hayter and Ethan Heard. Two fine innings from Martin Vogel (31) and Ethan Heard (53) chased down the total with ease. Against KCS Wimbledon, Ben Potter and Wilf Morris put on 49 for the first wicket then good innings from Luke Hailstone (30) and Angus Rose took us to a total of 140. This proved too much for Wimbledon, particular after a devastating spell of four wickets in four overs from Ned Weston. In the end, our only loss came away at Eastbourne. A small boundary, and some big hitters in both teams, meant that nearly 300 runs were scored in the 35 overs of the match – exciting viewing for all the spectators (and umpires). Despite some fine bowling from Ethan Heard, JJ Hayter, Chris Munro and Ned Weston, three of Eastbourne’s batsmen scored 160 runs between them and despite a fine 47 from captain JJ Hayter, we were bowled out 61 runs short of the total, even though we were keeping up with the tough asking rate.

Many thanks to all the pupils who have represented the team this season, many of whom had to fit in matches around revision schedules. The team looked strong all season, fielded well and can be pleased with an enjoyable and successful season.

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U15A The U15A have had a positive season, showing significant signs of improvement from last year. Some strong top order batting set up the team for some good victories. Victories against St Paul’s, Epsom and Eastbourne were all won by batting first and saw some notable innings from the top order. Adam Baiden scored his maiden century (114*) and Daniel Geddes (74), James Searle (50 and 54) and Freddie Simpson (56) also made half centuries. The win against Reigate was set up by the bowlers, with Daniel Geddes and Toby Geddes taking four wickets each. The pick of the bowlers were Freddie Simpson, who always bowled some economical overs at the beginning of the innings, and Daniel Geddes, whose leg spin took key wickets at important times. Overall, the side have made a tremendous amount of progress and have the makings of a strong side in the future.

U15B The U15B team experienced highs and lows this season. In total, the side played seven matches, winning two and losing the remaining five. The first victory was against local rivals Epsom College. St John’s successfully defended a modest score of 102 off 20 overs, Jacob Skertchly’s score of 43 proved the cornerstone of the home team’s innings. Few, if any, could have predicted the ending to this match.

After keeping wicket for 17 overs, James Glover came on to bowl and claimed Epsom’s final two wickets within his first over. The second victory, away at Caterham, was a much tighter affair. St John’s batted first and were able to make a strong start thanks to an opening stand of 59 between Jacob and Adam Rustom. Adam produced a nice array of shots during his innings of 31; unfortunately, his time at the crease came to an abrupt end thanks to a calamitous run out. Some tight bowling from the St John’s bowlers meant that Caterham fell just eight runs short of their target. Sami Berendji was the pick of the bowlers finishing with 3-10 off his three overs.

Fixtures against Reigate Grammar School and Eastbourne College were highly competitive and the boys were left to rue missed opportunities. This season, for the most part, the ground fielding was good; unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the team’s catching. A large number of catches were dropped, a handful of these proved to be very costly. Finally, special mention must go to Jacob for captaining the side with both enthusiasm and maturity throughout the term. It was a pleasure to coach this group of boys and we hope that as many as possible continue to play cricket both next year and in the Sixth Form.

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U13 Girls For many of the U13 girls, this was their first time playing cricket but you really could not tell. Their enthusiasm for learning cricket was infectious, and they grasped every opportunity to improve and better their ability. The U13A girls had their first experience of hardball, beating Ibstock place and St George’s with Issy, Jess and Daisy being awarded players of the match several times. The U13Bs had an equally successful season beating Dunottar, Epsom and Ibstock Place, with Taylor hitting our first six of the season.

Congratulations to Kitty, Annabel and Farah for playing for the As during the season. They were all a pleasure to coach and I look forward to seeing them further progress on the cricket field.

U14A

U14C

The U14 season was a tale of two halves. Following the pre-season tour to Desert Springs Resort Spain, which included three days of training as well as a win over Malvern College, we hit the ground running. Impressive wins over Trinity School and Reigate Grammar followed, before an excellent performance in the county cup, beating Glyn School by 61 runs.

The 14Cs had a season filled with fun, team spirit and positivity. With luck against them, the Cs lost their games against Trinity School, Croydon and Epsom College but, all credit to the boys, their heads did not drop and their “There is much for the spirits remained boys to be proud of” untarnished. It was brilliant to close the season on a high at home, with a well-earned win against Eastbourne College. There is much for the boys to be proud of: they encompassed the St John’s spirit in their work ethic and teamwork and it was a pleasure to share the season together. Captain Tom Quickfall comments: “The C team would like to thank Miss Ball for her support and encouragement throughout the season.”

