ALTA PETO AUTUMN TERM 2021
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WELCOME FROM OUR EXECUTIVE HEAD We were delighted to begin the new academic year with considerable upgrades to our School buildings. Three fully upgraded Science Labs have enabled even more practical experiments to take place across the year groups, proving very popular with the boys. The refurbished classrooms in the Junior Block welcomed the new Year 3 boys and 17 Clevertouch Interactive whiteboards have been enjoyed by staff and pupils alike. The new build of the Sports Pavilion at our sports grounds, Almshouse Lane, is progressing well and we look forward to sharing photos with you as the buildings appear on the foundations. There has also been work undertaken behind the scenes to ensure that we keep everyone safe and work in a sustainable way. Coverage of CCTV has been increased around the site and new energy-efficient lighting has being installed throughout the buildings. The boys have also appreciated the extra areas they can use at breaktimes, choosing between the All-Weather surface, the Quiet Area to play chess and outdoor games, the Junior Playground where table tennis is very popular, the perennial favourite adventure playground and our well-stocked and inviting library.
Our whole school community enjoyed the return to more normal ways of school life when we returned in September. Fixtures, clubs, trips, plays and concerts could all take place in person again and the positive impact of these events was a pleasure to see. Being able to mix across age groups within the school day was also enjoyed by all, especially for the Year 8 to Year 3 buddy system, where strong connections have been made. Parents have also enjoyed a return to socials, with the Wine Evening hosted by the SHA providing a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with each other. We look forward to many more such opportunities. There have been so many achievements and successes this term in sport, music, drama, art, design and technology, charity work and, of course, academics and we were all very proud to receive the highest grading of ‘Excellent’ during the full ISI inspection which was carried out this term. Shrewsbury House goes from strength to strength and I hope you enjoy reading about some of the wonderful events from the Autumn Term.
MRS JOANNA HUBBARD EXECUTIVE HEAD
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Year 3 welcome
FIRST TERM AT SHREWSBURY HOUSE SCHOOL FOR YEAR 3 It has been a fun-filled and action-packed first term for the Year 3 boys, who have settled into life at Shrewsbury House with great excitement and enthusiasm. There have been plenty of challenges and the boys have admirably risen to meet these. They are now confidently finding their way around the School and reading their timetables with ease. The mountain of lost property is also now only resembling a small mound...
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YEAR 8 BUDDIES The Year 8s have done a wonderful job of taking the Year 3s under their wing and introducing them to Shrewsbury House. On the first day of school, the Year 3s met their buddies and were given a personalised tour of the School, and since then the year groups have continued to meet for games on the AWS, craft activities and general chats about how the Year 3s are settling in. I have been particularly impressed with how the Year 8s have been checking in on their buddies during break times and have seen more than one helping their buddies to locate missing items. The boys will have many more opportunities to spend time together throughout the course of the year, which is something both year groups really enjoy and look forward to.
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I like everything about the school, but my favourite parts are the tasty lunches and going to other schools for football matches. ESHAN
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One of the things I like most about the school are the really kind teachers who make learning new things so enjoyable! MISHA
SPORTS FIXTURES The Year 3s have thoroughly enjoyed their time on the sports pitch, enjoying playing matches both at home and away to a variety of schools. The football has been of an excellent quality and it has been impressive to see both the teamwork and skill level improve as the term has progressed. All of the boys have had the opportunity to represent the school during football matches and great fun has been had by all. The boys also had a tremendous time during their House Football Tournament, with all of the Year 3s doing their houses proud.
YEAR 3 TRIP: A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY
DESIGN TECHNOLOGY CERTIFICATES
Year 3 were lucky enough to be invited to the King’s Centre in Chessington for a Christmas experience exploring the events of the first Christmas. Through drama and music, the boys explored the Christmas story, which they have been studying in their TPR lessons. It was an excellent consolidation of their learning, the boys all thoroughly enjoyed the trip (and the excitement of travelling on the school coach!) and were fantastic representatives of the school.
Congratulations to the following Year 3 boys on receiving their DT Certificates: Joseph Crowley, Arthur Gratton, James Haywood, Harry Lazenby and Zachariah Lopez Dias for their continued effort on the scroll saw. For their excellent work and progress this term: Lucas Brand, Thomas Brown, Ted Kennedy, Clifton Marriott and George Olivier.
