St-Pauls-School_The-Pauline-2024-25

2024-25

Contents 06 07 08 10 10 11 17 20 21 22 24 26 28 31 33 36 39

42 Art 60 Drama 72 Music 79 English 86 Economics 89 Geography 92 History 95 Politics 98 Theology & Philosophy 100 Mathematics 103 Modern Languages 114 Biology 117 Chemistry 124 Engineering 132 Physics 142 PSHE 143 Extended Projects Qualifications

148 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157

04 SCHOOL LIFE

40 DEPARTMENTS

146 THE HOUSES

158 PARTNERSHIPS AND PUBLIC BENEFIT

170 SPORT

160 169

172 174 177 178 188 189 192 193 195 210 210 213 226 243 244 245 246 247

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Captain’s Address Boarding House Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Values Committee The 2050 Sustainability Award Prizegiving Religion and Spirituality The Archives The Kayton Library Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award Japan Exchange Fun and Games Careers and Universities Upper Eighth Leavers Leavers’ Destinations Staff Leavers Staff Joiners

Charity and Partnerships Volunteering

THE PAULINE 2024-25

Adventure Sports Athletics Basketball Cricket Croquet Cross Country Fencing Fives Football Golf Rackets Rowing Rugby Rugby 7s Squash Tennis Ultimate Frisbee Water Polo

House Overview Blurton Cloete Gilks Harrison Langley Nilsson Steward Warner

Editorial Team Editor: Daniel Brigham Assistant Editor, Sports: Iva Franjic Assistant Editor, Departments: Guy Larlham The Pauline team would like to thank all of the many contributors to this year’s edition of The Pauline as well as Haime & Butler for their considerable design work and Lavenham Press for the production. Special thanks also go to Umbreen Khan for her invaluable photography.

From the High Master

THE PAULINE

Sally-Anne Huang

Personal highlights for me included the well-deserved acknowledgement of our co-curricular programme as a significant strength during the ISI inspection.

D

uring a year where the landscape for independent education changed dramatically, I was never more grateful to be working at St Paul’s School and to be part of this vibrant, forward-thinking community than I was in the first few months of 2025.

As you read through the pages of this year’s edition of the Pauline, you will recognise a school where excellence remains a daily goal, both in and out of the classroom. But this is never limited to grades and glittering prizes – although there were plenty of those too – but is also about character and commitment, about a sense of responsibility for each other, and also for the wider community. I am grateful to my colleagues who make all of this possible for our pupils.

The academic year which has just concluded is covered in these pages by stories about sport and clubs, creativity and house activities, as well as volunteering and working for charities.

Personal highlights for me included the well-deserved acknowledgement

of our co-curricular programme as a significant strength during the ISI inspection, the continued growth of Young Enterprise, including supporting state schools and winning awards in tandem with our sister school, SPGS, and the absolute thrill of watching the U15s win a rugby final – a personal first for me as a head and one for which I had always hoped!

And I am not just grateful for those shared moments and the staff and pupils who contribute to them. This year, we have also had so many reasons to be grateful for the loyalty and support of our parent body, the exceptional Old Pauline community and a governing body who continue to put pupil experience and the needs of our families first in their decision making. Our joyous Giving Day was amongst the many indications of the wider support we receive, helping the school to flourish.

As you read through this edition of the Pauline, I am sure you will agree with me that St Paul’s continues to be an incredible place and is in the best of health – and having a great deal of fun – as we face the future. ❚

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SCHOOL LIFE

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THE PAULINE 2024-25

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Captain’s Address Lachlan Murray

I feel fortunate to have overseen a particularly successful year of Pauline endeavours.

T

hese successes stemmed from the efforts of an exceptionally hard-working, talented and capable cohort of Paulines – a dangerous combination by any standard.

Taking on this role, I strove to attend as many school events as possible.

Superficially, this was to fulfil my duties as School Captain: inspiring juniors and celebrating their achievements.

In truth, it was an opportunity for me to enjoy all that St Paul’s has to offer.

A rainy January evening, for instance, set the stage for a thrilling clash in the annual Joint Masterchef. I marvelled at culinary delights while our Pauline representatives were heckled by a tough crowd of Year 7 Paulinas.

Later that term, I watched – no, experienced – the Battle of the Bands.

A Fourth Form group blazing Sweet Child o’ Mine stole the show, establishing themselves as firm frontrunners for years to come.

Their reliability and quiet leadership have been instrumental to the smooth running of school life this year.

Ealing Trailfinders hosted the famous Fifth Form rugby final. Our superstar fifteen put on a show. While delighted by their victory, I particularly enjoyed the touchline support. Many of my Upper Eighth friends celebrated like they were in the winning team!

Among them, our Vice-Captains deserve particular recognition. This is the first year with two Vice-Captains.

Unsurprisingly, Nicolas and Sai have excelled in their roles, setting the bar unreasonably high for future pairings. They have reminded us that the true mark of a Pauline lies not in achievement alone, but in the generosity, humility, and good humour with which it is pursued.

While I can take no credit for these broader school successes, I am proud of the accomplishments of the prefect team. They have worked tirelessly to facilitate countless St Paul’s events.

These successes, and many others, will no doubt be discussed at length in these pages. I am grateful to have witnessed so many of them in person over the last year. ❚

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THE PAULINE 2024-25

They have worked tirelessly to facilitate countless St Paul’s events.

Boarding House Reporting from Daniel Chow and Ryan Ng

It has been another exciting year in the boarding house with a whole list of weekend highlights, including a little escape from London for some clay pigeon shooting, some intense escape rooms and the annual Winter Wonderland trip. Weekday evenings are often spent playing some pick-up basketball games or on the couch in the common room playing some FIFA. The boarding community is an embodiment of the school’s values, bringing together a variety of boys with different backgrounds, experiences and interests to form a family away from home. In this inclusive environment, boarders support and encourage one another, allowing everyone to thrive in their unique ways, such as rowing, arts and chess.

New additions in the Lower Eighth and Fourth Form as well as a new and passionate prefect team at the boarding

house’s helm contributed to an even more well-knit community. From weekly movie nights to the occasional weekend escape room trip, this year at the boarding house has been nothing short of amazing. Students from different year groups congregate in the common rooms, with friendly card games bringing everyone together.

Most credit goes to the fantastic prefect team, led by House Captain Marat, for organising internal house competitions with edible rewards for their victors – from Sunday night basketball tournaments to karaoke night with pizza on Thursday – their efforts to bring the house closer together have not been in vain; it is fair to say that we have cultivated a sense of community and respect that resembles a ‘family’.

While the boarding house has experienced many wins this year, unfortunately we have had to suffer some defeats. The boarding house says

its farewells to Mr Passmore, who is leaving boarding and passing on the role as Head of Boarding to Dr Shammas, as well as Ms Brenner, who leaves her role as Matron. The students of the boarding house are usually credited with the fun atmosphere or sense of camaraderie, but Mr Passmore and Ms Brenner have been essential in working behind the scenes to ensure boarding is a safe space for all and that no one is left behind. From the occasional advice and conversations with Ms Brenner to Mr Passore’s unwavering support in our development, it is evident that their presence will be greatly missed and it is with great sadness that we see heir departure.

As such, the boarding house as a whole would like to thank the duty masters (Mr Passmore, Mr Chase, Mr Murray, Dr Shammas) and Matron for their persistence, hard work and support they’ve given us throughout the year.

They give up a lot of their time during the day and the weekend to ensure our happiness and to provide support during rough times, forming the pillars of our community. Special thanks also go out to the catering team for the high quality of food, as well as Reverend Knox for giving up a few hours every week to host gym sessions for boarders.

As the U8 leave St Paul’s, we can look back at our time in boarding fondly, full of joyful and memorable moments of our time here. The U8s can leave content, knowing that the boarding house is in capable hands for the next year under House Captain Daniel, and that the boarding experience can only get better and better. ❚

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Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Gideon Hammond, Pupil Lead for DEI

Black History Month

St Paul’s celebrated Disability History Month with a range of assemblies and talks, including from Gold medal-winning Paralympic fencer, Dimitri Coutya, to mark the occasion.

Disability History Month gives us a chance to reflect on the ways in which inclusion and accessibility benefits us all, and to think about what we need to be doing to create spaces which work fairly for everyone.

The pupils heard from Dimitri Coutya, who recently won two Gold medals for fencing at the Paris Paralympic Games this summer. Dimitri reflected on the power of resilience, and encouraged the

pupils to think about what they needed to do in their lives to be their most successful selves. Reflecting on the talk, Head of Diversity, Equality and Inclusion, Tyler John, said: ‘Dimitri’s story is a really powerful one, and one which I hope encourages our pupils to reflect on the values they wish to exemplify in their own lives. Resilience is one of our school’s character traits, and hearing from Dimitri about the challenges he has faced and how he has navigated them on his journey to becoming a sporting champion has been hugely inspiring.’ ❚

LGBTQ+ History Month SOCIETY / DEPARTMENT

ACTIVITY

EuroSoc

Queering Southern Italy: A Conversation with Dr Francesca Romana Ammaturo

Maths dept

Posters

Classical Society

Gender Identity in the Ancient World

GeogSoc

The geography of conflicts and rights: LGBTQ+

Equality Society

History of the Pride flag (KNRD)

Senior History Society

History of LGBTQ+ activism, James Croft (OP)

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THE PAULINE 2024-25

SCHOOL LIFE

International Women’s Day SOCIETY / DEPARTMENT

ACTIVITY

The Archives

Women of St Paul’s display

Equality Society

Presents the High Master, discussing the experiences of women in leadership roles

Maths Dept

Mathematical Wonder Women

Classical Society

Women of Sparta

Islamic Society

Lecture: The Forgotten Queens of Islam

Junior and Senior History Society (joint with Equality Society)

Why we should know about Pauli Murray

English Society

Gender in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night

Equality Society

Gendered language – the propagation of sexism?

Careers

Women in the workplace

Sixth Form Assembly

Esther: Woman of Courage

Eurosoc

Hispanic Women in the Workforce: An Overview of the Challenges, Progress, and Future Solutions

Chemistry

ChemSoc talk: Women in Chemistry

by Alex Scafidas

Equality Society Our goal at Equality Society is to contribute to the school’s atmosphere of inclusion, in which every member of the community is treated with kindness, equality, and respect.

In order to fulfil this aim, Equality Society hosts talks every Wednesday at lunch, as well as inviting speakers to share their experiences.

Some highlights of the year have been Dimitri Coutya’s talk on being a two-time gold medal winner at the Paris Paralympic Games, the High Master’s talk on women in leadership roles, and Sikander Frydas’s presentation on the Southall Youth Movement. Throughout the year, Equality Society has contributed to meaningful discussions that have explored social movements, diverse perspectives, and cultures around the world, stimulating awareness and compassion.

Particularly notable was a Q&A with Mr Anthony, which explored his experiences of growing up under Section 28 in the UK. It was a delight to observe the genuine interest and appreciation by the audience, both for Mr Anthony’s talk and all the others, which serves as a testament to the positive atmosphere that Equality Society has created. By sharing the stories and experiences of individuals who shape our community, Equality Society has striven to empower and inspire those around us.

Looking ahead, Equality Society is more committed than ever to expanding diversity, equity and inclusion at St Paul’s. We plan for next year to be just as bright as the current one was, and impart our thanks to everyone who has contributed to our growing community.

Adrian Siniscalco Equality Society Committee Member

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Values Committee

The 2050 Sustainability Award

The 2024–25 year has been another success for the Values Committee.

The 2050 Prize allocates £2050 every year until 2050 to incentivise and reward entrepreneurial Paulines who develop novel solutions for a variety of pressing environmental issues. 2050 is a key date for meeting various global carbon emission reductions.

This year, a number of new projects came to life – from political and social awareness lessons delivered in Fourth Form PSHE, to the development of a school-wide humility action plan and letter sent to the Deputy Head Academic (Mr Pirrie) and Head of Teaching and Learning (Mr Mahmoud). The committee has been working behind the scenes to ensure that our school character traits – now prominently displayed above the atrium – are reflected not just in word, but in action. The PSHE curriculum has been scrutinised, with reforms focusing on practical financial education and effective revision strategies for the Lower Eighths.

Meanwhile, younger years benefitted from a refreshed and more engaging programme of lessons aimed at fostering political awareness and informed citizenship. A standout highlight has been the joint events run by Values and SPGS’s CAR Committee. One example is the recent debate event which brought together pupils from SPJ and SPGS for a thoughtful and well-contested exchange of views on the topic of AI. Another is the SPJ PSHE lessons run by pupils from both groups on consent and positive relationships. Most recently, the committee also produced a series of short videos tackling themes such as body image which will help spark open conversation among SPJ pupils. Altogether, this was a remarkable year for the Values Committee; undoubtedly just one of many more to come. ❚ Ian Stephanakis

The overarching goal of the prize is “to find leaders who can show us how it’s possible to become more responsible consumers and still have a very good life.” The prize is designed to provoke more thought and action about the consequences of what we do, so we can make choices that are less damaging to future generations.

This first year saw an array of ambitious initiatives put forward by pupils, from greening the southern facing walls of school buildings to reduce internal temperatures, to rejuvenating disused and dilapidated old telephone boxes on Castelnau and Lonsdale Road.

First prize went to Miss Douglass’ tutor group for their plan to deploy an online marketplace that allows users to buy and sell secondhand clothing, shoes, accessories, and other items. The platform allows users to list items they no longer need and find pre-loved items from other users and aims to make second hand shopping more straightforward for everyone in the SPS community.

Second prize went to Dr Gaydon’s group who attached a camera to the food waste area of the dining hall and used AI to process data of the most wasted food types. Finally, third prize went to Mr Hemery’s group who had devised a scheme for cutting down on disposable board markers by using a refillable alternative. ❚

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THE PAULINE 2024-25

Prizegiving

SCHOOL LIFE

MJPS

Apposition This year’s Apposer was Old Pauline mathematician Professor Imre Leader.

This was not his first Apposition, or his second or third – it seems he was a prolific prizewinner at school.

He relayed to the audience that his strongest memory of Apposers past was that they looked very old, and so was doing his best to look suitable. He also passed on the firm instruction from organisers of Apposition from the 20th century that, were a prizewinner to be handed the wrong book, the prizewinner must under no circumstances hand the book back. An excellent policy that will make its way into next year’s rehearsal.

In assessing the four declaimers, Lucas Nahal, Theo Frankel, Kush Chandaria and Jacob West, Professor Leader was able to call on some assistance from his esteemed colleagues at Trinity College, Cambridge, and beyond – only a few eighteen year olds get to hear what the Astronomer Royal thinks of

their astrophotography. Professor Leader referred to this as “not cheating, but receiving expert coaching”. The result was a series of expert opinions thoughtfully and eruditely synthesised by Professor Leader into an Apposition of the first class. ❚

The Belt and Road Initiative Lucas Nahal When Xi Jinping first unveiled the Belt and Road Initiative on a trip to Kazakhstan in 2013 it was initially disregarded as a minor regional development project. Ten years later the project is the largest global investment initiative in history, spanning more than 150 countries across every inhabited continent. During this time it has become increasingly clear that the BRI is Xi’s attempt to leave behind a lasting footprint across the world as he continues to describe the BRI as “the project of the century”.

Through many maritime and land-based avenues, the BRI has attempted to build trade routes, expand supply chains and enhance global economic cooperation whilst also expanding China’s geopolitical footprint across the developing world.

The modern-day BRI is partially modelled on its ancient predecessor, the Silk Road; once the most important trade route on the planet, connecting Europe with East Asia; it saw various Chinese empires grow to become the richest countries in the world from the 12th to 15th centuries.

After a long period of international closure and isolation from the Century of Humiliation (1839-1949) onwards, modern Chinese policymakers and leaders began to realise that a similar style of international trade, based on the principles of the Ancient Silk Road, could be re-established.

This led to the inception of the BRI which attempts to forge numerous economic land and maritime corridors which will fully reopen China to international trade and allow it to re-emerge as a global superpower. ❚

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Prizegiving

Lawrence Binyon’s Modernism Theo Frankel

Modernism

A literary and artistic movement of the early 20th century, characterised by an intentional separation from previously established methods and styles of writing. Modernism was highly experimental, as defined by Ezra Pound’s tenet of ‘Make it new’.

Modernists often saw little of value or correlation between the past and the unforeseen atrocities following World War One, and thus an entirely new writing was needed. Generally, modernist poetry featured a lack of formal structure and rhyme scheme.

Neo-Romanticism

A term that refers to a collection of movements that incorporated stylistic features of literary or artistic romanticism. Generally, neoromantics rejected the realism of Victorian literature and the experimental nature of modernism.

Romanticism itself was a movement at the end of the 18th century, while neo-romantics were towards the end of the 19th. Therefore, they saw value in the past and previous literary styles. Generally, neo-romantic poetry featured highly subjective and imaginative observations of nature and people, as well as a focus on emotions.

Terze Rima

The rhyme scheme used in Dante’s Inferno, it is often regarded as working much better in old Italian than in translation, owing to Italian’s density of rhymes, and is notoriously complicated. Each stanza has three lines, with the first and last line rhyming. The second line then rhymes with the first and third line of the following stanza and so on.

The final line or two lines of a canto, or poem section, rhymes with the second line of the preceding stanza. (e.g ABA BCB CDC DED EE). ❚

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THE PAULINE 2024-25

My High Master's Prize essay began by looking at the St Paul's archive's. In particular, I looked at Old Pauline Laurence Binyon's manuscripts that we were in possession of. These included an early attempt to translate Dante's Inferno and an original draft of his poem 'Fetching the Wounded'. With the help of the school's archivist Kelly Strickland, I then began researching other archival information on Binyon and his time at St Paul's. I read his teacher reports, entries referring to him in the 19th century Pauline magazine, and his entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. The next stage in my research was to contact various archives around the UK including the Bodleian in order to access more of Binyon's manuscripts. Responses to this were varied, but I ended up receiving an original draft of his epic, the Death of Adam. Meanwhile, I created digital facsimiles of the manuscripts I already had, taking care to preserve exactly how the writing appeared on the page. I then created a list of all crossings out, insertions, and deletions in each poem, and then highlighted any that I thought were particularly interesting or revealed something about Binyon's writing process.

I then created a similar list of changes between the manuscript drafts and the final published versions of the poems, and again highlighted interesting changes. The final research stage was to read critical essays on Binyon and his published poems in order to have a better grasp of the general discussions around his writing.

The essay itself was concerned with Binyon's position within the literary modernist movement of the early 20th century. Binyon wrote in a largely antiquated style referred to as 'Neo-romantic', which was exactly the style that the modernists seeked to overturn. However, Binyon had a close friendship with modernist forerunner Ezra Pound, and the thematic exploration of his poems had some connection with the modernist ideology. His friendship with Ezra Pound came from his translation of Inferno, which Pound praised highly for sticking to the terza rima scheme. The edits in his early attempt at translation demonstrated both a close eye for accuracy, but also a degree of creative licence and embellishment. Binyon demonstrated a similar attention to literary precursor's in his first commended poem 'Niobe' which was written for and delivered at Apposition. Niobe was written in a Keatsian style, giving classical characters a new voice in antiquated language. Additionally, Binyon later in life praised Keats for his use of vivid colour, something which was very prominent in Binyon's own poetry. This also stemmed from his profession as an art historian, as he introduced 'Oriental' studies to the UK. His studies of Japanese art intrigued him as to their affinity with tradition, as he believed they took what was necessary from the past and abandoned what was not. This ideology would become crucial to Binyon when writing his war poems and in particular For the Fallen, where the famous line 'We will remember them' demonstrates a close attention paid to the past. Therefore, Binyon's friendship with Pound and attention paid to the past and literary predecessors, with a desire to take only what was necessary from history demonstrates a strong similarity to the modernist movement.

SCHOOL LIFE

Aetherios Kush Chandaria

My journey through astronomy began not as a scientific pursuit, but as an aesthetic one. After years spent imaging stars, galaxies, and nebulae – most of which lie invisible to the naked eye, millions of light-years away – I’ve learned one thing for certain: astronomical objects are far from photogenic. Yet, through developments in equipment, techniques, and the use of long-exposure imaging, even amateurs can capture these faint, elusive targets.

Initially, my focus was purely on creating visually stunning images. Hindered by London’s light polluted skies, I experimented with narrowband imaging, targeting specific emission-lines to ignore stray light. This technique allowed me to isolate my focus to specific aspects of nebulae, later combining these to create compositions showcasing wavelengths invisible to the human eye.

As I delved deeper, I grew bored of traditional imaging methods and imaging the same objects so frequently imaged by amateurs. My desire to go beyond mere aesthetic imaging and to contribute to scientific discovery was tempered by the reality that professional observatories, with their advanced equipment and resources, seemed to dominate the field. The divide between amateur and professional astronomers appeared insurmountable.

I soon discovered that there was still room for exploration as an amateur, leading me to set up Aetherios, a project now comprised of several observatories across the world, working to identify and better understand the incredible structures that lie above our heads. ❚

The Veil Supernova Complex (H-alpha, Oxygen-iii Composite Image)

Preliminary Results

538 hrs of Oxygen-iii signal already collected

Aetherios 8 panels, 9/2023: 20°34'38.0"+45°43'17.0"

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Prizegiving

Retromer To the Rescue Jacob West

The most common form of dementia is Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), named after Alois Alzheimer, who first observed the characteristic plaques and “neurofibrillary tangles” (NFTs) in 1906. AD is an irreversible brain disorder, characterised by progressive neurodegeneration, which starts in the hippocampus and spreads throughout the cortex. As each region of the brain degrades, clinical manifestations such as memory loss, learning impairment and cognitive dysfunction are observed.

Pathologically, the plaques and tangles observed by Alzheimer are aggregates of two proteins, amyloid-beta (Aß) and hyperphosphorylated tau, respectively. Plaques form when Aß proteins undergo rapid polymerisation and form insoluble molecules which collect over time between neurons.

Aß is a fragment of a larger protein found ubiquitously in the body, Amyloid Precursor Protein (APP).

Normally within cells, proteins and peptides are formed on ribosomes, protein-building organelles sited adjacent to the nucleus, before being trafficked throughout the cell via intricate and specific sorting pathways, reaching a specific intracellular destination in order to carry out a specialised function there, or being cleared from the cell via “waste recycling” pathways. It is during this journey that additional processing, such as enzymatic cleavage, occurs. In AD, accelerated Aβ processing and secretion leads to synaptic dysfunction and chronic inflammation as distressed microglia (immune cells of the central nervous system) fail to clear these fragments and aggregates. Ultimately, this protein build-up within a neuron leads to apoptosis (cell death) and loss of neural communication as synaptic vesicle transport and synaptic function is disrupted.

Retromer dysfunction leads to an increase in its cargo, APP, in endosomes, which leads to accumulation of neurotoxic Aβ.

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THE PAULINE 2024-25

The endosome is a primary intracellular sorting organelle crucial for regulating protein and lipid movement. Retromer is a protein complex which plays a central role in protein sorting and trafficking in endosomes. It is critical in directing protein cargo away from the lysosomal degradation pathway and instead either to the trans-Golgi network (TGN) or the cell surface via the recycling pathway. Research suggests that APP build-up within endosomes may be due to failure(s) within this retromer complex, meaning that APP and tau are not efficiently trafficked on from the endosome and are instead enzymatically altered into their neurotoxic forms, causing the endosomal swelling associated with AD. While recent intravenous monoclonal antibody therapies have shown some promise in alleviating symptoms of the disease, they have been shown to be fundamentally focusing on the wrong things to cure it, aiming to break up plaques and tangles. However, as retromer plays a pathogenic role in AD, new therapies could instead be envisaged that target this complex, enhancing processing through trafficking pathways and preventing the plaques and tangles from being formed in the first place. ❚

Senior Prizewinners 2025

SCHOOL LIFE

MJPS

The following pupils were awarded prizes at Apposition 2025.

FACULTY OF ENGLISH AND CLASSICS MILTON PRIZE – English Hammond Giles F

BUTTERWORTH PRIZE – English Frankel T SABUROV PRIZE – English Georget-Roukline S BEDFORD PRIZE – Ancient History Lozovsky B KYNASTON PRIZE – Greek Taylor D L B CYRIL BAILEY PRIZES – Latin Hassan Y I, Hill T

FACULTY OF MODERN LANGUAGES FRITSCH PRIZES – French Chaudhary A, Seydo A

BENTWICH PRIZE – German Swinnerton M GWYNN MIELL PRIZE – Italian Toledano A MARCUS PRIZE – Spanish Rooney E

FACULTY OF CREATIVE AND PERFORMING ARTS JOHN WATSON PRIZES – Art Georget-Roukline S, Mathur A

MILLER PRIZE – Theatre Studies Smith H LIDWELL PRIZES – Extended Projects Eichhorst R G, Kim M, Murray L, Todd R

FACULTY OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND ENGINEERING CREE PRIZES – Biology Bhatia S, Mardin T K, Scafidas A, Wang Y, West J A F

PERKIN PRIZES – Chemistry America A R G A, Barea A, Chen K, Coondapoor A, Jacobson G M, Madhok I, Mardin T K, Tydeman Z, West J A F HALLEY PRIZES – Physics Ahmedov B, Akella A, Choi D, Daneshvar D, Punage A, Shabalin L, Standing W, Tydeman Z, Wild P, Zubarev M RENNIE PRIZE – Engineering Grimaldi M

FACULTY OF MATHEMATICS

GLUCKSTEIN PRIZES – Computing Bartlett M, Chamaria V, Chapman J BURKHILL PRIZES – Further Mathematics Ahmedov B, Brian T, Chapman J, Chaudhary A, Choi D, Daneshvar D, Murray L, Punage A, Rooney E, Shabalin L, Srivastava K, Wang D, Wild P TRURO PRIZES – Mathematics Chen K, Jacobson G M

FACULTY OF HUMANITIES

HAMILTON PRIZES – Geography Buyanovsky M V, Malhotra A (Aidan) CLEMENTI PRIZE – Geography Hammond J CHIBNALL PRIZES – Economics Helsen H, Hibou R A F BARNETT PRIZES – Economics Akella A, Ehathasan A, Ghaffarpour D, Lee K, Mendonca R, O’Sullivan D, Patel D, Stephanakis I, Szerkowski K MORGAN PRIZES – Politics Clapham M, Hassan Y I, Joseph E N K, Kurdikar A, Nahal L ISAIAH BERLIN PRIZES – Philosophy Roberts T, Todd R, Weeks N J LUPTON PRIZE – Philosophy Sarda A BEDFORD PRIZE – History Wong A WEINSTEIN PRIZE – History Kurdikar A SABUROV PRIZE – History Kasolowsky N TRURO PRIZES – History Clapham M, Djakovic A, Joseph E N K MULLALLY PRIZE – Religious Studies Salem A

SPECIAL PRIZES JOHN COLET PRIZES

for outstanding academic achievement Costafreda-Fu X, Goyal A, GranierDeferre R P V P, Shao Y, Williams J

ERASMUS PRIZES

for outstanding academic achievement across the curriculum Parekh A, Rowland A

HALDANE PRIZES

for declaimers Chandaria K, Frankel T, Nahal L, West J A F

THE BLUMENAU PRIZE for philosophy Parekh A

THE GRITTEN PRIZE

for international relations de Nonneville P M P X

THE ANDRE FU PRIZE

for an outstanding work of art Galea M K

THE VIITA PRIZE

for a piece of new writing or composition Mardin T K, Smith H

THE PROFESSOR TONY CROOK PRIZE

for an outstanding essay for geography related to a public policy Whittaker H A

HIGH MASTER’S PRIZES

for outstanding summer essays Frankel T, Kurdikar A, Tydeman Z, West J A F, Williams J, Wong A

THE REYNOLDS PRIZE

for all-round achievement Williams J

THE VERMONT PRIZE

for outstanding service to the school Coondapoor A, Daneshvar D

THE WATHEN PRIZE

for outstanding contribution to the school Lucenet A P C

THE BLAIR PRIZE

for thinking creatively and laterally across disciplines Bhatia S

CLARKSON PRIZES

for demonstrating the values of the school George R, Hassan Y I

THE OLD PAULINE CLUB PRIZE

for outstanding service to the school Bhatia S, Groeller N A G W

THE JOHN WEITZ AWARD

for outstanding service to the school Murray L 15

Prizegiving

Junior Prizewinners 2025 MATHEMATICS

Sydorenko, Michael Chatterjee, Rishab Raj, Akshay Zhan, Richard Xu, Owen Sawant, Shyamak Huang, Jason Behroun, Nicolas Mohan, Ashok

BIOLOGY

West, Harry Hope, Jake Biggs, Matthew Ponte, Alex Khanapurkar, Om Pissioti Capriello, Ari Wang, Tiger Shi, Wenhao Figueroa Duque, Matthew Andres

CHEMISTRY

Figueroa Duque, Matthew Andres Ponte, Alex Ng, Finn Pissioti Capriello, Ari Bresciani, Ettore Knox, Joshua Frankel, Kitt Hope, Jake Zhan, Richard

PHYSICS

ICT FOURTH FORM PRIZE Tang, Charles

COMPUTING

Nigam, Ishaan Knox, Joshua Xu, Owen Shah, Nayan

HISTORY

Prosser, Ivo Raj, Akshay Mahbub, Naail Bhargava, Arnav de Mestre, Fergus Miklavcic, Alexander Altberger, Theodore

GEOGRAPHY

Hofstrom, Carl Sun, Bolang Albertazzi, Luca Sabbah, Arié Zaccaria, Alessandro Miklavcic, Alexander

PHILOSOPHY AND THEOLOGY Sriram, Krishna Biggs, Matthew

MORAL PHILOSOPHY Lim, Sehwan Bici, Kevin

Bhimalingam, Aditya Sternberg, Joseph Frankel, Kitt Sawant, Shyamak Miller, Max Figueroa Duque, Matthew Andres Pissioti Capriello, Ari Wang, Tiger Knox, Joshua

ART

ENGINEERING

DRAMA

Miller, Max Bertoli, Giovanni Mukherjee, Rishav Naser, Haris Colligan, Adam

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THE PAULINE 2024-25

Jenkin, William Brunsden, Max Clifford, Joseph Parson, Guy

MUSIC

Shah, Nayan Daneshvar, Nima Malhotra, Rohan Snowball, Freddie Miller, Theodore Warrack, Max

ENGLISH LITERATURE Hofstrom, Carl Assael-Francis, Sammy Janarthanan, Shyam Joseph, Gabe Masera, Luca Kleinwort, Louis Butcher, James Lam, Zac Mizzoni Schmidt, Victor Snowball, Freddie Mukherjee, Rishav

ENGLISH CREATIVE WRITING Joseph, Gabe

GREEK

Zhan, Richard Ridge, Leo

LATIN

Assael-Francis, Sammy Cui, Jack Hope, Jake Rossbach, Andres Naser, Haris

ANCIENT HISTORY Janarthanan, Shyam Capper, Spencer

FRENCH

Bertoli, Giovanni Zaccaria, Alessandro Ridge, Leo Ramanathan, Aadhil Olmos Fakhouri, Alejandro Daneshvar, Nima

GERMAN

Holden, Sebastian Ramanathan, Aadhil Strauven, Conrad

ITALIAN

Daneshvar, Nima Rainer, Max Assael-Francis, Sammy Janarthanan, Shyam

SPANISH

Roch, Leau Von Sanden, Maximilian Gandhi, Jai

CHARACTER PRIZE FOR EXEMPLIFYING THE VALUES OF THE SCHOOL Reynolds, Alex Sydorenko, Michael

JOHN COLET

Conte Ireland, John Dhandapani, Inian

FOURTH FORM PRIZE

Abou Zaki, Issam Bertolo, Samuele Brammer Williams, Lukas Chandrann, Vinushan Glaus, Nicholas Gorjestani, Ebrahim Leone, Bruno Lim, Sehwan Littlemore, Louis Maraffino, Lorenzo Lu, Kevin Mingchong McBrinn, Aengus Richards, Mikey Sheikh, Cyrus Tao, Lucas Toema, Kareem Xu, Yidong Zage, Olly

PRESENTATION

Zage, Olly Xu, Yidong Holden, Sebastian Du, Haofei Guan, Albert Jalan, Dhruv Mukherjee, Rishav Wang, Kai

Religion and Spirituality

From the Chaplain Where is your Rotator Cuff? It is a question that I asked recently in an assembly – and most students, like me until my little accident, did not know the answer!

I found out where it was, after I had braked too hard whilst turning in the pouring rain on my bicycle and had gone over the handlebars. Shortly afterwards, I visited our wonderful School Physio, Nico, with a sore shoulder, who told me that this muscle – or rather these muscles – were under the larger deltoids, and were used to help stabilise the shoulder joint and stop it dislocating when exposed to the sort of forces mine had just experienced.

So I went back to Nico. He told me I had strained my Rotator Cuff again, and that I needed to look after this little muscle: that if I did not, it would affect much of what I was hoping to do.

He gave me some exercises to help – which I did (and they did help) until I got bored of them! But then, not too long afterwards, whilst doing some reasonably heavy sets of deadlifts, I developed pain in my other shoulder, which then prevented me from doing a whole range of different exercises.

If it is not the actual rotator cuff, where else physically might we neglect: Cardio, rest, good nutrition, taking time to stretch, or perhaps sensible exercise programming?

This got me thinking: Where are our rotator cuffs elsewhere in life? Where are the little things we need to attend to, so that we can really thrive? What small, seemingly irrelevant aspects might we neglect that affect the whole?

What about intellectually? Do we take time for curiosity, to review our learning or even strategies for learning and to evaluate how we are coping with the size of our workload?

And what about our social interactions?

Do we make time for friends and invest in our relationships? Do we look for interactions beyond our normal social circles, so we don’t sit in echo-chambers?

Or emotionally, do we invest in selfregulation, resilience, self-awareness and self-esteem – benefitting how we manage our emotions.

All the above help our mental health, in addition to caring for those other little things – making sure we take time to rest, to relax, to reflect on our positive and negative thinking and how we respond to stress and challenge?

Finally, sometimes it is easy to act as if our spiritual lives themselves don’t matter: that we can put constituent aspects on hold in times of busyness or stress or even leisure. But we do so to our detriment. Attending to each of these, I believe are vital: wonder, silence, stillness, thankfulness, praise, lament, confession, and supplication.

I started off asking that question, “Where is your Rotator Cuff?”

Obviously, as Chaplain, this was never simply going to be an article on anatomy! But metaphorically, where are our rotator cuffs – physically, emotionally, intellectually, mentally, socially and spiritually? How might we each attend to those little things, so that the whole might thrive? ❚ 17

Religion and Spirituality

JSOC HM

Jewish Assembly has been running on Tuesday mornings before school and JSOC “Lunch and Learn” sessions have been running most Tuesday lunchtimes. Both of these will now move to Wednesdays.

We have been very fortunate to have a new Visiting Rabbi employed by the school to bring an extra spiritual dimension and generally support the Jewish community at St Paul’s. He is Rabbi Jack Cohen and his presence is an important contribution to the Jewish life of the school. He is attached to Mill Hill East Synagogue and also brings his interest and degree in Philosophy into discussions. Along with a philosophical angle, he has brought a little bit more Hebrew into the assemblies. It enhances the offering for Jewish students and he also acts as a sounding board for any members of staff or interested parties who have questions relating to Judaism.

In addition, we held two Shabbat Suppers, hosting SPGS, led by Rabbi Adrian Schell of Wimbledon Synagogue.

We have had numerous guest speakers address JSOC, including Sarah Fox, the Education and Outreach Officer at Campaign Against Anti-Seimitsm and Rabbi David Mitchell, who came to speak about Jewish resilience. Ivan Shaw came to speak to the Fourth Form to tell his experience of surviving the Holocaust. The outgoing L8th committee: Theo Katzenellenbogen, Josh Ferro, Alex Salem, Kai Szerkowski, Kobii Langleben, Kobi Charlie Grainger, Sam Steeden have been superb: enthusiastic, committed and vibrant.

We welcome the incoming committee Theodore Altberger, Arie Sabbah, Max Bauer, Daniel Weller, Alex Schwimmer, Oliver Goldberg, Samuel Sorrell and Andres Rossbach. ❚

ISOC

Christian Union

Ibrahim Khan

Tim Brian and Seb Jones (Co-Secretaries, SPSCU)

This year has been an exciting and enriching one for the Christian Union, marked by memorable events and a strong sense of community.

A highlight was the Easter Houseparty at Edgeborough School, where students enjoyed a week of sunshine, interesting discussions, sports – including hockey and football – and plenty of games in the beautiful Surrey countryside.

Our Friday after-school meetings were equally vibrant. Highlights included the much-loved Annual Tea and a series of inspiring guest speakers, among them CBBC presenter Gemma Hunt and the High Master, Mrs Huang. Several of these events featured collaborations

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SPS Isoc has undergone significant changes this year.

with the SPGS Christian Union, bringing a wider sense of fellowship.

T-Bar also thrived this year, with crowd-favourite games like the Photo Game and Categories continuing to bring energy and laughter to our Tuesday lunchtimes.

At the time of writing, as we look ahead, excitement is building for the Summer Houseparty at Framlingham School – a week full of fun, games, great food, and deeper connections – the perfect way to end the year on a high note! ❚

Thanks to Reverend Knox, we are now represented by Imam Iftikhar Daad, a former Imam at Hounslow and Harrow mosques. In addition to the weekly Jumuah (Friday) prayers, the Imam now runs weekly Quran reading sessions for students, and is around every Wednesday to speak about anything that we would like to discuss with him. The SPS Isoc was also represented at societies fair at the start of the year, as well as the interfaith week back in November, with Muslim students, and those studying religious studies for A level (where Islam is being studied) giving their views on what it is like to be a Muslim and what it is like to study Islam. ❚

SCHOOL LIFE

Paul’s Pizza

HSOC Dev Patel

“Starting the week can often feel daunting and discouraging – especially in the face of looming deadlines and upcoming tests. Going to Paul’s Pizza on a Monday afternoon has been the perfect way to kick off the week on a high. This year, I’ve found Paul’s Pizza to be a time in which I could reflect, relax, and enjoy myself with friends. Paul’s Pizza gave me the opportunity to build upon my faith through discussion and prayer with a great group of people.

I would strongly recommend coming along, regardless of your religious beliefs, to expand your horizons or deepen your understanding of faith.”

Paul de Nonneville, U8

“This year, I have really enjoyed Paul’s Pizza. I believe that it is an excellent blend of fun and faith.

There is an extremely welcoming atmosphere, and (especially as a new fourth former this year) it has really helped me to be integrated into life at St Paul’s. From friendly conversations, to expertly picked out Bible verses, over shared pizza, Paul’s Pizza is the best way to spend your Monday afternoon.”

Leo Vulcano, 4th form

Teacher in charge: Dr Baxter “Paul’s Pizza” meets on Mondays at 4:15pm in room 216.

“I have found Paul’s Pizza to be a breath of fresh air at the end of a long Monday.

It’s a wonderful place to chat with friends and discuss upcoming events, along with any thoughts and feelings.”

Rufus White, U8

“Paul’s Pizza is an amazing community of people, spanning all the years of the school, and every member is valued for their own unique contribution. At Paul’s Pizza we discuss a few Bible verses each week, all linked by a common theme, while enjoying pizza and conversation with each other.”

Reuben Jones, L8

Bible study group Tim Brian and Seb Jones

This year’s Bible Study has been both exciting and deeply engaging.

This last year, Hindu Society has sought to explore the depth and richness of Hindu philosophy and tradition.

Our talks have delved into both the scholarly and spiritual, inviting all to discuss a few of the many dimensions of this philosophy.

We began the year with a fantastic introduction to Vedic mathematics, a system derived from historical texts.

It explained elegant solutions to mathematical problems via mental maths. This session captivated many of the mathematicians in our school.

One of the talks we hosted in the Spring term asked the profound question: Who is God in Hinduism?

The discussion navigated concepts of Brahman, personal deities and the interplay between the formless and divine forms of God. The talk sparked wide engagement, encouraging reflection on the open nature of the belief incited here.

We ended last year with sweetness, both literal and symbolic. We hosted a session on the significance of sweets in Hindu worship, exploring why offerings such as laddoos, barfi and peda hold spiritual meaning. The tasting session that followed brought the theory to life and allowed us to celebrate together as a community.

Through these events, we have aimed to make the abstract, more philosophical parts of the religion more accessible and the age-old traditions even more relevant. We are looking forward to continuing this journey in the year ahead. ❚

This year’s Bible Study has been both exciting and deeply engaging. Throughout the year, we’ve been exploring the Gospel of John, enjoying thoughtful, weekly discussions about each passage. Dr Grimes helps guide these discussions, encouraging us to apply the teachings of Jesus to our daily lives in meaningful ways. Lively conversations – accompanied by snacks – make the experience even more enjoyable. ❚ 19

The Archives

Archive Society

Ms Strickland went on maternity leave in April so I am here in the interim while she is away.

Pupils in the Archive Society have been using the school’s records to practice good, old-fashioned archival research. We have been looking specifically at the records of the St Paul’s School Union from its founding in 1853 through 1897.

The first student society at St Paul’s School, the union hosted weekly meetings to debate big ideas, in the process training pupils for leadership at home and abroad.

CFI

Katherine Gregory, Archivist

I

think the most challenging thing for any archivist when starting a new role is learning about the history of the organisation.

With over 500 years of history here at St Paul’s this seemed a daunting task, but as I have settled into the role, I have become more familiar with the school’s past and its unique collections in the archives.

This year, we had two works by Paul Nash (OP 1900-1904) taken off-site.

The first was the print ‘Landscape at Iden’, which was reframed during the autumn term. The second was the painting ‘Objects in Relation’, which was taken off-site in June for display at the Daniel Katz Gallery’s exhibition, ‘Paul Nash: The Spirit of Place’. The artwork is one of six selected pieces on display and will return to us in August.

During the Easter break, the Monty Map was taken off-site for conservation.

The Monty Map is a very unique item, having been used by Bernard Law Montgomery (OP 1902-1906) during the Second World War as part of the planning for D-Day. Montgomery was the commander of the 21st Army Group who used the school in West Kensington

as its headquarters. This project is being generously supported by the Old Pauline Club and the map will be back with us in the autumn term.

In May, as part of our involvement with Rugby School’s Schools of Empire project, a PhD researcher visited to study prize essays written by St Paul’s students from 1841 to 1863, examining the links between education, empire and colonialism. During this time, many students from prominent public schools, including St Paul’s, would go on to become an important part of the British Empire. The researcher has written a blog that compares the themes and content of our prize essays with those of Rugby School’s. The blog will be published on the Schools of Empire website later this year.

The Archive Society have been studying the school’s Union minutes from 1853 to 1897. Students have been carrying out valuable work to help us understand this society, from transcribing minutes to looking at how the society was structured and the types of topics they were debating. The newest recruits of 5th formers have been examining debates on the US Civil War. For one of their last sessions this year, they looked at a signature of Abraham Lincoln that was presented to the school in 1944.

Over the school year we received nearly 70 enquiries from the public and school community. These have ranged from those researching their family history to information on cast iron radiators. Since I joined in April, the most interesting enquiry I received was one by a production company in LA requesting for a photo from our archive, of former teacher Leonard Dawe, to be featured in one of their documentaries. ❚

Monty Map

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The Archive Society has taken inspiration from its affiliation with the Rugby-based ‘Schools of Empire’ project. The project fosters use of secondary school archives to ask questions about ‘the historical intersection between schools, class, and colonialism’. Our connection with the group has been useful in two ways.

First, students have learned different kinds of questions one can ask of archival material. One pupil is comparing Parliamentary debates on intervention in the Russo-Turkish War, for instance, with parallel debates in the School Union, and another is scouring debates for evidence of ambivalence about Empire (articulated, for example, in the October 1854 debate, ‘Were British Possessions in India obtained in a manner consistent with our principles as a Xtian [Christian] nation?’)

Second, we have enjoyed becoming part of a community of scholars. We have hosted archivists at our weekly meetings, as well as researchers asking similar questions. A team from the Archive Society participated in the Schooling for Empire Conference, featuring academics from leading institutions in the UK, US and beyond. We are excited about the prospect of hosting a similar conference here next year for secondary school students.

Special thanks to archivists Kelly Strickland and Katherine Gregory, without whom the Archive Society would not be possible. ❚

The Kayton Library

SCHOOL LIFE

Hilary Cummings, Librarian

Over the last year, we have added 800 books to the collection, withdrawn around a thousand, issued 4,500 books, renewed around 2,500 of them, and reshelved all of them. We have been open for nearly 100,000 minutes, and for many of those minutes, every chair has been occupied.

In November, our Treasures evening celebrated John Milton on the 350th anniversary of his death. Thanks to the astonishing rare books collection at St Paul’s, we were able to display copies of Paradise Lost previously owned by both Robbie Burns and Napoleon. In January, we focused on Art and Illustration, including St Paul’s EH Shepherd’s book Fun and Fantasy which was a Feast gift from the Old Pauline Club. We also displayed several books with Paul Nash engravings, our large collection of books from the Caradoc Press and Chesterton’s delightful Book of Fly. We also enjoyed our annual Predict the Booker Prize evening. Our Pauline readers present each of the shortlisted titles before the audience attempts to predict the book that will win, and more importantly, the book that should win, the Booker Prize. This time, we were able to hold our event on the night of the prize announcement, which added a certain pressure to the audience voting. Alex, Fred, Freddie, Ishan and Tom read and thoughtfully considered ‘their’ books, despite sometimes really thoroughly disliking them. We thought that Fred’s book, Stone Yard Devotional

by Charlotte Wood should win, while Freddie’s book The Safekeep by Yael

van der Wooden would win. In another miss for Predict, the only book not represented on the evening, Orbital

by Samantha Harvey went on to win.

We will try again this November, and hope the Booker judges do better.

As part of February’s Feast Service, the Old Pauline Club generously agreed to fund both a purchase and a conservation project. The purchase of A Mathematical Miscellany helps us remember John Edensor Littlewood

(OP 1900-1903). This copy was previously owned by Tom Lehrer, best known for The Elements Song.

The conservation project is De Scriptoribus Ecclesiasticis by Joannis Trithium, known as Trithemius.

Published in Basel in 1494 it is the earliest book of bibliography completed as a practical reference tool, and is still useful for medieval scholars.

BookSoc, our joint U3/4th Form book club, has been reading all year and recently have been shadowing the Yoto Carnegie Medal. Each week the group, led by Mrs Wilkinson and Miss Dixon, read a different shortlisted title before voting on the book they thought should win the Medal, and the Shadower’s Prize. Their favourite book was Glasgow Boys by Margaret MacDonald which went on to win the Carnegie Medal, while their second favourite, King of Nothing by Nathaniel Lessore won the Shadower’s Prize. Congratulations BookClub on your great taste. ❚ 21

Duke of Edinburgh Gold Expeditions Summer 2024 Henrik Helsen

A

s the Lower Eighth exams drew to a close, a hardy group of Paulines set out towards the completion of the expedition section of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award, venturing on a practice expedition through the hills of the Peak District to learn the ways of camping, hiking and navigating.

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The qualifying expedition in Snowdonia a month later entailed a project to be completed and presented during the trip. Topics included the influence of terrain and weather on performance, as well as landscape photography. Both expeditions were completed in trying conditions. Rain and unseasonable cold combined with a minor infestation of midges at one particular campsite were batted away with good humour and a steely determination to plod on to camp each night, knowing that we had solid miles under our belt each day, over variable but sometimes taxing terrain.

An ascent up Carnedd Llewelyn (1064m) in Snowdonia on the clearest

day of that expedition provided simply spectacular views of North Wales and Anglesey, and the fresh air provided a welcome break from the desks and exam halls of London. Although the learning curve was steep, by the qualifying expedition we found ourselves (almost) competent with a tent, map, compass and cooking equipment, although it must be said that some cuisine choices were more appetising than others. An enriching experience and a key step forward to completion of the Gold Award.

Our thanks to the external instructors for helping and supporting us through the expeditions. ❚

SCHOOL LIFE

Bronze Award 2024 RLT

This year saw approximately 130 Fifth Formers embark on their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award.

After several months of volunteering, physical activity, and developing skills they began the expedition section with an in school training day and then two two-day expeditions.

The first saw them hone their skills in Winnie the Pooh’s famous 100 acre wood (properly known as Ashdown Forest) for their training. They then set out to prove themselves in South Downs independently where they displayed remarkable resilience. I am happy to say that all students passed. ❚

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Japan Exchange One Week in Japan, A Lifetime of Memories

T

his exchange trip to Japan was, to use a commonplace but necessary phrase, a journey experienced only once in a lifetime. Of course, when I initially heard about the possibility of visiting Japan, I didn’t quite leap at the idea of visiting a foreign country so far away, especially one about which I knew so little. The only real reason I decided to sign up was that I enjoyed eating Japanese food. Thankfully, my curious nature and love of food superseded these initial doubts, and I applied for the spot on the trip.

Fortunately, this application turned out to be successful.

Fast forward to Saturday, 19th October 2024. After contacting our host families and gaining more information about the trip in the days prior, we arrived at the airport and boarded the plane.

Luca, Ed, Kai and I were joined by four students from SPGS, as well as being accompanied by Mr Swartzentruber and Mr Hammond. I had never been on a flight this long before; a whopping 13 hours to Shanghai, followed by a three-hour layover and then a threehour flight to Tokyo, certainly took its toll on us. Initial anxieties had now subsided into awe (and fatigue!) as we took a train from the airport to central

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Tokyo, taking in everything in our surroundings, from the smartly dressed train conductors and the scenery around us, to the very architecture of the buildings outside. Following yet another journey on the train – this time on the famous Shinkansen (bullet train) – we arrived in Toyohashi, our final destination, a city in Aichi Prefecture with approximately 400,000 residents.

We got off the train, with an air of nervousness and anticipation about us, and met our host families. My host family could not have been any more welcoming than they were. Kaito (my host), his two younger siblings and his mother immediately whisked my sleep-deprived self off to a local festival (Luca’s host family did the same thing) where we joined thousands of people.

Here we attempted to dance with other Japanese kids, as well as exclaiming some poorly pronounced Japanese words off beat. And we were only on day one.

This remarkable experience on just the first day had set the tone for the rest of the trip. Sunday was spent with our host families, with the four of us separately going to various tourist attractions within Toyohashi. I ended up going to the zoo. Now, one may wonder, what of the language barrier? Alas, this was an issue that persisted throughout the trip,

but there were solutions to it. I, for instance, was able to communicate with my host mother with hand gestures and the odd Duolingo phrase, which had actually stuck in my memory, in addition to the words which I was being taught by Kaito every day. These limited moments of understanding were a fascinating experience, each one giving us a means to build relationships, not just between individuals, but between language and culture. The simple joy of forming human connections, even just through the realisation that someone had understood what you were saying, cannot be underestimated, and it was for this reason that this trip was made so memorable.

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, we visited the school our hosts went to, Jishukan High School, and met swathes of students our age. Although feeling like complete outsiders, feeling every eye scan every inch of us, we were quickly welcomed into the school community, the language barrier, once again, proving not to be as much of an obstacle as initially presumed.

Over the three days, we took part in PE lessons with the Jishukan students, took matcha making and kanji calligraphy classes, learnt the meaning of the word ‘passion’ within the school, listened to various talks (in English!) from the students on various topics.

Though, on one occasion, I did have to sit through a maths lesson on vectors, all in Japanese, in 30 degree humid heat

SCHOOL LIFE

with the classroom’s AC broken, due to a misunderstanding of the timetable on my part. The large majority of these three days were also taken up by the actual ‘cultural exchange’ part of the trip, where we conversed with and aided the Jishukan students on their English skills, while picking up nuggets of knowledge concerning Japanese culture, such as their national holidays or dishes. One of the highlights for me was seeing Mr Hammond give a spectacular talk on UK grime to a hall full of Japanese students and seeing their perplexed faces be captivated and morph into enjoyment after listening to a few bars of a grime track.

Tuesday and Thursday were spent visiting Tokyo and Kyoto, respectively.

While it is, of course, impossible to visit these two bastions of Japanese culture in just a day each, Mr Swartzentruber had planned these days to a tee. We visited various world-famous attractions in the two cities. On Tuesday, we basked in the glory of the view of Tokyo from the Shibuya Sky observation deck and then rushed to see the Meiji Jingu shrine, which featured a beautiful walk through a 70-hectare man-made forest around it. On Thursday, we took the bullet train to Kyoto and visited this old city, so rich in Japanese heritage. Notably, we visited Kiyomizu-dera, a 1200-year-old shrine with a designated UNESCO World Heritage site status, which was certainly a breathtaking experience.

But the best part of the trip was forming a connection with my host family. I could not have asked for better people to take me into their home over the week. I had the fortune to have my birthday fall on the final days of the trip,

much to the excitement of my host family. They prepared a heart-warming, impromptu birthday celebration for me at their house, and very kindly gifted me a yukata (a kimono for men), which had been something I wanted to buy the whole week. It was an amazing day, and it was followed by an even more incredible day of activity. This penultimate day was spent with our host families. My host family took me to the beach, where I marvelled at the expanse of the Pacific (and I definitely did not swim in it – as per school rules!). We then got back home and had a final dinner, bittersweet but lovely (and tasty, of course). The next day, I reluctantly left my host family. I hugged them all, and with Kaito’s younger brother tearing up, I rejoined the others, and we departed for the airport in Tokyo. Following a seven (yes, seven) hour layover in Shanghai Pudong airport, we finally got on the plane to London, exhausted out of our minds, but trying to commit the past week to memory, so as to remember it for as long as possible.

This was a journey unlike any other, an experience to be carried with me for the rest of my life. The food was exquisite everywhere we went, the historical sites were spectacular, the people were kind and courteous to us, and the relationships we formed with our host families will certainly last us a lifetime. I welcomed my host, Kaito, to London in April, where he enjoyed it greatly. I will no doubt return to stay with his family again sometime in the future. I would like to thank Mr Hammond for helping to facilitate the trip and Mr Swartzentruber for running it year after year, faultlessly.

What a week! ❚ 25

Fun and Games

Podcast Soc DEG

An emerging addition to the extracurricular schedule, PodSoc is “like a book club, but we decide which podcast to try, then discuss it at the upcoming meeting”.

This year’s fortnightly discussions provided insightful analyses of podcasts on a hugely varied range of topics: Why Ratatouille is Pixar’s Magnum Opus, Gordon Ramsay’s early catering career, the credibility of Bigfoot sightings, and The Spectacular Failure of Disney’s Star Wars Hotel. A longer-term goal is to learn from these examples to create original podcasts, possibly interviewing St Paul’s staff on their (many) areas of expertise – please watch for future announcements if you’re interested in either aspect. ❚

Dungeons and Dragons society J. Carter

Dungeons and Dragons society has continued to entertain students this year with a new group of Fourth and Fifth Form students joining to cast spells, swing a sword, and transform into animals.

With a revised ruleset rolling out this year it’s been the perfect opportunity to start afresh – with DM and players learning together.

Whilst new players have been forging their path through an adventure set up to help learn the rules and getting to battle animated skeletons, kobolds, and the ever present menace of the goblins, other groups of Fifth and Sixth Form students have been continuing their own games, diving into the hidden lands of Barovia to battle the dread vampire Strahd.

As the year ends they are in a race against time to become heroes of Angel Falls, or at the very least live long enough to spend their well earned gold on a new suit of magical armour and a fancy sword!

Roll for initiative! ❚

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SCHOOL LIFE

Prestige Society LC

The autumn term began with our traditional Initiation Ceremony, where our new committee, led by Tom Ritchie (Lower Eighth) successfully demonstrated their commitment to the mystical arts by completing an inventory of the Society’s props – including a muchneeded reorganisation of all our different card decks – as well as taking their oaths, a ritual dating back to Prestige’s foundation in time immemorial.

A little less grandiosely, the Society’s members have concentrated on regular practice of performance magic via our weekly Thursday gatherings, paying particular attention to an illusionist’s bread-and-butter of tricks using a standard deck of cards. We have held sleight-ofhand workshops led by Freddie Hammond-Giles and Harper Katz (both Lower Eighth) focusing on advanced card manipulation skills, and members have mastered prestidigitation techniques such as the double lift and false shuffles, in addition to a range of routines including The Ambitious Card; This, That and the Other; and Slip N’ Shuffle. These have been complemented with practical sessions on mathematical card tricks and mentalism effects, as well as other non-standard illusions with speciality decks.

Entertainment has been provided via informal performances around the school, and I understand the occasional display might have made its way into an English lesson or two…

Looking ahead into our crystal ball, we anticipate continued development and a deeper exploration of the mysteries of magic that bind our community, especially with pupils in the younger years – while gratefully acknowledging the work of the committee for their support of the Society throughout the year. ❚

Bridge Gijs van Angeren

This year marked another eventful bridge year. For the first time we managed to put together 3 competitive bridge teams that played in the various tournaments held this year.

The A team managed to come 2nd in the highest division in the online national school’s competition. The players that represented this team were myself, Aman Parekh (Co-Captain), Ishan Madhok, Olle van Angeren and Aryan Sankaye. The B team also managed to come 2nd in their division in the Loughborough national schools cup competition. This team consisted of Sam Christie, Leo Satchell, Louis Littlemore and Kevin Mingchong Lu. All teams played at the highest standard and I hope this will continue for the next bridge year.

The board above is one that I have picked from the Loughborough National Schools Bridge tournament. We can see that North and South have 30 points combined which makes you think that they should be in a slam contract. However this is quite hard to bid because their only fit is diamonds and bidding 2 diamonds after 2 clubs would be a weak bid. This means that the only realistic option is 6NT but with only 30 points this is a stretch as 6NT usually needs 32+ points to make. The only reason it does make is because of how nice the hands work together with the long diamond suit and the heart finesse being onside. So how would you go around bidding this bridge hand? I hope that you enjoyed reading this small bridge year summary and I wish you all a lovely summer break. ❚

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Careers and Universities Bennett J

Careers DJB

T

his past year has seen Ms Emily Strode join the careers team as our new careers and university adviser. She brings with her a wealth of experience and has contributed enormously to our support of pupils, from helping them plan gap years and work experience placements to making the right GCSE and A Level choices. We are proud that all pupils, at any point in their journey, can schedule a 1-1 careers meeting in order to receive guidance and support tailored to their individual needs and circumstances.

This individualised support is at the heart of our provision.

There has been a busy schedule of careers activities this past year. As part of our National Apprenticeship Week celebrations, Sixth Formers heard from current SPS pupils with apprenticeship offers from prestigious programmes in the accountancy and finance sectors. As part of the professional networking programme, pupils could make contact with and hear from professionals in areas such as medicine and entrepreneurship. And Sixth Form pupils had their one-to-one meetings to discuss their ambitions for the future, including career plans, university intentions, and the results of their psychometric profiles.

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However, two events stand out as particular highlights. First was the West London Partnership Careers Fair, which took place on Monday 3 March 2025, hosted by SPS in the Sports and Wathen Halls. Over 1,000 pupils from SPS, St Paul’s Girls’ School (SPGS), Sacred Heart High School, and Christ’s School Twickenham attended. Pupils participated in yeargroup sessions, using worksheets and digital brochures to explore a variety of industries. Professionals from the SPS and SPGS parent and alumni community represented sectors such as Government & Politics, Entrepreneurship, Engineering, Finance,

SCHOOL LIFE

Law, Journalism, Media, Healthcare, Advertising, Marketing, the Public Sector, Performing Arts, and Scientific Research. Additional stalls included employers, gap year providers, and universities. Talks on employability skills and work experience took place in the Wathen Hall and over 60 stalls and networking desks filled the Sports Hall, reflecting the generosity and commitment of our parent and alumni community – special thanks to them all. The Careers and Universities Department also thanks the West London Partnership team and all those who made the event possible.

“Thank you very much for hosting yesterday: it was a great event and there was a lot of interest! It’s always lovely to see students exploring different options and they were a great bunch. Congratulations on such a wonderful event.”

External guest employer

“I really liked the mobility that I had to walk around and sit down anywhere...

I liked it when more practical based jobs and industries, like broadcasting, brought in real equipment to give you a taste of what the environment would look like or when Francis Crick Institute had various x-ray scans and images so you just better visualise and illustrate in your own head what they do.”

SPGS pupil, Fifth Form “I enjoyed hearing about people’s own career path and the fact that there were two categories: employers and people working in the industry.”

SPS pupil, Lower Eighth Form “I just wanted to say a huge thank you for inviting me to participate in this event today. I enjoyed it more than I was expecting and had a lot of fun! All the children were engaging with my session and were kind and supportive to each other. This was lovely to see.”

SPS parent

A second highlight was the addition in the summer term of a mock assessment centre and careers workshop afternoon to the Lower Eighth programme.

The assessment centre and careers workshop was run by InvestIN and included professionalism and communications training, a workshop on interview technique, and the opportunity to practice an in-tray assessment exercise. The following week, Lower Eighth pupils then took part in a mock job interview, facing skills and competencies-based questions. We were lucky to have over 50 parents, guardians, and members of the community volunteering as interviewers – thank you to everyone who supported the event. ❚

29

Careers and Universities

Universities update J.R. Bennett

I

t has been another busy and successful year for the Careers and Universities Department. In October the C&U team was joined by Emily Strode to provide careers advice to pupils and assist with UK university applications.

The Eighth Form pupils have worked exceptionally hard to compile their university applications – more often than not a series of applications for both UK, overseas and US institutions. The time that it takes them to compile and refine these applications should not be underestimated and their successes are testament to the care and thought that they have spent on them.

The success of Paulines applying to UK university offers has been impressive once again. This year, 86% of all offers received by pupils were from a Russell Group university, with over 99% of pupils who applied to UK universities receiving at least one offer from a Russell group university. Pupils have been successful in obtaining offers from some of the most competitive courses and universities: Durham made offers to 73 Paulines, Bristol to 66, Edinburgh 65, Warwick 63, UCL 62 and Imperial College 51. 29 Paulines received offers from Oxford and 22 from Cambridge.

Four pupils have received offers to study at the Bartlett School of Architecture. The breadth of courses pupils applied to this year is enormous, from Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Celtic to theoretical physics and highlights

the range of interests pupils have across the humanities, creative arts and STEM subjects.

The team of UCAS advisers has been on hand to guide pupils through each stage of the application process, starting in the Lower Eighth. In the Summer term we held our annual University Day, welcoming speakers from the University of Warwick and Cambridge University to talk about applying to competitive universities. We were joined with pupils from partner schools and over 20 recent Old Paulines to discuss their experiences as current or recent undergraduates at a range of universities. In the afternoon the universities team gave subjectspecific advice to pupils and information on how they should write the new-style personal statement for their UCAS

US Universities This year was another successful one for the US universities office. With the aid and dynamism of Colet Fellows Jared Adelman and Heather Brennan, the department helped a significant number of Paulines and their parents navigate the US application process. The US Universities office holds presentations for parents, a scholarship evening, admissions talks and workshops. In addition, students receive individual counselling to assist with their college selection and applications. New Old Paulines were attending the following US universities in Autumn 2024: Boston University; University of California, Berkeley; Brown University; University of Chicago; Columbia University; University of Pennsylvania; Duke University; University of Southern California; Georgetown University; Williams College; Harvard University; Yale; University; and Stanford University. ❚

30

THE PAULINE 2024-25

Higher Education Fair

application. In June the annual Careers and Universities Fair, organised by Mrs Richards, provided the opportunity for Paulines and partnership pupils to speak to delegates from a range of universities, employers and gap year providers about their aspirations.

All of our pupils, regardless of their chosen path after St Paul’s, are supported by our team of university advisers, counsellors and administrators who offer their expert advice and guidance throughout the application processes. ❚

Upper Eighth Leavers

Abrahams T Ahmedov B Ansari A Apte M Baghai K Bartlett M Beaufour C Beber T Benedetti M Besson L Bethell J N D Bhatia S Bhatnagar K Bilalov M Birts J Bloch O Bocquet V Bonev S Brian T Brown M Buckland K Burks A Buyanovsky M V Cadman L A Cambiano A Chandaria K Chapman J Chaudhary A Chen K Chew K Choi D Clapham M Coates I Coondapoor A Costafreda-Fu X Daneshvar D de Nonneville P M P X Dell E Dhar N Ding E C Z Djakovic A Dudhia A Dyble J Eakins A J Eichhorst R G Farrell J Fernandez M H M Fhail I Frankel T Freebairn J Frontini L Galea M K Ganguly S Gao A George R Georget-Roukline S Gill J Glänzer Q M Gonsai R Gough A B Granier-Deferre R P V P Gregory J C Grimaldi M Grimstone W Groeller N A G W Gurdjian A P F Haile B Hamill A Hands M Q A Harring A

SH CJC GMK IF JBS CAH MJLBT JA THPC SRS MSG SP JPBS JMCL ADH DJB SXR JA RMB WLK SWP SGAA RJHJ ZS GCL RMB JMCL NS BCBM THL IDM SMP MRG SRS SGAA MRG CFI AXJ MSG QSF DPFF CAH LDW SP CJC CFI VJM BENNETTJ CPA KNRD RKKUR TPMEF GCL DJB EGH TMV EJJ ESB RLT EJJ AMGM ATLT SHRAVATA ESB LLA EES SMP VJM SS RB

Hassan Y I Hay K Helsen H Henderson-Stewart F Hibou R A F Hill T Hinkis T Hiorns T Hogben A J Hopkins A J Horne N Howard E Hueffer C F Hunt K Hussain R Innes S J Ishmael O A R Jacobson G M Jayaram A Jeffries L T Johnsson F M Jones M O Jones S Jorge-Bates D Joseph E N K Joseph Z Kabysh A Kalia M Karadogan A Kasolowsky N Khan M Khoubehi K Kilsby A O G Kim M Kirby C T Kurdikar A Lau H Lau W Lawani M Leaver C Lee J Lee J Lenhard L Lozovsky B Lucenet A P C Ludovici O Ma L Maguire P T Malhotra A Malhotra A Malik N Maruthainar H Mathur A Matsunaga H McConnon C J McConnon R G Mendelsohn B Meyohas A D Monro T R Mu J Murray L Nahal L Nelson C T Ng Y Odewale M Patel K Pelling A Pennington O Perera C R Peres Duarte J

MSG BS TE FETW TE TASC LJP ZS RLT JCJW MDW APDI SS BCBM KLG TASC THCPS SWP RAD DJB GXP IF SGAA GFWG MJLBT DPFF MJP JMCL MJPS THPC JHN MAP SJRH TXM MDW THCPS BENNETTJ NF GMK CJC MDW NFD OHW MTG THL CNYAS CPA LPM OHW ADH LDW IDM TAL CNYAS MCP TASC SRS NF BENNETTJ TXM JHN SIM TAL SMP VJM SIM AXJ SJRH MPP DB

Plantagie M Punage A Pyper W Ragulan S Ranjan A M Ranson L T Ravel T Reese C Roberts A Roberts T Robertson N Rooney E Rowland A Rueger P Ryan Adams L Sa Couto Lince De Faria H Saggi V Sahoo S Sahota A Sahota J E C Sakellariou G Salford M Sevanot Davis A Seydo A Shabalin L Shammas I C N L Shao Y Sharma A Sherwani A A K Shidrawi M Shukla R Shukla S Singh S Smith H Srivastava K Staisiunas T Standing W Street B Suraj D Sutcu C Swain K M Swinnerton M Tallec-Botos T K Tan H Tassi A B F Taylor D L B Thakur A Thiyaharajhan D Todd R Toledano A Trotman E R Trout T Tsoutsas S Tydeman Z Vaizey J Vanderhoof K Wang D Wang O Wang Q Websper F P Weeks N J West J A F White R Wild P Williams J Williams T Wong A Zimmerman A

FETW SXR MAP SH SHRAVATA MCP EGH MJP MPP SP JPBS BS JBS NFD TAYLORRJ GXP HBM RJHJ CAH DB TAL TPMEF JCJW MRG GMK BS MJLBT TRO GCL DB RB NS ZS EES DPFF TRO AMGM AMGM WLK RMB MTG TMV PKG FETW LDW TAYLORRJ MJP KLG RAD MPP TE PKG HBM KNRD SIM RLT SH TMV LJP LPM EJJ NFD QSF CPA MJPS LLA JA ADH 31

Upper Eighth Leavers

School Prefects Beber T Bethell J N D Bhatia S Clapham M Coondapoor A Costafreda-Fu X Djakovic A Eichhorst R G Frankel T George R Groeller N A G W Hassan Y I Helsen H Ishmael O A R Jacobson G M

32

THE PAULINE 2024-25

Joseph E N K Karadogan A Kirby C T Kurdikar A Lucenet A P C McConnon C J Murray L Rowland A Seydo A Tassi A B F Taylor D L B Tydeman Z Websper F P Wong A Zimmerman A

Leavers’ Destinations

UK University or other destination for summer 2024 leavers University / Destination & Subject, College

Year of Entry

DURHAM

University / Destination & Subject, College

Year of Entry

LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL SCIENCE

Ancient, Medieval & Modern History

2025

Management

2024

Biological Sciences

2024

Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method

2024

Chemistry (International)

2024

Philosophy, Politics and Economics

2024

Chemistry (International)

2025

Philosophy, Politics and Economics

2025

General Engineering

2025

LOUGHBOROUGH

Geography

2025

Economics

History

2024

NEWCASTLE

History

2024

Combined Honours

2024

Law

2024

Geography and Urban Planning

2024

Natural Sciences

2024

QUEEN MARY’S, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON

Philosophy, Politics and Economics

2024

Mathematics

2024

Philosophy, Politics and Economics

2024

Medicine

2024

IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON

2024

UCL

Aeronautical Engineering

2024

Archaeology

2024

Biochemistry

2024

Comparative Literature

2024

Biological Sciences

2024

Creative Arts and Humanities

2024

Biological Sciences

2025

Economics

2024

Biological Sciences

2024

Economics

2024

Chemical Engineering Chemistry

2024 2024

Economics

2024

English

2025

Civil Engineering

2024

History

Civil Engineering

2024

2024

Law

2024

Computing

2024

Mathematics

2024

Computing (Software Engineering)

2024

Mechanical Engineering with Business Finance

2024

Economics, Finance and Data Science

2024

Medicine (6 years)

2024

Economics, Finance and Data Science

2025

Natural Sciences

2024

Mathematics and Computer Science

2024

Neuroscience

2024

Mathematics with Statistics for Finance

2024

Neuroscience

2024

Medical Biosciences

2024

BIRMINGHAM

Medicine

2024

Mathematics and Computer Science

Medicine

2024

BRISTOL

Medicine Physics Physics

2024 2024 2024

Business and Management

2025

Chemistry

2024

Physics

2024

Chemistry

2024

Chemistry

2025

Civil Engineering

2024

Data Science

2024

Economics and Politics

2024

Electrical and Electronic Engineering

2024

Engineering Mathematics

2024

Psychology

2024

KING’S COLLEGE LONDON, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON Accounting & Finance

2024

Chemistry

2024

English

2024

Mathematics and Philosophy

2024

Medicine

2024

Medicine

2024

2024

33

Leavers’ Destinations

University / Destination & Subject, College

Year of Entry

CAMBRIDGE

University / Destination & Subject, College

Year of Entry

LIVERPOOL

History & Politics, Gonville & Caius

2025

Veterinary Science

History, Corpus Christi

2024

MANCHESTER

Land Economy, Downing

2024

Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Natural Sciences, Downing

2024

NOTTINGHAM

Geography, Emmanuel

2024

History and Politics

2024

History, Girton

2024

Law

2025

Natural Sciences, Girton

2024

OXFORD

Natural Sciences, Jesus

2024

Engineering, Balliol

2024

History, Magdalene

2024

History, Christ Church

2024

Mathematics, Pembroke

2024

Physics, Christ Church

2024

Computer Science, Queens’

2024

Engineering, Exeter

2024

Natural Sciences, St Catharine’s

2024

Chemistry, Jesus

2024

Engineering, St John’s

2024

Biomedical Sciences, Keble

2024

Land Economy, St John’s

2024

Engineering, Keble

2024

Engineering, Trinity

2024

Biochemistry (Molecular and Cellular), Lincoln

2024

Mathematics, Trinity

2024

Mathematics/Mathematics and Statistics, Lincoln

2024

2024

Biomedical Engineering, Magdalen

2024

Mathematics, Trinity EDINBURGH

2025 2024

Chemistry, Merton

2024

Ancient History

2024

Chemical Engineering, New College

2025

Business and Economics

2024

Chemistry, New College

2024

Chemistry

2024

Engineering, New College

2024

Engineering

2024

History, New College

2024

English Literature

2024

Mathematics/Mathematics and Statistics, New College 2024

English Literature

2024

Philosophy, Politics and Economics, Oriel

2024

History

2024

Biology, Queen’s

2025

History

2024

Physics, Queen’s

2025

History & Politics

2025

Music, St Anne’s

2024

Medicine

2024

Philosophy and Linguistics, St Catherine’s

2024

Philosophy & Theology

2025

Earth Sciences, St Edmund Hall

2024

Physics

2025

German and Linguistics, St Hugh’s

2024

Politics, Philosophy and Economics

2024

Philosophy, Politics and Economics, St Hugh’s

2024

Social Anthropology

2024

Physics, St Hugh’s

2024

Biochemistry (Molecular and Cellular), Trinity

2024

EXETER Classics

2025

Classics, University College

2024

Economics

2024

Mathematics/Mathematics and Statistics, Wadham

2025

Geography

2024

SOUTHAMPTON

History

2024

Medicine

Medicine

2024

WARWICK

Medicine

2024

Biochemistry

2024

Data Science

2024

Economics

2024

Economics

2024

Law

2025

Liberal Arts

2024

GLASGOW Product Design Engineering

2024

LEEDS Film Studies

34

THE PAULINE 2024-25

2024

2024

SCHOOL LIFE

UK University or other destination for summer 2024 leavers continued

USA University Destination for summer 2024 Leavers

University / Destination & Subject, College

University / Destination & Subject, College

Year of Entry

WARWICK CONTINUED

Year of Entry

USA

Mathematics

2024

Brown University

2025

Mathematics and Statistics

2024

Brown University

2024

Politics and International Studies

2024

Brown University

2024

Politics, International Studies and Italian

2024

Duke University

2024

Georgetown University

2024

Harvard University

2024

Stanford University

2024

Stanford University

2024

Stanford University

2024

University of Boston

2024

University of California Berkeley

2024

University of Chicago

2024

University of Chicago

2024

University of Chicago

2024

YORK History

2024

Europe/Non US International University Destination for summer 2024 Leavers University / Destination & Subject, College

Year of Entry

ITALY Bocconi, Milan

2024

University of Columbia

2025

Bocconi, Milan

2024

University of Pennsylvania

2024

Bocconi, Milan

2024

University of Pennsylvania

2024

Bocconi, Milan

2024

University of Pennsylvania

2024

University of Southern California

2024

NETHERLANDS Eindhoven University of Technology

2024

Williams University

2024

Sciences Po/Columbia Dual BA

2024

Yale University

2024

Yale University

2024

Yale University

2024

DUBLIN Trinity College

2024

Trinity College/Columbia Dual BA

2024

35

Staff Leavers

Andy Mayfield Members of the Pauline community will remember Andy Mayfield – Doc – in an enormous range of different ways: as an inspiring classroom teacher of Mathematics, joining St Paul’s in 1992 straight from university, with an undergraduate degree from Manchester, followed by an MSc, a DPhil and Post-Doc, all at Linacre College Oxford; or as a hugely successful rowing coach and President of the Boat Club from 1997 to 2007; or as a valued colleague, both in the Mathematics department and in the wider school community; or as a legendary Lower Eighth Undermaster from 2006 to 2012; or as a wonderful and innovative Director of Admissions from 2012 to 2024; or as a great friend, always looking out for you, really caring about making St Paul’s a better, a happier place to work. Everyone will remember him for his energy – his amazing, boundless, superhuman energy – his enthusiasm, and perhaps his competitiveness.

