The Suttonian 1991

The Suttonian 1991

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The Suttonian 1991

The Suttonian 1991

Number 2

Volume 35

The magazine of

Sutton Valence School

in this issue: may we encourage all budding artists to contribute to the next?

I have been shifting uneasily between the first person singular and plural personal pronouns deliberately since the production of the magazine has been the joint effort of myself and a redoubtable Sixth Form team. To its members has fallen much of the tedious 'spade work involved in nagging reports from unwilling contributors and performing the first stages of verbal surgery. To them I offer heartfelt thanks: here they are with the sections of the Suttonian for which they have been especially responsible: CCF/D of E. files Evans Ben Ofori Sport Trips Catherine Pillinger Reviews Dharshi Tambiah Houses/Societies Oliver Whawell Berk Ofori deserves special mention for the assiduity • with which he has set about supplyingus with photographs, in conjunction with Tom Hodson: and the P overall appearance of the magazine reflects the professional expertise of Dennis Shearman whose dory Publications has handled the production and p g fo i s. ~ meree s a moral to all this it must be never to say never.

Martin Bruce

EDITORIAL

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When I left Reigate Grammar School two years ago I vowed that never again would I edit a school magazine.

My reasons were, and I think still are, sound ones. First, putting together a magazine entails a lot of extra work at a tunewhen, as has widely been publicised, the burdens on teaching staff are increasing term by term. More importantly, a school magazine has to fulfil many often • mutually incompatible roles: it has to be a chronicle yet be readable; it may be used as an alternative prospectus but must appeal to a pupil readership; and over much of the material the editors have no power of exclusion. Itis further the case that the number of reports free from error handed to editors is very small, and many contributions require extensive re-writing to make them-intelligible.

Against these factors may be set the satisfaction of creating from piles of paper and assorted photographs the finished article with (admittedly) its faults but (we hope) some virtues. Our policy has been to aim the •Suttonian primarily at those who are at present pupils of the School, although we trust that it may be,read with interest, by those who have left, by parents and by anyone else who might pick it up. To this end we have done all in our power to encourage pupils to contribute material for the magazine and have, I think, been partially successful. A regret-is the dearth of drawings

1

The Suttonian 1991

Headmaster's Speech Speech Day: 25 May 1991 Chairman, Sir Steuart, Ladies and Gentlemen, members of the School: When, a number of years ago, the Alternative Service Book was introduced into the Anglican Communion, a vicar of my acquaintance at once expressed his horror at the paucity and mediocrity of the new language used in it and vowed to all that he would never, under any circumstances, desert the old much loved forms of the Book of Common Prayer. Eventually and inevitably, however, under pressure from his Bishop and from an enthusiastic, progressive group within his congregation, he gave in. Determined to do things properly and a stickler for discipline, he proceeded to drill his congregation for weeks in the new responses in special post-Eucharist sessions and eventually the day arrived when the first proper Eucharist was to be celebrated using the new form.

The Sunday in question was also marked by another innovation as the Church, a large old rambling building, had just been fitted with a new loudspeaker system about which the vicar had also expressed serious reservations. As the service began he moved behind the nave altar, fiddled with the microphone, concluded wrongly that it was not working and grumbled furiously to himself: "Damn and blast: there's always something wrong with these stupid things" - to which the congregation dutifully responded "And also with you'.

Ladies and Gentlemen, that little story hides within its folds many analogies with the current educational scene. The vicar, depending on your standpoint, is either a backwoodsman wedded to an archaic, incomprehensible form of worship, bullying and mindless in his reluctant adoption of the new and terrified of modern technology, or he is a champion, albeit in retreat, of the known, the tried and trusted, the literary and spiritual gold standard: a man who knows that it is impossible to worship properly to the accompaniment of a tinny disembodied voice coming from a black box strapped to a Gothic pillar: a man of integrity who knows the shame of compromise but senses that there is little that he can do about it.

The great and apparently never-ending English Education Debate seems to me and to many to divide in much the same way. One senses that Prince Charles would have sympathised with our vicar and that Sir Claus Moser would not! One

knows that, for every champion of GCSE and the curricular innovations of the National Curriculum as liberating and relevant, there is another who believes that a Lowest Common Denominator is being sought as shallowness and bureaucratic number crunching prevail. One knows that, despite an apparent uniformity of support for broadening of the 16-19 year old provision, there remains a great unbridgeable divide over the respective merits of the 'A' level gold standard and more vocational training. One knows that, for everyone who cheers the blurring of the distinction between Polytechnics and Universities, another will bemoan the move as evidence of standards in decline.

We also all know that these are just some of the highest mountains in a great range and that no one seems to be able to see, in a national context, a satisfactory resolution to the sort of perceptual schizophrenia about education which seems to have its roots deep in our national psyche.

What I can assert with confidence but with no relish is that a nation which increasingly seems to find the concept of excellence, in whatever form it takes, an embarrassing one - which puts an increasing premium upon education as training at the expense of the education of the intellect which is liberated to roam whither it will - and which, in its preoccupation with curricular prescription, marginalises drama, music, art, sport and the whole range of extra-curricular activities whose value in the moulding of the balanced, civilised human being is immeasurably important - will have failed by throwing a very healthy baby out with the bath water - however much in need of renewal that is deemed to be.

That much stands in need of reform in the national provision, no one can doubt but it does seem to me worthy of note that, at a time when almost everything to be found in the educational provision of Japan, France, Germany or the USA seems to be met with an almost totally uncritical approval, large numbers of parents from those countries send their children to the best of our independent schools - and not just to learn English! - and express themselves highly delighted with what we provide. In the midst of all the ideological smoke of the battle, the standards we achieve, the expectations we have, our regard for both breadth and depth and our holistic approach to the development of our charges, are some of our great national educational glories. The

The Suttonian 1991

between, our Music Department has been marvellously active in so many ways. The Chapel Choir has been voted the 'Most Improved' by the MMMA and when they sang a week ago last Sunday in St Martin-in-the-Fields, they were reckoned to be one of the best choirs heard there in the past year. Our talented band of soloists, Chamber Choir singers, orchestral players, Jazz and Pop musicians have given endless pleasure to many. Over two-thirds of the school now learn a musical instrument, there is a Music Tour of Europe planned for 1992 and an American Tour for 1994 is at the early planning stages. We are also working closely with a wide range of local Primary and Prep Schools to promote good music making in the area and we all owe the Director of Music, his hard-working staff and very hard-working pupils a great debt for all the pleasure they give us.

Independent Sector has much about which to feel confident, of which to be extremely proud.

Confidence and pride can, I am only too well aware, breed complacency. We are, I hope, never guilty of that here as the record of the last year will, I trust, prove.

We began in September with two major changes in an otherwise familiar scene. Cornwallis House emerged from its chrysalis of scaffolding and builders' dust as two superbly modernised girls' day Houses, one Junior and one Senior, a Food Technology unit and a dance/drama studio.

Our next major project, scheduled for completion in 1992, will be a major upgrading of the three boys' day Houses in the Lambe's building and the conversion of the Old Dining Room in Founder's into a new, large and hi-tech Library and resource centre.

In Drama too a very successful Contemporary Arts Week in January had as it highlight an adventurous production by a professional producer, Luke Dixon, of three of the Mystery Plays.

Before that, in December of last year, Mr Martin Bruce produced a musical Arcana for which he had written the music. This was indeed a show of mystery and magic with haunting songs and excellent solo and ensemble work. In the Lent Term the Chaplain decided that one play was an insufficient burden so produced two - The Spider Queen for the Juniors and Antigone for the Seniors.

Again, these were productions of the highest quality which, especially when one considers that the Juniors are only eleven and twelve, made me tingle with excitement at what can be achieved with school children when excellence is demanded of them.

The other major change in September was to a flexible exeat system for boarders. For some time we had been increasingly conscious that, for many parents, a weekly boarding option was an increasingly attractive one. I confess to having had some worries about the change but these have been very fully laid to rest as the system has proved itself to be an unqualified success. On any one weekend at least 50% of the boarding community is now always in school so the days when fixed exeats left a dispirited rump abandoned in school are over and the genuine partnership between parents, pupil and school has been strongly reinforced. Certainly, for many parents of day children whose daily travel, coming as it does on top of a very full six-day week, produces an added pressure, our new boarding provision, now that it has proved itself, could be an attractive option.

In sport, despite the challenge of the diminishing number of boys available for selection, the boys have held their heads up high in all the major sports and the girls' reputation as serious contenders in Kent sport is growing. Both boys and girls toured Hockey teams to Holland and Germany in the Easter holidays and the U- 14 girls won their German Tournament. Mr John Posnette organises these overseas tours for our Hockey with tireless enthusiasm and great efficiency and already, I know, has his eyes and ambitions fixed upon India for the future. I thank him, as I do all those many staff who are so committed to school sport, for all they do so willingly and so well. I would also like to single out two of our young men who have represented England - William Waters in hockey and Jonathan Holroyd in cross country.

Traditional excellence again which deserves our applause.

We were also pleased to be able to record our best results ever at either '0' or GCSE level with an 85% A-C grade pass with over 40% of these at grade A. Our 80%+ pass rate at 'A' level and 80% entry rate to University or Polytechnic was also gratifyingly high. An interesting footnote to those 'A' level results is that, for the girls alone, the pass rate was 94% and there is no objective evidence to suggest that our girl intake is significantly more intelligent than that of the boys'. There is a message there which should escape no one!

As important, however, as a measure of the year's success and proof of my earlier claim about the great strengths of the sheer range of what we do, have been the great things which have been achieved in music, in drama and in sport. Many of you will remember the wonderful Mozart Requiem in June last year. This year will end with the Faure Requiem on Saturday June 22: don't miss it! In 3

The Suttonian 1991

I have given you no more than a taste of the past year in what I have so far said. I have made no mention of the CCF, our Chapel life, our debating, our charitable work and Community Service and so much else. Unlike our educational masters, however, I will not attempt to fill the pint with a quart of detail but I will stay with the theme of excellence which I find epitomised in the life and commitment of a number of old friends to whom we must say au revoir today and of new friends whom we welcome in our midst.

Mr Tim Hatton who is very possibly known to most of you only as the man who used to ask you to part with your money and press you, in a firm but gentlemanly way if you failed to do so, has retired after sixteen years as Clerk and Receiver. He gave Sutton Valence wonderful service over the years as a skilled and inventive deus ex machina. He was a loyal ally of the school, an understanding adviser to many staff and parents and I owe him a great personal debt of gratitude for his support over the past eleven years. Unfortunately he cannot be with us today but if we applaud loudly enough, he might just hear us in Dorking.

I am delighted to welcome Mr Frank Morgan, his successor, here today. Mr Morgan joins the Foundation after a distinguished career as a The Headmaster and the Head Boy

Headmaster in both the Independent and Maintained Sectors and in educational administration. He is uniquely well-qualified and has, in a remarkably short space of time, earned our respect and affection. Welcome!

We also say farewell to Mr Peter Coles as Chairman of the United Westminster Schools' Foundation, a position he has occupied for the past twenty years with true distinction. He is a man who is, even in his eightieth year, possessed of a tireless energy; he is one of the most talented managers of a committee I have ever encountered with an incisive mind and quick grasp of complex issues and he has been a wonderful and impartial friend of all three schools in the Foundation. I say 'impartial' because I am sure that that is one of his many great qualities but his support for Sutton Valence School in its pursuit of its goals has always been a great comfort to our Board and to me. We shall miss him as a great beacon of good sense and as a real friend of the school.

After twenty-one years on the Governing Body, fifteen of which have been as Chairman of Governors, Mr Peter Grafton has also decided to retire. Peter Grafton's long term of office has also been a most distinguished one - as an Old Boy, his loyalty to and knowledge of the school has been sans pareil; he has shown a sharp but sensitive awareness of the complex business of managing the close community we are; he has shown me an unswerving but never blind loyalty and - possibly his most valuable and attractive feature - he has never lost a certain sense of adventure - a willingness to stick his neck out to get important things done, sometimes against steep odds.

The past fifteen years here have seen a remarkable building programme for a school of our size - totalling in cost nearly ÂŁ2.5 million - and, while it is traditionally tempting for Heads to hijack most of the credit for this sort of thing, I wish to acknowledge the major role Peter has played with his fine Merchant Venturer spirit. He will, I know, continue to take the keenest interest in our affairs but from a deservedly more relaxed position on the touchline. I salute him as a fine example of a man whose commitment to progress and change has always been in fine balance with his respect for and championship of traditional high standards.

A third Peter has also decided to retire: Mr Peter Morrish, another OS, has served for fifteen years on the Governing Body, much of that time as Vice-Chairman, and I thank him for his hard work throughout that time.

The Suttonian 1991 staunch support in times of excessive pressure or worry and, above all, a great and good friend. She has also been all of those things to many members of staff over the years and has given the school seventeen years of impeccably efficient, totally loyal and immensely hard-working service. All of us who work here in whatever capacity owe her a great debt of gratitude.

A triumvirate of Peters upon whose collective rock the school has rested secure for so many years. I salute them.

Not many of you will yet know our new Chairman, Mr Felix Barber. He had the minor misfortune in his earlier life of not being sent to Sutton Valence but he did have the good sense to send his son here so he knew the school as a parent extremely well before becoming a Governor five years ago just as he left the Navy to join KPMG Peat Marwick McLintock as Personnel Director. He is, I know, eager to be very active and involved in the life of the school and I welcome him on all our behalfs to the first of many sessions in the hot seat!

Mr Keith Smith has also decided that the time has come, after twenty-three years as Head of Biology, to pack up his microscope and retire. His career here has been a most distinguished one in every way. He has an enormous talent as a teacher and an unflagging enthusiasm for the whole business of communicating with youngsters and an enormous talent also as a guide and mentor as shown in his roles of Housemaster and Careers Adviser. He has played a major part in his time on the cricket field, in the CCF and in our Chapel worship and is, without doubt, one of the most respected and popular teachers I have encountered in my professional career.

Fortunately he is to return next term to continue to play apart in our Careers Department for which we are very grateful, but we shall all miss his full-time presence and fine example. We wish him and his wife Gill a peaceful and happy retirement.

New faces to meet the new challenges of the 1990s. Sadly, as you all know, we also lost a much loved and respected face from the Common Room in the Lent Term with the untimely and tragic death of Mr Brian Day who had been Head of Modern Languages for twenty years and Housemaster of Holdgate for the past thirteen. Brian was a superb all-round schoolmaster of what one is nowadays tempted to describe as 'the old school'. A tireless and successful Head of Department and the most caring and conscientious Housemaster who, in a complete partnership with his wife Linda, helped generations of young and often insecure boys to establish the self-confidence and sound habits which, under the Days, came to characterise a Holdgate Boy throughout his whole time in school.

For the immense contribution which Mrs Day made during her years as Matron all those young men will, I know, be as grateful as I am and I thank her most warmly today.

Other staff who also leave us at the end of this term are Miss Sally Musker, the Art Technician and Miss Karen Osborne, our Artist in Residence, and I would also like to thank most warmly Miss Cynthia Gee who stood in so willingly and ably in January while Mr McCormick recovered from his horrific accident. She has been a tower of strength and we are very grateful to her. We are also delighted that Mr McCormick is at long last restored to our midst.

To say that Brian Day was a Head of Department and a Housemaster is however only to begin his j ob description - though he would have spurned the very concept of a job description, His contribution to hockey, bridge, junior cricket and to the Common Room as Secretary and to our Chapel life was likewise enormous.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am only too conscious that the list of tributes this afternoon has been a long one. In each case, however, we have been saying farewell to an individual whose worth as a caring human being and as a scrupulous and dedicated professional has been an example to us all. Each has made work a vocation, has always put duty to others who depend upon them before self, has never let him or herself grow stale as the world changes, nor allowed belief in excellence to be compromised by that which is fashionable or expedient.

You can, I am sure, imagine how profoundly affected the whole of our close community was by his death and Jam sure that you would wish to mark his passing by standing for a moment of silence.

Two other key members of the school community retire at the end of this term.

Mrs Helen Pollock has been my secretary for the last eleven years and was my predecessor's for six years before that. She will be known to many of you parents only as a disembodied voice on the end of the telephone. To me she has been a combination of guardian angel, moral conscience when I have been guilty of neglect or impetuosity,

My poor old vicar, to whom I introduced you some fifteen minutes ago, was an imperfect role model wherever your sympathies tend to lie.

Those we have saluted today will however serve us well as examples of the sort of all-round excellence towards which we should all aspire.

Michael R. Haywood 5

The Suttonian 1991

0

Prizes Form Prizes Form I A. T. B. Mansfield Junior Current Affairs Prize Distinction Prize

0 R. J. Byrnes C. L. Critchley, K. E. Evans

Form II I I E. Browne (and 2 Distinction Prizes) 0. C. Piper (and 2 Distinction Prizes) H. E. Browne Junior Reading Prize O. C. Piper Lower School Music Prize Distinction istinction Prize A. J. Agar, J. Jones, A. K. Brannan, R. K. Lillywhite, M. A. Critchley, A. P. Lunn, P. M. M. Day, F. J. Lynes (2), C. N. Dearing, J. R. Marchant, M. J. Gear, A. J. Maple, T. R. Horton, T. E. Wild

Form III K. J. Harrison (and Distinction Prize) K. L. Woods (and Distinction Prize) Intermediate Reading Prize K. L. Woods Junior Religious Studies Prize E. J. Harrison Junior Chapel Reading Prize J. 0. Adam Distinction Prize C. S. Day, R. D. Miller, A. S. Duffell, G. L. Pares, J. W. Evans, M. J. Sands, D. T. S. Hayman, R. P. Sankey, R. Head, S. F'. Stileman, L. Imberg, P. Worsfold

Form IV Y. T. A. Lau W. Y. W. Tse (and Distinction Prize) James Poole Prize (English) W. J. Slater Middle School Music Prize (and Distinction Prize) D. P. Penfold Distinction Prize G. C. Anderson, C. S. Hicks, R. Bourne, S.J. Miller, S. D. Ellis, K. A. Moon, A. Flisher, J. P. Roberts, R. Gear, A. Sabine, 'I'. Hannaway, S. C. West

Form V I. J. W. Collins (and Distinction Prize) Hannah (and 2 Distinction Prizes) Daler-Rowney Prize for GCSE Work J. Howells Distinction Prize A. Abudu, M. Imberg, L. A. L. Burbridge, F. L. MacDonald, W. T. B. Cho, V. E. Moon, J. W. R. Drury, P. D. Morris, K. Feger, C. P. G. Scott, C. J. A. Harris, S. Walsh, O. G. Haywood K. A.

Lower Sixth Prizes MacDonald Prize (Current Affairs) German Chemistry Geography D. and T Home Economics History (and Distinction Prize) Religious Studies A. and D. Maths (and Distinction Prize)

A. W. Hubble B. C. M. Collins C. M. Pillinger K. M. James T. D. W. Hodson I. G Jones, N. P. A. de Lucy M. C. Milsted M. C. Milsted M. K. Yue M. K. Yue

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G' French C. J. Palmer Daler-Rowney Prize for 'A' Level Work C. J. Palmer Physics (and Distinction Prize) A. P. Hudd Biology B.D. Ofori Music (and Distinction Prize) O. E. Whawell Music (and 2 Distinction Prizes D. Tambiah English D. Tambiah O.S.A. Prize D. Tambiah, B. Ofori, C. Palmer, I J. Rolhnson (and Distinction Prize), A. Hudd Distinction Prize C P Berry, J.P.R.Evans, A. J. Hepner, J. R. Slaughter

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Sixth Form Prizes Distinction Prize S. J. K. Gregory, F. D. M. Hatega, J. L. Morris, J. E. Taylor Kingdon Prize (Classics) A. C. Cresswell Bossom Prize (Chapel Reading) D. P. Campbell Angell Prize (Maths) C. L. N. Sum Home Economics S. D. Tom Shell Prize (Practical Science) C. P. Janssen Geography Prize G. J. P. Eckley Ward Prize (Religious Studies) E. A. Scott Biology Prize (and Distinction Prize) E. A. Scott Derrick Prize (English Verse Speaking) R. Stene Garside Prize (History) R. Stene Richard Horn Prize (outstanding all round contribution to School Music and Drama) K.A. Hannah, R. Stene, O. E. Whawell Geography Project Prize (and 2 Distinction Prizes) C. A. Evans Music Prize C. A. Evans, E. C. New Bloxham Prize (English) E. C. New Economics Prize E. C. New Wheeler Prize (French) E. C. New Kitchener Prize (Maths) (and 3 Distinction Prizes) P. Wong Wood Prize (Physics) P. Wong P. Wong Winstanley Prize (Chemistry) Edward Craven Memorial Prize (and Distinction Prize) S.J. Dyke Clothworkers Prize C. A. Evans, J. L. Cobbold, B. Lawton Ricketts Prize S. D. Tom, P.Wong Headmaster's Prize J. L. A. Scott

The Suttonian 1991

Chairman of Governors Peter W Grafton Esq CBE PPRICS FCIArb most pupils, parents and Old Boys and Girls the ForChairman of the Governing Body of any school is usually a somewhat insubstantial shadowy figure whose reputation rests almost solely on his annual public appearance at Speech Day and the brevity and wit, or otherwise, which he is able to deploy in introducing the Guest Speaker.

In reality, of course, the Chairman's role is central to the success of any school. He is a very busy man who must share with the Headmaster and his fellow Governors every aspect of the school's varied life, who must fight tenaciously to achieve often challenging goals and who must, above all, act as the Head's confessor and confidante because no one else can!

At the beginning of this term Peter Grafton decided that, after twenty-one years on the Governing Body of which fifteen years had been spent as Chairman, the time had come for him to step down. During those long years Peter exhibited the finest possible qualities as a Chairman. As a very committed Old Boy, he has an intense loyalty to his old school, a profound knowledge of everything that makes it tick, and a sharp and sympathetic grasp of all the facets of what is a very complicated organism. He also had many good friends among the staff over the years, some of whom he could actually beat at golf!

As important as his intimate knowledge of the school was his ability as an indefatigable fighter for our interests in the forum of the United Westminster Schools Foundation and his endless - and always in the event justified - sense of optimism. For Peter a major building project and the raising of monies was always an exciting challenge to be met with vigour and determination. In my ten years as Head he played a major part in a building programme which has cost over two million pounds. It was in tribute to his contribution to this considerable achievement that the Governors decided to name the new Science, Computer and Electronics block in his honour.

Lest you think me too adulatory of our past Chairman, it has to be admitted that his period in office was coloured for many by some interesting foibles. He is a terrifyingly fast driver and there was always in my mind the fear that he would turn up at a Governors Meeting in either a hearse or a Black Maria. Fortunately his way with both cars and the police is as sure as it always was in his dealings with the school! He has an infuriating way of spotting even the most marginal grammatical infelicity in both the spoken and the written word and, most irritating of all, I have never been able to catch him out! He has always belonged to a political party which has the word 'Democrat' incorporated into its name - whatever the full title happens to be at any point in time - and the exercise of the democratic principle has often led to late lunches after meetings. He also has a blind spot over architects with Italian names

and a penchant for Gothic rococo. This we have successfully neutralised over the years.

These are however engaging venial weaknesses which do nothing to detract from the fine record of a Chairman who, as an honest Christian gentleman and devoted supporter of the school, has served us with distinction and whose wise counsel we shall miss.

Commander Felix Barber RN (ret'd) Into Peter Grafton's shoes has stepped Commander Felix Barber RN (ret'd). He knows the school well, both as a parent and as a very active Governor over the past five years.

In civilian life Commander Barber is Head of Personnel with KPMG Management Consultancy which is part of KPMG Peat Marwick McLintock. We welcome him to the hot seat and look forward to serving with him in what will no doubt continue to be exciting educational times.

MRH

The Suttonian 1991

Chapel Notes

Director/Clerk and Receiver The United Westminster Schools Tim Hatton Esq OBE Tim Hatton has retired after over sixteen years of superb service to the Foundation. A career which had spanned service with the Gurkhas and British Intelligence had clearly developed those innate qualities of intelligent discretion, superb efficiency and clear and adventurous thinking which were to characterise his work as the senior servant of the Foundation and its member school.

To work with Tim was always an immensely satisfying experience. He brought clarity and light to areas where the clouds of uncertainty swirled; he made possible that which seemed beyond all possibility and he did it all with such a lightness of touch that, just occasionally, one actually felt that one had alone cracked the problem!

Tim was a superb friend of the school with an intimate knowledge of the buildings and the staff. His educational expertise was formidable and his wise counsel to Heads, Governors and Foundation Board alike will long be remembered. We thank him for his immense contribution to Sutton Valence over the years and wish him health and happiness in his retirement.

Frank Morgan Esq BSc MEd PGCE Our new Foundation Director/Clerk and Receiver is Frank Morgan whose career has included teaching Physics at Stonyhurst, lecturing at Homerton College, Cambridge, in The Sacred Heart independent school for girls in Tunbridge Wells and in St Mary's Catholic Comprehensive School, Hertfordshire and as Director of Education, the Roman Catholic diocese of Brentwood.

He continues to keep his hand directly on the educational helm as a Governor of Stonyhurst and has already shown himself highly efficient at mastering the intricacies of the school and Foundation.

We welcome him and look forward to a long, fruitful and happy working relationship.

MRH

You may have noticed, if only from watching the news on a television, that there is a substantial number of very noisy people in the churches. In the last twenty-five years, in which I have been a priest, I have met many of them. One was on the steps of Sutton Valence School Chapel. Coming out from the Eucharist a very loud Protestant lady shouted at me that she did not know what the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches were trying to do. I think that she had not enjoyed the service. She might have included the Orthodox had she known of their existence. For I think that these three churches are trying to do something very simple in church though all three are doing it in slightly different ways. We are, quite simply obeying the command of Jesus to 'Do this' in His remembrance.

The heavenly repast is laid before us and we hear Christ's own words inviting us: 'Take! Eat! This is My Body... Drink!... This is My Blood".

It seems clear to us that the Christians in the New Testament church used to meet on the first day of the week for the "breaking of bread", or to celebrate the Eucharist. This day was called the Lord's Day, because it was the day of Christ's resurrection. It is remarkable or noteworthy that the same thing is done two thousand years later in School Chapel.

"The divine liturgy is truly a heavenly service on earth", wrote John of Kronstadt, a priest who lived at the beginning of this century and himself celebrated the Eucharist every day. What he wrote remains true: we bring young people into contact with an eternal dimension through just 'doing' this. The Apostolic fathers called Holy Communion 'the medicine of immortality'. We find it 'healing' for mind and spirit.

It is also done to make us better people by bringing us into direct contact with Jesus Christ.

There are many things which might be done in Chapel. It is thought by some wise people that it is desirable to enliven worship with all kinds of experimental words and music. I find it difficult to accept this. I believe that we have often substituted 'culture' absolutely any 'culture' for Christ. The bread and wine are somewhat more eloquent than any entertaining music or apparently relevant words.

What we are doing is attempting to make, train and sustain Christians who find wholeness in the broken bread and outpoured wine. When I visit the monks in Egypt's desert, or the churches in Russia on last year's school trip, I find them doing exactly the same. It helps me to think that I am not entirely mistaken. After seventy years of State atheism, Russian churches are packed with young people 'Doing' the thing Christ asked for, and, in Egypt, where it is not easy to be a Christian, the Copts have enormous numbers at every Mass.

It has been my experience that young people respond to this approach. We have very large numbers of confirmation candidates and we have good numbers receiving Holy Communion.

The Chapel is always in the debt of those who come to speak to us in the homily after the Gospel. In the last academic year, Brother John Francis, the vocations

The Suttonian 1991 Director of the Anglican Franciscans, and an old friend, Father Peter Geldard, made a strong impression upon the congregation. It is true that Brother John Francis shed his habit and ended up in denims and T-shirt to make his point in an acted sermon! And Fr. Peter is, quite simply, one of the best preachers in the Diocese if not the country. The Bishop of Maidstone and the Archdeacon are welcome and regular visitors, not just for Confirmation but to celebrate the Eucharist and to speak. We have maintained our link with the Salvation Army and Major Kingsley Layton has been to preach to us. The new incumbent of the Three Sutton, the Revd.

David Barker came to celebrate and preach. A layreader from the West Country, John Davey, surprised some pupils when he told us that he had taught Dr. Sabine. He looked too young! We are all grateful to all these visitors.

Young people do respond to Christ and to His Church. I am afraid that they have to find out too much for themselves. They are not generally set any kind of example. It is for each Christian reader to consider this for himself. It seems to me that this School does what it can to encourage young people in the Christian Way. The young are often responding only to their own best instincts which too many parents seek to quench. St. Gregory of Sinai summarised a great deal of what I would like to have said, to myself, to the pupils of this school and, of course, to you, the reader: Become what you already are, Find Him who is already yours, Listen to Him who never ceases speaking to you, Own Him who already owns you.

