Cryptian 24/25 testv1

The Cryptian 2024-2025

SECTION ONE - THE CRYPT SCHOOL

H EADTEACHER ’ S W ELCOME

It is remarkable to review the breadth and depth of opportunities that our students are provided with at their school, and which are so well captured in this splendid edition of the Cryptian Magazine. The Cryptian has been written, produced and published every year since 1907, I believe, and this edition stands alongside all those others as a testimony to the outstanding work that the school has always carried out on behalf of its students. Equally, our students propel our school forwards, and give so much which enriches the life and work of the school and which makes me very proud to be Headmaster of the school; I know that our Crypt families and Old Cryptians will feel the same way too.

So much takes place across a school year, with highlights I’m sure for everyone connected to our rich school life. Of course, teaching, learning and academic progress take centre stage for our students, and our teachers and professional support staff remain strongly focused on ensuring all students make strong progress in their learning, whilst working hard to support their personal development. Teachers and other staff in school also work to provide students with an array of wonderful opportunities beyond the classroom, through which students learn and experience new things, have fun, develop new skills and build friendships, many of which will last a lifetime. Staff also support our students through personal challenges and the pastoral care provided to our students is the foundation, I believe, upon which our success as a school is built.

The school continues ‘to flourish’ with outstanding examination results achieved last summer, a growing roll - now at 1100 students - and a strong reputation in the region as a caring, inclusive, kind yet ambitious school. Whilst all students enjoy the challenge of their academic work, they flourish in so many other spheres too: in sport, music, art and drama; in the many academic enrichment activities and competitions on offer; through their participation in trips and in getting involved in the myriad of clubs and societies offered each week; our students also work hard to raise money for charity, and embrace the many leadership opportunities available - all of which provide them with a truly holistic educational experience.

With that in mind, I must thank everyone connected to the life and work of the school for the incredible support they have all offered this past year. Thank you then to our students and to our staff; to our wonderfully supportive parental and Governing Body and OC community and to those who work tirelessly in the CSPTA, and who contribute through that so much to help support our work in school. We are indeed fortunate to have such a generous staff body at Crypt, who care deeply about their students, their school and its purpose. Our students have shown themselves to be an equally remarkable

group of individuals, who play a leading role in making sure our work in school reflects their voice too.

It would also be remiss of me if I didn’t thank Chris Cobb and the staff working with him for taking on the huge task of producing our school’s contribution to this magazine, and I thank the Old Cryptian Club, for their continued support of this annual insight into both Crypt School, and Old Cryptian life.

Thank you then to everyone connected with the School for their work and support over the last year. I feel immensely reassured reading through the magazine that so much has occurred across this last year, once again reminding us of everything that makes The Crypt School such a special place.

With very best wishes, Nick Dyer

VE Day – a special day of remembrance and gratitude

The 80th anniversary of VE day on Thursday the 8th May reminded us of the sacrifice that many Cryptians made during the Second World War: some 58 OC’s were killed during that conflict and their names are remembered on the Second World War Remembrance Plaque in the Crush Hall, alongside the many Cryptians who died in the First World War. We thank all those from our school, and from across our islands and Commonwealth of nations who fought with Britain in that most terrible of wars, for their service and sacrifice which enabled the liberation of Western Europe in May 1945, some 80 years ago now.

Nicholas Dyer Headmaster

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Y EAR G ROUPS – H EADS OF Y EARS ’ R EPORTS

Year 7 – Henry Bowen

Transition to Year 7

The transition to Year 7 is one of the most important points in the development of any young person. This year, it has been an immense privilege to welcome our latest cohort of Cryptians, and to see them flourish under our care.

Transition events have formed a large part of the process, and this work begins before students come through the door in September. Each student was visited in their primary school; they and their parents were welcomed to our Meet the Tutor evening in June; students got a flavour of what a Crypt day looks like in their July transition day; and finally students benefited from having the school to themselves for the day in their first day of school in September.

Residential

The early transition period culminates in our annual residential trip, held in November. We once more ventured to Abernant Lake and students were put through their paces on the climbing wall, in the fencing piste, and on the archery range. I was very proud to see how students stepped outside of their comfort zone, sometimes overcoming obstacles (literal and metaphorical), and shaking off fears to try something new. We always have a chilly experience in November, but snow this year was a first for me! Firm friendships were formed and students returned tired, muddy and happy - as it should be. Next year, we will be headed to Condover Hall in Shropshire, this time in October with the hope of (slightly) warmer weather!

Sports

As always, we have seen the next generation of talented sportspeople come through our doors. Highlights from this year include Zack in 7WEH who has won a range of national and international chess tournaments, and Alex in 7RR who has been selected to represent GB sailing. Pictured also are Zoya 7JM at the England National Training Program (ice hockey) and Mia 7JC who represented Gloucestershire U14 in the County Cup (tennis, along with Arunpat in Year 8). This is just a small selection from our national, county, and district sportspeople across the sports! These Cryptians are prospering under the guidance of our PE department, and are all grateful for the myriad sporting opportunities they are offered at Crypt.

Music

Equally as impressive is the array of musicians who have come through our doors this year, not just by sheer quantity, but also in their immense individual and collective talent. Our Year 7 musicians are already embedded into the department and perform regularly at our school events. Individually, our musical accomplishments are too numerous to mention, but I will take a moment to single out Oscar in 7JC whose violin playing is already a mainstay of the school. Outside of school, his talents have been recognised most recently with two(!) victories at the Cheltenham Festival of Performing Arts (solo performance 11 and under; solo performance grades 6 & 7)

Lessons

In and amongst the endless extra-curricular activities, sports fixtures, music concerts, and school trips, we mustn’t forget that our students spend five lessons a day receiving an outstanding (and Outstanding) education. It would be impossible to condense the sum of all our students’ learning into one paragraph, but some photos which represent a snapshot of our students’ hard work are included here. Shown are some cubist self-portraits (from Vihaan, Shivani and Samuel); a factfile on Pablo Picasso (from Annabelle); an annotated drawing of Miss Havisham (from Sophie); and a poem about Jane Austen (from Valerie).

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House Events

Mr Hart has once again co-ordinated a fantastic series of house events over the course of this year, and Year 7 pupils remain the lifeblood of the school’s house system. They have taken great pride in competing for their houses, whether in the traditional sports (football, netball, rugby etc…), or in some of Mr Hart's more unique competitions (house paper aeroplane throwing, house historical dinner party competition, house carolling…).

Heritage Day

In June, Students headed to St Mary de Crypt Church for our annual Heritage Day (previously known as Commendation Day, however commendation awards are now issued separately). Students get to learn about the history of the school and its evolution as an institution in the city of Gloucester, as well as looking at the art and architecture of the church, and learning the school song under the baton of Mr Whittaker.

Going forward

We look forward to our celebrations at the end of the year, including our commendation lunch for those most-highly achieving students, and to our Year 7’s first annual Founders’ Day service. Students in Year 7 will progress into Year 8 under Mr Germaine’s expert care and I look forward to learning of the future successes of our latest crop of Cryptians.

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Year 8 – Hannah Searle

Year 8 is an important school year, where students feel settled in secondary school. This academic year has been action-packed for Year 8 students who have enjoyed great success along the way.

Academic

The emphasis in lessons this year has been to ensure students have a strong understanding of foundational knowledge and key concepts required for GCSE courses. Of course, many of our students go beyond this and have produced work to an extremely high standard. For example, I was delighted to read Comfort’s gothic story To Hate Vivian Montague which demonstrates vocabulary, syntax and literary devices well beyond age expected standards. The Maths department have also enjoyed success with their Year 8 groups. Many students completed the Maths challenge with Rowan, Joshua H, Meenakshi and Yui Chit all qualifying for the next round of the national competition. A particular well done to Hugo who also qualified and achieved the highest score in the school. There are many other students who have shown great dedication to their studies and it is always a delight to hear of so many successes throughout the year.

Personal Development

At The Crypt, personal development also takes a central role in our curriculum. Year 8 have benefitted from many different workshops organised by the Personal Development Department. Students have taken part in a careers ‘speed dating event’ where they were able to meet with employers and ask questions to find out more about future careers. They have also learnt CPR with the Great Western Ambulance staff. Furthermore, Year 8 attended a workshop on empathy delivered by Victim Support, a charity that supports individuals affected by crime. All visitors who have worked with Year 8 have been very complimentary about the year group, noting their polite manners and enthusiasm. I am very grateful to all my colleagues for leading and organising these workshops.

Extra - curricular activities

One of the reasons The Crypt is an outstanding school is due to the wide range of extracurricular activities available for our students to take part in. There really is something for everybody! Sports remain a popular extracurricular activity with numerous students competing for the school and beyond. Netball has been particularly popular, with the PE department taking 3 Year 8 teams on tour. The boys’ rugby and football teams have had to deal with many challenges this year including fixture cancellations but have nonetheless shown excellent sportsmanship and determination on the pitch. Many students also take part in individual sports. Congratulations to Emmanuel who is MMA European Champion in his category. Arunpat has excelled in tennis, representing Gloucestershire several times in county competitions. There are of course many other notable performances such as Lauren in gymnastics, Kimberely in athletics and Mollie in swimming. I look forward to

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watching many more matches and competitions throughout Year 9 where our students will also be highly successful.

Music is another extra-curricular choice in which students excel at The Crypt. It has been fantastic to listen to the choir, orchestra and various ensembles at several performances this year. Seb is a fantastic drummer who leads the school percussion so well. Many students such as Oscar, Sammy, Levi and Abigail have also been excellent role models within the music department helping the new Year 7 students with organisation of music, setting up rehearsal spaces and practising difficult pieces.

Residential

A highlight of the academic year was the Year 8 Residential to Croft Farm, Tewksbury. Year 8 showed excellent resilience in the cold wet weather, spending most of their time out on the lake taking part in various water sports. This trip was an excellent opportunity for the students to practise interpersonal skills and develop confidence. I know all of the students are very grateful to Mr Hart for his role in organising residentials.

Student special mentions

Congratulations indeed to year 8 student Sebastian, who has been offered a place on the Royal Birmingham Junior Conservatoire jazz course. Seb notes that, “The course offers young musicians the opportunity to develop skills and general musicianship with a focus on performance. My chosen instrument is drums with the opportunity to try jazz organ at a later date.” A wonderful achievement.

Year 9 – Diane Duxbury

As we near the end of what has been an incredibly full and successful Year 9, I wanted to take this opportunity to reflect on the achievements, events, and progress made by this wonderful year group. It has been a pleasure to see the students growing in confidence, maturity, and ambition - both in and out of the classroom.

Music and Performing Arts

It has been a phenomenal year for music and drama at The Crypt, with Year 9 students contributing hugely to the life and culture of the school. From the Open Evening performances that welcomed new families to our school community, through to the powerful Autumn and Spring Concerts, the unforgettable Year 9 Showcase, where over thirty pupils performed to an audience of students, parents and staff, and the magical sounds of Carol Concert, Evensong, and Gabrieli Roar, our talented musicians have shone brightly. They have represented the school with poise, dedication and joy, whether in choirs, bands, or solo performances. We’re also looking forward to Founders’ Day a very special moment in our calendar, and a fitting way to round off the musical year.

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In Drama, our students have been equally busy. Ella and Beatrice represented Year 9 with passion and energy in the school production of Treasure Island back in November. Both have also been heavily involved in the Musical Theatre Club, performing in the Autumn Showcase and soon again on 30th June. Auditions are now underway for next year’s whole-school musical, Oliver! a fantastic opportunity for budding performers.

Sporting Success

This has been a landmark year for Year 9 sport, with outstanding performances across boys’ and girls’ teams.

Rugby

The Year 9 boys’ rugby team have had a superb season. They were County Cup champions, beating Dean Close 29–24 in a thrilling final and going undefeated in the competition. Over 16 games, the team won 9, drew 2, and lost 5 scoring 334 points and achieving a +129-point difference. After a challenging start, they turned the season around with an impressive seven-game win streak.

The girls’ rugby team have also had a phenomenal year, being crowned both County and District Champions a huge achievement and a testament to their commitment and tenacity.

Netball

Our girls’ Netball Team reached the Quarter Finals of the English Schools Cup, showcasing skill, determination, and excellent teamwork. They also finished 2nd in the District Cup, narrowly missing out on the top spot.

Football

For the boys, this was a more disappointing season than last year, only reaching the semi-finals of the City Cup losing 4-1 to St.Peters due to injures weakening our squad. We won 4 out of our 6 games, scoring an impressive 25 goals. With Mr Atkinson continuing as our coach we’ll aim to win the City Cup in Year 10.

The Year 9 girls showed great promise and grit, narrowly missing out in Round 4 of the ESFA Cup after a tense penalty shootout. They also made it to the semi-finals of the Gloucester Schools Competition, again losing on penalties.

Athletics

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It has been a very strong year for athletics, with several students achieving excellent individual and team results, and showing real promise for the future.

Handball and Cricket

The boys have got through to the 3rd round of the Cricket County Cup, where they’ll be up against Cheltenham College Several girls have competed as part of the Year 10 teams, including reaching the regionals in cricket, and they hope to continue this success next year.

Finally, we congratulate Alex Cawley and Tabitha Travis for gaining their 100 Cap Crypt School Sports Tie, an outstanding achievement for pupils in Year 9. A huge well done to everyone involved in Crypt sport for their broad participation, commitment and enthusiasm.

STEM and Academic Competitions

There have been some outstanding achievements in STEM this year:

In the Fame Lab Academy, Sahara Asante won the school competition with Oliver Eadon-Meader coming a close second. Congratulations to the twelve finalists who all gave fantastic speeches. Sahara represented the school in the FameLab Academy Gloucestershire final and delivered an incredible performance about the “The Wonderful but Horrifying World of Fungi” She was absolutely brilliant and came runner up.

Six Year 9 students participated in the Mira Showers Inter-School Sustainability Competition: Georgia, Tabitha, and Phoebe raised over £1000 for the Science Department, winning the final with their innovative project. Emilie, Klara, and Holly also reached the final and came a close second congratulations to all involved.

Duke of Edinburgh’s Award

It was fantastic to see the majority of the year group take part in the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s Award this year, demonstrating real commitment, teamwork, and resilience. I had the pleasure of visiting students during their practice expedition and was impressed by their positive attitudes and determination. Mrs Hargraves, Deputy Head, visited the final qualifying expedition. The experience not only allowed them to develop valuable life skills but also created lasting memories and a real sense of achievement.

Curriculum and GCSE Options

This year also marked an important academic milestone for Year 9 with the GCSE Options Process. Students engaged thoughtfully with the decision making, including attending lunchtime sessions to explore subjects they hadn’t studied before. We’re pleased to say that everyone has been allocated their preferred subjects, and they are now looking ahead with confidence to Key Stage 4.

Battlefields Trip

On this trip in June, Y9 students explored the history and legacy of the First World War - a powerful opportunity for reflection and learning (see Mr Howell’s full account of the trip in the History Department’s report).

I am very aware that lots of staff enjoy teaching year 9 - a real credit to each individual member of the group.

Here are some quotes from some of the Year 9s on their favourite highlight/memory:

“Winning the EDF final at Kingsholm with the rugby team.”

“Year 9 concert, it was fun to practice and perform.”

“Starting to host a train club and it being a success.”

“I enjoyed winning 2 rugby tournaments for girls and 1 being at Kingsholm and playing on the pitch.”

“Pie a teacher day.”

“Getting to go on the Music Trip to write the song for G15 ”

“STEM Activity Day ”

“Being in 9E because it is a really nice class with lots of good people!”

“Presenting my FameLab speech ”

“Getting tackled in musical chairs – twice!”

“Doing an Easter Quiz in French ”

“The Koln Trip in Germany ”

By far the most popular topic was the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award Expedition, a typical comment being: “I really enjoyed D of E as I got to hang out with my friends and it was just a lovely experience all round ”

Looking Ahead

As we begin to think about the transition into Year 10, I am filled with pride for all that this cohort has already achieved. I have no doubt that their passion, curiosity, and compassion will continue to flourish as they move into the next phase of their journey at The Crypt School.

Thank you to all the families for your continued support, and to every student for making this a truly memorable year.

Wishing you all a restful and enjoyable summer!

Year 10

Nick Dyer writes: Members of year 10 enjoyed and benefited from a work experience day held in June. My thanks to all those many businesses and other organisations who offered a placement to students in year 10 this year, and to Mr Germaine for carrying out the organisational work involved. Year 12 has a week of work experience planned for later in the term, as part of their ongoing careers guidance programme.

Year 10 Surf Camp

In May, 28 Year 10 students set off to Cornwall to take part in a water sports trip. We spent 2 days on activities including sea kayaking, coasteering and surfing. Most of the activities were new to the students so they had to step out of their comfort zone. We were blessed with really good weather and everyone enjoyed the three days. Speaking to the students they said: “Surfing was amazing. I was not very good at the start but managed to stand up towards the end. Food was also surprisingly good.”

“I loved the coasteering as it felt really adventurous.”

Thank you to Mr Windsor and Mrs Williams for making the trip possible. The next Surf camp will be open to current students in year 8 in the summer of 2026.

Here are some photos showing just what an amazing time was had by the students:

Charlotte Year 10 (right with partner Lily) and her team, has been training hard for a year with her formation dance team, ‘Pulp Fiction’, with Dance Crazy Studios. They have been competing in March, April and May in the Welsh, UK, European and World Formation Dance Titles. They have had a very successful season, awarded 3rd in the World Championships.

Year 11 – Harry Windsor

In May we celebrated the growth, resilience and journey of our Year 11 students throughout their time at school with a Leavers’ assembly and celebration. They began their secondary school journey in the midst of a global pandemic. The world changed overnight, and so did their education. They missed the final months of primary school, and the first year of secondary school was marked by uncertainty and isolation. Yet, they adapted and have excelled in getting to this point.

Formation Dance Team

There have been a huge number of proud moments for the year group both as individuals and collectively, both in the academic and extracurricular realms. The U16 netball team should be commended on reaching the semi-final of the Sisters in Sport national competition - the culmination of five years of enormous hard work and determination. A number of students made the jump into senior rugby, cricket and football and represented the 1st teams across our major sports, which is another major achievement as a Year 11 playing up. The talented musicians who have dedicated themselves to recitals, concerts and performances should also be proud of everything they have contributed to the rich life of the school.

We hope to welcome back as many students as possible into the sixth form, but also recognise that some will be starting afresh next year at pastures new and we wish them well for the future. Our final celebration of the end of exams will be held on June 20, which I am sure will be a fantastically fun and enjoyable occasion for all and mark the start of a well-deserved summer break for the Year 11s.

Year 12 – Sarah Parkin

It was fantastic to be part of the buzz on GCSE results day, as we celebrated successes and saw our new Year 12 enrol for the next stage of their journey. We welcomed many of our returning students as well as those new to the school, and we are very proud of how quickly all our students formed connections and friendships which each other and became part of a cohesive community. Students got involved in teambuilding games and activities during their first week, house meet ups over the first term, and a programme of form time activities aimed at helping them to manage the transition to Sixth Form.

Students have excelled in many different areas within and outside of their curriculum work In Wednesday and Thursday enrichment sessions, they have explored a variety of extracurricular and academic activities, including EPQ, First Aid qualifications, Core Maths, music, and sports such as climbing and Padel.

SHIRT SIGNING ON THE LAST DAY

Both our F1 teams made us incredibly proud, with Ceres Racing winning the regional competition and making a brilliant impression at the national finals, and the development team, Altais Racing, coming third out of twenty-two teams at regionals and supporting their peers wholeheartedly. Congratulations also to Joseph and Daniel for their performances at the regional final of the Cambridge Schools debate competition, and to our team of politics students who represented the Crypt for the first time at the regional final of the European Youth Parliament competition.

We had several difficult decisions to make in selecting our prefect team from a very strong field of applications, and, later in the year, in appointing our Student Executive team. We are proud of all our students who spoke so confidently and passionately in front of their teachers and peers as part of their application, and we hope that they have found this a valuable experience. Huge congratulations to our new Student Executive, and particularly to Tianna Klaric, our new Head Girl, and Liam Page, our new Head Boy.

In the Sixth Form, students adapt to a new level of responsibility as role models for younger students, and it has been wonderful to see how this year group has risen to the challenge. Our prefects take the lead on student voice and support younger form groups, but there have been many leadership opportunities for all our students too, including teaching and mentoring primary school students; leading and organising clubs and societies; delivering assemblies for younger year groups; and speaking up in our student parliaments. In term 6, our students are working in small groups to deliver academic talks to students in Year 7, 8 and 9, showcasing their academic independence and inspiring curiosity.

One of the most exciting aspects of Year 12 is seeing students discover their interests and passions and take more ownership over shaping their futures. We have encouraged students to explore beyond the curriculum from the very start of the year, with a greater focus on super-curricular work, and our fantastic tutor team have supported students to build skills for their futures through the form time programme and many individual conversations. We are also deeply grateful to Helen Michaluk, our careers adviser, for her invaluable guidance to many of our Year 12 students. Our visit to the UCAS Discovery Day in Newport allowed our students to have productive conversations with universities and apprenticeship providers. Careers talks on a Wednesday afternoon

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began in term 5, with input from professionals in a diverse range of career sectors, from cyber security to cell and gene therapy to production management. We look forward to hearing about our students’ work experience later in term 6, and to our Post-18 Drop Down Days in which we will focus on employability skills and preparing for the UCAS process.

Our Sixth Form Centre will look a little different when our year 12 students return in September, as work is planned over the summer to transform the Joan and John Cooke Centre into a more modern, professional space for our Sixth Form Students. I look forward to seeing our students enjoy the new facilities next year, and continue to thrive as they progress through year 13 and beyond.

Year 13 – M atthew Bevan

It's that bittersweet time of year again. As the academic year draws to a close, we prepare to bid farewell to another incredible cohort of year 13 students, leaving for university, apprenticeships, gap years, and the world of work. From my standpoint, it has been a privilege to witness their growth, struggles, and ultimately, their triumphs, particularly as they represent a milestone in the Crypt School’s story, being the first fully coeducational year 7 intake when many of them first joined the school back in 2018. This year's leavers are a testament to hard work, curiosity, and resilience in the face of adversity, working remotely as they had to for much of their GCSE years due to the pandemic.

As they have studied, so they have also grown as young people: our students have grappled with complex equations, battled through coursework deadlines, and worked to understand new scientific concepts which challenge even the most able minds at A-level. There have been long revision sessions, moments of distraction and loss of motivation, as well as times when ideas finally click, exam successes and relief that exams are finally over. These are not just the highs and lows of academic achievement; they are demonstrations of character.

Our students are heading off to study an incredibly diverse range of subjects, from engineering and medicine to law, graphic design and archaeology. This speaks volumes about their individual passions and the environment we strive to create here, so that our students are prepared to pursue their callings beyond school. Critical thinking, problemsolving, collaboration, and the ability to articulate their ideas with clarity and conviction are all skills they have developed over time here, and these are the tools that I hope will serve them well, not just in their chosen fields of study, but in life itself.

Jack, Lizzie and the Student Executive Team have been wonderful in leading the school this year, contributing in all aspects of school life. They organised Christmas Jumper Day for the school on the 6th December, raising money for the James Hopkins Trust, a local

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charity that provides nursing respite care for Gloucestershire’s life limited and lifethreatened young children. It was great to be able to accompany them on a thank you lunch in May, held locally at the Barn Owl in Quedgeley. Each year, the School treats the hard-working executive team to a thank you meal at the end of their tenure, and it was really good to see them all together, perhaps for a final time, before they go on study leave for their A-level examinations . Thank you to all of the team for everything they have so generously contributed to both sixth form and wider school life over the last year.

In January, our year 13 chemists sat the Royal Society of Chemistry Olympiad competition. Mrs Gee (Head of Chemistry) reports that our students performed very strongly indeed with 3 Gold awards (the top 8.3% of applicants nationally) awarded to year 13 students Ezra, Daniel and Jakub. In addition, 18 Silver awards and 12 Bronze awards were also achieved. This is a testimony to the strength of our chemistry students at school.

In March, year 13 students Jack, Joshua, Michalina and Dylan led our F1 in Schools’ team Ceres Racing “Shine Bright” to represent the Crypt School at the National Final under the guidance of Miss Hall. All of Ceres Racing's hard work culminated in a well-deserved victory in the Project Management award category - a huge boost for Jack and his excellent leadership. He stated “I’m incredibly proud of everyone, of how far we’ve come, and how we’ve come together as a team through this whole competition”. They were also nominated for the prestigious Portfolio award, further solidifying their position as a formidable competitor.

The final day in school for our year 13 students was Friday 9th May. We marked this occasion with a breakfast and final assembly together in the Common Room with Mr Dyer, Ms Glock, Mr Bevan and form tutors. It was a lovely final morning together, full of good humour, shirt signing, and some ill-fitting lower school blazers! Students Albie, Will and others had put together a short film interviewing teachers and students which we watched together - a great memento for our students to remember their time in the sixth form.

To our departing students, I offer my best wishes for the future - you have made us incredibly proud. Embrace new challenges, seek out new knowledge, and never stop learning - and flourishing! The world is waiting for your contributions, and I have no doubt that you will continue to achieve great things. We look forward to hearing about your future successes!

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S UBJECT R EPORTS

Art – Clare Medcroft

Year 7

A showcase of some of the Y7 artist studies. Picasso, Georges Braque and Van Gogh:

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Year 8

Our year 8 students have again enjoyed acquiring an insight in art textiles skills including tie dying, printing and machine sewing, and hand stitch. These skills are all firmly rooted heritage techniques from Western Africa. All this hard work produced a stunning iPad cover to keep or gift to someone special:

In addition to this, we have been proud of them combining traditional fine art skills with a contemporary digital manipulation skill set to produce some first rate greetings cards before continuing their journey into a 3D experience

Year 9

Year 9 have been working on Harry Potter themed art:

Years 10 and 11

GCSE saw a wonderfully diverse body of work develop as a conclusion to their studies We are tremendously proud of the individuality of our amazing young artists.

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A - Level

We were beyond proud of the diverse journeys our A level students travelled, with a 75% A* and a 100 A- A* achievement A great effort!

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Lions at Large - The making of Fortitudo

In aid of the Big Space Cancer Appeal, our lion - Fortitudo – was painted by members of year 10 (Adelina Ducker, Clara Collingwood, Nadia Peet, Sparsha Alishetty, Lucy Smith and Holly Tilbury) and transported to Gloucester Quays at the beginning of June to join all the other lions designed and painted by local artists in the ‘Lions at Large’ trail this summer (https://lionsatlarge.co.uk/) The students who painted Fortitudo attended the launch event on the 2nd of July. The design was carefully considered: we often give flowers as gestures of care. We used flowers associated with courage set against a background where the constellations evoke the quiet strength we find when looking at the night sky a reminder we are part of something larger, and courage often comes from knowing we are not alone.