To many, Andy is St Paul’s: for example, to the many parents who flocked to hear him at Independent Schools Shows, with standing room only at his talks. I was also thinking after Junior Prizegiving that Andy epitomises the Pauline type which the speaker was encouraging: the one who tries out a wide range of activities which combine to bring him success. Andy has tried his hand at pretty much every aspect of school life over the past ninety-nine terms and has excelled in everything he has done.

As a Teacher of Mathematics, he helped pupils achieve fantastic results every year. He has a real care for the pupils he teaches, a deep understanding of and genuine passion for the subject and a sense of the fun in learning.

Richard Baxter recalls two examples: 36

THE PAULINE 2024-25

firstly, Andy asking his set, “What’s the unit of power?” “Watt.” “I said, what’s the unit of power?” “Watt!” “I said, what’s the unit of power?!” (They all got it in the end…); and secondly, to explain Simple Harmonic Motion (which is motion like a pendulum), “What am I?”, as he moves in and out of the classroom – one year Dr Baxter and Andy were teaching it at the same time and managed to get a tandem swing going.

As a rowing coach, Tim Morland recalls that in 1997, Tim’s last year as President of the Boat Club, he handed over the coaching of a promising 1st VIII to Andy, who led them to victory at Henley – the School’s first victory in the Princess Elizabeth Cup since 1957.

During Andy’s time in charge of the Boat Club, more Paulines made it into the GB rowing squad than from any other school in the UK. As a musician, his performances on the double bass garnered many accolades from the Music Department.

He also played the organ at school events. His dedication should be noted: he never missed a rehearsal and he would immerse himself in the piece he was practising – you could find him in his office pretending to conduct the louder, more dramatic bits.

Were you also aware that he plays Bridge at a high level, and recently joined the staff team against the pupils?

The ultimate polymath. But he also exemplifies the school values of humility, kindness, respect, integrity, and resilience in all he does. He will always go the extra mile to help out someone in need. For example, on a rowing training camp, some Paulines were playing football by a river and managed to kick their ball in. Andy leapt into action and got into a nearby launch to go and retrieve the ball.

Andy has changed St Paul’s for the better. He took over the oversight of Admissions and immediately made the process more rigorous. By introducing or refining such things as ISEB tests, reserve list exams, the number of open days, and interview assessment content, he made numerous changes to keep the Admissions department up to date and to ensure that the process remained fair and accessible.

Andy, we are all going to miss you enormously. Personally, I shall miss all our chats putting the world to rights; I shall miss your wacky sense of humour; I shall miss your boundless enthusiasm for doing a good, a thorough, a proper job; I shall miss your large, gaudily colour-coded Admissions excel spreadsheets; I shall miss the way you make the job fun, the way you look out for me, your amazing stories and – yes – even your competitiveness!

And Team Admissions will miss you: Allison Chownsmith writes that you have been a kind and supportive boss, using your infectious enthusiasm and energy plus a lot of laughter to make the Admissions Team a well-oiled machine.

After ninety-nine terms at St Paul’s achieving more than most would achieve in as many years, Andy is going to be working even harder in retirement with plans in viticulture. Andy – we wish you and your family every happiness and blessing in your retirement.

JTH

SCHOOL LIFE

Ed Harris Ed began his career at St Paul’s during the maelstrom of the Covid period.

At first helping out with cover, but quickly taking on teaching responsibilities and shortly after taking over whole sets, Ed’s enthusiasm and engagement were immediately apparent, as was his potential as a brilliant classroom teacher.

He quickly established himself as an incredibly popular and inspiring teacher of both Middle school and Eighth Form, with pupils enjoying his quick wit and occasional irreverence alongside academically rigorous and stretching teaching.

Both in the classroom and through his involvement with departmental societies, Ed was an advocate for the Arts and Humanities in the broadest sense, always looking for interdisciplinary opportunities to explore the dynamic exchange between different subject areas, drawing on his background in Theology to inform his A-Level teaching, and consistently supporting and developing creative endeavour within the school.

His particular strength as a teacher was building strong professional relationships with individual pupils through his warmth, humour and genuine care, and the legacy Ed leaves of a flourishing Creative Writing Society, and increasing involvement in independent writing across all school years, is something I am truly grateful to him for.

Naturally, given his open and supportive relationship with pupils as classroom teacher, as tutor he contributed significantly to the pastoral life of the school, and in the boarding house he was hugely popular with the boarders.

Alongside care and support, he brough a sense of fun to this role, always leading a group of boys playing cards or a game of pool.

Luke Maxted Beyond the academic and the pastoral, Ed also contributed significantly to school sport, particularly through his great enthusiasm for SPS cricket. Unlike many coaches who struggle to find players for the lower teams each Saturday, Ed frequently had a huge cohort to choose from as the boys realised how rewarding it was to play in his team and swap into the cricket games half.

Ed also made a huge contribution to the school’s charities and partnership work over the past few years, including his invaluable assistance on the Zambia trip, his support for the Barnes Literary Festival and the charities conference, as well as his organisation of the Spring term whole-school walk.

Ultimately, beyond the snapshots just given, it’s not really possible to do full justice to Ed’s involvement across school life. With enthusiasm and energy, he threw himself into so many different commitments and activities, roles, duties and responsibilities. But precisely because Ed’s talents and experience ranged so widely across the academic, the pastoral and co-curricular, his move to Brighton College is a truly fantastic next step for him; and alongside his very recent marriage, he has exciting times ahead.

Always good-humoured, always kind, always willing to help out, Ed was a central and much-loved member of the English Department and of the wider school community. He will be much missed as teacher, tutor, coach and colleague.

MTG

Despite spending only one year with us, Luke quickly proved himself a brilliant teacher. He brought an unassuming but fierce intellect to the classroom, one equally adept at challenging and inspiring Fourth Form pupils as Upper Eighth. Whilst his approach to literature was always scholarly and exacting, he balanced this with a playfulness and warmth that made even the most challenging texts and topics fun and engaging for all.

Luke was also a brilliantly supportive, kind and engaging tutor, quickly gaining the trust and admiration of the group he took over at the start of the year.

Whenever I overheard his tutees during morning tutor time, I was in awe of the erudite and varied topics under discussion.

It is not every morning you expect to hear boys across year groups sharing their views on fine art or discussing some esoteric work of literature they have happened upon together.

Academic and pastoral brilliance to one side, and on a more personal note, I am also hugely grateful to Luke for his support, advice and consistent goodhumour as Second-in-Department and the valuable contributions he made to the department’s work throughout the year.

As disappointing as it was to learn that he had accepted a teaching role at Dulwich College, this was an understandable move given it will turn a commute that takes the best part of three hours a day into a matter of minutes.

Nonetheless, his departure is a great loss, and I am truly sorry that we won’t get the chance to work together for longer.

Luke will be much missed by department and pupils alike, both as colleague and teacher. We wish him, and his young family, the very best for the coming years.

MTG 37

Staff Leavers

Natalie Dillon Natalie joined St Paul’s in September 2022. Her first degree had actually been in Civil Engineering. After a few jobs doing some real engineering, she transitioned into software engineering, in a variety of roles, learning her way to a good knowledge of what makes large IT projects tick.

With her family getting older, lockdown prompted a career change and she enrolled in Roehampton’s well-respected Computing PGCE. With that – and her previous career having given her a suitably impressive list of systems, buzzwords and computing languages (and real languages, she had spent a year in Italy shortly after university) – she was an impressive candidate when we went out to try to find someone to replace Joe Rocca.

Natalie is always thinking in particular about how technology impacts education and learning: in her interview she was looking forward to trying out automated marking systems, in her coding lessons she uses leading edge industry tools to try to track her students’ progress…and please do ask her about LLMs, AI in the classroom and the attempts to dumb down the computer science GCSE – but only if you’ve a spare hour…

She made an immediate impression when she started with her solid organisation and no-nonsense attitude.

Her classes are attentive and focused and free from any distractions.

She explains the subject with clarity, but she is equally clear about her expectations. I would not necessarily call her a disciplinarian, but I think I have seen more academic concerns and low-level flags raised by her, especially for late homework, than from anyone else in my time as her head of department.

In her relatively short time here, she’s helped out with the DofE bronze trips 38

THE PAULINE 2024-25

Shazia Ahmed and made a name in Young Enterprise, with Nick Troen highlighting her background helping to the successes of her teams, including this year’s Obsorb, and he bemoarned YE’s own backward stance on technology meaning that her computing could not always be usefully harnessed.

She’s made a mark too as a Harrison house tutor and latterly their HoHA; Glenn praised her management of the year group leads, her massive improvements in the efficiency of the House’s admin and her general support and enthusiasm. He is hugely appreciative of her quietly competitive streak, her sense of fair play while encouraging their teams, and her willingness to robustly challenge unfairness.

I know only too well that computing teachers are hard to find and apparently good ones are even harder to hold on to. So, after just three years, our loss is Hampton’s gain as we lose Natalie to become their new Head of Department.

CAH

Shazia joined us from Kensington Park School, where she was also the SENCO, in July 2023. It seems like Shazia has been here a lot longer than her two years’ service, in a good way, and this just shows how much Shazia has become part of the school in such a short space of time.

She wasn’t looking to leave, but lucky Ibstock Place came to her with a very tempting offer of being part of their senior leadership team with an even wider remit and management responsibility. Given Shazia’s extensive experience of being a SENCO this was a logical next step.

Shazia has brought her own ideas and feel to leading the LS team, building on the very successful foundations that were already there.

She’s introduced things like handwriting clubs, further speech and language therapy sessions, and ADHD coaching.

Shazia has been a valuable member of the HoDs team. Governors and inspectors alike praised her passion, knowledge, and lucidity.

What really stands out about Shazia is her genuine warmth, kindness, and humanity. Learning support is a really demanding area and the whole team works hard to support the needs of all the various stakeholders. Shazia has done so with the utmost professionalism.

She’s adaptable when needs be, but also principled.

To share just a small selection of positive comments from her team and wider colleagues, Shazia is: ‘a ray of sunshine’, ‘unshakeably calm, cheerful and optimistic’, ‘utterly charming’, and ‘always friendly, affable and professional in her demeanour’. She is approachable and always ready to help, helps people feel valued, and incredibly knowledgeable: a supportive and brilliant colleague.

SCHOOL LIFE

I’ve seen her teach several times and you immediately notice the rapport she has with pupils, how at ease they feel and her gentle coaxing and encouragement is fantastic. We wish Shazia all the very best for the future and she goes with our gratitude and thanks.

TXM

Staff Joiners Huey Rossin-Coldwell Teacher of PE Eloise Yates Teacher of Music Tris Hagar Second in Department, English Lee Teo Teacher of Physics Sam Bailey Teacher of Mathematics (moving from SPJ) Warren Turner Second in Learning Support Matthew Honnor Teacher of Mathematics Tim Vincent Teacher of Computing Susannah Thomas Teacher of English Stuart Murphy Teacher of Biology Zoe Glen Teacher of Classics Natalie Gall Music Facilities Assistant Florence Garnham Events and Engagement Manager Frances McGovern Matron Sophie Stobbs Matron Hanna Ouadi German Language Assistant Yanis Dris French Language Assistant Ilonie Delaroche French Language Assistant Anabel Sesek Colet Fellow (Dept: Economics) Timothy Schietroma Colet Fellow (Dept: Politics) Edward Cameron Sports Graduate Rachel Donner Gissing Fellowship Annie Wertheimer Rowing Coach Harry Jenkins Rowing Coach Nathan Bottomley Rugby Coach

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Art

Departmental news The Art Department has had a busy and successful year, featuring insightful talks, enriching trips, and significant student achievements.

Highlights include a captivating talk by Fiona Banner on language and politics in art, and a contemporary art-focused trip for the L8, encompassing visits to The Perimeter, Tate Modern, and the White Cube.

The department also celebrated outstanding student talent at the annual prize-giving. Sasha and Amaan jointly received the John Watson Prize for Art, and Matt Galea earned the André Fu Prize. The House Art Competition saw enthusiastic participation across year groups, with Blurton House taking first place for their powerful depiction of “Kindness.”

Additionally, the department fostered strong collaborations with SPGS, engaging in joint events like the Architecture weekend, A-level project discussions, and a life drawing course, culminating in a well-attended A-level art show. ❚

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DEPARTMENTS

Architecture weekend and applicants

O

n the 14th of September, St Paul’s School Art Department hosted the highly anticipated “Architecture Weekend 2024”, an event that drew a remarkable number of A-Level pupils, all with a keen interest in pursuing architecture.

The weekend was a vibrant platform for intellectual engagement, design thinking, and exploring the contemporary built environment.

The programme seamlessly blended academic inquiry with creative exploration, inspiring pupils to consider the complex interplay between design, context, and society.

Participants were encouraged to think critically about architecture’s evolving role in addressing modernday challenges through a structured two program of talks, discussions, and site visits. The event provided an invaluable forum for emerging voices to question, respond, and reimagine the architectural discipline.

A highlight of the event was the calibre of the guest speakers, whose insights into contemporary practice were illuminating and thought-provoking.

David Eagleton, Senior Architect at 6a Architects, opened with a lecture on Architecture and Repair, offering a compelling reflection on architecture’s responsibility to engage with existing fabric rather than erase it. Claire Bennie, Principal at Municipal, delivered a powerful talk entitled Housing Matters: Demolition, Renewal and Sustainability.

Her presentation deftly addressed the social and environmental implications of large-scale housing regeneration.

Finally, Associate at Zaha Hadid Architects, Henry Louth, engaged the audience with The Urban Game, a dynamic exploration of speculative design and future cities.

Participants also had the unique opportunity to visit the Heatherwick Studio as part of the Open House Festival 2024. Located at 55 Argyle Street, the studio offered a behindthe-scenes look at one of the UK’s most visionary design practices.

This immersive experience brought into sharp focus the power of material innovation, narrative-led architecture, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

The weekend concluded with a Sunday visit to the Serpentine Pavilion on 15th September. Project Curator Alexa Chow gave pupils a guided tour and in-depth curatorial insight into Archipelagic Void by Minsuk Cho / Mass Studies. The visit offered a fitting finale, exploring spatial experimentation and cultural symbolism within a globally recognised temporary structure.

Feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly positive, praising not only the academic richness of the sessions but also the opportunity to connect with like-minded peers and professionals. As a result, Architecture Weekend has become a firmly rooted

fixture in the educational calendar – a touchstone for aspiring architects and a model for intellectually rigorous, creatively enriching outreach.

Participating schools included: St Paul’s School, Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School, Christ’s School, Fulham Boys School, Hammersmith Academy, Latymer Upper School, Putney High School, St Paul’s Girls’ School, West London Free School, Wimbledon High School, JAGS, Dulwich College, University College School, Westminster School, Bryanston School, Eton College, Highgate School, King’s College School, Marlborough College, Sherborne School, The King’s School, and Tonbridge School.

Congratulations to Sasha, Theo, Julius, and Aaman this year for all gaining a place at the Bartlett and continuing their architectural journey! ❚

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Art

Artist Talk: Fiona Banner Adrien Sevaux

We had all of the Eighth form, about five Sixth Formers and an excellent turnout of parents. Questions were insightful and challenging. The key ideas discussed were language about politics and how that is transformed in art.

Just after school on the 11th of February, the eighth form art students (and a few others) were treated to a fascinating presentation by British artist Fiona Banner (b.1966), also known as The Vanity Press.

Before the talk, Mr Grant had led a class discussion about her works, The Nam, Harrier and Jaguar, so we all came in with some understanding of her conceptual practice. She was an excellent speaker, as prompted by Mr Grant’s interview questions during the first half of the evening. She told us lies, a sort of critical spirit at the core of her practice. Critical especially of war, environmental degradation, and the hypocrisy that often leads to – or trivialises – these. The Nam, a book Banner published in 1997, exemplifies her interest in the power (or lack thereof) of words. Consisting of a continuous narrative of six popular Vietnam War films without breaks, its thousand pages equate to an 11-hour confusion of violence with no apparent breaks. Hollywood attempts to glorify war, but Banner points out the absurdity of conflict and its reduction to tritely crass entertainment. She famously returned to this theme with Harrier and Jaguar, presented at the Tate Britain in 2010. The installation consists of the two eponymous fighter jets in the neoclassical Duveen galleries.

In their beautiful setting, these weapons of war appear eerily beautiful, and Banner mentioned this odd attraction she had sought to expose.

As she said in an earlier interview, “That we find them beautiful brings into question the very notion of beauty, but also our own intellectual and moral position. I am interested in that clash between what we feel and what we think.” Banner next told us about her boulders, a series created to raise awareness about marine preservation.

In 2020, Banner delivered a piece of granite weighing 1.5 tons to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs building in Westminster, and deposited the other two at sea on the Dogger Bank. She hopes these will act as physical obstacles to hinder destructive bottom trawling and symbolise that something needs to be done. My favourites of the works she showed us, the Full Stop Sea-Scapes, also relate to the sea. They are a series of paintings first shown in 2019. Banner bought old British seascapes by often anonymous artists and painted over the mighty ships in each picture with a full black stop. To end the presentation, Banner showed us her video Pranayama Typhoon (2021), a dance between two inflatable military decoy aircraft filmed on a sunny morning on a beach in Southern England.

Pranayama is the practice of breath control in yogic traditions.

The aircraft seem alive (actors wear them), moving about one another in a courtship dance, appearing oddly peaceful when combined with the video’s soundtrack of a church organ. These planes may be built to kill, but here love triumphs. We are very grateful to SPARTA for having organised the presentation. ❚

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That we find them beautiful brings into question the very notion of beauty, but also our own intellectual and moral position. I am interested in that clash between what we feel and what we think.

DEPARTMENTS

Departmental trips Sikander Frydas

T

he L8 embarked on an inspiring day focused on contemporary art, beginning with a visit to Alex Peletas at The Perimeter.

educational opportunity, broadening their understanding of contemporary art practices and the varied contexts in which art is collected, exhibited, and interpreted.

Their primary purpose was to see the Lewis Hammond exhibition. The pupils were given a comprehensive tour of the show, allowing them to delve deep into Hammond’s work and consider his techniques. Following the exhibition tour, the group was granted access to the basement vault, where they viewed a small but significant part of Alex’s private collection. This particular segment of the trip proved to be especially insightful, offering a rare glimpse into the intricate operations of a private collection within the context of an institution. It gave the pupils a unique understanding of the curation and presentation of art beyond the traditional gallery setting.

Earlier this term, our year took a whirlwind trip through London’s art world, visiting some of the city’s most famous galleries. From the grand halls of the British Museum to the industrial expanse of the Tate Modern, we soaked up everything from ancient artefacts to avant-garde installations. But for me, it was the lesser-known spaces that made the most profound impression.

The pupils then made their way to the Tate Modern, where they immersed themselves in the thought-provoking works of Mike Kelley. The exhibition offered a rich exploration of Kelley’s diverse practice, prompting lively discussions among the students about his innovative approaches and the societal themes he addressed. This visit provided a crucial contrast to the private collection they had just experienced, highlighting the differences in scale, curatorial focus, and public engagement between various art spaces. Finally, the group concluded their day at the White Cube, where they were captivated by the meticulously constructed and often enigmatic photographs of Jeff Wall.

Wall’s exhibition offered a powerful commentary on contemporary life and visual culture, leaving the pupils with much to ponder and discuss. The entire experience provided a valuable

My favourite stop was The Perimeter, hosting an exhibition of Lewis Hammond’s work. His paintings loom, breathe, and watch you from the walls. Every painting felt like a window into someone’s private despair, steeped in paranoia and mythological unease. These aren’t easy works.

They’re ghastly, unsettling, and oppressive, but hauntingly beautiful.

Outside of the trip, I went to the launch night of Sadie Coles’ new event series, Gargle, a chaotic, brilliant collision of art and performance. Alvaro Barrington’s terrific solo exhibition served as the backdrop, a calming, immersive environment, perfect for the night coming.

The night’s main attraction was a series of performances by James Massiah and his Adult Entertainment poetry crew.

Their poetry was alive, unapologetic, and deeply funny. James had the room laughing with his love troubles, while William Wyld turned the awkwardness of a house showing into an extended metaphor for getting an erection.

If you ever get the chance to visit The Perimeter or Sadie Coles Kingly St, I would highly recommend them, but maybe give the Bermondsey White Cube a miss. ❚

What stuck with me most was the way Hammond captures ambiguity. You’re never quite sure what the figures in his paintings are thinking. There’s an eerie tension in each room: eyes follow you, watching silently as you, in turn, become a voyeur to others’ most intimate fears.

Unfortunately, not every gallery hit the same notes. Jeff Wall’s exhibition at the White Cube left me cold. His work tries to create an uncanny, surreal atmosphere, but instead, it felt sterile and forced. Rather than being drawn into strange, dreamlike worlds, it felt like a showroom of photographic furniture.

It was less “art as emotion” and more “Jeff Wall IKEA.” It lacked the cohesion and intensity that Hammond delivered so effortlessly.

Faculty Visit

The entire experience provided a valuable educational opportunity...

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A Level Art

Adam Seydo

Amaan Mathur

Ian Coates

Rory McConnon

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DEPARTMENTS

Matt Galea

Theo Hiorns

Nicholas Fezer Brown

Milo Jones

Chris Leaver

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GCSE Art

Arthur Hill

Udai Thenua

Alexander Miklavchich

Theo Miller

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DEPARTMENTS

Daniel Curry

Anish Dhar Ethan Patel

Matthew Biggs

Arthur Cooke

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GCSE Art

Adam Collingan

Conrad Strauven

Hugo Bain Nico Mahoney

Noah Malley

Eamon De-Rosa Rashid

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DEPARTMENTS

Gabe Joseph

Guy Parson

Haris Naser

Alex Pennington

Harry West

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GCSE Art

John Conte Ireland

Henry Scott-Williams

Henry Bennison Luka Fitzsimonns

James Maby

Alex Schwimmer

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DEPARTMENTS

Leo Maslaw

Joseph Clifford

Lorenzo Maraffino

Jun Howard

Kitt Frankel Max Brunsden

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GCSE Art

Lucca Strack

Demir Viswanathan

Leon Cool

Ivo Prosser

Maxcel Murillo Sandoval

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DEPARTMENTS

Wilbur Mudie

Harry Chong

Radamir Averin

William Jenkin

Charlie Pockney

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GCSE Art

Dylan Siow

Max Bauer

Javid Ahmadz Santiago Herrero De La Cuadra

Josh Hammond Arthur Whitaker

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DEPARTMENTS

Arjun Narayanan

Michael Sydorenko

Paul Turner

Rohan Da Silva

Tomi Mahoney

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Art

Prizes won / significant pupil achievements This year’s prize-giving celebrated an outstanding breadth of practice across drawing, painting, ceramics and print, underscoring the department’s ethos that sustained, research-led studio work is the route to excellence.

The John Watson Prizes for Art

The André Fu Prize

Awarded jointly, the John Watson Prize recognised two pupils whose portfolios demonstrated both conceptual ambition and technical command.

The André Fu Prize for an outstanding work of Art went to Matt Galea.

Sasha impressed the panel with a vividly graphic, cartoon-inflected series that fuses medieval manuscript illumination, Byzantine iconography and Japanese ukiyo-e with the visual grammar of contemporary cinema and graphic novels.

Layered narrative devices – split-screen panels, temporal jump-cuts and text fragments – produce a playful yet rigorous meditation on sci-fi futurism and cultural memory.

Galea developed a collection of monumental ceramic forms that marry craggy geological silhouettes with echoes of Mesopotamian ziggurats and structures carved into mountains around the globe. His self-devised glazes yielded iridescent cratered surfaces, evidencing a sophisticated grasp of ceramic chemistry gleaned from masterclasses with visiting RCA artists. The result is a body of work that feels simultaneously primeval and sharply contemporary. ❚

Amaan investigated the dynamics of imagined space through large-scale mixed-media drawings and architectural maquettes. His research into vivaria and aquaria informed biomorphic, scaffold-like structures that interweave rectilinear armatures with sinuous organic forms.

They were both commended for sustained studio practice. ❚

House Art Competition Engagement across the year groups of L8, 5th and 4th Form was electric in this year’s House Art Competition.

L8’s, supported by Fourth- and FifthFormer, were tasked with creating a poster that embodied one of the School’s core values, using a hybrid process that combined Colligraph monoprint techniques with digital wood-cut overlays.

The Art Dept assessed compositional harmony, inventive deployment of the house palette and conceptual clarity.

Blurton House emerged victorious with their response to Kindness: a bold, 58

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reductive motif of interlocking hands elevating a heart, rendered in a nuanced spectrum of burgundies, crimsons and ember-orange half-tones. The piece demonstrated how restrained design can deliver maximum emotive force.

These accolades affirm what our studios champion daily: informed experimentation, relentless material inquiry and collaborative critique cultivate artists capable of producing work of genuine resonance.

Congratulations to all our prize-winners and to every pupil who contributed to another remarkable year in the Art Department. ❚

DEPARTMENTS

Pot soc and extracurricular

Special events The SPS Art department has collaborated with the SPGS Art department a number of times this year. The SPGS pupils joined us on the Architecture weekend, helping prepare these students with skills to apply for creative art courses at university.

5th form pupils had the opportunity to accompany the SPGS pupils and visit the Glen Brown Institute for a special life drawing event.

SPS staff also visited the SPGS department to discuss A-level projects and planning, and this relationship continues to be fruitful. SPGS invited SPS pupils to an off-site life drawing course, another opportunity for pupils to work collaboratively and alongside one another.

Alexander Miklavchich

The enthusiasm for Pot-Soc this year has been notable, reflecting a vibrant artistic community within the school.

Of course, the event of the year, the A-level art show, was also popularly attended by members of both schools. ❚

We’ve seen great uptake, particularly from our 4th form pupils, whose plentiful participation has injected an exciting buzz into the studio.

This year’s notable members, Will (6th form) and Alex (5th form), have been shining examples, demonstrating excellent practice that directly fed into their NEA GCSE coursework investigations. Their dedication and skill have set a high bar for their peers.

The pupils have been actively engaged in creating a diverse series of thrown pieces, showcasing their developing pottery skills. What’s particularly exciting is their keen interest in applying their scientific knowledge to their art. They’re eagerly anticipating putting their expertise in chemistry to good effect, specifically by delving into the intricate world of glaze chemistry. This integration of art and science promises to yield some truly unique and innovative ceramic creations.

We’re looking forward to seeing the results of their glaze experiments and the continued growth of their artistic talents. ❚ A-level Show

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Drama

A Monster Calls Yad Rahmans

This year’s fourth and fifth form production was A Monster Calls, adapted from the bestselling novel

by Patrick Ness. It was a moving and emotional theatrical experience, blending fantasy and striking stagecraft to tell the story of a young teenage boy wrestling with unimaginable sadness. The play follows thirteen-year-old Conor O’Malley, played by Max Warrack, whose mum is suffering from a terminal illness.

Conor is dealing with intense emotions of fear, anger and guilt, but isn’t able to express this easily. One night, Conor is visited by a monster created from the giant yew tree in his garden.

The monster is ancient, wise and unpredictable. The monster tells Conor three stories before asking Conor to tell his own truth, as he had been hiding this from everyone, even himself.

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I enjoyed the way the different plots were woven together in the play: Conor’s real life and the monster’s stories. In the real world, we see the stress of life at home, with Conor being forced to take on too much responsibility. This is followed by the stress he faces at school, where he’s bullied daily by the same group of boys.

Even when a boy named Billy – played

by Freddie Snowball – stands up for Conor by punching one of the bullies, Conor refuses to tell the teacher what really happened. This naturalistic storyline is interwoven with the fantastical plot involving the monster and the stories it tells. These stories reveal emotional truths that Conor is not yet ready to face in his real life. The two plots are closely connected, as the messages from the monster’s tales help Conor process and cope with his real-world struggles.

In terms of acting, the cast of Fourth and Fifth Formers did an excellent job.

Max Warrack managed to capture Conor’s inner struggle with real honesty, showing how he tries to stay strong on the outside while feeling completely lost

inside. This growing pressure finally explodes in the powerful scene where Conor knocks out the school bully.

It’s a shocking and emotional moment that shows just how much he has been bottling up. The actor handled this scene with great intensity, making the audience feel the full weight of Conor’s anger, fear, and grief. The use of movement and physicality in this scene made it very powerful. Hoa-Tinh Le, who played the main bully, did a great job of showing cruelty and confidence in earlier scenes, making this moment even more shocking.

Another standout element of the performance was Conor’s dad, who brought a nice touch of comic relief to an intense story. His character offered a break from the tension, especially with his awkward attempts to connect with Conor and his laid-back attitude compared to the seriousness of the situation. Elaijah Nahum, who played the dad, captured this contrast well, showing that although he cared for Conor, he wasn’t fully present or able to provide the support Conor truly needed.

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Also, the role of Conor’s mum was played excellently by Vansh Rathi, who brought warmth, strength, and vulnerability to the character.

His performance displayed the emotional depth of a mother trying to stay brave for her son while battling a serious illness. The scene where Conor’s mum tells Conor the treatment was unsuccessful was particularly powerful and delivered with a quiet honesty that made the moment feel incredibly real.

Vansh showed the struggle between wanting to protect her son and needing to be truthful, and the silence that followed spoke just as loudly as the words. It was one of the most emotional points in the play and left a lasting impression on the audience.

A further standout aspect of the play was the set design and lighting, which added to the emotion and atmosphere of the performance. Walking into the Dorfman Theatre, I was immediately

intrigued by the stage layout. At the back of the stage was a screen showing Conor’s bedroom window, looking out over the garden. Through it, the audience could see the giant yew tree blowing in the wind: a seemingly normal image that subtly foreshadowed the tree’s major role later in the story.

I especially liked how the screen was used throughout the play to support the storytelling. One memorable moment was when it showed the road disappearing behind Conor and his grandmother as they drove home, which then smoothly transitioned back to the familiar view of the bedroom window.

Lighting and sound were also used very effectively to support the tone and mood of each scene. Changes in lighting helped build suspense. A standout example was the flashing lights during the third story when Conor violently attacks the bully: this highlighted his

loss of control and the intensity of his emotions. Lauren Cloke, our amazing theatre technician, did an excellent job once again in helping build a dramatic and emotionally charged atmosphere.

The sound design was equally powerful.

Different styles of music were used to reflect different moods, from tense and eerie to soft and emotional. The most memorable moment was the sombre, downbeat music near the end of the play, as Conor’s mum lay dying, which helped heighten the raw emotional weight of the scene. Credit to Bolang Sun in the 5th form, who was behind the sound design for the play.

Overall, A Monster Calls was a very moving and well-produced play that uniquely combined real life and fantasy.

It was a play about grief, truth, and how we deal with difficult emotions. The cast and crew did a great job bringing it all to life, creating a powerful and memorable performance. ❚

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Drama

Hangmen A View from the Tech Box Yusaf Hassan

The 60s were ‘swinging’. From miniskirts to the King’s Road, a newly permissive, sexually-liberated British society emerged from the privations of post-war austerity, paired with a new progressive set of legislative reforms: the legalisation of abortion, the decriminalisation of homosexuality, and the abolition of capital punishment.

No one seems to have told the residents of Martin McDonagh’s rainy Oldham pub in Hangmen, though. The end of hanging has come right to the doorstep of Harry Wade, proud Chief Hangman to the Crown and part-time publican.

Yet much of the play is spent acerbically grappling with the past: miscarriages of 62

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justice, reputations in industry, and an oddly primaeval and irreverent view of human death.

Being told that Hangmen would be the spring term play this year, most of us theatre kids immediately erupted into a chorus of thick Northern accents.

The quality was admittedly variable: a few verged on blasphemous; none would have been well-received in an authentic Oldham pub. Fortunately, with the help of a dialect coach, and a lot of gentle prodding from director Ms Mazur, most improved by show week.

Yet beyond our initial inexperience in the Lancastrian dialect, through the rehearsal period, it quickly became clear

DEPARTMENTS

boastfully assertive master of death and, at others, a worried landlord, a man who has just lost his job, and a fretful father who wants his daughter back home safe.

Capturing the nostalgia of this oldfashioned, smoky pub was a key goal for us on the tech and design team.

Dan and Lauren built a beautifully rich set complete with a gorgeous working bar, from which real pints could be pulled (water with Jamaican browning sauce mixed in, for the many who have asked!). Complete with authentic bar towels and real bottles of Babycham, they created a pub Tim Martin would be proud of. Lighting designer Joseph Sternberg worked to complement that vision with a beautifully cosy rendering of the pub across times of day, aided by Reuben Ovington’s assiduous use of naturalistic sound effects.

that Ms Mazur could not have picked a more appropriate play for this cast.

A golden generation of Imp Soc-trained comedians delighted in the savage, and occasionally outrageous, way the script mocks the heaviness of its subject matter. Whether it was Henry Smith (Syd Armstrong) ruminating on the various proportions of genitalia observed up-close, Jasper Gregory (Inspector Fry) swanning around as a barely-functioning alcoholic, or Atom Lucenet (Arthur) eliciting simultaneous disgust and tear-wrenching laughter for his clownery, the performances – and the director – harnessed all of their comedic genius.

Beyond the levity, though, the play provided moments where dramatic skill shone through the comedy. Sophia Foster, Shirley, excelled in creating a vulnerable yet strong-willed fifteenyear-old girl, while Sam Steeden, Mooney, thoroughly succeeded in crafting an insecure but vaguely menacing psychopath. The predatory scene between them will go down as one of the most uncomfortable moments on an SPS stage in recent memory. And, of course, Quentin Glaenzer, dressed in a Grim Reaperesque pinstriped suit complete with dickie bow and all, captured the essence of the anti-hero Harry Wade: at times a

The show’s black comedy came together with the homeliness of the design to cut across the show’s menacing and dark moments.

Undeterred by illnesses that left almost every actor bedridden at some point, the cast brought indefatigable energy to a gruelling run of final rehearsals and shows. Not in all my time in SPS Drama have I witnessed a more consistently good-humoured and united cast, with such continuously high spirits.

For so many of us, the Saturday performance marked the emotional end of a long-running chapter in our lives.

Those of us performing in the Upper 8th had staged over 20 cumulative nights of main-house shows. Countless castings, call-backs, rehearsals, lineruns, mic-checks, bows, and afterparties now received their final curtain call on the SPS stage.

And so, when Quentin issued his final refrain of the show, on the final show night, all of us in the cast echoed in nostalgic unison, “I’ll miss it, I will.

I’ll miss it.” ❚

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Drama

The Real Inspector Hound Gabe Joseph

It is the night of the 16th of October, and the lights are on in the Milton building – a squat brown building situated at the end of the first team rugby pitch. It begins to drizzle, and the only thought in my head is “fine”, as said by cast member Shiv Ahluwalia, he says he’s feeling “fine”. The Real Inspector Hound is going to be fine.

All the other cast describe it as “going well”. The director – Dr Stella Pryce – is “nervous but buoyant,” or so she told me.

Just hours before, the play had been artfully summed up by Fedor Maslov as “ludicrous, jocular and alluring”.

I was very, very interested, but also felt this was lacking in detail. “It’s a farce!”

I thought to myself as I walked down the path. But it’s also more than that – it has to be parody and pastiche.

Tom Stoppard’s play is a personal joke, satirising himself and his world of theatre. Playing on the classic, long-running The Mousetrap, this is a play that goes wrong halfway through, bringing the reviewers into a classic whodunit murder and shaking the audience.

I cast my mind back as I tried to quell my anxiety, entering through the double doors of the ground floor and entering the newly whitewashed hallway.

I understand that this production has to be done artfully – or it all falls apart. The cast surely knows this. Theo Emerson Miller said it was “clever” and “tricky”. Tricky. “It’s a difficult script”, Dr Pryce said, “there was a lot of work put into making sure everyone knew what they were saying and to understand their character.” Vital, and if they can pull this off, it will be some feat.

I am seated right by the entrance, and the play begins; lights up on the two literary reviewers and the play begins.

The lines are sharp. Theo Emmerson Miller and Arie Sabbah certainly do know what they’re saying. Not only do they know what they’re saying, but their calm, cool delivery allows the humour to 64

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land exceedingly well. These actors have expertly committed themselves to the pseudo-intellectualism of the theatre critic. Even when offering an audience member a chocolate, it is very immersive and very delicious.

The lighting switches to shift focus onto the play within a play, which is very metatheatrical. We see Ollie Hughes and Max Rainer as butlers for the manor in which the play within the play (or as I shall refer to it, the sub-play) unfolds.

They bring an element of physical comedy, along with the arrival of the always comic Jackson Pound, to frame the play nicely.

The comedic timing is strong, and all actors play off each other well. My only hope is that this confidence continues to grow throughout the production, as the farce only increases. We then see a drama to challenge all drama as the plot unfolds – Simon Gascoyne (as played by Jackson Pound) has had an affair with both Felicity (as played by Anu Shukla) and Cynthia (the lady of the Manor played by Tom Bonomini). Every actor in this scene is committed, and it is loud, physical and vibrant. Tom and Anuj overact in the best sense of the word.

It is particularly hard to make overacting work and work well as an ensemble.

This was done expertly.

Arnav as Major Muldoon captures the spirit of an ageing man (whose wife has left him for a younger man) with skill and elegance. The play really begins to come alive in the interval, well, pseudointerval, as the metatheatre never ends.

Arie provides a lively and iridescent performance, losing himself in the character. His timing is impeccable, and his improv is brilliant, including the improvisation as he turned to ask an audience member if she believed in true love, eliciting the loudest laugh of the night.

This raucous comedy continues throughout the rest of the show.

Felicity comes alive in the second half

too, and the audience screams with laughter, as I have never heard in my life.

Shiv’s Inspector Hound has a massive stage presence, far more than his humble claims that he was feeling “fine”.

For the whole cast, their comedy is bouncy and brings out the farce far more than I could have hoped. Shiv and Arnav’s really solid timing is also noteworthy. With the reintroduction of Tom and Anuj, the play becomes incredibly physical, and the reaction to the death of Cunningham is when everyone truly commits. The whole cast is physical, and it is so very funny.

Finally, Arie and Tom are tied up, and we see Arie’s role shift from mostly sedentary to an immensely physical performance, far above schoolboy level, which leads to brilliant interplay with Theo as he comes alive in the pseudo-detective role. When the reveal happens, the real Inspector Hound is shown. And everyone begins to file out. Brilliant.

I’m left with a few feelings. One, to quote the reviewers from the play itself: “it was a rattling good night out” of vibrant and vivid comedy, expertly executed. However, the cast was a broad selection from the school community, the audience was the same, and the performance did a wonderful job of bringing together such different members of the school community for an evening of fun and humorously self-conscious theatre. ❚

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Drama

Oklahoma!: Director’s Notes Christian Anthony

In 1953, ten years after Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! premièred on Broadway, Gov. Johnston Murray signed a bill to establish the musical’s title number as Oklahoma’s official state song. It was felt the show had done much to erase the negative image created by Steinbeck’s 1939 novel The Grapes of Wrath, a Depression-era tale of working-class ‘Okies’ struggling for employment, land and dignity. By contrast, Oklahoma! was a bucolic folk drama about the settlers in the former Indian Territory as it stood on the brink of statehood in 1906; a hopeful, jingoistic entertainment for wartime audiences in 1943 (sixteen months after the attack on Pearl Harbour), the show quickly established itself as a paean to the American Dream.

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It has taken decades to acknowledge the fault lines that cut through one of the foundational texts of American musical theatre. Based on the 1932 play Green Grow the Lilacs by Lynn Riggs, Oklahoma! retains its predecessor’s subtle insistence that the myth of American moral superiority is reliant on the silencing of minorities. Riggs, a half-Cherokee gay man, understood more than most the pain of narrative erasure: “It isn’t surprising that my plays concern themselves with poor farmers, forlorn wives, tortured youth, criminals, slaves – with all the range of folk victimised by brutality, ignorance, superstition and dread.” Riggs’s play, and the musical it inspired, is set in a state where thousands of Cherokees had been forcibly rehoused at bayonet point by the Indian Removal Act, allowing settlers like Curly to snatch up abandoned territory after Congress

abolished tribal land ownership in 1887.

When the chorus sings, in Oklahoma’s title song, “We know we belong to the land / And the land we belong to is grand”, they reveal the cultural amnesia on which the American Dream is founded.

Curly and Laurey appear to be the Dream’s poster couple: his plan to “Buy up mowin’ machines [and] cut down the prairies” echoes George and Lennie’s ambition to live off “the fatta the lan’” in Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, while her shock at Ado Annie’s sexual

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exploits reveals a Puritanism that would please the Pilgrim Fathers. Yet the couple’s persecution of Jud muddies their credentials as moral arbiters.

What exactly is Jud’s crime? He is vilified as a sexual deviant (and, in the ‘Dream Ballet’, a potential rapist) for his possession of pornography, yet similar merchandise is peddled by Ali Hakim and purchased by Will Parker (who boasts of visiting Kansas City strip clubs). When Jud attempts to ‘hold’ Laurey on their date, she launches into a blistering attack on his poverty and fires him on the spot, yet Ali Hakim makes frequent passes at women without reprimand and Aunt Eller instructs Curly to “jist grab [Laurey] and kiss her” in order to make his feelings clear. When Jud and Curly brawl at the play’s climax, the text is silent on whether Jud’s death is accident or murder. Either way, the community rallies behind Curly and his claim of “self-defence”, locating in Jud an unspecified ‘otherness’ (sexual, social or racial) against which they choose to define themselves.

Oklahoma! was radical not only in its depiction of America’s moral duplicity, but in its wholesale reinvention of American theatre. Musicals were light-hearted and non-narrative, loosely constructed vehicles for dancing girls, singers and comedians, with the

Ziegfeld Follies as the gold standard of the genre. Productions such as Show Boat (1927), Of Thee I Sing (1931), and Pal Joey (1940), whilst experimenting with a more coherent narrative, had remained tied to the conventions of musical comedy. Billed as a ‘musical play’, Oklahoma! employed a popular score to tell a story with the psychological depth of opera, its lyrics acting as an extension of the dialogue.

Furthermore, Agnes de Mille’s choreography used dance not simply to confirm a character’s emotions but to uncover feelings previously unknown to them. A devotee of Freudian analysis, de Mille eschewed Hammerstein’s original proposition of a comedic, circus themed ‘Dream Ballet’ for something altogether darker: “[Laurey’s] frantic because she doesn’t know which boy to go to the box social with. And so, if she had a dream, it would be a dream of terror, a childish dream, a haunted dream.”

When Oklahoma! opened at the St. James Theatre in March 1943, it was an overnight sensation, running for a staggering 2,212 performances, before embarking on an international tour of 361 cities across a ten-year period, playing to a combined audience of over ten million people. The production was awarded a special Pulitzer Prize in 1944 and an album of songs, performed by

the original cast, was released on 78rpm records, the first use of this music-marketing method. Oklahoma!’s narrative structure and character types (the virginal A couple, the promiscuous B couple) would serve as the model for all subsequent twentieth century American musicals.

The “bright golden haze” that has continued to surround the show has not always clung to the state that bears its name. Today, Oklahoma holds the national record for the mass incarceration of women and comes close in levels of poverty, poor public health and a proclivity for anti-LGBT legislation. According to Frank Rich of New York magazine, “If you had to pick a state where the gap is largest between the supposed Great America of reactionary Trumpian political fantasy and a harsher American reality, it would be hard to top Oklahoma.” Eighty years on, perhaps the sagest lines in the show have nothing to do with corn “as high as a elephant’s eye” but are instead the ones quietly spoken by Aunt Eller at the play’s denouement: “Oh, lots of things happen to folks.

Sickness, er bein’ pore and hungry even…That’s the way it is – cradle to grave. And you can stand it…You gotta be hearty, you got to be.” ❚

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Drama

Red Room I directed the 2025 Viita Prize for Original Dramatic Composition, Red Room, written by Henry Smith. Over a period of 4 weeks, I worked with the writer, cast and tech team to create the final production, which was performed in the Milton Studio. I hope this article gives some insight into the behind-the-scenes work and process that went into the piece.

w/c 27th January Hangmen rehearsals are two weeks away. Out of the blue, I receive a WhatsApp from Henry Smith: “I know you’re pretty damn good at drama, and I’ve got a bit of a proposition for you.” Interesting. We meet in DR1.

He wants me to direct his Viita Prizewinning Red Room. Oh. This wasn’t my first encounter with Red Room, as I had read Henry’s Artefact – the Second Edition of the play – as part of my EPQ research. In all honesty, I had been hoping to get an acting role, but no problem. I delete my YouTube playlist of New York accent tutorials and Robert DeNiro interviews. All actors dream of becoming directors anyway, right?

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out ideas on the whiteboard until it almost looks like an insane asylum.

We decided on an unconventional ‘two-bank audience in the corner’ setup, inspired by Death Of A Salesman.

w/c 10th February It’s confirmed. I’m directing. Henry pulls me into an alcove in the Dorfmann and delivers the news, point-blank. I meet with Mr Anthony to discuss logistics and the roadmap for the coming months – nothing needs to happen immediately, but as soon as Hangmen is over, the process will ramp up.

An email just in. It’s Mr Anthony.

The first stage of the Red Room begins: finding actors. We’re instructed to prepare an audition extract as well as a notice to go on the drama board.

Henry picks out some sections of the script while backstage in the Hangmen rehearsal room; we draft a short synopsis and character descriptions and send it off to Mr Anthony.

w/c 10th March Henry and I meet in DR1 again, which quickly becomes a staple of Red Room brainstorming sessions. We talk about the design of the production. Henry has a slideshow prepared. It’s a mix of Se7en, Zodiac and 1950s New York at night. We talk about staging, sketching

w/c 17th March It’s Hangmen production week.

We have our first Red Room design meeting with Dan and Lauren. I’m not there, unfortunately, due to a German trip, but I got an email from Lauren detailing the set and props Henry asked for.

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w/c 24th March Audition week. Auditions are on Monday and Tuesday. For a cast of three, we receive five signups. Hm. That’s not great, but we can work on this. All the auditionees are great, which makes for a difficult decision on the final cast.

It’s Tuesday, and Henry spend another meeting in (surprise, surprise) DR1 deliberating the casting choice. On Thursday the cast is announced. We set up a WhatsApp group, appropriately titled ‘Red Room’. Our cast consists of some of St Paul’s most in-demand actors: Sam Steeden and Theo Katzenellenbogen, hot off a critically acclaimed Hangmen run, and Ravi Walker, of Oklahoma!, Stuff and Animal Farm fame.

We have our second production meeting. I manage to be there this time, and we discuss our staging and ideas for the aesthetic of the piece with Dan and Lauren.

Holiday: 31st March – 18th April The holidays. Our task now is to create a rehearsal schedule for the next few weeks and begin discussing our ideas for the play pre-rehearsals. I set the (slightly foolish) target for our actors to learn the first two scenes by heart.

Henry, less naively, suggests they also ‘familiarise themselves’ with the characters.

Having sent our list of set and props to Lauren, she compiles a Google sheet which is gradually populated with suggestions and photos throughout the holiday. The highlight is a periodaccurate swivel chair, which comprises the majority of our budget. w/c 21st April School begins on a Wednesday. We kick off rehearsals by tackling the first two scenes. Just under a fifth of the play is now on its – albeit unsteady – feet.

Lines are (predictably) shaky, but the character relationships and dynamics are quickly taking shape. A promising start to the process.

w/c 28th April Rehearsals are underway. It’s full on: we have five rehearsals in one week.

No rest for the wicked.

The staging, however, is proving problematic, and I resort to the triedand-true method of scrawling ground plans on various pieces of paper.

On Tuesday, I have a revelation – we move the desk out of the corner and into the centre of the stage.

Suddenly, it opens up a host of opportunities for the movement.

On Friday, I show Henry my poster mood board. My main inspirations are files from the FBI archives and the artworks of collage illustrator Cristina Couceiro. Henry approves, so I spend the weekend designing a mock-up of the poster. w/c 5th May The Monday bank holiday, annoyingly, cuts off the two (very precious) rehearsal slots where the whole cast is available. Irritating. Tuesday brings the ➦

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Drama Dinner but after that, we’re now free from the oppressive without the careful direction of Henry.

On Friday I scramble to arrange an ad hoc in-costume photoshoot of the cast to populate the poster. It’s not quite the cover of Vogue, but it’ll do.

Over the weekend I refine the poster and add in the actors. On Sunday it’s finished, and I share the preview with my friends, family and the cast, to positive feedback. w/c 12th May The poster is sent off to be approved

by Mr Anthony. On Tuesday the email is sent out to the school. Sam Christie and I run around the school putting up posters. Discussions are had over where best to place them. Every toilet in science receives its very own Red Room poster. Satisfied with the advertising campaign, it’s back to rehearsals.

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It’s our first fully Henry-free week.

We begin with two stagger (emphasis on stagger) throughs. Monday was meant – emphasis on meant – to be the line-learning deadline. A sheepish message pops up on the WhatsApp group; Theo hasn’t managed to learn all of his lines. A few hours later Ravi chimes in: “Ditto.” The joys of directing.

Big news on Wednesday – our first night has sold out. It just goes to show: the secret to selling out is just to get rid of a third of the capacity. By Thursday we’re fully sold out. “Nice,” Theo says on the WhatsApp, “Just gotta learn lines now.” I guess you can’t have everything.

Lunchtime brings the first actualisation of the tech – I meet with Lauren to write down all of the lighting states, and by Friday it’s ready to see. I make my way to the Milton during morning break to see the finished product. Alongside the set, the design is really starting to take shape.

18th May – Sunday Rehearsal A staple of the Drama experience, we arrange a Sunday rehearsal to refine the piece. We arrive at 10 o’clock and begin working through the scenes in chronological order, ironing out any kinks and problems. By lunchtime, I’ve filled an entire piece of paper with scrawling notes on everything from blocking to sock choices. We break for lunch – a meal deal, of course – before returning to change into costume and present a full run to Mr Anthony.

It’s going well. After just over an hour of an almost flawless run, we end the day emboldened for the week ahead.

19th May – Tech Rehearsal It’s the evening of the tech rehearsal – everything is coming together now.

The final pieces of sound are sent to Reuben, and then we’re ready. The tech runs smoothly, despite a few hiccups with the timings of doors, but otherwise, we are all set for the dress.

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20th May – Dress Rehearsal The nerves are setting in. Undeterred, we begin our warmup with some inventive new tongue twisters: “Red room, yellow room, red room, yellow room,” and “Bowling, Bolang, Bowling, Bolang.” We’re still looking into the trademark rights. Ravi’s got to leave early, so we speed through the dress as fast as possible. I have a few notes, but nothing show-breaking.

I begin working on the programme, inspired by the look of FBI official documents and officer memoranda. It’s got the title, cast list, and space for two paragraphs for Directors and Writers notes. I message Henry, asking if he might contribute something short and get to work on my section. A few hours later, I get a Google Doc in my inbox. ‘A note from the Writer.’ I open it and am greeted with 800 words of Henry Smith’s purple prose. Ah. I politely message him to ask whether he might consider cutting it down to a similar length to my 180, and wait.

21st May Henry sends me the abridged version of his note, and I finalise the programme.

We hold a quick lunchtime rehearsal in the Milton to lock down the lines for a particularly fast-paced scene. Although Opening Night is tomorrow, there’s an odd sense of calm among the cast.

22nd May – Performance 1 It’s opening night. We complete our warm-up, led by Ms Mazur, finish our “Bowling, Bolang” songs, and get ready for the audience. It’s an odd feeling being on the director’s side rather than the actor’s side – I take my seat next to Henry and wait. The play is now truly out of my hands and into the actors’.

The audience slowly fill up the seats until, at last, we’re ready. The lights dim, the fire announcement plays, and the play begins. In many ways, it feels more stressful than acting: I notice every slight blocking difference or line falter, and can feel Henry tensing up next to me. After a long hour, it’s over. I congratulate the cast. We’re halfway there. Notes can wait until tomorrow.

23rd May – Performance 2 A quick lunchtime rehearsal and then it’s after school in the Milton for notes. The majority are on lines and energy, and Henry gives us a rousing speech once the costumes are on. A final “red room, yellow room”, and the actors are taking their places. This time round, I try to relax – the audience reactions from yesterday reassure me that no one actually notices if Ravi doesn’t pick up a coffee cup on the exact cue I specified. One hour later, Henry is on the verge of tearing up with joy. The final performance could not have gone any better.

This piece is only a small reflection of the entire team effort behind this production, and it would be remiss of me not to mention all the other work that went into making Red Room what it is. I’d like to firstly thank Mr Anthony, for allowing this unique opportunity to student director, actors and playwrights; Reuben Ovington and Bolang Sun for their respective work on Sound and Lighting; Lauren and Dan for their consistently amazing work on the set, costume and general tech of the piece (even through the staging changes); Sam Steeden, Ravi Walker and Theo Katzenellenbogen for their incredible performances; Henry Smith for writing such a great script and the rest of the drama department for their contributions to everything drama-related at St Paul’s. ❚

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The Musical Year in Review MDW

Joint concert with SPGS

Autumn Term

Rehearsals for our Joint Concert with St Paul’s Girls’ School began in earnest from the first Sunday of term. Then, after a strong showing of some of chamber musicians and the Senior Jazz Combo at the Open Afternoon and a day of joint rehearsals, our Joint Concert musicians made their way to SPGS on Thursday 12 September for the Joint Concert. This year’s programme included the joint choir and chamber orchestra tackling Vivaldi’s Magnificat in G minor (with a solo turn from Sebastian Jarrett) and the joint symphony orchestra performing Florence Price’s Symphony No. 1, which was a revelation to many Paulines, especially those who’d performed Dvořák’s Symphony No.9 the previous year. It was a great pleasure for St Paul’s musicians to perform again in the SPGS Great Hall to a capacity crowd!

We welcomed Mr Alex Stobbs to the Music Department at the start of the year and before half term he’d already organised his first event, as our annual Piano Evening took place in the Wathen Hall. As always, it’s wonderful to hear the myriad talents of our pianists on the wonderful Steinway Model D. The audience was treated to everything from Bach, Prokofiev and Liszt to an etude by Philip Glass and contemporary Chinese classical music.

The Autumn Remedy featured the usual Strings Afternoon, led by Dr Evans and designed to give valuable ensemble experience to young people from 8 to 15. It is a wonderful partnership opportunity for SPS, SPJ and a number of local primary and prep schools. Once term recommenced, it was not long before our 6th form musicians took centre stage in the GCSE Composers’ Concert, led again by Dr Evans. This showcase of pieces invariably included a huge proportion of Minuets and Trios, the majority of which were played

beautifully by Mr Stobbs at the piano.

At the end of the same week, the Chapel Choir again led the school community in the annual Act of Remembrance out on Big Side, joined ably by the Recital Choir at SPJ. That weekend, jazz musicians took over the Pizza Express Soho jazz club on Sunday 10 November, giving a full house a real afternoon treat. Paulines also managed to put away copious amounts of pizza!

The November Ensembles Concert is always one of the highlights of the musical year. Apart from the huge diversity of the programme, it is a special event in that it is the first Jazz in the Atrium

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Ensembles Concert

opportunity many new pupils will have to perform in a St Paul’s concert. With 160 performers (a new department record!), it was a packed programme featuring a newly-composed work for the String Orchestra (his Barn Elms Variations), The theme from Shaft from the Swing Band and two ABBA numbers from St Paul’s Voices. The concert concluded with a medley of tunes from Les Misérables from the Wind Orchestra (featuring guest turns from Rohan Malhotra and Nima Daneshvar).

Autumn Concert

With barely enough time to take a breath, another major concert followed: the Autumn Concert, which provided a platform for the two senior orchestras and the Chapel Choir. Dr Evans conducted the Chamber Orchestra in a stylish performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No.2 and the Chapel Choir sang the Cantique de Jean Racine by Fauré (celebrating the centenary of his death in 2024), accompanied by Mr Stobbs with a very tasteful viola solo from Josh Ferro. The Symphony Orchestra opened with Saint-Saëns’

creepy and evocative Danse Macabre before Dara Daneshvar took to the stage to give a wonderful rendition of Elgar’s Cello Concerto. A standing ovation for Dara was richly deserved as he brought two years’ preparation to fruition in one of the absolute cornerstones of the cello repertoire.

Many of our key singers and musicians were involved in the dazzling performance of Oklahoma! in the Dorfman Theatre at the end of term, which was MD’d expertly by Mr Stobbs, featured Patrick Monro-Davies in a lead role and included a number of Paulines in the band (thanks also to Mr Lowes and Mr Curtis in the brass section!).

In addition, there were important turns

by Chapel Choir stalwarts Ravi Walker, Sebastian Jarrett and Sam Christie.

By the time the days were towards their shortest and December rolled around, the Advent Carol Service, led by the Chapel Choir, ushered in the last week of term, which concluded with informal Carols in the Atrium and the Open Mic event in the Foyer. ➦ 73

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Spring Term

We ushered in 2025 with two informal events that have now become part and parcel of our musical offer: A jazz pop-up set in the Atrium at lunchtime, and an informal Performance Platform after school in the Wathen Hall. The Chapel Choir joined with SPJ again to give evensong at Emmanuel College, Cambridge (taking time to check out the stained-glass window of John Colet in the chapel), followed by the Feast Evensong in St Paul’s Cathedral (where we were also joined by Paulina Voices from SPGS), which included a storming performance of Parry’s I was Glad. Tolga Mardin’s voluntary in the Cathedral (Vierne’s Carillon de Westminster) was particularly impressive. In between these two choral feasts, our string players collaborated with their counterparts at SPGS and SPJ in a Joint Strings Day hosted by St Paul’s Girls’ School.

Our annual Chamber Music Concert, preceded by a workshop given by the Alkyona Quartet (who have now become a regular collaborator in this fixture) was on 5 February. The concert featured a high-quality set of chamber performances involving strings and piano, and concluded with a side-byside performance of the first movement of Mendelssohn’s glorious Octet Op.20.

Here, the Alkyona Quartet were joined by senior string players Richard Eichhorst, Tolga Mardin, Josh Ferro and Dara Daneshvar. The first half of the Spring Term concluded with our chamber musicians competing in the South East Schools Chamber Music Competition and a Brass Masterclass as part of the Barnes Music Festival.

The masterclass was led by French Horn player Ben Goldscheider and was attended by SPS brass superstars Nayan Shah, Josh Knox and Ru Marcroft amongst pupils from other schools.

The action-packed second half of the Spring Term began with the increasingly popular Battle of the Bands, which was so popular it had to be moved to the Wathen Hall! Bands of all ages and experiences competed across both SPS and SPGS and was a testament to the burgeoning bands scene in the School: 74

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the Music School is often jam-packed with pupil-led rehearsals after school on Fridays!

Sunday 9 March saw the annual Music Competition again run as a festival over several classes in the Music School.

There were too many memorable performances to list individually, but the Junior Class victors were Hoa-Tinh Le (Piano), Jihang Xiao (Voice), Rohan Malhotra (Strings), Vivaan Sharma (Woodwind) and Nayan Shah (Brass).

In the Senior competition, winners were Shekhu Pillai (Piano), Louis Ferro (Voice), Richard Eichhorst (Strings) and Gabriel Gurdjian (Brass).

The back end of the Spring Term is always a sprint to the finish with events coming thick and fast. The A Cappella Concert (which featured performances by two SPGS close harmony group and three joint items) continues to grow and develop its collaboration with our sister school. The Baroque Ensemble accompanied our Choral Society in a concert of Bach and Purcell in SPGS’s Great Hall, featuring strong leadership and obbligato playing from Shekhu Pillai. The Barnes Festival Schools’ Concert (where St Paul’s Voices and SPS musicians performed alongside five local primary schools in a varied programme with literary connections) has been a long partnership with the School and culminated in a speciallycomposed new work on Old Pauline diarist Samuel Pepys. Sunday 23 March saw the now-legendary Jazz Set at the 606 Club. This latter event was the debut for a pupil-led Trio of Patrick Monro-Davies, Luka Tzvetkov and Louis Williams. All of our jazz groups were represented, culminating in a strong performance of Chick Corea’s challenging classic, “Spain”.

Such as busy term could only be properly rounded off with our second Ensembles Concert, which was kicked off in style by the String Orchestra (conducted by Rohan Malhotra) and featured performances by Clarinet Ensemble, Flute Troupe, Guitar Ensemble, Motley Croon and the ever-popular Recorder Ensemble. ❚

Battle of the Bands

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Spring Concert

Summer Term

The beginning of the Summer Term always begins at the same furious pace of the end of the Spring Term, as two major events need to come to fruition before Study leave kicks in for our 6th and U8th musicians. This year’s Spring Concert featured not just one but two complete solo showcases: Lawrence Ma performed Ibert’s dazzling Flute Concerto and Richard Eichhorst ran the gamut of expression on the violin in Chausson’s taut single-movement Poème. A Mozart Overture and two of Debussy’s Nocturnes filled out the programme by the two senior orchestras.

The Music Competition Final was adjudicated by Ralph Allwood MBE and was an extremely classy set of performances. Ultimate victory from those winners listed above went to the two pianists, with Hoa-Tinh Le and Shekhu Pillai picking up the Junior and Senior cups respectively.

A number of senior musicians and music award holders were involved in the culmination of the Jupiter Project, a partnership project led by SPGS. This initiative sees teenage mentors teaching primary school children the basics of an instrument (violin, cello, flute, clarinet or trumpet), culminating in a performance of a work written for them. The ten musicians involved in the project were a huge credit to the department and the SPGS music staff particularly credited Tolga Mardin for his leadership in workshops leading up to the final performance. ➦

Acopella Concert

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Charity Concert In June, around 130 performers in the Fourth, Fifth and Lower Eighth Form participated in the Charity Concert.

Among the many highlights were: the Junior Symphony Orchestra (pictured) playing Dvorak; the Colet Recorder Consort performing an Ariana Grande song, directed by Rohan Malhotra (YEAR); songs from Tolga Mardin’s new musical ‘The Birds’ sung by the Chapel Choir; and St Paul’s Voices in excellent form singing Bruno Mars’ ‘Forget You’.

Spring Concert

Before Half Term was upon us, the Chapel Choir again teamed up with SPJ to sing at Apposition Matins and the ceremony itself featured a moving solo violin performance by Richard Eichhorst and the Pin Stripe Trio provided jazz music during the drinks reception in Founder’s Court.

Rehearsals paused during Exam week after Remedy, but that weekend saw the second of our two Joint Strings Days with St Paul’s Girls’ School.

Towards the end of June, the Charity Concert, in aid of Nucleo (see article on the right), was an epic potpourri of musical items, including the massed Junior Symphony Orchestra in a rousing performance of some of Dvořák’s Slavonic Dances. Chamber items, St Paul’s Voices and a number of jazz groups all performed in this popular annual fixture.

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As the end of the year hoved into view, the annual OP/Leavers’ Concert that featured some wonderful returning musicians as well as some memorable final performances from leavers. This was the last time we heard Raphael Hibou’s clarinet, David Choi’s piano and Zach Tydeman’s trumpet, as well a number of other experienced chamber orchestral musicians. Some returning OP singers joined Mr Wilderspin and Mr Stobbs in a close harmony group and we were even able to field a Big Band and small orchestra!

The story of every musical year is of course unique, but you can always rely on the continued hard work, good humour and pride that Paulines bring to what they do. Every year, the senior musicians pass on that positive culture to those that join them and however the strengths and passions play out, the result is always very special ❚

Thanks to the generosity of those attending, the concert raised £1,374 for Nucleo, a charity which provides free immersive and life-changing opportunities for hundreds of children of all backgrounds to learn music in North Kensington. ❚

Thanks to the generosity of those attending, the concert raised £1374

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Music Society

Justin Li

Music society this year has been a centre for creativity and fun.

Throughout the year our members have been involved in a wide range of music from all around the world, from Russian piano music to K-Pop. Allowing members to deliver talks about subjects of their interest furthered their musical understanding beyond the school curriculum as well as growing their passion for music. Some talks this year include the Life of Prokofiev, Music and the Brain, and Types of House Music. Our members have a wide variety of interests that they are able to share to a welcoming audience every week.

Hosting various quizzes from time to time introduced a competitive aspect in which those with the broadest understanding of music really thrived.

Our loyal and supportive members were what made and will continue to make the society such an enjoyable endeavour, and I can’t wait to see what it has in store for next year. ❚

A Night of Jazz at the 606 Club In March, our jazz musicians performed their annual jazz set at the 606 Club in Chelsea. A packed house enjoyed performances from our Quintet, Combo, Swing Band, and Big Band, featuring tunes by Nat Adderley, Stanley Turrentine, and Henry Mancini.

Highlights included the debut of the Pinstripe Trio, a self-directed group from the Lower Eighth, who were overheard rehearsing in the department and invited to play; two powerful vocal performances from Austin, who joined

the Combo for two Stevie Wonder tracks; and the world première of a new composition by Nayan (Sixth Form), whose Fiesta Loca was performed by the Combo and will be included in his GCSE composition coursework.

By the time the Big Band brought the night to a close with Chick Corea’s fiendishly challenging Spain, the audience had experienced the full breadth of St Paul’s jazz and responded with enthusiastic applause. ❚

Lucas Tao re-creating his talk on the double-bassist Frank Proto. Rohan Malhotra was there in spirit!

Our members have a wide variety of interests that they are able to share to a welcoming audience every week.

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Bringing People Together Project Adam Zimmerman

Over the past year, I have had the privilege of working alongside four Lower Eighth students and the St Paul’s School Music Department in the Bringing People Together Project.