FatherJohn Red Nose Day: "Let your light so shine before me, that they may see your good works ....... "

Confirmation Administered in the Chapel of St. Peter Sutton Valence School

by The Rt. Revd. David Smith AKC The Bishop of Maidstone On Sunday 5th May Anno Salutis 1991 The following are to be Confirmed by the laying on of hands and anointing with oil of chrism; and to receive their first Holy Communion: John O. Adam James H. Hunt Alexander J. Agar Katharine M. James Clare P. Berry Edward Kentish-Barnes Natalie V. Boult Mark O. Lewis Stephen E. Buckler Rebecca K. Lillywhite Alexander T.B. Mansfield Andrew A.W. Buckman Lisa]. Merrifield Victoria C.L. Burbridge Caroline L. Critchley Paul Merrifield Mark A. Critchley Jonathan J. Milsted Philip M.M. Day James A. Nimmo Caroline N. Dearing Olivia C. Piper Madeleine P. Gear Paul E. Rubie Benjamin J. Harper Amelia C. Shaw Katie J. Harper Rebecca Stene R. Ben Hodgson Ross A. Worthington and Piers J. Yea Visiting Clergy: The Revd. David R. Barker MA BD (Vicar of Sutton Valence) The Revd. Haley Dossor BA (St. Edmundsbury & Ipswich) The Revd. Clive W. Lee MA (Chichester) Epistoler: The Headmaster, Michael R. Haywood MA Gospeller: The Revd. Haley Dossor BA

The Suttonian 1991

Salvete Autumn 1990 Lower 6 Charlotte Basham Clare P. Berry Anneli Christian-Phillips N. A. H. Cruse Form 5 Karin Feger Form 4 Sophie J. Barber Helen L. Brooks Emi Kasagi Form 3 J. 0. Adam D. F. R. Anthony J A. Benson Natalie V. Boult S E. Buckler I. K. Dickins Rebecca J. Gadsden J. J. Goodman

Katie J. Harper Elizabeth J. Harrison Form 2 G. T. Clifford P. Kutschmann Form 1 Joanna H. Baillie S H. Chung M. E. Cleghorn Caroline L. Critchley Victoria A. Day Catriona G. K. Drewer F. W. D. Debney Katharine E. Evans Katherine T. Evans J. A. Ferris P. D. Friend B. F. Harper

S S V W

Kate J. Fitzgerald Katharine M. James Elizabeth A. Johnston Nicola S. Knothe

S S S S

Tatjana Maikowski Catherine M. Pillinger C. M. Sheldon K. Shiraishi

S V F W

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Katrin G. Sprenger

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S S S

S. Z. Y. Lui Marie E. Picard M. Sarde

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M F W V M M S M S V

G. Hemingway P. J. Jenner H. Y. A. Lee Y. C. K. Lee C. N. Leggatt M. 0. Lewis G. Lloyd-Bennett D. J. Morel D. Z. Perry

L W M W L W W W W

A. J. Roberts M. T. Rylands Amelia C. Shaw J. J. Spencer Clare R. Taylor T. R. Thomson R. M. Usmar Philippa L. Worsfold P. J. Yea

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M. Picard Jessica Stenborg

B S

B. J. Woodcock

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C H H C C C B C C B B H

B. R. Jones Christina E. Judd E. Kentish-Barnes D. A. Keys Philippa E. Le Grys D. C. Loft Amy M. Lovegrove A. T. B. Mansfield Ellen V. Midwood R. S. Murphy J. A. Nimmo J. J. H. Parkinson

B C H H C H C B C B H B

Aekta Patel M. D. Sabine C. M. Saunders C. Shahrad Katy L. Slaughter Michelle L. Titcombe B. Unongo Belinda J. Upton Fiona A. Wight D. J. Willdridge Emma K. Wills A. B. Wingham

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The Suttonian 1991

Valete December 1990 Helen Brooks, 1990 S; Orchestra (Goes to school in Australia).

C. J. Brown, 1989 B & L (Goes to school in Kent).

C. W. Carey, 1986 C & W; GCSE; Senior Swimming Team; CCF. (Goes into business) Lok Chan, 1989 S; Junior Play. (Goes to school) Abigail Cooke, 1986 Si GCSE; Senior Play, Junior Play. (Goes to college) Eleanore Cooke, 1989 S; Junior Play, Choir. (Goes to school).

G. A. Hills, 1985 B & F; GCSE; Distinction Prizes; Under 14 Rugger XV; Under 16 Fives IV; L/Cpl CCF; Senior Play.

(Goes to Methodist College, Belfast), B. G. McLean, 1985 B, L & M; GCSE; 1st XV Rugger; 4th XJ Hockey; CCF; The Gondoliers, Choir. (Goes into business).

M. O. Nilsson, 1986 B & L; GCSE; Intermediate Cross-Country team. (Goes to college).

G. J. White, 1989 V; Under 15 Cricket. (Goes to school in Essex).

J. H. K. Weedon, 1985 M; GCSE; House Prefect; 1st XV Rugger, Half Colours; Under 14 Xl Hockey; Senior Athletics Team, Half Colours; Under 15 Basketball; Under 14 Cricket; Cross-Country Intermediate team; Golf team; CCF Sgt.; Senior Play, Junior Play, Hunting Society. (Goes to college).

R. J. D. Willetts, 1986 W; CGSE; House Prefect; 2nd XV Rugger; 1st XI Crlcket; CCF Sgt. (Goes to college).

Lent Term D.A. Cole, 1985 H & M: GCSE; 3rd XV Rugger; 2nd XI Hockey; 2nd XI Cricket; Golf team; Senior Play. Choir.

(Goes to College to play Golf).

N. Corney, 1986 H & M: GCSE; 1st XV. Full Colours; 1st XI Hockey; 1st V Squash. (Goes into business).

N.A.H. Cruse, 1990 M; 3rd XV Rugger; Senior Cross-Country. (Goes to gymnasium in Germany).

Nicola Knothe, 1990 S; Senior Play. (Goes to gymnasium in Germany).

Tatjana Maikowski, 1990 S; Senior Play. Choir. (Goes to university in Germany).

R. Rujinarong, 1988 M; 2nd XV Rugger; 1st XI Hockey. (Goes to college). '"" "'

J.J. Spencer, 1990 W. (Goes to another school).

11

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The Suttonian 1991

New Staff

DAC I am David Crichton, the new history master, and I shall introduce myself by describing some formative influences. The strongest was based neither on my experiences at university nor on those in industry but rather on my own boarding-school days. I was not your ideal public-school product: I was never a prefect, never in a sports' team, never won any trophies or prizes and was always in the bottom form. I used to console myself with the fact that many other great men of history, like Winston Churchill, had had a poor school record. I later learned that in building your own confidence and identity you do not have to judge yourself solely by conventional criteria, that you do have the capacity for change and that you can strike your own individual path.

A major feature of these school days was the 'spirit' among the boarders. I recall one boy who had a radio transmitter and had his own programme every Sunday evening. The hot spot was the eight o'clock 'beating slot' when a boy had a microphone attached to his jacket and the noise of his punishment broadcast live throughout the school...

D.A.Cnchton

What can I write about myself beyond the obvious: that I am young. intelligent and handsome? But enough of that...

After leaving school I spent four years at York College. Here I studied the organ, drinking coffee and other things. Highlights included performing in York Minster and appearing in an 'Alternative Comedy' show (Worrying Symptoms) which had a four-week run on BBC Radio York.

I spent two happy years at Manchester improving my organ playing and drinking more coffee. Here I bumped into a distinguished Old Suttonian, Sir Charles Groves [little thinking that I would later have the great honour etc., etc.] and played the organ for a performance of Belshazaar's Feast under his baton.

Outside school I am a train fanatic: Westminster boys will have seen various loco models under construction. Other hobbies include Military History and Hill Walking.

P. Honey

12

The Suttonian 1991

D

GCL

A Portrait of the Artist as a Teacher

My first impressions of Sutton Valence School are most favourable as the school excels in many ways. In particular I find that we have a most professional and hard-working staff and that the Science Department, which teaches Biology, Chemistry and Physics, is first class.

It is said that "If it squeaks it's biology, if it smells it's chemistry and if it doesn't work - it's physics." Physics works very well here but the essence of the "matter" is that it is, of course, all in the chemistry. I enjoy the variety of teaching here, from the first to the sixth form, from the less able to the very bright. With the less-able there might be the need to explain the difference between pneumonia and ammonia; with the middle years whether or not atoms can be "happy" with a complete outer shell of electrons; and with the sixth forms the various "excited states" that can exist between "delocalisation" and "free radicals". Yes, teaching science here is indeed very interesting and challenging.

I am also very much enjoying working.with the pupils in the gamesfield situation, on the rugby pitch, on the hockey field, and on the tennis courts. Sutton Valence School is a happy school and I am happy to be working here.

Dr. G. C. Leitch

The popular belief that all artists are poor, scruffy and only achieve success after death is true.

Years of training are required to create this universal image, all money being spent on alcohol and cigarettes to produce the 'hard-up' look. Artists accept that they will only ever be paid peanuts as this entitles them to peddle a bike non-stop for years: they may also be mysterious, rarely-seen creatures, venturing out after dark when careful scrutiny of the face and clothes is more difficult.

As far as teaching methods are concerned, quick tempers and complete disorganisation are a must.

Pupils must never realise what they are doing until the last moment. This is called 'Inspiration'. Never ask an Artist to design a card for any occasion and expect to make money. This is because artists harbour out-of-date, idealistic philosophies concerning their work. They do not paint in order to make money or even for their work to be understood.

It is a questionable existence, but fun.

Karen Osborne.

13

The Suttonian 1991

) 4

And, farewell to

Keith Smith Mr. Smith joined Sutton Valence School in 1968 as Head of the Biology Department. His contribution to the better understanding his pupils have of the mysteries of the subject has been great and is often effected by his imaginative illustrations of topics. No-one who has witnessed it could ever forget his impression of the evolution of the plant ovary using only one hand. His tale of George the Tapeworm (who had been introduced at several dinner-parties by his host) has fixed the topic of parasites forever in my memory. In my exams the importance of the autonomic nervous system will not slip my mind thanks to Mr. Smith's account of his friend's inducement of epileptic fits by the continuous drinking of water for an hour. Biology with him could never be classed as dull.

It is not only as a Biology teacher that Mr. Smith has contributed to life at Sutton Valence School: he has also been a lay preacher (capturing the attention even of a Chapel audience - no mean feat) and assistant at communion. He was, moreover, housemaster of St. Margaret's for eight years which, it seems, he enjoyed.

This can only prove that he has the patience of a saint also in evidence under fire from the complaints that accompany a histology practical.

Mr. Smith has also been involved to a large extent in school sport. He ran 2nd XI cricket, 2nd XV rugby and air-rifle shooting, as well as coaching members of the 1st XI cricket. He has served in the C.C.F. since he arrived at Sutton Valence (including two years in command) ending his military career only in 1989.

He has been one of the careers masters for many years, being undeniably keen on this area of work and giving sound advice to all those unsure about their future career; he has been a great help to many pupils.

In fact, Mr. Smith has involved himself in just about every area of school life. His enthusiasm for his work is contagious - making even Biology interesting. He believes the school to be very good at giving everyone a chance to do his or her best and in its close community spirit. His contribution to the latter has been great, and I believe future pupils of the school are fortunate that while Mr. Smith will no longer be working full-time his shade will not have departed altogether from our precincts.

E.A. Scott UVI A fuller appreciation of KMS will appear in the next issue,

MJJ How difficult to describe oneself! Do I want to? The specimen on the slide looking the wrong way through the microscope.

Once called Monsieur Julliamsss by a French correspondent's mother. I have also been Jillions, Gillians, Jillianis, Julians and even Gilles.

The blue suit dusted with chalk, a sort of teacher's camouflage. An elusive character that would be even harder to corner were it not semi-anchored to the ground by several large bags on either side, a travel bag round the neck and a 'Sainsbury's' carrier stiff with exercise books between the teeth.

And yet this man has his dreams. To meet the pupil who can spell 'professeur' with only one 'f in fewer than six attempts. To be no more than 214 miles behind Jonathan Holroyd in a 3-mile cross country. (If only he did not mention that he was saving a little for his club training the same evening!) To go into the Common Room where The Times' Crossword team has failed to complete it in only four minutes to be greeted with the words..."Thank Heavens, here's Giles, the only chap capable of solving 94 across".

Will you see me? Will you recognise me? Will you find out who the real Jillings really is? A vous mes amis.

MJ Jillians

14

The Suttonian 1991 successive years; the University Bridge Club (he was its President); table tennis (an interest from earlier days in his youth, when he had actually taken part in a demonstration match at the Royal Albert Hall), and Secretary of the Liquor Bar (which, under his stewardship, made a profit for the first time ever!)

As part of his degree course, Brian spent a year teaching in St. Nazaire, and this fostered a permanent link with the St. Nazaire Society, of which he remained a member throughout his life. In due course (and in spite of all his other activities and interests) Brian graduated from Exeter with an honours degree, and began his teaching career. His early posts included three years at Christ College, Brecon, where in addition to teaching modern languages he was also a House Tutor; and then a further three years at Queen's College, Nassau, in the Bahamas, where he was Head of Modem Languages (and, in addition to French, Spanish and German within his Department, found himself also responsible for Classical Chinese. Happily, in that subject, he was required to deal only with the administration of the exams!)

After his return to this country, he taught for a year at Lanfranc High School, in Croydon, and then came to Sutton Valence in 1971 as Head of Modern Languages and House Tutor, first in Westminster and later in Cornwallis House.

His arrival here changed not only the course of his own life, but also that of Linda; at the time, she was working at the School, but intending soon to leave - but in 1972, on a day-trip to France, Brian and Linda met, and they were married in 1974. They lived first in Chelsea Cottage; but on the retirement of Phil Ball from the Housemastership of Holdgate, Brian was appointed Housemaster, and Linda House Matron.

Their marriage was blessed with their three children, Catherine, Philip and Suzanne; and the joy and quiet pride that Brian took in his family was evident to all.

That, then, is the frame into which we try to fit the picture of Brian's life; but how inadequate are words when we come to the portrait of the man! We think first of his many gifts and talents - to take just one, his highly

Obituary Brian Ronald Day A verse from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, Chapter 28 - the verse which provides the text for the Anthem which will be sung shortly Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee.

It is quite impossible to express with any degree of reality the deep sense of stunned shock and disbelief with which we heard the news of Brian's sudden and untimely death on February 2nd. Other than suffering from high blood pressure - which was regularly monitored and for which he took prescribed medication - Brian appeared to all who knew him to be a person in excellent health and at the height of his powers, and his death is therefore all the more difficult to accept.

Yet bewildered, saddened, and possibly even angry as we are now, we must try to look beyond our own immediate and natural reactions, our grief and our sorrow, and find within ourselves the power to reflect our gratitude and our love for all that Brian meant to so many people during what we may feel was his all too brief life on earth, remembering as we do so that it is the quality of our life that counts more, so much more, than the number of years we are given.

You may recall that a few years ago Professor Gordon Hamilton-Fairley, a dedicated childrens' surgeon, died equally suddenly, and at a comparatively early age, when he was murdered by an IRA bomb in London. On his memorial in St. Paul's Cathedral these words are engraved: It does not matter how a man dies; what matters is how a man lives.

It is an awareness of how Brian Day lived that brings so many here today, to pay our tribute to his memory and to thank God for his life; and what a great amount we have to thank God for!

Brian was born in Surrey in 1937, and was educated at Wallington County Grammar School. On leaving school, rather than going a „. straight to university, he opted to do his National Service first, and he joined the Army Pay Corps. He volunteered to go overseas and, as is the way with the Services, he was posted to - Kidderminster! But there was a 'plus' from his army career, in that he learned to type, always a useful skill. After that, he went on, with a County Major Scholarship and an Open Exhibition in French, to Exeter University, where he read French and Additional Theology. His range of interests whilst there was enormous; among them were hockey - he was Captain of the University 1st XI for two

4 ..

15

The Suttonian 1991 praised ability as an actor. Can anyone who saw it forget his portrayal of MOLE in that earlier production of Toad of Toad Hall? The reviewer, writing in The Suttonian at the time, said 'What made the production was that MOLE and the other three principals hit the target so precisely ...... Mole, with his pink nose and white teeth, self-deprecating and dazzled by the modest intellects of Toad, Rat and Badger ....... That was just one role, played with great skill and success, and there were others.

Then there was Brian the poet. Every edition of The Suttonian, including that which has just been published, reflects the fun that he had in writing entertaining appreciations, in the Chaucerian style, under his pen-name of 'Dikki', of colleagues moving on to new pastures.

There was his continuing involvement with the game of Bridge; indeed, even as he and I met and shook hands for the first time, he asked "Do you play Bridge?"

There was his delightful sense of humour, and his constant readiness to laugh at himself, and to demolish any hint of pomposity with a comical aside. Indeed, he loved life in all its aspects, and he loved people in all their variety; he was as a result always welcoming to visitors and callers, and his generosity as a host was magnificent (how shall I ever forget those mighty tumblers full of Calvados?).

After his love for his family, it was in his work as Head of Modem Languages, and, above all, in his position as Housemaster of Holdgate House that Brian found the focal points of his life. Generations of boys who started their careers in Holdgate House would be able to testify far more elegantly than I can to the intense level of care and concern which Brian showed for every one of them (and in which, of course, he was completely supported

by Linda). Under Brian's Housemastership, Holdgate House was truly an extended family, with his own children mixing happily and freely with the resident pupils; and the way in which initially shy and frightened little boys quickly felt that each one of them mattered, and that where they now lived was really 'just like home' was a clear reflection of the love and care which Brian felt within him for every one of them.

One would not have thought of Brian as a religious person - not, that is, in the sense in which the word is often used, to mean someone who makes a pious show of his faith. Yet Brian truly was a deeply religious and committed Christian, and a person of an unostentatious but ordered and disciplined prayer life; and it was his faith that governed and shaped all that he did.

Profoundly moral and honest himself, I think I only saw him really angry or sad when he was confronted with dishonesty, bullying, cant, or hypocrisy. And that was because his faith left him in no doubt as to not only what God has placed us in this world to do; but more especially, what God requires us to be. Brian tried to reach that standard, and tried to lead all in his care in that same way.

He was also a very sensitive person - sometimes painfully so. I recall how moved and distressed he was when we stood together on Lutyens' massive memorial to the Fallen of the Battle of the Somme at Thiepval. It

was that sensitivity which ensured a ready and caring response to anyone in trouble or in difficulties.

Much more could be said; but words, as I have said, are an inadequate medium to encompass such a life, and our own thoughts and memories must fill in the gaps and complete the portrait. As we lay to rest today the body of this deeply loved man - husband, father, colleague and dear friend - we thank God for all the gifts which he bestowed in such measure upon Brian and from which so many of us drew benefit. In commending his soul into God's keeping, we recall that in his lifetime Brian's mind was stayed on God - and we can be confident that he who raised Jesus from the dead will surely keep him in perfect peace, held in the Everlasting Arms.

And so, May he rest in peace, and rise in glory. Amen.

Rev. David Barnes

A personal farewell: "Greetings... Blessings".

It is not easy to write a note of appreciation and 'farewell' to one who has been a good friend for the whole of the time I have spent at Sutton Valence, as his family has been. The memories of ready hospitality, those informal evenings of open house and many other occasions, which included the latest contributions to and renderings from the BRD Songbook (how many members of staff have found their names immortalised in this way?) will stay for many a year. There were other times when the book of 'National Anthems of the World', was put to good use and reminded the House of the background of many of the pupils who lived their first two years of Sutton Valence School life in Holdgate House.

Then there was the traditional Holdgate 'escape' to Camber Sands on the last Friday of the school year, when the slot machines gobbled many a coin and the fish and chippery remained open just for us. All that had to be ensured was that our vehicles remained outside the official car park because the gates were locked at 8.00 p.m.

These events and many more expressed the homeliness of that House for all, whether teaching or non-teaching staff, with the knowledge that a call - even (almost) a walk in without knocking - was always greeted with extreme friendliness and ready hospitality.

The pancake production day taught many a future teenager the skills required for the making of so many pancakes in so short a period of time. The profits from these occasions were used to help others. It seems almost prophetic that at Brian's last Assembly it was announced that the pancake session for that day had to be cancelled because the fryingpan had worn out.

As a respected colleague he was always ready to help and sort out for each year's G.C.S.E. just how many takers there were for the 'Ministry of Funny Languages'.

What about the volunteers to do the orals?

Our thoughts are with Linda and the family as we continue to see them around Sutton Valence.

M.E.F. Pettrnan

The Suttonian 1991

House Reports

Cornwallis

Founder's

New Faces.

Once again Founder's 'proved that it is the most academic house, having gained more distinctions per grade period than any other. Once again we raised a great deal of money for charity by collecting coppers in an extra large whisky bottle, paying for our bingo cards in the Big Bingo Bonanza on the final day of the Michaelmas term; and there were numerous other occasions when the members of the House contributed generously to worthwhile charities.

This year we were able to turn a team out to all the Inter-House sporting events, doing gratifyingly well in the Hockey and Rugby Leagues. Many of our number have been taking part in varied extra-curricular activities including plays, the orchestra and choirs, and we have provided the members of many teams

The new inhabitants of Cornwallis House have settled into the recently decorated and refurbished accommodation on the top floor. A Drama Studio has appeared, which was part of the old dormitory. The remainder of the top floor is now divided by the famous green lockers into two areas. One uses the carrels from the Junior Day Room [ground floor, old Cornwallis style] to house the First Year girls, and the remaining area is taken over by the Second Years and a much used Table Tennis table. Also incorporated is a large library area which is being run by the girls on very professional lines.

Mrs.Burr is the House Tutor and has quickly adopted the role with ease. Activities this year have included a Tea Party for all new pupils, a 'talk from the Police, 'in-house' Table Tennis competitions and a charity effort - 'Cakes at break'; not to mention the mammoth task of collecting• aluminium cans for recycling from around the-school.

GM. C. Midwood

• •

•

Laxnbe's

The head girl of Cornwallis is. Felicity Lynes and the deputy is Madeleine Gear. We have a kitchen with a toaster, an urn and a fridge. Our house prefects are Sally Hooper and Anita Henderson. Hockey results have beengoodfortheUl3 andtheUl2. Thebestmatch for both teams was against Coombe Bank The U13 score was 4-1, and the U12 was 5-0. We have a Cornwallis Library that is open on Wednesday and Friday, a table-tennis table which we have to book and we have mounted various charity efforts, collecting milk bottle tops for ' Guide Dogs for the Blind',, collecting and crushing cans, bringingin cake money and getting fined if things are riot where they should be. The money goes to Romania: M. Titcombe and V. Day 1A

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Lambe's continues to represent a formidable force in the School's Inter-House competitions both academic and sporting. Mr. Jones ;maintains a watchful housemasterly eye on all proceed gs and is often to be seen combining supporting the House with walking his dog. He has been ably supported by Messrs. Dunn and Stanley as House Tutors.

• Charles Evans took over the respotisUyofHearI of House this year, joined by Jam WatersaSthe other School Prefect. So far they have run the House smoothly and without much incident. Further responsibility rested on the House Prefects and together the 'team' has always managed to sort out any difficulties. Light entertainment in the House has been provided (on

17

The Suttonian 1991 matron Miss B. Rogers who had gained the respect and affection of the boys: but she was destined for other things. Not all was lost since Mrs. Willdridge was fortunately able to step into her shoes and has proved to be a dab hand at making cocoa.

Much of our success has been aided by the addition of an elite group to our ranks, a fine body of chaps who had been harshly evicted from Cornwallis House and told to find alternative lodgings. Their choice was simple. From the intake of eleven the majority was Fifth Form and this group has established itself as a force for the future, despite the loss of the infamous and legendary 'Ruji' who left us in pursuit of greater honours at Cambridge.

We continued our multi-raciality with the addition of a German, a Nigerian and a Japanese boy all of whom have adjusted very well. From the regular yearly intake we took the cream of Holdgate and some fine boys from other preparatory schools.

On the Sports' field St. Margaret's has again reigned supreme, seeing off all comers to recapture the Senior Rugby for the fourth consecutive year, there being absolutely no connection between this fact and the length of time Mr. I.S.Hendry has been our Housemaster? We were fortunate in having on our team the captain of the 1st XV and eleven other players with 1st XV experience but were unlucky not to clinch the Senior Hockey Tournament, losing on goal difference.

The house tried hard in the Cross-Country, Chris Miller winning the Senior race: and the Juniors lost narrowly to the other boarding house in the Rugby final as a result of injury.

The house was to lose a few more members over the next couple of terms but most were able to withstand the pressure of having to set an example to the rest of the school. This fine effort was led by the immensity of Chris Haynes and his conscientious prefects who were highly effective in keeping up the high standards of the house with their somewhat new and unorthodox approach.

Notable individuals include Reginald Yue for the scholarship awarded for his outstanding G.C.S.E. results. Full colours were awarded to Chris Miller and Stewart Young for rugby, Chris also gaining them for Cross-Country; Chris Haynes was awarded his much-deserved full colours for athletics at the beginning of the Michaelmas term. Many other sporting colours were awarded throughout the house with Charlie Masters picking up half-colours in two of the major sports in the Lower Sixth.

There was also a larger Thespian group forming in St. Margaret's including a bunch of third years - John Adam, Steven Buckler and David Hayman. Many more people became involved in music, plays, debates and Chapel services with Ian Jones, Philip Morris and John Kentish-Bames prominent in all of these. Stewart Young and Laurence Fox proved to be the 'hot' properties on the rock scene.

So St. Margaret's has had a very eventful and productive year in general: long may it continue.

every occasion) by Adrian Shaw who has contributed some bizarre phrases to the House jargon.

There has been a noticeable increase in the numbers of those participating in 'extra-curricular' activities this year: Arcana and The Mysteries for example. It is encouraging to see more pupils taking an interest in School productions. The Lambe's musicians have also maintained a high profile, Charles Evans regularly playing the organ for Chapel and joining Alastair Hudd in the Jazz Band, while James Roberts has been drumming with zest. CCF has also flourished with more and more cadets staying as NCOs in the Sixth Form which in turn encourages the younger cadets. We managed second place to Westminster in the Drill Competition - but then CFGP is their Housemaster.

On the games field we did very well considering our numbers which were a handicap when it came to picking a rugby team. It was in the Lent Term however that we were most successful. The Senior hockey team was very strong. We had James Waters (Captain of School Hockey this year) and his 'star' brother who played for England U16s. The remainder of the team was assembled from 1st XI, 2nd XI and U16 players.

Although odds on to win the House Matches we lost the match but won the competition on the basis of the number of goals scored. The House also produced good cross-country teams, John Holroyd winning the Intermediates. Fives was strong this year with Alex Hubble leading the team.

Overall then it has been a most encouraging year and we are certainly challenging the supposed superiority' of the two much larger boys' boarding houses.

A.J. HepnerLVI

St. Margaret's Once again St. Margaret's has had a very successful year in every aspect of school life, combining a vast physical presence with a depth of intellect.

There have been various new faces about the house. After Mr. G.R.Piper vacated the position of out-tutor he was replaced by the new master in the Modem Languages Department, Mr. M.J.Jilhans, who has settled in and coped remarkably well with such a demanding task. Sadly we also lost our fiery Welsh

P.Moms 5A

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The Suttonian 1991

Sutton

One Appeal, but being such a small house we let another continue, giving them our small contribution.

Aaahhh! Thirty-six part-time sisters and no privacy!

I was soon made to eat my words though.

One of the major events was the Sutton House Christmas Party. Mrs. Piper, Miss Barral and our matron Dreana went to a lot of trouble to cook food and make it a good party. The highlight of the evening was the Upper Sixth nativity play written by Louise Cobbold, the best of its kind that we had ever seen. We all sang very loudly and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

I arrived on 2nd. September in the Quad surrounded by what seemed a thousand and one belongings. Living in Sutton House was definitely going to be an experience for me and the other new girls joining. Feeling totally bewildered we were shown the Refectory and tasted our first Sutton Valence school tea...

All those faces and all the whispers of "She's new', "I wonder what year she's in". Back at the house hours were spent rearranging things on shelves and beds making things look as homely as possible when a bell rang and doors were slammed and a buzz of voices chatted and shouted. Our first house gathering: I felt slightly lost. No-one told us, however, about the call-over before breakfast so we couldn't understand why there were only four girls in the Refectory: the first mistake of many.

Exams came round all too quickly for the Sixth Formers but luckily it brought snow too, which unfortunately closed school. Out came scarves, gloves, jumpers, black bin-liners and trays. The back lawn became the sledge run. Many photos were taken of the daring while the sane sat inside and watched.

With 'A' Levels in the not too distant future the Upper Sixth are studying hard and keeping up the house spirit but we'll all miss them. There is a constant friendly atmosphere in the house which helps everyone to fit in well with the combined efforts of our house matron Dreana, Miss Barral and Mr. and Mrs. Piper.

C.Berry LVI

Many things have occurred in the house this year.

We started the term collecting stamps for India, a Radio

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The Suttonian 1991

I;?''jcvr

Valence

Westminster

The most important feature of the year was our move from the village to Cornwallis House which resulted in the year beginning in a state of chaos and excitement. We all like being here as, after all, it means the end of frequent treks to and from the village and arriving looking weather-beaten or like drowned rats: and of course we appreciate the new facilities we have been given. Unfortunately our move coincided with Mrs. Wilkinson's decision to give up being a member of the house staff and she has been replaced by Mrs. Jackson who is currently in charge of the Third Years.

The Michaelmas term began with the Sixth Form caffeine level well down there being at first no kitchen and much work still needing to be done around the house: indeed, it was not until March that our section of the house had any heating, the fault being remedied as soon as the milder weather appeared. Despite the lack of heat we were reluctant to leave our 'shows' which were still something of a novelty.

Valence has in general had a very successful year in many respects; both in sport - Valence 'A' team won the girls' Baton Race and we had many members of the house in sports teams of one kind or another and in the many theatrical and musical productions which have been held throughout the year. We should like to say a big 'thank you' to all those who have helped Valence this year and hope that forthcoming years will be as prosperous for the house. j Taylor and S. Tom UVI

This year the house welcomed a new house tutor, Mr. Honey, a new matron, Diane Cotter and a large draft of ex-Cornwallis boys including the Head of the School, Jake Scott, Bruce Lawton being however our Head of House.