Biology – Tom Passmore

The biology team has been strengthened with the arrival of Mr Lipscombe, an exCryptian, a rugby player and a specialist in neuroscience. Starting his teaching career in London, Mr Lipscombe returns to Gloucestershire and recalls his time at Crypt as a student with fond memories, while noting the impacts of the changes and developments the school has implemented over the years.

The fascinating world of neuroscience has drawn his attention to undertaking a masters, sharing his specialist knowledge with our 6th form students and those thinking of taking a medical career route.

The development of room 18 into a science teaching room has seen the welcome arrival of another teaching space, equipped with a safe environment for the study of microscopy as well as offering the opportunity for teacher-led demonstrations to support theoretical learning and understanding.

Our Natural World Club goes from strength to strength. Hatching chickens in lab 7 has become a staple of the school calendar - just in time for Easter, the celebration of new life is a huge hit with staff and pupils.

This year we had a look at some old skeletal remains we found in storage during Our Natural World Club. Assisted by our brilliant sixth form biologists, students from the lower school were encouraged to come and have a look at these remnants of the past and, with a few clues, guess the animal. Highlights included a shark jaw, whale baleen, warthog tusks and a dolphin skull.

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With a little help, younger students were able to identify the majority of the remains and came away with a deeper understanding of the lifestyles of these wonderful animals.

Business and Economics – John Hopkins

The 2024-25 academic year has proven to be one of flux in the world of business and economics. This year has seen almost unprecedented levels of trade turmoil on the international stage and continued challenges at a domestic level for many businesses in the face of soaring costs. Here at the Crypt the department has seen the arrival of Mr Hopkins as head of department at the start of the year while we say adios to Ms De La Fuente as the year draws to its conclusion.

Alongside the challenging academic offering that the department continues to provide, there have been a number of notable extracurricular activities that have helped to provide the students involved with fantastic opportunities. Year 13 students visited Harry Potter World on the outskirts of London in January and completed a 'Movie Business' seminar where they looked at revenue made from movies, how props and scenes are created and the order in which a recording studio will manage different resources and time scales, which linked nicely to Critical Path Analysis. Trips such as this one help to translate the theoretical aspects of business that are learned about at A level into the wider world in a more tangible way.

Miss Shaw has continued to facilitate the Young Enterprise Scheme for a number of year 12 students as part of the schools academic enrichment programme. The students, ably supported by Miss Shaw and an external business mentor, decided to develop a sustainable gift box aimed at golfers. As part of the scheme, the team of year 12 students had to present their idea to a panel of judges who were very impressed with the product’s eco-friendly credentials. Unfortunately the team did not win the overall prize but they were rewarded for their efforts and progress with the “Journey” Award.

Beyond the Sixth Form, some of our Year 7 students were able to put their business acumen to the test in a Dragons’ Den style competition. Over a number of weeks they worked to develop robust business ideas ranging from a new board game to a dog walking service. The dragons (Mr Dyer, Mrs Hargraves and Mr Hopkins) were extremely impressed with the careful thought and effort that had gone into all of the businesses presented with a number of generous offers made to support the students. Hopefully the entrepreneurial spirit of students in Key Stage 3 will continue to be kindled as we hope to run this competition annually and perhaps even turn it into a house competition.

We look forward to providing further business and economics related trips and activities for students across the school in the coming year while supporting our exam classes to achieve the very best results they can.

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Chemistry – Claire Gee

RSC

Olympiad

-

Y13 Chemists

The Chemistry Department entered all Y13 Chemistry students into the fiendishly challenging RSC Olympiad at the end of January 2025. This is an international competition and is a challenging 2 hour written paper exposing the students to chemistry content which is outside of the A-level specification. The students benefit greatly from the experience as one of their A-level papers will contain a lot of synoptic and application-based questions, and it is a good opportunity for them to practise different question styles and challenging new content. The students demonstrated many skills from resilience to analytical reasoning, and we are very proud of them for accepting the challenge so positively. They showed true grit and determination, great Crypt values!

The paper included questions on radioactive decay, epoxides, the iodination of ketones, carbon nanotubes and Raman spectroscopy. By undertaking this challenge, the students are confident and prepared for any style of A-level questions that may be in their summer papers and know that they can do very well.

This year, a record number of schools took part (1502), with 16216 sitting the paper. Therefore, to win over 40 awards is a fabulous achievement and we are very proud of all the students and are looking forward to successful summer exam results.

We are delighted to let you know that they achieved a great outcome of 3 Gold, 18 Silver and 13 Bronze awards!

Achieving a Gold award, putting them in the top 8% of entrants were: Ezra Daniel Jakub

Silver Award (top 33%) - Nicky, Ethan, Jack, Naomi, Katie, Poppy, David, Guy, Bea, Michelina, Lizzie, Aaron, Harry, Abigail, Olivia, George, Will, Joshua

Bronze award (top 65%) - Iona, Ewan, Ella, Emmanuel, Priscilla, Caitlin, George, Phoebe, Layla, Jacob, Laurie, Manu, Alfre

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Cambridge Chemistry Challenge – Y12 Chemists – Mrs Gee

At the time of writing, in mid-June, all current Y12 Chemistry students are to participate in the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge.

This is a National Competition organised by Cambridge University and involves the students undertaking a challenging written paper which contains questions on topical areas of chemistry. The level of the questions are pitched at challenging A level content and beyond and provides the students an excellent way to stretch themselves and apply their knowledge.

In June 2024, when our current Y13 students sat the 90 minute written paper, it included detailed and stretching questions on arsenic and its chemistry, and PFAS (polyfluorinated alkyl substances), which are better known as 'forever chemicals' that are used in non-stick cookware amongst other things.

The students performed brilliantly and we achieved:

1 Gold award - Aaron Binoy, putting him in the top 12% of all entrants.

8 Silver award (top 32% of students) -Daniel, Bea, Joshua, Harry, Nicky, Naomi, Poppy and Ezra

And 20 Copper Awards (top 60%) !

We wish our current Y12 students all the very best for this challenge.

MedSoc

- Mr Bowen

At Crypt, we remain committed to fostering the ambitions of the next generation of doctors, vets, dentists, nurses, pharmacists and allied healthcare professionals. Every year, students who aspire to careers in healthcare attend MedSoc as part of their achievement of the Student Scholarship Award.

Students get talks on how to be best placed to succeed in their university admissions as well as learning about the daily lives of healthcare professionals and the rewards and challenges of those jobs. However, the primary purpose of MedSoc is for students to prepare presentations to deliver to each other, on a healthcare topic. This year, students have delivered amazing presentations on a range of topics, including: the science of laughter, cholera and the history of contact tracing, and the link between diabetes and Alzheimer’s.

I look forward to hearing of our students’ successes as they move into Year 13 and beyond into their chosen careers.

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Ocean Health Challenge - inter - department collaboration - Mrs Bowes

In conjunction with the Geography and DT departments the Chemistry department engaged with the “Ocean Health Challenge” arranged via the University College, London.

Students from a variety of year groups listened to expert speakers via video and discussed the issues of plastic pollution in our oceans. The outcome was to design a solution to reduce the impact of plastic pollution in our oceans.

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Practicals in Chemistry

Practical activities remain a fundamental part of chemistry lessons from Y7 through to Y13. All year groups participate in as many practical activities as possible, which help to explain scientific understanding as well as build, and develop, many transferable skills such as teamwork, communication, organisation and attention to detail.

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2025 - Y5 Taster Days

In June, we welcomed Y5 children into the science department as part of their school “taster days”.

We introduced them to ‘Working Scientifically’ skills by undertaking a practical activity and analysing the results to test the pH of some household chemicals, from washing up liquid to lemon juice and cola. For many students, this was their first

The Chemistry Department is growing!

experience of a lesson in a laboratory and/or their first experience of using chemicals.

We encouraged the students to carry out a fair test on each of the samples, record results accurately, and to classify the substances as a strong acid, weak acid, neutral, weak alkali or strong alkali, using the pH scale.

Chemistry A-level remains incredibly popular as it is an essential subject for some careers such as medicine, engineering and other STEM based courses. It also complements other science and mathematics A-levels. It is described as a ‘facilitating’ subject; it is well regarded by universities and employers. Although challenging, it is incredibly rewarding, and develops many transferable skills such as problem solving, critical analysis and evaluative abilities.

As a result, in September 2025 we are increasing the number of A-level sets in Y12 to four, and this, combined with three full sets in Y13, mean we are growing and will be teaching approximately 120 students in the Sixth Form. To help us to achieve this, we welcome Old Cryptian, Alex Borley to our team from September.

He writes:

“I had the privilege of attending The Crypt for all 7 years of my secondary education. I went onto the University of Keele to complete a BSc in Chemistry and Forensic Science, then moving back home to complete my PGCE having been inspired by tutoring students for their GCSE and A level exams. My love for Chemistry stems from my time at school and fuelled through my love for teaching the subject. Nurturing and inspiring curiosity within the subject and encouraging students to enhance their knowledge further. With placements at the Crypt during my PGCE year as well as another local school, being offered a job here was an instantaneous yes!

Away from the classroom I am a keen golfer, cricketer and rugby referee, achieving my RFU accredited rugby referees award in 2019. I play both golf and cricket regularly. I am looking forward to contributing not only to the classroom, but also through lots of extracurricular activities and sports teams.”

We also welcome back Gemma Brittan, following her maternity leave, where she welcomed a second son to her family. Matthew Bevan also welcomed a second child this academic year, a brother for his young daughter.

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Computing – James Rice

CYBERFIRST SILVER AWARD

We were delighted to be awarded the CyberFirst Silver Award in recognition of our dedication to inspiring the next generation of cyber security professionals. This prestigious award, presented by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), highlights our commitment to delivering high-quality learning experiences in the field of cyber security, digital safety, and online responsibility.

The CyberFirst program encourages young people to explore the world of technology, and we are proud that our students have embraced these opportunities with enthusiasm and creativity. Our school has worked hard to integrate cyber security principles into the curriculum and provide enriching extracurricular activities that foster critical thinking and problem-solving skills essential in today's digital world.

This Silver Award reflects our ongoing efforts to equip students with the knowledge and skills to navigate an increasingly interconnected and technology-driven society. From coding clubs, our ambitious curriculum and participation in national cyber challenges, we strive to ensure that our pupils are prepared for both the opportunities and challenges of the future.

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all the parents and guardians who have supported us in this journey. Your encouragement at home and involvement in school activities have played a crucial role. The CyberFirst girls’ competition is already consisting of four teams of year 8 girls which is amazing when tackling the gender divide that exists.

Looking ahead, we are excited to continue building on this achievement by expanding our programs and engaging with even more students to foster a deeper understanding of digital resilience and innovation. We hope to earn your continued support as we pursue the CyberFirst Gold Award and further enhance our cyber education initiatives.

CYBERFIRST GIRLS’ COMPETITION

We were also delighted at our school’s successful participation in the CyberFirst Girls Competition. This annual event, organized by the National Cyber Security Centre, challenges students to solve real-world problems and develop skills in cybersecurity, critical thinking, and teamwork. Our team of talented young women represented the school with outstanding dedication and skill, earning a highly commendable third place in our region and top performing school in the immediate area!

The competition was a fantastic opportunity for the girls to apply their knowledge to practical challenges across various domains, including cryptography, logic, networking, and coding. Over several intense rounds, they demonstrated remarkable perseverance and ingenuity, tackling tasks that required both technical expertise and creative problemsolving. Their performance truly reflected the values of hard work, collaboration, and a passion for learning.

Reaching third place in a field of such talented competitors is a significant achievement, and the girls can be very proud of how they represented themselves and our school. Whilst

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over 16 girls participated, below is our top performing team consisting of Tito Ajayi, Poppy Hancock, Sabrina Jariwalla and Eloise Adcock all of 8WEH.

Reaching third place in a field of such talented competitors is a significant achievement, and the girls can be very proud of how they represented themselves and our school.

EMPOWER CYBER EVENT

I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to the team for their success and thank them for being such excellent ambassadors for our school. I also want to thank you, the parents, for your support and encouragement, which played an essential role in their journey.

This year our pupils recently had the exciting opportunity to attend the Empower Cyber Event, held at Cheltenham Racecourse. This prestigious event is designed to inspire and educate young people about the possibilities within the world of technology and cybersecurity, and it proved to be an incredibly enriching experience for everyone involved. During the event, our pupils were exposed to a variety of workshops, hands-on activities, and engaging talks from industry professionals. They learned about the latest developments in cybersecurity, explored potential career paths, and gained valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities in this fast-evolving field. The event also emphasized the importance of digital literacy, critical thinking, and teamwork skills that are vital in today’s digital age.

We are proud of the way our pupils engaged with the activities and represented our school. Opportunities like this not only help to deepen their understanding of important subjects but also inspire them to aspire to greatness.

Thank you for your continued support in helping us provide such meaningful experiences for our students. Together, we are equipping them with the tools and knowledge to thrive in the modern world.

Design and Technology – Oliver Antonious

KS3 Students Trial Exciting New Design & Technology Projects

This term, KS3 students have been getting hands-on with two brand-new Design & Technology schemes of learning and the results have been both creative and exciting!

One of the schemes focused on paper engineering, where students explored a variety of mechanisms including box and V-folds, rotaries, sliders, and different construction methods. From pop-up features to interactive moving parts, students experimented with how paper can be transformed into dynamic designs.

Alongside this, another group took on the Jigsaw project, which challenged them to develop precision and problem-solving skills. Students worked on creating their own jigsaw pieces using accurate measuring and cutting techniques a task that tested their patience and attention to detail!

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“These trial schemes are all about building core skills in a fun and engaging way,” said a member of the D&T team. “It’s been great to see students thinking creatively, developing practical skills, and exploring new ways to design and make.”

Both projects have been met with lots of enthusiasm, and feedback from students and staff will help decide how these schemes can be refined and possibly rolled out more widely in the future.

Well done to all our KS3 designers for embracing the challenge and bringing their ideas to life!

Saturday D&T Support Session Helps Year 11 Boost Their Coursework

On Saturday 15th February 2025, the Design and Technology department held a support session to help Year 11 students make progress on their GCSE coursework. Running from 9am to 3pm, the day gave students a chance to focus without distractions and get guidance from their teachers.

The session came at an important time, with the final coursework deadline set for Monday 17th March. Since coursework makes up 50% of the final GCSE grade, this was a great chance for students to strengthen their projects and build confidence ahead of the summer exams.

Teachers were available throughout the day, giving feedback in line with exam board rules and helping students work through any areas they found challenging. Many students found the session really helpful and made solid progress.

“It was good to have the whole day to just get stuck into it,” said one Year 11 student. “I managed to finish parts I’d been struggling with for ages.”

The D&T team were really pleased with how well the session went and hope it will make a big difference to final grades.

I’ve included photos from last year’s coursework projects to give a sense of the creativity and effort involved, as we are not allowed to include any live coursework due to exam board regulations

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Projects GCSE Food Students Cook Up Success in Final Coursework Projects

Year 11 Food Preparation and Nutrition students have officially completed their GCSE coursework and the results have been nothing short of impressive!

The coursework was split into two major tasks. Task 1: The Food Investigation focused on the science behind food. Students explored the working characteristics, functional, and chemical properties of different ingredients through hands-on investigations. From testing how raising agents affect texture to understanding how fats influence flavour, the work gave students a real insight into food science in action.

Task 2: The Food Preparation Assessment puts students’ practical skills to the test. After weeks of research and planning, students were challenged to prepare, cook, and present a final menu of three dishes all within a three-hour window. The task demonstrated their understanding of nutrition, time management, and technical cooking techniques under pressure. “The level of effort, creativity, and precision our students showed was outstanding,” said a member of the Food department. “It’s a tough challenge, but they approached it with enthusiasm and real professionalism.”

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Due to exam board rules, we are unable to publish photographs of current students’ work, but we’ve included images from last year’s projects to showcase the high standard expected and achieved

Well done to all students for their hard work you’ve truly earned your chef whites!

A - Level Designers Impress with Innovative and Thoughtful Prototypes

Year 13 A-Level Design and Technology students have been showcasing their creativity, technical skill, and problem-solving abilities through their final Non-Examined Assessment (NEA) projects and the results have been nothing short of outstanding.

Contributing to 50% of their final grade, the NEA is a substantial piece of work worth 120 marks, requiring students to identify a real-world problem and develop a solution in collaboration with a client or end user. From concept to completion, students have been fully immersed in the design process researching, modelling, and refining their ideas to produce high-quality, functional prototypes.

Students have used a range of design methods including computer-aided design (CAD), hands-on modelling, and client feedback to ensure their products were purposeful and effective. Each project also included a strong focus on sustainability, with students carefully considering the environmental impact of materials and processes used.

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“This year’s projects have been incredibly impressive,” said a member of the Design and Technology department. “Students not only demonstrated excellent practical skills, but also showed real thoughtfulness in addressing wider social, moral, and environmental issues in their work.”

As per exam board regulations, we’re unable to show photographs of live coursework. However, to give a sense of the quality and scope of the work, we’ve included images from last academic year’s projects.

Congratulations to all our Year 13 designers your innovation, dedication, and professionalism have truly shone through!

Ready, Steady, Cook! Sixth Formers Stir Up Some Serious Skills

As part of this year’s Sixth Form enrichment programme, a group of enthusiastic Year 12 students have been sharpening their culinary skills in the weekly Ready Steady Cook challenge and things are heating up in the kitchen!

Each week, students work in pairs to tackle a new recipe, designed to build confidence and competence in the kitchen. From knife skills and sauce making to dough work and marinating, the sessions cover a wide range of essential food preparation techniques.

“The recipes are all chosen to develop core practical skills,” said the Food department. “We want students to leave with a solid foundation they can use for life whether they're cooking for themselves at uni or just want to impress their families!”

Each dish is judged by members of the Sixth Form team, with points awarded for teamwork, technique, and (of course) taste. The competition has been fierce, with the Green Peppers team currently leading ahead of the Red Tomatoes.

One participant said, “It’s such a fun way to spend enrichment we learn loads, and it’s really satisfying seeing what we can create each week.”

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Lunchtime Clubs Keep D&T Buzzing with Creativity and Support

The Design & Technology department has been a hive of activity this year, with a range of lunchtime extracurricular sessions giving students extra opportunities to get creative, build skills, and stay on top of their projects.

For students working on coursework or practical projects, lunchtime support sessions have provided a valuable space to catch up, get advice from teachers, and spend more time refining their work. Whether it’s tweaking a design, finishing a prototype, or polishing up a portfolio, these sessions have made a real difference.

“We know how busy things can get, especially for exam groups,” said a member of the department. “These drop-in sessions have helped students stay focused and feel more confident about their work plus it’s great to see the workshops full of energy every lunchtime!”

Meanwhile, the Cooking Club has been serving up something special. Open to all year groups, students have had the chance to develop practical cooking skills, try out new recipes, and gain confidence in the kitchen all in a fun, relaxed environment.

One student said, “I love Cooking Club. It’s a break from lessons, and I’ve learned how to make loads of different dishes. Plus, we get to eat what we make!”

The D&T department’s commitment to hands-on learning and student support beyond the classroom is clearly making an impact and there’s plenty more to come!

English – Martha Williams

and Christopher Cobb

The Classics Club – Medusa: a Latin play!

This Spring, our Classics Club were hard at work preparing for and then performing a Latin play about Medusa. We dedicated time to translating and rehearsing the script as well as creating props and costumes to bring it all to life. We are so proud of our students' commitment and particularly of their impressive line delivery! Thank you to all involved, including our marvellous audience. Stay tuned for more classical antics next year...

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Cambridge Schools Debate Competition – Southwest Regional

On Saturday the 25th January two of our Y12 students competed in the Southwest regional final of the Cambridge Schools debate competition. As last year, the competition was fierce with one school dominating the top positions. Our students, Joseph Ryland and Daniel Mattacola, improved over the course of the day and achieved a 3rd and 2nd place in two of the rounds.

Motions this year included ownership of football teams, the rise of alternative media, and streaming in secondary schools. As well as being a great opportunity to practise debate skills, it was as much a chance to meet and network with other schools, forging new friendships. I hope to see many more students signing up next September!

Year 11 Poetry Live! Trip

On Wednesday 12th February we took the majority of our Year 11 students to the GCSE Poetry Live! event at the Bristol Beacon.

It was a fantastic day, featuring readings and Q&A sessions from six of the poets studied in the AQA anthology, including current and previous poet laureates, Simom Armitage and Carol Ann Duffy. John Agard was a particular favourite, reading us a poem he had written only minutes before arriving!

Students also had two AQA chief examiner sessions which included example poems and model answers, as well as vital exam technique advice. The notes we made from the event informed our revision and were shared with all students.

Year 7 – The Cheltenham Literature Festival

This year we were able to take thirty of our Year 7 students to one of two creative writing talks at this year's literature festival. In English, Year 7 are studying a range of folktales and are preparing to write their own.

On Tuesday 7th October our first group heard from three authors, Liz Hyder, Philip Reeve and Piers Torday, exploring the art of world building in their latest books. From a parallel universe to 1000 years into the future, and an empire of vampires and werewolves - they had it all!

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On Wednesday 8th October our second group heard from Katherine Rundell about the inspiration behind her new book, 'Impossible Creatures'. Her book is an epic adventure about a magical land where mythical creatures live, but something is jeopardising their survival...

These trips were a fantastic opportunity for our aspiring young writers to get excited about reading and writing and be inspired by the power of words and imagination. As usual, our students were impeccably behaved and made some impressive notes. We hope to give more of our students the chance to attend the festival in the future.

JOURNALISM CLUB – Mr Cobb

The Scrypt is the school’s student magazine, written and produced by students, for students. A dedicated team of young writers, editors, designers and artists work on it in Journalism Club every Thursday lunchtime.

Some highlights

This year, under the superb editorship of Max Yates (Y10), our team of student journalists has produced a truly impressive range of articles across several editions, featuring the work of young writers whose investigative and research skills as well as their writing talents, are going from strength to strength.

Working completely on their own initiative, Max and Oscar Dickson worked together to research and produce an exclusive article giving a truly fascinating insight into Cheltenham Town Football Club. This involved arranging a visit to the club ground and conducting interviews with key members of the team, not least Assistant Manager Aaron Downes.

Also, full marks for ambition go to Fergus for his regular column ranking countries according to queens regnant, running to three editions now. His impressive knowledge and research find an outlet in the magazine, and we should not be surprised to see his name in print on the cover of a book one day.

Another young writer who has come into his own this year is Harry, who has written many installments of his much-loved ‘book vs film’ column.

There are so many more highlights that could be mentioned. It is so important that students have a forum for expressing ideas and concerns, raising awareness of wider world issues, informing their peers and asking challenging questions such as the one Lizbeth posed in her piece ‘Are we living in a dystopian world?’

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The magazine is a vehicle for students to develop their writing, design and editing skills. However, it also provides an opportunity for business experience as students advertise their magazine for sale and calculate how much to charge per copy to cover costs.

COMPETITIONS

Young Writers creative writing competition

Young Writers run national creative writing competitions, inspiring students to enjoy expressing themselves in writing about a given theme and, if selected, offering them the opportunity to have their work published in a special collection of winning original writing pieces.

This year, we had a record number of students enter the ‘Grim Tales’ competition. Original fairy tales can be pretty sinister! Forget the sanitised Disney versions! Students were encouraged to explore the creepier side of storytelling:

• Every step the Little Mermaid took felt like she was walking on knives.

• The princess threw the frog against the wall which turned him into a prince.

• Rapunzel’s prince was killed when the witch pushed him from the tower.

• The evil queen in Snow White was forced to dance in red-hot shoes until she died.

• Cinderella’s stepsisters cut off their toes to fit into the glass slipper.

Rising to the challenge, our students produced some highly creative twisted takes on traditional tales, while others crafted something entirely original!

Geography – Catherine Brooks

The past academic year has been another busy year for the geography department. With large numbers of students studying at examination level, a key focus has been on ensuring that lessons are inspiring and challenging whilst ensuring that the relevant examination specifications are thoroughly learnt. This has led to numerous lessons focussing on the current geographical issues that affect the world around us. From the war in Ukraine to climate change to addressing the housing crisis in the UK, we hope that our students are now more informed about the stories that are frequently in the news or reported online.

To support the varied interests of students, various extra-curricular societies have been running this year. Miss Searle has enjoyed selecting her favourite geography documentaries and sharing these through the regular Documentary Club. Students found Simon Reeve’s adventures along the Tropic of Capricorn, Will Smith exploring remote areas of the world and Andrew Marr’s analysis of the challenges facing various world megacities particularly interesting with participants asking thoughtful questions in order to extend their understanding of these areas. Mrs Brooks has continued to support the Sixth Form students with their essay writing skills through the Essay Writing Club with much improved responses being completed in the recent Year 13 mock exams. We are also indebted to a number of enthusiastic year 12 students who have been running a new geography society this year. Each Tuesday has seen a good group of key stage three students enjoy the games and quizzes devised by the Sixth Form students: their geography trivia knowledge has certainly been enhanced during these sessions.

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Field trips continue to dominate the summer months for the department with return visits made to Northleach, Swanage and Birmingham by the Year 12 students.

As the year has progressed, they have become more independent in the planning and evaluating of their field work whilst also experimenting with new ways to collect their data including using mobile phones. A highlight continues to be the walk to Durdle Door and onto Lulworth Cove where we were able to appreciate the scenery in glorious sunshine.

Year 10 have completed their visit trip exploring the characteristics of Gloucester City Centre as part of their urban studies. They will shortly be visiting the Forest of Dean to investigate how the features of Blackpool Brook change downstream.

This year has also seen some changes in staff. Mrs Longhurst spent over six years in the department providing invaluable support with field trips and the teaching of the A Level Coursework. Her expertise in these areas as well as her calm, organised presence in the classroom will be missed by staff and students alike. Miss Barnett has celebrated the arrival of her third child and is now on maternity leave for the next year –congratulations to her and her family. We are fortunate to have been able to welcome Mrs Atkins into the department to cover Miss Barnett’s classes. Mrs Atkins comes to us with a wealth of experience and is certainly keeping the year 12 students working hard already!

As the year draws to a close, it is wonderful to reflect on another productive and successful year. The geography staff would like to thank all the students for their interest and enthusiasm both in and out of the classroom as well as the support of parents for the field trips to take place.

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History – James Higgs

2024-25 has been another busy year for the History Department, with students celebrating various events throughout the year, including Black History Month, LGBTQ+ History Month and Holocaust Memorial Day, some of which involved student-created resources. In addition, our Remembrance Day service was all the more poignant with the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.

The department has benefited from a colourful and stylish piece of artwork, providing students with a timeline of both local and national events. This year has also seen students engaging in a variety of extracurricular activities, which has been really pleasing to see. At the start of the year we announced our two Peter Hobbes History Prize winners - for research projects on ex-Cryptians by VI form students. Molly Allen produced her analysis of George Whitefield, including thoughts on his legacy; Freddie Stevens focused on William Henley, including his personal battles with TB and literary legacy.