Inspired by the positive impact that playing musical instruments has had on my disabled younger brother, and by seeing how much we can learn from those who face daily challenges, I wanted to give others the chance to experience the joy of music and to encourage my peers to connect with and learn from children with different abilities.

This led me to create the Bringing People Together project: a partnership between St Paul’s School and Swiss Cottage School (a communitymaintained special school in the London Borough of Camden), supported by members of the prestigious Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE) who play on baroque instruments and were instrumental (if you pardon the pun) in organising and facilitating the project.

The project involved five Paulines participating in music workshops organised by the OAE at St Paul’s School and at Swiss Cottage School, working directly with students from two classes at Swiss Cottage School, and culminating in a final concert using Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” as inspiration.

Students from both schools and members of the OAE took part in the concert, performing to the Swiss Cottage School community (students, their families, and staff members).

Throughout the project, we were guided by members of the OAE who introduced us to the repertoire and trained us to play with differently abled children in a special-needs environment.

Over the course of two academic terms, about three times each term, the Paulines spent the day at Swiss Cottage 78

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School, allowing both groups to interact and build confidence and familiarity with the music for the concert.

In these sessions, we played music together, often on djembe drums. In one of our most memorable activities, we collaborated to write an original song as a group, with every student contributing their own ideas and elements to the composition. Makaton sign language was used throughout, transforming the singing into a multisensory experience, and making the music accessible and engaging for all participants. Each piece we played in the sessions was centred around a different season. This thematic approach made each session engaging and allowed the students to explore a wide range of musical moods and ideas.

Two culminating concerts took place on 28th March, with a large group of the OAE joining us, featuring over ten violins, a piano, and a harpsichord (among other instruments). In the first performance, we played to all the students and staff members at Swiss Cottage School. It was truly moving to see the children swaying in time with the music, each participating in their own way; some making joyful noises, others simply absorbing the atmosphere.

Highlights included a soloist performing excerpts from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, and a stop-motion animation about growth, created by the students themselves and accompanied by a beautiful, original piano piece composed

by Dominic O’Sullivan.

The second concert that day was for the parents of the students involved in the project, as well as anyone else who wished to attend. While the parents’ reactions were more reserved compared to the enthusiastic response from the children, it was clear that they were proud and delighted to see their children’s creativity and hard work showcased.

I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to everyone who made this project possible: Mr Wilderspin, Ms Devine-Douglas, Dr Evans, members of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (in particular Cherry Forbes and Raph Clarkson), my fellow Paulines (Botao Fan, Justin Li, Patrick Monro-Davies and Dominic O’Sullivan), the students and staff members of Swiss Cottage School, and the various anonymous donors. Their dedication, creativity, and support were invaluable at every stage.

I sincerely hope that this partnership continues in the future, as it has been a truly rewarding experience for all involved. It created enriching musical experiences for all students, bridging communities, and fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation for one another. In many ways, I believe the Paulines involved gained just as much from the project as the students at Swiss Cottage School. ❚

English

DEPARTMENTS

It has been another energetic and creative year of pupil contribution, both academic and co-curricular.

English Society has continued to flourish alongside Creative Writing Society, the Milton Prize essay competition, the Fourth Form Creative Prize, and the publication of Pandaemonium 2025. Alongside these regular fixtures of the departmental year, 2024/25 also included a joint conference on John Milton’s Paradise Lost with SPGS, as well as a number of literary theatre trips (albeit of varying, and at times questionable, quality!).

On the following pages are some reflections from the pupils involved in the department’s main societies, as well as a selection of the creative writing published throughout the year.

Senior English Society Freddie Hammond Giles

An Overview of the Year

Senior English society is as varied and unique as it is underground. Hosting talks ranging from an exploration of Lawrence Binyon’s fragmented manuscripts, discovered in our own archives, to a daring – and surprisingly successful – attempt to link dubstep with modernist literature, it has provided a space for innovative creativity and educated discourse throughout the year. All this has been enabled by the formidable efforts of Miss Warner, who has herself delivered a staggering volume of insight on Shakespeare, Ibsen, Strindberg, and many other writers.

Whilst niche, we are an inclusive society, and welcome talks from anyone who wants to disseminate and further explore their literary interests, and relish the informal tenor granted by a smaller group. The U8th began the year with a series of more formal lectures, Theo Frankel, Henry Smith and Fred Websper producing pieces on Binyon, Arthur Miller and medieval creativity. Theo concluded that Binyon was not only firmly modernist, but was actually directly praised by Ezra Pound, the figurehead of this anti-traditional movement. Henry followed a strand of masculine responsibility and guilt present throughout Miller’s works, culminating in a suicidal self-sacrifice in each of the plays inspected, and questioned what these endings could reveal about the playwright’s perspective on American society.

Fred examined presentations of gender and identity in medieval literature and art, tracing the roots of our questions around self-expression far back in time.

As the U8th’s contributions dwindled with A-levels imminent, the L8th stepped up, first with Sik Frydas’s audio-immersive intermingling of ethereal dubstep with TS. Eliot and Hope Mirrlees; an experience worth savouring, as he drew out parallels between their broad attempts to establish totally new genres, and even extracted direct links between the pieces’ tones. Freddie Hammond Giles provided an overview of and commentary on five of John Fowles’ works, focusing on his existentialist and postmodern sentiments and the issue of “authenticity”. Reuben Jones ended the year with an inspection of faith and doubt in Victorian literature, exploring a fascinating selection of extracts from Hardy’s Tess to Hopkin’s verse.

Senior English society is so important because of these talks, each week bringing detailed inquiries into entirely disparate topics. But alongside this erudite air and informative drive, the society affords an informal quality to wider reading and scholarship, especially refreshing in our competitive, academiaobsessed environment. Senior English Society, whilst small, has built a brilliant community with a blend of open dialogue, zeal and informative oration, which refreshes a dwindling space within our result-driven lives, a space the school would be far less rich and – as Fowles would say – authentic without. ❚

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The Milton Prize Essay Competition

Creative Writing Society

The Milton Essay Prize is awarded annually for an original piece of writing, in any form, that explores a connection between Greco-Roman antiquity and English literature.

There are two awards available for the best submissions from junior and senior pupils.

An Overview of the Year

This year saw a significant increase in the number of submissions from both Middle School and Eighth Form pupils, and the quality of entries made this a particularly tough year for the judging panel (Mr Taylor, Miss Warner and Mr Gardner).

Given the broad remit of the prize and the fact that all work is planned, researched, produced and submitted entirely independently, the range and quality of writing we reviewed was a genuine testament to the intellectual curiosity and An illustration from William Blake's work Milton, A Poem scholarship of the school community across year groups.

Our congratulations again to the winning and commended entrants listed opposite Middle School Highly Commended: Sammy, Assael-Francis (6th) for his essay on Derek Walcott and the post-colonial epic Shyam Janarthanan (6th) for his essay on Antony and Cleopatra and the divergence between Shakespeare and classical perspectives

Teddy Niedringhaus

Creative Writing Society has done nothing short of flourish in the 2024/25 school year. With membership increasing fourfold, and under the solid management of Mr Harris and the injection of fresh ideas from Miss Brennan, this should come as no surprise. Between the comedic stylings of President Teddy Niedringhaus’ seminal play, Guilty as Charged, and the endless fun that weekly challenges have provided, it is no question that Creative Writing Society is an institution here to stay.

Creative Writing Society encourages its members to think laterally, all the while providing room every week for creativity to prosper. According to regular member Luca Masera, “Creative Writing Society is the high point of my week.” And it is certainly true that we have one of the most dedicated membership bases in the school. Society members fondly remember when President Niedringhaus was sick, and still made sure to call in just to take part in the activities that week.

If one needs to witness the sheer ingenuity of our members, we have included an excerpt from an anonymous 5th former: “What is it for lunch? A timeless question, asked through millennia by many hundreds of scholarly philosophers, saints and rabbits. It is also the question we ask at 1:15 everyday, or whenever we are too hungry to continue. However, before that, greater genius is at play. In the short span of a single year, a society of two has grown to a society of 800 (divided by 100), and our merry band of travelling entertainers, misfits, and that other guy, have entertained emperors, laughed with kings, and disappointed our parents. How does creative writing make me feel? It makes you grow. It makes you feel alive, even when you aren’t. It is a gift to humanity, and through all the ups, downs and in-betweens, I have always been very grateful to be a part of it.”

Winner: Olly Zage (4th) for his essay exploring the influence of Virgil on the pastoral tradition in enlightenment England

Nothing short of brilliant. A fourth form regular at the society says:

Eighth Form Highly Commended: Ian Coates (U8th) for his creative adaptation of the story of Echo, from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Book III

“I was welcomed with open arms upon my first visit, greeted by those in years above who passed their wisdom on to me.

In my first year, I have made both friends and comrades.

We have been through cold winters and gruelling summers together, yet we continue to persevere. Not only has my creative writing improved, my love for it has grown.”

Michael Omondi (L8th) for his study of the influence of Greek antiquity on Marlowe’s Dr Faustus Winner: Freddie Hammond-Giles (L8th) for his essay on the evolution of elegy from classical to renaissance literature. ❚

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A note from Mr Harris: Creative Writing Soc will continue next year under the new (and most certainly improved) leadership of Dr Pryce. Anyone with an interest in writing is highly encouraged to attend! ❚

DEPARTMENTS

Pandæmonium & The Fourth Form Creative Writing Prize This year saw an unprecedented number of shortlisted entries to the Fourth Form Creative Writing Prize, a reflection of the exceptional overall quality of writing produced throughout the year. Released digitally at the end of the summer term and published in hardback this Autumn, Pandæmonium collates a selection of the best shortlisted, commended and prize-winning work by 4th Form pupils.

On the following pages is a selection from this year’s print edition, comprising two collections of poems and one prose entry.

A Scepter’d Isle

By Javey Johnson

Lochs and peaks The wind speaks in Gaelic, Though no one remembers the exact words— Only the hush of heather bending Like a prayer to the hills.

Rain arrives sideways Soft as breath on old stone, And the lochs Still as ancient glass Carry the weight of sky Without complaint.

A lone thistle Guards the path where no one walks, And bog myrtle perfumes the silence— A scent stitched into wool and memory.

Here, the past is not gone, Only folded into the folds of the land.

Crofts crumble but their ghosts stay To watch the sheep drift Like mist across the glen.

You do not conquer these places.

You arrive, you listen, And if you are lucky, You are allowed to leave Carrying just a little more Of what the earth remembers.

Where the shadows sleep The Fens, they stretch wide and still, Where the earth breathes beneath the sky.

Damp air clings to your skin And the wind carries the whispers of the past.

Reeds sway in rhythm with the pulse of the land, While birds glide above the lowlands.

Grey skies merge with the horizon; Untouched, endless.

And my footsteps once sank on the soft earth, As old canals once flew through.

Here, the land speaks in quiet gestures; Those which I may never hear again.

Pandæmonium 2025 – cover art by Ted Perrin

But one day, as I stand and look out on those fens That were once ripe with harvest, every September, They will stand barren, deserted. And those grey skies And quiet gestures will rise, and whisper all across the land: “This is a land of mystery, calm and deep, Where secrets in the shadows sleep.”

Londinium London begins in mist, In the hush of marsh and the murmur of the Thames, Where Roman boots once stirred the mud— Londinium, carved in stone and soldier’s breath.

The centuries crumble and shake in layers: Plague carts rattling through narrow lanes, Fire curling its fingers up St. Paul’s dreaming dome, Smoke-burnt and born again, A phoenix fed on soot and steel. ➦

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English

The Weaver of Kashan

By Ebrahim Gorjestani Dickens walks with ghosts in every alleyway, Factories churn and children cough.

In the belly of empire, Tea from India, sugar from Jamaica, A city built on distant sweat and silent ships.

Big Ben ticks through blitz and blackout, Bombs etch maps of grief into brick, And from rubble, a new skyline rises— Glass spires beside Gothic stone, Mirrors of the past refracting tomorrow.

Now, London buzzes with different energy; Here, a banker sips espresso beside a poet.

Here, love dances in drag through Soho ‘til 2AM Here, rebellion wears a Belstaff coat And protests for the poor in Parliament Square.

Carnival and chaos spills colour over the city While the Tube pulses with its stumbling drunks Beneath streets named for kings and queens.

Land’s End Devon unfolds in quiet layers— Hills that swell like slow breathing, Stone walls stitched into the earth By hands that have forgotten their names.

Rivers move through it With patient certainty, Carving through the green As if memory itself were water.

The coast arrives gently here, Soft cliffs and harbours where the boats Rock in conversation with the tide.

Villages lean into the land, As if trying to stay grounded While the wind tugs them seawards.

Crossing into Cornwall Feels like crossing into an older story.

The land sharpens— Granite rising from grass, Wind that carries the taste of salt and tin.

Ruins of engine houses cling To the cliffs, Watching the Atlantic with hollow eyes.

Here, stories come easier than facts— Giants, saints, smugglers, All walking beside you, Half-shadow, half-truth.

The moors are bare and full of voices, But never loud.

And at the end of it all— Land’s End. A place that names itself.

No pretension, Just rock and wind and sea All arguing over who was here first.

The path stops, But the world does not.

Only the land gives up.

You stand there Not at a finish, But at a beginning Too vast to measure.

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Carved from dust, devotion, and time, she sat – a cross-legged figure hunched over her loom. Her spine, bowed inward by the weight of something older than memory, compressed her slight frame. Pale, parchment-like, her skin was scored by the harsh scalpel of age and brushed by the sun in streaks of chestnut.

Her cheeks were hollow; her lips thin, crimson-hued, tightly pursed; her eyebrows arched, blackened, threadlike, framing eyes that held quiet, unwavering resolve. Tea-stained teeth, misshapen and discoloured, sat in gums like gravel in loose earth – relics of a life long endured. Fingertips mottled with dark dye, palms worn raw by the constant gripping, pulling and knotting of yarn, moved not with haste, but with the solemnity of a rite. Each knuckle, stiff and swollen, resembled aniseed balls pressed into gnarled hands – bursts of colour across the blank landscape of her skin.

Draped loosely over her gaunt frame was a chador, once a vibrant apricot, now dulled with time and gathered neatly at her slight waist – not merely a garment, but a companion, as much a part of her as the years it bore witness to. Beneath it, faint outlines of shoulders and ribs pressed gently against thin skin, a fragile latticework of bone and shadow. Her arms, sinewed and lean, moved not with vigour, but measured dedication. Her wrists were slender; her veins traced a faint map in olive below her skin. Legs folded beneath her, knees weathered and calloused bore the imprint of a life spent grounded, rooted like an ancient oak.

A crescent of hair, streaked with grey, hung over her brow, whispering tales of wear and seasons endured, delicate enough to fracture at the slightest touch. Her still eyes – a dim stormgrey – remained fixed on the loom, not in study, but in profound communion. A single gold earring hung from her left earlobe – worn thin with time, though never removed. Catching the faintest glimmers of light was the small, steadfast jewel within, tethered to memories she carried close. Time had not merely passed through her – it had taken residence, etched its name into her very being, and never once loosened its grasp.

An ocean thick with knots and secrets, the carpet stretched out before her – alive, waiting. Its base, an ultramarine so intense it swallowed light whole, cast a shadow where even the sun should have extended its hand, as if the colour itself refused illumination. Eyes, woven in crimson and ebony, lined the ornate edges – a pattern refined, intricate, balanced, yet obsessive. They were neither fully human nor entirely symbolic but gazed outward with an unnatural stillness, silently surveying the room. Wound among them, Damask roses bloomed in exquisite detail, the subtle blush of their petals distinguished against the dark backdrop, their leaves glossed in jade. Silken threads caught muted flutters of light, a delicate glimmer of life amidst decay. Beneath all, the wool – firm and substantial – held not only the weight of material, but the weight of memory, of something concealed too long. It was unyielding to her touch, dense as packed earth, as if it had matured through centuries since being shorn.

The heart of the carpet revealed a water lily, fashioned from the finest taffeta of pearlescent peony hue, and enriched with amaranthine, ivory, and orchid detailing. Its lustrous, opalescent sheen captivated the eye, a vision of opulence, gently softened by its dissolution into tentative threads still unspun. At one end, tassels hung, some tightly braided, others cascading in an uneven array, curling as though stirred by

DEPARTMENTS

Four Ekphrastic Poems

By Sehwan Lim spirits. One wore a faint smear of vermilion – whether accidental or intentional was unknown. They had been produced with a discipline so exacting it bordered on madness, though some still awaited completion.

It felt not like a possession, but a presence – one not merely crafted, but conjured. It did not move, nor speak. Yet in its half-complete stillness, it breathed. It was not finished, but it had begun with purpose.

Possessing the stillness of a womb, her workshop embraced her with a cloistered warmth – a sanctum impervious to season, sealing her within its familiar, insulating hush. The uneven plaster, once gleaming white, had become tinged with a smoky shroud; its surface was defined by cracks, where shadows accumulated like sediment. Beams of faded umber, thick with age, roughened by neglect, had a grain fractured and split, as though etched by the hand of time itself. From them hung skeins of silk, yarn, cotton – a medley of rich burgundy, dulled saffron, oxidised jade, hues once radiant now rendered mute beneath a mask of settled dust.

The last aureate rays of the setting sun slipped through a high lattice window, with a rudimentary floral design, casting hazy shafts of light illuminating the silent ballet of fibres suspended in the air. External sounds – the bustle of the market, the clatter of wooden carts, even the call of the muezzin – filtered through as muted echoes, as if the world outside were submerged. The front door, hewn from pistachio wood and tarnished to a deep, glowing patina, wore geometric patterns now softened and blurred by countless touches. Memories, redolent of faded rose petals, bitter walnut husks, and the metallic tang of copper pots and rusted iron, clung to the air, leaving a tinge of their taste upon the tongue.

Nothing was out of place. Everything bore signs of wear.

Tools were arrayed with meticulous alignment: combs for carding wool, burnished bones for tamping knots, knives honed so finely their edges seemed theoretical. Shelves, burdened with the weight of time – much like her tired shoulders – bent under the passage of countless years of service. They were lined with rows of glass vials containing powdered pigment, curled bark, tufts of wool wrapped in yellowing parchment, desiccated blossoms, and dried herbs. Candles, cradled in recessed alcoves, flickered without a draft – their frames vertical and motionless, their glow subdued.

At the centre of the workshop stood the loom, constructed from the finest teak, its surface darkened by centuries of touch, its joints carved with symbols now worn to near erasure. It was more than an instrument – it was a shrine of memory, a shrine of labour. Beneath it, the floor, a patchwork of terracotta tiles, held the scuffs and imprints of extended use, corners chipped like the edges of a worn coin.

Time had not simply lingered here. It had entombed itself within the walls, clinging with grave intent. ❚

The following four poems are a set of ekphrastic works inspired by the art of Paul Gauguin produced during his stint in Polynesia, specifically Tahiti and the Society Islands.

Gauguin has been the source of much controversy, especially recently, with critics often claiming that he spread syphilis across the island, held misogynistic views, and was no better than his colonial forebears. On the other hand, many of his actions were certainly not unusual for the time, often following local customs, and some of his works, including ‘La Orana Maria’ which I have written a poem about below, were even considered quite progressive for the time. Indeed, the Catholic church did not allow such a depiction, with a Polynesian Mary and a Polynesian Christ, until 1951, a full 60 years later. Quite fittingly, the cultural synthesis has spread into the Tahitian language, with Ia Orana Maria, meaning literally ‘we greet thee Maria’, now coming to mean simply ‘hello’.

Gauguin’s main theme in Tahiti was the synthesis of cultures, blending Christian religious motifs (though those began to take on a lesser role in some of his later works), with Polynesian beliefs and symbols. For example, his painting ‘Tehamana has Many Parents’ depicts his subject in churchgoing clothes, with a traditional Tahitian fan in her hand, and a mural of Hina, the goddess of the moon in the background, which was ultimately based on Javanese and Hindi iconography.

I have chosen to use a traditionally French metre, the Alexandrine, with Tahitian motifs from my research to represent this. Moreover, Gauguin demonstrated a great appreciation for Tahiti. His painting ‘Matamoe’ depicts an idyllic Polynesian scene, with the axe-bearing figure based on a person he saw chopping coconut wood in real life.

It has been translated as many different things, including, but not limited to, ‘In the Olden Times’, ‘Once’, and ‘Wanderer’, leading some to simply call it ‘Landscape with Peacocks’, which, while factually accurate, doesn’t convey the same meaning as Matamoe.

I conducted a little bit of my own research into this matter, consulting a Tahitian-English dictionary, which on page 137 lists Matamoe as ‘stranger’ or ‘to be drowsy’. I have thus added ‘Drowsiness’ to the list of possible translations of the word.

Gauguin’s self-described masterpiece came with ‘D’où venons-nous? Que sommes-nous? Où allons-nous?’, an existentialist inquiry into some of the most fundamental and grappled-with questions from human history. Following non-Western tradition, it depicts a community from birth t o death in a right to left fashion, with a figure resembling Eve from the Book of Genesis as the primary focal point.

It is also the largest of Gauguin’s works, but was completed in a rather short period of time. After completing this piece, as the story goes, Gauguin attempted to commit suicide with arsenic, but swallowed too much, causing his body to vomit it up. ➦ 83

English

Paul Gauguin, la Orana Maria

Paul Gauguin, D’où venons-nous? Que sommes-nous? Où allons-nous?

D’où venons-nous? Que sommes-nous? Où allons-nous?

(Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?)

Ia Orana Maria (Hail Mary (lit. We Greet Thee Maria))

In the beginning, there is nothing.

Then, the dark silhouettes of scalloped tree trunks bearing bushes of leaves Mingled with the formless night, In the faintest glimmer of an earthy sun.

The silence of the stream, and the soothing of the stones, In a stew of black and white and every shade in between.

Ia Orana Maria!

What lies beyond the mountains, sombre, cloaked in shadow?

What is the Holiness of this land? Whose silent name perches like a butterfly on your wearied lips? Who speaks to you?

Who do you speak to?

You wear a shallow halo; a string of gold that identifies you as the Madonna In hibiscus-red, God-bearer, Theotokos on grass so green!

Yet, you carry not firmament blue, rather dove feather on red cotton.

The crash of waves, the grating and rattling of the noddy’s call, leave you unfazed as you Smile a sweet Tahitian smile.

The humid breath of the hound, The affectionate gazes; meaningless with feeling And the honey-sweet warmth, in the salty blues, gently caressing; Caressing with sweat-dew, primal and primitive, Soft majesty of sounds, scents and sentiments, Soon to be forgotten!

Turning us away from terra rubra.

We unknot our hair, Huddling by sickly cats and patient goats.

Leeching on the fruit of others’ labours.

Never looking back, Never turning back To see the tangles in front of the rocky atoll.

Our shells are comforted by the presence of others, Yet still, absence exists: The empty sea, the empty silence, the empty sky!

We name a moonless night ‘new’, But moonless nights are dead.

Murdered by the absence of light, We mortify ourselves in the absence of certainty.

The only certainty is parchment skin, Contemplation, Holding your face in your hands, wondering on the worship of idols and the great blue beyond, On futility, Considering before a last glimmer of yellow on the ocean deep, Where do we come from?

What are we?

Where are we going?

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You are the God-bearer: But I cannot comprehend! that you are Holy, Maternal, tied to Christ when you walk barefoot by tropical fruit.

Ia Orana Maria!

Pray for us! that Palms gently touching each other in knotted resolve; We would be the pious, the devoted, the faithful!

We, clad in simple pareus and the fine crystal of salt; We would be the clean of heart, the meek, and the merciful!

Ia Orana Maria!

Ia orana Maria, Maria.

Ave Maria!

Ave Maria!

DEPARTMENTS

Paul Gauguin, Merahi metua no Tehamana

Paul Gauguin, Matamoe

Merahi metua no Tehamana (Tehamana has many parents)

Matamoe (Death/Autrefois/Once/Wanderers/Strangers/Drowsiness, otherwise Landscape with Peacocks)

Tehamana, do you know who stands on your wall Like a lighthouse made of clay in a dusty night, Who, from a canoe, weathered most violent squalls, With arms outstretched like a skylark singing in flight!

Tehamana, do you know the identities, Of those golden temple glyphs that sway and leap As the two-headed serpent bites, the palm pities The faithfuls’ plight and the worshippers fall asleep?

The fruit of the trees, the salt of the breeze; colour, That like a feathery blanket wraps around your skin, Tastes sweeter than a durian, with all its odour Bringing up bile like a viper’s venomous sting.

For to feel the salt of the breeze soothing the tip Of your nose as you bask in radiant sunlight, You must know the chorus of every hieroglyph, And understand Hina, the goddess of moonlight.

Tehura, I must be frank, we are tomb looters, Mavericks that have consigned Hina to a mural, Destroyed Eden on Earth! We are the executors!

So farewell, church-goer, in tiare floral.

I beseech thee – Where is the death in paradise?

What havoc? What sickness? What war?

All pain has been plucked in fiery pizzicato from the very jute of this canvas!

As the diseased tree is felled by the labourer with an axe.

Instead the watchful eyes of the peacocks are transplanted Onto the resplendent magnitude of hills rising high, Seeking a shadow of heaven, A fiery wisp flowing like the Phlegethon.

Perhaps the death is within: Fragments fade away as we look on the face of paradise and lose the world before.

These men are but little lines in the presence of a little mountain; So what must we be if not aimless wanderers on the surface of this land and ocean wide, Estranged in our own homes?

A silent euphony of sunset and sunrise, cool shade and warm light, The exotic that is our own?

What is matamoe?

A dream? A stranger?

A death too beautiful to name? ❚

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Economics The department has welcomed one new teacher this year, Ollie Fernie, from Epsom College, and is lucky to have his expertise applied to the subject as the school’s Director of Digital Learning & Innovation.

Partnership events Economics Trading Day within the West London Partnership The trading simulation had three groups: miners, car companies, and banks. Live news updates were added to affect the price of the materials traded, and teams aimed to maximise their revenue. Teams often used profit satisficing to determine their prices and ensure trading volumes remained high across each round. Teams, which were made up of 8 pupils from all the different partner schools, reflected that communication and agreement on their strategy were the key to success. ❚

Economics Joint Revision Day, Fulham Boys School Sam Schmitt and Nicholas Hazell, HoD Economics (SPGS), co-presented to Year 13 pupils from Fulham Boys, Hammersmith Academy, Putney High School, and Kensington Aldridge Academy to aid revision before the start of the Easter holidays. Although SPS pupils could not miss lessons to attend, the resources made were shared and used in revision lessons. ❚

Eton Group Meeting HoDs from the West London partnership were invited to network over lunch with HoDs from the Eton Group hosted at St Paul’s. An afternoon talk on the outlook for the UK Economy was given by Keith Wade, chair of the NIESR Investment Committee, private wealth manager advisor, and previous chief economist at Schroders. ❚

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Horizon magazine Ryan Gonsai, current U8, started a termly economics newsletter last year, which has been taken over by Aditya Akella and Leonardo Bertolo in the L8. The first edition, available on the co-curricular hub, has articles from L8 pupils and one 6th Former, Yichen Yao, on the problems of state secondary education. He argues grades can mask the weak performance in exams, such as OCR Maths, where a grade 4 is 42/300. Reforming the teaching labour market, improving parental involvement, and following successful model schools, such as the Michaela Community School, are suggested. Ian Stephankis wrote on the multilateral trading system and its move away from an agreed set of rules. The breakdown of the appellate body, use of national security exemptions, and China’s subsidies, joint ventures, and intellectual property abuses are all cited as threats to the current system.

The second issue was produced in conjunction with SPGS and printed thanks to the generosity of the Old Pauline Club Trust, so physical copies could be distributed to all economists as well as more widely. Dominic O’Sullivan argues that behavioural economics is a more useful tool to understand the actions of investors and households in crises, such as the GFC, when biases, shorttermism, herding, and loss aversion make rational action unlikely. Keisha Kwok goes further and argues behaviour in an economic system is better understood through entropy and dynamic interactions, citing Duncan Foley’s Information Theory and Behaviour (2017), and the idea that the market can display a distribution of different prices. ❚

DEPARTMENTS

L8 Internal Competitions Discuss whether the free market can solve climate change The L8 entered individual literature reviews and group videos into this microeconomics competition (January 2025). This provided an opportunity for pupils to research new topics and theory independently from more advanced sources, as well as to learn to collaborate and to find creative ways to explain new and challenging ideas through videos. Prizes were awarded for the best overall videos for each block of four classes as well as for creativity, quality of analysis, and evidence use. When the year group was polled, only 7% felt it could, and 50% thought significant government intervention was required. The following word cloud shows the factors they thought most prevented a solution:

Forty videos were entered for the three teachers (NS, OMF and SS) to review. Arav Goel, Andrew Berko-Boateng, and Kai Szerkowski won best video from LEc.4 – 8, with 85% of the vote, and impressed with their ability to use role play, diagrams, data, and concise analysis. ❚

L8 Macro Academic Research Poster Project The L8’s second independent research project (April 2025) was to produce an A2 poster that answered one of three questions: policy learning from the Great Depression in response to the Global Financial Crisis; policy learning from stagflation in the late 1970s in comparison to high UK inflation in 2022; and finally, comparative policy successes in response to Covid in the UK against another country of their choice. Part of Darius Ghaffarpour’s poster is below, which explores Milton Friedman’s policy ideas in response to stagflation. ❚

Junior Economics This society has now turned three years old and provides a weekly programme of talks each Wednesday lunchtime for 5th and 6th Form.

Paul Lee, Aditya Akella, Dominic O’Sullivan, and Ariv Negi have been the driving force behind this. A wide variety of L8 presenters have given talks, but Paul Lee, a loyal attendee in the 6th Form, has led by example. He started with introductory talks on the pros and cons of regulating the informal economy, before moving on to more abstract and complex topics. His final talk was based on his EPQ project: Do financial markets follow the efficient market hypothesis given the rise of narratives on social media? Other notable talks have been from Dariush Ghaffarpour, on the economic and political impact that Tesla plays in Europe; from Ariv Negi, on the use of game theory to understand decision making; from Amar Ali, on whether the UK’s industrial revolution provide ideas on future growth opportunities for the economy; and finally, from Schlok Poddar, on Adam Smith’s key ideas and how they apply to the current capitalist economic system. Thank you to all L8 who have given up their time to research and teach new pupils about their interests. ❚

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External competitions Economasters Essay Competition Harry Pallent was the winner, and Avinash Ehathasan was highly commended for their essays: Should heavier people pay more for their airline tickets? Harry concludes that ‘smaller airline companies may benefit much more…, as heavier people may cause a significant proportional increase to the plane’s weight, [and] a 4.5kg increase in the average weight of passengers would force 160-seat planes (such as the Airbus A320) to fly with eight less passengers on short-haul flights…[and that there would be] less logistical difficulty in weighing heavier passengers before the flight. Avinash agrees that it can help ‘combat obesity’, because consumer short-sightedness and loss aversion need ‘nudges’ to correct this, but both are concerned over the impact of the policy, risks of discrimination, and the way different income levels may make this impractical and ineffective. ❚

Fitzwilliam College Land Economy Essay Competition 2025 Harry Pallent and Avinash Ehathasan both entered this essay competition. Harry wrote on: ‘The Right to Buy scheme must be scrapped to ease UK social housing crisis.’ Discuss. He argues the ‘scheme has been relatively inconsequential in recent years, and so scrapping the scheme will not prove majorly advantageous to solving the UK’s social housing crisis; any harms caused by the scheme have already been inflicted, and scrapping the scheme will fundamentally not resolve these issues.’ ❚

John Locke Institute

Minds Underground and Immerse Education Essay Competition

At the time of writing, 63,000 entries had been made for this global competition, and the following economics questions were asked: Q1. What kinds of behaviour are engendered by the hope of profit? Is such behaviour better or worse, on balance, than the behaviour we should expect if all enterprises were owned by charities or governments? ​

Dominic O’Sullivan entered both competitions, writing on ‘How do behavioural economics challenge economic theories?’ and ‘Discuss whether the free market can solve climate change?’ respectively. ❚

Q2. What will be the effect on socio-economic mobility of the UK government’s plan to impose value-added tax on school fees? ​ Q3. S hould Oxford lower its admissions standards for the sons and daughters of generous benefactors?

Sebastian Jarrett wrote on the latter. He concludes: …despite some of the short-term financial gains, it is clear that Oxford should not lower its standards for the children of generous benefactors. Regardless of funding pressure, allowing wealth to overrule merit destroys the very principles that higher education was built upon…Even from a moral standpoint, it is clear that this would decrease Rawlsian fairness and change Oxford from a provider of equal opportunity to a gatekeeper of education and knowledge.

Moreover, the reputational costs and their knock-on effects are equally damaging…Therefore, maintaining academic meritocracy is not only ethically right but also necessary.

Oxford’s global standing and prestige are built on excellence and not transactional privilege. Preserving this value ensures that higher education maintains its role… ❚

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Geography

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The 2024-25 academic year has been jam-packed with a huge range of trips and enrichment activities within the department. This year, the Geography Conference returned with an excellent conference on Artificial Intelligence and Geography, which was attended by pupils, parents, as well as guests from partnership schools and SPGS. Outside the classroom, over 250 boys engaged in field trips with the department this year, and our regular Monday night lecture trips to the Royal Geographical Society were more popular than ever before.

Field trips The department ran six field trips over the course of the year with boys undertaking fieldwork on a range of different processes and geographical dynamics The L8th travelled to the sublime River Tillingbourne on a warm November day and were able to get up close and personal with the laws of hydrodynamics, some wet feet didn’t deter the enthusiasm. In February, the same group were able to walk transects across the boroughs of Central and East London to explore the everchanging socio-economic landscape of their own city, enjoying spectacular views from the top of the Walkie Talkie and the TFL Cloud cable car.

In October the sixth form visited Nine Elms to investigate urban regeneration and in doing so were able to visit the regenerated Battersea Power station, their fieldwork projects led to them conducting environmental quality surveys, land use surveys, land value surveys and questionnaires which led to a thorough understanding of the dynamic urban processes operating in this changing part of the city. The department then spent two sunny days with the fifth form in Richmond Park, where we were able to undertake a range of fieldwork activities testing the characteristics of the ecosystem whilst exploring the biodiversity and impacts of human management. ❚

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Royal Geographical Society Trips This year saw the perpetuation of the hugely successful half-termly RGS Monday Night lecture trips. These provided fascinating enrichment opportunities for all boys studying Geography to hear from world experts on a range of key geographical issues at the Royal Geographical Society in South Kensington.

Particular highlights this year were: ‘Our changing climate: why does 1°C matter?’: Professor Ed Hawkins revealed how just a 1-degree change in global temperatures has a profound impact on our planet.

‘Pristine seas: the last wild places in the ocean’: Enric Sala brought stories from the National Geographic Pristine Seas expeditions and delivered a fascinating talk on how ocean life is at risk from overfishing and global warming, as well as tales of a few remote locations that have been saved from destruction.

‘Mapping the world’s rivers, estuaries and deltas’: processes, landforms, stressors and developing solutions with Professor Steve Darby and Professor Jim Best.

‘Land Smart’: BBC and Sky journalist Tom Heap argued how we need to urgently change our relationship with the land.

Geography and AI Conference This year’s Geography Conference saw over a hundred guests, including pupils, parents, and partnership schools, hear from a fascinating range of speakers in the Dorfman Theatre on the role and impact of AI in the realm of Geography.

This year’s conference was introduced by the academic, broadcaster and former politician Rory Stewart with a panel of experts including: Dr Matthew Blackett, an Associate Professor in Physical Geography and Natural Hazards, discussed the role of AI in volcano prediction.

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Kabir Bawa is an OP who has worked at the Conservative Research Department and led political data work at CCHQ. Kabir discussed the changing role of AI in International Relations and conflict zones.

Rutendo Chabikwa, a DPhil candidate at Oxford University, led us through the complex intersections of AI, Gender and Development in Africa with recommendations for future progress towards future policy directions.

Essay Competitions This year, we had a strong field of entries for the annual internal essay competition, which was on the theme of public policy solutions. Henry Whittaker (L8th) was awarded the prize with an excellent essay on the implications and proposed solutions of the urban heat island in London.

We particularly liked the way Henry drew on an issue that often goes under the radar in urban areas and that had a direct multi-strategy solution.

We also commended the detailed level of research that went into this response, which was so clearly referenced. An extract from this essay with one of his proposals is below: “Nature-based solutions are the single most effective way to mitigate the UHI effect in London as they are effective, scalable and relatively inexpensive.

For example, the Kilburn and South Hampstead Area (38% vegetation cover) experienced 7 °C hotter temperatures than Regent’s Park (89% vegetative cover) (Arup). Therefore, one of the most effective London-based naturebased solutions is for the government to encourage the proliferation of urban gardens. The vegetation that urban gardens contain absorbs a lower proportion of insolation than concrete or asphalt. This can result in temperature reductions of 2-3 °C, as demonstrated at a school (FT). In addition, over half of the space in London (including roofs and streets) is open space (Arup), which provides a huge opportunity for use.” ❚

GeogSoc Committee This year has been extremely eventful in the world of geography, and GeogSoc has (hopefully) reflected that. Over the course of the Autumn, Spring and Summer term, the world has experienced countless natural hazards and geopolitical crises and GeogSoc has strived to tackle them all with the new Committee consisting of James Hammond, Corman Boden, Luka Tzvetkov, Henry Whittaker, Luca Tresigne, and Oscar Suarez!

We have had several very insightful external speakers into GeogSoc this term. Our highlights have been, Maria Whittaker, the Chief Corporate Responsibility officer for Avianca and GOL airlines, who delivered a fascinating talk on the Sustainability of the aviation industry including decarbonisation, and careers within the industry. Furthermore we were extremely grateful to have (OP) Jonny Walker, a Former Morgan Stanley research analyst and now Sustainable Investment Manager BGO, give a talk in partnership with VentureSoc on sustainable investing.

He offered key insights into the impact sustainability and social

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perception can have on brands, citing the fast fashion industry, and how that can impact investment decisions.

In addition to this we have had many interesting internal talks and discussion from geographers at St Paul’s. In light of recent global developments and events GeogSoc has often tackled numerous geopolitical topics. In (what seems like years ago) September, GeogSoc had an extremely engaging discussion on the future of geographical issues such as migration, in relation to the US Presidential election, and even successfully anticipated a Trump victory.

Furthermore Henry Whittaker and Charlie Pye, delivered a captivating talk on the geopolitics of the arctic, highlighting the uncertainty and potential tensions in the future, as ice continually melts. Most recently GeogSoc has engaged in debates surrounding the Iran-Israel conflicts and involvement of the US, pondering the geographical ramifications of any escalations including the catastrophic impacts of Iran blocking the Straits of Hormuz on the oil market and entire world.

Whilst geopolitics has been a strong theme throughout this year, GeogSoc has also delved into other subject matters. As part of celebrating LGBTQ+ history month, geographers examined the history of conflicts and rights surrounding LGBTQ+ individuals, and identified global patterns and variations in those rights. Additionally we have hosted incredible talks on natural disasters, examining the causes and consequences of the shocking LA wildfires, and Turkish earthquakes.

Cormac also delivered an extremely impressive and technical talk on the earth’s core and introduced cutting-edge geographical concepts and theories.

Finally, the geography society has been extremely lucky to receive a grant from the Old Pauline club. A team of L8th geographers have been assembled and

will embark on an ambitious task to create GIS (geographic information systems) maps detailing the site of St Paul’s, from flood risk, to land use, to biodiversity – very impressive considering the software and skills used would only normally be accessible to students at university level!

As clearly seen, it has been a busy year for GeogSoc and St Paul’s Geographers, and we hope to come back in September with a fresh mind and the strength to tackle the future geographical issues of the day. ❚ 91

History

Review of the Year

For pupils, the academic year begins in September, but for staff it starts in mid-August, when results are released.

Results are not everything – and, as will be shown below, they are only a small part of life at St Paul’s – but they do still matter.

In 2024, they were spectacular. Fully 53% of A level candidates were awarded an A*, the second-highest proportion in the country. IGCSEs were similarly strong: 77% secured Grade 9s, and 93% achieved either an 8 or a 9. For the first time since the introduction of numbered GCSE grades, the History Department outperformed the School’s average. These outcomes are a testament to the magnificent efforts of both pupils and staff.

Aarav Kurdikar – who, for reasons some of his contemporaries and teachers found difficult to fathom, had developed a real interest in the premiership of John Major – wrote a quite brilliant essay on the extent to which it is possible to write the history of the recent past.

The Pauline’s censors forbid me from including great chunks of it here, so you’ll have to take my word for it (and the endorsement of the High Master) that it was very good.

While (to the frustration of many a Pauline) exams require a degree of hoop-jumping, essay competitions do not. Here, creativity and originality are rewarded – and this year, they were rewarded in spades. Four separate Upper Eighth pupils secured commendations in the Julia Wood Competition, and we saw similar success in the High Master’s Essays.

In October, 32 Paulines travelled during Remedy on a grand tour of the United States, on a joint History and Politics trip. The itinerary drew on the expertise of Professor Irons, who gained his many degrees at the University of Virginia and later taught at Elon University in North Carolina. The tour began in an eerily quiet Washington DC, vacated by representatives heading home to

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campaign for re-election. But this presented other opportunities – not least the chance, for a small group and one rapidly ageing staff member, to slip out before sunrise for a run around the city, culminating at the Lincoln Memorial to watch the sun rise. The peace was broken only by the gasps of exertion from Alpha types working out at full pelt on the memorial’s steps, before presumably jogging over to the White House to carry on running the world.

After DC, we took a less well-trodden path, travelling through Virginia and North Carolina before ending in Georgia.

The highlights were many and unusual.

We squeezed in a trek up Humpback Rock – Mr Garnett loving every minute – amidst the splendour of Virginia’s autumn leaves, and managed a visit to Monticello, where Thomas Jefferson, resurrected from the dead by an actor, was grilled mercilessly by inquisitive Paulines. Against the beautiful backdrop of the University of Virginia campus, we played a chaotic nighttime game of frisbee golf, with Professor Irons and friends serving as our enthusiastic guides. In Richmond, North Carolina – capital of the former Confederacy – Ed Ayers, a historian of national repute, gave us a masterclass on the American Civil War. Even in the searing southern heat, the planned hour ran to nearly two, with questions following questions.

What a treat to be in the hands of a master of his craft.

As ever with trips, it’s the unusual moments that prove most memorable.

You would think, days out from the 2024 election, that the frisson and buzz of a tightly fought, high-stakes contest would be the lasting impression.

(Although, writing this in June 2025, Trump’s victory now feels oddly inevitable – a narrative perhaps reinforced by the recent release of Original Sin.) But I suspect the moment that will stick in many boys’ minds is

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our visit to Chick-fil-A headquarters in Atlanta. As well as a tour and a photo opportunity on the famous red sofa, we were treated to a working lunch in a cafeteria that must rank among the finest in the world.

Not content with an Eighth Form trip, we also took forty Fifth Form pupils to Germany at Easter. In an actionpacked itinerary, we covered Munich, Nuremberg, and Berlin in under four days. Dachau, our first stop, was humbling and awful – a reminder, if one were ever needed, of the importance of studying the past. Nuremberg is now much-destroyed or run-down (one grand avenue has been turned into a car park), but it still conveys an eerie sense of the power and allure of the Nazi regime, and the destructive vanity of unchecked ego and megalomania.

Berlin remains unrivalled as a city that tells the story of the twentieth century. The scars and quirks of history are everywhere. Some boys wisely purchased “genuinely authentic, sir” pieces of the Berlin Wall from honestlooking street sellers; others picked up books from the Topography of Terror.

All left with a greater appreciation for the importance of our subject.

On the domestic front, things were continually busy. January brought ten offers from Oxford and Cambridge – although, in a sign of the times, many

are taking up places at Ivy League institutions instead. (My thanks to the whole department for supporting the pupils, and especially to Mr Garnett for overseeing HAT preparation in the Upper Eighth.) We welcomed speakers and scholars galore. Dan Jones came to road-test his Henry V thesis on a Pauline audience; Michael Bentley of St Hugh’s, Oxford, spoke on ‘The Peel Problem’.

(The Senior History Society section carries more details – my thanks to Mr Fagan and the various pupil committees for maintaining the high standards of the Society.)

attention to ‘civil war’ in all its many and varied iterations. It was beautifully pulled together by Reuben and others in the Lower Eighth, and marshalled quite brilliantly by Ms Milanova.

I could write on – I’ve omitted so much – but I must help Yidong (Fourth Form) prepare to deliver a keynote at Junior Prizegiving. Yet more evidence of the department’s continued success in all areas of school life… ❚

Professor Irons and a small but growing group of students got their hands dirty in the school’s archives – work that began last year but is increasingly bearing fruit. In June, five of the group were invited to attend a conference at the Institute of Historical Research in London on the theme Schooling for Empire. The contributions and questions of Ian, Ishaan, Felix, Jack, and Toby were met with rave reviews from the seasoned scholars in attendance.

We look forward to a similar conference next summer, this time focused on student research.

The year was brought to a brilliant conclusion with the History Review, now in its third year. The Review collects contributions from pupils on a chosen theme; this year Paulines turned their 93

History

Senior History Society

Junior History Society

Ronit Mendonca / Ishaan Moorthy / Mr Fagan

Emmett Li

Every Monday lunchtime, St Paul’s 8th Form historians gather to explore and discuss thought-provoking questions and topics that extend well beyond the A level curriculum. It has been another strong year for the Senior History Society with 26 talks across the past year, demonstrating an incredible breadth of interest and expertise.

As with last year, we had to have two Committees for the academic year because so many L8th wanted to participate in leading the Society, the role of Student Chair of the Society being taken by Ronit Mendonca for the first half of the year and Ishaan Moorthy for the second half.

The society has seen another year of diverse, thought-provoking, studentled talks, from Medici populism (P. Centurione-Scotto) to Syria under the Assads (I. Stephanakis); from Napoleon’s Russian campaign (L. Barkan & A. Sevaux) to the historical development of Oligarchy (A. Wang); from Orientalism (N. Groeller) to John Major (A. Kurdikar); and from the Nigerian Civil War (N. Jinadu) to whether music can change the course of history (R. Eichhorst). The range and volume of student talks were a hallmark of consistent participation, with at least 25-30 attendees each week.

The society has also spread its reach through notable joint society collaborations, partnering with both the Afro-Caribbean and Equalities societies for 6 student-led presentations on Forgotten Black Britons during Black History Month and with the Jewish Society (JSoc) on historians of Holocaust Denial. Similarly, the year saw a joint presentation (R. Mendonca) & debate with Debating Society on whether Britain should pay India reparations. But collaboration did not stop there. The year even saw a trip to see Hamilton, joint with the Equality Soc, led by Miss Milanova and Mr Hammond, 94

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which was not just a wonderful opportunity to explore themes of equality and inclusion in discussions over the past but was also great fun!

The teaching staff and external speakers also gave some insightful talks, such as Ms Milanova and Professor Irons’ joint talk on Pauli Murray as part of International Women’s Day celebrations and Mr Wheatley’s talks on David Irving and Holocaust denial, as well as on what US presidential assassinations say about American politics. External speakers Tim Bouverie gave a talk on Appeasement (as well as a sneak preview of his latest volume on relations between Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin in World War II) and Professor Michael Bentley of St Hugh’s College, Oxford, presented on the contradictions of Robert Peel’s political career. Two Old Paulines also contributed to our activities this year: Sam Bedford led a seminar on use and evaluation of primary sources (based on his Cambridge University prize-winning dissertation on the downfall of a 15th century bishop accused of heresy), and James Croft discussed a history of Queer Liberation in the UK. It’s been an illuminating and enjoyable year and we are expecting even greater things from the next one! ❚

On Monday lunchtimes I have been attending Junior History Society with a group of Fifth form historians for the past academic year and I have greatly enjoyed it. There are weekly talks given either by the History department or other history students, which are not only informative and interesting but also on a wide range of topics such as “Sweden’s forgotten empire”, “How to write the history of Germany” or “Battle of the Empires – British vs Roman” and “Greek Revolution and Independence War”.

The talks were well researched and thought provoking, and the speakers had to contend with some difficult questions that the listeners threw at them. I was able to give a talk on a topic myself, which was very well attended, and also made me learn more about the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989. My two favorite talks this past year have been “Syria: how did it become dominated by the Assads?” and the history behind the Israel-Palestine conflict “From Canaanites to Conflict”, as it gave me more insight into current conflicts and how history shaped these events. ❚

Politics

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Harold Macmillan famously said that a week was a long time in politics. That may have been true in the 1950s and 1960s, but 2025 demands a tweak to the aphorism: a day is now a long time. The constant, unrelenting churn of events – I write this against the backdrop of America having just dropped ‘bunker buster’ bombs on Iran – may help explain why interest in our subject is surging. We now have seven A-level sets in the Eighth Form; next year we will have eight. There is a growing desire to understand the world around us.

I have written about the joint trip to America in the History section of this magazine, so will only touch briefly on it here by recounting two moments that stayed with me. The first came in Georgia, where we were fortunate enough to meet a state senator, a Democrat. She generously gave us an hour of her time – remarkable, considering she had just come from a fundraiser with Shonda Rhimes and Michelle Obama. But the most telling moment came afterwards, as we walked away in the searing Atlanta

sunshine. A pupil turned to me and said: She didn’t seem to have any new, compelling answers to crucial questions like the cost of living or immigration at the southern border. A few days later came the second moment. As we boarded the plane to fly home, I turned to a colleague and said: “I leave convinced Trump is going to win.” So do I, he replied. It was a reminder that while books are vital, understanding politics properly also requires direct experience.

It is hard to escape the truth that we are living in President Trump’s world.

Virtually single-handedly, he is making the political weather. Europeans are dramatically increasing defence spending; foreign leaders – with the notable exception of Bank of England alumnus Mark Carney – are falling over themselves to win favour. (My morning paper carried a screenshot of NATO chief Mark Rutte’s flattering – obsequious? – message to Trump following the American bombing of Iran.) These events – his events – have coloured many of our classroom conversations this year.

The Lower Eighth made their annual trip to the Houses of Parliament. We saw Secretary of State Louise Haigh fend off questions at ministers’ question time – although, as she resigned a few weeks later, it was perhaps our sighting of Nigel Farage in the Central Lobby that better captured the political centre of gravity in 2024–25.

A final special mention must go to Luca Orlandi for securing first place in the Minds Underground competition – a magnificent achievement. ❚ 95

Politics

Debating Society & Competitive Debating

European Youth Parliament

JBS / Adrian Siniscalco

JMcL

St Paul’s has enjoyed another year of success in debating.

Both debating society and the after school debating sessions for competitive debating have welcomed numerous new debaters this year, contributing to the school’s atmosphere of open discussion and intellectual development. By fostering meaningful conversations on pertinent issues around the world, the debating community at St Paul’s seeks to prepare students for the future, both inside and outside of the classroom. Debating has also extended to the junior school with sessions being held every Monday for Lower and Upper Third students, who recently competed at South Hampstead’s (SHHS) Summer Debating Competition to great success.

At the beginning of March, SPS once again hosted the South-East heat of the European Youth Parliament competition, featuring twelve schools from across the region.

The school has continued to thrive at senior debating competitions. Throughout the year, students have reached the finals of competitions such as LSE schools, UCL schools, SHHS schools, Oxford schools and Cambridge schools, and St Paul’s teams placed first, second and third at the 2025 Middle School Shield competition. Additionally, Adrian Siniscalco and Aryaman Sarda are both representing Team England at the World Championships this summer in Panama.

Debating Society has continued to meet throughout the year at lunchtimes on Tuesday and has considered such issues as:

• This house believes appeasement is never right • This house would ban mobile phones • This house would censor X & Telegram • This house would impose VAT on school fees • This house believes the UN is useless • This House stands with Trump.

The House debating competition took place in November with the motions:

• THB that commercialism is killing sport • TH would keep a stiff upper lip We hope for next year’s debating at St Paul’s to be just as bright as this one has, and look forward to welcoming many new students to our community. ❚

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Our L8th EYP team – Cillian Bramham, Austen David, Dariush Ghaffarpour, Aarav Kushagra, Ronit Mendonca, Luca Orlandi, Faris Sharaiha and Ravi Walker – gave a tremendous performance, and were selected to go through to this year’s UK final. With Alex Khosrowpanah-Falcone stepping up to replace Ravi, whose summer commitments prevented him from participating, the team travelled to Liverpool University in the second week of July, where they worked with students from fourteen other schools across the UK, team-building, making new friends, and putting together resolutions on a diverse range of issues, to be debated at a two-day General Assembly. Topics included combatting football hooliganism; addressing gendered inequalities in medical treatment; using photonics in healthcare; tackling the spread of incel culture; improving education in developing countries; re-arming the EU; re-building links with the UK, post-Brexit; fostering safety and inclusivity for women in politics; and tackling the EU’s housing crisis. The GA was intense, lively and productive, and most of the resolutions passed, which is highly unusual but representative of the positive and dynamic collaboration between all the students. The SPS team were outstanding throughout the competition, not just with the exceptionally high quality of their work in debate and in committee, but also by throwing themselves into the social elements of the weekend, and their contribution to the final night party, where (as ‘WonderPaul’s’) they channelled their inner Oasis for some crowd-pleasing karaoke classics, was particularly memorable.

Thanks to all of the team for their excellent and enthusiastic engagement in the competition, and fingers crossed for selection to represent the UK at the next international European Youth Parliament! ❚

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Model United Nations

Junior Politics Society reports 2024

Henrik Helsen

A chilly January morning heralded the school’s seventh Model United Nations conference, organised in partnership with St Paul’s Girls’ School.

The largest ever conference held by the school to date, we welcomed over 200 delegates from representing some 38 countries for a spirited day of discussion about some of the most pressing issues facing the world today.

All this was done, of course, in the distinctive Model United Nations debating style that prohibits first and second person pronouns and sees unlikely pairings of countries team up to inflict maximum chaos on other delegations while assuming the character and diplomatic stance of the nation that they are representing.

Fast-moving global events left no shortage of topics to discuss: among other things, committee discussions included the global debt crisis, nuclear non-proliferation in Iran, the often overlooked Sudanese civil war and future pandemic prevention.

At the end of the day, all delegations came together in a General Assembly, where a fictional global crisis surrounding the development of unauthorised military bases led to the adoption of a resolution condemning hostile military actions.

Doubtless it is true that, for better or worse, we live in interesting times, and we were uniformly impressed with the quality of debate and discussion as well as the mastery of the material under discussion demonstrated by the delegates, some of whom were engaged in public speaking for the first time. They contributed a great deal and we look forward to welcoming them back for next year’s conference. ❚

With 50% of the world voting this year, knowing the ins and outs of global politics has never been more important. Every Wednesday Lunchtime, Junior Politics Society discusses wildly different but equally interesting topics, ranging from contemporary American Isolationism to British Fascism during the 1930s.

In the last year, we have been riveted by fascinating talks like the rundown of the upcoming American Elections

by Tomos Barrett, or Max Clapham’s analysis of the Labour Party’s strong prospects this July. Every week has undeniably been thought provoking, but my personal favourite was Miss Gill’s talk on Argentina’s recent fall into the populist hands of Javier Millei and the events leading up to it.

But the society has been blessed with more off-piste presentations too, on coups and crises, scandals and sedition. Like all great societies, discussion regularly runs past the 40 minute mark as thoughts and opinions are traded. I distinctly remember a very thought-provoking debate about whether voting should be based on individual needs or whether the voter should take a more holistic view of society’s needs. Perhaps this could be the topic of a presentation next year when the general election outcome is known.

You never know what you will get when you wind up at Junior Politics Society in Room 208 at 12:40pm on that Wednesday lunchtime. All I know is there will always be something to whet your appetite and stimulate your mind. ❚

From Ukraine to the US to the UK, the past year has seen the upending of the world order. Today, being familiar with the intricacies of politics is increasingly important, which is why I can’t recommend Junior Politics Society enough.

The past year of Junior Politics Society has seen many engaging talks and discussions on a broad range of topics, from austerity to the electoral college to polling. Although most weeks’ presentations focused on British and American politics, we’ve been fortunate enough to collaborate with EuroSoc and hear talks on German and Italian politics (as well as on Ecuadorian, Russian and Australian politics outside of this collaboration).

The format of presentations was as varied as their subject matter, with one meeting led by Mr Skidmore even taking the form of a ‘wargame’ where pupils assumed the roles of key political leaders in the Ukraine peace talks (highlighting the difficulty of such negotiations).

As you may be able to tell, there isn’t much continuity from week to week.

The only mainstay of Junior Politics Society is the lively yet civil debate which is sure to follow any presentation.

So if you’re interested in hearing and participating in thought-provoking debates or just enjoy learning more about politics, come to Junior Politics Society. ❚ Xan Leventis

Vivaan Sharma

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In Memory of Ralph Blumenau BEM (1924–2025)

Theology & Philosophy I was very saddened to learn just last month of the passing of the late Ralph Blumenau, Old Pauline, historian, philosopher and a great friend of our Theology & Philosophy Department.

He was 100 years old.

Into his 90s, he taught an allencompassing course in intellectual history at the University of the Third Age that began with the Greek emergence from mythology in the 6th Century BCE and ended with poststructuralism and Foucault. Until eight years ago, he set and judged our eponymous philosophy essay prize.

Ralph turned his formidable lecture course into an enormous book on the history of philosophy that rivals Frederick Copleston’s and Bertrand Russell’s attempts to do the same thing – to cover all of Western philosophical history within a single purview. Ralph’s Philosophy and Living distinguishes itself from their attempts, however, by its focus on the contribution ideas make to the historical developments of their time. This isn’t surprising given that it comes from the pen of a historian, rather than an academic philosopher or theologian. For Ralph, the value of a philosophical idea lay in its capacity to illumine and improve living, not in its logical rigour or its abstraction.

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life teaching history at Malvern College.

And I think that perhaps his teaching had just as much of an impact on his assessment of philosophers and their ideas as his historian’s training. After all, there is more to teaching philosophy to children than imparting knowledge of theories and teaching them how to evaluate them. In the first place, one must decide what to teach them.

And to answer this, one must at least consider what will be of most benefit to their lives, how the philosophy will contribute to their living.

We have inherited from antiquity the trope that philosophers are not good at living. Supposedly, the pre-Socratic philosopher Thales was so enthralled with the heavens that he fell into a well when looking up at them, and Plato himself paints the philosopher as so ill-suited to the affairs of society that people end up wanting to kill them. But Plato only makes this point to discredit it. And Ralph discredits it as well.

In his book, he portrays the history of philosophy as a battle between four competing intellectual tendencies: orthodoxy, mysticism, romanticism, and

rationalism. These can be conceived as four different methods for establishing knowledge. Orthodoxy takes truth to be whatever has been written in sacred texts or defers to religious or political authorities. Mysticism sees knowledge as specially revealed to the mystic in touch with ultimate reality. Romanticism denies the value of reason and takes sentiments and emotions as guides to truth. Rationalism advocates reason, logic and argument as the means of accessing knowledge.

One can see these competing tendencies as different ways of allocating the power of decision-making over what we should do and what we should believe.

Should we believe what others tell us (orthodoxy)? What God tells us (mysticism)? Whatever our emotions lead us towards (romanticism)? Or what we ourselves decide (rationalism)? The philosopher is generally the rationalist, working to justify their beliefs and their actions and taking responsibility for their decisions. Far from failing to live well, the philosopher is precisely the one who lives according to reasons and thus according to standards that make living well possible in the first place. We are

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all, of course, philosophers in this sense to an extent. Teaching philosophy at St Paul’s is about nurturing, cultivating and amplifying the pupils’ ability to live autonomous, well-conceived lives – whatever their job titles and social roles might turn out to be.

The great achievement of Ralph’s book is to show that to live well is to live philosophically – autonomously and according to reasons. ❚

Maths & Philosophy Society This year has seen the inauguration of the St Paul’s Maths and Philosophy Society. The society aims to be a place to explore and discuss issues in the Philosophy of Mathematics and Philosophical Logic and has been well-attended by pupils and staff alike.

Psych Soc DEG

This year Psych Soc has enjoyed a packed schedule with several members of the executive delivering two presentations each: Luca Orlandi on The Misuse of Psychology in Racism, and The Psychology of Horror Films; Luca Speciale on Behavioral Economics, and How We Respond to Colour; Zak Nathoo on The Psychology of Social Influence, and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder; plus Andy Wang discussing the complex topics of Psychopathy, and if “ordinary” people have the capacity to become what society considers “evil”.

Talks on self-improvement continue to attract some of our biggest audiences, from Theo Katzenellenbogen’s meditation overview to Oscar Suarez Carulla’s sports psychology insights on to avoid a “choke”, the “yips” or the “twisties” in high-pressure situations such as taking a vital penalty.

This is in addition to Dr Gaydon’s now-traditional L8 visit to the Bethlem Museum of the Mind – Beckenham’s former Royal Hospital which now offers art, artefacts and archive material from the thought-provoking history of mental healthcare and treatment.

Overall, a high standard for next year’s organising committee to live up to – there’s still enthusiasm for devising and implementing more psychological experiments within the school, just as soon as someone comes up with something that meets the strict ethical requirements! ❚

Visiting speaker Prof Alex Paseau OP (Oxford) spoke on the Euclidian programme. ❚ 99

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Mathematics Provision at St Paul’s School What Makes Us Unique?

A mathematics department must provide the best possible provision to all pupils, regardless of ability. I think the best way to explain how we do this is to give you some examples that cover the range of abilities.

Every Year group has a lunchtime problem-solving session once a week throughout the year. These sessions are well attended, and they help us spot pupils who show exceptional ability. These pupils are initially promoted to work with other year groups and, in some cases, will be promoted further to work with similar pupils from a mix of year groups on Olympiad problems. This group meets one lunchtime per week and also attends a session after school on Fridays. The Friday sessions start at 4.30 pm and go on for at least two hours, and often pupils must be encouraged to leave at 7.30 pm! Their aim is to qualify for the second round of the Olympiad, and in some cases, the IMO team. We have had three pupils in the IMO teams in the past two years.

Our reputation for encouraging and guiding exceptional pupils to achieve at such a high level means that we attract very able mathematicians to teach at St Paul’s. We also receive requests from other schools to let their pupils join the Friday sessions, which of course we welcome.

We don’t believe in putting pupils into exams at an early stage. We want to develop their skills, so they ultimately become strong mathematical problemsolvers capable of achieving excellent exam results, applying to the best Universities, competing in National competitions, and representing their country in the IMO. We give pupils time to think about problems, develop the necessary skills and learn how to prove results with rigorous arguments.

Many of our pupils find the standard GCSE and A Level content straightforward, so they are regularly given material that enriches the course content, and this consequently creates a buzz in lessons with pupils eager to explore ideas further. Pupils in all sets are encouraged to use the whiteboards around the classroom to present their ideas to others so pupils and teachers can engage with each other, suggesting possible improvements or asking questions that help develop a greater depth of understanding.

In the summer term, the Year 12 further mathematicians carry out an extended project. They choose an area of mathematics that interests them and spend two weeks researching it. They present their findings to their peers.

The best three presentations go through to the final, and the eventual winner receives the Toller Prize. The projects give the pupils time to look deeper

into topics that are not on the A Level course and consequently give them the opportunity to talk about their findings in university interviews. Some examples of projects from the 110 Year 12 further mathematicians this year were: The Use of Complex Integration to Find Real Integrals, Time Series Forecasting in Financial Analysis, and Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases.

To further inspire our pupils to study mathematics in the future, we arrange a visit to Trinity College in Cambridge.

Professor Leader, an Old Pauline, arranges a series of classes for our pupils taken by college lecturers.

Being surrounded by highly academic lecturers and students in a beautiful environment is a wonderful experience for our pupils. The pupils felt inspired when they visited the Isaac Newton Institute, where Andrew Wiles gave his series of lectures on the proof of Fermat’s Last Theorem.

We have a range of support for the pupils who find mathematics challenging. Throughout the year, there are two work support sessions each week where pupils from any year group can come and get help from a teacher. For a pupil who is struggling to keep up, we offer a Year 12 pupil as a mentor. The Year 12 pupils are very keen to help the younger pupils, and they meet at a convenient time once a week, or more often in the build-up to exams. The mentor answers their questions and helps them with their revision.

We also ensure that pupils who find the subject challenging are placed in smaller sets of about 12 pupils. Here, they can get lots of individual attention and learn at a pace that enables them to thrive and eventually reach grade 8 at GCSE, with some getting a grade 9. Last year, 91% of Year 11 pupils achieved a grade 9 at GCSE.

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A measure of how expertly our mathematics teachers engage and inspire the pupils in our subject is the uptake of pupils at A Level. This year, 210 pupils in Year 12 chose to study mathematics, 110 of whom chose further mathematics.

What does success look like for the Maths Department?

The maths teachers at St Paul’s love to teach their subject. They convey this to the pupils every day in lessons, in problem-solving clubs, in maths society and even when discussing problems in the corridors. For the mathematics department at St Paul’s, success is having teachers and pupils enjoying their time together, exploring mathematical problems and developing a love of learning.

Our programmes of study include many opportunities for our pupils to work with Partnership schools. There is also a comprehensive programme of internal speakers (both pupils and teachers), and external speakers who are invited to the mathematics society or to spend an afternoon with some of our pupils. You can find more details of these visits and many other mathematical activities that have taken place this year on our mathematics blog https://sps-mathsblog.blogspot. com/ Here is a report by Year 10 pupil Rafael on the visit of Zoe Griffiths to St Paul’s School.

Mathematics of the Unexpected On Tuesday, 10th June, mathematician Zoe Griffiths came to St Paul’s to give some Year 10 pupils a fun and interactive presentation about ‘Mathematics of the Unexpected’.

Having entered the John Colet Hall, we sat down at desks in pairs and were immediately greeted by a jovial and comical Zoe. Not only has she appeared on the YouTube Channel Numberphile, but she has also been on BBC Radio 4, performing mathematical comedy sets.

Needless to say, she gave off a lot of positive energy, which made us all very excited about the two hours ahead of us.

We began by investigating the secrets of some magic tricks, such as the seemingly mind-boggling fact that any 3-digit number repeated after itself (e.g. 738738), when divided by 7, will always produce a whole number. Surely, we would expect only a seventh of numbers to be a multiple of 7? In fact, this new number, divides by 13, 11 and 7. Now, 13 x 11 x 7 =1001 and 1001 multiplied by any 3-digit number produces a number that repeats the 3 digits.

For example, 738 x 1001 = 738738 265 x 1001 = 265265 James managed to work out this trick just ahead of the rest of us.

Eager for more magic to impress our friends with, we carefully paid attention to the next trick. This one revolved around base-3, or ternary. For context, we usually use base-10, or decimal. A card trick was performed, whereby the ordering of certain piles led to Zoe finding a random

card among 27, which is 33. After a bit of careful thinking, we deduced how the arrangement of cards influences the position of the random card, making it possible to find after three sets of shuffles. Here is a video of the full explanation by Matt Parker: https:// youtu.be/l7lP9y7Bb5g My personal favourite section was a game that involved dice. Given three dice with differently numbered faces, we had to work out which would be the best to roll if competing against a friend with the same choice as us. The faces were as follows:

A comparison matrix was used to show that, interestingly, there is no real best choice, because Red beats Blue, Blue beats Olive, and Olive beats Red! These are known as non-transitive dice. This is similar to rockpaper-scissors.

However, it becomes even more interesting when we find that if two dice of the same colour are rolled together in competition with another dice pair, the chain reverses!

Here is a link to an article that explains non-transitive dice in more detail and will introduce you to other interesting sets of dice. https://www.singingbanana.com/ dice/article.htm Overall, I found the afternoon very interesting and enjoyable, and I am sure everyone there had fun and learnt something new, whether it be how to count in ternary, or that 8208 is a Narcissistic Number (84 + 24 + 04 + 84 = 8208 where the power is the number of digits), or how Mersenne Primes relate to Perfect Numbers! ❚

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Mathematics Society Vivaan Sharma (L8), Milan Bilagi, Misha Zubarev Teacher in charge: Dr Baxter

Running Mathematics Society this year has been a privilege for all three of us. As the committee, we’ve had the pleasure of organising a variety of events for all years, from team challenges for 4th and 5th Form students to talks about the many fascinating topics that mathematics has to offer.

One event in particular that stood out as the highlight for Mathematics Society this year was a talk given by Professor Paul Cook. He explored Quantum Mechanics and provided exciting demonstrations, linking back to the famous quote from Schrödinger: “I don’t like it, and I’m sorry I ever had anything to do with it.”

Mathematics Society was also delighted to welcome back Mr Toller, the previous Head of the Mathematics Department, for a captivating talk on the Mathematics of Bell Ringing. This fascinating talk showcased a real-life application of mathematics that Paulines might not typically encounter.

Throughout the year, the Society provided numerous opportunities for students to lead talks to the Mathematics Society. These talks covered a wide range of topics, from beyond syllabus mathematics like Fourier Analysis to practical tips and tricks for improving mathematical skills.

We would like to express our gratitude to everyone who supported Mathematics Society this year. We hope that it will continue to provide Paulines with engaging mathematics for many more years to come. ❚

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MFL Mr Tofts

Modern linguists at St Paul’s have accomplished some extraordinary feats this year that stretch well beyond the curriculum and public exams.

European Week of Languages Mr Tofts

Whether writing articles in their languages for our faculty magazine Polyglot, engaging with creative translation for the Anthea Bell Prize, achieving our best ever French debating result, performing European poetry in front of the High Master or participating in day and residential trips across Europe and in London, our pupils have embraced the opportunities and challenges available to them with enthusiasm and determination.

None of this would have been possible without the untiring dedication and passion of the modern languages team.

It is so satisfying for us to witness our pupils succeeding in their language learning while embracing the other cultures that each language opens up to them. Our pupils’ attitudes and industry seem to perfectly reflect the spirit of Professor Thomas Wynn’s message to our pupils in his September lecture: that speaking only English is not enough for those who wish to engage, compete, and flourish in a globalised society.

We are immensely proud of their achievements, and we hope that these pages give a good reflection of them. ❚

This year’s week of events and competitions at St Paul’s was an uplifting and joyous celebration of languagelearning and European culture, both modern and ancient.

We were delighted to welcome Professor Thomas Wynn (Durham University), whose compelling talk to the Fourth Form, ‘Why English Isn’t Enough’, kicked off our celebrations. Professor Wynn demonstrated how the study of modern foreign languages is able to appeal to a broad range of academic interests, how languages are uniquely placed to equip pupils with cross-cultural awareness, and how languages will serve pupils in their future careers.

Mr Edward Williams (former SPS Head of Modern Foreign Languages and former SPS Director of Drama) led a fascinating joint seminar ‘Challenging the Audience’ for A Level linguists from SPS and SPGS. Pupils were invited to ask how theatre can challenge the audience’s preconceptions and expectations. Pupils then engaged in groups with a variety of theatrical texts according to their language of study, which they presented to Mr Williams with great insight and acuity.