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Awards Raleigh House
PREFECTS AND HOUSE CAPTAINS Prefects Art/Design: Austin Commerford, Toby Craig and Riley Osborne English and Drama: Lucas Cornelsen, Felix Samuels Community, Charity and Sustainability: Anton Stepanek and Benjamin Stone Nelson House
Shrewsbury House boys certainly embody our school motto: ‘Alta Peto’. MRS HUBBARD – EXECUTIVE HEAD
Music: Josh Jacobs, Saahir Kapoor, Caspar Maxwell Randeria and Nilay Sagoo Sports: Freddie Fox, Ernie Hill, Edward Lyons and Tom Noble Younger Years: Christian Dickinson, Alex Morawitz and Max Stuttard House Captains Nelson: Captain: Dilan Guganeswaran Vice Captains: Barnaby Norris, Frederik von Danwitz Drake: Captain: Max Stuttard Vice Captains: Oscar Iannotti, Piers Samuels Raleigh: Captain: William Baker Vice Captains: William Moore, Frederick von Kaltenborn Grenville: Captain: Shayan Khurshid Vice Captains: Rayan Hussain, Josh Patel
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Many congratulations to all the boys who have taken on leadership roles and help to inspire the younger years to aim high. Prefects MRS HUBBARD – EXECUTIVE HEAD
Music
Grenville House
Football
SPORTS AND MUSIC AWARDS Music: Head Chorister: Leo Ridge Music Captain: Conrad Lai Football Captains: Captain: Charlie Moffatt Vice Captains: Rayan Hussain, Oliver Rees
Drake House
The new School Council and Eco-Committees were elected by the boys in September. They have already come up with some really good ideas about how we can make SHS even better.
School Council
MR EAVES, DEPUTY HEAD, PASTORAL
Eco-Committee
SCHOOL COUNCIL & ECO-COMMITTEE School Council
Eco-Committee
Year 3: James McCall, Felix Courtney and Joseph Crowley
Year 3: Finn Ericsson and Mason Jones
Year 4: Ben Arrowsmith and Benji Cairns
Year 4: Pharrell Asare-Tawiah and Aiyan Sheth
Year 5: Harry Bunce, Barney Mitchell and Hugo Norris
Year 5: Joseph Lowery and Jack Wright
Year 6: Theo Fugmann, Magnus Hansen and Jack Webster
Year 6: Max Snead and William Woodward
Year 7: Thomas Byrne, Ali Jan and Ruairidh Macgregor Watson
Year 7: Theo O’Donnell and Luke Williams
Year 8: Oliver Leader, Rafferty Maclarnon and Luke Morris
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EXECUTIVE HEAD’S FINAL ASSEMBLY During the final Assembly of the Autumn Term, awards and prizes were announced in recognition of the boys’ many achievements. The boys looked very festive in their Christmas jumpers and Mrs Hubbard was delighted to announce the award winners as follows: Art Colours Toby Craig and Riley Osborne Music Colours Daniel Casebourne, Saahir Kapoor, Robert Richards and Leo Ridge Sport Colours – Football William Baker, Daniel Casebourne, Dilan Guganeswaran, Rayan Hussain, Charlie Moffatt, Tom Noble, Oliver Rees and Max Stuttard Music Awards Senior Musicians Prizes: Year 6: Arthur Tolson Year 7: Joe Hackshall Year 8: Nilay Sagoo
Sport Awards (Trophies will be presented during the Summer Term) Chandler Cup for U8 Sportsman of the Term: James McCall Coerver Shield for U9 Sportsman of the Term: William Dennis Long Ditton CC Cup for U10 Sportsman of the Term: Zane Galaun Grant Shield for U11 Sportsman of the Term: Jack Webster William Hitchcock Cup for Maximum Effort: Freddie Fox De Croos Cup for 1st Team Soccer Player of the Year: William Baker Rugby Positions of Responsibility Captain of Rugby badge: Oliver Rees Vice-Captains of Rugby: Kameron Litten and Max Stuttard Extra-Curricular Awards Chess Club – Monday 1st Place (Gold Medal): Tristan Mercer 2nd Place (Silver Medal): Oscar Sharp 3rd Place (Bronze Medal): Ayush and Aneesh Agrawal Chess Club – Tuesday 1st Place (Gold Medal): Harry Bunce 2nd Place (Silver Medal): Joshua Ripley 3rd Place (Bronze Medal): Alex Atkinson
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EXECUTIVE HEAD’S FINAL ASSEMBLY (cont’d) Shooting Club Boys in Shooting Club compete against boys from other schools in the British Sporter League. Certificate (and prize money) for highest aggregate score: Rory Reynolds Medals for winners of their Division: Andrew Botoulas, Manny Diri and Zane Galaun Hardy Plus and Minus Shield Congratulations to Grenville House. The Christmas Quiz House Cup Winners for 2021 1st Raleigh / 2nd Nelson / (=)3rd Drake and Grenville. We were delighted to see a staff team from each House compete in the final round of the quiz. The Cock House Cup Winners for 2021 1st Grenville / 2nd Raleigh / 3rd Nelson / 4th Drake. The Cock House Cup is a combination of the winning Houses from the House Football, House Music (Singing), House Quiz and the Plus and Minus Shield.