Lucy Hutchinson, supported by Sapphire Njie and Sanjeevani Sreeram, took part in the Historical Association’s ‘Great Debate’, which saw representatives from a number of

local schools argue why their local place told a national story. Our team researched the Gloucester Docks, and crafted their speech which Lucy delivered at the Gloucester Heritage Hub on Wednesday evening. Unfortunately she wasn’t picked to represent Gloucestershire but the judges praised her on the quality of the presentation and research. In addition, these students, alongside Sparsha Alishetty, were nominated to be ‘heritage ambassadors’, granting them access to several events throughout the year in some of Gloucestershire’s most esteemed locations. Outstanding contributions were not just made by senior students, a prime example being Rafferty Ludlow-Maisey, who has produced several outstanding essays and original research. Our VI form students helped judge our ‘Historical Dinner Party’ house competition, which was won by 11DW. They chose the following 5 historical figures: Martin Luther King, Diogenes, John F Kennedy, Ayrton Senna, Pele. You may disagree!

Students from year 9 had the profound opportunity to step out of the classroom and into the history books, as 85 pupils took part in a three-day battlefield tour of the Ypres Salient. Exploring the memorials, cemeteries, and preserved battle sites of the First World War, the trip offered a deeply moving and educational journey through one of the most significant and tragic chapters of modern history.

The tour included visits to Tyne Cot, Essex Farm, Caesar’s Nose, Hill 60, Hill 62, Vimy Ridge, and the German cemetery at Langemark. Each site gave students a unique window into the lives and deaths of those who fought. At Tyne Cot, the largest Commonwealth war cemetery, the sheer scale of loss became heartbreakingly clear. In contrast, the simplicity and haunting stillness of Essex Farm where John McCrae composed In Flanders Fields allowed for quiet contemplation.

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World War One Battlefields Tour – Cory Howell

The preserved landscapes of Hill 60 and Hill 62 brought the brutal conditions of trench warfare to life. Walking among the craters, bunkers, and trenches, students were able to appreciate the terrifying and claustrophobic reality of frontline life. These visceral experiences, paired with the human stories behind them, made the past feel powerfully present.

A particular honour of the tour was the chance to remember and pay tribute to the 68 Old Cryptians who lost their lives during the First World War. Pupils paid their respects at Tyne Cot and Essex Farm, remembering the Old Cryptians who had been before them. The most solemn moment came at the Menin Gate, where two of our students laid a wreath during the Last Post ceremony an act of remembrance that brought home the significance of their visit. This battlefield tour was far more than a school trip; it was a journey of understanding, reflection, and respect. By walking the same ground as those who served, students gained a deeper appreciation of the cost of war and the importance of remembering its lessons.

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Maths – Daniel Foster

Mathematical Olympiad for Girls

This year the Crypt entered students for the mathematical Olympiad for girls for the second time. The test is two and a half hours long, aimed at the very top VI form students and composed of five long form questions designed to stretch the most able. All the girls did creditably. Particular credit goes to Sia for achieving a merit in year 11 and to Beatrice in year 13 with a distinction and just one mark short of best in school Lucy [year 12] also with a distinction.

Maths Feast

The AMSP runs a maths feast, a similar competition aimed at years 7 and 8 but with no successor rounds, also in June. This time we could enter up to four teams of three and did. This allowed us to include those who had other commitments on a Tuesday lunchtime as well as more of the society’s regulars. Mrs Peake took the minibus to Hereford and they came fifth, fourth, second and first with the winning team consisting of Hugo from 7JC with Ben and Eloise from 7WEH.

Senior Maths Challenge

In November 140 students from years 9 to 13 sat the senior maths challenge. Overall results are very pleasing with 71% of students gaining awards compared with 66% nationally. The test is aimed at the brightest VI formers, however we entered slightly more students from the GCSE years than VI form, so this shows a strong set of results. This is the fourth successive year where a hundred or more students achieved awards, our longest such streak.

Joint best in school with a gold certificate were Hayden and Iason in year 13. Eight other students also achieved gold [top 8.3%] matching 2012’s record. Max Y was best in year 10, Reuben best in year 9, both beating most of the VI form. Both Cole [11RR] and Callum [11JC] beat all of year 12 and qualified for the next round.

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M3 Challenge

Friday 28th February, a group of five sixth formers, Woody, Hayden, Iason, Sen (Year 13) and Elijah (Year 12) took part in the MathWorks Math Modeling Challenge [sic the challenge originates in the USA]. The challenge consisted of them using mathematical models to answer three real-life problems on rising global temperatures and heat waves and how these affect energy demand which in turn puts strain on the electrical grid, often resulting in widespread loss of electricity. Over the course of 14 hours, the team developed a mathematical model to represent the problem, tested it against data, used it to predict future developments and proposed an approach to solve the issue at hand. The problem can be read in full on the official website: https://m3challenge.siam.org/2025-problem/ The team worked together outstandingly to write up a report, which will be judged by professionals with a background in mathematics. The team finished the challenge feeling satisfied and fulfilled with their efforts.

Pi day

On March 14th [3.14 in the American system] we celebrate pi day. UK pi day, 22/7 falls in the summer holidays. Students earned house points by memorising the digits of π - the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. 34 students memorised an average of 42 digits each. Only two managed more than 100 digits. Tito in 8WEH with 101 and Shivani in 7JM with 147.

Mathematics Society

October saw the return of mathematics society on Tuesdays for those in years 7 to 11 who enjoy solving tough mathematics problems in their lunchtimes. It is run by some keen year 12 mathematicians, and I am grateful to Elijah, Adrian, Pheo and Paige for all the effort they put into this through the year.

Intermediate Maths Challenge

February brings the biggest challenge, when 245 students from years 7 to 11 sat the intermediate maths challenge, aimed at the best in years 9 to 11. This year was comfortably our best ever set of results for this competition. 166 students (68%) achieving awards, well above the national average of 50%. The 30 gold awards (top 8.3%) smashed the school record of 21 from 2006. 44% of our students achieved silver or better compared to 25% nationwide.

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Paige, Adrian and Pheo plan the activities. Lily, Isaac and Hugo enjoydoing them.

All photographs courtesy of Daniel W in year 10.

Callum in 11JC was best in school with 118, narrowly edging out Sia, also 11JC with 117. Both students qualified for the Olympiad as did Ryan in 10RR which is only open to less than 1% of the top scores. Callum achieved a certificate of merit for his Olympiad answers. Here’s one of the questions:

“Let m and n be positive integers such that m divide n+20 and n divides m+25. What is the maximum possible value of m + n ?” Answer on page 68

Sixteen more students, most from year 10, qualified for the international kangaroo successor round [next 3.2%]. Only 8% of those receive a gold award with the next 17% gaining silver. Best in key stage 3 was Maddie F, narrowly beating Reuben 106 to 105. Both achieved Silver. Best in KS5 was Cole with gold.

Year 7 showed great strength where Elliot C, Liam W, Pak Kiu, Jaanvi and Oscar P beat all bar one year eight with Jaanvi and Oscar going through to the year 9 kangaroo. That one year eight was Rowan, who also beat all of year 9.

Junior Maths Challenge

May brought the junior maths challenge for years 7 and 8. 143 students entered and a record 121 won awards, more than any year since records began. As awards are only given to half the entrants nationwide this is a very strong achievement. 23 students (16%) won the coveted gold award only given to the top 8% nationally.

Many students used online webinars from the charitable group parallel to prepare for the challenge and I’m sure this helped. Ten students scored enough to get through to the next round, the junior kangaroo, in June: Elliot, Jaanvi (again), Oscar P (again), William T, Hugo, Rowan (again), Joshua H, Meenakshi and Yui Chit.

Team Maths Challenge

In June 2024, after the deadline for the last Cryptian, the UKMT ran the team maths challenge for the first time since the pandemic. This is a competition for a single team of four students from key stage 3, no more than two from year 9. Dr Lintott took Ryan S [year 9] Reuben [year 8] and Rowan M [year 7] to Monmouth Haberdasher’s school to participate in a day of crossnumbers, mathematical relays, shuttle rounds and other problem solving. We may have fielded a stronger and older team but wanted to reward regular attendees at mathematics society. Despite this and stiff competition from private schools they came a creditable fifth. The UKMT moved the competition forward in 2025 to February and Doctor Lintott was back with Reuben [now year 9] Hugo and Lianna [year 8] and Jaanvi [year 7]. Again, selection was from maths society regulars rather than the oldest and strongest. The event was sold out. Against a wide field we came second, narrowly losing to Badminton School [£7,974 per term, more for boarders]. Credit must also go to Elijah and Adrian in year 12 who run the society and trained the team.

Modern Foreign Languages – Hannah Quinn & department

The Modern Foreign Languages Department has once again been very busy

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organising a variety of activities to motivate and inspire Crypt students’ language learning whilst embedding careers and cultural activities into each term.

SEPTEMBER - European Day of Languages

As part of our European Language week celebrations, the whole school participated in a range of activities to celebrate and promote languages. We kicked this off with a whole school virtual escape room during Mrs Quinn’s assembly, which was won by 10WEH. There was another quiz in tutor time later in the week, in which students had to decipher information about different European languages and demographics to complete a crossword. On Thursday (the official European Day of Languages) the canteen once again offered a special European Menu with traditional foods from France, Germany, Spain and Italy. The canteen staff looked amazing in their fancy dress, and students ordered in either German, French or Spanish for house points. Henley also won this competition! We hope all students enjoyed the week and learnt something new!

OCTOBER - French trip to Normandy

During the last week of the first term, Year 8 students learnt about the different cultures of the languages they are studying, helping them to get a real feel for the culture of the country and broaden their understanding.

La journée du patrimoine

Year 8 French pupils celebrated la journée du patrimoine – this is the day when French people celebrate culture in all kinds of ways, i.e. architecture, culinary, sports, history. Year 8 students had great fun learning about it and re-created some important monuments in France.

Schultüte

Y8 German pupils learnt about the tradition and culture of the first day at a German Grundschule (infant school). The children in Germany have a special ceremony for their first day at school called Einschulung and their parents make them a ‘Schultüte’ filled

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with sweets and presents to make the first day at school sweeter and easier. Our year 8 students enjoyed learning about the tradition and making their own Schultüte.

Day of the dead – dia de los muertos

Year 8 Spanish pupils learnt all about the ‘Day of the dead – dia de los muertos’ and they where able to decorate masks to scare the dead away, which symbolises the tradition.

NOVEMBER

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GCHQ National Language Competition

Cologne Christmas Markets - Years 9 and 10

All Year 9 pupils were given the opportunity to participate in the GCHQ National Languages Competition by getting involved in a variety of fun activities such as online quizzes.

Towards the end of November, we were once again pleased to be able to offer the Year 9 and 10 pupils a chance to practise their German skills at the Christmas Markets in Cologne. After a long coach journey, students enjoyed visiting the cathedral, shopping at the markets, eating Spaghetti Eis, a boat trip with St Nikolaus, lunch in a traditional Brauhaus and the water slides at Aqualand!

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DECEMBER

As Christmas approached, the department celebrated a variety of festive traditions.

Les Santons de Provence

Year 8 French students learnt about les Santons de Provence and created their own miniature village. Year 7 decorated baubles using the target language, while Year 9 explored Christmas carols and practise different styles of calligraphy from around the world.

Y7 German pupils learnt all about how Germany celebrates St Nikolaus on 6 December and after leaving a shoe outside the classroom, each received their own little gift from St Nikolaus.

Every year our Y12 students take part in a ‘patrimoine’ lunch to practise their French and learn more about French gastronomy, which is one of the A-Level topics. Having presented the history of their dish, we had the pleasure of degusting a croque-monsieur, des sablés, beautifully made éclairs and plenty of croissant! Well done Y12.

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Y 12 Patrimoine Lunch

JANUARY

French Penpals

Our Year 7 French pupils have been corresponding with yr 5/6s in Épagny Metz-Tessy. They have exchanged Christmas cards and letters sharing info regarding their friends and school life.

Film

Yr12 French students visited the Parabola Arts Centre in Cheltenham where they were joined many 6th formers from the area. We watched French films and discussed these at great length. Lots of positives came from spending time with peers.

FEBRUARY

La Saint - Valentin

Year 7 learnt about the French tradition of “La Saint-Valentin”. Back in the Middle Ages, the main custom of Valentine's Day was related to one's future partner: "a bird for a person" This year, we drew 'our birds' and wrote messages of thanks and appreciation to friends, family and teachers.

MARCH

Spanish Theatre

A theatre production visited school to perform a play in Spanish to all our students who are currently studying Spanish. This was a very interactive play and some of the students even had the opportunity to play a role and to participate. There was a great atmosphere, and all of the students enjoyed the play very much and appreciated their language skills. Here are some quotes from students: “It really helped with my listening skills”

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“ You didn’t need to work hard to translate, it just happened and the visual has helped to understand the context”

“It was really good and the play helps to get you an understanding of the language. I really found you could understand what was going on and it was very interactive” (Year 7 student)

APRIL

Poisson d'avril

As part of exploring cultural events, year 7

French students created their own 'poisson d'avril' and jokes.

Fastnacht

Our year 7 German groups where very busy before the Easter break and learnt a lot about German cultures.

They learned about the tradition of ‘Fastnacht’ in the southern parts of Germany. This custom is celebrated for 2 reasons:

1. To enjoy the good food before most people start lent in preparation for Easter!

2. To scare the winter away by dressing up with scary masks

Our year 7 enjoyed making scary masks in class and learning about this tradition.

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Year 7 German students also learnt about Easter in Germany and discovered how important Easter decorations are for Germans. There are so many beautiful hands crafted and hand painted easter eggs which are hung on an Easter branch to get your house ready for the festive seasons. Our year 7 had great fun painting and decorating easter eggs within this tradition.

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Spanish Gastronomy

Our Year 12 Spanish class enjoyed preparing home-made Spanish dishes as part of their unit exploring the gastronomy of Spain. They researched, cooked and presented their recipes in Spanish and they all enjoyed sampling each others' dishes, which included: a selection of tapas, patatas bravas, pan español, tres leches cake, leche flan, guacamole and ensalada rusa. We hope they continue to use their new culinary skills over the summer and continue making more Spanish dishes as they continue their ALevel studies next year.

Verb performances

The Year 9 Spanish class made the most of the sun in April to revise their tenses by creating dance performances. They conjugated their chosen verb in the five tenses we have studied this year and created a series of tableaus to seamlessly move between each tense, narrating as they went.

Film Club

An MFL Film club has been offered to all KS3 and KS4 pupils on a Tuesday lunchtime throughout the year.

Tilly Butler reported ‘We really enjoyed foreign film club because it opened us up to a range of languages and improved our listening skills. It helped a lot with MFL and the films were so fun to watch, they ranged from a well-known Italian Disney film to a Japanese Marvel film. Altogether it was great fun to sit with my friends on a Tuesday lunchtime and watch an entertaining film.’

Some of our friends said “I think it was cool how you mixed learning about a language with watching films and having fun. I really thought film club was a great way to improve our listening skills in a fun and relaxed way”

“Film club was absolutely excellent and it helped me expand my knowledge by watching foreign films, I especially liked Zipi y Zape y la banda de la canica! We are looking forward to next year’s showings.”

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LANGUAGES SOCIETY

The Languages Society has gone from strength to strength this year with new Year 12 leaders and lots of younger students coming and participating in presentations every week. Together with Mrs Quinn and Mrs Robbins, the students have prepared and presented language learning sessions in Spanish, old English, Japanese, Welsh, Romanian, Russian, French, Filipino Tagalog, Italian and German. As well as learning basic greetings and expressions in all these languages, we have also learnt about French Cinema, life in Romania, Thanksgiving in the USA, Christmas and New Year's Eve in Spain, traditional Russian food, Japanese food and sushi, the Tomatina festival in Spain, French traditions such as chandeleur, Filipino culture, Indian and finally Goan Culture. Mrs Quinn will be going on Maternity Leave at the end of this year but we hope that the Languages Society will continue under the leadership of our Year 12/13 linguists and with support from the MFL Department next year. Well done to all involved!

CAREERS

Each term students have been introduced to a variety of careers in which languages are useful, including football managers, ski instructors, journalists, actors, musicians, doctors, social brand managers, translators, and language assistants.

LINGUISTS OF THE MONTH

Throughout the year pupils have been awarded “Linguist of the month” status for their excellent effort in language lessons. These pupils included:

Year 7

Ethan Gashema, Sophie Usmar, Alex Whiteside, Matilda Butler, Rafael Pozzi, Jack Hasler, Elliot Cussons, Pak Kiu Lam, Iris Wainman, Umar Ahmad, Jaenah Mousah, Lily Edwards, Theodora Myint, Jackson Thorpe, Arlo Garman, Rohan Gopinath Nair, Arjun Sonar, Keziah Biju, Annabelle Mills, George Shayle, Lily Kumbhat, Samuel Booth, Oscar Purgal, Mateusz Jaskowskie, Adiiti Dissharth, Evie Priestley-Hatheral, Tom Blum, Freddie Toase

Year 8

Coby Montgomery, Isabel Clark, Levi Wisbey, La’Reya Esson-Rose, Ethan Reynolds, Oliver Thomas, Avik Karki, Timothy Yarsley, Hunter Elliott, Aarav Hirve, Liliana Keyse, Jen Massey, Meenakshi Nair, Solomon Toth, Anish Manamohan, Daniel Paul, Glory Victor Prakash, Samuel Beavis, Mollie Esposito, Frankie Jones, Dasha Wilson, Harshitha Mahesh Dharini, Rowan Madge, Lily George, Eloise Adcock, Mia Majnik, Luna Thomas

Year 9

Maddie Ford, Atharv Ghai, Jack Thompson, Milan Ferre-Dyvere, Alexia Rodriguez-Canals, Henry Alderman, Daanish Ahmed, Leo Wicks, Lizbeth Watts, Ellie Cullen-Jones, Reuben Lomax-Aspden, Isabel Collick, Oliver Charlesworth, Klara Ptak, Jasper Jones, Mia Mitchell, Freddie Hancock, Joshua Owens, Zahid Nayeemuddin, Tejas Bhavanam, Jamie

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Troy, Calvin Klee, Samuel Boobyer, Ruby Woodhouse, Holly Wilmhurst-Smith, Hanah Carr, Ewan Paddock, Reuben Grmes, Jimmy Glynn, Samuel Ibitoli, Evie-joy Bullen

Year 10

Amelia Goodman, Theo Curran, Nadia Sowa, Gabriella Matthews, Mati Ulatowski, Luca Capell, Olivia Scott, Ezra Mills, Rayna Iheme-Madukairo, William Scantlebury, Sienna Goodman, Teagan Dee, Daniel Wright, Max Yates, Maddie Eggleton, Anna Clayton, Barthelemy Pige, Timothy Beridz

Year 11

Marianne Underwood, William Welsh, Rishi Iyer, Eeshaan Perla, Callum Ajayi, Calum Woodhouse, Austin Daly, Mantra Chizari, Theo Brunt, Lewis May, Harvey Haines, Hannah Milner, Bethany Haigh, Max Orton, Jake Hardwick

Sixth Form

Dasha Rodrigues, Guy Macleod, Sapphire Nije, Edy Cartita, Bridie Osborne, Sam Beaumont, Lance Tescon, Orson Robert, Jakub Rourke, Paula Osagie-Ozigbo, Albie Hastings

Music – Christopher Slemensek

Celebrating a Year of Performance, Collaboration and Creativity

It has been an outstanding year for the Music Department, filled with inspiring performances, growing ensembles, and exciting new partnerships. From cathedral acoustics to festival stages, our students have shown incredible musical maturity, teamwork, and enthusiasm.

The year began with an exhilarating Autumn Concert, showcasing the talents of our growing ensembles. The Symphony Orchestra opened with Mozart’s Symphony No. 40, led by Mr Whittaker, while the Jazz Band brought energy with Autumn Leaves and Tenor Madness. Young Voices, under Mrs Banda, charmed audiences with This is Me and Go the Distance, and the Junior Brass Project, led by Mr Storer, took many beginners from their first lesson to stage-ready performances. Soloists

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Erika, Amira, Jai, Julian, Robin and others gave memorable contributions throughout the evening.

Mr Hope, Assistant Director of Music at Gloucester Cathedral, gave members of our Young Voices the opportunity to perform alongside Archway School and resident choristers for Teenage Voices. The event featured a glorious selection including Ralph Vaughan Williams’ The Call, hymns by Hubert Parry, and concluded with an exciting rendition of Go Down, Moses.

In November, piano students had the privilege of a masterclass with Clare Hammond, a distinguished concert pianist with a double first from Cambridge, who has performed at the BBC Proms, Konzerthaus Berlin, and Salle Bourgie in Montreal. Many thanks to Tristan, Erika, Edgar, Daniel, Advaith, and Jayden for their dedicated preparation the session was both inspiring and highly rewarding.

This year’s Remembrance Service was both solemn and powerful. Our Cantores Cryptienses choir led moving performances of They Shall Not Learn War and For the Fallen, while Charles gave a poised and heartfelt performance of The Last Post. We thank everyone for their commitment to such a significant event.

Our vibrant musical community gathered at St. Barnabas Church for a joyful Carol Service, celebrating the talents of students, staff, and alumni. Highlights included a clarinet duet by Florence and Marianne, festive pieces from the orchestra, and rich choral performances from Cantores Cryptienses, featuring soloist Oscar. Reverend Sarah Todd led the opening prayer. Memorable moments included Jai’s dynamic Carol of the Bells, cheerful renditions by Young Voices and Junior Brass, selections from Gabrieli Roar, and the A Cappella Choir’s spirited Rise Up Shepherd and Follow. The evening concluded with congregational carols and a lively Sleigh Ride by the orchestra.

This followed our unforgettable participation in Gabrieli Roar’s National Tour, where 64 of our students joined over 4,000 singers nationwide under the direction of world-renowned conductor Paul McCreesh. Our final concert at St Mary Redcliffe, Bristol was a day of shared achievement and stunning Georgian choral music. We are thankful to our former Cryptian Dr. Charles MacDougall for providing this wonderful experience.

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A special showcase was held on Wednesday 22nd January to celebrate our Year 9 talents. The programme featured a vibrant range of styles from Bach to Radiohead, even a marimba arrangement of our school song!

We’ve continued to develop our partnership with Gloucester Cathedral, with Mr Partington and Miss Llewelyn-Jones visiting to lead a choral workshop recruiting for their new youth groups called St. Benedict’s and Trinity Singers. We are so proud on our ongoing tradition with the Cathedral and had a fantastic opportunity to sing Evensong on Wednesday 12th March with works including Ireland’s Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis, Parry’s I Was Glad, and other sacred pieces.

We also hosted professional ensembles including the Carducci Quartet, who workshopped Year 10 compositions and provided detailed feedback to help students develop their coursework.

Our Spring Concert, held on Tuesday 25th March, featured Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace, dedicated to the victims of the Kosovo conflict. Premiered in 2000 by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the National Youth Choir of Great Britain under Jenkins’ direction, the selections performed by our choir included the Kyrie, Sanctus, Benedictus, and Agnus Dei. A heartfelt thank you goes to all the instrumentalists who accompanied the choir, with a special mention to Year 7’s Rafael for his outstanding cello solo. This concert embodies all we aim to achieve as a music department fostering an inclusive, highstandard community of music-makers.

We are also delighted to announce that The Crypt School has been selected as a Regional Lead School with the GSW Music Hub. In this role, we will help elevate music education standards, provide specialised professional development, and champion music-making throughout our wider communities.

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In May, our Jazz Band delivered a spectacular performance at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival, as part of the Jazz It Up! programme in Montpellier Gardens. Thank you to everyone who came to support and to Mr Rushton for his brilliant leadership.

We were also thrilled to launch our international tour to Belgium in 2026, with exciting plans for choral concerts and cultural experiences abroad.

Founders’ Day featured I Was Glad by Parry and Crown Imperial by Walton, which was highlighted in a glorious celebration with Cryptians past and present coming together to honour the founding of our wonderful school, and all the achievements made.

Our inaugural Musical Theatre Showcase titled Into The Spotlight was held on Monday 30th June, featuring performances from Les Miserables, My Fair Lady, Hamilton and many other great musicals.

Years 7 and 8 held their showcase on Wednesday 9th July, featuring a selection of music from Lloyd Webber’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat and performed with much expression and confidence.

To all students, staff, peripatetic teachers, families and supporters: thank you. This year has seen immense growth, with a record number of performances, trips, and musical opportunities. Your support continues to make music a cherished and vital part of life at The Crypt School.

Physical EducationNETBALL REVIEW

It has been a really strong season overall for our netball teams, the U13, U14 and U15’s all competed in the respective sisters in sports competitions. Students had excellent commitment to our netball club and showed great determination in wanting to imporve, in total we played 96 games winning 53, drawing 3 and losing 40 across all year groups. Our highlights of the season included the U16 team taking part in the sisters in sport competition and winning 8 out of 9 matches against a variety of schools across the country. The success took the U16 team to the semi finals against Hurstpierpoint. Unfortunately they just missed out on the final with the score at 40-31. To make it to the last four of a national competition is an unbelievable achievement and one the whole team should be proud of. The 1VII team closed their season out with an exhilarating showcase match against The Kings School Gloucester. In front of a large crowd at the University of Gloucestershire Arena, the girls played excellently to win a close game 29-27. Thank you and well done to our year 13 leavers who have been exemplary in their dedication and performances over the years.

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Netball PGL

PGL 2025 completed, what a fantastic weekend of netball it was!

The girls were outstanding throughout the whole weekend and showed amazing perseverance and determination throughout the tournament. Our two Y7 teams worked extremely hard throughout the weekend, our A team achieved a bronze medal and our B team improved each game and came away with some wins against other A team schools.

In the Y8 year group we managed to field 3 teams! A,B,C were brilliant throughout cheering each other on and being great supportive teammates. The B and C teams did extremely well and the highlight was them having to play against each other. The A team missed out on a gold medal but played so well in the final and came back to school with silver.

A final PGL for our Y10s we had 2 teams enter. The B team showed true grit and determination, they beat other A team schools and their defence was on fire. The A team made it through to one of the most competitive games we have ever witnessed on a PGL trip. It was back and forth with both schools battling hard but luckier Crypt came out on top with 1 goal in it and took home the trophy.

The weekend is focused around netball but students have the opportunity to go on many activities such as the big swig, swimming and archery. On the first night we had a disco and the second we completed the PGL games. I know the girls have made memories and friendships for life. All came away with key skills such as time management, organisation, independence, resilience and teamwork and that's what the PGL is all about.

