Sutton Views - July 2013 (55)

Edition 55 July 2013

SUTTON VIEWS The Voice of Sutton Valence School

Sutton Valence School Strengthens Academic Focus

Speech Day

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Despite already being in the top 20% of schools nationally for value added at A Level, the Senior School is not resting on its laurels.

To maintain academic work at the centre of all we do, the Senior Management Team has been restructured and, from a huge application field, Adrian Wyles has relinquished his role as Assistant Head: Sixth Form to become Academic Deputy Head, from September 2013.

“The staff have been set a challenge”, said Mr Wyles, “to move Sutton Valence into the top 10% of schools in the country for value added. I will be spearheading the move forward, leading and working with Heads of Departments to oversee all of the academic side of the School. I am delighted to have been appointed and am

Prep School Drama

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Ballroom Success Page 10

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Information A member of the United Westminster Schools’ Foundation Registered Charity No. 309267 Founded in 1576 by William Lambe

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For information about Sutton Valence School or to request a prospectus, please contact:

• the Admissions Office at Sutton Valence on 01622 845206 or email enquiries@svs.org.uk • Sutton Valence Preparatory School on 01622 842117 or email enquiries@svprep.svs.org.uk

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Continued from front page looking forward to the exciting and challenging times ahead.”

With the ambition to become the best school in Kent for value added in all areas (academic, co-curricular and community involvement), Headmaster, Bruce Grindlay said, “Rather than rely upon league table positions or the percentage of A* to B grades to measure our pupils’ success, we prefer to

measure our teaching and learning by how much value we add to each pupil. This measures how well each pupil has performed against their perceived potential and, therefore, allows us to recognise the improvements and results of each individual.

Mr Wyles’s appointment heralds a new chapter in our long and distinguished history from which, hopefully, all students stand to benefit.”

Speech Day

The Very Rev Dr John Hall, Dean of Westminster, addressing the Senior School

CCF Display

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Helen Grant MP addressing the Prep School

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Senior School Speech Day lunch

Prep School prizes

Year 1 and 2 Prizewinners

Happy Prep School Prizewinners

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Prep School Sport Sports-mad Head of PE Tom Davey joined the Prep School after Easter, becoming Head of PE. Many will perhaps remember that this isn't his first experience of the Prep School as back in 2007 and 2008, he was a gap student, working predominantly in Year 3, but also working with the games department.

him the opportunity to work as a sports coach at Yardley Court, Tonbridge, where he spent four years.

Having completed his A Levels, Tom went on to read Sport Management at Coventry University. It was here that he began to become interested in teaching and so took a year out to work with us as a gap student. He went back to finish his degree, which gave

By his own admission, he is ‘mad keen’ on sport, playing football, golf, cricket, tennis and going on many ski holidays. “Since joining Sutton Valence Prep School”, he said, “I have been impressed with the ability and enthusiasm of the children. They have a tremendous attitude towards their PE and sport and I hope I can guide and teach them to improve their skills and enjoy it as much as I do.

Gymnastics

of him, Sam gave the Prep School a little taste of what he could do in assembly.

Sam Mostowfi, Year 6, took part in the South East Region U13 Gymnastics Championships in June. Despite being the youngest competitor, and two years younger than many, he did extremely well. He finished fourth, narrowly missing third place by 0.1 of a mark! With a bright future ahead

Athletics The IAPS County competition at the Julie Rose Stadium, Ashford, showed the strength and depth of athletic talent we have at the Prep School. Eleven pupils attended and came home with gold medals for Long Jump, Shot Put and the girls 1500 metres; a silver in the girls 100 metres and a bronze in the boys 1500 metres. Additionally, two School records were broken, five personal bests were

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established and three pupils qualified for the national competition!

Towards the end of term, the IAPS National Finals then took place in Birmingham and all three pupils competed brilliantly against the best in the country.

John Wilson won bronze in the boys Shot Put, whilst Lauren Vinten in the 1500 metres and Ben Lawrence in the Long Jump both finished in the top ten in the country.

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Poets in the making?

If poetry is, as Isaac Newton said, ‘a kind of ingenious nonsense’, then both the Prep and the Senior School have an array of talented and creative pupils.

Wes Magee, the well-known and award winning children's poet, spent a day at the Prep School before half term, working with the older pupils in unique workshops and then judging the Poetry Competition for Years 1 to 6.