Captain Joe Akhurst, as well as senior players George Perry, Jack O’Neill and Josh Brown, had excellent starts to the season. The second half of the season was hampered by rain and unseasonably cold conditions. Following challenging defeats over Epsom and Whitgift, and a rained out game versus KCS, we found ourselves with all to play for going into the final two weeks of term. A last ball thriller against Eastbourne saw us lose by just two runs and we claimed a victory over Emmanuel at the Epsom Festival to finish with a win. Outstanding individual performances included a 98 and 110 from Upper Third pupil, Luke Patterson, as well as some outstanding leadership from Joe Akhurst.

U14B This was a season of learning and development for the U14Bs. In a tough fixture list, the boys were very competitive and, had it not been for some poor game management, several games could have swung our way.

However, a convincing win against Caterham ended the season successfully and was a clear indication of the progress the boys had made throughout the block.

U13B The U13B boys’ team had a mixed season with some outstanding performances and some fun training sessions.

On a Saturday the team put in every effort to perform well which lead to some great results including beating Caterham by 15 runs and Dunottar by seven wickets.

The pick of the bowlers this season have to be Henry Emerson, Harry Barker and Luc Bird, and our top batsmen are Thomas Knocker and William Purcell, who have both batted well throughout the season.

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U12A Boys A fantastic year to see the development of such a young team. Making sure that everyone played a part in the team was the most important thing, both for the development of the team and the individuals’ journey through their cricketing time at St John’s. Their first match against Dunottar should have gone our way, but one batting performance and a few dropped catches showed the hard work the boys needed to put in. Next up was RGS on a huge pitch and the boys got caught on the back foot; the game went down to the last over but our boys lost narrowly by four wickets. Then was RGS Guildford in the cup and, playing an indoor version of the game, this proved a different challenge for the boys and a great learning curve. The biggest rivalry of the season, against Epsom, proved to be a brilliant game of cricket. A fantastic opening stand of 146 between Callum (72) and Finn (60) proved to be pivotal as they posted 172. The boys had to bowl well and catch well. One good innings from an Epsom boy and, once he was out, the team crumbled; our boys held their nerve and recorded a brilliant three run victory. Cedars was next and allowed all the boys to bat and bowl, a really crucial learning curve and an emphatic victory. Caterham was the last game of the season and, on a tough green wicket, the batters had to think hard. A five-wicket loss was a disappointing way to finish the season but the boys have learnt a great deal. Some outstanding performances from Callum Munro and Joe Sayers with bat and ball, and Alex Kefford with the ball, and some brilliant middle order batting from others.

ATHLETICS The Athletics Club has had a very strong season, despite experiencing some of the wettest weather in recent summers.

Junior Boys It was an excellent season for the junior boys. They demonstrated prowess in a wide range of disciplines and they have the potential to be a force to reckon with in years to come. The boys possess tremendous pace on the track Jacob Costard won the Central Surrey Championships and came 5th in the County overall. He has been ably supported

by Tom Dolphin and Ollie Mardon, and they were hugely unfortunate to drop the baton in the Central Surreys when, joined with Owen Crawford, they were the fastest in the field. Archie O’Hanlon has also been a formidable all-rounder, showing particular grit in the 800m and javelin.

On the field, Jonny Philpott and Ollie Gullick have worked diligently on their jumps and trying to improve their 4x100m relays. Throws have been dominated by Miles Murphy and Ollie Mardon. A brilliant season overall and plenty to look forward to in the future.

From the very first training session, both Mr Sanders and I knew these girls were serious and passionate about cricket. Our bowling was on point, at times taking nine wickets in our pairs matches. So many boundaries were scored, with our highest score at 297. I hope the girls take advantage of any winter nets they can, so that next year we come back with the same enthusiasm. Thank you also to the parents for their wonderful support throughout the term.

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The Upper Fifth group of Georgie Philpott (jumps), Lara Quickfall and Sophie-Rose Russell (sprints and hurdles), and Yasmin Osman (throws) were excellent competitors before they departed for study leave. They provided necessary points in the notable fixture against Hurstpierpoint. All girls in this group qualified to the Surrey Championships later on in the season, indicating their talent for the sport.

The Lower Fifth girls took over with the likes of Amelia Feltham covering the 300m and triple jump with great determination, and Caroline Webb finishing very strongly in all of her 800m races, whilst at the same time finding skill for the javelin – two events that do not often go together. With Eleanor Wilson assisting in the field, these girls were a delight to coach and brought a cheerful attitude with them to all their fixtures.