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District Netball

This term saw more netball taking place and kept the teams very busy. Our U12, U13, U14 and U16 have all taken part in the district netball tournament. We had the pleasure of organising and running this tournament for the second year in a row. The teams played some brilliant netball against teams like Denmark Road, Ribston and Kings. Every team made it through to the semi finals and made it in the top 4. Unfortunately, the U16s just missed out to win it by 2 goals. A great show of netball and improvement made this year. An excellent way to end the netball season. Congratulations to all the girls who took part. Thank you also to all the students who came and helped organise the tournaments.

Keeping with tournaments the U15 team took part in the Maydent tournament at Cheltenham Ladies College. The team came together and played some really high quality netball. The resilience and focus of the U15s this year has been excellent. They had some great wins and stayed enthusiastic even after an injury within the team on the day. We look forward to them being part of the senior programme next year and seeing how much they can improve.

RUGBY REVIEW

It was a mixed rugby season for the school this year, in total we played 76 matches, winning 33 and drawing 4 across the different year groups. The Year 7 teams were exemplary in their application in their first year of school rugby, playing up until the Easter holidays. The other highlight for the juniors was for the Year 9s who won the EDF cup in an exhilarating final at Kingsholm against a strong Dean Close team. As always it has not been about winning or losing and has been brilliant to see so many students once again giving up their after schools and Saturday mornings to represent the school. Mixed results across the different years groups but we have seen huge progress by each team and so much commitment given by students.

Senior Rugby

The 1st XV entered the season with a great deal of optimism, having shown an excellent commitment to training in pre-season. Unfortunately a tough away draw in the National Cup against Monmouth was the first test, and provided an excellent learning opportunity for the team. This meant we were entered into the Plate competition where we met Marling. A more comprehensive performance in Stroud was a highlight of the season where the school’s class came to the surface, ending in a 32-10 win. We hosted Blundell’s School in the next round, which again was another step up in level and after a slow-start the 1sts were unable to overcome the odds to end the “cup-run” for this year.

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In friendly fixtures this year again the seniors found it tough going to get a foothold in the season. The highlight was a late win at Cotswold School, 26-14. They were unlucky not to beat St Peter’s in the only Friday night game of the year, losing in spectacular fashion 25-27, having shown excellent perseverance to come back from multiple deficits. They were unable to register a win for the rest of the season, despite playing some excellent rugby at times. In spite of the struggles, they have been ably led by the Y13s who leave us this year after 7 years of service to the Crypt rugby cause. My thanks to all who have contributed to this season, with special thanks to Sam R & Jack M for their captaincy.

We look forward to building to next season with this summer's tour to South Africa for Y11 & Y12 pupils.

Girls ’ Rugby

During term 3 all girls were participating in rugby during games, this might have been either squad or recreational rugby but it was great to see so many girls enjoying and participating in the sport. We were lucky enough to have Gloucester Rugby come in and provide an after school club during terms 3 & 4 in preparation for the Churchdown rugby festival.

Our girls really bought into the programme and we were able to field two U14 teams for the festival and one U12 side. The girls showed true grit and determination throughout. It was a very special day and we are extremely proud of all who took part. Our U12 team played in a round robin tournament and came second in the group stage. We faced Ribston in the final who had already beaten us once. Carys, our U12 captain, gave a great inspirational speech and led by example, running hard and

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putting her body on the line which everyone then followed. We showed true resilience and determination and won the game 2 tries to 1 in a fantastic well battled final.

The U14s were unbeaten in their league, they faced a strong side in the semi-final but worked together well as a team to unite and get the win. In the final they were brilliant throughout, showed excellent communication skills and perseverance. Big mention to U14 captain Maya who led by example and MiMi in Y8 who despite being one of the younger players absolutely dominated in the ruck.

FOOTBALL REVIEW

Junior Boys’ Football

It was a mixed football season for the junior football teams. Across all teams we played 36 games, winning 18 and drawing 3. As always the primary competition was the district cup alongside the traditional friendlies with schools like Pates and Sir Thomas Rich’s. The Year 8 Boys had a tough first season of school football but they never stopped showing up and giving it their best. The Year 9 Boys scored 25 goals in just 6 games but two very tight losses left a very talented group, very disappointed. The Year 10 Boys had a mixed season finishing with a 5-5 thriller away to Pates. As all year groups move on to next year they will be looking to continue enjoying their football.

Senior Football

9 games for the 1XI this season with 6 wins and 3 losses. Wins over local rivals Sir Thomas Rich’s and St Peter’s at the beginning of the season were a fantastic way to start, a national cup game against the infamous Millfield School was a great experience for the group also. The County Cup is always the main factor in how the season is judged and unfortunately the group could not repeat last year's success, bowing out in a 3-1 away defeat to Sir Bernard Lovell School.

Thank you to all our year 13 leavers for all you have contributed to Crypt Football over the years, you will be missed. Furthermore, a massive thank you also goes to the many Year 11 pupils who stepped up to play for the 1XI and never looked out of place.

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Girls’ Football

17 games across the year groups for girls football this year. The year 9 team(U14) and year 10 team (U15) girls were the standout teams, both winning 4 out of their 5 games. Both the U14 and U13 girls were unlucky to get knocked out on penalty As always it is fantastic to see so many girls participating in girls’ football and representing the school.

SWIMMING GALA

On the 27th February, 30 students from years 7-10 visited GL1 leisure centre for the annual Gloucester City Schools Swimming Gala. Competing in a range of races, both solo and relays, everyone represented themselves and the school excellently.

A special mention to the junior boys who raced in year 8, 9 & 10 races and won them all! Overall we won 10 races in total which was fantastic to see for a school without a pool!

SENIOR BASKETBALL

The senior basketball team has trained really hard this year. They have had a couple of games and come out with multiple wins and a few very closely contested matches. Their grit and determination has been admirable in every match that they have played. We look forward to next season and bringing some of the younger students through into the senior set up. Well done to you all.

Junior NBA

The U12 and U13 junior NBA basketball has been in full swing. Over the last two terms the teams have played against four local schools over three tournaments. Every tournament has given an opportunity for a large number of pupils to take part and compete. Over the three tournaments the Year 7s ended up finishing 6th out of 8. The Year 8s have finished 4th out of 8 only losing 3 games. The teams have done so well that they have both advanced to the next round. If they win the next game they will have made it through to the semi final competition.

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HOCKEY

On Friday, November 29th 2025, twelve of our enthusiastic students travelled to Dean Close School to participate in the U12s Hockey Fever competition. Facing strong opposition, our team displayed remarkable skill and determination, winning four games and drawing two, which crowned us the overall winners. Beyond our technical and skilful expertise, it was our team spirit and mutual support that truly set us apart on the field.

ATHLETICS

It has been a busy start to the athletics season with 2 events already completed. The school took 4 teams to the English Schools Track and Field Cup held in Cheltenham. This is a team event where athletes gain points for their performances. Again The Crypt teams were very competitive against 8 other Gloucestershire schools. The team results were as follows:

Junior boys team 4th overall

Junior girls team 3rd overall

Inter girls team 2nd overall

Inter boys team 1st overall

This means that the Inter Boys team now qualify for the A final in Nuneaton on the 17th June. We are hoping the other teams will also qualify if their score is high enough. Although it is a team competition there were some outstanding individual results. As athletes have to compete in 2 events our target is for each athlete to score 30 points for their 2 events. Below is a list of our athletes that scored 30 points or more:

Name Points Name Points Name Points

Tabby T 30 Tom F 33 Andrew C 41

Leanne G 30 Eva B 33 Rick AS 47

Maddie E 30 Ollie T 34 Enrico S 48

Rayna IM 30 Kim H 39 Oliver C 31 Emmanuel D 40

My thanks go to Miss Leask, Mr Atkinson and Mr Stanlake for their work on the day.

We have also hosted the Gloucester District Athletics Trials. This is for individuals who are keen to progress to the County athletics round and beyond.

Thank you and Farewell

Mr Jakes joined The Crypt school in September of this year and fit in right away. Mr Jakes has been an asset to the department bringing enthusiasm, energy and knowledge into everything he does. Mr Jakes has been an integral part of our rugby programme this year and helped many students off the pitch by providing strength and conditioning support. Mr Jakes has also helped out with the organisation of our upcoming South Africa tour and supported our curriculum and extra-curricular programme. He has been a role model to our students and we will miss him greatly. We thank Harry for all his hard work within the

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department and wish him all the best as he takes on a new role at Pates school.

Physics – Sarah John

The Physics department continues to be very popular, with most of our GCSE students selecting to study Physics as a separate GCSE as part of the triple award. The number of A Level students continues to grow. We now have three dedicated laboratories within the AI Building, with one in the main building. We also have the workspace for F1 in Schools and engineering enrichment located in E5.

Teaching and Learning priorities have focused on A Level Physics; we have improved the revision material that we provide for students throughout the course so they now have the opportunity to complete more past paper questions to develop their confidence. We have also produced bespoke revision resources and videos for our GCSE students. We continue to develop our curriculum by improving assessment material, focusing on students’ misconceptions and how we can challenge these and researching how we can make better use of AI in teaching and learning. We want all students to see themselves represented in our teaching resources and have ensured we draw on the work of scientists from all backgrounds, as well as showing students the careers that could follow from the study of STEM subjects.

We have been very fortunate to have such a dedicated and experienced teaching team, with five specialist Physics teachers. This year, we welcomed Mr Matthew Nicholl across from teaching mainly Biology to teaching more Physics. We now wish Mr Julian Boon all the best as he embarks on a year’s sabbatical.

The extra-curricular life of the department continues to flourish, with pupils of all ages taking the opportunity to get involved with Physics and Engineering enrichment activities across a wide range of projects and competitions.

F1 IN SCHOOLS

F1 Nationals 2025

The Crypt School was bursting with pride when our incredible team, Ceres Racing, returned from the F1 in Schools National Finals. After a stunning victory at the regional level, the team faced off against the top 30 teams in the country, showcasing their exceptional skills and dedication during a 2 day event at Magna Science Adventure Centre in Rotherham supported by Mr Baldwin and Miss Hall.

Ceres Racing's journey to the nationals was nothing short of remarkable. Their expert marketing and enterprise team secured an unprecedented amount of sponsorship, demonstrating their business acumen. Meanwhile, their design and engineering team meticulously crafted not one, but two identical cars, engineered for consistent, highspeed performance within the strict F1 in Schools regulations in just two weeks. Powered by compressed gas, their cars zipped down the 20-meter track, with Joshua's lightningfast reaction times propelling them to a phenomenal 3rd place on the leaderboard!

But F1 in Schools is about more than just speed. The team also meticulously compiled detailed portfolios for Enterprise & Marketing and Design & Engineering, which were rigorously scrutinised by panels of judges. Their interactive pit display, built from scratch in a mere two weeks between Regionals and Nationals, was a testament to their resourcefulness and creativity. Finally, their professional verbal presentation, delivered flawlessly by all team members, sealed their reputation as a top-tier team.

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The judges' feedback was overwhelmingly positive. They consistently praised Ceres Racing's exceptional teamwork, their professionallevel enterprise endeavours, and their innovative car design. The pit display, with its intricate details and interactive elements (and beach balls), was also a highlight.

The entire racing and awards ceremony, hosted by the charismatic Radzi Chinyanganya, was streamed live on YouTube, allowing everyone to witness Ceres Racing's stellar performance. A particularly moving moment was Radzi's personal commendation of Joshua's passion, sportsmanship and the sense of team he displayed, calling it a "special moment" and Joshua a "true inspiration”. The heartfelt shout-out during the awards ceremony was a testament to the energy the whole team demonstrated through the competition when the cameras were on and off.

All of Ceres Racing's hard work culminated in a well-deserved victory in the Project Management award category. A huge boost for Jack and his excellent leadership. He stated “I’m incredibly proud of everyone, of how far we’ve come, and how we’ve come together as a team through this whole competition”. They were also nominated for the prestigious Portfolio award, further solidifying their position as a formidable competitor.

Up against the best of the best, Ceres Racing stuck true to their motto and did “Shine Bright”. We are immensely proud of their achievements and the way they represented our school. Congratulations to every member of Ceres Racing! Your hard work, dedication, and passion have truly paid off. You are an inspiration to us all.

Jack - Team Principle & Head of Design and Engineering

Joshua - Head of Enterprise

Dylan - Head of Graphics

Michalina - Head of Marketing

Orson - Design and Engineering

James - Design and Engineering

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STEM SOC

A Year of Curiosity, Innovation, and Exploration!

What a year it has been for The Crypt School's STEM Society! Our dedicated students have embarked on a fascinating journey of scientific discovery and engineering innovation throughout the academic year, truly embodying the spirit of curiosity.

Our members have enthusiastically tackled numerous engineering challenges, putting their problem-solving skills and creativity to the test. These hands-on sessions have allowed students to apply theoretical knowledge in practical, exciting ways, fostering a deeper understanding of scientific principles.

A particular highlight has been the captivating dry ice demonstrations led by the everenthusiastic Mr. Green. These sessions provided a thrilling insight into the properties of matter and energy, sparking wonder and prompting many excellent questions from our budding scientists.

Beyond the practical challenges, students have also delved into the vast world of aerospace, exploring the principles of flight and space exploration. Their imaginations soared as they meticulously built models of the solar system, gaining a tangible understanding of our place in the cosmos. The society also played an active role in the British Science Week Competition 2025 on the theme of “change and adapt”, with our students showcasing their scientific flair and innovative ideas to improve our planet. Throughout all these activities, a pervasive sense of curiosity has driven our students to ask questions, seek answers, and explore beyond the curriculum.

We extend our gratitude to our Sixth Form students, Mia, Priya, Valentino, and Nihal, who volunteered their time and expertise to run several engaging sessions. Their passion for STEM has been invaluable, providing excellent mentorship and inspiration for our younger members.

BLOODHOUND STEM WORKSHOP

I would like to say a huge "Thank You" to Bloodhound Education and Rob Bennett who delivered a series of fantastic workshops for our students. The morning saw all of our new A-Level physics students take part in the event, putting into practice what they have been learning but has sometimes seemed a little abstract. It was a joy to see students working in teams, often introducing themselves for the first time and getting truly stuck in. The talks were in depth and challenged our students to think differently, to innovate and be inspired by innovators of past and present. The science interwoven with the history took us through a story of development and the students, and staff, were gripped.

The afternoon was slightly different with invited students from all year groups taking part. It was fantastic to see students working together and taking pride in their creationsdetermined to test, improve, repeat. The talk that accompanied the session was incredibly powerful.

The feedback we received from the students has been overwhelmingly positive. Students have been very excited to share with members of staff about the workshops they took part in. Words we heard most often include "enjoyable, exciting, informative, fun, creative and interesting". Following the event, many students have been asking more about routes into engineering, work experience and degree apprenticeships as a result.

Y10:

I found the STEM workshop very interesting as we learnt lots about engineering of cars and how to make them more aerodynamic. I thought building the cars was very fun to do and also a good challenge because we had to test it multiple times and make lots of adjustments to improve the design. Overall, I thought it was a really great experience, however, it would have been even better if we had more time to test and improve the cars.

Y10:

I really enjoyed how immersive the talk was and how it gave good ideas. In 3 words the event was innovative, exciting and scientific. Thank you for a great lesson!

Y9:

I enjoyed working in teams to make the car. The talk was very good.

Y13:

I enjoyed the engaging and witty speech the most.

Y11:

I enjoyed trying to solve problems with the resources I'm given

FAMELAB ACADEMY

School Finals

This year our Year 9 students embraced the challenge of the Cheltenham Science Festival's FameLab Academy, a science communication competition designed to ignite their passion for STEM. Every student presented a topic of their choice to their class, resulting in a fascinating array of presentations, from the prehistoric depths of megalodon to the physics of time travel, the chemistry of makeup, and even the science behind the 5-second rule! Judging based on content, clarity, and charisma was a tough task, but class winners earned their place in the School final.These finalists stepped up to the challenge, delivering threeminute speeches on stage to the entire year group (who provided enthusiastic support!), a panel of judges (Mrs. Hargraves, Mrs. John, and our FLA mentor, Amy), and answering tough questions. The topics were as diverse as they were engaging: "How does paint dry?", "What if the oceans were made of oobleck?", and "What if the Earth stopped spinning?". The quality of the speeches and the impressive public speaking skills on display were truly inspiring. The support and respect shown by the whole year group made the event even more special.

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Congratulations to all our finalists: Joshua, Jack, Emilie, Calvin, Tabby, Noah, Joey, Reuben, and Jamie. A special well done to Oliver, whose captivating presentation on zombies earned him the runner-up title

Our overall winner was Sahara, for her fascinating speech on fungi! FameLab Academy Gloucestershire Final - Congratulations Sahara!

In March, Sahara represented The Crypt School at the prestigious Gloucestershire final, held at the Roses Theatre in Tewkesbury. Our School finalists, Miss Hall and Mr. Boon, were also present to offer their unwavering support and cheer Sahara on. Their presence highlighted the strong sense of community and encouragement that defines our school. Facing a large audience and a panel of expert judges, Sahara delivered a captivating presentation on "The Wonderful but Horrifying World of Fungi." She was scored according to the 3 C's of FameLab: content, clarity, and charisma, all of which she had heaps of. Her clear delivery, enthusiasm, and deliciously gruesome descriptions captivated the audience, demonstrating her exceptional talent for science communication. Sahara performed so brilliantly, and we are thrilled to announce that she came runner-up (joint second place) winning vouchers and books amongst other things. We are so proud of her achievements.

We are incredibly proud of Sahara and all our Year 9 students for their participation in FameLab Academy. This experience has not only enhanced their communication skills but also fostered a deeper appreciation for the wonders of science. We look forward to seeing their continued passion for STEM in the future!

LEGO ROBOTICS

Lego robotics club started in September with all students in years 7 and 8 welcome to attend on Friday lunchtimes. Twelve groups began by sorting out the boxes of lego, sensors and motors. We began with a simple drive base build, coding the robot to move forwards, backwards and turn in a circle. Each week, the tasks become more challenging, including gearing for speed and for hill climbing, using a colour sensor to follow a line around a challenge mat and moving small items from one place to another. Students have enjoyed working in teams, learning new design, building and coding skills and they have also set themselves new challenges and competitions.

Year 12 students also had the opportunity to take part in Lego robotics as part of the Wednesday afternoon enrichment programme. Students followed a similar process to the younger students, learning to design, build and code through a series of small challenges. One team developed a speed robot, whilst another designed a robot that could move rubbish to a recycling centre.

SAFRAN STEM DAY

On Thursday 28th November, 60 Year 9 students were nominated by their Science teachers to take part in a STEM workshop hosted by STEMworks and Safran. First, they learned about the products designed, tested and built by engineers at Safran, and how engineers can influence the world around them.

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Next, the teams of four students completed a practice challenge. The made paper rockets that could be fired using compressed air. They investigated how the angle of release and the pressure of the compressed air affected the distance the rocket would travel, and they experimented with different design features.

The main challenge was then introduced; the teams were tasked with designing, building and testing a vehicle that could safely transport a cargo as far as possible across the Hall. They were given a budget and had to purchase all the raw materials, with marks awarded for low overall cost. They also had to consider the sustainability of the materials chosen and their environmental impact. There were many innovative designs, which the teams presented to the whole group, before a final test where the vehicles were fired from the compressed air cannon and their distance travelled was measured. Students learned a lot about design, manufacture and testing, as well as the importance of good teamwork.

The top four teams were separated by just four points!

Well done to the overall winners, Ben, Billy, Jasper and Josh, whose score was highest across the categories of design, presentation and distance travelled.

Thank you to Rob and Femi for organising a brilliant day for us.

GE AEROSPACE RETHINK DAYS

Throughout the year, our students from Years 7, 10 and 12 have attended RETHINK days at GE Aerospace in Cheltenham. The events are designed to inspire students, particularly those who have backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in STEM careers, to learn more about what it is like to work in engineering.

Year 7 students worked in groups with pupils from other local schools and rotated around three activities. They took part in a tower-building challenge and had to unlock clues to progress with the task. The flight simulator was a hit, with students working in pairs to land their plane on a challenging air strip in the mountains. They also programmed a snake game using Python, with one of our students achieving the top score of the day. Throughout the tasks, students were supported by engineers that work at GE Aerospace and learned about their roles.

Year 10 were tasked with designing, building and testing a wind turbine, working in teams with students from other schools. They had to make decisions under pressure, taking financial, practical and time constraints into account. They also heard from a guest speaker who is a lead engineer at GE Aerospace and learned how his careers has progressed as he moved from the armed forces into the aerospace industry.

Our Year 12 students had the opportunity to meet engineers and ask questions about their career paths, learning about the different ways to get into engineering, from apprenticeships to university. They also had a CV workshop, gaining skills that will help them with applications for jobs, apprenticeships and university courses. Finally, they worked in teams to build the tallest tower using limited materials. A few of our female students also benefitted from a Women in STEM Early Careers conference hosted by GE Aerospace where they heard from talented women working within the aerospace industry.

MIRA SHOWERS SUSTAINABILITY INTER - SCHOOLS COMPETITION

Two teams of Year 9 students entered the Mira Showers Inter-School Sustainability Competition. They were tasked with finding a solution to the problem of wasted spare and used parts of old showers. They researched various solutions and designed a product that could be built with the unwanted parts.

Georgia, Tabitha and Phoebe created the 'Hydrosal' which can de-salinate sea water to tackle the problem of water scarcity.

Emilie, Klara and Holly invented the 'Shower Sprout', a product that harnesses water vapour from the atmosphere to enable plants to grow.

Both teams worked with their mentor from Mira Showers to follow a thorough planning process, producing a presentation to summarise their research, planning and final design. With a short deadline, the students needed to work effectively as a team.

From all of the schools that entered, the Crypt teams were awarded two out of the three places in the final.

The final was held on 5th June at the Cheltenham Science Festival. Both teams were outstanding – the audience of parents, teachers, other participants and staff from Mira Showers were blown away by the standard of the presentations from all three finalist teams. Our two Crypt teams were confident and professional; they had designed innovative products and could explain the choices of materials and parts very clearly. HydroSal (Tabitha, Phoebe and Georgia) designed the SalAway, a desalination device for use in areas experiencing water scarcity. Shower Sprout (Emilie, Klara and Holly) invented a dehumidifying device which captures the water from a house and harnesses it to water plants. Both teams had sustainability and environmental concerns at the heart of their designs. The judges were impressed with their creativity and attention to detail. After a lengthy deliberation, the judges announced that HydroSal were the overall winners. The team members were awarded Amazon vouchers and vouchers to attend the Cheltenham Science Festival, as well as £1000 for the Crypt Science Department.

Well done to all of the students who took part, and particularly Tabitha, Phoebe and Georgia.

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Politics

–

James Higgs

Government & Politics students (and teachers) have enjoyed, researched, and analysed the various political earthquakes seen this year, including elections in both the UK & USA. These events mean that politics remains a very live subject, updating our understanding of how are political systems work. A brand new opportunity for 8 Y12 politics students was the Crypt’s inaugural entry into the South West regional competition of the 2025 European Youth Parliament. Although students were they were nervous, their preparations made sure that they were well placed. Each school was given a position to defend, and then other students would offer alternative proposals and questions. At the end of each round students voted to pass or reject a resolution. Unfortunately our students’ proposal on reducing youth crime and delinquency was rejected. Although we didn’t progress through to the national competition, we should give a big well done to Dylan, Lucy, Sanjeevani, Harry, Joseph, Liam, Daniel & Hugh!

Our biennial VI form trip to Westminster will be back next year, where students will have a tour of Westminster Palace, visit the UK Supreme Court, and hopefully get a Q&A session with their local MP. Finally, the department is pleased to see a record number of students choosing to study Politics & International Relations at university, indicating a rich interest in the subject.

Maths solution

When m = 45 and n = 70 m + n = 115. No higher total can be found.

School Library – Debbie Jordan

Bookbuzz

We welcomed the new year 7 into our school and the library by offering them a free book through the Bookbuzz programme.

All students in Year 7 were given the opportunity to choose their own book to take home and keep from a list of 16 titles, all of which have been carefully selected by a panel of experts to ensure quality and suitability.

Bookbuzz is a reading programme from the Book Trust, which supports schools to encourage reading for pleasure and develop a whole school reading culture.

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Throughout October a Halloween Quiz was run, which consisted of questions relating to fictional characters and books in the horror genre. We had over 50 students taking part who all received merits.

Congratulations to – Isabel 8JC for winning the black chocolate rose and a book of her choice.

Runners up – Emilie 9WEH

- Jackson 7JC who wins a magnetic bookmark and some sweets.

Harry Potter Day

The most popular title with the students ‘Murder at Snowfall’ by Fleur Hitchcock, perfect for those who love an atmospheric and intriguing murder mystery.

We had a very enjoyable Harry Potter Book Day Quiz on 17th October. Over 70 students took part in this global annual event. Lots of chocolate frogs, cheering and waving of wands happening throughout the evening.

Raising our wands in remembrance of Maggie Smith

– Professor McGonagall

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Year 13 deep in thought, trying to work out the answers

The winners of the fancy dress competition –

1

st place – Dobby

Runners up Hagrid and Bellatrix Lestrange

Celebrating the magical evening, enjoying the quiz having a great time.

The winners, showing their magical knowledge were –

1st – The Potion Master and his Friends

2nd – Griffinhawk

3rd – Spew

Congratulations to Amelie 7WEH for guessing the nearest number of jellybeans in our sweet jar.

The amount was 575 Amelie guessed 573.

The wonderful kitchen staff helped with the pizzas, enjoyed by many – possibly helping brain power for the questions.

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Mrs. Perkins and the CSPTA helped in marking the quiz questions and serving refreshments throughout the event.

Library developments

Professor Slughorn (Mr. Bowen) did amazing tricks enthralling the students at half time.

Here’s to a magical year and next October we will do it all over again.

Over the year we have had quizzes, Christmas, author and genre based. All the students who took part all received merits and a prize was awarded to a winner drawn from all the correct entries.

In the library we have displays for students to browse through and encourage them to perhaps take a book with a different genre they usually read. On of our displays was a collection of books written by lots of different authors and a variety of genres which all have a green cover.

This proved to be popular with students having a good look at the display and choosing something different.

We also have many displays for events throughout the year. This was to mark the Holocaust Memorial Day on 27thJanuary. The date is the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. The day is to commemorate the millions of people murdered through the Nazi persecution and other groups in more recent genocides recognised by the UK government, along with the genocide in Darfur.

This year we ran the Readathon with the year 7 students. This encourages pupils to read for pleasure whilst being sponsored to help get books for children in hospital. We ran the event for 4 weeks. I am very pleased to say that they managed to raise £316.00 for the Read for Good charity.

The library received free books and book vouchers which are being used for quiz prizes. The Read for Good Programme provides a regular supply of brand-new books along with storyteller visits to brighten up the days of children in all the UK’s main children’s hospitals.