It is difficult to escape the military influence in Westminster given the nature of the Housemaster and this year C.S.M. Scott was head of the corps helped by his right hand marker Nick de Lucy. They worked well together and with help from two senior NCOs - Bruce Lawton (i.c. Royal Engineers) and KervinYun (i.c. Junior Company) the corps was organised with great thought.

Two weeks before the Drill Competition, Westminster was out practising drill every evening in the long prep break and the House was justly rewarded with first place in the event.

Then there was the Inter-house basketball. With many of the members of the School's first team in the House we looked sure to win this event - and we did, both in Seniors and Juniors.

Near the end of the Michaelmas term the House Rugby matches loomed and excitement rose. Our Juniors played spectacularly under Captain Jeff Anderson and with the speed of Benj amin Adu-Bobie we were able to beat our main rivals, St. Margaret's. Alas, in both Intermediate and Senior matches the position was reversed. Again, in the fifteen-a-side Rugby House matches the Juniors were triumphant against St. Margaret's while our Seniors went down to avery strong

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The Suttonian 1991

rival side containing mainly regular players for the School 1 sts.

What else have we been up to? or at least, what will we admit to? Fusing much of the School's power by 'heater surge' in the cold weather, not once but on three successive nights: and attempting to prolong the 'snow holiday' by an attempted blocking of entrances to the quad - which failed.

The Lent term finished on the characteristic note in Westminster House of victory in the Hockey House Matches against a formidable Lambe's side.

Nick de Lucy LVI

Why Cornwallis? Why not St. Margaret's or Westminster? Cornwallis was the best house of course.

Then I began to imagine the wall-to-wall carpeting being rolled in and our old shabby desks being removed and replaced with beautiful clean ones. I had less than a school year in which to enjoy Cornwallis. It seemed a longish time but in reality it was not.

The closing of the house gave us some sort of blind determination to do well. We started off by winning both the Senior and Junior House Cross-Country matches. In the summer Cornwallis won the cricket, the swimming, the waterpolo and the golf. We were going to go out with a bang.

Life in the house was strange as there were no new Third Formers, for obvious reasons. We were treated like Third Formers for the second year running. We had to continue to do the cleaning of the house and this disgusted us. In our anger we spent much of the time contemplating vandalising the house: but we didn't.

I chose to go to Westminster and like most of my friends, my wish was granted. It was like starting all over again. I was a new boy in a strange and different house and I feel that we will always be slightly different from our companions in Westminster and St. Margaret's. For one thing we belonged to the best boys' boarding house: Cornwallis.

S. Mills SD

Westminster Here I Come If at the end of my first year at Sutton Valence anyone had told me that in a year's time our blessed Cornwallis was going to be changed from a boys' boarding to a girls' day house I would have put it down as one of the many rumours that are either made up or are overheard and twisted slightly. The older pupils in the house would say that Cornwallis was due to close in a few years' time but of course no Third Former believed a word of it.

Then at some time during the Michaelmas term rumour became reality. During House Call-Over Mr. Piper told us that Cornwallis was to be changed into a girls' house. We were all silent, numbed by the shock.

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The Suttonian 1991

Societies chapter closes with the departure of Charles it may be appropriate to recall some of those past leading lights Jeremy Barham Esq., Vicky Rayner, Tim Bampton and Roger Oaten: for a time Melissa Albentosa and Damian Penfold; then the guiding hand of jazz piano whizz Roger Muttit Esq., Lucy Burbridge and Harrison Sam-Amoye also had a brief flirtation with jazz and the band, but it was not really until we had experienced three 'master-classes' with my great-uncle Hugh Ledigo, pianist with Kenny Ball and previously The Pasadena Roof Orchestra, that we really started playing proper 'jazz'. I wonder how many other school bands have featured such a close camaraderie between players as can be found in The Bluesicians: not many, I'll warrant.

O. Whawell LVI

Fencing Fencing has been running as a Friday afternoon activity for a long time, being always well attended and with an impressive set of results to boast of. Our fencing coach, John Chorley, has taken senior fencers to the club at Tenterden where they have had the opportunity of being taught by a Great Britain coach. It was through the auspices of this same coach that Richard Young, Stewart Young, Cara Young and Lucy Slater crossed the Channel and entered the home of fencing - France. All four were part of a team representing Great Britain in an International Amateur Fencing Tournament.

Competition was tough, friendly and enjoyed and the team came fourth out of eight European countries. Other achievements over the past two years have also been noteworthy: Cara Young 3rd. Kent Girls U 18, Lucy Slater 11th. Kent Girls U18, Richard Young 7th. Kent Boys U20 and Stewart Young 4th. Kent Boys U18 ( this in a field, in each case, of some fifty or sixty competitors). The last pair also made the Surrey Junior Fencing Squad.

N.B. It is not necessary to bear the surname 'Young' in order to be a successful fencer.

Jazz Band The Bluesicians 'ine niuesicians nave gone from strength to strength in recent years and are now relied upon, always at short notice, to fill slots in all manner of concerts: a job not particularly welcomed by the band - but it keeps us on our toes. Because the band is so small it has a very distinctive sound which is very much the product of the individuals concerned. Ben Collins' trumpet playing has reached new heights of musicianship as he takes the lead in songs from Blue Moon to The Stripper. Alastair Hudd's clarinet playing has developed into a near-perfect counterpoint for the trumpet lead and his improvised solos continue to surprise everyone, including himself!

The band's rhythm section of Dharshi Tambiah on piano and James Roberts on drums provides a very tight musical backdrop for the front-line musicians and both are improving their jazz style week by week. Alas at the end of the year we must say our fond farewells to Charles Evans who has played trombone in the band since its inception five years ago and has yet to play a bad solo in any concert. He and I are the only players to have stayed with the band right from the start and as a

J

May I tell your fortune?

Lighting Let me take you to the back of the balcony in the Main Hall, to a little box from where the lights are controlled and the sound and wings cued. Lighting is a Monday afternoon Community Service activity. The master-in-charge is Mr. Jones and he and his 'crew' produce the superb visual effects and sound effects that grace our productions at school.

This year's crew: S. Young, B. Panchal, O. Haywood, A. Barr and N. Grabham.

S. YoungLVI

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The Suttonian 1991

Golf

The Chamber Choir

liince the beginning of trus school year there has been a golf driving activity at Langley Golf Driving Range. The minibus has nearly always been full and most of us have had a good practice there. We seem to taken up most of the available spaces on a Wednesday afternoon and it may well be that golf, not traditionally a particularly strong sport at Sutton Valence, is going to become increasingly popular.

O. Ralsbeck 5A

i ne cnoir snrann a utue ai me beginning of the year with the loss of Cara Young and Jeremy Hannah, both valuable members of our group who have been missed, but we have acquired another bass to replace Jeremy in the form of Nick de Lucy who very quickly settled into the way we work.

A record of much of what we have done appears elsewhere in the magazine: in general I think we have a very good selection of singers and the standard of singing is very often extremely good. We now have a very large number of songs in our repertoire ranging from madrigals to Roxy Music: we can, therefore, sing at virtually any occasion in a style that will suit.

All that remains to be said is that all this would not have been possible without PSA, PH and, for some of us, Mrs. Field our singing teacher.

D. Penfold 4A

n7

Shooting Triangular match versus King's School, Canterbury and St. Edmund's, Canterbury December 9th. 1990.

Everything was packed in the bus, we were ready to go and the rain came down again.

We returned to Hythe Ranges in our camouflaged waterproof suits, attractively bulky!

After an hour of zeroing the rifles something warm and wet was needed; tea was the first target. Then it was out into the cold to practise the competition on the electric target range. Everyone was cold and quiet, our only comfort being the laugh of Mrs. Wilkinson which easily made itself heard over the loud speaker announcements of scores. After this and lunch we had time to meet the opposition away from the firing point: then it was time to get down and shoot the competition.

While others shot we huddled together under the only shelter we could find. Considering the miserable sleeting conditions we all shot well and Katharine Roberts excelled, achieving an individual bronze medal.

Rebecca Norris, Katharine Roberts LVI

Art Club 'l'he Art Club meets on / Wednesday afternoons with the aim of encouraging pupils to pursue their own individual interests. The emphasis has been on observational work through drawing, painting and printing.

Some delightful pictures have been produced especially from Damien Keys, Holly Browne and Seung Chung.

D.A Crichton

Hunting Society

4

History Society The aim of this society has been to add some spice to history —J for Sixth Formers by asking unusual and thought-provoking questions. In an informal atmosphere each pupil has made contributions to the following titles J for discussion: 'How important were the lives of monarchs in the political status of the Crown?"

"What were the effects of disease in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries?"

"How violent was early modern Society?"

D.I. Crichton

A wide range of debates has taken place including the following motions: "This House believes in mixed boarding."

"This House believes in the abolition of the monarchy."

"This House believes that a woman's body is her own to do

with as she pleases." " This House believes that evil may only be countered by force."

"This House believes that humans have the right to tamper with life."

Natalie Harris and Celia Palmer represented S.V.S. in a valiant struggle against three other schools in The Observer Mace Debating Competition and are to be thanked for all the hard work they and the other members of the committee have put into organising and advertising our debates.

D.A Crichton 24

The Suttonian 1991 typing with being a secretary - which I had no intention of becoming. I was pleasantly surprised by the relaxed, informal atmosphere. The whole College consisted of three rooms - typing, shorthand/audio work and word processing. I had been envisaging row upon row of typewriters with their operators endlessly devouring piles and piles of paperwork but this was not the case at all. There were in fact just seven typewriters in operation at any one time and the friendly environment meant that we got to know a couple of the regular students. None of us had done any typing before but after thirty hours of tuition we all passed our Pitman Elementary Typing Exam. We discovered that typing was not just for secretaries, but useful for producing letters or essays as well.

F. Howard LVI

Mask-Making vvnen i joinea me scnooi m September of last year, I was presented with a list of Wednesday Afternoon activities. r ` Glancing down the list, my eye fell upon'Mask-making'. What on earth could this entail? I could see rifle-shooting or horse-riding as suitable activities for a school such as Sutton Valence, but mask-making? I think that it was just out of idle curiosity that I went along that first Wednesday and I was fairly surprised to see seven or eight other girls there.

Things started off well, and we began by doing very basic mask shapes, spending a lot of time just trying to position the eye and nose holes correctly, but we soon passed onto bigger and better things. We did face masks, character masks, animal masks and even a Christmas mask which, I'm afraid to report, no-one wore to the Christmas Dinner (I think we were all too embarrassed, our leader included). Anyway, we have started a papier-mache mask based on our own individual face shape and it may sound easy, but it took us at least two weeks to get the supports in the correct place and so at present things are progressing rather slowly and messily. However, under the expert tutelage of Mr. Bruce (whose masks always turn out perfectly first time) we have all passed very pleasant and amusing Wednesday afternoons.

A. Christian-Phillips LVI

Tribal Dawn the story so far

What are the advantages"?

There is no hassle of getting changed into games kit to do board games which is especially pleasing when the weather turns cold. Once you have managed to find a complete game from the wide variety on offer you get on and play it and have a chat. Mr. Dunn, the master in charge, always enjoys a game of chess, which he usually wins. He also knows the answers to all of the 'Trivial Pursuit' questions and gives them away sometimes!

A. Duffel] 3B

Tribal Dawn was the name suggested by our bass player I James Sandom in January of this year: the new band was now " • \\'\\ `v\~, searching for talented members.

A drummer was needed; Melvyn Nwajei proved the perfect choice, having an extra quality that the band needed - he is a very outgoing personality. A search was made for a suitable guitarist; Laurence Fox had only just started learning but showed immense enthusiasm. Then followed a period of, shall we say, temperamental instability combined with the split of the old school band 'Maximum Intensity'. When the dust settled, Nigel Gill had become our lead and Laurence Fox our rhythm guitarist. All that was now needed was a lead vocalist.

Various characters had a go: Oliver Haywood - but it was all too much for him! Philip Morris - but he didn't last long. Suddenly, we saw the light: Laurence was our man. To delight the eye as well as the ear two backing vocalists completed our lineup in the shape of Tara Hannaway and Ruth Bourne.

To James Sandom we owe much: he is a good musician and staunch band practice initiator as well as possessing a wonderfully relaxed style of bass playing.

We should like to thank all who have helped us so far: Vic Hyland, Mr. Aldred, Stuart Young, Alan Barr, Nick Grabham, Tony Coker, Chris Pope, Will Kentish-Barnes and Barry McLean.

R. Bukuku 5B

Typing

Bridge Report

Board Games

Our Bridge Club had an extremely mixed season, sandwiched around the tragic death of BED. In his passing the school suffered a terrible loss but we in particular felt it keenly: his contribution to the Bridge

At the beginning of the year six girls from the Fifth and Lower Sixth began a typing course at Kent Secretarial College in Maidstone. We were a little unsure of what to expect. Until then I had always connected

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The Suttonian 1991 Club will never be forgotten. It was fitting that the last match he saw us play resulted in our very first victory since 1984. In the Kent group of the Daily Mail National Schools Bridge Competition we came a very pleasing twelfth against the stiffest of competition.

Our team this year was drawn entirely from the Upper Sixth so the hunt will be on next year for new players: please give the idea serious consideration. This year's team: H. Pabari, S. Dyke, D. Lock, S. Gregory, M. Miles.

S. Dyke UVI

Bell Ringing in January naau ivir. riper started a Bell Ringing Society during Wednesday Afternoon activities at St. Michael's Church, Chart Sutton. In the beginning there were ten founder members.

We soon found that there was a lot more to bell ringing than merely pulling a rope! After a long time spent practising in turns strokes on one silenced bell (a neighbour having complained of the monotony of a single bell ringing all afternoon) we progressed to 'rounds'. This was our first breakthrough: six noisy bells ringing in sequence (well, almost!). Now we have mastered rounds we are trying different methods of 'change-ringing'. In this the bells change order at each stroke in a prearranged sequence - challenging but rewarding. We have the assistance of some experienced ringers from surrounding villages for this.

Sadly, there are only three founder members left and although we have some 'new blood' it is surprisingly lacking in males. Many of us now ring at our local churches to put our new skills into practice, and have found that if you are a ringer you are always welcome to ring at any tower in the country.

We have had a great time ringing and acquiring these skills. They are something of a challenge and you need to work at them. We hope that some more will join the ringing society next term .... particularly some boys.

S. Hooper, Ringing Captain UVI

Model-Making After the beginning of year mad dash to join the intellectual Wednesday Afternoon activity, the numbers have diminished to leave an elite group of model-makers. Gone are the model planes of yester-year: we march boldly into the future with 40K Warhammer models.

R. Morling LVI

The English Society Well, where else could you attend an 'Evening of Love' at Sutton Valence School involving a mixed group of Sixth Formers wearing strange clothes and not be chastised for multiple infringements of 'The Six Inch Rule'?

The English Society continues to explore well- and lesser-known paths of literature following a theme for the evening which is also the determiner of the fancy dress worn by all (except a few timid boys and some members of the English Department). There is a mid-evening break for food and wine and the second half always seems to go a little more smoothly .....

Who of those present will ever forget the Christmas Evening in picturesque Valence House; the carols; the mulled wine; the seasonal goodwill stretched to the limit by the late contributions of those who had been attending the end of term Ist XV wake?

Our thanks to the members of the department and especially to Mr. Bruce, their eccentric leader, for being so deucedly whacky.

Scribbler

U

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The Suttonian 1991

Drama The junior Pantomime:

Hotchpotch Walt Disney, the Beano and Dandy, the Brothers Grimm, Robert Louis Stevenson, the Revd. Will Awdry, BBC Children's TV, Raymond Briggs and, I suppose, Martin Bruce's nanny were all sources for this delightful hour of fun and good humour. The scriptwriter somehow (I am still not quite sure how) related Long John Silver and the entire pirate crew to the romantic disposition of Thomas the Tank Engine and an earnest Rupert Bear to a cautious Postman Pat: in the process of playing with his old comics and his children's television programmes, Martin Bruce created a dozen useful roles for the young players. He successfully gathered all his well-known characters together in a witty and coherent script, written in traditional verse form. Some fell in and out of the cannibals' cooking pot, some fell in and out of love, everyone in the audience fell about laughing and, as you would expect and as it should be for the Juniors, everybody was left living happily ever after.

I counted nearly forty artistes onstage at one point.

Backstage there were at least a further twenty production workers. The music was arranged and directed at the piano by Philip Aldred. Stella Haywood directed this large cast and team. The question naturally arises: why do schools bother to do this sort of thing?

There are other ways of giving pleasure and, as anyone knows, Junior theatre is very hard work. Even an hour's script takes many hours to write and the problems of direction with young players are usually multiplied in a season of cold and of colds. I would identify three reasons for doing Junior theatre: they are each directly

Thomas the Tank and Daisy the Diesel related to any sensible critical appreciation of a production of this kind.

First, junior school theatre gives younger pupils the opportunity to stand up in front of a fairly large audience and speak in a disciplined manner. Many adults regret their inability to do this well. Clear speech is the first

The Hotchpotch cast

The Suttonian 1991 Finally, the school theatre director hopes to introduce pupils, even at this relatively early stage and with an unpretentious children's acting text, to that magic by which the theatre makes the Invisible visible.

Children are often good mimics. Not all children can act. Those like Jessica Jones and David Wootton who can usually do not know what they are doing. But every child who takes part in the most modest production should be given the feeling that they are taking part in one of Western civilisation's central activities: recreating the dreams and hopes and the sheer fun of our people.

Shakespeare does this and so do pantos. At times some of the pupils in this show gave this reviewer that feeling of awe and laughter. It is all we could ask for.

Martin Bruce, Stella Haywood and their assistants must be congratulated for their hard work which may, once again, have passed on to younger artistes the joy of the theatre.

Presbyteros.

Cast Hotchpotch Narrators Regrettal, a modern miss Mansell, her brother Snowman Long John Silver Rupert the Bear Thomas the Tank Engine Daisy Diesel, his girlfriend Spot the Dog Fireman Sam Fairy Godmother The Headmaster Postman Pat

Felicity Lynes, Tim Wild Jessica Jones Ben Hodgson Victoria Burbridge James Simmonds Rebecca Lillywhite David Wootton Candice Majewski Caroline Dearing Philip Day Holly Browne Ben Woodcock Vicky Burr

The Pirate Crew: Ben Jeffes, Mathieu Picard, Peter Kutschmann, Tom Horton, Ben Wallis, Andrew Lunn, Alex Agar, Jon Milsted, Mark Critchley, Lewis Kampanis.

Snow Bunnies and Fairies and Railway Trucks: Elizabeth Parrett, Ellie Cooke, Olivia Piper, Lok Chan, Jessica Stenborg, Madeleine Gear, Alison Brannan, Sian Leadbeter.

requirement from the actor, young or old, amateur or professional. To teach children to stand up, stand still and speak clearly is invaluable. Funny lines are difficult and though Comedy is, arguably, more difficult for the actor than other forms, this production had some notable successes in this area. Bouquets to Felicity Lynes, a narrator with a beautiful voice which we must hope she will still have when she is an adult; David Wootton, a marvellous little comedian with a lively face and an engaging manner; Jessica Jones, an obviously gifted character-player whom I do hope to see in many future productions; and Rebecca Lillywhite who enunciates cleanly. Of course, the diction throughout was not of the highest order. There are limits of time imposed upon the preparation of such productions but it has been time well spent if some of the young cast have understood that clarity of speech is the first thing to attract an audience, just as poor speech is a distraction.

Secondly, school theatre can teach children to control their bodies and to move gracefully and with purpose. In general, we are simply not taught to think about movement. Sometimes in a crowd it is possible to spot the natural actor or dancer. Certainly, children who do move well stand out as soon as we observe them on the stage. Awards for disciplined movement in this pantomime would go to Mathieu Picard, a member of the Pirate Crew with only a few lines but who gave the impression of being centred and in control; Ben Hodgson, playing the hero Mansell (who may be related to the Hansel of European legend); and once again to Rebecca Lillywhite who has clearly had some training and was distinguished by her graceful, virtually balletic movements: she knows what to do with her arms and hands, a notoriously difficult matter for all performers.

Given the time and space, the moves were reasonably tidy.

The space in which drama is presented is of the first importance for director and cast. Whilst it is true that any empty space can become a bare stage which in turn will become a theatre, the ability to convert a school hall or assembly room into a theatre is notoriously difficult. The space has the wrong kind of associations for many young people who are naturally drawn to school theatre.

Many school productions fall to pieces, even at the start, precisely because they cannot avoid the unworkable ambiance.

This production of Arcana bathed in the splendid design of Mike Willdridge. We walked into a completely transformed Main Hall. Giant, bright Tarot cards in primary colours shone down upon audience and players in a display of sheer glory. It was a brilliant effect which gave the production the perfect environment for

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The Suttonian 1991

The Girls' Chorus

a mystery-musical which gained some of its meaning from the tarots: the tarot deck with its complex, illuminated designs has been used for centuries for fortune-telling deriving its mystique from the elaborate esoteric significance of the designs. It is fair to say that many of the audience professed themselves mystified by the proceedings. Perhaps they looked too hard and too long for something that was not intended to be there.

It is true that the name of the show invites people to look for a mysterious secret. But it seems to this reviewer that the basic plot was simple: an individual in search of identity, integrity and universal form. The ancient Egyptian symbols of the Major Arcana in the Tarot Pack provided a delightful and colourful series of pegs upon which to hang a familiar plot.

We sat down with a neatly produced programme, complete with a helpful note from the Director. A good Asenath

/,'f ,7,~rn (`7 aS~'I7C 7/1 ,-; ,' d

programme is essential in all productions. The sheet-anchor of the script and certainly of this production is Hob, whose character owes something to the Fool in the Tarot, and who rarely leaves the stage.

Hob talks to the audience and invites their complicity in the events: in this case, reinforcing the production's use of the main floor - almost in-the-round. The role was performed by Kathryn Hannah, an accomplished musician and experienced actress of only sixteen years.

She established an instant intimacy with her audience, spoke her lines with clarity and generally dominated the production, most decidedly to its advantage. In a uniformly fine performance, it is difficult to identify the many scalp-tingling moments provided by her: 'How

Cast Arcana

(~"n

Hob Kenric Fulke Winfrith Asenath Dogman Algar Herne

Kathryn Hannah Ben Collins Stuart Young Lucy Burbridge Adam Cresswell Oliver Whawell Robert Chance Charles Evans

Maidens Stephanie Aviss, Clare Berry, Ruth Bourne, Sarah Clendining, Ellie Cooke, Karin Feger, Natalie Harris, Emma Harvey, Anita-Lynne Henderson, Catherine Hicks, Jo Howard, Beth John ston, Nici Knothe, Fiona Macdonald, Tatjana Maikowski, Jo Masterman, Joanne Mumford, Celia Palmer, Anna Rhodes, Emma Richards, Lucy Slater, Katrin Sprenger, Bekki Stene, Dharshi Tambiah Men & Knights James Albentosa, James Drury, Charles Evans, Jonathan Evans, Tim Field, Jeremy Gifford, Andrew Hepner, Gary Hills, Alastair Hudd, Ian Jones, Simon Mills, Mark Milsted, Melvyn Nwajei, Vincent Packer, Damian Penfold, James Roberts, James RoMnson, Cass Scott, Richard Wooderson

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The Suttonian 1991 could I have known what pain would growl was one memorable moment amongst many. A considerable achievement.

Kenric, a young man in search for a universal pattern and for his real self, was played with great sincerity by Ben Collins. He meets his alter ego in the person of Fulke, his evil half-brother, a role carried with conviction by Stuart Young. This reviewer particularly enjoyed Stewart's rendering of 'Now hear and tremble, all the Land...... Bob Chance lent his beautiful singing-voice to the part of Algar and, amongst the other principals, Adam Cresswell gave a creditable reading of Asenath. He captured the text's general air of magic and mystery in a nicely-judged performance.

The production was competently accompanied by a mixed orchestra of adults and pupils, conducted with his customary energy by Philip Aldred. It was a pity that some tempi were not agreed with the composer at the keyboard. The tug-of-war produced some uneasy moments on all the nights attended by the reviewer.

A recently revised text of the musical was used at Sutton Valence for the first time. If this version of Arcana is to be performed again it will require careful editing.

Too many complex ideas jostle for places in a manuscript which is distinguished as much for its prolixity as for its nice poetic moments. Actors occasionally gave the impression that they really did not understand what they were saying. The audience was confused. Many of the less important lines were merely mumbled, particularly by boys in the chorus of men and knights. The basic narrative needs highlighting and all of the quasi-Jungian material can be cut without loss.

Patrick Carpmael has a fine feeling for words but could improve this text with some brutal pruning.

The music was given an adequate performance. It reveals a composer with undoubted lyrical gifts and of eclectic, often genuinely synthesising, and sometimes original mind. Martin Bruce can write good tunes, a significant gift when writing for young people in particular and for all audiences in general. This score made for easy listening. Anew musical inevitably invites the audience to play the game of Influences and Sources: the reviewer enjoyed some of the part-writing which at times echoed the folksong traditions of Sharpe and Vaughan-Williams; at other moments there were convincing pastiches of Tamla Motown and Burt Bachcarach. I have been told that the shades of The Beatles were hovering somewhere! The orchestration was usually a delight with some clear and clean opportunities for every instrument, especially the clarinet.

This ambitious, business-like production of Arcana was a tribute to the inventiveness and enthusiasm of the composer-director. It can be hoped that all the cast, musicians and back-stage participants - there were more thr i a hundred - will recall, with justifiable pride and pleasure, that they appeared in this entertaining piece of theatre. Martin Bruce should be encouraged to take out more manuscript and get to work on his next score.

Presbyteros

There is, indeed, nothing new under the sun, certainly as far as human nature is concerned, so fears that sex and violence are taking over theatre and literature can be quickly allayed on looking to see what the great themes of classical writers were.

Depressingly, perhaps, one soon realises that the ancient Greeks were also in thrall to these twin obsessions. To have them introduced in Japanese adds a quaint modernist touch, and that was how John Watson's artful, even arch reworking of the Oresteia of Aeschylus opened in a single, galloping performance on 8th March. What made the barely 60-minute long production all the more memorable was the fact that the players were all drawn from Forms 1 and 2.

The acting of the principal players was uniformly good, with crisp enunciation and full-lunged voice projection: one heard every single syllable. Barring one brief moment of uncertainty in the second part of the trilogy, cues were timed to the second and there was barely a sign of that precociously arthritic locomotion, so characteristic of the younger actor. Here were naturals at work, and the whole performance was carried off with verve, energy and unmistakable enjoyment. Their earlier maturity often gives girls at this age a certain edge in the portrayal of the subtler emotions, but the boys, on this occasion, were a match for their female peers, and there was no discernible difference in the quality of characterisation. One runs the usual risk of giving offence by singling out individuals but no-one will, I am sure, resent the mentioning of three or four people on this occasion: David Wootton gave a most impressive performance as the compere, a fearsomely difficult role to do well. He used the stage well, exploited the full range of voice modulation in infusing narrative interest into his lines and, most successfully, made eye contact, it seemed, with every member of the audience. Holly Browne as Clytemnestra, the Spider Queen, found just the right note of chilly ruthlessness and unswerving resolve in carrying out her grisly deeds. Blood-curdling screams

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off stage left nothing to the imagination. A tall girl for her age, Holly gave the part authority and a palpable sense of evil, speaking her lines with an audible appreciation for the Japanese verse-form in which they were written.

She is an intelligent and empathetic young actress, and one looks forward to seeing her perform in future productions. As Orestes, the eponymous hero of the action, Mathieu Picard gave a convincing performance.

His use of the stage and general deportment gave the part a shining outline and his clearly relished identification with the character lent presence and credibility. Mathieu's stage sister Felicity Lynes, playing Electra, complemented him very ably and Caroline Dearing as Pallas Athene was most successful in making one of the play's most important dramatic points, the invocation of divine guidance in settling human affairs and the establishment of a new code of law.

Good costumes and props are of considerable importance to all actors, but especially to younger ones, and the quality of both contributed considerably to the children's delight in performance, "Dressing up" is the child's first attempt at acting, so it was wholly right and proper that no efforts were spared to ensure that the costumes were good; and they were.

The whole production bodes well for drama at Sutton Valence. The discipline and control shown by these young actors (there were well over 60 of them!) were impressive, and their obvious delight at their success showed when taking their bow, betokened a relish for acting which one hopes will be fully exploited in future productions. John Watson and the entire company are to be congratulated on what the full house by the warmth of their applause clearly thought was a very worthwhile undertaking.

Cast The Spider Queen Prologue Compere A Watchman A Herald A Soldier Agamemnon Clytemnestra Cassandra Aegisthus Orestes Pylades Apollo Elektra Hermione Pythian Priestess Pallas Athene

Peter Kutschmann David Wootton Cyrus Shahrad Alexander Mansfield Tim Wild Ben Hodgson Holly Browne Jessica Jones James Simmonds Mathieu Picard Daniel Willdridge Jessica Stenborg Felicity Lynes Candice Majewski Rebecca Lillywhite Caroline Dearing

Maidens attending Elektra and Furies Caroline Critchley, Victoria Day, Risa Drewer, Katharine Evans, Kathy Evans, Ellen Midwood, Katie Slaughter, Michelle'Etcombe, Belinda Upton, Fiona Wight.