Established in 1991, Young Writers nurtures creativity in children and young adults, to give them an interest in poetry and an outlet to express themselves. Said Mr Davenport, Head of English, “Seeing their work in print will, we hope, encourage them to keep writing as they grow and become our poets of tomorrow.”

Mrs Barr, Head of English and Drama said, "The children have all worked so hard, they really have been inspired by Wes and we have heard some brilliant poetry performances. I'm very proud of all of them."

Earlier in the term, ten First Form pupils at the Senior School found out that their poems had been selected to be published in The Young Writers’ ‘Winter Wonders – Icy Delights’ collection.

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Prep School Drama Oliver (Year 6)

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The Emperor’s New Clothes (Year 2)

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Head of School, Lewis Burnham Whilst many of you were relaxing and some, I hope, busy revising over Easter, I was contemplating what the message of my speech should be. The most obvious theme would have been the very important examination period coming up for a large percentage of us.

However, I feel you’re all well aware of the pressures and expectations exams bring.

Then it struck me that my seven years at Sutton Valence have all come down to the next two months. A scary prospect, and I began to think: what has happened in the outside world during those seven years, and how has SV prepared me to meet the challenges I will face when I leave School?

Some of the notable events include: • •

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• •

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The resignation of a Pope, which hasn’t happened for over 600 years; Two of the World’s most wanted men killed – Colonel Gadaffi and Osama Bin Laden; The first Black American president elected; The collapse of the Global Economy; Uprising in the Middle East and rising tensions with North Korea; A nuclear disaster in Japan, categorised as severe as Chernobyl; Corporal Beharry made the youngest-living British recipient of the Victoria Cross; Global IT development, including 4G networks and the expansion of You Tube (apparently, one fifth of the world’s population viewed the ‘Gangnam Style’ video); The confirmation of the existence of the Higgs Boson; A home Olympics;

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Chelsea have had nine managers, Arsenal’s trophy cabinet remains bare and Tottenham are the top team in London, and, New words added to the Oxford dictionary include Bling, WAG, OMG, Phone Hacking, Cyberthreat, Braggadocious, Bouncebackability and Bucket List.

Then I began to think: what have I done in my seven years at SV and how many items can I tick off my bucket list? SV has provided opportunities both inside and out of the classroom, the combination of which has taught me a number of life skills including teamwork, leadership, consideration, compassion, respect and confidence.

Many of my best experiences have been shared with people in this Chapel, and I hope this will result in long-lasting friendships. Some of the most unique events have been made possible by the CCF. I climbed the highest peak in England, achieving my Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award; slept in the Belizian jungle for five nights, learning many survival techniques, including how to identify a poisonous snake through its colouring, by the phrase, “if red touches yellow, deadly fellow” and visited a local orphanage where we helped the staff and entertained the children by introducing them to mobile phones and ‘Angry Birds’.

I attended a cadet leadership course and was immediately labelled by my northern roommates as a ‘Southern Softie” (I got my revenge by being appointed team leader for the final exercise) and I was a member of a guard of honour at Westminster Abbey.

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Last summer I was part of the SV team which cycled 460 miles from Margate to Land’s End raising money for Blind Veterans UK and throughout my SV career I have been privileged to represent the School in many sports.

I learnt the guitar and drums for two years; however, lack of ability could not be overcome by effort.

Academically, I have taken advantage of the opportunities available and feel the teaching staff have prepared me fully for the next stage of my academic career. I regret not being more involved with the Drama department, as this could have helped with my nerves and the delivery of this speech today. However, Shakespeare did come to my aid in providing the following quote, “We know what we are, but not what we may be.”

develop our full potential, contribute positively to the wider world and cross more items off our bucket lists along the way!

However, whilst mankind’s capacity to learn appears infinite, I would like to add a word of caution, supported by a quote from former US Secretary of Defence, Donald Rumsfeld: ‘There are known knowns – these are things that we know. There are known unknowns – that is to say, there are things that we know we don’t know. But there are also unknown, unknowns. There are things we don’t know we don’t know.’

Finally, I will finish with some words of wisdom from my Tutor, Mr Carr… ‘Go and do all the good you can, to all the people you can, in all the places you can, for as long as you can’.

This quote brings me to my conclusion. As I have tried to illustrate, there is a big world outside of these walls. The world is constantly changing, with new opportunities, but also new threats and challenges, as proved by the tragic events of the Boston Marathon.