Our pupils threw themselves into the exciting range of activities on offer with great enthusiasm and curiosity.

In French, pupils took part in a delicious French breakfast and competed fiercely for the house pétanque crown.

In German, pupils got creative with compound nouns and dug into a plentiful German breakfast. In Italian, pupils sampled mountains of gelato, made tiramisù, and attended a film screening at Ciné Lumière of the film I Cento Passi with a fascinating and sometimes emotional Q&A with

members of the anti-mafia association Casa Memoria Felicia e Peppino Impastato. In Spanish, pupils visited Spain virtually in a Geoguessr competition. On top of this, pupils competed in Languages University Challenge, Languages Bingo, the House Languages Passport competition, talks on Portuguese and Yiddish, a languages treasure hunt, and a fiercely contested House Languages Countdown. Well done to all of the winners, and thank you to all of the pupils and staff for organising and running such a varied, informative and, above all, fun week of activities.

Félicitations, Gut gemacht, Congratulazioni, Felicidades and thank you to all who took part!

House Pétanque Winners Amaan (Upper Eighth) and Ed (Fourth Form) – Cloete House Runners Up Zach Tydeman (Upper Eighth) and Joey Hammond-Giles (Fourth Form) – Blurton House Pupils vs Languages Teachers University Challenge Winners Max Swinnerton, Charlie Kirby, Alex Toledano, Adam Seydo (all Upper Eighth) House Languages Countdown Winners Nilsson House (Vivaan Sharma, Veer Singh, Veer Sekhon, Sameer Shukla Fourth Form House Languages Passports Competition Winners Warner House ❚ 103

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Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators 2025 Mr Tofts

This is a prestigious national competition run by The Queen’s College (Oxford University) for pupils studying modern foreign languages in the U.K. The competition is inspired by the life and work of the great translator Anthea Bell, who is famous for her translations of French, German, and Danish literary works, including her translations into English of the Astérix series. Nationally, over 22,000 students participated, and nearly 5,000 translations were submitted for judging. Modern linguists at St Paul’s were no less enthusiastic about the process of ‘creative translation’, with 133 pupils participating and 62 translations shortlisted for judging. Ishaan Baijal (Level 2 Italian) was awarded the Area Winner for Greater London, and Aiden Ahmad (Level 2 Spanish) received a Commendation.

Ishaan Baijal (Area Winner Greater London for Level 2 Italian) The passage below is the opening of La banda del pianerottolo

by Espérance Hakuzwimana. Here, the narrator introduces the main characters in a warm, conversational tone.

La banda del pianerottolo La famiglia di Cami Eccola al completo, la famiglia Seck! Mamma Robi, Papà Lamine, e i loro figli: Millina (il suo vero nome è Camille) e Samuel! Ah si, ci sono anche l’amica del cuore Noli e il suo alpaca Mirtilla! Sono forti i Seck! Viaggiano, parlano diverse lingue e sanno volersi bene in tanti modi diversi.

La famiglia di Timo e Daria Questa è la famiglia Sassi. Si sono appena trasferiti da Londra e sono sempre un po’ di fretta. Se li conoscerai scoprirai che sono buoni come le caramelle alla frutta.

Ti piaceranno! Ci sono i genitori e i loro due bambini: Daria, che si sente grande, e Timoteo, che si sente…Bè, leggendo lo scoprirai.

The Hallway Gang Cami’s Family Here they are, the Seck family! Mom Robi, Dad Lamine, and their kids: Millina (though her real name is Camille) and Samuel! Oh, and let’s not forget her best friend Noli and her alpaca, Mirtilla! The Secks are amazing – they travel, speak different languages, and most of all, they love each other in so many ways.

Timo and Daria’s Family This is the Sassi family. They’ve just moved from London and are always in a bit of a hurry. But once you get to know them, you’ll see they’re as sweet as fruit sweets. You’ll love them!

There are the parents and their two kids: Daria, who thinks she’s all grown up, and Timoteo, who… well, you’ll need to read on to find out.

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Aiden Ahmad (Commendation for Level 2 Spanish) This sonnet is by the Nicaraguan poet, Rubén Darío (1867-1916). It was published in his 1907 collection, El canto errante.

Los Piratas Remacha el postrer clavo en el arnés.

Remacha el postrer clavo en la fina tabla sonora.

Ya es hora de partir, buen pirata, ya es hora de que la vela pruebe el pulmón de la racha.

Bajo la quilla el cuello del tritón se agacha y la vívida luz del relámpago dora la quimera de bronce incrustada en la prora, y una sonrisa pone en el labio del hacha.

La coreada canción de la piratería, saludará el real oriflama del día cuando el clarín del alba nueva ha de sonar ¡glorificando a los caballeros del viento que ensangrientan la seda azul del firmamento con el rojo pendón de los reyes del mar!

Strike the final nail with force and grace, fasten the last to board and brace.

The time has come, set sail, be free, let roaring winds your canvas chase.

Beneath the keel, the Triton kneels, while golden lightning lights the deep.

Upon the prow, a beast concealed in bronze awakens from its sleep.

A pirate’s song will fill the sky, saluting dawn’s triumphant cry, as daylight’s clarion calls anew.

Then knights of wind will ride the tide, and stain the silk of heaven’s blue with crimson flags spread far and wide!

DEPARTMENTS

Fourth Form Languages Poetry Declamation Prize

GCSE German Study Trip to Berlin

Mrs Lapaire-Adumekwe

DEBP

October half term saw the 6th Form Germanists travel to Berlin for our annual study trip, run alongside SPGS.

On Friday 28th February, the MFL and Classics Poetry Declamation grand final took place in the Monty Room, celebrating the linguistic and oratory talents of our Fourth Form students.

The competition, which saw 26 students participate as class winners across French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Latin, was an incredible showcase of skill, determination and passion for poetry. All the boys who took part had won the finals in their respective classes. They all performed brilliantly, impressing us not only with their commitment to memorisation but also with the depth of feeling and understanding they brought to their recitations. This year marked a milestone too, with every single finalist having fully memorised their poem, delivering it with confidence, emotion and demonstrating a true grasp of its meaning. All the participants went home with a Certificate of Achievement and received an SPS Commendation. The decisionmaking process for the grand winner in each language was incredibly difficult, though, with many performances coming very close, but our overall winners stood out for their diction, pronunciation, memorisation, and ability to interpret the poem with confidence in front of a room full of spectators.

Winners French – Yidong Xu German – Sehwan Lim Italian – Zach Sadighi

Over the course of six days, and with unseasonably good weather, our pupils enjoyed an incredible range of activities and got to see so much of what makes Berlin the intriguing, energetic and culturally rich place it is. After morning German lessons, we set out from our base in the trendy area of Prenzlauer Berg and set about seeing the sights.

Highlights were undoubtedly a fascinating tour of the Reichstagsgebäude, complete with glimpses of the Russian graffiti and bullet holes preserved from the Battle of Berlin, followed by taking in the vistas over the city in the early evening sun atop the famous Norman Foster-designed dome; a tour of the Olympic Stadium which took us from the Führerbalkon of the 1936 Olympics, to the edge of the pitch where World Cup and Champions League finals have taken place (the atmosphere aided by the competitions’s Zadok the Priest-inspired anthem playing as we walked down the tunnel towards the hallowed turf); a look around Frederick the Great’s idiosyncratic Neue Palais in Potsdam, followed by a sunny stroll through Park Sanssouci and pizza in central Potsdam. Amongst the obligatory tastings of German delicacies such as Currywurst, we also found time to head over to the Uber Arena for a thrilling ice hockey showdown between the Berliner Eisbären and the Wolfsburger Grizzlies, where we enjoyed joining in the rapturous goal celebrations of the locals (Ene, everything, were great fun throughout and returned having all progressed their language skills significantly. ❚

Spanish – Samuele Bertolo Latin – Max Magalhães

Each of the overall winners received a trophy, a poetry book in their competition language, and an SPS academic distinction, in addition to their finalist certificate. A huge congratulations to all the students who competed: it is no small feat to stand up and recite a poem entirely from memory, and we were incredibly proud of the talent and dedication on display! ❚

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National Finals of the French Debating Competition

GCSE French Study Trip to Toulouse Mrs Lapaire-Adumekwe

Mr Larlham

In February, Lower Eighth pupils Alex Khosrowpanah-Falcone and Elyas Efthimiou competed in the National Finals of the French Debating Competition, which took place at the Institut Français.

This is the first time in recent memory that St Paul’s pupils have made it to this stage of the competition, and Alex and Elyas performed incredibly well, winning both of their first two debates on whether digitisation of artistic works make them more accessible to all, and whether space exploration is necessary for humanity.

They then progressed to the Gold final, where they very narrowly lost to a team of Upper Eighth pupils, having had to prepare a motion in 15 minutes, arguing against the idea that science should always have the final word. Nevertheless, reaching this stage in the competition and performing this well was an incredible achievement; well done to Alex and Elyas! ❚

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At the start of the 2025 Easter holidays, a group of 26 Fifth Form French students travelled to Toulouse for a week-long linguistic and cultural immersion experience.

Accompanied by Mrs LapaireAdumekwe, Ms Desprez, Ms Khan and Ms Gaidamashchuk, pupils stayed with local host families and attended morning lessons at the Langue Onze language school, where they developed their speaking and listening skills through dynamic, small-group instruction delivered entirely in French.

Afternoons were also filled with enriching cultural visits and activities.

Paulines explored the historic city centre during a treasure hunt that tested their orientation and conversation skills.

They also took part in a Photography Competition, submitting themed pictures based on language prompts, with prizes awarded for creativity and teamwork. Other highlights included a French cookery workshop, where students prepared and sampled delicious dishes, and a cinema visit to see a French-language film at the iconic Pathé Wilson. Throughout the trip, pupils were encouraged to speak French both in and out of the classroom.

Points in various competitions were awarded for good behaviour, linguistic effort, initiative, and positive engagement with their host families.

The most enthusiastic linguists received further edible prizes on the final day.

This trip was not only a fantastic opportunity to reinforce the GCSE syllabus in a real-world setting but also gave the boys a deeper appreciation of French daily life, culture, and hospitality.

We were particularly impressed by their curiosity, resilience, politeness and maturity throughout the week: they were a genuine credit to the school! ❚

DEPARTMENTS

GCSE Italian Study Trip to Alghero Sammy Assael-Francis (6th Form)

Alghero. A city in the north-west of Sardinia. An old and beautiful city, but also an authentic place where 25 boys of St Paul’s stayed for a week in October.

For me, not only was it a useful experience for my Italian, but I was also able to learn about the culture of Alghero and Sardinia as a whole. For the first two days, we passed the time with our hosts, either at home or seeing the sights of Alghero.

During the following week, we would go to a cafe with the teachers, and then to school (which was called Pintadera) for the morning. After lunch, however, we did many different things, for example, we went to Neptune’s Grotto, we did a treasure hunt, we cooked tiramisu and ravioli, and finally we played a game of football against our hosts (which we won).

Despite being in Italy, Alghero has a dialect influenced by the Catalan language that is completely different from Italian.

Among other things, I was not able to understand the answer to a question that I asked a stranger during the treasure hunt in the historical centre. The Catalan culture came from an Aragonese occupation from the 14th to the 18th centuries.

During the course of the treasure hunt, we discovered many towers of Alghero, which had been built over two centuries and used for Alghero’s defence. Since Alghero is really small, at every turn you can see a tower or two, and they give an atmosphere of history to our time in Alghero.

water (even in the autumn) were a highlight for many of us, even though we were not allowed to swim, to my surprise.

For me, however, my favourite part of the trip was the meals, which were made every evening by the mother of my host.

My favourite dish was a meal new to me, called fregola, and I ate it with another ingredient that I had never tried: squid.

But the thing I found to be most extraordinary was the simplicity of the meals. On the first day of our trip, she prepared spaghetti with tomato sauce, and it was the best pasta I had ever tasted (before the fregola). Just like the language, the food of Alghero (and the rest of Sardinia) is unique. At every dinner with our hosts, we had a type of flat bread, a speciality, pane carasau. It is a cuisine with ties to the sea, and I tried more seafood than I knew existed.

In my opinion, the most important aspect of the trip was learning about how Italian children live, and how it is easy to be part of a community when you learn the language.

So thanks so much to all our hosts (specifically Lorenzo and Mamma Dani), and also to the Italian department for a fantastic trip. ❚

This atmosphere was the backdrop of many evenings where we met and passed time with our hosts, who were boys and girls of our age. During the stay, we went to two parties (one of which was at the house of my host). But another activity that we did (and we loved) was going to the beach with the hosts in the evening, particularly during dusk. Sardinia is an island with abundant natural beauty, and the countryside around Alghero is no different. The beaches are some of the most beautiful in Sardinia and in Italy. White sand and warm 107

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A Level Italian Study Trip to Siena Louis Besson

With DJ Herb’s music still ringing in my ears, I reached Heathrow Terminal 5 in tip-top health at 6 am. Smoothly through check-in and security, followed by a wondrous flight, we landed at Pisa airport.

an antique shop, spending 2 hours in smooth Italian conversation with the owner. Our long but rewarding day ended with ice cream as well as mugs and some nice green socks as our victory prize.

The bus was filled with nothing but good vibes and chit-chat as we gazed at the Italian landscape, ready for a week of cultural enrichment. Arriving at Siena, we then split off with our hosts, who took us to their homes and began to teach us a bit about the Sienese lifestyle. Quickly returning to the city centre, Alberto and I received a guided tour of the city from our hosts, allowing us to truly wonder at the architecture and nature. To break the ice, we engaged in freestyle rap battles, using our Italian prowess to take an easy victory on Day 1. The night ended with a wineless Italian dinner.

For the next couple of days, we continued with our schoolwork in the mornings and enriched our culture through various activities. With our pasta cooking class, the teachers and chefs were in awe of our natural talent.

Tasting our food was proof of our success. Visiting the Leocorno contrada, we gained valuable insight into Sienese history, observing the clear passion that the members had.

We woke up early the next morning for Italian high school, starting off the day with Italian history. Quickly realising that an already heavy subject requires even more effort to focus on in a different language, I sat in silence at the front of the class. A truly academic morning meant that we then had 3 hours of university lessons. In the afternoon, we readied ourselves for a treasure hunt. Dynamic duo, Chris Garagnon and I, toured the city until we reached 108 THE PAULINE 2024-25

We then headed to the neighbouring town of San Gimignano. Each time we bought Italian football shirts and headed into every souvenir shop on the road to buy presents for our family with the limited cash we had left, we felt truly Sienese. At the most famous gelateria in the world, I fortunately got to taste fior di Nutella, Tiramisu and Michelle Obama, all of which were definitely the best I’ve had in my life.

On our final night, we finished the trip with a wholesome dinner with our hosts. The seating plan was tailored specifically for an Oscar and Felix masterclass, and we observed that

the difficulties of language barriers made themselves clear in conversation.

Then, going out, we were able to experience the city at night with a scenic walk with our hosts. Traffic problems meant that arriving home by our curfew of 10 pm ended up being challenging, but we tried our best nonetheless.

On our final morning, we woke up at 6 am, saying our sad goodbyes to our hosts. Over the week, we’d spent a lot of time with them and through the mornings at school and the free time in the evenings, we got to know each other and the family. Despite the sad goodbye, the time at the airport was a great success overall, with the guys buying me a pizza for my great work during the week. ❚

DEPARTMENTS

A-Level Spanish Film Screening of The Silence of Others Alberto Cambiano

The documentary focused on the Amnesty Law in Spain – also known as the “pact of forgetting” – and explored how it impacted the lives of victims of the Franco regime, as well as the social injustice it caused for many members of Spanish society. The film centred on an international criminal case against certain members of the Francoist regime, especially the infamous torturer known as “Billy the Kid.” Because they were all protected under the Amnesty Law, victims such as Julio Pacheco Yepes and José María Galante sought justice in Argentina, where the law allowed for such proceedings. An Argentine judge approved the extradition of Billy to Argentina to face charges, but the Spanish Supreme Court blocked the motion, claiming that crimes committed under the Franco regime were still protected by an expired statute of limitations.

The film vividly illustrated the effects of the Spanish Civil War and the ensuing dictatorship on the fabric of Spanish society, and how the memory and trauma of abuses suffered over those forty years continue to affect people today, people who cannot seek justice for crimes against humanity due to an outdated and unjust law.

The follow-up presentation took a broader view, focusing also on South American dictatorships, especially what Chile experienced under Pinochet’s rule, and contrasted the effects of those regimes with what happened in Spain.

Everyone in the class got involved in the discussion, achieving the highest participation rate of any school present. Every single student responded to questions with impressive fluency, showcasing their Spanish skills. Señora Jacobson was thrilled with our efforts.

After the presentation, we had the opportunity to speak via Zoom with two individuals involved in the film and the legal case. Some students volunteered to ask them questions. After a particularly great question for speaker Julio Pacheco Yepes, our classmate Enlai wrapped up with perfectly delivered “cheers” in English. Incredible! ❚

A-Level French Study Trip to Paris Mr Larlham

A-Level Spanish Trip to the Tate Modern Mr Larlham

Lower Eighth Spanish pupils enjoyed a fascinating and highly enjoyable morning at the Tate Modern with our expert guide and teacher, Maria, from Spanish House London.

We looked at a small number of Latin American works of art, which Maria asked us to consider in a variety of ways to elicit all the dormant language and knowledge awoken by the liberation from the confines of tables and chairs.

We looked at an intriguing cutout of a body that mirrored the contours of the Andes and expressed the myths of indigenous cultures. We then looked at some paintings by a Cuban artist that evoked Santería, Christianity and critiqued social inequalities in contemporary society. My only regret is not having sampled the crinkle-cut fries from Shake Shack on the precipitous trek back to school. ❚

In October, the A-level French students took the first train to Paris for a rain-drenched day of in-depth research on their topic of Occupied France during the Second World War. During the visit, we were expertly guided by Angelique Vincent around the Musée de la Libération de Paris, the Mémorial des Martyrs de la Déportation and the Mémorial de la Shoah, where we learnt about life during the Occupation and the risks taken by Résistants. This is a sombre yet fascinating period of history that the French struggle to accommodate in the National image.

Visiting these museums and apprehending the harrowing details and absurdities, such as the government propaganda campaign to build a wooden hut in each living room to conserve heat, really brings this part of the course to life. We also enjoyed a sandwich, a crepe and a stroll through the Marais before taking the last train from the Gare du Nord. ❚ 109

MFL

A-Level Italian Trip to Letizia Battaglia Luca Orlandi

A-level Italianists visited the Photographers’ gallery in Soho with SPGS to view its exhibition, Letizia Battaglia: Life, Love and Death in Sicily, which presented the works of the prominent Italian photographer and journalist. Her work critically focused on exposing the mafia and depicting life under its shadow in the Mezzogiorno.

Born in 1935 to an affluent family in Palermo, Sicily, she enjoyed the benefits of wealth, but ultimately felt restricted by patriarchal norms. Southern Italian culture at the time remained exceedingly traditional, such that women had limited freedom of expression. Eventually, she pursued a career as a journalist, but due to an editor’s suggestion to bring a camera to her interviews, she began to explore photography. Despite having no formal photography training, she could develop her own distinctive style. During the 1970s, in her forties, she began working for L’Ora, a daily left-wing newspaper known for its investigative reporting. The nature of its daily reports required her to actively search for stories during a period of extreme Mafia violence.

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She documented organised crime, daily life, and the struggles of ordinary people in Sicily, working tirelessly to not miss a story; in fact, she and her colleagues were present at almost every major crime scene over two decades.

She regularly photographed murders, crime scenes and any other Mafiarelated violence, capturing both the brutality of the Mafia and its impact on Sicilian society. She never hesitated to put the harsh reality on the front page, despite the risks, including death threats, such as an anonymous letter threatening her life, which is now displayed in the Photographers’ Gallery. Her work, primarily in black and white, emphasised the stark contrasts between life and violence, capturing both Sicily’s rich traditions and contemporary realities. She captured a variety of subjects in her photos, including women and children in their neighbourhoods, the contrast between poverty and wealth, and religious processions and festivals.

We viewed photographs showing as such, dangling from the ceiling, double-sided and depicting the daily facets of life in Palermo.

Beyond photography, she was also a publisher, editor, politician, environmentalist, social justice activist, and film director. She utilised her work as a tool to drive social and political change, advocating against organised crime and social injustice. Her images remain some of the most powerful visual records of Mafia rule in Sicily, helping to expose and undermine their influence. By directly standing up to the mafia, she faced the fear they instilled, refusing to be afraid at a time when it could have cost her her life. Interestingly, some of her photographs were used as evidence to hold the mafia to account: two were crucial in demonstrating former prime minister Giulio Andreotti’s links to organised crime, as they exposed him with an important mafioso, Nino Salvo. Sadly, she passed away in 2022, aged 87, but the exhibition and her iconic photos will continue to showcase her fearless documentation, ensuring her impact is remembered by future generations. ❚

DEPARTMENTS

Linguistics Society – exploring what makes a language

EuroSoc Reuben Ovington

Alex Barea and Sam Christie

Linguistics Society has enjoyed its first full year at St Paul’s, and what a year it’s been.

We kicked off the year with a talk from OP Shivan Arora (studying linguistics at Cambridge) on Syntactic Parsing, the way in which large language models (like ChatGPT) are taught languages. This was followed by numerous talks from students and teachers, and we rounded off the autumn term with some practice for the upcoming UK Linguistics Olympiad.

The spring term picked up where we left off, with three consecutive practice sessions for the UKLO, and keen participation from Paulines saw a record number of participants in the Intermediate Level of the Olympiad and a record number of gold medals in the Advanced Level, with six students progressing to Round 2.

Once the Olympiad buzz died down, we resumed our weekly talks, beginning the summer term with a return from Dr Krishnan Ram-Prasad, a fellow in linguistics at the University of Oxford, who gave a talk titled “where do sentences come from?”, the successor to his talk last year titled “where do words come from?”. This was certainly the highlight of the year as we were able to hear from an expert on a topic he researches every day, and presented in a very engaging, accessible way.

The UKLO was not the only competition that Linguistics Society members entered – in November, some of our 4th formers participated in the GHCQ National Languages Competition, a competition where students have to solve language-based puzzles to score points. Teams from St Paul’s came in 8th and 11th place nationally, out of over 2000 participants, and they really enjoyed the challenge. Special well done to members of these teams.

Back in January, the Linguistics Society also launched Problem of the Week, a weekly linguistics puzzle for society members to complete.

Points were awarded based on how quickly each person solved the puzzle, and quite soon, a tight battle for the top spot on the leaderboard emerged between Nima and Inian (both 6th form), with Nima eventually coming out on top – congratulations to him on being the first Problem of the Week winner!

And finally, the Linguistics Society wouldn’t be a good society without some fun. At the end of every half term, we enjoyed a game of League of the Lexicon, and (at the time of writing), the 4th form team is hoping to defend their titles for another half term as Linguistics Society LotL champions.

Many thanks to Miss Rahim and the committee for organising the talks every week, Miss Musa for hosting the League of the Lexicon, and every student and teacher who gave a talk during this fantastic inaugural year of the Linguistics Society. We hope to see you all next year! ❚

This year, Eurosoc has taken us on a continental train ride, travelling through the landscapes of Europe’s past and present.

Each stop has offered a unique, new perspective, stretching from groves of cultural heritage to bustling centres of political debate, all stitched together with rich curiosity and vibrant participation.

As ever, the U8 kicked off the year talking about their distinctive and engaging mini research projects; Alex Toledano delivered a gripping account on military tactics in the battle of Cannae, a key moment in the Second Punic War between the Roman Republic and Carthage. But the excitement did not end there. We were joined by a number of external speakers, namely Professor Wynn from Durham University, who offered an insightful analysis of Madame Lescombat, and our former Head of Languages, Mr Williams, who shared his rich experiences with the art of translation, post retirement.

Eurosoc has also been flood-filled with competitive spirit this year. A standout favourite was our annual University Challenge session, where the U8th team stole the glory from the teachers for a second year running!

On top of this, there have been other events sparking friendly rivalries, ranging from languages spelling bee to countdowns to kahoots.

Special Mentions must also go to our brilliant language assistants who delivered many memorable sessions. Particular highlights included festive explorations of Christmas across Europe and Zahra’s deep dive analysis into gendered languages through the lens of literature. Equally impressive were the contributions from our 3 L8th language classes, who delivered thought-provoking and diverse talks on Italian politics, Hispanic women in the workforce and Berlin’s cultural evolution.

Overall, Eurosoc has been the favourite society of many passionate language enthusiasts, each week taking us down a different and exciting path through the array of European culture.

Our heartfelt thanks go to Miss James, whose organisational prowess and dedication really have once again brought this society to life! ❚ 111

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Polyglot 2025 Alex Barea, Leonardo Bertolo and Apollo Andreichuk

This year saw the second year of Polyglot, the school’s Modern Foreign Language magazine, and it has been a wonderful second year.

The Spring term saw the release of the largest edition of Polyglot to date, with a range of articles covering all sorts of topics, including a wonderful plethora of adjectives from Madame Lapaire, and with the Summer term came another beautiful edition of the school’s most linguistically diverse magazine, again with a vast variety of articles, but unfortunately without the plethora of adjectives.

Of course, a lot of hard work goes into making the magazine, so we thought we could give a small insight into what actually happens behind the cover.

We kicked off in September, welcoming back returning writers wanting to contribute to yet another edition of Polyglot, and welcoming new writers keen to make their mark in the world of languages. Over the course of the term, our writers and editors worked tirelessly to provide us with articles to fill the

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Canva document, meeting with us every week to keep their language editor updated on their progress and for us to oversee the unfolding of the third magazine.

again with meetings, emails, and allocation of articles, and the cycle began again, until, as the Easter holidays descended on us, we had the contents of the Canva document ready to go.

After many meetings and emails, the Christmas holidays finally arrived, which meant only one thing: opening the Canva document and filling it with articles. So we copied and pasted and formatted and edited and typed until we could work no more, and at last, we were finished. Polyglot V3 was ready to be sent off for printing. We gathered together with Miss Musa to figure out how many copies we needed, sent the numbers to the printing company, and awaited the arrival of our magazinefilled boxes. These arrived not long after, so we spent an evening running around the languages corridor distributing the magazines, ready to be given to all the language students for their enjoyment.

So again, we copied and pasted and formatted and edited and typed until we could work no more, and at last, we were finished. Polyglot V4 was ready to be sent off for printing. Again, we counted up the total recipients of magazines, awaited our physical copies, and distributed them around the languages corridor, but this time in no more than 15 minutes (surely a Polyglot record).

Having just sent out volume 3, you would think we’d be having a break before starting volume 4. But no. The world of Polyglot is a fast-paced one that knows no rest. So we kicked off

And that was the year done. All that was left was to write this article for the Pauline, and we hope to see you next year! ❚

DEPARTMENTS

UK Linguistics Olympiad Miss Kemal-ur-Rahim

Advanced Level The largest SPS cohort sat the Advanced Level of the UKLO since 2021, and it was also the most successful in terms of the number of Gold Medals since 2016. 28 of the 44 Paulines who sat it won a medal, with 6 Golds, 7 Silvers and 15 Bronzes.

Congratulations should go to the following boys who won medals as per the table below – in particular, Inian has performed incredibly well as a Sixth Form pupil in a competition aimed at the Eighth Form. For context, gold is awarded to the top 5% of participants nationally, silver to the next 10%, and bronze to the next 20%.

Intermediate level Pupils from the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Forms also took part in the Intermediate level of the UK Linguistics Olympiad (UKLO).

This year’s competition saw a particularly high threshold for Gold medals, with the top 5% of participants needing a score of 80.1% or higher — an even tougher benchmark than the Advanced Award.

Following the usual grading system, Silver medals were awarded to the next 10% of participants, while the subsequent 20% earned Bronze.

Particular congratulations go to the following pupils, who secured medals in this prestigious competition:

Gold

Adavya Goyal Aman Parekh Owen Seton-Rogers Sameer Shukla Inian Dhandapani (6th) Samuel Christie

Silver

Sebastian Jarrett Alex Barea David Choi Jamie Horley Adam Seydo Alexander Sandigursky Daniel Taylor

Bronze

Vyom Chamaria Rishab Chatterjee (6th) Ishan Madhok Tybalt Lamy Owen Tange Charlie Pilcher Vikram Galappathie Wilder Daffey Christian Reese Thomas Hill Alexis Przyrembel Louis Besson Akshay Raj (6th) Shrey Doshi Kanishk Srivastava

Silver

Vinushan Chandrann (Fourth Form) Nayan Shah (Sixth Form) Sehwan Lim (Fourth Form) Mikey Richards (Fourth Form) Vyom Kurup (Fifth Form)

Bronze

Francisco Saraiva e Silva (Fifth Form) Nicholas Glaus (Fourth Form) Issam Abou Zaki (Fourth Form) Ishan Sood (Fifth Form) Victor Mizzoni Schmidt (Sixth Form) Alex Bradistilov (Fourth Form) Yanjun Albert Guan (Fifth Form) Javid Ahmadzada (Sixth Form) Yidong Xu (Fourth Form) Rafael Modiano (Fifth Form) Lucas Tao (Fourth Form) Aadhil Ramanathan (Sixth Form) Ebrahim Gorjestani (Fourth Form)

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Biology It was another busy and successful year for Pauline biologists; in January, Eighth Form pupils participated in the British Biology Olympiad and were awarded 48 medals, of which just under half (22) were gold.

All those receiving a gold medal (which places them in the top five per cent of the over 15,000 students from over 900 schools worldwide that took part) were invited to take part in the next round of the selection process to represent the UK team in the International Biology Olympiad. In June, members of the Lower Eighth competed in the Intermediate Biology Olympiad, with a further 29 medals being won (an impressive 81% of participants were awarded a medal, 39% of which were gold). The majority of the Fifth Form were able to take part in the Biology Challenge in May, securing an impressive 135 medals.

Outside of Olympiads, an exciting new project was launched in our L8th Molecular Biology Projects Club (Pask Soc), with an overview of the project below written by two of the attendees, and the Junior Projects Club utilised the Scanning Electron Microscope to observe their dissection handiwork in greater detail, again detailed below. The summer term again saw the Fourth Form painting with bacteria that produce various coloured pigments as part of the Get Creative week; some examples of their work are shown here. ❚

BioMed Society The St Paul’s Biomedical Society hosts a guest speaker each Monday at lunchtime during the autumn and spring terms. Speakers are current doctors, surgeons or medical researchers, and the society gives current pupils an understanding of careers in these fields.

Here, three pupils write about their favourite talk this year.

Tamash Raaj (6th form): My favourite talk this academic year was from Dr Oliver Guttman in October. He gave us an incredibly interesting crash course in cardiology, where he covered the structure of his daily life in the clinic and what he does in a catheterisation laboratory. He proceeded to talk to us about the different screenings that cardiologists do, such as coronary angiograms. This talk was helpful in further enhancing my understanding of the heart and the circulatory system as a whole because so much was taught in such a short time.

Alexander Scafidas (L8th): One talk that I found particularly interesting was from Mr Marcus Posner, a consultant ophthalmologist, who showed us the intricacies of the eye. He gave us a quick rundown of the common eye issues that he sees on a daily basis before presenting us with the challenge of identifying which condition a patient had from just an image of their eyes. There was an especially interesting section on neuro-visual disorders, such as problems stemming from brain tumours or strokes.

He told us about his charity work treating cataracts in underdeveloped countries and explained how rewarding it was being able to travel and help people wherever he went.

Sai Bhatia (U8th): In September, we heard from Dr Ottilia Speirs, who gave us a really informative introduction to stroke medicine. After learning about the different types of stroke and their individual risk factors, we discussed why many current treatments fall short in managing them. My favourite part of the talk was listening to Dr Speirs explain how strokes can exacerbate existing mental health conditions from both their physiological and emotional impact on patients. ❚

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DEPARTMENTS

Junior Pask Society

Biology Journal Club

Wenhao Shi

Yifei Wang & Ferris Chapple

During the Spring Term, the Junior Pask Society ran as a microbiology society to extend our classroom learning and bring biology to life through hands-on experiments.

Biology Journal Club continued to thrive this year under the direction of Dr Kricka. Journal Club provides an opportunity to take a deep dive into the world of biology. Each week, one member delivers a presentation on a research paper or article that has caught their interest. Whether as a listener learning more about the deeper aspects of biology or as a presenter training their oratory skills, everyone has much to gain. A few of the highlights include a presentation on Prions, which are misfolded proteins that cause other proteins to misfold and cause neurodegenerative diseases, and one on the tumour microenvironment.

Mushrooms One of our main projects explored how enzyme activity changes at different temperatures. We used enzymes found in mushrooms and measured the rate at which they catalysed reactions. This investigation tied directly into our classroom studies on enzymes and allowed us to understand how temperature can affect reaction speed, reinforcing the concept of optimal conditions for enzyme function. It was exciting to generate real data and apply it to biological principles we had studied previously.

Frogs We dissected frogs to look at their anatomy. One of the most interesting things we were able to observe was just how different the anatomy of females and males was. First of all, the female was significantly larger and heavier than the male. As we dissected the frogs, we found that whilst the organs were relatively easy to find in the male, in the female, most of the organs were obscured by a large number of eggs and oviducts. During the dissection, we found that the liver was the largest organ in the frog, with the heart and lungs being much smaller. After the dissection, we used a microscope to have a close-up view of some organs, such as the intestines and kidneys.

We left the frog skin to dry out for a week in order to allow us to observe it more closely on our school’s Scanning Electron microscope (SEM). We observed skin taken from three different locations. Under the microscope, we were able to have a very detailed observation of the skin, with us being able to observe microscopic bumps, ridges and divots in the frog skin, but were not able to observe much difference in the three skin samples. ❚

One thing that makes the Biology Journal Club unique is its focus on the modern, real-world practical aspects of biology. Not only do you learn about the science behind each of the research papers and what the research resulted in, but you also learn about how the research itself was conducted. For example, one presentation was focused on the activation and inhibition of specific neurons in innate and conditioned fear responses.

The presentation covered the importance and the mechanisms of this neural activity, and also how it was investigated, in this case through the use of mice and the fear response from simulating the presence of an aerial predator, and measuring the neural response using an innovative imaging technique called fiber photometry, an incredibly complex process which was then simplified and presented in an informative and interesting way.

Another thing that makes Biology Journal Club unique is the discussion element, as generally after presentations the questions would just be clarification about minor details of the topic, and whilst this is obviously also possible in Biology Journal Club, there is also the opportunity to discuss the findings and their application to the modern world, as well as evaluating the strengths and limitations of the study and the way it was conducted.

Biology Journal Club is a great society for any Lower and Upper 8ths doing biology, and is also a must-try for 6th Formers who are interested in biology. ❚

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Biology

Senior Pask Society Ferris Chapple & Adriel Reyes-Bordado

Pask Soc is a molecular biology society for Lower Eighth biology students, named after Sidney Pask, a former teacher at St Paul’s. Pask Soc offers enthusiastic biology students an opportunity to get a first-hand experience of supercurricular molecular biology in practice.

This year, Pask Soc focused on CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats). CRISPR is a family of DNA sequences found in prokaryotic organisms and was initially used by bacteria to combat viruses. However, it has now been repurposed by scientists to edit DNA. CRISPR uses Cas9, an enzyme that acts as ‘molecular scissors’ to cut DNA in a specific place (Figure 1), which is decided when another molecule called guide RNA (gRNA) binds to it. At Pask Soc, we used a combination of two processes known as disruption and insertion. Disruption is when a part of DNA is cut out and repaired naturally over time, and insertion adds a new section of DNA between a cut in the molecule.

The lack of β-galactosidase causes the E. coli. To turn from blue to white (Figure 3), allowing us to see whether we had successfully used CRISPR to edit the gene. We inserted the donor DNA using prepared plasmids, one of which also contained the genes coding for gRNA. Plasmids are small circles of DNA found in bacteria, separate from their main chromosome. The one without the gRNA had no colour change as the DNA couldn’t be cut, but the one with the gRNA produced the expected colour change.

Following the gene editing experiment, it was still important to confirm that the DNA was modified as expected, as even if Cas9 cuts the DNA in the correct location, it is still possible that the repair machinery could insert an incorrect sequence, therefore we used a technique called PCR, using primers to amplify the specific sequence, before using gel electrophoresis, which separates the DNA by mass to allow the amplified sequence to be seen.

We used this combination to inhibit the lacZ gene from E. coli, which produces β-galactosidase, the enzyme that breaks down lactose. β-galactosidase can also break down X-gal, a molecule with a similar structure to lactose, producing a blue pigment. To stop the lacZ gene from functioning, we inserted donor DNA to fix the cut in the DNA and to put a stop codon in the middle of the gene (Figure 2), preventing it from producing β-galactosidase.

CRISPR is already very useful, and its utility is sure to increase in the coming years as more and more about it is discovered.

It is already being used for treating sickle cell anaemia, modifying the red blood stem cells in the bone marrow to produce foetal haemoglobin, allowing sufficient oxygen to be carried by preventing the sickling effect. There is also research into creating malaria-resistant mosquitoes, which may allow malaria to be far better managed in the future.

In conclusion, CRISPR technology is an incredible modern innovation in biology, and going to Pask Soc allowed us to use it, an opportunity that would be available to students almost nowhere else, so come to Pask Soc to have this experience for yourself. ❚

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Chemistry

DEPARTMENTS

Chemistry Problem Solving Club Ishan Madhok

At the start of the spring term, chemists from L8 and U8 (and a few daring 6th formers) gather at the chemistry problem-solving club. Led by Mr Martin, the club seeks to provide inquisitive students with the tools to solve problems in chemistry, ranging from the Olympiad in Spring to the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge in the Summer.

I distinctly remember my first session, in the 6th form, where we were solving a question related to the horse meat scandal. Whilst at first intimidated by the large skeletal phenylbutazone molecule, Mr Martin helped to decompose the problem, giving hints with the same passion and zeal that he always brings to lessons.

Coming back from the RSC Olympiad after a brief pause in the autumn term, Mr Martin handed us all a rather daunting pack of questions. Over the next few weeks, we worked through these carefully curated questions, exploring various branches of chemistry from organic synthesis to quantitative calculations. In my opinion, synthesis is the most enjoyable, as you really have to use all your knowledge combined with some intuition to deduce what successive structures may be, and can sometimes even determine intermediates retrosynthetically!

In the subsequent problem set, we worked through a question involving crystals of silicon-28, eventually even calculating the famous Avogadro constant! A question on hydrolysis concluded this pack, and we cemented our critical thinking skills, trying to decipher a flowchart of molecules, involving several different synthetic routes from and towards unknown compounds.

Overall, problem solving is a rewarding and enjoyable club to be a part of, and it has motivated many of us to study chemistry at a higher level by introducing us to fascinating topics like thermodynamics, stereochemistry, and advanced synthesis. Thank you again to Mr Martin, who has devoted his own valuable time creating and helping us work through these problems in such a well-structured and fun way. ❚

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Chemistry Race

Top of the Bench 2025

Sam Christie

Kevin M Lu and Leo Bauer

At 9:28 AM on Saturday, the 1st of February, five excited Paulines and two cheerful chemistry teachers boarded a train to Cambridge. Laden with impractically thick undergraduate textbooks and a dream, the team “Based” had one goal in mind: to win beaker mugs. The train journey was intense: frantically-scribbled skeletal formulae and at least a hundred calculators were passed around the carriage as we prepared, but when we arrived in Cambridge, we were confident. After some friendly conversation with our competitors and a thorough grounding in the rules, at 12:30 PM, the race began. Working through question after endless question, at some moments there was frenzied discussion over a difficult problem; at others, just the scratching of pens on paper. The feeling of adrenaline as we brought questions to the front to be marked and watched the examiner’s pen hover over the page was electric; the two hours were over in seconds.

The buzz still wearing off, we headed into town for some Mexican food while the points were tallied. Finally back in the main lecture hall, we held our breath as the results were read out. The top six out of sixty teams at Cambridge would win the prestigious beaker mugs. In 7th place, Basic Solutions from Sevenoaks.

In 6th place, by one point, the Hampton Li-ions. In 5th place… Based. We had done it. We returned to London with the taste of victory in our mouths, which we only later replaced with the taste of a choice beverage from our shiny, brand-new beaker mugs.

On the 13th of November, we both attended the selection trials to earn our place in the St Paul’s Top of the Bench team. We sat a 25-question, multiple-choice paper, and the time we took to complete this was essential for qualifying. The selection process was very tough, with many people not fast enough for selection. In the end, we both qualified for the team, along with Ari Pissioti Capriello in the 5th form and Jake Hope in the 6th form.

The St Paul’s team placed 5th in the Cambridge competition and 8th nationally out of a total of eighty schools. ❚

Then, we attended the regional finals, which were a practical experiment and a theory test. The theory test was relatively trivial, with both of us dropping only one mark on a tricky balancing question, but the practical was far more complex. Despite this, we comfortably finished first in our heat and awaited other results in our region.

In early February, we received good news: we had come first in the Downland region! This meant that we had qualified for the national finals, which were held at Cardiff University.

On the day of the competition, we all gathered inside the school and prepared for a 4-hour drive to Cardiff. Upon arrival, we were greeted with light refreshments of Welsh cakes and tea.

At around 10 o’clock, our team and the other competing teams slowly filed into the first test, which was a theory paper. This test was rather easy, and we did very well on it, with the topic of the test being air. We then congregated for lunch, where we discussed our performance in the first paper and were shocked to hear that a neighbouring team had come all the way from Luxembourg to compete.

After lunch, we headed to the biochemistry university labs, where the organisers of the competition explained the rules of the practical test. It was based on a blue bottle experiment, where, after being shaken, an originally clear solution would turn blue, and then

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stay blue for a period of time before returning to a transparent state. The end goal was to develop three bottles, one of which took 100 seconds for a full cycle, one which took 150 seconds for a full cycle and finally one which took 200 seconds. We investigated certain factors, such as glucose concentration and the number of shakes, which impacted the time taken for one cycle.

As our time ran out, our team was able to successfully concoct the 100 and 150-second bottles, but due to an unfortunate mistake, we discarded our 200-second bottle. This resulted in our 100 and 150 second bottles being within 10 seconds of the goal and our 200 second bottle being 156 seconds.

After the practical test, we sat a lecture on career paths relating to chemistry before receiving results. Due to our prior mistake, we didn’t do as well as we could have, resulting in a fifth-place finish, which, with all being considered, wasn’t that bad.

After the results, we hopped back onto the school bus and took the long journey back to school. In all, we achieved a good result and were very happy to be part of the SPS team for the 2025 Top of the Bench competition! ❚

DEPARTMENTS

OChemistree MJPS

OChemistree Winners 2024 In December, a group of pupils and physics technician Andres Tretiakov created a fluorescent chemistree (a Christmas tree made from chemicals), which decorated the Chemistry corridor until the end of term. Every fluorescing substance in the tree could be found in a household substance – tonic water, washing powder, vitamin B2, egg shells, tree bark and more. Andres submitted a photo of the tree, fluorescing brightly under UV lights, to the OChemistree Competition, and our tree was judged the overall winner. ❚

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L8th Presentation Prize 2025

Aditya Swamy and Adavya Goyal Synthesis of Tamiflu

BCBM & MJPS

This year, the chemistry department ran the second L8th Presentation Prize, in which students were invited to submit a 5-minute video presentation on a topic of their choosing. We received eighteen videos from twenty-seven students – they were allowed to pair up – and the quality, range of topics, depth of research, and humour on display were outstanding. Presentations looked at the chemistry behind the SR-71 Blackbird, the science of coffee, capsaicin and opioids, why onions make us cry, how Tamiflu, an antiviral medication used to treat influenza, is synthesised, the chemistry of epoxy and much more.

It was very difficult to select winners amongst the group, but in the end, we awarded prizes to Leo Bertolo, Alex Barea, Sam Christie & Leo Satchell, and Aditya Swamy & Adavya Goyal. In addition, a number of presentations were highly commended: Maxence Lam & Daniel Lee, Max Wiseman & John Beck, Shrey Doshi, Tolga Mardin & Zubin Maudgil.

Below are short extracts from the prize-winning presentations, including screenshots from the videos.

Well done to everyone who entered! ❚

We live in constant danger of a flu pandemic. The 1918 Spanish Flu killed between 50 and 100 million people – about 3% of the world’s population.

Influenza spreads using an enzyme called neuraminidase, which helps the virus break free from infected cells by cleaving sialic acid residues. This allows it to spread rapidly throughout the body. Oseltamivir, also known as Tamiflu, is a neuraminidase inhibitor.

It blocks the enzyme, as it is similar to the enzyme’s substrate, trapping the virus on the host cell and stopping its spread. This reduces both the severity and duration of the flu, making it a key tool in fighting outbreaks.

There are various routes to manufacture Tamiflu. In this presentation, we will talk about 2 of the main synthetic routes.

These routes are fairly long, thus we will focus on the most important steps that determine the molecules’ overall stereochemistry and structure: the key feature of the molecule is the two nitrogens and oxygen forming three stereocenters attached to the sixmembered ring.

Shikimic acid, a key starting material for Tamiflu, is found as a single enantiomer in star anise but is difficult to massproduce. It is useful because it has three stereocenters, an acetyl group, and a double bond in the ring, which streamlines synthesis.

However, its structure differs from Tamiflu in crucial ways, especially in the stereochemistry of the hydroxyl groups.

Stereospecific reactions are required to precisely modify these groups, converting them into the necessary amine and ether functionalities while ensuring the correct 3D arrangement.

This reaction is the first key step in the synthesis of Tamiflu, transforming a shikimic acid derivative into a crucial intermediate through epoxide formation and azide substitution.

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First, the bottom hydroxyl group is activated through esterification and mesylation, making it a good leaving group. Then, a base deprotonates an adjacent hydroxyl, triggering intramolecular attack and forming an epoxide – a highly strained, reactive three-membered ring. Next, the azide ion steps in. It acts as a nucleophile, attacking the less hindered carbon of the epoxide in an SN2 reaction.

This opens the ring, introducing both an azide and a hydroxyl group in the correct stereochemical arrangement.

Triphenylphosphine reduces the azide in a complex mechanism involving four and five-membered ring intermediates to form an aziridine (the threemembered nitrogen ring). This then is attacked again by another molecule of highly explosive sodium azide to introduce all nitrogens in the correct stereochemistry – after various routine steps, including reduction and acylation, the product is obtained. ❚

DEPARTMENTS

Alex Barea What gives slick tyres grip?

Formula 1 tyres may appear only to have the role of supporting the car around the circuit, but they have had a reasonable part to play in the history of the sport.

Examples include the farcical 2005 US Grand Prix, where only six cars took the start; Max Verstappen’s tyre failure in the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, adding to an already extremely dramatic season; and the rainbow of tyre compounds we saw in 2018 (which was unfortunately removed for 2019).

So, having raced through a very brief history of the F1 tyre, let’s get rolling. F1 tyres contain similar materials to normal tyres, the main ones being natural rubber and styrene-butadiene copolymer. There are also other materials, such as carbon black and silica, and many others that could have a whole video of their own. However, something quite noticeable about F1 tyres is that they are slick – they don’t have the tread around them that we see on normal tyres. This leads us to the question – what gives slick tyres grip?

Rubber being a glass means that its hardness depends on the temperature at which it is made, and this plays a very large part in giving tyres grip. When the tyre is too hard, it cannot conform to the surface of the track, causing drivers to slide all over the road. On the other hand, when the tyre is too soft, the rubber begins to conform too much to the track, leading to pieces of rubber being ripped off the tyre, causing the tyre to degrade and, again, leading to the car losing grip. Therefore, there is a very specific window for the tyres to get into, and we will explore the positive effects that arise from being in this window here. ❚

There are numerous factors that give slick tyres grip, but one I find particularly gripping is the effect of the glass transition temperature, or Tg, of rubber, which is what I will be focusing on. Now, when we think of glass, rubber does not immediately come to mind, but glass refers to a class of materials, rather than just the material we make windows and glasses out of.

This gives us two things to define. Firstly, glass. A glass is a non-crystalline or amorphous solid that exhibits a glass transition when heated towards the liquid state, and this is why rubbers are classified as glass – they are amorphous solids which exhibit a glass transition. And secondly, glass transition. Glass transition is defined as the gradual and reversible transition in amorphous materials from a hard and relatively brittle glassy state into a viscous or rubbery state as the temperature is increased.

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Chemistry

Leo Bertolo The chemistry of SR-71 Blackbird

Hello everyone. In this presentation, I will look at the Chemistry Behind the SR-71 Blackbird, a US military jet manufactured during the Cold War as a stealth plane capable of espionage.

First created in 1964 by the Skunk Works division of Lockheed Martin, it was classed as a strategic reconnaissance aircraft. Flying at speeds greater than Mach 3, experiencing temperatures greater than 600 degrees Celsius, and cruising at an altitude of 85000 feet, it was approved by the CIA to spy on Soviet activities during the Cold War. I will look at several aspects of the chemistry behind the Blackbird – such as materials, fuels, and other technologies – that have been combined to form the jet that holds flight records to this day.

Let’s look at the composition of the Blackbird from a materials perspective.

Titanium was mostly used due to its very high melting point and its ability not to deform easily. Aluminium was included in smaller percentages due to its low melting point. Titanium is also light and strong, shown by its specific strength, which is a ratio of tensile strength to weight.

Although some of the Titanium was bought from the Soviet Union through ghost companies, actual chemical extraction of Titanium from its iron ore was also required. After being reduced using chlorine at high temperatures, the titanium ore formed titanium tetrachloride, which was then added to magnesium in the Kroll process to extract the pure Titanium, again at high temperatures of nearly 1000 degrees Celsius.

Titanium had another beneficial use: its oxide formed a protective surface coating at high temperatures, due to the friction of air molecules in flight.

At those temperatures, oxygen 122 THE PAULINE 2024-25

molecules in the air have enough energy to split and adsorb into the Titanium surface of the jet, meaning that the particles adhere to its surface. This process was helped by Titanium’s large number of electrons and Oxygen’s high electronegativity. Many Titanium oxides are possible, but TiO2 forms specifically. This is due to the lowpressure environment and the temperature being less than 1000 degrees Celsius.

The layer has a higher melting point than titanium itself and exhibits a stable lattice structure. There is a transition layer between the two materials, due to the fact that oxygen must diffuse into the titanium layer to oxidise it, once

oxidation of the surface occurs. This causes the non-uniform distribution of titanium oxide on the surface. Unlike rust (which is a flaky substance prone to detaching due to high water content), Titanium oxide is classified as adherent using the Pilling-Bedworth ratio. This means that a constant layer of oxide coating made the jet less prone to continued corrosion. ❚

DEPARTMENTS

Sam Christie and Leo Satchell Suzuki Coupling Reactions

It all started with this guy called Suzuki, who in 1979 made a coupling reaction, which allowed you to combine an aryl halide and a boronic acid into one compound, using just a single catalyst. He actually got a Nobel Prize for it, but it was over thirty years later in 2010. The reason why this is so useful is that forming carbon-carbon bonds is actually quite difficult.

The Suzuki reaction is a way to form carbon-carbon bonds – it is a crosscoupling reaction between an organoboron and an organohalide in the presence of a palladium-based catalyst, forming a bond between the two organic groups. For example, this can be used in the reaction between benzene and ethanal to form phenylethanal. To do this, you would want a halide group on the benzene and a borane group on the ethanal, or vice versa. For this reaction to take place, the palladium catalyst must be in a zero oxidation state, and this is done by adding a ligand to stabilise the active palladium catalyst.

Step one is oxidative addition, in which the palladium catalyst reacts with the organohalide, forming an organopalladium complex. Here, the palladium goes from the zero oxidation state to +2, and this reaction is the rate-determining step, as you are

breaking the R-X bond, which has a high activation energy.

Step two is reacting both this organopalladium complex and the organoboron with a base. For the organopalladium complex, the tertbutoxide ion, which acts as a base, attaches to the palladium, and therefore the halide detaches as it is the best leaving group, and palladium only wants to have 2 or 4 bonds at one time.

This forms a palladium intermediate.

Then, a tert-butoxide also attacks the boron in the organoboron, forming a boronate complex.

The reason why boron reacts with a base is interesting. All organoboranes are actually considered as Lewis acids: they can accept an electron pair from a donor (in this case, the tert-butoxide).

This is because boron is electrondeficient: if we take a look at its electron configuration, we see that it has two unoccupied p orbitals, which can be filled to give one electron in each p orbital, each with the same spin, which is quite stable. Thus, in the same way that nitrogen can stably form NH4+, boron can stably form BH4-. ❚

123

Engineering As always, the Engineering year began with the end of the Firefly racing season, an odd phenomenon where the competition follows the F1 calendar and not the academic year.

The Firefly Racing team had a thrilling end to the season, however, finishing second overall in the F24+ Kit Car championship, but perhaps more importantly to us, defending their Ford International Engineering Award title for the third year in a row.

This year was themed around our school character traits – and not just in helping the school by producing and installing large versions of them in the atrium during the Christmas holidays, but also in the way we approached everything we do.

Firefly Racing – Greenpower Goodwood International Final

Character Traits Installation in the atrium, using a 12 m tall mobile elevated work platform

We started a new Co-Curricular opportunity for the 8th Form: becoming an Engineering Leader.

These newly appointed leaders would support younger pupils from the Upper First in SPJ all the way to the 5th Form, in the vast array of competition teams in Engineering, from Robotics, through Motorsports, to Space. Our new leaders had to show integrity and kindness as they learned to work with other, younger pupils – in the case of the Upper First, being only half their age.

We also developed our work with Partnerships, supporting the L8th as they went into local primary schools to deliver the First® LEGO® League Explore competition every Friday afternoon. The dining hall saw the LEGO® Festival in the Autumn and Spring terms with over a hundred 7, 8 and 9-year-olds showcasing their work alongside their L8th volunteers.

Not to be outdone, the Firefly Racing team were invited to Ford’s UK headquarters to show the engineers what they had been up to during the 2024 season. One standout quote from the head of Ford’s electric car division was “Wow, where did you source your battery dyno, it seems a lot better than ours…”. There was a 124 THE PAULINE 2024-25

First® LEGO® League Explore competition

DEPARTMENTS

moment of quiet before Harry, one of the 6th Form, said, “umm, we made it!”

Our GCSE and A-Level pupils grappled with various problems, solving them as part of their NEAs and EPQs. A huge range of LED lamps were made by the GCSE pupils, but by far our favourite project was the quail house (yes, a house for quails). Seeing the videos of the finished product being tested, as quails ran in and out, made the marking experience that bit more joyful. EPQ pupils wrestled with everything from app design to optimising tyre pressures and trying to keep plants alive…

This year, we also developed our Robotics section. It was our second year competing in First® LEGO® League, and one of the teams qualified for the national finals in Harrogate. Although they didn’t go forward to worlds, they competed against hundreds of other teams from all over the UK. We hosted the South West London First® LEGO® League Challenge regional competition in the Spring term. Ten teams competed to be selected for the national competition (very sensibly, our own team competed in the North London heat, so no accusations of favouritism could be made). After a fierce day of competition, the Home Ed Engineers won the event, giving them the chance to go to Harrogate to compete in the national finals.

(working with our Finance, Partnerships, Community Events and Marketing departments – to name but a few).

They worked with the Engineering Society to put on talks – attended by five local schools – on Civil Engineering and Agentic AI. At the regional heat, despite the robot breaking down and emergency 3D printing needing to happen, they qualified for the national competition based on their all-around work. At nationals, the judges were blown away by their dedication to the competition. The team were labelled as “one to watch” for the future and was the most impressive rookie team the competition organisers had seen in years.

One of the standout traits of Pauline Engineers is their determination; to figure something out, to try (and try again) when faced with adversity.

Their kindness in supporting other teams at competitions and online is often commented on. As we look to next year, to the ending of another Firefly Racing season (and hopefully another Engineering title defense) and the start of the new robotics season, to new GCSE projects and new EPQs beginning, we hope that these traits will continue to be shown strongly and in abundance. ❚

The next level after First® LEGO® League is First® Tech Challenge. No more LEGO® robots – this was more complex, with omnidirectional wheels and servos to control lifting arms. Our inaugural team showed real resilience as they tackled the complex nature of the competition.

Like First® LEGO® League, it isn’t just about the robot game, but also all about our outreach, community work and all-around teamwork. The team learned more about the structure of the school 125

Engineering

Engineering Society The Engineering Society at St Paul’s took a slight change of direction this year, but continues to thrive as a hub for innovation, creativity, and collaboration.

This year has been particularly successful, with a rich variety of events that have inspired pupils across the school to engage with engineering in both theoretical and practical contexts.

A highlight was the ‘St Paul’s Juniors Design Competition’, where senior pupils collaborated with our junior school on imaginative design challenges, fostering mentorship and early enthusiasm for engineering through their ‘sustainable poster design challenge’, designing a poster to highlight and tackle one of the UN’s 2050 sustainability goals. Another standout moment was welcoming James Roberts, founder of mOm Incubators, whose compelling talk on his journey from invention to entrepreneurship offered invaluable insight into real-world engineering and start-up success.

Build Something’ event, both of which encouraged innovative thinking and teamwork. During charities week, engineering-themed activities added a creative and constructive angle to fundraising efforts, allowing pupils to apply their skills in fun, socially minded ways.

The society has enjoyed a vibrant and productive year, strengthening its reputation as a cornerstone of co-curricular life at St Paul’s and inspiring the next generation of engineers. ❚

The society also hosted a series of engaging internal talks, including topics such as The Future of Cars, Car Engines vs F1 Engines, and Mathematical Finance with Philipp Plank. A particularly exciting session on Agentic AI led by Sofia Fenichell captivated audiences by exploring the evolving relationship between artificial intelligence and human decision-making.

Practical challenges continued to energise the society, from the newly established ‘St Paul’s Egg Drop Competition’ to the spirited ‘House

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St Paul’s School

CIVIL ENGINEER Tuesday 19 November

16h30 – Monty Room St Paul’s School SW13 9JT

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Thursday 8 th May JC Hall, 12:4513:30

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Emily AdlamCook

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Civil Engineer Emily Adlam-Cook is part of BAM Nuttall’s Major Projects division and has worked on the Tideway, Silvertown Tunnel and various TFL projects.

Come along to hear her talk about her love of engineering, her route into the industry and the diverse areas and roles available in civil engineering – from planning & design to construction…

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First Tech® Challegenge

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The First Lego League Olle Van Angeran

First® Lego® League is a robotics competition where you assemble a team of up to ten people with a task to create a robot that attempts to complete as many tasks in order to get as many points as you can within 2 minutes and 30 seconds.

However, getting these points is only 25% of your final score; therefore, you must also do well in the other sections, such as the Innovation project, the Robot Design presentation and the Core Values assessment. If you score highly in all of these aspects, you will end up with a strong score, which is why it was vital for us to spend an adequate amount of time on all of them.

Our team consisted of 6 people, and we split the tasks so that 3 people worked on the robot game and 3 people worked on the Innovation project. Our robot was made using two large wheels in the middle for power and two small wheels at the front for stability. We made many parts and code to try and complete the tasks efficiently. The innovation project was aimed to help sharks that are being unlawfully killed using a tracker that we designed and 3D printed ourselves, and even present useful research on migration patterns and the life of sharks, to further our knowledge of the animal. We had great successes in both components during the regional competition, with our team placing first in the robot games,

with the innovation score still unknown, but it was enough to secure our win, allowing us to attend nationals. We then moved on to the national competition, which took place in York, a few hours north of London. The event was huge - hosted in Harrogate, with almost 500 people attending. Teams came from all over the country, and it was a wonderful experience to attend. Unfortunately, we did not qualify for the international competition. However, we had a brilliant time in both competitions and are hugely thankful to the engineering department for making this possible. ❚

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Five Years of Firefly James

There’s no one right way to ‘do’ St Paul’s, but there’s no doubt Firefly has been the nexus of my five years here, and I’d argue it’s been quite the unique and thrilling way to do it. I’ve written a Pauline article about the team every year since I was in the Fourth Form, and this – my last one – will be a nostalgic, reflective and personal review of all I’ve been so fortunate to experience as a member of the team.

It was long before I joined the school that Firefly first insinuated itself into my mind. On my visit to the SPS open day in 2016, I caught a glimpse of what must have been an early prototype of FF01, and, as an ardent motorsport fan, that meant everything to me. Four years later, in a COVID-stricken Fourth Form year of 2020/21, I submitted my application to join the team. Out of the countless people who wanted to get involved, for some reason, Miss Douglass chose me. So it was settled then. Twelve or so of us would be the new rookie Firefly cohort.

Although the 2021 winter offseason was COVID-stricken, with engineering limited to the odd Friday session and discovering Arthur’s relentless 128 THE PAULINE 2024-25

engineering erudition over Google Meet, good news soon came. We would be racing in 2022. Before our first races, a few of us took on the project of kitting out the Firefly trailer so that it would double as a data and telemetry centre on the day (detailed in my 2021-22 article).

Although perhaps not as immediately relevant as something like changing out the floor of the car, I’m grateful for being able to undertake a project like this because it taught us valuable lessons in both electronic design and CAD, and I found that my technical draughtsmanship left a lot to be desired; alas, some things never change.

My year’s inaugural raceday at Goodwood was unforgettable. Even after a ‘magic Saturday’ in which Arthur

spends tireless hours toiling away at making sure the cars are race-ready (sorry!), FF01 was still far from the ideal condition and needed a morning of TLC and duct tape. That said, we did get the car out for two races that day, albeit resulting in two DNFs, the latter of which involved me pulling over to the side of the track and waiting approximately seventeen years for the recovery vehicle to emerge. However, we managed to ameliorate the problems for the next few races, qualifying for the final and picking up a sustainability award for both the trailer project and our plans to use solar power to charge our race batteries (don’t tell Greenpower, but it’s 2025 and we still haven’t followed through with that idea). This was also topped off with a season engineering

DEPARTMENTS

award at the final, which we see as the Constructors’ Championship. A fitting epilogue to FF01, the team’s first car, which we decided to retire at the end of the season, to focus our attention on building a new car, FF05 (keep in mind we were hoping to get this done for the start of 2023).

The most memorable part of the next season, 2023, was our maiden race at Ford Dunton, as a team. Being a major automotive engineering company, one would expect their test track at the massive technical centre in the otherwise unassuming Basildon to be top-notch. Unfortunately, I was a little shocked to find quite the opposite. Until the day I die, I will never forget being shaken up and down, left and right, to and fro, all the way around this ‘track’ for half an hour on end, all while dodging a miscellany of obstacles (recounted in my rather blustery 2022/23 Pauline article). The day also ended with the frustrating realisation that – and I quote from that article – the ‘battery cassette had become dislodged, falling out of the car and onto the track’. Lovely.

Never again.

However, the final of the 2023 season was equally unforgettable but in a much more positive way. With all of the then Upper 8th busy due to the race being contemporaneous with university entrance exams, I was given the call-up to race in F24+ (the senior category) to try and get as high up the championship table as we possibly could, despite technically being younger than the minimum age requirement (don’t worry – we cleared it with Greenpower beforehand). Until this point, most of my driving had been in dying cars with drained batteries, or with my spine being rattled out of my skin by bumpy track surfaces. This, however, was different. Speeding off the line alongside some of the most successful and demonically quick cars and almost keeping up to pace with the frontrunners felt like a bit of a cathartic epiphany.

We’d spent countless hours toiling away at making this car as fast as possible, and now I felt what it was all about – pure joy, a little anxiety that the entire team is watching you (don’t crash…), and oodles of adrenaline as you race down the main straight to the first corner.

Despite a few missed apexes and a moment where my soul briefly considered exiting by the nearest fire escape when a kit car decided to swerve right and try to push me onto the grass, we picked up a respectable 8th place, marking the team’s highest ever finish in the F24+ finals. Furthermore, we picked up yet another season engineering award (#backtoback).

At this point, you may also be asking about FF05. Yeah. We didn’t get it built for the start of the season. Or the end of the season, for that matter.

EPQ time. In many years, Lower 8th team members choose to pick up an EPQ based on Firefly projects, and my year group was no different. Although many of the team members that had joined with me in the Fourth Form had lost a bit of interest through 2023, the allure of doing a Firefly EPQ meant some got back involved, meaning we had a smorgasbord of projects that were undertaken, including new setup wheels, a new brake light, a vehicle dynamics simulator, and the PU Dyno (power unit dynamometer, a.k.a. motor testing device). Let me tell you now that there are many ways to approach an engineering EPQ. If I were to give some advice to anyone doing one in the future, it would be to go for the ‘easy wins’. Plan well, write a concise project report ticking off all the mark scheme points, get some kind of working model of the thing you’re making, and don’t bother actually trying to manufacture anything until you’ve submitted your project. There are two things I would strongly advise you not to do. Firstly, don’t slack off and leave everything until the last minute. Secondly, don’t overdo it. Unless you feel like subjecting yourself to death by Google Docs, you don’t need to write a 70,000-word novel with a self-marking sheet that is likely longer than most recommended report lengths. Not that anyone would ever do such a thing, right…

Despite EPQs holding back all of my year from doing anything properly productive on the cars (a bit counterintuitive, I know), optimism was in the air heading into 2024, having retired the legendary FF02 to focus on building FF05 (still not complete over two years later) and running FF03 in both racing ➦ 129

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categories for the year. After ascertaining at the Mallory Park test day that the motor we were using was holding us back, we swapped it for a new one and made some innovative aerodynamic, weight-saving, and transmission improvements so we could hopefully get further up the leaderboard than 52nd at the season opener at Goodwood. Lotus Hethel (one of our favourite circuits) rolled around and I got the call to drive in F24+ again, with all the new and hopefully not nugatory improvements to the car, hoping for a top 10 finish or even a podium. And, against all the odds, putting my year’s deplorable history of DNFs behind us, to the disbelief of almost everyone, we won the race. First time ever, numero uno, cream of the crop, big cheese, top dogs. Chaos. Bedlam. In my 2023/24 Pauline article, I described it as ‘like the final bell from Rocky II’, which I absolutely stand by. Best and proudest moment in my St Paul’s career. I’m not typically one to get emotional, but that was an exception. To this day, the gold medal from the 12th of June 2024 hangs marvellously in my bedroom at home.

The rest of the season also went decently, although not quite matching the madness of Lotus. We picked up a 2nd place in F24, the junior competition, at Ford Dunton (yes I know I said we’d never go there again but this was for real the last time). We then returned to Lotus in autumn for another race, narrowly beaten by The Egg team for first place.

Then the final race at Goodwood unravelled in one of the most unusual ways I’ve ever seen. Given that it was a cold day and track conditions were not ideal, we decided to turn the car’s power down slightly in the hopes that it would mean we could make it to the end without considerably slowing down due to battery degradation.

Unfortunately, this meant we fell behind.

Badly. Dropped over a dozen positions by the second corner. By the end of the penultimate lap, I was down in 11th place, which I felt would have been a very disappointing end to an otherwise brilliant 2024 campaign. However, with about 20% of the very final lap to go, I received the call from the pit wall to increase the car’s power to its maximum.

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The decision confused me at the time since it would mean we’d almost certainly kill the batteries before the race’s end.

However, due to the way the races are run, if we didn’t make it to the line within the next 40 seconds, we’d finish the race and take the chequered flag there in 11th place at best. However, if we managed to finish the lap and cross the line before the flag drops, we’d be able to start another lap and try to overtake some slower-moving cars, which would be suffering from the aforementioned hastened battery degradation due to the conditions. As a racing driver, you don’t need to tell me twice to give it the beans. We crossed the line a mere two seconds before the flag dropped, and we were gaining on a legion of cars ahead that had not anticipated the weather and whose batteries must have been crying out in pain. With FF03’s batteries depleted, using whatever residual power we had left in the tank, I passed eight cars throughout the concluding lap (including the ultra-rare triple overtake through turn 4), coming across the line to the cheers of the whole team that had gathered in the main stand, to take 3rd in the race and 2nd in the overall championship. Since the live timings were patchy that day, everyone else on the team had no idea that I’d have overtaken all the cars and – to their knowledge – we were still nowhere near the top 5, so this came as

DEPARTMENTS

an incredible surprise. Dr Killick aptly called this his ‘favourite Pauline moment of the year’ in whole school assembly, which we will cherish until the end of time. Pulling into park fermé, I gave one final radio message: ‘We’re at stable one, the car is secure. This is FF03 signing off.’ If you know what that’s a reference to, I salute you. Oh, and we won another season engineering award (#backtobacktoback), all having never put FF05 together.

Although I withdrew slightly from active service to the team for 2025 because of the joys of A levels, from what I can tell the success has not diminished. The team has enjoyed two more race wins at Goodwood and Bedford, with drivers Max and Vyom respectively. This means my year can now rest easy and hang up the race suits with the comfort of knowing that the team is in the best of hands to challenge for an actual championship title, to undertake all of the future marvellous engineering feats, to try and go back to back to back to back with engineering awards, and – most importantly – to keep Firefly rolling.

So I now return to my original statement.

There’s no right way to ‘do’ St Paul’s, but Team Firefly? I’d argue it’s a pretty good one. Every team member has a different story to tell and this was mine, but in these five years on the team, I truly feel like I’ve experienced so much that I could never have imagined before joining the school. I’ve driven around historic circuits, won trophies, become an expert on DC motors, spent hours building both mechanical and electronic engineering projects, got a custom seat moulded and fitted for myself, spoken to the head of design engineering at Ford, got a picture of myself in FF03 inside the front cover of the Revolution motorsport magazine, and – most importantly – been called an ‘electronics guru’ by Mr Boydell. But the great thing about St Paul’s is that everyone’s experience will be different. My advice to those younger than me would be that although Firefly was the epicentre of my time here, no matter what you enjoy doing, whether that be anything from choir to cricket or from Paul’s Pizza to Physics Problem Solving, get involved, try something new, and take the right steps to make it your own.

Phew. That was a long one, wasn’t it?

I’d like to conclude by offering my unbounded gratitude and indebtedness to everyone who has made Firefly so great. Firstly, huge acknowledgement to Arthur Jenkins. Without your leadership, engineering brilliance, whimsical kindness, and alacrity to help, Firefly would not even have half-functioning cars. To Miss Douglass, thank you for helping us in every way possible with both the engineering and the seemingly illimitable admin that gets piled on your desk. To Mr Clark, thank you for always being around to offer support and expertise with projects, particularly when we were working on the trailer.