Citizens of Argos, Soldiers, Jurymen and Girls Alison Brannan, Sian Leadbeter, Andrew Maple, James Marchant, Russell Byrnes, Elizabeth Parrett, Olivia Piper, Ben Woodcock, Alexander Agar, Victoria Burbridge, Spencer Clark, Victoria Burr, Gregory Cliftord, Mark Critchley, Madeleine Gear, Thomas Horton, Ben Jeffes, Louis Kampanis, Andrew Lunn, Jonathan Misted, Ben Wallis, Fraser Debney, Billy Jones, Damon Loft, Jeremy Parkinson, Matthew Sabine, Gavin Saunders, Andrew Wingham, Joanna Baillie, Seung-Hwan Chung, Matthew Cleghorn, James Ferris, Philip Friend, Ben Harper, Caroline Judd, Edward Kentish-Barnes, Damian Keys, Phillipa Le Grys, Amy Lovegrove, Spencer Murphy, James Nimmo, Aekta Patel, Bala Unongo, Emma Wills.

P.J. Harcourt

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An Actor's View It was two days after a long play rehearsal when I found a used cigar of Father John's outside the Maths Room on the sidewalk to the Assembly Hall.

It was a grim reminder of the production of The Spider Queen which was to take place on Friday 5th March 1991. It wasn't as though I had completely forgotten the play but I had at least been able to unstretch. I was like a piece of elastic Then I began stretching tight again.

The part of a cold watchman with glasses would not have been the part that I would have chosen for myself but it was a job: an actor's got to do what an actor's got to do!

The play was originally called the Oresteia and was first performed in Athens in 480 BC. It lasted about four hours. Thanks to our gifted playwright ,we managed to compact it into a funfilled and memorably confusing 55 minutes!

The programme, deliberately designed in one strip to antagonise the audience, had a note which brought the story to the spectator's mind before the play had even started, but a sudden piece of Japanese garble from Peter Kutschman jumbled the story up again until David Wootton came out to refresh a few minds.

David Wootton spoke very clearly and this obviously made the story of blood vengeance and baby-eating easy to understand but I believe that some words and old phrases, such as 'Do not tempt the gods, for I am not immortal, I am a mortal man' confused some of the audience. At times the story remained as confusing as the words.

The Oresteia of Aeschylus is a play involving the grizzly story of Agamemnon, a king who ate his own daughter. The part of Agamemnon was given a hot and memorable performance by Ben Hodgson. His wife (Holly Browne) kills him and his concubine (Jessica Jones). His wife is then killed by their son (Mathieu Picard) who also kills her lover Games Simmonds).

James had a good line about 'bed bond' but said it too softly for Fr. John.

Clytemnestra, the wife, came back as a ghost. She was acting just about as vulnerable as you can get. She was dead! So, she sent some long, snake-haired women called Furies to capture her son Orestes. These girls hissed and screamed through their act.

There is a big court session near the end which leaves everybody, except the large number of dead people, living happily ever after.

This is a story which could almost have been written

by Stephen King and finished by Enid Blyton. Father John's confusing, pretty disturbing and almost never funny script, added to a very fine performances by Holly Browne, Jessica Jones and Caroline Dearing, made it altogether a worthwhile and, for those in it, at least, unforgettable play.

Antigone I was not at all surprised when I heard that Father John had selected Antigone as his production for the Lent Term. His admiration for the stylised, ritualistic drama, as seen in the ancient Greek theatre, is well known; witness his forceful productions of Brecht's The Caucasian Chalk Circle and Miller's The Crucible. The Antigone of Sophocles, as Fr. John states in his programme notes, 'has been long regarded as one of the seminal works of world literature and philosophy'.

The conflict, therein, lies at the root of much modem drama, where playwrights are concerned with the integrity and honour of the individual, faced with the demands of society and the community at large, or the 'arbitrary power of the totalitarian state'.

King Creon, in full and sincere consciousness of his responsibility for the rule of law in the state, has, for an example against treason, made an order of ruthless punishment upon Polyneices, one of Oedipus' sons, an order denying the barest rites of burial to his body, and, therefore,of peace to his soul. Antigone, sister to Polyneices, out of compassion and pity, has brazenly defied Creon's order. In her Oedipean pride she states to him: "I do admit it I do not deny it She is condemned to death. Here is the conflict, and tragedy, too - not in the martyrdom of obvious right under obvious wrong, but in the far more bitter contest between two passionately held principles of right, each partly justifiable, and each to a degree (though one more than the other) vitiated by stubborn blindness to the merits of the opposite.

There is more, however! Between the two antagonists stands Haemon, in whom their tragedy is brought to a single focus: he is not only betrothed to Antigone whom he honours for her courage and piety

Cyrus Shahrad I B

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The Suttonian 1991 of Creon's character whose very behaviour determines the outcome of the play, in a way so different to that other great play of Sophocles Oedipus Rex. Oedipus, quite helpless, can never undo his past and will sooner or later find it all out. In the character of Antigone, there is something even more complex: there is material here for Freud himself, in that she 'provides' us with something of a psychological study. What really are her motives in desiring burial for her brother?

In Father John's production, Becky Stene, tall and elegant, gave a dignified performance as the proud Antigone, determined not only to impose herself against Creon's will, but also to refuse her sister, Ismene, any share in her glory. Her diction was clear, and the quiet clarity she achieved, together with her understated movement, brought out exactly the certainty necessary for a rendition of this role. As Creon, Adam Cresswell, an old hand by now, set himself firmly and authoritatively against the law-breaker. Behind his mask, perhaps a little offputting and incongruous to some members of the audience, he managed to achieve credibility as an over-zealous monarch who cannot distinguish between the public and the private. He sees Antingone's defiance as an affront to his law rather than to Public law. The Darth Vader mask ('Return of the Jedi" etc.) carried the play across the realms of time, suggesting again just how modem are the conflicts within it.

Amongst the other actors, Andrew Hepner tried hard with the part of Haemon, without quite displaying enough of a figure tormented by conflicting loyalties, while Oliver Daddow as the Soldier and Gideon Cresswell as the Messenger gave ample credence to their respective narrative roles by relating their stories with real definition. Natalie Harris, as Ismene, and Emma Richards, as Creon's wife, Eurydice, filled in the canvas quite adequately and there was an excellent Teiresias

Antigone and Ilaernon and loyalty to Oedipus, but he is son to Creon whom he has constantly respected as both father and ruler. To see statecraft misdirected into blasphemous defiance of piety is for him and the audience around him, the greater tragedy; the sacrifice of awell-meaning woman, the less.

Thus, the king's final humiliation through the death of his son, is of higher dramatic significance than the fate of the woman who appears to want to die anyway.

The 'modernity' of the play, interestingly, is not only reflected in the conflict of wills, but also in the portrayal

Antigone: The Chorus

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The Mysteries It was cold. Shiftless groups of spectators stamped feet and chattered, looking longingly at the glow of a coal brazier set in the middle of Chapel Quad. Crew swarmed on a lighting tower. We were waiting for The Mysteriesto start. For a week rehearsals had been going on intensively in strange places at odd times under the overall supervision of Luke Dixon, a professional director of wide experience who has particularly specialised in community theatre projects. He had lived, slept, eaten and worked with us for seven days but we still weren't quite sure what to expect.

A car started somewhere (it was difficult to see because of crowding spectators who perhaps should have been more strictly marshalled) and a chauffeur-driven Jag. rolled up outside Chapel. Out of it stepped what looked like three bouncers: Jake Scott, Chris Haynes and James Rollinson. In fact they turned out to be the first of many different interpreters of the role of God. From the Chapel roof they created the Angels and then left, giving Lucifer (Pat Wong) and Lightborn (Alastair Hudd) a chance to strut and to presume to godhead, although the faithful Virtues, Cherubim, Seraphim and Angels etc.(the First and Second Forms) would have none of it. In a highly dramatic moment it seemed as if the newly returned Trinity would really throw Lucifer and Lightborn down to the ground - but fortunately there was a ladder. And the cold and the light and the angels were the first play.

The Creation and Fall of Adam took place in the Refectory (the scene of so much creative cuisine!). God changed sex (Mother Earth?), and later size. Beth Johnston made a particular and commanding impression. To an atmospheric score by Martin Bruce and a clever visual evocation of creation using slides projected on walls and ceiling by Mike Willdridge Adam (Duncan Brannan) and Eve (Celia Palmer) were raised from the primaeval clay. They made a striking pair of original parents, touching in their naivete and easy prey for the sinuous and seductive Satan of Pat Wong: who could resist her blandishments? With the expulsion of the hapless couple from the Garden it was all over: and the Temptation and the Fall were the second play.

Noah's Ark was built in Chapel, the triune God addressing us from the West End gallery. This was the most energetic and vigorous of the plays, a splendid collection of Gossips and Wives (particularly Lucy Slater as Mrs.Noah) ad libbing wittily to cover the rather lengthy building of the vessel. Richard Miles' Noah was such a sturdy and dependable character that I would

Cast Antigone Antigone Ismene Coryphaeus Creon A Soldier Haemon Teiresias Boy A Messenger Eurydice

Rebecca Stene Natalie Harris Emily Sykes Adam Cresswell Oliver Daddow Andrew Hepner Mark Milsted Stephen Buckler Gideon Cresswell Emma Richards

Choreutes (Theban citizens, guards, attendants, elders of the city)

Lucy Burbridge, Katie Woods, Lucy Slater, Beth Johnston, Henrietta Palmer, Clare Berry, Victoria Moon, Anita Henderson, Marie Picard, Rebecca Gear, Anna Sabine, Anneli Christian-Phillips, Catherine Pillinger, Annabel Pillinger, Kathryn Hannah, Katie Harper, Jo Masterman, Kate James, Anna Rhodes, Susan West, Katharine Moon, Clare Willdnson, Jo Howard, John Kentish-Barnes, Ian Jones, David Hayman, Warwick Strong, Richard Wooderson, Nicholas De Lucy, Christopher Pope and James Rollinson. from Mark Milsted. His warning to Creon that "you stand on a razor's edge" was convincingly expressed, and, by the time he left the stage, we were left in no doubt that Creon is making a terrible mistake.

And what of the Chorus who plays such an important role as both actor and commentator? The carefully staged opening suggested figures that are to be witnesses to all that happens and Fr. John, with his slick direction of their patterned movements and individual speeches, provided them with opportunities to act as a bridge between audience and the main characters.

However, individuals must fit in with the team, and it was a shame that two members of the Chorus were giggling and that one of Creon's guards should stand chewing gum like some fourthrate member of a local village chorus line!

Overall, they succeeded in putting across submissive, if unenthusiastic loyalty to Creon as well as being heard to reprove Antigone for her disobedience and defiance. In the greater detachment of the lyric utterances, they showed, too, how aware they were that the tragedy lay more deeply than that. The Tragedy, whatever the subject, is our Tragedy, and we, like the Chorus, are both in it and spectators of it. While the tragedy is played out, we identify ourselves, as the Chorus does, with this character and now that character - inconsistent, fickle mortals that we are.

This production was given extra quality by the haunting musical themes composed and played by Darshi Tambiah, while the combination of Mike Willdridge, Don Taylor and Stewart Young as Designer, Builder and Electrician respectively, with an austere and practical set, provided the finishing touches to what was an impressive production of a great Greek play.

What little angels!

R.D. Chance

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The Trinity Sian Leadbeter, Rebecca Lillywhite, Felicity Lynes, Candice Majewski, Elizabeth Parrett, Olivia Piper, Jessica Stenborg, Victoria Burbridge, Victoria Burr, Madaleine Gear.

Dominations, Principalities, Thrones and Archangels: Andrew J. Hepner, Mark C. Milsted, Adam Cresswell, Gideon Cresswell, Rupert Morling, Frazer Debney, Billy Jones, Damon Loft, Alexander Mansfield, Jeremy Parkinson, Matthew Sabine, Gavin Saunders, Spencer Murphy, James Nimmo, Seung Hwan Chung, Matthew Cleghorn, James Ferris, Philip Friend, Ben Harper, Edward Kentish-Barnes, Daniel Willdridge, Andrew Wingham, Damien Keys, Cyrus Shahrad, Bala Unongo, Philip Day, Ben Hodgson, Andrew Maple, James Marchant, James Simmonds, Tim Wild, Ben Woodcock, Alexander Agar, Gregory Clifford, Mark Critchley, Tom Horton, Ben Jeffes, Louis Kampanis, Peter Kutschmann, Andrew Lunn, Jonathan Milsted, Mathieu Picard, Ben Wallis

have had little hesitation in joining him on his apparently lunatic voyage. The animals, resplendent in a variety of inventive masks, were all that you might expect. A rainbow appeared on Chapel roof: cast and audience joined in the hymn Now thank we all our God. The third play was ended, and the audience thought about what it had seen and saw that it was good. And the Ark and the Rainbow were the third play.

To mount any sort of production of three plays in a week is impressive: to do it well is a triumph. This was an evening full of engaging theatrical ideas on which the standard of diction was uniformly and impressively high. A variety of areas had been used to present the drama and a very large cast (many of whom wouldn't usually be found in a school play) had been well-drilled and enthused. The sometimes rather childish nature of the mediaeval play scripts suited this style of committed if unpolished production well. Only the size of the audience (and the pupil proportion of it) gave cause for regret. But small parent audiences, as one soon learns at Sutton Valence, are a fact of life. Fr. John is to be thanked for inviting his talented friend among us and for the hours of work that went into organising all the practical details of a show such as this. There could scarcely have been a better focus to Contemporary Arts' Week. And on the seventh day we ended all the work which we had made: and we rested on the seventh day from all the work which we had made.

Eikonoklastes

Creation and Fall of Adam and Eve God

Devil and Serpent Adam Eve Angels

Casts Creation of Angels and the fall of Lucifer Cod

Saffron Tom Clare Berry Beth Johnston Matthew Usmar David Anthony Stephen Buckler Patricia Wong Duncan Brannan Celia Palmer Stephanie Avis, Ghillie Studd, Tatjiana Maikowski, Katie Woods

Noah's Ark God

Jake Scott Chris Haynes James Rollinson Patricia Wong Alistair Hudd

Emma Richards Oliver Haywood Reginald Yue Richard Miles Lucy Slater Ben Ofori Stephanie Avis David Wootton Elizabeth New Nigel Gill Anneli Christian-Phillips

Noah Mrs. Noah Chaco Chain's Wife Shem Shem's Wife Japheth Japheth's Wife Gossips: Katie Harper, Elizabeth Harrison, Phillipa Worsfold, Natalie Boult, Katie Woods, Catharine Day, Rebecca Head

Lucifer and 1st Devil Lightborn and 2nd Devil Virtues, Cherubim and Angels: Caroline Critchley, Victoria Day, Risa Drewer, Katharine Evans, Kathy Evans, Ellen Midwood, Katie Slaughter, Michelle Titcombe, Belinda Upton, Fiona Wight, Joanna Baillie, Christine Judd, Phillip Le Grys, Amy Lovegrove, Aekta Patel, Emma Wills, Alison Brannan, Holly Browne, Caroline Dearing, Jessica Jones,

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Music has been, so far, a busy and varied year. In TSeptember we welcomed Philip Honey (Assistant Director of Music), Janice Beven (Harp), Eileen Field (Singing and Piano), Sue Ridgeway (Violin and Viola), Sue Wight (Piano), Paul Woodward (Piano) and Jane Aldred (Music School Secretary); in January Len Rhodes (Keyboards, Composition and Advanced Piano). All have made a significant contribution to the musical life of the school.

The year's events began with Red Touch 'breaking the sound barrier' in the Main Hall in the first week of the Michaelmas term, while The Pasadena Roof Orchestra entertained a capacity audience for the opening concert of the Sutton Valence Music Society season. The same weekend we welcomed pupils from The Downs School, Malvern (a preparatory school which the Music Scholars visited last year). An honourable draw in a 'friendly' hockey match betokened the warmth and friendship shown between the two schools. Without a pause for breath we were then hosting The Voronezh Choir from Russia. Everyone who heard them sing will always hold dear the wonderful, exciting, controlled depth of sound they produced.

Our own Chamber Choir sang the morning service at St. Mary's, Sutton Valence on the first Sunday of term and then ran over to join the Chapel Choir for our own first Sunday Service in Chapel. During the second week the Chamber choir and Jazz Band entertained a group of lovely people in Headcorn at an Age Concern meeting, while during half term the Chapel Choir sang at the Royal School of Church Music Festival in Canterbury Cathedral - and sang well - as indeed they have throughout the year. Two Carol Services at School and one in All Saints', Maidstone brought the Michaelmas Term to a triumphant conclusion. There had been the inspirational example of Eton College Choir and Organists to spur our singers on, and they had acquitted themselves well at a Choral Day held at Benenden School with the choirs of Benenden, Cranbrook, Bedgebury Park, and D.C. P.S. The Second Annual Contemporary Arts' Week in January resounded with brass and singing in the cycle of 'Mystery Plays' produced by Luke Dixon. Pupils' compositions were performed in a 'Words and Music' evening on the Friday - including a setting of the Evensong Canticles by Charles Evans. The Sutton Valence Music Society hosted students from the Royal Academy of Music and were treated to an evening of popular operatic excerpts, sung with great vigour, charm, sensitivity and warmth. One week later Dr. Jane Glover gave an enlightening talk, with recorded examples, about different interpretations of Mozart's music. At the other end of the spectrum our ear drums were treated to an overhaul by Maximum Intensity and 'friends'. They have become more accomplished and with a wider repertoire give a great deal of pleasure to their followers: many thanks to Vic Hyland and Barry McLean.

r.

Vaughan-Williams' Five Mystical Songs The 27th. February is the day set aside by the Church of England to remember George Herbert, Pastor and Poet, and to mark the occasion the Choral Society with Martin Bruce as soloist performed Vaughan Williams' Five Mystical Songs (to Herbert texts) in St. Mary's Church: the Vicar, the Revd. David Barker talked about the life and works of the great divine, two of whose hymns were sung.

The successful S.V.M.S. season finished with a superb concert from the young talented 'cellist Caroline Dale and her accompanist, Elizabeth Burley, both of whom established a strong rapport with the appreciative audience. Squeezed in before the School Concert was the Antigone of Sophocles, the music for which was written and performed by Dharshi Tambiah, and which was often effective.

P.S. Aldred

The Music Scholars' Concert March 1991 was an impressive and highly enjoyable evening.

TIthiswould be impossible to comment on every item of an extensive programme (put together entirely by the musicians themselves) but all the players deserve praise for their distinctive contribution.

There were many highlights. Charles Evans started the concert with an imposing performance of Langlais' Incantation pour un Jour Saint for organ and then the rich tone of Damian Penfold's accomplished fluteplaying in

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Victoria Day

Charles Evans

Debussy's famous Syrinx came across particularly well in the resonant acoustic of the chapel. In this part of the concert Stephanie Aviss showed poise and a pure tone in the Pie Jesu from Faure's Requiem.

Over in the Music School Elizabeth New played Bach's Toccata and Fugue in E minor with vigour and purpose, managing to sustain a fearsome tempo in the technically far from easy fugue. Dharshi Tambiah's account of Ravel's Sonatine was memorable: she is becoming increasingly assured technically and produced some beautiful tonal effects in the first two movements as well as considerable vitality in the last movement.

Oliver Whawell also made a fine contribution to the evening. His piano playing had a crisp sense of discipline and his saxophone playing is improving both in tone and intonation: his performance on the saxophone of Schubert's great song An Die Musik was truly moving. James Roberts showed good rhythmic sense both in his saxophone playing and his

commendably restrained accompaniment of Anna Rhodes and others on the drums. Then there was Kathryn Hannah's fine performance on the 'cello of Mendelssohn's Song Without Words, Op.109. Her intonation is very secure and her somewhat impassive expression as she plays belies the warmth of tone which she produces with little apparent strain or effort. I felt that a player of this quality might have been used much more in ensemble playing (perhaps in a trio with piano and another instrument?) and in general, the programme did lack (with the exception of the Sutton Stompers' jazz renditions, which included Ellington's Mood Indigo) any items featuring more than two instruments.

The four younger players showed promise (and stamina, performing, as they were, quite late in the evening and at the end of a tiring week). Victoria Day was not at all overawed by the occasion in her charming and rhythmically well-controlled performance on the clarinet of Ory's Muskrat Ramble, while Fiona Wight

Dharshi Tambiah and Oliver Whawell

The Suttonian 1991 entered well into the spirit of the Bulgarian violin piece Hora; and Elizabeth Harrison, though perhaps not quite on top form, phrased Schumann's Fantasy Piece No. l for clarinet quite effectively. I was sorry that Anna Rhodes did not play her violin, but she made a sweet sound on the oboe, playing arrangements of songs by Bryant and Lloyd-Webber which were well-received.

There were also the vocal ensembles: Part two of the concert ended humorously with the quartet In a Contemplative Fashion from The Gondoliers (Gilbert would not have been amused to find himself omitted from the programme). Most notably, however, we were treated in Chapel to works for unaccompanied voices

by Morley and Byrd, sensitive performances, without a conductor, revealing assured musicianship.

So much for individual items. What impressed me as much as anything was the esprit de corps of the musicians: they all worked for each other in everything from setting up music stands, through page-turning and help with tuning their instruments, to the difficult and often neglected an of sensitive piano accompaniment.

Dharshi Tambiah, Oliver Whawell and Elizabeth New in particular deserve considerable credit for the encouragement and support which they gave to the less experienced players.

C. W. W. Wilson

popular with the younger part of the audience but rather loud for aged ears! Sadly the girl singers could not be heard, which made them look like 'groupies'; but some skilful keyboard and guitar playing was evident. There followed excellent solo performances by Felicity Lynes, Tim Field, Alastair Hudd and Dharshi Tambiah on piano, voice, clarinet,and piano respectively. The Chamber Choir performed five songs with considerable polish and panache. We of the Choral Society were not on our best form, defeated somewhat by the Hall's acoustics and its unfamiliarity as we sang one of Vaughan-Williams' Five Mystical Songs and accompanied Eileen Field as she sang the Easter Hymn quite beautifully.

The concert ended with extracts from West Side Story performed by the combined choirs, some of whose members had been the same age as the original cast when it was originally performed, but are now just a little older. The audience participated in this and it made a cheerful conclusion to a long but enjoyable evening.

What struck one most of all was the sheer number of those involved and the great breadth of musical interest it represented. The standard was excellent and reflected credit on Philip Aldred and Philip Honey and all their talented visiting music staff.

C.F. G. Parkinson

The School Concert

Associated Board Examination Results, March 1991

W

e have been instructed to keep the length of this article in inverse proportion to that of the concert!

The problem was the cancellation of the Junior Concert because of the snow and its subsequent incorporation into the main one. The result was a sort of musical marathon.

Before the concert proper the audience was entertained by the Junior Jazz Band and the Bluesicians who performed excellently both then and later in the second half. The concert then began with the orchestra, which produced a rich sound and spirited performance, and the Chamber Group, followed by Oliver Whawell playing a Vivaldi Lute Concerto he had arranged for soprano saxophone. The Big Band then played first a Mozart Serenade then lighter music including The Muppet Show Theme, which they delivered with gusto.

They also accompanied the sultry Liz New singing The Way We Were. In this connection I must say how heartening it is to see the emergence of solo singing by pupils at Sutton Valence. This is much to do with our at last having a singing teacher in the shape of Eileen Field who has already added so much to school music. It was she who had coached and who conducted the Junior Choir in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dream coat. This was notable not only for the high quality of the singing but for the activity and stage presence of the soloists. It is always unfair to name names but surely Jessica Jones' performance will be remembered for a long time! The choir sang with great concentration, accuracy and, above all, with evident enjoyment.

The first group of performers in the second half was a school pop group called "Tribal Dawn", perhaps more

J. Roberts K. Moon O. Piper R. Lillywhite F. Lynes V. Day C. Majewski C. Dearing P. Day K. Woods B. Jones K. Moon S. West A. Lovegrove V. Day S. Mills W. Kentish-Barnes C. Hicks A. Rhodes K. Harper K. Sprenger A. Shaw P. Worsfold F. Wight E. Harrison S. Aviss S. Aviss K. Hannah K. Hannah I. Collins A. Hudd C. Evans C. Palmer E. New

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Theory Theory Theory Theory Theory Theory Theory Theory Piano Clarinet Piano Harp Flute Piano Singing Clarinet Organ Flute Singing Clarinet Harp Piano Flute Singing Singing Violin Singing 'cello Singing Piano Clarinet Organ Piano Clarinet

5 Pass Pass 5 1 Pass 1 Pass 1 Pass 1 Pass 1 Pass 1 Pass 1 Pass 1 Pass 1 Pass 1 Pass 2 Pass 2 Pass 2 Merit 3 Pass 3 Pass 3 Pass 3 Merit 3 Merit 3 Distinction 4 Pass 4 Merit 4 Distinction 5 Distinction Pass 6 6 Merit 6 Distinction Distinction 6 7 Pass 7 Merit 8 Pass 8 Pass Advanced Certificate

I

8

e

Barry Maclean, O.S.

Rock Concert Maximum Intensity 22nd. February 1991 The school band had appeared twice before at school events, as part of last summer's 'Mufti' and as back-up to Red Touch, but this was their first big concert.

The band has had a fair number of difficulties to put up with in getting the concert off the ground. The main problem was finding practice time since the noise level at which they like to practise disturbs their more classical colleagues. Despite this the band still had plenty of wide-ranging material to perform - from heavy metal such as Paranoid to reasonably light rock'n'roll such as Wild Thing. However they did perform their own songs of varying types, such is their talent, and to most people's surprise, these were often fairly good.

Barry started off the concert by playing and singing his own songs on the piano, and had dedicated a song to the memory of Mr. Day. After that the band started their set and managed immediately to live up to their name by blowing one of the amps. This slight mishap over however all seemed to go well. The music was loud and lively and enjoyed by most. It was great to hear pupils performing contemporary music and playing both cover versions of well-known rock songs and their own original material. It may not have been everyone's cup of tea but surely proven talent should be encouraged and not condemned.

The band: Vocals Stewart Youg Lead/Rhythm Guitar Rino Haldmnejad Rhythm/Lead Guitar Nigel Gill Bass Chris Pope Drums/Keyboard Barry McLean Additional Saxophone Oliver Whawell

I

Celia Palmer L6

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In The Beginning

Alone

I woke with a jump

e awoke and got out of bed.

HHe drank his coffee black.

When the alarm clock sounded And leapt out of bed: Oh, how my heart pounded.

I slept on.

Soon I awoke and sat up to Watch his graceful movements.

We argued; Without speaking to me, He went.

I don't know where, Perhaps to work.

I don't know.

I got out of bed.

I drank white coffee.

I sat and stared.

He didn't call Not like he usually did.

I began to worry.

Still I sat and stared: Alone.

Still he didn't call.

I went to bed, and I slept.

That was two days ago.

And now I awake To an empty bed.

Once I was angry, Now I am sad For now I know that he Will never return.

I hold my head in my hands And I cry.

For I loved him.

B. Armstrong 4A

For today was the day To start at S.V. I couldn't believe This was really me!

The uniform was strange, My skirt was too long; I tied up my tie But that was all wrong.

Twenty-five minutes The journey took.

My school bag was empty Not even a book.

So this was the Quad, A large busy place.

I looked for a friend, A familiar face.

Cornwallis was friendly When I ventured in.

I found a few friends And started to grin.

I often look back On the things I did wrong: But now, after six months, I feel I belong.

B. Upton IA

Why Me? Sixth Form Excuses

Why should I feed Kitty, Why should I walk Daisy; Why can't my brother do it for once, Instead of being so lazy?

"I've nearly finished" = I've done about half.

"I've just started" = I may have thought about it.

"You have two weeks to write this essay" = I mustnot think about it until the night before."

Why do I do all the work?

I hate laying the table.

I can't see why he can't do it I know he's perfectly able.

"I've left it at home/in my show/in the House" = I'll have to do it tonight because he wants it in.

Why should I make his breakfast While he is brushing his hair, And tidy up the kitchen?

It just isn't fair!

"I couldn't do my diagram as my pencil was blunt" _ What diagram?

"I've lost my file" = I'm so disorganised that this might actually be true.

Why should I mop the floor, While he is watching T.V.: Of all the people in the world, Why me?

E. Midwood IA

"I actually did it last Friday" = I've just finished it in break.

"It is making excellent progress" = I started it in breakbut have not yet finished.

"I've left it on the train" = I've got real problems.

42

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The Suttonian 1991

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Page 43: "Tarot Card', Page 44 (top): "Life Drawing" by Becky Stene, U6; (bottom): "Tractor" by Damien Keys, IB; Page 45 (top): "Life Sculpture" by Reginald Yue, L6; (bottom); "Life Drawing' by Celia Palmer, L6; This page: Drawing' by Chris Haynes, U6

46

The Suttonian 1991

Life At School starts off with the general chatter about prep Theanddaya glance through The Daily Mail or Daily Express.

Then Mr. Pickard comes in and takes the register and we get our books ready and walk up to Chapel. We drop our bags off at the room of the first lesson beforehand.

When break comes we walk down to Bennett and change our books. After that most of the house goes down to the Newsagents' or the Village shop. At about ten minutes past eleven we walk to our next lesson. After lunch it's back again to Bennett.

If it is games in the afternoon I usually get changed and read a newspaper or something else, but if it were a Monday, Wednesday or Friday I would change my books and read a newspaper or something else.