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External examinations ENGLISH SPEAKING BOARD RESULTS
ABRSM RESULTS
On the 22nd and 23rd September, the Year 6 boys sat their ESB (English Speaking Board) Level 1 Oral Skills for Interview examination. Both examiners were impressed by the standard of the candidates, commenting on their eloquence and confidence.
Congratulations to the following boys on their outstanding ABRSM results:
The boys were asked to present a short presentation about their own hobbies and interests in relation to a chosen Future School, talk through some information found from a website or prospectus and then answer questions. They also had a short interview with the examiner. The experience proved an invaluable one and the boys really enjoyed the process. The Year 6 English team are proud of each and every one of the boys as they all achieved a Merit or higher. Well done boys! Results are as follows: Distinction Max Aherne, Jed Ambrose, Joseph Badenoch, Sacha Bali, Jacob Boamah, Nicholas Chan, Christopher Crowley, Alexander Curle, William Darvill-Evans, Alexander Das Wermes, Adam Dizayee, Leo Foulger, Oscar Freeman, Sam GatesSumner, Magnus Hansen, Sam Hazell, Benjamin Hidalgo, Thomas Jupp, James Kett, Rishaan Khera, Lewis Moran, Piers Parladario, Hugo Ridley, Max Snead, Luca Tobler Borsting, Hiro Setterfield, Ashwin Sewell, Taysir Sharaf, Arthur Tolson, William Woodward, Felix Worden and Zihao Xu. Merit+ Elias Cape, Thomas Cox, Tobias Dent, Hari Gill, Ludo Hart, Daniel Haywood, Jacob Jenkinson, Hari Kapur, Alp Kaya, Oscar Sharp, Thomas Sykes, Hector Thom, Harry Sargent, Jake Thomas, and Jack Webster. Merit William Frost, Theodor Fugmann, David Kim, Leo Lombardi, Leo Park and Jeremy Preskey.
Year 4 Bertie Murrell – Clarinet – Grade 2 – Distinction Charlie Dove – Trumpet – Grade 1 – Pass Year 5 Elijah Underwood – Singing – Grade 4 – Merit Elijah Underwood – Piano – Grade 1 – Merit James Chapman – Violin – Grade 3 – Merit Elijah Spencer – Piano – Grade Initial – Pass Simon Morris – Trumpet – Grade 1 – Pass Jack Wright – Alto Saxophone – Grade 1 – Merit Chien Jui Liu – Violin – Grade 2 – Pass Avik Gaglani – Violin – Grade 2 – Merit Year 6 Magnus Hansen – Violin – Grade 4 – Merit Magnus Hansen – Singing – Grade 1 – Merit Sacha Bali – Singing – Grade 2 – Merit Thomas Jupp – Violin – Grade 4 – Merit Thomas Jupp – Singing – Grade 3 – Distinction Year 7 Theo O’Donnell – Classical Guitar – Grade 3 – Pass Joe Hackshall – Alto Saxophone – Grade 1 – Merit Year 8 Robert Richards – Clarinet – Grade 6 – Merit Max Stuttard – Singing – Grade 5 – Merit
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School events
HARVEST FESTIVAL We were thrilled to be able to celebrate Harvest Festival this term. This wonderful Service saw our community come together to celebrate the abundance of food we are able to access. It was a delight to listen to the Junior Choir, Middle Choir and SHS Singers sing. Congratulations to all the boys who were readers during the Service, they delivered their passages with poise and emotion. Our readers were: Year 3 Reading – ‘A Harvest Prayer’ by Brenda Williams Ted Kennedy, Vincent Loganathan, Zachariah Lopez Dias and Joseph Rosendahl. Year 4 Reading – ‘October’s Party’ by George Cooper Elliot Mullane, Gregory Nanidis, Aiyan Sheth and Archie Woodward. Year 5 Reading – ‘The Harvest Close’ Marie Irish Charlie Linton, Hugo Norris, Hugo Rikkerink and Jack Wright. Year 6 Reading – ‘Neighbours in October’ by David Baker Theodor Fugmann, Luca Tobler Borsting, William Woodward and Felix Worden Year 7 Reading – ‘Blackberry Picking’ by Seamus Heaney George Chapman, William Clarke. Theo O’Donnell and Walter Zhang. Year 8 Reading – ‘Colour in the Wheat’ by Hamlin Garland Peter Itani, Conrad Lai, Riley Osborne and Felix Samuels. Thank you to all the boys who submitted artwork for the Harvest Festival Programme. The standard was excellent and the following boys had their creative design displayed in the programme: Riley Osborne, Year 8, Raphi Mungavin, Year 4, Caspar Maxwell Randeria, Year 8, Toby Craig, Year 8 and William Moore, Year 8.