The students were sent a video message to say thank you from Read for Good which they will see in their English lesson.

https://vimeo.com/851288632/03aae5f07b?share=copy

In January we started a games club at lunchtime on Fridays in the library. This is a chance to enjoy a board game like chess or card game like Uno in the library to start the student’s weekend.

The students can still come to the library to read and choose new books. This is proving to be very popular with students enjoying the opportunity to have a relaxing lunch break before the end of their week.

World Book Day

World Book Day was Thursday 6th March. The whole school had events throughout the week. The year 7 and 8 students received a book token to collect a free book from a book shop. Year 7 will be receiving a free book – This Story is a Lie by Benjamin Dean as well as their book token. Quizzes are being run for Year 7 to 9,

Year 10 and 11, Yr 12 and 13 plus staff. All students who took part received merits; first prize was a £10 book token for each quiz. Runners up received a free book.On Thursday it was the dressing up day for Y7 and 8. Lots of different character costumes were walking around the school. The tutor groups were judged by Mr Bowen – Head of Year 7 and Miss Searle – Head of Year 8. The winning tutor group received a sweet treat.

The winning tutor group for year 7 was 7WEH and for year 8 was 8DW. Well done everyone, having the crocodile from Peter Pan (Hunter 8DW) come to visit me in the library was a real treat. The quizzes got the students thinking and I am pleased to announce that

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Word of the week

Lily 7JC won the £10 book token along with Esther 8JC and Amelie 7WEH who were runners up and will receive a free book.

The sixth form/staff quiz was won by Joe 13CM by naming all the book covers correctly. All other students who took part received a sweet treat.

In the library we also have displays of authors who celebrate their birthdays in the month we are in. The display has some interesting facts about the authors lives and interests along with some of the books they have written.

Every week we have The Word of the week this is displayed on the notice board in the English corridor and in the library. It also goes on the Daily News announcements for all tutor groups. The students just need to use the word in their work. They come to show me and receive merits plus a sweet treat. I have a few years 7 and 8 students who do this most weeks.

British Science Week

To celebrate celebrating British Science Week we had a display of fiction and non-fiction books along with running a quiz. The Winner of the quiz was Vihaan 7JM who received a copy of Space by Tim Peake. Runners up were Sophie 7WEH and Lily 7JC who received a science book. Congratulations to everyone. Everyone who took part received merits.

Carnegie Medal

We have been running the Carnegie Medal shadowing awards this year. This is a shadowing group of students who read the nominated books for the medal. The students read the books and put a review on the Carnegie site. The winners were announced 19th June –Glasgow Boys won the Carnegie Medal for writing whilst King of Nothing was the Shadower’s choice. Well done everyone who took part. We will run the event again next year.

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Easter

activities

Leading up to the Easter break the students hunting were around the school trying to find a chick in a yellow easter egg picture – once found they returned it to me in the library to receive their prize which was an Easter Egg.

More Harry Potter fun!

Lots of students were asking the staff for clues – which of course no one knew except me. There were ten to be found thoughout the week.

After the Easter break we held a be William Shakespeare quiz to celebrate his birthday, which was over the break.

Congraulations to Leo from 7RR, who received a book voucher. Once again all students who took part received merits.

On Friday 2nd May it was Harry Potter Celebration Day. This day commemorates the Battle of Hogwarts, where Harry Potter and his allies defeated Lord Voldemort, which occurred on May 2nd 1998 in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

A quiz was held in the library, which attracted Harry Potter fans from all year groups. Our year 13’s wanted to be involved – their last event before the leave for study leave and their A levels.

We had a tie so 2 prizes were awarded, well done to the winners – all who took part received a Freddo chocolate frog.

New additions

We have a wide selection of Upper School now in the library, plus Sixth Form books on the balcony, Sixth Form/Staff library. The area is a very welcoming space, and it is used by upper school and sixth form students to study. Here are some new fiction titles which can be found on the balcony.

Billy Merrell – Vanilla

Written in verse, two teenage boys who have been dating since they were twelve find their relationship strained as they both begin to want different things from life as they get older. This is in the Upper School section of our main library.

Michel Faber – The Book of Strange New Things

‘I am with you always, even unto the end of the world ...’ Peter Leigh is a missionary called to go on the journey of a lifetime. Leaving behind his beloved wife, Bea, Peter sets out on a quest to take the word of God to the farthest corners of the galaxy. His mission will challenge everything - his faith, his endurance and the love that can hold two people together, even when they are worlds apart. Can be found in the Sixth form library on the balcony

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Victoria Aveyard - The Red Queen

Dystopia/fantasy mashup invokes many well-trod YA tropes, but unsophisticated plotting and characterisation gets tiresome. Media hype should attract issues though. In a society split into ruling and serving class by blood colour, a poor red girl finds herself in the world of the ruling Silvers where she discovers she has magical abilities thought only the Silvers possessed.

Student opportunities

Throughout the year we have student librarians who help with shelving and processing books. We also of Duke of Edinburgh students volunteer in the library to help achieve their awards. Thank you to you all.

Going forward

Upcoming Events:

I am constantly keeping my eyes open for new book titles for the library and ask students for recommendations. Students who read book series are always eager to let me know when a new book is due to be released. One of our very popular series is The Hunger Games, I am pleased to say that the latest in the series Sunrise of the Reaping is on our bookshelves!

“Collins is an excellent writer, and there are moments of surprising lyricism. Sunrise on the Reaping contains enough both to snare new readers and to satisfy the most bloodthirsty fan” - Guardian.

• Reaping Day event on 4 th July in the library, with a Hunger

• Games Quiz.

• Carnegie results event.

• Librarian Training

…and much more!

C AREERS

Careers insight talks – Chris Germaine

As part of our ongoing Careers Programme at The Crypt School, we continue to offer our students a rich and varied series of over 25 Careers Insight Talks throughout the summer term designed to broaden horizons, spark curiosity, and inspire future pathways.

In our second week, students heard from Tom Goode, a Production Manager working locally in Lydney, who shared insight into manufacturing and operational leadership. We also welcomed back Sam Dean, a recent Crypt alumnus currently completing a degree apprenticeship in project management with Ward Williams Associates. Sam’s talk gave a real-world perspective on balancing academic learning with industry experience.

Sam undertook his Year 12 work experience at Ward Williams Associates, where he made a lasting impression. So much so, they offered him a job, where he is thriving.

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Another former student, Aaron Hegadus, joined us virtually from Budapest, where he works as a software engineer. His journey from top A-level results at The Crypt, to studying

Mathematics at Oxford, to now working in Europe’s tech sector, was a powerful reminder of how the foundations laid at school can open doors globally.

“A very insightful talk that highlighted the pathway from education into software engineering.” Year 12 student.

We also had the privilege of hearing from Dr Caroline Lovell, Head of Research for the National Police Chiefs’ Council. Dr Lovell spoke compellingly about the fast-paced developments in science and technology within the police force and the exciting, often unexpected, career opportunities this creates.

These talks remind us of the importance of keeping an open mind when it comes to careers. Pathways are rarely linear, and exploring a range of industries and professions helps our students make informed choices. We encourage all students to continue researching options thoroughly, ask questions, and consider how their skills and interests might align with evolving opportunities in the world of work.

“Week 2 of our Careers Insight Talks has showcased the breadth of opportunity open to our students from local industry to international tech, and from policing to project management. It’s been a fantastic reminder of the importance of keeping options open and being curious about where your strengths can take you.”

C HARITY FUNDRAISING

Big Space Cancer Appeal – Lions at Large

Nick Dyer writes: This year the Gloucester and Cheltenham Hospitals trust launched a new fundraising appeal – The Big Space Cancer Appeal – to raise money for a new Cancer Centre to be based at Cheltenham General Hospital

A focal point of the fundraising effort is a ‘Lions at

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Large’ Art Sculpture

trail this summer, which will see specially commissioned and sponsored Lion sculptures installed across the Gloucester and Cheltenham area, which visitors can view and follow, encouraging people to walk and visit the area, whilst raising money for the appeal. The School decided to get involved, by sponsoring one of the Little Lions. In March, Mrs Hargraves collected our lion and a group of talented Year 10 art students, Adelina, Clara, Nadia, Sparsha, Lucy and Holly, under the guidance of Mrs Medcroft, designed and painting our Crypt Lion.

The design featured elements of the natural world that represent sources of support, care and courage. It is a beautiful, reflective and inspiring design and we look forward to seeing our own Crypt decorated Lion on display in the city this summer in Gloucester Cathedral. Thank you to those Y10 students and Mrs Medcroft for the time and creativity they have devoted to this special project. Through the generosity of students, families at home and of staff I was delighted to learn that the school had raised over £4000 to go towards this wonderful cause Over £1000 was raised through the raffle for the Fortnum and Mason Hamper so kindly donated to the school by parents Alistair Lomax and Suzanne Aspden. This new cancer centre will provide that much needed space, privacy and support that our county's cancer patients and their families really do need. What a wonderful project to be part of

Pie the teacher!

On Friday 27th, the student executive team ran a ‘Pie the Teacher’ event in support of Sunflowers Suicide Support charity based in Stonehouse. The charity offers a range of trauma-informed interventions, catering to the needs of children, young people and adults bereaved and affected by suicide. With a turn out of 35+ staff, many of our pupils enjoyed partaking in the event as well as donating to the charity, in total fundraising £880. Members of the senior leadership team also participated as you can see from the before and after photos of Mr Dyer, Mr Stanlake and Mr Biggs!

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Harvest Foodbank Collection

As a school we were asked to collect tinned fruit to donate to the foodbank. Students responded to the call and placed the cans they had brought in on the Crush Hall table.

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The

S PECIAL EVENTS

Multicultural Day: A Celebration of Community and Culture

On Wednesday 30th April, The Crypt School came alive with colour, energy, and celebration as students and staff took part in our annual Multicultural Day a vibrant and enriching experience that showcased the many cultures, identities, and traditions that make up our school community. The event was a joyful reflection of the diversity we value.

The day was packed with engaging activities, from a Global Food Showcase and African drumming workshops, to Scottish dancing, Henna art, and a session exploring Gloucestershire’s farming and rugby heritage. Throughout the school, students proudly expressed their identities by wearing traditional dress, cultural clothing, or sports kits that reflected their backgrounds or heritage.

In the library, displays of global literature invited students to explore stories from a range of perspectives. In Food, students had the opportunity to cook and share dishes, including samosas, as part of a culinary journey through different cuisines.

Even our Train Club contributed to the celebration by looking at the significance of trains in various countries around the world.

As part of the celebrations, the school canteen joined in by serving a special themed menu for the day, offering a delicious selection of dishes inspired by global cuisines. The menu gave students the chance to experience and enjoy new flavours while highlighting the role food plays in bringing people together across cultures

What made the day particularly special was the atmosphere of curiosity, kindness, and mutual respect. Students embraced the chance to learn about each other’s backgrounds and experiences, reflecting the values at the heart of our school: Integrity, Kindness, Pride, Respect, and Responsibility.

• Integrity in being proud of who we are and respectful of who others are.

• Kindness in showing interest and appreciation for cultures different from our own.

• Pride in celebrating our heritage and encouraging others to do the same.

• Respect in how we listened, learned, and participated.

• Responsibility in creating a welcoming, inclusive space for everyone.

Multicultural Day was more than just a fun and engaging event it was a powerful reminder of the importance of belonging, diversity, and shared goals. We are incredibly proud of our students for the enthusiasm, maturity, and openness they brought to the day, and we are deeply grateful to staff, families, and the wider school community for their continued encouragement and support.

As a school committed to ensuring that all students flourish, we believe events like this don’t just celebrate who we are they shape who we become. They help young people grow into compassionate, informed global citizens ready to thrive in an interconnected world.

Community Iftar – Oliver Antonious

We are thrilled to share the success of our recent Community Iftar, held on Thursday 13th March 2025. It was a truly special evening that reflected our school vision of ensuring that all our Cryptians flourish, as our school community came together to celebrate Ramadan.

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The enthusiasm and support from students, parents/carers, and staff were heartwarming, and it was fantastic to see such a diverse gathering embracing this significant occasion. The event provided a unique opportunity for everyone, regardless of faith, to experience the meaning and spirit of Ramadan alongside our Muslim Cryptians.

As the sun set at 18:13, we collectively broke fast, sharing delicious food and meaningful conversations. A huge thank you to everyone who contributed to the feast, whether by bringing a dish, helping with the setup, or simply attending and making the event so memorable. Your kindness and generosity truly embodied the spirit of community.

The evening was a testament to our values of kindness, pride, and respect that we uphold at The Crypt School. We hope this will be the first of many such gatherings that foster a sense of belonging and understanding within our community.

Thank you once again to all who participated and made the event such a success. We look forward to more opportunities to come together and celebrate the diversity that makes our school so special.

Neurodiversity Celebration Week

This week was dedicated to recognising and celebrating the diverse ways in which our brains function. Neurodiversity encompasses a range of neurological differences, including ADHD, autism, dyslexia, and more. Our school planned a series of engaging activities and events to promote understanding, inclusion, and support for all students.

Programme of Events

Monday 17th: Tutors Resource activities

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Tuesday 18th:

Neurodiversity Celebration Week Assembly

We had a special assembly where we celebrated neurodiversity and heard inspiring stories from individuals who embrace their unique neurological differences.

At lunchtime Bee and Sammy from @inclusiongloucestershire spoke to a packed room of students about neurodiversity, how brains works and how this impacts their daily lives.

Inclusion Gloucestershire Talk

Inclusion Gloucestershire gave a talk, providing valuable insights into neurodiversity and how we can create a more inclusive environment.

Wednesday 19th: ADHD Presentation

This session offered practical strategies for supporting students with ADHD.

Thursday 20th: Staff Drop-in Session

This was a great opportunity for staff to ask questions and share experiences.

Friday 21st: Non-School Uniform Day

Students wore non-school uniform to raise money for Inclusion Gloucestershire. We showed our support by dressing down and donating generously!

Friday

21st: Break Time Cake Sale in the Crush Hall

We enjoyed delicious cakes during break time in the Crush Hall. All proceeds went to Inclusion Gloucestershire, supporting their efforts to promote inclusion and neurodiversity.

Why

Celebrate Neurodiversity?

Neurodiversity Celebration Week was an opportunity to acknowledge and appreciate the unique strengths and perspectives that neurodiverse individuals bring to our community. By fostering an inclusive environment, we ensured that everyone felt valued and supported. We came together to learn, share, and celebrate the beauty of neurodiversity!

Thank you to everyone who participated and made this week a memorable celebration of inclusion and diversity.

Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme – Oliver Antonious

DofE Gold Cake Sale

DofE Gold Students Raise Over £100 in Bake Sale.

On Friday 28th February, the DofE Gold students held a bake sale during breaktime, raising an impressive £100 to support their upcoming expedition.

The event was a fantastic success, with a wide variety of homemade treats available for students and staff to enjoy. The dedication and effort put into baking and organising the sale paid off, as the funds raised will contribute towards the costs for their DofE Gold expedition.

A huge well done to everyone involved, and thank you to those who supported the event by purchasing and donating. The students are now one step closer to their expedition, and their hard work and teamwork reflect the true spirit of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.

Best of luck to the DofE Gold team on their journey!

Bronze DofE Training Day – Preparing for the Adventure!

On Saturday 15th March 2025, our Bronze Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) students took part in an important training day at school, getting ready for their upcoming expedition. The session was designed to equip them with the knowledge and skills they’ll need to succeed on their journey.

Throughout the day, students covered key aspects of expedition preparation, including essential kit. They discussed what items the school will provide, what they might already own, and options for borrowing or purchasing any remaining equipment.

Another crucial part of the training was planning expedition meals. Working in teams, students designed a menu that would be practical, nutritious, and suitable for everyone in their group. They carefully considered the need for lightweight, easy-to-cook food while making sure they had enough energy for their trek.

The session also provided a great opportunity for students to ask any questions they had about the expedition. From route planning to campsite expectations, every query was answered, helping to boost confidence and excitement for the challenge ahead.

With their training day complete, our Bronze DofE participants are now one step closer to their adventure. We look forward to seeing them put their skills into action on the training weekend!

Silver DofE Training Day – Preparing for

any future challenges!

On Sunday 16th of March 2025, our Silver Duke of Edinburgh students embarked on an exciting training session in preparation for their Expedition! The day was packed with hands-on learning, as they delved into life-saving first aid techniques. Students learned how to properly assist someone in the recovery position, practiced performing CPR, and got a feel for using a defibrillator.

It was an action-packed day, full of energy and team spirit, with everyone stepping up to learn essential skills that could make all the difference in an emergency. We're thrilled with how engaged the students were and how these important skills are helping them build confidence and leadership as they gear up for their expedition adventure!

Looking ahead, these skills will not only prepare them for any unexpected situations during their expedition but will also stay with them long after. We’re incredibly proud of the determination and focus they’ve shown.

Celebrating Our Adventurous Students and Honouring Mrs Peake

On Thursday 22nd March, our school hall was filled with excitement and pride as three groups of students who undertook their expedition in July 2024 in Scotland shared their experiences. These intrepid explorers navigated the stunning Great Glen Canoe Trail along the Caledonian Canal, Loch Ness and other waterways and their presentations to parents, carers, and staff were nothing short of inspiring.

Each group recounted their journey, highlighting the challenges they faced, the teamwork they displayed, and the breathtaking landscapes they encountered. Their stories were a testament to their resilience and the invaluable life skills they gained through this adventure.

The evening was also a special occasion to honour Mrs Peake, who will be retiring in April. Mrs Peake has been the cornerstone of our Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, guiding countless students over the years. Her dedication and leadership have left an indelible mark on our school community.

Mrs Peake has instigated the Peake Award, which recognises a student each year who has completed their bronze, silver, and gold awards. This year, Mrs Peake awarded it to two deserving students - Eva and George. The award will be officially presented at the prize-giving ceremony in September.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to Mrs Peake for her unwavering commitment and wish her all the best in her retirement. Her legacy will continue to inspire future generations of students to embark on their own journeys of discovery and growth.

Following the evening's presentations five of our Y13 students have now completed their Gold DofE Awards - Eva, George, Poppy, Will and Max. Congratulations to them all, we hope you get your invitations to the award ceremony at Buckingham Palace soon!

Thank you to everyone who attended and supported our students. Your encouragement and enthusiasm make all the difference.

Duke of Edinburgh Silver Training Day: Teamwork and Skill - Building at Twyning Meadow

We are thrilled to share the highlights from our recent Duke of Edinburgh Silver training day, held at the picturesque Twyning Meadow. The day was packed with exciting activities designed to enhance our students' navigation, teamwork, and paddling skills, all while immersing them in the beautiful outdoors.

Paddlesport Start Course: Learning to Paddle as a Team

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The day began with a focus on paddling as students participated in a Paddlesport Start course. In teams, they navigated their canoes on the water, learning key skills such as paddling techniques, boat control, and teamwork. The course was tailored to help students build their confidence on the water, ensuring they felt equipped with the skills necessary to navigate safely and effectively. Students worked closely together, learning how to communicate and coordinate their movements to keep their canoes steady and on course.

Navigation Refresher: Mastering the Map and Compass

On land, students took part in a navigation refresher, where they revisited and refined their map and compass skills. The challenging terrain of Twyning Meadow provided the perfect environment for students to brush up on their navigation techniques and put them into practice. The exercises helped students gain confidence in their ability to plan routes, identify landmarks, and adjust their course as needed. This refresher session was key to ensuring that everyone felt fully prepared for the more complex navigation challenges ahead.

Teamwork, Leadership, and Communication

Throughout the day, teamwork remained a key focus. Whether in the canoes or out on the trails, students learned the importance of clear communication, mutual support, and shared responsibility. These lessons will not only serve them in the context of their Duke of Edinburgh award but are also valuable life skills. As they navigated both the waters and the land, students strengthened their leadership abilities and collaborated effectively to overcome challenges.

Looking Ahead

The skills and knowledge gained at Twyning Meadow will be invaluable as our students continue their journey towards completing the Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award. With more adventures, training days, and challenges ahead, we are excited to see how these experiences help our students grow, build resilience, and prepare for their final expedition.

Thank you to all of the students for their dedication and enthusiasm, and to the staff who helped make this day a success. We look forward to the next stages of the Duke of Edinburgh Silver journey!

Duke of Edinburgh’s Award: Practice Expedition Success

Over the Bank Holiday weekend, our Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s Award participants embarked on their practice walking expedition in the stunning Black Mountains near Abergavenny. Setting off on Friday 2nd May, students were dropped off at the Sugar

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Loaf Car Park, where they met with instructors, completed kit checks, reviewed their planned routes, and began their first supervised hike of the weekend.

That evening, the teams camped at Pyscodlyn Farm, where they demonstrated great teamwork and independence by pitching their hiking tents and cooking a well-earned evening meal on Trangia stoves under supervision.

On Saturday 3rd May, after a hearty breakfast and breaking camp, students continued their journey on a remotely supervised route through the local landscape. They tackled challenging terrain, navigated successfully, and worked exceptionally well together. The second night was spent at Pyscodlyn Farm, where students once again cooked for themselves and reflected on the day's achievements.

The expedition concluded on Sunday 4th May with a final hike to Llanfoist Crossing Car Park, where parents and carers arrived at 4:30 PM to collect some tired but proud young people. Throughout the weekend, students showed resilience, determination, and growing confidence in their expedition skills all key qualities at the heart of the DofE programme.

A huge well done to all involved, and thank you to our dedicated instructors and staff who made the weekend such a valuable learning experience.

Bronze DofE Practice Expedition: A Weekend of Adventure and Growth

On the weekend of 10th–11th May 2025, our Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s Award participants took part in their eagerly anticipated practice expedition across the beautiful Gloucestershire countryside.

The expedition began on Saturday morning with a staggered drop-off at Selsley Common and Leonard Stanley. From there, teams embarked on a supervised hike, guided by instructors who provided training and support along the way. The route led students through scenic landscapes to their respective campsites: Penn Wood Scout Camp and Woodchester Park.

Once at camp, students set up their hiking tents and prepared their evening meals using Trangia stoves, gaining valuable experience in outdoor cooking and campcraft. The atmosphere was one of camaraderie, determination, and growing confidence as participants settled in for a wellearned rest under the stars.On Sunday morning, after cooking breakfast and packing up, the teams completed a remotely supervised hike back toward the finish. Along the way, they demonstrated developing navigation skills, teamwork, and resilience. The expedition concluded with a staggered pick-up between 3:30 and 4:15 PM at Selsley Common and Leonard Stanley, where proud parents and carers welcomed back their adventurers.

A final debrief with instructors allowed students to reflect on their experiences, strengths, and areas for development ahead of their assessed expedition.

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Well done to all participants for their fantastic effort and positive attitude throughout the weekend and a huge thank you to the staff and volunteers who made this memorable experience possible.

Bronze DofE Qualifying Expedition: 7 th - 8 th June 2025

Over the weekend, students from The Crypt School successfully completed their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s Award qualifying expedition, marking a major milestone in their DofE journey. Supported by the experienced team at Live Life Adventure (LLA), participants demonstrated resilience, teamwork, and independence across two challenging but rewarding days.

Following their earlier training expedition, students were well-prepared refining their packing, improving their navigation, and adjusting to the demands of carrying all their own equipment over two days of walking. Groups set off from either Winchcombe School or Sudeley Castle, with staggered drop-off and collection times to keep things running smoothly. Each team navigated a route they had helped plan, carrying full rucksacks that included tents, food, cooking equipment, and personal kit. At camp, they set up their tents and cooked meals from scratch. Despite some mixed weather, students approached the challenge with determination and enthusiasm.

On Sunday afternoon, after completing the second leg of their walk, each team took part in a 30-minute debrief with their assessor to reflect on what they had learned and how they worked together. The assessors praised the students’ navigation skills, team spirit, and maturity throughout the weekend.

One Year 9 participant reflected:

“It was definitely hard at times, especially carrying everything and keeping up with the route, but it felt amazing to finish it as a team. We laughed a lot and learned loads – I’d definitely do it again!”

Thanks to the commitment of students, the support of Live Life Adventure, and the behindthe-scenes organisation from school staff and volunteers, the weekend ran smoothly and safely. A big thank you to all involved.

Well done to all students who completed the expedition you should be very proud of this achievement. We look forward to seeing many of you continue onto Silver and beyond!

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Silver DofE Practice Expedition on the River Wye

Silver DofE Groups Complete Memorable Canoe Practice Expedition on the River Wye

On the 16-18th of May several groups of Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s Award participants took on a three-day canoeing expedition along the River Wye, paddling from Whitney-on-Wye all the way to Hereford Rowing Club. The adventure covered more than 40km and gave everyone a chance to learn new skills, grow as a team, and enjoy the outdoors.

The expedition started with a focus on teamwork and safety. Before getting on the water, the groups spent time practicing paddling techniques and learning how to help each other in the event of a capsize. These rescue skills gave everyone a boost of confidence and set a positive tone for the trip.

Once the training was complete, the teams set off down the river. Day one offered calm conditions and some beautiful scenery rolling fields, wooded banks, and plenty of wildlife. It was the perfect setting to settle into the rhythm of paddling and begin working together as a group.

Day two brought more of a challenge. Stronger winds and faster-flowing sections of river meant communication and teamwork were more important than ever. There were a few wobbles and even a capsize or two, but every group handled the day with determination and good humour. That evening, they set up camp near Preston-on-Wye, cooked their own meals, and shared stories from the day around the fire.

By the third day, it was clear how much each group had grown. Paddling felt smoother, navigation was sharper, and the teamwork was second nature. Spirits were high as the finish line approached. When the teams spotted the spire of Hereford Cathedral in the distance, the sense of achievement kicked in and they powered through the final stretch to reach Hereford Rowing Club.

It was a brilliant few days on the river. Everyone showed great resilience, supported each other through tough moments, and made memories that will stick with them for a long time. The practice expedition was more than just a physical challenge it was a chance to build confidence, independence, and friendships.

Well done to all the participants on completing your Silver practice expedition you should be really proud!

Golds at Buckingham Palace

On Friday 11th May our most dedicated adventurers swapped walking boots for best dress as they attended the national Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award celebration at Buckingham Palace.

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•Eight Year 13 students made the journey straight after their final morning in school.

•They were joined by three alumni who completed their awards two years ago and returned to share the moment with friends and staff.

The highlight came when Green Team were invited to chat with HRH Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, who congratulated them on their commitment and asked about their most testing expedition moments.

Standing among hundreds of other Gold Award holders in the Palace gardens, our students reflected on the years of volunteering, skills, physical challenges, and expeditions that led to this point. The occasion was a fitting tribute to their resilience, teamwork and leadership qualities they will carry into life beyond The Crypt. Congratulations to every one of our Gold recipients. You have set a shining example for younger year groups and shown what can be achieved through perseverance and adventurous spirit. We could not be prouder!