To Mr Boydell, without your commitment to both driving the minibus up and down the country and giving us a thorough musical education, we would never have arrived at any of our races (and we wouldn’t have fallen in love with The Chemical Brothers). To Miss Eadie and Mr Emery, and any other teacher who has accompanied us to a race, we’re sorry for you needing to wake up so early and thankful that you always give up your time to make racedays possible. And finally, to all team members, past and present, I must tip my hat off to your everlasting dedication, zeal, and ardent love for engineering and pushing the limits of what we can achieve with these cars.

The mixture of technical expertise and friendly camaraderie I’ve seen here is truly unique and will never be forgotten. I wish you all the very best for the future. ❚

I joined Firefly at the beginning of this year, and so far it has been amazing. When we started in October we had no idea what to do. All of us fourth formers were standing around looking at all the different daunting projects and had no idea where to start. Luckily, I quickly got an apprenticeship of sorts with Theo to help with the steering. He was helpful and kind, and helped me do all sorts of work.

I know that all the other fourth forms also got help like this, and we were all very thankful for everyone making us feel at home.

After my short stint with Theo, I decided to try and get my own project, and ended up taking over the battery testing and analysis from Ishan during his GCSEs. This has been an amazing project, and I have been doing all sorts of important work preparing and analysing our batteries. Throughout this process everyone has been so helpful and kind. Zubin has helped me with all sorts of analysis and tech issues and Mr Jenkins has stayed late on Fridays and done all sorts of work to help me with my testing. I am so thankful for the whole team treating me well, and I already feel like I’m part of the Firefly family.

The races this year were amazing, with a great start at Goodwood and some superb races across the UK. Us in the fourth form were not just pushed aside during race day, but we were mentored and guided by experienced team members on how to do certain jobs. Throughout the year we have all been allowed to play important roles like Race Engineer and Driver, helping the team do great in races.

I know I can speak for all of the fourth form Firefly team when I say that we are so thankful for how nicely everyone has treated us and made us feel part of the team. Thanks for an amazing year of racing!

Leo Bauer

131

Physics The Physics Department has been extremely active both inside and outside of the classroom, with numerous opportunities for pupils to demonstrate their abilities and enthusiasm in problem solving and research.

Inside the classroom, our specialist teachers continue to foster an excitement for understanding the world around us: laying a foundation for understanding, but also stretching with tricky yet interesting problems.

Physics continues to be an extremely popular subject at St Paul’s, and many students decide to continue their studies at university. In 2024/45, 30 Paulines received offers from UK universities to study Physics-related subjects; 14 for Engineering (various) courses, 7 for Natural Sciences, 5 for Physics, 3 for Materials Science and 1 for Maths with Mathematics Physics.

First choice university offer selections included 11 for Imperial College London, 6 for Cambridge, 5 for Durham, 3 for Oxford, 3 for UCL, and 1 each for Bristol and Warwick.

Below are some updates from numerous physics teachers who coordinate these efforts. As ever, we have been blessed with exceptionally talented and motivated students, allowing our teachers and technicians to share enthusiasm for exploring the physical world! ❚

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Problem Solving Society (Mr Swartzentruber) Eason Shao (U8)

In February last year, when I was in the L8th, some friends in my physics set asked our teacher whether there was a problem-solving society for physics. The answer was no. At that moment, an idea popped up in my mind of setting one up. I spoke with Dara Daneshvar about this initiative, and we both agreed it was worth pursuing. Along with Lev Shabalin, we created the Physics ProblemSolving Society.

The core aim of the society was to tackle challenging problems beyond A-Level standard, while still using the foundational A-Level knowledge. This deepened our understanding and helped us appreciate the underlying principles behind the questions (some of the questions were written by us!).

We hosted talks on special relativity, the Brachistochrone curve, angular momentum, and entropy. We introduced mathematical tools beyond the A-Level, such as

multivariable calculus, applied those powerful tools to solve physics problems, and spent time reflecting on how much more powerful and elegant those tools are compared to other methods. Leo Bessonovs from Imperial also delivered lectures on data analysis using Excel and Python.

Feedback was overwhelmingly positive – most pupils praised the quality of the questions and talks, and everyone learnt something new from every session. As one of the few student-led problem-solving societies in the school, we are proud of what we’ve built and achieved with everyone who shares a passion for physics.

This summer, we handed over to current L8ths: Artem, Aryan and William. It is very rewarding to see that something we created is being continued by younger students. They have already prepared excellent sessions, and I encourage anyone interested in physics to attend and support their work. ❚

DEPARTMENTS

International Young Physicists Competition (Dr S Parsons & Mr A Tretiakov) Dr Parsons

UK Team Shines at IYPT 2024 in Budapest

while countering the critical claims of the opposition as a reviewer, only to reverse those roles in the next round as the battle continued.

The tournament is about more than just competition. It was amazing to meet so many students from truly the four corners of the world. From having dinner with the German team on the first night to dancing the night away with India, Canada, Iran, and Bulgaria at the Gala dinner, the cultural exchange was incredible. We also enjoyed cultural trips to the ancient capital of Visegrád, tours of the city, and the final held at the R&D headquarters of Bosch.

The International Young Physicists’ Tournament (IYPT), affectionately known as the “Physics World Cup,” is a dynamic, team-based competition where high school students tackle intricate physics problems, present innovative solutions, and engage in spirited scientific debates.

It’s a fantastic platform for young minds to immerse themselves in scientific inquiry, cultivate critical thinking, and collaborate on a global stage.

As the teacher leading the UK team, I had the privilege of witnessing firsthand the dedication and spirit of our students during the July 2024 IYPT in Budapest, Hungary. Our team, comprised of Oliver Wang, Jack Wang, Behruz Ahmedov, Kirin Bhatnagar, and Alex Harring, faced the formidable challenge of daily temperatures soaring over 38°C. Despite the intense heat, their unwavering resilience and

determination shone through, culminating in an admirable 28th place finish out of 39 participating countries – a true testament to their hard work and scientific prowess.

A Whirlwind of Learning and Global Connections The trip was a whirlwind of unforgettable moments, valuable lessons, and reflections for future endeavours. The thrill of the “fights” (scientific debates), the intense collaboration under pressure, and the late-night camaraderie in the face of challenges left a lasting impression. The relief of comfortable air-conditioned accommodation after dormitory life at 38 degrees was a welcome change, and the joy of teamwork and problem-solving far beyond mere A-level content was truly remarkable. Having never done anything like this before, we learned so much from our physics “fights,” thinking under pressure to reflect on our own work

The tournament proved to be a profound learning experience for us, not only in physics but in essential life skills. We honed our ability to balance new ideas with critical evaluation during debates, discovered that a robust experimental design often outweighed overly complex mathematical models, and deepened our understanding of physics in diverse contexts.

Looking Ahead to IYPT 2025 in Lund, Sweden As we celebrate the achievements and invaluable lessons learned by our 2024 team, we eagerly anticipate the next International Young Physicists’ Tournament! In July 2025, the competition will be held in Lund, Sweden. We are incredibly proud to announce the promising team that will represent the UK: Mikhail Zubarev, Conrad Scheibye, Xuanlin Li, joined by Leah Jugoo and Clare Jenkins from St Paul’s Girls School.

We wish them the very best as they prepare for this incredible intellectual adventure and look forward to hearing about their experiences and successes. ❚

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Weizmann Safe Cracking Physics Tournament (Mr Swartzentruber, Mr Tretiakov, Mr Cowles, Dr Holmes. Also, Mr Hartfield, Mr Clark, Miss Douglass and Mr Jenkins from Engineering) Alex Barea (L8)

The Weizmann Safe Cracking Physics Tournament is a physics and engineering competition for Year 12 pupils, for which teams of five students design and build a tabletop puzzle based on principles of physics, and attempt to ‘crack’ those of other teams. Alex Barea writes about his team’s experience participating in the competition this year.

In 2022, St Paul’s School’s team bounced from 3rd place in the national final to winning the international final.

Our aim was to equal or beat this record that had stood for the best part of 3 years.

Back in September, we formed our team of five – a mixed group with one aim: to represent St Paul’s on the international stage. We presented our concept safe to the physics department, alongside five other prospective teams, and thanks to some rotating mirrors, we were selected to be the school’s team for the competition.

Over the next few months, we ran through our ideas with Mr Swartzentruber, Dr Holmes, and Mr Cowles, refining them until we had what we thought was “a winner”.

We took our CAD design into the workshop and turned the concept into concrete (wood, actually). With the help of a late Friday evening and a Saturday FaceTime, we arrived at the national competition at Dulwich in February with a complete, working safe. Although plagued with some reliability issues, our safe managed to hold up while other teams tried to crack it, and their experience of it, coupled with our exceptional cracking of other safes, led to us coming 2nd and securing our place at the national finals. So far, on track to beat 2022.

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After briefly enjoying our success, we shifted our focus to the international competition – after all, this is the one we really wanted to win. It was to be hosted online, so we had to produce numerous online documents, including a video about our safe. Many thanks to the art department for letting us use a corner for filming. Just as the Easter holidays began, we gathered together to join a Zoom meeting where the competition was hosted. We spent the first day explaining our concepts to a group of judges – all physics experts (and askers of very difficult questions), the second day cracking other safes and having our safe cracked, and the third day in the closing (and results) ceremony. This was what we had been waiting for all year, and it was very tense. After about half an hour of thanks and comments from judges and organisers, we reached the important part of the slide show – the results. 5th, 4th and 3rd place went to Israeli teams; 2nd place went to Haberdashers’ Boys School (winners of the national tournament), and the winners were… St Paul’s!!

After 6 months of blood, sweat and tears, we had finally accomplished what we set out to do, performing on the international stage, coming out on top from a total of 129 starting teams and 16 international finalist teams, and we just pipped the 2022 team’s record. A cracking performance, and very well done to the team.

Many thanks to Mr Swartzentruber for organising the team, Dr Holmes and Mr Cowles for accommodating us every Friday lunchtime for discussions, Mr Tretiakov for his technical input and for ordering all our materials, and to Mr Hartfield, Mr Clark, Miss Douglass and Mr Jenkins from the engineering department for supervising us in the workshop on many evenings when I’m sure they’d much rather be on their way home. ❚

DEPARTMENTS

British Physics Olympiad Competitions (Dr Gane) This year, over 650 St Paul’s students across all year groups took part in the competitions of the British Physics Olympiad. The Olympiad is organised

by The University of Oxford in close collaboration with the University of Cambridge and is supported by the National Physics Laboratory; it is the UK’s premier platform for the encouragement, development and identification of young physics talent.

Our 4th and 5th formers took part in the Junior Physics challenge, which is aimed at students in their penultimate GCSE year. Collectively, our young physicists achieved 74 Bronze, 110 Silver and 182 Gold awards.

Competing in the Intermediate Physics Challenge, our 6th form students achieved 75 Bronze, 28 Silver and 15 Gold awards. With around 3500 students taking part nationwide, more than 5% of all gold awards in this competition went to St Paul’s boys.

Our L8th Physicists competed in the Senior Physics Challenge, where they achieved 21 Bronze, 25 Silver and 16 Gold awards.

In round one of the British Physics Olympiad competition, our U8th physicists, plus a number of exceptional L8th students and 6th form Students, secured 9 Bronze II, 18 Bronze I, 31 Silver, 17 Gold and 5 Top Gold awards.

Our Top Gold competitors were invited to the second round of the Olympiad and the British Astrophysics and Astronomy Olympiad, where they achieved 2 Gold, 5 Silver and 3 bronze awards.

Congratulations to all competitors who took part in these notoriously challenging competitions. These are awards to be proud of and should fill us all with hope for future success in the Olympiad competitions. ❚

CERN 2024–2025

Strato UV Soars in Brussels

(Led by Mr Pollock) Mr Pollock

SPS Physics visited CERN twice this academic year, both in October and April, with 60 students from the L8 and U8 attending across the two trips.

On each occasion, the groups set out on the early flight from Heathrow to Geneva to make the most of the first day in Switzerland. While the weather on both trips was not particularly favourable (especially for the April outing), the groups’ spirits were not dampened, and a sobering visit to the Red Cross Museum, followed by pizza and bowling in the evening, settled everybody in on the first day. Another early start, this time

by Lac Leman/Geneve, depending on your persuasion, saw the groups embark for their tours of the facilities at CERN, where they were able to speak directly with research scientists involved in some of the world’s most exciting and potentially consequential experiments. With liquid helium being used to cryogenically cool the superconducting magnets to temperatures as low as 2 kelvin, CERN is technically, and also colloquially, one of the coolest places in the universe, demonstrating feats of science that inspire pupils to go on and study Physics at university and beyond. It was clear to see that the scale of the collider and the knowledge of the scientists giving tours left a lasting impression on the pupils.

As for the scale, the only reasonable way to tour the facility was facilitated by coach travel, with the loop having a 27-kilometre circumference in total (crossing from one country to another). The scientists at the facility are truly awe-inspiring, with a near encyclopaedic knowledge of all of the facets of the facility and its experiments.

As the day drew to a close, the group returned to the hostel, taking the scenic route, which included a stroll by the lakeside before returning for a quiz, which closed the second day. Both groups were able to gain a deep insight into what being a career Physicist is actually about through this trip, and I hope that the inspiration that they drew from it will inspire their creativity and ambition in the future in the subject. ❚

Six 5th Form physicists – Rishav, Dhruv, Haofei, Albert, Kai and Louis – spent the Spring term building Strato UV, an 81 g balloon-borne payload for the European Asgard XIV near-space programme in Brussels. Their objective was elegantly simple: track how infrared, visible and, crucially, UV-A/B/C light intensities vary with altitude, shedding light (literally) on the health of the ozone layer.

Designing for flight forced ruthless minimalism. Five iterations of a custom PCB shaved grams, while an Arduino Nano, GPS module, SD logger and three specialised photodiodes squeezed onto a PCB the size of a cheese cracker. Code efficiency proved the real foe: 20 software revisions pushed the microcontroller to 99% memory capacity, leaving little headroom for fault-tolerance.

After a whirlwind of presentations at Sint-Pieterscollege and a moraleboosting detour to the Atomium, launch day arrived at the Royal Meteorological Institute. The balloon vanished into a faultless May sky – yet the payload’s data stream froze 11 minutes before lift-off, a loose power lead and memory overflow silently crashing the programme.

The team could only present lessons learned and a Churchill quote at Friday’s conference.

Failure stung, but lessons were priceless: build in visual error flags, stress-test under flight conditions, and, next time, upgrade to a beefier microcontroller. Strato UV’s data may be missing, but its legacy is already fuelling designs for Asgard XV – and reminding us that science advances as much through missteps as through triumphs. ❚

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SPS Astronomy Society (Dr Gane)

JET Visit May 2025 (Mr Pollock) Mr Pollock

With very slightly clearer skies this year, SPS AstroSoc has observed the night sky on numerous occasions. We have undertaken many solar system observations, including the planetary parade, where seven planets were, briefly, visible on the same evening. We made good observations of Mars, Venus, and Jupiter (see image). The remaining planets disappeared below the horizon before we could train our scopes on them. We now just need to wait until 2040 for the next event of this kind.

This year, AstroSoc members have given talks on topics ranging from black holes to stellar evolution.

AstroSoc students from all SPS years took part in at least one of the competitions, the British Astronomy and Astrophysics Olympiad. In the Junior Challenge and Senior Challenge, Paulines achieved awards ranging from Bronze to Gold.

Our solar observation outings have also been frequent this year, and we have often been seen in Founders Court with our Hydrogen alpha filtered solar scope pointed at the sun. As we are now entering solar maximum, we have observed prominences, filaments and a significant number of spots. The solar activity we have seen has been responsible for much auroral activity, which should continue in the winter months.

SPS Astronomers will keep their scopes trained on the Sun and their cameras trained on the night sky.

Do look out this summer for T-Corona Borealis, a recurring nova that is well overdue to explode. There are many stargazing apps that will guide you to the Corona Borealis cluster, which is easily visible to the naked eye. The last time it exploded was 1946. When it finally does explode, it will appear as bright as the North Star.

Keep looking up! ❚ 136 THE PAULINE 2024-25

During the Summer term, a group of 15 L8 students took the morning out of lessons to visit one of the most important research facilities in the country, the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy. The home of the JET reactor (Joint European Torus). The reactor itself is actually being slowly decommissioned, which sounds like a shame, but it conveniently means that visitors can get a closer look at the facility since there is no danger. The JET reactor has been of seismic significance in nuclear fusion research and offers an insight into the likelihood and complexity of what wide-scale nuclear fusion-powered energy production might look like in the future. At the facility itself, a governmentfunded nuclear facility, there is a fair amount of security, which demonstrates the importance of the research being undertaken and the fact that school tours are relatively infrequent. The tour itself was only two hours in length, but was well worth the time, with the guides offering their extensive knowledge of the physics that underpins the nuclear fusion process. Similar to at CERN, in order for the experiment to function, an understanding of magnetism, materials science, nuclear physics and data analysis is required. All this is done while ensuring that the engineers who work alongside the scientists are able to design pieces of machinery and, in some cases, robots to fulfil the required functions. With so many strands of Physical Science being required to build a fusion reactor, the pupils in attendance were able to appreciate the ambition and complexity of nuclear fusion reactors, as well as the relative success of efforts made so far. As with the CERN trip, visiting such a significant site of scientific importance only provides inspiration for the pupils. I expect that when running the same trip in ten years’ time, there is a fair chance that I may bump into one of the pupils who was in attendance this time around, hopefully on a path to finding a breakthrough in nuclear fusion. ❚

DEPARTMENTS

Team Orbital CanSat

SPS Rocketry

Giovanni Bertoli

(Dr Gane)

This project challenged us to create a compact and sophisticated satellite that was capable of measuring temperature and pressure in the atmosphere. It required designing the satellite to fit inside a drinks can and withstand extreme forces during the launch process, where it would be released from the inside of a rocket at an altitude of approximately 300m.

In our second season of rocket science, the SPS Rocketry Society learned not only skills but also lessons!

On the morning of 6th March, we came into school early to assemble the CanSat, with the final pieces that had been 3D printed overnight, and make sure that all the sensors and microcontrollers were working. We then travelled to Westcott Venture Park near Oxford to launch it, competing against other teams from around the country.

Our senior team took on the challenge of UROC, a national rocketry competition for young rocketeers. Their challenge was to reach a specific altitude, have a specific flight time and protect two, yes two, eggs. Our team CAD designed their rocket, 3D printing parts where necessary and created flight electronics to measure a host of launch variables. We eventually decided to enter two teams in the competition, building a second rocket using the knowledge gained from our first rocket design process.

Following a safety briefing and some final checks, we loaded our cans inside the rockets. It took off, but during descent, our CanSat remained tangled in the rocket’s parachute, causing it to descend faster than we had planned. Fortunately, we were able to recover it without damage, and back at school, we confirmed that accurate data had nevertheless been recorded.

The CanSat project has been a very rewarding and unique experience. I can say for sure that all of us gained valuable skills in programming, physics and working as a team. We are proud of what we achieved and would like to thank Dr Patterson, Mr Emery, and the entire SPS engineering staff for their support throughout. ❚ Team Orbital: Kailin Shi, Giovanni Bertoli, Constantine Kondylis, Jai Gandhi, Demir Viswanathan

Our junior rocketeers began the year building model rockets from cardboard (structural body parts), plastic (nose cone and chute), expanded foam (fins), Kevlar (shock chord) and Nomex (fireproof wadding). Measuring almost 0.4 meters in length, their rockets were built with sustainability and re-use in mind.

We were also fortunate to have the help of the Kingston University Rocket Engineering (KURE) group, who were invaluable to our campaign.

On the day of the competition, conditions were perfect. Our rockets required a touch of last-minute redesigning to accommodate the UKROC regulation launch rail and altimeters. This is really where our KURE mentors were indispensable. Our first launch was a fantastic success – our engine ignited in a glorious blaze – the veritable embodiment of rocket science itself. Our rocket soared into the sky, our eyes locked on its sleek 3-d printed beautiful form as it reached apogee and turned back towards the earth…then it continued to descend and descend and descend, a brief puff of smoke could be seen as the ejection charge fired but failed to actually eject nose cone and parachute.

We continued to watch for what seemed like a lifetime as it plummeted to the ground at great speed.

Needless to say, it required a shovel to retrieve our beloved rocket or at least the pile of plastic, Kevlar, cardboard and metal that it now was.

However, we did save one of our two eggs!

Post-flight analysis suggests that the material we used for our rocket body was not temperature resistant enough. Hence, it deformed under the immense heat of the motor during the first few seconds of flight, which was enough to cause our ejection charge to leak out of the joins in our body tube rather than force our nosecone and parachute out.

Many engineering and material science lessons were learned in our UROC campaign. We intend to use those lessons in the creation of our next competition rocket – we will fly again (hopefully next time we will land gently as well) Keep reaching for the stars! ❚ 137

Physics

Ascension Programme: A Year of Challenges and Triumph The 2023-2024 academic year was one to remember for the St Paul’s School Ascension Programme, a high-altitude ballooning initiative led by Dr Stephen Patterson (Engineering & Physics).

Despite generous backing from the SPS Parents’ Group, who kindly provided the balloon and three cubic metres of helium, the team faced an uphill battle against challenging weather conditions and airspace restrictions.

The first launch planned for July 2023 was postponed as students needed more time to finalise their experiments, pushing the schedule to autumn. By October, although everything was ready, the team had to cancel again as the predicted balloon path would have landed near the Belgian-French border, making recovery impossible, as the balloon and payload had no permission to enter international air space.

In early 2024, the frustrations continued.

February saw another cancellation when forecasts showed the payload drifting out to sea. Similar issues thwarted April’s launch attempts. Hope rose for a July launch during the SPS Space School, but disappointment hit once again when Air Traffic Control withdrew permission at the last moment, citing concerns about congested London airspace.

Meanwhile, Michael Patterson, Stephen’s brother (Nat1videos), inspired by earlier Ascension successes, attempted his own balloon launch from Wormwood Scrubs in London. Despite help from Dr Patterson, the complexities of London airspace proved insurmountable, and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) declined his application.

Determined not to give up, the Patterson brothers joined forces.

Stephen needed reliable support for launch and payload recovery, and Michael sought guidance on securing CAA approval. Facing repeated 138 THE PAULINE 2024-25

Watch the Launch Footage: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list= PLa4z7sSEmLPbehBCyLTmH1XnNHcDmMDP4

setbacks, they shifted tactics, applying for an entire week of potential launch dates to maximise their chances of good weather, and opting for early morning launches to avoid air traffic conflicts.

Their perseverance paid off spectacularly on 2 November 2024.

Thanks to additional helium from Nat1videos to support extra camera gear, the balloon soared to an impressive 27 km altitude, successfully carrying several student-designed experiments: Space School Experiment: Collected data on temperature, pressure, acceleration, and orientation throughout the flight.

SpaceY CanSat Team: Tested an innovative air quality sensor, gathering valuable atmospheric data.

SpaceQuest (Queen Elizabeth School, Kent): Equipped with a Raspberry Pi, camera, Geiger tube, and multiple sensors to monitor conditions during the ascent.

Asgard XI Experiment: Measured atmospheric pressure, temperature, and cosmic radiation. It aimed to replicate findings from a previous Brussels launch that had detected the Regener-Pfotzer maximum.

Interestingly, while results matched closely on ascent, unexpected variations appeared during descent.

DEPARTMENTS

Space Y CanSat Misha Zubarev

Camera Setups: Included an upwardfacing camera to capture the balloon’s burst and a camera sponsored by Army Painter, featuring a Warhammer figurine against the striking backdrop of Earth’s curvature.

Payload recovery was smooth, and the collected data became invaluable to student research. The successful launch highlighted key lessons in resilience, careful planning, and teamwork.

True to its motto “Ad Astra Per Aspera”, through difficulties to the stars, the Ascension Programme emerged from the 2023–2024 year stronger and more inspired than ever, ready for future adventures. ❚

True to its motto “Ad Astra Per Aspera”, through difficulties to the stars, the Ascension Programme emerged from the 2023–2024 year stronger and more inspired than ever, ready for future adventures.

This year’s CanSat experience has been one of trials and tribulations, but provided a wonderful launch pad for future engineering projects. Our group of 6 from the Lower Eighth – myself, Conrad, Terry, Harper, Charlie and Botao – had a simple goal: launch our can into ‘space’.

The team then geared up for the regional launch in March. We stresstested components and applied finishing touches. Two weeks after CDR submission, we disappointedly found we hadn’t made the UK final, but knew our work could be demonstrated regionally.

Our first hurdle was completing the Preliminary Design Review (PDR). The organisers mandated pressure and temperature data collection, but as Paulines, we aimed for the moon. We wanted to add a camera for terrain scouting and OpenCV mapping.

Additionally, we developed the Planet Habitability Index® – a metric encapsulating gas concentrations, temperature, humidity and more into a digestible figure.

Launch day morning, the group gathered in T1. Everyone scrambled performing last-minute checks on our linear actuator. Following lunch, we arrived at the launch site. We hauled equipment from bus to canopy, thick mud swallowing our school shoes.

This is when disaster struck.

Overflowing with ambition, we spent hours in the workshop developing a prototype. Charlie wired our systems to a Raspberry Pi, while Terry created gorgeous CAD files. But we hit our first roadblock: the Raspberry Pi wasn’t cooperating, so we switched to a reliable Arduino Uno. This meant foregoing our camera, but reliability is crucial for such missions.

We successfully submitted a PDR as the festive season descended. Upon our return, we received feedback that the PDR wasn’t as impressive as hoped – we were not deterred.

The Critical Design Review(CDR) deadline approached quickly, and workshop time increased. However, electronics continued plaguing our progress, with Charlie battling unreliable radios, sensors, overheating circuits and missing components.

Parachute design issues also cropped up, with initial prototypes lacking adequate drag.

Everything happened quickly, but post-mortem revealed we’d likely short-circuited the board. We abandoned data streaming efforts, deciding to store locally. Our power supply malfunctioned, forcing us to use a button battery with just 1 5 minutes charge. Hastily, we shoved the can in the rocket.

3,2,1 liftoff. The rocket was airborne.

Time froze. Seconds later, we saw our orange parachute floating into the field. After the launch commander declared it safe, we ventured across thick grass to retrieve our can.

Although our flight didn’t chart a course directly to victory, each bump and bruise taught us invaluable lessons in perseverance, ingenuity, and the gritty reality of innovation.

Standing there, canister in hand beneath the open sky, we felt collective pride knowing we’d reached for the stars, stumbled, and got right back up again – ready for whatever comes next. ❚

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Asgard XIV Junior Prize Giving Presentation Haofei: Good afternoon, we are Strato UV and we are here to present our experiences of representing the school in the Asgard XIV programme.

Rishav: What is Asgard? Asgard is a student-led balloon research program, where many students from different schools around Europe send scientific experiments to near space conditions on weather balloons. Each experiment usually consists of a range of sensors and has varied aims. Some experiments focus on biology, such as monitoring the health of seeds and other organisms in the harsh conditions of space, whilst others are more physics focused and analyse muons, waves and other physical phenomena. SPS space sends one team a year to the Asgard competition, to launch an experiment of their choice. Today we will present our experiment to you.

Albert: Our project aimed to measure how the levels of UV light change with altitude. There are 3 channels of UV light, UV-A, B, and C, where UVA has the longest wavelength. C has the shortest wavelength of the three, which carries more energy. As a result, UVC is the most harmful type of UV radiation, causing adverse effects, such as skin cancer and blindness. Fortunately, UVC is entirely absorbed by the ozone layer of the atmosphere, so we are not exposed to it on the surface; however, the ozone layer sits at around 30 km above the surface, so at altitudes around and above 30 km, exposure to dangerous UVC can drastically increase.

By measuring at what altitude UVC levels start to increase, we can work out the altitude and effectiveness of the ozone layer, comparing it to pre-existing data to determine if the ozone layer is shrinking or not, and at which altitude

precautions to minimise UVC exposure should be taken.

Kai: For our project, we used several key pieces of equipment to collect a range of environmental data. Each of these components play a vital part in our experiment. They measure radiation levels (our primary aim), temperature and altitude, track our flight path, and save the data collected onto a MicroSD card.

Rishav: Initially, we built the system on a breadboard so that components could easily be tested. We then created a PCB design to ensure all the components were mounted securely and in the most efficient way, to reduce weight.

We experimented with five different designs until we arrived at the final one (on the top right) which we planned to use for the launch.

Dhruv: The coding took up a significant portion of the time we spent on the project, as running all of our sensors and collecting data from them in parallel was a difficult task. We went through at least 20 iterations of code before our final one which was launched on the flight.

The final code file took up 99% of the arduino’s memory capacity; we wanted to add even more features to the code, but we were restricted by the Arduino hardware. In future, if we wanted to expand on the project we would need to replace the microcontroller with a more powerful one.

Louis: One of the biggest challenges we faced was staying under the weight limit of 100g while still including all necessary components. This meant tweaking our design to shave off as much mass as possible, including removing nonabsolutely necessary components.

Another major issue was the UV sensor: the one we originally chose measured wavelengths too high for our purpose, so we had to research new sensors and

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DEPARTMENTS

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.

Winston Churchill

modify our setup to accommodate the different dimensions and mass of the new sensor.

Haofei: Our campaign began with a series of presentations at sintpieterscollege in Brussels. Our experiment turned out to be quite ambitious compared to other groups, with the most amount of sensors out of the 20 teams. Later that day we visited the Atomium, a monumental structure designed to represent an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times. On Thursday we launched the gondola at the Royal Meteorological Institute of Brussels, a scientific campus providing research into the atmosphere and climate.

Kai: When analysing our data after the balloon’s recovery, we made the devastating discovery that our experiment had failed; the Arduino had only recorded 11 minutes of data post integration, freezing before the balloon had even launched. This led to a rather sombre atmosphere during Friday’s post-launch presentations, due to our

inability to present any results to the other teams.

Haofei: During integration into the gondola, we were forced to switch to our backup PCB, as our primary PCB would not receive power due to an issue with a switch. After hastily putting the backup in place, we confirmed that data was being recorded; however, when the lid was placed on the gondola, the power wire connecting one of the sensors came loose. We noticed that the status LEDs had turned off and reconnected the wire – which turned the status LEDs back on – but we did not realise that the arduino’s code had crashed and needed to be reset, as we could not accommodate a data save status LED due to memory constraints.

Dhruv: We are grateful to Dr Patterson and Mr Swartzentruber for providing guidance and support throughout the project, and most importantly this was a great educational experience for us.

Many thanks also to Erik de Schriver and the other Asgard organisers for making such a brilliant event possible.

Unfortunately, due to an unlikely combination of setbacks the experiment did not succeed; however, the experience gained from our project will hopefully prove invaluable to future missions. ❚

Louis: While the project did not succeed as we expected, we learnt a lot of invaluable lessons from this project.

Next time, we should ensure all types of errors have visual indicators and test each component more rigorously under extreme conditions.

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PSHE RLT

As an ever-changing subject in a world which constantly presents new challenges for young people, it has been a delight to take on running the PSHE department this academic year.

PSHE is a subject essential to modern education. It is where students learn about themselves, their values and their role in the world around them.

It combines practical skills, such as CPR and how taxes work, with thoughtful and nuanced discussions about life and their interactions with others, e.g. how to be assertive, not aggressive and the, perhaps surprisingly, complex discussion of the best way to end a relationship.

I often find that when adults say “I wish I’d learnt that at school”, I am able to say, “We teach it at St Paul’s”.

Pupils have a timetabled, weekly lesson for every single year group, which will remain when we move to 50-minute lessons next academic year. As we move into those longer lessons, it is an excellent opportunity to review our PSHE offering and develop the more scholarly and academic aspects of the curriculum with the excellent guidance of Dr Phil Gaydon, Head of Character Education.

It is a great honour to lead a team of dynamic and interesting teachers who bring a huge range of specialisms to the table, with all sciences and most humanities represented in the department as well as senior pastoral leaders, including undermasters and the High Master herself.

Supplementing their expertise is a wide range of speakers who help broaden Pauline’s horizons and encourage them to think about topics from angles they had never considered.

These speakers include:

• Our very own Mr Cowles explained the behind-the-scenes working of the gambling industry to the U8th.

• Ivan Shaw, a Holocaust survivor,

spoke to the 4th form about his lived experience as a child and how it affected him growing up later in Britain.

• Chris Hawkins from Tenant Financial Education.

• Ben Scher, a homelessness researcher, explained routes into homelessness and how we can support people in our communities to the Lower 8th.

• Bold Voices who spoke about gender stereotypes and relationships to the 5th and Lower 8th Form.

• Patrick Foster, a former Cricketer who became addicted to gambling and recovered to the 6th form.

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We have also given talks to parents to supplement the PSHE offering to students including inviting mental health campaigner Dick Moore to talk to parents about how they can support their children’s mental health, information on Relationships and Sex Education at St Paul’s and “In conversation with the High Master – PSHE” on PSHE at St Paul’s.

As we head into a new academic year, I am looking forward to moderating more impassioned debates, building pupils’ self-understanding and helping more generations of Paulines develop into thoughtful, kind and caring young people. ❚

Extended Projects Qualifications

DEPARTMENTS

The EPQs that this year’s L8th produced were remarkable in their range and depth, with topics inspired by students’ own individual enthusiasms and passions, and often reflective of past experiences and future ambitions.

Although many students produced dissertations, it was rewarding to see the numbers of creative projects – in art, music, drama and film-making – continuing to increase.

It was also fantastic to see one of last year’s playwriting projects, The Red Room by Henry Smith, staged in the Milton Studio during the summer term. All EPQs are unique, but this year in particular, it was notable that there were often broader themes that drew different studies together.

F

or instance, David Brown’s study of hospital buildings’ contribution to patient recovery, and James Hammond’s critical assessment of the O2 Centre’s redevelopment plans, took an analytical approach to issues of environmental architecture that Henry Bird’s project – designing an observatory on the site of the Waterman’s Centre in Brentford – tackled creatively. The impact of new technologies, not just materially, but also ideologically and systemically, was another topic that connected many of this year’s EPQs. Mikhail Zubarev examined how LLMs might affect Gen Z’s employment prospects over the next ten years, and reached some surprisingly positive conclusions, while Aditya Akella’s evaluation of the consequences of ESG frameworks for tech firms was less optimistic. Both Dariush Ghaffarpour and Ronit Mendonca studied the immediate and long term effects of trade alliances in a rapidly changing world, with Dariush assessing whether OPEC will retain its dominance in the face of the rise of American shale, and Ronit analysing the impact of the WTO on Hong Kong’s role as a global trading hub. Yifei Wang explored how new technologies can

tackle pollution generally, and Alex Sandigursky focussed on how they could undo the damage caused by fast fashion in particular. Yifei and Alex’s focus on industrial innovation and adaptation was intriguingly echoed by two of this year’s art projects. Parker Whiting’s fashion EPQ blended traditional Japanese techniques, such as Boro textile patching, with more recent industrial clothing, such as the baggy ‘Tobi’ trousers worn by construction workers, to create workwear that was both contemporary and rooted in cultural heritage. Similarly, Apollo Andreichuk’s stunning prints fused natural and industrial forms, by combining the influences of Anni Albers’ geometric textile designs with Edward Burtynsky’s studies of factories and shipbreaking.

This year’s sports science projects also focussed on innovation, with Gabriel El-Guindi studying how AI could be used to prevent injuries in school rugby, and Freddie Hammond Giles examining whether data analysis techniques from baseball, cricket, squash and tennis could be usefully applied to rugby fives.

This was a genuinely ground-breaking piece of research: as a more ‘niche’ ➦ 143

EPQ

sport, rugby fives lacks the quantity of accessible data accumulated by the more mainstream sports to which Freddie compared it, so – armed only with pen and paper – Freddie logged, mapped and meticulously tabulated numerous matches in order to test his hypotheses, proving that a mixture of tradition and innovation can generate extraordinary results. Seb Jarrett and Kai Petersen’s projects looked at what creates success in football, off and on the pitch: Seb compared different methods of club ownership, and Kai analysed whether speed or stamina is more important for a winger. Their conclusions? The best form of club ownership combines external investment with membership control, and speed is more important for a winger, because it has the greatest impact on the game.

Several dissertations had their roots in a fascination with historiography. Andy Wang explored Athenian democracy through the lens of 20th century political theory, while Ishaan Moorthy’s absorbing study of the Holy Roman Empire illuminated how much late 19th century German nationalism has shaped our interpretation of this era. Shrey Doshi discussed the arguments for and against repatriating the Rosetta Stone, and how changing interpretations of its relative significance reflect the needs and values of different eras and different disciplines. Parallels between different historical events, albeit over vastly differing timescales, connected dissertations by Lucas Perry and Cormac Boden. Lucas compared the success of Britain’s counter-insurgency strategies in the Malayan Emergency with the US’s failure to replicate them in Vietnam, while Cormac’s EPQ spanned not decades but millennia, examining theories for the Permian-Triassic extinction event, and finding unsettling parallels with our own anthropogenic climate crisis. Jago Barrell’s study of France’s success during the First Italian 144 THE PAULINE 2024-25

Campaign (1796-7) and Alex Pama’s account of the rise in income inequality between 1979 and 1990 both used a tight focus on a particular moment to assess the impact of individual leaders, here, Napoleon and Thatcher respectively, and whether or not their personal contributions were as pivotal as historians believe.

Contemporary US politics came under the scrutiny of Louis Ferro and Harry Pallent: Louis examined the arguments for reforming the electoral college, concluding that the current system is more flexible and effective than suggested alternatives, and Harry Pallent used the candidacies of George Wallace, Ross Perot and Ralph Nader to assess the significance of third party candidates for US elections. Henry Whittaker’s EPQ looked at Latin America, as he analysed Argentina’s response to the ‘cartoneros’ in Buenos Aires after the 2001 financial crisis, ultimately concluding that general economic recovery made more of a difference than the governments’ attempts to intervene.

Students choosing topics linked to philosophy considered perennial issues of debate – with Reuben Jones exploring nature/nurture in relation to psychopathology, and Rufus Poole considering the nature of reality itself, through a scrupulous analysis of the arguments for and against the belief that we inhabit a simulation – as well as more contemporary topics, through Alex Scafidas and Oliver Whale’s consideration of the ethics of heritable genome editing and dangerous sports.

Economics EPQs included Sachin Marchand’s analysis of how likely it is that the degrowth movement’s means will actually achieve its ends, along with Amar Ali’s evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of fiscal decentralisation in Pakistan, Avinash Ethahasan’s shrewd examination of the causes of the recent Sri Lankan debt default, and Owen

DEPARTMENTS

Tange’s precise and detailed investigation of whether single period asset pricing models can explain the performance of stock portfolios.

In medicine, Neel Narayanan debated whether the NHS should include the use of ayurvedic medicine in its treatment of cancer patients, while Jasper Eickelberg and Majdood Aman considered diet and weight loss – Jasper in terms of whether non-nutritive sweeteners are actually effective in helping people cut calories, and Maj in relation to treatments for diabetes. In psychology, Adrian Siniscalco’s fascinating social science investigation tested which of Roberto Cialdini’s levers of influence is most successful at persuading people to change their views. Adrian used fourth and fifth formers as his guinea pigs, incentivising them with a Krispy Kreme, and then interviewing them about their views on mobile phone use: luckily, the interviews were conducted before Yondr pouches were introduced. After analysing his data (52 interviews in total), Adrian concluded that in a school context, normative levers – such as social proof (the sense that this is what most people think) and consistency – are the most powerful persuaders: useful feedback for school managers, no doubt.

This year’s film-making EPQs both re-created the influences of international film-makers. Sam Steeden’s Tarkovskyinspired short found a bleak beauty in the landscape around Dungeness, which Sam used to represent the shores between life and death, while in Drifting with Purpose, Patrick Monro-Davies stunningly evoked the lush, shimmering visuals and deftly interwoven narratives of Wong Kar-Wei’s neon noir. Dominic O’Sullivan’s music EPQ – a piano piece in the style of Alexander Scriabin – was simply outstanding, with the final composition transcending not just time, space and the material world, but quite possibly Scriabin himself. Creative

writing EPQs included Everyone Burns, Sam Christie’s brilliant play about pyromania, and Ethan Walker’s The Whole Truth, which fused the realist conventions of courtroom drama with the imaginative freedom of Complicite’s stagings, and Alex Twinch’s superb creative writing project, Heresy of Angels, a historical novel set during the Third Crusade, produced a work that was not just gripping in its own right, but also subtly suggestive of parallels with contemporary religious violence.

Two of this year’s most fascinating projects involved world-building. Oscar McKinnon and Sebastian Hernandez both conceptualized and created their own universes, rooted in different sources. Seb used speculative biology to imagine Lutra, a planet where the otter species develop through different evolutions – the Bellwhale, the Haleclaw, and the Shellkeepers – to their culmination as a deep-sea predator, the Abyssal Dragotter. Oscar took seeds from Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive and Frank J Herbert’s Dune, and grew them into his own world, Chrysa, where insects replace Sanderson’s crustaceans, and gold replaces Herbert’s spice. This was a truly extraordinary project, epic in scale, as Oscar invented not just Chrysa’s geography, politics, culture and magic, but also its language, developing them into scenes from a projected sequence of fantasy novels, utterly convincing and compelling.

Overall, as I hope this brief overview shows, the range, ambition and dynamism of this year’s projects was extraordinary. Huge congratulations to all the students for completing them so successfully, and our thanks to all the teachers who supervised the projects so tirelessly, and to Mrs Cummings and the Kayton librarians for all their support of this year’s students. ❚

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THE HOUSES

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House Competition Mr Pollock

The house competition ran for a third year, with all houses competing in events with a sporting yet competitive attitude. With Gilks house having won the previous two years, the other seven houses were all aiming to make themselves the new trophy holders, with Gilks house doing all they could to retain the title. Key events throughout the year such as house drama (won by Langley house), house choral (won by Gilks house) and athletics (dominated by Blurton house), meant that the competition would be won by either Gilks, Blurton or Langley. The other five houses’ contributions no doubt heavily influencing whom the final victors would be.

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Amongst all the competitive hustling for higher rankings in the final table, it certainly is clear that the competition is viewed by the pupils and staff as more than just an opportunity to win. The wide range of activities once again has offered Paulines the opportunity to try new things, make new friends and feel connected to their houses. Whilst the eventual winner of the competition was Langley house this year, the main success can be realised by considering the uptake and enthusiasm for the competition throughout the whole school.

I look forward to next year with excitement for how the competition will continue to grow, also intrigued as to whether there will be a new name on the trophy as the competition grows into its fourth year.

THE HOUSES

HOUSE ACTIVITIES WINNERS 2024/25

FINAL POINTS TABLE 2024/25

Event

Winner

Event

Winner

Position

House

Points

Choral

Gilks

Cryptic Crossword

Stewart

1st

Langley

494

Kwik Cricket (4th)

Cloete

Fives (4th)

Blurton

2nd

Blurton

480

Basketball (Senior)

Langley

Volleyball (Senior)

Stewart

3rd

Gilks

478

Penalties (Junior)

Warner

Volleyball (Junior)

Gilks

4th

Stewart

399

Unihoc (Junior)

Harrison

Speed Chess

Stewart

5th

Cloete

397

Pétanque

Cloete

Indoor Athletics (Junior)

Blurton

6th

Harrison

394

Languages Passport (4th)

Warner

Indoor Athletics (Senior)

Gilks

7th

Nilsson

376

Languages Countdown

Nilsson

Quiz

Blurton

8th

Warner

350

Kahoot (4th)

Cloete

Table Tennis (4th)

Blurton

Rugby (4th)

Harrison

Football (Senior)

Stewart

Kwik Cricket (Junior)

Harrison

Football (Junior)

Harrison

Cross Country

Warner

Croquet

Stewart

Debating

Gilks

Tennis (6th)

Gilks

Basketball (4th)

Langley

Pointless

Warner

Penalties (Senior)

Blurton

Tennis (4th)

Nilsson

Perudo (Junior)

Langley

Football (4th)

Stewart

Perudo (Senior)

Blurton

Tennis (U8)

Blurton

Maths

Nilsson

Triathlon (5th)

Stewart

Unihoc (Senior)

Gilks

Table Tennis (5th)

Gilks

Masterchef

Langley

Build Something

Gilks

Basketball (Junior)

Cloete

Triathlon (4th)

Warner

Bridge

Gilks

Triathlon (L8)

Langley

Linguistics

Nilsson

Computing

Warner

Rowing

Harrison

Get Creative

Blurton

Move for Movember

Harrison

Ultimate Frisbee (5th)

Gilks

Drama

Langley

Languages Spelling Bee

Langley

GeoGuessr (Senior)

Cloete

Touch Rugby (L8)

Harrison

Philosothon (Senior)

Langley

Ultimate Frisbee (4th)

Blurton

Badminton (4th)

Stewart

Softball (L8)

Blurton

Badminton (Senior)

Stewart

Touch Rugby (5th)

Harrison

Art

Blurton

Science

Cloete

Volleyball (4th)

Gilks

Touch Rugby (4th)

Nilsson

Fives (Senior)

Blurton

Ultimate Frisbee (L8)

Gilks

Magic: The Gathering

Stewart

Softball (5th)

Langley

Badminton (Junior)

Cloete

Softball (4th)

Blurton

Swimming

Langley

Athletics (4th)

Langley

Biswas-Hawkes Classics

Stewart

Athletics (5th)

Blurton

Squash (Senior)

Cloete

Athletics (L8)

Blurton

Squash (Junior)

Blurton

8-minute football (5th)

Cloete

Fives (Junior)

Blurton

8-minute football (L8)

Gilks

Squash (4th)

Harrison

Grand House Relay

Cloete

TimeGuessr

Gilks

Tennis (5th)

Langley

Philosothon (Junior)

Stewart

Tennis (L8)

Blurton

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Blurton This year has arguably been the best for the members of Blurton House.

Finishing second in a competition that came down to the final day of term was a wonderful experience for the pupils, and I was incredibly proud of the way they competed and supported each other right to the very end. Each year, the spirit within the house continues to grow, and you can see a genuine sense of camaraderie and togetherness in everything we do.

There are far too many highlights to mention, but I must acknowledge the outstanding efforts of the grand relay team who raced around Bigside on the penultimate day of term. Josh Ferro’s beautiful Christmas bauble in the House MasterChef competition was exceptional. Finally, our winning performance in House Art, with the theme of ‘Kindness,’ was not only creative but also wonderfully put together. It was more than just a talented piece of art; kindness is a value we often discuss in the house.

Outside of house competitions, we saw pupils deliver some outstanding assemblies. Luca Speciale and his peers spoke about the school values, encouraging pupils to describe and give examples of their favourite value.

They also presented topics close to their hearts, such as Movember.

Listening to the pupils’ assemblies this year has taught me that students enjoy hearing from their peers, and important messages are often more impactful when delivered this way.

It is a tradition to thank many members of the house at the end of the year, so I would like to start with the committee: Ben Mendelsohn, Aditya Coondapoor, Gus Jacobson, and captains Zach Tydeman and Matthew Galea, for their hard work and dedication throughout the year. They have inspired the pupils with their humour and relentless enthusiasm. A big thank you also goes to Miss Squire, whose quiet but ultracompetitive edge has influenced the pupils. Additionally, I want to thank the tutors of the house, whose unwavering care and attention for their tutees is clear to see.

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Lastly, I am immensely proud of the pupils for their passion, empathy, and sportsmanship throughout the year.

They are the heart of Blurton House, and I am excited to see them strive to become even better versions of themselves next year. ❚

Cloete A house united once more under the stewardship of Miss Cloete, this year marked a period of transformation.

Breaking free from our seemingly eternal condemnation to 6th place, we made a triumphant foray into the top half of the table for the first time in a year and a half.

Much of this success was driven by the efforts of the mighty 4th and 5th forms, who helped to restore a winning mentality throughout Cloete House. Their achievements helped to inspire underdog stories across year groups, such as the awe-inspiring first round victory over Blurton in Senior Football. Though we did return to the lower regions of the table once again, the committee departs in high spirits as we acknowledge the adept leadership qualities of our successors, and the steeled determination of our juniors. With renewed confidence, Cloete House appears set to reach the lofty heights of years past.

Theo Trout and Alex Toledano, Co-captains Cloete

For the third year running, the House Competition has remained as one of my favourite things about the academic year – from the impassioned speeches by Alex and Theo at weekly house assemblies to the fervent efforts of all on various pitches, fields and theatre stages. The passion and energy brought to every event has been incredible and I am so privileged to work with such an enthusiastic and yet humble group of students. Particular highlights this year include Amaan and Ed’s epic pétanque win, the amazing team efforts in 4th Kwik Cricket and Junior Basketball, the academic prowess shown in House Geoguessr and House Science and, of course, possibly my favourite moment of the year – a spectacular win in the first 24-person Grand House Relay at Sports’ Day. My thanks to Mr Wishart who has stepped into the HoHA role with grace, fervour and boundless energy – I remain ever hopeful that next year will be our year!

Keri Cloete, UM

It’s been a real treat to watch members of Cloete House compete with such spirit this year. The outgoing captains should take real pride in how they conducted themselves, often with results not going our way. Their assemblies always passed on some much needed wisdom to the lower year groups and set them up for success in the back end of the year. As they passed the baton to Tybalt and Alex, the house went from strength and ended up 5th in the overall table.

Looking forward, I’m glad that the nominal rivalry with Stewart house will live on, having been kept out of the top 4 by just two points this time. The students in 5th and 6th form next year will have the responsibility next year of ensuring that the new 4th formers are as committed as they have been themselves. I have a very good feeling about next year, and with the careful stewardship of our new mascot (a nameless cuddly springbok) I am confident that the new committee will be able to continue from where they left off.

Fergus Wishart, HoHA Cloete House

Cloete House Poem Cloete House: Its colour is gold “We’ll rise to the top”, its members were told But with each term and each year This promise failed to appear With every loss, the house would find Its members were always very kind And in that way, a community found And with every meeting, these friendships abound.

After every lost game, every last race The house would return again with grace And now at every event, we are prepared But a negative outcome is never feared Because even when we’re not at the top The house community will never stop Although our rank has only started to rise Cloete house always has the biggest prize ❚

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Gilks It has been another fantastic year in Gilks House. The House spirit is stronger than ever and the leadership team of Jacob Bethell, Adam Seydo, Rory McConnon, Cam McConnon, Dara Daneshvar and Archie Rowland have done a superb job. Every week they have kept us entertained in our Friday morning assemblies and this has remained one of my weekly highlights.

The baton however, has now been passed to a new committee of Andrew Berko-Boateng, Luca Barkan, Luka Tzvetkov, Ravi Walker, Oscar Suarez and Reuben Ovington. They have made a fantastic start and as well as producing some excellent assemblies, they have been very good at getting out to events and supporting the younger boys in the House. At the time of writing this, it is all still to play for on Sports Day. But whatever the outcome this year, we will be back next year, stronger, more organised and ready to compete.

Up the Gilks.

JARG, Undermaster for Gilks House

The house competition has been extremely close and exciting this year, with Gilks challenged by both Langley and Blurton in a way that has not been the case during the first two editions.

At the time of writing we go into Sports Day trailing Langley by a handful of points, with all to play for.

Irrespective of the final result, Gilks house has much to be proud of this year and it has been gratifying to see the Gilksonians respond in the correct way to the pressure they have been under, by playing hard but also with a focus on positive support, sportsmanship and respect for both our opposition and the competition.

RJHJ, Head of House Activities for Gilks House

Gilks House, in its third year, has seen another masterful rise to the upper end of the leaderboard. Still the only House to have won, we were eager to achieve the elusive three-peat and storm to victory once more. Our ambitions required an organised House leadership, and so we took the reins as co-Captains, aided by a talented House Committee 152 THE PAULINE 2024-25

composed of our favourite twins, Rory and Cam McConnon, along with Dara Daneshvar, and Archie Rowland. Live and direct from our spiritual home in the Monty Room (most of the time), House Assemblies were a great opportunity to inject some house spirit into the masses and hear the wise words of Dr Gilks and Mr Jones, the dynamic duo which the House would be nothing without.

With stiff competition from Langley, the path to the top would not be straightforward, but we quickly found ourselves in prime position. This year saw the highest of highs, including 1st place in House Choral, with an aweinspiring rendition of Hotel California, and a dominant victory across the board in House Athletics. Gilks House showed where its strengths lie this year, coming no lower than 2nd in all of the double points events – Choral, Drama,

Art, and Athletics. Despite some less than encouraging performances at the start of the year, and a few warning emails from Mr Jones, the House was able to pull itself into shape by Spring Term and start doing what we do best: winning. The 4th form in particular saw huge development from their (shameful) streak of losses at the start of the Autumn Term, proving now to be a strongly competitive year group, while the current L8th gives us confidence that the House leadership is in very safe hands for at least another year. Up the Gilks! ❚ Adam Seydo and Jacob Bethell, Gilks House Co-Captains

Harrison I would like to sincerely thank Max Swinnerton & Dan Taylor for being superb House Captains and to their team of prefects. They lead the House brilliantly and set the perfect tone of inclusivity, enjoyment with success throughout all the House competitions this year – they also created a really kind & supportive atmosphere which helped the 4th form not just settle in, but become another thriving year group who enjoyed events and won so many points for the House in the Summer term.

Next year we should aim high with the return of our superstar year group going into the L8th combining with the talented 5th & 6th form. The tremendous leaders in the L8th should provide the perfect combination to successfully galvanise the talent and move Harrison House up the table in 2025/26.

The L8th pupils took on the baton of leadership when the u8th went on exam leave in the Spring term and they did an incredible job – the calibre of candidates for leadership roles in the House and the number of school prefects in this year group from Harrison House is a testament to their service, kindness and selflessness that has been present in so many through out their time at St Paul’s School.

It was so difficult to select, but I am really pleased to announce the impressive leaders for next year will be Ebuka and Francesco as House Captains and Gabriel, Tolga, Callum & Kobi as House prefects. I am really confident this group of leaders will further enhance the House Community and make it even more special – it is essential again to welcome the incoming 4th form and make them feel supported immediately. Joining in House competitions and getting to know older boys in the tutor group through events is so important to them settling into the school and finding new friends.

had a great time – I must add the competition was fierce and every House was impressive and our 3rd place standing was still something to be very proud of and a superb achievement.

This year we decided to award a trophy at the end of the Summer term for the pupil who had contributed the most and won the weekly Orange Cap the most.

The Trophy was dedicated to Mr Peter Davies who was an amazing tutor in our House for many years before retiring and fittingly Peter was able to come in for the final assembly and award it to his old tutee Ebuka! Fantastic!

I would like to finish by thanking Mr Pollock for the impressive organisation of all the House events – it is such a brilliantly run machine and there is a great deal of planning and hard work involved which makes it possible for so many pupils to enjoy such a wide variety of events.

Finally I would like to sincerely thank Miss Dillon for all her hard work as Head of House activities and wish her all the

best at Hampton School. We are really excited to welcome James Grant to take over this role – Mr Grant has already enthusiastically watched many events in the Summer and has already got his Orange tie! I am really looking forward to working with James and seeing you all in September! ❚ RGH

It was wonderful to see a real spirit develop in the year group with wide participation and great leadership from Veer, Leo, Rudra and others.

There were so many highlights this year and so many victories in sporting events, but we were less successful in academic events and we sadly came last in House Choral – this needs to be put right this year and I think our song choice will be key!

My favourite event was House Drama – I am obviously biased, but I genuinely thought our production lead by Ebuka was worthy of winning – it was funny, brilliantly acted and everyone involved 153

Langley Taking over from Caroline Gill as Undermaster of the House was a tough act to follow. Fortunately I was extremely well supported by a fantastic tutor team, a great Head of House Activities in Simon Roberts, as well as great pupil leadership teams. I shall leave it to them to describe Langley House winning the 2024-25 Inter House Competition.

Dr Alexander Langley (Undermaster)

With 2023-24 proving to be yet another year of not managing to topple Gilks house on their way to the house cup, a shift in tactics was needed. In stepped Zachary Joseph and Noah Kasolowsky to take on the mantel of leading us to victory, ably supported by William Pyper, Kanishk Srivastava, Ryan Gonsai and Kian Khoubehi. A new platform was set, and one which did not disappoint.

The team’s contrasting skills and personalities created great collaboration and really boosted house spirit, leading to the top of the leaderboard becoming an ever-familiar place to be. Their introduction of the ‘Langley legend’ gave an opportunity to shine a spotlight on those truly demonstrating great house spirit. House participation and drive has never been greater, and it is not without our members that our success would be as it is. Thank you to all Langley house members who have stepped up and brought glory to the house waving the green flag. Thanks must also go to Dr Langley, taking over as undermaster and doing so with such grace, competitiveness and professionalism, embodying what we as Langley house stand for, ‘win gracefully, lose graciously’.

Zachary Joseph and Noah Kasolowsky (House Co-Captains)

One can’t help but feel a touch of sympathy for the members of Langley House this year. As if being summoned to house assemblies every Thursday at 8:30 a.m. weren’t punishment enough, we also had to endure the monotony of hearing, week after week, that Langley remained in first place on the house table.

Humour aside, the house has had a remarkable year. Reinvigorated by a change in leadership at the start of the academic year, Langley has gone from strength to strength. This success is a credit not only to the enthusiasm and drive of its pupil members but also to the tireless support of the staff, 154 THE PAULINE 2024-25

especially Dr Langley and Mr Roberts, who have championed every house initiative with unwavering commitment.

While the house’s achievements in competitions and standings are certainly worth celebrating, a key focus this year has been the pastoral role of the house community. In this area, too, progress has been evident. Few moments have captured the spirit of Langley more than the enthusiastic cheers for our weekly ‘Langley Legend,’ an award recognising outstanding contributions to school life. These celebrations have been a highlight of our assemblies, creating a warm and inclusive atmosphere that goes beyond the scoreboard.

The house leadership model at St Paul’s is a unique one, giving captains the reins during the final half-term of Lower Eighth and for the majority of Upper Eighth. When we assumed leadership last year, Langley had been sitting

comfortably in second place, only for us to unintentionally test the structural integrity of the bottom of the table.

To this day, the cause of this nosedive remains a mystery, perhaps some higher powers in the school were upset with the prospect of the Gilks House stranglehold on 1st place in the house table being upset.

This year, the stakes were even higher, and the new L8th committee, led by Henry Whittaker and Vyom Chamaria, faced the daunting task of maintaining top position while navigating the complexities of leadership. Remarkably, they pulled it off, achieving what we could not: a smooth transfer of power without sacrificing our place on the leaderboard.

It has been a true honour to lead Langley House this year and we leave with full confidence in the incoming team to continue the good work into next year. ❚

Nilsson It has been another fantastic year filled with camaraderie and bond building in Nilsson House. The positive atmosphere emanating from the tutor groups has been testament to the burgeoning relationships between pupils in the house.

I have seen assiduous academic collaboration, advice from older pupils on co-curricular pursuits and regular group activities organised by the tutors alongside the usual discussions on which football team the best. The spirit in the House truly seems to embody our motto, No Man is an Island. Pupil participation in house events has been another highlight and celebrating their efforts in House assemblies is always a pleasure. It has also been lovely to see non-participating Nilssonians show up to support their friends. We said goodbye to our U8th who have been a part of the house system for three years and who have both gained and given so much to it. A particular thanks goes to our outgoing House committee, comprised of Max Clapham, Sameer Shukla, Ryan Ng, Arvin Sahota, Kanyin Ishmael and Rishi Shukla who have done so much to boost pupil engagement through brilliant assemblies and relentless support of pupils during house events. I am looking forward to welcoming everyone back after a well earned summer rest.

Hugo Nilsson

It has been another promising year for Nilsson House, building on our performances from last year’s house competition. At our current rate of progress, we should be on track to climb to the top of the table by 2030. The Autumn term got us off to a strong start, with our strengths in House Choral shining through once again as we stormed to a second place finish with our rendition of ‘Rolling in the Deep’ thanks to the musical expertise of Seb, Apollo, Justin, Lucas and Arav, and Kanyin’s performance on the ad-libs.

Combined with first-place finishes in House Languages Countdown and House Linguistics, by late November we were briefly leading, and we continued to sit in the top half by Christmas.

The Spring term proved to be a greater test of our abilities – as it has been throughout Nilsson House’s history.

The spectre of Indoor Athletics returned to haunt Miss Rahim, but despite two disqualifications which harmed our final score, the turnout from Nilssonians in every year and every event was an unprecedented demonstration of solidarity which truly embodied our motto: ‘No Man is an Island’. Our house spirit is stronger than ever, and under the new management of co-captains Arav and Tom we have no doubt that the future is bright for Nilsson House. ❚ Max Clapham and Sameer Shukla

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Stewart When asked about Stewart House (and Henrik), the word ‘determination’ springs to mind. Faced with the task of winning the competition in Summer ’24, we were pipped to the title by just 5 points. A slow start to the new academic year proved insurmountable, as we came to a mid-table finish (despite wins in basketball and football events). Still, it has been an honour to serve with Atom as co-captain, with our bond being very hard to break due to our great chemistry. I wish the best of luck to Ronit and Deniz as they return Stewart to the top.

Rohan George, co-captain

It has been the greatest honour of my life to serve the people of Stewart House as co-captain. I relished every single Thursday morning assembly, standing next to the wise Rohan George and trying to fuel that Stewart House spirit. I will miss seeing that fiery spirit at every single House event, even if we don’t always win. I want to thank Mr Stewart and our HoHA Ms Milanova for supporting us and the house with absolute passion’ I know that with Deniz the Menace and ‘Always on it’ Ronit, the future of our house is in safe hands.

The end of our reign is here, Stewart House, it’s been so dear.

Try to do your best, You’ll overtake the rest, And bring the cup home next year!

Atom Lucenet, co-captain

I took over as Head of House Activities this year as the 4th and 5th formers started learning “Hey Jude” for House Choral. The Senior Penalties team delivered our first win of the year but House Drama was my personal highlight because the L8 directors stepped up to this new role, building a collegiate atmosphere and friendships across year groups that underpin what the House system is all about.

The outgoing captains Atom and Rohan have led from the front throughout, keeping spirits high with their inspirational and humorous tales in assemblies. The Spring was packed with great teamwork, grit and success, in 156 THE PAULINE 2024-25

Football, Badminton, Senior Volleyball and the Poole brothers’ dominance in the toughest event on the calendar – Triathlon. But Stewart House talents extend well beyond sport, for example winning House Chess, Cryptic Crosswords, and the Classics Quiz.

The summer term saw the new Captains Ronit and Deniz lead the House in chasing a podium finish whilst finding joy in any result due to the team camaraderie. The stars of the year were the Fourth form who have consistently embraced House events with unparalleled energy, teamwork and resilience, for example with Kien, Jake and Connor being last men standing in touch rugby – they were not willing to lose even if barely able to stand in the scorching June heatwave. I am excited because the future is bright!

Ms Milanova, Head of House Activities

It has been an enormous pleasure seeing the House thrive on multiple fronts this year. I am always delighted to see our boys throwing themselves into every endeavour with skill, perseverance and, above all, good humour. Thank you to Rohan and Atom in particular for their sterling efforts as captains; Deniz and Ronit will continue their excellent work in building a warm and engaging community next year as we challenge for success! ❚ Mr Stewart, Undermaster

Warner

From a stunning victory in the 5th form house football to our memorable rendition of Oasis’s anthemic ‘Wonderwall’ in House Choral, Warner House has certainly had some fine triumphs the last year. We do recognise the elephant on the page of course: our leadership hasn’t, in spite of our best efforts, driven Warner up the points table as we’d hoped and anticipated.

That being said, against the odds, a great house spirit and culture has developed. We know there is huge potential – and we have full faith that our new leaders Sam Francombe and Oliver Destito can build on the progress.

It has been a real joy to be the Warner House co-captains and to get to know Warnerians from across all the year groups. We would like to thank all the Warner House Tutors for their efforts, and Miss Warner, Ms Cotton and Mr Edwards especially for all their help and guidance. We wish the rest of the house all the best for the future – good luck!

Richard Eichhorst and Eli Joseph, co-captains

In the words of the wonderful Maya Angelou, “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated”.

Looking at our final position, it is easy to forget the warmth, humour and grittiness that has come to define the Warner House community: without a doubt, win or lose, we have done so in style. The test of one’s character often lies in how one responds to adversity.

With this in mind, Mr Edwards and I have been continually impressed by the

dogged determination, the spirit of fun and the camaraderie of all students – even following a loss. Particular highlights for us were Sports Day, where we witnessed incredible sportsmanship across all years with stellar runs from Charlie Nicholson and Leau Roch, in particular; and House Drama where our band of would-be Thespians were brilliantly directed by Daniel Cheung and Ethan Walker, producing a funny and at times, unsettling piece of melodrama.

As we reach the end of the academic year, we wish all our U8 the best of luck, but we must give our special thanks to Richard Eichhorst and Eli Joseph and the rest of the brilliant committee for their good humoured, ebullient and compassionate leadership. Looking ahead to next year, we welcome Sam Francombe and Oliver Destito as Co-Captains for Warner as well as committee members Daniel Cheung, Eli Darko, Louis Nuthall, and Alex Salem, who have already made a superb start in their new roles. In the words of Sam, ‘Diamonds are made under pressure’.

Watch this space.❚ Miss Warner and Mr Edwards 157

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Sammy Assael-Francis Over a near two week period shortly after the end of GCSEs, a small group of SPS 6th formers and teachers travelled to Zambia. While the start of the trip was taken up with activities that introduced us to Zambia’s cultural life, its real purpose was centred on assisting teachers and students at the Limapela School, located outside of Kitwe, in partnership with the charity Beyond Ourselves that works to improve literacy and educational conditions across sub-Saharan Africa.

This prompted us to ask some questions concerning the provision of education, the role of religion and attitudes to consumption and luxury in Zambia today.

Inevitably, Britain’s colonial legacy has cast a long shadow there, and formed the backdrop to what we saw.

Without wishing to exhaust the reader with a rehash of our itinerary, some stories are worth recounting about the trip: one of the most striking took place before we even got to Zambia when, after a long journey we landed in Ndola, but none of our luggage did!

The uncertainty surrounding our bags led us on a journey through a shopping mall in Ndola, culminating in an impromptu visit to a Zambian thrift store. Both of these were cultural wake-up calls, as we saw much more of the daily life of Zambians than we would have on our first scheduled part of the trip to the Nsobe Game Camp.

Our luggage eventually turned up after visiting more of Africa than we did having been rerouted though Harare and Lusaka. The long drive to the game park took us towards the end of our first day in Zambia, but not without giving us a glimpse of some of Zambia’s rural communities.

The most immediate impression one has of Nsobe is its stunning beauty, covering acres upon acres of expansive woodland and savannah. Despite the absence of some of the larger African animals the game park was home to giraffes, zebras, many different species of antelope and even a wart hog which we encountered in various activities.

The contrast between this natural ideal and the high levels of pollution in Ndola prompted questions about the impact of industrialization upon the country, and the threat to Zambia’s wild flora and fauna. During our stay at the game park, we also went on several visits to 160 THE PAULINE 2024-25

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rural communities where we received hospitality in individual homes and at a community school. What was most striking was the friendly and generous attitude towards strangers, offering rest and food to our groups despite their own far from abundant resources. Even the Zambians we met on the street would stop to ask ‘mulishani’ or ‘how are you?’, a casual encounter that revealed a deeper cultural insight into the value of community.

After the adjustment period spent in the relative detachment of Nsobe, the group moved on to the next stage of the trip, starting with a visit to a church service in Kitwe. We had prepared three traditional bemba songs to sing, each being led by one of the SPS boys.

The service was filled with not just singing, but spiritual fervour and a sense of communal passion. With our performance of the songs (which went remarkably well and was a terrifically fun experience), the congregation seemed to co-opt our small group into their community, which seemed to enliven their bonds to their religion and each other. Whatever our religious inclination, this was a deeply moving and spiritual part of the trip which helped us understand how important religion is in Zambian identity. After the service, we spent lunch with the church’s youth group, and once again attempted to expand our cultural understanding by trying various traditional Zambian foods, particularly the staple dish of nshima (which tasted a bit like mashed potato).

The next few days were taken up with visits to various social enterprises around the Kitwe area, including the Italian-run Gigibonta gelato factory, which supports homeless street children by housing them, as well as offering education and food. Alongside this, we also visited Lifesong Farm which aids an orphanage for local boys, and the Treetop Honey Company which provides fair-trade opportunities to farmers in the Zambian Copperbelt.

While these organizations have done much to help Zambians, they do pose some uneasy questions on the subject of black agency as none had Zambian or even black-African owners. The final visit we made before beginning our work at Limapela School was to a more imposing venue, the Ndola Stadium, a Chinese funded project that looms above the otherwise small buildings and rural farmland surrounding Ndola.

The stadium, alongside various other signs of the Chinese footprint in Zambia signal both Zambia’s commercialisation as well as China’s modern imperialist agenda, gaining influence over former British and European colonies.

The final three days of the trip were taken up with our work at Limapela School, perhaps the most anticipated aspect of the trip, and the one that inspired much excitement. We had the privilege of working with three distinct age groups through various activities.

Starting each morning with the 6-7 year olds (or Grade 1s), we would assist their teacher with phonics based literacy exercises before doing puzzles and ➦ 161

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physical activities, such as bulldog (a variation of tag). For many in our group, we were able to build relationships with the Grade 1s who spread their boundless joy and excitement when seeing and spending time with us.

By helping them with their English exercises in class, we also managed to see directly the impact we were having.

In Zambia, a working knowledge of English is essential to help aspiring students achieve their career of choice, or even reach university (a relatively new, but important aspect of education that many of the children at Limapela are striving towards).

After a break, each day we would spend the hour before lunch with the older students of 13 or 14 (Grade 6), when we were able to both help pupils with their learning, but also learn more about the Zambian school system ourselves.

During Science and Geography lessons, as well as Social Studies (in which students learned about the Zambian system of governance and Zambian history), we observed that much of the learning is sadly done by rote. In conversation with several teachers, we learned that the government’s recent introduction of free education (while a positive policy in principle) has put pressure on the system, overwhelming classrooms and schools with more and more pupils, leading to a lesser quality of education for many.

Following a traditional lunch of nshima each day, we would then spend time with Grade 9 students, making a ‘Jolly Phonics’ video with them. This is a video that is specifically used in class to teach younger students how to pronounce certain sounds, improving both their pronunciation and fluency in English. This was yet another experience that drew us closer to the pupils at Limapela and allowed us to recognize the similarities between us, even though through circumstance we were in different positions. After some more or less successful attempts at filmmaking, everyone was able to make a helpful and educational video. Our final time at Limapela was made up mainly of celebratory activities, which we were able to both witness and take part in. A cultural exchange in music and dance took place, where we performed the same bemba songs that 162 THE PAULINE 2024-25

we sang during the church service (with similar success), followed by a rendition of ‘Happy’ by Pharrel Williams. We ended with a friendly football match in which we put up a valiant fight but ultimately were defeated by a team with greater technical ability. Departing from Limapela, we began to understand the difference that we had made, as many of our newfound friends asked for pictures to remember us by, in an emotional farewell. In our group reflections the night before departure, we also realised that the impact we had made upon Zambia, however important, was much smaller than the impact Zambia had upon us: I truly believe that we will carry these experiences in our minds forever, and use them to view our everyday lives through a different lens. ❚

PARTNERSHIPS AND PUBLIC BENEFIT

ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAMME : START IT

Paulines continue to enjoy numerous opportunities to engage in entrepreneurship as part of the Start It programme of workshops, activities and events.