Intermediate Boys We were spoilt for choice in the intermediate boys’ team this year because there were so many talented athletes available. From the Upper Fifth, Jack Goodman and Nick Boulton led the squad ably in the sprint events, with Pat Boothby and Michael Anderson completely dominating the jumps. Harry Lawes set personal bests in the middle distance events as, unfortunately, Charles Bishop was injured this season. Their presence is always felt as a leading athletics force on our circuit.

U12A Girls The U12A girls’ cricket team were impressive this term - our first year together and what potential this squad of girls has! We played six matches - won three, lost three - against some very strong opposition such as St George’s and Reigate Grammar. We recorded great wins against Epsom College, Dunottar and Thomas’s Clapham.

Intermediate Girls

Junior Girls The junior girls have shown equal ability and potential in what has been, for most of them, their first year of competing for the School. Molly Wolff has led the team off the track, in particular the jumps and the throws, and has won numerous competitions. Claudia Phelan (sprints and hurdles) and Poppy McCutcheon (300m) dominated on the track. They both made the County Championships and Claudia reached 6th in the final. Naomi George and Jessica Murdoch have provided the backbone of the track events, with Asantewaa Ntiamoah and Mya Murphy contributing very well to the field.

When they began study leave, the Lower Fifth stepped up to the mark to not only fill this gap but also to hold their own against older competition from strong schools. Josh Shaw and Joe Genco answered the call for anything in the sprints, with Tom White finishing many a hurdles race in front (despite the vast majority of hurdles being knocked over!). Tom also assisted Rocco Newson-Smith in all of the jumping events, both of whom cleared up the medals during the District Championships in Sutton. With Leyton Tribe, Jake Bartholomew and Oran Murphy in the throws, this group of boys have become considerable opponents for all teams. Their 4x100m relay team has also impressed greatly during the second half of the year, despite being up against great competition. As these boys develop for one more year in this age group, they will find themselves succeeding even more than they already are.

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CRICKET

Sport Athletics

SWIMMING The swimming Eagles continued to dominate the pool.

The boys remain a force in English school swimming but the girls saw a lot of the spotlight this year.

Senior Boys It is always a tricky season for the seniors, with public and internal assessments becoming the main focus of the term.

Nonetheless, the current Sixth Form have proved to be one of the strongest groups we have had in recent memory. Captain Jonny Lack, whose stamina in the 400m and relays will be greatly missed, ably led the boys. Michael White has dominated many hurdle races, with Toby Gray proving key for both javelin and discus. We have been blessed with sprinters this season, and Sam Smedley, Peter Sinclair, Joe Genco and Lucas Le Saux all made solid claims for starting places in races from 100-400m. James Gardner became the only St John’s pupil to jump higher than his own height, a milestone very rarely reached, and Joe Watson has shown grit and determination in the middle distance. The senior boys have had the best record of any age group this season.

Senior Girls The senior girls, whilst not always strong in numbers, led the way with sporting spirit and with Phoebe McCutcheon leading the way with her jumping and sprinting expertise. Lydia Cannavina and Bea Hewetson have combined to cover almost all events available throughout the season, and have done so with big smiles on their faces. Their influence on others in the team has been invaluable throughout the season, providing that much needed St John’s spirit.

Districts and Counties In the Central Surrey District Championships, both the Junior and Intermediate boys finished second in the district, with the junior girls finishing 5th. Twenty-five St John’s athletes were invited to represent their district in the Surrey County Championships on 8 June. The results included: two bronze medals from Jack Goodman in the 400m and Sophie-Rose Russell in the 300m hurdles; two silvers from Pat Boothby in the long jump and Lara Quickfall in the 300m hurdles; and a Championship win from Michael Anderson in the triple jump, who leaped his way to 6th in the whole country, setting a new school record of 14.15m. Michael is representing Surrey at the English Schools Championships in July.

Finally, we would like to mention the event on the track in which St John’s currently shines ahead of most schools on the entire circuit – the 4x400m relay. This season has seen not only regular wins in every single age group for this race, but most of those races have been won by clear, notable distances. We intend to lead the way in this area for many years to come!

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We started the year with an early success at the English Schools Surrey Team Championships in September. Both the senior girls and senior boys qualified for the National ESSA Final in November in the freestyle and medley relays. Martha Hansford captained the girls’ team that came 14th and 9th in the country with Amy Robins, Anna Stansfield and Aurelia Loth. This is the first time in St John’s history that the girls’ swimming team has reached the top ten at the Final Championship. The boys also set their mark captained by Ben Simpson. Ed Reed, Conor Ballard and Ewan Armstrong joined him to come 14th and 12th in the country.

“The senior girls won the overall shield, which is also a first in St John’s history.”

Further success followed in January at the Surrey School Individual Championships. Amy Robins won the 100m butterfly for the seniors.