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REMEMBRANCE SERVICE On the 11th day of the 11th month, our School joined together in a Remembrance Service to honour those who serve and defend our democratic freedoms and way of life. In a very moving Assembly, the boys looked back to former pupils and staff members who made the ultimate sacrifice and also looked forward to the role each of us can play in bringing reconciliation to our world. Daniel Casebourne, Zachary Elliott and Robert Richards led the service and read out the ‘final unanswered roll call’ of former pupils and staff who went off to war and did not return. The Last Post was played by trumpeters Max Stuttard, Lucas Cornelsen, Riley Osborne, Frederick von Kaltenborn and Barnaby Norris before a two-minute silence. House Captains Max Stuttard, William Baker, Shayan Khurshid and Dilan Guganseswaran joined Mrs Hubbard, Robert Richards, Daniel Casebourne and Zachary Elliott to lay the wreath at the SHS War Memorial. The whole School felt the powerful emotion of this moving service.
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YEAR 6 CONCERT It was an absolute pleasure to welcome back a live audience to the Year 6 Concert, and the boys delivered an accomplished and memorable evening. There was an array of talent, ranging from pianists to a rock guitarist, passing saxophone, violins and a trombone on the way. The evening was rounded off by a very spirited rendition of The Monkees’ classic song ‘Daydream Believer’, sung by the assembled voices of the boys. Performing with infectious enjoyment and confidence, we hope the boys will continue in their love of music and treat us to more performances over the coming years.
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YEAR 7 CONCERT The Year 7 Concert was a wonderful evening of musical talent and the boys excelled themselves with each performance. There was something for everyone, with a remarkable range of genres on display. The evening concluded with the whole Year group choral performance of ‘Happy’. The singing was certainly well received by a warm and supportive audience. Very well done and congratulations to all the boys for such a splendid evening – truly impressive!
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YEAR 7 PERFORMANCE – TREASURE ISLAND We were very proud of Year 7 for their fantastic performance of Treasure Island. Although circumstances did not allow for them to have a full cast at any rehearsal, or indeed the final performance, they demonstrated their ability to rise to the occasion and gave a wonderful account of this well-known tale. This event was supported by our wonderful Music Prefects: Josh Jacobs, Saahir Kapoor and Caspar Maxwell Randeria. Well done to all the boys on presenting such a wonderful performance.
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YEAR 3 CHRISTMAS PERFORMANCE The Year 3s put on a spectacular performance of ‘Santa’s Lost His Cheer’. Festively dressed as Santa’s Little Helpers, the Year 3 elves rushed to save Christmas in the nick of time through singing, decking the halls and telling some tree-mendous Christmas jokes! Great fun was had by all and the Year 3s should be congratulated on how well they have done in a short space of time to learn their lines, song lyrics and cues. They received excellent support from the Drama Prefects (Lucas Cornelsen and Felix Samuels) and Theatre Club members who created props and managed sound and light for the performance.
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CAROL SERVICE The School’s Carol Service took place on Monday evening in Epsom College’s Chapel for boys from Years 6 to 8 with readers and musicians from all year groups. It was so wonderful to be able to invite parents to this event, and boys from all years were represented through the readers and musicians. All performances were of a high standard, with carols intermingled with traditional readings. There were stand-out musical performances from the SHS Singers, Middle and Junior Choirs, along with the Brass and String Ensembles, who accompanied the congregational carols. The readings were delivered with confidence and clarity, bravo to all involved. It was a magical evening which really set the tone for Christmas.