Life in Bennett is quiet, but sometimes noisy. The boys from Lambe's and Founder's are a rough lot but okay. When it comes to changing to Lambe's or Founder's I think I will be proud to have been in Bennett.

M Sabine IA

A Life in the Day of a First Former

Mixed Schools

out of bed each day as late as possible, despite Ithegetconstant ringing of the alarm clock which doesn't

n all mixed schools IThere are separation rules

succeed in dragging me out of bed until the wretched thing's been going for fifteen minutes. I have a really pathetic breakfast and then it takes me two minutes and a stumble over a large rock to get to Bennett.

Once there I try to set a new record each morning to see whether I can get my books ready, smash a bottle of milk and get up to Chapel or Assembly on time.

Lessons don't really help me keep awake, especially the ones in the morning and the one after lunch but having said that a few do keep me alive. I'm O.K. at maths and so is my calculator which improves my score considerably, even though it needs Mr. Sinclair to use it because it doesn't work for me. Well it does, but it gives me the wrong answer.

Then we have lunch...

Break is too short to write about and is usually used up by a music lesson or choir. At about two thirty there is games: rugby, hockey, cricket, athletics or swimming and, as the saying goes: if you want to finish your sons off let them play rugby.

After games, with a bit of luck, we can go home, and if we can't go home we've got a play rehearsal or something else. Most evenings I'm home at about six and face the daunting task of prep. This usually takes a good two hours because I let it all build up until I have about four preps to be done by the next day.

After prep I will sit down and watch a bit of T.V. and just as I'm about to help make cocoa for sixty boys in St. Margaret's the fire alarm goes off so I have to help my Dad (the house tutor) evacuate everybody from the building.

Once in bed it takes me about half an hour to get to sleep and once asleep nothing wakes me.

D. Willdridge JA

Which couples are always breaking But not at Sutton Valence.

In the boarding houses If you want your girl to meet ya She has to have permission, Be accompanied by a teacher.

Going down to the playing fields Just walking with your dog, You're bound to meet the odd couple Going for a jog.

Kissing is a sinful act That many pupils do But not at Sutton Valence: There's too much prep to do.

I'd recommend mixed schooling Without the least hesitation: It's better than a onesex school With all its tense frustration.

T. Hannaway 4A

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The Suttonian 1991

A Surprise Lunch was a normal Thursday morning and none of the First ItForm suspected what was going to happen at lunchtime.

After fifth lesson the First and Second Formers went for lunch as usual. As I walked to the Refectory I looked in and saw some Second Formers eating burgers, chips and ice cream. It was my favourite meal: it was everybody's favourite meal. I ran through the doors but stopped dead inside. A lot of the First Form were huddled in an enclosure in front of me. I had absolutely no idea why on earth they were standing there and I was rather puzzled. I walked straight past them.

"Come back!" said Miss Egan. "All the First Formers in here please." I went into the enclosure if anything more puzzled. Why should all of us be made to stand here while all the Second Formers were feasting on burgers, chips and ice cream? When everyone was in, one of the dinner ladies brought in a tray. On it were cups of soup and a bowl of bread.

I was now completely bewildered and a lot of people thought it was a big joke and started laughing.

'Remember that film you all watched on Romania?" asked Miss Egan. 'Remember the poor children in the orphanages who had to eat bread and soup standing up for their lunch? Well, that is exactly what all you lot are going to do. All you're going to have is bread and soup and nobody is allowed to sit down." There was dead silence while this statement was taken in. Then everyone started to cry out: "You're not serious are you?"

"You must be joking!"

"Is this really all we are going to get?"

"This is no joke," said Miss Egan cheerfully, "eat up, everyone."

But it was so unfair - they were depriving us of our nourishment and it was pure torture watching the Second Formers eat their meal.

After we had finished what little there was to eat we went to lessons, muttering, grumbling and very annoyed. There were still surprises to come. Towards the end of the last lesson our teacher said, 'We are packing up early today because Miss Egan wants to see you in the Refectory." We all immediately guessed what was up and rushed there.

We were right: it was our favourite meal - burgers, chips and ice cream. By now we were all rather hungry.

But it did make me think of how lucky I was. I had ical Romanian orphan's meal and was left still eaten a typical very hungry. There is no feast for them in store once lessons are over. It made me feel sorry for them and grateful that I am so lucky.

J. Parkinson IA

Scene on a Railway Platform t is a wintry morning. The sun is low and casting long Ishadows across the windswept platform which is busy with travellers standing, waiting for the train to come in.

Porters are pushing barrows laden heavily with parcels, bags or boxes.

As the steam train comes in it looks splendid with clouds of smoke puffing out from the engine. People hurry about, trying to push through doors all at once, whilst officials shout over their heads. A man with a hammer climbs from coach to coach, testing wheels and links. The guard blows a whistle as he points to the clock: it is time for the train to leave. As he shuts the last door the engine starts to move, puffing and panting as it pulls out of the station. It goes under the arch into the clear

The Suttonian 1991 of the pupils were helpful however so that these problems gradually faded.

The most significant difference I have noticed between the two different education systems I have experienced is that in England you are supposed to have mastered the basic knowledge of all but your three 'A' Level subjects by the end of G.C.S.E. whereas in Germany you have to continue beyond this point in those subjects, which count toward your final results, although the final exams are taken in only four subjects.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both systems and I am glad to have tried both.

The other major difference is the range of extracurricular opportunities at a school like Sutton Valence which you would never encounter in a German school simply because we only have lessons until about 2 o'clock and then go home: but then of course we don't pay school fees and if we have to, they aren't high. We pursue our hobbies at home after school.

At first I had problems getting on with people here, partly because there were so many new attitudes (many differing from my own) to come to terms with; and partly because many pupils preferred to keep their prejudices about me rather than actually to deal with me. In fact it took me about a term to get used to the atmosphere at Sutton Valence. Now I like it and have discovered that most people are quite pleasant once you talk to them. I have also accustomed myself to the boarding which was quite a shock at first: I had never had to share my existence with more than my family at home. Now I shall probably feel something is missing when I'm not surrounded by noise and people.

All in all I'm very happy about having been at S.V.S. and I think it has done me quite a lot of good, not only in terms of education.

Tatjana Maikowsla

blue sky. The passengers sit like royalty inside the carriages, looking forward to the journey, while the few left on the platform wave farewell.

M. Critchley 2B

Thoughts from a Foreign Body ermans are very keen on travelling to different Gcountries and therefore also to learn foreign languages, so it has become a habit for many students to take a 'gap' year. I was one of the especially eager students who preferred to spend her time in a foreign school rather than working away at the nine subjects Germans take at the equivalent of 'A' Level. It didn't take me long to decide on England because English is my second language and I had visited this country a few times and liked what I knew of it. The real problem was, which school to choose. I leafed through a few prospectuses aware that this was more or less like a multiple choice test (know nothing but hope for the best!). S.V.S. had the best designed so I ended up here in September.

I was actually quite astonished to find everything as it looked in the pictures and therefore the first impression was very good. Please note that at this stage I had only made the acquaintance of the buildings. All I remember of the first few days is running round looking for rooms, timetables and various other things in company with a crowd of people who, like me, felt just a little lost.

It was very difficult in the beginning to cope with lessons and work, on the one hand because every other remark the teachers made was "As you surely remember from G.C.S.E.", and on the other because of language difficulties. That was probably why I didn't enjoy the first weeks very much. The teachers and some

49

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The Suttonian 1991 years previously. The first thing he noticed were the drag marks in the brown earth and the prints of a large animal. The second thing to catch his eye was the disappearing rump of his 'pet' as it entered the forest.

He swore profusely and ran back to his house, his head pounding with each footfall. He reached it quickly and went through the beaten front door with its peeling paint straight to the broom closet. He reached inside and gathered his weapons. The cupboard had been used for many years and was filled with paint cans, bales of wire and cardboard boxes with forgotten objects in them.

Now he rifled through the junk looking for his shotgun and length of chain. He found both and a box of cartridges. He put the cartridges in his pocket and the chain over his shoulder then tucked the gun under his arm.

He left the house and headed back towards the shed, cursing his luck and everything else that had happened.

Behemoth The morning sun broke through the dirty window and lit up the blue steel chain which held him. He lay for a few moments before shakinghimselfawake. He was reluctant to stir from his warm depression in the hard earth, knowing how the day ahead would form. He walked into the sunlit patch and stood for a moment as his coat warmed up. It was dull and a little thin; he wasn't fed often enough by his owner who seemed permanently drunk, angry or both.

He padded around the small shed where he lived, occasionally sniffing the ground, looking for a long lost scent of food or company. He heard the birds singing outside and strained against the old chain that held him captive in the small world he knew so well.

He heard shuffling on the path outside and knew what was coming. A shadow crossed the doorway and paused.

A lump of stale bread was thrown in and the shadow moved on. He approached the bread and took a single sniff before dispatching it in one bite. It was gone quickly and he longed for more to fill his aching stomach.

Occasionally some meat was thrown to him but those glorious days grew further apart. This morning's routine had been repeated in essence every day for the last four years. He padded restlessly around the stake to which the chain was attached and longed to stretch his muscles as many generations had done before him. He knew instinctively of the world outside the shed he lived in. He had wild blood in him and this could not be suppressed by mere captivity.

The room was lit up briefly for an hour or two as the sun passed over the doorway. Again he strained against the chain and again his freedom was denied to him.

The day passed and dusk fell over the countryside.

Night came quickly in as cloak ofblackness andhe laid his head down to sleep.

The next morning he woke up and again he warmed himself in the small patch of sunlight. He padded around his shed but something was different. His instinct told him of something strange and he put his weight against the chain, straining with unexercised muscles. Then a link started to bend. The give in the chain was barely perceptible but his alert senses detected it andhe strained harder against the restraint. The link snapped with the crack of a broken branch and suddenly he was free.

He got up from his warm bed and staggered to the crude sink on the far side of the room. His image in the mirror was hungover, dirty and unshaven as he turned the stained tap which gave with a rusty squeak. Dirty, reddishbrown water shot out spasmodically and he wiped a wet hand over his sagged face. His head pounded and he regretted the previous night's drinking.

He staggered into the kitchen and fried an egg on the grimecoated stove in a pan which was thick with the residue of the breakfasts it had seen. He ate the egg slowly with a cup of muddy coffee and set off to his room to dress. Once in his stained overalls he set off to work in the steel mill, pausing only to grab a loaf of bread to feed his 'pet'.

He shuffled down the track and turned to the path which led to the ramshackle shed he had erected six

His progress was slow as this was the first taste of freedom in his younglife. He blundered through the forest sniffing the ground and flowers and trees around him. His senses were assaulted by a battery ofsmells, all alien and all harmless to him as he had known no predator or prey in his shrouded life. He marvelled constantly and his spinis soared as he walked on leaving a clear trail behind him.

It had taken him some minutes to find the entry into the dense forest and he cursed at the lost time. He took a swig from a flat brown bottle he carried in his pocket and set off on the trail. The tracks were not hard to follow and his mind stuck in one channel as he followed the beaten grass and broken twigs and branches. He didn't notice the direction he had taken or the fact that the vegetation was beginning to close up, making the trail harder to follow. He forged ahead and the trail grew fresher.

He walked on through the foliage, excited by every ne w object to be found. A squirrel ran al ong a branch and he lifted his great head to focus on the departing bushy tail. A bird was in deep songbut flew away when he came closer to investigate which puzzled him. It didn't occur to him that he was a predator. As he walked he revelled in the use of his newlyfound muscles. He was essentially a wild animal and his muscles were tough and strong through generations of born killers.

He eventually reached a clearing and saw signs of the animal. There was a broken branch here and a patch of crushed grass there but this time the entry into the forest was harder to find and not so easy to follow. He pushed through the thick vegetation, his eyes catching kaleidoscopes of colour as the light refracted through the leaves and branches. Rich greens and pale yellows mingled with the natural red and blue of the flowers but it all meant nothing to him. He set his mind on the task ahead.

Hisblunt, thrustingnose burst out of the thickairofthe forest and into the sweet, clear air around the brook. He drankit in and filled his lungs with the clean air as his ears registered the burbling waterrunning over the rocks and frothing into little pools fringed with moss. Fish swam downstream and a kingfisher was methodically fishing for his family. Calling on instinct he dipped a tentative paw

51

The Suttonian 1991 into the cool, clear water. He drew it out in shock at the coldness of the liquid and took an involuntary step backwards. Another fish shot past and his brow furrowed with annoyance though he scarcely knew why. As the next fish came he plunged an inexpert pawinto the water. The fish avoided it with ease and he quickly saw why. As the next fish swam downstream he curled his paw as it hit the water. The fish was hooked out of the water and he broke its back with his large jaws. He devoured the silvery flesh quickly and fished out another. He was working on his eleventh when some sense warned him of impending danger. He crossed the stream quickly and entered the forest again, this time taking more care as he moved through the foliage.

When he came across the stream his patience was thin. He had expected a quick chase then a cartridge to end his problems. If this brute got to town and ran amok he would be blamed for everything. He saw the remains of the fish and cursed again as he crossed the stream. It took him a full twenty minutes this time to find the right place.

The bear was beginning to tire and when he found the clearing he searched for a place to sleep. A hollow had been formed by a fallen tree and it was into this that he settled.

He kept going even as night started to fall. The track was getting more obvious; the animal was probably getting tired and careless. He followed the trail with great perseverance despite the fact that he himself was tired and in need of food. His mind began to fog over and he stumbled and fell ..... He had found the bear when it was a cub and orphaned by a shotgun blast to his mother's side. Neglect soon replaced pity. He should have checked the chain as he always used to ..... At this moment he stumbled on the clearing, immediately sensing the presence of the bear and looking carefully around him.

He woke quietly and intently. The moon was high and casting its silver cover on him, and the ground was clear as he lifted his head to checkhis surroundings. What was that?Arustlingon the other side of the clearingcaught his delicate ears. His blunt nose tested the air and found a familiar and hated smell. He rose in rage from the hollow and stood in the moonlight, angerswellinglike a hurricane wave. The figure turned and raised a long black stick which glared orange as the bear swayed to one side. He heard a bang and the pellets rushing by as one. He rose to his full height, calling on the power of his ancestors, piggy eyes glaring with malevolent power in the light of the great moon overhead. His muscles rippled under his glowing coat: he was one of the biggest grizzlies in his whole family line and was terrifying in his anger.

As he pulled the trigger he knew instantly that he had missed. As the black shape unfolded he nearly fainted and the gun wavered.

He let out a roar of anger that reverberated through the trees, lurched forward onto all fours and charged, massive paws drumming the earth.

The roar split his head and struck into his brain, turning his heart to warm sponge and rooting him to the spot. He panicked. His hand snagged the catch of the shotgun but finally it fell into two hinged parts as he

fumbled for the cartridges. Then quite suddenly he was icy calm. He loaded the gun carefully, cocked the hammer and took careful aim.

The bear sensed the determination in the fragile human before him but ignored the danger and gathered speed. The blast caught him in the right shoulder and slewed him to one side. But that was all: he kept on going for the man.

The gun jolted in his hands and his ears rang. How could he have missed again? No, there was glistening black on the golden coat. Yet the head of the great bear hit him full in the stomach and five of his ribs snapped like green twigs and the breath was knocked out of him.

His head shot back to hit the tree behind him with a sickening crack. One rib had punctured his lung and a yellowish fluid came out of his ears, his leg was broken and he had twisted his arm. But he was alive.

He was surprised that the figure so resolute had been so light and he shook his great, bloodsplashed head. His anger drained from him and he was tired. His shoulder stung and he limped off towards the forest.

Through a pink mist he saw the bear turn round and found to his surprise that he still held the shotgun. He lifted it weakly to his shoulder, scarcely aiming, and pulled the trigger. The gun flew out of his hand, striking his face and leaving an ugly red welt. Within three hours he was dead.

He had turned for a last look at his enemy when the explosion blew up in his face. His little brain couldn't understand what had happened. The shot had ripped his jaw out of its socket and the pain was intense. He stumbled clumsily into the forest.

W. Slater4A

Supplies to Romania t the end of the Michaelmas term Anneka Rice, from e B.B.C. Challenge Anneka Show went on Terry Wogan's seven o'clock programme to announce that she had been challenged to provide a Romanian orphanage with clothes, toys, new beds, proper toilets, lights, cooking facilities, music - in fact anything that would brighten up the lives of those living there.

Two hours after her appearance she was listening to 'phone calls from those who wished to help, amongst them our Caterer at the School, Miss Egan. The next day Miss Egan was able to produce, as if by magic, a lorry (later joined by another) to take up to London all the things that had been collected from pupils at Sutton Valence and Underhill and local people. Television crews arrived to film black dustbin bags full of goodies being loaded onto the lorries. Some pupils were lucky enough to get their picture in the local newspaper.

A convoy of lorries crossed the English Channel to France and travelled through Belgium, slowed down by breakdowns and a carcrash but eventually moving on into the south of Germany. Good, easy roads were replaced in Romania by much poorer ones and this made the lorries later still.

52

The Suttonian 1991 Eventually the convoy reached the orphanage. It was about 9 o'clock Romanian time and work started there and then to make up for a day and a half lost on the journey. Beds, cots, chairs, tables, paint, food, toys , tools, clothes, a great number of items of all sorts were off-loaded at the orphanage and it took two days and nights. A tremendous project was taking place.

The orphans scarcely seemed to know how to react at first but soon showed their happiness in smiles perhaps, for some of them, the first smiles for a very long time.

All of the supplies collected at S.V.S. reached the orphanage whether a cap, a pair of socks or shoes, a shirt, a book, a onceloved toy - everything went to one of those six hundred children. So thank you, Anneka Rice and thank you if you were one of the many who sent something to Romania to improve the lives of those desperate children.

A First Former

"Come 'ere, you 'orrible person!"

Mr. Jones

"You are late for lessons!"

Dr. Sabine

"Put it down, put it down!"

Mr. Bates Mr. Bates

"1 don't know if I've used this example Mr. Parkinson before, but in the army..."

"Enter the Inner Sanctum..."

Mr. Pettman

"Don't call me 'Sir', you peasant!"

Fr. John

The Biker ong hair, LBandanna, Shades and a beard.

An earing, A tattoo, Smiles kinda weird.

T-shirt and leathers, Scuffed boots and jeans.

Heavy-ringed fingers, Eats nothing but beans.

Panhead, Black paint job, Chrome polished bright.

Five gallon fatbobs, Tombstone tail-light.

Buckhorns and risers, Wide glide front end.

Fat tires and fenders, Rides like the wind, C. Bowen-Colthurst 4A

"Would you like to contribute ... with four hundred words ...."

53

H Mr. Chance

"Come back at 4.45 on Thursday!"

Mr. Chance

"Let's have a look at this .... Oh dear, it seems to be broken ...."

Mr. Broome

"Of course, I'm perfect."

Mr. Sinclair

The Suttonian 1991 helping to complete the African painting now in the Dining Hall, but also she has helped with the scenery for most of the school productions. In addition, Sally has accompanied MDW on two Duke of Edinburgh expeditions to Snowdonia, North Wales.

Lastly, we will have two new art scholars (one senior and one junior) for next year, making our total five. The Lent term will see an exhibition of their work.

Art Department News he start of the autumn term saw an additional Tmember of staff join the Art Department - Karen Osborne as our Artist-In-Residence on a one year appointment. As well as developing her own work as a painter, Karen has been active as a teacher. Her enthusiasm for colour has provided many pupils with a sound basis for their work. An exhibition of some of Karen's work was held on her arrival and more will be on view at the Gulland Hall between 16-22 June 1991.

Karen has achieved a number of successes during the year. In November she won first prize with one of her paintings in the Young Artist South East Exhibition. She has been accepted for an MA course at Birmingham University next year and is currently preparing for an exhibition in Nottingham in August. The Artist-In-Residence scheme will continue next year with the appointment of Clive McCartney, a painter.

During the autumn term break 28 pupils and staff from the Art and History Departments visited Paris. A gruelling overnight coach trip followed by a full day in the galleries left everyone, the staff anyway, ready for an early night. The visit was a wonderful opportunity to see a little of the artistic delights that Paris offers. A visit to the Louvre to see 18th and 19th century French paintings and early Greek and Roman sculpture was followed by a visit to the Musee d'Orsay which displayed a remarkable collection of art up to the early part of this century. Monet's Water Lily paintings at the Orangerie didn't fail to delight just as some of the more modem works in the Pompidou Centre didn't fail to surprise and confuse! The trip to Versailles will be remembered if only for the rain. Possibly the highlight of the trip was the visit to the Musee Rodin which was made all the more relevant because of the work already undertaken at school. The next trip is planned for Amsterdam between 24-28 October 1991.

Next year will see the loss of a part-time member of the department when Sally Musker, our All Technician, leaves in July after two years. Sally, who is a potter in her own right, has helped the school and the department in many ways. Not only was she very instrumental in The Pans trip

Contemporary Arts' Week The Antony Slinn Roadshow the centre of the week came a talk on Vincent Van AtGogh.

It is, of course, perfectly obvious that Vincent is not contemporary: but Antony Slinn is a contemporary artist - and Van Gogh is as modern a painter as many of the listeners would probably have been prepared to tolerate. I say 'talk', but I'm not at all sure this is the best word to describe what happened.

Not only did Mr. Slinn have many slides to show us but he also played part of the soundtrack of a film about the great man; recited from memory a complete letter of Vincent's to his brother; wore an artist's smock and, some of the time, a Van Gogh straw hat; made us listen to the moving Don Maclean song A Starry, Stany Night, and last, but not least, frightened the life out of us when he fired a loaded pistol.

Before the talk I must admit I was rather anxious about what the event would be like. How would he cope with addressing the entire school (age range 11-18) and a few stray teachers: and how would he deal with a wide variety of artistic background knowledge amongst his audience, to say nothing of differing levels of interest? I needn't have worried. His presentation was excellent and was enjoyed by everyone. Even if you knew next to nothing of Van Gogh's paintings before or couldn't tell the difference between a Constable and a Karen Osborne, what he had to say still made sense. His manner was so enthusiastic and magnetic that it almost made me feel like jumping into the nearest Volkswagen van and driving around France (exactly as he had done) searching for the exact locations of Van Gogh's paintings.

Part of the explanation for Mr. Slinn's success is that, to most people's relief, there was little analysis of tonal qualities, hidden meanings or poetic values in Van Gogh's work: rather here was a man who just wanted to share with us his love for another artist's work and who couldn't help but communicate his passionate interest.

Even those who still can't see what all the fuss is about must have been impressed by the sheer joy Van Gogh's work so obviously gives to Antony Slinn and I bet that many spent the rest of the day humming Starry, Starry Night.

Celia Palmer L6 54

The Suttonian 1991

Combined Cadet Force

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RAF Report \Xjith the RAF Section 'Crew Room' in full swing we were off to a flying start this year. Once the Proficiency Exams. were over Monday afternoons were taken up with briefings on the Gulf War plans; a sortie of command tasks across ravines; testing missions against the clock wearing NEC suits; and what seemed like weeks of perilous adventure through the undiscovered gardens of England. Then.

Chinook helicopter supplies, essential for our survival, and then allowed us to recce the local area.

Come February we were posted to St. Martin's plain where we were put through the rigours of an RAF Night Exercise. Our mission: to make safe a thermo-nuclear device before 2400 hours and then recuperate in what could easily have been mistaken for a Nuclear Shelter!

Shooting the following morning and then an emergency airlift in the afternoon by 'Chinook' back to base completed an exhilarating and enjoyable Field Day. We all look forward to an equally action-packed summer camp at RAF Valley in North Wales, after which we will have earned eight well-deserved weeks' leave.

W02 Evans

Junior Company Duncan Lockbelting up

the start of the year we began to learn the basics of Atdrill with some map-reading and first-aid thrown in

Field Day saw us fighting for our lives in the night exercise and trying to keep airborne in a glider at West Mailing. Never had I seen the roofs of buildings in quite so much detail before. WO2 Evans and Sgt. Lock, both having recently gained their gliding wings, attempted landings on the runway, and still live to tell the tale. All cadets put into practice what they had learned on the 'Tornado Training Simulator in Combat' when they flew 'Chipmunks at RAF Manston. A 'Puma' delivered

as well. Learning to march was slow work, especially for the NCOs who were tryingto teach us, and we still hadn't got it together' when the first Field Day arrived.

This involved a night exercise sleeping in bashas which we had built, cooking our own food, and more exercises the next day. For the night exercise we were taken to a point in the training area and had to get back to the camp without being caught by any of the NCOs. That night there was a frost but we slept well and the bashas stayed up, in most cases. The next day the morning was spent camouflaging ourselves and crawling through the undergrowth without being seen; in the afternoon we had to avoid obstacles on the way back to the coaches.

During the second term we mastered marching and drill and continued our map work. At least for the second Field Day we were in barracks that were warm. This was also the biennial inspection. On the first afternoon those of us who had passed our drill tests did an exercise involving being taken to a hill top on the other side of a small valley from the barracks and having to get back

A Chipmunk

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The Suttonian 1991

~.~..

mss.

..

A Sea King helicopter without being seen by three NCOs. That bit wasn't too hard. Unfortunately there was a stream at the bottom and although it wasn't deep the mud at either side was and we came back filthy. That evening we studied various rifles because the next day we were going to the ranges at Hythe.

Hythe was great fun and half of us spent the morning in the cinema where we shot at a screen with a moving film on it and then in the afternoon we transferred to the outdoor ranges. Whilst we were doing all that a Group Captain from RAF Odiham came and inspected us.

The RAF Junior Sections have also been up in a 'Sea King' helicopter when it visited the school and have gone flying in 'Chipmunks' at Marston once or twice, even taking the controls briefly.

So far this year the CCF has been great fun and we have all enjoyed it.

CADSAM September 1990 three highly successful years of boys' shooting, After a new team had to be found. In an effort to combat all military sexism five girls were recruited into the team, thus outnumbering the boys. Cadsam was the first competition we entered, and Longmore Army camp, near Aldershot, was our home for theweekend.

As the tents went up, the rain came down, the drought of summer was forgotten and we woke up on Saturday morning completely surrounded by water.

The first competition of the weekend was the E.T.R. (electric target range). Yes, it was still raining but the remainder of the team managed to fry eggs and bacon on gas stoves under the canopy of the trees and the

Just landed at R.A.F. Manston

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The Suttonian 1991

supervision of Mrs. Wilkinson: and of course there was plenty of tea. Next were the fun shoots, a bit of light entertainment (including running three hundred yards) before the gallery. Mr. Miller had never before experienced his team being called "pretty little things" and "chicks" and having their rifles carried for them: on the other hand, the minibus had never been tidier.

The Gallery was postponed for hours because there was an ammunition scare and the bomb disposal unit arrived in the rain. As dusk fell our last gallery team went off, and considering the conditions they did very well.

Tonbridge School boys didn't appreciate being beaten by girls.

We made our way back to the campsite to find waterlogged tents, so we built a shelter behind the minibus and attempted to light the barbecue.

The falling plate was held the next morning and after a large fry-up the teams ran three hundred yards and shot at metal plates. The U 16 team just lost to the winners.

A good weekend was had by all even though no medals came home with us. The only win was the 'Whacky Races' because ours was the first minibus to leave the ranges after the presentations.

K. Roberts, R. Norris LVI

Army Report ince this account has traditionally been the CO's Sprovince it was with some trepidation that I approached the writing of it. I apologise in advance for any errors or omissions.

The Biennial Inspection conducted by Group Captain French on the Field Day at St.Martin's Plain went well. I am glad to say that the C.C.F. received an excellent report.

The Infantry have had an extremely productive year as usual under the expert guidance of Captain Miller and the robust Infantry SNCO C/Sgt. Christopher Haynes. The section mounted excellent fighting patrols and ambushes against unsuspecting Signallers on the Mereworth Field Day and they performed well on the ranges at Hythe during the Lent Term.

The Engineers' visit to 36 Engineers at Maidstone best exemplifies their attitude to training. They were apparently put through 'torture' in order to construct a bridge the complexity of which, I was assured, "no Infantryman could possibly understand"; yet they succeeded in completing it. Captain Jones must be congratulated for the hard-working elite that RE's has

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The Suttonian 1991

Field Day \y should the Regular Army be interested in some CCF Cadets?

Tea, at St. Martin's Barracks, Folkestone was obviously not a place frequented by females and the regular army was apparently not used to such an attraction.

Following our arrival and eventful tea the infantry's night exercise, in two sections, took us across, up and down muddy fields, over barbed-wire fences, through woods and a small river - twice. The highlight of the evening was an ambush on our officers, a few engineers and the signals. After completely exhausting ourselves we were able to walk back but were just a minute late to the perimeter gates which had been firmly locked. A snake was formed as we wound our wistful way back around the whole fence to the front entrance. Our last task was weapons into the armoury and we were then free to sample the delights of some reheated, thick, brown oxtail soup. The bread was great.

A full three hours' sleep later and the infantry was raring to go. We were split into the primarily female shooting team which was to assist the first years and those going to the Junior Infantryman's Battalion, Shornecliffe, Folkestone for rock climbing, abseiling, an assault course and some shooting.

This included me - I was dreading it but it turned out to be really good fun. I did leave some skin on the rock face and caught some hair under the barbed wire on the assault course, nearly went for an icy dip and

Get on parader' become as must also the SNCOs Sgt. Christopher Miller and Sgt. Kervin Yun. The Signallers continue strongly under Mr. Rothwell. They remain very professional and are very useful as the 'enemy' for the Infantry.