This year the Start It programme was awarded Best for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the Week’s Independent Schools Guide, underlining the unique offering that those attending the school have access to. From VentureSoc and 5th Entrepreneurship Day to L8th Young Enterprise and Ester, the Old Pauline Club-funded incubator for alumni, Start It is designed to ensure that all who attend St Paul’s develop the transferable skills, professional knowledge, connections, experience, and entrepreneurial mindset required to thrive in their later lives.

Joint SPS/SPGS team, Grounded pitch their business concept at the Young Enterprise London Finals

In the final week of June, over 200 6th form students from 11 schools from across the West London Partnership attended this year’s 3 day Summer Entrepreneurship Course event which sees students brainstorming a sustainable business concept before presenting to a judging panel of Venture Capitalists. Particular emphasis is placed on teamwork, research and SWOT analysis to justify the business concepts that individual teams may

come up with. This event aims to build on the Y10 Entrepreneurship Day and prepare students to begin real-world income generation through either their own initiative or via Young Enterprise or the school’s alumni routes, i.e. the ESTER incubator and Capital Angel Network. This year the course included inspiring speeches from THIS founder, Andy Shovel, Re-Balance Earth founder, Rob Gardner, and Versus Founder Johnny Kay. It was a standout year for L8th Paulines in the Young Enterprise Company Programme with the continuation of two joint SPS/SPGS Young Enterprise teams in addition to five all-boys teams from St Paul’s. Grounded, a joint SPS/ SPGS team led by Alex Twinch and Lara Moller which manufactured journals with plantable pages won multiple awards across their West London area finals. At the pan-London finals at Amazon HQ in the City, they delivered an impressively professional pitch to secure the best overall Marketing award. ➦ 163

Charity and Partnerships Students from this year’s LSE programme learn from LSE staff at one of three boot camps, held on site in LSE’s Main Campus in central London

Grounded and Canopy arrive at Amazon HQ – the first time in history for St Paul’s to have two representatives present

Andy Shovel, founder of THIS, delivers the opening talk on Day 1 on the Summer Entrepreneurship Course

Rob Gardner, founder of Rebalance Earth, delivers the keynote speech on the final day of the Y11 Summer Entrepreneurship Course

Canopy, led by Ronit Mendonca, spent a year refining the process of producing self-watering plant pots, excelling throughout the competition in the South London district, and also winning multiple awards to join Grounded in the pan-London final at Amazon HQ. This marked the first time there have been two teams representing St Paul’s at this stage of the competition. After a convincing pitch to judges, Canopy managed to win the Digital Presence Award as well as Best Overall Company award which saw them head to the National Finals in Manchester to compete against the very best student companies from all corners of the UK. They performed superbly and came second overall as well as picking up the best company for innovation and tech award which was testament to the team’s hard work and dedicated support from their teacher and independent business advisor support team, Dr McDonnell and Mr Russell.

Thanks to the generous extra funding available from the Mercers’ Company we have been able to continue to 164 THE PAULINE 2024-25

send 80 Y12 students from Cardinal Vaughan, Hammersmith Academy, SPGS and SPS to the LSE’s Generate programme which puts them into direct contact with founders and innovators in the surroundings of the GenDen, in the heart of the LSE’s campus. This programme has proven very popular and complements the work that Y12 YE students are carrying out. It also allows those who do not have the time commitments for YE to participate in an entrepreneurial programme during their Y12.

The overall mission of the Start It programme is to foster and support young, sustainably-minded entrepreneurs from a diverse range of backgrounds. The programme has allowed young entrepreneurs to flourish in West London Partnership schools while the foundation work carried out over the last two years has created the potential to significantly increase the scale and accessibility of the entrepreneurship offering while also ensuring St Paul’s is leading the way as a pioneer in entrepreneurial education. ❚

Canopy win Best Overall Company at the pan-London YE Spitalfields Tradefair – the second year in a row St Paul’s have won the top award

Student teams present their pitches at the LSE Generate Programme, this year held at St Paul’s Girls’ School’s brand new innovation and design centre in Brook Green

PAULS4ALL CHARITIES: MY FAVOURITE MOMENT Some of the committee members have shared their favourite memories from being part of the Pauls4All Charities Committee: My favourite moment was running my golf stall at the end of the spring term Charities Fair, in which we raised a healthy sum but also witnessed many acts of genuine generosity!

Christopher Garagnon Speaking in many assemblies across the year, including one for the whole school, has really helped me to grow as a person.

Eli Darko My favourite moment on the Pauls4All Charities Committee would have to be the Charity Fair. I was running the basketball stand, and seeing people genuinely engage with the activity, donate to a good cause, and embrace the charitable spirit of the school was both rewarding and enjoyable – all while competing against one another and having fun!

Dariush Ghaffarpour I most enjoyed deciding upon which theme would be chosen for NonUniform day at the end of half-term or term, and then engaging with the pupils in charity work as donations came in on the day.

Faris Sharaiha One moment that really stood out to me during my time on the committee was Charities Week. Seeing the whole school come together to celebrate charity and actively participate in events we had organised was incredibly rewarding. Overall, it was especially powerful seeing the sheer impact the committee can have!

Kai Szerkowski

Canopy return from the Manchester National Finals with Runner Up for best overall company and First place for the Innovation and Tech Award.

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MAKING A DIFFERENCE: THE IMPACT OF PAULS4ALL CHARITIES COMMITTEE THIS YEAR Kai Szerkowski, Luca Orlandi, Dev Patel, Dariush Ghaffarpour, Elyas Efthimiou, Eli Darko.

Edited by: GXP, Head of Charity Partnerships This year has proven to be an exceptionally busy and productive period for the Pauls4All Charities. Our meetings have been filled with careful coordination as we’ve planned charity-related events and fine-tuned plans for non-uniform day collections. All our efforts have culminated in a series of rewarding and impactful initiatives carried out over the course of the year.

The first item on the agenda for the Autumn term was the tough decision of deciding which local charity to select to be a new school charity. After a round of promotion and a school-wide vote, Little Village became the newest partner charity and was assigned to Warner and Cloete House. The charity supports families with young children living in poverty by providing essential items such as clothes, nappies, and baby equipment. It joined AllChild, London Sports Trust, and Man and Boy, which are each paired with two houses.

To round off the half term, the nonuniform day had a fundraising theme of each house wearing its house colour, helping to raise both money and awareness for the charities they are connected to.

The second half of the autumn term kicked off with the whole school supporting Movember, in which we raised money through challenges all related to the number 60 to symbolise the 60 men lost to suicide each hour.

Following this, we had an array of activities over Christmas, most notably the exchange and donation of candy canes, alongside our annual Christmas Meals on Wheels efforts to provide families with meals on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We also had another successful non-uniform day with the theme of Summer in Winter.

With the Spring term came some of the most memorable moments of the year regarding charity events. Off the back of the food drive last year – the school’s most successful drive to date – the combined effort of pupils and teachers alike to bring items ranging from toothbrushes to nappies led to yet another successful year for the St. Paul’s 166 THE PAULINE 2024-25

Charities Drive. The community donated 228kg worth of toiletries, a remarkable increase of over 5,000% in adult toiletry stock by mid-April compared to the charity’s early-year average The Spring term also featured Charities Week, during which a number of societies (including but by no means limited to JSoc, Venture Soc, Isaiah Berlin Soc, Debating Soc, Psychology Soc, and many others) did their part to raise awareness for charity. The Spring term came to a strong end with visits from all the school charities, who organised a variety of activities allowing us to get to know the charity’s mission even better. We also hosted a Charities Fayre on the last day of term (nonuniform day theme ‘Pink’). With the rain pouring down the night before, the start was damp, but as the day went on and more and more students got involved, the Sun came out and matched the bright and enjoyable atmosphere that was set in Founder’s Court and the Atrium. However, it was not enough to dry those soaked from the Thomas Gresham Committee’s sponge-throwing and even water bucket dumping game – and this was just one of the events that took place on this day.

At the fair, there were over 80 students involved in running the many stalls, supporting 8 different charities.

Overall, they managed to raise almost £2,000 in total on the day, making this initiative a success for both fundraising and entertainment. We hope to see this initiative return in the near future.

The summer term began with another successful non-uniform day, with the theme of summer dress, and most excitingly, the Summer Charity Fair.

This is going to include a host of activities in the hopes of raising money

for charity, ranging from a bake sale, to darts, to throwing wet sponges at our new captains! It will be the last event run by this year’s committee before we pass the torch to the next set of Pauls4All Charity Reps who will be responsible for electing a new wholeschool charity and planning further exciting activities for next year.

Overall, it has been another great year for the Pauls4All Charities Committee, full of great events, lots of money raised, and most pivotally a breadth of impacts and improvements to our surrounding community. ❚

PARTNERSHIPS AND PUBLIC BENEFIT

THE WINGS OF HOPE ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS 2024-25 GXP, MJLBT

The Wings of Hope Achievement Awards was founded in 2004 as a social enterprise initiative to give school pupils in year 9-13 the opportunity to raise money in creative, innovative and exciting ways.

All funds raised go directly to the Wings of Hope Children’s Charity, which supports educational provision in India and Malawi. We have had an exceptionally successful launch of the programme at St Paul’s School this year.

100 pupils from the fourth and fifth forms have taken part, ultimately winning prizes in three categories at the final awards ceremony, plus the overall national competition.

Working in 22 teams, our pupils have taken part in a wide range of activities throughout the year, including:

• Team building, where each group

created a team name, a customdesigned logo, and a profile page on the Wings of Hope website • Community Action projects, with each team delivering meaningful contributions to the local community, including donations to food banks and charity shops, baking for care homes, Christmas shoebox appeals, and litter-picking in local parks • Enterprising fundraising initiatives, entirely student-led. Events included a community golf day, primary school mufti days, sponsored walks (including a two-day trek from Woolwich to Windsor!), a custom scavenger hunt app, raffles, bake sales, community games, and sponsored runs and rowing challenges • Snapshot projects, submitted to Wings of Hope for semi-final shortlisting, in the form of scrapbooks, presentations, and videos • For shortlisted teams (including 20 pupils across 4 teams), presentations at The House of Lords to a panel of distinguished judges, competing for awards at the finals on 5th July.

To date, pupils have raised an impressive £12,610 (and counting) through nearly fifty fundraising events.

Their efforts have made a genuine

difference to the lives of children in some of the most underprivileged communities worldwide, while also equipping them with lifelong skills and creating lasting friendships and memories.

At the awards ceremony on Saturday 5th July, we were thrilled – although perhaps not surprised – that all the shortlisted SPS pupils went home with a trophy. London 101 so impressed the judges with the creation of their own scavenger-hunt app (which has got the attention of the MP for Brent, Dawn Butler) that they won in the ‘Excellence in Technology’ category. Legs of Hope walked for 20 gruelling hours in celebration of WOHAA’s 20 year anniversary, and aptly won the category ‘Best Use of 20th Anniversary Theme’.

And Project Aspiration, with their innovative use of London’s landmarks ➦

We founded our group, RKR Charities, as part of the Wings of Hope Achievement Awards (WOHAA) competition. At the time of writing, we have raised over £3000. We have successfully hosted multiple events, including a Christmas Fayre, a Golf Tournament and a Sponsored Walk that covered 20 landmarks of London.

We have been determined to Reimagine Kids’ Realities through fundraising money. We believe that every child deserves an education, regardless of their background. We have thoroughly enjoyed this process and it has been a great experience for us.

RKR Charities, overall national winners 2024/5: Aiden Ahmad, Rayaan Ahmad, Rohaan Kapur, Dhruv Kalia, Nathaniel Weldon (5th form) 167

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to carry out multiple sponsored walks, including going to every single tube station there is (and rating them!), took home the trophy for ‘Excellence in Sport’. Finally, at the very end of a nail-biting awards ceremony, RKR Charities were announced the overall national winners of the competition.

They receive an all-expenses-paid trip to India to teach at the school that Wings of Hope supports.

Our team, London 101, took part in WOHAA from the beginning of the Autumn Term. We were drawn to the opportunity to take part in a truly good cause and test our creativity and fundraising skills. The Wings of Hope also allowed us the breadth to be truly creative in our fundraising, for example through the development of our ‘centrepiece’, the London 101 App, an interactive travel game focused around 101 of London’s most iconic landmarks as well as the more traditional forms of fundraising, such as the two bake sales we held, and our London-landmark-themed sponsored walk across London, that took us on an optimised route to 70 of our 101 landmarks in London. In total, all of these events, along with participation in the Charity Fair at the end of the Spring Term, helped us raise around £2705 in support of the life-changing work that WOH does

It has been our pleasure and privilege to watch the teams form and then carry out this outstanding work, and we are so excited to relaunch Wings of Hope for the next academic year and see what the pupils achieve next. Huge congratulations must go to all the pupils who have taken part.

We hope that your WOHAA journey has given you lifelong memories and that the charity will be close to your heart in the future. ❚

THOMAS GRESHAM COMMITTEE

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London 101, winners in category “Excellence in Technology”: Nicholas Glaus, Aengus McBrinn, Sehwan Lim, Noah Thomas, Olly Zage (4th form)

Volunteering SPRING TERM: CHARITIES FAYRE Dev and Farris (Lower Eighth)

Mr Harris and Ms Penney organised a Charities Fayre on the last day of the Spring Term before school broke up for the Easter holiday.

COLET MENTORING Dariush Ghaffarpour

Colet Mentoring is an app developed

by Old Paulines, designed for use by current Paulines and students from various schools. The app works much like WhatsApp – but for Maths!

Students can send in questions, and our team will respond as soon as possible, guiding them through the necessary steps to ensure full understanding. There are multiple Colet Clubs every day, and this is where our mentors will gather to help at these designated times.

With the rain pouring down the night before, the start was damp, but as the day went on and more and more pupils got involved, the sun came out and matched the bright and enjoyable atmosphere that was set in Founder’s Court and the Atrium. However, it was not enough to dry those soaked from the Thomas Gresham Committee’s sponge-throwing and even water bucket dumping game – just one of the events that took place that day.

At the fair, there were over 80 students involved in running the many stalls, supporting eight different charities.

Overall, they managed to raise almost £2,000 in total on the day. The Pauls4All Charities Committee were supporting our school’s four primary partnership charities: Man&Boy, AllChild, Little Village and London Sports Trust. The committee members thought of creative ways to raise money, whether that be through a nerve-racking golf putting game or a loud and thrilling basketball shootout. We were lucky enough to speak to representatives from the charities we were supporting and learn more about their impactful work.

Pupils also raised money for other charities that they were supporting, for example: the Mileva foundation and Beyond Ourselves. Also, large groups of pupils in the Fourth and Fifth Forms (as part of their efforts for the Wings of Hope Achievement Awards) raised funds for Wings of Hope, which supports the education of orphaned children in India and Malawi.

All in all, it was a very successful and enjoyable day for all the Paulines involved and the charities that were supported. ❚

For mentors, it’s a great opportunity to practice explaining fundamental topics, an invaluable skill, and to give back to the community. And for mentees, it’s a chance to strengthen your maths skills and broaden your understanding. Overall, it’s a fantastic society for everyone to get involved in!

This is my fourth year with Colet Mentoring, and once again, I’ve absolutely loved it! This year, it has been exciting to see Colet Mentoring expand to new heights – reaching more schools and communities and building on the progress of previous years. I’ve continued to really enjoy being a part of it, and it’s always incredibly rewarding when a student finally understands a question and thanks you. Overall, Colet Mentoring is a brilliant opportunity to make a small yet meaningful impact in the lives of younger students – students we once were ourselves. ❚

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Adventure Sports SKI TOURING 2025 Two Paulines look back on this year’s ski touring adventure to the Écrins.

In the February half term, eleven students ventured to the Écrins to try ski touring for the first time. It started with a rough travel day with a meeting time of 6:45 pm at Gatwick and a four-hour drive from Milan to the accommodation, arriving in the pitch black.

On this trip, we did a mix of resort skiing in the fabulous resorts in Serre Chevalier and Montgenèvre, some backcountry skiing from the resorts’ lifts, and some beautiful, steep routes in the middle of nowhere.

On day 1, we spent a comical 15 minutes trying to figure out the new bindings before skiing a great backcountry route and completing our first ‘skin’. The next day, we travelled to the local resort in Le Chazelet and skinned up for four hours on an easy route to practise basic ski touring skills and how to use avalanche gear. We skied some great

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powder on the way down and did a slightly more technical and shorter hike to return to the resort. On day 3, we were introduced to uphill kick turns so that we could scale steep faces. We also hiked in our boots at one point, which allowed us to ascend between two rock faces and eventually along a ridge. We also skied on a fairly steep and rocky face. On the penultimate day, we drove up towards the Italian border and skied some incredibly steep descents, and also had to change our skins and clothes in treacherous areas. We ended the day with a beautiful glide out of resort boundaries, which was technical and had amazing, untouched powder.

On the last day, we returned to the Serre Chevalier resort, hiked in our boots up to a peak, and skied some great steep routes, a wonderful tree route, and a very steep route to end the trip, which involved a technical icy path through a forest.

Overall, it was a brilliant trip that gave us the opportunity to try a completely new type of skiing and to ski some of

the best faces and tree runs. We also experienced living in a small French village and eating French food.

Henry Raine Ski-touring in the Écrins was as tiring as it was fun. We trekked up towering mountains each morning, the sun glaring down at us. Sometimes, it seemed like we would never reach the top, especially on our longest hike, which lasted around six hours. But every drop of sweat was worth it – what waited on the other side was the best off-piste skiing of our lives, trying to carve through untouched powder.

I remember this one time when we were skiing through thick powder, and my ski got caught in the snow, naturally causing me to fall. My friend then saw me, and although he tried breaking as hard as he could, he ended up falling right on top of me. The same thing then happened with our friend after him.

We ended up in a tangled pile, all lying there in the snow, laughing so hard.

Some days, thick snow made skiing nearly impossible, challenging even

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in order to access the fresh powder in open plains and narrow couloirs that populated the glacier.

Day 2 we climbed up with our skis on our shoulders followed by an intense skin up the final stretch into the back of a resort then skiing down to a cable car to take us to the top of a large high altitude plateau where we then trekked with our skis on our back in less than ideal conditions to the top of another couloir. The scenery as well as the snow were phenomenal.

Day 3 we got up early and skinned to the cable car then skied until the bottom of a cliff. We then put the skis on our backs and climbed up some steep terrain to reach the top, where we skied down and skinned up some particularly majestic terrain onto the next refuge.

Day 4 we climbed 1300m around the same refuge, far far away from any sort of human activity. The scenery was dramatic with sharp cliffs and smooth snow caped peaks stretching for miles all around.

Day 5 we skinned up to the top of a col and due to good conditions summited the mountain writing our names in the log book at the top and seeing many Chamoix along the way. Finally we skied some lovely, untouched powder through a forest and to a taxi where we drove back to the airport from there.

We highly recommend these character building trips, run by Mr Passmore for keen skiers as they are once in a lifetime opportunities which most would never be privileged enough to experience. ❚

our most confident turns. Yet, every day brought us to a new place with new views and fresh tracks. Afternoons were to rest, playing endless rounds of poker while our gear dried and our muscles recovered. All in all, it was one of the best experiences I have ever had, and I would definitely do it again.

Felix Orlando Over the Easter holidays we were lucky enough to visit the Dolomites for a ski touring trip.

Touring allowed us to access places typically out of reach for most resort goers, despite the significant effort required, the skiing and scenery ultimately made it worthwhile. Due to the nature of this particular trip being hut to hut without a base to leave clothes and other stuff packing was an intense puzzle left to the night before, this was vital as a lighter bag would allow you to have a more enjoyable skin in the scenic valleys of the Dolomites.

We started the trip with a sleep depriving meet at 04:30, most definitely the lowlight of the trip.

On the first day skiing we climbed 700m which took us roughly 2 hours. We then skied down 1000m to end up at the base of the Marmolada. We then took a cable car to the summit of the mountain

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excellent start, scoring valuable points in the hammer (in his first-ever competition at the event). The success kept coming with Andrey Serebryakov taking second in the hurdles and high jump, Luke Gleason breaking 12 seconds in the 100m, and Ryan Voeten taking two seconds off his 300m personal best.

In the 200m, Leo Popov and Ethan Piric both broke 25 seconds for the first time, with Ethan adding a high jump PB in the afternoon. The day was rounded off in winning style by the 4 x 100m relay team of Popov, Lam, Gunn and Gleason.

The team finished in 3rd place out of 13 schools with a score of 400 points, behind winners Hampton, who scored 441 points. This proved enough to qualify for the Regional A final in Watford on Monday 16th June – more on this shortly.

It was with great anticipation that the athletics season got underway towards the end of the Easter holidays, with pre-season training taking place at Barn Elms Athletics Track.

Participation numbers were the highest they had been in recent years, and following on from a highly successful cross-country season, there was a palpable sense that something good was just around the corner. Indeed, it didn’t take long for this potential to be realised, with success flowing from the very first competition through to the last. Along the way, new talent was unearthed, camaraderie was cemented, and some of the longest-standing school records fell on the track and in the field.

The first meeting of the season was the prestigious Achilles Relays at Iffley Road in Oxford on 1st May. The junior 4x800m team consisting of 4th form runners Joachim Strabo, Shunsei Kwan, Cyrus Sheikh and Charlie Nicolson won by a full straight in a new school record time of 8min 57.3sec. They were awarded the Roger Bannister trophy for best performance of the day and – remarkably – their time would also have been good enough to win the U17 event!

There were also good performances

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from the inter 4x100m team of Dylan Siow, Zac Lam, Ethan Piric and Luke Gleason who ran 45.7 seconds to make the final; and the inter 4x200m team of John Gunn, Ethan, Dylan and Zac who also made the final, where they ran a time of 1 minute 37.3 seconds for a dramatic 3rd place finish.

The first full team match followed just two days later with the Guy Butler Shield at Harrow on 3rd May. There was a fantastic team spirit on show, accompanied by some outstanding individual performances. Overall, the team finished in 5th place behind runaway winners Harrow, who made the most of their home advantage.

The individual highlight from a Pauline perspective was provided by Charlie Nicolson, who was awarded performance of the match for his win in the junior 800m, where he ran a personal best time of 2 minutes 8.99 seconds.

On Friday 9th May, a sunny Lee Valley Athletics Centre played host to a wonderful day of track and field at the county round of the English Schools Track and Field Cup. Fourteen SPS athletes descended upon the venue bright and early with a bounce in their step. Guy Parker got the team off to an

The following week saw a visit to Eton for the traditional Lord Burghley Trophy on Saturday 17th May. Another wonderful team performance was epitomised by pupils stepping in to fill last-minute gaps, and the team was buoyed by the presence of Captain Cam McConnon, who was making his comeback from injury. There was no better example of the spirit on show than 4th former Cyrus Sheikh volunteering to do the senior 2000m steeplechase despite never having done the event before. Other highlights included an 800m/1500m double victory for Charlie Nicolson in the junior age group. To further emphasise the strength of middle distance at St Paul’s at the moment, Joachim Strabo won the B string 1500m, beating the A string athletes from every other school in the process. In the field, John Gunn took 1st place in the inter long jump, and Charlie Pama won the senior discus. In the engine room were Matthew Neo, John Gunn, Josh Knox and Henry Whittaker, who between them managed to cover a staggering total of 26 events! There was a slight sense of déjà vu as the team placed 5th overall behind winners Harrow, relegating Eton to second for the first time in over a decade.

Just before half term, a small group of athletes took part in the Middlesex schools combined events with fourth

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former Leo Popov winning the junior pentathlon and fifth formers Zam Lam and Andrey Serebryakov taking second and third in the inter pentathlon, respectively. As a result, all three athletes were selected to represent Middlesex at the south-east combined event championships, where they were joined

by L8th former Henry Whittaker, who was competing in the senior decathlon.

Over the half-term break, there were some fine displays of 1500m running

by SPS athletes. Cyrus Sheikh and Leau Roch improved their personal bests to 4min 29sec and 4min 12sec, respectively, in Wimbledon, while in Watford, Charlie Nicolson smashed the school U15 record with a time of 4min 15.00 sec, breaking the previous record of 4:17.3 that was set by C. J. Mayhew all the way back in 1974! Charlie continued his fantastic run of form by taking silver in the junior 1500m at the South of England Championships at Crystal Palace on 8th June and then winning the Middlesex Schools’ Championships at Lee Valley on 15th June. Following the latter performance, he was selected to represent Middlesex at the national championships in July. Leau Roch also took a Middlesex Schools title in the inter 800m, with Joachim Strabo taking 3rd in the junior 800m.

The weekend of 28th/29th June saw the South-East Schools Combined Events take place in beautiful conditions at Sutton Arena in Carshalton. Leo Popov, Andrey Serebryakov, Zac Lam and Henry Whittaker were representing Middlesex in a high-quality competition which saw records broken in all the age groups, including a new national record in the inter boys octathlon. There were plenty of personal bests from the St Paul’s athletes too, with Leo finishing 9th in the junior boys pentathlon with 2413 pts, Zac and Andrey finishing 7th and 17th respectively in the inter boys octathlon with 4414 pts and 3742 pts and Henry taking 7th in the senior boys decathlon with 3842 pts. This meant that Leo, Zac and Henry all qualified for the national finals in September. ➦

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The combined events were part of a spectacular final week of June for St Paul’s athletics, with no less than three school records being broken.

Charlie Pama set things spinning on Tuesday 24th June, in a home match against Fulham Boys School and Grey Court, breaking the longest-standing athletics record in the senior boys discus. His mark of 41.06m added over 1.5m to a record that had stood since 1960! On Wednesday evening, Charlie Nicolson kept the pace going by lowering his own junior 1500m record at Watford. His time of 4mins 08.77secs catapulted him up to second place on the UK U15 rankings and was a perfect confidence boost ahead of the individual event national finals in two weeks. Then on Saturday, Leo Popov sprang to another level when breaking the junior long jump record during the South-East Pentathlon. His leap of 6.16m added 30cm to the previous record and moved him up to 5th place on the UK U15 rankings. This was an excellent way to round off the school season and further demonstrates the positive direction of the athletics club.

After the term had ended, Charlie Nicolson travelled up to Birmingham with the Middlesex team to compete in the English Schools Athletics Association Championships on 11th and 12th July. He won his heat with ease to qualify for the final, where he finished in a commendable 5th place, rounding off a superb season for him. There were also some impressive sprint results for 5th former Zac Lam in the 100m and 200m, in which he recorded times of 11.32 seconds and 23.27 seconds respectively, as part of his preparation for the national combined events championships in September.

As we look towards the 2026 season, it only remains for me to thank the coaches for all of their hard work that has helped to facilitate these fantastic results. They are Harry Grindle (sprints), Kevin Quinn and Alex Milne (middle Distance), James Harrison (jumps), James Blurton and Andy Maguire (throws). They made a formidable coaching team. ❚ Dr Adrian Hemery (Head of Athletics)

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Basketball

The 2024/25 season saw a continuation of the growth of SPS Basketball, with teams across the 4th Form, 5th Form, 6th Form and Upper & Lower 8th competing in the third edition of the West London Partnership Basketball League, which was the best yet as the competition once again expanded with the addition of the new local schools across West London.

The 4th Form were introduced to the competitiveness of WLP competition with games against St Thomas More Language College, Hurlingham Academy, Lycee Francaise Charles de Gaulle and Holland Park School and also having the additional burden of emulating last year’s 4th Form, who won the U14 WLP Championship in 2023/24.

The team had mixed fortunes with a 2-2 record and failed to qualify for the knockout stages, but they gained valuable experience as they stepped up into the U16 in 2025/26.

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hosted its inaugural international U18 Boys Basketball Tournament with teams from Charterhouse, International School Zurich North and the Lycée Francaise Charles de Gaulle Londres taking part.

The games were played to a very high standard and showcased the development and progression of St Paul’s basketball. After two wins against Charterhouse and Lycée Francaise Charles de Gaulle Londres, the U18s made the final but lost a thoroughly entertaining game heartbreakingly to a buzzer-beating shot against International School Zurich North. Although disappointed, captained by Eli Darko, the U18s used it as the impetus for the remainder of their season as they continued their unbeaten run in WLP play to make the final against Holland Park School in April at Kensington. With their opponents keen to cause the upset,

the U18s weathered the early onslaught with a mature performance to win 42-36 and the WLP Championship for the second time in 3 years. The final was also the last hurrah for our U8th boys and we must recognise the considerable contributions to the SPS basketball programme over the last 5 years of Alex Gao, Marco Benedetti, Monty Brown, Ryan Ng, Marat Bilalov, William Lau, Nico Groeller, Finn Johnson, Ryan Gonsai, Anant Sharma, Chiran Pererra, Haruki Matsunaga, Jad Farrell and George Sakellariou and countless others. We hope they can reflect on their time playing basketball at St Paul’s with fondness and continue their passion for the sport as they move on to the next step in their lives. ❚ FNOL

In the U16 division, both the 5th Form and 6th Form were favoured to do well and neither disappointed as both went unbeaten in pool play and the first playoff round to set up a semi-final match against each other for a place in the WLP final in April. In an extremely tight game, with bragging rights on the line, it was the younger 5th Form who prevailed 44–40 to set up a final clash against Westminster Academy.

The final was a tense affair, with the unbeaten 5th Form down early, but they showed their resolve in the second half to fight their way back. Unfortunately, Westminster held on for the win 47–45 to take the trophy and deal the 5th Form their first loss in 2 years. Next year, they will have the opportunity to go one better as they will be the preseason favourite for the title.

The U18s, comprised of Upper and Lower 8th, started the year eager to regain the WLP Championship after last year’s loss to Latymer Upper. With dominant victories against West London Free School and Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School before the Christmas break, the team entered 2025 with great confidence as in January, St Paul’s

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1ST XI For the second year running, the summer began with a preseason trip to Desert Springs in Spain. With a young and enthusiastic squad, we managed to win all our games in the week, winning the Cricketer Magazine Schools Hundred Tournament.

Returning home, we faced the Old Paulines in the inaugural Alex Wilson Memorial Match, played in honour of former teacher Mr Wilson. The game saw captain Nikhil Malik scoring an unbeaten century to navigate a tricky run chase of 240. The following week saw us lose a very close game at Brighton College despite a 50 from Seb Jones. We bounced back midweek to beat Tiffin, with Tamash Raaj scoring his maiden first-team 50 and Yajur Prasad and Sai Bhatia taking three each.

We then faced a run of tough fixtures in which we came out second best.

During this period, we frequently showed glimpses of class but frustratingly struggled to play strong cricket for long periods of time. Going into half term, team morale was quite low as we felt we had underperformed after a strong start. However, much more cricket awaited us as we returned.

Straight after half term, a trip to RGS Guildford saw us win a thrilling contest, taking 4 for 8 to win the game with key wickets from Rohan De Silva, Yash Dhasmana and Bhatia. We followed this up with a convincing win at home to Reed’s, in which Amar Ali scored a superb 69 and Jones 64, and we scored 240. This was backed up by a brilliant team bowling and fielding effort. Our final Saturday fixture of the year was played in support of the Ruth Strauss Foundation against rivals Dulwich.

Fergus de Mestre bowled beautifully, taking 7-28 before scoring 44 not out to win the game.

We then headed down to Monkton Combe School in Bath for the annual cricket Festival. Despite a slightly longer journey than anticipated and searing heat throughout the week, we won all four games for the second year running.

Notable performances included 50s

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from Vishnu Datla, Malik and Jones, as well as clinical bowling displays from Zac Martyn, Prasad and Dev Patel. Sam Francombe also impressed with both bat and in the field.

The season concluded with an enthralling draw versus the MCC. After long bowling spells from Bhatia (3-58) and De Mestre (1-63), we were set 248 to win. In his final game for the school, Malik played magnificently for 127, almost getting us over the line. Quick wickets saw us fall just agonisingly short, but we can take pride in almost beating a very strong side.

Overall, the season serves as a great lesson in resilience. After a disheartening end to the first half of the season, we stuck together and managed to grind out results, finishing unbeaten after half term. Special thanks must go to both Dr Langley and Mr Briers, who continue to put a huge amount of effort and passion into St Paul’s cricket. ❚ Sai Bhatia, Nikhil Malik, Seb Jones

1st XI squad: Nikhil Malik, captain (16 matches), Ishaan Baijal (1), Yash Dasmana (17), Zac Martyn (9), Ranvir Puri (4), Fergus de Mestre (17), Rohan de Silva (9), Yajur Prasad (11), Tamash Raaj (11), Krishan Sornalingam (14), Amar Ali (13), Srivishnu Datla (14), Sam Francombe (13) Theo Katzenellenbogen (4), Dev Patel (7), Sai Bhatia (16), Seb Jones (17).

1st XI Coach: N.E.Briers Esq. Head of Cricket: Dr A.R.Langley

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STATISTICS REPORTED TO WISDEN (MINIMUM 150 RUNS AND/OR 10 WICKETS) Batting averages Name

Innings

Not Outs

Runs

Highest Score

100s

Average

N. Malik*

16

1

470

133*

2

31.33

S. A. Jones

15

2

364

62

0

28.00

S. Datla

13

2

279

54*

0

25.36

F. E. de Mestre

11

3

200

44*

0

25.00

T. N. Raaj

11

2

220

58

0

24.44

A. A. Ali

13

2

211

69

0

19.18

F. G. Francombe

13

0

212

46

0

16.31

S. S. Bhatia

13

3

152

44

0

15.20

Overs

Maiden

Runs

Wickets

S. A. Jones

39

4

184

11

2-0

16.73

S. S. Bhatia

89

1

390

23

3-3

16.96

F. E. de Mestre

136

13

491

27

7-28

18.19

N. Malik*

98

3

425

20

3-14

21.25

Y. Prasad

51

2

239

11

3-27

21.73

Y. Dhasmana

78

3

312

14

3-24

22.29

Bowling averages Name

Best Bowling Average

PLAYED 17 WON 12 DRAWN 1 LOST 4

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Kanishk Srivastava (11*) were up to the task and managed to plunder an entertaining 35 from the final two overs.

Set 198 to win, Tiffin were immediately subdued by the ferocity of skipper Shukla and Chaudhary, with the latter inducing an edge in the fourth over – 12-1. The threatening Shaida (23) was timing the ball well but lacked support from his partners. Eventually, a sharp piece of fielding from Ritchie ended Shaida’s innings before the metronomic Srivastava (5-1-14-2) sparked a minicollapse from Tiffin, with Hammond Giles (5-0-16-3) also tormenting the Tiffinians with venomous pace. The home team rallied somewhat towards the end, but Chiran Perera (2.3-0-23-3) wrapped things up in style, rearranging the stumps three times to mark the side’s first win in 2025. St Paul’s won by 83 runs.

2ND XI Glorious sun greeted the 2nd XI as they began their 2025 campaign with a 30-over fixture at home to Brighton College – Skipper Sameer Shukla called correctly at the toss and wasted no time opting to bat.

However, an unrelentingly accurate new-ball pairing immediately caused problems, with Armaan Bhatia falling to a jaffa first ball and Rishi Shukla following him back to the pavilion a few balls later. 4-2. Amar Ali and Theo Katzenellenbogen then steadied the ship, despatching loose deliveries whilst seeing off the opening pair. Amar was starting to look imperious in the ‘V’, and Theo nonchalantly hit Nikapota for 14 off a single over, but a change of bowling did the trick for Brighton, and Amar fell one short of what would have been a fine fifty. Gabriel El-Guindi was lulled into a mishit a few minutes later, and when Theo was caught a few balls after that, the score was 95-5 from 19, with SPS still in the hunt for a respectable score. However, the spinners turned the screws, and early-season nerves prompted a collapse to 102 all out.

After a sumptuous tea, Sameer and Aneesh Chaudhary took the new ball

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for SPS, and whilst the pace and intensity were obvious, the composure of the Brighton openers was notable. With compact batting stances, they latched onto stray deliveries and raced to 31-0 from just four overs. Ollie Hughes came on and quickly got a wicket, and Kanishk Srivastava kept the batters guessing with his needling spin, but the scoreboard kept ticking over. Dev Patel came on second change and bowled three consecutive maidens, and Akshay Raj got their number 5 to edge behind, but it wasn’t quite enough – Brighton won by six wickets with just over five overs to spare.

Next up was a midweek 25-over fixture on the picturesque Tiffin School 1st XI pitch. Again, skipper Shukla won the toss and sent his openers out to a decent wicket and invitingly short boundaries. Ali and Katzenellenbogen raced to 82 without loss before a fine catch dismissed Ali (39). Keeper Shukla joined the action, and another chanceless fifty partnership ensued, with both Rishi and Theo peppering a strangely unguarded hedge at regular intervals. With the score a healthy 144-1, four wickets then fell for 18 runs, setting up a potential nervy end to the innings.

Fortunately, Tom Ritchie (25*) and

The following Saturday, the 2nd XI travelled to one of the nicest grounds on the circuit at Whitgift School. Very much a batting track, it was Whitgift who won the toss and sent their openers to face the new ball, much to the disappointment of the SPS batters, who could be frequently heard lamenting the missed opportunity to bat first in the sun on a ‘road’.

Unfortunately, their concerns were vindicated as the Whitgift openers made a solid and assured start with Sameer and Ollie, St Paul’s opening bowlers, finding it difficult to extract much movement from the pitch.

However, after introducing Aneesh into the attack, eventually, his resilience shone through as he picked up the wicket of one of their opening batters, with the scoreline reading 70-1 after 10 overs.

With the game now slightly opening up, Sameer opted to introduce Kanishk Srivastava and Freddie Hammond Giles in an attempt to regain some control and stem the flow of runs. This move quickly paid off, with Freddie’s skilful swing bowling and unorthodox action at one end and Kanishk’s reliable off-spin at the other troubling the opposition

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batsmen. Freddie, in particular, exploited his slingy action to great effect, moving the ball both ways and, in the process, picking up two crucial wickets. With a couple more wickets from Aneesh and Sameer towards the backend of the innings, courtesy of some good fielding, Whitgift closed on a par 211-4 after 30 overs.

In response, St Paul’s openers started well, with Amar especially playing some eye-catching shots for his 36 until he unfortunately fell due to some miscommunication. With scoreboard pressure looming, a couple of SPS batters found themselves caught, swinging across the line on a couple of occasions. With Aryan and Kanishk at the crease with the scoreboard reading 74-4 after 16 overs, it looked an unlikely victory. This was exacerbated by an unfortunate series of events that culminated in the runout of Kanishk off a no-ball as both batters found themselves at the same end.

This brought together Aryan Sankaye and Dev Patel, who forged a strong partnership, with Aryan displaying good technique and discipline to keep the scoreboard ticking. However, the star of the show was undoubtedly Dev, who

took the attack to Whitgift, striking the ball exceptionally cleanly and offering a glimmer of hope to the SPS dugout.

Unfortunately, due to the required run rate continuing to creep upwards, victory soon became impossible, with Aryan and Dev both falling in quick succession, Dev ending on a counterattacking 47 and Aryan finishing on a respectable 32. After a few more overs, St Paul’s 2nd XI finished on a score of 167-8, a loss of 44 runs, with the side learning key lessons from the defeat, including the importance of bowling in partnerships and keeping up with the required run rate.

With the sun shining and the British Summer well and truly afoot, the SPS 2nd XI hoped optimistically to return to winning ways following two unfortunate weekend losses after electing to bat first.

Merchant Taylors’ opened their attack with tight, economical bowling, placing immediate pressure on our batters.

After a few watchful overs from the experienced St Paul’s openers, Aryan and Gabriel, it was Aryan who fell first, chopping a wide, good length onto his stumps as he looked to drive the Merchant Taylors’ left-arm opener expansively through the covers. A stream

of wickets followed as Merchant Taylors capitalised on the stagnant run rate, with Daniel and Tom falling in quick succession.

Under insurmountable pressure, Gabriel steadied the sinking ship, counterattacking with the aid of Dev, bringing us through to the drinks break at 15 overs in the mid-40s.

Alas, all good things must come to an end, and the fruitful partnership was broken soon after as Dev was caught playing a flamboyant cut, departing for a well-made 19. As the run rate continued to fall, Kanishk, Ravi and Dan aimed to accelerate. Tight bowling made this task borderline impossible, and all three fell, scoring an important 22 between them. Gabriel fell in the mix, top-scoring with a steady 25.

The situation looked bleak as our final two batters, including our captain, Sameer at 10 and Sachin at 11, took to the crease with just under 10 overs to bat. Little was expected from these two due to their lack of batting expertise; nonetheless, they took it upon themselves to deliver a batting clinic, with Sameer striking several expansive shots, noticeably charging their premier left-arm quick, Bazball-style. At the other end, Sachin played stylishly off his pads throughout his innings, enjoying the flick shot in particular. With Sameer making 22 and Sachin 17 both not out, we ended on 130 off 30 overs – a low but defendable total.

Coming out to bowl, our opener Sameer quickly took out their number 2, edged off down the leg side, and caught safely by our keeper Daniel. Hope began to creep back into the SPS camp; however, following some approximate fielding and steady batting, Merchant Taylors’ came out on top. Some skilful economical bowling from Freddie and Kanishk through the middle overs kept it tight, but almost inevitably, Merchant Taylors tottered forwards, reaching our meagre 130 in a mere 23 overs.

Despite the defeat, the resilient lowerorder contributions from the SPS batting department, along with solid ➦

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bowling, left us optimistic for the next few games as we looked to pick up some victories.

The final game before half-term took us back to Croydon, this time to the hallowed turf at Trinity School, alma mater of one Mark Butcher. Yet again, skipper Shukla sent Katzenellenbogen and Sankaye to the middle, both eyeing up scores amidst rumours of a muchdepleted Trinity School side. To the delight of the visiting supporters, their hopes were borne out as Katz (95 from 76) and Aryan (55 from 56) put on a mammoth 156 for the first wicket.

Theo saw it like a football, sweeping, pulling, and hooking with abandon, whilst Aryan’s trademark drives, glances, and cuts continued to serve him well. When Aryan was eventually bowled, the one-way traffic continued with El-Guindi (76 from 36) viciously dispatching the second, third, and fourth change options at every opportunity. Theo agonisingly fell five short of a century, but Ritchie (31 from 17) was only too happy to continue the carnage, and SPS finished on a formidable 310-2 from their 30 overs.

With over 10 runs an over required, Trinity were facing an uphill battle, and after Yajur Prasad (6-1-9-0) and Srivastava (3-0-27-0) had restricted them to 18 off the first four overs, the game was already running away from them. Sameer then brought himself (4-0-35-1) and Hammond Giles (6-1-29-3) into the attack, at which point the Trinity batsmen had to hit out to take the game to St Paul’s.

After wonderful batting earlier in the afternoon, a clinical fielding display underlined the side’s dominance, with Ritchie (2 catches), Prasad, Hammond Giles, and skipper Shukla each getting in the scorebook. Later on, Patel (2-0-20-2) and Jansen (2-1-8-2) finished things off by the 23rd over, with St Paul’s able to celebrate an unusually large victory margin of 173 runs.

After the previous week’s game at Hampton School had been cancelled, the boys were eager to celebrate the conclusion of exam week against RGS

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Guildford on St Paul’s main pitch.

Keeper Shukla was also Skipper Shukla for the day and continued his brother’s fine run of successful calls at the toss, sending Katzenellenbogen and El-Guindi into bat under blue skies. With only one run on the board, though, a brutal short delivery could only be fended in the hands of a grateful fielder by El-Guindi, and the vocal SPS supporters on the sidelines fell silent. Cometh the hour, cometh the skipper, and Rishi (25) and Theo’s (32) calm fifty partnership suppressed early nerves on the boundary. The Guildford bowling was tight, though, and after Theo’s stumps were disturbed in the twelfth over, SPS soon went from 58-2 to 73-6 in no time at all. Shot selection was questionable at times, though it must be said that the opposition impressed with their game management. Indeed, it took mature innings from Bhatia (21) and Srivastava (31) and a brief cameo from Hammond Giles (12) to bring respectability to the SPS total.

Chasing a surprising 173 to win, RGS were rocked when a fired-up Prasad (4-0-12-2) knocked back their number 2’s off-stump fourth ball and had their number three trapped in front a few overs later. Ollie Hughes (5-0-19-1) supported well with the new ball and was unlucky not to get more reward for his efforts, but a sensational low caught and bowled to remove the other opener was one of the highlights of the season.

At 40-3, the momentum was with St Paul’s, and the introduction of Hammond Giles (5-1-29-3) and Dev Patel (4-0-12-2) only served to underline this state of play. Supported by excellent catches from Srivastava and Ritchie, RGS hobbled to 80 all out from 18.3 overs, with Dan Jansen mopping up the tail with two wickets in two balls.

The scorecard didn’t quite reflect the balance of the game, but it was still a very pleasing victory after a busy academic week. The penultimate match of the term took us to Reed’s School near Cobham and another pitch that had the batsmen dreaming of their future averages. Better yet, Reed’s end-of-year Parents’ Association concert deprived skipper Katzenellenbogen of

the opportunity to call incorrectly and gifted him and the returning Sankaye to get some runs on the board. Sadly, his stay at the crease was short-lived, as was a confident-looking El-Guindi’s, but classy stroke-making from Sankaye (52) guided the visitors through the opening ten overs. At 43-2, he was joined by a pumped-up Tom Ritchie (51 off 51), who immediately started ramping up the rate with his usual wide range of shots. When Sankaye was caught going for the maximum, the scoreboard read 125, and a large total looked within our grasp. This opportunity was readily seized as Ritchie and Jansen (55* off 33) made the most of some tired-looking bowlers and took St Paul’s to a deserved 200 for 5 from their 30 overs.

In reply, Reed’s were stifled by a pace-spin opening combination of Hughes (6-0-21-3) and Patel (6-1-22-1), trudging to 10 off the first four overs.

Patel proved adept at drawing the batsmen out of their crease with some lovely flight, with the quick hands of Daniel Cheung impressing behind the stumps. Eventually, their resistance was broken, with Patel and Cheung combining for the first wicket before Hughes bounced out two of their top five and drew an edge to Cheung from another. 10-0 became 43-4, and another victory was in sight. Frank Sinatra was being belted out by the school’s big band nearby, and St Paul’s were starting to get in a party mood.

However, Reed’s skipper Smith (65) did it his way, providing a masterclass in both resilience and shot selection, frustrating the SPS attack and showing his teammates what could be done with a dollop of patience. Hammond Giles (5-1-27-1) and Gani (3-0-22-1) both impressed with the ball, but a couple of dropped catches chipped away at the confidence of SPS in the closing stages.

It was left to the talismanic Jansen (2.5-0-15-4) to first knock back Smith’s off stump and then claim the last three wickets, cementing an ultimately comfortable SPS victory by 66 runs.

Dulwich away, the sun on our crimson caps specially worn for the Ruth Strauss

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3RD XI The team secured good wins against Dulwich College, Trinity School and Ibstock Place. Notable performances throughout the season include 3 half centuries from Gabriel Ashton, 50 for Conor Cheung vs Tiffin, 50 for Aditya Swamy against Merchant Taylor’s and 50 for Anuj Shukla against Dulwich. ❚ PLAYED 8 | WON 3 | LOST 5

charity, we were confident, on a high from our recent run of wins. Surprisingly, Sameer lost the toss, and we were in to field. After a tight first over from the skipper, Ollie Hughes came on to bowl.

First ball, snicked, gone, caught at first slip by Freddie Hammond Giles. The third ball ripped through the bat-pad gap to trim the leg stump bail, and Dulwich were 3-2. They settled with some luck and grit and came back to 80-2, when Sachin Marchand took a wicket straight after drinks, immediately followed by Kanishk, who took two to put him on his second hat-trick ball away at Dulwich. Unfortunately, he was unable to claim it this time but finished with 2-17 in 6 overs, a tidy performance for his last school match. Sachin then also claimed two more to put up a

PLAYED 8 | WON 5 | LOST 3

hat-trick, but similarly couldn’t take the third. This left Armaan Bhatia, on his bowling debut for the 2nd XI, to take two quick wickets, cleaning up Dulwich for 109. Assured and buoyed by some strawberries and cream, we were understandably optimistic of victory.

Early wickets couldn’t stop the flow of runs, and Gabriel’s calm flick for six over square leg summed up our – if a little frenetic – positive attack. Tom Ritchie’s bold, sweeping 31 was accompanied by Kanishk to achieve a serene win in just 19 overs. A suitable end to a successful season for its exciting batting, intense bowling, and swings from glorious to appalling fielding. ❚ ABS, Aryan Sankaye, Sachin Marchand, and Freddie Hammond Giles

U15A This season was a mixed bag for our U15As, who were led by Ridhmeet Puri.

They had a tough start but grew as a team into the season, rewarded by a few wins near the end. We began the season on the road at Brighton and having put a competitive total on the board, the boys were confident we would start the season with a win. However, a below-par performance with the ball in hand and in the field led to Brighton chasing it down comfortably. Next, we had the first-round cup fixture against a strong Cranleigh, seeing the return of 1st XI players Dhasmana and Martyn; however, despite their return and resistance from Vyvyan and Burch, we saw our cup journey end there. It didn’t get easier for the lads as we had Whitgift and MTS next, 2 of the strongest teams in the circuit. Against Whitgift, we saw some magic with the ball by Martyn, who claimed 5-19, and we bowled Whitgift out for 144. Unfortunately, our batting let us down, with no one able to stick in and build a partnership, seeing ourselves all out for under 100.

We took the positives and moved towards Merchant Taylors (MTS) with a huge setback as Martyns was called back into the 1st XI. We were put into the field, and MTS were flying at 100 off their first 10; however, spin brought the game back for us as they ended with 250 in their 30. We saw a top effort in response, with Ranvir Puri scoring a really well-made 92; however, no one could fully support him, and we fell ➦

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U15B The U15B team season was truly legendary! As one of the team’s captains, along with Vyom, it was truly an honour to be part of this team. I hope to share a short storyboard of our season with you now. I have never had such a brilliant time as a cricketer – the support and genuine care for each and every other member of the team is what fostered a strong, successful, and happy team.

These are some of the highlights and some awards!

short yet again. To end the 1st half of the term, we played Trinity away. We bowled first and a good performance from Khalia, getting two wickets on his first two balls, seeing Trinity all out for under 150. The opening partnership between Ranvir Puri (62) and Burch (37) put us in a great position. Despite some nerves in the middle order, Khalia finished the game off in the final few balls in a nail-biting finish for our first win this season.

The second half of the season was much more productive than the first, especially with the new momentum of the Trinity win. The game against RGS Guildford was tough. We lost both the openers cheaply; however, despite a good fight back by Sharma and Bhalodia with the bat, the total proved not to be big enough. Confidence was high going into the Reeds game as we welcomed Martyns back into the side from the 1sts. We bowled first, and Burch was the standout with the ball, taking 4-22, including an incredible hat-trick, seeing Reeds all out for under

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100. After another poor showing from the openers, our middle order batted sensibly and easily knocked off the total.

The season’s penultimate game was a T20 against Tiffins, which was played on a good batting pitch. Skipper Ridhmeet Puri finally won the toss and batted first with an experimental order. Ranvir Puri continued his flying form, scoring 69; again, no meaningful contribution from anyone else meant we only landed with 151. We started strong with the ball, but a middle-order rebuild by Tiffins saw them through. We aimed to end strong against Dulwich, which we did. A strong showing by our spinners saw Dulwich only end up with 148. Even though we had another wobbly start, the skipper, Ridhmeet Puri, finally delivered with a controlled 62* with Vyvyan’s support, who had an excellent season.

Overall, this season saw huge improvements since the start from the lads, and as we enter senior cricket, we are all hopeful we can take and learn something from this season. ❚

The season kicked off against Brighton College under clear skies, and we looked to start strong. In a shortened 20-over match, we posted 107-8, with Aarav (25) and Aiden (21) providing key runs. Our bowlers rose to the challenge, delivering a tight performance that secured a tense 5-run victory. The spin quartet of Vyom (2), Pranav (3), Yuvraj (1), and Aarav choked the Brighton middle order to seal the win. The clash against Whitgift turned into a rollercoaster. We were in trouble at 20-3 and then 66-6, but Dhruv’s composed 47 anchored us to a competitive 126.

With Dhruv (3-27) and Sebbie (1-11) firing, we had them 60-6 before their keeper played a stunning unbeaten 81 to steal the game by 4 wickets. MTS piled on 241-4, with their opener smashing 113*, though Sebbie’s sharp death bowling stopped them from going bigger. Our reply faltered early, sat 13-5, but a sensational 130-run stand between Vyom (37) and Dhruv (71) lifted us to a respectable 151-9. Against Trinity, we cruised to victory, thanks to a superb 83 from our keeper Sanjay Iyer, a quickfire 20 and 3 wickets from Rohaan, and a 3-wicket haul from Aiden.

We kept the momentum with a 72-run win over Harrodian, powered by Dhruv (60), Vyom (37*), and yet another 3 wickets for Aiden. The Hampton match was rained off, but we responded brilliantly against Ibstock Place School, defending 106-8, with Vyom delivering the performance of the season: 24 runs and 5 wickets. Losses to Reed’s (by 62) and RGS Guildford (by 8 wickets) followed as we struggled to make an impact. But we bounced back with a heroic win against Tiffin despite missing

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nearly half the squad. Late hitting from Vyom and George pushed us to 131-7 before Pranav’s stunning 4-wicket spell – including a hat trick – snatched a thrilling 3-run win. We ended on a high against Dulwich, recovering from early setbacks through Max (17), George (69), and Dhilan (32*), posting 177-7. Vyom (4-11) and Ishan (2-30) held firm in the bowling to secure a 7-run win and a dramatic end to an unforgettable season. ❚ Best Bowler: Vyom Kurup (17 wickets) Special mentions to Aiden Ahmad, Dhruv Kalia, and Sebbie Mayze.

Best Batter: Dhruv Kalia (221 runs) Special mentions to Sanjay Iyer, Vyom Kurup, and George Vandini.

Best Fielder: Aiden Ahmad

WON 6 LOST 4 RAINED OFF 1

U15C The U15Cs started their season in an auspicious manner, with a 119-run victory over Brighton College. This result was made even more impressive given the fact that our substitute fielders we gave Brighton, took all of their catches for them (3 in total), and we let their opening batters bat twice!

Despite a very strong bowling lineup, it was clear that batting was going to be an issue. In our next two games, we were only able to muster 110 and 133 on the postage stamp that is the tank, against Whitgift and Merchant Taylor’s, which resulted in 10 and 7 wicket losses respectively. The latter fixture against Merchant Taylor’s was especially memorable given our batters 3 through to 9 all departed without scoring.

After two big losses, we dusted ourselves off and beat Trinity in a nail-biter with one wicket remaining. Another close game against RGS had us on the wrong side of the finish line with a 10-run loss.

We then dismantled Tiffin with a clinical 42-run win, and then lost our final game of the season to an unbeaten Dulwich side who just managed to defend their 144-run total with 13 runs spare. Given that Dulwich were 86-8, things could have all been so different!

In total, 3 wins and 4 losses seem about fair. At moments, we looked like a really strong team, but too many batting collapses meant we failed to really give our bowlers enough to bowl at.

Notable performers: Batter: D Cortesi scoring 140 runs in 3 innings at an average of 140 before he was snaffled by the B team is hard to overlook, especially with not much going on after him!

All-rounder: J Bone averaging 31 with the bat and 17.5 with the ball, plus a couple of Ben Stokes-esque knocks to keep us in the game, along with one of the best catches I have seen at C team in our final game against Dulwich.

Bowler: R Jha with 10 wickets (at least) at an astonishing average of 11.1. A captain who led by example, opening up the bowling and taking poles.

Special mention: A Lobo, who might not have sparkled with the bat (apart from his knock of 62 in the match I wasn’t there), but was one of the best C team wicketkeepers I have ever seen (for any school). Always cheerful, never missed a training session, a C team stalwart. ❚

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U14A There were some exceptionally strong teams on the U14 circuit this year, and our early matches against Brighton College, Merchant Taylor’s and Whitgift were mismatches with the opposition teams consisting mainly of county players – this meant that we had to learn quickly to bowl better lengths, take our catches and improve our standards game by game.

All those games resulted in defeats, but the team should be commended for fighting hard and demonstrating a superb attitude in training despite some demoralising Saturday afternoons.

We aimed to improve fielding, running between the wickets and creating batting partnerships. The bowling was good throughout the season and ended up being excellent by the end – the fielding steadily improved, but we continued to struggle to score runs. The Surrey Cup game against a strong Reeds team highlighted our potential when we kept them to only 116 with some great bowling and fielding, only to fall 8 runs short – we immediately targeted the notion of beating them after half term in our regular block fixture!

After two weeks off, a rusty performance post-exams against Trinity Croydon was the catalyst to work even harder in the last three matches. The first of these games was against RGS Guildford – the team batted modestly once more to only make 116 with Connor O’Flaherty and Rafer Gaudin putting on 40 in the 8th wicket partnership to give us a chance of victory – Kush Trichur led by example and unleashed one of the best spells of bowling in U14 cricket I have seen. Kush took 5-16 and impressively clean-bowled the whole of their top order with good support from all the other bowlers and some sharp fielding.

We bowled Guildford out for 58 – a fantastic win against a strong team!

took 3-18 alongside! We knew Reeds had two very sharp opening bowlers.

Still, they were no match for Arjun Coondapoor, who despatched them to all parts of the ground with a classy 88 – he was very well supported by Adi Aggerwal, who scored 32 in an impressive supporting role. The match was won with two balls to spare, and the team was rightly proud of the display that had tangibly demonstrated all the improvement and that hard work was paying dividends.

Next up was the big rematch against Reeds, whom we lost to in the cup – the match was played on a tiny pitch at Reeds, so keeping them to 148 was actually a really good effort! The pick of the bowlers was Javey Johnson, who

The final match was against local rivals from Dulwich College, and another terrific bowling and fielding display that included two great run-outs and another 4-wicket haul from Captain Kush Trichur restricted them to 118 all

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out. A confident display with opener Aran Burman realising his potential with a solid 36 to get us off to a great start, with Connor again coming in down the order to press the accelerator and get the team the victory with overs to spare 5 down!

To win the final three matches after such a difficult start is a testament to their collective hard work and spirit! They have next year’s Cape Town tour to look forward to with confidence, and this will undoubtedly set them up for further improvement at the U15 level next season – I wish the whole team the very best, and I am very grateful for all their hard work and the terrific support of the parents. ❚ RGH

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U14B The Bs had a fairly successful year, winning 3 of 7 games with 4 losses and a game rained off. We started off the season with a very close loss at home against Brighton College, and the game went down to them needing six off the last ball. Ayaan Aarif got two wickets, and Conor Cheung top-scored with 48 runs.

We then had a strong win away at Whitgift, with us bowling them out and chasing down their score in the penultimate over with Bertie Jones scoring the winning runs. Vihaan Sharma and Ru Marcroft both got two wickets, and Rapha Gaudin scored in the first fifty of the season.

Next, it was away against a very strong Merchant Taylor team where we lost by 87 runs. Devrath Sharma scored a fifty despite us being bowled out for 133 chasing 220. We bounced back from this with a win at home against Trinity, with three players scoring thirty or more and Ru Marcroft taking three wickets.

The next game against Hampton was rained off, unfortunately, which meant that RGS Guildford were next. Unfortunately, this was a loss by 3 wickets, with us being bowled out for 139. James Metcalf scored the most points with 48 runs, and the bowling kept the game close until the end.

Up next was Reed’s, where we unfortunately were bowled out for 119 chasing 184 despite a great batting performance from James again, scoring 41 runs. Jaiveer Pandya and Vihaan Sharma both bowled terrifically, getting two wickets each.

In our final game, we came up against Dulwich, where we set a huge total of 202 off the 30 overs, with Conor Cheung getting the season top score of 71 and Bertie Jones getting 39 not out. The game ended up tighter than we would have liked, with them needing only seven an over near the end. We ended up winning, due to great death bowling from Ru Marcroft, Rayan Khan and Aryan Kohli, picking up three wickets.

Overall, it was a solid year for the team and the players, with multiple fifties and some great bowling performances. ❚

U14C A Playing Record of 3 wins and 4 defeats represents a good outcome from some strong fixtures and a reward for the Boys’ hard work in practice.

The first game saw an 8-wicket defeat at Brighton College, who had a number of very good players. The Boys did well, considering they had only been in school for a day, the high points being a solid innings from Ayush Parmar and a wicket for Felix Orlando. Next came the season’s best performance with a 7-run win at Whigift. A Fifty from Henry Brookes gave us a small but defendable total, which proved enough thanks to some good out cricket with Keeper Conor Masilamany excelling, Everett Nerland electric in the field and new additions to the Squad, Ed O`Shea and Thomas Outred raising the fielding standards. High-quality bowling from Minwoo Choi, Michael Chau and Mikey Richards saw us home. The promotion of Brookes and Choi saw us a bit light the next week against a very good Merchant Taylors, and a heavy defeat followed, with Leon Guo and Jake Wright batting for a long time in difficult circumstances. Finally, at home, on the unique Tank Astro, Trinity were beaten by 4 wickets thanks to another 50 from Brooks, in which he perfectly judged the run case.

Conor Cheung, Captain

A narrow home defeat to RGS Guildford was perhaps a game that got away, but a week later, Reeds proved too strong in a big defeat. The final home game v Dulwich brought a winning finale by 31 runs thanks to a good inning from Arun Thavarupan and a great all-round performance from Jake Wright, scoring 40 for the second week running, bowling well and taking a diving catch.

The team had four captains throughout the season: Rudra Kohok, Pranay Lakhwani, Rayan Khan, and Julien Hamilton, all of whom did a great job.

There is certainly talent in the group.

All the Boys have developed through the term, and with some fitness work, which will benefit their fielding, many should go on to play good cricket as they move through the school. ❚

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Croquet

Though these immortal words may have struck many a classical student or staff member sauntering past the cricket pitch over the course of the summer term, I am thrilled to report that the noble pursuit of malleting excellence remains as strong as ever at SPS. True, other games halves may not have the same conspicuous discussions of the merits of ’90s cinema, interspersed with bellows of ‘ROQ!’ mid-game. Nor too do most games halves include lengthy and detailed plans for an accompanying Edwardian picnic, complete with elaborate Christie-esque glamour.

But such features should not shroud the seriousness with which ‘croq’ – as the team normally bark its name – is taken.

Cynics of the athleticism involved need only witness the precision of a well-timed strike; the moment of triumph when an ambitious roquet connects; the slice of a sunbeaten ball across the well-trimmed grass; the tactical nous and co-operation involved in meticulously undercutting the other team’s path to triumph. The beauty of the game lies in conversation, competitiveness, skill and teamwork.

It has been a joy to take over the Croquet games half from Dr Gilks this year, and he deserves enormous thanks from me and generations of students for his dedication and humour. Thanks are also due to our departing U8ths: Messrs Swinnerton, Websper & Lucenet. They have at every stage demonstrated commitment, patience (largely in endlessly explaining the rules to me and the L8th) and – most importantly – spirit. Having inculcated similar enthusiasm and expertise in a promising L8th cohort, I spy sunlit uplands on the Club’s horizon. Roll on summer ’26. ❚

Quos deus vult perdere, prius dementat

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Cross Country

This was a breakthrough year for the Cross Country club, both in the quality of team performances and in the popularity of cross-country running as a games choice in all years. By building on the successes and hard work of Dr Hemery over recent years, the team was able to deliver a number of elite results as a team and individuals.

PERFORMANCE Among many notable runs, there were probably four standout performances throughout the season. They were (i) the school’s first known national representative honours, with Charlie Nicolson (4th) running for England against the other home nations in March, (ii) the Junior Team (of Leau Roch, Alfred Chen, Charlie Nicolson, Joachim Strabo, Shunsei Kwan and Cyrus Sheikh) qualifying for the England Schools (ESAA) National Finals in Leeds for the first time and coming narrowly second (2 places or 2 seconds off first place!), (iii) the best participation for many years in the Inter-Counties National Finals with four runners qualifying for Middlesex across Junior, Inters and Senior Boys (Charlie Nicolson, Shunsei Kwan, Leau Roch and Benjy Street (sadly injured and unable to compete)), and (iv) one of the year’s two Co-Captains, Benjy Street, completing the season having won every race he competed in! Sadly, the other Co-Captain, Cam McConnon, was injured for almost the entire season.

PARTICIPATION This year, there have been significant steps forward, not only in performance but also in participation. We have broadened provision in 4th Form with enhanced running options in the Spring Term and by operating a 2K “Parkrun” on a Friday lunchtime in the Autumn Term for those not involved in weekend sports fixtures. There are optional lunchtime sessions for combined multiple-year groups, including Tuesday intervals sessions and Wednesday easy/recovery runs. This increasingly fits around team members’ running club or external training and competition commitments, as well as the 20 boys who competed for the senior school

team this year; the current strength of Cross Country at St Paul’s can also be seen from the 45 who chose it for their games halves, the enthusiasm for inter-house competitions and the start of interaction with St Paul’s Juniors including combined teams for the first time. With the benefit of excellent professional running coaching, bespoke performance centre programmes for physical literacy, strength and conditioning or recovery, and a supportive running club community culture, Cross Country aims to deliver for three key groups: (1) high-performance runners from St Paul’s Juniors to 8th Form, (2) recreational or novice runners looking to build basic fitness and an enjoyment of running, and (3) athletes in other sports looking to enhance their strength, speed and conditioning in their off-season via running training for their principal sport e.g. rugby, football or cricket.

FIXTURES & RESULTS Around 20 pupils from 4th to U8th have competed for the school this year in an active programme of 11 inter-school and representative cross-country fixtures (two others were cancelled due to bad weather in the autumn) between September and March, involving schools with leading cross-country reputations in the wider area. A short summary of these follows.

The first school fixture of the season was at Harrow on 26th September, the first round of the England Schools Cross Country Cup (ESAA XC Cup), in typically wet and windy cross-country conditions. In the Intermediate Boys (Inters), Charlie Nicolson (4) came in 2nd place and Leau Roch (5) 3rd from a field of 64 from 11 schools. All five St Paul’s runners finished in the top half (the others being Cyrus Sheikh (4) 11th, Alfred Chen (5) 14th and Laith Mason (4) 29th. St Paul’s as a school came second, narrowly pipped by Grey Court, and qualified for the Regionals round on 7th November, which took place in Dulwich (see below). In the Seniors, Benjy Street (U8) literally led from the front, winning the race with a storming 16.45 for 5K on a wet and hilly course. ➦

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Sai Bhatia (U8) was 14th, and Amaan Mathur (U8) 18th, both with impressive sprint finishes to overtake competitors in the final stretch. Alex KhosrowpanahFalcone (L8) came 26th in his first run for the school, and Jacob Lee rounded off the team with 39th. St Paul’s team pipped Grey Court by one point to come 3rd out of 8 teams, thanks to the quality finishing, which turned out to be just enough to qualify for Regionals.

With the King’s Cup in Wimbledon unfortunately being cancelled, the next fixture was on 12th October, the Charterhouse Cup and laps of its famed wooded circuit with a steep hill section.

We had 10 runners across three age category races: Junior Boys (JB, 4), Inter Boys (IB, 5/6) and Senior Boys (SB, L8/ U8). With Charlie Nicolson coming 1st in the JB race (14.03 for 3.7K) and Benjy Street (U8) 1st in the SB race after a monumental kick with 300m to go (c.7K in 25.45), we had two individual winners out of the three races! Other runners were, in JB, Thomas Outred and Toby Halsall, in IB, Alfred Chen (5), and in SB, Sai Bhatia (U8), Chris Garagnon (L8), Amaan Mathur (U8), Alex Khosrowpanah-Falcone (L8) and Jacob Lee (U8).

Shortly after the October Remedy, the ESAA XC Cup Regional Round took place at the grounds of Dulwich College.

Both St Paul’s Intermediate and Senior teams produced a fantastic afternoon’s running. After qualifying 2nd and 3rd, respectively, in the Middlesex round at Harrow back at the end of September,

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this was clearly a big step up in the class of the field, with only three schools able to qualify from 16 for the Nationals on Saturday 7th December. The Intermediate team (4/5) came 1st overall, beating Grey Court, who’d won at Harrow with a strong set of superb runs and qualifying as a team for the Nationals in December. Leau Roch (5) was 3rd, Charlie Nicolson (4) 6th, Alfred Chen (5) 11th (an amazing performance after being 14th in the previous round at Harrow), Cyrus Sheikh (4) 21st, Joachim Strabo (4) 29th, and with Laith Mason also running well despite a knee issue.

In the Senior event, Benjy Street (U8) won a grandstand sprint finish after a long tussle with another runner to come 1st in a great time of 17.07 for 5.3K cross country. Strong runs also from Sai Bhatia (U8), Luke Jeffries (U8), Amaan Mathur (U8) and Alex KhosrowpanahFalcone (L8), but it was not enough as a team to qualify further.

On 4th December, we competed in our last fixture of the year, the Hampton Paarlauf. This form of race is a relay in teams of three where the objective is to get as far as possible in a fixed time (24 minutes) but with flexibility on where to hand over the baton, meaning runners can do longer intervals and get longer recoveries, or give a stronger runner a higher proportion of the circuit etc. Tactics can, therefore, be key. Our Senior team (Sai Bhatia, Chris Garagnon and Alex Khosrowpanah-Falcone) came in 5th place out of 14 with 7180m covered in 24 mins, our Junior 1 team (Charlie Nicolson, Joachim Strabo and Shunsei Kwan) came first in their age group, also covering the furthest of any of our teams with 7452m, our Inters team came 10th with 6800m (Leau Roch and Albert Chen, despite being one short) and the Junior 2 team (Toby Halsall, Raphael Gaudin (4) and Ryan Voeten (4)) came 11th with 6487m.

On 22nd November, the Richmond Borough Cross County Championships took place – a first round in a competition leading to the chance to run for Middlesex in the ESAA National InterCounties Championship in March.

We competed in two events, Y8/9 and Y10/11, with the top 9 runners in each race qualifying for the Middlesex Championships at Harrow in February (see below). In the Y8/Y9 race, we fielded a full team of 8 and came second overall (to Grey Court), with Charlie Nicolson winning in 17.03 for c.5K. Shunsei Kwan (5th in 17.53), Joachim Strabo (6th in 18.08), Surya Kansagra (Y7) 17th, Max de Heinrich (Y7) 18th, Cyrus Sheikh 20th despite running half the course with one shoe (!), Raphael Gaudin 47th and Thomas Outred 76th.