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Trips and visits
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MARY ROSE MUSEUM The History department took Year 8 to the award winning Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth this term. Once at the Museum the boys took a moment to look at Nelson’s historic HMS Victory which is permanently moored nearby, and to also admire its modern cousin the brand new £6 billion HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier which was docked nearby. They were taken on a tour of the Museum and to a bespoke education centre where they could handle some artefacts and explore some of the theories why the Mary Rose actually sank in the Solent in 1545. The Museum staff were very impressed with the manners, engagement and knowledge of the Year 8 boys and that the biggest challenge they faced was picking which boy to answer their questions as so many put their hands up each time. The groups rotated, culminating in an amazing Tudor Gun drill with a costumed re-enactor leading the boys through a gun drill of a mock-up of a Tudor age cannon, along with handling a cannon ball recovered with the wreck of the Mary Rose.
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GEOGRAPHY TRIP TO KINGSTON Year 8 visited Kingston town centre to collect data for their ISEB Geography projects. The investigation was to research the ‘Changing Face of Kingston High Street’. They collected data on 50 central shop units to allow them to analyse historical changes using a 2010 Goad map. They also conducted pedestrian counts and shopping bag counts to identify the current footfall to evaluate the present-day activity on the High Street. Questionnaires were completed by several helpful shoppers to allow them to gauge current shopping habits and the perceived changes on the High Street in the future. They were lucky to have such ideal weather conditions and the boys must be praised for their high level of interest and engagement in this data collection. Boys were tasked with analysing and writing up their findings to secure a great mark on the first 20% of their Common Entrance work in Geography.
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ECOLOGY FIELD TRIP As part of the ecology topic, Year 8 boys walked to a local nature reserve, where they learned different ways that an area can be sampled, using quadrats and transects to find the biodiversity and abundance of different species. This was part of their CE and scholarship syllabus, where they will be able to use their primary data to make suggestions as to why certain species are more abundant than others or to help discuss the impact humans, roads or developments have on an ecosystem.
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Competitions
HOUSE SINGING COMPETITION Tuesday saw the inaugural House Christmas Song Competition take place, where the four Houses performed a well-loved Christmas song to the rest of the school. The standard was extremely high, with each House eager to outshine their competitors. Drake kicked off the proceedings with their rendition of Nazareth from the film Nativity. They produced a performance inspired by the famous Clement Clarke Moore poem, ‘The Night Before Christmas’ and sung with real gusto and feeling. Raleigh House followed, deciding to go for a Christmas Medley – ably led and accompanied by Mr Simms on the guitar – which contained several well-known songs with appositely re-written lyrics. The third House to rise to the challenge was Grenville, who went for the Slade classic, ‘Merry Christmas Everybody’, delivering a rousing performance with a real sense of ensemble. A particular highlight was Mr Barnett’s cameo delivery of the iconic Noddy Holder line, “It’s Christmas” towards the end of the song. The final House to go was Nelson. Led by Mr Davison, they really pulled out all the stops and began the performance with a panto-style introduction, assisted by the glittering talents of the staff members of Nelson. The boys then launched into a strong performance of, ‘I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day’.
YEAR 3 PYRAMID COMPETITION The annual Year 3 Pyramid Competition run by the History Department was once again inundated with excellent entries this year, making the judging extremely challenging. Huge congratulations go to the overall winner, Benji Higginson (3C), and a big well done to the certificate winners: Aydin Abdul-Rasool (3D), Zachariah Lopez Dias (3A), Vincent Loganathan (3C) and Rocco Wisden (3A), and the runner-up prize winners: Oscar Snead (3A), Henry Coates (3B), Finn Ericsson (3C) and Arthur Gratton (3D).
Each House performance was interspersed with musical items, performed by boys of all Houses. These included Saahir Kapoor (singing), Alexander Da Costa (oboe), the Year 8 Vocal Group and the Senior Band who played, ‘Sweet Soul Music’. It was a wonderfully entertaining morning, much enjoyed by boys and staff alike, culminating in Raleigh House being crowned the winners.
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CHRISTMAS TREE DECORATION COMPETITION Congratulations to the winners of the Christmas Decoration Competition. Special mentions to: Caspar Hart, Year 4, for the Mrs Hubbard photo frame Hugo Rikkerink, Year 5, for his environmentally-friendly Christmas garland using coffee pods Runners-up: Elijah Spencer, Year 5, for his Felt Sausage Dog Reuben Galaun, Year 7 for his SHS bauble Zach Hitchins, Year 5, for his Christmas scene Second place: Ralph Luscombe Lewis, Year 5, for his Large Fir Tree in SHS colours First place: Charlie Day, Year 4, for his mini Santa in SHS colours
CHRISTMAS CARD COMPETITION The Christmas Card Design Competition saw many excellent designs and the winning card was both beautifully drawn and also conveyed a very relevant theme. Congratulations goes to Alexander Woodford, Year 7 whose winning design of Santa driving his eco car, was printed as the SHS Christmas card for 2021. Alexander Senny, Year 7; Stanley Liu, Year 4 and George Russell, Year 5 were awarded Highly Commended for their festive designs – brilliant effort boys!