One of the best parts of the C.C.F. however has, in my opinion, been the Junior Company under 2/Lt.Hendry. Its SNCO Bruce Lawton has been strongly committed to making life interesting and enjoyable for the new recruits in the C.C.F. as have his NCOs. At Adventure Training the weather was good and the activities even better. Everyone tried his or her best, not least Captain Miller when sampling the hitherto unknown joys of mountain biking.

The Shooting Team carried on last year's excellent record. They were just out of a medal at CADSAM and still have results from other competitions to come in. In view of the fact that many of them are new to this type of competition shooting their efforts must be applauded.

At this moment the Patrols' Competition Team are readying themselves for the South East District Competition at Longmoor Camp. They are very fit and did extremely well at the local Canterbury competition.

We hope that they will return covered in glory under their illustrious and energetic leader Sgt. Morgan This year Westminster won the Drill Competition, breaking the 'jinx' that seems to have hung over the house in this event. I think that the C.O. was pleased that his house had at last won the event. Lambe's won the Assault Course Competition with a fine display of strength and expertise.

Alastair Hudd attended the 20th. UKCF Leadership Course at Thetford in Norfolk. This course is notoriously tough, as I learned last year. He received an excellent report. I only wish that more people would take advantage of superb courses like these.

W02 J.L.A. Scott

Assault and battery

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The Suttonian 1991 annihilated a few sand particles but I wasn't alone and it worked out well in the end.

After this exhausting morning of athletic pursuits we were transported back to Hythe where each section had assembled for lunch. Our particular section stayed in the area and continued shooting from 100-300 yards on the specially designed ranges. Certain people were unsuccessful at hitting the target at all but of course it was the sights on the weapons that were the cause, not their operators.

It was the clean rifles and fly-by time which meant that we could return to school by late afternoon.

The apparent picture which followed was similar to our start of the previous day but reversed. Each person had his pack and kit but they were now slightly muckier and carried by rapidly drooping bodies. The excitement of returning to the carefree world we know did brighten our faces but there were several closed eyes as we entered the school gates. Home at last and definitely better for our experiences.

B. Johnston LVI

Patrols' Competition in Canterbury, stretched and were ready Wtoe arrived go as soon as we got off the bus. The first item we were introduced to was the six foot log which we were going to have to carry on the three mile march and across the assault course.

We started the march with great enthusiasm, led by Chris Morgan. After about a mile the log appeared to get heavier and although Katharine Roberts had been training hard, she thought it better to allow the rest of the team to do the carrying. James Waters and All Pares took it upon themselves to do so and towards the end even managed to find an extra injection of pace.

The team was allowed two minutes' rest before the start of the assault course - time for many of us to regret that we had ever come. Oliver Hayzelden and Matthew Woodgate started carrying the log with great vigour, passing it to James Waters and Bruce Lawton who managed to struggle over the next two obstacles to hand on to Simon Byng-Maddick who showed his great sense of balance as he surmounted the last obstacle.

Our coach Mrs. Wilkinson and her daughter Rebecca were waiting at the end having followed us through our tribulations in the Land Rover to keep our spirits up.

We were very confident as we entered the shooting part of the competition since we had many of the members of the shooting team led by its captain, Katharine Roberts. We left the training area tired but pleased with the outcome of the day.

The team would like to thank Mr. Miller who organised the whole event and gave great support throughout.

B. Lawton UVI

Adventure training report his year saw the largest ever contingent of cadets Tleave school for adventure training in the Lake District. It consisted of 24 of whom 7 were girls. Shortly after setting out it became obvious that we needed a trailer to carry all our equipment so our first pit-stop was in Maidstone.

After about eight hours on the road we finally reached the Blencathra Centre near Keswick, although Mrs. Wilkinson's minibus disappeared under a cloud of steam just as we came within sight of it. The replacement had to be driven all the way up from S.V. courtesy Mr. Harris.

Expedition planning was soon under way. The Gold group left first the next day for a three day expedition over the Cumbrian Mountains. Everybody else was soon off on their one day stroll. The following day Groups 1,2 and 3 began a two day expedition which turned out to be quite eventful given a combination of poor navigation, eyesight problems and a lack of necessary glasses. Suffice it to say the MOUNTAIN RESCUE had to be called out to Ian Jones and Becky Norris. Other hazards included falling into streams and bogs. The Gold expedition finished in style with a refreshing swim in a nearby weir and we were back well in time to see the others struggle back.

On Wednesday the week took on a different aspect - mountain biking. Although many dropped out through tiredness and injury everyone had still had a good time.

Meanwhile, the girls went pony-trekking. You could say that both groups suffered a little saddle soreness...

Next on the agenda was rock-climbing assisted by our instructors Mitch and Scully. Many showed promise and all enjoyed it, especially Laura Harris who was climbinglike a bullet and Clare Wilkinson who managed some rather strange manoeuvres whilst absailing.

On Friday, our last day alas, canoeing had to be cancelled because of the cold weather and was replaced in the afternoon by swimming in the local pool.

Mr. Parkinson showed much promise on the water slide and Mrs W. was seen ducking cadets on a regular basis.

The wide range of activities, the excellent culinary skills of both Mr. Harcourt and Mrs. Wilkinson combined with the good company of both staff and cadets made this a most enjoyable time for all who went. My advice is to seize the opportunity to go if it arises.

S.Byng-Maddick WI, I.Jones LVI and E.Moore LVI

The hills dotted with fluffy fattened sheep rose from the moors of Cumbria, their smooth contours lined with miles of stone dwarf walls. The rich radiant rays of sunlight bathed their peaks and bounced off the shimmering lakes and tarns.

Valleys, meandering rivers. The deep silence. The beauty of the landscape as we approached Blencathra hill was incomparable to any I had ever seen before. I can hardly find the words to enable me to share with you the sensation of total excitement and pleasure I felt. My 'Pentax' was out in no time and clicking. As a novice

The Suttonian 1991 photographer standing on top of the Blencathra peak and looking through my lens, I felt greatly fulfilled and (quite ironically) as though I had conquered my first peak.

Six hours of hard walldng under the scorching sun is no joke especially when you have doubts over your trajectory. Nevertheless in the end we made it to our check point where we were supposed to meet a master.

"He's not here!"

'We've walked seven miles to get here on time and he hasn't turned up."

"Look! isn't that him over there sitting by that rock?"

'No.It's only the sun reflecting off the rock face. Are you sure that second body isn't a dog?"

"Look, it's eyeing us through a pair of binoculars" "The pervert!"

'Why don't you zoom it up through the lens" "All I see is a shiny patch ...... Good Lord, it's Mr. Jones!

We all had our share of fun and laughter, adventures and misadventures which after all was the most important thing and we all learnt valuable lessons such as; "never set off on a drive on the M25 or M40 without going to the lavatory first" and "never take your eyes off the ground when cycling over marshy ground because if your front wheel suddenly sinks you might go over the handle bars!"

What pleased me most out of the whole adventure training experience was the light-hearted, informal atmosphere. It was not a week requiring stringent behaviour and pregnant with military-style bureaucracy. It was a holiday with peers and we all enjoyed it to the furthest extent.

Edward Moore

May I commend Mrs. W., Mr. Harcourt and any one else who stood behind the stove for a week of delicious and filling meals. I would also like to thank the other members of staff who came to join us and the group in general for creating such a superb atmosphere.

At the end of the day new participants like myself have just one remaining question still to be answered; why in the world didn't we go on previous occasions?

B.D. Ofori LVI

The CCF A Worm's Eye View You are now in the Third Form in one of the senior houses. Your whole view of life has changed, physical maturity is in sight and by some you are treated as a civilised, understanding adult for the first time. It is the year in which parties begin and end late at night and the word 'sex' is no longer giggled at. But all that is as nothing compared to what lies in store for you on a Monday afternoon: the CCF, your first chance to prove yourself, supposedly increase your macho image and make the girls' eyes goggle at the sight of your spanking, crisp, army-issue new uniform.

At first the whole affair is clear in your head. The RAF are a bunch of wimps, the D of E lot are out of their heads but the CCF Army Boys are a bunch of Rambo look-alikes. Then it strikes you that your parade starts before and finishes after everybody else and that the only optional thing about this activity is that you can't leave for two years. And what do you spend that parade time doing? Learning to march having spent half an hour trying to put your puttees on and longer trying to remove every speck of dirt from your comfortable boots.

It's too late for me - I'm in for the duration and no doubt when I look back on it it will all seem worthwhile - but all you Third Years out there should stop and think carefully before signing on the dotted line.

A Pusher 4A

Duke of Edinburgh Awards Expedition: Wales

I

The week began at 8.45 on Sunday morning 15th April. We collected all the kit together and loaded it onto the coach, in which we were to travel to Llanberris, accompanied by the Maidstone Grammar School group. Just before we left we realised that Duncan Brannan would not be coming so that there would not be an even split between groups. The journey was very long, allowing us a lot of time in which to decide what the groups would be. Eventually we narrowed it down to: Liz, Stephanie, Charles and myself as Group One, and Kevin, Richard, Lewis and James Hunt as Group Two, Nick Hodgson not deciding until we reached the Lodge, which we were to use as base camp for the week.

After supper that evening we planned the walk u1 Snowdon for the next day as the weather was forecast

The Suttonian 1991 as being fine. My group climbed the mountain via the miners' track with DEC whilst the others used the pigs' track with MDW. The path was easy for some time but suddenly became very steep around mid-way. 'Don't follow the path, go straight up" said the responsible member of staff. Mmmm. This really is a good idea I thought to myself as my calf muscle pulled more with each foothold and stones unleashed by Stephanie's steps cascaded down on me. We finally rejoined the path and also met up with the other group. While we rested we all perceived Nick's tendency to run around and climb sheer rock faces rather than sitting down.

It was terrifyingly hot at the top and you could see for miles. Being fit and athletic we decided to take the easy route down rather than following DEC along the knife's edge. The easy route actually involved climbing down a waterfall or a quarry (depending on who you followed) to a lake where lots of people swam to cool down. We then returned to the Lodge and our group cooked supper.

The following day was less physical but more mentally testing as we practised our navigational skills.

After a spell of Canadian canoeing Richard, Kevin and Lewis cooked us all a very hot chilli which made everyone ill except themselves: mysterious! This meal allowed Charles to add to his joke tally by observing that chilli was a slight contradiction. This followed an earlier effort when MDW sat a sheep skeleton down next to Liz in the bus. Cue Charles: 'Don't be sheepish about it!"

At the start of day three spirits seemed low in my group as we had been told by a reliable member (Charles) that the day's walk would be basically flat, but the first 300m were up a street of which San Francisco would have been proud and then barely 2km up the road was a mountain which we were supposed just 'to

nip over'. However we were spurred on by Charles' assertive: 'Right, let's go!"

After the minor obstacle of the mountain we found another in the shape of farm fences laid across the footpath and accompanied by signs which read "Trespassers will not be tolerated." A 2km diversion was in order. Amongst the errors I committed at this time was pointing out a sheep which seemed very still, and indeed that was because it was a rock After lunch Charles stood up and said: 'Right, let's go!" and the rest of the day went pretty smoothly. Next morning, once packed, Charles said: "Right,..." and we went. Today it was bogs, and we met the other group, quite by chance at exactly half way. By now we were having problems with Stephanie's feet and Liz's knee but paracetomol worked wonders and we decided to push on to the further camp-site. Here there was a shower block and a very warm, tempting washroom which I resisted, sleeping in the tent. I had privately rationed Charles' catchphrase and a pleasant walk through a forest was followed by our eventual descent into the village of Llanberris and the waiting minibus.

The whole week was truly enjoyable and our thanks must go to MDW, DEC and Sally Musker without whom we would have been stuck in warm, dry homes.

J. Rollinson LVI

Wales The Group Two Version.

"Fun, rewarding, exhausting - and too many sheep!" That was the verdict of our group at the end of the week. Our quintet of Fifth Years comprised Nick It's only a small mountain Hodgeson, James How much further? Hunt, Kevin It hurts everywhere Phillips, Lewis

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The Suttonian 1991 Blasted Welsh Worral and myself - Richard It's O.K. we're over halfway Miles.

After having settled in at the Kent Mountain Centre at Llanberris we set off the next day to climb Snowdon and were not a little daunted by the prospect of its 1048 metres. The weather was most uncharacteristically Welsh, being gloriously sunny. When, after a few hours, we had reached the top, we all felt we deserved a pat on the back.

During our ascent we had passed by several small copper blue lakes which looked idyllic for a swim...

Ignoring all the warnings from the others I plunged in without testing the water and regretted the rash action as soon as my fingertips touched it. We did all leave the lake blue - but not from copper!

Wednesday brought the start of the expedition and we headed off in high spirits. From an early stage it was clear how the walk was to be conducted - Nick bounding along several hundred metres ahead of the rest of us. The day went ahead of schedule and we hoped the rest would be the same - it wasn't. At around midday of the second day, having been joined by Sally Musker, we met the other group who were heading around the course the other way - proof surely of our map-reading skills! Charles' information that the hill we were about to head up was a little bit boggy proved something of an understatement. The walk across the top of the mountain was very marshy and Kevin was regularly seen to lose a couple of feet in height as he plunged into the mud, and this slowed him down somewhat. By the time we had reached the bottom Kevin was soaked and exhausted, James had problems with his feet and Sally had had enough. Eventually we made

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camp and Kevin disappeared into his sleeping bag and wasn't heard from until the morning.

After a refreshingnight's sleep we headed off for the final assault on the mountains. Nick was the proud possessor of a detailed map and was continually urging us to walk faster since we were falling behind schedule.

Strangely enough, the faster we walked the more behind he claimed we were. As it was, we reached our destination four hours early and proceeded to tell Nick a few home truths. We were delighted to see Mike Willdridge pull up in the minibus to take us back to the Lodge for another well-earned sleep.

Despite all our heroic efforts all the praise must go to Mr. Willdridge for organising the much-enjoyed week and to Sally Musker for assisting him.

R.I.Miles 5B

The Suttonian 1991

Trips-Alarums-Excursions at first. Once over the shock we began to appreciate the skill with which Messrs. Dunn, Pickard and Beaman had lured us to Weymouth under false pretences to participate in this out-of-school activity: work.

On Saturday and Sunday we studied the rural settlements and rock structure of the area which we found useful in providing depth to our course. We visited Portland and, of course, Portland Bill. Our tasks ranged from measuring pebbles on Chesil Beach and hillslopes north of Weymouth to standing in the town's main pedestrian shopping centre carrying out people counts.

In the evenings we were allowed out, once the day's work had been followed up, until ten-thirty. We took advantage of this 'free time' and relaxed to the fullest.

Monday was our last full day in Weymouth. We were dropped off in surrounding villages, in small groups, to fill in questionnaires and make street plans. In the evening we presented our long-suffering staff (and wife) with a bottle of champagne. We finished early and were 'let out' until eleven.

Our preconceptions of all sorts had proved themselves false. We had worked and we had enjoyed ourselves.

The Weymouth Trip October 1990 What would you think given the opportunity to go to Weymouth for five days to study Geography? A first response might well be: "Weymouth? What's in Weymouth? Sir, the dog's died - I can't go." This was early September. The planned trip was in October.

Given further thought however the trip became a more attractive proposition. Five long days relaxing by the coast ...... so that by late September: "Sir, we've got a new dog - may I come?"

On Friday 19th. October a minibus disgorged its bursting load of people, bags and music onto the pavement outside the Prince Regent Hotel on Weymouth front. It was early evening and we were just in time for the evening meal, having first negotiated a lift that made running upstairs a much more successful option. We could sense that our new and inspiring challenge was already beginning.

Half an hour later we sat contentedly eating and contemplating the next five relaxing days when we were told to gather in the hotel basement: this would be our base for the week. Slowly the realisation dawned that this was going to be no holiday. We would have to work - and not just work but fieldwork at that. It hit some badly

K. Murray LVI

Can Mr. Dunn swim?

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The Suttonian 1991 group leaders observed. Somehow the group of which I was in charge managed to end up in debt ....

The last task to be undertaken was initiated by B.T. and was an exercise in management, trade union relations and negotiation. Each group divided in two, union and management, and had to come to a mutual agreement on the allocation of one hundred car-parking spaces between a five hundred strong workforce. By now, everyone was thoroughly engrossed and negotiations ended up as spirited confrontations between teams and the team members themselves.

One group's Managing Director sacked one of his colleagues which resulted in a managerial coup, but once a female manager stepped in the situation was calmed down. Despite any initial disagreement all groups managed to find satisfactory compromises just as it was time for tea-break!

The conference was wound up with thank you speeches from everyone and the assurance that we were "the best year yet.". There was general sadness at saying goodbye to our new-found friends (N.B. anyone in the Orange group is invited to Anne Marie's 18th. birthday party) and leaders: and there was the thought of returning to lessons.

By the end we had all been given a deep insight into the world of business. Aspiring actors, managers, financiers, surveyors and prison governors alike had not only benefited from the conference but had had a thoroughly enjoyable time (not all related to the pre-lunch sherries!).

Thanks must go to all the lecturers, group leaders and people in school who organised the occasion and made it such a success and to PSA who graciously relinquished the Music School for two days. I hope future conferences will be as interesting and enjoyable as ours was: good luck to next year's Upper Sixth.

E. New UVI

The Challenge of Business his, the seventeenth Annual Industry Conference for Tthe Upper Sixth, had a change of image, now being called 'Business Challenge' and replacing images of factories and coal mines with those of City money and company cars. Despite this change and the many assurances that it would be stimulating and great fun, the majority of the Upper Sixth strolled unenthusiastically into the Hall that Thesday morning. Not only did some rudely wander in late: others were actually heard to say "I'd rather be in lessons"! How wrong we were to be proved.

We were joined by girls from Invicta and Maidstone Grammar Schools (N.B. Why weren't the boys' grammars invited?). After the initial lectures on the objectives of the conference we were briefed on the task ahead, and then split up into our syndicate groups. Our first exercise, spearheaded by Quest International, was a marketing campaign to increase the market share of 'Surf' washing powder. With only one hour twenty minutes before we had to report back, skilful use of time was of the essence and everyone settled down to his or her delegated job quickly and enthusiastically. Despite the time restriction the resulting campaigns were so very varied and ingenious that we ought to have had them patented. The television adverts revealed some hitherto hidden acting and even dancing talents among our number. Competition was fierce between groups and I am sure the winning team benefited a lot from the extra hour put in over lunch!

The afternoon was spent in our groups discussing the video we had seen: 'Who killed the sale?" and how we would have handled the various situations. Groups took on the roles of one or other of the companies involved, and had to negotiate a settlement. As a communication and negotiation exercise it was carried out very professionally with the exception of two groups who descended to shouting matches involving unfair personal recriminations and no deal.

We assembled on Wednesday morning more prepared to face the tasks in hand. The morning was spent doing a deceptively easy exercise: building a replica of a model from 'Lego' bricks. The problems arose from the restrictions. Four people were given roles: only the surveyor could see the model; only the construction manager could build our version and the general manager could do neither, but had to organise the group, get bricks ordered and the model built.

Communication was only through the general manager, and there were penalty points (converted into pounds sterling) awarded for breaking rules. Competition was strong and many threats to break up other teams' models were overheard (even to smash the original model from one harassed surveyor!). The models were finally completed and expectations ran high until the real article was viewed by the rest of the group, when cries of disbelief and dismay prevailed as we realised that in spite of all our efforts the models looked nothing like the original. However, viewed as an exercise in communication and leadership it was a success - as the

Chemistry Lecture on Colour cientific lectures tend to be a bit of a mixed bag as Sregards their quality. This is directly linked to the scientists who present them, as the subject matter generally provides plenty of scope for some fairly spectacular demonstrations, and even the subject itself can be interesting if presented well. However, many scientists do not speak as well as their counterparts in a subject such as English, for example. The problem is further compounded by having to deliver an hour long speech to a large hall full of people. Unless you are lucky enough to get an honourable exception to the scientific stereotype, the lecture can be very boring indeed.

On this occasion the speaker, Dr. Kite, was quite good, aided by the smallness of the room and the fact that he had performed this lecture more than one hundred times across the country. His confidence and competence with the material were vitiated however by the way in which he tackled the subject. The first half of the evening consisted of Dr. Kite showing a large collection of slides of "colours I have seen". He had indeed seen a great many colours on his travels. After

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The Suttonian 1991 the slides was a supposedly more detailed look at the way in which colour is produced. This part of the lecture was very thin on detail and could have made greater demands of us without its becoming unintelligible. At least on this occasion the demonstrations worked.

Finally, a word of thanks to WAB for making me propose the vote of thanks. Thanks a lot.

A. Hubble LV

Visits of The Venerable Amaro Bhikkhu The Venerable Amaro Bhikkhu, a Buddhist monk and Old Suttonian, visited the School on December 5th 1990 and April 26th 1991 at the invitation of the Chaplain.

The Venerable Amaro was born in Kent in 1956. His name at that time was Jeremy Homer. He was educated at Sutton Valence where he was a scholar in Founder's.

He played in the First Rugby XV and was a Kent County athlete. He went on to read Physiology and Psychology at Bedford College, University of London having taken his A Levels at the age of 16. When he had completed his degree, he had a chance to travel to Asia. A friend offered him a job as groom on a cargo plane transporting racehorses to Malaysia.

Jeremy Homer began to travel around Asia and finally came to the monastery of Wat Pah Nanachat in northern Thailand. He took an instant liking for the people, immediately felt at home, and decided to stay.

After only a year, he was ordained a Buddhist monk in 1978. Many people thought that it was a passing fad but for over a decade he has continued in his beliefs and practice as a monk. The title Bhikkhu means a monk who What is the meaning oflife?

lives on alms and abides by training precepts which define a life of renunciation and simplicity.

After two years in the monastery, he came back to England. He then joined a monastery at Chithurst before walking 880 miles to another Buddhist foundation in the north of England. That journey is the subject of his book Tudong: the long road north.

He has since worked at the Amaravati Buddhist Centre in Hemel Hempstead and is to spend the Summer of 1991 teaching Buddhism in California.

The monk Amaro - the name means 'the immortal' - caused some excitement when he arrived dressed in a long saffron robe and wearing sandals. His head was shaved as a sign of renunciation. His April visit began with talk in Chapel about the attainment of inward peace through Buddhism. Amaro Bhikkhu explained how he had once been a rebel, and a heavy smoker who relied upon alcohol and drugs in his attempts to enjoy life and how had found meaning in the teachings of the Buddha as they had been taught to many Western monks by a famous Thai teacher known as Ajahn Chah. It was through this teaching that Amaro had found the peace of Buddhism.

Amaro Bhikkhu impressed us with his stillness and with his happy smile. He was able to enjoy being with all kinds of classes. With an A Level set studying Milton's Samson Agonistes he engaged in a long explanation of the Buddhist view of death whereas with younger children he was happy to explain the more obvious aspects of monastic life. He often compared notes with Fr. John about their religions. For example, Buddhism did not have an emphasis upon the search for the historical founder, as Fr. John pointed out the Christians had. Amaro Bhikkhu thinks that what 'Buddha' means in our lives is more important than whether the Buddha Gotama actually lived, taught, and did all the things he is said to have done. It was generally agreed between the two, that it was important to keep the teaching as simple as possible. At their simplest Christianity and Buddhism had so much in common.

It is hoped that Amaro Bhikkhu will be able to return in the next academic year.

Warwick Strong, Henne tta Palmer and Vicld Moon.

The Latin Trip to London March 1991 Myself and Oliver Whawell were the only two pupils to go as Stuart Gregory was unable to attend through illness.

The day consisted of four lectures at Friends' House, opposite Euston train station, each an hour long and aimed at giving us and the many other students there a deeper background knowledge of the Roman Empire, and especially the emperor Augustus. The first and last talks were about how Augustus ruled and expanded his Empire. The second was an illustrated talk about how his depiction on coins and busts changed throughout his life. The pictures were a welcome relief here. The third was about how Virgil's epic The Aeneid relates to

The Suttonian 1991 me many pages to tell of all the aspects of this production I admired. Instead, all I will say and all I can say is that that evening of theatre is one I will never forget and that I am thankful I had the opportunity of going to see it.

D. Tambiah LVI

Augustus' time as Emperor and was by far the most relevant since this is our 'A' Level text.

Although at times slightly boring for the most part the lectures were informative, interesting and useful to us.

0. Daddow LVI

Benenden Choral Day Richard III

November 1990

at the National Theatre

The idea of the choral day was that a large choir (made up of choirs from Sutton Valence, D.C.P.S. and Benenden School) would start two choral works from scratch in the morning, rehearse them all day and perform them to a paying audience in the evening.

We arrived at Benenden at 10.00 a.m. on a freezing Sunday morning. The two works we were going to learn were the Pergolesi Magnificat and Vivaldi's Gloria, and we had four sessions of rehearsal (each lasting between one and a half to two hours) to do it in. As you can imagine this, along with the evening concert, was an awful lot of singing, and may explain the quietness of some of us for the next few days. Apart from the weather, this was the only drawback to the day - that it was too tiring for the voice, but I suppose that is to be expected in a venture of this sort.

All in all, the day was a great success, being both hard work and good fun, and giving us the opportunity to meet musicians from other schools and also to have a quick snoop round Benenden. I look forward very much to the next choral day, to be held at Sutton Valence hoping (vainly I'm sure) that it will be much warmer and a lot less tiring.

D. Tambiah LVI

This is the fifth time I have started this article, and I still don't know quite what to write. I was asked to write about my feelings and thoughts after the production of Richard III we saw at the National Theatre but I'm afraid I can't. The reason is that it was so good I'm left speechless. Not very promising from an English 'A' Level candidate, is it?

Well, I will try again. Richard 111 was, quite simply, the best thing I have ever seen. It was quite a long play - about four hours - but at no point did I wonder when it was going to end, or when the interval was going to be because I was so caught up in the story. The performance was so convincing that it was almost as if the events were really taking place on stage before our eyes.

Ian McKellen was especially enthralling. His stage presence was so powerful and magnetic that I had trouble looking at anyone else. It wasn't that he was good-looking - far from it: as Richard he had a hunchback and paralysis of one side of his body. He was pervasively evil with tremendous charisma.

The rest of the cast, too, was wonderful, as were the staging, music and movement. It would probably take

Taking a shine to Red Nose Day 1991

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RMS

Sport

i

The Suttonian 1991 of away matches at Dover College, Sir Roger Manwood's, Hurstpierpoint and Duke of York's RM.S. Our side, like some wines, was not travelling well as it lost all of these, although never by too large a margin and always having been ahead at half-time. A lack of urgency still pervades our second-half performances and lost us all four of these games.

In the second half of term we had two very tight matches with the Ramsgate schools, St. Lawrence College and Chatham House, both of which were drawn: whereafter the Bob Chance Cup was comprehensively lost to Cranbrook at home. This was our only home defeat and was followed by a spirited display against a strong King's Rochester side, ours being the 13 to 8 point victory. The season ended with defeats at the hands of Emanuel and Caterham.

This year's side was certainly not without talent, ability or enthusiasm, but it perhaps lacked determination, cohesion and the team-spirit that would have given it the will to win. It was a side containing an unusual mixture of experience and youth - from our captain Chris Haynes in his third season with the 1st XV to two Fifth formers who showed enormous promise.

The majority of the squad will have gained invaluable practice from the season, which must be regarded as transitional, and should be able to approach next winter's rugby having learnt from collective mistakes.

The number of excellent individual performances is

Rugby 1st XV I, V

The start of this season had much in common with that of 1989. We were still having a hot, dry summer as a squad of some twenty or so enthusiasts arrived for training a few days early and the first few weeks of rugby were full of both promise and disappointment. The boys were keen to get back to the levels of fitness required for 1st XV Rugby and re-acquainted themselves with their ball-skills, with the multi-gym, with the dunes of Camber Sands and with stiff and aching muscles. In pure match terms it was all to no avail - both the Palmer Cup versus the O.S. and the first school fixture against Kent College were postponed because of the hard and potentionally dangerous nature of the pitches. This is a disappointment which is becoming annual.

The first fixture played was re-arranged to be at home and is traditionally one of our toughest - against Skinners' School. It did indeed turn out to be a hard-fought match with S.V.S. turning out the eventual winners by 11 points to 6. Optimism ran high after such an encouraging start but was soon dashed in a long run

II

Drive!

jd

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Scott assisted by Tom Hodson. Stephen Blaclananwas a reliable hooker who led the pack well. In the loose Chris Morgan and Chris Pope were often first to the breakdown and won good second phase ball. Of the backs Duncan Poole-Connor and Bruce Lawton always looked our most potent attackers and after Bruce's elevation Matthew Woodgate developed with every game. GlenPenmanhada difficult tasktryingto captain the side from the wing but he did a good job organising the side before and after the matches.

Results W 22- 0 Dover College Sir Roger Manwood's W 25- 9 Hurstpierpoint L 10-18 Duke of York's L 0-14 St. Lawrence W 29- 0 Chatham House W 20- 0 Cranbrook W 10- 4 King's Rochester L 0-32 Emanuel L 4-10 Caterham L 17-28 NB. V. Jones

reflected in the award of full colours to: F. Hatega, S. Young, C. Miller, B. Lawton, J. Smith and M. Corny, all of whom had noteworthy contributions to make.

Others who played in the 1990 team were: Weedon, Hodgson, Campbell, Nwajei, Childs, Haynes (Capt.), Poole-Connor, Cowell, Hudd, Masters, McLeod, de Lucy, Shaw, Morgan, Waters and McLean.