Anna Stansfield, Aurelia Loth and Martha Hansford all came third in their events: 100m breaststroke, 100m butterfly and 100m freestyle respectively. Kyarra Steele also came second in the junior 200 Individual Medley, with an impressive personal best achieved despite nursing a rather serious injury. The senior girls won the overall shield, which is also a first in St John’s history. Ewan Armstrong came second in the senior 100m backstroke for the boys. For Ben Simpson, this was the last time he would ever compete in this Championship. He won the title in the 100m breaststroke for the fourth year running which was very fitting. Conor Ballard qualified for the British Para International Swimming meet this year. He was 3rd junior in the final of the 200 Individual Medley and also made three other finals at the event.

The team swiftly moved on to its next big gala - the Bath Cup. Both the St John’s boys and girls were defending champions for the Dunelm and Aldenham cups. This year the boys moved up into the big schools category, but still qualified for the final against the biggest swim schools in the country. Ben Simpson, Ed Reed, Ewan Armstrong and Connor Ballard all swam brilliantly and their two records in their previous category are still standing. The girls had a tough race ahead of them to retain their titles. They won the medley relay quite comfortably and took home the newly named RL Stead Cup. The freestyle relay was going to be tough and they qualified as third seed for the final. Martha Hansford rallied the girls just before the final with a brilliant motivational chat! All four girls - Martha, Amy Robins, Anna Stansfield and Aurelia Loth - dropped a second or more in the final to win the Fred Parks Cup and retain the title for yet another year.

This year we said goodbye to some of our Upper Sixth swimmers who have had a huge role in building the team up to what it is today. They have been instrumental in making St John’s a name to remember in the world of competitive swimming and they have worked hard to leave an excellent legacy for the new swimmers in the new pool. Some have left us earlier, but were a part of the small young team five years ago. Thank you to Charlie Bennett, Tom Stansfield, Ed Reed and Captains Ben Simpson and Martha Hansford. We wish you all the best.

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TENNIS

Tennis in the Summer Term has been a great success with multiple year groups taking part and giving their best in every fixture.

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The boys had a good season with some outstanding results including excellent wins for the U18A team against Epsom (7-2) and Seaford (9-0) and the U18B team going through the season undefeated. The U15 age group had a great season, losing only one match out of five, with the A team picking up impressive wins against Wellington (6-3) and Hurst (9-0), and the B team securing wins against Wellington (5-4) and Epsom (6-3) in two very close matches that saw the St John’s boys play some excellent tennis. The U14 teams had a mixed bag of results but developed well and played strong tennis at times.

The girls’ tennis teams where a joy to watch and played some brilliant tennis. The U18 teams went through their season with an impressive eight wins from their 11 matches played. The notable performances had to be the outstanding wins against Epsom College for both the A (6-3) and B (8-1) teams. Our U15 and U14 girls put in great effort throughout the season and played really well with the U14A and B teams both winning against Seaford (5-1) and City of London Freemen’s (6-3) respectively. The girls worked hard and should look forward to tennis again next Summer Term. Our U13 and U12 teams put in real effort with their tennis fixtures and tried their best despite limited exposure to the sport. It was pleasing to see the girls buying into the matches and really giving their all. I hope many of them take up the sport and look forward to the Summer Term next year.

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SAILING & WATER SPORTS It has been a busy year for sailing and water sports at St John’s. The water sports group has grown in size and now on-water activities not only include sailing but also stand-up-paddling, kayaking and wind-surfing too. The Tuesday afternoon slot enjoyed brilliant weather in the Autumn Term, with some very blustery days testing the skills of all participants. The Summer Term slot was lucky to get away with perfect weather each week and I was delighted to have several of the examination pupils (Upper Fifth and Upper Sixth) come along on days when they did not have exams. The School sailing dinghies are now fully restored and the School is looking for a permanent location for the pupils to access and use them more easily. Although there have not been any large yacht events this year, two are planned for 2020. In the Easter holiday we hope to book the Donald Searle (Rona Sailing Trust) and set off to the Channel Islands for a seven day sail, and a second flotilla sail is planned to fill three medium sized yachts and circumnavigate the island of Corfu with RN CCF.

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1 Ethan French U3; 2 15 Charlie Smith L3; 3 Iona Cochrane L6; 4 Molly Brassington U5; 5 Isla Cory L6; 6 Nina Rindfuss U6; 7 Hollie Ford U6; 8 Catherine Denyer L3; 9 Holly Connor1 U5; 10 Harrison Cawley U6; 11 Jasmine Evans U5; 12 Hattie Allen L6; 13 Amelia Tarvin U3; 14 Rosie Convey L6; 15 Katy Webb L6; 16 Ewan Collingbourne U3; 17 Saskia Hawkins U6

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