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Sport round-up
SPORT ROUND-UP What a stellar term it has been! This autumn marked the first full return to a (close to) ‘normal’ provision of Sport, PE, Swimming, Leadership and Co-Curricular delivery across the whole school for two years. Football provided the focus for delivery to all boys in their Games (Sport) lessons. Put simply, the football season has been outstanding! The boys’ core sport delivery has been ably supported by the other key strands: PE, Swimming, Leadership and the Co-Curricular (AfterSchool Clubs) Programme. Outreach and hospitality events (including the fantastic Year 3 & 4 Open Sports lesson) for the SHS community (including those from other Trust schools) further enhanced a successful term.
Each week boys are nominated for Team of the Week – circa 250 nominations recognising boys’ efforts and performance have been made this term alone. Nominations for the ‘Values Award’ came to the fore this term – presented to those that display behaviour in a sporting context that sits squarely in line with the SHS core school values. The refreshed PE programme proved a great success this term. The younger pupils followed a programme of fundamental and gymnastic movement – key foundation for their physical and sporting development – whilst the older pupils have extended their learning with delivery based around energy systems and fitness testing protocols.
Breadth and innovation of opportunity remain a motivation and these were well served by the SHS Clubs offering, as well as in the curriculum delivery and in new events. The celebration of the boys’ effort and values is key and this continues to be achieved, as well as highlighting the boys’ achievements outside of school. SHS Sport continues to strive for a broadening and strengthening of the culture that celebrates effort, performance and core values before material results.
Leadership, and the development thereof, remains a staple of SHS Sport. The senior boys used global exemplars and a study of leadership style to drive their learning this term. SHS has again been recognised as one of the top 50 Prep Schools thanks to our bid with The Cricketer magazine. Finally a nod to our wonderful pupils’ external sporting achievements in a myriad of disciplines including swimming, running, sailing, football, gymnastics and fencing.
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FOOTBALL The football season has proved a staggering success, with all boys playing multiple competitive friendly matches with a variety of schools. The premise that access to these opportunities remains equitable with expert coaching sits at the heart of our delivery. Performance and values remain the lead focus and these are celebrated in a number of ways. Every elite football team has experienced marked competition and event success and the SHS teams have won a high number of marquee trophies along the way. The 1st XI were crowned Surrey Cup Champions following a thrilling final at Danes Hill School. Add to this amazing achievement a place in the Independent Schools Football Association (ISFA) National Cup quarter-finals (played in the Spring Term), and you get a clearer idea of the talent and success of the team. U11A team have qualified for the National Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS) finals at St George’s Park, also next term. Certainly the commitment to a ‘live’ programme of sport and physical activity throughout the various ‘lockdown’ periods has borne fruit for the boys’ success on their return. This Autumn Term saw the boys play in over 250 matches in all years. Tournament and event competition highlights include: U8A Football Team King’s College School Tournament: Winners Cumnor House Tournament: Runners-up U9A Football Team Downsend Tournament: Winners Royal Russell Tournament: Winners U9B Football Team Downsend Tournament: Winners U11A Football Team IAPS (Regional) 7-a-side Tournament: Winners (the team qualify for the National Finals next term) Royal Russell Tournament: Winners 1st XI Football Team IAPS (Regional) 7-a-side Tournament: Plate Winners Parkside 7-a-side Tournament: Winners Surrey Cup: Champions ISFA National Cup: Quarter-finalist (still to play) House Football House Football was a resounding success. Each Year group competed their own event each day throughout House Football ‘week’. This gave the event a positive festival feel and enabled the building of suspense regarding the overall winner to establish throughout the week. The boys’ open and valuesled approach to the friendly competition was great to see. Results as follows:
Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8
Grenville A B 2 2 1 1 3 2 2 1 2 4 -
Nelson A B 1 1 3 2 4 3 1 4 4 2 -
Raleigh A B 3 3 2 4 1 4 3 2 1 3 -
Drake A B 4 1 4 3 2 1 4 3 3 1 -
Result
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
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RUGBY After a fantastic spell on the football pitch, the boys turned their hand to rugby towards the end of the term. The sport has been served throughout the term with two after-school clubs catering for boys of all abilities. A careful transition back to the sport was undertaken – many boys had not played rugby (or at least not for a long time) so a safety-first approach was employed. The senior boys enjoyed the tough but welcoming experience of matches at Caldicott School – a wonderful way to get SHS rugby underway.