We all have a part to play and SV provides us with a privileged environment in which we are able to prepare to play our part, developing not only academically, but also as individuals.

Existing and thriving within the SV cocoon, it can sometimes be easy to believe we know all the answers, but outside of SV there are many unknown challenges ahead for all of us. As we move on from SV and those challenges become reality, we can all rely on the knowledge, experiences and friendships we have gained within this community. This will help us all to

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Success in the Ballroom Max and Katie Harrison, Second and First Form respectively, have had a busy and successful year in national ballroom competitions. They are currently well into the top 12 junior couples in the country, which varies a little from week to week, depending on how many competitions all the dancers have completed.

Sutton Valence CCF Cadet flying high

They compete most weekends, but try to limit it to just one weekend away each month. The picture shows them dancing in the ‘Stars of the Future’ competition at the beginning of June, where they reached both the ballroom and the Latin semi-finals. We wish them every success at the British Nationals in November and at the Open World Championships later in Paris, where they have been asked to represent England.

It has been a very busy year for James Aburn, Upper Sixth, in and out of uniform.

As Head of RAF Section in the School CCF, James provides leadership, as well as delivering a varied and interesting training programme for the cadets under his command. Lt Col Wilkinson, Contingent Commander, said, “James is exemplary in carrying out his duties. He is a young man who always puts service before self, both within the School and in the wider community. I was honoured to attend the Air Squadron Day at The Shuttleworth Collection recently where James, who is the

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Lord Lieutenant’s Cadet of the Year, received his Geoffrey DeHavilland Flying Foundation Award. ” With 90,000 Air Cadets in the country, Air Squadron awards are keenly contested by the Air Sections of Combined Cadet Forces.

This is a prestigious award in recognition of Outstanding CCF Achievement.

Bruce Grindlay, Headmaster said, “I’m delighted that James has been given this award; it is a fitting end to his time at School.

He is an outstanding example of a typical Sutton Valence student. Not only is he

academically high achieving, but he is very successful in his two passions, music and the CCF. On completion of his flying scholarship he received his Silver Wings and after going to Band Camp at RAF Cranwell, was asked to join the Air Cadets National Concert Band, having also won the highest award for the course, the Golden Lyre.”

James also plays in the School Dixieland Band, which had Jools Holland guest with them at a recent charity concert, hosted by the Senior School for ABF The Soldiers’ Charity.

Open Garden 2013 The sun may not have shone as much as we would have liked, but it dd not hamper the enjoyment of over 45 visitors to the School gardens on 2nd July.

never have an opportunity to see. Having gained approval from the National Garden Scheme, we are now planning for next year!

Guy Pullen, Head Gardener, along with his team, Guy, Sarah and Scott, had the borders brimming with colour and impressed with their knowledge of the plants and the history of the gardens. Having toured the main areas around Centre Block, the visitors retired to TC’s for a splendid cream tea, whilst reading through the planting notes and lists of plants.

Many visitors, and staff, were seen heading off to their cars laden with bags of beautiful, healthy plants, which were provided by Stone Green Nursery, owned by the Watkinsons, parents at the Preparatory School.

The afternoon was a great success, showcasing an area of the School that many

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Photo courtesy of Mrs Julie Avery (Parent)

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Mumma Mia’s Summer Concert Towards the end of the summer term, the Bates Hall was filled with parents, pupils, teachers, friends and grandparents who were treated to a wonderful concert, performed by ‘Mumma Mia’. Raising money for Breast Cancer Care, the mothers’ choir, directed by Sarah Geering, were supported by vocal duets from Sasha and Mia Van Diepen (Fourth and Fifth Form). Daisy Andrews and Zoe Deighton-Smythe, both Lower Sixth, also performed ‘Pie Jesu’ from Lloyd Weber’s Requiem.

The Senior School’s Girls’ Choir sang Ave Verum by Geoffrey Burgon, accompanied by a string quartet of David Holmes, Head of Strings, Annie Pullar, Pavlina Skodova (both Upper Sixth), Anya Livtchak (Second Form) with James Aburn (Upper Sixth) on piano.

The two choirs then combined to perform Over the Rainbow. More songs from the

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shows followed, including songs from Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables and a solo performance of Popular from Wicked by Sally Roper, parent of Henry and Florence at the Prep School.