Excellent runs, particularly for Charlie, Shunsei and Joachim, who qualified for Middlesex, and Surya and Max from St Paul’s Juniors, who finished in the top 20% of the race even though they were running up an age group. In the Y10/11 race, Leau Roch (5) and Alfred Chen (5) came 2nd and 3rd and qualified for Middlesex. We, therefore, had a gold, silver and bronze medal between the two races and five individual qualifiers for the next round!

Our first fixture of 2025 was the Middlesex Championships on 4th February, with the best runners qualifying from nine boroughs (ours from Richmond) competing for individual places in the National InterCounties in March. Only the top 8 would qualify. We had nine qualifying runners across the JB, IB and SB races, which is probably a school record. In the JB race, Charlie Nicolson (1st) and Shunsei Kwan (7th) qualified for Nationals, with Joachim Strabo (9th) and Cyrus Sheikh (11th) reaching the reserves list but narrowly missing out on competing.

In IB, Leau Roch (7th) qualified, with Alfred Chen also running strongly for 18th (both were racing a year up, which bodes well for next year. In the SB race, Benjy Street was 1st and qualified (but could not compete in Nationals due to injury), and Cam McConnon (19th) and Chris Garagnon (22nd) also ran well.

Four runners qualifying automatically for Nationals is the best result for several years at least, and several others were on the fringes of selection as reserves.

The Tiffin Boys’ Judge Cup took place on 12th February after being postponed from the autumn due to bad weather.

This was a chance for a different range

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of runners to participate, with the format being a relay in teams of six requiring runners in each year group from Year 7 to 8th Form. With some of our top runners competing in other representative events for their clubs, some new faces marked their debut for the school. We entered two teams of six, starting with a Year 7 runner and working up the age categories through Y8, Y9, Y10 and then two senior (Y12/13) runners, each completing two laps of a 1.4km circuit. In very muddy conditions in East Molesey, the A team finished in an aggregate of 58m50s, averaging under 10 mins per runner, and our B team finished in 63m45s.

While both were outside the medals, the following received medals as follows: Surya Kansagra – silver for 2nd fastest Y7 runner, Joachim Strabo – gold for joint fastest Y9 runner, and Leau Roch – gold for fastest Y9 runner.

On 1st March, our Intermediate Boys team of Charlie Nicolson, Leau Roch, Alfred Chen, Shunsei Kwan, Joachim Strabo and Cyrus Sheikh came a fantastic 2nd in the prestigious ESAA XC Cup’s National Finals in Leeds. The event brings the 15 best school teams together after qualifying via county and regional rounds, as the team had done in Harrow and then Dulwich. This is believed to be the first time St Paul’s had ever qualified for the schools Nationals, and the team were only two places and 2 seconds away from winning it! Fantastic runs from all the team, with Charlie Nicolson coming 4th in 12.58 for 4.09km (NB racing a year ahead), Leau Roch 7th in 13.19, Alfred Chen 33rd in 13.51, Shunsei Kwan 64th in 14.11, Joachim Strabo 77th in 14.22 and Cyrus Sheikh 83rd in 14.28. In a field of 158, this means that all our runners were basically in the top half of a national level finals, a great result.

Well done too, to Toby Halsall in 51st and Rapha Gaudin in 67th. In the combined Inters and Seniors 5K race, Sai Bhatia came 7th in Seniors, and Soren Loynes came a creditable 44th in Inters in his debut for the school.

The final event for our runners was in the ESAA Cross Country Championships (Inter-Counties Nationals) on 16th March in West Sussex. Leau Roch came 134th in Inters Boys, and Shunsei Kwan came 173rd in Junior Boys, both fine runs in the highest-level competition. However, the standout result was Charlie Nicolson, who came 8th in Junior Boys and qualified to run for England in their upcoming match against Scotland.

A first national vest for him, and we believe for the school – a fantastic result, 2.8km in 8.41!

Charlie Nicolson then ran the following week for England in the SIAB fixture in Falkirk, Scotland, against the best eight

runners from each of Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Charlie ran a fantastic race to come 10th out of 31 finishers, the 6th finisher for England, who won the competition. After qualifying in 8th place from the English Nationals, he therefore outperformed his seeding in this elite company, a great run!

PLANS FOR THE FUTURE From September 2025, we will have an onsite all-weather running circuit of 1km/1.2km to facilitate training, as well as access to the running track at Barn Elms on occasion. With an exciting pipeline of runners coming up from St Paul’s Juniors, from Year 5/6 upwards, we aim to build Cross Country into a respected, welcoming running community throughout the school.

We are also looking into greater collaboration with St Paul’s Juniors and the longer-term possibility of hosting our own inter-school fixture. ❚ Daragh Fagan, Head of Cross Country

On 6th March, the team was back at Harrow for their South East Schools Championships. Again missing some of our top runners due to the ESAA Nationals XC Cup a few days earlier, there were strong results in the Juniors 2.5K race by Shunsei Kwan (3rd, 1 sec behind 2nd) and Joachim Strabo in 7th.

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Fencing

The 2024-25 fencing season has been one filled with success, with four teams being fielded for a total of 19 league matches, with 15 wins and 4 losses, where we had an 80% win rate. A special mention goes to the Epee B team, with a 100% win record throughout the season, consisting of Luke Harrington, Max Bower, and Aidan Wong.

Moving on to the tournament to conclude the year, the much anticipated public schools fencing championship, where St Paul’s fencing saw great success. Alex Liu came 33rd in the Senior foil, Harry West came 6th, Maxcel Murillo Sandoval came 11th, and Sebastian Behroun placed 74th in the junior foil. In the Mount Heys foil, Kevin Mingchong Lu placed 9th, William Frost came 18th, and Taitan Mai was 60th, who competed from the junior school. In the Epee competitions, Ilias Fhail placed 64th, and Aidan Wong came 97th in the

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Senior Epee. In the Junior Epee, Luke Harrington came 11th, Matt Xiao finished 13th, and Xan Leventis was 67th. Finally, in the Mount-Haes Epee, Seven Guo came 10th.

School fencing tournaments have been no less fierce, with a thrilling round of school championships this year. Sasha Georget-Roukline claimed the Foil championship, Max Bower claimed the Epee championship, and Harry West won the Sabre.

A thank you to everyone who attended training sessions, participated in the games half for the first time, competed for the school, and helped make fencing at St Paul’s what it is. A special thank you to the coaches, Mr Larsen and Mrs Babaeva, for such a great year of fencing and Mr Swartzentruber for ensuring that fencing can run at St Paul’s. Thank you all. ❚ Ilias Fhail

Fives

It’s been a great season – when was the last time Paulines won eight trophies and made it to so many finals? And there’s a good chance that next year will be even more successful.

A quick summary of the highlights – Freddie Hammond Giles retained the U18 West of England singles (winning the final 11-0, 11-0) and the U18 National singles (winning eleven consecutive rallies to take the second game of the final without having to serve), after he had become (by some margin) the youngest player ever to win the National U25 singles, and soon after became the first player ever to make the last 8 of the adult National Singles whilst still at school. Freddie and Josh Ferro retained the U18 West of England and National doubles titles after beating Winchester on their lovely new courts, also to win the Schools Winchester Doubles. Being in the L8th this year, they have the chance to win these five trophies again next year to become the most successful pair of school players in the history of the game.

No pressure!

Nadim Cortas won the West of England U16 singles and has only lost to one U16 player all year – in the final of the Nationals. Joey Hammond Giles and Thomas Outred became the first U14s from St Paul’s to reach a national final for over 10 years. And to crown a stellar season, Freddie and Josh, playing against adult club teams from around the country, helped the Old Paulines win the Club Knockout competition.

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Our best 5th form players split their time between fives and football but were always keen and available at short notice to play in fives fixtures, or to practice whenever football was called off. Nabil Jindal, Orpheus Graham-Maw & Joseph Roussel represented the school at fives for the first time and made excellent progress. U8ths Ollie Wang, Toby Williams and Sameer Shukla played their last fives matches for St Paul’s, but will hopefully be back on court soon as OPs. The U14s were tremendous this year, beating opponents in school fixtures who have almost always defeated us in the last few years and nearly coming away with a trophy at the Nationals.

The squad was led by Joey Hammond Giles, who was really in a class of his own, being unusually ambidextrous and willing to put in the hours to work on his accuracy. Perhaps inspired by Joey and the unstoppable Freddie and Josh three years above, we had real strength in depth in the U14s.

At the end of season Nationals, in the singles, Kush Trichur, Ed O’Shea, Thomas Outred, Jamin Agostino, and Joey made it out of the group stages and into the main knockout. Joey carried on with two impressive wins before finally losing in ➦

At the West of England tournament in January, as well as Nadim’s triumph in the singles, he, Zen Okada, Ranvir Puri, Alex Ponte, Neev Bansal and Joey dealt with injuries and last-minute changes of doubles pairings with good grace and modesty, to post some impressive wins. In the U18 doubles, in the semi-final against Freddie and Josh, Tom Ritchie and Elyas Efthimiou put on an amazing display of exhilarating retrieving and power hitting. Was it seven between-the-legs trick shots off the back wall, Tom?

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the quarter-finals to a big-hitting opponent. Sehwan Lim won the plate with some impressively intelligent, controlled play.

In the doubles, our second U14 pair of Kush & Sehwan made it to the quarterfinals before losing to the No.1 seeds, while SPS 1, Joey and left-hander, Thomas, played superbly to defeat Winchester 1 to reach the final. Joey’s power of his right hand was exceptional, but in the end, their Edinburgh Academy opponents were too consistent and harder hitting.

The Captain’s Cup, for the most improved senior player, could arguably have gone to Freddie, since unfortunately for everyone else, he is still improving, or to Josh, who (when he remembers to relax) can hit some lovely stuff with his right hand (and what a win that was against seventh seed Alex Goodwin from Alleyn’s in the Nationals!), but in the end, it was awarded to Tom Ritchie – who has become a formidable doubles and a talented singles player, with lightning quick movement and clinical drives down the right wall.

The King Cup for the most improved junior player was also hotly contested.

Nadim’s ruthless precision to win the West of England and his unreturnable shots into the right nick, even under extreme pressure, made him a strong contender. Then there was Alex Ponte’s ability to control his line and length and his extra power in the doubles.

But in the end, we thought the award should go to someone who has steadily improved his footwork, to the point where left-hand winners have started happening, and his tactical awareness has noticeably improved over the season. Congratulations, Zen. The Conway Cup for our open singles champion will have Freddie’s name engraved on it, the U16 Thomas Cup was won by Nadim after a reasonably close play-off against Zen, and after a see-saw U15’s final between Alex & Ranvir, Alex came through as the winner of the Faber Cup.

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The Beltrami Cup for the U14 singles, unsurprisingly, went to Joey. Our U14 doubles tournament, where we pair stronger and weaker players together, was won by Noah Thomas and Jaiveer Pandya, who defeated Toby Halsall and Zac Joseph in a hard-fought 11-7, 11-7 final. ❚ JTH & SJR

Football

1ST XI The 2024–25 season marked a defining moment in the history of football at the school, as the 1st XI reached a national final for the first time ever – a remarkable achievement that crowned a year of commitment, quality, and collective belief.

The quarter-final against Milton Abbey tested our resilience. In a tight, highstakes contest, we edged a 3–2 win thanks to grit, game intelligence, and relentless work rate. That determination was epitomised by newcomers Tom Falconer and Alessandro Salford, whose non-stop engines helped drive us forward and recover possession time and again.

The semi-final against Cranleigh was a performance to savour. In one of the most complete displays of the season, we won 7–2, with Moyo again on the scoresheet and Andreas Tassi delivering a masterclass in defensive composure and anticipation. His libero-style defending provided a crucial platform for our attacking play. ➦

Our ISFA Cup journey started in emphatic fashion, with a 7–0 away win at RGS Guildford. The team played with fluency and purpose, and Moyo Lawani led the charge with the first of many goals in what would become a standout season for him. In the second round, we faced a powerful Charterhouse side.

Despite a determined effort, we came up short in a 5–2 defeat, bringing our Cup run to an end earlier than hoped.

That loss proved a turning point.

Entering the ISFA Shield, the squad responded with renewed energy and focus. A second consecutive 7–0 away victory, this time over Claremont Fan Court, was followed by another dominant 7–0 performance against Bedales at home. Kam’s flair lit up both matches, frequently unlocking defences with moments of individual brilliance, while Tomasso Beber’s calming control in central midfield allowed the team to play with poise and patience.

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Then came the historic national final against Bromsgrove School. Moyo gave us the perfect start, scoring inside five minutes after a slick team move.

Joaquin Birt’s slalom runs caused constant problems for the opposition, weaving through defenders and injecting momentum whenever we needed it. Rayaan Hussain stretched the game from the wing with tireless running and intelligent movement, keeping Bromsgrove on the back foot.

At the heart of it all, the boys battled with everything they had. U16 debutant Adam Colligan rose to the occasion superbly, showing courage, calmness, and maturity well beyond his years in the biggest game of our season. Despite our efforts, a last-minute goal and missed penalty won by Kam Baghai in extra time saw us fall to a heartbreaking 2–1 defeat. Still, the pride in reaching a national final will endure far longer than the disappointment.

Alongside our cup run, the regular season offered its own highlights.

A thrilling 3–2 victory over Epsom College saw Nikhil make a series of vital saves to preserve our lead in the closing stages. At ACS Cobham, we played one of our most entertaining matches, with Oscar Suarez scoring a stunning long-range strike – surely a contender for goal of the season – in a 5–3 win.

A composed 4–1 victory over King’s College School, Wimbledon, and hard-fought draws against Tonbridge, Haileybury, Dulwich, and Hampton further showcased the team’s resilience, technical ability, and togetherness.

This was a season of firsts, of records broken and standards raised. But beyond the results, it was about the spirit of the group – the drive to improve, the trust between teammates, and the joy of playing for one another.

It has been a privilege to captain this extraordinary team, and I leave with memories and friendships that will last far beyond our final whistle. ❚ Chris Leaver

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2ND XI It was always going to be difficult to match the standards set by the league-winning side of 2023-24, but an unbeaten tour to LA foreshadowed the immense ability that the 2024/25 2nd XI contained.

Hoping to set the foundation for the rest of our season we took a physical Haileybury team apart 4-0 with goals from Sam Francombe, Kai Petersen and Ale Salford. A follow-up 3-2 victory against a feisty Tonbridge side and a 6-1 demolition of ACS Cobham solidified our intent to challenge for trophies.

Unfortunately, many members of the squad were too good for 2nd XI football and were scouted and signed by Mr Warriner for the Firsts. Nonetheless, the 2s marched on despite losses to Berkhamsted (3-1) and a poor showing against Dulwich in the Cup. We returned our form with a massive 2-0 win against KCS Wimbledon, special mention to Dara Daneshvar for scoring 2 goals, including a lob from the halfway line.

We followed up with the highlight of the season against Dulwich, beating them 2-1 with goals from Seb Jones and Kai Petersen. Special mention goes to Luke Jeffries, Tim Hinkis and Andrew BerkoBoateng for dominating the midfield.

A dominant performance against the Hampton 3s saw us enter the final few games of the season with confidence but a bore 0-0 draw in the Lonsdale derby vs Harrodian hampered the mood slightly. Unfortunately, we were not able to round up the season against Harrow due to lightning strikes, but the rain served as a juxtaposition for the bright future the 2nd XI has on the pitch.

Our departing member Gus Jacobson in goal performed exceptionally well, holding the fort with the resemblance of a youthful Aaron Ramsdale. Our backline of L8ths stepped up despite their lack of experience in Senior Football; James Hammond, Kai Szerkowski and Luka Tzvetkov bringing a brick-wall-like defence to Pitch 5.

Aden Si-Ahmed dictated play in the ➦

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6 role prior to his departure to the Ones, whilst Seb Jones and Dan Jansen brought energy, excitement and eloquence from wing-back. Midfield strength was bolstered by Captain Luke Jeffries, Tim ‘Ronaldinho’ Hinkis, Andrew Berko-Boateng and Arthur America. Goals were piled in by Kai Petersen and Dara Daneshvar.

Massive Thanks to Mr Vickers for all the effort he has brought to the team and the department, and good luck to all the L8th returning next year (although hopefully, you’re all playing in the Firsts). ❚

RESULTS W W W L L W W W D ABD

4-0 V HAILEYBURY 3-2 V TONBRIDGE 6-1 V ACS COBHAM 0-4 V DULWICH COLLEGE 1-3 V BERKHAMSTED 2-0 V KCS 3-1 V DULWICH COLLEGE 4-3 V HAMPTON 0-0 V HARRODIAN 0-0 V HARROW

3RD XI The 2024/2025 season was hugely successful for the 3rd XI, led by the tactical genius of Mr Allen. The team won all their games, but one, scoring a phenomenal 39 goals, whilst only conceding 10, a testament to both the rock-solid defence and the dynamic attack that we possessed.

Our first game of the season was against a strong Haileybury side.

We started poorly but managed to grab a goal on either side of half-time.

Haileybury got a goal back through some poor defending, but with Ethan and Andrew pulling the strings in midfield, Toledano, Henrique, and Weeks put the game to bed with 4 goals. Haileybury managed to score a couple in the dying moments of the game, but with the win secured, we began looking forward to our next game against away at Tonbridge.

Unfortunately, due to a raft of injuries and illnesses as well as call-ups to the 2s, the team was left without some key players. In what was a tense, scrappy and end-to-end fixture, Tonbridge just edged out St Paul’s with a special mention going to Marcus for two incredible finishes.

Bruised from Tonbridge, the reinforced team got together for a midweek fixture away against Cobham. Peter Wang had a masterclass up top, scoring a hat trick with him continuing from his success on tour against Americans. Special mention should also go to Kanyin with what can only be described as the single worst penalty to ever find its way into the back of the net. Safe to say he was relieved of his penalty duties fairly quickly. With the match ending 9-0, we were in good spirits and looking forward to KCS. Unfortunately, KCS was cancelled, and before we could get our hopes up at playing a few teachers in the OPs game that was swiftly cancelled as well, both washouts. After some rest and recovery during half term, we turned our focus to Berkhamsted. In this game, we had yet another poor start, only not conceding through some excellent defence and goalkeeping, with special mentions

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going to Jago and Kanyin. We managed to find a goal just before halftime. After some words of wisdom from Mr Allen (be more direct), we started the second half well with Peter scoring a beautiful chip before sending a penalty into Lonsdale Road, and some lovely finishing from Toledano sending us 3-0 up. Berkhamsted got one back despite some excellent saves from Henry, with the game then put to bed by Henrique.

Our next game was a midweek fixture against KCS – a huge London derby – where we comfortably won 3-0 with goals from Pelling and Henrique firmly giving us control in a 3-0 victory. Next, we played away at Dulwich with special mention going to our defence for another great clean sheet in a 3-0 victory with full-backs Monty and Alex shining, and another masterclass from Aidan and Ethan bossing the midfield.

Afterwards, we played Hampton on the 3G, with us not knowing what to expect at all. We rallied well with Tom Ritchie, in particular, having an outstanding performance. The match was certainly feisty, but St Paul’s held out with a spectacular penalty save from Henry and some strong communication between keeper and defence, leading to a clean sheet and a 6-0 victory.

Onto the midweek, where we played Harrodian in a hotly anticipated Lonsdale Derby. Despite some errors at the back, the team produced an outstanding attacking performance, scoring 5 goals in a 5-2 victory, with Louis Besson and Tom Ritchie the standout performers. The team was also filled with recently promoted players, with Kobi ‘Sergio’ Langleben providing stability at the back. Our last game was against pointless Harrow, a game which, if it had been won, would have secured the league.

We started in decent fashion, hitting the woodwork a record 5 times, but intermittent thunder and lightning led to the match being called off.

It was an incredible and, most importantly, enjoyable season, with superb individual and team performances throughout. A special thanks to Mr Allen for his tireless effort in training and preparing the team, as well as a thank you to all the ground staff for keeping the pitches in playable conditions. A huge thank you to all the players who wore the shirt this season and helped to provide an incredibly memorable and enjoyable season for the team. ❚

It was an incredible and, most importantly, enjoyable season, with superb individual and team performances throughout.

4TH XI Despite a season plagued by dreadful weather, the 4th XI played some sensational football when the heavens did finally clear.

The first competitive match vs Haileybury was a 9-1 statement victory, with superb goals from man of the match Jago Barrel who would very quickly be snapped up by the 3rd XI. A Sam Steeden hat-trick completed the rout and set the tone for the rest of the season for a team that would combine defensive discipline with swashbuckling attacking play.

Two of the toughest teams on the circuit presented themselves next. Tonbridge away is never an easy fixture but an Alex Eakins thunderbolt sealed the victory with Alex Toledano and captain Louis Besson finishing well to dispatch Dulwich, also away in South London. The local derby vs KCS also saw the 4thXI come away victorious (once again away) with a fine finish from Aidan Malhotra proving to be the deciding factor.

With a home game finally being confirmed for the final day of the season vs Harrow, hopes were high and within 20 minutes, the 4ths were already 2-0 up with a particularly well-deserved goal from Felix Henderson-Stewart.

Unfortunately, multiple lightning strikes forced the game to be abandoned but this did not detract from an excellent unbeaten season with every game won and only a single goal conceded by the mean defence of Sameer Shukla, Alex Eakins, Kobi Langleben, Ben Mendelsohn, Denis Yesikaya and stopper Saahil Gani. Tim Brian, Rishi Shukla and Paul Centurione-Scotto added creativity in midfield to Sam Mendelsohn’s grit, and captain Louis Besson led the line heroically for much of the season. Well done to all the players and congratulations on their fantastic season. ❚ N P Troen, 4th XI Football Coach

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5TH XI The 5th XI’s season was a tumultuous one to say the least, being full of wins, losses and game cancellations. We started the season strongly with an impressive home win against a very physical Haileybury. Despite conceding an early goal after a controversial penalty decision from Mr Orr, who, in fairness, wasn’t expecting to have to referee a whole match, we were able to come back and score three goals. Felix Patel scored the equaliser from a corner just before half-time, and subsequent second-half daggers from Alexis Przyrembel and Gabriel El-Guindi gave us a 3-1 win.

Unfortunately, we were unable to carry this momentum into our next game, away at Tonbridge, where we lost 5-1 with a heavily rotated squad due to significant movement between teams. The scoreline here was not an accurate representation of the game in the slightest, with a combination of us missing chances and conceding soft goals, which gave us an undeserved, heavy loss.

We played some stunning football during our next game against KCS and cruised to a 5-1 victory after our previous disappointment.

This game was full of excellent performances, with Faris Sharaiha netting a brace, Timothee Brian putting in a midfield performance that Kante would be proud of, causing him to be moved back up instantly, and Kanishk Srivastava making some vital saves to keep us in a comfortable position and lead us to our second victory.

Our final competitive fixture of the season came against Dulwich. In this game, we were able to take an early lead, but after this, we couldn’t capitalise on the various chances we had and conceded two weak goals just before half-time. After this, we couldn’t find our rhythm and ended the season with a disappointing 3-1 loss.

Overall, our season was an interesting one, to say the least, with us only being able to play four games, winning two and losing two. Player of the season would have to go to Alexis for his consistent goal contributions, scoring in three of the four matches. There were other standout performers, such as Arvin Sahota, who consistently held down the midfield and Seb Jarrett, who put in sublime performances all across the backline. ❚ Owen Seton-Rogers

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6TH XI The 6th XI team had an incredible season this year, winning all four games they played with a goal difference of +16 under Mr Lyster’s unbeatable system.

It kicked off at home against Haileybury, where a clinical display saw the 6ths cruise to a 4-1 victory. There were excellent performances all around, but Manny Dell was imperious at the back as well as goals from Thomas Abrahamas and Connel Nelson. St Paul’s then took the long journey to Kent, where they faced Tonbridge. A nervy start followed as the 6ths were shocked by their opponents’ physicality and direct play, which led to an early two-goal deficit.

However, tactical switches by Mr Lyster and clever passing football by St Paul’s brought them back into the game just minutes later as Connel Nelson and Reuben Jones scored in quick succession to level the game at halftime.

A brace from Luca Tresigne in the second half gave St Paul’s daylight, and a poacher’s finish by Jad Farrell killed the game off and completed an incredible comeback.

The second half of the season would be just as successful, where a midweek fixture against KCS was first up. After a 0-0 halftime scoreline, five goals in the second half gave St Paul’s a 5-0 victory, with the first goals for the school from Dariush Ghaffarpour from a free kick, Alexander Khosrowpanah-Falcone and Felix Patel. However, special mention goes to Neel Narayanan, whose goalkeeping masterclass kept St Paul’s in the game and earned himself a well-deserved clean sheet. Our final fixture of the season was against rivals Dulwich. Despite conceding three goals, an absolutely sensational display in finishing from Gabriel El-Guindi scoring five goals in an 8-3 victory won the 6ths their 4th and final match, as well as Gabriel getting a mention in the whole school assembly. This was an unbeaten and memorable season for the 6ths. ❚ Luca Tresigne & Gabriel El-Guindi

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U16A The season kicked off with a tightly fought 2-1 away defeat to Haileybury.

Despite the loss, the mood in the St Paul’s U16 camp was anything but downbeat. With only a few training sessions under their belt, the team still managed to control large parts of the match – an encouraging sign of what was to come.

Following a week of intense tactical work, the first home fixture loomed against Tonbridge – a side that had beaten us the previous season and promised to be no easy opponent.

With the score level at 1-1 deep into the match, upstepped Francesco Beber.

With ice in his veins, he unleashed a sublime half-volley into the top right corner to snatch a late victory and secure the goal of the season. It was a turning point. The season had officially started.

Confidence surged with a sensational 10-0 win over St Benedict’s, a match that saw Charlie Pockney and Jackson Pound each net four goals. Training sessions began to show their effect, and under the guidance of Mr Nilsson and

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Mr Kirk – whose early morning gym sessions and tactical breakdowns were transforming the squad – momentum began to build rapidly.

Then came the heartbreak.

Away at Berkhamsted in what was billed as a season-defining clash, St Paul’s U16 struck early and played with style and flair. But in the dying minutes, long-ball pressure from the hosts paid off, and a scrappy goal left St Paul’s on the wrong side of a painful 3-2 defeat.

But true to form, the setback only fuelled the fire. A rousing team talk from Mr Nilsson in room 207 sparked a revitalised performance, and the team responded with a commanding 3-0 win over Dulwich in which Fergus de Mestre played like a Rolls-Royce centre back, spraying passes left, right and centre.

That spirit carried into a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Hampton – widely regarded as one of the strongest school teams in the country. Alessandro Zacharia’s passionate dribbling on the left wing created ample chances in the game, and on another day St Paul’s

would have been comfortable victors.

The final game of the season brought both drama and dominance. Under grey skies at Harrow-on-the-Hill, St Paul’s delivered arguably their finest display of the campaign. Leading 3-1 after just 40 minutes and hunting a fourth, the match was eventually abandoned due to stormy weather – but the statement had already been made.

With a second-place league finish and a +13 goal difference from just eight games, the team can look back with pride. Special recognition goes to Jackson Pound, the side’s top scorer and constant threat in front of goal, Aadi Patel, whose fearless 1-on-1 goalkeeping left strikers secondguessing all season long, and Jack Pyper whose performances were the embodiment of consistency, always turning up and always performing.

It was a season defined by resilience, standout moments, and unforgettable camaraderie – a fitting foundation for the next chapter in the seniors. ❚

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U16B This incredible season in the U16B squad was filled with brilliance, resilience and passion. Despite playing seven matches this season, we did not lose a single game, with our final record being five wins, two draws and zero losses and going on to win the league in the final match.

Our season started with Haileybury, and despite going 1-0 down early on, super sub Wilbur Mudie came on to steer the game in our direction, scoring a hattrick, and we went on to win the game 1-7. Our second game was more closely contested; playing on the muddy pitch seven, it was never going to be easy to outplay the opponent. Thanks to a William Hillary brace and an incredible defensive display from Arthur Whittaker, we managed to hold on to a narrow 2-1 win. Our third match against KCS saw two incredible goals of the season contenders from Santiago Herrero with a halfway line goal and Wilbur Mudie with an incredible chip from range as we overcame KCS 3-1. However, our next game was the toughest yet against a resilient Berkhamsted side who tested our team constantly. With injuries to some of our players, Kasim Attaullah stepped up in defence to keep a clean sheet. Unfortunately, they did the same,

and we were held to a 0-0 draw. We had to put our disappointment aside for the next game against Dulwich as this was a title-deciding game, and they were also undefeated. Going 2-0 up at halftime courtesy of Ollie Hughes and William Hillary, the game was in our hands. However, in the second half, Dulwich came back from a 2-0 deficit and the game ended 2-2. At the lowest point in our season so far, we needed a bounce-back result against Hampton to rejuvenate our season. We stepped up when needed most as a team, claiming a 6-0 win with outstanding performances from Labeeb Shikter and Alexei Bogoslavsky. In our final game, all we needed was a win to be crowned champions. Twenty minutes into the first half at 0-0, we heard thunder and lightning, meaning the game would soon be called off. In the final minute of the first half, Tomi Mahoney stepped up to score what would be the winner as the game was called off two minutes later.

I would like to thank Mr Slaney for being our coach this season, guiding us at our lowest points and making this season so special and successful. ❚

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U16C The Under 16 C team has battled through a season riddled with injuries and absences, ending up with three wins out of 5.

Under the leadership of our head coach, Mr Mahmoud, we started the season strongly with a 3-0 win at Haileybury.

A week later, we would have won again, in our match against Tonbridge, but very questionable circumstances limited us to a draw.

Unfortunately, over the course of the season, we lost nearly half of our squad to injury, including top scorer Luqman.

Our number 9 was unplayable for half the season, reminiscent of Didier Drogba, but was sadly unavailable for the other half. Even though we also lost Ashok and Maxence to injury, our team still kept improving and finished the season with back-to-back wins. Midfield maestros Anuj and Yajur and star striker Fedor were pivotal to our success in both our regular batterings of the D team in training and our weekend fixtures.

We ended the season on 10 points (3-1-1) with a +5 GD, finishing second in our league. Finally, I’d like to thank Mr Mahmoud for leading us through this tough but highly enjoyable season. ❚

U16D A successful and unbeaten season from the U16 Ds. A season made up of hard work, rigorous training sessions and a coaching masterclass. All of this helped us right a wrong from last season and clinch a nail-biting win against Dulwich. Many thanks to Mr Drewitt-Jones, who stuck with and motivated us through the two years. ❚ Tom Bonomini, Captain

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U15A The U15A season began with the January tour of Southampton, in which we faced a local team called Stoneham and were narrowly defeated 2-1 despite putting in a perfectly respectable first display.

Nevertheless, hopes were high for the upcoming season, which truly started with an entertaining 4-3 victory against a strong Epsom side. Goals from Josh Guttmann and Ridhmeet Puri saw SPS turn it around late to secure our first win of the campaign. The following week saw us earn our first league victory of the year with a nervy yet well-earned 2-1 triumph over Haileybury before 4-0 and 9-0 thrashings against Tonbridge and London Oratory, respectively, in which top scorer Andrey Serebryakov scored two hat-tricks. However, our form dropped off slightly following the half-term break as injuries and tired legs resulted in a hard-fought 4-3 defeat to Berkhamsted in which we conceded an unfortunate late winner following a goal of the season nominee equaliser from Vansh Rathi. Frustrated with our previous result, we went into the following game with heavy heads and a lack of attacking players. Playing a strong Dulwich team, we were narrowly edged out by two goals to 1 in a cagey game that could have gone either way.

Despite two unlucky results, we finished the season with a flourish, bouncing back well with two deserved wins, 5-1 against Hampton and a 1-0 scrap away at Harrow, where a well-crafted goal and a strong defensive display were enough to find a victory in our final game of the season. Thank you to Dr McDonnell and Mr Stewart for coaching us and fighting with us until the end. We put up a record of 6 wins and two losses, landing us 2nd in the league table in a season where the title just slipped away. Well done to all players; we go again next year. ❚

U15B The U15B team this year had an incredible season, going undefeated in the league but narrowly missing out on the top spot. We kicked off the first match against Haileybury, and it was intense. Both teams played very well, and the keepers kept clean sheets, resulting in a fair 0-0 draw, with our best chance coming from a long-range strike by Aiden Ahmad hitting the bar and a good performance for everyone on both teams.

It was during our next two games against Tonbridge and London Oratory that the goals started rolling in. A class 3-1 and 4-1 win against both of these teams, bringing us close to the top of the league with these fantastic performances from our attack, including a brace from Soichiro Yamaoku and a perfect free-kick by Eddie Peerebom-Voller.

Now we were faced with some difficult final fixtures, beginning with Berkhamsted, in which we were held to a 1-1 draw against a very good side, and then came one of the biggest matches of the season: St Paul’s vs Dulwich College. And it was tight.

In this fierce battle, both teams were challenged on both ends of the pitch, and everyone performed outstandingly. We came extremely close to winning but just missed out on the victory from a penalty miss, leaving both teams with points, ending the game 1-1.

Before the season’s final game, we played a friendly against Hampton, which turned out to be the best game of our season. After a slow start, going down 1-0 by halftime, we came out of the break looking very strong and managed to wrestle back the lead, going up 2-1, yet towards the end, against the run of play, Hampton scored the equaliser. But it was not over yet. With a corner in the final minutes of the game, Eddie played a beautiful cross towards the penalty spot, and Owais Khalil nodded home.

Special mention goes to Max Koeppen, who made multiple clutch saves to keep us in the game.

Our final game of the season was against Harrow, which was the match to win the league for both teams.

After going up 1-0 with a strike from Rohan Patel, unfortunately, the Harrow striker went through on goal and hit the net. We needed a winner to secure the league, and we had a through all in behind to Yousef Aziz, who knocked it over the keeper and came inches away from the title before it was cleared off the line by a desperate defender, and the game finished 1-1. Overall, although we lost the title on goal difference, it was an outstanding season from everybody, and I am looking forward to next year, where hopefully we can take it all the way. ❚

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U15C The season had a delayed start for the U15C Team, with a home game against Epsom College being cancelled.

However, in the season’s first game, we played a physically dominating Haileybury side whose size didn’t matter as we comfortably beat them 5-0.

Ari Wagenburg scored a magnificent strike from far out to go over the keeper into the net. With a solid attacking performance from Sofian Sheikh, who ran the midfield, Reggie Dooley and Muhammad Sadeeq, as well as our wall of a back four shutting down any opportunities for them with outstanding appearances from Max Dearlove, Daksh Mahajan, Aiden Sivanathan and Muhammad Sharif.

The following week entailed another cancelled home match against Tonbridge; however, following this delay, we took advantage of the extra training time and won a tight game against King’s College School 2-1 with a fantastic volley from outside the box to secure the win from Sofian Sheikh.

Nothing but dismay followed after a month-long break, losing three games in a row due to injuries and players moving up and down, which involved our trusty goalkeeper Max Koeppen, who we lost to the B team. An extremely tight game away at Berkhamsted School with emotions high ended in 3-2.

Another away game at Dulwich saw us down at halftime by 5-0. But after the break, we changed our attitudes, retrieving two back with a brilliant top corner free kick from Aarav Bhalodia, ending the game 5-2. Special mention goes to Ollie Pittman, who came up from the D team and had an MOTM performance.

For the penultimate game of the season against a strong Hampton side, the game ended 1-0, with their goal being a pass from the other team being deflected by one of our own players into the far corner, leaving the keeper no chance. However, the game was strongly dominated by our injury-riddled team. In the game’s final moments, Hampton managed to pull off a goal-line clearance from an attack initiated by the persistent Aarav Bhalodia. We were very unlucky to lose the game.

The final match gave us the chance for a final win when we played Harrow School (A). The match was almost instantly in our control as a fantastic assist from close to halfway, delivered by Sofian Sheikh, set up Reggie Dooley for a brilliant strike to put it 1-0. It was a tough match throughout, but when the game was tied, and there were ten minutes left, a superbly tight assist was made after a quick scan from Muhammad Sadeeq set up Reggie Dooley’s second and final goal to secure the match – especially good performances from Callum Bangar, Ari, Aarav Bhalodia and Julian Bone against Harrow.

The season ended with the U15C team playing six games, winning three and losing 3. Although this season was affected by many injuries, players moving between teams throughout, and not enough consistent training sessions due to the weather, I believe that they can come back even stronger next season.

A massive thank you to Mr van Vuuren, who kept us going throughout the whole season with brilliant tactics and decisions. ❚

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U15D The U15D football season was marked by both promise and perseverance, despite being hampered by poor weather. With four Saturday fixtures being rained off, opportunities to showcase our progress were limited, but the team made the most of every moment on the pitch. We managed to play four competitive matches and came close to an unbeaten season, falling just short on the final day.

The standout highlight of the season was undoubtedly our sensational 12-0 victory overHaileybury, with Malakai New netting five goals and Anay Bhardwaj scoring andassisting twice. Just before half-term, we took on the U16D team in a much-anticipatedfixture.

Despite being the underdogs, we delivered a spirited performance and pushed them throughout the game, eventually falling 3-1 to a physically strong side. DhilanCortesi scored a good header from a Veer Kalia corner.

After Remedy, we travelled to face Berkhamsted and secured the school’s only away win of the week, coming out on top in a thrilling 5-4 encounter. Abinaash Vaseekeran wasMan of the Match for his outstanding performance, scoring two goals.

The following fixture was a pretty dreary 0-0 draw against Dulwich, where chances were limited, but our defensive resilience shone through. Arjun Dosanjh, Jarlan Bogolubov, and now keeper Malakai New were especially impressive. A light-hearted penalty shootout followed – though the less said about that, the better!

In the final week, we travelled to Harrow, narrowly losing 2-1 in a hard-fought contest.

Captain Ishaan Baijal scored our only goal, and we battled valiantly for an equaliser in the dying moments, creating chances but unable to find the back of the net.

Overall, despite the weather disruptions, the U15D team can look back proudly on a season filled with memorable performances and constant improvement. A huge thank you to Mr Bedford for his dedication and support in guiding us throughout the season. ❚

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U14A We started our brief football season with a home fixture against Berkhamsted, who had a mixed record before our game.

With a lack of game time under our belts, we started off slowly, conceding two early goals following lapses in concentration in defence. The team grew in confidence as the game continued, with great chances being created by Arun Burman on the wing.

Hari Tzvetkov converted a wonderful ball in from a set piece, netting our first goal of the season with a glancing header. We kept up the pressure until the half-time whistle but were unable to capitalise, with the score at 1-2 at the break. Coming out of an inspirational team talk and with impact subs being brought on, the second half began, and Winston Lai rattled the crossbar with an almost perfect half-volley from the edge of the box. We continued to be dangerous from set pieces, and our deserved equaliser came as a free kick was cleared straight to Laith Mason, who drilled one into the top corner.

SPS were now dominating possession, and in the space of a couple of minutes, we were able to put away two more set pieces; the first a tap-in for Harry Collard from another pinpoint cross from Burman, and the second another Tzvetkov header from a beautiful Jake Wright cross. With SPS now rampant, we put the final nails in the coffin, with Tzvetkov completing his hat trick after some neat build-up play and Lai slotting home. Even after a late consolation goal from Berkhamsted, we sealed the 6:3 victory to kickstart our season. The MVPs were Hari Tzvetkov and Laith Mason.

With momentum on our side and after a strong week of training, we hosted Dulwich College on a huge pitch five, which we knew was going to be a test of our fitness. We started off strong by putting pressure on the Dulwich defence, and eventually, Tzvetkov nodded home a Collard corner after a set-piece routine coordinated by our set-piece coach. We kept up the pressure until half-time, with Lore

Aofolaju outstanding in central midfield, but were unable to break through a solid Dulwich defensive unit, going into the half-time break with a slender 1-0 lead.

Soon after half-time, we conceded an unlucky goal when a hopeful punt into the box flew into the top corner, leaving Leon Guo in goal helpless. Dulwich kept on the pressure, and our backline eventually breached with a deadly counter-attacking goal. With fatigue setting in, Charlie Nicholson still found the energy to fly up and down the left wing, terrorising the Dulwich right back.

He ended up putting in a marvellous ball, which Jake Wright, under immediate pressure from the Dulwich defence, was unable to put away.

Despite our late surge, we weren’t able to convert. We finished the game 1-2, and Collard was named MVP after his assist, which led to our first goal.

Our third game saw us travel the short distance to Hampton, and we were unlucky to come away with a 3-2 loss. We started off under immediate pressure from a fast Hampton attack, and they ended up putting two past us in the first half, with one coming from a penalty and one wondergoal.

We came out after the break with a strong midfield of Aofolaju, Collard and Noah Guest, creating lots of chances.

Despite our pressure, Hampton played a long ball over the top, which the striker was able to take past Guo for an easy goal. We kept up the pressure, searching for a way back into the game, and Tzvetkov finessed a lovely goal into the far corner from a Collard through ball. With a comeback in our sights, we adopted a route one style of football and put the Hampton defence under pressure. This allowed us to flex our set piece ability with Guest nodding home from a corner taken by Burman.

We kept attacking, with half the team becoming strikers, and we had corner after corner, but we couldn’t break through a stubborn Hampton defence.

In the game’s dying moments, Bertie Jones was through on goal and flattened by the Hampton keeper, but the referee waved it away, denying a last-minute equaliser. The MVP of the match went to Guest with a solid

performance against a tough Hampton midfield and his towering header.

For our final game, we travelled to Harrow and faced an immediate issue with our keeper stuck in traffic; up stepped Noah Guest to start in goal, with no experience or gloves, just pure height. During his 10-minute stint in goal, he kept a clean sheet, which was pretty impressive, judging by the number of saves he made in the warm-up! With our actual keeper back, the Harrow attack put the defence under lots of pressure, which we dealt with for the most part, with Elior Bloch and Jones putting in a series of crunching tackles until the Harrow right winger managed to mishit a cross into the top corner. Shortly after, we were able to bounce back with some brilliant link-up play from Felix Orlando and Florian Jhamna, which led to Jake Wright drilling in a low cross, which the keeper spilt into his own net. Both teams struggled to create chances after our goal, but a storm was beckoning in the distance, and as lightning strikes came ever closer, the match was called off, leaving us unable to complete our comeback. The standout performances of the day went to Jones and Jake Wright.

Hari Tzvetkov won our season’s Golden Boot, scoring five goals, and Harry Collard won our player of the season. ❚ Bertie Jones, Captain

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U14B After a long, hard-fought season, the U14B team emerged victorious in most of our challenging matchups.

We stood by each other through every tough moment, showing resilience and teamwork.

I truly believe we’re building something special for next year, and I can’t wait to play with this team again. Here’s a look at the four games that shaped our season: We began with a tough opener at home against Berkhamsted School. Although we tried to play to each other’s strengths, this being our first full game made coordination difficult. Still, we dominated large portions of the game in both attack and defence. Cyrus and Cyrus delivered excellent crosses, while Davide and Max controlled the midfield, linking up both wings. Cyrus scored a stunning finesse shot from outside the box, putting us ahead 1–0. However, in the second half, Berkhamsted’s fitness showed. With few subs and tired legs, we conceded two late goals. Despite the loss, players like Cyrus, Dylan, and Max Cook showed great promise. We were unlucky not to equalise with Davide hitting the bar with a free kick in the dying moments. In our second match, against Dulwich, we entered with low confidence but quickly found our rhythm.

Rayan Khan opened the scoring with a goal set up by Cyrus Ghaffapour, and Cyrus Chaudhry followed with a brilliant solo effort. Dulwich equalised with two goals after the break, but Connor’s great pass led to Cyrus’s calm chip to reclaim the lead. Though Dulwich scored again, El Nathan sealed the win with a breathtaking half-volley from the halfway line – arguably the goal of the season. MVPs included El Nathan, Cyrus Chaudhry, Dylan Faker, and Rayan Khan.

We faced Hampton next, confident from our win. The game was closely contested, with both sides missing key chances. Cyrus gave us a lead before halftime, but Hampton responded early in the second half. The match stayed level until the final minutes when Hampton broke through to win. Though we didn’t get the result, players like Adi, Max Cook, and Davide stood out. In our final match against Harrow, Cyrus scored early, and Davide converted a penalty just before halftime. Dev made key saves, but the game was called off at halftime due to thunder. Despite the cancellation, we ended the season proud of how far we’d come as a team.

Huge thanks to all the SPS coaching staff who helped us on our journey. ❚

PLAYED WON DRAWN LOST GOALS GOALS

FOR AGAINST 4

2

208 THE PAULINE 2024-25

0

2

8

8

GOALS DIFFERENCE 0

U14C The 2025 season proved to be truly memorable for the U14Cs. With just four matches scheduled, every player approached each game with determination and energy. The team’s attacking play delivered some excellent goals, while the midfield and defence provided the structure and resilience needed to secure two wins, one draw, and only a single defeat.

We began our campaign at home against Berkhamsted School, with a substitute coach stepping in for Dr Shammas. Despite the team still learning each other’s playing styles, we found our stride early on. The breakthrough came when Rory Fitzherbert finished a well-placed free kick from Julian Hamilton. Buoyed by this early goal, we controlled possession, keeping Berkhamsted under constant pressure.

Aryan Kohli soon added a brilliant strike to double our lead. Berkhamsted threatened with a few dangerous attacks, but our midfield and defence stayed composed and kept them at bay.

The momentum continued as Julian Hamilton scored, and Adi Agrawal finished off another move, with assists from both Julian and Aryan. The match ended with a convincing 4-0 win – a fantastic way to start the season.

Our second fixture, also on home ground, was against a strong Dulwich School side. Dulwich started brightly, scoring first, but the team responded well. After some excellent play through midfield, Jaean Cho found the equaliser.

Dulwich regained the lead following a defensive lapse, but a vital save from Devrath Sharma kept us in the match.

A swift clearance from Thomas Outred sparked a counterattack, with Conor Masilamany’s decisive pass setting up Hassan Daahir Hassan for the equaliser.

In the second half, the U14Cs took control, with key defending from Tete Ngernanek and Henry Brooks. Goals from Costi Poulios and a second from Jaean Cho secured a healthy 4-2 win, giving us a well-deserved second victory of the season.

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The penultimate game of the season and the undefeated U14Cs, travelled to Hampton for an early 9:30 am kick-off. With Tete Ngernanek getting the call up to the Bs, it called for Julian Hamilton to get the captain’s armband and Henry Brooks to get vice.

Although in unfamiliar territory, Dr Shammas was unafraid and gave debuts to three players: Ian Ding, Rayan Doerig-Bal and Thomas Outred, off the bench. This was an early tactical masterclass from Dr Shammas.

The U14Cs controlled the tempo of the game before a lovely one-two down the right wing from Hugo Samama, playing through an overlapping run made by Ian all the way from RB, where he elected to find the target man, Rory Fitzherbert-Brockholes, in the box. But instead, his cross dipped under the crossbar and landed in the far bottom corner, catching the goalkeeper by surprise. After the goal, it became a very even match, Devrath Sharma making some great saves in goal, Yinuo Li bombing forward from LB to supply through balls to Hassan Dahir Hassan making runs in behind at LW, complete control in midfield with Jaean Cho and Rayan linking up well, and a solid partnership at the back with Henry and Jaiveer Pandya. But just before halftime, disaster struck, and the Hampton striker bolted up the pitch from a St Paul’s corner and slotted it into the bottom corner, keeping his composure. Dr Shammas brought Thomas to LW for Hassan at half-time, and the Cs looked to be on the up. Yet despite constant attacks, U14Cs just couldn’t put it in the net, and the defence and Devrath had to hold off against Hampton’s constant pace behind. However, a change to a 3-back and a couple more subs still couldn’t get us over the line, with a half volley at the death from Yinuo, shaving the top of the crossbar.

Last game of the season, and the Cs were away at Harrow school. There was more change in personnel, with the likes of Toby Halsall coming in at RW, Ayaan Aarif in between the sticks, and Connor O’Flaherty having to play LB despite wanting to play midfield.

The game didn’t start well, with sloppy passes and Harrow carving through a team who had hardly shown up; the Cs were punished with a ghost volley from 20 yards sailing over the head of helpless Ayaan. But the U14 Cs were determined to bounce back and began playing like the team we all know and love. A great ball by Jaean sent Toby in behind his fullback and daringly chipped the keeper on his weaker right foot, but it was somehow brilliantly cleared off the line by a Harrow CB. Later, a charging run from Rayan saw him beat two or three players before being taken out in the box and winning a penalty. Yet a couple of Harrow players scuffing up the spot behind the referee’s back caused Rory to slip and miss-hit the ball, which rolled right to the grateful keeper. A promising half and the lads went out onto the pitch for the second, filled with hope and belief.

Connor made his way into midfield, and Julian filled in at left back for him, but after about five minutes, the referee had to stop the game because of lightning. This meant that Harrow effectively forfeited, leaving the U14Cs unbeaten in all competitions. ❚

U14D After a half-term of training, we were ready to face the likes of Berkhamsted, Dulwich, Hampton, and Harrow.

The night before our first match, Mr Wheatley – possibly the greatest tactical genius in the world – posted the line-up. For many of us, it was our debut game for the school.

Matchday arrived. Ten minutes in, Toby broke the deadlock with a screamer of a volley. By full-time, we had battered Berkhamsted 5–1. Toby grabbed a hattrick and the man of the match award.

Next up: Dulwich College – long-time rivals with a strong squad. To make things harder, we were missing several key players, including Toby, our star forward, and Johnny, our captain and keeper. The reshuffled team went in with hope, but it ended in a heavy 8–0 loss.

The following week, we faced Hampton, who had beaten Dulwich 3–0. Not ideal.

Training that Thursday was all about reworking the formation. As if things couldn’t get worse, we lost Ian, another crucial player.

Hampton scored early. Then again. But just before halftime, Aron pounced on a defensive error and pulled one back. At the break, Mr Wheatley delivered a rousing team talk. We came out fired up, and ten minutes later, Alex smashed in a stunning volley from a corner: 2–2. The game hung in the balance until Hampton won a penalty with five minutes to go. If they scored, they’d win. If Ayaan saved it, we’d earn a draw. Ayaan, who had been solid all game, pulled off the save of the season and was rightly named the man of the match.

Finally, we met Harrow — arguably the strongest side. They scored three in the first half, helped by the fact that we’d lost Ayaan, our only other goalkeeper. Then, thunder and lightning forced the game to be abandoned. A frustrating end to the season.

All in all, our U14D team finished with one win, one draw, one loss, and one abandonment – not bad at all for our first season of school football. ❚

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Rackets

Entering the 2024-2025 golf season, hopes and expectations were high. The strong additions of 4th former Noah Guest and L8th former William Xu provided crucially important depth to the side.

Despite an early loss to Harrow, the team rallied hard, going on to win all future league matches – a run which included several standout moments. One such moment came against Dulwich, where U8th former Alex Eakins dispelled his previous shaky reputation on the greens to drain a clutch 8-foot putt on the last hole to clinch a memorable victory. (If you ask him today, he’ll confidently tell you it was closer to 30 feet). The dynamic partnership of first-pair Shiv Ahluwalia and Veer Singh consistently delivered under pressure, whilst Sai Bhatia’s steadfast composure and consistency saw him impressively conclude his St Paul’s golf career undefeated.

In the cup competition, key victories against Hampton and Kingston Grammar propelled us to the regional title for the first time in 7 years and earned us a spot at the two-day national finals. With GCSE and A-Level revision textbooks shoved firmly aside, the team took the long journey up to Newcastle to play at Slaley Hall – the self-proclaimed ‘Augusta National of the North of England’. Pre-round nerves led to a few errant range balls landing dangerously close to opposition players, but once on the course, the team performed well in demanding conditions. Veer put together a particularly impressive performance, finishing 16th overall with a consistent and composed +9 over two rounds. As a team, we secured a respectable 14th– place finish with a combined total of +26.

Congratulations also to next year’s captain, William Xu, who I’m sure will lead the team brilliantly. ❚ Nicolas Groeller

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St Paul’s Rackets takes the ultimate prize in the National Schools Rackets calendar, ‘The Mark Faber Cup’ After the National Schools Rackets Doubles Championships last Easter, it was proved beyond doubt that St Paul’s Rackets Club had won the ‘Mark Faber Cup’, and in doing so, they became the official National Schools Rackets Champions for 2024/25. This is a feat that, over the 25 years in operation, we’ve been very close to winning, particularly bearing in mind the outstanding level the club has reached for the last 10 years and the string of National titles; however, claiming this trophy for over-all results during both the singles and doubles National Championships tells a story of not just a great level, but of good depth and resolve, something that’s even harder to attain.

During both Autumn and Spring Terms, results from weekly fixtures were generally good. Still, because of rotating players to accommodate opponents’ strengths & weaknesses, not to mention our inability to take our top seniors to Thursdays’ away fixtures regularly, results didn’t always go our way. However, it did allow others to be involved when they ordinarily may not have.

Our main strength has come from a group of L8 boys (G. Ashton, S. Marchand, S. Poddar, A. Sankaye, K. Vujnovic) who are good friends and compete well with each other, but the U8 Captain (A. Hogben) and Secretary (A. Zimmerman) also played an enormous part, Alex in particular who paired up with Sachin Marchand and as top seeds, became Finalists in the National Schools 2nd Pair Doubles Championships, only losing to another Pauline pair, and 2nd seeds, Shlok Poddar/Konstantin Vujnovic, in the final. This is yet again a ‘first’ for St Paul’s Rackets as we’ve not managed to win the 2nd Pair’s event before, so having both finalists was the cherry on the cake. Hari Dattani, L8, was also an instrumental member of the Racket club on and off the court, partnering with (secretary) Adam Zimmerman; they reached the quarter-finals of

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the 2nd pair event, only losing to 3rd seeds Tonbridge, which has to be applauded, but Hari’s overall help and commitment was second to none, and he has therefore been rewarded with the secretaries post for next year.

The U16 pair, Ed Traissac/Anish Dhar, are a lovely pair that play neat and tidy Rackets and are better than they give themselves credit for. If they were to practice/play more, they could shake up the Nationals U16s. Both boys hit wonderful balls with great technique and balance, although together they can sometimes be as quiet as mice, which isn’t a good combination as more aggressive opponents will take advantage of their niceties; however, Ed and Anish are talented boys with rackets in their hands. They also reached the quarter-finals, losing only to 3rd seeds Winchester at the National Doubles.

Our other strength is with the U15 group (A. Fletcher, R. Ahmad, V. Sharma, A. Ahmad, J. Burch, H. Du).

Again, a wonderful group of excited and reasonably talented boys who are a delight to work with, fixtures during the year were generally very good, and at Queen’s, Alexei Fletcher was 3rd seed and cruised to his predicted semi-final spot, however, his 2nd seed opponent hit purple on the day and gobbled Alexei up pretty rapidly. No particular reason although, possibly, being the Real Tennis U18 world champion (at 15) helps, not to mention playing both Rackets and Real Tennis since he was about 8 years old!

ST

best-of-7 games. As expected, the first game was a tight ending in a set 5-point win (tie-break) for Radley 18/13. The second game saw Aryan/ Gabriel quickly shake that first game loss off and triumphed comfortably 15/5. However, this, in turn, galvanised the Radley pair to take the third game almost as comfortably as they had lost the previous game, winning 15/10.

At 1-2 down in games, the fourth was paramount for Aryan/Gabriel to win, which unfortunately they didn’t, losing heavily 4/15, and the fifth 6/15, to lose 1-4.

AS/GAA The 2nd Pair event includes 3rd and 4th senior pairs from each school; therefore, quite a sizable event.

Our 2nd Pair (club Captain Alex Hogben/Sachin Marchand) were top seeds and cruised to the final with losing just one game. Our 3rd Pair (Shlok Poddar/Konstantin Vujnovic) were 2nd seeds and also cruised to the final, though more impressively with the loss of zero games! Our 4th Pair (club secretary Adam Zimmerman/ Hari Dattani) cruised to the quarter-final, and only lost to 3rd seeds Tonbridge.

Therefore, St Paul’s had both finalists, which guaranteed our success in that event, although, within the SPS Rackets club, this was a line-up of epic proportions, as in practices at school, they shared the wins evenly. The 1st game was tight, but top seeds Alex & Sachin came through 15/12 in this best-of-5 game match; however, Shlok/ Konstantin showed great resolve as they nicked the 2nd game 15/13. The 3rd game proved rather pivotal as Alex/ Sachin raced away again to 14/3, yet inexplicably couldn’t muster another point and somehow managed to lose that game 14/17! And although they did win the 4th game 15/9 to tie it up all square 2-2, they were showing slight signs of doubt within themselves and lost the all-important 5th game decider 11/15, to go down 2-3 (15/12, 13/15, 14/17, 15/9, 11/15).

SP/KV The U15 crew are a great group of spirited and reasonably talented boys who participate with a wonderfully cheery outlook on everything. They’re great to have in the building, travel to away fixtures, not to mention play at a good level. The A pair (Alexei Fletcher/ ➦

The National Schools Doubles was an exceptionally and hugely successful, whole club endeavour. Aryan/Gabriel were top seeds in the 1st Pairs event and, predictably, cruised to the final to play 3rd seeds Radley, who, not so predictably, got past 2nd seeds Haileybury in the bottom half semi-final.

However, unfortunately, the final didn’t live up to the expectations of most onlookers; predictions were flying around, not just as to who would win this most coveted prize, but the games and points spread during what is a

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Rayaan Ahmad) had a very successful year on the circuit and were, therefore, 2nd seeds in the Easter National Doubles. Arriving untroubled to the Semi-final against 6th seeds Tonbridge, who they’d beaten away just 4 weeks previously, albeit 17/16 in the 5th and final game, but considering it was on the Tonbridge court, it’s usually understood that on a neutral court, like Queen’s, we’d have had the edge. However, it wasn’t anything like that, and from the first ball hit, Alexei/Rayaan were under a barrage of Tonbridge bombs and lost the 1st game 2/15. Fortunately, the boys dug in and erased that game, came out fighting and won the 2nd game, 15/6.

The next two games were evenly split, and going into the final 5th game, it was anyone’s guess right up to 13/13, where a set 3 (Tie-break) was chosen (after an amazing 9-point service run by Rayaan), and the boys soon found themselves at match point. With Rayaan serving, as second hand, and a packed, raucous gallery, a rally ensued, and as the ball flew on the back wall for a dead cert kill, Rayaan, licking his lips with his eyes wide open in excited anticipation, rolled his wrist on impact and thus, therefore, putting the ball into the board (tin) and sadly ended our service run. Tonbridge got in and served the match out to reach the final 3-2.

Our other three pairs in that U15 event all performed magnificently, B pair, Vivvan Sharma/Aiden Ahmad, also lost (very narrowly) to the Tonbridge pair that beat Alexei/Rayaan in the semis, St Paul’s C pair (Joe Burch/Haofei Du) also had an amazing run defeating the 5th seeds, Wykehamists, on route to the quarter-finals. St Paul’s U15 D pair were,

in fact, U14 (Costi Poulios/A. Goldberg), but boy, did they shake up a few U15s during their run in the Championships.

First up was Rugby, who Costi/Alex dispatched without the loss of a single point 3-0 (15/0, 15/0, 15/0) then Wellington B pair for the loss of just 17 total points; however, their dream run was halted in the next round by the 8th seed Wellington A pair so somewhat expected.

AF The U14 year group has proved very good this year, both with talent and numbers involved. There have certainly been complaints from other year groups that the 4th formers are over-subscribed and dominant, which isn’t a bad thing with the future in mind. Costi Poulios, Santi Rio and Alex Goldberg got things rolling early Autumn Term and have since been joined in the Spring Term

by Arjun Arora, Saul Bitran, and Aryan Kohli. However, while I write this with just four weeks left of the Summer Term 2025, Leo Bauer, Joey HammondJones, Tom Outred, and Connor O’Flaherty have also joined this crew enjoying lots of court time recently.

CP The internal U16 singles tournament, the David Tate Cup, was won by Edouard Traissac, who beat Anish Dhar in an entertaining best of 3 games, 2-0 and Aryan won the final of the senior singles 2-0, beating Konstantin 7/15, 15/12, 15/10.

Thanks must go to former National Schools Champion and Old Tonbridgian, Duncan Odds, for his commitment in volunteering to play with the boys every Friday lunchtime; his knowledge and experience were greatly appreciated by the boys and myself, and hopefully, it can continue next September onwards.

Due to equal strengths in all aspects, for the very first time, we have a dual captaincy in Aryan Sankaye and Gabriel Ashton. Our Secretary is Hari Dattani. ❚ Steve Tulley

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1ST VIII With five of the nine guys returning from last year’s quadruple-winning crew (Victor Bocquet, Christian Reese, Patrick Wild, Kynan Tallec-Botos and I), excitement was high as the new season took off.

The first major challenge would be to retain the title at the Head of the Charles, in Boston, USA. As we prepared to take off, however, our flight was cancelled.

Instead of a direct flight to Boston, the lads took a scenic tour through Germany and Switzerland and were forced to stay overnight at an interesting hotel, to say the least. Despite the challenge of arriving there in one piece, the crew was fired up and ready to race. Starting off first certainly made steering the tight bends and narrow bridges easier, and we were able to lock in on our own boat’s rhythm without the distractions we had faced last year. We walked away with a nine-second win, marking only the fifth time an international crew has won the event, and the third time for SPS. After the race, we spent the rest of our time in the USA on a training camp at Princeton, with a cheeky visit to the Atlantic Coast.

Owing to inclement weather, our annual Plum Puddings Regatta had to be held indoors. Costumes and racing retained very high standards, with Superheroes winning the best costume and Cheerleaders edging out Miscellaneous Food Items on the ergs in a tightly contested final.

The new year opened the head racing season, which included an overall win at Hammersmith Head. As the School’s Head approached, there was a feeling of exhilaration within the crew. A few hours before the start, during our pre-paddle, we heard the sudden thump of a submerged log on the fin of the boat. To our shock, the entire fin was missing. Like a disoriented octopus, we zigzagged our way back to the boathouse, where Dickie was able to sort out a quick fix and get it ready in time for the race. The race began smoothly, and we powered off to a one-second lead by the bandstand, extending to five seconds by Harrods, and finishing with a seven-second win over Shiplake.

During the productive training camp in Portugal, it looked like we were one

of the fastest SPS crews ever. We were gearing up for the racing season when, due to a stroke-related illness, our bow seat, Arthur Hamill, was unable to continue rowing. Over the next few weeks, we came together as a crew, showing just how much we all care about each other. It’s a challenge to step into a crew so late in a season, but Theo Martin made it look easy. Having changed our order, putting Jacopo Tans in the bow seat, we finished behind some strong club crews at Wallingford Regatta and were the fastest junior crew. At Poplar Regatta, we faced off against Shiplake again, this time over 2000m. Shiplake got off to a strong start, but we were able to row them down to finish as the fastest junior crew again.

For some reason, National Schools Regatta organisers decided it would be good for the event to leave Dorney Lake for the NWSC at Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham. The weather forecast looked worse and worse, and when we finally got there, it was revealed thatour event would be condensed from two days to just one. The lanes were also very unfair, with a strong ➦

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cross-head wind giving lane 6 a clear advantage. As we crossed the finish line in the time trial, we knew we had undercooked it and that we hadn’t rowed our best race. We ended up coming fourth. A few hours later, we fought in our unforgiving lane against the odds to try to overturn the time trial winners, Shiplake, but we didn’t have the pace to keep up with them, and going into the last 500 metres, we were rowed through by Radley, earning the bronze medal. Unbeknownst to us and to him at the time, Wilder Daffey, our two-seat, was racing with glandular fever. At the end of the day, keeping him healthy was key, so after Marlow Regatta, we subbed in a J16, Guy Parson, so Wilder could recover over the summer. We were now a team of eleven, not nine, this season.

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Then we arrived at Henley. Stroked by Jonny Miles, we started off the week with wins against Norwich and a local rival, King’s College School, but as a crew, we felt we had more speed to find. We thought about the challenges we faced this season and reflected on how they made us the crew we are.

On Friday, against Eton, a fire ignited within us, and we flew out to the barrier, gaining a length lead. We didn’t take our foot off the gas through the middle, where we established a dominant lead of around three lengths, setting the stage for the semi-final the next day against Shiplake. The start was neckand-neck, and by the barrier, they had a half-length lead. We knew we had to dig deep and fight for it. We attacked them hard through the middle of the

race, managing to recover a few seats; however, as we approached the last 500m, it was clear we couldn’t match their pace. It was not the way we wanted our story to end as a crew, but we all enjoyed every second of it.

It has been a hell of a journey rowing with these boys, and our endless thanks go to our coaches, Bobby and Donald, the parents team, the High Master, and all other school support staff, for helping us grow over the past years in this boat club we call home. ❚ Alp Karadogan

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2ND VIII After the successes of the senior squad in 2024, we knew this would be a tough act to follow. Throughout the autumn term, our sessions mainly focused on small boat rowing. With both Scullers’ Head and Wallingford Long Distance Sculls cancelled, our first race was Pairs Head, in which our pairs and doubles finished with respectable results. The Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston proved to be a record-breaking event for us, with the four fastest of the 2nd VIII competing in the Junior 4+ event.

Our 10th-place finish was a record placement for SPS. Coming into the second half of the autumn, five of the crew qualified for and raced at the GB early ID trials.

After more inevitable cancellations and a much-earned week off, we placed 16th at Quintin Head and 8th at Hammersmith Head. After the GB pairs trials, sights were set on the Schools’ Head of the River. A month’s worth of eights training later, on home water,

we managed a 4th place finish in the Second Eights category, capping off a difficult head season for the boat.

The much-anticipated Portugal training camp was a welcome change of scenery for us as we powered through two long sessions each day in the blistering Montemor-O-Velho heat. We focused on finding our racing rhythm to bring into the sprint season, along with trying to dodge Charlie’s surfboard in our annual surfing lesson. By the end of the camp, we executed an excellent 2k piece in the worst rainstorm we had rowed in. Portugal behind us, we tried our best to apply this new speed at Wallingford Regatta, in which we raced the 4+, 4-, and 8+, finishing middle of the pack in these events. Notwithstanding this result, we kept our heads held high into the final part of the sprint season.

Arthur’s unexpected medical situation meant we had to give up one of our best: Theo Martin. So we made the final preparations for National Schools’ in the new lineup, testing it at Poplar Regatta,

where we unfortunately just missed out on the final. This seemed to be a common theme for our racing in the summer season, as we missed the A-final at NSR by less than two seconds while enduring the unfamiliar crampedness and North-Sea-like waters of Holme Pierrepont Watersports Centre. Our attention now turns to preparing a lightning-fast quad for the Fawley qualifiers this year to end the season on a high.

The boat saw many changes over the year, but these boys all contributed along the way: Milon, Apollo, Nathaniel, Theo F, Theo M, Felix, Ed, Eyad, Ben, Aarav, Jun, and Hugo. We would like to give our utmost thanks to our excellent coach Charlie Bourne, who guided us through a tumultuous season with a lot of motivation and technical pointers, along with the rest of the coaching staff at SPSBC for providing wellneeded support over the year.

Thank you, Charlie! ❚ Apollo Andreichuk

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International Rowing The international season for Paulines started strongly as the J16A eight was deemed by selectors to be a strong enough unit to represent GB in the GB-France Match for J16 athletes. The crew of Finn Clapham, Nicholas Fezer Brown, Hugo Tuil, Arun Das, Beau Fenichell, Paul Turner, Edward Ludgate and Guy Parson, steered by Ettore Bresciani, justified the faith put in them as they delivered a win over their Gallic counterparts, helping the GB men’s squad to a narrow win over France.

For the older athletes in the Boat Club, a gruelling week of selection after Henley boosted three Paulines into the GB team for the Coupe de la Jeunesse in LinzOttensheim, Austria, and two more into the U19 World Championships team, which would race on the storybook lake at Trakai, Lithuania.

At the Coupe de la Jeunesse, as part of a national effort that ranked GB at the top of the medals table, all three Paulines left the championships with two gold medals each. Victor Bocquet steered the GB men’s eight to clear wins

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on both days of the regatta, rekindling his cox-stroke partnership with Jonathan Miles to great effect. Meanwhile, in bow of the men’s four, Jacopo Tans enjoyed being first across the line in every one of his races Alp Karadogan and Pat Wild, coached all through the summer by Bobby Thatcher, arrived in Trakai intent on finding a U19 gold medal in the men’s pair for GB for the first time since 1988.

They enjoyed a smooth heat before a wobble in the semifinal, which surrendered the top lane for the final to the formidable Australian crew.

In the final, Pat and Alp were half a length down with 50 strokes to go.

With 25 left, they were level and changing gear, finding a pace with which no other crew could live. 10 to go and they had clear water, but were slowing dangerously. Ultimately, they had done enough to make it across the line first – their burst had worked, and the gold was theirs by a second and a half. Their names will be inscribed alongside the last pair to achieve this for GB – Pinsent and Foster. ❚ MJPS

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J16A After a summer that felt all too brief, coming off a strong J15 showing from both the A and B crews at the National Schools’ Regatta, the boys were back in town.

Getting back into the ‘swing’ of things saw the first ergo test of the year hit most of the squad like a freight train.

Those who had attended elite U.S. university camps over the summer rose up the pecking order, while others, like myself, who had taken a more relaxed approach to summer training, began to dread the hours leading up to Tuesday lunch. The infamous 3×10-minute ergo made its unwelcome return, spreading gloom across the squad, but the real talk was about the new J16 challenge: the dreaded 30-minute test. The weekly ergo tests became a key part of the mixed eights selection process, fueling fierce competition both on and off the water. In October, seven of the squad qualified for the first round of GB U19 Trials, the most J16s ever from a single club, marking us out as one of the crews to watch this season. A winter dominated by ergos and endless Tideway battle paddles was briefly brightened by the Plum Pudding races, which offered relief after the 5K test and before the Christmas break.

sparking some anxiety in the boathouse, but it was clear: we were only going to get faster. With the Head of the Nene cancelled, the squad pushed ahead with early testing of potential Schools’ Head lineups. Seat racing followed the next weekend, and with the crews set, we turned to fixtures to sharpen our edge.

The A boat first faced Dulwich’s top eight and Cambridge University’s lightweight Blue Boat, two fixtures that returned very different results. Against Dulwich, the boys delivered a clean sweep across three 4-minute pieces, each by open water. But illness and injury hit the squad hard ahead of the Cambridge fixture at Ely. Despite this, we launched into two 4k pieces with real intent, even leading Cambridge off the start for the first three minutes.