Results Skinners', Dover College Sir Roger Manwood's Hurstpierpoint Duke of York's R.M.S. St. Lawrence College Chatham House Cranbrook School (Bob Chance Trophy) King's Rochester Emanuel (Abbott Cup) Caterham School O.S. (Palmer Cup)

W L L L L D D L

11- 6 6-15 13-21 13-27 9-24 4- 4 10-10 4-23

W L L W

13- 8 7-35 3-25 9- 0 I.S. Hendry

2nd XV

Under 15

The start of the season was again postponed due to the very hard ground and it was only in the final few days of September that contact could be allowed without fear of serious injury. The team opened the season with comfortable victories over Dover College and Sir Roger Manwood's. In the early moments of the first game we lost Ben Painter for the rest of the season with a broken collar bone and James Waters went over on his ankle, an injury he never really recovered from. The match at Manwood's was played in a gale which blew directly down the pitch causing kicking to be a useless activity!

A notable feature was that Duncan Poole-Connor scored all the team's points in both matches! The remaining fixtures before half-term against Hurst and Duke of York's were both losses in close games where we failed to use hard-won possession to good advantage.

The three matches immediately after the break were well won including the 'derby' against Cranbrook, but the team was then thoroughly outplayed for the only time in the season by a big King's Rochester side.

However, even in this game the defence was generally sound and the big defeat was largely caused by three silly mistakes. The clash with Emanuel was played in London and the team was leading for much of the game before succumbing to continual pressure in the second half. The final match against Caterham was a good advertisement for the game where both sides had periods of pressure and ran their possession wide at every opportunity. In the end, the loss was probably a fair reflection of the opponents' extra size and aggression in the loose.

The team suffered, as is the case with Second XVs, form the continual drain on talent to the first team for injuries, and we never had the same players for two successive matches! In the forwards we were always assured of a steady supply of line-out ball from Jake

Played 10 Won 7 Lost 3 A cursory glance at the sequence of results might reasonably suggest that this year's Under 15 group had made negligible improvement throughout the term: after all, a 0-46 defeat away at Skinners, in the opening match and a 0-56 drubbing at the hands of Caterham in the final fixture seem to present clear, depressing evidence for such an impression. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth: if ever individuals want reminding of the value of positive commitment, together with the consequent rewards that can accrue from it, them a closer examination of the nature of this season will tell them all they need to know. It is surely encouraging for many to understand that 'old-fashioned' attitudes, rather than the modern, popular ones of 'flexibility' and casual spontaneity can still prevail and bring deeper feelings of satisfaction.

With little obvious talent on show to start with, the group was doubly hindered by the long spell of dry weather: ball drills, varieties of touch rugby and fitness work were possible but there was a limit to what could be done on the physical side. Thus individual skills were slow to emerge and the selection of the team for the fixture against Skinners, School was understandably very uncertain. 0-46 was not as comprehensive as the score would appear to indicate, since three of the opposition, including the most skilful fly-half we came across during the season, dominated the play. A tremendous amount was learnt, however, and within the following week, the rain coming at last, the essential foundation of the side was formed, and general tactics established.

The next three matches were hard and competitive, but from the outset of each, it was obvious that Sutton were going to give nothing away. Impressive support

71

The Suttonian 1991 play was a notable feature with the narrow victory over Hurstpierpoint being especially pleasing. Robin Carpenter, pack leader for the day, organised his forwards very efficiently, following the non-arrival of one player, while skipper Richard Hodson showed commendable tactical awareness at scrum-half when the pressure was on in the final minutes.

The victory at The Duke of York's R.M.S., just prior to half term, was quite amazing, and reflected much credit on the tenacity of all who played against an opposition that possessed superior skill, but, fortunately for Sutton Valence, little vision and no brain-power! They swarmed unimaginatively around the Sutton line until, quite against the run of the play, Sobayo Sowemimo-Coker, receiving a useful pass from David Harvey in his own '22, ran virtually the length of the field to score unopposed and bring about a most unlikely victory.

Four victories out of five games was far more than we could possibly have anticipated at this stage, and the second half of the season was entered upon with rare voracity. The 'squad' grew from sixteen to nineteen, as other players developed, and experiments were able to be made at wing three-quarter, hooker and back where it was becoming clear that Greg Hambourg had the power and pace necessary to make open-side flanker his position.

Despite missing Harvey at fly-half, we recorded a comfortable 24-0 victory over St. Lawrence, with a classical 'blind-side' try set up by Colthurst and ultimately scored by Carpenter being an especially pleasing feature of the game. Chatham House, despite resisting bravely for some fifteen minutes, collapsed in the face of relentless support-play (52-6), eleven tries being scored between six players; it was disappointing, however, that the play was not more creative. With the Cranbrook game failing to live up to expectations through the team's failure both to stick to planned tactics and to exploit obvious weaknesses, it was the penultimate match versus King's Rochester that set the pulses racing. Unquestionably this was the most 'passionate' game of the season with much excellent rugby and indeed self-discipline being evident. King's were good value for a 8-0 lead at half-time, but an immediate riposte by Sutton Valence straight after the break led to a thrilling try by Sina Onaolapo, following a fluent handling move that stretched the cover from left to right. This psychologically-telling score paved the way for two further tries and ultimate victory by 14-8.

Unfortunately the Caterham game proved a total anti-climax: the explanation for this lay quite simply in the fact that the opposition were not only unbeaten but also, we later gathered, were one of the best teams ever seen at Caterham. There were no stars but equally no weaknesses whatsoever: it was thus hardly surprising that they should play with such intelligence and such flair, qualities inherent in a side oozing with confidence but not complacency.

All in all, from a coaching point of view, the application of all players this season was superbly admirable and, in retrospect, I can scarcely fault their resilience and determination. However, if there is to be

improvement, they must add vision to their hardness: in fairness, the halves, Richard Hodson and David Harvey began to appreciate this, while Greg Hambourg was perhaps the only forward to be aware of space and the need for the ball to do the work. Commitment is one thing, but it can be self-defeating if players lack vision and feel they have to drive themselves to the limit, especially when the ball is in their possession. The time to push oneself 'flat out' is when opposition or colleagues have the ball - but this is a lesson that can take a long time to learn.

Those who played: G. Anderson, H. Barty, R.

Carpenter, C. Colthurst*, S. Ejimofor, N. Evans, J. Goodman*, G. Hambourg*, D. Harvey*, R. Hodson*(Capt.), S. Jenner, P. Kunath, J. Purvis, S. Onaolapo, S. Sowemimo-Coker, T. Stileman*, O. Vickery, B. Ward*, A. Winter. * Under 15 Colours.

Scorers: Tries - 9 Sowemimo-Coker, 6 Hodson, 4 Onaolapo, 3 Hambourg, Carpenter, Purvis, 2 Vickery, 1 Anderson, Ejimofor, Colthurst. Goals - 7 Harvey (+ 1 penalty goal).

R.D. Chance.

Under 14 Played 10 Won 4 Lost 6 The age group this year was a small one. We chose our sides from thirty four pupils. On several occasions we were able to play both an A and a B team. The latter never managed to win a match, but their enthusiasm and developing skills were good to see and we are sure that several of them will mature into good players and represent school teams in the future.

There was a lot of skill in the Ateam. What we lacked was bulk in the pack and just two or three more good players. Leggatt was a more than competent full back and Adu-Bobie proved, once he overcame his injuries, to be a very speedy and elusive runner in the wing.

Coker was an ever-present centre who tackled magnificently and ran strongly at the opposition. He was partnered by Imberg, technically correct most of the time and a good foil for Soti. The half backs served us well, though both would probably have been more comfortable in other positions. Thomson is a natural hooker, but used his tactical kicking and safe hands to good effect as fly half. Lewis, the scrum half, was very quick, very aggressive and developed a better pass as the season went on. Benson and Wootton were two stalwart props to a variety of hookers and Lloyd-Bennett and Dickins pushed hard from the second row. Yea and Anthony managed to get through an awful lot of work as Hankers, especially in defence. The captain was an inspiration to us all. David Hayman at number eight was so strong and so willing that his absence on a couple of occasions could easily have been the difference between our winning and losing. There are certainly some games we wish we could play again in the certainty that this time we could reverse the score.

Usmar, Roberts, Bell, Duffell, French and Cavil also gave valuable service.

72

The Suttonian 1991 We were a happy bunch. I think we enjoyed our rugby, and certainly our thanks must go to WAB and CGL who helped us so much, as did our supporters to whose encouragement we responded.

D. Pickard.

school is awash with great talent and enthusiasm, especially at the lower end of the school (yes, U13s, you're being watched), and it is important that players discipline themselves in order that they may capitalise on their talent. Do not leave it until Saturday afternoon before deciding that you are going to do everything right because you will not. You will miss that tackle that might have prevented that try, kick the ball straight to the opposition and get on the wrong side of the ball in a ruck or maul and give away a penalty. Here is the point - do it right on Tuesdays and Thursdays and you will get it right on Saturday when it really matters. This was the lesson driven home to me by the experiences of the 1st XV this season.

AP. Hudd LVI

Under 13 Despite (as usual) having to play against bigger sides drawn from larger groups of boys, the side played some good rugby. Although defeated by Chatham House, King's Rochester and D.C.P.S. there was an emphatic victory against Underhill. The forwards in particular worked very hard, winning a fair amount of ball in the loose and, by virtue of good technique, holding their own in the fight against much bigger packs.

Hodgson (who captained the side sensibly and with authority), Milsted and Murphy were the outstanding players while the other five of Kampanis, Wootton, Sabine, Simmonds and Cheung all made valuable contributions.

In the backs Ferris was a competitive scrum-half who ran well: if he can improve his passing he could be very useful next year. Critchley at flyhalf ran and kicked well, but his passing and tackling left a little to be desired. Tackling was also the weakness of the centres, Horton and Clifford, but Horton timed his passes very well and Clifford made great progress in a game which he had not played before. On the wings Agar ran very well and made very good progress with his game while Keys showed pace and promise. Woodcock made some telling incursions into the line from full-back, especially against Underhill. Picard and Saunders both made appearances for the side as substitutes and Day was a reliable and enthusiastic touch-judge.

The Under 12 XV had two games against Mascall's.

In the first they were well beaten by a strong running side, but in the return game muddy conditions neutralised the Mascall's back-handling skills and the more efficient forward play of Sutton Valence secured a fine 8-4 victory. The side was as follows: Murphy (Capt.), Harper, Shahrad, Cheung, Debney, Ferris,

Hockey 1st XI Captain's Review The team's youth and _#inexperience were noticeable in the first couple of games and the lack of a good keeper was a particular handicap; fortunately for us Stewart Young, last year's 2nd XI left wing, said he would have a go in a position he hadn't played for five years. Sewuart was excellent,

*0

James Waters

Keys, Sabine, Jones, Mansfield, Parkinson, Willdridge, Kentish-Barnes, Friend, Saunders, Cleghorn (sub.).

C. W. W. Wilson.

Rugby 1990 A Player's View It has often been said that rugby is a thinking man's game (Ed. By whom?) - and so it is. However this thought must be channelled the right way; it is no good switching on for an hour or so every Saturday afternoon thus leaving a game to chance if you have decided to switch off on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This is not limited to the 1st XV: throughout the school the Sutton Valence 'disease' affects the way the game is played with detrimental effects. 'Attitude problem' is not the true cause I am glad to say, more a lack of application, for the

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First eleven at practice saving the team in many instances, for example deflecting a 'P flick against St. Lawrence in the Frank Mason Tournament, putting us through to the next round.

Adrian Shaw had to take over the role of sweeper this year and, apart from a few silly mistakes, put in some fine tackles and made very important clearances. His physical presence may well be sorely missed next year.

The back three (Chris Sheldon, Alastair Hudd and Ashley Day) all coped very well considering that they had never played 1st XI hockey before, although Chris's lack of pace hampered him on Astro. From the halves two players stood out exceptionally, William Waters at right half and Charlie Masters, first at left and by the end of the season centre half, Chris Morgan taking the position of left half. As well as playing for England William managed to put in some excellent performances for the school. He had some outstanding runs and, with his brother James, pulled many a defence apart. Charlie's tackling was solid, if sometimes a little choppy, and his ball skills are much improved. Jamie Cowell was ever energetic at centre forward but somehow left the odd goal unscored. John Smith, our left wing, improved as the season progressed and put some nice crosses into the 'D' to be picked up. The most annoying thing about the season was the abrupt departure of our centre half Matthew Corney. His ball skills would have been greatly appreciated.

All in all the season has been pleasing and the younger members will have gained experience for the years to come. It can clearly be seen from the team's exceptional play at the Frank Mason Tournament over the last two years that the school would benefit greatly from having its own Astro pitch. The team and I would like to thank Mr. Posnette for his time and the devotion he has put into coaching and training us, at the expense, we trust, of not too much hair.

James Waters UVI

Footnote from JRP: My thanks to James Waters for his hard work as captain. A true leader, not just a figurehead, he has been full of help and advice for me. Not only that, he is also a superb right wing whose ability and never-flagging hard work was an inspiration to us all.

Upper has remained a super pitch and I know will get better and better thanks to the hard work of the groundsmen: thank you, gentlemen. However, how much we use it for matches remains to be seen. We are having in our side young players who are taking their hockey to the top and who rightly demand the best modern surfaces. Not only that, but most of our opposition play most of their matches on artificial pitches.

Team: S.Young, A.Shaw, A.Day, A.Hudd, C.Sheldon, C.Morgan, C.Masters, W.Waters, J.Smith, J.Cowell, J.Waters (Capt.)

Honours: William Waters - County, Divisional and England U16.

2nd XI Played 8 Won 2 Drawn 4 Lost 2 Goals for 8 Goals against 14 We started off the season on a very high note by beating Chatham House. Our Captain, Duncan, always keeping the side on its feet, brought us victory with his hat-trick. He carried on in great style throughout the season and pulled his team through many difficulties.

Andy Hepner proved to be an inspiring left winger (when he managed to get the ball): James Slaughter penetrated well on the right. The halves, Chris Pope, Duncan Poole-Connor and Rupert Cowell, Jim Brandon also playing an important role, played exceedingly well and complemented each other with

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Dunderdale, who was unlucky not to have a regular place in the team. We should have beaten Cranbrook by a large score, but had to make do with a goal in each half from Stephen Walsh; this was probably our worst performance. The weather and half term interrupted the flow of the team and we went down by a single goal from a deflection against Eastbourne; nonetheless it was a good game. St. Lawrence were beaten 2-0 in another game in which we should have had more goals. It took us a long time to score against Skinners and they came back well in the second half, a last minute goal giving us a 3-1 victory. The last match was at Caterham, who had drawn with Eastbourne. In a superb game of hockey, Sutton went behind in the first minute, before we had adjusted to the slightly bumpy all-weather pitch.

Half-time saw the sides equal and another mistake gave the home side the advantage. We pressed hard for an equaliser, only to give away the ball and a breakaway goal. We came back strongly to score the best goal of the season, but were unable to force a draw in the last few minutes.

Gregoire Hambourg had a good season in goal, gaining in confidence each match. Duncan Brannan was a most effective sweeper, timing his interventions with great skill. The other defenders were Ben Painter, by nature an attacking player on the right, but who had the speed to get back when required; Philip Morris had the unenviable role of marking the central attacker, ajob he did so effectively that he had two or three games for the 1st Xl; on the left Lance Robertson outplayed all the right wingers he faced except at Caterham where honours were about even. In midfield, Bola Abudu captained the side effectively, showing good skills even though sometimes holding the ball a fraction too long; he was supported on the left by Stuart Slaughter, a steady player whose stopping was excellent and who had a good reverse pass; on the right Stephen Walsh surprised many a side with his speed and topped the scoring with 5 goals but he must not let himself get carried away in the heat of battle! On the right wing Matthew Woodgate did not always get enough ball, but looked very dangerous when he did; on the left wing Oliver Raisbeck had good control and was unlucky not to score on two three occasions; whilst in the middle Miles McLeod showed plenty of speed and determination, but had lost the goal-scoring touch of the previous year. Nicholas Hodgson came into the defence for a number of matches and played with great determination, none more so than against Caterham; Michael Dunderdale, Clive Hams and Alan Barr also played in the team.

This was a team which could have been unbeaten, with a little luck and more goals, but all the players should be pleased with their efforts. They played good hockey.

Team: Abudu* (C apt), Brannan*, Hambourg, McLeod, Morris*, Painter*, Raisbeck, Robertson*, Slaughter, Walsh*, Woodgate* * Colours Also played: Hodgson, Dunderdale, Harris, Barr.

their skills. Theirs was an attacking game which did tend to leave our defence stranded on occasions although in most situations the latter was solid and effective. James Hunt had an excellent season in goal, only conceding five. Sadly, he was absent when most needed (the Eastbourne match).

Many thanks to Messrs. Posnette and Piper for all the time they contributed to the team.

Results Chatham House Sir Roger Manwood's Cranbrook St. Edmund's Eastbourne St. Lawrence College Skinners' Caterham O.S.

3-2 1-0 1-1 Cancelled 0-7 0-1 1-1 1-1 1-1

Those who played for the team: S.Young, J.Hunt, G.Hambourg, N.de Lucy*, S.Bing-Maddick, D.Poole-Connor*, L.Fox, S.Briscall, C.Pope *, C.Morgan, R.Cowell, J.Brandon, J.Slaughter, M.Dunderdale, A.Pares, A.Hepner, D.Cole, T.Hallett, E.Bukuku, T.Hodson and N.Hodgson * denotes colours.

Nick de Lucy. LVI Footnote from G.R.P. Modest to the end! Nick de Lucy and the other two backs had a splendid season - it was a very safe and solid back four with Lawrence Fox, Nick and Sean Briscall in front of James Hunt.

Under 16 Played 7 Won 5 Lost 2 Goals for 15 Goals against 7 This year the Under 16 team stayed together instead of being absorbed into the 1st, 2nd and 3rd XIs. The benefit of this can be seen in the results: only two matches were lost, each by a single goal; three team players played for the 1st XI in a couple of matches; and two further Under 16s who could not command a regular place in the team played for the 2nd XI. The team also benefited from regular practice with the 1st and 2nd XIs. The team played some excellent hockey, improving game by game through the season, but failed to score as many goals as it undoubtedly should have done. The reason for this was reluctance to get the ball directly into the circle and a tendency to rush shots in front of goal. The players wanted to win and played well together and it was a pity that because of injury we were never able to field the best side.

The season started with a narrow victory over King's Rochester. 2-1, though we really should have made sure earlier than we did. Chatham House went down 4-1, our best winning margin thanks to a hat-trick from Michael

C.R.G. Shaw

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Under 15

Under 14

Played 8 Won 2 Drawn 1 Lost 5 Goals for: 14 Goals against: 15 The 1991 season was totally overshadowed by the sudden and untimely death of Brian Day on the day of the match at Sir Roger Manwood's. Brian had run the U 15s ever since his arrival at Sutton Valence in 1971: hockey was his game. Not only did numerous successful sides pass through his skilled and capable hands, however: for much of his life he also played the game with positive enjoyment and not a little skill. That he managed to communicate that enjoyment to so many younger players says a great deal for his immense love of the game.

Many of us remember with admiration his wonderfully complete teams of the mid-seventies; his superb side of 1984; while, more recently, his last three full seasons were made up of 26 victories, only 8 defeats and 81 goals; what a feast! What a record! I know that nothing thrilled Brian more than the 3-0 walloping handed out to the hitherto undefeated Kent College side of 1988. That characteristic and mischievous twinkle was in his eye as he happily told and retold me of that victory, and of others that had given him so much pleasure.

The current season had begun encouragingly, with creditable performances against Chatham House (0-1) and Cranbrook School (3-3). But with the desolation that pervaded the scene after the loss of coach and mentor, with the dismal weather and with several unfortunate injuries, it was difficult to pick up the threads for the remaining four weeks. However, there was an encouraging performance at Skinners' (5-2) when, on a difficult surface, most players (some, such as James Roberts and Gavin Lee being promoted from the 'B' team) gave of their all and deserved their victory. A sturdy defensive display versus Caterham kept the game interesting and competitive, though had players hit the ball to the right hand side of the field more often, they would have been able to relieve the pressure more easily and would have provided more opportunities for attack.

Although the results were not particularly impressive, this was a good season's hockey, the highlight of which was the tour to Germany (see report below).

The side contained plenty of promising players but too often failed to convert territorial superiority into goals and often gave away unfortunate goals through poor concentration in defence. This was particularly true against a good St. Lawrence side when we lost a very good game 0-1 and against Cranbrook where, having been 0-1 down at half time the boys fought back admirably to lead 2-1 until losing two goals in the last three minutes to lose 2-3. We competed well against strong sides from Eastbourne and Caterham and had a fine victory at Skinners'.

Of individual players, Hayman captained the side magnificently and was tireless and tenacious in defence while Thomson showed good skills and the ability to find his forwards with some penetrating passes from midfield. In attack Sowemimo-Coker always looked menacing, scoring ten goals, and Imberg looked sharp and skilful if, as yet, a little lacking in strength.

Adu-Bobie, in his first season of hockey, emerged as a winger of speed, skill and considerable potential, while Sands as sweeper and Lloyd-Bennett in goal saved us on many occasions. Roberts showed skill and determination on the left wing - as yet he lacks strength but he should be a valuable attacking force in years to come. French and Bell also showed promise as attacking midfield players. Of the others, Perry had an excellent gauze at right half against Skinner's, Wootton, Leggat and Anthony worked hard in defence, Henderson contributed usefully and Morel, although ill for a fair amount of the season, showed enthusiasm and ability.

For the German trip we were joined in attack by Harvey and Ward from the U 15 group and in defence by two boys from Marden Hockey Club, Simon McNair and Robert Harmer. We knew that standards would be very high in Germany where skills are developed in an indoor season which also trains goalkeepers to break up attacks by advancing off their lines more quickly than our forwards are used to. The boys were, however, by no means outclassed and gained two fine victories against Eintracht Braunschweig and DHC Hanover.

Against Hanover, though tending to use grass techniques on astro-turf, they played some of their best hockey of the season and showed considerable promise for the future. Well done.

J.L.R. Posnette

David Harvey*, Ben Ward* and Geoffrey Anderson* played their hearts out throughout, the two last-named being ever-present and Ben scoring 5 of the 14 goals. 'Iron man', Chris Colthurst, was the only other ever-present, the team clearly missing the all-round skills of Sina Onaolapo, who played in only four of the games.

Others who represented the side in addition to those mentioned above: Evans Bukuku + (5), Sebastian Ejimofor (4), Nigel Evans (5), Michael Fox (6), Richard Hodson (6), Matthew Hemingway (2), Tim Lavers (7), Andrew Lee (7), Gavin Lee (1), Jason Purvis (1), Mark Sarde + (3). David Harvey, the captain, missed two of the games through illness. + Goalkeepers * Under 15 Hockey Colours It was unfortunate that, through the inability of opponents to fulfil fixtures and also through illness, only one 'B'XI fixture was played, that against Eastbourne College.

R.D. Chance

U14 Hockey tour to Germany 5th.-12th. April 1991 After a very long journey and a rough crossing by ferry, we finally arrived at Braunschweig Hockey Club.

The reception was wonderful. Our hosts were there to meet us and after a quick drink we went to our various houses.

The Suttonian 1991

Under 14 Hockey tour to Germany We were awake bright and early the following morning, preparing for the hockey tournament at the club. Toby, our furry mascot dressed in a Sutton Valence tracksuit, was also up, sitting at the side-line ready to support.

Our first match was against the home team and we were successful, winning 4-2. Everyone played well, the first goal being scored by Anna Sabine (thanks to an excellent cross by Clare Wilkinson who worked very well as the R.W.) and the following three by Georgie Pares, the top goal scorer of the tournament.

We had a short time to recuperate and then we were back on the pitch playing Hanover. Our opponents were strong but we marked closely and Catherine Day, Demelza Harris and Anna Sabine defended the circle well. We were rewarded with another win, 4-1. Georgie scored another hat-trick including one goal in which she glided effortlessly around the goalkeeper with a deft reverse stick manoeuvre. Mr. Wilson is still talking about it! Alison Brannan scored the other. After a delicious buffet supper we went back with our hosts.

The next day we played two more matches, but in neither was the result as good. We scraped a win against Braunschweig in the last few minutes thanks to a goal by Georgie; and despite an excellent goal by Philippa Worsfold against Hanover, we still lost 2-1. We remained however the overall winners and Laura, our captain, was presented with a lovely trophy.

The following afternoon we were all given a tour of the Elector's Gardens in Hanover, complete with fountains and an orchid house, before playing our penultimate match on 'Astro-turf against a different, and stronger Hanover side. Having never played on this type of pitch before we were at a disadvantage from the start and our lack of experience showed. Although we lost the match we all gained from playing on a new type of surface.

The final match was against another Braunschweig team. After a good game, during which play improved with time, the score was 1-1, Alison Brannan scoring an excellent goal from the edge of the circle. Amelia Shaw

and Sally Stileman worked conscientiously down the left side and the very promising skills of Laura Harris, our captain, never failed, either in this match or in any other.

After four comfortable nights with our hosts we all moved to the Braunschweig Youth Hostel. It was great to be able to speak English to each other again, and it also made it easier to tour around. We saw the Hartz Mountains, went down a silver mine fully equipped with hard hats and overalls, went swimming and spent a morning in school with our hosts. In addition to these, we had a very interesting tour of Berlin where our guide was superb. We were able to see the difference between the East and West, we saw the Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie and, most importantly, the Berlin Wall. However, there is very little left standing, and that which is has been painted by artists from all over the world and is being left as a memorial. It was a trip I shall never forget.

A great time was had by all during the week; everyone learnt a lot and gave their all. We also came home speaking better German that when we left! Our hosts were incredibly kind and their generosity was much acknowledged.

On behalf of all the team members, I would like to thank Mr. and Mrs. Posnette for organising the tour and Mr. Wilson and Mrs. Wilkinson for their valuable coaching and encouragement throughout the week.

E. Hamson 3A

Footnote from J.L.R.P. The boys enjoyed slightly less success on the tour.

They started well, beating the host side but in the match against Hanover which followed almost immediately looked tired and played a bit as though they were, and lost. The next day they lost against Braunschweig, had a break to recover, then unfortunately went down in a hard-fought game against Hanover.

On the Monday when we had travelled to Hanover we were confronted with a match on Astro-turf, a surface

77

The Suttonian 1991 unfamiliar to many. The boys played good, hard-running grass hockey and were 3-1 up by half time. Some unfortunate umpiring decisions by myself contrived to keep the D.H.C. score down, while S.V. scored again to win comfortably.

In the final game of the tour against a different club from Braunschweig all the boys played and played very well, but lost. The only thing left to do was to attend a final dinner, say our final farewells, pack, sleep and depart.

We had been superbly well looked after. The friendship and generosity of our hosts appeared to know no bounds and it was my pleasure to say our official but nonetheless heartfelt thank-yous and present flowers to three of our lady hosts, two T-shirts to our official guides Hans and Karen, and Man and Woman of the Tour T-shirts to boys' captain David Hayman and girls' goalkeeper Elizabeth Harrison. We also presented Anne Wilkinson with a watch and Bill Wilson with a photograph with the thanks of the teams and myself for their enthusiasm and tremendous help with the tour.

One of the most pleasing aspects of it all were the appreciatory remarks made about our boys and girls by our hosts who were really sorry to see them go. We look forward to having Braunschweig and D.H.C. here next year.

I'

Girls' Hockey The season commenced under the captaincy of Anita Henderson with six players from the previous year's 1st XI. This was a good position from which to start, and the first two matches showed promise particularly the game v. Eastbourne when we lost 1-0 to a talented side having been 0-0 until the closing stages.

A draw, but a moral victory because of a disallowed goal versus St. Edmund's followed, but after that the forwards seemed unable to score. For most of the matches the defence played determinedly, on many occasions the score line being saved by Rebecca Warner, but the forwards failed to capitalise on their chances, Saffron Tom actually making a habit of hitting the posts. The matches against King's Canterbury on their new Astro-turf pitches were played just after half-term, but because of an error by their P.E. staff our 1st. XI played their 2nd. XI and managed to win. As a result our 2nd XI unknowingly played King's 1st XI and battled hard against the inevitable defeat but were rewarded by a goal for their efforts.

Those who played for the 1st XI: R. Warner, C. Palmer, H. Ward, K. Hannah, J. Taylor, A. Henderson, C. Stainton-James, J. Raja, J. Theobald, C. Latham, N. Kruger, S. Tom, M. Imberg, N. Harris, E. Barty. Full colours were awarded to C. Stainton-James and N. Kruger for their hard work and dedication during the season and half colours went to C. Palmer.

My thanks go to John Posnette and Don Clarke for their help with all the senior hockey and to the ground-staff for their co-operation over pitches. During the Michaelmas term we were asked at short notice to

host the Kent U16 Schools' Tournament, which we were pleased to do. I am happy to report that the event ran smoothly and most schools commented on the good quality of our pitches: we are indeed lucky.

B.J. Evans

2nd XI P:5

W:3 D:1 L:1

Unfortunately, the 2nd XI lost a number of players from the previous year's Upper Sixth, but this was more than compensated for by the acquisition of Layla Tom, Jenny Howells and Emma Lloyd.

The season began well with a win against Eastbourne and continued in this vein until we met Dover College who beat us 2-1. Had we maintained the same team throughout the season I am sure we would have been more successful but illness and the 1st XI diminished our number. Nonetheless, we always maintained a sense of humour and worked fairly consistently as a team.

Overall, we had solid and very hardworking backs and halves but our forwards often lacked motivation and co-ordination (the exceptions being Hannah Brocidebank and Fran Yonge) and thus failed to take advantage of many opportunities we had.