ROWING
AMERICAN ‘FLAG’ FOOTBALL
After a long sojourn, Kingston Rowing Club were again our hosts for the SHS senior rowing activity. Despite the onset of winter and the prospect of cold afternoons out on the water, almost half the eligible cohort expressed an interest. In the event the weather was relatively kind and the SHS pupils have progressed in this technical sport in an impressively short period of time.
SHS Sport are always open to giving the boys new experiences and this term we accepted an invitation from Danes Hill School for an American ‘Flag’ (non-contact) Football event. And what a brilliant evening of sport it turned out to be! The boys played in 6-a-side teams inside the sports dome at Danes Hill. A staggeringly rapid grasp of the rules ensured that all involved experienced the joy of trying, and performing to a high standard, this new and exciting sport.
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What a wonderful term of SHS Sport it has been! A football season of stunning success, brilliant swimming and fantastic fun on the rugby field – super stuff! WILLIAM DAVISON, DIRECTOR OF SPORT AND CO-CURRICULAR
CO-CURRICULAR (AFTER-SCHOOL CLUBS) PROGRAMME The Co-Curricular programme remains broad and robust. The boys have a brilliant chance to participate in numerous fun and challenging activities throughout the week. Sports provision within this programme involved swimming, rugby, table-tennis, target shooting, karate and fencing. Competition opportunity for all of these sports is also supported.
SWIMMING The boys returned to the water this term, and swimming returned to competition with entry into the IAPS regional competition secured, and a number of strong competitive galas organised. Large SHS Swim teams were selected for competition galas hosted by Parkside School, Feltonfleet School and King’s College School versus all of the aforementioned as well as Danes Hill School. It was wonderful to afford plenty of opportunity, and some outstanding effort and teamwork in evidence.
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Charity fundraising and other initiatives
MACMILLAN FUNDRAISER We were delighted to support the Macmillan Coffee Morning again this year with some delicious croissants. In total £793.36 was raised by the SHS community, so a huge thanks to the parents, boys and staff for their contributions for this very worthwhile cause.
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MOMENTUM IS CHOSEN CHARITY This year, School Council asked for nominations from the boys, parents and staff and spent time considering each of the excellent suggestions they received. Toby Craig announced the final choice of a local charity, which is close to the hearts of several members of our community: Momentum Children’s Charity. A representative from Momentum and Mo the Owl visited us to explain what they can do for families and how we, as a school, can support their fundraising. The boys listened most attentively.
CHILDREN’S BOOK PROJECT
ANTI-BULLYING WEEK – ODD SOCKS DAY
Thank you to our amazing Charity Prefects, Benjamin Stone and Anton Stepanek, for organising the Children’s Book Project – a charity for pre-loved books that aim to donate over 250,000 books in 2021–2022 to children who have few or none of their own. Thank you to all our parents who generously donated books.
It was wonderful to see so many boys (and staff) chose to wear odd socks to school in support of Anti-Bullying Week. This allowed the boys the opportunity to express their individuality and what makes them unique.
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Christmas spirit
CHRISTMAS LUNCH & CHRISTMAS JUMPERS It was wonderful to see so much festive cheer from the boys and staff on the last day of term. Wearing colourful Christmas jumpers, they enjoyed a delicious Christmas lunch from our amazing catering team. The lunch culminated with a whole School rendition of ‘The Twelve Days Of Christmas’ and a huge round of applause for all the chefs.
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CAROL SINGING AT LOCAL CARE HOME On Thursday 2nd December, SHS singers were able to sing carols outside the grounds of Southborough Care Home. The boys put on a wonderful show and the residents, who watched from inside, were delighted by the singing. ‘Hark the Herald Angels Sing’ was a particular favourite! The boys were presented with a ‘thank you’ card from the oldest resident at the care home, who is 107 years old!
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Future schools
We recently interviewed two Shrewsbury House Old Boys (SHOBs) about their first term at their new senior schools. It is wonderful our Alumni boys are so willing to stay in contact and let us know how they are getting on. We hope you enjoy hearing about Wellington College and St John’s School.