Ultimately, their experience showed, and they rowed through us to take both pieces by multiple lengths. Though we didn’t take the wins, the value of the outing was clear; it was vital preparation for the Schools’ Head of the River. With two more weeks of solid training, the squad was ready. This marked our year group’s first time racing the event after

last year’s J15 cancellation. Tension ran high as a result, but a pre-paddle helped settle nerves. In the race itself, close rivals King’s College chased hard the entire way. After a fierce battle down the Tideway, we edged them out by just 1.1 seconds, a win, but uncomfortably narrow. If it hadn’t been clear before, it was now: we still had work to do.

Easter saw the squad head to Portugal for our training camp in Figueira Da Foz. Twice-daily sessions mixed intense pieces with endless mileage, all balanced with GCSE revision. Highlights included group surfing and matching the 1st VIII’s time on one of eight 250m pieces. A tough but disappointing onwater 2k at the end of camp reminded us not to ease off ahead of Wallingford.

Back in the UK, training resumed on the Tideway, and at Wallingford we stretched our margin over rivals King’s from 1.1 to 2.6 seconds. This was progress, but it was not enough to relax. The following weekend, we raced London Rowing Club’s senior men’s eight, winning two, two-minute pieces, before being cut short due to injury. ➦

After a Christmas break away from the water, but not from the relentless UT2 mileage, it quickly became clear who had learnt from the post-summer complacency, and who had perhaps overstated their “100k weeks” in the lead-up to the holidays. With mock GCSE exams dominating our schedules, training was shuffled around revision and tests. Just as mocks ended, we faced our first race of the season at BASHER Head. Despite last-minute crew changes, the boys pulled off a dominant 1–2 finish, leaving old rivals Hampton trailing by over 20 seconds.

Racing became a weekly affair, and the following weekend at Quintin Head we faced fresh competition. A crew reshuffle flipped the previous result, with one of our eights taking the win and the other placing third. King’s College managed to sneak into second,

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The final stretch was all about sharpening up for National Schools’. A week before, we tested ourselves in the J18 field at Poplar Regatta, finishing fourth behind senior first eights, and showing grit by overturning a 3/4 length deficit in the final 500m, proving we could come from behind. As taper week kicked in, sessions shortened, intensity rose, and confidence built. We arrived in Nottingham the day before racing, ending with an 8k paddle and a powerful 45-second piece against the B boat, in which we just managed to come out on top. Race day brought strong winds and a rescheduled final, but our focus stayed on the time trial.

After a strong start and a late surge from King’s, both crews clocked identical times, setting up a dramatic showdown. Conditions continued to deteriorate during the day, and by the time we lined up for the final, waves were crashing over bows. King’s jumped two seats off the start, but a “MAX SPEED” call from racer cox Bresciani pushed us ahead by clear water at 250m. The conditions worsened as we moved through the 500m mark, but we held our lead as we went through the timing markers. King’s launched a final sprint, but we held firm, crossing the line as national champions once more and claiming St Paul’s first J16 win since 2012.

None of this season would’ve been possible without the coaching and support of both German and Seb; their dedication and belief in us were unmatched, and to them we owe a huge thank you. ❚ Finn Clapham

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J16B The season started off like many, with the J16B crew being mixed in with the soon-to-be-established J16As. The head season was unfortunately filled with illness. A period of intense seat racing combined with the bitter cold left an inevitable toll on the crew.

Nevertheless, the crew strived on, occasionally having to row with the coach himself, Seb Benzecry. Eventually, after a head race in Hammersmith with some alternates from the year above, we had a strong group. Three days before the Schools’ Head, we had the crew. The day itself was a memorable one. Although a brutal 17 minutes, the crew gelled together impeccably, and the rhythm was supported throughout the race.

Training camp was held in Figueira-daFoz in Portugal. After a set of gruelling seat races, followed by some recharging at Mercadona supermarket, the crew was assembled for the coming National

Schools’ Regatta. We launched into hard work on the water, which yielded some crew bonding, a not-so-brief hospital trip for our 6-seat (he’s fine now) and a big step-on for our boat speed.

We headed home confident and ready after a successful inter-boat-club 2k race, where we came within seconds of the J16As. Following on from a good block of training camp and with a good set of 2k scores from the final crew, we looked forward to our pre-nats races, leading to a BASHER win in the J16s ahead of Radley. Our good luck would end here as Wallingford regatta scrapped our entry, and bad equipment luck at Poplar regatta left us disappointed with the result. Then came the National Schools’ Regatta. The crew drove up to Nottingham on Friday with a point to prove after the Poplar disappointment.

A strong time trial led to a stronger final, leaving us national champions by 12.2 seconds over Eton. ❚ Solly Abbas

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J15A The 2024/2025 season was a remarkable chapter for the J15A boat, filled with challenges, redemption and growth.

With the success of the past J15 squad setting the bar high, the pressure was on to deliver another outstanding season.

While expectations were high, we were driven by a hunger to rewrite the wrongs of our silver medal last year and push the boundaries of what we can achieve.

J16C The J16C boat has had a very rocky year. We began in September with more than enough aspirational rowers for a full D boat eight, but the new year brought about an opportunity for change, and we soon lost most of that group to the horrors of preparing for GCSEs. We trained in the eight for most of the early months, battle paddling with (and beating) the J15A boat, before competing at Docklands Head, where we came fourth in the J16 8+ category, yet sadly 6 seconds behind the J15A boat. Shortly after we moved into fours, as we lost the rest of the C boat in the run up to the mocks and had a very chaotic couple of months, with guys going in and out of the mixed eights, illness, injury, and an underlying feeling that Ollie and I might be the whole crew for the rest of the year. After a couple of days of seat racing at Dorney, we finally put together a preliminary A boat, B boat, and C four, and, after a long head season of substitution and the unparalleled coaching of Sam Gale, we combined with the seniors to race a quad at Schools’ Head, placing 30th.

Moving into the summer, in the aftermath of the chaos of mocks and

the head season, we were left with the legendary duo of Ollie ‘A boat ergs’ Goldberg and Edward ‘Squad Depth’ Konig. Some Germantics led to us rowing in the double, where under the watchful eye of Mr Harrison, we competed against eights and octos from all ages and schools at BASHER, came 7th at Wallingford regatta in the J18 2x category, where we fell prey to the worst crosswind known to man (guess where), and came 3rd at Poplar in the J16 category, which gave us confidence that we could make a strong performance at the National Schools’ Regatta in less than a week. However, Nottingham struck again, and the event was cancelled entirely. A tragedy considering we were about to rock the double nuclear green sunglasses combo.

After Nats, we’ve moved into fours with the B boat in preparation for the GB France trials (also at Nottingham).

Overall, it was one rollercoaster of a season, but it demonstrated the boat’s resilience, strength, and my ability to rate higher than 28. Finally, to quote the great Seb Benzecry, “Ollie, your 2k is like, a minute faster than his, you should be spinning him”. ❚ Edward Konig

The season began with sculling in quads, preparing for Reading Small Boats Head – the first of a string of races which were scratched due to the rain. While some of the crew stared on rugby pitches, other returners started to grow more comfortable with the idea of using one blade. Mixed eights soon followed, sparking competition within the squad.

Early signs of speed were evident at Docklands Head and BASHER, where we cleared the field by 30 seconds in mixed eights. As more races were cancelled, we turned to the J16B crew for competition, channelling our frustration into focused training sessions to build speed and unity.

The Schools’ Head of the River Race marked a turning point in our season.

It was a test of everything we had built so far – our technique, fitness, and our mental strength. No one was able to predict the ever-changing Tideway conditions; no one had a clue how our competition would stack up against us; all we could do was keep our heads in the boat, focusing on staying internal.

I still remember what our coach, Sam Lapage, told us in our pre-race chat: “If you want to beat us, you have to row better than us, and be mentally tougher than us.” Those words sank into the crew’s heads and gave us confidence.

As we lined up for the start, we were ready to condense everything down to one 6.8k piece. The result was beyond what we had hoped for: a commanding 20-second victory – a rare margin. That moment set the tone for the rest of the season, which was to dominate – every race, every stroke, every second. ➦

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The Easter training camp pushed us further. Two sessions a day taught us valuable lessons, which carried us through Bedford Regatta, where SPS crews achieved a double clean sweep; and Poplar Regatta, where we posted fast times to be in range with much older crews, including our own J16As, whom we trailed by 5 seconds.

We arrived in Nottingham with a point to prove. Knowing that we had already found enough speed to take back our national title from Schools’ Head, all we had to do was execute. The lake was deceptively calm on Friday, but news that all racing on Sunday was cancelled quickly moved us back to reality. When race day came, conditions were brutal – stiff winds and nautical waves made every stroke a challenge. But we stayed composed under pressure to deal with a familiar headwind like we have done so many times on home turf. After a shortened time trial and a quick turnaround, we arrived at the start line.

We needed to execute, and execute we did. A blistering start in relentless waves gave us the early lead, and soon we broke clear on the field around 750 metres in. But that was not enough; we wanted more. With spectators lining up the banks and each stroke driving us further from our opponents, our bow ball eventually crossed the finish line a staggering 9.98 seconds ahead of second place.

We owe this season to the fantastic support from everyone. Particularly, I want to give special thanks on behalf of the crew to our coach, Sam, as this season could not have happened without your phenomenal support and belief in us. You have made our season unforgettable in so many ways and pushed us to levels we never thought possible.

As we prepare to move into J16, we bring with us the lessons and memories from this remarkable year. ❚ Lucas Yu

J15B After a successful ‘head’ season, which culminated in winning the Schools Head, it was essential that the crew committed totally to holiday training and to the knowledge that they were now the ‘crew to beat’.

To their immense credit, they knuckled down to two weeks of hard training during the Easter break and returned ready to face the challenges of the regatta season.

An underwhelming performance at the annual BASHER event at Dorney Lake proved to be a cloud with a silver lining.

It served to remove any complacency, and competition for places in the final line-up intensified. A convincing win at Bedford Regatta, an event at which the J15A, B and C VIIIs all won, set exactly the right tone for the National Schools’ Regatta, rowed in windy and testing conditions at the National Water Sports Centre in Nottingham. It was a ‘game of two halves’: a poor performance in the time trial, contrasted with a dominant

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SPORT

J15C This was a ‘C’ boat only in name; in attitude, ability and results, they were so much more.

performance in the final, and, for the second year running, the J15Bs were national champions.

James A, at cox, improved considerably throughout the year, gaining in confidence and steering ability. The indefatigable Ari P-C, at stroke, drove the crew forward on and off the water, ably supported by Finn N, one who improved considerably too. At six was the committed Luke W, whilst Rishab D, the old man of the boat, offered the raw power at five. Michael F, a thoughtful and quietly effective oarsman, led the bow four, whilst the terrible twins Arya A and Noah S provided the essential electricity to keep the boat alive. At bow was Laurie S – a relentlessly positive young man.

After a close defeat in the Schools’ Head, the crew regrouped, with the majority attending the Easter training camp. This was to result in a marked improvement and the boat’s performance at the BASHER event, placing in the coach’s mind a nagging doubt as to whether he had got his crew selection right. Such was the dedication of this crew that doubt would surface on several occasions, not least after a magnificent win at Bedford Regatta and qualification for the main final in the B event at the National Schools’ Regatta.

Emmett L brought a unique approach to coxing and could never be faulted for a lack of enthusiasm. Harry S was an inspirational presence on and off the water and did not know the meaning of the word ‘defeat’. Leo P-C’s attitude improved considerably as the year progressed, whilst David C and George V offered the power in the ‘engine room’. ‘Noisy’ Freddie Marr is a refined oar and transmitted the rhythm from the stroke to the bows effectively, whilst Jevan J was a consistent and effective oar at three. Barney R gave the crew raw power, and he combined well with Lucian W, a concise and unfussy performer, in the bow pair.

The members of both crews contributed to a very successful age group and paid

close attention to the mantra of winning on and off the water.

JFW On the back of an astounding season last year, where the C Boat came second in the B Boat category at National Schools’ (beating the B Boat, who came 4th), our boat looked set to have another amazing year. We started the season strongly, with a great result at Quintin Head. We then set our sights on the Head of the Nene, in Peterborough, but, due to the river bursting its banks, the race was cancelled. All eyes then turned to Hammersmith Head, our last chance to have a racing experience on the Tideway before Schools’ Head of the River, but, due to the river being moved onto a yellow flag, all J15 racing was cancelled. We were now in a less-thanstrong position to be going into Schools’ Head, but we were favourites nonetheless. After a long, gruelling, 3 hour marshalling period, we were called up to race in one of the final categories, and were beaten by Hampton J15Cs by just six seconds.

In search of redemption, we started Easter training at Dorney Lake with a newly invigorated drive, mindset and dynamism that we hadn’t seen previously. Unfortunately, because of other commitments, we were only able to train in a 4+, coxed by the stellar Alex Goldberg, who selflessly gave up his time to help us improve. After Easter, ➦

And thank you to George V and David C, who won the Schools’ Head in the Spring Term, but after selection graced the ‘C’ boat, uncomplainingly and positively. ❚ Lucas Yu

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Bedford Amateur Regatta was next on the menu. Thanks to Jon’s unwavering support, we were still able to go out and train as an 8+. A successful first round against Abingdon (who got three lengths put on them, even though they raced in a carbon fibre, wing-rigger Empacher) placed us in the final against Eton Cs, who gained around half a length off the start. We then caught a crab and dropped further to around half a length of clear water. An unbelievable comeback then ensued, as we rowed straight through Eton and won by a canvas.

After Bedford, the sole focus for everyone was the not-so-glittering strait of Nottingham Water Sports Centre and the National Schools’ Regatta. A long coach journey that lasted 3 hours took us to where we would be staying. Before going to bed, Sam informed us that all racing on Sunday would be cancelled, and there was a chance our finals would be cancelled too. Our race plan then changed to ‘Go all out on the time trial and hope that they give medals based on those times.’ On the morning of the race, we went down to the lake, warmed up, and set off for our time trial.

Despite the headwind, we had a very good race, coming sixth and qualifying for an A final, should it take place, where we would be racing the B Boat.

Another announcement from the race committee confirmed that we would have a final, but unfortunately for our jelly legs, it would take place 2 hours after the time trial. Our final was nerve-racking to say the least, and our main goal was to try and challenge Eton J15Bs for 5th place. Unfortunately, we did not challenge very effectively, and let the conditions get the better of us, leading to a severely unglamorous ‘+55 seconds’ on the livestream. We went home happy, though, as qualifying for the A final was our main goal, and we rounded off the season with a solid performance from every single one of the lads. ❚ Harry Smaje

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J14A The J14As’ National Schools’ Regatta experience was a rollercoaster of emotions – filled with anticipation, nerves and excitement.

It started early Friday morning with our time trial, where we came second to Radley by just 0.3 seconds. We knew this was going to be a close race. After a 3-hour wait between our time trial and the final, it was time, time for the final.

The crew remained calm on the paddle up to the start line despite the waves crashing against the boat like the North Sea. Waiting on the stake boats, the boys took deep breaths, trying to keep the nerves at bay. Radley got off to a strong start and took us by surprise – at the 250 m mark, we realised that it was now or never, and the boys dug deep to try and start clawing them back. After a valiant effort, we managed to draw them back to half a length by the finish line.

We crossed the finish line a mere one second after Radley, taking the silver medal. Although it wasn’t the result we hoped for, the J14As came together and showed real grit and determination. As a crew, the J14As are committed to learning from the experience and will train to return even stronger next year. ❚ Alex Goldberg

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J14B We arrived in Nottingham early on Thursday afternoon: we, the B Boat, with the A and C crews. Upon arriving, the first thing that we did was rig up, before carrying the boat down to the pontoons and going for a paddle before the races the next day. The next day we woke up early at 6 am, ready to go and after breakfast we set off.

It was a 20-minute coach ride, and emotions were high with adrenaline and excitement.

When we arrived at the lake, we went straight to the marquee and set up the ergos. We then did a quick warm-up ergo before calming down and relaxing before the race. The race was at 9:38, so we boated at 9:00, a motivational chat from Mr Wilkinson before we were on the water and paddling to the most important race of our rowing careers so far. Every stroke brought us closer to the race, but we stayed calm, hyping for it. When we got there, a quick pause, before rowing into our lane, and this was it, emptied water bottles, tops off, minimum weight and minimum clothing

to get in the way. Then we slowly spun into our lanes. The races were behind, but we were there, queuing up and ready to go. Then the umpire called us and we moved forward, we were the next race to go, to our left Hampton, they started before us, and then it was us. We paddled and built up to the 500m mark before we were off, racing.

Hampton started before us, but we were gaining 3/4 of the way done, we overtook, but we had no time to celebrate, the race was not over, and then we were done. We had done half of the racing for the day, and we only knew we had not come last so far. Then we paddled to the pontoon and carried our boat off the water onto the trestles.

Then, a debrief before Mr Wilkinson told us we had won our time trial by 8 seconds, which is multiple lengths.

Then, a break, 3 hours of waiting before we were going again, but first a cooldown erg, 10 minutes of slow paddling before we were done. Then we sat in the marquee, halfway through we ate lunch, a bowl of pasta or two, and then we sat again. But before long, we were getting ready to go, tracksuits off and walking

to the boat. A short briefing before hands-on, we carried the boat down to the edge of the pontoon before we were off again. A warm-up paddle up to the start before the queue, the queue for the main event of our rowing this year.

The last big race of our year, every roll up the slide, every drive in the legs was for this. And then everything was off, one piece only, all the water overboard, and we were off. Driving in the legs, we pulled ahead and went all in for this.

Until we were done, we were finished, and we finished first. Celebrations were high, and everyone was exhausted, but we were done. Then we paddled terribly and with ridiculous technique, but we had won. We collected our medals, and then that was it for our rowing in the National Schools this year. Overjoyed, we carried our boat to the trailer before tediously starting to de-rig. Then we walked over, collected our trophy, and we were done, a barbecue in the marquee before home, a long journey, but emotions were too high to destroy. ❚ Seb Gray

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J14C The National Schools’ Regatta in Nottingham delivered an exciting and hard-fought race for the J14C crew, who demonstrated resilience and determination in challenging conditions. The weather on race day was sunny but extremely windy, with strong gusts creating difficult conditions on the water, typical of the Nottingham course and a true test for rowers and coxes.

After a cramped three-hour drive up north, we managed to get a bit of practice out on the water, where we paddled up and down the lake and completed a few practice starts. The National Schools’ Regatta only hosted an A boat and a B boat category, meaning that we were a C boat competing amongst the best B boats in the country. However, this did not deter us from yearning for a top spot.

We were aware of how tough this task would be, but with our team spirit, grit and great guidance from our amazing coach, Mr Friend, we felt well prepared.

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As we set out for our time trial, needing a top 6 spot to qualify for the final, nerves were fairly high, as this was our first time competing in a national competition. Yet we kept our composure and ended up with the third-best time of all the B boats, competing as a C boat, comfortably securing our place in the final.

Going into the final, we knew we had nothing to lose racing against the best B boats, filling us with confidence and a craving to succeed. Off the start, we found ourselves last and in a dissatisfactory position, but with courageous words from the coxswain and by executing Mr Friend’s race plan to perfection, we found ourselves in second place at the halfway mark.

Neck-and-neck with the boat beside us fighting for the second-place spot, we knew this would go down to the wire. But by doing everything in our power to speed up the boat, we were able to edge them to win a historic second place, as that was the only time two St Paul’s boats both medalled in one race.

Off the back of this result, we were all completely ecstatic and knew that we deserved this after an intense period of training prior to this event. Having only started rowing one and a half terms before, we also appreciated how far we had come and developed in such a short space of time.

On behalf of the J14 C boat, we express our gratitude towards all the coaches who helped us develop over the course of our season, especially Mr Friend, who had the difficult task of managing all nine of us somewhat troublesome rowers and to end with a quote from our coach: ‘We are lucky that we are only competing in rowing, not following instructions’. ❚ Lakshman Phillip

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J14D 1st IV On Friday, 23rd May, the A and B coxed quads arrived at school at 5:00 in the morning to get to the National Schools’ Regatta, in Nottingham. Despite the early start, it was almost time for the time trial by the time we arrived, so we all scrambled to get ready. After an amazing time trial, the A quad was able to get into the C final, where we arrived second. Overall, it was a very fun experience, which I can’t wait to repeat next year.

Mariano Bruni 2nd IV In this year’s 2025 National Schools’ Regatta, our boat had the incredible opportunity of participating in the J14 4x race, where we were included in the time trial; however, unfortunately for us, we did not make it through and were 10 seconds off qualification to the next round.

We had an early start and hopeful spirits that day, and the atmosphere was extremely positive, with everyone buzzing for an exciting day of rowing.

Once we got to the lake, we immediately started going through the race plan that Lukas made, and encouraging ourselves that even if we didn’t qualify, we had still managed to make it to NSR in the first place, and that we shouldn’t take an opportunity like this for granted, and that we should give it everything that we’ve got.

We had a strong crew, with Toby setting an amazing rate at stroke, Hugo and Reyansh pulling the boat to the finish, and Lukas keeping a constant rhythm throughout the entire race. I think that the whole boat will agree that we had an amazing race and gave it our all until the finish. And even though we were unfortunate to compete in an A quad category, it was a great learning curve and just the start of our rowing journey at St Paul’s School. ❚ Alex Bradistilov

We had an early start and hopeful spirits that day, and the atmosphere was extremely positive, with everyone buzzing for an exciting day of rowing.

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1ST XV The season kicked off in sunny Portugal, where the 1st XV and 2nd XV were keen to pull up their socks after the long summer and start the season on the front foot. Rigorous fitness drills set the tone, challenging game scenario sessions sharpened skill sets and tests with Mr Blake’s gadgets made way for friendly competition (congratulations to Luka Tzvetkov for breaking the school record for the Bronco in 40C heat). Mini golf, Karting on an F1 track and challenges made by the Captain’s Committee made the trip all the more enjoyable and memorable, helping gel the two-year groups and build team spirit.

As we returned to London, the 1st XV were in high spirits going into our first game against a formidable Epsom college team known for their physicality.

After conceding two tries early on, the team started to apply pressure just before halftime, getting a score back

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through Ka Lum Chew. However, after losing a couple of key players late in the first half through injury, the tempo of the game dropped after halftime, and so did our heads as we ended up conceding four tries to one in the second half. Nonetheless, the boys the following week were keen to right their wrongs against Eton. With our captain out injured, there were some shifts in both the forwards and the backs, but everyone adapted, showing the real depth in the squad. On the day, the 1st XV played with real maturity and strung together some fantastic passages of plays. The first try, set up by Connel Nelson and finished by Andrew BerkoBoateng, sticks in my mind. Huge congratulations have to go to Emanuel Dell for scoring four tries on his 18th birthday, the final score 47-14: St Paul’s biggest win against Eton ever.

We started the next match against Radley on the back foot, conceding many unanswered points in the first half.

A stern talking-to at halftime meant the 1st XV played out the second half much better – the likes of Charlie Pye and Tybalt Lamy put in a great shift.

Tonbridge was a different side of the same coin; we started exceptionally well through a converted try by Connel Nelson in the corner. The 1st XV applied constant pressure in the first 30 minutes but could not penetrate the defensive line for the second time. Our heads dropped in the second half, and it was fair to say that day out in Kent was not our finest performance. It was clear that the 1st XV had the resources to compete with the top schoolboy rugby teams, but a 70-minute performance was still awaiting.

Despite everything, all the squad members never refused to show up day in and day out to training. With a match against southwest rival RGS Guildford, we were amped up. A colossal performance saw us dominate territory in the first and second halves, but we

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could only score one try through Charlie Pama. Unforced errors and an inability to convert pressure into points meant we lost the game by two tries. With rearrangements in the backline, we set out for Gordon’s school. With some excellent counter-attacking play through Henry Whittaker and Andrew BerkoBoateng, we were able to get on the front foot early. Still, we missed opportunities that ultimately cost us the game, losing 20-36 to a great academy outfit.

With reality slapping many of the boys in the face that they could only put on the white kit a few more times, the 1st XV were adamant about getting the ball rolling after half term – what better way than to play Eton at home? We went ahead early through tries from Charlie Pye and some ingenuity by Kyle Hunt. With the shock of playing a much-improved side and the inability to convert once again in the final third, we missed multiple try-scoring

opportunities in the first half. In the second half, we fell second best to the strong Etonian maul game, going down 3 points in the game’s final play. But like something out of a fairytale, Sam Francombe breaks the line from set piece, draws the last defender, and Rishi Shukla (on his debut) dots down in the corner for one of the most dramatic finishes Big Side has ever seen.

Against Tonbridge (round two), the 1st XV, buoyed by the optimism of the excellent result the previous week, played some great rugby in terrible conditions, going ahead in the first half.

But in the end, we could not see the game out, losing 15-10. A string of tough losses against Dulwich and Whitgift was challenging to take on the chin, but regardless of the weather and the darkness, the team never gave up fostering a real sense of team camaraderie. Sam Fancombe and Mayowa Odewale performed

outstandingly, playing their hearts out and creating true magic. In the end, the final match saw many of the 1st XV play on Pitch One for the final time against London Oratory. Our defensive line stood adamant in muddy conditions with horizontal rain as we saw the game out 19-10.

As we reflect on the season, I was truly moved by the unwavering support members of the 1st XV had for one another – supporting through thick and thin. The integration between uppers and lowers was truly special, creating an exceptional team spirit.

Thank you to Mr Maguire, Mr Blurton, Mr Blake and Mr Kirschstein-Smith for their unwavering support and to the members of the 1st XV for their undying determination and for creating a memorable season. ❚ Jacob Bethell, Captain

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2ND XV The team unfortunately failed to do their homework over the summer and learn the new, expansive 2-4-2 formation, leading to a tough defeat in Week 0 against Campion.

Following on from this, the boys were keen for our first win of the season against Epsom. We were unlucky to lose the game 12-7, but the 2nd XV were starting to show their potential with players such as S Mendelsohn putting in the effort.

Looking to bounce back, we made the journey over to Eton. After a back-andforth first half, a second half filled with champagne rugby allowed us to run away with the win. This game was followed by a trip down to Kent where we were met with one of the low points in St Paul’s 2nd XV history, facing both a 60+ point defeat and the loss of centre Andreas Tassi.

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As we prepared for Radley, we felt comforted by the fact that it couldn’t get any worse. That was until Kavin Swain damaged his Fibia in an experimental lineout move. Gabriel El-Guindi must be given a special mention for sprinting off to the nurses without hesitation and returning with a wheelchair. A shakeup to the squad proved to be necessary in what some consider one of the finest performances in Paul’s history, with Henrique Faria slotting 12 in the second half to lead us to victory.

The rollercoaster of a season continued with back-to-back Ls against a strong Guildford side and a well-fought game against Gordon’s. Highlights from these weeks were minimal; however, a special mention goes to Rohan for defying the laws of physics and being flipped horizontally in the lineout. To end the half-term, in what was due to be a runaway victory against a Fulham Boys’ side, St Paul’s displayed some fine play.

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Against an entirely different Eton side that proved to be much more competitive, we managed to come away with a well-deserved win.

Greater motivation later failed as we faced defeat against a strong Whitgift side. As the sun turned to rain, the season ended with some well-fought but unfortunate losses against Tonbridge and Dulwich.

Many thanks to both Dr Gilks and Mr Lawrence for the very enjoyable season. Special mentions go to Ben Lozovsky for his lifetime achievement award, Henrique Faria for coming top of the flair charts, Luka Tzvetkov for his one-game captaincy, and Gabriel El-Guindi for his post-match reports that were crucial for this writeup.

Daniel Taylor and Angus Roberts

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3RD XV The mighty 3rd XV began the year with a tough fixture against Epsom at home. A spirited “Paul’s on me, Paul’s on 3” – reminiscent of 3rd XV legend Josh Brown – pumped up the boys, and the battle commenced. Early champagne joué put us in the lead, but it quickly became evident that Epsom was both bigger and better drilled than the home side. However, sheer heart and a mammoth defensive effort saw us hold on to secure a 23-22 victory, a massive result and the perfect start to the season.

Buoyed by the victory, the lads set off to face arch-rivals Eton, confident for another good day at the office.

Unfortunately, this confidence turned out to be pride before the fall and some questionable kicking meant it was not to be. Faced with a tough run of fixtures, the rest of half term struggled to match the highs of Epsom, until the most anticipated match-up of the year: Fulham Boys at home. Everyone came out of the woodwork to support the team. The boys triumphed to a 24-7 victory, highlighted by Alex Toledano scoring an interception from his own 22.

The team continued to make valiant efforts against strong sides, battling worsening conditions in the lead-up to Christmas. Although playing highquality second-half rugby, the score lines often did not reflect the quality of the game. The boys (mostly) continued to show up to training, excited to tackle the next game, and team morale remained high.

Despite brutal conditions for the last dance, nothing could extinguish the fire burning in the lads’ hearts as we stepped onto the rain-soaked pitch 4 for one last time. Familiar faces returned to the fold, the likes of Austin Burkes and Rufus White truly bringing the boom, all under the fearless leadership of Ed Trotman. The wind howled, the rain lashed down, and the elements conspired against us, but every tackle, every ruck, and every carry was fought with unrelenting determination. In the end, the scoreboard wasn’t in our

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favour, but the lads left the field wearing their mud and blood-soaked kits like badges of honour, knowing they had left it all on the pitch.

Highlights of the season were big wins against Epsom, and Fulham Boys, Rishi’s rise to glory in the 1st XV and a fancy three-course end-of-season dinner at Cote.

A huge thanks goes to Ms Cloete, Mr Warriner, and Mr Drewitt-Jones for their commitment to the 3rd XV and for making the last season of rugby at St Paul’s so enjoyable.

With the strength of this leadership, we hope to see the team prosper in years to come. ❚ Ed Trotman, Rishi Shukla & Rufus White

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U16A The U16As have enjoyed a season full of ups and downs and improved massively both in our skills on the pitch and in our togetherness and team spirit, which has allowed us to pull through in some tough games.

We began by going away to Epsom, who are a particularly strong side, and despite our efforts of scoring two tries in the first half they unfortunately pulled away in the second after a couple of injuries on our team, ending the game 38-12. Next up was Eton, a team who we have been fairly even with in past years. Despite this, we suffered another convincing loss which ended 38-10, and although we did have five players injured, this was a day to forget.

Tonbridge was a similar story to this, as we were still suffering from injury, the match ended in a 24-10 loss. Our next match was away at Radley, who were the winners of the national cup

in U15s, and so needless to say this was a tough fixture, ending in a 60-12 loss.

Although the score did not reflect it, we started to play some excellent rugby in this match and began to come together as a team.

We then hosted RGS Guildford at home and with this being the team who we lost to by the biggest deficit the year before, we were expecting a gruelling match. With some incredible defence from the entire team, showing excellent togetherness, we managed to pull through with a 16-8 win, our first of the season.

After a big win for us the week prior, we went into our final match of the half-term against Gordon’s with a greater level of confidence in our ability as a team. We were by far the stronger side on the day, winning the match 40-3, and with such a dominant performance we were able to test out different combinations of players in

different positions and give a few B-team players a shot at playing in the As, which allowed us to enhance the depth of our squad.

With some momentum starting to build, hopes were high going into the second half of the season, with multiple chances to settle scores from the first. We began with a trip away to Eton, and having beaten them the second time around after losing the first in the U15s, we were not put off by the heavy loss in our last encounter and showed up ready to play.

Despite a few injuries, the match ended in a brilliant 38-19 win with fluid attacking rugby combined with another excellent defensive effort, as well as some superb impact off the bench, allowing us to turn over our rivals.

We then faced another away match against a particularly strong Whitgift side, and despite scoring first with a beautiful try down the wing, we capitulated in the second half and lost ➦

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the game by a large margin. Continuing our run of away fixtures we were thankful for an opportunity to get back against Tonbridge, to whom we had lost in our previous battle. As the game kicked off, the weather quickly started to worsen, with heavy rain pouring down and since the Tonbridge fields are so open, the wind was incredibly powerful. We started playing into the wind, a hugely difficult task as it was near impossible to kick for any great distance, whilst our opposition was assisted in doing so. As a result of this, we ended the first half 10 points behind, but we knew that switching ends would allow us to come back from this deficit.

We managed to score two gruelling tries in the mud, bringing the score up to 12-10 in our favour with a drop-kicked conversion going over as a result of the kicking tee being misplaced. After defending our line for the last 10 minutes of the match, we managed to hold out, taking home a well-deserved victory.

For the penultimate match of the season, we had the privilege of playing Dulwich on the first-team pitch. This fixture was arguably the highlight of the season, as we managed to beat a team which we had never beaten before, showing our immense progress as a team. Despite Dulwich dominating the possession for most of the game our

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defence held firm, once again defending on the try line for extended periods of time. The game ended in a thrilling 10-7 victory and the team was incredibly proud of our progress. It was clear that the hours of hard work in training had paid off in the second half of this season, with our elaborate structures becoming second nature and our fitness improving to a very high standard.

For our final match of the season, and our last run out as a singular year group, we were determined to end the season on a high. We once again experienced some torrential weather, and as a result of some ill-discipline from the team, we were behind going into the second half, but we were not prepared to lose this game. We fought hard to come back, and after the final whistle of the season, the score finished 26-7 in our favour.

Having had a record of 2-0-4 prior to the half term, we hugely turned our season around, finishing with a record of 6-0-5, our first-ever positive win-to-loss ratio as a year group. It was overall our hunger to improve, combined with some excellent coaching and tactics that allowed us to pull off such an impressive turnaround, and I’m sure this season will be remembered by the members of the team for a long time. ❚

The U16As have enjoyed a season full of ups and downs and improved massively both in our skills on the pitch and in our togetherness and team spirit, which has allowed us to pull through in some tough games.

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U16B What a rollercoaster of a season it was for the U16B team this year – it was certainly a season of two halves. With the coaching of Mr Hammond and Mr Roberts, spirits were high going into the season.

A combination of the A and B teams played Campion in pre-season, comfortably dispatching them. We started off as a real B team with Epsom away, a tough test for a team with little experience playing together. We went ahead 3-0, with a kick from the halfway line, but ultimately lost 10-3, with that final try scoring edge lacking.

We had a rocky few games afterwards.

Injuries and call ups to the A team contributed to a rough two games, but it was in this period we grew as a team, and the atmosphere underwent a fundamental shift. We learned that we would win through team cohesion, spirit and a positive atmosphere. Belief built after a close loss against Guildford, where we were ahead for the majority of the game. We looked forward to the games against Gordon’s and Fulham Boys, teams we felt we had a strong chance of putting a dominant performance against, but unfortunately, both of these games were cancelled.

The half-term served as a reset for the team, and we went out invigorated against Eton Away, determined to take revenge for our loss in the Home leg.

A strong team performance had left us narrowly losing 12-10 with 1 minute to go. However, serendipitously, in the last play of the game, Eton try and do too much with the ball and give Maxence an opportunity to pick it up and round their winger to score. The conversion made it 17-12. A clutch win from the jaws of defeat.

Morale was high, and we shifted our focus to Whitgift, a strong rugby school that narrowly beat us the year before.

Strong performance from the team, especially from Jack, along with Fergus, and Alejandro (who had recently returned to rugby), contributed to a 24-22 win. The red-zone defence to see out the game was a testament to our determination.

Next was Guildford away, with some of the worst conditions I had ever seen.

Rain and wind of Storm Daragh lashed endlessly, and so stringing together phases became difficult. We held on for nearly the entire game, but by the end, we succumbed to the conditions and

conceded a couple of last-minute tries.

Nevertheless, collectively we looked forward to the big game – Dulwich at home. A local derby, inspirational words from Mr Hammond: “They’re not bad boys”, and knowing this was the last huge game of the season, fired us up.

It was a brilliant performance from every member of the team and another MOTM performance from Maxence drove us to a 19-12 victory. Our spirit was unshakeable.

In the official last game of the season, we put 8 tries past Oratory, winning 48-0.

Our final record was 5-5, with a 4-1 record for the second half term. By the end of the season, we weren’t a team of individuals anymore, we were a team who would fight for each other, and I can wholeheartedly say that every single person who played for the B-team played a huge role in our season. Player of the season was Maxence, who scored the majority of our tries. There are so many people who deserve a shoutout, but ultimately I feel the positives from the season were a result of collective effort and team spirit, resulting in a season I thoroughly enjoyed. ❚ Ivo Prosser

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U15 RUGBY NATIONAL CUP CHAMPIONS At the outset, the season’s main objective was to win the big test matches against Radley, Epsom, Tonbridge, Whitgift, Eton and Dulwich – this was achieved as the team evolved impressively. The National competition in the early rounds was a tremendous opportunity to try new squad players who had been performing well in the B team, such as Freddie Snowball, Noah Stoll and Ranvir Puri – they all played their part in this squad, developed as players and were integral to the squad winning the final in being ever present in the training and Sunday friendlies post Christmas.

Comfortable wins against spirited Latymer, Ibstock Place and Tiffin teams took us into the 5th round after Christmas – the barrier we had to overcome in the new year was trying to maintain the standard of the best performance of the season against Dulwich (36-0) without having a games half, Saturday matches or regular training slots – the success we had was down to incredibly hard work from the boys plus superb and helpful cooperation from the Rowing and Football coaches who had to put up with the boys turning up to their sessions more tired than usual and sometimes with bangs after Sunday matches or the extra midweek session.

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In the new year, the team played Barnes Rugby Club U15s, who were an excellent team. We had to work really hard to get the pre-Christmas rhythm back. The game highlighted areas we needed to improve on in training – we worked really hard on defensive structure and getting the basics back after a long layoff before the 5th round match against Robert Clack – we were penalised quite a bit in the first half but kept our calm and played really well in the end to win 42-3. Jack Vyvyan masterminded the conditions and heavy pitch superbly. He gave the magnificent pack the platform to give us the go-forward for John Gunn and Guy Parker in midfield to show their class and power in attack and defence. This match was remembered for a brilliant man-of-the-match performance from Max Williams – the target was to work hard on discipline and not give as many penalties away.

Another warm-up game against Ealing U15s kept us ticking and crucially gave us a game on their big 3G first-team pitch, which we were later to play on in the final – this was now a good chance to start getting the wide game going again after poor conditions in the last round. It was great to see Zak Lam, Luke Gleason, Ethan Piric, and Josh Guttman flying, as well as to discover a muchimproved Caspar Crawford. The plan was to get the ball wider and play all

these in-form players at Torquay in the quarter-final. We travelled the evening before and stayed at the Grand Hotel – the plan was to have an early breakfast and then some skills and touch on the beach to keep it light and have some fun before rolling out our wide, expansive game. Unfortunately, neither materialised as the tide was all the way in, the clouds also rolled in, and we experienced heavy rain throughout the match – had we learnt from the wretched match conditions away at Tonbridge? The answer was unequivocally yes, and a superb kick chase game and sustained immense defence made it impossible for Torquay to get over the gain line! In fact, they regularly went backwards and dropped the ball as tackle after tackle dented their belief – a great win, 26-0, made the long journey back a happy one after being drenched and covered in red clay with shirts & kit that would take some washing! I am not sure they will ever look Persil-white again!

The semi-final was drawn on neutral ground at Aylesbury Rugby Club on their new RFU 3G pitch – at last, the weather turned more spring like, and our hope of playing the all court game became a possibility – Chiswick Rugby Club kindly played us the Thursday before on their identical RFU 3G pitch which gave us a trial run of how we wanted to play and what we wanted to achieve. We knew we had to be as good as Cardinal Newman were, an RFU ASA Academy school playing two-term rugby and training every day like we did in the Autumn term – they had also just beaten Trinity 26-8, who were a strong team on our circuit. Cardinal Newman played with excellent skill and shape, had all possession for the first ten minutes, and came away with nothing.

St Paul’s displayed incredible defence again, and our target of not giving penalties away (which we were guilty of early in the season) was crucial to gaining control of the game. As soon as we got possession and a foothold in the match, we scored and shifted the point of attack astutely – tries were scored out wide and upfront, and they had no answer to this ever-improving team!

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A job well done, but no over-celebrating or drama, as we knew we had to get better to win the final. Bishop Stortford HS would be our opponents – a team full of Saracens academy players who won their semi by 38 points. And so we travelled back to that big 3G pitch in Ealing, but this time with a huge number of supporters right behind us, who had proudly travelled by coach to support St Paul’s School U15s. This definitely inspired the boys to roll out another incredible performance. We were defending again for the first ten minutes, but again the opposition came away with nothing before the team manufactured some amazing tries. Zak Lam’s try started with John Gunn and Josh Guttman calmly counter-attacking from being under pressure on their own line. After making good yards with pace, footwork and skill, the ball was recycled.

The exceptional Jack Vyvyan chose not to kick and realised he could set free the genius of Zak Lam – his speed, agility and brilliance lit up the pitch, and the length of the field try must go down as one of the best scored in a final.

The defence, phase play and team

cohesion were as good as they had been, and the team put on a great show, praised by the RFU on commentary as one of the most clinical final displays and complemented warmly by the opposition. Four tries by Luke Lam are an extraordinary memory to make, and he deserves it for the endless practice and tenacity he always shows. These tries resulted from many rucks providing quick ball and yards made by the whole pack and the midfield. Ridmeet Puri and Rishab Dhot epitomised this with exceptional displays and brilliant footwork to run into space flat off the pivotal passers. The wide, quick surface really suited us, and Kai Trench was so kicked to the back of the ruck all day and set a tempo Bishop Stortford could not live with! As we had done in every round – they did not cross our try line!

Brilliant!

hard work, progress and the final victory! It was a privilege to coach this team, and most importantly, we all had great fun on the very long journey since Durham in August! The team always stayed humble, showed respect and kindness to each other, and were great role models for their year and for the school. ❚ RGH

Congratulations to an amazing group of players, and a huge thank you to the incredible parents who were so supportive and for washing the kit after Torquay! I wish the team all the success next year – I am so proud of all your

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U15A Late August was spent training and preparing for the season ahead at Durham University – the team bonded really well and set out high standards and achievable goals, which were possible if we collectively followed the code they created in our meetings.

Preseason games against Barnard Castle and Campion School gave us a chance to play some of our patterns and find out what the best options were in terms of playing positions – one of the objectives I set was to ask them to be flexible and be open to playing more than one position. We scored some great tries in these games, but it was clear there was much to do in terms of improving our structure, ruck speed, go-forward and defence.

Epsom arrived for the first match extremely confident, but a superb first-half display where we kept

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possession for nearly the whole half and scored three tires gave us a great buffer, but in the second half we lost structure and did not stick to the plan which allowed them to have more of the game, but we were still triumphant winning 22-7 against a good team. The boys trained really hard the following week and combined better as a whole team, with the backs scoring some stunning tries to shellshock Tonbridge into a 38-13 defeat. We were heading on the right track of continued improvement into the Radley game – this was one of the boys’ major challenges and objectives after losing to them in the U14s by 30 points. The game was away, and the journey to Radley was horrendous – this cut short the warm-up and preparation time, but did not stop the boys performing with incredible courage and ability to get a famous away win 14-12. Captain Jack Vivyan epitomised what leadership is by playing exceptionally, which was the catalyst to

his team following suit and all playing sensationally – a game the boys will remember and a day where they realised how good they could be.

RGS Guildford was an unusual game and similar to the Epsom game, where we seemed to stop playing at halftime when 20 points up – in both games, our discipline was not good enough, and we gave far too many penalties away with over-eagerness to be perfect in defence and at the breakdown.

After half term we had our second game against Eton who we had earlier beaten by 30 points – we worked hard on not giving as many penalties away and even though it was a real tussle up front, the backs broke free to score some scintillating tries – seeing Luke Gleason, Ethan Piric and Josh Guttman in full flight was breathtaking, but as always they were beautifully set free

by Jack and Kai after the outstanding

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centre combination of Guy Parker and John Gunn had ripped through them in midfield and kept their Defence honest. The final result was 50 points and evidence of more consistency and better discipline.

After an easy win against Gordon’s, we travelled to take on the unbeaten Whitgift U15s – this was another epic test match where the team had to dig deep, work hard for points and defend with intensity for the whole match – another memorable win beating them 21-13. The pack were magnificent in this game and gave the team a ‘go forward’ all match as well as physically sending their attack backwards all game – Leo Jackson and John Gunn were absolutely heroic in this match and physically set the tone for all to follow.

Two objectives we set were to try and win every match and also win the national cup – we won the national cup in unbelievable style post-Christmas ( eparate report ) but fell short of

winning every match after losing away to Tonbridge 15-22 in what can only be described as atrocious conditions – they played them better than we did, but in truth it was not possible to play much rugby. What we learned from this and improved on later, when playing in similar conditions in the nationals post Christmas in Torquay, was that our kicking and fielding skills had to get better, and they did. We learned from this defeat quickly and the following week went into the final fixture away to Dulwich who had beaten Tonbridge the week before – we were steely eyed and focussed and I had no doubts the team would bounce back to produce our most complete all round performance of the season to beat Dulwich 36-0.

In this game you could see the great combinations between backs and forwards – the exceptional scrum and line out, the elegant linking of Kai Trench at scrum half from super quick ruck ball which again set free the galloping back three and incredibly strong centres.

Every time Dulwich got the ball and

tried to run it, they went backwards, and I think this display set the standard for what we did even better in the nationals post-Christmas. The man of the match on this day was prop Rhidmeet Puri, who ran great lines and took the team to another level. All season, the pack led

by Rishab Dhot was incredible – again, like Jack as a leader, they both led by example and were both regularly the best players on the pitch. We also started to see some new players breaking through, like Andre, who did not play in the U14s, but lit up the field at Dulwich and gave us a glimpse of what was to come in the National Cup. A memorable season not only for the results but also for the way in which the boys came together and enjoyed training and playing together with such a brilliant attitude! Thank you to all the squad, the incredible support of the parents and to Freddie Harrison for doing such a great job of coaching the pack! ❚ RGH

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U15B The 2024 U15B rugby season was filled with trials and tribulations, a season which required resilience and perseverance from all.

Despite several injuries season we fought until the final whistle and concluded our season with an impressive record of 8 wins and only 3 losses. We began the season at home against Epsom, and after an exemplary performance from the entire team, the game finished at 38-0. Hoping to continue in our winning ways we set off to Eton. After recalling our previous draw against Eton last season we were aware of the difficulties this game would bring but with the ball bouncing in our favour the game concluded 22-21.

Tonbridge at home provided a tough first 20 minutes, but our opening try following a clearance kick allowed us to get a foothold in the game. The second half proved much more fruitful and we secured a 33-3 win. The much anticipated Radley match was disappointing, as they avenged their loss last season, putting 37 points past us. This first loss was tough but we looked forward to a set of tricky games after half-term.

The days grew shorter and the conditions got tougher as we kicked off against Eton at home. Just like the first

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game, the contest came down to the last few minutes, and after coming from behind, we managed to sustain the 12-7 scoreline. We then travelled to Whitgift where we played on unknown territory due to last season’s cancellation.

With the scoreline finishing 41-10 in our favour, Mr Wishart felt this was our best-ever performance. However, the success did not continue away at Tonbridge. Due to heavy rainfall and blustery conditions, we struggled to play our usual game, and Tonbridge adapted more quickly than we did; thus, we suffered our second loss.

Our penultimate game was held at Dulwich and with several changes in our personnel, their technically adept team were able to put 36 points on us. However, our season had not yet finished and so battling through the fatigue and wintry weather we landed our final win against London Oratory at home. This season served as a valuable lesson for us all as we look to the future for U16s and was an unforgettable set of games. However, this would not have been achieved without the tremendous support and help from our coaches Mr Wishart and Mr Darke. ❚ Freddie Snowball

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U15C The U15Cs had a hugely successful season with many memorable moments throughout, and I am extremely grateful to have been able to lead this team.

Our season started off with a massive test away to Eton, which ended in a hard-fought 21-12 victory.

Our next game was another difficult fixture against a physical Tonbridge side; however, they were no match for brilliant backs moves and hard-hitting forwards. Despite our successful start, our biggest game of the season undoubtedly came with a tough away fixture at Radley. With last season’s heavy defeat still present in our minds, an inspirational halftime team talk from Mr Darke and Mr Grant led us to an incredible 28-14 win, which set the tone for the rest of the season. Special mentions must go to Eddie Peereboom Voller, who scored an incredible interception try to seal the game, and Muhammad Sadee,q who played brilliantly in both the forwards and backs throughout the season.

Our good form continued into the half-term break with two 30+ point wins against RGS and Gordon’s, which meant that we were not only unbeaten, but also had a number 1 ranking on SOCS for U15C teams across the country. However, unfortunately, all good runs must come to an end, and our fabulous run ended with a tough 35-7 loss in some dreadful conditions in the return fixture at Tonbridge.

Our season culminated in an away trip to Dulwich, with an injury ridden team that only included four people from the squad from before half term! The game started off with a kickoff try from Veer Kalia, who led our pack brilliantly, and the game ended up with St Paul’s 10 points up, thanks to a drop goal from Adam Lobo, with 5 minutes remaining.

Disaster struck as Dulwich scored straight from the kickoff, which meant that, thanks to the drop goal, Dulwich still needed a try to win on the last play of the game. Some brilliant goal-line defence from Max Kopen, who had an exceptional game all around, kept Dulwich from scoring for what felt like an eternity; however, Dulwich finally managed to break through the line to break St Paul’s hearts.

Overall, the boys had an excellent season and we can definitely be proud of our efforts. Misha Dushkin ran some excellent lines at 12, and Pranav Patil’s tackling and rucking were great all season, which allowed our halfbacks, Max and Adam, to control and manage the game. A huge thank you to Mr Grant, Mr Block, Mr Holland, and Mr Van Vuuren for helping us with our season and developing us as rugby players. ❚

U15D The U15Ds enjoyed a fantastic season with 4 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss. To field a ‘D’ Team is a triumph in itself, but these boys demonstrated enthusiasm, determination, and skill week in, and week out.

Home and away wins against a strong Eton Side (34-10 and 50-5) were a particular highlight, where the boys showed tremendous grit and stamina. Each member of the squad contributed to the team’s development and success, and it was fantastic to see a number of players move up to enjoy success in the ‘C’ team. A particular mention should go to Max Dearlove, Adrien Chatin, and Reggie Dooley, who each led the team in their own key roles. ❚

U14A The U14As had a mixed season, starting off with a tough loss at Epsom, with us taking a while to get off the coach and still learning how to play together.

The following week was a huge week of training, we dug deep and won our next two games against Eton and Tonbridge with commanding performances from Javey and Hari. Next up was Radley, we came out of the gates firing pinning them back but some wasted opportunities led to us conceding breakaway tries and ending up with a loss where the scoreboard didn’t tell the full story. We didn’t play our best rugby in our next two matches, which we could have won, with us giving away too many cheap penalties and lacking aggression in contact. On the back of some frustrating defeats, we came up against Eton after half term. We took a while to grow into the game, but in the second half, our pack led the way to win the game. Whitgift was next where we again conceded too many cheap tries but remained persistent and played some excellent rugby but didn’t get the points to show for it. Tonbridge and Dulwich followed with brilliant performances from every member of the team whether it was Daniel’s huge tackles, Elior’s strength in contact or Rayan and Harry’s dominant carrying. However, as it is in sports, we had our hearts broken in both matches after last-minute tries. We finished up with a loss to Oratory in extremely wet and windy conditions with us struggling to adapt our game plan. Although the record is not what we wanted, the A’s can learn so much more than previous seasons about the importance of discipline, hard work, optimism and teamwork and these lessons will play a key part in a hopefully successful 7s and U15 season. ❚

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U14B The U14B’s had an up-and-down season, while our overall record showed that we had lost more matches than we had won, we always put up a strong fight and played some lovely rugby across the season.

We started off with a tough couple of fixtures and were well beaten by Epsom, before pushing Eton close with a massive performance but losing narrowly. In our third game, we comfortably beat Tonbridge 43-10, before getting beaten by a very strong Radley side. After that, we hit back with a 38-10 win over Guildford.

The following 5 games were against high-level opponents, and we were unable to take our opportunities to seize victory, yet our general play was still positive. In the final match, at the end of our season, in torrential wind and rain, we won against London Oratory 26-0.

Despite the tough opposition, we had a fabulous team that really enjoyed playing and working with each other.

And there were some standout performances: Yinuo Li’s two tries against Guildford including a number eight pick up, then a mazy run, was one of the highlights. Charlie Nicolson’s try in the dying moments against Epsom

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where he collected the ball on the halfway line from a kick, before running through the entire opposition. A hat-trick against Tonbridge from Nicholas Menounos from the wing, which promoted him immediately into the A team, having just come to us from the C team. Also, there was lots of unseen work, Elnathan Emukowhate was an excellent battering ram, punching holes in defences. Adi was consistently one of our strongest players. His non-stop tackling, running back to defend and fearlessness in rucks made him a huge asset, especially in the game against Epsom, where he showed great heart to keep tackling opposition players who had size on their side. Ian Ding and Henry Brooks were our other fierce tacklers who were never afraid to put a shoulder in for the team. Marty Jain would always carry really well and his two tries against Radley from lineout moves were perfect examples of this.

And, finally, Winston Lai had some r eally strong performances when he played in the back line later in the season, adapting to the numerous positions that he played in.

Overall the B team had a really enjoyable season, we formed really strong bonds with our teammates and enjoyed every second of training and playing. ❚ Ed O’Shea

U14C They say good things come to those who wait and that couldn’t be more true of the C team season. The season started out poorly. With little preparation, we lost our first 2 matches to Epsom and Eton. However, our additional training sessions ensured that we headed into our third game against Tonbridge with more confidence.

Sadly, the first half didn’t pan out as we would’ve liked. Tonbridge dominated us and scored 7 consecutive tries. In the second half, our team showed great perseverance and grit as we went toe-to-toe with them, narrowly losing 7-5 that half. This level of determination gave us supreme confidence that we could finish the rest of the season much better.

Our next game against Radley was cancelled but that didn’t stop us from training every day. We won our next game against RGS Guildford 64-5 with notable performances from Kush Trichur, who made many try-saving tackles and Laith Mason, who scored three tries. This proved to be the turning point for our team. We carried this dominance into our next two fixtures, against Gordon’s School and

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Fulham School, winning 68-0 and 57-0 respectively, with great performances from Seven Guo, Issam Abou-Zaki and Florian Jhamna.

When we played Eton for the second time, we came out swinging. With James Metcalf’s sharp distribution and Lore Aofolaju’s dominant tackles, we secured our revenge by winning 50-19. We continued this win streak with yet another big win over Whitgift, with Lorenzo Maraffino playing especially well.

Our final two games would be our most difficult. We first had a rematch with Tonbridge. It was a tightly fought game but an early try and an unbelievable kick from Jake Wright put us up 7-5. And we did not let up from there, securing a gruelling 12-5 victory. It was an all-around fantastic performance.

Although we were unbeaten in our last six games, the final game would prove to be our biggest test of the season. Our opponents were Dulwich, who were not only unbeaten but were also the number 1 ranked C team in the country. This was another brutal end-to-end game. At halftime, we were tied at 12-12, with Leo Popov putting in a standout performance.

The second half was even more tense.

We drove to their try line on several occasions but couldn’t manage that final push. But our team did not give in. With one last effort, Amaan Naqvi rucked over three boys, leading to Max Magalhaes scoring the winning try.

A fitting end to what has been an unbelievable season, coached by Mr Slaney. ❚

U14D The boys should be very proud of what they achieved this season.

Some resounding victories, and only two narrow losses, resulting in a very impressive points difference.

The season started with a fantastic 32-10 away win to Epsom, where the boys played some excellent rugby.

A high bar had been set. What followed was likely the performance of the season, a 47-0 away win vs Tonbridge, where the attacking rugby on display was exceptional. The future was looking bright for the team and St Paul’s rugby.

This was further underlined by another thumping victory of 52-7 away to Dulwich. The boys looked unstoppable.

However, a run of bad luck, poor weather and opposition cancellations meant that the next 3 fixtures were cancelled. When the next game came around, the boys were rusty and also missing key personnel due to injury, resulting in a narrow 10-19 loss. The boys bounced back with a resounding 33-26.

They closed out the season with a nail-biting, rough and tough fixture vs St John’s Leatherhead B team. The boys battled against the elements and strong opposition and were very unlucky to lose in the final kick of the game.

I’d like to thank the team for all their enthusiasm and effort this year. I hope to see them continue to develop their Rugby as they move through the school. ❚

PLAYED WON DRAWN LOST POINTS FOR 6

4

0

2

186

POINTS AGAINST

POINTS DIFFERENCE

81

105

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U14E The U14E team had an excellent season. The rules were a big step up from last year for many of us, with line outs, goal kicking and 15 players on each team.

We kicked off our season with a massive 52-0 win over Eton Ds, which, even with many players who would move up through the teams, set the bar for our next games. We went on to Tonbridge Es, – the game was called early to avoid the score, as we were too dominant, being 58-0 up five minutes into the second half! After this we were scheduled to play Radley, but when we heard that the pitches were waterlogged, I remember everyone’s disappointment at not being given a game and the chance to prove our credentials as the best U14E side in the country! When we came back after half-term, we once again beat Tonbridge and Eton in return fixtures, before the most important games in our season.

We had been scheduled by the rugby department to play Cranmore’s A team.

As expected, this was a tough and brutally-fought fixture, but due to some excellent defensive work and blistering attack, we had an amazing win 37-26.

After this, as our last match, we were pitched against Radnor House’s As. This was a big step up, and at half-time, six tries and 36-0 down, was the most challenging point of our season. We did amazingly to come back to a final score of 50-19, still managing to win the second half. Overall though, it was a great season full of tries and cross-field kicks, and a lot of us are looking forward to another go next year. ❚ Noah Thomas, Captain

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U14F The U14F Rugby team enjoyed a good season in their first year representing SPS. Their skillset developed excellently over the year and many players will go on to represent much higher teams in future years. Results over the season varied and despite ‘playing up’ against a number of schools, they still came out with a very respectable two wins, one draw and three losses. The majority of games were competitive, often with one or two scores separating the teams at the end.

The first outing of the season came at a sunswept Tonbridge, where an excellent performance from the pack got SPS off to a great start. Three early tries followed by a consistent effort throughout and a second half where the inevitable Tonbridge fightback was held off ensured SPS ran out comfortable winners in the end – 50-25 was the final score.

Having had the Radley fixture rained off the F-team were chomping at the bit when their next fixture rolled around, a midweek visit to Weybridge to play the St George’s U14B team. In what was a physical contest where both teams gave their all, the game ended in an enthralling 22-22 draw. Ambitious and

clinical in attack and organised and physical in defence, this was probably the F-team’s performance of the season.

November started with a difficult trip to Leatherhead where a strong St Johns U14B team ran out comfortable winners, despite a committed effort from SPS right to the end. The return fixture against Tonbridge the following week in wet and windy conditions was a stark contrast to the opening weekend victory. A weakened SPS team battled hard against a much-improved opposition and were rewarded with a 15-10 victory. The penultimate fixture of the season was another dramatic affair.

Again the F-team battled to the end but were narrowly beaten (29-27) by a strong Dulwich College team. In the final fixture of the season, SPS again ‘played up’, this time against the Radnor House U14B team. Another enthralling encounter, where clinical attack was the order of the day, Radnor House ran out narrow victors by a margin of 45-35.

Overall the U14Fs enjoyed a good start to their rugby careers at SPS. Whilst results were mixed the commitment shown by the players throughout was excellent. Many will go on to represent the school at U15 level. ❚

Rugby 7s

U14G Despite the U14G rugby team’s limited schedule, marked by only two fixtures, significant progress was evident throughout the season.

The home and away fixtures against Tonbridge School presented a tangible benchmark for the team’s development.

The away fixture, conducted in the T1 format (a variation of touch rugby), concluded with a 10-0 defeat for the boys. Conversely, the home fixture, a full-contact game, resulted in a resounding victory for the team. This outcome underscored the unwavering dedication and hard work exhibited by the players throughout the season. ❚

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Rosslyn Park National Sevens Tournaments 2025 The SPS Rugby Club U14, U15, U16, and U18 VIIs teams competed in 16 tournaments during the Spring Term in preparation for the Rosslyn Park National Sevens, winning one, runners up in two and third placed in three overall throughout the season.

At the end of the Spring term, our U14, U16 and U18 VIIs all competed in the Rosslyn Park National Rugby Sevens Tournament, the world’s largest International Rugby Tournament with over 15,000 boys and girls competing.

The U18 VII played in the Vase Competition, and in the group stages played 3, won 2 and lost one. Sadly, our loss to Northampton Boys in the opening game left us as group runners-up, and with only the group winners progressing through to the elimination round, sadly the 1st VII were unable to progress through to Day 2 of the Vase Competition.

Unfortunately, our U14s also lost one group game, leaving them runnersup in the group and suffering the same fate as the U18s.

The U16s competing in the Colts Competition won all their group games and then sadly went on to lose their knock-out round against Durham Cathedral School by 17-5, which had they won, would have taken them through to Day 2 of the Colts Competition.

I would like to finish by thanking all three of our teams that competed for SPS at the Rosslyn Park National Sevens this year; they certainly gave absolutely everything on the pitch over the five days of competition and hopefully enjoyed being part of the world’s largest rugby tournament. ❚

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Squash

This year, our squash partnership with Roehampton has continued to develop.

We are benefitting from the use of world-class facilities and opportunities for the boys to work with exceptional coaches, so it has been another busy year of squash at St Paul’s.

Alison Waters returned as a coach following maternity leave and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the coaching team, being a former No. 3 in the world. Tiago Goriely also continued to work with us as a coach at the start of the year until he left to begin studying for a Master’s degree – we wish him all the best in his studies. He has been replaced by Hasnaat, who works closely with Alison to support the boys.

The year again saw high levels of involvement in squash: lots of boys playing in their games halves; great enthusiasm from the 4th formers trying the sport for the first time; lunchtime training sessions; house squash; and, of course, a whole range of friendly and competitive fixtures. This year, our School was invited to provide a 2nd team to complete the Roehampton Division 2 tournament, and this gave some of our younger players an opportunity to compete against high-level opposition. The team consisted of Edouard Traissac, Nik

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Younis, Alex Brask Tyrrell and James Maby, and despite being one player short and playing much older opponents, they put in a strong showing against quality opposition. There were some very mature performances, and the team narrowly lost to Marlborough, Dulwich and Charterhouse but managed to defeat UCS. The experience of playing at such a high level will be hugely beneficial for them in the future.

We also took part in the Roehampton Invitation Division 1 tournament, and our first V would have been in a strong position to compete. Unfortunately, due to a number of injuries and commitment clashes, we could not field our first team.

However, the team, which consisted of Anish Dhar, Armaan Martins, Nikhil Dhar, Alex Brask Tyrrell and Orko Lahiri, fought hard with some particularly impressive performances by Anish Dhar and Alex Brask Tyrrell, but were unable to overcome Eton, Harrow and Sevenoaks. Again, this experience of playing against some of the strongest schools in the country will put them in a great position over the next couple of years.

This year also saw the return of the RAC Doubles tournament. This is a great opportunity for the boys to play doubles squash, and this year was contested by

5 schools – St Paul’s, Epsom, Winchester, Harrow and Charterhouse. The St Paul’s team consisted of Zubin Maudgil, Aryan Sankaye, Anish Dhar, Edouard Traissac, Nil Younis and Ariv Negi and finished 3rd, showing impressive skill to defeat Charterhouse and Winchester.

This year again saw entry into the England National Schools Championships.

Both the U16s and U19s comfortably qualified for the second round, with the chance to qualify for the National Finals.

Unfortunately, despite strong showings, both narrowly missed out on qualifying this year: the U16s, consisting of Anish Dhar, Edouard Traissac, Nik Younis, Alex Brask Tyrrell and James Maby, just being pipped by KCS Wimbledon and the U19s, consisting of Adrian Siniscalco, Tolga Mardin, Zubin Maudgil, Anish Dhar and Aryan Sankaye, narrowly missing out to Eton.

Next year will be the final year for many of our current first V and I know that they are determined to make it a good year with opportunities to impress in a number of tournaments. With the experience some of the younger players gained in big tournaments this year, they will also be well placed to have a strong year, and the future looks bright. ❚ Matthew Goldup

Tennis

The 2024–25 tennis season has been a remarkable chapter in the sporting life of St Paul’s School, marked by standout performances, determined team efforts, and exciting signs for the future. This year’s calendar was packed with competitive fixtures, with notable success in block matches against schools such as KCS Wimbledon and Harrodian, where our teams displayed depth and dominance across multiple age groups.

National competitions brought even more reasons to celebrate: at the Surrey Festival hosted by St George’s College, Weybridge, all three age groups – U14, U16, and U18 – advanced to the later stages, underlining the strength of our tennis programme. The U18s had an especially impressive showing in the St George’s Cup, reaching the semi-finals after a series of commanding performances. Both our U15 and U18 teams progressed to Day 2 of the ISTA Nationals; the U18s were narrowly defeated by a strong Repton side, while the U15s endured an extraordinary three-hour battle with Sherborne, ending in a heartbreaking championship tiebreak loss, 18–16.

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Key contributors across the squads included Shlok Poddar (Captain), Adrian Chau, Konstantin Vujnovic, and Teymour Harandi for the U18s; Ollie Pitman (Captain), Joseph Roussel, Alexei Fletcher, Rayaan Ahmad, and Bryan Goh for the U16s; and rising stars Costi Poulios and Sehwan Lim for the U14s.

Beyond competitions, this season also saw the successful launch of Saturday morning training in the summer term, with over 40 pupils regularly attending to refine their technique and matchplay.

Led by Mr Warriner and supported by Top Tennis coaches, these sessions have greatly enriched the development of players across all levels.

player who stepped onto the court.

With strong leadership among our senior players and a wealth of emerging talent, the future of tennis at St Paul’s School is looking incredibly bright.

Huge thanks go to all the players, coaches, parents, and supporters who have contributed to a truly unforgettable season. ❚

A major new initiative this year was the introduction of a reimagined House Tennis competition, which drew large numbers of enthusiastic entries from across the school; the tournament added a vibrant, community-driven element to the season and culminated in an exciting final held on Sports Day on the last day of term.

This season has been defined not just by results, but by the dedication, camaraderie, and spirit shown by every

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Ultimate Frisbee

It has been a year of rebuilding for SPS Ultimate after the self-dubbed ‘Golden Generation’ all left last year.

In the summer term, a team of five Lower Eighths valiantly played ‘Iron Man’ (no subs) at the annual Tonbridge tournament, learning a lot along the way and finishing with a victory against Tonbridge 2.

Hopefully, with hotly-contested house competitions in the summer term, the sport will gather momentum again in the 2025-26 season! ❚

TONBRIDGE TEAM: Alex Barea (capt), Arthur America, Marcello Nora, Raphael Rodger, Denis Yesilkaya

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Water Polo

It’s been another impressive season for our water polo teams, marked by determination, progress, and plenty of action in the pool. Across all teams, players have made strides in their strength, fitness, and technical ability, as well as developing their tactical understanding of the game.

A busy calendar of friendly fixtures, London League matches, and national tournaments provided valuable opportunities for the teams to put their training into practice. Despite some tough matches, the teams showed resilience, commitment, and there were many standout performances throughout.

Our U15 and U18 teams have had particularly strong seasons, showing real strength in depth across the whole sport. The U15s progressed extremely well through the English Schools Plate competition and were unbeaten in their semi-final against St Dunstan’s College, Eltham College and Queen Elizabeth’s School. They finished fourth in the final – an end of season result which they should be really proud of. In a similar fashion, our U18s played consistently well in their English Schools Plate competition, ultimately also finishing fourth after progressing to the final.

A special mention should go to Rafe Poole and Zayd Khan who represented in both the U15 and U18 teams.

Our Upper Eighth water polo leavers – Kian Buckland, Quentin Glaenzer and Alex Gough – have shown dedication and sportsmanship throughout their time at St Paul’s, and have been excellent role models to the younger players. We wish them all the best and hope they continue to enjoy the sport!

U16 Our U16 team had a challenging season, with a wide variety of fixtures throughout the year. Although results didn’t always go our way, our team showed dedication and improvement as the season progressed, which was especially impressive as the majority of our team was composed of players who played up a year. We faced a series of unfortunate matches in our London League games; however, several players had notable performances, such as Rafe Poole. We gained a lot of experience as a team and are looking forward to advancing further next season.

Our experience at Nationals was more rewarding, as we were able to win games and further develop our skills and teamwork. Furthermore, we saw some decisive victories later into the season, which really showed how far we’d come as a team. Special mention goes to Zayd Khan, who really embodied our team’s improvement and had an amazing performance.

Our season could not have been possible without the support and guidance of our coach, Rumen Kurtev, and Miss McGreevy, who organised our matches.

Thanks to their efforts, our team has gained invaluable experience and are eagerly awaiting our next season of water polo.

Kshitij Dubey

U15 Our U15 team started the season with tournaments against Alleyn’s School, St Dunstan’s College, and Queen Elizabeth’s School. These matches provided a fantastic opportunity for us to play together as a squad and allowed some of our less experienced players to gain valuable match time.

in the semi-finals. Following a tightly contested game against Bolton School, we narrowly missed out on the final and finished in 4th place overall.

This was a great achievement for a team that hasn’t played together for long, and it gives us a strong foundation on which to build. With continued training and experience, we’re aiming for an even better result next year.

A huge thank you to Coach Rumen Kurtev and Miss McGreevy for their support, coaching, and organisation throughout the season. We’re excited for what’s to come next year!

Zayd Khan & Rafe Poole

U14 This year, the U14s water polo team has achieved many things. There may have been no silverware, but that is expected from a team of 13-14-year-old boys beginning to learn this difficult sport.

We placed 2nd and 3rd in most of our London League tournaments, with a big final match victory to clinch 2nd place at City of London School, with a last-minute goal scored by Rory Fitzherbert Brockholes. Throughout the season we established a core group of skilled players who led the team. It was sometimes difficult to fill remaining spots in the team and this showed in our results, but we learnt from that. I believe that we need to encourage more boys to take up water polo as their main sport. With more dedicated players, we can put together a strong team and will look forward to fighting for victories next year. Overall, this year all the boys have enjoyed learning water polo and look forward to continuing in the 5th Form. ❚ Laith Mason

Each of the teams have been hugely supported by their coaches, Rumen Kurtev and Ibrahim Khan, and the aquatics team, Roxana Roman and Dovile Sudeikyte.

With many sessions in the pool and with the guidance of Coach Rumen Kurtev, we progressed through the National Plate, and after confidently winning our knockout game against St Dunstan’s College, we reached the tournament’s final round at Northampton Boys’ School. Despite a few key players being sidelined with injury, we came together and won our first match 3–2 against Queen Elizabeth’s, securing our place

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