Throughout the night the audience heard ‘Mumma Mia’ perform Shine by Gary Barlow, Beautiful by Christine Aguilera and Schonberg’s On My Own. The concert ended with a surprise and very memorable performance of Michael Bublé’s Haven’t Met You Yet, where ‘Mumma Mia’ was joined on stage by Mr Malcolm Gough, Head of the Prep School and Mr Jaques Strydom, teacher!

It was an amazing evening of music with over £1300 being raised on the night for the charity.

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History, Design Technology, CCF and Physics is Fun! When Year 4 spent an Enrichment Day at the Senior School, they had no idea what was in store for them. Arriving in the morning they were split up into groups and set off to their activities.

There was a baffling History Treasure Hunt around the School grounds with Mr Bob Carr, making a name plaque with Miss ClementWalker in the DT Workshop where they were able to use the laser printer, laminator and drills and were thrilled to take away their unique plaques. Then Dr Lindley showed them the fun that can be had with Physics and introduced them to a floating alien!

After a lunchtime barbecue on BM, the CCF took over with Major Prem Ale and his NCOs putting the children through a series of command tasks to build teamwork and cooperation.

“This has been a fantastic day for the children”, said Mrs Jacobs, one of the Prep School staff who accompanied the children.

“Everything was so well organised and the senior pupils who assisted were great. Our pupils have had experiences today they won’t forget in a hurry!”

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Senior School Sport Extract taken from the Headmaster’s Speech Day address: ‘Thankfully, the weather has allowed us to play more sport this summer than we managed in 2012. Our tennis teams have done well at all levels and it is wonderful to see so many younger players emerging. In Rounders the first team has notched up an 88% win rate with the intermediate teams recording the biggest differentials this season in matches against St John’s, Leatherhead, where the U15s won 33 to 9.5 and the U14s 22 to 8.

In cricket, with the new Warmlake pitch up and running as well as a new square at the top of BM, we are now capable of hosting five home fixtures on grass wickets. The new nets near the astro have been a huge benefit and all teams have progressed nicely with

some excellent cricketers throughout the year groups.

emerging

This year we have also managed to make greater use of our fabulous athletics track, not only in curriculum time, but also through hosting two athletic meets at U14 and U15 levels against King’s Canterbury and King’s Rochester, both of which we won.

Swimming continues to grow with club sessions being run on a Monday evening and Thursday lunchtime and we hope to extend this further in September. The number of children training is growing and they are getting better with each session. The same is true of our senior golfers who are truly becoming a force to be reckoned with.’

Race Walking Well done to Guy Thomas, Fifth Form, who competed for England in the Race Walking match in Dublin in June. This was Guy’s second England cap in two weeks, having first travelled to Holland to compete in the Small Nations match where, in only his third time walking 10k as an under 20, he was only two seconds off his 10k personal best.

In Dublin, he was back to his usual distance of 5k. This time walking as an under 18, he went under the 24 minute

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barrier for the first time with a new personal best of 23 minutes 39 seconds, giving him a sought after qualifying time for the UK Championships.

With an intense training schedule of six to ten training sessions a week, Guy has shown great dedication and extreme hard work fitting this in around his GCSE revision: a typical week leading up to a competition will involve distances of between 25 to 30k a week.

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French Netball Tour Our U16 girls joined more than 50 netball teams at the International Netball Festival during the Easter break. The tour involved a mixture of tournaments, training and Disneyland thrills. Having won two out of their four matches on the first day, the girls impressively qualified for the Cup Competition. Despite fighting hard, on finals day the girls lost their match against Ribble Valley to finish a commendable fifth place.

Playing against some of the country’s best netball clubs, they were delighted to be awarded Best School Team.

U15 player, Lucy Rumgay and U14 pupil, Emily Chaney, gave excellent performances on court against older opposition. Lydia Davies displayed her usual exceptional shooting skills and was a brilliant leader of the team.

In between tournaments the girls were put through their paces by England Netball coaches. Anna Baker and Emma Baxter excelled in the agility tasks. Betsy Nally aced a target competition, beating over 160 players.

Kent Netball Academy Fynley Young, Second Form, has been selected for the U14 Kent Netball Academy. This is a wonderful achievement as Fynley is an U13 player. The Academy is part of the England Netball Excel Pathway, which aims to develop athletes

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with the right attributes to attain excellence. It also provides an opportunity for players to be seen by the Regional Talent Coach and access the regional and national screening programme.

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Bugsy Malone

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Compiled and edited by Helen Knott, Development Manager

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