WELLINGTON COLLEGE – HENRY HULME Wellington College is one of the UK’s – and indeed the world’s – great coeducational boarding and day schools. We seek to provide young people with the knowledge, skills and character to serve and help shape a better world. Set within 400 acres of stunning parkland in Berkshire and less than an hour’s drive from London and Heathrow, the School was founded in 1853 as the living memorial to the first Duke of Wellington. A wonderful fusion of heritage and modernity characterises our educational philosophy. The curriculum, facilities and teaching methods are constantly adapting to the challenges of preparing young people for the ever-changing world of the 21st century. Wellington College is a school which is dynamic in every sense of the word, and yet all that we do is rooted firmly in our five College values – Kindness, Respect, Courage, Integrity and Responsibility – values which underpin every aspect of life at Wellington. How did you find starting at your new school? It was obviously quite a shock going to boarding school and actually having to sort my laundry for Matron! But as time went on, the better it got. I also got sorted with all the systems e.g. sports and then as I got more comfortable I was able to do more in my free time and do more extra and co-curricular activities, such as extra rugby or boxing club. How did you find settling in, making friends? I found settling in quite easy as due to CE I was able to focus more on the settling in and making friends part of school rather than the academics. Have you experienced some new opportunities? Sport? Music? Clubs etc? I have experienced a lot of sporting opportunities. When I arrived at Wellington I was given a form asking what sports I wanted to play ranging from real tennis and squash to rugby. There are also lots of club opportunities such as climbing club, shooting club (similar to the one at SHS), there was even foreign film club where you watch a film in a different language.
Are there any similarities between your new school and SHS? The most obvious difference would be the fact that Wellington is a boarding school, but it is similar to the way we are treated at SHS in the senior years, you are treated like adults and that definitely carried into Senior school with me. What new skills have you had to develop? I would say I have definitely became even more independent at Wellington. I have to sort myself to be all ready, dressed, clean and have the right books. But an aspect of that was developed at SHS, especially in my latter years when I had to independently revise for my exams. What advice would you give to a current Year 8 SHS pupil? First of all I would like to say definitely keep having fun at SHS. I am sporty so enjoying sport, and try to keep playing sport if you can as it’s a great way to make friends at your senior school, when you get to senior school you will be well prepared academically so focus on making friends and getting used to senior school. What are your lasting memories from SHS? My lasting memories would be House rugby, the final feeling of relief after finishing CE and the Year 8 trip to Land and Wave were all huge highlights of my time at SHS.
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We are so well prepared in Year 7 and Year 8 at SHS that we can focus on settling in, making friends and trying new activities when we arrive at our senior school. HENRY HULME
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ST JOHN’S SCHOOL – KIT LOCKARD St John’s is a co-educational independent school providing an excellent education for pupils aged 11–18. We offer day, weekly and an innovative flexi boarding model to help families achieve the best possible balance between school, work and family life. St John’s is a creative, ambitious and inclusive community where young people thrive and achieve. In this exciting environment, pupils are encouraged to work hard, aim high, help others and have fun. Exceptional pastoral care provides them with the support and guidance to achieve more than they might have imagined possible. How did you find starting at your new school? I found it very relaxed as everyone including all the teachers were extremely welcoming and kind when I started at St John’s. How did you find settling in, making friends? Settling in was easy as there was so much time in the day such as being in a House to make new friends and talk to people. Have you experienced some new opportunities? Sport? Music? Clubs etc.? There were loads of opportunities at St John’s when I started there such as a variety of different activities after school and also music bands and orchestras that you could join. There were also many sport opportunities such as choosing what sport you wanted to do whether it was swimming or football etc. as well as scholarship opportunities. Are there any similarities between your new school and SHS? The lesson and sports schedule and times are similar to SHS, meaning it’s not too hard to work your way round the day, and the merit system is also similar. However, at St John’s it’s credits instead of pluses and minuses. What new skills have you had to develop? How did SHS prepare you for your Senior School? One of the main skills that I had to develop further were social skills as it was very important to speak to people if something was wrong or you didn’t understand something. SHS prepared me very well for St John’s, especially the academic aspect, as the work was not too hard and the homework was also similar to SHS. What advice would you give to a current Year 8 SHS pupil? I would advise them to take as many opportunities as you can as they will all help in the future and don’t turn down something because you don’t like it, try it and you might like it and if you don’t you can always drop out of it. What are your lasting memories from SHS? Most were memories with friends, also in sport training sessions and fixtures and the school trips like going to Holland and Land and Wave.
Shrewsbury House School 107 Ditton Road Surbiton Surrey KT6 6RL T: +44 (0)20 8399 3066 E: shsoffice@shstrust.net W: www.shrewsburyhouse.net