Glorious Sunshine and Golden Effort: DofE Gold Practice Expedition

Over the weekend of Friday 20th to Sunday 22nd June 2025, a group of determined and enthusiastic Year 12 students took part in their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Gold Practice Expedition and they couldn’t have asked for better weather.

With the sun shining brightly across Herefordshire and the Wye Valley, teams gathered at Hereford Rowing Club on Friday morning to meet their instructors and carry out final kit and route checks. Spirits were high, sunscreen was applied generously, and the teams launched confidently into their guided canoe journey down the River Wye to the first night’s stop.

Arriving at Tresseck Campsite in Hoarwithy, the students pitched their tents and embraced the true DofE experience cooking dinner over Trangia stoves under a blazing blue sky. With barely a cloud in sight, the evening was a perfect setting for some team bonding and a well-earned rest.

Saturday brought another glorious day, and after breakfast, the groups set off again on their paddle toward Ross-on-Wye Rowing Club. With instructors offering remote supervision, participants were encouraged to take more responsibility for their navigation and teamwork. The warm sunshine accompanied them throughout, and the sense of progress and accomplishment was clear to see.

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On Sunday morning, after another camp breakfast, the teams tackled the final stretch of their river journey, heading toward the public landing steps near Monmouth Rowing Club. Parents gathered at the collection point in the late afternoon, where tired but triumphant students arrived, having successfully completed their Gold practice expedition.

The expedition was a real test of resilience, teamwork, and outdoor skills but the glorious summer weather made it a memorable and thoroughly enjoyable experience for all. We look forward to seeing these students take on their qualifying expedition with the same commitment and positivity. Well done to everyone involved!

S TAFF FOCUS 2024 - 25

Special mentions

Unsung Hero!

Congratulations to our wonderful Admissions Officer Sue Wales who has won a bronze award in the National Teaching Awards - Unsung Hero Award!

We are incredibly grateful for Sue’s work at school over so many years. Sue’s presence has been transformative to the school in developing a happy and safe learning environment where all students can be themselves and achieve highly. A role model in terms of community service, fundraising, physical activity and literacy - she is also the “school mother” (according to the previous Chair of Governors). The impact Sue has had is hard to quantify because it is on the culture and happiness of the school, rather than exam outcomes, but all who meet her are quickly enveloped in her warmth and care.

An extract from her nomination:

A 30 year school career and never lacking in commitment, love or energy she is frankly the tie that binds the community together, the water that helps the children grow and bloom and the guiding light on darker days. She has consistently and calmly supported the school through challenges in many vital roles; currently leading School Admissions and previous roles - Secretary to the Headmaster, Office Manager, Board Clerk, HR manager (sometimes all at once!) all to the highest standard

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New staff not mentioned within subject reports

Joseph Ash - Young

I was exhilarated to join the Crypt School in March 2025 for the IT Technician role. I originate from Rednock school in Dursley where I was a Student, a 6th former, an Apprentice and towards the end a full time IT Technician totalling for just over a decade there. I took up an Apprenticeship in IT because I got genuine enjoyment from helping people from all swathes of life and had and still have a genuine interest in learning how IT applies to making people's lives easier.

The Crypt Schools staff, students and affiliates continue to astound me every day and motivate me to keep working towards my own ambitions. As of May 2025, I am currently working towards completing a 35 hour+ certification on Google Workspace as a part of my ongoing professional development which I want to complete by the end of the summer.

Outside of work I've been a DM for a several months long DND campaign, I hold and am still collecting fantasy games and rule books, I've enjoyed listening to albums from all genres and decades whether that be dance, prog, indie, orchestra, punk or just good oldfashioned pop as well as going to their respective concerts. More recently I have taken up going to the gym and doing my own batch cooking!

Lorraine Atkins

I am relatively local, having been born and brought up in Ross-On-Wye. After studying geography at UCW Aberystwyth, I then studied for a PGCE at Cardiff University. I studied Geography because I have always been interested in everything around me and how everything interrelates.

Until 2012, my teaching involved working in a number of schools around the Severn estuary, then my husband and I took the big step of moving to China to teach, taking our youngest two children with us. Since then I have focused on international education before moving permanently back to Ross-On-Wye post Covid. I have been thrilled by the welcome I have received at The Crypt and am extremely grateful to my very supportive colleagues in the geography department.

Harry Atkinson

In September we welcomed many new colleagues into our school community, enriching it with their various backgrounds, skills, talents and experiences. All staff joining us in ancillary, temporary or support roles are vital to the operation of the school.

Born in Gloucester and a former Crypt pupil myself, I have returned for my fourth stint here at The Crypt. Out of sixth form in the summer of 2019 I completed a year as the PE Intern before heading off to Cardiff Metropolitan University to study Physical Education.

I returned to The Crypt to coach the 2023 South Africa Tour rugby team. This time around I have officially returned as a cover supervisor and the PE department administrator, but you will find me outside on games and extra-curricular sport most days.

Throughout the years I have had so many highlights, such as captaining the 1XV rugby team when in year 13. However, the standout memory is the 2016 South Africa Rugby tour I went on as a pupil. Therefore, I am extremely excited to tour South Africa as a member of staff this July!

This school has many special memories for myself and to come back once again and help out with sports and academic studies has been a real full circle moment. Many of the teachers still at the school from my time as a pupil are the reason for me wanting to head into the education sector.

Sophie Lowe

Sophie is our Pastoral Support Worker for Years 7, 8 and 9, supporting students who are feeling stressed, anxious, need some time out or experiencing friendship issues. In the pastoral room there are comfortable sofas, fidget toys, snacks, books and lots of other resources. Once a fortnight the Pastoral Support Workers run a Lego club which is a great opportunity for students to relax, chat and play in a chilled and calm environment.

Christopher

Sl emensek

I joined the Crypt as Graduate Musician in September 2024 and prior to this, had the privilege of working with Julian Whittaker for a local choral society as an accompanist. I’ve worked as a freelance musical director and singer specialising in musical theatre productions with companies including Ludwig Theatre Arts and Theatre Studio Cheltenham, following my graduation with a first class music degree from the University of Gloucestershire.

I am classically trained in piano and singing, and experienced in performing at Gloucester Cathedral, Everyman Theatre and Courtyard Theatre Hereford. I’ve helped to establish fundraising projects for local charities and achieved a target of £700 through a day of live music in support of Gloucester Feed The Hungry.

I have been so inspired by the kindness and support by both staff and students during my first year in the new role and absolutely thrilled with the positivity shown by my piano students. I’m really excited to be a part of a growing music department with wonderful new opportunities and experiences to help students achieve their very best.

John Hopkins

Originally from Essex, I have recently made the move with my family to Gloucestershire to take up my role as Head of Business and Economics at the Crypt in September 2024. Having studied a range of subjects as a student in completing the International Baccalaureate during my own time in Sixth Form, I chose to continue with the unusual mix of chemistry and economics at Durham University. After originally training to teach chemistry and spending a number of years leading science departments in grammar and independent schools in Buckinghamshire, I began teaching economics too. Whilst both are excellent subjects I must admit that I find the dynamic everyday relevance of economics to be particularly engaging and appealing, especially given global events in recent years! Outside the classroom I've been fortunate to travel widely and enjoy outdoor pursuits such as hiking and kayaking. I am also

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reasonably proficient in a few musical instruments including the drums and bass guitar and still manage to perform very occasionally with friends. I have thoroughly enjoyed my first year at the Crypt; the staff have been extremely welcoming and it has been a pleasure to work with so many engaging students to help them progress. I am grateful that my teaching career has lead me to this point and hope this is the first of many happy years at the Crypt.

Leavers not mentioned in subject reports

Oliver Antonious

Nick Dyer writes: I am sure that all colleagues will wish to join with me in congratulating Olli Antonious on his appointment as deputy headteacher of another school.

Their gain is very much our loss at Crypt: Olli has been a wonderful and very generous colleague, working in the Dart faculty as Clare's second, teaching both DT and food technology; furthermore, Olli has been a key advocate and leading figure in the success of our Duke of Edinburgh Award programme at school, this year leading the programme following Alison's retirement.

As colleagues know, Olli has been a most supportive colleague too, chairing the Staff Welfare and Development Committee, and in that capacity working tirelessly to help support staff wellbeing and welfare in so many ways. In his role as Associate Member of SLT for inclusion, Olli has also worked hard to ensure that our culture here at school is an inclusive, kind and caring one - the recent multicultural day at school was a great success, and stands as an example of Olli's work in that regard.

Olli leaves a wonderful, positive legacy to the school, and to its students and staff through the work that he has undertaken across his time at Crypt.

Whilst we shall miss Olli greatly, I am sure that we would all wish Olli great success and happiness in his new role and hope that he will stay in touch.

Alison Longhurst

Nick Dyer writes: Alison left at the beginning of term five in April, having secured a teaching position in another school. Alison worked at Crypt for over six years, and was an outstanding teacher in the geography department, contributing to the significant success that the department has enjoyed over that time - in terms of its academic outcomes, numbers studying the subject at both GCSE and at A Level, and in terms of the department's wider offer to students, such as through her support of trips, visits and other enrichment activities.

Alison has of course, contributed more widely - she has long been a key supporter of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme in school, giving up much time to support the students involved; she has also contributed to our pastoral system as a tuor, and to our teaching and learning agenda.

We wish Alison every success and happiness at her new school, and hope that she will keep in touch.

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Paulina De La Fuente

Paulina joined the school in July 2008 to teach economics and business studies; she has remained an outstanding teacher ever since, supporting the academic progress of countless number of students, encouraging in them a strong desire to achieve their full potential in both subjects, and helping many on into economics, business and other related degree courses and subsequent careers in those fields. In her teaching, Paulina has always been at the cutting edge of best practice, bringing her evidence-based expertise into her classrooms, and sharing her knowledge and understanding with other colleagues, particularly in her role as Director of Teaching and Learning, a role she undertook in school between 2018 and 2022.

As a senior leader, Paulina took on a myriad of different roles, reflective of her wide-ranging skill set, her ability to adapt and willingness to learn new things, and above all her determination to take on new challenges. One of the most significant challenges Paulina took on, and her greatest legacy I think to the school, was her appointment in 2016 as our co-education lead, tasked with undertaking the huge workload involved in the school’s move from a boys’ selective school, to a fully co-educational one - a role in which she truly excelled. So much work and coordination was involved in that transition, work that went well beyond the first admission of girls into year 7 in 2018. That first co education year group excelled in everything they did and now, as they leave school, their progress and success over those intervening seven years is testimony to Paulina's hard work, vision and energy in making that transition such a success.

Paulina has undertaken a variety of other important roles in school too: she wrote our bid for a free school, which was approved by the Department for Education in 2020, only for funding to be pulled at the last moment; she enjoyed a secondment as Headtacher of Widden Primary School, where she oversaw a successful Ofsted inspection in the summer of 2022; in 2022-23, she led the school’s work on behaviour and attitudes, and over these last two years, Paulina has led our work on further strengthening relationships with local primary schools through our outreach programmes, overseeing staff and ITT training and working as our school link with the local Podsmead community. She has always been an effective and versatile senior leader, whose strong presence around school will be greatly missed.

I shall miss Paulina greatly, as will my colleagues and the wider student body; however, as we both thank Paulina for everything that she has so richly contributed to our school life over the past seventeen years, at the same time we wish her every success and happiness in her new role, where I have no doubt she will continue to excel, as she has done so here at Crypt.

Alison Peake – take two!

Alison had already tried to escape The Crypt when she officially retired last summer, but she agreed to come back to cover for a maternity leave in maths. Mrs Peake has been an outstanding teacher of maths since joining the school as a trainee, after a career outside education; however, for many students she will be most fondly remembered and thanked for her leadership of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme in school, and which flourished under her guidance, witnessing hundreds of students successfully undertake the award at Crypt, including many Gold award recipients. We wish her every happiness in retirement.

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F OUNDERS ’ D AY 2025

On the 26th June, our school community again gathered at Gloucester cathedral in golden, high-summer evening sunlight to celebrate the founding of The Crypt and witness the annual payment of our “rent” - the single red rose. This symbolic act demonstrates both our unbroken connection to the school’s long history going back to 1539 and our gratitude to its founders, John and Joan Cooke; we honour their vision based on a shared interest in education and charitable causes - and perhaps especially Joan’s commitment to making that vision real after John’s death in 1528.

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The occasion was both moving and thought-provoking but with an overwhelmingly celebratory atmosphere, thanks to the wonderfully uplifting music that filled the cathedral under the expert direction of Mr Julian Whittaker, together with readings and prayers from pupils and staff.

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SECTION TWO - THE OLD CRYPTIANS’ CLUB

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The School and the Club share in the joint publication of the magazine that was born in 1907.

Our primary purpose remains the collection of news and information about the School and Old Cryptians. We aim to collect articles and reminiscences, whether serious, satirical or humorous across the widest age range possible. Photographs are ever welcome.

The Editorial Board will be responsible for the style and content of the annual publication, the management of its production and the budget. We produce a very limited print run for this, with the majority of readers accessing it on Issu via the school and OCC website.

We shall consider all articles that are submitted. In turn the editors will retain the authority to make a selection of the articles to be published and of their precise length and use of language.

A reminder that we are using Direct Debit for membership fees collected through the GoCardless service - details on the website https://oldcryptians.org/membership/direct-debit/

Please also sign up to the LinkedIn group –https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7410920/

As always, please encourage friends/colleagues who were at the school to join, or at least sign up to the LinkedIn group - the more members and interested parties we have the better we will be able to support the school and former pupils.

The Cryptian 2025

Please send any contributions for the next edition (by email attachment) by the middle of May 2026 to:

Email: webmaster@oldcryptians.org

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The

F

Matt Cass (1984 - 1991) – outgoing President

Hi and welcome to your Cryptian magazine. Many years ago, when I left Crypt School, never did I believe that I would be in The Cryptian magazine let alone be starring in it as the President of The Old Cryptians’ Club. I think that’s pretty normal for when you leave school; you want to move on with your life and don’t want to look back. It’s only when you’re older and you do start looking back that you realise that you actually did have a great time at school and you did make friends for life. I certainly have school friends now that I’m still in touch with and look back at my time at The Crypt School with fondness

With those memories in mind, I consider it a great honour being President of The Old Cryptians’ Club and continuing the tradition of maintaining a close relationship between the former pupils, the school and its students of today. Long may that tradition continue. I hope that amongst the pupils currently studying at the school, or those who have left recently, we have not only future members of the club, but also a future President or two!

I mentioned in my acceptance speech last year that I would do my best to represent the school and its former pupils. Whilst life has conspired to get in the way (it has a habit of doing that and moving house certainly didn’t help!) I have certainly tried my best to do just that.

During my short time as your President I have:

• Agreed to help fund a new honours board.

• Taken part in the inaugural Invictus 5k run around the school grounds. It is hoped this can become an annual event and grow over the years; just like the influence of Henley’s poem.

• Represented The Old Cryptians’ Club at the performance of an excerpt from Treasure Island (another Henley link) ably put on by the school’s drama students at St Mary de Crypt. Having the school’s students performing in the place where the school was founded is very special for them and for those involved with the St Mary de Crypt.

• Represented the Club at Remembrance Day at the school and laid a wreath in memory of the Old Cryptians that lost their lives in the first and second world wars.

• Hosted the Old Cryptians’ Annual Dinner at the school. Tours around the school were arranged for those who wished to see how much the school has changed and grown over the years.

Our speaker this year was David Fannin, who was in my school year. He explained what he’d done since leaving school and how he’d built up his business in product design. David appeared on the BBC’s Dragons’ Den programme to promote the business. He didn’t secure investment from the Dragons but the experience was valuable for him nonetheless.He eventually sold the business, allowing him to work on other projects and take life a bit easier – something that was well-deserved after all the hard work he’d put in, and the risks he’d taken, to grow it. I hope he was an inspiration to the school pupils who attended the dinner.

I mentioned that I hoped that the annual dinner could be used as a reunion for people to meet up with their old school friends. It was successful to some extent, with a number of first time attendees. I hope they will come again and bring more of their contemporaries with them.

As usual, the Headmaster gave a report at the dinner on what is happening at the school. We’re hugely proud of the coveted ‘Oustanding’ OFSTED rating the school received in 2024 under Nick Dyer’s leadership. Despite this, Nick and his team are in no way complacent and have some exciting plans for the future to strengthen the school and what it can offer still further.One practical way of supporting the school is by donating the Bursary Fund which assists pupils every year with grants to help them achieve their potential. Details are on the Old Cryptians’ website at https://oldcryptians.org/

We also had a great support at the dinner from The Old Cryptians’ Rugby Club as we do every year. I would like to return the favour by supporting their centenary celebrations this year, including their dinner which is likely to be in October 2025. Watch the Old Cryptians’ website or join up to the emails for further details as and when we get them.

We are also looking at organising a clay pigeon shoot in Gloucester later in the year and would like to gauge if anyone would be interested in this. Please email admin@oldcryptians.org if you feel this might appeal to you.

I was also able to support the Rugby Club by sponsoring a new honours board in my position as a director of Cass-Stephens Insurances Ltd. I was pleased to write an article in Kev Bendall’s centenary book as President and as a member of the Cass family whose connection with the school and the rugby club go back generations. It will always hold a special place in my heart as I had my first pint there (a pint of Toby in case you were wondering!).

Finally, at the end of my time as your President, I will hand over a single red rose to the Rector of St Mary De Crypt at Founders’ Day in the Cathedral, symbolising the payment of the ‘quit rent’ from the school to the church.

After Founders’ Day I will pass over the presidency to Steve Knibbs who will carry on the tradition and continue to secure our relationship with the school. I know he will do a great job. Best of luck Steve!

Before I sign off, I would like to remember Peter Hobbs who sadly passed away earlier this year. Peter was a stalwart of The Old Cryptians’ Club and has been a guiding influence for as long as I can remember. His dedication to the club was so great that despite being gravely ill, he was still signed up to attend the annual dinner, but sadly passed away before the event. Thank you, Peter - you will long be remembered.

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My sincere thanks to the Club Committee for their support throughout my year and to those who helped organise the dinner – I know just how much work these functions take. I know Steve Mace will appreciate your support every bit as much as I have.

It has been a great honour and privilege to serve as your President and to see the school and the rugby club continue to thrive. Although my time as President may be coming to an end, the club and school will continue to have my enthusiastic support. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at our events in the future.

Vivat schola Cryptiensis!

Matt Cass OCC President

2024-2025

Steve Knibbs (1982 - 1989) – President 2025 - 26

Firstly I’d like to thank Matt and the committee for the work they’ve done over the last year for the club. It’s once again an honour to take on the Presidency and I’m looking forward to getting stuck in over the next 12 months.

However I have to admit we’re probably at a crossroads for the club. I’m taking on the Presidency again as no one else came forward. Our membership is slowly decreasing and despite it being a great night, numbers were down at the annual dinner. Along with other members of the committee we’ll be looking at the future of the club and asking some tough questions to try and ensure it has a stable future and stays relevant. Life has changed immeasurably since the club was in its heyday but we haven’t really moved on and kept up with that change. So we’ll be asking how we can secure the future of the club, ensure it’s value for the membership and maintains strong links with the school and the alumni. If you have any thoughts or suggestions then please drop me a line at president@oldcryptians.org My desire is to make sure the club has a new, strong foundation to build on in 12 months time and with a committee that is driven to make it a success

I was also sad to learn that the London branch of the OCC had decided to fold. We thank them for their work and support over many years and donation to the bursary fund (see more below). Talking of the fund, Adam Ashby has now taken over the running of the fund from Richard Browning who has dedicated many years. I’d like to place on record mine and the committee’s thanks to Richard for building and shaping the bursary into what it is today. So many students have benefitted from the generous donations of the fund and with Richard remaining as a trustee his guidance and knowledge will be invaluable.

As Matt mentioned we’re hoping to hold a clay pigeon shoot in the Autumn so get in touch if you’d like to join. The social side of the club is something we can all get involved in and I believe this is going to be key in the future. I’m an optimist so if we can all think positively to ensure we can have a bright future then it’ll happen!

Steve Knibbs OCC President 2025-2026

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Dr Steve Ward (196 3 - 1970) – Life's A Circus

I suppose we all reach that stage of our life when we look back to our school days and reflect on where we have ended up. Did we achieve all those goals and aspirations that we had when we were teenagers or did we wander down unforeseen paths? I know that when I was at the Crypt all those years ago in the 1960s, some of my contemporaries already knew then where they wanted to be in later years. For me, I was unsure. What I wanted and what was wanted for me were two different things altogether. The family pushed me into the sciences; Ivor Smith, my uncle, was already studying veterinary science when I began at the Crypt and it was assumed that I would follow his path. Unfortunately, I was not as good at the sciences as I was in the humanities and, in retrospect, perhaps I should have followed that path. Certainly, for me, the more inspirational teachers were from that discipline – Messrs. ‘Dinky’ Darke and Nigel Coombs from the English department, who both encouraged me to write and to take part in the school dramatic productions, Brother John from Languages, Skinner from History, and Baker from Geography. There was also Mr ‘Benny’ Goodman who persuaded me in my later school years to join the elite choral group, the Cantores Cryptiensis. That’s not to say the science teachers were not good, they were. Although ‘Taff’ Thomas, seemingly cured in his own nicotine, made the prophetic statement that ‘The only thing you will ever pass is the school gate on the way out!’ I was never particularly good at Chemistry!

I left the Crypt in 1970 with a dismal set of A Level science results – life simply got in the way. But there was another underlying reason. Deep down I wanted to be a performer, in fact I actually wanted to be a clown! Try explaining that to a career advisor who insisted that a life in the sciences was my way forward. Why a clown I hear you ask?

I have always had a fascination with the circus from a very early age. For my fourth (or maybe it was my fifth) birthday I was taken, as a birthday treat by my grandmother, to Billy Smart’s circus in Gloucester. I don’t remember that much about the show; there were some acrobats and horses and I am sure a lot more. What I do remember is that half way through the show into the ring stepped a man in a loud and baggy suit, with a garish face and red hair that seemingly stood up on end of its own will. Coco the clown! He began his routine and then marched over to the ringside where I was sitting and plucked me from my seat (it had all been arranged of course). I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry and I am sure I must have peed myself just a little! Coco took me to the centre of the ring and began a routine with me. It took me about thirty seconds to realise that – Hey, all those people out there, they are laughing at me! All those people out there, they are clapping their hands at

me – never mind this guy next to me! The routine lasted a matter of minutes and then he gestured for me to take a bow. I did so and the audience erupted. I turned left and made another bow, and then to the right and bowed again. The crowd continued laughing and applauding. Eventually Coco gestured for me to sit down but I continued bowing, I was loving it. In desperation he scooped me up under his arm, marched back to the ringside and plonked me down in my seat. I left the circus that day with the proverbial ‘sawdust in my shoes’. Coco was my hero and I wanted to be like him.

When I did leave the Crypt, I opted not to try for university but went to work in the pathology laboratories at the old Gloucester Royal Infirmary. But my heart was not really in it, that secret mistress the circus was pushing me towards wanting to perform. I decided to retrain in Theatre and Dance at a Teacher Training College but even there I specialised in Commedia dell’arte, slapstick and clowning. It was only a small step from clowning to juggling and acrobatics and I had my eyes on becoming an acrobatic clown – but fate intervened, as it always does. During a performance in my final year, I had a bizarre accident on stage which resulted in me fracturing my cervical vertebrae. No more acrobatic performing for me and so I drifted into teaching. It wasn’t long before I was using circus skills in the curriculum, as a subject in itself but also as a vehicle for other subjects. I was teaching in Germany in my early career and a contact of mine, the Director of the Hungarian State Circus, said to me that ‘the future of the circus lies with the children’. I took this idea to heart and throughout my teaching career, all 35 years of it, I have made it my mission to bring the professional circus and children together because the children are the future artistes, technicians, designers, directors, and supporters. Without their interest the circus will become little more than an historical entertainment.

Returning to Leeds in the early 1980s, I organised several circus projects in schools across the city. I co-founded the Leeds Children’s Circus and went on to found the award-winning youth circus group Circus Zanni, which I ran for many years and which was awarded the Prix d’Honneur at an international circus schools festival in Belgium. I have organised and directed several international youth circus festivals in Leeds, bringing together young people from all over Europe to work and celebrate the circus. I have directed shows in the UK, Germany and as far away as Brazil. I established a national organisation, the National Association of Youth Circus, to promote the work of circus for, with, and by young people. I helped establish the European Network of Youth Circuses and have often acted as an international consultant on youth circus matters. And all of this while still managing a teaching career, eventually rising to the dizzy heights of Faculty Director (of the Arts of course!).Add to this, I worked as an actor and director for many years, ran a community radio programme for the local BBC, and was a folk singer. Along with all of this I managed to gain a BA from the Open University, an MA from Loughborough University, and a PhD in Social History from the University of Hull, for my research and writing about the social and cultural history of the circus. I also received a Churchill Fellowship, researching circus training in Hungary.

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The circus has been good to me. It has allowed me to travel all over the world and to meet many fascinating people, including both British and foreign royalty, many of whom I now class as good friends. It has given me the opportunity to appear on TV and Radio as a circus ‘expert’, both in the UK and abroad. Now officially ‘retired’ I have got to the stage of my life now where I can no longer climb a rope; I can’t swing on a trapeze any more, I don’t have the core strength. So now I research, write, and as my long-suffering circus-widow wife says, bore the pants off people by talking about it! I regularly give talks and lectures on aspects of circus history, some of them to overseas organisations by Zoom. I give guided ‘circus’ walks around Leeds looking at the sites of Victorian circuses in the city. I am active in lobbying the government for recognition of circus as an Intrinsic Cultural Heritage. And, of course, I write books about the subject. To date I have authored nine books on aspects of the history of the circus as well as a handful of others. Circus life still keeps me busy!

My path through life has been a strange one and a far cry from what I imagined all those years ago at the Crypt. I wonder if my contemporaries could say the same (where are they all now?). I would be interested to know.

Dr Steve Ward is based in Leeds, UK, and has a PhD in Social History specialising in the cultural and social history of the circus. He regularly gives talks and lectures on the subject, both in the UK and overseas, has appeared on radio and television several times as a circus ‘expert’, and has written nine books to date on aspects of circus history, which includes his latest release By Royal Command; Barnum in Europe. More information on his books can be found at www.steve-ward.weebly.com He attended the Crypt from 1963- 1970.

Paul James (1984 - 1991) – 100 Gloucester Characters

When Matt Cass and I set out to write our latest book together, there was always a fair chance that The Crypt School would feature one way or another.

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Our first jointly-written book, ‘100 Facts, Myths and Legends About Gloucester’, included some of the school’s most well-known alumni – George Whitefield, William Henley and Robin Day.

Our latest publication, ‘100 Gloucester Characters’, focusses on modern day people who have made a difference to the city, rather than historical figures. The law of averages, aside from anything else, means that some of those featured would be likely to be Old Cryptians, but the school, perhaps unsurprisingly (and without any bias from us!), punches above its weight.