J.Taylor* (Capt.), C.Berry, The team: H.Ward/K.Hannah, J.Howells*, L.Tom*, E.Lloyd*, H.Brocklebank, E.Barty, J.Mumford, J.Morris, F.Yonge. * 2nd XI colours.

J. Taylor UVI

The Suttonian 1991

G1' second eleven

Overall this was a very successful season. I should like to thank all the team and also Mrs. Haywood for her excellent coaching.

The team: A.Rhodes*, A.Sabine* (Capt.), C.Hicks, K.Worral*, R.Bourne, H.Brooks, S.Ellis, V.Phillips, R.Gear*, B.Armstrong, T.Hannaway, C.Willdnson, J.Howard. * U15 colours.

R. Sabine 4B

Under 15 XI P:7 W:6 Goals for: 18

D:1 L:0 Goals against: 3

Hopes were high at the beginning of the season that this highly talented team would continue unbeaten as it had been at U14 level. The first match against Kent College, Pembury resulted in an emphatic 4-1 victory and set the scene for the remaining matches. The team spirit was high as was the confidence of the players.

The forward line played consistently well with excellent performances throughout the season from Rebecca Gear and Bianca Armstrong, the leading scorers, always superbly supported by Tara Hannaway, Clare Wilkinson and Vicki Phillips. In virtually every match the midfield was dominated by the half back line of Kate Worral, Ruth Bourne, Helen Brooks and Sam Ellis who ensured that there was a plentiful supply of good balls for the forwards. Only against Dover College did the side come under pressure but this was more the result of the aggressive tactics of our opponents and some odd decisions than any great difference between the teams in terms of skill: at least Sutton Valence had the satisfaction of scoring, even if the goal was disallowed...

In defence, Anna Rhodes in goal and Anna Sabine and Catherine Hicks as the full backs frequently had little to do, but as the results show, were extremely effective when needed.

Under 14 XI P:9

W:8

D:1

L:0

The team had a very successful season, not losing a single match, and only conceding one goal. Elizabeth Harrison made no mistakes in her goal-keeping, giving the rest of the team a good chance to win each game.

The defence was indispensable: Demelza Harris and Catherine Day attacked the opposing forwards with great vigour. Amelia Shaw, Alison Brannan and Laura Hams played with tremendous efficiency. They kept the ball from going too far back and were also there to support the forwards. Although goal-scoring was not as high as it could have been in some matches, Elizabeth Pope, Madeleine Gear, Georgina Pares, Philippa Worsfold and Sally Stileman all played their part in winning matches.

I would like to thank Mrs. Haywood for her support, coaching and enthusiasm.

U14 Colours: E.Harrison, L.Harris (Capt.), S.Stileman, E.Pope, G.Pares, M.Gear, A.Brannan.

P. Worsfold 311

79

The Suttonian 1991 Many of the boys and girls are gaining much pleasure playing tennis, whether in general play when the courts are free, in organised games' sessions and activities' sessions or in team training sessions and match play against other schools. The enthusiasm of dedicated staff has no doubt contributed more than just a little to this.

The boys' teams are, at the time of writing (early May) gaining strength. In discussing this with our two captains Eu Jin Chan, captain of the senior boys, said: "I am looking forward to the matches this term since many of the players have improved considerably since last year." Oliver Haywood, U16 team captain, added: "The first team last year almost all finished school at the end of last Summer term leaving a big gap in the line-up for this year. We now have young players with much potential with some of the Fourth Year boys representing the school. Some of the younger ones who are now playing particularly well are Matthew Woodgate, Laurence Fox and Gregoire Hambourg."

Other notable youngsters include Mark Sarde who is developing a strong game and Philip Kunath who is hitting the ball well. Oliver Haywood is putting his racquet skills to good use.

In the first six, which includes Matthew Woodgate and Laurence Fox, already mentioned, Chris Pope and Jim Brandon should make a steady pair, while Tony Coker and Eu Jin Chan complete the team. Eu Jin is progressing well with a game that is proving to be both powerful and consistent.

Today is Friday 3rd. May and tomorrow we look forward to the first fixture of the season. Our opponents, St. Edmund's School, are reputed to be quite strong at their tennis. We expect that the teams are going to have a happy and successful season.

Dr. G.C. Leitch

Tennis A good number of tennis balls have been flying about at Sutton Valence this year.

Activities' tennis started at the beginning of September with some serious team training and practice and lasted right through the winter until the end of the Lent term. The pupils enjoyed this very much, always being aware of the need to dress appropriately according to the weather. With the beginning of the Summer term tennis has got into full swing this time with a new enthusiasm at the helm.

One of the key coaching points that pupils have been learning is "to hit a falling ball". Hitting the ball "after the top of the bounce" helps players enormously at all levels. It allows them more time to position themselves correctly, it helps them to transfer their weight forwards more naturally when hitting the ball and it dramatically improves the consistency of their shots.

Basketball 5

Considering the small student body at Sutton Valence, it is surprising that basketball is so popular amongst the many other sports that are played. The popularity of the sport is jeopardized by a small gym, which limits the number of students playing at any one time, and a frequently dangerous floor, which has caused at least one serious injury this season.

Early in the season an U17 team represented the school in an all-day competition at Chatham. We found ourselves playing a series of clubs from all over Kent.

Although these sides had a large selection of players, our confidence was high and we convincingly won two of the five matches. Both Ken Shum and Tom Hodson played very well, scoring 68 and 27 points respectively, in the competition. Their efforts, combined with the rest of the team's performance, were enough to secure fifth place out of nine teams.

1

Ak

;

4

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The Suttonian 1991

Jun Brandon goes for a slam

D

The first team played inter-school matches against King's Canterbury, Cranbrook and Sevenoaks. The King's match was played after three weeks without a practice, since the gym was filled with desks for exams.

This lack of practice was obvious in the number of missed opportunities and the low final score 29-35.

Cranbrook, our local rivals, put up stiff opposition against a team that was determined to win, after the unfortunate defeat at King's. Although we led throughout the game, they were never far behind. With excellent defence from Tony Coker, combined with raw power from BenPainter, we prevailed, winning 29-25. We beat them again, in the return match 34-27. In what was the high point of the season, we beat Sevenoaks most convincingly, 64-28, in a match which saw Chris Pope return to his dominance on the fast break. The Common Room side was no match for the speed and accuracy of youth and we won 42-12.

Maidstone Schools' Tournaments dominated the programme for the U16 and U15 teams. The U16s, captained by Ben Painter, won their three games at the early season tournament, but met the eventual winners, The Cornwallis School, in the first round and lost 42-67 to a very good side. However, they went on to win the Plate Competition, convincingly beating both Oldborough Manor and The Malling School, 71-15 and 58-17 respectively. In the match against King's Canterbury, they lost 22-23, largely through lack of practice.

The Suttonian 1991 The U15 team, captained by Rick Hodson, had an extremely successful season, winning all six of their games and taking the Maidstone Schools U15 Cup. They beat Oldborough Manor in a well contested final 39-26, despite the roars of support from a large home crowd. With their developing skills, they should do equally well again next season.

In the Inter-House competitions, the girls were again represented and this year won their preliminary match in the Junior Competition. However, Westminster were too strong, convincingly beating St. Margaret's 21-10 in the Senior Final and 35-17 in the Junior Final.

This sport has rarely attracted day pupils and the House Competition is now, virtually, a two-horse race, which is sad.

Finally, I would like to thank all of our opponents this season and Mr. Taylor, without whom the basketball programme Sutton Valence would not exist.

Jun Brandon LVI, Captain 1990-91

Team Records Seniors P: 5 Won: 4 L: 1 Points for: 198 against 127 Individual totals: Painter 57, Pope 46, Brandon 29, Hodson 18, Shum 14, Abudu and Coker 12, Hatega 6, Edem N 4. Also played: Yue. Half colours awarded to: Jim Brandon, Ben Painter and Chris Pope.

U17 P: 7 W: 2 L: 5 Points for: 271 against: 287.

Individual totals: Shum 114, Painter 49, Hodson T 27, Coker 21, Brandon 16, Abudu 14, Cheung and Edem N 10, Sowemimo-Coker 6, Kampanis 2 U16 P: 7 W: 5 L: 2 Points for: 243 against: 126 Individual totals: Painter 110, Abudu 30, Hodson R 28, Shum 21, Cheung 16, Sowemimo-Coker and Onaolapo 14, Slattery 6, Hambourg and Midwood 2 U15 P: 6 W: 6 Points for: 227 against: 63 Individual totals: Hodson R 84, Onaolapo 50, Slattery 39, Cheung 21, Sowemimo-Coker 19, Kampanis 8, Lee 4, Adu-Bobie 2. Also played: Hambourg

"The loneliness of the long-distance runner."

f

Cross-Country This year saw the introduction of a league structure for cross country amongst independent schools in Kent. For several years many runners have commented favourably on the larger fixtures at which half a dozen or more schools take part.

In 1991 each school hosted one fixture to which all the other schools in the league were invited. Devising a fair system of scoring exercised the best minds in running for a considerable period of time: eventually the task was delegated to a computer which seemed able to make sense of the enormous quantity of data generated at each race.

The popularity of cross country at Sutton Valence varies from year to year for no easily identifiable reason.

This year I found it difficult to raise an Intermediate Team for lack of runners. As the number of girls in the school increases and other sports are offered to the boys there will be an inevitable decline in the demand for cross country. The peculiar attractions of running five miles in cold, wet weather clothed only in a blue school vest, shorts and a pair of spikes seem to appeal only to a limited few. Chris Miller as captain of cross country continued to give excellent service and was always well placed in matches, fully deserving his award of full colours. Bruce Lawton also ran consistently well and demonstrated great determination. Every year the Senior Team picks up a few hockey players looking for a change in their final year: Jake Scott and Daniel Campbell soon proved to be both competitive and capable runners and were a welcome addition to the team. Jake was awarded the Lalyet Cup for the most improved runner over the course of the season. Many other senior runners ran well for the school including Andrew Godwin, Chris Hicks, Ben Collins and Nick Cruse. At the end of the season the school finished sixth in the league: Chris Miller was placed twelfth individually.

The Intermediates always suffered from lack of numbers and injuries quickly reduced the team below a viable number. However, Jonathan Holroyd proved himself to be a very talented athlete indeed. He easily won all the league fixtures in which he competed. When not running for the school he represented Kent and managed to finish eighteenth in the National Schools, Cross Country Championships. Although still only in the Fifth Form Jonathan got within a few seconds of Patrick Chance's performance run record time set only last year. Colours were awarded to James Drury, Richard Wooderson and Simon Mills for their positive attitude and contribution to the team during the season. Tom Wellard also ran well but was often hampered by injury.

The House matches gave the hockey and fives players their chance to demonstrate their natural fitness, As always they were well beaten by the cross country teams. Cross country must be one of the few sports

The Suttonian 1991 where a little training can make such a rapid and noticeable difference to an athlete's performance. The races were won in convincing style by Chris Miller, Jonathan Holroyd, Anthony Bell and Peter Kutschmann.

Overall Lambe's proved to be the most consistent and was awarded the winners, cup.

My thanks go to all those staff who helped with cross country training, matches and other associated events.

Chris Parkinson, Ted Stanley and Mike Willdridge encouraged and helped the gentleman joggers. Mike Jillians proved to be an excellent example to boys and such a committed and able runner was a considerable asset to cross country this term.

To sum up the season: I would say that the boys have enjoyed their running but did not achieve great success as a school team. Next year will be interesting if cross country numbers continue to fall. I know that many talented runners are involved in other sports: how about a change next year?

D.E. Clarke.

Squash Played 2 Won 1 Lost 1 With only two scheduled matches in the entire Lent term (and both of those against Cranbrook), it was never going to be the best of seasons for squash. j• The matches were both 'Set V that is, only playable by those for whom squash is their main sport.

The first match saw Sutton Valence win reasonably convincingly with Sean Briscall (playing No.2), Andrew Godwin (No.3) and myself (No.5) prevailing against competition that really offered little or no resistance.

By the time Cranbrook returned for the second match Robin Willetts had left squash to play rugby, Sean was unable to play on this occasion and two slightly younger players were in our team. With everyone moved up one in the playing order, it was too much to expect that we should win again. Although we all played with spirit, only Lance Robertson won his match.

Those who played: Sean Briscall, Andrew Godwin, Eujin Chan, Oliver Daddow, Robin Willetts, Lance Robertson, Gavin Lee. Oliver Daddow LVI

Girls' Squash With twenty-one girls from years Four to Upper Sixth choosing squash as their preferred option for Games in the Lent term, the squash courts have been in constant use during games afternoons. All pupils have improved their game significantly, and a squash ladder was introduced before half term. Challenge matches

have been played on Thursday afternoons with dramatic effects to the ladder. It has been particularly pleasing to see girls from different year groups competing with each other.

Many thanks to Belinda Evans and Miss Barral for assisting whenever possible, giving beginners a good introduction and others much valuable coaching.

C.M.C. Midwood.

Girls' Netball 1st VII We were joined this year by Mrs. Esta Cornell to coach the 1st and 2nd VIIs. As an ex-Welsh International she has done much to raise the level in netball at all age ranges and she has brought a new enthusiasm to the game. The 1st VII is a young side. Correctly Mrs. Cornell chose seven players who would play together as a team rather than the best seven individuals and our results this year have not therefore reflected the tremendous improvement in the standard of our play. Out of six matches we won one, drew one, and lost four; but the basis is there for an excellent season in 1992.

The team: H.Ward, K.Fitzgerald, C.Stainton-James, N.Kruger, J.Howells, K.James, Z.Pearce.

S.M. Haywood •

The Suttonian 1991

2nd VII Although we recorded only one victory, against Kent College, Pembury, the second team generally worked very hard at building up a good spirit and improving skills. We put in a lot of effort and enjoyed playing.

Opposing teams were often taller but we ignored this and bounced our way to near-victories against teams that had been practising all-year-round whereas we had only one term in which to prove ourselves. Even this short term was interrupted by the 'Siberian' weather.

I have found it difficult to single out individual players because we were so much of a team. I enjoyed being a part of such a team: well done, everyone.

The team: L.Tom, R.Wilkinson, C.Latham, R.Stene, L.Slater (Capt.), E.Richards, N.Harris, C.Palmer.

L. Slater UVI

Under 15 VII P: 6

W: 5

L: 1

The U15 team has had a very successful season, only losing one match. The team spirit was always very high which produced a united front. The defence played with great determination - Kate Worral succeeded in keeping the shooter out of the circle by using excellent blocking techniques. Bianca Armstrong, not one of the tallest wing defences, performed with enthusiasm and skill, always being there when she was needed. The shooters, Rebecca Gear and Clare Wilkinson, shot

with accuracy: congratulations to them both. Anna Sabine and Ruth Bourne must also be commended for their consistent effort through the season.

I should like to thank the reserves, Joanna Howard and Anna Rhodes, for their commitment and support towards the team even though they played in very few matches: but more especially Mrs. Haywood, on the team's behalf, for her coaching this season.

The team: R.Bourne, K.Worral*, B.Armstrong, A.Sabine, R.Gear*, T.Hannaway* (Capt.), C. Willdnson*. * U15 colours T. Hannaway 4A

Under 14 VII P: 7

W: 4

L: 3

The season began disappointingly with three consecutive losses against Cranbrook, King's Canterbury and Sevenoaks. However, at this early stage of the term the team was still being sorted out and all of these schools had an advantage through playing during the Michaelmas term.

As the season progressed, so did the shooting, Georgina Pares and Sally Stileman becoming more and more accurate. Laura Harris and Elizabeth Pope worked well together in the centre court showing good potential, whilst Philippa Worsfold and Amelia Shaw defended with determination. Improvement since the beginning of term was rewarded with four wins.

A special mention must be given to two U13 team members, Alison Brannan and Madeleine Gear, who joined us at the Maidstone Schools' Netball Tournament.

The Suttonian 1991 reserves and finally Mrs. Haywood for her coaching and great enthusiasm throughout the season.

Those who represented the school at U14 level: A.Brannan, C.Day, L.Harris, M.Gear, E.Harrison* (Capt.), R.Head, G.Pares, E.Pope*, A.Shaw, S.Stileman, K.Woods, P.Worsfold.

E. Harrison

Fives

The team played with conviction and after a very tight competition against strong opposition we came third.

On behalf of all the team I should like to thank Rebecca Head, Catherine Day and Katie Woods for playing the part of three dedicated and supportive

The overall impression left by our match record this season is, it has to be admitted, a fairly mediocre one. Matches have been won - but then, many have been lost.

Our first pair of Tony Coker and Melvyn Nwajei showed sparkle at times in doubles matches but when it came to the singles area lacked the patience or stamina to bring the best out of their game.

The second pair, Alex Hubble and Oliver Haywood, lacked team co-ordination in doubles play but hardly lost any of their singles games.

The spirit of the team remained high however and I am fairly sure that next year a more experienced and strong team will emerge from its murky past, clean and ready to win.

AA. CokerLVI

The Suttonian 1991

Old Suttonians Association News As the 1991 Suttonian is being published earlier than in previous years, any O.S. News will be included in the next edition of the Newsletter which will be published in January 1992.

O.S.A. AGM and Dinner The reports on the 1991 O.S.A. AGM and O.S.A Dinner will appear in the next edition of the Suttonian.

Marriages BETTS-TUSTAIN On 17th May 1986 Andrew John Betts (1977 F) to Hannah Louise Tustain.

Births BETTS On 10th July 1988 to Hannah (nee Tustain) and Andrew Betts (1977 F), ason, William James Rayner; and on 20th September 1989, a daughter, Alice Rebecca Mary.

LOVELACE On 1st October 1990 to Christine (nee Perkins) and John Lovelace (1977 W), a son, Richard Edwin Elliott, a brother for Jennifer. Christine's mother is Mrs Lois Perkins who has been a Laboratory Assistant at the school for some years.

DUNN On 11th February 1991 to Pam and Michael Dunn (Master since 1989) a second daughter, Marsha Leonora.

LAU On 21st February 1991 at Camden Town Hall in London. Danny Lau (1978 C) to Olivia.

ROWE-OWEN On 14th July 1990 at St. Margaret's, Barming, Jonathan Leale Rowe (1978 F) to Deborah Ann Owen.

RICKE'ITS-DAVIES On 29th September 1990 at All Saints', Purley Common, Charles N.T. Ricketts (1979 F) to Jill Davies. Charles is the elder son of Judy and Michael Ricketts (Headmaster 1967-80). James Ricketts (1980 F). Charles' younger brother, was Best Man. The Organist was Robin Jackson (Master 1975-79) and the service was conducted by the Rev. David Barnes (Chaplain 1976-86).

HUGHES-DIDIER On 13th April 1991 at Nancy in France, Richard Charles Hughes (1978 F) to Anne Didier (Mistress 1985-90). Richard is the second son of Brian Hughes (Master 1975-86) and brother of Mark Hughes (1978 F) and John Hughes (1978 F) . A number of people from Sutton Valence were at the wedding, including Bob and Anne Chance (Master since 1961), John and Inga Harcourt (Master since 1978), Anne Bowker (Mistress since 1987), Sylvie Banal (Mistress since 1989), Marge Crosby (San. Sister since 1989}, Kathy Egan (Caterer since 1988) and Gary Hollister (present pupil) with his family.

HICKMAN-INSOLE On 15th December 1990 at St. Mary the Virgin, Smeeth, James Guy Hickman (1982 F) to Louise Insole. Christopher Newport (1979 F) was Best Man, Peter Hickman (1978 F) and Andrew Hickman (1985 F), James' brothers, were Ushers and the wedding was also attended by Peter Mattinson (1980 F) and John Best (1978 F).

Deaths MOUNTAIN On 30th April 1985 at Grahamstown, South Africa, Edgar Donald Mountain (1919W). It is with some embarrassment that we belatedly record the death of one of our most distinguished Old Boys. We apologise to Edgar Mountain's family for the delay in publishing this obituary; it should have been printed in an earlier Suttonian.

Edgar Mountain was Professor Emeritus at Rhodes University and Professor of Geology from 1930 to 1969.

He had won an Open Scholarship to Corpus Christi, Cambridge and, after five years working for the British Museum, went to Rhodes University in 1927. He was a geologist of great distinction, naming the mineral Rhodesite after his university in South Africa and also giving his own name to another mineral which he discovered, Mountainite. Most of his work was done in the Eastern Cape and Border regions of South Africa where he worked. He was awarded the Draper Memorial Medal of the Geological Society of South

The Suttonian 1991 Africa in 1963; this was in recognition of his outstanding services to geological science.

In addition to his brilliant academic career, Professor Mountain was active in community service.

He worked in race relations and was a member and secretary of the 'Joint Council for Europeans and Natives in Grahamstown. This Council was established to make the European population aware of the problems of urban life for Africans as well as to achieve some improvements. To this end a Community Hall and Secondary School were built. He was also active in university affairs, being Chairman of the Science Study Committee of the University of South Africa and later its Dean of Science. At Rhodes he was Warden of Drostdy Hall and President of the Rhodes Athletics Club. This last post was in recognition of his early career as a celebrated athlete, representing Great Britain in the Olympic Games at 880 yards in the 1920 Games at Antwerp and the 1924 Games at Paris.

The Edgar Mountain Society at Sutton Valence owed its name to him; it was a Science Society which met regularly during the late 70s and early 80s to hear speakers on scientific topics and to discuss them.

responsible for the development of the King Street site in the 1970s. This site became the Stoneborough Centre and is now known as the Chequers Centre.

CALVER On 21st April 1990, Gordon Anthony Calver (1937 W). Peacefully at home after a short illness.

Gordon Calver joined the Imperial Bank of Persia on leaving school; this is now known as the British Bank of the Middle East. He won the Beckett Memorial Prize, the most prestigious award in banking and was placed first in the Institute of Bankers' exams. He also won the Guther prize for Economics and the Whitehead Prize for Foreign Exchange. At the age of 24 he was appointed a branch manager, the youngest ever to hold such a position.

He worked abroad for most of his career, holding various positions in the Gulf and the Middle East. His main task was to set up banking institutions in a part of the world where banking previously did not exist. He also taught local staff various aspects of banking so that they could sit the Institute of Bankers' exams in London.

He had a great love of swimming and taught bank staff water polo so that they could compete in competitions.

He returned to the U.K. in 1969 to take up the post of General Manager of the bank and a year later became a Director. He remained head of the bank until his retirement in 1977. During this time Gordon Calver was the Chairman of coM r (the Committee for Middle East Trade). He remained on the board of directors and was also a member of the London Advisory Committee for the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Group until 1984.

He gave many lectures on International Banking to various business groups in the U.S.A., Europe and Britain, as well as writing articles for the Institute of Bankers and other publications. He was co-author. with Victor Dover. F.C.I.I., F.C.I.B., of The Banker's Guide to Marine Insurance ofLloyds: a Practical Guide. As a result of this he was appointed F.C.I.B. He also wrote The Foundation of the Imperial Bank of Persia.

After his retirement he kept himself busy as Chairman of the Finance and General Purposes Committee of The Shaftesbury Homes and 'Arethusa'; Chairman of the Anglo-Omani Society; Chairman of the Iran Society and Vice President of the Royal Asiatic Society. He was involved with Dr. Bamado's for a long time and established the Calver Trust to help mentally and physically handicapped children in Barnado's care.

During the Second World War he served in the Royal Navy.

DUNCAN On 5th June 1990, aged 85, Leslie Warren Duncan (1923 W). Warren Duncan was an Estate Agent, Auctioneer and Surveyor, who spent his entire working life with the family firm of WA Ellis, specialising in residential property in the Belgravia, Kensington and Chelsea areas of inner London. He was the senior partner for many years until his retirement in the early 1970s. He was a Fellow of the Incorporated Society of Auctioneers and Landed Property Agents and latterly of the Incorporated Society of Valuers and Auctioneers.

After leaving school he had joined the London Scottish Regiment of the Territorial Army, a regiment for which he retained a great affection. During the Second World War he served in the R.A.F. as a Squadron Leader on the staff of H.Q. Fighter Command and was Mentioned in Dispatches. He enjoyed playing golf and bridge and was President of the O.S. Golfing Society during the 1960s. He was a member of Moor Park Golf Club and was for a while a member of the Club's Board of Directors.

Warren Duncan always had a special affection for the school. His two sons, Michael John Warren (1954 W) and Robert Charles (1960 W) followed him to Sutton Valence.

WELLINGTON On 21st July 1990 Robert Michael Wellington (1925 M). Robert worked for the BBC after the Second World War until his retirement to Steep near Petersfield some years ago.

WINSER On 9th December 1990 suddenly of a heart attack, Owen Frank Winser (1943 W). After leaving school Owen went to Burma for his war service. On his return he studied at Shuttleworth College in Bedfordshire and became a Chartered Surveyor working for Hemel Hempstead Development Corporation. In 1952 he became a Professional Associate of the Institute. In 1965 he became an Estate Agent in Tenterden where he stayed until 1980 when he joined the Central Electricity Generating Board with whom he worked until his retirement in 1990.

ICAN In 1990 Robert Romery Kan (1932 W). Robert Kan worked for some time in Australia in Sugar Beet Processing, before returning to the U.K. in 1968.

AMBROSE On 10th November 1990. aged 72, Gerald Crosby Ambrose (1935 W). Gerald Ambrose was a veteran of Dunkirk and had been the Head of Len Development Ltd. in Maidstone, the firm who were

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The Suttonian 1991 He was a Churchwarden at Smallhythe and did voluntary work with mothers and children in Maidstone.

He also worked with the Groombridge Housing Association for special need housing and the Women's Refuge in Canterbury. He had a particular interest in the local history of Tenterden and was involved in the development of the Tenterden Museum.

RANDALL On 7th December 1990 after an illness John Keith Randall (1951 W). 'Jake' Randall was an outstanding games player at school and kept up his interest in rugby and swimming during his career in the R.A.F. He took up golf when his rugger days were over.

He was a navigator at first, flying in Canberras, Valiants and Vulcans. During this time he saw quite a lot of the world, as well as having three overseas tours in Singapore, Cyprus and Germany. He spent the later years of his service in Air Traffic Control. His last tour was at St. Mawgan in Cornwall and he and his wife decided to remain in Cornwall when he retired in 1989.

Sadly, he did not have much time in which to enjoy his leisure pursuits.

EVERS On 17th February 1991, peacefully in an Oxford Nursing Home, Mrs. Marjorie Evers, widow of Ronnie Evers (Headmaster 1953-67). She had moved to Oxford from her flat in Hove in order to be nearer members of her family.

MACILWAINE On 5th April 1991, his 75th birthday, suddenly but peacefully in hospital after a very short illness, Patrick Sydney Wilson MacIlwaine (Master 1950-76). Patrick Macllwaine came to Sutton Valence as Head of Mathematics in 1950 after previously teaching at Blundells School and Canford School. He had himself been educated at Marlborough College and Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge where he gained Senior Optime in the Mathematics Tripos.

In 1953 he became Housemaster of St. Margaret's House, a post he held until 1970 and he was Second Master from 1964 until his retirement in 1976, the Quatercentenary year. His contribution to the Mathematics Department was immense. He was closely concerned with the introduction of the Schools Mathematics Project and collaborated in writing a series of textbooks on it. He was also a Chief Examiner on the University of London Examinations Board. Many generations of Suttonians were able to study this demanding subject at a high level under his watchful eye.

As the 1976 Suttonian records, he was 'a generous and liberalminded' man who cared for the boys in his house and always sought to get the best out of even the most truculent of pupils.

Perhaps Patrick's most lasting contribution was the introduction of Hockey to the school in 1956, despite the antagonism of 1950s Suttonians who thought this to be a dreadful step. The game has flourished at Sutton ever since and countless O.S. have continued to play the game long after leaving school. He was also a respected rugby referee and a keen chess player. On the cricket field he was a spin bowler in the classical mould, very slow and turning the ball viciously in both

directions; many a big hitter succumbed to his wiles. He also performed in staff plays: the Robertson Hare part in Plunder and the Rev. Chasuble in The Importance of Being Ernest.

We extend our sympathy to his wife Nora, herself a Sanatorium Sister in the 1960s, and her family.

SHEPHERD On 30th September 1990, as the result of a car accident, Marc A. Shepherd (1984 W).

HARDES On 16th April at Chippenham. Old Suttonians who were members of Cornwallis House in the 60s and early 70s will be sad to hear of the death of Mrs. Jessie Hardes. She worked part-time for many years in the sewing-room under the guidance of the then matron Mrs. Anne Goodwin.

After the loss of her husband in 1988 she moved down to Chippenham to live with a relative. She mis,-ed Sutton Valence, however, and it was fitting that her ashes should have been transported from the West Country to be interred next to her beloved husband Claude.

They had lived happily together at Pendine along Chart Road for many years and Claude had been verger at St. Mary's Church opposite their home, a duty he had performed with unstinting loyalty.

R.D. Chance DAY On 2nd February 1991, suddenly at school aged 53, Brian Ronald Day (Master since 1971). Brian Day had been Head of Modem Languages since his arrival at Sutton Valence and had been Housemaster of Holdgate House since 1978. Many Old Suttonians will be shocked to hear of Brian's early death; he had contributed so much to the school in the classroom, on the hockey field and especially in Holdgate. We extend our heartfelt sympathy to his wife, Linda, so much a part of the Holdgate 'team', and to his children, Catherine, Philip and Suzanne, the first two of whom are present pupils at the school.

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