The book includes an article about another former President of the Old Cryptians’ Club, John Rigby, who, along with his brothers Edwin and Alick, ran the J W Rigby & Sons fishmongers in the Eastgate Market. John was a stalwart of the OCs’ Annual Dinner for many years.

Another local businessman we have written about is the late Rob Freeman, who built Malvern Tyres into one of the largest tyre distributors in the country. Rob sadly died in 2021 at the age of 53 and the business is now run by his sons Chris and Joe. Rob and Chris both attended The Crypt.

The late Dick Sheppard is well-known to many in the city, both for his time as a stuntman and for the Christmas lights display in the front garden of his home in Stroud Road. His autobiography records that at The Crypt he was caned quite frequently and threatened with expulsion more than once for being a rebel. Nevertheless, he went on to appear in 500 films, including the iconic Michael Caine classic 'The Italian Job’ and James Bond’s ‘Thunderball’ and ‘Diamonds Are Forever’, and featured in the Guinness Book of Records every year from 1969 to 1996.

Phil Moss is an Old Cryptian who has played a big part in preserving and promoting Gloucester’s heritage. A founder member of Gloucester Civic Trust, the illustrator and graphic designer is the city’s go-to local historian, appearing regularly at the Gloucester History Festival, and has written a number of books about the city.

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We hadn’t realised until interviewing him that Tom Webb, Gloucester City Football Club’s record appearance-holder, is an Old Cryptian. He played an amazing 719 games for the club and is now a PE Teacher at Chosen Hill School.

Also on the sporting front, we have included Eric Stephens, best-known for his placekicking exploits as full-back for Gloucester Rugby Club, but also an accomplished cricket and table tennis player. There are other Old Cryptians who have played for Gloucester that we could have included, perhaps notably Peter Butler. The fact that Eric is Matt’s uncle probably counted in his favour!

Two Old Cryptians who were Cabinet Members during my time as Leader of Gloucester City Council are featured, but not necessarily for that reason. Andrew Gravells is Gloucester’s longest-serving councillor, having recently been presented with his 40-year long service medal from the City Council. One had to be specially made as no-one else, at least in living memory, has served for that long! He has served for almost the same length of time on the County Council.

The late Colin Organ was an estate agent in the city for many years, running his business from offices in Clarence Street. He became a councillor in 2010, serving until his untimely death in 2022. Colin oversaw the transfer of the City Council’s housing stock to Gloucester City Homes and was the driving force behind many improvements to Robinswood Hill, including the new visitor centre. He is best remembered though as the founder of the Gloucester Goes Retro festival, which is one of the city’s most popular and best-attended events.

Two others we feature who are not Old Cryptians but are very much linked with the school are the former Headmaster, Michael Holmes and the Chairman of Governors, Peter Robins. Michael Holmes is fondly-remembered by many, having been headmaster from 1969-1990 – a remarkable length of service, during which he fought off numerous attempts to close the school or strip it of its grammar school status. It wasn’t until researching for the article about Mr Holmes that I found out that his daughter Kate is my eldest daughter’s teaching assistant at Longlevens Juniors!

Peter Robins stood alongside Michael Holmes in the battles to save the school. He was Leader of the City Council from 1968-1982, served on the County Council for a time as well and was a well-known and respected solicitor in Gloucester.

It wasn’t easy choosing the 100 ‘characters’ to include and we deliberately avoided using the word’ greatest’ as it is subjective and would probably provoke disagreement as to whether we had chosen the right ones. The others we have featured also have some fascinating stories to tell. It has been a privilege to be able to learn about them and share them in this book.

Our next project may be a digital version where people can tell their life stories without us being constrained for space. There may also be a ‘100 Gloucestershire Characters’ book at some point in the future – which could also include an Old Cryptian or two!

‘100 Gloucester Characters’ is available for £15 from The Folk of Gloucester and The Cavern in Westgate Street, Gloucester, from Amazon or by emailing gloucesterpaul@gmail.com. £2 from each copy sold directly goes to the Kingfisher Treasure Seekers, who provide services to vulnerable people in Gloucester

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Archie Wills - Johnson (2014 - 2021) – From Crypt to Costa Rica

Archie Wills-Johnson, Crypt school alumni 2021

I am an Old Cryptian who did 7 years at the school, starting in year 7 and finishing in year 13. During my time at the school, I took part in the various rugby teams including going to South Africa on tour in 2019, a real highlight of my school days. During 6th form, I studied chemistry, biology and psychology and I am now doing an integrated master’s degree in biology at the University of Bristol.

When applying to various universities, I managed to get a place to study a four-year master's course in biology on a widening participation scheme, which is where my story begins. In my first year, I went to the welcome fair, where the various sports and societies have stalls for freshers to meet the students running the societies, and I ended up talking to some students running the American Football society. As I had played rugby in the past I liked the sound of a contact team sport, so I went to try it out. Pretty quickly I fell in love with the sport and its welcoming community and became a committed member of the team, eventually winning the defensive rookie of the year award.

In my second year of playing, in December 2022, I unfortunately had a bad accident while playing. I ended up having to have emergency surgery on my neck, which I still have nerve pain symptoms from to this day. My accident set me down a new path, to which I owe a lot of my recovery to the resilience I gained while studying at Crypt and playing various sports in my teenage years. During my recovery, I was searching for medical documents and came across my yearbook from Crypt. Within the book, the poem Invictus by William Henley was written behind the front cover. I’m sure you all know of it, but It’s themes of resilience in hardship really spoke to me in that moment, and a memory of seeing it written on the wall of the Nelson Mandela Museum in South Africa while on rugby tour entered my

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mind. Feeling inspired by this writing, I made a decision in that moment that I would impart these lessons and make choices to better my situation. I’ve called this my “from rock bottom the only way is up” moment.

That started with applying to a field course trip to visit a jungle research station in Costa Rica with the biology department. Fortunately, I was selected for the trip and able to spend two weeks doing research in the jungle. I credit this to being the start of my improvement, especially mentally. On the back of this, I decided to apply to run to be on the committee for American Football, and I was voted to be the 2023/24 Vice-President, who co-leads a committee of 12 on a team of 65 players. I also began coaching on the team as I could no longer play.

Heading into my third year, I was balancing my health, my biology studies, and my position as Vice-President. It was difficult to balance it all but through a combination of skills I learned while balancing studies and sports as early as Crypt, I managed to get through. My third-year research dissertation was an interesting project, which utilised questionnaires collected by the Zanzibar department of forestry, that spoke to local people about what species were in their area, to map out the distributions of 22 mammal species across the island of Unguja in Zanzibar, Tanzania. We then used publicly available satellite imagery to try and determine if these species were more negatively affected by deforestation or the increasing human development. This research turned out very well for an undergraduate project and is now in the second round of peer review for publication in a scientific journal.

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At the end of the year, I nominated myself for an award called the Outstanding PLUS award in the category of resilience, which is for extracurricular activities done alongside your studies. Effectively, balancing being Vice-President of American Football and my health issues. I won the award for Resilience, which I am so grateful for as this has opened so many doors for me, including being able to tell my story on BBC radio Bristol, having a news article in the BBC and having my university post about me on their media pages!

For my final year, I took a step back from running the committee but also took it another direction, forming a Flag Football branch to the society, which is a non-contact “tag rugby” form of the sport aimed at widening participation. Flag football will also be an Olympic sport as of LA 2028! It became a passion project of mine aimed at other injured players but also to encourage more women to join the society and ended up getting me shortlisted for the list of 50 most influential students at the university.

I also have just completed my fourth-year research project, which has worked with a regenerative agriculture company called Wildfarmed, of Clarkson’s Farm fame. We assessed whether regenerative agriculture, effectively nature friendly farming, has a positive impact on insects. It has been exciting to work with a real company to collect data

that has implications for the whole country’s nature recovery goals, as agriculture is one of the main drivers of biodiversity loss in the UK. We are also hoping to put this work in for peer review this summer!

During the first week of university, the head of school said to us “University is a multiplier, you will get back a multiple of what you put in”, and I have not heard anything truer. My time has been a ride of ups and downs but if anything, it’s taught me the value of this multiplier. My advice to any students going off to university, or anything else for that matter, is to put your all into everything you choose to do, be that your academics, society or anything else. Starting as a widening participation student, I already began at a point behind some of my peers, but my academic record does not reflect that due to diligent hard work I was taught at Crypt. It is a school that teaches hard work, resilience and leadership skills which I have found invaluable in my time since leaving, and I hope you look back on the lessons you learned there as fondly as I do.

Jason Smith ( 1980 - 1982 ) Living With The Dragon

I was awoken, as one often is in these parts, not by the gentle tinkle of a distant church bell or the comforting hum of cicadas in the olive groves, but by the unmistakable thump of the Earth clearing its throat. A low, cavernous rumble shook the shutters on their hinges, and before my senses could catch up with my pulse, the bedroom was lit in flashes of blood-orange and sulphur yellow, as though someone had booked a rock concert just outside my window.Such is life when you choose to make your home on the flanks of Europe’s most active volcanoEtna.

The locals call her a Muntagna - The Mountain. A word spoken with the same blend of reverence and suspicion you might reserve for a wealthy aunt who once left you everything in her will, but also tried to kill you with poisoned cannoli. She is far older than the many legends told about her, and the people of Sicily, wise in the way only those who have lived under constant threat can be, have long since made their peace with her moods. I, however, am still adjusting.

As I stood on the terrace, hastily wrapped in a dressing gown that has seen better years and, I dare say, better waistlines I watched the spectacle unfold. Lava fountains leapt into the sky with operatic drama, each one illuminating the vineyardstrewn slopes below like the very forges of Mordor. Indeed, I half-expected to see Frodo and Sam clambering up the far ridge, silhouetted against the flames, clutching that infernal ring. All that was missing was a sweeping orchestral score and the distant cry of a CGI eagle.

But long before Peter Jackson set his cameras rolling, the ancients had already written Etna’s part in the great epic of human imagination. It was here, they said, that Hephaestus Vulcan to the Romans set up his fiery forge beneath the mountain, hammering out weapons for the gods. The Cyclops, one-eyed and brutish, were his workmen, toiling away beneath the earth. Some claimed that the monstrous Typhon, defeated by Zeus himself, was imprisoned beneath Etna, his angry breath and writhing limbs causing the eruptions we still witness today. Homer, Ovid, Virgil they all gave the mountain a walk-on part in their immortal works, as if to say: Ecce! Etiam dii timent quid sub his saxis agitatur. “Look! Even the gods fear what stirs beneath these stones. ” But there were no Cyclops and indeed no hobbits. Only me, a very awake Englishman, and Old Cryptian, clutching a mug of something entirely inadequate for such a moment herbal tea, if you must know and wondering if I should, perhaps, move the car. (A man cannot fight lava, but he can, at least, try to save his Suzuki Jimney.)

By morning, all was eerily quiet again. A thin film of ash lay across the garden, turning

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the lemon trees a shade of grey not even Farrow & Ball would dare name. The birds, who had no doubt spent the night perched somewhere safer, resumed their usual bickering in the bougainvillea, and the old women in the village nodded sagely as they swept their doorsteps no drama, just another chapter in the story of living alongside a restless giant.

Etna sleeps now, though I doubt for long. And when she wakes again, I’ll be ready kettle on, dressing gown tightened, eyes scanning the dark horizon for two small figures and a ring.

Charlie Hannaford (1956 - 1964 ) – Reflections on The Crypt & Old Cryptians’ Club in 1945

Cryptians and their families, especially those who had loved ones in the conflict, continued to follow the progress of the war in the newspapers on the radio and the newsreels in the cinema. By September 1944, Rome, Paris, Brussels, Antwerp and most of France and Belgium had been liberated. In December, the Germans totally surprised the Americans and burst out of the Ardennes Forest and the Battle of the Bulge commenced. In January the Allied forces finally recovered the lost territories and reached again the heavily defended Siegfried Line. This over ambitious and delusional adventure by Adolf Hitler to split the Allied armies and retake the vital supply port of Antwerp was fought in appalling winter conditions. Another reckless gamble by Hitler had failed. The forces on both sides were now exhausted and a winter stalemate ensued.

By 1945 the Allied air forces completely controlled the airspace over France. The early warning radar defences in France and Belgium had been overrun by ground forces. The American bombers now concentrated on bombing synthetic oil plants and communication hubs by day. They were now protected by the long-raid Mustang fighters which completely outclassed and outnumbered the German fighters. As a result, the Luftwaffe already short of aviation fuel and experienced pilots was overwhelmed. The increased bombing by the RAF and USAAF meant that the German economy was collapsing. Flt Sgt Peter Antrobus (1933-39) joined Transport Command and ferried aircraft from the USA to the UK and Australia. While on one of these flights in March 1945 he crashed and was killed. Flying Officer Alan Jones (1923-30) was awarded the DFM in 1943, aged twenty. By 1944 he was an experienced pilot and was involved in dropping aluminium strips ahead of the Pathfinder aircraft which marked the targets. In February 1945, he was killed in one of these dangerous missions. After the fire bombing of Dresden in February, questions were asked in parliament about the whole strategy of carpet bombing. There were now growing concerns about the indiscriminate bombing of cities and their citizens. By the end of the war seventy large towns and cities were bombed and it is estimated that over 400,000 civilians were killed. During the Blitz 40,000 were killed. More bombs were dropped in the last six months of the war than the previous three years. During the war, Bomber Command had lost 50,000 killed and 10,000 were prisoners of war. Approximately, 50% of the aircrew did not complete their tours of duty. Whatever the criticisms of the air campaign it was a disgrace that those volunteers were not awarded their Campaign Medal for their exceptional service. In total, 75% of those Cryptians killed in the war were pilots or aircrew which is testament to the courage and fortitude of these volunteers. Despite the futility of resisting the war on three land fronts and the constant bombing raids, Hitler and the Nazi leadership refused to consider surrender. By the summer of 1944 three million Germans had been killed but at the end of the war, nearly five million were killed.

In the east from June 1944 the Soviet armies, at huge cost, made great advances from the Baltic States to the vital oilfields of Romania and Bulgaria. In January they renewed their offensive and finally crossed the Vistula and seized the abandoned ruins of Warsaw,

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destroyed by the Germans after the heroic but doomed largely anti Communist Polish uprising. On January 27th, Russian troops liberated the slave labour camp at AuschwitzBirkenau which produced synthetic oil, one of the five extermination camps in eastern Poland. The SS guards tried to destroy the evidence of these camps and sent 60,000 inmates from Auschwitz on a death-march westwards. In 1933, it was estimated that nine million Jews lived in Europe. The Final Solution started with the SS death squads, who systematically killed Jews in the occupied territories by shooting with the complicity of local nationalists. From 1942 onwards industrial scale genocide by gassing was initiated in these camps which culminated in 1944. By 1945, the Holocaust had eliminated over six million Jews which included one million children. It is estimated that over five million Russian prisoners of war were killed or died of starvation and disease. The British and American prisoners were marched westwards. ‘The Cryptian’ of December 1945 reports that: “Corporal Norman Cresswell, Warrant officer John Eccles and Leslie Coward were forced to march over 500 miles westwards in February and March in the frost and snow and on starvation rations” and that “Arthur Brinsford (1928-35) and Geoffrey Sewell captured at Dunkirk, were in the same camp and were forced to march eastwards as the Americans advanced, before being released.” Captain Percy Workman (1910-16) and Osborne Ellis members of the Gloucestershire Hussars and Leslie Sysum of the RAF who were captured in North Africa in 1942, returned home safely. Gordon Cowcher and Jim Hooper, captured at Arnhem, as well as Lieutenants Roy Cresswell and Laurie Stewart, captured at Dunkirk also made it home to Gloucester.

After five months of fighting along the Siegfried Line from Belgium to Alsace and Lorraine heavy losses were incurred on both sides. In the north, General Montgomery planned a complex crossing of the Rhine. This was a combined British and American operation. It involved airdrops behind enemy lines as well as landing craft and pontoon bridges. On March 23rd, overwhelming troop numbers crossed the Rhine. John Gwinnett (1926-35) was a Senior Chaplain with the Sixth Airborne Division and was awarded the Military Medal for Gallantry. Within a week, Trooper John Ritchie (1935-41), was killed in action. He was a member of the Royal Armoured Corps and had landed on D-Day. He was the last of the 77 Cryptians to be killed in the war. In the south, General Patton’s forces crossed the Rhine and broke out into central and southern Germany. After initial resistance, the hard-pressed Germans withdrew. The morale of the defenders was now largely broken, and 300,000 prisoners were taken by the end of the month. On March 30th, General Eisenhower, without consultation with the British, announced that the capture of Berlin was not a priority. He wanted to avoid the huge casualties that were predicted from such a conflict. The Americans were now far more concerned with the defeat of Japan. The next day, Stalin instructed his top two generals, Marshals Zhukov and Konev, to take up his challenge and capture Berlin. In the north, Montgomery was instructed to make Hamburg and Denmark his key objectives. On their way they came across the concentration camp known as Belsen on April 8th. My uncle was a German speaking intelligence officer and interviewed the inmates and camp guards. He had nightmares for the rest of his life. The Americans liberated Buchenwald and Dachau. There were over 30,000 slave labour camps and three million workers died from starvation, disease and bombing raids. The horrific images of the Nazi atrocities at Auschwitz and these camps were soon seen in the cinemas and made a huge impact on the audiences. For many, especially the grieving families, it confirmed them in their belief that the war was worth fighting for. The Americans enveloped the industrial Ruhr, where 325,000 soldiers were surrounded. On April 12th, President Roosevelt died. He had been elected four times since 1933. His policies during the Great Depression were controversial but they worked. His fireside chats brought the nation together and slowly he prepared the nation, largely isolationist in character, for war. His death was a huge blow for the young and the armed services, who knew no other leader. Harry Truman became President. On the morning of April 16th, the biggest artillery barrage

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of the war opened-up. Zhukov’s armies on the northern front attacked the well defended heights, overlooking the river Oder. Further south, Konev’s armies crossed the river on pontoon bridges with a total of two and a half million experienced troops. They were supported by overwhelming numbers of ground-attack fighter bombers. The defenders, now on home soil, fought tenaciously and progress was bloody and slow. However, within a week, the artillery started to bombard Berlin. A fortnight later, Berlin was surrounded, and the Americans met the Russians on the river Elbe.

Since the fall of Rome in June 1944 the Allied forces had not been able to break the formidable defensive lines across the Apennine mountains. During the winter months there was again a stalemate. Lt Lawrence Rogers (1924-28) was wounded whilst leading his platoon in action. He died of his wounds in September 1944. In April 1945, after a huge artillery bombardment and air supremacy, overwhelming numbers broke through into the Lombardy Plain. Flt Lt Robert Green (1923-27) served in North Africa, Corsica, Malta and Italy. In March, six weeks before the surrender in Italy, he was tragically killed in a road accident. Before his death Air Vice-Marshall John Lawrence CBE, OBE, AFC (1932-38) asked me to mention his friend Frank Foyle (1931-36). He was a commissioned in the RGH and was a tank commander in North Africa and Italy from 1941 onwards. He returned to Gloucester like most of his comrades. He became a successful businessman and was Chairman of the Gloucester Hospitals Trust for many years. On April 25th, Milan was liberated by resistance groups and a few days later Mussolini was captured, murdered and strung up in a public square in Milan. On May 2nd, German forces in Italy and southern Austria surrendered and British troops secured Trieste, before the arrival of Josip Tito’s Yugoslav communist resistance fighters. In the barbaric Battle of Berlin, the Russians sustained 350,000 casualties and 80,000 were killed. Approximately 100,000 German forces, which included many elderly and young conscripts, and 25,000 civilians were killed in this futile battle. Huge numbers of brutalised often starving civilians desperately sought refuge in the west. On April 30th, Hitler, entombed in his bunker, designated Admiral Doenitz as his successor and committed suicide. On May 7th, the German High Command approached Montgomery and unconditionally surrendered. The depraved ideology of the Nazi Reich did not last a 1000 years just eleven. Churchill announced Victory in Europe, V-E Day, which was celebrated on May 8th. Cryptians young and old celebrated in the streets and pubs of Gloucester. Searchlights which were used to protect the city during 1940 to 1942 from enemy planes were used to light up the glorious cathedral. Europe had finally been liberated but it is well to reflect that the German youth had also been liberated. However, by now Stalin had installed communist parties in Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary. Opponents were jailed or disappeared. Stalin had cynically agreed at the Yalta Conference in February that there would be free and fair elections. However, he was determined that these countries including Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Poland would remain firmly in the ‘ Soviet sphere of influence’.

In the Far East the war continued. The Allied forces in Burma of which two thirds were Indian, combined in the New Year to force the Japanese to retreat and on March 20th Mandalay was taken. The Japanese withdrew to Thailand and Rangoon was liberated on May 3rd, after three years of oppression. Tom Stock (1932-40), a member of the Chindits, who had been imprisoned was released. This inevitably increased the demand for independence for India. Wally Pitchford (1926-34) flew spitfires in the Burma campaign but died in a road accident in 1945. He was the brother of Lt Jack Pitchford (1927-34) of the 1st Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment, who was killed in 1942 in the humiliating retreat from Malaya to Rangoon. In the Pacific the capture of Saipan in the Mariana Islands at great cost to the United States Marine Corps in July 1944, led to the ability to bomb the Japanese mainland, by the new formidable B-29 Super-fortresses. The initial strategy was to concentrate on military and industrial targets at high altitude by day. However, the Japanese fighters caused heavy losses and the raids were far less effective than anticipated. As a result, the controversial decision was taken to abandon the precision

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bombing strategy, in favour of carpet-bombing the cities, using napalm incendiary bombs at low level and at night. On March 9th, 300 B-29's bombed Tokyo and the ensuing inferno was fanned by high winds amongst the wooden houses. The result was a catastrophe for the population. There were over 150,000 casualties and a million civilians were de-housed. This was followed by the relentless bombing of all the major cities. After the capture of Iwo Jima in February attention now turned to the island of Okinawa, situated 350 miles southwest of the mainland. The aim was to create a base for the planned invasion of the mainland. The island was bombed for three months. The biggest American armada of the war, some 270 warships which included fifteen large carriers and a few British ships, arrived off the island. From the start the Japanese put their faith in the kami-kasi plane attacks. Petty Officer R.W. Hart was part of this armada which experienced over 3,000 of these suicidal missions. David Bethell (1939-43) worked in naval intelligence in the Far East. Wing Commander Francis Culpin acted as a liaison officer with the Americans in the Pacific and in Washington. He was awarded the Legion of Merit for his services to the President. From April 1st, the Marines and Army were engaged in the bloodiest battle in the Pacific which lasted three months. Approximately, 150,000 civilians were killed or committed suicide whilst, 100,000 soldiers were killed and only 10,000 were taken as prisoners. There were some 100,000 American casualties. This brutal conflict had a great impact on the President, his advisors and the public. The forlorn hope of the Japanese leaders was that these losses would lead to adventitious peace talks.

From July 17th to August 2nd, the victors met at Potsdam, near Berlin, to discuss the shape of the post-war world. In the UK the Coalition Government had been dissolved and the General Election was held on July 5th. The results were delayed so that the votes of the armed services could be counted. Winston Churchill and Clement Attlee met with Harry Truman and Joseph Stalin. A day before Truman had been informed of the successful Atom Bomb test in New Mexico. This was the culmination of the hugely expensive Manhattan Project initiated in 1942. It was then feared that the Germans had the ability to produce a nuclear weapon. Truman mentioned it to Stalin, who showed no emotion as, unknown to Truman, a British and an American spy had passed on secrets to the USSR. The four occupation zones in Germany, Austria, Berlin and Vienna were agreed. The Allies gave a stark ultimatum to Japan and insisted on unconditional surrender and added that failure to comply would result in ‘utter destruction’.

After the death of Roosevelt, Truman inherited a number of unresolved issues. Roosevelt had not discussed the development of the atomic bomb nor involved him with the tensions and divisions between the army and navy chiefs of staff. Intelligence reports confirmed that troops were being withdrawn from China and the proposed landing beaches were now heavily fortified and defended by over 900,000 troops as well as 10,000 kami-kasi young suicide pilots. It was estimated that the planned invasion would result in over 500,000 casualties. All teenagers and civilians up to the age of sixty were mobilised. After years of propaganda the Americans were convinced that they would fight to the death. This was based on the experience of the fanatical suicidal defence of Saipan, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. During the six months Philippines campaign starting in October 1944 the navy had enforced a blockade of the mainland of Japan, enforced by submarines and aircraft carriers. The amount of oil arriving in Japan dropped dramatically. The navy fearful of the projected huge casualties to the Marine Corps wanted to continue the daily bombing and blockade. This would of course lead to millions of civilian deaths by starvation and disease. However, the army felt that the Imperial Army would never surrender and felt that a fullscale invasion was the only way to defeat Japan. Another issue was that Truman was far more distrustful of Stalin than Roosevelt. The invasion of Manchuria would give the USSR great influence over the future of China. Japan failed to respond to the ultimatum given at Potsdam. The primary aim of the use of the atom bomb was to shock the Japanese High Command into surrender, thus avoiding huge numbers of casualties on both sides. The

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continual bombing of Tokyo and over fifty cities would lead to multitudes of civilian deaths. It was also felt that the invasion would lead to the murder of the estimated 100,000 prisoners of war. In the light of the estimated horrific number of American and Japanese military and civilian casualties, Truman decided to use the bomb.

On the morning of August 6th, a B-29, named the ‘Enola Gay’ took off from the Marianas and dropped an atom bomb on Hiroshima, with a population of 350,000, at 8.14 am. Around 40,000 civilians were immediately vaporised or incinerated and over 100,000 soon died from radiation burns. In the following years, a further 100,000 would die of radiation induced cancers. The Japanese War Council still refused to meet. Two days later, a Red Army of one and a half million, invaded Manchuria and later seized some northern Japanese islands. On the same day another atom bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki with similar results. There was division and deadlock in the Council and at this point Emperor Hirohito intervened. After discussions, they finally accepted the ultimatum, on the understanding that the emperor would stay in place. Hirohito spoke to the nation for the first time and the terms were accepted on August 15th. The British and the Empire and the Americans celebrated victory, V-J Day. On September 2nd, the formal act of surrender took place in Tokyo Bay. This was followed by six years of occupation by the USA which heralded the introduction of democracy and a remarkable industrial recovery. Shanghai was liberated on September 3rd, and Frank Geldhart (1914-2) was released from internment after nearly five years. He was a tobacco trader and became Deputy Chairman of British American Tobacco. Maurice Lane (1937-42), served in the Royal Navy in the Pacific as a decoder and visited Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The war was finally over. The following list of shows the estimated numbers of the military and civilians who died: USSR, 27 million; Germany, 5 million; British and Imperial forces, 400,000; USA, 450,000. In the conflict in China and the Far East some 25 million died, nineteen of which were civilians.

The surrender of the Japanese took everyone by surprise and with great relief. The planned invasion of Malaya from Burma would have resulted in many casualties on both sides. The British fleet entered Singapore on September 4th, without opposition and to great celebrations. Group Captain Boon was awarded the OBE for his part in planning the final campaign in Malaya. After the liberation of Singapore and a week later Malaya, the full horrors of the Japanese prison camps were revealed. A young Captain Charles Lepper, the brilliant English teacher and Director of Drama (1954-67) was involved in recording details of their captivity. Lance Corporal Griffiths (1928-36) had been shipped to Formosa, now Taiwan where he died in a brutal work-camp. Over 25% of prisoners died in atrocious conditions in captivity. ‘Titch’ Gardiner, a manager of a rubber plantation, laboured on the notorious Burma-Siam railway and later was transported to Japan. He reported in ‘The Cryptian’, the ‘eerie experience’ of seeing the flash of the atomic bomb. Major Lindsay Vears (1893-97), the garrison commander of Penang, spent three years in Changi Gaol in Singapore. Flt Lt Colin Ewan, a future Headmaster of the Crypt School (1950-61), was one of the 70,000 captured in Singapore and imprisoned. Those members of the armed services were in Germany, Italy, North Africa and Egypt were desperate to return home and to renew their lives. Some were making plans. Letters appeared in ‘The Cryptian’ in 1944, from ex-pupils abroad, looking forward to restarting the Old Cryptians Rugby Club. Colin Sibery (1944-45), Brian Haines (1937-42) and others responded and fixtures started in 1945. Haines, James Hall, Ray Williams (1936-43), were all Bevin Boys and were selected by ballot to work in the coal mines, such as in the Forest of Dean. Owen ‘Oggie’ Wheeler (1932-37) served in North Africa, France and Germany. He became captain of the OCRFC for the 1947-48 season. Gordon Hudson (1921-29), a fitness instructor with the RAF, played for England in the war-time internationals. He scored four tries in one match against Scotland. He played for the Barbarians and captained Gloucester RFC. Eight members of the OCRFC were killed in the war.

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In 1942, the UK experienced the lowest point in the war, on land, at sea and in the air. Despite this the Coalition Government and the Civil Service were displaying great confidence and making plans for the post-war world. The Beveridge Report was published in 1942 and was a best seller! He identified five great problems to tackle: “want, disease, ignorance, squalor and idleness.” He recommended that medical treatment should be provided for all citizens by a National Health Service. The report also suggested a way to pay for this Welfare State. A compulsory insurance scheme was needed which consisted of a weekly stamp paid by the employer and employee. This would provide a safety net for those who were sick or unemployed. A basic pension scheme was included as well as family allowances for children. The Beveridge Report with its vision for the future was solidly supported by Labour. However, the Tory Party was divided, especially with regard to the proposal for the NHS. The electorate and especially the armed services abroad, were impressed with the centralised planning of the wartime government. The radical policies of Roosevelt and the Democratic Party during the Great Depression were also perceived to be a success. Although it was the reintroduction of the free-market economy in 1942 which was responsible for the incredible mass production of war material. There had been a lot of support for the USSR during the war and socialist views were in the ascendant. Harold Collison (1923-26), later Lord Collison in 1964, was a prominent trade union leader as was ‘Ted’ Fletcher (1916-20). The Labour manifesto called for the nationalisation of the coal, electricity and steel industries as well as the railways and Fletcher worked on this policy. Churchill ran a lacklustre campaign and his radio broadcast, which criticised the integrity of his Labour wartime colleagues, did not go down well with the public. On July 28th, Clement Atlee and the Labour Party won a shock, landslide victory in the General Election. The admiration for Churchill as a wartime leader did not save the Tory Party.

The first generation of Cryptians at Podsmead who arrived in September 1943 had experienced the tribulations, uncertainties, austerity and rationing during the war years. A new socialist age had arrived and there was great optimism for the future. The Butler Education Act came into force in September 1945 and provided free education to all schools and technical colleges up to the age of eighteen. Many recalled the unfairness of a system that denied an earned place at a grammar school due to financial problems. The Crypt School as did the vast majority of the 1,200 grammar schools chose to be a state funded school from the age of eleven and came under the control of the Gloucester Education Authority. Thus, the Junior School was phased out and all fees and scholarships were abolished. Now all books and stationery, were to be free. The School Meal Service was formed, and hot balanced food was provided. These were subsidised or free, based on the need of the family. Bottled milk was issued at break-time. There were to be three types of secondary schools, grammar, secondary modern and the new technical schools. At the age of eleven, primary school pupils were to be given a series of verbal and nonverbal tests, known as the 11 plus or IQ tests. These as well as headteachers’ reports were to be used as a basis for the selection to the secondary schools. The school leaving age was raised to fifteen. All schools were required to start the day with a religious service. The outstanding headmaster, D.G.Williams (1920-50) decided to maintain the daily assembly but kept it low key.

The armed services started to return home according to their length of service. Many Cryptians were keen to take up or continue with university education. The Coalition Government had initiated the Further Education Scheme, which paid the university fees and the means-tested grants for living expenses, to qualified members of the demobilised armed services. The following close friends took advantage of this generous scheme. Peter Bayley (1930-40), Head Prefect, served in India and returned to Oxford. He was the first Principal of Collingwood College in Durham and later was a Professor of English at St Andrew’s University. Derek Brewer (1935-41) served in the infantry in Italy and returned to

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Oxford. He became Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge and a Professor of English. Tom Stock (1932-40) served with the Chindits in Burma, where he was captured. On his release he returned to his studies in Oxford. Howard Meadows (1932-41), Head Prefect and Captain of cricket and rugby, was awarded the Townsend Scholarship. After his service in Italy, Captain Meadows took up his place at Oxford and gained his rugby Blue as hooker in 1948.

The number of marriages rose dramatically and so was conceived the ‘baby boomer’ generation. As a result of the blitz and the new families, there was a huge demand for housing. Council estates and prefabricated bungalows were built and Podsmead and Tuffley grew rapidly. The father of my wife returned from the war, married and set up home in one of these homes in Tuffley. However, there were enormous economic problems. The debt from the Lend-Lease war time loans had accumulated. We were effectively bankrupt. The amount was $30 billion which is equivalent to $225 billion, eighty years on. We were dependent upon the USA for loans and credit for imports and to stimulate the peacetime economy. It would take fifty years to pay off the debt. Rationing for basic commodities such as butter, coal, petrol and sweets were still rationed. Clothing coupons were required to buy the school uniform, which put pressure on many working-class families.

In July 1946, there was a Thanksgiving Service in Gloucester Cathedral to celebrate Founders’ Day. The schoolboys in their maroon blazers and caps and the masters in their gowns returned to their traditional city home. This was an opportunity for recently demobbed Cryptians to join their uniformed colleagues and to recognise the sacrifice and the suffering. It was a sombre occasion, particularly for those staff who had seen so many of their former pupils killed. The Headmaster, D.G.Williams had shared the concerns of many of the parents who attended. His sons, both Cryptians, Lt-Colonel Henry and Commander David Williams returned safely. Bill Bray (1926-32), who served in Coastal Command, writes: “The Cathedral was full. The Reverend Dr H. Costley-White (1886-88), Dean of Gloucester and President of the Old Cryptians Society (1939-50), read out the names of the 77 Cryptians who had been killed. The last post and Reveille were played by a member of the Crypt School ATC. The sermon was preached by the Reverend Gethyn-Jones (1917-25) MBE.” This seems a fitting place to end my series of articles which have followed the fate of the Crypt School and Cryptians during the war years eighty years ago.

More information can be found in, ‘A history of the Crypt School 1539-2018' by Charlie Hannaford and, ‘The Lost Generations’ by Simon and Sarah Birch and Ray Pocock. Photos of those who died are displayed in Howard Allen’s book, ‘The Crypt School: 475 Years’. Please contact me on charliehannaford8@hotmail.com with regard to errors and omissions.

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A RTICLES SUBMITTED

Rich a rd Graham – Blackbridge Sports & Community Hub

I went to see the newly opened Blackbridge Community & Sports Hub in Podsmead - a fantastic legacy project which makes that part of south Gloucester a great hive of sports opportunities.

In my first year as MP I worked with the Council to get the Athletics Track there restored, packaged as a Diamond Jubilee project, with the Princess Royal re-opening it.

But the future of the wide green space of Blackbridge beside it had housing written all over itunless we did something more balanced.

So a different vision was in time created, and government funding was crucial.

The Astro turf pitches mean all year round sport, complementing the neighbouring athletics, Old Cryptians rugby, Tuffley Park cricket and Winget Bowling activities.

Many local residents didn’t like the plan - principally worried about loss of dog walking and increased parking on Laburnum Drive.

To his credit Cllr Sebastian Field didn’t wobble. Both of us kept our nerve despite elections: and the volunteer committee, who faced plenty of criticism, kept going, working with councils and contractors to see this through.

I walked our dog around Blackbridge, the edge of the Old Cryptian Rugby ground and Tuffley Parkthere is masses of space to walk across still. Meanwhile the Hub has plenty of parking of its own

and Laburnum Drive is not a major traffic nightmare - although everyone will need to be considerate, especially by the entrance to Tuffley Park.

I have absolutely no doubt that without the Sports Hub project the whole of

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Blackbridge would be housing development - instead of just the small New Dawn areaand a lot more green space would have been lost without any sports health & social benefits.

What matters now is how residents get the most out of this great facility, working with Freedom Leisure to take advantage of the Astro, gym, fitness classes, yoga, dancing, meeting space or café.

In an area where health stats have been poor this hub could make a difference in so many ways.

I always said that although Gloucester’s City Centre was key it would be in the wards with lots of social housing where any government and council would be judged.

Podsmead has changed hugely: the work that Jennie Watkins (then Dallimore) led on the Big Local, the wonderful playground in T Park, our ten year campaign for a pharmacy, the improvements by Sarah Devaney / Friends of Tuffley Park in the Park (especially the all weather track), the work volunteer Bob Purcell led on the Athletic Track, Rooftop’s housing further west, the WiFi connectivity put in, and the partnership with Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust’s work on green spaces off Milton Avenue have all been highlights.

Now for the GCH housing led regeneration project. I helped win the research funding for that in 2012-2013 so it has taken an extravagantly long time to happen. But things now look fair set for progress - and perhaps recognition in Oaklands Park that the Sports and Community Hub is good not bad news will help perceptions of GCH led changes down the road at the ‘poets corner’.

More detail here: https://www.freedom-leisure.co.uk/.../blackbridge.../

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T

F UND 2001

Following a long tenure, Richard Browning has stepped down from the Chair of Trustees role, one which he has fulfilled admirably, overseeing the fund passing the £100,000 milestone which enables it to be self-sustaining (whilst the interests rates remain favourable). Richard remains as a Trustee and I am grateful for his guidance on all matters as I take the reins.

We are very grateful to the OCC for their generous donation of £600 to the bursary - this is much appreciated and it is heartening that the club has made this ongoing commitment to the bursary fund.

The bursary is also benefiting from a donation from the London branch of the OCC. However, it is sad that the donation is due to the branch closing due to lack of interest. As part of the transfer of funds, the Bursary will manage the Tony Coates Fund which provides a £50 book token each prize giving.

The trustees are deeply saddened following the passing of Peter Hobbs. Peter was a great and generous supporter of the bursary fund and will be much missed. Our condolences to his family and friends.

The trustees - Richard Browning, Richard Briggs, Mike Beard and Clive Thomas - meet throughout the year to ensure that our charitable trust duties are discharged as required and to discuss ways that we can increase the fund or provide more benefit to the pupils.

Although the fund is self-sustaining, this won’t always be the case and we are always happy to receive additional donations, either as a regular donation or one offs. We are especially grateful to the Old Cryptians who have made provision in their wills to benefit the Bursary Fund.

Please do get in touch - bursary@oldcryptians.org - if you would like to receive more information.

Adam Ashby (1973-1978)

All donations to the Bursary fund are appreciated as the main aim remains to be self-sufficient by matching the level of expenditure with the necessary income to maintain current student awards. Banking data are as follows: Account name OC Bursary Fund; Sort Code 40-52-40; Account no 00010216.

B URSARY F UND F INANCIAL R EPORT 2024

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B URSARY AWARDS 2025

This being my first year as chair of the Bursary Trustees, I was excited to be involved in the preparation and distribution of the awards. My part in the preparation was to rubber stamp the nominations from the school, everything else was taken care of admirably by Louise Price at school and Clive Thomas as our Treasurer. Suffice to say, everything went smoothly once I realised I didn’t have much to do.

The distribution of the awards happens at school with all the awardees invited to lunch. We had a good showing from the Bursary Trustees; Clive Thomas, Richard Briggs and Richard Browning joining me. It is a really lovely chance to spend time with some of the exceptional pupils from the school across all the years and to hear about their achievements and interests.

It also gave us as Old Cryptians an opportunity to share our career paths and to show how circumstances and choices made through life have opened up unexpected and unplanned opportunities

B URSARY R ECIPIENTS

School nominations

The following students have all been recognised by the school and nominated by individual teachers.

Sixth Form – Academic

Ben Stoneman (Y12)

Ben is an exceptionally able academic with his teachers describing him a "model student". He is reflective in his learning enabling him to make continuous improvements, so his grades just keep going upwards. He is also constantly enriching his academic studies by attending the Natural World Society and the Medicine Society. He's currently studying maths, biology and chemistry and based on his teacher's predictions he has a bright future ahead.

Art/Musi c/Drama

D RAMA

Connor Gibson (Y10)

Connor has been an exemplary drama student this year - committing to his studies and honing his performance skills both in and out of the classroom. Connor has diligently attended and helped to lead the Monday lunchtime drama club for KS3 students and also been part of the new Musical Theatre club since September, which meets every Thursday lunchtime. Connor successfully auditioned a solo for the school's first Musical Theatre showcase and will be performing on the school stage in front of a large audience. Although this is something that Connor finds daunting, he is challenging himself by committing to this performance, demonstrating his fantastic growth this year as a performer.

MUSIC

Samuel De Gruthyer

Samuel is a dedicated and talented young musician whose contributions to the musical life of The Crypt School have been both significant and inspiring. Samuel plays an active and central role in a wide range of the school’s musical activities. He is a committed and enthusiastic member of the school choir and A Capella Choir, regularly contributing to high-quality performances at concerts and school events. Academically, Samuel works with great diligence in GCSE Music, where he is producing creative and well-developed compositions, and consistently developing his performance skills. His commitment to music extends beyond the classroom, and he is always seeking opportunities to grow both as a performer and as a composer. Samuel has expressed a clear ambition to study Music at A Level and pursue it further in higher education. His aspiration is supported by a strong foundation of musical knowledge, practical experience, and personal drive. He is not only a valued member of the current school music community, but also a promising musician with the potential to make a meaningful contribution to the wider musical world. In recognition of his dedication, talent, and potential, I strongly support Samuels application

for the Old Cryptian Bursary Award. Such support would undoubtedly encourage him to continue his musical journey and enable him to further enrich the cultural life of the school and beyond.

ART

Shivani Shinu (Y7)

Shivani is a year 7 student who shows exceptional levels of skill and commitment to her art work. Her parents have commented on how she tries to extend her skills and experiences at home and we regularly see Shivani in art during lunchtimes. She has received merits for every piece of art work she has done this year and her efforts are exceptional. This bursary would allow Shivani to explore working with further materials and develop her confidence.

Engineering

Joshua Owusu (12)

Joshua, your dedication to engineering is truly inspiring. We are thrilled that you'll be continuing your studies in this field next year. Your contributions to the F1 in Schools team were highlighted brilliantly at the National Final. The racing was streamed live on YouTube, and your incredible sense of teamwork was clear to everyone watching – especially to presenter Radzi Chinyanganya. Radzi himself specifically mentioned that his main takeaway from the entire STEM event was you, Joshua. Your unwavering commitment to F1 in Schools, while simultaneously excelling in your studies, leading assemblies on inclusion, and serving as an Anti-Bullying ambassador, supporting STEM Society, and so much more, has been nothing short of impressive. This is even more remarkable when we consider your daily commute, sometimes involving five buses to get here, on time, every single day. Your priorities are clearly set, and they are absolutely right. We hope this award goes some way to supporting the next steps of what we know will be a very bright future. As Radzi so aptly put it, Joshua, you are a true inspiration.

Jack Bywater (Y12)

Jack, your exceptional engineering skills and leadership were instrumental in guiding our F1 in Schools team, Ceres Racing. You led from the top, acting as a true role model who consistently went above and beyond for the team and for the school. Your meticulous work as Team Principal ensured that Ceres Racing won the Project Management Award at the National Finals. This is a truly well-deserved recognition of your efforts. Your keen attention to detail, innovative thinking, and constant drive for improvement ensured our car performed with precision and consistency across the fleet. It was no surprise when Ceres Racing clinched the Best Engineered Car award at the regional final. Furthermore, your performance during the engineering interviews was nothing short of incredible – it was truly impressive to witness. We have no doubt that future job interviews in the world of engineering will be an absolute breeze for you. We sincerely hope you will use this award to support your exciting next steps into motorsport engineering. We are confident you will be a very influential figure in that world, and we eagerly look forward to seeing you trackside in the future!

KS4 Academic

Max Yates (Y10)

Max has constantly worked hard during his time at The Crypt and his contribution in Year 10 is no exception. A dedicated and focused student Max has excelled academically. A true gentleman, he is considerate of others, whilst working collaboratively to achieve success. It is the hope that the bursary will enable Max to deepen his academic progress and allow him to purchase items to support his academic studies.

KS3 Academic

Reuben Lomaz Aspden (Y9)

Reuben is an exceptional mathematician, often finding a unique way to solve problems and was a key member in the Team Maths Challenge competition, coming second. In English, Reuben articulates himself in a mature manner, often taking debate to a higher level, and produces thorough written responses and analysis of texts. Across other areas of the curriculum, he has a strong knowledge and understanding of each subject and is extremely inquisitive, conscientious and enthusiastic.

Outside of lessons, Reuben joins in an incredible number of extra curricular activities, including recently starting an Environment Club as part of his Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award, absolutely making the most of the opportunities available to him.

Reuben is a very likeable, humble, kind and well respected pupil who thoroughly deserves this award.

Computer Science/AI

Liam Page (Y12)

Liam has had an outstanding year in the 6th form so far, excelling academically in computer science and consistently demonstrating a deep understanding of complex concepts. His confidence and dedication have made him a standout student, and he sets a high standard for himself and his peers, through both his work ethic and positive attitude. Liam is widely respected by his teachers for his maturity, initiative, and leadership, making him a true role model within the school community. Liam has been an ambassador for computer science all through GCSE and this has now progressed into his A level studies. I couldn't think of a more deserving student.

Sports Awards (2)

Sophie Cornish (Y11)

Sophie started playing Netball in primary school and joined Hucclecote netball club. In Year 8 she joined the satellite U13 and then went on to play for Hucclecote regional decision 1 team in Year 9. Sophie then trialled for the Severn stars U18 Nova academy and was successful at just 14 years old. In Year 10 Sophie then won the Gloucester League Division 1 with Hucclecote and continued to shine in the Nova academy. In Y11 she then got into the Birmingham Panthers ETP U18. Sophie’s netball success at school has also been a huge success. In Y9 they won the netball county competition, in Y10 they won again and reached the semi finals in the national cup and finally in Y11 again won the county competition for a third time and reached the semi finals in the national cup. All whilst showing excellent leadership as school captain and captain of the Birmingham Panthers ETP U18.

James Arminio (Y12)

James Armino grew up playing team sports but always knew he was quick. It wasn't until fairly recently he decided to sprint seriously. Since then James has been selected to represent Gloucestershire at the South West Schools Championships in summer 2024, where he made the finals and began training with Justin Smith, at SpeedProjectTraining. After a few months of focused work, he entered his first race as a full-time athlete: the 60 metres at Loughborough. In that debut, he qualified for the England Athletics U20 Indoor Championships in Sheffield. He also competed at the South West Indoor Championships in Cardiff, winning gold in the U20 category at just 16 years old. This strong indoor season set him up for his first outdoor campaign. James opened with a 10.71 personal best in the 100m in London, then lowered it to 10.64 just weeks later, only 0.14 seconds off the U20 European Championships qualifying standard. That time ranked him 10th in the U20s for Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the time of writing. In the 200m, he clocked a windassisted 21.31.

Discretionary Award

The Bursary is always keen to hear from anyone connected with the school who would like to propose a potential recipient of a bursary. The Trustees consider all applications and this year we are very pleased to have heard from Old Cryptian Kevin Bendall who has nominated a member of his chess club - the Wootton Hall Chess Club - for consideration.

Having read Kev’s citation and other communications, it was really a very simple decision to give Zack Norris an award and we wish him great success with his chess endeavours. I am sure you will agree that Zack’s achievements to date (outlined below) are very impressive and make him a very worthy candidate.

Chess

Zack Norris (Y7)

Zack began his chess career at local club Wotton Hall in December 2022, and he managed to win on his debut at the age of 9. Wotton Hall is the top club in the Gloucestershire Chess League and also play in the 4NCL where top teams from around the UK compete. Zack’s progress has been staggering and he now plays on the higher boards for the club. At Junior Age level, Zack was a two-time winner of the Gloucestershire Primary School Championship and also won events at Maidenhead, Wimbledon, Bristol and Swindon. Zack was selected for the South-West England team against Wales, winning all 4 of his games.

These successes attracted national interest and Zack is a member of both the England EPSCA and ECF Junior squads. He made his England debut in March this year in an international tournament in York, winning 5 out of 5 to win an individual award.

In his first year at Crypt, Zack has won the school chess competition. In May this year Zack won his biggest tournament to date, winning the 55th Cotswold Congress Open Competition, playing in the highest section against adults from around England. This made Zack the youngest ever winner of the event, and also gives him the title ‘Gloucestershire Champion’ for the year, which is a remarkable achievement at the age of 12.

Kevin Bendall Chairman, Wotton Hall Chess Club Crypt School 1972-79

The Crypt School The Old Cryptians’ Club

O BITUARIES

Peter Hobbs ( 1949 - 1957)

Richard Briggs writes:

Graham Russell (1944 - 1952)

Graham was a very proud and active Old Cryptian for many years. He was President of the Club 1992-93. His widow, Joan, wrote to the club with this obituary

If there is anyone still alive of his vintage, they will know more of Graham’s school days than I do. I have heard that in his early years at the Crypt he struggled with a loyalty he felt for a football club with which he had played for many years and this was not well received. Eventually he changed loyalty to the School and that never altered. He played in 1st XI cricket team in 1950 and 1st XV rugby teams in 1950-51 and 51-52.

Graham studied medicine at Bristol, played rugby and Captained the Hospital team one year. In 1957 he qualified M.B.Ch.B. After some House jobs in different specialities in Bristol he came to Gloucester to work in General Medicine at the City Gen as it was then known on the site of the present GRI. The Royal Infirmary was in Southgate Street. I was a Radiographer at City Gen and had met some Old Cryptians at the nurses dances; Patrick Gwilym, Charlie Counsell and Malcolm Haines and was asked to tell Dr. Russell that they hadn’t seen him at The Fountain for some time!

His next job was in Paediatrics at Battledown Children’s Hospital, Cheltenham after which we married and moved to Plymouth for a 12month job in a fevers hospital where Graham saw smallpox and diphtheria. He was refused any more deferment from National Service and had to sign up in the last year before it was abolished. He was able to take up the chance of 3 years as a Commissioned Officer in the RAF which meant a better lifestyle and in theory, married quarters. We had a good year at Cranwell and then he was sent to Sharjah for a year – no married quarters available – but he managed to get me out there for 4 months. It was before oil money transformed the region. Dubai had simple rowing boats (abras) to cross the creek and the old houses built with cooling wind towers. The road from Sharjah to Dubai was compressed sand which would break up and so the ‘road’ got wider. Our time there was an incredible experience. I digress.

Coming out of the RAF Graham did a 6 month job in Gloucester in Gynae and Maternity. He became adept at transfusing rhesus babies, whose inherited bloods were not compatible. It is not easy to find a vein in a newborn. He continued to be available for this procedure when he was working in General Practice but still had to be in for morning surgery etc.

He quickly became connected with the O.C.s again, particularly Dennis Mundy and Les Davies, meeting weekly for a chat and a beer. Graham frequently took O.C. Friends to Twickenham and to Cambridge for O.C. Dinners at Emmanuel College where the Master at the time was Dr. Derek Brewer, Old Cryptian, (35-41) These dinners were well attended but finished when Dr. Brewer retired in 1990. A magnificent painting of the scene was made by Roger Phelps, (42-47), every person identifiable including Roger himself standing at the back talking with Dennis Mundy. Roger was a wonderful

The Crypt School The Old Cryptians’ Club

portraitist. I see Graham at the top table presumably because he was doing much of the organising of the event at that time.

It was decided to re-connect with Pembroke College, Oxford which had a long link with the Crypt School via the Townsend Scholarship and Graham started to make the necessary contacts. The first of these dinners was held in January 1992. At Cambridge and Oxford the menus are mouth watering; five courses followed by College Port, conversations continuing over breakfast as they were happy to spend the night in College accommodation, which all contributed to the ambience of these occasions. There were usually over 40 O.C.s enjoying these meetings. The London O.C. Dinners were often attended by Graham, particularly when they were at the Chelsea Hospital,

Graham was active in the setting up of the Bursary Fund: there are many letters from O,C.s far and wide replying to his request for contributions to help set up the Fund. Graham also wrote a history of the O.C. Club, which, co-incidentally, is included in the 2023-24 magazine. There are records of meetings available from 1901 and it seems there were sporadic meetings of “Gentlemen educated at the Crypt School” as far back as 1760. What would these Gentlemen have thought when it was proposed that spouses and partners of Old Cryptians could become full members of the Club? Possibly as unhappy about it as Graham was. Graham had many good friends in the OCC and took great pleasure in re-unions and their never-ending conversations. As he says in his history of the club, “It has been a great privilege for me to have known Old Cryptians who were at the school in the last quarter of the 19th century right through to present day Old Cryptians, some of whom I helped to deliver into this world.” He was a true and loyal member of the Club and a wonderful G.P. in Gloucester. He is much missed by me, Graham, Sarah and Rachael and the grandchildren.

In memory of Graham Alfred Russell, MB., ChB., D.C.H., D.R.C.O.G and Old Cryptian (44-52)

The Crypt School The Old Cryptians’ Club

T HE C LUB S HOP

An image at the end of the magazine illustrates the current offerings from the Club shop available on the website.

We believe it is time for a rethink / refresh of the branded items available, so if you have any ideas or thoughts about suitable items for the Club to sell, please email webmaster@oldcryptians.org

Adam Ashby (1973-1978)

The Crypt School The Old Cryptians’ Club